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𝑮 𝑳 𝑰 𝑻 𝑪 𝑯
❝  𝚒 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚒'𝚖 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚢  ❞

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ㅤ𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐊𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 disoriented Maria at first. She had gotten used to the evergreens, and to have them replaced with concrete buildings was something she sort of didn't expect. She groaned, stretching from where she lied, before pushing of her white comforter. She sat up and looked around.

Her room had the same layout as Paul's, though it's significantly bigger. The overall look of the room was also much brighter and welcoming, her furniture a lighter shade of wood, and everything else looking more inviting than the rest of the penthouse. She even had her own little sitting area that faced a fireplace, with all the chairs and the singular couch being white and her throw blanket a light beige. She wiped away the sleep from her eyes as she yawned, standing up and walking towards her en-suite bathroom.

She did her usual morning routine before stepping into the shower to clean herself up, humming a song to herself. Last night was nothing less than embarrassing, at first, she was a little angry and confronted her dad about having cameras in the bedrooms, but he denied, and rebutted with the fact that it was JARVIS that had told him about her and Paul's whereabouts. She had huffed and crossed her arms, but her anger dissipated when Pepper reassured her that if Tony ever did that again, she'd scold him.

Tony muttered about 'his girls going against him' for a while after that.

Soon, Paul had joined the three, after sheepishly admitting getting a little lost on the way to the dining room and had to use his nose to figure out where everyone was. Pepper got confused and joked about how strong his sense of smell must be, while Tony and Maria laughed at his misfortune.

They had all enjoyed a good meal that night, consisting of different cuisines from all over the world, prepared by Tony's personal chef. Paul practically swallowed everything and had eaten twice the amount of everyone else combined. Pepper got concerned and wondered if he hadn't eaten for the whole day; Maria had to reassure her that Paul just has a very, very big appetite.

Maria laughed to herself as she stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel to dry herself, before grabbing her clothes for today. She pulled out a white cropped sweater, a pair of black track pants, and white chunky sneakers. As it's spring, New York is still pretty cold, but not enough to need to many layers, unlike in Forks, so she grabbed a black and white, checkered pea coat. To complete for outfit, she decided on using a bright red backpack to add a pop of color to her outfit. She brushed through her hair a few times and made sure her bangs stay in place, before nodding at her reflection in the mirror.

(imagine her with short, ash brown hair)

She stepped out of her room, coincidentally at the same time as Paul, who was sporting a white long-sleeved shirt, black denim jeans, white sneakers, with a black cargo jacket on his arm; like her, she assumes, he plans on wearing that if it gets cold.

"Hey, we match, somehow," Maria chuckled. "Now come on. Breakfast awaits."

The two had planned on eating breakfast in the tower, before stepping out to have lunch somewhere while exploring the city. This time, Paul had decided that despite this being his first time in New York City, he will be in charge of their date. Unbeknownst to Maria, he had asked Tony for advice and recommendations. It took the two a couple of hours to plan everything, even roped Pepper in for more advice on what women actually want.

Paul was pretty excited for today.

As the two had uninterrupted breakfast, eating a couple of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, and the customary orange juice, Paul felt happy and light—as if all the weight in his shoulders had disappeared—for the first time in what seems like forever. Being here, alone with his imprint, was nothing short of therapeutic, even if they've technically only been gone for a day or so. He can tell that things were looking up for them, especially with his and Maria's almost-kiss.

Just thinking about what happened last night made him flustered. Who would've thought, La Push High School's resident bad boy and man whore, getting flustered, becoming a mess, over a girl?

But she isn't just a girl, he thought to himself, eyes trained on her laughing form as she recalled a childhood memory, She's my imprint. God, Paul, you sound dumb. He shook his head before giving her an appropriate response.

Soon enough, they were finished. Paul was quick to grab Maria's hand and drag her towards the elevators.

"JARVIS, garage please," he said.

"Certainly, sir," the AI replied.

"The garage?" Maria asked in confusion. "What?"

"Be patient," he replied simply, tapping her on the nose. The action caused her to scrunch it up and make her a little cross-eyed. He chuckled. "Cute."

