#how am i supposed to act normal about them when they themselves are such losers about each other

[scuderiamint]

bro wym max verstappen used to be a serial commenter under charles leclerc's facebook posts back in like 2013

#max verstappen #charles leclerc #lestappen #how am i supposed to act normal about them when they themselves are such losers about each other #bro pls #f1 #formula 1 #formula one #txt

[hell-drabbles]

So another ramble with Ra-On (aka WHB MC)

I always had problem with how the MC carry themselves throughout the game. I don't know if this was supposed to be a self insert or they already reserved an OC playing as protagonist, but the former seems preferred though. Ra-On (I think that's the MC name?) lack decency even from the start of the game, not only that but they- (and no I'm not gonna use 'she/her' on them, fight me) -seem to be giving off 'Gross, loser Gamer' type of vibe. They don't know how to take care of themselves and have minyheok (poor bb) do it for them instead. Not only that but they also come off as freeloader since they mostly stay in minyheok house. I'm betting my soul that Ra-On house/room probably look like the cockroach's base at this point. They don't seem to show nor mention of having any job/interest than fawning over a person or being horny 24/7, or either both 🤷.

Now don't get me wrong. There are times where i, too, let myself loosen up abit and thirst for someone/something, but to do it everyday? ALL THE TIME?? Mam where's your dignity and shame?? Were you gonna be a fleshlight forever??? What if you grown old??? You better be married to minyheok cause if not, I'm gonna go Gabriel 2.0.

Now that dignity is on the table, I also started to wonder if Ra-On are even a human? I'm not exaggerating when I say dignity, alongside morality, is what make us human in the firstplace. I'm not saying that Ra-On should be pure or holy since in this messed-up universe, that wouldn't work. But all I'm say is they should be in the middle.While helping the devils win the war is alright, that doesn't mean your 'actually' have to indulge within their sexual acts nor become one of them. Like it doesn't make sense??? Like, fine. Your a human in hell, but your 'NOT' a devil like them. Why should you change yourself just to blend and entertained them? Remember that your the descendant of solomon, meaning that you have an upper hand to them, not a random cheep-ass whore to be stuffed :(.

My theory about Ra-On not being a human is still standing. If your any normal person, you will 'hesitate' to accept a hand coming from satan, let alone helping the devils win the war, even if your best friend is in danger since in the bible, devils often see as mischievous and untrustworthy creature that will take your soul to the deepest of hell just to burn it . I'm not gonna say 'no' immediately since your being hunted down and don't have any choice, just maybe hesitation? For what? Idk your safety and soul?

But Ra-On? Fucker didn't think twice before jumping in dicks. 🤦

Am I slandering Ra-on? Absolutely. Do I care? No. Why am I doing this? Just because Ra-on is so fucking annoying and barely done anything that doesn't include decency

Bye 🤮

I get a whole lot of second hand embarrassment with this main character, honestly. And getting horny in the middle of a fucking war certainly isn't something that will have me endear to this character. Now, if this war wasn't treated as seriously as it does, and if this was just an everyday thing that these devils and angels do, then I can excuse the casualness the main character treats everything.

Honestly, I wouldn't have a problem with a character like the main character, if they weren't the main character at all. If they were just a side character getting dragged into bullshit situations and someone is there to keep them in line. That and it would be fun to dish out punishments towards that character. Too bad, we're stuck in their POV.

Kind of entertaining just having Ra-on being their own character, not a main character, just so the Reader can look at them and hiss "Ra-on what the fuck?" And knock their noggin around while they're both dragged into the mess that is this Hell and Heaven.

There is such a thing where, in response to stress and trauma, the body just gets unbearably horny, and it's usually not something wanted by the person experiencing it. A weird little disconnect of sorts. Unfortunately, the narrative is not going down that route. That is literally how the main character is, a horny mess 24/7.

So funny to me that the main character is both overly kind and also a piece of board in terms of emotional depths and personality.

#admin

[antisociallilbrat]

Wisdom Teeth Poly Losers HCs

I got my wisdom teeth out recently and :)) I am in so much pain bc what was suppose to be a simple surgery turned into fuck shit bc ofc I had to have complicated teeth :))) my bottom teeth were on my nerve line and the dentist didn't realize this until they were pulling my bottom teeth out- I was awake too, just numb :) anyways enjoy some headcannons for what I think would happen with the Losers getting their wisdom teeth out

So this is set in my Poly losers universe and when they're young adults most of the losers have to get their wisdom teeth removed

The exceptions are Richie because his dad was a dentist so he had them removed in high school and also Eddie because of his mom

Eddie didn't even need his removed but of course his mom had them done anyways :/ I think also because of her he had them removed first, a year or so before Richie

This leaves Mike, Stan, Bev, Ben, and Bill who needs to get their removed

What prompts this is Bill, who a tooth ache and refused to go the dentist. Due to his parent's neglect he never really went to the dentist so he doesn't see why he has to go now

It takes Eddie threatening to forcefully drag Bill there himself for him to finally go

And yes Eddie goes with Bill and yes Eddie holds his hand during the appointment because Bill won't admit it but he's a little scared of those tools

Turns out one of Bill's wisdom teeth are infected and need to removed asap

So when they get home to discuss scheduling Bill's surgery with the others, Bill's worried and Mike being Mike graciously mentions how he still needs to get his removed to agrees to do it with Bill

This gives Stan the idea that- Hey they're starting to have a bit of extra income, might as well go get everyone else's done too

They're going to have Mike and Bill go first and then the next weekend Bev and Ben and THEN Stan will go

There's no reason he decided he would go last

Any who Bill and Mike's surgery happens and Bill is the BIGGEST BABY who clings to Mike the moment they get in the car

They're both drugged up and Mike goes to kiss Bill bc 'oh no his baby' and poor Ben has to get into the back between Mike and Bill to keep them from accidently hurting themselves

Bill and Mike just both end up clinging to Ben and the moment they get home won't let Ben leave them

They both proceed to pass out on Ben on the couch

Ben doesn't mind

Also I love the idea of Richie spoon feeding Mike and Bill with mocking pouty faces and going like 'Oooo does Billy Willy and Mikey Wikey hurt?'

Mike laughs (the best that he can) at Richie and Bill throws a pillow at him

He misses

Otherwise Mike and Bill heal up with little complications- Thanks to Stan and Eddie, and neither of them mind eating junk food like smoothing and apple sauce for a couple days

Oh also Bill ended having to braces a couple weeks after his surgery because he never got them in his teens and turns out he needed them- he's very upset about it

You can take the headcannon of young adult Bill with braces from my cold dead fists

The next weekend it's Ben and Bev's turn

Knowing what happened with Bill and Mike, after the surgery Bev and Ben ride home in separate cars

Richie rides in the back with Bev in the car she's in and drugged up Bev is OBSESSED with Richie's hair

Like she can't stop herself from running her hand through it and tugging on the curls

Richie finds this hilarious

Meanwhile Ben gets nauseous from the pain medicine :( bb is not having a good time and rides with his head in Bill's lap

But it turns out Ben probably has the easiest recovery of them all bc the next day he feels completely fine and can act like normal- aside from his mushy diet but he was already a big smoothie guy anyways

Poor Bev suffers

She's a texture person when it comes to food and Stan and Eddie has to fight to keep her from eating the wrong things bc she keeps trying to rush the healing process

The next week is worst than the actual surgery for her

The moment she gets the okay she can eat like normal though, all the Losers work together to cook her her favorite meal

And by all the Losers I mean Ben and Mike while the others help

Also she had to quit smoking during her heal week and that was absolute hell so she was very grouchy

Everyone- even Eddie- was happy when she got to light up again

Then it's Stan's turn for him to get his teeth out

He's very calm and composed and he trusts Eddie to take care of him since its Eddie and he's been helping Stan take care of the others

Turns out Stan's teeth are impacted which means a big ouch

But he's Stan and he'll be damned with unnecessary teeth are going to break him

He actually manages to sleep the whole way back and barely wakes up when Eddie changes his gauze- he goes back to sleep and sleeps till the next day

And then the next day he is in absolute pain and its like the pain meds aren't even working

He won't tell the Losers but they know. They all stick close by, particularly Richie and Bill since they both don't have day jobs

They know Stan is in pain because he actually allows the two dufoses to cuddle him in his bed- and he's usually not a cuddly guy

If one of them have to get up there's a Loser ready to replace them

Mike makes sure the mushy food Stan eats is till kosher <3

Stan very much loves his Losers bc he didn't have to say how much pain he was in, they just knew

Okay that's all, yes I know there's spelling/grammar errors. I'm in pain and on pain pills, whadda want from me?

#bill denbrough #eddie kaspbrack #richie tozier #stan uris #stanley uris #ben hanscom #beverly marsh #mike hanlon #reddie #stenbrough #stozier #stanlon #denscom #bichie #kaspbrough #poly losers club #poly losers #poly losers headcanons

[yoitscro]

HOMESTUCK RAMBLE

The most troubling thing about the Sarah Z situation is that everything felt like damage control, tactical intimidation, and knee-jerked censorship. Right off the cuff of Hussie’s patreon message*.

(*Does anyone ever notice how Hussie only talks to the fandom when some kind of trouble eventually boils over, usually pointing a finger in one direction, versus addressing things earlier or addressing things period? Such as him having the power to speak against the actual anti queer jargon toward his employees prior to them leaving when things got worse? Or him mentioning the concerns of HS2 that people only found out through word of mouth and were reasonably upset about, such as them getting rid of the content warnings, or the fact that Hiveswap Act 2 was released without credits?

Would certainly make me less irritated if I didn’t know that that message is probably going to be one of his only few that he chooses to write and not mention other things, such as the returned antagonism toward fans. 

But this is also the same guy who continues to write passive aggressive messages in his comic and game scripts that calls everyone else a loser for still being mad about the racism and ableism. (Seriously, Psycholonials is just a vague post in game form and it’s chaotic as fuck to do things like using riots (racially prominent a year ago) in the toned environment of 2020 as goofy plot points. I thought we were suppose to do BETTER after Skaia Net.)

Idc if he’s not apart of WP anymore. Even then, he certainly left a lot of baggage for other people to handle. It’s incredibly irresponsible.

Anyways.)

Those journals have existed forever. Whether right or wrong, they have. They’ve gone unaddressed despite being known for existing. A big name youtuber giving an auditory version that doesn’t take up all the video probably shouldn’t have been the reason that fans finally got some kind of answer, and it’s blatantly transparent that it was to protect the IP from having it’s name tarnished. As if Homestuck doesn’t already have issues that it refuses to acknowledge after a decade that everyone else has talked about.

I can imagine that some kind of NDA was keeping them from talking about Hiveswap to their kickstarter backers, but the convenience of that expiring once Sarah said something gives me an inkling that the people who’ve actually stuck around to support Homestuck could’ve heard sooner. Not to mention that before this big blowout, people just wanted to know that the game was being worked on period. There was actually no NDA preventing that communication.

People wonder why there’s such a rift between WP and the homestuck community, and it’s stuff like that. The fact that Hussie only comes down to address damage when it piles up to a breaking point, rather than earlier. The fact that if you have one criticism, friends or associates of the people who write their favorite characters will maul you in the name of whatever marginalized group they happen isolate you from.

And at the end of it all, it’s almost like some big, surface level moral, because no one cared 3 days after Sarah’s video. Everyone treated it like usual youtube commentary essays about troubling developments and moved on.

Instead, now, still, everyone cares about the fact that an opinion video about Homestuck was getting legal threats during 4/13. After years of a troubled relationship with it’s fandom, this was the last thing they needed to do. I’m trying to wrap my head around what the favorable outcome was here; to look GOOD?

I can’t even imagine what this stunt looks like to other studios and IP groups. I wonder if Homestuck is secretly blacklisted at this point because so much bad behavior has been normalized instead of having a healthy blend between criticism and sympathy.

BC again, a transphobic bigot sending death threats bc homestuck “isn’t what it use to be”, and responding to that rightfully, isn’t the same as someone thinking that more jarring post-canon content and execution of things like toblerone wishes suck some, and figureheads deciding to insult minors, stir character drama, and call other bulk criticisms from the queer community homophobic or transphobic. That in fact loses support, money, and causes infighting, actually.

I���ve never seen a fandom decline in stable activity as hard as 2019-2020 Homestuck.

This is the part where I say that my caliginous crush from wanting to see this IP improve itself flares up from time to time, but is starting to die down knowing that, unless there’s a massive overhaul on how things are run, things aren’t changing...seriously. There are things HS can do even without Viz Media’s overbearing presence, but it doesn’t want to. Starting a feud on your holiday wasn’t one of those things to do, maybe, actually.

I think it’s telling that it’s actually bad enough that I usually refrain from talking as much as I am now, because some part of me knows that some ex WP member, or a friend of one, is reading this and potentially sharing it in whatever snotty chat to once more emphasize how evil of a person I am for saying what everyone else is thinking, lmao.

I think that if anyone wants to pride themselves in not being “terminally online” and in fandom, they should refrain from putting their hands on a story that’s literally embedded and literally about it’s fandom. Go join a private discord instead, or try a different franchise. Maybe have some self awareness. Just a thought.

Anyways, the trust is tainted. The fallout has been followed by quiet, and the current members are reshaping the ground of this community before the weeds eventually rear their heads again.

#buzzcull #i should honestly just make a tag for long rambles like this #crojournal #that sounds terrible but. #someones gonna think im anti hs with this; nah im just saying it how it is. #again i dont have to kiss ass all the time and frankly i did that a lot in the pass. if i get accused as being a centrist #then i might as well speak one sided occasionally. #also again i have no reason to restrain myself and be nice about some who personally hurt me so :)

[helisol]

dude im not sure you will get it after reading this either, but you Can read it now

okay so first of all do not expect me to adhere to rules of grammar or Proper capitalisation, I am writing from the heart

so it’s been said before by other people but if Quark and Odo didnt look like the aliens that they are but instead like two regular prettybois the fandom would do cartwheels over their dynamic and Not call them a crack ship. because really, their dynamic fucking SLAPS and I’m here to tell you Why.

their surface-level dynamic is “Respected and Talented Security Chief and Cunning Immoral Businessman who are in Love but pretend not to be” and that's just an off-brand version of enemies to lovers! which is excellent and for some people that’s all you really need to get invested in a ship.

but some people look at it and go “Hm, no, that’s not enough. I mean, they work as friends but it doesn’t really have to be romantic.” and to that I say you are Absolutely Valid, not everything has to be romantic.

it just so happens that these two fuckers have one of the most compelling romance stories ever, and it’d be a shame not to explore it.

so before I dive into the internalised homophobia and repression, I’d like to take a moment to talk about Quark as a character.

because if you have brainworms like me you can kind of see that its an honest to god greek tragedy.

this guy comes from a race of people where being kind, ethical and fair is considered Abnormal and Horrifying. and I’m not gonna call Quark out of all people kind, ethical or fair but,,, 

you ever notice how he’s A Much Better Person Than Pretty Much All Other Ferengi?

dont get me wrong, Quark is still a bastard, but every once in a while his True Character shines through. and I say True Character because guys,,, the way he behaves around other people is an Act. he’s pretending to be something he’s not.

he has to try so hard to be a good ferengi it’s honestly painful to watch at times. because he is a SHIT ferengi! 

he loves his friends- because that's what the ds9 crew are. they’re his friends! and it makes him miserable because that's not! normal! for a ferengi!

let’s compare Quark and Rom for a second. 

Quark reeks of self loathing because a lot of the time he just Doesn’t act like a ferengi is supposed to, and this drives a lot of conflict in the show. he knows how a ferengi should act, it’s just that he can’t!! fucking!! do it!! but he still tries and tries to fit into that mold, which straight up ruins his life on multiple occasions.

Rom is also not a Model Ferengi, but he lives without hating himself. and it’s mostly because he doesn’t care about how a ferengi Should act, he’s loved and cared for even when everybody knows that he’s a shit ferengi! because his non-ferengi-ness works to his benefit. it encourages and highlights his abilities as an engineer. the success and love he finds make it easy for him to be content with his true self. Unlike Quark, who doesn’t get unconditional love from anyone.

its so!! tragic!! because you can see what Quark is really like!! his true self!! he’s a nice guy who cares for people!

its right there all the time and it's so blatantly obvious. especially in episodes like “Body Parts”, “Bar Association”, “The Way Of The Warrior” and “Ferengi Love Songs”

his own wiki page literally calls him “a compassionate and generous man by ferengi standards” which pretty much translates to “not really a good ferengi”.

anyway so Quark is a tragic figure or whatever but we’re actually here for the REPRESSED! HOMOSEXUAL! TENDENCIES! that he and Odo both exhibit.

with characters like garak you don’t really need to have brainrot to pick up on those tendencies, because that was something andrew robinson chose to do, on purpose. 

and to be fair, Quark wasn’t intended to be Any kind of representation, not even by the actor. I’m just pointing out that he Does look and act and talk like a little gayman.

I will admit that he is Painfully Straight in the text of the show, but on a meta level he’s just. a dude who has a serious case of repressing his real personality. and taking it a step further- he also represses his feelings towards another man.

and that man is Odo.

a few things on him:

Odo is literally desperate to be a person. unlike Quark, who at least has the comfort of belonging to a society of people with a set of rules and expectations, Odo has never met anyone or anything like him in all his years of life.

like, we all know Odo basically grew up in a lab, right? 

with people who didn’t know anything about him. who he was so unalike that they literally called him “Nothing”

but he still learned to look and talk and act like them (because if he didn’t he’d feel *pain* which is very fucked up by the way?)

so we know for a fact that Odo wants to be recognised as a person- which is why he tries really hard to conform to the ideals of the society that raised him. instead of exploring his nature as a shape shifter he maintains a humanoid form, picks up a job and creates an entire personality around what he wants to be seen as. but not what he really is.

and that's the thing that causes all the conflict between Quark and Odo. the type of person odo wants to be seen as is the polar opposite of whatever the fuck quark wants to be seen as.

In the same way that Quark acts like a Normal Ferengi, Odo acts like a Normal Security Officer.  and in a cruel twist of fate, the Ferengi happens to be the antithesis of the Security Officer.

If you only look at them as the things they act like, and not the things they are, you might say they’re way too different to like each other, right? 

but,,, if you think about the fact that they’re both putting on this act,,, this performance of idealised versions of themselves,,, you can see that they are The Same. They Are Both Gay Repressed Loser Aliens Who Try To Act Like Things That They Aren’t!

Imagine you’re Odo. 

Imagine that you’re Nothing, because you’re not like anything anyone has ever seen- and because you are Nothing you don’t fall in love with anyone for years and years. since who could love something that isn’t like them at all?

But then one day this Thing shows up in your path and you just hate it. Because it’s not like anything *you* have ever seen. It’s disorderly and looks grotesque and it’s criminal to boot.

It’s all the things you learned would make a “Bad Person” It’s everything you aspire not to be, because if you were any of those things you would BE PUNISHED.

But the trouble is, eventually he’s not an “it” anymore, he’s “Quark” and you see him every day of your miserable little life because you live on the same damn station in space and it’s hard to avoid each other.

He also happens to be one of the only things in your life that are constant. He will never leave because he is stubborn and greedy and you just *hate him so much* that you’re convinced he must be doing all of it to spite you. And yet you also can’t seem to leave him alone.

So Odo Must Hate Quark. everything else is a non sequitur for him. he can’t not hate Quark.

because Quark is, and i’m sincerely sorry to apply christian fucking imagery to this, The Forbidden Fruit.

If he liked quark he’d admit some kind of moral failing. it would be the end of his act. but on the other hand...it might be a good thing, because at least he could have quark.

but Odo can never go through with biting into this apple because the consequences are horrifying to him. he could never have quark because, according to his performance, he would Never like quark to begin with.

and here’s a take for you: Odo's Brand Of Internalised Homophobia Doesn't Stem From Heteronormativity. It Stems From The Fact That He Was Kind Of Assigned Asexual At Birth.

and the show sort of alludes to this, for real! not just subtext! canon! except the writers used the wrong person. 

because instead of Odo having these Forbidden Feelings for Quark he has them for,,, Kira.

but since this is My Quodo Manifesto you’ll understand that i am 100% willing to just toss that part of canon out the airlock.

so Odo does canonically have that mindset of “no one could ever love me”  for decades he repressed any and all feelings of love to avoid getting hurt. in the show he breaks this cycle of repression when he takes a chance and enters a relationship with Kira. yay?

but we all know that aint it chief. and part of the reason why That Ship Ain’t It is the fact that Quark is Right There. and he is simply the more interesting choice for odo.

he and Odo literally share the same problem and have weird intertwined character arcs! they are both dreadfully afraid of not conforming to the ideal versions of themselves, so they reject everything that could challenge their Performance!

on some fucked up level they hate each other *and* themselves individually. and this hatred makes them reject parts of their real identities for the sake of protecting their image. which. yknow. in gay people. is internalised homophobia!

so you can see that they’re both repressing A Lot even if you view them as Friends, but the most important thing in this kind of romantic dynamic is usually,,, when the characters *stop* repressing.

and the thing is. the thing that Kills Me with these two. They Never Get That Moment. Thats Why You Need The Brainrot To See Them As Romantic.

The Ascent gives us an example of what happens when they both take their act too far. I mean, who could forget “Fascist!” and “Fraud!” That is what odo thinks of quark’s performance and vice versa, but we don’t really hear them adress the fact that they *are* playing these roles to a ridiculous extent.

We also never get an example of what would happen if they dropped their act instead of over-performing it. or rather we don’t get to see both of them drop it.

And the reason why we never get that moment is because there’s this one key difference between Quark and Odo. 

Quark knows that he’s constantly repressing his true nature and his feelings for odo. We pretty much hear him say so in the iconic root beer scene in Way Of The Warrior. he knows that he’s not a good ferengi but he keeps up his act.

So quark is aware enough to feel that sweet sweet self loathing. But Odo isnt self loathing as much as he is just self sabotaging.

and this subtle difference between them is why, at the very end of the show, we get “That man loves me, can’t you see? It was written all over his back!”

this moment is quark dropping his act and asking odo to do the same. he wants to hear a genuine Goodbye from him because they have known each other for Decades and they are Friends. but odo is so unable to express the feelings he’s been repressing all these years. that he self sabotages again and just walks away.

even though this is like. very anticlimactic. considering I just spent 2000 words talking about how Odo and Quark are Most Certainly Gay For Each Other.

The fact that their ending is so Weird is the reason why quodo is so engaging and appealing to me? especially post-canon quodo.

like, the amount of “what if’s” this ship has are Astounding.

What if either of them had dropped their act a little sooner? What if they both did, for just a moment, and it was the straw that breaks the camels back?

What if Odo comes back after a few years? What if Quark comes to get him?

What if, in that moment in the finale where Quark drops his act, Odo had returned the gesture? What if Gag-Reel Quodo Kiss.gif Real?

with the depth that I read into their relationship, those what ifs are really fun to think about.

anyway its 1 am and i’m not an english major so literary analysis is not like, my strong suit. plus most of this was written in a late night screaming session with a friend who has the exact same opinions as me. i just think aliens hot and in love. thats all.

#the SOUND of my HEAD hitting my DESK with TERMINAL VELOCITY #quodo #star trek

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Gibbous Chapter 9

Chapter Title: The Thought of Fresh Meat Is Making Me Ill

Summary:  It was October. A month full of cheer for the macabre. A month where humans gleefully wore the skins of those they saw as monsters. A month that Virgil generally enjoyed. It was the one month out of the year where he felt the most alive. Yet somehow, for this year’s October, he felt dead inside. Like his body had turned into the rotting corpse of a zombie and his soul was somehow still trapped inside.

Pairings: platonic lamp & platonic sleepxiety

Chapter Word-Count: 5503

Warnings:  Verbal/Emotional Abuse, Anxiety, Depression, Paranoia, Arguing, Disassociation, Sensory Overload (Yeah this one isn't gonna be a particularly happy one, Virgil Is Spiraling Mentally Big Time)

Previous | Present | Next             AO3 LINK 

Surprise b*tch, bet you thought you saw the last of me! I'm back for my yearly update--this chapter is dedicated to all the lovely comments people have left on previous chapter! Also!! I rewrote a significant amount of Crescent Chapter 3 and added onto Gibbous Chapter 5, the latter you might want to reread as it adds a bit to the opening scene of this chapter.

Chapter title taken from "I know I'm a Wolf" from the Young Heretics!

-

In books, there was always a perfect, logical sense of progression. Stories were generally told in a three-act structure. The setup, the midpoint and the resolution. The beginning of a story established the protagonist to the reader. It gave you details about their personality, their way of living, their wants and desires. Then the protagonist found themselves upended by an inciting incident.

Something that caused their way of living to never again be the same. Tension grew and grew as they sought to come about a way to continue living. Until it reached a climax, one where after which, they either thrived or withered away. In which case, the story ended as the protagonist returned to a new sense of normalcy.

One that would last until the next inciting incident came along to shake up their world once again.

Once one found this pattern, it was hard to ever see stories the same way again. There were certain things to always expect—things you could decipher before the story’s end. Real life, however, wasn’t quite like that.

Or at least this was what Logan had come to find. Sure, in many ways events in life played out like stories. There was an inciting incident, something that arose tension as one sought to solve the dilemma. It just wasn’t as neatly bound together like a story or even a math equation. Life was messy, complicated—it threw in plot twists or details that critics would claim lazy and unbelievable.

Logan was harshly reminded of this in the case of one Virgil Raine. He couldn’t understand—he was doing everything right, remaining patient and giving Virgil a chance to open up to Logan on his own time. Yet the human shied further and further away, all development he made since working at the library immediately erased. Virgil even shut out all notions of spending time outside work without explanation. It’d been weeks at this point with no result despite the attempts of Logan, Patton and even Remy, who was arguably the closet with Virgil.

Perhaps this was something that should be expected. Virgil rarely spoke about his past, but what little he shared, he had to fend mostly for his own from a young age. Whoever hurt Virgil caused him to believe again he couldn't rely on anyone but himself.

Logan was not a particularly violent person. He'd been ignorantly cruel once upon a time, yes, but even back then he wasn't one to have the urge to kill people. The wolfish part of him begged to differ, as always. His instincts howled at him to find that person and tear them limb to limb. Better yet, they demanded he snatch Virgil away and bring him against his will to the pack, to safety. As much as Logan wanted this, logically he knew Virgil might never fully trust Patton or himself ever again despite their good intentions. Illogically, he couldn’t bring himself to do the one thing he swore he’d never do again, even if it was for Virgil's safety.

He pondered this, sitting in front of a mountain of paperwork. It was late, too late for him to still be at the library. He couldn’t bring himself to move from his desk, not until he figured something out. He gnashed sharpened teeth in agitation, gripping his hair with claw-like fingernails. It didn't help that normally this time of the month, his cognitive thinking skills were usually in a different state of being. If he wasn't careful, the cleaning staff might find a wolf rampant in the library the next morning.

His phone rang just then, some meme-related ringtone Roman picked out that he’d found funny. Logan snatched it up and answered it.

“Patton, listen, I will be home soon I am just finishing up—”

“I’m not Patton,” The person on the other line cut in, “It’s me, Remy.”

“Oh,” Logan cleared his throat, thrown off by this revelation, “is something the matter?”

“Yeah, something’s the matter alright,” Remy said, his voice hoarse, “I fucked up big time with Virgil.”

 -

It was October. A month full of cheer for the macabre. A month where humans gleefully wore the skins of those they saw as monsters. A month that Virgil generally enjoyed. It was the one month out of the year where he felt the most alive. Yet somehow, for this year’s October, he felt dead inside. Like his body had turned into the rotting corpse of a zombie and his soul was somehow still trapped inside.

He supposed it had something to do with how September slipped from his fingers much in the way that his phone slipped from Jerad’s fingers. Falling all the way down, down, down, breaking upon the asphalt below into a million tiny pieces. Tried as he might, the memory haunted him in the waking world as well as his dreams.

 Only, in his dreams, sometimes it was him that fell to the ground. Like a shoddy version of Humpty Dumpty. Remy, Patton and Logan would try to fix him to no avail. They’d always leave, scoffing that it wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t cry or reach out towards them, begging for them to return. He could only lay there, broken and bleeding, watching as they abandoned him. Sometimes Roman showed up to gloat, mocking him for thinking they ever cared for him.

The worst thing about it? He knew it was going to happen in real life. It was only a matter of time. Even Jerad knew this.

“C’mon, you really want to hang out with them and not me, your friend?” Jerad scoffed, “what have they done for you? Have they helped out you when you couldn’t pay rent? Replaced your shitty phone for the best smartphone out there?”

“Well no but—”

“Face it, V-Man, they’re using you. They set you up with a new job, making you beholden to them and it’s sickening! They don’t actually care about you. Once they’ve had their fun jerking you around, they’ll just throw you out with the garbage. And I don’t want you coming to me, bawling like a baby, when it happens!”

As much as Jerad was a jerk, Virgil knew deep down he was right. He’d been so ecstatic at their displays of friendship, he didn’t even stop to consider it was all a façade. Maybe they themselves thought it was real, that they actually cared for him. But eventually they’ll realize the truth. That he’s a loser and nothing more.

Or maybe they already knew the truth and were merely toying with him. Virgil was just a human, mortal through and through. Remy, Patton and Logan were all near-immortal, unkillable save a well-placed piece of silver and a stake of wood in Remy’s case. At least with Jerad, he was honest. He knew Virgil was a loser and made it clear he only hung out with Virgil because it was better than nothing.

Jerad had been nice to Virgil lately—or nice as Jerad could be at least. He’d insisted on occasionally giving Virgil rides to and from work. An offer Virgil couldn’t refuse—no matter how hard his heart thudded against his chest with Jerad’s sharp swerves and his blaring car radio. He taken to asking about Virgil’s day even, asking where he’d been and what he’d been doing. He even took Virgil out to bars and clubs in an attempt to get him to loosen up.

Virgil wanted to tell him he’d rather set himself on fire than willingly enter a noisy nightclub. However every time his lips went to form those words, he found himself saying yes always. So that was how he found himself dissociating in a noisy nightclub, holding onto a pink-colored alcoholic beverage he faked taking a sip from.

A hand knocked jokingly against his forehead. “Yo, Virgin!”

Virgil blinked, his gaze blearily onto Jerad. It was hard to concentrate with all the flashing lights and loud music. He wanted to crawl underneath his beloved purple fleece blanket in his dark, silent bedroom and never leave. But he couldn’t leave just yet. Jerad had been nice to take him along to the club. If he’d asked leave now, he’d get upset. He knew eventually Jerad would get upset at him for something, but he preferred to delay that as long as possible.

“Yeah?” Virgil mumbled, curling his fingers tighter around the alcoholic drink that had been hoisted upon him. Jerad knew he didn’t like alcohol—it was something he ridiculed Virgil about constantly. He always insisted on Virgil drinking, saying he’d stop being a pussy and man up eventually about it.

“Are you high or something? You looked like you were seeing into the third dimension or something.”

Virgil shrugged. Jerad laughed at that, patting him on the back. Virgil tensed from each thud of Jerad’s hand, but he did not flinch or move away. It was a friendly gesture on Jerad’s part. If he wanted to really hurt Virgil, he would’ve put more force behind it.

“Probably not! You’re too much of an anxious wimp,” Jerad said, downing the contents of his drink, “but let me know if you ever get man enough to try it—your good friend Jerad has connections.”

“Okay.” Virgil said, his voice sounding far off in the distance to his own ears.

Jerad laughed again, and then started rambling about something probably among the lines of his most recent hookup, his parents being jerks for not giving him a new sports car or the latest college professor he deemed a complete idiot. Virgil stared at him, nodding all the right moments yet barely processed any of the words being directed his way.

 Even with lungs filled with air and a warm beating heart, Virgil felt nothing. He was nothing. A worthless sentient waste of space. Like an ugly mutt nobody wanted that should be euthanized to end its miserable existence.

His phone—the replacement one Jerad gave him—vibrated in his pocket. A text, no doubt from one of the others. The fourth one this night. Virgil’s hand twitched, refraining from looking at it in the presence of Jerad. Virgil didn’t feel like losing a second phone within a month of the first.

“Um, hey,” Virgil interrupted, wincing, “I gotta go use the bathroom, is that alright?”

“’Is that alright?’” Jerad mimicked in a high pitch tone, “Dude, is this elementary school or something? You want a hall pass? Me to hold your hand the whole way there?”

Virgil stared at him.

Jerad rolled his eyes, “Go ahead, whatever. I don’t care if you take a dump, just be quick with it.”

“Thanks.” Virgil bit out, running off before Jerad could change his mind.

He twisted and pivoted around the crowd of sweaty, glistening bodies wearing skimpy clothing. The bright neon lights and loud music warped around him like something out of a nightmare. Eventually he made it to the restrooms and locked himself in the nearest stall. The pulse of his heart roaring in his ears, he drew the phone of his pocket.

Four New Text Notifications from Patton

Patton: [Image of a black cat that looked approximately a year old. It appeared to be nestled close to Patton’s chest, staring up at the camera in wide-eyed stare.]

Patton: Look at what I found on my evening walk! Isn’t she the cutest??

Patton: I’m trying to convince Logan to let me keep her. Maybe you can come visit tomorrow and meet her??

Patton: It’s ok if not! I know you’ve been busy and I want to let you know I’m here for you, you can come to me about anything okay?

Virgil’s vision blurred a bit. He didn’t understand it. Why hadn’t Patton given up already? It’s been weeks since he’s sent Patton a text. He’d been terrified, too, really. And in the few times he ran into Patton at the library, he made excuses and scurried the other way.

Logan was at least kind enough to exchange a few pleasantries and keep their verbal interactions work-oriented. And Remy? They still delved deep into discussions about their taste in music but there was an awkward unspoken agreement not to bring up what happened that one morning. Virgil also shied from hanging outside of work, hoping Remy would eventually forget about him. It seemed to be working; Remy hadn’t offered to hang out in about a week or so.

But Patton? Patton seemed determined to stay in contact with Virgil, sending his dumb silly memes and cute animal videos. He sent good morning and good night texts, while making sure Virgil knew he could respond to them on his own time. On one hand, it made sense—this was the same Patton who saved a complete stranger’s life for literally no reason. On the other hand, he wished Patton would give up. It would made things easier, make it hurt less for everyone.

His phone buzzed with a new text notification.

Jerad: Dude, did you fall in or something?

Virgil swallowed, wiping away any stupid tears running down his face. As he typed a response to Jerad with shaky hands, the bathroom door slammed open, banging against the wall. He almost dropped his phone in the process, silently cursing at how close he’d been to breaking yet another phone.

Several loud booming voices filled the bathroom, peppered with obnoxious laughter every half second. Virgil shut his eyes, resisting the urge to cover his ears also in the process. The noise was too much. It was too much in the club outside, but all those voices echoing off the small crammed walls of the bathroom made Virgil want to scream.

The door creaked open yet again, the voices venturing away from Virgil. Good, they were leaving so Virgil could finally self-destruct in peace. Or so he thought, as a set of footsteps stopped abruptly, wavering. The club music blasted from the doorway, drowning out whatever discussion took place.

Then the door swung shut, the roaring club music muted once more. Virgil waited, breath catching in his throat as the single set of footsteps took a couple strides towards him. Oh god, this was how he was going to die, wasn’t he? This was probably some serial killer with an obsession of killing people in night club restrooms.

