#scientist reader

➢𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 || 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿

The lab is quiet. The kind of quiet that belongs only to you.

The hum of the computers is steady, almost comforting, a metronome to your thoughts. Light spills in from the tall windows, catching the edges of notebooks, the faint fingerprints on monitors, and the scattered sticky notes layered like geological strata across your desk.

You trace a particle across the simulation on your screen, fingers paused on the keyboard, and for a moment, the world shrinks to this glowing path. Not just any particle— a model of subatomic interactions in tissue. Tiny collisions are mapped against layers of biological data, all feeding into a model designed to predict how cancer treatments might affect different cells.

You started working on this project two years ago, technically as an undergraduate assistant. In practice, you’d been given your own workstation six months later, a stack of papers to challenge, and a quiet warning from your advisor about burning yourself out before you’re twenty-five.

You graduated from high school early. Finished your first degree faster than anyone expected. Started this program at nineteen. Most people called it brilliance. You didn’t really think much about it— it was just the work you wanted to do, the patterns you wanted to understand.

The pen between your fingers is chewed at the end, plastic worn from years of the same nervous habit. Equations crawl across the whiteboard above your desk like living things— loops and curves you’ve drawn so many times that your hand barely needs to think anymore.

You like the feeling of patterns bending under your own hand.

Everything behaves according to rules.

Everything can be solved.

…though some things refuse to.

The coffee beside you is bitter and cold. You sip absentmindedly, eyes scanning the simulation for deviations. You’re searching for something small, almost invisible. A pattern in the way radiation scatters through tissue— something that could explain why some cells survive while others don’t.

Maybe someday, this could matter. Maybe someday, it could save a life.

Your phone buzzes against the desk.

Don’t forget to eat, smartass.

Your sister.

You snort quietly. She sends this message at least five times a week, usually followed by a photo of whatever she’s cooking. She lives three provinces away, but somehow manages to mother you better than your actual one ever did.

You type back quickly.

Working. Will live. Probably.

Three dots appear immediately.

That’s not reassuring.

You smile despite yourself and set the phone aside.

The simulation ripples across the screen again, particles scattering like tiny galaxies colliding. One cluster behaves differently. You lean forward, adjust a coefficient, and run it again. The thrill is quiet, deep in your chest. Satisfaction of something almost making sense.

A knock at the door breaks your rhythm. Polite and hesitant. Barely there to be honest but enough to pull you from your focus. You glance up from your work momentarily.

“Oh— hey,” you say automatically, smiling at the sight in front of you. “Looking for something?”

There she stands, framed in the doorway. Blond hair in disarray, loose strands curling around her face and floating around her head like a halo. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold of the rink, the tip of her nose pink. She looks like she’s come straight from practice.

Which, knowing her schedule, she probably has.

You’ve known Caroline Harvey for years. Well… barely. Friends is maybe too strong a word. She’s always been too far up in her own orbit, brilliant and athletic and untouchable, a constant reminder of a world you admire but rarely inhabit. And yet, here she is.

Caroline smiles when she sees you— open, bright, a little sheepish, the kind of smile that crinkles the corner of her eyes.

“Uh- Yeah,” she replies, pausing in the doorway and shifting the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder. For a moment she hesitated, as if uncertain whether she had the right to be here, and in that pause, it felt as if the air shifted. The dust mites in the slanting light seemed to slow, caught between you and her.

She then steps fully inside, the door easing shut behind her with a soft click. You found yourself straightening, though you were not sure why, hands brushing against the edge of your desk as your heart pumps a beat or two faster than usual.

The lab is quiet tonight. Most people have left for dinner, or practice, or whatever else normal students do with their evenings. Not like you would know.

Caroline glances around like she’s orienting herself, then back at you.

“You mind if I—” she gestures vaguely toward the equipment shelves along the wall. “Coach asked me to grab a photogate timer before tomorrow.”

You blink.

“Oh,” you say quickly, pushing your chair back so you’re no longer half-twisted toward her. “No— yeah, of course” You point toward the cabinet at the far wall, trying to sound steady. “They’re over there. They move things around a lot, so it’s easy to miss.”

“Good,” she laughs softly, nodding back, a quick, polite movement, walking towards the shelves.

“I thought I was just losing my mind.”

She crouches slightly to open the cabinet, and you try very hard to redirect attention back to the screen in front of you.

It doesn’t work.

Because now she’s right there, close enough that you could smell her. Your eyes flick down despite yourself. The sleeves of her practice hoodie are pushed halfway up her forearms, hair still slightly damp near the temples, ends curling faintly from sweat. You look away before she can catch you staring.

The simulation freezes mid-run. Great.

Behind you, plastic clinks softly as she moves equipment around.

“Is it the grey ones or the black ones?” she asks.

“The grey,” you answer automatically. Then, after a second, “…the black ones are… mostly broken.”

“Mostly?”

“Seventy percent chance they’ll give you nonsense data.”

She hums thoughtfully, like she’s genuinely weighing those odds. You hear a small laugh escape under her breath.

When you look again, she’s holding a grey timer in her hand, examining it like it’s far more interesting than it actually is. Then she glances towards you, her eyes catch yours immediately. You look down at your keyboard a beat too late.

“How’s your… thing going?” she asks.

Your thing.

You know she means your research.

You also know she has absolutely no idea what your research actually is.

“It’s going,” you say. Tapping a little frustratedly on a singular key. “It keeps crashing.”

“Oh.” She leans lightly against the counter beside the cabinet. just enough that the edge of her hoodie brushed the corner of your desk. You felt it without meaning to — a faint awareness of warmth that made your hands twitch against the keyboard. Her gaze followed the scrolling lines on your screen, intent and curious, as if she were trying to see the world through your eyes without ever stepping inside it completely.

“That seems bad.”

“It’s not bad,” you say quickly. “It’s just… computationally heavy.”

Her lips curved slightly, You sensed that she understood something — or at least wanted to understand. The thought made the tight coil in your chest loosen a little, even as the hum of the computers and the slow drip of fluorescent light around you pressed in. You risk another glance up at her, she leans in a fraction closer, eyes tracking the lines of code scrolling down your screen with a look of intense concentration that is almost certainly fake.

“You definitely understand all of that,” you tease.

“Absolutely,” she replies without missing a beat. Eyes twinkling in the dim laboratory light.

You snort quietly. The unintentional sound escapes quick and easy into the room. She tilts her head, the corner of her mouth tugging up, like she’s pleased with causing it. Her ponytail swings slightly as she shifts weight, the faint scent of the mint gum she always chews and lavender soap she uses drifting faintly around her.

“What’s it actually doing?” she asks after a moment.

You pause. Explaining your work usually results in people glazing over halfway through the first sentence. And then there’s the challenge of how to compress something that occupies most of your waking hours into a concise, coherent sentence. But Caroline’s gaze doesn’t waver as she continues to stare at you expectantly.

