An Update! (sorry About Your Trouble Sleeping; It Can Be So Awful)

An update! (sorry about your trouble sleeping; it can be so awful)

"I'm fine." Oh Reader, any bestie knows that answer is unacceptable. Good thing Skyler is not buying it. Plus Skyler is ready to take out Chef Hottie Matt if necessary; I'm taking note of that in case we need her to kneecap Kelsie. Go stomp some grapes, Kelsie, maybe it will improve your mood.

"Can I get you anything? Water, coffee...tea...my hot and adorable colleague Skyler?" I like Reader and Skyler's tagteam matchmaking approach. This is good. I suspect that it will (unbeknownst to Reader and Matt) assist in the romance of Reader and Matt because Foggy and Skyler collaborating could result in Matt and Reader being in forced proximity to each other.

Pretty bold of Foggy to show up at the Bulletin, though. Tip of the hat to him, especially when he intimates to Reader that there's some uhm interest between her and Chef Cake Matt. That's a delicate situation but Foggy is way better at direct but tactful communication than Matt in a way, perhaps because Foggy is the interested bystander. Foggy understands Matt (similar to Skyler/Reader) and how past experiences influence present choices, as well as how we rationalize our responses to those situations. Foggy sees they are lovesick for each other but Matt is wary, Reader is wary and neither is being particularly honest with themselves (yes and no, they admit the attraction but not the relationship that accompanies it) or with each other, perhaps in the desperate hope that hearts will remain whole?

Hearts are meant to be used; it makes them stronger and full of life.

Cooking Up Love, Chapter 10

Pairing: Chef!Matt Murdock x F!Journalist!Reader

Rating: T

Story Summary: Here 

Warnings/Tags: Hallmark levels of fluffy, cheesy goodness (and speed that their relationship develops, lol), no use of Y/N, Matt is not a vigilante, idiots in love being idiots

Word Count: ~3200

A/N: Here we are with the next chapter! I have to prep for an important work event on Saturday that will more than likely cut into my writing time, so there may not be another update until next week, but until then enjoy our pining dumbasses!

(As always, thanks to the fantabulous @theradioactivespidergwen for the divider!)

Tag List: @yarrystyleeza @hailey-murdock @mattkinsella @bellaxgiornata @danzer8705 @chezagnes @shouldbestudying41 @thepunisherfrankcastle @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment

"Come on , you stupid thing," you grumbled at the Bulletin's ancient copier as it sputtered and creaked. "I know it's early, but work , damn you."

You weren't in the best mood this morning -- you hadn't slept well, your mind choosing to replay your almost-kiss with Matt from the previous evening every time you closed your eyes.

You looked over at the doorway as the sound of footsteps neared. "Oh, hey, there you are," Skyler said as she poked her head in the doorway. "You have a visitor."

Your heart leaped. "Who is it?"

Skyler sighed wistfully. "The future father of my children. He didn't give his name but he's a really hot blonde-haired dude."

Part of you wished that it had been Matt, but after the way you had run out on him the previous night you supposed that would've been too much to hope for. "Okay, thanks."

Skyler stepped fully into the copy room, her brow furrowing. "Hey, are you alright?"

You shrugged. "I'm fine."

Skyler crossed her arms. "No, you don't look happy. Did something happen with Chef Hottie last night? Because I don't care how many Michelin stars he has, I'll go kick his ass if I need to."

You huffed out a soft laugh and shook your head. "Not necessary. I'm just tired."

Skyler nodded and uncrossed her arms. "As long as you're okay."

"I am. Thanks for your concern, though. I really appreciate it."

Skyler gave you a quick hug. "Of course. You're my bestie, I'm not going to let anyone mess with you."

You gave her a hug back. "Ditto. I'll tell you all about last night as soon as I deal with whoever this is, 'kay?"

Skyler nodded, then winked. "You'd better." 

You followed her out of the copy room and into the bullpen, your eyebrows raising as you spotted your visitor. "Chef Nelson." 

Chef Nelson raised his hand in greeting. "Hi. Is this a bad time?"

You shook your head. "Oh, no, I was just fighting with our copy machine, but I can let someone else have a turn trying to battle it out. What can I do for you?"

Chef Nelson bit his lip. "Can we talk?"

You nodded. "Sure."

You turned towards Skyler. "By the way, Sky, this is Chef Nelson, Chef Murdock's business partner. Chef Nelson, this is Skyler. She's our Lifestyle writer here at the Bulletin ."

Skyler reached out to shake Chef Nelson's hand, a broad smile spreading across her face. "It's nice to meet you, Chef Nelson."

"Nice to meet you too," Chef Nelson replied with an equally broad smile. "And please, call me Foggy -- uh, both of you."

You smiled to yourself. You could practically see the cartoon hearts floating above both Foggy's and Skyler's heads. 

You nodded. "Sure."

You turned towards Skyler. "I'll be in the conference room. Foggy, you can follow me."

You led Foggy to the conference room, your heart twisting as you remembered doing the same thing with Matt not even a week earlier.

You closed the door and gestured to a chair. "Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink? Water, coffee… tea?"

Foggy shook his head as he sat. "No, thank you."

You sat across from him. "So what can I help you with?"

Foggy took a deep breath. "I um, I just wanted to apologize for interrupting you and Matt last night. I had no idea that he, uh, had company at the restaurant and didn't mean to intrude."

