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lou-struck · 1 year

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They Said No... Part 1

Obey Me! x MC!

Featuring: Lucifer, Mammon, and Leviathan

Part 2 HERE

Part 3 HERE

~Regular projects are being put on pause because I am a bit stressed. And I feel like this will help me out.

~We all get asked to do things sometimes that we do not want to do. And it's okay to say no, but sometimes you need a little extra help to get the point across.

Warnings: Pushy Demons, talk of pact control,

Lucifer

The eldest Avatar of Pride tries to hide the spring in his step as he approaches your meeting place. He had managed to work through all of the day's paperwork, and to celebrate, he was planning on taking you out to a nice meal on the town.

But as he gets closer, he sees a few familiar noble demons practically standing over you. The polite smile that rests on your lips is betrayed by your overly tense body language and the grip you have on your DDD. Clearly, you would like to be anywhere else.

His brow furrows in concern as he focuses his attention on your conversion to see what exactly it is they want with you. Knowing that he can't just step in on your conversation without a good reason. Especially in High society.

"I will not do that; it is not right." your voice says, sounding quite annoyed at the situation you are in. It makes Lucifer chuckle to himself; you are just as headstrong as ever. But he does wonder what deed these men are asking you to do that frustrates you so.

The Demon clears his throat haughtily and steps closer to you, his companion mirroring the action, not giving you a chance to walk away. "It's for the good of the Devildom MC if you were to just use that silly little pact mark of yours and order Lucifer to drag his feet on signing off on that royal proclamation the Demon Lord has put out. We will happily be on our way and out of your hair."

Lucifer's jaw clenches furiously at the Demon's words. Ever since word of your pact with the eldest avatar of sin has spread through the Devildom, he has been waiting for insignificant worms to try and abuse the pacts. The Larger of the two demons is a known instigator of political conflict, thriving on the chaos of delayed legislation and discord. His beady eyes stare down at you condescendingly as he flares his dragonfly-shaped wings in the hope of intimidating you into doing his bidding.

"I don't use my pacts," you spit, a nervous tremor to your voice. Your strength may be great, but you haven't the energy to deal with these Demons right now. "Please leave me alone."

"You will do what I want," the Winged Demon snarls, reaching out toward your arm.

"That's enough," Lucifer cuts in, stepping down the corner as if he has only just stumbled upon this little scene. The three of you turn towards him instantly, and the two demons take a large step away from you cowardly. "Now, my human has clearly said no to whatever it was you were trying to get them to do, so be on your way."

Too afraid to say anything else, the two demons rush away, leaving you alone with the Avatar of Pride. You throw yourself into his chest, your body shaking a bit as you relax.

"I did say no, Lucifer," you say into his collar. "Did you hear me? I would never want to do that to you, I promise."

"I heard everything; you did nothing wrong." he soothes; dealing with those demons can wait for later, but for now, he needs to take care of you.

Mammon

Mammon loves to spoil you more than anything in the three realms. The days after he plays well at the casino are spent in luxury; he takes you to the best shops and restaurants in the Devildom, more than ready to treat you the way you deserve to be treated.

The café you were at is no exception with its luxuriously decadent sweets and, as Mammon had just found out, the fully stocked bathroom of complimentary samples. After sticking a handful of the mini cologne samples into his pocket, he comes back to the table to where you are sitting. But as he approaches your sweet little table in the corner, he notices you are no longer alone. The previously unoccupied seats at your table are now in use by some demons he knows.

Mammon may not be the best judge of character, but even he knows these guys are bad news. In the past, they have tried to start numerous sham businesses and fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes.

Why in Diavolo would they be talking to his human? This is supposed to be his time with you?.

He feels his protective greed towards you start to flare up as he approaches a table, his superior hearing picking up a bit of their conversation.

"Come on, doll face," the blond one coo's leaning back on the seat next to yours, "We got a great opportunity for Mammon; he just needs a bit of convincing to agree."

You shake your head now and, with a politeness that would put even Barbados to shame, and say that Mammon is perfectly capable of making these decisions for himself.

The trust that you have for your first Demon causes a heavy flush to appear on his cheeks.

"Don't be like that, Mc," the other one pushes, swinging a lazy arm over your shoulder. Not seem to care that you tense up under the weight of his unwelcome touch. "if you do this for us, two pretty influential demons will owe you a favor."

The touch is the straw that broke the camel's back. No one gets to act so freely with his human. "Oi, get yer own human," he shouts, rushing forward and pulling you from the Demon's grip. "Come on, Mc, they don't got anythin worth lookin' at."

Not caring about the uneaten treats that have just arrived at the table, he leads you away from those creeps and out of the cafe.

Once alone and safe, he shoots you a wink. "Next time, just don't say anything to those losers. The Great Mammon will keep em away."

Leviathan

Levi's merch collection is one of the most coveted of the entire Devildom. His Figurines, Manga, DVDs, and memorabilia are worth a small fortune thanks to his fascination and skill as a top Otaku.

He has a sixth sense for picking out the most sought-after merch.

His fans on his online servers love his collection almost as much as he does. Blowing up his chat whenever he unboxes a new figurine.

He loves it, but he prefers to keep his online life online. Especially when he has to leave the house to go to RAD.

Today is one of those days; although most of his classes are online, he still has to show up to campus to take exams. With his exam done, he leaves the testing center and goes to find the classroom where you are studying.

As he approaches the open door, he sees you having a conversation with a demon he thinks he recognizes.

Not one for unwanted social interaction; he waits outside only to hear the conversation that the two of you are having.

"Please, Mc, you gotta give me that figurine. Levi-chan will never love Zaramela as I do. It will be the perfect addition to my collection." they plead, sinking to their knees and staring up at you with watery avian esque eyes. Zaramela is one of Levi's favorite Idols; he won a contest the other day for one of her limited-edition singing figurines.

Levi has already turned down many people's requests to buy it, wanting to keep it for himself. But now they're going through you to try and get him to hand it over. It's so gross it makes him want to shut himself away in his room and never come out. Curiously he waits for you to respond to the crying Demon.

"He already told you that he wasn't going to give it away. "You stay calm, taking a step back to create some distance between you and the Demon. "You're just gonna have to find something else for your collection."

"No," they shout, springing to their feet, "I need her; I need her. Why don't you do this one thing for me?"

Levi knows his Henry can handle this guy, but the pushiness the Demon is showing towards you is something that makes his blood boil.

"Like MC would ever listen to a normie like you, you are a disgrace to the fandom." Levi spits with a confidence he didn't know he possessed as he takes your hand and walks you back to the house of lamination.

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olee · 3 months

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Mil Horas | Enzo Vogrincic

*for the request of enzo :)

English and Spanish

It has been a challenging experience for you to witness the effects of your boyfriend's acting career on his mental and physical health. Your boyfriend, Enzo, recently secured a role in the movie "Society of the Snow," to be honest, this was a big deal for him. This was his first acting gig in a movie, and it was directed by a renowned film director, J.A. Bayona.

The movie's plot is set around a group of people surviving in the Andes mountains, and it follows a gripping storyline that keeps Enzo on his toes. He had to narrate some scenes and play a significant role in the film, which was exciting and nerve-wracking.

However, as the filming progressed, Enzo began to feel mentally and physically drained. He had to work long hours, often late at night, and the pressure to perform well was overwhelming. He struggled to balance his regular life with his filming schedule, and this took a toll on his mental and physical health.

You have been a supportive partner, trying your best to help Enzo cope with the demands of his acting career. You hope he can overcome these challenges and emerge victorious, as this is a significant milestone in his career.

Enzo, the lead actor in the upcoming film, had to drastically change his lifestyle to meet the demands of his character. He was required to follow a strict diet plan, but his dedication to his role led him to take extreme measures. He skipped meals and pushed himself beyond his limits as if he were truly surviving in the wild. As his loved one, you were understandably concerned about his health and well-being. You even spoke to the film's director, Bayona, about Enzo's condition.

One day, Enzo called you on WhatsApp, looking pale and exhausted. He had just finished filming a scene in Barcelona and was feeling weak. You answered his call and asked how he was doing, but before he could respond, you interrupted him and urged him to take care of himself, "Enzo, por favor, necesito que me escuches. Te lo he dicho millones de veces y nunca me das bola. Por favor, cuídate, me tenés preocupada. Necesito que sigas la dieta, si no vas a tener una reacción fea." You reminded him repeatedly to follow his diet plan and emphasized that he did not have to take the role so seriously. You assured him that his health was more important than anything else, and advised him to take some time to relax and meditate.

He sat there at the open-air café, his complexion drained and expression distant, sipping on a cup of coffee. With a reassuring tone, he said, "My love, don't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine. Take a look, just enjoying a peaceful moment with a cup of coffee here, and I wanted to see you. Honestly, Barcelona is treating me well, but I miss you so much, and I really need you here." Unsure how to respond, tears welled up, and you confessed, "Enzo, I miss you too!"

Enzo, noticing your tears, adopted a more comforting tone. "I don't want you to cry. I'm fine. Barcelona is challenging, but I know we'll be together again soon. I miss your hugs, your laughter, everything."

As you spoke, the conversation became tinged with nostalgia. Enzo shared details of his days in Barcelona, enthusiastically describing places and situations. "I swear, I even miss your scoldings here. No one cares for me like you do, and that's what I'm missing."

Amidst sips of coffee, you discussed plans for the future, dreaming of the moment when you would be face-to-face again. "We'll be together again soon. Don’t worry."

The background music caught your attention as he showed you through his camera the charming street in Barcelona where he was seated. To your surprise, it was your favorite song, "Mil Horas" by Los Abuelos De La Nada. A smile spread across your face as you recognized the familiar tune.

Funnily enough, Enzo, caught up in the moment, started singing the song, “Tengo un cohete en el pantalón/Vos estás tan fría/Como la nieve a mi alrededor/Vos estás tan blanca/Que yo no sé qué hacer/La otra noche te esperé bajo la lluvia, dos horas, mil horas, como un perro/Y cuando llegaste, me miraste y me dijiste: ‘loco, estás mojado, ya no te quiero’”His voice, carried by the ambiance of the street, added a touch of spontaneity to the virtual encounter. Without a second thought, you joined in, singing along with him. The distance between you seemed to fade away as the shared love for the song created a delightful connection across the miles.

#enzo vogrincic #society of the snow #my writing #la sociedad de la nieve #uruguay #latina #spanish #enzo vogrincic x reader #enzo vogrincic fic #enzo x reader #fanfic #argentina #agustín pardella x reader #simon hempe #matias recalt #Spotify

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tomriddleslove · 12 days

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Obliviate.

✩ Mattheo Riddle x Reader angst

Summary: The one where tensions are running higher, and everyone has to pick a side. You promised to stick by one another, but a stupid oath you made when you first met threatens to drive that apart. Alternatively: If you love her, then you have to let her go.

A/N: If you don’t listen to the recommended song when reading this i will fight you 🤺🤺

Song: Goodbye - Billie Eilish

The Daily Prophet

Unrest Brews as Dark Forces Loom

By Rita Skeeter

In a disturbing turn of events, Diagon Alley was rocked by an unprecedented attack last night, sending shockwaves throughout the wizarding community. Witnesses reported seeing a group of hooded figures, suspected to be Death Eaters, descending upon the famous magical thoroughfare with malicious intent.

The Flourish and Blotts bookstore bore the brunt of the assault, with its windows shattered and shelves overturned. Several nearby shops, including Ollivanders Wand Shop and Eeylops Owl Emporium, also sustained significant damage.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Horace Slughorn, a retired Potions Master who happened to be in the area during the attack. "It was pure pandemonium. People were running for cover, spells flying everywhere. It was like a scene out of the darkest days of the last wizarding war."

Ministry of Magic officials were quick to respond to the scene, deploying Aurors and members of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol to contain the situation. However, the attackers managed to evade capture, leaving behind a trail of destruction and instilling fear in the hearts of many.

The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, condemned the attack in the strongest terms, vowing to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice.

"We will not tolerate such brazen acts of violence in our society," Minister Shacklebolt declared in a statement issued this morning. "The Ministry is fully committed to ensuring the safety and security of all witches and wizards, and we will spare no effort in our pursuit of these criminals."

The attack on Diagon Alley serves as a grim reminder of the growing threat posed by Voldemort's followers, who have been emboldened in recent months by reports of their dark lord's rumoured return. With tensions running high and fear gripping the wizarding world, many are left wondering what the future holds in this time of uncertainty.

You frown as you observe Mattheo, watching as he tosses the paper down onto the table in front of you with a huff. The tension in his face has become increasingly evident over the past few weeks, and you've begun to forget what Mattheo looks like when he isn't frowning.

You wrap your arms around his arm, leaning in close to him as you speak quietly.

“Hey. It’s alright,” You reassure, pressing a light kiss to his shoulder. He doesn’t tear his gaze away from the fireplace, a small huff of both frustration and amusement escaping his lips as he clenches his jaw, nodding.

“It’s alright.” He scoffs, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

It’s alright? No, it wasn’t alright. His father was a murderous lunatic who was about to trigger the second wizarding war. He had to sit back and watch his own friend get tortured for hours for failing to complete a task. He can't close his eyes without seeing Theodore writhing in pain on the floor.

Mattheo was expected to fight with them. The time would come, that was for certain. Mattheo would have to stand there, and raise his wand against the people he's shared a dorm with and sat in class with.

Hell, he would be expected to raise his wand against you.

“They always say this, Mattheo. They’ve been saying it for years, and nothing has happened.” You say, but even you can see how pathetic it sounds. Despite your efforts to comfort him, it's clear that his mind is elsewhere, consumed by the looming threat of war and the impossible choices he may soon be forced to make.

Mattheo finally tears his gaze away from the fireplace, his eyes meeting yours. Your breath hitches, the sheer look of sorrow in his eyes enough to shatter your heart into a million little pieces.

"I don't want to drag you into this," he confesses, his voice raw with emotion. "You deserve better than to be caught up in my mess."

Your heart sinks as you realize where this conversation is headed. "Mattheo, please," you plead, the fear in your voice palpable, "don't do this. Don't shut me out."

But he shakes his head, his expression pained. "I have to," he whispers, his voice barely audible. "Remember our promise?"

Mattheo looks up when he sees you sit next to him, a wide grin on your face as you unpack your bag.

He had seen you here and there in the common room. You always seemed to have an impossibly bright smile, far too lovely for the gloominess of Slytherin.

“Riddle.” You hum with a small grin, and he can't help but let a small smile tug at his lips as he looks over at you.

“What's wrong? You’re looking at me as though I’ve grown another head” You tease as you sit down next to him .

Mattheo blinks in surprise as you address him, the warmth of your smile catching him off guard. He's used to being treated with caution and apprehension, especially given his family's reputation and his own reserved demeanor. But your easy manner and genuine curiosity leave him feeling strangely disarmed.

"Nothing's wrong, just lost in thought, I suppose," he replies, a hint of amusement in his voice as he watches you unpack your bag. Despite himself, he can't help but feel a sense of curiosity about you, wondering what it is that draws you to him when so many others keep their distance.

-•-

“Please-” Mattheo pleads in frustration, slamming the door shut behind him as he storms through the empty common room. You follow after him briskly, slamming the door that separates the common room from the dorms closed with a flick of your wand as you corner him.

“What do you mean, please?” You snap, frowning at him.

“Stop-” He says, his movements exasperated as he motions between the two of you “- this! Stop trying to be friends with me! It’s for your own good.” He says, looking up at you.

You let out a dry laugh, a mix of amusement and frustration as you shove him lightly.

“Oh fuck off. So you can kiss me and spend every evening with me but when it suits you we are just friends. You don't get to decide what’s good for me, Mattheo. I choose what I do and who I associate with, and if that hurts me then so fucking be it.” You retort harshly. Mattheo goes to interject but you cut him off.

“No! You don't get to choose when you want to be with me. I want you, Mattheo. All of you. I couldn’t give two flying shits about who your father is, or who you associate with. I'm capable of making my own decisions.”

He remains silent, his expression torn between turmoil and guilt, as your words hang heavy in the air between you. You feel slightly guilty for your outburst and your expression softens, reaching out to hold his hand gently as you speak.

"You know, if you really think it's that dangerous for me to be around you, you could always just obliviate me. Make me forget about you completely."You quip, trying to lighten the mood

For a moment, Mattheo's shock gives way to a burst of laughter, the tension in the room dissipating as he shakes his head in disbelief. "You're impossible," he says, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

-•-

You pull back from Mattheo, shaking your head. “No. No, that was a joke.” You stammer, but he turns to you.

“It wasn’t. We spoke about it afterwards. You promised me.” Mattheo says, sternly.

You know he’s right. You only agreed because the idea seemed so laughable. But now it was a reality, and you could see the hurt and disappointment in Mattheo's eyes.

Tears well up in your eyes as you struggle to find the right words, the weight of everything crashing down on you like a ton of bricks. "I love you, Mattheo," you say, more of a plea than anything else. He draws you into him, a strong arm wrapping around you tightly, as though he is scared to let you go. His hand cups the back of your head, pulling your head down to rest on his shoulder as he kisses the top of your head.

“I know. I love you too. That's why we have to.” He murmurs, trying his hardest to not let his voice break.

-•-

It’s not fair.

It wasn’t fucking fair.

Mattheo had just found it. Found his reason for living. Found his reason to keep going when all the odds were stacked against him. You were the air he breathed, the light that lit his life up and the tender hand that soothed him. You were his everything, and you had to be snatched away from him.

He gently raps on the door to your dorm, just to let you know he was about to enter before cracking the door open. You hastily scramble, shoving the book you were writing with under your pillow as you spot Mattheo.

He notices but he doesn't say a thing, no, he can't. Because in a few minutes, it would be as though he never existed to you. He couldn't tell what would have hurt more, you not being able to see him, or you not even knowing who he was. You’d hold his heart in your hands, unknowingly, and he would be nothing but a stranger.

“Not in here, Please, not in here.” You breathe out, your words hitching in your throat as you fight back tears. He nods wordlessly, taking a step back.

“No one’s in the common room. I’ll uh- go there.” He murmurs, his voice hollow and empty as he turns to leave, unable to bear the thought of facing you for what may be the last time.

As he makes his way down to the common room, every step heavier than the last, he can't shake the feeling of emptiness that gnaws at his insides. It's like a void, swallowing him whole and leaving nothing behind but a hollow shell of the person he used to be.

