Nerd Haven

List of Installments

Part One: "The Night You Met"

Part Two: "The One-Sided Pining"

Part Three: "The Time Daredevil Saved You"

Part Four: "The Night You Almost Kissed"

Part Five: "The Wedding Day"

Part Six: "The Wedding Night"

Part Seven: "The Post-Wedding Brunch"

Part Eight: "The First Date"

Part Nine: "The Pool Game"

Part Ten: "The Growing Insecurity"

Part Eleven: "The Night Together"

Part Twelve: "The Week You Tried to Avoid Matt"

Part Thirteen: "The First Time He Walked You Home"

Part Fourteen: "The Time Matt Got Jealous"

Part Fifteen: "The Vulnerable Side of Matt"

Part Sixteen: "The Time You Saved Daredevil"

Part Seventeen: "The Revelation in the Rain"

Part Eighteen: "The Visit to Fogwell's"

Part Nineteen: "The Time You Almost Told Him"

Part Twenty: "The 'I Told You So'"

Part Twenty-One: "The Time You Did Tell Him"

Part Twenty-Two: "The Night You Couldn't Sleep"

Part Twenty-Three: "The Day of Phone Tag"

Part Twenty-Four: "The Devil and the Baker"

Part Twenty-Five: "The Leather Couch"

Part Twenty-Six: "The Big Win"

Part Twenty-Seven: "The Grocery Run"

Part Twenty-Eight: "The Early Morning Wake Up"

Part Twenty-Nine: "The Questions Over Coffee"

Part Thirty: "The Introduction at Clinton Church"

Part Thirty-One: "The Flight to Chicago"

Part Thirty-Two: "The Night He Couldn't Sleep"

Part Thirty-Three: "The Thanksgiving Dinner"

Part Thirty-Four: "The Ex Encounter"

Part Thirty-Five: "The Very Bad Day"

Part Thirty-Six: "The Cozy Night In"

Part Thirty-Seven: "The Bad Dream"

Part Thirty-Eight: "The Black Suit"

Part Thirty-Nine: "The Secret Santa"

Party Forty: "The Secrets in Your Suitcase"

Party Forty-One: "The First Half of the Trip"

Part Forty-Two: "The Argument in the Hotel Room"

Part Forty-Three: "The End of the Trip"

Part Forty-Four: "The Christmas Eve Party"

Party Forty-Five: "The Christmas Dinner"

Part Forty-Six: "The Night of Christmas"

Part Forty-Seven: "The Devil in Need"

Part Forty-Eight: "The Perfume"

Part Forty-Nine: "The Cemetery Visit"

Part Fifty: "The Interview"

Part Fifty-One: "The Devil's Wrath"

Part Fifty-Two: "The Breaking Point"

Party Fifty-Three: "The Downward Spiral"

Part Fifty-Four: "The Impossible Friendship"

Part Fifty-Five: "The Disheartening Valentine's Day"

Part Fifty-Six: "The Nightmare"

Part Fifty-Seven: "The Rough Conversation"

Part Fifty-Eight: "The Aftermath"

Part Fifty-Nine: "The Necessary Conversation"

Part Sixty: "The Long Awaited Kiss"

Part Sixty-One: "The Things You Didn't Know"

Part Sixty-Two: "The Pinky Promise"

Part Sixty-Three: "The Dinner Party"

Part Sixty-Four: "The Lesson at Fogwell's"

Part Sixty-Five: "The Shower"

Part Sixty-Six: "The Night Out"

Part Sixty-Seven: "The Morning in Bed"

Part Sixty-Eight: "The Sleepover"

Part Sixty-Nine: "The Lunch Date Delay"

Part Seventy: "The Thoughts About the Future"

Part Seventy-One: "The Sleepwalking"

Part Seventy-Two: "The Belated Valentine's"

Part Seventy-Three: "The Easter Sunday"

Part Seventy-Four: "The Boy's Night at Josie's"

Part Seventy-Five: "The Hangover"

Part Seventy-Six: "The Request"

Party Seventy-Seven: "The Very Frustrating Day"

Part Seventy-Eight: "The Night You Cooked Together"

Part Seventy-Nine: "The Hell Day"

Part Eighty: "The Revisitation of Moving In"

Part Eighty-One: "The Nighttime Visit"

Party Eighty-Two: "The Overload"

Part Eighty-Three: "The Really Bad Idea"

Part Eighty-Four: "The Late Night Snack Hunt"

Part Eighty-Five: "The Romantic Voicemails"

Part Eighty-Six: "The Moving Day"

Part Eighty-Seven: "The Week of Distractions"

Part Eighty-Eight: "The Birthday Brunch"

Part Eighty-Nine: "The Stray"

Part Ninety: "The Ring"

Part Ninety-One: "The Helping Hand"

Part Ninety-Two: "The Recurring Nightmare"

Part Ninety-Three: "The Unexpected Introduction"

Part Ninety-Four: "The Offer"

Part Ninety-Five: "The Evening of Insecurity"

Part Ninety-Six: "The Quiet Morning at Home"

🤎𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 by @tomsparkyr. This one made me blush and smile throughout the story. It's also a Tasm! Peter and the story setting is in no way home. This one was cute and fluffy and I love fluffy fics. 🤎secret language by @waitimcomingtoo. This one. I was NOT prepared for the ending. This is an mcu! Peter x mute! reader and the story was just 🤌. This fic made me cry and I LOVED the relationship between the two. 🤎First Word by @nikoruistyping. Omg, this one was also so good. This is an Andrew Garfield fic and it's about him and the reader having a baby. It's all when they were expecting their baby to speak. And when she did the two rejoice and celebrated almost too much and then they look at the baby and she's like 🤨. 🤎 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 by @iloveinej. Cute. That's what I would describe this fic in one word. It's a Steve Rogers fic and the trope would be the one bed trope. Normally, I don't like this trope but THIS ONE is an exception. 🤎Society says by @invisibleanonymousmonsters. I ADORED this. This is also another Steve Rogers fic and this one is for the tall girlies and they don't get enough love in the fanfic world. Don't miss out on this one. 🤎eerie psychic abilities by @mediocre-daydreams. This one was just pure Crack and I LOVE those types of fics. This is mcu! Peter Parker fic and the reader with mind reading abilities. Throughout the whole fic it's just peter trying to hide his alter ego from the reader all the while she already knows and it's just so good. 🤎Lingering by @someplace-darker. This is a Matt Murdock fic and it's filled with soft fluffiness. It was cute and made my heart melt! like it's so perfect just what I needed.