You shook your head, your heart beginning to thrum nervously in your chest. "No, you weren't intruding. I was just there to taste some new recipes that Matt had said he was thinking about adding to the menu. We had already finished and were just talking when you came in."

Foggy huffed out a laugh. "Seemed like a pretty important conversation."

Your face heated. You weren't sure what exactly Matt had told Foggy about your evening together. "Nothing he and I couldn't talk about later."

You licked your lips nervously. "By the way, how, um, how is Matt this morning?" 

Foggy shook his head. "I don't know, I haven't talked to him yet today. We start prepping later on Tuesdays since Matt's always experimenting in the kitchen until really late on Mondays."

"Oh." You couldn't help but wonder if Matt had ever had anyone else over to the restaurant for a 'blind tasting'. "Okay."

Foggy studied you. "You know, I really do appreciate you giving him a second chance after you two started off on the wrong foot. Not that I'm trying to make excuses for him, but he's been through a lot in the past couple of years and is still dealing with some stuff."

You shook your head. "It's not a problem. And there's no need to apologize for last night, I promise."

"Thanks so much." Foggy stood. "I should get going -- I have a couple of errands to run before I head to the restaurant, but thanks for taking the time to talk with me."

You nodded. "Of course. Here, I'll walk you out."

You opened the door to the conference room and ushered Foggy out into the bullpen, stopping by Skyler's desk. "You know, I actually really do need to get back to my battle with the copier, so Sky, would you mind walking Foggy out?"

Skyler shook her head. "No, it'd be my pleasure."

"Thanks." You turned towards Foggy. "Thanks for dropping by."

Foggy nodded, his eyes firmly on Skyler. "Sure."

Skyler stood. "Right this way."

You shook your head with a smile as Skyler and Foggy headed towards the elevator. There was no denying the chemistry between those two and you would've been shocked if Skyler didn't come back with Foggy's phone number at the very least, if not a date.

You headed back to the copy room, determined to beat the copy machine at its own game.

You had finally gotten it to cooperate when Skyler came in, sighing happily.

You grinned over at her. "You're welcome."

She playfully shook her finger at you. "Girl, why didn't you tell me Chef Hottie's business partner was even hotter than him?"

You huffed out a laugh. "I only met Foggy one time before last night, which reminds me…" 

You grabbed your copies. "Come on, let's go get some coffee and I'll tell you about it."

You walked into the break room, pointedly ignoring Kelsie, who was talking to another one of your coworkers. 

"James surprised me with tickets to this very exclusive wine tasting event upstate  this weekend," she was saying. "Only the finest vintages will be served."

You rolled your eyes. You had never met Kelsie's boyfriend and knew absolutely nothing about him (nor did you care to), but you had certainly heard his name enough times to already be tired of hearing about him.

Kelsie sneered over at you. "Well, I guess I better go get started on my Restaurant Week coverage since someone stole the feature story from me."

You sighed to yourself as they left the break room, grabbing the bag of coffee you kept at work and filling the permanent filter pod for the office Keurig before popping it into the brewer.

" God , I can't stand her," Skyler muttered. "Anyway, tell me about last night."

You filled a cup with some water and poured it into the reservoir before placing the cup underneath the Keurig and setting it to brew. "Okay, well, Matt was waiting in the lobby to unlock the door for me when I got to Daredevil," you began. "I was supposed to watch him cook again, but instead he sat me down at a table near the kitchen then went to get some water and crackers."

You bit your lip. "After he came back he, um, he pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and asked me if it was okay if we did a blind tasting."

"He blindfolded you?" A small smirk appeared on Skyler's face. "Kinky."

You huffed out a laugh. "It wasn't like that! Matt just wanted me to be able to understand how he develops his flavors and have me judge a dish using my non-visual senses."

You shook your head. "Anyway, he brought out the first dish, which was a butternut squash risotto with pancetta that both smelled and tasted amazing ."

Skyler hummed. "Ooh, that does sound delicious."

You nodded. "It really was."

"So how was it trying to eat without being able to see your food?"

You huffed out a breath as your coffee finished brewing. "Honestly, it was really disorienting. Matt had to help me find my spoon for the risotto and since he had me eat a cracker and drink some water in between dishes so I wouldn't still be tasting what I had just eaten when he brought out the next dish I was terrified of spilling my water all over. Luckily I made it through without making a mess."

Skyler smiled softly at you as she took a turn at the Keurig. "Something tells me he would've been understanding even if you had accidentally spilled something."

You nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, the second dish wound up being a beet hummus, which I'm afraid to say was awful ."

You grinned at the memory. "Luckily Matt tasted it and agreed with me that it was terrible, that it was definitely a no for the menu."

You continued telling Skyler about the different dishes Matt had you try, including the pesto-parmesan linguine that you were still thinking about. "Finally he brought out this blood orange cremé bruleé that he had been working on and a blood orange mimosa to go with it, and oh my god, Sky, it was so damn good."

You took a sip of your coffee. "I made a joke about it replacing Matt's tiramisu as my favorite dessert and it actually turned out that he had also made some tiramisu and wanted me to try it since he had tweaked the recipe. He also said I could take the blindfold off then asked if I wanted some more champagne since he had opened a new bottle for the mimosa and there was no sense in letting it go flat."

