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alitheakorogane · 4 years

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Assassination Classroom - Over The Moon AU

I have watched "Over The Moon" on Netflix recently and have the amazing idea. What if we wrote an Over The Moon AU for Assassination Classroom?

Here is my concept of the Over the Moon AU. Please bear with my long ramblings.

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Thousand years ago, Koro became fatally ill due to an incurable disease. His beloved wife, Aguri, loved her husband very much and decided to find a way to heal her dying husband.

So she travelled far and wide to search the legendary Tree of Life, a magical tree that bears a legendary magic peach that only blooms and grows once in a thousand years, which could heal all diseases, no matter how incurable it is. After weeks of searching, she found the tree, and saw the magic peach, glowing with power. Desperate enough to heal her dying husband, she plucked the peach, went home, and made a healing elixir that could heal Koro.

She made Koro to drink the potion and feel the healing power of the elixir, so Koro will be healed. As expected, Koro had recovered from the disease and they lived happily.

But the happiness was short-lived. Aguri found the painful truth about the magical peach too late.

Shin (the Second Reaper), the young and talented village healer, told her the painful truth about the peach. The one who intakes the magic peach can be cured by any illness that plagues him or her, but there is a catch, a curse. The one who intakes the peach can't die, and will be immortal forever.

Aguri clung on her husband’s hands tightly, as she held on his fleeting embrace. He was floating upwards, a mysterious force pulling him away from Aguri's loving arms. The curse has started, and Koro was taken away from her. She cried and cried, holding Koro's hands tight, but she can't cling to him any longer. She let go him, her hands trying to reach her beloved, but Koro was now far away, floating to the glowing moon above.

Aguri was grief-stricken and feels regret over the loss of Koro, so every day and every night, she would offer mooncakes and sweets to an altar she made for her husband. She would pray and sing, so Koro could hear her voice, hoping that she would reunite with him soon.

Unfortunately, Aguri is a mortal and have a short lifespan. She never remarried, as she still loves Koro very much. The tried everything, she prayed and plead and she went to the Tree to find another peach to eat so she could be reunited with Koro, but the peach only grows once in a thousand years. She fell ill and died alone at a young age, without Koro in her embrace.

The now-immortal Koro was alone in the moon, trapped forever in rock and lunar dunes. He cried for the loss of Aguri, as his crystal tears fell to the ground, giving life to the rocks that became his faithful subjects. The rocks turned to humanoid teenagers, which will help him cope with the loneliness and longing for his beloved Aguri.

Every 13th day of the third month (March 13th), people celebrates the tale of Koro and Aguri by eating and offering mooncakes, while telling the children about their tragic tale. The moon would shine so bright at this time, forming a crescent shape as the reminder of Aguri's love for Koro.

Thousands of years after, there was a boy named Nagisa Shiota. He lived a happy childhood, his father would tell him stories, while little Nagisa and his mother, Hiromi, would listen to the tale under the moon. Their favorite story was the tale of Koro and Aguri. When Nagisa was 8, Nagisa's father gives him an old necktie with a crescent moon emblem and a golden moon pendant.

They were very happy, until Nagisa's father died due to illness, leaving his mother depressed and insane, as she started to think that Nagisa was his daughter she never had. She began to have delusions of a happy family, and became abusive to her son, punishing him if he never did her wishes.

Until the day they met the Asanos.

When Nagisa was 14, Hiromi met Gakuho Asano, a widower, and it was love at first sight. After a year, they are planning to get married, and Hiromi began to revert back to her old self, although she was a little abusive to Nagisa.

Gakuho has a son, Gakushuu. He is the same age as Nagisa, and he was very different from the meek Nagisa. He was always serious, competitive and kinda proud, and Nagisa had difficulty getting along with him.

Nagisa was tired of this life. He still wanted his father, and hated the fact that his mother easily replaced his father by Gakuho in her heart. So he wanted to meet Koro, the god of the moon, to prove to his mother that love is not replacable, and it is forever. He had a plan: to build a rocket to the moon.

With a little knowledge of Science and determination, he successfully made the rocket, but he never expected Gakushuu joining his plan to meet the moon god, let alone met Koro in personal. Nagisa lost control of the rocket due to shock, crashing it.

Nagisa was pissed when he found out Gakushuu joined him in this plan. Gakushuu argued that he silently help Nagisa solve the equations needed for the rocket, as some of the calculations Nagisa did are slightly wrong, and can cause trouble for Nagisa later on. Also, Gakushuu wanted to see if this Koro is real all along, as he was still skeptical about the story.

They were arguing when they were suddenly taken away by flying... Octopuses? Gakushuu loses his shit.

And do I have to tell you Koro was always holding concerts at his kingdom? Can you imagine that?

Gakushuu and Nagisa meets Koro, the god of the moon. Nagisa was ecstatic and took a photo with the moon god, while Gakushuu was still mumbing how this is possible. It was peaceful until Koro demanded about a gift to them. The two humans were confused about the immortal's demand. They don't know about the gift.

So Koro had stolen the picture of Nagisa and him as a ransom, as he announced to all his subjects that anyone who can find the gift before the last sliver of moonlight in the orb fades, their greatest wish will be granted. Of course, all of Koro's subjects were excited, so they rush out to find the gift. Nagisa wanted to get the picture so he ran outside, leaving Gakushuu looking at Koro with a glare, suddenly challenging the moon god, demanding about the picture. Koro agrees.

They settled the fight by doing a quiz bee. Two girls, a blonde named Rio, and a purple-haired girl named Ritsu, held the contest, while the Gakushuu and Koro were the contestants. They answered questions with precision, and even Koro was amazed of the strawberry-blond kid's intelligence. But they still continued on, Koro was starting to get annoyed by the kid's knowledge. Until the final question.

Koro mocks that a measly kid like Gakushuu can't answer the final question, as Koro was a thousand years older than Gakushuu and more knowledgeable. Gakushuu, having a sharp mouth than anyone, retorts and mocks the moon god about the past.

"You are more knowledgeable than me, you say to me... But why you never stopped Aguri from picking that magic peach, making and letting you drink that potion that made you who you are now? You're selfish, because if you are knowledgeable as you said you are, I think you know the peach can make you immortal! Aguri was fooled by you!"

Koro was aghast about the accusations and he was pissed, unable to concentrate, leaving Gakushuu to be the victor. Koro screamed angrily that Gakushuu and Nagisa would never get the picture until the gift was given to him, breaking the deal. He left the room with Rio and Ritsu (who was apologizing), locking Gakushuu inside.

Koro was in despair, his heart was desperate to find the gift. Okuda and Takebayashi, the royal chemists, were busily mixing potions that will be needed for the ritual. Irina, one of Koro's two trusted advisors, advised the moon god to calm down. Koro replied that he can't bear to calm down, as the time is nearly up, and he can't reunite with Aguri if the gift was not yet found. Irina assured that they will find it, that Koro will gonna reunite with Aguri. The moon god smiled gratefully at Irina as he looked at what the chemists do.

After a few moments, Okuda announced that the potion for the ritual was ready. The gift was the only one left needed. Koro sadly smiled as he looked at the orb.

Nagisa went with a team of bounty hunters, Terasaka, Muramatsu, Yoshida and Hazama. They fought and escaped the obstacles, as they reached the crash site, finding for the gift. Nagisa started to lose hope, praying for a sign. As he looked around, he noticed a sliver of pale light hitting the necktie. Nagisa widened his eyes as he realized that the necktie was the gift, and happily shows it to the bounty hunters. The bounty hounters, however, had interests for Koro to grant their wishes, bullies Nagisa into giving them the gift. Nagisa gives them a gift, but he was pushed by Terasaka, while his team laughed behind him. Suddenly, he was saved by a red-haired boy and a green-haired girl.

Terasaka calls the new arrivals outcasts as the redhead smiled like a demon, "You both were exiled by the great Koro-sama, why are you here?"

The redhead shrugged and threatened them in a conscending tone to give the necktie back to Nagisa, while the green-haired girl smiled menancingly, sending Terasaka's team shivers down their spine. Terasaka suddenly ran towards his bike with the necktie in his hands, and rode away, along with his team. Nagisa was shocked, before the redhead grabbed his hand and ran to a big pond where they could catch up with Terasaka. They reached the pond and rode on the huge toads's backs back to Kunugigaoka, as the toads like to feed in the lake near Kunugigaoka. Nagisa asked for their names.

"It's Karma and this is Kaede, by the way. You?"

"I’m Nagisa."

"Hi, Nagisa!"

Nagisa remembered what Terasaka said, and asked about it. Karma sighed as he reveals that Koro exiled him due to a song Karma sang to him about moving on. Before the exile, Karma was one of Koro's trusted students. Nagisa find out that Koro loved teaching, and Karma was one of the lucky Kunugigaokans who are the moon god's students.

Nagisa also found out the Kunugigaokans are born through Koro's magic tears. That means Karma practically came from the moon god's tears.

Kaede, on the other hand, was Aguri's actual younger sister. Nagisa was confused how she was with Koro when she was supposed to be mortal, while Aguri can't, Kaede revealed that she is actually a spirit, kinda like a shikigami, who died years after Koro was floated away to the moon, and her spirit remained to accompany Koro as his companion. Nagisa wondered why it was not Aguri, and Kaede explained that Aguri was the one who picked the peach, making it part of the curse Koro was suffering. The curse was not only to make Koro immortal, but it also affects Koro and Aguri's fate. They can't be together happily, even how many lifetimes they will be in. She was also exiled with Karma after telling Koro that a ritual to bring Aguri back would possibly not work.

Nagisa realized that Koro was unfair giving the two of them the punishment of exile for just saying a helpful comment. Nagisa spoke that he never expected Koro to be an arrogant and selfish prick, as his father told him before that Koro was graceful like a swan landing on a quiet lake, full of kindness and hope. Karma replied that Koro just missed Aguri, and love can make you desperate to do anything that may be impossible.

Nagisa smiled bitterly and agree. Kaede asked about Nagisa's family life and the bluenette told the entire life story. The two listened attentively to him. He even told them about his mother and Gakuho being remarried, and Gakushuu.

Karma smiled, "I hope I will experience having a sibling. Well, a sibling who could share my hobbies of pranking other people..."

Kayano nodded as she spoke with a cheerful voice, "Having a sibling is a fun experience though! Aguri was sweet, and she was a good sibling. Besides, we were alone for a thousand years, since we were exiled by Koro-niisan from the castle."

Karma smiled, "It is not bad to move on. You can remember them forever, cherish their memories, but you can't stay in the past and be stuck. Otherwise, you will feel alone forever."

Kaede had also remarked one fact about Koro.

"When he was overwhelmed by great emotions, the entire kingdom of Kunugigaoka will be affected, since he was the one who made the kingdom from scratch. In fact, when he was striken by great grief, Kunugigaoka will plagued by darkness, as Koro's happiness powers the entire kingdom's bright lights. The last time he was striken with great grief was the time he first landed on the moon, long before the kingdom of Kunugigaoka was made."

The trio catch up to the bounty hunters, after they reached the kingdom of Kunugigaoka, Nagisa seeing the orb on the castle glowing faintly, signalling they were running out of time. Terasaka and the gang tried to stop the trio from getting the tie, but the trio were persistent. They fought and fought, Kaede was jumping like a rabbit, Karma was happily punching Terasaka, with Nagisa watching at them in horror and shock, but in between their fight, the tie was accidentally destroyed. The bounty hunters stopped fighting them and proved that the tie was now useless.

Meanwhile, Gakushuu finds a way to escape the room and wanders around the place, looking for something to use for defending himself while looking for the photo. While finding, he met Isogai, a kindhearted Kunugigaokan who happily helped him find the photo. Along with Isogai is Maehara, a flirty blond haired Kunugigaokan.

Nagisa looked at the tattered tie in despair. "It was my father's gift to me, along with this pendant I am wearing."

Karma looked at the pendant and remarks that the pendant seems familiar. Nagisa looked at Karma in confusion, as Karma shrugged, thinking that he may be wrong. Nagisa looked at the pendant and saw something in it. The moon seems like it was actually part of something.

Kaede squinted at the golden pendant and commented, while smiling wistfully, "I remember that Aguri-neechan has that similar necklace thousands of years ago, a full moon necklace. Koro-niisan too have a similar pendant too, although it was a crescent moon pendant. He was still wearing it even now, after a thousand years. I remember that if you combined those two necklaces, it will become a whole moon, like a damn puzzle. It was their version of a wedding ring."

Karma laughed, "Yeah, I remembered that pendant. Koro-sensei showed it to me back when I was still his beloved student. He was so protective of it that he cried like a waterfall when I hid that pendant playfully that time. I remember that is how Itona-kun and Ritsu-chan was born."

Nagisa stood there, pondering over their tale. Being a perceptive person, all the pieces were put to place.

"Like a puzzle. The pendant is like a puzzle. The gift..."

Nagisa's blue eyes widened as he had realized that the tie was not the gift, but the pendant. The pendant that was with him all along!

Karma and Kaede smiled happily for Nagisa while Nagisa looks at the orb above the castle, there is only a sliver of moonlight left. Nagisa knew that there is little time left so he ran along, with Karma and Kaede following him.

While running inside, Gakushuu and Nagisa bumped to each other, and Nagisa hugged Gakushuu in happiness. Gakushuu was shocked as he tried to pull back (he kinda hates hugs), but Nagisa tightly gripped him.

Meanwhile, Maehara and Isogai looked at Kaede and Karma in apprehension, as all Kunugigaokans know that these two are exiled by Koro-sama due to personal reasons. Karma playfully greeted them while Kaede waved back.

Suddenly, a tall man came in, looking at the scene with a serious look. Everyone looked at him, even Nagisa who was pulling away from annoyed Gakushuu.

"Karasuma-sensei!" The four teens greeted the man, who was named Karasuma. Karasuma is Koro's second trusted adviser, along with Irina. Karasuma spoke in a serious voice, "I know you have the gift, the octopus is waiting for you in the main room."

Nagisa was confused why Koro, the god of the moon, was called octopus by Karasuma. Karma, remarked that Koro has great affinity with octopuses as Aguri loves octopuses. In fact, he was sometimes called "octoperv" by some people close to the moon god, due to his hidden pervert nature. It was a cute nickname for the immortal moon god.

Nagisa raised an eyebrow, he never knew about the fact that Koro was like some ordinary male, sometimes a perverted creep.

Koro was in the middle of the room, waiting for the gift, with the Kunugigaokans looking at the new arrivals with concern, happiness and relief. He raised his weird-looking eyebrow to Karma, who smiled like a demonic entity, and Kayano, who awkwardly waved at him. Kayano then looked at Koro with a concerned look, reminding him that it may not work and her opinion still stands, and the moon god smiled sadly, as he walked towards Nagisa.

Nagisa held the golden moon pendant to the immortal and Koro gently picked it up from the bluenette's hands. He looked at the pendant wistfully and removed his own crescent moon pendant from his neck and connected the two necklaces together. It fits like a puzzle piece. Takebayashi poured the potion over the necklaces and the necklaces glowed brightly.

"As two halves can be whole again, this necklace was now complete, like our love. Now, you can come back to me... Aguri."

The castle scenery changes, as it morphed into a clearing, with lots of trees around the place. There is a house in the middle, and Koro, in simple yukata he was wearing back when he was still mortal, was standing in front of the house. Nagisa, Gakushuu and the Kunugigaokans were looking from far away.

The door of the house opened, it revealed a short haired woman wearing a fancy yukata. She was short, with onyx eyes tinged with brown hues. Her short hair was adored with little hairclips and jewelry that was common for women in her time. Nagisa and the Kunugigaokans gasped from far away as they saw the woman. They saw the woman on the paintings of the castle, paintings where it was depicted Koro with his beloved wife. The woman was Aguri, the woman in the paintings and Koro's beloved wife.

It was a tearful reunion, with Koro looking at his love with a longing look as he spoke how he had missed her, and they were now reunited after a thousand years. Aguri smiled and held Koro's cheek with gentleness, but Aguri's hands glowed and slowly became transparent. Koro looked at Aguri in shock.

Aguri tearfully reveals that she can't stay any longer, as they can't be together, and Koro has to move on. Koro shook his head, screaming Aguri's name as he tried to hug Aguri and stop her from fading away, but the woman slowly floated away like how Koro had done a thousand years ago. Koro reached out desperately, trying to grab his beloved wife's hands, but Aguri faded away, smiling and saying, "I will always love you forever."

As Aguri faded away to the wind, the sliver of moonlight on the orb shatters, leaving into nothing. The time was up, and it was too late to bring Aguri back. She was gone forever.

Kaede looked at the scene sadly, as she saw her sister faded away to the wind, like how Koro has done before. She sadly remarked that she knew from the start that the ritual will never work in the first place. The curse will always plagued their fate. Also, if that was possible, you can't bring back the person long dead for a thousand years. Koro is an immortal, and Aguri isn't.

Upon hearing Kaede's sad truth, Koro was stricken with grief over the loss of Aguri once again, plunging Kunugigaoka into darkness. The god suddenly formed a protective barrier around him, forbidding anyone access to him. The Kunugigaokans were worried about their leader, Karasuma voicing his concerns.

"We can't enter the barrier, it is too powerful and no one can enters there. If there is someone that can enter it, they can't go out until Koro stopped the barrier. And knowing him, he will stay like that forever."

Irina continued, "He really loved Aguri very much, and did everything to make her come back. But we all know that it is impossible. Kayano-san was different from Aguri-san's case. That curse..."

Nagisa was confused, "How Aguri was different from Kayano?"

Karasuma looked at the moon good and sighed, " There is actually a story that was actually not included in the tales that you humans say about Koro and Aguri. When Aguri picked the magic peach and made a potion for Koro to drink, a powerful sorcerer named Shiro was very angry. He wanted the peach to himself, to be immortal forever. When he found out that the magic peach was gone, and hearing the news that a mere mortal became immortal after drinking a potion containing the peach, he was pissed. Of course, he can't curse Koro, as he was now immortal and now in the moon, so Shiro cursed the one who made the potion, the unfortunate Aguri. He used a forbidden spell to curse her."

Gakushuu asked, "Let me guess, the curse was not to let Aguri reunited with Koro forever??"

Irina nodded, "Yes. Aguri's spirit and Koro can't be reunited until the curse is broken. Shiro had announced that the curse should be broken before the last sliver of moonlight in the orb shatters, or Aguri be gone forever. But unfortunately, the curse was too powerful, even the gods can't easily lift it without trouble. Even Koro, who now revered as the god of the moon. But he tried everything to break the curse for a thousand years, and this is his chance to do it right. But he failed. That sliver of light was gone. Now Aguri is gone, and Koro can't bring her back forever."

Nagisa and the Kunugigaokans were worried when they heard the words. Even Gakushuu, who shows slight concern. Nagisa stepped forward and into the barrier's end, touching the barrier, expecting it to feel like a wall. They all were shocked when his hands passed through the barrier. Nagisa looked at the depressed god of the moon and determined to enter the barrier. Gakushuu stopped him, his hands touched the barrier. Unlike Nagisa, it never passed through.

"Are you crazy?! What if you will be stuck there forever? I can't go home without you, I still have a future on Earth!"

Nagisa sighed as he smiled, "The moon's guiding light will be gone if we don't do something."

He went inside, ignoring the pleas of Karma and Kaede telling him to stop. Nagisa walked towards Koro, who was curling up into a ball.

"Koro-sama? It's me, Nagisa. The effeminate boy? I want you to know the Kunugigaokans needed you..."

Nagisa went to reach Koro, but something... Or someone stopped him. It was the vision of his father. Nagisa widened his eyes in shock and sadness as he looked towards his father, reaching his hand to hold his father’s face once again. He cried, as he screamed for his father to come back. But like Aguri, the vision floated away, leaving Nagisa depressed. Nagisa curled up to a ball in sadness, as the memories of the happy times rushed over him.

Meanwhile, Gakushuu, Karma and Kaede tried hard to break the barrier, but it was no use. Gakushuu punched the barrier but it wouldn't budge. He may not admit it, but he is started to care about Nagisa. Kaede tearfully screamed as she pounded in the glass in desperation. In her desperation, she revealed a secret Gakushuu was shocked for: Nagisa was Kaede's descendant.

Kaede had apparently died in her 20s when she give birth to a baby boy, her first child. Before dying, she gave her sister's necklace to her son as a reminder of her sister's love for her husband. It became a family hairloom, and Nagisa got it from his father thousand of years later.

Karma comforted Kaede as Gakushuu looked towards the greenette and Nagisa in shock.

Meanwhile, Koro had noticed Nagisa crying towards the vision of his father before it fades away. Koro felt sadness as he looked towards the depressed bluenette, he realized that both he and Nagisa are similar. Both of them lost a loved one and grieving over their loss. He floated towards Nagisa and gently lifted the teen's head.

Nagisa looked at the moon god with a tearful gaze, as the moon god sadly smiled, speaking in a soft voice, "You don't belong here, Nagisa-kun. You have a family to come back to. Don't drown in sadness like I did, you are still young. I know it hurts to let go of them, but we had to move on and be happy with the ones we currently have. You will remember the moments with them, but we can make new ones. You have your mother who needed you, your new stepfather to support you, and a new brother to love you."

Nagisa looked down as he spoke in a soft voice, looking towards the moon god's dark eyes "It's not too late for you to move on too." Aguri may be gone, but they are still there." Nagisa pointed out to the teenagers who stood outside the barrier, "They needed you too."

Gakushuu punched the barrier, with Karma punching along with him. "Nagisa-kun, I know we are not in good terms, but we will try to work this out! Because we are now a family!" With one last punch, the barrier shattered, as Gakushuu and the Kunugigaokans rushed in to greet Koro and Nagisa.

Nagisa hugged Gakushuu tightly, as Gakushuu, still uncomfortable in hugging people, squirmed before giving up. Kaede smiled at Nagisa, while Karma patted his back.

All Kunugigaokans rushed towards the moon god, as they hugged the crying moon god. Ritsu, Okuda and Kurahashi was crying loudly, hugging Koro tightly. Karasuma and Irina stayed behind, but they were smiling at the joyful event.

Later on, Koro and the Kunugigaokans are ready to say goodbye to Nagisa and Gakushuu. Koro had apologized to Karma and Kaede for banishing them from the kingdom, as they were just trying to make him happy by moving on and focus on the ones who loved him now. Karma just laughed and said that it was fine, traveling was fun and exciting, that he gets to pick fights easily outside without Koro scolding him, making the moon god slapped Karma's head playfully. Kaede snorted as Karma hugged Nagisa and Gakushuu tightly as he admitted he was going to miss them, Kaede giving Nagisa a quick peck in the cheek. Nagisa blushed pink over the actions. Koro happily gives Nagisa the picture of Koro and Nagisa together, as proof. Nagisa clutched the photo with happiness, as Gakushuu rolled his eyes.

With the octopuses flying them away, Gakushuu and Nagisa returned to Earth. To a human observer on Earth, they are like shooting stars. Nagisa looked at the photo in his hand, and saw the photo is fading away. Nagisa realized that he didn't need proof, so he let the photo floated away in the wind as they fall towards the Earth.

Months after, Hiromi and Gakuho had married. Hiromi changed for the better, and Nagisa is happy that his mother is now happy in life. His brother, Gakushuu, started to warm up to him.

They celebrated the March 13th festival with their relatives by eating mooncakes and sweets while sharing stories of Koro and Aguri. Nagisa laughed at some of the story as he looked out at the moon. The moon was glowing bright, as if it was acknowledging Nagisa.

After the mooncake eating, Hiromi was with Nagisa, looking at the moon with a serene look in their faces. They remembered the memories of the past, but there is no heartbreak now. Hiromi apologized about how she acted towards Nagisa ever since his father died, and Nagisa smiled as he hugged his mother tightly. As they playfully chasing each other in the night sky, the moon shone brightly than ever, as a beautiful swan in a lake flew towards the moon.

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So what do you think about it? I tried hard to fit the Assassination Classroom elements to Over the Moon, add some twists and new ideas, and hoping that there is not a character that is too OOC.

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bwemph · 4 years

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The Measure of Things | Chapter 3 | Two Ghosts

Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader

Summary: Mando asks a probing question that leaves you wondering if you are truly happy where you are. The next morning, you find your answer, and not a moment too soon. While finishing up work on Mando’s ship, the hangar is attacked and you watch your life fall apart (or rather, explode) right in front of you.

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: Drunkenness, light swearing, toxic relationship/physical abuse (a single push/shove), canon typical violence, death of a droid, mild angst

“You shoulda let me at ‘em,” Max slurred as he leaned heavily on your shoulders. He stumbled a little, nearly taking you down with him as your front door was now in sight.

The last rays of sun peeked over the horizon before disappearing entirely for the night. The risk of bandits and whatever other criminal scum now became a threat, as crime always seemed to thrive at dusk.

“Max, those guys would have pummeled you. I’m saving your life, honey,” you said, embarrassment keeping you from sharing a gaze with the Mandalorian who strode alongside you and your intoxicated partner.

The three of you reached the door. You searched your pocket for your keys, struggling to simultaneously locate them and keep Max from tumbling into the dirt.

You huffed a sigh of frustration. “They’re in here somewhere…” you mused, searching another pocket.

While you were preoccupied digging through your pockets, the child looked between you and Mando, then turned his attention to the door, reaching out with a tiny, three-fingered hand.

Suddenly, the lock clicked as if the key had turned it, and the child settled back in the pram, looking very pleased with himself.

You furrowed your brow at the baby but stretched out a tentative hand to open the door anyway. It opened as if it were never locked.

“Um...thank you,” you said, offering the baby a little smile. “Alright, Max, let’s get you inside and get you some water.”

“I’m not thirsty,” he muttered as you led him inside.