He finds a seat in the furthermost corner, where you both usually sat, facing the fireplace. He watches the embers crackle and dance, not even noticing your presence till you slide up into the seat next to him. He wants to avert his gaze when he sees the tears in your eyes, but instead, he reaches up.

His hands were shaking. Why were they shaking?

He wipes a stray tear from your cheek.

“My wand. Let me go uh-” He blurts , quickly getting up as he looks away. He blinks back tears as he hurries up the stairs. Instead of going up to his dorm, however, he sneaks into yours.

He walks over to your bed, pulling back your pillow. Sure enough, the small book you were so desperate to conceal from Mattheo was there. He looks around and then with a small huff, tucks it into his back pocket. He hurries back downstairs.

Returning to the common room, he sits back down next to you, his hand reaching out to gently intertwine with yours as you sit together in silence. For a while, you don't say anything. You fear that speaking will break this small bubble, where time has frozen and you can just enjoy your last moments together.

As Mattheo gently cups your face, his touch trembling with the weight of what's to come, he feels the soft dampness of your tears against his fingertips. Your eyes, filled with sorrow and pleading, search his for some semblance of reassurance, some sign that this isn't the end.

"I can't do this," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper, his heart breaking with every word. "I can't lose you. You mean everything to me. I’m so scared"

Your sobs fill the air around you, the sound like a knife to Mattheo's heart as he struggles to hold back his own tears. He leans in, pressing his lips against yours in a tender, bittersweet kiss, savouring the taste of your lips one last time before it's all gone.

“I love you.” Is all you can muster. It’s pathetic, but it hurts to even think about anything.

You cling to him desperately, your fingers tangling in his hair as though trying to anchor yourself to the present. Mattheo feels a lump form in his throat, the weight of his decision pressing down on him like a suffocating blanket, but he knows that he has to do this. For your own safety, for your own sake, he has to let you go.

His forehead presses against yours, taking in every last moment of intimacy he’s granted. You don't open your eyes, and he's grateful, for he doesn't think he could bear to look you in the eye.

“Obliviate.”

The second after he murmurs the words he stumbles away from you, reeling backwards as though your touch has burnt him. You wouldn't remember a thing about him, not even his name. He couldn’t be close to you anymore.

Mattheo watches as you blink, confusion clouding your features as you try to make sense of your surroundings. You look around the room, your eyes scanning the familiar surroundings with a sense of bewilderment, and for a moment, Mattheo's heart clenches with the hope that maybe, just maybe, you'll remember him. But deep down, he knows that it's futile, that the spell has already taken effect, erasing every trace of him from your mind.

You shake your head slightly, as if trying to clear the fog from your thoughts, before turning and heading up to your bed. Mattheo watches you go, his heart breaking with every step you take away from him, knowing that he can never follow.

But then, just as you reach the top of the stairs, you pause, your gaze flickering back to where Mattheo stands in the corner of the room. And in that moment, you give him a small, absentminded smile, the kind of smile you might give to a passing stranger.

Mattheo's heart lurches in his chest at the sight of your smile. He wants to call out to you, to tell you who he is, to beg you to remember him, but he knows that it's pointless. You're gone, lost to him forever, and there's nothing he can do to change that.

As you disappear, he collapses down onto the sofa, He wants to sob, and for a second he thinks he is, a horrible restictive choking feeling in his throat as he looks down at the floor. He reaches into his pocket, fingers fumbling with the small black book, perhaps the last piece of you he’d truly have.

He finds the most recent entry and wipes away the tears that blur his vision as he begins to read.

Don't be alarmed when you see this. I want you to read every word of this carefully. This is you, that is writing. It is the 26th of June, 1996. You might have felt like you’ve woken up in the common room, feeling a bit disoriented.

You were obliviated. And it was your idea.

When you were that annoying, pestering little kid, you had taken it upon yourself to befriend a boy called Mattheo Riddle. You’ll see him over the next few days, perhaps. He might look at you as though it hurts him to. It most definitely does. He’s devastatingly handsome, with the softest brown curls and the most expressive eyes. I do believe you won't need me to describe him. Really, my love for him is so strong I doubt any sort of obliviate can erase the idea that Mattheo Riddle lives within the recesses of your heart. Everyone had warned you of how dangerous he was, how his father was rumoured to be the Dark Lord and that he was bound to be no good. But you, in your true Slytherin ambition, set out on a mission to befriend him.

And you fell in love. It was impossible not to, really.

He is everything to me. He was everything to you. He is the most brilliant boy I’ve known. Far too many people gave up on him early. He’s beyond just being incredibly intelligent. He feels. And that’s rarer than you might believe. For someone who was subjected to such horrible things growing up, he is tender. Do not let his bruised knuckles and split lips fool you.

Now, more than ever, he will struggle. He believes you are fully not aware of him. But with this, I hope you are.

Be there for him. Do not tell him about this. You were awfully good at forcing your way into people's lives. Do that for him now. Make him think it was a coincidence. Be there for him, and don’t let his stubbornness fool you. Merlin knows he will be stubborn. He is simply scared, and you mustn’t let that deter you.

People will often compare their lovers to the sun. Bright, warm, near perfect. Mattheo is the moon, casting a gentle glow in the darkness, guiding you through the night. He may not shine as brightly as the sun, but his presence is no less mesmerizing, no less essential.

You had always preferred the moon more, anyway.

Take care of him.

You stupid girl. You stupid, selfish girl.

Mattheo's hands tremble as he reads the letter, his heart constricting with every word, every line. It's like a knife to his heart, the pain of knowing that even in a situation like this, you still found a way to look after him, to care for him, to love him.

Tears blur his vision as he reads on, each word cutting deeper than the last. The book, filled with pages of recollections of the time they spent together, feels like a cruel reminder of everything he's lost, everything he can never get back.You had nearly filled the whole book, addressed to yourself with worries and letters in the hopes of getting your obliviated mind to fall back in love with Mattheo. To remember him, and to negate the whole idea of obliviating yourself by leaving this book for your future self.

And you did all of this just because you wanted to look after him.

It hurts to breathe, to even entertain the idea of going to bed tonight knowing that the love of his life sees him as nothing but a stranger. And in his hands, he holds the thing that could do the impossible, that could somehow reverse it all.

The very selfish part of him wants you to see the book. He wants to slip upstairs, and hide it back under your pillow, and let you find the words you addressed to yourself.

But he couldn’t. He could die far more happily knowing he’s not leaving you behind, no. Really, you were never his, the two of you forcing destiny in the opposite direction, living on borrowed time. Now he has to face the consequences of it all, and if he can stop you bearing the brunt of it, then he’s made no mistake.

He places the book down on the table, and doesn’t think twice about his actions.

“Incendio.”

#slytherin #slytherin boys #tom riddle #harry potter #draco malfoy #lorenzo berkshire #slytherin boys fic #theodore nott #blaise zabini #pansy parkinson #mattheo riddle angst #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle #mattheo x you #mattheoxreader #mattheo riddle x you

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the-cat-and-the-birdie · 8 months

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Y'ALL I'LL URGENTLY NEED YOUR IMPUT RIGHT NOW

BECAUSE LIKE AM I READING THIS WRONG

So in this scene:

Peter is consistently and very pressingly trying to get Miles to hold MayDay, before having a heart to heart with him.

When suddenly his watch says "We got your location, Peter."

DID YOU INTERPRET THIS AS INTENTIONAL OR NOT?

Since my first viewing, I believed it was fully intended and that Peter had alerted them that he was with Miles. I always assumed Peter was ratting him out.

But so far two people have told me they see this is accidental. Which shocked me. Do you think it's intentional, or a complete accident?

Here's why I think it was completely intentional:

So of course we begin the scene with Peter being VERY insistent that Miles hold his baby. Like.. uncomfortably consistent. He's deadset on getting Miles to hold Mayday. Insisting that it'll make everything okay.

They end up in a small enclosed area.

So they're in this enclosed space, and now Miles chances of escape drop dramatically. Going down seriously is the only way he can leave - and he can only do that if both his hands are free.

Peter knows for a fact if Miles is holding MayDay - 1) he can't swing and 2) he would never kidnap her.

I always interperted Peter's insistence not as a weird fatherly thing, but a ploy to get Miles to stay in one place.

In a space like this, Miles can't wallcrawl with a baby in his hands, and there's no place to swing, besides - Miles would never take her from her father anyway.

Plus there's the Lyla thing. Let me go on.

Peter gets down beside him, putting a hand on Miles trying to get his eye contact. And then MayDay attaches herself to Miles' arm. Peter is really close here - like MayDay doesn't have to lean much to cling on to him.

By the time he says 'And she happened-' MayDay is already on him, Miles just hadn't noticed yet. Peter isn't holding her anymore.

In one shot, MayDay is on the other side of Peter, then suddenly she's on Miles' arm. I assumed this was Peter putting MayDay on Miles, are at least getting her close enough to cling to him.

To me it looks like he literally passed her from one arm to the next in order to get her close to Miles.

Now Miles hands are full. He can't go anywhere. Now all Peter has to do is laugh and joke until they can get to him. Peter even judges the way Miles holds her - I assumed this was him trying to coax him into really holding her, calming down and not focus on leaving.

The better Miles grip on her is, the less likely he is too take off.

Right after this Lyla announces herself - saying "We got your location, Peter."

Now, I always took this as confirmation that yes, he set up Miles.

Why else would Lyla speak out loud to him if he's hadn't spoken to her first. If Peter didn't KNOW he was being tracked, why would Lyla just announce it to him suddenly? Her natural protocol probably would've been to just tell Miguel.

So I always saw Lyla speaking out loud like this as the sign that Peter spoke to HER first, letting her know to track his location, and believing it was safe to respond out loud, Lyla replied back.

Instead of Lyla just talking suddenly and giving Peter away.

As soon as this happened, I immediately understood why he was SO insistent on Miles holding MayDay and holding her well, and calming down.

Because he was intentionally trying to corner/ground him in time for The Society to get to him.

How else would they even know that he was with Miles - and to track HIM and not Gwen - unless he directly told them 'I have Miles with me.' someway?

From Day 1 I saw this as intentional, but I've seen multiple people now who believe it was an accident.

What do you believe? Cause I don't think Lyla would just speak out loud unprompted in a situation like this. To me I always saw it as her responding to Peter, AFTER Peter ratted Miles out.

I mean, look at Miles' face. He LOOKS betrayed. He LOOKS HURT.

Peter says he didn't know, but Miles doesn't believe that. Neither do I.

He says "I didn't know, I promise." But I was like-

Yeah sure, you didn't know the watch you've had for months and the sophisticated ass AI on it can track your location, sure bro.

Sure, Lyla just figured out on her own that you were with Miles and then decided to rat you out. Sure. Her voice recognition picked up Miles being there and she still spoke out loud uh-huh. STFU.

You not making no sense bro CAP. STOP THE CAP!!!!

Like...... Seriously, how else would Lyla know to ping Peter's location, other than him telling her. It's just him and MILES!!!!!

I don't know. That how I always read the situation.

And Peter using his baby to manipulate and corner Miles like that - It DO NOT sit right with me. It don't matter of face I'm sick to MY STOMACHHHHHHH!!!

But maybe I'M the one bugging. If I'm reading this wrong but who knows bit if he deadass ratted him out.....guitar. guitar. Hobie, the guitar!!!!

But how do you read this scene, you think he did it on purpose or nah?

Cause Lyla announcing herself like that is mad random unless he spoke to her first. She could have found him and told Miguel, but I feel like she told Peter too because he actively requested he be tracked.

Hm. HMMMM.

Thoughts, ya'll? We think he did it or nah? Let's hear what the audience thinks fr fr

#FUCK PETER B ALL MY HOBIES HATE PETER B #spiderman #atsv #marvel #spider man #across the spiderverse #peter parker #miles morales #peter B Parker #peter B hate club #across the spider verse #astv lyla #lyla #atsv analysis

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elia-the-bibliophile · 11 days

Text

Diamond of the First Water (Max Verstappen x Female Reader)

Genre: Fluff

Formula 1 meets the whispers of high society gossip. A crossover you never know you needed😉

Max Verstappen’s relationship with a talented actress, Y/N, takes a rough turn when she lands the role of Daphne Bridgerton opposite a charismatic co-star. Jealousy and insecurity grip Max as he struggles to cope with his feelings. Will their love survive the fast-paced drama of both the racetrack and the Regency era London set of "Bridgerton"?

Max sits on the couch, his laptop open in front of him. He clicks play on the latest promo for the Bridgerton series, his eyes fixed intently on the screen.

As the scenes unfold, showcasing the undeniable chemistry between you, his girlfriend of 3 years and Regé-Jean Page, Max's jaw tightens slightly. He can't deny the pang of jealousy that twists in his chest as he watches their on-screen romance unfold, where you starred as Daphne Bridgerton.

"Looks like you and Regé are hitting it off," he said with a scoff, his eyes narrowing as he watches the scenes play out. Despite his attempt at nonchalance, insecurity lingers.

With each new promo snippet, Max finds himself drawn deeper into the story. He watches as you and Regé-Jean share intimate moments, his heart clenching with a weird mixture of both pride and jealousy.

Max's finger hovers over the mousepad, hesitating for a moment before clicking on a short clip that has sent the internet into a frenzy. The iconic scene plays out on the screen, showcasing Regé-Jean as he delivers the unforgettable line, "I burn for you."

As the scene unfolds, Max's breath catches in his throat, his eyes widening slightly at the intensity of the moment. He can feel his heart rate quicken as he watches the raw emotion in Y/N's eyes, her performance bringing the character of Daphne to life in a way that captivates audiences around the world and he can see why.

Another round of jealousy flares within him as he realizes the impact of the scene, knowing that millions of viewers are falling under the spell of his girlfriend's on-screen chemistry with the newest heartthrob. "Quite the scene," he murmurs to himself, possessiveness coloring his words. Despite the swirling emotions within him, Max can't tear his eyes away from the screen, captivated by the power of the performance and the undeniable magnetism of the world building. People might not would’ve guessed that the Max Verstappen loves a good period drama.

_________________________________________

The next day, Max is in the middle of a training session when his phone buzzes with a text from Charles, and he glances down to see a link. Curiosity piqued, he opens it and finds himself directed to a recent interview featuring of course, Regé-Jean Page.

"So, Regé, let's get down to the important questions, shall we? We've heard rumors swirling around the set of Bridgerton about a certain someone catching your eye. Care to set the record straight?"

Regé chuckles, voice smooth as honey, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Ah, I see you've been talking to the gossip columnists. Well, I'm afraid I can neither confirm nor deny anything at this time."

“Oh, playing it coy, are we? But seriously, the world is dying to know – who is your celebrity crush?"

His smile widens, and he leans back in his chair, considering the question with mock seriousness. "Well, you know, there are plenty of beautiful and talented people out there in the world of entertainment. But if I had to choose just one, I suppose I'd have to say... Y/N."

The interviewer raises an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Y/N? As in the leading lady of Bridgerton herself?"

Regé nods, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Guilty as charged. What can I say? You cannot play a role alongside her and not fall in love. It's just impossible."

The interviewer chuckles, clearly enjoying the playful exchange. "Well, I'm sure Y/N will be thrilled to hear that. And who knows? Maybe there's a real-life love story brewing behind the scenes of Bridgerton."

Regé laughs, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “I couldn't possibly comment on that. But I will say this – working with Y/N has been an absolute joy, both on and off screen."

Max's hand clenches as he watches the interview, the weight of Regé’s words settling heavily on his shoulders. Despite the playful tone of the interview, there's a sincerity in his declaration that sends envy coursing through Max's veins.

He closes his eyes briefly, trying to push down the feelings of insecurity. But try as he might, he can't shake the nagging fear that Regé’s words hold a kernel of truth, that perhaps his girlfriend's on-screen chemistry has spilled over into something more.

With a heavy sigh, Max pockets his phone and returns his focus to his training, the weight of the interview lingering in the back of his mind like a shadow he can't shake.

_________________________________________

After a grueling session, Max emerges from the track, his muscles tense and his mind still buzzing with the weight of the interview. As he heads towards the paddock, he spots Charles leaning against the wall, sipping a cold drink.

"Hey, Max.”

Max grunts in response, his thoughts still somewhere else.

Charles arches an eyebrow, noticing Max's preoccupied demeanor, “Everything alright, mate? You seem a bit... off."

Max hesitates for a moment before deciding to confide in his fellow driver, "Yeah, just... had a bit of a run-in with the gossip mill today."

Charles let out an amused laugh, "Ah, you’ve catched that interview with Regé-Jean Page then?”

Max's eyes narrow slightly as he regards Charles, Charles chuckles, his grin growing wider, “Seems like he's really into her, huh? For someone who's supposedly just doing it for promo," he said with a shrug.

Max pauses in his tracks, Charles's words echoing in his mind. He turns back to face the Monégasque, a crease forming between his brows, “You think so?"

Charles nods, his expression thoughtful, “Yeah, I mean, sure, it's all part of the promo game, but there was something in the way he said it... seemed pretty genuine to me."

Max's lips thin into a line as he considers Charles's observation. Despite his initial dismissal of Regé’s declaration, a part of him can't shake the nagging feeling that there might be more to it than just publicity, "I guess we'll never know for sure."

Charles claps Max on the shoulder, offering him a reassuring smile, "Don't let it get to you, mate. At the end of the day, you know where you stand with Y/N. And if Regé wants to play the celebrity crush game, well, that's his prerogative. You're the one she comes home to."

Max nods, a sense of resolve settling over him. He may not be able to control the rumors swirling around Bridgerton, but he can control how he reacts to them, "Thanks, Charles. I needed to hear that."

With a nod of appreciation, Max turns and continues on his way, the weight of Charles's words giving him a newfound sense of clarity. Whatever may come, he knows that his relationship with Y/N is built on a foundation of trust and love, and nothing – not even a charming actor and a flurry of gossip – can shake that.

_________________________________________

On his way home, Max decided to shoot you a quick text, “Hey schatje, how’s your day going?”

Y/N response came in seconds with a picture of you and Regé, “Hi baby, I’m out for coffee right now with Regé, he says hello to you”

Max's heart skips a beat as he reads Y/N's response, a surge of mixed emotions washing over him. But he takes a deep breath, pushing those feelings aside as he forces himself to respond, “Coffee with Regé, huh? Tell him I said hello back."

Despite the weight on his chest, Max forces a smile as he hits send, trying to push aside his insecurities and trust in the strength of his relationship with you. But as he waits for her reply, the image of Y/N and Regé together lingers in his mind, further fueling the flames of his unease.