Skyler took a sip of her own coffee. "I'm sure that wasn't the only reason, but go ahead."

"The tiramisu was even better than the first one he had made for me, so he said since it had my approval it was ready to go on the menu." You bit your lip, second-guessing whether you should tell Skyler about the rest of your evening. "I, um, I asked him to tell me when it was added to the menu so I could be there to order it as soon as they opened, and Matt joked that he'd have it ready for me when I arrived, so I asked if he'd bring it out to me personally and he said yes, that he'd make the time to come say hi… and then he asked me what I looked like."

Skyler's eyebrows raised. "He did?"

You nodded. "He said that he'd had a blank picture of me in his head all week so he had been curious then he said that he could picture people based on physical descriptions alone but could more accurately picture them if he felt their facial features, so after I described myself to him I told him he could feel my face if he wanted."

"And did he?"

Your face heated at the memory of Matt's fingertips softly gliding along your skin, his brow furrowed in concentration as he painted a mental picture of you. 

You nodded. "He said I was beautiful… then he leaned in to kiss me."

Skyler gasped. "You kissed him? "

You winced and quickly shook your head. "Right before we did Foggy came in from the kitchen and startled me, so I jumped back. He apologized for interrupting and I said that it was fine, that I needed to go anyway, and then I grabbed my stuff and practically ran out of there."

Skyler groaned out your name. "Girl. Why? "

"Because I'm an idiot, that's why." You sighed. "I panicked. "

"And that's why you couldn't sleep."

You nodded. "I kept replaying it in my head over and over, trying to imagine different scenarios and ways it could have turned out if Foggy hadn't shown up or if I hadn't bolted. That's actually why he came by -- to apologize again for interrupting me and Matt last night."

You bit your lip as a thought struck you. "He said that Matt had been through a lot in the past couple of years, so what if Kelsie is actually right? What if Matt is just pretending to like me so I'll write a positive article about him that'll help him rebuild his reputation?"

Skyler shook her head. "Do you even know what could have happened to where Matt would need to rebuild his reputation?"

You shook your head in response. "No."

"Then don't listen to Kelsie. I'm sure she's just making shit up."

"I hope so, because I really like him. I haven't felt this way about anyone in a really long time, Sky, so if it turns out he's been playing me this whole time…" You trailed off with a sigh.

"Hey, if he has been then that offer to kick his ass still stands." Skyler smiled at you. "No matter how hot his business partner is."

"Oh, shit, yeah." You shook your head to clear it. "How was walking Foggy out? You seemed pretty happy when you came back."

Skyler grinned. "Well, that's because I have a date Saturday morning. Foggy and I are going to go have coffee before he has to get to the restaurant."

You smiled. I knew it. "That's great. I'm really happy for you."

Skyler studied you. "So what are you going to do about Matt?"

You shook your head. "I'm just going to wait until my article is turned in and see how it goes."

You finished your coffee and rinsed your cup out. "I need to start going over these printouts."

Skyler gave you a brief hug. "Hey, I'm sure everything is going to be fine."

You nodded. "I hope so."

You really hoped so, because with the way you were starting to feel about Matt you weren't sure if you could handle a broken heart.

"Combine properly, damn it," Matt growled at the dough he was trying to prepare for the night's supply of dinner rolls. "Why aren't you cooperating?"

"Because you're being mean to it," Foggy said as he came into the kitchen. "Well, that or the fact that your yeast is still sitting over here on the prep counter."

Matt groaned then dumped the dough into the trash. "Shit ."

Foggy chuckled. "Good morning to you too, buddy."

Matt turned his head towards him as Foggy passed him to go wash his hands. "You went by the Bulletin this morning. I can smell newsprint on you."

Foggy hummed in the affirmative. "As a matter of fact, I did. And before you ask, yes, she looked just as miserable as you do."

Matt could feel his friend studying him. "I'm not miserable , I'm just tired. I got less sleep than usual."

"Are you ready to tell me what happened last night?"

Matt nodded. "Originally the plan was for her to come watch me work on developing those new dishes for the menu, but I decided to make it a blind tasting instead in order to try to make it a bit more… personal."

Foggy chuckled. "You mean romantic."

"Yeah, okay, romantic." Matt sighed as he began to re-make the dough for the rolls. "And it seemed like it was working, too -- she was responding positively to my hints that I'm attracted to her."

He shook his head. "Everything was going great -- she gave me some really good feedback on the dishes and was joking around with me about the cremé bruleé surpassing the tiramisu as her new favorite dessert of mine, so I asked her to taste the final recipe before she made that distinction.

"She loved it, of course, and said to let her know when we added it to the menu so she could be the first one in line to order it once we opened that day, so I told her that I'd have it ready for her when she arrived, and she asked if I'd bring it out to her personally and I said of course, that I'd definitely make the time to come say hi to her."

Foggy huffed out a laugh. "Wow, you two are not subtle."

Matt shook his head as he mixed all of the ingredients and began to knead the dough together. "It's been driving me crazy not having any sort of clue what she looks like, so I asked her. She seemed a bit surprised at the question, which honestly was understandable since I just kind of threw it at her out of nowhere, but I explained how I can "see" people by touching them, so after she described herself to me she offered to let me feel her facial features."

He smiled to himself as his mental picture of you floated into his mind. At least he managed to get that before everything went to shit. "I told her she was beautiful, and that's when I tried to kiss her."

