#besides bucky is the proper nerd

[donteverblameash]

While we love the headcanon that Peter Parker would ask Steve for help with his history homework, bold of you to assume Steve Rogers of all people could help.

He was too busy doodling all over his school books, getting his ass beat, or dying to worry about stupid (his words, not mine) history class.

"Finale battle of the Civil War- Peter, kid, I have no idea, uh- BUCKY! Was I in school when we learned about the Civil War and stuff, the one in the 1800s? No? I had- what? Yel- Okay! No, Queens, I had yellow fever, you gotta ask Bucky."

[raineydays411]

The Best of Friends pt4

Peter Parker x Stark!reader, Jason Todd x Stark!reader

Summary:  After the disastrous weekend, you and Peter are going through a rough patch. It doesn’t help that he seems to get set off whenever Pietro or Jason was around.

<A/n: Hey yall, sorry about posting this so late! I’ve just been really stressed with school and life. This is a bit shorter than usual but stay tuned!

After that horrible day out, you were glad to get some time off with your dad. Or at least you were, until it was revealed that he had yet another meeting with Mr. Wayne.

“I’m sorry kiddo, I promise as soon as I’m done its gonna be just you and me” Your dad says with a frown. Then he kisses your forehead, ruffles your hair, and walks out of your room. You sigh and flop back down on your bed. You really were looking forward to spending time with your dad. Plus, you couldn’t even bother anyone else on the team as everyone was on a mission or something.

“Ms. Stark, there seems to be a group of boys outside your door.” FRIDAY says suddenly, scaring the crap out of you. 

“Pull up the security footage Fri” 

On your table you can see Jason, Tim, and Damian. They seemed to be arguing about something, Jason looking annoyed as usual. You tell FRIDAY to play the audio.

“Don’t be an idiot Todd, if she wanted to come out she would have by now, besides, it seems like she’s tolerated your presence enough for a night.”

“Shut up demon. Why are you even here if you’re so sure she doesn’t want to talk to us.”

“I have my reasons”

“Aww do you have a crush Dami?”

“Shut your mouth Drake”

“No I think you’re on to something replacement...you got a crush on my girl, demon?”

“Oh don’t be delusional Todd, a woman of that caliber wouldn’t be fooled by your cheap flirtation tactics.”

Geez, you forgot how...proper Damian was.

“Wait...my girl” You think to yourself, blushing slightly at the thought. You get up from your bed and quickly run to your closet, looking for more presentable clothes than your dads ratty Led Zeppelin shirt. You finally found a striped long sleeve shirt and some overall shorts. You take the bonnet off of your head and let your curls out into a fro. 

You wait a few seconds, watching the boys argue some more and then quickly open the door. 

The sudden silence and wide eyes of the three boys makes you laugh out loud.

“Hello boys” you say with a smirk.

Damian turns a deep red, stuttering out a hello before looking down at the ground, Tim just smiles and waves, and Jason smirks back.

“Hey doll”

“Ew. that’s what Bucky calls me: you say with a snort. Tim and Damian snicker at Jason fail and he turns around to glare at them. 

“So..did you need anything or..”

Before Jason can speak up, Damian beats him to it.

“Yes, we were wondering if you would like to accompany us while our fathers are at the meeting?” He smiles looking up at you with big eyes.

You find this adorable, “ Aw, of course! I’d love to spend time with you” 

You ruffle his hair, then turn around to get your phone and shoes. As you turn your back, you miss the smirk Damian throws to Jason and the glare Jason sends back. 

Putting on your shoes, you walk back up to the boys, “Okay ready! What did you guys wanna do?”

“There’s a new interactive exhibit at the  Science museum...” Tim suggests fiddling with his phone. 

“Sounds boring.” Jason drawls as he walks round your room examining your knick knacks and pictures. Damian scoffs at his older brother.

“Have you no class? I’m sure  Ms. Stark does not appreciate you rummaging through her belongings.” 

“Oh, Damian you can call me Y/n, we’re all friends here.” You quickly say, trying to stop an argument before it started. “ And Tim, I haven’t been to the Science Museum since I was a kid, so I’d love to go”

“Oh great, we get to go to the nerd museum..” Jason mutters. 

“You calling me a nerd Todd?” You tease

“Well, if the shoe fits, Princess” 

You roll your eyes and walk out of the room, “Whatever, come on boys we don’t have all day.”

As you walk, you can hear the three boys squabbling quietly behind you. You let out a small laugh, amused by their antics. 

Walking into the common room, you pass by Wanda and Pietro, who were sitting on the couch watching some show. 

“Hey guys!” You greet, with a warm smile.

“Y/n!” Wanda beams, pausing the tv as she turns to you, “ There you are! I was looking for you earlier-” “WE were looking for you earlier.” 

Pietro cuts in with a smile. Wanda glares at him for interrupting her. 

“Yes, we were.” She continues.

“Oh,” You say, “ Whats up?”

Wanda pats the seat next to her, in between her and Pietro. 

“Tell us, how did your day out go yesterday?” 

“Yes, did the spider boy finally confess his feelings for you” Pietro teases. 

You sit down in between them with a sigh. You give Wanda a look that has her shaking her head.

“Oh no, what happened?” She asks, frowning.

“He’s going to homecoming with Liz..” You say, eyes watering at the memory. 

“That idiot.” Pietro mutters, “ I saw his face when I kissed your forehead! He was jealous!” 

“I don’t think so Piet..” You mutter, looking down, “ I think he just didn’t expect us to be friends.” 

“ Well what else happened?” Wanda asks rubbing your arm softly

“ He didn’t talk to me all day, and when he did it was after Liz left. Plus he was really rude to Jason”

Wanda arched an eyebrow at that. “ He ignored you?!” 

“ Yeah... and then towards the end of the night he acted like he was mad at ME. Can you believe that”

Pietro shook his head and Wanda looked irritated. 

“Don’t worry Y/n, sooner or later he��ll get his head out of his ass. You shouldn’t waste your time over him.”

“i know..I just--” “ Y/N! Are you ready? Bruce let me borrow the car!” 

Jason, Tim, and Damian ran in to the room panting and pushing each other.

You laugh, “ Yeah yeah, should I even get in a car with you driving it Jaybird?” 

“Aw come on iron baby, I’ll let you sit in the front”

You smile, and turn to Wanda, “ I better go before those three murder somebody” 

She looks at Pietro who was smirking, then turns to you with a smile 

“ Yes, you better hurry along,have fun!” 

You thank her and skip along towards the boys. The four of you running to the elevator. 

“I bet you five bucks the big one is going to fall in love with her.”

“You’re on.”

..........

“When did you kiss her forehead?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You all finally make it to the museum, Jason had accidently taken a wrong turn and traffic in New York is absolute hell. But you made it. 

Walking in you looked around in awe. You smile as you took in the environment, remembering the times you and your father used to come.

“So, what do you wanna do first princess?” Jason asks placing his arm around your shoulder. You glance at the arm then at him, but don’t make any moves to remove it. 

“Well, I loved seeing the natural science exhibit, maybe we can start there?” you say hopefully. 

“A wonderful idea” Damian says, grabbing your hand and dragging you off to the exhibit, “ Come Y/n, would you mind showing me your favorite parts of the exhibit?”

“Of course not Damian!” you say cheerfully, letting the pre-teen drag you away. You didn’t notice Jason huff and glare at the child, nor did you see Tim stifle a laugh and pat Jason on the back.

You and Damian walk side by side admiring the different exhibits and conversing about your childhoods. 

“I miss being able to be out freely” You say facing a replica dinosaur “After dad became Iron Man, it was like the whole world was watching even closer, and it was too dangerous to be outside..”

Damian nodded, “You do not attend regular school?” 

“No, not since I was a child”

“Father forced me to attend Gotham academy after I moved in with him. He said I needed to ‘socialize’”

You laugh at the annoyed tone Damian had, “ Well, at least he cares”

“Yes, I suppose. It’s better than living with mother, that I am certain of.”

“Moms suck.” You mutter looking away, “ Who needs them.”

Damian looks at you shocked, a bitter tone took over the previous light heartedness of the conversation. That’s when Jason and Tim caught up to the two of you. 

“There you are, we’ve been looking all over” Tim said handing Damian a water.

“And yet you had time to stop for refreshments” Damian deadpanned, taking the water with a roll of his eyes. 

“ And stop at the gift shop” Jason added with a cheeky smile, “ Here sweetheart”

Your face burns, both at the name and gift. It was a little necklace of an atom. 

“Thank you” You say, “Put it on me?” 

Jason unclasps the necklace and steps behind you. You gather your hair, and tense as you feel his warmth behind you and his warm hands gently brushing against your neck. He struggles with the clasp for a bit before finally tying it. 

“There” Jason says as you turn to face him, ‘ Gorgeous as always, Ms.Stark”

You go to respond when you hear a voice

“Y/n?”

You turn, only to see Peter and Ned staring at you and Jason with shocked faces.

[reidingandwriting]

Game Night with the Avengers

Word Count: ~1500 words

Ship: No romantic relationships in any of these; various friendships listed in subheaders for each blurb.

Warnings: Totally chaotic to write but super fun! A few swear words sprinkled in during the first two.

This is a series of blurbs of Y/N having a game night with various characters from the MCU ♥️

✨ Masterlist ✨

*Uno with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes*

“Change the color to...” Sam paused as his eyes scanned the cards in his hands. “Green.”

“Oh, eat shit.” You groaned and grabbed another card. “You knew I didn’t have green.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Sam asked. “If I knew, that’s your own fault for having your cards where I could see them.”

“You confessed!” You shrieked and Bucky rolled his eyes, setting down his card.

“Draw four, birdbrain. And make the color red.” Bucky said and you grinned.

“I knew you were my favorite for a reason, Bucket.” Bucky rolled his eyes at your nickname, and you set down your card. “Uno!”

“You punk, you teamed up with her!” Sam grumbled.

“Sorry, Sam. She knows too much, I had to partner with her.” Bucky set another card down, and Sam gasped. “Uno.”

“How could you skip me? Bro code!” You slammed your last card down and jumped up.

“Suck it!” You danced around the living room and sat back down beside Bucky as you passed him. “We make the best team.”

“Oh, no. It’s not over. Best two out of three.” You laughed at Sam but nodded.

“Let’s make this interesting. Loser does debrief paperwork for the next three missions?” You looked between the two men, who nodded in confirmation.

“No teams this round, kid.” Bucky cracked his knuckles. “May the Uno master win.”

*Twister with Peter Parker*

“Okay, Y/N.” Tony spoke, looking at the spinner board. “Left hand on yellow.”

“Easy enough.” You said and placed your hand on a yellow circle.

“Peter, right foot on blue.” Peter placed his foot on a blue circle.

“I hope you’re ready to lose, Y/L/N.” Peter said and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“In your dreams, Parker. I’m winning this bet.” Tony called out your next move and you placed your foot on the correct circle.

“What bet?” May asked, seated beside Pepper on the couch.

“Peter’s never seen Lord of the Rings and I’ve never seen Star Wars. Whoever loses has to watch the movies the winner picked.” You explained.

“We have total nerds for kids, I’m telling you.” Tony spoke before he told Peter his next move. Peter moved into the next position as Tony looked down at his sleeping daughter laid on his chest. “Mo, please don’t turn out like these two dorks.”

“Says the man who built robots and has a workshop for his flying metal suits.” You teased as the game continued.

“Alright, Y/N. Right hand on red.” Tony said and your eyes widened.

“How the f... How am I supposed to do that?” The only way to get your hand on red would be to bend over Peter’s body.

“Aww, don’t worry, Y/N. I don’t bite.” Peter teased as he noticed your gaze.

“I might.” You replied with a wink. “Now be still so I can win.” You leaned over Peter and stood on your tiptoes to bring your hand to a red circle. Your legs shook as you balanced, your stomach hovering over Peter’s back.

“Shit, you actually did it.” Tony said and you groaned.

“Barely! Call the next move.” Your voice was strained, your legs starting to cramp.

“Okay, okay. Peter-“ Tony was cut off by the sound of you yelping, Peter groaning, and a loud thud. Peter now laid on the floor, with you draped over him. May and Pepper laughed at the sight while Tony grinned. “Looks like it’s Star Wars time, kiddos.”

“And ice.” Peter added.

“And pretending this never happened.” Peter scoffed as you spoke.

“Tell that to my broken spine.”

“Oh, you’ll heal. Wait. Are you calling me heavy?!” You two continued to bicker as the adults walked off, getting ice and getting the room ready for the Star Wars marathon.

*Hide and Seek with Stephen Strange and Scott Lang*

“Scott, I swear to god, if you’re using your suit to hide small, I will actually step on you.” You called out as you roamed the boundary you had set for your game of hide and seek.

‘Oh, sure. Assume I’m the cheater.’ Scott thought before he looked around for you, hiding behind a blade of grass. ‘Righttt.’ Scott waited until you were out of his sight and ducked behind a nearby tree, switching back to his regular height.

