#a lottle

It's not that she expected anything else. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, even after they reconciled, so its not shock per se...

It just feels strange. Her chest constricting, as if in pain, except there is no wound in sight and- oh. Oh. That's that vile and shrill grip of sorrow. Not something she can have. It's melancholic caress causes her to waver, and Arlecchino stands there, not quite pulling away, caught motionless in her thoughs.

Furina's shaky hand comes up to her face. Cups her cheek. Holds her gently.

Arlecchino won't mourn what they could've had, if not for this whole mess. She can't. Sorrow causes her to waver. Besides, regret is futile, when in the end here she stands, Furina's gentle touch on her cheek defiant of the fear in her deep blue eyes. If the woman trusts her enough to do this, then Arlecchino must return the sentiment.

A Short Story

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Peter Parker X Reader

Prompt: A friend’s request. @arrowwolf13

The kid had not been an Avenger long, but she was already in love with him. Every time he would make a joke or a pop culture reference she would laugh and play along with him. It drove Tony nuts, but he was happy that the kid found someone who liked him and everything that he did. At this point, Tony wanted to play matchmaker as the two of them would sit and giggle with each other all of the time, but neither one of them would make a move. Maybe the signals they were giving off were wrong, but when was he ever wrong. (hahahahahahaha always)

Peter found the girl one day staring out the window as if she wanted to join the others who were practicing in the training yard, “hey! You should just go out there and join them.”

She shrugged, “I am good. I was just watching Steve.”

Peter sat beside her, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backward to watch out the window too, “he is pretty fascinating huh?”

“Only a little,” She muttered putting her chin on her arms which rest on the chair she was sitting backward on.

Peter laughed and said, “You seem to be pretty interested the way that you are staring at him.”

She glanced over at Peter, “How...am I staring at him?”

Peter smiled at the fact that he caught her attention, “Like he is someone that you would want to marry someday.”

“Um...as tempting as that is, he is too old for me.” She commented on his observation.

“Only a lottle!” Peter laughed, “he’s only ninety something!”

She looked over at Peter, “Oh yeah? Are you keeping tabs on him?

“Mr. Stark says it is good to know that kind of stuff,” Peter explained, “like you are (insert your own age).” 

“Huh. Okay. What is...my favorite animal?” She started to quiz him.

“Hmm...wolf yeah?” Peter smirked as he saw her face.

“Uh...yeah. Favorite Avenger?” She stared at him.

“Obviously Cap!” Peter grinned thinking he had her down.

“No.” She smirked knowing she had stumped the precious boy.

He stared at her for a moment, “that is a tough one I suppose.”

“Not really. It is you.” She still had a smirk on her face.

That took him a moment to process as he stared at her, “Me?”

She giggled, “Only a Lottle.” She repeated his previous words which made him laugh.

“Like that word huh?” Peter asked.

“I do.” She leaned towards him.

Not quite understanding why she was leaning towards him yet, he leaned into her face, “you mean...a lotte?” He almost whispered.

She chuckled and planted a kiss on his lips, holding his head there for a moment as she did. Confused, yet happy that this was happening he pulled her chair a bit closer to him and deepened the kiss himself. After a few moments of bliss, Peter pulled away for air and grinned at her.

“I’m guessing you liked that a lottle.” She winked at him.

Peter laughed hard as he started to blush a little, “yeah...a lottle...”

“Finally!” Tony shouted out to them, having been there the whole time.

That was when Peter’s face lit up bright red and he quickly turned to look outside, “M-Mr. Stark...”

She glared at Tony, “were you....recording that?!”

Tony smirked, “Only a lottle.”

“Shut up! You aren’t allowed to use that word!” She shouted at him.

Tony laughed, “good! ‘Cause it is irritating!” 

Peter grabbed her hand, “lets go somewhere else.”

She nodded and took off with Peter, “what a way to ruin a moment.”

Peter squeezed her hand, “I don’t think he ruined it. I still have you here.” 

“Why do you have to be so cute?” She blushed.