“You need to--”

“You don’t tell me what to do.” Max elbowed you aside and pointed an unsteady but accusatory finger at you. “You’re not my mother. And you’d be a damn terrible one if you were!” A ragged laugh tore from his throat before he nearly lost his footing. He caught himself on the shelf and said, “I’m going to bed.”

He staggered off toward your room and heavily closed the door.

You hugged yourself with a sigh, shaking your head as you watched after him for quite some time.

“Why do you let him treat you like that?” Mando said finally.

Another sigh. “He’s drunk. You can’t really blame him, can you?”

“That’s no excuse. He’s like that when he’s sober too.” He lifted the baby from the pram and let him waddle around the room.

The child made a beeline for the model droid that he had taken a liking to at the beginning of the week.

You shrugged, watching after the child. “He doesn’t mean it. I know he loves me.”

“Does he?” His voice was surprisingly soft. It made your heart ache.

When you turned your gaze to look at Mando, he was staring intently at you. You couldn’t see his eyes but you did feel them boring through your unbothered facade.

Does he?

No words came when you opened your mouth for a rebuttal. Frustration bubbled up in your chest, creeping up your neck until it was behind your eyes. But still, no words, only a few tears that threatened to spill over instead.

You pushed them back with everything you had and bit your lip before finally finding a response. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. He does.”

He nodded once and looked away. He didn’t contest your claim, but you knew he didn’t believe you.

Across the room, the child’s eyes drooped as he stared into space and sucked on the model droid.

You trailed behind Mando as he crossed to pick up the baby and place him back in the pram. Within moments he was asleep, wrapped up in his surprisingly soft blankets.

You smiled a little, touching the peach fuzz that covered the child’s head. “I should get to bed. Stantin wants everyone to work before sunrise tomorrow.”

The Mandalorian tucked the child in and looked at you once more. He almost reached out to touch your arm, you thought.

“Goodnight, y/n.”

Again, his voice was soft. You couldn’t quite tell what it was. Perhaps it was just some sort of kindness that the Mandalorian had acquired since taking on his tiny green crewmate.

Not that he wasn’t kind before. He was always friendly toward you when you flew with him. But you never saw this sort of gentleness that he showed since his reentry to your life.

“Goodnight, Mando.”

You were sure to open and close the bedroom door quietly as not to wake the baby. As quietly as you could, anyway. The hinges still creaked as the door swung either direction.

Max was sprawled out on the bed, shirt discarded on the floor, boots still on his feet; one untied, and the other still laced up.

With a heavy sigh, you removed his boots. To your surprise, he didn’t even stir. You set them neatly at the foot of the bed before you did the same with your own shoes, put on pajamas, and wriggled into bed where you could find space next to Max. You pulled the covers over the both of you and closed your eyes in hopes of drifting off sooner rather than later, as not to be stuck with your thoughts for too long.

Sleep didn’t find you easily. You wished that you could be in Max’s place, passed out drunk, and not worried about anything except tomorrow’s hangover. Chances are, he wasn’t even worried about that. He only ever worried about you. Where you were, what you were doing, who you were with.

You always told yourself it was just because he loved you. Max wanted you to be safe. Sure, he had issues with control. But it was only because he loved you. He cared so much because he loved you.

He loved you.

But the Mandalorian’s question echoed in your mind again.

Does he?

But then, an even more troubling question rattled through your brain.

Do you love him?

You weren't even entirely sure you knew what love was.

Sure, you were decently attracted to Max. You wanted good things for him. But did you love him?

Well, you didn’t really think you did, and the morning would soon prove that.

****

Max’s shouts carried across the house. Surely he’d woken up Mando and the baby now.

“I don’t give a shit what Stantin wants!”

You backed away, stumbling over the shoes you laid at the foot of the bed last night. You just barely caught yourself on the bed.

Max had rolled out of bed now, his golden hair going in all directions as he loomed over you with a raging glare.

“Fine, I’m going without you,” you said, your voice barely a squeak as you hurried to gather your shoes and leave the room. “Don’t come crying to me when you lose your job!”

Something in Max snapped, and he grabbed your wrist, making you drop the shoes on the ground again. “You’re always kissing Stantin’s ass, you know that? That Mandalorian too, keeping him here when I clearly tell you not to. What about what I want? Think about me for just one second!”

“I do!” You tore your wrist away from Max’s grip and suddenly found the courage to get in his face, to get toe to toe with him and jab an accusing finger at him. “I think about what you want every second of every day. The whole time I’ve lived on this scumbucket of a planet I’ve only thought about what you want! How to keep you from getting angry! Do you know how exhausting that is? I’m sick of it! You don’t respect me.”

“Oh I’m sorry, let me show you some respect!”

Max grabbed your shoulders and shoved you backward into the dresser with a sickening thud. You lost your footing and tumbled to the ground, eyes wide with bewilderment.

In a blur, you saw Max turn and leave the room.

You gathered your wits and pushed yourself to your feet. You staggered across the room and followed Max out to the living room past Mando and the child. Max’s hand was reaching for the door.

“Max,” you said, voice such a stony cold that it even surprised you.

He turned to you, that same fury in his eyes from the bedroom.

Adrenaline coursed through your veins, and you got a sinking feeling in your chest that was telling you to stop while you were ahead. You didn’t listen to it. You’d listened to that instinct too many times.

“Don’t come back. We’re done.”

Those five words ignited an even greater rage than before in Max. He advanced toward you like a predator to its prey, and you knew you made a mistake. You braced for another blow.

You were surprised when he didn’t strike you. Instead, Mando crossed the room, putting himself between you and Max.

“You heard y/n,” Mando said.

Max then attempted a swing at the Mandalorian, whose only response was to block and throw a punch straight to Max’s sternum.

Max doubled over and gasped for breath.

“Don’t come back,” Mando repeated.

With effort, Max stood up straight again, still shaken and trying to fill his lungs, and left the house. He didn’t look back. He didn’t say anything. He was gone.

Mando turned to you, looking you over. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, heart still racing. “Yeah.”

You felt...well, you couldn’t really place how you felt. Anger burned in your chest for the way Max put hands on you like that, for the way he’d done it many times before, for the way he degraded you and called you names. Even in the midst of your anger, some kind of sadness lingered beneath the surface.

“That’s been a long time coming,” you concluded with a brave sigh. “What do you say we go finish working on your ship? We can finish up the fuel tank today and you can finally be on your way.”

Your words weren’t without some weight.

“Sounds like a plan,” the Mandalorian responded.

****

No words were exchanged between the pair, save for the occasional “will you hand me the wrench” or things of the like.

The child filled most of the quiet, cooing over the sounds of machinery and the creaking of Mando’s ship. He had taken a liking to HE-27, chasing the droid around and clasping his little hands together as it would perform tricks for him.

Sometimes he would waddle over to you with a miscellaneous mechanical part and hold it out to you in hopes of being helpful.

You would thank the baby and return to work, using the piece if it was helpful to your current task, but otherwise stashing it in your pocket as not to dishearten the little one.

Your usual banter with Mando had minimized to almost nothing at all. Given the events this morning, you couldn’t really find it in yourself to tease him as you usually did, and you brushed off any of his quips or attempts to start conversation.

You wanted to talk, but you just didn’t have much to say. It took everything in you not to drag your feet on fixing the fuel tank. You could have finished it within a couple hours, but even your hands worked slowly, refusing to dash through the task as you usually did while you finished up the last few nuts and bolts.

Quietly cursing as you dropped a screw on the ground, you ended up brushing against Mando’s glove as you reached for the screw.

Your eyes met his visor as he handed the screw back to you.

“Thank you,” you said before promptly returning to work.

A few moments of silence followed, the only sound being the screw gun as you secured one of the last panels.

You felt the Mandalorian’s gaze heavy on you as you set the screw gun aside. You looked up, feeling your heart flutter a little despite the pit in your stomach.

“Why didn’t you hit him back?” he asked.

You furrowed your brow. “Hit him back? What are you talking about?”

He leaned his shoulder against the Crest as he spoke. “I’m not deaf. I heard you two in the bedroom this morning.”

You evaded his gaze. “Maybe you heard me hit him. Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions, Mando.”

“I wouldn’t assume if you weren’t favoring your leg like that.”

You did have a slight limp since Max pushed you. You must have rolled your ankle when you fell. You hadn’t given it a whole lot of thought since the incident. It all happened so fast.

“So what?”

“That’s not the y/n I know. You wouldn’t have let him do that in the first place, let alone not hit him back.”

“Well, then I suppose you don’t really know me anymore, do you, Mando?” You crossed your arms and faced him with a little bitterness hanging just behind your teeth. “It changes you, being stuck between a rock and a hard place like that, being threatened with death or losing the people you love, only to come home to them and have them turn their backs on you.”

The Guild flashed through your memory, faces of the people you once considered family. You thought of the bandits that captured you, all the things leading up to you leaving the Guild, or rather your exile from it.

Your eyes dropped as you shoved the thought from your mind. “You don’t know what it’s like being turned away like that. You don’t know what it’s like not to belong anywhere.”

“You’d be surprised.”

His words had you furrowing your brow, but you waved the matter off.

Nearby, the child laughed as he chased HE-27 around the hangar with his little green hands outstretched.

HE-27 suddenly hovered in place, looking between itself and the baby as it was unable to move on its own, some strange force pulling it toward the baby. The same force the baby used to lower the model droid from your shelf at home.

You patted the side of the Razor Crest. “Anyway, your fuel tank should be good to go. You’re all ready to get out of here.”

Mando sighed and reached out a hand, gingerly resting it on your shoulder.”Thank you, y/n, you’ve been very kind. How could I ever repay you?”

You gave a breathy laugh and waved a hand in the air. “No, no. It's payment enough to see an old friend, Mando.”

A little tug at your pant leg brought your eyes downward to where the child looked up with wide brown eyes as if he understood what was going on.

You picked him up and hugged him close, heart melting when he nuzzled into your neck.

“I’ll miss having you guys around,” you said, thinking back on the past week and how your life had really been turned on its head by having them around. Oh, how you would miss the chaos.

Oh, how you would miss Din.

You pecked a little kiss to the top of the child’s head before handing him off to Mando and watching how gently he cradled him in the crook of his arm.

“Be safe,” you said finally. With a little uncertainty, you rested your hand on his breastplate.

The Mandalorian placed a hand over yours. “You too. Thank you.” He slowly wrapped his free arm around you in a hug.

Although his beskar was cold against your cheek, you didn’t really mind the stiffness of the hug.

You took a moment to savor his touch until HE-27 whizzed out of the control room, beeping frantically.

“H, what is it?”

You jogged after the droid, Mando and the baby close behind as it led you back inside to the panel where three, four, then five blinking dots appeared on your radar.

Ships had entered the atmosphere, and they were approaching the base. Fast.

You heard several other operators’ voices on the comms, including Max’s voice, but you hopped on as well.

“This is bay two in Rabadus Base. You do not have authorization to land yet. I repeat, you do not have authorization to land.”

No response from the ships.

Mando raised his visor to the sky and tensed.

“We need to get out of here.”

You cast a quick glance over your shoulder at him, a look of confusion.

While your attention was on the Mandalorian, two streams of laser fire fell from the sky and crashed into the Base, and bay sixteen erupted in flames across the way.

Mando’s hand closed around your arm and yanked you out of the control room and out into the hangar.

The hatch of the Crest opened, and was waiting for you to enter as you ran across the shipyard.

Then, it was your bay that fell under attack next. The control room lit up with fire and smoke, and you watched in horror as the hatch closed.

HE-27, your poor droid, disappeared behind a screen of flame and shrapnel. You couldn’t help but cry out when the hatch sealed and you nearly lost your footing as the ship took off, dodging the assailant’s cannons.

Silence lingered around you despite the ringing in your ears and the cannon fire outside. You leaned up against the wall to process what was going on, what just happened. You didn’t have all the pieces. Rage boiled in your veins for your little droid, your only friend, but you felt an ocean threatening to spill from your eyes. You pushed it back and swallowed hard. Finally, you gathered your wits and stumbled up to the cockpit where Mando and the baby were.

Your eyes pricked with tears as you watched the shipyard flood with an explosion, even when they picked off bay nine, Max’s hangar.

One of the ships turned and started toward the Crest, readying its cannons.

“Sit down,” Mando instructed, “it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”

You sat heavily in the seat behind him and buckled yourself in, still having to steady yourself when Mando took a sharp turn away from enemy fire and made to leave the atmosphere.

“Who is that?” You asked. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Hang on.”

With that, Mando put the ship into lightspeed and blasted to safety, away from Rabadus.

You decided at that moment that you were never going back.

#din djarin #the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #pedro pascal #star wars #baby yoda #the measure of things

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itsanerdlife · 5 years

Text

Bad For You 6/28

Pairing: Howie Stark x Reader

Warning: Fuckboy manners. Violence. Reader gets cheated on. Language. Lies. Flirting. Cattiness. Arguing. A few slaps. Sassiness. Slutty boys. Frat Boy bullshit.

A/N: College AU. For my sister, cause I finally gave in. Haha.

Posting: Tuesday. Thursday. Saturday.

“You don’t know me like that.” “Mmm bet I do, baby girl. You want a bad boy who will be good for only you. I’m that guy. Like I want a good girl who’s bad for only me. That’s you, baby girl.”

Howie Stark made one hell of an impression. It started off with mistaken identity. A hand on your ass, your hand across his cheek. What should have pissed him off, set him off differently. Howie Stark is enticed by you and you are so fucked. Bad boy, never afraid of a fight, such a smooth talker, womanizer, and always on your mind. It just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right, you have a boyfriend. Howie’s making everything’s a little blurry. You’re a little cynical and bad boys just aren’t your type. Or could that change with a flash of Howie’s crooked grin?

Tag List Is Open!!

Your hand in Howie’s, the two of you hurrying through the rain falling across the parking lot. You laugh loudly, as you both dodge puddles and moving cars. He quickly hits the unlock button on his car fob, pulling open the door for you. You don’t even hesitate, jumping in. He shuts the door and hurries around, getting in behind the wheel.

You’re laughing as you shake your hood off. Howie shakes his head, water flings from his rumbled hair, making you laugh harder. He moves to put his seatbelt on, you do the same. Finally wondering just where you were going with a member of the Screw Crew.

“Where are we going?” You ask, clicking your belt into place.

“Coffee? Get a couple more questions done before we start the next part of analyze the content.” He smiles over at you.

“I love coffee.” You grin. He scraps his teeth over his bottom lip, nodding. Slowly backing out of the parking spot.

“I can bring you back here if you need to get your car.” He offers, glancing over at you.

“Nat has my car.” You admit. “Her and Wanda had running around to do.” You explain.

“Do the three of you live together?” He wonders.

“We do.” You nod. “In those on campus student apartments.” He glances over.

“On fraternity lane?” He looks over quickly.

“Those ones.” You smile.

“Good to know.” He nods slowly.

“Planning to stalk me?” You lift a brow, smirking at him.

“Thought I already was?” He chuckles, pulling into a coffee shop parking lot.

“Thought you said you weren’t.” You sass. He laughs, nodding.

“Come on, I’ll get the first round.” He’s getting out of the car.

You pull your hood up, grabbing your bag. When you reach for the door, Howie is pulling it open. A grin on his lips, raining coming down on him. You slip out of the car and together you head for the coffee shop. He pulls the door open for you, ushering you in.

Standing in line with him to order. It dawns on you, you honestly can’t recall the last time Harry did any of those things. You chew your bottom lip, lost in thought. You and Harry, it was more like friends with the occasional benefit. You weren’t hopelessly in love with him or anything, more like tolerate and accept.

“Y/N?” Howie smirks at you softly.

“Huh?” You blink, releasing your bottom lip.

“What do you want?” He chuckles. You flush, before rattling off your coffee order.

You sip your coffee slowly, the two of you seated in a window seat booth. Watching the rain come down as you wait for Howie to finish writing out his answer. You shiver involuntarily, your hands hug your cup a little tighter for the warmth.

“Here.” Howie moves, he’s pulling off the black and red flannel he has on over his dark grey long sleeve. He hands it over to you.

“Oh you don’t have too.” You laugh softly.

“You’re cold. Take it.” He smiles. You do, slipping it on. It’s a little big, heavy flannel, and rather warm. “Not for cold, rainy days?” He wonders watching you.

“Oh no I am.” You laugh. “But I personally think they’re made for staying in bed all day.” You nod.

“Let me ask you something.” He runs his hand through his hair.

“Sure.” You give him your full attention.

“Why are you dating an egotistical, ass hat like Harry?” He snorts. “The guy cares more that everyone around him knows who he is, than anything else. I see him in Bio Lecture.” He watches you.

“I’ve been asking myself that same question.” You nod slowly.

“One more question, and we can finish the rest on another day.” He smiles, opening his book again.

“Sounds good.” You nod.

It did, spending another day with Howie was actually appealing to you. Maybe there was more to him than just another Screw Crew guy. More than the fuck boy he acted like. You watch him, scanning the sheet of paper.

Was Howie Stark working his way under your skin? Was that even possible? What the hell did he want with someone like you? Were you digging yourself a hole enjoying being around him?

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

You direct Howie towards your apartment, he pulls into the parking spot out front. They’re built like little town houses, not shabby apartments. So you had your own entrance and little covered stoop. Howie helps you from the car, walking you up to your front door. Discussing getting together again to finish your work.

The two of you stood under your cover, from the rain. Under your rain jacket you’re still wearing Howie’s flannel. You’re checking your calendar for a good day, to meet up again. A car door slams, angry footsteps follow.

“What the fuck Y/N?!” Harry is standing at the bottom of your steps.

“Christ Harry, what the fuck?” You gap at him.

“And I’m stalking you?” Howie smirks, side eyeing you. You have to resist the urge to laugh.

“Running around with the prince of Screw Crew!” Harry is up the steps, glaring at Howie.

“Easy there, Frat boy Prince.” Howie smirks.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You shake your head. Ignoring the pissing contest going on, on your stoop.

“You ran out of the library with him. Never answered your phone. I want answers.” Harry scoffs at you.

“Harry.” You grind out. “He’s my partner for my Brit Lit class.” You glare at him. Harry’s brow pulls down for a moment. His eyes flick from you to Howie. “We were working on the assignment today.” You roll your eyes.

“You just decided to not tell me?” Harry looks annoyed.

“I don’t have to tell you dick. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. You disappear for hours and don’t answer your phone.” You call him out. Howie’s brow jumps up.

“I’m sleeping, not running around with the opposite sex.” Harry snaps back. Howie’s brow pulls in, watching Harry.

“Oh god I don’t care. Just go away, Harry. If you accuse me of cheating, I’m going to kick you in the dick.” You run a hand through your hair. Howie nods slowly, his mouth pulled down.

“We’re going to talk about this. Later.” Harry warns you.

“No, no we won’t. I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m not explaining anything more than I already have. Goodbye Harry, I’ll think about texting you later.” You dismiss him. He glares at Howie, before he turns stalking off.

“Wow.” Howie nods.

“He acts like I’m cheating.” You shake your head.

“My mom always says, the first to jump to assumption is usually the guilty party.” He shrugs. This takes you by surprise, making you question things suddenly. “Text me later, if you want to or figure out a time you’re free.” Howie smiles softly. He waves his hand awkwardly, before he heads back out into the rain and gets into his car.

You’re still standing on the stoop for a moment, before you realize he’s sitting in his car watching you. Your phone vibrates a moment later.

Howie: I won’t leave till you go inside.

You smile at your phone. Nodding you turn unlocking your door and head inside. When you glance back Howie is backing out of his parking spot. You shut the door and lock it.

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

Everything Peaches 9/3/19 @mo320 @courtmr @avxgers @eliza-kat @irepeldirt @jordan-ia @jcc04220 @dumblani @nishanki1 @allyp1023 @joannie95 @rogvewitch @rileyloves5 @sarahp879 @sexyvixen7 @doctoranon @queentoffee @abschaffer2 @tony-stank3 @tomhardy41 @bookluver01 @teller258316 @nickimarie94 @wandressfox @cutekittybast @amandab-ftw @carostar2020 @thelostallycat @henrietteoaks @nea90sweetie @circusofchaos @bettercallsabs @miraclesoflove @queenkrissy11 @shield-agent78 @elite4cekalyma @sadyoungadult @destiel-artemis @isabelcrichards @iwillbeinmynest @sweet-honey15 @scooby-doodoo @chanelmadrid13 @killerbumblebee @spookygrantaire @geeksareunique @supernatural508 @itzmegaaaaaaan @optimistic-babes @elizabethaellison @rainbowkisses31 @aspiringtranslator @mariekoukie6661 @pure-princess-97 @capsheadquaters @youclickedthislink @futuremrsb-r-main @lovemarvelousfics @notyourtypicalrose @petersunderoos96 @loving-life-my-way @itsy-bitsy-spidergirl @buckystolemyheart @booktvmoviefangirl @thatpeachybandgirl @supernatural-girl97 @thefridgeismybestie @dumbbitchenergytm @eggingamazinglove @deathofmissjackson @awkwardfangirl2014 @queenoftheunderdark @laneygthememequeen @writingaworldofmyown @shann-the-artist-moon @supernaturallover2002 @daughterofthenight117 @mcuwillbethedeathofme @verymuchclosetedfangirl @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @ocaptain-mycaptainmorgan @crazy-little-thing-called-buck @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @stupendoussciencenaturepanda @supernatural-strangerthings-1980

Howie 'Damn Boy' Stark: @gabile18 @crayonwriting

BFY: @sfreeborn @coley0823 @lakamaa12 @intricate-melody @badassbeckettswan @itsmejessicasstuff

#Marvel #OFC!Howie Stark x Reader #Avengers #OFC!Howie x Reader #Bad For You #Marvel Fanfiction #OFC!Howie Stark Series #Avengers Fanfiction #OFC!Howie Series

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sa-gt-tarrius · 4 years

Text

G/T Prompts, part 13

Prompts were found here.

***

“PRINCESS!”

Peach’s head shot up. Mario was bolting over the hill towards their picnic site, frantic and big-eyed. “What’s the matter, Mario?”

“It’s Luigi,” Mario panted, finding himself short of breath and rather sweaty. “By the lake… Come on! We’ve gotta help!”

“Of course.” Peach bent down, scooped Mario up in her hands, and began weaving through the trees that skirted the area. “By the lake, you said?”

“Yeah, just through there.” Mario pointed eastward. Peach nodded and broke into a sprint, breaking free from the cacophony of trees to reach a clearing with a small lake in the middle. The lake itself was empty, aside from a few birds swimming about in the centre.

But on the shoreline, to Peach’s awe, was a small green reptile, stomping around and trilling happily.

“Is that... a Yoshi?” Peach stepped forward, enamoured by the sight before her. “What is it doing so close to town?”

The Yoshi was a paler shade if green, which clearly indicated its ripe young age. If her estimates were correct, the Yoshi was no more than a few years old. Just a juvenile, barely past childhood. And its family was nowhere to be seen—it was wandering around all by itself. What could have separated such a young Yoshi from its pack? Was it lost?

“Luigi is there,” Mario piped, drawing Peach from her thoughts. “We have to help him before he gets hurt.”

Peach blinked. “...I don’t see him. Where is he?”

“Look at what it’s holding.”

Peach did just that. And sure enough, if she squinted, she could see a small, trembling figure dangling from the Yoshi hatchling’s hands. And if she strained her ears, she could hear the faintest terrified shriek coming from its direction. The Yoshi held it tightly, not enough to hurt it, but enough to elicit cries of fear.

Peach sighed. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Is it dangerous?” Mario asked tentatively, instinctively retreating to her chest.

“Oh, heavens, no.” Peach took a step forward. “Yoshies are very docile. They wouldn’t harm a fly.”

Mario didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyway. Peach took another step towards the Yoshi.

At this point, the Yoshi kid noticed Peach’s sudden presence. Its tail shot up, and its half-grown tongue lolled along the side of its mouth. It chirped loudly, clicked twice, and made a mad dash for Peach. “Look out!” Luigi screeched as both he and the Yoshi barreled into the princess, knocking her to the ground.

Peach grunted as she was forcibly sprawled onto the grass. Luigi was flung roughly away from them, landing by some nearby shrubs. Mario had managed to leap off Peach just before hitting the ground, and immediately bolted over to his little brother.

As Mario helped Luigi to orient himself, Peach turned her attention to the young Yoshi, which was bouncing in place excitedly and squealing in a foreign tongue.

“Hello, little one,” Peach cooed, reaching here hand out to pet the Yoshi’s snout. It creened contentedly at the soft touch of Peach’s gloves. “What brings you so far from home? Your family must miss you so much...”

“Yoshi!”

“Do you have a name?” she asked. She inwardly hoped this Yoshi kid knew a bit of her language.

The Yoshi cocked its head, unsure of how to reply. “Yoshi?”

Peach shook her head and carefully scratched the Yoshi’s cheek, eliciting murmurs of joy from the youngling. “…Very well, I’ll just call you Yoshi for now.”

From afar, Mario and Luigi stared in awe at the gigantic beast of a creature. They’d been dumbfounded by how easily Peach managed to soothe it, and when the Yoshi finally settled into her lap for a snooze, Mario dared to come closer.

“How’d you do that?” Mario asked, tiptoeing around the sleeping dinosaur.

Peach simply smiled. “I told you, Yoshies are harmless. This one is just a bit hyperactive. It’s only a child, after all.”

“That’s just a BABY?!” Luigi screeched, still hidden within the shrubs. “And what do you mean, harmless? It tried to kill me!”

“It was seeking comfort,” Peach explained. “Did you notice the way it was holding you? Like a child would hold a toy? Yoshies typically do that with their parents’ hands, or with unhatched eggs.”

Luigi visibly deflated at those words. “So… it was afraid?”

The princess nodded solemnly. “Yoshies live very far away, on an island just off the coast. Most people are forbidden from going there—it’s a haven for Yoshies. Hence why it’s named Yoshi’s Island.” She stroked the slumbering Yoshi again. “I have no idea how it ended up all the way out here. Yoshies aren’t good swimmers, and I find it unlikely that it navigated the pipe maze on its own.”