“I heard your suit, Tic-Tac! You’re dead when I find you.” Scott looked around and tried to find somewhere else to hide. He started to climb the tree he was hiding behind, and sighed in relief once he settled on one of the branches, shielded by leaves.

~~~

“Alright, Wizard of Oz. I’ve looked through the entire boundary, where are you?” You finally found Scott when a twig from his tree hit your head, now you just had to find Stephen. Scott had shrunk again, and he hopped from tree to tree, searching for the magic doctor in the tree limbs. Not like he’d be up there anyways, you told Scott. The branches would mess up his hair. You rolled your eyes as you remembered the conversation, and you froze when you heard a familiar crackling sound.

“I believe I won.” Stephen’s amused voice followed and you spun around with narrowed eyes.

“You cheater!” You threw your hands in the air with a strangled growl. “Both of you, dirty cheaters. Scott shrunk and you used a portal to hide.”

“Technically,” Scott spoke as he landed beside you as his proper height, “I wasn’t small when you found me, so I didn’t cheat.” You mimicked him as you continued glaring at Stephen.

“If we’re using technicalities, I opened the portal in the boundaries. I never left your limits.”

“And where did you go while I tried to find you?” You crossed your arms. Stephen opened another portal, and you stalked towards him. “Strange, don’t you dare-“ You were cut off by the portal closing, Stephen gone with it. You sat down in the grass, laid down, and closed your eyes without uttering a word.

“Y/N?” Scott asked hesitantly.

“This is what I get for playing hide and seek with a man who can shrink and a wizard.”

*Red Light, Green Light with the Avengers Kids*

It was one of the rare times the team had a day off, and you and Peter thought it would be nice to give the parents a break. So with that, you had Morgan, Cassie, and all the Barton kids under your supervision; and what better way to spend time with the kids than a proper game day? You were all at Clint’s farmhouse, the team inside while you, Peter, and the kids were in the backyard.

“Now, we all remember the rules right?” You looked at the kids gathered around you and continued to speak when they all nodded. “Good. If any of you try to cheat, I’ll have my associate here take care of business.” You spoke with a funny accent, making the kids giggle, then nodded towards Peter who was wearing his Spider-Man suit. He was perched on a low tree branch, watching the kids while you stayed on the ground for this game. “Now let’s get started!” You cheered in your normal voice and got all the kids lined up. “Spidey-Spy! Ready?”

“Ready!” Peter called from his spot and you dramatically turned around.

“Green light!” And the kids were off. Lila and Cooper took big steps, in their own competition with each other. Nate was trailing behind them, walking in his big sister’s shadow and giggling. Morgan decided she would hop her way to you, causing Cassie to laugh as she walked. “Red light!” You spun back around, and the kids froze. When you got the all clear from Peter, you turned back around and the game continued. “Green light!” You paused for a few seconds before spinning around. “Red light!”

“Awww, Cooper! Back to the starting line, buddy.” Peter called out, and Lila grinned at her older brother.

“Ha-ha.” Lila taunted and Cooper huffed before going back to the starting line.

“Green light!” As the game went on, little did you and Peter know that the parents were watching you from the porch.

“I don’t know who’s going to be more tired after today. The kids or the teens.” Clint said and Tony scoffed.

“The kids will definitely tire them out first. Maybe not Peter. The kid practically vibrates with how much energy he was.”

“It’s a sweet thing they’re doing for us.” Clint’s wife, Laura, smiled as she watched the kids. Cassie seemed to have won, as Y/N was spinning her around and Laura could imagine the scowl on Cooper’s face and Lila demanding a rematch.

“And I plan on taking advantage of it as long as I can.” Pepper replied, Tony’s arm draped around her.

“While they’re occupied,” Scott spoke up, “drinks?” The parents all agreed before heading inside, leaving the kids outside. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Peter! Don’t you dare web her up!”

Taglist: @daughter-of-stark @agent-barnes40 @spideygirl2003 @ditttiii @5aftermidnight @missmulti ♥️ Taglist is open and requests are open but will be delayed until I post all content I plan on this week.

[oh-i-swear-writes]

so i say the stuff you wrote about bucky and steve and the slick stuff and i raise you this... pre-war boys. and bucky just little getting his first heat and super embarressed? and steve being a good buddy and like taking care of him. and then them living together when they're older?? and buck has to miss work? or in-heat bucky during the war? and steve like not wanting to share his lover...? have a lovely lovely day!

Well, hey there Nonnie, back for more of this?  I’ll do my best to help out...

Especially as the good news is that I certainly have thoughts on how pre-war Alpha!Steve and Omega!Bucky might be….

So Steve and Bucky have been friends pretty much forever, growing up in Brooklyn and neither family having an awful lot of money - Steve because his father passed away and it’s just him and his Mom, and Bucky because he’s the eldest of four pups and his Dad might like the liquor bottle just a little too much, as well as the fact this is the Great Depression.  

Of course, despite being nearly the same age, Bucky has always been bigger and broader than Steve’s skinny stature.  He’s forever having to fight Steve’s corner (even if Steve is convinced he “had ‘em on the ropes” every time and is adamant he can do it himself) and pull him out of places a little guy has no business being, and naturally with all of that combined, everyone assumed that when they present, Bucky would be the Alpha and Steve would be the Omega.  They also naturally presume that Bucky will present first, Steve’s skinny, weak body unable to sustain a proper heat or rut anytime soon.

But actually, it doesn’t end up working out that way.  

Usually, a family would notice a change in scent first, the Omega parent scenting the subtle changes in their child before anyone else does but for Bucky, whose mother is busy working all hours god sends and running around after three children smaller than him besides, it’s Steve.

“You alright there, Buck?”  He asks, when they’re slumped together reading over some book on science Bucky’s managed to get his hands on because actually, he’s a giant nerd and is fascinated with the subject.  

Bucky glances up and licks his lips.  “I think so, why?”  

“Your scent.. It’s a bit different today.”  Steve replies, leaning just a little closer, and Bucky doesn’t even notice he’s more aware of Steve’s scent in return because he’s always been so goddamn aware of Steve as a whole that this is his normal anyway.

“I don’t think so,” he replies, shrugging, and that’s that.

Or at least, that’s that until later that night.

Bucky has always run warm, far warmer than Steve whose fingers and toes turn white during those New York City winters that make the shitty windows in the tenement rattle and that icy breeze push through the place soaking into everything - but this is different.  Tonight, Bucky is beyond warm and everything seems overwhelming, and his scent… it’s sweet.  It’s seductive, and Steve realizes that he really can’t get enough of it.

Usually with any sort of a temperature going on or anything else that might be medical, Steve would go running for his Mom, but Sarah Rogers was working a night shift on the TB ward because it paid better, and waking Buck’s Mom when she’s probably had a right day (and risking the ire of George Barnes) isn’t worth it.

Besides, Steve knows what was happening instinctively.

“Buck, you’re going into heat,” he whispers, and Bucky nods, knows already because it’s so obvious now.

“I know, Stevie,” he said, those storm blue eyes wide, and Steve knows right there that it’s his turn to take care of Bucky now and he’s gonna.

As things progress, Steve brings every goddamn spare blanket he can find into the tiny bedroom he has, letting Bucky do what he needs to to make himself comfortable.  He knows that nest building is important, knows that Omegas need to feel safe and right now Bucky’s probably freaking out because he’s an Omega like Steve, not the Alpha everyone thinks, and there’s still that stigma against Omegas, especially atypical ones.

“D’you need space, or…?”  he offers once he’s got everything he can and has made sure that there is water available to drink when Buck needs it and knowing that he will when he’s in full heat.  

“I… need you here,” Bucky replies, and oh, he’s offering space in the pile he’s created, in the nest and Steve feels honoured - of course he does - but also a little confused.  Another Omega scent is probably somewhat soothing, especially one so familiar to Bucky, but this isn’t normal.  Then again, their friendship has never really had boundaries, so perhaps he shouldn’t be too surprised.  

When he climbs in, being careful not to disturb things too much, Bucky moves to him, Steve enjoying the warmth from his friend’s body soaking into his skin, but being completely surprised when without any preamble, Bucky tucks his nose into the crook of his neck.

“S’almost like your scent’s a bit different today too, Stevie,” he murmurs, though Steve isn’t sure what he means.

Or at least he isn’t until Bucky’s heat breaks.

Steve has always struggled to get a boner, and then to keep it up.  Of course, he’s managed it, has managed to come into his own fist on a fair few occasions - he’s a teenage boy and despite his defective body, he still has urges.

But the moment he wakes from a doze and finds his best friend panting next to him and smells what he instinctively knows is the aroma of slick, he’s almost instantly hard.

He turns to Bucky with wide eyes, wondering if he should be embarrassed.  Bucky shouldn’t; he can’t help his heat, but Steve doesn’t have that excuse.  

Reaching a hand down, he goes to adjust himself, trying to make the hardness in his pants just a little less obvious, tilting his hips away from Bucky even if it is probably too late with the way their bodies are pressed together, and there he finds something else.

Where there wasn’t before, there’s a ridge at the base of his cock.  

Steve glances up, trying to see if Bucky’s noticed anything, and realizes then that his friend’s wide eyes are on him completely.  

“You doing okay there, Steve?”  he asked, voice shaking a little, biting his lip a little in a way Steve can’t help but watch.

“I…” He trails off, not knowing what else to say.

“You’re an Alpha,” Bucky confirms, before nuzzling into Steve’s neck.  “And trust me Stevie, your scent.”  

Steve feels the mouth against his mating gland and moans out, staying stock still and rigid, not trusting himself to move.  

Bucky sighs a little against him, part happy and part frustrated.  “Stop trying to hide from it Steve,” he breathes.  “We are what we are, now are you gonna help m-both of us, or what?” 

****

Anyway, I must dash and go to work - perhaps I’ll come back for the rest at a later date - hopefully this works for you and thank you for the ask <3

[thxngam]

Did someone say trope-y and cliche? I mean, that’s somewhat intended when the prompt itself is popular kid dates nerdy kid...for @curiousaboutrg. I hope you like it, love! 

#10, high school popular kid/nerd au

Tony scowled from under his jacket. Bucky just smiled. “What’re you frownin’ at, sweetheart?” 

Tony’s frown deepened. “You know damn well what, Barnes.” 

Aw, shit. “Sweetheart,” Bucky tried, tugging Tony’s slight form to his bulk as they cowered under the awning of a thrift store, Bucky’s varsity jacket over Tony’s shoulders like a sore thumb in the grayscale background of the rainy boardwalk. “I know, I’m sorry. I should’ve checked the weather.” 

Tony frowned up at him, nose crinkled. “You think that’s what I’m mad about?”

“Well,” Bucky hedged, rubbing his hand over Tony’s stomach absently. Tony wiped at his glasses. “I really should’ve checked the weather, and you’ve been a grump since we’ve been under here--”

Tony rolled his eyes, droplets still clinging to his lashes behind the thick frames of Tony’s bulky--adorable--glasses. “You moron, that’s not it. It’s not your fault, and besides, the weather report is wrong half the time anyway.” 

“Okay, then what’s wrong, darlin’?” Bucky pressed his lips to Tony’s temple, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and traces of garlic that still clung to him after passing through the market. “Talk to me.” 

“I’m annoyed that our evening is ruined,” Tony mumbled, turning in his arms and burrowing into them, the frames of his glasses bumping Bucky’s generous pecs and his fluffy head of hair tucked under his chin. He peeked back, resting his chin on Bucky’s sternum. “We haven’t gone on a proper date in weeks, Buck.” 

Ah. 

Tony was right, they hadn’t gotten to spend time with each other outside of the rest of the football team or the decathlon team with them. And the football team was rowdy, a bunch of guys yelling and cheering, and more often than not, whacking at each other, and while the decathlon team was definitely made up of more people who valued words more than thumps on the back, they were equally chatty. 

“Oh, Tony,” Bucky’s heart sank at the disappointed tears in Tony’s eyes. “Sweetheart.” He looked around before tugging Tony into the, at least, warm air inside of the thrift store. “We can still do something together! I like spending time with you more than I like the ferris wheel. Doesn’t matter,” Bucky promised. “What do you think?” 

“I like spending time with you too,” Tony mumbled, embarrassed. 

“Okay, then. Kiss me?” 

Tony’s smile made his heart give an alarming ba-bump. Tony leaned up, like a little kitten waiting for pets, pursing his lips. Bucky laughed, dipping him down and smiling into Tony’s mouth when he giggled.

Bucky pulled Tony back up and turned. “Now, c’mon, let’s see if there’s anything in here.” 

“There’s nothing in this dump that I would dare put on my booty-licious body-” Tony started, shrieking when Bucky dumped a poncho over his head. “Bucky!”

“C’mon, princess,” Bucky said, snorting. “Let’s see if there’s anything for me, then.” 

Tony sniffed primly. He fingered a leather jacket though, as he breezed through the aisles. 

“Somethin’ you like?” Bucky asked, smiling privately when Tony gave him an offended look. “Sweetheart, c’mon.” 

Tony glared. “No.” 

Bucky sighed. So stubborn, but Bucky liked it. “Alright, doll.” 

Tony gave in about ten minutes later when the rain slows to a pitter-patter on the roof, sagging against Bucky’s arm against his waist. “Fine, it’s not a dump,” he grunted, turning away when Bucky can’t help but press an excited kiss to Tony’s cheek. “No,” Tony whined, and then yelped with laughter as Bucky dug his fingers into Tony’s sensitive side. “Bucky!”

“What is it, doll? What do you want?” 

“More like what I want on you,” Tony said snidely once Bucky removes his fingers, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “You’re sure?” 

“Absolutely.” 

“I, uh. There was a leather jacket that I thought would look good?” 

“I know what you’re talkin’ about,” Bucky teased, and went back to get it as Tony watched the rain slow from the storefront window. He looks so pretty, Bucky thought as he came back, jacket obediently clutched in his metal hand. The sun shone in Tony’s hair, and he looks enraptured by a group of birds, bobbling their way back down the street. He settled behind him silently, tugging Tony into his arms quietly. “I love you,” he muttered into Tony’s hair. Tony doesn’t say anything, but his hand goes to rest over Bucky’s and squeeze, chest pushing out on a shuddering exhale. 

“Put the jacket on, Buckaroo,” Tony said instead, turning away and pressing a butter-soft kiss to Bucky’s cheek. 

Jacket on, Bucky gave a slow turn, smirking when Tony looks absolutely enamored. “You like?” 

“The team’ll make fun of you,” Tony warned. 

Bucky ruffled his hair. “When have I ever cared about what they think?” 

…

When Bucky walked into school the next day, the blinding smile Tony gave him is more than enough to make up for the ribbing the team gives him. 

…

“And that’s how you got the jacket?” Morgan asks dubiously as he tucks her into bed. “‘Cause Daddy liked it?” 

Bucky pressed a kiss to her forehead and smooths the covers as he reaches to turn her bedside lamp off. “Morguna, if it was gonna make daddy happy, I would’ve gone and fetched the moon for him. Wearing a leather jacket--a nice one too--didn’t even strike on the radar.” 

“Even if the school made fun of you?” 

Bucky rolls his eyes and gently pokes Morgan’s eyelid as they droop. “Everyone loved me anyway,” he says confidently. “And your daddy is worth all that, anyway.” 

“Okay, papa.” Morgan’s voice is faint as sleep gently tugs her into its arms.

[delicatelyherdreams]

Just Beachy

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Two weeks after your wedding, Tony drops a bomb on you and the team: he’s taking you all to the beach.

Warnings: Sexual innuendos

Word Count: 1488

The rushing of the waves paired with the warmth of the sun beating down on your skin was absolutely delightful—a true blessing in the world.

You stood above the beach, a towel wrapped under your arm and a smile on your face.

You’d been skeptical when Bucky had told you that the team was going on a mini vacation, especially so soon after your wedding when you still had “thank you” notes to finish writing and sending, but, now that you were here and standing above the beach in your bikini with your towel, you couldn’t have been happier.

A cold metal arm wrapped itself around your waist and pulled you into Bucky’s side for a kiss to be pressed to your cheek. “You ready, Mrs. Barnes?” he asked with a grin.

You hummed. “Of course, Mr. Barnes.” You took his hand in your own before walking with him down the beach.

The warm sand wedged itself in between your toes, cushioning every step and feeling absolutely perfect. You let out a content sigh as you and Bucky walked in sync to join the others who were already settled on the beach.

Natasha sat on a chair under an umbrella slathering her skin with sunscreen. She’d opted for a black one piece and a sunhat for the day and she couldn’t have looked happier.

Besides her, Steve sat on his towel staring at the ocean as he chatted with Tony next to him. The two looked pretty engrossed in their conversation.

Clint was already asleep on his towel in the broad sunlight and Sam was coating his chest with shells and sand in the shape of a bikini top as a practical joke.

Thor, the giant man-child he was, was splashing around in the water.

With the team already settled in and doing their own various activities, all that was left was for you and Bucky to join them. You took his hand and led him down the beach happily. You slowed to a stop away from the water’s edge, deeming it a good enough place to settle down. 