Max's fingers hover over his phone, hesitating for a moment before he types out his next message, “What time do you think you'll be home, schat?”

When the ‘ping’ finally comes, it's like a weight being lifted from his shoulders, but it's quickly replaced with a sense of resignation. “It'll be late darling, so don't wait up."

Max's jaw tightens as he reads the message. He knows he shouldn't let his insecurities get the best of him, but the image of Y/N and Regé together won’t go away. His minds pulling all sorts of mean tricks on him.

With a heavy sigh, Max sets his phone down on the passenger seat beside him, the glow of the screen casting a faint light in the dimly lit car. The quiet hum of the engine fills the air as he drives through the empty streets, the silence broken only by the occasional sound of passing cars.

As he navigates the familiar route home, Max's mind is consumed by a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The image of Y/N and Regé replays in his mind like a broken record. He even think about slapping himself, hard, to clear his mind.

And as he finally pulls into the driveway of their apartment, he can't help but feel a sense of loneliness settle over him, longing for the comfort and reassurance that only your presence can bring. And there’s not much of that these days.

_________________________________________

The next day, as Max arrives at the track, he finds Charles and Carlos waiting for him near the paddock, wearing matching mischievous grins, “Max! We thought we'd grab lunch together today. What do you say?" Charles asked.

Max's eyebrows furrow in surprise at the unexpected invitation, but he can't help but feel a flicker of gratitude at the gesture. “Sure, sounds good. Thanks, guys."

As they head to the nearby café, Charles and Carlos make a team effort to keep the mood light, peppering the conversation with jokes and anecdotes from past races.

"So, Max,” Carlos starts, “Heard you've been spending a lot of time with Netflix lately. Regé giving you a run for your money?"

Max chuckles, rolling his eyes good-naturedly, “Yeah, something like that. It's a whole new world for me, y’know? Used to dating models and them doing quick photoshoots. Now, it's all about the long hours on set and endless promo tours."

Charles raises an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his eye, “Ah, so you're not used to your girlfriend spending more time with her co-star than with you?"

“Hey, watch it, mate. I'm not about to let some actor steal my girl.”

Carlos laughs, shaking his head in amusement, “Well, if Regé ever gets too cozy with Y/N, just let us know. We'll take care of it on the racetrack."

_________________________________________

That night, as you walked through the door, your heart swelled with anticipation of finally spending quality time with Max after a long while on set. However, instead of the warm embrace you were expecting, you were met with a cold silence. Max was sitting on the kitchen table, his expression unreadable.

Confusion etched across your features, you approached him cautiously, “Darling, is everything okay?"

He looked up, his gaze piercing, "Are you into him, huh?" He spat out, his words might as well have been laced venom.

Your heart sank, confusion flickering in your eyes, "What? Max, no, of course not," you replied softly, trying to keep your voice steady despite the rising emotions.

Max's jealousy bubbling to the surface, “I see the way you look at him, the chemistry between you two on set. It's like you forgot you have a boyfriend waiting for you back home.”

You knelt down in front of him, reaching out to gently cup his face, willing him to understand. "Max, surely you can’t think this. You're the one I love, the one I want to be with. But acting is just that—acting. It's not real."

Max angrily brushed you off as you tried to reason with him, his frustration palpable in every movement. Ignoring your pleas, he stalked towards you until you were backed against the wall, his eyes blazing with jealousy.

"Do you like it when he kisses you?" he demanded, his voice harsh and accusing. "Is he a better kisser than I am, schat?”

Your heart pounded in your chest as you felt the weight of his anger bearing down on you. Swallowing hard, you met his gaze with a mix of defiance. "No, Max," you replied firmly, refusing to let his words break you. "He's not and that doesn’t even matter.”

His grip tightened on your shoulders, his expression torn between anger and vulnerability. "Then why do I feel like I'm losing you?" he whispered, his voice raw with emotion.

You reached up to cup his face, the warmth of your touch a stark contrast to his simmering rage. "You're not losing me, Max," you reassured him, your voice soft but unwavering. "I'm right here."

For a moment, he seemed to waver, his resolve crumbling in the face of your unwavering love. And then, with a heavy sigh, he pulled you into his arms, burying his face in the crook of your neck. "I'm sorry, Y/N," he murmured against your skin. "I just... I can't bear the thought of losing you. Watching all those clips drove me insane.”

You held him close, feeling the tension in his body slowly melt away. "You won't lose me, Max," you whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple. "You know I’m yours, my love, and have always been yours.”

Max leaned back slightly, his eyes searching yours for any hint of the truth. "Do you think he likes you for real?" he asked, his voice laced with uncertainty. "Because it certainly seems that way."

You shook your head, a soft smile playing at the corners of your lips. "Max, it’s just acting. Regé is a professional, and so am I."

He studied your face intently, as if trying to decipher the truth hidden within your words. "But the way he looks at you..." he trailed off, unable to voice the insecurity that gnawed at him.

You reached up to gently cup his cheek, forcing him to meet your gaze. "Max Emilian, look at me," you urged softly. "You're the only one I want. I chose you, and I'll keep choosing you every single day."

A flicker of doubt crossed his features before he finally nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "I'm sorry, Y/N," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I let my jealousy get the best of me."

You smiled tenderly, pressing a kiss to his lips. "It's okay, baby. We all have our moments. What matters is that we work through them together."

Feeling the tension ease between you, you gently took Max's hand and kiss the back of it, offering him a reassuring smile. "You know, if you're feeling uneasy, you could always come to set and see for yourself," you suggested. "I'd love to introduce you to Regé."

Max's expression softened at your offer, a hint of curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Really? You'd be okay with that?"

You nodded, squeezing his hand gently. "Of course. I want you to feel secure in our relationship, Max. And I want you to see firsthand that there's nothing going on between me and him. We’re just friends.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Max's lips as he leaned in to press a tender kiss to your forehead. "Thank you, liefje. That means a lot to me."

Laughing softly, you playfully teased Max, "Come here, you big baby," before pulling him close.

As your lips met in a sweet kiss, the tension of the moment melted away. As if it’s never been there on the first place.

_________________________________________

Max finally secured a week off from his demanding training schedule, and Y/N couldn't wait to share her world with him. As he often whisked her to every Grand Prix, but he has never been to any of her filming set.

As Max stepped onto the sprawling set of "Bridgerton," his eyes widened in awe at the bustling activity around him. Towering structures resembling the grandeur of Regency-era London loomed in the distance, while a flurry of costumed actors and crew members darted about, bringing the world of the early 1800s to life.

Y/N grinned beside him, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she led him deeper into the heart of the set. "Welcome to the world of Bridgerton," she said, her voice dripping with pride.

Max couldn't help but marvel at the meticulous attention to detail evident in every corner of the set. From the ornate costumes to the elaborate set pieces, it was as though he had been transported back in time.

"This is incredible," Max breathed, doing a 360 degree turn to take in the sights around him.

Y/N squeezed his hand affectionately. "I'm glad you think so. It's been such an amazing experience being a part of this production."

As they wandered through the bustling set, Y/N introduced Max to her co-stars and fellow crew members, each interaction filled with warmth.

And finally, “Max, this is Regé," Y/N said, gesturing to a dashing man in period attire. "He plays Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings."

Regé extended his hand with a friendly smile. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Max. Y/N's been telling us all about you."

Max shook his hand, feeling a pang of jealousy despite himself. "Likewise," he replied, forcing a tight smile.

Throughout the day, Max watched in fascination as scenes were meticulously rehearsed and filmed, the air alive with creativity and passion. And as he witnessed Y/N slip effortlessly into the role of Daphne Bridgerton, her talent shining brightly alongside her co-star, Max couldn't help but feel a swell of admiration for the woman he loved. Seeing her at her natural element makes him adore her even more.

"It's been amazing seeing you in action," he said to Y/N, pulling her close.

Y/N smiled up at him, her eyes alight with happiness. "I'm glad you could be here with me, Max. It means the world to me."

With a playful glint in her eye, she nudged him gently. "You've been avoiding Regé all day," she teased, her voice laced with affection. "I thought you'd be eager to track him down."

Max chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I just didn't want to intrude on your scene," he replied, attempting to mask his unease.

Y/N raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Oh, come on, Max. I know you're not one to shy away," she teased, linking her arm through his. "Come now, don’t be rude.”

Max's sighed, conceding defeat. "Alright, alright.”

As they approached Regé, now in his everyday clothing, to his surprise he greeted him warmly, despite him being an asshole throughout the day. “This might sounds weird but I've been a fan of the sport for years, ever since I first saw Lewis Hamilton in action."

Max’s interest piqued. "That so?” he replied.

"I've watched so many of your races!" Regé continues, his admiration evident in his voice. "You're great, mate."

Max's cheeks flushed with a hint of pride at the praise. "Thanks, I appreciate that," he said, genuinely touched by Regé's words.

Y/N beamed at the exchange between the two men, delighted to see them finally talk. "I told you he's a big fan," she said, teasing Regé playfully.

Regé grinned sheepishly. "Guilty," he admitted, his enthusiasm unabashed. "I try to catch every race I can. There's something about the speed and precision of it all that's just mesmerizing."

Max felt a wave of relief wash over him as he realized he had more in common with Regé than he had initially thought. The fact that he is also a genuinely nice bloke also helps.

As Y/N excused herself to talk to the director, Max found himself alone with Regé, the air tinged with a slight awkwardness. Sensing the tension, Regé cleared his throat and turned to face Max with a sincere expression.

"Listen, Max," Regé began. "I just wanted to apologize if I ever made you uncomfortable. It was not my intention as I am just doing my job."

Max blinked in surprise at Regé's unexpected apology, his guarded demeanor melting away. "Oh, no, it's cool," Max reassured him quickly. "I understand. It's all part of the promotion game, right?"

Regé nodded, relief evident in his eyes. "Exactly," he said earnestly. "Most of those interviews are scripted anyway. But I just wanted to make sure you know that I didn't mean to come off too strong."

Max smiled, feeling a wave of gratitude towards Regé for his sincerity. "No worries, man," he said, clapping a hand on Regé's shoulder. "I appreciate you saying that. And hey, it's actually really cool to meet another fan of the sport."

Regé's smile widened at Max's words, the tension between them dissipating completely. "Definitely," he agreed warmly. "Maybe we can catch a race together sometime."

Max's grin mirrored Regé's. "Actually, how about I get you access to the Paddock Club for Silverstone? It's an experience every F1 fan should have."

Regé's eyes widened in surprise and excitement. "Seriously? That would be incredible!" he exclaimed, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

Max chuckled. "Consider it done," he said with a grin. "I'll make sure you have the best view of me winning.”

Y/N returned, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she slipped her arm around Max's waist. "What are you boys plotting about?" she asked, clearly intrigued by the conversation she had interrupted.

Max exchanged a knowing glance with Regé before turning back to Y/N. "Ehh just making plans for Silverstone," he replied. "I'm getting Regé access to the Paddock Club so he can experience F1 up close."

Y/N's eyes widened in delight, her smile widening. "That's amazing!" she exclaimed. "Regé, you're going to love it!"

Regé grinned from ear to ear. "I can't wait," he said eagerly, his eyes shining with anticipation. "Anyways, I'll catch up with you guys later. It was great meeting you, Max."

Max tipped his head. "Likewise," he said warmly. "Take care, man."

Y/N couldn't help but tease, "Aw, look at the two of you getting along so well. To think, not a few days ago, you would've punched him in the face," she remarked.

Max chuckled, shaking his head at the memory of his initial impression. "Yeah, well, I guess you could say he grew on me," he replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

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the-power-of-a-pen · 10 months

Text

A Way Home

Fandom: Spiderverse

Summary: Following the loss of his alternate universe daughter, Miguel is reluctant to risk letting anyone close to him and breaking canon again. However, as most anomalies are returned to their universes, there's the issue of you. You don't have a universe to return to. So, after having you on his team for half a year, he adopts you as his child.

Word Count: 4654

Pairing?: Father-child relationship btwn Miguel and gn! reader.

Trigger Warnings: Some cursing, reader is hinted to having a traumatic past (very briefly and vaguely described), 1 reference to reader as "Spiderman" (meant as a gender-neutral phrase)

A/n: This turned out to be longer than I had planned b/c I realized how much I had to add to make the change of heart even slightly natural, so let me know if y'all want a part two of the reader and Miguel interacting further along the adoption. Not sure how I feel about the structure + characterization in this one. Feedback much appreciated! Please!! I'm on my hands and knees, begging for feedback!!!

------

"Lyla, status on current anomalies," Miguel ordered. He leaned over the yellow panels in front of him, watching the same scene of him and his child playing over and over again. His grip on the console tightened.

She blipped into view. "Currently, there are 918,503,201 anomalies to be returned to their home universes. That's 40% less than yesterday! Spider-Byte does have an update for you regarding-"

"I'll convene with her later. I'm busy."

"Busy brooding over your twelfth cup of coffee. Not enough sugar this time around?" Lyla teased, only to be met with a glare. "Alright, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. But seriously, it can't wait. A canon event was disrupted and now there's a spider-person without a universe to return to."

Miguel turned around dangerously fast. "What did you just say?"

"Talk to Margo -- she'll fill you in." Lyla blipped away.

------

"There you are," Margo mumbled to herself as Miguel approached. "This one's in rough shape, got dropped in Earth 616 and put up a fierce fight before Jessica took them to HQ. I tried to send them through the Go Home Machine, but it just dropped them back here."

"And you're sure it's not a hardware issue?"

"It's 2099," Margo drolled and rolled her eyes. "There's no hardware issues anymore, grandpa."

"Then try sending them home again. I don't see why this requires my supervision."

"This machine tears people's atoms apart and throws them back together in other dimensions," she explained. "If I run the same person through the machine too many times, they could die."

Miguel sighed heavily and began pacing around. "Well, what am I supposed to do? Keep them here forever?"

Margo looked at him like he was crazy and slowly nodded. "You can't leave them here to die."

"They're an anomaly anywhere they go, Spider-Byte. Maybe death would be a mercy."

"To you," Peter B. called from behind him.

"Maldito sea, carajo" Miguel cursed under his breath, turning around. "I thought you were taking the week off."

"Well, I was going to, but Mayday was begging me for another one of these cafeteria burgers," he said with his mouth full of food. "They're really good, you should seriously try them sometime."

Miguel's eyes darted to Mayday and quickly darted away. "I have work to return to in my office, so if you'll excuse me-"

Peter stepped in his way. "I'm sorry, Miguel, but I can't let you walk away from this problem. It's gone too far."

"I'm sorry, what?" Miguel questioned, laughing bitterly.

"Ok, I'm not great with words, especially not in front of big, strong, angry men, so MJ had me prewrite this, let me just get it- oh, Mayday has it. Mayday, hold the paper up for daddy, thanks, sweetheart."

Peter cleared his throat and began to over-annunciate his speech. "Everyone in this building joined your society because they believed in your ability to lead, shape, and change the world. We trusted you to use humane practices behind your actions and to keep the safety and rights of humanity at mind before all else. However, given the fact- Ok, this is bullshit - sorry, Mayday, don't tell mommy. Point is, Miguel, that you claim that you're all about saving the multiverse and saving humanity, but then you throw half of your sanity away to hunt down a 15 year old kid who just wants to save his dad. You're so obsessed with the concept of saving humanity that you forgot what it's like to care about individual humans. You forgot how to be a human."

"I never forgot what it felt like to care. To love."

"It's okay to admit that the new kid reminds you of your daughter, you know."

For a moment, Miguel and Peter B. just stood across from each other in silence, unable to break eye contact. Miguel's expression was intense, but otherwise unreadable. Then: "Go home, Parker. More and more of you prove that you're untrustworthy when it comes to prioritizing the greater good. I'm not afraid to get rid of you, too."

Peter's arms gripped on tighter to Mayday. He seemed to want to say something, but found it in him to walk away. Once he went through his portal back home, Miguel called for Lyla.

"Hold the chatter, Lyla," he said before she could open her mouth, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Silence any notifications except for the urgent ones. And I mean urgent."

"Well, since you asked so nicely," she remarked sarcastically, but complied.

------

Everything in Miguel's office repeated like a broken record. The video of his daughter. Peter's comment that he "forgot what it's like to care about humans, forgot how to be human." Gwen's "we're supposed to be the good guys." The feeling of his own child glitching out of existence in his palms, the very reason he got into this work. The ticking of the clock. The ticking of that motherfucking clock.

He zipped a web to the clock and smashed it into the ground, falling to a knee amidst the broken glass.

"I understand that you're having a very emo moment right now, Mr. O'Hara," Pavitr began, "But Jessica told me to drop this off." He placed the file on the floor and nudged it over with his foot as far as he could without getting too close. "I'm heading home now, have a great day!"

"Wait."

"Oh, I was afraid you would say that."

"Tell Jessica to report to my office."

"She said to tell you that she's not available until noon tomorrow."

"Of course," he chuckled angrily. "One person's off for the week, another needs 3 weeks of recovery. Now one of my only trustworthy members can't report for duty until tomorrow. But who's checking in on me, huh? That's right - no one. I took on this leadership role because I know firsthand what it feels like to have the only joy in your life, your only reason for living, taken away from you because of your own reckless mistakes. And despite all of that, I made it my life's mission to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. But now I'm the villain?! "'We're supposed to be the good guys!'" "'You can't leave them to die!'" "'They remind you of your daughter.'" But does anyone else here know the pain of losing a child you weren't even destined to have?"

Pavitr blinked heavily. "With all due respect, sir, I'm 17."

Miguel barely seemed to hear him. He sank to the floor, running his hands through his hair and not bothering to clear the glass shards around him. "Maybe they're all right. Maybe I'm the one hurting everyone else. Maybe I'll make the same mistake I did before, and take another innocent life because I want to feel fulfilled, just for a moment."

"Should I get someone?"

Miguel sighed. "Just go."

------

“Morning, sunshine,” Jessica called, taking a seat in Miguel’s office. “You had a chance to go through the file?”

Miguel hummed in agreement. “Need a second opinion.”

Jessica flipped through her copy of your file. “Teenager, been Spiderman for 2 years, originally from Earth 45, but got dropped in Ben’s world. A slippery one for sure; took nearly two hours to get them on the ground. Tried talking to them, but they wouldn't speak. I know my stance on this, but what’s yours?”