“Well, now I feel bad,” Luigi sighed, although he flinched away when the Yoshi stirred in its sleep. “I guess it’s alright, as long as it doesn’t grab me again.”

The Yoshi child suddenly perked up, its gaze locking onto Luigi like a hawk. He backpeddaled, but as the princess smiled and stroked Yoshi with infinite gentleness, Luigi found himself feeling less and less afraid. The dinosaur and the human were locked in a staring contest, unblinking. The Yoshi, while it didn’t lunge for Luigi again, was glowing with ecstasy as its gaze followed Luigi’s every move.

“I think she likes you,” Mario mused.

Luigi cocked his head at that. “It’s a she?” he asked, and Mario just shrugged.

Peach took a moment to examine the Yoshi closely, scanning its features. “It’s hard to tell what sex a Yoshi is at such a young age,” she explained, “but judging by its behaviour, I’d wager it’s a male. We can’t know for sure until it’s mature, though.” She paused. “That being said… yes, he very much likes you, Luigi. I think he’s pack-bonded with you.”

As if on cue, the Yoshi warbled out an inhuman noise. The way it was pronounced, however… it almost sounded like the Yoshi had said the word “mama.”

The three were silent for a moment before Mario guffawed loudly. “Hey, welcome to fatherhood, little bro,” he cackled. “Glad to see you settling down!”

Luigi sent his sibling a seething glare, his arms crossed. None of this was funny in the slightest.

#mario #super mario #peach #princess peach #luigi #writing prompts #gt prompts #mywriting #gt #g/t #giant tiny #giant/tiny #YOSHI IS HERE BABY #yoshi #HES HERE AND READY TO RUMBLE

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melo-yello · 5 years

Text

I Can't (Erik x POC Reader) One Shot

Pairing: Erik x POC Reader

Warning(s): angst, self worth issues, cursing, crying, the most fluff

Word Count: 2,7k+

Summary: Reader can't take much more of the uncertainty Erik provides.

A/N: I've been work in this for a while and think its finally done. It was gonna be all angst but I needed to feel good. This my first Erik fic so be gentle plz.

Erik traces the forming hickies along your neck as he gropes your inner thigh.

You breathe heavily as you try to regain some of the energy you'd lost in round three with Erik in the last couple hours. You could feel his chest vibrating beneath you as he hums. Your lips curl into a smile against his neck.

Erik isn't the kind to strike you as a singer.

Too brooding.

Too distance.

Too militant.

But every once in a while when he’s feeling content or peaceful even he'd hum or sing a few lines or two.

Always the same song.

A vaguely familiar melody you couldn't quite place. If you mention it he'd stop and completely deny it.

He used to be in some choir at his Gigi's church or something like but that's all that he'd tell before slipping into his drunken comma after a particularly rough round and a couple shots too many of Hene.

Not that you could complain. He laid that shit all the way down.

You glance at the scars that liter his upper body. He smiled when he saw your eyes fill with intrigue rather than fear the first time he told you how he got them. That night you knew you weren't special to Erik.

Neither was anyone else.

Sure he'd never say that to you but he didn't have to. If these casual hook ups ever became too real and someone tried to use you as leverage you'd be dead in a heartbeat. And Erik would be the one to pull the trigger.

He couldn't afford to catch feeling with so much at stake. Neither could you in your line of work it just didn't make sense.

Contract killers don't fall in love.

Everyone comes with a price tag and a body bag.

No unnecessary complications. Commitment means baggage and baggage means sacrifice. Sacrifice could mean your life.

But. . .

Here . . .

In these sheets. . .

These sheets are where you love each other. The way his body fits perfectly in yours. Tangling into one another with keen precision.

The way his temper and passion matches yours. Your strength is an even opponent to his. . . Almost. The way that you only really satisfy each other.

Sure Erik had other girls but they weren't even in your league.

The throaty growls of your name pulled from his chest. The countless hickies he leaves in his wake as his fiery touch ignites your soft skin. His primal need to drag lusty cries from your lips. Moans are traded like currency between the two of you. The jealousy banging after you “casually” mention you fucked another guy just to see him steam.

You sigh letting the long awaited tear trail down your cheek and hit his chest.

You'd miss this.

Erik stopped humming. You try to wiggle out of his embrace, but his grip tightens.

“Y/N, where you going stay a little longer.” He chuckles half sleep.

You pull yourself free from him.

“No Erik I've got a flight in the morning. ” You sing-song nonchalantly pulling back on your lace thong.

“Come on we've got time. It's not till 10:00, right?” He groans pulling you by your waist against his chest.

“Wow you were actually listening.” You tease attempting to bruise his ego.

“Baby, don't play. Ya kno I love what mouth do.” He grins while running his tongue over his lips then your earlobe before nipping the lower half of your neck.

“Oh don't play coy, bitch. I thought an MIT grad could read between the lines. Erik, you kno what I mean.” You shrugged trying your best not to tear up.

He huffs letting you go and leaning against the baseboard.

“This shit again?” Erik says rolling his eyes and handing over the lacey hot pink push-up he eagerly undid within minutes of your arrival.

“Well E, give one real reason I should keep wastin my very valuable time on you?” You smirk and without missing a beat you take your bra and put it back on. Erik kisses his teeth as he rolls his eyes.

“We're having fun. Ain't that the point of all this.” Erik laughs shrugging his broad shoulders.

Why does every asshat have to be built like a demigod?

You sigh and stand up and spotting your jeggins lying in his doorway exactly where you'd thrown them to earlier.

Easily gliding your curvy hips into the flexible fabric.

“Bye Erik.” You hiss while walking out of the bedroom to find your top.

“Come on, Y/n. Quit playin this hard to get shit.” Erik sighs pulling on his Adidas sweatpants. He follows you out of the bedroom.

You search the living room for the peach tank you came in but it’s nowhere to be found.

“Who says I'm playin? Maybe you're not fun anymore?” You hum brushing pass him to get to the couch. Erik rolls his dark eyes letting a cocky chuckle escape his chest.

“So who's your new dick?” Erik says folding his arms with the slightest hint of jealousy in his voice.

You smirk over shoulder to meet his burning gaze and roll your eyes.

“No one, just know your limp dickass ain’t doing it for me. That stroke game has been pretty damn weak lately. ” You giggle pushing the cushions apart before climbing onto the sofa itself to hang over it. His deep brown eyes burn as you brush pass him. Proving you have bruised his pride. Something he couldn't let pass.

Erik gropes your ass forcefully enough to nearly send you onto the floor, but pulls you firmly to his waist.

“ErIk!” You gasp as you brace yourself on the couch.

“Yea say ma name just like that, Baby girl. If you need me to jog your memory I'm more than willing to remind you.” He growls sliding his hands to your hips and grinding against your ass.

You lean back into him rolling your hips to match pace with him. His fingers slip into the side of jeggins prying at the lace fabric of your panties.

“Who says I forgot.” You whisper biting down on his earlobe. Erik groans in ecstasy just as you push him away.

You dismount from the couch and swinging your hips as you sashay across the room having spotted your shirt.

“Oh my God you’re such a fucking tease.” Erik huffs watching your hips bounce before following.

“I've learned from the best.” You sneer reaching for your tank that had somehow made its way onto the top of the bookcase just out of reach.

A warm hand finds the small of your back as the other plucks the peach tank from the shelf.

“So you gonna tell me what's up, Y/n?” He breathes into your ear.

You swallow the lump sitting in your throat and turn to look him in the eye.

“Trying to be decent. How about you?” You try to laugh off the cracks in your voice.

Does he have to look like he could care.

You feel your chest clench.

“Y/n cut the bullshit. No strings. No lies. No feelings. Remember, Baby girl?” Erik hums moving his hand from your back to your cheek.

Like you could forget the pact you two made to avoid a real feelings and relationship.

Yea no feelings.

Your head dips unable to meet his deep brown gaze anymore.

The tears you've been holding finally stream down your cheeks.

“I'm cutting my losses, Erik. I can't play this game anymore. It's not fun anymore it just hurts. I kno you don't care about this shit for real.” You shrug.

Erik drops the tank and gently lifts your chin.

“Hey Trap Queen, I care about our shit.” He smiles wiping a few tears away.

He presses his forehead against yours just before tangling your lips with his. Passionately kissing you. Like he has to remind you. Like action is the only way he can prove it.

You bite his bottom lip and he groans allowing you in. Heavy breathes and quiet moans trade between you as one tries to overpower the other. The pit in your stomach twists tighter and you pull away.

“Erik...You really don't...Not Really. And I can't keep doin this with you.” You choke out pushing away and tugging on your tank. You drag an arm across your face as you pull on your sneakers. Searching for the jacket you came in only to realize it’s one of his.

“FUCK IT!” You huff snatching up your keys. You go for the door but Erik yanks you back by your wrist.

“WHAT THE HELL! Y/n, you don't get to decide that!” Erik fumes.

“LET ME GO! I’m not doing this.” You rage back.

“No! Yo little ass started this shit and we damn sure gonna finish it! You ain't gonna tell Me who I care about! Until everyone you've ever given a real fuck about leaves you all alone don't come at me with ‘You have intimacy issues bullshit’! No shit I do! I WAS FUCKING 8, Y/n! Did it EVER occur to you this is the best I can give you? Y/n get yo uppity ass off yo damn high horse! You don't care. That's why you're walking away. YOU'RE SCARED! SCARED SHITLESS THAT YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT US AND YOU COULD LOSE IT!” He counters his voice spewing his repressed resentments like blood from a cut.

“The Hell If I Am?! Like You’d Kno! You Don't Kno Shit About Caring! Or Being scared. You haven't felt anything real in a long ass time! YOU TOLD ME. You kno if it came down to it and you had to choose me or yo own ambitions. It wouldn't even be a contest. Despite what you may believe Erik WE'RE ALL BROKEN! IN OUR LINE OF WORK WE ALL COME FROM SHIT SHOWS! And with yo big headass I'm sure you think this is the best you can give to me. Letting me just close enough to this best version of yourself that way I'll come back to you legs open and praying that what we have is special. We can't keep pretending this shit is real. Find some other dumbass bitch to play Bonnie and Clyde with you!!” You spit ripping your wrist from his grasp.

You stare him down before turning to the door.

Erik steps in between you and doorway. His nostril flared as bit down on the the inside of his cheek.

“That's what you think this is to me, Shortie?! A damn game of pretend? That we playin some fucked up version of house!” He says taking a couple steps closer.

You roll your e/c eyes.

“What the hell else was I supposed to think.”

You stare back at him for some form of a contradiction. But it doesn't come.

“That I-” He just swallows the rest of his words.

He keeps opening his mouth to speak but no words come out. His chest tightens as he balls up his fists trying force a decision from his lips, but his pride won't let him.

You can almost hear the war raging in his head and you can't help but pity his dumbass.

Sucks to be you.

You shrug barrelling past him.

“See!!! You're A SHITHEAD, ERIK!” You shout throwing up your middle finger as you slam the door behind you.

Numbed by your own disappointment you barely notice the cool breeze whipping against your skin. You snatch open the black hummer’s door. As the door shuts your forehead falls into the steering wheel.

Your heart rams into chest at full speed.

All the childish vulnerability you refused to let Erik see came pouring out. You wrap your fingers around the steering wheel. You throw head back and scream at the ceiling.

Everything you hated and loved about him spilling out of you like fountain. Curses muffled by the reinforced glass.

“WHO THE HELL DOES THAT PUNKASS BITCH THINK HE IS TELLIN ME I'M SCARED! HE'S SCARED! HE'S JUST ANOTHER DUMBASS DICK,” you yell staring yourself down in the rearview mirror, “JUST CAUSE I DON'T WANNA WASTE MY TIME ON HIM DOESN'T MAKE ME PUSSY. I LEFT THAT UNREQUITED SHIT IN HIGH SCHOOL. I'M TOO GROWN FOR THIS! I AIN'T GOT THE TIME TO BE STRUNG ON HIS DUSTY HOTEP ASS! ...even ...if he does smell amazing all the damn time. even if he has an immaculate skincare routine and does the dumbest shit just to make me laugh and for the first time in long time doesn't make me feel like I'm a monster… FUCK!” You groan leaning your forehead into the horn.

This is the end and you give a fuck.

Too Many FUCKS.

It just isn't fair he came out unscathed.

You slam your fist into the horn over and over again.

A quiet knock from outside the window makes you freeze completely.You crack the window just enough to see his brown eyes.

“Not to interrupt ya moment but you might wanna cut that shit out before somebody calls the cops.” Erik says attempting to sound like his usual smartass self, but cracks in his voice won't let him.

“Nigga, you need the number or somethin cuz I got em saved in my contacts.” You croak wiping your face on your arm. Trying not to sound half as bitter as you're feeling.

“Nah I need you to open the door, Ma.” Erik says gripping the handle.

“Why, you wanna pic for motivation as you type that vague Insta story about how ‘bitches ain't shit’?” You flare over the window.

“No thothina, so I can curse yo smartass out for havin me so damn whipped I'm out here standing in the cold with no shoes in front of a locked car of a woman I've already smashed tonight.” Erik huffs looking you dead in the eyes. There isn't an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.

The lock snaps up as you just stared at him wide mouthed and confused. He pulls open the door, but he doesn't make a move to touch you. He just props himself on the door with the jacket you wore to his house that night in his fist.

“I wasn't gonna say shit. Too fucking tough for that vulnerable shit, right. I wasn't gonna let you kno you got to me. But watch in u walk out that door...I couldn't do it. You had to kno that We're real. Babygirl, whatever this is it sure as hell ain't pretend...at least not for me. I kno I'm hard to read and sendin out all kinds of signals sometimes but it's not you. There's a lot of hurt shit in here. It's terrifying to care this much about someone again.” He pauses offering a hand to you and as hesitantly give him yours he steps closer placing both on his chest, “But for so reason I don't really mind if you see that shit. I'm not askin you to stay. I just want you to kno it was real. We were real. It's fuckin insane how much I care about some wildass assassin I met in some dank ass hole in wall nightclub with a hit out on my mark. You got me sprung, Y/n. I think I... love you.” He smirks at you with uncertainty shining in his deep brown eyes.

You swallow the lump in your throat and step out of the car. Closing the distance between you and him as you take his hand from his chest and place it on your neck and cheek.

"You really mean that shit, Stevens?" You hum looking down not quite ready to meet his eyes. Never before have you seen that kind of openness in his expression.

Like he was ready to risk all. He gently lifts your chin so you'd meet his gaze.

"Baby, you're everything I need and more."

You pull your arms around his thick waist. You cover your bubbling laughter in his chest.

"E, you do realize you just quoted Halo right?" You smile biting your bottom lip as to not all out laugh in his face.

Erik frowns slightly before scooping you into his arms and belting into the chorus in key as he carries you to the door and you erupt in laughter.

#black panther #erik stevens #erik x reader #erik x poc reader #erik x black reader #erik killmonger x reader #black panther killmonger #killmonger fanfiction #killmonger imagine #erik imagine #erik fanfic #self insert #i cant #one shot

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sapphicparker · 4 years

Text

Fell from the sky into my lap // peppermay

Summary: "May Parker, will do you the honor of being my fake girlfriend?” She hold out her hand. May smiles.“Yes, I do, Pepper.” May intertwines their hands together. (AKA fake dating/college au)

Words: 21,231 | Other ships: SteveTony & Yelenat

Warnings: SMUT

(Also available on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23921644)

May Parker rarely lies but when she does, let’s just say she’s the mighty, great leader and sole creator of the ‘lying is totally okay and cool’ club. They even have jackets, leather ones to be exact. She doesn’t do it out of habit or force, it just happens and she, eventually, deals with the consequences later. The short list of lies she’s ever told aren’t as catastrophic, most of them range from lying about not doing homework to studying for an important exam, even making up an excuse not to go out. Even telling her boyfriend she was home sick when in reality she was cheating on him.

Okay, maybe the last one is a bit much, but in her defense, they were already broken up and she definitely didn’t think he would come back a few hours after their final fight to get his boxes of shit while seeing her go down on some girl she met at the bar right after their fight. The biggest lie she has told was to her parents, who she hasn’t seen in a couple months, is that she’s bringing someone home for winter break.

Before the inevitable break-up;

Honestly before the fight, her and Ben were doing great. They met at one of the bars, Carter’s, right down the block by campus. Did their usual routine, two or three beers, depending on what kind of day they had. He would talk about football and courses he was taking, but mostly about football. May honest to god tried to pay attention but that night, her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere else like finding an engagement ring in a drawer. She shuddered at the thought of marriage, not that she liked it, she did, it’s a huge commitment that she was in no way, shape, or form ready for it.

She grabbed her beer and chugged it as Ben began to about classes and bullshit drama that somehow crossed his path during the day. After an hour or two they went back to May’s place, put on Netflix and did some homework.

To this day May still silently thanks god everyday that meeting Ben wasn’t set up by some dating app but instead by one of their mutual friends. She still remembers it like it was yesterday. Carter’s bar is not the most spacious or extravagant looking bar, it still has it’s charm and outside good looks. The inside however smelled like aged old liquor and a weird sense of mildew. Truly comforting in its own weird way.

As for Ben, he’s just like any ordinary tall, brunette, college football player who is somehow not a pretentious douchebag. Him and May were friends at first, good friends even. Ben needed a place to stay for awhile, so she let him room with her. Awhile turned into weeks, which turned into a couple months, and then into him moving into his own place…down the hall from her.

May thought it was nice seeing him every time she had to do laundry or even throw out the trash, sometimes he would get both of their mail so she wouldn’t have to trudge down the flight of stairs to get it. May knew the first time she realized she liked Ben was when he came over for their annual Friday movie night. Usually, she was the one to remind him but, this time he remembered, it was a tiny thing that made her stomach do the weird butterfly thing. He even brought over Chinese food takeout and a cheap bottle of wine.

A couple weeks down the road they kissed and it was nice and exciting and new. They would wait for each other after classes, get some drinks and study together. May would go to his practices and games, cheer him on, even wear his jersey. After games they would get ice cream, it didn’t matter if he won or lost, or if it rained or shined, they would go.

They lasted around eleven months or a year, May honestly doesn’t remember, and it was bad on her part, actually it’s both of their fault. May told Ben she found the ring, he asked her if she wanted to marry him, she said no. May explained to him why she didn’t want to, that she wasn’t looking for that kind of commitment right now and she definitely didn’t want to be tied down. She was still young, she wanted to live more, worry less.

Ben didn’t like that, he got all defensive, arguing back about some bullshit leading him on, so what did May do? She rolled her eyes, told him she’s going out and to pack his shit and leave. Next morning, Ben comes home to get his things and sees May having sex with someone. He quickly shuts the door and never returns. May still has his boxes stacked in the hallway closet, she hasn’t opened the door since.

Flash forward to now. May’s currently very single and lonely at this place and time. She’s wearing an old ACDC shirt that she “borrowed” from Carol and a pair of plaid pajama shorts while sitting on an old maroon couch drinking wine as season six of Great British Bake Off plays in the background. Yeah, that little fling she had with that bar girl, she doesn’t remember her name, it sounded like that coffee company, Folgers. May tilts her head trying to remember the name, it takes her a moment until it comes back to her, like someone flicked on the light switch. She snap her fingers. Felicia, that’s it.

May pours more wine into her glass as she narrows down possible fake boyfriend, or girlfriend options. Separating them into two columns; boys slash girls, and jotting down basically everyone she knows. Boys; Steve, Quentin, and Bruce. Girls; Carol, Jane, and Maria.

She takes sip of her wine before immediately crossing out the lists and throwing the notepad onto the adjacent coffee table. May lets out a heavy sigh and lays her head back on the couch, she feels entirely overwhelmed and more stressed than when she took midterms. It’s at this moment her black cat, Milo, jumps onto the couch and purrs. He rubs his head on her arm and looks up with his black eyes, tilting his head, almost as if he can sense something is wrong. May gently scratches his cheek.

“It’s okay, buddy. Everything is fine,” she say to him as if he can somehow understand and magically talk back to her. He immediately jumps into May’s lap, curling up into a ball. This has to be some kind of witchcraft, she thinks to herself. Not that black cats are often associated with witches, they are, but Milo is special in his own way.

A groan slips out of her mouth when she realizes she has a, now, sleeping cat on her lap and she absolutely refuses to wake him up. That’s the second rule you have to follow when you get a pet, owner shall not move when said pet is sleeping on you. Right on top of feeding your pet and loving them unconditionally.

Mumbling ‘fuck it’ under her breath, May reaches for the tv remote and turns the volume up. In this particular episode of Great British Bake Off, the bakers are making a delicate spongecake. May has never in her life wanted spongecake more than she does right now. Grabbing her phone from the side table, May unlocks it and opens the notes app. Typing, GET SPONGECAKE, in all caps to let her future self know that it’s important to get it when she eventually leaves the comfort of her bed to do grocery shopping tomorrow morning.

She adds in the following; eggs, almond milk, coffee, coffee creamer, peaches, strawberries, mashed potatoes, box of pasta (x2), White bread, plums, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

Satisfied with her list, she puts the phone down only to pick it up again when it rings. The name ‘Tony’ with the black heart emoji next to it flashes along with a horrible selfie of him. May’s finger slides over the answer and she puts him on speaker, holding the phone in her hand.

“What do you want you, gremlin,” May says annoyingly as she tries to focus on the tv, taking a sip of wine.

“Well, hello to you too, what’s up?”

May rolls her eyes. “You called me, genius.”

Tony lets out a gasp. “Yes, yes I did. My mistake.” He takes a breath before continuing. “Right, what are your plans for winter break?”

“I’m unfortunately going home, remember? Or did you completely forget what we talked about this morning at the coffee shop.”

“I didn’t forget.” May could hear the exaggeration in his voice.

“Yeah, sure you did,” May says as she raises an eyebrow at one of the contestants forming an elaborate cake that might possibly take up all the baking time.

Tony scoffs and May’s sure he’s shaking his head. “Do you or do you not want to come back with me for winter break, instead of going back home?”

“That’s sweet, Tones, but I already told my folks I’m coming back and that I’m bringing someone.” She mumbles the last part, hoping he doesn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry, what was the last part?”

May groans. Damn bastard has ears like a goddamn hawk.

She lets out a sigh, “I told my parents that I was bringing someone home for break. I’m pretty sure they think it’s Ben, they don’t know that we broke up, so they’ll find out when I come home.”

“You really need to stop lying about things, May. I know sometimes you can control it, but in situations like this you really shouldn’t.”

May pinches the bridge of her nose, “if you’re going to lecture me, please wait at least 24 hours before doing so.”

“Fine, at least tell me who you’re bringing?”

She pauses and that seems to be a good enough answer for Tony.

“Are you serious? Winter break is literally in a few days and you don’t know!” Tony exclaims over the phone loudly and May lowers the volume a tad bit.

“I’ll figure it out, I always do,” May confidently says, knowing damn well, she have no clue what to do.

“I don’t believe you but, alright. I’m coming over for lunch tomorrow since Steve’s taking his last midterm, sound good?”

“Fantastic. See you then,” May says before Tony mumbles out a ‘bye, love you’

May casually tosses her phone onto the side table, not really caring whether or not it dies overnight, or mysterious lives thanks to the new and improved battery life span. Eventually she finishes the episode, the credits begin to roll when Milo stirs in her lap. He turns his body facing her, a small meow echos throughout the room along with the Great British Bake Off song credits.

“Did you have a nice nap?” she says softly, rubbing her nose against his fur, he purrs in agreement. “Yeah, I bet you did, buddy.” Shutting Netflix off, May carefully lifts Milo off her lap and cradles him in her arms as she simultaneously grabs her phone.

Once in the bedroom, May puts Milo down on the bed, he immediately curls up at the end of it. Plugging in her phone and setting it down on the bedside table, she grabs the blankets and comforter, shuffles a couple times before finding a comfortable position and falls asleep.

It’s next morning when she hears her phone ringtone blaring throughout her room. May’s eyes are still closed when she reaches over, answering it without a care in the world who could be calling her this early in the morning.

“Hello?” She mumbles, her voice still horse and clouded.

“I’m here with coffee, let me in.” It’s Tony because of course it is.

May lets out a groan, she hangs up, and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. She trudges to the door, unlocking it, and welcomes Tony in. She lets out a yawn as she stares at the brunette man now standing in her kitchen.

“You know, you could be nicer in the morning. I did bring you coffee.” Tony hands her an ice coffee. May takes a sip and a small smile appears on her face. She sticks her tongue out at him before sitting on the couch, one leg under the other.

“Why are you here? I thought we were meeting for lunch, not breakfast,” May calls out to Tony as he’s lazily pouring cat food into Milo’s dish, some of it tumbles out of it and onto the floor, Tony shamelessly kicks it under the fridge. Milo appears in front of him and Tony lets out a gasp, clenching his chest.

“Jesus christ, Milo!”

May lets out a loud laugh and Tony stares at her, completely flabbergasted that she would laugh at his pain. May lets out a breath, “I should’ve warned you, he tends to do that when he gets food.”

“You think!” Tony exclaims as he shakes his head. He kneels down to scratch Milo’s head, the black cat lets out a small meow before digging into his breakfast.

“I’m telling you, he belongs to witches or something.” Tony shakes his head and smiles at Milo before standing back up and grabs his coffee. May looks up at him when he enters the living room, Tony jumps onto the couch and sits crisscross, staring at her.

“What?” She asks questionably.

“Did you think about who you’re bringing home yet? You still have time to change your mind and come back with me.”

May immediately lets out a groan, she hoped Tony would have forgot it by now but, no. He can remember what they talked about yesterday but he can’t remember his goddamn anniversary.