Bucky spread out his towel first before moving to help you with yours. 

You chuckled as he grabbed the corners opposite of you. “Thanks, Buck.”

He nodded and smoothed out his end before plopping down on your towel.

You stared at him. “Really? On my towel? Don’t you have your own?”

He simply smirked and stretched out over your towel. “Maybe, but yours is better.”

“How so?”

“It has you to come with it.” He patted the spot next to him on your towel, beckoning for you to join him.

You rolled your eyes but complied.

You hadn’t been seated for even five seconds before he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into his lap.

“Bucky!” you whined. “First you take my towel and then you take me? C’mon, man.”

He nuzzled into the crook of your neck and laughed, his breath tickling your skin. “Would you rather I let you go?”

You pondered for a bit before answering, “Maybe. I want to swim.”

“And I want to hold you.” With his arms secured around your waist, he slowly leaned back so he was lying down with you on top of him.

You hummed as you flipped over so your fronts were pressed together. “Hold me, huh? Are you sure that’s all you want to do?”

He stared up at you. “Oh, doll. There’s so much I want to do to you.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but you were beaten to it by a certain billionaire off to the side of you.

"No sex on the beach you two!” Tony yelled over the roar of the waves.

Your face immediately drained of all color at his suggestion and you snapped your head to glare at him.

He only gave you a taunting smile. “We get that you’ve tied the knot and all, but nobody wants to see that.”

You could feel your face burning as you dipped your head to hide in the crook of Bucky’s neck. Just thinking about it made you blush like crazy.

Bucky’s arm tightened protectively around your waist. “Just say the word, Doll, and I’ll kill him.”

“You can’t kill him,” you mumbled. “He’s paying for all of this.”

He huffed before turning his head to plant a kiss to your temple. “Fine, but after all of this is over... Don’t ask me when you find him decapitated.”

“You got it.” You pulled away from his neck and squirmed out from his hold. “Come on, Bucky. I wanna swim.” You rose to your knees and stood up, grabbing onto his flesh hand to pull him towards the water.

He didn’t budge, instead he smiled lovingly up at you. “You go on and get started without me. I want to see if I can get some sun on my skin first.”

You pouted before nodding and pecking his cheek. “Alright. Don’t leave me waiting for too long.”

He pulled you in close for a proper kiss and smiled against your lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

You gave him one last smile before bolting off to join Thor in the waves.

He lounged back on the sand, letting his fingers dig into the grains as he did so. 

“So, how’s the married life?”

Bucky glanced up to see Steve sitting down in the sand next to him, a teasing smile on the blonde’s face.

Bucky inhaled sharply, a content smile on his face. “It’s great. I have the love of my life by my side every night and I get to look at my ring on her finger and know that she really is mine.”

Steve chuckled. “She’s got you good, huh?”

“She’s had me good, Stevie.” He sighed lovingly. “She’s the absolute best thing to happen to me and I wouldn’t give her up for the world.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at his best friend. “I’m glad to see you so happy, Bucky. You deserve it all.”

Bucky smiled back and opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a flustered shriek coming from the water. His head snapped to the side to see what was going on, but he couldn’t see any sort of apparent danger, only you and Thor standing in the waves. From this distance it was hard to see what made you scream like that, but he could see that your face was a bright red color and Thor was laughing heartily. He tilted his chin up to look at the pair down his nose and chuckled. “What’s going on down there?”

You shot him a look that told him “Not now, Buck,” only making him chuckle more.

The rest of the day passed without much interference. Bucky swam with you, constantly splashing you and just letting go. You couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day. At the end of the day, the whole team went off to their individual suites for the night. 

You flopped down onto yours and Bucky’s shared bed, a breathless laugh escaping your mouth. “What. A. Day.”

Bucky stood at the dresser, chuckling as he stripped off his shirt. He glanced at you over his shoulder. “Good day?”

You nodded. “It could not have been any better.”

“No?” He turned around to face you, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then why were you screaming at Thor earlier?”

You felt your face grow hot and you let your head fall back with a groan. “Oh, god. That.”

“Yeah, that.” He walked over to join you on the bed. “Did you see a shark?”

“No... Just, Thor was... Gah, he was taunting me.”

“What’d he say?”

You squeezed your eyes shut. “H-He asked if... He asked if this vacation was our honeymoon and got all suggestive and— Ugh it was so embarrassing.”

Bucky simply chuckled. “Do you want it to be?”

You cracked an eye open at him questioningly. “What?”

He lay back so he was level with you and turned over onto his side. “I mean, it’s right about the time that most couples would be taking their honeymoon, and this place is practically a paradise. If you wanted it to, I’m sure we could turn this vacation into an impromptu honeymoon.” The hunger in his eyes was evident as he stared at you.

You smiled softly at him. “You know, I think these walls are soundproof... I think we could probably pull it off.”

The grin on his face was large and loving as he rolled over so he was hovering over you. “So is that a yes?”

You nodded. “Love me, Buck.”

That night marked the start of a great vacation and an even better time with the love of your life. And for the duration of the trip, you experienced a rare period of time where everything was just beachy.

TO BE TAGGED PLEASE SEND AN ASK. IT IS MUCH EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR REQUESTS IF THEY’RE IN MY INBOX BECAUSE THEN THEY WILL NOT GET LOST IN MY OTHER NOTIFICATIONS. IF FOR WHATEVER REASON I HAVE MISSED YOU, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO MESSAGE ME AND WE WILL GET IT CLEARED UP RIGHT AWAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.  Bucky Barnes Taglist: @cauraphernelia @thorins-queen-of-erebor @ria132love @moonstruckhargrove @free-as-fishes @jitterbuck @mallorydoesstuff @baneofkoveras05 @trashpanda-barnes @klmpun @karla-silva @imarockstar45 @danyofwesteros @seachelle-the-tideborn @nerdyladydream @bambamwolf87 @some-person-somewhere @fairislesheets @thefridgeismybestie @nerd-without-a-cause @cheshire-salvatore-mikaelson  

Marvel Taglist: @ifyousayyouloveme @butimthekingofhell @mojitoclauds @annazierden  

Sebastian Stan Taglist: @mywinterwolf @libbymouse @crazybutconfidentaf

Permanent Taglist: @dont-speak-just-read @becauseismellgood @impalaimages @breezy1415 @lou-la-lou @aestheticapricity @a-book-pressed-rose @watchoutforfrostbite @dragonborn791924 @everythingisoverrated @extreme-supernatural-lover @hi-my-name-is-riley @wishingforahome @natcad @whyugottabsorude @tutis24 @buckysbeardliness @oh-balls-you-idjits @s3glz33 @tina8009 @picapicapicassobaby @stevehesaidabadlanguageword @carmillatheboss @shieldgirl95 @racheo91 @vvhat-the-hell-is-a-stiles @piensa-bonito @awkwardfangirl2014 @the-wayward-robot @cutie1365 @sinviix

Requested by: Anonymous

[afewmarvelousthoughts]

No Surrender Pt. 3

Part 1 | Part 2

Request: hey i love your writing!! i was wondering if you could write something where the ready and bucky are in the same hydra facility and try to escape together. idk maybe that’s bad but i love your writing!!

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Summary: In the winter of 1945 Hydra captures Sargent James Barnes. After months spent unconscious, he wakes up in a cell with you and a new addition on his left side. Quickly it becomes clear that being locked up together may be the best bout of luck either of you has had in a while… Maybe together the two of you have a chance of making it out of this hell alive. Now, 69 years later the two of you are brought back together, scars and all. War changes everyone it touches but maybe, together, you can both find some kind of peace.

Warnings: Angst, heavy emotions, blood

A/N: How did we get here??? Do I ever know? I’m floored that some of you are just so in love with this story. It’s unexpected and I LIVE for your feedback and excitement over it. Thank you for patiently waiting for Part 3! 

Some things: While I’m a huge research nerd I can only ready about military court proceedings for so long before my eyes cross and I go crazy. I tried. I fully guarantee everything about how that would go down is pure fictional bullshit. So basically please don’t @ me. I know the feels are heavy but... like if you’re not new here I feel that should be expected. 

Hope you like this one pumpkins!

Tags are open!

@mywinterwolf @disagreetoagree @breezy1415 @peachthatdrinkslemonade @wonderlandmind4 @piensa-bonito @buckysstar @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @handplucked @krugeforeveryone @jewelofwinter @get-loki @just-a-littlebit-of-everything  @littledarlinhavefaithinme

The next weeks pass in a blur.

You settle once more into your Georgetown row house, purchased down the road from Peg’s so many decades before. In recent years you had preferred spending your time in Europe. It always felt more like home, less lonely, and… plenty of opportunities to get your hands a little dirty here and there. Once a spy…

You’ve been spending any time you can with Steve and Bucky. At Dr. Carr’s advice, the two of you try to guide Bucky to memories he has. She thinks it will reinforce his grip on what is his own and what Hydra put inside him.

Since your history with him is so brief you mainly listen to the two men talk about their childhood, their families, what life was for them before the world fell apart. You don’t mind at all. Listening to them takes you back to a time when things were so simple for you too, even if Brooklyn and Lyon were a world apart.

In these moments you sit next to him on his small bed, Steve in the armchair. Bucky’s fingers playing with yours. Catching small smiles from him. Observing the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. Amazed at the buzzing in your stomach that you thought you wouldn’t feel again…

Then there are the more mundane issues at hand. S.H.I.E.L.D. had held back a metric ton of shit for so long that without it chaos was knocking. Any time you’re not with the boys you’re sorting through Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. files, finding the spots of overlap, flagging things that are worth a deeper look, and feeling your heart shatter more and more.

Your friends had worked so hard… dedicated their lives to build something good… and for what?

You’d been in one of the conference rooms for most of the day pulling the pieces of a particularly heinous experiment together. The lines between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra here are so clear it makes your hands shake and guilt wash over you.

All those years ago when you decided to retire, go off the grid, Howard begged you to stay. Peg understood why you wanted out. It had been too long and it was becoming more and more apparent that you weren’t aging like the rest of them.

People were talking. Dummy agreed, it was time to move on but Howard said they needed someone like you. A fulcrum to ground everything, someone to remember why they needed S.H.I.E.L.D., who really knew what was out there.

That had been one hell of a fight. Dummy had nearly knocked Howard out when he said you were being a coward. You went years without speaking after. But now you think he was right. Had you stayed… had you been brave enough… maybe this wouldn’t have happened…

You fling the file you were reading across the table and fish your cigarettes from your bag. Fresh air and a smoke, that’s what you need.

On the roof you light up, the early evening light casting everything in pinks and golds. Your heart, which had been in your throat for hours finally starts to settle in its proper place, hands steadying.

The door behind you slams open. Reflex sends you spinning, pistol in your hand before you even know what’s happening. Sharon stands in the doorway, not even seeing the gun in your hands, panting.

“It’s, Sargent Barnes. Steve isn’t here-”

You flick the cigarette and rush to her, pressing your gun into her hands. “Where is he?”

“In his room,” she stops by the elevator.

“I can get there faster on foot.” Immediately you bolt to the stairwell. There’s a landing every two stories. Easy enough to jump and you do until you’re at the basement level.

The door to the observation room is open and you can hear Dr. Carr trying to speak to him, soothe him.

“Bucky you’re safe, Steve is coming. Bucky-”

“What happened?!” You demand.

She turns to you, eyes wide as saucers. “He had a meeting with the lawyers… I told him to rest after… and he woke up…”

You can see in the screen behind her the reason she looks so shaken. He’s pressed into a corner, sobbing, trying desperately to claw that left arm off. Just like when he first came to in your cell.

Without another word, you’re running. Unthinking you break the last two security doors in your haste sending the alarms off for a moment before they’re silenced. Perhaps you should be more cautious but you don’t care. You fling the door open, the handle groaning under your steel grip.

“Sargent Barnes,” your voice is soft. His eyes shoot to you but he doesn’t see you, just a threat. Blood is trickling down his chest, staining the grey of his sweatpants. That familiar copper scent filling your nostrils.

With the speed only a super soldier can manage, he’s on his feet. He lunges for you but he’s disoriented, afraid. You move easily and get behind him wrapping your arms around him, pinning him as you did when you first met.

“Shh,” you coo into his ear. “I know you’re afraid. I won’t hurt you Bucky. I won’t.” His body shudders under your grasp and you feel some of the tension slip from him until there’s a noise at the door.

“No!” You call out to whoever it may be. Silence falls again but he’s squirming, though not trying to escape you.

“Y/N…”

“Yes, you know me.”

“I can’t,” his voice cracks. “Off. I need it off!”

“Ok. We can work on that maybe, another time, mon chou.” Your grip remains tight. “Not like this.”

You don’t know why you do it. Maybe because it brought you both peace once in your brief history together. Maybe because you wish you could sing him to sleep. But softly you begin to sing, Le chant des partisans.

Slowly you feel him relax. His knees give way and you fall to the ground with him, still holding him tight. A sob escapes and you stop singing.

His right hand, shaking and bloody rises, resting on your forearm. “No, please don’t stop… please.” You don’t. Holding him tight you sing, gently rocking him, until his sobbing quiets and his body stops trembling.

“I’m sorry…” His voice is so low that someone without advanced hearing may have missed it.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He pats your arms and you release him and move to sit beside him. His blue eyes study you, the blood, his blood, coating the arms of your cream button up and jeans. You roll your eyes, “Not the first time I’ve had a little blood on me.”

Bucky’s gaze switches to the blood trailed around the space. The fingers of his right hand touch his chest and he winces. You reach up and tenderly take his hand, lacing your fingers with his, worried he’ll start again.

The gashes are… deep. Painfully so. He’s not bleeding enough to cause too much concern but it needs to be cleaned and stitched.

“We will have someone look at that.”

“No!” His voice echoes a bit, he seems to flinch a bit at the resounding volume. “Sorry… I… It’ll heal. No need to fuss-”

“Just because you’re enhanced doesn’t mean you are impervious. That can get infected, it needs to be cared for.”

He shrugs, “Never mattered before.”

The dismissal of his own wellbeing twists your heart in your chest. You reach up and tilt his face toward your own with your free hand, “It matters to me.” He looks up at you through his lashes. “What if I took care of it? Would that be ok?”

He scoffs a little, “You a nurse now?”

You smile, “It’s been a long life Barnes. I’ve picked up quite a few skills to stay busy.” Playfully you wink, earning a small smile.

“Sure.”

“I’ll go get a kit,” you move to stand but his hand grips your own tighter. Gently you cup his face, “I will be right back. I swear.” He nods and brings your hand to his lips, leaving a kiss on your knuckles.

Once you’re past the last security door you take a moment, tears burning the backs of your eyes, desperately trying to find some kind of composure. That kiss. He’d done the same just before he shoved you into that tunnel and began a lifetime of pain. You feel like you’re going to shatter.

“Is he…” Steve is standing at the end of the hall, hands wringing together.

“Ok? No.” You take a shaky breath, “But expecting him to be…”

“I mean… physically.” Right. Blood.

Aimlessly you wipe your hands on your ruined shirt. “Oui. Nothing a few stitches won’t take care of.”

Steve nods, “I’ll get medical-”

You shake your head, “He wants me to take care of it.” Steve’s brows knit for a minute before they relax, seeming to understand.

When you walk back in he’s wiping up blood with a few washrags from the bathroom. A somewhat Sisyphean task since the motion is making him bleed more.

His eyes meet yours, sad and… shameful. “I… don’t want to be a burden.” It makes you think of Dummy… there at the end. Your fingers automatically grasp the rings hanging against your skin under the shirt.

“You aren’t.” You sit near a spot of blood, so the mess doesn’t spread elsewhere. “Come. Let’s get you mended and we can clean after. Steve can-”

“I don’t want Steve to know I…” You hold his gaze, “He already knows huh?” Sighing he sits across from you, legs crossed.

“He’s listed as your next of kin, they have to tell him these things. Here,” you hand him a clean towel, “lay it over your lap.” You begin irrigating the gashes, he doesn’t even flinch. In a moment the towel is damp and pink with blood. You work in silence, fingers fast despite it having been at least a decade since you’ve stitched someone up.

“You’re not the only one who has them,” your voice seems so much louder in the total silence of the space.

“Huh?”

“Flashbacks,” you begin to thread the needle, “night terrors. You’re not the only one.” His eyes meet yours softly questioning. You begin to stitch him up, aching a touch that he doesn’t react at all to the pain. “I’ve never known a soldier who’s seen battle to not have them.” You snip the thread and grab more for the next gash. “What I mean is that you shouldn’t be ashamed. Being haunted… well, it means you still have your humanity intact. At least… that’s what I tell myself.”