"And when I walked in and ruined the moment."

Matt shook his head. "It's not your fault, really. Obviously I had misread something between us somewhere and trying to kiss her made her uncomfortable." 

He covered the (now correctly prepared) dough and put it in the refrigerator to rise. "I spent all night replaying everything in my head trying to figure out exactly where I screwed up. She's the most incredible woman to ever come into my life, Foggy, I don't know what I'd do if it turned out she was just using me like Elektra did."

"I honestly don't think she is, Matty, but speaking of meeting incredible women…" Foggy huffed out a happy sigh. "I'm pretty sure I met my future wife today."

Matt chuckled as he moved to the sink to wash and dry his hands. "Well at least one of us is sure. Who is she?"

"Her name is Skyler -- she's the Lifestyle writer at the Bulletin ."

Matt nodded. "Oh, yeah, I met her the other day. She seemed nice."

"We're going out for coffee on Saturday morning, so I might be a bit late getting here depending on how well things go."

Matt patted Foggy on the back. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks." Foggy paused. "So what are you going to do about everything?"

Matt shook his head. "I don't know yet. Probably just wait until the article comes out on Monday and go from there."

Foggy sighed. "Well no matter what you decide, I'm here for you, buddy."

"Thanks." Matt began dicing tomatoes for the marinara sauce, his mind drifting back to you by his side as you cut up tomatoes for the salads at Clinton Church.

He really hoped you weren't just using him, because he was pretty sure he was already falling for you.

Andrew Garfield in GQ Men Of The Year Awards.

Godamn, what a man, gentlemen... what a man.

Today's Fic Rec comes from talented writer, @thursdaygxrls who has crafted a Peter Parker story, Thin Ice, that's a winner in more ways than one.

Original Character/Reader (can likely work either way) works for the campus newspaper and is asked to fill in for the regular sports reporter. Not an assignment she wants, especially when she is required to interview members of the winning ice hockey team, who've secured a spot in the championship tournament. The interview goes well despite the team captain, Peter Parker, and his gift for simultaneously annoying and beguiling her.

This ongoing series currently consists of three chapters with a fourth on the way, and just as the hockey team keeps winning, Peter keeps up his efforts to win over the Lead as she discovers that the game(s) he plays are exciting in more ways than one. She feels to let go of one's heart is as dangerous as treading on thin ice. Will she take the chance?

Read the story!

Thin Ice (Part One) More parts included on the writer's Masterlist

Remember if you enjoy reading content on Tumblr to REBLOG it to share the content so that others may enjoy it too! Reblogs are the fuel that keeps Tumblr going and growing!

Keeping the thoughts on this chapter shorter since the finale is coming, but I really liked the action here. The image of the three men perched on the barrels was very dramatic and I could easily picture that being a Harry move for style. Harry is a showman at heart.

Also the whisky being laced by Peter. Clever. Side question: and what distillery did Norman favor? Whisky (sans e) would be from Scotland so I hope it was the good stuff.

Angel comes to the rescue and she gets to take out Toomes; I really liked where she then turned to Peter to break his trance as he was obliterating Harry. It was an interesting flip with her now being merciful and essentially reminding Peter that was how he used to be. I don't know if that was intentional but that was where their duality/complementing each other even in a horrific scene was a nice touch.

One final thought--at first when Peter and Angel were making up after his release I was somewhat incredulous. Like, "guys, wtf are you doing, save it for later," when it suddenly hit me. In a situation like that you don't know if there will be a later. If that was my S.O. and I thought one or both of us would or could die then that last kiss would mean the world to me. So, yeah, that resonated.

Well done, have really enjoyed the ride. Looking forward to the final pieces.

The Angel In The Garden of Evil | Chapter Eighteen: One Last Game

Summary: It's time for Angel and Peter to put an end to this thing, but not before Harry plays one last game.

Warnings: 18+ ONLY!!!! (Seriously, this is a very violent and mature chapter), genre typical content, guns, knives, fighting, torture, violence, hanging, blood, so much blood, smoking, death (duh, was this gonna end any other way)

Word Count: 4.2k+

A/N: It's final battle time kids! Some of this gets real traffic, you have been warned but when you're dealing with this genre, what do you expect. Just a reminder this is the final week of Angel and we will be having a Q&A a chat about all things Angel next week so be sure to leave me messages about your favourite bits and fill up my inbox with your Q's. Anyway, who's ready to see Harry and The Vulture go down?!

EIGHTEEN

SLAP!

Peter’s head throbbed as he came to. His cheek stung from the smack he’d just taken to the face that woke him. “There he is.” Harry’s voice taunted as Peter blinked hard and tried to focus his vision.

‘Wait, Harry?” Peter was confused as his haziness quickly left him. His limbs struggled as he tried to move, rope rubbed at his wrists and a piercing feeling prickled the tops of his arms and across the top of his chest. He looked down to see barbed wire wrapped tightly around his upper body. His arms were fastened behind his back and his legs tied tightly to the front legs of the chair he found himself sitting in.

“Ahhh Pete, you must have known this day was coming?” Harry taunted as he paced a few feet away from Peter.

Peter bristled again, sneering as the barbed wire pierced through his shirt and scratched at his skin. “Harry? What the fuck is going on!” Peter said through gritted teeth.

