A/N: So this is a prequel, if you like, to The Keldabe Kiss. I fell in love with this AU so much I had to write more. There will be more chapters and they will be my Tech Tuesday contribution đ„° big thank you to @acourtofsnakes for letting me sound off about this fic!
Prefer AO3? I got you.
Warnings: 18+ written from reader pov but the Batch give her a nickname eventually. Mentions of blood, torture, slavery, nightmares, panic attacks, abuse, death, canon violence, illness and incorrect medical terms (Iâm no medic), angst, fluff, comfort, found family.
Pairing: Tech x F!Reader (Stitch)
Chapter 1: Rescue
Chapter 2: Ord Mantell
Chapter 3: Negotiation
Chapter 4: Escape
Chapter 5: The Risk
Chapter 6: First Light
Chapter 7: Purrgil
Chapter 8: Medcentre
Chapter 9: Secrets (coming soon!)
Chapter 10: Arrival
Chapter 11: Fractured
Chapter 12: Recovery
Chapter 13: Papa
Chapter 14: Maridun
Chapter 15: Butterflies
Chapter 16: Faster
Chapter 17: Revelations
Suzanne Collinâs just said fuck you to everyone whoâs ever critiqued the Hunger Games as being a âteen girl saves the dayâ story. She said oh, Mockingjay didnât make it clear enough? Hereâs a book about how people have been rebelling for decades only to have their efforts suppressed and propagandized. Rebellion takes time and it takes failure and Katniss may have been the spark that ignited the wildfire but she did so standing atop the doused flames of everyone who came before her.
All of the fics from the Clone xReader Gift Exchange are up! If you missed some of the amazing fics written for this event, here is a list of them!! They are organized by character and are in alphabetical order by title.Â
If you liked a story, consider reblogging it! Reblogs are a great way to show appreciation for an authorâs work. reblogs to signal boost this list are greatly appreciated as well.
NSFW fics are strictly 18+ and are marked as such.Â
Across the Stars by @wanderer-six (NSFW)
Somewhere to Start by @cioneo
The Way You Look Tonight by @miseries-mistress
Untitled by @mayonnaisepudding
Always by @writing-positivelyexisting
i told you not to follow me by @burningfieldof-clover
Sunshine by @moonlight-sonata99
Untitled by @techs-ass
donât you know by @221bshrlocked (NSFW)
enough for you by @miaowshacat
Heart Made of Flesh by @dragonrider9905
Just in Time by @pizza-writes
Meeting the Family by @haven-is-happy
Not Just For Show by @ghostofskywalker
By Your Side Tonight by @toomanybandstocare
Challenge Accepted by @of-stardust-and-dreams
Open Your Eyes by @tecker
Crescendo by @wizardofrozz
Insidious Visions by @agenteliix
Let the Sun In by @exxasperatedauthor
The Escape by @chicknstripz
A Match Made in a Classroom by @melliejellybellybean
Begonias by @diviluscorner
Bleed For Love by anonymous (hosted on @staycalmandhugaclone)
Don't Be Afraid by @echos-girlfriend
Growing Into Love by @ladysongmaster
Jealous by @knightprincess
Personal Tastes by @l-lend
The Force Works in Mysterious Ways by @staycalmandhugaclone (NSFW)
Yours & Mine by @embeanwrites
Falling For You by @masterjedilenawrites
Born For This by @arctrooper69
Lucky by @snippy-tano
i remember... by @221bshrlocked (NSFW)
Into the Forest I Go by @fives-lover
it's always been you by @obixwan
It's Gonna be Fine? by @loving-the-cambridges
Just This Once, Everybody Lives by @l-lend
Precious Soul by @wizardmando
Slowly But Surely by @ghostofskywalker
This New Reality by @angelltheninth
Circumstance by @captainpains
Jogan Rolls For Two by @theunderscorekinginyellow (NSFW)
Logical by @photogirl894
Pretty Boy by @manofworm
Don't Let Me Go by @rainydaydream-gal18
Fine Line by @homie-one-kenobi
Pack Mentality by @corona-one
I Like You a Lot by @imarvelatthestars
lilac - chapter 3
miguel oâhara x f!reader
summary: your boyfriend doesnât have the time anymore. good thing both miguel oâhara and spiderman do.