“Do you have them?” Your fingers tremble a bit. Bucky catches your hand in his right, touch feather light.

“Oui,” you whisper, feeling his eyes on you, unable to look up. He moves his hand and you knot the final stitch. The others only needed bandaging.

“Can I… do they…” He clears his throat, struggling to find the words. “Am I in them…?” His tone is so defeated, aching, that you can’t help but meet his gaze.

You feel your heartbreak, knowing he wants you to say no. But you’ve dreamt about that day for almost seven decades now. It’s only one in many horrors your mind holds on to but still… “One of them. As I said it’s been a long life, plenty of time for-”

“I don’t regret it.” He sounds the exact opposite of a moment ago. There’s a flicker of the man from before there in the blue of his eyes.

Leaning down you make to grab bandages from the kit when you’re really struggling to hold onto your composure. Your necklace tumbles from the unbuttoned top of your shirt, the jangling of metal sounding harsh in the heavy silence.

Metal fingers slide under your chin, lifting your face up. “I don’t, Y/N.” You swallow hard, willing yourself to keep it together. ��Getting you out may have been the last good thing I got to do. How could I regret that?”

“But you-”

“Doesn’t matter. You got out. That’s what I wanted. When I’d start to remember things I would remember that, it… you brought me peace.”

Tears fall from your eyes despite your best efforts. A small sound bursts past your lips and you cover your mouth quickly. His fingers cup the back of your head and pull you toward him, resting his forehead on your own.

“I don’t wanna be something that haunts you. Not any more. I’m not a ghost now.”

You nod, pulling away and wiping at your tears with your forearm. Bucky casts you a sweet smile.

“You don’t talk much when Steve’s here,” he says as you fish bandages from the kit.

You shrug, “I like hearing you two reminisce. Reminds me of simpler times.”

He nods as if he understands. “Can… can I ask you something then?”

“Anything.” You begin to put ointment on the shallower cuts, they’d likely be healed by tomorrow if not the next day you knew. Your fingers freeze when you hear his metal ones clink against the rings and tags dangling from your neck.

“Who was the lucky bastard?”

Sighing you sit back on your heels. A playful grin softens his features and makes his eyes sparkle. You can’t help but smile back.

“Read the tags and find out.” One eyebrow cocks up and he lifts them, the long chain only making him lean forward a touch to see.

“Holy shit.” His head falls back and he lets out a bellowing laugh. “Fucking Dum Dum Dugan?!” The sound of his laugh makes one bubble from you too. “I gotta say, that’s not what I expected.”

“My either, trust me.” You shake your head.

Bucky’s laugh quiets, thumb rubbing over the letters before letting go of the necklace. “Good man, though.”

You nod, “He was. I hated him at first,” you go back to bandaging his wounds. “He was so… American. God the number of times I wanted to just rip that mustache off his damn face. But he grew on me.” A small laugh comes from you and you can’t help but smile, “The guys gave us hell for it too.”

“Guys?”

“The other Howlers. And Stark, he gave me hell for everything though.”

“Were you…”

“Oui.” You finish and sit back, crossing your legs. “I… found them after, just like you said. It was too late but… there was work to be done and I just fell in with them.”

His brows knit. “But… your family? You had to find them?”

He had no way of knowing. Even after all this time, it hits you like a blow to the chest. Your gaze settles on the floor.

“Let’s just say you weren’t the only one I was too late to save…”

“Y/N…” He grabs your hand, holding tight. “I’m so-”

“Don’t,” you shake your head. “It is a grief I shared with millions. Not something you need to mourn too.” He gives your hand a firm squeeze, his expression soft.

You force a smile to your lips, “Come, we can get everything cleaned up, together.”

-

Bucky had hoped the cool water would clear his head. Instead, the cold had just sent a flash of cryo cutting through his mind. His hands grip the sink, trying to hold on to what’s real until he hears the porcelain crack under his left hand. Quickly he releases it, not wanting to do more damage, and looks up at his reflection.

His lawyers thought a haircut would help remove the “Winter Soldier” image. It was similar to how he looked in some pictures he’d seen of himself. A few inches long, slicked back. They’d also thought clean shaven would be best, so for the first time in a long time, he actually shaved. He hardly knew the man in the mirror but… maybe that was for the best.

You had sent the suit over yesterday evening. The note in your looping hand assured him it should fit just fine. His fingers had lingered over the text, mind on the delicate but powerful hands that wrote it.

He probably shouldn’t think of you… not like that anyway. You were his friend’s wife… well widow, but still. It didn’t seem right. But you were his friend, and really that’s what he needed the most right now.

Somewhat awkwardly he tugs at the navy suit jacket, unsure if everything fit right and feeling more than a little out of place in it. A knock at the door puts his heart in his throat.

“It’s me,” your soft voice from the other side calms his nerves immediately.

“Come in.” While your voice may have calmed him your smile set his heart to racing once more. He swallows hard. Those blood red lips, sky-high heels, and the perfectly tailored suit make you nothing less than formidable.

“Oh, fantastic!” Your eyes scan him, taking in his attire. “It fits well, I was worried.”

“It does?” He feels sheepish asking, “Seems a little… tight.”

You laugh, “Men’s suits are slimmer than they used to be. Trust me, you look very handsome.” As you straighten his tie he catches a whiff of your perfume. Spicy with just the lightest touch of vanilla.

“Can I come in,” Steve asks from the hall.

“Of course,” Bucky says. Relieved at his timing. Much longer with you like this and he’d likely shove his foot in his mouth.

“You clean up alright man.” Steve gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and Bucky notes that his suit is similar. “You feelin’ ready?”

Steve’s eyes are intense with concern. All Bucky can manage is a shrug.

“Hey,” your hand gently rests on his chest, right over where you’d stitched him up a couple of weeks prior. “This is going to work.” Bucky meets your eyes and nods.

Desperately he wants you to be right. Because of the work, Sam Wilson did Bucky was being charged as an active member of the United States Army, a P.O.W. His hearing was a Court Marshal which would be held in a closed courtroom with only a judge presiding.

According to the lawyers, this was the best case scenario. According to Agent Hill, the possibility of there being a significant amount of press coverage was also high. And the general consensus was that while the chances he would be acquitted were high that didn’t mean that the proceedings would be easy to stomach.

The first people called to the stand were medical personnel. Confirming he’d been enhanced, giving an uncomfortable rundown of a laundry list of psychological disorders and effects that spending so long in captivity could and did cause. He felt like a zoo animal.

Steve was the first character witness. His role was to paint a picture of the man Bucky was before the war, the man he was still trying to get to know himself. His description of a loving and loyal son, brother, and friend seems a little flowery. There are parts he’s skipping, parts with bloody knuckles and whiskey breath. But Bucky figures it’s best to leave that out. His mind wanders a bit. Even the trial counsel doesn’t want to go hard on Captain America after all.

“Y/N Bernard is called to the stand.” Immediately Bucky’s attention is back.

You flash him a wry smile as you walk past, moving with so much grace you look like royalty, not a soldier. He’d gotten the rundown of your role. Confirmation of his initial capture and torture, as well as your own, and some intel on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founding.

Once sworn in you sit, shoulders back, head high. Was he a lawyer he’d struggle to ask you anything other than out to dinner. His lawyers go in first.

“Ms. Bernard, you were a member of the French resistance starting from when?”

“I joined in 1941 and remained an active operative until I was captured in January of 1945.”

“When you were captured did you know it was Hydra and not the Nazis that had you?”

“No. I was captured by Nazi soldiers after a raid gone wrong. They had been ordered to bring any able-bodied men and women to Zola, and that’s what they did.”

“How many were with you?” This line of questioning wasn’t what Bucky had anticipated. It makes him anxious as he’s never heard this part of your story.

“Eight.” Your eyes close a fraction longer than a blink and he wishes they would stop already. “Myself and seven men. I was the only one to survive the first round of experiments.”

“After which you were moved?”

“Yes. I was relocated twice that I remember. I believe they were trying to outmaneuver the Howling Commandos as they had been strongly advancing on one Hydra base after another at that time.”

The lawyer nods, “And at any of these other locations were you ever with another prisoner?”

“I was. Two of them I saw die within the cell from reactions to whatever it was Hydra was doing to them. Another was taken away and never returned. All men.”

“And Sargent Barnes was one of those cellmates?”

“Yes. He was the final one.”

“Why final?”

“Because,” your eyes slide to Bucky and hold his gaze, “Sargent Barnes helped me escape captivity. He saved my life.”

“And you believe that he was subjected to some of the same torture methods used on you?”

“I know for certain he was.”

“So you had experience with this electroshock tool they used, their tactics for manipulation?”

“I did.”

“Can you walk us through that?”

Bucky wants to tell you no. You don’t have to do this. He doesn’t want you to do this. But he grits his teeth.

You walk through the chair, how they would try and indoctrinate you in your confused state, abuses suffered, then the details of your escape. What you knew of the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. and what your role had been. By the end, Bucky feels like he wants to wretch.

The trial counsel rises, “So Ms. Bernard, it is Ms. isn’t it?” Bucky feels his hackles rise, not liking the tone this man is taking with you.

“Yes, it is.”

“But you were married?”

“I was.”

“To an American citizen? One of the Howling Commandos if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes.” Your eyes narrow.

“However, you never took his name. I understand in this day that’s fairly normal but then it was an unusual choice.”

The judge clears his throat, “Is there a point.”

“Yes, your honor.” The counsel rounds the table and stands before you, “Ms. Bernard I found that interesting because despite it being the norm, you didn’t take your husband’s name. Didn’t take a position as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. even though you were well positioned to do so. You didn’t remain working with S.H.I.E.L.D. even though you claim to have close ties with those for whom its founding was deeply personal. In fact after Timothy Dugan’s death in 1985 most records of you vanish altogether despite the fact that we were still in the midst of the Cold War.”

He pauses as though he’s giving you space to retaliate. You don’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, your cool gaze remains steady, Bucky even swears there’s a smirk playing on your lips.

“It’s interesting because, even to a casual observer, Ms. Bernard it would seem that you were actively avoiding being noticed. And now The Winter Soldier turns up, S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization that has spent the last few decades protecting our nation, falls, and suddenly here you are willing to put your name on the record for the first time. That seems a touch suspicious given your history.”

“What exactly would you accuse me of sir?” You possibly dropped the temperature of the whole courtroom by a few degrees.

“No accusation. Simply stating that you’re breaking almost 70 years of silence at a very poignant time. You could have remained an active agent, serving this country, and be on this stand today with nothing whatsoever to besmirch your honor. But your silence and secrecy make you an unknown. So my question is why? Why come forward now?”

Now your smirk comes out full force. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” He shrugs.

“Why do you think the United States created Captain America? Or Hydra me and Sargent Barnes? Why make us what we are?”

“Enhanced persons are a tactical advantage.”

“Another way to put that, perhaps the more true way, is that we are weapons or war.” Your smirk falls and your countenance turns to stone, “I did not choose to be such a weapon. My silence, my secrecy, are rooted in my desire to remain a free woman. Not a weapon for cowardly men to use whenever they saw fit.”

“So why now?”

“I owe Sargent Barnes my life, and I have no doubt the lives of many others are owed him as well.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because, sir, had he not freed me at the expense of his own life you would have had two super soldiers operating under the enemy for the last seven decades… one soldier and one spy. It does not take much of an imagination to put together the impact that may have had.”

There’s a clear ripple of tension through the room. He had never thought of that, never once occurred to him that the reason the two of you were chosen was for your skill sets. The perfect pair to infiltrate and destroy damn near any organization or country…

After that, the questioning seems to lose steam. The trial continues on in a blur. Bucky himself would not be called to the stand as he was deemed unfit to bear his own witness given what he had suffered. When the judge leaves to deliberate he wishes he could just disappear, all his sins, that they knew of, laid bare, all the way he was broken exposed. He knew it would be rough. No clue how rough…

The Judge is only gone for an hour. His lawyers can’t seem to decide if this is a good or bad turn of events. What they can agree on is that it’s unexpected.

“Sargent Barnes,” the judge addresses him, “to start I want to thank you.” Bucky has to fight to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. “For someone to have been through what you have and yet still sit on trial with dignity and honor… I don’t believe I’ve ever been so humbled in my life. I am proud to say that you have been found not guilty of all charges brought against you.” For a moment the judge is forced to pause. There’s a roar from the crowd outside, a mix of happiness and horror. But it’s the cheers of joy from behind Bucky that bring a smile to his face.

“You will receive all back pay and pension due a soldier of your rank. You will be required to continue counseling and evaluation. you may choose your own medical professionals but they will be vetted by the military in order to ensure not only your own safety but that of others.” The judge seems to take a moment to compose himself. “I’m honored to have been able to pass down this ruling to you Sargent Barnes. Thank you for your service.” The gavel cracks. And suddenly it’s all over.

Steve is the first one to get to him, his hug bone crushing, his laugh laced with too many emotions to count. “I knew it! I knew it would work. Welcome back to the real world pal.”

As soon as Steve releases him he sees you. Tears glitter in your eyes, your bottom lip caught in your teeth. You wrap your arms around his neck, he holds you tight against him.

“I’m so happy for you, Bucky.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, doll.”

You laugh and pull away, dabbing at your eyes. “Ok,” you say loudly enough to gather your people around. “Before we go out into that madness I just want to be clear. My place tonight 7pm. We celebrate, yes?”

“Damn straight!” Sam bellows.

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Random HCs about the Howlies...

Frenchy: half Italian, takes over as campfire chef in horror whenever anyone else tries despite not being very good (also in charge of the fire but has to be prised away from it), has a pack of dirty tarot cards cuz he’s a Marseillais, great at hill walking, refuses pointblank to accept the merit of anything Parisian or Parisian-inspired, bit of an arsonist, in charge of demo at a quarry before the war. Smokes Galloises. Howlie most likely to give their position away by humming opera while laying explosives. 

Monty: the David Niven, Eton or Harrow & Oxbridge, prolly a Lord, his pre-war life is so alien it's fascinating to the Howlies to hear him describe it (he has a valet), gets them into posh digs in London, teaches the others about wines and tailors, handles officers, universally affable and absolutely un-phaseable, reads poetry, can ride a horse but prefers planes and motorcars, also good at freshwater fishing. Probably gay. Most likely to start a sentence with ‘I say, chaps-’ Catchphrase is adding the word ‘what’ to the end of sentences. Howlie most likely to smoke with a cigarette holder. 

Gabe: bougie, history NERD, plays trumpet & trombone, gorgeous handwriting,  secretly listens to the blues, Communist, in charge of stopping Frenchy leaving explosives lying around, most likely to loot books, most prudent and calm Howlie, a bit of a worrier, proper intellectual, approaching genius IQ, used to run cross-country, most fit Howlie after Bucky and Steve. Howlie most likely to agree with Bucky. 

Jim: Signal Corps Ranger reassigned to the 107, treats normal objects like trash but his tech like precious flowers (do not touch!), most likely to be put in time-out, argues with Frenchy about correct fish cookery, thinks all European architecture & garden design is SHIT and is vocal about it (once got into fisticuffs with Frenchy about the merits of a monumental fountain, in France), the Howlies stopped teasing him for eating with chopsticks after he killed a Nazi with them (he cleaned them off after and kept using them), dirtiest/wildest fighter, bit bipolar, Stark fanboy, best shot after Bucky. Howlie most likely to froth at the mouth with rage. 

Dum-dum: ex-circus strongman with wild Carney tales from all across the US (including sad dustbowl stories), wicked sense of humour, used to be higher ranked but got demoted, only one of the Howlies besides Jim to’ve seen the west coast, tattooed, was once engaged to a Bearded Lady, enlisted to avoid prison, sings filthy Oirish songs when drunk, hates hill walking, former Braves fan, 100% useless at detecting untrustworthy women, had an Indian motorcycle back home & insists it's better than Steve’s because it's from Massachusetts (disgusted by Steve's Harley), smokes an absolutely stinking fish-bowl pipe (and/or cigars), enthusiastic hunter but only for big game / stupidly dangerous things, third best shot, most strong Howlie after Bucky and Steve. Howlie most likely to make Jim froth at the mouth with rage (and laugh while attacked). 