Miguel paced around the room. “We can’t keep them here. They’re an anomaly regardless of where they go. Margo said that it would be too inhumane to send them through the Go Home Machine again, so… I think we should let them go quietly.”

“Are you serious?”

“When am I not serious?” He took a seat across from Jessica. “I’ve been hearing it from everyone else. I need to hear it from someone who was there from the beginning. Someone who I trust. Am I falling off the edge? Have I gone too far?”

She raised her eyebrows. “You’re just now questioning that? Look, as your friend, I’ll say this: you’re taking too much weight onto your shoulders. You need to stop being Spiderman for a moment and start being Miguel.” She shifted in her seat. “But, as your teammate, I want you to know that I’ll be by your side no matter what you choose.”

Miguel nodded, but he was totally spaced out. All he could think about was his daughter. How he wanted to take this one in so bad, just to feel like a father again, feel like a man again. How he feared the consequences of love.

Jessica snapped in front of his face. “Earth to Miguel.”

He shook his head. “What?”

“Look, I can’t say that I don’t agree with your initial idea. But I look at them, and at Gwen, and at my future kid, and-” She put her hand on her stomach “-I just can’t imagine leaving them in the dust like that. I was wrong about Gwen, yes, but these kids are suffering. And I don’t know if we can keep making these hard decisions that put these people right back where they were trying to escape from and still call ourselves heroes.”

Miguel held his face in his hands. “I don’t know what’s up and down anymore, right or wrong. I was all of these kids once: Miles, Gwen, Hobie. I know what it’s like to love your family so much that you throw everything else to the wayside. But that cost me my child, and thousands of other lives. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do anything to stop it. I just want to stop the suffering. I just want it to stop.”

Jessica gave him a moment. “Let’s meet the kid. Give them a trial before we make any decisions we can’t take back.”

“Alright,” he agreed, “But if you’re wrong about this-”

“Then lunch is on me. Come on, mafioso.”

------

“Here they are,” Margo announced. “Just so you know, they’re fully aware of their situation, but not very talkative.”

“Let me talk to them,” Miguel insisted. “I want to hear what they have to say.”

As Miguel and Jessica approached, you refused to meet their eyes. Instead, you drew your hood closer to your face.

Miguel took a knee by you, talking through the red barrier. “Hey, kid. My name is Miguel. Miguel O’Hara. I’m Spiderman.”

You gasped dramatically. “No way! Really? I never would have guessed!”

He took in a breath. “So you do speak. Look, we’re trying to relocate you, but we need to have your account of what happened. Why doesn’t your home exist anymore?”

You shrugged and counted off the events on your fingers. “Dalmatian-looking dude crashed through a window at my internship. He went straight for the collider room, and most of my mentors were at lunch, so I went after him. I tried to shut off the collider at the same time he stepped through it, he pushed me into a hole, that lady behind you caught me after an uncomfortably long chase, and here we are.”

“You worked at Alchemax,” Miguel mumbled, though mostly to himself.

“Yeah,” you replied, leaning back. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Did you get bitten by the radioactive spider before or after working there?”

“Did I fucking what?”

“That’s how you got your powers, right?” He asked.

“My powers? Oh, I see what’s happening here,” you laughed. “You’re all off your rockers! Let me guess, this is some alternate dimension Alchemax where everyone’s trying to biologically get the abilities that I developed through technology. Ooh ooh, or, this is an elite spider society trying to save the multiverse from itself!”

“That was really just a guess?” questioned Jessica.

“I read a lot of sci-fi,” you explained.

“Nevermind all of that,” Miguel groaned. “What’s your story, kid? What’s your motive? Because if we don’t have that information, we can’t help get you out of there.��

Your expression became grave for a moment as you considered your options and chuckled bitterly. “My story? My story is that I’m a poor kid from the slums who worked their ass off to get into a good school so that I could do better for my family. My story is that my family never loved me, my friends never cared, and I was forced to choose between what I love to do and what the world needed from me. I didn’t have the power to stop my parents from hurting me or stop people from hurting each other. So, I manufactured that power and took it into my own hands. My story is that the moment I was released from that hellhole of a world, I was locked up in a three foot wide cage and forced to talk about my feelings. I heard what you guys were talking about in that back room. All I ask is that you do it quickly. I don’t like waiting.”

“Miguel, we can take a quick debrief if you need one,” Jessica offered, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Miguel didn’t budge. He looked into your eyes and felt your pain like it was his own. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally: “Let them go, Margo.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he asserted. “Let them go.”

Margo released you and offered her hand to help you step down from the pedestal, which you reluctantly accepted. “Didn’t know you were one for sob stories, Mr. O’Hara,” you mocked, though your comment fell through as soon as your legs trembled from lack of use.

“I’m not,” he responded, walking up to you. “But I know an innovator when I see one. You’re hurt, yes, but you have the capacity to do so much good. I’m offering you a place on my team.”

You approached cautiously, your arms crossed. “And if I say no?”

“I’d ask you to reconsider.” He held out his hand for a shake. You accepted, and he smiled. “Welcome to HQ.”

Margo whooped in the background and gave your shoulder a squeeze.

------

“Ok, first mission briefing,” Miguel started, walking backwards.

“On the move?” you asked.

“That’s the only way to do it.” He shot a web to a nearby building and dropped from an HQ terrace.

You followed suit. “Where exactly are we going?” you shouted over the wind.

“Earth 616. There’s a rogue Vulture stealing tech from Osborn. We’d let it happen, but the man's the only thing between a country of people and an all-out war.”

“Got it.”

“We go in, capture Vulture, and bring him back to HQ. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

You stepped through your portal and immediately got whiplash from the pure speed of a nearby aircraft.

Vulture swooped down from above and tore the tail off of the police helicopter. It crashed into a skyscraper and gained speed as it headed for the street below.

Miguel spoke to you through the comms. “Trial number one, newbie. I’ll pursue Vulture; you stop that helicopter from hurting civilians.”

“On it.” You dived off of your skyscraper to gain speed and pulled yourself forward with your webs. In one smooth movement, you grabbed the two co-pilots and placed them on the closest rooftop.

The helicopter was quickly approaching the ground, where children were playing in an enclosed playground.

“Shit,” you murmured, propelling yourself under the machine to create a landing pad for it at a safe distance from the kids. At the rate you could fire, you wouldn’t be able to stop it on time.

In the distance, you saw Miguel struggling to keep Vulture away from a construction site, and reached out to him over the comms. “Have him ram into that crane.”

“What?”

“Just trust me.”

Miguel redirected the Vulture, dodging last second when he attacked so that the crane would fall down.

The crane caught the chopper where it was, and you used it as a crutch to help you redirect the chaos to the empty street. You swung around the crane five times, wrapping an immense amount of webbage around it and attaching along the side of a business building. When the helicopter threatened to fall due to the weight of it, you shot three web bombs at it to keep it in place.

When you reached the ground, you were out of breath and half-heartedly waving to the clapping children and their parents. Miguel placed his hand on your shoulder as you observed the incapacitated Vulture.

“Not bad, kid,” Miguel chuckled. “Not bad.”

------

A good six months had passed, and you had risen in the ranks of the Spider Society. You were still without a place to stay, and had been bouncing from place to place in between missions. The first month, it was Pavitr and his aunt’s place. Then, Hobie’s, then HQ, and finally, Gwen’s. Most of your free time was spent discussing tech with Margo or trailing behind Miguel.

A building-wide alert had gone off, sending every spider-being into high alert as they searched for the threat.

“What’s the sitch?” you asked Miguel as the two of you bounded down the hall. “A futuristic Rhino that’s suspected to work for The Spot just invaded HQ. He’s trying to destroy our tech and pick us off.”

Just as Miguel had finished his explanation, Rhino crashed through a door four floors below. You both zipped towards him, barely avoiding running into Peter B. as he took a picture of himself, Mayday, and Rhino. Miguel attacked Rhino head-on, performing a spin-kick to the face before webbing his arms together and latching onto his back. Rhino broke his constraints effortlessly, and threw Miguel out of a nearby window. You helped Noir get to his feet and went after Rhino.

By the time you got there, Rhino had Miguel pinned to the cracked concrete. His web shooters were broken, and he was using all of his remaining strength to stop Rhino from snapping his neck. When he saw you approaching, he tried to silently signal for you to go, but you didn’t listen.

“Hey, Alexei!” you shouted. “I never really took you for the dominant type! It doesn’t suit you.”

You swung a piece of concrete at his back and zipped to deliver a punch to the face. Rhino was quick to return the favor, and charged you through a nearby wall.

Miguel attempted to stand up as backup arrived. He climbed onto Rhino’s back and sunk his teeth into his neck, effectively, though temporarily, paralyzing him. A team of 15 spiderbeings worked to get Rhino back to HQ while you and Jessica helped Miguel to his feet.

“What the hell were you thinking, kid? You could have died,” Miguel snapped.

“You were the one near death,” you argued. “If I didn’t come when I did, you could’ve died. Was I just supposed to let that happen?!”

“Yes!”

“No!” You dropped his arm from around your shoulder and Peter B. went to pick up the slack. “Why is it so hard for you to understand that people care about you? You gave me a chance when no one else would. I lost my world, my home, and my friends. I couldn’t lose you, too.”

“That’s not for you to decide. I can’t trust you like an adult if you refuse to act like one,” he grunted, before wavering in his stance. Jessica helped right him.

You took a step back and pressed your lips together. “You know, I joined this team because I wanted to save people. I have the ability to save them. And… if you can’t acknowledge that ability, then… maybe you need to reevaluate your interests.” With that, you took off.

Jessica and Peter sat Miguel down to rest.

“How bad did I fuck up?” Miguel inquired.

“Give them a few minutes to sit on it,” Peter suggested. “Kids are like that. They need time to cool off. Just make sure you talk to them later.”

------

You sat on the slanted glass roof of HQ to listen to music and blow off some steam. Heavy footprints sounded from behind you. You sighed. “If you’re here to argue, can you at least wait until the end of this song?”

“I’m not going to argue with you. I wanted to talk. And… apologize.”

That piqued your interest, but you tried to sound nonchalant as you gestured to the space next to you. “Go ahead, then. Sit.” You turned the music off.

He obliged. “I’m sorry for saying that I couldn’t trust you and that you needed to act like an adult. It wasn’t fair. I do trust you, and there’s no reason for you to act like an adult when you’re still a kid. I’ll be more conscious of my words in the future.”

You nodded. “Thanks.”

You sat in silence for a while, and you began to get up.

“Wait,” he asked. “Please.”

“What did you really come here to say?”

“Just sit, and I’ll tell you.” He waited for you to return to your spot and took a deep breath. “When I was first messing with the multiverse after working at Alchemax, I wasn’t as careful as I am now. I found a world where I was dead, but had a daughter, so I replaced myself and began raising her. I loved her more than anything. But, I was an anomaly, and had disrupted canon events. I felt her glitch right out of my hands. Thousands of innocent people died that day because of me. So, I made a vow to myself: never again. I wouldn’t let this happen to anyone else, and I wouldn’t let anyone get close to me.”

He paused, gulped, and forced himself to make eye contact with you. “Then I met you. And I tried to hate you, I really did. But you’re funny, and you’re smart and passionate, and you have a damn good heart. And everything in me just wants to protect you. I’m so mad at myself for hurting you and-”

You cut him off with a bear hug, to which he slowly responded once he understood what was happening. You shed a few tears into the crook of his neck and mumbled, “I’m sorry, too.”

He laughed, partially in disbelief. “For what?”

“I called you a dick behind your back for the first three months because I thought you had a stick up your ass.” You backed away snickering and wiped your eyes. “But you’re more my family than my parents ever were.”

Now or never, Miguel.

“About that,” he began. “I know you’ve been staying at Gwen’s place - and you’re completely free to stay there if you want - I just thought it might be nice for you to have a permanent place to stay, a school to go to, a familiar face, you know?”

“Not really,” you expressed. “What do you mean?”

“I- it’s better if I just show you.” Miguel took a folder out of his bag and handed it to you. He looked the other way as you processed what he gave you.

“Are these adoption papers?”

“Um… yeah,” he relented, still refusing to look your way.

“And this isn’t a joke?”

“Of course not. But, it’s also up to you. I don’t want to pressure you into anything you don’t want to do-”

“Yes,” you cut him off and wrapped him in an even tighter hug. “Absolutely yes.”

------

Miguel helped you carry your few boxes of belongings that you had left at Gwen’s into his modern duplex.

“Jesus, dude,” you commented. “You didn’t tell me you were rich.”

He laughed. “This is what being a scientist earns you.”

“Damn.” You took the space in. The windows in the living room were from floor to ceiling, the couch a cool grey with ornate yellow and green pillows. Everything was open concept, and both the Mexican and Irish flag hung on either side of the TV. Aside from the occasional painting, the apartment was largely monochromatic.

“The kitchen is under that loft area, which I usually use as office space, but you’re free to use it, too. Bathrooms on first and second floors,” he explained while walking up the stairs. He stopped in front of the third door to the right. “This is your room.”

You gently pushed open the door. Miguel had prepared for your arrival intensely. A twin bed sat in the back left corner of the room, a desk in the back right. There was a wide panel of windows with shades and a nightstand with knick knacks. A mirror, bookshelf, decorative rug, and bean bag filled the empty space. A poster with a Spiderman symbol hung over your desk, and a smile fought its way onto your face.

“There’s a closet, too,” Miguel said proudly.

You opened the closet to find it fully stocked with casual, formal, and tactical clothing. “You did all of this for me?”

He smiled warmly. “Welcome home.”

------

It was the following year on Father’s Day, and you were waiting for Miguel to come home when you heard keys turning at the door.

“Hey,” you called from the kitchen island. “I made dinner for us. And we can watch that crappy comedy show that you like.”

He hung up his jacket and gave you a hug. “Thanks, sweetheart. How was it with your friends?”

“Pretty good. But it took an hour to get Miles out of that Famous Footwear. I swear that boy has enough sneakers to cover the Mediterranean. How was work?”

Miguel grabbed a plate and took a seat next to you. “Well, we finally figured out the malfunction in the control room. Hobie had been messing around with it for his own projects. Shocker, right? But other than that it was just a bunch of boring meetings.”

“Oh, I just remembered something.” You rushed upstairs to get a gift bag from your room and returned, out of breath. “I made this for you. It’s not much, but my job doesn’t start until July and I wanted to give you something, so…”

He removed the tissue paper to find a carefully knitted shawl with his suit designs on it. He remained speechless for a moment.

“What do you think?”

“I love it.”

“Really? Cuz I could get you something else if you’d prefer-”

“I love it,” he repeated, giving you a bear hug. “I’ll wear it all the time when the weather takes a turn.”

“I thought it might be useful for winter patrols,” you admitted.

“It will be. I know you don’t like getting too sappy, so let’s watch some TV, yeah?”

Halfway through an episode of the comedy show, you got up to use the bathroom. Miguel paused the show and admired your work on his shawl. When you came back, he was still staring at it as if he were examining each individual stitch.

“I’m back,” you said when he didn’t acknowledge you.

He hummed in response. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

You furrowed your brows, worried now. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not all, it’s just…” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I wanted to let you know that I would understand if you want to look into seeing if there’s any way to find your real parents. I love you and I want you here, don’t get me wrong, but if this is something you feel strongly about, I wanted to make sure you knew that my feelings wouldn’t be hurt.”

You stared at him for a while before bursting into laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

You grabbed his hands and looked him in his eyes. “I found my real dad the moment you brought me here. I’m home.”

He squeezed your hands and repeated your words as if convincing himself of the truth. “You’re home.”

------

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somekindofpoet · 1 year

Text

La Petite Mort - Bonus Content 1

Summary: A new girl at the ice cream shop makes Lorraine jealous

Word Count: 2.6K

Warnings: +18 NSFW, smut, language

A/N: This is shameless, plotless smut. Fuck writer's block, for real. Hopefully this get's me kick-started again. Also, who decided to end LPM? What an idiot...

There's a new girl working at the ice cream shop. You’ve noticed, and Lorraine has too. She’s also noticed the way the new girl bats her eyelashes at you and the way that she hands over your ice cream cone with a grip that forces you to brush your fingers when you take it. It’s gotten so bad that Lorraine outright refuses she ever liked ice cream, the way she adamantly debuffs your invitations to go to the shop anymore.

It’s a sweltering day, the kind that makes heat waves roll off the asphalt and bakes into your clothes. You’d been in the barn for the majority of the day, tending to the animals and trying to keep your mind off the heat. It’s so hot, even the pond doesn’t sound like relief. What you really want is an excuse to get out of work, and to see Lorraine. You know she’s only yards away, in the kitchen with her mother.

Ever since she moved in with you, she’d been spending time with her parents while you worked, taking the opportunity to enjoy their company. Mr. Day is working you harder than ever. Lorraine is convinced he’s training you to take over the ranch when he inevitably retires. It’s the sole thing keeping you moored to Texas, knowing her family was there and that you'd have a future together despite what society expected of you.

You wipe the sweat from your brow, reminiscing on the first day you’d kissed Lorraine. Today was even hotter than that one, and usually, she’d be outside begging you to take her for ice cream.

You remember the way the strawberry treat dripped down her wrist and the way her tongue worked between her fingers to clean it off, and you decide the unspoken strike against the ice cream shop had to come to an end. You wanted the frozen sweet to cool off, but you wanted to see Lorraine in that state of bliss just as badly.

You pack up your tools, abandoning the old tractor for another day. You stroll over to the house, the smell of apple pie wafting out of the open windows making your mouth water. When you open the kitchen door, you can’t help yourself but pause and grin at the scene.

Mrs. Day is fussing over the pie crust, laying it in delicate and intricate patterns over the cinnamon apples. Lorraine is sitting on the counter, clearly bored. Her eyes light up when she sees you, and she slides off her perch to kiss your cheek.

Mrs. Day glances up at you and smiles, “Done sweatin’ buckets for the day?”

You chuckle, “Ma’am if there was any sweat left in me, it’d evaporate out there.”

She snaps you with her hand towel, making you yelp and jump backward, “How many times I have to tell you to quit callin’ me ma’am?”

Lorraine snorts, “Momma, that’ll be a fight you're fightin' for the rest of your life.”

You shrug wordlessly, your brows rising in agreement with Lorraine. Mrs. Day tsk’s at you and shakes her head.

“Do me a favor, y/n, and get this girl out of my house. All she’s doin is takin up counter space.”

Lorraine scoffs, slapping your belly when you laugh.