“Not yet,” May pauses to take drink the rest of her coffee, occasionally slurping it, causing an annoying sound to echo in the room. Tony rolls his eyes at her childlike behavior. “And, no to coming with you. As much as I love Jarvis’ cooking, I promised I would go home for break.”

Tony nods his head. “I’ll bring you leftovers but you might not get it with how much Steve eats.” May chuckles.

“That’s alright, i’ll take my chances. I just need to find someone who will actually go along with it.” A sigh escapes May’s lips.

Tony thinks for a moment and snaps his fingers, breaking May’s train of thought, not that she was thinking about anything in the moment anyway.

“What?” She asks.

“I think I know someone, wait do you want male or female?”

May stares at him, one of her scary death stares that Tony hates. He immediately puts his hands up. “Alright, jeez. Just stop looking at me like that. God, you’re worse than Milo.”

It’s nighttime and May is sitting uncomfortably in a fancy restaurant, she checks her watch again for the third time that night. Her date, who Tony set her up with, was fifty minutes late and she felt awful for the poor waitress who kept coming up to her asking for her order. May sighs as she drinks the remaining wine in her glass, she gestures towards the waitress for another bottle, dear god she’s going to need it. The waitress, Pepper is her name, leaves the bottle on the table.

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything else? I’m sure bread and wine isn’t the most suitable meal.”

May reads the menu again. “You’re right. You know what? I think I’ll have the ravioli.”

“Excellent choice, I’ll bring that out for you shortly.” Pepper smiles.

May bites the inside of her cheek. “Please take your time, it’s not like I’m waiting for anyone else.” She gestures towards the empty seat in front of her.

Pepper’s lips curl up into her mouth, she looks around the restaurant before leaning down to May’s height, “I’ll throw in a free desert, just for you.”

The glass of wine stills in May’s hand, the red liquid swooshes around in it. She turns to look at Pepper, her tongue poking out to wet her lips. “Why, thank you.”

Pepper walks away towards the kitchen and May can’t help but stare at her as she does. Her line of sight is interrupted by her phone ringing. Without even reading the I.D, May already knows who it is.

“Hi Tony,” she grumbles into the phone.

“Hi darling, so tell me everything, how is he? Great?”

May’s jaw clenches, she doesn’t want to cause a scene in this very nice restaurant. “Well, darling,” she imitates Tony’s tone, “it’s been an hour and I’m sitting here alone in this fucking expensive ass place.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Stark.”

“But I- I don’t understand. He was actually excited for it, I don’t know why,” Tony rambles on and May isn’t listening to a word he’s saying because her eyes are flowing over to Pepper talking to customers.

“May? You still there?”

She lets out a cough, “yeah, I’m still here. I’m getting dinner for one.”

“Oh, okay, I was just gonna come to you but if you’re good,” Tony’s voice trails off as May stares at Pepper who’s carrying a tray of food over one shoulder and placing it down onto the serving table. She bends down to grab extra napkins and forks and May can’t help but advert her eyes down to Pepper’s body. Tight black jeans do wonders for everyone.

“Parker!” Tony yells out. May does a double-take and blinks repeatedly. “Jesus christ, what the hell! I’ve been talking for two minutes without an interruption.”

“Sorry, I got distracted,” May says as her face becomes flushed.

“Distracted from?” Tony coerces out.

“There’s a really cute waitress who’s working tonight,” May whispers into the phone and Tony reacts how anyone would, by letting out an excited scream.

“No way! Steve! May’s crushing on the waitress,” Tony says excitedly. In the background May can hear Steve say ‘are you serious, Tony hang up! Let her get back to the date.’ Tony shushes him.

“Goodbye, Tony,” May hangs up the phone as Tony yells excuses to not hang up.

May’s putting her phone back into her bag when Pepper is walking towards her with dinner. She places it in front of her. May takes a breath. “This looks great, thank you.” A genuine smile flashes across her face.

“Enjoy, I’ll just be over here if you need anything.” Pepper smiles and nods her head in the direction where she’ll be. She begins to walk away when May grabs her forearm, stopping in her step.

“Please, sit,” May gestures towards the empty seat in front of her. Pepper looks around the restaurant, it’s late and nearly empty with a few stragglers and the clean up crew’s about to start coming in. Pepper immediately sits down and loosens her tie, pulling it down a few inches before unbuttoning her collar.

May digs into her ravioli, it tastes so delicate and warm, and the sauce is great, a mix of red and vodka sauce. It might be one of May’s new favorite dishes. “So do you like being a waitress?”

Pepper chuckles, “Is this how you always begin conversations?” She grabs a water pitcher from a nearby empty table and fills up a glass, nearly downs the whole glass and lets out a breath. May smiles before taking another bite. “Not always but I thought I would give it a shot.”

A small smirk appears on Pepper’s face, “I just need this job to help pay for college. It’s only a couple days a week so it’s not all bad.” May hums in agreement and takes a sip of wine.

“Can I be honest for a second.” May nods her head. “Who the fuck stood you up tonight?” May lets out a loud cackle. She covers her mouth with her hand to subdue her laughter. Pepper stares at her, for the first time that night she actually really looks at her. She notices how May gets crinkles in the corner of her eyes when she laughs really loud. She notices her dimples rise up when she grins a certain way. She notices how her brown eyes look lighter, more warmer in the light. She notices how her cheeks get more flushed, a light shade of pink. And lastly, Pepper notices how her heart is beating like a drum in her chest and how her palms are suddenly clammy, and how she wants May to feel like this every day of the week.

Once May has calmed down, she wipes an invisible tear from her eye and drinks the remaining wine in her glass. “Thank you, I needed a good laugh.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll let you finish your meal and I’ll bring dessert out,” Pepper says as she stands up from the table.

“Hopefully for two?”

“Absolutely,” Pepper walks away towards the remaining stragglers, talking to them. May sighs contently, she suddenly feels very warm and a tad nauseous.

Ten minutes pass by and May eats half of her ravioli dish. She leans back in her chair, deciding she’s definitely bringing leftovers home. Pepper exits the kitchen carrying a plate of dessert. Once in front of May, she places it on the table. “Chocolate mousse cake with vanilla ice cream on top.”

May licks her lips. “Looks great, shall we?”

“We shall,” Pepper hands May a spoon and they dig in. It’s so rich and creamy and delicious. Once dessert is devoured by the two of them, Pepper grabs a take-out container and puts May’s leftovers in it, sealing it in a brown paper bag. May hands Pepper her card for the check, after a brief moment she comes back with it.

“Thank you. I hope the rest of your night is lovely.”

May smiles, “Yours too.” She pauses for a second, her breath catches in her throat. “When do you get off work?”

Pepper stares at her, mouth agape, and she looks at her watch. “My shift ended ten minutes ago.” She chuckles awkwardly, hoping to ease the sudden tension.

May has her coat on, her bag slung over her shoulder and leftovers in hand. She turns to look at Pepper, “You wanna get out of here?”

Pepper nods her head, “yes, yes. Let me get my things.”

May watches Pepper run off to get her things, as she does, she quickly texts Tony. No, she texts Steve because he’s more likely to read it. She texts him; ‘I know Tony won’t respond so I’m telling you to tell him to not come over in the morning for breakfast.’ Seconds later Steve replies, ‘will do’ with the thumbs up emoji, followed by, ‘late night? And wink emoji.’ May responses back with the middle finger emoji and once she does Pepper is at her side. She puts her phone in her bag and they’re out the door.

The minute they’re back in May’s apartment, May has Pepper pressed against the door. They shuffle their jackets off, their bags land on the hardwood floor with a thud. Peppers arms are around May’s waist, pulling her closer. She presses her soft lips onto May’s, they move in sync, letting out breathy moans before Pepper slides her tongue into May’s mouth, deepening the kiss. May grabs Pepper by her neck, pulling her closer until the silky fabric of May’s dress rubs against her now, slightly unbuttoned shirt. Pepper shivers at the touch of it, small goosebumps rise on her exposed skin. They pull away for a second, both chests heaving and feeling hot.

“Bedroom?”

“Definitely.”

It’s early in the morning when May wakes up, she turns her head to look at the alarm clock, instantly rolling her eyes when she sees that it reads exactly eight a.m. She wipes the sleep out of her eyes before rubbing her bare shoulders and reaches down to the floor, grabbing a white t-shirt and throws it over her naked torso. It’s not perfect, there’s a small coffee stain on it, but she doesn’t care because Pepper is still in bed.

May carefully reaches over to move a blonde strand out Pepper’s eyes before placing a kiss on her forehead and quietly gets up to make some coffee and breakfast. She hears the pitter-patter of Milo behind her as she enters the kitchen. As the coffee machine powers up, May gives Milo his breakfast, he lets out a soft meow as if he’s saying thank you. May ponders for a moment deciding on what to make for breakfast, she opens the fridge to see it almost bare and empty. She lets out a groan when realizing she got held up with Tony and forgot to go grocery shopping. She settles on making French toast, making a couple slices and topping it with powered sugar and syrup. The coffee machine lets out a beep and she pours the dark, warm liquid into two mugs, adding two spoonfuls of sugar and an insane amount of coffee creamer. May lets out a content sigh when she takes a sip, it’s perfect.

Pepper wakes up as sunlight shines through the window, her skin feels warm and soft and golden. She reaches over to check the time on her phone, it reads eight-thirty along with text messages from a group chat. She stretches a hand out to feel a cold spot, her bottom lip pokes out. She wanted to wrap her arms around May and thank her for making her feel like she escalated to another world, for feeling like she saw the moon and stars and everything beyond.

Pepper grabs a discarded hoodie that was on a nearby chair and throws it over her, lifting up her blonde locks that got stuck under the neck hole. The smell of French toast leads her to the kitchen, where she quietly watched May sit on the counter sipping her coffee while watching tv. May looks up from her coffee and sees Pepper, her eyes light up.

“Morning! I made breakfast and coffee.”

Pepper swears she could stay here forever, she could get use to this. May hands her the other coffee mug and Pepper doesn’t miss the cute look on May’s face when she takes a sip of her black coffee.

“I’m not even going to ask about that,” May’s eyes advert towards the mug in Pepper’s hand. Pepper nods her head. “Good, cause that’ll be up for debate later or another day.” She takes another sip of coffee.

“I forgot to go grocery shopping so I made French toast.”

Pepper smiles. “It smells wonderful. I haven’t had French toast in forever.” She cuts a piece off, dips it in syrup, and takes a bite. She gives May a thumbs up as continues to devour the breakfast food. May finished her remaining piece of French toast a few minutes before Pepper came into the kitchen, she sits quietly drinking her coffee as Pepper eats. May smirks to herself, god knows she worked up an appetite last night.

Once Pepper is done eating, she looks up at May, silently hating that she has the height advantage now that she’s on the counter. She places her hands on May’s thighs. “You have a little,” May begins before licking her thumb and wiping off some powder sugar at the corner of Pepper’s lip, “there. All good.”

“God, you’re so cute,” Pepper breathes out before kissing May. Her hands slide up her torso towards May’s face where she cups her cheeks, her thumbs comfortably resting on her cheekbones as she gently caresses her soft skin. May smiles into the kiss, she feels lightweight, like she’s floating on a cloud. It’s soft when Pepper kisses May, she grabs Pepper’s waist pulling her in between her thighs. She holds onto her waist as she wraps her legs around Pepper's.

Pepper’s tongue darts into May’s mouth as she lets out a low moan, a hint of heat radiating off both of them. Pepper pulls away for a moment, a pout immediately forms on May’s face. Pepper chuckles as she takes off the hoodie, she’s bare underneath except for her underwear and May bites her lip. Pepper lets out a gasp when May’s cold hands touch her, the hair on her arms stick up slightly as she moves her hands towards Pepper’s neck. Her hands remain still on Pepper’s chin, “if you’re cold, I can warm you up in no time.” May pulls Pepper into a kiss and they return to their former position. May’s about to take off her shirt when there’s a knock at the door.

“Who the fuck is that?” May growls as she jumps off the counter and darts towards the door. The door is open in a flash and May is annoyed at the sight in front of her. Of course, it's Tony, with a smile on his face while Steve is daunting an ‘i’m sorry’ look. May is looking at them both with an expression that could make a child cry.

“Go away,” she practically yells at them.

Steve sighs, “I’m sorry, you know how he gets. I tried my best to make him stay home.”

May rests a hand on her hip. “Yeah, that worked out pretty well, huh Steve. Did you not try sex?”

Tony perks up at the mention of sex, “Oh, you bet he did.” He mouths the word ‘twice’ and holds up two fingers, Steve rolls his eyes. May shakes her head knowing there’s no way they’re not just going to stand in the hallway all day, she moves out of the way to let the boys in.

“Put the hoodie back on, we’ve got company,” May says annoyingly as she makes her way back into the kitchen. She begins to put the dishes into the sink when Tony lets out a shriek, almost making May drop a mug.

“Shut up, Pepper!”

“Hi Tony.”

Tony does a double-take, looking at May then Pepper, then May again before letting out a gasp. “Oh my god.”

Steve gently pushes Tony into a seat on the couch, letting him absorb everything his genius brain can handle, before helping May in the kitchen. He’s handing her various plates and forks around the kitchen, eventually getting distracted by Milo who was now sitting on the counter, meowing at Steve to pet him. He happily obliges, a smile plastered across his face as he does.

“Okay! I’m good,” Tony yells as he claps his hands together.

Pepper shakes her head, she looks over his shoulder to see May making another pot of coffee. It only takes a few seconds before May is looking back at Pepper, she mouths an ‘i’m sorry’ with a pouty look. Pepper shrugs before mouthing back, ‘it’s okay’ and blows a kiss. May blushes.

“So how did you two meet?” Tony says as he rests his arm on the couch, leaning closer to Pepper. May is in the living room now, changing the tv channel on the remote to a Will & Grace marathon. She falls into Pepper’s lap, earning a giggle from the blonde and blocks Tony’s view of her. Steve carefully drops Milo into Tony’s lap, he stares at the black cat, still not over yesterday’s incident of scaring him to death. Milo looks at him before jumping down and walking over to Steve, who sat in the corner loveseat. Milo jumps into his lap and comfortably lays down.

Steve smiled, his dimples coming into play as Tony shared a look of jealousy at him. He let out a scoff before bringing his attention back to May and Pepper. Tony let out a cough. “Can I get an answer or is this going to be a bigger mystery than finding out if an actress is gay or not?”

May scoffs, “First of all, we always find out. Second, we met last night at the restaurant. Remember, your guy didn’t show up? Pepper was the waitress.” Tony’s face lit up like a little kid on Christmas. Pepper chuckled as she shook her head. God, Tony was one of a kind, there was certainly no one in the world like him.

“How did it go?” Tony asks as he sits in a criss-cross position, hands clasped together with his chin resting in them. A literal child.

“It was going well until you showed up,” May blurts out as Pepper shushed her. May sighs. “It’s very good.” Pepper rubs her arm up and down May’s in a comforting manner, already feeling how tense and annoyed she is. Something she’ll definitely have to get used too.

Steve snaps his fingers causing everyone to look at him, including Milo who raised a paw at him. “Why don’t you ask Pepper to come home with you for winter break? You said you were bringing someone. Well, here you go.” May looks at Steve with an expression he can’t read, nor understand. She side eyes Pepper, she was definitely not in the position to ask Pepper to come home with her to meet her family. They just met last night and May was in no way ready for her to get caught up in her bullshit, she wanted Pepper to be hers and only hers. She didn’t want her to be a victim to the chaos her family causes, May just wanted to stay in the little happy bubble with her. But eventually the bubble pops and you have to make a new one, oh, what the hell could go wrong.

“What’s he talking about?” Pepper asks, a wave of concern flashes across her faces. May sighs.

“I wasn’t even going to bring it up, Steven,” May angrily says as she looks at Steve, his face is filled with regret the moment May says his full name. He immediately looks down at Milo, petting him softly as he licks Steve’s hand.

“I told my parents I was bringing someone home for winter break, so I told Tony I just need to find someone to fake date until it’s over, it’s only for two days. I was planning on cutting the reunion special early anyway.” Pepper nods her head, taking everything in.

“Okay,” Pepper says.

May raises an eyebrow, “okay what?”

“I’ll do it, I’ll come with you. I’m not doing anything for break. My parents are going to some ski resort upstate. Plus, I’m an only child.”

May hesitates for a moment, her mouth agape. For once, she’s utterly speechless. Her mouth curls up into her mouth, “you know what? Fuck it. Yes.”

Pepper grins, “Let’s make it official. May Parker, will do you the honor of being my fake girlfriend?” She hold out her hand. May smiles.

“Yes, I do, Pepper.” May intertwines their hands together. They stare at one another and Pepper looks at May like she holds all the secrets to the universe and wants to discover all of them, including the hidden ones. It’s no secret May’s a tad bit scared of commitment, but she’s looking at Pepper as if all the stars and moon combined into one single element. It’s barely been twenty-four hours and she knows she wants Pepper in her life.

It’s the day before they head to May’s family home and May is immediately regretting even going. She hasn’t packed yet, and she can’t bring Milo with them because her dad is severely allergic to cats. May rolls her eyes for the third time, Pepper has counted so far, sitting across the island table as May talks to her mother on the phone. May put her on speakerphone so Pepper could hear what the devil incarnated sounds like before meeting her in person.

May mouths ‘blah, blah, blah’ as her mother goes on and on about her cousin getting remarried again. She imitates Darth Vader using the force to choke herself until her mother calls her name.

“May”

“Yeah?”

“Are you listening to me or are you drowning me out by staring at the tv screen?”

May lets out a cough, “no, i’m totally listening. You were talking about Natasha getting remarried.”

“Yes! I can’t believe she’s already getting remarried after divorcing Matthew last year!” May’s mother exclaims. May could hear the annoyance through the phone.

“Well, some people move on fast and I think this is good for Nat, you know how she can be,” May says genuinely, she always defends Natasha.

“I just don’t understand,” her mother trails off and May looks at Pepper. She’s caressing Milo as he’s lies down on the counter, his eyes are closed and purring softly.

“Your dad said you’re bringing someone with you? Is it Ben? I’ve missed him, how is he?” And just like that, May’s entire demeanor is changed, Pepper immediately stops petting Milo to look at May.

“Oh, um, yeah i’m bringing someone but it’s not Ben. We broke up,” May says carefully, almost like she’s stepping on eggshells, one wrong move and it’ll break.

“Oh no, what happened? He was so sweet, May.”

May ran a hand through her brown locks, she pulled on the ends. “I don’t really remember, mom. Listen, I gotta go, I have to start packing.”

“Okay, sweetie. Remember to bring sweaters! It’s cold here!” May hangs up and lets out a heavy sigh as she crosses her arms on the counter, resting her head in them. Pepper is behind her, rubbing her shoulders in a comforting manner, she places a kiss to her hair. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

May lifts her head up and turns to face Pepper, she blows a raspberry. “You really think so? I mean, what you heard was only the beginning of it. We don’t even have to go, we can just stay here or even go to Tony’s.”

Pepper shakes her head, “there’s no way you can get out of this, you promised and you’re going to fulfill it.”

May lets out a groan and crosses her arms over her chest, “fine but you’re helping me pack.” She grabs Pepper’s arm and drags her to the bedroom.

“I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”

They haven’t gotten on the plane yet and May is already dreading this. She hasn’t even had her coffee yet, and it was definitely killing her mood. Steve, the ever so sweetheart, drove the two of them to the airport at the ass crack of dawn. He was already out on his morning run before picking them up and was in the most perky, happiest, mood ever. In the car ride to the airport, Steve was telling them that he let Tony sleep in, knowing how much of a little shit he’s going to be when Steve eventually wakes him up to get on the road to his parents house later in the day.

May’s knee bounced up and down as she waited for their flight to be called, she was getting impatient as she laid her head back on the chair, eyes closed. A sudden cough made May open her eyes, she looked up and saw Pepper standing in front of her, holding two hot cups of coffee. May perked up, her eyes widened. Pepper outstretched May’s cup, their hands touched briefly when May grabbed it. She took a sip and let out a heavenly sigh. Pepper smiled at her as she took a sip of her own, sitting down next to her.

“When do you think our flight will be-”

“Flight 702 to New Hampshire is now boarding,” the announcer yells in a horrible, yet mildly disgusted, tone.

“Never mind,” Pepper chuckles as both of them stand and grab their carry ons . On the plane, they have a row to their selves, Pepper gives May the window seat. It’s a short flight and May falls asleep the entire time, her head resting on Pepper’s shoulder. Pepper doesn’t sleep, she’s too busy reading the book she brought with her and making sure May’s okay. She doesn’t tell May that two people told her they were a cute couple, Pepper smiled and thanked them for their kind words.

May wakes up when the plane touches down on the runway, she looks out the window to see that it’s snowing, she lets out an inaudible groan and turns to see Pepper talking to the flight attendant about the weather. Their conversation ends when she announces they can start exiting the plane.

“Did I sleep the whole flight? I’m sorry.”

Pepper pushes a strand of May’s hair behind her ear, “It’s okay, you were tired. Everyone heard you snoring.” May gasps, “I don’t snore!” Pepper lets out a chuckle as she grabs her bags in one hand and May’s in the other. May smiles.

Natasha is waiting outside the airport for them and May’s entire mood is lightened. She pulls May into a hug and ushers them into her car, instantly cranking the heat up before turning to Pepper, in the backseat. She holds her hand out, “i’m Natasha, May’s favorite cousin.” Pepper shakes her hand. “Very nice to meet you, Natasha.” Natasha smiles and pulls out of her spot and starts driving to their destination, the radio is playing soft music on low.

“Mom told me you’re getting remarried?” May questions once their silence got enough. Natasha smiles and holds out her left hand, the diamond on her finger isn’t big, it’s small, wrapped around a silver band, and it’s just perfect for her. “It’s so simple, I love it,” May says happily as she watches Natasha take another look at it before using said hand to turn on the blinker, making a right turn.

“Do I even want to know who gave it to you?” May says curiously.

A hint of blush appears on Natasha’s face, she clears her throat, “guess.”

May lets out a heavy sigh, “are you kidding me? I haven’t seen you in so long and you’re making me guess! Can you believe this Pep?” May turns in her seat to look at Pepper who pauses for a second, “Is it a woman?”

Natasha doesn’t say anything which essentially means yes, and May lets out a gasp. She repeatedly claps her hands in excitement, “Oh my god yes!” Natasha grins.

“How did you know?” Natasha asks into the rearview mirror, her undivided attention on Pepper. Pepper smiles and she leans forward, resting her arms on her knees. “You look happier, and the ring is simple, yet elegant. It’s not drawing a lot of attention, it’s just right. Plus, you should have cleaned out your car before picking us up because there’s a lace bra back here.”

May laughs loudly as Natasha mumbles ‘fuck’ under her breath. She puts the car into park once they pull into a driveway. May lets out out a deep breath. “Do mom and dad know?

Natasha shakes her head, “not yet. She’s coming over soon. I can’t wait for you to meet her May. You too, Pepper. You’re gonna love her.” May smiles. In all her years she’s known Natasha, she’s never once been this excited for May to meet someone. She’s met her former husband, Matthew, but only on rare occasions. Natasha was never a very open person with her relationship, so this was all new to May, and she likes it. She likes it when Natasha is openly accepting and vulnerable, showing her true colors to people she loves dearly. May can see it in her eyes, the way she talks about her fiancée is so soft and unique, you can see how in love she is. May reaches over the cupholders to pull Natasha into a hug, she instinctively wraps her arms around the smaller woman, burying her head into her shoulder.

“You know I love you,” May mumbles. Natasha smiles into her shoulder, slowly swaying her back and forth. “Of course I do, you dork.” Natasha releases May from her embrace and they exit the car. The snow is coming down hard as they stand outside the front door of May’s parents house. May exhales a shaky breath as Pepper grabs her hand and rubs her knuckles softly.

“You know, we can just run back to the car and get a hotel?”

Natasha gives her a look, “you know we can’t do that. Stop trying to run away.” She opens the front door and the three of them are instantly greeted by warm air and the sound of voices echoing throughout the house. May immediately leads Pepper up the stairs to her former room, the loft a.k.a the attic. Once in the room, May shuts the door, locking it before letting out a breath. Pepper looks around the room, curiosity getting to the best of her as she takes everything in, admiring all of May’s little nicknacks and decor.

“This is where the magic happens,” May says as she slides a hand over her comforter, a sly smirk flashes across her face. Pepper chuckles as she shrugs off her carryon bag, placing it onto the couch in front of the bay window. May’s room is very cozy and simple, Pepper’s eye is immediately drawn to the huge bookcase adjacent to the queen size bed, the books on the shelves are old and new, and of course they’re in alphabetical order. She drags her fingers across the books.

“It took me awhile to finally complete it and a lot of money at thrift bookstores,” May chuckles as Pepper smiles, still taking her time to look at the books, “it’s very impressive.”

There’s a knock at the door and May lets out a groan, she trudges to the door, opening it to reveal Natasha standing next to a petite blonde woman who looks nervous. They don’t bother asking to enter because Natasha grabs the woman and pulls her into the room, taking a seat on the couch. May stares at the empty hallway, flabbergasted, she shuts the door.

“A simple hi would’ve done but okay, what’s up?” May rests her hands on her hips. She gives Pepper, who leans back on the book shelves, a confused look. Natasha grabs the woman’s hand, intertwining them together, her thumb rubs her knuckles. “This is my fiancée, Yelena.”

May lets out a gasp, her mouth agape. She runs over to the two of them and hugs them tightly, Natasha has to pry her arms off of them. May awkwardly chuckles. “Hi Yelena, i’m May. Natasha’s favorite cousin.” She extends an arm out to the blonde. Natasha rolls her eyes, “you’re my only cousin, idiot.”

Yelena shakes May’s hand, “it’s very nice to meet you, May. Nat has told me a lot about you.” May lets out a squeak, “you let her call you Nat! That’s so cute! No one in the family is allowed to call her that.”