This was, of course, the moment his phone started vibrating in his hand. A call. Someone was calling him in the final moments of his life. Virgil looked down at the caller id; Remy. His heartrate spiked, dancing so painfully close to what a heart attack must feel like. Why was Remy calling him? Was he at last going to tell him he was done with Virgil forever?

Virgil almost wanted to ignore the call. But then he glanced at the black boots hovering near his stall and gave it a second thought. If this was going to be how his life ended, it’d probably be best to say goodbye to someone at least. Sucking a breath in, he pressed the green phone icon and held the phone to his ears.

“Hi?” He whispered.

“Hey Virgil,” Remy said, echoing oddly in Virgil’s ears, “what are you up to tonight?”

Virgil glanced down at the black boots menacingly close to his stall, “Umm, I’m just home, chilling.”

“That’s a lie, Hon. I know you’re hiding in a stall of this bathroom.”

“W-what are you talking about?” Virgil couldn’t breathe.

Remy sighed, sounding so similar to the person outside the stall, “Please, let’s talk face to face, alright?”

This was some sort of trick to lure him out of the stall, wasn’t it? Still, with the hand not clutching tightly to his phone, he reached out and unlatched the stall door.

Remy stood there, expression hidden under his black shades. His hair was slicked back with gel, shimmering with a glitter of some sort. He wore his iconic black leather jacket with a black crop top underneath. His whole outfit was black, in fact, down to his ripped jeans and the ankle-length boots. Virgil had seen him wear something similar before to a college event he’d taken Virgil to.

“W-what are you doing here?” Virgil demanded.

“I could ask you the same,” Remy responded, eyebrows raised above his shades, “this isn’t your scene, Virge. What are you doing here?”

“I’m not answering unless you answer.” Virgil said, trying to ignore how much he sounded like a toddler.

“A few of my homies from the art program wanted to celebrate the end of mid-terms. This is the night club most of the college body hangs at.” Remy crossed his arms.

“And how did you know I was in here?”

“A few keen observations,” Remy mustered a thin smile. He tapped his nose for emphasis before drawing his finger close to his lips. Virgil’s eyes widened in understanding. Vampire senses, then. “But mostly, I’d recognize those faded converse of yours anywhere.”

“O-oh.”

“I answered your question, now it’s your turn, Virge.”

“I…” Virgil said, the rest of his words strangled in his throat. His phone buzzed in his hand; another impatient text from Jerad no doubt. He didn’t bother to look at it, choosing to focus on taking a breath in rather than going unconscious from a lack of oxygen.

He could tell Remy the truth. That he’d gone with Jerad—his roommate whom he used to complain to Remy about all the time. But then Remy would ask why he was with Jerad and then—well. Then Virgil would have tell him what happened the time he found him the night his phone broke and well, Virgil wasn’t ready for that. He couldn’t tell Remy about his humiliating mistake.

“I…went here to have a good time completely by myself.” Virgil withheld himself from wincing because wow that didn’t sound weird or suspicious in the slightest, “So you can go catch up with your friends or whatever, I’m good hanging out right here.”

“Right here, in the restroom?”

“Yeah.”

“Honey,” Remy said, his voice washed with some emotion Virgil couldn’t identify, “Let’s ditch this shithole and go somewhere else.”

“W-what—but your friends—” Virgil stammered.

“—will be fine without me. N-G-L they’ll probably too trying to give themselves alcohol poison even realize I’m gone,” Remy shrugged his shoulders, “besides, you don’t seem as gucci as you say you are in here and it’s been a while since we really hung out hung out, y’know?”

Virgil stubbornly directed his gaze away from Remy, jaw tightening. It had to be okay, didn’t it? Jerad was most likely to get too drunk to even coherent colors, let alone that Virgil slipped off without him. Maybe he wouldn’t be mad. Maybe he wouldn’t fly into a rage and come close to hanging him off a balcony. Besides Remy would be even more suspicious if he said no.

Virgil sighed, holding the home button on the phone until it shut off completely. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with Jerad calling him, demanding to know where he’d disappear off to, despite ditching Virgil all the time without warning.

“Alright, fine.”

Remy smiled, his teeth looking a little too sharp for Virgil’s liking. Wordlessly he turned aside and reached for the bathroom door.

Virgil swallowed, shoving the phone in his pocket to be forgotten about. Tried as he might, he still flinched as lively blare of the club’s music and flashing lights greeted him with full force. He froze, cowering before the threshold of the door. A hand landed on his shoulder, soft and gentle.

“Virgil?” Remy asked, his brows furrowing together.

Molten lava settled in the pit of Virgil’s stomach—pity. That was the expression on Remy’s face he couldn’t identify at first. He didn’t want pity; Virgil knew what pity meant. He didn’t want pity of any kind, it reminded him too much of the foster parents that looked at him like he was some feral dog that could be whipped into obedience. And sure, Remy had never hurt him but it didn’t mean Virgil forgotten about that morning spent at Remy’s dorm a month back.

Eyes lit up with a burning, controlled fire. Words hissed through a clenching jaw, “Tell me their name and I’ll beat them up for you.”

If Remy was willing to hurt who he deemed as threats to Virgil, who’s to say he wouldn’t be willing to hurt Virgil? To reprimand Virgil, to let him know how much of an idiot he was being? It sounded absurd, even now, because he’d known Remy for almost a year. Remy had plenty opportunities up to now to do something and hadn’t. Yet he was a vampire; years were nothing to him. He had plenty of time to wait for Virgil to slip up in some way and make his irritation known.

And Virgil knew by now to expect the other shoe to drop in a relationship—it was why he distanced himself, isolated himself to solely to work and his cramped little room at the apartment. He was foolish to believe Remy, Patton and Logan were different. Logan and Patton especially—what was he thinking? Patton saved him, sure, but Logan had been hellbent on locking him in their basement for the eternity of time. Why had ever he allowed himself to accept their apologies, to believe something was going right in his life for once?

“I’m fine.” Virgil snarled, shoving himself forward. It was like marching into a warzone, the music assaulted his ears and rattled uncomfortably against his chest cavity. He grimaced, keeping his eyes towards the floor, away from the flashing lights. He stopped a bit before the ocean of bodies that stood between them and the entrance.

He knew if he looked up, he could make out the back of Jerad’s shirt from his spot at the bar. Stupid, this was so stupid. Why had he allowed himself to get talk into this by Remy? There was no doubt in his mind that Jerad would catch him trying to leave and rightfully demand why he was ditching him for Remy. It was a shit thing to do, after all.

Friends don’t ditch one another without explanation. Jerad left him, sure, but he always had an explanation after the fact. Virgil didn’t think Jerad would like his explanation very much. Especially when it involved Remy, one of the people Jerad had been trying to warn him about.

A hand gracefully looped itself around one of his own, tugging him off to the side rather than through the crowd. Virgil looked to see Remy guiding them towards a set of doors, ones clearly marked for employees only.

“Remy—”

“Shhh, this is a faster way outta here, trust me.” He said, flashing a smile. Perhaps it was meant to be comforting but for Virgil it only caused his stomach to churn.

Right before they made it to the doors, an employee materialized in front of them. “Excuse me, sirs, you’re not allowed back here—”

“Cindy, gurl, remember me, Lansing? Worked here last summer? Do you remember, yeah?” Remy lowered his shades to take a look at her. Virgil peered behind him, unable to view Remy’s face. He could see Cindy’s face, however. Her face pinched up in confusion, frowning, before abruptly smoothening out with a wide grin stretched from ear-to-ear. She looked right at Remy, her gaze shifting entirely off of Virgil as if he no longer existed.

“Lansing, oh! Oh yes, I remember.” Cindy said, with a high-pitched laugh. Virgil shrunk further back into Remy’s shadow, squeezing Remy’s hand tightly. Something was wrong and he didn’t like it. Remy never mentioned working as a bartender—and that wasn’t quite something Remy would be quiet about. Virgil could just  picture the outrageous bartending stories he’d have if that was the case.

Remy laughed along with her, light and airy.

“Good, then can ya do a fellow former co-bartender a favor and let us slip through, just this once?”

“Gurl, of course, just if you caught don’t let Gregory know I was the one that let you pass.” She leaned in conspiratorially, face twitching a bit.

“Oh don’t worry, you won’t see us again, in fact forget that you even saw us. I’d love to stay and catch up, but I bet you have things to do.”

She laughed again at that. “Yes, of course. It was nice seeing you, Lansing, but I have to go.”

Cindy hurried off, quickly dissipating through the crowd. Virgil blinked; what the fuck? What the fuck was that—

He didn’t even have time to process the encounter before Remy led them into the dimly lit back hallway of the nightclub. Whether it was a faster way out of the nightclub was debatable. For all his talk about previously working there, Remy seemed just as lost as Virgil in the winding hallway. He led them one direction, only to immediately pivot down the other way.

Remy wasn’t talking. Remy was always talking endlessly, as if speaking was as vital as oxygen to him. He was terrible at whispering too—something Logan would get on him about at the library. That was why he was usually stuck on front desk duty to speak with patrons, helping out at events or doing organizational work in the back office. For Remy to be this silent, like the brooding calm before a storm, well. Virgil’s lungs wanted to seize up right then and there.

Eventually, they made to a door that opened out to an alleyway, right where the night club kept its dumpster. The moon gleamed from her perch in the sky, nearly full but not quite. Like a cookie with a bite taken out of it. Virgil knew there was terms for the different phases of the moon. His mother loved taking him out to see the night sky. She’d point out the constellations and tell him what phase the moon that night was.

He wished he could remember, for her sake, what they were. Considering he knew actual werewolves, you’d think he pay better attention to it. But it was a topic Virgil never felt brave enough to venture and one that neither Patton nor Logan opened up much on their own about.

He stared at the moon, transfixed, that he almost forgotten the reason he was outside in the first place. Not until Remy murmured something before attempting to lead him off somewhere. The gaping dread from moments prior seized hold of him once more.

“No!” Virgil snapped, yanking his hand out of Remy’s grip. He stumbled backwards a few steps, slamming himself into a wall of the building in the process.

“Virgil?” Remy asked, frowning as he took a step  forward.

“What the hell was that back there?”

“What do you mean—”

“Don’t act stupid!” Virgil demanded, taking a shaky breath, “That lady—Cindy—you did something, I—I don’t know, she was acting weird! And—and you were acting weird! So I’m asking again; What. The Hell. Was. That?”

Remy stared at him, his breath hitching, “Virgil, I was just trying to get you to a quiet place ASAP before you—”

“You’re still not answering the question.” Virgil cut in, his intestines tightening themselves into knots over it. Because maybe this was just a classic case of Virgil paranoia striking again. Maybe he really was driving himself into a panic attack over nothing. Maybe he was accusing Remy unjustly.

Yet, if that was the case why would Remy flinch if Virgil struck him physically with his words?

“Virgil,” Remy said slowly, “I need you not to panic and hear me out, ok?”

Virgil’s heartrate accelerated. Not panic, not panic?! What did Remy expect but for him to panic at those words?

“Okay.” Virgil said, definitely panicking.

“What have you’ve heard about vamps?”

“That they—you drink blood. And your reflection doesn’t show up in mirrors—and—and if you get bitten by a vampire, you’ll either turn into one or get mind controlled.”

“All technically true, well I mean—there’s a fuck-ton more to the turning process than that—” Remy cut himself off, “That’s beside the point. The point is, what you call mind-control, we call ‘enthralling.’ Enthralling is…”

“Is what?”

“Enthralling is, well. It’s a form of hypnosis. Anyone enthralled by a vampire is mostly aware of it and the least likely they are to follow a vampire’s suggestions, the more likely they are to fight against the hypnosis. And it can be activated through eye-contact which is what I did to Cindy.”

Virgil couldn’t breathe. Suddenly pieces were slotted together in mind, forming a picture Virgil never wanted to envision. That faint but visceral memory of Remy with red eyes, the natural charisma Remy held with anyone he met, how Remy managed to steal confidential information from Virgil’s employee file in the back office of Kirby’s Burgers—all of it. He thought Remy, out of anybody, was safe. Past his sassy, laidback exterior, Remy was honest, willing to speak his mind about anything and everything.

If Remy enthralled a complete stranger without blinking an eye—who’s to say he wasn’t above doing it to Virgil? Who’s to say he hadn’t enthralled Virgil into being his friend? Who’s to say Virgil wasn’t an oblivious mouse in a game of cat and mouse? Oh gods, this had just confirmed all of Virgil’s worst fears and more.

“Virgil—” Remy said, reaching out, his eyes hidden beneath his shades. He continued speaking, a mumble jumbo string of excuses probably. Virgil couldn’t stand to stay around and listen to it.

“Stop—just don’t—” Virgil stuttered, taking one step and then another towards the open sidewalk. What was just a few steps then became a few hundred until he found himself leaning against the door to the apartment, hands shaking to slot the key to unlock it.

A few more steps he was inside, the usual musty smell an unexpected comfort. He sat on the couch, seconds stretching into eternity. He half-expected Remy to have chased after him, demanding Virgil to listen, why couldn’t you just listen, you’re so stupid no wonder you’re pathetic—

Virgil blinked a few times, his eyes burning with some sort of irritation. For some reason, Remy let him go. He couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. His head ached and so did his ears for some reason.

 Jerad entered the apartment a few millennia later. Virgil froze at the rattling doorknob, his hand clutching onto his phone in his pocket.

“There you are, you fucker!” Jerad drawled, stumbling over in a drunken stupor. His hand moved towards Virgil, but not with a closed fist. Instead he patted him on the back like earlier, “I can’t believe you did it! You finally got the balls to go and hook up with somebody! I guess I can’t call you Virgin, now huh?”

“Uh-huh,” Virgil murmured, not correcting him on that assumption. He sat there, a bit of tension draining from him. Jerad wasn’t mad for abandoning him. Jerad was still a jerk, but at least Virgil mostly knew what to expect of him. It wasn’t ideal, but that was life. It was better to deal with the devil you knew, then the devil you didn’t know. Virgil was stupid to have ever thought otherwise.

“My parents are being such dicks at the moment,” Jerad said, precipitously changing topics as per usual of him, “sometimes I wish I didn’t have to wait until they were dead to take my inheritance and do what I want to do, y’know?”

Virgil didn’t really know. Did his parents leave him money? They had to have had some sort of savings stashed away. A life insurance of some sort, right? It wasn’t like they were poor. He never thought about inquiring into that. Jerad accidentally slapped Virgil across the arm with a huge hand gesture, still ranting about something. Maybe it wasn’t an accidental hit.

Virgil didn’t know. His tether on reality felt weak, like a balloon close to floating away into the stratosphere. He almost wished he could float away, but the weight in his chest said otherwise. Jerad passed out not long after his rant, slumped half on the floor and half on the sofa. Virgil took this opportunity to slip into the comfort of his bedroom and turn on his cellphone once more.

 Seventeen new text notifications and five missed calls from Jerad greeted him, along with one new text notification from Logan. He clicked on Logan’s and his conversation, staring at Logan’s text at the bottom of it.

Logan: Virgil, Remy wanted me to inform you that he is taking a leave of absence from work. Please let me know if you need to take a leave of absence as well or need to confide in somebody as a friend, Patton or I would be happy to listen.

Virgil stared at it some more. Then he tapped out a short response, set the phone on the stool that was his makeshift nightstand and collapsed headfirst into his mattress. 

Virgil: K thanks, I’m fine

-

A/N: Hope everyone is doing well, if you enjoyed the chapter please consider leaving a comment--it's completely free and helps me out as a fanfic writer a ton! I'm technically not in the Sanders Sides fandom anymore, but I still have a lotta fondness for this fic and I will finish it, even if takes me ten years to do so :') -Kat

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #remy sanders #kat writes #werewolf au #long post

[tapefish]

Initiation

@tasteofamnesia

Ghoul

You think a good third of the zones would leap at the opportunity to sew your mouth shut but this one looks more angry than anything. And while you’re normally against people rounding up on you with needles, the past half hour has left you down one hand and the better half of your face. You are in no position to argue. They’re griping about something or another and pretty sure they just referred to you as fungal (really?) somewhere in there and you’d correct them but air and blood is busy burbling out the new gash in your face. Try and stop the bleeding with a sleeve but your hands keep getting batted away with a curse and an even sharper look. Maybe venom siblings is not just some zone given title after all.

You let your mind drift to distract yourself from the pain, Party Poison’s angry mutterings are entertaining and all but it’s hard to pay attention when half your face is gaping open. Going up to the fabulous killjoys and asking where the sign up sheet was, you weren’t expecting a warm welcome- or any kind of welcome really. But you also weren’t expecting Jet Star to point you in the direction of The Kobra Kid of all people without so much as a ‘good luck’. It’s not like you haven’t fought people stronger than you. Or smarter. Or taller. Hell, practically every crew you’ve ever inconvenienced has had the pleasure (and the advantage).

Without warning the side of your face lights up and everything blinks out.

Party

You’re trying your best to sterilize the wound- Jet won’t miss his stash too much and you dare him to raise an objection- when an elbow shoots out, barely missing your jaw. The kid’s thrashing now, knocking what’s left of the alcohol to the ground and scratching at the wound. How are you supposed to work with this? Sure, just deal with the aftermath of yet another great plan from our fearless leader. Get the new guy to fight Kobra, declare them winner and leave them to bleed out on the floor. Real fucking smart. What, was Jet expecting the kid to sew up their own face? Where were they even going with this, just tossing over the med kit and wandering back to the am? As if having to physically pry Kobra off of- what’s their name-wasn’t enough now you gotta fix his mistake. Both their mistakes. Really you don't see why you aren’t the leader, you’re already picking up after everybody.

Whatever. The time for self pity has passed, and that’s enough of that. Grab them by the arms and hold them still for fuck’s sake before they make things any worse.

Threading the needle is easy enough, you’ve done it plenty and while the wound seems intimidating, closer inspection reveals that it’s not a bad cut, just in a weird place. As if to make up for sitting still, the kid has decided that now is the time for small talk. Swear to the witch it’s like they don’t want it stitched up. Watching them attempt to speak and stretching the wound in the process, you have half a mind to quit right there and let it heal all lopsided. Whatever they’re trying to say- all it’s really doing is depositing more blood and spit and- fuck is that a tooth? On your already sweaty hands. Gross. Well, it won’t get any cleaner than this so you get to work. They seem to catch on pretty quickly, and clam up right as you start the first stitch.

While you’re busy trying to line up the edges, the kid is scratching lazy lines into the dust around you. The first is a set of letters: FUNGHOUL followed by an x’d out face. Almost as an afterthought, they scribble a set of stitches across the smile. The irony of it isn’t lost upon you, and a snicker escapes before you can stop yourself. After tying off the last suture, take a moment to judge your work. You’re no medic so it's not pretty, but all things considered, it could be much worse. Catch yourself absentmindedly rubbing at the fading scars on your left hand. Like you said, you’re no medic.

You’d think the first coherent thing out of their mouth would be gratitude, a semblance of a thank you perhaps, but no. They just had to get one last bit of stupid out of their system. “So, does shades over there greet everyone like this or am I just special?” Snap the medkit shut and spit a “what’s it to you” hoping they get the message and witch- where is kobra?

Kobra

Look at them, laughing away as if nothing just happened. And it’s at you you’re sure, what else would there be to laugh at? The Kobra Kid, declared loser of a fight against some fresh faced nobody. A fight that you won but is gonna cost you everything because that new kid- what was their name? ghost or goblin or something stupid like that decided they were too good for the rules of engagement? You were doing fine! Pinned them down twice with only a handful of sand to the eyes for your troubles. It was pure luck that placed them so close to the bonfire, with all that smoke, it's not like you could see. Reached into it and knocked you off balance, enough to squirm out of your grasp again.

Did Party really think calling out would make you think they cared? Their actions speak for themselves- spending time tending to pintsize over there instead of their own brother. Little shit thinks they could just march up to camp and demand a spot that you earned. What’d they think? They’d get you kicked out? Take your place? Shake your head at the thought and focus on the task at hand.

Tending to your burn is hard and water is sparse, your hands are shaking as you peel off layer after layer from your neck - your hands never shake. You have to get it off though or else it's going to scar. And parallels be damned, you are not keeping a reminder of tonight if you have any say in it.

It wouldn’t have even registered when they hit you if it weren’t for the smell. Acrid and chemical, you get the feeling it won’t be leaving any time soon. Pour water on your neck and peel off the layers, until the last of it finally comes off with a gasp. You can actually feel it now, pulsating and radiating heat. Water alleviates it for a bit but you don’t have much of it to spare.

The thought crosses your mind to check the burn over in the trans am’s mirrors, see how bad it is, but it’s been taken over by Jet. Look back at your sibling siding with the new kid. Acting like you’re the one at fault here when really, why couldn't they just admit that you won? And why wouldn't Jet acknowledge that? With everyone around you forgetting that tiny, tiny fact you had to pull something that would stick. Running their mouth the whole time, forgetting that it's them that's trying to join your crew, laughing like the whole thing’s just one big joke to them.

To make things worse, Party barging in and intervening in your fight, like you’re some sort of kid back in the lobby, as if you haven't done worse things to nicer people with less than your reputation at stake. You know, you didn't really consider yourself a prideful person before this. Guess you really are Party’s brother. Go back to camp, ignore Party’s million where were you, what were you thinking, are you even listening to me’s, and work on your bike. Because for all their questions, they haven’t looked you in the eyes once.

#tasteofamnesia #evil au #<< >:D #behold! a backstory (kinda) #this is the initiation from earlier hope it explains some things :)

[azz-clazz-shit]

Love is War by @/xXKrist_CrosserXx on Wattpad.

[It is based off the anime Love is War. Like the first half of the first episode. And I already asked the author if I could publish it on tumblr and they allowed it.

Italics are the narrator.]

You fall in love with someone...

In a cloudy and dark area,  Sugino stood in front of Kanzaki. "Pl-Please be my girlfriend!" He said bowing down with his hand out for the girl to hold.

...confess that love...

She gasped in surprise with a blush on her face and slowly let her hand rest against the Sugino's palm. 

... and become a couple.

Then all of a sudden, the sun came up, along with doves and a church. Along with many  animals and people that joined in as well.

Everyone would say that's a happy thing.

They all let out cheers as confetti and ribbons were released to the sky. 

But they're wrong!

A gift fell to the floor, breaking it apart.

Even among sweethearts, there exists a distinct power relationship!

She had a sweet smile on her face until all of a sudden, the smile turned to something more dark and sinister. Sugino had a shocked expression on his face as he tried to back away.

A side that exploits and a side that's exploited.

Kanzaki stepped on his head. She was holding chains as she let laughed at his misery.

A side that's devoted, a side receiving devotion. A winner and a loser!

If you're trying to live a noble life, then you mustn't become a loser.

Love is WAR!

Karma stared at Gakushuu with daggers behind his back where as Gakushuu also stared at karma with a gun behind his back.

The person who falls in love loses.

Kunugigaoka Academy!

It's a prestigious school with an ancient and honorable origin, founded as a faculty to educate upper-class children. The focus on nobility is gone,  but many talented students born into wealthy, distinguished families and shouldering the future attend the school.

In the hallway, the students passing by greeted each other.

One girl widened her eyes as she spotted something or someone.

Naturally ordinary people wouldn't be permitted to lead and bring these students together!

A boy with strawberry blonde hair passed through the hallway along with a person with red hair.

"Everyone look." The same girl said. People turned to the direction she told them to look and as they did they were filled with admiration.

"The Student Council members!" She squealed out as Karma and Gakushuu were walking. Gakushuu was in the front, reading a book while Karma was just right behind him.

Karma Akabane, the vice-president of the Student  Council at Kunugigaoka Academy. Total assets: 200 trillion yen. Yes, more than Koro-sensei. He family owns the Akabane group, one of the top four financial conglomerates in Japan, with over 1,000 subsidiaries. 

Benefitting her superior lineage, e was a talented young man, who has attained splendid achievements in various fields. Such as, traditional performing arts, music and martial arts. That is Karma Akabane. And the one Karma supports is...

Gakushuu Asano, the president of the Student Council at Kunugigaoka Academy. He's wise and intelligent, strong and silent. He scores first place in the practice exams. In contrast to the talented Karma, his devotion to studying commands awe and fear. And because of that exemplary behavior, he was selected to be the Student Council  President, despite being relatively new to the school.

The red armband that stays on his sleeve has been passed down from president to president at Kunugigaoka Academy  for all the years it existed!

Both walked down the hallway, hearing the chatters of many other classmates who made a pathway for them to continue walking as they just stared at them. 

"Those two always look so good together." A girl murmured. 

"There's even a dignity to them!" Another girl chattered back.

"Do you think they're dating?" A friend of theirs asked.

"Somebody please ask them!"

"I wouldn't dare!"

"It would be presumptuous to even get close to the. Let alone ask such a question!"

The doors of the Student Council opened. Then, the thud of the door, signaling it's closed brought the chatters of the students to shut down.

Karma poured tea into a cup. "It seems that... there's a rumor going around... that we're in a relationship or some such." He placed the teacup he poured in front of Gakushuu.

"That's normal for their age. You should ignore it." He advised to the red head. 'The fools do enjoy talking about nonsensical love affairs. Although...' His eyes turned to Karma's direction. And with a turn Karma looked at the Asano while holding a tray close to his chest. 'if Akabane demanded that I go out with him, I suppose I would mull it over!' He boasted to himself. 'And I'm certain she has feelings for me. Probably just a matter of time.' He let out a chuckle. 'He should just take off his prideful mask of a perfect, pampered young man and make his blushing appeal to me.' He thought to himself as he imagined Karma all fidgeting with the tray and blushing while facing his face away saying "Pr-president, I need to talk to you." He let out another chuckle. 

'The ignorant children with their common talk.' Karma thought with a smirk on his face. 'Who do they think I am. I'm a member of the Akabane family, the heart of this country. How did they reach the conclusion that I would be dating a commoner?' He took a peek of Gakushuu. 'Well, I suppose there could be a very slight possibility. If he gets on his knees and offered up his body, soul and hometown, I suppose I could train him to be a person who measures up to me.' He let out a light chuckle. 'Certainly, there's no one who doesn't pine for me. It's probably just a matter of time.'

Both were just creepily laughing to themselves in the empty room.

While they were engaging in this kind of thing...half a year has passed! Nothing of note happened during that period.

Both were in the Student Council room doing paper work sitting next to each other. And oddly enough, there was a steamed bun in the middle of the table.

"By the way, today there were snails in the interior of the apple and cherry relief in the courtyard's water fountain." Karma said, trying to start a small talk.

"My younger sister once caught a cold taking a dip in the water fountain, even though it was hot outside. When you act according to emotions, there are no good results." He responded blankly.

During this period of nothingness, their thoughts shifted from 'I wouldn't mind dating him.' to 'Maybe I'll make him confess his love to me.' Meanwhile, one other person had no idea that two super high school-level minds were in engaged in sophisticated strategizing.

A girl with green pigtails sat across from them. "Ah!" Kayano Kaede, the student council secretary of Kunugigaoka Academy. "That reminds me! Listen to this! I won a pair of movie tickets, but my parents won't let me see stuff like that." She said while grabbing something out of the pockets in the school uniform. "So, are you two interested?" The tickets she held up had the name 'Love Refrain' making it pretty obvious that it was a romance movie.

"Hmm," Gakushuu thought about it because Note: he is a cheapskate. "Come to think of it, I have a rare free weekend." He opened up a pocket planner and flipped to a page with nothing scheduled on it. "So, Akabane, why don't we-"

"Supposedly there's a jinx. If two people go see this movie together, they'll become a couple." Kayano interrupted him. 

Gakushuu's face suddenly turned pale and was dripping in cold sweat from hearing that.

"How romantic!" She squealed, squirming in her seat.

"Oh, President." Karma placed the pen he was working with down. He turned to face Gakushuu. "Did you just invite me?"

A drop of Gakushuu's sweat dropped.

"You want to go with me to a movie in which pairs are said to be a couple if they see it together. Oh, dear, that sounds a lot like..."

'Like I'm asking him out on a date!' Gakushuu, screaming mentally with his eyes twitching, finishing the sentence with his thoughts.

The Asano's predicament was, in romance, 'The person who falls in love loses' is the rule! As they were both filled with pride, neither one could confess one iota of romantic interest!

'What should I do? It's blatant. The only I could do is smooth it over!' Gakushuu tried to think of a scenario.

"Why don't we sell the tickets to a scalper?" He suggested.

"Oh, President, I've never seen you so flustered before." Karma said from behind. Karma let out a little smile as Gakushuu's face turned blue. "How cute." Karma said ever so slowly, looking down on him with his dull mercury eyes.

'This is unacceptable! There is no escape route of the path that Asano conquers! You're the one who's going to run, Akabane!' He was determined.

"Yeah, I invited you, Akabane. I don't care about rumors like that, but it sees you do." He grabbed the tickets from Kayano's hand. "Do you want to see this movie with me?" He asked as he waved the ticket in his hand.

That moment, Karma thought...

'After indicating the intent to invite me, he assigned me the choice of whether we see the movie or not. Well played. I could choose to refuse, but then all of y preliminary arrangements up to now would become meaningless. I went to all the trouble of fabricating a prize and putting it in Kaede's mailbox. My plan to aim for one of the president's rare free days would be for nothing! And if I turn him down now, the president may never invite me to anything again! From the viewpoint of a guy, I say no! And I say no to that kind of choice!' He mentally pouted at the last few sentences.

"Yes, well..." Karma finally spoke out. "I can't help believing in stories like that." Karma had a  fucking adorable face that I can't describe so just imagine Karma having the puppy eyes and blushing and everything around him is sparkling. "So if we are going, I'd like you to at least invite me with more passion."

'Innocent' skill implemented!

Because of that skill, Gakushuu was shocked as if he just stepped on a puppy or kitten. As if he had done something that would bring him to all the gates in hell, maybe even more.

It's a  negotiating skill passed on from father to child in the Akabane family. It's said this calculated expression and voice even make the gods' hearts beat faster. In truth, Gakushuu's thoughts were also in disarray. 

'Well, I guess it is an Asano's duty to ask a person out.'

That thought crossed his mind! Of course, Karma didn't let that chance go by! He pursued without a moment's delay.

Karma's eyes hatched onto him like a prey and acted hastily by grabbing his hands, which caused the tickets to fall to the ground. 

"I'm at the age where I'd like to try a little romance too." He looked away as if he was shy and Kara's atmosphere was filled with lovely hearts. 

Gakushuu flinched as a growing blush would soon fill his pale face as his eyes turned wide and wavering. Whereas Kayano just sat there, watching all this happening. But the an idea came into her head as she grabbed something out of her pocket.

This battle of thoughts seemed to be like a chess problem. Kara cornered Gakushuu, who searched for an opportunity to turn it around. The brains of these prodigies raced two steps ahead, clashing with each other as wheels turned faster than any ordinary mind! Karma strengthened his defense! Gakushuu tried to break through! They both constructed a theory leading to a conclusion! The one who completed the theory first would be the winner! 

"Ah!" Kayano voiced out. "If you don't like love stories, you can also use these tickets..." Karma and Gakushuu looked at her as if she somewhat interrupted something. She held out two tickets with both of her hands. "...to go see the movie, 'The Birdie from Tottori.'"

"'The Birdie..."

"...from Tottori?'"

Both said, looking at Kayano with a confused yet shocked expression on their face. 

Chaos Theory. Secretary Kaede's casual remark added an element of chaos into the theories that were all but completed! It was only one element, but like the Big Bang, the chaos increased the possibilities. In order to process the vastly expanded choices, the wheels in their brains spun even faster, going beyond their limits!

Gakushuu's and Karma's head erupted steam from all the thinking they had to do. They sat blankly as if someone just asked them 'Is the sun a planet?'

"Un, is something wrong?" Kayano asked in concern of the two people. 

As a result, their brains craved a great deal of sugar! The only sugar in the Student council office was in a single steamed bun! Thus, whoever obtained the steamed bun would be the winner!

Both rivals dramatically reached for the steamed bun. As soon as it was in the grasps of their hands, Kayano turned to the clock and said "Afternoon classes are about to start." She had the steamed bun in her hand and had a 'nom' of it as Karma and Gakushuu were frozen in place. "Well, see you again after school." she muffled out with the steamed bun still in her mouth as she walked away all innocently. She jumped in the air, letting go of the steamed bun and ate it whole, with a lick of her lips.

Both rival's souls seemed to had left their bodies. They both suddenly collapsed on the table as soon as Kayano left. 

It was a sophisticated battle of the brains, with the ingenuity and pride of these two geniuses on the line. Todays Battle result: Both sides defeated.

#assassination classroom #anime #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assclass #karma akabane #karma assassination classroom #asano gakushuu #karushuu #karma x gakushuu #gakushuu x karma

[thai-with-booty]

The mall - Part I

This is a story I wrote a while back, but wasn’t ready to share and kept coming back to rather than writing all in one go. It was based around a few years ago when I and my husband were very new to the idea or being more open as we are now.

I can't believe that I am really doing this. Walking in the mall, wearing slutty black high heels (Id never normally wear high heels to a mall), a black silk mini-skirt with a tiny lace thong underneath and a flimsy white silk blouse with just a thin lace bra underneath. My nervousness is causing tiny beads of sweat to form and trickle down my blouse. I had a bet with my husband, over a stupid game, I don’t even remember now what it was, but I remember it being something so small and insignificant, with the loser having to do whatever the other wanted for a full day. I had his day all planned out: fixing my dresser and doing all kinds of stuff around the house. I was sure that I was going to win, but here I am in the mall looking like when I was 22 and working in a bar. If I had known what he wanted me to do, I never would have made the bet.

I feel like a slut and I know that I look like one, too, but somehow a part of me is enjoying this. All of the men staring at me is really doing something to me. I can feel the moistness between my legs and an urge to show off more of myself.

When I first started out today, I was very self-conscious and kept my arms crossed in front of my chest, but realizing that this just brought more attention to myself, I forced myself to act naturally; and soon I realized that I enjoyed having their eyes undress me. I have even found myself trying to catch men looking at me, watching their faces as their eyes wander all over my over-exposed body. Earlier, I spied a guy staring at me, and without even realizing what I was doing, I stretched my arms up, pressing my breasts against the blouse enjoying the look on his face as he stared at my breasts straining the fabric of my blouse. I am supposed to meet my husband in the food court for some new instructions and I can only imagine what he has planned for me next.

I think those three guys are following me. As I stop and pretend to be interested in a window display, I notice that they stopped also. As I continue on, I see that they are right behind me. I have to admit that, as nervous as I am, I am also very turned-on by this.

Oops, I just dropped my purse. As I bend over to pick it up, I can feel this tiny silk skirt ride up my behind, as my nearly naked booty is exposed to them and whoever else is looking in my direction. Knowing that these men can see so much of me, is making me even hotter. I can't believe how turned-on I am! I never realized that acting like a slut would feel so sexy, so confident, so powerful. I am not sure anymore if the reason that I am sweating is nervousness or lust. Stealing a glance at my followers, I see that they are stopped, and if I wasn't so turned-on I would have to laugh. They are staring at me with their mouths wide open. I give them a quick smile and I continue walking knowing that they are watching my butt as I wiggle away.