So you turn slightly in your chair. “It’s modeling orbital resonance patterns. Basically predicting how gravitational interactions stabilize over long time scales.”

She blinks once. Then again. “…Right.”

You can feel her attention pressing softly against you. You glance at the screen, but her presence lingers in the periphery of your senses.

“It’s like—” you pause. “If you throw a bunch of spinning tops on a table and try to figure out which ones will keep spinning together without knocking each other over.”

She pauses for a heartbeat, then her face brightens. “Oh!”

You tilt your head. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” she says, pointing at the screen like she’s solved it. “Space tops.”

You stare at her.

She grins.

“Space tops,” she repeats, satisfied.

You shake your head, huffing out a soft laugh as a grin breaks its way onto your features. The simulation hums. Particles orbit.

“I’m putting that in my thesis.”

“You should.”

She straightened slightly, holding the photogate timer against her chest. The movement was casual, but the way she adjusted her grip and shifted the bag strap made her seem both deliberate and unselfconscious, the kind of balance you could watch endlessly without noticing time pass.

“We have lab together later, right?” she asked quietly. The question seemed simple, but you recognized the way her eyes flicked up at yours, seeking confirmation, the faintest trace of eagerness hiding behind that calm exterior.

“Yeah,” you nod casually, but you can feel your stomach flip at the idea of getting to spend more time with her “Physics 314.”

Her shoulders lifted in a small, almost imperceptible shrug, and she let the timer drop lightly onto the shelf she’d retrieved it from. “Right after practice,” she added, voice almost playful, though the brightness in her eyes betrayed a note of fatigue.

You nodded, watching the way her ponytail swung lightly as she shifted her weight, the small flick of a damp strand against her temple. For a heartbeat, the lab felt impossibly small. The soft hum of machines and the faint scrape of her sneakers against tile became background noise to the presence she carried with her.

“Well,” she says, holding up the timer she came for, “mission accomplished.”

“Good luck with… space tops,” she said finally, stepping toward the door. She paused there, one hand lightly resting on the frame, and for a moment it seemed she was reluctant to leave.

You managed a small, almost breathless smile. “Thanks.”

Her lips curved, in that tiny, radiant smile as she nudges the door open.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Professor.”

“Professor?”

She shrugs. “You’re basically running NASA in here.”

She flashes one last bright smile before disappearing into the hallway. The door clicks shut.

The lab is quiet again. You stare at the empty doorway, for a long moment, then back at your screen. Your simulation has finally started running again. You watch the orbital lines slowly settle into stable patterns.

Space tops.

Your mouth curves slightly.

You were a scientist at the Baxter Building, and honestly it was your dream job, you got to work with the greatest minds in the world, one of them even being THE Reed Richards AKA Mr. Fantastic. Therefore you loved your job, you had your own very promising research and you were helping people in your own way by helping the fantastic four whenever they needed with their new gadgets, suits, upgrades to the car, etcetera, You name it. So even if your job was hard and very demanding, you loved it and was very grateful to be able to work on something you actually enjoyed, something that doesn't make getting out of bed a bourdon, so when on this morning you woke up feeling like you wanted to quit your job, destroy your research, scream at everyone and cry about everything you knew your period was here. 

Your day started slow, like as if it was mocking you only cause you had an uterus, you wanted to curl in your bed and die, and as much as you could, since the Baxter Building had a very nice policy towards people that experience periods thanks to Sue Storm, you felt like you could not run from your responsibilities, even at the expense of your health, so you got up from bed, with a headache already forming, very profound dark circles on your eyes and went to get some breakfast, that's when you saw him - Johnny Storm, your loving and still pretty new but right now very annoying and headache aggravating boyfriend. 

-Hey baby, slept well? Missed you last night, thought you'd come to my room you know. Johnny says with that pretty smirk that almost never leaves his face. 

You just sight and keep walking, thank God you didn’t go to his place cause you bled so much through your clothes and you’d have been so fucking embarrased. He figures you're just walking up yet. 

- Oh come on, not even a kiss? How can you deprive me of my reason to live hm?

In order to not keep hearing his very loud voice you just give him a quick kiss and go on your merry way hoping Johnny wouldn't follow you, besides from the anger towards your now screaming uterus, you were sad, I mean, how could your boyfriend not realise you weren't feeling great. You knew it was beyond reason to feel like this, you barely talked to him and your periods weren't exactly on a normal cycle so there was no way for him to keep track of them, but still, so now you were feeling worse, being so self aware was a curse sometimes. 

Johnny does not leave you alone, he follows you to the cafeteria where you by your breakfast, follows you to your lab, that is suddlendy very bright to you, and keeps talking your ear off, what you'd normally love and engage on active conversation with him, but right now that seems to be as impossible as getting any work done. 

- Did you get off on the wrong foot today? Bet it was because you didn't sleep with me last night hm? Says Johnny as smoothly as always, while hugging you. 

And suddenly, as he holds you close like he normally does, you get hyper aware of the fact that you are very bloated, you move a bit and Johnny takes off his arms from you, it must be because you are bloated and he finds it disgusting you think. Also how dare he mock you “Did you get off on the wrong foot today”, you should try having period cramps, headaches, hormones going crazy and an insatiable want for sweets, you think annoyed, but you just breath deeply and keep working as if nothing was wrong. 

However, Johnny knows something is wrong, you barely talked to him, did not laugh at his stupid jokes and did not call him hot stuff back, but since becoming a superhero he has the tendency of always think the worst of a situation so to be prepared, therefore the possibility of you being in your period (something that happens every single month) does not cross his mind at all. Now he's worried that you might be coming down with some super virus, or about to break up with him, I mean, the ‘subtly’ change of mood (like if two days ago you weren't crying more cause of your pre menstrual cycle) and the undoubtedly anger you had behind your eyes mixed with sadness and tiredness had to mean something awful, and even thought it was, period never once crossed Johnny’s mind. 

He tried to light up the mood by putting some of your favorite songs thru the player in your lab, he knew better than to disturb you when you worked since it could cause something to explode (he'd done it multiple times), but he had to do something to cheer you up, something that would show him that you just had like a bad dream and was not getting sick from like a super bacteria that came from space or something. 

The music playing made your headache worse, and Johnny was just there, sitting next to you, while on most days that would be nice and even reconforting, today that was just so fucking annoying, like if he was analazing your work, like if he was just waiting for you to do something wrong, and those very blue and beautiful eyes just piercing into the back of your skull were too much right now. 

That brakes you and suddenly you cannot hide any of your anger back, how dare him make fun of you also how dare him see you only as a piece of meat, of course that was not at all what was going on right now, but your emotions were getting the best of you and you did have all the right to let them do it, you uterus felt like it was about to explode from the inside. 

- Leave. You said sternly. 

- Oh kinky, which part of my clothes on? Says Johnny trying to light up the mood once again. 