“It’s true,” Natasha says as she shrugs her shoulders. She pulls Yelena in closer, making her comfortable as she lays back on Natasha’s chest, pressing a kiss to her hair. May grins, she extends a hand out to Pepper, pulling her to the bed. They lay back against the many pillows on the bed.

“This is Pepper, my girlfriend,” May says to Yelena, they both wave to one another. Natasha gives May a look, like she trying to figure something out but, May shrugs it off.

“Your mom’s looking for you,” Natasha says when she’s putting Yelena’s hair into a French braid. Yelena smiles at her through the mirror next to them. May lets out an incoherent groan and drops her head back on the headboard, banging it slightly. “Did you see her?” May looks at Natasha.

“Yep,” Natasha says as a small chuckle escapes her lips. Yelena turns to look at Natasha, “tell her, please.” A smile is across her face in a flash. May immediately sits upright, “tell me what?” She’s curious, along with Pepper who imitates her.

“Melina had already met Yelena a couple days ago, and she’s really happy so I thought it would be the same with your mom so,” Natasha is interrupted by May letting out yet, another groan, “let me finish telling the story you little shit.” A pout forms across May’s face. Pepper kisses her cheek, and the pout disappears.

“So I introduce Yelena to your mom and she said,” Natasha laughs, along with Yelena. She takes a breath to get regain her composure, “she said it’s so nice of you to bring your gal pal with you, the matching rings are adorable!” May cackles loudly to the point where she’s clenching her stomach and repeatedly hitting Pepper, who’s covering her mouth with her hand to subdue her laughter.

“Shut the fuck up! You’re lying!” She blurts out as she takes a deep breath.

“I swear to god May, Yelena can vouch for me,” Natasha gestures towards Yelena who nods her head and wipes a tear from her eye.

“I told you it would be a nightmare,” May whispers to Pepper, turning to look at her. Pepper tucks a strand of brown hair behind May’s ear as she looks into May’s eyes. Pepper can tell she’s nervous and scared to show it, “you did. Many, many, times but i’m here, so it’ll be okay and if not then there’s always a hotel.” May leans into her and Pepper places a soft kiss onto her forehead, May smiles.

After an hour of catching up, Natasha and Yelena retreat to their room, they already had dinner and May felt bad for keeping Pepper all cooped up in her room. It’s after eight pm when they ascend down to the kitchen, May heats up whatever leftovers the family had for dinner as Pepper grabs two sodas from the fridge. A light flickers on and they freeze in place. “If you were hungry you could’ve just came down for dinner like everyone else, May.”

May curses under her breath, “hi, mom.” A fake smile flashes across her face and Pepper knows this because May’s real, genuine, smile causing those cute dimples that she loves so much. “And you must be Pepper, hi i’m Claire Parker. It’s so nice to meet one of May’s friends other than that Stark boy.”

Pepper shakes her hand, “yeah, Tony can be a bit of a handful.”

May takes out their leftovers from the microwave when it beeps, grabs two forks and walks past her mother, “actually, Pepper and I are together, you know like Natasha and Yelena, except without the rings.” An expression flashes across Claire’s face that neither Pepper nor May can read.

“Oh, okay. You gals have fun. I’m just going to make some tea,” Claire says as she turns on the stove, boiling water in the teapot. May lets out a deep breath, she clenches her fist in her free hand not holding the takeout and forks. “I don’t know what century you’re in but, no one says gal pals anymore, and it’s quite an out of date term and i’m not sure you think you’re saying it correctly.”

Claire gives May a confused expression, “of course, I am. You’re girlfriends.”

Pepper now understands why May didn’t want to come home, she’s also feeling a tad bit uncomfortable as the tension in the room has reached a higher level. May is resisting the urge to slap herself across the face, how was she related to this person.

“No, mom, I-“ May pauses. She mumbles ‘fuck it’ under her breath and licks her lips. “Pepper and I are together as in we kiss and have sex and go on dates like everyone else. The same way as you and dad do. The same why Natasha and Yelena do, it’s normal.”

Claire’s face is as white as a ghost and she doesn’t say anything for a solid minute which means it’s a good time to run upstairs and eat, and they do exactly that. May and Pepper climb the insane amount of stairs back to May’s room, sit on the couch by the window and eat as they look out the window at the stars. It’s silent for a moment, they’re eating as May’s record player is quietly blasting a spice girls record.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Pepper says once the silence got enough for her, she looks up from her container of food to see May smiling. “I didn’t think I would do it but it just got so frustrating. We can leave tomorrow if you want, i’m sure I can get Natasha and Yelena on board.”

“Don’t you have family staying over the weekend?” Pepper questions as she snatches an egg roll out of May’s takeout dish. May gasps and shrugs it off, it’s only food.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen most of them since last break, but i’d rather just spend it with Natasha and you.”

Pepper looks up at May after taking a bite of her egg roll, “I’m in, whatever it is you want to do.” May cheeks turn a light shade of pink and she smiles. She smiles the real, genuine one, cute dimples and all, that makes Pepper’s heart beat fast in her chest, it echos in her ears.

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” May puts her now empty container onto the coffee table, she sits in a criss cross position and leans forward towards Pepper. “Tell me something about you. I want to know everything.”

Pepper tilted her head, pausing for a moment to think, “I wanted to be a vet when I was younger. I loved animals, still do, so much until I realized going to school for almost seven years seemed too excessive.” May smiled at the thought of Pepper being a vet, helping animals, making sure they’re happy and healthy.

“That’s cute. I always knew I wanted to do something with my love of books, whether I decide to become a writer or open up my own bookstore, it’s where I truly feel like myself, when I’m surrounded by books and of course, Milo.”

Pepper rests her chin in her hand, she looks at May as she talks about her love for books and writing and what she could do. She notices that May talks with her hands a lot, they’re constantly moving in different directions when she speaks, making her point across. Pepper also notices there’s a tiny twinkle in her eyes when she talks about anything she loves and Pepper decides right then and there that she has moved from the like stage of their relationship to love, and it was going to be difficult.

May lets out a yawn, breaking Pepper’s train of thought. She gets up from her seat, shuts the record player off and grabs a pair of pajamas from the wardrobe. She changes into them, not caring if Pepper sees, they already had sex. May lazily braids her hair as Pepper changes into her own pajamas.

Pepper’s flannel pajama set is far more gracious looking than May’s old Beatles shirt and some boxers. They throw out the empty containers, shut the lights off, and are immersed in the softness of the sheets and comforter. May turns on her side, she pulls the comforter up to her chest, and faces Pepper. The blonde imitates her, they stare at each other as the moonlight shines through the window onto their face. May’s tongue pokes out, wetting her lips, before whispering, “Did you know that the moon is a lesbian?”

Pepper covers her mouth with her hand as she laughs. She takes a brief pause to collect her breath. “Are you serious, who told you?”

May raises her eyebrows, “Um, everyone knows. The moon and the sun are lesbians, they’re together.” Pepper nods her head, “yes, what was I thinking? They definitely are.” She didn’t know much about the moon and sun, even the stars, but what she did know was that May was very enthusiastic about the moon being a lesbian and Pepper didn’t have the heart to tell her what she thought of it.

“It’s just a theory, I’ll let you sleep on it.” May says before giving Pepper a sweet, soft, kiss and turning the other way to get some sleep. Pepper freezes, she didn’t expect that at all. She mumbles out, “Night, May.”

The bedroom door barges open, it smacks against the wall. May instinctively sits upright in bed, her hair is disheveled and eyes are still closed, and Pepper is still soundly sleeping.

“What,” May mumbles out, eyes still closed, her voice is hoarse.

“Breakfast is ready,” Natasha says as she leans her back on the doorway frame “I’m not leaving until you get up.”

May lets out a groan, she runs a hand through her hair and gets up quietly from the bed without waking Pepper. She takes one last look at the sleeping blonde and follows Natasha down the stairs. It’s suspiciously quiet for a Saturday morning in the Parker household, besides the tv in the next room playing the news on blast, it made May feel a little on edge. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes as Natasha immediately grabs the already made coffee pot and sits in the empty chair next to Yelena.

Natasha hands May a mug, she pours the steaming dark goodness into it, adding a touch of creamer and sugar before taking a sip and letting out a content sigh. There’s a variety of breakfast foods scattered along the island table. Eggs, pancakes, bacon, and toast. Even some boxes of cereal and bowls of fruit.

May rolled her eyes, her parents always go all out when they get together and there was only eight of them currently in the house. Three of said eight were currently sleeping. Claire hasn’t even acknowledged May’s presence yet, occasionally sipping her coffee and looking over at the newspaper her dad was currently reading. May let out a huff and piled some of everything onto a platter, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filled it with orange juice and set it onto the tray. She lifted it up and began to walk back upstairs to her bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Claire called out. May bit the inside of her cheek.

“Upstairs. Pepper’s still sleeping, so I thought I would surprise her with breakfast in bed or is it mandatory to eat in the kitchen now?”

“That’s very sweet, kiddo,” May’s dad, Ed, said as he licked his finger and turned a page in the paper. A half smile appeared on May’s face, she ascended up the stairs when no one objected, though May knew as soon as her back was turned her mother had a stern look on her face.

Natasha and Yelena sat quietly watching May walk up the stairs. Yelena gave Nat a look, almost asking if we should follow but Natasha shakes her head. She broke off a piece of pancake, dipped it in syrup and took a bite. Yelena craned her neck to look at May’s mother, she felt a sense of uneasiness but discarded it when Natasha threw a berry at her.

“Why?” Yelena asked when Natasha threw a second berry.

“Because I wanted too,” Natasha argued back, instead of throwing another fruit, she popped it into her mouth. Yelena stared at her, her nose scrunching up.

“If you keep doing that i’m going to kiss you,” Natasha said as she scooted closer to Yelena, her arm rested on the back of Yelena’s chair. Yelena moved closer, she reached over to wrap an arm around Natasha but moved it at the last second to grab a strawberry off her plate. Natasha let out a small fake gasp before smiling, she knew what Yelena was going to do before she even did it. It was a little thing that Yelena loved, like Natasha was part witch or something, she had a sixth sense.

“No PDA in the kitchen please,” Ed said without even looking up from his newspaper as he did the crossword of the day. Natasha rolled her eyes, “we weren’t doing anything, uncle Ed.”

“Oh, I know, but who knows what happens after the kitchen gets covered in fruit, I definitely don’t.” Natasha let out a chuckle. She cups Yelena’s face with her hand and gives her an eskimo kiss, Yelena lets out a giggle.

May shuts the door quietly behind her as she places the tray of food onto the table. She walks over to Pepper’s side of the bed and places a kiss on her forehead, Pepper stirs and mumbles, “Why are you giving me kisses, no one’s around.” May chuckles, “that makes it even better.”

“I brought up breakfast since you wanted to sleep a little late.” May leaves Pepper’s side to bring the tray over onto the bed, Pepper is immediately woken up by the warm, delicious smells of food. Her stomach rubbles. “First of all,” she lets out a yawn. “You didn’t wake me up so don’t blame it on me, sweet cheeks.”

Pepper ties her messy bed hair into a ponytail as she sips her orange juice and cuts into her pancake. It’s covered in syrup and completely lathered in butter, just the way she likes it.

“What are we doing today?’ Pepper asks after she takes a bite. She pops a pre-cut strawberry into her mouth.

May takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m not sure, maybe we’ll go to a museum or just hang out.” Pepper nods her head. They sit in silence as Pepper eats her breakfast. Occasionally May will steal some fruit out of the bowl, earning a glare from the blonde. Pepper lets out a huff as she sits back, she’s content and in a slight food coma, it’s good though. May stares at her and raises an eyebrow in her direction before standing up, taking two long strides to the dresser and grabbing an outfit for the day.

“I’m heading to the shower,” May suggests as she walks towards the door, “unless you want to save time and water.” She raises both eyebrows up and down. A small smirk appears on Pepper’s face, she licks her lips.

“Love to, sweet cheeks. But, I’m afraid I can’t get up, due to the food coma that has overcome me. Raincheck?” A pout forms on May’s face, “okay.” And she’s out the door. Pepper lays her head back onto the pillows, closing her eyes as her nose scrunches up and a sigh escapes her lips.

“You should’ve went,” Natasha calls out.

Pepper looks up and sees Natasha with her arms crossed, hair braided, standing against the wall. She’s dressed like Lara Croft, black jeans and leather jacket. Pepper gets up from the warm, comfortable bed, to her suitcase, pulling out an outfit.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll make it up to her,” Pepper says as she stands awkwardly holding her clothes in her crossed arms.

“This has nothing to do with morning shower sex but please don’t hurt her. She can overthink anything and is a little fragile.”

“I won’t. You can count on me to pick up any broken pieces that have fallen,” Pepper swears as she places a hand on her chest. Natasha looks at her, almost stunned, maybe her little cousin finally found someone who equals her.

“Well we’re going to the museum today, because I don’t think anyone wants to be in this house right now,” Natasha nods her head and walks way, leaving Pepper alone to get dressed. She’s half naked in just her bra and pajama bottoms when May comes back into her room, towel wrapped around her body and her brown hair is dripping wet down her back.

“Oh,” May says as her cheeks flush, she shuts the door behind her. “I thought you were going to shower after me.”

Pepper shakes her head, “dry shampoo does wonders.” She chuckles. “I’ll do it tonight, you did say you wanted a raincheck.”

May does a double-take, “You’re right, I did say that.” She smirks as she pulls her jeans over her tan, skinny, legs.

“I always am,” A now dressed Pepper says as she runs a hand through her hair. She turns around to see May standing in front of her mirror, admiring herself. Pepper smiles as May turns around.

“Let’s go,” she says as she glides past Pepper and out the bedroom door.

The four of them exit Natasha’s car and head to the museum, it’s not as grand as the one in New York, it has its perks and small flaws. Natasha grabbed Yelena’s hand and drags her in the opposite direction May and Pepper are going. “We’ll see you at the gift shop later!” She called out over her shoulder. Yelena sent the two women a sympathetic smile.

May let out a groan, “of course she wouldn’t want to keep the buddy system in place.” She opened the museum map and began to walk towards the art section, Pepper followed.

“It’s alright. They just want to do their own thing. C’mon,” Pepper smiles as she links her arm around May’s. They’re standing in a gigantic room, paintings scatter the walls in various directions and Pepper’s eyes are immediately fixated on a flower portrait. She stand in front of it, her hand rests on her chin.

“Whatcha thinking about?” May asks as she slides next to Pepper, her eyes move back and forth from the painting to Pepper.

“The colors in this blend almost like a sunset. See here,” she points. “The way the purple moves into the blue then fades into green and so on so forth.” May nods her head. It’s this moment she really wished focused during art class she had to take as an elective.

“I take it you like art?” May asks as they move down the line of paintings, staying in sync with Pepper.

“Yes, very much.”

“God, you and Steve would get along so great,” May says drastically as she looks at the map.

“Why’s that?’ Pepper asked curiously. She tilted her head to the side.

“Because Steve’s an artist, or at least trying to become one. He’s fascinated by it to the point where his apartment is filled with paintings, old and new, unfinished and completed. It’s really remarkable to see someone with their life together and completely immersed in their work.” May frowns and shamelessly tilts her head down to the floor. She walks towards the next set of paintings. Pepper’s eyebrows furrow, she’s not sure how to respond to the truth hidden between the lines. She lets out a breath and follows May.

It’s quiet in the museum besides the soft, elegant, classical music playing throughout the room. May and Pepper don’t speak for a moment until they reach another exhibit, the statues. May’s demeanor has completely changed. She pulls out a camera that Pepper had no idea she brought with her. May ran over to an open bench and rolled back the camera. She disposed the film into it, slow and steady, and snapped it shut. The sound of the camera rolling film was pure, soothingness, to Pepper’s ears. It was equivalent to a wave coming to the shore or the sound of coffee pouring into a mug. With a content sigh, May looked up at Pepper and smiled.

May jumped up from the bench, rolling back and forth on the heels of her shoes. She ushers Pepper to stand by the statue. “Imitate it please.”

With her mouth now agape, Pepper drops her bag next to May and immediately does what she’s told. The statue’s arms are slightly crossed with one another and her head is tilted up, showing off her jawline and collarbones. Once Pepper is in position, May adjusts the zoom and clicks the shutter. “Nice,” May says as she rolls the film. “Come on.” Pepper blinks and nods her head, she grabs her bag and follows the petite brunette.

They spend the next forty minutes lost in one another’s presence and taking photos of the statues while also recreating some of them with the help of a very nice bystander. By the time they’re done, it’s time to meet Natasha and Yelena at the gift shop. Natasha is talking indistinctly to Yelena, May can see that Yelena has a bag of goodies, no doubt in her mind Natasha bought her it.

“Did you guts have a good time?” Yelena asks as she pulls her bag tighter around her shoulder and leans into Natasha.

Pepper nods her head, “Yes, I loved it.” She pauses to glance at May and clears her throat. “The art was beautiful, this was a lot of fun.”

A small smirk appears on Natasha’s face, “good. Let’s go.”

May lets out a groan, “Awe, come on. I don’t want to go home just yet.”

Natasha sighs, “you know we have to go back eventually. You can’t keep hiding in your room until you leave tomorrow night.”

“I can try,” May mutters under her breath as she follows them to the car. Pepper rubs May’s shoulder in a calmly manner.

“I heard that,” Natasha calls out over her shoulder. May rolls her eyes because of course Natasha did. She probably, no definitely, has a sixth sense, May thinks.

They’re back again in the driveway and May just wants to stay in the car. She hates confrontation and she knows it’s only going to get worse. Maybe she can leave early, she thought. No, that would do no one good. Natasha and Yelena exit the car and head towards the house when May pauses in her step before entering. Pepper’s next to her, holding her hand. Getting a weird sense of deja vu.

“It’s alright if you want to leave tonight instead of tomorrow.” Pepper looks at her with concern, her eyebrows furrow. May sighs and says nothing when they enter the warm house. Her mother has definitely been baking as the smell of chocolate and cinnamon flow throughout the house. There’s a roar of laugher coming from the living room.

Natasha takes a pause when she sees Melina and Alexei sitting on the couch with May’s dad. They’re in the middle of a game of chess and a bottle of bourbon has been opened, the bottle is empty halfway. “Um, hi,” Natasha says and their attention is immediately drawn from the chessboard to her.

“Natasha!” Melina says as she gets up from her seat to hug Natasha. Natasha doesn’t know if she should hug her back or remain stiff as a board. “I told you we would come. Hello Yelena.”

“Hello,” Yelena responds as she glances at Natasha. The expression on Natasha’s face is hard to read. Yelena doesn’t know if she should comfort or drag her away from the scene in front of them. Behind them, May and Pepper lean their heads in the room to see what the commotion is and May’s eyes widen. “Those are Natasha’s adopted parents,” she whispers to Pepper. Pepper nods her head. “We heard you were going to be here for the holidays so we thought we would surprise you,” Melina says as she glances back at Alexei, who is taking a gulp of his cold, bourbon, glass. Natasha swallows and clears her throat. “Not that I’m happy to see you, but you didn’t have to come here. We would be with you for the holidays anyway.”

Melina’s eyebrows furrow, “I thought you would be excited to see us. It’s our first Christmas here and it’s been so long since we saw our dear niece, May.” She pauses to look around for the brunette and her eyes land on May slowly sneaking upstairs with Pepper. “May!”

May sighs and turns back around with a smiles on her face, “Hi aunt Melina.” Melina embraces May and rubs her shoulders. “It’s so good to see you dear, how are you?”

May is taken back by the question. Ever since she arrived home, no one has asked her that and she is once again reminded why she likes Melina more than her own flesh and blood mom. May sniffles.

“I’m doing my best, aunt Melina. Um, this is Pepper, my girlfriend. Pepper, this is aunt Melina, Natasha’s mom.” May says as she glances at Natasha, who is sneaking away with Yelena to another room.

“Hi Pepper, it’s so good to meet you” Melina outstretches a hand to her. “How are you enjoying our cold weather? I bet it’s a bit upscale from New York.” Pepper softly shakes her hand, she brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s definitely colder than New York but nothing I can’t handle. Actually, I quite like it.” Pepper says honestly. She doesn’t know where this sudden burst of confidence and truth came out. Maybe it has something to do with the way Melina does things and asks the right questions.

“That’s wonderful to hear. I can’t wait to tell you more once we have gotten settled,” Melina is interrupted by Alexei yelling at Ed, she rolls her eyes. “I have to go calm him down before things get out of hand again. I’ll see you girls later.” As quickly as she came to them, Melina is next to Alexei, rubbing his arm calmly.

May exhales, “there, you met Melina. I think that’s everyone besides by brother and sister who,” May pauses for a second to overlook the living room and part of the kitchen, “who, aren’t even here.” May rubs a hand over her face, she was starting to get tired of her family.

“If my mom and I don’t make up tonight then we’re hopping on the first plane out, is that alright with you?” May asks Pepper, she looks up at her, there’s almost tears in May’s eyes.

“Come on,” Pepper says as she grabs May’s hand. Together they walk up the stairs to May’s room and shut the door. Both of them let out a gasp when they see Natasha and Yelena sitting on the couch.

“I thought you guys were still downstairs,” May questions as she sits on the bed, Pepper following.

“How did you forget your house has more than one set of staircase in it? It truly baffles me that i’m here more than you are,” Natasha says as she plays with Yelena’s hand, instinctively drawing circles on it.

“Yeah, well, don’t take that as a compliment or let it go straight to your head,” May argues back. She leans her head back onto the pillows.

“Do you want to tell or should I?” Pepper whispers. May turns her head towards her, “No, I can”

“Anything you’d like to share with the class, Parker?” Natasha says with an eyebrow raised.

“If mom and I don’t make up tonight, we’re leaving,” May says calmly as she intertwines a finger with Pepper’s, locking it together. Yelena’s eyebrows raise and she cranes her neck to look at Natasha.

“Are you sure?” Natasha asks in a concerning voice, surprising May.

“Yeah. I’m tired of it, I just want to go home, be in my bed and see Milo. I knew I should’ve gone to Tony's.” May angrily says as she hits her head back down onto the soft pillows.

Yelena was about to open her mouth but Natasha beat her to it, “Milo is her cat.” Yelena nods her head and closes her mouth, smiling.

“We have a cat too. A white cat named Luna,” Yelena says smiling.

“She hates me,” Natasha says with a straight face.

“No, she doesn’t,” Yelena looks at her defensively as Natasha rolls her eyes.

“Awe, we can have cat playdates,” May says grinning and definitely doesn’t miss the awful, horrid, look flashing across Natasha’s face.

Yelena laughs. “I’m so down for that. We need to set up at date.”

“No.” Natasha immediately says.

“Yes.”

May clears her throat, “can I just ask-“

“No,” Natasha says once again. “We’re not talking about why they’re here. I have no idea. I didn’t ask them, neither did Yelena.”

May nods her head, “okay, good.”

“Good,” Natasha repeats as she rubs a hand across her forehead, trying to relieve the sudden tension she had.

There’s a knock on May’s door.

“Yeah?” May calls out.

Ed pokes his head in with his eyes closed when he opens the door, “is everyone decent?”

Natasha chuckles, “yes, uncle Ed.”

“Oh, good,” Ed opens his eyes. “Dinner’s ready.” He turns to head back down the stairs before pausing to turn back to May.

“May, it’s okay with me if you want to go back to New York. I know you’ve only been here a short time but, it was nice to have you back home, kiddo.” He smiles and trudges down the staircase. May sighs and thinks to herself, he’s definitely a spy or has cameras everywhere.

Dinner that evening is quiet, the tension in the air is thick. Melina helped Claire make pasta, even their homemade sauce. It was delicious and very comforting. Alexei and Ed talked amongst themselves, discussing various things from cars to the economy. The girls sit at the booth, Natasha and Yelena sat in during breakfast, while the other adults claimed the island.

Melina, who sat the closest to them, turned in her seat. “So Pepper,” Pepper pauses, her forkful of penne froze midair. “How did you meet May?” May glances at Pepper.

Pepper places her fork back into her bowl, “we met through Tony, one of May’s closest friends. He introduced us and the rest was history.” Pepper smiles.

Melina nods her head, “very cute. Tony as in Tony Stark?”

“Yes,” May says this time, allowing Pepper to continue to eat her pasta. “You met him, I think, last year when we came over for Christmas. It was the year Natasha got sick.”

Melina’s face lit up, “yes! I remember, he was very sweet. He helped me bake cookies and talked about a boy named Steve, whom he had a crush on.”

May smiled, “they’re together now. They’re disgustingly adorable.” May sticks her tongue out before taking a bite of bread.

“That makes me so happy to hear! Alexei, dear."

Alexei pauses his conversation with Ed and focuses his attention on his wife, “yeah?”

“You remember last Christmas when May brought home her friend Tony?”

Alexei face also lights up, “of course! I told him he needed to grow more, he’s uncomfortably short for his age. How is he doing May?” He cranes his neck to look at May from over Melina’s shoulder.

“He’s doing very well, he’s trying to get into business while working part-time at a garage. And as I told Melina, he’s with Steve now. I think they’re going on almost a year together, right, Pepper?” Pepper nods her head.

“Get outta here!” Alexei exclaims. “That’s wonderful. Please tell him I wish him all the best, I hope one day we can meet Steve.”

“I’ll pass it along, uncle Alexei. You can count on me,” May says smiling as she takes a sip of water. She glances up at Natasha and Yelena who can sense a relief coming from May, more like a breath of fresh air. It’s extremely comforting for all of them in their little booth.

A pair of utensils clattering onto a plate makes everyone jump in their seats, except for Ed, who continues eating and is definitely used to this annoying behavior from his wife by now. Claire stands up, her chair screeches on the hardwood floor, she puts her dish into the sink and heads towards the living room. The tv echos throughout the first floor of the house.