“I intend to. We’ve got a date,” you tell her, wrapping your arm around Lorraine’s waist.

Mrs. Day wipes her forehead with the back of her wrist and leans into the counter, “Good, she needs it.”

“Momma!” Lorraine exclaims at your side.

“What? You do. All you’ve done since you’ve got here is gripe at me. Go on and have a good time. Smile a little. You’re in love, honey. Enjoy it.”

You smirk down at Lorraine, kiss the top of your head, “What’s she gripin’ about?”

Lorraine pushes you toward the door shaking her head, “None of your business. This is mother-daughter confidentiality. It’s sacred.”

Mrs. Day calls out to you as you're being pushed back out the door, “Why don't you tell that old man out there I’d like to go on a date sometime soon too!”

You tip your hat as you step down the stairs, “I’ll be sure to let him know!”

“Don’t encourage her,” Lorraine mutters as the door swings shut behind her.

You climb in the truck and head off the ranch, bracing yourself for the protests to come once she figures out where you’re headed to. By the time you reach town, you can tell she knows just by the fiery look in her eye and her clenched jaw. You park the truck outside the ice cream shop and rest your hand on her leg.

“Baby, you love ice cream. I love ice cream. It’s hotter’n a firecracker lit at both ends out here, and we’re gonna enjoy this sweet treat, and then I’ll take you home.”

She sighs and gazes longingly at the shop. You know damn well she wants the ice cream. She knows it too.

She relents and nods, opening the door and jumping out onto the sidewalk. You grin in triumph and follow her inside.

The new girl is there, chatting up a cowboy in dirty coveralls, and you think maybe you’ll be safe this visit.

No such luck. The second the bell chimes over the door, she has her eyes on you, and Lorraine’s spine stiffens. She slows her pace, wrapping her arm around your waist in a clear show of possession. You roll your eyes, knowing full well you don't have any interest in anyone else, but if it’s what she needs, then she shall have it.

The girl behind the counter bats her eyelashes at you, ignoring Lorraine completely. You rest your chin on the top of her head, trying to give the girl the hint that you’re only interested in the one currently wrapped around you like a koala, but she doesn’t pay it any mind.

“Two strawberry cones, please, ma’am,” you tell her, your jaw pressing into Lorraine’s hair as you speak.

“Oh, honey, I’m not no ma’am,” she replies, turning to grab the cones.

“That's pretty apparent,” Lorraine mutters under her breath.

You snort, pinching her side. She pulls back to glare up at you and then into the back of the ice cream girl’s head.

When she hands you the cones, you hand one down to Lorraine and pay. You turn to head out the door, only to be dragged back by Lorraine.

“What’s up?” You ask her, confused.

“Let’s eat them here, I don't wanna eat in the truck,” she says, almost whining.

You frown; she’s never had a problem eating in the truck before. But she's pulling you over to the little table in the window, and you go along with it. You mourn the loss of watching her ice cream melt between her fingers, but you’re happy she’s actually there with you either way. She giggles at your jokes and runs her foot up your leg under the table, and you don’t think anything of it.

Until a drop of ice cream falls into your lap. Then it becomes apparent what her ploy is.

You reach across the table for a napkin, but by the time you’ve sat back, Lorraine is between your legs, dabbing at the light pink stain on your jeans. It’s beyond inappropriate, edging into exhibitionism the way her hand is stroking your thigh. You blush, leaning back in your chair.

You’re not stupid, you know what this is. You want to push her back, tell her to wait until you’re home. But you know that’ll put you in hotter water than you were in before, so you let her do it. You glance toward the counter, and your face is redder than a tomato. A teenage boy is goggling the scene, along with ice cream girl. They both have their jaws unhinged, watching Lorraine sit between your knees, cleaning your pants. It’s too much, far too much for a small Texas ice cream shop.

You gulp as she stands, extending her hand down for you to take.

“Take me home now, baby.”

As if you could do anything other than leap out of the chair. You consider apologizing on your way out, but you’re being pulled through the door with such aggression you don’t even get the chance.

Your face is still burning when you get into the truck. Lorraine sits in the middle seat, abandoning her window with clear intent. You’ll be lucky to make it home at the rate she’s going.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” you say through gritted teeth.

She shrugs, her tone innocent, “I know.”

The sun is making its way below the horizon as you start the long drive back to your apartment. Sometimes you question why you chose to live in the next town over, but when Lorraine is under your arm in the truck, it makes the decision seem more sound.

When she slides her hand up your thigh as you’re driving, it seems less sound.

When she crawls into your lap, it seems even less sound.

“Baby girl, you can't be in my lap, I’m driving.”

“We’re not gonna be home for so long, I just wanted to be close to you. Is that a crime?” She whines in your ear, and you decide safety is not the number one priority in your life right now.

You press your foot into the gas, accelerating the truck to a speed you should absolutely not be going while Lorraine is straddling your legs. You hope, beyond hope, that she stays still until you get home.

No such luck. Her nose presses under your jaw, and her lips leave scorching kisses on your neck. Her hips push forward into your belly, and even the iron grip you have on the steering wheel isn’t enough. The sun has made it’s descent, plunging you into the kind of darkness you can only find in the country between towns.

“You have to stop, Raine,” you gasp, “or neither of us is gonna make it home.”

You can feel her smile into the skin of your neck, and it tells you everything you need to know. She isn’t going to stop, has no intention of granting you any kind of mercy. So you do the next best thing and pull over onto the dirt shoulder with a racing heart and itching hands.

The moment the truck is in park, you shift back, your fingers pressing firmly into your waist. She’ll probably have dotted bruises above her hip bones, but if she has no patience for mercy, then neither do you.

She leans back, her arms anchored around your neck, her lower back pressing into the steering wheel, “You think that girl knows better now?”

You tilt your head, your lips pursed, “You know you don’t have to do that. I’m not paying her any mind, Rainey.”

She leans forward, her lips only inches from yours, “I don't care. I want her to know.”

For a moment, you stare at her, wondering just when this church mouse of a girl turned feral. Probably somewhere in between the last time she kissed RJ, and the first time her lips met yours after. Once she realized what she’d been missing out on, she knew she’d never look back. And she knew that no one could have what she found in you, ever again. You were hers, and she was yours. That was that.

She accentuated her point with her lips on yours and her fingers in your hair. There was no way in hell she was comfortable, but this wasn’t about comfort. She was proving a point. One that you believed didn’t need to be made, but you weren’t going to protest too much. Especially when she’s unzipping your pants with one hand and running the other up your shirt.

Your shock renders you still, letting her slip her fingers into your underwear. The hand she has under your shirt retreats, she grabs your wrist and guides it to her own pants, finally spurring you into action.

“You know,” you mumble into her lips, “we have a perfectly good bed at home.”

She grins, her teeth brushing your bottom lip, “Mhm, we can use it in about thirty minutes.”

You mentally do the math; you’re only ten minutes from home, where you’re currently parked. The next twenty minutes are up in the air.

Her tongue is in your mouth when her fingers find your center, making you gasp through your nose. You mimic her, your hand like a puppet she controls between her panties and her skin. She groans into your mouth, realizing what you’re doing, and picks up her pace. You can feel how wet she is, and you know that you must be, too, judging by the enthusiasm of her lips on yours.

Her free hand wraps around the side of your neck, her fingers playing with the baby hairs there, giving you goosebumps. Yours snakes up her shirt, slipping under her bra to palm at her breast. Her hips jerk forward, pushing your fingers lower. You shift your wrist, dipping lower until you’re inside of her. She bites at your neck and follows suit, making you gulp for more air with your head pressed back into the seat.

You can’t help yourself but admire her when she leans back, looking down on you with dark eyes. The freckles she used to be so embarrassed about, scattered across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, are so absolutely perfect in their haphazard pattern. Her dark, honey-brown eyes, so comforting and sweet you could lose yourself in them. Her nails, now scratching at your ribs under your shirt, keeping you grounded. The weight of her body, pressing into yours, her hips rolling in time with your hand, light an eternal flame inside of your belly that you know will rage for years to come.

Speaking of coming, your mind returns to your own body as you realize you're close to it. She’s learned a lot in your time together and has become a savant of sorts in the ways your body works. Almost as much as you are with hers.

Your breathy sigh catches in your throat, taking her by surprise, making her jump. Her back hits the horn on the steering wheel, and you both freeze. Irrationally alert from the unexpected noise. When you realize it’s your own horn that sounded, she rests her forehead on yours, and you both laugh, breathing heavily.

She looks down at you now, her eyes infinitely softer than before. Her lips curl up at the sides, and her brows gently come together.

“What?” You whisper, still breathing heavily.

She shakes her head and kisses you deeply, moving her fingers again. Her actions say everything she doesn’t.

She’s slower now, more gentle. It doesn’t take much at this point to finish you off, grasping at her back, our head on her collarbone. At the sight of you, she only takes a few more seconds before she's gasping into your hair, her hand around the back of your neck pulling you closer.

You stay like that a while, breathing heavily, fogging the windows of the truck.

A pair of headlights rounding the corner has you both scrambling. Lorraine slides off your lap into the middle seat, giggling as they pass you by, honking at you. She rests her head on your shoulder, her hand on your leg, smiling ear to ear.

You open your mouth to speak, but she interrupts you, “I know, I know. You’re not interested in ice cream wench. Now take me home and prove it to me again.”

#lpm #lorraine day #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x y/n #jenna ortega x fem!reader #lorraine day x reader

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lurkingshan · 8 months

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Only Friends and Engaging with Queer Male Media as a Cishet Woman

I’ve had some good conversations this week with friends as we’ve been unpacking our early reactions to Only Friends, which has only just begun getting into the messy dynamics we know the show is going to explore. One of the things that has come up in conversation is our different reactions to the scene between Boston and Top in the shower stall, and how we each read that in terms of consent, sexual coercion, and what it says about each of the characters. Some of us were relatively unfazed by the scene, finding it to be a fairly realistic depiction of a pushy aggressor and his conquest who is not that into him, but also not really opposed to getting sex anywhere and any way he can. Some were more uncomfortable, recognizing behaviors we might call assault in other contexts and wondering whether we should be condemning the character or the scene for the behavior depicted.

For me, this discussion brought up a lot of my previous fandom experiences, taking me all the way back to ye olden days when Queer as Folk (US) was airing and the majority cishet woman fandom spaces were scandalized, scandalized I tell you, by some of the aspects of gay male culture it depicted. It was not the first or the last show to do so, but it stands out in my mind as an important cultural moment at the turn of century as I was coming of age, when the internet was booming and the proliferation of online fandom spaces was rapidly accelerating. Because QaF did it all—casual sex, cruising, group sex, very public acts of indecency, aggressive boundary pushing and peacocking, open and polyamorous relationships, cheating and betrayal, age gaps—and it depicted it all quite explicitly, which made a lot of people uncomfortable. Especially women who were used to thinking about sex and relationships through two primary, and heavily socialized, lenses:

heteronormative romance, and

heterosexual rape culture.

Let’s take a moment to unpack those terms. Heteronormative romance is a big, broad term that I’m using as a kind of container for a lot of things, including patriarchal structures, misogyny, rigid gender roles, purity myths and fetishization of virginity, courtship rituals, promiscuity and respectability politics, the madonna/whore complex, sex as an act primarily for breeding and procreation, expectations of sublimating sexual desire in service of caretaking for others, and so on. Basically, all the bullshit cis women get jammed into our heads from birth that gives us so many hang ups about sex and love. With heterosexual rape culture, I am referring to the undeniable culture of sexual violence women also endure in a majority heterosexual society, in which we are in constant danger of having our boundaries transgressed, being physically and psychologically hurt, and then being told it doesn’t matter because our personhood has always been in question and never mattered as much as any one man’s power or pleasure. I’m not going to drop a bunch of citations for the above because this is tumblr and I have escaped the icy grip of graduate school, but if any of these ideas are unfamiliar to you, google is your pal (and please read about intersectionality as it relates to these concepts while you’re at it, because there are layers of identity that make these dangers worse for some, like our trans and BIPOC sisters, and all of this is undergirded, as ever, by white supremacy).

So, yes, engaging with media about sex is fraught for women, especially when that media does not conform to our heteronormative ideas of morality that have been shaped by all of the above, and particularly when we as individuals have not done the work to unpack and interrogate our socialized beliefs, which is often the case for cishet women especially. Many of us instinctively cringe away from unromantic depictions of sex. Many of us can’t stand cheating and betrayal in our love stories. Many of us shy away from media that depicts the unfortunate reality of grey and dubious consent. All of that is valid, to an extent, and rooted in the way we have been taught to think about this stuff from birth, and the ways we’ve had to adapt to survive.

But, here’s the thing, girlies: most of those socialized hang ups I just talked about? Do not apply to a story by, for, and about queer men.

Before you start yelling, here is your disclaimer: of course patriarchy and misogyny also hurt men. Of course rape culture also exists in queer communities, and of course some queer people engage in heterosexual sex, so these are not mutually exclusive categories of people. And, importantly, cishet women are not the only ones who struggle with these tensions—just the ones who are most relevant to this particular post.

So, after that long and winding road, back to the point: this debate about the bathroom scene in Only Friends is the same shit that’s been debated in majority female fandoms around depictions of queer male sex since time immemorial. And whatever your personal feelings are on that scene, or the no doubt numerous other depictions of questionable romantic and sexual etiquette and dubious consent coming our way in this show, what it boils down to is this: can a majority cis woman fandom step outside of our own conception of sexual morality to engage with this show not with judgment, but with curiosity about what sex and relationships look like for queer men? This show has an entirely queer male writing and directing team. It is made with love by people of the community, for the community. They know what they’re about, they have resumes demonstrating they are damn good storytellers who understand safe sex, consent, sexual health, and sex work, and they are here to tell us a story grounded in their reality. BL has been moving in fits and starts toward depictions of sex that are more honest about queer male experiences, and Only Friends, spearheaded by the Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong (who demonstrated quite ably that he has a firm grasp on consent, sexual assault, and the damage that dubious consent can cause in The Warp Effect), is the next step in that evolution. The key point is that sexual activity simply does not mean the same thing or carry the same associations and hang ups for queer men as it does for cis women. With that in mind, can we try our best to process and critique this story on their terms, instead of our own?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Only Friends is not going to be a good time for people who are looking for romantic depictions of relationships and sex or invested in identifying heroes and villains amongst this cast of characters. This show is about deeply flawed people hurting each other, rooted in the lived experience of the Thai queer male community—and those of us who do not share all of those lived experiences may not understand the nuances of every single thing that is happening. We can be sure that the characters will all be wrong sometimes and they will all do things we think are stupid or reckless or unkind. Does that mean we can’t have empathy for them? Do they have to act in a way we think is morally “correct” in order to love them? You don’t have to be comfortable with the things these characters do, and it’s certainly valid to point out when you think lines have been crossed. But attempting to sort them into “good” and “bad” camps is pointless, and moralistic judgment of their behavior is out of place, particularly when it comes from a place of trying to force them into our own irrelevant frameworks for sexual politics.

And with all that said, I am passing the baton over to my dear friend @waitmyturtles, because there’s an entire aspect of the intersectional cultures at play here that I have barely touched on—Only Friends as an Asian queer story that is building from a specific lineage of Thai queer media. I’m gonna let her take the mic for that part, and say thanks to her, @bengiyo, @neuroticbookworm and @wen-kexing-apologist for reading this over and helping me think through what I wanted to say here, and shoutout to @williamrikers whose post I also linked to above.

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #thai bl #shan shouts into the void

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hoseokslefteyebrow · 9 months

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Forever Home

Pairing : Platonic Miguel O' Hara X Teen, Symbiote Reader

Genre : Angst which turns into fluff

Summary : You find yourself afraid to lose your home when Toxin slips up.

Requested/idea by: @jewelk4 ( I altered it a little bit)

Wordcount: 1.2k

Miguel O'Hara Masterlist

It happens in a fit of rage. You gasp as tears spring to the corners of your eyes, whilst Miguel stills.

Your symbiote's form, Toxin's form, is still wrapped around you. A second layer of skin draped over your own which protects you, leaving out only your head.

You didn't mean to hit Miguel, but Toxin worked to it's own accord sometimes. You were arguing about the symbiote. Miguel wanted to help you 'get rid of it'. When you want nothing of the sort. Before Toxin, you were sick, and spent days in a hospital bed.

You can see Miguel's eyes flicker red at you.

He's mad. He is definitely pissed.

A quick flashback of memories hits you in the face. This is how you lost your parents. You were so happy when you weren't sick anymore. You parents were in the beginning too, until they found out what had cured you. They tried getting Toxin out of you violently back than, offering you up for a few tests from some crazy scientist. You had escaped, but not without leaving a few injured. After that it had been you and Toxin for a while, until an anomaly had popped up. Which in turn lead you to Miguel, who had come to help you only to find out that you were doing the work by yourself without issue.

" Who're you?" Toxin's lower voice hisses at the spiderman who stumbled into your dimension.

Even from beneath the layer of skin, you were watching curiously.

" My name is Miguel O'Hara. I'm spiderman from another dimension. I lead an elite-"

There was no time for his speech as the rhino variant charged again. Spiderman, or Miguel as he says his name is, avoids the hit. Toxin refused to do so.

With incomparable strength, he stops the crazed man in a metallic rhino suit. Reforming his hand into a large spike, he drills it into the machine, making it malfunction.

Miguel watches the scene with wide eyes. The battle ending in a heartbeat as Toxin also squeezes, the suit breaking up into a mess underneath his powerful grip.

Originally, when Miguel started the society, he didn't want any symbiotes on the team. He had encountered them before. He knew of Venom, and Carnage. Carnage specifically was crazed, and unstable. They were powerful, but all seemed to have a taste for blood. Except for Toxin. Although he seemed to have it as well, he had it paired with a taste for justice.

Later, Miguel learned that was because he had you. You set the morals. He had been utterly surprised when he had come back to your universe and found out you were it's host. You were barely a teenager. No older than fifteen.

" I-"

" I know who you are." Your voice was guarded.

Miguel had no idea where you stayed, or why you seemed to be alone.

" You're the symbiote's host."

At his statement, you took a step back. The few people from your world who knew what a symbiote was were dead, all dead by your hands. You didn't have a choice. They tried to kill you first after all.

" Yeah, so?" You ask him, trying to look indifferent.

" I lead an elite strike force dedicated to save the multiverse. I think you could be of great help."

Miguel had tried to form his words carefully. He didn't want to end up in a fight with you.

