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chocolatequeennk · 4 years

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Forever Timeless, 4/23

Summary: Two months after the Dalek Crucible, the Doctor and Rose are getting used to having the biggest family on Earth. As they visit Leadworth in 1996, Victorian England, a mysterious desert planet, and Elizabethan England, those family and friends often help in unexpected ways. But no matter where they go or who they’re with, it’s always the Doctor in the TARDIS with RoseTyler–just as it should be.

Ten x Rose, Donna x Lee

Betaed by @saecookie, @rudennotgingr, @pellaaearien, and @jabber-who-key

Tagging @doctorroseprompts for Doctor/Rose content

Part 7 of Being to Timelessness

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3

Chapter Four: At Last

The Doctor looked at Lee as the TARDIS spun slowly in the Vortex. “I’ve got the coordinates all set. Are you ready to see Donna again?”

Lee nodded. “Please.”

The Doctor flipped the lever, and the time rotor moved up and down with its typical grinding, wheezing sound. Lee shook his head, amazement etched across his features. He studied the TARDIS like someone who’d heard about them all his life and couldn’t believe he was finally seeing one.

“Just n-never thought I would be inside a TARDIS,” he explained when Rose looked at him questioningly.

Rose reached out and patted the central column. “Put on a good show for him, dear.”

The TARDIS lights flashed, and they spun through time and space at a dizzying speed. The ship landed hard enough to send them all to the grating. Everyone laughed, no one harder than Lee.

The Doctor jumped up and brushed himself off. “Let’s go see what Donna and Jenny are up to,” he said, jogging up the ramp.

Rose’s phone chimed, and the Doctor had a sinking feeling he knew what the incoming message said. He waited for Rose to read it, and her sigh confirmed his fears.

“Oi, Sunshine. When we said a week, we meant an Earth week, as in seven days. You’re late.”

“Oh… this is bad.” The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. He could already feel the bleach burning his scalp.

“What’s wrong?” Lee asked.

“We landed a day later than we promised to meet Jenny and Donna,” Rose said as she typed out the text and hit send. She looked up in time to see Lee smile and shake his head. “What?”

“Just imaging Donna’s reaction.”

oOoOo

Donna was in the middle of telling Jenny exactly what she planned to say to the Doctor when her phone chimed with a text notification.

“Oh, that better be them,” she muttered as she fished it out of her purse.

Sorry we’re late, Rose said. We brought something for you.

Donna snorted. “If they think some little rinky-dink souvenir is going to make me forget they actually did strand us, they need to think again.” She picked up her bag and tossed a note on the table to cover the bill. “Come on, Jenny.”

They could see the TARDIS from the edge of the park, and Donna unconsciously picked up her pace. At the moment, she couldn’t tell if she were more eager to be home, or to give the Doctor a piece of her mind. Either way, she was glad to see the TARDIS.

When they were about ten feet away, the Doctor stuck his head out of the TARDIS. “Are you coming?” he asked.

Donna stopped and put her hand on her hip. “Oi, don’t get shirty with me, Spaceman,” she told him. “What did I tell you about not leaving us stranded in Barcelona? You’re just lucky the hotel had a vacancy so we could keep our room for another night—and lucky Jenny was positive you would only be a day or two late.”

An amused chuckle cut off Donna’s tirade, and she whirled around to tell the innocent bystander exactly where he could put his busybody nose.

But the sight of a familiar face drew her up short. “Lee!” she gasped. Then she put her hands over her mouth, for once in her life completely speechless.

“Hello, D- D- Donna.”

The stuttering broke through her shock, and she ran to him, reaching out to touch his face, his hair, anything just to convince herself he was really there.

Her hands finally settled on his shoulders, and she clung to him just as she had in their last moments together in the Library. “Oh God, oh God. Is this real?”

“You’re real,” Lee said, holding her just as desperately. “I hoped you were real.”

“I found you. I promised I’d find you, and I did. I found you.”

Donna pulled back and cupped his face between her hands. “But… how? And where?”

“I got t- t- trapped,” he explained. “Between worlds.”

“When we activated the transmat at the Library, the Reality Bomb was in full effect,” the Doctor explained.

Donna tore her gaze away from Lee to pay attention to his explanation.

“And Lee’s transmat beam, unfortunately, got caught in the Void—the space between the universes. He was literally stuck in a crack between worlds. Somehow, the crack opened up in the bedroom of a little girl in 1996, which was where we found Lee.”

A shiver ran down Donna’s spine. “I thought you said all of that was repairing itself. Closing back up like it had never happened.”

The Doctor tugged on his ear. “Strictly speaking, it didn’t happen. Not in this timeline. Mickey and Pete and Jackie were only able to hop through because Pete’s World ran ahead of ours, and things hadn’t yet—”

“I asked about Lee, not the whole bloody universe.”

He cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry. Welllll… the crack was closing when we found Lee. But he’s here now!” he said quickly, before she could react.

Donna pulled Lee into a hug. “I can’t believe I came so close to losing you,” she whispered. His hand stroked her hair, and she had to swallow back tears. “I spent so long looking for you…”

Rose caught Jenny’s eye and gestured towards the park. Taking the Doctor’s hand, she pulled him towards the trees, trusting their daughter to follow.

oOoOo

Lee closed his eyes and rested his head on top of Donna’s. Her whispered confession eased one concern he’d had—that what they’d had in the Library had all been a lie.

Up until then, he’d felt a bit like he was on a first date, sweaty palms and all. But now… “I was sent to the Library to find out what happened. Instead I found you.”

Donna stepped back half a step and looked up at him. “What do you mean, you were sent?”

He lowered his voice and leaned in. “I’m a Time Agent,” he told her quietly.

“You mean Rose was right?” Donna exclaimed.

Lee chuckled. “Yes, she was.” He frowned. “I apparently spent 100 years in the Library’s mainframe, and I still don’t know what happened.”

Donna smiled and took his hand. “Well I can answer that,” she said. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

“We were supposed to have a quiet day in,” Donna started. “I was painting my toes, Jenny was reading, and Rose was painting. Then the Doctor came in and told us to get ready to go…”

Lee listened raptly to the tale, from the message on the psychic paper to the surprise strangers arriving in the Library to the lights suddenly going out.

He sucked in a breath when Donna repeated the Doctor’s warning. “Count the shadows.”

“Vashta Nerada,” he breathed.

Donna rolled her eyes. “Of course you’ve heard of them.” She sighed. “Am I always going to be the only one who doesn’t know things?”

Lee blinked at her. This insecurity… It hadn’t been there in the Library. But maybe the program of the computer had given her the confidence she apparently lacked. It had certainly made other changes, like making his stutter even worse than it was in reality.

Donna took a breath and continued the story. “So, one of the crew was taken. Eaten, I guess. And as soon as the Doctor knew how big of a threat it was, he wanted to send me and Jenny back to the TARDIS to be safe. He dragged us into the little shop, with the transmat pad by the door.”

Lee nodded. That was when their story began, then.

oOoOo

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulder as they walked the paths in the park. They’d taken off in the opposite direction of Donna and Lee, with Jenny walking beside them, telling them all about their week long holiday.

The Doctor held Rose close as he thought about the other couple and wondered how things were going for them. He remembered how devastated Donna had been when she’d gotten back from the pocket universe in the Library computer. She’d had the life she’d always wanted, but it had been fake.

Hopefully Lee can make it real this time, Rose said, following his train of thought.

He hummed in agreement. I hope so. I just… He took a moment to soak in everything they had—each other, their bond, their daughter walking with them. Donna deserves all of this, too.

Rose stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re very sweet sometimes,” she whispered.

Her phone beeped before he could reply. Rose checked the text, but all three of them had turned back towards the TARDIS as soon as they heard the chime, guessing what the message was.

oOoOo

Rose smiled when she caught sight of the couple. They were sitting across from each other at a picnic table, holding hands.

It looks like Donna’s worries that the real Lee might not care about her didn’t come true.

The Doctor hummed. Yep. Oh, I’m glad.

Donna saw them first and she jumped up. “About time you got back here,” she snarked. “Although I shouldn’t be surprised you’re late… don’t think I’ve forgotten you were a whole day late getting here.” She gestured at the Doctor’s head. “Nice platinum blonde, I think.”

“But… you…” The Doctor gestured vaguely between Donna and Lee. “I had a good reason for being late! And aren’t you glad the TARDIS took us to Leadworth to find him?”

Donna’s teasing expression faded to happiness. “Yeah. All right, you’re off the hook this time, Spaceman. But next time…” She raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

“So, are we ready to go back to Cardiff?” Jenny asked. “I bet Gran is wondering where we are.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Mum will find something to mutter about, no matter when we arrive. But, as long as we don’t need to make any stops first…”

She looked at Donna and Lee. “You’re certainly welcome to come with us, Lee. We have a few friends who might be very interested to meet you, actually. I understand if you aren’t up for meeting a whole group of new people today, though. We could drop you and Donna off somewhere and come back after the party, if you’d rather.”

Lee shook his head. “I’ll come with you.”

“Excellent!” The Doctor, still worried about his hair, darted to the TARDIS and unlocked the door. “Come on them, what are we waiting for?”

“I was going to say that your mother-in-law’s anger at you missing the party would be punishment enough, but you’ll just natter on about how this is a time machine.” Donna pursed her lips. “And you’ll be able to get us back in time without her even knowing we were almost late. It’s almost not fair.”

“Jackie’s stubborn refusal to grasp the basics of time travel can be frustrating, but it does have its advantages,” the Doctor agreed.

oOoOo

The Doctor watched his little entourage as he and Rose flew the TARDIS back to Cardiff. Donna was watching Lee like she thought he was going to disappear again, and he had her hand clasped firmly in his own.

Jenny sat on the jump seat, watching the two of them. The Doctor tilted his head and studied his daughter. There was something… off in the way she was holding herself.

Let’s take Jenny for a trip on her own as soon as we can, he suggested to Rose.

Rose turned slightly to watch Jenny for a moment, and then she nodded.

Their landing was soft, and Rose led the way to the top of the ramp. “Time to visit family,” she told everyone. “Lee… I know you agreed to come, but please don’t feel like you need to spend time with my mum. I love her, but she can be… a lot.”

Lee smiled reassuringly. “I’m pretty sure I’ve met people more difficult than your mum, Rose.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” the Doctor muttered under his breath.

Rose glared at him, and he smiled unrepentantly back. They both knew that the faux antagonistic vibe between him and Jackie was all for show… Well, mostly.

“All right,” he said, gesturing for them all to leave the ship. “If we don’t get out there now, she’ll be banging on the door wondering why we’re staying in this box.”

Rose opened the door and started laughing when she saw her mum halfway to them.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Jackie said. “I don’t know why you’d want to stay in that box when the party is inside.”

Rose stepped outside and moved aside so everyone else could exit the TARDIS. Jackie’s eyes lit on Lee, and Rose nodded. “Donna brought a plus one, if that’s okay.”

Jackie smiled. “Of course! Now come on, the party is nearly started.” She turned and led the way back to the front door.

A car pulled into the drive as they were walking inside, and Rose raised her eyebrows when she realised that Martha and Mickey had arrived together. The Doctor had told her about the timelines he had noticed, but she hadn’t really given it much thought.

The two groups met at the front door and entered the house together. “It’s about time you all got here,” Jack called from the living room. “I was starting…”

His voice trailed off when he caught sight of Lee. “Well hello,” he said. “Jack Harkness, and you are…”

“Not interested,” Donna said firmly. “This is Lee. Lee McAvoy. We met at the Library.”

Rose covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile at Donna’s clever wording, but to her surprise, Jack’s gaze sharpened.

“Lee McAvoy? At the Library?” he said, emphasising the article.

Donna looked back and forth between the two men. “Oh right,” she said after a minute. “Jack used to be a Time Agent, too.”

“Yeah, and I remember hearing about an agent who was lost in the whole quarantine of the Library.” He looked at the Doctor. “You know, I actually wondered about Lee here when you told us you’d been to the Library. But I assumed if you didn’t mention him that you hadn’t met.”

He looked at Donna, then at her hand clasped in Lee’s. “I guess I was asking the wrong person,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Jaaaaack,” the Doctor said, exasperated.

“You know, I’ve heard of Jack Harkness, too,” Lee interjected.

Jack leaned forward. “Oh yeah? The tales of my greatness go before me?”

Lee shook his head soberly, bur Rose noticed a glimmer in his eyes. “N-no. The tales of your…” He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Of your nakedness.”

The whole group burst into laughter. “He’s got you there, Captain Cheesecake,” Mickey said, pounding the man on the back.

“Why are you naked in all the stories, Mr. Jack?” a very young voice asked.

Rose bit her lip and looked down at her little brother, who had snuck into the room when no one had noticed. Oh dear, she thought, looking at the unamused expression on her mum’s face.

“Oh really?” Jackie said as she picked up Tony. “What kind of stories have you been telling my little boy, Harkness?”

She ignored Jack’s incoherent sputtering and wheeled on Pete. “And you, Mister. We’ll be talking about you taking Tony with you to work.” She swept out of the room, and everyone let out collective breath.

“I see what you mean, Rose,” Lee offered, and the tension broke into laughter.

Jenny slipped away from the group, making her way to the kitchen. Pete was pulling dishes out of the cupboards. “Can I help set the table?” she said, guessing what he was up to.

“Of course.”

They each picked up a stack of dishes and carried them into the dining room. As they laid plates around the table, Jenny felt her granddad watching her.

“Jackie tells me Donna brought a plus one tonight,” he said after a few minutes.

Jenny’s hand clenched around the knives she held. “Yeah. Lee McAvoy. They were married in a parallel universe, and we’ve been trying to find him.”

Pete nodded; he understood different universes and different lives better than anyone. “I’m glad Donna was able to find him. She’s seemed a little sad this summer.”

Jenny sighed. Donna had been sad, which made her own upset that much more selfish. “Yeah,” she said quietly.

They finished setting the table, and then Jenny followed Pete back into the kitchen. “Of course,” he said, “Lee joining your group changes the dynamics a bit, doesn’t it?”

Jenny bit her lip, then let everything she was feeling spill out. “Yeah. Mum and Dad, and Donna and Lee. And then me. Just Jenny. I’m the fifth wheel.”

She dropped onto a bench and slouched. “I don’t fit anymore.”

Pete held out a hand and pulled her to her feet. “Then you have to find a way to make yourself fit,” he said firmly. “Come on; dinner is just about ready.”

oOoOo

After supper had been cleared from the table, the Doctor clapped his hands. “All right everyone, may I have your attention!”

“Oh, we’d better listen to him, or he’ll find a way to blow up the dining room or something,” Jackie said sardonically. Everyone else laughed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “If you’re done taking the mick—”

“Never,” Mickey said.

“Then maybe,” he continued, raising his voice a little, “you’d like to hear my new safety resolution.”

“Oh, for—” Jackie took a large gulp of her wine. “I’m going to regret this, but let’s hear it.”

“Thank you, Jackie.” Finally, everyone quieted and gave him their full attention. “All of you have travelled with us at one time or another, and most of you have had the… let’s say the misfortune of being stranded.”

Mickey nodded. “On a spaceship in eighteenth century France.”

“Quite right, Mickey Smith. And now, we’re all going our separate ways, to a certain extent. Some of us are in Cardiff,” he gestured at Pete and Jack, “Some in London,” Mickey and Martha, “And some of you might not even live in this time.” This to Lee. “And since we all seem to find trouble more easily than most, I’d like to offer… let’s call it a safety button.”

“What are you thinking, Doctor?” Martha asked. “Project Indigo was completely dismantled by UNIT when the Earth was put back where it belonged.”

Jack held up the wrist that had his vortex manipulator. “I’ve got my own safety button.”

Lee reached into his back pocket and pulled out an identical device. “Me t-t-too.”

“Where did you get that?” Donna exclaimed.

Lee pointed at himself. “T-t-t…” He paused and took a breath. “Time Agent,” he said, forcing the words out.

The Doctor interrupted before Donna insisted on a full history of where he’d been hiding his Vortex Manipulator this whole time. “Excellent, the two of you are covered then. But for the rest of you, what I’m about to suggest is the next best thing.”

The soft murmur of conversation around the table stopped and everyone looked at him. The Doctor nodded and launched into his explanation.

“The TARDIS and I have been working on a little project.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out ten thin pieces of wire. “These are homing beacons. I’ll just install these in your mobile phones under the battery. If you’re ever in trouble and need us to come get you, just press and hold 9 and it’ll activate the beacon.”

“I hate to admit it,” Jackie said, “but that’s actually a good idea.”

Everyone around the table nodded and pulled their phones out. The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jackie, but went to work on installing the homing beacons onto all of the phones, working down the line.

The last phone on the table was a plastic toy mobile. He looked down at his young brother-in-law, staring up at him with all the seriousness a three-year-old could muster. “I wanna be able to call you too, Doctor.”

The Doctor ruffled the boy’s hair. “Absolutely, Tony Tyler.” He picked up the toy and pointed the sonic screwdriver at it, letting the sound fill the room for a few seconds before he stopped. Then he handed the toy back to Tony.

“There you go. One Tony Tyler homing beacon, ready to go.”

The nanny, who had been waiting at the doorway, came in and held her hand out. “Come on, Tony, you got to talk to the Doctor like you wanted. It’s time for your bath now.”

“Night, Doctor! Night Rosie!”

“Oh, I don’t warrant a good night,” Jackie said, but the Doctor was fairly certain she sounded less irritated than usual.

Sally, the housekeeper, brought out coffee and tea and placed them on the sidebar. Jackie smiled and thanked her, then looked at the group.

“As long as we’re all making announcements, I’ve got one of my own. You’re all invited to our place for Christmas. We’ve got plenty of room for all of you, if we pull out the couches.”

Mickey and Martha both started shaking their heads. “We can’t get that long off,” Mickey said. “We’ll be doing good to get out here for dinner and back to London before we’re expected to be at work the next day.”

“Oh, come on,” Jackie wheedled. “It won’t be the same without you.”

The Doctor got an idea, and after gaining Rose’s approval, he spoke up. “There is a way we could have a holiday house party and still get everyone to work on time the next day.”

“How’s that, boss?”

Martha got it immediately, though. “If we leave the current timeline for the week, right Doctor?”

He nodded. “We could take everyone off-world for a holiday trip. Pick you all up on the 23rd, say, and then bring you back the next morning. Not only do you get a few days’ holiday, you’ll still have Christmas Day at home to catch up on laundry or whatever.”

“I’m not spending our first Christmas together in a hotel on some strange alien planet,” Jackie protested.

“But we could rent a house,” Rose told her. “You could do all the grocery shopping and bring everything with you, and then you’d still get to host the party just like you wanted.”

Jackie pursed her lips. “You’ll help him find a house?” she pressed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Yeah, I’ll help him.”

Jackie looked around at everyone. “Are you all okay with this?”

Mickey nodded. “It’ll be nice to get away for more than a day,” he said. “UNIT has been working us hard for the last few months, trying to clean up the mess left by the Daleks.”

“All right then,” Jackie conceded. “We’ll go away for the holiday.” She pointed at the Doctor. “But we better not end up on the planet Zhoz.”

“I’ll have you know—”

Jackie waved him off. “Come on, everyone. Get yourself a cuppa and let’s go sit down in the living room.”

oOoOo

Rose took her cuppa and went to an over-stuffed armchair tucked slightly away from the rest of the seating arrangement. She tucked her legs up underneath herself and watched her family.

Jack and Lee were swapping stories from the Time Agency. Donna was sitting pressed against Lee’s side, and every once in a while she’d interject with a story of her own from traveling on the TARDIS. Rose loved to see her newfound confidence—a year ago, she wouldn’t have felt like she had anything to add to a conversation like that.

A naked streak interrupted her observations. Rose jumped up when she realised the streak was her little brother, dripping wet from his bath. He shrieked with laughter as he darted through the living room.

“Oh, Lord,” Jackie muttered.

“I’ve got him, Mum,” Rose told her as she took chase.

It wasn’t hard to track the little boy. If the puddles of water hadn’t given him away, the constant giggling would have. She caught up with him just before he opened the back door to run out into the garden.

“Oh no you don’t, mister,” she said, scooping him up. “Come on, time to go to bed.”

She waved at Pete and Jenny, who were trying not to laugh. “And apologise to Dad for interrupting him and Jenny,” she instructed.

“Sorry, Daddy!” Tony shouted.

“You’re forgiven, Tiger.” Pete stood up and kissed Tony on the forehead. “Now be nice to Anna. She’s getting her exercise in today.”

The winded nanny smiled tiredly. “Thank you, Mr. Tyler.” She took Tony from Rose. “Come on, young man. It’s bed time for all streaking toddlers.”

“What’s streaking?” Tony asked as they left the room.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Rose, Pete, and Jenny burst out laughing.

When Rose reentered the living room, Jack was leaning back on the couch, a gleeful smirk on his face. “And now I’m not the only one with a naked story.”

#ficandchips #ten x rose #dwfic #fic by Nancy #doctorroseprompts #donna x lee #the reunion we've all been waiting for!#plus lots of hijinks at the Tyler party #Tony Tyler is a ham and steals the show every time

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marvelofcontent · 4 years

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May the Fourth Be With You (Peter Parker x Stark!Reader)

Summary You and Peter are huge Star Wars Fans. Always have been, always will be. After Thanos and Mysterio had their fun, you finally get to enjoy your senior year of high school, but things have changed between you and Peter. What plans are in store for the pair of you now that senior year is coming to a close? Word Count 2677 Warnings This is a nerdy fluffy piece to celebrate Star Wars Day, so some Star Wars references are included, but nothing too obscure. This story was posted after May Fourth because I thought of this late and I suck at updating. To all of my Star Wars fans, May the Fourth Be With You!

Peter Benjamin Parker loves Star Wars. When the boy your father had recruited boarded the jet and sat by Happy, you made a metal note to talk to him once you finished reading your book, only a few chapters from the end. Mid-flight, you made your way over and took the empty seat in front of him nonchalantly.

“You’re Peter, right? I’m y/n,” you said gently, offering him a small smile. He returned it and nodded. The two of you struck some conversation before quieting down to a comfortable silence. You busied yourselves with your phones, your eyes only peeking up when Peter started to fidget in his seat, a wide smile on his face.

“You look happy,” you commented, looking him over for a moment. He reacted by stiffening and ducking his eyes awkwardly, reluctantly turning his screen off.

“Oh no, it’s stupid,” he tried to brush off, but your curiosity had already taken root.

“Couldn’t have been stupid to bring on a smile like that. Come on, what is it?” You inched closer, on the edge of your seat. When he glanced up and saw your poised determination, he let out a nervous huff and reopened his phone.

“Oh nothing, just…there are new pictures from the set of The Last Jedi. Just some nerdy-”

“Wait, really? Can I see?” His eyes widened as you got up and sat beside him, excitement in your eyes.

“Wait, you like Star Wars?”