Your heart was racing against your chest, the hours seeming to drag on. After what seemed like a million lifetimes, you finally touched ground in Sokovia. Then, another lifetime passed by, and you found yourself standing in Wanda’s home, Peter and Bucky scurrying around you to set things up. Peter was yelling commands that Bucky did his best to follow. But he didn’t have a clue about what was happening and was just doing his best.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

In your pocket, your phone began to buzz, alerting you of a new notification. You pulled it out, not really paying attention. You looked at the screen, seeing a notification from your home alarm system that someone had entered your apartment.

A frown appeared on your face as you unlocked your phone to see the footage. It took a few seconds longer to load than normal, the reception in the area not that great. But once it loaded, your heart dropped to your stomach. Standing in your room, at the desk where you’d accidentally kept your journal was Doctor Stephen fucking Strange. And after maneuvering the camera to get a better angle of his face, he did not appear very happy. After a second, he grabbed the journal, stuffed it in a pocket, and turned around, his cape billowing around him. With a wave of his hands, a golden-orange portal appeared and he stepped into it.

“Fuck,” you whispered. You looked around the room, more panic beginning to settle inside you. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck,” you repeated, getting louder with every word.

Bucky stopped what he was doing, and rushed towards you. Wanda and Peter looked at you with concern as they paused their previous actions as well.

“What what, what is it?” Bucky asked, hands on your shoulders as he lowered himself to your level.

“Strange,” you simply said.

“What about him?” Wanda asked.

You took deep breaths, attempting to ease the panicked beating of your heart.

“He was in my apartment. He found a journal I’d been keeping,” you said in between breaths.

Wanda’s face twisted into irritation, not at you, but at Strange. Though you could see hints of panic shining in her eyes. Peter on the other hand was not hiding his panic. It was written all over his face and he immediately began pacing around the room. And if you weren’t so terrified yourself, you might make a joke about him pacing a hole into the ground. But it didn’t seem appropriate at the time, nor did the joke even cross your mind.

“So what do we do?” Bucky asked, looking at Wanda, Peter too lost in his mind to be of help at the moment.

“We hurry this up before he stops us,” Wanda said.

“And what, we all cross the universe?” Bucky asked.

Peter began to shake his head, circling back to join the group.

“No, someone has to stay back and keep the portal steady and to also pull Y/N back if needed,” Peter said.

“Oh, I intend to come back, don’t worry,” you said. Bucky looked at you with a single eyebrow raised. “What, I have dinner with Pep, Morgan, and Happy,” you mutter, a defensive tinge in your voice.

Wanda gives you a look of exasperation, snapping you back to the current circumstance. “Right, wizard coming to ruin our plans.”

“There’s no point in running, he could just track us down,” you said. “So, let's just do as Wanda suggested, get this thing going, and then deal with Strange later.”

Everyone in the group nodded, getting to work while Wanda moved to go outside.

“Where are you going?” you asked.

“To put up some protection,” she said, walking out the door. Your eyes followed her figure, moving your position to get a better look. She raised her arms, a red glow emanating from them. She began to float in the air and all was quiet. Then, after a few seconds, a thundering boom echoed in the clearing. You watched as a red aura that shimmered in the light surrounded the property and what looked like giant runes glowing in the invisible walls.

“What the fuck,” you muttered. You were still in a state of awe when Wanda re-entered the property, Bucky and Peter staring at her as well. Wanda simply shrugged, beginning to busy herself with helping Peter.

“What? It’s a protection ward, it’ll buy us time when Strange arrives. But not much, now let's go.”

And just like that, everyone quickly began to work, anticipation and anxiety rising with every second that passed. It was like you were a kid again, sleeping in the dark and imagining every shape and sound to be a monster coming to devour you. Except you weren’t a kid, and there wasn’t a monster, just a royally pissed-off wizard.

Your phone buzzed again. You looked down, seeing Pepper’s name popping up on the screen. Without hesitation you answered the call, pressing the phone to your ear. But before you could utter a word, she began to speak.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, her voice a whisper-shout. You knew that tone, you’d heard it a million times. It was the same one she used when she was about five seconds away from losing her shit.

“What nothing, why would I do anything?” you asked, panicking, and Pepper could hear it in your voice. You could be a convincing liar sometimes, just not to her.

“Then why did a wizard just show up to my house, asking about when I’d seen you last?” she asked, the hysterics in her voice growing as well as the volume.

“I don’t know!” you exclaimed.

“He said you're trying to mess with the multiverse. He showed me your journal where you literally wrote “I’m going to open the multiverse.” I don’t fully know what that is but it sounds bad. Are you crazy!?” she exclaimed, voice no longer the whisper it was when the call first started.

“Well yes, but no. Look Pep, I’ll explain this all later, but right now I need to go--”

“No! You explain this right now!”

There was a loud bang followed by a shockwave that made your whole body vibrate. Wanda lifted one of her curtains, peering through the window.

“Strange is here,” she said.

“I don’t have time, I promise I’ll tell you all about it at dinner on Sunday,” you said.