I notice that they are getting closer and not trying to hide themselves anymore. I am almost to the food court and my appointment with my husband. I step onto the escalator with my little following right behind me, and I know that they can look right up my skirt. Knowing that they can probably see how wet my panties are makes me even hotter. I am tempted to really give them a show by putting my hand inside my panties and my finger inside my dripping slit, but I fight off that temptation. I am on the verge of an orgasm, and I feel my legs wobble as I reach the top of the escalator and step off.

Seeing my husband, he was at the table near the som tam which is my favourite food, he smiles at me and walks away as I start to walk toward him. I see an envelope on the table, and I take his place. I see my husbands writing and his instructions for me to go to the ladies room and open the envelope. I know that he is watching me, and I remember our deal: if I didn't follow his instructions, no matter how stupid, exactly as I was told, we would repeat the whole day next weekend. I hastily grab the envelope and just as I start to stand the three strangers walk by. One of them starts to say something to me, but I just ignore him as I make my way to the ladies room.

Sitting here in the empty lounge, I open the envelope, and I almost gasp as I comprehend the next part of my day. I am to remove my bra and my panties, put them in my purse, and continue to walk until I get to a bench in front of a lingerie store on the other side of the mall. I sit and decide that I am not going to do this. I'll walk out of this mall right now. Not only is the bet off but that my husband is really going to hear it from me about this!

Standing, instead of leaving, I find myself entering an empty stall. After closing the door, I quickly remove my blouse and my bra. While putting the blouse back on, I can't help but see how my large, dark nipples poke holes in this flimsy little silk blouse. As I remove my panties, I am surprised by how moist and warm they are.

I put everything inside my purse but I am so horny that I have to touch myself for just a second. I sit, pull up my skirt, close my eyes, and start to play with myself. Rubbing my clit feels so good! I imagine that I am doing this in front of a crowd, with everybody urging me on. I am surprised again by how quickly, how powerfully I am overcome by pure lust.

Oh my God, I didn't mean to actually go this far but here it comes... Ohhh My God! As I am overcome by my orgasm, I hear myself moan. I try to stay silent but I know that some sounds have escaped my lips.

Now that I have my composure back, I realize just how turned-on I am by showing off my body to total strangers. I straighten out my clothes and as I walk by the mirror, I can see exactly what I look like. As I walk, I can feel how my tits are bouncing around. I look at my skirt and see that the bottom is just below my butt. Just the slightest breeze will let everybody see how naked I am under this tiny skirt. Since nobody is in here, I bend over to see how much of me shows when I do it.

Oh, this skirt rides up so high, I better not if I don't want to get arrested for indecent exposure. As I pull down my skirt, I hear a sound from one of the other stalls. I glance around quickly and notice that one of the other stalls is occupied, with the door still open a crack. I can hear someone in there. It sounds like she is masturbating!

My curiosity gets the best of me, so I move closer and ask, "Are you okay?"

I hear her say yes but it comes out almost as a moan.

I fight off the urge to open the door, but my curiosity gets the best of me and I decide to wait and see this woman. I stall for time freshening up my makeup, and after a short while, she leaves the stall. I realize that she has been sweating, but has a look of total satisfaction on her face. I guess that she is about my age — late twenties/ early thirties — with long black hair similar to mine. I look her in the eye and she greets me with a playful smile as I notice her beautiful brown eyes.

She quickly explains to me that she has been following me, because...

I ask her to repeat the last part because I didn't quite hear it.

I can't believe it! She just told me that she was following me because she wants to make love to me. When I stopped to pick up my purse earlier, she decided that she had to have me, and has been following me ever since. Somehow I didn't notice her.

I don't know what to say. As I stand in front of her, open mouthed, she quickly explains to me that she is bisexual, and often comes to the mall to pick up bored housewives. When she walked into the ladies room after me, she heard me moaning and had to go and play herself, too, but when I was looking at myself in front of the mirror, that brought her over the edge.

Now this beautiful woman is trying to pick me up, and I have no idea how to react!

She explains that many women come to the mall looking for a lover, and she can tell when a women wants another woman without the woman even realizing it herself. She continues, saying that although I may not realize it, I would enjoy myself so much if I came with her.

I start to protest, but she quiets me with a too-passionate kiss that I can't help but return. She somehow can see the nervous and confused state that I am in. She reaches in her purse and pulls out a business card, writes on it, and tells me to call her soon. I watch her leave, then look down at the card and see her name and number.

I better get going. My husband is going to be waiting for me. Leaving the ladies room, I look around for my little group of followers, but they are nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I feel self-conscious and lost. I am in the middle of a huge mall, practically naked. As hot as I felt before, suddenly all of that sexual arousal that I had felt before is gone, replaced by embarrassment and humiliation. I better get going and get this over with before I get arrested for solicitation.

I am almost to my next rendezvous with my husband when I notice that I have regained my group of admirers. I'm feeling more confident and at ease as I find myself with somebody familiar, even if they are strangers. Feeling daring again, I stop at the fountain, open my purse for some change and throw a few baht into the fountain. I can't see them, but I can somehow feel their eyes run up and down my body, but I can sense somebody coming closer to me. A part of me wants to escape and get out of here, and I actually decide to continue on, but just as I turn around, I see one of the trio standing next to me. As I look over at him, he gives me a sexy little smile.

[serinemolecule]

Not to harp on the obvious, but the discussion feels hollow without it: the only reason some people - not all, maybe not most, but definitely some - push for "equality" and "inclusiveness" and etc. in tech is because it's seen as a desirable and powerful position. No one's been belly-aching about it back when it was fashionable to tell nerds to stop being fat and ugly and what a bunch of losers they are. It's only up for discussion now that there's something to be gained from it. It's hypocrisy.

(context: a lot of women-in-tech discourse)

I mean, I was belly-aching about it.

I like to say I was a feminist until I met other feminists. I definitely saw plenty of things nerds could be doing better for equality. But then the first time I met other feminists, they were harassing nerds and writing long essays about how nerds were even worse than average men (which still seems to me like an absolutely insane position).

That was... a really big crisis of faith there. I spent years reading feminist literature, trying to understand their point. And the crazy thing was, a lot of the principles and concepts do appeal to me. But then the way they’d apply it, talking about how privileged nerds were, or just using it as an excuse to be assholes to people, that’s always seemed wrong to me.

My approach at the time was just to try to understand it better in private, and never talk about it in public. This lasted until I read the SSC essays on social justice which I entirely agreed on, then I joined Tumblr to hit on Scott, and since then I started getting more comfortable with writing out my thoughts, but also the really bad SJ of the early 2010s just mostly faded away from the spaces I’m in. I still hear insane stories from other places (like the New York Times! wtf!) but it no longer feels like a crisis afflicting my own community, so I never wrote anything out.

Part of it’s that my community is the rats, now. SJWs may still exist here, but they don’t have a social power to turn us against each other. Whatever effect Topher’s tweet had on the rest of the world, it means he’s no longer welcome among rats anymore. We dismiss them with equanimity using the ancient proverb, “Haters gonna hate”.

Anyway, I suppose now’s as good a time as any for me to talk about what I think about feminist theory.

I get the impression that Scott is embarrassed by his old posts on gender politics, but I still endorse every word. Even the words people like to criticize the most, I endorse as an angry expression of “Why don’t you care about how many people your ideology is hurting?” That said:

Privilege theory – I remember encountering privilege theory and thinking “yes, this totally fits the model that normies are privileged and nerds are marginalized”, until I got to the part where they started talking about how privileged nerds were. I think the theory is still pretty good, and of course the practice about writing privilege checklists and using it to silence people is incredibly fucked up.

Patriarchy theory – Fortunately, no one talks about patriarchy theory anymore. It came from the radfems and it always seemed horrible to me. It's uncontroversially true that ruling class is mostly male, but patriarchy theory seems to just equivocate between that and insane conspiracy theories.

For example, “culture is built for the benefit of men at the expense of women” requires you to just dismiss everything that hurts men and helps women, to excuse that fashion policing is nearly solely perpetuated by other women, and even if it’s true, the fact that it is perpetuated by everyone means pointing the finger at a specific group will not help fix the problem. Did Kamala Harris exercise “girl power” when she kept black prisoners in jail past their release date? 

Cultural appropriation – The usual steelman I hear for this is “it sucks when white people take your culture for themselves, and yet still call it cringe when you practice your own culture” – but the only objectionable part is the latter! Stop objecting to the former part! There’s nothing wrong with culture mixing and it is in fact one of the most beautiful things in the world!

Part of it’s that I’m a first-gen immigrant, and cultural appropriation attitudes often come from insecurities second-gen immigrants have. Cultural appropriation just means I’m now an expert on your new culture and you’re not allowed to stop me from infodumping on it.

The other steelman is “misusing religious artifacts is bad” and I think to the extent that it’s bad, it’s bad whether you’re doing it to your own culture or to other cultures.

In general I think Halloween was, among other things, a great celebration of diversity that did not need to be cancelled, and I don’t think any costume was offensive to the majority of any culture.

Intersectionality – This word confused me for so long. People kept explaining it as “black women often have problems specific to their group that neither women’s groups nor black groups themselves are equipped to fight” which just seemed obviously true and didn’t seem like we needed a word for it.

Over the years, I’ve seen it be used as a reminder of “don’t forget how your activism affects other marginalized groups”, so it’s probably a useful concept to keep around.

Microaggressions – I think being oblivious to microaggressions is an autism thing, but I still think it’s insane to make them a political issue. Sure, you can vent about them, but acting like they’re on par with actual aggressions just seems like a losing cause.

On second thought, I don’t think I have a problem with making them a political issue in general. I think the whole tactic of SJWs being a hateful harassment mob makes the microaggressions thing just come off as especially petty.

I also think there’s a lot of competing access needs here. I actually really like infodumping about what kind of Asian I am to anyone willing to listen, and I think acting like the question is the root of all evil is really unfair, especially since literally everyone who’s ever asked has been happy to learn about the finer points about Chinese ethnic groups.

Isms as prejudice + power – People have mostly stopped discoursing about this, which is good. Language policing always seemed bad to me.

Objectification – SSC says everything I feel on the topic: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/03/17/my-objections-to-objectification/

The last time this came up in Discord, people said that objectification is more than the straw-man being criticized in this article, that it’s about people being entitled to your body or whatever. But I think the article does address that: “This is obviously a legitimate complaint. It’s just not a complaint about objectification.”

I got exposed to objectification as a criticism of hot girls in video games. And I just can’t see hot girls in video games as a bad thing.

Rape culture – [cw rape] This is an incredibly sensitive subject so I’m going to give you some time to stop reading here.

Our culture has a serious problem with rape. I think it’s important to understand that it’s usually committed by friends and family, that it’s depressingly common and has nearly definitely happened to people you know, that it’s usually committed by people who don’t think of what they’re doing as rape, and that all the discourse on it is really fucked up.

I also think that calling this “rape culture” entirely misses the point. I’m sympathetic that SSC doesn’t understand it: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/04/19/i-do-not-understand-rape-culture/

Our problem isn’t that we glorify rape. Our problem is that we consider it a special kind of evil so bad that of course no normal person would ever do it, and this makes it easy to rationalize that whatever this normal person did couldn’t have been rape, which causes huge harms.

I don’t have answers, but I think it’s incredibly clear that calling it “rape culture” doesn’t help.

In general, I don’t think feminist activism on the topic of rape goes in the right direction. The smug “consent is like tea” video has the exact same problem. People don’t need to hear more “normal people would never rape” messaging.

#gender politics

[i-need-entertainment]

All’s not lost

Character: Iizuna x reader

*Little angsty BUT IT’S ULTIMATELY FLUFF!!*

Warning: Blood (from injury), mentions of injuries, Haikyu manga spoilers (Itatchiyama vs Inubushi), mentions of feeling insecure/not good enough ,Sakusa and Komori being bRaTs.

**In the beginning of this, Komori and Sakusa are first years and reader and Iizuna are second years. HENCE, Iizuna is the team setter, but not the team captain yet.**

You sighed, frustratedly running your fingers through your hair. “I am so sorry. I warned you they’d be a handful.” You apologized to the teams setter, Iizuna Tsukasa, as you turned around to glare at the culprits. Your younger brother, Sakusa Kiyoomi, and you guys’ cousin, Komori Motoya. “Kiyoomi, stop being a brat.” He huffed as he looked away from you, Komori just snickered beside him, “And Motoya, stop encouraging him!” Komori looked up in (feigned) shock. “Hey! I didn’t encourage him, He just did it.” You rolled your eyes, “Fine, stop enabling him.” He laughed as he ran off to go practice volleyball, Sakusa not far behind him. You shook your head as you turned back around to be face to face with the setter. “I really am sorry…You’d think with them being in high school they would be past needing 24/7 adult supervision, apparently not.” You and him just laughed, him waving off your apology. “It’s fine, really. But, uh, could you tell me where the first aid kit is kept…?” Tilting your head a bit in confusion you looked at him, and then blood came running down his face…

*Five minutes earlier…*

“It’s not that I’m doubting you, it’s just I don’t think you can do it.” Sakusa glared at his cousin. Just a little bit ago the two had been having an argument. Komori didn’t think Sakusa could spike left handed, Sakusa said he could…So anyways here they were. Komori was acting as setter and Sakusa, as spiker. After many, many minutes, Sakusa nailed one…except it was much more powerful than he had intended…and instead of the court being it’s final destination, Iizuna’s face took the brunt of the blow. Luckily you, Itatchiyama’s second year manager, had been heading into the gym to collect the rugrats you called family when you witnessed the teams setter go down.

*Now back to present time, in the club room*

“Here, go ahead and sit down. I’m gonna go grab the first aid kit.” He nodded as he took a seat in the chair you had pulled over for him. You came back over to him with the kit in hand. “Hold this to your nose, it’s still bleeding…” He nodded as he took the gauze, holding it to his still bleeding nose. You looked for an ice pack, once you found one you brought it to his now bruising cheek. He winced a little as you placed it on his face but got used to it. “You didn’t have to do this…” You smiled as you shook your head. “It’s fine…it was my idiots that did it anyway so it’s the least I can do.” You both kind of sat there in a sort of silence. You had known each other for over a year now, and you guys were friends, but you weren’t super close. Unbeknownst to the two of you, you had both developed little (okay maybe not *little*) crushes on each other. “…Does it hurt?” Iizuna snapped his gaze back to yours, which he now realized was quite close to his face. He short circuited for a second before remembering you had asked him a question. “U-um not too bad. Thank you…” You smiled as you gently cupped his face, tilting his head gently side to side to check for any other injuries you may have missed. You paused before letting go of him when you realized you were still cupping his face. “D-don’t worry about it…anytime.” You gave him one last smile before you stood up, him doing the same when he saw the blood had stopped gushing out of his nose.

  That was second year. Fast forward to third year, it is now the time of the nationals. Today was the day of the quarterfinals, and Itatchiyama is playing against Inubushi East High. You guys had just called a time out, you gave some members their water bottles and towel before walking over to Iizuna. Handing him the bottle he nodded and said a quick ‘thank you’ before gulping the water down. They had just finished the first set; winning it of course, honestly the game was looking pretty good for Itatchiyama. You’ve known Iizuna for a good three years now, so you knew when something was on his mind. “Iizuna, you okay? You look like something’s on your mind..” He looked at you, a bit startled you had noticed. He sighed and brought his hand to rub the back of his neck; something you noticed he did when he was nervous. “I don’t know, I just feel a bit…nervous? I mean, sure we won the first set but, I don’t know something just feels off…” You nodded, “All you can really do is your best, just make sure you do what you’re supposed to and what happens will happen. But, that said I’m sure you’ll do great…you always do.” You gave him a sweet smile, and he gave you one back. The whistle blew, signaling the break was over and it was time to get back on the court. He turned around, “Iizuna!” He turned back towards you. You took a step forward and kissed his cheek, “Do your best…” He had a shocked look on his face before it transformed into a goofy smile, “If we win this, can I have a real one?” You laughed, “Just get on the court you dork!” Laughing he made his way to the court, lightly slapping a giggling Komori upside the head as he reclaimed his spot in the front row. They continued on with the game and it was now just under halfway through the second set; the score was 14:12 in Itatchiyama’s favor. All was going great until, “Stop the game! Iizuna went down!” Hearing his name you shot up, frantically looking towards the court you saw Iizuna on the ground holding his ankle. You and coach rushed towards the court, each of you grabbing one of his arms and leading him off to the sidelines where medics were waiting for him. After Iizuna was escorted to the infirmary and Itatchiyama had subbed in their back up setter, you returned to your place at the bench, a sick feeling sitting in your stomach. 27:29…Itatchiyama had lost. You started to pack up as the boys returned to the locker room. That brings us to now, the team was all sitting In the room they had been given in the stadium, minus one that is. After the game (which Iizuna had eventually returned to) you hadn’t been able to talk to Iizuna, and when you realized the captain was missing you exited the room and went looking for him. You turned a corner just to see him sitting on a bench, head in his hands as he tried to gather his thoughts. “…Iizuna…?” He looked up to see you, a concerned expression on your face as you looked at him. “I thought you were with the team?” You shook your head, making your way towards him. “I was, but, I haven’t seen you since the game ended…and having known you for as long as I have, I had a feeling you’d be somewhere alone blaming yourself for what happened.” He stayed silent. “Tsukasa…” He looked up at you again, You knelt down in front of him. “…It wasn’t your fault. Not as the setter, definitely not as the captain. You didn’t let your team down, and you definitely didn’t let me down. What happened was a terrible accident, they happen. But blaming yourself isn’t going to change what did happen…I’m proud of you Tsukasa…” Charged by the surge of emotions going through him he threw himself at you, wrapping you tightly in his arms as tears started going down both of your faces. “I just- I feel so helpless! I tried so hard, worked so hard. We all did! A-AND, I just. I don’t know Y/n. I don’t feel good enough- I’m not good enough for the team, for you-“ Done with hearing his self deprecation you slightly pulled away from the hug, holding his face and looking him in the eyes. “Don’t. Don’t say that. You are more than enough, for the team, for volleyball, I mean- you’re the number 1 setter and for good reason! And if anything you’re too good for me!” You lightly laughed as you wiped some tears from your eyes with your right hand, Iizuna laughing and leaning into your left hand, which remained on his cheek. “…fine, we’re BOTH losers…” You laughed at his comment, happy the normal Iizuna was making an appearance. “Shut up!” You smiled as you looked into his eyes, both of you feeling a little bit better. “It sucks that we lost…but there’s something else I’m more upset about not getting…” You raised your eyebrow in question (and suspicion) while he gave you an amused lop sided smile. He leaned in closer, putting his forehead against yours. You smiled, trying to hide the way your heart beat had immediately sped up, and hoping he didn’t notice how hot your face had gotten. “Oh…? What would that be?” He chuckled, “You know.” You attempted to stop the sea of emotions that started to flood your senses, but with the love of your life this close and being an absolute flirt?! HOW COULD YOU BE CALM?!!? He flicked his gaze down to your lips before his intense stare met yours. “…I know I didn’t win…but could you bend the rules just this once and let me kiss you?” You nodded and he wasted no time in tilting his head and connecting his lips to yours. The kiss was…sweet. It was soft, kind everything you had imagined it would be like to kiss the Tsukasa Iizuna. Parting he returned his forehead to yours, “I like you, Y/n…I really like you, and I get it if you don’t like me back-“ You shook your head with a smile, “I like you too Tsukasa…” He smiled, “Then is it safe to say you’d go out with me?” You laughed, “Yeah, I think so.” You both sat there for a while, enjoying basking in the presence of your new relationship, and because he couldn’t get up. “…Can I kiss you again?” You nodded and he once again placed his lips on yours, just as things were getting good you were both interrupted by a very distinct ‘Ew’ and ‘Get it captain!’ Disconnecting your lips from his your eyes widened as Iizuna groaned. Peering around the corner was the two gremlins themselves; Sakusa and Komori. An irk mark appeared on Iizuna’s face while you laughed. Sensing the oncoming danger Komori gave a little wave and a ‘Have fun~ But not too much fun~’ before he skipped away, a still grossed out Sakusa following behind him. “Sorry about them. But, you might as well get used to it, I have a feeling that will be happening a lot.” He sighed but ultimately chuckled, moving his head to rest on your shoulder. “So long as my dream girl is there with me, I don’t even care.” Today might not have been the best. They lost the match and Iizuna had sprained his ankle. But he couldn’t deny that today had been one of the best, because he had finally confessed his feelings to the girl he’d been crushing on since first year.

#iizuna x reader #iizuna tsukasa #tsukasa iizuna #Haikyuu!! #haikyu x reader #hq oneshots #haikyuufanfiction #itatchiyama #y/n #sakusa kiyoomi #komori motoya #angst to fluff

[werezmastarbucks]

coming back was a mistake

the reader bonds with kai over their shared dislike of mystic falls

kai parker x fem!reader

word count: 2494

warnings: language, the POV’s are changing

music: poa alpina by biosphere

This damn hole hasn’t changed a bit. The same old story: clean, tongue-licked glowing welcome sign. There we go. Then there will be this turn on the left... oh no, wait, bless, the road has been destroyed. The wooden white bridge connects this part of the highway with the town, and here we go. First houses, Livingstones used to live here, and their son was bullied by literally everyone at school, because he always had stupid haircuts. Word is, he’s dead. Welcome to Mystic Falls, the town where normal people can last up to one year.

Your house was still standing on the 19th November Street, cuddled by dry rose bushes. Apalling. All the other houses on the street have it together. The window sills are freshly painted and the porch is clean, the flowers are watered and cut, and then there’s this fucking outrage of a dwelling where the remains of your family reside.

You had to keep your act together but this town just infuriated you. You couldn’t understand why people would stay here when they could leave right after they’ve turned of age. What kept them? The charming crab-shaped park where everybody stored their dead bodies? The library on the main square where the entitled old lady has been residing for the last 500 years and telling you off for breathing? The blood-red clock tower dinging and donging every damn twenty minutes. No, wait, it must be the staggering fifteen streets. It must be the magic of running into your parents on the Market Street at ten am when you’re supposed to be at school. It’s the neighbors watch, the bored, jaded people’s desire to know everything about everybody. It must be all the supernatural jerks swarming here, killing everybody left and right, acting like their collective age is twenty years old. The fashion in this city has not changed since two thousand and thirteen, either. Nothing did.

The blood-red clock tower was still announcing the midnight hour through the dense hot air, the cars were still disgustingly clean like the citizens had nothing else to do except wash their cars all day long; Damon Salvatore still had the bitch expression on his face, fuming over the next this-just-in ghoul drama, pacing slowly in the living room of his ridiculous, always half-lit mansion with a glass of bourbon in his hand. Stefan was still miserable. Elena’s hair was still golden-black, smooth like a mirror, and you were still mortally tired of all this.

You could feel your negativity fill you up to your throat and eating on you as you drove up to the house and looked at it. The light was on, but nobody came out to meet you.

You were still coming once a year.

You sighed and turned off the engine, then left the car. It’s just a week. Then you can come back home and start pretending you don’t have Mystic Falls past again. The thought of going back home, running back like a rabbit, was what got you through every year.

You walked up the porch. The door wasn’t locked.

He liked this space here. The tenth row, seventeenth seat. He was like a cat, choosing the perfect spot. From here, he could see the clearing between the trees on the other side of the field, where a lady was walking her adorable huskie every evening at eight sharp. The dog was damn smart and the lady wasn’t. Kai had no idea how smart she actually was, she just didn’t look smart. The field below was empty now that it was summer and the eerie hollow feeling gave him a lot of kicks. The place that’s supposed to be full of people, literally made for big gatherings, the seats and all, empty, gave a special vibe. Looking around it, especially at the evening hour, when August was doing its best in the skies, was strangely nice. Nobody saw this side of Kai Parker when he was just sitting quietly, an expression of satisfaction on his face, on his chosen spot, and observed this quiet empty place like a little black king.

He saw somebody and went invisible in a second out of some instinct he couldn’t explain. It’s been some time since his presence caused an outcry of anguish among the party of people... a lot of time, actually. Nowadays, people would just roll their eyes. Don’t care. They’re the losers, living in this boring swamp, fidgeting with their pathetic drama every day. Kai didn’t know how they managed to tolerate themselves. And the hair! Everybody had this inexplicably perfect hair, glistening like they all wore wigs.

Oh my god.

What if they all wear wigs?!

Kai started giggling, thinking about that.

He was now looking at this girl in a crop top that matched the color of her skin. The girls do that, they wear the tops that match their skin which Kai finds very suggestive. Okay, you have all my attention.

Cruising around this unbearable place, he has familiarized with all the faces, and this one was new right away. She started running. You know how people usually jog, without a hurry, with the dumb light-hearted expressions on their faces, and the 90% of them always imagine they’re in some expensive automobile commercial. It helps them jof. This one ran. She did two tours around the field and stopped. Wrong, you’re supposed to walk or else your heart will burst. She stood, her hands on her thighs, her face up, and watched the sky. Kai had no idea why he was hiding from her, but he felt too comfortable now to manifest himself. She was listening to her music in her earphones and looking at the slowly drifting long clouds, and she looked like she was either pissed or very thirsty. Leaning a bit backwards, she just gave him the honors. The ribs were heaving, her stomach breathing for her. Her hand came up to her throat. Kai tried to picture her at the Mystic Grill, or on the main square; whether she looked similar to anybody he’s seen here; he looked at her hands and arms, the way she moved her jaw as if those pretty lilac clouds have done something to her and she was about to get even. She shook her head animalistically, getting rid of some thought. Girl, I know that. You’re trying to shake them all off through your ears, it doesn’t work. He felt for this pretty, collected lady who ran around the track like she was chasing somebody for a murder. Kai liked that kind of interaction the most; when he pretended they had connected. That they had a conversation. When nobody could argue with his illusion they had something in common.

He liked how she had her hair, a bit messy but feminine; the way she looked around dispassionately like she’s had enough of whatever shit she had going on. Like she seemed as if she was a separate entity. Her elbow pointed aside, with some kind of expectation.

Then she gave up. She put on a hoodie she’d thrown onto a first row seat and started walking up slowly. One, two three... four rows... Kai watched her curiously. He never doubted his magic. That’s right, not ever. You know.

But when she passed row nine he tilted his head. She came up to his row and started walking. Now, if she sits right on him, she will feel it. He will, too, and of course he won’t mind, but the girls usually freak out if they try to take a seat somewhere and there’s an invisible dude. Not that Kai had practiced it a lot. He just knew they didn’t like being stalked on. He didn’t really care. He doesn’t know her. If she’s a part of this town, screw her. She’s pretty up close, though, such a nice, frowning face, big eyes. She took the next seat to him and they almost rubbed shoulders. If she took off her earphones she would hear Kai breathe next to her. Instead, he was listening to slow ambient. It went well with the evening sky.

Together, they watched the huskie and the lady run around in the field behind the footbal field. Then she shivered a little in her hoodie. Kai wished he could read her mind when she started crying. When people don’t know they’re being watched, they cry in a very specific fashion. Kai was sure it wasn’t the huskie that upset her; it had something to do with her standing and watching the sky, rubbing her elbows with nervous fingers.

Or maybe she was unhappy with her running time, who gives a fuck.

You were watching this dude. The Grill did not appreciate him the way they should’ve. First of all, he was different breed. People come and go, but the type is always the same. This one was not the type. You had no idea who he was, but he was damn entertaining. Unapologetic singer. Stretching the notes like nobody was watching. Singing for the soul. He enjoyed himself the harder the more confused people looked, throwing awkward glances in his direction. His self esteem was on point as he expressed the ultimate artistic freedom through his bad singing, skipping the words masterfully and changing the melody on a whim. When the song was finally over, nobody clapped, and you felt that truly, he was the underrated artist, the local gem. Where Mystic Falls citizens cared for how others perceive them, he didn’t give a shit about it; while they side eyed their friends judging him silently, he was glowing with self-satisfaction. He was a bad singer, and a bad dancer; he chose an old song nobody knew, and did the finger guns at the DJ as he left the stage. A collective sigh of relief shuddered over the bar; you leaned over the counter, and the bartender nodded at you.

“Pass a cider to that guy. Tell him he saved my evening”.

Jerry was the name of the bartender. He was the new guy, because almost all bar people at the Grill were always human, which meant they died all the time. They all looked exactly the same though, and Jerry was no different from Evan, from seven years ago. Short dark hair, dimples, could star in American Pie. He smirked and nodded again.

The guy has just landed at the counter with a swing. He sighed happily as Jerry put the glass in front of him. You weren’t watching, because you didn’t feel like it; you made the sincere gesture of friendliness, no need to take it further. However, you should’ve known what would happen next. No good deed ever goes unpunished in this world.

You spotted him with the corner of your eye as he approached you, with the cider you ordered for him, and sat next to you.

“Well, that’s not too bad at all...” he started.

You turned to the guy - who looked rather like a boy who got stuck in his post-teenage phase - sharply.

“Please, don’t take it personal. It was not intended that way. It’s just a drink, so, drink it”.

For a second, he just watched you, as if challenging you for more talking. Then he shrugged.

“Somebody’s feeling antisociable today”.

And sipped a little from the glass.

“I usually take cocktails, the sweeter the better, just so you know”.

You sighed. A part of you knew you would regret it. But you still did it. Why? You looked in front of you, meeting your own miserable face in the reflection of the mirror wall behind the bar. The guy kept talking.

“I mean, it’s so nice to start acquiring the fan base, I guess, you can get a lot of things as a rock star. I’ve always wanted to be one”.

“You won’t be a rock star for your singing voice”, you noted.

Drinking alone at the Grill sometimes made you do weird stuff. But it was a tradition.

“Huh? You didn’t like it?”

“I enjoyed how much it confused everybody else”.

The guy expressed an ‘oof’ emotion.

“I’m sensing some xenophobia here. You hate this place, too?”

You didn’t answer. The guy sighed mockingly, as if he was pretending. He sounded like a hyperactive child, and in spite of your very self, you found him relatable.

“I say to myself every day”, he went on, in a slightly more serious voice, “Kai, today you’re leaving Mystic Falls. I’m not in the place where I can tolerate this boredom any more, you know? But this thing... keeps me here. I can’t wait to...”

You blinked and looked at him.

“Kai? Your name is Kai?”

“Uh, yeah”.

He clincked his glass on yours.

“Cheers”.

“What’s it short for?”

He didn’t look too proud saying,

“Malachai”.

You dropped your jaw.

“That is the coolest name I’ve ever heard. Malachai? Seriously?”

He lit up a little bit, straightening his back with praise.

“Yeah”.

“Dude, this is badass. Show me your ID!”

His dark eyes were laughing. You finally took a proper look of him. There was something foreign about him although he spoke very clear American English. It was a different kind of foreign: alien. Given it’s Mystic Falls, stagnating in its own revolving old routine, alien was good even if it was dangerous.

“You wanna see my ID?” he chuckled. He looked down on you with an adoring glint in his eye as though he was admiring something he saw. His reactions were inexplicable.

“Yeah, I wanna see how it’s spelt. Come on, Malachai, it’s so boring here. Show me”.

He sniffed through his nose.

“Okay”.

He had to stand up a little bit to take his ID from the back pocket of his jeans. You looked at it, visualizing his unusual name. Malachai Parker sounded fucking elite. He’s come a long way from Oregon, too. You wondered what he was doing here and was about to ask, but your glance got hooked on the year of birth.

“1972? You were born in...”

Frustration filled you slowly like lake water. Of course, the only interesting, good-looking character who’s fun enough, will be one of the messy freaks, here. You passed the card back to him.

“Are you one of them?”

Malachai didn’t look confused or insecure which further advanced your disappointment.

“What do you mean?” he asked with a grin, playing with you.

“I’m not having this tonight”.

You downed your glass, feeling earthly tired. Like the earth. The Earth, that’s billion of years old, like that.

You stood up to walk away.

“I’m not one of the vampires”, Kai chanted, turning on his seat.

You shrugged.

“Even worse”.

He watched you as you went, his eyes not leaving your back until you were out of the door. Then he realized he still didn’t have your name.

#kai parker #kai parker imagine #kai parker x reader #vampire diaries imagine #vampire diaries

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #692: Teenagers React to Everyone Losing in Mario Golf World Tour (SSBU)

Mario

Mario gets hit by a Green She'll and turns into his little self on Screen.

Futuba: Wait. (Eyes Widened in Complete Disbelief at the Screen) THAT CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO HIM!?

Ren: We've seen this man get stabbed, detonated, and knocked out many times than any of us can count. And none them ever resulted him into being little.

Lavenza: Perhaps it's the Green Shell's doing......(Place her Hand on her Chin and Starts Thinking) Hmmmmm.........

Futuba: (Turns to Lavenza) Anything on your mind, Lavvy-chan?

Lavenza: This might be hunch, but....How about we try devising a plan? Where we can try hitting Mario with a Green Shell ourselves.

Futuba: That way, we can see if he can turn into a small plumber or not. (Smiles Brightly and Excitedly) That's GENIUS!

Ren: (Has a bit of a Curious Smirk on his Face) Wouldn't mind being a part of that plan myself. I think my throwing skills has gotten better overtime.

Futuba: Mines too!

Makoto: (Immediately Gives the Trio Her Signature Cold Niijima Glare) We are NOT throwing a Green Shell at Mario.

Ren: There it is.

Futuba: (Starts Giving Makoto a Disappointed Pouty Face) Makotooo.....

Lavenza: (Genuinely Shocked and Disappointed) But why ever not, Ms. Queen?

Makoto: Because it's very rude and completely uncalled for. I mean seriously, what would Peach say if she saw you three going through with plan? She would be very disappointed. As I am with you three for even thinking about doing this.

Futuba: Come on, sis! Can't we just-

Makoto: (Stares Piercing her Glare) The answer's no and that's final.

Ren/Lavenza/Futuba: (Straighten Themselves Up in a Bit of Fear) Yes, ma'am!

Lavenza: (Genuinely Surprised) Goodness! I have no idea the Queen could be so terrifying....

Futuba: (Starts Shrugging) That's Makoto for ya. Her glares and motherly attitude are completely outmatched in our ragtag group. You know, besides Haru.

Haru: (Happily and Gently Scratches Under Morgana's Chin While He's Sitting and Purring onto her Lap, Causing her to Giggle Softly Altogether)

Lavenza: I see.... So I suppose nothing could ever try and faze her in some occasions, yes?

Futuba: For the most part.

Ren: (Smirks Like a Love Struck Dork) That's one of the million reasons why I love that beautiful woman after all~

Makoto: (Pouts at Ren) Stop trying to flattering me, Ren-Ren!~ The answer's still no!

Ren: (Chuckles Lightly) We know that already, 'hon~ I just wanted to tell you how much I love you is all~ (Kiss Makoto on the Cheek)

Makoto: (Lays her Head on Ren's Shoulder Once She Begins to Blush) Dummyhead~ (Hugs Ren Afterwards) Love you too~

Futuba: (Puts on a Deadpinned Look on Her Planned) Unless your name is Ren-Ren and try making her blush like a strawberry.....

Lavenza: Fascinating.....

Coco: (Writing Down Somthing on her Notepad)

Tails: Writing down possible theories and methods of any of this makes sense?

Coco: Yup!~

Luigi

Luigi sadly slouches down onto the floor and gets licked by a Boo on screen.

Yoshi: I dunno which is sadder.... Seeing my Luigi being sad or seeing him getting licked by a random Boo.

