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alpines-bucky · 3 years

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No one said Starks weren't a little dramatic

This is the first time I write Tony x daughter reader I hope you guys like it :)

Word Count: 2319 ( Things got a bit out of my hands while I was editing and eventhough it's edited I can't promise that there aren't any typos and I dtill wasn't satisfied with what I wrote but 🤷‍♀️Ig )

Warnings: Major character death, a lot of angst

Y/N loses her dad when he decides to save the universe with a snap of his fingers but when did anyone see a Stark not getting what they want? Let me answer for you, Never. ( AKA Y/N gambles with time and space and universes surprisingly there isn't any VA involved cause in my opinion they suck to save her dad but apparently there are always consequences)

Y/N had arrived at her destination albeit being a little late. She wanted to be there when the team tried to go back in time to get the Stones in hopes of saving aunt Tasha too but she had one and only shot at this so she had to make do with what she had. What she didn’t realise was she accidentally changed universes instead of going back in time.

The way she found out that the place she had arrived wasn’t when or where she intented to was Morgan, the little girl with big Brown eyes who had total control over her older sister the second they met. Y/N had to lay low and do her research before approaching them. But when she heard about Morgan she had to meet her before doing what she came to do. And that’s exactly what she did.

She found Morgan in a house by the lake with a woman who she assumed was Pepper.Her visit was short since she couldn’t afford getting caught by Pepper which would mean jeopardising the whole plan she had spent months making. She left a message for her dad before going off to save the man itself.

Her dad was fighting with Thanos when she arrived to the scene. The more she looked around the more it looked like the place she fought along with her dad and that meant one thing, she had to act quick.

‘’I am inevitable’’ Thanos said as he snapped his finger but nothing happened. Confused, he looked at his gauntlet to find that the Stones that were there a minute ago were no longer in their places. He looked around to see that Tony had them somehow.

‘’And I’m Iron Man’’ said Tony full of emotions as he was about to snap his fingers. He thought having all six Stones in his hands would kill him being a mortal and he was fine with it if that meant she could ensure his family’s security but he felt nothing. He thought he had died instantly but he found out that wasn’t the case when he got startled by an unknown voice.

‘’Oh, the hell with that!’’ said a girl who wore a similar suit to Tony’s. She seemed to appear out of nowhere. Which confused both man further.

‘’Who the hell are you?’’ asked Tony. Who the hell was mad enough decided to mess up the only chance of him stopping the big purple psycho of a man.

‘’Who do you think?’’ said the girl, winking at him confidentally but her eyes told a different story. There was sadness in them, grief and loss but it seemed like she was happy at the same time.What surprised him was the familiarity she carried but he couldn’t put his finger on it. So he searched her suit for some clues which led up to him finding the Stones. She was the reason he was not dead, she somehow got possession of the Stones.

‘’Kid, no!’’ yelled Tony. He attempted to get closer to her but she snapped her fingers before he could stop her. Everything stilled for a second. The other avengers thought Tony had done it as Thanos’ soldiers had started to turn to dust all of a sudden but when they found a girl that they’ve never seen before in the arms of Tony with fetal injuries they were puzzled. They gathered around Tony and the girl who struggled tos tay alive.

‘’I made it! I… I saved you, Dad.’’Tony was shocked at her words. He was processing what he heard as Pepper landed next to them and kneeled. They couldn’t Wrap their heads around what was happening but they both were not going to let a dying kid down for sure.

She had a difficulty breathing, she was in agonizing pain but she had a peaceful smile on her face. She tried to lift her hand but it pained her more, she whimpered. Tony sensed her intentions and put her hand on his cheek for her. He put his hand on top of her, gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘’Friday, what do we have?’’ asked Tony.

‘’3 to 4 degree burns from her right hand up to her face. Internal bleeding. Her lungs are collapsing... Life functions critical.’’ Answered the voice from both of the suits. Pepper grimaced, she didn’t know who this girl was but she had sacrificed herself for Tony, the man she referred ‘dad’. ‘’Who are you?’’ asked Pepper.

‘’I’m–‘’ she coughed, blood was pooling in her mouth. ‘’I’m surprised you couldn’t figure it out yet…’’ she let out a bloody laugh. ‘’I’m Y/N. Y/N Stark.’’ She said with her last breath. That shook the whole group to their cores. The girl wasn’t lying or confusing Tony with someone else. The girl who lied in his Tony’s arms nonbreathing was infact the daughter of Tony Stark. From the moment they realised the truth everything was a blur to the Stark Family and the avengers.

Y/N was Tony’s first daughter who had died in a cross fire 7 years ago. She was a teenager at the time. She would have been a few years older than Peter if she had lived. It was a wrong place wrong time type of situation, she had died on the scene. Tony had nightmares after that, his insomnia got worse. He had blamed himself although it had nothing to do with him. The guilt ate him alive day by day. He realised why the girl’s eyes were so familiar to him now, she was his Y/N/N. A grown, older version of her, but his Y/N nontheless.

He didn’t think he could recover from her death but losing her, seeing her die in his arms for the second time ruined him. He had no idea what was happening outside of his head, he was in a trance, he had stayed still looking at his hands where Y/N laid. Until his little girl, Morgan came up to him with a disk in hand and said ‘’Daddy! Daddy! A girl called Y/N wanted me to give this to you’’ That got everyone’s attention.

Tony told Friday to scan the disk and display whatever is in it. When he saw Y/N in front of her, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling and when she started speaking as if she could see her Tony lost it. He couldn’t hear her because of his own sobs, he didn’t even realised the rest of the avengers and his wife as they piled in the room when they heard Tony and Y/N’s voice. He had to stop the hologram a few times to gather himself. When he got control of his breathing, he built up his courage and displayed it all over again.

‘’Hey dad. I’m assuming since you are watching this I suceed. I’ve saved you.’’ She had to stop for a second to take a breath in to compose herself. ‘This time’ she said under her breath but Friday caught it.

‘’You are wondering how the hell I am alive. Well… For starters, I didn’t know that I was dead in this world which… makes you realise that I’m not from this world. I’m actually from what you call an alternative universe. Things got out of hand in my universe after… after you… Oh shit! This is too hard. I knew I couldn’t do this shit! I can’t even talk to my own god damn suit picturing it as my hypothetical dad without messing it up’’ that made a few people chuckle and a few others tos mile. The girl really was his father’s child after all.

‘’Okay I’m hoping you either won’t have to watch this or I can cut that part before giving it to Morgan. Anyways, I’m rambling.’’ Tony saw his younger self in Y/N which put a sad smile to his face. This was something he never got to experience before. To see her this grown up. To see a pieces of him in her.

‘’ So things went down hill after you did the whole ‘I’m Iron Man’ thing –which by the way I’m still mad at you about- You… You died in my hands, dad.’’ She gulped. She had begun crying a while ago but now that she was talking about her dad’s death, she felt like the lump in her throat got bigger and bigger, suffocating her. ‘’ I was all alone for years! You were all I had and then within a second you were gone! I didn’t have anyone else!’’ She tried to calm herself. She wasn’t recording this to make him feel guilty or get answers she was possibly never going to hear. This was a goodbye. A goodbye she knew he deserved just like how she did from him.

‘’That’s why I made the decision to change it but I accidentally changed universes instead of going back in time. But this was my only chance, only shot at making it right. And then I found out that I had died in this universe and you had moved on. Good for you, dad. I’m really proud of you. You did what I couldn’t. It was a relief to know that you were happy and that you had a family now. I thought for a second that maybe the blip didn’t happen. That in this universe, you had a lovely life and I thought for a second maybe I could be in it too. Stay with you but that hope was shortly lived.’’ She gave a sad smile.

‘’And now I’m about to go to the battle field. Before I go, I have to say, I don’t know how if there is any way for me to stop you. I can’t take it all back but I will do anything to not let another girl grow up without her dad. And I ain’t going to let my own sister down. Oh, did you know that I always wanted a sister?’’ she chuckled making Tony’s heart warm. It has been so long since he heard his daughter chuckle the damn way he does. She stopped for a second to think ‘’Well, she has the Stark charm, that’s for sure. I only knew her for a few hours and she had me the second we met. I wish I could be there for her as her older sister. I would give anything to see her grow up but if that has to be for only one of us to see, I’d rather that be you because I’ve been there. I know how hard it is to lose your dad. I could see clearly what she would have to go through and the moment I realised that I knew what I had to do. I would stop you at all costs and since this reacording is being played I could sleep peacefully knowing she has you.’’ She smiled with tears escaping her eyes once again. Tony was full of emotions. His daughter he has been longing for years was right in front of him but way too far away at the same time.

With a sigh she started ‘’ You have people you can hold on to. I never did. Pepper, Morgan, Rhodey, the spider kid... Hold on to them Tony. Hold on to the team. Oh, speaking of the team, tell them I love them and I missed them so badly. I’m sorry. I thought I was going to have more time to talk And maybe if a miracle happens and we all can manage to stay alive I could tell you all about it but I have to go now. Have an old man to save’’ She saluted and looked around right where the broken team of Avengers were with longing in her eyes. She moved closer to the disk to cut the recording but decided against it the last second. Tony hung his head, his heart broke to hear the hope in her voice when he knew what already happened. He thought this was the end of the recording but he looked up when he heard her talking and she had turned to him and looked right at him as if she knew where he was stated. That sent shivers up Tony’s spine.

‘’I know you think I made the wrong decision but I saved you. I refuse to let you down once again. I refuse to see you die in front of me once again. I’m not sorry for what I’m about to do, I knew the consequences when I made this plan months ago. I’m only sorry because although I tried so much to have the future we always talked about with you, I won’t be able to, Tones. But Morgan will be. And I would give up anything for that little girl. And for you.’’ She said as she caressed the necklace Tony gave her when she was a child. She took the chain out of her neck and put it somewhere Tony couldn’t see. And Tony knew this was only a tape but he tried to hold on to his daughter, to stop her from going out there. His breath caught in his throat when his hands went through Y/N’s body. He fell to his knees.

‘’ But hey if it turns out that I, this badass manage to get both of us home in one peace one we can laugh our asses off as we watch me being the drama queen that I am… Well, no one said Starks weren’t a bit dramatic.’’ The heart Tony thought had broken to a million pieces broke further as he heard the tremble in her voice as she tried to put her brave face on. But she couldn’t hide it when one last tear escaped from her slightly swollen eyes as she ended the recording.

Why do I never have good endings? Cause I write in the middle of the night when I feel sad most of the time and it's easier to write sad than it is to write happy.

I hope you liked it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. I'd also like to discuss if you'd like the alternative ending that could be a happy one :)

#avengers fanfiction #avengers x reader #avengers endgame #tony x daughter!reader #tony stark fanfiction #tony stark fanfic #tony fanfiction #tony fanfic #stark reader #tony x reader #tony x you #tony x y/n #tony stark #avenger reader #avengers fic #marvel fic

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marvelbitch23 · 3 years

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These are some of my favorite marvel fics.

Enjoy!

whatever souls are made of - atypicalsnowman - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

Stephen Strange/Tony Stark

Soul bonding canon divergence. Fourteen million futures and Stephen saw just one where they win. Tony has to soul bond to a virtual stranger whereas Stephen... Stephen is in love.

This is a story of how two broken men became friends, then family, then fell in love.

And saved the universe.

The Guiding of Death - Chapter 1 - RayShippouUchiha - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

James “Bucky” Barnes/Female Tony Stark

“Hades and Persephone reborn huh,” Fury states then more than asks, “no need to ask which is which.”

Toni’s brows furrow even as dread begins to squirm to life inside of her.

But before she can say anything, before she can open her mouth and set the record straight, she hears it.

A murmur as loud as a scream from somewhere in the tomb silent bridge.

“That whole Merchant of Death thing,” someone off to the side faux whispers, “makes a lot more sense now.”

It echoes across the bridge like a gunshot.

The Devouring of Hearts - Chapter 1 - RayShippouUchiha - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

James “Bucky” Barnes/ Female Tony Stark

Toni’s gums ache for a split second, fresh blood flooding her mouth before she swallows it.

And in that next second that curl of darkness inside of her sits up and decides that this, that Howard’s continued cruelty and abuse, will no longer be allowed.

Toni licks the blood from her now too sharp teeth before she plants her hands on the floor in front of her and pushes herself back up onto her feet.

This time when Howard lashes out at her Toni ducks low to avoid the blow.

Crouched on the hall floor, sharp nails digging into the dark wood beneath her, Toni hisses, takes a moment to calculate, and then she leaps.

We Can Do Better - Chapter 1 - Zeethulhu - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

14,000,605 universes and only one win in the time Doctor Strange had to look.

This is not the universe where they won against Thanos. Sitting in the ruins of their battlefield, knowing everything he swore to protect, his universe was coming to an end, Stephen makes a choice.

Sacrificing his body for a spell, he takes the only souls he knows can orchestrate a victory back in time. A spell created by his own hands, fueled with his sacrifice, he catapults himself and Tony Stark back to the moments of their birth.

With their reality at stake, they need to create a chance for their time-line to win. After all, their universe wasn't the one that won.

Peter Parker's Adventure Through Time and Space - Chapter 1 - Sciencelings - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

Irondad

Comic book science and time travel make for a great fic. Alternate realities, past timelines, space and a whole lot more. Spoilers for infinity war stuff but by now we probably don't need that.

Basically Peter meets everyone in the Marvel universe and everyone loves him. But with more plot.

Peter travels through alternate realities and has to fix problems that aren't really his but he has no sense of self preservation so you can see how that goes.

Peter is a [Genius Playboy Superhero] Orphan - Chapter 1 - squishychiminie - Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

Losing Gwen was more than just heartbreaking for Peter Parker. It shattered him. That’s three people he loved, and failed to save. But, he must piece himself back together, swallow his misery, and do what has to be done.

Can he keep the glue from cracking?

The one where an angsty kid owns a small but thriving business and is also one reckless bamf

Disclaimer: Mentions of (at some point in passing) drugs, alcohol, depression, bullying, abuse, sex, blood, murder, suicidal thoughts/ tendencies, loss of a loved one, etc.

PROOF SPIDER-MAN LOVES CLICKBAIT - Chapter 1 - mauvera - Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) [Archive of Our Own]

Harley/Peter

When Peter Parker gets a job working at Buzzfeed there's really only one subject he can write about: superheroes. And what superhero does he know better than everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?

What he didn't expect was that everyone would think Peter's new obsession with the hero would be interpreted quite like That.

stay, i pray you - Chapter 1 - floweryfran - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark

There is a tap on the table top and a quiet, “Scusatemi, signorina,” and she looks up. There is a boy there, no more than twenty, and he is undoubtedly American, though his Italian is so polished that even she would be unsure if not for his hesitant slouch— discomfort, it says I am out of place. His gaze is not demanding. It is not cold, either— but intelligent, distant. Not assessing, but calculating. As if she is made of code, and he is reading her.

“I speak English,” she tells him, “better than Italian.”

He slumps with something akin to relief. “Oh- that’s. That’s cool. I’m really sorry to ask-“ and he looks it, wincing and pulling his own fingers, “-but would it be okay if I sit with you? My mamma is in a formaggeria across the piazza and I desperately don’t want to stand in there and smell cheese for an hour so I was gonna grab an espresso but every other table is filled and I don’t want to impose but—?” He looks at her. He is sharp, ardent with a wisdom that puts her teeth on edge. No young man should look like that: as if he has stared straight into the barrel of a gun and laughed at the bullet, swallowed it whole.

He looks old for his age. He just. He looks.

Sharpen Your Teeth - Chapter 1 - STARSdidathing - The Avengers (Marvel Movies) [Archive of Our Own]

Tony Stark/ Loki

A betrayed Tony Stark leaves the Avengers. He's angry and bitter but he's not about to stop being a hero. The problem is that not everyone is happy with his decision.

Shadow of Grief, Ghost of Hope - Chapter 1 - Zeelian - Marvel Cinematic Universe [Archive of Our Own]

James “Bucky” Barnes/Tony Stark

Finding out about his parents' murder at the hand of the Winter Soldier, Captain America's old war buddy, pushes Tony Stark into a very dark place and he turns to the former HYDRA assassin with a burning fury, part of him screaming for revenge.

Finding out that Steve knew and didn't tell him pushes him over the edge and he lashes out against the super soldier, but just as Steve is about to retaliate the Winter Soldier takes Tony by surprise, by knocking Steve out and surrendering.

The Asset knows that to be free HYDRA must be crushed, and for that to happen his best chance is the resources of Tony Stark, when Captain America shows up in Bucharest the fragmented memories of who he once was tells him that the Captain will protect him and bring him to the Avengers so the Asset goes with him, but when the Captain is about to attack Iron Man with deadly intent he makes a choice and goes against the voices within.

The Asset neutralizes the Captain and surrenders to Iron Man, hoping that he will be able to convince the man to use HYDRA's own weapon to take them down.

#marvel #fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes/tony stark #Stephen strange/tony Stark #female tony stark #tony Stark/Loki #Harley keener/peter Parker #fic rec #fan fiction recommendations

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kyber-crystal · 4 years

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➳ good enough || s.r.

summary: after a long week you’re left completely exhausted. steve comforts you and helps you unwind.

words: ~1.6k

warnings: slight mentions of violence, angst, angst-to-fluff, a lil friends-to-lovers (i’m SORRY literally all of my oneshots are some variation of this but i just can’t resist), minor age gap? (if you call 5 years a lot). also civil war happened but they resolved it so 2017 au teeheeeeee

a/n: this sucked omg. why is my writing going downhill. also this is a red-room-turned-agent-reader who helped steve adjust when he came out of the ice bc i love cliche love backstories hehe...i tried to be very descriptive here but that failed oops. this is prolly one of my worst fics ever (it’s unedited) but my other one got deleted so i’m uploading this in its place!

Steve knew something was wrong the minute you came back from your mission. You always acted a bit off the first few days following your return, but for some reason, today seemed different. For the past week you'd been blatantly avoiding his gaze, refusing to meet his eye unless forced to.

You don’t even return Sam and Bucky’s sarcastic one-liners - and you always make sure to send a cheesy joke right back at them. It’s not typical for you to be so quiet and reserved like this; frankly, it scared him.

He knows that as a former Red Room assassin, you never had it easy. As the youngest of the twenty-eight dancer-disguised warriors, you were merely eight years old when you were admitted (Natasha was thirteen). At eight, there was much you didn’t know. You were naive, easily shaped to conform to the strict rules they’d set out for you.

But despite all the hell you’d gone through in the past, you managed to find it in your heart to forgive and create a compassionate nature towards others. Especially him. He always wondered what he deserved to get someone like you-- he felt more than lucky to have you in his life.

It was 4 a.m, and his insomnia was at its worst. It had peaked ever since he’d come out of the ice - he was 27, had so much of his life before him before it was abruptly put to a stop. But then he met you, with your warm eyes and kind smile that was such a sharp contrast to the girl you used to be.

The sound of muffled shouts coming from across the compound makes him look up - he sets down his mug of coffee and immediately heads down the hall to see what’s going on.

Steve carefully pushed open the glass doors to the training facility, seeing you standing in front of a punching bag and attacking the hell out of it with an almost murderous look in your eyes - one he’d never seen before. The tape around your knuckles were splattered with your crimson blood. Despite the dim lighting, he could see the outlines of fresh bruises all over your arms and shoulders. The sight made bile rise up in his throat. He felt his heart break.

Every heavy blow of your fists was accompanied by a ground-shaking boom that echoed across the gym, unleashing the monster trapped inside. You pick up the pace and increase your speed, channelling all your pent-up anger and frustration and guilt into what you were doing.

It hurts. You would give anything to get rid of the pain. It hurts like hell, but you would trade living a regret-ridden life for a guilt-free one in a heartbeat if that’s what it takes. Besides, you’ve experienced far worse before-- six-inch knife wounds, bullets to the abdomen and upper arms, broken ribs and noses. This should be a walk in the park.

The concerned super-soldier stood several feet away and observed you, silently watching you murdering the poor punching bag that’s barely withholding all the fury you’ve poured into pummeling it; it was about to burst at the seams.

“Y/N.” You didn’t hear him and kept going, so he repeated himself again. “Y/N.”

“What?” you snapped, keeping your gaze trained in front of you. “What the hell do you want?”

“Shouldn’t you be in bed? It’s late. What’s keeping you up at this hour?”

“Nothing,” you replied plainly, but he caught the brief flash of a grief-stricken look cross over your expression and your eyes glaze over, “I’m fine. Leave me alone.”

“You clearly aren’t. Y/N, talk to me. Please.”

“I told you, I’m,” you increased the force of your fists with each word you spoke, as you felt your eyes stinging, “just, fine!”

“Y/N...” he whispered, so softly, as if he was afraid he’d break you with a single sentence.

That was the last straw. The tears spilled over. Your vision began to blur as you didn’t even bother to wipe them away. The broad-shouldered super-soldier, your fists, and the punching bag and everything insight are turned into blurry, shapeless blobs. You try blinking them away but it was no use; but you keep going.

“Please tell me what’s going on. Tell me what’s wrong...please don’t shut me out. I only want to help.”

“Leave me alone,” you repeated with a growl, arms now aching with the pain of a thousand tiny needles. But he doesn’t, and he stays firmly rooted in his place. You hastily wiped at your nose with your hands. “For gods’ sake, Rogers, leave,” smack “me,” smack “alone.”

Your last punch was so hard the walls shook and caused Steve to take a step back in alarm. But after that, all the fight is gone from you. Your knees buckle from underneath you and your shoulders slump in defeat and you crumble to the floor. A sound so raw and hoarse escapes your lips and it sounds nothing near human.

The metallic scent of blood mixed with your salty tears and sweat overwhelms your senses and makes your head spin. Suddenly the act of taking in a single breath seems impossible and your chest tightens, preventing you from being able to breathe properly.

The ever-so-fragile wall that had been struggling to hold your tears at bay finally broke.

Heaving, wrenching sobs clawed their way up your throat and tore through your already weary heart - escaping in broken, agonized cries and heart-wrenching howls that make Steve feel like his heart is deliberately shattering into a million, tiny fragments of glass. He doesn’t know what to do because for the first time in his life, the woman he’s always seen with her head held high and an unmatched confidence that could almost put the President to shame was vulnerable, letting it all out at once.

Steve doesn’t ask any questions nor does he push to to speak up, but silently comes over to you and wraps you into a tight hug, cradling you against his chest. Your arms find their way around his torso, pressing your forehead against the soft cotton of his T-shirt as his free hand makes a gentle trek up and down your back.

As if you were a delicate flower, he carefully brought your head closer and pressed a kiss to your temple, letting his lips linger for a second longer than normal to reassure you. To reassure you that everything would in fact, be okay. Because he was there.

“Don’t leave me...please don’t leave me,” you choked out as he tightened his hold on you. “Please don’t leave.”

“I won’t, darling, I promise,” he cooed, lips brushing against your forehead, “it’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay, we’re okay. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”

Then, the suffocating pressure is eased off your chest, little by little. You began sinking into the comfort of his warm arms and soothing words. And with his reminder that you didn’t have to go through hell and back alone, because he’d be there, you began to heal.

...

ONE YEAR LATER

“...Joining the Avengers has been one hell of a ride. I went through hell and back, had my fair share of ups and downs and fought in countless wars. But along the way I’ve been blessed with the privilege of getting a built-in second family and making some of the best friends I’ve had in my life. I met my soulmate.” Steve gazed down at you warmly as you spoke, “I honestly had no idea things would ever work out like this but now, I can’t imagine a life without knowing who all these amazing people are.

“It’s been 15 months since the day he saved me.” Everyone immediately fell silent. "I had hit a very, very low point in my life and I was just about ready to give up. It was like I was screaming into a void and nobody was there to catch me when I fell. I felt so helpless and lost. Stuck. If Steve hadn’t come along at the time he did...I don’t know what would’ve have happened instead. So, Steve...I want to thank you...for everything. I can’t even begin to list all the things you’ve sacrificed or done for my sake and I owe you. From this point forward I promise to always stick by your side no matter how rough things get. I promise to love you at your best and your worst; whenever you need me I’ll always be here. No amount of anything I do will ever match what you’ve done, but I can promise you this: I’ll love you until the day I die, ‘til death do us part.

“’Till death do us part,” Steve repeated, smiling through the tears in his eyes. “God, I love you.”

You broke into a gorgeous grin that had him weak at the knees. “I love you too.”

“The rings, please,” Fury nodded over in Peter’s direction, and the teenager handed them over to the two of you. “Agent Y/N Y/L/N, do you take Captain Steven Grant Rogers to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” you said softly, as you put on Steve’s ring.

He turned to the super-soldier. “And Captain Steven Grant Rogers, do you take Agent Y/N Y/L/N to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Steve took your hand in his and slid the diamond ring over your finger, “I do.”

“Very well, then,” Fury smiled widely, a rare sight. “You may now kiss your bride.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Steve rushed forward and pulled you close, dipping you down low before bringing you back up and kissing you passionately.