“Don’t you dare hang up on me Y/N Stark, do you hear--”

You pressed the End Call button, tossing your phone in your pocket as you stood up.

“Peter, how we doing?” you asked. He was tinkering with a few parts, running around a few of the items you’d stolen from your dad’s old lab that Peter deemed necessary.

“Almost got it,” he said.

“Like five seconds or five minutes,” you asked, eyes darting to the front door.

“I don’t know!” he exclaimed, sounding as frazzled as you felt.

Boom.

Another shockwave followed the sound, and this time, the earth shook. Glass fell to the floor, shattering with a piercing sound. You feel to your knees, crawling to one of the walls for protection. Bucky huddled beside you, trying to shield your body from any debris that might fall. Wanda crouched to the ground, using her magic to keep herself protected.

“Peter!” you yelled.

“I'm trying!” he called back.

Boom.

The sound ricocheted off the walls, the ground shaking worse than before. Peter tried to take a step and ended up falling to the ground. He scurried to wrap his arms around the machine he was working with to keep it steady. The air was buzzing, leaving you feeling electrocuted. The hairs on your body stood up, your heart pounding against your chest.

“What is that?” you yelled, trying to hear yourself over the throbbing in your head. All you could hear was radio static.

“Strange is trying to break through my wards,” Wanda said, seemingly unphased by the whole situation.

Another shockwave rippled through the house, more glass shattering on the ground. She muttered a foreign curse word as she began to stand. “That was my favorite cup.”

“Where are you going?” you asked.

“To stall him. Now hurry,” she said. She began to walk across the room. A red light washed over her body, and no longer was Wanda dressed in the casual, comfortable clothes you’d only seen her wear.

Her red hair was wild and wavy, kept away from her face by a scarlet red crown that rested on her forehead. On either side it hugged her cheekbones, coming to a sharp point. The top came up to two points, almost resembling two small devil horns. Cozy sweaters and soft jeans were replaced with a red corset and sturdy black pants that had a stripe of red going down the front. She wore matching red boots that reached just below her knees and scarlet fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows.

You simply stared at her, mouth agape as she strutted across the room, using her magic to fling the door open.

“Let's go, kid,” Bucky said, helping you stand from the ground and pulling you back to reality. The two of you rushed to Peter, helping him stand on his two feet.

Like rabid animals, the two of you began to work. You were terrified, more so than before. Because if this failed, it could turn catastrophic. But not only that, if it didn’t work, you’d have no way to escape Strange’s wrath, and you doubted he’d be merciful.

You glanced out the window, the curtain rods long since falling from their hinges. You watched Wanda, in all her Scarlet Witch glory with a red glow surrounding her body, fly into the sky with her hands at her sides. In the distance you could see Strange, his cloak billowing in the wind.

A flash of light left his hands, crashing into the invisible barrier. The ground shook, another boom echoing, and a shockwave rippling through the house, far stronger than before. The red encasing the property had little cracks forming in it, breaking under the pressure of Strange’s magic.

Then it shattered like glass but it dissipated before reaching the ground. Strange simply walked through where the barrier used to be, almost strutting. His hands formed into two fists that he tapped together two times then held his hands with the palms facing Wanda. Golden-orange circles that were encased with moving runes formed an inch from his hands as he got himself ready for battle. You didn’t know if they exchanged words, you wouldn’t have heard them even if they did.

But you did see the blast of red energy that smacked into Strange, sending him back a few feet. He gained his footing back relatively quickly, waving his hands and sending a spell right back to Wanda. He flew into the air using his cape, flying closer to the house.

They continued like that, tossing spells back and forth at each other. It was earth-shattering, leaving the ground too unstable to safely stand straight upon. The air tasted like ozone, magic filling the air and leaving you feeling electrified. Neither side seemed to have the upper hand, dealing just as harsh blows to their opponent as they were receiving.

You and Peter ran around different machines, adjusting things as necessary. Bucky had moved to stand near the door, opting to be somewhere he would be more usual. If Wanda failed, and Strange managed to get past her, he wanted to be there to give you and Peter any extra time. He wouldn’t last long against Strange, he knew that. But he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

There was another loud boom. You spared a glance outside, seeing a massive crater in the ground where Strange and Wanda had been, but she was nowhere to be seen. You could only assume Strange finally got the upper hand.

He lowered to the ground at the halfway mark and began to almost strut across the field.

“He’s coming,” you muttered. Peter looked up, staring out the window, seeing Strange quickly closing the distance separating them. As he got closer, you could clearly see his facial expression and it was just as you expected. He was not happy.

Your hands fumbled as you and Peter continued to work. Bucky cracked his neck and knuckles, preparing himself as best as he could.

You clicked a button, and a faint buzzing sound filled the room. And then you pressed another, the buzz getting louder as a faint glow filled the room. The seconds ticked by, the buzzing getting louder and the light brighter. Waves of electric pulses filled your body and you couldn’t help the shivers that ran down your spine.

Strange approached the door, waving it open with his hands. Bucky went to block his entry, but Strange waved his hand again. Bucky’s body was pushed against the wall furthest from Strange, his magic holding him in place.

He took one step into the house and flicked his cloak behind him.

“It’s over. Turn that thing off and let's finish this,” Strange said in a stern tone. He sounded commanding and authoritative, but you didn’t care. It was only a matter of seconds before the portal opened up then you could jump through it. You just hoped he wouldn’t be too hard on Peter.

“Sorry Strange, no can do,” you said, taking a single step back. Your back pressed against the cool metal of the machine as it began to vibrate from the contact.

“Stark I’m serious, you don’t realize what you’re doing,” he said, taking two steps into the room.

You opened your mouth to speak, but the very air around you rippled and it looked just like that night two years ago, when the sky was tearing itself open. It didn’t feel as sinister as it had that night, nor were the rips as large. And just as quickly as they would rip, they would come back together and it almost looked like the air was dancing.