Pit: (Starts Shrugging Slowly) At least he didn't call himself a loser that time.

Yoshi: Yeah.

Peach

Peach dramatically faints, with heartstrings playing in the background, on screen.

Sonic: ('Sigh') There goes mom being dramatic again.....

Amy: (Happily Resting her Head into Sonic's Shoulder) I feel like you've gotten that from her as of late.

Sonic: ('Heh') Yeah right. Like I can be a drama as well-

Amy: Ice cream on Chili Dogs.

Sonic: (Eyes Widened and Gasps Loudly From his Girlfriend's Sudden Words and Dramatically Points at her) How DARE YOU say those words in front of me!? Your own BOYFRIEND!

Amy: (Giggles Softly at How Adorable her Sonic is Being Right Now) I rest my case~

Yoshi

Yoshi went into his egg in a very sad manner and starts rolling around the area before falling down on screen.

Ann: (Place her Hands onto her Mouth) Oh my gosh! This is so hard to watch!

Shiho: (Hugs Ann's Arm) This is so sad....

Haru: And so adorable at the same time!~

Morgana: (Sighs While Rolling his Eyes)

Futuba: (Raise her Hand) All in a agreement to hug Yoshi later on, say aye!

Ann/Shiho/Haru: (Raises Their Hands as Well) AYE!~

Lavenza: (Raises her Hand as Well) I would also like to join in this event as well!

Dark Pit: (Smirks Smugly at an Already Annoyed Yoshi) Guess who's back on his cuteness bullshit?

Ryuji: (Chuckles Lightly) Yeah.

Yoshi: For the love of...(Gets Up From his Seat) Why does everyone in this room thinks I'm cute?

Ann: Because you are-

Yoshi: Okay. I get. I flutter jump, I turn into an egg, and I admit, I do have a cute face. But for GOD SAKES, I know Kung Fu! I-I know how to drive a car with little to no problem! (Got Out his Trusty Nunchucks) I even learned how to use Nunchucks and everything!!!

Ryuji: Come on, man. You're overreacting.

Coco: Yeah. There's nothing wrong having a little cuteness in ya. (Happily Gives Yoshi a Thumbs Up) I think it suits you perfectly well.

Yoshi: (Turns to Tails) See, even your girlfriend thinks I'm cute, Tails!

Tails: (Eyes Widened at What Yoshi Just Said) Wait.....

Tails/Coco: WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!?

Coco: (Starts Blushing Herself) B-B-But weren't not dating! We're best friends!

Tails: (Starts Blushing as Well) E-Exactly! A-And besides.....(Chuckles a bit Lately) I-I'm pretty sure Coco wouldn't really be interested in dating someone as boring as me-

Coco: ('GASPS') (Pouts at Tails) Miles Tails Prower, how could you!!?

Tails: (Taken Aback by Coco's Sudden Change of Attitude) What? W-What did I say?

Coco: How could you say that about yourself!? You are absolutely NOT boring to me at all!

Tails: Y-You think so-

Coco: (Grabs Tails' Hands and Gently Squeezes Them) I KNOW so, mister! You're the most smartest, brilliant, precious little cinnamon roll I've ever met and anyone who thinks otherwise are dumb and stupid!

Tails: (Almost at a Loss of Words) Coco.....

Coco: I mean it, Tails! I don't EVER wanna see you put yourself down like that ever again, you hear me!?

Tails: I won't do that anymore! I promise!

Coco: (Stares at Tails For a Brief Second Before Sighing) Good. (Gives Tails a Loving Hug) I'm glad we come to an understanding. I love you, bud.

Tails: (Chuckles Lightly While Hugging Coco Back) I love you too, Coco. Thank you.

Almost Everyone: (Stares at the Best Friends Hugging Each Other) (Yeah. They would SO be cute couple together.)

Amy: (So CUUUUUUUUTEEEE!!!~)

Daisy

Daisy tries calming herself down before taking one look at the camera and starts angrily stomping and looking away on screen.

Ryuji: Sheesh. Even when she try to calm down, she still gets angry....

Yoshi: That's my mom for ya. Always a low-key bad sport.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong starts slapping the ground angrily before a random barrel came down and hit his head, causing him to fall down unconscious on screen.

Yusuke: That has to be a painful experience to go through.

Futuba: Tell me about it. I highly doubt that any normal human could survive a random barrel falling down on their heads.....or their entire body.

Ryuji: I envy that gorilla sometimes....

Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong lazily eats his banana, throws the peel on the floor beside him, gets up, ,immediately slips on the peel and fell on screen.

Ren: Yeah. No. He had that one coming.

Everyone: (Nodding and Completely Agrees to What Ren was Saying) Yeah./ Very True./ Uh huh.

Wario

Wario gets struck by lightning on screen.

Ryuji: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) JESUS! Where the hell did that lightning came from? It's not even raining outside!

Yusuke: Perhaps there's more to this universe than we originally thought....

Waluigi

Waluigi starts acting dramatic to losing before falling down into a black hole, that suddenly appears out of nowhere, on screen.

Futuba: Wha-Wha- WHAT!? How is even possible!? W-W-WHERE DID THAT BLACK HOLE EVEN CAME FROM!?

Morgana: (Shakes his Head Slowly) I don't even know anymore, Futuba....

Futuba: Damnit! (Looks Up Into the Ceiling in Anger) NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE!!!

Lavenza: There's a lot of things that doesn't make sense, Big Sister Futuba.

Bowser

Bowser angrily punches a camera on screen.

Ryuji: WOAH WOAH WOAH! What the hell was that all about!?

Ren: A evil, giant turtle getting mad over a simple game of golf....Kind of sounds a lot sadder when I say it out loud.

Ryuji: Right!? It's just a frickin' golf game! Why do they have get so hell-bent over it everytime they lose!?

Ren: I don't think anyone really knows at this point, man.

Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr throwing his usual temper tantrum on screen.

Morgana: (Starts Sighing While Rolling his Eyes) Here comes another Bowser Jr's cuteness hour.....

Futuba: (Teasingly Pokes Morgan's Cheeks) Getting jealous there, Mona?~

Haru: (Immediately Pulls Morgana into a Loving Hug) Oh my sweet, little Mona-Chan!~ Please don't be jealous of Bowser Jr-kun anymore! I promise I love you with all of my heart!~ (Begins Kissing Morgana's Cheek)

Morgana: (Starts Getting Ticklish by Haru's Kisses) Haru! Come on! I believe you already! Really!

Lavenza: (Turns to Futuba) What exactly is happening here right now? Is Mona-Chan really jealous of this Bowser Jr character?

Futuba; (Simply Nodded) Oh big time. He thinks Haru thinks that the little guy is more cuter than he is.

Lavenza: ('Gasps') That is crazy talk....(Turns to Morgana) Mona-Chan!

Morgana: (Turns to Lavenza) Huh? What's wrong, Lavenza?

Lavenza: (Gently Grab Both of Mona's Paws) There us no need for you feel any jealousy towards Bowser Jr. While it is true that his overall appearance is cute to look at, you are and always will a precious feline in my very eyes!

Morgana: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise While Blushing) Y-You.... really mean that, Lavenza?

Lavenza: Why, of course I do. (Joins into Morgana and Haru's Hug) I wouldn't be here, telling you this if I don't.

Haru: Lavvy-chan is absolutely right on this, sweetheart. You're a lot more precious than give yourself credit for. So please don't be jealous anymore, okay?

Morgana: (Sighs While Being Overwhelmed by the Group Hug) I'll try not to....(Smiles a Little) Thanks, you guys.

Futuba: (Smirk Softly at the Trio While Silently Taking a Few Pictures of Them ('Heh Heh') Dorks.

Rosalina

Rosalina faints....and accidentally fell down on the Lumas, who were trying to help her up, on screen.

'Thud'

Most People in the Living Room: Oh!

Yoshi: That has got to leave a mark.

Pit: I know. I kind of feel bad for those poor little Lumas....

Dark Pit: They're floating, magical stars with eyes, Pit-Stain. They'll be fine.

Birdo

Birdo angrily shoots eggs at the camera on screen.

Ann: (Really Glares at the Screen) Really?! What is with these people and breaking camera screens!? Do they honestly even know how much those things cost!!?

Shiho: (Simply Shrugs) I guess they really can't stand the fact they've lost a game golf.

Ann: Right!?

Toad

Two Toads tries to cheer up the main Toad by cheerleading on screen.

Ren: Huh. Cheerleading Toads.... That's a new one.

Makoto: It's cute how they try to do whatever they can to support each other.

Ren: I agree. It's also ironic how this is the most normal reaction of losing out of everyone else we've seen so far.

Makoto: ('Sigh') Yeah.....

Nabbit

Nabbit hides under a bag....only to get eaten by a Piranha Plant on screen.

Dark Pit: Alright. I'm about to lose it in a matter of seconds, if someone in this room don't tell me why in the hell does that dumbass thought that having a Piranha in his bag was even remotely a good idea!

Ren: ('Sigh') Yeah. I think we're done here.

..............................................................

Sonic: Sheesh....That was a lot more insane to watch through than I thought it would be.....

Yusuke: Not the most cringe worthy event I have ever seen so far, but it was still rather.... interesting to watch, to say the least.

Amy: I know..... I had no idea they would took golf so seriously...

Ryuji: You're telling me. I mean, really, I can't believe these guys were making a huge deal about losing one single game of golf! GOLF!! Probably one of the most boring sports in all of the frickin universe!!

Ren: Well, knowing Mario and the gang, I'm pretty sure they found a way to make the sport more fun to them.

Ryuji: That might be the true, but that doesn't make what we just saw, any better, bro!!

Ren: ('Sigh') Yeah. It.... really doesn't.

Futuba: (Found Something Interesting on his Phone) Huh.

Pit: What you found, Futuba?

Futuba: (Shows Everyone Beside her Phone) It says here that Mario and the others are hosting an all new golf tournament next month. It's called the "Mario Golf: Super Rush Tournament"

Yoshi: (Takes a Look at Futuba's Phone) Yep. Seems pretty legit to me.

Everyone: (Nodded in Agreement)

Makoto: They're going to embarrass themselves in that tournament, are they?

Ren: I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Makoto: You're gonna record the whole thing, are you?

Ren: (Chuckles Lightly) Oho yeah.....

@keyenuta

@26shann

@princekirijo

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@lovekittynoir

@italian-love-cake

@ma-lemons

@craftyfreakdragonuniversity

@caleb13frede

#super smash ultimate #ren amimaya #makoto nijima #futuba sakura #lavenza #ann tamaki #shiho suzui #ryuji sakamoto #yusuke #haru okumaru #morgana #sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #miles tails prower #coco bandicoot #yoshi #pit #dark pit #humor #sonamy #tech buddies #shumako #you guys remember mario golf world tour right? #a lot of fluff #edited

[sassy-starker]

Jupiter

Word Count: 28,576

TW: Serious physical bullying (to the point where some might consider it unrealistic, but you wouldn’t believe the shit I’ve seen in public schools)

“Well, tell me how am I supposed to see the magic? ‘Cause I don’t believe in it no more”

-EDEN, XO

Soulmates were a strange thing, connecting two people together for eternity, yet not being able to tell if a person’s soulmate would die before they had the chance to meet or giving someone no soulmate at all.  There were theories about how it worked, from quantum entanglement to straight-up magic, but nobody was really sure in the end.  Most didn’t care about the science anyway. 

They cared about falling in love. 

Anthony Edward Stark had been born without words on his wrist and those words had not appeared in the years after he was born, leaving him destined to never find true love.  Destined to be isolated from the rest of the world.  It was partly why his father hated him, but his mother didn’t mind all that much. 

(Of course, she didn’t.  His mother had always cared about him.) 

No matter where he went, Tony wore bracelets over his wrist.  When people asked, he claimed that he wanted his words to be private so nobody could see them and pretend to be his soulmate.  He never let it slip that he didn’t have a soulmate, making sure that the only people who knew were his parents and Jarvis. 

Not having a soulmate, along with his abusive asshole of a father, was a factor in how he acted once he had grown up.  He drowned himself in alcohol until he was sure it would fill up his lungs and had sex with as many people as possible, hoping to fill the loneliness inside of him. 

It didn’t work. 

Luckily, Pepper and Rhodey were there to remind him that not having a soulmate didn’t make him any less deserving of familial and platonic love.

Pepper had already found her soulmate, a woman named Natasha Romanov.  She had been searching for a long time, but eventually found Natasha when the woman came in for an interview for a job in PR.  Pepper had the words, ‘I did not expect you to be this pretty’ on her wrist while Natasha had the words, ‘And I didn’t expect to find my soulmate in a job interview’ on hers.

Rhodey had found his soulmate when he was grabbing takeout for him and Tony.  He accidentally bumped into his soulmate, Sam Wilson, in a Chinese restaurant.  Rhodey had the words ‘Fuck, I am so sorry,’ while Sam had the words ‘Don’t be’ on his wrist.

Both Pepper and Rhodey were there when he got a soul sentence.

It was a rainy afternoon in August, droplets of water falling down gently like shimmering diamonds outside the windows of the penthouse kitchen.  Tony hummed a tune as he grabbed a granola bar from the pantry, coffee brewing behind him.  As he turned back toward the coffee maker to grab his mug, he felt a strange sensation across his left wrist.  It was somehow comforting and stinging at the same time.  It burned and yet it was cooling and soft.  It was like no sensation he had felt before.  He dropped the granola bar, pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, and there it was, the words that would haunt him for years to come.

What’s your favorite planet?

Tony Stark screamed.

Pepper and Rhodey came rushing in to see what was wrong, only to find Tony staring at his wrist and a granola bar on the ground.

“Tony, what’s wrong?!” Pepper exclaimed, her face portraying her confusion.  In response, the man just turned his wrist around, showing off the words that had chosen to place themselves on his skin.

“Tones, this is amazing,” Rhodey told him. “Why aren’t you excited?”

“I am thirty-one years old,” Tony replied, pulling his wrist away and staring down at the words as if they had hurt him. “By the time my soulmate is eighteen, I’ll be forty-nine. Whoever they are, they don’t deserve that.”

“Tony-” Pepper started but was cut off.

“And I’m a superhero that could get killed at any time. It just wouldn’t work.”

“Tony, you have to-” Rhodey began but Tony interrupted again.

“No! I’m not going to look for my soulmate, I’m not going to meet my soulmate, and I’m sure as hell not going to fall in love with my soulmate! We’re not even going to talk about them, okay!?” Tony was shouting at the end of his little speech, tears glimmering in his eyes like the rain outside.  He stomped off, leaving his coffee and his granola bar behind him.

+++

“I just needed company now. Yeah, I just needed someone around.”

-Conan Gray, Comfort Crowd

When Peter Benjamin Parker was born, it was a rainy day in August, rain dripping down the window panes in the hospital.  He was born with a single word on his wrist.

Jupiter.

His parents loved his soul sentence.

When he was young, he heard stories of soulmates meeting and staying in love through their entire lives, never giving up on the other.  He completely believed in soulmates and true love, never having doubts about it.

Peter’s parents died when he was four years old.

The idea of soulmates lessened in his brain, falling into the back of his mind to deal with at a later time.  As he began to open up to the idea of soulmates once more, tragedy struck.

He lost his uncle.

Grief overtook him and he didn’t have the room to worry about soulmates, instead filing them as fantasies and pretended they never existed in the first place, despite the happy couples around him and the words on his wrist.

Peter spent his years wearing a bracelet and never looking at the single word that had planted itself on his left wrist.  He gave up on romantic love, instead choosing to find a couple of friends who wouldn’t mind his inherent lack of interest in soulmates. 

Luckily, he met Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones in middle school.

Ned was a hopeless romantic, constantly looking for his soulmate everywhere he went.  He was determined to find them and never lose them.  It hurt Peter’s heart a bit to know that his friend still believed in love but didn’t let that get in the way of helping the boy find the one the universe chose to be his.

MJ was a different story.

The girl acted as if she had no interest in love or even friends, but Peter was good at acting like he was dumb.  He didn’t let it on, but he knew that she was looking for her soulmate.  He saw the subtle glances to her words when she thought nobody was looking and the ways she strained to observe every last person she saw.

Peter loved being with his friends, but it changed when both of them found their soulmates in the same week of junior year.

In the middle of October, a new kid arrived at Midtown and everybody was eager to talk to him, wanting to know if he was their soulmate. Due to that, their little trio didn’t get to meet him until the beginning of November.

Turns out, his name was Jacob and he had the words ‘You’re the new kid, right?’ on his wrist while Ned had the words ‘Is three weeks too long to be considered new?’ on his.  They were soulmates.

Peter had tried to be happy for Ned, he really did, but it was hard when his friend practically abandoned him to start hanging out with his soulmate all the time.  He was down a friend and left with MJ.  He didn’t really mind, but it was difficult when he realized he had nobody to talk to.  May was always gone and MJ was always buried in a book or drawing people in crisis, leaving Peter to drown in loneliness.

Still, he was glad he had anybody at all.

That Friday, at Academic Decathlon practice, a new kid joined the team.  Her name was Sydney and she had the words ‘Welcome to Academic Decathlon practice, loser’ written on her wrist. MJ had the words ‘If I’m your soulmate, am I still a loser?’ on hers.

And then MJ abandoned him too.

Peter found himself alone at lunch and without somebody to talk to, without anybody to listen to his frustrations and his interests that he so badly wanted to talk about.  He began to keep to himself, never opening his mouth to say a word except when asked to speak in class, but even then he gave short, often one-word answers. He even quit Academic Decathlon. This, of course, led to him being the freak of the school.

Rumors constantly floated around about him and stares, whether curious or disgusted, followed him wherever he walked in the halls.  He kept his head down and tried his best to ignore everyone despite the verbal harassment and physical bullying.

Silence ruled his entire life as he moved from junior year to senior year, voice becoming hoarse from lack of speech.  His teachers rarely called on him, knowing he would only give short answers and that he already knew the material.  He was left alone in that sense, but the bullying only got worse. Teachers would turn their heads and pretend they saw nothing, never getting Flash and his posse in trouble because of how much money was between the group.

So Peter let it happen, let it become as normal to him as the seasons and days pass.  He was waiting for the last day of school so the torture would finally end.

As much as he wished to go to college, he couldn’t afford it.  He had gotten into MIT and hadn’t responded yet, but knew he would soon have to decline so he could take a gap year, or possibly two, to work and get enough money to go through at least two years of higher education.

The universe really had it out for him.

+++

“Called to the devil and the devil said quit. Can’t be bothered, better handle your shit.”

-Rainbow Kitten Surprise, It’s Called: Freefall

The universe really had it out for Tony Stark.  He was practically knee-deep in paperwork and had so much more work to do, meaning he couldn’t go back to the workshop.  He groaned as he flipped through another legal document, trying to figure out why he even owned the company at this point.  Still, he worked on.

Tony was almost grateful when he heard a knock at his office door, hoping it would be someone who could distract him from his work for a bit.  Unfortunately for him, the door opened to reveal Pepper, who was holding a small folder of documents in her hand.

“I’ve scheduled for you to go to Midtown School of Science and Technology next week to give a talk about aeronautics to the senior class,” she told him without a greeting, walking forward and setting a folder on his desk. “These papers contain all the things you need to talk about, what to remember about the school, and the top students just in case you run into them or have to talk to them in the lecture.”

“Are you seriously trusting me to talk to impressionable young minds about science?” Tony asked her, picking up the folder and beginning to flip through the files.

“It’s just a simple lecture,” the CEO reassured him. “You’ll be fine.”

With that, Pepper exited the room and left Tony to flip through everything.  He sighed and opened the folder completely, deciding to look at the top students first.  It was the ten best students, the first paper on the stack being the tenth best kid.

Tony flipped through the files without interest, half-heartedly glancing over the information about the students’ extracurricular activities and GPAs. He paused when he got to the last paper, though, as he saw a handsome young man who happened to be the brightest of everyone in the impressive school.

He was a senior named Peter Parker.  He had a perfect GPA, took seven AP classes, had near-perfect scores on the SAT and ACT, and had been accepted to several nice colleges.

Tony couldn’t stop staring at the paper, taking in all the boy’s accomplishments and his soft eyes and fluffy brown hair and bright appearance.  He suddenly wasn’t dreading the lecture as much.

+++

“Make my messes matter.  Make this chaos count.”

-Sleeping At Last, Jupiter

When it was announced that Tony Stark was going to be giving a lecture to the, frankly rather small, senior class, Peter couldn’t find it in himself to care.  There wasn’t any big excitement for him.  Yeah, sure, Tony Stark was a genius superhero with a shit ton of money, but Peter himself was a genius superhero with no money, so it didn’t really matter.

Peter was just glad the attention was focused on the lecture and not him. That meant he got through the next few days with minimal bruises and no bloody noses. It was the best week he’d had in a good while.

His luck ended on Thursday, the day before the lecture, when Flash decided that Peter had gotten through the week so far too easily.  So he beat up Peter a little worse than usual, leaving him more bruised than other weeks. The blunt force had also caused some bleeding, but it didn’t really matter to Peter. He would usually heal fast but he knew that May’s paycheck wasn’t the highest, so he skipped a lot of meals just to make sure he wasn’t taking more money away from his aunt than he needed to. It upset his advanced metabolism but didn’t hurt more than everything usually did.

When Peter patched himself up, he noticed the black eye he was donning. He didn’t really care about that either.  Apathy was a common thing for Peter and it didn’t matter to him just like everything else.  Knowing nobody would care, Peter came to school with the black eye.  The teachers wouldn’t do anything about it anyway.

It was only when Peter arrived at school that he remembered the lecture that was happening. The seniors were taken straight from homeroom to the cafetorium for the presentation and would be allowed to leave early afterward.  Chairs were set up in front of the small stage and the tables were pushed back.

Peter sat down in the back row, alone and away from the other students, who were trying to sit as close to the front as possible to be closer to Tony Stark.  Once everyone was seated, the genius came on stage and was met by cheers.

“Thank you,” Tony said in his press conference voice. “Thank you all so much. Big shout out to your school for having me. I’m excited to talk to you all about aeronautics.”

As he spoke, Tony searched the crowd for someone, and nobody noticed except Peter.  When the man caught Peter’s gaze, recognition flashed in his eyes and his smile turned genuine for a second before returning to his paparazzi smile.

Peter didn’t care.

Instead of paying attention, the boy pulled a sketchbook out of his backpack and flipped to an empty page, putting his pencil to the page and waiting for something to come to mind to draw.  Eventually, without thinking, he began to draw the solar system. He liked space after all.

“And since you’re such a small group, you each get to ask one question!” Peter heard Tony say once he had turned back to the lecture. The questions began as he continued to sketch.

When Peter’s mind came back into focus once more, he realized he had sketched Jupiter in the middle of the page.  With a glare at the sketchbook, he dropped his pencil and let it clatter to the ground. He gave a small growl and ripped the page out.

“How about the young man in the back?” Tony asked and everybody turned to Peter, who was holding the torn out paper, which he was getting ready to crumble up. He closed his fist around the paper and tried to ignore the stares.

“What’s your favorite planet?” Peter questioned with a shrug, looking halfheartedly at the famous man just a couple dozen feet in front of him.

Tony’s eyes widened and he gave a quick glance down to his left wrist before regaining his cool and answering, “Jupiter.”

Peter’s own eyes widened at that.  He pulled up his sleeve and looked at his bracelet-covered wrist, going to move the jewelry, before stopping himself and lowering his hand.  Tony had moved onto the next person, so the vigilante grabbed the discarded paper in his lap and finished crumbling it, letting it drop onto the floor without a second thought.

“Thank you so much for having me, Midtown!” Tony said with his press smile plastered on before giving a wink and walking off stage to the applause of the teenagers.  In the very back, he could see Peter packing up his sketchbook.

“Thank you so much for coming, Dr. Stark,” Principal Morita expressed with a grateful smile.

“It was no problem,” Tony chuckled before sobering up. “I’d love to talk to your top student though. Peter Parker, was it?”

The principal turned nervous. “Uh, may I ask why?”

Tony gave a suspicious look. “I’d like to talk to him about a job opportunity at Stark Industries.”

“I don’t think you want Mr. Parker for the job. Perhaps you might like Flash Thompson. He’s extremely smart,” Morita advertised with an anxious smile.

“I didn’t see Mr. Thompson on the top ten students list,” Tony commented with a dangerous edge to his voice. “I did see Mr. Parker though. I don’t get why you’re so against me meeting him.”

“Well,” Morita stuttered out, “it’s just that Mr. Parker is a bit . . . quiet and, uh, strange. He doesn’t quite fit in with the other students.”

“I don’t see why that matters. I’d like to see him.”

With a sputter and stammered, “Of course,” the principal rushed out, leaving Tony alone in the wings.

“Mr. Parker!” Principal Morita called to the person at the back of the exiting crowd. Peter whipped around and looked at him with no emotion. “Could you come over here?”

Everybody watched as Peter made his way over, not quite walking fast, but not quite trudging to the stage. Whispers broke out about it as the seniors exited, the doors closing behind the last of them.

“Dr. Stark wants to discuss job opportunities at Stark Industries with you,” Morita told him quietly once he reached the stage. “Please don’t mess this up for the school.”

Despite the hushed tone, Tony heard him, eyes widening at the very prospect of a staff member saying that to a student. He studied Peter for any sign of shock or fear, but all he saw was an emotionless face and a small nod in acceptance.

Principal Morita walked out and gave Peter one more warning look before exiting the cafetorium.

The boy turned around and looked over to Tony, who was frozen in shock in the wings.

“If you don’t want me as your soulmate and never want to see me again, just tell me,” Peter reassured him. “I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

Tony sputtered for a second before walking out of the wings and standing right in front of Peter, who seemed to shrink back a bit without even moving a step. “What in the world gave you that idea?”

“I don’t know . . .” Peter muttered, averting his gaze to the floor. “The way you seemed shocked to see me right now. The look you looked at me during the lecture. The way you moved on so quickly after my question. It just kinda gave me that impression.”

“I moved on because I didn’t want to announce you as my soulmate in front of your classmates in case you didn’t want to be my soulmate,” Tony answered, “and I was looking at you in shock because of what your principal said to you.”

Peter looked up to meet the man’s eyes before looking down at the floor again.  He gently pulled up his sleeve, took off his bracelet, and offered up his wrist, showing off the word ‘Jupiter,’ which stood out against the yellow and blue bruise.

“Peter . . .” the genius started quietly and trailed off. “Peter, are you being abused?”

The way Tony said his name felt so intimate, but the boy didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“What?!” Peter exclaimed, looking up at the man and startling him with the outburst. “No! My aunt wouldn’t do that!”

“Then what’s this bruise?” Tony questioned a bit louder now, but it was more around his normal volume.

“Just . . . bullies. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Tony sighed and looked down, putting his face in his hands for a moment before looking up again. He gently grabbed Peter’s hand and the boy began to pull away before stopping himself.  Tony added that to the list of things he needed to ask him about.

Tony tenderly led him to the edge of the stage before releasing his hand and sitting down with his legs hanging off.  Peter followed his lead but kept his legs up and crossed them, twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

“What's your favorite planet?” Tony asked him after a moment of silence.

“Pluto,” Peter answered after thinking about it for a second.

“You know that isn’t actually a planet, right?”

“Shhh, you’ll hurt Pluto’s feelings!” the boy quietly exclaimed with a grin. Tony could see a bit of the younger man’s true personality cracking through the mask, so he turned to him and returned the smile, giving a soft laugh.

A faint blush rose to Peter’s cheeks as he realized that he was the one who made the man of iron laugh.

“Seniors, you are now free to go. I repeat, seniors, you are now free to go,” a voice said over the intercom.

“Since you’re being released early, do you wanna come to the tower?” Tony offered, giving Peter a kind look.

“I’d love to.”

+++

“Milemarker twenty-seven says we’re on the way to heaven and I smile at the passenger seat.”

-Lincoln, Banks

The ride to the tower was mostly silent, interrupted every once in a while by Tony asking Peter a question about himself and then giving his own answer after the younger man.

When they arrived, Tony led Peter up to the penthouse and let him sit in the living room while he quickly went to the kitchen to make them coffee. When it was finished, he brought in milk and sugar and set them on the coffee table, sitting in the armchair next to the couch Peter was seated on.

“I really wanted to avoid this topic,” Tony hesitated, “but I have to ask about the black eye.”

Peter retreated into himself, the slight light in his eyes disappearing and the mask of apathy falling back on. “It’s really nothing,” he defended in a monotone voice.

“If it really is nothing, then why did you go back to pretending you don’t care?”

Silence fell over them as Tony continued to look at Peter with a sadness that made the younger feel a wave of guilt wash over him.

“It’s just bullies, so it’s really not a big deal.”

“Is this a regular thing? Do the teachers not care?”

Peter’s silence said more than anything he could’ve answered the question with.

“When did it start?”

That’s when Peter broke down. He began to quietly sob, trying to muffle it as tears rolled down his cheeks. He hadn’t cried since before he met Ned and MJ and it felt good to just let it happen.

It was the first time in about a year and a half that somebody had cared enough to ask if he was okay.

“Peter, love, you don’t have to try and stay quiet,” his soulmate assured him softly. “Just let it all out.”

Tony stood and moved to sit down next to Peter. He tenderly reached over to the younger man but hesitated when he flinched and went quiet for a moment. Then the sobs returned at full force, even harder and somehow conveying the younger man’s anger at himself. Tony felt his own tears well up in his eyes but didn’t let them out. Instead, he continued to move and gently coaxed Peter into his arms, letting the younger cry into his chest. He rested his chin on the curly mop of brown hair and finally let his own tears gently fall from his eyes.

Tony rubbed Peter’s back gently, nearly getting up to go find the bullies who hurt Peter every time he felt Peter flinch against his chest from his hand running over a bruise.

“Baby, I’m so sorry I didn’t find you earlier,” he apologized sincerely before wondering when the last time Peter heard an apology was.

“‘s not your fault,” the younger reminded him as he pulled away from his chest.

“Could you tell me the full story?” Tony inquired as he tenderly took Peter’s hands in his.

And so Peter did.  He told him about meeting Ned and MJ and then them both leaving him in junior year. He told him about not talking because he had nobody to talk to. He told him about the touch starvation he felt. He told him about being bullied because of not having friends. He told him about his teachers letting the bullies get away with it. He told him about covering up his emotions with complete apathy. He told him about being beaten up the day before. He told him about his doubts and fears about love. He told him everything.

“I just gave up on emotions. I just gave up on me,” Peter sobbed quietly, looking up at Tony with glistening eyes.

“Well, I’m not giving up on you,” Tony declared, making the younger give a small, wavering grin, but a grin nonetheless.

Peter leaned into Tony’s chest and listened to the man’s heartbeat. Both weary from the day, they fell asleep in each other’s arms on the couch, ninety-three stories up from all of their problems.

+++

“I’ve been naive and I’ve been feeling hazy maybe.”

-Bowling Shoes, Portland

Peter left early the next morning but not before Tony made breakfast for them. They had pancakes, which was the only food the genius knew how to make without completely ruining the kitchen.

Now, Tony was left sitting at the breakfast bar, drinking his coffee and looking down at the drawing Peter had torn out of his sketchbook for him.

It was a pencil sketch of an ocean under the starry sky and had Peter’s signature in the bottom right corner. He was contemplating where to hang it up in the tower when Pepper walked into the kitchen, moving to the coffee maker to grab a cup before the workday started.

“How are you, Tony?” she asked, not looking up from where she was choosing the cup size for her coffee.

“His name is Peter,” Tony told her, staring at the paper. Pepper looked over to him with confusion etched onto her face.

“I’m sorry, but what are you talking about?”

“My soulmate,” he elaborated. “His name is Peter. Peter Parker.”

“What?!” Pepper exclaimed and ran over to the breakfast bar, coffee long forgotten. “You met your soulmate?! Where? How? When?!”

Tony set down the paper and looked up at his long-time friend with a sad smile. “He goes to Midtown. He’s the top student and he’s a senior, so he was at the lecture.”

Pepper noticed his somber face and immediately sobered up. “Does he . . . does he not like you?”

“He does,” Tony sighed as tears slightly welled up, “but some things have happened to him recently and he’s scared of me leaving. Fri, could you bring up some pictures of Pete from yesterday?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

The hologram on Tony’s watch activated and showed a picture of Peter sitting in the back of the audience and not looking up. He swipes and there’s one of him looking up, but you can see the black eye. Pepper’s brow furrowed in concern. The next image was of Peter showing Tony his soul sentence, but there’s the hand print bruise.

There were more images of bruises of his arms and where his jeans rose a bit and showed off his ankles.

“Is he being . . . ?” Pepper started but trailed off.

“He’s being bullied because he’s quiet. He doesn’t have anyone to talk to since his friends left him and his aunt is always working,” Tony explained, eyes focused on the image of Peter crying into his chest. “The teachers don’t care in the slightest. Hell, when I asked to speak to Peter, giving the excuse that he was the top student, the principal tried to convince me to talk to a student who wasn’t even in the top ten. He’s hurting, Pep, and I don’t know how to help him”

Silence fell over them and the hologram shut off, leaving Tony’s deactivated watch behind.

“You just gotta be there for him, Tony,” Pepper encouraged. “I know you, and I can tell you care for him. If you show that to him, I have a feeling that you’ll be a lot closer to making everything work out.”

+++

“Could’ve been one lonely night just like the others, but you lit up my life. This is what it’s like to be lovers.”

-Ollie MN, Please Never Fall In Love Again

Tony had never had a proper first kiss. Hell, he’d never even had a proper relationship. His younger years had been filled with emotionless sex. There was no meaning in real romantic love for Tony, so he learned how to focus on family and friends in his thirties.

Well, that was all before Peter Parker.

Tony had always been one for looks, but that tended, of course, to be for sex. Men and women, anybody really, just had to be hot for Tony to have sex with them.  There was no appreciation for kind eyes or fluffy hair or soft skin.

That was all before Peter Parker.

Tony had thought he would never feel romantic love. He had heard stories of falling in love with your soulmate faster than one would think to be possible but was never too intrigued by the topic. After all, why should he care about how fast someone falls in love when he doesn’t even have a soulmate?

That was all before Peter Parker.

Tony wanted to kiss Peter and run his fingers through the boy’s hair and drag his calloused hands across his skin and look into his coffee-brown eyes all day and fall in love as fast as possible.

And, dear lord above, he had fallen in love.

The second time Peter came over to the tower was the following week.  The two sat on the couch, close together but still with a bit of room.  Tony didn’t push his soulmate to move any closer, completely content with going at the younger man’s pace.

That was new, too. Tony had always wanted to set his own pace, but, for once, he wanted someone else to decide how fast everything moves.

They sat and talked, blabbing away about science and basking in each other’s company as they sipped mugs of hot chocolate.  Tony’s chest felt lighter every time Peter inched even a little bit closer to him, wordlessly informing the genius that he was slowly growing more comfortable around him.

“So you made the webs yourself?” Tony asked Peter, astonishment laced into his tone.  Peter couldn’t stop the blush that spread across his cheeks.

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly but with a small grin. “Used some scraps for the actual shooters and some chemicals from the school chemistry lab to make the web solution.”

“That’s amazing!” the genius exclaimed, knowing that he meant it. “Just imagine what you could do when I get you in a proper lab!”