His warm lips serving as a reminder of all that you still had left to live for, that you had so much of your life ahead of you. A life with him.

...

general tags(this is from my old taglist spreadsheet, including mutuals who might be interested): @rynhaswritersblock @purpleskiesstorm @pies-writes-and-more @wxstedhexrt @captainchrisstan @sandystoriess @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 @patzammit @capcapcapsicle @wheresmyjae @thinkingofbuckybarnes @carryonmywaywardbucky @musicalkeys @buckybarnesthehotshot @tombob2005 @zaddychris @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho @sylvie-writes @sis-it-dont-add-up @tonystankschild @sunstalgia

steve rogers/chris evans tags: @speechlessxx @angrybirdcr @stainedsouvenir @marvelfanatic16

permanent tags<3: @poesflygirl @sandwitch-god

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silence-burns · 3 years

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Please Hate Me //part 44

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, banter

Power is a precious thing. Power commands others, it shapes lives and holds the upper hand over those who don't possess it.

Being hit with a flash of it, you had to admit it all held true.

There was no way for you to fight the magical hit that flung you backward. Nothing you could do to cushion the floor slamming the air out of your lungs and the blood spilling in your mouth as your teeth cut the soft tissue.

The sheer power of the hit sent you rolling across the floor and crushing into a pillar. Dry leaves twisted down onto your gasping body as you fought to stay conscious. The world tilted to the side, and you couldn't fix it. You were powerless, tossed to the side and forgotten as true power unleashed.

Red leaves whipped through the air like razors in the unnatural wind that tore them off the pillars and tossed the gathered lords alike. Bones broke, stone crumbled, and the screams echoed under the high ceiling. Pillars broke, and part of the galleries to the right hung low, the strained wood groaning.

The guards rushed chaotically throughout the hall, some pulling out fallen lords, some bracing their shields against the wind and the shards it tossed.

And in the center of it all rose the Queen, her pale gown bellowing like moth wings on the winds she gathered. Her skin was still dark, but the tiny speckles peppering it that used to remind you of stars over the night sky shone with light threatening to blind anyone foolish enough to look too closely. Strange power buzzed through the air, rising hair on your arms and neck, like lighting seconds from striking.

The Queen's arms were outstretched, her head tipped back, as if she was reveling in crowds singing praise to her. The horn-like crescent moon, the half broken and yellowing bone, melted off the jewelry she had adorned it with.

The Prince was nowhere to be seen. Given how close he had stood when the Queen showed her true self, he must've ended somewhere under the ruined gallery, or perhaps thrown into the river. Faroq and a few guards crawled over the place.

You bent in half, coughing up the dust swirling in the air. The Queen rose higher, held mid-air by powers she had hidden all these centuries. Cracks spread through the stone, rising high through the walls like a time-lapse of a spiders web.

You wondered how many beings she had killed to stall off her fading. How many she used to secure the Rifts instead of lending off her own essence.

There was no way you could've predicted this outcome.

And maybe that spoke poorly of you, but you had more important matters at hand than worrying about it. Crawling around the pillar, you hid from the Queen's eyes as you groped around in your pocket.

The sword indeed cut through all.

The cuffs fell from your wrists. You looked around, and found Loki behind a pillar under the opposite wall.

"Do we have a plan?"

You cursed violently. Your heart jumped into your throat as you looked up, to where Peter hung upside down on the pillar.

"Sorry!"

His suit was dusty, but the boy seemed to be fine and that was enough to make your shoulders sag with relief. But you were quickly brought back to reality as the remnants of the dais joined the debris flying through the air.

"So… What's the plan?"

You gestured vaguely toward it. "That was the plan."

"It clearly worked." Peter nodded. "What next?"

The ground shook under your feet as if the palace itself strained into movement. The wooden galleries cracked and rained splinters.

"Now we move," you said, wanting nothing less than to be crushed.

But before you managed a step, the last of the leaves joined the forming cyclone, picking up everything on its way. A body hit the floor in front of you. Silver blood streamed down the lord's face, his horns broken and his legs—

You reached out, hoping to pull him behind the still standing pillar, but your hand closed around his robe - and then he died. His body disintegrated into ash that spilled around, quickly getting picked up by the storm brewing inside the hall. Gusts of grey dust swirled once before they joined the wind, leaving you frozen to the spot.

A piece of almost forgotten memory resurfaced. Dwellers of the Edge did not die. Their essence joined the Edge, filling the Rifts and bringing back the balance. No bodies were left behind.

Wood tore from the galleries overhead, but you couldn't move as you watched the wild gusts of wind. Among the debris, wooden planks, shards and pieces of lost weaponry, you could pick up loose bundles of clothes.

Peter jumped off the pillar and shook you by the shoulder, but you couldn't stop looking. So many have died, so many were sacrificed to buy the years for-

You were hurled off the ground, the web stretching painfully as it fought against the wind. You kept forgetting how strong Peter had become after the accident that awakened his superpowers. The gallery you had hid under just moments ago finally gave in to the violence and fell down, toppling the pillar.

Loki assessed you when Peter let go of you. The boy watched the cracks in the walls spread. Nowhere was safe enough, but there was no way out. The debris had already blocked off the exit. The lords and guards—those still alive—hid at the far end of the hall, trying to reach the still standing galleries overhead and the backdoor.

"Are you okay?" Loki's voice cut through your hazy thoughts. He himself was bruised, but otherwise uninjured.

You nodded, swallowing with effort. "We have to stop her."

You didn't waste any time. Using the sword, you cut through Loki's cuffs, finally freeing his magic.

Loki took a deep breath, feeling it rushing back to him, distorted by the elemental cyclone raging deeper in the hall, but still his. Still powerful.

Peter noticed the expression on his face. He was glad the god was on their side.

"Peter, darling, do you think you could distract her a little?"

Peter, the darling, took a peek from behind the pillar. The guards fought with each other, the loyal protecting the queen gathering her powers, and the rational trying to stop them.

"...sure. Easy peasy."

Loki and you braced for the sprint. Peter rolled his shoulders, feeling the familiar tingling of the adrenaline spreading through his arms.

"Easy peasy," he repeated and shot his webs.

Peter flew toward the unbroken half of the galleries and kicked hard into the last pillar standing beneath them. The heavy marble, already cracked underneath all the weight, strained and gave up.

Peter jumped to the wall and watched the winds pick up the debris and hurl it straight toward the fighting crowd. Some managed to jump away in time. Some didn't.

Peter didn't wait to see the outcome, because even then he could clearly see how much the guards loyal to the Queen outnumbered the rest. They spilled blood and ash, separating the Queen from whoever might want to stop her.

The boy was new to this world, but even he lacked hesitation as he climbed higher, jumping over the momentarily growing cracks. But he didn't aim for the ceiling.

Peter braced himself, plastering his feet to the wall, and shot his webs to the heavy crystals growing from the highest peak of the hall's ceiling. Their light buzzed, as if even their essence was being pulled by the woman beneath. But it didn't matter. All that Peter was focused on was the damage already done by her. He pulled.

There was a second where the stone seemed unmoving, fighting against the boy's efforts. Then, so slowly that an eye could barely notice, the impossibly heavy slabs of stone and crystal fell.

Hidden deep in the eye of the storm, where the air was as still as if petrified, the Queen drank all the essence being spilled around her. Not once since the great wars ended had so many dwellers of the Edge gathered in one place. They were solitary beings to the core - always wandering, for to settle meant to define and lose themselves to the illusion of stability at the edge of the universe - the most unstable place of them all. Almost nothing could make them gather again, not like the war that had united them millenia ago.

So war it shall be, the Queen who would not sacrifice herself for anyone had decided. War and a life long and solitary. As it always was on Edge.

The crystals shone one last time as they fell.

But the Queen would not die like that.

Stone was ripped from the floor. Pillars picked up like sticks. Wood and steel gathered with them as they slammed into the crystals, forcing them to the side, flying over the woman in the center of the chaos. The guards standing vigil around her didn't have time to dodge.

Screams were cut-short in the rumbling wind. Lives died out one by one. The Queen's eyes fluttered when she caught their essence and took it.

"Why?"

One shout broke through the noise, sharp and hopeless.

"Why?" repeated the female guard with violent, deep scars over her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she crawled over the debris, over the splinters she didn't feel stained with blood.

The Queen frowned over the ruined, foolish woman. Shards aligned behind her.

"Long shall I live," the Queen said, but the words never reached the guard. Her head rolled down the steps.

From the other end of the hall, you couldn't see any of it, but it didn't mean you were free of problems. Peter had managed to pull the Queen's attention elsewhere, earning Loki and you time to brace through the chaos, but your advance was halted by the thing you liked the least in that world.

The sword indeed cut through anything, and you were madly glad about it as you braced through the oncoming waves of deformed, half-finished monsters the Queen's magic raised from the stone.

But you had to move through them. Someone had to stop her.

Even from so far away, you could see the people who made it through the debris. They tried to heave the stone away from the exit, and fell and faded away as their essence was pried off their bodies until nothing was left. For reasons beyond you, you and Loki seemed to hold up better. But even you started to feel the strain the closer you moved, the sort of heaviness settling deep in your bones that threatened to overwhelm you.

Loki was a steady force by your side, his magic sending flashes through the ruined hall. He turned stone after stone into shimmering vipers, their scales jade and their fangs merciless as they bore into the Queen's puppets.

You kicked a deformed stag out of the way, too tired to raise your sword. Loki rushed to the path you cleared, the air ripped from his lungs with the proximity of the dais' remains. You couldn't go any further. Your strength wore thinner with each step.

But he could do it, Loki forced himself to believe, as he dug his heels into the cracked floor, closer and closer to the center of the chaos. Splinters and debris hit the side of his face and back and he could barely see through the hair falling into his eyes, but Loki knew what he needed to do.

With a final jump, he dug his fingers deep into the dry, orange vines entwined around a fallen pillar. He felt his magic surge into them, forming a slithering mass of scales and fast, agile bodies. They rushed to fulfill the only command in their heads.

The Queen rose higher, propelled on the phantom winds, disgust and rage warped her features. She whipped her hands, sending bursts of debris to shatter the snakes, but more rose from behind the pillar. And then it turned to one too.

Loki quickly rolled to the side as the massive body uncoiled to its full fifteen feet of length. He felt his magic withering when it crashed through the air barrier around the woman, but the viper ripped through it with all its might, ignoring the debris thrown its way. The thick scales brushed it off like dust. The snake tensed.

And struck.

Mindless rage twisted the Queen's face as she made the final attempt to stop the beast and threw all her power against it.

Pain erupted deep in Loki's head, twisting and throwing him to his knees as it shattered through his every nerve. The snake vanished, its body crushed and broken as it turned back to stone. Warm blood trickled down Loki's chin as he coughed more of it up, the pain bending him to the ground. All magic, weak and strong, has a price - that was the first lesson in every magic wielder's education. And whenever one's magic was overpowered, they had to pay it.

Loki's lungs ripped into pieces as he struggled to take a breath, to even move a muscle. All he managed was to lift his head. The Queen heaved onto the ground, her breath ragged as well, but she was far from done.

The lords were either gone or barely alive. The guards injured or dead.

And Loki ran out of tricks as the pain hammered through his head.

He had never imagined that he'd die in such a foreign place, drifting out of consciousness to the distant rumbling of the river he once-

No. Not distant.

Nearing.

All thoughts scattered from Loki's head as he beheld the river rising high to the open balcony at the side of the palace, forming an impossible wave behind a person just crawling over the railing.

The Prince was dripping wet. And furious.

The tidal wave swarmed over the hall, and crashed right where the Queen stood. Loki managed to close his eyes as he was swept by the force of nature and thrown against the shattered mess the galleries had become.

But the wave parted right in front of the Queen, whose skin glowed through the star-like speckles as she forced the wind to part the water.

"I'm not going to die for anyone's sake," she spit as the wave stopped, the water covering the hall.

"It's an honor to save others."

"Not to me. Not to all those destined to die in their stead."

Winds tore at the water, the mist rising thick to obscure and hide.

But the Prince didn't let the Queen play whatever trick she devised. Water leaped to his hands as he rushed to close the distance. Thin, sharp whips cut and sliced through the mist, but the Queen dodged, fast and lithe as a shadow while all around, those scattered pieces of debris stirred back to life.

Loki's hand shook as he tore it from his mouth, bloody and cold. On the other side of the fight, he could see a familiar head peeking from behind a boulder. Something in his chest clenched tight. You were a reckless human, and whatever plan you were about to use, would likely end in a way Loki didn't want to imagine. Couldn't.

So he forced himself upward just a little bit, putting the hand into the water gathering in the cracked stone.

And then he turned it into ice.

Shards and needles rose from the ground, each sharper than the previous, and all aimed at the ground-bound Queen.

She kept on twisting and parrying, even as the air became heavier, harder to bring into lungs. The sweat on the Prince's face mixed with water. His night-black skin paled, his attacks became sloppier.

He didn't see the wind slamming into his side. He slid over the ice as the Queen picked one of the lost, forgotten daggers and aimed—

She stilled, her feet unmoving. Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Peter aiming more and more his webs at her, slowing her down just a bit. It wouldn't work, wouldn't hurt her.

But the sword you threw at her would.

It was a reckless, hasty idea.

But fear shadowed her face as the Queen struggled against the web, twisting in place and out of the path—

The sword missed, by a hair's width.

But the ice shard didn't.

The Prince looked his Queen in the eyes as he pushed it further into her chest, and twisted against the bone and flesh. Thick blood streamed down his hands. He didn't move as she clawed against his face, against his hands that held the translucent spike burrowed deep into her heart.

The Queen was silent as she faded, her essence at last leaving.

The crooked horn on her head faded first, turning into dark ash. The Edge was quiet and still as her night-kissed skin crumbled next, the star speckles falling with it.

Last was the gown, the moth wings swelling for the final time before they too fell, empty.

Something changed in the world, like something deep in its core had finally filled. But it didn't matter to the few survivors, not really.

The pain in Loki's head had finally lessened. He took a deep, filling breath, tasting the air that was at last coming into his lungs. And as much as it was a relief for this mess, this chaos, to be over, Loki's hammering heart only slowed when he finally found you, limping toward him, the boy trailing behind.

You noted the blood crusting Loki's face. "You okay?"

He nodded, trying and failing to find the right words.

You slumped to the floor next to him and embraced him tightly, the words failing you too. Loki sighed, his hands at last steady against your back. He reached out to Peter. Another warm, battered body tugged into his side in a flash.

"I thought alien abduction would be less exhausting," the boy admitted quietly into Loki's shoulder. "It's still better than calculus, though."

You barked a laugh.

Loki just held the two of you, still stunned by the miracle that let you all survive.

Many were not as lucky, Loki knew. Traces of countless lost lives filled the ruined hall, the sheer scale of what just happened hard to comprehend.

One man stood tall among the ruins of his world, blood still fresh on his hands.

Loki met the Prince's stare, empty eyes filled with weariness and betrayal that hurt deeper than any bruises or cuts. The fight was over, but its consequences would take a long time to heal. To stop hurting.

The Prince walked away, silent and unattended by any of the guards, pulling the last of the people out of the ruins.

#please hate me #loki x reader #loki x you #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x you #loki #loki laufeyson #loki mcu #loki marvel #loki imagine #marvel loki #loki series #marvel imagine #loki fanfiction #I Love Loki

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themusicplayedherlife · 4 years

Text

Some Sugar

Part 3: you think you can open my heart?

pairing: sugar daddy!steve rogers x reader characters: reader, steve rogers, cassandra jones (oc), selena (oc), others word count: 3k+ warnings: angst, family issues, money problems, cursing, talks of sex summary: family can be pretty wild a/n: sorry this took so long, but shit happened--from car accidents to quarantine to a lack of motivation, and it was just really hard to write anything. I tried, but it was all shitty. Couldn’t even bring myself to finish this chapter, but I managed it, until I realized that part of this chapter wouldn’t fit in to this anymore and needed to be pushed back -insert grimacing emoji- so really this chapter could’ve been posted weeks ago lmfao IM SORRY

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Quiet hums reach your ear as you stare at your phone’s screen, the large sum of money with too many zeroes staring back at you. It hasn’t even been a week yet and you’ve already received your first allowance—first.

You throw yourself back onto your twin sized bed and the spring mattress squeaks horribly under your weight; you ignore it as your mind drifts to your conversation with Steve a couple of nights ago, your phone still in your hands and resting on your stomach.

“Even if you have a month left, it’s best to pay off the debt now.” As much as you wanted to pay attention to his blabbering, you were a little busy trying to keep your mind from how fast he was driving.

He had started off slow, or as slow as the speed limit allowed, really, until he got wrapped up in your story about your mom’s cancer returning, your sister’s self sacrificing nature (“She takes after you then,” he said with a grin), and your aunt and her subtle threats that were no longer so subtle.

Left hand gripped the seat tightly while your right hand clutched the handle on the roof. Your feet occasionally slammed down on the floor, braking whenever you felt Steve was going too fast for your liking. Wasn’t Captain America all about doing the right thing and following the law? Being safe? Honestly! He was lucky the streets were empty and there weren’t any cops in sight. You could have laughed at the imaginary headline: Captain America and His Sugar Baby Pulled Over For Driving too Fast. “Right,” is all you managed to say.

“I can probably wire you the money tomorrow and then some,” he said, completely oblivious to your dilemma. You didn’t—and still don’t—know whether that was a good or bad thing. “We should probably figure out how allowance is going to work first, though—hey, are you okay?”

You ripped your gaze from the blur of the world outside, eyes a little wide to find Steve alternating between looking at you and the road. “Can you—can you maybe ease up on the gas a little?”

He blinked, eyes falling to his dashboard and soon the world started blurring less and your body was no longer trying to fight against gravity. You exhaled and let go of the leather seat that you’re sure you’ve scratched up, and he chuckled. “Bad habit,” he admits. “More used to my motorcycle than a car.” Right. Captain America rode a motorcycle.

You leaned back into the seat and your head rolled against the headrest to look at him. “That’d explain it.”

He chuckled, looking at you from the corner of his eye. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” It’s sarcastic, and you almost feared he’d be mad but he only chuckled in response, blue eyes twinkling with mirth. Huh.

“So, allowance?”

Allowance. Right. That’s a thing. Allow-ance. Why is that such a weird word to you now? “I trust you.” (Selena had advised you a base price of 2,000 per meeting, but you thought—like most of her suggestions—it was ridiculous. “Give yourself some credit,” she had said when you scolded her.) “Whatever you think is right, I’ll accept.”

For a moment he mirrored your frown, until he nodded resolutely and smiled. “I’ll handle it.”

And handle it he did. Not that you’re surprised that Avengers make bank because c’mon they’re heroes! You just didn’t think they’d make that much bank to spare this much money! Tony Stark? Sure. He owned a damn company—or was on the board, you don’t know anymore. But the rest? Not so much.

A familiar ring from your phone pulls you out of your thoughts and you don’t even bother checking who it is, you just accept the call.

“Mornin’,” Steve’s voice greets you, a smile very much apparent in his voice and your heart does a flip. “I’m downstairs.”

You sit up hastily and in your hurry you almost fall off, eyes darting to the closed bathroom where Esmeralda is showering. “What?” Didn’t he say you were meeting at noon for lunch?

“My meeting got pushed back to this evening, and since you asked for the day off from the restaurant, I thought we’d make the most of the morning.”

“I’ll be down in a moment.” You pause when the doorbell rings. “Please tell me you’re not at my door right now.”

“No, but that might be Peter Parker.” How does he know—Shit. Right. He mentioned knowing the kid from his internship after you told him about your sister. “Just saw him enter the building with his friends.”

“Did he see you?” You really hope not.

“I don’t think so. If he had, the kid would’ve said something.”

You let out a relieved sigh and open the door just as you hear Ned say: “I swear that was Captain America downstairs!”

“What?” He said they didn’t see him!

“Morning,” Peter greets you as MJ rolls her eyes at Ned’s comment.

“I didn’t see anyone,” she says pointedly at him, before greeting you and smiling when you let them in.

You dumbly stare after them.

“It was him!” Ned insists, making a beeline towards the window facing the street and dragging Peter along with him.

MJ turns to you as she moves around the half wall separating the kitchen from the living room, not surprising. “Mind if I grab something to eat?”

“Sure?” You still don’t know why she bothers asking.

“The windows are tinted, Ned,” Peter hisses. “I can’t see.”

“You got Greek yogurt? Oh. You do. Cool.”

Ned frowns and scratches his head, murmuring, “I swear it was him.”

You sigh, and drop your hand holding your phone without ending the call. “Can you tell Esme I got called into work?”

“Yeah,” Peter says, turning away from the window. “Sure!”

“And tell her to shoot me a text before you guys leave for school.” Peter nods, not really paying attention to you as he joins Michelle in the kitchen, already knowing the drill. “No dirty dishes in the sink.”

The last thing you see is MJ flashing you a thumbs up before you close the door behind you.

As you make your way towards the stairs, you lift your phone back to your ear. “Didn’t see you, huh?”

“I may have poked my head out of the window to say hi to the kid, until I heard them mention you and your sister.”

“Yeah. He usually picks her up, doesn’t like Esmeralda going to and from school alone,” you explain as you search around the street. With a sigh you immediately spot him. “Can’t you drive a least expensive car? You stick out like a sore thumb.”

He chuckles and you hear movement before seeing the driver door about to open. “I could always drive my motor—“

“No, no, no!” You rush towards him. “Do not get out of the car.”

“But—“

“Ned was looking out the window when I left,” you say, your eyes moving to the windows of your apartment, but thankfully don’t see him. “He still might be.”

He sighs, but obliges, the door closing.

“Thank you,” you tell him as you hang up the phone and open the door.

“They're bound to find out,” he says, raising an eyebrow in your direction as you buckle yourself in.

You know, and you tell him as much, “I don’t know how to exactly explain this—“you motion to him and you—“yet.”

He frowns, fingers tapping against the steering wheel as he pulls away from the curb. “We’ll figure it out.”

He takes you to a small restaurant in Brooklyn. Light blue walls and leather seats with white and golden lights—it’s retro, super retro, but cozy. Steve keeps his sunglasses on and the bill of his hat low. It’s ridiculous if he thinks this is really a disguise that works.

The curious host leads you to a table in the back, away from prying eyes—hopefully—after you ask for a booth. He settles into the leather facing the door and you opposite of him, large painting being the only thing you have sight of other than Steve, and yourself if you turn to your left and stare at the mirror covering a third of the wall.

She hands you both menus and leaves after you take a quick scan of the drink menu.

“How effective do you think the sunglasses and hat are?”

“It’s covert,” he defends, playful offense in his voice.

You lean on your crossed arms resting on the table. “You’re literally wearing sunglasses indoors, Steve. That’s weird. And bound to attract attention.”

“Tony does it all the time.” Is he whining?

You snort, staring into the dark lenses, imagining where his eyes are. “Yeah, because he’s the Tony Stark.” He scoffs and you shrug. “He can do things like that and get away with it. Not like he’s actively trying to hide himself either.”

“Okay, I get it. It’s a little ridiculous.”

You grin, amused at the small pout forming on his pink lips. Who knew Captain America was a sulker. It’s cute.

Your assigned waitress comes by and takes your order after placing down your drinks that the hostess marked down for you both. You choose something light—a pesto caprese sandwich—compared to the hearty breakfast Steve orders for himself—a loaded omelet, heavy on the cheese. You smile up at the waitress, but you find that her eyes, although listening to you, are trained on Steve. He seems to notice, too, because he smiles politely before gesturing to you with a small incline of his head.

“How about we share a side of tater tots, sweetheart?”

You blink lazily at the nickname just as the waitress drops her gaze to you as if finally remembering that your voice belongs to an actual body. There’s a tingle that curves down your spine and you know he’s staring at you behind his dark glasses. His shoe nudges yours and his lips curl into a lopsided smirk.

You recline your cheek against your perched arm and tilt your head further into your palm with a smile. “Anything you want, baby,” you coo and Steve lifts a playful brow in question, your smile only growing wider when he nudges your shoe again.

The waitress squirms and mutters something before scurrying away.

“Baby?”

Sweetheart? you want to shoot back, but instead you remain neutral, reaching for your drink with your free hand. “Better than calling you daddy.”

He straightens, visible skin turning red and you stifle a laugh as he shuffles in his seat. “I—“ You don’t break eye contact, if his eyes are following yours, as you wrap your lips around the paper straw and suck the sweet orange juice to coat your tongue. “You can call me anything you want, sweetheart.”

Interesting. “Even Stevie?”

“Anything,” he reiterates, leaning back into the seat to rest his arm over the backrest and you smile. “As long as I get the same privilege.”

“It’s a deal, sugarplum.”

He snorts a laugh and you just shrug, trying to hide your smile with pursed lips.

“Tell me more about your family.”

The question cools you down, smile effectively shrinking into tight lips.

“Like?” you ask, suddenly finding the painting hanging behind his head much more interesting. It’s a simple painting of the beach, golden, warm colors contrasting with the beautiful cool shades of blue and white used for the ocean.