“Parker, turn the--” he began to yell but was quickly cut off when a blast of red energy hit him from behind. It pushed him forward, causing him to crash into the wall. The place his body made impact was marked with a human-shaped indent in the wall. Wanda walked into the house after him, fingers pulsing with red energy.

He quickly stood up, a flash of energy leaving his hands as Wanda did the same. They collided with one another, gold meeting red. It appeared to be a standstill, both magic users straining to overpower the other.

“Now, now, now!” you turned to Peter, waving wildly at him with your hands. He nodded and began to fiddle with the machine.

You were close, so close. The light was as bright as the sun, growing wide with each second. It was nearly large enough to step through.

And at that moment, everything moved in slow motion.

“Go go go!” Peter yelled.

You nodded and began to step towards the now open portal.

“No!” Strange yelled. He lowered his hands, the golden magic he was conjuring disappearing for only a split second. He threw up a quick barrier, managing to block the majority of the blast Wanda sent his way. He moved out of the way, eyes locked on you.

You took two more steps. Just one more and you would be in the portal.

Your heart raced and your head was throbbing as your body filled with anticipation. Everything you’d worked for, everything you’d been missing would be in the palm of your hands in just a few moments. All you needed to do was take one more step.

But you didn’t get the chance, a blast of white light hit your side, the force sending you flying across the room. With a scream, you landed on the wood floor, skidding across the surface. Broken shards of glass cut your skin, leaving blood on the floor.

Wanda yelled in frustration and it sounded like it had a deeper, more sinister scream echoing with it. Her eyes glowed bright red, as her crown turned into energy. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes, and waved her hands in a downward motion.

For a moment it was still. You couldn't hear anything at all. Then a shockwave ricocheted, a powerful gust of wind blowing against your form. In an instant, the room was enveloped in a red glow as your vision turned black.

You heard Peter scream, the sound quickly cut off as you fell into a deep sleep.

OoO

When you came back to consciousness, the first thing you heard were cars honking. Then the sound of people shouting. You stirred, and it felt like you were lying on concrete. After a moment you opened your eyes, to find yourself lying on the floor, in the middle of Times Square in New York City.

Your head was throbbing, mouth as dry as the Sahara. Your eyes scanned the building, hoping for something that would indicate if you were in your universe or another. Shining wide eyes landed on Stark Towers and the small hope that had built inside of you quickly died.

It didn’t work. Well, it probably would’ve, if Strange didn’t intervene.

You looked at the ground around you, trying to spot any familiar faces. You saw Wanda and Bucky, passed out on the ground. Surprisingly, none of them looked as bad as you. Apparently, broken glassware packs quite the punch.

You turned around, coming face to face with Doctor Stephen Strange. You stumbled backward, startled by his sudden presence. His arms were crossed over his chest, a scowl resting on his mouth with eyes like ice.

“Hey there Strange,” you said, a weak grin on your face. You took another step back, desperate to create as much distance between you and the angry wizard.

He didn’t say anything. You took another step back, the heel of your foot hitting Bucky's sleeping form. This caused him to groan as he stirred from his sleep.

“What are you up to?” you asked. His scowl deepened as his eyes narrowed into an even sharper glare.

“What you tried to pull was stupid. Actually, it was beyond stupid. It was so stupid there’s not even a word in the English language that could describe what you did,” he said, voice low and dangerous.

“Have you tried German? It has a reputation of being very angry,” you said.

Bucky groaned again, one of his hands wiping his eyes. They opened slowly, but he quickly rid himself of any remaining lethargy when he saw the position you were in. He stood, faster than he should’ve, trying to put himself between you and Strange, but he couldn’t quite get up all the way.

“No, I haven’t. And don’t try to make light of the situation. You just nearly ripped open the multiverse. Do you know how bad that could’ve been?” he asked.

You opened your mouth to respond, but he cut you off.

“Don’t actually answer that, it was rhetorical.”

You promptly shut your mouth.

“I mean of all of the things to do, this is what you decide to achieve,” Strange said, mumbling more to himself than speaking to you. As he began to pace, Wanda woke up as well, moving into a sitting position as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

Bucky stood up, walking over to Wanda to help her up, but kept a close eye on Strange, just in case things went sour.

“You just better be glad we’re still in our world. Who knows what could’ve happened,” Strange said, standing still.

“Oh, will you just shut it? Everything was going just fine until you ruined it,” you said, rolling your eyes. The frustration and aggravation began to get stronger the longer he talked. Everything you had worked so hard for, he came by and just messed it up in an instant.

“This is my fault?” he said, fury burning in his eyes.

“Yes! None of this would’ve happened if you had just minded your business,” you yelled, tears of frustration beginning to well up in your eyes.

You’d worked so hard for fucking nothing.

“I wasn’t the one trying to tear open the Multiverse!” he yelled back. You scoffed, rolling your eyes before meeting Strange’s sharp gaze.

“So what, you can cast world-altering spells that go wrong and fuck up the multiverse in the first place for a 17-year-old boy who didn’t get into college, but I can’t travel universes?” you asked.

“Yes, because unlike you, I understand what I’m doing,” he said.

“And I don’t?” you argued. You were slowly losing it. Your voice was wavering and your vision blurry. It was overwhelming, everything was happening all at once and it was too much.

“No! Do you not understand the gravity of what you almost pulled? And for what, a boy you knew for two days?” he said, an incredulous look in his eyes. It only further infuriated you.

“It was two and a half days, actually,” you said.

You swore you could see a vein burst on Strange’s forehead.

“Strange, leave it,” Wanda spoke up, slowly standing from the ground.

“I don’t want to hear it from you Maximoff, you have no room to talk after Westview,” he snapped, not bothering to remove his eyes from you. He began to walk towards you, closing the gap that separated you, pointing his finger at you like a child that needed scolding.