- Go fuck yourself Storm, haven’t you’ve got anything better to do than fucking annoy myself? I'm working and here you are like any other stupid ass man trying to get into my pants. Am I anything other than a whore to you? Can't you see I am having a bad day? And you keep annoying me, keep eyeing me as if I'm not good enough. Just fucking leave before I do something I’ll regret. 

Johnny leaves, he should have said something, like how come you dare think he sees you like a whore or say sorry for annoying you, he was just trying to make you feel better, but the way you screamed so unprompted and out of character at him said you needed some alone time, and now so did him to try to understand what did he do to you to make you think that. Maybe you were really about to break up with him, and maybe it was because he made you feel inferior somehow, maybe you realised you deserved more. He knew nothing anymore, he really thought your relationship was doing great….

After Johnny leaves you break down, you start to tear up because you screamed at him while he was just being him and then ended up crying waterfalls cause you definitely made Johnny doubt himself, all cause you couldn't keep your feelings in. Johnny was a good superhero, an amazing brother, a very nice uncle and incredible boyfriend, but yet somehow he'd always thought he wasn't good enough. Behind that confident persona that was Human Torch, there was an individual that was a bit insecure because of his intelligence. Of course he was intelligent, I mean, he'd gone to space, he'd helped create some of the best fantastic four costumes, he was a polyglot… But he could not help but to compare himself to the other fantastic four members and to you. 

Sue was a diplomat and activist, which requires no further explanation, considering she was also a mom she was like 3 times the most incredible person ever, Ben was the greatest pilot he had ever met and an amazing chef, Reed had with no doubt the biggest IQ in the country if not more, and you were the youngest scientist of the building, having helped develop so many important things both for the Fantastic four and for the world. And in his eyes Johnny was just Johnny, as if he hadn't saved millions of lives, was able to speak multiple languages and was great with machines. But to him now he was the guy that wasn't even smart enough to figure his girlfriend was losing interest in him due to something he did, though he wasn't even sure what. 

And you were devastated, not only had your period destroyed you, you allowed it to rub it off to Johnny, who had nothing to do with it and was just trying to help. The crying made your headache worse, and that somehow made your cramps even worse, which gave you back pain. You tried to go back to work, you really did, but now you felt depressed and everything hurt, as if your body was mocking you for being a bad girlfriend, so you got the rest of your strength, organized your lab, went back to your room and sent an email to Reed saying you couldn't attend work due to your period. You felt like you should go talk to Johnny, you knew he would understand, he was a great boyfriend, but the hidden fear laced with insecurity that we might act like your previous boyfriends (distant, disgusted, mockingly...) prevented you from doing so. Of course you had talked to Johnny about your period like normal adults do, but this was your first lash out, first time in the sort of still new relationship where your period was so strong that it made you miserable. 

Back to Johnny, he was still confused, it was not your first fight, but most of the time he was the hot headed one in the relationship, so what was going on with you? After some time wondering and dropping random infos to Franklin who was playing with his toys in the living room with H.E.R.B.I.E, everything suddenly made so much sense. 

- You know little guy your mum would be like this sometimes, screaming at me whenever she felt like it. Said Johnny pretending to eat Franklin’s arm just to see his nephew laugh.

- Sure most of the time I did deserve it, like when I stormed into her pajama party only to flirt with her best friend, or when I would playfully shove her when I didn't know she was on her period so - 

- Wait? Is that it? Johnny gets up and goes to check up the calendar next to the refrigerator. 

Last month he remembers buying you that strawberry chocolate you loved so much it made you cry, and something similar had happened the month before, but nothing in this one. 

It is so comical for him that he thought you were going to break up with him or that you were coming down with a deadly disease only to find out you are on your period, not in a way that this is to be overlooked, but in the way that it's something he can help you with. Johnny kisses his nephew’s chubby cheeks in a ‘thank you for being smart” way like if Franklin had been the one to tell what was going on with you and left towards the small market close by to the Baxter Building. 

He got what he taught was the essentials, what he used to get Sue when she needed some extra comfort after their mother died. Four types of chocolate, your favorite chips, some ice tea, painkillers, a cute plushy that so happened to be the Human Torch (you had like six different Human Torch plushies by now, but you loved them all), a mix of red fruits and some nuts. He also got five different types of pads considering since you'd never let him help you during this time of the month “I’m fine hot stuff don’t worry about me, no need to run to the store”, he had no idea of what pad you liked. 

Some time later, after 3 painkillers, lots of crying, binge eating the rest of the chocolate you had and a not so good nap, you hear a knock on your door. You wanted to die when you heard the soft “you up baby?” coming from the other side, there was no way you'd let Johnny see you in this awful state, hair messy, puffy eyes from crying, bloated, wearing the ugliest shirt you had and looking like you got hit by a truck, but the thought of leaving him outside your place after screaming with him that earlier felt way to mean. 

- Johnny, what are you doing here? You say sounding more annoyed than you wanted to when you opened the door. 

- I came bearing goods and a very hot hug. He says smiling softly. 

You wanted to punch Johnny, actually, for the “hot hug” pun, but his cute smile and the tiny Human Torch plush sitting in his arms made that a bit hard. 

- It's okay if you want space right now baby, but I thought some chocolate might cheer you up, you really liked this one last month. 

So that's when you know he figures you are on your period, and he's being so sweet that you almost forget your fear of him being like your exes and allow him in. You feel a bit off, like if Johnny hadn't been in your room so many times already, but before you can feel weirder, he shows you everything he bought and you just sort of melt. How dare he be this cute? 

- Also I know you haven’t eaten cause H.E.R.B.I.E told me you've been here since forever so I've also brought this.

Johnny gets a plate of your favorite food from H.E.R.B.I.E’s hands and pats his tiny robot head. 

- And no worries cause I bagged Ben to make this so I’m sure it's amazing. Come on sweet thing lets get you in bed so you can eat comfortably. 

You just blink and do as he says, you've never had anyone do this to you, mostly because of your shitty exes that would prefer to distance themselves from you during your period, later you figured that if they couldn't have sex with you why bother with nice acts. So then you just got scared Johnny would be the same and scared he might see your want for more affection those times of the month like a sign of weakness. But seeing him beeing so fucking sweet to you made you realise the obvious, this is Johnny, not one of your dumb exes. 

The food is so good and in pair with the cold ice tea he brought your stomach is in heaven. The tiny Human Torch plush sits in your lap while you eat and the big Human Torch man sits right next to you, tracing random and calming patterns into your thigh, Johnny looks at you with so much love in his eyes. After you finish the food and make a mental note to thank Ben later, you shyly thank Johnny.

- No need to say thanks baby, I’m here to take care of you. Want some chocolate now? He says so fucking sweet, the usual smirk and playful eyes no where to be seen, replaced by a soft smile and conforting eyes. 

You melted even more and could no longer hold your feelings in. You started to cry and hugged Johnny close. 

- I’m sorry for lashing out on you today, and for making you take care of me when I'm like this. 

- Oh baby there’s no need to cry, I bet you were overstimulated earlier, and there's nothing I love more than taking care of you. 