“You told me about your mom and sister, even Peter and his aunt, but you didn’t mention your dad—unless,” his voice turns soft, posture relaxing as if to put you at ease, “unless you don’t want to talk about him. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t be—“

“It’s okay,” you interject softly, lifting your head from your palm. “I just don’t know where to start.” He nods and removes his glasses with one hand as he reaches for one of your hands. “Um, my dad… he died in a car accident when I was 13.” You watch his fingers as they intertwine with yours, just like they did at the bar. Steve doesn’t seem like it, but he craves physical affection. Always seemingly touching you by holding your hand. Not that you mind it, it definitely comforted you, but you can’t help but wonder: why. “He was a good man. Smart. Loved us all very much. Loved technology,” you emphasized followed by a small laugh.

He’d spend hours tinkering with home appliances to try and upgrade them. You loved those moments the most, when you’d sit by him and he’d ask for a tool and you’d hand it to him. He’d tell you what he was doing, explain every step and process and what that change would do. He nurtured your mind, treated it as his equal.

He squeezes gently and you let his warmth cover you. “I’m sorry.”

You shrug. “It’s okay. I’ve gotten over it.” He doesn’t mention the twitch of your fingers or the way your voice falters, he instead lets you change the subject. “I also have a brother that is 3 years older.”

Unlike your sister, you, and your dad, JC has always been more artistic, preferring to follow in your mother’s footsteps in learning how to play instruments and singing. He never understood your fascination with tinkering and creating, shunning your father’s activities when he tried to get all of you to help upgrade the television or stereo or whatever project he brought home from the lab.

He frowns at that, a little confused. You don’t blame him. You didn’t exactly mention him when you talked about Esme and your mom. “Did he move away?”

“Yep,” you pop the p, absentmindedly twirling the straw in your drink. “Moved out as soon as he turned 18. Would see him twice a year at best, but we used to hear from him often. Then after I turned 18 we never heard from him again.” And he made sure you wouldn’t be able to find him, too. Changed his number, deleted all of his social media, cut ties with his friends, and vanished. Not that you were surprised, he hated the struggle you and your family went through after dad died. You had always known he’d leave at some point.

But you stupidly held onto the hope he wouldn’t leave when you needed him most.

“Oh.” He frowns, trying to think of what to say, maybe even offer to help look for him. But what would that do? That’d just bring him back to the life he wanted to get away from.

You flex your fingers in his hold, just to readjust your grip on him and hum lowly. “It is what it is.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Sometimes,” you admit, but it somehow feels wrong when you think about the last time you spent with your brother. The hurt he caused when you woke up and he was no longer there in the morning, only a single cupcake with a candle waiting for you on the kitchen counter. “Other times I—I don’t.” His thumb caresses the edge of your palm, barely grazing your wrist and you can’t help but let the negative feelings fade with his gentle touch. “What about you?”

“What about me?” he asks, soft with blue eyes staring into you. He knows you’re changing the subject, but he lets you. You don’t want to talk about JC anymore or even think about him, and it’s for the best.

“What’s your family like?” He looks at you as if you've grown another head and you flush slightly. “I meant your friends, Steve. You’re all like family, right?”

“Oh!” His eyebrows shoot up and he tenses for a moment before relaxing, smile worming its way onto his lip. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, we are. They’re great. A little out there, but they’re good people.”

He tells you all about them; from Tony and Bucky and how the were able to set aside their differences when the world needed it most and how they bonded over their love of science; Natasha and Wanda and their bond as sisters, including the fact that they could most likely rule the world if they tried; Vision and Clint and their strange friendship that was born from trying different food; Sam and Sharon and their newfound relationship that everyone likes teasing; to Thor and Bruce and their bromance born from fighting in a planet a la gladiator style—all of them, telling you things you wouldn’t hear from television or read from articles with interviews. And from the way his eyes light up and his voice lightens, there's no doubt in your mind that he loves his family just as much as you love yours.

Your aunt stares at you with barely disguised distaste before unpleasant eyes move to Steve, who stands close to you still wearing his hat and sunglasses. No matter how many times you told him to stay in the car, he wouldn’t listen. “If she’s willing to send someone to threaten you, who knows what she’s capable of,” he had said, grabbing onto your hand before letting you go to get out of the car.

The check is flat on her desk, but she doesn’t move to pick it up. “How did you get this?”

“Does it matter?”

She tutts, eyes boiling with restrained anger. “I don’t want stolen money.”

That’s rich coming from her. “It’s not.”

“I suggest you take it ma’am,” Steve speaks up, breaking his silence. “And consider the debt paid.”

She tilts her head, eyes taking over Steve properly, like a huntress on the prowl. “And who exactly are you?”

“That’s none of your business,” you answer for him, moving to stand in front of him and effectively cutting her gawking. “Just sign what you need to sign and we’ll be on our way.” And we won’t have to see each other again.

She stares unblinkingly at you before wearing a strained smile. She pulls out a file from behind her and flips it open to the correct page, signing it and stamping it along with the last page before ripping it out—a receipt—and handing it to you.

You take it from her hands and scan your eyes over it—PAID. A giddiness bubbles in your stomach, but you hide it from her. “I would say it was a pleasure Magdalena, but it never is.” You turn on your heels and Steve is right behind you. “One more thing,” you pause at the door, Steve close enough to press his chest against your back. “Stay away from my family,” you warn before strutting out the door, smile curving your lips when you meet the disgruntled gaze of the man that had threatened you at your work.

He gives you a nod of acknowledgement as he makes his way into your aunt’s office.

“Say hi to Johnny for me,” she suddenly calls out just as he closes the door behind you, but it’s enough to throw you off guard. For your throat to close up and for you to stop in your tracks and for your hand to reach out for the hem of Steve’s jacket, barely caching the smirk she sends your way.

“Sweetheart?” Steve’s voice floats to your ears, warm and soft. “What’s the matter? Who’s Johnny?”

“My brother,” you say through a breath. He couldn't have come—wouldn’t have come back. There’s no way. JC made it perfectly clear he never would. You shake your head. “She must’ve been lying. Trying to get a rise out of me.”

“It worked,” he points out obviously and you sigh as he gently pries your hand from his jacket.

You don’t want to admit it, but… “It did.”

“Come on.” He slips his fingers between yours and tugs you out of the desolate building and back out into the streets of Queens. “Let’s get out of here.”

There’s a bubbling in the pit of your stomach, heart hammering as you glance over your shoulder back at your aunt, the small relief you had felt at getting her off your back tainted by the thought of JC being back, not even Steve’s warmth can ease your worry.

But there’s no way—he wouldn't. There’s nothing left in Queens for him anymore, and there never will be.

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #reader insert #steve rogers #steve rogers fiction #steve rogers fanfiction #marvel fanfic #some suger #queue: out saving the world

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spider-manholland · 5 years

Text

I Am Delicate | Peter Parker

part five of the mending hearts mini-series

Pairing(s): Ex!Peter Parker x Female Reader, Peter Parker x Michelle Jones, Brad Davis x Female Reader

Warning(s): angst, swearing, mentions of sex, Far From Home spoilers

Summary: Sometimes it takes losing the person you once loved to make you realize how much they still mean to you.

Requested by @decaffeinated-turtle

Masterlist

The argument Peter had with you was still running through his mind, his hands clenching into fists as his blood began to boil. He swore he never felt himself get this angry and frustrated before but now here he was, cursing internally as he gripped on his brown curls tightly.

Well the Peter I knew wouldn't have hurt me like you have. Your words echoed inside his head, scoffing when he opened him and Ned’s shared hotel room’s door and stepped inside. Its wasn't like he purposely meant to hurt you, and he can't help his feelings, he can’t control them they just develop. But there was a part of him that blamed himself for that argument, he was technically the reason it started in the first place. He shouldn't have been nosy but he couldn't help himself, the sight of a hickey on your chest, one that he didn't leave was weird. But you two weren't together anymore and he had to accept that. Hell, he was the reason for your relationship ending. He just didn't why seeing you, picturing you with Brad made him all.....angry.

He knew that since you two weren't together anymore it would only be a matter of time before you found someone else, but he didn't know why it bothered him so much. He likes MJ, like really likes her. He just had to accept the fact that you’d be--Brad’s and hopefully MJ will be his-

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Spider-Man.” Peter froze in his spot at the sudden mysterious voice, turning his head to see none of than Nick Fury sitting in the corner of his room, his single eye staring him down.

“You’re Nick Fury.” Peter spoke, his voice low as he stared at him with wide-eyes, closing the door softly. “W-What are you doing in my hotel room?”

“Go put your suit,” was the only thing Fury said before standing up from where he was seating, causing Peter to tilt his head up to meet his eye level. “We need to talk.”

- - -

Why? Peter leaned against the side of the hotel’s building, his hands and feet stuck to wall as he closed his eyes, sighing. Why did Nick Fury have to sabotage my summer vacation? Why do I have to save the world? Why me?

After taking a few calming breaths, Peter continued climbing up the wall of the building until he got to his hotel room’s window. And just as he was about to climb through it, he couldn’t help but spot a familiar face through his lenses standing up on the roof. You. Peter could immediately notice the redness in your eyes, meaning that you were recently crying.

It’s all your fault she’s like this, his mind reminded him as he began to feel guilt eat him all over again. You're the reason she is crying.

Peter just...watched as you stood there, staring into the distance of the beautiful city. As he stayed there, stuck against the wall, Peter found himself slowly climbing his way up past his room’s window to you. But just as he was about to appear in front of you, a male’s voice was then heard, a voice that made Peter’s blood instantly boil, belonging to none other than Brad Davis.

“Hey,” you whipped your head away from the view of the breathtaking city to face whoever spoke, cracking a small smile at the sight of Brad who was standing by the doorway of the rooftop’s entrance. “Hey,” you greeted back, returning your attention back to the city as Brad walked over and stood next to you. “Betty told me you were up here. You okay?”

Peter could feel himself getting even more angry at the sound of Brad’s caring voice. Why was he so concerned about you? He doesn't even know you. Peter knew he shouldn't be listening in your guys’ conversation but he couldn't help himself. He could hear his inner self telling him, yelling at him to go back to his room and sleep but his curiosity got the better of him so he stayed, and listened to everything.

“I’m fine,” you just shrugged, feeling yourself frown. “Me and Peter just had some stupid fight that’s all.”

“Oh,” Brad nodded, leaning his body forward and resting his arms on the railing. “What did you guys fight about? If you don't mind me asking.” You turned to face him, not answering, and when Brad saw you raise your brows he knew, smirking. “Oh, never mind.”

“Yeah,” you sighed, also leaning forward against the railing. “The entire argument was just so stupid.” You let out an exasperated groan, running your hands frustrating through your hair. “He had no right to get angry about you and I sleeping together-”

“We actually didn’t sleep together.” Brad quickly corrected, chuckling at the unimpressed look he got from you. “You know what I mean.” You rolled your eyes, “He was the one that ended things with me, not the other way around. And he’s here, on this trip trying to get with the girl he broke up with me for but gets angry when I try to move on. It’s just not fair.”

“Do you hate him?” Brad asked after a brief silence that filled between you two. Peter could feel his heart stop and drop into the pit of his stomach at Brad’s question, his mind filled with many different negative thoughts. Did you hate him? Peter wanted to climb back down and into his room, not wanting to hear your answer but he couldn't, he needed to know if you did.

“I want to.” You answered honestly, feeling the invisible weights lift off your shoulders. “I really really want to but I can’t.” You shook your head, feeling tears prick your eyes. “No matter how bad Peter hurts me I can never hate him. He’s done so much for me, more than anyone has ever had. And after everything he’s been through-” your mind drifting towards everything that Peter suffered through for the past eight months. Coming back after missing for five years and losing Tony Stark just after, the man that took him under his guidance and became the only father figure he had left in his life. “-he deserves happiness.” You voice cracked.

“Even if that means sacrificing your own?” Brad asked, frowning when you just nodded your head, refusing to say anything because you knew that the moment you opened your mouth you would break down. “Hey, come here.” Brad opened his arms, and when you fell in them that’s when you let the sobs fall from your lips. “I just really miss him.” You cried out, shoving your face into his hard chest. “I love him.”

“Hey,” Brad soothingly rubbed his hands up and down your back, resting his cheek on top of your head as he swayed comfortingly back and forth with you. “It’ll get better, I promise. And remember what I said back on the plane?” He asked, smiling softly as you nodded your head, wiping the tears that stained your cheeks. “Parker’s a dumbass for letting a girl as wonderful and beautiful as you go. Don't worry, you’ll find someone way better than him that actually truly deserves you.”

Peter didn't know he was also crying until he felt his tears soak through his mask and drop onto his arm. Fuck, Peter cursed, banging his head repeatedly against the brick wall as he continued to swear at himself. Peter could feel guilty sobs slowly build up in his throat but quickly swallowed them down, not wanting to catch your guys’ attention. Just as he was about to swing off and away from this conversation an idea then popped up in his head, hoping that it’ll help or least start to make up for all the horrible things he’s done to you.

No one’s better than Peter, your mind instantly said. “We should head back.” Brad nodded towards the rooftop’s door, “We need to start packing again for our trip to Paris tomorrow morning.”

“I’m gonna stay here a little longer,” You said, pointing at the ground. “Are you going to be okay?” Brad asked, receiving a nod from you. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just want to enjoy the view for a little bit.”

You watched as Brad nodded before heading towards the roof’s exit. And when he was out of your sight, you then heard some sort of shuffling behind you, causing you to whip your head around. You could then feel yourself smile and your heart flutter inside your chest at the sight of the Red Dragon necklace resting on the railing in front of you. But as you grabbed the piece of jewelry and held it in your hands, one thought ran through your mind.

Did Peter just hear everything you said about him?

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know if you want to be added to this series taglist or my permanent one.

- Permanent Taglist -

@laic2299 // @starsholland // @untoldstoriescomingtrough // @squid-kidd8 // @harringtonwife // @maybemona // @valentinevirgo // @disgustangg // @peterparkers-waffles // @xxtomxo // @wonders-of-the-multiverse // @peteunderoos // @yoonmiint // @thenextteen

- Series Taglist -

@stuckonpeterparker // @cherry3bombshell // @slytherpuffyy // @skarsgard-bill-sstuff // @the-nargles-made-me-do-it // @liljennyx3 // @h00drhatwaifu // @fakindob // @charli-xy // @imagine-lovebug // @greene-house // @sweetdarlingholland // @t-holland2080 // @baby-unidorn // @unsolvedhearts // @fizaalam98 // @lunatic--charm // @lbuck121 // @its-the-unknownspidey // @ravngers // @tomshufflepuff // @hypotheticallyhumanxx // @mizzvanjie // @jessiyoshi // @clairestarkparker // @tom-hollands-blog // @awokenfandoms // @goldenpeaxh // @geeksareunique // @promiscuous-banana // @ppkrtingle // @spideyyeet // @parkeret // @cleoprker // @pluckypete // @simplyhemmings // @andreuskystuff // @trumpettay // @alooga262 // @anini71 // @justeveeeee // @xxxxdelenaxxxx // @spideyyypeter // @melaerica // @tony-stark-mcu // @misswritingintherain // @siriuslycollins // @ironmoody // @whatareyouhidingpeter // @teampreator

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rynhaswritersblock · 4 years

Text

peter! from physics!

a/n: this is gonna be one of those shitty fics where y/n and peter are so oblivious that they can't recognize each other's voice I'M SORRY!! also cindy moon is in this but she DOES NOT have powers for this imagine :/ srry

summary: y/n can't be controlled by wallets, peter parker gets crushes too easily, and crime in new york is abnormally low

warnings: the usual cussing, also the usual fluff. in conclusion i write the same shit every time LMAO

+ + +

"hey!" you yell, hands crossed over your chest as you look over the edge of the building, the blue and red figure jumping as he webs a perp to the wall. he looks up at you, the wide white eyes of his mask almost making you laugh as they squint. "aren't you stark's boy?"

"huh?"

the sound of a web latching onto the concrete next to you makes you flinch. spider-man flips himself onto the rooftop next to you, standing and facing you.

"you. stark. didn't he just recruit you?"

"how'd you know?"

his voice is light and incredibly boyish. he stares at you, trying to figure you out.

"well, you're not wearing pajamas anymore," you shrug, traces of humor in your words.

"yeah," the boy nods, "that makes sense."

a moment of silence fills the space between you, the sounds of traffic and people walking filling the background. you turn, sitting on the edge of the roof and dangling your legs. peter stands there for a second, frozen, feeling completely awkward and unsure of what to do.

"so, uh, how long have you been-"

"shadow?"

"yeah," he mutters, sitting beside you.

"almost a year, now," you breathe. the city-scape surrounding the two of you was quite astonishing, actually. all of your outside, mid-western family never understood your parents for moving out to new york, which is, in their words, "the big CRAPple." you don't care, though. it's home.

"cool," the hero mutters under his breath, repeating the word quietly, making you smile underneath the mask.

"you?"

"huh?" the large white eyes gaze at you, his head tilted slightly. "oh. bit over half a year, i think."

"and stark already pulled you in, huh."

the words confuse peter. was that an insult, somehow? were you jealous? the boy certainly thought you were much cooler than him-- energy and light manipulation seemed much more interesting to him than being a human spider.

"what do you-"

"shit," you seethe, head turned away from the boy in red and blue and instead toward the sound of sirens. "gotta go!"

peter's stuck in place as he watches your silhouette flip and twist as you fall off the ledge, white wisps of energy circulating around you as you use your powers to break the fall.

"jeez," he mutters in astonishment.

he stays on the ledge for a minute, in his traditional spider stance, ready to swing over and help you, if needed. yet, something about the way you immediately brought down the robber made him feel like he was okay to go.

it wasn't a long way to headquarters. ever since his recruitment, tony stark had been, as peter put it, "on his ass." every time he went patrolling, he'd have to go to headquarters, give a report, and get a checkup on his suit.

'protocol,' as tony put it.

"identification?" FRIDAY asks.

"it's me, fri."

"welcome, peter."

the doors open and peter walks in, sighing as he rips off his mask. sam, walking by, jumps and steps back, eyes wide and sparkling with mischief.

"shit! bucky, there's a spider in here!"

"get over it you cowar- oh, hey, pete!" bucky smiles and gives peter's messy curls a quick ruffle. "what's with the shit-eating grin?"

the grin drops from peter's face. how long was that there?

"oh, nothing, i, uh, need to see mr. stark," he clears his throat, giving an awkward nod before walking off in the direction of the lab.

"nothing my ass," sam mutters, taking a bite of fruity pebbles out of bucky's bowl.

bucky gasps. "hey!"

+ + +

"hey, mr. stark," peter chimes, tossing his mask on the nearest table. "let's get this over with."

"why such a rush all the time, pete?" the man asks, raising his brows at the boy. "you're fifteen, you have all the time in the-"

"sixteen, actually."

tony gives him a look and scoffs. "whatever."

the two follow the ordinary routine: plug the suit into FRIDAY's system, get it scanned, and, of course, debate star wars and physics theories in the meantime.

"i'm telling you, han sacrificed himself."

"yeah," peter huffs, "said the one who didn't see it coming when darth vader was revealed to be luke's father."

"well at least i'm not a total nerd."

"look around! you have an entire lab dedicated to nerd projects and superhero stuff. the complete epitome of being a total nerd."

tony lets out a defeated breath, subtle smile on his face as he watches the footage from peter's suit upload to the system and appear through the hologram. the grin drops as he focuses on the video, zooming in.

"you were with shadow?"

"oh, yeah!" peter says, perking up, the grin returning to his face. "what's the deal with her, by the way? she-"

"single? don't be a simp, pete."

peter's eyes widen and he looks at the man. "i'm not even gonna... no- uh- okay. what i was gonna say is: she mentioned you and was like 'stark already pulled you in, huh' and it was kinda weird, like she was.. i don't know, salty about it, or something."

a laugh sounds out from tony. "she turned me down, kid."

peter's brows furrow. "turned you- what?"

"i'd asked her to join the team a few months after she'd first started out- same timeline as you, actually- but she declined. had this whole 'ms. independent' thing going on. quite a shame, actually, i set out a room for her and everything."

well if that didn't slightly strike a chord with peter. he didn't realize that he wasn't the only teenager tony'd tried to recruit. he squints at the ground for a second, wrapping his head around all of the new information.

"wait, if she didn't accept the offer, then how is her suit-"

"she was independent enough to turn me down, kid, don't you think she's capable of using a sewing machine?"

+ + +

"cindy, shut up," you seethe, failing at your attempt not to laugh.

"ms. warren doesn't care and we already know this stuff," she giggles quietly, doodling on your notebook. a horrid laugh bubbles from your throat, your attempt to be quiet turning it into a weird noise that only furthers your laughter.

nonetheless, and much to your relief, ms. warren continues with the lesson, babbling about gravity pendulums.

"okay, so how do we calculate linear acceleration between points a and b?" the woman asks.

you knew the answer. didn't feel like speaking, though. cindy simply mutters the answer under her breath and you nod, resting your chin on your hand.

"flash."

"it's the product of sine of the angle and gravity divided by the mass," the boy states, looking over at your table and winking at the two of you. you stick your tongue out at him.

"nope," ms. warren replies, making you and cindy snicker and raise your eyebrows, pouting playfully at the boy's upset expression.

"peter, you still with us?"

you lean back in your seat, catching a glimpse of the boy. somehow, in a school filled with nerds, peter parker managed to get himself shoved to the lower end of the social ladder. he was constantly donned in button-ups, sweaters, and graphic tees bearing geeky science puns. moreover, up until a few months ago, there was a pair of slightly-too-large glasses thrown into the mix.

not that it was a bad thing, though. out of all the boys with that same stereotype, peter parker most definitely pulled it off best. he was quiet, kind, incredibly smart, and, not to mention, hot as hell.

at least in your opinion.

"uh... uh," peter mutters, scrambling to close the laptop sitting in front of him, giving you a better view of his face. "ye- yeah."

you adjust yourself in your seat, facing forwards once again and burying your head in your arms. being single all your life certainly makes your mind drift and heart swell at the sight of cute boys.

"uh... mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine."

cindy snickers at you and your overwhelmed state. you sit up, glaring at her and her all-too-knowing self before glancing back at the boy, just in time to miss his glance over at you.

ms. warren nods. "right. see, flash, being the fastest isn't always the best if you are wrong."

your laugh mixes in with the sound of your classmates, flash's face turning a deep shade of red. he turns around, facing peter, mouthing something to the boy that makes his eyes widen. you frown and sigh, refocusing on the lesson, or- in all actuality- the drawing of ms. warren that cindy doodled on your paper.

rather than reopening up his laptop, peter opts for resting his head on his arms, eyes landing on you for a few seconds. huddling with cindy moon, laughing quietly over your notebook, pencils twisting through the air; what peter assumed to be funny drawings of flash.

it wasn't his fault you'd left your notebook open as he walked by a few weeks ago, exposing random doodles of a few classmates (unbeknownst to peter, the sketch of him was on the next page).

while the boy usually spent his class time people-observing, he'd become more keen on watching you. it wasn't a weird thing, though. it was peter parker, bored in a class he was a bit too smart for, looking for something to distract himself. so what if that something was a pretty girl?

the bell rung, a sigh of relief falling from peters lips. everyone stood up, grabbing their bags, crowd slowly filtering out of the door and into the busy hallway. you say bye to cindy, who had rehearsal and claimed that "abraham will literally shoot me if i'm not there in time for warm-ups."

"shit," you mutter as you stumble, looking behind you. "sorry."

"it-" peter's voice gets caught in his throat. his wide eyes meet yours and your cheeks burn, the roses blooming all over them making you even more flustered. "it's, um, it's okay, don't worry about-"

you nod, struggling to crane your neck to look at him in the crowd of bustling teenagers. sucking in a breath, you manage to squeeze through the doorway, composing yourself and turning to look at peter. he wasn't there.

your eyes shut tight and you cringe, taking a deep breath and making your way out of the school doors.

+ + +

"why'd you do it?"

the voice makes you jump. a ball of light ignites from your palm as you turn your head to see a figure in red and blue. a breath of relief leaves your lungs and the ball sparks out, the eyes of spider-man's mask wide. "do what now?"

"whoa- uh, why'd you turn mr. stark down?" he asks, walking up to you. you scoot over, letting him sit next to you, the smooth material of his suit skimming yours.

no wonder spider-man found you so quickly; you spend every night up here.

"you think i wanna be tied down by a rich man? one who would, probably, make me follow certain stupid rules and reprimand me for not handling a situation the way he wanted it to be handled?"

"dang," he mutters, "way to make me feel bad about my decisions."

a laugh bubbles out of your throat, shortly followed by a gasp. "way to make me sound like him!"

the laugh the sounds out from the boy makes your heart flutter. it was boyish and light, confirming your suspicions of his age.

spider-man was definitely a teenager.

"he's not that bad, you know," peter offers, getting a huff from you in reply. "he just cares a lot. doesn't want me or anyone getting in trouble because of the way they handled a situation."