“You could’ve destroyed the fabric of reality, all for a boy you barely know. You nearly caused universal catastrophe for a man who probably doesn’t even remember your name. Do you not realize how stupid that is?” he said.

You opened your mouth to speak, but he cut you off.

“No, I don’t want to hear it, because no one else will tell you how absolutely insane you seem. He probably doesn’t remember you, he’s probably already moved on. Because that’s what a normal person would do. It was two days Stark, I don’t care how lost or lonely you felt because tearing open the multiverse is not the answer,” he said.

You grit your teeth blinking away any tears that tried to fall. It was like he plunged a dagger into your chest, digging it deeper and deeper every time he spoke. Like he’d reached into your mind and pulled out your darkest fears. Every time you’d lay awake at night, staring at your ceiling, terrified you’d find Peter, only to see he moved on. Stephen Strange brought it all to the surface with every word said.

“Guess I’m just a Leo like that,” you whispered, your lips tugging into a smirk that didn’t match your bloodshot eyes.

Strange shook his head, letting out a sigh as he clenched his jaw.

“If your dad was here right now, he’d be so disappointed. Disappointed that he died to give you a better life only for you to throw it all away,” he said.

Bucky stood up, pushing you behind him. You couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe at the mention of your dad. The lights were on, but no one was home. That was a low blow, a wound that never healed, and he knew it. Yet he continued to poke and prod at it, holding it over your head.

“Too far, Strange,” he said, leveling the wizard with a steely glare.

“No, I’m just the one fixing all of your mistakes. I don’t want to catch wind of any more attempts to open the multiverse, you hear me Stark,” he said, turning his gaze to you. But you were still lost in your head.

With a wave of his hands he disappeared, leaving you there with Bucky and Wanda. After a moment of silence, you looked at Bucky and Wanda and opened your mouth.

“Where’s Peter?”

OoO

It was early morning. The sun was still slowly rising above the horizon and the birds chirped as they welcomed a new day. You were never up this early unless you’d simply never gone to sleep that day. But today you were awake, the clock in the kitchen reading 7:00 AM.

You should be in bed, dreaming about things only possible in your subconscious, but you weren’t. You were sitting on your couch, absentmindedly watching a cartoon on the TV as your mind wandered a million miles away.

You'd been close, so close to getting the only thing you’d wanted. But that had to get taken from you too. And while you didn’t want to admit it, Strange was right. You were just too stubborn to accept it until now. It'd been three days since the events that transpired, and it still left you reeling. It’d also been three days since any of you saw Peter. Wanda had gone back home to Sokovia, promising to keep an eye out for him. Bucky still hung around, keeping you from being driven mad by the stifling silence.

Your front door opened then shut, a new set of footsteps entering your home. They were heavy, too bulky to belong to anyone other than Bucky. You looked up at him, seeing bags under his eyes that were heavier than normal. He had a five o’clock shadow and mussed hair.

He looked like a mess.

“Good morning,” you said.

He didn’t respond. His gaze leveled on you, a scowl on his lips.

“You want something to eat?” you asked.

Again, no response.

With a sigh, you stood from the couch, walking to your kitchen. Hand wrapped around your favorite mug, you filled it with black coffee. A single brow raised and pursed your lips as you looked at Bucky. You slid the mug to him.

“Coffee?” you asked.

He didn’t touch it. Instead, he continued to stare at you, his bright blue eyes piercing your soul. It would’ve made you uncomfortable if you weren’t so used to it by now.

“Why?” he asked.

“Well it's 7 in the morning, coffee always--”

“Not the coffee, Stark. Why are you just giving up?” he asked, hand forming a fist that he hit against your countertop.

Your jaw clenched.

“I’m not. I wanted to solve Multiversal travel, and I did,” you said, grabbing a hold of a random dish towel, wiping away invisible dust on your counter.

“But you’re forgetting about your end goal: to get back to Peter,” he said.

You shrugged your shoulders, not meeting his gaze.

“People change their minds.”

“People change their minds, but not you Stark. You’re the only person more stubborn than your father was,” he said, eyebrows raised. “So what’s with the change of heart?”

“There hasn’t been a change of heart,” you said.

“Really? Because that’s not what I’m seeing,” Bucky said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh come off it Barnes. This was stupid from the get go,” you said, finally looking up and meeting his eyes. Despite your best efforts to make your tone hard and unfeeling, there was a break in your voice towards the end. You sounded like a small child stuck in a world too large for them.

He could read every thought in your mind, seeing every one of your tells. He’d spent a year with you, seen every angle of you there was to see. Took note of your thoughts, the way you acted under duress, and how you were the first one in the room to shut down whenever met with emotional turmoil. You couldn’t hide anything from him even if you wanted to.

“Maybe it was, but that didn’t stop you for a year straight, so what changed?” he asked, and you knew from the steel in his eyes he wasn’t planning on dropping the subject anytime soon.

“I’m telling you nothing changed!” you said, voice raising about two octaves.

“And I’m calling bullshit!” he yelled back, matching the ferocity in your words. “Why are you giving up when we were so close?”

“Because!” you yelled, your voice cracking. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be 30 something still stuck on a guy I knew for two days Buck, I just can’t,” you said. Your voice wasn’t angry, it was sad, the claws of fear stuck in you so tightly.

“Then don’t be. We figured out how to get to him didn't we?” Bucky asked, taking a softer approach with his tone. You shook your head, refusing to look him in the eye.

“You just don’t get it,” you said.

“Then explain it,” Bucky responded.

You sighed, shoulders slumping.

“It took me a year to figure out the secret to traveling through the multiverse, Buck, a year. He’s had two years. If he wanted me, he would be here by now. I just have to face the facts, Buck. Peter’s not coming because he doesn’t want to. He’s probably met someone else or just forgot all about me,” you said.