[darke15]

Ahhhh, @rhymingtree time for a proper reaction after my preliminary read through this morning, because lemme tell you...I remember being on the edge of my seat but I have no recollection of what actually happened because I have the memory of a fuckin' goldfish.

So, let's get started

Ach! Monica! Yahhhhhhsss

Ahhhhhhh! You kept the Turner and Monica knowing each other! Yay!

AND HE KNOWS ABOUT AUNT CAROLLLLLL

Awwwww Nia's graduation 😭 sad beans

"Yes her...the Avenger" why did that line hurt me so bad?

Agent wooooooooooooooooooo yayyyyy!

This scene was so freakin' weird to me (like a good weird) like the cops are like nope no Westview here...with the westview sign right behind them

Can we talk about Jimmy Woo for a second? I love him.

"Why haven't you gone inside?"

"Because it doesn't want me to."

That is such an intense line and the way you describe it, 'an ominous silence hung around the town...like it was spread to hide a darker secret...' man i got the chills

of course, boone was asked by SWORD to come, she's a goddamn genius

Darcy!

I love how Boone has made a name for herself, and Aftermath, it's like everybody from the FBI, CIA, and SWORD got together and told scary stories about her around a campfire.

Darcy looked up at her, still in awe. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

Boone, walking beside her, took a deep breath to calm herself. “Do what?”

“Be a badass.” Boone chuckled at that. Yeah, she definitely likes her.

“I don’t think you need it, Doc. You’re a woman in STEM.”

THIS LINE!!! THIS LINE IS FUCKIN' AMAZING! THIS MORNING A JUST ABOUT CHUCKED MY PHONE ACROSS THE ROOM IN EXCITEMENT!!!! JUST YESSS RHYMIE YESSSSSSS!

Boone smiled, excited. “There’s gonna be a t-shirt after this?”

This gives me Boone waving at Rook vibes idk why

The team up between Darcy and Boone is giving me life

Okay, can i just say you nailed Boone. She's witty, she's sarcastic, she's funny just like she's supposed to be. Good work, Rhymie.

Aalfkajewlfkajefl; the reveal! ooooff yessss

AND the Duke and Bucky friendship yessssss

God Hayward pisses me off just as much in written form as in the series (that's a compliment, good job)

I love Jimmy's attitude so much

Jimmy's such a nerd, recognizing Ghost as an avengers

Awwwww poor bucky :(

Darcy dropping noodles on Boone's shoe made me giggle

Duke calling Bucky a nerd...also made me giggle

"She can't remember me?"

DO YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF MY HEART BREAKING????? DAMN YOU RHYMIE

Darcy commenting on Danny and Ghost's relationship in front of Bucky...RHYME! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME???

Danny breaking the fourth wall and then frying their frequency...my god dude you scare the hell outta me

Her eyes challenged the light of the sun.

Rhyme that's beautiful, my gosh, I'm tearing up a big

Wanda scared me so much in that scene I was like girrllllll the hell is happening right now?

Ahhhhhhh Rhymie yessss! I love the switching POVs through this chapter and an almost 'behind the scenes' of what's been going on outside the hex while Ghost is inside.

I cannot wait to see where you take this next!

Ghosts in Westview

Chapter 8 || Voices Through a Radio

word count: 11.3k

summary: While investigating a mysterious disappearance in New Jersey, they discover some ghosts haunting Westview.

warnings: Tyler Hayward, Bucky's heart being broken about four times in one day, scary Wanda,

The Blip only happened three weeks ago. Half of the entire universe suddenly reappeared after five years, and the whole world went crazy, trying to go back to normal, trying to reintegrate.

Monica Rambeau didn’t just go through the whirlwind of disappearing and reappearing five years after. When she disappeared, she was dozing off in a hospital room with her mother recovering from surgery. Her mother was alive, they had hope.

When she woke up, five years had gone by, and her mother was dead.

Still, she picked herself up, and three weeks later, she’s back to work. She would have been absolutely ready for anything SWORD could throw at her. But here she was, driving to Westview, New Jersey, on a missing persons case, of all things. It was boring, and it was nothing like what she was used to, but it was necessary.

Driving down the highway, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. Looking for something a bit more interesting in her day, she answered it, not taking her eyes off the road. “Captain Rambeau speaking.”

“Monica…” A deep, familiar voice greeted her back. She smiled in recognition. “It’s good to hear you, Cap.”

Turner was a childhood friend and neighbor. One of the few people who knew about her Aunt Carol, and was one of her biggest supporters in her life besides her Mom. After they graduated high school and pursued their own careers, they lost touch. But with elevated positions in life, they still took pride in being each other’s childhood friends.

Back then, they were the troublemakers of the neighborhood. Now, they’re Captain Monica Rambeau and Senator Johnson. Each with their own separate loads of baggage and achievements.

“Senator Johnson, it’s been a while! How have you been? How’s the family?”

“Well, hectic, all things considered,” She heard him sigh on the other end. “I was dead for five years, so… missed Nia’s graduations. Meanwhile, my youngest and I… five years young.”

Monica’s brows furrowed at the way his voice went low. “God, I’m sorry, Turner.”

He chuckled, “No, I’m sorry. I rambled.”

“Well, I asked.” They both laughed for a moment, catching up with each other.

“Listen, I know you’re tired of hearing this, but…” Monica was about to stop him, but he said it anyway. “I’m sorry about your mom. I can only imagine what you’re dealing with, Monica. She was an extraordinary person, and a good friend.”

“Thanks, Turner. It means a lot.” It genuinely did, knowing someone who was personally close to her mother, and truly was affected by her being in their life. “But… that’s not the reason you called, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” His voice took a more serious tone. “I might need your help with something.”

Monica furrowed her brow, slowing down on the road slightly to put her attention on Turner. “Who’s asking for help, Senator Johnson or Turner?”

“It’s a problem for both. But I’m asking you as a friend.”

Oh, something’s really wrong then…

“What is it?”

She heard him shuffling, hesitating. “A friend of mine has gone missing, and we think SWORD might have something to do with it.”

“Woah, wait... Who’s the friend?”

“Captain (F/N) (L/N). She’s been missing a week now. And our only lead is that on the day she disappeared, she went to SWORD headquarters down in Florida. Right now, Monica, I feel like you're the only one there that I can trust.”

She knows that name. “...(F/N), your friend from the war? The Avenger?”

“Yes. Her…” He paused for a moment, and then said, “The Avenger.”

“Your Avenger friend went missing after going to SWORD Headquarters?” That seemed suspicious. That would have been pretty big news, and Hayward would have said something about it at some point, but he never mentioned any surprise visits from any Avengers.

“Actually, two Avengers. Her, and Wanda Maximoff. You didn’t hear about that when you got back on duty?”

“I’ve only been back a day, but someone should have told me.”

“That could mean they’re hiding the fact that they were there.”

Monica glanced up at the sign on the road. She had entered New Jersey now, headed towards Westview, where the FBI was waiting for her. “Listen, Turner. I’ve got something going on right now, but trust me, I’ll help you any way I can.”

“Thank you, Monica. If you don’t mind my asking, which mission are they sending you on?”

She couldn’t help but groan. “I’m grounded. Stuck with terrestrial missions for a while.”

“And here I thought they’d send you off to space the minute you came back.”

“Yeah, well… this could be a nice change of pace for now.” She smiled, “I’ll talk to you later, T.”

“Thanks again, Monica. You take care now.” He hung up, and she sighed.

Monica didn’t have time to think about the questionable secrecy within SWORD, as she drove closer to Westview.

---

She pulled the car to a slow stop in front of the big sign, welcoming you to Westview. Right by it, was a Police Car, two cops leaning on it. They looked bored, unbothered. Talking to them was who she assumed to be the FBI Agent she was helping with the case..

As she exited the car, the FBI Agent approached her. “James E. Woo, FBI.” He introduced with a flick of his fingers, his card appearing in a split second in his hand.

She raised her eyebrows in slight amusement. “Monica Rambeau, SWORD.” She went straight to business. “What’s the story here, Agent Woo?”

“I’ve got a witness set up down the road in Westview, and this morning, it looked like he flew the coop.”

“Your missing person is in the Witness Protection Program?”

“I have contacted known associates, relatives…”

“And let me guess,” Monica interrupted with a bored tone, “none of them have seen him either?”

“No. None of them have ever heard of him.” Monica gave him a perplexed look as he continued, “Something seemed hanky to me, so I took the first flight out of Oakland to interface with local law enforcement, which is when I encountered a new wrinkle.”

“...What is that?”

He motioned to the cops sipping coffee nonchalantly behind them. She followed Agent Woo over to them, noting their bored expressions. One huffed as they approached, “Here we go…”

“Pardon me, Sheriff. Would you mind repeating your claim about Westview to my colleague here?”

“No such place.” The Sheriff said it like they were stupid, even though the sign and town itself was right behind him.

Monica looked at the large sign, and back at the officer. “You’re the town of Westview, New Jersey doesn’t exist?”

“It’s what I keep telling your G-Man here, but he won’t listen.” He answered, sipping his coffee.

“I see.” She glanced at Agent Woo with confusion. He shot her a frustrated, and just as clueless look. “And, um, I’m sorry, what town are you from?”

“Eastview.”

Monica nodded. Today just keeps getting better and better.

Agent Woo looked back at the officers, “Thank you, Sheriff. I’ll reach out if we need any further assistance.”

As the officers went back into their car, Monica and Agent Woo walked away, discussing more of the details of the perplexing case. “I, uh, pulled phone numbers for all the residents. I’m only through the D’s, but so far I got Diddly Squat.”

Monica frowned, “So you can’t reach anyone inside, and everyone outside has some sort of selective amnesia?”

He shook his head, “This isn’t a missing person’s case, Captain Rambeau. It’s a missing town.” He looked at the sign again, a clear signifier of the existence of Westview, yet also a sign of its eerie quietness. “Population 3,892.”

“Why haven’t you gone inside to investigate?”

“Because it doesn’t want me to.” He said, raising a brow. Even he can’t believe it. “You can feel it too, can’t you?” They looked to the road lined with houses. An ominous silence hung around the town, thick and heavy, like it was spread to hide a darker secret, to keep everything quietly hidden. “Nobody’s supposed to go in.”

Monica turned sharply back to the Agent next to her, “How about we get the drone in?” He nodded, and she moved back to her car, opening the back to grab the case.

“You know, this isn’t the only peculiar Missing Person’s case we have right now.” James said, filling the silence. “It’s pretty hush hush, but apparently we’ve got agents investigating a missing Avenger.” Monica stopped in the middle of opening the case, looking back at him with interest. Seeing the look on her face, he continued. “Captain (F/N) (L/N)... no one even knows who gave the tip on the case. And if any progress has been made, they’re practically baby steps.”

So, he told the FBI too. “You don’t know anything about that at all?”

He shook his head with a frown. “I don’t think anyone does. The few people I know to be on it keep hitting dead ends.” As Monica took out the drone, he continued his thoughts, “If an Avenger’s gone missing now, right after the Blip, well, that could mean bigger threats are coming back already...” He looked away, back to the quiet town in front of them,

With a sigh, Monica readied the drone on the ground. “What about you?”

“Me?” James chuckled, “Well, I’m from Bakersfield originally.” He kept going as Monica backed away, looking down at the controller. “Growing up, other kids had Michael Jordan posters on their walls, but I had Elliot Ness.” Monica didn’t notice the small smile on his face, happy to have piqued someone’s interest.

“No, no, no…” oh, nevermind. “I mean, why is it that you have an awareness of Westview?” She let the drone hover above the ground, and slowly lift off towards the town. “Or me, for that matter.” The drone moved forward towards the rows of houses as Monica glanced at Agent Woo, “Is it because we’re outside of a certain radius, or… maybe because we don’t have a personal connection.”

Woo hummed at her thoughts. The controller started buzzing, making Monica look down. The screen turned into static, suddenly going haywire. She looked up, squinting at the sky. The drone was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d it go?”

“It was right there.” Woo pointed at the spot where the drone was last hovering. Confused, Monica walked closer to the town, looking around for the missing drone, but it was gone. She kept her eyes forward, searching for anything amiss. Until she finally saw it.

It was like a large, bright television screen. A subtle wall hiding the town away from sight, reflecting back the ghost town Westview seemed to be from the outside. “Whoa!” It was like nothing she’d ever seen before, it rendered her silent with awe.

“What is it?”

“Some sort of energy field.”

Woo kept his distance, wary of approaching the town, unlike Monica, who had thrown caution to the wind. She lifted a hand to touch the wall of static. She ignored Woo’s warnings from behind her. Her fingers went through the static, feeling it start to pull her in. With a gasp she pulled them away, feeling the buzz. She followed the pull, curious. Suddenly, the pull on her hand became stronger, until she was drawn in completely, disappearing right in front of Agent Woo’s eyes.

“Captain Rambeau!” Slowly he walked towards where she vanished. He tried calling out to her again, “Captain Rambeau!”

All that answered back was the eerie silence, menacingly clouding around him.

---

One week after (F/N) disappeared, Johnson looked to Captain Monica Rambeau for help. 12 hours later, Rambeau herself is untraceable, almost exactly like (F/N). Thinking that those disappearances may somehow be connected, Boone was sent to Westview, New Jersey. She’d be working alongside SWORD, and a few others handpicked for the situation at hand.

She’d consider it pretty boring. But Monica’s sudden disappearance was intriguing. And if this case is connected to or similar to (F/N)’s, then finding Monica would bring them a step closer to finding her best friend. Or at least, that’s how Turner sees it.

Two of his friends went missing a week apart. He’s going to start looking for dots to connect where there might not be any. Duke was sent somewhere else, investigating another lead in Texas. How they managed to find something in Texas, she will never know.

Thinking about their situation brings Boone back to when everyone thought (F/N) was dead. How they did the exact opposite of what they’re doing now. They mourned her. Her presence in their lives was haunting them for so long, until she popped out of the desert, alive. Broken. She was never the same after that. What if when they find her again, she’d be like how she was all those years ago? What if she pushes them away again, grappling with whatever she experienced, wherever she is?

Boone tried not to fall too deep into thought as she drove through the highway. They have to find her. They can’t let her suffer like that again.

She pulled into the road leading into the town. The SWORD Response Base was full of tents, trucks, and armed men walking by. Soldiers branded with the SWORD symbol looked at her strangely, smug smirks and arrogant eyes. She hit them with a glare of her own, giving them a chill as intense as the cool autumn air.

Someone walked up to her, a dark-haired, pale woman who had a sarcastic but intelligent cadence. “Glad to know this place isn’t all stiff upper lips and boring old faces,” she said. She adjusted her glasses and offered Boone a hand. “I’m Doctor Darcy Lewis. And you?”

Boone smiled in recognition, “Agent Boone Cavanaugh.” She shook Darcy’s hand, “I’ve heard a lot about you, Doc. Great to finally meet you.”

Darcy’s eyes narrowed at her, “Wait, you know about me?” She looked Boone up and down. “Who do you work for? FBI? CIA? SHIELD?”

“None of the above. They’re all no fun.” Boone smirked, “The ones I work for… we know how to have a good time.”

Darcy smiled at her. “So this won’t be completely boring then!”

Boone felt excitement grow in her chest. If Darcy was going to be around while she is, she might actually survive this. With a wink, she remarked, “I think I like you, Doctor.”

Their introductions were cut short by a stupidly serious looking soldier, approaching them from behind. “Miss Lewis!”

Darcy looked at him with an almost neutral (slightly frustrated and very used to it) expression. “Doctor Lewis.”

He looked over at Boone, scowling at her. “And who might you be?”

“Someone you better talk to with a bit more respect, chump.” She scowled at him. Shit, whoever looked at this guy and hired him was definitely not thinking straight. When his frown deepened, Boone shook her head with an incredulous laugh. “Special Agent Cavanaugh, Aftermath’s liaison.”

His brows shot up in recognition, and total regret. Aftermath was dangerous, they were good at their job. And they don’t do well with bullshitters. Especially Glitch. Special Agent Cavanaugh is never someone you want to cross. “My apologies, Ma’am, I didn’t realize-”

“Shut the hell up, we’ve both got work to do.” She gestured to Darcy, who stared at her in awe. All the scientist could do was scratch her head as the man almost turned to jelly under the Cheshire cat’s cool, angry gaze.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He averted his eyes from Boone, and instead looked to Darcy. “Your gear is set up inside.” Without another word, he led them inside one of the tents.

Darcy looked up at her, still in awe. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

Boone, walking beside her, took a deep breath to calm herself. “Do what?”