“Like Star Wars? Are you kidding? I love Star Wars. My dad helped me build a pencil sharpener R2D2 a few years ago.” To your surprise, he let out a warm laugh and turned his body in your direction.

“I can’t imagine the Tony Stark fiddling over a pencil sharpener.”

“The man can’t follow a set of instructions for his life. Iron Man insisted he was right and the little motor almost blew because he put the gears in the wrong places and the blades upside down,” you giggled, remembering the way you hid behind a pillow when it started to screech. In that moment, Peter took a better look at you and smiled wider, suddenly feeling inexplicably comfortable with you. The rest of the flight, you passed the time by talking about Star Wars and other interests you shared going beyond the sci-fi galaxy, and you became inseparable even after the events in Berlin.

-8 Years Later-

A lot had changed since that jet ride. Since the fight in Berlin, the Avengers disbanded and went their separate ways, you enrolled as a junior at Midtown School of Science and Technology, Spiderman became New York’s favorite local crime fighter, and Thanos came and wiped out half of the universe. You and Peter died in space, your true feelings and goodbyes lost with you as you dusted away. You both returned five years later only to lose Tony Stark, father and mentor. The year that followed was difficult, the loss of your father weighing down on both of you. You stopped talking about the things that made you happy, like Star Wars and sketching, and focused on the somber aspects of life. The world fell on both your shoulders and the most support you had was each other. When you went on the class trip to Europe, all you wanted was a chance to enjoy life experiences as a teenager again.

Quentin Beck almost stole that opportunity away from you when he brought the Elementals to life as pieces in his revenge plot. He would have killed you and ruined your trip if it hadn’t been for your best friend in the spider suit. By the end of the trip, Peter had saved you, and he made the trip worth it when he gave you a bracelet with a glass shooting star charm and confessed his feelings for you, sharing a gentle kiss on the bridge.

Life went on when you came home, but things became manageable. Stark Industries was rising again, you were finding your place in your family, and senior year finally came, much to everyone’s relief. To top it all off, Peter was with you through it all, not only as your best friend and fellow crime fighting superhero, but as your loving and supportive boyfriend. As the year started coming to a close, you noticed that MJ and Betty had been adamant about keeping you busy everyday afterschool. Between decathlon leadership meetings, student council sessions, and emergency study groups, you stopped walking home with Peter and the guilt started eating at you.

One afternoon with the girls, you let out a frustrated huff and threw Betty a wide eyed glance of disbelief.

“Betty, we went over this concept yesterday! I thought you were feeling better about it?”

“I was, but then Dr. Gammon did a few problems in class and I got lost again,” your friend justified, twirling her hair with her fingers as she focused on the book before you. Quickly glancing at your phone, you let out a sigh. You had been studying for hours and the sun would be going down soon, a late night patrol waiting for you.

“MJ, can you give this a shot? Maybe you can explain it better,” you asked as you checked your phone notifications. Nothing.

“Sure. Let me see-” she was cut off by a chime coming from her phone. Lightening fast, she pulled her phone out and proceeded to stand in the middle of the room, typing furiously. You found it odd that she paused so suddenly, but brushed it off as you started to pack your bag.

“I should get going, so I’ll see you guys-”

“Wait!” MJ shouted, her head snapping up suddenly. You were taken aback by her volume and gave her a worried look. You could see her look at Betty from the corner of her eye. “There’s something I want to talk to you about before you go.”

“Oh…okay,” you replied, setting your bag back down on the floor. “What is it?” She came over and sat beside you on the bed.

“Has everything been alright?” You tilted your head, mildly confused by the question.

“I…guess. Why?”

“You just seem on edge all the time. Stressed almost,” she pressed a bit. You shrugged.

“Well, there’s been a lot going on. We keep having decathlon leadership stuff-”

“We have to train the new kids before we go,” MJ pointed out gently.

“Right, but I think they’re ready. They seem tired of us nagging them. One of these days, Daisy’s going to actually stab herself instead of looking like she wants to. And student council keeps having pointless meetings-”

“We have to finalize all of the end of the year activities and their details,” Betty defended herself, her attention on the two of you.

“We did not need to spend an hour on choosing the balloon colors for the senior banquet. We ended up with blue and gold like we’d originally planned anyways!”

“I guess I was asking more if everything is alright outside of school,” MJ redirected, shooting Betty a tiny glare.

“…I feel like I’m so busy with school that I’ve barely gotten any one-on-one time with Peter.” You missed the glance they gave one another. “I just feel like such a bad girlfriend, ya know? And I think he’s mad at me over it. He’s been avoiding me in between classes and he hasn’t texted me in days-” MJ’s chime interrupted you again. As you continued, she was fixated on the message, typing back immediately and you felt so betrayed. “MJ, this is serious!” She seemed to have sent her message because she snapped her head back up and looked at you with sorry eyes.

“Sorry. But I’m sure everything’s okay. Has he asked you to prom yet?” At the mention of the dance, you let out a pained groan and threw yourself back in the bed, your heart aching a bit from disappointment

“No, he hasn’t. He’s been avoiding me, remember?”

“Maybe he’s waiting for the right moment,” Betty reassured. Before you could respond, your phone started to ring, Peter’s contact picture popping up. “Take it as a sign of good luck,” she winked before returning to her work. You reluctantly picked up the call, putting the speaker to your ear.

“Peter?”

“Hey! What are you up to right now?” You let out a small sigh of relief. He sounded excited rather than upset or on edge.

“Studying with Betty and MJ. I was actually about to head out,” you replied, grabbing your bag again and packing the last of your things as he spoke.

“Listen, I know you have patrol tonight, but would you like to come over for dinner?” You looked at the time and sighed, knowing it would be late when you left the Parker household.

“I don’t know, Pete-”

“May’s making your favorite.” He was trying to be convincing and to your dismay, it was working. You bit your lip, thinking the offer over. “Please, y/n? I miss you.” His words tugged at your guilty heart and you caved, practically hearing his pout.

“Okay. I’ll head over now.”

“Great! See you soon!” He was quick to hang up much to your surprise. Glancing back at the girls, you shrugged at their expectant stares.

“He seems to be in a good mood, so maybe it’s not so bad,” you said gently, trying not to let yourself get too excited.

“Shouldn’t you be leaving? He’s expecting you,” Betty encouraged, waving you off.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“We’ll manage. Get out of here, y/n. Before Peter comes to grab you,” MJ teased, giving you a friendly nudge as you finally shouldered your bag. Giving them one last goodbye, you headed out, a bit of pep in your step as you thought of spending some time with Peter. Quickly climbing up the apartment stairwell, you paused in front of their door and gently took the note that was left taped up. Y/n, it read. I had to run out to grab some things for dinner tonight. Let yourself in. Peter should be in his room. You saw May’s signature at the bottom and gently opened the door, quickly closing the door behind you. The living room would have been pitch black if not for the tea lights creating a path on the floor. Confused by the detail, you slowly followed them down the hall, your footsteps creaking on the wood. The lights stopped in front of Peter’s closed door, so you instinctively knocked and winced at the harshness of the sound. When you opened the door, your eyes went wide, simply standing in the frame as the door opened wider. In front of his windows, you saw a sheet with swirling galaxy projections on it, the stars shining all over the walls and ceiling. They lit the room enough for you to see Peter standing in the middle of the empty room with a rose in his hands. Before you could say anything though, he sidestepped and got down on one knee to reveal a life size legos replica of R2D2 holding a sign with your name on it. Stepping closer, you gasped and covered your mouth with your hands.

“Out of all the girls in the Galaxy, Yoda Obi-Wan for me,” Peter said out loud. “It’s been a rough few years for us, but you didn’t leave me Solo and you saved me from the Dark Side. I may not be a Skywalker, but y/n?”

“Yes?” you answered giddily, anticipation rising as he turned the sign over.

“Will you BB my d8 to prom?” he asked, word for word vocalizing the sign’s message. Unable to keep the smile off your face, you nodded quickly and waited for him to rise to his feet before launching yourself into his arms and hugging him tightly.

“Of course I will, Peter!” you whispered excitedly, your face pressing into his neck. Your eyes were prickling slightly with tears from the sheer joy as you felt him press kisses to the top of your head. You pulled back just enough to gently raise your hands to his cheeks and look him in the eyes. “I would love to go to prom with you.” His hand rose to rest against the nape of your neck, gently twirling your hair and drawing circles on your skin. He leaned in and sweetly pressed his lips to yours. When you pulled apart a few moments later, he leaned back slightly, arms wrapping around your waist.

“Did you get all of this, Karen?”

“Video saved.” Realizing he had recorded your moment, you jokingly hit his shoulder and shot him an incredulous look. “Sorry, but MJ and Betty would kill me if they didn’t get to see this.” At the mention of their names, your jaw dropped.

“Wait a minute, they were in on this?”

“And Ned. Once R2D2 got too big to hide easily, I asked for his help to assemble it and begged them to keep you busy.” The cheeky tone in his voice made you scrunch your nose and you tried to process his words, but shook your head.

“Too big to...how long have you been planning this?” Pulling the rose out from behind you, he pulled you in closer and offered it to you.

“Since that day in London. When we survived the whole Beck thing and kissed on the bridge, I promised you that I would ask you to prom and it would be out of this world.”

“But you never promised me anything. Up until your call earlier, I thought you were upset with me and I didn’t think you were going to ask.”

“It was still a promise to you, whether you knew it or not,” he whispered. You took the rose from him and smiled shyly, carefully dipping your nose into the petals to smell the flower.

“That was an awful lot of work for a promposal,” you teased quietly, your eyes gazing up at him through your eyelashes.

“You’re worth it.” Pressing a quick kiss to your lips one more time, he pulled you into a hug. Your heart swelled as you nuzzled into him, only for your happy thoughts to be interrupted by Karen.

“Peter, what should I do with the video?”

“Save it and send it to MJ, Betty, Ned, and May.”

“Okay. Video sent.”

“Speaking of May, where is she?” you asked, not bothering to pull away from the embrace.

“She went to grab some carryout from that Thai place you love. She should be back-” Suddenly, you heard the front door open and the lights turned on in the living room, glowing down the hall.

“I’m so happy she said yes!” May squealed as you heard her struggling with the bags of food.

“Right about now,” Peter chuckled. He pulled away and went to walk around you, but a thought occurred to you and you reached for his arm.

“Hey Pete?” He looked back at you. “Where’s all your furniture? The room’s empty.” He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“It’s a funny story actually. Scott helped me shrink it all for the promposal, so everything’s in a basket in my closet. Don’t worry though; I have until midnight before everything grows back to normal size.” Shaking your head in disbelief, you simply slid your hand into his and followed him into the living room.

Dinner with the Parkers that night was great. May made a few embarrassing comments and flustered both of you, but it was just her way of showing her excitement. As you would find out the next day when the video played on a loop during Betty’s school news coverage, your friends loved to show their support through embarrassment too. Did you still love them though? Of course. You had so many people who loved you and you were grateful for them, even when they were at their weirdest. As Peter dorkily pointed out, you were Wookie to have them.

#spiderman #spiderman x stark!reader #spiderman x reader #spiderman x oc #spiderman x stark!oc #peter parker x reader #peter parker x oc #peter parker x stark! reader #peter parker x stark!oc #peter parker x stark!reader #maytheforcebewithyou #Marvel MCU #mcu fandom

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yes-i-am-happyaspie · 4 years

Text

September-happyaspie

Warnings: None Rated: Teen Word Count: 3513

Tags: Blood, fluff and angst, emotional hurt/comfort, panic attacks, Tony Stark acting as Peter Parker’s Parental Figure, Tony Stark is Good with Kids... ...

Summary: Peter had a very bad patrol that leaves him more than a little shaken. Tony is there to comfort him.

Part 10 of the Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified series

It was nearing midnight when Peter flung himself onto the top of the nearest building. He knew he it was late, he knew it was a school night and he knew that his aunt would be angry with him for not arriving back home at the requested eleven-thirty but none of that mattered at the moment. His already labored breathing was morphing into quick, shallow breaths as he stared wide-eyed at his blood-covered hands. He tried to frantically wipe it away on the rough cement but it was of no use. It had already absorbed into his gloves and was clinging to his fingers making them feel both slick and sticky at the same time. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" he desperately chanted as he fruitlessly continued to run his palms over the rooftop.

"Peter, your heart-rate is elevated," Karen said before rattling off a laundry list of other vitals that were outside of his normal range but Peter wasn't listening. As such, she continued to recite the numbers and make suggestions before mentioning the eventuality of contacting Tony Stark.

With his mind racing, his chest clenching, and his senses heightening, the sound of the AI's voice was grating on Peter's nerves in a way that it never had before. "Shut up!", he shouted, "Just shut up! Please," he begged but Karen continued to speak. IN want of quiet, he reached up and ripped the mask off of his head, taking in a gasping breath when the chill of the night hit his face. It was a shock at first but soon he was gulping in the frigid air as if it were giving him life. Then he was abruptly reminded of the blood on his fingers when he felt it smear just above his eye as he attempted to brush back some loose hair.

With his awareness having been brought back to the tacky fluid that was still coating his gloves, Peter realized that not only could he feel it but he could also smell it. The coppery scent causes his stomach to twist and his breath to catch in his throat. He scooted backward towards the small light that was illuminating the corner of the rooftop beside the access door and looked himself over. It wasn't just his hands. It was his chest, his stomach, his legs. There was so much blood and he was suddenly taken over by an ardent desire to stripe the suit off right there on the rooftop.

He'd not had time to do more than press the spider emblem on his chest when he heard the whir of the Iron Man armor quickly approaching. Peter glanced upwards and tracked the glow of the thrusters until the suit landed with a metallic thud in front of him. He stared at it for several seconds before going back to tugging the sodden cloth away from his chest, nearly gagging at the way he could hear it peeling off of his skin.

_________

Tony had been in his living room when the round of alerts had popped up on his watch. It wasn't anything worrisome. The teenager's heart-rate was a little higher than usual but not frighteningly so. It was easy to write it off as a vigorous fight or a particularly exhilarating series of aerial acrobatics. He cleared the notification and went back to the news without a second thought. It wasn't until the same message popped up several minutes later with a series of other irregularities that his concern grew. Though the proverbial straw had come when he was notified that his kid had carelessly removed his mask in a heavily populated area.

Without a second thought, Tony engaged his armor, had his AI contact the boy's aunt, and started towards the coordinates that the AI had sent to him. It wasn't until he was in the air that he began to go through the spider suits video feed. He started with the last ten minutes and nearly choked when he saw the dark stains covering his kid's body. A second look at the teenager's health stats left him slightly baffled. There was no indication of any sort of injury beyond a few bruises to the ribs. He didn't have time to research any further before he was landing.

For several seconds Tony found himself unable to do anything other than stare at the boy before him. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to find but seeing his kid in such a distraught state had caused his brain to momentarily misfire. He didn't know what to do. Hell, he still didn't know what had happened. He was snapped out of his stupor when Peter started trying to hurriedly rid himself of the tainted suit. It was then that he became acutely aware of the security cameras that were surrounding them. The teenager had already removed his mask, thus exposing his face to anyone who was watching and that was bad enough. "Friday, take care of the security cameras. Wipe them clean of the last hour and keep them off until we're out of sight," he said before kneeling down in front of his kid.

At that point, Peter had managed to remove on arm from the clinging material and was uncoordinatedly working to free the other. Tony's eyes fell on the dark streaks covering the boy's exposed skin and swallowed hard. "Stop, Pete. You need to keep that on. I didn't bring anything else for you to wear," he whispered, unsure if his kid could even hear him. He seemed to be singularly focused on getting out of the suit. It was surprising that he'd not ripped it to shreds in the process.

"I can't! I need it off. I need to get it off," Peter wildly shouted but his movements had lost their vigor as he went from nearly hyperventilating to dissolving into tears. "I need to get it off. Please, get it off."

"What happened?" Tony asked in lieu of offering assistance but no answer came. His kid was still relentlessly and listlessly pulling at the suit, triggering his gag reflex more than once. It was hard to watch and, ultimately, he decided that an explanation was going to have to wait.

With a deep breath in through his nose, Tony reached out to help his kid strip down to his boxers. Though the removal of costume didn't seem to offer the boy any reprieve because his skin was stained as well. To make matters worse, seeing it had caused the teenager to fall back into another panic and he began to claw at his skin.

"Stop that. Pete, stop. You're hurting yourself," Tony said as he tried to hold back his own panic. "Come on, kid. I'm going to get you out of here so we can clean you up. Just give me two minutes," he practically begged before motioning for his own AI to send him a second suit. One that could safely carry his kid back to the tower where he would be more equipped to help him.

Tony continued to try and soothe Peter until the suit arrived, enveloping his kid in its impenetrable shell. As it took off, so did he. He continued to offer mild encouragement as they made their way across the sky but as the time had passed the boy had become quieter and quieter. To the point that, as he was helping him through the penthouse towards the large master bathroom, it was as though he was guiding a ragdoll rather than a teenager. "Almost there," he murmured into the boy's ear while nudging him into the large shower and urging him down on the bench before turning on the water.

As Peter sat there and allowed the warm spray to pelt against his back he could see the blood swirling in the water, turning it red before it was pulled down the drain near his feet. "There's so much of it, Mr. Stark," he whispered, properly acknowledging his mentor for the first time since he'd come to his aid. "How, how can there be so much?"

"I don't know, kiddo. You tell me," Tony said softly as he rolled up his sleeves, lathered up a soft washcloth with soap, and began to run it up and down Peter's arms. When the bubbles turned from a pristine white to an angry red, he rinsed it and started over again, repeating the process until the boy's limbs were no longer coated in blood. "Turn around, Buddy," he quietly requested, grabbing ahold of his kid's elbow when it looked like he would topple over when he tried to stand.

With Peter facing him, in full light, Tony was able to see the anguish etched across his features and it made his heart skip a beat. He wanted to ask more questions but he but his tongue. There would be time for that later when his kid was clean and less shaken. With that in mind, he took the newly rinsed cloth and started to gently wipe his kid's forehead. "Close your eyes, Pete," he said to prevent any of the sweet-smelling soap from slipping down into the boy's already red-rimmed eyes.

After washing Peter's face he moved on to his shoulders, chest, torso, and legs before taking each of his hands into his own and used a soft brush to scrub the remaining blood out from under the boy's nails. As he did so, the only sound in the room was that of the shower's relentless spray and the drains constant gurgle. It felt strange. He'd never seen his kid so still or quiet before.

Once he was able to look the teenager over without finding any more evidence of whatever had taken place earlier in the evening, he decided he may as well finish the job and reached upwards to grab a bottle of shampoo from the shower's ledge. He squeezed some out into his hands and rubbed them together before working his fingers through his kid's thick curls causing the boy to whimper and lean into his touch.

It wasn't until Tony was pulling Peter out of the shower and wrapping him a large fluffy towel that anything else was said and even then it was just a few mumbled instructions. "Wait here, Buddy. I'm going to go grab you some clothes," he said before disappearing behind the door.

When Tony stepped out of the room Peter was suddenly overwhelmed with loneliness and ended up falling to his knees on the bathroom's thick rug. He squeezed his eyes shut and was met with unwelcome images. Not just from that night but also from another, one that would be forever imprinted in his memories. He'd broken down completely, folded in half with his head on the floor when he felt a pair of callused hands rest firmly on his exposed shoulders.

"Pete. You're okay. I'm right here," Tony said as he sat down and tried to pull his kid into a more upright position. All he'd been trying to do was to get the boy to look at him. He'd not been prepared for his kid to then collapse into his arms, wearing nothing but boxers and a towel that had been haphazardly draped over his lower back. In the back of his head, he knew that the position they were in should have left him feeling awkward but it hadn't. They had grown closer to one another and running his hand up and down the crestfallen teenager's spine felt like second nature.

Peter's heart-wrenching cries lasted for quite some time before they slowed into silent tears. Then and only then did Tony pulled himself away from the teenager's enhanced grasp. "I need you to get yourself dressed, Buddy," he said as he stood up with the support of the near-by counter. His back ached from the time he'd spent on the floor but he didn't regret it. He'd do it a hundred times over if it meant he could comfort his kid. Then, after placing a stack of folded up pajamas in the boy's hands he exited the room saying "I'm going to be waiting for you right out here" as he went.

With his eyes on the door the whole time, Peter hurriedly changed into the comfortable clothing and took a moment to relieve himself before stepping out into the bedroom where he found Tony sitting at the edge of a large bed. The concern that was wrinkled across the man's brow caused him to hesitate and look down at his toes. Now that he was clean and mostly calmed the situational embarrassment was beginning to seep in. It occurred to him all at once that his mentor had just bathed him, washed his hair, and held him on the bathroom floor while he cried like a toddler. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," he said at such a hushed volume that he wasn't sure the man could even hear him. He had to look up to make sure.

"Kid," Tony uttered with care, "You don't have to apologize."

Despite the man's words, tears started to swell in Peter's eyes. He wasn't sure how he could possibly have any left but still, they came, tracing down his cheeks in silvery rivulets. "I was just-" he began but his words got hung up in his mouth. He had to take several measured breaths before he felt like he could try again. "I was just so, so scared," he forced out past the lump in his throat.

With squinted eyes and a sympathetic smile, Tony patted the place on the bed beside him. He was rewarded when his kid crossed the distance between them and slumped up against him, still shivering. With his arm wrapped around Peter's shoulders, he was able to ease them both down onto the pillows. It was no surprise when the boy rearranged himself so that he was pressed into his side. "Lower the lights, Friday," he said just loud enough for the AI to register and then turned his attention back to his kid. "What happened out there tonight, Kiddo?"

It took him several minutes to gather his thoughts. Just thinking about the night's events had Peter shuddering where he lay. He was thankful that Tony didn't rush him. "There was a robbery at the corner store on Fifth and Main," he finally said as he tucked his arms between himself and his mentor in an attempt to get warm. Tony must have noticed because he sat up after and pulled the throw from the foot of the bed up so that it was covering them. "I- I didn't get there in time," he uttered with remorse.

At that admission, Tony wrapped his arm around his kid without saying a word and pulled him in a little more closely. Peter closed his eyes and savored the affection, only speaking when he was sure he could do so without his voice cracking. "When I got there, there was a man talking to the robber. I think he was trying to convince him to not steal the money. I could see the robber getting antsy and I knew what was going to happen but I couldn't stop it, Mr. Stark and he shot him. The bad guy just shot him and then took off running. The owner of the store called emergency services and I didn't know what to do so I just held the man's hand. I wanted to chase the bad guy but there was so much blood, Mr. Stark," he said, his voice shaking by the time the last syllable left him.

"You did the right thing, Buddy. You stayed with the man who had been injured and-" Tony began to placate but Peter didn't seem to hear him.