'Ask him what's in it for us.' Toxin's voice sounded through the back of your mind.

" What's in it for us?"

" A team. A place to stay. Warm meals. A life off the streets.

All it had taken was one look at the world you live in for you to say yes.

And now, a year later, Miguel has found himself caring for you like a father would. He kept a close watch on what you did, where you went, and your schooling which he brought back up. In truth, he gave you an opportunity to live in a normal society again.

An opportunity you were now scared you had failed.

" I-"

You were cut off as Toxin's form engulfed you.

" We remain as a we. Do not try to separate us." Toxin hisses angrily at Miguel as it steps closer, before turning off and webbing out of his lab into the hallway.

Miguel can't help the yell in frustration.

" Layla! What's their location?!" He asks her angrily, ready to chase you down.

" Miguel, I don't think you should. Give them a little time. They're your kid. If you look for them now, you will say something you regret." Layla advised.

He shot the AI an angry look, but she doesn't budge.

With a deep breath, he buries himself in his work again.

It takes a while, but after a few hours, Layla opens a new holographic screen showcasing surveillance footage of you sitting on the roof of spider HQ upside down.

With a sigh, Miguel makes his way over.

" I thought you'd be here." He greets you, standing on the upside side of the roof above you.

" No you didn't. You probably pulled up a security camera." You huff back, knowing him all too well.

He chuckles, a little embarrassed that he's caught. But then again, you are his kid. Nearly no one knows him better than you.

" Can you come here please? So we can talk."

You don't reply, but you do come up to him. You look sad, avoiding eye contact as you cross your arms over one another.

He has to tell you the truth.

" I lost a family that wasn't mine to lose. You know that right?"

You hum, confused by his words.

" I have gained one along the way, again. You. I see you as my kid, Y/N. I'm sorry for my words, but sometimes I crave or a normalcy that we can't have. I got carried away." He tells you.

You give him a glance at you look at him, eyes filled with concern.

" So you're not kicking us off the team?" You ask him, your voice small.

His eyes soften as he looks at you.

" Of course not. Why would I ever do that?" He's genuinely confused by how you came by that idea.

" I just- I don't know. Last time I let Toxin slip it ended a little bad." You admit.

He sighs.

" You have a home here. I promised you that. And this will always be your home.-"

" With you?" You ask him, your eyes showing how vulnerable you feel.

" With me.-" He confirms.

He's surprised as you engulf him in a big hug. You wrap your arms tight around his middle, burying your face in his chest.

" I was scared we messed up." You murmur.

Shock melting off his face, a small smile makes its way as he wraps his arms tightly around you, keeping you close. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to. He'll always be a home for you.

[ A/N: Im working on all the rewuests gimme a while : ) ]

#idkeitherman #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara fanfic #spiderman across the spider verse #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara fluff #platonic miguel o'hara x reader #spider man 2099

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whinlatter · 2 months

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something tells me you don't really like tonks, just a hunch xD

For the relationship ask if you're still doing it: harry and remus, molly and remus, teddy and adromeda. I would love to see what do you think <3

noooo i love tonks! i had a ball writing her and think that @evesaintyves’ rendering of her is one of fandom’s greatest gifts 😭 i just find it very funny that harry thinks she should low key get a grip. and as a clumsy young woman who should myself get a grip, i say: get off her case, hjp.

ok the remus + tonks/black extended family universe... hyped for this one. delicious choices, thank you anon. (i have a few more in the inbox i'm going to take a stab at but am trying to avoid spoilery ones or ones where i risk boring you all again by repeating old talking points, so if i don't get to one pls forgive me...)

right — to business. we begin with everybody looking at remus lupin waiting for him to put his crippling self loathing aside to write (1) singular letter to his dead friend's son:

i jest (to an extent). but i do think the entirety of harry and remus' dynamic is best encapsulated in one singular scene in PoA:

“When they get near me — ” Harry stared at Lupin’s desk, his throat tight. “I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum.” Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry’s shoulder, but thought better of it.

i know there's a very understandable move in AUs to imagine what would have happened if remus had raised harry - or, more often, if remus had been 'allowed' to raise harry by dumbledore. but looking past the whole plot-requiring-harry-to-be-at-the-dursleys thing, the truth is, canon remus lupin would never have put himself forward to raise harry, because of his own (not unfounded!) concerns about the precarity of his existence and the dangerousness of his condition. remus' sense of self - more specifically his fear of himself, and his very low self worth - consistently lead him to hold harry at arm's length from the moment he's introduced in the series until its bitter end. i don't think remus at all approves of the way harry is treated at the dursleys. but i can very much imagine that remus thinks it would still be better than the life he could have given harry if he ever had been called upon to serve as his primary caregiver. one of the most interesting implicit dynamics in the series is that harry notices this and does, to some extent, resent it (obviously the fact that he only ever calls him 'lupin' in his narration, though uses remus to his face, and also: 'Harry had received no mail since the start of term; his only regular correspondent was now dead and although he had hoped that Lupin might write occasionally, he had so far been disappointed.') while the harry & remus fight in DH is about harry's view of what remus ought to do re tonks and the baby, it’s also harry coming as close as saying to remus: you're letting your own child down like you let me down. ('I’m pretty sure my father would have wanted to know why you aren’t sticking with your own kid, actually... He had it coming to him,” said Harry. Broken images were racing each other through his mind: Sirius falling through the veil; Dumbledore suspended, broken, in midair; a flash of green light and his mother’s voice, begging for mercy… ‘Parents,’ said Harry, 'shouldn’t leave their kids unless—unless they’ve got to.')

molly and remus: i think this is a very, very underrated relationship! i know there’s a lot of molly-bashing around these days, especially if you’re a marauders and/or sirius and/or wolfstar stan. but i think it is very very overlooked that the person who looks after adult remus the most from 1995 onwards, and who shows him some of the deepest trust and roots for his happiness, is molly. for a man who has plainly known a huge amount of financial/food/housing insecurity, and who is so villainised in wider wizarding society, it is no small gesture for molly to not only provide for remus materially but also to trust him in a house with all of her children and encourage him in a romantic relationship he struggles to feel entitled to and worthy of. (i love sirius, but he is in no fit state to ‘look after’ remus in the last year of his life, and fandom’s continued unwillingness to recognise the importance of domestic/caregiving labour as a vital contribution to the resistance will never not be problematic af). remus clearly values and admires molly in return - the only time he actually ever entertains a parent/guardianship role is when molly is weeping over her boggart, crying onto remus’ shoulder (‘what must you think of me?’) and he assures her that if anything were to happen to her and arthur, he would be a part of the team making sure her children are taken date of (‘what do you think we’d do, let them starve?’) remus’ relationship with molly is often the more mild-mannered translator of her viewpoint to others (especially others with hot tempers), and mediator trying to find middle ground between molly’s protective instincts and the battle/ready instincts of others. (more grist to my sirius & ginny parallels mill — in DH, when a fuming ginny is desperately trying to sneak off to fight in the battle, it’s remus who appeals to molly and ginny to find the compromise of ginny staying in the room of requirement to know what’s going on but not actively fight, a mirror image of his role mediating the dispute between sirius and molly over harry’s right to know what’s going on at grimmauld in ootp…) molly accepts this compromise, a sign that she trusts remus implicitly (she never frets that a werewolf is living among her children in ootp onwards, and invites him to christmas readily even after months undercover with the pack) and also feels able to call him out (‘i’ve always said you’re taking a ridiculous line on this, remus’.) this is too long but basically — justice for molly and remus, unlikely buds!

teddy and andromeda: i weirdly think a lot about teddy lupin these days. i tend to imagine teddy as a very mild-mannered, affable, calm child, like who remus might have been had he not been bitten, with tonks' heart and sociability but also with something of remus' more philosophical disposition. i think he'd slip very naturally into a big brother role because, in part, he does see himself as having a responsibility to take care of people, and i think this would shine through in his relationship with andromeda. we know teddy was raised by his gran, and i imagine she feels enormously protective of him, perhaps bordering on strict in her desire to keep him safe from the harm that came to all the rest of her family. but i like to imagine teddy didn't act out against this too much, in part because he understands where it comes from and in turn feels very protective of andromeda. growing up in the aftermath of the war would make teddy as a child particularly aware of the grief and pain and the silences among the adults around him, and i think teddy would take any compensatory protective strictness on andromeda's part with good grace, and humour her for it. i like to think teenage/young adult teddy serves as the translator for any of his gran's more prickly edges, and that they have a very close relationship that both of them really treasure.

#meta #wow really got the soapbox out for this one #and depressed myself in the process #me screaming into the void forever that remus is canonically crap and that's why he's so interesting #remus lupin #andromeda tonks #teddy lupin #molly weasley

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whiskeyswifty · 22 days

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Honestly, freedom felt like summer then, on the coast has gotta be of the most quintessential Taylor lines ever, I’m telling you. It’s a lesser used motif in Taylor’s songs but I’m so fascinated by her use of “the coast” and “the beach” as and how it has only really surfaced (lol) in her mid to late periods (so far). Both in the safe haven it represents to her on its own but also how it’s often a foil to “the ocean”, and how a commonly used metaphor really works beautifully in her hands and fleshes out her worldview.

That line really cements this to me where she starts with a broad and abstract simile of “summer” but then zeroes in on what she meant by that by adding specifically “the coast.” Just flat out saying beaches make her feel free, which yes it’s an obvious but great choice to represent freedom. Beaches are seemingly endless when you’re on them, most of the time removed from the markers of modern society, and empty save sand and sky, unencumbered by even nature. And you can see that through line in a lot of her previous work more subtly as well. “Drinking on the beach with you all over me” on an album and song famously depicting her absconding with her lover to places where they’re safe from wandering eyes and free from having to perform what ever fronts they feel they have to put up. Snow on the Beach is an entire song that depicts the beach as this dreamy place of vulnerability, even if the song isn’t specifically set on a literal beach. It’s frequently invoked in the chorus, painting a vast sandy landscape blanketed in snow, as tranquil as the songs production and how peaceful she felt falling for someone at that time. In Gold Rush she does again set the scene on the coast, where “the coastal town we wandered round had never seen a love as pure as this” provides a quiet safe haven to once again feel free to love and express love. Depicting even towns along the coast as less traveled and free of pressure or expectations; places to aimlessly wander, endlessly if you wish. Even in TLGAD she uses it to portray freedom for characters outside of herself, with “The salt box house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis.” The beach provides a freedom and reprieve for Rebekah from the assumed suffocation of a city and all the social expectations that come with it. The beach is so clearly a source of unencumbered happiness for her because it's a place of physical remove, but it’s even better exemplified by how it specifically acts as a foil to the ocean in her work.

She’s always depicting the ocean as a metaphorical place of helpless tumult and dark unknowns. How she is “out on waves being tossed” in evermore with the ocean as a place without mercy or “if your cascade ocean wave blues come” where it’s an unstoppable force of sadness and unrest. In both of those, people are also physically taken over by the will of the ocean, a depiction of life’s painful inevitabilities that she recognizes as such but feels helpless against. Even how she visually depicts her gripping to her piano in the Cardigan video as the ocean tosses her around with no land in sight. Sometimes she herself is the ocean, with “I’m like the water when your ship rolled in that night. Rough on the surface…” where she is as untamable and damaging as the ocean. She uses the ocean to recognize danger and uncertainty in others, like with “ocean blue eyes looking in mine. I feel like I might sink and drown and die” which is hyperbolic yes, but still. The ocean she sees in their eyes is not beautiful but all consuming and potentially emotionally fatal for her in how it will consume her. Or to recognize the fearlessness in someone like how her boy in Midnight Rain was “jumping off things in the ocean” which is a terrifying place for her, but here he comes off a steady and solid in his ability to jump into it for fun and it doesn’t take him. The ocean is always bigger than her, standing in for the power of letting go with “the battleships will sink beneath the waves” and also standing in for the great unknown of committing yourself to someone with “we were stupid to jump in the ocean separating us.”

But most exciting to me is when these two metaphorical ideas of ocean and beach meet. “High tide came and brought you in” is a great one because here, she is safe on the shore, no longer putting herself at risk. But then, this great beast of the unknown brings her something; presumably something she wanted and potentially something good. But then “currents swept you out again” as the blue beast took it back. Unable to endure the thrashing ocean herself, she perches on the beach instead and waits. The beach in contrast to the active and churning ocean is a still place, a passive place. Freedom isn’t just an ability to hide from the world or a reprieve from the expectations of the world, but it can also be a reprieve from the expectations you put on yourself. Allowing yourself to rest and let come what may. The beach is also that for her, where she’s free from her own crushing thoughts and worries. Even when she herself is the ocean, thrashing about in her own mind, with “my waves meet your shore” she seeks the quiet and the serenity of the beach to soothe her and calm her. The soft expanse of sand to break her waves on and sink her foamy tide waters into. Control is one of the main things she seems to seek in all aspects of her life, in the way of control of her own story, her own personal space, her own agency, and the people around her in ensuring they won’t abandon her. In many ways, the ocean is outside herself in her use of it, but it’s always an extension of her, be it her fears of that loss of control or just fear of any unknown in life. It’s always a stand in for those parts of her in that way, her dark shadow swelling and swallowing everything whole if she lets it. The beach as her foil that becomes freedom from the grips and weight of the ocean, but also that first gasp of air knowing you are on land again, can find your footing again, solid ground. You can say she’s searching for that beach, that tranquil coast within herself to evade the trappings of the bottomless ocean within herself, but you could also say that in some cases, she is the ocean. Tired of her own restlessness and endless tumult, she’s forever searching for people in her life to be her shore, so she can finally rest on their warm sand, even for just a moment. I feel like that’s something everyone can relate to and is why it’s one of my favorite motifs in her work.

#it makes me soooo interested in Florida!!! the song of course not the state #as it's a state that is some 75% ocean locked and very interesting if it will enter more ocean/beach content into the canon #my silly little essays

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romana-after-dark · 6 days

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Blessed be the Fruit: Finale, part 1

Commander!Joel Miller x Handmaid!Reader

Series masterlist Join dark!Romana's tag list Dark!Romana's Masterlist

Summary: Joel takes you somewhere different, meeting Tommy there

Content and Warnings: DARK JOEL! DUB CON! (stressing the dub con again this chapter)

Although no violent rape happens like in TWW, reader is under systemic misogyny and a society of ritualized sex abuse. Everything other than the violent rape scenes, everything that happen in either The Handmaids Tale book or show are liable to happen here including but not limited to discussion of rape, child abuse, child marriage, ritualized sexual abuse, sexual abuse in general, acts of violence, major character deaths, mentions of miscarriage but never shown and never pregnancies we know of. Big ole homophobia warning, specifically in regards to lesbophobia. As for Joel, PIV sex, breeding kink, degrading (slut, whore etc but thing like Raider!joel) forced breeding and breeding kink, power dynamics, Joel is not the good guy but he’s also not the worst, slightly rough sex but not violent. Warnings are liable to be added as the story goes but I’ll always update. As always if I miss something please tell me, but i extensively label my warnings and in the end media consumption is your own choice. If you would like to know if this is a happy ending or not you can message me and I’ll tell you that way I don’t spoil for everyone but you can decide if this is for you.

Immersability: Reader has long hair, can conceive children theoretically.

Extra warnings: homophobia, pedophilia (nothing actually happens), David creepiness.

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You were stuck in the house on a rainy day, helping Lisa with the cookies for dinner tonight. Your head was swirling, memories of the last several nights making your thighs clench. You hadn’t seen Angela since the night you and her fucked 3 day ago, the heavy rain making the menial store runs not worth it for now. Couldn’t risk getting sick in case you were pregnant, now could you?

Would things change between you? Did this mean you were gay? You had no idea, you needed to see her, she was the only person you could trust with this. Joel hadn’t changed, continuing to fuck you last night, while the night before he taught Ellie. Ellie came before any for him.

She was upstairs right now with Riley and that made you even more nervous. You knew what they were doing, they weren’t subtle one bit. Ellie had no sense of self preservation, it seems. You decided to go upstairs to check on her, but quickly turned away when you heard the sound of kissing. Shit. They were loud. You didn’t want to interrupt them, feeling flustered and embarrassed by overhearing so you dash downstairs to try and see where Gina was, to make sure she wasn’t coming upstairs. It was there you saw Gina welcoming Bedford inside.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

“You can fetch Elizabeth from her room, Commander Bedford.” Gina spoke. “She’s up there with Mrs. Jones. They are such close friends, I do hope they can see each other often when she’s married.”

“Of course, Mrs. Miller. It’s so important for the wives to have close friendship to grow closer to god with each other and lean on those hard times.”

You needed to get to Ellie. You neede to warm her before she’s caught; you doubted even Joel could keep her and Riley off the wall.

“I can go get her, Mrs. Miller” You offer and move towards Ellie’s, room, but Gina catches your arm.

She narrows her eyes at you. “No, I think Commander Bedford has it, thank you OfJoel.”

You try to push past. “Really, it’s no-”

But you were shoved away, into the hall, her grip still firm on you, and nodding David Bedford away to the girls room.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Mrs. Miller, you need to let me go, you need to stop him.” You’re getting more frantic, trying to get out of her grip but her fingernails dug into your skin painfully. “Ellie, she-”

Gina’s face was sudden close to yours. “I know what her and Riley are doing, you little harlot, I’m getting her out of my face so she can stop embaressing me.”

She was trying to get Ellie and Riley killed?

“ELLIE!” You start to scream but Gina worked fast, shoving you out the door and locking it.

You didn’t think to much on what you did next. You were never getting out of Gilead alive, you were never going to see your son again. You didn’t even know if this would do anything… but Joel was gone, and only one person could help. Taking off, you run next door, not stopping to knock. “COMMANDER MILLER! COMMANDER MILLER!” You ony had the slightest sense to think he call him commander miller instead of Tommy.

Angela appeared around the corner, green eyes wide and wild. “OfJoel, what are you-”

“I need Tommy, emergency!”

Hearing his name, Tommy runs down the stairs. “What the hell is happening!”

“Gina brought Commander Bedford to the house” You grab him and start pulling him out the house as you explain, there was no time to waste. “She’s there with Riley, they’re kissing, I- I don’t know what else, but Gina, she said she was trynng to get Ellie caught!”

Tommy ran past you. “Fucking bitch! Angela, stay here-”

“No fucking way!”