"how are you supposed to learn anything if you have a safety blanket wrapped around you at all times?"

peter froze, the large, white eyes of his mask blown wide. you made a good point.

there was something about you that was so intriguing. the boldness of your actions and the outward independence you carried with you was something that pulled peter in, that made him want to be around someone so unafraid of life's consequences.

he clears his throat. "so, uh, what school do you go to?"

"bold of you to assume i go to school."

you feel the hero freeze next to you, quite obviously caught off guard. peter was so sure you were his age.

"i'm kidding. i go to school, but there's no way in hell i'm telling you that," you sigh. he nodded.

identity was important.

the sound of traffic shuffles peacefully beneath you. you look over at the boy, tapping playfully on his head. "what's on that brain of yours, spider-boy?"

"uh, probably the fact that you continue to get my name wrong."

you laugh. "pretty sure i've got it right."

"whatever," peter scoffs, smile hidden behind the mask. he shakes his head and looks around. "sucks that i can't give you a name like that. what am i supposed to say, silhouette? no light girl? that's boring."

"no light girl, hmm. may just have to change my name for that one," you hum. the boy picks up on your tone and lets out that same laugh that makes your stomach twist.

you were starting to warm up to this boy.

"well, i gotta, uh," peter sighs.

you cock your head at the boy in red and blue, eyebrows raised. he looks at you.

"mr. stark wants me to check in every time i finish patrolling. says it's 'protocol.'"

"you never cease to prove my point, spider-man."

he jumps up, smiling brightly underneath his mask. "you said spider-man!"

"and i already regret it," you reply, looking up and him and saluting as he laughs and jumps off the ledge, swinging between the buildings and towards avengers headquarters.

a sigh falls from your lips as you pull out your phone, pulling up cindy's contact.

y/n/n i think i'm cheating on my unofficial occasional infatuation for peter parker

cindy lou who y/n, you do this every week ...who is it though

y/n/n a boy in red and blue

cindy lou who what the- are you telling me you have a crush on captain america he's like a hundred years old oh my god wait don't tell me it's spider-man

y/n/n ...

cindy lou who no bro like michelle said she saw spider-man just outside of school right after it ended one day

y/n/n wait what

cindy lou who yeah she thinks he goes to midtown

"holy shit," you mutter, stuffing your phone in your pocket.

now you really cared about his identity.

+ + +

"hey guys!" peter chirps, pulling off his mask and shaking his hair out with a smile.

"somebody's happy," natasha muses.

"what? no, it's nothing," he shakes his head. tony walks in, smirk pulling at his lips as he nudges the boy. "what?"

"kid had his first interaction with the girl."

"wait, the girl? as in..." rhodey trails off, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

"holy shit, the kid met shadow!" bucky exclaims, bright grin on his face as he slaps the counter and laughs. "oh my god!"

a series of laughs rings through the team as peter looks at all of them in a hurried confusion. "wait, all of you know her?"

"enough to know why you're in love with her," scott throws in, munching on his sub.

"i'm not in love with her!"

tony claps his back. "only a matter of time, kid. let's get you hooked up."

the two begin walking towards the lab.

"we'll be watching that footage, pete!" sam yells, snickering. "we got ourselves a rom-com."

peter glances back at the group as tony punches in the code, glass doors sliding apart to let the two in. "what's their deal?"

"more like what's yours," tony smirks, plugging peter's suit in. "ever since your first interaction with her, you keep running in here with that goddamn giddy smile."

peter sputters. "well- uh, am i, like, not allowed to have a friend? i can be smiley after making a friend."

"yeah, kid, but this is a girl. and you're peter."

the boy is silent; he had a point. curse you, tony.

"look, pete, if you want her, go get her. i think you two'd be cute. plus, you've probably got a better chance of coaxing her here than i do," tony suggests.

peter gives him a look.

"what? she'd be a great asset to the team, and her powers are unlike any of ours."

"i know, right?!" peter blurts in a rush of excitement, smile tugging at his lips before it falters slightly. "okay, yeah, i see what you mean, now."

+ + +

you slide into your seat, ignoring the smirk pulling at cindy's face as you grab your physics notebook.

"sooo," she drawls, smirking, "let me see the ring! is it red and blue, or-"

"cindy, i will make the neurons firing in your brain short circuit if you say one more-"

"jesus!" she laughs and holds her hands up in surrender. "wait, you can do that?"

you smile, leaning back in your seat as ms. warren begins her lecture over trajectories, doodles of her drawing graphs on the board fluttering out of your pen and out onto your notes. you'd already read this chapter of the textbook; listening was no use.

instead, you let your mind (and eyes) drift to peter parker. as per usual, his head was buried behind the screen of his laptop, only a few rogue curls peeking out. a sigh falls from your lips as you turn your head back towards the board, glancing at the diagrams before hunching over your notebook, doodling spider-man's figure swinging through buildings, just as he had in front of you last night. you close the journal before cindy gets the chance to sneak a peek.

you let your head fall back, face towards the ceiling. a light draft hits you and you sigh.

there was no way spider-man didn't go to midtown.

unless he was just some sick perv who just hung around there after school. but you were sure that wasn't the case.

after another thirty minutes of zoning out, the bell rings, making you flinch out of your daydream and get up, weaving your way through the end-of-day crowd and out into the new york air. ducking into an alley, you quickly manipulate the light waves surrounding you, deeming you invisible. within a minute or so, you're suited up and determined to catch the hero.

and it didn't take much time.

as soon as you walk out from the alley, spider-man is doing the same, jogging out from another alley just diagonal from you across the street. a smile tugs at your mouth and you dart up into the air, landing swiftly onto your rooftop, turning on your crime radar.

thirty minutes later, only having had to hunt down a shoplifter and return the stolen objects, you're laying on the rooftop, physics notebook out as you read and take notes over the next chapter. your ribs start to slightly ache as you curve your body up, stomach pressing against the concrete.

curse me for forgetting a blanket.

"i'm starting to think you live up here."

without looking, you stick an arm out and shoot a quick ball of light at the hero, making sure it just barely skims past his shoulder.

"hey! what was that for?" he whines.

"fun," you look up, eyes shining at him brightly. his playful sigh is muffled through the mask, but it makes you smile even more as he flops down next to you, stretching out on his stomach.

"ooh, physics," he murmurs, scooting closer and looking at the materials. peter's eyes widen when he recognizes the textbook: the same one he has. he clears his throat.

"what?"

"hmm? nothing," he murmurs, glad his flustered expression is masked. his eyes drift along your notes and land on a doodle of a figure swinging through tall buildings. "wait, you drew me?"

shit.

the air catches in your throat as he scoots even closer, shoulder pressing against you as he pulls the notebook towards him, the large white eyes of his suit squinting at the small drawing. a flutter is sent through your stomach.

"no, that's captain america. silly goose."

he turns his head towards you.

"of course it's you, who else would it be," you joke, tone slightly off, embarrassed and wishing you'd been less clumsy.

of course he was going to see that.

peter feels warm and gets a feeling of adoration towards you. he could tell you were embarrassed; he'd cracked you, even for just a second. the boy almost wished you could see the bright smile his mask was hiding.

"so, um," he blurts, sitting up. "let's, uh, get to know each other...?"

you snort, shaking your head and sitting up so that you're next to him, looking out at the surrounding buildings. "very smooth, spider-man."

"i try."

the two of you begin darting questions back and forth. what's your favorite color? y/f/c. what about his? blue. favorite movie? y/f/m. his? revenge of the sith. favorite song, type of food, hobbies- you name it. and, it was actually kind of fun. it was a friendship in which you got to appreciate each other for your personalities, not for your looks. although, peter did find your eyes quite hypnotizing.

"do you have a boyfriend?"

what?

your eyes widen and you suck in a sharp breath. "that was-"

"abrupt, shit, i'm sorry," he breathes, scratching the back of his neck. the fact that your faces were covered helped a little, but it almost felt more awkward, nonetheless. he could see your eyebrows scrunched together and he cringed. "i was just, um, curious, i guess."

"well, no, spider-man. i don't have a boyfriend."

his heart swells. "oh, uh, nice, i guess."

"nice," you humph. "yeah. uh, i'm guessing you probably have a-"

"definitely not," he laughs, shaking his head. the conversation as a whole felt weird, but the boy was smiling under the mask.

it was very peter parker of him to build a crush in such a short amount of time.

+ + +

"cindy," you whisper, sliding into your seat, "spider-man saw my sketch yesterday."

"what?" she turns her head to you, eyes wide and shining with excitement.

"i was doing physics homework on the roof i usually hang out at and he snuck up on me."

she gives you a mischievous grin. you scoff, light grin tugging at the corners of your mouth, pen making contact with the paper as you start on another sketch of spider-man.

you'd be more careful to hide your notes next time.

as much as he resented himself for it, it became routine for peter to sit down, pull out his notes, then ignore the lesson and stare at you instead. he couldn't help it. but as he watched you today, his brain didn't slip into its usual state of zoning out.

instead, it was making connections.

his eyes got wide at his sudden revelation, darting all over the place to make sure no one was paying attention. he pulls out his phone, starting up his drone and watching carefully as it flies over to you, hovering just close enough to see while still staying discreet.

and there it was.

the view from the drone plays on his screen, the oh-so-familiar doodle making peter's breathing stop. he gulps, quickly guiding the drone back into his backpack, leaning back and resting his eyes on you with an exasperated sigh.

holy shit.

+ + +

"not enough crime in queens, huh?"

he jumps, turning around. "where were you? you're always here before me."

"thought i'd turn the tables," you shrug.

peter nods, playing with his fingers. you'd been on his mind all day, head spinning as he tried to wrap his brain around the fact that you, his crush, were the independent hero that never ceased to amaze him. "can i take off your mask?"

spider-man and his unruly mouth.

"um, why?" you laugh nervously, reaching up to fiddle with the fabric that covered the lower half of your face.

"because we're friends, and i trust you," he shrugs, muttering. "and i have a bit of a suspicion."

you suck in a breath. it takes a moment for you to think it through, but it lines up. you were both doing the same job, so what was the fault in knowing what each other looked like? "i mean, i guess. but only if i can take off yours."

he nods, stepping towards you. you reach your hands out simultaneously, eyes sparkling at him out of both nervousness and excitement. you nod and feel the fabric, your safety blanket, slip off of your face.

"i knew it!" the boy yells, jumping back and pumping a fist excitedly.

wild curls, chocolate eyes, gentle smile.

peter parker.

"holy shit, peter! from physics!" you yelp, slapping a hand to your mouth before pulling it away, feeling as though you'd hidden your face for long enough. "wait, you knew?"

"your drawing, in physics. you were drawing in your notebook so i got curious and flew my drone over, then i saw it."

"you were watching me?" you ask, smiling.

peter's cheeks got red, and it was then that it really settled in. spider-man was peter parker. the cute, intelligent boy from physics. the one with puppy eyes and nerdy t-shirts.

"i mean, like, maybe," he looks down, flustered.

"you're cuter than you realize, parker."

the boy raises his head, confused look painted on his face. "did you just-"

you lean up and plant a light kiss on his cheek. peter feels his face get hot as you turn away, looking back to give him a wink before moving to step off the ledge.

the pull of a web stops you.

peter's lips are planted on yours, soft and quick, gentle and unsure. you stumble back, gulping. "peter, you-"

"i guess hanging out with you gave me a bit more confidence," he shrugs, crooked grin on his lips. a laugh leaves your lungs and you lean your head against his shoulder.

the sound of a siren wailing in the distance makes you flinch.

"last one there owes the other a kiss!" peter yells, tugging on his mask and jumping. you sputter before pulling up your mask as well, jumping off and flying next to him.

"you do realize that it works out in your favor no matter what?"

"yup!"

+ + +

rights for cindy moon because she doesn't get enough credit in fics even though she was in homecoming 0_0

#peter parker #tom holland #peter parker imagines #marvel #mcu #spiderman #peter parker x reader #spiderman x reader #fanfic #fluff #writing #peter #parker #thomas holland

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thisisgarnet · 4 years

Text

Okay, so after years, I’m trying my hand at writing fan fiction.

I would really love anyone’s thoughts on this, and if there are still beta’s that exist in Tumblr’s space interested in taking this journey together- let’s chat!

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he looked up at the destroyed home. Once a small cottage- complete with ancient stained glass windows, crooked chimney and peeling roof- the home was now a scene out of a horrid story book.

The back half of the second story was completely dismantled, with only the framing of one room and a small pile of bricks from what seemed to be an old fireplace still standing. The rest of the building was covered with a thick layer of ash that rendered the home unfamiliar to him, despite the numerous visits he completed in the past year. Once lively with large oak trees and a garden bursting from the fencing, the yard surrounding the home was bare with small embers still lasting on the remaining greeny.

“Professor Dumbledore,” interrupted his thoughts, one of the many wizards in black appeared at his elbow. Albus tried to offer a comforting smile as he noticed the Auror, one of his many former students who had entered the position following their graduation, looked sadly up at him. “The father is upstairs, in what used to be the nursery. The staircase is still stable if you would like to see him. I should warn you though- he’s become almost manic at this point.”

Dumbledore nodding, choosing to ignore the tone of the Auror. “As to be expected at a time like this. Tell me- did you see if the child was with him?”

The Auror nodded, turning quickly as his name was called by his peers from the back half of the yard. Dumbledore offered him a wave to continue, and he started into the home. Met with the debris of former personal artifacts and belongings, Dumbledore carefully navigated to the staircase and tried to softly announce his presence in an attempt not to startle the distressed man.

He found the father sitting quietly in a lone rocking chair, sitting with his back to the staircase. He swayed the chair slowly, whispering to the bundle in his arms. Dumbledore approached and noticed that the wizard was still in a set of travel robes complete with a heavy cloak and hat. Approaching with care, he called out to the man with a tight voice.

“Edward?” The man stopped his movement momentarily in response to his name, but instead of responding to the Professor he kept his head low. “Edward, is she okay? Is the young one harmed?”

Edward turned his head slightly as Dumbledore approached. “No. Scarlett is okay.” Dumbledore sighed in relief, but at hearing the voice of the man and at his answer. Edward went stiff hearing the sound, his body pulling the baby in his arm close to his chest. “My wife, you may ask. What has become of her? She is gone. My wife is gone. But your precious child Dumbledore, the key to your future and your plans- she’s here don’t you worry!” Dumbledore paused his movements, choosing to remain on the far side of the room as Edward’s voice grew louder and louder. “I’m not sure why you’ve even come. You have little concern for my family, constantly seeking only to validate your theories about my child’s magic. You pretended to be our mentor and guide through this, but instead my wife is gone and her blood is on your hands!”

“Edward,” Dumblesdore tried tentatively, “Edward I’m sorry that this has happened. You know I exhausted all attempts of keeping your wife and child safe. There are dark wizards who know of her power-”

“I know!” The man was up on his feet, children pressed deeply to his chest as he screamed, storming away from the Professor and heading toward the remnants of the fireplace before him. “I know! What I don’t understand is how they know this. You were the only one to approach us before she arrived, the only one to experiment after her birth and the only one to know of the power she held. Was it you, who sacrificed my wife? You, knowing the prophecy of a child who grows up without a mother, determined to have Scarlett fit that narrative?!”

Dumbledore sighed again, this time with a shaky breath and a look of pity. “No Edward. I swore to you that Scarlett would not fill the prophecy, that I would protect your family. I tried to provide the resources needed, and I failed. I am sorry.”

Edward’s disgusted glare bored into Dumbledore, tension in his body as he shifted from foot to foot. From the bundle in his hand came a soft cry, straining to be heard over the noise. Edward dropped all notions of anger as his hand flew up to the child, shifting blankets from her face as she cried loudly. He tried to soothe Scarlett, whispering softly and bouncing her in his arms.

Around the room, remaining objects lifted from their spot on the floor. Dumbledore watched as remnants of toys and children books flew towards the father and daughter, each presenting themselves to the pair for consideration. Edward held the infant up towards the flying objects, as if he wanted her to consider her opinion on each item. Finally, from the half burned toy chest came a small stuffed dog, which flew quickly towards the pair and landed softly on top of the child. The crying instantly stopped as Edward tucked the toy between the blankets.

“Is she often choosing her own comfort items?” Dumbledore asked carefully, attempting to avoid another outburst from the man.

“No,” Edward shifted the child in his arm, issuing Dumbledore a look that said he knew exactly what the Professor was asking. “No, she doesn’t. This is new.”

“One should consider… if she’s attempting to help?”

Edward turned away, choosing to return to looking out to his charred yard filled with Aurors searching the grounds. “Yes, maybe. Maybe she knows it’s just the two of us now.”

Dumbledore took a step back, edging his way back to the staircase. “Edward, you should take your time in this space. When you are finished, I will be downstairs with the Minister. We need to relocate you and Scarlett to a safe house for the evening. Tomorrow morning, you can consider accepting my assistance in recreating a home for your family, but we need to protect both you and the child tonight”.

Edward took a moment before nodding softly, turning to face Dumbledore. “Okay Albus. I’ll follow you shortly.” Dumbledore nodded, descending down the staircase to meet with the Minister of Magic. Edward sighed, pulling the child's face to his and rubbing their cheeks together. “It’s just the two of us now Scarlett. And we’ll figure this out.”

—

Fifteen Years Later

“Padfoot!” Remus' voice ranged sternly through the Hogwarts Express carriage. Peter squeaked in surprise, a chocolate frog slipping out from his fingers and landing on the cabin door. “Get inside!”.

Sirius laughed roughly, returning his upper body and raised middle finger back through the window. “Just saying goodbye to my mum Moody! No need to get jealous.” Remus rolled his eyes as Peter snickered behind his copy of the Daily Prophet. “I know I know, Perfect image and all. Prongs and I have already promised to keep your name out of everything this year. Don’t worry about your shiny badge and new responsibilities.”

Steam filled the window of the train, and with a sudden lurch forward the boys settled back to the familiar clickety-clack. A moment of rare silence passed between the friends before Peter stiffed in his seat.

“Did you see this?” he asked, bending the folds of the newspaper back and pointing to a short article in the bottom corner. James squinted towards the article causing Sirius to bark in laughter.

“Prongs, love, we all know you can’t read—” James threw a pointed look at his friend, followed by a silent Vermiculus Jinx at the tart in his hand. Sirius gagged as worms began forming in his hand. Remus laughed quietly, but Sirius heard and quickly threw the pile into his lap.

“No really,” Peter sat up straighter, pulling the newspaper back to him. “It says that Scarlett Reynolds was seen entering the Ministry of Magic with a trunk this morning. Do you think she’s finally enrolling at Hogwarts this year?”

James tossed his head back in laughter as the pile of worms fell off Remus and onto the floor. “Are you kidding me? She’s not heading here. Wormtail, you know she’s the best kept secret of the Ministry. She can’t just waltz her way into Hogwarts”.

Sirius agreed, “As much as I love the escape to the castle, I’ve always been envied of her freedom. Never having to attend classes, being able to run around with Mad-Eye and the Aurors. Why would she reduce herself to homework and professors?” Sirius laid back onto the seat, his long legs crossing against the wall behind Remus’ head. “And who knows, a trunk can be used to carry a lot of things. Maybe she’s smuggling dead bodies into the Ministry?”

Peter chuckled, folding the paper in half and placing it on the windowsill. “Yea, I guess you're right. There’s no way even she could finagle an acceptance this late. Dumbledore’s never going to let a sixth year with no experience into the school.” Turning back to his friend, he sheepishly asked, “Okay, can we run through this prank for the feast one more time? I’ve already forgotten my cues.”

The boys sighed dramatically, but James lowered himself to the floor with crossed legs, pulling the Marauder's Map from his back pocket. Sirius quickly launched into a spiel about Wormtail needing to pull his weight more that Remus couldn’t be tied to their shenanigans and soon the three teenagers were engrossed into their planning.

Remus carefully retrieved the Daily Prophet from the windowsill, folding the pages to read the article Peter had pointed out.

Travel Plans for Ministry’s Favorite?

Seen entering the Ministry of Magic this afternoon was wizarding world’s favorite Scarlett Reynolds. Trotting behind her father with a floating trunk, the sixteen year old looked ready to board our beloved Hogwarts Express. Of course Daily Prophet readers know that the teenager had been excused from formal education and instead has received tutoring directly from the Auror Department Head Alastor Moody in lieu of joining her peers in the classroom. The father-daughter duo avoided all questions about the interesting choice of baggage, instead choosing to remind the Daily Prophet journalist about the restricted area provided for all press within the Ministry. This story is developing, so check back to the paper for any automatic updates…

Shit, Remus whispered to himself, folding the paper up with a little too much aggression. I thought she was supposed to ride in with Lily this morning. Mad-Eye’s going to have a field day about this…

“Moody?” James asked from his stop hovering over the map. Sirius was still delivering directions to Peter with a determined passion that caused his arms to wave frantically. “You okay?”

“Yea, I’m okay,” Remus said to his friend with a smile. “I’m just going to go find Lily to report to the Prefect meeting. You all continue without me- you know the less I know the less Finch can get after he drugs me with Veritaserum.”

James' eyebrows shot up immediately, but he visibly tried to keep his cool. “Oh you’re going to see Evans… about Prefect things… of course, of course.” Remus rolled his eyes but silently thanked Merlin that the distraction worked. “You know, I hope she’s doing well. It’s been a long summer. I hope she’s doing well.”

Sirius sighed dramatically from his spot, still laying on the seat. “What he’s really asking Moody is will she ask about me?”

“Can you tell her I said hi?” Peter mimicked.

“Let me know if she looks any different? How does her sweater look? Snugged?”

“Has she been thinking about me?!” James threw an arm out to whack Sirius in the stomach and in the chaos of their tussling Remus slipped out the door of the carriage.

It was only a few minutes after the truce called between Sirius and James that Remus reappeared, this time with Lily in tow. Upon her arrival, James stood up quickly from his crossed leg position on the floor, promptly whacking his head on the trunk shelving above.

“Bloody hell!” he attempted to exclaim quietly as Peter and Sirius snickered. Unlike the four boys, Lily was already dressed in her school robes, complete with Prefect pin showcased on her right lapel. Her hair had gotten longer over the summer, James noted as his vision slowly came into focus. Other than the long layers of ginger falling over her shoulder, she looked just the same. He stepped closer to her, eyes wide and smile unflattering as he greeted her, “Alright Evans?”

Lily on the other hand was terribly distracted from James, her eyes following Remus as he made his way through the cabin of flailing legs and arms to the windowsill. James stepped into her view of Remus, taking her silence as a motion to continue their conversation and attempting to fit as many words as possible in before she turned away. “It’s just so great to see you! How was your summer? How was Petunia? I know she’s not always been the kindest, but I hope you were able to still enjoy your time off —“.

Suddenly, terribly overwhelmed by the slowness of Remus’ motion and overwhelmed by the attention James was demanding, Lily’s hand shot up to press on either side of James’ face. She looked up at him, taking a slow breath as if to center herself on his feature. James blicked down at her a few times, shocked by the sudden contact. She let herself smile at him, “Yes. Hello Potter. I had a wonderful summer, thank you for asking. I hope you had a nice one as well.” As quickly as she reached up to him, she released his face and turned suddenly to Remus, “Sorry, are you quite ready to review… Prefect things?”

Remus smiled, both at Lily’s odd behavior and James’ dreamy smile that filled his feature. “Yes, let’s go”, he said, stepping back through the crowded carriage and pulling the door quickly behind him. Once they were gone, James turned back to his friends with the same stupid grin, causing Sirius to groan.

“Oh Wormtail, be prepared. This is what we’re going to hear about for the next hour.”

Once outside the carriage, Lily snatched the paper out of Remus’ hand, carefully rereading the same article. “Melin!” she whispered, smacking the paper into her hand once finished. “When she didn’t make it to the train this morning, I knew something had to have gone wrong.”

“I know, I know,” Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “I have no idea if she’s going to make it to the feast at this rate. And you heard what Moody said- if she can’t make this work-”

“- then she can’t come at all,” Lily finished. She looked out the window at the speeding landscape of the villages they passed. “Let’s just hope Scarlett can make it work”.

#sirius black #hp fanfic #fanfiction #james potter #jily fandom #jily #james & peter & remus & sirius #remus lupin #lily evans #lily potter #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction

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yadds · 4 years

Text

Tony Reappears, Part 3 - Tony has come back with more than he bargained for.

Part 1 - what would happen if Tony appeared out of nowhere to be found by Peter, who’s still haunted by Beck’s reality bending?

Part 2 - Tony is in bad shape and Peter helps, Strange snarks, and Pepper gives him the kick in the pants he needs.

_____________________________________________________________________

The next few hours were filled with catching Tony up on some of what he’d missed. Peter convinced Strange to step out and let him be for a while as Pepper filled him in on what Morgan was like now - how she was so dang smart and had his snarkiness and his sense of humor. But she also had Pepper’s level-headedness, thank God. It helped ease some of the sting of her not being there, but it still hurt like hell that he’d missed half her life.

During a pause in the conversation, Tony asked, “And what about you? How have you been, Pep?”

