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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years

Text

scopaesthesia 👁️ chapter 3

chapter 1 chapter 2

Warnings: nonconsensual sex, death, murder, violence, stalking, paranoia, blood, gore, and other warnings to be added

This is dark!Bucky Barnes with a likelihood off dark!Steve Rogers as well and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: A close call has you on the move.

Note: Alright, things are ramping up. As always, mind the warnings and take care of yourselves.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

A third glass of wine helped you sleep better than you had in the last week. You didn’t remember much past the bottom of the glass; only the fear and the way it burned your throat. You didn’t remember falling asleep or even going to your bed.

Slowly, as if drowning in oil, you woke. One eye opened, then the other. Your head pounded as the grey winter light peeked in. You groaned and a sudden crash made you shoot up in your bed. The duvet fell away from your chest as you listened to the grunting and the footsteps barreling across the floor. You were dizzy as your heart raced.

You kicked out from under the covers and stumbled frantically to the bedroom door. You peered out into the living room, the dark figure at the open door. Bucky braced himself against the frame and swore. He looked as if he would bolt out until his eyes settled on you.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself straight. He closed the door and locked it firmly. He shook his head and crossed to you.

“I didn’t mean to wake you--”

“What’s going on?” You looked around. The coffee table was overturned, the lamp too, and pillow leaked its innards onto the floor. “What was that? What happened?”

“It’s okay, I think I got him much worse,” Bucky assured you.

You noticed for the first time the knife in his hand. The same black handle that he holstered on his belt. You blanched as your eyes scaled his torso and the dark blood spread across his grey tee shirt.

“Did you?” You asked as you backed away. “Oh my, that’s a lot of blood.” You touched your stomach, still sensitive from the night before and roused by the sight of red. “Are you okay?”

He looked down and touched along his ribs. He hissed and carefully set down his knife on the arm of the couch. “Shit.” He pulled open the slice in the cotton and chuckled. “Fucker got me good.”

“How can you laugh?” You gasped. “What do you mean-- Was it him? Was he in here?”

“Yeah and so was I,” Bucky raised the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. “I took care of him.”

“He got away,” you looked at the door. “He got in! How could he--”

“Well, I assumed it was easier in a carrier’s uniform,” Bucky bunched up his shirt and stemmed the blood with it. His thick arms tensed and his broad chest puffed out. “But… I think I got a decent peek at his face.”

He went to the lamp and pulled it up. You watched him stunned. How could he be so casual? Your eyes fell to a trail of blood that led to the door and was smeared across the side of the coffee table.

“I told you, I got him worse,” Bucky said as he looked at you. “You got some bandages, or something?”

He sat heavily and leaned back as he looked under the tee shirt. You blinked and nodded dumbly. You recalled the video call the night before; the woman’s blood pouring from her throat, bubbling along her lips. You went to the bathroom and searched beneath the sink for the first aid kit you’d never even opened.

You came back out and unclasped the metal box. You set it on the corner of the couch and bent to flip the coffee table. Bucky stopped you. “Leave it. It’s got evidence on it.”

You stood and stared at him as he took the first aid kit and balanced it on his thigh. He stirred around with one hand and pulled out the bottle of alcohol. He pressed down on the tee before removing it and sprayed the gash. You slumped onto the couch and tried not to look. You had never done well with the sight of blood. There was so much, you could smell it even.

“Shit,” he uttered, “I think I’m gonna need some help.”

You looked up again and he pulled out a spool and a packaged needle. You’d never thought you’d need those.

“I can’t-- Blood, it makes me… sick,” you murmured. “I don’t know--”

“Well, I can’t exactly see well enough to do it myself,” he grunted. “Honey, it’s fine. It’s nothing serious but it needs stitching.”

You squinted at the pet name. The more he said it, the more odd it seemed. You weren’t his honey, you were a job.

You sniffed and neared him. Your hand shook as he ripped open the packet and threaded the needle. You took it from him as he held it out. You stared at the metal point then glanced at him.

“I’ve never…”

“Have you ever sewn? A cross-stitch maybe?” He asked.

“I took home econ in high school but that was… a long time ago,” you swallowed. “What if I make it worse?”

“It’s just like a tear in a pair of pants. That’s all. Don’t think about it. Just--” He gripped the tee shirt tightly, “Do it.”

He lowered the cotton and bared the cut again. Your lashes fluttered and you let out a long breath. You got closer and bent over him. You hesitantly touched the flesh along the cut and pointed the needle along it. You bit down as you poked his skin.

“Come on,” he rasped, “We got a lot more to do.”

You pushed the needle’s nose through his flesh and your stomach flipped. You held your breath as you pulled the threaded through and repeated the action, again and again. His blood stained your fingertips and when you reached the end, he stilled your hand and took the needle from you. He looked down as he knotted the tail and you barely kept from tripping over the coffee table as you retreated.

“Go. Pack a bag,” He pushed himself to his feet as he tossed the thread in the kit and slid the needle back into the plastic. “I’ve gotta make a call. I doubt they’ll let you stay here any longer.”

“Where will I go?” You asked as you rubbed your fingertips, still wet with his blood.

“Somewhere safe. I promise.” He said as he wiped his hands on his tee shirt. He looked around and bent to retrieve his phone from beside the tv stand. “But right now, we don’t have time for all the questions.”

You just nodded as he dialed and retreated to wash your hands.

As your adrenaline slaked away, your hangover became more apparent. Not only your head, but your entire body ached. Had it been worth fleeting moments of oblivion?

You went to your bedroom and dug around the closet for the wrinkled old duffel bag. It felt hopeless; futile. Even with Bucky there, that monster had almost gotten to you. Was there anywhere he could keep you safe?

You shoved some clothes in the bag and went to the bathroom to grab your toothbrush and other toiletries. You heard Bucky talking and the distant voice buzzing from the speaker.

“We need somewhere more secure. I understand, I didn’t expect it so soon but… well, he knows now. He’s going to be even more desperate…”

You zipped up the duffel and marched out to the living room. You plopped it on the floor and crossed your arms. Bucky hung up as he turned to you, dropping his fingers from the blinds he’d been peeking through.

“You said he would hide for a bit,” you said. “But… why is he doing all this?”

“We’re just going of the BSU assessment. They can be wrong. They can draw up a whole profile but it’s almost impossible to predict what these types do next. We went off similar cases, similar circumstances. But like I said, this isn’t our typical suspect.”

“Uh huh, and yet you won’t tell me how. And he’s dangerous enough to almost get past you--”

“Not even close,” Bucky insisted. “Honey, come on. I do this all the time. You have no idea what the fuck we’re dealing with so stop it with the questions and go get changed. Back up’s on the way.”

You flinched at his tone. You huffed and shook your head. You went back to the bedroom and pulled out some jeans and a long-sleeve sweatshirt. You really didn’t care what you looked like.

When you entered the living room again, Bucky dropped your bag closer to the door. You crossed your arms as he took his hoodie from over the back of the couch and zipped it up over his bare torso. You grabbed your phone from the shelf where it was charging and he was on you in an instant. His hand covered yours, the metal cold and hard.

“You have to leave it,” he said. “We can’t compromise our new position.”

“What? But--”

“What do you think is going on right now? Life as you know it is over. No more phone,” he yanked the cell from your grasp, “No more apartment, no more work.” You grimaced and held up your phone. He squeezed until you heard it crack and it bent in his metal grip. “You got to trust me.”

“What the fuck? You didn’t have to do that.” You stared at your broken phone as he dropped it back on the shelf.

“Honey, you gotta start listening to me. Fuck around and I can’t protect you.”

Your lip twitched. Honey, honey, honey. That wasn’t your name. You shrugged and spun away from him.

“When are we going?” You asked.

“Soon,” Bucky said, “Get your coat, your shoes. I’m just waiting for the call.”

You brushed by him and pulled on your boots, ignoring your heels. You grabbed your jacket and you heard a soft vibe. Bucky reached over your shoulder as he took his own coat and stepped into his own boots. He exhaled as he checked his phone.

“Alright, let’s go. Back door.” He directed as he turned the lock, “Come on.”

He opened the door and grabbed your duffel. He waved you into the hall and locked the door behind him with one hand. He tucked away his key and nudged you onward. Only the stomp of your boots sounded as you hurried down the stairwell and he pushed by you to open the heavy door.

He ushered you out into the early morning chill and caught your elbow as he followed you. He urged you across the parking lot to a black car with tinted windows just at the edge of the tarmac. He opened the back door and tossed our bag inside.

“Get in,” he said as he looked around. “Now.”

You ducked through the door and Bucky climbed in the passenger seat. You blinked as you caught a glimpse of the driver in the rearview. Then he turned to nod at Bucky and you recognized him. Steve Rogers greeted his old friend with a quiet ‘hey’.

“Go,” Bucky demanded.

“No introductions?” Steve put the car in gear and pulled past the rows of cars.

“This is Steve,” Bucky said sharply as he looked back at you, “I know you’ve read the case file. You already know her.”

“Where are we going?” You asked softly as you leaned on the duffel.

“Safe house. About two hours out,” Steve answered before Bucky could. “You’ll be safe there.”

You chewed your lip. Well, surely two was better than one and yet Captain America’s presence was hardly reassuring. That just confirmed to you how fucked this whole situation was.

“Fury didn’t like the last minute notice but he understood,” Steve said to Bucky.

“Mmm, we can talk about it later.” Bucky grumbled. “Honey, why don’t you get some more sleep. It’s gonna be a long ride.”

Steve peeked at you in the mirror as he turned out of the parking lot. He glanced at Bucky next but stayed quiet as his eyes returned to the road.

“Take your own advice, Buck,” Steve snickered. “You both look like you need it.”

👁️

You didn’t sleep. You couldn’t. A mixture of anxiety and the shadow of alcohol kept you awake. Even so, you closed your eyes and kept quiet in the backseat. The motion of the road lulled you and helped ease your headache. Few words passed between the men up front.

When you did open your eyes, tall trees passed you by and lined the winding road ahead. You were well out of the city but couldn't guess where. Maybe you should have paid attention. Or not. It was better to be far away, to lose yourself in hopes your stalker would as well.

The cabin was nothing special. It looked like any other retreat away from the world. Deep in the heart of the forest, it felt an entirely different world. As Steve killed the engine, you sat up and unbuckled your seat belt. You slid out of the backseat with your bag in hand as Bucky went to the trunk and pulled out a bag of his own. Steve did the same and checked the time on his watch.

You followed Steve as Bucky stayed to your rear. You didn't miss his hand on his knife or the way he looked around. Up the steps, you wait as Steve pressed his hand over the sign that said “home sweet home" and the door clicked. He nudged the door open with his foot and let you in. Bucky closed the door and the latch whirred loudly back into place.

Steve turned and opened a panel beside the door. He pressed a finger against the screen and quickly typed in several codes. A sudden lurch and the shudders rose on their own; metal slats folding and rolling up in unison. The lights all flicked on at once and the growl of a generator rose from below.

"Windows are bulletproof. There's no way in or out without one of us," Steve pointed between himself and Bucky, "And most assuredly, you have two super soldiers watching your back."

"Mmhmm," you muttered as you looked around. "Well, I think it's bad enough I even need two."

"Well better than none," Bucky said. "Steve, you can show her around. I need to call HQ, give a description of this guy before it's too far gone."

"Sure," Steve said and waved Bucky off. He turned to you as he unzipped his coat. "Not sure why he's asking me. I've never been to this one before."

"How long will I be here?" You asked as you took of your jacket and he took it from you to hang it over his own.

"Well," he leaned on the wall as he removed his boots, "I hope not too long. If Bucky got a good look at this guy, no more than a week or two. "

"So… you know… everything?"

"I've caught up," he said, "Not gonna lie, it's… intense but you shouldn't worry. Me and Bucky, we've never had a mission we couldn't handle."

"Guess it's better than being on my own," you said. "I just… why me?"

He tucked his hands in his pocket and looked at you. "Well, from what I know, these types rarely have logical reasoning. You can't blame yourself." He shifted his weight on his feet, "Hey," he pointed behind you to the next room, "A woodstove. How about that?"

👁️

When Steve finished the tour, or rather aimless wandering, of the safe house, he let you pick a room. There were several and you didn’t give much thought to your choice. You just wanted somewhere to relax. It was barely after noon and already it felt like the day had dragged on. After such a terrifying night, you had been thoroughly unprepared for the startling reality of the day.

He left you to seemingly ordinary room. A double bed, plaid duvet, chestnut night tables and a matching dresser. A carpet woven in the Navajo fashion was sprawled across the floor and a small desk looked out the window. A portrait of pine and maple seemed to mirror the view on the opposite wall and added to the cabin’s cozy allure.

You placed your duffel atop the dresser and slid open one drawer at a time as you unpacked your hastily collected attire. Two pairs of jeans, a pair of pajamas, a pair of loose shorts, socks, several shirts with vary styles and sleeve lengths, a second bra, and your scramble of toiletries. The only thing that was missing were your underwear. You swore you had grabbed those first as they lined your top drawer but they were no where to be found in your mess.

You could’ve overlooked them. Easily. You were so rattled, so hollow, so suffocated by terror that you couldn’t think of much but the smell of blood and the voice that grew clearer and clear in your mind.

Your head continued to pulse with the dregs of your previous night’s excess and the bile boiled in your stomach. You sat on the bed and held your head. You took a breath, restless despite your fatigue, and sighed. You hadn’t done anything and yet it felt as if you had dug yourself into the hole. As if no matter what you did, the pit got deeper and deeper and soon the dirt would start to pile in on you.

You shook off your despair and stood so quickly you stumbled. You needed to just stop. You needed to breathe; calm down. As blunt as Bucky could be, he was often right. You had him and Steve looking out for you.

You peeked out into the hallway and listened. You heard the two men talking but they were not close enough to decipher their words. You stepped out and crossed to the washroom just opposite your room. You locked yourself in and searched the cupboard for a towel. There were at least a dozen to your surprise and you hung one over the bar before you twisted the faucet on.

Anything to wash away your hangover. To cleanse you of the constant dread of your existence. A couple minutes under a hot shower to forget. A few moment for yourself. To just be.

You undressed and winced as the peculiar pain between your legs. You’d felt tender for much of the day and assumed maybe the stress was bringing on an early period. No blood, however. You felt grimy as you peeled off your layers and stared at yourself in the mirror. You looked as worn out as you felt.

You slipped past the curtain and welcomed the sheer heat of the downpour. You let it wash over you, let the steam smother you, let the rivulets slake over you and swirl down the drain. It was second, minutes, hours, eons… you could not tell.

You were sleepy as you turned off the tap. You wrapped yourself in the fluffy white towel and gather your clothes. There wasn’t much for you to do here; Steve had said as much. You stepped out into the hall and were startled by the figure in your bedroom door. Bucky turned to face you. His eyes flicked down for just a moment as you clutched your towel.

“I knocked,” he said. “I didn’t realise--”

“It’s fine. What do you need?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“As good as I can be,” the warmth seeped from you as the air nipped at your bare skin, “Thanks.”

“Good, good,” he nodded and smiled awkwardly. “I have a favour to ask you.”

“A favour?” You hugged your clothes in one arm as you kept your distance.

“Well, we only have rations really in the cupboards. Not very good. Vacuum sealed and bland. So thought maybe you could make a list and me and Steve could take care of that tomorrow.” He explained. “And anything else you need. Shampoo, toothpaste, whatever…”

“Oh, uh, sure,” you pressed your lips together. “You mind if I, uh, get dressed then get back to you?”

“Y-yeah,” he seemed to realise he was blocking your door, “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be downstairs. We’re just going over some evidence.”

“Alright,” you sidled past him. “I’ll be down soon.”

You quickly closed your door and leaned against it. You listened through the thick wood. You heard a soft tap and the drag of something against the other side. A whisper you could not discern before his footsteps finally retreated. Odd but perhaps you were only hearing things. Paranoia could make the tallest tales seem true.

You dressed, mournful of your forgotten underwear, and made your way downstairs. Bucky sat with his back to you as you entered the dining room, a chandelier with fake candles hung from the ceiling and cast hazy shadows along the walls. Steve sat to his left and slid over a piece of paper.

Both heard you enter and looked over at you; Steve smiled, Bucky stared pensively.

“I can make that list now,” you neared as you hugged yourself. “It’s chilly in here.”

“Oh…” Steve looked down then scoffed, “Yeah, afraid we’re not so sensitive to it. We tend to forget.” He stood and stretched his arms. “I’ll go figure out the furnace.”

“So, have you--” Your voice caught in your throat as you neared. You caught sight of the frantic scribbles, the smeared led across the paper. Bucky tried to sweep the sheet into a folder but you stopped him as Steve froze behind his chair. “What is that?”

He didn’t need to tell you. It was a drawing of you, crude but discernible. You were bound and naked, legs wide and there was blood smeared down your chest. You gaped at the sketch and shook your head. Bucky stood slowly.

“He did this?” You rasped. “How many-- how many of these has he done?”

“It’s confidential,” Bucky snatched the paper and placed it in the folder. “You shouldn’t be looking at all this.”

“After last night? After he broke into my apartment this morning?! What am I supposed to do? How can I do anything if I know nothing?”

“We are taking care of it,” Bucky grabbed your shoulders. “So you just be a good girl and let us.”

“I can’t do nothing! Please, do you have any idea what it’s like? All I can think of is this-- this monster and everything he’s done. What he’s gonna do to me.” You latched onto his wrists and tried to pull him away. “I almost just wish he’d have it done with.”

Bucky growled and Steve warned him with a hum. He dropped his hands and backed away from you. He stacked up the folders and looked at Steve.

“Take her back to her room before you deal with the heat,” Bucky said. “Lock her in if you have to.”

“What? You can’t--”

“Honey, I can do whatever I want to keep you safe,” he pointed a finger in your face. “I have the clearance.”

You snorted and glanced at Steve. He gave a pitiful look in return. He motioned to the doorway as he raised his brows in exasperation. You didn’t look at Bucky again as you turned and stormed out ahead of Steve. As he caught up to you at the bottom of the stairs, he kept his voice low.

“I won’t lock you in,” he said, “Just don’t push him. He just needs time.”

“He needs time?” You scoffed.

“Look, he told me what happened this morning. He’s not the type to be left bleeding like that.” Steve explained, “And he really does want to keep you safe.”

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peachbear88 · 3 years

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A Whole New World (Pt 3)

A/N: So I have another idea for a oneshot or maybe series. "Forbidden Love". I think the name might already have been used but THIS IS THE PERFECT NAME FOR THE NEXT STORY AHHHHHHH! Anyways, back to the actual story at hand.

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You sit down cautiously in the leather seat in front of you, almost sighing. The chair is much more comfortable then you thought.

"So... what do you want from me?" You ask timidly, shifting uncomfortably in your seat as his gaze sears into you.

"Why do you think I want something from you?" He asks and you meet his eyes, noticing the amused glint in them.

"Because you didn't hand me over to the police and instead, brought me here." You gesture to the spacious, glamorous office. He chuckles, standing up to look out the massive floor to ceiling window.

"Touchè." You fidget nervously, waiting for him to continue. "I saw you paying a visit to the youngest Maximoff." Your breath hitches in your throat as he turns to look at you. "Very skilled, the whole, swinging from the tree branch." You flush and he smirks. "Young love. I presume you'd like her hand in marriage as well." Your face turns an even brighter shade of red and he chuckles. Not a genuine, hearty chuckle but a cold, dark laugh.

"She has to marry someone that benefits the company though." You pause, letting the smallest sliver of hope leak into your speech. "Right?"

Loki laughs cruelly, crushing the liquid hope you had.

"Correct. But. I can help you." You look up into his icy green eyes and he smirks. "I can make you rich enough to qualify for her hand in marriage. Powerful enough." You lean forward eagerly but he leans back, knowing fully well he had you wrapped around his little finger. "Nothing comes for free though."

You reach into your pocket, pulling out the brooch and examining it. You take a deep breath, steeling your resolve before turning back to him.

"What would I have to do?"

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"All I need is for you to go into that cave and fetch me an object. A simple oil lamp to be specific." You arch an eyebrow.

"Easy peasey." He stops you, pulling you back from the mouth of the cavern.

"Not so fast. You cannot touch any of the treasures in there, no matter how tempted. And trust me, you will be tempted." You gulp, noting the ominous tone in his voice.

"Got it. How hard could it really be?" You mutter, slowly inching down the cavern. A pebble slips, sending you tumbling down the semi-smooth stone slide. You scream as you fall, hitting the bottom of the slide with a grunt. "Didn't see that coming." Dusting yourself off, you slink through the dark, ominous cave. The further you descend into the cave, the more tempting the mounds of gold and jewels become. The cavern expands, leading into a massive area, dozens of tall, sharp pillars looming above you. Dead in the center, perched upon the tallest pillar is the desired lamp. You smile, stepping towards the pillar only to be upended by a small gem. You go flying, squeezing your eyes shut as you prepare yourself for the harsh impact but it never comes. Instead, you find yourself on a fluffy carpet. It ripples beneath you, and for a moment, you fear the whole cave is coming apart. Then the carpet pushes you off it and you shriek. The carpet, the carpet that just caught you is moving. You examine it curiously, pacing around it.

"A frickin' magic carpet." You exclaim as it watches you inspect it, impatiently gesturing towards the giant slab of stone crushing it. You scratch your chin before slipping your fingers between a small gap under the rock. "Alright, here we go." You grunt, heaving the rock. The carpet tugs and the moment the stone lifts a little, the carpet zips out, dipping and whirling around the cavern, sending gold cascading everywhere. Eventually, it calms down, circling around you and patting your shoulders enthusiastically. "Not a problem bud." You return your attention to the towering pillar in front of you. "Alright. Let's do this."

You pull yourself up, following the pre-set trail you had created for yourself as you grip another sharp handhold. A bit of blood trickles down from a thin cut on your palm and you grimace before continuing your steep climb. Your muscles are on fire, the thin cut on your hand tearing wider and wider every second. With one final pull, you reach the top of the pillar, the dusty lamp shining right back at you. Not wasting a second, you grab the lamp and slowly lower yourself down to where the carpet stands, watching you with anticipation.

"All right! Now to get out of here..." You dust of your thin, ragged pants, leaving a thick line of blood smeared on the fabric. After a few moments, you locate the tunnel you came from and make your way up the steep slope. Your footsteps echo off the large cave as you reach the large stone slide. A gem next to your foot catches your eye and you lean down, examining it. The carpet frantically waves at you, even slapping you but you push it away, picking up the gem. "No one's going to notice one small gem missing. I could go without stealing for a whole month without this gem." You shrug before slipping it into your pocket. The effect is instantaneous, a roaring voice echoing through the cave.

"You have touched the forbidden treasure. Now, you will never again see the light of day!" Molten lava spews forth from the cracks in the cavern, rapidly covering the stone. You jump up, leaping from stone to stone, clambering up the rocky slide. At the mouth of the cave, Loki stands, watching you frantically scale the rocky wall, unable to find the strength to pull yourself up the last bit of the wall.

"A little help would be nice!" You cry and Loki peers down at you, golden staff in hand.

"Give me the lamp first." He sneers and you resist.

"No. Your hand first!" He leans closer to you and his once handsome features contort into an angry scowl.

"Give me the lamp first." He repeats and you relent, reaching into your pocket and handing him the lamp. He examines it greedily while you cling onto the rock face.

"Now your hand!" He looks back down at you, all the kindness from before gone.

"How about my foot?" Your eyes widen as he raises his foot and steps on your hand, squishing it. You cry out in pain as he relentlessly twists his foot, agonizing pain shooting up your arm. Unable to hold on any longer, you fall, the sweltering heat radiating against your body before you hit a soft surface, soaring up into the air. Prying your eyes open, you look down to see carpet, speeding towards the entrance of the cave where Loki stands, still entranced by the lamp. The carpet speeds up and you reach out, snatching the lamp from Loki's hands. Loki roars in anger, pushing you backwards with the butt of his staff as the cave crumbles. Rocks tumble down, covering the entrance as you fly backwards towards a certain doom. Right at the last moment, carpet catches you and the two of you go tumbling back down into the darkness of the cave.

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"Ugh..." You groan, your eyes fluttering open. You're greeted by a brightly colored carpet hovering above you. "Hi." You mutter, pushing yourself into a sitting position. The lamp is still tightly clutched in your hand and you stare at it, wondering what that man could've possibly wanted from such a dusty relic. You sigh, rubbing the back of your neck before returning your attention to the carpet. "Well, you know any way out of here buddy?" The carpet makes exaggerated gestures with it's golden tassels at the lamp. You hold up the lamp, confused. "This old thing?" The carpet nods vigorously (at least you think it's nodding) and you shrug. "What's the worst that could happen." You take a deep breath, slowly rubbing at the lamp with your injured hand, blood smearing over the dusty brass surface. Slowly but surely, a thick blue fog spirals out of the lamp, revealing a massive blue figure. You stumble backwards, still clinging onto the lamp.

"Oh great one who summons me, terrible one who commands me, I stand by my oath, loyalty to wishes three." The figure roars. Your mouth opens but nothing comes out, just a pathetic little whimper.

"Eh..."

He clears his throat, peering down into the darkness.

"I said, 'Oh great...'" His eyes land on you. "Excuse, me, dude, where's your boss?" You stand there, gaping as he waves his massive blue hands in front of your face. "Help me out here, where's your boss? If I was just gonna talk to myself, I could've stayed in the lamp."

"Eh... Uh...." You gulp as he stares at you impatiently.

"Hellooooooooo!"

"I uh.... I'm talking to uh.... Smoking blue giant?"

"No! BRRRRRRRRR." He hums out, shrinking down and swirling around you. "I am not a giant, I am a genie. There is a difference." He retorts, waving his finger in front of you. "Giants are not real." He reclines back, leaving you frozen in shock. "Where's your boss?"

"Uh, my boss?"

He sighs.

"Look, kid, I've been doing this a long time, all right? There's always a guy, you know..." You watch his hands, noting how he uses them to gesture with every word he utters. "He's cheated somebody, or buried somebody." He explains, teleporting behind you and floating around. "I mean, you get my point. Where's that guy?" You nod in understanding.

"I know that guy. He's outside." The genie's face lights up.

"So, it's just you and me down here?" A telescope appears in his hand with a blue puff and he scans the cave through it, his brown eye bulging out from the glass. You nod, unable to form coherent words. "So you rubbed the lamp?"

"Uh-huh." He scratches his goatee.

"Huh. Do you mind if I just, you know, stretch it out over here?" He asks, already floating away from you. You look around the cave, searching for another being that the genie could possibly be asking.

"Uh, are you asking me?" He groans as he stretches out.

"Yeah, you're my master." You laugh dryly, swallowing.

"Yeah no, you look like you should be my master."

The genie shrugs, looking you up and down.

"Yeah, but that's not quite how it works." You stare at the lamp, mystified.

"How long have you been in here?"

"'Bout a thousand years." You stare at him skeptically.

"A thousand years?"

"A ThoUSanD YeARs." He mocks you, sitting down on a rock. "Is it just me or does everything surprise you?" You don't answer and he sighs, floating towards you. "So you really don't know who I am. Genie, wishes, lamp, none of that ringing a bell?" You don't respond and he looks taken aback. "Wow. Well, that's a first." He teleports a few feet away, snapping his fingers. "Monkey!" A small, frail looking monkey appears with cymbals and a band drum attached to it's back. It starts clapping the cymbals together rhythmically and blowing into a small kazoo. You stare at the monkey and the genie brushes you off. "Oh, don't worry 'bout him, he's fine." The genie starts clapping along before bursting into song.

"Well, Ali Baba, he had them 40 thieves,"

"Scheherazade had a thousand tales."

"But master, you're in luck,"

"Because up your sleeves, you got a genie that never fails!"

He finishes with jazz hands, the monkey's kazoo dying off with a slight squeak. You look at the carpet apprehensively only to see it clapping it's stray threads off.

"Whoo!" The genie exclaims, zooming around. "I'm the best." You stare at him, unbelieving. He sighs.

"Not enough, huh?" You don't reply. "I'm kidding, watch this."

A beam of blue light shoots out of his finger tip, hitting the monkey, who goes flying. The monkey lands on a tall pile of rock, behind a drum set. A jazzy upbeat tune fills the dark cavern.

"Here I go!"

"Uh! Ooh! Whoo!"

"Back up!"

The carpet disappears, reappearing on another tall pile of rock, shaking a pair of maracas rhythmically.

"Uh-oh! Watch out!"

He scats and a trumpet appears in the monkey's mouth, blasting out a high note.

"You done wound me up!"

"'Bout to show you what I'm workin' with. Uh!"

"Well, Ali Baba he had them 40 thieves,"

"Scheherazade had a thousand tales!"

"But, master, you're in luck because up your sleeves,"

"You got a brand of magic never fails."

The genie appears behind you, the golden shackles on his forearms glowing with power.

"You got some power in your corner now,"

"Heavy ammunition in your camp!"

His arms turn into golden cannons that fire bright blue blasts to emphasize his point.

"You got some punch, pizzazz,"

"Yahoo, and how?"

"All you gotta do is rub that lamp,"

"And then I'll say,"

"Missus, man what's your name, whatever, what will your pleasure be?"

"Let me take your order I'll jot it down,"

"You ain't never had a friend like me."

He picks you up and plops you into an elegant restaurant where a menu is thrown in front of you.

"Life is your restaurant and I'm your maître d'."

"Come whisper to me whatever it is you want,"

"You ain't never had a friend like me!"

"We pride ourselves on service!"

"You the boss, the king, the shah!"

"Say what you wish, it's yours, true dish!"

"How 'bout a lil more paprikash?"

You disappear behind mounds of the Sokovian delicacy, reappearing between racks of clothing.

"Have some of column A,"

"Try all of column B."

Blue strings attach themselves to your arms and you find yourself being whirled around, dancing, but from your point of view, you look like a flailing chicken.

"I'm in the mood to help you dude,"

"You ain't never had a friend like me."

He starts scatting as he pulls you around like a puppet.

"Can your friends do this?"

You point to a clone of the genie, who's standing on his head, his lower half spinning around like a disco ball.

"Can your friends do that?"

You point the other way to another clone of the genie who is whirling around a magic lasso.

"Can your friends pull this,"

"Outta they lil hat?"

He reaches into a top hat and slowly pulls out the magic carpet.

"Can your friends go,"

He starts beatboxing, bright flares shooting illuminating the cave.

"I'm the genie, of the lamp, I can sing rap dance if you give me a chance."

A couch appears behind you and you fall backwards, landing on the plush cushions.

"Don't sit there buggy eyed,"

"I'm here to answer all your mid-day prayers."

"You got me bona fide,"

"Certified,"

"You got a genie for your charged affairs."

He slaps a certificate into your hands and the couch zooms forward at light speed, throwing you off. You wave your arms desperately, attempting to balance yourself as you teeter precariously above a pit of molten magma. The genie pulls you back by the hook of your jacket.

"I got a powerful urge,"

"To help you out,"

"So whatcha wish,"

"I really wanna know."

"You got a list that's 3 miles long no doubt."

"All you gotta do is rub like so."

The lamp goes flying into your hands as the genie appears next to you.

"Missus?"

"Y/N." You reply.

"Yes!"

“One wish or two or three?"

"Well, I'm on the job, you big nabob,"

"You ain't never had a friend,"

"Never had a friend."

"You ain't never had a friend,"

"Never had a friend."

"You ain't never."

"Had a."

"Friend."

"Like."

"Me!"

He scats as fireworks go off, lighting the cave up in blue, red, green, gold and purple.

"You ain't never had a friend like me."

The scene fades and you stand there, still trying to comprehend the turn of events. The genie's large blue face appears in front of you.

"You can clap now." He smirks, imitating a mic drop. You raise your hands slowly to clap and he immediately stops you. "No, no no, please, please. You can thank me outside. In the sun. When you wish us out." You smile numbly before shaking your head.

"Wait so.... how does it work?" The genie's face drops into disbelief.

"You're.... You're kidding right?" He sputters, shrinking back down to a normal size. "The- The whole song was the- The instructions!" He grabs your hand, sighing. "Obviously you can't dance and listen at the same time. "So here's the basics." The lamp appears in his hand and he mimes rubbing it. "Step one, rub the lamp." A second head appears on his body. "Step 2, say what you want." A third head appears. "Step 3." The other two heads disappear as you continue walking hand in hand with the genie. "There is no step 3! See, it's that easy!" He waves his hand. "You get three wishes.They must begin with you rubbing the lamp and saying 'I wish' got it?" You nod slowly.