“Really, Pete? Come on buddy, don’t feign innocence with me.” Harry said as he came and crouched before Peter, his hands slapping against Peter’s thighs. “You know exactly what you did to me. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find out?” Harry sneered as he stood up. He lifted his hand, gun held tightly in his grasp, as he backhanded Peter across the face. The metal of the gun caught him around the mouth, a metallic taste bursting from his lip. Peter paused as he waited for his head to stop spinning, before he spat blood on the floor at Harry’s feet.

“You killed my Dad.” Harry said, his voice a low growl as he stepped forward again, looking down over Peter. Harry began to laugh maniacally as realisation dawned on Peter’s face. “Wooo.” he cried out as he stepped back, scratching at his head with the barrel of his gun. “Didn’t think I’d find out did ya? Tell me Pete, was it revenge for Gwen or did you just need the money to start your little business, huh?” Peter remained silent but spat another small amount of blood, that was pooling in his mouth from his now split lip, onto the floor. “I have to say though, poisoning him slowly and making it look like a medical condition was a clever move. How’d ya manage it, huh? Use your old Spidey powers to sneak in and just slip it in his water at night, huh?” Peter remained silent, holding his resolve as he glowered up at Harry. But Harry wasn’t satisfied with that. Peter watched as Harry’s eyes grew dark before he hit him again, this time hitting him right on the high point of his cheek bone. “ANSWER ME!!” Harry screamed at him.

Peter spat blood at Harry’s feet, clearing his mouth, before he said horsley, “Whisky. I put it in the whisky.”

“FUCK!” Harry shouted as his hands flew into his hair, pulling at it. He then began that low maniacal chuckle again. “You know Pete,” he said as he began to walk closer to Peter once more, his finger hooking into the barbed wire and pulling on it so it pierced Peter’s skin, small drops of blood staining his once crisp white shirt, “I’m gonna make what we did to Felicia look like childsplay. When Angel finds the pieces of you we’re gonna leave for her, she’s not even gonna be able to identify your body.” he threatened as he began to step further back into the shadows of the room. “LIGHTS!” he called out, waving the gun in his hand with a flourish.

There was the sound of two large switches being turned on before the wall in front of Peter was illuminated. Peter’s stomach turned as he saw Hobie, Eddie, Miguel and Ben, a rope tied around each of their necks attached to the rafters above, their feet just about balancing on large oil drums beneath them. “Time to wake up boys.” Adrian said, stepping forward, a large bucket of water in hand as he threw it at them. Each one immediately woke up. It happened so quickly, yet Peter felt like he was watching the moment happen in slow motion.

“NO!” Peter shouted as each one startled awake, their feet faltering on the barrels. Hobie, Miguel and Eddie were quick to realise and right theirs again, but Reilly’s legs kicked out too much and knocked his barrel over completely.

They all watched helplessly as he began to flail around, slowly choking as the air was cut off from his lungs. His face turned red as he grunted from behind the duct tape wrapped around his mouth. It was a slow process as he gradually turned from red to purple. “HARRY! HARRY STOP THIS!” Peter cried out. 

“Uh uh uh. You have no power here Pete.” Harry retorted as Ben Reilly made a few more sputtering noises before stilling, his body going limp. There was a moment of silence as they all took in the gravity of their situation, before Harry started chuckling to himself again. “Ooops.” His intentionally childish voice taunted as his feet danced across the floor towards Peter again. “Now, we’re going to play a little game.” Harry said excitedly as he circled around behind Peter. “Remember when we were kids Pete; and we would sneak into my Dad’s old office and take one of his guns and pretend we were doing target practice.” Harry reminisced enthusiastically. “WELL!” He shouted as he came back around into Peter’s field of vision. “I do believe I see before me, three lovely target dummies.”

“Harry, HARRY! Come on, don’t do this, let’s talk this out.” Peter tried to reason but Harry didn’t like that. There was a loud bang and Peter jumped, the barbed wire rubbing at his skin again, as Harry aimlessly fired a shot in the direction of the three awaiting men. It landed in the wall between Hobie and Eddie, Eddie wobbling slightly on his barrel before steadying himself again.

“Oooh, looks like I may be a bad shot. Guess I really do need that practice don’t I.” Harry teased before firing another shot. This time the bullet grazed Eddie’s thigh and he sneered behind his duct tape gag. “I’m getting closer.” Harry grinned as he turned back to look at Peter.

“HARRY! COME ON! ENOUGH OF THIS!” Peter desperately pleaded. “YOU WANNA HURT ME, HURT ME, BUT LEAVE THEM OUT OF THIS!”

Harry ignored Peter as he fired another shot. There was a loud metallic ping as it hit the rim of the barrel at Hobie’s feet. Harry grimaced with irritation, as Hobie didn’t even flinch. “Harry!” Peter warned as he watched his best friend's face closely, but once again it was no good. Harry took two steps closer to Hobie, the two of them staring each other in the eye as Harry fired a shot that hit Hobie in the shoulder. Although his body held still, Hobie grunted, breathing deeply through the pain. Satisfied, Harry lowered his weapon and began to step back towards Peter.