But Tommy shot her a look. Never have you seen Angela fold for a man, and certainly not Tommy. She liked Tommy, but you didn’t take orders from men you pegged. Angela as told to get to his office and call Joel

You tell Tommy the door is locked, but he has a spare key and gets inside. You hear shouting upstairs and Tommy’s long legs are taking the steps three at a time to get to his niece but you lag behind, slowed in your stupid shoes.

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THEM!”

Everyone was in the parlor.

A very terrified and wide eyed Ellie standing opposite of an equally scared Riley. Tommy stood by his niece and you, shouting at Gina. Commander Bedford stayed quiet, but his eyes were alert, carefully watching everyting and everyone. Luke and Lesa even lurked in the shadows, listening in.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!” Joel’s booming voice broke into the house, dorm slamming shut with such a force, pictures shook on the walls.

“Dad!” Ellie ran across the rooms, passing David and Gina fearlessly now that her father was in the room. Joel took her quickly into a protective hug, turning her body away from the household, his broad width keeping her from view. “Are you okay, baby girl?”

She nodded. “Dad, I fucked up, I fucked up so bad-”

“Shhh, Ellie, it’s okay…” He stroked her hair that had fallen out, tucking it behind her ears. “I’m gonna protect you.” With Ellie trailing behind him, he grabbed Riley as well, pulling her away from Bedford. He knew exactly what Bedford was, and would not allow him near either girl. He locked eyes with Tommy.

Gina spoke first. “This is your fault, allowing her to just do whatever she wants, she’s spoiled-”

“Hush, woman! Will someone explain to me what happened.”

Finally, David spoke. “It seems I caught Miss Miller and Mrs. Jones in a rather… compromising position.”

Joel stood tall and powerful in front of the two teens. “I certainly don’t know to what you’re implying, Bedford, but I suggest you tread lightly, here.”

David stepped forward, and eerie calm in his voice and soft smile on his face. “Commander Miller, I assure I want this all sorted out as well but the fact of the matter is I saw Miss Miller and Mrs. Jones kissing. Not only is this gender betrayal, but it’s an affair for Mrs. Jones, an affair in which Miss Miller is complicit. This can get both of them killed or sent to the colonies.” The colonies were basically a death sentence.

“Neither of them” He spoke firmly, sure. “Are going to the wall or the colonies, Bedford. They are just kids.” When this didn’t work, he softened his tone to the negotiator. “C’mon, David. You were a teacher, you know these are just kids, they do stupid shit.”

He shakes his head. “Actions need to have consequences, Joel, you know this. Back then, we allowed this sort of thing to run rampant and we were punished by God, taking away our children.”

“Bullshit!” Tommy barked across the room. “If God was punishing us for anything, it’s for sicko’s like you touching little kids!” With long strides, Tommy walked over shouting at Bedford, but Joel put up a hand to stop him. He needed to negotiate.

“What do you want, David?”

He sighed, holding both his hands behind his back. “I think young Elizabeth’s problem-”

Joel’s face shifted into a warning glower. “Do not talk about my daughter-”

“Is that she is at marriage age, needs a husband to set her on the right path.”

Tommy scoffed. “And that man is you?”

“Yes, I think so. She’s a strong willed woman, could be a leader among the wives if she’s set on the right path. The bible does, in fact, teach in favour of strong women, despite what our enemies say.”

From behind Joel, Ellie steps out, brave now that she has two protectors. “Yeah? Like who?” She challenged, Joel trying to hush her but sighing. He knew he couldn’t.

But David was not phased. “Judith, Ruth, Esther, Mary Magdalen. You would know that if you paid attention to theology class instead of staring at my niece.”

“I would know that if you let me read the damn bible!” She took a few short step towards David as she screamed at him, the room erupting in commotion

“Ellie!” Gina shouted and began to stride toward her daughter she clearly held so much contempt for, but Tommy gripped her arm yanking her back, growling to stay growing at her to ‘stay the hell away’ from Ellie.

Joel’s eyes widened; swearing was being added to her list of offenses today, and ‘damn bible’ made it worse, as did an expression of desire to read. She was digging herself deeper. Riley tried to cull Ellie back in, but the only thing that stopped her was Joel’s strong arm around her pulling her back in. The only person remaining calm was David.

“Allow me to marry Elizabeth, and I’ll make sure she fulfills her potential.”

Joel watched for a long time, planning his next move. He’d always been so in control, so sure of himself and the future… He hadn’t felt this lost since Sarah died. It was then he noticed you. WHen you and Joel locked eyes, you knew there was nothing he could do. He was accepting his fate.

“And you won’t tell a soul about her?”

“Dad, no!”

“No one outside of this room.”

“And Riley, you won’t tell Commander Jones?”

“Joel, man, what are you doing?”

“They’ll remain safe, you have my word.”

Joel took a deep breath. “Fine, you may inform the counsel of the betrothal, now get the fuck out of my home.”

Chaos shattered like glass, confusing everyone in the room as Bedford left the house.

“Dad! What the hell! What is wrong with you!” Ellie berated her dad. Gina tried to tell her to shut up, but Joel snapped and turned to his wife, eyes cold and sharp.

“You! I know you did this shit Gina. You’ll fucking pay for this, I’ll have your fucking head on a pike!”

Gina was undeterred. “She had to get married at some point-”

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

When Gina left, he called for Luke, asking him to escort Ellie and Riley to the car, he was taking Riley home.

Ellie was furious. “How could you do this! How could you abandon me like everyone else!”

“Ellie.” Joel turned to her, placing two hands on her shoulders. “I promise you, I’m not letting that man touch you.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “Not even you can stop this, Joel.” Ellie took Riley’s hand and followed behind Luke to the car. Only you, Tommy and him were left. Joel turned to you.

“Thank you, for getting Tommy. I’ll… I’ll make sure you don’t get any backlash from Gina… you tell me if she does anything to yuh.” To Tommy now. “I’m coming over after I make sure Riley gets home safe, okay? We’re gonna figure this out.”

The worry in Tommy’s eyes said he wasn’t sure there was a way out at all.

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Im sorry this is taking 5 ever to write ;-;

I hope y'll still like it. I still care about this story and eeing it through <3

@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @dins-riduur-anthe @morallyinept @fan-fiction-floozy @med494 @taliarose12 @flvrdoll @k-ra @sam-2me @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @moriartyyouwhore @hereforthepedrofanfic @alwaysmicado @noisynightmarepoetry @kyloispunk @jenna-ortega @lunitareads @labyrinthofheartagrams @swimmjacket @theywhowriteandknowthings @everyth1ngfan @movievillainess721 @syrupstuff @christinamadsen @darlingshame @genetics4life @stevngrant @crazysouthernlady @joeldjarin @gwendibleywrites @ladynightengale @justagalwhowrites @pedge-page @magpiepills @zliteraturehoe @lover-of-books-and-tea

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phoenixofash · 1 year

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ok we have to take a moment to appreciate the execution of Callums...questionable... character arc (Season 4 spoilers, of course.)

- in the end credits of Rebirthday, the painting of Callum and Ezran has them standing in the same positions as Viren and Harrow, suggesting that they're in the same positions of perceived/actual power.

- Callums dedication to translating the runes highlights the downward spiral of his intentions as a mage: it borders on obsessive. We can see this in Breathtaking, where it is inferrable that he oversleeps after Rayla's return due to being overworked.

- the most obvious one takes place in Through the Looking Glass, when Zubeia recounts her experience with the mirror and Aaravos. Most specifically, her saying "Aaravos chose as his instruments people who had strong minds and strong hearts," which, let's be honest, the past 3 seasons have confirmed Callum to have, before the camera cuts to the man himself as she continues, "but those who had an insatiable thirst and fascination with magic." Here we can see him gazing into the mirror, as if searching for a final part of himself in there.

- the return of Rayla in itself is done brilliantly. Callums anger and conflict for it, and his feelings for her, is reasonable. It is human, something that is painfully obvious of him. But, on the flipside, it is this anger that exacerbates his downward spiral. He is painfully vulnerable, and withdraws from anything that could show this.

- his arc definitely peaks in Beneath the Surface, where in the scene remeniscent of LoTR: Return of the King, Callum is faced with the moral dilemma of letting go of the Key of Aaravos, destroying what gave him his power and position for the greater good, or keeping it for himself and maintaining his only sense of identity. By keeping it, he fully succumbs to the influence of Aaravos. He's a puppet for him, albeit subtly, because of the item he holds. We now know, without a doubt, that his insecurity of his position in society (step-prince, step-mage) is exploitable.

- "He a friend of yours?" "Not anymore." right at the beginning of Escape From Umber Tor can show two things: the grip Aaravos has on Claudia, isolating her, alongside the fact that Callum has become unrecognisable in character.

#the dragon prince #the dragon prince spoilers #tdp season 4 #tdp callum #tdp soren #rayllum #king ezran #tdp zym #the dragon prince viren #rayla the dragon prince #this man is unhinged #and a little fucked up #tdp claudia #tdp commentary

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inkyquince · 9 months

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The Other Miguel (Part 1/2)

characters. Miguel O'Hara (Spiderverse)

content warning. nothing much in this chapter, the next chapter is the nasty one (hint, baby trapping, noncon). Reader has the ability to get pregnant, but its gender neutral, either way, it's implied that spider radiation gave you a hyperfertile hole (so either fpreg or mpreg is able to take place). There's more... Talking about twilight-new-moon type depression, some angst, verbal altercations. There's some puppy love and a light hearted sex scene in here too. That, and the hint of darker intentions. Also you read this and you get to know how much of a nerd inky is about spiderman, there's characters and lore dropped that is very much comic book based.

words. 6k.

Joining the Spider Society was the greatest privilege you had ever been given in your life. You didn’t think they’d ever really accept you, being as new as you were to the position as the friendly neighbourhood spider. Especially when it came with the scrutiny of being the… “Second” one. The next one. The protege. The one mentored for far too short before he died. When Peter died. Freak accident. You were there. You held him as he died.

And that’s when you met him. Among the collapsed building, the strange villain that glitched and spasmed and seemed to throb through the thin strings of reality, still gearing up to attack you. Something seemed to slice through the air next to you, a gash appearing, swirling and malevolent. At least at the time. Then he walked through. Gait predatory and sure, towering over you, where you were sitting in the dust and rubble, with a body in your arms that struggled to draw breath.

“We’ll handle it from here.”

And he did. Miguel liked to handle things his own way. He handled the villain easier than your Peter had. He handled the situation. He handled you. His broad, clawed hand encompassed your entire wrist as he pulled you up onto your feet. Telling you that he’ll contact you later, and congratulating you on the new position. You had a feeling he was being sarcastic.

He left then. You were left behind with a lingering promise that you weren’t alone. You were also left with the body of your mentor. You begged and begged him to hold on, Just a few more minutes. But he couldn’t. Not for you. Fuck, not for the ambulance, not for his fucking girlfriend, what’s-her-face, Betty, and not for the entire fucking city who needed him more than they needed you.

“It was a shock.” Betty had sniffed at the podium, his casket in front of her. “I knew he was private about things but-”

But. But. But. Peter Parker was Spiderman. He had been Spiderman. He was alive. He had been alive. Betty had confided in you that she had begun to think Peter just didn’t like her. Which was dumb. She was like his first proper girlfriend and she was worried that he didn’t like her. She was mulled over breaking up with him and now she was crying because she didn’t know that all that time away, he was fighting for the city. Fucking Betty. Even Jamieson was gruff as he spoke about Peter.

You didn’t get to say anything about him. You didn’t get to walk there and cry for him, like Betty did. Like MJ did. You didn’t get to take a breather and grip the podium, like his Aunt May. You didn’t get to get choked up and stare ahead, like Jonah. Even Eddie Brock was allowed a few soft words, his eyes looking wet and wide.

You didn’t get to walk up there and talk about how Peter found you. He helped you. He compared the spider bite he got with yours. You didn’t get to smile and share stories about how he made you watch the Matrix first before talking about the leap of faith you had to take. When he teased you for your suit design, before squawking like a bird when you found his notebooks of his own first designs.

No. You got to sit at the back, as the little friend Peter made at some sort of function or whatever. Photography, or some sort of hobby class. No one asked. You were just there one day. His little friend. Not the person he saved and spent weekends, nights, lunchtimes with. So, you stood by everyone else as they buried him. You left the third bouquet of flowers on the grave, you were the twelfth person to offer condolences to Aunt May. You were the last to leave. Long after Betty and May, you were still there, sitting at the back, on the bench. Eventually, he came to join you.

Miguel sat down, towering over you even seated.

“It had to be like this.” He eventually said, something heavy in his voice, as if he had any idea.

“Go fuck yourself.” You dragged your sleeve over your face. Not that it did anything. The tear tracks would need to be scrubbed away by bleach. They would have to be dug out of your skin with nails and knives and claws.

He tensed up, as if struggling to not snap at you. Probably doesn’t get a lot of back talk that wasn’t light hearted teasing.

“... I’m sorry.” He tried again.

You wanted to punch him. If he had come earlier, then Peter might still be alive. Then he’d still be here. Taking pictures of himself as you snorted at his elaborate set ups. Ducking Betty’s questions. Going to Aunt May’s every Sunday. Teaching you. Being with you.

Your silence seemed to agitate him. Good.

“I wanted to… Extend an offer to join our group.”

You repeated the earlier request for him to go fuck himself and stood. Rubbed at the tear stains tattooed onto your face at this point and you walked off. He watched you go.

A week later, you were in his dark ass office, being shown around at the different villains and Spider people. You even got another look at the villain that took your Peter from you. Shocker. Fucker. Hell, you knew your own universe’s Herman. Nice guy.

So life went on.

You help out when you can. You saw Miguel. You went home. You cried. You mourned on and on. The hurt never felt like it lifted. You miss your Peter every day. There were others around, other Peter’s, but they weren’t yours. Even when some recognized you as that “sweet kid”, or something like it, in his voice, in Peter’s voice, it did nothing but make tears prick at your eyes. It was fucking unfair. So many Peter’s and none of them yours.

Life went on, and you watched it go. The flowers bloomed without him, the days changed without him, and someone sat next to you in photography class… Without him.

Worst of all, it was him. Your Miguel. No, not yours, but your world’s. Younger. Not as beefy. Leaner. There were no lines curving along his eye, and he was looking at you. Spider Miguel looked at you darkly, as if you were two steps away from pissing him off and he was warning you not to. There was always something glimmering.

Your Miguel’s eyes crinkled as he shot you a smile. Asked if you had a pen he could use. Uttered a soft thank you as you handed one over.

It was nice. Seeing him like this. As if it let you in on a secret, on someone he might have been once upon a time. A light hearted guy that was kinda… Whiny. Instead of becoming tense, with his teeth gritting when you teased him, he’d scrunch his nose and he’d fucking whine at you. He’d say he wasn’t, but the way his tone would shift higher when he wheedled you to knock it off. It was kinda cute. Made you want to ask Lyla if the other Miguel had ever been like that. If he ever had to whine at another Spiderperson for pointing at him or something.

“What’s that smile for?” Your Miguel caught your attention as he idly filled up your kettle.

“Hm?”

“That smile. I feel like you’re making fun of me in your head.” He eyed the jar of coffee you bought especially for him.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m making fun of your pretentious ass coffee.”

“Not pretentious.” Miguel eyes you darkly, but there’s something light in them. Of course, there was also that whine tilting at the end of the sentence. Cute.

“So pretentious.”

“Is not.”

You smiled at him.

“There you go. Making fun of me in your head again.” He muttered.

You kinda wanted to fuck him. You’d wonder if he’d whine as much in bed as he did staring at your cabinet, with your ensemble of hot drink sachets and bags.

You shook your head, the back of your neck feeling hot. Don’t be gross, you chided yourself, this was Miguel. A Miguel. You knew two. Sleeping with one will make you look at the other all weird. What if your Miguel fucked really badly and then you’d quietly think about how the other Miguel is a two pump chump through every damn meeting. Worse, if he fucked really good. How were you supposed to concentrate if you knew your gut that he could make you cum three times in a night.

Glancing up, you caught your Miguel looking at you over the rim of his coffee cup, dark eyes glinting. His lips quirked when you noticed him. As if he knew what you were thinking. Which, of course, he didn’t, at least not all of what you were thinking. No, that would blow his entire fucking brain up.

His bottom lip cushioned the rim of his cup as he took another sip. His eyes glimmered. Yeah. He at least knew you were thinking about fucking him. At least half as much as he was thinking about fucking you.

Well, according to the buzzing coming from your back pocket, that would have to wait.

“Alright. I’ve got to get this. Pour your pretentious coffee into a to-go cup and get out.” You shot him a grin and his dark eyes turned brighter.

“Oh fuck you.”

He wished. Then you wished. God, you wished you stayed behind for a fuck as the other Miguel ground you into the dirt beneath his heel. Not literally, but Christ, that man could wear down a boulder into a pebble.

Other Miguel always seemed to take particular issue with you. Fuck, maybe his idea of getting you to join this damn team finally bit him in the ass. His ambivalence at first might have been ground into flat out dislike, except he did more or less talk to everyone the same way. He just seemed especially short with you at times.

You did have sympathy for the guy. Overworked, probably underpaid, but then again, that would be him shooting himself in the foot. He ran the entire thing, didn’t he? Underpaid himself… Did you even get paid with this job? How much did you make an hour-

“Are you even listening to me?” Hot breath washed over your ear as Miguel leaned down to growl to you.

You froze up a bit, real… Well, not deer, but a shitting rat in the driveway as the car reverses… In the tail lights. Yeah, shitting rat in the tail lights. Less dignified than a deer.

“Yeah. Sure. Sorry. Yeah.” You tilted your head at him, given he wouldn’t be able see the placating grin you shot him.

“Then what did I just say?” He folded his arms and cocked his hip to the side.

“Something something, don’t fuck up again or I’ll kick your ass?”

Miguel took a moment to stare at you with that inscrutable mask but apparently you were more or less on the mark. You already knew what he was going to say the moment you fumbled your attack and instead went tumbling ass over heels to the side. Miguel was forced to divert from his path to grab you at the last moment. Hell, his entire hand could just grab your waist and actually keep a hold of you. Fling you like a ragdoll into the air after a beat of a second, with him towering over you, chest heaving as he stares down at you. Just a second, he was close, and protecting you, and holding you firm, like the first time he did when you met him. Then he threw you. He knew you would easily swing to safety, but still.