"-He died, Mr. Stark. He died right in my arms and then I panicked because all of a sudden he looked exactly like Uncle Ben. It felt like I was back to be thirteen and Uncle Ben had died all over again. I was just so scared, Mr. Stark. The owner of the store had to pull me away when he heard the sirens coming. Then I just- I just ran and there was blood everywhere and I couldn't get it off. No matter what I did, it wouldn't come off and I wanted it off," Peter rapidly explained, not realizing that somewhere during his speech held lost control of his breathing.

"We got it off. There's no more blood, Pete," Tony said, grabbing the boy's hands and holding them within sight. "See? All clean."

"I know, I know but- but I can still feel it, Mr. Stark," Peter strained, pausing afterward to lick his lips and carefully measure his next words. "I was there when Uncle Ben got shot too so I already knew what that much blood felt like but I didn't think I would ever have to see it or feel or, or smell it again. I'm supposed to stop the bad things from happening. I have these powers, Mr. Stark. I had them when Uncle Ben died too. I swore it would never let anything like that happen again," Peter cried. He wanted to say more but he couldn't. Instead, he let the tears fall freely and tried to take comfort in the way Tony's strong arms were wrapped around him.

Knowing that there was nothing he could ever say that would completely abate the guilt and sadness that his kid was overcome with, Tony didn't even try. He simply held the boy against his own body and allowed him to cry onto his shoulder. He wished he could do more. He desperately wanted to take away the pain and sorrow. Then a natural impulse took over and he began to sing. "Try to remember the kind of September, when life was slow and oh so mellow..." he crooned, the familiar melody spilling out of him without thought. He could feel Peter still beside him and begin to relax, that alone encouraging him to continue. "Try to remember the kind of September, when grass was green and grain so yellow..."

By the time he'd drawn out the last note, he was nearly sure that his kid was asleep. The little puffs of air that were being blown against him were even and Peter's body was lax. So, he'd not really been expecting it when he felt the boy lifting his head.

"Where did you learn that song, Mr. Stark?" Peter sleepily queried.

"My mom used to sing it to me all the time," Tony replied with a soft smile. He'd heard his mother sing along as she played that song on the piano more times than he could ever begin to count. That one song, in particular, had followed him throughout his childhood and well into his adult life. It was one of his earliest and last memories of this mother.

"Oh," Peter said, interrupting Tony in his thoughts. "It's nice."

"Yeah, it is," Tony mused, smiling again when his kid yawned so wide he could hear his jaw pop. "Why don't you go to sleep, Buddy. You'll feel so much better in the morning, I promise," he whispered. he knew the boy had to be exhausted. Anyone would be after being overpowered by so much emotion at once and he knew from experience that sometimes, allowing yourself to rest was the best thing you could do for yourself.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, not feeling quite ready to be alone again.

"I can do that," Tony returned with ease.

"-and will you keep singing that song?" Peter asked next because he'd been right on the brink of slumber when the song had ended. Hearing the man's voice had been consoling and that was exactly what he needed at the moment.

"Yeah, Kiddo. I can do that too." Tony replied as he brought his hands up to his kid's head and began to thread his fingers through the waves of thick damp hair. He'd never imagined himself being in a position where he would be the one lulling a child to sleep but there he was more than willing to take on the task. It was then that he realized that he would probably do anything for Peter. The boy was practically his son.

The moment Peter's head rested heavily on his chest, he started to sign again. He'd not made it through the second verse before he could hear his kid lightly and rhythmically snoring. Even so, he continued, unwilling to leave the rest of the song unsung. Though the moment it was complete, he carefully extracted himself from his kid's hold and looked down at his sleeping form. Then, before he could stop himself he was leaning over and dropping a kiss right on the side of Peter's head. "I'm not going to go too far, Buddy. I'll still be here when you wake up."

A/N: I took a very brief break from writing because I couldn't seem to focus but then I missed it so much that it hurt. I ended up going through several WIPs, writing a few paragraphs here and there but couldn't seem to get into any of them. Then this idea came to mind and I realized that maybe I've just been in a very angsty/hurt-comfort kind of mood recently and that's why none of my other haphazardly throw together WIPs could hold my attention.I'm sure I will get back to those but in the meantime... there is this.

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emachinescat · 3 years

Text

Another whumpy AU.

Title: Henry's Allegory of the Doghouse | Fandom: Psych

Summary: Just when Henry is wondering if trying to repair his relationship with his son is worth it, after all, he gets a call that changes everything. "Mr. Spencer? It's Gus. I'm at Santa Barbara General. There's been an accident." Spellingg Bee AU; part 2 of "AU That Glitters" series. Contains spoilers and whump.

Words: 3,307

TW: motorcycle accident

AO3 Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Episode: s01e02 Spellingg Bee, Whump

Year Published: 2017

Full story here or on AO3!

When Henry ventured back outside, dusk had come and gone and night was beginning in earnest. He wasn't surprised to see that Shawn had left without saying goodbye. He was even less surprised that he'd left the doghouse unfinished and the tools out. With a grunt of irritation, Henry lugged the pitiful excuse of a doghouse back into the garage and tossed the toolbox in behind them. Half wishing that he could slam down the garage door to get some of his irritation out, he had to settle for jabbing the control button repeatedly and aggressively.

He should have known. Shawn had never finished anything when he was a kid; why would he start now? Never mind the fact that he was pushing thirty. Henry snorted. Face it, Spencer, he ordered himself. Shawn never grew up, and chances are he never will.

Stomping back up the stairs to the porch and slamming the front door behind him, Henry found himself wondering if it was even worth trying to salvage the mess he and Shawn had made of their relationship at this point. Shawn obviously wasn't trying, just like he never tried at anything. Why should he have to put in all this effort if Shawn was just going to give up, like usual?

It wasn't about the dog house, he realized. It never had been. It was, and always had been, about their relationship. With a small, unamused chuckle as he puttered around, getting ready to turn in, Henry acknowledged that his relationship with his son was the doghouse. Too much effort to make it work, stuffed into a dark corner until it necessity demanded it be dragged out and refinished, but it was still too much effort to make it work, and so… and so back in the darkness it went.

***

Shawn internally cursed that stupid doghouse as he veered his motorcycle around a wide curve. Why was nothing ever simple with his father? For Pete's sake, Shawn had asked for a tiny favor, and his dad had dragged out the Hound Hotel from Hell out of the garage and insist that Shawn finish it. Did he not realize that this case was time sensitive? If he was going to solve this case and keep his standing at the police department, prove that he wasn't a one-hit-psychic wonder, he needed results and fast. Did Dad not realize that this kind of thing was one of the reasons he'd left home in the first place?

Yeah, the divorce and being there for his mom were factors – big ones, in fact – but did his father ever stop to consider that what might have driven Shawn away – driven Mom away – might have been his overbearing, overruling, stifling iron grip? No, of course he didn't. Because all he cared about was results. How many hats, Shawn? How many hats?

Who – the hell – cares?

With a frustrated sigh, willing to admit, at least to himself, that he was, by this point, possibly, brooding, he tried to clear his mind and focus on the road before him. Maybe he'd given up a little too soon. As much as he hated that idiotic doghouse, it was, unfortunately, his key to finding out what had poisoned the spelling bee judge. Tomorrow, he'd come back and fix the damn house, get his results, and go back to avoiding his dad as much as possible.

The headlights of a larger vehicle coming up fast behind him indicated that someone wanted to pass. Shawn kept to his side of the road to let them by, but they just kept coming. Before Shawn could figure out what exactly was going on, they were on him, jarring the back of his bike and sending him careening off course.

Shawn struggled to regain control of his bike, but it was too late. The last thing he saw before being tossed from his bike and toward the rocky ravine on the side of the road was a large van, headlights blazing, overtaking the smoldering corpse of his bike and disappearing over the hill.

Then there was pain, and everything went black.

***

Henry's phone woke him up.

Looking at the clock on the nightstand, he saw that it was just a few minutes to midnight. "Seriously, Shawn?" he grumbled as he fumbled out of bed and groped around for his phone. Who else would be calling him this late? And probably wanting some asinine favor as well. Well, tough luck, kid.

When he looked at the number on displayed on the screen, though, he didn't recognize it. Damn telemarketers were getting a lot more ambitious these days. Still, a spike of foreboding rose up in his gut. Telemarketers didn't work these kinds of hours. Even they, devil spawn though they were, had to sleep sometime. And Henry didn't give his number out to just anybody, so who…?

Clamping down on the sick feeling trying to encapsulate his being, Henry answered gruffly.

"Yeah, hello?"

The voice on the other side was quiet and shaky. He didn't recognize it until it said, "Mr. Spencer? It's Gus."

Guster? Really? Henry could've sworn he had the kid's number, if only to keep tabs on Shawn. Maybe he'd gotten a new number, or Henry hadn't added Gus's number when he got his own cell phone earlier in the year. Either way, it looked like it was his son's much-too-patient-and-forgiving best friend calling, which meant that Shawn had done something stupid. Again.

"Gus? What did Shawn do this time? You're not at the Mexican border, are you?"

The next words froze Henry's veins and released the fear that had been trying to build up inside of him. "N-no. I'm at Santa Barbara General. There's been an accident."

Henry was out the door before Gus finished speaking, in his truck, and speeding toward the hospital.

God, please. Not again.

***

When he arrived, it was to find Gus pacing back and forth in the ER waiting room, arms crossed tightly across his chest, a breathy keening noise accompanying every breath. Henry recognized it instantly as a panic attack, as he'd had to coach a much younger Guster through several of them when he and Shawn were kids, once when a large, but harmless, spider had found its way onto Gus's sneaker. That one had been a doozy.

But Henry didn't have time to put the kid gloves on (oddly enough, it'd always been a lot easier to don the kid gloves for a kid who wasn't his own). Stalking over to Gus, grabbing the frantic man by his tense shoulders, and spinning him around to face him, Henry demanded, "What happened?"

Gus's eyes were red-rimmed, but he managed to regain relative control of himself. "I'm not sure. I got a call about forty-five minutes ago from the hospital. They said that Shawn had been in an accident and that he was en route to the ER. They didn't give me much more than that; I'm waiting on the doctor right now."

Henry's heart tripped over its metaphorical feet in relief. That meant Shawn was alive. Hopefully, he would stay that way. Then Henry could kill him himself. How many times had he told Shawn to get rid of that death machine?

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and it troubled him more than he cared to admit: "Why'd they call you? Why didn't I get a notification?"

Gus was suddenly very interested in a stain that looked disturbingly like dried vomit on the waiting room's wall.

"Gus…?"

"I don't know; they told me I was Shawn's emergency contact."

Henry's heart sunk like lead into his gut. "What about me? Last time—"

"I don't know, Mr. Spencer. I'm sorry. Shawn must have changed it. You'll have to ask him, I don't know…"

The wheezing was starting back again. Releasing the tension in his shoulders the best he could, knowing that Gus wasn't at fault, Henry gently guided the young man to an empty chair and sat him down. After Henry had settled in beside him, he spent a few moments studying his son's best friend. He hadn't seen the kid much since Shawn had left home. Hadn't seen him at all since he'd left for Florida and come back last year. Kid must be keeping himself busy, he assumed. He looked good, though. Other than the obvious panic attack ravaging his systems.

"It's okay, Gus," Henry said, awkwardly patting the young man's back. Once Gus had calmed down enough, Henry rose to his feet. "I'm going to go to the front desk, see what they can tell me."

From behind his hands came Gus's muffled reply, "Good luck with that. They wouldn't tell me a thing except to please sit down and we'll let you know as soon as we know something." The high-pitched mocking tone was so petulant, it nearly caused Henry to let out a bark of hysterical laughter. Instead, he made his way to the desk, determined to get some answers about his son.

Three frustrating minutes later, he sat back down beside Gus and let his own face drop into his own hands. "Dammit."

Gus's muttered "told you" didn't help matters any, and Henry closed his eyes and tried to stave off his own waves of panic.

Dammit, kid. Why didn't I check up on you sooner? I should've asked you to stay for dinner… I should have made you finish it… I should have gotten rid of that damn bike a long time ago.

***

It was a little over an hour later when a nurse poked her head into the room and announced, "Shawn Spencer?"

Henry and Gus clambered to their feet and followed her when she beckoned them over. "We'll just take a moment to talk before we go see Shawn, okay?" She led them to a quiet hallway to the left of the main bustle of the ER and into a small office better suited to be a broom closet. "Have a seat." Gus and Henry scrunched themselves into the two hard plastic chairs nearly stacked on top of one another on one side of the office. For two people who hadn't properly spoken in years, it was a little too close for comfort, but neither complained, too focused on getting information about Shawn.

"Hi, I'm Lily Eastridge," she introduced herself. "I've been helping Dr. Davis with Shawn; he's finishing up with him right now. Are you Shawn's father?"

Henry dipped his head. "Henry Spencer; this is Shawn's friend, Gus. How's my son?"

"Overall, he's pretty lucky, Mr. Spencer. It could have been a lot worse. Still, he has some pretty extensive injuries, but none that should prove to be life-threatening. Your son should make a full recovery."

Both Henry and Gus breathed sighs of relief. "Thank God," Gus exhaled.

The nurse smiled. "So this is what we're looking at right now." She consulted her chart with a quick flick of her eyes before continuing, "Shawn was brought in via ambulance after a passerby spotted his motorcycle off of Nilesferry."

"He was on that backroad on his bike? No wonder he crashed," Henry couldn't help but grouse. How many times had he told Shawn to stick to well-lit roads, especially at night.

The nurse allowed his micro-tantrum, then went on as if nothing had happened. "We did several tests, including an MRI, an XRAY, and an Ultra Sound to check for internal organ damage. Ultimately, we treated Shawn for a severe concussion – no skull fracture, but it was probably a close thing – and a broken wrist."

"That's all?"

The nurse raised her eyebrow at Henry's brash, but somewhat relieved, tone. "No. He had a couple of other concerning injuries, including a four-inch-long gash in his left shin and a dislocated kneecap." Gus and Henry winced in synchronization, but Nurse Lily wasn't done just yet. "This leads me to what is, along with the concussion, perhaps the most severe and concerning of his injuries. Shawn sustained a complete tear to his patellar tendon."

Gus said a word that Henry didn't even know was in the kid's vocabulary. Outwardly, Henry shot the kid a disapproving look. Inwardly, he was a bit proud of him. Didn't know Gus had it in him. But that led him to realize that something that would incite such a reaction in someone like Gus was probably not good at all for his son.

"Can we speak in layman's terms?" Henry asked irritably, his worry for his son coming out as it always did – through gruff words and brash tones.

"The patellar tendon's what anchors the kneecap to the shinbone," Gus explained. "It's usually a pretty debilitating injury, especially a complete tear."

The nurse shot Gus an impressed look. "Wow, are you in the medical field?"

Even in his state of worry, Gus managed to adapt a smug look on his face and flick the side of his nose like a mosquito had just landed on it. "I'm in pharmaceuticals. Surprised I haven't seen you around here."

"Gus, time and place," Henry snapped. "So what are you going to do about the tendon?"

"We've scheduled him for surgery first thing tomorrow morning. Dr. Cunningham is doing the procedure; he's very skilled at what he does. After that, Shawn will have to go through some pretty intensive physical therapy, and he may have a limp for a while, but he should, eventually, regain full mobility and function of his leg again."

"Thank God." This time it was Henry's turn to thank a deity he wasn't even sure he believed in.

"Can we see him?" Gus asked.

"Certainly. Fair warning, he is in a good deal of pain. We do have him on morphine, but low doses so that we can better monitor his concussion overnight. As long as those symptoms don't worsen, the doctor should be able to use an anesthetic to put Shawn to sleep during the surgery instead of a local one, and we should be able to bump up his pain meds after the surgery." She gave them an encouraging smile. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to Shawn. The doctor should be getting him moved out of the ER and into a room shortly, and then you can stay with him tonight if you wish."

***

Shawn looked, for lack of a better word, like hell. Lying there with his left leg bandaged and suspended above the bed, IV pumping drugs – but not enough to dull the shine of pain in his eyes and on his forehead – into his arms, head bandaged, eyes unfocused and glassy, wrist in a splint until they put it in a more permanent cast…

"Dammit, kid," Henry said for what felt like the hundredth time that night. He reached out, hesitated, then told his pride to shove it and brushed a strand of sweaty hair off of the kid's forehead. "I told you that damn thing wasn't safe."

Shawn seemed to be having trouble following the conversation, because at least two and a half minutes passed before he responded, words slurred and voice hoarse, "'t wasn' my fault."

Henry shook his head. "It never is, kid."

"N-no," Shawn gasped, squirming slightly against the pain. "Wasn' an… acc'dent."

Henry's heart stuttered. Was Shawn trying to say what it sounded like he was saying? "Shawn, did someone do this to you? Was this intentional?"

It was another long, agonizing minute before Shawn caught up with the conversation and tried to nod, decided against it with a wince of pain, and answered aloud, "Yes. Someone ran me… off th' road."

Anger like none Henry had ever felt welled up inside of him like a volcanic eruption. Someone had done this to his son. Someone had tried – and damn near succeeded – to kill him. He cursed. Loudly. So loudly, in fact, that he woke Gus, who had nodded off in the window seat.

"Wuzzat?"

"Don't worry about it, Gus; go back to sleep," Henry ordered.

Muttering something indistinct about Pluto, Gus acquiesced with a cavernous yawn.

"How'd I … get here?" Shawn asked blearily. He looked like he was about to drift off, and Henry hoped to God that the meds were starting to do something.

"Ambulance, kid. How else? Some good Samaritan saw your bike in the brush and called 911."

Shawn was now trying to shake his head and discovering that this, too, was a no-no for people with severe concussions. "Can't be right," he muttered. "The d'rection the bike … was headin' … too far out, no street lights. No one could'a seen me…"

Henry narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, Shawn?"

"M'be they didn' mean to kill me."

Henry's eyes now flew to the opposite end of the spectrum and widened. "You think the person who ran you off the road might've called 911?"

"Why not?" Shawn asked. "Should'a been no … way t' know it was them… Pro'ly waited a few minutes … then called. Would'a attracted lotta atten…tion if they'd killed me … 'tention they didn' … need…"

Shawn's eyes were drooping exponentially now, and although Henry's first instinct was to press for details about the car that had done this – because about to crash or not, Shawn would have noticed – he ultimately pushed his cop instincts aside and waded into the very strange – and new, and awkward, and uncomfortable, but not unwelcome – waters of father instincts. Giving his son an encouraging smile that the kid probably didn't even see, he smoothed back another couple strands of hair and said, "That's a good lead, Shawn. I'll call the station right now and have them track the number and see if we can find the person who did this."

Barely conscious anymore, Shawn added, sounding like he was already asleep, "…pro'ly … find … our killer … too …"

Henry laughed softly. "Damn it if you don't manage to solve this case while concussed in a hospital bed, kid."

To his surprise, Shawn said one final thing before succumbing to slumber, "I'll fix … the doghouse … t'morrow, kay, dad?"

Amazed, with a tightness in his chest that felt surprisingly like pride, Henry shook his head at his son's drugged and concussed optimism. "Don't think you'll be up to that for a while, sport," he said, resting a hand briefly on Shawn's mussed hair. "We'll do it together when you get better, huh?"

There was no response. Henry waited a few minutes, until he was certain that Shawn was finally, mercifully asleep, then grabbed his cell phone and stood up to make the call. Halfway to the door, Henry turned to look at his now resting son. He thought of the doghouse, and of how he'd lamented the effort that Shawn didn't seem to be willing to put into it, or the relationship. He remembered how he'd wondered if it was even worth it to try to resurrect his relationship with his son.

After the roller coaster of emotions he'd ridden in just a few short hours, he'd learned one thing: It was most definitely worth it. He'd lost him once to circumstances and hard feelings. Now that he had a chance to get him back, Henry was sure as hell not going to lose him again. It would be a long, hard, tough road, and they'd probably regret taking it at some point or another, but the moments with his son tonight in the hospital room had proven that it could be done.

It would be done, just like the damn doghouse, even if he had to do all the work himself.

But smiling softly, remembering his son's offer to fix the doghouse the same day he would be having his knee opened up, he realized that he probably wouldn't have to.

Maybe, just maybe, Shawn was willing to try to fix the ragged remains of the doghouse of their relationship, too.

#psych #shawn spencer #henry spencer #burton guster #fanfiction #fic rec #psych fanfic #episode au #father son #angst #h/c #family #s01e02 #spellingg bee #whump #shawn whump #fanfic #emcatwrites

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sdottkrames · 4 years

Text

The World was Wide Enough

@comfortember prompt 8: lashing out

Summary: Peter finds out about Siberia. He’s not very happy about the way Captain America treated his dad mentor. So when he gets hurt on patrol and it’s Cap who comes to help him? Some words are said.

Notes: I’ve had this idea in my head for a long long time, and finally worked up the nerve to do it. I hope y’all like it!

Also, I do NOT hate Steve. I hated Civil War and how they portrayed Tony with a passion, but I adore Steve Rogers with all my heart. Mkay?

Read on AO3: Here

Peter hadn’t meant to hear. He was simply walking by and heard Tony’s voice. He sounded agitated and Peter had just wanted to see if he was okay.

“Listen, guys, I appreciate you apologizing, but what’s done is done. Give it a rest.” Tony said.

“I just...I’m sorry, Tony.” That was Steve. What were they talking about?

“I am as well. Tony, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they were your parents,” Bucky said.

Now Peter was feeling guilty standing there. He definitely wasn’t supposed to hear this conversation. But like a train wreck, he couldn’t look away.

“Barnes, it was mind control. I’m not saying we’re going to be best friends, but I don’t want to kill you anymore, so it’s a start, alright? Here.” Tony pressed a button and a video pulled onto screen. It played for a second, the sounds of fighting filling Peter’s ears. It took a moment to register that it was Tony and Steve and Bucky fighting. Tony paused the video and clicked delete, but not before it showed Steve drive his shield into Tony’s chest. “There. I’ve been meaning to do that. It’s cathartic, you know. Miracle of forgiveness and all that. Now go. And stop apologizing. We’re cool.”

But Peter was anything but.

His ears were still ringing with the clank of a shield slamming into an arc realtor, his eyes so full of Tony’s scarred, crumpled body, too similar to another scarred, crumpled body from years earlier.

Steve and Bucky turned towards the door, meeting Peter’s eyes, and realizing for the first time that he was there. They’d never seen the normally mild, kind boy look so angry. Their hearts dropped as they realized just what he had seen, how it looked, how it had made him feel.

“How. Dare. You,” Peter spit out before turning on his heel without a second glance behind him at the others who were staring at his retreating back in shock.

***

Peter flipped over the gate at the front of the school, and rushed into a nearby alleyway to change into his Spider-Man suit. The feeling of the suit instantly calmed his anxious energy.

Gosh, he loved being Spider-Man, especially when it allowed him to avoid thinking.