wc: 5.2k
tags/warnings: domestic dispute, unhappy relationship, pining, mentions of kidnapping, mentions of violence, allusions to suicide, mentions of strip clubs
authorâs note: got a lil carried away with my emotions for this one ngl
Your pink pen pressed harshly down on the science quiz you were grading, smearing a pit of the sparkly ink as the searing noise of an electric guitar being tuned submerged your little apartment from the floors to the ceilings. You glared up from beneath your brows, a predator chained just inches from her prey, as Ferris and his band of four barked and howled between themselves in your living room. From your perch at the tiny dining table, you watched them, your knuckles paling around your pen. They had moved the furniture around to make room for their equipment, shoved your couch, your armchair, your coffee table - fuck, even your television stand - against the walls so that they could spread out and practice for a gig the drummer had managed to score; probably by going down on the manager of the place, but youâd never say that out loud.
Unless they provoked you - which, with every ticking, prolonged minute that passed, you were getting closer and closer to your inclined tipping point.
Sniffing quietly, you shook your head and tried to go back to grading your quizzes. So far, your class had done a fairly good job. A few percentages below eighty, but not many. No matter what score they got, however, you were sure to place a sticker on the corner of the page. Of course, as you had expected, Gabriella OâHaraâs score was a perfect hundred. A small smile graced the corner of your lips. She was a bright kid, youâd give her that. While she needed a little extra help in mathematics from time to time, she practically excelled in every other subject. You scribbled out a little note praising her for a job well done before beginning to move on to your other papers.
From the living room, another glass-shattering, skin-crawling shriek was raised from Ferrisâ guitar. You twitched in your seat, subtly raising your eyes to watch the band. Your boyfriend was downing his second beer of the day, despite it being barely eleven in the morning, and he had his feet propped up on some chickâs - the new keyboard player, because the last one stormed out of the group after realizing what a bunch of asswipes they were - and idly strummed a lazy medley on the taut strings of his guitar. It was hooked up to the speaker, so every note that he twanged out was amplified tenfold.
Downstairs, your neighbor knocked against their ceiling with a broom. Telling you all to shut the fuck up, no doubt.
Taking a deep breath, you put on your best smile - which looked more like a grimace, actually - and cleared your throat. âBabe,â you said tightly, drawing Ferrisâ attention away from the keyboard player. He regarded you with a roll of his head and hand on the strings to stop the vibrations. âMaybe itâs time to pack it up. Youâve beenâŠâ You hesitated. âPracticing for almost two hours now. Why donât you save some of the music for the paying customers tomorrow instead of the neighbors?â
To your chagrin, like he was dumping fuel across the little flame that had flickered to life in your chest, he shrugged a shoulder and went back to his guitar and the girl across from him. âWeâll leave when weâre done,â he replied nonchalantly, eyes never meeting yours again. âStill got some more songs to run through.â
âYeah,â you scoffed and went back to your work. âYou look real fucking busy.â
âIf youâre so tired of listening to us,â your boyfriend snapped suddenly, âwhy donât you find somewhere else to go? This is my place too, you know.â He exhaled a venomous sigh and downed another swig from his bottle. âAlways on my ass.â
By now, the rest of the apartment had gone silent. The other band members glanced between the pair of you, movements suddenly stiff with tension they had no idea how to release. It felt like no matter what they did, it would light the fuse on either one of you.
Feeling your cheeks heat and your palms become sticky with embarrassment, you swallowed thick and nodded your head slowly. Then you stood, began to gather your papers, and stuffed them into your purse.
âHey,â said the bandâs drummer, a pudgy guy with thick lenses that had, actually, always been nice to you despite their leaderâs obvious intentions, âif you need us to clear out, we can. We can find another place to set up where weâre not bothering you.â
You released a short huff, sounding more akin to a snarl than anything else. It seemed your judgment in men really was shit; youâd chosen the wrong fucking band member. âThatâs okay,â you spat as you tugged on your shoes and checked that you had your keys. The drummerâs face flashed with guilt and you felt bad for a moment, but then your eyes flickered to where Ferris had wandered into the kitchen to fetch himself another drink. Like a raging wildfire, the flames in your ribcage roared and seared your insides, making them feel like youâd implode upon yourself if you stayed here - in your own damn home - any longer. âIâll go somewhere else.â
With that you exited your apartment and slammed the door behind you, not stopping your frantic escape from Ferrisâ snarls and rolling eyes until you hit the street down below. Before you on the road, traffic moved at a sluggish pace. Horns blared and street lights flickered. Shop fronts gleamed in the sunlight and bells over doors jingled. As you took a long, deep inhale that granted your lungs a wave of fresh air and your eyes with a certain wetness in the corners, you realized your crumbling relationship with your boyfriend was such a trivial little thing in this city. Nothing was going to stop, halt in its tracks, just because your world was falling apart.