“I’ve been good,” she replied automatically.

When he just looked at her, she dropped her eyes and pressed her lips together briefly. “It was really hard, Tony,” she admitted, voice thick. “I knew there was a chance you wouldn’t come back, but there was always that chance and you somehow always got yourself out of it. I guess I’d gotten lulled into a false sense of security. And with Morgan...I wasn’t prepared to handle that. But we got through it, with the help of so many people. I don’t think you really ever realized how many people cared about you, Tony. Everyone has been really great - especially Peter,” she said, directing a fond smile at the door where he’d left a couple hours earlier.

“They adore each other. And Peter loves taking her into the lab and teaching her everything she could possibly want to know, which is great since I sometimes can’t keep up with her brain already.”

That was a bittersweet image. He loved the idea of Peter bringing Morgan into his family and using what he learned from Tony to teach and mentor her, but not being able to do that himself was still hard to come to terms with. Hopefully, they could all go together soon. He was getting more and more antsy the longer he was awake.

But as much as he appreciated Peter taking care of his daughter, Pepper had once again brought the subject back around to Morgan. “And you? Who’s helping you, Pepper?” he asked.

She was quiet for a minute. “I’d been seeing someone else,” she finally said.

Tony could see that she was still talking, but he couldn’t hear her over the roaring in his ears.

He’d had a small hole behind his heart that had been growing as he heard more and more about what he’d missed while he’d been gone. Dead. It was now ripped open into a gaping pit, threatening to pull him under. Everyone had moved on - SI, the Avengers, Morgan, Pepper. Even if he was here to stay, what possible purpose would he have? No one needed him anymore.

Small, soft hands were gripping gently at one of his own and he was vaguely aware of Pepper calling his name, but he couldn’t snap himself out of it.

Someone else was suddenly grabbing his chin roughly and his arm instinctively came up to push them away. There was a loud crash that rang dimly in his ears as his eyes were caught by the brown gaze in front of him, slowly becoming aware of the heavy hand on his chest pushing him down into the bed and a blazing weight across his thighs.

“Mr. Stark. Tony. You need to calm down,” someone was saying firmly, voice low and even. “I know you don’t want to hurt me, Mr. Stark, so I need you to come on back now.”

It felt like an eternity before Tony was able to focus on anything long enough to comprehend what was going on.

Peter. That was Peter in front of him, eyes steady and intent on him. Probably also his hand on his chest. Okay. His gaze traveled down and his heart kicked back into overdrive again when he saw the hand wrapped around Peter’s throat, his skin white and dimpled around the clamped fingers. What the fuck was going on? Was someone else - ?

No. That was his hand, he realized numbly. He let go abruptly, feeling his cheeks flush as reality suddenly came crashing back all at once, horror and shame coursing through him. His other hand was holding tight to Peter’s. He released that too. Peter stayed perched where he was, slowly bringing that hand to his side as he moved the other one from Tony’s chest, obviously ready to spring back into action if necessary.

Strange wasn’t so trusting. He used bands of energy to immediately restrain Tony’s arms, which appeared to have also been the oddly warm, tingly weight on his legs he’d felt earlier.

“This is why she shouldn’t have been here. Definitely not unsupervised,” Strange bit out, throwing a cutting glance in Peter’s direction.

She? Oh, God. Pepper. Tony’s head whipped to the side, searching for her.

He found her on the floor several feet from his bed, one wrist cradled in a nurse’s grasp and a slow trickle of blood oozing from a shallow cut on her forehead. He saw her eyes clench tight and her breathing hitch as they tried gently moving her hand. What had he done?

“Not helping,” Peter said, still keeping his voice steady and eyes locked on Tony. When he saw Tony’s attention refocus on him, Peter smiled.

“Hey Mr. Stark, you’re good now. Everything’s under control and everyone is okay, just a couple bumps and bruises.”

Seeing the helpless confusion still lingering, Peter continued. “I'm not sure exactly what happened but I heard your heart suddenly start racing so I came in to check on you. You looked completely zoned out and Pepper couldn’t get you to respond. When I tried, I guess you saw me as a threat and lashed out. And, uh, it looks like you might have some kind of super strength now?” Peter tacked on at the end, over casual.

“Excuse me, what? How about you run that by me again,” Tony said, looking incredulously at him.

“It probably would have taken all my strength to hold you down,” Peter explained.

“Which he wasn’t willing to do, in case he sent you back to a grave,” Strange expounded, not sounding like that would be such a terrible idea. “Hence the additional restraints.”

“Well we don’t know if accelerated healing is part of the package, or if your body is even strong enough to handle the effects of using that strength - it puts a lot of stress on the bones and muscles,” Peter said, arms crossed and posture defensive.

Tony turned back to Pepper. “Are you okay, Pep?” he asked quietly.

She looked up and gave him a tired smile. “I’m fine, Tony, don’t worry about it. I’ve been shoved off worse things than a hospital bed.” Tony didn’t appreciate that particular allusion.

At Tony’s raised eyebrows, the nurse spoke up as he finished wrapping Pepper’s hand and stood up. “Just a superficial scratch and a sprained wrist.”

“See?” Pepper said. “They should really be looking at Peter, not at me.”

Tony’s gaze moved back fast enough to catch Peter throwing her an irritated glance and a slashing motion with his hands. Pepper mouthed ‘sorry’ back at him with a shrug, not looking particularly sorry.

As Peter waved off the nurse coming to do just that, Tony finally noticed that a few of his fingers were bent at odd angles. From him. Fuck. This just kept getting better and better. At least this was making him much more grateful for Morgan’s absence. He probably would have willingly thrown himself back into the afterlife if he’d hurt her.

Peter noticed Tony notice his fingers and moved quickly to straighten them with his other hand, bones popping loudly as they were shoved back into place. He tried to smile through the harsh wince. “No big,” he grit.

Strange heaved a put-upon sigh. “I’m surrounded by idiots,” he muttered. To Peter, he said, “You know, I wish you wouldn’t do that. I can tell you from personal experience how soul-wrenching it is to be without properly functioning hands.”

Peter wrinkled his nose in Strange’s direction, stretching his arms over head. “Never been a problem before. My hands get messed up all the time with all the slinging - throwing my body weight around on a string at high speeds is hell on my hands and shoulders. One wrong turn and bam! Everything is out of place,” Peter said nonchalantly.

Tony felt his heart sink further. He thought he’d accounted for that when designing Peter’s suits. Apparently not good enough. Story of his life.

Peter looked around when the silence drew out past a normal pause. “Oh come on, guys, it’s really not that big a deal. They were just dislocated, not broken. And hello? Super healing? It’s a great perk.” He held up his previously injured hand and wiggled his fingers. Fully functional.

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay,” Tony cut in harshly. “It still hurts.”

Peter’s eyes shuttered and his jaw clenched, looking abnormally vulnerable. But it only lasted a second before he relaxed, shoulders rolling back.

“Yeah, you’re right Mr. Stark, sometimes it sucks. But at least I heal, so if someone has to be hurt, I’d rather it be me,” he said with a crooked smile and a helpless shrug.

And right there - he reminded him so much of himself, except 10,000 times better, that Tony couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Luckily, Strange took that chance to chime in. “You know what’s even better? Making it so that no one has to get hurt, including yourself.”

“Yeah, well, if I could control the fabric of time and space then maybe that would be a valid argument,” Peter grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

“Or you could work on not being a self-sacrificing moron who rushes into things the second there seems to be trouble.”

“I feel like that’s directed at me,” Tony said dryly. “But if I remember correctly, it was that exact quality of mine that, oh, I don’t know, saved the world? And I seem to remember you saying that was literally the only way for that to happen successfully.”

“The exception is not the rule.”

“Pretty big exception,” Peter pointed out.

Strange tsked, rolling his eyes. “You’re impossible. I don’t even know why I bother.”

Pepper approached his bed and took his hand again. “Well this is truly awful timing, but I have to get going - there’s a stakeholder meeting that starts in two hours. Please try not to beat yourself up too much. Everyone is fine and we’ll get this figured out.”

“A stakeholder’s meeting? Really? You don’t think they might let you off the hook considering one of their greatest assets has returned from the dead? Even if they don’t like me, I make them a lot of money. Made. Will make again. Hopefully.”

Pepper smiled wryly. “If it was common knowledge then yeah, maybe so, but we’re keeping it out of the public for now.”

“But you’ll be back, right?” Tony asked.

“Of course. Not tonight, but soon.”

“Right. You’ve got someone else to go home to,” Tony remarked bitterly.

Pepper grimaced. “Okay, well yes, I do - our daughter. Apparently you didn’t hear what I was trying to tell you earlier. I had been seeing someone else, but we called it off when I got the news about you coming back.” She moved forward, touching his cheek. “I still love you, Tony. And I want our family back together if possible.”

Tony felt the knot in his chest loosen, slightly. “Okay,” he said simply. “Soon, then.”

“Soon,” Pepper agreed, pressing a kiss to his lips.

Then she was gone. Tony was agonizingly aware of the loss of her touch, her warmth.

Peter flopped into the chair next to him and propped his feet up on the edge of the bed, grinning when Tony shot him an incredulous glance. “So, what else do you wanna know, boss man?”

They talked about what Peter was up to now - in his 3rd year at Columbia, double majoring in biochem and computer engineering, still the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man but also a full member of the Avengers.

“And they let you keep your secret identity?” Tony asked.

“Oh, no. Man, I forgot you didn’t already know about that. Yeah, I was outed only a few months after you were gone.”

“By SHIELD?” Tony asked, brow furrowed.

“No, by one of the bad guys. He tricked me into thinking he was one of us then when he couldn’t get rid of me, he made sure to record a video that he broadcasted internationally right before he died, revealing who I was and saying I was the bad guy that killed him and was responsible for everything else. It was kinda, uh, crazy for a while.”

Tony felt his heart drop. At this rate, it was going to end up a permanent resident in his stomach “Shit. I’m sorry, kid. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you.”

Peter shrugged and quirked a quick smile. “Nah, it was my own fault really. I was young and stupid and trying to just be a kid instead of a superhero. I was too ready to trust someone else to take the load because I didn’t want it. And Ms. Potts actually helped a ton in containing the bad press and image recovery. She was a life saver!”

Tony flashed a quick, fond smile. “Well she’s had a lot of practice dealing with a lot worse. I feel like there’s more to this story, though. What exactly happened, Pete?”

Peter focused on a point to the left of Tony’s face, jaw tight. “I’d actually rather not talk about that right now, if that’s okay?”

Tony blinked. “Uh, sure, yeah, no problem kid.” To be completely honest, it was killing Tony to not know what happened, especially since it was obviously still very present in Peter’s mind. But it was also evident that if he pushed any harder, Peter might break. But why? What the hell happened?

Peter’s answering smile was weak. “Thanks Mr. Stark.”

Tony glanced awkwardly around the room during the following silence. “So, uh, got a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? You know, no judgment,” he finally blurted.

Peter shook his head. “Nah. I did finally go out with MJ, you remember her,” Peter said with an amused sideways glance. Tony snorted in response. Yeah, he remembered her. “But it turned out we were better off just as friends. She’s still kinda pissed that no matter what she does, she’s still mostly just known as ‘Spider-Man’s girlfriend’, even though we were only dating for like 6 months after I got outed.”

Peter leaned back in his chair, resting his ankle on his opposite thigh and playing aimlessly with his shoelaces. “I tried dating a few other people, but it just hasn’t worked out. Either they just wanted to get to know me because of the whole Spider-Man thing or I just couldn’t pay them the attention they deserved between school and patrolling.” He shrugged. “It’s okay though. I’ve got good friends and the occasional hookup when the stress gets too high.”

Tony’s eyebrows rose, somewhat impressed. “Peter Parker, an active participant in casual sex, whoda thunk?”

Peter laughed. “Well, turns out I don’t do casual real well, which surprises nobody,” Peter said wryly. “But sometimes a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do. It’s all good as long as everyone’s on the same page.”

Tony held up his hands. “Hey, no need to defend yourself to me, honeybee. I mean, look at who you’re talking to here.”

“You still remember that far back, old man?” Peter jibed.

Tony grasped his chest. “Ouch! Critical hit, kid. Don’t you know I have a sensitive heart?”

Peter rolled his eyes.

After another soft pause in the conversation, Peter pulled out his phone, tapping it against his palm and opening his mouth to speak several times before stopping. He huffed a breath then finally just asked, “Do you - um - do you want to see more pictures? Of Morgan?”

Tony couldn’t help the way his breath caught in his throat and his eyes stung. His immediate answer was yes, of course he wanted to see pictures of her. But at this point, he didn’t know how long it would be before he’d be able to see her. If at all. Could he handle seeing her right now?

“I...I- yeah. Yeah, I think I would. Please,” he said hoarsely.

Peter nodded, quickly punching in the passcode and pulling up his photos. Tony felt his heart stutter when he noticed Peter had a whole album dedicated to her. He craned his neck in Peter’s direction, suddenly desperate to see. Of course Pepper had shown him pictures of her, but that was before the idea of not seeing her felt so real.

With shaking hands, he took the phone from Peter when he thrust it in his direction, cradling it gently. The picture on the screen showed her laughing - big, wide-mouthed, teeth-baring, nose-scrunching, eye-squinting laughter. Tony’s fingers ghosted over the screen, tracing her wild dark hair, the freckles on her cheeks. It made Tony smile, even as his eyes blurred.

He ran his hand over his face as he sniffled and cleared his throat. “Man, it sure is warm in here. What’s a guy gotta do to get a glass of water in here?”

Peter got up to get him one, passing it over (with a snarky, “I feel like I’m becoming your personal water boy,”) without commenting on the bullshit excuse that was fooling no one. He remained standing and stretched in an exaggerated manner. “I think I’m going to just stretch my legs for a minute,” Peter said before ambling across the room. Tony appreciated that pointed ignorance of his vulnerability more than he could say in this moment.

He glanced back down at Morgan, noticing now that she looked just as he remembered her. He looked at the time stamp. Three years ago. He scrolled slowly through the 643 pictures in the album, watching the subtle changes as she grew up. Whereas Pepper had showed him mostly school pictures and professional photos, Peter had the real shots. There were silly selfies, blurry, grainy shots in what looked like a blanket fort, stupid Snapchat filters, several sleepy, angry glaring photos where she obviously didn’t appreciate having her picture taken (with some middle finger action thrown in the mix there), ones where her face is scrunched in concentration while she stands on tip toes on her stool at a lab table with her hands buried in a project. But mostly, she was smiling. Looking so damn happy. And surrounded by love - Pepper, Peter, Happy, and Rhodey all featured heavily. He stopped at the first picture he saw of Morgan with Pepper and a man he didn’t recognize. The man had his hand on Pepper’s hip and Morgan was smiling up at him.

Tony couldn’t help the immediate surge of rage and loss he felt as he realized who he must be.

“His name is Tom,” Peter said quietly, looking over Tony’s shoulder.

Tony had to set the phone face down on the bed for a minute. Just breathe. He couldn’t blame Pepper for moving on, he reminded himself. He was dead. No one would have guessed he’d be coming back. And he wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone forever.

“I can’t.” Tony grit.

Peter pulled gently at the phone. “I can take those pictures out.”

Tony tightened his grip. “No.”

Peter looked at him.

“No,” Tony said again. “I can. I just don’t want to. But I need to.”

It was almost another minute before Peter sighed and pulled his hand away. “Okay.” But he stayed close by this time, seemingly on edge.

He picked up the phone again and kept going. Although he’d braced himself, there were actually not that many photos with this Tom guy in them.

He’d started to relax when he got to one of the last pictures, this one just of Tom and Morgan, her curled in his lap, asleep, his arms around her.

His vision went white and his head felt full of cotton, the world muffled and distant. He felt a sharp pain and looked down to see Peter’s phone crumpled in his hand, the glass shattered. Peter’s hand came slowly into his line of vision, coaxing his hand open. He pulled the mangled phone from his fist then sat on the bed and held Tony’s hand in his lap, methodically plucking shards of glass from his palm.

Peter seemed to sense that Tony was floating back to the surface because he looked up briefly before resuming his task. “I think we’re gonna have to get you into anger management classes, Mr. Stark,” he said dryly.

Tony blinked. And again. And again. And - there we go. Now his brain was connecting with what he was seeing. “Shit. I’m so fucking sorry, Pete.”

Peter scoffed, tightening his grip on Tony’s hand. “Stay still,” he chastised. “Yeah, super strength isn’t all fun and games, that’s for sure. If you think I haven’t done this same thing way too many times before, you are sadly mistaken. Don’t worry about it! Although if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll make you replace it.”

“I’m not only replacing it, I’m upgrading it. Isn’t that the same phone I left for you three years ago? That thing’s gotta be a dinosaur by now.”

Peter shrugged. “Not as much as you’d think, actually. With dealing with the consequences of the reversal of the snap, it hasn’t really been top priority to come out with new phone models. And there’s still nothing that can compare to your StarkPhone.”

“I knew those assholes at SI were lost without me,” Tony muttered a bit smugly.

They were quiet for a while as Peter continued pulling the glass from Tony’s hand. A nurse came in and tried to insist that they do that, but Peter firmly declined, belatedly glancing at Tony to make sure that was okay. At his nod, Peter smiled and returned to his work.

The nurse pressed her lips together firmly before sighing and bringing back some medical tweezers. “At least use the proper tools,” she scolded. Peter murmured his thanks as he took them. Tony waved cheekily as she turned and left.

Feeling Peter’s firm grip, fingers dancing over Tony’s hand as he searched for any remaining pieces, was releasing a tension he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Despite the sharp stings as each shard was pulled from his skin, Tony found this oddly relaxing. He leaned back into his pillows, watching Peter methodically squint, massage, tweeze, and pull, over and over again, strangely content with the silence in a way he rarely was.

Tony hadn’t realized Peter was done until Peter finally released his hand. With the loss of contact, that drifting, floaty feeling came crashing back to earth, shattering as effectively as the phone had in his super-powered grasp. He had to use all his self-restraint to keep from chasing after Peter’s retreating touch, desperately wanting an anchor to ease his sudden reeling. But that would be weird. And pathetic. Which he’d had enough of, thank you very much.

Suddenly that silence, so peaceful and soft, was deafening, suffocating. “Kid!” Tony blurted.

Peter jolted, startled by the sudden, jarring exclamation. “Uh, yeah?”

Tony’s mind raced, trying to come up with something to say, anything. “You gonna be my jailer for a while, I guess, while we try to figure out what’s up? You got some good board games or something?”

Wincing, Peter looked down at his hands for a second before leveling Tony with an apologetic gaze. “Actually, I’ve got to get back to school tomorrow. I’ve been studying here, but I’ve got to get back for finals.”

Tony was pretty sure he was able to keep the hopelessness from being broadcasted across his face, but it didn’t stop Peter’s kicked puppy look. “Yeah, of course, I’m sorry Pete - I honestly thought it was still summer. Shit, I have no idea what month it is.” He rubbed his hand across his face, suddenly tired in a way that had nothing to do with his exhausted body.

“It’s December, Mr. Stark. But in two weeks, I’m done with my semester and will have a month off! Hopefully you’ll be out of here by then, but if not then I’ll be back to give you the ‘good cop’ experience.”

“Ah, shit,” Tony groaned, realizing what Peter meant. “That means I’m stuck with Strange for two weeks, aren’t I?”

Peter grimaced sympathetically. “I’d say he’s not really that bad, but-” At Tony’s unimpressed glare, he cut himself off. “Yeah, I’m not even gonna go there. But at least the feeling is mutual? I mean, if you’re both dying to get away from each other, hopefully that just means you’ll both work harder to figure everything out so you can get out of here?”

Tony snorted. “Is your middle name Positivity? That’s got a ring to it - Peter Posisitivty Parker: always looking on the bright side.”

Peter laughed but his smile was a little off. “Yeah, when there aren’t a lot of good things going for you, you either get angry or find each little piece of goodness around you,” he said with a shrug.

Tony looked at Peter for a long moment, watching him stare aimlessly to his left. He struggled to sit up a bit, raising his hand to card through Peter’s hair gently. “You’re a good kid,” Tony said, voice quiet and sincere.

Peter raised his eyes to meet Tony’s briefly before he looked back down, cheeks dusted pink. “Thanks, Mr. Stark,” he said softly, leaning subtly into his touch. Tony relished the soft strands of hair, the warmth of Peter’s scalp against his skin before finally pulling back, knowing he was quickly broaching ‘weird touch’ territory.

Tony cleared his throat. “So, finals? How about you quiz me on some stuff? See if any of my brains made it back with me?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one being quizzed? I don’t think asking you questions is going to be super helpful for me,” Peter said with a grin.

“Teaching is the best way to learn, you know,” Tony said, hand waving dismissively.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, because I’m definitely going to need to teach you engineering concepts.”

“Hey! You never know, I may be a bit soft in the head now. I’m counting on you, Professor Parker.”

“Some would say you’ve always been a bit soft in the head,” Peter quipped.

“I would say I resent that, but I’m sure you’re right. Books. Now. Chop chop.”

_____________________________________________________________________

I was originally going to cut parts out of this and make it shorter, but I’m terrible at editing down, so here it is.

Someone pointed out last post that I mentioned at some point that this might be four parts. ha! Definitely going to be more than that. Not sure how much, but we shall see. I’ve got a few future scenes written out, I just need to get there (yikes). I also mentioned that the starker would start here aaaaand I lied again. Seriously y’all, don’t ever believe a word I say about future updates that haven’t been written.

Tag list: @starkerprince @peachbabytarte I feel like I’m missing somebody? If I am, super sorry!!!!!

Part 4 - Tony is Iron Man. Plus, Tony gets to go home.

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trashpandaorigins · 4 years

Text

The Body Keeps the Score Ch. 15 Where We’re Going Where We’ve Been

You said it yourself bitch, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy." Gamora is finally a part of something. But the past always follows you, eats at you and she must come to grips with her deeds as she tries to build a future. Meanwhile Rocket has never cared much for anyone or anything. Together the two of them discover they are more alike than different and try to heal themselves by befriending the other.

*Content Warnings: Mentions of child/animal abuse, trauma, character death, physical torture/pain*

Title of this fic is taken from the book of the same title "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma," by Bessel van der Kolk

Daughters sharpen their knives and they hunt for food, others watch their children grow

Mothers going to work, and they shake the hands of a corporate tycoon's ghost

And I'm afraid, ah, I'm so afraid

Ah, what if I lose?, is what I think to myself

I'm finding my shell, I’m afraid of it all, afraid of loving you

So Afraid - Janelle Monae

Back in the beginning when she and the others were newly taken, when they were still themselves, Gamora, Proxima, Nebula and the others dreamt of escaping. Each attempt was futile of course. No matter how strategic Proxima tried to be, no matter how thorough Gamora had surveyed the guards and goons. They were caught. On the eleventh and last attempt they’d been so close. Proxima was getting the stolen ship ready for takeoff, it was Gamora who insisted on waiting for their youngest sister. And when the cyborg girl-more her own flesh then metal at this point-finally had appeared, it was with Thanos. She had told him of their escape plan. That was the first time she had tasted the bitterness of betrayal.

Even now, walking the streets of Tarque with Peter, Drax and Groot she kept a lookout for Nebula. One hand on her sword, the other swinging by her side, ready to reach out and seize anyone who dared come close.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Peter whispered as they walked. His warm breath against her ear tickled, making her stomach flit pleasantly for a moment. “We’ll find some way to explain this to the Nova Corps, there must be a mistake.” Gamora only bit her lip, to have an ounce of Peter’s laid back attitude. I envy it. She forced a nod, maybe it would be okay. Maybe. Probably not.

“We killed their officers and destroyed their ships!”

She whispered back, inching just close enough to him.

“Yeah, well... I mean…”

His voice drifted off.

“Awe crap,”

“What is it?” Drax asked, turning to the two of them.

“Nah, it’s just that I wanted to look over which planets in the Keystone quadrant had Nova Corps bases but I left the little thingy back on the ship.”

“I’ll go,” Gamora immediately volunteered. She needed to clear her head, get some space.

“Gamora, are you sure you want to be walking around alone after our recent battle?” Drax asked, a concerned kindness she almost never saw from the man. She grinned, appreciatively.

“Thank you Drax, but I”ll be fine.”

The destroyer’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded after a time, conceding.

Gamora left the three of them, making down the winding thoroughfare back to the Benatar. Eyes scanning every which way for any sign of trouble.

The Nova Corps would know of the fight by now. They’ll notice that three ships did not come back and none of the officers….they’ll come after us. Kill us. Capture me. The thought of another cage made her heart quake with dread. Thanos, Nova Corps. A prison was a prison. She walked on, darting between people, examining them for any concealed weapons or motives. Tarque was small, but no less reassuring. Gamora looked behind her, every several feet, checking the alleys and shadowy corners. Looking up into the buildings and the ships that flew low above the streets. If she were here Nebula could be hiding anywhere, and so could Nova Corps agents.