Bucky was at a loss for words. Your take was pessimistic, a shade of gray so different from the normal vivid hues you’d paint the world in. While you had a point, it was a logical assumption. But he was stubborn.

“He didn’t have Wanda,” Bucky said.

You chuckled, the sound low and hoarse.

“But it wasn’t her that cracked the code. It’s not a lack of ability, it’s a lack of wanting.”

He paused, taking a second to gather his words before he spoke again.

“This is about what Strange said,” Bucky said. “Y/N he was out of line with that.”

“You know, it’s like you aren’t even hearing what I’m saying,” you said, a laugh that lacked the usual warmth and humor it usually held.

“And it’s not like you to be this pathetic, but here we are,” he said. He was goading you, trying to knock down the ice wall you've encased yourself in.

“What’s pathetic was trying to break the universe for a guy I barely knew. This is just being realistic,” you said. “It was just a waste of time and a way to distract myself, that’s it,” you said.

“Distract yourself from what?” he asked. You laughed, a look of disbelief crossing your face.

“Everything that’s been happening! I mean first half the universe gets dusted, then, when I’m still trying to pick up the pieces from that, the remaining Avengers crack a plan to get it back to normal. Okay great, except Natasha’s dead, and before I can process that, my dad's dead too. Great. Then Steve goes back to the past, and everything seems normal but it’s so different. I just-- I was still reeling from everything when I met Peter. This whole multiverse thing was a distraction, simple as that.”

Bucky didn’t speak as he fully absorbed your small speech. You swallowed thickly, your mouth suddenly dry.

“It was stupid. You and I both know that,” you said.

“But you can’t give up,” Bucky said.

“Oh why do you care so much?” you exclaimed, the scowl returning to your face. “Is this some sort of guilt thing?”

“What?” Bucky asked, face contorting into confusion.

“This some kind of way to make yourself feel better for what you did. Well, congratulations Barnes, consider my name crossed out on your list of people you made amends with,” you said, sighing in frustration and rolling your eyes.

“Don’t do that,” Bucky said, creases forming on his forehead.

“Do what?” you asked.

“Try and shut me out. Because it’s not gonna work you punk!” Bucky exclaimed.

“It’s not gonna work because I’m not doing anything! Why can’t you just let this go!?” you yelled back.

“Because you’re lying!”

“Bullshit! This has nothing to do with me Barnes, and you know it. This is all about you needing to feel better about yourself. Because if you put all your attention on something else, you won’t have to focus on just how fucking hollow you are. You won’t have to actually deal with your issues and can just skip off into the sunset thinking that because you helped some random girl find her boyfriend you can’t be accountable for all the shit you did,” you were seething with anger that hid the hysterics in your eyes.

You didn’t have time to think about your words, not until it was too late. Bucky recoiled, stepping back, a neutral mask covering his shock riddle face. But he stood his ground.

"Just because you killed my grandparents doesn't mean you have to follow me like a lost puppy."

It was the final nail in the coffin. You could see the exact second Bucky began to shut down and it was devastating.

The room suddenly felt so much smaller, your heart beating against your chest.

“If that’s the way you feel, I’ll just go then,” he said, voice hardly above a whisper.

“Buck I--”

But it was too late. Just as quickly as he came, Bucky left your apartment. The door nearly fell off its hinges from how much force he shut it with.

And once again, you found yourself left alone, tears streaming down your face. On the kitchen floor, you fell apart, unable to hold it in any longer. The past seven years hit you like a train, unraveling the pieces you meticulously put back together.

OoO

The walls were cooling against your warm back. So many things had changed, yet you’d found yourself right back in the exact same position from a year ago. Only this time you weren’t trying to make sense of memory gaps and unknown melancholy. There were no journals and loose papers sprawled all around you.

The floor around you was empty, sans the cup of hot coffee that sat untouched next to you. You stared at the wall across from you, not a single thought in your mind. You weren’t trying to rationalize your feelings or gaslight yourself into feeling nothing. You simply sunk into them, hoping that if you embraced the loneliness, it would dissipate. That’s what all the therapists said, the only way to push through emotions is to feel them.

You just weren’t sure if this pain would ever go away.

And unlike last year, you didn’t do anything and everything to avoid silence. Instead, you basked in it, welcoming it as if it were an old friend. Because every song you heard always led back to Peter. His smile, his laugh, the way his eyes crinkled like moons, and the way he animatedly spoke with his whole body. You didn’t want to remember it all. What would be the point?

There was a universe separating the two of you, the knowledge that he’d probably moved on eating away at you.

There you were sitting in your high rise apartment, unable to move past someone you knew for two days. You had everything you could ever want at the touch of your fingertips. But you didn’t want anything other than him. But you had to face the truth. And the truth was he didn’t care, his thoughts didn’t linger on you, he didn’t work day in and day out just to see your smile again.

That was all you. And you’d deluded yourself into thinking he was doing the same.

That hurtful revelation didn't magically fix you though, you were frozen in time; right where he’d left you. You were still twenty-three, stuck inside a fantasy about how things were supposed to be. Because time was meaningless if you never left. You were 25 now, you'd be 26 next year, but you'd never actually move, cursed to never escape the haven you made in your daydreams.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound echoed in the quiet apartment. You leaned your head back, not wanting to move from your spot. Maybe if you ignored them, they’d go away. That was proven false exactly five seconds later when the mystery visitor rapped the door again.

With a loud groan, you stood from the ground, careful to not knock over your coffee. Lethargically you walked towards the door that at the moment seemed miles away.

Tap.

Tap.

You cut off the knocks, swinging the front door open, expecting Barnes or perhaps a neighbor there to chat your ear off about one thing or another. And you hoped it was Barnes. You didn't mean what you'd said, and you wanted to tell him as much. Though you doubted he would ignore all your calls and texts just to show up unannounced.