Ed lets out a heavy sigh and excuses himself from the kitchen, he follows in his wife’s footsteps while absentmindedly scratching the back of his neck. Melina and Alexei side eye one another before they continue eating, occasionally grabbing more bread from the bowl.

May lets out a puff of hair, a strand of hair blows. She pushes her pasta bowl away from her and crosses her arms over her chest. Natasha looks at her sympathetically, she reaches across the table, palm facing up. May looks at it before putting her own hand on top, Natasha rubs her hand with her thumb, in a circling motion. Pepper leans over and places a kiss on May’s temple.

“If you want to go, we can go,” Pepper whispers. May nods her head and gets up from her seat, she takes the semi-empty bowls to the sink. As she pushes back her hair from her face and ties it onto a low ponytail, she turns back to Melina and Alexei.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t spend more time together. I hope you’ll come to New York soon and we can do something, maybe i’ll cook and bust out the card games,” May says as she laughs uncomfortably.

Melina nods her head, “I would love that May, thank you. Definitely stock up on beer for this guy,” she nudges Alexei who raises his glass.

“I’ll keep my schedule open,” May responds before signaling the girls to head upstairs. They pause in their steps when yelling is louder than the tv.

“I don’t want to hear it Claire. I’m tired of it and getting annoyed every second,” Ed exclaims.

“You’re tired of it? Tired of what exactly, me telling you how I feel?” Claire says back, hostile as usual. May rolls her eyes.

“Tired of you treating May and your niece like this,” Ed gestures his hands out. “Like they’re not human beings, they are, and one of them is your flesh and blood. Have you even talked to Pepper since she’s been here, besides the hello from yesterday? Cause I have. She’s incredibly smart and I can see how much our May means to her.” Ed argues back.

May looks at Pepper, who’s eyebrows are furrow. Pepper may have forgot to mention that she did talk to Ed when she came down for lunch. May grabs her hand and kisses her knuckle. Natasha and Yelena continue up the stairs while Pepper and May linger for a minute.

“Change our attitude and mindset, even the way you treat everyone in this house. I’m sleeping in the guest room for the time being.” It’s quiet for a moment until Ed’s footsteps are being heard and he’s standing on the bottom step of the stairs, looking up at May and Pepper. A smile appears on his face and he puts a hand on May’s shoulder, rubbing it in a comfortingly. The three of them head upstairs, Pepper continues walking while May and Ed stop at the landing.

“Have a safe flight, kiddo. Please call me when you get home.”

“Will do, dad. And, um, thank you. You didn’t have to do that,” May says when Ed pulls her into a hug. She feels a little uncomfortable with the sudden affection, something she’s not used to since she was a child. She hugs him back, wrapping her arms around his torso. He pulls away after a full minute.

“Remember what I said,” Ed says while pointing at her, smiling, and enters the guest bedroom. May chuckles and throws her arms up in the arm and brings them back down while letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding it.

May enters her room when Pepper is packing her suitcase, she’s folding her clothes neatly, making sure they fit perfectly. “You know the t.s.a agents don’t credit you for how well you pack your suitcase?”

Pepper chuckles, “is it a crime to have everything neat for when I unpack at home? No.” May shakes her head and starts packing.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I talked to your dad while I had lunch and you were with Natasha. It slipped my mind,” Pepper confesses while looking at May throwing her clothes into her suitcase.

“It’s okay, you don’t need my permission to talk to anyone. I appreciate you talking to him. Please tell me he didn’t dive into his dad talk or completely overshare about my childhood,” May pleads as she holds her hands together, praying. Pepper smiles, “Yes, he talked about you but, nothing bad I promise.”

May smiles as she zips her suitcase shut. She reaches down to grab her carryon and puts her necessary items in it, including the book she wanted to read but never got the chance to. Pepper puts her coat on, not caring that the outfit she wore, a pair of leggings and a hoodie, didn’t match. She lifts her hair that got stuck under the collar and turns to May. “Ready?”

May has her coat on and throws her carryon over her shoulder. “As I’ll ever be.” They walk down the stairs, suitcases in tow.

“Hey, wait, who bought our plane tickets?” May asks with an eyebrow raise.

“Your dad,” Pepper says enthusiastically as she looks at her feet, worrying she might tumble down the flight of stairs.

May smiles and mumbles, ‘of course’ under her breath.

At the bottom of the stairs is Melina and Alexei, they embrace the two girls in hugs. May promises Melina she’ll call her when they get home to arrange when they can get together, because let’s face it, they need a redo of this Christmas break.

As they head out the door, Claire gives them no attention, her sole focus is the reruns of criminal minds. Pepper shakes her head. Natasha opens her trunk and helps them put the suitcases in it. The door closes shut and they’re in the car. Natasha starts the engine and before she can pull out of the driveway, Ed comes out of the house, yelling, “wait!”

May rolls down her window, “yeah, dad?”

Ed stops in front, pausing to catch his breathe even though the distance between the front door and driveway was no longer than eight feet.

“This is for you,” he hands her a present wrapped in red paper and a bow on top, “Merry early Christmas, May.” He smiles. May’s eyes widen and her eyebrows raise high enough that she has lines on her forehead. “Open it when you get home or even at the airport,” Ed says before sending May one last smile and running back into the house.

“What was that about?” Natasha asks as she looks into the mirror, pulling out of the driveway.

“A present,” May says smiling as she rubs her hands over the wrapping paper.

“Great, so you get one early while we have to wait until tomorrow,” Natasha says sarcastically as she turns right.

“Are you going to open it?” Yelena asks May, turning in her seat.

“Later, I will,” May replies as she glances at Pepper.

Natasha puts the car in park when they arrive at the airport. There’s a sudden realization between the four of them that this could be the last time they see one another, until Natasha’s wedding, at least. Natasha doesn’t say anything when she exits the car and pops the trunk open for May and Pepper to grab their luggage.

May sets her luggage on the concrete and immediately grabs Natasha in for a hug, the redhead instinctively wraps her arms around May’s petite form. She buries her head in May’s neck.

“You know you’re my maid of honor, right?” Natasha mumbles against May’s neck and May lets out a sob and laughs.

“Of course, I know. Who else puts up with your shit?” This time Natasha laughs, a real genuine one. They pull away slowly and dry their tears with the end of their jackets and laugh. “Promise to call me?” Natasha says as she extends out her pinky finger. May nods her head and wraps her own finger around Natasha’s, they shake. May turns her head to see Pepper and Yelena exchanging numbers and talking quietly amongst themselves.

“She’s a good one, I hope you keep her,” Natasha nods her head in Pepper’s direction. May licks her lips and smiles, “I plan too.”

May waves over to Pepper, “we better get going.” Pepper nods her head. “It was nice to meet you Yelena. I hope you know you have a long road ahead with this one” May nudges Natasha’s arm. Natasha glares at her.

“Oh, I know. I’ll enjoy it,” Yelena says with a grin on her face.

“And that’s our cue to go. Goodbye, I love you,” May exclaims as she blows the two of them a kiss. Natasha imitates her before pulling out of the spot.

“You ready?” Pepper says once she’s next to May at the check-in line. She instinctively reaches out for May’s hand and intertwines their hands together.

“Yes,” May says without a beat. She kisses Pepper’s knuckle and they’re off back to New York.

It’s only nine-thirty when they’re in a taxi headed out of the city when May begins to question where they’re going. She does a double take before asking Pepper, the right and only question, “Where are we going?” To which Pepper responds with, “just relax and you’ll see when we get there.” May sighs and leans her head against the headrest, she slowly begins to drift off. With the day she had she at least deserved some sleep. Another thirty minutes pass and May is awaken by the car door shutting, she jumps in her seat and rubs her sleepy eyes. Pepper opens the door for her and unbuckles her seatbelt. May feels like a little kid when her parents used to wake her up after a long car ride and carry her into the house. No way is she allowing Pepper to carry her. “I’m alright,” she says once she gets her bearings. Pepper nods her head.

“C’mon, I’m sure they’ll want to see you,” Pepper says as she hands both of their luggage to a man at the front steps. May raises an eyebrow when she steps out of the taxi, she’s about to pay the driver when Jarvis steps up to do it for them. May’s eyes widened. She wants to squeal but she knows it’s late and she definitely didn’t want to wake up the whole neighborhood. Jarvis turns to face them when the driver pulls away from the sidewalk.

“Good evening miss Parker,” Jarvis says in his wonderful British tone that May absolutely adores every time she hears it. May is hugging Jarvis faster than Pepper can blink. The tall man smiles and imitates her, wrapping an arm around her neck. May breathes in his scent, a smell of cherries and a hint of scotch. They pull away and walk in arm and arm towards the house, Pepper follows closely behind, smiling to herself.

“I’ll have you know miss Parker that I have missed our weekly board games. I can play a mean game of poker.”

“Oh, don’t I know it, J. You always beat me but, never at checkers. That’s my speciality.” May says as she winks back at Pepper.

Pepper’s never been inside the Stark family home before and it’s much more beautiful than she imagined. It’s like it was taken straight out of a renaissance painting and fused with modern elements.

“Beautiful, is it not?” Jarvis says, breaking Pepper’s train of thought.

She clears her throat. “Yes, it is.” She extends a hand out to him. “I’m Pepper Potts, we spoke on the phone.”

“Yes, of course, miss Potts. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” Jarvis shakes her hand before reaching over to grab the phone.

“Tony, you have company. Can you and mister Rogers please come down.” Jarvis nods his head and hangs up. He turns to the girls. “Would any of you like some tea? We have every kind.”

“Yes!” May exclaims as she follows Jarvis to the kitchen, dragging along Pepper. “Jarvis makes the best tea, you’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Pepper responds with a smile on her face.

Jarvis starts up the teapot by pouring water into it and setting it onto the stove, igniting it. He takes two tea cups and sets them next to the stove, a teabags in each. As the teapot heats up and begins to whistle, Tony and Steve enter the kitchen. Tony’s eyes widen as he runs to them, hugging both of them tightly. Steve smiles with his arms crossed against his chest.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were home,” Tony questions May, a concerned look plasters his face. He rubs her shoulder in a comforting manner.

“Not now okay? They just got here,” Jarvis says suddenly when he pours, now four cups of tea.

“Yes, sir,” Tony says as he sits next down to May.

Jarvis adds honey to every cup and slides one to each of them. “There are some lemon squares on the counter, feel free to take as much as you like. Tony, mister Rogers, miss Parker, and miss Potts, it’s been a pleasure. I bid you all a goodnight.”

“Thank you, Jarvis” They all say in unison, and that makes Jarvis grin.

Steve slides in next to Pepper, he blows on his cup of tea before taking a sip of it. “Thank you for calling me. He was getting worried about the two of you going to May’s home. I’m glad you cut it short.”

“Anytime, Steve. I mean it. I should be the one thanking you, not the other way around.”

“I’ll take you up on that anytime, starting now,” Steve lets out a chuckle.

“How was your weekend before we crashed yours? Sorry,” Pepper says shamefully as she sips her tea.

“It’s been great, Tony’s parents aren’t home and—“ Pepper raises and eyebrow and smirks. “hey! None of that.” Pepper chuckles. “Anyway, it’s been really good getting to know Jarvis. He’s really the best, I finally see what Tony’s been talking about all this time.”

“That’s really great, Steve. You got the approval of the highest person on Tony’s list of who he truly cares about. The second being you, then May and me.” Steve smiles bashfully.

“Thanks, Pepper. I appreciate it.”

“Hey,” Tony suddenly says making Pepper and Steve look in his direction. “What are you two talking about that’s making Steve go as red and hot as his tea?” Steve chuckles.

“Nothing that concerns you, sweetheart.”

“Oh, god,” May gags before taking a bite of a lemon bar.

“Oh, shut up Parker, you’re much worse.” Tony says as he drinks his tea in slight disgust. Tony wouldn’t dare say he hates it because he does. He just couldn’t live with himself to see the look on Steve’s face when he disappoints him.

“You got me there,” May mumbles through the lemon bar and holds up a pair of finger guns. She chuckles. Tony sets his cup down on the counter.

“Okay, lay it on me. We have plenty of time.” Tony rests an arm on the counter, his head lay in his comfortably in his palm. He looks up at her with eyebrows raised and a concern look. May sighs heavily. “First, Natasha’s getting married.”

Tony’s eyes widen. “I thought she was divorced?”

“She is. Now, she’s engaged to Yelena, who is just wonderful. You’ll love her, she’s so sweet.”

Tony’s mouth is agape with a grin on his face. “To a woman?! Why didn’t you lead with that! That’s great.”

“It is. I’ve never seen her so happy before, it was relieving.”

“Okay, so that’s the good news. What’s the bad?” Tony’s face is all serious. The grin from before is replaced with a stern look. May wets her lips and stops herself from looking anywhere but Tony’s face. “Um,” she pauses, moving a strand of hair out of her face. “My mom doesn’t approve.” May lets out a dry laugh. Tony immediately pulls her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her frame. He comforted her in the same way Jarvis had did when his own father didn’t approve of him being with Steve. Tony felt May’s tears soak his shirt as she sobbed into his arms, clenching his shirt in her fists. A wave of anger washed over his face as he looked up to Pepper and Steve sitting quietly, letting them have their moment. One look at Tony and Steve knew, of course he knew. How could he not? It was the exact same face Steve made when Tony told Howard. They understood one another. Pepper began to rub May’s back gently, she let out a sigh. None of them moved for a solid seven minutes, occasionally drinking their tea in silence. Tony held his breath when May lifted her head off of his tear stained shoulder, she sniffled.

“Sorry, about your shirt,” she rubbed her nose on her sleeve and wiped her eyes.

Tony chuckled, “it’s okay. I have plenty of shirts.” He tilted his head to the left and raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Yeah, eventually.” May let out a breathy laugh. “Thanks for that, I needed a good cry.”

“Don’t we all.”

Tony reaches over and grabs a lemon bar. He takes a bite of one and looks at Steve. “Ready for bed?” Steve nods his head and puts his cup into the sink and rises it out.

“Ladies, we’ll see you in the morning. Jarvis is making his special pancakes.” Tony beamed as he wraps and arm around Steve, slowly leaving the kitchen.

“You must be exhausted, baby.” Pepper gently says as she moves a strand of hair out of May’s face and places a kiss to her temple. May blushes at the nickname, she always does, as she ponders saying something but stops when she instinctively leans into Pepper.

“C’mon, let’s get to bed. We’ve had a long, tiring, day.”

May nods her head. She slides her empty cup over to Pepper who gracefully takes both and puts them into the sink next to Steve’s.

Arm in arm they walk up the mahogany staircase. Steve had told Pepper that they would be staying in the guest room across from Tony’s. May flops down on the soft duvet, too lazy and drained to change into her pajamas. Pepper looks around the room and notices their luggage is stacked neatly by the door, along with an adjoined bathroom.

“You lay there. I’m gonna get changed, okay?” Pepper tells May as she grabs her change of clothes. Before entering the bathroom she turns to see May lift up a thumbs up. Pepper chuckles. Not even four minutes later, Pepper is changed and much more comfortable, she sees May completely passed out on the bed. Pepper shakes her head and smiles. Slowly but carefully, without waking May, she moves her under the covers. Pepper slides in next to her and wraps an arm around May’s chest, kissing her forehead. Matching May’s breathing, she slowly begins to fall asleep.

May wakes up from the best sleep of her life, the kind of sleep that gives you lines on your arms when you wake up. She lets out a content sigh and rubs her eyes. She feels a weight on her chest and looks down to see Pepper sleeping soundly on her. May smiles. She slowly moves out from under Pepper and stretches her legs, arms and back until she hears her a cracking sound that is slightly satisfying to her ears. May heads to the bathroom quietly, without waking Pepper, and does her business before hearing a faint tapping on the bedroom door. With an eyebrow raise, May opens the door just a crack and fights the urge to let out a scream when Tony’s head peeks in. She glares at him and flicks him in the forehead, Tony’s not phased by it at all.

“Jarvis has breakfast ready, come on.”

May nods her head, feeling a bit fatigued after yesterday's unfortunate events, she rushes over to a sleeping soundly Pepper. She brushes the hair out of Pepper’s eyes as the blonde lets out a content sigh and blinks repeatedly.

“Good morning, sleepy head. Jarvis has breakfast ready, you hungry?” May asks as she slowly removes the covers from Pepper’s body.

“Starving, but I’m not imposed to staying here all day.” Pepper raises an eyebrow.

May bites her lip. “Tempting but, i’ve been craving Jarvis’ chocolate chip pancakes since we got here last night.”

Pepper hangs her head low, “It was worth a shot. Lead the way your majesty.” She bows ever so slightly before May grabs her arm, pulling her off the soft bed and into the hallway where Tony and Steve are still standing. Pepper laughs.

“Dear god, another minute and we would’ve left your ass in the dust.” Tony joked as Steve nudges him making Tony yelp out an ‘ow.’

Tony gawks at Steve. “You’re just pure muscle, aren’t you?”

Steve rolls his eyes as a sly smirk appears on his face. “Oh, shush. You love it.”

Tony blinks repeatedly and moves to kiss Steve. He pauses in his step when May lets out a barf sound, their eyes immediately glare at her.

“Can we please go eat now?” May pleads. She clasps her hands together, begging. Tony sighs as he puts an arm out, gesturing May and Pepper to head down the stairs towards the kitchen.

“Yes!” May exclaims and grabs Pepper’s arm dragging her down the stairs, semi tripping in the process. Steve chuckles.

The kitchen smells like a bakery, a heavenly, beautiful bakery. There’s plates of eggs, bacon, sausages and chocolate chips pancakes. Amongst the food is orange juice and of course, coffee and tea. Jarvis is mid pouring coffee into a mug when the four of them come in and sit at the island. A ear to ear grin flashes across his face. “Good morning, and Merry Christmas!”

A flash of confusion is on May’s face, she cups her face with her hands and gasps. “Holy shit I forgot.”

Pepper rubs May’s arm, “it’s okay. Yesterday was chaotic.”

“After breakfast, we’ll open gifts. Tony, your parents left gifts out before they left. I think it would be wise to at least call them for this occasion.” Jarvis says sternly, looking Tony in the eyes. Tony lets out a groan.

“I’ll do it later, J. I promise.” Jarvis nods his head, gesturing everyone to begin eating.

May immediately grabs a plate and takes a stack of pancakes. She adds a dab of butter and a lot of syrup and lets out a heavenly sigh when she takes a bite. May looks up at Jarvis. Pepper smiles, a giggle escapes her lips.

“Jarvis I want these pancakes every time I come here, you hear me?” May says as she raises a forkful of pancake in the air and into her mouth.

“As you wish, miss Parker.

May lets out a gasp, “Nice Princess Bride reference there, J.” May smirks.

Jarvis hides the smile across his face by taking a sip of his coffee. Tony shakes his head and whispers something to Steve that May, nor Pepper can hear, which results in Steve chuckling as he eats his scrambled eggs. Tony takes a sip of coffee and places his cup back down on the marble countertop.

“After gifts I assume you’ll be heading back to the city?” He questions, looking to Pepper, who is smearing butter onto a piece of toast.

“Yes?” Pepper questions as she side eyes May who nods her head. “Yes.” She repeats, more clear this time.

“Good. So are we. You’ll come back with us.” Tony grins, not missing the sudden death glare on May’s face. “Oh, cheer up, May. It’ll be fun.” May shrugs her shoulders.

Once everyone has eaten a little bit of everything, they graciously help Jarvis clean up and head to the living room with the biggest Christmas tree. Tony opens his gifts from his parents, from Maria, a record vinyl, and a watch from Howard. Tony shakes his head as he tosses both aside. Both gifts he had gotten from the previous Stark Christmas gathering.

Tony’s mood is instantly changed when Steve opens his gift from him. He takes a polaroid of Steve as he opens the blue wrapped box, inside it is multiple paint sets. Steve knows it’s the expensive one he’s been saving up for but he doesn’t care about that at all right now. He leans in to give Tony a kiss that Tony happily obliges with, wrapping a hand around his neck, deepening it. Jarvis lets out a cough before either of them can continue their PG-13 film.

Steve turns red, blush forming from his cheeks down his neck, while Tony shamelessly rubs the back of his neck. Tony gestures for May to open her gift, the one her father gave her before they left. It’s wrapped neatly with a red bow around it, and it’s a little on the lighter side. May untangles the bow and sets it off the the side. She lifts the cover of the medium size box to see a second box inside, it’s smaller and wrapped in tissue paper.

May’s eyebrows furrow as she rips the tissue paper off, throwing it into the previous box. She opens the box to see a folded up letter and a silver chain with a locket and ring around it. She gasps at the coldness and initials written on the locket; E.P. It also smells very old, like the smell of old books or an antique shop. Setting the necklace back down in the box, May opens the folded letter and the first thing she notices is that it's in her father’s handwriting.

‘May,

This necklace belonged to your grandmother, my mother, Edith Parker. You know for a long time she was with grandpa Parker but that wasn’t her first love. Her first love and other woman in the locket is Sophie. As for the ring, it was Edith’s. Sophie gave it to her and she wore it everyday around her neck hidden.’

May does a double-take, her mouth agape, and continues to read.

‘I’ve known Sophie all my life, you would’ve loved her my dear, May. and be absolutely enchanted by all the stories and special moments she would tell you one on one. I have other items from their time together, a box of trinkets and letters in a box, hidden, of course. Your grandmother asked me to pass this down to you when it was time and I think right now is a good one. I’m sorry, I have to give you this when you’re not here in front of me. I hope it puts a smile on your face. I love you. Happy Holidays. — Dad’

May doesn’t know how to react other than with tear-filled eyes. She smiles, a real genuine one, dimples and all. She gently holds the necklace in her hands afraid it might break, as she opens the locket and low and behold, two photos on equal sides of the locket are Edith and Sophie. May sighs, she rubs her thumb over the photos. She can see a little resemblance of herself in her grandmother. Her eyes advert to the ring, a silver thin band with multiple roses on it. Upon a closer look May notices their initials are engraved in it as well. She decides to leave it with the locket as intended. As May unclasps the necklace, Pepper is next to her, moving May’s hair onto one side of her frame.

“Let me,” Pepper whispers. May nods her head.

Pepper dangles the necklace around May’s neck, goosebumps arise on her skin. Pepper’s hands are shaking slightly, she doesn’t know when the sudden nervousness started. Probably when she realized she’s completely in love with May Parker and everything in her body is telling her this a red flag because there’s no way this angel sent from heaven likes, hell, loves her back. None of the less, Pepper shakes her head, clearing the thoughts, she fastens the necklace clip and pulls May’s hair back around her neck. May looks down at the necklace, and turns looking up at Pepper. “Thank you,” May whispers. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re welcome. And yes, it is,” Pepper says quietly, heart thumping in her chest, as she looks at May. May looks into Pepper’s eyes, her eyes widen, almost as if a light bulb went off in her head. She gasps quietly and excuses herself from the group. Pepper’s eyes follow her. “I’ll be right back.”

Tony claps his hands. “Shall we continue? Jarvis, this one’s for you.” Tony hands Jarvis a present. Their chatter slowly fades out when Pepper closes the kitchen door to have privacy. May is standing with her arms crossed, her back against the counter, and eyebrows furrow with thin lines across her forehead.

Pepper intertwines her hands together in front of her, she pauses in her step afraid of getting closer she will spook May. “You okay?”

May immediately looks up, her mouth agape. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with me?” Her arms relax at her sides.

Pepper’s mouth opens then closes. She ponders for a moment. “I was going to tell you.” She clenches her hands, knuckles turning a shade of white.

“When? In a year or two?” May steps forward.

“I mean, maybe,” Pepper shrugs. May scoffs. “And how did you think I would feel, huh? What if I started dating someone? Or you started dating? Would you just stay quiet about it and suffer in silence?”

“In the case of you dating someone, yes, I would stay quiet about it, because it’s unrequited love. If I started dating someone, I wouldn’t give my all to then and I know that’s not fair at all. Pepper takes a step forward, she unclenches her hands.

May licks her lips. “What if it’s not unrequited love?”

“Then we do something about it.” Pepper takes two steps. She wipes her clammy hands onto her pants.

“Let’s do something about it.” May strides over to Pepper, wrapping a hand around her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. It’s hot, and heavy and teeth clashing. Pepper’s arms instinctively wrap around May’s torso, sliding down to her hips, fitting perfectly into May’s love handles. Pepper lets out a small moan when May pulls away, her pupils are wide and there’s a spark in them.

“I love you.” Pepper grins like a Cheshire Cat. Her heart is banging like a drum and she feels like she can suddenly float on water. She pulls May back in, mumbling, ‘I love you too’ on her lips. Pepper lifts May onto the counter, May dangles her legs on either side of Pepper. She wraps them around Pepper’s legs, pulling her towards her. May’s hands roam Pepper’s body, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, almost as if this is their first time. It’s not. She feels goosebumps and soft skin, and the smell of roses. It soothes her. May moves away from Pepper’s mouth to place delicate kisses along her neck and collarbone. Pepper bites her lip.

Pepper sighs heavily. “We’re in the kitchen. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get hot and heavy in here.” Pepper leans her forehead against May’s. May pouts, her bottom lip poking out. “You’re right.”

Pepper helps May down from the counter and together they head back into the living room where the others have unwrapped all the presents.

“Hey, you’re back! We opened everything because it’s my house and I can,” Tony smirks.

“That’s okay,” May says smiling. “We’re just going to relax and get things ready before we leave.” She side eyes Pepper and grabs her hand.

“That’s right, I totally forgot,” Steve gasps. His eyes still fixated on his paint supplies. Tony’s heart swells in his chest every time he sees that glimmer in Steve’s eyes.

“I’ll pack leftovers for all of you,” Jarvis announces before heading into the kitchen.

“Thank you, J.” Tony yells with a smile on his face.

May leads Pepper up the stairs to their room, she shuts the door. Pepper leans back onto the bed, she closes her eyes. May licks her lips before lunging herself on top of Pepper. Her arms rest on either side of Pepper’s head, the necklace dangles, occasionally bumping into Pepper’s nose.