As they stepped out of the elevator, Maria looked around, noting how a lot of her dad's favorite cars were here, including his favorite, the Audi R8 Spyder. She looked up at Paul in confusion as he began walking towards a car she hasn't seen before: a black Bentley Continental GT. She was able to figure out what car it was—with her dad being a car enthusiast, it wasn't that hard to pick up a few things—but what she was surprised about was its lack of 'STARK' on the plate. Instead, it was a regular plate.

"Since when did he have a Bentley?" Maria muttered to herself, before realizing that Paul actually had the key, and was opening the passenger door for her. "What's going on?"

"Time for our date," he shrugged, guiding her to her seat before closing her door. He didn't waste any time; he got into the driver's seat and immediately turned on the engine. "Holy shit, I can't believe I'm driving a Bentley."

"Yeah," Maria frowned. "Why are you driving a Bentley? Is this dad's?"

"You didn't know you had this?" Paul asked, chuckling as he fastened his seatbelt before slowly lifting his foot off the brakes and began driving. Just as Tony had instructed JARVIS the night before, the AI was making sure the car was able to exit the tower without anyone noticing, which the shapeshifter had noticed, especially when the lights in the garage were leading him towards a more secluded exit.

Maria shook her head while putting on her seatbelt. "This is new...I think? And dad's actually letting you drive this?"

"Well..."

She grinned when she connected the dots. "You asked for his help?"

"Yeah," Paul gave her a wink, before finally exiting the garage. "Where to, Jay?"

"Just as Mr Stark instructed, please follow the directions shown on the screen," JARVIS spoke, his robotic voice echoing in the car.

"Great, thanks."

"So, let me get this straight," Maria began gesturing with her hands as she listed off her realizations. "You got dad's approval...somehow...got him to lend you his car--"

"Actually, it was his idea."

"--right, became friends with JARVIS," her eyes widened slightly, "what's next? Did you get Pep to help too?" Upon seeing his surprised expression, she nodded. "So, you did, huh?"

"How'd you figure that out?" Paul scoffed in surprise.

"Wasn't that hard to deduce, really," she shrugged. "Dad's all for shoving money in people's faces, hence the car, and from what I can tell, the destination as well. But, only Pepper really knows what I actually like. So, yeah."

"Smartass," he teased.

"Thanks," she replied, giving him a wink before looking out the car window.

One of the things she loves about being an unknown Stark is the fact that no one follows her around; every time her father goes out, hordes of paparazzi, some of them stalkers, would follow his every move. She's thankful that she can still go out whenever she wanted, albeit with some privacy, without worrying. And she's thankful that now, she has Paul with her.

She relaxed back into her seat, turning up the music that was playing on the radio. She began to bop her head to the beat, trying to dance along.

"What are you doing?" Paul laughed.

"Dancing, duh," she made up a random dance move before giving up. "Can't dance properly while sitting down."

"Wait, you dance?"

Maria began to laugh. "Did ballet as a kid then gave it up for hip-hop when I was twelve," she shrugged. "It's one of my favorite things to do, other than photography."

"You? Dance?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"I never pegged you as a dancer," Paul admitted. "Well, you're gonna have to show that to me someday. Speaking of photography, you brought your camera like I asked you to?"

"Of course," she nodded. "I assume we're going somewhere worth taking pictures?"

"...you'll see."

"You brought me to Staten Island?!" Maria gaped in surprise, having not expected this.

"For our first date today, yes," Paul grinned as he parked the car.

"Wait, first date today?"

"You'll see," he teased. "Both Tony and Pepper swore that you'd rather go to somewhere a little more...historic and I guess filled with nature so," he put the car on park before facing her, "we thought you'd enjoy it here."

Maria grinned at him before pulling out her camera from her bag. "Well, you thought correct."

With Paul leading the way, the two visited many of Staten Island's, popular tourist spots, including the Staten Island Museum, the Allée, and Maria's personal favorite, the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden. She took pictures of the surroundings, and even forced Paul to feature in some of them—though admittedly, she took a few pictures of him without him knowing, finding him very attractive and worthy to be taken a picture of.

The two continued to explore the area, before stopping for lunch at Denino's Pizzeria. The two had talked about the most random things, which ended with them laughing so hard that Paul actually choked on his pizza. They almost got kicked out before Maria sweet-talked the manager and giving the waiters tips that were twice the amount on their bill.

