vixparker - Tumblr blog

vixparker · 5 months

Text

chicken noodle soup.

pairing: mattheo riddle x reader

song inspiration: is it really so strange? by the smiths

author's note: just a soft fluffy comfort fic cause i've been thinking about matty lately and i needed cheering up after the end of kwaf. let's all laugh at the fact that i set a 1k limit on this fic only to fail miserably lmao 😭

Mattheo Riddle was not a fan of Mondays.

Most of the time, Mattheo spent the first day of the week nursing a hangover and getting higher than a hippogriff at the Astronomy Tower with his friends to achieve equilibrium. The only thing he looked forward to every week was the prospect of riling you up in class. To be fair, it didn’t take much to get under your skin. Being himself seemed to do the trick.

As he walked through the castle halls, Mattheo smiled to himself as he plotted out all the different ways he could provoke you on this dreadful day. For some sick and twisted reason, he reveled in the fact that only he could manage to rouse such a violent reaction out of you. There was something satisfying about the way your eyes blazed, your rosy cheeks tinged with heat as you told him off.

Maybe he'd flirt with you today. Tell you how good you looked in your short little skirt. Watch as you turned as red as the tie around your neck. His pretty little Gryffindor good girl. In Mattheo's mind, you were his to tease and taunt.

With his usual swagger, Mattheo sauntered into Advanced Transfiguration fully prepared to test out his new tactics on his nemesis, but you were nowhere to be found.

At first, he figured that you were just running late. Throughout the duration of your rivalry, Mattheo had never once witnessed you skip class. He would’ve bet his entire cigarette supply that you’ve had perfect attendance since first year. When Professor McGonagall started the lesson and you were still missing in action, Mattheo was understandably concerned.

The uneasy feeling in his stomach didn’t mean that he was worried about you though. This was purely about mutual benefit. Mattheo couldn’t very well have his Transfigurations partner skipping out on lessons. Even though he regularly did so himself. But still, that was different. Everyone knew he was a delinquent. You, on the other hand, were anything but. Until today, you’ve probably never missed a class in your life.

Mattheo waited. Surprisingly, the two of you had the majority of your classes together. All of which dragged more than usual since you weren’t there to yell at him for dicking around. When you still hadn't turned up for Charms or Herbology, he became convinced that something was horribly wrong. Missing one lesson was alarming, but three in a row? That was entirely out of character for you.

When Professor Sprout finally dismissed the class, Mattheo sauntered over to Granger’s desk. As always, she was surrounded by her two dimwit friends who immediately tensed the second he loomed near. Potter and Weasley shot him matching menacing glares, but Mattheo ignored them entirely.

“Granger,” he drawled, leaning against the wooden desk. “Care to tell me where my partner’s been all day?”

The Gryffindor girl appeared a bit perturbed by the question. “Why do you want to know where Y/N is?”

Mattheo sighed in exasperation and produced the set of notes he’d taken during class. A first for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually listened to an entire lesson, let alone take notes, but he knew that you would have a million questions for him when you returned. The notes were his way of saving himself from your relentless interrogation.

“Figured the little know-it-all would want my notes.”

“Y/N is feeling a bit under the weather,” Hermione said cautiously. “I can take the notes to her if you’d like.”

“No.” Mattheo declared rather suddenly. He cleared his throat and attempted to smooth over the sharp response. “No, McGonagall tasked me with it. I don’t want her docking points from my house when she finds out that you did my dirty work for me.”

Hermione raised a brow. “Sure.” The quirk of her mouth told Mattheo that she wasn’t convinced by his excuse. “Well, Y/N is resting up in the tower if you fancy a visit.”

After a quick detour to the kitchens, Mattheo made his way over to Gryffindor tower. It was surprisingly easy to gain access to the lion’s den. He simply threatened a third year to let him in and got on with it. They truly needed to upgrade their security measures. One glare was all it took for Creevey to crumble and cave.

With a satisfied smirk, Mattheo walked past the gaudy common room. For Salazar's sake, hadn't the Gryffindors ever heard of subtlety? The decor consisted solely of crimson and gold and the furnishings looked like something out of that muggle show his nan loved to watch—Antiques Roadshow. Antique was right. The worn out couch that he passed looked older than him.

Merlin, now he was starting to sound like Malfoy. Mattheo hurried along before he caught the urge to fold origami notes and chuck it at Potter's head. Fortunately for him, the place was devoid of the Chosen One or anyone for that matter.

By now, his fellow classmates were all in the Great Hall eating dinner, which he was thankful for. It was no secret that Mattheo’s presence wouldn’t be welcome here and he wasn’t really in the mood to fight his way through the Gryffindors just to deliver a note from the kindness of his black heart. Thank Salazar that there wasn’t a single soul in the tower to bicker with. Until he reached your dorm, of course.

The relationship between the two of you was volatile to say the least. Despite Mattheo’s reputation, you weren’t shy about telling him off. When you were first assigned as partners, Mattheo had fully intended to let you do all the work while he skipped class to smoke, but he quickly realized that this would not be the case. You hunted him down at his hideout in the Astronomy Tower and discovered him blissfully sharing some premium grade mirthroot with Theo and Draco. When you found him, you were so angry that you dragged him by the ear all the way to the library, much to the amusement of his friends. Needless to say, Mattheo never missed a study session again.

In a way, Mattheo admired you for it. Aside from his friends, everyone in the castle feared him. It was sort of refreshing to have someone call him out on his shit. Especially if that someone was a funny, feisty, ferocious Gryffindor who he enjoyed pestering every chance that he got. Mattheo always did have a penchant for girls with an attitude problem.

Even as he knocked on your door, the Slytherin boy couldn’t help but chuckle to himself when he heard you grumbling from the other side.

“Oh, for Godric’s fucking sake, what is it now?”

The door swung open, revealing a very pissed off Y/N. Clad in striped pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers, you placed a hand on your hip and frowned. Even in the throes of sickness, you still somehow managed to inject venom in your glare. Mattheo grinned like an idiot.

“Nice slippers, princess.”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “What do you want, Riddle?”

“To make sure my partner doesn’t slack.” He waved his set of notes around. “Don’t think your sickness excuses you from studying.”

“This is payback for making you revise with me after you fell off your broom and broke your arm, isn’t it?”

Mattheo cringed as he recalled the quidditch accident that sent him to the infirmary for a week. In true Y/N fashion, you were sitting by his bedside with a stack of books in your lap the second he woke up. Madam Pomfrey hadn't even put his arm in a sling yet before you were drilling him on proper spell enunciation and wand movements.

“You terrorized the infirmary with your mnemonics,” Mattheo said with a dramatic sigh. “It’s my turn now. This is sweet revenge, Y/N.”

You squinted at his barely legible handwriting. “I’m just surprised you took your head out of your arse long enough to take notes.”

“Glad to see that illness hasn’t lessened your bite. If anything, those teeth seem a little sharper than usual.” He leaned against the doorframe and smiled down at you. “Feeling a bit feral, princess?”

“Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?” you quipped, baring your teeth at the aggravating boy.

The gesture appeared intimidating for a full second until you sniffled and launched into a coughing fit, which made Mattheo frown.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course I am. I regularly cough my lungs out on nosy Slytherins whose sole purpose of existence is to make my life a living hell.”

He pressed the back of his hand against your forehead. The way his brow furrowed strangely resembled concern. Mattheo trained his chocolate brown eyes on you, examining the rosiness of your cheeks and the slight pinch of discomfort in your features.

"You're burning up." Mattheo's hand dropped from your forehead to the side of your neck. He pressed his fingers against your pulse point, feeling the erratic beating of your heart underneath his touch. It was strangely intimate. "You have an elevated heart rate."

You flushed and swatted his hand away. "Well, yes. That usually happens when one is ill."

"Come on, you should sit down."

"Don't tell me what to do, Riddle."

Mattheo rolled his eyes before dragging you by the elbow. Your protests fell on deaf ears as he barged his way into your dorm and walked you over to the bed. You watched as he pulled up a chair next to you before rifling through the contents of his backpack. Out of the sordid mess of his belongings, Mattheo produced a small container of soup. With a flick of his wand, he conjured a spoon.

“Here, have some of this. It should help.”

As soon as he pried the lid open, the heavenly smell of chicken noodle soup filled your senses. Mattheo scooped up an equal amount of soup and noodle and blew on it to cook it down before tilting it towards you. The sight of him offering you food like you were some helpless toddler was only slightly insulting. You swore to Godric that if Mattheo started making airplane sounds, you’d strangle the bloody twat.

“I can feed myself, you know.”

“Just eat the damn soup, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes in return, but obliged nonetheless. Despite the source, you could never resist comfort food.

“Chicken noodle soup?”

As soon as you tasted it, you knew that it wasn’t just soup. It was your favorite soup. The very same one that Winky made every third Wednesday of the month. You knew because you looked forward to it every time. It was even marked on your calendar. That’s how much you liked it.

Mattheo nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, I know it’s your favorite so I bribed Winky to make some.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “How do you know it’s my favorite?”

For once in his life, Mattheo looked utterly uncomfortable. He averted his gaze and busied himself by stirring through the carrots and celery. “You, uh, mentioned it in class once.”

You couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it was the fever talking, but you thought that was sweet. “You remembered that?”

Mattheo looked up, a stray curl kissing the tops of his cheekbones as he met your gaze. The shy smile on his face was alarmingly endearing. Sometimes when you looked at those angelic curls and stupid big, brown eyes, you forgot that you were supposed to loathe him. “Of course. It’s my favorite too.”

You chuckled, sniffling a little. “It’s like a hug in a cup, right?”

The curly headed boy nodded. “It totally is.”

After you finished the soup, you expected Mattheo to take his leave. Instead, he inspected the vials of potions laying out on your night stand. He read through every label, frowning a little.

“You should really have some pepperup potion in here.” Mattheo remarked as he arranged the vials one by one. “Are you sure this dose is potent enough? Maybe you should ask them to brew something stronger.”

“Pomfrey prescribed them herself. No offense, but I think I’ll take her years of healing experience over your expert opinion.” Mattheo gasped rather dramatically, which made you chuckle. “As much as I appreciate the notes and the soup, I don't think it's wise for you to stick around. I’m feeling a bit better, but I might still be contagious.”

Mattheo shrugged. “It’s alright, I’m not scared of a little cold. Besides, I still have to go over the Transfiguration assignment with you.”

“Aren’t you worried that I’ll get you sick?”

“Not really,” he said, waving off your concern. “I know you’re going to pester me about everything you missed in class, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.”

To your surprise, Mattheo’s notes were extremely detailed. It was a bit hard to read given his boyish scrawl, but with a little help in translation, you were making great progress in becoming fluent in Riddle. The more Mattheo explained the concepts and ideas that were discussed in each class, the more baffled you were. You've always known that he was smarter than he let on, but this was borderline impressive.

“How do you know all of that?”

“I asked.”

“You asked?” Mattheo stared blankly at your surprised expression. “You never ask questions in class.”

“I never had to since you're always there interrogating the professor like the little know-it-all that you are. Thanks to your absence, I had to fill your role in class today.”

You grinned. It grew wider and wider, spreading until your cheeks hurt. Mattheo glared at your joyous expression. “What? What’s that shit eating little grin for?”

“You missed me.”

Color flooded Mattheo’s cheeks. You were surprised to find how well crimson suited him. It was almost the exact shade of your house colors. “Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Riddle, you asked questions in class. You took notes for me. You brought me chicken noodle soup." Mattheo flushed as you pointed out the obvious. "You totally missed me.”

“If you tell anyone, I’ll hex you.”

“Admit it, Mattheo. Your day was utterly dull without me.”

Mattheo rolled his eyes, sighing in defeat. “Fine, you’ve got me. I was bored out of my mind without you around. How else am I supposed to pass the time if you’re not there for me to argue with?”

“There’s plenty of other people in the castle that you could bicker with.”

“Yeah, but they’re not you.”

He seemed a little shocked by his own statement, but he didn't try to retract it. In fact, Mattheo almost seemed resigned to it.

“Careful, Riddle. It almost sounds like you have a crush on me.”

“I’d have to be a bloody idiot to fall for a girl who absolutely despises me.”

“That wasn’t a denial, you know.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose like the very idea of it vexed him, but you caught the little smile he hid beneath his fingers. Mattheo snatched the notes from your hands. “Focus on the lesson, will you?” He grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth. “I can’t believe I’ve just said that. Look at what you’re doing to me, Y/N.”

“You’ll live, Riddle.” You poked a section of his notes that you hadn’t quite deciphered. “Now what in the bloody hell is the Gobstopper Ruffian?”

“The Goblin Rebellion. Merlin, my handwriting isn't that bad.”

“Are you kidding? A kindergartner writes more legibly than this.”

The hours passed while you bickered and bantered. You hated to admit it, but you missed arguing with him too. Laying in bed all day had you positively bored, but yet time passed within the blink of an eye as you went back and forth with Mattheo. Somewhere between discussing the possibility of Longbottom running an underground exotic plant ring and arguing over the best Smiths song, the sun had set over the horizon. Mattheo rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“You look knackered, Riddle,” you teased, patting the spot beside you. “Do you want to lie down for a bit?”

Chocolate brown eyes widened at you. “Lie down? With you? On your bed?”

“Yes, that’s typically how people do it.” You smirked as he shot you an apprehensive look. “Unless you’re too scared.”’

Never one to back down from a challenge, Mattheo lifted the covers and gestured for you to make room. “Scoot over, then.”

The jest seemed to have backfired on you because now Mattheo was crawling into bed and making himself completely at home. All the apprehension from earlier melted as he pulled you against him, his chest pressed against your back as he nuzzled into the crook of your shoulder. You stifled a giggle as Mattheo released a satisfied little sigh.

Mattheo wrapped his arms around you until you were covered in the scent of amber, cinnamon, and leather. You never expected to unearth the fact that Mattheo Riddle was a great cuddler, but yet here you were, reaping the benefits of this newfound revelation. He slipped his fingers through yours and nuzzled closer.

"Who would've known that Mattheo Riddle was such a great cuddler?"

"If you tell anyone—"

"You'll hex me. Put a curse on my family. Set my possessions on fire. Yes, I know, Riddle. You keep threatening me, but you never follow through. I'm starting to think that you're losing your touch."

Mattheo squeezed your hip before twining your legs together. "I wouldn't test me, Y/N. You're in a very vulnerable position right now."

You chuckled as he scooted even closer. "Maybe, but you won't do anything."

"Why's that, princess?"

"You like me too much," you retorted, chuckling as Mattheo buried his face in your hair. "One day without me and you're already a needy mess."

"You infuriate me," Mattheo whispered against your ear. "But you're also the best part of my day. I couldn't imagine fighting with anyone else but you, my dear nemesis."

"I totally loathe you, Mattheo Riddle."

He chuckled as you snuggled into him. "I loathe you too, Y/N Y/L/N."

The irony of the statement contrasted with how tangled up you were wasn't lost on you. For two people who supposedly hated each other, cuddling with your enemy had never felt so right. The steady beat of Mattheo's heart lulled you towards sleep. You were slowly succumbing to its hypnotic lullaby until Mattheo's voice broke through the silence.

“Y/N?” He murmured against your hair.

You shifted, your eyes feeling heavy as his warmth enveloped you. “Hmm?”

Mattheo’s voice was low and gravelly, flowing like honey in your ears. “This is nice.”

You smiled against the pillow, staring at your intertwined fingers. “Better than chicken noodle soup?”

You felt him grin against your skin before he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on your temple. “Way better than soup.”

TAGLIST

@annaisabookworm @bubybubsters @criesinlies @niktwazny303 @therealallisonspear @athenalikethegoddess @clairesjointshurt @vixzwrites @elle4404

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vixparker · 6 months

Note

can i ask for more best friend james where hes won a quidditch game and everything but hes very tired and just wants to cuddle in bed with you. and hes asking for a kiss on every bruise he has all over his arms and neck. which sirius and remus watches with confusion

Sirius wonders very briefly whether you're secretly a vampire when he walks in to find your face buried in James's neck. Your mouth is attached to the back of it, just behind his ear, but upon closer inspection, you're using your lips, not your teeth.

"Hey, Pads." James rasps from his sprawled out place on his bed, "How was detention?"

"It was detention," Sirius sets his belongings down on his bed, watching as James directs you to a point on his forearm near his elbow. You lean in to kiss it, and Sirius's lip curls in a sneer reserved only for your most outrageous displays of PDA.

"If you take out your cock next, James, I'm telling Azkaban you're an unregistered animagus."

"Don't worry," Remus's voice comes from his bed, though the curtains are drawn so that he's hidden from view. He sticks a hand out, and pulls them open so that Sirius can see him mending a pair of his socks, "Unless James got kicked in the balls during practice, nothing's going below the briefs."

"She's healing my injuries," James informs Sirius with a lazy but giddy grin, "Here, love, right here." He points to a spot on his chest, just below his collarbones, and you eagerly lean in to smooch the stinging skin.

Sirius groans.

"Oh, fuck off," James gripes, turning over beneath you to narrow his eyes at Sirius, "You're only pissy with us because you know Remus would say no if you asked him to kiss your injuries better."

Sirius shoots a not-so-subtle inquisitive glance at Remus. He's not looking, but he can tell, and he sighs wearily, "No, Pads."

Sirius, as predicted, redoubles his pissiness with you.

"You two make me sick," Sirius snaps, huffing as he storms off to shower away the layers of sweat brought on by his strenuous cleaning punishment, "I'd tell you to kiss my ass, but it's not injured enough for you."

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vixparker · 8 months

Text

I Can See You

pairing: Peter Parker x Happy’s daughter!reader

synopsis: You can see Peter being your addiction and Peter can see you as a secret mission

real synopsis: Happy forbids you and Peter from dating, which only makes you want to do it more

Masterlist

“Hey.” You nodded at Peter as you wandered into his room. The hair on Peters neck stood up on high alert now that a stranger was in his bedroom. He shut his laptop and swiveled in his desk chair to follow what you were doing. He watched you walk over to his Lego shelf as if you’d been in his room a hundred times and admired his Lego titanic.

“Um, hello. Can I help you?” Peter asked.

“Did you build this?” You asked in reply.

“Oh, yeah. I did. It took me almost a full month.”

“Wow. It’s huge.” You said and gently ran your hand along the side of it.

“I know. It’s kinda cramped in here, though. I want to display it in the living room.” Peter told you. His tingle was telling him you weren’t a threat so now he just saw you as a pretty girl who had wandered into his room.

“You totally should display this thing. It’s awesome. What’s stopping you?” You wondered.

“The family pictures in the way.” Peter laughed dryly.

“Psh. Who needs those?” You joked, making him smile.

“Not me.” Peter played along. “But my aunt might be just a little upset if I replaced photos of her dead brother and dead husband with my Lego titanic.”

“That’s nothing. My dad replaced my high school graduation picture with a photo of his dead best friend eating a cheeseburger. It’s not even a good picture. It’s blurry and my dads pinky is in the frame.”

“Damn, your graduation picture? That’s next level. Either he really loved his best friend or it was a really good cheeseburger.”

“Probably both.” You shrugged. “Uncle Tony knew all the best cheeseburger spots in Queens.”

“Wait, Tony? Like Tony Stark?” Peter asked and stood up from his desk chair.

“Yeah, Tony Stark. Oh, that’s right. I forgot you knew him.” You said and tapped the side of your head.

“Your dads best friend.” Peter said to himself. “Wait a second. Are you…”

“Y/n Hogan. Your aunt invited my dad and I over for dinner.” You said and you held your hand out.

“Wait, you’re Happy’s daughter? But you’re so pretty.” Peter said in disbelief as he shook your hand.

“What?” You laughed.

“I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. Your dad is a very beautiful man. I can see the resemblance.” Peter quickly followed up.

“Seeing the resemblance is impressive considering I was adopted.” You laughed again and continued looking around his room. You saw his Spiderman suit hanging in the closet and touched it with a fond smile on your face.

“Oh God. Can we start over? I feel like I failed at this conversation.”

“You didn’t. I actually think you’re doing a pretty good job talking to me considering the deep lore that runs between us and our mutual acquaintances.” You assured him.

“Oh.” He blushed. “Thanks.”

“No problem. So did this thing come with a Lego iceberg?” You asked and pointed to the Lego titanic.

“No. That would’ve been perfect. But unfortunately, Lego didn’t have a dark sense of humor.”

“But I do. Do you have any blue legos?” You asked with a devious smile.

“Yeah. What are you thinking?”

A few minutes later, you and Peter were sitting on his bedroom floor with his Lego bin between you. You led the conversation, much to Peters delight, as you added onto each others creations. Even though Peter was usually shy and awkward around strangers, he found it very easy to talk to you. Maybe it was because you were already apart of his secret world and he didn’t have to lie about anything, or maybe it was just because you got along. Whatever it was, Peter really enjoyed talking to you. You felt more like an old friend rather then a stranger. Happy came into the room after a little while and was surprised to see you already in there.

“Oh, there you are. I was looking for you. But I see you found Peter.” Happy said and gave Peter a stern look.

“You never told me you had a daughter.” Peter playfully scolded him to keep the mood light.

“That’s because I don’t disclose any personal information to teenagers in spandex.” Happy said curtly.

“Dad. Be nice.” You whispered harshly.

“What are you guys doing in here anyway?” Happy asked as he folded his arms.

“Making a Lego iceberg for Peters Lego titanic.” You explained and held up what you had built so far.

“Interesting, interesting. Peter, can I talk to you for a second?” Happy said through a fake smile.

“Yeah. Sure. Be right back.” He told you before getting up to follow Happy into the hallway.

“What’s up?” Peter asked kindly.

“Don’t even think about it.” Happy said immediately.

“Huh? Don’t think about what?”

“My daughter. Don’t even let it cross your mind. Because if it crosses your mind, I’ll know about it. And if I know about it, I’m gonna kill you.”

“Wait, you think I’m trying to date your daughter? I just met her. Relax.” Peter laughed.

“No, I won’t relax. I don’t ever want to see my daughter in your bedroom, okay? That’s gross. I don’t want you getting your horny little nerd germs on her.”

“We were just playing with legos.” Peter pointed out.

“That’s always how it starts.” Happy wagged his finger. “I know your type. You lure girls in with your boyish charm because they think you’re safe.”

“I am safe, Happy.” Peter insisted. “You know me. You know I’d never break her heart.”

“I know you won’t. Because you won’t get the chance.”

“I’m sorry, but why is it okay for you to date my aunt but not for me to date your daughter?” Peter asked and folded his arms.

“Oh, so it has crossed your mind? I knew you were thinking about dating my daughter.” Happy pointed accusingly at him. “I knew it the second I walked into your room. You’re thinking about her right now, aren’t you? Well stop. My daughter is not allowed in your head, okay? Ever. Get her out.”

“I wasn’t thinking about dating her until you put the idea into my head. But I kinda want to do it now.” Peter laughed in amusement and looked back at his room where you were.

“Don’t you even dare.” Happy whispered and took a step closer to him.

“Or what? What’ll you do?” Peter challenged him. He didn’t even care that much about it, he just wanted to antagonize Happy for his own amusement.

“Kill you.” Happy stated like it was obvious. “Like I said.”

“What if she likes me? Huh?” Peter smirked. “You can’t tell her not to date me. That’ll just drive her straight into my arms.”

“That’s not gonna be a problem because she’ll never like you. She’s too smart.”