Peter had been avoiding Captain America ever since accidentally seeing the video a few weeks ago, when his world had been shattered. The kind Cap who had taught him how to cook and made him laugh with funny stories had morphed into a cold, heartless man who had nearly killed Tony. Tony might’ve forgiven Cap, but he’d had five years to work that out. Peter was still angry.

Realizing he had worked himself up again with his train of thought, Peter firmly yanked his mask over his head to focus on being Spider-Man.

“Good afternoon, Peter.”

“Hey Karen,” Peter said, grateful for the distraction and friendly voice. “Whatcha got for me today?”

“There’s a robbery happening at that electronics store on 69th street,” she answered.

“Lead the way!” Peter shot a web and followed the route Karen projected to him.

It was a routine, even simple job. Two shots of his web, a couple trademark snappy one-liners, and Peter was out of there. He’d even gotten some free headphones from the store owner.

Then he’d helped a young girl find her mom, rescued a dog that had fallen down a storm drain (the dog’s name was Mina, and she was very cute. Mina’s owner had been beyond grateful), and stopped three different muggings. Overall, it had been a pretty awesome night. Peter was just about to head home when everything went south.

“Peter, there appears to be a lady in distress in an alleyway between 75 and 76th streets,” Karen said. “Would you like me to direct you there?”

“Yeah. I’ll go help, then let the police handle any more situations.”

He should’ve just gone home.

Peter got a few good webs in. He surprised the two muggers, and the lady used his entrance as a chance to grab her purse and run away.

“I’d say see you around, but I honestly hope I won’t,” he quipped to the men stuck on the wall. He was about to shoot a web to swing out and let the police take care of the two criminals, but stopped as a tingle raced down his spine. It was too late. Before he could move, a gunshot tore through the alleyway.

Instantly, pain exploded in Peter’s right shoulder. He turned to see the gunman, a nondescript man wearing a hat to shadow his face. Peter forced back the nausea and pain to web him up next to his friends.

“Shooting people in the back? Not cool man,” he said, gritting his teeth and swinging to the top of a nearby building before collapsing against the wall. “Karen,” he gasped. “Call Tony!”

Peter was starting to see spots. He could feel the blood coming from his shoulder and the pain was radiating all over.

“Pete!” Friday must have alerted him already, because Tony's voice was frantic. “Hang on, buddy. I’m coming, okay? Just sit tight. I’m on my way!”

“It hurts.”

“I know. I know. Just hang on.”

Tony's panicked voice was interrupted by another one, equally as panicked.

“Peter?” Steve Rogers stood on the rooftop, staring in shock and worry at the boy slumped against the wall.

“Is that Steve?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. I’ll see you soon.”

“Wait, no, Pete!” Tony called, but Peter had already hung up.

“What’re you doing here?” Peter glared at Steve, the anger seeping in and turning his voice into daggers.

“I was out following a lead on a hydra base when I got a notification from Friday saying you were hurt and I-“

“You what?” Peter asked harshly. “Thought that you’d play hero and I’d just forget about the fact that you never cared about me, or about Tony!” Peter was crying now, and he thoughtlessly tried to wipe the tears away, but cried out as the movement made a sharp stab of pain shoot through his whole body. The pain became too much, and Peter started slipping into darkness. Steve’s frantic face was the last thing he saw before he was totally unconscious.

***

“-wouldn’t let me anywhere near him. Tony, I need you to know that I’m sorry. I never meant for a rift like that to happen.”

Peter heard Tony sigh, heard the rustle as he ran his hands through his hair. “Listen, capsicle, I know. We’ve put that behind us. I’ll talk to the kid. He just...he lost his dad and his uncle before, and I think he’s a little protective. He’ll come around, though. He won’t admit it cause he’s nearly as stubborn as I was at his age, but I can tell he misses you.”

“Okay.” Steve sounded dejected, and Peter’s head and heart declared war.

On the one hand, it killed Peter to hear the man he’d admired for so long sound so dejected and to know that he was the cause of Steve’s distress. He never wanted to hurt anybody, let alone one of his heroes who had become family.

On the other, Peter’s head was holding tenaciously to his absolute loyalty to Tony, and the anger and hurt he felt that Steve, his “uncle” Steve, his hero had nearly killed his dad. Because, honestly, wasn’t that what Tony was at this point? There was no use denying it anymore. And Peter just couldn’t lose another father.

As he battled within himself, he heard Steve leave, and Tony came and sat in the chair beside his bed.

“I know you’re awake.”

Shoot.

“Playing dead isn’t going to stop this conversation from happening, Peter.”

He opened his eyes.

“Yeah, hi. First off, how are you feeling?” Tony's voice softened.

“Hurts, but I’m feeling better,” Peter said, wincing as he shifted into a more upright position.

“Careful there,” Tony fussed. “Don’t pop a stitch. Cho says you are incredibly lucky. The bullet hit just the right spot to miss the bones and arteries, so you should be alright in, oh, a day or two.”

“Okay.”

“Second, that's for scaring me!” Tony hit the back of Peter's head gently. “And third,” Peter looked away, but Tony gently pulled his face back to look into his eyes. His voice was incredibly gentle. “You need to let it go with Cap, okay? The guy’s apologized about 30 times to me, and i know he’s only refrained from apologizing to you because he doesn’t have a phone and you’ve been avoiding him like the plague.”

Peter couldn’t deny it.

“I’ve forgiven him, okay?” Tony continued. “Now, and I know it’ll take some time, and you are entitled to that time, but now you need to forgive him, too. I wasted too much time holding onto anger and grudges. I don’t want you to go through that.”

Peter felt the tears running down his cheeks, leaving a scalding trail, and Tony gently wiped them. Peter gave a small nod.

“Okay, Tony.”

A noise from the doorway made both of them look up. Steve was standing there, looking unsure of himself as he shuffled from one foot to the other.

Shooting Peter a look, Tony stood up. “I’m going to go get some coffee. I’ll be back in a little bit.” He patted Steve’s shoulder as he left, and gently pushed him towards the bed.

Peter was suddenly very interested in the plain blue hospital sheets that had been there for years, and he picked at them for a couple heavy seconds before taking a breath.

“You can come in and sit down, Steve,” he said softly.

“Thanks.”

The chair squeaked as Steve sat down, and for some reason, it made Peter smile. He looked at Steve and saw a matching smile forming in response on the older hero’s face. At the small, mundane moment, something unlocked inside Peter.

It’s said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, or that forever is made up of tiny moments. That tiny moment was the first step, and Peter took a breath as he began to let go of the anger he’d been holding on to for weeks and let himself face it.

“Listen, Steve, I should’ve come and talked to you before. I was just so angry, and afraid.”

“I understand.” Steve’s voice was so soft and gentle, and Peter felt the last of the fight leave him. “I know that you lost your father and your uncle, and it kills me to know that I was almost the reason you lost another one. I’m so sorry.”

Peter measured his next words carefully, searching himself to make sure he really meant them. “I forgive you. I forgive you, Steve. If you and Tony are good, then we’re good.” Peter hesitated. “Or we will be. I mean, I’d like to try. If you can forgive me, too?”

Steve didn’t hesitate. “Of course I do, Pete. And I’d like to try, as well. I’ve missed our cooking classes.”

Peter smiled, and ever so carefully moved over a little. He patted the bed next to him and Steve, eyes as big as saucers, climbed in slowly, mindful not to jostle Peter’s wound. Peter leaned into his side.

“I’ve missed you, too, Uncle Steve.”

Tears filled Steve’s eyes at the name, which he hadn’t heard for weeks. His heart swelled, knowing they really were on the way to forgiveness.

Soon, Peter was snoring softly, the pain and medication dragging him back into unconsciousness quickly. Steve was trapped, immobilized by the common knowledge that one does not move when a puppy (or would Peter be more of a kitten?) falls asleep on you. But Steve didn’t mind. He was just grateful to have his nephew back again.

#comfortember #comfortember 2020 #mine #i love my iron dad and spidey son #Peter and Steve friendship needs to be more common #oh captain my captain

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spideyscnse · 5 years

Note

Hi! I have a bunch of exams coming up and if you want to I’d love to read something with peter comforting the reader and maybe cuddling or something :)

a/n hey! this is my first requested fanfic and i’m so excited about it, thanks so much for sending in a request :) this cutesy fic was super fun to write and i hope you enjoy it as well

requests are open, just send in an ask!

TITLE: Enough

WORD COUNT: 1.5K

PAIRING: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: None really, mostly just fluff :)

Summary: You are feeling lonely and tired in your apartment after working for hours, but luckily, a certain Spiderboy knocks on the window. Peter senses that something’s off the moment he swings by, and makes it his mission to make you feel better.

Note: Please don’t plagiarise!

Masterlist

You forced yourself to stand from the desk where you’d trapped yourself for the past three hours, having been stuck on your assignment.

In order to catch up on work, you’d had to skip your friend Y/F/N’s party tonight, and the moment you’d finished the assignment you’d pulled out your phone and checked your Instagram, only to find an endless sea of stories and posts from your friends at the party.

You weren’t really sure what you were expecting, though. Your friends were allowed to have fun without you. It just made you feel a bit lonely, in your bedroom, all alone. Your assignment, although finished, unedited was still sprawled out across your desk.

You lived too far away from Y/F/N to drive there now, and you stared out of the window absently.

You briefly wondered if your boyfriend, Peter, was at the party, too, while you blankly watched the cars drive past your street.

You let yourself collapse into the bed, letting out a muffled groan as you flipped over onto your back and tucked yourself into the blankets. You got the sudden urge to call Peter—to ask him to come over, but then reminded yourself that if he was at the party, you wouldn’t want him to feel like he had to leave because of you—

You didn’t remember when you started crying, but somehow you suddenly felt tears falling down your cheeks, staining your pillow. You knew that it wasn’t such a big deal, but it was just…

As if on cue, though, there was a knock on your window and you immediately leapt out of your bed to check who it was.

Not who it was, obviously, because there was only one person who could physically be knocking on your window but still—

Surely enough, it was Spiderman, and his eyes widened when he saw you, and then he frowned, carefully inspecting you for any signs of damage upon noticing the tears in your eyes.

Quickly, you unlatched the window and shoved it open to let Peter in, and then quickly looked away, using your hoodie sleeve to quickly get rid of the tear tracks that lined your red-tinted cheeks.

Peter closed the window behind him, gently and silently hopping into your room.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly, pulling his mask off his face and tossing it to the side, catching your sleeve with his hand so that you couldn’t dodge his question, “What’s wrong, Y/N?”

“I’m okay,” You said, managing a half-smile, “I was just feeling lonely, that’s all.”

His brown eyes were still filled with concern, your answer offering him little comfort. He gently reached to your cheek and brushed away a fresh tear.

“Okay,” he said, looking unconvinced yet allowing his frown to morph into a cute smile, “How are you going with your assignment?” He asked instead, sensing your discomfort and wisely deciding to divert the conversation.

“It’s done, I guess,” You answered half-heartedly, sitting down on the foot of the bed and patting the spot beside you for him to sit. When he did, you continued, “It’s really bad, though, I think, but at least I have something to show for the three hours I just spent doing it.”

“Do you want me to look at it for you?”

“I don’t want to think about my assignment right now, Peter,” You said, shaking your head, lying down on the bed, Peter following suit, “What did you do today, Spiderman?” You said teasingly, poking his cheek as he turned over to face you and instinctively wrapped you in his arms.

“Nothing big,” He said with a half-smile, pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Saved a couple of cats, stopped a couple of robberies…the usual stuff.”

“Sounds like fun,” You responded, thoughts of your schoolwork and the party that you were missing almostfading from your mind, “And school?”

“Skipped today,” Peter said, shaking his head a bit.

“Peter—,”

“I know, I know, I wasn’t going to,” He said, cutting you off, “But I got caught up in the morning on the way to school with a robbery and then there were reporters and by the time that was finished school was almost finished anyway. Besides, I didn’t have any classes with you today, so…no big deal skipping.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek, “MJ and Ned will send me the notes, don’t you worry.”

“Oh of course,” You said jokingly, running your hands absently through his brown curls, gently easing out the knots, “Wouldn’t want the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman falling behind on his school work, would we?”

“As a matter of fact, everyone thinks I’m a man, Y/N—,” He laughed.

“A man? No way, I’m pretty sure they all suspect that you’re—,” Your teasing remark was cut off abruptly by a notification popping up on your phone.

You wished you didn’t look at it, because when you did, you were immediately reminded of the fact that Y/F/N and the others were all at the party, having fun without you, and you wondered how many inside jokes you were missing out on, how many pictures you wouldn’t be in…

The notification was for your friend’s Instagram story—and when you watched it, despite the playful banter with Peter having taken your mind off of the party for a few minutes, the upset returned.

You wished it didn’t. You didn’t want to ruin the moment, but you inevitably did when you swallowed and tucked your phone back into your pocket, your playful smile from seconds ago already gone.

“Y/N,” Peter said, his concerned frown returning, “What’s wrong?”

You sighed, “It’s really nothing. I just…I needed to catch up on my assignment because I went to tutor some kids last week and missed the study session and Y/F/N is throwing a party right now and I’m missing out and don’t get me wrong I’m happy to be here with you it’s just that I feel unneeded, you know? And obviously I love you and I love being here with you but it’s just…it’s stupid.”

He didn’t speak for a couple of seconds, only gently pulling you closer and stroking your hair as you sniffled.

“It’s not stupid,” He finally said, quietly, “If it upsets you, it’s worth talking about. But, Y/N…if you want to go, I could swing you over there and you’d be there, no problems.”

“No, Pete, it’s okay,” You said immediately, “I want to be here. I’m just not in a good headspace and I dread missing out on things, even though I know I’m probably just overthinking, but I feel like if I miss out I’ll lose Y/F/N as a friend, you know? And it’s just not…not what I want.”

Peter kissed your hair and said, “Y/F/N loves you, Y/N. It’s not possible for you to lose her as a friend.”

You bit your lip and sighed, burying your face into his neck, “I know I worry too much about not being good enough.”

“Hey,” Peter said, pulling away to look you in the eyes sincerely, “I love you, okay? You’re good enough. You’re amazing and I love you.”

“I love you too, Pete.” You said, quickly wiping away the tears that threatened to escape, even though you had no intention to cry.

“Also,” he added, meeting your gaze still, “it’s okay to feel sad, and it’s always okay to talk to me, alright? There’s no need to say you’re okay when you’re not.”

You were both silent for a long time, just enjoying each other’s company, curling into the other’s warmth. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were, to have met Peter in the first place. You usually despised English class, but if it weren’t for that particular class, you wouldn’t have ever spoken to Peter at all.

“Thanks, Pete,” You breathed, tilting your head to kiss his lips softly, “You’re amazing too.”

“It’s okay,” He responded when you pulled away, “I’m here for you, Y/N.”

The two of you fell asleep in that position—curled up against each other, half-smiles adoring your lips.

Early the next morning, Peter woke up before you, slipping his mask on and carefully tapping you awake, just to let you know he was leaving.

“Hey, Y/N,”

“Pete,” You whispered groggily, opening your eyes just to see him lingering by the window, “Are you going already?”

“I’ll see you at school,” He promised, “English class, remember?”

You couldn’t help the excited laugh that bubbled from your lips affectionately, “See you, spiderboy.”

He didn’t correct the nickname, only blushing a bit, a shy smile appearing on his features as he slipped on his mask, climbed out of your apartment window and shut it behind him.

You heard the ‘thwip’ of his web as he swung off.

Spiderboy.

You found yourself thinking, amused, as you got out of bed and glanced out of the window, just to see Peter swing around the corner and vanish out of view.

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lazy-crow-writingblog · 5 years

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Peter Parker: Crashing Your Field Trip-Chapter 1: Peter's Unfortunate "Accident"

He'd fucked up, royally, Peter knew that much. He didn't even mean to trip Flash, it was an accident. It just so "happen" that he didn't see Flash coming this way and it just so "happen" that his foot was out. And it just so happen that Flash's mother was there to witness it. When Flash went crashing to the concrete Peter immediately knew it was him and apologized. Some Students laughed, some didn't and just stared, most didn't care. Flash however did care and so did his mother, and his bleeding nose did too. She came up and pushed Peter away from trying to help her son up and just started tearing into the teen. He didn't catch all of what she said, which is weird considering his enhanced hearing made her loud yelling even louder and way worse in his own ears. The next thing he knows he's being dragged to the principle office, his aunt is being called(she didn't answer, probably to busy) and he's no longer allowed to go on week long overnight trip even though it was an "accident", but apparently that doesn't matter. It's "The proper punishment for making another student bleed" Mrs. Thompson's words and the principle agreed. The pros of being rich. The look Flash and his mother had in their faces as they left the office just were mixed with smugness and victory.

Mrs. Thompson stopped Peter at the front door of the building and said, in oh-so smug confidence "Sweetie, I know it was an accident but even accidents have concequences. You know that."

"Yeah." Peter mumbled. He made his way out the doors but not before she added this little gem.

"A poor person should stay in a poor persons place." Peter didn't need to hear anymore.

He quickly put on his headphones turned on a song on his phone so he didn't hear anything else she had to say and started his journey to Tony's tower. He walked, wasn't in the mood to swing his way around the city, and tried not to think about what the lady said. Stay in a "poor persons" place, he wasn't that poor. May was able to go on a cruise this week. Yeah she won it by sheer luck and yeah she had issues with being for only one person and she didn't want to leave Peter all by himself, but Tony said he would watch him while she took her much need vacation and Stephen assured that he'd be there to rein in their shenanigans if they got to far. Peter was what sold her on the idea to go. He knows it's not easy to raise a kid on your own, especially on a waitress's salary, and for that one kid to be doing dangerous hero work must be stressful. He wanted her to go and take it easy for once, but what really sold her was the puppy dog eye pleading Peter liked to use. She agreed and Peter went to stay with Tony and Stephen for the week she would be gone. It was nice and it had only been 3 days since she left and now this happens. The more Peter started to think about it the angrier he got. By the time he got to Tony's he'd calmed down a little. Enough to where as Stephen and Tony shouldn't notice. When he walked through the doors he could see Stephen standing next to Tony and Tony talking on the phone with someone and, from what little he heard, the person on the other end was getting chewed into. He attempted to walk pass them without being noticed or at least loud but they noticed him. Stephen mumbled something to Tony and the billionaire took the call in the other room while Stephen faced Peter. He looked annoyed but soften his expression when looking at Peter.

"Hey Doctor Strange." Peter said in his squeaky voice.

"Hey Pete, could you come here for a minute? I wanna talk with you." He asked gesturing towards the couch.

Peter nodded and they both made their way to the black couch and sat down on opposite ends. Peter's visited enough times to know that that means that Tony's gonna be here soon. That made Peter nervous. Did they know about the trouble he got into already? Was he in trouble with them too? No, not a chance. Tony and Stephen are usually nice about this kind of thing and, if he is to be punished, it'll be small and won't last that long thanks to Tony's big heart.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Peter asked, cautiously.

"About you tripping Flash." Stephen said, calm as ever.

Shit.

"It was an accident-" The Spider-teen started.

"Yeah, we figured as much. Tony's trying to get that sorted now."

"That's utter horse-shit!" Tony screamed from the other room.

"Loudly apparently. Look, you're not in trouble. I just want to hear your side of the story."

"Uh, well, M.J. and Ned weren't at school today so I was just going to take the bus. I was walking out of school, I didn't know Flash was near me. So when I felt something and saw Flash fall I tried to help him up but the next thing I knew I was getting yelled at and dragged to the principles office. And now I can't go on the trip next week."

Stephen nodded his head. "Is there anything else she said?" He asked.

"No." Lies.

"Peter, I need you to be honest with me. If she said something else to you then i'd like to know what." Stephen said a bit more firm.

Peter hesitated for a few moments then spoke. "Uh, well, there are a few more things."

"Like what?" Said Tony.

Tony's voice suddenly coming from behind Peter made the kid jump.

"Easy kid, you're not the one I'm going to yell at here." Tony said in a nonchalant kinda way.

He sat down next to Stephen and did a hand motion signaling Peter to continue what he was going to say.

"Well she said that even accidents have concequences and that, uh, a poor person should, um." Why was this s hard to get out. He would've vented to Ned and M.J. when they texted.

"What about a poor person?" Tony asked with venom on his tounge. That seemed to put them back on edge again.

"Um, a poor person should stay in a poor persons place." Peter's voice got lower and lower when he spoke and he hoped that maybe they misheard the last part. Judging from the look of pure anger on Tony's face, that was a no.

Stephen placed his hand over Tony's fist in a way to keep him from clearly exploading.

"Okay. Go do your homework and me and Tony will figure this out." Stephen said a reassuring look in his eye.

Peter took that as his oppurtonity to leave. He quickly gathered his bag and mad a break to his room. Tony made specifically for him given how many times he'd stayed the night. When he got there he shut the door behind him and belly-flopped on his bed. Should he text Ned and let him know? Might as well considering he won't be going. He pulled out his phone and started texting him.

Peter: Hey, Ned, look I can't go on the decathalon trip anymore.

NedAlert: What! Why?!

Peter: It was an accident involving Flash.

Peter: His mom saw and got me in trouble.

NedAlert: Dude that sucks!

Peter: I know right!?

NedAlert: What did you Aunt say?

Peter: She won't be back till next week.

NedAlert: What about Mr. Stark or the Strange Doctor?

Peter: They said they'd handle it, whatever that means.

NedAlert: Isn't that a good thing. They do have some leverage to use.

Peter: Them say they'll "handle it" could mean a number of things.

NedAlert: Still better then them doing nothing.

NedAlert: I gotta go. Mom's calling me to check my homework.

Peter: I have to do mine. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

NedAlert: Later!

Peter put his cellphone down and took out his homework to get some done.

When Peter poked his head into the living room later on he saw that Stephen and Tony were watching t.v. on the couch. He carefully walked up beside the couch and they notice him instantly.

"Hey kid, finish your homework?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll be in to check it in a bit. Also did they give you a schedule for what you were going to do this trip before you were so wrongly punished?"

"Uh yeah. They sent a pdf file."

"Send that to me."

"Okay." Peter went through his phone to get the file and send it to Tony. Once he did the sound of Tony's notification on his phone went off, signaling he got it. Peter stayed still for a moment looking at the two adult sitting in front of him. "So, about patrolling tonight."

"Yes, you can go patrol the city, but it's a school night so we expect you back her by 10." Stephen told him.

Peter hesitated. "10:30?"

"And not a minute later." Tony chimed in.

Peter smiled brightly and rushed back to his room to change and head out. Tony dial a number on his phone and leaned back into the taller of the two's chest.

"May Parker." A cheery May answered.

"Hey May, It's Tony."

"Hey is everything alright with Peter?" She asked now slightly worried.

"Yeah everything's fine now. Are you having fun on your cruise?"

"It's fantastic."

"Good because I have a proposition for you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"How would you like to extend your cruise by another week?"

"I'm listening."