"I think so...." He smiles.

"Great! A few more rules. You can't wish for more wishes, 3 is enough. I can't make anybody love anybody." Pink hearts float around his head. "Or bring anybody back from the dead." Papyrus wraps around him, muffling his speech and giving it an eerie feeling. "Feel free to interrupt me anytime you don't understand." You give a sigh of relief, opening your mouth to ask a question but he immediately cuts you off. "I'm kidding, don't ever interrupt me, no matter what." You close your mouth. "Now, I usually don't have to go through all this because by the time the guy." He emphasizes 'the guy' with little quotation marks. "Gets to me, he already knows what he wants and it generally has to do with," He clears his throat expanding to a large size, a red glow hugging his blue skin. "Tons of money and power! Mwahahahaha!" He exclaims evilly, money raining down from the roof of the cave. He shrinks back down into his normal size. "Do me a favor, do not drink from that cup. I promise you, there is not enough money or power on Earth for you to be satisfied. Good? Well, what's your first wish?" You scratch your chin thoughtfully.

"Well, I have to think about it. I mean, if there are only 3," The genie scoffs in disbelief. "I mean, why are there only 3 anyways?" He cuts you off, waving his hands about.

"I don't know! Who cares?" You smirk, approaching him.

"You don't know? I thought you were all knowing."

"That's 'cause you don't listen. I never said I was all knowing, I said I was all powerful." He quips. "The most powerful being in the universe." He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Look, whatever I don't know, I know I can learn it. Outside in the sun. Why are you playing hard to wish?" He exclaims exasperatedly. "Give us some sun!" You relent, smiling and placing the lamp behind you.

"All right Genie. I wish for you to get us out of this cave."

"Boom! Booyah!" The genie zooms around excitedly. "She has made her first wish!" He reappears in a flight attendant uniform holding a safety brochure. "Thank you for choosing Genie Airlines. Please don't forget to tip your genie on the way out!" 3 more genies appear behind him in similar uniform, waving at you. "Hold yourself kid!" He whirls around you, bright blue fog enveloping you until you finally reappear outside on the outskirts of Sokovia.

"Whoa." You mutter, nauseated at the sudden movement. The carpet does a flip, soaring off into the air. "Why is the monkey still here?" You gesture to the little frail monkey next to you.

"Oh. Uh, consider it a gift." You shrug, picking the monkey up and depositing it on your shoulder. He snaps and the two of you are sitting under a makeshift tent, a chess board between the two of you. You gulp, holding your head. "Can you warn me before you do that?" He waves you off.

"You'll get used to it. So, have you decided what you're going to wish for?" He bites into an apple. You shrug.

"Nope. Haven't really thought about it." The genie laughs, depositing the apple on the chess board.

"Wow. You really are not that guy." You sit up in the woven tanning chair, watching the genie.

"So what would you wish for." The genie examines you thoughtfully before staring back at Sokovia.

"Easy. I would wish to be free." He raps his knuckles against the golden bands on his forearms. "To not have to say," Poof! He reappears in front of you in a waiter's uniform. "How may I help you?" Poof! He reappears in the chair beside you in his normal outfit. "Freedom. I wish to be human." You look at him curiously.

"Why don't you just set yourself free?" He laughs derisively, clapping.

"Only way I can be set free is if the owner of the lamp uses one of their wishes to set me free. The last time that happened was like, the fourth of Never-ary."

"I'll do it." You volunteer. "I've got 3 right?"

"Actually, 2. You used one to get out of the cave." The genie corrects and you smirk.

"DId I? Or did you? I thought I had to be rubbing the lamp."

"Okay little street-girl. Let's rewind the tape." He imitates a cassette tape rewinding. He examines the playback. "Okay! I see what you did there." You smile at him.

"At least now I can use my last wish to set you free." He leans forward in his woven tanning chair..

"See this is the thing. The more you have, the more you want." You look out at Sokovia.

"That's not me." The genie hums skeptically.

"We'll see about that."

"But... There is something." You sigh and the genie instantly notices the lovesick expression on your face.

"Oh! Seen that look before." With a blue puff, he appears in front of you, lying on his stomach, his chin resting on his hands. "Who's the guy?" You don't look at him.

"It's.... It's a girl." He smiles at you supportively.

"Well, I can't make anyone fall in love with anyone." You quickly shake your head.

"No, no. We had a connection." He quirks an eyebrow at you.

"Alright, alright."

"She's smart, kind, incredibly beautiful. But she has to marry- Hold on, can you make me rich?" The genie teleports back to his chair.

"Kid, there is a lot of gray area in 'Make me rich'." He snaps his fingers and a rich business man in a stylish black suit appears a few feet away. "I could just make you rich." You immediately backpedal, shaking your head.

"No, no, no." The genie nods.

"Right 'cause then you'd be stuck with this guy. Be specific with your words. The key is in the detail." He advises and you nod. "Which I don't really understand because if she already likes you, why change?"

You shrug.

"I told you, she has to marry someone that benefits her family's business." The genie stands up, fiddling with his fingers.

"Alright, I can do that. An official wish this time, for those of us that are counting." You clear your throat nervously.

"Genie, I wish..." He snaps his fingers, pointing at the lamp. "Oh right! Sorry." You pick up the lamp, rubbing it. "All right. Genie..." He raises his hands in mock surrender.

"Don't hurt em Genie."

"I wish... to become rich." You squeeze your eyes shut, preparing for the worst. The genie smiles, waving his hands.

"Back up kid, I need some room to work. I'm gonna fabulize you."

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

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#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff fluff #wanda maximoff angst #marvel au #avengers #wanda maximoff #wanda angst #wanda fluff

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thenovelartist · 3 years

Text

Burned Beginnings, Chapter 6

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16. Sunrise

Warm. That’s all that registered in Adrien’s mind as consciousness slowly came back to him. He groaned, snuggling his pillow tighter to cling to that warmth and comfort. He didn’t want to get up.

However, as his mind continued booting up, something began to strike him as odd. Something was off, but the last thing he wanted to do was open his eyes to figure out what that was.

However, that feeling grew too strong to ignore and—oh…

He wasn’t cuddling a pillow.

Feeling like he’d just been splashed with ice water, Adrien was awake now, and his mind was in overdrive as he recalled last night. Marinette had been crying, and Adrien just didn’t want to leave her alone, even when her tears had stopped. So he’d encouraged her to settle beside him on the bed while he pulled up a light and sweet anime to enjoy. He figured she’d like this one with a sassy and spunky main girl, and Marinette had.

For the two episodes she’d managed to stay awake for.

Adrien had considered moving her, but it was a little more difficult when she was practically laying on top of him. That, and he hadn’t really wanted to move her.

Call him selfish, but he’d chosen to settle down beside her and hold her close. Her eyes had cracked open, but Adrien could see the haze of sleep clouding them.

“Do you want me to go?” he’d asked.

She’d closed her eyes and grabbed his shirt. “Stay.”

He was such a goner.

In the end, Adrien found it all too easy to fall asleep next to her. Which was how he found himself in this position now.

It wasn’t a bad position, he thought, but maybe it was time to move. Marinette trusted him, and he may have taken advantage of that last night by using any excuse he could find to stay by her instead of doing the responsible thing of waking her or moving her to her room. Or maybe it would have been better to let her stay in his bed while dug around for her room key and went to sleep in her hotel room.

But it was too late to think of that now. Instead, he tried his best to disentangle himself from Marinette, who also had her arms wrapped around him as he had had his around her.

Halfway out of her embrace, Marinette whined and stirred. Adrien froze, hoping she’d just go back to sleep. Her parents had made an off comment that she was a heavy sleeper, so he was banking on that. And thankfully, she seemed to relax again.

Carefully, he began to pull her arms away from his waist.

“Adrien?”

He grimaced. Apparently, he had woken her. “Sorry,” he said. “Go back to sleep.”

She settled back into her bed, tucking her arms close. “I fell asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” she murmured. She reached up to rub her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Um…” Adrien looked at the dim clock on the night stand. He had to blink a couple times to get his blurry vision to focus, and only then did he realize that the lingering soreness in his eyes were because he’d fallen asleep in his contact lenes. “Morning, sometime,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I can’t see the clock at the moment.”

At that, Marinette took her hands away from her eyes. “What?”

“My contact lenes get all dry if I sleep in them,” he said, already making his way to the bathroom. “Give me a second to get my glasses.”

After relieving the pain by taking out his lenses and replacing them with glasses, Adrien walked out of the bathroom to see Marinette was already up and had opened the window. The gray morning light of early dawn was beginning to hang over the city.

“Sorry,” Marinette said, not moving her gaze from the window.

“For what?”

“Falling asleep in your bed.”

“You were exhausted and had a long day,” Adrien dismissed. “It was my fault for not waking you up or moving to go sleep in your room instead.”

“It’s fine,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “Honestly I… I liked having you there with me. Last night.” She turned to him, the faintest glow of pink already highlighting her lovely face as she smiled at him. “Thanks for indulging me.”

He gave her a smile in return and hoped it didn’t show all the feelings he held in his heart towards her. “You’re my best friend, Marinette,” he said. “If you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you.”

For a moment, they just stood side by side and watched the sunrise. It was nice, this quiet time with her. And while he of course enjoyed their banter, he cherished this quiet time with her, too. She was an amazing lady, and he was always glad to spend time with her, no matter in what capacity.

“Hey,” Marinette began, reaching out to gently elbow him in the side. “What do you want to do today?”

Adrien’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “Aren’t we going to the convention?”

“No,” she dismissed with an easy smile and shake of her head. “I… I know you set up this trip for me, so of course I want to make the most of it. But you’re miserable, and don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. I didn’t know I was making it obvious.”

“You weren’t. In fact, you’re really good at hiding it. I just know you too well, by now.”

He felt a warm feeling wash over him. He tried to think of the last time anyone had ever called him out on his acting skills and couldn’t think of anything recent. Maybe people noticed but never commented, but Marinette was different. Because of course she was. No one could reach the level of importance that Marinette had reached, which made her all the more valuable to him. “But don’t you want to enjoy the rest of the week as much as you can? This is kinda a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

She shook her head. “If this trip really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then I won’t be able to enjoy it to the fullest if you are nothing but miserable the whole time. So forget fashion week. I’ve already gotten my fill of it. What do you want to do, Adrien?”

Adrien looked at her, taking in the way her eyes glittered in the increasingly strong orange glow radiating through the window. Once again, Adrien was reminded why he loved this woman. She was wicked sharp and smoking hot and a total tease, but once you got past that, she was the most earnest, loyal, and caring person he’d ever known in his life. And knowing she didn’t give those parts of herself out lightly meant all the more to him.

“Honestly,” he finally admitted, not looking away from her gaze. “I’m good with anything you want to do.”

She deflated frustratedly. “That doesn’t help.”

An easy smile picked up the edges of his lips as he shrugged. “Honest truth. I’ve been here enough times to not care about the city personally. But I care about being with you if I’m going to be here.”

With a breath, he bolstered up his courage. If she could make a solid decision about her future, then he could stop being such a coward. “Honestly, doesn’t matter where we are,” he said, the words pouring from his venerable heart. “Been all around the world, and the place I feel most comfortable is at your side. So to me, it really doesn’t matter to me where we go, long as we go together.”

He could feel the tension that suddenly sparked between them. It was only after he said that that he realized maybe he should have waited until after the trip. Because now, if she said no—

“Adrien.”

Damn it, here it comes. Stay strong. “Yeah?”

“Remember how you owe me a dare?”

He nodded, hoping he hid his grimace. “Yeah, I remember. Doubt you’d ever let me forget.”

“I’d like to cash it in now.”

Adrien raised a brow, his heart beating nervously. “Do I get a moment to prepare for it?” he asked, teasing lit to his tone as he gave her a nervous grin.

She chuckled, giving him a smirk that didn’t have half the devilishness in it as it usually did. “What fun would that be?”

He did his best to play it off with a sigh. “Fine. Dare.”

Marinette took a breath, almost like she was steadying herself. “I dare you,” she began, her expression a fragile mask of strength. “To confess to the girl you like.”

Adrien’s heart plummeted in his chest, knocking the air right out of him, and his guts tightened into more knots than he’d ever felt before. But that immense panic only lasted for a moment as his mind started working. The girl he liked. Did… did she…?

A little bud of hope blooming in his chest, he took a step forward. “Marinette.” His voice was shaking, along with his hands.

She never once took her eyes off him, and because of that, he could see her fragile mask shake. She was scared. And he was, too.

But she’d made the first move, and he wasn’t going to let her fall without catching her.

“I love you.”

She gasped, her eyes widening slightly for a second.

Emboldened, Adrien reached out to wrap his arms loosely around her waist. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re a spitfire and a tease and so strong and sharp and beautiful, and I really enjoy all the time we’re together. And I’d like that to continue for… for what I hope is a very long time.” He paused, taking a moment to collect his breath so he could finish. “So, Marinette, I love you. Would you please be my girlfriend?”

The joy that lit up her expression brighter than the sunrise outside already gave him her answer. And he felt like he could fly over the moon with the energy that gave him.

She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. It only took a millisecond for Adrien to return the favor, pulling her so close that he lifted her feet off the ground.

“I love you, too,” Marinette whispered back. “Yes, I will be your girlfriend.”

The smile on Adrien’s face could not possibly stretch any wider. All words failed him at that moment, so he settled for continuing to hold her, slowly setting her feet back on the ground.

As their embrace loosened, Marinette seemed to pause before she got too far away, placing her face just inches from his. The heady feeling that washed over Adrien was either from the proximity or his rapid breath. Maybe both. But instead of deciding which was the most likely option, he leaned in, his nose brushing against hers and sending sparks flying through him.

She didn’t move away. If anything, she responded by leaning closer, her nose now rubbing his cheek. And that was all the invitation Adrien needed to finish what he’d started and press his lips to hers.

Over and over and over again.

17. Text Messages

To say Marinette was over the moon might be an understatement.

She just felt all fluttery, and she didn’t know how much of it was from Adrien’s confession and how much of it was from the menagerie of kisses he’d given her that left her reeling.

Either way, she was happy. Thankful, and happy. Adrien was an amazing man who could easily toss back any teasing, make her smile, take her mind off her worries, and bring her peace. And just like he’d expressed, she also just loved being with him, whether that be running a bakery shift together, watching anime, or walking around New York. It didn’t matter to her.

At the moment, she was getting ready for their outing. She found herself wanting to put a little extra effort into her appearance today. It wasn’t like she was unconfident in her appearance around him—after all, they worked together in a bakery and were often covered in food and sweat and occasionally soot if they were cleaning out the oven or if it was running extra hot, and never once did she worry her about either of their appearances—but today marked their first day as a couple, and she wanted to look nice for him.

As she was putting on her eyeliner, her phone dinged with a text. Once she finished with the make-up in her hand, she reached for her phone, thinking it was her parents checking in. They hadn’t yesterday or today and was wondering when they’d contact her.

But it wasn’t them. It was Adrien.

I don’t know what to wear on my first date with this amazing girl! Help me!

She scoffed, unable to keep the smile of her face. This dork. Clown shoes. She texted back. You gotta warn her who you are way ahead of time ;)

Oh, I’m hurt! He responded. For the record she loves my jokes.

She sniggered. That’s debatable.

It’s true! You should see the smile she gets. Cutest thing ever and she thinks I don’t catch it when she hides it.

She bit her lip before remembering she didn’t want to smudge her lipstick. You’re seeing things.

If you mean I’m seeing this smoking hot young lady, then yes, I am. I’m one lucky guy. ;)

Grinning like an idiot, she was rendered speechless for a moment, racking her brain for a retort. Well, the lucky lady in question can’t complete her make-up if her date continues texting her.

Why bother? I’m planning on ruining it anyway ;)

She let out a squeak as she dropped her phone. Her eyes met her reflection in the mirror, proving that while she was now red, she was grinning incredulously at her idiot boyfriend.

Her phone dinged again. See? Just helped you with your blush ;)

She as going to dump his sorry butt by the day’s end if he kept this up.

And then probably regret it tomorrow and kiss him until he got back together with her, but she ignored that for now.

Her phone dinged again. Princess?

She ignored the incoming text messages as she finished her make-up, then put her hair into a half-updo that he might just ruin later along with her make-up, but she was completely okay with that.

When she finished, she noticed Adrien had sent her a couple more messages of Did I go too far? before ending with a I’m going to assume you really are just finishing your make-up, but please text when you’re finished.

She sighed, small smile on her lips. She should really just go put that poor boy out of his misery.

She opened the door, only to spot Adrien exiting his room as well.

“I’m not mad at you,” she assured. “That was kinda funny, actually.”

He visibly relaxed, and Marinette could ease up, too, assured that he knew he hadn’t crossed the unspoken teasing line. It was amazing how much facial expressions and tone made a difference in a conversation.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess I’m a bit wound up.”

“Why? It’s just me.”

Adrien huffed. “Marinette, I don’t know if you know this, but ‘just you’ is a pretty stellar person. I count myself a really lucky guy, so the last thing I want to do is screw this up.”

Marinette grinned. “Well, it’s ‘just you’, so I know you won’t. Because ‘just you’ is a pretty stellar person, too.”

18. First Date

Kissing his best friend was not at all how he expected to start his day. But it was a pretty amazing way to kick off a morning.

And now, his best friend was his girlfriend and he had the honor of playing tour guide around New York City. They hit all the tacky tourist spots, took plenty of photos, had great food, and bought souvenirs. For a first date, it wasn’t too bad.

Oh, who was he kidding? It was amazing. But it had nothing to do with the setting and everything to do with the fact he was with her. Being around Marinette was his greatest joy in life. She grounded him and brightened his day and supported him in ways that no one else had been able to do before. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but he could already see standing by her side for the rest of their lives.

“You look better today,” Marinette spoke up from his side.

He looked down at her, a little confused. “What do you mean?” he asked, shooting her a smirk and wink. “I always look good.”

She giggled. “Not what I meant. I meant that you don’t look miserable today. Like you’re actually enjoying yourself.”

Those words helped him relax a bit, and he tightened the grip he had on her hand. “I’m just really, really happy.”

Marinette squeezed his hand back, giving him a smile that was going to knock him to his knees. Geez, he had to be careful around this woman. “I am, too,” she whispered back.

He was shocked he didn’t trip because his heart sure did.

“I noticed this a while ago,” she eventually said, “But you’re not wearing your earrings anymore.”

“Oh, yeah. That.” He shrugged. “I guess I just got tired of them. Before we came on this trip, I looked at them again and realized that I only got them to piss off my dad. I didn’t care one way or another. And I guess… I was tired of wearing something that only reminded me that my dad was an asshole. Why? Did you like them?”

She shrugged. “You look good either way. But if that’s your reason, then I also like you better without them, then.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I like the Adrien that can reflect on himself and decide to not let others shape his appearance. Maturity is more attractive than any physical attributes, in my opinion.”

Adrien would forever blame a crack in the pavement for the way he stumbled, nearly pulling Marinette to the ground with him.

“You okay?” she asked once he’d regained his balance.

No, he was not okay. He was certain his face was red, and his heart was going a hundred kilometers an hour. “Um… yeah.”

She didn’t look convinced but didn’t argue.

A comfortable silence slipped between them as they walked back to the hotel, the sun sinking lower in the sky as the day came to an end.

“Hey,” Adrien eventually said, giving voice to the thought that wouldn’t leave his head. “Did… did you really mean what you said about liking maturity over my looks?”

Marinette looked up at him, meeting his gaze. She gave him a soft smile. “Yeah. I’ve never really got caught up in people’s looks. I never understood the teenage girl games of ‘is he hot or not’ or whatever that was. And while I can say that I do think you’re handsome, your looks didn’t play any role in my falling for you.”

“O-oh?” He inwardly kicked himself. He couldn’t even string together a full sentence. How intelligent.

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “What? I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Right? You’ve got plenty of amazing attributes that have nothing to do with how you so happen to look.”

Adrien stopped, tugging her hand and causing her to spin her around to face him. “Actually, it is a big deal,” he began, watching her grow nervous. He gently squeezed her hand taking a step forward to get closer. “Because as a model for many years, I’ve been surrounded by people who only care about my appearance. And suddenly, I’m with my dream girl, and I find out that the one thing I was valued for for so long doesn’t matter to her. And… and it’s weird because it feels great to know you like me for other reasons, but I also somehow feel gypped a little bit.”

Marinette relaxed, and a sympathetic smile came across her lips. “For the record, I do think you’re handsome,” she assured. “But I also think you’re hard-working and reliable and trustworthy and kind. And I like being with you as a person. I can trust you. I feel safe with you. And that means the world to me.”

Adrien could feel his heart melting. He loved this woman so much that this was only their first date and he was already a total goner. However, if he was being honest with himself, he’d fallen for her long ago. He counted himself so very lucky for that.

He also counted himself lucky that he seemed to be just what she needed, just as she was what he needed. If he had his way, he was going to be with this woman forever. And he was determined to make that happen.

#AdrinetteApril2021 #adrienette #miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #fluff #just straight up fluff #and comfort #These two are so precious

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perpetuelledaydreaming · 3 years

Text

Illicit affairs- Chapter 9

summary: the power of a girl after a break up? let me tell you. felicia learns a thing or two about trusting the wrong people and peter just really really wants y/n to be happy.

Listen to: Rolling in the deep- Adele, These boots are made for walkin’ - Nancy Sinatra & Champagne problems- Taylor Swift

word count: 19.7k

series masterlist

You just felt pain.

Pain on your head.

Pain on your arm.

Pain on your back.

Pain on your side.

Pain on your gun-shot wound.

You had been tossed down like a rag doll and fell beside your now destroyed bed. You tried to stand up, but the dizziness was too much, your body didn’t seem to be responding yet, still recovering from Felicia’s attack. However, you could feel the debris and glass shards poking into your skin below you while your head was throbbing from the sheer force of the explosion.

You slipped and came back from darkness; your vision foggy and spots dancing on your eyes while you could hear muffled sounds around you, maybe even an alarm, but you weren’t sure if it was just another effect of the explosion on your hearing. The wind from the broken window ruffling your dress and hair. You barely registered at the beginning but it grew colder as the seconds passed.

And each time you slipped back into darkness you could only see Felicia’s doleful expression as she jumped from the window. You remember her silver hair and how her hands had traced your skin minutes ago but now everything just felt cold, desolate and it just hurt.

You wanted to scream and shout and cry because the girl you had been protecting and maybe even loving for the past few months had crushed your heart into a million pieces, she left you. You didn’t matter. And it felt like if the ice was enveloping you, just wave after wave washing over you, knocking you further into the glass piercing into your skin, the numbness mixing with the pain, and it felt like you were going to drown. It had been your fault, you had let her in despite the warnings, despite everything, and here you were, drowning.

Did you deserve to be there?

And then you felt his warm hands cupping your face.

It seemed urgent but so soft at the same time, and then the smell of cinnamon and honey invaded you, it overwhelmed you and you just knew you had to cling onto him to not drown. Without even reacting to the pain on your side or your face, you managed to take a hold of Peter’s face.

“Can you hear me?” Peter’s voice sounded far away from you, but you could still hear the urgency and fear in his voice. “y/n? Come on, come on”

You tried your best to open your eyes, fluttering them so you could see the boy with the chocolate eyes with golden specks, a constellation of freckles and caramel curls. He had a few cuts on his face, he had dirt all over himself that you assume was from the explosion but he was okay, he was there holding your body tightly as he had you resting on his lap.

Peter sighed with relief as he crawled your body and pushed you against him, holding you as tight as he possibly could. He was so happy that you were okay and he felt like he could finally breathe again when he realized that you were starting to hold him too. Peter looked back at you, as he tried to wipe off the blood from the cut over your eyebrow, already a dark blotch appearing on your temple from the explosion, he shuddered at the image but he was just happy that you were there.

He wanted to cry and kiss you all at the same time, he had lost you so many times (figurately and barely literally a few weeks ago), so when he saw how Felicia was pointing at you with the repulsor, he felt a shiver ran down his back. He had tried so hard to catch you, he had tried with all his force to reach you, to hold you but his fingers just brushed yours as the blast separated you instantly, sending Peter flying backward, literally crushing him against and through one of the walls in your room.

He had to rest a second as his head buzzed from the impact but once the fogginess left his eyes, he just went back in looking for you through your destroyed room and he felt his stomach sinking when he saw you while you laid motionless in front of him. He couldn’t be okay.

Not until you finally reacted to him, not until he saw your y/e/c eyes looking back at him and he held you; you were okay and that’s all that mattered to Peter.

“Peter,” you finally said, your voice had grown up since Peter had met you but right then and there you sounded so young and small. “She escaped, I’m so stupid”

Peter frowned as you felt the hot tears pooling on your eyes, tears began to fall stubbornly down your cheeks as you held Peter tighter. You felt the sobs ripping through your chest, not as hard as the last night with Peter before you escaped New York, but you could feel your chest tearing with each sob that escaped your lips, Peter held you softly and shook his head, almost instantly.

“You are not,” He stated firmly but softly at the same time as he wiped your tears away with his thumb. “You thought someone cared about you and you were so perfect and loving as you are. It’s okay to make mistakes”

“I screwed up so bad,” you repeated, this time mostly to yourself as the burning loathing against yourself began to ease its way to your heart and mind, the helplessness feeling drowning you. “I trusted her”

“I know you did, but you can fault yourself for this y/n,” Peter repeated as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours but you shook it off.

You pushed yourself up, Peter helping you as you kneeled next to him, crying and shaking your head, you now just felt rage but you weren’t even aware of who, you or Felicia?

“You told me so many times,” you insisted as you tried to wipe the tears away with your hands, you hissed as you saw the cuts on your body and how they burned because of your tears. You stared at them for a moment and for that slight moment you thought that you deserved them but Peter quickly took your hand in his, he had the same cuts and you realized how much you had hurt him and it only made you angrier. “Peter, what did I do!?” the scream ripped your chest.

It felt almost like an instinct as Peter took you in his arms and lifted you, you had to hold to him to stabilized yourself as you grabbed his shoulders and he pulled you towards him by your hips and back. He quickly cupped your face with one hand while his other one rested on the small of your back, holding you against him.

“Listen to me y/n,” He stated gravelly, his eyes burning you. “It’s okay to screw up, I’ve screwed up a lot of times but I will always have your back, I know I didn’t before but I’m here” he stated and you finally felt the tears slowing down and Peter nodded at you, assuring you it was the truth. “I will always be here”

His words sounded so definitive, the mention of Peter always being on your life, always, caused your body to warm up, like it always felt when you were with him, you felt safe. You sniffled and you nodded back to Peter, pushing him towards you and smiling.

But then you heard steps coming your way and you turned towards where your door was supposed to be to see Harley and the others appearing on the frame of the door, clearly astounded by the destruction, and as you saw how their faces turned, you just knew it looked bad.

“What the hell happened!?” Ned screamed as he looked around with an agitated expression drawn on his face.

Peter turned to tell them but he was still holding you tightly, never letting you and you were thankful for it, the coldness almost disappearing completely when you were by his side. “She left with the repulsor,” Peter stated as you winced at the thought of what they would say.

“Fuuuck,” Flash and Harley stated in unison, the way Harley’s eyes washed with anxiety let you know it was bad, really fucking bad.

“Yeah, now she’s going to give it to Kingpin.” You stated as you tried to wash the remaining tears away as Peter and you moved closer to them but then as you looked around your room, you saw the faint white smoke and something snapped on your mind. “Harley, doesn’t that drip energy once it has been used?” You asked as Ned helped you move from one side of your room to the other, separated by a prominent crack on the floor.

“We can track it” MJ suggested as she looked back at Harley and shook his shoulder. “Don’t you have like multiple Stark Industries Satellites that hacked behind Tony’s back?”

Harley looked back at her as realization dawned on him and he smiled while looking at MJ brightly. “I love that you listen to me,” he gushed, but MJ simply rolled her eyes.

“Move it”

All of you ran to Harley’s bedroom as he quickly got onto his computer and all of you waited by his side. Ned tried to insist that Peter and you should get checked as Harley hacked at least two satellites and triangulated the algorithm to find the specific trace of energy that matched one of the repulsors. But neither, Peter or you wanted to leave Harley’s side, your eyes were glued to the screen as Harley, with the help of MJ and Ned tried to hack the satellites.

You knew that everything was a matter of time, that if you weren’t fast enough the repulsor could become a weapon of mass destruction, even more, if Kingpin realized how to harvest its energy and reproduce it into the thousands of aliens weaponry that he already had. You thought about Felicia and how interested she had been on the small project the day of your attack, you grimaced at the thought of her purple eyes and her lips.

Peter quickly noticed, and he offered you his hand. You took it, as you both then looked back at the computer.

It felt like it took them forever to hack into the system, Peter had tried to intervene but there were too many people already with Harley, MJ, and Ned there. Even more importantly, Peter also realized he had to stay with you, he didn’t exactly know how or why he felt, but now it just seemed like energy pulled you together.

Peter looked at you, all scrapped and with cuts, but with your eyes trained on the prize and he felt the same way he felt when you first met, leaving your lab with your eyes trained in the hologram, determined and brave.

“Here’s the track,” MJ finally said, she had successfully managed to enter the system and placed the trace of energy rather quickly, the map of New York forming before your eyes.

“Where is she?”

“She went to her apartment,” you said as you pointed at the map, knowing the route by heart now. “Probably to change, now she’s going to…”

“Isn’t that?” Betty asked with a frown as she pointed at the trace where Felicia had been located.

“Right next to us?” Harley asked as confused as everyone at the moment seemed.

You watched as the beeping light on the screen, she was close to Grand Central. Grand Central was only a couple of blocks away from Stark Tower, it was a twenty-minute walk and you could be there in no time, you gave a step back as your mind worked on the reason why Felicia would return so close to where she had stolen something.

Felicia wasn’t dumb, she was many things but dumb wasn’t one of them. She knew that the area would be soon surrounded by police and if she wasn’t afraid of you and Peter and had aimed to hurt you and she had succeeded, she would still have to deal with the older Avengers that were still around. Moreover, if she was giving the repulsor away to Kingpin, why she would do it in such a public place?

Had Kingpin forced her to give it there? Was it a power move from him?

But then it dawned on you.

“She’s going to escape,” you whispered, at first to yourself but then to everyone as they turned around and looked at you while they frowned.

“What?”

“She’s going to escape,” you repeated as you stood up from Harley’s bed. “She knows that it’s likely that Kingpin will still kill her, she has been getting too close to me or maybe she knows that everyone would be looking for her. She has to run away after she delivers the repulsor she’s going to go by train. She’s going to Grand Central”

“How can you be sure?” Betty asked silently and Peter’s eyes linked with yours.

You weren’t.

“I think I still know a little bit of her and it’s our best shot right now,” you answered with a shrug while you thought about her, how she had kissed you to distract you, your hands turned into a fist and you shot up from Harley’s room. “Well, we have to hurry”

Peter followed you immediately (although you hadn’t even told him that he had to go with you, but it seemed like a given) while the rest trailed behind you but then Harley walked faster and took your wrist, you hissed for a second from his touch since you were walking with determination towards the terrace of the penthouse, ready to jump with your suit on and go to look for Felicia. There wasn’t really a plan, you just knew you had to get to her before she managed to give the repulsor away, you didn’t know what you were going to do when you saw her but you just had to try.

“Wait, don’t you want to wait for Tony?” Harley asked seriously, he looked confused and scared that the thought of your dad hadn’t crossed your mind and you looked back at him as confused as he was.

“He knows?”

Harley stared at you, agape at your question, he laughed sarcastically as he let go of your hand. “Of course he does, everyone heard the blast!”

“Where is he?” you asked, your eyes trailing back to the elevator worriedly.

“They are trying to evacuate the people inside. He knows there was a blast on the penthouse” Betty stated as she walked next to Harley and in front of you.

Thank god Morgan is Upstate, you thought as you looked at them but you spun on your heels once more.

You knew that this was just wasting your time, that Felicia and Kingpin would do this as fast as possible so no one would be able to catch them, and if you didn’t arrive on time, then it would just be too late.