“I’m a good guy, Happy. Tony knew that. Wouldn’t you rather her date a nice, responsible guy that you’ve known for years over some random stranger whose intentions might be impure?”

“She can date a guy I know.” Happy shrugged. “Just not you.”

“We’ll see.” Peter shrugged as well.

“What? What does that mean? We’ll see? We’re not gonna see anything because you’re not dating my daughter.” Happy declared.

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.” Peter shrugged again.

“No, you definitely won’t.”

“How are you gonna stop it?” Peter asked him.

“With a gun.” Happy replied. “That I use to kill you. To death.”

“I don’t think your daughter would appreciate you killing her future boyfriend.” Peter said innocently.

“You’re not her future boyfriend. You’re not her future anything. But you’re a future dead person if you keep this up.”

“Relax, Happy. I’m just messing with you. I’m not gonna date your daughter.” Peter laughed and patted Happy’s shoulder. Just then, you came out of Peters room with the Lego iceberg you had built.

“I’m gonna help May in the kitchen. Maybe I’ll accidentally knock down a few family pictures while I’m in there.” You said and winked at Peter.

“Why would you do that?” Happy asked you.

“Peter gets it.” You smiled coyly before disappearing down the hall and into the kitchen. Peter watched you walk away and felt something blossoming in his chest. That simple moment of sweet understanding between you was all he needed to fall head over heels for you.

“Happy?” Peter said without taking his eyes off where you had just been standing.

“Yeah?” Happy replied. Peter turned to face him, put his hand on Happy’s shoulder, and smiled sympathetically.

“I’m gonna date your daughter.”

Before Happy could respond, May called everyone in for dinner. Peter and Happy exchanged a look before throwing on smiles so that you and May wouldn’t suspect anything. Happy sat across from Peter with you sitting beside him, meaning that every time Peter looked at you, he got a kick under the table from Happy. Similarly, anytime you tried to ask Peter a question or start a conversation with him, Happy cut you off. Peter tried to do the same with you but was always met with a death glare from Happy. The incredibly silent and awkward dinner ended all too soon and Happy could not have taken you out of Peters apartment fast enough. You waved to Peter as Happy pulled you out the door but there was no time for an exchanging of words. What a beautiful wedding jk jk iykyk.

Peter was fully prepared to let his little crush on you go away on its own without any intention of acting on it. He knew it was a bad idea anyway to get involved with the daughter of the head of security, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about you from time to time.

“Hey Happy. I just wanted to report that I found a lost dog today. But then it ran away again after I returned to to the owner. I’m starting to think it wanted to be lost. Maybe he met a bunch of stray dogs and felt more at home with them on the streets than he ever did in his owner’s apartment. What do you think?” Peter asked over FaceTime as he gave Happy his daily report from patrolling the neighborhood.

“Kid, I don’t care. I never have. You don’t need to keep calling me with random updates of what you do on patrol.” Happy told him. In the background of Happy’s video, Peter could see you walking into the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around yourself and your wet hair hanging around your face. He perked up and felt his face heat up at the sight of you.

“Is that Peter?” You asked and walked over to where Happy was sitting.

“No. It’s not.” Happy said and tried to shut his laptop.

“Hi Peter.” You opened it back up and waved, leaving you with only one hand to hold your towel onto your body. Peter turned bright red as he stared at the screen and felt all dialogue options leave his mind.

“Oh, uh, hi.” He stammered. “I didn’t see you there. I didn’t even know you were home. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good.” You shrugged. “What kind of dog was it?”

“What?”

“The dog you found. What breed?” You asked with genuine interest. Peter smiled at you wanting to know and felt his blush deepen.

“Chihuahua. His name was Pinto.”

“Aw.” You smiled. “That’s so cute.“

“Oh, yeah. Very cute. Very, very cute.” Peters eyes glazed over as he stared at your through the screen. Happy looked back and forth between Peter and you before realizing what Peter was staring at.

“I’m hanging up now.” Happy warned.

“Wait-“

The call ended abruptly and Peter was left alone staring at a black screen. If Happy was going to stop him from seeing you, he would going to have to get creative.

A few nights later, Peter formed a new plan. If Happy was gonna date his aunt, he was going to use it to his advantage.

“Oopsie. I just accidentally ordered two pizzas instead of one. Silly me. What will we do with all this incoming pizza?” Peter asked as he dramatically scratched the top of his head to make it look like he was thinking.

“I don’t know.” May shrugged. “Eat a lot of pizza?”

“That’s a great idea, May. Or, and this is just coming to me now, what if we invite Happy over to eat some? So you guys can have a little date night. He even can bring his daughter. What was her name again? Telulah? Annabeth? Marcy?”

“Y/n?” May chuckled and raised her eyebrow.

“Right. Her.” Peter played dumb. “She probably likes pizza, right?”

“I know what you’re doing, but I’m gonna go with it anyway because there’s no way we can eat two pies and I hate wasting food.” May playfully scolded him as she dialed Happy’s number.

Much to Peters delight, you and Happy showed up a few minutes later. You were standing behind your dad with a bag behind your back.

“Hey. Thanks for the invite.” Happy said and kissed Mays cheek. You looked at Peter over your dads shoulder and waved.

“No problem.” May replied. “It was actually Peters idea.”

“Oh, was it?” Happy asked and stared daggers at Peter. Peter shrugged innocently before making eye contact with you. He discreetly nodded towards his bedroom before going to it. You followed after him once the coast was clear.

“Hey.” You smiled at him and shut his door behind you.

“Hey. Thanks for coming over. I’m glad you could make it.” Peter played it cool but was screaming on the inside over you being in his room again.

“I’m glad you invited us. I have a present for you but I didn’t have any way of getting in touch with you.”

“You wanna touch me?” Peter said in a low voice as he stared at you with his eyebrows raised.

“What was that?”

“I said you have a present for me?” He quickly corrected himself and threw on a smile.

“Uh huh. Look what I found.” You held the bag up and pulled out the Lego Super Star Destroyer, a Lego set Peter had dreamed of owning since he was a kid.

“What?! You got this for me?” He jumped out of his chair and held the box to read it.

“Yeah. You mentioned last time that you always wanted this one. I know you’re a big fan of the movies so I wanted you to have it.” You smiled sheepishly as you stared at him. His childlike excitement and wonderstruck expression made him even cuter than you typically found him. His expression changed suddenly when he realized he could never accept such a costly gift.

“This set costs a fortune. You really didn’t have to do this.” Peter looked apologetic as he looked into your eyes. You laughed a little at how bad he felt and put your hand on top of his.

“It’s okay. I wanted to do it.” You assured him. “Plus, Uncle Tony put me in his will so I’m kinda flushed with cash right now. I would’ve just spent the money on something stupid. And I know he loved you so he’d be happy I used the money to buy a Lego set for us.”

“Us?” Peter cracked a smile and felt his excitement return.

“Yeah. I thought we could build it together while my dad makes out with your aunt.” You suggested.

“Gross.” Peter grimaced. “But the part about building it together sounds fun.”

Now that he was willing to keep it, you tore the box open and dumped the pieces out. You and Peter sat next to each other with your knees touching as you built the spaceship. Peter snuck glances at you every now and then, and you caught them every time. You accidentally made eye contact at one point and he turned pink.

“You know, my dads been up my ass all week because of you.” You said with a soft laugh.

“Me? What did I do?”

“I don’t know. Did you tell him we were dating or something?” You questioned him, making him gulp.

“Actually, he told me not to date you.” Peter admitted.

“He told me the same thing. Little does he know, that just makes me want to date you even more.” You replied. Peter froze and realized that if what Happy said made you want to date him more, that meant you already wanted to date him in the first place. You realized that you had said too much at the same time Peter did and looked at him out of the corner of your eye to see if he was weirded out. To your surprise, he was staring at you with a soft expression. He quickly cleared his throat and looked away when you caught him staring.

“Doesn’t he know that the hottest thing a guy can do is be disliked by the girls dad?” Peter said like it was obvious.

“Exactly. I told him disapproving of you was just going to send me straight into your arms. And who could even blame me? They’re really nice arms.” You shrugged and gave Peter a coy smile. Peter laughed shyly and busied himself with the legos so you wouldn’t see him blushing.

“What did he say to that?” He asked you.

“That there will be a cold day in hell before he lets me go out with you.” You laughed.

“And what did you say?” Peter asked as he looked up at you and found that you were already looking at him.

“I told him that he can’t tell me who to date and if I wanted to go out with you, I will.” You said simply. Peter gulped and never broke eye contact with you and he reached for a Lego brick. Your hands accidentally touched and he saw sparks fly.

“Do you want to go out with me?” He asked quietly. You opened your mouth to answer just as May opened hers.

“Hey, kids. Pizzas here.” May said as she appeared in Peters doorway. You looked at him apologetically before getting up and following May to the kitchen. He desperately wanted to get you alone again to finish your conversation, but Happy was never gonna let that happen.

It came time for you and Happy to leave and Peter was visibly disappointed. As Happy and May said their goodbyes, you pulled Peter to the side.

“Goodnight, Peter. I had fun tonight.” You said sincerely.

“So did I. Thank you again for the legos. It’s the nicest thing anyones ever done for me.”

“I’m glad you liked them. Hopefully I’ll see you again. Hopefully soon.”

“Yeah. Totally.” Peter nodded eagerly.

You held out your hand to shake Peters, which Peter found a little strange. But when he shook your hand, he felt you slip a piece of paper into his. Peter waited until Happy was out the door before opening the paper up. Written in your handwriting was your phone number. Peter looked up in surprise and made eye contact with you.

“Call me.” You mouthed to him and made your hand like a phone just as Happy pulled you away.

And that’s exactly what Peter did. It became your nightly secret mission to sneak off and call Peter once you were sure Happy was asleep or preoccupied in front of the TV. You would talk for hours in hushed voices so no one would hear.

“Can you imagine what my dad would do if he found us out?” You asked Peter one night as you hung over the edge of your bed to talk to Peter.

“So there’s an us to find out about?” Peter asked and felt grateful you couldn’t see his blush over the phone.

“I don’t know.” You smiled timidly. “I really like talking to you, Peter.”

“Well that’s good. I’m happy to hear that. Because I like it too.” He laughed shyly.

“I think about you a lot when we’re not on the phone.” You admitted as you switched positions and rolled onto your stomach.

“You do?” Peter gulped.

“Uh huh. All the time.”

“What do you think about?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe half the things I see inside my head.” You chuckled. Peter gulped again and felt his face heat up. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Why don’t you explain it to me then?” He asked. Before you could answer, a loud crash sounded from his side of the phone.

“What’s all that noise?” You asked him.

“Mays looking for the pasta maker.” Peter sighed. “We have a thousand boxes of mezzi rigatoni but she wanted fettuccini.”

“Fettuccine actually sounds amazing right now. I need to get up and make some food. I just hope my dad went grocery shopping or else I’m eating sleep for dinner.”

“You should come over tonight.” Peter said before he would overthink it.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Come make pasta with us. May usually burns something and then gives up about 15 minutes into cooking so we wouldn’t have to hang out with her the whole time. We could make pasta together. Just the two of us.”

“Okay. My dads watching a movie in the den so he won’t mind if I go out. I’m in.” You smiled and started to get ready to see him.

“Awesome. Great. See you soon.” Peter grinned and hung up the phone. He quickly brushed his teeth and put on a fresh shirt before joining May in the kitchen. There was a knock on the door soon enough and Peter practically ran to open it.

“Ciao.” He said as he flung the door open.

“Ciao, bello.” You replied. “Scopiamo stasera o cosa?”

“Wait, what? I don’t actually speak Italian.” Peter sheepishly.

“That’s probably for the better.” You laughed and walked into his apartment.

“Oh, good. You’re here. And you brought wine! Even better. Come in, come in.” May kissed your cheek before taking the bottle of wine and opening it.

“Peters been dying for you to get here.” She whispered in your ear, but loud enough for Peter to hear.

“May.” Peter whined and motioned for her to zip it.

“What? I’m just being honest.” May shrugged. “Honesty is the best policy. That’s what I always say.”

“She’s right. That’s a great policy.” You said and gave Peter a look.

“Oh yeah? Does your dad know you’re here?” Peter asked you and folded his arms, already knowing the answer. Your smile dropped when you realized he was right.

“A little lie never hurt anybody.” You replied. Peter smirked, knowing he caught you.

“Come here. I’ll show you how to make the dough.” Peter said and led you to the kitchen with his hand on your back. You and Peter made the pasta dough while May chopped up some tomatoes and made a sauce. May switched the radio on to play some instrumental background music that made the apartment feel like a small cafe in Italy.

“All right. I think we’re ready. I’m gonna get the pasta maker. It should be in the attic.” May broke up the party and put the meatball back in the sauce.

“If you can’t find it, what do we do with all this dough?” You asked her.

“I don’t know. Make a shit ton of Pizza.” May shrugged and left to go find the pasta maker.

“Okay then.” You chuckled. Once you and Peter were alone, you hoped up on the counter and leg your legs swing.

“Should we try it to make sure it tastes good?” You asked as you rolled some dough between your fingers and made a snake.

“Yeah, but not that piece. You made a worm.” Peter said and pointed to your dough.

“So what? It’s just dough. Try some.” You replied and dangled the dough in his face.

“Dough way.” He laughed at his own pun and swatted the dough away.

“Oh, we’re making pasta puns now? You’re gonna pay for that.” You playfully warned him.

“But I dough not want it.” Peter pouted and leaned on the counter you were sitting on so you were caged in between his arms. You both became aware of how close you were at the same time and laughed shyly.

“Can’t think of anything other than replacing “do” with “dough” huh?” You asked and raised an eyebrow.

“Dough, I can’t.” He shamefully admitted. You gave him a look and he held up his hands in defense.

“That one was different.” He pointed out.

“All right. I’ll give it to you. Now eat the pasta worm.” You playfully demanded and dangled it in his face again.

“No. Get that thing away from me.” He laughed and smacked it away. It flew across the room and stuck to a nearby cabinet with a loud smack.

“Wow. Look at that.” Peter said, genuinely dumbfounded.

“It’s kinda beautiful.” You said as you quietly stared at the pasta in awe. Peter turned to look at you and rested his hands back on the counter.

“You’re kinda beautiful.” He said in a soft voice. You tore your eyes away from the pasta to look at him but couldn’t form a single word.

“Even with flour on your face.” He chuckled and wiped a smudge of flour off your cheek with his thumb. You gulped and discreetly picked up some flour off the counter.

“You have some flour on your face too.” You told him as you stared into his eyes.

“Where? Here?” Peter asked and touched his cheek.

“No. Here.” You smirked before throwing the handful of flour at him. Peter coughed and waved his hand to get it away from his face.

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” He warned and grabbed a handful of flour. He went to throw it at you but you caught him by the wrist to stop him. Peter wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him so that you couldn’t block his next attempt. But instead of feeling flour on your face, you felt Peter kissing you. You weren’t actually sure if you kissed him or he kissed you, but you didn’t really care. You wasted no time in tangling your hands on his hair and deepening the kiss. His hands slid up and down your back before finding their way up your shirt. You felt your entire body heat up as you kissed him and felt all the tension that had been building up release into the atmosphere between you. He kissed you until you felt dizzy but you didn’t stop even then. You started to unbutton his button down when the moment was interrupted.

“Found it!” May called from the hallway. You jumped apart so quickly that you fell right off the counter. You screamed on the way down as Peter watched with his hands over his mouth. He rushed to pick you up just as May came back into the kitchen. She took one look at the flour covering the two of your, most noticeably the flour handprints on either of Peters cheeks, and knew what had happened.

“Oh my God. What happened in here?” May played dumb.

“Fell.” You and Peter said in unison.

“Oh no. Are you okay?”

“Maybe?” You smiled weakly and rubbed your throbbing head. Peter touched his hands, which now felt cold from the absence of you.

“Oh my God. How did you get flour all over your back?” May laughed and turned you around to see the flour Peter had left all over your clothing.

“I’m a messy girl.” You shrugged and hoped she’d buy it.

“Look at that. The flour on Y/n’s butt looks like a perfect handprint. How funny is that?” May laughed again and pointed to the handprint Peter had left on your black leggings. He turned so red that he had to turn around so May wouldn’t see it.

“I’m gonna go potty.” You said quickly and ran to the bathroom.

“She okay?” May asked once you were gone.

“Her? What? Yeah. She’s fine. Nothing weird happened while you were gone.” Peter said a little too quickly.

“Hm. How did that piece of pasta get stuck to the cabinet?” May asked and pointed to the pasta Peter had flung.

“I’m not sure.” Peter lied.

“Are you feeling okay? Your face and neck is all red.” May asked and pressed her hand to Peters forehead. He knew she was getting suspicious and had to think of a lie to get out of there.

“I have to poop.” Peter blurted and walked out of the kitchen.

“Y/n is in there.” May called after him.

“I’ll go to the other bathroom!” He shouted back.

Peter passed the bathroom in the hallway and stopped outside of it. He pressed his ear against the door to try and hear if you were freaking out or not.

Which you 100% were.

“What the hell are you doing? You can’t just kiss him. You slut bag! You hussy! You don’t even know how he feels about you.” You whispered to the mirror. You splashed some cold water on your face to calm down before looking at your reflection.

“Woman up and get your shit together. Go out there and make pasta with your dads girlfriends nephew like a fucking normal person.” You warned yourself in the mirror.

The bathroom door suddenly opened and Peter fell inside. You gasped and pulled him the rest of the way in before shutting the door.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t doing anything!” Peter said quickly.

“What are you doing out here?!” You whispered harshly.

“Nothing! I just wanted to talk!” He whispered back in a panic.

“So you wait outside the bathroom door? What if I was pooping?! You would’ve heard it.” You whispered even louder and angrily shook his shirt.

“But I didn’t.” He said weakly.

“I think I need to go home.” You sighed and left the bathroom.

“Wait, no. Please stay.” Peter pleaded as he followed after you. He caught you in the hallway and gently pulled your arm to get you to stop.

“I can’t. I can’t go back in there. She’s gonna know something sus happened.” You whispered to him and pointed to the kitchen.

“It wasn’t sus. But I really think we need to talk about it.” Peter said and looked at you with his big puppy dog eyes. You knew he was dying to talk about it and you felt guilty leaving him after what happened.

“Peter, look. I’m really sorry that I kissed you-“

“I’m not.” He cut you off and pushed you against the wall. The interrupted kiss was resumed and even more passionate than the last. He had you up against the wall as he kissed you as if he hadn’t seen you in years. You forgot all about the pasta and your dads warning and just got lost in his touch. You both knew it was wrong and that you could be caught any second, and that’s what made it feel so right. Peter squeezed your hip, signaling you to jump up and wrap your legs around his waist. You couldn’t feel him smiling into the kiss as he pressed you against the wall. That was the moment you knew you were never giving this boy up, no matter what your father said.

“Peter! Y/n! What happened to my sous chefs?” May shouted from the kitchen. You pulled apart and stared at each other as you caught your breath.

Peter gently set you back down on the floor but stayed in your personal space as he leaned against the wall. You never broke eye contact with him as he fixed a strand of hair that he knocked onto the wrong side of your part. You gulped and smoothed your clothing down before looking away.

“Can we talk after? Please? Don’t go home.” Peter pleased as he buttoned his shirt back up. You looked him up and down and knew you were at his mercy.

“Fine. You’ve convinced me. I’ll stay.” You agreed. Peter smiled in relief and led you back to them kitchen.

“Look who decided to join us.” May smiled proudly and stepped to the side to reveal Happy standing behind her. Peters knees buckled and he immediately fainted onto the ground. You caught him and let him lean on you as you waved your hand in front of his face to wake him up.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” You asked through a big fake smile.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He said through an even faker smile.

“I was making Peter with Pasta. I mean, pasta with Peter.” You stumbled over your words as Peter came to and nearly fell over again. You held him upright but his waist until he could stand on his own. Happy was watching the whole thing and growing more suspicious by the second.

“Hm. You didn’t mention you were going over my girlfriends house when you said you were going out. I find that a little strange. Don’t you?” Happy shrugged as he folded his arms.

“Maybe I find you a little strange.” You said out of the corner of your mouth.

“Now that Happy’s here we’re gonna need some more pasta. Honey, can you knead the rest of the dough?” May asked you.

“Sure. I can dough that.” You laughed nervously. Happy gave you a strange look and you gulped.

“I’m sorry. I kiss-poke. I mean, misspoke.” You gulped again and went over to the dough. Peter went to follow you and earned a longing glare from Happy as he did. The two of you bumped into each other and dropped things on the floor numerous times from how nervous you were now that Happy was there. Once Happy and May disappeared to the couch to drink wine, Peter knew it was safe to talk.

“Stop being weird.” He whispered to you.

“I’m about to murder-suicide us.” You said at full volume.

“Peter, can you help her? You gotta put your elbow grease into it.” May called from the couch.

“Yeah. I can dough that.” Peter replied.

“Stop making dough puns.” You hissed.

“I literally fucking can’t.” He deadpanned. You suddenly felt his arms wrap around you as he put his hands on top of yours to knead the dough.

“What are you doing?” You asked him.

“Helping you knead the dough.”

“Why wouldn’t you just stand beside me?”

“Because this is how men show women how to do things in rom coms.” Peter said very seriously.

“Okay, but we’re not in a rom com. We’re in real life in your real kitchen with my dad who has a real gun.”

“He won’t shoot me. I’m his girlfriends only nephew. I’m untouchable.”

“And so am I as long as my father is present.” You said and slipped out of his arms.

“Is everything okay over there?” Happy asked from the couch.

“Yes.” You and Peter shouted back in unison. You finished with the dough and brought it over to the pasta maker.

“You better speed run this fucking pasta before I lose my mind.” You whispered in his ear.

“I’m going as fast as I can.” Peter whispered back as he put the dough in the pasta maker as painstakingly slow as possibly. The pasta maker squeaked as he turned the handle and echoed off the walls of the silent kitchen. You could feel sweat running down your face and started to fan yourself.

“I can’t handle this. My dad is gonna know what we did.” You said and gave your hair a stressful tug.

“We haven’t done anything wrong.” He pointed out as he finished up with the pasta. You nodded in agreement and picked up the pasta he had made.

“Yet.” He added and stole a kiss against your neck. You gasped and put your hand where his lips had been.

“What are you doing? My dad is in the next room?”

“I know. That’s what makes it so exciting.” Peter said and leaned in to kiss you again.

“The water should be boiling by now. Can you start putting the pasta in?” May asked as she appeared in the kitchen. You quickly turned around and pretended to be doing something so she wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Sure.” Peter smiled calmly at her and put the pasta into the boiling water. May went back to the living room, leaving you and Peter alone once again. You picked up a wooden spoon and pushed the pasta around the pot in an attempt to look busy.

“I can see you. Stop staring at me.” You said when you felt Peters eyes on you. You looked up and sure enough, he was watching you with a soft expression.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it.” He said as he walked over to you. He wrapped his arms around your waist from behind and pulled you into him. It felt nice for a moment but you knew it shouldn’t be happening.

“I am off limits, okay mister? You cannot be staring at me like that.” You whispered and slipped out of his arms.

“Off limits? What does that mean?” He played dumb.

“It means that we cannot happen.” You said and gestured between the two of you. “We can never, ever happen. My dad will reign hell fire on you for even thinking about it. And he’ll reign regular fire on me because I’m his daughter which will be less hot but still really bad.”

“Psh.” Peter scoffed. “I’m not scared of him.”

