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a oneshot submitted by my
flag-twirling partner in crime
lolitslia!
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lmao I'm so sorry I didn't know what to name this but if you have any other names for it pls lmk thanks m8
also this was a really good storyline bro youre really talented
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You wake up to an awfully annoying pounding feeling in your head, most likely caused by the HYDRA attack the day before. You slowly open your eyes to the blinding white lights of the hospital bed in the Avengers HQ. You squeeze your eyes shut, attempting to shut out the light completely, especially because you have a white blanket covering you, which only makes it more painful. You raise your hands and try to cover it, but your hands only get tangled in wires and tubes.
Your tired eyes finally adjust to the brightness of the room and you turn your head to see a sleeping Peter Parker. You roll your eyes and shake your head. Peters merely a coworker--- an acknowledged acquaintance. Most would say you're friends, as you two share a few classes and talk a lot and eat lunch together, but it's mainly because your friends are friends and they dragged you together. Also, most of the time you two are arguing about which shape is the weirdest (Peter thinks it's a circle; you say hexagon), or what's the most fun word to say (Peter says Dodecahedron, you argue Albuquerque), or something random like that.
You bring your hands up to rub your eyes, but only one hand meets its destination. You look down and you see that your right arm is gone. You scream and jump around the room in a panic, also waking up Peter.
"What the hell, Y/N!" Peter demands, shooting up from his seat. You try to form words, but you can only manage so many syllables. "Y/N, I can't buy more caramel." He says, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"I said, where's my freaking arm!" You shout in panic, making Peter jump.
"You don't remember?" You shake your head 'no'. "We raided a HYDRA base yesterday. You got shot in the arm, I think? Anyway, there was blood everywhere and Dr. Banner said that it was basically useless now and he got it amputated." Peter explains casually.
You groan in frustration and tug at your hair. "Do you know if I'll be getting a prostatic soon?"
"Prosthetic." Peter corrects.
"That's what I said, prosthetic."
Peter opens his mouth to correct you but decides not to. "I believe Mr. Stark said that one will be ready in... four days? Five days? Something around that."
You nod and go to your bedroom to change into comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt. You attempt to put your hair up, but you end up just brushing it and leaving it down. You walk downstairs to the other Avengers, who's loud, chattering voices become a quiet whisper when they see you. You do your best to ignore them and grab a banana from the fruit basket for breakfast. You attempt to peel it with one hand. Failure. You grab a knife and cut the top part off and then try to peel it. Failure. You put your cheek on the banana to hold it still and peel the banana. Good job. Mission accomplished.
You cut the banana into slices and place them in a bowl. You walk into the TV room and sit on a couch with your bowl of banananas in your lap. No one even tries to subtly stare at you. You meet everyone's eyes and ask, "What?"
Steve speaks up. "Are you alright?" He asks in his 'concerned dad' voice.
"As good as I can be." You shrug, popping a slice of banana into your mouth.
"If you need assistance with anything, we'll be happy to help," Tony offers. You nod your head and quietly thank them, then you turn your attention to the TV.
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"Y/N?" You hear a voice at your bedroom door. "It's Bucky? May I come in?"
"Sure."
Bucky opens your door and leans against the doorframe. "I was, uh, wondering if you want to, y' know, uh, talk? About the arm?"
You hesitate to answer, as you still don't feel like talking to anyone. On the other hand (pun NOT intended), Bucky could give you advice on how to work your body when you're missing a limb. "Yeah, sure. I have a question, actually. How do you tie your hair up with one arm?"
After about an hour of talking and teaching and advice-giving, you feel a lot better and more confident. You walk downstairs and see that Natasha, Wanda, Steve, Peter, and Tony (he was just watching) were playing 'Sorry!'. You smile in confidence and sit down in a chair and watch your friends play.
After a minute, you casually ask, "Hey, Tony, when will my prosthetic arrive?"
Tony looks at you wide-eyed like he was surprised that you asked him. "I, uh, didn't make one yet."
"Why not?" Tony shrugged. You squinted like you didn't believe him. "Wh-why wouldn't I want one? Do you, like, not have the materials? Did you run out of money? Did you forget?" You accused.
"Y/N, I'm sorry, I- I've just been too busy with other stuff." You put your hand on your hip and move your eyes between him and the board game. "Okay, not at the moment, I'm taking a break. I've been kind of stressed."
"Okay." You huff, then throw yourself back into the squishy chair and take out your phone. You look up the prices at the nearest prosthetic company. "Can I borrow 100,000 dollars, Tony?"
Tony looked at you in disbelief and shock. "Why the hell do you need so much money?"
"Prosthetic arm 'cause you're not getting me one, so I thought I'd take matters into my own hands." You shrug.
Tony sighs and rolls his eyes. "Since you're so persistent, I'll whip up an arm really quick. Right or left?"
You smile shyly, your mood changing from hostile to calm. "Right, please and thank you."
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You're in the training room, teaching yourself how to control and maneuver your new arm. You test its strength and control by stacking weights.
"Oh, hi, Y/N." You turn to the door and nod a hello to Peter as he walks in and takes a seat on the floor next to you. "What are you doing?"
"Stacking weights. Helps with control." You sigh, tilting your head to the side.
"Is it working well? Do you like it?"
"Eh, it's working okay. I can move it, but it's hard to pick things up. I don't really like it. It's more complicated, and I need to take it off when I go swimming or take a shower or go in water. I can't feel anything that it touches, so that's the main thing." You mutter.
"Oh. I'm sorry." You look over at Peter, and he moves his hand off of your fake hand. "I- was trying to, y' know, comfort you. MJ said contact is comforting." Peter mumbled, his face turning a light shade of pink.
You laugh lightly and sigh. "Contact really is comforting." You extend your arms to hug him, but he doesn't move. You move closer and hug him, and just then he snaps out of his cluelessness and hugs you back, rubbing his hand across your back soothingly.
"I like you." Peter blurts, not breaking contact, but mentally jumping off the Avenger's tower because of how irrelevant and random that was.
"I like you too." You sigh.
"No, like more than a friend."
"Yeah, same."
"No, like I want to kiss you."
"Okay."
"On your lips."
"Okay."
"No, you don't get it-"
You unwrap your arms from him and cup his cheek to bring his face closer to yours. "I don't think you get it." You tilt your chin up and connect your lips. Peter stiffens, but you feel him smile and relax after a moment.
"You understand now?" You smile after you came apart.
"Hmm, not sure. Maybe you'll have to tell me again."