𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 | howard stark

xx. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘏𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯

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(Y/N) was right on time to leave for work, just as always. She followed her daily routine down to the smallest detail, she even opened the windows for a while to allow the outside air to blend in with the one in her apartment, accidentally allowing Tuna, the neighbor's cat, inside for a while before returning back to its owners. She glanced back to her wristwatch to confirm she wasn't running late even though she knew it was impossible, stepping out of her apartment at the same time. The sound of her key turning the lock on her door was sound to her ears, and she was about to walk down the hall like any other day, but this time there was a disturbance.

A man, no older than her, seemed to be carrying a box of belongings in his arms before the weight won him over and dropped it with a loud thud. (Y/N) hadn't even noticed he was there until she saw the path where he came from, which was the door that lead to the stairwell. There was no one around to help the poor man up, only the nosy neighbors that stuck their necks out to see what the noise was before going back inside. (Y/N) figured she had to do something and kneeled before him, helping him gather the stuff that had fallen to the floor.

"Here," she lifted a spare book from the book and extended her hand out for him to take it, until she read the cover. "'The Hobbit', huh? You must have good taste."

"Oh, I haven't read it yet, so I'm not quite sure," the mysterious man grabbed it from her hands and tossed it back inside the box. "Thank you."

When the man finished gathering his stuff and lifted his head to look at (Y/N), she was finally able to see him clearly. He had a mop of brown hair that was long enough to cover half of his forehead, and his eyes were a shade of green she'd only seen in fine pieces of jewelry. His clothes were nothing extraordinary, just a simple dress shirt and pants.

"No problem," (Y/N) shrugged off his gratitude. "I'm assuming you're new here, or I would've seen you around otherwise."

"I've lived here for 5 years now," he said in a serious tone and (Y/N) nearly swallowed her tongue in embarrasment. The man saw the horrified look on her face and let out a laugh. "I'm joking. I just moved here yesterday afternoon. I'm carrying the last of my boxes."

"Oh," (Y/N) laughed in relief. "Where are you from?"

"Uh, um, Kentucky."

(Y/N) crossed her arms in interest. "Is it nice there?"

"Boring, actually," he answered rather quickly. "That's why I came here, to be exact. To the city where dreams come true."

That erupted a laugh out of (Y/N), although it wasn't exactly directed at him. "Haven't heard that one before," she said in a sarcastic tone.