Life went on. There was nothing you could do to stop that.
Plopping yourself down on the bus stop bench, you placed your head in your hands and tried to keep yourself from crying anymore. You couldnât let anyone else see you cry, because what if they did, and they turned out to be like Ferris? Told you that you were being dramatic, that you needed to pull yourself together and be a girl? Fuck, you didnât think you could handle someone else telling you that. You didnât need anyone else against you; it already felt like the entire world was.
What you needed, desperately, terribly, pleadingly, was someone else in your corner.
In your pocket, your phone chimed with an incoming text. Wiping away the tears sitting heavy against your lids, you pulled it out. It was an unknown number; your cyber security app had blurred the message, waiting until you accepted to see it. You swiped on the blurred screen, then clicked open the message.
Hi, itâs Miguel OâHara. I hate to cross any lines here, but Gabriella is having a hard time understanding the homework assigned for this weekend. I tried to help, but itâs beyond me. Some sorry excuse for a geneticist I am, right? Anyway, I was texting to ask if youâd be able to meet us somewhere today and help Bri. I was thinking the public library? Weâre going to be headed to the park afterward for soccer practice⊠youâre welcome to come along. Sheâs eager to show you a new trick she learned yesterday. Again, excuse my forwardness. We understand if youâre not available. :)
You sniffled slightly, rereading the text over and over again, trying to stuff down the fluttering feeling arising past the flames inside you. Your head snapped up and you were on your feet in less than a moment, hailing the first taxi that passed you. When you climbed inside, the driver asked you where to.
âThe public library,â you said, and managed a smile at him in the mirror.
Half an hour later, you sat at a desk in the middle of the study section of the New York Public Library, already having drawn out fresh sketches and examples of the mathematics homework you had assigned for this weekend. Your foot bounced with anticipation under the table, and you found yourself constantly glancing over your shoulder at the wide, arched doorway that let into the private section.
Youâd tutored students outside of class before, so you shouldnât have been so excited. Youâd met with them in diners and cheap restaurants, outdoor pavilions when the weather allowed, hell - youâd even sat with them outside their cramped apartment buildings on overturned milk crates and used cardboard as a back for the worksheets while their parents were busy working three jobs and balancing five other kids on their hips at the same time. You werenât one to judge; you knew how hard it was out here for some people. You were a teacher; it was your job to love and nurture and teach your kids, no matter who they were or where they came from.
So you shouldnât have been this excited to tutor one of your students. Even if she did have a smoking hot dad.
Small, quick-paced footsteps - like thunderclaps along the ground in the nearly-silent room - pricked your ears and turned your attention to the doorway. A wide, easy grin broke across your lips as you spied Gabriella breaking away from her fatherâs side to rush toward you and your table. In her arms she carried a wrapped bouquet of flowers. When she reached where you had risen from your seat, she pressed her face into your belly in lieu of a hug.