“You should be. He has access to all of Uncle Tony’s weapons. So unless you want to get blown up or turned inside out, you need to stop. That’s means stop staring at me, stop touching me, and definitely stop kissing me.” You whispered as you got in his face. Peter smirked now that he had you close again and put his hands on your hips. You gulped and looked anywhere but his eyes as he got close to you.

“You want me to stop kissing you?” He asked as he tilted your chin up to look in his eyes.

“Yes.” You replied, but it came out like more of a question than a statement.

“Are you sure?” He asked and moved in even closer. His lips brushed yours when he spoke and you felt your eyelids flutter shut. Right before your lips could touch, you covered your mouth and stepped back.

“No. No more. We can’t.” You said behind your hand. Peter smiled sadly and nodded his head. He looked disappointed but like he understood.

“I know we can’t happen.” He said in a soft voice. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to.”

“It doesn’t matter what we want.” You gently reminded him and nodded towards the living room where Happy was.

“So you want it too?” He asked innocently and tilted his head to the side. You sucked in a sharp breath and thought about the way it felt when he had you up against the wall and how badly you wanted that again.

“Peter.” You breathed out.

“Do you have any idea how beautiful I find you?” Peter asked you. Footsteps approaching made you jump apart and turn your backs to each other.

“Hey guys. How’s the pasta coming?” May asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“It’s coming.” Peter replied.

“It’s definitely pasta.” You nodded in agreement.

“Great. I’ll set the table.” May laughed at your strange behavior and grabbed some plates. Once you were alone again, you answered Peters question.

“Yes.” You told him.

“What?”

“You asked me if I’d want this to happen too. My answer is yes.” You said and looked into his eyes. Peter smiled now that he knew you felt the same but didn’t want to let you off that easy.

“Oh. But then I asked you if you knew how beautiful I found you so I thought you were answering-“

“Shut up.” You laughed as you cut him off. Peter smiled fondly at you from across the kitchen and you felt yourself smile back.

“Do you really feel the same?” He asked, all teasing in his voice gone.

“I do. But I told you, it doesn’t matter what we feel. We can’t date. Ours is a forbidden love.”

“I know. That’s what makes me want you even more.” Peter said with a wicked smile. You stopped leaning on the counter and started to walk to Peter when your dad suddenly walked into the kitchen.

“What are you guys talking about?” Happy asked suspiciously when he noticed the love struck expression on both your faces.

“Dad.” You whined. “Don’t you knock?”

“Knock on what? You’re standing in the middle of the kitchen.” He pointed out. You and Peter exchanged a look, and then you and Happy exchanged a look. Happy looked at Peter and narrowed his eyes, making Peter panic.

“Dinners ready!” Peter shouted despite 75% of the people in the apartment being right in front of him.

“Um, Peter, the pasta is still raw. It’s only been in there a few minutes.” You reminded him.

“Dinner!” Peter said again. “Let’s sit and eat.”

You shrugged and went with it to keep your dad from getting suspicious. You drained the pasta and put it in a big bowl before Peter added the sauce on top. You brought it to the dining table that May had set and put it in the center. Everyone sat down and served themselves some pasta.

“So what’s new with everyone?” Happy asked.

“Nothing.” You and Peter said at the same time. You gave him a look and he gulped nervously.

“Is anything new with you?” You asked May politely.

“Yeah.” Peter nodded. “Talk about yourselves. Tell us everything.”

“Well, um, May and I have been thinking about getting married.” Happy said sheepishly. You spit out your water as Peters jaw dropped.

“Oh.” May smiled tightly. “I didn’t realize we were telling them.”

“Wait, married?” You asked them.

“Yeah. Thinking about it.” Happy nodded as May shook her head.

“But, uh, if you guys got married, what would that mean for us exactly?” You laughed nervously and gestured between you and Peter.

“Well, I’d become Peters uncle, so you guys would technically be cousins.” Happy shrugged as May nodded in agreement. A chill ran down your spine at the use of the “c” word. Peters mouth started to heavily salivate like it usually did before he threw up.

“Cousins?” You choked out.

“Or would they be siblings?” Happy wondered.

“Oh God.” You whimpered. “Not siblings. Anything but siblings.”

“No, just cousins.” May explained. “Because I would become Y/n’s stepmom but Peter isn’t my son so they would be cousins. But you guys could consider each other siblings if you really wanted to. It might be nice to have a sister, right Peter?”

“Stop talking.” Peter said in a grave voice as he gripped the table to keep from fainting again.

“Relax guys. It won’t be too weird. You’re basically cousins already.” May said with an innocent smile.

“Oh no. Don’t say that.” You whispered and clutched your stomach.

“I’m gonna throw up.” Peter said through a gag.

“Why?” Happy asked as he narrowed his eyes at Peter.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t you want to be cousins? It’s just you and me on holidays Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bigger family?” May asked Peter.

“Don’t call us “family”, please.” Peter said and gagged again.

“Yeah, no more.” You pleaded. “Not while we’re eating.”

“Are we missing something?” May asked.

“I don’t want her to be my cousin.” Peter grimaced and shook his head.

“Peter. That’s disrespectful.” May scolded him.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want him to be my cousin either.” You assured her as you wiped some sweat from your forehead. You looked over at Peter and he was just as distraught if you were. He was pale and sweating and extremely close to breaking. You snapped your fingers at him under the table and motioned for him to keep his mouth shut. May and Happy exchanged a suspicion look at the strange behavior in front of them.

“Is there something you guys aren’t telling us?” May asked and leaned on her hand. She stared at Peter, who looked at you in a panic. You shook your head at him, making Happy frown in confusion. He turned to stare at Peter, and that’s what made Peter break.

“I made out with my cousin.” Peter blurted before gasping for air. You groaned and put your head down on the table as May and Happy reacted.

“You what with your what?” May scrunched her nose in disgust.

“You what with my what?” Happy asked and glared Peter.

“Haha. He’s just kidding.” You laughed nervously and waved your hand.

“He better be.” Happy stated without taking his eyes off Peter. Peter was staring all around the room at everything other than Happy.

“This pasta is amazing. Let’s all eat it and stop talking.” You said and shoved some pasta into your mouth.

“It’s a little undercooked.” May commented. “How long did you guys leave it in the water for?”

“Peter?” Happy asked calmly.

“Yes, sir?” Peter answered while looking up at the ceiling.

“Look at me.”

“Yes?” Peter said and looked near Happy, but not at him.

“Peter, look me in the eyes.” Happy commanded. “Right now.”

“I am.” Peter scoffed as he stared at Happy’s ear.

“Not at my ear. My eyes.”

Peter shut his eyes and turned to face Happy head on.

“Open your eyes.” Happy said through clenched teeth. Peter slowly opened one eye, then the other. Happy was glaring at him with a face redder than the sauce May had made.

“Did you make out with my daughter?”

“Which daughter?”

“The one sitting beside you. The only one I have.”

“I don’t understand the question.”

“Let me ask it again then. Did you or did you not make out with my daughter?”

“No.”

“Okay. Good.” Happy nodded in satisfaction.

“She made out with me.” Peter clarified.

“Peter!” You shouted and looked at him.

“You’re a dead man. He’s a dead man.” Happy declared and lunged across the table at Peter.

“Wait! She kissed me! I didn’t kiss her.” Peter defended himself as he scrambled to get out of his chair and run away from Happy.

“You did the second time.” You pointed out.

“Second time? There was a second time?” Happys voice got louder as he chased Peter around the table.

“Daddy, no. Don’t hurt him!” You protested and stood between your dad and Peter.

“Move it, honey. I’m gonna fight him. I’m gonna fight him up real nice.” Happy declared and grabbed the bowl of Italian bread off the table. He started throwing pieces at Peter, but Peter dodged every one.

“Stop dodging my bread!” Happy shouted and threw his last piece.

“Ha! You’re all out of bread.” Peter pointed at the empty bowl before hiding behind you.

“I’ll just have to use my hands.” Happy said and lunged for Peter again.

“Hold on. Step away from my nephew.” May said as she stepped in front of you and held Happy back. Happy stopped trying to attack Peter and caught his breath.

“Happy, you need to calm down.” May told him. “Your daughter isn’t your property. She’s a beautiful young woman. She is allowed to make her own decisions. And that includes deciding who she wants to date.”

“I know that.” Happy sighed. “She just can’t decide on him.”

“Why not, dad?” You asked him.

“For starters, he rented a very inappropriate movie when we were in Germany. No man who respects women would rent a movie called “Grinding Nemo”. I can’t have a guy like that dating my daughter.”

“I was like 15!” Peter whined. “I just bought the first one I found!”

“Grinding Nemo?” You turned and asked Peter.

“It’s like Finding Nemo but instead of fish it was this guy looking for this girls-“

“I don’t even want to know.” You cut him off.

“Happy, you know Peter.” May reminded him. “You know he’ll stop at nothing to protect the people he cares about. She’s in good hands.”

“But why do they have to be his hands?” Happy pointed to Peter and sat back down. You squeezed Peters shoulder before going to sit down beside your dad.

“May is right. You knew I was gonna start dating eventually. And you also know that Peter is a great guy. You should be glad someone like him turned my head. He’s nice, responsible, smart, respectful, and loved by Uncle Tony. So come on, dad. Let me date my cousin.”

“But Tony asked me to look after him. And I don’t always so the best job. I try, but you know he won’t listen if he has his mind set on doing something. God forbid something had ever happened to him….” Happy trailed off and looked down at the ground.

“You’d be letting down the two most important people in your life.” May finished his sentence with a sad smile.

“Its hard for me to remember you’re not a little girl anymore. I thought I would have more time to prepare for this.” Happy admitted. “And I thought Tony would be here to help me. But you’re just growing up so fast. I can’t keep up.”

“We’re both growing up, dad. But we’re doing it together so it’s less scary.” You told him as you put your hands on his shoulders. Happy smiled fondly at you before looking over your shoulder at Peter.

“Do you really like him?” He asked you.

“I do. He listens to me. And he makes me smile.”

“Gross.” Happy gagged.

“Dad.” You whined. “Stop it.”

Happy sighed and looked up at everyone in the apartment. When his eyes landed on Peter, he got up and went over to him. Peter raised his fists in case Happy tried to attack him again, but Happy lowered them.

“Peter, you have my blessing to date my daughter.” Happy said sincerely.

“You have my blessing too.” May spoke up. “But I don’t love the whole cousin aspect.”

“Me either.” You agreed. “Please never get married so we’re never actually cousins.”

“We were never actually talking about marriage. May just said “Aw” during an allergy commercial that showed a wedding.” Happy admitted.

“So we’re good then? We can date without it being incestuous or forbidden?” Peter asked hopefully and wrapped an arm around you.

“I guess so. Just no PDA in front of me, okay? I don’t need to be reminded of this. Ever.” Happy asked and Peter immediately removed his arm.

“No problem, sir.” Peter replied.

“I’m glad that’s settled. Let’s get back to the family dinner.” You smiled and sat back in your seat. Everyone scrunched their face in disgust and you realized your mistake. Calling it a family dinner now that everyone knew you and Peter had kissed and nearly become cousins made everyone a little queasy.

“I, um, I apologize for my choice of words.”

Tag List 🏷️

@awesomebooklover17 @thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling

@tom-hollands-wifey @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning

@imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101 @peterparkoure

@justcallmehitgirl @jackiehollanderr @emmamarshmellow @unbelievableholland

@sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @eridanuswave

@solarxmoonchild @canyouevencauseicant

@quaksonhehe @lovelessdagger

@thesuitelifeofafangirl @marshxx @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie @maybemona

@alexxcorona113 @lethal-wisdom @pandaxnienke

@officialsimppage e @peterbenjiparker @itsemohours

@freakofmusic25 @tomholland85

@olixerwxxd @whereismytelephone @leilanixx

@so-very-asleep @veryholland @white-wolf1940 @firwproof-blog

@nowayhomeparker @imobsessedzs @spideyspeaches

@spideyspeaches @hihiweezing

@mathletemadison

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vixparker · 10 months

Text

What would you like?

Hi i have some drafts going on but i wanted to know what fic would you like me to work on first

For obvious reason of plagiarism i didn’t put the summary

Fluff:

Poor sam: Natasha x Bucky x sam x reader

Pretty Boy: TASM peter parker x reader

Wifey: Steve Harrington x reader

The Dare: Steve Harrington x reader

Do you trust me: James potter x reader

My boys: poly!marauders x reader

Smut:

Care to join: dom!James x dom!Lily x sub!reader

Girls night: marlene x dorcas x reader

Need help?: young!remus x reader

Wet dream: sub!PeterParker x reader

Our Boy: dom!SteveHarrington x sub!EddieMunson x dom!reader

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vixparker · 10 months

Note

hi love! did you send me an ask about being added to the she-wolf taglist? it was super bizarre because i only saw your ask for a second before it deleted and I was only able to find it in my email!

Hii yes I did, I don’t know why but i can’t comment on any post since i started on tumblr☹️

0 notes

vixparker · 11 months

Text

It was just AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, when I enter the stadium I cried the first night was incredible but the second night even better. First I had better place but he sang BEST SONG EVER, STOCKHOLM SYNDROM, WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL AND MEDICINE. It was just amazing the best concert ever

I’m going to Harry Styles concerts in june… wth

#Harry Styles #love on tour

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vixparker · 11 months

Text

Moony’s Birthday

Pairing : Remus Lupin x reader

Summary: You organised Remus’s 17 birthday, but after some drink’s get involved secrets are revealed.

TW: alcohol, friends to lover, idiots in love, not proofread, use of Y/N

A/N: I was supposed to post this on Remus birthday but I procrastinate too much so… yeah

————————————————————

“Okay everyone know the plan” I asked the three boys in front of me.

“ easy you distract him” Sirius started

“And we decorated the room while you both are on your date in Hogsmead” James finished

« This is not a date »

« Yeah whatever you say love » Sirius smirked at me

“And?” I asked hinting that they forgot the most important task and ignored Sirius .

“ oh! The cake we need to take the cake from the kitchen!” Peter exclaimed.

“Exactly , now if you one of you forget i’ll kill all of you got it”

“Yes Madame” they all respond in unison

I left their dorm and went to join Remus who was in the library where I asked him to wait earlier, pretending that I had difficulties to finish one of my essay, and thankfully he agreed and didn’t asked more questions.

It’s been months since the beginning of this plan and I wanted to make it perfect . Today was his 17 birthday so obviously we had to do something, of course knowing Remus something small only with our closest friends: James, Sirius, Peter, Mary, Frank, Alice, Dorcas, Marlene and Lily

When I entered the library he was sitting at his usual table at the back of the library with his back facing me.

“ Guess who” I asked putting my hands over his eyes

“ mmmhm i would say Y/N” he said faking thinking hard.

“ yes you’re ready?” I asked

“ ready for what ?”

“ did you really think that we wouldn’t do anything for your birthday ?”

“But…”

“ no but let’s go” he didn’t asked about the boys and I’m glad i wouldn’t be able to respond any questions without stuttering i can’t lie to him

We started our walk to hogsmead taking the secret passage to honeyduck’s celling without being seen thanks to James’ invisibility cloak. And decided to take him to the bookshop to buy him the books he wanted. We spent at least 1 hour and a half in there , now i still had to occupy him for more than 2 hours but the grey sky wasn’t cooperating and the rain risk to take short this promenade.

“The Three Broomstick?” I asked him, fortunately he’ll say hes and i could send a message with my patronus to the boys

“ yes sure” he answered as he push the door. We sat on the booth not so far way from the entrance but enough to not feel the cold as people entered

“I’ll be back butterbeer or hot chocolate?” I asked

“Hot chocolate please” he answered smilling

I stoot up and order two hot chocolate and went to the bathroom . I made sure that no on was in there and cast my patronus

“ Expecto patronum” a small black grey wolf appeared “ i have a message for Sirius : “ you guys better hurry up will be back in max 1h and a half” i said and my patronus run across the wall, and i waked back to our booth, two minutes later we had our drinks

It was time to go back , i couldn’t find anything to pass the time. I was just hopping everything was perfect.

“ Put this on” i said to him handing him a blindfold

“ Wow , take me to dinner first” he joked

“ Shut up and put it on”

“ bossy” he mumbled putting the blindfold on

I decided that it was better for him to lose his direction sense if i made him turn 5 times on himself , and I wasn’t wrong since he practically fell on me and had to held him by his waist so we could walk to the room of requirement. We couldn’t be in the gryffindor tower tonight if we wanted to be only between us so the room of requirement was the most suitable places.

« I promise this is the last staircase » i said to him « okay now left, and here we go » as soon as we stepped through the door everyone started to shout.

« HAPPY BIRTHDAY! »

Remus took the blindfold off his eyes while he was looking around , I took the cake from Mary’s hands and walk toward him.

« Now make a wish » I said looking down at the seventeen candles light up.

He thought for a few seconds, and I didn’t miss how he was looking at me , why ? I didn’t know, then took a deep breath and blowed all the candle at once.

Few hours later after everyone has given his presents, James gifted him some chocolate and a book, Sirius, a leather jacket, Peter, more chocolate The girls some vinyls and book, and I a new grandpa sweater knowing how much he’s confortable in it, but I still have my little surprise. I was just waiting for the right time. Obviously everyone was completely wasted, James, Sirius and Peter had apparently a little dance for Remus, and started to sing to Dancing Queen by ABBA, and miss by a little a cerebral commotion when they started jumping on the table. Even Remus who didn’t like not being in control seems to have let his guard down for the night.

« Hey, I still have another present for you » I said to him while we were both on the couch. I was about to handing it to him but Sirius interrupted us, falling between us from the back of the couch. « Do you mind if we go somewhere calmer? » I asked him knowing it wouldn’t be the first interruption we would have.

« Lead the way » he respond, handing me his hand so i could stand up.

We walked deeper in the room, and our disappearance wasn’t missed.

« Heyy!! » Sirius yelled from where it was « cover your peter it will be much better » Remus and I looked at each other confused, not understanding what Sirius was saying and what has Peter have to do with any of it. « You know … If your nude tube your dude » Even more confused right now « you guys are so… I don’t want to be an Uncle just yet so wrap it up » he continued this time pointing to Remus. Oh well that’s awkward I thought. We walked a little more before we stopped to a cute little couch.

« So… » he started, clearing his throat

« Oh right » I handed him a little box wrap with a beautiful red paper and a golden ribbon on the top « It’s just a little something nothing extraordinary » i said watching him delicately opened it. The wrapping was already gone and he was now opening the box. I could hear him sightly gasp at it, I didn’t know if it was a good thing or not.

« If you don’t like it I-I still can’t returned it really it’s— » I stammered nervously.

« I love it! It’s just … It’s perfect… » He said looking at the silvery bracelet. On it where different Charms, each of them representing our animagus, a stag for James, a dog for Sirius , a rat for Peter and a wolf for me. But also a book that you could open and when you opened it I charmed it so you could see some of our memories together. When he opened it, it was a memory when we met in first year in the Hogwarts express. I could see his eyes watering.

« Remus? Are- Are you okay? » i asked worried.

« Yeah it’s perfect Thank you so much, this is the bast gift ever » he said truthfully. I wasn’t prepared for this but he took me into his arms, both of them around my waist. I was so shocked, that Remus « I’m not found of physical touch » Lupin, was hugging me tight may I had, that he took me a few second for me to register what was happening. But when I assimilate what was happening I didn’t hesitate and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

« You don’t need to thanks me »

« I think I do » he replied still not letting me go « You always have been here for me, and I know the boys to but… I don’t know I feel like there something more… something I could never have with the boys » I don’t know if it was this littles declaration that gave me the courage or the alcohol, maybe both, but it was now or never.

« There’s actually something i would like to tell you » I started slowly detaching myself, I could see in his eyes, like he looked at me maybe… I wasn’t imaginating things. « I thing you’re right there’s something more. I know what I’m about to say could ruin everything but i feel like if don’t say it now i will never have the balls to say it later so here we go…. I like you and —» I couldn’t looked into his eyes, to scared of what I could see, Disgust, hatred, i started overthinking it and he could see it, he took my hands and his, like he wanted me to continue so I did. « I really like you, not as a friend, not as a best friend, more then that. You always been here for me not matter what when I was sad because of my parents got divorced of when I was just in a bad mood after a bad day and everything about you, makes me feel loved. I-I’m not saying that you feel anything no, I’m sure you don’t—«

« Y/N » he said so softly that I didn’t hear it

« — and if you don’t want to be my friend anymore I would totally understand—«

« Y/N » he said a little more louder but I was so desperate to all let it out for good that I didn’t stopped

« — of course that would totally broke my heart but I mean it will pass… I think and…. » I couldn’t finish my sentence, I felt his finger under my chin, lifting up my head so i was now really looking at him. He was smiling at me.

« Can I answer now? » he asked. I only shyly nodded feeling my blood rushing to my cheeks in embarrassment. « You are the most gorgeous, intelligent, kind and generous person that I know, How could I not like you? » I didn’t even saw how close we were until now. « I was just- I thought that I could never have someone like you not with— not with my little problem… But you’re here, always here for me » he stepped closer to me , i didn’t even know how it was possible, I could feel his breath close to my face. Everything was fading around us, the soft sound of the party playing in the background but it was just us right now. I could only admire his face, counting the freckles on his cheeks, but also his scars, something I always found beautiful on him. Just reminding everyone how brave he was. My eyes flick between his and his lips and could saw do the same. His grip on my chin tighten sightly pulling me toward him, I closed my eyes and felt his soft lips against mine, it was only a peck but I couldn’t open my eyes, scared that it was just a dream.

« Sweetheart ? » oh this nickname is definitely going to be the end of me, I could feel my head getting dizzy but his voice was the only thing stopping me to fall. I hummed in response

« Open your eyes » he said softly, I shook my head with a smile on my lips.

« Come on I wan to see your beautiful eyes » I could hear his smile when he spoke. Not even thinking of opening my eyes I shook my head again. But I could feel a arms around my waist pulling me closer to his warmth. He started kissing the crown of my head. And only after a dozen of them on my face I opened my eyes and looked at him.

« This is not a dream huh? » i asked putting my arms once again around his neck.

« I really hope not » he replied and kissed me again, this time more passionately than the first. My hand made his way to his hair, deepening the kiss. His tongue gently asking for access, I parted my lips welcoming him. i could hear him groan in my mouth. I was starting to lose myself into it but we where once again interrupted and this time by people whistling. When we detached of each other and open our eyes everyone was looking at us. No need to say I was quick to hid my face in Remus’s chest.

« So when is the wedding? » James asked with a cheeky smile

0 notes

vixparker · 1 year

Text

I have 3 started drafts and I need motivation 😩

Which one would you like to see first ?

Steve Harrington x reader (sfw but) suggestive

Remus Lupin x reader ( bestfriends to lovers)

TASM!PeterParker x reader (fluff stranger to lovers)

0 notes

vixparker · 1 year

Note

Hiiii hope ur well

would u mind doing a darkling x moon summoner fix like she’s disguised as the queens gorgeous lady in waiting but she’s really the kings personal gaurd/assassin.

and aleksander finds out about her when she saves alina from the attack on the way to the little palace.

and of course u have free rein whether u want to continue this or have a jealous trope with Alina and I won’t shy away from smut lol (I’d love a scene where the moon summoner catches the contucdor at the winter fete and helps control his mind to get answers)

thank youuuu

SWEET ANON! i want to preface this with an apology, because it took me so long to write... and it is... a very long piece of writing. i hope it meets the mark though. it might be one of my personal faves that i've written. i love u <33

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE SEND IN REQUESTS <333333

warnings: canon typical violence, some angst

word count: 10.5k

The Dark Side of The Moon (aleksander morozova x fem! moon summoner! reader)

READ PART TWO HERE

He needed you.