May kisses Pepper slowly and softly, she slips her tongue in. Pepper lets out a low moan as she switches their position, without breaking the kiss. Pepper slowly lifts up May’s shirt to unbutton her pants. She slides them down her legs and drops them to the floor with a silent thud. May rubs her hands along Pepper’s arms, feeling how they twitch anytime she touches them.

Pulling away, Pepper kisses May’s stomach and slowly kisses down until she reaches her underwear, placing a kiss there too when May lets out a whimper. Pepper wraps a hand around her thigh, kissing the side of it before using a finger to drag down May’s underwear and off the bed, dropping down on top of her pants.

May’s hips lift off the bed when Pepper kisses her clit. She slides two fingers through her folds, feeling how aroused she is and slowly begins to rub in circular motions. May lets out a breathy moan. “Pepper.”

“Yeah?” She raises an eyebrow and looks up.

“C’mon already, please.”

“As you wish.” Pepper says before licking a long stride. She goes up and down, very slowly, teasing May. She slides one finger in and May’s hips once again, lift off the bed as she grabs onto the sheets. Pepper kitten-like licks her clit as she slides a second finger in, she speeds up her motion, feeling May’s walls clench around her fingers. She’s close and May bites her lip to the point where it starts to bleed. Pepper removes her fingers and replaces them with her tongue and May moans loud.

Pepper grabs May’s hand with her, now free, one. Too caught up in the act to care about the wetness of Pepper's hand, May intertwines them together, knuckles turning white as Pepper’s tongue goes deeper until May’s backs arches off the bed for a final time and she gasps. May sees a blinding light and stars as Pepper continues to lick, not leaving anything behind and lays her head on May’s stomach, breathing heavily.

May chuckles. “I’ll never get tired of that.”

Pepper kisses May’s thigh. “Neither will I.”

May runs her hand through Pepper’s hair as they lay there for a moment or two. May sighs.

“I have to shower before we go. Unless you want to take me up on our previous rain check?” May smirks as she raises an eyebrow.

“Tempting but if I go with you, we’ll never get out.” Pepper pushes a strand behind May’s ear.

May rolls her eyes playfully and gets off the bed. "Pick something out for me."

Pepper tilts her head down, “of course.” May smiles and closes the bathroom door behind her before poking her head out.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Pepper shakes her head and stands up, stretching. She lets out a content sigh before taking out some clothes for May and herself.

Fifteen minutes later, May is out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body. She graciously puts the clothes, Pepper laid out for her, on. It’s just her usual grey crewneck and matching sweatpants, but May can’t help but smile to herself.

“I figured you would want to be comfortable in the car,” Pepper says honestly as she heads to the bathroom.

“Thank you.” May pulls the crewneck over her head and untucks her hair from the neckline. She puts her grandmother’s necklace back on and holds it in her hands.

Pepper quickly vanishes into the bathroom as May gathers her things. They barely touches their suitcases when they arrived, only to change into pajamas and get necessities. There’s a knock at their door and May has an inkling she knows who it is. Her suspicion is correct when she opens to see Tony staring at her. May raises an eyebrow.

“You had sex.” Is the first thing to come out of Tony’s lips and May gasps. May’s nose scrunches up as she tries to weasel her way out of talking about it but Tony ignores her and hops on the window seat, avoiding the bed at all cost.

May rests her hands on her hips. “What do you want Tony?”

Tony leans forward. “Well I would love to hear about the sexy stuff but Steve told me I have to tell you we’re leaving soon. As in five minutes because mr perfect doesn’t want to hit traffic.”

May chuckles. “You guys have the weirdest nicknames, I’ll never understand it.” Tony shakes his head.

“And you never will, my dear.”

Pepper comes out of the bathroom fully clothed, she’s not surprised to see Tony here, after all it is his house, well, parents house technically. She had a feeling he would be in the room and definitely didn’t want to scare him into oblivion at her nakedness.

Tony raises his eyebrows up and down with a smirk plastered across his face. “So,” he drags out.

“So what?” Pepper rolls her eyes.

Tony claps his hands together and lets out a child-like giggle. “I can’t believe you guys had sex in my parents room! I can’t wait to tell Steve.”

May and Pepper fall silent, they side-eye one another and shoulders tense up. Tony’s hand covers his mouth to contain his laughter.

“What!”

“Can you repeat that one more time?”

Tony takes a breath and grins. “Yeah, we don’t have a guest bedroom. Most of the rooms up here are offices and libraries, it’s just their room and mine. Jarvis has the guest house out back.” He giggles once more. May and Pepper stare at him flabbergasted. They’re at a complete loss of words and remain silent until Steve comes to check up on them.

“Hey, you guys ready to go—“ he pauses. “What’s wrong?” He raises an eyebrow. Tony lips fold into his mouth as tries not to let out anymore laughter. He scratches the back of his neck as he lets out a breath.

“These two,” he gestures towards May and Pepper. Steve looks at the both of them. “Had sex in my parents room.” Tony then gestures with his hands, in a jazz hand motion, the room. Steve’s eyes widen as he lets out a snort followed by a loud cackle. His back arches as his head tilts back, he wants to cover his mouth to suppress the laughter but he just can’t do it.

May’s mouth is still agape and at a standstill when Pepper rolls her eyes and gathers their suitcases. May feels the roughness of her suitcase handle in hand and Pepper’s warm, soft, hand in the other. She drags May along out the door, still hearing the loud cackling from Steve and occasional shushes from Tony.

May bounces back to reality when Jarvis stands in front of her, handing her Tupperware of goods. May nods her head, smiling. “Thank you, Jarvis”

“Anytime, miss Parker.” Jarvis leans in to hug May, she happily obliges, wrapping her arms around his slender frame. She pulls away when Jarvis moves to Pepper, hugging her as well.

“It was lovely to meet you miss Potts. You’re welcome to come here whenever you please.”

Pepper smiles. “Thank you Jarvis.”

Tony and Steve come trudging down the stairs. “Ready to go?” Steve asks before grabbing their suitcases and heads out the door, May nods her head.

Tony turns to Jarvis. “Happy Holidays, J. We should do this every year, it always gets better and better.” Tony sends a sly smirk to May as she rolls her eyes and heads in the direction Steve went. Pepper quietly follows not a minute after.

Jarvis rubs Tony’s shoulder. “We do this every year, Tony. Even with the exception of your parents.”

Tony shakes his head. “No, I know. I mean, it’s just better without them, more quiet and relaxed rather than the chaotic mess.” Jarvis hums in agreement.

“I see, sir. Well they won’t be back for another two weeks, can I expect to see you and mister Rogers before then?”

“Of course you can.” Tony smiles and hugs Jarvis.

Jarvis looks up and out the open door to see Steve waiting by the passenger side, arms across his chest, one over the other.

“I like this one.” Jarvis says quietly even though they’re the only two in the foyer. Tony wants to scream with glee, but he doesn’t. Instead, a tear slides down his cheek, he quickly wipes it away. Tony grips Jarvis’ jacket tighter, he starts to shake, knuckles turning a shade of white. All Tony has ever wanted from his parents is love, affection, and acceptance, maybe even an occasional ‘i love you.’ So far he has barely gotten any of those. That’s an understatement. The only ‘i love you’s’ he’s heard is from Jarvis, Steve, and May. And now, to hear something so pure and something he shouldn’t even ask for, from Jarvis, someone Tony absolutely adores and admires is just the thing he needed to hear this weekend.

Jarvis rubs Tony’s back comfortingly. Tony mumbles a ‘thank you’ into his neck and Jarvis smiles. They stay like that for a moment until Tony pulls away, wiping his face.

“Out of all of them, you’re the best one,Tony. I mean it.”

“Thanks, J.” Tony sends Jarvis one last glance and a smile before grabbing his backpack and is out the door. Steve uncrosses his arms and opens the passenger door for him. His eyebrows furrow and his smile is replaced with a concern look. “You okay?” He rubs Tony’s shoulder once he’s in arms length.

“Never better.” Tony says smiling. Steve ushers Tony into the car and shuts the door. Before entering the car, Steve turns back to Jarvis and waves. Jarvis smiles and nods his head. Steve puts the car in drive and backs out onto the main road. The radio plays soft 70s music that Tony silently hates but Steve knows he enjoys it from time to time. Tony grabs Steve’s hand and kisses his knuckles before rubbing a thumb gently over it. Steve side eyes Tony, keeping his eyes on the road but a warm smile plasters his face and Tony’s heart swoons in his chest.

In the backseat, May rests her head on Pepper’s shoulder. Their hands intertwined as May reads the book she brought with her. Pepper silently following along with her.

They’re in the car for over an hour and good thing they left when they did because traffic just started as they entered the city. Pulling up to the curb in front of May’s apartment complex, Steve’s puts the car in park and unlocks the trunk. He places their suitcases onto the curb.

“Thanks, Steve.” Pepper says with a smile.

“No problem.” Steve stuffs his hands in his pockets as he leans against the trunk. Pepper glances at May talking discreetly to Tony by the passenger side door.

“She’s a good one.” Steve says suddenly, breaking Pepper out of her trance.

“I know. Thank you for reminding me.” Pepper blushes as she fixes her shoulder bag. May shakes her head and chuckles to herself when she walks back to Pepper. She leans her forehead on Pepper’s shoulder. “I’m so tired.”

Pepper places a kiss on the crown of May’s head. “I know, babe. C’mon, I’m sure Milo misses you.” May’s instantly perks up and runs to the apartment door, suitcase in tow, yelling, “I hope Loki didn’t kill him!”

Tony shakes his head as Steve chuckles and Pepper sighs. “See you guys later. Get home safe.”

“Will do.” Steve sends her a salute and is in the car, pulling away from the curb as Tony waves goodbye.

Pepper meets May in front of the elevators and smiles when she sees May getting antsy, she’s jumping up and down in place.

“I can’t wait to see my baby boy!” May yells when the elevator doors let out a beeping sound. They’re in the elevator in a flash and immediately press their designated floor button. May’s still bouncing up and down, like a little kid in a candy store. The elevator lets out another beep and May runs as fast as she can to the door and unlocks it, leaving it open for Pepper who is still walking.

“Milo! Baby!” Pepper hears May and she giggles to herself. Once inside, Pepper shuts the door and places her suitcase by the door. She takes off her jacket and places it on the coatrack. Pepper heads to the kitchen to get a drink but pauses in her step when she sees a note on the counter. It’s for the both of them.

‘Dear May and Pepper,

Milo was an absolute dear. He was very lovable and affectionate and the most sweetest cat. So no, May, I didn’t kill him. He’s very much alive and waiting to see you again. You too, Pepper. I hope one day we can meet face to face, I’ve heard wonderful things. P.S; I would love to cat sit any time, any where.

Love, Loki’

“May, there’s a note here from Loki,” Pepper says as she carries the note with her to the living room. May is cuddling with Milo who has his head is resting on her chest and purrs softly. May takes the note with her free hand and reads it with a smile on his face. “I’ll text him later to say thank you.”

“And you thought something bad would happened to him,” Pepper shakes her head as she takes the empty seat next to May on the couch, petting Milo slowly. May glares at her.

“I have to take precautions, he’s my son. Ain’t that right, Milo?” She lifts him up so they’re face to face, Milo tilts his head and licks May’s nose. She grins. Pepper chuckles and Milo iears perk up at the sound. He's focused on her now as he jumps out of May’s hold and walks over her legs to Pepper and purrs.

“Yeah, sure, kid.” May rests her arm on the back of the couch, she stares at the two of them. “So, what now?”

Pepper eyes advert from Milo, who is rubbing is head on her arm, to May. “U-haul?”

May laughs. “Too soon.”

“Definitely.”

There’s a moment of silence before Pepper speaks up. “I don’t want to go home just yet.” May smiles and stands up from the couch. She puts a record on and moves the dial onto it, turning the volume up. Of course, Wham! plays softly through the speakers.

May gestures a come hither motion with her hands and Pepper can’t resist but move Milo out of her lap, he looks up at them with wide, curious, eyes. Pepper holds May’s hands as they sway together, back and forth to the beat of the music. Pepper twirls May around as she throws her head back, laughing, she pulls her in and rests her forehead against May’s. May pecks her lips before spinning around in a circle, moving her arms in the air. Pepper pauses and smiles at May dancing. Yeah, she could get use to this.

#Marvel #peppermay #stevetony #may parker #pepper potts #steve rogers #mcu #yelenat #natasha romanoff #yelena belova #marvel imagine #avengers #fake dating #college au

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goldeneyedgirl · 4 years

Text

Fic-Mas Day 4: Omens 1/2

Can I just say thank you to everyone who is following my little fic dump? The likes and reblogs (and the tags!) are making my day <3 Christmas isn’t a hugely fun activity with my family, so thank you all for putting a smile on my face.

Onwards for Day 4 - Part 1 of 2!

(This was started for a Halloween contest but evolved into something much larger than I was willing to rush through writing. I was working around the theory of ‘four horsemen of the Apocolypse’, and Alice seeing her future family members as a ‘warning’ of what was to come. Of course, Alice’s memories were ultimately lost, so she never remembers the ominous visions. I’d actually really love to finish the final two and a half chapters for next Halloween, so I’ll add it to my list.)

Biloxi, Mississippi 1908

The Brandon mansion sat on the very edge of the more fashionable district in Biloxi; it had taken a few years for the city itself to spread outwards. The white Colonial Revival home sat prominently on the Brandon estate, with the drive shaded by ageing magnolia trees. Fruit trees and leisure gardens could be seen behind the bulk of the house, along with the pristine stables, where William Walter Brandon kept his horses - the enormous animals were all that remained of the Brandon racing champions. The closure of the major race tracks several years earlier had driven two of William Brandon’s brothers to bankruptcy.

It was beautiful, luxurious, and utterly cursed.

The maids whispered about the fruit plucked from the trees; apples and lemons and peaches, all rotten and flyblown the second they cut into them. The fact that William’s own mother had thrown herself to her death one perfectly innocent morning, leaving bloodstains on the foyer rug. There were whispers of babies being born, looking perfect and pink, but completely and utterly dead. The swampy swath of land beyond the stables was where they were all buried.

Not that anyone spoke of it. After all, Brandon & Co Imports was a major employer in Mississippi; a good chunk of Biloxi’s elite either worked for them or did business with them. And no one wanted to upset a family that was so clearly dangerous.

It wasn’t until February of 1901 that William Brandon and his diminutive and forgettable wife, Sarah, managed to produce the long-wished-for heir.

Except it was an heiress. A tiny, pale little bundle William dubbed Mary-Alice, in honour of his two grandmothers. In his mind, girls were expensive but useful when it comes to business alliances. He could certainly use a daughter.

—

Mary-Alice rolled over, blinking. It was terribly late, she knew that. Mama and Papa would still be at the party, and everyone else in the house would be asleep.

She rather wished that she could have gone to the party - Mother had swept out of the house in the loveliest gown, covered in flowers, and clutching a wonderful jewelled butterfly mask. But papa had refused and declared that schoolgirls should be pleased to attend the fete at the school. Their nurse, Daphne, had made both her and Cynthia darling little masks of a cat and a rabbit, and trimmed their coats in matching ribbons. Mary-Alice had hers perched on her bookcase, where she was going to keep it.

But it wasn’t the same as a proper, grown-up party. How could her father think that a fete, where she had to lead little Cynthia around by her hand, could even compare?

Everything was so quiet; usually, the house was nought but noise - the maids scurrying about, the cook in the kitchen, her sister singing and playing, wit Daphne. And her papa, he worked from his study long into the night, and even when the rest of the house was still, her father’s lamp light and pacing kept the house feeling safe.

But tonight, there was nothing. Just stillness. Her pretty yellow bedroom that looked so welcoming during the day was not nearly as friendly in the darkness. The moonlight threw shadows around the room that made her huddle more deeply under her blankets. She could see her book, where it had fallen when she had slept.

And Pumpkin was missing.

The skinny orange cat had been a gift when baby Cynthia Grace was born; one of a litter of kittens found in the vegetable garden out back, and had been named for his colour and for the fact he had made himself a happy home in a split-open gourd.

Her papa loathed the cat, and Mary-Alice refused to ask him what had happened to the rest of the kittens and their mother. She didn’t really need to ask, honestly, and she kept Pumpkin out of his sight.

He was supposed to be curled up, asleep, at the end of her bed. She always made sure he was there, every single night since she had owned him - Daphne had even given her a tiny bell for his collar. And yet, he was gone.

Sighing, Mary-Alice slipped from her bed, her bare feet stinging from the cold. It was early for the nights to be getting so cold; she’d have to start keeping her slippers close to her bed.

Hurrying across the room, she nearly hit her face on her bedroom door - left unusually ajar. But understandable - Daphne would always look in on her before she retired. Nothing unusual at all.

The hallway seemed so very long as she crept out. Her nightgown was too long for her, and the hem brushed against the floors in a sound that was both reassuring and unnerving in such quiet.

The most logical place for Pumpkin to go was to the kitchens, where the cook would give him the cream off the milk every morning. But he wasn’t above foraging in the refuse bucket either, especially if they had eaten fish for dinner.

Down the front stairs, through the dining room, down to the kitchen, and that was where she would find him. Probably stinking of garbage, and quite irritated that she was dragging him back to her bedroom. But safe, safe from her father and a sink full of water, or the old pistol he kept in his desk.

Her grandfather’s portrait loomed above her, his eyes hard and disapproving. Grandpa Walter had died before she was even born, but she had heard many stories that scared her witless. The portrait was almost as big as she was, and watched over the hallway and foyer with a stern expression. He could see everything, really. His blue eyes moved with her, judging and condemning her in one horrible gaze.

Swallowing hard, Mary-Alice crept down the hallway, her feet sinking into the rug.

“Pumpkin?” she whispered. “Pumpkin?”

The whisper sounded both far too loud, and much softer than she intended. She wished she was still a little girl, and Daphne still slept in the blue room at the end of the hall, in case they needed her in the night. Daphne would have shaken her head, found Pumpkin and tucked her in again with a kiss.

But papa had declared her and Cynthia old enough to sleep through the night last summer, and Daphne had been moved into the maids’ quarters.

Finally, finally at the stairs, where Grandma Edith’s portrait hung. She was much younger in her portrait, and it was normal-sized. Edith looked all pale, thin, and long. Her eyes were wide open, and her lips turned down. She looked so afraid to Mary-Alice, half-shadowed. Like she had seen something truly awful, but she couldn’t tell anyone about it, ever.

Grandfather Walter’s portrait was still glaring at her. She could feel his eyes on her back.

Creeping down the stairs, Mary-Alice realised something that made her flush cold and hot. The only thing worse than Pumpkin wandering off was the fact that her parents could arrive home at any moment, and catch her out of bed. Her head swam at the possibilities - her father’s stern face, the horror of the belt, and then her father punishing Daphne for not keeping her ‘in order’.

She had to move faster.

The tinkle of a bell jerked her out of her reverie and sent her hurrying down the stairs and pushing open the door to the dining room.

It wasn’t the dining room. Not at all.

She realised that as she stepped into an ice-cold puddle.

The smell was indescribably foul; rotten vegetation, filth and something dead. It was like nothing else she’d ever smelt. She couldn’t see anything in the darkness - not even moonlight from the windows. It was just utter darkness. All she could hear was her own panicked breathing.

And then came the moan.

It was deep and agonised; the sort of moan that pleaded for death, for the absence of everything. She wanted to cover her ears with her hands, but she couldn’t seem to move at all.

Silence spread throughout the room again, but only for a moment. Then a voice began to murmur. It was too fast for her to decipher, but the words she did catch were in another language.

“P-p…,” she began, not even sure what she was going to say.

And then she could see - moonlight streaming in through the windows. There was no water on the floor, her feet were completely dry, and everything was utterly normal.

Except for the writhing man in the middle of the room.

She didn’t know exactly why she didn’t scream. She was so confused, so frightened, so lost, that she could only stand there and stare. The man was filthy, in strange and tattered clothing. He kept murmuring to himself, and she realised that he was praying.

How did he get into the house? How had no one else heard him? The maids’ quarters weren’t that far away, were they? No one would leave two little girls tucked up in a big, empty house alone, surely?

“W-who…?” she managed, the words impossibly loud, and it was almost like the room got brighter. The man jerked towards her, and she cried out as she saw his black eyes. So black, it was like they had been pulled out of his skull.

Mary-Alice stumbled backwards, her back hitting the wall.

“T-thirsty,” the man croaked, reaching out to her. And suddenly he was much closer, grasping at the lace hem of her nightgown, his fingers leaving behind smudges.

Smudges of blood. It poured from his nose, his ears, his eyes and his mouth, so dark it was almost black. He began praying again, and this time she could understand all the words, and she tried to cover her ears and close her eyes, but she could still hear him, so clearly, so loud that he was going to wake Cynthia…

An icy cold hand grabbed her wrist, sticky with blood, and Mary-Alice screamed.

“Child!”

Her eyes flew open, and she was sitting in the dining room, crouched beside the china cabinet. Daphne was standing over her, looking horrified.

And there was no man, no blood, nothing.

She stared up at Daphne in horror. “P-pumpkin got out of my room,” she managed through numb lips. “And there was a m-man…”

A flash of lights through the dining room window had Daphne look up sharply. “Mr and Mrs Brandon are home,” she said grimly. “Quickly, Mary.”

Daphne had her on cold, numb feet and hurried her through the dining room and into the kitchen. As Daphne hustled her up the servant stairs, she could hear the front door open, and the low chatter of her parents.

“Quietly now,” Daphne warned, as they stepped out into the hallway.

“But Pumpkin,” she managed to protest.

“I will check for him, I promise,” Daphne said. “Go now, and be convincing - your mother might look in on you.”

“…the man?” Mary-Alice whispered.

“You’ve been sleep-walking, little one. Nightmares always come easily on Halloween,” Daphne pressed a kiss to her head. “Go on to bed, everything will be all right in the morning.”

Mary-Alice nodded shakily, and as Daphne closed the maids’ door, she slipped towards her bedroom, closing the door so quietly that no one could have heard it.

And there was Pumpkin, sitting on her window sill, peering out into the night. “It was just a nightmare,” she whispered. “Too many silly stories.”

Climbing back into bed, Mary-Alice tugged her quilt around her and clicked for her cat to come to her. With a graceful bound, the ginger cat lept down from the window, and up to her bed. He snuggled into her chest, his purr filling her ears.

Of course, she was having a terrible nightmare. Grandfather Walter’s portrait was stern, but it did not watch. Grandma Edith was solemn, but not frightened. There was certainly no bleeding man in the dining room, begging for something to drink, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.

#twilight #twilight fic #TwilightFicMas2019 #alice cullen #carlisle cullen #my writing #my fic: omens #gen fic

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missnmikaelson-main · 5 years

Text

Who Are You? Part 11

Three intersecting triangles stared down at her from the white sign. It rested towards the top of a twelve foot fence that put her in mind of a prison. From the cover of the trees she saw men and women in black walking over the grounds; semi-automatic weapons were slung over their shoulders, adding to the image of a jail. She half expected to see inmates piling out onto the lawn in beige jumpsuits, but the black was too sleek for prison guards.

“What’s with the paramilitary?” Elena’s eyes narrowed. The group beyond the fence put her on edge.

“Do you want a drawn out magical history or do you want to get rid of the Hollow?” Lexa patted the box at her side.

“Can I have the history lesson later?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’d like an explanation now,” Kol leaned against the trunk of an oak tree. “I did delay my trip for this, after all, because of your insistence that I be present.”

“More for the aftermath,” Lexa shrugged, wiggling her fingers in a dismissive gesture. “There’s an entrance to another realm inside that building, but once the Hollow is inside its existence, or at least this quarter of its existence, will be forgotten. You could have taken off for Europe to hunt down Klaus but if you did you would have forgotten why you were there. You probably would have forgotten meeting up with us in San Francisco.”

“That would be bad,” Kol frowned.

“Mm,” she nodded. “You’ll still forget, you all will, but at least here I can put the memories back.”

“How are you going to do that?” Elena frowned.

“It’s in her somewhere…” Lexa muttered, rummaging in her bag for a moment. She was by no means a messy person, but organization had never been her strong suit so it took a little searching before she found what she was looking for.

Elena caught a small peach coloured moonstone; two more were tossed to Kol and Elijah.

“Think about the memories from San Francisco, and anything else that might be associated with this particular quarter of the Hollow,” Lexa unfolded a slip of paper, “this spell will store the memories in the stones and then I’ll put them back in your heads after.”

“You’re going to remember it?” Elijah cocked an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“That would be a part of the history lesson,” she grinned, “and since I’m not a fan of repetition it will have to wait until after.” Her eyes flickered from Elijah to Kol. “It’s a good thing I’ll remember.”

“Why is that, darling?” He straightened up.

“That should be obvious,” she smirked. “I’d hate for you to forget having your ass handed to you.”

“You didn’t best me,” he scoffed.

“I sent you to your knees twice in twelve hours,” she cocked an eyebrow. “I’m betting there aren’t many witches who can say the same.”

“None,” Kol smirked, “and any that tried usually lost a few vital organs.”

“Gonna take your revenge?” She teased, holding out her hands in a challenging gesture. The smirk on her lips whispered ‘come and get them’.

“You know, I would…” he smirked, letting his eyes roam over her from head to toe, lingering on her exposed clavicle before meeting her laughing eyes, “…but apparently I’m gonna forget all about it.”

“Temporarily,” she pointed out. She tore her gaze away, breaking their staring contest, when she heard a gentle throat clearing to find Elena struggling not to snicker.

She nodded to the stones and murmured the spell causing the gems to warm in their palms. When they cooled she tucked the paper away.

“Put those in your pockets,” she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. “I’d hate to put the wrong memory in the wrong head.”