#marvel cinimatic universe #marvel #mcu #ironstrange #tony stark #stephen strange x tony stark #stephen strange #peter parker #tony stark and peter parker #tony stark and stephen strange #tony stark and stephen strange and peter parker #stephen strange and peter parker #may parker #flash thompson #ned leeds #fandom #fanfiction #fanfic #peter parker: crashing your field trip

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cindylouwho-2 · 5 years

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RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, June 2019

Welcome to my latest summary of recent news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & ecommerce! This covers articles I came across from May 31 to June 21, although some may be older than that.

(Unfortunately, a few of this edition’s entries were lost somehow, & I could only remember one of the missing, so if you know of an article/post that should be included, please let me know, & the piece will be added here as well as to the next post.)

My busy few months are now mostly over, so I will have more time to get working on this Tumblr, new blog posts & the new forum I want to start; expect more frequent updates starting in July.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

Shopify is going to run fulfillment centres for its US customers within the next 2 years. “Right now Shopify will offer early access for merchants who ship between 10 and 10,000 items per day, and by the end of the year the company aims to offer two-day shipping to 99 per cent of the United States.” They announced other plans at the same time, including better shop tools.

If you have your own website, conversion rate optimization is something you should be looking at. Why? Because “[a] simple tweak on a landing page can double or even 10x that page’s conversion rate” which can be much easier to do than doubling your traffic. [Note that this is not a short article; it’s a full guide.]

Matching searcher intent is a crucial part of great rankings. This long article tells you pretty much everything you need to know on making that happen with your content, with real examples for their site.

Mary Meeker released her annual internet trends report; shorter summary here. “If you're looking to connect with the next generation, you should be maintaining at least some awareness of gaming culture, which is where attention is increasingly shifting.” “Some 51 percent of the world — 3.8 billion people — were internet users last year, up from 49 percent (3.6 billion) in 2017...E-commerce is now 15 percent of retail sales. Its growth has slowed — up 12.4 percent in Q1 compared with a year earlier — but still towers over growth in regular retail, which was just 2 percent in Q1...Customer acquisition costs — the marketing spending necessary to attract each new customer — is going up.

ETSY NEWS

Etsy retired several of its Support/Help email addresses, including [email protected], all without any official announcement.

You can now link photos to variations - but only with one variation, not both.

Etsy’s annual report for 2018 is out; I didn’t see much new here, but if you catch something, please leave a comment or send me an email so I can add it to this summary. [They actually mentioned “abilities” in their list of things they accept diverse ranges of, but as usual, they only give any details about gender, race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. Disability is invisible for them.]

A new bunch of US states will have state taxes charged for online sales as of July 1.

Ryan Scott will be Etsy’s new Chief Marketing Officer as of June 24.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Google broke with tradition & decided to warn SEOs about the core search algorithm update that started rolling out on Monday June 3 and ended on the 8th. There are multiple reports of some UK news companies taking a hard hit while others picked up visibility. It’s still too early for much comprehensive analysis, but here is a summary and another more recent one.

At the same time, Google also rolled out an update that increases site diversity in search results, often limiting each website to 2 entries in Google’s top pages. Think of it as Google's approach to “clumping”. They insist it is separate from the core algorithm update. Early analysis finds that it didn't change much for most searches.

Websites sometimes rely too much on Google traffic, which is dangerous whenever they change something (i.e., daily). Here are 5 ways to make your site/pages more resistant to algorithm updates.

Most decent SEO tools cost some money to get the full value, but here is a list of 55 free tools including keyword research, stats, linking, and technical tools. (Some have paid versions as well, but just ignore what you don’t need.)

SEO sometimes requires stating the obvious; check out this tweet with a graphic from an SEO conference.

Rand Fishkin did a major review of clicks from Google search, & found that nearly 50% of US google searches result in a click (often questions such as weather, or spelling). Only 45% led to clicks on non-paid links, & non-Google companies. But “for every click on a paid result in Google, there are 11.6 clicks to organic results. SEO is far from dead.” Search Engine Land did a TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) summary here.

Fishkin also has some good insights on making a profit through SEO. [video and full transcript] I think the point about having a strong profit margin is really important - it is going to get more expensive to sell online as time goes on. Etsy is not the only provider trying to squeeze more pennies out of its customers. (Fishkin’s whole push lately is that you must be a known brand to survive; I am reserving judgement on that for the moment.)

Most blogs haven’t done their SEO correctly, but you can fix that. [video & full transcript]

Hate it when your site/business gets mentioned online, but they don’t link to you? There are ways to get other companies to link to you.

The latest Google mobile search redesign has folks pitching fits about how ads now look like organic search results. For your own website & other sites where it is possible, make sure you have a favicon that stands out from paid ads. [If you Google “CindyLouWho2″ on mobile, my blue fossil coral avi shows for my website & this Tumblr blog.]

Voice search isn’t taking off like people thought it would, although around 30% of Americans use virtual assistants regularly.

Is audio SEO going to be a thing? Dr. Pete looks at Google’s decision to post podcasts in search results.

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Facebook announced its move into cryptocurrency with Libra, which will launch in 2020.

Contrary to some reports, it seems that fewer people are using Facebook regularly. While time spent on FB drops, Instagram in particular is seeing more interaction.

Getting the right image sizes and dimensions is really important for each platform; here is an infographic on all image sizes for Facebook.

“[T]he right time for you to post on Facebook will be different than the right time for someone else to post on Facebook.” A summary of multiple studies on the topic, with tips on using your Facebook Analytics to narrow this down for your business.

After banning mass messaging earlier this year, WhatsApp is prohibiting sending newsletters through the app as of December.

A decent guide on using Twitter for your business. “...tweets with images get 150% more retweets”.

Thinking of running a Twitter chat? Here’s a complete guide, including Hootsuite templates.

You can get new content ideas from Reddit. “Reddit.com saw 542 million visitors in March 2019 alone.”

Pinterest is expanding its shopping program, now called Pinterest Partners, to provide more shopping opportunities on the site.

A study of the 500 top-followed Pinterest accounts shows that home decor is most popular among influencer topics. [infographic with text.]

Short video platform TikTok is still showing rapid growth. “Digital wellbeing is more important than it has ever been. Since tech companies started optimising for user engagement, the user is unable to escape the app. You will always feel dissatisfied when you close the app, because the notifications keep on coming and the content never seems to end. To us it seems, TikTok has taken this idea to another level and built the user experience to deliberately create addiction.“

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

Using Google Ads for your website? Make sure you avoid these 7 common mistakes.

Google now allows you to target people who are “regularly in your target locations” - but it doesn’t really define how they calculate that.

Instagram Shopping is most popular with younger people (at least in the UK).

Good tips on improving your Amazon ad effectiveness, especially cost-effectiveness.

Some tips on Microsoft Audience ads, and how to get the most out of them. It includes some good general tips, like looking at your profit margin.

Facebook produced an infographic on how to best create FB ads, especially, for mobile.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Google has purchased analytics company Looker; Etsy uses the platform already.

The Google Search Console is now giving users 90 days of data for some reports.

Here’s a new WordPress plugin that tracks clicks on pdfs on your site through Google Analytics.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Paypal has developed “a customizable e-commerce platform”.

Amazon has extended 1-day Prime delivery. Their ability to do that largely depends on how they are taking control of the shipping methods used, moving away from using other big companies.

Amazon closed Spark, its social media competitor, and it redirects to a page of customer-curated collections.

Some Goodwill stores are now selling thrift items on online platform OfferUp.

Opinion article: is feature-driven retail preventing people from buying?

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Human brains like stories, which is why you should use them in your marketing. “Stories do another thing: They trigger the release of this neurochemical called oxytocin, which is known in some circles as the love drug. About 10 years ago, all we really knew about oxytocin is that it’s released when, say, a mother is with her baby. But what we’ve discovered since then, through the work of neuroscientists like Dr. Paul Zak, is that stories trigger the release of oxytocin in much the same way.”

Sell luxury goods? The market is changing as younger people make up a larger chunk of the core. Millennials will make up 50% of the market by 2025. The article has some interesting stats on the luxury resale market: “Overall 45% of true-luxury consumers participated in the second-hand luxury market, and more than one-fourth (26%) have bought pre-owned goods” which is a trend some luxury vintage sellers might want to watch.

Generation Z prefers personalized content & isn’t as worried about privacy as older generations.

US adults now spend more time on mobile devices than they do watching tv. Much of that time is spent on mobile apps instead of browsers, & audio (podcasts & music streaming, mostly) accounts for a large chunk of time spent.

US retail sales grew by half a percent in May, less than predicted.

MISCELLANEOUS

As the US looks at starting an antitrust case against Google, articles are reminding the government what other countries found, and what they should be looking at now. Businesses big & small have filed complaints.

The Google Cloud outage on June 2 that took down YouTube, Snapchat and Shopify among other sites points to the need for everyone to have a backup system. [Remember, Etsy is also moving all functions to Google’s cloud.]

Sick of writing product descriptions? Imagine if it was your full-time job, and you didn’t have any hand in making or curating the products.

#seo #search engine optimization #search engine marketing #etsynews #analytics #stats #Social media #contentmarketing #ecommerce #smallbiz #cindylouwho2newsupdates

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lunaofthevalley · 6 years

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The Little Mermaid of Manhattan

Peter Parker x Reader.

Plot: Peter is saved by a mystery girl one day in the park, and he will stop at nothing to find her.

Growing up in New York City, Y/N had seen more than enough strange things in her lifetime. Aliens, giant centipedes, killer robots, superheroes etc. But besides all that it was New York City, a place that wasn't a stranger to weird things happening all around. But luckily enough Y/N had never experienced these strange things first hand, although she had dealt with a knock off Elmo at least twice, but no aliens or superheroes.

That was until one day at 7 am on a Saturday morning during her run in Central Park.

She was running her usual trail, one not many people took, which to her was good, meant she was away from prying eyes that could possibly judge her on the terrible running she did, which in reality wasn't that bad at all. She was running past the small lake she usually passes when a blur of red caught her eye.

She was going to ignore it and continue running but a splash and the sound of terrified ducks made her stop. She pressed pause to her music and took out the one earphone she was using before turning her attention to the lake. There in the middle bobbing up and down was what appeared to be a person. Y/N couldn't really make out what it was until she stepped closer, and upon further inspection she recognized it to be Spider-Man.

Y/N panicked, she didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave him to drown, nor could she just run off and ask for help, no one appeared to be close by and it just so happened she was also a selective mute. So that only left her with one option. She started by removing her electronic devices, then her jacket, followed by her shoes and socks.

She then jumped into the really cold water and began swimming towards the figure. As she reached him she couldn't help but give a silent thank you to her father for having her enrolled in those swimming and lifeguard lessons during past summers. What she though would never help her in anything was quite helpful at the moment.

She reached out and grabbed onto him in a way that would permit her to swim to the shore quickly. The lake she had always considered small now seemed like an endless sea. Once they were both safely on shore she softly dropped him on the grass before dropping down beside him, she had been tired enough as is due to her run, but was now even more so due to the impromptu rescue mission.

Once she recovered her bearings Y/N turned her attention back to the superhero. He still had his mask on and she didn't know if that was a good thing or not. She knew she would probably be breaking the most important superhero rule there was at trying to remove his mask, but she considered at that moment that air was more important than keeping his identity a secret. She looked around and found no possible way of removing the mask, it seemed to be connected to the suit.

She started feeling around his neck area and upper chest to see if that would help in removing the mask, but her efforts seemed useless. It was as if the suit understood what she was trying to do because next thing she knew the mask was gone as it has retracted.

That's when Y/N took a good look at his face and almost screamed because she knew him. She knew Spider-Man. She knew that head of messy curls, that nose, those lips, that bone structure. How could she not when she had spent almost everyday of the last 2 years looking at it.

Out of everyone in the world the last person Y/N had ever expected to be Spider-Man was Peter Parker, but here she was, staring down right at him.

After calming down and assessing the situation she noticed that the suit had kept the water out, which meant he was never in any real danger of drowning, but that the force of the fall had made him pass out.

She quickly retrieved her stuff, putting on her shoes and jacket, thankful that the cool may air was already drying her wet clothes. She then went back to look at Peter, not yet wanting to leave him alone. She sat beside him, looking down at his figure. As creepy as the situation was Y/N was honestly quite concerned for his well being, who knew how long it would take him to wake up.

Some time had gone by, Y/N wasn't sure, she just knew it had been a while due to the position of the sun. She was playing with the grass, being so lost in thought she had started singing a song to herself, something she only did when absolutely alone. It was an old song her mother used to sing to her before she passed. It was a Fleetwood Mac song, Songbird.

Her mom also used to call her that because Y/N loved to sing, but after her death, Y/N stopped singing and after some time she stopped talking, she was already shy enough as is, but after what happened to her mom she became so scared of what people could do she developed social anxiety as well, becoming not only silent, but an outcast as well, someone so shrouded in mystery, people tended to keep their distance.

She came back to the normal world when she heard grunting and some shuffling. She looked down and noticed Peter had woken up and was looking at her. She had gone into such a panic that she was frozen in her spot. She knew she needed to get out of there but her body wasn't responding to what her brain was telling it to do.

"Who-who are you?" Peter asked suddenly, squinting up at her, trying to make out a face against the bright sunlight.

That's when Y/N bolted. She couldn't afford to have Peter know who she was, nor that she had saved him. She went and took cover behind a tree, close enough to see and hear him but not for him to see her.

After a couple of minutes Peter sat up and looked around in confusion, looking at the lake, then down at himself and then in the direction he thought the mysterious girl had gone in. It was then that loud sounds invaded the calm area and next thing either of them knew an Iron man suit was landing beside Peter. Peter quickly stood up as he saw Tony exit the suit.

"What happened kid? I was calmly working in my lab when I got a notification from Karen that you were in trouble."

"I-I don't know Mr.Stark," Peter stuttered, "I was just swinging around and then I hit something and I fell and next thing I know I'm waking up right here with a girl looking down at me."

Tony gave Peter a questioning look, "A girl?"

Peter nodded, "Y-yea she was...she was sitting right beside me, singing this song, I don't know the name, I just know I've heard it, but she saw me wake up and then ran." He explained. "I think she dragged me out of the water, even though I couldn't make out her face because of the sun I could tell her hair was wet."

"I don't know how likely that is Kid, no one comes down this part of the park. I'm pretty sure there's no one even near here."

"I swear Mr.Stark there was a girl! And she saved me."

Tony patted Peter on the shoulder, "last time I checked Mermaids weren't real Kid."

"What?" Peter looked up at Tony confused.

"Saving you from drowning, singing a song, mysteriously disappearing. You sure her name wasn't Ariel?"

"What?" Peter repeated.

Tony rolled his eyes, "You should know this Pete, you're the pop culture expert and last I heard you were on a Disney movie splurge."

It took Peter a moment before he got what Tony was talking about. "Are you talking about the Little Mermaid."

"You probably watched the movie not long ago and the fall probably made you take quite a good hit to the head, so it's very possible you imagined the whole thing, it tends to happen."

"No Mr.Stark, she was real, I swear."

"Yea and I got a date with Ursula the sea witch." Tony fired back, "Now come on I want to take you back to the Tower and see how much brain damage you caused yourself."

Peter only huffed in annoyance before letting his mask cover his face again, and in the blink of an eye both him and Tony were gone. Y/N sighed in relief and came out of her hiding spot.

She was glad she hadn't been caught as she had no idea what she would've done had that happened, and she just hoped Peter would eventually believe Tony in thinking this was all a hallucination he had due to hitting his head upon impact with the water. Things would be different from now on, Peter Parker would no longer be the nerdy boy no one pays attention to.

She has seen him for who he truly is now and she would not forget it.

Part 2??

If you would like to be added to the tags for the story or my general tag list comment or send me a message and I'll ad you to the tag list.

#peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #peter parker #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tony stark #avengers masterlist #avengers #avengers imagines #avenegrs x reader #the little mermaid #disney #mcu #marvel imagine #marvel #the little mermaid of manhattan #lunawrites

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amymillcr · 6 years

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QUESTIONNAIRE with AMELIA CAROLINA MILLER

# OF Qs ANSWERED: 150

1. if they were a candle, what scent would they be?

“ i never really thought about it, so i’m going with a lemon scented one. because i may or may not have an obsession with lemons. “

2. what female celebrity do they wish was their sister?

“ ooooh, emily blunt without a doubt in mind !! she’s so great and funny and beautiful, i would love to be her sister.”

3. what male celebrity do they wish was their brother?

“ is it bad if i say pete davidson so i can be ariana’s sister-in-law ?? it is ?? okay... i will choose john mulaney. “

4. how old do they think they’ll be when they get married?

“ with the current state of my love life ?? never. but i think 30 would be a good age to get married. “

5. how many countries have they been to?

“ never been out of the states, unfortunately enough. “

6. what would they name their daughter if they had one?

“ helena. i like the sound of it and the meaning of the name, so yeah. i would choose helena. “

7. what would they name their son if they had one?

“ hmmm, i never thought about a boy name ?? but, i like the name anthony. so that will be my answer for now. “

8. what was their favorite tv show as a child?

“ totally spies !! three girls being badass and saving the world ?? count me the fuck in !! “

9. what language, besides their native language, would they like to be fluent in?

“ italian. i downloaded duolingo once to learn a bit, but that shit doesn’t work for me at all. mainly because i would get a notification and just shrug it off. “

10. would they ever change their name? if so, to what?

“ as common as my name is, i don’t think so. because one: i never thought of any other name i would like to be called. and two: i think my name fits me. “

11. what was the last compliment they got?

“ a seven-year-old camper told me my hair is pretty. “

12. what is their favorite flavor of tea?

“ green tea. but i only drink it mixed with black tea in the morning to get energized. “

13. how did they find out that santa and the easter bunny weren’t real?

“ i found out santa wasn’t real because my dad was horrible at hiding his santa costume. and easter bunny was because i woke up early one day and i saw my mom making little bunny footprints on the floor. “

14. what is their hogwarts house?

“ i always thought i was a gryffindor, but when i took the pottermore test years ago... i got slytherin. i guess i’m a cunning folk just like merlin. “

15. what tarot card are they?

“ i got the sun card !! “

16. are they more of a marvel or dc fan?

“ i enjoy both, but i lean more towards marvel. i like the comedy route they take on the movies. and the series are better, that’s all. “

17. who is their favorite superhero?

“ jessica jones aka jewel. i relate to her in ‘ being a messy adult ’ department. “

18. everyone has a song that deeply reminds them of their childhood. what is theirs?

“ crazy by aerosmith. it used to be one of my dad’s favorite songs. maybe it still is, who knows ?? but yeah... he used to sing that to my mom and dance around the kitchen with her. it was... nice. “

19. what are the meanings of their first, middle, and last name?

“ amelia means defender and striving, carolina means song of happiness. and after a quick research, miller means one who grinds grain. “

20. have they ever stolen a street sign before?

“ no, but that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. it would be a good decor for my bedroom, hm. “

21. what is their biggest pet peeve?

“ people chewing with their mouth open and slow walkers. i can’t choose between these two, both drive me crazy. “

22. if they were a month, what month would they be?

“ is it weird if i say march because it is always a good month for me ?? like, every year march is so great for some weird reason. anyway, march. that’s my choice. “

23. what is their least favourite movie?

“ oh, twilight without a doubt. i never understood the hype about it and because of it, fifty shades was created. “

24. what five movies would they bring with them if they were stuck on a deserted island?

“ ferris bueller’s day off, can’t hardly wait, drive me crazy, enchated and ocean’s 8 so i can finally watch it. “

25. out of all of the late night talk show hosts, who is their favorite?

“ james corden !! i love his skits and overall games. and let’s not forget carpool karaoke is one of the best things to watch when you are bored. “

26. what are three things they are afraid of?

“ being forgotten, being abandoned and snakes. literal and not literal snakes. “

27. what was the first concert they went to?

“ bon jovi when he played on central park summerstage. i remember my mom going crazy because she is obsessed with him. it was a great afternoon. “

28. is there a nickname that only their family calls them?

“ they call me millie. “

29. what side of the bed do they sleep on?

“ left. “

30. what is their favorite comfort food?

“ hershey’s chocolate bar. at least once a month, i go to the store in times square to get one for free. “

31. what award shows do they watch?

“ all of them. i love award season, but i will love it more when amy addams finally get the oscar that she deserves. “

32. do they have any weird body skills (example: being double jointed)?

“ yes !! i can wiggle both of my ears. “

33. if they drink coffee, what is their coffee order?

“ i don’t drink coffee. when i need caffeine i go to black tea mixed with green tea. “

34. what social media platforms do they have?

“ twitter, instagram, snapchat and pinterest. oh, facebook as well so my family knows i’m alive but i barely use it. “

35. are they a cat or dog person?

“ both ?? how can i choose between these precious animals ?? answer: i can’t. and won’t. “

36. if they were a supernatural creature, what would they be?

“ i think i answered this before, but if not, i would love to be a valkyrie. they are a bunch of badass women. “

37. what show are they currently watching on netflix/hulu?

“ queer eye and champions !! both are great and i highkey recommend everyone to watch them. “

38. what is their favorite disney movie?

“ disney is beauty and the beast. disney pixar is a bug’s life, i love a good classic. live action disney is obviously maleficent. fun fact: i saved money to buy the same lipstick angelina used in that movie.“

39. do they wear any perfume or cologne?

“ i wear perfume when i have to work in an event or something fancy like that. but other than that, i use victoria secret’s hydrating body lotion. “

40. what genres of music do they listen to?

“ broadway, pop and rock. “

41. have they ever seen the bee movie?

“ i have the dvd. i think that is enough answer to this question. “

42. what are their favorite memes?

“ to be honest, any reaction gif that ever existed. but the gif of jonathan from queer eye saying ‘can you believe?’ is one of my favorites at the moment. “

43. what celebrities do they share a birthday with?

“ mila kunis and halle berry !! hey yo !! “

44. what is their moon (zodiac) sign?

“ my moon sign is sagittarius. if you want to know the others, i have my whole chart on my phone thanks to my sister... but don’t ask me what it means, i have no idea. “

45. which of the seven cardinal sins do they embody the most?

“ i would say greed. “

46. do they watch sports on television? if so what ones?

“ i only watch sports on television when i need something to make me sleep. “

47. what do they put on their typical sandwich?

“ bread, cheese, steak and bacon. “

48. what was the name of their first significant other?

“ colin. he was a ridiculous piece of shit and i hope he is happy and stay far away from me. “

49. do they care if people think badly of them?

“ not really. point is, haters gonna hate. shake it off, taylor swift. always right. “

50. what was the last thing that made them cry?

“ i always cry when i listen to champagne supernova by oasis, so i will say that was the last thing that made me cry because i can’t really remember the last time i cried. “

51. are they an iphone or samsung user?

“ iphone. “

52. what type of computer do they use (example: apple)?

“ lenovo thinkpad e475. “

53. what is one of their nervous habits?