“You’re . . . you’re gonna let me in your labs?” Peter questioned in amazement, yet somehow remaining slightly neutral.

“Of course! You’re a fucking genius!”

The praise made Peter turn a deeper shade of pink.  Tony couldn’t help but just stare at him in awe.  His soulmate was gorgeous in his opinion, especially when he allowed his emotions to peek through and paint across his face.  Without thinking, the man reached forward and began to run his fingers through Peter’s hair.

Peter froze for a moment, shock getting to him as he looked up at his soulmate. For a second, Tony thought he would flinch back, but Peter leaned into the touch. As Tony began to continue the movement, his soulmate’s eyes fluttered closed and his shoulders sagged as if the simple touch helped release everything he had been holding onto.  He let himself be pulled into Tony’s side as the soft feeling of his hair being played with calmed him.

When Peter leaned against him, Tony wanted to shout for joy.  He slowly shifted the younger man from where he was leaning on his shoulder to his chest and then to a lying position with his head in the genius’s lap, all while continuing to run his fingers through his hair.

Tony couldn’t help but notice how at peace Peter looked.

It was the most relaxed he had ever seen his soulmate.  

+++

“If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad?”

-Sheryl Crow, If It Makes You Happy

“Hey, FRIDAY said you had something to tell me,” Rhodey said as he entered the lab, finding Tony working on an Iron Man gauntlet. He looked up and motioned for the colonel to come and sit next to him. Albeit hesitantly, Rhodey walked over and sat down.

“I found my soulmate,” Tony blurted out, looking at his friend dead in the eyes.

“You what!?” Rhodey cried out.

“He’s a senior at Midtown and I met him in the presentation,” Tony told him. “His name is Peter Parker and I care about him so fucking much, Rhodey. I wish I would’ve listened to you and started searching sooner because he’s . . . because he’s really needed someone this past couple of years.”

“What . . . what are you on about, Tones?” Rhodey questioned him with a puzzled look.

“He hasn’t had anybody to talk to since junior year. No friends. His aunt was always gone. He was just . . . alone. And he’s been bullied really terribly and no one cared and I wished I found him sooner so I could’ve helped.”

“Tony, it’s not your-”

“Except it is my fault, Rhodey!” Tony shouted, pulling at his hair in frustration. “I completely ignored the fact I had a soulmate and, by the time I found him, he’d already put on a complete mask of apathy and hadn’t cried for a year and a half! He had bruises all over him and a black eye and just said it didn’t matter! He sat on my couch and sobbed and . . .  and flinched when I reached over to hug him and tried to muffle his sobs and I wish I had found him earlier.”

They both stayed quiet, letting the echoing effect of the words fill up the air.

“Tony,” Rhodey finally chimed in, “I’m gonna help in any way I can.”

+++

“Told you not to worry, but maybe that’s a lie.”

-Billie Eilish, ilomilo

When Peter came over a couple Saturdays later, for the fourth time since they met, his bruises were mostly healed and his black eye from the first time they met was gone, but there were new bruises and his cheeks were red, and it obviously wasn’t from the sun. The marks almost looked angry, but maybe that was just because of Tony’s rage toward whoever hurt him.

Tony didn’t let his anger show on his face, instead electing to delicately bring the younger man into his arms. When he felt Peter hug him back and bury his head in his shoulder, the billionaire could only smile.

“How are you doing?” Tony asked as they pulled away.

“A bit better than last week,” Peter told him with a soft smile that made the genius feel warm inside. Tony returned the smile in order to tell Peter that he was glad about that, and he thought he got the message through.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Tony announced and held out his hand for Peter to take.  The younger did so while giving him a skeptical look.

“Those words can never end well,” he replied.  Tony said nothing more, though, and led him to the elevator, asking FRIDAY to take them to the roof.  Peter kept glancing anxiously at the man, who just gave him comforting smiles in return.

Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing the rooftop terrace, but it wasn’t the terrace that caught Peter’s attention.

In the middle of the roof, there was a table set up with a white tablecloth that had rose petals scattered on top of it, a candle in the middle, and two champagne flutes with a green bottle next to the candle.

“Tony,” Peter breathed out in amazement, “what is this?”

“Peter Parker, would you do me the honor of going on a proper date with me?” Tony asked him, offering his hand once more. The younger man looked up at him with a mix of surprise and love in his eyes, simply nodding and putting his hand in Tony’s.

The genius led Peter to the table and pulled out a chair for him, pushing it in once he was seated.  He moved around to the other side and sat down, smiling at his soulmate.

“You didn’t have to do all this for me,” Peter told him softly.

“I didn’t have to,” Tony admitted, “but I really, really wanted to.”

A bright blush rose to Peter’s cheeks, nearly hiding the angry red. Tony reached for the bottle and began to fill Peter’s glass.

“Tony, I’m not old enough to drink,” Peter reminded him.

“This makes it way less romantic,” Tony chuckled, “but it’s sparkling grape juice.”

Peter put his hand up to his mouth and laughed.

“You really didn’t have to do all this for me,” the younger told Tony, a small smile still gracing his face.

“I would do anything for my soulmate” Tony replied with a soft grin.  Peter’s smile, however, began to fade a bit, making the billionaire’s eyes turn concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Peter sighed. “It’s just that word.  Soulmate.  I just . . . it’s just strange to me.”  Before Tony could even open his mouth to reply, Peter added on, “Not in a bad way or anything!  I’m really excited to have a soulmate and you’re amazing. It’s just that having a soulmate or even just anyone to care for me is . . . weird, I guess.”

Tony wondered if Peter could hear his heart splintering and shattering in his chest.  His soulmate’s words echoed in his head, the broken tone they were uttered in going straight to his gut and making it churn uneasily.

“Pete . . .” Tony started but trailed off.

“I know, I know. I sound really dumb,” Peter noted, a sad smile on his face as he looked down at his hands folded in his lap.

“I don’t think it sounds dumb.”

The vigilante risked a glance up, only to find Tony looking at him with a loving yet melancholy expression.

“Nobody’s cared and you deserve so much more,” Tony told him. “I never looked for my soulmate.  I just . . . believed that whoever they were wouldn’t want me.  Then, Peter, I found you and I just wanted to get to know you and love you and be your soulmate.”

“Tony, I-” Peter started but was cut off.

“I saw you and I knew that I never wanted to let you go. I didn’t even know if you wanted me as your soulmate and I was taken aback that you actually did.  And then . . . then I talked to you for a few minutes and it broke my heart.” Tony let out a chuckle that sounded slightly like a sob. “You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met and you have gone through so much shit that you don’t deserve and you’re still so wonderful.  Under every mask of apathy, I found the real Peter Parker, the one who makes me laugh and is a genius and the one that I planned this date for and the one that I want to plan a million more dates for.”

Tony’s emotions were on full display, concern and sorrow and love painting his features.  Peter couldn’t stop the look of shock and love that his face morphed into, crystal clear tears pooling around his coffee brown eyes.  He wiped away his tears with the sleeves of his sweatshirt, Tony catching a glimpse of his soul sentence as he did so.

The two soulmates fell into easy conversation as a chef came by and put down plates of spaghetti with arancini on the side, the scent of the food wafting through the cold, early spring air on the roof.

“Traditional Italian food?” Peter asked and looked up at Tony as he picked up his fork.

“I’m Italian and I thought it would be fun for us to have some traditional food,” Tony responded with an easy smile that Peter returned.

“I didn’t know you were Italian.”

“I mean, we haven’t had that many chances to talk.”

“Besides the fact that we text all the time every day.”

The two laughed and returned to their food, letting a comfortable silence fill the air on the rooftop terrace. It was quiet and cozy without them having to try.  It was a feeling that Peter hadn’t felt in a long time.  He couldn’t help but relish in the feeling of content that was filling up his chest. It was like happiness was returning, the whole world turning back to being right once more. 

It couldn’t last though.

“I really hate to bring this up,” Tony quietly started, “but I have to ask about the red cheeks and new bruises. Same bullies?”

The content poured out from his chest, leaving the empty, hollow feeling that Peter almost always felt.

“Same bullies,” Peter muttered in confirmation before taking another bite of his pasta to avoid having to say anymore.  Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, leaving the worry to fill Peter’s head.

“I, uh, I know. I’m just- they’re . . . it’s really okay.  It’s kinda stupid. I mean, I’m a superhero and I deal with worse. It’s not that bad.  It just kinda looks . . . bad?” Peter stuttered over his words as he choked them out, hoping Tony wasn’t exasperated with him.

“What? No, it’s not stupid!” the billionaire insisted. “You’re being hurt! That’s not dumb. You shouldn’t be getting hurt.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about it,” Peter told him quietly, barely meeting the man’s eyes.

“But I do,” he declared, his voice rising in volume. “You’re my soulmate, Pete, and I can’t stand you coming over here and always having to see you hurt!”

“I’m sorry,” Peter blurted out, guilt eating away at the inside of his stomach.

“Don’t apologize, love.” Peter blushed at the nickname. “I’m supposed to worry. That’s my job as your soulmate.”

“I’m just not used to having somebody who cares so much about this.”

“I’m going to change that.”

+++

“It cannot wait, I’m yours.”

-Jason Mraz, I’m Yours

After dinner, they slow danced to music played by a live pianist.  Towards the end of one of the songs, Tony leaned in and pressed a light kiss against Peter’s lips, and everything felt right.

+++

“Hold, hold on, hold on to me, ‘cause I’m a little unsteady, a little unsteady.”

-X Ambassadors, Unsteady

Later that night, Peter and Tony found themselves cuddled up in Tony’s bed as a movie played in the background.  The warmth between them began to fill Peter up with content again, the gentle feeling of skin against skin calming him down. It truly felt like he was ninety-three floors up from all of his problems.

Then his phone began to ring.

The sound startled the couple, disrupting the soft peace of the room. Peter pulled away from the embrace and grabbed his ringing phone off the bedside table while Tony paused the movie.  He wiped at his bleary and unfocused eyes until he could make out that the contact was Aunt May.

Shit.

Slightly panicked, Peter accepted the call and put the phone to his ear, shooting up from the bed and starting to pace the room.

“Peter Benjamin Parker, where are you?!” May shouted loud enough that Tony, who was worriedly watching Peter pace, could slightly make out what she had said.

“Uh, I’m, uh, at Ned’s,” Peter attempted to lie, but May knew better.

“I already called Ned and he said you weren’t even friends, so I have no clue who you think you’re fooling,” she replied sternly.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be there soon and I’ll explain. I promise,” Peter swore and hung up the phone before his aunt could answer him.  He sighed and threw his phone on the bed before flopping down beside it.

“Fuck,” the younger muttered, bringing a hand up to cover his worried face.

“Was that your aunt?” Tony asked him, sitting down on the edge of the bed and intertwining their hands.

“Yeah,” Peter replied, sitting up and putting his head on his soulmate’s shoulder. “She wants me to go home, but I thought she was working the night shift.”

Peter began to stand up, pulling his hand away from Tony’s to grab his phone and shove it in his pocket before grabbing his sneakers off of the floor.  He sat down on the bed once more and laced his shoes up.

“I’m so fucked,” he groaned as he ran his hands over his face once more. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say to her! ‘Oh, hey, May! Where was I? Oh, yeah, just at Stark Tower because my soulmate is Tony Stark! Anyway, it’s nice to see you because we rarely see each other anymore. Goodnight!’  I can’t just say that!”

“Maybe . . . maybe you could,” Tony told him after a beat of silence. Instead of replying, Peter just gave him a look as if he was out of his mind. “Hear me out! I could come with you and we could explain everything! It’ll be fine!”

“I . . . you would come with me?” Peter questioned quietly and looked up at Tony.  The genius gave him a gentle smile.

“If you’re okay with it.”

“Then we should get going because she is going to kill me if I’m not there in the next twenty minutes.”

Tony stood up, grabbing Peter’s hand and dragging him up too. He grabbed a pair of sneakers and slipped them on before snatching a jacket up from where it was carelessly thrown on the back of a chair.

“I’ll drive,” Tony announced before intertwining their hands once more and pulling Peter with him.  They speed-walked through the halls of the penthouse and took the elevator down to the garage. Tony picked a car that wasn’t too flashy, though Peter would disagree on that, and got in the driver’s seat, leaving the younger to get in on the other side.

The ride over was filled with conversation and Tony assuring his young lover that he would be okay.  What Tony didn’t say was that Peter could stay over at the tower for however long he needs if his aunt needs time to process everything.  He internally made the promise though.

When they pulled up to the apartment complex and parked along the street, Peter had to take some deep breaths.  Tony turned the car off and reached over the console to take Peter’s hand in a gesture of comfort and reassurance.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Tony guaranteed. “We’re gonna be okay.”

Peter nodded and took one final breath before opening the car door, Tony doing the same on the other side.  Luckily, the street was practically empty and too dark to see much, so nobody saw as Tony Stark walked to the other side of a flashy car and took his soulmate’s hand.  The two quietly walked up to the building and Peter unlocked the door with one hand, having had many years of practice doing so.  They climbed the stairs, not even bothering to approach the elevator because they wanted to stall having to tell May.

Finally, they reached Peter’s floor and found themselves in front of the door.  They disconnected their hands and the younger fumbled around in the side pocket of his bag to get his key.  Once he got it, he took a breath and softly swung the door open, immediately seeing Aunt May glaring at him from the kitchen, her anger evident on her face.

“Peter Benjamin Parker, where were you?!” she shouted, making Peter flinch back a bit. “I got my shifts moved around and thought ‘won’t it be great if I come home early and get to spend some time with my nephew?’ But apparently not because you aren’t at home and you aren’t at your friend’s house and you won’t answer my texts and I was just stuck-”

May cut herself off, finally seeing Tony standing behind her nephew with a mix of worry and guilt painted on his face.  She couldn’t help but gawk at him for a minute in complete and utter confusion.

“Peter,” she whispered dangerously, “you have ten seconds to tell me why the fuck Tony Stark is in my doorway.”

“Well, that’s, uh, that’s a funny story,” Peter stuttered, scratching the back of his neck anxiously and not meeting his aunt’s eyes.  He took a step in as she glared at him and Tony followed, gently closing the door behind him.

“Peter,” she warned, “tell me what’s going on.”

“I found my soulmate!” he blurted, finally making eye contact with the woman.

“You . . . you what?”

“I found my soulmate,” Peter repeated quietly, shoulders sagging.  May gave him a bewildered look before sighing and walking over to the living room.  She sat herself down in an armchair and put her head in her hands as she rested her elbows on her knees.

Peter and Tony shared a distressed look before hesitantly following her. They sat on the couch, a little closer than an acquaintance or co-worker would, and May noticed this when she finally looked up.  Her eyes traveled down to where Peter’s soul sentence would be and realized that it was uncovered for the first time in years as if it had never been hidden away at all.

“Who?” May questioned quietly, meeting Peter’s gaze.  Her nephew fell quiet, unsure of what to say.

“Me,” Tony told her gently, making the woman’s eyes fall on him.  Her face morphed into confusion and then shock, brows furrowing.

“You?” she asked in bewilderment. “You, Tony Stark, are my nephew’s soulmate?”

Tony simply nodded, not knowing what else to tell her. He felt so uncertain, terrified of what could come out of his mouth if he opened it.

“I . . . I just can’t . . . I can’t even process this,” May stammered out, looking between the two men, completely and utterly astonished.

“I should probably go for now,” Tony murmured and the ‘for now’ wasn’t lost on her.  She could only wonder how long they had known they were soulmates.

“We still on for next Friday?” Peter asked him, tearing his gaze away from his startled aunt.

“Of course,” Tony replied with a tender smile.  He gave his soulmate a kiss on the forehead, not wanting to straight out kiss him goodbye in front of the rattled woman, and began to leave, but not before turning around and shooting one more concerned look at the woman.

Once the door had shut, Peter and May looked to each other again, the young adult nervously twiddling his thumbs.

“Peter-” May started but the teen interrupted her.

“Let’s just drop it, May,” he said decidedly and stood up, beginning to make his way to his bedroom.

“Why did Ned say you guys weren’t friends anymore?” she asked him and her nephew stopped dead in his tracks.  He slowly turned around but kept his gaze on the carpeted floor.

“Because we aren’t friends anymore.”

“Why? When did that happen? Why didn’t I know?”

“Because you never cared to ask!” Peter shouted, looking up at her.

May finally noticed the bruises, the purple and yellow around his arms and his ankles.  His cheeks were red as if he had been slapped.  The bags under his eyes gave away the little amounts of sleep he’d had.

“He stopped talking to me! Found his soulmate and left, okay?! It doesn’t matter!” Peter continued, venom laced into his tone. “Let’s just leave it!”

May Parker didn’t know what to say in the slightest.  She was baffled beyond belief.  Her nephew, the only living relative she had, and only through marriage, was standing before her, shouting and bruised and without a friend.  It opened up a pit in her stomach as wide as a canyon and she felt like she was falling into it.  She hadn’t been there.  She hadn’t been there for anything that had happened and it felt awful.  She felt awful.  What type of guardian was she?  She wanted to scream and cry and get mad but it was only at herself.

“When did you find out who your soulmate was?” May questioned quietly, not finding it in herself to even raise her voice a bit.

“A month ago,” Peter told her softly, his face showing off his defeat. “And it was the best day I’ve had in a year and a half, no thanks to anyone I knew before it.”

Peter turned around and left, slamming his bedroom door behind him and leaving May to go over everything she had done wrong.

+++

“Do we have to talk about it? You know how I make you feel, right?”

-gnash, feelings fade

Much to Peter’s surprise, the next week was not too terrible.  As it was nearing the end of the year, most of his grade was too worried about college acceptance letters and scholarships to notice him, so he spent most of the week slipping under the radar.  There were only a few shoves here and there, giving his previous bruises and cuts time to heal.

Peter was sitting in his last period of the day, eagerly awaiting the final bell.  His physics teacher had seen how antsy the students were, as it was their last period before the weekend, and gave them the last ten minutes of the period to do whatever they wanted.

As soon as the teacher had announced that they could do whatever they wanted until the bell rang, Peter pulled out his sketch book and a pencil.  Ignoring the world around him, the young man began to draw, letting the sound of his peers talking fade into the background.

Ned was sitting right next to Peter, as they had been given assigned seats at the beginning of the year.  He was looking at his phone, scrolling through Twitter, but couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to the friend he’d drifted apart from.  He watched as Peter sketched out a picture of space, with Jupiter in the middle of the page.  He followed the boy’s eyes as he looked down at his wrist with a small smile.

Ned nearly had a stroke as he realized that Peter’s soul sentence was uncovered.  He had never seen it before, as Peter had always been really secretive about it when they were still friends.  His gaze was focused on the word ‘Jupiter’ as Peter went back to his drawing.  In a rash decision, Ned decided to speak up.

“Did you find your soulmate?”

Peter startled a bit before looking at Ned.  He shyly pointed a finger towards himself, silently asking if the boy was talking to him.  He received a small nod in response.

“Uh, well, yeah,” Peter replied, looking down at his wrist before looking back up at Ned.  “It’s a really weird story.”

“Are they, uh, nice?” Ned asked, unsure of what else to say.

“Yeah . . . he’s great.  Sweet, supportive, kind, loving. He’s everything you could ever want in a soulmate.”  Peter looked a bit wistful, eyes soft as he traced a finger over the soul mark.

Ned opened his mouth to speak again, but the dismissal bell rang.  He watched as Peter quickly shoved his sketchbook into his bag before flinging it over his shoulder and racing out of the classroom.

All Ned could think was, ‘Who even is he anymore?’

+++

“Keep me in your glow, ‘cause I’m having such a good time with you.”

-Kacey Musgraves, Golden Hour

“Thanks, Happy!” Peter exclaimed as he made his way out of the car.  He received a light grumble in response, but he knew that Happy still appreciated the thanks.

The young genius made his way to the private elevator, ignoring all the confused looks he usually gets from staff in the lobby.  As he stepped in, FRIDAY spoke up.

“Good afternoon, Peter!” she greeted kindly.  “Boss is in the penthouse kitchen.  Would you like me to take you there?”

“Yes.  Thank you, Fri!”

Peter checked his phone as the elevator ascended.  He scrolled through Twitter, just taking a look at what was going on and retweeting a few dumb posts that he found funny.  He slipped his phone back into his pocket as the doors opened.

The young man was met by the sight of his soulmate leaning against the counter with a mug of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other.  He looked up from where he was checking his email once Peter walked in.

“Pete!” He set down his coffee and phone on the counter.  The younger man dropped his bag by the elevator doors and ran over, the two embracing each other.  Peter buried his head into Tony’s shoulder and the man put his chin on the crown of his soulmate’s head.  The two fit together like two puzzle pieces that were always meant to go together.  They stayed that way for a few moments before pulling apart, though they continued to stand close to each other.

“How was your week?” Tony asked gently.

“It actually wasn’t too bad,” Peter admitted with a shy smile.  “Everybody’s really preoccupied with figuring out what college they want to go to and trying to get scholarships for it that I was able to just fly under the radar.”

“That’s really good,” Tony replied with a smile.  “I’ve never actually asked you what college you’re going to.  Have you already accepted an offer somewhere?”

Peter gave a small sigh at that, looking away from Tony and down at the floor. “I’ve been accepted to a few good schools and I was hoping to accept an offer from MIT, but my aunt and I just don’t have the money for me to pay tuition, even with what we’ve been saving for years, and I don’t qualify for enough financial aid scholarships to cover it.  So I’m probably gonna take a gap year or two to get a job and save up.”

Disappointment radiated off the younger man and it was obvious to Tony that his soulmate wished he could just go off to college right after senior year like pretty much everybody else.  An idea sparked in Tony’s mind.

“I can pay your tuition!” he exclaimed with a smile.  Peter quickly looked up from the floor to give Tony a bewildered gaze.

“I couldn’t ask you to-”

“But you aren’t asking me to!  I’m offering and, by ‘offering,’ I mean that I’m paying your tuition to whatever school you want to go to and I’m not taking no as an answer.”

“Tony, tuition is so expensive!” Peter argued.

“And I’m a billionaire!  It wouldn’t make a dent in my wallet!” Tony countered.

“But-”

“Peter, it’s okay!  I have the money and you deserve to go to college!  I’m not gonna let you give up the opportunity to go to a school you want to go to just because-”

“Tony, I’m not a charity case!” Peter shouted, cutting the man off.  The room fell into silence, Tony staring at him in shock.  Peter just averted his gaze, staring back at the floor.

“What?” Tony breathed out in confusion.

“I’m not a charity case,” Peter repeated in a quieter voice. “You don’t have to pay my tuition just because I’m some poor kid from Queens.”

“Peter . . . that’s not why I want to pay your tuition,” Tony told him gently, reaching forward to grab the younger man’s hands.  “I want to pay your tuition because you’re my soulmate, and I want everything for you.  You deserve the fucking world.”

Peter looked up from the ground, his hopeful eyes gazing into Tony’s. “You promise you’re not just doing this because you pity me?”

“I promise.”

Peter raised himself up a bit, balancing on the balls of his feet, and gave Tony a short peck on the lips before coming back down and leaning his head against the man’s chest.  Tony released his hands in order to wrap his arms around the boy, Peter mirroring the action and wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist.

“I’ll let you pay for my tuition under one condition,” Peter said quietly. “You can only pay for whatever my college savings doesn’t cover.”

“Deal,” Tony replied with a smile, glad he had convinced his soulmate . “And it’s not like you’ll have to pay for a dorm on campus.”

Peter pulled back a bit, looking up at the man in confusion.

“I have a penthouse that’s basically right next to campus,” he elaborated, “so you can stay there and I can go visit all the time.”

“Don’t freshman usually have to live in the dorms?”

“I can pull a few strings.”  Tony shot him a wink.  When Peter opened his mouth to protest, Tony simply said, “Trust me, those dorms are disgusting.”

Just accepting it, Peter laid his head back on Tony’s chest.

+++

“I started working as a dime store clerk. I thought it would make me the kind to put you first.”

-Blind Pilot, Packed Powder

That evening, Tony and Peter sat on the couch together, Peter’s laptop open.  Peter found the email that announced that he had been accepted and went to the link that prompted him to accept or decline the college offer.  Taking a deep breath, the younger man moved his mouse and clicked to accept.  A screen popped up, congratulating him for being MIT-bound and giving him information about the next steps.

Peter just stared at the screen in shock while Tony jumped up from the couch and started clapping.  The younger man set his laptop to the side and his soulmate pulled him up from where he was sitting, giving him a quick hug.

“You’re going to MIT!” Tony exclaimed as he grabbed Peter’s hands.

“Holy shit, I’m going to college! I’m going to college! I can’t even believe it!” Peter exclaimed.

“MIT is pretty impressive,” a voice spoke from behind the couch.  The two soulmates whipped around only to be met with Pepper fucking Potts right outside the doors to the elevator.  Peter froze up while Tony gave the woman a huge smile.

“You must be Peter,” she says, walking forwards and offering a hand to him over the couch, which the young man tentatively shook.  “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Um, all good things I hope,” Peter replied sheepishly as he pulled his hand back.

“All great things,” Pepper assured him before taking on a teasing smile. “Ever since you two met, Tony has spent half his time talking about you.”

“Really?” Peter questioned while Tony looked a bit abashed.  Pepper gave him a nod along with a huge grin.

“Anyway, I just came up to hand some paperwork off to Tony,” she told them, motioning to the files she had placed on the counter, “but I’m really glad I finally got to meet you, Peter.”

“I- uh- um- it was really nice to meet you too,” the young man stammered out with a small smile.

And with that, Pepper went back to the elevator to return to whatever she had been working on before.

“Do you think she liked me?” Peter asked as he tore his gaze away from the elevator doors and looked at Tony.

“Oh please, she already loves you.”

+++

“One, two, three, and four. How long til I feel like myself again? And I’d walk out the door, but where would I go?”

-Tessa Violet, Honest

The next night found Peter eating an awkward dinner with May.  Tension continued to linger between them from the conversation the week before.  Neither could come up with a topic of conversation, so they just sat there in silence, focusing on their meals.  Finally, Peter spoke up.

“I committed to MIT.”

May looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Peter, what the fuck?!” she shouted, standing up from her place at the table. “You know we can’t afford tuition to MIT!  You and I decided you were going to take a gap year or two where you could work and save up money!  Why would you-”

May cut herself off as he finally took another look at her nephew, who was just looking up at her calmly.  Slowly, she lowered herself back into her chair, giving him a suspicious look all the while.

“Can I explain?” he asked, seemingly unflappable.

May, unsure of what else to do, simply gave him a nod.

“My soulmate𑁋” May was never going to get used to him saying those words. “𑁋asked me about college and I told him my plan to reject all the acceptances so I could save up money during a couple of gap years.  He simply interjected and said he would pay for my tuition, and I-”

May cut him off again. “What?! You’re just-”

Peter cut her off right back, being just a little bit louder than her. “I told him no.  He kept trying to convince me and I told him I wasn’t a charity case.  He was . . . shocked.  He didn’t realize I felt like he was only offering cause I’m some poor kid from Queens.”

May was quiet and the look on her face was indiscernible.

“He assured me it wasn't because of that, but that he wanted to because I’m his soulmate and he thought it was wrong that I had to turn down an offer from an amazing school just because I couldn’t afford it.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but Peter kept going.

“I made a deal with him.  He could pay my tuition, but only the part of my tuition that my college savings don’t cover.  He told me he had a penthouse near campus and that I could stay there so I wouldn’t have to pay extra for a dorm room.  So, I committed to MIT and, whether you like it or not, I’m going there in the fall.”

May stayed silent as her nephew stood up from the table and walked to his room without another word.  She couldn’t fall asleep all night and, when she heard Peter’s window open at one am as he came back from patrol, she left a plate of food outside of his door, knowing he would still be hungry after not finishing his dinner.

+++

“I won’t hate you, but oh it stings.  How does it feel to be adored by him?”

-dodie, Adored By Him

Only a little over a month ago, Peter would’ve jumped at the chance to be friends with Ned and MJ again, despite how quick they were to leave him behind as soon as they found their soulmates.  Once MJ had left him too, Peter began to feel as if he was only a stand-in until his (ex) friends’ soulmates came along, ready to replace him as if he’d never been there at all.  He remembers trying to convince himself that he was being irrational, that all of these thoughts were just him being over dramatic.  He tried to defend their actions, no matter how much they had hurt him.

Once Peter met Tony, that changed.  He’d told his soulmate how he felt, trying to downplay it and make it seem as if he was the one who had been acting like a shitty friend.  It took a lot of time and many conversations for Peter to begin to realize that he was allowed to feel upset that his friends had abandoned him.  It wasn’t his fault.

A little over a month ago, Peter would’ve jumped at the chance to be friends with Ned and MJ again.  Now, Peter had no interest in being friends with either of them.

It was midday on Tuesday and Peter was sitting at lunch, just texting his soulmate.

Soulmate<3: Do you have any plans for spring break?

Peter: nope lol

Soulmate<3: Have you ever been to Italy?

Peter: no???

Soulmate<3: We should go during your spring break!

Just as Peter went to respond, somebody sat down across from him.  He sighed and looked up, expecting one of his bullies, but, instead, he saw MJ, looking like she was trying to play it cool.  He saw right through her, though, as she was avoiding eye contact and had a slight flush on her face.

“What do you want, Michelle?” Peter asked coldly, setting his phone down on the table.  He watched her wince a bit as he called her by her real name instead of her nickname.  “You don’t sit over here anymore.”

“Sydney isn’t here and I wanted to sit with somebody I know,” MJ told him, crossing her arms.

“Why don’t you just sit with Ned?” he shot back at her with a raised eyebrow.

“His table is full.” She motioned and Peter followed her movements, looking at the table where Ned was sat with his soulmate, all the other seats being filled up with his new friends.

“Well, I’m sure you know plenty of other people, so why don’t you go sit with them and leave me the fuck alone.”

MJ was quiet for a few moments, just looking at Peter.  He glared right back, not breaking eye contact, as if he were daring her to say something else.

“Your soul sentence is uncovered,” she said quietly, focusing her gaze on his wrist.

“And?” he retorted, but didn’t bother hiding his wrist.

“And why is it uncovered? You’ve always kept it covered. You never even told Ned and I that it said𑁋” she stopped to look at it for a moment more. “𑁋Jupiter.”

“Well, it’s not like it even fucking matters, considering we’re not friends anymore.”

“But-” MJ started to counter, but Peter’s phone buzzed, interrupting her.  He went to reach for the phone, but she grabbed it first, looking at the notification.

Soulmate<3: Did I scare you off?

It buzzed again.

Soulmate<3: I know how you feel about me spending money on you, but I feel like you’d like Italy a lot!

And again.

Soulmate<3: Just give it some thought. It would be a really fun vacation! I promise Italy is really cool and I have some villas and such in a few cities, so we could travel around the country!

And once more.

Soulmate<3: Anyway I’ll see you this afternoon! I love you!

MJ slowly handed the phone back to Peter, who looked down at the notifications, quickly reading them, before looking up at the girl’s shocked face.  Peter, without a second thought, slung his bag over his shoulder, standing up and walking out of the cafeteria.  After a beat, he heard MJ running after him.  He made no attempt to speed up or hide, simply resigning to his fate of being bombarded by her questions.

“Peter!” MJ called, catching up to the boy.  She eventually did and started walking by his side, having to speed up as he began to power walk.  Eventually the two entered the library and MJ followed Peter all the way to the back, where he set his bag on a table and collapsed onto a chair next to it, glad to be hidden by the bookshelves.

MJ just slowly sat down in the other chair, turning to look at Peter.  He, decidedly, did not meet her eyes.

“So . . . you found your soulmate,” she said more than asked.

“Why does it matter to you?” he snapped, trying to keep his voice down. “Why do you give two shits who my soulmate is?”

“Because we used to be friends.”

“The key phrase there is ‘used to,’ as in, we aren’t friends anymore, so let it go.”

MJ fell silent, her gaze once again falling to Peter’s wrist.  Something felt familiar about it, as if she had some idea of who his soulmate is.

‘What’s your favorite planet?’

‘Jupiter’

MJ’s eyes widened in realization as she looked back up at Peter’s face.

“Holy. Shit,” she said, staring at him.  He turned to her with a suspicious look.

“What?”

“Holy shit!” She still tried to keep her voice down.

“What?!”

“It all makes sense! The lecture, Jupiter, your soul sentence suddenly being uncovered, your soulmate wanting to take you to Italy! Your soulmate is Tony-”

Peter slammed a hand over her mouth, effectively shutting her up.  His eyes were wide as he tried to figure out if anyone had heard her words.  Slowly, giving MJ a look of warning, he took his hand off of her mouth.

“Is he . . . no fucking way,” she said, voice quieter.

Peter’s shoulders sagged and he began to fiddle with his fingers, looking defeated. “Yeah, he’s my soulmate . . .”

MJ paused, just needing to let it sink in.

Peter fucking Parker was Tony fucking Stark’s soulmate.

And, even more than that, Tony fucking Stark was Peter fucking Parker’s soulmate.

“You can’t tell anybody,” Peter told her quietly, anxiety dripping into his voice. “It’ll get leaked to the press and . . . everything will suck for me and him.”

“I . . . I won’t tell anybody,” she promised, “but you’ve gotta answer my questions about it.”

Peter sighed, but nodded.

“Is he, like, actually interested in being in a romantic relationship with you?” MJ asked tentatively.

“I mean, he sets up romantic dinner dates and invites me over all the time and wants to take me to Italy, so you can probably fill in the blanks,” Peter answered, a bit of sarcasm laced into his voice.

“What’s he like?”

“Kind, sweet, supportive, caring.  He’s pretty much everything you could ask for in a soulmate.”

Despite having her own wonderful soulmate, MJ couldn’t help but be a bit jealous by the way Peter described his soulmate with a loving look in his eyes.  A sweet, caring soulmate who wants to whisk you away to Italy over your spring break and set up romantic dates for you all the time?  That’s basically everybody’s dream.  She couldn’t even begin to imagine being adored by a world famous billionaire superhero.  From the loving look in his eyes, MJ could practically see how in love the two were.  Tony Stark probably worshipped the ground Peter walked on and would give him the universe if he asked for it.

Everybody wanted that— MJ wanted that.

“Does he know about, ya know, your alter-ego?”

“He built me a new suit actually.”

“Have you two done it?”

Peter’s eyes went wide and he looked at her in shock. “Jesus Christ, absolutely not. He knows I’m not ready and he’s . . . actually really okay with that.”

The questioning went on and on until the bell rang.  The two stood up and prepared to go their separate ways, but before MJ could leave, Peter grabbed her wrist.  She looked back at him in confusion.

“I was serious when I said that you can’t tell anybody. If anything is leaked to the press, I’ll know exactly who did it and me and my soulmate won’t hesitiate to destroy your entire fucking life.” The girl had never seen Peter act so cold, so she nodded along, a bit scared, until Peter let go of her wrist and she could leave.

That afternoon, Peter could feel MJ’s eyes burning holes into his back as he got in Happy’s car.

+++

“Nothing’s gonna hurt you, baby.  As long as you’re with me, you’ll be just fine.”

-Cigarettes After Sex, Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby

When Peter reached the penthouse floor of Stark Tower and the elevator doors opened, the first thing Tony said to him was “Did I scare you away by asking if you wanted to go to Italy?”