Under arrest for endangering my crew? Preventing further harm to planets and peoples? I didn’t endanger anyone…. her mind rolled through the list of decisions, and arguments, and recent actions in the past few turns.Finally out of the throngs of people the orange, blue chrome of the Benatar stood out. Gamora breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked around her once more, palms sweaty. Jogging forward Gamora quickly punched in the codes and ran up the ramp of the ship, sealing the doors shut.

Calm down, breathe. In...out...you’re in the ship, which has more security systems in place than most prisons.

Still she did not let her guard down, peering around each corner and down every hallway towards Peter’s quarters.

Something creaked, Gamora’s heart spasmed a moment, instantly pulling out her sword instantly expecting some enemy. Right, left….above...down.. something blinked:

Rocket’s data pad. That should have plenty of maps on it.

She picked it up fiddling with the thing. Something blinked, a hologram appearing on the screen.

“Incoming Message: Officer Vakrien of the Nova Corps.”

Her stomach dropped, knees swaying.

No….no he wouldn’t….not after everything they’d gone through. Even someone as selfish and greedy for units wouldn’t...

Gamora selected the icon. The image of a helmeted Nova Officer appeared, reciting a pre-recorded message.

“Subject 89P13, your intelligence has proven most valuable. We are on our way to you now to apprehend Gamora. We appreciate your cooperation. We are transferring another 60,00000.00 units to you.. However, if your crew or yourself should attempt to hinder our arrest you will also be arrested. We look forward to your continued cooperation.”

The message ended with a static, the hologram of the officer going fuzzy and clicking off showing the blank screen.

He did….he... she swallowed, mouth dry. Her stomach turned with discontent. The wires beneath her flesh pricked and stung. The very arm which he’d taken such good care of now trembled. How dare he......after everything… Gamora gripped the data pad tightly, stuffing it into her pack. He healed me….he...cared…no. Thanos said he cared too, Thanos would heal her wounds occasionally, speaking sweetly as he did to comfort her, reassure her. Only to laugh as she was tested the following day. She warred with herself conjuring the image of Rocket dexterously fixing her wounds. The oddly soft way he’d spoken to her. Thanos whispered nice things too. Made me believe he loved me…. the memories of it threatened to drown her. She stormed off the ship. That miserable….rat! No, he’s not a rat. But... I thought he changed. No he hadn’t and she was fool enough to believe it.

Rage simmered, rushing into the place of raw sorrow and dejection. Betrayal. I trusted him…. she thought painfully.

Then, even worse the realization dawned on her:....... he was my friend.

She sniffed, straightened and tightened her grip on her sword. Where is he? She bypassed the main street, slipping down alleyways. No wonder the treacherous rodent slunk away as soon as we landed. She walked with purpose, peeking into every bar window.

“How could I have been so stupid?”

How long had he been feeding the information? Since they left Xandar? Since they’d broken out of the Kyln?

“Evmon’s,” Gamora spotted the glowing sign across the way and dashed towards it, looking through the dirty window. There he is, the image of the raccoonoid illicit an all consuming fury in her chest, weeping out of the hurt and vulnerability. She pushed open the door, ready for yet another battle.

“You,”

Rocket turned slowly in his stupor. Already reeking and blinking slowly.

“You betrayed me to the Nova Corps!”

The words tumbled out, bubbling up from the place of self-loathing and hatred Thanos had so keenly exploited. Gamora shouted down at him, miserable wretch.

“Star-Shit?” He mocked cruelly, those foreign animal orbs eyeing her. He could see through her, into the feelings she harbored for Peter, he was trying to exploit them.

“Groot,” she corrected.

Make him hurt. He’s a monster….like Thanos and he manipulated you just like Thanos did. You fell for it. After all this time you fell for it.

“ I thought...we were a family after that. That we could be something better. Groot taught me that.”

It was true after all. The large flora had sacrificed himself for all of them, her and Rocket included. Though she’d hardly ever done anything to warrant such a selfless act. The longest she and Groot had ever interacted was when she’d lopped his limbs off.

I never apologized for that, she realized. But in this instance of hurt and betrayal she twisted that guilt back, spouting it upon Rocket.

“I guess his death wasn’t worth much after all. Not to you anyway.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop it. The drunk ringtail flinched, alien eyes narrowed.

“You were right Rocket. You are a monster. I’m sorry Groot didn’t realize that sooner. It would’ve saved him if he had.” The grief of it made her voice crack. The raccoonoid was not the only one who missed that calming, innocent, stable presence amid a very unstable life.

Rocket inhaled sharply, his bottom lip quivering. Something beamed within her, satisfied at his hurt. Good, she mused inwardly. He’d hurt her, terribly. But Gamora was never one to succumb to a blow. Oh no, she resolved, she’d beat him back and hit twice as hard because that was the only thing that had ever kept her alive.

“Your heart. You have none. The only thing that's there is a cybernetic pump. No different then this tap,”

The ringtail spluttered for words, mouth agape. His usual blustery demeanor now diminished. Wounded.

“Shut up! You don’t know what the flark your talking about!” He tried to defend, but it was no good. Gamora huffed, eyes wild.

“I saw the scans Rocket. You had them saved on your data pad. You want to know what was in there? A metal pump with wiring connected to your main circulatory system. There’s no heart. Just a machine.”

The lie was out of her before she could stop it. Of course she’d seen a passing file on the data pad labeled “89P13,” assuming it contained images of Rocket’s past but she hadn’t opened it. She fumed but the traitor in front of her didn’t seem to notice the lie. His own pain turning to anger as quickly as her own.

“Shut up! You're no better than Thanos!”

It was her turn to look struck, though she should’ve anticipated it from someone so defensive as Rocket. I am nothing like Thanos. The ringtail of all people should know, how hard it was to separate yourself from your creator. His words cut deep, to the bone.

Enough of this,

She snatched him up by the back of his head, depositing him out on the street.

“When we get back to the ship, I’m telling the rest of them what you’ve done,” she stated. Rocket quaked, trying to gather himself up.

“N...no!” He slurred, giving her one last nasty snarl. She shrugged, not bothering to indulge his tantrum.

Gamora stalked away, back into the crowds. Better to be attacked by a stranger then someone you know.

She found Drax, Peter and Groot shortly, following the little flora’s incessant “I am Groot-ing”

“Gams!” Peter grinned across the way, opening his arms for a hug. “There you are! You got the maps?”

She allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms, if only for a moment. Safe, comfortable. Too safe. Too comfortable. She pulled away, revealing Rocket’s data pad from her bag.

Predictably the raccoonoid indeed have an interactive map of all Nova Corps bases not only in the Keystone Quadrant but every quadrant in the known galaxy. Intel on their total numbers, codes to several of their files included their most wanted list and their registry of bounty hunters in their employ, of which he himself was still registered.

Peter’s words of assurance did little to calm her nerves. Her mind inwardly toiling with mixed emotions of fury and raw hurt peppered now and again by occasional guilt.

I should not have lied about the scans.

“Okay so good news is there’s no Nova base on Tarque!” Peter exclaimed happily. We’ll head back to the ship and go from there. I’ll transmit a message to Danarian Dey, let him know it was honestly our bad for killing those guys and we’ll smooth things over, how’s that sound?”

How Gamora wished she could believe him, wanted to allow herself that peace of mind. His efforts to make things better were heartening. But she could hardly reciprocate, not with the drip drip drop of Rocket’s betrayal eating away at her like acid.

I have to tell him, she looked up again at Peter’s bright eyes. In the moment Gamora managed a nod, and a smile as they turned and headed back to the Benatar.

“I am Groot?”

“I’m sure our furry friend will catch up to us,” Drax assured the little flora with a pat on the back.

“I AM Groo!!” Gamora swallowed the irritation of Groot’s cries.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get him,” Peter offered, turning to her as if for permission. This time she could not bring herself to nod or smile, but motioned for Drax and Groot to follow her. She watched Peter taper off through the streets, the air of momentary levity gone with him.

---

Gamora retreated to her quarters as soon as they made it back on the ship. She needed to hide, to get away and be gone from all of them.

Nova Officers would come after them again. They would not give up the hunt, they were ruthless in their prosecution. I got into this mess, by trusting. By thinking that vermin was capable of friendship.

She practiced with her blade the remainder of the evening, swinging and slicing, turning her animosity into something productive, something that could serve her.

“Again Gamora,”

Thanos words toyed with her mind. She thrust forward, stabbing the target with the tip of her sword.

“You will have to do better than that,” and then he’d sigh, or shake his head and gesture for Ebony Maw to take her, for another session of procedures, for more modifications.

“No!” She screamed, twisting and slicing again.

“G...Gamora?”

Peter.

She tried to steady her breath, wiping her head with the back of her arm and wiped her blade; putting it away before she opened the doors to her quarters.

“You look...good,” he tried awkwardly.

“I’m covered in sweat,” she laughed, this time genuine.

“Yeah well...I just mean...you...you look….like, ready for battle.”

She stepped aside allowing him to enter. He looked around awkwardly, anywhere but her.

“You don’t have a lot of stuff in here,” he noticed.

“I don’t have a lot of stuff anywhere. Thanos allowed us no possessions but our choice weapons and I didn’t exactly catch the orb on Xandar thinking I’d join this….this…” she gestured with her hands. Peter’s eyes shifted around, considering, then finally landed on her again.

“I’m sorry Gamora, I didn’t mean…”

“It was Rocket.”

She picked up a weight on the ground and lifted it with ease, focusing on taunt muscle and the sweet burn of her body pushing itself.

“W...what do you mean?”

She put the weight down, with more force than necessary and sat on her bunk, hands gripping the metal rim of it. Body tense and rigid with exertion.

“It was Rocket who sold me out to the Nova Corps.”

Peter blinked, fumbling for a moment and finally sat down beside her. She watched his arm move out of the corner of her eye, almost making to place it around her but stopped, placing it back in his lap.

“He wouldn’t. I mean, he’s bad. But he’s not that bad. He wouldn’t do that to any of us. Say what you want about him. He’s not a snitch and you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Gamora smiled, tentatively placing her hand on his. Large and warm and always open. He squeezed it but made no further motion, stars knew how grateful she was for that.

“Do you still have his data pad?”

Peter nodded it, pulling it out. Gamora found the messages easily and tapped the one from Officer Vakrien. The message played, but she hardly heard, staring down into the floor and curling her fingers around the metal rim of her bunk. That inexorable rage rose in her again, she almost wished the raccoonoid was here. Her attention moved back to Peter, watching him take it in. His eyes widened, listening then set his lips in a firm line, brow furrowed. The recording clicked off.

“That little…..” the man’s eyes searched for a while, Gamora could only imagine the various scenarios playing out in his mind. Finally Peter’s look softened.

“....what do you want to do about it?” Gamora huffed, flopping backward uncharacteristically laid back down on her cot, staring up at the chrome ceiling of her small room.

“I confronted him,” she sussed out. “Back on Tarque, I….what’s the expression, let him have it?”

Peter laughed, laying down sideways next to her, one arm propping his head up so he looked down at her with ….admiration? Sympathy? Understanding? Longing? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I lied to him,” she finally muttered, redirecting her gaze upward. “Told him I looked at the scans on the file he must’ve stolen of himself.” Peter’s face twisted in confusion but he let her continue, leaning only slightly closer, listening.

“He told me once, he doesn’t know what his creators did to him. If they replaced his flesh and blood heart with metal machinery like nearly everything else.” She took a deep breath, “It eats at him. I can tell.” The same way it eats at me. After all, Ebony Maw did much more than simple enhancements for fighting. They were both, as it were, built to be weapons. She shivered. Peter reached out, gently rubbing the ball of her shoulder. Gamora only stiffened once but found herself relaxing under his coaxing touch. He withdrew after a moment.

“But….so what?”

She frowned.

“So what if he has a flesh and blood heart or not? What he did was heartless. He acted heartless and my mom always said actions speak louder than words. Or...I guess...body parts in this case? Man...that’s..weird...but...I guess taken out of context..”

“What’s your point Peter?” She nudged, hopefully not unkind.

“My point, ooof yeah my point is,” he flopped the reset of the way down beside her on the bed, the two of them laying just close enough that she could feel his warmth. I could lean into it...it’d be so nice and safe….relaxing. Peter wouldn’t hurt me. Wouldn’t betray my trust. Maybe he’s the only one who wouldn’t. No….no he could just as well. You felt safe when Rocket was holding your hand in the forest, you felt comfortable when he was checking out your wounds in the common area...Peter is no different. You can’t. You’ve already let your guard down once. Do not do it again. Do not do it again little one. Thanos taunts echoed from the back of her head. She bit back the anxiety, focussing on Peter’s words.

“It doesn’t matter even if he does have a literal heart. Or a machine, whatever is in there certainly isn’t making him into some altruistic hero. He...he betrayed you, he lashed out at Groot, he’s nothing but mean and unforgiving to all of us...he’s acting heartless. And besides, you could be right. They could have replaced a little raccoon heart with something more...uhh...advanced. I mean everything under his skin is probably cybernetic. In all likelihood you’re right. But it doesn’t even matter.”

Gamora nodded, considering. He had a point. A good one. One that was assuring and placated, at least for a moment her guilt at lying.

“You know,” he continued with that impish tone she’d come to recognize as ‘I have an idea. It’s probably not a good one and you’ll never agree to it but I’m going to say it on the off chance you do agree.’She decided to humor him this one time. “We could find out the truth,” he moved his fingers across the data pad, clicking open several files until he reached the one labeled 89P13. Gamora slapped his hand away,

“That’s private, we shouldn’t.”

“Awe co’mon now I’m really curious!”

“No Peter,” she repeated, though less stern. “I may have been unsure about the truth but that isn’t ours to discover. If Rocket really wanted to know the answer to that question, he would’ve looked at his own scans by now. He hasn’t done that because he knows the truth. He’s a hardened little monster,” she spat. Even Peter flinched this time but did not leave her.

“Well,” he began slowly, putting the pad down on the bed behind him. “I did just see Rocket off. He went somewhere in our last escape pod.”

“What?!” Gamora sat upright,

“Yeah, he didn’t say where he was going just that...I’m to take care of Groot if he doesn’t come back in a bit and...he told me to...tell you that he’s sorry. Wow this makes so much more sense now that I know he was snitching on you and got chewed out for it.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“No,” Peter sat up beside her. “But we can find out. He took the only other escape pod after Nebula grabbed the first one….we really need to start putting some security procedures and locks on those things.”

“The Nova Corps may have already caught up to him,” Gamora thought aloud. “If he’s caught by the Nova Corps he’ll tell them where we are.”

“...you think he’d do that?” Peter broached slowly. Gamora raised a brow skeptically. The man nodded, reluctant.

The woman reached up, running a hand through her hair.

“How could I have been so stupid? You think running from Thanos and Nebula would teach me a lesson,” she shook her head pursing her lips.

“What lesson?” Peter asked gently, he stood up, coming to her slowly, tentatively as if waiting for her to swat him away. She eyed him carefully, planting her hands on her hips, pacing.

“Trust,” she answered curtly.

Peter looked at her with sympathy, his hands gingerly touching her wrists. He stood close, the scent of leather and fuel and maybe some sweet rellian candies lingering on his body and breath. Gamora clenched her jaw, willing herself not to blush, not to feel at ease, not to lean into him.

“When I was with Yondu as a kid, man, I couldn’t trust anyone, especially not the blue bastard himself. I used to hide in the storage or up in the ventilators in fear of being eaten, or beaten or dragged into some dangerous scheme,” he spoke with unbelievable ease. “...after a while the only person I trusted was myself. But….for what it’s worth, I trust you.”

She glanced up at him sharply, her eyes softened. She took his hands, and allowed him to rub her arms. He smiled, sadly this time, bittersweet.

“You do?” She whispered.

“Yeah, Gamora, I do.”

He inched towards her, face close to her, their noses almost touched. Lingering in that space just before intimacy, so close. Gamora yearned for it, closing her eyes. She was not about to kiss this human on Knowhere, not even with his music in her ears and the shimmering celestial stars all around them-but here….on this ship, now...maybe, just maybe she could…

“Quill! Gamora!”

Drax’s shout from the other side of the door shattered their moment. Gamora’s heart sank as she stepped back. Peter pressed his lips into a thin line, closing his eyes,

“What is it Drax?”

“If you two are not engaging in intercourse I have a plan for how we may seek out and destroy this traitor.”

Gamora gave Peter one last grin, opening the door to her quarters.

The large tattooed man looked between them in confusion.

“So you are not having a sexual encounter?”

“No man of course not!”

“Oh….that is too bad. You would make a handsome pair. “

“What was your point Drax?”

“Well, I have been thinking about this treacherous fiend. I say that we go back to every planet and place we have been since Xandar and destroy anyone we came in contact with if they do not agree to tell us the truth.”

“Drax I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gamora reasoned.

Do I tell Drax? There will be no hope for him and Rocket if I do, with one so honor bound as him.

“Drax, where’s Groot?” Peter wondered all of a sudden concerned with the well being of the sapling.

“Oh,” the Destroyer looked over each shoulder, then to the ground and frowned. “I do not know where the small dumb tree went. He was annoying me so I went to find you.”

Peter grumbled something, shaking his head and leaving to go find the little flora; not before throwing Gamora one last sympathetic look. She returned it, waving for him to find Groot.

“Gamora,” Drax rumbled.

She stopped, going rigid for a moment glancing at her swords laying nearby.

“I just want to assure you, it was not me who was selling you out to the Nova Corps. I would never betray my friends that way.”

“Thank you Drax.”

“I would very much like to disembowel the honorless traitor myself. But, I will restrain myself. When we find them, I would be honored to watch you laugh as they screamed. And marvel as you bathe in their blood.”

“.....Thank you Drax,” Gamora placed a hand on his large shoulder, the skin raised and taunt, rippling with tattoos. He returned the gesture comfortably with a bubbling beaming smile she had not seen outside of fighting. Warmth crept into her chest, different from that she felt with Peter and different from...the friendship she had felt when she took Rocket’s hand. But still budding and strong with potential.

“Guys,” Peter called. Drax and Gamora took off down the hall towards his voice. “I found Groot!”

They came on to the flight deck of the Benatar, Peter crouching over Groot who was playing with the controls of the two escape pods.

“I found Groot….and Rocket.”

Gamora looked at the screen, used for tracking the pods. A crude map of the Keystone Quadrant with a blinking blue dot shown in the fourth sector, drifting further away. She scrutinized the screen, another set of blinking catching her eyes. The second pod, Nebula. Her escape pod was flying just inside the third sector. The realization dawned on her slowly, anger returning anew.

“Peter,” she whispered, “I know where Rocket’s going.”

#my writing #the body keeps the score fic #starmora #gamora #drax #drax the destroyer #peter quill #starlord #groot #baby groot #rocket raccoon #gotg fanfiction #Guardians of the Galaxy #guardians of the galaxy fanfic #nebula

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whumpingwillow · 5 years

Text

First Prompt Fill!!!

High fever? Denial? Say no more. :) Thanks for the prompt, sweet anon! So sorry it took me a million years to get around to it, but I hope you like it.

**********

Title: “Butterfingers”

Fandom: MCU/Spider-Man: Homecoming

Word Count: 1,382

In which Peter breaks a glass and, more importantly, Tony’s heart.

**********

“Hey kid, be a lamb and pass me that teeny tiny pair of pliers over there.” Tony reached out a hand expectantly without taking his eyes off the open gauntlet he was fiddling with, hissing through his teeth as the protruding wire pinched between the fingers of his other hand let off a little spark.

“This one?”

Tony spared Peter a glance. “Yep, thanks. Keep it up and you’ll surpass Dum-E.”

Hearing its name, the robot whirred to life and knocked over a coffee cup full of bolts in its exuberance. “I’m honored,” Peter deadpanned.

“And rightly so.”

Midtown High was having a long weekend, and Tony had invited Peter to spend it upstate with him. He was unsure when or how a relationship that had initially consisted of mostly unrelenting voicemails to Happy had morphed to include superhero excursions, sleepovers at the compound, and supervised access to the workshop, but Peter had a way with people like that. Even people like Tony.

“So, anything interesting happening at that school of yours?” he asked, rolling across the floor on his stool to grab a pair of tweezers.

“Well, Mr. Harrington appointed a new team captain,” Peter began, breaking off to cough sharply into his elbow, “for academic decathlon a little while ago.” The end of the sentence came out rapidly in a forced wheeze, which then dissolved into more coughing.

“Breathe, kid.” Tony waited patiently for him to finish hacking, raising an eyebrow but refraining from further comment. “Who is it?”

As Peter began rambling about Michelle Jones, Tony took a moment to get a good look at him. All night long, Peter had been hastily swiping under his nose with his sleeve whenever he thought Tony wasn’t looking. But Tony was always looking, and he was much too perceptive not to notice the distinct rattle in the kid’s chest or the quiet little huffs Peter made when trying desperately not to cough. The kid was sick, and they both knew it. The only thing more painfully obvious than that was how much he wanted to hide it.

Hence Tony had refrained from commenting thus far. Kids get colds. No big deal. He didn’t like the sound of that cough though, and judging by Peter’s glassy eyes and increasingly listless expression, he figured he’d better make sure he wasn’t in for something a little more serious.

“... she’s pretty cool but also scares me a little—“

“Are you feeling okay?” Tony interrupted.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine, why?” Peter cringed when his voice cracked a bit, immediately undermining his statement and his confidence.

“Well, forgive me for being skeptical, but you sound like you got kicked in the windpipe.”

Peter squirmed under his scrutiny and stared down at the lab table. “Uh, maybe I did.”

“Wrong answer.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark. Really.”

“Hm.” Tony narrowed his eyes. “He doth protest too much, methinks.”

“Mr. Staaaark, don’t Shakespeare me.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. Or not do.” The reply is without any venom. “Why don’t we call it a night and you can either sleep it off or lie to me more in the morning?”

“Okay. But I’m not lying.” Peter opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else but sneezed unconvincingly instead.

“Ew. Now why don’t I buy that?”

*****

4:37 A.M.

Tony let his eyes fixate on the digits of the clock as he waited for his rapidly beating heart to calm down, climb out of his throat, and return to its rightful place in his ribcage. He had been sleeping as well as he ever did—which was arguably not very well at all—when he was rudely awakened by the unmistakable sound of shattering glass. As visions of the worst that could be happening raced through his mind, his first instinct was to reach for the sleeping form of Pepper. As she was away on a business trip, his hands came up empty. His second was to ask FRIDAY to perform a security scan. The A.I. promptly informed him that all was well other than the drenched teenager in the kitchen who had apparently dropped a glass of water on the hard tile floors.

He considered rolling back over and going to sleep, knowing his bots would handle the mess. Peter often slept even more fitfully than Tony, though, and some uncomfortable, vaguely paternal compulsion that he was still unaccustomed to being subject to willed him out of his room and into the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t expect someone who can literally stick to anything to have such butterfingers,” Tony commented casually as he reached the kitchen island, leaning with his forearms against the cool marble countertop.

Peter was using the flashlight on his phone to clean up the glass littering the floor, and the blue light cast a shadow on his face that highlighted its pallor. He shined it right in Tony’s eyes when he heard his voice. “Mr. Stark!”

“Jeez kid, don’t blind me. Friday, lights?”

“Of course, boss,” Friday responded with her characteristic Irish lilt as light slowly flooded the room. Peter dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, blinking rapidly and looking for all the world like he was going to keel over any minute.

Tony winced. “Dim them a little, Fri.”

“I-I’m sorry Mr. Stark, I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just came down to get something to drink and I dropped this glass and I’m reallyreallysorry, I jus—“ he coughed harshly to the side before sucking in a long breath in preparation for one of his signature rapid fire apologetic monologues. “I’ll clean this up, don’t worry—“

More coughing, ending with a violent sneeze into the crook of his elbow. Peter shivered pathetically in his flannel pajama pants, damp from the contents of the glass he had dumped in the floor.

“Relax, calm down. I’m not the drinking water police.” Tony made his way towards Peter, who was bending down to start picking up the glass. “Don’t grab it with your bare hands, Pete, I have bots for that.”

He carefully stepped over the shattered remnants on the floor and leaned over to grab Peter’s wrist. The warmth coming off of it and the way he swayed dangerously as Tony pulled him to his feet were equally unsettling. Before he could stop himself, some kind of primal instinct sent his palm flat against the kid’s forehead, surprising them both. Peter blinked up at him owlishly.

“I think you have a fever.”

“I don’t know. Do I?” He still had the nerve to sound surprised, but his defenses were clearly beginning to wear down as he leaned ever so slightly into the touch.

“Your current body temperature is 102.8 degrees,” Friday answered helpfully.

Tony peeled his hand off the boy’s clammy forehead and let out a low whistle. “Damn, kid. That sounds like the flu.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? Not your fault you’re sick, is it?”

“Well, I guess not, but it’s not yours either,” Peter mumbled.

Tony frowned, putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder to steer him out of the kitchen and into the living room. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean this isn’t, like... your job?”