No, he didn’t need you, he reasoned with himself. He just… really wanted you.

His hands were still in position, but The Cut he intended to use was long forgotten and faded. You stood behind him and he gaped at you from over his shoulder. You looked as lovely as ever, but even more so now that power was thrumming just underneath your skin, so freshly used.

The Fjerdan that had been a part of the ambush on the road back to Os Alta, lay over Alina with a smoking, gaping hole blown through his chest.

The girl pushed the body off of her in a panicked manner, and you dashed past the Black General and grabbed onto both of her hands to pull her to her feet gently.

“Breathe, breathe, Sankta Alina. You are safe.” You assured her and she stared up at you with wide eyes.

“Who are you?” She asked, almost belligerently.

You opened your mouth to answer her question and General Kirigan let out a low hum from behind the two of you.

“Yes, Lady y/n. Who are you, indeed?” He asked, walking towards you as if you were simply his prey.

He couldn’t help the glee that settled in his stomach when he looked at you and Alina. His Sun Summoner had finally been found. He could have gotten by with just her. And then there you were.

His Moon Summoner of legend. No one knew for certain if there was to be a Moon Summoner one day or if it was just tales of a desperate man, but The Black Heretic knew for certain that now he was indefinitely unstoppable.

“Are you insane, General Kirigan?” You asked angrily and he came back to the present moment to see that you’d wrapped your arms around Alina’s shoulders and pulled her against your chest while she let out sighs of distress.

You weren’t taller than the girl, if anything you were a few inches shorter, and this was an amusing sight for him to watch. You snapped a few times in his direction and you shook your head.

“You could’ve gotten her killed! Why didn’t you ride off alone with her?” You demanded and then you let go of the girl and rubbed your forehead, “Saints, Kirigan. She’s the Sun Summoner.”

You and him had always gotten along nicely, truth be told. You posed as the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, and whenever there were large events that the General would attend, you two often had friendly conversations. But you weren’t really just the Queen’s Lady in Waiting. And The General knew this. You served as the King’s personal assassin.

You’d never had to do much more than keep an eye on the man, thankfully, because in instances like that, you’d have to use your power. The power you tried to keep hidden.

When The King had heard word of the Sun Summoner being brought to the Capital, he’d sent you off to make sure that she and the General and his Grisha made it home safely.

He was right for that evidently.

The General didn’t seem to like your outburst and he approached the two of you and he reached up to twist a bit of your hair around his finger curiously. Silver strands glowed in the aftermath of your vicious outburst of power and he dropped the piece of your hair.

“Were you ever going to tell anyone that you are the Moon Summoner?” He asked slowly and you felt Alina’s eyes on your face.

You glanced up at the girl in front of you and then over your shoulder at Kirigan and you shook your head.

“No. Because I didn’t want to just be a saint. I’m much more than that, as you can see.” You said quietly and he hummed.

“Indeed you are, Lady y/n.” He said lowly and then he nodded to Alina, “She rides with me. Did you ride here on a horse?” He asked.

You gave him a nod and pointed at a white horse in the distance, speckled with grey.

“Excuse me? Can someone please explain what’s going on here?” Alina asked desperately and the two of you turned to her.

He beat you to answer her and he held his hand out for Alina, waiting for her to tentatively grab onto it.

“I have found my two lovely Saints now. All is right in the world.” He said with a grin and you felt a sense of unease in your stomach upon seeing his toothy grin.

The ride back to Os Alta was mostly silent. You had gone off ahead of the two on your horse, determined to get to the Capital as quickly as you could so that you could hurry yourself up to the Queen and spend the rest of the day in hiding. You knew what would happen if you ever revealed yourself. You’d be thrown to the wolves. Everyone would know your name, everyone would want to use you. From a young age, you’d learned to keep your powers a secret, and to only practice them alone.

As soon as your horse rode up onto the gravel path in front of the Little Palace, you jumped from your still moving horse and you gathered your cloak up and quickly ran towards the Grand Palace. You stumbled inside and slammed the doors behind you, despite guards trying to filter out to get outside to meet the General and the Sun Summoner. You pushed your way through a few guards until you got to the grand staircase and bustled up the marble stairs.

Once in the hallway, you smoothed down your riding clothes and walked quietly towards the King’s study. You tapped the door before you opened it and you stood in the doorway, peering in at the King and Prince Vasily who sat inside. You bowed your head respectfully and cleared your throat.

“Your Grace, I’ve delivered them safely. There were Fjerdans, just as you predicted, my Prince.” You reported and the two men nodded their heads.

“Thank you, My Lady. Please. Clean yourself up and return yourself to my mother’s side at once.” Vasily ordered and you didn’t protest.

Within the hour you’d gotten yourself thoroughly cleaned up and dressed with the help of a few servants, and you faithfully returned to your Queen’s side.

You didn’t mind the Queen. Not at all, really. She was a bit of an airhead and as vain as can be, but you much preferred her company to her husband’s or even Vasily. You didn’t even mind Nikolai, though you hadn’t seen the boy in many, many years.

You sat in silence next to the Queen for most of the afternoon as she had tea and read through her books, and you felt relieved to be away from the Grisha. Away from Alina Starkov. Away from General Kirigan.

Just as the thought of all three had slipped your mind, The General begged for your attention once more and you and the Queen both turned your head to the doorway of the Library to see Kirigan standing there. He bowed his head respectfully to the queen and he bent his knee ever so slightly.

“My Queen. May I steal your lovely Lady away for just a moment or two?” He asked, and the Queen raised an eyebrow.

“Why? What business do you have with her?” She asked and you wanted to swear under your breath. He was going to tell her, surely.

The reveal didn’t come, and instead, he gave a simple excuse.

“I think Miss Starkov needs someone kind and.. well… perhaps non Grisha to speak to. This new life must be hard for her and it’s even harder when there’s only reminders trying to soothe you.” He explained calmly, but you could see the way his fingers fidgeted behind his back from how his forearms flexed underneath his kefta.

“I suppose. Have her back by the time we finish dinner please.” She requested and the General nodded once and held his hand out for you.

“After you, Lady y/n.” He said primly.

You looked down at the Queen miserably and stood up. You held the skirts of your dress up off of the ground as you strode towards Kirigan, and you politely took his arm.

He led you away from the library, and as soon as you were out of earshot of the Queen, he cleared his throat.

“So. I believe a discussion is in order about your… abilities.” He said slowly and you shook your head.

“No. I don’t want to talk about them. I want you to forget about them. Please. They’re mine and mine alone.” You said softly.

Kirigan placed a hand at the small of your back and he very gently nudged you towards the doors that would take you outside to the Little Palace.

“You are a gift to this world, y/n. Why hide it? You, Alina, and I could accomplish so much. We could tear down the fold, we could further expand it, we could bring the sun and the moon down to touch the earth. Yet you deny Ravka of these wonders. Why?” He asked and stepped outside with you. He carefully guided you down a small set of stairs and you shrugged.

“I don’t know,” you said cautiously. Or perhaps it was fearfully. You weren’t sure.

“Well, you’d be doing a great service to this great country by embracing who you are meant to be… what was it you called Alina? Ah yes. Sankta y/n.” He finished and you shuddered at the sound of it.

There was power dripping from the title he gave you and you would be lying if you said it didn’t appeal to you somewhat. But you quickly shook the thought away from your head and instead decided to become fascinated with a fraying bit of lace on the bodice of your dress.

“I don’t know, General.” You finally replied as the two of you walked into the Little Palace.

“You’re destined for great things, my Moonbeam.” He said softly and then took one of your hands in his, stopping you in the middle of an empty hallway, “You don’t have to agree, but I would encourage you to accept your Grisha side and come here to train with Alina. We three are destined for something ethereal.” He said gently and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

Little butterflies erupted in your stomach and your mouth was suddenly dry.

“I’ll think about it.” You whispered, and he brushed a thumb over your cheek as he pulled his hand away from your hair

“Good girl. I know you’ll make the right decision.

Whether it was the right decision or not, you did in fact choose to join Kirigan. When you told him, he was elated. In his own way. His dark eyes gleamed proudly and he had taken you by the hand and promised you greatness, and truthfully, you believed he’d deliver.

But training was simply kicking your ass.

You knew how to handle your powers, that wasn’t hard. But to advance them and use them in ways you’d never even imagined? That was hard.

Typically, you’d spend most of your time around Kirigan as he insisted that he was best to train you, but sometimes you were stuck going down to the training yard or to Baghra.

Baghra was a woman full of disdain and had a certain distaste for you, it seemed. Sometimes it was as if she was trying to scare you away from your training entirely.

Like right now, for instance.

You sat with your legs crossed in a shabby little wooden chair while the old woman paced the room in silence. You wanted to ask her what she was pacing for, but you didn’t want to face her wrath. So you instead watched her go back and forth, like a slow, unsteady pendulum.

Finally her eyes met yours and she stopped moving, her thin lips becoming even thinner as she pursed them together.

“I’m no longer sure what to do with you, admittedly.” She said, her words slow and well thought upon.

You arched an eyebrow curiously and she only shrugged and sat across from you, folding her bony hands properly across her lap.

“You know what you’re doing. That’s more than Alina can say. But you aren’t great. You won’t hardly be successful or powerful. Do you know why?”

You didn’t verbally ask her to tell you why. You only leaned forward a bit and held your hands out questioningly.

She tutted at you and then she leaned back a bit in her chair.

“You’re doing this for all the wrong reasons, so when you’re faced with the reality of the situation, you are no longer motivated to use your power accordingly. I think that would have a lot to do with The General, wouldn’t you think so?” She asked, almost accusingly.

“The finger pointing is a bit juvenile, isn’t it, Baghra?” You asked in a flat tone, “If you have an accusation to make, best be direct.”

It was her turn to cock an eyebrow now and she let out a little scoff.

“Alright then, little girl, let me be frank. You are doing this because of your attraction to the General. Not because you want to tear down The Fold. Alina may not be good with her power yet, but make no mistake; she wants only to liberate this country. What do you want? A moment of approval from a man? A pat on the head like a kitten?”

You slowly rose from the chair and you towered over the woman, shaking your head, your jaw setting tersely.

“Preposterous. You cannot possibly fathom why I am doing this.”

“Correct, girl. I cannot fathom what motivates you. I never claimed to. All I claimed to know is what you’re doing it for. Tell me this: do you believe that this will bring you the affection you crave?”

You stared her down incredulously before you shook your head.

“This is absurd. I am leaving.” You snapped and turned sharply.

You stormed towards the door, your fingertips vibrating just slightly, and when you looked down, silvery light made your skin light up ever so slightly. You grit your teeth and pushed open her door and walked out, making sure to slam it behind you.

You didn’t crave his affection. You didn’t want a pat on the head.

You walked off up to the courtyard, lost in angry thought.

Come to think of it though, The Fold had hardly crossed your mind during the weeks of training you’d been subjected to. Kirigan never spoke of it when you two were together. Most of the time you’d spent with him was just… casual conversation between two friends. Sometimes he’d give you his hand and allow you to mess around with your power with the aid of his amplification.

But otherwise, it wasn’t much else more.

You slowed your steps until you were stopped entirely near the doors to the Little Palace and you blinked a few times.

There was no way that Baghra was right. But she wasn’t really wrong, either.

Why were you doing this?

That was the question that kept you up that night.

You laid in your bed across the hall from the Queen’s room and you tossed and turned for the whole two hours you were laying down.

Your mind raced relentlessly, replaying what Baghra had earlier said, her words echoing like church bells in your head.

You groaned frustratedly and you pushed yourself up out of bed and reached out in the dim light of the moon to grab onto your robe that hung from one of the posts on your bed. You tossed it around your shoulders and slid your arms into the thin sleeves and tied it up tightly. You moved your hair over one shoulder and slid on a pair of flat, slipper-like shoes, and you rushed out of your bedroom.

You’d go wake Alina. That’s what you’d do. Talk to her about this entire thing, hear what she would have to say about it. You sighed quietly and walked down through the winding halls of the Grand Palace until you reached the double doors that led out to the Little Palace. You padded out over the grounds and you glanced around cautiously, chewing on your bottom lip.

When you finally got inside of the Little Palace, you walked determinedly down the hallway towards Alina’s room before you stopped at a crossroads. There was hardly any light in the halls at this time of the night, yet down the hallway that held Kirigan’s room, there was a sliver of light under his door. You glanced back at the hallway that would take you to Alina and you thought for a moment before you turned and walked hurriedly through a hallway.

You didn’t even think or have half the mind to knock before you pushed open the doors to General Kirigan’s room.

If the much taller man was surprised to see you intruding in his room, he didn’t make any indication of such a feeling. Instead, he just eyed you from his position, bent over his war table. You took a step inside his room and closed the doors behind you, letting out a long sigh.

“Do you do this often to The Royal Family? Or are unannounced intrusions reserved for me?” He asked and then looked back down at his table.

When you didn’t answer, he flickered his dark eyes back up to you and looked you up and down a few times, and suddenly you felt very naked underneath his gaze, despite being clothed.

“I just… I…” you trailed off and suddenly felt very foolish to barge into his personal chambers without so much as a knock and you looked down at the ground.

“You just what?” He demanded, but his tone wasn’t harsh. Only curious.

“I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know. I intended on rousing Alina but I don’t know what happened. I just… found myself here.” You answered, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

He continued to stare at you for a while and then he shook his head once, reaching out to beckon you forward.

“Well. Are you going to stand by the doors for the remainder of the night? Come join me over here.” He suggested and you slowly made your way across the floor to him.

You felt a pang of nervousness in your chest. A new feeling around him. Usually you felt much more at ease around The Darkling, but now you just felt so small.

You finally rounded the table to stand at his side, and you met his eyes which had followed you from the door to his side.

“Would you like me to make you some tea?” He asked and reached out to twist a piece of your hair around his finger, a habit that he had made within the last few weeks.

“No, I don’t think that would help much. But thank you.”

He looked down at you and he let out a sigh, “I am not sure why you came to me, then. I cannot lull you to sleep, my sweet moonbeam.”

His words sent you fumbling for your own and you blinked a few times. You only shrugged in lieu of speaking and looked down at his war table.

You watched him lift his arm out of your periphery and nearly jumped when you felt his hand gently touch the side of your face. He carefully turned your face towards his and he cradled your face against his palm. His touch was gentle, and you wondered if he’d ever been this delicate with anything in his life before.

“Would you like that? Is that why you came to me? Did you want me to lull you to sleep? Soothe all your worries away?” He asked slowly.

Though his words could easily have been mocking, his tone was light and kind and full of something you placed between want and concern.

“I don’t know.” You whispered and nuzzled your cheek into the palm of his hand.

He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth, “That isn’t really an answer.” He commented.

You knew it wasn’t. And you knew he was far too sharp to think otherwise. You couldn’t fool him, and you knew that. He could read you like an open book, he always could, even when you two were simple acquaintances. But you couldn’t really call yourselves acquaintances now. Could you even say friends?

He trained you often, and much of your time was spent with the General, much more than with the Queen these days. He knew so much about you. Some from being told by you, some from guessing and confirmation from you, but mostly what he knew about you went unspoken. He knew you were lonely, he didn’t need to ask you that. He’d deduced it quickly after your time spent with him.

You only kept your eyes on his nose and his thumb idly brushed back and forth against the side of your cheekbone, the contact making your skin tingle underneath his touch.

You finally closed your eyes and focused on the faint sweeping noises the pad of his thumb made across your skin and a little sigh escaped your lips pleasantly.

“What keeps you awake?” He asked very quietly, and you let out an equally quiet hum.

“Many things. Perhaps I just don’t belong here. I lack purpose. I’m better off how I was before.”

His fingers curled around the back of your head and he pulled you a little bit closer to him.

“You lack no such thing.” He protested.

“Then what is my purpose? To help you tear down The Fold with Alina? To become a living Saint? I don’t want that. I don’t want to become a bedtime story. I was meant for more. I was meant for the things they leave out of bedtime stories.” You whispered and you could’ve sworn you heard his breath hitch.

“Your purpose does not align with the Sun Summoner’s. Indeed you are correct. You were meant for more. She walks in the light. She walks with the light. You wait in the dark, you strike from the darkness where no one watches. You and I are more alike than you could ever imagine.” He said just above a whisper, but the quietness of his voice did nothing to conceal the intensity of which he spoke with.

“I don’t know what I am.” You breathed and opened your eyes only to find his just inches away from yours.

“You are the silver flicker of light in the dark and then you are the darkness.” He answered earnestly.

You closed your eyes again, and as soon as you did, you were swept forward into his arms. He pulled your head against the center of his chest and wrapped his other arm around your middle. There was something oddly protective about his embrace and he ran his fingers through the hair at the back of your head.

“Let me lull you to sleep, little one. You need a reprieve from your mind.” He insisted.

You gave him a permissive nod against his chest and he very slowly walked you away from the table and he sunk down into an armchair. He pulled you down onto his lap and he lifted your legs up over the side of the chair. You curled your head against his chest much like a cat and you wrapped your arms loosely around his neck, your legs dangling over the side of the chair.

You took in his scent as you buried your face against his clothes and were comforted to find that he smelled of leather and something of embers, and then something sweet yet faint that you couldn’t place.

You opened your eyes when he grabbed one of your arms away from his neck and laid it against your chest before he reached up with the same hand and traced his fingertips against your skin, and a warm feeling washed over you. Everywhere his fingers touched, a silvery blue trail of light followed underneath your skin.

“Sleep, little one.” He cooed and you closed your eyes again, obeying him.

The last thing you remembered before sleep overcame you was his voice above your head, muttering what you recognized as sweet nothings in his native Ravkan tongue.

He had indeed lulled you right to sleep.

In the days after you had fallen asleep on him, The General had been very insistent that you were with him for the majority of your day. He claimed your skill set was of use to him, and truthfully, he was right. Even before you were his Moon Summoner, you were the King’s assassin, and you didn’t need your power for the things you’d accomplished there.

Around his entourage and Corporalki, you were treated as if you were his most esteemed soldier. But behind closed doors and away from prying eyes, his intense and hard demeanor was gone and he was softer with you, kinder. He always had been kind to you, but this was different. It was a different type of kindness.

The morning after you had fallen asleep on him, you awoke in his bed, the black sheets tucked around you with care. He hadn’t been in the bed next to you, but you hadn’t expected that of him. He was an early riser.

You wondered if he had slept next to you at any point during the night. You couldn’t remember. In fact, you didn’t even remember him moving you to his bed. You wanted to ask him if he had, but it seemed listless. Even if he had, it hadn’t mattered. Or did it? Sharing a bed was typically something you only did with someone you trusted, and Kirigan didn’t seem like someone who’d just open his bed up to anyone.

It was the best sleep you’d had in quite a long time, that was for certain.

It was just past noon when you finally emerged from The Grand Palace and made your way to The Little Palace. You had pulled your hair up into an intricate braid and you fiddled with the ends of it as you walked. Once inside, you spotted Alina walking down the hall and you hurried up to her and gently grabbed her arm and gave her a little smile.

She didn’t return the smile, instead she looked anxious and unhappy. You pulled her off to the side and stopped walking, eyeing her with concern.

“Has something happened?” You asked and she sighed, a long sigh that had sounded like it had been pent up for a long time.

“I’ve been informed I’m to showcase my… powers in front of everyone during The Winter Fete.” She said anxiously.

You raised an eyebrow and then shook your head a few times, “Who told you this?” You asked, feeling a bit of frustration. If Alina was to showcase her talents, then surely you’d be asked to as well, and that was specifically not something you wanted to do.

“Kirigan. David, too. Genya. All of them. I don’t want to be presented like a show pony.” She stated and then you sympathetically patted her arm.

“I understand. No one does.” You agreed and she let out a short laugh and pulled her arm away from your gentle grasp.

“Well. Why don’t you work your magic and tell Aleksander to call it off.” She suggested.

You blinked in confusion and then you tipped your head to the side.

“Aleksander? I’m afraid I don’t know an Aleksander.” You replied, eyes searching her face.

“Kirigan. It’s his name. Aleksander. Did he not tell you?” She asked you as if it was one of the most common things to have known.

“No?”

Ouch.

In all the time you’d spent with The General getting closer to him, he’d never once told you his first name. He didn’t talk much about himself, and when he did it was vague, ambiguous. Everything about himself was left up to interpretation.

He liked it that way, you noticed. It left more room for mystery. It kept anyone from crossing the brooding man, because simply no one knew definitely just who he was or just how ruthless or constrained he could be.

“Oh. Well then perhaps don’t mention you heard it from me. I’ve got to get down to Baghra. Please just… do what you are able to about this situation. I am not ready to be a spectacle in front of Ravka.” She pleaded and then walked off.

You stood against the wall for a moment, listening to her footsteps echo until they were gone entirely. An eclectic range of frustrations began to make your fingertips tingle and you pushed away from the wall. You walked with intent to The General’s room, your brow knitting together in annoyance.

His door was the only thing that made you come to a stop and before you could decide against it, you pushed it open and stepped inside of his room.

He didn’t have to look up to know who it was. You were the only one that dared come unannounced, after all.

He sat at his desk on the far end of the room with a thin parchment letter in his hand and he didn’t tear his dark gaze off of the paper as he held his hand out in your direction. He outstretched his pointer and middle fingers and curled them in the air at you in a ‘come here’ motion and you did.

You stomped petulantly towards his desk and you laid your hand down firmly on the desktop with a quiet thump.

Now, you had his full attention. He lifted his inky eyes towards you slowly and he took in your appearance before he slowly laid the letter down.

“You are upset.” He observed and you simply scoffed and folded your arms across your chest.

“What gave it away?”

“Perhaps the stomping like a child. Or maybe it’s the fact that you can’t hide your emotions on your face. Do you intend on telling me why you’re cross? Or did you have another reason for this visit?” He asked and leaned backwards in his chair casually.

“I don’t know, Aleksander. Maybe I just wanted to come in here and pout.” You snapped.

Now it was his turn to fold his arms across his chest and he looked up at you with amusement, the same kind of amusement a parent would watch a fractious child with.

“Ah, you’ve been speaking with Miss Starkov, it seems.”

You stared at him in disbelief. That was it? That was all he had to say? You nearly stomped your foot down on the hard floor but refrained, not wanting his amusement to grow.

“Why wouldn’t you have told me your name as well?” You asked, and you hadn’t realized how stupid you sounded until just now, but you had no intention of backing down at this point.

“Would that have pleased you, lapushka?” He asked with a little grin and you snorted, turning your head away from him.

“I don’t care. It’s your name. You do what you want with it. I just figured perhaps we were closer than that.”

“Why do you figure that? Because you fell asleep in my arms like a little kitten? Or because you woke in my bed?”

You felt your heart drop to your stomach and you turned towards him, a frown covering your lips. You didn’t answer him, you simply stared disdainfully into his caliginous eyes. His words had hit you like a slap across the face, so real that you almost wanted to hold your cheek.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t say you were unjust in feeling that way. I just asked if that was your reasoning to figure we were close.” He replied once he realized you weren’t going to speak. He clicked his tongue and rose up from his chair and stalked towards you, reaching out with a hand to grab your chin.

“My ambiguity is one of my greatest layers of armor.” He started.