The young man sighed, dropping his bag by the elevator before walking to the living room and collapsing onto the plush couch that probably cost more than his apartment’s rent.  Tony walked after him and lifted Peter’s head up a bit so he could sit down, placing his soulmate’s head down on his lap and beginning to run his fingers through his hair.

Peter hummed a bit at the comforting gesture. “I was going to respond to your text, but then MJ sat down at my lunch table.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me that her soulmate wasn’t there and she wanted to sit with somebody she knew.  Then she commented about how my soul sentence was uncovered.  As soon as I told her that it was none of her business, my phone buzzed.  She read the texts, I ran away to the library, she followed. Long story short, she put all the pieces together and found out that you’re my soulmate.”

Tony sucked in a breath, completely freezing up.

Sensing the man’s anxiety, Peter continued. “I threatened that if she told anybody, then we’d destroy her life. She seemed pretty scared, so I think we’ll be safe.”

The man let out a breath of relief, going back to back to running his fingers through his younger soulmate’s hair.  The two let the room be silent for a little bit, simply basking in each other’s presence.  Finally, Tony spoke up.

“So . . . about Italy.”

Peter sighed.

+++

“What would it feel like to put this baggage down? If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I’d know how.”

-Sleeping At Last, Six

Peter climbed through his window a little past midnight, having gone on patrol right after having dinner with Tony.  He took the suit off and changed into some more comfortable clothes before walking to the kitchen, hoping to grab a snack before he went to sleep.

When he got to the kitchen, Peter found May sitting at the table with a mug of tea.  She appeared to be deep in thought, but looked up when her nephew came in.

“Peter,” she murmured, stopping the boy in his tracks, “can we talk?”

It may have been a question, but Peter knew he couldn’t say no.  So, he padded forward gently and sat down on the chair across from the woman, not meeting her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, making him look up at her. “I haven’t been there for you. I haven’t been a good guardian. I have no excuse. Yes, I was working a lot to pay rent, but . . . I should’ve been checking up on you instead of just assuming that you were okay.”

“Aunt May-”

“No, Peter. I’m sorry. I barely talked to you. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even know you’d met your soulmate! That’s inexcusable.”

May tore her gaze away from Peter’s eyes, looking down at the table as tears fell.  Guilt came off of her in waves.

“Aunt May, I’m not gonna act like it’s all okay, but I accept your apology. It’s obviously not all gonna go back to normal right now, but I’m willing to put in the effort if you are.”

“Of course I’m willing to put in the effort, Pete.” She met his eyes once more. “You’re my nephew, and I love you.”  She stood up and walked around the table, leaning down to give him a hug.

“I love you too, Aunt May.”

They stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away.  May sat back down, but now on the chair next to Peter.

“Now, tell me about this soulmate of yours.”

Peter laughed a little, giving her a smile as he began to tell her about Tony.  She nodded along and asked questions, chuckling at the stories he told about all the dumb things they’d done together.  Finally, the conversation was starting to wind down.

“He wants to take me to Italy for my spring break,” Peter admitted quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“You should go,” May told him.  The young man looked up at her in shock so quickly that he might’ve given himself whiplash.  “I’m serious! It’d be fun for you and it’ll be nice for you to get away with your soulmate for a little bit.”

“You’re sure you’re okay with it?”

“Peter, I only want the best for you.”

+++

“I don’t care if you’re not sorry, I forgive you. And with or without your support I will continue.”

-The Front Bottoms, Cough It Out

Just like the day before, on Wednesday, Peter was sitting at lunch and texting Tony, who was figuring out all the details for their trip to Italy.  Then, because Peter couldn’t go a single day without something happening to him, two people sat down at his table.  He looked up and saw MJ, once again, but she was with her soulmate this time.

“What do you want?” Peter snapped as he turned off his phone.  He kept a hold on it though, not wanting to make the same mistake as last time.

“Um . . . I’m Sydney,” the girl introduced herself, extending a hand across the table.  Peter looked down at it and then back up at her, raising an eyebrow.

“I know. We met before I quit AcaDec,” Peter replied dryly, causing Sydney to retract her hand a bit.  “If you two don’t want anything, then could you very kindly fuck off?”

“I just wanted my soulmate to meet one of my friends,” MJ told him.

“We aren’t friends, Michelle.”

“Look, I’m extending an olive branch here. You obviously have no friends-”

Peter cut her off. “And whose fault is that?  Oh, right, you and Ned’s. Completely forgot that you two cut me off and avoided me for a year and a half!  Funny how stuff like that slips my mind!”

The two girls winced a little bit, not saying anything as Peter went back to looking at his phone and resolutely ignoring them.

“Are you texting your soulmate?” MJ asked him, leaning over the table to see his phone.  Peter quickly pulled it back, shutting it off once more.

“What’s it to you, Jones?” he replied in lieu of an answer.

“I was just curious if you’re going on that Italy trip.”

“Did you tell her?” Peter demanded, leaning into MJ’s space aggressively as his eyes flickered to Sydney for a second. “‘Cause if you did, you’re completely aware that your life would be ruined, right? You know that he would absolutely destroy you everything you’ve ever loved, and for all the shit you’ve put me through, I wouldn’t even try to stop him.”

“Is that a threat?” she challenged.

“It’s a promise.”

Sydney looked back and forth between the two as they stared each other down, her face giving away how confused she was.

“I didn’t,” MJ conceded, leaning away.  With one last glance to the girl’s soulmate, he leaned away too, but there was still that dangerous air to him.

“Smart choice.”

“I’m sorry, but what the fuck is going on?!” Sydney asked, looking absolutely bewildered at the interaction.

“It’s a long story,” MJ replied without tearing her gaze from the boy in front of her, “but that’s not the point. Like, I said, I came to extend an olive branch. You let us sit here at lunch, and we’ll ward off Flash and his clique from coming near you.”

Peter mulled it over in his head, eyeing her suspiciously.  After a few moments, he seemed to make up his mind.

“Fine, but you can’t force me to talk to you.”

“Deal,” MJ agreed, putting a hand forward. Peter shook it before going back to looking at his phone.  Sydney didn’t say anything, but continued to shoot the boy confused looks every once in a while.

“And, Michelle?” Peter piped up just before the bell rang.

“Yeah?”

“We’re still going on that Italy trip.”

The girl gave him a small smile, which he didn’t return, before getting up and leaving, Sydney by her side.

+++

“Aren’t you the guy who tried to hurt me with the word goodbye? Though it took some time to survive you, I’m better on the other side.”

-Dua Lipa, Don’t Start Now

The next week and a half passed in a blur of less bruises than usual, hanging out with Tony, trying to make things go back to normal with May, and sitting with MJ and Sydney during lunch.  Peter didn’t really talk to the two, leaving them to their own devices.  It took him a couple days to even greet them when they sat down, and a few more to make any conversation with them.  He decided that lunch definitely wasn’t his least favorite part of school.

Finally, finally, it was Peter’s last period of the day before he was released from school for his two weeks of spring break.  As soon as that bell rang, he was going to race out of there and go meet Happy, who would drive him to the airport, where he’d board Tony’s private jet and be whisked away to Italy for an incredible vacation with his soulmate.

Everybody was just sitting around and talking, eager for the bell to ring so classes would end and break would begin.  Peter was enthusiastically texting his soulmate, who, despite having traveled to Italy several times, seemed just as excited for the trip as Peter was.

Ned, much like two weeks before, couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to Peter, who was smiling down at his phone.  His eyes drifted to his soul sentence again, where the word “Jupiter” was still beautifully scrawled.  Peter, able to sense the gaze, turned to look at Ned.

“Who are you texting?” Ned asked, trying to play it off.

“It’s nobody,” Peter replied before going back to texting, assuming that the boy would be satisfied with that answer.

Ned, not wanting the conversation to die, continued. “I, uh, I noticed that you’ve been sitting with MJ and Sydney. That’s new, I guess.”

“Less like I’m sitting with them and more like they’re sitting with me.”

Ned, again, was not satisfied, so he tried once more. 

“Are you doing anything over spring break?”

“Some stuff, yeah,” Peter told him, not looking up from his phone. “Doing a bit of traveling.”

“Oh, you and May are going somewhere?”

“Nope.”

Ned sighed, but, for reasons unknown to him, he didn’t want to give up until he got a real answer.

“Are you-”

“Why do you even give a shit?” Peter interrogated, looking up from his phone to face Ned. “We haven’t talked in a year and a half, so I’ve got no fucking clue why you care now.”

“I’m just curious!” Ned defended.

“Why? Because I’ve got a soulmate now? Is that why you’re so fucking curious? Well, I don’t give a shit, Leeds. So why don’t you go run off to your perfect little life with your soulmate and your new friends and leave me the fuck alone.”

“What happened to you, Peter? Why are you like this?”

“Wouldn’t you be oh so eager to know?!”

The bell rang and everybody raced to get out of the classroom, excited for break.  Peter was happy to run out alongside those people, effectively ending the conversation.

Ned moved slower, watching the boy go.  As he slung his bag over his shoulder and followed the crowd, he could only think of what an enigma Peter Parker had become.

+++

“Baby, there’s no question, no competition. I love you more.”

-Son of Cloud, I Love You More

“First time out of country?” Tony asked as he watched Peter stare out the window of his private jet.  The younger man turned to him, looking sheepish.

“Second time out of state.”

“I guess I’ll have to force you to travel with me more.” Tony took Peter’s hand gently in his, rubbing circles into the back of it, and the younger man gently rested his head on his soulmate’s shoulder, feeling happier than he’d felt in a while.

“You already know what I’m going to say to that.”

“I do, but I’m still gonna try.”

Peter only snorted.

+++

“‘Cause I am captivated by you, and I am so in love with the things you do.”

-mxmtoon, late nights

“Holy. Shit.” Peter was standing outside Tony’s villa in Florence as the chauffeur who drove them there brought their bags inside.  The villa was large, with beautiful landscape in the front and an elegant porch that had large curtains drawn open.  Ivy was growing up the walls and there was a balcony on the second floor that spanned the entire length of the house.  It looked grand in the early afternoon light.  He stood, completely entranced, as his soulmate came up beside him and put an arm around his shoulders.

“What do you think?”

“What do I think?” Peter repeated incredulously. “What I think is that this place is absolutely insane!”

Tony only laughed and grabbed the younger man’s hand, pulling him inside the villa.  As expected, it was as luxurious inside as it was outside.  It wasn’t the type of luxurious that the tower was, though.  It was less high tech and more open air, with plush couches and potted plants and large windows and hardwood floors.  It could be described as looking like the embodiment of the typical luxurious Mediterranean house.

Peter looked around in awe as Tony led him up the stairs and through the second floor hallways to their room.  It had a gaudy california king canopy bed and french doors that led out to a balcony overlooking the pool that was in the backyard.  Through an open door, Peter could see a spacious bathroom.  He broke away from Tony’s hold to step forward and examine in, slowly spinning in a circle to take it all in.

“You like it?” Tony asked, bringing snapping Peter out of his trance of astonishment.

“Like? Tony, this place is unbelievable!” the younger man exclaimed as his soulmate walked over to him. “Like, this is practically the most beautiful home in the world.  I’ve never been somewhere that looks like this before!  It’s absolutely extraordinary and I-”

Tony grabbed Peter’s hands in his own, which made the younger man stop rambling and look up at him.

“I just want you to have the most incredible spring break in the world.”

Peter couldn’t help but smile at that.

The late afternoon found the two soulmates lounging in beach chairs by the pool, soaking up the golden rays of the afternoon sun and drinking local wine.

+++

“But it’s too late. You believe in fate.”

-dodie, Absolutely Smitten

“Why do you love me?” Peter asked Tony on their last night in Florence.  They were sitting on the balcony after having gone sight-seeing all day, overlooking the landscaping in front of the villa, with a delicately made cheese and meat platter on the small table between them.

“What?” Tony inquired, turning to look at the young man who was curled up in his chair and looking out over the gardens.

“Why do you love me?” Peter repeated before shifting his gaze to look at his soulmate. “Of all the people in the world?  I know we’re soulmates, but beyond that . . .”

He paused, looking away from Tony again.

“What did you even see in me that made you want to be my soulmate when you easily could’ve walked away and never seen me again?”

It was silent for a few moments, Peter simply staring out over the balcony railing and Tony studying him.

“I spent thirty-one years thinking I didn’t have a soulmate.”

Peter turned to look at him, but he had started staring out at the landscape.

“Honestly, when I got my soulmark, I felt so guilty. I couldn’t help but wonder what poor soul would be stuck with me as a soulmate. I intended on never going out looking for my soulmate.  I didn’t want to burden whoever it was in that way, they didn’t deserve that. I spent all this time trying to avoid my soulmate, and then I ran straight into you. Funny how fate works, right?”

Peter tore his gaze away from Tony and looked down at his lap, messing with the hem of his shirt.

“And then I met you, and I felt guilty all over again, but it wasn’t the same. I felt guilty because you were suffering, looking for anybody to hold onto, and I was out there, in the same exact city, doing everything I could to avoid you.”

Peter looked up at his soulmate, who was already looking at him, and their eyes met.

“I couldn’t𑁋 can’t let you go. You’re sweet and kind and compassionate and a genius. You were this ethereal being that crashed right into my life and, if you met me and still wanted to stay, then there was no way I could let you go.”

Peter closed his eyes, tears gently rolling down his cheeks.  Tony shifted forward and wiped them away with the pad of his thumb and the young man leaned into the touch.

“I love you,” Tony whispered.

Peter opened his eyes and looked up at him. “I love you too.”

+++

“Love has flooded my heart and there’s rain in Venice for the first time.”

-Steve Harley, Rain in Venice

Tony’s villa in Venice was along the canals.  It, of course, was smaller than the one in Florence, but it was just as elegant.  The moment they entered the city, Peter fell in love with the canals and the buildings lining the water.  Tony made a mental note to bring him to Amsterdam one day.

The days spent in Venice were much more laid back than those spent in Florence.  Tony took Peter to the Teatro La Fenice to see a ballet performance and they spent the days visiting old churches and being rowed through the canals.  Peter had insisted they visit the Ghetto Ebraico di Venezia, the small part of the island that the Jews in Venice had been forced to move to in 1516, as he had promised May he’d go to get a bit closer to his Sephardic roots.

Peter had seen movies that took place in Venice, rom-coms and such, but he took them all with a grain of salt.  Over the course of his stay in Venice, he began to wonder if perhaps those movies weren’t as fictional as he thought after all.

+++

“Hold my hand, darling. Pull me in your waters. When you call my name, I’ll be on my way.”

-Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Pacific Love

As Peter had predicted, Tony’s villa right outside of Rome was just as fanciful as the one in Florence, with a fountain out front, several balconies, an outdoor shower that overlooked vineyards, and an even more elegant pool in the back.  They had arrived there towards the evening, just as the sun was beginning to set, so they decided to eat dinner on the balcony connected to their bedroom, watching the sun go down as they talked about their plans for the next day.  There were so many museums to visit and sights to see𑁋 and there were a few places that couldn’t not go.

The Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Sistine Chapel, the Arch of Constantine, and the Vaticans were must-sees, of course, but more was added to the plans for the rest of the trip, such as going to a wine tasting and seeing Palatine Hill.

As Peter slipped his hand into Tony’s, he reminisced about how everything felt right.

+++

[snapshot; Florence, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark are sitting on lounge chairs by the pool in the late afternoon with two half-full wine glasses sitting on the small table between them.  They are both in shorts and a t-shirt.  Both are smiling, laughing over something.]

[snapshot; Florence, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are walking along the Ponte Vecchio.  They are holding hands.]

[snapshot; Florence, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are in the Uffizi Palace and Gallery.  Stark is reading the plaque next to a statue while Parker looks up at said statue.]

[snapshot; Florence, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are walking through the Boboli Gardens, holding hands.]

[snapshot; Florence, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark are eating dinner on the front balcony of Stark’s villa.  They appear to be laughing about something.]

[snapshot; Venice, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are being rowed along in a traghetti along the canals of the city.  Parker is looking at the buildings in awe while Stark is looking at him lovingly.]

[snapshot; Venice, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are eating dinner at a restaurant along the canal.  Parker is taking a sip from his wine glass while Stark appears to be telling him a dramatic story.]

[snapshot; Venice, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are sitting across from each other in a cafe.  Both have a cup of coffee in front of them.  Stark appears to be speaking while Parker is giving him a look of fond exasperation.]

[snapshot; Venice, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are walking into the Teatro La Fenice to see a ballet.  They are both dressed nicely.]

[snapshot; Venice, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are standing in front of a synagogue at the Ghetto Ebraico di Venezia.  Parker looks extremely emotional and Stark has an arm around his shoulder.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are standing in one of the rows of the Colosseum, overlooking it.  Parker looks amazed and Stark is looking at him with a smile.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are standing in front of the Pantheon, looking up at it.  They are holding hands.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are at the Trevi fountain.  Parker has his back to the fountain and his eyes closed as he throws a coin over his shoulder into the water.  Stark watches him with a smile.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark are sitting on the ledge of the pool, both in swim trunks, with their feet dipping in.  Each has a glass of wine beside them.  Parker is leaning his head on Stark’s shoulder.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are standing in front of the Arch of Constantine.  They are holding hands.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are walking through a vineyard.  They appear to be going to a wine tasting.  They are holding hands and Parker appears to be talking.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker and Tony Stark, who is in a disguise, are sitting on a picnic blanket in a park with grapes, cheese, meat, and wine in front of them.  Parker has a homemade flower crown on his head that he appears to have made from the wild flowers around them. Parker is putting a homemade flower crown on Stark’s head and the latter is looking at him with a fond smile.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker is leaning over the edge of the balcony connected to the villa’s master bedroom.  Parker is wearing only a too-big button down shirt and a pair of shorts.  He is holding a wine glass in his hand.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker is leaning over the edge of the balcony connected to the villa’s master bedroom.  Parker is wearing only a too-big button down shirt and a pair of shorts.  He is holding a wine glass in his hand. Tony Stark is hugging him from behind.  Stark’s head is resting on Parker’s shoulder.  They are looking out over the vineyards.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker is sitting in a chair by the pool with a journal and pen in hand.  Stark sits beside him, reading a book.]

[snapshot; Rome, Italy; Peter Parker is standing alone on the balcony in the front of the villa.  He has a slightly sad smile on his face and he leans over the railing.  He appears to be looking up at the stars.  His mouth is open, like he’s saying something.]

+++

“But I’m gonna have to learn that this love will never be convenient.”

-The Front Bottom, Tattooed Tears

On the day that the two soulmates were meant to fly back home, Peter woke up to his phone buzzing incessantly on the nightstand.  Sluggishly, he pulled himself up a bit and grabbed it, looking through the notifications.  His Instagram suddenly was getting a ton of new comments and followers and people were tweeting at him, asking about being with Tony.  Panicked, he opened up Safari and typed in his name.  It came up with pictures of him and Tony throughout their trip in Italy and news articles about who he was.

Peter turned his phone off and set it back down on the bedside table.  He pulled himself out of Tony’s arms and got out of the bed.  He stood up, but just froze, staring out the window.  He didn’t even notice when tears began dripping down his face.

“Peter?” Tony asked groggily, blinking against the light shining in through the window.  The younger man turned around and faced him.  Once Tony saw the tears, he shot up and scrambled out of bed.  He gently took Peter’s hands and led him to sit down on the edge of the bed.

“They found out,” Peter told him, voice choking up.

“Found out about what?” Tony rubbed circles on the back of his soulmate’s hand.  Peter grabbed his phone off the table and pulled up Safari again, showing Tony the search results from earlier.  The man only stared at the news articles and pictures of them, disbelief and a bit of fear shining in his eyes.

“Someone must’ve leaked something to a tabloid cause they’ve been following us and I . . . I don’t know what to do.” Tears came down faster as Peter rambled on.

Tony let go of the younger man’s hand and wrapped him in an embrace, pulling him close to his chest.  “I promise, we’ll figure this out.  We’ll put together a press conference and, afterwards, we’ll destroy the life of whoever leaked it.  Everything will be fine.  I’ll be right there beside you the entire time.”

As Peter’s sobbing slowed, the two pulled away.  Tony kept his hands on Peter’s shoulders though, whether to ground himself or his soulmate, he wasn’t sure.

“I’m gonna call Michelle,” Peter declared, determination seeping into his tone, “and I’m gonna figure out if she pulled this shit or knows who did.”

Tony only gave a nod as Peter pulled up the old contact from when the two teens were still friends, intertwining his hand with Peter’s free one.

The phone barely finished ringing once when the girl picked up, Peter putting her on speaker.

“Peter, I know it looks bad, but I wasn’t the one who pulled this shit,” MJ told him before he could even get a word out.

“Why should I trust you?” Peter bit back, but his voice wavered a bit.

“You know me. You know I wouldn’t have done this. We may not be friends, but I wouldn’t hurt you like this, I wouldn’t ruin things like this. You know that.”

Peter let out a shaky sigh. “You wouldn’t have. I know that, but did you tell anybody?”

“I only told Sydney because she was demanding answers out of me, but I already talked to her this morning and she was freaking out about the whole thing, genuinely worried about you. I told her before decathlon practice so nobody was there that could’ve heard-”

MJ paused, her end of the line going silent.

“Holy shit, I think I know who leaked it!”

“Who?! Please, MJ, you gotta tell me.”

“Flash must’ve gotten there early or something! We both know everybody on the team and none of them would do this except for him!”

Peter paused, the realization that Flash had fucked up his life more than he already had with his bullying sinking in.

“Peter, I’m so sorry . . .”

“I know you didn’t mean for him to overhear it, MJ.  I don’t blame you.”

“Hey, Peter?” she asked.

“Yeah?” he responded cautiously.

“Fuck up his entire life for me, would ya?”

“What else would I do? Let him get away with this shit? He’s gonna regret this shit for the rest of his life.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Peter hung up the phone and turned to Tony. His eyes shone with determination as he thought of how much he was going to fuck up Flash’s life. “I have a good feeling about this.”

“Really?” Tony laughed. “Because I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Then I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”

+++

“Does that seem right? Wade through pain to know the chosen life?”

-Jack Stauber, Pizza Boy

The moment Peter and Tony got off their eight and a half hour flight from Rome to New York, they were being whisked off to a press conference.  When they reached backstage, Pepper threw them each a pair of clothes and ordered that they go freshen up in the bathroom so they don’t look like absolute shit at the conference.

When they got back to her, she was pacing back and forth rambling off orders to an assistant, who looked freaked out.  She stopped when the two soulmates showed back up, now looking like they were actually ready to face the press.

“Pepper, I’m so-” 

“Peter, don’t say sorry. This wasn’t your fault,” the CEO told him before turning to both of the soulmates. “I may be stressed about this whole thing, but I’m not mad at either of you.”

Peter gave her a small, sad smile that she returned.

Footsteps were heard behind the two soulmates, so they whipped around, coming face-to-face with Rhodey.  The man quickly extended a hand towards Peter.  The young man took it, the two shaking before separating.

“I’m Rhodey, though I’m hoping Tony already told you about me,” he introduced with a humorous tone, but everybody could tell he was trying to hide his nervousness. Peter gave a smile a nod at that. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Peter, but I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.”

“I wish it wasn’t either, but I think it’s gonna be okay.”

As the clock hit three pm, Pepper walked out on stage and to the podium.  Reporters began yelling questions, but she held up a hand to silence them.

“As you are all aware, some photos came out recently after an unknown person leaked Dr. Stark’s new relationship to the press. Before anything else is said, I would like to let you all know that this was highly inappropriate, not only leaking this relationship, but also taking pictures of someone’s private life. The reporter who did this had absolutely no right to do so and there will be repercussions.”

The room stayed silent as she paused.

“Unfortunately, what has happened cannot be undone, and so we must have this press conference much earlier than we were hoping to. Now, Dr. Stark and Mr. Parker will come out to answer questions.”

Pepper stepped away from the podium as Peter and Tony walked onstage, one of Peter’s hands intertwined with Tony's.  The younger of the two winced a little bit as the cameras began flashing and questions were yelled at them.  As they stepped up to the podium, Tony raised a hand, signaling everybody to be silent.  Luckily, it worked; the man had always been the kind of person who could control the room.

“You all know me, but, due to unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, today, I am introducing you all to Peter Parker, my soulmate.”

The room went up in a frenzy as he said the word “soulmate,” reporters taking pictures and more questions being yelled.  Tony held up a hand once more before motioning to Peter to speak.

“Hi. My name is Peter Parker, and I apologize because I’m new to this whole ‘press conference’ thing, and by new, I mean this is the first time I’ve even stepped foot into one,” the young man introduced sheepishly.  The crowd gave light laughs at what he’d said.

“We will now be taking questions,” Tony announced.  Hands went up and questions were yelled. The man searched through the crowd, eventually picking someone. “Yes, the reporter from CNN.”

“Mr. Parker, according to what’s been revealed through the press leak, you are eighteen, correct?” When Peter gave a nod, the woman continued. “So when and how did you and Dr. Stark meet?”

“It’s kind of a funny story actually,” Peter replied a bit sheepishly. “About three months ago, Tony was actually giving a lecture at my school about aerodynamics and, since it was only the senior class, we were all allowed to ask one question, so that’s how we found out.”

“Um . . . the reporter from the Washington Post,” Peter called out before the room could get too crazy.

“What do your soul sentences say?” the reporter asked.

“Mine says, ‘What’s your favorite planet?’” Tony answered, holding up his wrist.

“And mine says, ‘Jupiter.’” Peter held up his wrist too.  Cameras flashed as the reporters rushed to take pictures of them showing off their soul sentences. The soulmates met eyes and gave each other a smile before looking back out at the sea of people.

“Reporter from the Wall Street Journal.”

“Dr. Stark and Mr. Parker, why did you two decide to keep your relationship hidden once you two met?”

“We kinda wanted to keep it on the down low until I graduated high school,” Peter admitted shyly.

“We knew it would affect both of our lives once the public knew,” Tony continued, “and we wanted to wait until we were ready. As you can see, though, the choice to wait was taken from us.”

“Uh . . . the reporter from the LA Times,” Peter called.

“Mr. Parker, seeing as you are being introduced into the limelight, would you be willing to tell us some more about you?”

“Uh, sure, I suppose,” the young man answered, a bit surprised by the question. He’d never really been asked about himself, as most people weren’t very interested in what he did. “I’m sure you all already know, but I’m a senior at Midtown School of Science and Technology, so you can assume I’m a bit of a nerd.”

“‘A bit’,” Tony said with a snort.

“You don’t get to talk. You’re practically the king of nerds!” Peter shot back, causing his soulmate to fondly roll his eyes.

“Besides that,” he continued, getting back to the question, “I like to read poetry and draw. Also, I believe one of the photos was Tony and I in the Jewish ghetto of Venice. We were walking through because I insisted, seeing as I’m Jewish. Side note, I can’t believe that with all the Jewish guilt I grew up with, my soulmate still ended up being a goy. My ancestors must be so disappointed that I didn’t score a nice Jewish boy.”

The crowd laughed at that and Tony gave him a playful shove that the young man returned.

“The reporter from the Huffington Post!”

“Mr. Parker, it’s going around that you are going to MIT in the fall, and that is Dr. Stark’s alma mater, correct? Could you tell us about that?”

“I am going to MIT in the fall, that is correct,” Peter replied before Tony cut in.

“And before anybody says anything, Peter got accepted to MIT before we even met each other, so I had nothing to do with it.”

Peter nodded along before calling on another reporter.

“Mr. Parker, obviously you are being thrust into the spotlight very quickly. Do you feel able to stand it and everything that comes with it?” asked the reporter from the New York Post.

“It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, and I wish I had been able to do it on my own terms, but I think I’ll be able to get through it. Plus, I have Pepper to make sure I don’t say anything too embarrassing.”  Peter smiled at Pepper offstage.

“Reporter from the Daily Bugle,” Tony called out and Peter felt a sense of dread.

“Now, seeing as you, Mr. Parker, are 18 and you, Dr. Stark, are 49, there is a 31 year age gap between the two of you. Is nobody else worried about this? Mr. Parker, do you parents feel okay about this? Are they worried that you’re being taken advantage of?” The reporter looked smug.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Peter cut in before he could.

“First of all, obviously soulmate relationships don’t always seem conventional, they go beyond traditional. It’s not like we can argue against fate. Second, nobody else is worried about this because I am an adult who can think for myself and recognize when relationships are toxic. Third of all, if you took five minutes to look up the information about me that people found once my identity was leaked, you would know that my parents are dead and I was raised by my aunt and, by the way, she’s just fine with me being in a happy relationship.”

The room went silent, everybody taking a moment to absorb the answer that the young man had just given.  Before long, the conference got going again.

“The reporter in the very back. I apologize cause I can’t see what company you’re with, the man in the blue shirt.”

“I’m with Breitbart News,” he told them. “I was wondering, despite being soulmates, is this a more traditional relationship or more of a monetary exchange?”

“Are . . . are you asking if I’m a sugar baby?” Peter questioned incredulously.

“I was trying to say it in more formal terms, but, yes, that is basically what I was saying.”

“No hate to people who make money that way, but I’m not a sugar baby. This is a genuine relationship.”

“You should see how much I try to get him to let me spend money on him,” Tony cut in with a smile. “When I suggested we go to Italy for his spring break, it took hours of arguing to finally get him to agree to go. Even then, I think it was just because I wore him out.”

Peter rolled his eyes but gave a smile.

“One last question. We’ll take it from the NPR reporter towards the back.”

“Mr. Parker, do you have any plans for working at Stark Industries?”

Peter lightly smiled at that. “I was already working with Tony in the lab and I’ll continue to do that, but I think Pepper wants me to look around a little bit in the business side of the company, so I’ll probably end up shadowing her for a bit.”

“Thank you all for coming,” Tony called out before he and Peter walked off stage, both waving as they did so.

When they got off, they were greeted by Pepper, who had a big grin on her face, along with May, who had finally gotten to the tower in the middle of the conference.  She came up and gave her nephew a big hug, making sure he was okay.  After several reassurances that he was fine, May pulled back, satisfied.

“Do you think it went well?” Peter asked Pepper anxiously.

“I think it went better than expected.”

+++

“He’s never gonna make it. All the poor people he’s forsaken. Karma is always gonna chase him for his lies.”

-Alec Benjamin, Outrunning Karma

The moment that Peter arrived at school, he already knew it was going to be a bad day.  As he stared through the windshield at all the paparazzi surrounding the school, he let out a tired sigh.  Tony had tried to convince Peter to let him drive him to Midtown, but he had refused, thinking he was prepared to face his newfound stardom on his own.  As he sat in the driver's seat, gazing out at the sea of reporters and students while anxiety bubbled in his gut, Peter began to regret not taking Tony up on his offer.

Deciding he couldn’t delay it any longer, Peter turned off the car, grabbed his backpack from the passenger's seat, and opened the door.  He stepped out of the car, swinging the bag over his shoulder as he closed the door and locked the car Tony had lended him.  The slam of the door alerted people to his presence, and he was quickly crowded with paparazzi.  Gritting his teeth, Peter attempted to move through the horde, slowly getting through.  By the time he made it through the entrance of Midtown, he felt like he’d spent hours just trying to push through the reporters.

To nobody’s surprise, all the students in the lobby stared at Peter as he came into the building.  He tried his best to ignore their gawking as he walked through the halls to his locker.  As he turned down the first hallway from the lobby, two people came up on either side of him.  He looked to them, feeling anxious, but realized that it was only MJ and Sydney, standing by him as if they were guards.

“Are you doing okay?” Sydney asked him, genuine worry laced into her voice.

“As okay as I can be at the moment,” Peter replied, but gave her a smile that she returned.

“So . . . not very okay?” MJ questioned with a hint of sarcasm.  Peter let out a small laugh.

“Yeah, not very okay, but at least I’ve got my two friends to help me.”

Both MJ and Sydney stopped in their tracks, Peter stopping only a foot ahead of them as he quickly realized they fell behind.  He turned around, giving the two a questioning look.  They slowly came back to his sides and began to walk with the young man, both looking a bit tentative.

“Are we . . .” Sydney started but trailed off.

“Are we friends?” MJ asked him quietly.

“Yeah . . .” Peter replied quietly, “I think we’re friends.”  He turned and smiled at them and they returned it as they got back to their normal pace. 

As the three rounded the final corner, they all stopped, finding Flash and his little posse of rich assholes all standing in front of Peter’s locker, the leader of the group leaning right back against it with a smug smile on his face.

“Well, if it isn’t the sugar baby slut himself, Peter Parker!” Flash announced to the hallway, causing Peter to roll his eyes. “Oh, are you getting an attitude now?”

“Can I just get to my locker, Flash?” the boy asked, him, MJ, and Sydney walking forward until they were right in front of the clique.

“Damn, you're moody today, Parker. Has being spoiled by your sugar daddy made you whiny when you don’t get what you want?”  Flash’s gang laughed while MJ and Sydney looked like they were getting ready for a fight.  The student lining the halls whispered to each other as they watched.

“Listen, I’ve dealt with enough bullshit these past few days already, so can you just lay off for the first time in seven years? Get your head out of your ass and take a moment to look past your own ego. Isn’t bad enough that my relationship and my identity got leaked for the entire world to see and now I’m gonna be followed by paparazzi until I die?!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Parker! That must be so hard! I wonder who in the world could’ve leaked your identity?” Flash’s fake sympathetic face turned into a smug grin once more as he reached the end of his sentence.

Flash was expecting Peter to cry or scream or punch him.  He was waiting for the boy to storm off or get into a full blown fight with him.  Internally, he was hoping he would be lucky enough to see him have a full breakdown in the middle of the hallway.

What Flash wasn’t expecting was for Peter to start laughing.  A huge grin spread across the brunet’s face and he looked away for a second, running his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip and turning back to Flash, all while chuckling like a mad man.

“You're an absolute idiot. You do realize that, right?” Peter asked once he stopped laughing.  The smile was still on his face.

“What?” Flash shot back, brow creasing.

“I said that you, Eugene Thompson, are an absolute idiot.”

“What are you on about, Parker?”  Flash took a threatening step towards the boy.  To his surprise, though, the brunet didn’t look scared in the slightest.

“No, wait, I think he’s onto something,” MJ cut in with a somewhat sadistic grin.

“Yeah, I can see where you’re going with this, Peter,” Sydney added, appearing to be in on whatever the boy was talking about.

“Spit it out, Parker,” Flash threatened, towering over the other boy.

“You do realize my soulmate is Tony Stark, right?”

“Obviously,” Flash retorted, rolling his eyes. “The entire world knows now because somebody was so cruel as to give away your identity to a reporter!” He looked proud of himself.

“A reporter who trespassed onto private properties owned by Tony several times in order to get those pictures.”

“So what?”

Peter snorted, looking up at the boy in disbelief. “I can’t believe you aren’t catching on to what I’m implying.”

Flash’s brow creased even more.  A feeling of dread built in his stomach as Peter looked at him, eyes filled with pure, unadulterated glee, as if everything he ever wanted was about to come true.

“Can you even begin to imagine how mad my soulmate is about me not being able to come forward about my relationship with him on my own terms?” Peter questioned, voice laced with slightly sadistic happiness. “And can your tiny brain even process how much power he holds in the world? And do you have any idea of how much my soulmate genuinely cares about me? Maybe, since you are on the decathlon team, you’ll find a way to connect the dots.”