There was a rattle in his voice again, but Tony couldn’t tell if it was emotion or just phlegm. Either way, it tugged at his admittedly susceptible heartstrings to hear the kid talk about himself like just another task on Tony’s agenda.

“What, looking after your self-sacrificing ass? Of course it’s not. It’s my pleasure.” It was the closest he could get to saying he actually cared about the kid without losing the levity of the conversation.

He wasn’t sure if Peter was actually placated by the statement or not, but he gave a small smile in response. I’ll take it, Tony thought.

“Alright, why don’t you camp out on the couch here so I can keep an eye on you?” he asked, shifting the throw pillows around and grabbing a blanket that was tossed across the armchair.

Peter all but collapsed onto the cushions at the invitation. Tony spread the blanket over him, wondering faintly when his life had become the picture of domesticity, and went to get him a new glass of water and a dry pair of pajamas.

#sickfic #spiderman sickfic #peter parker #mcu fanfiction #irondad #tony stark #willow writes whump #willow writes spiderman #spider-man sickfic #willow writes #spiderman homecoming #whump #prompt #this took way too long I am so sorry #forgive me pls

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lvcmze-blog · 5 years

Text

smiling towards death

E N D G A M E SPOLIERS

summary: you, natasha 19 year old adoptive daughter, sacrifice yourself for the soul stone

paring(s): natasha x teen!reader, avengers x teen!reader

disclaimer(s): angst, mention of death

ragged breaths kept escaping the mothers and the daughters mouths, as one held on tight on the other; desperately trying to pull them up. a friend of theirs stood at the edge of the cliff, awaiting to see the heartbreaking scene to unfold awhile they tried to process what just happened.

a daughter sacrificing her life. not willing to live without their mother.

"it's okay, mommy. everything will be okay. i'm fine with my life ending here. live your life to the fullest. thank you for everything. i love you, mommy to infinity." the daughters voice came out shaky but a grateful, brave smile laid on her face. a lonely tear managed to escape from her once bright eyes and slid its way down their cheek. natasha shook her head in denial as she kept her tight hold on her daughters hand. tears were already sliding down her cheeks; her heart getting torn apart, piece by piece to the point of no repairing.

if only she could pull her daughter up close enough to hook her up to line and take her place. if only. but that was just a lonely hope.

"goodbye, mommy."

was the daughters last words before her foot pushed on the cliff, her hand escaping her crying mothers tight hold of her hand. the mother and the friend watched in pain as the young woman fall to her death. the forever to be nine·teen year old kept a small smile on their face as they kept their eyes locked on their mother. they continued to smile even though death was coming fast. finally the young womans body hit the hard ground, instantly killing her.

the mother and the friend came back to 2023 in the avengers facility where the rest of the soon-to-be-sad friends waited for them.

clint quickly handed steve the soul stone before taking his friend, natasha; the heartbroken mother into his comforting arms. the mother let out a pained cry, gripping onto clints sleeves tightly. her heart screamed in pain, in agony. the mother felt as though the world has came to an end and in a way, it has for her.

her daughter was her world, her light, her angel, her baby, her forever, her purpose, and now, she was nothing.

"clint, where's y/-" hulk was cut off by natashas scream. clint sent a glare but everyone could see the pain behind it. hulk face held a confused look, oblivious to the situitation.

"a soul for a soul." nebula spoke out. tony looked towards her before connecting the dots. tony sighed before shaking his head in denial and grief as he made his way down from the time travel platform. nebula followed quickly behind, smirking to herself.

"did she have any family besides natasha?" tony softly asked towards natasha who was being held by steve. natasha stopped crying, although she felt numb. she sat still and looked towards the lake, ignoring tonys question.

"us. we're the only family she had." steve said, pain running through his voice. he held natasha tightly for her comfort and slight for his too. clint leaned on the wooden pole as a single tear slid down his cheek. lost in his thoughts. thor looked around at everyone in denial and tried to make sense of the situaition.

"why are you acting as though she's dead? why are we acting as if she's dead? we have the stones, right? we can bring her back, nat. so avengers, get your shit together." thor rapidly said in denial and frustration as he clenched his raised fists. clint slightly turned his head back to look towards the god, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"we can't get her back. we can't bring the little girl i knew back. it can't be undone or at least that's what the red floatly guy said. maybe you wanna go chat with him." clint said, fully turned around as he threw his arms around. thor, tony, hulk, and steve saw how broken he was by just watching his niece fall to her death at such a young age.

"go and grab your all mighty hammer! and go find him!" natasha finally yelled out, standing up and out of steves arms. she turned around and made her way to leave before she stopped in the middle. she lifted her head, her body shaking. her fists kept clenching and unclenching by her sides.

"it was supposed to be me. i was fighting clint to take his place. i was too caught up in the fight that i didn't notice my little girl run towards the edge. it wasn't until she s-s-said mommy i-i can't....can't live without you. i-i-i managed to um...grab onto her hand as i was connected to the wire..." the mother inhaled and exhaled as she relived the moment, not feeling clint grab onto her hand in support, "i was t-trying to pull her up to connect her to wire but she kept pulling and pulling away from me....every damn time. s-s-she too fucking y-young! it's not fair!"

the mother yelled out, collapsing onto the wooden ground and wrapped her arms around herself as she started to rock herself back and fourth; repeatedly. clint kneed down next to her and rubbed the aching mothers back in comfort as another wave of tears coming down on both their cheeks.

steve knocked on the door of the daughters room to the avengers facility. natasha nodded in response to his knock. she sat up against the black headboard of the bed she sat on, holding a stuffed animal wolf tightly in her arms. her eyes red and tired looking from of the tears of pain.

"what's the wolfs name?" steve softly asked, taking a sit on the bed. natasha looked down at the wolf then to steve with a sad smile.

"alianovna." a simple yet painful answer. steve smiled sadly. y/n, the little girl who always knew how to make him smile even on his dark days, was gone. dead.

"it'll be worth it. you know that, nat?" steve asked to the mother who now looked the wall to the side of them that was covered with pictures of the mother and the daughter. steve could see a small lonely tear left the red eyes of the mother.

"you know....if this doesn't work...." a small pause from natasha who turned her head back to steve and looked straight in his eyes. "i'll hurt you cause that means my baby died for nothing. that i lost my damn little girl for nothing. steve....she was my world. i'm trying so hard to make sense of this...trying not to blame myself cause knowing her, she would say not to blame myself."

silence. though, every single heart mourned for the forever nine·teen year old girl who sacrifice herself to bring them back.

a selfless move from such a young girl.

pepper and tony whos arm that was banaged up in a sling held onto their daughter who sat in tonys lap. peter parker sat next to the starks, heart aching for his best friend. rodney kept his head down low. clint and laura were comforting their three childern who were crying. wanda and pietro who clint bought back were holding hands as tears poured out. the guardians just stood still but they still felt sadness for the young girl that they never knew. rocket let one tear out before going blank. thor sat, looking blank yet his eyes show the pain he was feeling. bucky, sam, and steve sat next to him as they tried to process everything that just happened.

natasha, the lost mother, sat on the ground of twicks and dirt as she felt as though she had no more fight in her. for the first time, she did not know what to do. she just wanted to hold her daughter again. to feel her daughters heartbeat against her ear as she cuddled her daughter to sleep. she kept a tight hold on the stuffed toy wolf as she did on her daughters hand.

"she said after we um...got you guys b-back that she wanted to get a small house so we can a slightly no-normal life....fuck." natasha broken voice said out, a tear full of pain slid down her face. after three days of tears, she hasn't stopped crying.

she did not even get the chance to say i love you.

soon the silence compeletly ended as scott and hulk jogged towards the small group of mourning friends. scott bent down, trying to catch his breath. his index finger was held up as a signal to hold on. he stood up straight with his hands on hips.

"me and the amazing hulk may have found a solution to bring y/-"

"don't say my babys name. you don't deserve to say her name." natasha spoke harshly to scott. she cuddled the wolf closer to her aching chest. a sad look laid on all of the friends face.

"we may know how to bring her back." scott said softly causing everyone to perk up at what he said and the mothers head snapped up. she got up from the ground, not even bothering to dust herself off before turning around and making her way to a semi-scared scott. scott kept walking back till his back hit a tree, trapping himself to where natasha pushed her forearm against his throat. the stuffed toy wolf in the arms of wanda who natasha handed to lightly as she had made her way towards scott.

"if you're lying, may god help you. tell me." she came closer to scotts face with gritted teeth, "now." a single word that sent chills down everyones spine at the deadly voice that said it. scott did nothing to resist from natasha and only croacked out a small "okay".

"n-nebula said that it's a soul for a soul, right? a soul got the soul stone, why not reverse it? give back the soul stone for a soul. a soul for a soul." scott said to the mother who now had a frown on her face as she tried to make sense of what he said. everyone looked at one and another with curiosity.

could this actually work? could they bring back the young girl? after all it is a soul for a soul

slowly the mother pulled away from scott, moving her forearm away from his throat and let it hand loose to her side. scott coughed till he finally was able to breathe properly. tony handed morgan to his wife who quickly held her daughter in a hold of love before walking towards scott, hulk and natasha.

"you know that actually may work. i mean come on i didn't think time travel could work but now....", he paused as he looked towards everyone who was dusted and brought back, ending to look at his wife and peter who were looking down at morgan who was now in between her mothers legs, "anything is really possible." he finished off with a soft smile towards peter, his wife and his little girl.

"let's do it. i was returning the stones tomorrow but i can do it today. if you want me to, natasha." steve stood up from the fallen tree log he sat on with two of his best friends. natasha shook her head. "no. do it tomorrow. i have to prep myself for the worst. wanda, give me alianovna back. i'll be staying at a hotel. text me if anything comes up." she said, taking alianovna from wandas stretched out hand. she started walked away from the group, grabbed onto the two duffel bags near the tear she was walking past.

once she got to the car tony gifted to her as a condolence gift, she threw the duffel bags to the passager side before turning her head towards the group who now were watching her. she only nodded before getting in the drivers seat and closed the door as she did.

she sat bent over with her forearms on her thighs at the end of the hotel bed, staring blankly at the tv in front of her. she played with her own fingers, thinking back when her daughter was alive. when her daughter heart was beating.

3 WEEKS BEFORE THANOS CAME TO EARTH

the mother held her daughter close to her. the four·teen year old head laid on her mothers chest, ear pressed aganist where her mothers heart beated. the mother let her hand comb through her daughters short coloured hair, luring the young girl to sleep.

"mommy." a small soft voice escaped from the young womans mouth, although her eyes were shut closed. a gentle smile laid on natasha face upon hearing her daughters voice, even more so when she heard the dearly name she held so close to cold yet warm heart.

"yes, my little y/n?" she said to her daughter. a quite sigh was heard all through out the small ugly hotel room. the mother frowned at the sound. she wondered what was wrong. her thought was quickly answered.

"i don't ever want to lose you. i don't think i could ever live without you by my side. you saved me. mommy, i love you too much to let you go." the young closed her eyes tighter, trying to stop the tears that threaten to pour from her bright eyes. the mothers hold on her tighten as she held the young girls body shake lightly.

"why are you thinking like this?" the mother questioned her daughters suddened fear of losing her. the young girl only cuddled closer into the mothers body. the mother kept her right arm wrapped around the waist of the girl as her left hand ran through the locks of hair the four·teen year olds. she leaned forward to place a small yet lovely kiss on the fourteen years head. she pulled away, relaxing her head on the pillow.

"little one, i'm right here with you. i promise you, my little sunshine, i won't be taken away for quite sometime. y/n, i need you to promise me something." natasha whispered to her daughter that hummed in responds. the mother tilt her daughter head with her empty hand causing the daughter to open up her eyes and look into her mothers eyes. a soft smile laid on natashas face. "promise me this, y/n."

"that no matter what, if the time comes, where it's either you or me to die. you look away and only ever think happy thoughts. and remember i love you so much. i don't ever want to lose you. you're my little sunshine." a tear slipped out of the mothers eye as her voice got shaky. she cupped her daughters cheek, letting herself memorize every little detail. the daughter quickly shoved her head into her mothers chest, cuddling closer if even possible. natasha started to sing a lullaby to send her sunshine to dreamland with her arms wrapped protectively around the daughter.

"you are my sunshine, my only sunshine

you make me happy when skies are gray

you'll never know dear, how much i love you

please don't take....

my sunshine away." the mother tearfully sang as tear after tear came sliding down her cheeks. she bit her lip in frustration and clenched her raised fist. natasha let out a angry scream before getting up from the end of the bed and taking her self to the rooms bathroom. her hands held on tightly to the edge of the counter as she kept looking at herself in the mirror. she finally snapped. she sent a harsh punch to the mirror, shattering it into peices and causing blood to come out on her cut up knuckles. she looked at herself from the remaining parts of the broken mirror. "you took my sunshine away! i'm sorry, my little sunshine! my little girl!" she yelled out. three lound knocks snapped her out of her thoughts. she sniffed quickly and ran her hand under her nose.

"who is it?" natasha said in a raspy voice as she left the bathroom with a towel over her bloody hand, making her way to the rooms door. a familar voice was heard from behind the door.

"it's steve. bucky and sam are here too. can we come in?" natasha frowned but unlocked the door. she opened up the door to see a smile on all her friends faces. she rolled her eyes before walking away into the room, allowing them to follow behind. sam closed the door and locked it. natasha sat on the chair that was in the corner of the room, waving her hand to the bed indicating for the three men to sit there. only steve sat on the beds end corner facing natasha while the other two men leaned their backs against the bathrooms wall. "look this better be important because i sw-"

"y/n is back." sam said, cutting off the now shocked mother. natasha mouth dropped open as her widen eyes looked start at sam. she dropped the bloody towel before getting up and marching her way to sam. she stopped just a couple steps away from sam who looked oddly calm. "what do you mean my little girl is back?" she sternly yet calmly asked the male. steve got up from the bed and walked towards the mother, stepping to the side of her. steve placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to snap her head towards him. a soft smile laid on his face.

"i went today to return the stones. when i returned the soul stone which was difficult. i almost gave up till she fell in front of me. i came back here to tell you she's back of the backup avengers compound. she's out right now but the nurse said she'll wake up in a hour or two." steve explained the whole situation to natasha. she shook her head before walking quickly around the room, gathering the wolf, her carkeys and a duffel bag. she walked to the door, unlocking it before running out, not bothering to shut it. the three males looked towards each other before taking off after her.

a relieved smile came on the mothers tearful face once she got the med room her daughter was recovering at. she looked at her resting daughter with joy and relieve running through her body. she walked into the med room quitely to get to her daughters bedside. she put the duffel bag and the wolf side by side down on the small counter in the room. she walked closer to her daughter, looking at her as though she was an angel. she let her hand cup her little sunshines cheek so softly and rubbed her tumb along the cheekbone. a single happy tear slid the mother grateful face. a small groan shook the mother out of her trace. the young girls eyes opened. her eyes wandered before shifting to look at her mother. a small smile rushed to the young girls face. "hi, mommy" a quite raspy voice escaped the girls mouth. a small cry let the mother as she heard her daughter talk again.

"hi, my little sunshine. i missed you so much." natasha spoke to the young girl. natasha grabbed onto her daughter hand that laid to her side and held it tightly. she placed a quick kiss on her daughters hand before landing a kiss on the young girls forehead. tears slipped down the mothers face as she did. she pulled away from her daughters forehead, looking at her daughter whos eyes were closed again yet she still spoke. "mommy, sing me a song." a small laugh bursted out the mothers mouth before she went quitely and started to sing a lullaby to lure to her sunshine to sleep.

"you are my sunshine, my only sunshine

you make me happy when skies are gray

you'll never know dear, how much i love you

please don't take my sunshine away."

as the song came to end, the daughter was in a peaceful sleep. the mother held a gentle smile as she looked upon her resting daughter.

"again." the mother whispered out to nobody.

A/N: this took 5 days. before anyone askes, i got the sudden idea when i watching natashas death scene on youtube. and thought what if she had a daughter? who just so happened to be there and took her place? plus i know some scenes in this was off but pls work with me. honestly, i was going to end it where the daughter (you) never comes back and natasha k**ls herself because she couldn't handle the pain. also natasha adopted her (you) when she (you) was 10 btw. so in 2015 before AOU.

i really hope you liked this! i will be doing more imagines! i focus on MARVEL, DC, CPD, etc. thank you and have a good life 💞

L O V E

Y O U R S E L F

- kim namjoon

#avengers endgame #natasha romanoff #avengers x teen!reader #avengers imagines #endgame imagines

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takadasaiko · 5 years

Text

Always Been You (An Endgame Fix-it Fic) Part Two

FFN II AO3

Summary: When Thanos follows the team through time, he inadvertently splinters off countless alternate timelines.

Part Two

The world flashed out of existence around him and Tony found himself standing in the open. Fractured, crumbling concrete was was replaced by grass under his boots and dust with clean, fresh air as the suit's helmet retracted automatically. He drew a shaky breath, deep as he dared without sending himself crashing to his knees in a coughing fit. He knew this place.

He breathed it in. He was home. Home as he'd remembered it, as he'd lived it, not the pile of rubble that had been left in the wake of Thanos' army. Good. That meant that he hadn't completely miscalculated. Thanos had fractured timelines when he'd entered theirs, leaving multiple offshoots closely resembling each other. Or at least one. If the way he was feeling was anything to go by, this was the only one that mattered. This was a one way trip and he'd known it. If he was lucky, he might find Pepper long enough to say his goodbyes. Cap had literally fought with himself and hadn't broken that timeline, so Pepper seeing two of him for five minutes shouldn't either. He'd just have to try to keep the number of people that saw him to a minimum. Subtle. He could do subtle.

Voices drifted down the hill to where he had landed and he looked up, squinting into the afternoon light. He knew that that cracking, quick voice.

"He was there and then he just…. he saved us, Happy. No way we would have…"

Exhaustion and pain was addling his brain. Had to be or he would have realized that he had moved into the kid's line of vision. It took a moment for him to clue into the fact that Peter was staring at him, jaw dropping open, and Tony wondered if he looked half as terrible as he felt. So much for being subtle.

"Mr Stark…. You're alive," the kid breathed and Tony blinked.

"Alive?" he managed, the question lost as Peter took off, covering the space between them and he slammed into Tony. The teen wrapped his arms around him, and it was the only thing keeping the older man on his feet. A wave of pain washed over him at the initial contact and he leaned forward, returning the embrace, and he let himself sink into the moment. The kid was alive. He was okay. Tony hadn't failed him. He was alright.

"Mr Stark?"

The kid's voice turned worried, but it wasn't until Tony heard Happy's "Boss?" that he realized he had gone from hugging to leaning. His body was finally giving out under the strain he had put it under and he could feel his focus struggling.

Somewhere in the background he heard them call his name just before his knees gave out on him and everything went dark.

It had been just over thirty-six hours since the world had fallen apart all over again. For most people it had been restored: families brought back together, loved ones pulled back from nothingness. For Pepper the nightmare had finally broken through to reality. Tony was gone. Dead. Not missing. She wasn't getting him back this time.

The funeral had been… beautiful was the wrong word. There was nothing beautiful about death. It had been bittersweet. Everyone he cared about had been there, including Peter Parker. Tony had spent five years mourning the kid, but the moment he got him back he had sacrificed himself. Not just for Peter, but for everyone. Pepper had seen the carnage with her own eyes, and she wasn't sure she would ever fully shake the nightmares.

She couldn't let it overwhelm her. She knew that. It had nothing to do with the guests that still milled around their home and everything to do with a little girl who hadn't let go of her daddy's helmet.

Morgan had disappeared from the living room some time before and Pepper found her out by her tent cradling the Iron Man helmet that Tony had left behind. "Hey you," she greeted softly. "What are you doing out here?"

Morgan shrugged, turning the helmet over without saying anything. Her dark eyes - just like Tony's - were rimmed red and she ran the back of her hand across her nose as she sniffed hard.

Pepper took a careful seat on the ground with her daughter and Morgan leaned in. "I miss Daddy," the little girl murmured and Pepper wrapped an arm around her, kissing dark hair. Morgan craned her head back, looking up. "Tons and tons."

"Me too, sweetie," Pepper managed, her voice trembling and threatening to break. She pulled her daughter into her lap, holding onto her as Morgan held onto the helmet. She didn't want to risk breaking down, not when Morgan needed her to be strong. She focused on the little girl in her arms. Not the overwhelming pain she had seen in Tony's eyes or the way she couldn't bring herself to beg him to hang on for them. We'll be okay. It was all she could do for him in that moment. He had given everything and she had made him a promise. She had to make good on it now.

Shouting pulled Pepper out of her thoughts and she thought she heard someone say they should call for a doctor, but she couldn't see from where she sat. She pressed another kiss to Morgan's head before shifting to stand.

Peter and Happy were carrying someone between them. The height difference made it more awkward than it might have been otherwise, but both of them looked determined to be apart of it. Pepper squinted, trying to get a clearer view of the limp figure between them as the drew closer, shock sweeping through her.

"Daddy!" Morgan squealed and took off, leaving her mother staring at an injured, but very much alive Tony Stark.

She was dreaming. That was the only explanation that made any sense at all. She had been right there with him and watched the life fade from her husband's eyes. They had buried him just a couple hours before, but there he was unconscious on the couch in their living room. Pepper knew she had to be dreaming, but why couldn't he have at least been healthy and smiling that goofy smile of his that he gave her when he knew he was in trouble.

Now she stood back, numbly staring as Peter Parker rattled on next to her and a man with magical powers checked Tony over. Apparently Dr Strange wasn't a name he'd chosen. Who knew?

"...just crazy. Happy and I were talking about how much we missed him and then BAM! There he was." He paused for half a beat. "Uh… Miss Potts? Er, Mrs Stark? I actually don't know what to call you anymore. I was kinda…. Nonexistent when you guys got married?"

"Pepper's fine," she managed, not able to tear her attention away from the limp figure on the couch.

"Oh," he said uncertainty. "Well… are you okay? I thought you'd be excited? We got him back."

She shook her head, finally forcing herself to look away. "I have to be dreaming," she said firmly and she thought voicing it might pull her out of it.

It didn't, and Peter just kept staring. "I mean, I guess, but if it's your dream I don't think I'd have memories or thoughts or…." He scrunched his nose up. "It's crazy. I mean…. We saw him die. Right there, but here he is."

"We've seen some pretty crazy things over the years."

Pepper turned back to see Steve Rogers moving closer, Bruce by his side. The Gamma expert tilted his head. "Yeah, but never a legitimate resurrection. Especially not someone that we saw in the casket just a couple of hours ago."

"That's not exactly what this appears to be," Strange said from his place, drawing all eyes over to him and he straightened. "He's traveled through time and space recently."

"We all did," Steve pointed out. "To get the Infinity Stones."

Strange shot him a look that bordered on exasperated, as if he'd said something obviously and blatantly stupid. "You traveled through time for the Infinity Stones. He's traveled through time and space."

Pepper drew in a careful breath. "What's the difference?"

"He hopped timelines," Bruce managed, the statement not holding any of his usual confidence.

Peter shifted in his place, looking more and more nervous. "So, what? He's not our Mr Stark?"

"The only thing safe to say is that he's not the Tony Stark that died," Strange murmured, turning back to look at the sleeping man.

Pepper was suddenly very glad she had listened to her gut and had sent Morgan with Peter's Aunt May. She had known it was too good to be true. "Then that means he's not our Tony."

"I wouldn't go that far."

She turned to look at Strange, but Bruce was the one that answered. "It'd depends where it split off… I mean, theoretically, there could only be about a thirty-six to forty-eight hour difference between his timeline and ours. We won't know until he wakes up."

"Is he alright?" Peter asked softly.

"It looks like he was run through with something. Rest, painkillers, and antibiotics will go a long way."

It took a moment for Pepper to realize all eyes were on her again as they waited for her instructions on where said treatment should take place. The bedroom made the most sense, but there was that lingering question of who he was…. Did experience make a person? Relationships formed? A soul? And if it was the latter, what happened when a new timeline just split off? They were questions she'd never needed to think about before, but the answers felt vital to what should be a very simple decision.

"Let's get him to the guest bedroom." She set her jaw at a couple of hesitant looks. "Listen, until someone can tell me if that's my husband or not, I don't plan on making any assumptions."

They nodded, a low rumble of acknowledgement coming from them, and Pepper stood back to give them room to move.

Tony came around slowly, dark eyes fluttering open and he felt hungover. Weird. It's been a long time since he had had enough to drink to be hungover, but as the room came slowly into focus he realized that had to have been what happened. It was the only reason he could think of why Pepper would have exiled him to the guest room that also would have left his mind as cloudy as it felt.

He shifted and pain cut through the fog. His hand went to the source to find bandages wrapped around his middle, the source of the pain somewhere below the dressings. Okay. Not hungover. Injured. But why…..?

Thanos. Thanos has come crashing through the sky from the past and had destroyed everything. His family had been killed, their home destroyed, but there he was. Something wasn't right.

"Hey, easy. Tony, take it easy."