“How are we getting in here?” Elena did as she was told. “That’s too many to compel and I take it you don’t have an all access pass to…” her eyes found the sign, “… Triad?”

“We’re going in through that wall over there,” Lexa pointed to the southern side of the building. “The pit is on the other side.”

“Pit…?” Kol cocked an eyebrow. His comment went unanswered.

“You want to go through a solid wall?” Elena frowned.

“It won’t be solid when we get there,” she smirked.

“What’s your plan for getting there?” Elena nodded to the patrol team.

“Two options,” Lexa held up her fingers. “One: I make us invisible and we can walk, or two: one of you can pick me up and r

Before any of them could come to a decision Elena’s phone began to vibrate. She pulled it from her pocket and saw it was the Boarding School.

“Or option three,” Kol eyed the phone. “You two deal with whatever crisis has come up at the school, and we’ll take care of the Hollow.” He didn’t wait for an answer before picking Lexa up. “Hold tight, darling.”

He could practically hear Elena rolling her eyes when they came to a stop, but his brother’s lover didn’t hold his attention for long.

“Ouch,” he rubbed the spot on his chest where her fist had made contact. Mock indignation shone from his eyes. “You wound me, darling.”

“You’ll heal,” she shook her head.

“What, pray tell, have I done to earn your ire?” He tilted his head, blinking innocently.

“You left a few internal organs behind the fence,” Lexa sighed. Her insides shook from the fast move.

Kol placed his hands on her hips and ran them over her back and stomach. She was soft and warm beneath his fingers, and despite the clinical fashion of the exam he felt her abdomen clench.

“Everything seems to be in place,” he cleared his throat.

“You didn’t check my heart.” She blushed when she realized what the statement had implied.

“I can hear that,” his eyes flickered to her chest and back to her face. A pretty flush stained her cheeks. “Strong, steady…”

He bit back his smirk when the organ skipped a beat.

Lexa exhaled, breaking the lingering stare to face the wall and willing her blush to go away. She pressed her palms to the stone, closing her eyes. A murmured spell changed the molecular structure of the building.

She reached behind her, took Kol’s hand and did her best to ignore the tingles that raced up her arm.

“Invisque,” she breathed.

Together they stepped forward and came to a stop in front of a bubbling black pit. It looked thick enough to walk on, but at the same time bottomless.

++++

“Hey, Care,” Elena tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s up?”

“I thought you might like to know about the latest news.”

“Is Landon okay?” She straightened up and ran the fastest route to Virginia in her head.

“You don’t think I’d call about Hope?”

“I’d assume you’d call Klaus or Elijah about Hope,” Elena worried her bottom lip. She could see the worry in Elijah’s eyes. “Is something wrong with Hope?”

“Hope is fine. She’s a little confused about the situation with her mother and she’s not the only one…”

++++

Caroline trailed off, knowing full well that Elijah was within earshot and would hear the incredulous tone of her voice. She was not happy sealing off the school from a parent.

“It’s not a situation we could put before a judge Ms. Forbes.”

She cocked an eyebrow. Her silence spoke volumes because Elena took it upon herself to fill in a few blanks that Elijah had left empty.

“Trust me, Care, if the situation could be put before a higher authority sole custody would definitely be awarded to Klaus.”

“Considering the fact that you hate Klaus…”

“I don’t hate Klaus…” Caroline smirked when she trailed off. In her mind she could see the sceptical look Elijah was most assuredly giving her. “I don’t hate Klaus…” She insisted. “… okay… fine… I don’t like him, but considering the face that he killed me and used me as a human blood bag for months I think I have earned the right for a little dislike.”

“Yes, ‘Lena, you have that right,” Caroline snickered. “Custody is actually the reason I called you. I’m getting some grief from social services and since you’ve taken such an interest in Landon’s education I thought I’d let you know.”

“What kind of grief?”

“Technically you brought him across state lines without going through the proper channels and now they are insisting on a home study to ensure he’s in a safe environment; which is ridiculous when you think about the horror that is the foster system.”

“How bad would a study be for the school?”

“Considering the fact that we have seventy-five students who are learning how to control their abilities… it would be bad.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“How?”

“Not sure yet… I’ll figure something out.”

++++

“What the…?”

Lexa shushed him and squeezed his hand so he wouldn’t break away and step out from her spell into view of the security cameras pointed at the pit. She twisted her bag around so she could open it and pulled out the box. For a moment she debated telling him not to let go and warning him again what would happen when the box hit the tar, but there was really no point because he would forget the second the container sank, so she threw it.

It soared through the air. A sensor light went off overhead but it was too late for anyone to stop it.

She knew the second it happened. Kol took a small step back and looked around in surprise; his eyes landed on her a moment later.

She saw the fog in his gaze and pulled him backwards before it could clear; out through the door she had created into the field. A murmured incantation fixed the wall just in time for her back to collide with it.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” He frowned.

Lexa sighed. He hadn’t used enough force to cause her physical pain, so she assumed on some level he remembered; on some level everyone always remembered.

“In your pocket,” she tilted her head.

His eyes narrowed.

She reached out when he didn’t move and slipped her fingers into the pocket, curling them around the stone. She used her other hand to take his wrist so she could place the gem in his palm and close his fingers around it. She held his hand, closed her eyes and whispered the spell that replaced the memories in his head.

He shook his head as the memories settled and fixed her with a curious expression.

“I think I’ll take that history lesson now, love.”

++++

“How long do you think this is going to take?” Elena dropped her phone in her pocket.

“I’ve no idea,” he shook his head. His eyes found the spot where Kol supported Lexa beside the wall. They disappeared a few minutes later. “What are…?”

He trailed off.

Elena’s vision shifted. The greenery faded before coming back in stark focus. She looked around, turning on her heel.

“Elijah,” she frowned, meeting his dazed eyes, “what are we doing here?”

“I…” he tilted his head, searching for a memory that wasn’t there, “… I’m not sure…” The last thing he remembered was the phone call from Caroline, but nothing before or after. “That certainly doesn’t look like social services.”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“Did we drive?” She was already pulling out her cell phone to figure out where they were. From the corner of her eye she saw him lifting a set of keys from his pocket.

++++

“Can the history lesson wait until we get out of here?” Her eyes darted to the trees. “The last thing I want is to be shot by one of those guards.”

“You really think I’d let one of them shoot you?” His eyes narrowed in an incredulous look as he rubbed small circles over her upper arms.

“I think you’d get shot in the process,” she pressed her lips together.

“Considering the fact that I’d jump in front of a bullet for you that’s a safe bet,” he smirked.

“Don’t,” she snapped with fear flashing in her eyes.

“A bullet won’t hurt me love,” he frowned at the sharp tone.

“These one will,” her eyes met his; the plea that he trust her shone in the flash of green. She held up her hand when he opened his mouth. “It’s part of the history lesson, okay?” She bit her lip.

Kol hesitated before nodding.

“Okay.”

Lexa’s shoulders sagged in relief.

“Can we get out of here, please?” She licked her lips. “They’re gonna be on the alert now.”

“Would you prefer to walk or…?” The sound of an alarm cut off his voice. He hooked her legs over his arm and picked her up, waiting just long enough for Lexa to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face against his throat before running; her soft breath sent a shiver down his spine.

Lexa squeezed her eyes shut to block out the blurring green and held her breath, exhaling in a rush when the wind stopped. Her feet were placed on an emerald carpet and she took a moment before opening her eyes to focus on him.

She recognized the clearing as one nearly three miles from Triad.

“Where are they?” She glanced around.

“I’m assuming they took off when they heard the alarms,” Kol shrugged. “Are you alright?”

She bit her bottom lip and inhaled through her nose, willing her stomach to settle as she weighed the possibilities. The odds were that Elena and Elijah had left before the alarm since they would have had no idea why they were standing in the woods outside of Triad.

“I’m okay,” she cleared her throat and gave him a small smile. “That takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?”

“Personally,” he chuckled, “it took a few days.”

“Well,” she hummed, “if it’s all the same to you I’d rather not do that again anytime soon. I lack the required physiology for quick adjustments.”

“As you wish, darling,” he smiled, “but just so you know Elena and Elijah appear to have taken the car.”

She sighed, raking her hands through her hair. She had a general idea of where she was in relation to the lodgings they had taken up and knew the hike would take at least three hours.

“Sure you don’t want a lift?” He smirked.

She glanced down at her heeled boots and then out at the woods, chewing her cheek.

“Ask me again in an hour.”

“Okay,” he nodded, smiling as she walked through the field. His eyes traced the line of her spine down over her legs with the attention Klaus would have given one of his paintings.

He gave her twenty minutes before she caved.

++++

She stepped out of the brick building in a daze, staring at the setting sun. The beauty of it helped snap her out of her mind space, but she was still reeling when he joined her.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice.

“Did I really just do that?” She pointed over her shoulder.

Elijah opened the manila folder in his hand and held out the sturdy paper. Sunlight glinted off the gold filigree turning it orange.

“You did,” he tried to temper his smile, “and you used compulsion to do it.”

Elena read the cursive script and felt her head clear with each word. She tilted her head and took the certificate from him.

“I’m not sure why you look so surprised,” Elijah met her stride as they started down the street, “all you did was make it official.”

She lifted her head to meet his laughing eyes with a confused smile.

He pressed his hand to the small of her back and brushed his lips over the line between her eyebrows.

“You did this," he tapped the certificate, smirking, "months ago. The moment you walked into that little bedroom in your brother’s house, actually.”

“I did not,” she denied. “I was just doing the right thing.”

“You did,” he met her eyes. “The right thing would have been to place him in the school. The right thing does not involve calling once a day to check on his progress and talk to him.”

“I…” her mouth popped open, “… you… you know about that?”

“You’re on the phone with either him or Caroline every day,” he smirked. “Now I know Caroline Forbes is one of your best friends Elena, but you’ve never called her this often. I would know. I was with you for months before we first came to Atlanta.”

She glanced at the certificate again and sighed, wondering if he also knew how she’d rethought the layout of her house in Mystic Falls. The school was great but students didn’t stay during the holidays and everyone needed a sense of place.

“I was a little distracted,” she peeked up through her lashes.

“A little,” he smiled in agreement.

“There you two are,” Lexa held her hips. Her voice drew their attention to where she was standing by the car. “I’d be mad that you took off without me, but you don’t remember it so I’ll let it go.”

“Lexa?” Elena frowned. “Where have you been?”

“Looking for you,” she rolled her eyes.

“We could have gotten here faster, but you’ve proven to be a singularly stubborn woman.”

Elijah’s eyes widened, darting from Lexa to the man beside her.

“Kol,” he turned slightly, keeping his hand on Elena’s back, “what are you doing here?”

Kol shook his head and sighed.

“In your pockets.”

They checked and extracted the small gemstones. Elena smoothed her thumb over the moonstone as Elijah looked at Lexa and his brother.

Lexa breathed the spell and watched and watched their eyes clear.

++++

Lexa emerged from her the bathroom towel drying her hair and made it to her hotel bed before sensing the eyes on her.

She gave up on her hair and wrapped it in the towel, twisting the material into a knot before meeting the expectant stares of her companions.

“I believe we were promised a history lesson darling,” Kol smiled.

“Wouldn’t we rather discuss Elena’s impulsiveness from this afternoon?” She gave them a wry smile.

“We’ve come to the conclusion that it was only a matter of time before she made things official,” Elijah smirked.

“Because apparently I’m transparent,” Elena rolled her eyes.

“Compassionate, Elena,” he threaded his fingers through hers, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

“You two are sickening,” Kol shook his head. He turned his attention back to Lexa. “How about that history lesson?”

She nodded and stepped out of the bedroom into the suite’s living room, adjusting her camisole and taking a seat. She owed them an explanation after what had happened that morning.

“About a millennium ago…” she began and was promptly cut off.

“This sounds familiar,” Kol dropped into an armchair near Lexa and flashed his brother a smirk.

“Don’t interrupt me,” she glared, using a throw pillow to wack Kol’s arm. She couldn’t stop her smile when she met his eyes though.

“He never could get through a lecture without interjecting,” Elijah cocked an eyebrow, “usually with a smart remark.”

“Terrible student, then?” She crossed her legs and jiggled her foot.

“I resent that,” his mock glare shifted from Elijah to Lexa, “I’m an excellent student.”

Lexa lifted her voice before the brothers went off on a tangent.

“As I was saying,” she shook her head, “it all started a millennium ago. Certain parts of the world held… monsters.” She cringed at the word; many people would have lumped her into that category. “There was nothing more terrifying than dragons.”

“I’m sorry,” Kol held up his hand. “Are you telling us that dragons are real, and that they were around a thousand years ago? Wouldn’t we remember that?”

“Are you forgetting what happened this morning?” Lexa countered.

“I thought dragons were just a myth,” Elena twisted her daylight ring with her thumb.

“A lot of people would say that about vampires,” Lexa shrugged, “and witches and werewolves. Speaking of…” she focused on her audience, “… that’s a big part of the story. There was no supernatural faction that was a match for dragons; at least, not on their own, so an unholy,” she made air quotes around the word, “alliance was formed.”

Elena wanted to ask, but she sensed that Lexa would just glare at her for interrupting.

“A witch, a werewolf, and a vampire came together.” She tilted her head, remembering the story she had heard at her mother’s knee. “The Triad combined their blood and used black magic to create a golem that could consume supernatural beings with the exception of the ones that had made it, and I do mean the ones that had made it – that particular witch, vampire and wolf.”

She knew she was getting ahead of herself and took a deep breath to refocus.

“The golem took and consumed the dragons when they returned to collect treasure from the villages they attacked. It swallowed them whole into an endless space, an alternate realm that wiped the memory of the monsters from existence.” She saw the recognition in their eyes. “With each supernatural it swallowed, it evolved and became sentient. Once the region was free of dragons the Triad wanted to destroy him, they were the only ones that could, but it betrayed them and made a deal with the humans it had saved.”

“How does a golem turn into a bubbling pit of tar?” Kol tilted his head, having gone silent during the tale.

“It wandered,” Lexa shrugged, motioning with her hands, “the earth, consuming supernaturals and erasing the memory that they ever existed, but eventually it realized it was alone. What does anyone do when they think they’re alone in the world; when they’re the only one of their kind?”

“They make more,” Elena murmured, “by any means necessary.” Her fingers twitched, but she managed to keep from reaching for her throat and the spot where Klaus had chosen to sink his teeth into her carotid artery.

“Precisely,” she nodded. “The golem began to fashion beings like it, but they lacked its power. They were flawed and imperfect, and it had a tendency to disregard the imperfect. It was never intended to have a bloodline of its own.”

“What happened?” Elena tilted her head.

“One of its… children…” she managed a small laugh, “betrayed it. He told the descendants of the original worshippers of the attempts to create more like it, and how it was violating the laws of Nature by attempting to birth a new species. This guy led them to the golem and they had some witches use more black magic to trap it. It dissolved into a black pit, but maintained its power. They locked it somehow, and the secret society grew into a business.”

“Triad,” Kol finished.

“Triad Industries,” Lexa sang, “keeping the world safe from all the things that go bump in the night.”

“What happened to the son?” Elijah frowned.

“Not sure,” she hummed, “he disappeared a while back.” Her eyes took on a haunted look.

“How did you remember?” Elena pulled her back from her mind.

“People forget,” she folded her legs under her, “but those who share blood with the golem always remember. The vampire died during the betrayal, and I think the wolf’s bloodline eventually ended, but the witch one endured. The stories were passed down along with immunity to the golem’s power.”

“Could this thing absorb a witch, or a vampire, or a wolf?” Elijah watched Lexa’s face.

“It could,” she nodded, “it has, and that’s allowed Triad to create weapons that can hurt a supernatural.”

“Is that why you were in such a rush?” Kol twisted in his seat. “You were afraid a mystical weapon would kill you.”

“Not me,” she shook her head. “I told you… I’m immune. I was protecting you.”

“We can’t be…”

“Do you really want to test out a weapon you’ve never come in contact with?” She cocked an eyebrow. “I’ve seen their weapon work. It burns supernatural creatures from the inside out, and when they’re dead they’re swiftly forgotten. It’s not like being absorbed, but its close. It’s like they fade away, becoming a grainy face in an old photograph.”

“The industry weaponized a golem?” Elena shifted back, curling her legs onto the sofa and leaning into Elijah when he lifted his arm over her shoulders. “Is that why you don’t like them?”

“I don’t like them because they’ve taken it upon themselves to eliminate everything they deem monstrous. I’m certain they’d try to get rid of witches, vampires and wolves if they weren’t so plentiful and hard to track.”

“Not everything that’s been absorbed deserved it?” Kol tapped the arm of his chair.

“Would you call dryads and nymphs, or djinn and unicorns evil?”

“Unicorns are real?” Elena squinted.

“Not anymore,” Lexa shook her head, pursing her lips.

“I thought djinn were supposed to be evil spirits,” Kol frowned, remembering the old myths he had read.

“Nah,” Lexa waved, “they were mischievous, and self-serving, but not necessarily bad. We’re getting off topic though. The thing to remember is that the only people in the world who know you held a piece of the Hollow are in this room.”

Tags: @rissyrapp20 @eternityunicorn @elejah-wonderland @elejahforever @morsmornte @xanderling @fandomrulesall

#elena gilbert #elena x elijah #elijah mikaelson #elejah #who are you fic

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theotherbackgrounder · 6 years

Text

Gift for: @beetaur Title: Queen’s Knight Summary: Raven watches Darling dance. Rating: Gen Ship: Raven Queen/Darling Charming

http://archiveofourown.org/works/13142085

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12772938/1/Queen-s-Knight

Raven Queen stared up above her. Almost like a trance, her gaze was almost magnetized to the stone ceiling that hung overhead as the shadows continued to movie at their own rhythm. She could feel the heat radiating from each flicker as it licked at her skin, sending short bursts of goosebumps running down her body. Sprawled out in front of the fire place in the den she grew up in? There was no other place she would rather be.

Why did she enjoy moments like this? Why was it that as a child her favorite memories were things like this? Was it because of how the light and the shadows danced around, pushing against one another, reminding her of the destiny that would one day reflect her future? Or was it simply a reminder of old stories of prince and princesses dancing together that her father would read to her before she would head off to slumber. She didn’t know the answer. And honestly she didn’t really care why; it was the most beautiful scenery to her-

“Raven, are you cold?”

-Well, second most beautiful scenery. Raven finally managed to tear her attention away from the spectacle scenery and lay her gaze on another picture perfect image. Her hair was reminiscent of days long ago with strands as blue as clear days and white as the purest of snow form. Raven couldn’t help but stare at her peach perfect cheeks as the shadows that danced on the ceiling now seemed to move to her flawless skin. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

Darling Charming tossed another log into the fire place, never one to enjoy the cold chill that lingers in the winter season, then turned to look back over to her other, noticing her staring blankly at her. “What’s wrong Raven?” she asked

“Nothing…” Raven answered, “Just thinking about the most beautiful girl in the world.”

Darling smiled, a tint of red rose on her cheeks underlying the shadows that frolicked. “You aren’t bad looking yourself. You are the fairest in the land after all.” She said in a teasing tone.

There was a sudden sullen change in the mood. “No…that isn’t true…” Raven’s gaze instinctively casted away from Darling, “I-I’m nothing special…I’m just an ugly witch.” She said with a pained expression, a look that had been weighed down by years of abuse.

Darling grimaced as she watched her other half turn her back towards her as a sign to end their conversation. She knew of the relationship that Raven had with her mother as a small child as well as the way the children of her family’s kingdom had treated her after her mother’s banishment; it was just that Darling just didn’t realize just how those deep those scars ran. In hindsight, her issue with her family locking her away for being “too beautiful” was simply incomparable.

Darling spoke up. “Raven…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to-” But she cut her own self off. The tension in the air grew thick, threatening to suffocate anyone that tried to breath in the atmosphere. Darling’s shoulders started to ache for the longing to see Raven smile.

A single moment of silence passed. “Can...can we just drop it?” Raven finally spoke up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Darling casted her gaze away from her black bird, losing heart as her aching shoulders drooped in disappointment. She knew that Raven hated her own reflections. But now she knew why. It was because she hated seeing her past-self reflected back at her.

“Raven… I-” but her voice caught in her throat. She didn’t know what to say. This home they have found themselves in was empty. It was just the two of them now. Things have changed since Raven’s father-

“Raven…” Darling spoke up, an idea popping in her head. “Watch me dance…” This was the only thing she could do to keep the spinning gears in her head from self-destructing.

A silence fell filling the room as quiet as the winter night that fell outside the castle walls. Raven body shifted as she turned her gaze over her shoulder and up at Darling – as if finally responding to her pleas. “What did you just say?” Raven asked in confusion with an expression on her face that truly believed that her ears were playing a prank on her.

Inside Darling’s mind she smiled, she had finally gotten Raven’s attention. She straightened her posture out as if she was trying to gather all her courage into her center. She swallowed down her fear because she knew this was going to be her only chance. “Raven, I-I want you to watch me.” She repeated herself. “I want you to watch me dance.” She said with a strong conviction in her tone – not for Raven, but for herself.

Before their relationship. Before their Graduation. Before Wonderland. Before the White Knight. Before Legacy Day. Even before Ever After High. Before everything. Darling was, is, a female Charming and she was raised as such. Before she ever trained with Bishop and Rook she had already mastered the art of “prissy.” Before she had ever picked up her sword she already mastered the art of beauty pageant.

Darling wasn’t one to toot her own horn but she was truly one of the most graceful princesses in the land of Ever After. At least that was what winning grand prize ten years in a row of “Little Miss Queen” had once told her – it would have been Eleven years had it not been for Wei Zhu, son of Hua Mulan, showing up and winning first place just to spite her. Darling wasn’t bitter about that. No sire. Not one bit.

Raven sat up and straightened her posture looking Darling in the eye. “uh…okay” Raven responded in a tone that was both a mix of confusion and curiosity. “I would love to see you dance.”

Darling took in a deep breath as she nodded slowly. “Okay then…” the fact that Raven was willing to watch her obliterated her worries. She now had the conviction. She was certain she could do this. She stood up.

Raven watched Darling in bewilderment, never tearing her gaze away, as she circled around her. Raven was now sitting between Darling and the fire place.

The view of the woman watching her in anticipation nearly left Darling speechless – luckily this was something that needed no words - swallowing her fear hard, she grabbed both ends of the hem of her dress with both hands, she bent down knee and gave Raven a curtesy bow as if asking the wordless question “May I begin?”

Raven said nothing but only nodded in anticipation. What came next blew her away.

A silence fell into the room; the only sound was the light footfall against the stone floor. The silence was why the scene before Raven was so beautiful, it left her speechless.

The way that Darling Charming danced for Raven almost reflected the way that the young woman was feeling. Raven was never a dancing type of person, that was more Duchess or Justine’s area of expertise, and the only time she had seen a ballet of any kind was when their mother took them to one when she was but a small child – it of course was about her. But the way the woman moved about? It captivated all of her senses.

As she moved, Darling’s throat tightened, she couldn’t breathe. She could feel Raven’s eyes glued to her movements. Outside of contests, she had only danced a few times when she was younger; be it during her Charming princess training or whenever she would dance for her father on his birthday. This, right here, was the first time she had danced for a single person’s gaze. And it was Raven of all people watching her.

The way that she moved kept Raven’s attention as she could only watch anxiously with every move that the other woman made. “Woah…amazing…” Raven said finally breaking the silence.

Darling moved her hands to the back of her neck. “Watch this…” she responded without a second thought. And with a single motion she flicked her hair.

To the untrained eye it would seem that Darling’s magic would be that of someone moving at the speed of light. This is of course was false as her magic acts as a prism that fractures light and creates a space that seemingly slows down the light around her and those whose eyes would catch that light would believe she was moving at light speed. Combine this technique with the flickering light from the fire place and well…

Raven’s mouth gaped with shocked and awe, she couldn’t utter a single word to what it was she was looking at. It was as if Darling was dancing with the shadows themselves. The way darling moved was a unique way. She moved as if she was moving in between each flame but yet moved as against the flames; popping in and out of reality itself. The visual before tantalized the dark witch’s heart. In her stupor mind the only way she could describe it was simply…magical.

And Darling would have to agree with her. The way she felt at this moment was something she had never felt before. Short bursts of slow movement. Followed by long burst of high speed. With dabbles of the normal pace sprinkled in between. This was something new that Darling had never felt before. And it was all for Raven.

Time was lost to both the dancer and the audience. One was mesmerized the other was lost in the moment. “Raven?” Raven shook her head to bring herself back to reality as she looked into the gaze of the woman looking down at her with loving eyes. “Why don’t you dance with me?”

“Uh…” Raven’s heart leapt into her throat, “I-I’m not really one to dance.” She said while flailing her hands as if to fend off the very idea. It was true. Raven wasn’t much for dances, she was always one to sit in the corner of the room and watch as everyone else enjoyed their time. She would just sit there drinking her punch. Alone.

“Would you dance with me?” Darling asked again. “Please?” she said reaching out a hand as if to help her other to the stage of a lifetime.

Silence drowned the room as Raven looked at Darling’s hand with a child’s nervous gaze. Raven Queen was the dark witch. Darling Charming was the knight in shining armor. Light and darkness. Why would these things ever match? Like the shadows and the flickering light of a candle.

And Raven reached out for Darling’s hand with her own. “Okay…” Raven said with an anxious smile. And Darling smiled back as she pulled Raven to her feet.

And the two danced. Like the flickering lights of a candle’s glow in the winter’s cold night. And the two of them danced.

#ever after high #darling charming #raven queen #shipping #christmas

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eah-exchange · 6 years

Text

Queen's Knight

To: @beetaur

From: @theotherbackgrounder

Summary: Raven Queen and Darling Charming enjoys a night by the fire place.

Rating: K+

Word Count: 1838

Author’s message: Really hope you like it. Tried to make it a bit more cutesy then what I’m really used to.