“ nail biting, tapping my foot, and talking really fast. my mom says i touch my hair a lot when i’m nervous, too.“

54. out of all reality shows, which one would they have a chance winning?

“ i’m pretty sure i could win big brother. 98% certain of it. “

55. would they ever go bungee jumping or skydiving?

“ without a doubt, someone please take me. “

56. what do they call their grandparents?

“ grandma and grandpa. “

57. what do they do when they can’t sleep?

“ watch any sport on tv, and if there’s none, cartoons. “

58. what time do they normally go to bed?

“ back home, between 10:30 PM and 11 PM on weekdays and 3 AM on weekends. “

59. if they have instagram, what was the last picture that they posted?

“ it was one of me holding a sword toy in the forest, trying to be a badass like wonder woman. but failing miserably. “ (x)

60. if they have twittter, what was the last thing that they tweeted?

“ i was trying to say “c’est la vie” but i forgot the phrase and so long story short i shrugged and said “livin la vida loca”. “

61. who is their otp?

“ emily blunt and john krasinski !! i only believe in real love because of them !! “

62. do they like sweet, salty, or sour?

“ sweet and sour. “

63. did they play any sports in the past?

“ swimming and water polo. “

64. what is their favorite cheesy pick up line?

“ you look so familiar... didn't we take a class together? i could've sworn we had chemistry. “

65. what tv show or movie is their guilty pleasure?

“ gravity falls and the lego movie. “

66. if they were a fruit, what fruit would they be?

“ green grapes. “

67. do they sing in the shower?

“ sing would be an understatement. i give a whole madison sqaure garden performance in the shower. “

68. what is their favorite type of chips?

“ doritos. always and forever you will be on my heart. “

69. do they drink juice? if so, what is their favorite kind?

“ lemonade !! and orange juice mixed with strawberry juice. trust me, that shit is good. “

70. what is more important to them: power, money, friends, family, love, or fame?

“ family and friends, always. “

71. what does their handwriting look like?

“ my handwriting is legible, that’s what i can say about it?? oh, i write in cursive. i don’t know how to answer this. “

72. do they have reoccurring dreams? if not, what is their most memorable dream?

“ i have a dream that everyone is ignoring me. i searched what it meant when it first happened, and it turns out i need to communicate more about my feelings. that’s funny. “

73. if they were a taste, what would it be?

“ minty gum. you can’t go wrong with mint gum, unless you are allergic to it. “

74. what is one random fun fact about them?

“ i do volunteer work by delivering food, coats, blankets to homeless people every night that i can for a city program. i have been doing this for a year now, and it is so gratifying being able to help them. i wish sometimes i could do more. “

75. what is their lucky number?

“ seventeen !! “

76. do they have any pets?

“ unfortunately, no. money is tight already and with a pet would be worse. maybe in the future i will adopt one. “

77. do they believe in the paranormal or the supernatural?

“ hell fucking yes to the paranormal. not so much to the supernatural, but i wish it was true. “

78. have they ever had any paranormal experiences?

“ no, but i have heard a lot of them to believe that paranormal exists. “

79. can they sing or dance?

“ i can carry a tune, but i’m no whitney houston. and my dance moves consists in high school musical choreography. “

80. who is the first person they call/text when something exciting happens?

“ my lil sister rachel, theo, and my groupchat with addie and lola.”

81. what is their social media handle?

“ @ameliamill on twitter, @amclias on instagram and @amyazing on snapchat !! “

82. what swear word do they use/like the most?

“ fuck. “

83. what is their ideal first date?

“ i really like outdoor dates, a picnic or a theme park would be fun. outdoor movie or concert, a food festival or a street fair. even getting ice cream and go for a walk instead of sitting on the parlor would be a great first date. “

84. if they were a type of weather, what would they be?

“ the weather after a rainstorm, when the sun is timidly shining again behind the clouds and there’s that smell of fresh rain that makes you feel clean. “

85. what is their least favorite holiday?

“ thanksgiving. the bad memories are real with this one. “

86. what is the first thing that they do in the morning?

“ turn off my alarm and proceed to wake rachel up so she can get ready for school. when i’m here, jump in theo’s bed to wake him up.“

87. who is their ultimate celebrity crush?

“ my love, my life, my heart: chris evans. “

88. do they usually pay with cash or card?

“ cash. “

89. what was the last thing that they bought?

“ alcohol, more specifically whiskey and vodka. “

90. are they a good or bad driver?

“ i like to believe i’m a good driver, i never hit anyone’s car... so. “

91. if they could meet one person (from history or currently alive), who would it be?

“ michael jackson, come on. who wouldn’t want to meet the king of pop ?? “

92. have they ever gotten into a physical fight?

“ once in high school. some girl was talking shit about my friend and the instinct to slap her across the face was stronger than the common sense of not doing so. got detention for a week and a super mad mom afterwards. oh well, it was worth it. “

93. do they prefer pepsi or coke?

“ we love and support coke in this house. pepsi is not welcome. “

94. do they prefer the city or the suburbs?

“ city, without a doubt. “

95. do they have any special or odd talents?

“ just the wiggling ears thing, like i said before. “

96. when they were little, what did they want to be when they grew up?

“ i wanted to be an astronaut and then i found out how much math it required to become one. it broke little amy’s heart. “

97. do they have any favorite smells?

“ the smell after it rains, lemon, and homemade food. “

98. if they could visit any place in the world, where would they go?

“ in ibiza za za za, everyday is a fiesta sta sta sta. “

99. do they wear jewelry?

“ yes, a necklace with a rose pendant that my grandma gave me. i haven’t taken it off since she gave me. and also earings. “

100. who is the last person they talked to on the phone?

“ rachel, turns out the lil sis is missing me more than she thought she would. “

101. do they prefer ‘would you rather’ or ‘truth or dare’?

“ would you rather. “

102. what has been their favorite halloween costume yet?

“ cher from clueless with the iconic yellow outfit !! as if there would be a better halloween costume than being the funniest rich girl. “

103. do they like horror movies?

“ yeah, but i don’t like to watch them alone. “

104. what is their typical breakfast like?

“ soft scrambled eggs and tea. “

105. are they a netflix or hulu person?

“ netflix all the way !! their original content is great as fuck. “

106. do they like to gossip?

“ oh yeah, definitely. but only with close friends. “

107. if they were a song, what one would they be?

“ who do you think you are by spice girls. “

108. what was their best subject in school?

“ weirdly enough, it was spanish. followed by history and english. “

109. what was their worst subject in school?

“ physics. that shit was my fucking nightmare. why sir isaac newton had to discover gravity ?? tell me why ?? “

110. have they ever met anyone famous?

“ yes, a lot. the latest one was chris evans because he was on broadway with ‘lobby hero’. i was trembling the whole time he was talking to me. his eyes are so blue and dreamy. “

111. who was their childhood hero?

“ the totally spies !! no doubt, no doubt. “

112. were any tv shows or movies that they weren’t allowed to watch as a child?

“ my mom would let me watch things that were on my age range. if i wanted to watch something more ‘adult-y’, she would watch it first and then say if i could watch it or not. “

113. what is the strangest thing they have ever eaten?

“ according to my grandma, i ate a beetle when i was 2 year old. so it would be that. “

114. do they prefer friends or family?

“ i can’t choose, both have important roles in my life. “

115. how do they feel about pineapple on pizza?

“ i’m not a fan of it, but i don’t think is the weirdest topping you could put on your pizza like some people make it out to be. “

116. do they put the milk or cereal in the bowl first?

“ cereal in the bowl first. that way you know how much milk you have to put. duh. “

117. how do they think dogs would wear pants?

“ the second one. i don’t think any dog would be able to move wearing pants like in the first picture. “

118. do they believe in luck or fate?

“ fucking yes. life would be boring if you don’t believe in some things. but i believe more in luck than fate, though. “

119. do they use emojis when they text?

“ yes !! my three top most used emojis are the middle finger, eye roll, and the eyes emoji. “

120. who was their favorite character on friends?

“ all of them but ross. ross can rot in hell for making rachel get out of that plane. “

121. what character on friends are they most like?

“ i make jokes when i’m uncomfortable and the only response to a romantic i love you is ‘oh crap’. couldn’t i BE anymore like chandler ?? “

122. would they rather read the books or watch the movies?

“ watch the movies. “

123. what is their favorite time of day?

“ night, when i can finally lay in bed and relax. “

124. did they watch the teletubbies as a child? if so, who was their favorite?

“ if someone watched teletubbies and their favorite wasn’t po, they are fake. “

125. do they check the rating (like a rotten tomatoes rating) of a movie before they go and see one?

“ not really, no. i just watch it and then complain on twitter if it is bad. “

126. do they have any favorite old hollywood movie stars?

“ judy garland, julie andrews and audrey hepburn !! “

127. if they had to live in any other decade, which would they choose?

“ the 80′s, without a doubt. “

128. if they could only listen to five music albums for the rest of their life, which ones would they choose?

“ abba gold: greatest hits, michael jackson: greatest hits, spiceworld by spice girls, backstreet boys: the hits, high school musical 2 soundtrack. “

129. do they believe in heaven/hell or reincarnation?

“ like i said before, not believing in things makes life boring. so yes, i do believe in hell, heaven and reincarnation. “

130. do they like chewing gum?

“ yes, minty gum is great. “

131. do they like to go see musicals or plays?

“ hell yes !! it is one of my favorite things to do. “

132. were they apart of any clubs or teams in high school or college?

“ i was part of the swimming and water polo team in high school. “

133. what was their high school superlative?

“ most likely to brighten someone’s day. “

134. are they good at cooking or baking?

“ i have to be, or my sister and i would be eating take out every night. “

135. could they beat bobby flay?

“ hell no. “

136. do they watch actual television? if so, what channels do they watch?

“ mtv. and your occasional sports channel when i need to sleep. “

137. have they ever seen rupaul’s drag race?

“ yas gawd, werk it mama. “

138. do they prefer pink or yellow lemonade?

“ pink lemonade. everything that is pink, is better. i don’t make the rules, it just is. “

139. could they lip sync for their life?

“ i like to believe that the only lip sync for the life i would have to be in is the one in the final. and that it would be a song that is comedic like anaconda by nicki minaj so i can pull a ben de la creme on it. in these terms, i could definitely lip sync for my life. “

140. is their room messy or clean?

“ an organized mess, thank you very much. “

141. if they were a body part, which one would they be?

“ the brain, it controls every other body part. “

142. if they were an emotion, what would they be?

“ happiness. “

143. if they were a planet, which one would they be?

“ neptune, i don’t know why. “

144. how would they describe their clothing style?

“ eleanor shellstrop look alike. “

145. do they shower in the morning or at night?

“ at night, so my body can relax after a long day. “

146. do they order regular fries, onion rings, sweet potato fries, or tater tots?

“ regular fries. so i can eat them with a sundae. “

147. do they normally wear socks?

“ yes, socks are comfy. “

148. do they fear natural disasters?

“ of course. is there anyone who doesn’t fear natural disasters ?? ”

149. can they ice/roller skate?

“ no way. i always fall on my ass, but hey, that never stopped me from getting up again. “

150. are they good at video games?

“ i’m horrible at video games. the last game i played was mario kart. years ago. “

#stillwater:task3 #⌜ ✽ °˖ ʟᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟʟꜱ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ╾ MUSINGS.⌟

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phaniecastello-blog · 7 years

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Part of their world

((This was meant to be my PC2 but ended up being something different. If you read it I will love you forever!!

It contains Phanie’s reaction when she found out she was selected, more details about Loretta’s participation at @spencer-schreave’s selection and her opinion on the rest of the selected lol. And at the end there’s a little fight interaction with @victoria-seaberg. (Thank you so much for the RP, girl, I looooove yooouu) Hope you enjoy it, was fun for me to write it. ))

“…Selected” I muttered, with an unfinished nacho with guacamole on it, in one hand and staring at the TV, jaw dropped by the surprise. “Oddio! … They just said my name! I’m a selected!” I shouted this time. My voice echoing in the big living room. I dropped the mutilated nacho back in the plate and get up feeling so full of adrenaline and emotion that I would be able to run 10 miles if I would had wanted. I could hear more names being mentioned on the background, but I stopped watching and I run towards Camila when I saw her coming from the hallway, frightened by all my shouting. I hugged her tight.

“Cam, my name got picked for Prince’s Nate Selection!”. I broke the hug before I could strangle the poor woman.

“Congratulations, Miss!” She said squeezing my hands as a sign of support. She was smiling at me, but that smile faded after a few seconds of inner thinking. “… I guess that means you will leave us, right?” I could read the sadness in her face but there was something else.

Is that angst?

I gave her a frown face, confused; looking for a reason inside my head, until I founded it.

“Oh, don’t worry. I will make sure she treats you all, nicely… besides, she will be out almost every day; she’s busy, doing the new collection’s promos” Camila nodded and opened her mouth to speak when the house’s phone started ringing. She nodded again, this time as a petition to leave the room and ran towards the phone at the hallway.

As soon as she left the enormous grin showed on my face again, remembering my name being mentioned by Harvey Steve.

What if it was a mistake?!

The idea paralyzed me, momentarily.

Nah, the would have called by now or something.

The sound of subtle bells coming from my cellphone gave me chills. I checked the notification flipping on the smooth, white couch; a message from Lilith read on the screen in caps:

“THE STUPID PHONE DOESN’T STOP RINGING! I will send you all the interviews schedule for the next days… Oh, palace staff will visit you soon… Congratulations, btw”

Seems like the media was giving my assistant quite a time. I smirk, relieved that it wasn’t me, the one who had to deal with them, at least for now.

“Miss, your mother called, she said you get ready for a celebration dinner with her. She will be waiting at Faustino’s Restaurant”

“Received” I said as I run upstairs.

“Mmm… delicious as always” I muttered while I softly patted the corner of my mouth with the white cloth napkin. Noises of silverware clattering against plates and dinners were surrounding us “…so, the visit will be just to let me know the rules and the schedule of the departure day?” I asked Loretta over the arm of the waiter who was pouring more Champagne into her glass. He must be a new worker here, because his hands were shaking and he hadn’t realized that was the wrong side to serve the drink. Loretta was giving him an annoyed gaze, but she choose to ignore him and turned to face me.

“That’s right, just protocol” She answered with a carefree tone. “That day you’ll get to the airport and share the plane with a bunch of immature, exhilarated and most of all, unclassy, ladies” She exclaimed frowning with disgust. “You better know now, all of them will be unbearable; trying to get Nate’s attention all the time; giggling around, pretending to be ladies… ugh! It’s like I’m seeing it, again” I looked down, playing with the napkin on my lap, feeling uncomfortable. “And you will met Audrey, that little hypocrite, sh..”

“I think that’s enough, mom… I just wanted to know about the arrival. Besides, we had talked about not to express that way about the royals” I interrupted her, irritated, before she started to vent about how unfair was her elimination back at King’s Spencer selection. I had heard that story a thousand times before and it always include tons of negative adjectives for all the characters, except for her, of course.

She was always the victim in the story and I might had believed everything she said if I hadn’t read all the magazines concerning last selection, already. I documented myself buying old articles and watching old videos; everything was there! It seemed all you did in that competition was recorded or published somewhere and it would never being forgotten. Back then, I was horrified, embarrassed of all I read about Loretta. Several accidents happened to the girls caused by her, but she always made it look as an accident. They were also rumors of her seducing the guards to help her in several things. Like the rats that a few of the selected found in their closets. I wonder how they did to avoid the video cameras, because there was no recordings of that event.

That day I confronted her, crying out of disappointment. She didn’t deny the fact she wanted to eliminate her competition, but she also assure me not all of that was true.

“…the media always take advantage of some facts to lie and exaggerate things.”

She acknowledged. Since then she had been focused on her work and I hadn’t know about her doing anything like that to other people. Except for her temper and her judgments, she might had changed a lot.

“Yes, I know you like her, everyone loves the benevolent Queen, but that’s because no one knows her like I do.” She had raised her voice and the people of the next tables were starting to look in our direction, she probably noticed it, too because she changed the tone to continue. “… I just want you to be aware, bambolina, getting along with lower castes is not easy”

“Well, you will be glad to know, this time there are plenty of two’s in this competition; I was reading their names and basic information on my way here, it was all on the Illéa Illustrated web page.” I acknowledge sipping my glass of champagne. Her face reflected concerning for a short moment. I was tempted to mention that one of her favorite customers were selected, too; but I didn’t feel in the mood to talk about Victoria.

“You are my daughter, and that makes you the best, don’t worry” She reached for my hand over the table and patted it. I noticed she was saying all that to herself more than to me; and I wished I could tell her I was so much more than just her daughter. Even though, I loved her, I didn’t want to be just the shadow of the tree, most of all because that tree didn’t have the image I would wanted, but I gave her a big smile, instead. She glimpsed at her watch letting my hand go “We better go now, you have to be rested for tomorrow’s runway show”

The runway was a success, as always. The media and the guests loved every single design of the new collection, and I felt like a fish in water, I grew up in this events, modeling at every single runway of Castello’s House; and I was good at it, walking up there, made me feel like a princess and I really enjoyed doing it. Every time I worn a dress to model it I can’t help to thought about all the process it passed for: The sketches, choosing the correct colors and fabrics, sewing, adding details, until this moment. I wasn’t wearing just clothes, I was wearing a little piece of art. The negative part of this kind of the events was that most of the people participating in them didn’t seem to share the same thoughts as me. Most of the skinny, beautiful, ladies surrounding me didn’t even care for the clothes they were wearing, the only thing they cared about is looking good, became famous and get lots of money out of it, not to mention the guests. The males just wanting to admire the models and the females wanting to prove they had lots of money to buy all the collection, even if they didn’t even know the names of the fabrics or the time it took to sew every single gemstone in the right place of it. Those people never able to see beyond themselves. They said they loved fashion, but they didn’t know what fashion meant. What sad and empty lives. I thought while I clapped and smile leading the models at the end of the runway.

When I arrived to the after runway party a bunch of journalists and cameras ran to surround me. They didn’t want to lose their opportunity to ask me about the new collection and most of all, the upcoming selection. I couldn’t hide my smile when they mention the last one.

“What does it feel to be a selected?, Which was your reaction when your name was mentioned on The Report? Are you excited to meet Prince Nathaniel?”

I managed to answer every question with sincerity. Everything was doing fine, until…

“Should the other selected be concerned any rats in their bedrooms? Are you going to be as entertain to watch as your mom was? Are you going to continue the Castello’s legacy?”

Why did they always had to ruin everything!? I continue smiling trying to break my way through the cameras with Pete’s help.

When we finally could enter to the party I found my assistant Lilith inside. “Having fun?” She asked sarcastically

I sighed “I’m having a blast! Can’t wait to travel to Angeles”

“Oh, btw, your mother invited Calgary’s Mayor to give a little speech about you in public” She said, reading everything on her tablet, which she always carried around, like it was like it was part of her body.

“What?! Here?” I asked surprised. These was the kind of things I had to be informed of, not the rest of the guest list that Loretta kept talking about all the way through the runway, that morning.

“Yeah, Loretta didn’t accept his offer to made you a party opened to all the citizens and commoners, as she called them, so, we are taking advantage of the media here to do this… maybe they will ask you to say some words for the people, I don’t know” She continued as if it wasn’t so simple to make a speech in front of everyone. This will be on TV and I didn’t have anything prepared!

There wasn’t much to do about it, so I just nodded and walked passed her towards the bar, feeling dizzy already. “Hi, Martini, please” I said to the efficient barman. As soon as I got my drink I start giving it small sips, looking at the people moving on the dancefloor. Suddenly I glimpse a tall, black haired girl wearing a dress that matched her hair, walking towards me. I turned around on my bench facing the shelves full of all kind of bottles of alcohol, hoping she didn’t come anywhere near me. I wasn’t in the mood to resist a fight to maintain a civilized conversation, as I always had to do with her.

There were two kind of people who approached me at parties, attractive men acting charming and flirtatious to assure a permanent job at House Castello and ladies pretending to be my friends to get the same. I have actualy take advantage of those to have some “friends” to talk to at parties. And finally, there were, the envious, pretentious, people who liked to play word games to annoy me and prove my patient. Victoria Seaberg was the master of those.

I was hardly praying for her to ignore me, when I felt some fingers playing with my hair.

“Hey Stephanie, I barely recognized you with all that hair” Victoria said in a mocking tone. I rolled my eyes wondering why God didn’t listened to my prayers and counting to ten to be ready to try my best to breathe slowly. After all that, I faced her.

“Hey! I barely recognize you sober” I greeted, smirking.

She gave me the fakest of her smiles “Oh, babe, don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to hold your liquor.”

I laughed at her offering. If I had problems with my drinking, she would be the last person I could get help from, not that she was an alcoholic, but I was sure I drinked much less than her. “I’m okay, but I will give you a call, in case I need a tutor” I sipped my Martini. “Hope you are enjoying the party” The last phrase was meant to be a goodbye, but apparently it didn’t seem like one.

“In fact I am. Your mom knows who to invite” She looked radiant, obviously this was his natural environment.

“Well… it’s not like we have a choice, we have to invite everyone who is involved in the campaign or might be interested in it.” I said sighing. That was actually true, but I said it for her to acknowledge, her presence was not so pleasant for me. I didn’t like me when I behave like that, but this kind of people manage to bring out the worst part of me. I wasn’t going to let her mock me.

Victoria chose to ignore my statement turning around to order a Mojito. I suspected it wasn’t the first one of the night. “How are you liking the party?” She asked.

“You know how much I love these parties, so I’m doing fine” I answered. I knew people thought I didn’t like to party, but it wasn’t that I didn’t like them, actually if I had real friends I would party with them all the time, but when you have Christmas everyday, suddenly Christmas becomes boring and monotonous.

“Everyone knows you’re quite the party animal” Victoria laughed.

“Yep, that’s me” I said sarcastically, proud of myself for being able to control my annoyance so far, despite her never ending provocations.

“Well if you want to become future queen, you’ll have to get used to social events” Her hand patting my shoulder as if she was a friend giving me advice.

My head starts hurting when I remembered she was a selected too, which meant I will be living under the same room as her, soon. “Ohh, I’m sure I will be surrounded by way more interested people then” I had tried hard to control myself, but she kept pushing me. I knew how to fight back, it was in my DNA, I was educated by Queen Bee. I covered my mouth mockingly and continued “Not that you are not interesting, in fact, I’m glad we are going to be there together” I smiled, but it was obvious I didn’t meant that.

She smiled back as a person about to show her best cards in a poker game. “I can’t wait to see what some etiquette lessons will do for you. Don’t forget to bring your notepad, it will help you remember the things you’ve learned once you are back home.” I fight back the urge to throw my drink on her sparkly black dress, but the last thing I needed was the press all over me, asking questions and comparing myself with my mom, again, but Victoria was openly attacking me this time.