But that wasn’t what you were met with at all.

The monsters clouding your vision were just trees, the sun burning away any lingering demons. Because there he was. Dingy light shined behind him like some sort of ethereal creation. A halo of white marked him angelic and his brown eyes were bright. Your heart raced, the palms of your hands shaking. It didn’t seem real, it couldn’t be, and you pinched yourself to check. Faint pain pulsed in your hand, confirming that you weren’t dreaming.

He was looking at you. His face was outlined with elation, and he was oh so warm and welcoming. The lines were filled in with pure awe and ecstasy. Like he’d been waiting a thousand years for this moment. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers, a mixture of daisies, lilies, and baby breath. They were slightly damaged, but to you, they were the most beautiful flowers in the universe.

Butterflies fluttered through your stomach, shivers running up your spine. You weren’t the only one who felt it, it seemed he did too.

Otherwise why else would he be here, standing at your apartment door, looking like the sun in the midst of a storm?

“Peter?”

OoO

"I don't really have any." He tells her, taking a drink of his beer.

"That's so depressing." She rolls her eyes, sitting up. He frowns, which is just his usual face, honestly. What confuses her is when he stands, walking around. She stands as well, about to ask what he's looking for when he picks something up and walks back to her, holding it up with a small smile.

It's a camera.

"What are you doing?" She asks, heart filling with an unnamed emotion as he held the polaroid camera out, facing them.

"Decorating." He tells her, then closes his eyes and smiles. She's caught off guard when the flash goes off, and she instantly groans as she imagines how awful it's gonna look.

"Take another one!" She grabs his bicep and pulls, but he just shakes his head and holds the developing picture above his head so she can't grab it.

"I like this one." He tells her simply, but she just shakes her head as she reaches for it.

"You can't even see it!" She cries, reaching again but to no avail.

"Neither can you!" He tells her with a laugh, one that makes her momentarily forget what she had been fighting about. When she lets go of him, he brings the photo down. It's light contrast, barely developed, but when she looks at it, she actually thinks it's cute. She doesn't look completely insane like she had previously thought. Instead, she's halfway smiling as her turning blurs her body a little bit, creating an effect she likes.

"That's actually really nice." She tells him, and he just smiles.

"If only I had a frame." He tells her, moving to prop it on an end table near the hallway.

~

"I can't believe this is what it takes for everyone to get back together." Y/N mutters as she follows Derek through the trees behind his house. He doesn't say anything in return, which is fine because she's now breathing heavy from running for so long and so fast.

"Hold on," He stops running so quickly that when she tries to slow down she slides in the dirt. She pops up slowly and quietly, waiting for him to tell her what was going on. "They're in front of us." He whispers, looking up. This is a new threat they're fighting, some kind of vampire and witch pack that confuses the shit out of Stiles, even if he refuses to admit it.

"Where do we go?" Y/N asks, the racing of her heart now due to her being terrified. It's beating so fast and so violently it hurts, and she almost throws up until Derek grabs her hand.

"We can't outrun them." Even with Derek's super human abilities, the only way he'd be able to make it out himself would be if he chose his other form, which would leave Y/N behind. She can't run nearly as fast, or for as long.

"We should split up." She tells him. The look she gets as he snaps his head toward her makes her feel sick once more.

"Absolutely not." He grabs her wrist and pulls her along, dodging trees and branches. "We need a car."

She trips a couple times, and Derek catches her all but once. The last time she trips, they're close to a road, but the roots are still thick. As she goes down, her hand slips from Derek's grasp. A low branch cuts her neck, deeper than a scratch but not deep enough to bee too much of a problem. The problem comes when she falls and is unable to catch herself, her free hand twisting underneath her as the hand that Derek had been grabbing falls after her face hits the ground.

She's jarred for a second, her head feeling fuzzy. It comes to a point a couple seconds later when the world comes back into focus and the pain centers on her temple, right where she hit the hard root.

"Shit," Derek is freaking out now, because as if their natural scent and crashing through the woods wasn't enough, the fresh blood that's been spilled from not only the scratch but also now her head is sure to send a beacon of their location.

He pulls her up, having to drag her along as she had the wind knocked out of her. He feels bad, but he knows they're barely surviving by the skin of their teeth. He wishes he could call someone to help, but they had left in such a rush that neither of them grabbed their phones before everyone had split off in pairs.

He makes it to the street, then skirts around the trees to make it back to his house. Half the cars that had been on the street were gone, and he can't help but be thankful that he had left the Camaro in Beacon Hills and brought it back to his house. It'd go much faster than his SUV. Luckily, by the time they make it over, Y/N can run and the pack is still in the woods.

"Camaro." He tells her. They sprint ahead.

~

"Oh my God." Y/N's sneaking through Derek's stuff under the guise of unpacking, and while he knows what she's doing he's decided to let it happen because he doesn't have that much anyway.

"What'd you find?" He turns and asks her, and then he sees what she's holding up.

"Who'd you get this for?" She whispers, heart breaking only slightly. It seems Derek may have come back to Beacon Hills for a woman.

The necklace she has in her hand is beautiful, one that must've been picked for someone special and well as cost a fortune. She loves it, and she can't bear to look at it because it's just so beautiful and thoughtful.

"Uh," Derek isn't quite sure what to say. He had been planning on giving it to her eventually, but not this soon. He wasn't quite sure how to give it to her yet. "You."

"What?" She looks up at him, eyes wide and a smile playing on her lips. "But this, this," She isn't sure what to say, so Derek moves around her to take it, putting it around her neck.

"Do you like it?" He's nervous in a way he's never been before, but the look on her face and beating of her heart tells him everything he needs to know.

A couple minutes later they're out in the living room, deciding what to watch, when she jumps up.