“I have to go,” you repeated yourself as you watched Peter but before you continued to talk to the terrace, Peter called your name.

“y/n,” Peter’s voice was modulated, he didn’t have the urgency it would normally have when you were about to face a threat as big as this one, there wasn’t any doubt on his voice but you could still sense that he was asking you something. You turned to face Peter, his eyes lingered with yours and you just knew.

“I have to do this Peter,” you stated earnestly. “It’s my responsibility and I’m not going to let my dad clean up a mess that I made. I have to fix it.”

Peter watched you intently for what felt like forever for you until he just nodded and you knew it, you were going to do this together. Before your friends realized it, the nanobots began to surround your skin while Peter began to take off his clothes (much to your friend’s dismay as they turned around) to reveal his suit. You didn’t stop looking at the other, your eyes locked and before your friends blinked, Peter and you were jumping from the terrace of the penthouse and into the night.

You nearly crushed against a building and for mistake nearly swung Peter into a lamppost as he dangled from your suit; you were anxiously trying to get to Grand Central as fast as you possibly could and Peter was keeping up, but you were flying a bit recklessly. It was a silent flight, but the tension was high at the moment, just muttering a small sorry from time to time to Peter, he just stayed as silent as you were, knowing that you were too anxious to plan something at the moment.

“There aren’t many people,” you announced as you finally flew over Grand Central while Peter finally let go of you, as he perched himself in the rafters of the building, while you slowly and quietly landed next to him, your mask retracting from your face as you both looked down through the large glass windows.

You knew that you had to get the civilians out first, even if there weren’t many and then it would be easier to mess up the deal, maybe Felicia would be evacuated with the rest of the civilians and Kingpin wouldn’t dare to come in, knowing that police were going to be there or maybe a couple of Avengers, not that it had stopped him before but you liked believed that he didn’t like the messiness of it all.

“We have to get them out before,” Peter started but he trailed off and turned around, you furrowed your eyebrows and turned towards where Peter was looking.

And then you saw him.

“Wait, isn’t that?”

“Yes”

Peter’s whole body filled with dread as he watched the overly-large, hunkering figure of Kingpin as he climbed down of the large limousine. You felt your throat constrict as he walked over to the entrance of Grand Central with an army of men following him and surrounding the place. You could see his large hands that had rings in every one of his fingers. He was wearing a sharp black suit as he walked inside, and Peter could feel the danger he posed by just being close, instinctively Peter walked closer to you.

You didn’t notice, you were too busy realizing that Kingpin wasn’t alone, you could feel how your hands turned to fists as you saw who was next to Kingpin. Just a few steps behind, the lanky figure in a purple mask and suit, wearing the mechanized gloves and boots, along with another tall man with a beige suit and bony hands that had touched your skin once, a sick grin drawn on his face. Orville Nugent (The Architect) and The Prowler entered the building shortly after Kingpin did and you felt like you had stopped breathing.

“I don’t like this,” Peter whispered, mostly to himself as HAPPY showed you the heat signatures being detected, part of you wished that you would just recognize Felicia’s shape and there wouldn’t be the need of fighting but deep down you knew it was impossible and either way, the sounds of the bullets being fired into the air as they ricocheted on the station erased any thought of a possible easy way out.

The screams of the people on the station seemed to drown the ricochet of the bullets as they laid down on the floor, covering their heads while you felt like your heart had stopped. The screaming, the moaning of a bullet possibly hitting someone, the cries for help, the tears, it seemed overwhelming. You hadn’t experience per se a mission with hostages, at least not this many and it became too real, you began to only hear your breathing as you hyperventilate.

“Everyone, everyone,” The Architect stated loudly as he showed himself from the top of the iconic stairs of the station. “We are not going to take long, but if you don’t want to get shot -or something worse-, you should follow the men silently and keep quiet.” He finished with a grin as Kingpin soldiers started to surround the people and nudged them to move towards the information booth in the center.

It was clear that they wanted them exposed, there weren’t many people, about thirty, since it was already so late at night but you were more than sure that they were using them as bait or as a guarantee to slowdown any attacks coming from the outside.

You turned to see Peter, who seemed like his whole body had shut down as he watched down silently, you could see the slight tapping of anxiety he was doing with his hands and it was beyond obvious that his Spidey senses were going haywire in front of you, you were about to say something, to break through his barrier but you heard her voice.

“Can we get this over with?” Felicia -well, Black Cat- jumped from the edge of one balcony to the main entrance, where Kingpin, The Prowler and The Architect were, surrounded by their guards.

You could feel your blood rushing to your ears and for a second everything you saw was Felicia. Her curves were covered by her sparkling black bodysuit, her confidence, silky hair, full lips, and purple-ish eyes but there was something off with her. The trepidation in every one of her steps and you knew that she was scared. She had that same look on her eyes when she had come to Stark Tower after you had been hurt, you could sense it from a mile away and it made you wonder if you actually knew her.

“Now, now Miss Hardy,” Kingpin said almost quietly, but still his voice boomed all over the station. He shook his head as he locked gazes with Felicia. “What did we said about you playing nice?”

“I just want to end this,” Felicia stated coldly, without hesitation. “Quickly.”

Kingpin sighed from where he stood and he nudged The Architect to go where Felicia was. “You know the drill”, he stated gravely.

Soon, about ten of the armed men surrounded Felicia, pointing their guns at her as she rolled her eyes. They left a small opening from where The Architect passed through and stood in front of Felicia, who was glaring at him. She quickly opened the case and there it was the repulsor.

The Architect sighed happily, which caused you to wrap a hand around Peter’s as both of you leaned closer together to get a better look. The Architect inspected the case and then pulled up a scanning machine over the repulsor, which beeped unceasingly as it passed through, causing a smirk to appear on Kingpin’s face which caused you to shudder.

You knew that smirk, you knew how the air of tension had changed once Kingpin knew that Felicia had brought him what he wanted all along and you felt your stomach dropping. Kingpin was now overly confident and the satisfaction that flashed through those eyes made you want to vomit; this had been part of his plans all along. He knew that you were coming for him and that’s why he had sent The Prowler, he knew that nothing would defeat The Avengers unless it came from the inside. It all flashed through your eyes and you wondered if he had ordered Felicia to get close to you too.

“You’ve done well, Miss Hardy,” Kingpin smiled widely.

“I know,” Felicia replied with an indifference that caused Kingpin to chuckle.

“will you ever come back?” He asked and your heart sunk because you knew exactly what he meant. Felicia was running away as you had predicted. “I could use you for some jobs”

“I won’t be coming back,” Felicia retorted, you could feel the modulation in her voice, she was almost hissing.

“You don’t have to worry about the Avengers,” He asserted causally, “I’ll be done with them and you won’t be in harm’s way.”

Peter felt like throwing up as he quickly gazed back at you, he could see how you were almost hyperventilating, even behind your mask Peter could feel how you were slightly shaking, how your heartbeat was raising and Peter wondered if he should call Tony or the others.

But Felicia spoke again.

“I won’t come back to this place,” she stated coldly as she glared at Kingpin who shrugged.

“Then, it has been lovely to do business with you.” He raised his hand slightly and The Architect tried to snatch the case from Felicia’s hands but before he could, Felicia swiftly kneeled down and passed her legs under Orville, who fell immediately to the ground.

You almost jumped at the way the alarms went off, the men -who were thankfully armed just with usual guns- pointed at Felicia and Orville simply started cursing and glaring at Felicia, which she didn’t mind. She wasn’t looking at the tantrum that he was throwing, which reminded you how awful of an extortionist he must be.

“Not so fast,” Felicia stated as she raised her eyebrows and secure the case behind her, “You owe me something.”

Kingpin didn’t flinch at Felicia’s statement, he looked at her almost indifferent which caused your blood to boil because Felicia was being beyond serious and she could be a real threat, but he was so dismissive of her.

“Oh, yeah,” Kingpin stated, with an almost blank gaze. “Orville, would you mind?” he asked The Architect who was still bickering under his breath. He quickly took from his jacket a paper and a ticket which Felicia easily snatched from his hand and he couldn’t do anything about it as she gave a few steps back and checked it. “If you take the next train, you’ll be right on time”

Felicia stared at the tickets and papers for a second, you saw her shoulders relaxing and there was a slight curve on her plump lips. Kingpin had something that she wanted but you tried to go back to the times that you had shared and you couldn’t think of anything that Felicia would want other than survive. She would’ve escaped with or without Kingpin’s help, she could’ve gotten tickets anywhere but why did she need those exactly? You weren’t sure, but she had done a deal and it was her time to pay her part.

Before you even realized yourself, you raised from the rooftop where you had been with Peter and quickly pointed at the glass over where Felicia was but Peter quickly webbed your hand, throwing you off for a second, you stared back at him as you quickly slay the web from your hand.

“y/n, don’t!”

But you didn’t care at the moment, you turned around and pointed at the glass and fire. The glass fell over the men, some in confusion and some already firing at the ceiling, the people inside and surrounding the information booth were screaming but you could only see Felicia, who had covered herself but when she heard the energy from your suit.

She knew it was you.

She looked at you with widened eyes and a gaping mouth, maybe she thought the blast would hurt you a lot, maybe she thought that you were probably knocked out for longer or that it would be Tony and not you coming here. Some of the men were firing at you but the bullets didn’t bother you anymore, although you were cautious in case you detected another neutralizer, although you had fixed the glitched it still caused you to shudder.

“Hardy, stop,” you stated as you landed in front of Felicia, as men started to surround you and kept firing at you.

“Oh, look who we have here,” Kingpin chuckled as he looked around with a smug smile on his face and then cleared his throat. “Stand down,” he ordered his men and soon the bullets stopped hitting your suit, you looked right at Kingpin who gave you a small nod.

“It’s a pleasure Stark, we’ve been chasing each other like cat and mouse…I, for one-”

“I’m not here to talk to you,” you growled at Kingpin and your gaze returned to Felicia, who still seemed a bit perplexed that you were standing in front of her and that you had dismissed Kingpin so easily.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with such a small voice that Kingpin could barely hear her. She had a slight frown on her face but her eyes flashed with relief and, although you didn’t want to trick yourself, you believed that she was somehow happy that you were okay.

“You don’t need to do this,” you asserted as the nanobots of your helmet disappeared and your eyes locked in with Felicia.

Felicia grimaced as she saw your face, you weren’t exactly sure how you looked since you hadn’t even had time to fix yourself before you had come but by the look on Felicia’s face and the remainder of the thick liquid (which you assumed was blood) going down your face before, it didn’t look good.

“You don’t know anything y/n, stop,” she replied once more, but this time it almost sounded like a hiss and you could see how hot tears were threatening to fall from her eyes as she chuckled slightly, in incredulity that you were there and talking to her.

“Why would you need to do this?” you insisted as you gave a step towards Felicia, which only caused the men to point their guns at you, you glared at them and restrained yourself before you looked back at Felicia, “Talk to me.”

“Hasn’t she told you Stark?”

You looked back at Kingpin, who gave a maliciously smug look in your direction as he chuckled and crossed his arms. You wished you could fire at him right then and there, but you knew it wasn’t the moment. “Miss Hardy here’s doing this for her old man”

You looked back at Felicia as she looked away, the tears were finally falling from her eyes and you realized it was the first time you had ever seen Felicia cried, there was just one time when you had seen her so… blue. Your mind ran back to the day in Coney Island when you had first felt her lips on yours and your mind dug deeper into those memories.

“Why would you,” you trailed off as you realized when you had seen her like that when had her eyes lost the constant light that they had and everything clicked. “You told me he had died”

Felicia wiped her tears as she looked at you, you could see how she was hunched down and it seemed like it hurt her to only talk about her dad, it pained her. You’d never seen her looking as sorrowful as she was at the moment and you shook your head.

“He isn’t dead… yet,” she muttered as she looked at you silently, “Just, letting my dad die in jail isn’t part of my plan y/n.”

The honesty in Felicia’s voice was fulminant, the matter-of-fact tone she had to use was very clear to you. She wasn’t doing this out of some horrible personal gain that was vapid, which was something that you had feared a little bit. She hadn’t hurt you out of something superfluous but she had done what she had believed she had to do to save her family. But you simply stayed quiet, blinking slightly as you processed everything but then anger began to bubble up on your chest.

“I could’ve got him out,” you whispered at Felicia and you gave a step back, “I could’ve done something you…you asshole!” you snapped at Felicia, with the anger dripping from your voice.

You’d like to think that there was a mutual understanding between you and Felicia, ever since you had agreed that you would talk to her, you thought that there was trust between the two of you. You’d follow her blindly for months, you’d been so in awe at her that you thought that being on each other’s orbits for so long, getting to know each other, would’ve made her able to tell you what was happening.

Felicia blinked at your words and Kingpin too, almost everyone’s moth gaped at your statement and a few raised their eyebrows at your blowup. “Didn’t expect that kind of language coming from you, Miss Stark”

“Are you kidding me?” you yelled at Felicia, ignoring Kingpin completely as you glared at her but now, Felicia was fuming too.

“No, you are kidding yourself!” Felicia barked back at you, stepping towards you. It seemed like she had forgotten where you were, it seemed a fight between… people that were something more, “You are the type of people who would put him there in the first place!”

You scoffed at her statement while rolling your eyes at her, “I spent months lying for you, could you be any more clueless?”

“Don’t act like you would’ve done something, you are a freaking Avenger!” Felicia fumed, now trying to tower over you. She was breathing heavily, her eyes red and angry. You glared back at her defiantly as if facing her would change her mind, would change the course of how things had turned.

“I would’ve done something if you had asked me to! It didn’t matter if I was an Avenger,” you yelled at her, feeling hot and wound up, your hands were shaking and you realized how angry you were at her for ruining any possibility for a kind of honest relationship.

And then she said it.

“Liar!”

And it felt like something broke inside of you, your angry dialed down for a second you stiffened at Felicia’s words and you felt the knot on your throat that you’d always felt in moments like this but you pushed through it.

“Don’t call me a liar Felicia, not after you have been tricking me and betraying me for months now,” you stated gravelly, but you knew your voice had wobbled at the end as you tried to drown the urge to cry once more, “Even after you shot me…how dare you?”

Felicia looked at you with a gaped mouth and then there was just shame. The downward gaze, the wince at the thought of what she had done, and the trembling chin.

“y/n…” she started as she looked back with tears, “I didn’t fire directly towards you, just close enough so you could back out! I did car-”

“You didn’t, not really. Not like I cared about you,” you replied as you shook your head and looked quietly at the girl with purple-ish eyes, silver hair, and cotton candy smell that you’d cared for.

You realized that you’d tried so much to be someone for her, you’d tried to be there for her and you’d fallen for her, even if it wasn’t as hard or as bad, you did love her in some way that you’d never experience yourself and the pain returned on your chest.

“Not that it matters now,” you said quietly as you looked at her.

Now you were both crying, sorrow drawn on both of your faces and for the first time in your conversation, it dawned on you that you weren’t alone.

“Indeed, Stark,” Kingpin said interrupting you, once again with a grin. “Not that it matters now.”

“Right,” you said between your teeth and cleared your throat as you looked away from Felicia and towards the hunkering figure standing a couple of meters away from you.

“Now, if you excuse me, I would like to go home early today” Kingpin said apathetic, as he ordered one The Architect with a swift movement from his large hand to get the case from Felicia’s hands, but before Orville could give another step you interrupted him.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work” you answer as the nanobots began to cover your face.

There was a shift in the air, the moon was hovering over you brightly and it seemed like everything had quiet down, the tension grew as the seconds passed and no one dared to move but everyone seemed prepared, Felicia and you taking defensive stands as the men began to point at you again. Even Kingpin's hands turned into large fists as he stared at you, and now you realized how frustrated he was and the glare he had on you.

Kingpin wanted you dead and there wasn’t any turning back.

And then, you heard a slight Twhip! sound of one of Peter’s webs before you realized what he had targeted. Every single person inside the building looking from where it came from and before you could blink, the case was snatched from Felicia’s hands into the ceiling. Everyone followed the case to where Peter was, hanging from a web, as the case reached him.

“I hate interrupting a good convo, but I think the meeting’s over,” Peter pointed out from his place on the ceiling as the men gaped at the presence of him, but Kingpin nostrils flared up as he looked at Peter with fury.

Peter didn’t need to say anything, without hesitation, you pointed your hands in front of you and blasted them with all the energy that you could reach. Felicia easily ducked your shot, but it hit a few men and The Architect then The Prowler, and then Kingpin, who were sent backward against the main entrance of Grand Central.

The bullets started to be fire at you and Peter, but you quickly activated the small missiles that immobilize a few men, who quickly fell on the floor with a groan, as you kept firing at the ones that were coming after you while Peter was trying to avoid the bullets as swiftly and rapidly as he could.

“Peter, we need to get the civilians out,” you stated as you quickly took a guy by the neck as threw him against more men that were firing at you. “And get out as soon as possible with that case.”

“On it!”

Peter began to swing his way towards the Information booth, case in hand and avoiding the few bullets that the men tried to fire at him before you knocked them unconscious with a blast or throwing them away with your own hands or shocking them with electricity, anything before a bullet could reach Peter. You tried your best to keep up with them, but you weren’t sure how many there were, they just kept coming after you and you weren’t catching anything about Kingpin, the Prowler, or the Architect and then you heard Peter’s groan.

Peter managed to reach the booth, flipping backward and taking the men that were surrounding the people who were trying to cover themselves from the bullets. Peter was sure he could lead them to one of the sides exits without harm as you kept avoiding men firing at him since they were focused on you but before he could say anything, he fell from his web and landed on his side, harsh, his head foggy from the impact on the marble beige floors and he looked up to see Felicia landing next to him as she tried to snatch the case from his hand.

“Not in the mood for games, Spidey,” Felicia hissed but Peter didn’t care.

“Me neither, Kitty,” Peter growled as he kneed her in the gut and rolled backward, sending Felicia away from him, her claws leaving marks on the case.

Peter quickly looked back at you, while you sighed in relief as you continue to fire at the men and gave him a nod. You flew from your point and directed the men to chase you, the opposite way from where the information booth was. It wasn’t a great move because you were now against sword and wall, but you didn’t care as you started to see how Peter was sending people towards another exit while he tried to block any upcoming bullets that could harm them.

But then, Felicia came back again.

Peter could hear the screams of the people and his Spidey senses went off, he ducked Felicia’s kick for a second but not her hand, she quickly got him by the neck and threw him against the floor. More people seemed to run away as Felicia and Peter struggled with the case, but then Peter shot his web towards her eyes and Felicia growled as she tried to take it off. Peter kicked her off him, which sent her stumbling backward as Peter shot a web to the ceiling and rose from the floor, he quickly swayed and with all his force and tried to kick Felicia once more, hoping it would be it but before Peter realized, Felicia jumped and climbed on his same web, quickly cutting it off and holding into the case.

Both landed on the marble with a loud thud, breathing heavily and glaring at the other. Although this time, Felicia’s hand was the one on the case, she groaned as she tried to get up but before she could, you were firing at her from afar. You were almost done with the men that were still going after you but there were a few now, most of them on the floor, causing the beige floor to disappear thanks to the bodies that laid on them.

You had turned towards the information booth after the thud, and you realized that the people were gone from there.

“HAPPY, they are out?” you asked your AI as you looked at Felicia trying to stand up.

“Yes, Miss Stark, and ” your AI stated calmly and before he could say something else, you were firing at her.

It wasn’t like you were exactly pointing at her, you couldn’t. It didn’t matter exactly what she had done and the resentment that you were feeling, there was no way that you could hurt Felicia. You tried to fire at crucial points that could make her disoriented enough for Peter to lose her, which was your goal.

Peter quickly stood up and webbed Felicia’s foot to the floor, causing her to fall on the ground once more and to duck one of your shots close to her. She turned around to break the web but before she could, Peter shot another web towards the case and pulled it back towards him.

“y/n, we need to go, it’s done” Peter insisted as he shot a web and pulled himself towards the ceiling, he crawled to the hole that you had made to enter Grand Central in the first place.

“You have the case?” you asked him, breathing heavily as your eyes went to look for where Peter was.

“I got it, y/n come on it’s dangerous,” Peter insisted as you finally realized where he was, you sighed as relief washed over your body.

Peter was okay, he had fought against Felicia and he was okay, he wasn’t knocked out or shot, he was right there in front of you. People were out, Peter was saved and the mission was done, it caused you to smile.

“Let’s- AHHH!”

Peter’s heart stopped as he gazed back at where you were flying but you weren’t there anymore. You were being thrown like a rag doll by The Prowler. Your body crashed against the marble main stairs and you fell, landing on the ground, breaking the marble with a loud crashing sound.

“Y/N!” Peter cried from where he was and he shot another web, going down to where you were but before he could reach you, Felicia tackled him into the opposite side from you.

He was away from you and you felt it.

Saying that you were slightly foggy at the moment was an understatement. Your head was throbbing as each second passed and you were holding the place where you had been shot instinctively, you weren’t sure if the internal stitches were breaking but something didn’t feel right.

But then you opened your eyes and you turned your head towards where the slight sound was coming from, although it seemed so far away because of the impact. You saw Peter and Felicia, he was fighting her off with all his force, you could tell because you knew by heart how he used his webs when he was trying to immobilize people so he could go away, because you saw the urgency in his movements but he wasn’t doing much better, Felicia was counterattacking at the same pace. But then his gaze fell back to yours, even with masks, you knew he was looking at you and in which way.

It sent a shiver down your spine.

You didn’t want to be this, you weren’t done yet, you weren’t the one who needed saving. You had spent so much time admiring the people who you believed were fearless; Tony, Charlie, Pepper, Felicia that you hadn’t even realized that you could be fearless.

Just as Peter saw you, and it fueled you.

You screamed as you tried to stand up, ignoring the pain as you quickly fired at Felicia and then turned as you heard The Prowler’s characteristic energetic sound next to you, before he could attack you, you shot him with a continuous ray.

“Can’t you just fuck off?” you screamed, as you continue to tirelessly fire at him with your repulsors and elevating yourself a bit. Even though you knew you were reaching half of the energy on the suit, you didn’t care, it was throwing him off his game.

But then you stopped and The Prowler took advantage. He jumped up, grabbing you quickly by the throat and bringing you back down to the ground, he threw you, causing you to groan as you rolled over just in time for his gauntlets to barely miss you as he pierced the ground.

Standing back up, your reflexes reacted before you could as you caught his hand between yours, as he tried to punch you again with the electricity, gasping in awe that you were able to catch it and hold it long enough for him to snarl at you as he tried to recover his hand. Having his gauntlet so close made you realized for the first time how energy-based his suit was, you hadn’t even really thought about it and something clicked on your mind.

But before you could say anything to Peter, The Prowler grabbed you by the neck with his other hand as he raised you from where you were standing.

“Say goodbye, Stark”

It was the first time you had heard The Prowler’s robotic voice and you weren’t sure how you felt about it. Granted, he didn’t even give you much time to think as he squeezed your neck tighter and you started to feel how the nanobots were being crushed as well.

Peter barely ducked another one of Felicia’s kicks when his Spidey senses started to go off, which he considered strange given that he was already in a battle. But then he looked back at you, in the air, trying to take off The Prowler’s hands from you as the nanobots from your helmet wore off so you could breathe, but you were already turning purple.

“Y/N!” Peter screamed but Felicia threw him on the ground, he closed his eye, ready to receive another punch but there wasn’t anything. Peter opened his eyes to see that Felicia had disappeared and he turned to see how she was running towards you and The Prowler.

And he was in shock.

Felicia, without hesitation on her step, flew up into the air and with her two legs, kicked The Prowler on the chest. Effectively removing his hold on your neck and sending him stumbling backward before she landed next to you and turned over your body.

“y/n, are you okay?” Felicia’s voice seemed wobbly as she gazed at you caringly. “Breath, please” she pleaded with her trembling lips, her fingers trailing your cheek.

You took a deep breath and soon, you were coughing as you tried to raise from your place as Felicia helped you stand up, your eyes locked with Felicia’s and she simply smirked.

“What are you doing?” you croaked as you tried to clear your throat, it was sore but it was okay enough for you to talk to Felicia.

Felicia shrugged slightly as she fixed her hair and wipe out some of the dirt from her face, it was so weird that Felicia wasn’t as pristine as she always looked in a fight, she usually avoided any type of real damage because of how good she was. But you could see it in her eyes, how she was trying to avoid your gaze, how she was somehow regretful of what she had done.

“I told you I was going to be on the right team,” she answered, her voice small, knowing that you were caught off guard from her sudden change of heart but Peter didn’t even give you time to think about it.

Peter crashed against your body as he ran towards you, he cupped your face removing some strands of your hair and looked into your eyes frantically, and engulfed you in his arms. The redness on your face was dialing down but the previous cut you’d had on your eyebrow was starting to bleed again, now dripping down your neck. He could see the redness on your eyes and he knew well enough that if Felicia hadn’t had a change of heart, you might’ve been hurt.

“Peter,” you gasped as you took his hands off your face and laced his fingers with yours, squeezing your hold on him, assuring you that you were fine.

“I’m here, I’m right here,” Peter’s words stumbled against one another as he tried to keep checking on you, he could see the red blotches around your neck, he caressed them slightly, already turning a dark purple that was tainting your skin.

He quickly cradled the back of your head with one hand and wrapped his arm tightly around your waist with the other, pulling you into him in a breath. His heart was pounding in his chest, you could feel it and you’d like to think that you were on the same beat.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Felicia cleared her throat as Peter and you pulled away to see what she was talking about, while she rolled her neck, prepping. “We’ve got company”

You turned to where Felicia was looking, The Prowler standing up and recharging his gauntlets with a swift movement of his arms as he walked towards the three of you, a menacing aura around him as all of you gave a step back.

“Peter, you still have taser webs?” you asked softly as The Prowler came closer to you, the nanobots covering your face again.

“Yeah, why?” Peter answered as he took a hold of your hand with his free one, and held the case closer to him.

“Shoot him when I tell you and let me know when it hurts,” you said calmly as you quickly snatch the case away from Peter and ran the opposite way, Peter turned around and started to the web The Prowler up, who was trying to catch Peter, as he swung from his place next to Felicia and tried to drive him away from you.

“What about me!?” Felicia whined but you weren’t paying attention to her, but the repulsor in front of you. She sighed, annoyed at your demeanor but her attention was caught by the few Kingpin soldiers that were still around, the bullets were raining towards you but Felicia stretched her arms and with one swift movement her claws appeared and she started to take them down one by one.

You quickly took the gauntlet and the nanobots from one of your hands disappeared, so you could place it on. The waves of energy that you remember going through your body seemed a bit destabilize than the last time you had used it, maybe because Felicia had used it prior -although on a smaller scale- but you knew it you fire at the right scare, the repercussions of the blast would be bigger. Harley and Tony had been working on stabilizing the energy and you hoped that it had worked as you stood up and pointed at The Prowler.

“Spidey, now!”

Peter gave a swift backflip and landed next to you, The Prowler jumping in the air to attack him but Peter managed to shot a taser web on his chest before you fired at The Prowlers’ chest and to the web. The sheer amount of energy coming from your hand started to send your body backward but you buried your hills into the marble, trying to stop you from missing balance as you saw a bright light surrounding The Prowler who seemed frozen in time as the waves of electricity shocked him.

All the energy from the repulsor was focusing on the webs and the Prowler himself but also, it started to reach Peter. Peter’s arms were shaking as he tried to stand his ground next to you, but he was starting to feel the residual energy coming from the blast, his legs shaky. He wasn’t hurt per se but he was starting to feel how his web-shooters were growing hot, sparkles coming from them, and then his whole wrist started to tickle which then simply started to burn. And then you felt it too, you weren’t sure if it was properly calibrated for how long you’d been using it, maybe Harley and Tony weren’t thinking that it would have such a prolonged use and now you were feeling the consequences as sparkles started to appear on your hand too.

“AAAAHHH!” Peter screamed as you started to see smoke coming from the web-shooters and The Prowler itself, you quickly stopped the beam and saw how The Prowler fell and landed on his knees, smoke coming from his whole body but the purple energy of his suit seemed to be gone, then he fell onto the ground face first.

You walked slowly towards The Prowler, there were still sparks and small lightings surrounding his body, causing him to spam once in a while, but other than that he was out. You turned surprised, you and Peter had done it, you had glitched his program with the energy from the repulsor but then you saw Peter on the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to take off the smoking web shooters on his hands.

“You had to tell me if it hurt!” you reproached him as you kneeled in front of him, to check if he was fine. There were a few marks on his wrist, they were red, some already white, and with a bit of blood. Before Peter could say anything, you sprayed him with your free hand some of the regenerating liquid that you had installed on your suit since your incident.

“It’s okay,” Peter muttered as he looked up at you slowly as you took his hand on yours, cradling it for a bit. If you could only take off your masks, you thought to yourself as Peter squeeze your hand in his. “I feel better now,” he added softly as he reached for one of his web-shooters but you held one of his hands and then Peter felt his heart pounding on his chest, as well as yours.

You shuddered as you realized how you were holding onto him for dear life, you weren’t sure what it meant yet but there was something that had shifted.

You wanted to say something, anything to him but before you could, Peter quickly pulled you to his right, effectively dropping you to the floor before he fired a web towards one of the remaining men who were pointing at you from behind.

Peter took his other web shooter and raised it from the floor. “We’ll talk later, I’m fine!” Peter yelled as he swung his way towards where the men were standing with their guns, kicked them in the chest, and quickly broke the machine guns they had on their hands.

You shook your head with a smile but then your eyes landed on Felicia, as she swiftly slid on the ground under one of the men before she hit him on his balls, the man quickly bent over from the pain which allowed Felicia to use him as a base to throw herself towards another man, she wrapped her legs around his neck with so much force and swiftness that it took the man by surprise and she quickly threw him to the ground next to you.

She looked towards you and shrugged, as she saw you watching the unconscious man.

“What?” She asked as she walked towards you with a cat-like-grin, smugness dripping from it.

“Nothing,” you grumbled as you took of the repulsor from your hand, not wanting to make any mistakes with it, and quickly locked it in the case as Felicia stood behind you.

“I told you that I was going with the team that-” Felicia said but you quickly cut her off before she could say anything else as you fired towards a couple of the men that wanted to fire at you from the iconic (now destroyed) stairs.

“Yeah, the one that was going to help you survive, got it” you grumbled as you walked away from her and you kept blasting some of the men who had managed to dodge your shots.

“No, y/n,” She said as she took your hand and pulled you towards her, making you turn around and look at her. Felicia looked at you seriously, almost as if was looking at your eyes through the mask. “You are my team”

You felt your heart twisting on your chest, it lingered for a moment and you felt a jolt cursing to your body at the thought of Felicia feeling something about you. It was dizzying and confusing, the way she pushed you but pulled back and it hurt because you didn’t know if she was honest. But it didn’t matter much at the moment as you felt a blast of energy on your back, sending Felicia and you flying away, you landed meters away and the purple energy stopped, you turned to see Kingpin firing you from the stairs, coming for the case that was close to you.

His rigid cords in his neck, his bulging bestial eyes, red face, and clenched jaw; letting you know that he was beyond angry and you felt his fury from where you were standing. Kingpin until now had remained somehow calmed, but now it was a different story.

His movements seemed chaotic as he tried to recharge the weapon on his hands while climbing down the destroyed stairs, towards you. His usually sharp suit seemed in disarray and tainted some of the blood that was falling from his nose from the blast you had fired at him but he didn’t sustain any other injuries, most importantly his eyes were wide-open, a storm of rage in them, he seemed overall unhinged.

Which was never a good sign on someone who was firing at you with an alien weapon.

Before you could push Felicia away, he fired the purple beam again, which you had become used to by now and the nanobots quickly created a shield that you placed forward with your forearm. Felicia behind you as you tried to shield her as best as you could from the energy, knowing it was very likely that she could be exposed to the energy and have highly damaging burns on her skin.

Peter finished with, what he thought, was the last of the soldiers from Kingpin as he quickly webbed his hand into the wall and then punched him in the face for good measure. Then he felt his spidey senses go off, he saw how Kingpin recharged the alien gun and then quickly fired at you before he could even scream your name again. It seemed almost automatic how Peter fired one of his webs to the roof and swung with no problem towards where Kingpin was, he quickly webbed the gun and pulled it from Kingpin’s grasp, as he quickly taped it to the roof.