âHi, Miss Y/N,â she said, rather loudly, then presented the flowers like they were sterling silver encrusted with diamonds and jewels unimaginable. An ear-to-ear smile stretched from one of her ears to the other. âThese are for you.â
Miguel arrived behind her, a backpack slung over his shoulder and a gentle grin of greeting gracing his beautiful face. He tilted his head at you for a moment, then ruffled his daughterâs hair and said, âWhat are they for?â
âA thank you,â Gabriella rushed to say as you accepted the bouquet. âFor coming to help me.â
You tried to squash the butterflies that fluttered through your stomach when he smiled at you, instead pushing your focus to the flowers clutched to your chest. They were fresh blooms, a collection filled with pinks and purples and a few yellows here and there. âWell, thank you so much, sweetheart,â you said as she rounded the table to go and sit by her father. âTheyâre beautiful.â You took your seat again and carefully set the gift beside your purse. âAnd you donât have to thank me. I was already out today anyhow, so it wasnât any trouble.â
âReally?â said Miguel. He pulled the bag from over his shoulder and gave it to Gabriella for her to begin pulling her schoolwork out. He quirked one of his thick brows, his sad-looking eyes meeting yours. Jolts of excitement, and pleasure, and adoration went sprawling down your spine all at once, like back to back shocks of raw, untamed electricity. âI figured you would have been staying in during a tourist weekend like this.â
You wanted so badly to tell him just what you were doing out, why you werenât at home enjoying your two days of free time between your two jobs - one that required every bit of your soul and heart during the day, and another that required every bit of your body during the night. You wanted horrendously to confide in him the troubles plaguing you like an illness only he could cure you from, wanted him to secure those thick, sinewy arms of his around your form and hold you tight, assure you in that husky tone that everything would be alright.
But instead, all you said was, âCanât let tourists drive us locals from our stomping grounds, can we, Mister OâHara?â
The corner of his mouth quirked upwards, his eyes stuck upon your form even after youâd pulled your attention to the worksheet Gabriella had pulled out.
For a long while, the three of you sat at that table in the library. You taught Gabriella the maths lesson over again as many times as she needed it, helped her with the more challenging problems on the worksheet, then made up a few on the spot to give her for the extra practice. You even tilted around your textbook so that Miguel could see it and gave him a rundown of the next few lessons so that he could help her the following week, should she need it.
It was perhaps an hour or so later when you sat back in your chair, watching as your student set to work on the few practice problems youâd given her. You shut your eyes for a moment, exhaling a long breath, and allowing your brain to shut off for a moment. Youâd succeeding in getting Ferris and his stupid, stubborn fucking attitude off your mind for a time, but now you were faced with the realization that sometime today, youâd have to go back home. Youâd have to see him again, most likely get into another argument that would lead to one of you sleeping on the couch the next couple evenings.
Most likely you.
âHow are you doing?â came Miguelâs voice from across the table.
You thought for a moment he was speaking to his daughter, looking over her work, but when no reply came, you opened your eyes and realized he was talking to you. You blinked a few times, watching as he smirked kindly and crossed his arms over the table. Fuck, he was so easy to look at. He was wearing a t-shirt against the sunny day today, giving you a generous view of the muscles in his arms. They sloped down to his elbows, and further still to wrists wrapped in Gabriella-made friendship bracelets, to large, wide hands that were callused at the fingers and bruised at the knuckles. You wondered briefly if he boxed during his workouts.
Sliding your hand up your face, you gave him a tired smile that didnât quite reach your eyes. Despite only speaking to one another a few minutes every time at pick up and drop off, you felt you could talk to him better than even the girls at your nighttime job. âIâm alright,â you said, then added, âJust⊠tired, is all. Lots on my plate right now. Work, stuff at home, the whole âmasked vigilante swinging around the cityâ thing. Well⊠you know how it is.â
It was not the last detail that seemed to faze him. It was the second. âIs everything okay?â he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, like that of a curious puppy. The lines beneath his eyes deepened a bit, the untamed hair atop his head slipped to his temple. âSorry if Iâm overstepping a boundary, or anything like that. I just -â
âNo, youâre alright.â You reached out to finger at a petal on one of the flowers in the bouquet, fondly brushing the delicate thing as if it would disintegrate if you handled it any rougher. His eyes followed your movements deftly. âAnd, everythingâs⊠okay. Sort of⊠okay.â You sighed and pulled away from the flower, instead opting to rub at your temples. âJust drives me out sometimes, you know? Everything⊠happening in those walls. Sometimes it gets too much.â
âYouâre never out on the streets, are you?â Suddenly his gaze had turned serious and stony, his mouth set into a hard line across his chiseled expression.