But you cut him off.

“Right. But you’ll tell the first pretty girl that catches your eye your name and give up that ambiguity. Very selective of you.”

He unfurled his finger from his grip on your chin and he tapped your lips to silence you.

“Sometimes, to soften someone to your liking, you must strip away a piece of your armor. Miss Starkov is apprehensive at best regarding her situation. You require no such softening.” He explained and you took notice of the fact that he hadn’t bothered to move his finger away from your lips.

“You trust me, and for that I am lucky and I am grateful. I needn’t reveal bits of myself to you just to make you trust in me. You simply just do. Little Moon Saint, I don’t need to take off my armors around you. You take them off for me whenever we are alone, whether you realize it or not.”

You shook your head just slightly and gazed up at him, warmth gathering under his touch on your face.

“I know hardly anything about you.” You whispered, “How can I be removing your armor when I know nothing about you still?”

He shushed you and he leaned closer to your face, to where you could feel the air coming softly from his nose and you closed your eyes for a brief second before opening them again.

“Most things about me go unspoken. I like it that way. You don’t need to know my history to know me. You don’t need me to beg you to trust me. You don’t question the deaths caused by my hands, and you know very well I don’t question the lives taken by yours. I told you. We are more alike than you could ever imagine.” He explained, his voice lowering, almost in reverence now, “Everything inside of me wants for you.”

This, you weren’t expecting.

And if that was a surprise to hear, it was even more of a surprise to feel his lips crash down against your own.

The day of The Winter Fete came quickly. Thankfully, Aleksander had shared your sentiments in not wanting to have you display your power for the party. In fact, he was quite adamant on you being a secret kept from the rest of the world away from the palaces. You were thankful for that.

You’d practically been inseparable from him in the weeks since he’d kissed you. He’d kissed you a handful of times in the time since then, too. Somewhere in the realm of the things that went unspoken but were simply known between the two of you, it had become evident that there were strong feelings between both of you.

You hardly shied away from those feelings. If anything you were diving headfirst into them, which it seemed he was doing the same, because he’d insisted a handful of times in the last few weeks that you stay and sleep with him in his room.

You liked to think that you cured his loneliness in the same way he had cured yours but you hadn’t had any confirmation on your daydream.

So, there you sat, perched upon his desk while he nimbly unboxed a long, black gown for you. He held it up for you to see and you hummed approvingly. It was black with threads of dark blue and silver embroidered onto it in swirls and star like patterns. You smiled up at him and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What? No kefta for me? Do you think me to be delicate?” You teased and Aleksander let out a slow laugh before he laid the dress down on his bed and walked to you. He gently pulled you off of the desk and turned you around. He undid the buttons on the back of the current dress you wore and he tapped the back of your neck.

“You are anything but delicate. Trust me. As much as I’d like to see you in a kefta, this isn’t the time for you to be revealed. You must keep up appearances, Lady y/n.” He explained and moved back only a step once your dress was undone.

You blushed a bit and held the loose dress up to your chest, hesitating to take off your dress in front of him.

Aleksander sensed this and he placed his hands gently on your elbows, “Would you like me to give you the room so that you can change in privacy?” He asked kindly, brushing his thumbs against your elbows.

You shook your head. It’s not like you really minded, but you still had a set of nerves at the thought of undressing in front of the man you adored.

You let out a very quiet, shaky breath and you let the dress fall away from your shoulders and you slowly stepped out of it, leaving you in only your underwear before him. You didn’t dare turn around, for if you did, Aleksander would’ve seen the horrific blush that covered your cheeks now.

His hands found yours as they lay at your sides and he gently interlocked your fingers before he leaned forward and pressed a gossamer light kiss against the nape of your neck. You shivered under his lips and you could feel them curl into a smug smile against your skin.

“I didn’t take you for the shy type, little one.” He murmured and very slowly lifted his lips away from your neck.

You didn’t respond to him, you simply gave his hands a light squeeze, but much to your dismay, he pulled away and you heard him walk away from you. There was a swish of fabric behind you and then he was back, gently placing a hand on your waist to move you towards him a bit. He didn’t turn you around, and you were thankful for that.

Instead, he reached around you and held your dress in front of you for you to step into it. You were used to being dressed, it was common practice for you and had been for years because of your place at court. But this felt different, and though he was dressing you, you couldn’t help but feel as if Aleksander was at the core of it all, stripping you completely naked. There was a different kind of vulnerability to letting him dress you.

You stepped into the dress and he slowly pulled it up over your hips and you slipped your arms into the sleeves and he lifted the bodice of the dress up over your shoulders completely and pulled it taut before he began to button up the long row of buttons at your back. After the last button was done up, he tied the ribbon at your waist tightly and then he encircled you in his arms from behind, tugging you backwards until you were pulled flush against his chest.

“I wish desperately that I could parade you on my arm all night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a color look so lovely on anyone.” He whispered, resting his chin down against your shoulder.

You leaned the side of your head against his and you placed your hands down on top of his wrists.

“And I wish that you could kiss me breathless in a room, far away from the party, but alas, it seems we have duties to attend to.”

“Such a shame, isn’t it?” He asked playfully and with a hint of reluctance, pulled away from you.

You finally willed yourself to turn around and face him.

A look of reverence crossed his face and he reached out to cup the side of your face in one hand. The look in his lightless eyes was unreadable, but you got the sense his stare was altogether pleasant.

“Tell me something.” He murmured and reached out to brush the pad of his thumb across your bottom lip.

“Hmm?”

“Do you trust me?” He asked, though you felt like he was asking something entirely different. The look in his eye told you that he didn’t want to know if you found him to be trustworthy. His words unspoken were louder than the ones he’d verbalized.

No, he meant to ask ‘do you trust me with your heart?’

You searched his face for a long moment before you finally nodded once and you watched as a flicker of relief splashed across his face, and for a second, you swore his eyes sparkled with tears that had been long since blinked away.

He leaned in to kiss your forehead once and he dropped his hand away from your face and walked to the wardrobe next to his bed. He pulled on the rest of his clothing, save for his kefta, and you sunk down on a little sofa next to his bed, pulling your legs up underneath you as you watched him.

He adjusted the collar of his shirt and as he did, the sound of footsteps distracted you from watching the man get ready.

“Ivan. My kefta.” He called out, but once you looked past him, you could see that Ivan was not in the room. Only Alina.

She took his heavy kefta off of his war table and approached him with hesitancy, not saying a word.

When he turned around, his face changed in surprise and he shook his head once.

“You’re not Ivan.” He remarked.

Alina looked down at the kefta in her arms and shifted a bit.

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Do I sense a little disdain for my Heartrender?” Aleksander asked, clearly amused now.

You lifted your hand up to rest against the side of the sofa and moved close to the edge, perching yourself to stand.

“You know, once you get to know him, he’s actually quite funny.” He added and you very slowly rose to your feet, your dress swishing.

It didn’t rouse either of their attentions.

“I bet you find volcra hilarious.” Alina quipped, eyes transfixed intently on Aleksander.

He gave her a smile and she nodded to the kefta in her arms.

“May I?” She asked, unfolding the thick garment.

“Thank you.” He replied and turned around, allowing the Sun Summoner to slide the kefta around his shoulders.

You eyed them warily and stayed silent, your teeth searching for a bit of your cheek you could bite down on.

“I hear you were able to focus and split light without the gloves.” He spoke, eyeing you as he got his kefta on with her help.

“I appreciate the gesture, though.” She responded, and you pressed your lips together.

You stepped in front of Aleksander and pulled the lapels of his kefta forward to adjust the coat, your brow furrowing only slightly. You didn’t miss the amused smile that made the corners of his lips curl upwards before he turned back towards Alina.

“Well, they were only a safeguard, really. In case of nerves.” He informed her, and you watched as the girl leaned slightly closer to Aleksander.

Half of you had made peace with the fact that you and Aleksander didn’t make it incredibly public knowledge that you… were together? Was that even the right way to describe your situation? You didn’t know how to answer that. Yet, the other half of you, despite clarification on where you stood with him, wanted to pull him backwards and stand between the two of them. You almost gagged in spite of yourself. Or maybe it was in spite of them.

“I imagine there are few gatherings in Keramzin that involve such… spectacle.” He commented down at her and you wanted to speak up. Make them aware that you were still in the room.

No. Don’t. You told yourself.

“None, in fact.” Alina answered.

She peered over his shoulder and caught your eyes. You weren’t sure of what your face looked like, but she widened her eyes and quickly moved away from him.

“But I’m actually not that nervous! I may have considered throwing myself down the stairs to get out of it once or twice.” She left his bed chambers and much to your antipathy, he followed her.

You stood back for a moment as they continued to chat before you gathered the skirts of your dress and walked through the doorway of his bed chambers and brushed past the two of them, squaring your shoulders as you passed by. You slipped out of the room with a sigh of annoyance and you walked down the hallway. You listened to the taps of your boots against the marble floors and you puffed out your cheeks.

Jealousy wasn’t something that came naturally or easily to you. You’d always been sure of yourself, aware that you were likely the prettiest face in the room, confident in your abilities and powers. You were almost sick to admit that perhaps you were jealous of Alina.

She got to be by his side tonight. She got to wear a kefta just like him. She got to be shown off to the rest of the world as Ravka’s saving grace.

You didn’t want that for yourself. Not really. But you didn’t want it for her, either, selfishly.

Did you even have a right to feel jealous? It’s not like Aleksander had explicitly said that you were his and he was yours. You felt fair in assuming such, but then again, you’d always been a little too sure of yourself.

You simply shook the thought away and headed off to report to the Queen.

“Oh, it’s nothing, moya tsaritsa. Only a little headache. I’ll be off to find a healer and back to the party before you know it.”

Lie.

You felt bad lying to the Queen as you rose from your seat next to her and scurried out of the room. You’d made yourself scarce all day, with the exception of being with the Queen, and you planned on keeping the pattern.

You just didn’t want to watch Aleksander and Alina.

You walked out to the courtyard and weaved around horses and guests until you were on the outskirts of the palace grounds. You were thankful that you could finally breathe without sharing the breath with someone else in your proximity. The cool evening’s air swirled around what skin of yours was exposed and it chilled your cheeks, tinting them pink. You flexed your fingers a bit and tapped imaginary points in the air at your sides, little fissures of silvery light appearing underneath your fingertips.

You tried your best to be apathetic about everything that you’d felt during the day, and you kept walking, approaching a thick bramble of trees.

A loud scream escaped your lips when you felt a cold hand clasp around your wrist and you yanked your wrist back, stumbling backwards on the uneven path. You fell back and caught yourself on your elbows, preparing your hands to summon the moon. Your eyes settled upon a head of white hair and you furiously widened your eyes.

“Baghra!” You yelled and looked down at your dress. It was dusty from the dirt and you could feel a little tear in your sleeve, just above your elbow, “What is the meaning of this?” You asked angrily.

You climbed to your feet and stared down at the old woman, your lips tugging downwards in a heavy frown.

“Don’t look at me like that, girl. You need to get away from here as quickly as you can.” She stated venomously and you gaped at her. You shook your head with a dry laugh and you went to speak but she cut you off instantly.

“You are being used, you stupid girl. Aleksander. He is using you. Just the same way he is using the sun girl. I am warning you, y/n, please. You must go. I will tell her the same thing but hear me now-“

“What are you going on about?” You asked snappily, your eyes narrowing on her.

“You and Alina Starkov are but pawns in Aleksander’s game. He does not mean to liberate Ravka from The Fold. He does not mean to create heroes out of the three of you. Has he promised you otherwise?”

“No. He hardly speaks of The Fold to me.” You replied defensively. Your hand formed fists at your side and you could feel your fingers begin to thrum with the electric feeling of the moon pooling within them.

“No? Perhaps he’s just too busy distracting you with sweet words and little touches? Keeping you from your lessons, insisting you don’t need them, only to drown you with his attention. Making you feel special and perhaps even loved?”

You didn’t respond, and your silence became her indication to keep speaking.

“Trust me, stupid girl. He’s making Alina feel the same exact way.” She finished and then she shook her head, “Do what you will, Lady y/n. You’ve always known this to be your home. I understand it must be hard to fathom leaving, but if you want to live free of chains, you’ll go. I’ve arranged safe passage out of Os Alta tonight. If you wish to join Alina, then you’ll meet her and I down the hill behind The Grand Palace. Half past midnight.”

You stared at her in disbelief and you wanted to argue, but she had already turned and retreated back into the trees, and you swore that you watched shadows engulf her.

You were only human at your very core.

That’s what you kept telling yourself as you cried into your hands on your balcony. Only human at your very core… right?

Who knew if Baghra was right? At least about Aleksander’s intentions. This isn’t what bothered you.

“He’s making Alina feel the same exact way.” Her words echoed in your head and only made you cry harder, and you let out a frustrated groan and you hit the side of your head with the heel of your hand, as if the impact would knock the thought right out of your mind.

It would explain her behavior earlier that day. It would easily explain how she, too, knew his name- and before you. It explained the way she gazed up at him; dreamily, as if she’d fallen head over heels already.

You weren’t going to leave Os Alta, that was for certain. You couldn’t. You adored your Queen and you hadn’t known a life outside of the Ravkan Capital. You’d just learn to avoid Aleksander. Perhaps that was a good thing. It would cease your distractions from the Queen and King.

“I’ve never seen you cry before. I don’t like it.”

You jumped at the sound of Aleksander’s voice behind you and you wrapped your arms around yourself and you shook your head.

“Go away please.” You whispered.

You didn’t really want him to go away. Not deep down, at least. He probably knew that, too. He knew you better than anyone.

Hands gently grabbed your arms and coaxed you away from the iron railing of your balcony and you were being turned around before you could protest it. You didn’t meet his eyes when you were moved to face him.

“I have been made aware that Baghra sought you out. I don’t know what was said, but I’m sure I can only assume it had something to do with planting doubt in your mind based on the way she was sure you’d have run far away from here by now. But you aren’t a runner. I know that.”

His words made more tears spill over your cheeks and you still refused to look at him until he tapped underneath your chin and tilted your head backwards slightly.

“I care not about your intentions with The Fold, Aleksander. I said I trusted you and I meant it. Perhaps that’s where I went wrong though. Because I do care that you were stringing me along at the same time as Alina. If you needed something of me, it would’ve been best to lay it out on the table. Not bury me in your sweet kisses and words until I was nothing but a mindless slave with no questions for you.”

“Is that what you believe you are to be to me? A mindless slave?” He asked and you simply shrugged.

You expected an angry outburst, you expected him to chastise you loudly, but it never came. Instead, he took your face in his hands and he swiped his thumbs underneath your wet eyes to rid you of the tears on your cheeks.

“You are strong and you are intelligent. No one could make a mindless slave out of you. Not even I. My kisses and gentle words are reserved for you and you alone. Not Alina. Never Alina. You, however. Oh, how do I begin? Ever since I watched you kill that Fjerdan, I knew that I had to have you by my side. One way or another. Though, as a lover was preferable.

You are disarming in the most wonderful way, and though you may not know all of my secrets yet, you have already released them from their chambers. I’m tempted to call you a thief with the way you’ve stolen my heart away, but if I’m to be honest with you, y/n, I’d be lying if I said I didn't hand it to you willingly.” He murmured earnestly. His eyes shone with his own tears, and though they never fell, the message was still there.

You fell forward over his chest and laid your head on the center of it and his arms weaved around you protectively. Defensively. Adoringly.

He showered kisses atop your head and you two stood in silence for a very long time like that.

Perhaps you’d be burned for trusting him this way. In every way. Perhaps you wouldn’t. Only time would tell. But in that moment, all that mattered was that he was there. Questions about Baghra’s words could wait. They weren’t meant to be spoken now. No words were meant to be spoken now.

Until he did finally speak.

“My love, I do hate to ruin such tender moments, but I’m in desperate need of your help. There will be plenty of time for me to make up for every single tear spilled from your pretty eyes this evening, and that I promise you. However, your skill set is needed.” He said softly, his tone apologetic.

You stayed against his chest for a while longer and then finally nodded, “Of course. Whatever you need, Aleksander.”

You walked hand in hand with The Darkling down the candlelit hallway, deep within the Palace, and you two were accompanied by one of his Squallers, Zoya.

Aleksander had filled you in quickly. Alina had been kidnapped and there had been an attempt on her life. You couldn’t help but feel relieved that you hadn’t been the one on his arm all night now. They now held a man associated with the crime deep underneath the Palace, and they needed him to talk.

That’s where you came in.

“Has he talked?” He asked, his hand tightening around yours in a manner you could only imagine was protective.

“A lot of lies,” Zoya answered, “Ivan’s with him.”

You entered the room with him and Zoya and your eyes fell upon Ivan’s intimidating figure standing tall behind a small, pudgy man who was bound to a chair.

“I’ve been swindled,” The man said simply, desperation twinging his words, “hoodwinked.”

Aleksander didn’t seem to care and he squeezed your hand once more.

“My guards tell me that they caught you fleeing the scene of the crime.” He spoke.

You rolled your shoulders back and stood tall, carefully releasing your hand. If you were to get answers out of this man, he had to fear you. You didn’t much command fear while clutching your General’s hand.

“Yes. I followed them.” The man insisted.

“Followed whom?” Aleksander prompted, lifting his head curiously.

“They come from the other side of The Fold. From the start, they seemed, just, a bit off to me, so when they left our stage, at the fete, I followed them. To see what they were up to, and at the time that I walked into that room, they were gone and… Saints, it was… unspeakable. So I ran… I…”

You snorted and then you stepped forward, “No, that’s not the truth.” You interjected and then looked to Ivan with a raised eyebrow.

“He did cross The Fold with the others,” Ivan began, “The rest were lies.”

You gave a satisfied nod and you looked up at Aleksander who swept his hand out for you, inviting you to step closer to the man.

The man began to insist that he wasn’t lying, but you and everyone else in that room knew, you couldn’t lie to a Heartrender.

You stepped behind the man and you laid your hands on his temples, “Do you want to tell the truth to The General?” You asked lowly. He didn’t respond.

“Do you know we keep records of everyone who crosses The Fold?” Aleksander began, and then rattled off the known passages for the evening.

“You didn’t cross with them. Did you?” You asked, leaning down close to his ear.

He shuddered but he didn’t answer. You looked up at Aleksander who nodded and you closed your eyes. Your fingertips began to glow and they grew so cold that they burned, you pressed them tightly against the man’s skin and he clenched his teeth. You eased off a bit and then cleared your throat.

“You have another way across The Fold. What is it?” You asked slowly.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He protested, but Ivan cut him off.

“He does.”

You sighed and brought forth your power again, this time a bit more and he winced sharply as the bitter cold from your fingers cut into his skin and left it frostbitten.

“I’m an entertainer!” He exclaimed, “Oskar, Oskar Krepkov!” He shouted as you pushed more of your light forth, watching his veins turn white and stony underneath your touch, just as they’d been filled with moonstone.

You eased off when Aleksander came towards the two of you and lifted up the man’s sleeve.

“Well that is certainly entertaining. You are The Conductor,” he said darkly, revealing scars of tallies up his inner forearm, “Arken Visser, are you not?“ he pulled away from the man and gave you a nod again as he walked away.

“You smuggle Grisha out of my palace! You help them abandon the war effort.”

“No, I deal in-“ he was cut off by a sudden sharp pain in his head, caused by you pressing the heels of your hands to the hardened veins over his temples. You closed your eyes tightly and worked to spread the unforgiving cold of your light through his head, feeling it spread through his veins while Aleksander questioned the man about a woman named Nina.

You zoned back in as Aleksander finished, and you opened your eyes to look up at him.

“…might that have something to do with you, Mr. Visser?” He asked, in reference to Nina’s disappearance.

“No.” He answered shakily, his teeth now beginning to chatter. You were lowering his body temperature by now surely, and his lips began to glaze over, tinted with blue.

“I don’t!” He protested again, his voice shaky. Ivan confirmed this and the man let out a shaking sigh, “See?”

“May I interject?” You asked and looked up at Aleksander who nodded once.

“By all means, Darling. Speak your mind.” He said with a little grin licking at the corners of his lips.

“You might want to begin talking, Mr. Visser. Your heart is slowing and you are freezing from the inside out. The light of the moon is a cold one.” You whispered and you felt him stiffen under your hands.

Aleksander had a proud smirk on his face and he glanced back down at Arken.

“My guess, you struck a deal with these three thieves to kidnap Alina Starkov. But you have a stronger relationship with a certain West Ravkan general, who has notions of ruling his own country. So long as The Fold separates him from us- darling, I think you’re being too gentle with him,” he added for you, and then walked around the chair, brushing past you gently, “So you made another deal. You put on a disguise. And you played at being assassin.”

You took a deep breath and summoned more of your power, the beams of light from your hands beginning to sear into the skin of his temples.

“That’s right!” He cried, in obvious pain, “The prize to bring her back to Ketterdam was a million! Split four ways. But Zlatan offered me the same number… to kill her, so,” he let out another scream as you tightened your grip on his head and Aleksander’s eyes widened, “you give me half that, I’ll get revenge for you. I can get close to Zlatan!” He tried to bargain, but he didn’t have much left to bargain with.

Aleksander looked at Ivan and Zoya pointedly and they began to walk away.

“No.” Aleksander answered and then looked up at you, “I think I’ll handle that myself. And I think… I’ll let my lovely Moon Summoner handle you.”

He gave you a short nod and stood with his hands behind his back and you nodded back at him.

Arken began to scream and protest between the chattering of his teeth and you rolled your shoulders back, and just like the Fjerdan that attacked Alina, you shot a bright beam of silver light through his temples and let go, watching as his head fell back limply on his neck.

Aleksander stepped towards you just as you stepped away from the now dead man, and he grasped your freezing wrists, pulling you to his chest.

“Promise me,” he began, leaning down close to your face, “Promise me that you’ll stand by my side forever. We will be revered, formidable. I will give you a crown, I will give you my love, I will give you whatever you ask for, if you promise me forever.” He pleaded and stared down into your eyes desperately.

There was nothing that you wanted more in that moment and you studied his black eyes for a long time, searching for any sense of trickery within them, but all you found was the same want that you wore within your own eyes.

Perhaps you’d be burned for trusting him this way. In every way. Perhaps you wouldn’t. Only time would tell. All you could do was accept his offer now, and give him your payment in the form of three words.

“I promise. Forever.”

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vixparker · 1 year

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When you know you’re about to explode because you feel left out by your friends that are romantically together but you can say shit because you’ll be really alone if you say something

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vixparker · 1 year

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Mom: my child is completely fine

No you’re daughter is about to pass out from a panic attack

#anxi4ty #mental health #panic attack

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vixparker · 1 year

Note

Hello

If you’re into the marauders (i know you are), a cat animagus interacting with the marauders without them realising that she’s not a real cat please.

AN: Hello there... It is I... The man the myth the legend... I am two of those things ... my p is large ... enjoy

Reblog, vote, comment, request.

KITTY

FEM!READER X PLATONIC!MARAUDERS

Currently, your butt was being scratched... Now, this would be weird if you weren't a cat. Well, you weren't like a cat-cat, but you were an animagus - curtesy of being a part of the infamous Marauders. Though, you were an illegitimate animagus, so only: Sirius, Remus, James and Peter knew that it was in fact you on Lily's lap rather than an actual stray.

"You are such a cute kitty." Lily cooed, scratching your ears with her nails whilst her other hand flipped through the charms homework you were yet to start reading. Oh well, hopefully Remus would do it for you if you promised him chocolate on the annual Hogsmead trip.