“Be a badass.” Boone chuckled at that. Yeah, she definitely likes her.

“I don’t think you need it, Doc. You’re a woman in STEM.” That made Darcy smile.

They both entered the tent, greeted by a large window that gave them a view of Westview, and SWORD’s efforts to learn more about it. The drones that they keep sending in and losing just as quickly, the lights that make it easier to spot the static barricade. Darcy’s head started racing when she saw another drone enter the wall and vanish completely.

“Those drones you’re sending in, what kind of data are you getting?”

Their escort somehow found his confidence again, and with crossed arms and a confident stance, he said, “I’m afraid that’s highly classified.”

Boone and Darcy shared a look. Boone pretended to inspect him through narrow eyes, “Yeah, no… he’s bullshitting.” She whispered.

“You can’t see anything?” Darcy looked at him, he tilted his head, trying to look like he wasn’t embarrassed twice in the last five minutes. Boone clicked her tongue, mirroring his falsely confident posture. Darcy rolled her eyes as she walked to a desk and set up her things. “FBI, Army, I saw the Air Force Office of Special Investigations out there.” Boone helped her lift a briefcase onto the desk. “Research Lab, Space Command too. You even have Aftermath joining the fray!” She pointed at Boone before sarcastically adding, “A bona fide, joint multi-service response. Really looking forward to the commemorative t-shirt.”

Boone smiled, excited. “There’s gonna be a t-shirt after this?” Their escort didn’t look as amused as she was. It looked like his arms were stuck in the same crossed position on his chest, and it was very funny.

“Is there somewhere two ladies could get some coffee?”

Boone gasped, sharing the exact same thought. “Could you get someone to drive to a Starbucks? I’m parched.”

Darcy plugged an antenna into a radar, continuously messing with the guy who at this point, looks ready to walk away with a string of curses left in his wake. “You guys look like you might get down with those little pod things. Horrendous for the environment, but quicker than Starbucks!”

Boone was having too much fun watching Darcy mess with him, so of course he had to go all serious again.

“Make your assessment, please.” He said impatiently.

Darcy turned on the radar, watching the data appear on the screen with a surprised expression. “Whoa.” The monitor was showing them spikes of powerful energy surges. Boone leaned down, her brows furrowing at the sight.

“Yeah, I concur with whoa.” She whispered.

“What’re you getting?” Stony-faced Soldier Man walked towards them, looking at the screen, not understanding what made their eyes widen.

“A colossal amount of CMBR.” Darcy explained, worry lacing her still upbeat tone.

Stony-faced Soldier was still confused, “CM…”

“Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.” They told him at the same time. Boone was wondering how he was still here if he didn’t know what that was. She mistakenly assumed that SWORD hired people who understood even the basics of astrophysics, or at least pretended to.

“We’ve been told the radiation is within a safe limit.”

“Uh… it is, for now.” Darcy told him. He was still clueless.

“Wait, what do you mean-”

“SHHH!” The radar started to buzz. Darcy squinted at the screen. “There are longer wavelengths superimposed over the noise here.” She bit her lip, thinking. She tapped Boone’s hand resting on the back of her seat, “Hey, could you help me with…” she pointed to the larger machine on the floor.

They both reached down, lifting it together. “Geez, what the hell is in this thing?” Boone wheezed as they plopped it onto the desk.

Darcy didn’t answer, instead plugging it in quickly and turning the knobs to the right place, tuning out the frequencies. The small circular screen on the box lit up and the graininess slowly cleared away, revealing a vague form of a woman. A familiar woman.

Darcy looked up at them. “I need a TV. An old one, like… not flat.”

---

They had provided Darcy and Boone a Motorola TV set. As Darcy got it hooked up, Boone looked at her questioningly. “Are you sure about this, Doc?”

Darcy looked up at her for a minute. “To be honest, no. But it should get us something.” She plugged it into the radars, and the TV turned on. Black and white, like the old movies she’d watch with (F/N) on more relaxed nights. It was a sitcom. A kitchen, a woman standing in the middle. She was dressed to the nines, hair curled to frame her face and- hold on a damn minute.

“Wanda?” Boone whispered. She couldn’t believe it. She leaned closer to the screen, a hopeful smile spreading on her face. She’s found Wanda, which means (F/N) just might be here.

“What? What is it?” Darcy looked at her, slightly creeped out by the sudden toothy grin on her face. “Is that… Wanda Maximoff?”

Boone laughed, not able to speak in her excited, nervous state. Suddenly the smile fell off her face when another figure entered the kitchen.

Vision.

It’s the Vision, alive and well, with his wife. None of this was adding up. Vision died five years ago. Darcy watched on, just as puzzled. Boone wasn’t listening to the couple talk anymore, the mere sight of him was sending her down a spiral of thought.

Wanda and Vision were living in a 1950s sitcom. “What the fuck…”

Suddenly, a knock sounded from the TV. Wanda, moving almost unnaturally to answer it. Vision changed from his android form to human as Wanda called out, “Who is it?”

“Your new neighbor down the road!”

Boone’s heart stopped. That voice was unmistakable. It was too chipper, too bright, but it was her. Wanda opened the door, confirming Boone’s thoughts. “(F/N).” Boone felt tears prick her eyes. They found her.

Darcy moved her chair to the side, letting Boone sit next to her as she watched. Something about the look on her face made Darcy realize, Boone wasn’t just here for Westview, or for Monica. She was here for the woman at Wanda’s door.

Boone watched her smile and laugh. She looked happy. Happier than she was in their world. It was unnatural. Wanda introduced her to Vision, as if the two had never met. “Miss (F/N) (L/N),” she said.

(F/N) chuckled. “It’s missus now! Mrs. (F/N) Gonzalez!” Boone looked at her hand, now decorated with a wedding band. Her jaw hit the floor.

This was a lot to process. Her best friend went missing for a week, and now she’s living her best life in a 1950s sitcom, married to a man that died fifteen years ago.

Darcy looked over at her, concerned. “Boone, you okay?” She had gone pale, staring at the woman on Wanda’s couch, unblinking. It kinda scared her.

Boone suddenly gasped, standing up abruptly and reaching for her phone. She found (F/N), now they have to reach her. Now they have to get her out. And she has a feeling she knows who can do it. She owes him a seat on the table.

“Libra, I need you.”

Duke answered quickly, her panic alarming him. “What do you need?”

“I need you to get Barnes here. Now.” She gulped. “I found her.”

---

Bucky was sitting on the floor of his empty apartment. He couldn’t bother to decorate or make it look nice. The sun was setting, bathing the bare space with warm orange light. He’d been flipping through TV channels for what felt like hours. There was nothing for him to do and no one for him to talk to. His therapist wasn't exactly a good conversationalist, sometimes she answered his calls with a huff, which was always disheartening to hear from the person the government paid to listen to his problems.

Sam tried calling too, somehow he found out that he was already in New York. He also somehow found out his phone number. He’d been texting Bucky throughout the week, asking how he’s been and if he’d like to meet up for a drink sometime. As kind as he was, Bucky didn’t exactly want his company.

He only wanted her. Part of him was waiting for her to just call out of the blue. To tell him that she was okay, she was home, and he isn’t alone. He just wanted to hear her voice, see her eyes. She’d look beautiful in the light of the cityscape sunset.

If there was anything he really committed to since arriving in New York, it was a new look. Amma was right, he needed a haircut, he was starting to look a bit… shabby. And it made him look too much like the Winter Soldier. One late night of avoiding sleep was spent in the bathroom, shaving and cutting his hair alone. It was one of those moments where he wished she was there.

She would be laughing at him, or saying something sarcastic, or running her hands through his shorter hair. He felt her touch, and heard her voice. She was haunting him.

His longing thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He sighed, and got up off the floor to answer it. He opened the door to a man he still didn’t know how to feel about.

“Dugan?”

“Hello to you, too.” Duke was on edge, and, to Bucky's surprise, he cut to the chase. Without any kind of preparation for Bucky’s nerves. “Boone’s in New Jersey. She found (F/N).” Bucky’s brows shot up, his arms fell on his sides as his breath hitched. Before he could ask anything more from him, Duke went inside the apartment. “I’m taking you there.” He smiled at Bucky’s dumbfounded expression. “I told you we’d be needing your help.”

---

The sun had gone down and the rain started to pour. A SWORD Agent, suited up in protective gear akin to a hazmat suit, approached the opened manhole. Hayward walked over to them. “You good to go?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hayward nodded, and made his voice louder as the rain pelted down. “These sewers will take you straight into town.” He patted the agent on the back. “Try to find anything you can on Rambeau.”

“Copy that!” The Agent was slowly lowered into the hole towards the inside of the town.

“Agent Franklin, we’re gonna keep this channel open for you.”

He crawled through the sewer, cramped and claustrophobic, giving him a sense of dread. “Copy.” He crawled slowly through the tight passageway.

Above, Hayward walked off to a tent. Agent Woo ran up to him, the cold rain making him tremble slightly. “Director Hayward, between you and me and the bedpost, I am not confident about this mission.”

“Thanks for the feedback, Jimmy. If only my drones were as forthcoming.” That was supposed to shake him away, but the Agent persisted even as they entered the tent.

“There’s no reason to suspect the perimeter doesn’t extend subterraneously.”

“There’s no reason to suspect it does.”

“We don’t know about the nature of the threat to send in another agent when the first is yet to return.”

“Someone must really miss you back at Quantico.”

“No, sir. Softball season’s over, sir.” Jimmy said that with the same seriousness he approached Hayward with, making him nod and leave with impatience.

He walked to the center of the room, where the table glowed with a holographic map of the town. “What do we have up?”

“Radar, lidar, sodar, infrared.” The scientist pointed to each screen at the corners of the room, before resting her hands on the table.

“Cycle through.” The visuals on every screen changed, but still, they gained nothing useful, and they had been here all day. “Will someone get me a useful visual, damnit?” As he shouted to the room in frustration, from one corner of the room, came a laugh track. Everyone turned their heads to the source of the noise. “What is that?”

Dr. Lewis and Agent Cavanaugh, huddled together, eyes glued to the screen of a vintage TV. A black and white sitcom was playing, and in it were familiar faces, playing the roles of husband and wife.

Jimmy and Hayward approached them. Jimmy sat on the desk beside Boone, looking at the screen with a puzzled expression. “Is that…”

Darcy looked up at him, “ Yeah, it looks like her.”

“You move at the speed of sound and I can make a pen float through the air! Who needs to abbreviate?”

Befuddled, Vision put his head in his hands. “Darling…”

Darcy looked at him in wonder, “Look, I know it’s been a crazy few years on this planet. But he’s dead, right?” Boone’s brows furrowed, things get weirder and weirder. “Not Blipped. Dead.”

...“Excellent plan. Where’s the tenderizer?”

(F/N) appeared on the screen, the expression on her face the most familiar and the realest thing she had ever done since she appeared on the ‘show’. “I’m looking at him.” Boone smiled, even in a surreal domestic setting, her presence was still one of command. In a way, she misses it, even if it always called for trouble.

Hayward pointed to the screen. “You two,” Darcy and Boone glanced at him, the latter with a glare that could slowly morph into something scarier. She moved away to let the doctor deal with him. He didn’t seem to notice. “Where’s this coming from?”

“Out there!” Darcy gestured to Westview.

“Is it authentic?” Hayward asked.

Darcy shook her head. “I’m not sure how to answer that.”

“Is it happening in real time? Is it recorded? Fabricated?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, and I don’t know.”

“What do you know?”

“My equipment registered an extremely high level of CMBR.” Darcy explained, “That’s…”

“Relic radiation dating back to the Big Bang.” He interrupted.

“Yeah. Entwined were some broadcast frequencies. So I had your goons pick us up a couple of sweet vintage TV sets, and when I plug this bad boy in, voila! Sound and picture.”

(F/N) was out the backdoor, waving goodbye to Wanda. “Dinner next week?”

“Perhaps we’ll go to your house instead.”

At seeing (F/N), Agent Woo’s eyes widened. “Captain (L/N) is here too?”

Boone nodded, “We’ve been ransacking the whole damn world this whole week, and she was in New Jersey all this time, as a fucking 50s housewife no less.” She mumbled under her breath, loud enough for only the Agent to hear.

“You’re saying the universe created a sitcom starring three Avengers?” He didn’t seem to believe what he had just said. Everyone behind them was looking at the screen, confused.

Darcy shrugged. “It’s a working theory.”

Hayward called out an order to Stony-Faced Soldier Man, “Get me a transport back to headquarters now.” As he walked away, he asked them. “Are we recording this?”

“Never stopped.”

“I need immediate analysis.” He said to Boone and Darcy, and then turned to the other agents. “Now people! Let’s go.” He walked away as everyone got back to work.

Boone scowled in Hayward’s direction. He was hiding something. He knows something none of them are privy to. But when Boone finds out, he’s dead. Darcy raised a brow at Jimmy. “He’s a charmer.”

He didn’t answer, only looking at both Darcy and Boone. “Great work!” He walked away.

“Hey, thanks.” Darcy smiled, and then looked up again as another laugh track played on screen. “Maybe I could get that coffee now?”

Boone placed a hand on the doctor’s shoulder, “I can make you a cup.” She walked away quickly, off to make some coffee.

She gave Boone a grin, “Thank you, Agent.” On the screen, the theme song played as Wanda and Vision shared a kiss. Darcy smiled, at the heartwarming sight. “Aw…” The credits rolled, and she took note of the length of the ‘episode’.

Boone walked back to her quickly, two warm cups of coffee in her hands. She put one down on the desk for Darcy, while taking a sip out of her own. She huffed, Bucky wasn’t here yet. She looked at Darcy, blowing the steam out of her cup. “Hey, Doc. I’ve got a question.”

“Shoot.”

“You mentioned there was more than one frequency. Do you think you can get us a visual on (L/N)?”

Darcy sighed, “I don’t know if that’s going to work, I only got the strongest one to really show up on screen.” She looked up at Boone’s pleading green eyes. They looked tired, desperate. Slowly, she started to plug in another TV. “But we can always try.”

The TV turned on, and Boone let Darcy fiddle with it. Like before, the first thing they saw was static, soon clearing away. They saw a different house with a different couple.

“Is this what you were looking for?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah, this is it.”

“I can record this one too, if you need it?”

Boone glanced at her, grateful. “Please do. Thanks, Doc.”

(F/N) and Daniel Gonzalez, sitting at a candlelit table, eating in happy silence. It didn’t feel bright and cheerful like the sitcom-like home Wanda and Vision lived in. This one felt real, more comfortable. (F/N) looked at the man next to her with a happy sparkle in her eye.

None of it was making sense. Danny died years ago, right in front of (F/N), and yet here he was, alive and well, eating dinner right beside her. She wasn’t looking at him like he had come back from the dead. She was looking at him like he was the only thing in the world.

The tent doors opened, and in walked a bewildered and worried Bucky Barnes, accompanied by Duke Dugan. No one paid them any mind. Duke spotted Boone in the corner of the room, watching TV. “Glitch!”

Boone looked behind her, “Fucking hell, what took you so long?” She marched to them.

“What’s going on? Where is she?” Bucky said. Boone’s eyes lingered on him, wondering how exactly to explain what was going on, and what he was about to see.

She gestured to Darcy’s desk, said woman moved away to let everyone look at the screen as she started up her laptop. Bucky leaned down, watching the screen with an unreadable expression. Boone knew what it was though. The longer he watched, the more his heart broke.

Right in front of him, (F/N) was smiling softly, looking at a wedding photo, taken from a wedding that never happened, with a man who died a long time ago. She looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. She was nothing like (F/N). Nothing like the woman who was battered by war. She wasn’t hardened or in pain. This wasn’t the woman he fell in love with, but at the same time, it was her. Completely, purely her.

Even in black and white, she had the same smile that she reserved for Bucky, but she was giving it to a stranger, who was holding her in his arms. Bucky’s brows furrowed as that man, her husband, gently held her face in his hands. She leaned into his touch.

Bucky’s eyes were watering at the sight of (F/N), living a completely different life, happy and at peace with someone who wasn’t him. He wasn’t the one holding her now, he wasn’t the one promising to protect her, and he wasn’t the one making her smile.

He felt someone’s hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” Duke asked quietly. He took a deep breath, and sniffled. Darcy stopped her typing, looking over at the two newcomers.

“I’m fine.” He hardened his eyes, looking to Boone for an explanation.

“We don’t know much yet. Only that it seems everyone in town is living in a 50s sitcom. Wanda Maximoff is here too, and she’s not much different.”

Duke frowned, “How is he alive?” The man on the screen looked out the window, before turning off the lights and walking away. “Captain Daniel Gonzalez died a long time ago. Did someone... bring him back to life?”

Darcy raised a hand, joining the discussion, “We still don’t know why, but whatever’s going on has brought a couple people back from the dead. Vision’s in Westview as well, living in matrimonial bliss with Wanda.”