You swallowed thick, feeling the dropped baritone of his voice hit the bottom of your belly and head south to your core. You shifted slightly in your seat, crossing your legs over one another to mask the subtle movement. âNo, never.â Forcing yourself to chuckle, you dropped a hand to the desk. âYou donât have to worry about me, Mister OâHara. Iâm just fine.â
Before you realized what was happening, Miguel had reached out to brush his long, thick fingers over your knuckles. Your skin was suddenly alight with a blaze you didnât even know existed. He leaned forward slightly across the table, lowering his voice so that only you heard it in the cage between your ribs. âItâs alright to ask for help, you know,â he murmured quietly. You were caught in his gaze, unable to pull yourself away. âIf you ever need something, some place to stay⊠our door is open.â
Your tongue had ceased its ability to work, your heart its ability to beat properly. You could only stare at him, wide-eyed, as he settled back in his chair. Miguel OâHara had just offered you his home. Fuck - he knew. He had to have known. Maybe he could see it in your eyes, hear it in your voice when you whispered; maybe it trembled too much. Or maybe he could just sense it, feel it from the bottomless pit in your soul screaming out for someone to pull it back into the daylight.
Just when you trusted yourself to speak again, both your and Miguelâs phones alerted at the same time. Across the study section, other devices went off, as well. Simultaneously, you pulled out your cells and read the messages scrawled across the screens.
âJesus,â you muttered upon scanning the message. A kidnapping had just taken place not a block from the library. Car details and plate numbers were attached, along with an urging for anyone with information to call the authorities. âThis city gets worse every day.â
Miguel glanced up at your words, hesitated, then looked down at Gabriella. She was still busy with her work, tongue stuck out gently between her pink lips. You sensed him tense from across the table.
â...Miguel?â you asked, tentative to use his first name. âIs everything okay?â
After a short, brief moment, he seemed to make up his mind about something. He stood from his chair so abruptly that it squealed softly against the tile floor, throwing the backpack over his shoulder and rounding the table. âExcuse me just a second,â he said, already heading toward the doorway. âI have to make a call. Ten minutes, tops.â Then he was gone, jogging too quickly and hurriedly to be making a phone call - or so you thought. You wanted direly to follow him, see what he was doing, but you couldnât. You had your student to take care of.
Inhaling shortly, you turned to Gabriella only to find her staring at the doorway her father had disappeared through. You were quick to find something to change the subject. âThese flowers are so pretty,â you told her and nudged the bouquet slightly. She met your eyes, your gentle smile, and it seemed Miguelâs sudden absence was wiped from her mind. So was the inner workings of a nine year old.
âI got to pick them out,â she said proudly, then went back to her worksheet. âBut it was Daddyâs idea to get them for you.â
Your heart skipped a beat in your chest. You did your best to maintain your smile, trying not to grasp at your chest and stop the oncoming heart attack making its way through your systems. It had been Miguel to get the flowers? âYeah?â you said in a small voice.
Oblivious to your strained tone and the excited bouncing of your leg under the table, the little girl nodded and hummed. âUh-huh. He like-likes you. He told me so.â
Holy fucking goddamn son of a bitch.
You cleared your throat because you knew if you talked about this any longer, you would explode into a little cloud of confetti. Then youâd never even get to see him again, look at him in this new light because fuck, was it a new light. It was a new light you could dance under, twirl and sing and jump under, because no one was going to judge you anymore, and even better, now you could invite him to be under it with you. And you knew you just might have a chance of him saying yes.
And fuck, what a dance that would be.
âAre you excited for the field trip to Alchemax on Tuesday?â you asked her, recalling the months it had taken Washington Elementaryâs principal to get permission to bring classes there. She had insisted it was an important place for them to visit, considering all the work they were doing as of late. You guessed your suggestion for a trip to the zoo had been vetoed. âYour dad works there. Maybe weâll see him. You can brag to all your friends that heâs a fancy scientist.â
âMaybe,â she said, scratching out a wrong answer on her paper. âHe works on the seventh floor. Iâve seen his work badge thing. We probably wonât be able to go up there.â
âHereâs hoping we can,â you said to yourself beneath your breath.
Ten minutes passed since Miguelâs sudden disappearance, and then another. Thirty minutes was just approaching, as was the beginnings of sundown, before you sensed him approaching you from behind. Turning in your chair, the first thing you noticed was that he was out of breath, sweating at his temples and down his neck slightly. God, he looked good like that. But then your rational side kicked in. Had he been running somewhere?