"Why do we have to watch something?" She asks, smiling.

"What are we supposed to do instead?" Derek questions, looking at her quizzically.

"Dancing." She smirks, taking her phone out and playing some random song. He lets her pull him up but stays frowning.

"There's no room to dance." He tells her, and she just sighs. She drops his hand and pushes the coffee table to the side. "Still not enough."

"How much room do you need?" She laughs loudly, and he joins in softly. The song is still playing, so he grabs her hand and brings her close.

They come together slowly, both his arms going around her back. She puts on hand on his shoulder and the other over his heart, which makes his heart race. He moves one hand to cover her's, and she lets her head rest on his chest.

The two comfortably sway, both completely enthralled in the moment with soaring hearts and heads in the clouds.

~

"The door won't open!" She whisper-yells, terrified of the pack that has to be closing in. She pulls hard, barely noticing the tears running down her cheeks.

"Hold on," Derek is patting his pockets, but they both know that what he's looking for isn't there.

The keys are in the house.

They race to the front door, Derek breaking the handle in favor of getting in quickly. He grabs the keys from the bowl by the front door, thanking God that he's kept a neat house, and the two run out without bothering to shut the door; the knob doesn't work anyway.

When she gets back to the Camaro, the doors are already unlocked. She throws herself inside, barely locking the doors when she sees the red eyes from the woods.

"Oh God," She mutters, frozen in shock. "Derek, drive!" She shouts, shaking. Derek starts the Camaro and backs out of the driveway, scraping the bottom of the car without a care. The sharp gasp she gives when the creature begins to run from the trees startles Derek, but he doesn't show it.

"How many are there?" He asks, looking behind them for a moment as he accelerates down the street. It's late, too late for anyone to be out. When the pack had invaded in the first place, they had been getting ready to sleep anyway, their friends staying the night. The McCall pack had planned a small reunion, everyone coming back for a long weekend, and of course the monster pack had decided that night to attack.

"At least two," She mutters as she looks out to see more and more monsters coming at them from the shadows in the woods. "Oh my God, there's more." She can't even breathe now, and Derek looks back at the road for a split second to make sure he won't hit anything before swiveling his head once more.

"It's fine." He mutters, stepping on the gas. It's why he insisted on the Camaro, for a quick getaway. He keeps his eyes on the road as he accelerates quickly, and she keeps her eyes on the quickly gaining vampires. Just as Derek twists to see how close they are, Y/N turns to see the problem.

"Derek!" She screams, clutching the door.

~

When she wakes, she feels ill. She goes to grab her water bottle, but when she doesn't feel her bedside table she opens her eyes.

This is not her room.

Her head begins to pound, focused in a line that goes from her forehead down her face, even her lip is burning. She brings a hand up, realizing she can only see out of one eye, and touches bandages where the pain is concentrated.

"Hey," Scott mutters, and she turns to see him. He's on her bad side, which she realizes is due to the fact that it's bandaged over.

"What," She whispers, not able to talk later.

"There was an accident."

"Derek!" She screams, clutching the door. She's pressed back against her seat, not watching as Derek swivels to see the couple of vampires in the road, his eyes widening.

"Shit!" He yells, pressing the brake as hard as he possibly can. For a moment, everything stops, and she feels almost like she's flying.

She becomes acutely aware of the fact that she's not wearing a seatbelt.

"What happened?" She asks, struggling to sit up. In her struggle, she realizes that her arm is in a cast. Scott helps her, and she groans a bit. She's sore everywhere, although no where is near as bad as her face is.

"The Multus Pack attacked two nights ago." Her eyebrows raise at 'two nights,' however she realizes that moving the right side of her face is the worst idea in the history of mankind, so she refrains from wincing. "We all split up, and you ended up with Derek in the Camaro."

"Where is he?" She had thought that if she was ever in this situation, Derek might be the one to be waiting for her. Clearly she was wrong.

"He's been too afraid to come to the hospital." Scott mutters, clearly upset over this. "We already cleaned the glass from his cuts, and he's fine. We tried telling him that you'd want to see him, but he won't listen."

She's silent as gravity fails her, sending her through the windshield before she can put her arm up to stop it. Her arm ends up underneath her body as she skids across the hood. She then falls to the ground, luckily not on her head. Although it seems her head has already taken the brunt of the damage, having broken the windshield and caused a piece of glass to slice open a gnarly cut across the front of her face.

When she's on the ground, all she can think is that this can't be real. She doesn't feel much pain, just a lot of throbbing. Warm liquid is coating her face rapidly, contrasting to the cool of the rest of her body.

"Y/N!"

"I'd like to go back to sleep." She's lying, but she turns anyway, away from Scott.

"Sure, yeah. I'll leave." He sounds slightly sad, but she can't bring herself to care.

Derek wasn't here. He clearly doesn't care.

~

She wakes up as the sun rises, which is fine. She barely slept the prior night anyway, and she still has at least a day left in this hellhole. She had been given twenty stitches down her face, matching the gnarly bruise on her temple and the scab on her neck from the branch. She had scrapes and bruises all around her body, and she couldn't stand to look at herself.

She hears a shuffling to her right and jumps, turning to see Derek.

They stare at each other in silence, both with wide eyes and ruffled hair. Neither speaks, or even tries to speak, just breathing together.

"Derek," She whispers, and the tears start. Not just hers, also his. She reaches over despite the pain and grabs ahold of him, pulling him up and hugging him close.

"I'm so sorry." He tells her, afraid of holding on too tight. She is not as scared, holding him so tight that her hands are gripping his shirt.

"It's not your fault." She tells him, but it's clear he doesn't believe her. He is shaking with tears and emotion, and she's not much better.

"I have to go." He tells her, and as much as it pains her, she lets him.

Because the next day, when the sun rises and she turns in bed, Derek is there.

//