Duke looked at Boone, “So whatever’s doing this is giving them a weird domestic fantasy, where their deceased boyfriends are suddenly alive and living normal lives?”

“The most that we know is that they aren’t aware of the fantasy. Both Wanda and (F/N) witnessed their loved one’s deaths, so they should know something’s wrong.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Bucky spoke up, still somewhat in shock, “(F/N)’s trapped in there, her mind isn’t her own?” The description was painfully familiar to Bucky, and it hurt that that was how he was describing (F/N) now.

Boone gave him a sympathetic look. “That about sums it up, I think.” Boone looked at Darcy, “We have to find a way to reach out to her. Get her to snap out of it.” She moved to the computer, rewinding some of the recorded footage. She pointed to the mantlepiece. “There, they’ve got a radio.”

“We can try and jump the frequencies, shoot a signal. If that radio can pick up ours, which I’m assuming it can because we found theirs, we might get to talk to them.” Darcy said.

Bucky perked up at that, “I can talk to her.”

“You have to give me some time, mister. Getting their frequency wasn’t very easy. This one might take a while.”

“I’ll wait.” He nodded, looking at the still picture of (F/N) on the screen, smiling up at Danny. It made his heart pick up speed. “I just want to talk to her.”

---

It was already late into the night, but the Base was buzzing. Jimmy was addressing a team of agents in front of an empty board. Darcy sat alongside Boone, Duke, and Bucky, all eyes on the Agent. “First and foremost, our main objective is to get any intel on Captain Rambeau, but originally, this case was a missing person, so we’re going to start there.

“We successfully identified four individuals inside the Westview Anomaly.” He moved to pin four photos on the board. All of them black and white. Wanda, with a large smile on her face, speaking into a telephone. Vision in human form, a worried expression on his face as he sat on a desk. Daniel Gonzalez, standing by the candlelit table in a dark room. And (F/N), happy and carefree, sitting on Wanda’s couch.

Jimmy nodded to them, “Let’s keep going.” Everyone went back to work almost immediately, trying to identify each person inside Westview, and answering more questions.

Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Todd and Sharon Davis.

Norm, Abhilash Tandon.

Jones, Harold Copter.

Beverly, Isabel Matsueida.

Herb, John Collins.

Are Vision and Gonzalez alive? Why sitcoms? Does (F/N) remember?

Boone, Bucky, and Duke were all monitoring the Gonzalez household, watching (F/N)’s life go on in black and white. Seeing her eyes shine as they looked into someone else’s the way they used to look into his, made Bucky want to leave. But he had to keep watching, if only to make sure she’s okay.

He only wanted to see her smile.

Boone’s eyes flicked over to the other TV screen, still showing Wanda’s sitcom. Darcy left to grab a snack a few minutes ago, and let the TV keep playing. Now, there on the screen was Wanda, out shopping with ‘Agnes’. In the frame was Monica Rambeau, casually sitting on a bench. She stared at it. Darcy walked back to the desk, when she saw what Boone was looking at, she gasped and dropped her perfectly good cup of instant noodles, right on Boone’s shoe. Luckily for Darcy, she didn't seem to mind.

They called Jimmy over, and the three of them stared at the screen.

“Does she seem okay to you?” Darcy eyed him.

He raised a brow. “Well, she doesn’t seem to be harmed in any way, but…” He looked up at Boone. “That is definitely not the boss lady I met yesterday.”

“So, what, deep cover? Monica has to play along?”

“With whom? Or else, what?”

Boone sighed. “If she was playing along, how come she never breaks character? Ever? Look…” She pointed at Monica, “All perfectly natural. Never looks at the camera, never drops the expression. At some point, she has to show a sign, right?”

Jimmy sighed. “Alright, brass tacks, Dr. Lewis. What are we lookin’ at here? Is it an alternate reality? Time travel? Some cockamamie social experiment?”

“It’s a sitcom. A 1950s sitcom.”

Jimmy shook his head, looking at both women. “But why?”

Boone ran a hand through her hair. “We don’t have that much to go on, Agent.”

Darcy suddenly looked up at Boone, eyes bright. “Hey, how about we test out that idea you had?”

Jimmy looked up at her. “Wait, what idea?”

Boone looked between the both of them. “Alright, but…” She looked over to Bucky, hunched over a desk, writing down anything he finds on screen. “He volunteered to test it out.”

---

Right outside Westview, Darcy set up the transmitter. Bucky was staring up at the barrier, trying to ignore his nerves. Duke, standing next to him, noticed his quietness, and his nervous huffs of breath.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Bucky’s eyes were illuminated by the blue. “This would be pretty cool, if (F/N) wasn’t trapped inside of it. Kinda reminds me of Wakanda, except that wasn’t to keep people in, more to just keep intruders out. This, whatever this is, it’s doing both. ”

Duke chuckled, mumbling, “You’re such a nerd.”

Bucky looked back at him with a small smirk. Before he could ask him what he just said, Darcy called them over. He kept his hands inside his pockets, concealing his metal arm with his jacket and gloves.

“Alright, guys, here’s what we’re gonna do.” Bucky was listening intently. “We’re gonna reach out to (F/N) first to see if this works, we’re going to try and communicate through the radio on her mantlepiece. When she’s close by, we’ll shoot a signal to that guy.” She pointed to the transmitter, “This transmitter will mimic the frequency of the broadcast, and if my theory is correct, allow us to speak directly to her.”

She walked back to Bucky, who stood beside Agent Woo at the ready. “This is totally going to work.” She said to them. Jimmy fiddled with something on the machine, Darcy almost slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch that.”

An Agent walked up to Agent Woo, and Bucky tuned out their voices, trying to think of what he’s going to say to (F/N). The agent gave Jimmy a folder, inside was a still shot from the episode.

Bucky caught sight of it. “What is that?” Standing out from the black and white, was what looked like a toy helicopter, red and yellow.

Darcy was looking at it too. “Is that… like a retro version of a SWORD drone?”

“Bingo.”

“But how did it change and why?”

“To go with production design?”

“Or render it useless.” Darcy said.

Bucky shook his head, “That doesn’t explain the color. Why does the drone have color?”

Agent Woo looked at the other agent, “Did you colorize it?”

She shook her head at them, “I didn’t.”

They shared a look. Bucky’s heart rate picked up again when Darcy nodded to him. “Let’s get this show on the road.” The agent left, and the three of them stood there, getting ready to make themselves known. Duke kept his eye on them from a distance.

Bucky put on the headset, Jimmy asked him if he could hear him, to which Bucky nodded. He heard Darcy through the channel, “Alright Bucky, are you ready?”

“Ready, Doctor.”

Jimmy looked at the window where she was watching them, giving her a thumbs up. Darcy sat next to Boone, whose eyes were glued to the screen showing them (F/N)’s house. Darcy spoke to Bucky, “Okay, she’s in the kitchen. She’ll be able to hear you whenever you start.”

Boone watched her setting a plate on the screen, listening for Bucky’s voice on the radio. (F/N) looked up when the radio started to crackle. The static wrapped around the room, and (F/N)’s face went from annoyed, to suddenly blank. It was the kind of face she made when she was thinking about something, trying to figure something out on her own. Darcy spoke into the headset, “Start talking, Bucky.”

Bucky took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and started to call out into the mic. “(F/N)? (F/N) can you hear me?” He could hear the song playing on the radio, but he couldn't be sure he was loud enough for her to hear.

The signal wasn’t as strong as they’d hope it would be, as the song on the radio kept fighting against them. (F/N) walked over to the radio, brows furrowed. She lifted her hand to turn the dial, stopping when Bucky’s voice came on. Still unclear in the static, but recognizable.

“Answer me, doll… Please tell me you’re okay.”

(F/N) froze, her eyes wide. “She’s hearing you, Barnes. She’s hearing you, keep going!” Boone yelled in excitement.

Bucky heard Boone’s yelling and his heart leaped with joy. “It’s me, (F/N). Come on, snap out of it. You have to remember…” His voice was shaking, and Jimmy looked at him, worried.

Boone watched her face light up in recognition, and she listened to the crackling radio, waiting for Bucky to finally get through to her.

“It’s me, doll.” His voice shook. “It’s Bucky. Can you hear me?”

As quickly as she lit up, her face dimmed again, morphing into annoyance as she shook her head. “Who the hell is Bucky?”

Boone fell back onto her seat. “Shit.” She can only be glad Bucky didn’t hear her say that. He’d be heartbroken.

The song echoing through his headset went quiet, and Bucky wasn’t getting any response. He looked at Jimmy, who looked back at Darcy. “What happened?”

Duke saw Boone and Darcy make her way out to them. She looked frustrated, tired. On the verge of tears. She was mumbling under her breath, “So close, we were so close.”

Bucky looked at her, confused. “Did she hear me? Why’d the radio stop playing?”

“She heard you. She heard you loud and clear.” Boone shook her head. “Something’s pushing you away though.”

Bucky sighed. “So, she can’t…” He didn’t want to say it. “She can’t remember me.”

Darcy watched his face fall. He looked like he was trying to stop himself from crying. “Hey, we’re going to keep trying. Maybe we can get through to Wanda.”

Bucky walked away from them, ignoring Duke asking if he was okay. God, now he knows how (F/N) felt.

In the darkness, he could sense her reluctance.

“Ты бы не стал,” he said, his head cocking to the side as a soft, hollow smile crossed his face, “Ты в меня влюблен.” You wouldn’t. You’re in love with me.

Her jaw clenched as she shook her head, “No. Not with you.”

He took a deep breath, pushing the memory away. He was always so scared that it would happen again, that she’d get hurt if he forgot. But never once did he think that she would be the one who can’t remember him. Now she’s the one fighting against his voice.

There aren’t any bullets or knives, no furniture being cast aside, no fighting or screaming. All (F/N) had to do was flip a switch, and he was gone. He never thought it possible, but this was so much worse.

He saw the TV screen, where she stood with that stranger. The man she believes is married to her. They were having breakfast, bickering. Planning a date. They were having a normal morning, a normal life together. Something Bucky can never guarantee she can have with him.

---

They tried to reach Wanda this time, with Jimmy taking the mic instead of Bucky. Darcy watched the first TV screen, where Wanda was playing out her sitcom. They were outdoors, surrounded by more people. Monica was now sitting next to Wanda, handing her a platter.

“Jimmy, Monica is talking to Wanda. She’s got a speaking part now.”

“What is she saying?”

“Those pants are peachy keen!”

“...She likes Wanda’s pants.” She let the scene continue playing, “Ugh, Wanda’s at some sort of swim club. We’ve never been here before.”

Jimmy shook his head, waiting for the signal. “Is it the 60s still?”

“Uh… Wanda’s with another character.”

“Real person?”

Now something else was on the screen, (F/N) was lounging by the pool, and Wanda was taking Monica over to her. “Wait, wait… Monica and (F/N) are talking to each other!”

“She’s there too?”

“Yeah, Wanda’s introducing her to (F/N)...”

Boone perked up at the mention of (F/N), swiveling to look at Darcy’s screen. “Wow, that’s quite the outfit.” She smiled, her friend looked good in a bikini. Suddenly, Danny entered the frame, dripping wet from the pool. “Hello, Danny…” Boone tilted her head as Danny glared at Monica, his stare was aggressive.

(F/N) jumped into the pool with him, and Wanda was now in the gazebo. The frame shifted to ‘Dottie’, showing the radio on the table nearby. Darcy called to Jimmy, “Oh, there’s a radio on the side table. Start talking.”

Jimmy took the mic, “Wanda, Wanda can you read me, over?” He held the mic away from him when he was met with silence, he talked to Darcy again, “Can’t she hear me?”

“I don’t think so. Keep trying.”

He talked into the microphone again, speaking louder this time. “Wanda?”

Darcy saw Wanda’s eyes grow wide when she finally heard the voice. Then, (F/N) entered the frame, looking at the radio, confused. Boone spoke to Jimmy, “(F/N)’s here Jimmy, try and get her attention.”

“Captain (L/N), can you hear me?” Wanda and (F/N) both had different looks on their faces. While Wanda was panicking, (F/N) had the same look of realization from their first attempt. She’s remembering, it’s clear to see. “Captain? Wanda? Who is doing this to you?”

Suddenly the TV went static, and the frame somehow jumped. It was like nothing ever happened. The frame changed, and (F/N) was no longer there. ‘Dottie’ was reprimanding Wanda now. It was almost like nothing happened.

Boone and Darcy looked at the screen confused. Boone was more frustrated than anything. “Where’d she go? Where’s (F/N)?”

Darcy furrowed her brow. “Hold on.”

“What?” Jimmy said from the comms.

“I don’t know…” Dottie, who was just a few seconds ago, looking at Wanda in fear, was now smug and uppity, like she was before they tried to communicate. “That was weird.”

“What was?”

“Nothing. It’s over, mission failure.”

A commercial started to play, and Boone stared at the screen. It was advertising a watch, made by Strucker. She wrote it down in a notebook, “That’s weird.” She whispered to herself, "Commercials referencing Wanda's past..."

“It was worth a try, Doctor.”

“Yeah, come on in.”

As Jimmy walked back to them, Boone asked Darcy to keep an eye on the commercials. Bucky walked back to them, with a resolute look on his face. He sat next to Darcy, staring at the screen, where (F/N) and Danny seemed to be having an argument. It was a tense scene, but (F/N) was looking up at Danny, holding his face in her hands, talking to him softly.

Darcy was looking at (F/N)’s screen too. “Aww, that’s sweet.” She didn’t notice Bucky’s glare, “They’re so in love. It’s like a 60s rom-com. ”

“Sure…” His voice was tight with anger.

Darcy looked back at him, remembering. She cringed at herself, "I am so sorry..."

He waved her away, changing the subject. “Doc, I’d like to try again.” He glared at the man on the screen, “I wanna talk to him.”

Boone looked at him in disbelief. “You want to talk to Danny?”

Jimmy took the idea into consideration. “Maybe that could work… third time’s the charm, right?”

Darcy looked up at them, catching Boone’s eye. “I don’t know. We’ve gotten two different reactions to this. (F/N) and Wanda could be subconsciously aware of what’s going on, but Danny is supposed to be dead in our reality. He’s only really alive in Westview...”

“Which might be why he’s the problem.” Bucky murmured.

“What the hell do you mean?” Boone frowned at him, “Are you saying he’s the one doing this to them?”

“No. What if someone’s making a really elaborate illusion? Two elaborate illusions, to keep Wanda and (F/N) under their control. They just so happen to have dead boyfriends. What if someone used that to their advantage?”

Jimmy nodded as he started to understand, “So, the whole town’s being mind controlled, and the two people powerful enough to stop it are being put in check with… physical manifestations of their own grief?”

Boone caught sight of Duke, coming in from the restroom, she looked at him with a raised brow. He stopped, arms raised. “I swear, whatever he’s thinking, I didn’t tell him to say it.”

“I figured. It’s actually well thought out.” Bucky looked up at her in surprise. “It’s a stupid idea, but still, you thought about it.”

“We can try, right?” Jimmy asked Darcy. A cacophony of yeses and no’s answered him, with Boone adding a “You have gotta be joking.”

Darcy looked at all of them, “Look, based on how the other two attempts went, I’m not optimistic.” Bucky leaned forward, the determined look on his face was daunting. He was silently pleading for her to let him do this, and whether she felt sorry for him or afraid, she added, “But we’re grasping at straws and if it gets us somewhere, I’m doing it.”

---

They were outside again, Jimmy decided to test it out first, measuring any reaction ‘Danny’ could have to his voice. Darcy and Boone were once again watching the screen. They watched (F/N) go up the stairs. Danny, alone, stood by the mantelpiece. An unreadable gaze lingered on their wedding photo.

Darcy alerted Jimmy. “Alright, he’s by the radio. Talk and he’ll hear you.”

He raised the microphone for him to speak. “Can you read me?”

Danny paused, his breath stuck in his throat.

“What is your name?”

They couldn’t tell if he could hear them, his eyes were confused, there was a hint of fear in them. Bucky spoke into the comms, “What’s he doing? Is he responding?”

“He’s not doing anything…” Suddenly, Danny stared right into the camera, anger evident in his eyes. Darcy scooted her chair back, a chill running down her spine. Boone frowned.

Frustrated, Bucky pulled the mic away from Jimmy. Ignoring his protestation, he skipped the formalities with Danny. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing to (F/N)?”

They watched for his reaction, waiting with bated breath. In a harsh whisper, he answered.

“Leave us alone.”

The screen went static, before shutting off entirely. “Wait, what?” Darcy pressed every button she could, to no avail. The TV was dead.

“What? What happened?” Jimmy looked to the window, seeing Darcy and Boone’s confused faces. “Did he say something?”

Bucky looked up at them, the anger still clear in his eyes. “...It went quiet, I…” He took off his headset, looking up at the blue wall, imposing above them. “It’s no use.”

They ran back inside to see Boone and Darcy trying to get the screen back on. They soon gave up, and with a sigh Boone looked at them. “He responded.”

“What did he say?” Bucky asked, impatient.

“He said, ‘leave us alone’. After that the TV that was for monitoring them shut off completely. We can’t get it to turn back on.”

Jimmy looked at Bucky, frowning. “Maybe you were right, Bucky,” Everyone looked at them now, the same tired look on their faces. “He might have something to do with this.” He felt his heart beating faster and faster. He threw out an excuse and left quickly.

Duke approached Agent Woo, “Hey Agent. I just want to apologize for how my friend acted back there, it’s just that he-”

“It’s alright, Agent Dugan. I understand completely.” They glanced at Bucky, sitting on a bench away from them, hunched forward with his head in his hands. “I know who he is, and why he’s here.” He smiled kindly at Duke. “I can’t imagine how you’re all feeling, especially him.”