Peter kept his eyes on Hobie, unable to look at what his best friend had become, as Harry continued to walk past Peter. Peter listened closely to Harry’s footsteps, trying to gauge how far away from him he’d actually walked when his ears tuned into something else. There was the faint sound of a door closing as another heartbeat joined the thrum of sound that surrounded him. He froze. He’d know that heartbeat anywhere. Her heartbeat. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved she hadn’t left, or terrified that she’d just willingly walked into this situation.

“BANG!” Harry shouted in Peter’s ear as he leaned back over his shoulder. Peter jumped as his focus was broken, Harry bursting into devious laughter. “Oh, come on, that was funny.” he teased as Peter stared daggers at him. “Right, right, right.” Harry said leaning over. “Decision time… who gets to die next? I’m thinking eenie meenie miney mo.” He waved the gun in his hand back and forth between Hobie, Eddie and Miguel. “Come on, Pete, say it with me. Eenie… meenie… miney-”

Harry doesn’t notice it, but Peter does as a flash bomb gets rolled across the room in their direction. Peter turned his head, bracing himself as it exploded just as Harry was about to say ‘mo’. 

“Ahh FUCK!” Harry exclaimed as there was a large flash followed by some smoke. Harry was further disorientated by the sound of three gunshots and then a second flash bomb. “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?!” Harry shouted as he attempted to protect his eyes as he turned back and forth searching through the smoke for any signs of movement. “TOOMES?”

Peter kept still as he waited to see what his wife would do next. She was silent as she crept quickly through the smoke, passing behind his chair. He felt the rope around his ankles slacken as they were slashed, before she carefully placed a knife into the palm of his hand so he could start working at cutting his wrists free. 

As the smoke began to clear he saw Hobie, Eddie and Miguel no longer stood hanging atop their barrels. Harry looked furious. Peter couldn’t help but let out his own amused chuckle. It got him another punch to the face. “I don’t know what you’re laughing about Parker, this changes nothing.” he spat.

There was the sound of the large doors at the back of the warehouse opening and heavy footfall as Harry’s cavalry arrived. Peter rolled his eyes as he turned his head to lock eyes with Giovanni Bianchi. He let out a large sigh as he turned back to face Harry. “Really, Harry? This is who you choose to align yourself with. That’s got to be an all new low.” Peter tried to goad and distract him as he discreetly tried to cut at the rope tying his wrists together behind him.

“You’d know all about lows now, wouldn’t you Parker.” Harry replied before turning his attention to Giovanni and his men. “Find the others.” Gio gave a nod of his head before he started giving orders to his men, the group dispersing in and around the warehouse looking for Hobie, Miguel and Eddie.

Harry paused to observe Peter for a moment before he let out his next low chuckle. “Oh Angel dearest.” Harry called out into the warehouse. Peter chewed on the inside of his lip as his temper began to boil under his skin knowing Harry had figured out who it was poking holes in his plans.

“Here.” Toomes said as he stepped forward holding Angel by the back of her jacket as he walked her forward out of the shadows. “Should have run when you had the chance, shouldn’t ya sweetheart.”

Harry let out a loud goblin style cackle as Peter watched his wife be paraded forward, her hands up in surrender. “And give you the satisfaction?” she hissed as she was pushed to the floor at Peter’s feet, “I wouldn’t dream of it. Harry.” She greeted him, turning her head to the man stood to her left before her husband. The way she said his name was like spitting poison from her lips.

“If it isn’t her royal highness herself. Should have known you’d be more trouble than you were worth.” 

“Ahhgg!” she sneered as he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up from the floor to sit up on her knees to face her husband properly. 

“Now, which one of you should I kill first?” Harry hissed as he leaned down close to her face, his lips dragging across her cheek to taunt Peter. 

“You get your hands off her, Osborn!” Peter threatened.

“Or what? What’s the big bad Spider gonna do?” He hacked a glob of spit at Peter’s lap. Peter pursed his lips in disgust. “Now, there’s two of us…” Harry said, thinking on the spot, “and two of you. Now I think traditionally, our pretty little princess here would be the first to go, you know, cause you the most pain and suffering. But my friend here, he’s already told her that she’d hear you scream, so here’s what I’m thinking- what if we torture both of you at the same time and you can both hear each other scream. Now that really sounds like fun. What about you Angel? How does that sound to you? I think it sounds like a great idea, Harry.” He grabbed her chin, forcing her mouth open and closed as he mimicked her voice. “PERFECT!” Harry replied to himself as he stood, spreading his arms out like a showman. 

There was a gunshot. “AHHHH FUCK!” Harry screamed as a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

It was just the signal Peter needed. He pulled his arms apart, the final threads of rope around his wrists splitting open. He let out a deep roar as he pushed through the pain of lifting his arms, the barbed wire ripping his skin to shreds as he swiftly burst free of it.

Angel stuck out her right leg as she turned herself around, taking the Vulture off guard and whipping his legs out from underneath him as she moved. She pulled her small pistol out of the holder at her ankle before she stood, her other hand reaching back into her waistband to hand over the gun she had stashed there to Peter.

There was a flurry of gunfire as Giovanni’s men began firing at them from the catwalk above. “Shit.” Angel exclaimed as Peter fired two shots back, one of the men tipping over the rail and falling to the ground with a resounding thud, before he pulled her into the shadows. The two of them took cover behind a couple of large crates as shots continued to fire throughout the warehouse.

Before she could get a word out his lips were on hers, kissing her desperately. “I thought you’d gone.” he frantically said as he pulled his lips away from her, his hands pawing at her face to make sure she was really there.