âI think thatâs enough homework for today,â he said as he reached the table and ruffled Gabriellaâs hair again. She batted his hand away, but nonetheless began to pack up her things. As she did so, he switched his gaze to yours, tilting his head in that way he did. âWeâre going to head to the park, kick a ball around for a while. Youâre welcome to join us, if you like.â
Numbly, because now that you knew he not only liked you, but like-liked you, you heard yourself accept and follow them out the doors of the library and onto the street. The deep purple sky felt a bit brighter than before, and the steps you took together, side by side, seemed a little closer than necessary. The sidewalks were cramped, sure, but not enough so that your hands needed to brush every few seconds. Not enough so that your shoulders bumped when you stepped off curbs to cross roads.
The park was quiet this time of day, occupied only by a few elderly couples leaning against walking canes and teenagers out past their curfews sprawled out on benches making out like they knew they were going to die tomorrow.
How long had it been since you had kissed Ferris? The saddest part of you knew that you couldnât recall.
For hours, you sat on the sweet-smelling grass of the parkâs lawn and watched Miguel and Gabriella scrimmage, kicking around a ball worn by years of scuff marks and green stains from fields. The breeze blew their matching hair this way and that, the dying sunlight illuminated their identical smiles as they round about one another in only a way a parent and a child could know one another. You cheered when either scored a goal. You laughed when they called one another names. And when they urged you to come join, even though the night was throwing itself over the sky and the stars were beginning to wink down at the park, you got to your feet and played.
You realized, through your aching laughter and the grass stains on your knees, that you hadnât been this happy in a very, very long time.
That night, after you had wished Miguel and Gabriella a goodnight and walked home, after you had found Ferris crashed out in bed and the dishes still in the fucking sink, you found yourself sitting on the rooftop of your apartment building. It wasnât quite silent up here, not with the helicopter chopping in the distance, or the occasional honk of a car down below, or the dog barking three stories down, but it was better than facing the quiet of your own home. You knew you would go mad in between those damned four walls, listening to your boyfriend snore and the clock in the kitchen tick and the floorboard creak when you walked to the bathroom.
You couldnât face the quiet, not after the wonderful, deafening, blaring joy of this afternoon.
You let your legs dangle off the edge of the rooftop, sitting back on your hands and staring at the glaring screen of your phone. Your thumb ached slightly from scrolling through anything and everything you could find to keep yourself distracted. The newest clean energy replacement from Alchemax. The latest from politics. The child that had been kidnapped this afternoon, now home and safe, thanks to Spiderman snatching the kid from the backseat before plowing the speeding car with the kidnapper into a metal gate.
There came the soft, muted noise of a weight landing on the power box on the rooftop behind you, and you whipped around to find a familiar - but no less startling - red and blue figure sitting perched on the metal edge. Spiderman tilted his head at you, balanced on the balls of his feet despite the hulking frame of his muscles.
âJust came to check up on you after the other day,â he said through the mask. His eye lenses moved as his eyes roamed your figure. âDidnât know you were this far gone.â
Clicking your phone off anxiously, feeling your heart thunder in your ears, you gave a little laugh and looked down at the drop beneath your feet. âI think if I was ready to end it,â you joked in return, âIâd go for something a little less traumatizing for pedestrians.â
Spiderman was still for a moment. Then he extended his wrist, and a string of web shot across the rooftop to stick to the space on the lip beside you. He used it to yank himself across the tarmac of the roof, landing again on the balls of his feet on the edge. He shifted himself, resting his forearms overink his thighs, and turned his masked gaze to the city before you both. Golden lights twinkled from skyscrapers and apartments and office buildings, creating a constellation of life between windows. The night air was crisper up here - as crisp as it could get, what with the smog from arsonist fires and churning factories and gas emissions - and the stars seemed to shine just a touch brighter.
âSo⊠how are you doing?â the vigilante asked, keeping his gaze on New York. âAfter the robbery, I mean. Something like that, it can⊠stay with you.â
There came a fluttering in your heart. But rather than express such a sensation, because you had every right to be wary about giving yourself away anymore, you said, âIt wouldnât be the first thing like that to happen to me. And Iâm sure it wonât be the last.â You lifted a hand to the star-lit city, crowded to the rim with life and hatred and love. âWeâre in New York. What more can you expect from a city like this?â
For a long while, neither of you said anything more. It was strange being so close to the man everyone had been talking about for the couple weeks heâd been active - so close you could lean right over and pull that mask off. But you kept your distance.