Flash paled, him and all of his posse taking a step back from the boy.

“Now, how do you think Tony felt when, on the day he met me, his soulmate, I was covered in bruises and scrapes and had a black eye because of you? And then how do you think he felt when I told him about how you’d been bullying me for seven years? And how about when I kept flinching cause I was terrified I was gonna get hit like I did every day in these very hallways? How livid do you think my soulmate is right now? I can promise that he’s ten times more angry than that.”

Flash was trembling, staring at the boy who could ruin his life with a single word.

“Peter, do you remember what you told me when I first found out about who your soulmate was?” MJ asked the brunet with an evil grin directed at Flash.

“Of course!” Peter turned to look at MJ. “I believe I said, ‘If anything is leaked to the press, I’ll know exactly who did it and me and my soulmate won’t hesitiate to destroy your entire fucking life,’ and later I told you that it wasn’t a threat, but a promise.” He turned back to flash. “And, lemme tell you something, Flash, I never go back on promises.”

The bully was shrinking in on himself, gazing wide eyed at Peter.

“I’m not gonna encourage Tony to do anything,” Peter told him with a kinder smile, and the boy began to gain back his confidence. “But I’m not gonna stop him either. Now, can I get to my locker?”

Flash quickly scurried out of Peter’s way and his gaggle of rich kids dispersed immediately, leaving him standing there beside the locker.  As Peter grabbed his things, he made conversation with MJ and Sydney, the three swapping stories from spring break. Halfway through MJ’s story about how she and Sydney got gal-pal’d at a cafe where they were having a date, Peter closed his locker door to see Flash still next to his locker.

“Why are you still here?”

“Your soulmate . . . he isn’t actually gonna hurt me, right?” the bully asked, voice wavering like Peter had never seen before.

“He isn’t going to hurt you, Flash,” Peter replied with a smile. “He’s gonna hurt your future and I’m not gonna stop him.”

Without another word, the three teens left, heading to their first class, as Flash just watched them go, wondering what would happen to him.

+++

“And for a moment I thought you were there, but, then again, it wasn’t true.”

-AURORA, Runaway

The day passed in a blur of stares and teachers being unusually nice to Peter.  Despite how nice it was to not have to deal with bullies, Peter felt worn out by the time he collapsed into his seat in physics, his last class of the day.  About a minute after he sat down, other people started flooding in.  Ned sat down at the desk next to him but awkwardly kept his gaze towards the front of the room.  When the bell rang, Mr. Harrington stood up from his desk and closed the door before standing in front of the chalkboard.

“Today we’re going to continue the renewable energy unit that we started before spring break. Keeping true to our syllabus, we’ve covered hydroelectric, biomass burning, solar energy, wind power, and geothermal. As I told you at the beginning of the fall semester, in an attempt to keep up with modern science, they added on an extra energy source to look at.  After that, we’ll be finished with this unit.”

Most of the class let out a sigh of relief.  Physics units tended to drag on and everybody was glad to be moving onto something new.

“So for the next couple of days,” the man said, taking a glance down at the clipboard he was holding, “we’ll be talking about Stark Industries’ arc reactor technology as a renewable energy source.” He stopped and looked up at the class, and at one student in particular.

Peter was looking forwards at the board, decidedly ignoring all the eyes on him.  The room was silent for a few moments as everybody just stared at the boy sitting in the back corner of the room.

“If you wanna say something, then go ahead and say it,” Peter dared, finally looking away from the board.  The class looked slightly apprehensive and he figured that news about his little confrontation with Flash must’ve gotten around.

“Well . . .” Mr. Harrington started uneasily, “I suppose we just, uh, you know . . . had something to say about it since . . . since you’re . . .”

“Since I’m what?” the brunet replied with a challenging glint in his eye.

“Since you’re . . . well . . . uh . . . well, I don’t wanna make you uncom-”

“No, I wouldn’t be, so why don’t you go ahead and tell me what I am,” Peter tested with a dangerous smile, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

The tension in the classroom was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“I thought you'd like to say something about the arc reactor technology since you are, um, Tony Stark’s, you know, uh, soulmate and all,” Mr. Harrington quickly rambled, his voice lowered a bit as if hoping Peter wouldn’t hear it.

Everybody stayed quiet as Peter uncrossed his arms and leaned forward a bit, putting an elbow on his desk and resting his chin in his hand as if bored.  “Well, it’s a fusion reactor that can produce an electromagnetic field, provide renewable energy, the whole nine yards. It has a palladium core and a new element was synthesized to stop the reaction within Tony’s body due the palladium that was poisoning him, et cetera. Can we get back to normal class please?”

Slowly, everybody turned back to the front of the room, where Mr. Harrington was frozen.  Seeing the eyes on him, he jumped back to reality and started the lesson.

Towards the end of the class, Ned worked up the courage to rip a bit of paper off of the page he’d been writing in and pass a note to Peter.  He watched out of the corner of his eye as the boy opened it, looked at it with raised eyebrows for a moment, scribbled something down, and then carelessly threw it back to him.  Ned picked it up and saw what was inside.

Under his original note, which read ‘so what happened at the beginning of class was crazy, right?’ was Peter’s simple response of, ‘I guess.’

Ned just let out a sigh and crumbled up the note, shoving it into his backpack and giving up for the time being.

When the bell rang, Peter rushed out of class and Ned ran after him.  By the time he got outside of the classroom and caught sight of his old friend, though, the boy was walking with MJ and Sydney, the three of them laughing over something.

‘When did they become friends?’

+++

“As I watched you walk away, I felt something in me change.”

-Sorority Noise, Blonde Hair, Black Lungs

Ned spent the rest of the week trying to talk to Peter in physics, the only class he had with the boy, and watching him, MJ, and Sydney hanging out during lunch or in the halls together.  All of the students stayed out of the way of the three friends, more terrified of Peter than MJ, despite how much scarier her demeanor was.

Despite all of his friends and his soulmate, Ned was realizing that he missed Peter a lot.  He yearned for their days of going to the library during lunch to hide from Flash and having Star Wars marathons with the boy.  He couldn’t believe that he’d let go of his best friend so easily after their years together.

“No, no, really!” Peter’s voice cut through Ned’s thoughts. The table Peter sat at with MJ and Sydney was actually pretty close to his own and he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift over.

The two girls were laughing, but he was laughing with them.

“I swear!” the brunet got out through his laughs. “He walked in and went, ‘Do you know who Jimmy Fallon is?’ and I was so confused because who the fuck doesn’t know who Jimmy Fallon is?!”

Peter and Ned used to video call and watch Jimmy Fallon together on school nights, talking about how they hoped to get invited onto the show one day and why they would be invited.

“And then what did he say?” Sydney prompted.

“He just goes, ‘I was hoping you did because Pep scheduled you to go on his show on Friday’ and I just immediately walked out on him!”

Ned watched MJ open her mouth to say something, but a hand waved in front of his face, breaking him out of his trance.  He turned and saw Jacob, his soulmate, looking at him in concern.

“You okay?” he asked, brows furrowed.

“Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind.”

In the background, he heard MJ say, “That’s honestly insane! I would love to be on Jimmy Fallon!” and Peter responded, “Tony said I’m allowed to bring people backstage, so you two should come with me tonight!”

In the foreground, he heard his mind wishing it was him that Peter was inviting.

+++

“Shooting stars never fly for me. My heart’s on Mars, kinda hard to see.”

-Shakka, When Will I See You Again

That night found Ned on the couch with his mom, Emilia, The Tonight Show playing on the TV.  He had been home alone for a little over a week since his dad was (and still was at that moment) on a business trip and his mom was out volunteering with the Red Cross to bring water to a small village in Lebanon, meaning that she’d been completely disconnected from the news cycle.  Before long, the interview portion of the show came up, and Ned felt dread building up in his stomach.

“With us tonight, we’ve got a young man from Queens who was recently thrown into the spotlight, and I have the honor of being the first talk show host to interview him. You probably already figured it out, but Peter Parker is here with us tonight!”

“No fucking way,” Emilia breathed as she watched her son’s friend walk out on stage, shake hands with Jimmy Fallon, and sit down on the chair closest to the desk. She turned to her son with confusion written across her face. “Ned, why the fuck would Peter be on The Tonight Show?”

Ned opened his mouth to answer but Peter talking on screen stopped him. “Thank you so much for having me!”

“Of course!” Jimmy responded with a smile. “I’m glad I get to be the first person to interview you after the press conference! Speaking of which, you did great in that!”

Ned and his mom just watched the show, frozen.

“Thank you!” Peter replied with a laugh. “I was a bit worried that Pepper would be mad at me after I low key popped off at that Breitbart reporter . . . and when I just suddenly started talking about being Jewish and proceeded to call Tony a goy on stage.”

The audience laughed while Peter gave a sheepish smile.

“But, in terms of scoring a non-Jewish soulmate, Tony Stark is pretty high up there!”

“Holy fuck,” Emilia whispered, eyes glued to the screen.

“I guess, but have you seen Thor’s abs?” Peter joked. “I mean, I would gladly become a pagan if it ensured that he was my soulmate.”

The audience laughed once more, Jimmy joining in.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Tony and I love each other a lot.”

Awww’s sounded in the crowd while Peter gave a shy grin.

“Ned, what the actual fuck?” Emilia exclaimed, turning to her son, who gave a shrug before they both turned back to the TV, unable to stop watching.

“What’s it like being soulmates with Tony Stark? Is he as suave and smooth as people remember from his playboy years?” Jimmy questioned, leaning forward with his arms on his desk as if the young man was about to tell him some hot gossip.

“Absolutely not,” Peter replied plainly, making everybody chuckle. “He’s sweet, he’s supportive, he’s an absolutely incredible soulmate, but he’s also a huge dumbass.”

“Wait, you can’t just leave us hanging! You gotta tell us what he does!”

“Tony just forgets that he’s a human sometimes. Like, he somehow just doesn’t remember that he needs to eat and sleep. One of his little robots, Dum-E, likes to make him smoothies, but he puts motor oil in them, and usually Tony knows better than to drink them, but when he’s tired, he doesn’t even think twice.”

“Holy shit!” Jimmy choked out through his laughter. 

“Not to mention that he is nothing like the playboy persona he’s portrayed as. Affection and gift-giving are one-hundred percent his love languages. Everybody’s like ‘Tony Stark is a cool playboy who only cares about sex and being rich,’ but half the time we’re together is just us holding hands and hugging and cuddling.”

“This is absolutely incredible,” Jimmy says. “You got your identity leaked, got right off a flight from Italy, went to a press conference, told off a reporter, and then five days later literally destroyed the entire persona Tony Stark had built up. You’re amazing.”

“Somebody’s gotta tell the world that Tony loves setting up romantic dates and watching shitty rom-coms and if nobody else is going to, then it is my moral responsibility.”

“Absolutely incredible,” the host repeated, looking out at the audience and motioning to the young man before going back to his original position of looking at him. “So, what’s up for you next? What’re your plans?”

“Well, I’m graduating high school in a little less than a month and I’m going to MIT in the fall, which I’m super excited about! As for the summer, Tony is almost certainly gonna try and take me traveling, and as much as I tell him that it’s okay and he doesn’t need to do that for me, he won’t stop trying. He’s stubborn as all hell.”

“That's so nice though!”

“It’s really sweet, but it takes time to get used to having a soulmate who’s rich. Like, I live in a two-bedroom apartment in Queens with my aunt and now, suddenly, I have a soulmate who can just hang out in Paris for a weekend like it’s nothing. It’s like whiplash!”

“That’s absolutely insane.”

“I know, right? But it’s also really nice to have access to good scientific equipment so I can work on projects that I’m really hoping can help people!”

Jimmy nodded along, motioning for Peter to continue.

“Well, I’m working on making these bandages that are modeled after Spider-Man’s webs that would be biodegradable and also more effective than regular bandages because they could go on any size cut and wouldn’t fall off as easily. Plus they could be used in an emergency to stop someone from bleeding out from a stab or gunshot wound! Besides that, we're working with the Trevor Project to set up a shelter in Queens for homeless LGBTQ youth.”

“You seem really committed to these projects,” Jimmy told him sincerely, causing the young man to smile.

“I mean,” Peter replied quietly, “if you have the power to do something and you don’t, then how are you better than the bad guys? Now that I have the ability to help people across the world, I’m not going to stand on the sidelines and watch them suffer anyways. So I’m really glad that Tony and I are working on some great projects and that we’re going to help a lot of people.”

“Peter Parker, everybody!” Jimmy exclaimed, motioning to the young man, who blushed as the audience cheered for him.  Standing up and shaking the host’s hand once more, Peter waved as he walked back off stage, the applause following him as he went.

“Coming up, we have our guest performance from-”

Emilia turned off the TV and let the room fall into silence.  Ned looked over at her as she just stared at the black screen.  Slowly, she turned and met his eyes.

“So . . . Peter is Tony Stark’s soulmate?” Emilia asked her son distantly.

“Nobody knew until a bunch of photos of them on vacation in Italy were leaked,” Ned explained.

“He didn’t tell you? I thought you two told each other everything?!” Emilia’s tone echoed with confusion and concern.

“We haven’t really talked in a year in a half,” the boy admitted. “We kinda stopped being friends after I met Jacob, and then he didn’t really hang with anybody after MJ met Sydney.”

“You just left him all alone?”

Despite Ned knowing what he’d done in the back of his mind, the weight of it didn’t occur to him until that moment.  He was the reason Peter never had any protection from bullies. He was the reason Peter was always covered in bruises. He was the reason Peter stopped caring about everything and everyone around him.

If you have the power to do something and you don’t, then how are you better than the bad guys?

“Yeah . . . I guess I did.”

“You should talk to him,” Emilia told him quietly.  Then, she stood up and walked off to her bedroom without another word, leaving Ned in the dimly lit room with only his thoughts to keep him company.

+++

“But I’m a constant headache, a tooth out of line.”

-Joyce Manor, Constant Headache

Flash Thompson was flipping through channels as he sat on his family’s living room couch, trying to drown out the silence of the empty house.  Both of his parents were on business trips, so he was all alone.  With his homework done and him being unable to fall asleep, the boy found himself down stairs with a tub of ice cream he pulled out of the freezer.

Flash hit the button to switch channels again and found that he’d made it to HBO.  Seeing as it was a little past eleven thirty, Last Week Tonight was on the air and the host was finishing up his main story.  With nothing better to do, the high schooler put down the remote and watched.

“Now, I know we often finish with our main story, but we wanted to talk about an event we haven’t had a chance to cover yet, since we weren’t on the air last Sunday. I’m sure you’ve all heard about it, since you haven’t been living under rocks, but we wanted to talk about Peter Parker.” “You have to be fucking kidding me,” Flash groaned, rolling his eyes as a picture of his peer showed up next to the host.

“I know he’s been the talk of the week, but if you haven’t heard of Peter Parker, he is Tony Stark’s soulmate and the two of them were keeping their relationship private. However, somebody found out about their relationship and told a reporter about it. That reporter then followed them around their vacation in Italy, took pictures of them, and then posted them online, therefore leaking Peter’s identity and pushing him into the limelight.”

A couple of people in the audience booed.

“He’s actually handled it surprisingly well, though. He and Tony Stark did a press conference where they gave reporters a chance to ask questions and then, just on Friday, Peter went on The Tonight Show and talked about what his life is like and what he’s been up to.”

Flash looked at the TV deadpan as he remembered the interview.

“Very excitingly, I am being given the chance to talk to Peter Parker tonight, so everybody give him a warm welcome!”

The audience went crazy as John Oliver stood up and walked over to the area beside the space where his desk is.  There was a table with two chairs set up on opposite sides.  Peter Parker walked onstage and waved shyly as he made his way to his seat.  The two men shook hands before sitting down.  Flash booed at his TV from where he sat on his couch.

“Thank you so much for being on the show!”

“Thank you for having me!” Peter had a bright smile on his face. “I’ve been a fan of your show for a long time!”

“I’m glad to hear that, but that begs the question𑁋” John leaned in a bit, as if he were about to tell a secret. “𑁋has Tony Stark watched my show?”

The crowd laughed.

“He actually has! I made him watch it one night and he’s been watching it every week since!”

“Yes! We made it!” the host shouted, raising a fist up in victory as the crowd cheered and Peter laughed.

Flash rolled his eyes again and began to half tune-out the interview as he just stared blankly at the wall about his TV.  His mind was in a different place, thoughts running through his head at lightning speed.

‘Why does Parker get a rich and famous soulmate?’

‘He doesn’t deserve all of this!’

‘Why does everybody like him now?’

Flash tuned back into the interview at some point, catching the words that his classmate said.

“Yeah, I was bullied a lot, but it kinda stopped once I was outed as Tony’s soulmate. I think people are a little afraid of me now, but before that, it was really awful. It was extremely physical to the point where-”

Flash turned off the TV.

+++

“I wanna be someone to someone, someone to you.”

-BANNERS, Someone To You

Ned spent that school week attempting to build up the courage to talk to Peter.  He finally did that Friday, seeing Peter head to the library for lunch and promising to meet up with MJ and Sydney later.

“Hey, Jacob, I think I’m gonna go to the library for lunch,” Ned told his soulmate and bolted to after Peter, not giving the boy a chance to respond.

Ned slipped into the doors right after his ex-friend, watching as he disappeared behind some bookshelves and subtly following.  He kept a good distance as he pursued Peter and peeked through some books to make sure the boy was sitting down at the little study area in the back before making his way in.

The moment Ned stepped into the study area, Peter looked up at him, his face turning into a slight scowl.

“What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you,” Ned told him, practically begging.

“We’re talking right now,” Peter shot back sarcastically.

“Seriously.”

The brunet sighed and shut his laptop, which he had opened to work on his assignment.  Ned couldn’t help but to stop and notice that the laptop looked custom, looking nothing like the Stark Computers that were on the market.  It wasn’t lost on him that it was probably a piece of tech that Tony Stark had made for the boy.  He pushed away the thought that it was likely something the two soulmates had made together.

Ned took the sigh to mean that Peter was giving in and letting him talk, so he sat down in the chair across from him, twiddling his thumbs nervously in his lap.  It was silent for a few moments as they both waited for the other to say something.

“If you wanna say something, then go ahead and say it,” Peter told him, repeating what he’d said the week before in physics.

“I miss being friends with you,” Ned murmured, looking up and making shy eye contact with the boy, who did not seem fazed.  In fact, he only raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“Are you fucking with me?” Peter asked him.  When Ned remained silent, Peter gave a small chuckle.  “You aren’t fucking with me. You really came to talk to me and say you miss being friends with me only after a year and a half and finding out who my soulmate is. You’re absolutely unbelievable.”

“Why can’t we be friends again? You’re friends with MJ!”

“Because MJ didn’t just try to be friends again. We slowly started hanging out and she didn’t give a shit who my soulmate was. She just hung around because she had nobody to sit with. We were like acquaintances who became friends.”

“I don’t care who your soulmate is! I just miss you!” Ned defended.

“Too little, too late.” Peter shoved his laptop into his bag, stood up, and left, not giving his ex-friend another chance to speak.

Ned just let him go.

+++

“I think my head is fit to burst. Which breakdown shall I deal with first?”

-dodie, I Won’t Be Done

Flash, much like Ned, had been watching Peter for the entire week, however, it was for a different reason.  That reason being that he was absolutely and utterly pissed at the boy.  Sure, he was already mad that Peter had leverage on him now, but having seen the boy on several talk shows and being happy with his friends throughout the week made him livid.  In the back of his mind, he knew that what he was about to do could cost him his future, but all he saw was red.

That’s why, on the way to last period, Flash and his little gang of rich kids cornered Peter.  The boy was walking to physics alone, as neither Sydney nor MJ were in the class with him, and they approached him from all sides, forming a semi-circle around him and forcing him back against the lockers.

“What the fuck do you guys want?” Peter spat, voice conveying his lack of patience.

“What we want is for you to tell your soulmate to back off and not ruin my future,” Flash told him with venom, the rest of his posse voicing their agreement.

“Why should I?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Peter crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.  The certainty that the group couldn’t do anything to him was written across his face.  Despite his better judgment and the threat of his life being ruined, Flash took a step forward, raised a fist, and punched the boy.

Hard.

Peter stumbled back and hit his head against the lockers, incapacitating him for a moment.  A couple of the bully’s “friends” took advantage of that and grabbed the boy’s arms, pinning him up against the cold metal.  Flash took a threatening step towards him and gave a smug grin, watching as Peter’s nose started bleeding.

“Not so confident now, huh, Parker?” Flash wound up his fist again and punched the pinned boy in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.  One of his goons took the chance to kick Peter in the leg, hard enough that there was sure to be a bruise by the end of the day.  A flurry of hits and kicks rained down upon the brunet, him wincing with every single one.  Peter was counting down the minutes until the tardy bell rang.

Mere seconds from the sound of the bell, a stern voice called out, “Thompson, Parker, principal’s office!  The rest of you, vice principal’s office!”

As the gang let go, Peter stumbled a bit, struggling to get back on his feet.  The pain throbbed across his body as the beaten up boy trailed behind the clique.  Someone came up beside him and he turned his gaze to them, only to see Ned staring straight ahead.

“Did you . . . Were you the one who alerted Mr. Warren?”

Ned moved his gaze to the boy slowly before giving a small nod.

“Thank you,” Peter told him softly, sincerity shining through his voice.

The group split up as they reached the faculty offices, Flash’s gang turning the corner to go sit in front of the vice principal’s office while Ned, Peter, and Flash sat in the chairs outside the principal’s office.  They all stayed silent, not daring to utter a word.  After a few minutes, Mr. Morita stepped out of his office and the three boys looked up at him.

“Mr. Parker and Mr. Thompson, I’ve alerted your emergency contacts.  Mr. Leeds, there was no need to contact anyone as you were not involved in the incident, but please stay here so I can hear your story of the incident.”  The man walked back into his office and the hallway went silent again.

After only a few more minutes, a man rushed into the faculty offices and immediately made a beeline to the three boys.  As he stopped in front of them, it dawned upon Peter and Ned that it was Flash’s father.

“What the hell happened?” the man said gruffly, looking over the teens.  When he caught sight of Peter, his eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out where he knew the boy from.  Before anybody could answer his question, Morita walked out of his office again.

“Mr. Thompson, thank you for showing up on such short notice. We’ll get started in a few minutes once Mr. Parker’s emergency contact show-”

“Am I late?” a voice asked, cutting off the principal.

All of the people already there turned to look at the entrance of the faculty offices, coming face-to-face with Tony Stark.  The new arrival made his way over coolly while the five already there stayed quiet.  Peter stood up as his soulmate joined the group.  Tony gave the boy a once over and his relaxed smile turned into a frown.  He took his soulmate’s face in his hands and took in all the bruises and the dried blood from his nose before letting go and turning to the starstruck principal.

“After a fight, aren’t students supposed to be sent to the nurse first before the principal’s office or have things changed since I was in school?” Tony questioned impassively, but it was obvious that the question was rhetorical.

“Uh, right! I’ll, uh, grab some ice for Mr. Parker’s nose! I’ll be right back!” Morita rushed out of the faculty offices and towards the nurse’s office.

While Ned, Flash, and Mr. Thompson stayed frozen, staring at the billionaire, Tony and Peter turned to each other.

“I didn’t know you were listed as an emergency contact for me,” Peter told him with a raised eyebrow, a question hidden behind the statement.

“Soulmates are allowed to be listed as emergency contacts as long as they’re over eighteen,” Tony answered the unspoken question and slipped one of his hands into Peter’s.

“I didn’t really pay attention when I had that class on soulmates in sophomore year,” the younger man admitted.

“Neither did I.”

Peter gave a small laugh, a little bit of light flooding into his eyes.

“You’re . . . you’re Tony Stark,” Mr. Thompson uttered, eyes wide as he stared at the billionaire superhero.

The two soulmates turned to acknowledge the other people in the room.  Ned looked a bit starstruck, but seemed the least shocked of the three, Mr. Thompson appeared to be shaken up, and Flash was pale, with his eyes wide and features conveying his horror.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Tony said with a sickly sweet voice, putting his hand forward.

The man took it, his hand shaking. “I, uh, I don’t believe we have. I’m Eric Thompson.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Everybody could tell that Tony was, in fact, not pleased to meet the man.

“I’m a big fan of your work,” the nervous man told him as he drew his hand back.

Tony only gave a short nod of acknowledgement, not caring to make small talk with the bumbling fool.  Luckily, he was saved from the conversation by Morita reappearing, out of breath and clutching a bag of ice in one hand.  He walked over and handed it to Peter, who gently put it up against his injured nose.

“Let’s all go into my office,” the principal said, opening the door and holding it for all of them.  As soon as they all sat down in chairs in front of the desk, Morita went around to his side and practically collapsed into his chair.  Peter and Flash sat on opposite ends of the five seats set up, each having their respective contact sitting beside them.  Ned was stuck in between the two groups, feeling anxious despite having done nothing.  They all sat in silence for a few moments while the principal fumbled around for something to say.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you in today.”

“I’m assuming it has something to do with Peter being covered in bruises,” the billionaire cut in.

“Tony,” Peter warned, looking to his soulmate.  The man put his hands up in defeat.

“There was a fight in the hallway and I wanted to head everybody’s side of the story,” Morita continued as if the interaction hadn’t happened.  “Ned, as you were the one who told a teacher, can I hear your side of the story first?”

Ned gave a nod before starting. “I was walking to physics and I was rushing because I was going to be late, but when I turned onto the 300 hallway, I saw Flash and some of his friends beating up Peter while a couple of them held his arms to pin him against the lockers. I turned into the first classroom, which was Mr. Warren’s, and I alerted him of what was happening.”

“Thank you, Ned. Mr. Thompson, may I hear your side of the story?”

Flash, unsurprisingly, jumped into a false narrative. “I was walking to pre-calculus with my friends when Peter came up and tried to punch me. I tried to get him off, but he just kept trying to attack me, so I had to hit him back to make him stumble away and then my friends helped restrain him!”

“Are you sure about your story? It does not align with Mr. Leeds’ report and what Mr. Warren told me when he emailed me about the incident only a few minutes ago.”

“Are you calling my son a liar?!” Eric Thompson butted in, not giving his son a chance to respond. “I’ll have you know Flash here is a good kid who wouldn’t do anything like this! I cannot believe that he is being accused like this!”

“Mr. Thompson!” Morita spoke over the man. “No accusations have been made yet! I am simply telling your son that his story does not line up with the other ones. I am not calling him a liar.”

That seemed to calm the father down because he stayed quiet after that.

“Mr. Parker, could you please tell your side of the story?” the principal asked.  Peter took a deep breath and Tony grabbed his hand, squeezing it encouragingly.

“Well . . . I was walking to physics when Flash and his friends cornered me against the lockers in the 300 hall. I asked them what they wanted and Flash said that he was mad over the face that Tony was angry at him because he’s been bullying me for seven years. When I told them that it wasn’t my problem, Flash punched me in the nose and I stumbled back, hitting my head against the lockers. Two of his friends pinned me against the lockers and I started getting beat up. That’s when Mr. Warren broke it up.”

“He’s lying!” Flash shouted as soon as Peter finished telling his side of the story.  Tony glared at the bully, but Peter squeezed his hand and gave him a warning look.

“Seeing that Mr. Parker’s testimony lines up with Mr. Leeds and Mr. Warren’s testimonies, along with the security footage that the counselor sent me, I believe that you are lying about what happened, Mr. Thompson.”

Flash went pale again, looking over at where Tony and Peter were sitting.  The former had a smug grin on his face while the latter had a neutral expression, but happiness shone in his eyes.

“Mr. Parker, Mr. Leeds, and Mr. Stark, you are all free to go.”

The three men stood up and exited the office.  As soon as they were out, Tony turned to Peter, questioning if he was okay.  Ned watched his old friend spout off reassurances that he was fine and that his soulmate didn’t need to be worried.  Eventually, the man seemed satisfied and turned away from Peter.

The two soulmates looked at Ned for a moment while he stared right back.

“Thank you, Ned,” Peter murmured kindly, “for telling Mr. Warren, I mean.” Tony nodded along to the sentiment.

The two walked out and Ned waited a few moments before heading out the same way, not wanting to seem like he was following them.  As he walked to physics to catch the last few minutes of class, he wondered if he had made progress with Peter.

+++

“And I’ve been in this place before. Fine as we are, but we want more.”

-Lauren Aquilina, Fools

It seemed that Ned had made progress with Peter, because, the next Monday, MJ invited him and Jacob to sit with her at lunch.

“You’re biting your lip,” Jacob informed Ned as they stood near the doors of the cafeteria together.

“Oh.” He forced himself to stop.

“It’ll be okay,” the short boy’s soulmate reassured him, taking his hand. “I’m sure of it.”

Ned gave a curt nod and the two approached the table, sitting down across from where Peter, MJ, and Sydney were sitting.  The latter two gave the boys a smile while the brunet gave them a two-fingered salute, his face remaining neutral.

“Nice to see you two losers,” MJ greeted in her usual fashion.

“We were just talking about our weekends,” Sydney chimed in, trying to include them in the conversation.

“Cool. What did you guys do?” Jacob replied, saving Ned from where he was floundering for words.

“I mostly worked on a painting,” MJ told him simply.

“I visited my grandparents.”

“Nice! Ned and I spent the weekend hanging out.”

“What about you, Peter?” Ned asked, finally speaking.

Peter looked up from where he was picking at his nails, taking a moment to realize that everybody at the table was looking at him, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, uh, I spent most of the weekend with my soulmate.”

The table fell back into easy conversation, everybody satisfied with Peter’s answer.  It took a little bit, but Peter joined in by the end of lunch.

As the bell rang and all the teens got up from their table and began to head back to classes, Peter shot Ned a small smile before exiting the cafeteria.

In some strange sort of way, things were heading back to normal.

+++

“It’s a simple suggestion of a moment worthy to keep.”

-Wilderado, Millie

The Friday afternoon the day before graduation found Peter leading his little friend group through the lobby of Stark Tower, weaving his way around the crowds.  Nobody gave them a second glance, everybody knowing exactly who Peter was.  He even shot the desk lady a quick hello as they passed.  When they finally made it into the private elevator, all of his friends looked a little shaken up from the business of the ground floor, but Peter was unbothered.

“That was insane,” Ned announced, leaning back against the side of the elevator.

“Is it always that busy?” Sydney asked, looking a little out of breath.

“Only on weekdays,” Peter answered nonchalantly. “Not too many people are here on weekends.”

Soon enough, the elevator doors opened to reveal the penthouse living room and kitchen, which were connected to each other.  Peter, of course, walked out and dropped his bag by the couch before making his way over to the kitchen.  His friends walked out more slowly, taking in their surroundings before putting their stuff next to Peter’s.  Even MJ, who rarely showed emotions, looked a bit in awe.

The place had a modern design, very Tony Stark chic, but, despite that, it looked lived in.  There was a fuzzy blanket draped over the couch and what the group recognized to be one of Peter’s sweatshirts was hung over the back of a kitchen chair.  There were framed pictures on the wall and a bit of clutter on the kitchen island.  In a way, it was cozy.

The two pairs of soulmates watched as Peter opened up the fridge and pulled out a can of root beer before turning to them.

“You guys want anything? You can take whatever you want.”

“Are . . . are we allowed to?” Ned questioned, looking a bit anxious.

“I mean, I just gave you permission.” Peter had already moved to the pantry and grabbed a party size bag of chips before getting a big bowl out of the cabinet and pouring them in.

Sydney watched him with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, but, like, this kitchen belongs to-”

“Me?” a voice cut in. The four teens in the living room whipped around and found Tony Stark standing at the entrance to one of the hallways that led off from the living room.  They stared in awe at him as he walked past them and into the kitchen.

“Hey, Tones,” Peter greeted as Tony approached him.  Once in range, the two shared a short kiss before separating.

“What are you all up to? You never mentioned you were bringing people over.”

Before Peter could even answer, Jacob cut in, worry laced into his voice. “You didn’t ask if we could come over?”

“Nope,” Peter responded plainly, popping the ‘p’ and laying his head on Tony’s shoulder as the man put an arm around his waist.  Jacob furrowed his eyebrows while the other three teens gave each other slightly bewildered looks.  However, they didn’t get any more answers.

“We’re decorating our graduation caps,” Peter told Tony, pulling away from his hold and grabbing his soda along with the bowl of chips.  The older man followed him as he walked back over to his friends and set the items down on the coffee table. “Also, don’t you have a meeting in, like, five minutes?”

“Shit,” Tony muttered, checking his watch. “I should probably get going, but we’re still on for getting takeout and watching movies tonight, right?”

“Of course!” The two soulmates shared another quick kiss before Tony made his way over to the elevator, the doors already opening for him.

“Say hi to Pepper for me!” Peter called.

“You got it!” Tony called back right before the doors closed.

Peter turned to his friends, who looked back at him in shock.

“Let’s start decorating!”

+++

“But God I want to feel again. Oh God I want to feel again.”

-Sleeping At Last, Touch

“Going through high school was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever faced. I felt alone for a lot of it. I faced a lot, from bullies to rumors to nearly failing classes. And, yet, here I am, standing in front of all of you today, giving this speech. Despite everything, all of us made it through. We made it to graduation and we’ll make it so much farther. And I am so glad to have made it here, to be graduating with the class of 20XX. We did it.” Peter finished his valedictorian speech with his voice strong, looking out over the crowd of teary eyed parents and proud relatives and caring friends from other high schools.  Everybody cheered, some seniors throwing their caps into the air.

He couldn’t believe that he had made it.

Peter made his way out into the lobby, weaving through the people, trying to find the people there for him.  Eventually, he spotted his aunt talking with Ned’s parents and made his way over.  Once he did, he also found MJ, Jacob, and Sydney’s parents, all talking with them.  His friends were standing beside them, all chatting excitedly.  Finally, there was Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and, of course, Tony.

He made it.  He actually made it.

+++

“I did it all. I owned every second that this world could give. I saw so many places. The things that I did. Yeah, with every broken bone, I swear I lived.”

-OneRepublic, I Lived

Five Months Later - November

Peter awoke to a banging on his door.  He groaned, burying his head into his pillow.

“Come on, Peter! We’ve got class in forty-five minutes!” Ned’s voice floated through the wood.

After a moment more, the brunet got out of his warm bed and stumbled to the door, opening it up and seeing his friend, who was already dressed.  Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the room across from his had its door open, which meant that MJ and Sydney were both already up.

“Go get dressed,” Ned ordered. “Jacob made breakfast.”

Peter gave a nod and closed the door, drawing himself out of his sluggish state to get dressed and ready to go for the day.  When he got out of his room a few minutes later and walked into the kitchen, he saw his friends all sitting down for breakfast.  He joined them at his seat, happy to eat the pancakes that his friend’s soulmate had made.  There was light conversation as they all discussed classes and their plans for the day.  Peter and Sydney were talking about their engineering class when MJ asked the group if anything was going on for the day besides classes.

“Tony’s coming in today,” Peter told them and everybody looked at him, the table going silent. “You guys are really never gonna get used to this, huh?”

“Bro, your soulmate is Tony fucking Stark. How could we get used to that?” Jacob questioned him.