Your hip tingled where his broad, clawed hand had held you tight. Like a brand seared into your skin. You cocked your hip a bit, as if trying to throw off the feeling of his hand, and his angular spider mask eyes seemed to follow the movement. Or he could be looking at the mess around you. Rubble and collapsed building, with the dimension breaking villain, a Goblin maybe, tied up to the side.

“Could have been hurt.” Miguel muttered, sounding gruff.

“You mean someone else could have been hurt. A civilian could have been squashed into an innocent-life-pancake.”

“No.” He snapped, his broad shoulders tensing up further. You could see the fine line of his muscles through the suit. “You.”

The word hung in the air, just like the day you two first met, and the dust hung in the air, suspended in time. You bloodied, Peter wheezing at your feet, and Miguel watching. The moment broke a second later, but the memory was imprinted in your mind. You could taste that moment in the air, now.

“You.” Miguel repeated.

You understood. One Spiderman died on his watch, and he was going to make sure he didn’t have his protege’s death on his conscience too. It was already littered with graves. Tightly packed graveyards had the tendency to flood when it rained. You doubted he would enjoy the bones drifting down his stream of thought while he was busy.

“... He…” You tried, feeling the words get caught up in your throat, as if cobwebs tied your vocal chords together. “It wasn’t your fault he-”

“I know.” Miguel snapped at you, suddenly back in your face, fanged teeth bared like an animal. “I didn’t fail Peter.”

His emphasis on the “I” gave you pause. As if he was not the person in the equation to blame.

“... You think I-”

“I don’t think. I don’t think anything of you.” He folded his arms. The words tumbled from his lips, as if he couldn’t wait to get them out, but his eyes blinked as if he was bewildered.

A part of you hoped he misspoke, that he just meant he didn’t think you were to blame for the situation, but his immediate response, that he didn’t…. Well. It wasn’t like you two were friends. Mentor and student, even if you had started to crave that with him. That leadership that your Peter gave you. No, it was stupid of you to look for the friendship you had with your Miguel, with the other one. The other one that let your Peter die.

“... Great. Thanks.” You turned away and dusted the dirt off your suit, shoulders hunched.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He huffed, shifting his weight as he cocked his hip so the side again. “I’m not to blame for him dying. He was injured when I got there. You, however-”

“Yeah. Me. I let him die. I hear you.” You hated that your voice sounded brittle. Tight, like you were about to cry.

“You-”

“I know!” You finally snapped, your throat getting tighter. “Fucking hell, I get it.”

Miguel’s shoulders tensed. You kicked a piece of rubble and fiddled with your watch.

“Let’s just ditch this conversation while we can.” You eventually mumbled.

“Don’t you dare walk off while I’m talking to you.” Miguel snarled, the rest of his body tensing up.

You ignored him, as the blinding orange and red lights of the portal slashed through the air next to you, opening up the way back to your own dimension. He took another step towards you, his hand reaching up to slip a thumb underneath his mask. You couldn’t argue with him, not with your Miguel’s face looking at you, tired and aged.

“Pretty disrespectful.” Goblin agreed, somewhat muffled.

You started, having completely forgotten your surroundings, and the Green Goblin tied up, snug and tight off to the side. Miguel was just as startled and ripped his hand away from his own mask. With his attention back on the villain, he turned away from you and you slipped away. Back home.

Empty apartment. No Peter. Just you. You and your phone buzzing with a message, a simple request to come over. Not so alone maybe.

“-you.”

“Huh?”

“... C’mon, don’t make me repeat it.” Your Miguel scowled at you. You’d think he was pissed, if not for the darkening blush dusting his cheekbones. You felt kinda bad, having zoned out while he was talking, the other Miguel’s vast back tense in your mind’s eye. Your Miguel cleared his throat a bit, and shifted on the sofa seat next to you, this time turning to look at you head on.

There was a beat of silence. He sighed.

“Mierda.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I like you. There. Get to bare my soul twice now.”

You blinked.

“Like friends?”

“I’m going to leave.” Miguel grumbled, the tips of his ears a deep red at this point. He started to get up but you grabbed the sleeve of his grey jacket.

“Miguel, wait…” You tried to calm your suddenly racing thoughts, flitting between how much you wanted to tell Miguel that you felt the same, and about the ethics of the situation, that this was an alternate universe version of a man that was your boss and didn’t seem to like you.

What the fuck would you do? If you found out that other Miguel had found a different universe’s you and started going out with them? How would you feel? Not that your feelings could ever match Miguel’s, you could barely even understand HIM most of the time.

You chewed on the inside of your cheek for a moment, fingers curling into his soft sleeve. Miguel watched you, getting a bit antsy. You were too lost in your own thoughts to notice the simmering look that entered his eyes, and he started to lean into you. It was like you blinked and suddenly he was face to face with you, his nose gently bumping against yours as his dark eyes looked into yours. You don’t even know what he saw in your expression that gave him the courage. A matching look of barely controlled heat? A somewhat doe eyed blink up at him? Or your teeth sinking into your bottom lip as his hand dragged along the back of the sofa, just so his finger tips could skim yours?

It didn’t matter. Whatever he saw gave him courage, and barely a second could pass before he leaned in fully, his hand coming up to cup your chin. His fingers were smooth, warm against your skin, gently dragging his thumb over the edge of your jaw.

It was nice. It was good. It was an innocent kiss, his lips warm and soft against yours. You could feel his breath tickle your cheek as he angled for a deeper kiss. So sweet. It made you remember back to kisses with high school boyfriends, chaste and eager. You sighed into it softly and Miguel leaned in further, a hand slipping to graze his fingers over your knee.

After a few more blissful seconds you both parted, Miguel’s ears a dark red, but now there was a triumphant glint in his eye as he looked over you, like a hunter casting his eye over his freshly snagged prey. And you? You made your choice.

“Hey, Miguel?”

“Yeah?”

“I might just like you too.”

Miguel’s shaky exhale of breath came so fast it almost sounded like a moan. His fingers against your face lost their soft grip, instead cupping your jaw with intent as he leaned back in.

This kiss was not as sweet and innocent as the first one. His tongue immediately slipped between your lips, just to drag greedily over your front teeth. The fingers skimming your knee stopped their idly skating, and instead began to firmly squeeze your upper thigh. You were foolish to believe that your Miguel wasn’t as suffocating in his presence as the other Miguel. The way he greedily pushed against you, his hand abandoning your face to press against the sofa back behind you, chest to chest… He encompassed you. As his teeth teased your bottom lip, biting into it gently and tugging, you could finally see how he could become the man you knew, the Spiderman with the fangs of a beast, and the clawed hands of a predator. It was always lurking, in the way he appraised you, and in the way he was currently tugging at your shirt, a poacher skinning the elusive creature he had spent months stalking from the brush.

The lines between your Miguel, the soft eyed, gentle man you had met in a class, and the other one, the one with a beast crawling underneath the suit of a hero and the skin of a man, were blurring. Your Miguel was just a few steps away from becoming just like the version that saved your life.

If your Miguel noticed how hazy you were getting, he said nothing, but the curve of his smile said it all. His ministrations were going straight to your head, as his lips kissed from yours, down your throat, to focus on making marks against your skin.

His lithe hands dragged over your freshly bared skin, thumb lightly ghosting over your nipple before pressing down on it and rolling the sensitive tissue between two of his fingers. He was skilled, his hands experienced, and his tongue devilish as it tasted the skin that he pinched between his teeth. You didn’t even notice that you were practically malleable in his grasp, your own fingers simply gripping his jacket, head tilted back as your breath came too quickly. You didn’t care, you needed this. You needed to just lay back and let him have his way. Every day you forced yourself to move, to work, to think, and your Miguel seemed more than okay with taking charge over you.

You didn’t object when he pushed you down on the couch, towering over you as he roughly tugged his own jacket and shirt off, to be thrown and forgotten on the floor.

“You’ve got a really pretty pair.” Miguel said, almost conversational, as he dragged a hand over your chest, thumb flicking your nipple before dropping a kiss to your sternum.

“Well, so do you.” You lightly teased back, reaching out to smack his own pair of tits, but he grabbed your wrist, instead pressing your fingers against his mouth, dark eyes trained on yours over them.

With one hand dragging over your stomach slowly, as if he was stroking over a pet’s belly, he parted his lips to taste your fingers against his tongue, dragging the hot muscle over the length of your digits. His teeth gently grazed the tips. He was also greedily undoing the buttons to your trousers, able to yank the garment down, trapping your thighs together, with just one hand.

He pressed another open mouthed kiss to your fingers before dropping your hand in favour of restoring his full attention to your trousers. To be fair, you could return the favour. The fucking monster already tenting in his trousers was a sight to behold. There was a small dark patch at the tip. Your stomach flipped when you realised it was precum. This man was desperate to fuck you. He hid it too well, the way he had hungered, but his body was unable to lie in this moment. The way he shifted, the way his lips were slightly parted, the way his tongue dragged over his bottom teeth as he finally got your trousers off and tossed them to the side. Miguel didn’t even seem aware of the rush of breath that escaped him at the sight of your underwear, using one big hand to palm at your crotch greedily, yet almost clumsily.

He moved to peel down your undergarments, but you slipped your leg up from between his thighs and firmly pressed your foot against his chest.

“Not so fast.” You teased, but the way his dark eyes shot up to yours, flashing with something fiery, made your throat dry.

Just like the other Miguel. Didn’t like being interrupted in his mission. Almost made you smile.

“Your trousers shouldn’t be on right now.” You swallowed and finally continued, shooting him a shaky grin.

Miguel’s eyes softened again and he snorted, rolling his eyes. He dragged his palms over your hip bones again before straightening up and beginning to undo his belt.

“Such a little pervert.” He murmured, a lopsided grin tilting at his lips.

“Hey, just trying to level the playing field.” You quipped back, but you couldn't deny that your eyes were hungering for the sight of your Miguel, completely bare, just for you.

He deigned to ignore you as he finally wrestled his belt off and glanced around for a bare piece of floor, not yet littered with clothes. He stuck his tongue out a bit as he tossed the offending garment, and managed for it to snag onto the front door handle for only a second before dropping down.

“Missed.” You smirked.

“Didn’t. The door handle fumbled the catch.” Miguel eyed the item before continuing to unbutton his trousers.

“Still counts as a miss I think.”

“It fucking does not.”

“Does t-” Your teasing died on your tongue as he yanked his trousers down to his thighs.

Of course the man didn’t wear underwear. Obviously threw the entire idea of boxers out the window when he made up his mind that today was the day he was going to confess to you. His foresight was better than the other Miguel’s damn hindsight.

It was unfair how fucking perfect his cock was. Precum slipping down, riding along the veins down to his swollen balls. The head of his cock dark, almost painful looking. It twitched a bit as your knee brushed past the tip, bobbing a bit as Miguel gave up on trying to get his trousers fully off without moving from his knelt position on the sofa. Resigning himself to his own trapped thighs, he playfully swatted your foot away from his chest and went back to peeling down your underwear.

Despite not being pressed against his skin anymore, you could still feel his breath hitch in his chest.

“Pretty.” He dragged his hand against your inner thigh and gave it a squeeze. “Real pretty.”

His thumb greedily stroked along the hot skin, enjoying how you squirmed and sighed as you drifted over the sensitive flesh before arriving at your hole. Just dragging his finger over it had you squirming. But his intense attention on you, vulnerable and open to him, had a thought squirm into your head and burrow down.

“Hey, Miguel?” You caught his attention again, his soft eyes meeting yours. “... Do you have a condom?”

Some Spiders became infertile from the radiation poisoning. Others got hyperfertile. One guy laid eggs. You really didn’t want to find out in which category you fell into, not right now.

His thick eyebrows rose a bit, before twitching.

“Yeah, sure.” He fussed with his trapped trousers, pulling his wallet out and digging around just to toss a length of wrapped condoms down onto your stomach.

“Wow.” You snorted softly.

“What?”

“You were THAT sure you were going to get lucky after confessing your crush?” You grinned at him, idly picking them up and dangling them.

“Oh, shut up. I always have them in there.” Miguel rolled his eyes and used the moment to finally kick his trousers all the way off before getting back into position and swiping them from you.

“You ALWAYS have them with you?” You teasingly pressed your foot against his broad chest again, idly dragging it down to his stomach before counting each individually wrapped condom. “What, you walk around, hoping to get to fuck nine times?”

Miguel neatly grabbed your ankle, pulling you down more to rest it on his shoulder, dragging his fingers along your shin. Nefarious glint in his eyes.

“Why are you asking? Jealous?”

The accusation had you flushing, your cheeks heating up immediately as he sneered in triumph, pressing a kiss to your ankle.

“Shut up.” You grumbled and Miguel gave a husky laugh in response.

He considered the matter settled, using his teeth to rip open the foil to one of the condoms. With a low breath, he rolled the material down, over his cock, to the base before tossing the foil, letting it flutter down, onto your shirt. Miguel tossed the rest to the side, in easy reach for when there was inevitably a round two, and shot you another teasing smirk.

“Happy?”

“On Cloud 9. Not even God could strike me down now.”

Miguel rolled his eyes and grabbed your other ankle to place it on his shoulder, pressing down a bit as if to make sure you won’t shift it away.

“Perfect. Now, let me prep you before God waltzes in through the front door and punishes you for safe sex.” You managed a snort before he grabbed your waist and dragged you against him properly, so your ankles were shifted down his back and your knees rested on his shoulders.

With you closer, Miguel got to wind his arms around your middle and hoisted your entire body up, so your back was no longer touching the sofa, and you could feel his hot breath rushing over your sensitive hole. You couldn’t even take a moment to swear, when his tongue was on you.

The feeling of his hot, wet muscle dragging over you shocked your system. It had been so long since you slept with someone, meaningful relationship or one night stand, it didn’t matter. You had been wrapped up in your own personal cloud of sadness, you couldn’t even think of sex. So long without a warm body next to you, and now Miguel’s scorching one was hunched over you, his tongue lapping hungrily over your hole before pressing the tip inside, just enough to make you gasp and arch your back.

“A-Ah, fuck!” You hissed out between your teeth, arching your back as he lapped at your hole, dipping the tip in every now and then.

“Relax.” He murmured against you, one of his hands pressing on your stomach, manoeuvring you properly, making sure you couldn’t even dream of wriggling away from him. “Relax for me. Can’t fuck you if you won’t fucking relax.”

Miguel’s tongue was brutal. Tasting you, wriggling deeper inside of you, one hand on your stomach, squeezing the flesh with the other one groping at your chest. Using his nail to press down on a nipple before using the pad of his thumb to ease the sting of his pinch. He kept swapping his hands, always needing one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Lavishing them with attention and relishing the feeling of soft flesh at his mercy. But there was only so much a hot blooded man like him could take, with his cock straining and precum smearing against your back.

Giving your glistening hole one last kiss, he slowly lowered you so your back was flat against the couch again. Miguel took a moment to drink you in fully, a fine sheen of sweat cascading down your body, your hole spread and ready, and most delectably, the blissed out look on your face.

Cute. As if you had no idea what was coming, what he was dying to do to you. Like this was the highest level of pleasure he was going to bring you to tonight. Miguel leaned down to press a kiss to your stomach before shifting his weight. The cute gasp you made when he nudged his wrapped cockhead against your hole nearly killed him.

Leaning down, his broad hand slipped around the back of your neck, pulling you in for a soft kiss, turned sharp with his teeth hungrily biting down on your bottom lip, tasting your tongue, your flesh. With your tongue trapped between his teeth, he slowly pressed his cockhead in, pressing close to swallow down any whines you made. The push inside was slow and methodical, drinking in the feeling of your tight, warm hole around his throbbing cock. He had spent too much time thinking about this moment, so much time with his hand cupping his balls, and his tongue trapped between his teeth as he scrolled through your pictures. It was biting him in the ass now, the feeling of his balls aching so badly that he felt like he was about to burst. Miguel refused to fucking cum when he just bottomed out inside of you, like some virgin.

He stayed inside of you, nibbling and sucking at your lips gently, both desperately buying enough time not to fucking cum at the first thrust, but also drinking in the feeling of getting to taste you like this. Everything he had dreamed of, and more.

“I think…” You murmured after a moment, Miguel’s kisses trailing down your jaw. “I think we might have to use all nine of those condoms.”

You felt him snicker against your skin and he slowly pulled out, waiting just a moment before slamming back inside of you, deep enough for you to arch your back.

“Feeling that ambitious?” He murmured, before dragging his tongue up, over your pulse point. “Might regret that. Gonna be the fucking sorest in the world after all that.”

“So cocky.”

“I aim to hit the expectations I set for you.”

The second sorest person in the world, well, in a world, was second Miguel. Worse, it was an emotional soreness. His body ached from the fight and chest ached from the one that followed just a few minutes after, between you and him. It shouldn’t. He had worse spats just talking with Lyla. But ever since he… He witnessed your Peter’s death, watching you try to get back from it, just… Everything. He’s had… Not exactly a soft spot, for you. More like… Sore spot. Yeah, that worked. Every time he saw you, it twinged. There was an ache, thrumming underneath his suit, bruising his skin. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it, right there, between his ribs, as he breathed in. It hurt every time he inhaled around you. It hurt worse when he wasn’t around you.

And now, today’s fuck up? It itched. It burned, and no amount of distracted rubbing against his covered chest with his palm eased the feeling. It plagued him. So much so that a few hours into the night, he had enough. Kicked his sheets off and hunting for his boxers to slip on. He should be sleeping, but Miguel couldn’t stop thinking about the words you two shared that day. It was the middle of the night over in your dimension, he could slip over, take your annoyed berating at his entrance in the middle of the night, apologise… Then leave again. Some part of him wondered if you’d ask him to stay, to share a cup of something warm at your table, to properly talk, get everything out. It’d be nice. He wasn’t that close to anyone, and maybe… Maybe it would be something of a balm for his sore spot. Something to alleviate the pain and maybe one day it wouldn’t twinge with regret anymore.

A rare smile flickered on his lips as he pulled on his jacket. Yeah, no downsides. Except… If you had someone over? His fingers stopped skimming over his watch at the thought. No, you wouldn’t… Would you? Nah. You didn’t seem too interested in connecting to other people in that way, which Miguel could relate to. With a shake of his head, he vanquished those pesky thoughts. No, he was just trying to look for a reason not to go to you.

He wasn’t a coward… Though, perhaps, he should knock on your front door, instead of appearing in your living room. Just in case. What could go wrong?

#nsft #quincewrites #atsv #miguel o hara #miguel o'hara #across the spiderverse #second part should be up later #but first finish this comm hopefilly

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