"I want to hold it-" You bristled at Alice's use of 'it', and Marlene lent forward to smack her leg.

"She is a she, A."

"Oooh, my bad kitty. You are a lady."

"What are you ladies fawning over." You flopped back onto Lily's legs in defeat, hearing the cocky voice of Sirius wash over you. That boy constantly claimed it was the 'household hierarchy' that dogs trumped cats. But you knew that was in terms of idiocy, as you had caught the grey-eyed boy chasing his tail when he thought none of you were watching.

"Kitty?" James stared at you, and you stared back with big yellow eyes.

"Yes, James. It's a cat." Lily rolled her eyes, and you hissed when Sirius flicked your ear. The problem with being a cat, is ear flicks hurt ten times more.

"Don't do that!" Dorcas cried, scooping you up into her arms and carrying you to safety as you smugly watched Sirius get verbally beaten down by the girls who's group cat you had become since the start of the year. You'd told them all you were practicing quidditch after hours, and nobody questioned it- well the boys didn't have to.

"Let it go now, Dorc. She needs to go now, we've had her long enough." Marlene didn't even crack her eyes open when she took a long drag from her cigarette, before pointing it at the common room door.

"Fine." Dorcas gently lifted your front paw and waved it, you would have flushed at the boys grins if you were human, but alas you could do nothing but wave a floppy paw. Dorcas eventually made it outside the common room and placed you down, giving you a toe curling scratch behind the ear. "See you later, Kitty."

Dorcas gave a little wave, before disappearing back into the common room. By the time someone came back out, you had changed back and were pulling a piece of cat hair from your mouth with a grimace.

"Evening, Kitty." A low voice drawled mockingly from the doorway.

"Don't say a word, Black."

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

THANK YOU FOR READING, will be making shorter posts to keep me motivated. VOTE, COMMENT, REBLOG, and REQUEST.

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vixparker · 1 year

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crush crush crush | steddie X reader

summary: eddie likes steve. he's not subtle about it. he's also brave about it, unlike you, and development: steve likes eddie back. you like both of them. well, ain't that just your fucking luck?

warnings: canon divergence, brief mention of homophobia/lgbtqphobia, polyamorous relationship, gn!reader (use of they/them pronouns), buckley!reader, fluff

word count: 7.6k

author's note: this one has been a long time coming! i started writing it so, so long ago, and it's finally ready! i really hope you enjoy it, and if you do, don't forget to reblog! comments are always appreciated as well ♡

↳ taglist ↳ ao3

Eddie was not very subtle.

Well, you actually weren’t sure he was even trying to be subtle, but, if he was trying, it was definitely not working.

Not with all the stolen glances, and the closeness and proximity every chance he could get. Not with all the pet names, and the cat calls, and with the ‘getting nervous and panting and kind of sweaty’ every time he saw more skin than just arms - like a little stomach when a shirt lifted, or a neck when a head was thrown back in frustration.

And you got it. You could definitely understand the appeal. Steve was very handsome.

When he took off his shirt to dive into Lovers Lake to find a portal, while Eddie lit up a cigarette you looked away because you saw the way Robin glanced suspiciously at Nancy - honestly, Robin was the only one not appealed by Steve's lack of shirt - and you did not want that kind of glance being thrown at you too. And after Steve was bitted by those fucking demobats, you saw it in Eddie’s eyes how he wished it was him bandaging Steve up instead of Nancy - and you also kinda wished it was yourself. He got way too serious about throwing his vest at Steve ‘for his modesty’ too.

And when Eddie called Steve ‘big boy’, Harrington was not the only one who got flustered, because suddenly your head was filled with many images that were not appropriate for the running-from-the-cops-and-also-from-a-interdimensional-monster situation you were all in. Eddie seemed so proud for making Steve lose his words. You just stood in the back of the RV and tried to ground yourself instead of giving into the little green feeling growing inside your chest when Nancy sat at the seat beside Steve while he drove. You heard them talking about kids, for fucks sake.

And when Steve looked so worried about Nance, did everything he could to wake her from her trance, even started singing a song he thought she liked, and was later so focused on listening to her plan. When he gave you a tight hug right before he left with the girls to the Creel house, you almost melted into a puddle. Then he looked so worried about Eddie, asked him to not play the hero when the actual plan was about to start, you could understand if Eddie's heart skipped a beat because yours definitively did - and you were sure the metalhead wanted to say something else when he called out for Steve, but he settled for ‘make him pay’ instead.

And you actually thought it was a one-sided thing, but when Eddie woke up weeks later in a hospital bed, in a different state, after literally almost dying in your and Dustin’s arms; you, Dustin, and Steve were there to see him wake up, the huge smile plastered on Steve's face was enough to light up the whole room and Eddie's own smile reciprocated. And you looked at Dustin feeling like you were interrupting something. And they shared a hug, and Steve was cautious not to hurt Eddie's tummy filled with bandages and stitches. And you and Dustin said you were going to grab a coffee, and when you came back they looked a little pinker in the cheeks than they were before and their hairs were all out of place - Steve’s hair was never out of place.

So, yeah, you could understand Eddie's crush on Steve. With his brown soft hair, all prepped up with too much Farrah Fawcett hairspray (Dustin couldn’t keep a secret for his life), always smelling so good. And his caramel soft eyes, worried about everything and everyone around him but himself. And his preppy, stupid polo shirts and jeans combo, always ironed - you were pretty sure he ironed them himself. The freckles that went all the way from his neck down his torso and his back, splattered in such pretty patterns you kinda wanted to connect them like dots in a kid’s play. With your tongue, to be more precise.

But! YOU, specifically, did NOT have a crush on Steve. You just understood why Eddie did.

When all dust had settled and you were able to go back to Hawkins - thank god for Hopper coming back from the dead and giving Eddie all the alibis he needed, and thank god for their FBI friends for covering everything up as they did with the mall situation the year prior - Steve was very eager to have Eddie staying at his place while the metalhead (and his uncle, of course) searched for a new home. Because his trailer was destroyed, of course. And he was still recovering from all the injuries, of course!

Steve was very smart when he needed to be.

Not everyone in Hawkins was entirely convinced of the whole made-up story, and some people were still very rude to Eddie and the Hellfire boys on the streets, but Hopper was definitely more respected than Powell. So no matter what some people thought, the truth installed was that Eddie was innocent after all. Everyone just had to accept that.

After a while, as life went back to normal - as normal as it can be when you’ve saved the world more than once and half the town was under restoration because of an ‘earthquake’ - you started noticing how the boys were always together. Like when you’d pass by Family Video to see Robin (to see Robin, okay!) and Eddie was also there, leaning on the counter with a soft smile as Steve registered someone else’s borrowed tapes.

Or when you’d go downtown and see them together sharing a banana boat on the new Scoops Ahoy franchise that opened up again on Main Street. Or when you’d volunteer with Robin and Vickie to help those whose houses were destroyed and both boys were also already there, following each other around on their assigned tasks. Or when you went to parties or threw your own parties and they always came in together, never left each other’s side, and went back home together too, always just the two of them.

One day you went to Eddie’s work at the music store and Steve came in behind him as he stepped out of the ‘employees only’ door.

I mean, there’s only so much someone who’s not an employee can be doing with an employee inside a ‘employees only’ room. We all know that.

“Hey, guys,” you greeted, faking obliviousness as you went straight to the New Wave session that was slowly growing as more bands went famous across the country - famous enough to reach Middle Of Butt-Fuck Nowhere, Indiana.

“Oh, hey babe!” Eddie smiled as he came to your side. “What can I help you with today?”

You pretended not to shiver with the nickname. “Well, aren’t you employee of the month,” you mocked, looking at Steve (still behind Eddie) from the peripheral, whose cheeks just went pink. “Do you have New Order’s latest?”

“Oh, I think I saw it back there!” both yours and Eddie’s heads turned to Steve as he enthusiastically revealed, and if you thought he was pink before, he had just created a new shade of pink just then.

“I’ll go get it for ya,” Eddie gave you a smile trapped between real and fake and left for the infamous ‘employees only’ back room.

You smiled at Steve, your own smile trapped between soothing and teasing, and turned your attention back to the vinyls in front of you. A few moments passed in silence before he decided to talk again.

“You’re going to Robin’s this weekend?” you looked him straight in the eyes after his question. He could not be serious.

His prolonged silence made it clear that he was serious.

“You do realize it’s my house too?” you asked.

“Oh Jesus fuck, yeah, no, of course!” he waved around and you couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I know, you’re siblings and all, I keep forgetting that, ‘cause you’re nothing alike, of course it’s your house, it’s just, I was wondering maybe you had, like, another commitment, maybe a date, I dunno, can’t hurt to ask right!” he was babbling.

God, he was so cute.

No, scratch that. Forget it, you’ve never said that. Forget it right now!

“No plans at all this Saturday except to hang out with you nerds. Don’t worry,” you winked at him and he let out a sigh as he smiled.

Eddie came back from the inventory room, New Order’s ‘Brotherhood’ in his hands and that typical huge smile on his lips. “There you go, babe.”

You rolled your eyes playfully and paid for the vinyl before leaving, waving at them through the huge glass windows of the storefront. They waved back just before you saw them running to the ‘employees only’ room again.

Guess they were in their honeymoon phase.

You were completely fine and not envious at all.

-x-x-x-

Saturday arrived, and as you were serving soda to the kids playing board games on the coffee table in the living room, Steve and Eddie walked in knowing there was no need to knock. You walked past them as you went back to the kitchen to fetch some chips.

“There you are!” Eddie sounded excited, a six-pack in one of his hands while he pulled you in for a tight hug with the other one.

You smiled. “Where else would I be, doofus? Hey, dingus.” You waved at Steve through the cloud of Eddie’s frizz.

The boys followed you into the kitchen to put their stuff in the fridge. Nancy and Jonathan were intertwined leaning on the island and only let go of each other to say hello to the newcomers as you poured potato chips onto a big bowl and went back to the living room. Everyone else came back with their drinks in hand, including Robin and Vickie who were in the garden for some reason, and chatter began.

This was something you tried to do at least once a month, reunite with everyone including the kids - especially since Hopper and Joyce joined forces and decided to stay in Hawkins, god knows why but you were grateful for it.

That month the reunion was set on your and Robin’s house, your parents finding it weird that their adult offspring were friends with so many high schoolers when you explained that what you were having was not a party, but a friendly get-together. They let you host it anyway, even with the weirdness of it all, when you promised to clean the whole house - not just the living area where you’d all be at - afterward. And they went for a date that night, to give you the full house - very nice of them, and good for them, you guessed?

Everyone had been busier, with the younglings busy with high school and the young adults attempting at adulting, but you all felt the need to check in on each other every once in a while, and just hang out together in peace instead of trying to fight bullies, or Russians, or interdimensional assholes. Shared trauma was a great bonding experience!

A few hours later you, Mike, and Erica were fighting to decide which movie you were all going to watch when Steve and Eddie came back from the kitchen with a chocolate pie they had brought and several plates and forks. Eddie cleared his throat loudly and the room went quiet, looking at them.

“I, uh, we wanted to share something…” Eddie said as Steve put everything on the coffee table. You adjusted yourself in the bean bag you were lying on. “Me and Harrington, we, uh. It’s just, like. I don’t know, I don’t think you’ll be mad or anything. I mean, it’s not like it’ll be a first-time thing, I know you’re all cool with it, considering Robin and Vickie, it’s just. Uh.”

“We’re dating,” Steve went right to the point.

There was a loud silence for at least one whole minute before Dustin spoke up.

“Okay, and the actual news is?”

Eddie and Steve blinked at the same time.

“What,” was more of a deadpan than a question out of Harrington’s lips.

“You really thought we were all this dumb?” Lucas asked gesturing around to point at everyone in the room. Everyone was nodding along.

“Neither of you is subtle. Like, at all,” Max wasn’t even looking at them anymore, sharing a She-Hulk comic with El.

You couldn’t hold your laugh any longer and saw the unexpected couple looking at you immediately. “You knew too?” Eddie sounded really offended for some reason.

You laughed louder, almost falling out from the bean bag. “Are you not listening? Everyone knew! I went by your work this week and you came out of the back room together! Your clothes were all crumpled,” you pointed at Eddie and heard everyone giggling along.

“And we saw you coming out of a dressing room in that fancy store Steve likes. Also together,” Mike pointed at him and Will, who nodded enthusiastically, a shy smile growing on his lips.

“Eddie’s not even trying not to flirt with you in front of our other clients anymore,” Robin stated.

“You were licking on the same popsicle when we went to the lake the other day. At the same time,” Nancy pointed out.

“Nothing serving as a barrier between your tongues besides a very thin strawberry popsicle,” Jonathan concluded with a smirk.

Both boys looked actually astonished as if they were so sure they were hiding something. They looked at each other again before sighing and sitting down in the only tiny space left on the couch, Steve almost in Eddie’s lap. You turned your eyes away.

“So is this our celebratory pie? For our fist man-on-man couple of the group?” you asked, already diving in to get your piece. “Here’s to many more to come!” Mike choked on thin air, you pretended not to notice.

The conversation was easily shifted back to the movie discussion, the couple ‘news’ soon forgotten as you all settled back into your domestic routine, pies in hands, beers and sodas being shared (age appropriately!), and screaming about terror versus action. Again.

-x-x-x-

Robin had called your work in the middle of your (and hers) shift to invite you to come with her, Steve, and Eddie to the movies after all of your duties were over. You’ve said yes and thanked the gods you always took a change of clothes with you to work so you wouldn’t have to show up to the theater in your ugly uniform.

Not that there would be anyone there you wanted to impress. Of course not.

As you arrived, the boys were already there, but your sister was nowhere to be seen. “She’s in the bathroom or something?” you asked. They shared a glance.

“I thought you’d talked to her?” Steve questioned. You raised an eyebrow. “She wasn’t feeling so good, so she went home. Said she’s sorry.”

“Something about diarrhea,” Eddie grimaced and you sighed.

“Great, love being the third wheel,” you murmured under your breath. “You wanna go do this by yourselves? We can reschedule. Invite Jon and Nancy next time too.”

“No, we wanna go with you!” Steve stated quickly and Eddie coughed loudly. “We promise not to go overboard, okay? We’ll put you in the middle seat.”

“Also, not everyone in Hawkins is nice. Mostly no one, to be honest. So we’re not adept to PDA anyways,” Eddie concluded, shrugging. “Basically no one knows we’re dating except for you, our friends,” his voice was in a very low tone, almost whispered, to not draw attention.

You empathized, also keeping your voice low. “Yeah, that sucks. Robin and Vickie are always complaining about it, and they’re also not openly affectionate to each other in public places. And honestly, I’m really scared for them sometimes. I know Robs can stand up for herself and Vickie, but they’re also so tiny. Little babies,” you brought your thumb and index finger together, showing how really smol your younger sister and her girlfriend were. “And people are mean.”

“What’re some bigots in comparison to a real-life D&D monster, babe? Don’t worry,” Eddie put his arms around your shoulder, Steve on your other side, guiding you to the ticket booth.

Eddie paid for the tickets - something about a fly, yeah, the bug - and both you and Steve fought for the right to buy the popcorn, but while you were bickering Eddie went and bought those himself too. As you finally went to the screening room and took your seats, Steve was serious about you being in the middle. Eddie went to the bathroom while the trailers didn’t start.

“So that’s what he’s like as a boyfriend? Doesn’t let you buy stuff?” you curiously asked Steve while shoving a handful of popcorn into your mouth. You kept your voice low again so no one would easily hear you talking.

He smiled dreamily. “Yeah, especially since he’s been getting ‘clean money’, as he calls it, with his ‘grown up’ job.” He made quote marks with his fingers. “He’s a really thoughtful guy. I mean, that was already obvious before, but as a partner… it’s different, you know?” you nodded and asked him to continue. He was getting flustered, talking about the boy he liked made him look so cute… You just had to. It was all you would ever get from him, anyway. “He’s very affectionate, as you could guess. He has to always be touching me in some way. I thought I would get annoyed at some point, but it still hasn’t happened and, honestly, I don’t think it will. I like touching him at all times, too.

“He also likes to do everything together, even silly minor tasks like getting groceries or something. Gets me little gifts almost every day, and not always stuff he buys, but things he sees that remind him of me. Flowers that he steals from other people’s gardens, he once bought me a heart-shaped pebble. It’s so stupid,” he giggled.

Giggled!

“And I love it. He’s so kind. People treat him like shit most of the time, and he’s still always as polite as he can. Only fights back the really aggressive ones. Kids are scared of him because of their parents’ closed minds, but he approaches them and tells them not to fear, and plays stupid magic tricks to get them to like him. Helps old ladies cross the streets and shit. He’s probably the best person I know,” he was rambling. Your heart was so full. “And I had no idea, you know. That I could feel like this for another guy. Eddie calls himself my bi awakening,” you both shared a laugh.

“You deserve it, Steve. After Nancy…” you gulped lightly, and so did he. “I didn’t think you would ever get over her. And she wasn’t able to give you the love you deserved, not her fault obviously, but still true. It wasn’t meant to be between you two. But you and Eds really fit together. Pieces of a puzzle, Dingus and Doofus. You give each other the love you don’t give yourselves with those annoying low self-esteem of yours,” you nudged him with your shoulder and he looked down to laugh, but you saw his eyes watering.

After a while, he looked up. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I’m really, really happy.”

His smile was really brighter, and his eyes sparkled more. He looked lighter as if part of the huge hero weight he carried on his shoulders had been lifted. You could imagine that the fact that your lives not being in constant danger helped, but love… Love gets you through anything. And you were really, really happy too - for them.

When Eddie came back from the bathroom, bowing for a girl to walk in front of him to her seat, the trailers were already starting. And the bright light from the screen enveloped him in a kind of aura, and his hair looked so fluffy, and his Motorhead shirt sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders, his arms covered in tattoos for show. His shredded jeans, and his chain belt, and his funny wonky walk, and the way he fiddled with his rings. He threw himself at the sit beside you, his arm instantly coming to the rest of your chair behind you while the other reached for the popcorn bowl on your lap, his huge trademarked smile plastered on his face and his beautiful calf eyes looking into yours. You gulped. Something inside your belly swirled.

“Ready for the film, babe?”

Your heart almost leaped out of your chest as you nodded and smiled back at him.

Shit.

You had a crush on Steve.

And you had a crush on his boyfriend.

You were so very screwed.

They gave you a ride home, even though your house was way off their own route, and made you sit between them in Eddie’s van too. Steve’s arm was around you and Eddie’s hand occasionally touched your arm or knee and they let you choose the songs - even though none of you shared musical taste by any means - while you commented on the movie. They even got off the van to give you hugs when you arrived home.

And although you had one of the best afternoons ever, you were also mentally exhausted.

Apparently, finding out you had crushes on two people who were dating each other and then spending your whole day trying not to make heart eyes at their every move was very draining.

Robin was in the living room, a random rom-com on the TV that she and Vickie were pretending to watch, while they were actually attached to each other’s mouths. They let go when they heard the door closing behind you though. Your parents were still not home from their jobs.

“Hey, how was the movie?” your sister asked excitedly. You raised an eyebrow.

“The movie was fun,” not that you had paid a lot of attention. “The being a third wheel part, not so much,” you got closer to them and messed up Robin’s hair. “I actually realized I have a massive crush on both of them and kinda wanna throw myself off a cliff right about now.”

You and your sister had absolutely no secrets between you (that’s how you ended up with her, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, a random middle-school nerd and a very sassy ten-year-old trying to break into a secret Russian base under the town mall Summer of ‘85). So it was a no-brainer that you were gonna tell her about your crushes. And you knew she was gonna tell Vickie anyway, so you just said it with her there and then.

Vickie’s eyes widened with your confession, but Robin didn’t seem to bother. “Yeah, honestly, I had that figured out. I know you too well, ya’ know. Can’t hide shit from me anymore. I’m glad you uncovered your truth, though.”

“Fair,” you shrugged. “You look good for someone with diarrhea, by the way,” at that, she did look guilty about, while Vickie laughed loudly, but you wasted no more time before heading to the bathroom.

You needed a long, calming bubble bath to realign your chakras and rest your stupid, stupid little head.

Later that night, contradicting your expectations Vickie went back to her house, and Robin knocked on your door with a PB&J sandwich for you that she left on your nightstand. You were already under the covers, your head buzzing with so many thoughts and feelings that you were no closer to understanding. And apparently, your sister knew that. She laid down beside you, both of you on your sides facing each other.

“How you feeling?” she asked, basically whispering.

You whispered back: “Like shit. I dunno what to do.”

“Do you wanna do something about it?” her hand found yours under the covers.

“I don’t think there is something to be done about it, Robs. They’re dating.”

You both went quiet for a few minutes. You were trying not to cry, but your sister’s caresses on your palm and the warmth of the blankets around you were making it very hard.

“I really thought Steve liked you, you know?”

“What?”

Robin smiled sweetly at you. “Yeah, he would constantly bring you up on random conversations at work. Wanted to include you in every plan we made,” she paused just for a minute. “But, in hindsight… he did that with Eddie too.”

“Well, Eddie reciprocated him faster. And made his move, so there’s nothing I can do about it now. And I’m happy for them, I really am. They look - they are! So happy together. This,” you gesticulated around yourself, “just some goddamn sour grapes. It’ll pass.”

“Yeah, it will,” she got closer to you and hugged you, and you finally let your tears drop.

“Might take some time. Might take some distance,” you sniffled. “But it’ll pass.”

-x-x-x-

You were serious about the distance.

So you tried to steer clear of Family Video, except on days you knew Steve didn’t have shifts on. You thanked every god and the universe that none of the bands you liked released anything so you wouldn’t have to go to Eddie’s work to buy new vinyls or tapes. You’d see them on the streets and take a detour, a longer route home, walked into stores so they wouldn’t see you back.

Robin noticed, of course, she knew you like the palm of her own hand, but she didn’t comment on it. She would invite you to movie sessions with her and Vickie and would hold herself so they wouldn’t be too touchy and accidentally make you feel bad. Not that you would actually care. It wasn’t them you were in love with, your bitterness was not that big.

You even tried to go on dates of your own, tried to force the crushes out of your system. People who’d ask for your number at work, one of your coworkers, even someone that started a conversation about mayonnaise on the market aisle once. But none of them were nice enough, or funny enough, or sweet enough, or snarky enough, or caring enough, or Steve enough, or Eddie enough.

You felt like the biggest idiot in the County.

You couldn’t hide from them forever, though. You couldn’t hide from them at your monthly get-together. Especially when it was being held at the Munsons’ new apartment - mostly financed by government hush money.

And you were avoiding Steve, Robin - his other soulmate - wasn’t. Therefore, it wasn’t a huge surprise when he pulled up on your driveway to give you and your sister a ride to his boyfriend’s house that night. You tried your best not to act like an asshole, but as you sat in the backseat you knew you were quieter than normal. You could feel Steve’s eyes on you through the rearview mirror at every stop at a red light. He didn’t ask, though. He just kept listening to your sister’s rambles.

But, after he rang the intercom and Eddie opened the gateway and Robin ran up the stairs, you tried to follow her but Steve stopped you with a weak tug on your arm. You turned to him.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his hazel eyes filled with worry. You softened.

“I’m good Stevie, can’t wait to see Eddie’s apartment, shall we?” you tried to get past the conversation, but he didn’t let go of your arm.