- But I was so mean today.

- No biggie sweets, you think Sue wasn't a pain in my ass when she was on her period? That was nothing, don't worry. Says Johnny playful trying to light up the mood as he plays with your hair to calm you and he genuinely does not remember what he thought was going on before figuring you were on your period.  

You start to calm down and detach from the hug in order to get some chocolate to help you relax more, and Johnny just looks at you with affection while holding you close without suffocating you. 

- I've got to ask tho, why didn't you tell me what was going on? I would have been less annoying and I'd have brought you chocolate earlier. 

- I didn't want to bother you. You say a bit embarrassed. 

- You could never bother me. Says Johnny and you feel the truth in his words and feather-like touches. 

- Also my exes weren't really good to me when I was on my period. I know you are not one of them but I kinda got worried you might react the same and make me feel worse, I don't know, it’s stupid really. I just don't like the idea of someone finding me weak. I mean, you are a superhero, and I'm just a normal girl that cannot keep her emotions in order once a month. You say avoiding his eyes while you eat a cookies and cream chocolate. 

You feel Johnny’s hand that’s rubbing circles on your arm heat up a bit more than normal, and he bumbles something like “fuck those idiots” before taking your face into his hands and making you look into his very sweet eyes.

- I would never pull away from you or do whatever those assholes did to you, how could I? You are one of the best things that have ever happened to me. And why would I ever find you weak baby? You are one of the most intelligent people I know, you work every single day with dangerous stuff that could explode and kill you or intoxicate you and you love it. How could I think that someone so sweet, caring and determined was weak? Love, you are in pain, there's like literal blood coming out of you there's no way you'd feel normal, but that doesn't make you weak, it makes you human, like anyone else, and I might light up on fire and stuff, but I'm still human too. 

You feel yourself crying again, but now it’s from happiness, it’s from the feeling of been loved and seen and its so fucking sweet, gosh what did you do to deserve Johnny? And to make it even better, your boyfriend gets that those are happy tears, he just gives you a peck on the lips, dries your tears while saying you could let out everything you wanted and held you close, so close it warmed you up inside and it had nothing to do with his abnormal body heat. 

- Also, after Sue got her powers and I pissed her off one day she was on her period she gave me a very physical idea of what is a period cramp and let’s just say I did not handle it well so I kinda have an idea of what you’re feeling. Johnny says, smiling at the painful but now funny memory. 

And for the first time today you feel yourself laughing, and it's pretty nice. 

- Thank you Johnny, really, and next time I'm not feeling okay I'll tell you. 

He nods into the hug you guys are sharing and suddenly the thought you could be about to break up with him sounds so distant and so ridiculous it ends up being funny. 

You two spend some lovely time together, Johnny puts  your favorite movie on the TV and just cuddles you while massaging your scalp and faintly laughing at the conversations on the screen. Some time later when you complain about a headache, Johnny makes you a soothing hot tea with his hands and looks over to you with nothing more than love, no judgment to be seen. After you finish it he suggests you take a shower. “Hot baths help to reduce headaches, sweet thing”. 

You sigh into the pillows saying you definitely don't feel like leaving the bed and getting out of his embrace, and that's when you see another side of Johnny.

- But who said you're getting away from me hm? Says Johnny playful tho very honest. And you just get stiff 

Johnny wanted to shower with you. Did he forget you were in your period? Was he crazy? Or did he think you had like a super light flow? 

- Johnny, baby, you don't have to. 

- I know, but I want to

- It's disgusting, I'm bleeding rebember? 

- So? Come on love, I'm the human torch, do you really think some blood is going to scare me? 

Tho you know It's more than some blood... 

- Johnny, you sigh, you really don't have to, okay? 

You say worried he might go just to prove he can deal with it, only to be disgusted by what he sees, plus, your exes wouldn't be close to you on your period so this is completely new territory to you.

- Baby I really don’t mind, it’s just blood, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, it's normal. But if you don't want me to go, I won’t, no pressure, I just want to make you feel comfortable, and we both know I do a nice back massage. He laughs a bit, but he's not making fun of you, he just finds cute how much you are worried about him, and you laugh a bit too, his back massage is really good. 

You ponder a bit, you knew Johnny would never do anything to make you uncomfortable, and you craved his touch now more than ever, so you nodded yes, a shyly and worried about doing something new yes, but non the less it was a yes, and it made Johnny so happy, you trusted him so much. 

He gets out of bed first, tells you to go to the bathroom while he gets you some new clothes, and some for him too, he sets them up on the bathroom counter with a pad right next to it. Johnny also lights up some scented candles, puts up a very relaxing song and dim the lights, everything just to make you feel better, it's so sweet that you feel like crying one more time, but the image of your very sexy boyfriend taking off his shirt stops you from. 

You definitely stare more than you should cause Johnny laughs a bit and comes, now shirtless, towards you. 

- I feel like you are wearing too much clothes. He says cheekily. 

Your cheeks get red, but you take off your shirt anyway, after goes the rest of your clothes and the rest of Johnny clothes too, and now he's the one that can't help but stare. 

- Gosh youre so fucking beautiful. 

You two enter the shower and the hot water falling onto you together with Johnny’s hot (in both ways) arms holding you definitely makes you feel better, more relaxed, and the feeling that you were useless today since you left work earlier goes away. Some blood falls onto the shower floor, and while you get hyper aware of that, Johnny pays no mind to it, too busy massaging your shoulders, that relaxes you even more, guess a superhero definitely sees more blood when fighting a villain than when showering with his girlfriend while she's on her period. 

Johnny genuinely finds it funny that you were so worried about the blood, I mean, how could he pay attention to a bit of blood coming out of you in a normal, not “she's hurt” way when he had his gorgeous girl naked right in his arms. 

- If I ever say no to showering with you please kill me, that's a clone, a very crazy one. Johnny says while passing soap in your body. And you smile at that now knowing that is definitely true. 

The shower goes well, he gets you clean, massages your back and neck with an oil that smells like almonds, you get to clean him too and he holds you close just so you can “soak in the warm”. The whole vibe of the moment is sweet and tender, nothing but love, some occasional handsy moments, but nothing too serious. Johnny just couldn't help himself when it came to you, and to be honest, neither could you when it came to him. 

After you are both clean and feeling nice, you two step out of the shower, Johnny dries you with a very big and soft towel, then helps you get dressed, he's got you into your favorite t-shirt, which just happens to be Johnny’s old AC/DC shirt. When you are done, dressed and using your most comfortable pad, he pecks you in the cheek and goes to your room while you finish your skin care. When you finished it and followed him to the room he'd settled Stardew Valley on the tv, turned off the lights and got his switch. You don't think twice before joining him. 

You both love videogames, Johnny enjoys more adrenaline ones, with fast cars or guns or (especially) space, but he loved the way your eyes lighted when you got to take care of your farm with him even more. 

You get cozy next to him and start the game. 

- Thank you Johnny, this meant a lot to me. You say calmly after the very relaxing shower.