Just go away, you are not like her, ignore those words…. Oh, wait, just one more thing…

“Awwe, you always concerned about me, thank you for your advice, I have one for you in return. Careful with those snacks, they can be tricky… and I heard from my mom that designers will be more strict with the weight fact, in the future” Victoria wasn’t a model by profession, but her popularity and beauty have made that some designers invited her to hit the runway just for publicity and she was obtaining good money out of it. I knew that suggesting she was gaining weight was going to drive her crazy, and it did; the prove was she got really mad this time, I could saw it in her colored, furious eyes. “Speaking of which, you will have to excuse me because I have to find Loretta” I put my glass on the bar and stood up to leave.

“Firstly. I don’t have a problem with snacking, I know how to contain myself. Secondly, I happen to do sports, maybe you should try it sometime. And lastly, there’s nothing you can do about a boring personality, which happens to be your case.” I should have known she wasn’t going to let me have the last word, but despite I still could hear her words, I didn’t care about them anymore.

I waved at her “Sorry, I can’t stay to chat, have a nice trip back home and see you in Angeles.” She said something but I couldn’t understand her words, I wasn’t close to her anymore and the music was loud. I walked away feeling satisfied for my job back there, but guilty because I behaved like one of them, and that was exactly what I had been running from all my life.

#Something between Challenges

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uglypastels · 6 years

Text

The Origin - Peter Parker (1/2)

(a/n) This story if for @starksparker 10k writing challenge (congratulations and wow, you’re awesome!! <3) The prompt I chose was: #80 - “I like that color on you”. I hope it’s as much of a joy to read as it was to write.

I also want to give a big (like galaxy sized) shoutout to @andwhatdostarsdobest for helping/editing the shit out of this. Thank you for making this story readable.

word count: 9927

warning: cursing, sick Peter (so maybe angsty idk), fluff, some horrible jokes and references.

The story ended up becoming much longer than I had anticipated. So stay tuned for part 2!!

“When do you think they will finally let us go home?” Peter heard the whispers behind him. He looked at his watch. It was around 2 o’clock. There was still two hours to go until the end of the trip. He had the urge to answer the question but knew it wasn’t directed toward him.

The girls behind him kept giggling, he wished they would shut up so he could hear the lab guide better.

“Hey, shut it.” Another voice spoke up from the crowd. Peter, was, for a moment, convinced it was his voice but no, it couldn’t be, it was too high, And it came from behind him. His eyes, which had been glued to the guide for most of the lecture, wandered off to the side where they landed on (Y/N). She was clad in her usual oversized sweater, fading into the crowd of bored teenagers. Her backpack casually hanging off one shoulder. The girls she had been talking to rolled their eyes and started laughing as they walked away to the side of the group. (Y/N) fidgeted with the sleeves of her sweater, pulling them down over her hands. She had been staring hard at the ground, but when she lifted her head, her gaze pierced right through Peter. It’s a weird sensation sensing someone watching you, Peter was sure that’s why she hadn’t looked him in the eyes. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable he mustered a half-smile before returning his gaze to the guide.

They had been sharing lessons ever since their enrollment at Midtown High. Except for the conventional ask for a pen, they had never really talked much. In freshman year they did a project together for biology class, but in the age of Google Drive and shared documents, they barely needed to talk.

Still, Peter couldn’t help but feel intrigued by the girl. She had this something about her that made Peter want to get to know her. That something had always been there, nagging at the back of his mind whenever he saw her but each time his nerves got the better of him. Peter mentally cursed himself for his anxiety

“Here at Oscorp Lab, we have spent many years trying to find out as much as we can about Vita Radiation,” the guide said, moving to the side where a big window of, what Peter assumed to be, thick bulletproof glass, separated them from a group of scientists in radiation suits.

“Our highest priority in this research has always been to try and recreate Erskine’s infamous Project Rebirth, of which you may have heard of in your history class-”

“-wasn’t that done in secret and illegally?” Michelle’s voice broke out from the back of the group. Their guide stared blankly at the group of teenagers before breaking out into an exasperated smile, disregarding Michelle’s accusation and continuing his story.. Peter snorted at the situation.

________________________________________

Half an hour later than planned, the group was finally standing on the steps leading to and away from the labs. Peter sat down on one of the higher steps, further away from the rest of the class. It would still be another minute or five before the bus would get there. He sighed, looking down at his fellow students... most of whom were on their phones. Joining them, Peter pulled his phone from his pocket and started scrolling mindlessly through his apps. There weren’t any notifications for him to check, so what else could he do?

A high pitched scream penetrated the silence, capturing his attention. A few laughs followed. Peter’s gaze shifted from the screen in front of him. People were laughing even harder now, as the yelps and little screams continued. He scrambled up to get a better look. (Y/N) was stood a few steps below, moving vigorously, her arms flapping wildly around her as if she was trying to shake something off... It looked like she needed help.

Peter rushed down the stairs to help her, arriving just in time to catch her. Her chaotic movements had caused her to lose her balance and teeter dangerously close to the edge of the step... He reached out pulling her back before any harm was done. Peter was a humble guy but he couldn’t help but expect some kind of thank you, even if it was only small. Instead, she whimpered, “gerroff! Gerroff!” He didn’t understand what she was saying until he noticed something in her hair. It was small, but the color contrasted deeply with her hair.

“Wait! Stand still,” he instructed. (Y/N) stopped moving. Her lip was quivering slightly, her hands shaking. Peter reached out to the strand of hair in which the small spider was hanging. He hated spiders, but that only made him understand (Y/N)’s reaction even more and he was determined to help her out.

Fighting back his own fears, he tried to keep his hand steady as possible. The creature scuttled up and down, causing (Y/N) to close her eyes and stiffen up. She bit down hard on her lip, attempting to hold in her brewing screams, and Peter was pretty sure she was holding her breath too.

Peter tried getting the spider one more time. He stepped a little closer and cupped the eight-legged abomination in his hands. When he stepped away, he saw all the muscles in her body relax.

“Thank you,” the words came out a mere whisper. They were looking at each other for a few seconds until Peter remembered that he could talk.

“Yeah, no problem” he breathed out a smile, “I- ouch! Oh shit!” A pain erupted from his hand and shot through his whole body. (Y/N)’s relief had made him completely forget about the spider encased in his palm. The spider was sick of being stuck in his grip too, apparently, because when he opened up his hands he saw the arachnoid poised in the middle... A red circle surrounding it. He looked at it in shock. The bastard had actually bitten him?! Was he going to die? Every possible outcome rushed through his mind, none of them resulting in a happy ending. How would he tell Aunt May? She would be so mad if he died on a school field trip. Nausea coursed through him and his head felt light. He couldn’t tell if it was from the bite or the prospect of his furious aunt. The spider twitched on his palm, making his skin itch. Without thinking, he shook his hand. The spider fell off and disappeared from view. Peter searched, but couldn’t see it anywhere. That’s what he always hated the most about spiders, the way they could roughly vanish into thin air. He felt very uneasy knowing it could be anywhere.

“Are you okay?” The soft voice brought him back. His eyes meeting (Y/N)’s.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” he paused thinking of the right words, not wanting to stir panic within her, “are you okay? you almost fell and you know...”

“Yes, I’m good. Thank you, again,” she blushed. Peter thought she looked really cute. The way her cheeks had this soft pink glow against hair fair skin. “But didn’t it bite you?” She raised her eyebrow. Peter hoped she hadn’t seen that. He pulled down the sleeve of his sweater so it would cover his hand. “Nah, I’m fine.”

“So, what was that ouch all about.” There was an amused expression on her face. Peter wanted to say something, but no words came out. After a while, he stammered out, “cramp.”

“Cramp?” she scoffed, clearly not believing any of it. Peter nodded to try and assure her this was the case. The sound of screeching wheels below interrupted the awkward conversation. The two of them looked down at the bottom of the steps where the giant yellow school bus had just rolled to a stop. Peter wanted to get away from the confrontation so he started making his way downstairs, walking fast, faces passed. Peter hummed the piano melody when somebody called out his name, in some way or another…

“Hey, Penis Parker!” Flash yelled out from above him. Peter stopped and turned around. “Do you want your stuff?” Flash was standing next to his backpack.

“Oh, yeah, thanks, Flash.” He was walking up to meet him, but Flash had other plans.

He picked up Peter’s bag and practically yeeted it down at his owner. There was a $200 graphic calculator in it and aunt May would most likely kill him if he broke it. Fearing Aunt May’s wrath, Peter jumped up trying to catch it. His usually horrible reflexes gone as he grabbed it just in time. Another shot of pain rushed through him. Why did he have to catch it with that hand? He almost dropped the backpack as his whole arm went numb from pain.

“Oh right, totally fine,” he heard (Y/N) mumble from the bottom of the stairs. She rolled her eyes and headed off for the bus. Feeling defeated and a bit humiliated, Peter stayed behind, frozen on the steps. There was this feeling at the bottom of his stomach. This mix of nervous nausea and general sickness feeling his guts.

Peter could feel the ground underneath him shake as the rest of his classmates walked to the bus as well. Ned walked up to him, “at least you tried.” Ned gave him a little pat on the shoulder and more uncomfortable sensations littered throughout his body. They felt like ten thousand knives stabbing him in the shoulder, traveling all the way to his fingertips. He had to hold in a groan and the few tears collecting in his eyes.

Ned turned around to look at Peter when he realized his best friend wasn’t walking behind him. “Pete, let’s go.”

“Yeah, okay.” But Peter didn’t move. Ned had to get up the stairs again and drag Peter down himself.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” Ned said as he grabbed him by the arm. More pain flushed through Peter. Through slightly gritted teeth, he managed to say: “Yeah, I know.”

They made their way over to the bus, the last ones to get inside. Ned walked ahead of Peter, finding his way to their usual seats. Peter would normally join him, but his legs were buckling beneath him. He fell into the first seat he reached and sank against the window. The cold glass cooled down his now boiling face. It also sent chills down his spine. He was sure his body temperature would break a thermometer, and the pain was spreading from his arm to his chest and right through to his feet. Maybe he was really dying. All those jokes he made were coming to bite him in the ass. He definitely didn’t feel so smarmy now. Everything hurt so much.

His painful thoughts had to be interrupted when his whole body started to shake. Oh, he was having a seizure? Why not. Only he wasn’t, because he heard a voice: “Peter, Peter!” Two hands gripped his shoulders. Peter groaned, pain bursting into him again, as he opened his eyes. When did he even close them?

“What?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. His arm ached with every small movement. He could feel someone looking at him.

“You have to get up unless you want to stay on the bus for the whole night.” It was Ned. Chuckling. Peter didn’t understand, but then he looked out the window and saw that the bus was standing in front of the school. How? When? Did he fall asleep? Did he already die and this was heaven… no, this was school - he was in hell!

Very slowly, he managed to pull himself up, the pain not subsiding for even a moment. Cold sweat pooled at his forehead and begun to trail down it in small, uneven lines. The feeling was so intense as his entire body began to shiver. One of his knees was shaking so bad that he almost fell over. If it wasn’t for Ned catching him, he would have hit his face in the seat of the bus bench.

“Are you okay?” Ned asked, still holding on to him. Peter pulled himself together. Clearing his dry throat, he managed to make out: “Yeah, yeah, just a bit sick.”

He picked his backpack up from the seat next to him. Stupidly using that hand again. Ned was still looking at him, so Peter bit his lip and pushed through it. He pulled the backpack over his shoulder, it still hurt but not so intensely as his hand. Ned gave his friend a concerned look. Peter just smiled through his pain. Yes, just smile while you feel like you’re being skinned alive. Just like any other day. Except it’s much worse. So, so much worse.

His internal monologue almost blocked out Ned’s voice. Peter could see his lips move and he knew there were words coming out of them, but everything just sounded like an air horn. His head hurt. Not getting any answer, Ned walked away, glancing back at Peter a few times before leaving the bus. Peter was now the only one left in the vehicle. Even the driver had gotten out, probably ready to smoke a cigarette after a full day driving around teenagers.

Step by step, he made his way outside, clinging onto anything he could to steady himself. Immediately, he was blasted by the sun, and a blistering feeling covered his corneas. Since when was it so bright in New York? He almost tripped, forgetting the last step. Thankfully, there was nobody around him to bear witness to that. Nobody to see him walk clumsily to the subway station, reminiscent of a Walker from the Walking Dead. Granted, he received a few strange looks from the people on the subway, but Peter had the feeling they had seen stranger things… oh, at least now he knew how Will Byers felt all through season 2. Was the spider possibly from the Upside Down? Was Oscorp a real-life Hawkins Lab? Were they also trying to make a passageway to another dimension? It all made sense...all those weird alien things attacking New York for the past few years… they were just Demogorgons and whatnot.

Peter almost missed his stop. He was falling asleep again. The conspiracy theory about his favorite Netflix show becoming a bit too much for his last two working brain cells, but he knew he had to get back home. If he didn’t, things might end up getting much worse. The doors of the subway slid open and he urged himself forward, head rush hitting as soon as he moved. But by some miracle, he managed to weave past the other commuters and stumble onto the platform... Next followed a walk of thirty minutes which usually took him about ten. Most of the delay was caused by his tempo, his legs hurt too much to keep up his normal speed, but there were a few occasions in which Peter just simply took a wrong turn and almost ended up on the other side of the city. On a few occasions, he actually walked into a dark alley on purpose, his eyes couldn’t take the firing sunbeams anymore. These were all signs, he knew it - death was upon him.

Finally, at his own door. He swallowed, hard, trying to muster the strength to search for his keys. None came. Instead, he weakly knocked on the door, waiting for May to open it. His face felt like a juxtaposition, hot and cold all at once. His knees were now shaking at the weight of the rest of his body and his arms hung heavy by his side. The only thing that was missing was Aunt May’s spaghetti. Yes, this is definitely the time to make horrible jokes. While you are dying in the corridor. If he had the power, he would have kicked himself. Thankfully, the door swung open.

Aunt May appeared in front of him. The smell of her walnut meatloaf perforated the apartment and now the corridor, filling Peter’s nostrils and he was this close to throwing up. It wasn’t even because of the meatloaf, even if it was always a catastrophe, it was more the change for his senses that caused it. The difference in smells made his head spin and his stomach turn.

Aunt May had not been paying attention to the state of her nephew. Peter assumed she was rummaging in the key bowl next to the door. He could hear the tingling of metal in porcelain. The high-pitched noises left a ringing sound in his ears.

“Did you lose your key again? I swear, Pete-” May’s last words faded at the sight of him once she finally looked in his direction. Peter knew he must look horrible. The right word was probably “dead”. He looked dead. At least that is how he felt.

“What’s wrong with you?” She pulled him inside as Peter tumbled into the apartment, his legs giving up on him. If it wasn’t for May, he would have fallen to the ground, face first. She grumbled as she tried to keep him up and steady. Securing her arms around his waist, she managed to direct Peter to the couch, which he fell onto immediately. His eyes closed the moment his head touched the pillow. He couldn’t wait for sleep to properly hit him now.

He could feel a blanket being wrapped around him and a cool hand touching his forehead. It felt amazing. For the last few minutes, he had been feeling like he was stuck in a sauna. He could hear May’s voice in the distance, even though she was right next to him. “Oh Pete, you’re burning up,” May’s concerned voice echoed in his head. He just groaned in agreement. Unconsciously he pulled the sleeve even more over his bitten hand, attempting to hide it from May. He felt the weight of the couch change, telling him that his aunt was now sitting on the other side. There probably wasn’t much space left for her, as he could feel the opposite arm with his feet. May tried to pull his legs up to place them gently on her lap, not wanting to cause Peter anymore discomfort. Except, when his limbs moved, more pain shot through him and Peter practically yelled out in agony. May dropped them in surprise, causing another surge to race through Peter.

“Peter?” there was no real question asked, so he didn’t respond. His eyelids were so heavy now that he couldn’t even blink them open. He didn’t know when, but at some point, he finally fell asleep.

________________________________________

When he woke up, Peter couldn’t move. His barely existent muscles were fiery from the intense pain. Breathing had to be kept to a minimum because heaving his chest hurt too much. His head was throbbing. He could practically feel his brain pulsing, each and every beat adding to his miserable state. His clothes felt drenched from the cold sweat.

There was a knock on the door. Without thinking, Peter answered weakly with a, “come in.” But wasn’t he in the living room? Why would he answer that? He opened his eyes. Above him was not the grey ceiling under which he fell asleep. Instead, he saw the bottom of his bunk bed. How did he get to his own room?

The door of his room opened. Peter closed his eyes again, the glare from the light on the bedside table was too bright for his eyes. It was too painful. Footsteps approached him, they were heavy, definitely not Aunt May’s. The voice that accompanied the steps, verified Peter’s speculations.

“Hey, buddy.” Uncle Ben bowed down to sit next to him on the bed. The switch of the weight in the mattress made Peter shift a bit, causing a wave of pain to run through his ribs. It wasn’t as bad as before, but a small cry still left his lips. He made another attempt at opening his eyes. The light still agitated him, but he worked through it. Soon enough, he saw the broad shape of his uncle sharply in front of him. His sympathetic smile poked from underneath his mustache. He was holding a plate in one hand. Peter could smell burnt toast. Was he having a stroke?!

“Once you feel like you can get up, eat some breakfast, okay? I brought you some toast.” Oh, that explained it. But one thing was still bugging Peter. “Breakfast?” he quizzed his uncle. He hadn’t even eaten dinner yet. Ben chuckled at his confusion. As always, his laugh was casual but mocking at the same time.

“You’ve been knocked out cold for a good fifteen hours, Pete. May called the doctors at least five times.” Peter rose so quickly he felt like he got whiplash. His vision spun for a moment. He was starting to feel sick in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t have been sleeping that long. What was the last time he even slept more than six hours? He couldn’t remember.

“Fif-fifteen hours?” he mumbled as he held his head, trying to keep it steady. Everything was still spinning in front of his eyes hazily.

“Yeah, I brought you to bed after the first few. Thought it might be a bit more comfortable,” he smiled. Small wrinkles spreading next to his eyes. Showing that even with his great looks, age would catch up with everyone eventually.

Uncle Ben put down the plate near Peter’s legs and got up. He reached out for the pillow lying on the upper bed of the two. After fluffing it for a while he put it behind Peter’s back, who leaned against it immediately.

“Thanks.” Peter sighed satisfied. The spinning in his head finally stopped.

“Well, call us if you need something. Get some rest, and eat if you can.” He leaned down to pat Peter’s knee. A high pitched squeal left his mouth at every touch. It hurt so much.

“Sorry.” His uncle gave him one last, apologetic, smile before walking to the door and closing it behind him, leaving Peter alone. Peter took a few deep breaths. Yes, his body felt like it was on fire and his clothes stuck to his sweaty skin, but on the bright side, at least he didn’t feel like he was about to faint from exhaustion. He was wide awake, in fact. He could finally think straight again.

The empty feeling in his stomach encouraged him to pick up the plate of toast. It was just plain toasted bread, but in his state, Peter knew that it was the safest option. He was hungry and he would like to actually keep the food he ate in him and not puke it out a moment later. He went to grab the plate but froze when he saw his hand. He almost threw up right there.

The red circle that had formed soon after the bite, was now dark purple, almost black. It had also spread over most of his hand drawing all the way back to his wrist - which had swollen tremendously. On the back of his hand, his blue veins taut against his skin and he could swear he could see the blood pumping around them.

But even with the horrible look of it, the hand didn’t hurt anymore. If he closed his eyes, it was almost as if nothing ever happened… almost. But really the pain had simply moved to every other part of his body and squared itself. And then there was the fever and vertigo. What did that spider do to him?

He didn’t want to think about it. It was best not to think about it. Too much thinking about it couldn’t help him anyway. Worst case scenario, he dies. Oh, well. It would happen sooner or later. Of course, later was always much preferred, but… oh, who was he kidding? Peter didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not a vi…

“Peter?” Aunt May’s sleek, brunette hair appeared in the doorway. Like a flash, Peter had buried his bruised and swollen hand deep under the covers. He could only imagine the reaction it would have on her. There was no need for that. Peter just hoped he was quick enough. Fortunately, she didn’t. Taking one step forward she wrinkled her nose, “ugh, Pete, open the window for once, would you.”

“Sorry.” With his free hand, he took one piece of toast off the plate.

May walked to the window and drew the curtains. The sun shone into the room, searing Peter’s eyes. It was a big change from the weak light coming from the small lamp on his nightstand., The light from outside was much too harsh, his eyes were still very sensitive. It was as if his eyes couldn’t take up all the light particles anymore. He whined as he hid his eyes away from the brightness, and then again as he moved a tad too quickly. His muscles still ached as much as they had when he fell asleep on the couch. When he opened his eyes again to look at Aunt May, the room got even brighter, as if someone had dialed up the brightness to over a 100%.

He saw her open the window and that is when everything really went berserk: A police car speeded by through the street nearby and Peter thought his head would explode at the noise. He had never heard anything louder in his life… and he had gone to a Metallica concert with Uncle Ben last fall. His ears were still ringing when May walked up from the window.

“Eat up. I’m gonna bring you some medicine and I want to check your temperature,” she eyed him up and down, “and put on some fresh pajamas.” Her eyes had that friendly sternness in them for which she was known.

“Yes, ma'am.” Peter smiled as he took another bite of his toast, the dry food hard to swallow but at least he wasn’t throwing it up. “Could you also bring some water?” He did his best to look as innocent as possible.

May gave him one last look before walking off to get the medicine and a thermometer. Peter ate one whole piece of toast before struggling to his feet, fighting through the pain in his legs and arms the entire time. His eyes remained closed until he was upright, taking a few small breaths first. He made his way to his closet to get a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Every step hurt, his joints grinding, it took everything in him not to scream. The short walk had already exhausted him and he still had to pick some clothes and then put them on! Not to mention, he also had to take off the gross clothes he was already wearing. Tentatively, he shimmered out of the sweater that was stuck to his chest. Just like predicted, he was glistening from the sweat that dripped down his body. He had a feeling that as much as he was perspiring, this was a fever he just couldn’t sweat out.

With his upper body bare, he could get a better look at the rest of his arm. The bruising around his hand had only reached his wrist so far. But the dark veins were already showable all up to his elbow. Thick and bulging. Was this poison running through his veins? Would it kill him the moment it would reach his heart?

Peter glanced at the shirt he picked. It was a white short sleeve. With this one, it would be impossible to hide his arm. He put it on and over that a red hoodie that was comfortably laying in reach on a chair next to him. Perfect to cover up whatever was happening to him. He wasn’t doing this because he didn’t want his aunt and uncle to find out… well, that too, but mainly, he just didn’t want to look at it himself. It looked disgusting.

So he put on the sweater and took his jeans off, exchanging them for some blue sweatpants. The door opened once more, didn’t people in this house know how to knock? Peter only had one pant leg on so he jumped around a bit startled, almost toppling over. It would have been funny if he wasn’t in so much pain. He could swear he could hear his heartbeat in his head. Was that normal? Could he usually feel that? Surely not. Was he losing brain fluid? Was he literally drying out? It would make sense from the way he was feeling.