“You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Seriously, don’t worry. Let’s go, Eddie must be wondering where we are already,” you pulled your arm with strength enough to be released from his grip and went up the stairs without waiting for an answer. You heard him sigh, though.

When you reached Eddie’s floor, he was standing in the doorway. “There you are! For a second I thought you’d bail on me, babe,” he said, and if you had ever heard him call Steve babe you could swear he was talking to his boyfriend. But he only ever called you babe.

He pulled you in for a hug, and you squeezed your eyes shut at the smell of his cologne, the way his hair tickled your nose, the way his cold rings felt against your warm skin, and how he was tracing circles with his thumb on your shoulder.

This was way too hard.

You gently pushed him away, ending the hug faster than you really wanted it to end, and looked at his face. “Give me the tour, will you?”

He grinned widely at you, but you didn’t miss the questioning look he threw Steve behind you before he turned and started showing you the apartment. Dustin, Max, and the Sinclairs were already there - Steve picked them up before he did it with Robin and you.

It wasn’t a huge apartment, but it was enough for Eddie and Wayne. They had a fairly big living/dining room, separate from the kitchen, and two bedrooms now. Eddie’s room was already filled with posters on its walls and ceiling, the usual mess the boy used to make already scattered on the floor. Sweetheart had her special spot on the wall too, looking as beautiful as ever.

As you went back to the living room, complimenting and congratulating Eddie on the house, Nancy arrived with Mike and the Byers siblings. As a heartwarming gift, you had all agreed to participate in a campaign that day, even Steve, Max, and Nancy went for it - after lots of bribery, but still. You had always been curious about it, so it didn’t take much to convince you too.

So you all gathered around the dining room, pulled out your character sheets - the kids helped you create your own characters along the month - and settled for what you knew were hours of adventure. And some (a lot of) bickering.

The one-shot campaign was a success. Eddie was a great DM - not that you knew a lot about that, but it felt like he was a great DM. He said he had some insights from Will, who looked very proud of the help he provided. Everyone seemed to have a good time, even Nancy, Steve, and Max who reluctantly smiled their way through the campaign. Dustin had a blast that his favorite humans were together and enjoying the same things at the same time. Your characters saved the day in the end and it felt rewarding.

Mr. Sinclair had passed by and taken both his kids, plus Dustin and Max, home. Vicky was on her way there to get Robin and you. Nancy and Jonathan, in the living room talking to El, were waiting for their brothers, who were in Eddie’s room talking to both him and Steve.

As you were coming back from the bathroom, you couldn’t help but listen to the conversation.

“…so yeah, Will, it’s absolutely okay to like boys,” Eddie’s voice wasn’t loud, but you were just by the door so it was clear enough for you to hear.

“And how did you know you liked both?” Mike asked.

Steve cleared his throat and before you could pry even longer into their conversation, you passed by to the living room, sitting beside your sister on the couch, arms crossed.

“Okay?” Robin asked, and you nodded. El looked at you in that curious stare she had, and Nancy pretended not to notice. Jonathan was staring at the wall. Probably high out of his mind, and missing Argyle.

You poked on your cuticles until the LGBT lecture for the baby gays was over, and the four boys walked out of Eddie’s room. You smiled as sweetly as you could at Will and Mike - Will smiled back, but Mike seemed kinda shocked and so his smile was more of a grimace. Poor boy needed time to settle into his self-discovery, apparently.

“Shall we?” Nance asked and El and Jon got up from where they were sitting on the floor. They all said their goodbyes to Steve and Eddie before getting out.

A few minutes passed by in awkward silence, you and Robin sitting on the couch, the boys standing up in the middle of the living room, no sign of Vickie. You could see your sister and Steve having a weird telekinetic conversation, you knew he was the other third of her soul, and was already fearing for your life because your sister was known to make stupid-ass decisions.

“I’m gonna take a wee!” aaand there she goes.

She got up way too fast and you couldn’t hold her arm to force her to stay, and so you saw yourself alone with. The boys you liked. It was like your body was preparing itself to ignite into explosive inside-out combustion, a mantra rolling in your head repeatedly ‘calm the fuck down, breathe in-breath out, calm the fuck down!’, not helping very much but you still tried.

Eyes closed, you felt the couch sinking as they both sat beside you. You took a glance and Steve was directly to your right, Eddie beside him, both of them sharing another silent conversation before Steve turned back to you.

“So-” your attempt at cutting the ice was cut out.

“I like you,” Steve blurted. Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“Steve, what the fuck, Eddie’s sitting right there,” you discreetly pointed at the other boy, your voice somehow caught between a yell and a whisper. Eddie wiggled his fingers at you.

“Yeah, he’s part of the conversation?” Steve answered, sort of asked, and you couldn’t be more confused.

“What.”

“We both like you,” Eddie joined, scooting closer to Steve, making Steve scoot closer to you, making you scoot a little backward.

What the fuck was going on.

“You. Both? Like me?” they just eagerly nodded. “Well, that’s fucking weird. Like, not normal. At all.”

“Is it, though?” Steve asked, no malice in his voice, eyes full of affection. “You like the both of us. Is that weird?”

“WHAT-how-what-no?! What! ROBIN?” your eyes went straight to the little corridor leading to the bathroom where your apparently betrayer of a sister was, and you could swear you heard some thumping coming from that direction.

Steve stretched out his arms, ready to touch you before he gave up. You couldn’t decide if you felt grateful or sorrowful. “No, your sister didn’t betray you. She didn’t have to tell me, I can tell when people like me.”

“You couldn’t tell with me,” Eddie pitched in, and you suddenly remembered he was there. Quieter, probably for the first time in his life. Why was he so quiet?

Steve rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s remark. “Yeah, okay, I said people, not big ass confusing nerds.”

“Are you telling me they’re not big ass nerd?” Eddie pointed at you, but you were still in too much shock to even process what he was saying.

Steve looked at you again, his eyes going back to that affection you saw before, and he called your name sweetly, and you had absolutely no idea what that conversation was and what you were supposed to tell them because, yeah, you liked them, but what? They liked you? And what the hell were you all supposed to do with that?

You didn’t have to answer, though, because Robin got out of the bathroom and Wayne walked in through the front door, and Steve and Eddie scooted backward again, and you got up faster than your sister did with her ‘wee’ whatever.

“Robin let’s fucking go goodnight mister Munson nice to see ya bye boys what the fuck!” you didn’t stop to hear any of their answers, nor for Robin to catch up to you, nor to take a fucking breath, and just bolted down the stairs.

You had a lot of thinking to do that night, wrangled up in your sheets, a PB&J sandwich by your nightstand, Robin probably cuddled up to you.

What the fuck.

-x-x-x-

Two whole weeks passed by.

You continued on your ‘avoid them at any costs’ plan, even though Robin was all up in your ass bugging you to talk to them, even though you told her you didn’t know what to say, even though she practically gave you a scripted speech, even though she tried to convince you it couldn’t go wrong, even though she was most probably right, even though she kept saying Steve and Eddie were in sour moods, even though you felt like shit for making them sour. Because you still had no idea what to say.

But you were also in a sour mood, because you missed them, and because you didn’t understand but you wanted to understand, and because your crush was probably more than a crush, and you really wanted to see where all of this could go even though you have never heard or seen anything like this. Deep down in the confusing fortresses of your heart, you were willing to be a pioneer on that matter. Even if you very likely wouldn’t pioneer shit.

And so when your feet automatically walked six blocks from your work to Family Video on a random Tuesday after your shift, and your heart unclenched a little bit when you saw both Steve’s bimmer and Eddie’s van - and no sign of Robin’s bike -, and when you walked in and saw it with our very own two eyes that even though they were clearly happy to be around each other - Eddie bugging Steve in his closing shift - it felt like something was missing there, and you desperately clung to the idea that what was missing was you.

“How’d you talked about this?” you asked, their heads turning to the sound of your voice, Steve instantly letting go of the broom he was swiping the floor with, Eddie instantly standing up from where he was all slouched over the counter.

“This… what?” Steve asked, his eyes avoiding yours for a second to look outside from the glass doors. You turned around and switched the plate from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. Fuck Keith if he complained Steve closed half an hour earlier.

“This. You liking me. How did you get to that subject, and then decided to bring it up with me?” you pointedly looked at Eddie. He was way too quiet last time. You needed to hear him saying.

He apparently understood you just fine, “I brought it up. Even before we agreed we were each other’s boyfriends, I asked Steve something similar, how did he know he liked me, and he told me how confused he was because he liked both me and you,” he said.

You gulped and tried not to deflate.

“And Eddie said, quote-unquote, ‘fuck yeah they’re the best, I really think I like them too’. And we didn’t do much about it, because we didn’t think there was anything to be done, and soon we were serious about each other. Until Eddie took us to a gay bar he used to go to in Indy,” you think you remembered Robin talking about this to Vickie someday, their plans on going too.

“And we talked to some of the people I knew from other times, and we ended up talking about you a few drinks down, and. Apparently, there are people who date more than one person. And it’s okay,” Eddie shrugged as if it was nothing, a shy smile on his lips, and you hadn’t noticed but you were all a few steps closer to each other. Steve’s broom forgotten on the floor, both of the boys’ eyes on you, adoringly, sweet as fucking candy, a whole conversation they had about you with strangers at a gay bar in Indianapolis.

“I need to sit down.”

Steve brought you a cup of water, and Eddie was sitting beside you on the ‘employees only’ room couch in the back of Family Video. Fucking ‘employees only’ back room. Eddie wasn’t sitting too close, but he wasn’t far, and that was comforting.

You gulped down the water in practically one go and settled the cup on the side table. Scooted a little closer to Eddie, patted down on your other side, Steve followed your command and sat down too. You couldn’t look at them, though, not yet.

“You did your research”, your voice was quieter than you wished.

There goes being a pioneer, you guess.

“We weren’t even looking for it, the information just literally landed on our laps,” Steve said.

“We were just rambling on and on about the person we both like. A lot,” Eddie smirked, but there was no real danger in his smile, never was. Your shoulders decompressed a little, and it was like they were both waiting for that to scoot a bit closer. Eddie’s hands just beside your thigh, Steve’s arm draping behind you on the couch.

A few minutes passed by, your mind a whole mess of a race, but they waited patiently for your next question. “How would that even work?”

“Like any other relationship. Except it’s three of us instead of two. And we can have dates, no one will know it’s a date besides us, it’s what Eddie and I already do, people think we’re just two guys being bros. We will look like three friends hanging out, but we will know.”

“And we can sit next to each other and hold hands, hidden under the diner table, we can have a whole schedule,” Eddie joked, you chuckled, and he held your hand. You let him. Squeezed his fingers with your own. “And sometimes we can go to Indy and we don’t have to hide there.”

“Or we can have home dates, and Eddie can cook, and I can bake, and you can just sit there and look pretty as you do,” Steve’s fingers grazed on the nape of your neck. You got goosebumps.

“Are you saying I can’t cook?”

“Well, last time your lasagna was not that good-” you let go of Eddie’s hand to swat at his thigh, and he laughed out loud. “Just kidding, babe, it’s just cause we wanna treat ya,” you quickly held his hand back.

“You know how Eddie likes to treat the ones he cares about,” Steve said, and you remembered your conversation at the movie, that day.

“Did you plan that movie? When Robbie had ‘diarrhea’?” Steve’s cheeks turned instantly pink, and you and Eddie both snickered at that.

“Stevie might have begged your sister to leave,” there was so much fondness in Eddie’s voice, and you noticed just then, how much fondness was in the voice he used to talk to you, too. “You make him nervous, you see.”

Steve’s ramblings made more sense.

“You make him nervous too, he’s just the weird kind of nervous,” Steve remarked, and now Eddie’s quietness the other day made more sense too.

God, you had been oblivious.

“And we can make this work? You really think we can make this work?” you asked, still unsure. Okay, you weren’t a pioneer, but you still had never heard of this before.

“We can totally make this work, babe. I swear to you is not as complicated as it seems. Is just-” he interrupted himself, thought for a second, his eyes staring intensely into yours, vulnerable, a little pleading, decided to go with it: “Well, it can be just love.”

Eddie’s words echoed in your head for what felt like a long time. Not a fucking crush, oh no. You knew them too well for that. You knew yourself too well for that. All of the fear washed in a wave out of you, and you sighed a happy sigh.

Just love.

Felt right.

“Feels right,” you said, feeling Steve’s forehead thumping on your shoulder, his fingers getting lost in your hair, he was closer than before.

Eddie was closer than before, you looked at him, his nose touching yours, his breath tickling your skin, suddenly his lips on yours, and your whole body collapsed into him, your fingers still tightly holding onto his, your free hand searching behind you for Steve’s hand, Eddie’s free hand in your face, cradling your jaw, so gentle, his lips so soft even though you knew he had a habit of picking on the skin there, but he was so soft, so soft, so soft.

Steve’s lips were on your neck, and suddenly you switched it up, let go of Eddie’s lips, turned your head, now Eddie’s lips on your neck, your lips on Steve’s, he was soft, you knew he liked Chopstick, he was real soft, but his fingers on your neck, tugging on your hair, his hands on yours, he was a bit frantic, not as slow, not as gentle, just as sweet, sweet as fucking candy, and you were going into a sugar-coma, head spinning, breath caught, couldn’t wait to do this over, and over, and over, and hiding in a diner, and in a gay club in Indy, and in your house, and their house, in their beds, or your couch, and over and over and over again, dizzy with all the expectations because you felt it, right through those kisses: you could make this work.

You would make this work.

It was working already.

Working perfectly. Simple as that.

487 notes · View notes

vixparker · 1 year

Text

My Pain Fits In The Palm Of Your Freezing Hand

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Pairing: when Peter learns you have healing powers, he starts faking injuries to come see you until he gets seriously hurt

Masterlist

While on a mission with Tony, Peter went to swing on a web when it broke and sent him flailing the ground.

“Ow. My butt.” Peter whined when he fell right on his tailbone.

“See, that’s exactly why I don’t swing on webs I made myself. Too risky.” Tony clicked his tongue.

“They’ve never betrayed me like this before.” Peter wheezed and rolled back and forth in an attempt to assuage his pain.

“Yeah. You definitely look like you have nerve damage.” Tony sighed as he looked at Peter.

“Mr. Stark.” Peter groaned. “My butt feels like someone just did a banging drum solo on it. I’m seriously injured.”

“And I’m seriously over your attitude.” Tony replied. “You bruised your butt. Get over it.”

“I think it’s broken. Can you break your butt?” Peter gasped and looked at Tony in fear.

“Oh my God. Fine. Come with me.” Tony rolled his eyes before scooping Peter up bridal style. Peter found it a little strange but didn’t complaint. Tony carried him to the jet and they flew off together to tower.

Once they landed, Tony led Peter down a hallway to a room he had never been in before.

“What’s this room?” Peter looked at Tony to ask.

“This is my best kept secret. Ever wonder how we all heal so quickly?” Tony smiled smugly.

“Not really, no.”

“Oh.” Tony’s smile dropped. “Well, it’s her.”

“Her?” Peter asked as Tony pushed the door open. Peters eyes moved past Tony and landed on you. Standing in the room that looked like it was dressed for medical purposes was you in a lab coat over a navy blue dress. Peters breath immediately hitched in his throat when you gave him a wave.

“Peter, I’d like you to meet my daughter.” Tony said as he put an arm around you.

“You have a daughter? Like from doing sex and stuff?” Peter asked in disbelief.

“What can I say?” Tony shrugged. “I was a whore in my 20s. And 30s. And now.”

“And I’m the result of that whoring. Hi, I’m Y/n.” You said and reached out to shake Peters hand.

“I’m Peter.” Peter blushed as he shook your hand.

“So what hurts?”

“My…my ass.” Peter reluctantly admitted.

“Okay, great. Wait what?” Your smile dropped.

“My coccyx.” He said in a quiet voice.

“Your cocks sick?” You asked and looked at your dad in confusion.

“He fell really hard on his coccyx.” Tony explained. “Do you think you could work your magic?”

“I don’t see why not.” You said snd smiled at Peter.

“What magic? She’s magic?” Peter asked me looked at you incredulously.

“I’ll have you know my lovely daughter has the power to heal.” Tony said proudly.

“So you can heal my butt?” Peter asked hopefully.

“Hop up on my table.” You instructed and patted the medical table beside you. Peter looked at Tony for reassurance and he gave him the go ahead. He left the room as Peter hopped up onto the table and laid on his tummy.

“How does this work exactly?” Peter asked as he nervously looked over his shoulder at you.

“You’ll see. Can you show me where it hurts?” You asked him in a kind tone.

“Yeah. Right here.” Peter said and went to pay his tailbone. He ended up smacking his own butt, sending a loud clap through the silent room. You and Peter were silent for a minute as the sound bounced off the walls.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to smack it like that.” Peter mumbled quietly.

“It’s okay. But damn, that was a pretty loud smack. You got a lot of cake back here.” You chuckled as the shyness between you melted away.

“You mean that?” Peter looked over his shoulder with a pleased smile, making you laugh.

“I do. You could open a bakery with this thing. It’s phat with a “ph” at the front.” You replied, and it was Peters turn to laugh.

“You aren’t what I would expect Tony Starks daughter to be like.” He admitted.

“What were you expecting?”

“Have you seen Modern Family?”

“Of course.” You scoffed.

“I was expecting Alex Dunphy. Like, exactly her.”

“That’s fair. And to be honest, I wasn’t expecting the bug themed super-teen my dad won’t shut up about to be double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon.” You said simply, making Peter laugh.

“Your dad won’t shut up about me?” He said in a swooning voice.

“Nope. I swear, he looked into legally adopting you at one point.”

“I wish he would. Then I’d get to live here instead of the shoebox I currently live in.”

“Yeah. My dad told me about it the first time he went to visit you. He told me the square footage and gagged a little.” You chuckled.

“Yep. That sounds like Tony.” Peter sighed and rested his chin on his hands.

“Well growing up here isn’t as amazing as it seems. There’s a million rooms and they’re almost always empty. It’s honestly pretty lonely here most of the time.” You told him, the playfulness in your voice gone. Peter peaked over his shoulder and saw that your smile had turned into a pensive look.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly.

“I’m sorry too. Because I’m gonna need you to strip.”

“What?” Peters eyes widened.

“My powers can’t get through your suit. I’m guessing my dad made it and he tries to make these things as impenetrable as possible.” You explained as you put your hand over Peters tailbone to show him that nothing would happen. Peter looked at your hand before letting out a little chuckle.

“What?” You wondered.

“Penetrate.” He said then laughed again.

“Oh my God.” You playfully rolled your eyes. “Just take off your clothes. I’ll turn around.”

Peter got off your table and took his Spiderman suit off, leaving him in just his boxers. He took those off as well and told you he was done. You turned back around and your jaw dropped when you saw he was totally naked.

“DUDE!” You shrieked and covered your eyes with your hands.

“What?” Peter wondered.

“Why are your boxers off?!” You asked with your hands still over your eyes.

“You said strip!” Peter matched your volume out of instinct.

“Not all the way!” You exclaimed. “Why would you need to be completely naked for me to heal you?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know how your powers work!” Peter shouted back.

“Put them back on!”

“Okay! Sorry!”

Peter grabbed his boxers and pulled them back up while you peaked through your fingers to look at him. He looked up at you and you quickly covered your face back up before he could see that you were peaking. He caught you and smirked to himself but said nothing.

“Okay. I’m decent.” Peter told you. You uncovered your eyes and unapologetically stared at his body for a second before looking into his eyes.

“Good. Now get on the table, perv.” You said and tried to hide the blush you felt.

“I’m not a perv.” He whined. “You’re the first person who’s ever seen my penis. Literally the very first person ever.”

“You haven’t seen it?” You asked with genuine concern.

“Obviously I have. But other than myself or anyone who’s ever changed my diaper as a kid, you’re the first.” Peter said and climbed back on the table.

“Wow. I’m so honored.” You chuckled and rubbed your hands together.

“So how’s this gonna work?” Peter asked nervously and looked over his shoulder.

“I’m gonna put my hand on your butt. Which I was kinda worried about doing because I thought it would be awkward but then you whipped your dick out and I don’t see things getting anymore awkward than that.”

“That’s fair.” Peter nodded in agreement.

“You’re gonna feel warm, okay? That’s how you know it’s working.” You prepared him and placed your hand on his tailbone. Your touch brought forth and incandescent glow as your powers started to work. Your hand glowed a sunset orange that traveled up your forearm and spread into Peters back.

“Okay. Tell me when it -ahhhhhh.” Peter sighed in relief when he felt the warmth you were talking about. His pain instantly melted away and he felt like he was floating on a cloud.

“Does that feel good?” You asked softly, making all the blood rush to Peters face.

“So good.” He breathed out. “My butt is in butt heaven right now.”

“Been there.” You nodded. “I call it Beaven.”

“Thank you so much. That really was magic.” Peter said as he rolled over on the table. You smiled and held out your hand to help him sit up.

“Do you have anymore injuries I can help you with today?” You asked without letting go of his hand.

“How about my bruised ego?” He asked with an embarrassed smile.

“I’m not a miracle worker, Peter.” You said seriously before cracking a smile.

“Then no. You’ve done all you could do.”

“I’m glad I could help. I will hopefully be seeing you around.” You said as you stood between his legs and rested your hands on his thighs.

“I hope so.” He said quietly as he gaze dropped from your eyes to your lips. You instinctively started to lean in just as the door swung open.

“Hey you two. How did it - oh. Your pants are off. That was unexpected.” Tony stopped in his tracks when he saw how little clothing Peter had on.

“If you want to talk about unexpected-“

“He doesn’t.” Peter quickly cut you off. He hopped off your table and gave you one last look before going to Tony.

“Thank you again, honey.” Tony smiled at you, but your eyes were on Peter.

“Bye Peter.” You waved to him as your hand glowed.

“Bye.” Peter smiled shyly before being ushered out of the room by Tony.

“So what did you think of her? Pretty neat, huh?” Tony asked as he walked Peter to the front door.

“She’s incredible. Do you know if she has a-“

“Boyfriend?” Tony cut him off. “She doesn’t. And it’s not going to be you. That’s my kid, okay? And in a way, you are too, so it’s basically incest if you think about it. So do not even think about it.”

“I wasn’t.” Peter lied as he thought hard about it.

A couple weeks later, Peter was asked to come on another mission with Tony. It was handled quickly and Peter was left unscathed, but Tony didn’t need to know that. He’d been dying to see you again after the last time so he did what he had to do and faked an injury.

“Ow. I really hurt myself.” Peter pretended to whine and rubbed his shoulder.

“Aw. Sucks to suck.” Tony said without looking up from his phone. Peter rolled his eyes but was determined to get what he was after.

“Do you think your daughter could help me?” Peter asked and pretended he just thought it it.

“I guess so.” Tony shrugged. “FRIDAY, take us to the tower.”

Peter pumped his fist in celebration and Tony looked at him suspiciously.

“Ow.” Peter whined again and rubbed his completely fine shoulder.

“Wasn’t it your other shoulder?” Tony pointed out.

“They both hurt.” Peter quickly lied.

“Uh huh.” Tony said skeptically before going back to his phone. They landed at the tower in no time and peters heart raced and Tony led him to your room.

“Oh. Hello again.” You smiled when Tony and Peter walked into your room. “Are you gonna keep your pants on this time?”

“No promises.” Peter said and returned the smile.

“What?” Tony demanded. “You better kept your pants on. Make promises.”