He hadn't made it very far off the pillows when hands gently pushed him back down. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision, and found Steve Rogers leaning over him. A short, pained sound escaped him when he tried to speak.

Steve leaned out of his line of site for just a moment, and when he returned it was with a glass of water, a straw poking up out of it. He helped ease Tony up just enough to take a couple of sips, the room temperature water helping with the rawness that had kept him from speaking. "Better?"

"Yeah," Tony croaked, wincing as he relaxed back in the bed.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Tony closed his eyes a moment. "Thanos," he managed, the name leaving his lips like a curse. "He killed…" His eyes snapped open. That was it. "How did I get here?"

"In the room or this timeline?" Cap asked carefully.

He knew. Of course he knew. One of the others would have pieced it together, maybe even Tony himself… or the other Tony. Shit. He hadn't meant to get in this deep. He'd just wanted to…. He didn't know, not really. Say goodbye, that had been the theory, but it'd been selfish. He'd been so selfish. He'd thrown out all reason for a chance.

"I figure you know how you got to this timeline," Steve prompted, drawing Tony's attention back around and the younger man drew in a careful breath.

He started the painful process of pushing himself up on his elbows. "I gotta go."

"Like hell you do."

Despite the situation, a smirk tilted Tony's lips. "Language, Cap," he huffed before he could stop himself.

A low, surprising chuckle drew his attention over and Steve motioned for him to lie back. "Never going to live that down… You're hurt. You're not going anywhere."

"May not break the timeline if I'm in the same place as myself, but it's not great for it."

The humour instantly drained from Cap's eyes. "That… won't be a problem."

"What do you mean?" He waited, but didn't get an answer, so he reached out for the man that had been both friend and something like an enemy over the years. "Hey. What'dya mean?"

"You died, Tony. Or… a version of you. Our version. I don't…" He shook his head, a mirthless chuckle much darker than the earlier amusement. "You saved us. All of us."

"I couldn't," Tony admitted softly. "In my…. It all went to hell."

"You lost?"

"Not technically. Thanos died, but so did nearly everybody else."

"That's why you came here?"

"I want to… I had to see them again." Tony blinked rapidly, desperately trying to shove the bubbling emotions down. He'd been doing it since the battle. Through finding the bodies of the people he loved most and not even being able to find that much when he'd tried to go home. It was too much. If there was a limit of what one person could handle, he thought he'd hit his. He could feel hot tears stream down the sides of his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Where's Pep? And Morgan?"

"In the living room."

"Can I see them?"

"That's…. I don't think that's a good idea right now, Tony."

"What do you mean it's not a good idea?" He shoved himself up on his elbows, the desperation clawing at him.

"I mean that it's a lot for Pepper to process right now. She was…" He cringed, like he was looking for the right way to phrase it. "She was with you when you died. She hasn't even had time to process that and then now this." His lips thinned out and it was clear he was struggling too. "Strange said you needed rest. Get some rest. Maybe by the time you wake up she'll be ready to come in here."

"But they're okay?"

"Yeah. They're okay."

Tony finally let himself fall back, the fight leaving him and exhaustion taking its place. Everything hurt and all he wanted was to see his wife and little girl. He wanted to see his family.

"It's going to be okay, Tony."

The younger man snorted. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Cap was making sense, but he couldn't find the energy to agree. Instead he let his eyes slip closed and he sleep pulled him under.

TBC

Notes: Poor Tony... all he wanted to do was see his family. Is that so much to ask?

I hope you're enjoying this! Making things worse before making them better is kind of my MO, but at least I can promise you a happy ending :D

#endgame fix it fic #Endgame spoilers #Tony Stark #Pepper Potts #Peter Parker #Morgan Stark #Happy Hogan #Steve Rogers #dr stephen strange #Bruce Banner

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spideyandstark · 6 years

Note

#38 : iron Dad or stony

38: “You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”

I’m doing this for Peter & Tony, hope that’s okay! :D

“Dude,” says Ned, his eyes going wide in a semblance of revelation from one of the semi-comfortable blue chairs in the nurse’s office. He lowers his voice, ever so slightly. “Since you’re a superhero, aren’t you, like, immune to stuff like this?”

A brief look of surprise flitters across Peter’s features, too. “That - makes sense. Yeah, I guess so.”

“So you don’t need the vaccination?” Ned pulls a face. “Lucky.”

The nurse comes back with a needle and a small swab of cotton. She looks at Peter harshly over the rim of outdated spectacles. “Do you need the flu vaccine, Mr. Parker?”

Peter discretely crumples the signed yellow form in his fist and shrugs. “Er, no. I already had it. At the doctor’s.”

“Then I’ll need you to wait outside.”

Peter nods, catching Ned’s look of jealousy and flashing him the thumbs up as he wanders outside, pressing his back against the wall while he waits.

He spots MJ with a plaster at the top of her arm from the vaccine and fails to hide the smug look on his face. She spots him and flips him the bird.

Ned walks out a second later, absently rubbing at his arm. “It feels dead.”

Peter smiles sympathetically. “At least you won’t get the virus that’s going around.”

Ned shrugs. “I guess.” He looks at Peter. “But you know what would really make me feel better?”

“I’ve got the LEGO Iron Man in my locker,” Peter grins.

Hey Mr. Stark! Peter punches out on his phone. He sits on the roof of a particularly tall building, his legs swinging over the ledge. The wintry sun somehow penetrates his skin and he quietly whips his mask off, wiping the beads of sweat with his sleeve. Is it cool if I swing by the compound tonight?

While he waits for a response, a notification pops up from leedtheway: hey peter i think mj’s onto our surprise party idea

It’s followed by: oh crap are u spidermanning pls send a pic from the empire state building

And then: but not if ur kicking ass or something that’s cooler

Finally Tony texts back. Hey kid, sorry to disappoint but I’ve got a board meeting tonight. I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow. P.S. Did you seriously unironically use the word ‘swing’ just to make a Spider-Man pun

Peter gazes down at the screen in disappointment, but he tries to make his response as lighthearted as possible. Did you seriously unironically use the word ‘unironically’ because it has ‘iron’ in it

The typing dots linger beside Tony’s name for a long time, before the response finally comes through. Yes.

Smirking, Peter swipes back onto Ned’s chat and says: I’m just on some building man. how’s your arm?

feels like i got bitten by a radioactive spider

i can relate

Peter switches off his phone and slips it into his pocket as he scans the street below. He absently wrestles with his mask, briefly wondering if it’s worth sacrificing his identity for the feeling of the brisk winter air against his warming face. Eventually he sighs and pulls the mask back on.

“Peter, your temperature is slightly higher than average.”

“I’m fine Karen, just from moving around.” He stands up. “Any news?”

“I’m picking up on a robbery relatively close by,” says Karen. “They appear to be unarmed.”

“Sounds easy,” Peter says, aiming a stream of webbing at an adjacent building.

“I’ll light up the path for you.”

He swings relatively smoothly between the buildings and lampposts. At one point, he drops low to the ground to high five a kid in a Spider-Man shirt as he passes. The girl giggles and waves as he hoists himself back into the air, legs pulled into his chest as he latches the next wall.

When he arrives at the scene, he feels hotter than ever, and a writhing sort of discomfort moves around in his stomach. He wants to rip the mask off his face. Instead, Peter winces: “Jeez Karen, is the heater on?”

“No. Your temperature is climbing. I’d advise you seek medical attention.”

Peter swallows and waves his hand dismissively. “I told you I’m fine; I gotta stop these guys!”

“Peter -”

“Mute.”

Peter drops down to the ground, crouching below one of the florist’s airy windows and peeking over the sill. Two men stand blocking the door, while a woman stands at the counter, brandishing a set of keys at a boy who’s shakily pulling cash from the register. Peter sighs, almost amused. Keys?

He pushes the door open with a bout of spider-enhanced strength, sending the two men tumbling into a pile of lilies. Peter’s eyes widen. He holds a hand up to the boy at the counter. “Sorry about your flowers! I’ll pay for - hey!”

He ducks as one of the men punches the space above his head. Peter drops to his back and kicks upward at him, sending him sprawling into a pile of prettily arranged roses and hydrangeas. When he leaps to his feet, the strong scent of flowers almost makes him gag.

The other man takes advantage of his hesitation, and while Peter attempts to sidestep, he catches his shoulder with a swift punch. Peter shoots him down with webbing and stands panting for a moment.

Then the woman’s fist shoots into his stomach and he doubles over with pain that shouldn’t be blinding - but is.

Peter does his best to straighten, but the floorboards tumble beneath his feet and he resists the overwhelming urge to throw up. Somehow, he clocks the woman in the jaw and restrains her with significantly fewer webs than the other guy, but the world is darkening rapidly at the edges, and he throws the boy a questioning thumbs up to which he smiles and says: “I’m good, thanks!”

Peter sprints out the door, ducking into the alley behind the building and doing his best to ensure one Tony Stark would not be interrupted from his important-sounding meeting.

“Karen,” he pants, “I’m gonna - go to sleep. So. Don’t call Mr. Stark. Please. Thanks.”

He sinks down against the dumpster before he can hear his AI respond.

“Peter, it’s 11PM. Your temperature is dangerously high. Should I contact Mr. Stark?”

Peter’s eyes open into slits. He groans, regarding his surroundings in unconcealed confusion, before instinctively trying to go back to sleep.

“Peter, if I don’t receive a verbal response I am obligated to call Mr. Stark.”

Peter sits up quickly, the large white eye-patches on the suit widening comically. “No! I’m - good! I’ll… go to the compound.”

He stands up staggeringly, holding a hand briefly against the wall. His head follows, pressed against the cool surface.

“Peter,” says Karen warningly.

“Yeah?” says Peter. “Oh. Yeah.”

He pushes away from the wall, stumbling back before squinting around for the direction of the Compound.

“I’ll light up the path.” Karen’s voice almost sounds exasperated. As the blue directions appear in Peter’s field of vision, he starts on his way, his voice reduced to a slurred murmur.

“Thanks.”

Peter webs his way up the side of the tower instead of using the door, despite Karen’s objections and the cloudy, logical instructions from his own brain. He spots an open window and crawls inside, leaning against the condensed glass and pulling his mask off.

He’s entered Tony’s lab. The man looks up as he hears Peter. He’s dressed smartly - his crisp suit and bagless eyes look out of place in the lab, where Tony works in grease and sweat and caffeine.

“Hey, kid,” he says cheerfully. The smile quickly falters. “Well, you don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark,” Peter swallows. “I thought you were working.”

“Just got back.” Tony drums his fingers against the worktop, the concern palpable in the space around him.

“Oh, cool.”

He blacks out.

Peter wakes up a second later in Tony’s arms. He knows it’s only been a fleeting moment because Tony is still looking down at him wide-eyed, awkwardly trying to hold him up while he repositions himself.

As Peter looks up at him, confused, Tony smirks.

“You just fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes, kid.”

Peter half-smiles, but he feels safe. He closes his eyes again, and the next time he wakes up he’s in the med bay with Tony at his bedside and Dum-E holding a half-spilled bowl of soup, and maybe this was worth the sickness.

(”It most certainly was not, Jesus Christ, I signed that fucking form for you,” says Tony. Dum-E spills coffee on his pants.)

#this long as hell i'm throwing it on ao3 #spideyandstark writes #hope u enjoy my dude!!! sorry it took so long #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #spiderson #peter & tony #mcu #fanfic #fluff #sickfic #spider-man #iron man #dum-e #<- i fuckin love dum-e heck yeah #ned leeds

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fucking-hydra · 5 years

Note

On the serum thing, what if you had Steve and Bucky (or if you’re extra sadistic, add the other two as well) and forced them to pick between things. Like one of them would be forced to suffer for the other and because they’re both self-sacrificing assholes it would just end up in one agreeing to suffer and the other hating it.

*sighs dreamily* Yeah. Yeah that’s exactly the kind of good shit I’m here for. This definitely got away from me so it’s really really long, I’m sorry.

Warnings for this one because it’s particularly brutal (as if my other ones aren’t, but still): human experimentation, hallucinations, paranoia, body mutilation, unintentional self harm/self mutilation, needles, drugs, gore, emetophobia, graphic description, body horror/gore, hand and mouth gore, so much blood, using one character’s torture to whump another character, and, because this one goes pretty far, dead dove: do not eat.

Most of HYDRA’s operations have been shut down, but there’s still the stray operation that had slipped through the cracks, so far off the books that their information wasn’t even encoded in SHIELD’s data during the leak. While these operations are rare, they’re vicious and strong, with knowledge and resources that are beyond anything that previous HYDRA intel could tell the Avengers.

Which is why Steve and Bucky are in a room with vibranium walls and flooring, a vibranium reinforced door, and vibranium chains keeping them on opposite sides of the room from one another, both of them groggily waking from the drugs they were dosed with in battle. There’s two other sets of bonds on the other two walls, but no one in them.

Steve comes to first, testing his bonds and looking up at Bucky. “You okay?”

Bucky blinks, nods slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, things are a little fuzzy, but I’m good.”

Steve doesn’t have a chance to ask anything else when a HYDRA agent walks into the room with a briefcase in hand, grinning brightly.

“Ah, gentlemen, you’re awake! Good, because I have a proposition, and I think you’re going to love this.” The man sets the case on the floor, opening it to reveal a single large syringe. “This is a very high dose of injectable LSD, mixed with a few other fun ingredients, modified to last in the bloodstream longer than normal, but with no less potency.”

“How much did you take, because you clearly can’t count that there’s two of us and one syringe,” Steve says dryly, and the agent laughs.

“You’re right, there’s only one. Which means one of you gets to choose who takes it. And since you’re being so rude, I’ll let Barnes pick.”

Bucky doesn’t even hesitate. “I’ll take it.”

“Buck, no, I can take it,” Steve says, and the agent laughs.

“Mr. Barnes has already made his choice, Rogers. So let’s see what this does, hmm?” The agent approaches Bucky with the syringe. “Attack me, and all you will accomplish is more pain for yourself and Rogers. I do not have the keys to release you, so it isn’t worth fighting.”

The agent injects the drugs into Bucky’s arm, Bucky stiffening slightly at the insertion of the needle, and then the agent steps back, smiling. “It should only take a moment for the drugs to start working.”

In seconds, Bucky’s head lolls back, thumping against the wall behind him, eyes rolling into the back of his head. It only takes a few more seconds for Bucky’s entire body to seize, Bucky’s eyes snapping forward, pupils blown wide, as he screams, throws himself at the end of his chains and thrashing wildly.

“I’ll fucking kill you! Get off of me! Get the fuck off of me!” He screams, growling low in his throat and biting at the empty air in front of him.

“Bucky, Bucky it’s okay, no one’s going to hurt you!” Steve shouts across the room, but Bucky doesn’t seem to hear him, his growls turning into genuine snarling noises as he starts to foam at the mouth like rabid dog, lunging at the ends of his chains strong enough that Steve can already see the blood starting to drip from Bucky’s wrist and ankles where the cuffs sit.

“Buck! Buck you’re okay, you’re going to be okay, just breathe,” Steve says, pulling at his own chains in a desperate attempt to reach his best friend.

Almost as suddenly as Bucky had become aggressive, he goes limp, dropping into a heap of limbs on the floor as he sobs, tucking his knees to his chest and curling up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth as the force of his sobs wrack his entire body.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please, please I’ll do better, I’ll do better, not the cane, not the cane, Commander, please,” Bucky pleads, words slurred and muffled behind his knees, and Steve freezes, stares at Bucky and tries to figure out if Bucky’s hallucinating or having a flashback.

“Buck, you’re safe, it’s okay, he’s not here, you’re here with me, and you’re going to be okay,” Steve says, and he can’t help the tears that start to stream down his own face just watching his friend suffer.

“Oh, don’t worry, Rogers, this will only last another thirty minutes or so. Then I’ll leave, and your next presenter will arrive with the choice you get to make,” the agent says, and Steve glares at the man, so angry that he’s speechless.

As promised, the drugs wear off 30 minutes later, and Bucky collapses, panting and whimpering as he sees the damage he’d done to his own body from pulling at the chains.

The door opens and another agent steps in with a new briefcase, trading places with the current agent, who packs up his own briefcase and leaves.

“So, Captain Rogers, you’re the one who gets to choose this time, and this time the injection is–”

“I’ll do it,” Steve says, and the agent raises her eyebrows.

“So eager,” she says, “But okay.”

She opens the case, bringing the syringe over and injecting it into Steve’s arm.

Bucky watches as Steve squeezes his eyes shut, groaning and shifting uncomfortably on the floor, face turning red like he’s overheating, and Bucky could recognize a fever anywhere after the years he spent trying to take care of a young Steve.

Then Steve leans to the side and throws up, coughing and hacking up vomit filled with swirls of blood. The puddle spreads across the floor until Steve is left sitting in his own vomit, shivering and wrapping his arms around himself, bruises slowly spreading out from under Steve’s clothes and covering his body.

Bucky watches in horror as Steve’s hands and feet start to turn black, as Steve starts to wheeze like he can’t breathe properly, sounding even worse than he used to when he was asthmatic.

“Steve?” Bucky asks, and Steve moans, curls in on himself clutching his stomach.

“Hurts, can’t… can’t feel my hands,” Steve says, whimpering, and then he collapses on his side, his body seemingly giving up on him as he lays curled up on the floor in a puddle of vomit that grows larger as Steve heaves, throwing up stomach acid.

Bucky pulls forward on the chains before he realizes what he’s doing, then turns to the HYDRA agent, eyes shooting daggers.

“What the fuck did you give him?” he demands, and the agent smiles.

“It’s a lovely mix of ebola and various types of the plague. Fascinating, isn’t it? This is truly beautiful to watch, we’ve never had anyone last this long.”

Bucky growls, lunges at the agent. “Help him! He’s going to die like this, you can’t just let him die!” He shouts, and the agent just shrugs, too far away for Bucky to reach.

“I doubt it, but if he does, we can deal with that. In the meantime, enjoy the show.”

Bucky turns his attention back to Steve, who’s still curled up on the floor, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain, body shaking and shivering, and Bucky can’t tell if Steve’s cold, crying, or just in pain.

“It’s okay Steve, you can make it, you can, you’ll be okay,” Bucky says, more for his benefit than for Steve’s, because he doesn’t know that Steve will make it but he can’t lose him, he can’t.

It takes another 20 minutes for the injection to wear off, Steve’s skin slowly repairing itself and returning to normal, but Steve just lays there, limp and unmoving, hair covered in vomit.

“Steve?”

Bucky waits anxiously for Steve to say something, needs to know that Steve is still alive, and he finally gets his answer in the form of a groan. Bucky lets out the breath he was holding. “Thank god.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. We have some more friends coming in to join you, just wait a moment and I’ll go get them. It was lovely studying you,” the agent says, and then she leaves, the door closing behind her with a resounding click.

“Friends?” Steve asks weakly, and Bucky shakes his head.

“I don’t know. But we’re going to get out of here, Steve, we’re going to make it, I swear to god,” Bucky says, and Steve just nods, not lifting his head from the floor.

Bucky counts four minutes and twenty-seven seconds in his head before the door opens again, and agents drag in two limp bodies, chaining them up in the two empty sets of bonds.

“Nat?” Steve says.

“Peter?” Bucky says at the same time, and they stare at each other and at their teammates, confused.

It only takes a few minutes for Natasha and Peter to wake up, and when they do, both of them immediately evaluate the situation, looking around.

“Are you guys okay? You both look kinda bad, like you actually look your ages,” Peter says, and Bucky rolls his eyes.

“First of all, respect your elders you little shit. Second, no we’re not doing so great, and third, why the fuck are you two here?”

“Oh, because you got captured intentionally,” Natasha says, and Steve coughs, finally sitting up again with his back pressed against the wall to keep him upright.

“Can we not do this? Until we figure out how to get out of here, it might be a good idea to just focus on surviving.”

The others trade glances, shrugging. “Yeah, okay,” Peter says, seconds before the door opens and a woman comes in carrying what looks like a tool box, smiling.

“Ooh, are we building something? I was in robotics club, I can help!” Peter says cheerily, and the woman laughs while Bucky and Nat glare daggers at Peter, silently willing him to shut up.

“Cute, he’s so excited to get to work. But I’m a bit of a traditionalist, and I like to think ladies go first,” the woman says, turning to Natasha. “So, the option goes to you. I’ve got a plan for these tools, and I can either work with you or the kid. What’s your choice?”

“Me,” Natasha says without hesitating, and Peter whines.

“Aww, come on, Nat, don’t steal all my fun.”

Natasha shakes her head. “You’re like 13, so shut the fuck up.”

“Actually, the quote is ‘I’m 11, so shut the fuck up,’ but that was close. Besides, I’m 16, so you’re wrong.”

The HYDRA agent laughs. “Family bickering, how adorable. We have work to do though, so let’s get to it.” She opens the toolbox, pulling out a wrench.

“The goal today is to learn how quickly your bodies heal, because all four of you have some very strange metabolisms. For this particular part of the experiment, I get to be creative. I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed you didn’t let the kid do it, I wanted to hear him scream. Please resist, I really want to hit him.”

The agent grabs Natasha’s left leg, squaring up the wrench and swinging it into Natasha’s knee, shattering the bone. Natasha bites down on her scream, only letting out a small whimpering noise, and the agent sighs.

“See, you’re ruining my fun. This is why I like the kid better.”

The agent grabs Natasha’s right arm, smashing at her elbow twice until there’s a sickening crunch and Nat’s arm is bent the wrong way, Natasha actually screaming in the process. “You’re going to fucking die,” she gasps, and the agent laughs.

“Some day, sure, but not today.” She digs in the toolbox, pulling out a set of pliers.

“So, how long do you think it’ll take for your hands to be manicurable again?” she asks, and Natasha stares at the pliers, eyes wide.

“I don’t…”

“Hey! Why not mess up mine? My nails could use a good trim,” Bucky tries, but the agent just laughs.

“You already got to play the game once today, you don’t get to take her fun away.” The agent uses the pliers to get a hold of Natasha’s thumb nail, yanking the nail out quickly and efficiently, and Natasha lets out a sob, staring at the blood dripping from the wound.

The agent pauses. “Ooh, I just had an idea.” She grabs Natasha’s jaw, prying her mouth open and using the pliers to reach in and rip out one of Natasha’s molars, quickly pulling her hand out as Natasha screams. “Yeah, that’s pretty, let’s keep doing that. Do you think you can regrow teeth?”

Natasha shakes her head, clenching her mouth shut even as she winces at the pain in the back of her mouth. “No, please,” she says softly, and the woman sighs.

“Fine, fine. We’ll find something else.” She digs through the toolbox and pulls out a box cutter, grinning. “Hmm. I’ll make you a deal. This can be the last part, but only if you let me pull two more teeth. Deal?”

Peter watches in horror, pulls at his bonds. “Hey, no, I might be able to regrow them! Why not test on me? It’ll be fun, come on, I promise!”

The agent shakes her head. “Nope, not your turn kid. As much as I wish it was. Well, Romanova?”

Natasha hesitates, considers her options, then opens her mouth. The agent grins, picks up the pliers. “See, you’re smart, I admire that.” She pulls out one of Natasha’s top canine teeth and one of her bottom incisor teeth, gathering the teeth in a small pile on the floor. “Oh, I’m definitely making a necklace out of those later.”

She picks up the box cutter. “Now let’s see, I’m not a very good artist, but I’m sure we can make this work.” She cuts the lower half of Natasha’s shirt apart carelessly, paying no attention to the stray cuts that dig into Natasha’s stomach as she moves the fabric aside, leaving Natasha in a modified crop top.

She carves the box cutter into Natasha’s stomach, tsking when Natasha flinches away. “You’re ruining my drawing, hold still.” When she’s done, she leans back, revealing the HYDRA logo sloppily carved into Natasha’s stomach. “Beautiful. We can see how those cuts heal, and then I want one last thing for us to look at.”

She extends the blade of the box cutter as far as it will go, then plunges it into Natasha’s collar bone, laughing when Natasha cries out, tears streaming down her face.

“Cute.” The agent yanks the blade out, wiping it clean on her pants and placing everything back in the tool box. She stands, walking back to the door. “That’s it for today, but tomorrow, the kid gets to choose! Until then, sleep well, you’ll need it.”

The door shuts, and everyone looks around at each other, terrified.

“So, what else do you think they have planned for us?” Peter asks, and Steve shrugs.

“Don’t know, but it can’t be good. I hate to say it, but she’s right. We’re going to need to rest of we have any chance of making it through this. We can figure out more later.”

Bucky, Steve, and Nat, exhausted from their injuries, fall asleep quickly, but Peter stays awake, staring at the floor, aware of the puddles of blood and vomit in his peripheral vision. Enhanced metabolisms or not, their bodies can’t take this, and eventually they’re going to die. Peter needs to find them a way to escape, and fast.

#my posts #my asks #my writing #anon ur my heart my soul and the love of my life #hydra #hydra trash party #yikes: the graphic novel #haha get it graphic bc the violence is really graphic-- anyway i'll see myself out #phoenix's writing

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