“And miss out on all the fun?” Despite the life or death situation they found themselves in, she couldn’t help but smile. He kissed her again. They were quickly interrupted by two shots that landed in the front side of the crates.

“WHERE ARE YOU PARKER! COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!!” Harry shouted.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Peter asked. She raised her eyebrows at him in shock. “I mean you seem to be doing well so far, baby.” He beamed proudly.

“Okay, well…” she hesitated as she began to reach into her pocket, unsure of how he’d feel about her plan. “I thought you might like these.” She said, holding out his web shooters to him.

He tentatively took them from her. “Really? You sure?”

“Come on Pete, we both know this isn’t you.” she said, indicating to his clothes and the gun in his hand. “This is you.” she said as she reached to fold his fingers around the shooters. “The moment you stop working with one hand behind your back, is the moment you’ll become unstoppable.”

He looked at her then and really looked at her. Her clothes, the way she carried herself so confidently with a gun in her hand. He thought back to not six minutes prior when she had fired three precise shots, freeing Hobie, Eddie and Miguel. He thought back on every single moment since that night they had stayed up talking, planning all of this. She had been the real mastermind all along, not him. This was her business, not his. He was just the figure head and Miguel was right, he was nothing without her.

“COME ONNN!!!!” Harry continued to scream.

“I’ll take Harry, you take Toomes.” He said and she gave him a small nod. She turned her body, ready to make her move, but Peter’s arm flew out to stop her. ‘What?’ her eyes silently asked. “Make him pay for what he did to your Dad.” he said, holding out the gun she had originally given him back to her. She smiled.

“You’ve got it Mr Parker.” she said, taking the gun from him.

“God I love you Mrs Parker.” he beamed back as he pulled her back towards him for one last rushed kiss before they parted.

Wood splintered above her head as she quickly shuffled down the line of crates. She sensed a shadow of a body at the corner of her vision and turned, firing a shot straight into one of the Italians' heads. She picked his much larger gun off of his body, sliding the strap over her shoulder as she continued to move, her hand with her smaller pistol in it quickly placed the gun back into her ankle holster.

With both hands to hold her gun steady, she fired another shot across the room and then another as she continued to skirt her way around the edge. When she had just one shot left, she put the safety back on the gun before placing the gun back into a holder at the back of her waistband and switching to the larger gun.

“Hey, Harry!” she heard Peter shout. There was a faint thwipping sound of his web shooter as a strand of webbing attached itself to the ceiling before Peter swung out of the shadows, legs outstretched as he used the momentum from the web to kick Harry straight in the chest, knocking him backwards across the room.

Angel fired one shot after another as she continued to search for the Vulture. She spotted him up on the catwalk in a fist fight with Miguel. Miguel was getting in a good series of punches but Toomes seemed to have some abnormal power behind him as he landed a particular blow to Miguel’s chest that sent him flying backwards. She needed to get up there quickly.

She turned to assess her husband who was currently hunched over Harry’s body laying punch after punch to his face. “PETE!” she cried as she raced across the floor to him. She let out another blast of bullets into the body of another Italian as she ran before discarding the gun as her husband's eyes met hers. She tilted her head upwards towards Toomes who was now striding across the catwalk to where Miguel lay winded, indicating her need. He ran to her.

“Hold tight.” he said as he wrapped an arm around her, firing a web and launching them upwards. He dropped her with a small swing onto the catwalk directly between Adrian and Miguel. She wobbled slightly as she found her balance, giving a nod of thanks to her husband before he went back down to continue dealing with Harry.

Toomes looked her up and down and she shot a glance back to Miguel to check on him. He gave her a small nod and a look that said ‘give him hell’. She reached under her suit jacket for the knife she had previously stashed there, a devilish look spreading across her face as she turned to stare her Father’s killer down. He just sniggered at her.

“Come on, sweetheart, give it your best shot.” he jeered.

She caught him off guard when she threw the knife at him, it lodging just under his collarbone. He sneered, his hand flying to the handle to try and jimmy it free. Angel ran at him, sliding between his open legs before she turned and kicked at his back. His hands flew out to steady himself on the railing of the catwalk before he went flying over the top of it.

He turned back around just in time as she threw a punch at his face, which he narrowly dodged. His movement was just the cover she needed to rip the knife back out of his chest. “Ahhhhggg!!” he screamed as the blade scraped against the bone as it was removed. “You little bitch.” He spat at her as a surge of adrenaline took over him, his hands outstretched as he lunged at her.

She ducked, crouching down at his feet as he passed her. She slashed at the back of one of his calves as his hands grasped for purchase on the railing once more. She stood, taking a moment to let them both catch their breath before his next attempt to lunge at her.

“With all your games, I think you might have forgotten who I am.” she bristled as she widened her stance, egging him on to try to advance on her again. When he ran at her again she was ready. She grabbed his right hand with one hand, plunging the knife in her other hand into the inside of his arm. She used his momentum against him as she ducked under the arm, twisting him as she moved, her knife slicing all the way down his arm, blood splaying across the metal flooring of the catwalk. “I am the daughter of Wilson Fisk.” she said as she pulled the knife free before kicking him backwards. “And the wife of Peter Parker.” She said, stalking over to where he now lay. “And this is my city.” she said as she placed a foot to his chest, keeping him pinned down. She made a show of dropping her knife, it clattering to the catwalk beside her as she reached behind her to pull out her gun with her final shot in it, holding it over his head before she fired, his head ricocheting off the catwalk floor with the force.