- I'm just glad I get to be here for you. Says Johnny smiling. Also dont kill me for saying this but if I wasn’t one to skip showering with you then, now you are cooked cause your tits get a bit bigger when you are on your period and it’s fucking hot. He says with that annoying smirk of his. 

- Johnny - 

You could say you were shocked he said that, but let's be honest, it's Johnny, nothing he could say could shock you anymore. 

- It's true, don't blame me for dating the hottest girl ever, hm. He kisses the corner of your lips while harvesting pumpkins. 

That’s when you realise there's no place you'd rather be. 

A couple of days in Stardew Valley passed and you started to feel that horrible and well known lower abdomen pain. Of course cramps had come to ruin your perfect good night. 

- Love, I don’t feel like playing anymore, my uterus is trying to assassinate me. Pass me the painkiller please. 

- Shit baby, you good? Need something else? Says Johnny passing you a pill with a water bottle. 

- Could you just heat this up for me please? You say while giving him your heating pad and curling into a ball while cursing your cramps. 

Johnny dramatically sights. 

- Sweetheart, honestly how dare you. He says with a playful smirk in his lips.

- I'm sorry, what? You say genuinely confused and in pain.

- How dare you make this squid, says Johnny looking over to the heat pad in his hands, steal my job? I beg your pardon but I am a walking heating pad. 

You laughed so hard, Johnny looked so cute sort of fighting with your heating squid that you thought you were going to pee in your pants, but before you could say anything you felt your boyfriend’s hand over your lower abdomen, and oh God it felt great. 

It felt so fucking better then the heating pad, it was hot in the perfect way, had the perfect pressure, drawed soothing circles into your skin and was charming as hell. You couldn't help but to melt into his touch and moan a bit. 

- See, I don't think that ugly squid makes you sound so pretty does he? Johnny says smirking with that annoying yet way more sexy than it should be smirk. 

- I love you so fucking much right now.

- Love you more. 

You turn over to him and kiss him, Johnny sighs into the kiss, being your heating pad felt too domestic, and it got him feeling some type of way, he asks for permission with his tongue and you allow it. Johnny deepens the kiss and you follow him, tugging the nape of his hair just the way he likes it and with the hand that's not in your lower abdomen, he holds your waist with enough pressure to make you moan, Johnny smiles into the kiss and keeps you close to him, but before things could develop to something else, you break the kiss, your cramps were still piercing your uterus. 

Johnny ends up sitting behind you, one hand hot in the perfect way in your lower abdomen to chase away your cramps, and the other drawing random patterns into your leg. You let your head fall into his naked chest while you played with his fingers and tried to find something relaxing to watch, it was getting pretty late but you weren't tired yet. When you do find something nice to watch you pick up the new Human Torch plushy you just got and holded it. Johnny used to say they never got his hair right, but in your eyes, the tiny Johnny looked just like the big one, except the big one had amazing hot hands that hugged your belly perfectly and worked better than any heating pad would ever so to make your cramps go away. 

Some minutes into the movie you chose and some sips of water Johnny made you drink later you fell asleep holding two human torches, I mean, how could you not when you had the best night ever plus a loving and handsome boyfriend with a very warm hand. And right now Johnny smelled so good, that after shower smell laced with love and the faint smell of smoke that lever quite leaves him, he smelled like home. Just before you could enter dreamland you mumbled a sleepy thank you baby, I love you, and that's when Johnny knew he would not die without marrying you. 

He said he loved you back, kissed your head and had to calm himself down when the sight of you sleeping in his arms made both his inside and outside hotter. Sure he was good when it came to having control of his powers, but you made him lose it more than he should, this was definitely not the first time he felt his eyes turning red and his hair getting a bit of flames when he was with you, you just made him feel so loved, so appreciated that all his self control left the room for a bit. 

Johnny calmed down and turned off the TV, then he laid properly down and repositioned you so you'd be cuddling and comfortable, all without taking his hand from your lower abdomen. He then put the covers over you two, and before going to sleep with you he lights up his hand only to be able to find his phone and get it to take a picture of his loving girl holding her newest Human Torch plushy, that had to be the best part of being a superhero, have your significant other hold a tiny you. 

"Really? Why is that the part I have to explain to everyone. I mean, logically, it just doesn't make sense. That should be the question on the bottom of someones list. It shouldn't even be a question."

"Did you get a divorce?"

"In 1930? No. Even I knew that wasn't really an option. I married him to stop people talking, not start it. Besides, he wasn't this much of a bother when we were alive."

"So..." Lucifer prompted after a moment.

"Till death do us part?"

"Ah."

He really did laugh now. Just a light chuckle. Y/n smiled in appreciation.

"There you go. Now, how did you know? About the deal, I mean. Also, why do you guys hate each other so much? I thought you had never met before? And oh! Ohohoh! Also, can I have some of your hair."

Lucifer scoffed, his arms falling loosely from where he had crossed them over his chest to his sides. Charlie had been right, Y/n certainly was odd.

"My hair?"

Y/n nodded her head eagerly. When he gave no response, a concentrated and slightly confused expression flitted across her face. As if struck by a sudden inspiration, she regained her composure once again.

"Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to say 'please' when I ask for stuff. Al always said it was proper manners but I think its just a waste of time to be perfectly honest. It's still the same request, the same outcome. Doesn't really change anything. Why would one word make someone give a totally different answer? I mean, it's just foolish really. Anyway," she cleared her throat, "can I please have some of your hair?"

"I..." Lucifer raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples, "why?"

"Because you're a fallen angel?" Y/n replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "And I want to see what that means?"

Before Lucifer could reply, Alastor stepped back into the lobby, straightening his jacket.

"What a show!" Angel exclaimed, applauding dramatically.

Alastor tipped his head to the side in recognition, his eyes surveying the room. When they fell on Lucifer and Y/n in the corner, his gaze hardened. Y/n payed the commotion no mind. Lucifer, on the other hand, grinned.

"I have a proposal." he hummed, turning back to Y/n.

She narrowed her eyes in sudden doubt.

"You don't like Alastor very much, do you?"

"No...? Of course I don't!" Y/n replied in exasperation, "All he does is keep me from doing my work and drag me around by that stupid chain like a dog. It hurts my neck and..." her voice grew softer and she looked away, fixing her eyes on her interlaced fingers, "and I feel like he's trying to force me into the shape of something I'm not. It's... it's like wearing shoes that are four sizes two small on a twenty mile hike."

Lucifer laughed.

"Well, that certainly is... descriptive. How about we make a deal?"

Her head shot up, her narrowed eyes meeting his once again.

"You're not going to just take my soul like he did, are you?"

"No, of course not my dear. Only lesser demons like him need to do that in order to feel strong, to maintain some sort of power, to get what they want." Lucfier enunciated the last four words sharply, the syllables like needles, "I'm simply offering an exchange."

"That's what he said too."

Lucifer raised his hands to show he meant no harm.