“Someone has to be.” He joked.

so this is 8 months late, literally 8 months, but i’m gonna… do the thing anyhow.

so harry loves quidditch. he loves it so damn much that he feels guilty for it. it is the one thing he is good at that his survival doesn’t depend on… IT IS THE ONE THING HE IS GOOD AT THAT ISN’T SURVIVAL. and this is his thing, his zone, his comfort zone, his sweet spot, his livelihood. harry james potter is fucking amazing at quidditch. he is spectacular, and yeah, some of that has to do with genes, but most of it has to do with harry james potter. being good. at something. other than. survival. 

so okay, this is a kid who was always so weak and lanky and skin and bones back home with the dursleys. he didn’t get picked to play soccer or any of that shit. if anything, he got tackled by other boys for the hell of it and they called it rugby or some shit. he wasn’t on teams. he wasn’t allowed to go out for extracurricular activities. he had never even considered pursuing an athletic career because he was so busy SURVIVING, trying to keep his head down, trying not to draw the wrath of his guardians, trying not to get beaten up by dudley and his friends. he could never think about fun and enticing things like that. he was not a boy built for that sort of glory or attention, and so when he gets to hogwarts, and he gets a spot on the team for breaking the rules and looking after his housemate, it’s this jolting thing. very jolting.

first off, minerva mcgonagall puts this kid on the team. now, harry already has malfoy and all of slytherin against him. he has already made enemies, and he learned young that the best way to handle enemies is by making yourself small. the youngest seeker in decades? THATS NOT MAKING YOURSELF SMALL !!! so he’s a bit worried about it as is, and on top of that, harry james potter is a proud sumbitch ok. he is so proud. now that he knows who he is and who his parents were and the fact that everyone knows his parents, he is proud and does not want to fuck up. he does not want to make a fool of himself and ruin the reputation and the hype built around his name. but then, he doesn’t do that.

so what do you know. harry james potter is a badass natural at quidditch, and at first, that’s what gets him going. the fact that he’s a natural and he’s got attention, and he is no longer invisible. but soon, it’s the house pride and the competition and the beating slytherin and lee jordan shouting his name and everyone chanting and THE FUCKING WEASLEY TWINS putting him on their shoulders and OLIVER FUCKING WOOD crying for better or for worse, and he loves it. he loves this game. he loves beating his enemies. he loves beating malfoy on and off the pitch. he loves it. but he doesn’t realize how much loves it until it is taken away.

yes, each year, he has to go most of a summer without donning the robes and playing in rain or sleet or snow. and it is rough on him because god, he found something all his own. yes, he’s still in his father’s shadow here, but he’s also making a name for himself outside of just “the boy who lived.” this is his accomplishment. these are his accolades, and he earned them. he worked hard for them, practiced and trained his ass off for them. this game is his. and then umbridge strips him of that. umbridge, a woman who has been abusing him in his safe place all fucking year, strips him of his one comfort he has left in a castle full of people who see him as a liar or a monster or whatever else. all the shit he is going through with voldemort’s thoughts and cho and cedric and being a dick to his friends, and this **** takes the one thing that makes him feel human, the one thing that makes him feel something other than alienated. 

and he realizes two things then. one is that he loves the game more than anything and aches without it. two is that quidditch will not matter one fucking bit when the war starts. he realizes that when the war comes, he will be forced to put away childish things, and one of those things is quidditch because he’s harry fucking potter, the chosen one, and the chosen one doesn’t get to choose what becomes of him. it’s already been written. and so sixth year is a year where yes, a lot is happening. he is more interested in what’s going on between snape and draco and less about what’s going on in his school life, and dumbledore is trusting him more and he even lets him down a couple times, and then there’s all the good stuff that occurs, but all in all, harry is literally savoring every moment he gets on the pitch because he knows it won’t last forever. and it doesn’t. in fact, it lasts half as long more than he thought. and it hurts him, but he doesn’t have the luxury of that hurt. he can’t dwell on it.