“Hi there,” Peter said awkwardly while still jumping around on one leg. Each time hurt more than the other. The dizziness was also coming back.

May had stood in the doorway waiting for him to finish putting on his trousers. The little nurse cap on top of her head. After all this time, Peter still couldn’t believe she kept that ridiculous thing. It started out as a little joke. His aunt would wear it when Peter was little and feeling a bit under the weather. Over the years it had just stuck around and become their thing. Even Uncle Ben would put it on sometimes. But mostly when it was Aunt May who was sick.

“Alright. Here.” She handed him a glass of water and five different kinds of pills. Peter had no idea if the medicine would actually work. He didn’t know if something against radioactive spiders could be found in your average drugstore. Radioactive, where did that come from? He had no idea, but it all made sense now. It did happen in front of the Oscorp lab. A company so toxic and poisonous from all the chemicals that Peter was surprised he hadn’t grown another set of eyes or something from just standing in front of the building.

He took the pills from May and was about to take the first one but she stopped him abruptly, “wait!” Peter didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to take the pill or not? His hand was suspended in mid-air, mouth hanging wide open, Peter looked to his aunt. His arm starting to shake from the position it was suspended in, so he let it fall to his side. His eyes still locked with Aunt May’s.

“Let me first check your temperature.” She shoved the thermometer into his open mouth without hesitation. Peter almost choking on the metal end. He and May stood in silence looking at each other until the beeping sounded from the little device and Peter opened his mouth to pull it out. He handed it over, afraid to look himself. He already knew what to expect. He had been burning up the whole day. That could not lead to a normal body temperature.

And he was correct because when May looked at the result, she gasped: “104 degrees!” Her hand shot to Peter’s forehead. Standing for so long was draining all his energy. When her hand reached face, he had to hold on to a bookshelf to stop from falling over backward.

Her eyebrows furrowed she let go of him. “Okay, that’s it. You’re getting in bed! Now!” Her arm was straight, Pointing in the direction of the heap of blankets. Peter followed her demand before she could do anything about it herself. If she had pushed just a little bit, he would be laying on the floor with a concussion. He was sure of that.

“You’ve been walking around without a jacket again, haven’t you?” she exclaimed once he was laying in bed again, tucking him in. Peter wanted to protest. To say that no, he has always had a jacket on. But what would be the point? He couldn’t exactly tell her that a spider bit him and that now its venom was flowing through his body. No, he could, but why would he give her, even more, to stress out about. Let’s keep it at one tragedy at a time.

May tucked him in so tight that he could barely breathe. He was lucky he had remembered to leave his arms free from the covers, or otherwise, he would have been stuck with the pills and glass of water underneath it. May stood up straight, looking rather proud of her job, but more than a hint of concern could still be seen in her expression. Peter expected her to leave now, but she just stood watching him. Like she was expecting something from him. Which she was, he remembered -

“Oh, right.” He put one of the pills in his mouth, swallowing it down with some water. He did the same thing with the other four. The last one he had a particularly hard time with. It was disgusting! Peter gagged when the small capsule got stuck in his throat. May had to help him not choke. Once she was sure Peter was safe and could breathe properly again, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Ok, call if you need anything. I took a day of work. Ben will be leaving in an hour or so… uhm, your phone is on the charger. But I don’t want you staring at a screen the whole day so, read a book or something.” The stern look came back on her face.

“You got it.” Peter handed back the glass. He watched as she left his room, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could see if he needed her. He sighed, using his last bit of energy. Now that he was a bit relaxed, he felt how his legs were shaking from those five minutes of standing. His head felt heavier again, so he lowered it onto his pillow. It was so soft that he soon was dozing off again.

________________________________________

Peter stirred in his sleep. The clock on the wall ticked loudly. Each tick reminiscent to his own heartbeat. Steady, but too loud for his own ears. There was another noise that bothered him and in the end, also was what woke him up. Footsteps. They weren’t Ben’s or May’s. He knew those all too well from all the nights in which he had to look out for them walking in on him while he was watching youtube or Netflix in the middle of the night. No, this was someone else… And they were walking towards his door. How did he know that? He could feel his heart beating in his throat now. The steps were so clear in his mind that he could envision the person nearing him. Getting closer and closer.

He was ready for a knock on his door any moment now, but nothing came. Instead, he heard the doorbell. Then May’s footsteps making their way to answer. Those he identified easily. She unlocked the door and Peter could hear her talking loud and clear: “Hello, there.” He could actually hear the smile that he knew was consuming her face.

“Hi,” it was a girl, a girl he knew, “I’m (Y/N). I go to school with Peter.” Her voice sounded shy. The same way when she was taken aback by a teacher asking her questions in class.

From the few people who cared about his existence at school, she was probably the last person who Peter would expect to visit him. His heart skipped a beat. Because - (Y/N)!? What was she doing here? How did she even know where he lived? And wasn’t it a school day? Or did he sleep through the whole day already? The questions made his head hurt again, so Peter stopped thinking. Instead, he tried to concentrate on listening to the conversation. It hurt his head but happened much easier than he thought. It seemed impossible to him that he could not only hear, but also understand what they were saying from the distance which separated him, May and (Y?N).

Their conversation continued with a gasping laugh coming from May: “Ah, (Y/N). I’m Peter’s aunt, May. Nice to meet you.” (Y/N)’s voice responded almost immediately, now sounding more confident. “Likewise.” He had the feeling that the two were now shaking hands. Peter heard a creaking sound, presumably the front door opening wider. Then May spoke again, “come in. Come in. Does Peter know you’re-”

“Oh no.” (Y/N) interrupted, with a small laugh, “Ned was supposed to bring him his homework, but something popped up for the decathlon, so…” her words faded in the end, probably not having prepared a full answer. May, however, wasn’t bothered.

“Right, right. Well, come on in. I think he is sleeping.” This was followed by a small giggle. It was hard for Peter to identify who it was coming from. May? (Y/N)? Maybe both of them were laughing?

Peter rolled his eyes. If he had the strength, he would have run over to them and interrupted this embarrassing moment. It was so unfair. Wasn’t he supposed to at least be in the room if his aunt was embarrassing him in front of his crush?

After a small silence that followed the giggles, May spoke again: “I’ll go check up on him.” Footsteps approached his door for real this time. May sauntered in, her eyes sparkling even more than usual. Peter sat up as straight as his aching body would let him. His jaw locked in frustration...or was it from the pain?

His aunt was beaming gleefully, closing the door softly behind her so she could talk to her nephew in private.

“May, what are you doing?” he asked, internally freaking out and the smug expression of his aunt was not making anything better for him.

“Nothing,” May batted a hand in his direction, although he was sure he saw the corner of her mouth turning up, “there’s a girl-” She pointed back at the door with her thumb.

“I know,” he blurted out. May was taken aback but kept going. The smile not even fading from the corners of her mouth as she talked.

“She’s cute,” she teased. Peter wished that his illness would hurry up and kill him already. Mentally, this was so much worse than any pain he had endured so far.

“I know,” he repeated through gritted teeth this time, “and that’s why I don’t want her to see me like this.” He pointed at his face, which felt hot and sweaty and was probably paler than paper. May rolled her eyes at his dramatics. Biting her lip, like she always did when she was joking and said: “You look adorable, I’m sure she won’t mind. I’m letting her in.” Before Peter could object she was bouncing off towards the front door where (Y/N) stood to wait. The footsteps on the hardwood floor were clear as (Y/N) made her way through the apartment to his room. Peter felt beads of sweat drip down his forehead. He didn’t know if it was the fever or the nerves causing it. He never had a girl standing in his room before. And this was not the way he had pictured he would look the first time.

There was a gentle knock knock on the door. Peter answered with a croaking: “Come in.” and the door opened. Her hair fell into view before the rest of her. She poked her head inside. Probably a bit insecure about walking into his room for the first time, not sure what to expect.

“Hey there,” her voice its usual softness. Peter could barely make out her small wave as, as usual, her hand was completely covered by her oversized sweater. Peter waved back awkwardly. She drifted around his room, observing all his little trinkets. He followed her with his eyes, hoping he didn’t leave anything humiliating lying around. From what he could see, he seemed to be fine. Although that reassurance vanished when he took another look at her. She seemed to have lingered on one thing in his room for an extended period of time, “is that a Lego Millenium Falcon?” She pointed at the object. Peter followed her finger. He looked at the grey sculpture standing in the corner of the room, leaning against a stand that Peter build after the original had broken when he and Ned were building it.

“Uh yeah,” Peter blushed. He couldn’t gauge from her level tone whether she was impressed or about to mock him. He hoped the former. Luckily, he wasn’t wondering for long, as she walked up to it and smiled, “how long did it take you to build it?”

Peter scratched the back of his neck as he watched her examine the small version of the iconic spaceship. “I don’t know. A few weeks, maybe. Ned and I did it together.” She glanced at him from where she was standing, but her eyes went back to the Lego not even two seconds after. Whit a smile she commented: “Aw, that’s so cool. I have the Star Destroyer set at home, been trying to build it with my brother.” She looked at the lego set in fascination.

As she was not paying much attention to him, Peter didn’t know what to do. Should he lay down or stay seated? Should he start a proper conversation? He had no idea. This was the first time he had ever been properly alone with her. Trying to think of something as a reply, he dried his clammy hands on the duvet.

“Oh, cool.” Probably the un-coolest thing he could respond with, but he did anyway. (Y/N) chortled at his words, attention still on the Falcon. When she had finished marveling at it, she came over and sat down on the edge of his bed.

There was a sheepish smile on her face.“How are you feeling?” she asked, “Ned told me you were sick. Was it the spider?” The last part came out as a whisper, which Peter appreciated as she never closed the bedroom door behind her.

Peter shook his head.“No, just a fever. Nothing bad,” he assured her. She looked skeptical, not buying into his flimsy story, and honestly, he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t believe it himself, so why would she. But she didn’t question him any further. Instead, she changed the subject completely. “Well, I brought you your homework. Ned couldn’t make it.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow at him.

“You do?” Oh, he messed up. How could he have possibly known why she was here without having listened in on the conversation she had with Aunt May? He couldn’t tell her that. He didn’t want her to think he was weird. “Yeah. Ned, uh, h-he texted me,” he stuttered out in the end.

“Weird. I didn’t tell him that I was coming to see you.” she bend down to look through her backpack, which she had put down next to her on the floor before. She had said this very emotionlessly. Peter started to worry again. He thought he had this under control, but oh boy, was he far from that.

“I meant, that he texted me that he couldn’t come himself,” he tried again. Her expression softened a bit with the new information, even laughing a bit. She sat up straight. Seeing the worry in Peter she laughed even more.

“Wow, chill out, Parker. Obviously, I did tell him,” her laughter filling up the room, melodic sounds that seemed to match Peter’s heartbeat perfectly. “Otherwise, how would I have gotten your address? Well, anyway,” she put her backpack on top of her lap and unzipped it, “here’s your homework.” She pulled out a big pile of papers and a small box of what seemed to be cookies, “and here are some chocolate chip cookies my mom baked last night. I picked them up on my way from school to your place. I don’t know if you want them, or even like them, but yeah...” She looked a bit unsure at the clear tapestry before handing it over to him.

“Thanks.” He took the box and stack of homework from her, placing them down on the bed aside from her. He wanted to get rid of them quickly before his arms gave out but he didn’t want (Y/N) to know that. He looked down at his hands. The fingers of his left hand were trembling a bit. He glanced back at her, only to see her staring blankly at the open zipper of her bag.

“So…” he wanted to start a conversation, desperately trying to cling on to any good starters. At the sound of his voice, she eagerly looked up from her backpack. “Ho-how are you?” he asked, slightly cringing at his own words.

“I’m good,” she smiled sheepishly, “you?” She paused, cursing herself, “that’s a stupid question. Sorry.”

“No. It’s- I’m fine. Just a bit tired, I guess,” Peter rambled. As if the bed was suddenly burning her, she shot up. Mumbling, “right, sorry. I should let you rest.” She was walking away. Peter’s eyes were glued on her. Cursing himself with every move she made away from him.

Her hand wrapped around the door handle, about to leave. Peter wanted to stop her. He didn’t want to be alone and those short minutes with her had almost completely distracted him from the imminent death he was sure was coming. But he couldn’t possibly ask her to stay. He would sound weird and pathetic. They weren’t actually friends, as much as Peter yearned for it. He opened his mouth regardless, “no, wait. Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not that tired.” His incoherent babbling was making (Y/N) smile, every time he tripped over a word her smile grew bigger.

“It’s okay, Peter. I have to get going anyway. I hope you get better soon.”

“I hope so too,” he laughed awkwardly. Before she left she had a few last words for Peter. She turned around. With a smirk, she said, “I like that color on you.” Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink and Peter had the feeling his cheeks looked the same. Although, his face had been boiling all day, so who knows.

“What?” he asked with a small laugh. He couldn’t remember the last time he got a compliment from a girl - that wasn’t his aunt. It had also come so suddenly that he wasn’t sure if she had actually said or if it was just a figment of his imagination, resulting from him being so sick. He just looked at her startled.

“The blue and red,” she pointed at his clothes, “not a lot of people dare to color block anymore. It suits you.” Peter looked down at his hoodie. It was okay, he thought, nothing too special though.

“Oh, uhm, thanks, what was he supposed to say? He frantically searched his brain for something light-hearted, “you look good… too.” That was not it. Peter wanted to bury his head in his hands. Why did he have to be like this? Fortunately, she laughed it off and waved him goodbye, saying, “bye, Peter, I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, sure.” He said so faintly it was almost a whisper. He waved her off until she closed the door behind her. Falling back into his pillow, his spine cracked in a few spots. It didn’t hurt, but Peter had to admit, that did not sound healthy. But he had other things to worry about, so he pushed it to the side. For example: how was it possible that he could hear May and (Y/N) talk on the other side of the apartment? Was it a fluke? Peter needed to know, so he concentrated as hard as he could. More footsteps. (Y/N)’s footsteps. They were light and quick. Almost as if she barely touched the ground while walking. Then they stopped, but he didn’t hear the door open. Instead, there were voices. Just like Peter assumed, May said, “oh, are you leaving already?”

(Y/N) sighed. “Yes, I got homework to do, so I should really get going.” An airy laugh left (Y/N)’s lips. How can I possibly hear this, he thought - still very confused about the whole situation. He expected to hear (Y/N)’s gentle voice again, but it was May who spoke: “Well, thank you for stopping by. I’m sure Peter enjoyed the company.” The two said their goodbyes and after a shuffle of footsteps, the door banged a couple of times, as May tried to close. Uncle Ben had planned on fixing the jammed door already for weeks. Peter let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was glad that (Y/N) had left because he didn’t have to pretend like he was not in agony.. But, at the same time, he was sad. Because Aunt May was right. He did enjoy the company.

The next thing that happened was difficult to describe. It was… strange at the very least. The door to his room opened without a warning, but Peter was prepared, sensing it before it happened. It wasn’t that he knew it would be May, but he could feel it. In a very specific way that he just couldn’t explain to himself. It wasn’t that he heard her walk or that he could see her. He just felt the presence of someone nearing him. It made the hair on his arms stand up. Like all his normal senses blacked out and were exchanged for this other, new, sense, that he didn’t know he had. Did he actually have it before? It didn’t seem like it. The sensation was too bizarre. If he had ever experienced it before, he would have remembered.

May walked in, practically radiating from the opportunity she had to tease Peter.“Sooo,” May smirked as she rounded the door,. “who is she?” Why could Peter feel his aunt coming to his room, but not expect this conversation? Even when he knew she wanted to talk to him.

“No- no one. Just- just a girl from school.” Peter scratched the back of his neck, not feeling like having this conversation right now. May crossed her arms as she leaned oh-so-casually against the door.

“Uh-huh, sure. So every girl at your school is cute?” her voice rising on the last word, eyebrows waggling wildly. Peter wished he hadn’t said that. He closed his eyes hoping to find an easy way out from this conversation.

The feeling from before came back. Even with his eyes closed, it was like he could see his aunt walk towards him. He could see her reach out for his hand. The bitten hand. Like a reflex, Peter pulled it away, still wanting to keep his secret. Opening his eyes again, he saw that May was, indeed, crouching at the side of his bed. Her mouth hanging open slightly and brow now furrowed. Luckily, she had misunderstood it as a moody-teenager-move. Her smug smile changed when she wrinkled her nose and she pressed her lips to one corner of her mouth.

“Pete, you don’t have to be ashamed. It’s natural,” she mused. “if you ever wanna talk about anything, come to me.” She laid a hand on his hair, before drawing it away when she felt how damp it was, ”or Ben, if you don’t feel comfortable. Just talk, okay?”

“Yeah.” It was a weak yeah, but it was enough to satisfy his aunt. He reciprocated May’s smile which only widened hers.

She sat down on her knees on the ground, her elbows on the edge of the bed, while she leaned her chin on her hands. With wiggling eyebrows she “So tell me, what’s she like?”

“Ugh, oh my god!” Peter rolled his eyes with a groan. He thought that would be the end of it, but apparently not...Was he really having this conversation with her right now? On his deathbed?

“Fine, fine. I thought I would at least try. She seemed nice though.” May backed off with the questions. Her eyes suddenly flashed to something laying next to him, “she brought you cookies?” May reached out for the little tapestry box. With a click, it opened and the smell of warm chocolate filled the room. Did she warm them up for him? Peter watched his aunt take one cookie out of the box.

“Oh, these are good!” she said, taking a bite, immediately followed by a small moan. “Did she make those for you?” She waved around with the remaining part of the cookie.

“No, no, her mom did. She just...brought them.”

“Right, well, I’ll leave them here then. But…” she took two more cookies, “I’m taking these with me.” Winking she got up and left Peter alone again. Not for very long though, as her head poked around the doorframe moments later, “how are you feeling? Steady enough to join us for dinner?” Peter just nodded.

“Yeah, I’m a bit better. Still a bit hot.” He rubbed his dry eyes. The rough skin on his fingertips didn’t make it much better. May had watched his every move curiously.

“Hmm, I’ll check your temperature again later, and give you some cold medicine.” She walked away, this time for good. Peter didn’t know what to do. From the clock on the wall he saw there would still be around an hour until dinner and from two whole days of sleeping, he was now wide awake. He hadn’t realized it when he had company, but his muscles weren’t causing him as much pain anymore. Now it was a mere myalgia. Like he used to have every time after Gym class when they were forced to do a PACER test. His body felt like it was starting to return to normal. Except for his face, but that was just the fever, he was sure of it. Well, pretty sure. Like 70% sure.

Peter’s stomach rumbled. The idea of dinner already sneaking its way into his brain. He hadn’t eaten properly since lunch of yesterday. The smell of the chocolate in the cookies filled his nostrils and made his mouth water. He couldn’t deny, they smelled delicious.

And they were delicious. Peter took one bite and the cookie melted in his mouth. The chocolate was hot, but not hot enough to actually burn his tongue. It was amazing, probably the best cookie he had ever tasted. Which was a bit suspicious. No cookie ever tasted that good after 24 hours. Good cookies were still good, but this was a bit too good. And they were warm. Not the microwave kind of warm, no, this was straight from the oven warm. Did she actually bake those for him?

Even though he was alone, he shook his head in denial. No, there was no way. When would she have gotten the time to do that? And why would she? They barely knew each other. It didn’t make sense. They weren’t on the ‘I’ll come over and bring you cookies when you’re sick’ level of friendship. Although, just minutes ago he didn’t think they were on ‘complimenting each other’ level, yet, that still happened.

“Hey, Peter?” Ben’s voice roamed the apartment. It shook Peter out of his paranoia. The small shock made him jump up in his position on the bed, throwing the box of cookies into the air. He moved around so quickly, that not even a crumb fell on the bed, including from the cookie he was holding.

“Nice catch.” Ben’s voice was closer now. Peter turned around his uncle standing, smiling at him. “How are you, buddy?”

“Fine, better than before.” Peter put down the box between his legs. Ben glanced down at the plastic container, a bit confused about why his nephew had a full box of chocolate-chip cookies.

“Good. Your aunt is asking me to ask you if you are joining us at the table.”

“What are we eating?” Peter quizzed his uncle, who just sighed in response. Peter sighed back, understanding what that meant, “if I tell you that I’m too sick, are you gonna make me get out there and eat that?”

“No, but I don’t think you can escape the meatloaf today, bud.” ben huffed out a laugh defeatedly.

“Right, I’ll just come.” He threw the blankets off his legs and kicked them back to the end of his bed. The small cramp in his thighs and calves making it hard to walk, and his knees were still a bit weak. However, that could be the cause of laying in bed the whole day. Uncle Ben had already walked back to the kitchen to help his wife not burn down the apartment. Peter went out to join them. He passed the mirror and wanted to do just that, pass it, but something he saw from his peripheral vision made his double take. He took a step back so he was standing in front of his reflection. At least, it looked like him at first glance. With a clearer inspection, the edges started to blur, minor details of his features morphing in front of him, or so it seemed. It looked like Peter if he had been amateurly drawn while sick. Everything was right, but just a bit wrong at the same time.

He was much paler. Hair stuck to his forehead. A vein in his neck was pulsing. It wasn’t dark though, like the ones in his arm. His arm. Peter pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie. To his surprise, all the veins were fading back to their normal color. His wrist was still a bit swollen, but the dark bruises had faded to a less threatening yellow hue with just a hint of red in the middle. The spot where the spider bit him. He stretched out his fingers to check if they hurt. Nothing. He pressed the middle of his palm with his ring and middle finger. Still nothing. The fingers didn’t hurt, but an intense pain erupted from the pressure point, through his arm, all the way up to his chest. But it was a different kind of pain. Not in his muscles. It felt like it was literally coming from his veins.

With all of this, freaking him out a bit too much, he pulled the sleeve back down and continued looking at his reflection. Except for the strange vein, there was something generally off-putting about his neck. Together with his shoulders, it all looked to be broader. He rolled his head from left to right, back and forth and then in a circular motion. He heard several cracks. They didn’t hurt. But when he rolled his head back again, it did a bit, like a horrible cramp. To stop the pain from getting worse, he pulled his head back up.

His eyes were back on the mirror. He traced his body slowly, trying to see every small detail. Now that he thought about it, the sleeves of his hoodie felt a bit tight. It was one of those things that you didn’t see until you realize it. The same went for his sweatpants. They were just a bit off. Maybe it had shrunk in the dryer? Clothes did that, after all. Hmm, the clothes. They were just a simple red hoodie and blue sweats. Really nothing special. A bit too bright, Peter thought. But for some reason, it did suit him. He had no idea why, but (Y/N) was right. With a smirk still plastered on his face, he walked away, ready to eat some “food” his aunt had prepared.

> Part 2 <

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