"Look, we don't even have to shake on it. I will give you some of... some of my hair or... whatever... and you will help me get on his nerves, take him down a notch. Who the Hell knows, that might even help you too."

Y/n was silent in thought for a moment. She did want the hair and messing with Alastor seemed all too appealing. Still, there was something eating away at her.

"Would you..." she lifted herself up to Lucifer's eye level with her hair.

Y/n wasn't that much shorter than the king of Hell, just a couple inches. Those couple inches certainly made a difference. Lucifer could have sworn there was a literally electrical spark in the darkness of her eyes.

"You're powerful, yes? King of Hell and all?"

Lucifer nodded.

"Would you be able to help me figure out a way out of this mess?"

It was Lucifer's turn to think now as he mulled the idea over in his mind. Sure, theoretically he probably could but, he had never tried to break another demon's deal and even past that, he didn't know if he wanted to. Y/n was disarming, strange, had mentioned wanting to destroy the world. Lucifer didn't know her well enough to gage if there was any real risk and Alastor seemed to have her on more than a metaphorical leash.

"Maybe." he admitted, deciding on the path of least resistance, the one where he could try and succeed or pretend it was an unknown impossibility all along, "I don't know."

In some strange way, there was something stable about the man before her. Alastor was unpredictable, had sent her life spinning. Lucifer felt safe.

"Good enough for me!" Y/n smiled brightly, "I look forward to working with you."

---

Writing this made me really want to do a Lucifer fic with the idle hands thing.

NEXT PART -> Till Death Do Us Part pt. 4

Till Death Do Us Part Master List

TAGS:

“How many times do I need to tell you that you absolutely can not do that Stark!” You exclaimed in exasperation over the cluttered lab table once more.

“But if I just ignored that little thing-” the glare you sent from over the top of your glasses quickly shut his remark down before it could continue any further. Looking contrite, but rather worryingly still determined, Stark pushed back from the table, going slightly further than expected in his chair and trying to style it out as intentional as he almost collided into several rather important projects. 

“Well since you’ve thoroughly pooped on that party Brainiac, I’m declaring we call it a day here, and hey speaking of parties, you are coming later aren’t you?” He asked whilst trying not to fall of his chair and catching a rather dangerous looking item falling off one of the nearby tables he had knocked into. 

A wave of panic washed through you at the mention of the event later; you had been hoping that as no one had specifically invited you to it, only mentioned it in passing, that you would be able to give it a miss unnoticed. It wasn’t that you disliked Starks events or even parties in general, you just happened to be aware of who else would be there and definitely couldn’t trust yourself to keep up a front with the copious alcohol that would no doubt find its way into your system. Not that you were totally innocent in how it found its way there. You had been hoping to avoid a direct invitation like this, purely because you had a real issue saying no to people, especially those you liked and admired. It was because of this, and only this - not the fact you would get to see Loki in one of his impeccably tailored suits again as a helpful voice in your head supplied, that you found yourself blurting out the following. 

“Uh yeah sure, of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world boss!” 

You had hoped that it had come out in a convincing tone, but the slight frown emerging on Starks face said otherwise. However, as quick as it had appeared on his face it was gone, replaced by a trademark smile as he slapped his thighs and stood.

“Well then, you better be off to prepare and polish your elbows, or whatever it is you ladies manage to do to fill so much time getting ready before these events,” his face quickly faltered after realising what he had actually just said and quickly followed up with “not saying of course that it isn’t absolutely worth it, especially if Pepper asks”. 

In an effort to allow Tony to leave the interaction without digging himself an even deeper hole, you stood too, gathering your bag as you went, giving a slightly awkward wave over your shoulder as you walked out the door. 

It was only when you made it back to your room upstairs that you fully understood what you had actually agreed to. Not only were you going to have to be in the same room as Loki, desperately trying to hide your feelings towards him, whilst watching him flirt with practically everyone in attendance, but also work out what the hell you were going to wear to a party at such short notice. Unlike many of the other inhabitants of the tower, your wardrobe wasn’t exactly equipped for these kinds of events. You had always preferred to skip out on anything that required this level of formal wear, the comfort of your staple jeans and a hoody was something you had always chosen over the tighter fitting, more formal attire required at Stark’s parties. 

In a somewhat unhelpful move, you decided that putting off the outfit dilemma was the best course of action, as a frantic full-body shower was needed, and of course there was no point choosing an outfit before you’d done your hair and makeup after the shower as well. You had told yourself that the outfit choices could be mulled over during this time as well, but realistically knew that you were just lying to yourself and would inevitably put it off until the last moment. 

A frantic search of your wardrobe, which involved many an outfit being taken out, only to be thrown into the rejection pile on the floor moments later, left you coming up short and in the middle of a ring of discarded outfits whilst still in just your towel. You sank to the floor, just staring despondently at the chaos around you, contemplating whether Tony would actually notice if you didn’t go after all. 

It was in that state exactly that Nat found you minutes later after she had knocked, not waited for an answer and entered anyway, only to stop in her tracks and abandon whatever purpose she had come with upon seeing you in such a state. 

“Well that outfit is sure to grab everyone’s attention, not what I would choose personally but good for you girl!” Nat said with a smirk, leaning on your doorframe.

“Don’t even start with that right now, I wasn’t planning on going to this until and hour ago, and I appear to have greatly underestimated my wardrobe deficiencies. Some actual help right now would be greatly appreciated.” Your reply came from the floor, all hope of being able to avoid Stark’s shindig fading with the sound of the door closing behind Natasha. 

“I’m sure your so called deficiency isn’t nearly as bad as you’re making it out to be,” her voice somewhat muffled as she rooted through what was left of your clothes in you’re wardrobe. 

“I mean look right here, what was wrong with this option, it’s even green, perfect to catch you-know-who’s attention!” The smile on her face dropped when she turned to face you, brandishing the green dress you had bought months ago on a whim when out with some friends, only to realise you would never be comfortable enough to wear it out in public when you had tried it on at home later that evening. 

“Woah, what’s so wrong with this one that it makes you pull that face? It’s a stunning dress I can’t see what you could possibly have against this one, its perfect for tonight.” Nat questioned with a confused frown, after seeing the vehement refusal on your face at the suggestion. 

“It is a beautiful dress, just not on me, I don’t-” before you could even finish the thought, Nat had pulled you up, and was pushing you quite forcefully back towards the bathroom, throwing you in there along with the dress and your raciest, laciest underwear that you hadn’t even seen her grab.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response, you should know better than to speak like that about one of my closest friends by now, by the time I’m back after getting changed myself, I want you wearing that dress so I can prove to you how wrong you are when you see everyone’s faces when we walk in later” Nate reply was somewhat muffled behind the bathroom door, but the fierceness, and her love for you, was still conveyed perfectly through the wood. 