“No, sorry” Peter yelled as he swung towards Kingpin, who was trying to search for Peter as he turned around and Peter quickly kicked him in the face. “That’s cheating,”

Kingpin had this angered look as Peter landed next to you, helping both Felicia and you stand up, and then he started to walk towards you. You watched him and felt the anger filling your body, you had been so afraid of Kingpin, of how calculated he was, how cold and simply maliciously he acted. But now, as you watched him get closer and closer to you, you realized that he might not be as invincible as you’d thought he was.

You began to fire your repulsors against him, nonetheless, with the lack of energy from your suit, HAPPY was doing its best to reserve the energy that you had left. Therefore, Kingpin wasn’t falling back, he could withstand the shots that were hitting him and you swallowed hard as you realized that it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Fire at him with the repulsor!” Felicia shriek as she gave a few steps back while Kingpin got closer.

“I can’t!” you replied giving a few steps back while your eyes still lingered with Kingpin’s who was grinning devilishly at you. “It’s not calibrated, it can explode and kill us all.”

“We need to go hand in hand with him,” Peter said as he took your hand and pulled you back, he quickly took the case and threw it against one column, webbing it tightly and high enough for no one to reach it except for him.

“What!?” Felicia and you yelped at the same time while looking at Peter.

“If we do it together, we can defeat him. All of us,” Peter said as he turned to see Felicia, who was already in a defense position.

She swallowed hard as she looked at both of you with a bit of incredulity dripping from her eyes. “Just try to stay away from the fists,” she muttered before you turn to fire and him once more with the repulsor and Felicia ran towards Kingpin and Peter started to swing towards him.

You weren’t able to see much of what Felicia and Peter were doing, as your beams shined so bright towards Kingpin that you had to look back. You just saw her hair and Peter jumping from side to side, it seemed like a gymnastics show for Peter, both (Felicia and him) trying to avoid Kingpin’s larger-than-life fists. She kicked him in the chest, Peter in the face, and then Felicia gave one blow to one leg causing him to bow down for one second.

But then your normal repulsors went out, the bright light stopped coming from your hands and it was the chance that Kingpin was waiting. Before Peter could react, he saw how Kingpin took with just one hand Felicia’s leg and flung her into the air, her body bouncing against one column of the station and then falling into the ground.

He had flickered her like a fly.

“Hardy!” you screamed as Felicia groaned on the floor, struggling to stand up.

Peter tried to swing one more time to take another hit at Kingpin so you could check on Felicia, but before he reached Kingpin, something broke his web, Peter managed to land on the floor without much trouble but he looked up into the stairs to see The Architect. He was bloody, rage making his whole body vibrate and clearly disturbed as he held a rifle that he probably took from the injured soldiers and pointed it at Peter.

“That’s for how you left me at the club, you insect!” he yelled as he started to fire again and Peter avoided the bullets skillfully, but it was raft after raft and he knew he couldn’t bring that to you or Felicia, so he decided to deal with it.

You had heard The Architect screaming but you tried not to mind it as you shook Felicia’s shoulder, trying to wake her up from her foggy state.

“Are you okay?” you asked her as you cupped her face in your hand, Felicia wasn’t completely there but she nodded slowly. You sighed in relief and let out a small laugh, Felicia smiled at you too.

Felicia’s smile froze time for a moment, it was simple, it wasn’t meant to be more and you knew it but there was complicity between you two and you felt it. It was weird, loving-and-hating someone in such a small amount of times, it was a rollercoaster, unpredictable, the longing stares, the highs, and the lows. It was Felicia.

And then there was a strong grip on the back of your neck.

You let go of Felicia as you flipped over with the rockets on your feet and landed in front of Kingpin. Without any thought, you quickly threw a jab to his jaw, which clearly hurt as you heard the frustrated scream. Then, you tried to shoot your repulsors but before you were able to fire them at him, he grabbed both of your hands with his large fists, and then you felt the pressure, then the pain, the small crack of the nanobots, and then from your hand as he crushed them underneath his own.

“STOP!” You screamed with pain tinted all over your voice but then he sucked in a breath, reared back, and then head-butted you as hard as he possibly could.

It hurt, you saw the red lights on the screen of your suit as you stumbled back and fell to the ground, you were pretty sure that you had more than one concussion. You tried to stand up but Kingpin threw an uppercut towards you that you couldn’t dodge, sending you flying once more into the ground. You groaned on the floor, your knees buckled and fell forward, you could feel the taste of the blood coming from your nose into your mouth. You were aware that Kingpin was vicious but it was becoming too much, he was way too focus on you, on killing you.

“You have cost me enough, Miss Stark,” Kingpin spat as he got closer to you, his voice ricocheted on the walls and you tried to move, somewhere anywhere away from him. But he reached you once more, you felt another blow to your ribs now and then it smashed into the ground, you groaned as you rolled into your back and coughed. Alarms on your suit were going off and now you were more than disoriented.

Your whole body hurt and you were feeling exhausted. All the pain, the anxiety, the anger, the frustration- everything seemed to be coming down on you at once, and it was drowning you. It was useless now, you could feel the pain and the weight of so many injuries you had sustained that same day, you could feel the thick wetness of your blood on the side of your head, the incessant pain from your gunshot injury, and the general pain coursing through your body. You tried to crawl your way away from Kingpin but before you could, he grabbed you from your arm and hip, he raised your body, picked you up easily, and then threw you once more against a wall.

Your body was smashed against the marble once more and the pain almost became unbearable, your helmet filling up with blood as you spit it out. The nanobots quickly disappeared from your face as you coughed out blood that fell into the white marble as you looked back to Kingpin.

“The Avengers will drop one by one,” he roared, stepping over you and lifting you up by the neck. You struggled, your hands trying to take off Kingpin’s hold on you but now it seemed hopeless as he held you high. “This end, this little game of yours ends now.”

You watched the statistics on your screen, knowing that you still have somethings left to use but you weren’t sure if they would work. You looked back at Peter, trying to find him, you saw the black and red colors moving near the stairs, the gunshots sounded far away and the overwhelming need to cry flooded your body.

It dawned on you, that maybe it was the last time you would ever see him, the last time you would ever see his chocolate eyes and caramel curls, his galaxy of freckles, his scent of cinnamon and honey, you realized that it was all you wanted if it was your last moment. There was almost a primal instinct of reaching towards him, you raised your hand and tried to reach to where Peter was, but Kingpin realized it.

A malicious grin appeared on his face. “You’re weak, what even made you think that you could defeat me?”

Your eyes locked with Kingpin’s and anger fill your body, you weren’t sure if you were shaking because of the pain or because of the rage that you felt by seeing his shit-eating-grin. You had tried to prove a point for so long, you had tried to protect The Avengers, your family, and in doing so, the rest of the world. If you had to die for Kingpin to be caught so be it, for a second you weren’t afraid anymore, anger and calm washed over you. There was no point denying the inevitable, you felt calm and collected

“You’ll never win, you’ll end up in jail as all the others,” you spoke up softly as the hold on your neck became tighter and tighter. You could hear the slight crack of the already damaged nanobots thanks to The Prowler's previous hold.

Kingpin chuckled to himself as he looked at you. “I guess you won’t be there to see it,” he answered maliciously and you felt the grip breaking completely the nanobots on your neck.

You didn’t know if it was peace washing over you or the lack of oxygen because of Kingpin’s grip on your neck, but you close your eyes and took a deep breath. You felt content, death wasn’t scary and you knew it, what just bothered you at the end, was that you had to go without Peter holding you.

Goodbye Peter, you thought to yourself.

“Leave her alone!” you heard Felicia’s silvery voice as she roared, Kingpin turned around and you opened your eyes to see a flash of silver hair and a black suit, squaring Kingpin right on the face and slashing his face with her claws. He stumbled by the sheer force of the attack, the deep cuts she had made on his skin and he let go of you in the process, you fell into the ground, coughing as you tried to get as much air in your lungs as you possibly could.

Felicia’s claws seemed more pronounced than ever, you could see the strength on her kicks and hooks, how she flipped and roll in the ground as she ended with Kingpin, as she turned around you could see the fire in her eyes, the sheer anger she was feeling from what she had believed were your last moments. There wasn’t any hesitation on her steps as she kicked and flipped, Kingpin now with multiple scratches on his hands and suit, the most pronounced ones were three nasty cuts that were bleeding all over his face.

She was defending you.

“HAPPY, you have some of the regenerate spray left?” you groaned as you leaned into one of the closer columns before you were pouring some of the liquid in the cuts on your face as you tried to stand up on your wobbly legs so that maybe you could help Felicia, but as you did, you heard her yelping.

You raised your eyes to see how Kingpin grabbed Felicia by the neck as he was dodging some of her moves and he flung her again across the station. It wasn’t as hard as before and somehow Felicia managed, like a cat, to land on her feet.

Felicia hissed at Kingpin and started to run towards him to end what she had started, a slight frown on her face and narrowed eyes. But before she could reach him, Kingpin took from his blazer a small gun, one that you hadn’t detected, it was a usual one but Felicia didn’t have time to react completely. The gunshot ricocheted all over the station, along with Felicia’s shriek as she fell to the ground, grabbing her side.

“No, no, no,” you mumbled as you tried to walk towards Felicia as fast as you could, but Kingpin heard you, he turned around to watch your desperation, and he grinned. He quickly recharged his weapon and before you reached Felicia, you heard his ominous voice.

“Say goodbye to Miss Hardy, Stark.” Kingpin said before he fired again.

“NO!”

The gunshot sound left a ring on your ear, you didn’t know if it was because you were too close or because you were in a state of shock. There was a flash of red and black passing in front of Felicia, and then the thud of a body falling into the floor close to her.

There was no screaming coming from Peter, he simply fell to the floor as he let go of the web while he held his chest. He was lying motionless in front of you and your body felt rigid as you fell to your knees, you crawled over to him, tears already streaming down your face as you pulled his mask off and you nearly screamed as you picked him up into your arms, you felt your chest shaking as you felt like your mind couldn’t fucking grasp what you were seeing.

“Peter, no, oh god, no, no, no,” You muttered to yourself, it was almost incomprehensible as you looked at Peter, who had his eyes closed for a second. “Not you, not you, Peter, come on”

You tried to shake him, scrambling towards him and pulling him onto your lap as tears streamed down your face without an inch of self-control. Your hands were shaking as you stared at Peter, as you caressed his face and you started seeing the blood coming from his chest, tainting the red and black suit. There were two bullet holes on his suit, Peter was bleeding out in front of you and you tried your best to remain calm but you were almost shaking uncontrollably.

But then Peter grasped your hands softly, he was so patiently trying to calm you down by holding you tightly that you couldn’t even believe it. His eyes fluttered open and you could see hot-tears threatening to fall from his eyes as they locked with yours.

He will always be there, you thought to yourself as you recalled what he had said before this mess.

The way your chest felt like it had a grown a dark hole was something that you’d never thought you had experienced. You’d never, and truly never felt such despair, ever. You felt your mind going haywire as you saw how blood started to expand on Peter’s chest, your shaky hands tried to somehow cover the blood, it was irrational how you tried to stop the bleeding, but you quickly sprayed the regenerative cradled liquid that you had left, you were hoping it was enough, you were praying it was enough. You were erratic as you tried to spray more and more from the liquid, knowing that it maybe wouldn’t be enough.

“Peter?” you whispered, pressing your lips to his ear as you curled up around him. You began to move back and forth, as the tears started to taint Peter’s face too, you pressed your forehead to him as you held him tighter. “Not like this, not like this,” you sobbed out.

You were clinging onto him and he was doing the same, he was your center of gravity and you were his.

You could feel Peter’s eyelashes against your skin, you raised your head as you looked into him deeply. Eyes locking like the first time you’d met all those years ago, on a sunny afternoon in the lab. Where somehow Peter deeply knew that you were destined to be together, that you were his sunshine, his reason, his everything, he had doubted it for so long that he now felt stupid.

He realized now, as he was feeling somehow how the life was draining for him, as he felt his own blood pouring out of your body, that it was obvious that you were meant to be. He had been so stupid for letting you go, for not telling you how he felt when he could, for wasting time on others that were clearly not the right choice for the other. He wished that he had kissed you more that night, he wished that you would’ve to fight less, he wished that you would’ve spent more time together, he wished time.

But he didn’t seem to have more.

You didn’t know it was even possible for someone to convey so much love into one gaze, but Peter didn’t have to talk for you to know what he was saying. You understood completely because you knew Peter like the back of your hand because he was your center, he was gravity and everything pulled you back to him. It would be foolish to think that you could somehow avoid it, your feelings and now you felt so stupid for doing so. He had hurt you so much and you had decided to be hurt for so long, that it all now seemed stupid.

You knew what he meant, and you hoped he knew what you meant.

But Peter knew that if he didn’t say it know if he didn’t really speak then it would be left as a secret on his soul, he didn’t want that.

He didn’t want to die before you knew before you truly knew.

“It’s,” Peter started to mumble, but he coughed some blood. You tried to hush him but he shook his head softly as you cupped his cheek. “It’s you, it has always been you,”

A loud sob broke your chest and you were shaking uncontrollably, you were sure you heard how the black hole of despair was widening as you heard his words. You tried to hold onto him for dear life, you felt like you were going to drown in sorrow, how could you ever live in a world without Peter Parker?

“Don’t leave me, Peter,” you whispered as you pressed your forehead against him, your tears mixing with Peter’s as he shivered at your touch. “You were mine too,” the sob broke you as you cried along with Peter, who then closed his eyes.

It dawned on you that it was the last time you were going to be with Peter and you simply screamed at the sky, the cry ripped your chest and it even felt like it ripped the moon, as you felt like you were going to pass out as the sobs started to come out of you shamelessly. The cries were so raw and torn, they seemed to tear you open as you pulled Peter closer, realizing that you couldn’t live in a world without Peter Parker.

“I’m sorry,” you heard Felicia whispering, tears streaming down her eyes as well as she got closer to you, you raised your eyes to see how she was bleeding a bit, she had been grazed by the first bullet but she hadn’t been shot.

And then you heard the deep laugh coming from far away, you turned to see Kingpin’s satisfied expression as he watched the three of you on the floor.

“This is where I leave you,” Kingpin said before he tried to somehow clean his suit and then started to walk towards where the case was, taking the gun in his hand, he seemed ready to grab the case by shooting at the web.

And then your heart broke because this wasn’t the way it would end. This wasn’t it; Peter couldn’t die and Kingpin couldn’t win.

Although Peter seemed unconscious, you could still listen to the faint beat of his heart, you knew that his modified DNA was still working to somehow fix the wound, that maybe the little regenerative liquid was working too and you knew that if he got the right medical attention, he could even make it.

You grabbed Felicia’s hand and pulled her close to you, glaring at her as tears were still streaming down your face.

“Felicia, take Peter to Stark Tower,” you ordered her, between sobs. “You have to take him, now.”

“What?” Felicia asked confused as she wiped the tears from her face, her voice wobbly and she almost instinctively gave a step back, as if she was afraid of the heaviness of the task that was being given to her.

“He sacrificed himself to save you,” you answer back as you pulled Felicia forward by her hand and started to hand Peter’s motionless body to her. Felicia’s eyes seemed to be full of panic as you started to let go of Peter, giving him to her and then you looked directly into her eyes. “If you’re on my team, you need to save him.”

Felicia stuttered for a moment, but no words came out of her mouth as she stared into your eyes. But you didn’t budge, you didn’t change your expression or the seriousness of it, Felicia needed to go with Peter, now.

It seemed like you had stopped breathing for a second as you waited for Felicia’s reaction, you knew that if she cared about you, she would do it and you hoped that she did. You were starting to panic but before you did, Felicia took all Peter’s weight and leaned him into her, holding him by his torso and placing his hand over her shoulders.

“Do what you need to do,” Felicia answer as she took out her white whip and quickly latched it into one of the balconies, ready to get Peter out from Grand Central. You sighed and nodded, you turned to look towards where Kingpin was, ready to fire at the case, but before you turned completely around, Felicia interrupted you. “Stark, be careful?”

You simply nodded as you wiped the tears away from your face while Felicia climbed to the balcony with Peter in her arms, she didn’t look back as she carefully took Peter’s body and got out through the main doors of the Station. You turned to see Kingpin, you sighed deeply as your helmet close again, the red alarms still on the screen in front of you, along with the reminder that you were low on energy.

“HAPPY, what do we have left?” You asked as you cracked your neck, the pain was still coursing through your body but at the moment you didn’t care much, your mind was too busy crafting a plan to get rid of Kingpin.

“Miss Stark, you shouldn’t be using the repulsors cannon, or energy blasters or energy blade or-” the AI started but you interrupted as you started to limpidly walk towards Kingpin.

“Yeah, I get it, no energy. Can you tell me if we have something that works?” you asked as you wince at the sound of the bullets crashing against the marble, ready to cut the case from where it was.

“You have the shoulder-formed micro-missile launcher ready and the zero canons, along with some other smaller missiles” the AI informed you.

“Good, start firing them and safe the repulsors to lift me up when we are close enough,” you stated as you closed your eyes for a moment, you took a deep breath and before you knew it, you were running alongside the missiles, ready for whatever would come your way.

Kingpin didn’t see it coming, he barely reacted since he had been too busy with shooting the case, which was already budging. He turned around with a frown, only for it to turn into a wince as he tried to avoid the missiles and it sent him flying backward. You were livid as you shot three quick rapid-succession smaller missiles that hit Kingpin, you heard his angry screams as you got closer to him. You quickly reached the column where the case was and without doubting it once, with the little energy you had left you flew to catch it with a quick jump that allowed you to rip the case from the wall, breaking a little bit while on it.

Though it didn’t last long as you landed almost abruptly on the floor, it wasn’t your best landing and your wounds were killing you, but you didn’t care. You knew that you had to get out of there with the case, otherwise it would turn ugly. You turned around to gaze at Kingpin who was starting to stand up but before he could, you quickly fired at him the last bit of energy you had with one of your repulsors.

“You can’t hurt the people I love and get away with it,” you screamed before you started to run away from Kingpin, your eyes on the stairs, ready to get out of there.

But then, you felt the loud and strong steps of Kingpin running towards you, you tried your best to fly away but your suit wasn’t working anymore and you cursed mentally, knowing that it meant a change of plans, that you didn’t like as much.

You turned at the moment when Kingpin, with his large hands, sent you to the opposite way of the door with a simple slap to your face as he reached you. You landed on the floor, head throbbing once more as you quickly took the case that had slipped from your hands for a second, you tried to stand up but Kingpin yanked your shoulder and you fell again onto the floor but with the case still in hand.

“I tried to be patient with you little Stark,” Kingpin growled as he looked down at you, before he quickly tried to crush you beneath his fists, you quickly dodge it by rolling to your side before you opened the case but then Kingpin tried to yank your leg. “But I’ve had enough. You will die today”

You hissed at the pain on your heel and quickly kicked his face with your heel, allowing you to escape for a minute and take the gauntlet with the new repulsor before Kingpin tried to grab you again, you turned around and your hook punched Kingpin across his face.

“I’m not little Stark,” you grumbled under your breath as you saw how Kingpin’s nose was bleeding even more profusely after your kick and your punch. His eyes were fire and his whole body was shaking with rage as he tried to wipe his nose from the blood, but the deep cuts that Felicia had done seemed to hurt him even more. “I’m fucking y/n Stark, and I’m ending this, now.”

Kingpin simply growled like an animal at your statement before he was ready to punch you one more time but before he could, you simply took a deep breath and felt the unbalanced energy that was focusing on your right arm. It seemed way more than ever before and you knew that by you have it, it could mean that it would end you.

Cinnamon and honey, was the only thing you thought about before you fired at Kingpin with the repulsor, and a white light blinded you.

And then there was silence.

Tony was the one who found you, between the debris of the destroyed Grand Central Station, your vitals were so small that he almost missed you. He had been on Stark Tower for about forty-minutes as he tried to evacuate the guests and everyone, then he reached the penthouse where he had encountered your friends, he had asked about you but his heart had torn from his chest as he saw the state of your room.

It wasn’t only until then that he realized that you were in trouble.

He had flown as fasts as he possibly could when Harley had told him where you were, and he had reached the station just in time to find Black Cat carrying Peter through rooftops of the buildings, she had tried to avoid the police knowing that they were going to arrest her but also (maybe) even discover Peter’s secret identity. Felicia was struggling so much with Peter; she was crying her eyes out but without making any noise as she and Peter left behind a trail of blood. When Tony landed in front of her, she didn’t blink or seemed scared, she seemed relieved as Tony took Peter into his arms, struggling to keep it together as he saw the kid that felt like a son bleeding out in his arms. He was almost about to fly away when he realized that Felicia was hurt too, he immediately knew who she was but he didn’t say her name, he simply took her hand and then flew to Stark Tower as fast as he could before flying back and reaching the station when it blew up.

The aftermath of the attack was greatly publicized all over the world. Every civilian was safe and no police officer that had been surrounding the perimeter and was attempting to step in was injured, Black Cat and Spiderman were recovering from their injuries, Kingpin had been found hurt but alive (incredibly) and was in a hospital before he was taken to prison and you were in a coma.

Bruce and Dr. Helen Cho weren’t completely sure how you’d make it alive from an explosion as big as that, but everyone was grateful that you had survived without any major injuries that they could detect right away, Bruce nonetheless preferred to put you to sleep so your body could recover.

All the Avengers had returned to visit you, to see how you were doing and even Fury who wasn’t fond of you spent a couple of hours in your room at the Medical Wing at the Compound. Tony and Pepper were on the first shift at five in the morning, then Steve and Nat, then they changed to Sam and Bucky, then Wanda and Vision, then Tony and Pepper again and then Rhodey and Bruce, Harley and Peter usually spent the night. It had been decided that you had to be on the Compound, along with Peter and Felicia to recover. It was best that you were away from prying eyes and in a place where every single person that lived there would take care of you.

It wasn’t until a week later that you woke-up alone in your room at the medical wing.

It was sunrise when you woke-up. The iris of fire-colored your room in the Medical wing, with a touch of golden light surrounding it. It was a cold sun of a winter morning, ones that you loved so much. You always thought that your body would be sluggish if you, by any chance, were subject to a coma but everything seemed to be dialed by a hundred as you opened your eyes and started to move. Everything ached from your injuries and the lack of movement from the past week, exhaustion also settled in your bones -even though you had been sleeping for so long-. Therefore, you had to take a minute before you decided to move again, deep breaths as the burning of your muscles continued for more than what you would like, it felt like multiple parts of your body were going to break in half.

It wasn’t until you felt accustomed enough to the pain that your mind snapped, you realized that you were definitely alive and immediately your heart stopped on your chest.

Was Peter alive?

“FRIDAY?” you rasped, coughing slightly at your sore and scratchy throat. You touched your neck slightly only to realize that you had bandages as well, and how they trailed down to your collarbone, torso and then you had a whole cast on your right arm. You supposed it was from the force of the explosion.

“Welcome back, Miss Stark,” Friday said smoothly as you raised from your bed and realized, horrified, how many tubes you had around you, on your nose, a central line, and the usual IV. “Would you like me to call someone to remove some of the medical equipment?” she asked, almost as if she knew you wanted to quickly take off the tubes and IV, so you could find out what had happened with Peter.

“No,” you answered quickly as you turned to see the notes of Dr. Cho and the other medical team that was on the desk next to you. “Can I take this off myself without bleeding out Friday?” you asked as you went through the notes, reading them as fast as you could.

You had various skull fractures, internal bleeding from your wound and you had been operated on to reinforce the stitches, you had a dislocated shoulder and a fractured arm, a broken rib even that had punctured your lung, burns on your right arm. Everything was accompanied by multiple scratches, lacerations, cuts, and bruises. You shivered at the thought of what your body had dealt with and how it could’ve been worse but your mind simply pushed it on the back of your mind as you tried your best to see how you could remove the tubes around you.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Tony said as he rose from the sofa in front of you. You knew how Tony looked when he was tired or when he was concerned, but the way he was looking now was something else that you would imagine.

Tony looked more sunken and broken than you’d ever thought possible. The deep purple bags under his eyes were something that your dad would never get, he had spent so many sleepless nights that you believed he was immune to them, his red-rimmed eyes were also something that didn’t fit with the usual image you had from Tony or the most prominent fact was the tired expression that almost forced his face down.

And it hit you that you were the reason he looked so bad; you were somehow the reason everything had somehow turned bad. Although you didn’t know what had happened with Kingpin, you knew that Peter and Felicia had been hurt and that you had most definitely destroyed a great part of an iconic historic building. And now your dad, The Avengers, your whole family had to deal with your erratic actions, with your mistakes, with your choices.

It felt like you were going to throw up when you realized that Peter’s death would even be your fault, guilt started to drown you.

You cracked.

“Dad,” you sniffled, as you cover your face with your hands in shame for what you had done, ashamed of your actions and the consequences they had, ashamed that you might be the reason that Peter hadn’t survived.

Your whole body began to shake uncontrollably, cries coming one after the other, almost escaping your lips involuntarily. But suddenly Tony simply walked over to you, pulling you quickly into his arms and holding you close as the tears fell from your eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” you cried against Tony’s chest.

“Sh. y/n, it’s alright,” Tony said as he caressed your hair, but it didn’t seem to ease your crying as you held to Tony tightly. Your dad, as strict and demanding as he always had been, was also the one person you admired the most, the one that you had shaped your life after, and disappointing him hurt more than what you would’ve liked to admit before.

“I’m sorry,” you pulled away and looked up at your dad’s softened expression. You didn’t want to say the words but your mind wasn’t able to handle anything else. “Di-did Peter…”

Tony reached down and held your face as he listened to you, but he seemed rather confused until he understood what and why you were asking, you didn’t know what had happened.

“He made it. I found them on time,” Tony said quickly to ease your concerns but it only caused you to cry, even more, gratefulness washing over your body as you realized that you hadn’t lost Peter. Peter Parker was alive and you felt like you could breathe again. “He’s in the next room, he woke up two days after everything happened, he also asked for you when he woke-up.”

You felt like putty on your dad’s arm as tears streamed down your face but now, you had a slight smile on your face as you tried to deal with the fact that Peter was okay and that he had been asking for you. It dawned on you how much you depended on Peter, how even if you knew that you didn’t need him, the thought of living in a world without Peter Parker seemed too heavy of a burden for you to handle, you wouldn’t have known how to cope, how to live.

And then your mind wandered back to the one that helped him save him.

“And, how’s she?” you asked as you pulled away from your Tony’s arms and laid again as your dad wiped the tears away.

“She’s good, she was ready to go since day one but she wanted to stay until you were okay,” Tony explained to you and you couldn’t help to blush like you always did when it came to Felicia, the mercurial highs you experienced when you thought about her and the meaning of your relationship. “You wouldn’t think a criminal/hero would be your type,” Tony chuckled and you giggled a bit.

“She’s different,” you admitted as you and your dad chuckled while looking at each other but then the air turned a bit heavier as the laughs died down. Your eyes still locked and you knew that it was going to be a hard conversation.

You had resented your dad for so long, for wanting you to be one specific way, for keeping you in a cage and you realized on your last moment that none of it was worth it. Anger washed away when you knew what you had to do, you realized that you felt sorry for how your actions had hurt others but not about doing them, you had accomplished your mission and that was all it mattered.

“I’m sorry for everything I did, I’m sorry for lying and for making the wrong choices. I didn’t mean for any of these to happen, I just wanted to do the right thing and to show you that I’m…” you felt the knot on your throat, so familiar. For the first time in forever, it seemed to stop you as you looked at Tony.

“Y/N, you will always be enough,” he stated softly as he caressed your hair. “Although I don’t agree with a lot of things, you did what you believed you had to do to save people. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to do the right thing and I couldn’t be prouder of you. You don’t need to prove yourself to me or to anyone, you are who you are and that makes me the proudest and happiest dad.”

You felt your lower lip wobbling, eyes filling with tears as you took his hand in yours, placing it back down on the bed as you held it tightly. You weren’t sure how it had happened, but the way peace washed over your body, how it seemed to wash the pain away, felt like something new.

“Thank you, dad”

Tony brought Bruce and Dr. Cho after your conversation, they removed some of the tubes like the central line and the oxygen tubes, but the IV had to stay in and you were ordered to remain in bed for a couple of more hours. They wanted to do testing, check your vitals for a longer period of time, and keep you in observation longer to see if there was any problem with you. Much to your dismay. The longing of seeing Peter only grew deeper when Tony told you that he had gone to see May in Queens, he had been waiting for you to wake-up that he hadn’t even visited May after she had come by to be with him while he was out and in surgery.

You understood the point and you decided to think something else as you were chained to your bed, the perfect distraction walked in unannounced as she usually did.

“You know, I knew you were badass but not badass enough to destroy Grand Central,” you heard Felicia’s silvery voice from the frame of the door.

Felicia didn’t have her suit anymore, she was wearing some mom jeans and an oversize cardigan that fitted her nicely, as everything did with her. She had a sassy smirk drawn on her face, the same coy tone that she had used when you first had met her but you could also see a striking light on her eyes that you hadn’t seen before.

You weren’t sure what it was but it fitted her nicely.

“Don’t need to remind me, it’s kind of embarrassing,” you groaned from your bed with a small smile.

Felicia giggled and then walked towards you, she swiftly climbed into your bed but she stayed at the edge of it as she stared down at you. She had the same kid-like expression that she had when you had visited Coney Island together, she was bright and herself. The warmth she had brought to your life, how she had been that fearless role model that you believed you needed, she was unapologetic, and how you had loved every single moment.

But then, her eyes turned remorseful as she detailed all your injuries.

“I’m sorry, for everything,” Felicia said softly, her eyes down as she nervously played with her hands, taking one strand of her silver hair to the back of her ear.

“I know,” you answered but it didn’t really seem to go through Felicia’s mind.

“I… It didn’t start like that, I swear,” she stated grimacing, as she tried her best not to look at you. She seemed so pained at the sight of you, it made you wondered if she had been as afraid as she had been the last time. “Just, when he found out, the terms of the agreement changed and I had to choose between saving my dad and…” Felicia’s chin started trembling as she tried to keep it together.

But you tried to raise from your place and take her hand, you just couldn’t completely so you simply patted the empty space next to you in the bed. Felicia looked up and immediately crawled next to you. You could see how hard she was trying to keep her tears from falling but you knew that if you kept the conversation in the same direction, they would be staining your bed.

“I understand, I still think that you were an asshole but I understand,” you answered as honestly as you could as you held Felicia’s hand tight, she laced her hand in yours. “Thank you for saving Peter,”

Felicia shook her head.

“He saved me, so we are somehow even,” she answered back, somehow still having some residual jealousy from Peter, you could feel it on her voice. “I love you, y/n. You know that, right?”

It was strange hearing her said that for the first time when everything had come undone when you were simply climbing from the lowest of lows in the rollercoaster that your relationship was. It was even stranger that you were aware that you were also in love with her but knowing that you couldn’t be with her. It wasn’t like you had stopped loving her, but the idea of going back to a real relationship with her after everything that had happened, after everything you had realized, didn’t seem right.

“I love you too Felicia, but I just can’t…” you spoke softly, as honestly as you could, and with a modulated tone that even surprised you.

“It’s okay,” she sighed softly as she looked at your y/e/c eyes. “I knew it was never just me, y/n.” Her answer made you furrow your eyebrows as you tried to really understand what she meant with not just her, rapidly blinking as you tried to listen to her carefully. “Come on, you know what I’m talking about,” she insisted as she squeezed your hand for a second as if it was a nudge that she would usually give you. “It was never just me, you couldn’t just love me, not completely at least since the start. He was always there”

Peter’s presence in your life and, therefore, in your relationship with Felicia seemed to dawn on you. But it was strange, you always thought that Felicia was this untouchable being, that her jealousy was small but that it wouldn’t taint your whole relationship.

But it had.

“It doesn’t mean that I didn’t or that I don’t,” you stated quickly but Felicia smiled as she placed her thumb over your mouth softly, you stayed silent as she ran her fingers through your curls.

“I know, it’s okay Stark. I can survive,” she answered playfully, as she naturally was and her eyes gleamed with confidence.

“You always do,” you assured her as she climbed down from the bed.

