Saw this and immediately got bitten by a* completely-random-and-never-before-seen plot bunny, so here’s a little fic to get me back in the headspace for getting obsessed with fan fiction again.
In where we learn too much and not enough, all at the same time.
For the last hour, I have been having a very detailed discussion with Kevin Feige about what my character could stand for, look like, and act, along with how she fits into the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the possibilities that exist within the larger Multiverse now available on Disney+. It’s all sounded great so far, but I’m trying to be realistic about my chances. I’m a completely unknown quantity. It would take a miracle for them to decide it made sense to let me play her, let alone in an Avenger’s movie, even if I have successfully made the argument for her to join the story arc with a cameo in the Loki series.
It’s at this point that Kevin drops the bombshell.
“We have a place working on this for you.” He gestures towards Tom, sitting next to him. “But there’s a catch. To fit you into the current story arc without giving it all away, you’re going to need an excuse to infiltrate the cast. There’s only one reasonable way in. You’ll have to marry Tom.”
Frame Two: “Yes”, said without pause, breath or consideration.
A beat, a breath. Did I do that?
Kevin smirks, taken aback by the too-revealing speed of my response, then accepts it, muttering “Okay” while Tom chuckles in awkward delight. I am in so much trouble.
For a split-second, I wonder if I would have done anything different if I had stopped to consider. It really is a perfect placement for what my story is designed to do.
I’m interrupted from thinking about how it’s almost ‘too-perfect’ by my face reacting without conscious direction, as the immediate embarrassment passes and the sense of the situation starts to sink in. Words are no longer possible. A kaleidoscope of emotions flutters across my face, my mask completely deserting me;
...shock, a moment of ‘that-can’t-be-right’, closely followed by three simultaneous realisations about how this was going to change my life, two very very deep feelings that belonged far more to my body than to any rational thought, and straight into endless calculations about how this would change the coming story...
Because of who I am and what I’m doing here, all of my senses are attuned to them, picking the tiniest of meanings out of their body language, looking for the clues that tell me how to come back from this.
Frame Three: Kevin knows I’m eager, but he’s trusting me to do this job right, and I need to prove that I can play the game, no matter how off-center I am. As he offers Tom a victory fist-bump, and reminds me to “Use vocal processes”, I heed the warning and jump in.
My voice literally melts as Tom gives him a fist bump worthy of Bay-Max. And at the little head shake right at the end where he’s probably wondering just what kind of mad girl he’s gotten himself hitched to, I lose my breath entirely.
The last word flickers out of somewhere right at the top of my chest, squeaking ever so slightly.
Tom gives up any attempt at politeness and collapses into laughter.
Kevin tries so hard to contain his laughter, but as his face crinkles upwards with mirth, I know I’ve well and truly blown it. So much for being able to rein in my inner fan-girl. He gets up from his seat. “I guess we’ll call it a day.”
I can’t help but let the giggles roll out of me as he walks away. A wave of relief washes through me. I did it. The hard part is done - they accepted me!
My attention is drawn back to Tom as we laugh together. As he meets my eyes, a strange slipping sensation leaves me reeling. This charismatic and dangerous stranger is about to become my husband in front of all the world. The lengths we go to in order to avoid spoilers, right?
When I started on this journey, I expected that this story would help me find love. I just didn’t expect it this way. Maybe, just maybe, fairy tales can come true.
Oh, it’s not quite love yet. Love needs time and effort. This is barely old enough to be a feeling, more the warm glow of potential coiling deep within me, the first sparks of the flames of trust. But it’s the answer to the question I’ve written into all of my work. I’ve put so much of myself on the line for this particular story. The agreement we’ve just made will ensure that it was worth every moment of it. For the good of all.
Well. That was a bit more soul-baring than I expected, but hey, what’s a fan-fiction writer to do but dream of the things she wants the most in all the world?
*Plus, that actually was a very specific completely-random-and-never-before-seen plot-bunny after all, just one that’s been hiding, biding its time until it could breed directly into that ever so deep of rabbit holes, the internet.
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