Spiderman took a breath and said, âCouldnât sleep?â
You shrugged a shoulder. âAs if I typically sleep at this time anyway.â Then you turned to face him again, locking your ankles together over the edge of the rooftop. The breeze swayed your hair back and forth, like you were suspended underwater. The tension in your lungs certainly felt that way. âDid you enjoy the show the other night?â
He was still for a moment. For two. Then he met your gaze through his mask, his eye lenses narrowing. Even through the cover that hid his face, the heat of his eyes scorched holes through you. âWhat do you mean?â he asked.
Feeling slightly bolder than you had a moment ago, you lolled your head at him. âYou know what I mean.â You sniffed, leaning back on your hands. âDid you follow me? Or was it just a coincidence that Spiderman showed up to my club the day he saved my ass?â
âI donât know what you mean.â
â...Sure.â You felt a flutter of embarrassment within you, of doubt and guilt. What if that hadnât been Spiderman that night at The Menagerie? What if it was some other guy, with some other scar on his collarbone, and you had gotten it all wrong? Despite your sudden worry, you refused to let your confidence waver. âSo⊠do you make it a habit of checking up on every person you help?â
For the first time, you watched and listened as he cracked a smile and chuckled. The lenses over his eyes narrowed as his cheeks rose and his mouth spread into a smirk. You watched the bit of mask over his lips stretch. âYou got me there,â he drawled in that low, husky tone of his that made you cross your legs a bit tighter, squeeze your thighs tighter. âJust⊠couldnât really get you off my mind. Youâve got courage, saying no to that guy. Thatâs admirable.â
You felt your cheeks flush. Spiderman? Calling you brave? What an ironic sense of humor the universe had.
âI guess someone has to stand up and say no,â you murmured into the breeze.
âYeah. Someone has to.â
Moments turned into seconds, and those turned into minutes. You almost wished you could stay like this forever; here, on the rooftop with Spiderman, with the breeze rustling your hair and the car horns beeping and the rest of the world forgotten.
But all too soon, it was over.
Spiderman rose to his full height in a seamless transition, turning his head to face the street away from you. âShould get back now,â he said, then switched his gaze down to you. You wondered, behind that mask, what color his eyes were. âSure youâre not going to jump?â
You felt yourself smile. âPromise, Spiderman.â You watched as he nodded his head, then prepared to catapult himself off the building and swing onto the next one. Before he could, however, you called out. âAnd hey,â you said, drawing his attention, âif you ever drop by the club again, ask for the Monarch.â
He stared at you for the longest moment. Then he turned, stepped off the lip of the rooftop, and disappeared.
You didnât bother leaning over, watching him spring a web from his wrist to flip through the air and parade down the street above the cars and streetlights. Instead you looked back to the cityâs skyline far above yourself, silhouettes of buildings framed by a rich violet horizon.
Perhaps one day, you would see what it looked like without all this smog and the army of dark clouds hanging over it.
But for now, you were content with watching it darken until it was nothing but black and purple.
tags: @mooomeadows @twentysomethingwereyote @screamforyani @fangirlreice7 @axdjelx @ornamentalnecromancy @faust-pda @ilikethemoon28 @mrm-pachypoda @wadafrick @natthernandez @bakgoktski @soupsexsunsalutationsss @roxannarichie @lovagirlxxx @soggyeyeballsss @yoyoyoyoyo55555 @sophipet @quantii @lavnderluv @cookiezxx @euphorica @its-a-polyglot @nicalysm @maxi-ride @exzidss @crappwr0m @femme-is-dead
(strike through means blog could not be tagged)
Happy April Fools 2024
Iâm the black mold in your house giving you insane hallucinations
one of my greatest pet peeves in fiction, and it is truly stupid I know, is that no one seems to understand how genuinely hard it is to kill someone via stabbing. stab wounds have a mortality rate of like 5%. especially abdominal stabbing. tv shows and movies show dudes getting stabbed one time in the lower abdomen with a tiny knife and then they fall over. like what did he die of precisely. that man died of Small Knife
Problems:
I want this story to be written
I donât want this story to be written by anyone but me
I donât want to write this story