After lunch, they strolled through the Botanical Garden, with Maria taking more candid pictures of her boyfriend rather than the surroundings. She eventually got tired of taking pictures and opted to hold his hand while they walked.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd find myself a boyfriend," she said out of the blue. "I mean, you know who my dad is, and like, it's a pretty big secret I can't just tell anyone so I've got trust issues. But somehow, we're even, you know? You have your furry little secret, and I've got my secret identity."

"Where are you going with this?" Paul asked, his brows furrowed in both amusement and confusion.

"It's just...it's bizarre," Maria shrugged. "Didn't have the most normal childhood! I mean, I was barely let out of the house without Happy by side, I was homeschooled by dad, but at the same time he was barely home because of his own problems and tendency to, y'know, party. Never thought I'd experience...normalcy."

"By normalcy, you mean going to a school infested with leeches, and a boyfriend who shapeshifts into a horse-sized wolf?" Paul laughed, entwining their fingers.

"Well..." Maria laughed along. "But other than that though, I am really, genuinely happy for once. I'm really glad I can call you my boyfriend."

"And I'm glad I get to call you my girlfriend," he stopped walking and leaned down towards her to give her forehead a kiss. "Ready for date number two?"

By the time they arrived at the location for their second date, the sun was setting. Because of this, Maria was able to quickly figure out where exactly they were going to next because of all the lights that came from the place.

"Coney Island," she realized, her voice soft.

"Your dad told me how you really wanted to go to Santa Monica Pier back when you were living in California, but was never able to," Paul turned to look at her after putting the car on park. "So I thought I'd bring you here, not the same, but--"

He was cut off when Maria lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Thank you," she spoke, but her voice was muffled as her face was pressed into his chest. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Maria ended up dragging Paul to every single ride, making sure that both of them have fun and enjoy their time. For once, the two of them felt like normal teenagers; they got to explore, go on dates, and think only for themselves. Their worries for their future disappeared for the night, and instead they lived in the moment.

Before long, Paul drove them back to Manhattan, meeting Happy at the garage entrance. Maria was confused when Paul gestured her to leave the car while they hadn't even entered the building, and her confusion only grew when Happy climbed into the driver's seat and drove the car inside.

"What now?" She giggled. "Thought we're going back to the tower?"

"We're going back after date number three," Paul said, holding her hand again. "You should put on your coat, it's getting chilly."

"Where are we going now, huh?" She asked, smiling as she did what she was told.

Paul did the same, putting on his jacket before speaking, "Well, first, we get dinner, and then," he wiggled his eyebrows, "I got us...actually no, Pepper got us tickets to Phantom of the Opera on Broadway."

Maria let out a dramatic gasp as her eyes widened comically. "I love Phantom of the Opera," she breathlessly admitted.

"I know," he grinned. "Now, let's go or we'll be late--"

He was cut off when Maria decided to plant a big, fat kiss to his lips, in the middle of the streets of Manhattan, under a lamppost. Despite it being her first kiss, the Stark heir didn't even hesitate, overwhelmed with emotions that made her lose control.

Paul grinned and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her smaller form.

"What was that for?" He asked, once Maria pulled away.

"Just...thank you." She smiled, "Now, let's go, I'm hungry. Where are we eating?"

Instead of answering, Paul just grinned as he let his girlfriend drag him to God knows where. His entire being seemed like it was floating on cloud nine, the feeling of Maria's lips still lingering on his, and he couldn't wait to kiss her again. As he watched her take the lead, he couldn't help but think:

God, I'm so lucky.

author's note: i know i've been gone for way too fucking long but i just have been dealing with so much mental health issues that i had to take a break from literally everything. i am slowly recovering though, and i found myself enjoying writing again.

so, as a christmas present for both you guys and myself, i decided on doing a double update. i might actually update again in a couple of hours, or maybe tomorrow? because i'm just so motivated right now, and i hope you guys are liking what i'm putting out.

please don't hesitate to point out any spelling/grammatical mistakes! and don't forget to vote and comment down below what you think!

i know paul's a bit ooc, but i wanted to sort of make everything happy first before shit goes down hehe 

anyway, hope you guys had a fun christmas and i wish you all a happy new year soon! hopefully 2021 gets better *knocks on wood*