She watched as the blood pulled out beneath his body, a weight lifting from her chest, a proud invisible hand on her shoulder. There was another shot in front of her and she looked up to watch as Miguel disposed of his latest kill over the side of the catwalk railing. He took one look between Toomes’ body and hers before he held out a hand to her. She gratefully took it, his other hand coming out to help steady her too, as he helped her step over the Vulture's body.

There were a couple of final echoing shots that bounced off the walls of the warehouse as they made their way back down to the lower level where Peter was still throwing Harry around like a ragdoll. With her adrenaline slowly wearing off, her ribs began to gripe and she leaned against Miguel as Eddie and Hobie joined them, Eddie limping, Hobie holding his shoulder tightly, blood dripping between his fingers.

The four of them watched as Peter placed punch after punch to Harry’s face. When she realised that Harry was out for the count and Peter still wasn’t letting up she finally called out, “Peter! PETE!” It wasn’t her voice but the wince of pain she breathed with that had his fist freezing in mid air. His head slowly turned to her, worried she’d been hurt. When he saw her stood, arm braced tenderly around her ribs he settled.

Angel watched as his eyes went from black, back to their regular molten amber hue as he looked at her. Calming, he slowly turned back to Harry. He was still alive, barely, but his face was unrecognisable. Peter looked from Harry then back to his wife, searching for answers about The Vulture. She turned her head, indicating to the spot on the catwalk where Toomes’ body lay, blood dripping through the grate onto the ground below. She watched as he breathed another sigh of relief before he turned back to look at Harry once more as he reluctantly took a couple of stumbling steps back. It became clear Harry had given almost as good as he had gotten, Peter rubbing at his own ribs, as he began to walk towards Hobie.

“What do you wanna do with him?” Hobie asked as the two men huddled together looking between each other and the body.

Peter took a short moment to think before he turned and shot a web that covered Harry’s entire body. “Stick him on ice.” Peter grunted before he started to walk towards the large doors at the back.

Angel turned to thank Miguel, a gentle hand placed on his bicep as she began to slowly walk after her husband.

She caught up to him outside. He was raiding one of the bodies of the Italians. She wasn’t sure what for until she saw him pull a packet of cigarettes and a matchbook from the guy's pocket. She smiled fondly as she watched him place it to his lips, his body turning to look out at the New York City skyline as he lit it. She breathed with him as he took in a large drag, allowing the nicotine to calm him as it filled his lungs and shot to his brain. He closed his eyes, drinking in the moment as he dropped the match to the floor, his heel absentmindedly stamping it out.

She steadily slipped her hand into his free one, her fingers lacing with his. “You ready to go home?” she asked when he turned his head to look down at her. He smiled, a small chuckle bursting from his lips. 

“Yeah.” He beamed as he dropped her hand, his arm wrapping around her shoulders instead. Holding her closer to him, he placed a content kiss to the top of her head, before they slowly began to walk towards the car.

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

Just a reminder that this is the last week of Angel. There are two more chapters to come out. Our final piece of smut for the series will be out Friday and our Epilogue to round all this out will be posted on Sunday. If you have enjoyed this story don’t forget to tip me like you would your waiter by reblogging and leaving feedback and letting me know what you think as well as keeping it alive by sharing it with others!

@scmdsblog @angiexsv @thef1nalgirl @did-someone-change-my-name @sincericida @tarzinnia @liz-allyn @blacksoul09 @humxncrxvings @sunnycolors @suicide-sweetheart636 @ahryi @ms-wild-card-56

Andrew Garfield on the set of "99 Homes" | December 2-3, 2013, in LA.

Dennis Nash...🤤🔥

Not ready for it to end but wanting to KNOW if that makes sense.

For the Q & A session next week:

Me right before the Epilogue drops:

Who’s ready for one last week of The Angel In The Garden of Evil?!!

After an incredible journey with these characters, it’s time to give them their ending. I will be posting not two but THREE final instalments to this series this week. We will have our usual chapters on Wednesday and Friday followed by a special Epilogue chapter on Sunday to say goodbye to Angel and Peter.

I can’t believe we are at the end already. Writing these guys’ journey has been quite the ride and has proven so much to myself about my writing abilities, including I can in fact write a novel (as this is exactly what this story has turned into).

Thank you everyone who has been on this journey so far. I’d love to do a proper send off for it next week with a Q & A or chance just to reminisce with people about their favourite bits; so be sure to fill my inbox with all your questions and best bits so we can keep the love going and talk about them.

I do have other works sitting in the drafts waiting on some love so this won’t be the end of my writing journey, there’s still plenty of stories to come. As teased I do have a 1920s theme Spider-Man story in the works. as well as the Kink ‘til Christmas prompts after Kinktober went out the window. And shhh don’t tell anyone but after starting to rewatch Under The Banner of Heaven again, I may be throwing around some ideas in my head for a Jeb Pyre multi chapter fic seeing as we seem to be lacking over here on that content.

Anyway, thank you all again for your love and support on this series. I hope you will all stay with me on this journey as we continue to make magic and weave narratives together.