“Besides if it truly makes you feel that bad after wearing it tonight, we’ll burn it together tomorrow, I’m not having you keeping it if its going to make you feel this way whenever you see it.” The finality in her tone and promise of being able to get rid of the thing tomorrow was enough to get you to follow her orders, that alongside the fact that you were still rather scared of her, even after having been friends with her for a few years now. 

With Natasha momentarily gone, it gave you the chance to ruminate in your thoughts, the dress was truly stunning, a deep emerald green that displayed your decolletage beautifully, with a daring slit from ankle to high up on your thigh. While you could see that the dress itself was objectively great, when it was you wearing it, it didn’t seem that way anymore. Instead of being able to focus on all of the ways it could highlight your beauty, all you could see was the way the closer fit of the dress clung to your stomach slightly, and how the slit showed off your thighs, and just seemed to emphasise how big they were. 

It was in this downward spiral that Nat found you in upon her return, a frown once again set on her face as when she saw the malice behind your eyes, directed solely at yourself. 

The way you could only ever focus on the parts of yourself that you saw as problems had always hurt Natasha, and how it impacted the way you behaved as well. It wasn’t just a matter of wearing baggier clothes that covered your insecurities, but the way you let it decide where you belonged socially. She was intimately familiar with your growing feelings towards a certain god of mischief who had taken up residence in the tower little over a year earlier, but also with your pessimistic view towards your chances of the feelings being reciprocated. Ever since you had realised that your feelings were more than that of just friendship you had immediately resigned yourself to remaining in the friend zone, refusing to believe that he would ever see you as something more because “he’s a god and I’m, well, I mean just look at me.” Nat had tried countless times to reassure you that the way you saw yourself, was not in fact the way others saw you, but had also at this point come to the understanding that your self perception wasn’t based in logic, and reasoning as such wasn’t going to make enough of an impact to change how you saw yourself. 

It was with this in mind that she approached you, an arm reaching round you and pulling you into her side for a hug, while smiling at you in the mirror, before grabbing your hand and pulling you out of your room and to the party on the floor above. 

Your outfit dilemma had delayed the two of you a little, so when you arrived upstairs, the party was already in full swing; with music blaring and alcohol clearly flowing freely if the state that some of the guests were in already was any indication. As such you were easily able to slip in behind Natasha unnoticed, before heading straight over to the bar, feeling the need to indulge a little more than normal tonight. 

From your vantage point at the bar up on the mezzanine, you could see almost all of the goings on down below you, from Lang absolutely busting it up on the dance floor to Tony trailing around after Pepper, seemingly trying to make up for something that was undoubtedly his fault, but wasn’t actually remorseful for. Unfortunately it also meant that you had the perfect view of Loki and his apparent flavour of the night. Despite knowing how unproductive it was, you found yourself comparing yourself to her, noting all the ways she was traditionally attractive, only to seemingly find yourself lacking in the same places in comparison. Even though you had accepted months ago that Loki was never going to reciprocate your feelings, and having desperately tried to allocate him into the friend box in your head unsuccessfully, it still hurt deeply to see him so close with other women, knowing what he would be doing with them that night, only to move on to the next when it suited him. 

This knowledge had one advantage for you though, it had made it much easier for you to become friends with the god. As you knew nothing romantic was ever going to happen between the two of you, you had found it that much easier to relax and joke around him, even going as far to return his flirty remarks, as there was no pressure behind it for you, and the potential embarrassment behind behaving more boldly was removed. Since he flirted with everyone that way, it obviously didn’t mean anything to him, so it made it much easier for you to jokingly flirt back. It was because of this new found confidence, that you had struck up a strong friendship with the god and had come to call him one of your closest friends. It had only added to your mental torture.

After a few more self indulgent moments, agonising a little more over what could have been you turned to the bartender, and took another drink with a polite thanks and a smile before deciding that even if you did still regret coming, and especially wearing the dress, you were going to make the most of the evening. Besides how many people could say they got to drink and dance with the avengers, who they were friends with. 

It was with this new found resilience that you stood from your place and made your way down to the dance floor, having caught Nat and Wanda’s eyes before and been summoned. 

The next few hours passes in a slight blur of laughter and dancing for you, after a few, chaotic but incredibly fun dances with Nat and Wanda some of the other men began to join in, requesting a dance with you. Between the fun of teaching Steve how people actually danced in clubs now alongside Nat, and Bucky whirling you round the floor like an absolute professional - after complementing your outfit for the evening with an all too knowing look, you had almost forgotten about your preconceptions for the evening, but whenever you danced with one of the men, however gracious and smooth they were, you couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if it were Loki instead of them; comparing the feel of their hand on your back to what you had imagined Loki’s would be like if he were there instead. 

Just when you were about to take a break from dancing, a slightly cooler hand came to rest on your back, as its owner leant down to speak into your ear over the music.

“Darling, I think its about time we show them how its really done don’t you?”

The feeling of his breath over your neck as he leant in closer sent a jolt down your spine, that you were almost certain he must have felt in his hand, still placed firmly in the middle of your back, exactly where you had imagined it being all night. 

Quickly composing yourself, you managed a somewhat natural reply, rather impressed with your own neurones for still being able to function at least somewhat normally whilst Loki was so close to you, having not moved away under the pretence of needing to be closer to be able to hear you over the music.

“Ah of course your majesty, I’m sure us mere mortals couldn’t possibly live up to the prowess of a god”

His low reply was barely heard over the thumping of the bass, in a way that made you question whether he had actually intended for your to hear it, if it wasn’t for the sly wink he sent towards you after.

“Yes I find that is the case in many areas darling, especially when it comes to moving their bodies”

The raised eyebrow you gave in reply expressed all you needed him to know, and covered for the fact that your mind had been sent in a downward spiral imagining his trademark snake hips dance move, in areas other than the dance floor. 

Whilst you were somewhat distracted in your thoughts, he moved the hand from your back to loop his arm round your waist and bring you back into the middle of the dance floor, beginning to sensually move his hips and draw you into to him to do the same. 

What you didn’t know was that Loki and been subtly watching you all evening, ever since you had walked in the door, many may not have noticed your entrance behind the Black Widow, but at this point Loki’s body was finely attuned to your presence and he hadn’t been able to draw his sight away from you for more than a few seconds at a time. You were wearing his colours. His green. But it wasn’t just your choice in attire tonight that had drawn his attention, as delightful as that dress was, you’d had it for many months before this point. Initially you had been a curiosity to Loki, kind to him when many others weren’t immediately following his return to Midgard, but after talking to you the first few times it was your intelligence that had captured Loki’s heart. He had found you to be one of the few midgardians to match his voracious appetite for knowledge, both in reading and in your chosen profession as a biologist working alongside Stark and Banner, but much less insufferable than the other two. 