“I promise I’ll keep my pants on.” Peter mumbled under his breath.

“Good. Thanks a mil, hon.” Tony kissed your cheek before leaving the room.

“You’re welcome daddy.” You called after him.

“Daddy?” Peter snorted and gave you a look.

“Shut up, orphan.” You shot back.

“Damn!” Peter let out a shocked laugh as you covered your mouth with your hand.

“I’m sorry. That came out so fast. I had no time to stop it.”

“How’d you even know about that?” Peter laughed and sat on your table.

“I asked my dad about you after we met.” You admitted. “And then I deep searched you on the internet. And Peter, I mean really deep.”

“How deep?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

“You know your comments on Porn Hub are visible to the public, right?” You asked, making all the color drain from his face.

“Oh no.” He whispered.

“Oh yes. But I think it’s cute you pointed out a plot hole in that one step mom video.” You told him with a smile.

“Oh my God.” He turned a deep red and covered his face with his hands. You found this cute and moved his hands away from his face to see him.

“Tell me what hurts.” You said in a soft voice. It was so gentle that Peter felt his chest explode with fondness for you.

“My shoulder.”

“Aw. Your shoulder?” You pouted sarcastically.

“Hey. It could be serious.” He playfully scolded you.

“Seriously pathetic.” You snorted. “Take off your suit.”

“You are just like your dad. And are you this mean to all your patients?” Peter asked as he pressed the center of his suit to let it slide off his body. You sucked in a sharp breath when you saw his body again but quickly looked away.

“Nope. Just you.”

“Should I be flattered or offended by that?” He asked you as you placed your hands on his shoulder.

“That’s up to you, pretty boy.” You said suavely as your hand lit up a golden orange. Peter didn’t get to see this last time since you worked on his back, so his eyes lit up with amazement when he saw your powers at work. Golden rays swirled under his skin as the familiar warm sensation engulfed his shoulder.

“How’s that feel?” You asked as you looked into his eyes.

“Really good.” He said softly and held your gaze. Your eyes lingered on gus for a minute until you regained your composure and took your hand away.

“All better?” You cleared your throat and asked.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Peter rolled his shoulder out and kept his eyes on your.

“Is there anything else I could do for you?” You asked and leaned your hands on either side of the table so that you were boxing him in.

“I don’t think so.” Peter gulped and looked at your lips again.

“Okay. Then I’ll see you next time you’re hurt.” You said but didn’t stop leaning over him.

“Is it weird I hope that happens soon?”

“Really weird, yeah.” You teased him.

“Good to know.” He smirked. “Thanks again.”

Peter returned less than a week later when he saw on Tony’s Instagram that he was away on vacation. Peter swung to the tower and snuck inside before finding your room.

“Back so soon?” You asked and leaned against the doorframe.

“You’ll never believe it. I got a paper cut.” Peter said and held up his finger.

“Oh no. You did?” You asked sarcastically.

“Yeah. It seems really deep too. Should I take my shirt off?” Peter asked as he walked into your room.

“Not this time, perv.” You chuckled and pushed him towards your table. He hopped up onto it and swung his legs as he watched your hands.

“Can I ask you something about your powers?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is it just your hands that can heal?” He wondered. You smiled a little and took his hand before taking his hand and bringing it to your lips. You kissed his fingertip and the golden rays he had grown so fond of a spread from your lips. He felt his cut heal while his face burned a bright red.

“Did that answer your question?” You asked as you looked at him through your eyelashes.

“I cut my pee pee too.” He whispered.

“Oh yeah? On what?” You humored him.

“Can opener.”

“A can opener?” You laughed in surprise. “What was that doing down there? A DIY circumcision?”

“It wasn’t. I just said the first thing that came into my head.” Peter admitted.

“That was very obvious to me but thanks.” You chuckled.

“Well do you think you could kiss it better?” He smiled teasingly.

“I’ll do you one better and snap it off. Then you’ll never have to worry about cutting it on a can opener again.”

“Is that your medically professional suggestion?” Peter asked in a serious tone. You laughed and shook your head at him, making him crack a smile.

“Don’t be fresh. I’ve seen your “pee pee” enough times for one lifetime.” You reminded him.

“Yeah. That moment has been haunting me since the day we met.”

“As does it haunt me. Now do you have anything else I can heal for you today?”

“Would you believe me if I said I had a cut on my lip?” Peter asked as his eyes dropped to your lips again. You smiled and started to lean in until your lips brushed against his as you spoke.

“Not a chance, lover boy.” You whispered and pushed his face away. Peter let out a disappointed groan while you laughed proudly.

“Fine. But I did have another question.”

“You can ask but you’re on thin ice.” You playfully warned him.

“Can you heal yourself?” He asked, making your smile drop. You stood between his legs and rested your hands on his chest before shaking your head.

“No. Isn’t that funny? The powers don’t work on myself.”

“So what do you do when you get hurt?”

“I suck it up. You should try it sometime.” You teased him.

“I’m not sure I know how. You’ll have to show me.” He joked as he brushed some hair off your forehead.

“I think I could manage that.” You smiled and played with the collar of his flannel. Peter watched your hands as his face flushed all the way to his ears.

“Y/n?” Peter asked softly.

“Yes?” You asked and slowly looked into his eyes.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like we have something going here.” He said and gestured between the two of you.

“Do you now?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I feel like we did before I said something.” Peter continued, making you laugh. When your laughter died down, you kept your eyes down as you toyed with the buttons on his shirt.

“My dads your boss. So many things could go wrong.” You said quietly as your way of gently letting him down. Peter brought his hand to your face and used his pinky to tilt your chin up so you could look into his eyes.

“But so many things could go right.” He said with his eyes on your lips. You looked into his eyes and shook your head a little to show him you meant what you said.

“I promise that if you take a chance on me, we could be really good together.” Peter pleaded with you. As much as you wanted to give in, you knew you couldn’t cross this line.

“It’s like I told you. I can’t heal my heart if it breaks.” You said and took a step back from him. Peter nodded in disappointment but ultimately understood.

“But thank you for the offer.” You said to lighten the mood. Peter looked down at his healed finger and folded it into a fist before letting it go.

“No. Sure. Of course.” Peter didn’t look at you as he got off your table. He went to the door but stopped when he felt guilty for how he was acting. He turned to you and gave you a smile that showed he wasn’t angry.

“Thanks for healing me. I’ll see you next time.” He said sincerely before leaving the room.

You didn’t see or hear from Peter for the next few weeks. Your guilt had been eating away at you every day and you longed for the moment he’d walk through your door needed something to be healed. Finally, you got a text from your dad that he was on his way over with Peter. You put on some lipgloss and fixed your hair before setting up your medical table. Soon enough, you heard a knock at your door.

“This better not be another paper cut.” You said as you opened the door. Your eyes widened when you saw Tony carrying Peter while Peter clutched his stomach.

“It’s not. It’s really bad.” Tony said in a shaky voice as he laid Peter down on your table. Peters head slumped to the side and he could see that he had three deep scratches going across his entire chest.

“Oh my God. What happened?” You put your hand over your mouth when you saw Peters wounds.

“Giant lizard.” Tony told you.

“Giant lizard?! What?!”

“Don’t ask. Please just fix him.” Tony begged and you could see that he had started to cry.

“I will. But I can’t do it if you’re in here. You gotta go.” You said and Tony immediately left. You warmed up your hands and started to put them on Peter when he grabbed your wrist.

“Y/n.” Peter croaked out.

“I’m right here, Petey. I got you.” You told him and gripped his hand.

“It hurts really bad.” Peter said as tears slid down his bloody face.

“I know. I’m gonna heal you, okay? I promise.” You said and put your hand over his wound. Your hand started to glow but the wound was so deep that the bleeding didn’t stop.

“I don’t think it’s gonna work. I think I’m gonna die.” Peters voice cracked as he looked down at his wounds. You quickly tilted his chin up so he couldn’t see how badly he was hurt.

“You’re not gonna die, okay? I’m not gonna let that happen. Just let me heal you.” You said as your tear drops fell onto his face.

“If I die-“

“You won’t.” You cut him off.

“If I do.” Peter continued. “I have to tell you something.”

“What is it?” You asked and stroked his face with your free hand.

“I think…” Peter began but trailed off.

“Yes?” You urged as you leaned close to his face.

“I think your butt is big too.” He said in a weak voice.

“Oh my God.” You let go of his hand and let it drop into his chest.

“I wanted to tell you that the day we met. But I forgor.” Peter said before breaking down into a coughing fit.

“I’m not even gonna heal him. I’m gonna let him die.” You said, mostly to yourself.

Peter let out a strained laugh before passing out from the pain. You quickly moved your hands along his cuts until the bleeding eventually stopped. Once you had that under control, you pressed down firmly on his chest to spread your powers as deeply as you could. Finally, his wounds closed before your eyes. You pressed the center of his suit and tugged it off of him so that you could properly clean him up. Peter ended up waking up after you had put him in a fresh pair of scrubs that you kept in your room. When you saw his eyes flutter open, you rushed to his side.

“Hey, you healed me.” He said with a soft smile. You replied by swiftly smacking him across the face.

“That’s for dying.” You told him. You then leaned down and kissed his cheek.

“That’s for coming back.” You said. Peter slowly sat up as he never broke eye contact with you. After a beat of shocked silence, he spoke.

“What kind of Disney channel ass shit was that?” Peter asked with a disgusted face.

“Are you kidding me?” Your smile dropped.

“Are you? That was the corniest thing you could’ve possibly done. It’s giving “he’s right behind me, isn’t he?”. It’s giving “uh guys, you’re gonna want to see this.” It’s giving-“

“Okay. I get it. I’ll just never speak again then.” You cut him off and held up your hands in defense.

“Wait. Come back.” Peter chuckled and pulled your back towards him by your shirt. You rolled your eyes but looked him in the eyes to hear what he said to say.

“Can you heal a broken heart? Aha.” He asked you in a fake deep voice.

“I’m about to smack the fuck out of you.” You warned.

“Okay. But you have to promise to heal me after.” He teased. You couldn’t help but smile at his antics as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He looked into your eyes as he pressed his forehead against yours and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Can we cut the bullshit and make out already?” He asked you, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

“And you think what I said was corny?” You laughed at him.

“And you think what I said was corny?” Peter mimicked you. “Shut up and kiss me.”

“Shut up and kiss-” You started to mimic him back when he pulled you into a kiss. You cupped his face with your hands as he pulled you into his lap to deepen the kiss. You were just getting into a groove when you heard the door open.

“Hey honey. Is Peter….” Tony trailed off as you and Peter quickly broke apart. You stepped back as Peter wiped your lipgloss off his mouth. Tony looked between the two of you for a long time as you all stood in uncomfortable silence.

“Honey, get your powers ready. Peters gonna need them.” Tony said and he cracked the knuckles on both his hands.

“But…but I just healed him.” You said quietly.

“You’re gonna have to heal him again.” Tony replied as he stretched his arms.

“Why?” You wondered and looked between Peter and your dad. Tony cracked his neck before staring Peter down.

“Because I’m about to beat the shit out of him.”

Tag List 🏷️

@awesomebooklover17 @thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling @serendipitous-amor @tom-hollands-wifey

@whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101

@letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl

@jackiehollanderr @maryjanee23 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow

@unbelievableholland @flixndchill @sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever

@undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild

@canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman

@smilexcaptainx @quaksonhehe @kelieah @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger

@electraheart-3174 @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @horanxholland

@thesuitelifeofafangirl @marshxx @heyheycharlatte @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie

@maybemona @alexxcorona113 @lethal-wisdom @xo-spidey

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vixparker · 1 year

Text

It Would've Been Fun, If You Would've Been The One.

requested off this prompt list, i changed it up some to flow better with the story, but same idea. (i am on my period and off an edible but i fucking cried writing this. sometimes we have to leave things behind and it's hard and fucking sucks.)

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: angst/SAD

Summary: you love peter, he doesn't love you, he loves his girlfriend.

Word Count: 3k

Women support women.

Unless that woman is Katie Klournox, then women do not support all women.

Her head is thrown back while she laughs, it’s a delicate laugh. It’s a laugh you could overhear at the booth next to you in the restaurant and smile at. There was something so innocent in the sound, a twinkle of real joy, it was utterly contagious.

At least it has to be, because Peter seems like he’s thinking the exact same thing while he looks over her. Proud of how he’s made her laugh, her hand grips at his bicep, painted, ringed hands clutched his jacket. She leans into him, her joy takes over the space.

You nearly choke on it.

Peter can’t contain it, cuteness overload, how did he get so lucky? He pressed a kiss to her temple, “Wasn’t that funny, was it?” You followed her hand with your eyes as they rested on his chest, she leaned up, his lips followed, he placed another on her cheek.

Katie’s flush matched Peter’s lip color.

“I have never laughed so much in my life, I swear.”

Peter wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her in, he rolls his eyes at her remark. “One of these days I’m gonna get a massive ego and you’re going to wonder where it came from.” Katie poked his side, he giggled. “Never, if you get a massive ego on me I’m gonna be the proudest girlfriend ever.”

The title stung every time you heard it.

Peter moves to pull at her waist, you can’t help but watch and dare to imagine if it was you. He pulls her in slowly, you watch each second scared to blink, you didn’t dare miss it. His lips rested on hers, she fluttered her eyes shut, you watched as they both smiled for a moment before pulling away.

It’s been ten minutes and they haven’t acknowledged your existence, you can’t remember why you opted out of Flash’s offer for lunch.

You assume you’re a masochist, nothing like self torture.

Peter whispers something and she slaps his chest, you watch her carefully. She’s happy, and so is Peter.

You can’t decide if you hate her because you want to be her, or because she was braver than you were.

Peter could’ve been yours, he was yours. You had him and lost him, best friends from the start, and instead of coming clean you watched as another girl scooped him up and you couldn’t even hate her for it.

You hated how good she was for Peter.

It made you sick how good Peter was for her.

It’s been fifteen minutes, they’re lost in their own language and smiles. You’re not even hungry, you stand and no one says a word.

As you calmly walk away a part of you wonders that if even for a second, did either of them notice you sitting there? Either answer is just as unsettling.

—-----------------------

Saturdays are for the boys.

That was the joke, anyway. It was actually you and Peter hanging out but it’s been a while, at first you were able to ignore the fact he was dating Katie, you could just pretend that wasn’t real and dream about mutual pining like it was before he met Katie. But then Katie started coming too, an invite from Peter each week started to leave a sour taste in your mouth.

It was your day.

You had Saturdays, she had the rest.

It was the one day you could pretend that this was an alternate universe where she never existed, but now she had to watch someone kiss Peter in the kitchen, and on the couch, and that one fucking time you caught them in his room, the time where his shirt was off and hands on her bra, the first time you ever felt a piece of your heart die.

You tested the waters a few weeks ago, a simple text.

‘Can’t make it tonight.’

He read it, he just never replied. You assume he meant to but got interrupted by his girlfriend calling, or texting, or sitting on his lap.

Peter never asked about it either, you stopped going after that.

He hasn’t mentioned it.

—--------------

You were a woman of routine.

Peter always stopped by your locker in the morning, until he didn’t show up one day. He didn’t say anything about it either, like the thought never crossed his mind, you weren’t the priority, Katie was.

Sometimes you wonder if you hadn’t encouraged him what could’ve happened. You just remembered how excited he was, the pure joy burned into his face when he was hit on, when he was asked on a date.

They shared a computer science class, she was two people down on his right, one day she stopped him after class and asked if he wanted to go out with her. He was so ecstatic, the hot girl in his class asked him out.

You couldn’t help yourself, he was too happy. He wanted this and you told him to go for it, she was able to get there first. It was a race you didn’t know you were competing in, and you couldn’t match the energy. There was no point in discouraging him because you couldn’t build any yourself.

But you told him to do it, and now he has a girlfriend and his girlfriend actually genuinely loves him. You bring yourself back and can’t help but wonder if one thing had been different, would everything be different today?

—----------------------

It’s been a month of no contact with Peter.

Was a part of it you not wanting to see them be miserably happy? Yes.

Was it also part of Peter not trying to keep you in his life either? Yes.

You thought it would be harder, and it was at first. But then the realization came.

You had no one to blame but yourself, you couldn’t be mad at Katie for doing what you couldn’t and you couldn’t blame Peter for going after it, and you sure couldn’t blame either of them for being a happy couple.

You could blame yourself for being scared, you could blame yourself for being bitter, you could blame yourself for hoping it crashes and burns so Peter has no other option but to come crawling back.

Alone in your room you realized all of the blame fell entirely on you, and you had no one to share it with.

If it weren’t for class you would forget the way his voice sounded, sometimes you wish it could forget the way he says Katie’s name, like it’s his favorite word. You nod and hum while pretending to listen, you don’t care to learn more about her than you have too, you’re scared you’ll like her too much. You count back in your head when the last time either of you have had a real conversation, you feel sick when you can’t remember. You shake your head and blink when Peter snaps his fingers in front of your eyes.

He laughs, “Are you even listening?”

You blink blankly, “Honestly? No.”

Peter’s shoulders slump, “Oh.”

You feel bad. You’re sick with self pity but still want him to feel better.

Love is a sick monster.

“I’m sorry, Pete. I’m just out of it today, say it again?”

You smile at how his eyes light up, it dies when he begins to speak.

“Ok! So Katie was telling me-”

You look at him and nod, instead you’re thinking about wanting to lie and bed and never get out of it again.

—---------------

You should miss Peter more but you don’t.

You miss how it used to be with Peter, how Peter used to be with you but how it is now there was no point to miss him.

If you were to hangout with him the conversation or attention always falls back on Katie, and the part that sucks the most is you can’t blame him at all. Because if he was yours you would only wish he’d act the same.

Is it wrong of you to dodge Peter? Maybe, but you also didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with him much anymore.

That’s why you’ve been ignoring his calls.

You watch his contact photo appear, you count the vibrations and watch as the screen falls black. It’s lit with his face again, after the third round you finally pick up.

“Hello?”

“You’re hard to get a hold of, you know that?”

Funny he says that, he hasn’t called or texted first in over a month.

“I’ve been busy, what do you need?”

Straight to the point, on Peter’s end he furrows his brows. You know he’s not calling to chat.

“Can you come over? I need you for something.”

It shouldn’t make your heart race but it does, he’s choosing you over her for once. Unless she’s busy, but you refuse to think about that, he’s choosing you, you’re sure of it.

“Now?”

“Yeah. Please.”

He did choose you over her.

But only because it involved something she didn’t know about.

You’ve never heard silence quite this loud before, his bathroom is so empty of sound the reminisce drops of his earlier shower echo on the tile of his shower. You hold his skin taught as you pull the needle and thread through, you hear him hiss and can’t help the sadist in you as you tug tighter.

He’s called you over to help patch him up. Not because he chose you but because you were his closest means of service, you had a tugging suspicion he knows you’ll do anything for him and he’s using that to his advantage right now.

Normally you’d ask him what happened and tell him he needs to be more careful, this time you didn’t even say hello. You saw what he wanted immediately, what was understood didn’t need to be explained.

Peter can’t stand the silence, he breaks it.

“I know it’s late, were you doing anything?”

The question makes something ache in you. It’s Saturday, it was your day once upon a time, doesn’t he remember? You never replaced the day, instead you sat at home and did something for yourself, a new hobby or even setting the day away to hang out on social media, projecting yourself into other people’s life.

“No.” You counted four more stitches, then you could leave.

“I would’ve called Kate, It’s just, you know.” He lets out a dry laugh.

You settle your movements for a moment, he admitted what you knew but didn’t want to entirely admit. He asked you not because he wanted you, not because you’ve done this a million times before, not because you’re his best friend, not because he missed you.

But because you weren’t her.

You stay silent until you’re done. You’re calculated in your movements, you pull your gloves off, wrap the needle in them and toss them. Normally you’d wipe it off and patch it, he can do it himself. You stand calmly and walk around him.

He waits until you’re in his room, he notices you gathering your things to leave, he stops you confusingly.

“Thanks, by the way.”

You nod.

“Wanna stay? We can hang out if you want, Kates coming over at nine but-”

There’s no need to let him finish what he considers an offer.

“No, I’m just gonna head home.”

He pauses, he can’t recall when there’s been this much tension before. He thinks before trying again.

“You can get some pizza if you want, I haven’t ate yet today and Kate-”

You squeeze your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose. You shoot the words out, venomously and quickly, almost amazed you have to spell them out for him.

“I don’t think we should be friends anymore, Peter.”

He looks down.

He plays with his fingers.

He breathes slowly.

He blinks with tears in his eyes.

He whimpers the words quietly, you have to search to hear them.

“I know.”

You bite at your cheek and nod.

You know he knows now, he’s let you slip away and you know it. It was a mutual break up, you just didn’t know until now.

“You know?”

He knows what you’re referring to, he sighs and sits on the side of his bed. They say break ups are bad, imagine losing your best friend because you don’t love her how she wants.

“Yeah.”

You cross your arms, you look towards the door and imagine bolting. You can’t afford to lose the closure.

“How long?”

Peter sniffles and runs a hand through his hair, “I think after that saturday you canceled, I just had this feeling and the more I talked about Kate the more it sunk in.”

“It was hard, Peter. It was really hard. I couldn’t bear being around you, but I couldn’t bear being without you. I was watching myself lose you in real time, I just couldn’t handle it anymore.”

The conformation hit Peter, he was right. The one time he didn’t want to be right and he was, he was holding out on one last line of hope that he had it all wrong, that this wouldn’t have to end with losing you.

“I don’t want to be right this time, Y/N. Tell me it’s not true.” He doesn’t know how to be a friend without you.

You smile sadly, you both have tears in your eyes.

“I’m in love with you, Peter Parker. And you don’t love me back, there’s no other way this works.” You blink a tear down your face.

Peter blinks out his own, his voice cracks. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

This isn’t how it should be, it should be different. But neither of you are sure who should change their mind.

You shake your head, you give a teary smile and blink more tears away.

“Don’t be. You loved me the best way you could and I can never forget that.”

Peter cracks. He sobs, his chest carries broken cries. “I don’t know how to be without you.”

You cry just as hard, “I don’t know either.”

He wipes tears and breaths shakily. You follow suit.

“But we’ll figure it out.”

He nods, he has no words. He can’t offer you anything and knows it.

“I don’t want you to think I’m ending this with resentment. I really like her, Peter, and I really wished I didn’t. It would make hating her a lot easier, and you’re good for her and she’s good for you and I get why you love her and I understand why she loves you. I just can’t watch you love someone the way I love you and know it will never be me.”

He wants to apologize for not loving you how you want.

“Can I have a hug before you go?” It’s all he wants, he just needs to feel safe for one last second.

You oblique, you lean into him one last time. His skin is warm and flush, you forgot how sturdy he felt. His hands spread across your back, you close your eyes and melt into his touch. You can feel him one last time, it feels better savoring the moment. You miss every time you’ve taken his presence for granted. You wish you could replay a movie night one more time, or a bunk bed sleepover one more time. A grilled cheese and scrabble night, a night before May’s birthday, cake making night, just one more night where you were able to both forget how things are now.

You pull away and smile at him, it’s going to get harder the longer you wait.

Peter misses the days you both lived in delusion, always praying on hidden hope. He misses that secretive privacy with you, he wants one more with you.

A lie you’ll both share.

He catches you at the door, “Hey, you think maybe after some time we can get over this and go back to normal?”

You turn and give a small smile.

One last secret.

“Maybe.”

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