Now on the edge next to your head she leaned down placed a soft kiss on the corner of your mouth, so softly and with so much love that it was almost palpable in the air. You melted into the kiss as you leaned into her a bit more, into the cotton candy scent, you knew her by heart, all her little things and so, you knew what the kiss meant. It felt like a goodbye kiss, you could feel it by how her plump lips were purposeful and loving, but without the sheer intensity and raw want that they had before.

You felt the knot on your throat because you knew her and what it actually meant, beyond breaking up.

“You are going to skip town?”

Felicia rose from your bed and finally let go of your hand she placed her hands on her pockets and sighed, she seemed to be choosing the correct words to actually tell you but when she looked at you again, it felt like she knew she could be honest.

“Maybe, your dad arranged for my dad to get out the day that you woke-up. He’s being sent to a hospital and I’ll be with him for a while,” she answered truthfully and you felt your heart skipping a beat of joy as you realized that Tony had helped her and that, for what it seemed, there were no streams attached to the deal.

“Am I going to hear from you again?” you asked as Felicia started to walk towards the door, her hips going side to side and with the same confidence that she had the day you had met her.

“Maybe,” she stated with a shrug, you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t be a stranger,”

“Never for you, Stark” she answered honestly as she reached the door.

“Be careful, Hardy”

Felicia looked back at you with her purple-ish grey eyes and there was fondness drawn on her features, she watched you lovingly from afar and you knew it was going to be a while until you saw the girl that had put your world upside down. You were so grateful for her and for what it seemed; she was grateful for you too.

“You too, Stark”

The rest of the day you spent between sleeping, people taking out your blood, being transported into a larger regenerative cradled that Dr. Cho had brought, and changing your bandages. But deeply, you were just anxiously hoping to see Peter at the end of the day. You were hoping that he was going to be back sooner, but each time one of the Avengers came in, they would tell you that he hadn’t arrived.

It was frustrating and disappointing, especially when Dr. Cho and Bruce told you that although you were technically allowed to walk, you shouldn’t be walking. Therefore, there wasn’t really walking allowed until they had approved it. You fumed a bit but you tried to dial it down, being angry seemed to simply make your bones ache more. You simply asked them if they weren’t willing to let you walk, then when Peter came back, they should send him to your room immediately.

They agreed, then you asked for sushi and to be alone, Tony was a little bit cautious but he agreed.

A couple of minutes after he left the room, you were taking a deep breath and getting ready to leap from your hospital bed. Your whole body seemed to scream as you land your feet on the cold floor, it really did felt like someone had pulled you apart and then had tried to pull you together, the gravity making your muscles burn but after a minute or two, you managed to slowly start paddling towards the door in search for Peter.

The door opened and before you could give another step the boy with the galaxy of freckles stood before you.

Peter still looked pale but it was miles away from how he had looked when he was bleeding out on your arms a week before. You could see between his white shirt the bandages that were wrapped around his torso and chest, it was similar to the bandages that accompanied the cast that went right up to below the elbow, and then the thick bandages wrapped around your collarbone and shoulder, just above your elbow. Both of you had small band-aids scattering over your faces and body, along with taped down gauze pads and bandages that were covering random stitches and scratches.

You both looked like messes, indeed. You tried to recall where you had been injured the same or worse but there wasn’t any memory coming back to you as you locked eyes with Peter. Not that it matters, because at the end of the day you were the same.

“Y/N,” he smiled tiredly, teary-eyed while he realized that you were okay.

The waiting had been killing Peter slowly. As soon as Peter had woken-up, he started to ask for you non-stopped. He had realized that you had been left alone to deal with Kingpin, that he hadn’t been there as he had promised but Tony had convinced him that he wouldn’t be there at all if Felicia hadn’t gotten him out as you had instructed her.

Peter had, therefore, as soon as he was able to leave his bed, stayed at the foot of your bed every night. He had moved the small couch in the room next to you, so he could be as close to you as possible while Harley stayed in the larger couch that was farther away from you. By the third night, Tony had decided to move the bed from his room in the medical wing to yours every night, until he had decided to see Aunt May.

He had been on May’s apartment, the apartment where he had lived for so long having a small dinner after May had reproached him how they weren’t spending as much time together when he almost died. She felt terrible after, knowing that Peter simply didn’t want to leave your side, but he also understood May and how scared she had been.

He didn’t have good timing though; he had left his phone in his room while he spent the day with May and he only heard him while they finish an early dinner so that Peter could go back and sleep with you. But then Tony called again and Peter caught it, you were awake.

He had rushed to the compound only to directly find you at the door. Peter winced as he saw the multiple injuries you had, it pained him beyond what he believed to see you that way. His PTSD after seeing you get shot didn’t make it better, he remembered how scared he was about losing you, how he had been almost certain that you weren’t going to make it. And here you were not even a month after, Peter hated it.

You didn’t react when you saw him, you knew you couldn’t open your mouth, or otherwise, you would start crying and nothing would stop you. So, you only took his hand and walked with him towards your bed, softly and quietly. Peter didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to, the silence that settled between the two of you was enough for him to know what you wanted.

You climbed to the bed slowly, trying to be as careful as you could with your injuries but Peter didn’t wait, he picked you up easily and placed you in the bed before climbing next to you. You laid there looking up to the ceiling while Peter was curled up next to you, you took his hand again almost instantly and your legs tangled together. You breathe out slowly as you felt the warmth that you had always felt around Peter when you were together.

And you recalled how it felt in the moments that you believed that he wasn’t there.

“You can’t do that again,” you whispered softly without looking at Peter, eyes still trained in the roof.

You were trying not to cry; you were done crying but it seemed almost as if all the feelings that had been bottling up on your body were finally released. You hoped that it would stop soon because it had become exhausting to feel the wave after wave of tears, anger, sadness, fear, everything.

“What?” Peter asked shyly as he watched you softly, as his fingers daintily ran through your hair as you closed your eyes and sighed for a moment, trying to find the words that wouldn’t break your voice.

“You can’t just…” you stuttered and Peter waited patiently as you tried to say how you felt. “You can’t just willingly get hurt.”

“I…”

“I know that a stupid thing for me to say but you just can’t,” you stated as you felt the burning tears escaping your eyes again, while you tried with frustration to make them stop by wiping them from your face as soon as they started to fall.

Peter was at a loss of words as he watched you quietly. Hadn’t you realized why he had done it? You turned to watch Peter and your eyes locked, with your right arm, as softly and delicate as you could, you traced Peter’s features. You tried to memorize how he looked at that moment next to you, you knew that you could imagine every tiny detail of Peter’s body if you were asked to, but you wanted to keep this image in your memory.

Something that assured you that Peter would always be there, even after the worst had happened. You felt like it was the only thing you could keep other than the feeling of being grateful to know that he was there.

“Just, why don’t you take into account that I love you?” you pouted, chin wobbly as you recalled his blood-tainted suit and how he had told you that you were his. “I felt so helpless holding you while I saw you leaving me and I couldn’t do anything”

Peter froze when he heard the L-word in present, his heart was hammering on his chest and he was sure that he was blushing as he gazed at you. Peter had waited years, years, to hear you say what you were saying and with the actual meaning that he wanted to hear. It wasn’t in past, it wasn’t polluted by past lovers, it was truthful and it was raw and it was everything that he ever wished for.

“I did it because I love you,” Peter whispered softly as he shifted on the bed and got closer to you, just a breath away from you as his hand came to cup your face. “If Felicia died… I mean, she was your girlfriend. I just want you to be happy y/n, that’s all I want for you and I didn’t want you to lose her,”

It just dawned on you, how selfless the love that Peter had for you was. You had waited for years, years to hear him say that with all the raw feelings, without any other ties of past fights and hurts, without doubting it for a second. It was an honest love; it was everything you had ever wished for.

“Thank you,” you answered honestly because you knew you would’ve been devastated if Felicia had died but you didn’t know if you would ever feel such despair as you felt when you thought Peter was dying. “But just understand that I will always be happy if you are in my life, Peter Parker,”

Peter’s smile lit up the room as he looked at you with his bright chocolate eyes and when he leaned down and pressed his lips against yours, you knew that you had reached Nirvana. He breathed life back into you with his warm and soft lips that tasted like honey and cinnamon as you tried as carefully as you could to get as close to him as possible. You had dreamed about this for so long that it almost seemed surreal that it was out, everything was done and your soul lighting up as you kissed Peter with all the energy on your body, everything that you felt was Peter Parker. You wanted to be consumed by him, you wanted to forever have Peter with you and you had never been as sure about anything before.

“I’m always going to be here, I promise y/n”

He was warm, he was your home and you smiled as you leaned again into him.

******

taglist: @spideylovin @fandomtrash100 @soullessbabee @liljennyx3

******

author’s note: Okay so ONE MONTH LATER THE FINAL CHAPTER? YES. This was so hard to write and it took me like a loooooooot of time but I really hope that you enjoy it. Next week (I promise) we will have the Epilogue and I’m going to write a blurb at your request about Felicia and y/n in this universe so PLEASE if you have any request, you can tell me in my inbox and I’ll be more than happy to answer.

This has been a ride and I’m really thankful to everyone that took the time to read this series and that were kind enough to send me feedback and comments. I really really appreciate it and you can imagine how you made my days.

I’ll update de epilogue tomorrow and there’s a playlist that will come tomorrow pinpointing an exact scene for a song, I would like to know what you would think will happen in the Epilogue.

please please please let me know your thoughts and opinions on this chapter and if you have ANY theories or comments I would love to see them!!! I’m already so happy with the love you have given to the last chapters, I really hope you like it! any feedback is well received and thank you so much!

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lia-bones · 3 years

Text

A thousand splinters of glass (Part 2)

Broken hearts.

Sirius Balck x Reader

Summary: After the argument, they are both in their room and are comforted by their friends. There comes a question. Can everything be alright again or is it all over and broken?

Warnings: angst, arguments, swear words, insults, broken heart, hint of alcohol consumption, tears.

(As always, misspellings, grammatical errors, translation errors.)

Words: 2743

Author's note: I'm sorry that the second part is so late. I wanted to have it written and uploaded earlier, but I broke part of my right hand at work, which made writing very difficult for me. But I did my best. Next week comes part three, which will probably be the last part.

I hope you enjoy reading 🌻

I made the GIF myself

* * *

After an hour (Y/N) noticed someone trying to open the door. She pressed her back tighter against the door, to prevent the person from entering. "Go the fuck away!" she shouted in a broken voice.

The push on the door stopped and something was moving behind it. "(Y/N)? What happened? Please let me in. Let me help you." she heard Lily's soft voice through the wood of. She didn't really want to see anyone at the moment. But Lily's presence and reassuring words had often helped her before. So she moved forward and whispered just loud enough "Lily. I need a big hug and some tea."

Lily slowly pushed open the door from the outside and stuck her head through the crack. She immediately saw (Y/N), still crouching on the floor, with bloodshot eyes, tear marks on her cheeks and red spots on her face. With quick steps she was with her friend and pulled her tightly into her arms.

(Y/N) buried her face in the crook of Lily's neck and sighed. Her friends stroked her hair and whispered soothing words as she hugged her tighter.

She let (Y/N) cry a little more before she took her by the shoulders to push her away from her a little and look into her face.

"Remus said they heard you yelling at each other, but they couldn't understand what it was about. What happened between you and Sirius?" Lily asked softly and gave her the Handkerchief from her pocket.

(Y/N) wiped it over her cheeks and eyes and smiled weakly at her friend.

"He accused me of cheating on him. With Remus. He yelled at me and called me slut."

she told what had happened, briefly closed her eyes and added ,"He threw a glass at me."

Lily's eyes widened in shock and she put a hand over her mouth.

(Y/N) bit her lip and turned her head to the side as tears came to her eyes again.

"But ... how does he come up with it. What does he think of throwing a glass at you? Did he even let you explain? That stupid ass." Lily asked angrily, shaking her head in disbelief.

(Y/N) shrugged and sniffed up.

"I don't know, I wanted to explain to him. Remus and I are just friends. But he continued to insult me and then the glass flew." she explained to her friend and lay down on the floor to look at the ceiling.

Lily stretched out next to her but turned her head to her friend and said :" The boy is so stubborn and stuck in his mind. I know you and Remus are just friends, we all know that. Sirius must have forgotten that. Which doesn't give him the right to insult you and judge you with a glass. Did it hit you? Are you hurt?"

(Y/N) took a deep breath and turned her head to her friend as well. "No it doesn't. Physical, no. Emotionally, totally."

Lily nodded in relief.

The room fell silent while the two girls stared at the ceiling. Both followed their own thoughts. How could everything have changed so quickly for (Y/N). Everything had been fine until two hours ago. Or at least that's what she thought. It doesn't seem like that for Sirius. She thought the two could trust each other enough to talk to each other. Without yelling. She had tried very hard to remain calm. But how should that work when you are yelled at and insulted. Sirius was never known to stay calm and think before speaking. She knew that. Yes, she knew that before she got together with him. It was also a reason why she liked him so much. He just said what he thought and didn't hold back.

But today. That was too much.

She was aware that it was difficult to gain his trust due to his difficult family situation. But she thought he would trust her. They had known each other for more than six years, one of which they were together. Of course, they would have argued a few times before. But never like that, they yelled at each other over trivialities until both of them had vented all their anger and after that they had made up and everything was fine again.

Not this time. For (Y/N) it feels like it will never be fine again.

He had overreacted, yelled at her, insulted and thrown off. It's never been this extreme.

He had no reason. She acted with Remus as she did with Lily, because they were both her best friends. He did the same with his friends. And he flirted with other girls. But she was never really jealous. Maybe now and then, but only when the flirting got too much, but then he always told her that they mean nothing to him, that everything was just fun and that she was the only one for him. (Y/N) believed him, he had never given her a reason not to.

Just like she never gave him a reason not to believe her. But apparently he doesn't.

After a while, Lily broke the silence again. She looked at her friend again and asked carefully: "Are you tow still together?"

(Y/N) didn't answer right away. She wasn't exactly sure herself.

Nobody had said a word about it. But for

her, was the glass, hit next to her head like a picture-perfect backup.

"I do not know exactly. It feels like the end to me." she whispered into the darkness.

* * *

Sirius was sitting on the edge of his bed. The elbows on the legs and the head buried in the hands. Frustrated, he pulled his hair and shuffled in denial.

The remnants of the argument still in the room. The broken glass, the sticky stain on the floor and the bad feeling that was eating into his bones.

He didn't want that to happen. He didn't want to yell at her, he didn't want to offend her and of course he didn't want to throw the glass at her either. Had he not been drinking he would have hit her right in the face.

He wanted to talk to her normally, calmly tell her what he was worried about. The way she did when something about his behavior worried her. But he hadn't made it. Something had blown inside him and he had started yelling at her. He was such a fool.

Sirius wiped his wet eyes as the door opened and his three friends walked in. They looked at him and immediately noticed that something was wrong with their friend.

He looked broken and totally desperate.

"Hey pets, what happened Is everything okay?" James asked and sat down on the bed next to his friends. Remus leaned against the bedpost across from Sirius bed and Peter sat on the floor between the two beds. Waiting, they looked at Sirius who shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably and grimaced.

"The two argued. "That wasn't a question but a statement from Remus.

Sirius nodded and looked at his friends for the first time. His hair stood out and his face was pale and red at the same time.

He snuggled before he explained in a hoarse voice: "I screamed at her and insulted her. I didn't listen to her or let her finish."

James beside him raised a raised eyebrow and looked questioningly at his best friend. But when he didn't tell any more he asked: "And? You've yelled at each other before. This is nothing new. Before that, everything always turned out fine. Give her a little time that will subside."

Sirius just shook his head.

"No. Nothing's going to be fine. I screwed up. She'll never forgive me for that." he tried to swallow the lump in his throat and blink away the tears that came up again. In vain.

"Why did you fight? " asked Peter, scratching his neck, slightly overwhelmed. He had never seen Sirius like that before and didn't know what to do. Otherwise Sirius was always cool and relaxed and hid his negative feelings as best he could.

"I accused her of cheating on me." Sirius admitted stupidly and did not dare to look his friends in the face.

"Bullshit. She would never ..." Remus started but was stopped by him again.

"With Remus."

The room fell silent again. The boys exchanged incredulous looks and hoped they had just heard wrong.

He couldn't really mean that.

"You bloody Idiot. How did you get the fucking idea your girlfriend was cheating on you. With one of your best friends. She never gave you a fucking reason not to trust her. " Remus explained and looked at his friends in disappointment. The young werewolf just couldn't believe that Sirius really believed

(Y/N) was cheating on him with one of his best friends. He and her would never do that. And Sirius should know that too.

"How did you come up with such a stupid idea?"

Sirius got up from the bed vigorously and stood in front of his taller friend.

He huffed and at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"I see how you treat each other. Giggling together, touching each other, the insider jokes, whispering, meet alone. It is obviously coming." he grumbled, looking like a kicked puppy. Remus took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. So that was the reason he thought that.

"Look Sirius. You're exaggerating a bit. (Y/N) and I are just friends. Good friends. Friends laugh together. She and I have the same subjects so we study togethern. You and James touch each other more often than she and I and still she doesn't think you're cheating on her with him. And we don't have any inside jokes either. Anyone who read the book would have understood that. It's all just in your head. She is her own person. You can't think she's cheating on you just because she gets on well with someone."

Sirius looks at him with wide eyes and open mouth, startled. Remus was right. As so often. (Y/N) would never cheat on him and Remus would never do anything with a friend's girlfriend. Him and her were just friends. In fact, it was a good thing that his girlfriend got on well with his best friends.

She has always been open and close with her friends. He just saw things that weren't there. He was afraid of losing her. That she would reject him and despise him just like his blood relativ family. He was afraid of losing people from his chosen family.

Well, that was exactly what he had now taken care of himself. He hadn't trusted his own girlfriend and had beaten her down. His Girlfriend. He didn't even know if she was still his girlfriend at all. She hadn't said anything but he could well imagine that he had ruined everything with his action.

But he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose a member of his family. He had to talk to her, explain everything and at least try to prevent her from leaving him by all means.

Above all, he had to apologize deeply.

"I fuck up. I really fuck up. I ... I really screwed up. I threw a fucking gals at her." he stammered, buried his hands in his hair and fell back on the bed.

His three friends looked at him in shock.

"You did what?" James asked incredulous and discovered the broken glass and the stain next to the door.

Sirius had buried his head in his hands again and mumbled muffled: "You already understand me."

Nobody really knew what to say now.

Nobody expected that. Sirius wasn't aggressive. He would never hurt an innocent one. So it was really breathtaking for everyone.

"Fuck. Did you ... did you ... hit her?" asked Peter, chewing the inside of his cheek. The other two were also eager to hear Sirius' answer to this question.

"NO! NO! No no no. I haven't. Fortunately not. It's smashed against the wall next to her head." Sirius shuffled and continued to slump. For him it was as if more and more weights were being put on him. As if he was only now that he was really realizing what had happened.

"You have to help me. Please. Please help me. You have to help me so that she will forgive me. I can't lose her. I just can't. I love her." Sirius begged and looked pleadingly at his friends one by one. With a look that could break hearts, a little like he's going mad.

Both of them never really said that they loved each other. Everyone knew it somehow without anyone ever saying it. But now that he had said the three words they meant even more.

"That could be difficult." Peter muttered and turned his head away to stop seeing his friends broken like this.

Sirius' response to that was a desperate deep shuffle.

"Yeh. Peter is right. That could be difficult. Not only could it be, it will be difficult. But we will help you. You two belong together." James agreed and put a hand on his desperate friend's shoulder.

"Or? We'll help him?" the boy with glasses asked his other friends and looked at them promptly.

Peter shifted back and forth a little before he nodded and said: " Yes, yes naturally"

Now all eyes turned to Remus. He covered his face with both hands and let out a deep breath. He was friends with both of them. He didn't want to stand between the two fronts and have to choose one side. He remembered the conversation he had with (Y/N) earlier while studying. She had said Sirius would be good for her. And she was definitely good for Sirius. Since the two were together, both were happier, more exuberant. He just wanted his friends to be happie. And if that required him to stand on one side, then he would.

So he dropped his arms in resignation and nodded. "We'll help you. But you have to work really hard. And you have to improve yourself, trust her more, stop flirting with others. She would never tell you but it bothers her more than she admits. If something like this happens again, I'll just let you drown in your grief."

Sirius gave his friends a pained, weak smile, wiped his eyes with a sleeve and uttered a harsh, "thx."

The boys planned until late at night what they would do so that (Y/N) would forgive Sirius or at least talk to him. It was early in the morning before the four of them went to bed.

Silence enveloped the room. Three of the residents were asleep, only Sirius was still awake. With the silence his thoughts came back that (Y/N) would never forgive him and would leave him. And with the thoughts, the tears and the shuffling, came back as well. He closed the curtains and put a silence spell over his bed, as not to disturb his friends and buried his face in his pillow. Sleep was out of the question for him.

* * *

The girls' dormitory had already returned quietly. (Y/N) had cried herself to sleep hours ago after a few cups of tea and supportive words from her best friend.

She was lying next to Lily in her bed, wrapped in her blanket. Lily had refused to leave her alone, she just lay down in bed with her and stroked her arm until they both fell asleep. (Y/N) was grateful for that. She could be happy to have friends like that.

Tonight she had allowed herself to show weakness. Allowed to show how Sirius' behavior had hurt her. But tomorrow, she swore to herself, she would build the walls around herself as high as never before and not let it penetrate how sad and injured she actually was. She would play the strong one. Even if she actually felt infinitely weak. She wouldn't let him see how his behavior affected her.

#marauders era #sirius black #sirius x y/n #young sirius black #young sirius x reader #sirius black x reader #sirius orion black #sirius x you #sirius imagine #sirius x reader #harry potter

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star-spangledstud · 4 years

Text

ALL THAT MATTERS

Pairing: Frank Castle x (female!) reader

Warning(s): angst

Summary: he’s all that matters to her. Is she all that matters to him?

"How many times have I told you to be careful out there?" You ask, allowing the back of your hand to rub against your tired eyes.

"Every time." Frank mumbles, looking down at his feet while he allows you to gently tend to his injuries.

Truthfully, you don't even remember when or how it got started. It was initially Karen who asked you to keep an eye on him and since you owed her a big favor you complied, but that debt’s been paid long ago and the late night nursing hasn’t stopped. You don’t even question Frank anymore at this point, because you know damn well what he gets up to on nights like this one.

He stumbles through your front door with a trail of blood on his heel and a deep scowl etched onto his face, which is mostly covered in caked blood and bruises.

It scares you every time, knowing what he’s is capable of. You always wonder what the other guy looks like after a run in with The Punisher, but more often than not, Frank's injuries imply his opponent has either bit the bullet or is wishing that they had. You know he’s killed people in the past, and that he still does it all the time, but you still help him. Whether or not that makes you an accomplice is something you'd rather not question. Instead, you stitch him up in silence.

You are scared of his capabilities, but not of him.

You can hear the low rumbling of cars outside while you scoot closer to Frank so you can get a better look. He’s currently seated on the edge of your queen-sized bed, the fresh linen sheets a crumpled mess beneath him while his hands grip the soft material tightly. His eyes are screwed shut while you thread a needle through a superficial stab wound near his shoulder. Frank doesn’t make a sound. Instead, he bites his tongue, allowing you to focus on what you’re trying to do.

"I'm getting really sick and tired of your shit, Frank." You grumble through gritted teeth while pulling the wire through his irritated flesh.

He grimaces when you tie it into a small knot to secure it, but his face changes completely when your eyes meet his for the first time since you broke out the seeing kit.

He grins down at you, causing the streaks of dried blood across his nose and temple to crack into little broken lines that remind you of cracked face paint on Halloween.

You hate how much you enjoy it when he smiles because it’s a rarity to find Frank with anything but harsh words and a scowl, but you can’t help the warm sensation spreading through your lower abdomen when he does smile. Frank's smiles are more rare than blood diamonds, that you’re sure of. A man like Frank might've done a lot of smiling when his family was still alive and well, but those days are long gone and anger is all he has left now.

"That right?" He asks, his eyes lingering on your face while you continue to clean him up.

Drops of heavy rain and gusts of wind roughly hit the window panes, creating a melody of pitter-patter and whistles that echo softly throughout the room. The clock on your nightstand hit 4 a.m. ten minutes ago and you should be fast asleep at this ungodly hour, but your priority is the man in front of you. He’s always the priority.

"Damn right I am." You say, taking a pause to look back at him.

Frank’s wet clothes are soaking through your white sheets, which are now nearly fully covered in a mixture of fresh mud and blood that leave the air with a coppery scent. Frank knows you'll get over it, you always do, and frankly, he wonders why you even bothered to purchase such expensive linen in the first place. The first time he tried to pay you back for ripping them accidentally with one of the knives he had sticking out of his jeans, you'd politely told him to fuck off and that you'd take care of it. He never brought it up again, even though his hands itch to give you money for all the trouble he causes every time he finds himself leaving your apartment after a nightly patch-up and a glass of whiskey.

Frank’s come to understand this isn’t a business transaction for you anymore. You don’t see him as one of the animals you’re paid to treat during your daytime veterinary job. He isn’t just some sick little puppy looking for treatment. He’s a broken man, looking for understanding in a world he can’t understand himself and somehow, he found something it in you. You don’t take pity on him. You just do what has to be done and he admires that, because he does the same.

He slowly sips the whiskey you gave him when he first came in and stares blankly at the black screen of the television that hangs above your dresser. He’s the one who hung it up for you. He did a good job, he muses. Perfect height, perfectly straight.

You suddenly notice a piece of glass sticking from the top of his abdomen. With a gulp, you grab the whiskey glass from Frank’s fingertips. Before he can object, you down it, allowing the sting from the alcohol to heat the back of your throat as the liquid slides down. You don’t think he knows you hate the sight of blood, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is getting him fixed up.

You rise from your chair after taking a lukewarm washcloth and dabbing it across the scrapes and cuts on his hands. Giving him a once-over, you take in the work you just did, subconsciously counting the bruises that stain his tanned skin in the process. You’re exhausted, terrified to turn around and look at the clock at this point in time, but you’re too persistent and set on making sure he’s okay to really care.

Letting out a breath you'd been holding in, you absentmindedly nod. Frank’s eyes, dark and restless, scan your face slowly, taking in every feature from the blue circles underneath your droopy eyes to your rose colored lips and strands of hair that always fall out of the messy bun atop your head.

"Why do you keep doing this, huh?" He asks suddenly, voice gruff and thick with sleep.

You lift your shoulders and bite your lower lip, afraid to speak. He notices the wrinkles in between your brows when you frown ever so slightly and he sighs. With both hands placed on the bed, he makes a move to get up, groaning when you instantly shove him back down.

"Can you like, not rip out your stitches? Just this once, I'm begging you," You huff, your hands pressed firmly against his chest to make sure he doesn’t move again, "Just because you're The Punisher doesn't mean you're immortal. You need to rest as much as the next guy."

You slam the first aid kit shut and tap on it with your fingernails, anything to keep yourself distracted after tossing your dirty gloves in the bin next to the dresser. He smells like musk and expensive cologne. You didn’t notice it until he got so close to you.

"Hey," he says, grabbing both your hands and holding them tightly in his, "You don't need to do this, alright? I won't bother you anymore if-"

"Shut up, Frank." You say curtly, cutting him off before his statement could fully pass his swollen lips.

You don’t want him to say it, because you don’t want this - whatever it is - to stop happening. You’re emotionally invested and breaking it off now would do more harm than good. You think he secretly knowsleaving you will fuck you up, but he doesn’t want to admit it.

"I'm serious, girl." He said.

"Look, I get it, alright. You're a bad man, Frank. The kind of man I'm supposed to have nightmares about. The kind I'm supposed to stay away from so I don't get myself into trouble or get myself killed," You roll your tired eyes, "but I don't believe it for a second."

"Believe what?" He asks genuinely, rolling the pad of his thumb along your soft fingers.

"That you're bad, Frank. Sure, you have shitty ways to go about things, but I refuse to believe you're a bad person. Karen doesn't believe it and she knew that I wouldn't believe it either. That's why she sent you to me." You sink down on the bed beside him, feeling the dirt and sand rub against your bare legs.

He wants to leave in this moment, get the hell out of your bedroom before you get in too deep, but the look you’re giving him tells him that ship has already sailed and there is no way for him to get rid of you. He knows the people around him always manage to get hurt because of him and as he’s sitting there, watching you in completely silence, Frank realizes he’d rather die than watch you get hurt. You've been taking care of him for months, never question his motives, never complain when he goes off the radar for weeks on end. He needs someone like you in his life.

He needs a woman like you in his life.

"Then what am I?" He asks finally, breaking the heavy silence between the two of you.

"I don't know," you say frankly, "For now, you're alive. That's all that matters to me."

The words leave your mouth before you can silence yourself. Heat rises to your cheeks when Frank inhales sharply at the sound of your voice, sweet and soft and so much the opposite of his own. It isn’t a confession of undying love, but it confirms his suspicion. You care for him beyond the formal patient/nurse relationship you two share.

His heart begins to involuntarily hammer in his chest from the thought alone.

He wants it, to be close to another human again, more than he ever thought possible after what happened to his family, but he doesn’t trust himself enough to make a sound or move an inch. When he looks at your bare arm and notices goosebumps rising all along your skin, he finally moves.

"You cold?" He asks in a raspy tone of voice, allowing his crooked nose to momentarily bury itself in your naked shoulder.

You shudder at the feeling of his hot breath against your skin and you nod silently, your ear making contact with the side of his head. Your heart aches for him and you wish so badly he would just make a move, anything to let you know your feelings are reciprocated, but he remains idle beside you, leaning against you in the glimmer of gentle candlelight.

Your body finally jerks up when he presses a long kiss to your temple, your eyes screwing shut in a painful frown while his do the same. His hand clasps around your back and squeezes it, but before you can even let out a content sigh, the warmth of his hand disappears, and all that remains is cool air coming in through the draft from underneath your bedroom door.

He picks up his stuff, the guns and ammo he keeps on his person at all times disappears in his pockets while you watch him trudge through your bedroom. His dirty shoes leave footprints all over the cream colored carpet, his fingertips leave stains on your furniture. The speed with which he moves through your safe space painfully tugs on your heartstrings.

He looks at you once more after swinging open the door, a sad expression painted on his face in blood and words he can never say on the tip of his sandpaper tongue. When he catches your face, eyes misty and mouth quivering, he needs to bite his lip to stop himself from punching a hole through the wall. Frank leaves without another word, forcing you to listen to the sounds of his weakening footsteps and the front door that closes silently behind him.

You don’t see him again for another four months.

#jammywrites #frank castle imagine #frank castle #frank castle x reader #the punisher #marvel fic #marvel imagines #marvel imagine #the punisher imagine #marvel x reader #frank castle angst #frank castle fluff #frank castle fic #the punisher angst

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sunandmoongobrrr · 3 years

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Zutara Month Day 25: Nightmare

The Golden Grass

read below or on AO3!!

Even after all this time, he still gets nightmares.

Or, the Agni Kai continues to haunt Zuko.

The Golden Grass

The field is lovely.

Waves of grass ripple in the soft wind, the dry, yellow stalks glistening in the sunlight against the stark blue of the sky. The wind pushes Zuko’s hair against his forehead, the strands shorter than they should be. It all reminds him of the Earth Kingdom, the fields he laid in, the sun beating on his back.

It’s beautiful, and it makes Zuko’s stomach lurch.

It’s less rigid, less real. The ground beneath him, usually firm and sure, wavers with each step. He cannot even feel the tall grass which he sees brush his fingers. His chest rises and falls as he walks, yet air eludes him.

He feels her before he sees her. That sweet presence fills his heart like poison. Images flash through his mind-- her smile, moon-white, stealing the light from his eyes. Her, weaving ribbons of water around herself on the beach of Ember Island, the first time his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her.

As if on cue, she appears along the line of the horizon.

Agni, no.

She has his back to him, long wavy hair curling down her back. Dressed in the Fire Nation red he had seen her in before, a sliver of brown skin exposed between maroon fabric. He swallows, tugs at his hair again. He wonders if she still sees him like he does her, forever trapped in youth.

He steps forward, rustling the grass loudly. She turns to face him, her hair swinging.