“Maybe because you guys live in his penthouse with me?” Peter suggested with a raised eyebrow. “Anyways, if you guys are free tonight, we could all go out to dinner together!”

Everybody voiced their agreement.  After a few more minutes, Peter and Ned got up from the table to head out to their first class of the day, which was earlier than everybody else’s.  They threw on their winter coats and gave everybody a goodbye before leaving, talking the whole way to the classroom and ignoring the looks that Peter got everywhere he went.  He had gotten used to people recognizing him.

That afternoon, when Peter and MJ walked back to the penthouse, having their last class on Fridays together, they didn’t talk much.  They simply stayed side by side and took comfort in each other’s company.

When they got to their place on the top floor of the building, Tony was sitting at the kitchen table, doing some work on his StarkPad.

“Tones!” Peter exclaimed, a large smile on his face.  Tony got up from his seat and the two soulmates gave each other a warm embrace, sharing a kiss.

MJ gave a small grin at the loving looks on the two men’s faces before walking to her and Sydney’s shared room to put her stuff down.  When she got there, she found her soulmate sitting on the bed with Ned and Jacob sitting on the little couch in the corner, all three of them talking.  The four only hung out for a few minutes before Peter popped in to tell them that they should get ready because Tony made reservations for all of them at a nice restaurant.

That night, the three pairs of soulmates sat around a table at a nice restaurant, telling stories and laughing, as if they’d known each other for forever.

It was as Peter laid in bed, held by his soulmate and looking at his alarm clock, that he realized how much everything had changed.  He was happy, warm, content.  It was everything he had ever wanted, and it was right there.

Soulmates were a strange thing, connecting two people together for eternity, yet not being able to tell if a person’s soulmate would die before they had the chance to meet or giving someone no soulmate at all.  There were theories about how it worked, from quantum entanglement to straight-up magic, but nobody was really sure in the end.  Most didn’t care about the science anyway. 

They cared about falling in love.

And Peter Parker and Tony Stark had fallen in love.

Tag List For All Fics (lmk if you want to be added):

@darkerstarker @dim-ships-johnlock @ashleybeattie

Tag List For Jupiter:

@haylove5  @honeybunstarker @bizzlepotter @freezing-blue @deni-gonzalez @chaniegaroo @darkerstarker @prism-opals @twokinkybeans @ilikestarker @smallnjh @starkerthanreality @bookworm1015 @starkershomelife @antis-fuck-off @itsdisapointmentasmrworld

#tony stark/peter parker #starker fluff #starker #starker fanfiction #ironspider #jupiter #soulmate AU #starker soulmate au #this took me way too long #im sorry it sucks #but i hope you like this! #pls like this #axiwrites

[polaristranslations]

The Ninth Box

   ■   ■

To begin with the conclusion, the game between I, Kurokami Medaka, and my predecessor, Chinu Namaji, ended in her victory—and the fact that it ended in her victory also meant, naturally, that it ended in my defeat.

There have been many times where the likes of Zenkichi would hype me up as some kind of undefeated person that would never lose, that would never suffer a defeat, but, well, this could act as evidence that that wasn't exactly the case—there were times when even I would lose.

I would win when I needed to win—but even though I say that, the question is where to differentiate, where to judge, in which situations I would need to win and in which situations I wouldn't need to win.

Who decided when I needed to win and when I didn't need to win?

In situations when I didn't need to win, did that mean I needed to lose?

Did a situation when I needed to lose even exist in this world?—if it did, when would that be? "Sometimes loss is the best gain" or "to flee is to win" are sayings that are often said—but if you're gaining something from loss, then based on the idea of damage control, it's almost like a victory, and if to flee is to win, then you're winning by fleeing, which means that's just a normal victory.

In other words, a defeat to me is—well, even if I unfold my theories on victory and defeat here, it would simply be my own personal opinions. Torai Kudaki, I'm sure you have your own opinions on what victory and defeat means to you, and even if they were to differ from mine, it surely would not be the case that one of us was correct and the other was wrong.

Of course.

Even Kumagawa Misogi had theories on victory and defeat.

Perhaps, even then and even now, those theories were built on immovably conflicting components that were incompatible with my own—but even so, it's hard to say that I was the one in the right.

However, I couldn't possibly say that Kumagawa Misogi's way of thinking was in the right.

In any case, if I knew when I needed to win and when I needed to lose, then it would make things quite easy to understand—although in most cases, when someone is faced with a matter of victory or defeat, they will think of themselves as needing to win.

Naturally.

Even with my game against Chinu Namaji, I faced her with the intention of winning—that consciousness of mine wasn't as clear as if it had been written down, but when faced with victory or defeat, I must have thought that I needed to win.

As for how to approach victory or defeat.

That was the natural way of thinking.

Well, if I had to say it, then there was the idea of "making memories" from losing—it was a bit immature to completely disavow that way of thinking, but in this case, in the match between me and Chinu Namaji, that way of thinking wasn't something I could apply.

My objective to find out how she had served as Treasurer under President Kumagawa and how she had stepped down from her position in Hakobune Middle School's 66th Generation Student Council Executive Committee would eventually be fulfilled—and, to say so in advance, even though it would eventually be fulfilled, it was regrettably not because I had won the game against her.

In the long run, I could say that I was able to get that information because I lost the game with her here, but that would be neither theories of victory nor defeat, but just a theory of the results—like the saying of "to flee is to win", there was also the saying "to lose is to win", but I wasn't the kind of person who would consider a loss as a gain.

At least, I wasn't at that time.

I had thought that to live was to win—and that way of living.

That way of winning... I had never once thought about how it would make the losers feel.

   ■   ■

"Kurokami-chan. Shall we play a game? If I win—I'll tell you anything you want to hear."

To her declaration of war, I said,

"Understood,"

in response.

Well, I've messily laid out my reasoning, but you know as well as I do that I'm passionate when it comes to a match, when it comes to a battle—I said something to the effect of having an objective, but even if I didn't have a clear objective at the time, I probably would have accepted that invitation from her in exactly the same way.

It might be a bit odd for me to say this of myself (although there probably wasn't that much of a difference if you asked anyone else), but my hotheadedness at the time was a bit of a turn-off, even for me—I don't know if there was ever a time in my life when someone challenged me to a match and I refused.

With that in mind, you could say that Chinu-senpai accurately came for what was something like my weak point—it wasn't exactly clear if that was her intended strategy, but in hindsight, you could certainly say that she "performed well".

She was splendid during the match itself as well as the way in which she led us to the match—um, in basketball terms, would that be called a "playmaker"?

Then, if anyone were to refer to Chinu Namaji as a "playmaker", it would not be unusual—and meanwhile, not knowing the future that awaited me, my excitement soared at the idea of having a match, and I spoke almost happily.

"So, how is this going to go?"

I asked.

"Naturally, it's going to be a game of basketball, right?"

"Right—well, something like that."

Chinu-senpai nodded.

To my expectant look, her response seemed to come a little late—it made sense that she was a bit perplexed at my sudden excitement. Or perhaps there was some other reason.

However, at the time, I hadn't noticed—I didn't even try to notice. In the first place, despite having come to ask why Chinu-senpai resigned from the Student Council Executive Committee, I didn't even try to guess at what she could be feeling.

Well, it was something worth reflecting upon.

Not that doing something so admirable as reflecting upon it now would reach Chinu-senpai—though I'm sure it didn't bother her one bit.

She was that kind of person, after all.

Right.

She was the type of person that I hadn't encountered much, leading up to this point—even though she was my predecessor, there was nothing similar between the two of us.

If I had no choice but to compare it to someone in Hakoniwa Academy, then I would say that she resembled Nabeshima-senpai, or at least they had something in common—although, that's really only if I had no choice but to compare them, and now that I lined them up, they actually felt completely different.

Genius, talent, and the like—their antagonism, or perhaps hostility, towards people referred to using those words were strong. That’s about the only point in common I can find.

But Nabeshima-senpai's sunny, cheerful disposition was something that Chinu-senpai was completely cut off from—but anyway, let's go back to the match. The match between me and Chinu-senpai—the one that would lead to my loss.

A historical loss?

Don't be silly, it was just a normal loss.

No need to exaggerate.

It's something that could occur to anyone.

Life is all about winning and losing—there's no way you can keep winning, or keep losing. This is something that I say not just in my middle school days but even now, and it's not just something I say but something that Kumagawa Misogi says. Or so I would like to believe.

"So, how do you want to do this? In times like these, we'd usually go with best-of-three one-on-one games... Or should we go with a competition to see who can make the most baskets? How many can we make out of ten shots... Or, or, we could also compete by seeing who can make a basket from the farthest distance... Ah, this would be a bit irregular, but we could get a referee to come judge a game of freestyle basketball. What do you think?"

I rattled on and on.

Perhaps I'd even turned into a bit of a motormouth.

I was like some racehorse with a carrot dangled before its eyes—my enthusiasm was off the charts.

Well, now that I can calmly and objectively look back on myself like this, it was kind of amazing how impatient I was... To the point that I wanted to overlook it as youthful indiscretion.

However, Chinu Namaji was not a girl who would overlook such a chance—

"So it's okay for me to decide?"

"Yes. Of course."

Thinking about it now, it was strange that I would respond "of course" there.

Because it was Chinu-senpai who, in a somewhat overblown manner, challenged her junior to a match, then it made more sense that the one who received that challenge (that is, me) would decide how the match would go.

However, before I could realize it, everything had gone according to Chinu-senpai's plans—naturally, the fact that I thought of basketball was the result of Chinu-senpai having passed me the ball as she made her challenge.

This is what people would call being trapped, and I am not at all afraid to consider this event in such a way now, but at the time, I did not think of it like that at all.

If anything, I was more overcome with admiration at such a gallant, fair-and-square method of settling things by having a match—I suppose this was what Zenkichi would call my true self, a "condescending belief in the goodness of humans".

To be honest, I didn't really like it—it wasn't exactly a pleasant way of putting things—but with this, he may have grasped the essence of the matter.

"So, what will it be? A one-on-one? A shooting competition? Shooting from a distance? Freestyle basketball?"

Well.

Of course I would think of things like these when it came to a competition that involved basketball—so that was most likely why I could leave the matter to Chinu-senpai without any caution whatsoever. I thought there was no room for choice—having seen her level of skill at shooting earlier, I figured it wouldn't turn into a simple shooting competition, so I'd been predicting that it would turn into a one-on-one that could make use of strategy.

But, as if my predictions were meaningless.

Chinu Namaji—chose none of the options that I had suggested. It was as if she'd thrown away the right to choose that I had given her—and so she spoke.

"Hey. You mentioned a simple one-on-one, but..."

Chinu-senpai held up one finger from each of her left and right hands. She held them up with the vigor of spinning a basketball atop each of those index fingers, but since the ball was already at my feet, her intention was surely to indicate the one and the one of "one-on-one".

"However, basketball was originally not a sport to be played with just one versus one."

"...? Well, that's true. Basketball was—"

"Five versus five."

Chinu-senpai opened up both of her hands.

And so, one versus one—became five versus five.

"That's the kind of sport it is, right? Basketball isn't an individual sport, but a team sport—right?"

"Er... Well, yes, but..."

"Right, basketball is a sport with teams of five people each—certainly not a sport you play by yourself. You can't make a team with just one person—"

Chinu-senpai spoke as if it was a new truth that she'd just discovered, but to that, I could only say,

"Right..."

Yes, I had nothing but that ambiguous response to say.

No matter how narrow people said my worldview was, I was still plenty aware that basketball was a sport played with five people on a team, and even if I hadn't known that fact, nevertheless, I would be strongly confused considering the fact that there were only the two of us here in this gymnasium.

Even if it was a sport played with five people.

Chinu-senpai—was alone.

"However, Kurokami-chan."

As if she sensed my confusion and then disregarded it entirely, or perhaps as if she never cared about something like my confusion from the beginning, Chinu-senpai continued unconcernedly.

"But I guess it's a bit strange, or maybe unnatural... Don't you think there's a fundamental problem there? Like it breaks the game balance, or there's a bug, or the game's programming is incomplete—"

"......?"

The direction of the conversation suddenly changed.

However, even so, when she posed that question, I couldn't help but think about it—incomplete?

"Are you asking if there's a flaw in the rules of basketball?"

"No, no, there's no way I could complain about the rules thought up by a genius, that haven't undergone much transformation even after such a long period of time—there's no way I would be so insolent. I'm not talking about just basketball, but about all team sports. It doesn't have to be just basketball—it could be soccer, or lacrosse, or rugby, or even American football."

"Team sports..."

"As this goes on, it almost sounds like it has nothing to do with sports at all, but for the sake of making it easy to understand, I'll keep talking about it through the lens of sports. You know how they have stuff like all-stars, or a dream team, right?"

Well, even if she asked me that.

All I could do was keep quiet and wait for Chinu-senpai to continue.

"A dream team made up of MVP-class players—a line-up of stars, or an all-star team. They get chosen based on fan voting or expert discussion, but... What do you think of that?"

"Er, well... I can't really see a problem in the act of dreaming about putting together a team of outstanding players, in the sense that they're pursuing an ideal... Isn't it essentially the same as a coach choosing the regulars to achieve the best possible team?"

The reason why my answer was a bit hard to put together was because I had no idea what answer Chinu-senpai was looking for—however, regardless of whether I could or couldn't predict what she wanted, I had no choice but to respond in that way. When it came to team sports, there was no such thing as a commander who didn't care about assembling the best team members.

"I suppose. Team sports are all about putting together and then competing with the best possible team—but the thing I feel is incomplete about team sports comes from there,"

said Chinu-senpai.

Her open hands were still there, as she'd left them.

"If team sports are all about comparing the ability of two teams, and the one with better composition is the one that wins—then an all-star team should be the strongest team, right? For example, in basketball, say there's a team that wins nationals. But would a team made up of five aces really be stronger than that team?"

"...Teamwork is also important when it comes to team sports, so I can imagine that simply gathering five aces won't do the trick. No matter how exceptional they are, just because you gather them—"

"That's less ideal and more idealistic. The skill of 'teamwork' should also be a component of that exceptionality—basically, what I'm trying to say is, Kurokami-chan. Even though it should be theoretically possible to envision the so-called 'ideal' team, instead of creating such a team, everyone instead puts up with putting together 'second-best' teams, compromising among people who happen to be in the same school, or within the limits of how much they can pay, or coming from the same regions. Even though the best can be realized, it's not actually realized in reality—if you can't call this incomplete, then what is it?"

"...Uh-huh."

I understood.

It was a bit of an irrational argument, and it wasn't really something I wanted to agree with. But now that she'd said it, it certainly did feel like a thought worth considering—in short, she was probably trying to say that, when it came to sports based on the premise of forming teams, there was a structural flaw in logically creating an ideal team, or rather, envisioning an ideal team even if it was effectively impossible to create one.

Even the "strongest team" on record, the one that wins the championship or survives to the end, has "room to get even stronger" by replacing its members. And when I think about how they'd suffer a defeat to a potential all-star team, it makes me doubt whether or not the sport itself would become nihilistic—of course, there were no absolutes in games, and there were no absolutes in strength, so we probably shouldn't be considering it so one-dimensionally.

"If it was an individual sport, then there wouldn't be this incompleteness—even if you think to yourself, 'If only I had legs like that guy', you can't actually replace your legs. But in a team game, you can think, 'If only that player was on my team', and, putting aside whether or not that's emotionally possible, it certainly is physically possible."

"When you say 'putting aside whether or not that's emotionally possible', the answer is already there... No, not only in terms of emotions, but also in terms of the fact that it is not possible to realize everything that is physically and logically possible—that's how society works."

"My, my. It's hard to believe that such an opinion came from the legendary freshman, Kurokami Medaka. It almost sounds like an endorsement of a society that does not pursue ideals."

The legendary freshman?

I didn't recall becoming a legend, though.

Not to mention, it was obvious that she was making fun of me, so I didn't really feel like fighting against it.

"Well, even so, that's about it, isn't it?—we humans can only do the best we can, so we have to do what we're allowed to do in the environment we're in. That's about it. A world where every 'if only' were to be realized would be pretty unpleasant in itself—but anyway."

Chinu-senpai said.

"Let's go with this for our little competition."

"?"

As I tilted my head, she continued speaking with her hands still splayed.

Indicating the team formation of basketball, five versus five.

With her right hand and left hand indicating that, she spoke.

"Creating teams in pursuit of the ideal one—I'll call it, the Formation Game."

   ■   ■

The Formation Game—of course.

As I said earlier, the game would end in my defeat.

However, in terms of team formation and team building, you could say there was a connection to the assigning of roles in the Student Council Executive Committee. In that sense, perhaps that was the idea at the root of Chinu-senpai's suggestion.

Kumagawa Misogi.

For what reason did he choose Chinu Namaji, and then Kurokami Medaka, to take up the position of Treasurer of the Student Council Executive Committee that he headed?—through this game, I would come to understand that very reason.

Regardless of the winner and loser.

But that would only be in the long run.

In the short run—I simply lost to her.

Yes, just like how she lost to Kumagawa Misogi.

I lost to Chinu Namaji.

[whyralltheusernamestaken]

Okay so I have an oc names is Arbany her quirk is indestructible wings and telekinesis and I would like u to do her x Bakugo where they fight and he say something that hurts her feelings and she later has a fight with some villains and almost die and whatever else u wanna add but an happy ending if that’s not too much for you I don’t wanna stress u out and if u don’t wanna do it it’s fine or if you have an better idea I will gladly take that thank u so much again I love you work take care 💕💕💕

A/N : omggg tysm for requesting and you’re so sweet ahhhh!! It actually means the world to me!

Apologises if she’s ooc, I’m not really sure what her personality is like.

Bakugou x oc

Warnings : violence/fighting, swearing

Words : 3,800

Masterlist 

Arbany had met Bakugou during the June of their first year in high school, meeting each other for the first time when her school Shiketsu High bumped into his. The impression they left on each other wasn’t the best. She remembered him as the foul mouthed, egoistic boy with a superiority complex, and he saw her as a good for nothing brat with one too many words and nothing but a dumb set of wings.

She had managed to knock him off his pedestal after she received her hero licence before he had and it sparked rivalry of sorts, Bakugou vowing that he would never lose to her again. They had stayed in contact after Kirishima asked for her number, adding her to a group chat with himself, Bakugou and a few more of their friends.

Soon, unbeknown to any of their other mutual friends, they had began to text privately, and she often found herself rushing to the phone whenever his special notification sounded. They would often take about modern day affairs, the latest updates on well known heroes and villains, and sometimes they would open up and talk about themselves, asking each other for advice on certain things or how their day went.

It wasn’t long before Arbany found herself developing a massive crush on him. Sure his attitude was brash and unnecessarily rude, but that didn’t mean he was a terrible person, in fact he did care a lot, and she supposed he just tried hard not show it for some odd reason or another.

They would meet up regularly, normally at places that were a few train stations away from their houses. The distance between their schools wasn’t incredibly big, but it did take at least an hour to get to one place from another, so they compromised with spots in the middle. On specials occasions, when it was their birthdays or a pubic holiday, one would wait by the school gates of the other.

This led to their classmates noticing and hence teasing them about each other. On Arbany’s side, her face would flush, ears light pink as her friends made comments about shipping them whereas on the other side of town, Bakugou would scream threats as his friends laughed.

Eventually, they started dating. It was a few weeks into the second year and Bakugou had asked her out during a picnic in a field with a wreath of fresh flowers that he had hidden in his backpack and a necklace. It was cheesy, and he was embarrassed the entire time, his cheeks dusted with red, letting out small curses every now as then, but he decided the massive smile on who was now his girlfriend’s face was worth him putting down his ego and taking the first step.

In the following autumn, Arbany had transferred into his school for the last year, after her parents moved for their jobs, she decided to finish off her second year at Shiketsu before joining her parents closer to UA. She was understandably upset at leaving behind her good friends, however being with her boyfriend of nearly a year and also his friends, who she was pretty close to as well, helped cheer her up significantly.  

“Arbany!” Mina called, waving her over to the side of the gym. She walked over, pulling on her sports jumper as Aizawa began telling them of today’s training lesson. It was a 1v1 spar with no quirks and he gave everyone the choice to choose a partner.

“Are you going to spar Bakugou?” Mina asked.

Arbany started, “Possibly I-” before cutting herself off as she watched the blonde stomp towards Midoriya.

“Fight me Deku.” he shouted.

She laughed slightly, shaking her head before turning back to Mina. “I think I’ll choose someone I rarely train with.” she said, to which the latter nodded.

“Alright, you better not loose!” she cheered before walking off. Arbany looked around, catching sight of Todoroki standing alone.

“Hey Todoroki!” she called out, smiling as he turned around. “Would you like to be my partner?”

He nodded politely, before the pair began walking to an empty marked area of the hall. Her physical skill was only a few hairs short of Todoroki’s, him often catching to smallest openings and attacking. She stepped back in a wide stance, bringing her leg up which he blocked, before jumping up and swinging the other leg. He dodged, stepping backwards as she swung up, about to land a punch when a sudden large explosion sounded.

“The hell?” she jumped back, whipping her head around to see a large charred dent in the floor of the hall.

“Bakugou! This is a no quirk exercise.” Aizawa shouted, using his scarf to hold the younger boy back from continuing to attack Midoriya. “Are you alright Midoriya?”

She felt a small pang of guilt. Maybe if she had spotted Bakugou’s increasing anger towards the other boy, then she could have possibly prevented this. Maybe she should’ve payed more attention to her own boyfriend.

“I’ll take him to nurse’s office.” she offered, walking towards the boy and pulling on his arm.

“It’s alright I’m fine.” Midoriya protested, shaking his head but she tugged on his arm again and he followed without much more complaint. In the background she could hear Bakugou screaming at her to leave the damn nerd alone but she simply ignored him.

After leaving the hall, she slowed down her pace, letting go of his arm. “I’m sorry about Katsuki, I’m not sure why he even thought something like that would be acceptable.” she sighed, rubbing her forehead as Midoriya awkwardly chuckled.

“It’s not your fault don’t worry.” he reassured her.

“No it’s not.” she huffed out frustrated, “but maybe I could’ve talked him out of pulling something like this.”

Midoriya shook his head. “I think we need to sort it out between ourselves.” he said. “There’s no need to blame yourself Arbany.”

She nodded and sighed, stepping into the nurse’s office after him and looking around for any burn ailments.

Bakugou was seething. He detested the thought of his girlfriend together with the only person on earth that he utterly loathed. As soon as class ended, he rushed off to find Arbany, spotting her near their classroom and pulling her to the side.

“Why are you hanging out with the damn Deku.” Bakugou asked.

She sighed, grimacing. “I was not ‘hanging out’ with him, I went to treat him for a burn that you caused.” she answered, pointing a figure to his chest.

“He could’ve easily taken care of that himself.” he muttered.

“No Katsuki. He could’ve easily not been hurt at all if you just learn how to grow up.”

He could feel himself shaking with anger as he clenched his fists. “What the fuck do you mean I need to grow up.”

“Katsuki you are literally an adult next year, stop acting like a child towards someone who literally hasn't done anything to deserve this hate.”

“So you’re defending him now?”

“Yes! Yes I am because I think you’re being utterly unreasonable.”

“I don’t get you. You’re my girlfriend and yet-”

“Exactly! I’m your girlfriend and you should listen to me when I tell you what you’re doing something wrong. I care about you and that’s exactly why I’m not going to condone this behaviour.”

“But he’s just a fucking loser-” He stopped shouting to hold his head with his hand, rubbing his temple. “Look, I didn’t pull you over for a fight.”

“Well I’m not sure what you expected pulling a stunt like that.”

“Look I can explain-”

“You literally attempted to kill him. For what reason? Because he’s your rival?”

“No because-”

The sound of a phone ringing cut him off. “Hold on, let me take this.” she said, side stepping away and bringing the phone up to her ear.

“Hello? Arbany speaking.”

“Hello Arbany, you are being requested for a case.”

“Alright, I’m coming right now.”

“Mirio is waiting for you at the front gates.”

“Thank you.” she said before hanging up the phone, turning around. “Listen I’ve got a job now, but don’t you dare think this conversation is over Bakugou Katsuki.”

“Wait- Arbany!”

She ignored him, rushing off back to the classroom to gather her bag before running down the hallway and stairs. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, telling herself to stay calm as she slowly counted to 10 before regaining her composure. “You’re okay Arbany, you can do this.” she said to herself, pushing open the main doors and quickly walking to the school’s front gate.

“Mirio!” she called out, a smile plastered on her face as she threw her bag in the back seat and climbed into the passenger’s seat.

“Hey Arbany.” he replied, throwing her and earpiece before starting the engine and speeding down the road as she put on her seat belt, catching herself with her hand as the car lurched forward.

“Woah, slow down or you’re going to hit someone.” she laughed, securing the piece around her ear.

“I’ll be careful, but today’s job is really urgent.” he said, and she grimaced at the lack of a single hint of humour in his voice.

“Well that sucks, who is it?”

“The League again.” he sighed.

“Seriously? I’ve never met them before.” she answered, a pang of excitement hitting her as she was finally going to face the area’s most infamous villains.

“Really? They’ve been all over your class since first year.”

“Oh damn. I transferred this year so I guess I missed all of the fun stuff.” she answered.

“Well, I wouldn’t say fun.” he replied with a small laugh. “Your boyfriend did end up kidnapped for a good few days.”

She huffed at the word boyfriend and this caused Mirio to loosen up and actually laugh for one time in their journey. His usual upbeat self was incredibly tense and Arbany noticed as soon as she heard his less than enthusiastic greeting. “What did he do this time?”

“Arh.” She put her head in her hands before looking back up and staring at the traffic light. “I don’t even know, he just acts like a child like oh my fucking god Katsuki you’re turning 18 next year and you’re still trying to kill this poor bean over some childhood superiority complex.” she ranted, throwing her hands up in the air, hitting the car’s ceiling by accident.

“That sounds like him.” Mirio laughed, turning the corner, them both now spotting a massive colour of smoke.

“Well shit.” she cursed, tightening her grip on her seat belt as she saw a few people running away from the general direction. “Care to brief me in on which fucker might have done this?”

“Most likely Dabi.” he replied. “He’s the most active member who has a fire quirk. Just a warning, they may possibly have nomus.”

He pulled over to the side of the road, a sticker on his car’s windscreen showing that he was okay to do what would have otherwise been illegal parking. She got out of the car, running towards the scene. “Damn I don’t even have my hero suit on.” she complained under her breath, jumping into the air and with a flap of her wings she was above, looking down towards the scene.

“[hero name] here reporting for duty.” she called out after turning the ear piece on.

“Alright Arbany, your job is to make sure all civilians are out of the area.”

“Understood.” she answered, starting by doing a massive lap around the burning building with her wings. Spotting a pair walking towards it’s general direction, she swooped down and guided them to another route, before flying back up.

Getting closer to the building her eye caught sight on a fairly unburnt rooming, severely out of place considering the entire building was up in roaring flames and smoke. She slowly made her way to, realising a fairly young woman had been using her quirk to fireproof the room, but visibly growing tired. Arbany banged harshly on the window, getting no response as the woman remained leaning against her bed, almost motionless apart from the slight turn of her head, her eyes widening at the fact that someone had noticed her.

Arbany landed on the balcony, stepping back before swinging her leg up and shattering the window. She reached inside and unlatched the door, walking in hurriedly and placing her hands underneath the woman’s knees and back.

“Are you alright miss?” she asked, lifting her up and exiting the building.

She closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. “Thank you...”

“It’s alright.” Arbany replied, dropping to the ground at the sight of an ambulance, passing the woman over to a health worker. “Have some rest.” she said before jumping back into the air.

Before she could even travel another few feet, something at an incredible speed knocked into her from behind, sending her shooting down into the ground. “Fuck!” she screamed, wrapping her wings around her as she plummeted into the concrete.

“Arbany? Are you alright?” her ear piece sounded.

“Oh my fucking god.” she cried out, standing back up with a wobble and turning to see a massive lump of muscle and flesh flying in the sky. “Holy shit that thing is ugly.” she snorted, rolling back her shoulders to ease the tension as she most likely had to face that thing.

“That’s a nomu. Try not to engage in contact.”

“I think it’s a bit too late for that.” she responded as it started flying down towards her at a rapid speed.

“We’re sending another pro hero your way. Stay on your toes until then.”

“Alright.” she answered, focusing her mind on the incoming nomu and trying to stop it with her telekinesis. It slowed down considerably, no longer a blur in the sky, however she knew that once it reached her, even with a swing of it’s arm, she would be toast.

She couldn’t take her eyes off it otherwise he telekinesis would cease to work, so slowly she flew back into the air. The nomu changed it’s direction of path and sped towards her. She watched it intently as it grew closer and closer and by the time it was arms distance, she forced all of her energy onto it. It slowed down even more, and with that, she flew up, waiting for it be directly underneath her, before hardening her wings and burying them into it’s muscles as knifes.

It let out an ear piercing howl and with that she focused her telekinesis onto her leg, giving it extra as she stomped downwards on the nomu’s body. It started falling almost instantly, yet in that minuscule time frame, it had grabbed onto her ankle, pulling her down as well. With a shift of it’s body, it launched Arbany down towards the ground with it’s immense strength.

“Fuck.” she screamed. Her wings couldn’t catch any updraft of air so she resorted to encasing herself in her wings again. She hit the ground with a massive crash, the things around her becoming debris as she lay still in the dent in the ground.

In the quick seconds this had all occurred, she had forgotten to unharden her wings. She groaned in frustration at her stupidity as she felt an overwhelming pain in her side.

“Well fuck I might be out of commission soon.” she announced, roughly pulling out one of her feathers out of her side and tying her clothes tightly around the wound.

“You can stop Arbany, Endeavour has made it to your area.”

“I’m gonna keep helping until I can’t move anymore.” she muttered, standing up slowly as she winced at her side wound. She fell in pain as she stretched out her wings. Her wings were indestructible yes, the bones in them could never break, however that didn’t mean the rest of her body was too. The muscles connecting her wings to her back had been severely injured in the fall.

She felt utterly useless. She was a combat hero as much as a rescue one but she had essentially failed at both tasks. She watched as the nomu burned up in flames, still rushing towards Endeavour in a rage. With the last part of her energy, she focused and stopped most of it’s movements, and he sent another fire attack it’s way. With it unable to dodge or even shake out the flames, it slowly burnt up. She guessed this one was the regenerative type the others had encountered before.

With a small nod, satisfied at her help, she leaned against a wall and said “Alright well I’m gonna take a quick nap.”

“Arbany you are still in the battlefield, open your eyes right now!” She winced at the shouting in her ear and grumbled.

“Fine fine, I’m leaving.” she slowly started limping away, her hand on the wall to steady her and she made her way back to the main road. Spotting the ambulance again she stood up straight to walk over, missing the curb and falling flat on her face.

She felt fatigue wash over her as she rested her head on the concrete. Her head was spinning uncontrollably and she closed her eyes shut, hearing people running over to her as she slowly faded away.

~~~

“Kacchan I’m guessing you’re going to visit Arbany right now?” Midoriya asked as Bakugou strolled into the kitchen.

“What?” he scowled, turning his attention to the other boy with a glare.

“Wait you haven’t heard?”

“Do I look like I have Deku? Fucking spit it out already.”

“R-right, Arbany’s in hopsital after the villain attack by the-”

“Are you fucking with me Deku? I swear to god.”

“N-no I’m not!” he quickly answered, shaking his head before getting out his phone and turning to the most recent screenshot. “It’s on the news.”

Bakugou snatched the phone off him, his eyes squinted as he hurriedly read the small test. “Fuck.” he said, tossing the phone back to him absentmindedly as he rushed out of the kitchen, grabbing someone’s random jacket that was rested on the couch before running out of the door.

He sprinted all the way to the front gate, propelling himself with his quirk. He stopped at a main road, waving down a taxi aggressively before jumping inside and demanding they go to the nearest hospital. He tapped his feet impatiently as the drive there felt so agonisingly long. His eye watched digital distance measurer and calculator, pulling out what he assumed to be more than enough cash.

“Just park here.” he demanded as the hospital came into view.

“Sir I can’t-”

“Just fucking park here.” he shouted, the timid guy agreeing and stopping the car. He slammed the cash onto the dashboard before bolting out.

“Sir your change.” the driver called out.

“Keep it for all I care.” he shouted back, not sparing another glance as he ran into the hospital, knocking into a few people and almost colliding with a few more.

“Arbany. Arbany [L/N]” he said at the front desk as he almost started shouting at the receptionist for how slow he felt she was going.

“Second floor, room 214.” she said and he nodded, rushing to the elevators.

“Please refrain from running in here.” she called out from behind him. “This is a hospital, not a playground.”

He disregarded her words, pressing the up button multiple times, watching the floors come down to the ground, stepping in and pressing the 2. He soon reached her room, knocking before entering. She sat up on the bed, grimacing slightly as her side throbbed.

“Fucking hell, what were you thinking.” he said, sitting down next to her. His words were harsh but she could hear the genuine worry in them.

“Funny thing right, I did this to myself.” she chuckled, pouting when he didn’t show any reaction to her lightheartedness expect sighing.

“You idiot. Do you know how worried I was when I heard that. And if was from that nobody Deku as well.” he rubbed his eyes, his lips drawn up in a tight grimace.

She kissed her teeth. “Yeah, we’ve got to sort out what problem you have with Midoriya.”

“Fuck that brat, don’t think you can just change the conversation topic. What the fuck were you doing out there to get you landed in this bloody hell.” he threw his hands up, but his tone remained worried, making sure not to raise his voice at her.

“I’m a hero Katsuki, of course there are going to be injuries now and then.” she reasoned.

“I know.” he breathed out. He knew too that it was inevitable. They were both aiming to be pro hero and such a path like that wouldn’t be smooth sailing. “I know, I just...”

She stayed silent, not rushing him to go on as she wrapped her fingers around his. He clasped her hand in both of his, bringing them up to his head as he looked down at the bed. “I was scared.” he whispered.

Her heart melted at his words. It was almost never that someone like Bakugou would put down his pride to admit something like that. She reached over with her other hand, stroking his hair as he continued. “They wrote about you as if you were in some life threatening condition.”

She giggled. “That’s the media for you.”

“I, I thought I might lose you.” he said. She felt him shaking and pulled him towards her, wrapping her arm around him.

“I’m not going to leave you, you dummy.” she assured him. “I promise.”

He pulled back, flicking her on the forehead. “You better, otherwise I’m gonna follow you to hell and beat your ass.”

“Hey!” she pouted. “Who says I’d end up in hell anyways.”

“Pfft, and you’re going to heaven then?”

“Yes!”

“In your dreams.” he snorted.

She laughed at him before they fell into a silence, fiddling with his fingers as he simply just stared her.

“What’s up sweatpea?” she asked, tilting her head to the side and trying to read his expression.

“I love you dumbass.”

“Ew gross.” she laughed as he glared at her. “I’m just joking, ow! Don’t hit me I’m injured.”

Leaning back on the bed and away from him, she stuck her tongue out. “Say it back.” he demanded.

She squinted her eyes at him. “Are you sure you’re not the injured one Katsuki?”

He huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine then. Be like that.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding oh my god.” she rolled her eyes, leaning forwards to peck him on the lips.

“I love you too, you baby.”

If it wasn’t for her being injured, he might have blown her to pieces in sheer embarrassment.

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