When Loki had first come to terms with his interest in you, he had thought his subtle flirtations would be enough to alert you to his intentions, but when these failed to elicit any kind of response from you he had slowly become more and more bold with his innuendoes and flirtatious comments when in your presence. At first he had thought he was finally getting somewhere with you when you had began to match him in conversations, but when you made no sign of anything more, he had found himself stumped. At one point he had even stooped so low as to flirt with others in your presence in the hope that it would inspire enough jealously within you to reveal your feelings towards him, alas it did not work. No one had ever taken this long to fall victim to his seduction. He had admitted to himself that this time was different to his previous experiences as truly desired more with you than just a roll in the bed, not to say that did not also desire that with you, he had thought about that extensively, but he was not sure how to progress from here. 

When you had walked in tonight though, looking exquisite in his colours he had decided that enough was enough, tonight he was going to finally bite the bullet and just ask you outright if you would be with him. It was not a decision that he had come to lightly, but he had finally come to the realisation that if he wanted something to happen he was going to have to do something about it for himself. 

You didn’t know whether Loki had bribed the DJ before approaching you, or it was a shear unfortunate coincidence but as you continued dancing, each song seemed to get progressively dirtier and more sensual. This combined with finally dancing with him after having imagined it all night, the enticing smell of him from being in such close proximity, and the one or two drinks you’d had early were practically sending you into an early death.

Simultaneously Loki was experiencing a similar issue, when she wasn’t looking, Loki found his eyes being drawn from her face down to her chest, which with his height he had a fabulous view down, and combined with the lyrics and music he hands had seemingly began to move of his own accord and were veering dangerously further south. He decided he needed to do something soon, or he was going to have a very hard time of it.

As he leant down once again to speak into your ear, your breath hitched ever so slightly, and a faint flush bloomed across your cheeks- a fact that didn’t go entirely unnoticed by the god, and one that made his own pulse race. All hope that you felt the same way as him was not lost.

“Are you alright there darling? You’re looking awfully flushed. You’re not too warm in here are you?”

You had barely managed to stutter out what you could only imagine would have been a terrible excuse before he continued;

“Unless of course it is for the same reason as I.”

The hope that formed in your chest from the one sentence alone caused you to whip your head up, needing to search his gaze to see if he was really implying what you thought he was, surely he couldn’t be, there was no way that he could have felt the same way towards you as you did to him. Before you could continue with your self deprecation, he interrupted your thoughts once again;

“Now now darling stop that immediately, I can tell you are already overthinking this before I have even truly started. I do not know what it is that makes you doubt yourself so, but you must know that whatever it is I do not share that same belief.”

You held his breath as he said this, still not truly believing that this could be going where you wished it was, but not daring to do anything to break the spell just yet

“I was almost sure you would have known by now, but apparently I have not been clear enough in my appreciation or my advances towards you. I very much like you min elskling, you have well and truly captivated me heart and mind, body and soul. I would be honoured if you wished to court me, or as I believe you mortals say, go on a date with me” Loki finished with a release of breath, like saying all that had released a burden from upon his chest and he could finally breath deeply again now it was done.

You just stood there frozen in the middle of the dance floor, unsure if what you had heard was really happening, surely this was all some wonderful fever induced dream, and you were going to wake up face down on one of the desks in the lab any moment. 

However Loki was reading your silence as rejection, and the insecurities that he had previously pushed aside were starting to flood back.

“Of course darling, if you do not feel the same then, I would be more than happy to just remain as friends,” it was of course a lie, but one that he would guard closely if that were the case, as he would never want for you to feel guilty for making an honest decision, and would much rather keep your friendship than not have you in his life at all.

“And I can completely understand why of course if you do not return my feelings, after all with my heritage I know-” before he could finish his sentence though you had reached up and pulled his face down to your height, before promptly pushing your mouth onto his in a scorching kiss. In the time Loki had began to panic and ramble, it had finally registered what Loki had been saying, and that it was in fact real, so before he could spiral any further you had to display your feelings towards him, and this had seemed like the most direct course of action.

After a brief moment in which Loki’s brain had to catch up to what was actually going on right now, he swiftly took charge of the kiss, both of you melting into it, especially as Loki opened his mouth to let he tongue dance along your lips before slowly meeting your own. At the same time, Lokis hands began to wander more actively, finally sliding that last little distance down to your behind, which he grasped firmly before sliding one hand down to bring your leg up and round his hip, letting you feel exactly what you were doing to him. Your own hands had found their way into his silky hair, finally fulfilling the desire you had held for many months to feel what it was like between your fingers, and when you gave it a gentle tug in the passion of the moment, a low growl made its way up Lokis throat, only enticing you in further. 

It was only as a few wolf whistles broke through your bubble that you remembered exactly where you both were and that it was perhaps not the best place for what was clearly on its way to happening. It was with the same thought that Loki took your hand and began leading you out of the room, stopping only briefly first to growl lowly into your ear “we need to leave now darling, don’t you agree?” Before nipping your earlobe and pulling back to grin at you. 

With absolutely no objections, and no subtlety either, you nodded before taking the lead taking you both in the direction your room, before stopping to remember the state you had left it in before the party in your distress to find an outfit. You blushed at the memory and changed direction slightly to lead you both to his rooms instead. Loki however took no notice, or simply did not care for the slight moment of hesitation, as at this point he didn’t particularly care where you were headed as long as it was close by, you were finally his and now it was time for him to claim you as such. 

Part Two here:

Zoro's not a very intellect-focused man, preferring to do anything other than discover things, and he'll tell you as much. Although, he can't help but wonder what exactly it is you do when you're working.

There are many times when you'll find him lying down in the same room as you. He'll watch you tinker with the different vials until he falls asleep.

It always feels as though he's just leaning over your shoulder when you work, just trying to make sense of the writing in your notebook or what the symbols that are seemingly scattered everywhere mean.

He's always asking stupid questions, but you try to keep an open mind.

You asked him once if he wanted to help dissect one of Ussop's plants with you, just to see what it was that made them so violent, and he agreed. (he cut it too harshly causing you both to have to start over)

Zoro's a lot better when it comes to organizing things. He's always so gentle with your jars and doesn't mind placing or grabbing them off the taller shelves in your lab.

He really likes wearing the lab coats. They remind him of his usual kimono. He also wears his Skypeia goggles because he thinks they're sorta science-y

He finds the way you fight to be really intriguing with how seamlessly it is for you to invent chemical-based weapons or technology that helps you move more easily.

"Ew, this smells like Sanji."

Whenever he gets injured, he always manages to find a way to sneak out of the clinic and into your lab, asking if there is anything you want to test before he fully healed. You obviously shoo him back to Chopper and tell him he's being stupid, but you gotta appreciate the determination to your cause.

Zoro's always offering Sanji up to be used as a subject and, if you're a girl, Sanji will fully attest to it being true.

He's like a cat in the sense that he'll bring you dead animals for you to inspect. He's not entirely sure what it is you do, but he's here to support you in the one way he knows he can.

He'll follow you around whenever you're stopped at an island to help gather and carry whatever resources you need.

There was one time he was messing around with some of the compounds while you worked at the microscope, and he ended up pouring some of his alcohol into the beaker to see what would happen. (he caught on fire)