Her eyes are the same color as the sky.

“Zuko!” she calls out, waving as a bright smile grows. He can’t help but smile back, even if it is watery.

She reaches him in an instant, as if she wasn’t meters away seconds ago. Zuko’s heart pounds. She is right in front of him now, eyes searching his.

“Hi, Zuko,” she whispers, breath tickling his face as she comes closer. She raises her hand to his face, and Zuko’s stomach turns.

This is usually where it ends. Zuko standing in the field of grass, about to fall, and her hand far enough to never graze his cheek, and the sun beating them down. Tonight, it seems, the spirits wish to torture him.

He breathes in deeply at the feel of her skin on his, never closing his eyes for fear he’ll lose the moment.

“Hi, Katara,” he whispers, and her smile grows bigger.

“It’s good to see you,” she says, louder, and Zuko’s heart sinks. He feels a lump grow in his throat; tears start to well in his eyes. He tries to blink them away carefully, but they fall down his cheeks anyway. Katara frowns, rubs them away with the back of her hand. Hand shaking, Zuko reaches up to cup her palm to his face.

“I missed you.” His voice wavers, and Katara’s frown deepens.

“What do you mean?”

Zuko’s stomach caves in, and a small sob escapes from the back of his throat. Coolness streams down his cheeks -- tears, he realizes-- and he squeezes her hand tighter.

“Zuko?” she whispers, in a tone all too familiar.

It all comes back in an instant. The crumbling courtyard, the red sky. The screams of a girl lost to war, the efforts of a boy who had lost everything, or so he thought.

Azula was always pitch-perfect. Her top-knots pulled tightly, her forms balanced and precise. The praise which evaded him in his childhood went to her, coming from the mouths of important officials and firebending masters; those who hardly knew he existed. Zuko assumed that it would all come crumbling, assumed it would be her downfall.

Instead, it was his.

If he had been smarter, if he had worked harder. If he had run faster, if he had never let her come in the first place.

The lightning flashed beside him, cracking the air with a sound sharper than broken glass.

If he had never let her come in the first place.

He watched as it hit her chest, her eyes widening in fear, skin searing at the touch of heat, heart stilling.

Zuko was at her side in an instant, kneeling to her trembling body, eyes glazed over. In her last moments, Katara grasped his shaking hand, pulling it to her burnt chest.

“Zuko?” she had said, her voice shaking, tears welling as her eyesight blurred. He tried to say something, but all that came out was a choke of words, unintelligible to the girl dying in his arms.

It had broken him, her death. For the few weeks he knew Katara, he clinged to her. To the slow pump of his heart, steady under the warm sun. To the wave of ground under his feet at every one of her glances.

Zuko stood, feeling the hard earth steady underneath his feet. He looked over his shoulder at his sister behind him, grimacing as the thought surfaced.

Love would not destroy her.

He breathed in the comet’s last inch of flame, as grief and anger rose inside him. Azula’s eyes widened.

But fear would.

The grass around Zuko and Katara grays, falling flat as the air stills.

Love could not destroy Azula, but he has a feeling the beating sun, and her hand on his, and the tears falling down his face will be the end of him. How can he tell Katara that he was the one who killed her? That he keeps her in his dreams, away from rest? That after all this time, he still refuses to let her die? He does not trust himself to speak.

Tell me you remember.

She brings their interlocked hands down to the middle of her chest, where the arrow of lightning once carved a hole in his heart. It was the place she’d held his before, and Zuko lets a beacon of hope emerge in his thoughts.

Tell me I won’t have to tell you.

Her other hand reaches up to his face, tips it down towards her. She approaches carefully, as if she’s just as afraid he will fade from her, and presses her lips to his.

Something expands in his chest, warm and alight, like campfires and ribboned water. Like smiles and glances. Like the feeling of his eyes on hers, after decades of separation. Like love.

After all this time, after years of bitterness and sunken eyes and reliving the biggest mistake of his life over and over again--years of fear, and grief--it would be love that rebuilt him.

Tell me I won’t have to lose you again.

He pulls away finally, his forehead resting on hers, feeling the breath of a laugh escape him.

“You never lost me in the first place,” Katara whispers, her eyes glistening under his. The hand on his cheek falls away, and the grip on his other hand loosens.

She fades away, as the ground beneath Zuko steadies into soft dirt, the grass slowly turning green. But the feeling in his chest stays, as his hair grows longer, and wrinkles on his face re-appear.

Zuko wakes up in red silken sheets. In the moonlit night, he takes a sobering breath, feels the weight on his chest alleviate, and parts with the ghostlike memory on his lips as it fades into the cool night air.

Goodbye, Katara.

A cool breeze slips through the open window, and Zuko breathes in the aroma of shimmering summer grass. With his eyes closing, he hears the faint sound of a laugh -- her laugh -- and breathes out the last of the chill in his body. Warmth floods his blood as he sighs a last goodbye.

I’ll meet you in the golden grass.

Thanks to @my-bated-breath for beta-ing :)

#zutara #zutara month #zk month #zk month 2021 #zutara month 2021 #day 25: nightmare #zuko #katara #atla fic #zutara fic #zk fic #zutara fanfic #writing

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howtowhumpyourhiccup · 3 years

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Winter Whumperland Day 5: Animals

Summary: Written for Winter Whumperland Day 5. Set in a modern AU, follows up on Day 4 'Gift'. Alone for the day, Hiccup watches a dragon documentary as he thinks back to how he and his Bud first met and contemplates why he knows his way around his abuser.

Rating: Mature

Characters: Hiccup, Toothless, Viggo, Ryker

Pairing: Vigcup, past-Hiccstrid

Words: 3 045

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Animal attack”

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: As fun as this project as been, physical whump is what I enjoy writing the most. So there are two parts here that I particularly liked about writing this one-shot.

Constructive criticism is appreciated! On tagging, too!

Enjoy!

@amonthofwhump

Ao3

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Out in the forest with nothing but trees and snow and as far as the eye can see, which isn't far at all, Hiccup is freezing.

He wishes he could've gotten a coat before he ran, or was already wearing one when he did, but getting one would've meant going back inside the cabin, where Viggo was, and he wouldn't have expected to see him again. And if he's seen the shovel Hiccup is using as a makeshift crutch, he'd know.

So suffering the cold it is. He'll just have to hurry it up and find the help that he needs.

If only he wasn't so frustratingly slow, but with the state of both of his feet, one broken and the other a fake, slow is his only speed available.

It makes him worry. Every few seconds he looks behind him, worried to suddenly find his abuser standing there and that is more stress than he needs right now. Getting out of this predicament alive is already difficult enough.

Every little sound makes his heart leap and his eyes search for the source, wide-eyed and useless. If only he had a little bit of moonlight to work with, at least then he could see a little. But there's a snowfall coming and that means the only thing in the sky are clouds.

The white carpet is thick enough that it hides secrets and Hiccup's left foot gets caught in a tree root he didn't see. His broken foot unable to steady him, he falls with a surprised cry and eats a faceful of snow. A big jolt of pain rushes through his nerves and he lets go of the shovel, his hands shooting to his injured limb.

"Oh, fuck!" He moans and groans, hoping the terrible pain will subside quickly. He can feel it radiate through his ankle now and he wants it gone. Not just for his comfort, but also because he needs to get going. He needs to put distance between himself and the cabin he came from.

It barely fades in the minute or two he lies on the ground and that's about as much as he can give his foot to recover. The temperatures are so low that he can't wait for much longer, so he's forced to get up. His hands, face, and ears are all numb and tingling from the cold, frost nipped, and his foot is pounding and not taking kindly to the slightest of movements. But he needs to get up, he can't stay here.

Grimacing, he takes the shovel again and somehow finds the strength to get back up to his feet. He's still groaning and the occasional swear leaves, but he makes it. Somehow, he's standing again and he breathes out deeply. His face is wet with tears, a result of the pain in his foot.

His prosthetic is no help at all in the snow, especially now with his good foot out of commission, and it's infuriating. He finally has it back with him for longer than an hour or two every day and it's still useless to him.

And to think that, before they left, he was so relieved to have it back with him. He used to believe that it would be the thing to carry him out of this situation in a way. That if he got it back, if his plan worked, he could've used it to walk away from Viggo and walk away proudly.

But he has it now and all he can do is struggle.

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Surprisingly enough, while at the Grimborn house, Viggo isn't home often and neither is Ryker. Hiccup knows Viggo has a company that he's CEO of, but what Ryker is up to during the day, he has no idea.

But it matters little. One of the rules specifically for him is that he can't watch tv without permission, which he never gets, so that's what he does when they're away.

Sitting on the couch when he should be doing his endlessly long list of chores, he has a knee up as he searches between channels to find something interesting to watch. Eventually landing on a documentary about dragons, he can't help but watch it and wallow in the memory it brings him.

One would think this would be the perfect opportunity to get away. Both brothers are gone, what's stopping him from leaving? Even if the windows and doors are locked, why not just break the glass or pick one of those locks and get going?

Well, first of all, his prosthetic is missing.

They took it away from him before he first woke up in this house and they've been keeping it locked away in a safe behind a locked cabinet door. How those two expect Hiccup to do the work around the house and still do a good job with only one leg and a crutch is beyond him.

Though perhaps, that is the point. If he has to do it slowly, if he has to get it right, if he has to get it done to avoid being punished, then he's losing whole days just to his chores and that is part of what makes the list so endless. So endless and so tiring. It's another tactic to make him stay, can't escape if he's too tired to.

But Hiccup's already found the key, it was hidden inside of one of the many books in Viggo's study, where the safe also is. And he's cracked the code through patience and a good hearing. Unfortunately, he still can't just take it and leave.

This house is surrounded by unseen walls he can't break through. Those infernal invisible fences are a thing because there's an ankle band around his ankle, hidden by his pants.

It's not a monitoring device like the ones often given to criminals who are on house arrest, they won't be given a painful electric shock every time they try to leave the house. Hiccup's does and it's been confining him to the inside for as long as he's been upstairs. it's a shock collar, except it goes around his ankle. As someone who can go stir crazy easily, it is a maddening thing.

He wasn't always allowed upstairs, or rather, he wasn't always allowed on the ground floor and up like this. He used to stay in the basement, like you'd see on tv or hear from other stories like his. That's where he first woke up after he was taken. In a way, he's actually relieved he gets to see sunlight and the yard outside.

But on the first day that they could "trust him enough" to let him up, let him see natural light again for the first time in much too long, they also told him what the ankle band was for. He'll never forget that day.

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"Let's call it a safety precaution." Viggo had told him, speaking in such a way as if it's completely normal to put a shock collar on a human being. It's already inhuman to put them on animals.

He's seen some on dragons before. When his mother and her team rescued them and brought them to her sanctuary, he'd sometimes see these collars around their necks and it sickened him everytime. To think that they put one on him...

"Would you care for a demonstration?" From the second that they'd met, Hiccup had Ryker pinned for a bully. Someone who would take enjoyment out of someone else's misery and that offer only backed his observation up.

"I'd prefer not to." Hiccup remembers being quiet that day, exhausted in every possible way after the time spent in darkness. He'd lost weight, too, not good for someone who was already as lean as he was.

"Ah, but that's no fun!" Ryker, however, insisted on it, grabbing Hiccup by his upper arm and dragging him towards the front door with no protest from his younger brother.

"W-wait, no-" Hiccup didn't have the strength to fight back, too weakened, and then the front door was opened and he'd been thrown outside for a test run.

The second he hit the front porch and the steps leading up to it, the ankle band activitated immediately with a few beeps. Terrible surges of electricity ran up his body from his right ankle, setting fire to his nerves. He doesn't remember much, just his body convulsing on the ground, muscles tensing uncontrollably, and the want to scream, but being unable to with his jaws clenched so tightly on one another. He can't remember breathing either.

Does it take minutes? Or has it been only seconds of him writhing on the ground, silently pleading for his suffering to stop? There mustn't be any neighbors nearby or they would have questions. But with the press of a button, the surges end and Hiccup is left sobbing and shaking.

"You couldn't end his suffering just a little sooner?" Viggo asked when he finally joined them outside and stuffed the little remote in his pocket, his tone not fitting his words as it sounded quite uncaring. If anything, he's annoyed he had to be the one to press the button. They both have it and it can make the shocks start and stop at will. Ryker will come to abuse that one whenever he feels like it.

"I just figured a practice run would it through his thick skull," Ryker replies, feeling quite satisfied with the display.

"He's only just arrived, Ryker, it'd be a shame to kill him already." They both looked down at him, watched Hiccup as he panted and lies motionless on the front porch. His body trembled in the aftermath and the tears silently rolled down his face.

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He won't think about that line again until the trip to the mountains, but for the moment, he watches the documentary and pushes the memory of the ankle band to the deepest corners of his mind. Instead, he should pick apart the dragon facts that aren't quite as accurate as he'd like.

Now is not the time to think, now is the time for dragons.

And then a bit about the elusive Night Fury comes on and his mother's sanctuary for dragons is mentioned. This particular species of dragons is hard to find and that makes the sanctuary's specimen all the more important.

Hiccup knows that particular individual very well. He's the one he lost his leg to, the reason why he has a prosthetic that can be taken away like a toy is taken from a disobedient child. As if having a working leg isn't a basic right.

After his parents' divorce, his mother came to live in the sanctuary full-time. And since she had their son for the weekends, Stoick had him during the weeks for school, which meant Hiccup sometimes lived amongst the dragons as well.

It happened one day when he was 15-years-old, an injured juvenile Night Fury had been rescued and was brought to the sanctuary for treatment with every intention to let him go afterward. That is, until they saw the severity of his injured tailfin and realized he would never fly again. That was before a certain someone invented a prosthetic for him.

They didn't know his story, they still don't, not in its entirety. But upon waking up and seeing nothing except for humans, he lashed out. And the closest one standing nearest to him was Hiccup.

The leg was still there when they managed to sedate the dragon and call in a helicopter from overseas, having done everything they could to stop him from bleeding out. The sanctuary was on an island without a town or even a village, so the nearest hospital was the one on the mainland, in New New Berk. The next day, the leg was gone and so was his mother. She'd been sent away by his father, who was outraged that she let something like this happen under her watch.

In the weeks afterwards, Valka would completely lose custody of Hiccup in a court battle for him while he recovered. Nothing she said could persuade Stoick, or the court, to change their minds.

Hiccup never blamed his mother or the dragon for the leg he lost or for the terrible scarring on the lower right side of his back. Something Viggo had once looked at and promptly decided should be surgically removed in the far future.

He despises that decision more than he could ever even dislike Toothless for doing this to him. Toothless was scared, hurt, and acted out because of that. And with how little they know about Night Furies, they couldn't have known how fast or how slow his metabolism would take care of the sedatives. Every dragon reacts differently to them.

Once his stump healed, his physiotherapy was done, and he'd made his own prosthetic with Gobber's help, months had come and gone. When he was about 16 and a half, he demanded his father to be allowed back on the sanctuary and see that dragon.

Stoick had told him no, of course, but when had that ever stopped him before?

Toothless had recognized him instantly and what Hiccup saw was guilt and a need to shrink away. In the months there, he'd come to realize these humans weren't out to hurt him and he'd nearly killed the most defenseless out of all of them, a juvenile like him.

Imagine his surprise when that human, that would turn out to be his best and closest friend, came at him not with anger, but with a fish as a good gesture. Their relationship only went uphill from there.

He remembers screaming, remembers the ferocious beast tearing away at him, remembers, the blood and the pain of a leg that was quite literally hanging by a thread at that point. And then there were the nights when he would wake up crying and his father would come in to console him. It's part of why he wanted to see the dragon, to be rid of those nightmares as he refused to fear what he's loved all his life.

But those times, he won't look back at them in horror as he probably will look back on his time with Viggo.

His time downstairs in particular.

Before he realizes it, Hiccup sits on the leather couch, knee up to his chest, and feeling like he wants to cry. He just wants to see his Bud again. Toothless doesn't like humans very much, but he loves him as much as he does him.

After bonding with his Bud, and a lecture from his father that went in one ear and out the other, Hiccup continued to work with the dragons his mother and her personnel looked after. He garnered skills with them that no one but his own mother had developed before him and it seemed like his goal in life was to work with them.

His thoughts take a sudden turn.

Maybe that's why Hiccup is so good at quelling Viggo, he's used to dealing with animals.

Except when a Monstrous Nightmare is angry, it could be suffering from a toothache that keeps him from eating, starving him for days until the cause is found. When a Gronckle comes to a human post to wreck stuff, it might be because she ate something she shouldn't have and feels worryingly sick, this her way of calling for help. When a Nadder is acting up, it might be a spine that sits wrong and hurts her.

Dragons can be angry and have a million reasons why they are and that means there are a million ways to help them out. It's their job to figure out what is wrong and take care of the problem. Hiccup is exceptional at this.

But Viggo, for all his smarts and his complexes, wants only one thing from Hiccup and that makes him easier to quell. That is, if Hiccup can beat him to the punch. Literally.

Funny and ironic, how they would put a shock collar of some kind on Hiccup when the beast out of the two of them isn't him.

But he shouldn't have to and, unlike with his dragons, he doesn't want to either. That makes him angry.

But what can he do? The police haven't come for him yet and neither have his friends or family, if they even know where to look. Hiccup doesn't even know what address this house is situated at and it's not like he can go outside and intercept the mail before Viggo or Ryker can. And they're so quick to dispose of the envelopes, too. Ryker even stares him in the eye with a glint of satisfaction as he burns the envelopes above the sink each time he gets their hands on them.

And the only people who really know about Viggo are Astrid and Heather. Would they think to look into him?

Hiccup looks towards the direction of the study, where not only his prosthetic is kept under lock and key for "safekeeping", but also where Viggo's computer is.

It's the 13th of December, the day after the party. He can't go outside, there is no phone to use, no neighbors to rely on, no housekeeper to scheme with, but those party guests from the night before have given him an idea. It's the first one he's had since being allowed up the stairs.

He's ashamed of how long it took him, but his mind was simply... preoccupied with other things.

If he can just get onto that computer then he has something to work with. A way to get rid of this shock collar that he doesn't dare tamper with like he would with other objects would be great. What would be even greater is something that he can use against Viggo, maybe something having to do with those party guests.

If he can just get onto that computer, he might find something that will be his ticket out of here, and he won't have to worry about being treated like a child anymore, like a toy, like an object, like an animal.

The one who will be treated like an animal then will, hopefully, be Viggo.

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snippychicke · 4 years

Text

Aftermath--One

Aftermath

So, here I am, starting yet another F**** project. Because I have no self control and I am in love with both the Swedes as well as positive encouragement.

Aftermath is obviously a slight AU to end of Season 2. No major changes except...did no one tell the creators that just because someone fell unconscious when being strangled doesn’t mean their dead?

Title: Aftermath

Rating: Teen

Triggers: obviously references to violence, blood, racism including one racial slur. I’m going to go light on that hopefully, however. Slight gore warning?

Eventual OCxOtto

Herb did not, in fact, take away the dead body.

It was still sitting in Raymond's living room after everyone else had disappeared in flashes of blue lights. Wrapped up in the rug his sister had gifted him and Allison on their wedding day. Silent. Foreboding.

Raymond watched it as he sipped at his scotch. There was no way in hell he could move it by himself. And who could he trust to move it?

To move him.

That wasn't an it, that was a ‘him’. That was a human body resting in his living room. Who, admittedly, tried to kill him and Allison. But still, he could at least acknowledge him as a fellow human. After all, Raymond had tried so hard to be the respectful and peaceful man his grandmother raised him to be. Even when faced with the violence because of the protests, being unfairly treated time after time, he never raised so much as a hand to another human being.

But here he was: stuck with a dead white man in his living room. It didn't matter that the man and his brother had forced their way into their home (his home, now that Allison was gone) with intent to kill both of them. The white man was dead in his house, and he was alive and relatively unharmed.

He would go to prison. He was going to be <i>hung</i> for this. Raymond tipped the rest of the scotch back and poured another full glass. All of his work, gone.

It was probably a good thing Allison had...left to be with her family. It was comforting to know she was safe and alive. A small cold comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

His lips touched the cool glass when he heard it. A noise so soft he was sure he had imagined it. Still, it made him freeze, his body tense as he held his breath, eyes darting to the rug.

No. The man was dead. It had been hours since the attack. There was no way.

Raymond shook his head, deciding it was probably just the house settling, and shot back the drink, feeling the burn in his throat match the burn of his eyes. His whole life had just ended. It wouldn't be long and he would join…

His somber thoughts were cut off by another sound, this one unmistakable. Raymond jumped to his feet, throwing his glass out of reflex towards the body, which made a grunt when the glass bounced off the rug and shattered on the floor, she shards miking with the alcohol.

Raymond grabbed a knife off the table, careless that it was nothing more than a butter knife as he held it out waveringly.

Silence. No further sounds. No movement. Raymond stood frozen, eyes trained on the body, and mentally dared it to do something. Anything.

If it did, he would...he would…

The rug moved and a groan cut through the heavy silence. There was no doubting the haggard breathing and muffled moan of pain. Raymond cursed every foul word his grandma would wash his mouth out for and ran back to the kitchen to grab an actual knife. The long thick butcher’s knife his wife had used so skillfully once upon a time.

He pushed that sober realization away and stalked back to the living room, gripping the wooden handle tightly in his shaking hand. Raymond towered over the rug, knife poised to strike. He had to do something swift. Otherwise…

He was a dead man anyway. The thought silenced the instinct to strike, and the knife clattered harmlessly to the floor. He was going to die either way, but wouldn't it be better to die innocent than guilty? Not just for his soul, but for the movement. His brother and sisters?

He dropped to his knees and desperately undid the knots he and Allison had tied, allowing the rug to fall open. The man's face was no longer placid with death, but grimacing in pain, lips pursed as he sucked in haggard breaths. The blood was caked around the remains of his right eye, bruises coloring his neck, but otherwise, he was almost as pale as his white hair.

"Hey, uh buddy," Raymond said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, earning a painful grunt and he quickly removed it. "Right. Sorry. Let's… let's get you a hospital." Except questions would be asked, and he would be arrested.

But…

"Actually, I think I know someone."

--+--

Lorelei groaned as she fell into the old couch, slipping off her shoes and rubbing the knots in her feet. The third shift in a row at Parkland Memorial Hospital left her sore and exhausted. This week had been nuts, between the street shooting and the asylum patients escaping.

Then there was the man found in the woods. She grimaced at the memory of being called down to the OR because they had been short-staffed. Dr. Wilson had done his best, but they all had their doubts.

Her eyes were starting to drift shut when there was a bang on the door, hard and frantic enough to rattle the windows. Her eyes shot back open and she jumped up out of instinct, her heart thundering in her chest as she stumbled around the coffee table to open the door.

Raymond Chestnut stood on her aged porch, a pale man nearly twice his size in a bloodied suit draped partially over his shoulder.

"What the hell?" she started. Usually, it was some neighborhood kids coming to her for help this late, or someone else in their community. A car engine broke the otherwise quiet night further down the street. Raymond shot her a look, panicked and trembling under the other man's weight, and she didn't need any further encouragement to slip underneath the man's other arm and help Raymond drag him into her home and ease him onto the old couch that was far too small for the man.

Her stomach curdled at the wounds she saw, though the bloody mess of an eye was probably the worst. "Shit. We need him in a hospital, Raymond."

"I know!" He hissed back, keeping his voice low despite the privacy. "But can you imagine me pulling in the ER with him like this? I'd be swarmed with police, Lei, and be lynched by dawn!"

"What even happened?" She asked, undoing the silk tie to study the bruising around his neck. Obviously not an accident, but if Raymond got in a fight, why would he bring the man here?

Nevermind that Raymond was as pacifist as it got, and she couldn't see him doing ...this.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he stated with a dry tone, wiping the sweat from his brow.

She shot him a look, "I worked in the ER on a full moon on Halloween this year. <i>Try me</i>."

Before he could even start, she disappeared into her kitchen, and he could hear the faucet running as she rummaged through drawers. Within a minute she was back with a basin of water and more than a few washcloths. "Well?" She snipped as she damped a washcloth and worked on the caked blood around his eye, making the man hiss and flinch, his other eye fluttering slightly.

"Him and his brother came to my house, attacked me and my wife. Allison did that," he gestured to the eye covered by a washcloth, "before telling his brother to kill him. Which I certainly thought he did when he strangled him, but nope, here we are."

Lorelei paused and looked at him, trying to see a hint of a lie. Raymond was a poor liar, and Allison, while always a bit different and headstrong for sure, was still a lady. She had a hard time seeing the hairdresser stabbing someone.

Granted, being attacked in her own home…

"Come on. Let's get him back in your car. He needs a doctor, We can say we found him on my doorstep like this. Dr. Cahoy is working tonight, and..."

The man's hand shot up and gripped Lorelei's wrist tightly, making her freeze and Raymond jump. The man's other eye was open and staring hard at her. "No."

"No?" She repeated, falling into her working persona. "I can't treat the trauma to that eye. We need to take you to the hospital."

"No," he repeated, his hand tightening slightly, his fingers easily encompassing her wrist.

Yet it wasn't quite strong enough to hurt. She ground her teeth at the stubbornness on his face, studying the dark grey-blue eye staring back at her. "Fine. But in return for my services you have to promise not to go after Ray and Allie, okay? Or any negro for that matter."

His eye glanced briefly at Raymond before fluttering close, and he let go of her. Lorelei stood, rubbing her wrist as she thought. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. White men could get the care they need at the drop of a hat. She saved her stores for others truly in trouble.

Yet something in her gut was leading her towards an idea that there was something was not quite right. He only said one word, but there was a definite accent to it, and not one she was familiar with either.

"Ray, start boiling some water. There's a pack of gauze and gloves under the sink."

Raymond didn't ask any questions but nodded his head and followed her directions. Lorelei sighed as she touched the man's shoulder, making him crack open his good eye once more. "I'm serious here. I am not a doctor. I can do my best, but I doubt I can save your eye. You need a hospital."

"No," he repeated, though this time softer. Almost apologetic.

She pushed the thought away. "Do you have any plans to hurt Ray or Allie?"

"...no." he closed his eye, becoming stoic but not before she saw a flash of something. Anguish? Regret? Or just pain?

"I'm holding you to that. Now, give me a name I can call you. Don't need to be your real one," she continued as he looked at her strangely. "I just need a name you'll answer to."

"...Otto." That time she caught the accent but still didn't have an idea from where.

"Well Otto, I'm Lorelei, but you can call me Lei. And this is probably going to hurt like a son of a bitch."

Part two

#tua #tua swedes #tua season two #tua the swedes #tua otto #tua fanfic #the umbrella academy #fic: aftermath #the swedes otto

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missingartist · 4 years

Text

The Witcher’s Mate Chapter 18 Part 2

Ciri paced, cogs turning in her mind as she did so ‘And you had no idea she was Geralt mate.’ She repeats the question slowly as if she was hearing the fact for the first time. Her brain still could comprehend the gravity of the situation. Never in her entire life did she ever think there would be a person that would come between the weird relationship Geralt and Yennefer had.

‘Yes...I mean no… Geralt was acting strange. Possessive maybe, I do not know I mean he has been really moody and bear-like so normal Geralt just more…. I thought he was finally getting over Yennefer and found Adva. Triss put in place the whole tavern thing to get them together, but I didn’t know anything about the whole soul mate thing...Is that even real?’ Jaskier asked, scratching his head.

‘Apparently…. I remember Vesemir making me read something about it...’ Cersi spoke in a clear, crisp tone, ever the princess as she marched back and forth.

Soulmates where serious. A bond locked a pair together, even though unclaimed the bond was still powerful enough to cause major complication and anomalies, proven by the Jinn’s spell being broken and Yennefer unable to track Geralt down using any magic. It was certain the air around the house was far more potent than anything she had encountered in a village such as this. Adva as well as unusual, on first glimpse she seemed perfectly ordinary, pretty, perhaps a little more ethereal than most but nothing strikingly different. But on second inspection her eyes were vividly blue, not the kind of blue human had, they were almost neon in their brightness, threads of silver and green woven through the limpid pools. Her skin was the next; it was pale and creamy like buttermilk, but it shine to it, like the drops Yennefer put on her cheekbones to gives them a luminous quality, it gave Adva features depth, highlight the gentle sweep of her cheeks and brow, the arch around soft, plump lips and the incline of her throat and collar bone as it slipped below into one of Geralt’s blouses. Ciri medallion that hung between her breast did not vibrate but gave out a gentle warmth, indicating something unnatural about the girl, not evil, if it was it would be pulsing harshly against her skin just different. Triss and Geralt were right when they though her otherworldly.

Triss popped her head over around the door; corkscrew curls bounced from side to side as she glanced around the room. ‘Where is she?’

‘She is using my bath.’ Jaskier jerked his head back in the direction of his room.

‘Triss is happening?’ Ciri asked as the mage stepped fully into her room.

Signing, Triss leaned heavily against the dresser ‘Geralt has a soul bond with Adva. They are very rare, only ever seen one and not this powerful. I thought last night would have given Geralt the kick he needed to explain to Adva before Yennefer turned up and the bonding would have started. But that damn stubborn fool didn’t. God knows what is going through her head right now.’

The aggravated mage paced as the young Witcher had before her. Shoulders hunched and head bowed she move from one side to the other, her skirts gracefully sweeping the floor as she did. Even as elegant as she looked, it was funny to see how ruffled the other mage got when Yennefer appeared, Triss always seemed to get frazzled when either friends disturbed her peace. The woman who held together the lodge of sorceress from complete decline, withstood the torture of the Witch Hunters and even the blame for the assassination of her King still could manage the chaos that Geralt and Yennefer created.

‘What will happen if he doesn’t? Knowing Yennefer, she won't make this easy of Adva.’ Ciri folded her arms at her friend.

‘Thanks to Yennefer destroying the only copy of The Witcher’s Mate, I don’t know. The book glosses over most of it. It gives various accounts of 2 confirmed cases and four other possible causes. They clash and confirm each other. All I can say for certain is that if Geralt doesn’t bond with her soon, I dread to think what will happen.’

‘And how do we get them to bond?’ Ciri, felt a queasiness wash over was she asked. In honesty she didn’t want to know what or how Geralt was gonna bond, it would be disgusting, and she had seen enough of that between the two of them to last her several lifetimes.

‘The accounts detail the different ways, some very graphic. That why we needed to find out what Adva was before…but at the minute they can both bloody go on instinct. Both souls must be combined spiritually and physically to ensure completion. We must ensure they do or Geralt will lose grip on all control.’

The three looked at each other in a silent agreement, nodding as they did so. ‘If what your saying is true, why is Geralt so much more effected? How can we trust that this isn’t some sort of enchantment?’ Ciri questioned, carefully. She was ready to believe it all but still there were doubts, niggling little things that crept into her mind.

‘I did the soul bond spell myself; you can’t fake that sort of reaction to a spell. But I have been wondering that myself. Geralt reaction has been…unpredictable, to say the least with buying her and parading her around as his wife just among the very un-Geralt things he has done lately. It's possible whatever creature she descends from has a different reaction then that of a Witcher. Witchers, after all, have acute senses, so it is likely that they would be more sensitive to a bond like this.’ Triss offered as she pulled back her impenetrable mane of thick hair that flopped in her eyes.

Ciri nodded vigorously as she began to pace back and forth again, her mind whirling with questions and problems. If this was true, then they have a very complicated mess to deal with, and Yennefer was not going to be easy to distract from making trouble.

‘There you are.’ Triss smiled slightly as the woman appeared hesitantly in the doorway.

The shivering woman nodded slightly and pulled the flimsy robe tighter around her body, allowing the female Witcher to appreciate the other woman’s form. Carefully, Adva moved deep into the room, eyes trained on the floor, searching for anything to wear that didn’t look like it had been shredded. With a sigh, she relented, she had tried before her bath, and nothing had miraculously recovered from the attack. What few pieces of clothing she had where now rags, fit for nothing but cleaning the stove.

Wincing as she sat, Adva run the towel through her drenched locks, grimacing as her ribs protested violently as she stretched. The pain was of a dull intenseness, like a burn that rapped its way around her black and sides. The muscles strained to move with ever ruffle of the towel. Triss frowned tightly as she moved to seat beside her tentatively taking the towel from her and finishing drying the end of her frizzy mane before placing the towel to the side and gently poked and prodded at her. Just from her probing digit she could feel the blood seep under her skin and through her tissue, the fraction ribs girding painfully against each other as she moved. The force has fractured several bones and broken and few others. The bruise had started to develop, a stain of yellow, purple, and brown, a nasty thing but it could have been a lot worse. It should have been a lot worse. Triss knew Yennefer long enough to know that she had meant to kill Adva, slam her through the floor so hard it would snap her in two. Yet, Adva remained relatively unharmed, nothing that would heal soon. A human would have died on impact or soon after from their injuries, Adva’s physical resilience was only to further prove her inhumanity.

‘Drink this… You have some internal bleeding and a few cracked ribs.’ Triss commanded slowly as she quickly placed the red phial to the girl's lips and poured its contents down her throat as she continued to speak. ‘Adva, I know everything is very confusing right now, but everything will be explained. I promised. Do you need anything now?’ Adva pulled her head away as she swallowed the sour contents.

‘Can I borrow some clothes, mine have all been destroyed.’ Adva asked, is a strangely even tone, refusing to look at her tutor.

Triss frowned across at the two others, who in turn frown back at her.

‘Here…you a bit bigger than me, but these should fit.’ Ciri smiled and pulled a skirt and blouse from her bindle.

They were not like the ones Geralt had given her; these were similar to what Ciri wore now. A white blouse and a brown skirt with some sort of blue braided leather belt that held the two pieces of clothing together. Ciri was a lot slimmer than her, but the clothing was untailored and basic, it would be a squeeze, but these would do. Smiling, she mumbled a quick thank you. The white-haired girl smiled back at her. Sincerely, it was a warm, kind smile, unlike the cruel smile of Yennefer.

‘We will be downstairs, come down when you are dressed.’ Triss gently sighed as she left, pulling Ciri with her.

Jaskier hung back for the briefest moment, his eyes danced along with her feature, his eyes swimming with emotion as he leaned down to press a short kiss to her forehead before leaving her to dress.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Ciri stepped foot in the room, Geralt clambered to his feet, push Yennefer away as she reapplied the paste to the markings. ‘How is she?’

‘Hurt and confused.’ Ciri puffed out, folding her arms, casting an annoyed look in Yennefer direction.

‘Fuck’ Geralt snarled, grabbing the edge of the mahogany table and with little effort threw it clear across the room. Glass smashed and metal clangoured against the marble floor that sent out a piecing rattle throughout the house.

‘There goes my 500-year-old table from the halls of Vintcorn. Thank you. Geralt…this is why I can't have nice things.’ Triss sighed as a furious bard barged past her and towards the stair well.

‘You! Have you seen what you did to her? Throwing Geralt away and then when he has found someone better, you come in screaming and kicking like a toddler who has found something else with their toy. Why can’t you just leave him alone.’ Jaskier raged, a red hue descending across his face as he prodded a finger at the puple eyes mage

‘Me? I have done nothing but push an upstart down a few pegs.’ Yennefer snapped, slapping his hands away.

‘She has broken ribs Yennefer’Ciri counted, coming to Jaskier side as she glared Yennefer down.

‘Please like she won't heal.’ Yennefer rolled her eyes as she scooped up another glob of goo and reapplied it to the writing across his skin, letting her hands wander inside of his tunic as she drew more magical etching against his pec.

The long shallow breathes she took keeping the bile from rising her throat caught in her windpipe as her eyes fell against the scene before her. Yennefer in all her beauty had herself pressed up against Geralt, hand burrowing deep in her chest, writing in some strange language. Every visible inch of his skin was covered in blue signs. The purple-eyed mages smirked across at her as she scooped up and a dollop of slim and smeared it on a mark near his shoulder. The shoulder that she had gripped when he brought her to the peak of ecstasy the night before. Had he told her? Had they laughed together? Swallowing back bile, she fought the urge to flee, her promised herself to endure and survive. Adva quickly moved to stand behind the bard, her eyes slide from the tender scene in front of her and suddenly found the wooden floorboard in front of her captivating, ignoring the five pairs of eyes that followed her every move.

Geralt eyes frowned at her, brows furrowing as he took in her form, dejected and cowardly. ‘Fuck! Adva, please. Let me …’ Geralt urged forward but halted as Adva flinched away, gripping Jaskier arm tightly as she looked away.

‘Maybe Adva can show me around the Garden...’ Ciri suggested through gritted teeth at Yennefer, who smirked triumphantly as the girl was pushed through the door and into the garden, leaving a desperate Witcher behind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The garden was bigger than what Ciri had expected. It was like the garden of the palace in Cintra, the one in her keep. It was filled with blue and yellow roses, that gave off sweet scents and attracted the bees and songbirds. Triss’s garden however had thick slabs of bush that were carefully woven into a maze, the entrance of which was guarded by glisten fountain that gushed out sparkling clear water. Squirrels squeak and frogs leapt as they perched themselves on the edge of the fountains wall. The house could just be made out in the distance sounds of shouting, and smashing could be heard. Geralt growls were distinct against the sound of screams and breaking furniture. Triss could just be heard over the noise appealing for calm why a shrill scream had to be Jaskier, attempting to dodge the flying rages of the group.

‘I think maybe I should leave before….’Adva started but was cut of by Triss.

‘Before Yennefer pushes you through the wall again? Don’t worry, Geralt wouldn’t let that happen. Should have seen him after, though he was gonna slice Yennefer in two.’ Ciri laughed as lounged on the wall of the fountain, gazing about her.

Adva stared at the apprehensively at the water; fingers brushed the rubbery leaves of the lily pads, as they floated on the top of the calm water. Ciri could positively see the cogs turning in her head as she stared into the water, gnawing on the bottom of her lip. Curls frizzed in the gentle heat of the noon sun, the skirt and blouse she wore made her look paler, almost haunted but the way Yennefer had acted this morning and then how she draped herself over Geralt would be enough to make anyone look haunted. Especially after what they had done the night before.

‘Where are you from originally?’ Ciri found herself asking as she settled herself on the border of the fountain. Elbows were resting on the knees as she gazed across as the woman.

‘Brightwater.’

‘Yes… I remember Jaskier saying Geralt brought you from the whorehouse there… remind her to have a word with him about buying people later.’ Ciri muttered darkly. ‘Where you are a whore?’

A strained laugh fell from her lips. Nothing that interesting. Just a kitchen maid….I make really good roast lamb.’

‘You will have to make it for me one time.’ Ciri smiled across at her, but the smile turned into a frown as the woman once again retreated into herself.

The silver wolf vibrated against her breast as a surge of water rose from the fountain and whirl behind the blue eye’s woman. The mass rippled and swirled in a globe of tinted blue water. Ciri fingers inched towards her blade but watched in fascination as the woman began to curl the water up from the fountain.

‘How do you do that?’ Ciri gasped.

‘Do what? ’Adva blinked up in confusion.

‘That…the water crafting. Did Triss teach you.’ Ciri gushed with childish glee.

Water control was something Ciri never had the time or patient to master. It requires skill and patience, harmony with one's self and the element around them. Of all the element, water was the most prestigious for a mage to have control over. Vesemir has once tried to explain that fire magic was the easiest, the simplest mage could conjure a fireball, but it took skill to master the other 3. Air is the second easiest, then earth and water. Ciri ear still burnt from her old teacher boiling retort when she had attempted to argue that surely the earth element was harder to control as with water was need for the earth. However, she still remembers is speech. ‘Foolish child, you have proved me right. Water is at the centre of everything; without water, there would be nothing.’ Being the Lady of Time and Space, she merely rolled her eyes and left Vesemir to grumble away, determined to prove him wrong. Fire had been easy. Wind slightly harder. Earth was complex, and the weaker charm had been hard work, the more complex charms had been a struggle. Water was near impossible; she had managed to conjure a limp wave of stagnant water that dropped mid-air and left her hand numb for a week. Yennefer was an expert in fire and air, somewhat compliant at the earth, she had seen the flowers bloom and wither under her control but water she had never seen Yennefer attempt.

‘Oh, I…I have always been able to this. I am sure your much better at it than me. Triss is teaching me other stuff though, she is really good at teaching.’ Adva smiled and rolled the water in the air.

For a moment they both watched as the water bent to the will its master, transforming from one shape to the next. The shining mass of liquid rippled and squirmed as it was pulled this way and that, at moments it appeared to billow into a thick mist before becoming solid again.

‘Who was your teaching before Triss?’ Ciri asked, once again breaking the silence.

Adva paused for a moment, she was hesitant. Before leaving Brightwater, no one asked her anything. The questions made her uncomfortable and exposed, but she did not want to lie or ignore the question. ‘I didn’t really have a teacher…. I learnt what I could from books. Cersi sort of gave me the odd bit of help when she was not at court. I think that why Lord Brightwater let me do some healer work, she was too busy.’ Adva snorted lightly as the ball of water churned harder and faster.

‘Cersi of White Orchard? Yennefer talks about her some time, a brilliant woman, a mother figure to all.’ Ciri did not need her Witcher senses to see the sadness that flicked in the girl's eyes.

‘You must miss your family and friends badly.’ Ciri muttered slowly, watching the woman with great interest.

‘I am an orphan and didn’t have any friends. I thought I had the girls in the Brothel and Cersi, but they ended up selling me to Geralt for 550 coins…. Nesta tried to help, she was lovely. I do miss her. I hope she okay.’ The water crafter choked out, turning her head away to gaze at the billowing water, frizzy curly obscuring her from the other woman view.

‘I’m an orphan too.’

Adva smiled sadly toward her ‘I am sorry but least you have people who care about you.’

‘You have them too…I haven’t seen Jaskier yell at Yennefer before. You must be special otherwise Jaskier would have hidden behind Geralt’ Ciri laughed, throwing her head back, body shaking in a belly laugh.

‘She won't try and turn him into a frog will she.’ Adva cracked a rueful smile, across at the blonde woman.

‘No’ Ciri laughed. ‘Geralt and Triss have got his back. Well…she turned Jaskier into a Donkey a while back. Geralt got her to turn him back…after a few days.’ Ciri laughed louder than she had in a while remember the sullen mule that wanders around for a day, who Geralt had tried to ride after inhaling two barrels of wine.

‘Adva.’ A rough growl echoed against the trees, sending a flock of nearby birds into the air.

Geralt matched out from behind a rose of bushes, closely followed by a pleading Triss. Adva had never seen her tutor for flustered that she almost tripped over her skirts. With a huff, the mage raced ahead as the Witcher was tugged back by a fierce-looking Yennefer who growled something into his ear as her purple eyes fixated on her. Geralt was, as always, a tower of muscles, pulsating with power and rage. Features stern, determined on his current path. Turning her attention back to the pulsating ball of water Adva gazed determinately at it, not even moving when Triss huddle around her, calling her name.

‘Listen Adva; I don’t know how much longer Geralt can stay in control, his body has taken a fever. I think it’s something to do with the bond and what happened last night. Don’t antagonise him; I don’t know what he will do.’ Triss pleaded to lay a tentative head on her friend shoulder.

‘How could you not tell me about the soul bond. I thought you were my friend.’ Adva flinched back, pulling her shoulder away.

‘Adva, please. We need to travel to Kaer Morhen to try and find out what you are then…from there, we can figure out what to do about the soul bond.’ Triss pleaded as she peak tentatively at the arguing Witcher.

Yennefer was growing more and more agitated. Geralt would not listen to reason, he refused to listen to her concerns, her pleadings, her thoughts, Instead, he remained moon eyed at the girl in front of him, pushing her away as she tried to help him. Jaskier as usually was no help, but he prattled on and snapped like a little princess. Pain surged through her as he pushed her harshly away, disgust etching his chiselled feature, as she fell into the dirt of the path.

Fury. Fury was the only thing Yennefer felt. She wanted to hurt the snivelling girl they way she had hurt her, break her heart, and toss her in the dirt where she belongs before, she crawled back into whichever hole Geralt had found her. Standing she brushed the dust from her dress, ignoring the sniggering from the bard as she focused on Triss who tended and mothered the girl. A girl who wielded water. Interesting, it would seem her prognosis was accurate, the little maid had no idea. She was disappointed in Geralt and Triss, they could see what stood right in front of their eyes, whatever spell she had cast obscured their logic.

‘Well, I can help you with the first thing. This little… creature is Mermaid. Did you never wonder what that funny little writing is in your book? Its sonic script…it what they talk and write in. And it obvious by the control you have on the water. Seriously Geralt calls yourself a Witcher.’ Yennefer scoffed, as she examined her nails with great interest. In the corner of her eye she saw it the girl curl into herself as she glanced from person to person.

‘That not possible, Merpeople can’t live well on land.’ Triss countered. ‘Not to mention she doesn’t have green skin or a tail.’ The mage snapped, pulling the girl towards her tighter.

‘I didn’t say she was a full mermaid. Maybe part mermaid part something else. Merpeople have a turbulent relationship with humans; she might have been rejecting by her pod. Then again, Merfolk is very protective over family; they only use banishment as punishment for the worst kinds of crimes. Besides, they are fiercely secretive, they wouldn’t cast a child into the human land, especially with such an important book. But then again, they could have gotten sick of her and cast her off onto the land, hoping she would die or get killed by the townsfolk.’ Yennefer said with such glee, Adva practically felt her word piece through her, causing her to shrink back in hurt.

‘Why are you being so horrid.’ Ciri yapped, wrapping her arms around her the shivering girl as Triss stood and advance upon her friend.

‘I am not the one who jumped onto the bed of someone who brought her from a whore house.’ Yennefer quipped, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow and removing a golden cylinder from her press and reapplying her crimson smile.

‘I seem to remember you jumping on Geralt about an hour after you met him. Adva has known Geralt for three months and is a far more decent person that you will ever dream of being.’ Jaskier snapped as she sat the other side of the shivering woman and wrapped his own arms around her, replacing where Triss had previously sat.

‘What was that you are ageing, talentless hack.’ Yennefer sneered at the young bard.

‘Aging! I have been told I could pass for a youth of eighteen. Your just bitter because you have been cast aside for someone more beautiful, intelligence and kinder than you could ever be.’ Jaskier all but spat at her.

‘What did you say wretch?’ Yennefer growled slowly advancing toward the bard, but despite his fearful eyes, he remained unmoving at Adva’s side, but the strong Witchers arms held her from her death march.

‘Oh, I see, the little fish playing both sides. What was it bedding the bard before the Witcher? Well, that proves it…they do say Mermaids are oversexed.’ Yennefer spat, a cruel smile as she prodded and goaded the poor girl who, stared wide eyes at the pair. Eyes shining as silent tears escaped her eyes.

Yennefer smiled as she turned in the Witchers arms ‘If I had of known you wanted something to share with Jaskier I would have offered gladly…his mouth must be good at something.’ She purred stocking his chest affectionately.

‘Yennefer stop! Kaer Morhen has the most extensive collection of lore on creatures. We might be able to find something that could help us determine whether Adva is a Mermaid on not.’ Triss offered, conjuring a green portal in the base of some bushes.

‘Sounds good to me.’ Jaskier proclaimed standing. Anything that gets me away from her. Ciri and I will take Adva by a portal; you can do whatever you damn well want.’ Jaskier waved a hand dismissively and flounced of pulling Adva with him.

Adva stumbling to keep up with the singer’s long strides. For a moment, her eyes latched on to Geralt’s, whose eyes oozed feeling and emotion, brimming with a…. sadness and pain. They were so intense she had to look away and curled in the singer hold. Memories of last night flashed through her mind, the grunt and groans as I moved over her. They way he manipulated her body into a puddle of pleasure. It angered her that she wanted to run back into her arms and beg, for what she wasn’t sure but she wanted to beg to stay, plead with him that she was human and shouldn’t be sent away. But she forced herself to look into the portal but not before she caught the glimpse of something. On the edge of the gardens board she though she saw a hooded figure cloaked the shadow of the tree smirking at her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This was supposed to come to yesterday, but Yennefer is annoying! Out of curiosity, what do people think of Yennefer overall? I have had some interesting discussion about her as a character with a few people on here. I have read the books, watched the tv show and played the game, and I can't shake my dislike her character. I really want to like her, I sympathise with what she went through and understand why she is the way she is but she so unpleasant and aggressive and I can’t work my head around her and Geralt relationship. I always think Triss is a better match then Yennefer. Yennefer is an amazingly strong character but sometimes really needs to understand the world doesn’t revolve around her, and people won’t always do as she wants. I do see a chink of amazing personality before she reverts to her normal self.

I would love to know what you think. I know there is a lot of dialogue but I felt like it needed it with the introduction of Ciri/Yennefer and the Mermaid story line.

https://missingartist95.tumblr.com/post/620733176788189184/the-witchers-mate-chapter-18-part-one

@fandom-lover-4 @sageandberries-png @wastingmypotential @luxyash @whitespring21 @ayamenimthiriel @crazynocturnalkiki @wonderlandfandomkingdom @shesthelastjedi @broco8 @introvertedmouse @threepupsinapuddle @pastelblogsposts

#witcher geralt #geralt imagine #thewitcher #netflix the witcher #the witcher #witcher netflix #geralt of rivia #geralt x reader #geralt x oc

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stillebesat · 5 years

Note

Logan looked at Roman, eyes dark. "I need you to really think about what you're saying, because you're going to hurt Virgil even more if you do not."

To Break A Curse

Warnings: Negative Self Talk

It was always about thinking wasn’t it? Think it through. Think before you act. Think. Think. Think.

At least the darkness could hide Roman’s flinch as the two of them stopped by the edge of the lake behind his castle. “I have thought about it plenty, Specs.” He said, keeping his tone as even as he could as he glanced down to Virgil lying motionless in his arms, hardly looking human now with how far the curse had progressed.

A curse that could have been broken far earlier had their Emo Knightmare only chosen to come to him first about this instead of Patton or Logan. After all, Roman was the Prince! The Knight! The one who’d faced the Dragon Witch time and time again and had had plenty of practice in saving her victims from a multitude of varying curses.

Virgil would have been fine instead of–instead of–

Roman bit back a sigh. But he hadn’t.

It made total sense why he wouldn’t too. Because even though Roman called himself a Prince…when it came to Anxiety–he had been anything but Charming.

And now Virgil looked more like a shadow of a human–no more like the night sky in human form, his darkened skin sparkling with dozens of mini galaxies that swirled over his body now that they had left the light streaming from the castle windows.

“Trust me, Lo.” Roman said, giving Logan a smile that he hoped would be seen as confident. “It’s how curses are broken. He just needs a kiss.”

A Kiss. Such a simple action for the self proclaimed Romantic of their group to make. Yet, Roman found his heart fluttering uneasily at the very thought. He and Virgil were barely crossing the line from Enemies to Frien–well probably Uneasy Acquaintances was a better term for their current status. So to kiss him? Unthinkable.

Logan crossed his arms, lips pressing together in a thin line. “A kiss.”

Roman forced himself to not roll his eyes, hoping the darkness was hiding the blood he could feel rushing to his face. He knew how illogical it was, but that’s how breaking curses worked! “Yes, Sherlock. A kiss.”

“But–” Logan turned abruptly away, shoulders bowing as he stared at the lake. “We already tried that!” He said, voice cracking. “It didn’t work!”

Roman froze. Wait. Logic. LOGIC had–had—“Y-you already tried–”

“Both Patton and I.” Logan confirmed, his glasses catching the castle lights as he glanced to Roman. “Patton seemed certain after hearing the terms–and with your feedback on curses in the past, it was only logical–”

Wait. “Terms? What terms!” Roman demanded, shifting Virgil’s feather-light weight in his arms. Why hadn’t Specs mentioned that earlier when he’d first brought Anxiety to him?! Curses could backfire dramatically if they could only be broken a certain way! He would need to know exactl–

Logan waved a hand impatiently. “Not exactly terms per se. It’s a poem. But it’s the only clue we have to breaking Virgil’s curse. The Dragon Witch would say no more to us when we went to her.

Roman nearly dropped the Shadowling, his vision tunneling. The others had chosen to see the Dragon Witch before considering him? He could–he could have helped far sooner—Roman took a breath, calling upon his acting skills to keep his voice from shaking, from showing the betrayal clawing its way through his chest into his heart.

Some Prince. What good are you if none of the others trust you to save the day?

Sure, he and Virgil weren’t the best of friends, but that didn’t mean they needed to go to that–that vile creature before coming to him as a last resort! “What did she say?” He managed, grateful that his voice somehow remained steady.

Logan raised a hand to his glasses, adjusting them as he spoke.

“Shadows spreading like a blight, Only fixed under full moon’s light. Greet him softly with all your love. Accepting what you’re deprived of. A single need, true form remake. Where water pools, the curse shall break.”

He cleared his throat, pulling at his tie as he turned back to Roman. “As you can see–”

He could see, unfortunately. Roman exhaled, absently running his fingers along Virgil’s arm, chasing a white and blue galaxy up to his elbow. “Yah, it’s pretty clear.”

Logan raised his eyebrows. “It is?”

Roman could practically feel the skepticism coming off him in waves. “Compared to previous curses I’ve had to break under the Dragon Witch? Yes.” He smirked, though with the leadened weight settling in his stomach, it was difficult to feel triumphant. He’d been hoping that there would be something within the verse to help him prove that the others should have come to Creativity first.

A fool’s hope. If it had just been Logan he may have had a chance, but Patton was Thomas’s heart. He could be just as romantic as Roman was. Padre would have had no problem piecing the clues together. Especially if it meant helping his Strange Dark Son.

“Virgil needs to be kissed under the full moon by or perhaps in water.” Simple. Easy. And if both Logan and Patton had failed to understand that–Roman shook his head, moving closer to the water’s edge. “The only confusing part is why it didn’t work for either of you.”

The curse didn’t sound like it needed to be true love’s kiss. The Dragon Witch always was specific about that. But Virgil shared close if not–dare he say it? Loving bonds with the both Logic and Morality. Far closer than Stormy McCloud ever had, or probably ever would with Roman. “Did you actually try kissing him in the lake or just greet him with a friendly hello, Specs?”

Logan ducked his head and Roman could swear the nerd had turned red. “I–I–greeting verbally was what I wanted to do…but Pat convinced me that a kiss was needed. We tried doing so both in and by the lake. Patton the first night, me the second.”

Both. And it didn’t work. It should have though. All the pieces were there. Shadows. Virgil. Full moon’s light. Full Moon. Where water pools? Didn’t sound specific so the lake would work. Greet him softly with all your love? More tricky, but still sounded like Kissing to him. A single need? Make Virgil normal. Kiss to make him normal. Accepting what you’re deprived of? Well the others had been far quicker to accept Virgil as one of them than Roman had, recognizing that they needed him to help Thomas function.

All the pieces were there to break the curse.

And it hadn’t worked.

No wonder Logan wanted him to think more carefully. He looked up, watching the full moon rising over head. Three nights of a full moon. Three chances. Pat and Lo had already tried the first two.

Tried and failed.

Leaving him to save the da–night.

If it could be saved.

But he and Virgil hardly had a relationship with any sort of love in it. Not after so many years of hatred on both sides.

You’re going to fail.

“However, if you are confident that it is a kiss…then, Roman…you only have tonight to free him from it.” Logan said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Once the Moon sets, Virgil will permanently become part of the shadows and stars and we’ll never–” He cut off, shakily inhaling. “We’ll never see him again.”

Never? Never see their Emo Nightmare again? A chill rushed down his spine. Sure, there had been a time when the news would have had Roman singing his joy loud and clear from the top of the tallest mountain. But now? Not so much.

You’re gonna fail.

And the others would never forgive him if he did. Roman shrugged off Logan’s hand, giving him another confident smile he didn’t feel. “Not to worry, Specs. Virgil will be right as rain soon enough. You can count on me.”

Can he?

Lo seemed to search his eyes for an eternity before he nodded, clearing his throat. “Then I shall leave you to it, Roman. Patton tells me that this sort of thing is done best…” He looked away, rubbing at his arm. “Without an audience.”

Roman swallowed back a choked laugh. Yah. Talk about awkward. He could picture far too easily. Logan watching him with notepad in hand, ready to jot down the results of–

Your failure.

“Sounds good to me, Specs.” He turned away, holding Virgil close. If he needed to kiss their resident Edgelord he would prefer to do it out of sight of the castle windows. “Why don’t you wait inside the Castle?” He suggested over his shoulder as he strode away, searching for a more secluded spot along the shoreline. “I’ll bring Virgil back to you soon enough.”

He could only hope that that wasn’t a lie. Logan hadn’t shouted falsehood at him, so that… had to be something right?

But with every step Roman took, his doubts only increased.

You don’t love him.

You barely tolerate him.

You two aren’t even friends.

How can you greet him with ALL your love if there is NONE to begin with?

Roman grimaced. “Not true.” He whispered. He and Virgil had some–he exhaled, drawing a blank on what exactly they could love about each other as he stared down at the former dark side, watching as a red galaxy chased a purple one from Virgil’s shoulder down to his hip before vanishing around the other side.

Under Full Moon’s Light.

Where Water Pools.

Roman glanced to the lake, gauging the distance from the shore to the moon’s reflection crossing the still waters.

Maybe he would have to Swan Princess this.

“Sorry Virge.” He whispered, moving into the lake, the splashing of each step sounding like thunder to his ears.

Though if Logan and Patton had both kissed him in water, then Virgil could hardly complain about getting wet again.

He probably would though. Sir Pessimist hardly liked much of what Roman did. Ever.

This isn’t going to work.

Roman gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his footing on the rocky bottom, holding Virgil as tightly as he dared so his shadowy form, barely weighing more than a feather, wouldn’t slip from his grip. “It has to.” He whispered.

Please.

Everyone was counting on him.

He couldn’t fail them.

Not again.

He reached the moon’s reflection just as the water reached waist high. Not the most comfortable of positions to kiss someone in for sure. On the nearby rocky outcropping nearby would have been better, but that wasn’t in the water nor in the moon’s reflection. So this…this would have to do.

“Alright, Stormcloud.” Roman said, carefully brushing dark bangs away from Virgil’s shadowy face. “Time to break your curse.”

But you don’t love him.

Roman swallowed, closing his eyes.

No, he didn’t love Virge. Not like…not like the others did. He was still learning…still trying to…to see Anxiety in a better light than as the villain.

And that’s why you’re gonna fail.

Because wasn’t it contradictory? How could Roman greet Virgil with all his love…when he didn’t have love for him yet?

He was barely beginning to–to like the guy, accept that Virgil could help Thomas and now–now—

You’re gonna fail.

It was just a kiss.

One kiss.

Roman exhaled, opening his eyes as he trailed fingers down Virgil’s cheek, tracing the angular edges as a rainbow galaxy crossed over the bridge of his nose. “Hey, V–uh…Virge-” No too informal. “Hey, Virgil.” He whispered, leaning in. “This won’t hurt, I promise.”

Greet him softly with all your love.

Love.

Just one kiss.

“I guess consent isn’t really that important?”

Roman paused, a hair’s breadth from brushing lips with Edgy McEdgelord, his heart twisting in his chest hard enough to tear in two.

Virgil had never liked the idea of breaking curses through kissing. He’d said so himself when they’d filmed The Dark Side of Disney with Thomas. It wasn’t—it didn’t feel right to kiss him now when he had no say.

Not even to lift a curse?

Logan and Patton had both tried it. And it hadn’t worked. Why would it work for Roman when Virgil didn’t even like him!

You’re gonna fail.

Roman drew a shaky breath, eyes burning as he fought to keep his composure. “I’m… sorry, Virgil.” He choked out, betraying tears falling onto Stormcloud’s cheeks as he closed his eyes.

If only he had been nicer to the Emo Nightmare. Been more–more of the sort of Prince that Virgil deserved. The sort of person where Anxiety wouldn’t have hesitated to come to him for help. Would have trusted Roman to save the day as soon as the curse had been placed instead–instead–of–

Some Prince.

Roman held Virgil close, more tears freely falling from his eyes. “I–I want to help you–sa–save you. But–but–I can’t–not like–like this—I’m sorry.”

The others were right to not come straight to you.

You can’t even give a simple kiss.

Just. One. Kiss.

But that wasn’t what Virgil would want!

Roman gritted his teeth.

Think. THINK! There HAD to be some other way to return Virgil to his normal pale skinned, raccoon eyed, hoodie wearing self. There had to be something he had missed in the poem. Some clue that would save the day. That would bring–

Virgil stirred in his arms, a soft moan coming from his lips.

Roman’s eyes flashed open, his breath catching in his throat as blazing light nearly blinded him where he’d expected to only be confronted with Virgil’s shadowed self.

Where water pools, the curse shall break.

Every tear of Roman’s that had fallen onto Virgil’s face was glowing a bright brilliant gold, leaving pale unmarked skin behind where they had streaked as Anxiety again stirred in his arms.

Raising a shaking hand, not quite believing what he was seeing, Roman carefully brushed one of the golden tears with his thumb, leaving a large swath of pale skin across Virgil’s cheek in the process.

Tears. Not a body of water. Not the lake. TEARS. That was the answer!

“Virgil?” Roman whispered.

Another soft moan rewarded him as Virgil’s eyelids fluttered, the galaxies disappearing from his skin as his hands twitched, reaching out to grab onto Roman’s sash. “Ro?” He mumbled.

Ro.

Not Princey.

Ro.

Fresh golden tears fell onto Virgil, washing away more shadows as Roman nodded, a shaky smile spreading across his face. “Yah, Virge. It’s me. You’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. I got you.” He said, turning back to the shoreline.

“You—” Virgil gripped his sash tighter, opening pale eyes that glimmered like the stars above them. “Did you–” He licked his lips, splotched red and black as the shadows continued to fade from him.

“Kiss you to break the curse?” Roman looked away, his own heart jumping into his throat. Careful. This was shaky ground for both of them. “No, Eugene Fitzherbert I–” He shrugged, stepping from the water onto the shore. “I remembered your dislike of that particular…method. Your lips are safe from mine. I ended up Rapunzeling your curse away instead of Princeing it.”

By complete accident, but no one needed to know that.

Virgil relaxed, resting his head against his chest as one hand brushed at the tears on his cheeks. “You actually…cried for me? I thought–”

Roman tightened his grip. “Thought?” Despite himself he looked down, meeting Virge’s star colored eyes.

Virgil licked his lips again before he shrugged, ducking his head. “I thought you’d be singing, actually.” He mumbled.

Si–Sing? Roman blinked. How would that have broken—

“You know.” He gestured vaguely about. “Flower gleam and glow?”

Oh.

Roman chuckled, shaking his head. That would have made sense…golden tears and all. “Well– I can do that too.” It would be something to do beyond walking back to the castle in an awkward silence.

Virgil huffed, his purpling bangs falling into his face. “So long as it’s not done in your romano cheesy fashion.–I–I would like that…Ro.”

Ro.

For that nickname? Roman would gladly sing to the top of the mountains and back. He nodded, flashing him a brilliant smile. “Then prepared to be serenaded all the way back to the castle, Virgilicious. I shan’t deprive you further of the glorious piece of heaven that is my voice.”

He halfway expected to hear Virgil groan at that, but as he drew breath to sing the first notes, Virge merely relaxed in his arms, fingers once more curling around his sash as Roman walked them back along the water’s edge, the full moon shining brightly above them.

End.

#To Break A Curse #stillebesat #Sanders Sides #Two Sentences #Roman #Virgil #Logan #Creativity #Anxiety #Logic #Negative self talk tw #kissing talk tw

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beautifulterriblequeen · 4 years

Text

Now is Good

For Ruthari Week 2020

AU: Pre-Canon

Pairings: Runaan x Ethari

Rating: General? Teen? one (1) suggestive comment

Archive warnings: None

Prompt #3: Hurt/Comfort

Runaan came to first. Two decades of battle experience started screaming in his ear, and he woke with a gasp.

He immediately regretted it, as several broken ribs protested sharply. He felt like he’d been shot by half a dozen arrows all in the same breath. His hands clutched at his chest, pressing back against the broken ribs, and found them neatly bandaged with moon-traced fabric, leaving his lilac skin exposed to the cool air. His mouth tasted of blood and herbs.

Shreds of memory returned, bright and bloody enough to make Runaan shut his eyes again. “Ethari…” Whispering his husband’s name was exhausting. Runaan’s throat was dry and raspy. How long had he been out? Where was he? Where was Ethari?

Slowly, Runaan cracked open his eyes. A dim light filtered in from his right, cool and white, like moonlight through a curtain. A quiet hush surrounded him, but with a certain presence to it—the soft breathing of several others told him he wasn’t alone. His eyes adjusted to the dimness.

A cave of pale stone gleamed with filtered sunlight through sheer cloth. Medicinal herbs filled the air, and soft murmurs soothed nearby.

The healing caves near the battlefield. So it was over. He’d survived. Again.

Runaan slowly rocked his head to the side, as if drawn by instinct. Ethari lay quietly in the cot next to him. Eyes shut. Hands resting on his stomach. Breathing easily. A series of bandages held in place by two splints decorated the length of Ethari’s right leg. A soft sound escaped Runaan’s mouth unbidden, and he tried to reach for Ethari. His hand tangled in a soft cloth sling he hadn’t realized he was wearing, and his shoulder protested mightily. Runaan winced and clutched his arm to his chest. That shoulder had been dislocated recently—Runaan would know that feeling anywhere.

But he needed to reassure himself that Ethari was truly all right. “Ethari. Ethari? Ethari, please. Can you hear me?”

Ethari hummed a soft moan and tried to roll toward him, as he had on many a morning. But as he rolled onto his injured leg, he caught himself with a pained gasp that woke him right up. His coppery eyes flew wide and searched frantically until they landed on Runaan. Ethari slumped back in relief, keeping his eyes on Runaan. Though his dark brows drew together in pain, a small fond smile smoothed the firm line of his lips. “I hear you, Runaan. I always hear you.”

Runaan struggled out of his sling and held out his hand, ignoring the straining pain that throbbed in his shoulder and chest. Ethari must’ve read the effort on his face, because he immediately clasped Runaan’s hand and supported its weight in the space between their cots.

“What happened to you?” Runaan managed. “Last I saw, you were still on your feet.”

Ethari offered a wry smile. “I got knocked off them. I’m just glad to see I still have them both.”

“I’m glad they put us side by side, at least. I’d have been in a bad way hobbling around looking for you,” Runaan whispered fondly.

Ethari’s replying smile was sad. “They found us together. I managed to get back to you before I passed out.”

Runaan’s hand managed a weak squeeze. “You always do seem to find me.”

A sassy lilt entered Ethari’s voice. “It’s part of the job description.”

“What job is that?”

“Runaan’s husband.”

Runaan grinned. “Please do not make me laugh right now. I have more than one broken rib.”

Ethari squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, my shade.”

Runaan ran his thumb over Ethari’s as their hands hung clasped in the small space between their cots. “Will you tell me how you found me?”

Ethari’s grip loosened, and he looked straight up. “I don’t know how you do it, Runaan. How you keep fighting after you see what it’s like.”

“Instinct.” But a darkness lay heavy over Runaan’s reply. “Was it bad?”

Ethari took a few breaths to gather his thoughts. He blinked rapidly and nibbled at his lip. “Yeah. It was. I never want to see you like that again.”

Runaan squeezed his hand again. “You don’t have to tell me, then. I don’t want you to relive it.”

Ethari heaved in a deep breath and let it out. Softly, he pulled his hand away.

Runaan slowly pulled his arm back and tucked it into its sling again, trying to give Ethari his space to process. War wasn’t for everyone.

But Ethari wasn’t done moving. With deliberate care, the craftsman rolled to his other side of his cot and managed to rise into a shaky stance. He hobbled slowly around to the near side of the bed until he could sit on it facing Runaan. He grimaced as he sat at an angle, pressing a hand against his thigh. “Ow. Not good for the stitches.”

Runaan wore a grimace of frustration. If he’d been able, he’d have pinned Ethari in his cot for trying such a stunt. But unfortunately, it seemed he was even more helpless than Ethari was. “Ethari, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be doing that.”

“Shush. I can hold you down with one finger. Let me do what I want. Right now I want to get you some water. It smells like it has easeroot in it, so it’ll help with the pain, too.” Ethari reached over to a small table set between their cots and poured a small glass full. He stole a gulp off the top with a cheeky grin. “So you don’t spill all over yourself. Here.” He leaned forward and held the cup out to Runaan.

Instead of taking the cup, Runaan took hold of Ethari’s wrist and guided it toward his mouth. Ethari tipped the cup against his lips, and Runaan took a grateful sip, and then a few deep gulps, draining the cup. “Nnnhh. That’s better.”

“More?”

“Please.”

After a second full cup, Runaan’s throat felt much better. The throbbing in his head started to lessen, and his breathing seemed to come a little easier. His eyes rested on Ethari. “I lost sight of you on the field. That shouldn’t have happened, and I’m sorry. I meant to fight by your side every step of the way. To stand over you if I had to.”

Ethari grinned wryly. “In your defense, there was a giant explosion that blew us apart from each other. I knew you’d be trying to find me. But by the time I found you…” Ethari’s eyes fell to Runaan’s bandages, bright white with silvery tracings, protective spells woven into the fabric to aid in healing. He rested a hand ever so gently atop the cloth.

Runaan tried not to wince, but Ethari noticed anyway and shifted his hand, letting it hover, seeking a place to rest and reassure. But Runaan’s exposed skin was a mass of bruises and small cuts, and his shoulder was swollen and marked from its recent dislocation. “Moon and shadow, is there anywhere I can touch you that isn’t injured?”

Runaan, far more used to pain and injury than Ethari, merely smiled and tapped a finger against his lips.

Ethari’s eyes widened as he grinned at Runaan’s soft sass. “Hold that thought. I will be right with you.” He stood again, balancing with difficulty on one leg, and hobbled around to the other side of Runaan’s cot.

Runaan’s turquoise eyes tracked him alertly. “What are you doing? Ethari.”

Ethari eased himself down onto his good left side beside Runaan, along the very edge of his cot, and tucked himself against his husband with infinite care for them both. He rested his injured leg atop Runaan’s legs and lay his head ever so carefully on Runaan’s shoulder, taking care not to put any weight on Runaan’s bandages. Runaan eased his good arm around Ethari’s shoulders and held him tightly, wishing for all the moon that he could snuggle tight against him as they usually did, but grateful all the same for any contact he could get. Grateful that he still had a husband to hold, no matter how whole or damaged he was. Ethari was warm and reassuring, and though he smelled of battle and injury, he also smelled like home. Comfort. Love. Trust. Runaan’s fingers tightened in the fabric of Ethari’s shirt, and he pressed his forehead against Ethari’s. “My light. My sweet light.”

Ethari relaxed into their closeness for a long, cherished moment. Then he gently cupped Runaan’s cheek and pressed a delicate kiss against his lips. “As promised.”

Runaan smiled against Ethari’s lips. “That may be the most effort you’ve ever put into a kiss. And I appreciate it all the more for your sacrifice.”

At Runaan’s words, Ethari caught his eye, and his brows bent. His eyes filled with worry, and he snuggled down onto Runaan’s shoulder again. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.” Ethari murmured his words against Runaan’s skin. His fingers tightened around the far side of Runaan’s waist, pulling him against Ethari for a moment.

Runaan dropped a soft kiss against Ethari’s hair. “You didn’t, though. I’m right here.”

Ethari squeezed his eyes shut, but that only seemed to make things worse. His breath hitched, and he struggled to get it back under control. “I couldn’t find you, at first.”

Runaan went utterly still. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the story Ethari was ready to tell. “You don’t—”

“I only recognized you by your hair. Everyone was covered in so much blood. A lot of it was yours.”

Runaan spoke in a horrified whisper. “Ethari…”

But the story had begun, and Ethari couldn’t stop it now. He continued as if he hadn’t heard Runaan. “I had to drag myself over because my leg had stopped working. I pulled everyone off of you… I’ve never seen you lie so still. I thought…”

“You don’t have to say it, Ethari,” Runaan reassured him.

Ethari didn’t seem to register Runaan’s comment, but he shifted his focus anyway. “I didn’t know it was possible to hurt that much and keep on living, until I saw you like that. I held you in my arms and sat in the middle of that smoking battlefield, and… and…”

Runaan didn’t want to ask, but Ethari clearly needed to keep talking. He murmured against Ethari’s forehead, “And?”

Ethari managed an exasperated tone as he said, “And all I could think about was how I’d never get to brush your damn hair again.”

The tension lessened, and the elves shared a soft, morbid chuckle.

“But then,” Ethari continued with a sigh of relief, “You moved, and I could breathe again. I could tell your ribs were broken. You coughed up a fair bit of blood. Got it all over me, actually.”

Runaan smiled and kissed Ethari’s forehead again. “Sorry. I’ll try to keep it on the inside next time.”

Ethari’s gaze flattened. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say there would be a next time for this kind of thing.”

Runaan paused, not wanting to drag Ethari’s mood right back down again. “I… said no such thing. Please, go on.”

Ethari took a breath and gathered his thoughts. “I could tell I was losing blood, too, but you needed to be propped up to breathe, so I just leaned back on that big pile of your enemies and pulled you against me. I vaguely remember setting your thigh atop mine, hoping its weight would slow my bleeding. I…” Ethari broke off in a soft chuckle.

Laughter? “Okay, now you have to tell me,” Runaan prompted.

“Don’t get mad, but as I started to pass out, I realized our pose looked a little too intimate for a battlefield. You all draped across me, head tipped back across my shoulder, mouth open, one leg spread wide. It would’ve been hot if you hadn’t been dying.”

Runaan pressed a quick, firm kiss against Ethari’s lips. “Love and battle are not as different as you think.”

Ethari’s eyes widened. “You know it’s creepy hot when you start talking like that.”

Runaan offered him a teasing smile. “I know.”

Ethari let his fingers dance along the edge of Runaan’s bandages, low across his abdomen. The assassin tensed lightly, and Ethari traced one firm corner of his abs up under the fabric. “Not too sore?”

“N-No. I think two cups of the easeroot water was exactly the right amount.”

“Oh, yes?” Ethari’s fingers slid along Runaan’s warm skin beneath the edge of the bandage, very careful not to apply any pressure. “So this is okay?”

“Mmmff. What are you doing.” Runaan’s gaze grew warmer.

Ethari’s eyes softened for a moment, and his fingers stilled. “The last thing I remember was holding you in my arms as the world went dark.”

Torn between the sensation of life and the memory of death, Runaan brushed his fingers across the back of Ethari’s hand and softly studied his husband. “I can think of worse ways to go.”

Ethari pressed his lips together in an exasperated line, and his fingers began moving again, teasing their way around Runaan’s side. “So if love and battle are so closely intertwined… is this the part where I climb on top of you in your recovery cot and hold onto my own horns?”

“Hgh!” Runaan twitched hard at the erotic image and immediately regretted his reaction. His legs curled instinctively, jostling Ethari’s injured leg as pain lanced through his chest. “Please, my light,” he begged, “I might die happy, but that will literally kill me.”

Ethari chuckled through his own pain as he tried to press Runaan back down into a relaxed position. “I’ve never regretted making a suggestive comment faster in my life. I’m so sorry, Runaan. That one hurt us both.” His hand ghosted across Runaan’s bandages, and he pressed a soft kiss against Runaan’s jaw. “It won’t happen again.”

Runaan’s grumble of needy protestation was the cutest sound Ethari had heard him make in days. “Just give me a few days to knit up and you can have your way with me all you like.”

“A few days?”

“I’m a quick healer.”

“You’re an adrenaline junkie.”

“Those are not mutually exclusive.”

“No, but they are inextricably linked. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“It didn’t seem important at the time.”

“Which time?”

An apologetic smile hovered on Runaan’s lips. “Any of the times.”

Ethari shifted his injured leg with a small, pained groan of effort. “Then for our combined safety, Runaan, no one’s doing any climbing or, or, other athletics, until I’m healed up.”

“But how will we know if you’re healed up yet unless we test it?” Runaan murmured. His fingers traced the soft curve of Ethari’s hip.

Ethari pressed closer and let his fingers dig lightly against Runaan’s skin. “Mmmm. You make a compelling argument. But, gently. Very, very gently.”

Runaan captured his lips in a slow kiss. “That gently?” he murmured.

“Perfect.”

Runaan was silent for a long while. Ethari thought he’d drifted off, and was half asleep himself, when Runaan spoke again. “Having you here with me, Ethari… It’s making me rethink everything I’ve ever done.”

Ethari tucked his hand around Runaan’s waist and squeezed ever so carefully. “What do you mean, love?”

“My soul left the battlefield alone, but you found me, and when I came back, you were here.” Runaan’s fingers drew soft, soothing circles atop Ethari’s hip. “I went from the worst moment of death to the best moment of life in a Moonshadow second. I’ll never top that, and I never want to tempt fate with this chance again.”

Ethari’s breath caught and hovered, uncertain. “Runaan… what are you saying?”

“I’m never risking this again. I’m never risking you again, Ethari. I know you’ll follow me if I fight again. But I can’t risk losing you.”

Ethari’s hand twitched against Runaan’s waist. “Runaan… the war is still raging. Tell me what you really mean.”

Runaan gazed up at the arch of the cavern overhead. “I’ll find another way to serve our people. But I’m hanging up my swords. Xadia will have to fight without me from now on.”

Tears of happy disbelief sprang to Ethari’s eyes, and he clutched Runaan against him so hard that his husband winced and groaned. “Sorry, so sorry, my heart. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Nngh. It is.”

Ethari tucked his face against Runaan’s neck and sobbed quietly. His hand fluttered across Runaan’s body, lighting gently against his shoulder, his cheek.

Runaan felt his husband’s chest shuddering against his own and held him as tightly as he dared. Had Ethari been holding in all these feelings all along? “I’m sorry too, my light,” he murmured. “It seems I should have done this years ago.”

“No, no, now’s good for me,” Ethari murmured. His voice was breathy with elation.

Runaan cupped Ethari’s cheek with his other hand and gently thumbed away his tears. His white brows bent as he nudged Ethari’s nose with his own, encouraging him to meet Runaan’s gaze. When Ethari’s damp eyes met his, Runaan smiled broadly. His chest would need weeks to heal, but the love that filled it so warmly in that moment made him feel weightless. “Now is good for me, too.”

#runaan #ethari #ruthari week 2020 #runaan x ethari #hurt/comfort #my writing #tdp fanfic #runaari fanfic #ruthari fanfic #tdp fanfiction

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tamakiamajikistentacles · 4 years

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Change the Outcome {Denki Kaminari}

Quirks, Denki Kaminari had learned very early on, had limits.

Electrification was a useful and potentially powerful quirk to have, and he wouldn’t even consider trading it for any other, but he would be lying if he said that short circuiting from overuse was an easily dealt with drawback.

He hated when he overexerted himself to the point where he went into what his UA classmates later dubbed “Idiot Mode” but there were times it was necessary. As long as he didn’t do it too often or go too far over his limit, the professionals assured him that he wouldn’t suffer permanent damage.

The villain’s suit was a sleek silver and covered them from head to toe but didn’t seem to hinder their metal manipulation quirk. Black market support items for villains seemed to be becoming more and more sophisticated, which pissed off Katsuki Bakugo, pro hero Ground Zero, who’s explosions didn’t even phase the asshole in front of him.

“FUCK!” he shouted as he landed next to a panting Eijirou Kirishima, pro hero Red Riot.

“Neither of us have even put a dent in that armor,” Kirishima said through gritted teeth as he watched Pinky and Froppy attempt a combo move to take out the villain. It was like the armor itself couldn’t be pierced by any of their quirks, the corrosive properties of acid also unable to inflict damage.

Almost immediately, the girls gave the villain a wide berth and a second later, the silver suit was encompassed in electricity from Denki Kaminari, pro hero Chargebolt. But once again, not a scratch appeared.

"Your limit is ten million volts, but my suit won't even crack until fifteen million," the villain said smugly as the blonde retreated back towards his fellow pros. "Designed with you in mind, sweetheart."

Kaminari clenched his teeth as he brushed his sleeve across the sweat gathered on his brow, trying to figure out another way that they could crack the armor.

Pinky had quickly put together her Acid Man move to try and go toe-to-toe with the villain in the meantime while he regrouped with Kirishima and Bakugo, watching Froppy and his own girlfriend continue to escort nearby workers out of the line of fire.

"You gotta push it to fifteen million,” Bakugo ground out past his grimace. “If the armor cracks, we can charge and take them out while you go stupid."

"You can't expect him to break that far past his ability!" Kirishima protested with a shake of his head, gelled spikes moving stiffly.

"I always say ten million is my limit, but I can definitely do twelve for sure without causing myself any damage. I've never pushed it past thirteen, but I'll try it,” Kaminari said, determination evident in his voice.

"Man, you shouldn't-"

Kaminari grinned. "Plus ultra, right, bro? That's what heroes do."

"I don't like this, but I can't stop you. Don't mess yourself up, alright?" Kirishima pleaded. “Your girlfriend is fired up enough to kick all of our asses if something happens.”

Bakugo clicked his tongue against his teeth in agitation. “Step in with the girls and let them know our plan. I’m putting together some grenades to use as a distraction so you’ll be able to gear up with your disc and then fry the shithead.”

“Got it,” the blonde nodded, springing back into the melee.

Kirishima watched the fight intently, trying to understand the villain’s movements so that once the armor was cracked, he could strike hard and accurate.

Bakugo worked quickly to prepare the grenades, his eyes focused until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, a flash of blue denim growing closer.

A kid?

"Yo Red, I thought you said you got the last of the civilians on our half?! The fuck is there a kid still here for?" Bakugo shouted, gesturing towards the lanky boy in a grey beanie running towards them. Kirishima’s brows furrowed. "I did! There weren’t any-" The boy skirted to a stop in front of them, gold eyes wide in fear under wisps of dark hair that had escaped the beanie. He was panting hard, but the heroes weren’t sure if it was from running, fear, or maybe both. Before either could ask if he was alright or begin to get him out of the building, the boy started speaking earnestly.

"Listen to me, you can't let Chargebolt go so far over twelve million. If you do, he's going to short circuit himself to the point that he completely fries half of his brain and limits his quirk drastically." "Who the fuck are you to be telling us what to do?" Bakugo bit out reflexively, the boy’s words not registering at first. "Please trust me. He can't... he can't go over that limit. He'll live but he's gonna suffer and his pro hero days are over. I know what happens if he does this!" the boy insisted, looking between the two heroes in front of him. "You can see the future?" Kirishima asked, thinking the boy had a foresight-esque quirk. "Not in the way you're thinking-"

His words trailed off as Kaminari came to land near them after assisting the girls in a few of their moves while also informing them of the plan they had formed. His discs did a lot to help his aim and keep others out of the currents he put out, but he never wanted to take an unnecessary risk. "Red, GZ, we gotta strike, the girls are wearing down,” he said quickly. Then, taking notice of the newcomer, asked, “Who's the kid?"

"Chargebolt..." the boy whispered, awestruck by the sight of him.

“You shouldn’t be here, kid,” he warned, glancing back at the fight. “We’ll give you autographs after we take care of this villain, yeah? But for now, you gotta take cover while we get back in there.”

The kid grabbed his wrist tightly, stopping him from going back into the fray. “No, you have to listen to me! Don’t go over twelve million! You can’t do it or you’re going to end your career as a pro tonight!”

“What the-“

The kid ripped the grey beanie off of his head, black spiky hair springing loose as well as one bright blonde section in the front that was kinked up like a lightning bolt. Glossy golden eyes stared at him in fear.

Both Kirishima and Bakugo’s eyes widened at the full view of the younger boy in front of them. Between the eyes and the hairstyle… if the golden section were farther back on the left…

“My name is Raiden Kaminari and I know it sounds absolutely insane but I’m your son. I came here from the future to make sure you don’t short circuit yourself beyond repair tonight. Auntie always says that no one should meddle with time, but I had to do this. Please, you have to believe me!”

Kaminari couldn’t move. He’d experienced his fair share of bizarre and terrifying scenarios since starting out to become a pro hero at the age of fifteen, but the current situation may have taken the cake for both most bizarre and most terrifying.

The boy—his son?—was looking borderline hysterical as a tear finally rolled down his cheek and his body shook violently.

“You’re telling the truth,” Kaminari murmured, his heart thundering in his chest, but his intuition screaming at him that this kid was his kid.

Raiden nodded furiously. “Yes, yeah, I-I am! I swear, this is all to help you! Twelve million is the limit and even trying to push thirteen so quickly… you can’t.”

“What’s your quirk, kid?” Bakugo interrupted, eyes narrowing behind his mask. He thought the entire situation was insane and too family oriented for his liking but if this kid was here, he was gonna be useful.

“E-electrification,” Raiden stuttered, intimidation causing him to shrink into himself. “Just the same as my d- as his. My limit before I short circuit is five and a half million but the effects only last for about fifteen minutes and aren’t as bad as… well, as you’re used to seeing. My quirk is regulated better because of my mom.”

Kirishima shook his head. “Man, we are not making a kid fight a villain-“

“But I’m training to become a pro hero!” he said quickly. “I’m in my second year at UA in class 2-A just like you were, and I know how to control my quirk better than most!”

“It all depends on your aim,” Kaminari cut in. “I’ve got my disc to help direct my current, but if you can’t aim then we’re gonna have a major problem.”

Raiden shook his head with a grin both Kirishima and Bakugo knew all too well. “My aim’s crap on its own, but that’s why I’ve got these bad boys.” The teen pulled out a pair of glasses similar to Kaminari’s, just a bit more upgraded, it seemed. “I should be able to lock onto your disc the same way and we can combine our currents to crack the armor.”

Kaminari considered the plan for a moment before adding, “Only go five million. We’ll hit with seventeen million between us and nobody will even come close to short circuiting, got it?”

Kirishima’s eyebrows rose slightly, the concerned tone in his friend’s voice sounding distinctly paternal.

“I can do that,” Raiden agreed, slipping the glasses on.

“Toss the hat back on, too,” Bakugo ordered. “We’re going to make our strike from over there where there’s more coverage. Kid, you’re staying out of sight and busting out your sparks from right behind this dumbass so it looks like its all coming from him. We don’t need to explain this future kid bullshit to anyone else. Once that armor is cracked, it’s all on me and Red.” He looked between the three in front of him and when he saw no objections, he turned to begin his trek towards cover. “Let’s move! Pinky, Frogger, and your baby mama have been in the thick of it long enough.”

Kirishima laughed at the sputtering attempt at a protest Kaminari tried to form and the bright red blush on Raiden’s cheeks at the mention of his mother.

The four regrouped behind the covered point near the corner of the warehouse where the battle was taking place, Raiden sticking close to Kaminari. Bakugo surveyed the situation from his vantage point for a long moment before a feral smirk overtook his features. He turned back to the three behind him, tossing a still-pinned grenade between his gloved hands.

“Show time, boys.”

He leapt out from behind their cover and unpinned three grenades in rapid succession, his aim as he threw them flawless. Flanked by Kirishima, he let the villain become more concerned with them on the other side of the warehouse so that their back was to the two electric users.

Kaminari turned to Raiden. “I’m climbing this cargo and launching the disc, so when you hear me call out my voltage, lock on and let loose. But remember, only five million, okay?”

Raiden nodded, and the older blonde quickly scaled the wooden cargo crates to stand tall and launch out the white disc to attach itself to the back of the villain’s armor.

“Twelve million volts!” Kaminari shouted out, his hands extended into finger guns to guide the electricity right towards its intended target. He could see additional currents going towards the disc, thankful that Raiden was able to lock onto the target even with the upgraded glasses.

The villain cried out as their suit was hit with the electricity and each of the pro heroes couldn’t help but smile as the seemingly impenetrable silver suit began to crack beneath golden sparks.

“All yours, Red, GZ!” Kaminari called as the flow of electricity died down, the other two pros jumping into the villain’s space to break him down further so an arrest could be made.

He climbed back down off of the cargo stack, jumping the last meter to land on his feet beside the younger boy still vibrating with excitement. Dusting his hands off on his pants, he smirked.

“You did great, kid.”

Raiden’s face split into a wide grin. “This is seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever done! I know I didn’t really, like, do much battle-wise but I just helped take down a villain! With you! Seeing you in action and-and-and being able to fight alongside you is… it’s insane!”

Kaminari smiled fondly at the boy in front of him, his chest feeling warm at seeing him so happy.

“I’m glad you came to help,” he said honestly when the boy’s excited rambling ended. “You said… earlier you said you came to prevent my hero career from ending. If I had gone for the fifteen million on my own, what would’ve happened?”

“Well, you would’ve short circuited,” Raiden began cautiously. “But going too far over your limit so fast caused permanent damage to the point where mom told me that you were in the hospital for a week with the effects of short circuiting. She always said that it was the worst week of her life because I guess before you would give like a thumbs up? Like, saying you were okay, she said, but that week, you barely moved. She stayed with you and you babbled and cried… she only talked about it a few times.”

Kaminari felt sick to his stomach imagining the effects going for that long. When it happened, he was stuck in his head and couldn’t really speak, only able to gesture and give vague noises to indicate that he was alright or if he needed something. For an hour, it could be funny for his friends and family and even he got a good laugh hearing about his own antics, but God, an entire week?

“After a week you were able to speak and get back to normal, kind of,” Raiden went on. “Mom told me she cried for the first time during the whole situation when the doctors came in to tell you that you’d overdone it so badly that you’d caused permanent damage to your brain and… and your quirk. The memory loss was hard on you because a lot of it was so scattered. You’d remember a specific English lesson from UA but have no idea where you went on your first date with mom-“

Their first date was at a shitty American diner he had frequented during his middle school days in Saitama Prefecture. His shirt had been green, and hers was purple.

“-and as far as your quirk, you can only do five hundred thousand volts as of my time. That forced you into early retirement from hero work. You still did okay, though, because you started teaching at UA; took over literature from Cementoss and I know firsthand that you’re tough when you grade papers.”

“Wow,” Kaminari breathed. “Were… were any of the other pros from tonight injured too?” He spared a glance behind the cargo to see the police beginning to step in to make an arrest and the girls begin to give their statements from being the first ones on the scene.

Raiden shook his head. “No. Uncle Kat and Uncle Ei took out the villain and mom and Aunt Mina went right to you to make sure you were okay. For a long time, though, Uncle Kat blamed himself because he told you to go to fifteen in the first place. You never blamed him, of course, but I think he still carries some guilt about it.”

‘Knowing Bakugo, he probably does,’ Kaminari thought.

“I’m just happy I was able to change how tonight went down,” Raiden admitted, allowing them both a comfortable silence after he spoke.

“You mentioned your aunt earlier,” Kaminari remarked, surveying the remains of the warehouse. “If she says you shouldn’t meddle with time, I guess that means time travel or something like it is her quirk, right? But she wouldn’t help you come, so who did you get to bring you here?”

Raiden chuckled. “Auntie passed on a version of her quirk to her daughter. She and I are close just like you and her dad are. It’s cool I got to meet young him tonight too. Kinda weird to see him without the undercut and earrings, though.”

Kaminari nearly broke his neck turning to look at him. “Kirishima or Bakugo?! Dude, I gotta know!”

“You’ll find out,” Raiden laughed.

“Man, either Bakubro or Kiri land a lady with a time quirk, who’d have thought,” he mused, shaking his head when he realized how wild the future would be. “So, is your, uh, cousin around here somewhere too? Or did she, like, throw you into a portal or something?”

“Not exactly. Her quirk is called Savepoint, and basically it allows her to transport someone to the same location they were in on a certain date, but the dates can get confusing because the savepoints aren’t intuitive to her, so she has to pick a date and she’ll get to the closest savepoint from there.”

“Honestly, my brain hurts just trying to understand that,” Kaminari admitted. “Do you go back to the savepoint to go back to your timeline too?”

“Yeah, when I touch that wall over there, I’m outta here.” He hesitated for a moment before adding in a murmur, “I’m actually a little scared to go back.”

Kaminari cocked his head as they began to walk towards the wall. “Why? You saved me, I’m not gonna be your lit teacher anymore.”

“It was never about you being my lit teacher. You had to give up your dream of being a pro hero after less than two years on the job, and mom couldn’t make herself continue working as a hero when you couldn’t. I just wanted to stop the pain and the guilt you both felt. Neither of you deserved what happened to your careers and everything that came after: the nightmares you still have, the eviction notices that mom hid from you… you didn’t deserve any of it. I love both you and mom for everything you’ve done for our family and make no mistake that we’ve turned out alright back in my time, but you both deserve the happiness of living your dreams just like I’m starting to.”

Kaminari laid a hand on his shoulder, hesitating for only a moment before bringing the boy into his arms and squeezing tightly. “I don’t know how I landed an awesome as fuck son but ohmygod is future me lucky as shit.”

Raiden laughed breathily against his shoulder. “Mom is gonna be pissed you cursed around me.”

“She’ll be pissed you cursed too,” Kaminari chuckled as they released one another. “Keep the secret?”

“You bet,” Raiden nodded, beginning to walk towards the wall he had indicated earlier. He turned back one last time. “I’m happy I got to see you in action, doing what you loved. I hope when I get back that I see more of the same… dad.”

Kaminari smiled, then as the boy turned back to the wall and extended a hand, a thought occurred to him and he shouted out, “WAIT!”

Raiden jumped, startled, and turned back in confusion.

“You said that her quirk takes you back to a location you were previously in. So, you had to have been here already!”

With a mischievous grin Kaminari was sure his own mother had already seen countless times, Raiden called back, “You’ll meet me later this year!” and slammed his hand against the wall. With a quick flash of light, he was gone.

As tired as he was, and as warm as his girlfriend was against him, Kaminari couldn’t sleep. His mind was too preoccupied trying to process everything from the last six hours.

“You’ll meet me later this year!”

That stuck out to him the most. He would have a kid within the calendar year? Possible, sure, it was only mid-January, but he wasn’t married or even engaged. He loved his girlfriend more than anything, but they’d only gotten together about two years prior. Realistically he knew that part didn’t really mean anything, but he had always cared a little too much about what others would think of his circumstances. But also, where was...?

His eyes widened and if he wasn’t frozen in horror, he would have lifted the covers to look at his pajama-clad lap.

“Stop shifting so much,” he heard his girlfriend grumble beside him, elbowing him in the ribs without force.

“Sorry,” he chuckled sheepishly, tightening his hold around her waist.

“Y’should be. You’re not the one who got sent flying into a wall on the first strike.”

Kaminari hummed. “Yeah… I got pretty lucky damage-wise.”

“Well my back’s killing me,” she pouted. “More than it already has been lately, at least, so it’d be appreciated if you could stay still. Or if you’re really desperate to move, gimme a massage.”

“Oh, I’m always happy to give a massage, babe,” he said with a grin, straddling the backs of her thighs when she completely rolled over onto her stomach.

“I’m too tired for that tonight, Denki, just get those hands moving.”

“Yes ma’am!”

He began kneading her shoulders, his intent to gradually make his way further down her back as he usually did. Before he could really start, she turned to look back at him.

“Can you do more on my lower back? That’s what’s been giving me trouble the past week or so. Getting slammed back into that wall earlier tonight definitely didn’t help. Feels like really shitty cramps at this point almost.”

Kaminari froze, his hands stilling to rest on the small of her back.

Wall. Back pain. Cramps?

He never hit the wall that served as the savepoint. He hadn’t even come close to touching it. When Raiden had used it to return to his own time, he had been only a meter or two away, but that was the closest he had been.

“You good, babe?” she asked when he hadn’t moved for a moment.

He took in a breath, shakily exhaling it before he spoke. “Speaking of cramps… when- when exactly is your period supposed to start next?”

“Dunno. Have to check my app,” she replied, shuffling over to her right and reaching out to grab her phone from the night table. Tapping quickly, she toggled between screens until she was on the proper app and studied it.

He considered passing out for a brief moment because of the anticipation. For once, something other than electricity was causing his veins to buzz beneath his skin.

She turned back to him once more, her voice soft as she asked, “Will you short circuit if I tell you that I’m nine days late?”

Kaminari surprised himself when he realized that no, he wasn’t going to short circuit. He wasn’t going to puke or faint or run, either.

He grinned, bending forward to wrap his arms around her waist as his forearms supported his weight over her. His chin hooked over her shoulder and his cheek pressed warmly against her own.

“Nah, I’m gonna tell you that I’m so fuckin’ in love with you, and that Raiden is a badass name for a kid.”

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