“It’s hard on him, seeing her like that,” Duke scratched his neck. “But he’s strong. When (F/N) is part of your life, you have to be strong.”

Jimmy’s brows furrowed suddenly, doing a double take in Bucky’s direction. “Is he technically supposed to be here?”

Duke shrugged, “Maybe not, but it doesn’t matter now. He’s helping as much as he can.”

Jimmy nodded, “We’ll figure this out, sir.” He patted him on the arm. “She’ll be home soon.”

---

The SWORD base was now full of frustrated and tired agents, and TV sets. The whole place was tuned in to Wandavision, and for the very first time, there was color.

The one TV that Bucky had been praying would turn back on turned back on for only a few minutes, and his eyes stayed glued to them the whole time. He shouldn’t have watched.

At this point he thought he’d be a bit used to seeing her in the arms of another. He’d be used to the helplessness in his gut when he watched her be happy with someone else, living a different life.

They both shone bright with color, her eyes were brought to life, the way he knew them to be. It was like their whole world was being painted anew, and they danced. Amidst the arrival of color, all they looked at was each other. (F/N) was swaying in Danny’s arms, moving with the rhythm of the upbeat tune around the house.

Danny danced with her almost every night from what Bucky had watched, and they were always smiling up at each other like they were the only two people in the world. But this was different, it hurt to see.

She has never looked happier. Her eyes challenged the light of the sun. Seeing her this happy and beautiful, yet so far away from him shattered Bucky to pieces.

Boone walked over to him, watching the scene. She could feel his sadness from a mile away, it was infectious. She handed him a warm cup of coffee, and leaned over to turn off the screen. “You should go take a break, maybe have a bite to eat.”

He looked at her, the frown not leaving his face. “What about you?”

She shrugged. “I’m fine.”

He took a gulp of the coffee, ignoring the way it burned his tongue. “Then, so am I.”

Boone chuckled and grabbed him by his right arm, trying to push him back to the bench. “Damnit, you’re too heavy.”

He walked off, chuckling. “I’ll be over here.”

Meanwhile, Darcy and Jimmy were watching the newest episode of Wandavision, a bag of chips in between them. This episode might be Darcy’s favorite. “1950s, 1960s, and now, the 70s… Why does it keep switching time periods?” She asked Jimmy, who was also enjoying Wanda and Vision’s hijinks. “It can’t purely be for my enjoyment, can it?”

“And I can’t believe Wanda and Vision are having a baby.”

She took chips from the bag, shoving them into her mouth. “You want any?”

Jimmy chuckled, “Heck, I thought about it for sure, a little Jimmy Woo.” His eyes sparkled as he looked off into the distance, “Give him a tiny little FBI badge,” he finally noticed the bag of chips Darcy was holding out to him, “Oh, you- chip? Sure…” He took one out of the bag, embarrassed.

On the screen, Wanda was screaming in pain, lying on the floor. ‘Geraldine’ was leaning over, encouraging her. (F/N)’s hand was trapped in Wanda’s deathly grip. Darcy and Jimmy went back to eating chips and watching the show.

(F/N) was looking into Wanda’s eyes, encouraging her with a soft voice. “Do you understand me, girlie?”

Darcy jumped up, getting excited. “The jig is up!”

‘Geraldine’ peeked under Wanda’s skirt, “It’s time to start pushing.” Wanda pushed as hard as she could, screaming in pain, still clutching (F/N)’s hand. Darcy and Jimmy leaned in.

‘Geraldine’ held up the crying baby, and handed him to Wanda. She greeted her newborn son with a happy smile and shining eyes. The camera panned to (F/N), her eyes shining with unshed tears of joy.

Darcy and Jimmy were invested, watching the heartwarming exchange between (F/N) and the new parents, and the sudden arrival of baby number two. “Twins!” Darcy shook her head in awe. Whoever was writing this false reality should get a raise. “What a twist.”

Jimmy gave her a look.

“What? I’m invested.”

...“He was killed by Thanos, wasn’t he?”

Jimmy looked back at the screen, startled by Monica’s voice. “Did she just say the name Thanos?” They looked at each other, Boone walked over to them suddenly, hearing what Monica had just said. “Has that happened before? A reference to our reality?”

“No, never.”

The tone in the show suddenly became heavier. Wanda and (F/N) were alarmed, their guards were up. Monica was cornered by two angered women.

“I’ll take a shift rocking the babies.”

“You should leave.”

(F/N) wasn’t just playing the character on screen, Boone recognized that look. It was the look she had behind the helmet during missions; focused, angry, ready for a fight. It was the look she had when she was Ghost. It made Boone shiver.

Bucky and Duke ran over to them, the other television sets in the base were echoing the scene. Everyone could hear the venom in (F/N)’s voice, directed at Monica.

“Something’s wrong over there.” Duke said, bringing Boone back from her thoughts. They watched Wanda tilt her head, and move towards Monica like a predator. In a split second, the frame almost glitched out. Instead of Wanda’s fiery eyes or (F/N)’s poisonous glare, the screen showed them Wanda and Vision, alone in the house, holding their two babies as they watched television. Vision was smiling, but his eyes were worried. The credits rolled.

“What happened? Where’d they go?” Jimmy said, panicking.

“God, not again.” Darcy huffed, exasperated. She leaned over Jimmy, reaching for her laptop to play back the recording. They replayed the moment, but found the same result. One second, Monica was there, backing away from Wanda, the next, the credits were rolling and they were alone in the house.

“There’s nothing here.” Darcy exclaimed. Boone moved towards them, moving the laptop in front of her. She replayed it, biting her lip. “One second, Monica is standing right there, and the next she isn’t.”

Boone stood up suddenly. “Someone is censoring the broadcast,” she glanced at Darcy, “like with Danny, and the radio.”

Bucky frowned, “So it’s him?”

Jimmy shook his head, confused. “Wait, but where’s Rambeau?”

The alarms blared. The boundary has been breached. They looked at each other in realization. Someone got out of Westview.

---

Wanda kept her eyes on the intruder, who somehow found her way into their home, their world. She waited until Daniel could get (F/N) out of the house, her eyes looked to the door quickly, hearing (F/N)’s shouts. When they were alone, she asked with a dangerously low voice.

“Who are you?”

‘Geraldine’ was cornered, shaking with fear. “Wanda…”

“Who are you?”

She tried to smile, masking her fear. “Wanda, I’m just your neighbor.”

Wanda tilted her head, “Then how did you know about Thanos?”

Tense silence enveloped the entire house. With a heavy breath, Wanda lifted her hands, glowing angrily. Red wisps followed the movement of her fingers. “You’re not my neighbor. And you’re definitely not my friend.” Her lips curled into a sinister smile, as angry tears fell from her eyes. “You are a stranger, and an outsider. And right now you are trespassing here.”

Monica froze. She was way past begging or reason.

“And I want you,” Wanda raised her hands, the force in the room coming together in her hold, “to leave.” She pushed Monica out of the house, breaking down the wall. The last thing she heard was her distant screams as she was carried away, back to where she came from. Back to the outside world.

Wanda froze, only realizing what she had done when her powers fizzled out and left her hands trembling. She looked up at the destroyed wall of the nursery, and of their living room. From outside she heard the faint yelling, (F/N)’s anger reverberating from the protective walls of their home and back to Wanda.

Wanda gulped, regret washing over her. She has to fix this. She pushed away (F/N)’s voice, and let her powers reverse the damage on their home, like she always did. Like nothing ever happened.

Her babies cooed from their crib, as if they had never cried in fear. She walked over to them, letting their presence calm her down.

Vision barged open the door, “Wanda?” He was worried, scared. She looked up, the fear in his voice was making her heart race again.

What was she doing?

Vision is dead…

This is not their home…

“Where is Geraldine?”

Geraldine was an intruder. She wanted to take away their happiness. She wanted to take (F/N) back to the outside, she wanted to take Wanda away from her family. “Oh, she left, honey. Had to rush home.”

She turned back to him with a smile, Vision’s dead eyes looked back to her. The Mind stone was torn out of his head, his skin was gray and lifeless. Wanda felt sick at the sight.

Vision, back from the dead, felt nothing was wrong. “What?” He walked closer to Wanda, almost like her guilt, her fear was crawling its way to her, mocking her. “What is it? What’s wrong, Wanda?”

She breathed in and looked back up at Vision. It was her husband, not dead. Not lifeless. Just him.

“Uh…”

Vision was worried about his wife and his family. “We don’t have to stay here.” He held Wanda by the arms, “We could go wherever we want.”

Wanda’s eyes were sad, but she smiled up at him. “No, we can’t.” Her answer confused him, but he hoped it was only her optimism, and not anything more. She held his face in her hand, “This is our home.”

He held her hand close, leaning into her touch. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling.” The look on her face chilled Vision. In his head, he wanted to be calm, but everything that’s happened today, hearing the neighbors talk about Geraldine, and watching (F/N)’s husband drag her away, it all gave him a sense of dread. But she assures him...

Wanda has everything under control.

---

Vans and trucks pulled up to the border, a helicopter flew through the sky, shining a spotlight on the grass. The light focused on the lone figure lying on the ground: Monica Rambeau. Still dressed as she was in the show, discombobulated and confused.

Paramedics rushed to her side, checking for her vitals. Her eyes were still out of focus.

Agent Woo, Dr. Lewis, Bucky Barnes and the Agents of Aftermath ran to her. Jimmy leaned own, examining her with worry. “Monica, are you okay?”

She looked up at them, shaking her head. “It’s Wanda.” Her voice was laced with fear.

“It’s all Wanda.”

//

tagged: @darke15 | @violetvictoriabarnes | @kippykasey | @turtleedovee | @itsarussian | <3

[templeofgeek]

This week’s featured cosplayer is someone that we wanted to feature for a long time! Her name is Waifutella and she builds some of the most impressive cosplay but if you as her, she will say she is just the world’s okayest cosplayer. Temple of Geek has reached out to Waifutella to chat about her cosplay to which she graciously accepted. Continue on to learn about her cosplay, her fandoms, and her love for Nutella.

(Danniel Slade) Can you start off by telling me a little bit about yourself?

(Waifu Tella) I’m afraid there’s not really much to say! I’m a lot more boring than people give me credit for. I’m a full time student, cosplayer, and huge hecking nerd.

Photo by Emmy Mrozowska

(DS) Okay, I need to ask. What does your cosplay name, Waifutella, mean and how did you come up with it?

(WT) Waifutella is a combination of two words- the first being “waifu” (a term that anime fans know well). A waifu is a character who is so perfect you would snatch her up in a hot second and marry her if you could. The second word is nutella- anyone who follows me knows how much I adore it. It’s a bit of an addiction actually- I eat it straight from the jar, on the daily.

  (DS) Why do you use the subtitle “world’s okayest cosplayer?”

(WT) *burts out singing Ingrid Michaelson’s “I just want to be okay”

I don’t do well with compliments. I’m a vending machine, compliments are a wrinkly dollar bill- it’s just really frustrating and uncomfortable for everyone involved. When I wore my first real cosplay (Bucky Barnes) to a convention and later posted pics on Instagram, people were complimenting it left and right, and I would insist that my work was at best okay. One of my friends joked that I was the “world’s okayest cosplayer” and… it just stuck ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Photo by Ernie Jay

(DS) What fandoms are you into?

(WT) Marvel (cinematic and comics) is definitely my go-to, particularly Captain America, Captain Marvel, and both Hawkeyes. I also adore Blizzard Games, (Overwatch/StarCraft II/Diablo III) No Game No Life, Welcome to Night Vale, the Tolkeinverse, HP (hufflepride!), The Witcher, Doctor Who, Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts.

  (DS) When did you get into cosplay?

(WT) My friend and I went to our first con together-SDCC- and all of our information about conventions was gathered through Tumblr posts. They made it seem like everyone there cosplayed, and I didn’t want to be the only person left out, so I brought along my Halloween costume. When we got there, it seemed like hardly anybody else was dressed up, but I had a lot of fun! So I kept doing it, and I’ve found it to be a really great and diverse creative outlet as well as a great way to make new friends. Excluding Halloween costumes, it’s been a little over two years now!

  (DS) How do you choose what you are going to create for cosplay?

(WT) I’ve actually recently changed my entire approach to this. I used to make cosplays for characters that I liked well enough and weren’t a huge financial burden to make (textbooks aren’t as fun as cosplay, but they’re definitely my priority.). Nowadays, I need to be a hardcore fan of the character and the design. I’m tying to put a lot more craftsmanship and technique into my work; so I try to choose characters that I love enough to spend repeated all nighters working on. It means I haven’t had a steady stream of new content, but I’m a lot more excited to show everyone what I’ve accomplished!

  (DS) In total, how many costumes have you created over the years?

(WT) Oh heck. Definitely more than seven. Ummm… I’ve done quite a few, and about half of those were so awful that they’ve never been shown to the internet (and they never will)

Photo by Michael Benedict

(DS) Do you have a favorite costume that you want to wear over and over?

(WT) I would love nothing more than to wear the winter soldier over and over again, but last time I was in it, I broke the elbow! So, sadly, it will have to wait until I can make a new arm.

  (DS) What was your easiest build?

(WT) My easiest build was definately the punisher. I grabbed my gun, shoes and shorts from the winter soldier, roughed up and old pleather jacket, added paneling to the sleeves for aesthetic, and painted his logo on a T-shirt. That, plus wig styling, took the better part of an afternoon.

Photo by Michael Benedict

(DS) Now on the flip side, what was your hardest build?

(WT) My most difficult build- I would have to say it’s a tie between two characters. I’ve been working on Captain America and on Twilight Princess for the better part of a year, but every time I finish, I put it on and decide it’s not good enough to represent them properly. So I’ve remade them each at least six times. I think I’ve got them pretty much set this time around, though, so hopefully I can show the final versions off soon.

  (DS) What is your favorite convention to cosplay at?

(WT) I think it’s going to be Blizzcon! Last year I went for the first time, and I didn’t really cosplay for it but it was such an amazing convention, it felt like home. I’ve got big plans for Blizzcon 2018, I’ve been working on the cosplays for months now- they’re definately my hugest builds yet.

  (DS) Do you have a funny or embarrassing story that you are willing to share that happened while in cosplay?

(WT) So, my second time wearing my Winter Soldier cosplay at SDCC, it got a lot of attention. I was being stopped for photos left and right. Since people may not actually know you, they have a tendency to shout out your character’s name to get your attention (as its a lot more effective than shouting out “hey you” or “cosplayer!!” in a crowded con) I kind of got into it that year, whenever someone would shout out “Bucky” I would turn around and reply as best as I could in character, “Who the h*ll is Bucky?” People loved it. In the evening my friends and I went out for dinner- still in cosplay, and I was still getting pressed for photos left and right. I was waiting at the bar to get a drink and when I heard someone say “Bucky” I grabbed my airsoft rifle, turned around, gave the guy my best winter soldier deadpan and delivered my line, hand resting on the trigger. His face drained and he stammered out “my girlfriend..” turns out he was on a business trip and he and his friend were just grabbing dinner after a day at the office and he was telling his coworker about his girlfriend Becky. He had no idea what Comiccon was and had never even heard of my character. I felt awful! I ended up buying him and his friend a drink as my way of apologizing and reassuring him I wasn’t going to pelt them with airsoft bullets.

Photo by Hino Ben

(DS) Are you affiliated with any cosplay groups?

(WT) I’m not with any official groups, but I’m part of the @Cosplay_And_Babes Instagram family! I’m also a page model for @Hotandgeeky (also on the Instagram), and I’m definitely an advocate for @butternut_gouache’s #ForceAgainstCyberBullying campaign.

  (DS) Looking back at your early cosplay years, is there anything you would tell yourself that you know now that you didn’t know then?

(WT) I’d tell myself not to wear a cosplay that I’m not 100% passionate about. There was a really brief period where I’d make a new costume for the sake of new social media content, and eventually I started getting pressured into wearing specific cosplays because “it would get you more Instagram followers” or “your followers would like that more.” The moment I let that last one start to effect me I had to take a break from cosplay and think about a few things. And honestly? It’s ridiculous that it was even pressured on me to do so. The people who advised that were 100% trying to help me out in their own way and I don’t harbor any resentment towards them for it, but catering to strangers on the internet isn’t me. I’m not getting paid to do this, I don’t have a Patreon, and I’m not here to try to get famous. I’m here to dress up like fictional characters and have fun with my friends, and I shouldn’t let anything influence that.

  (DS) Do you have a cosplay that you consider empowering to wear?

(WT) Definately steve.

  (DS) What is on your cosplay bucket list?

(WT) I’d love to cosplay every version of Captain America, Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter one day.

  (DS) Outside of cosplay, what do you do for fun?

(WT) I never have fun I’m too focused on my GPA! But okay, I also do archery, play video games and collect vinyl records.

  (DS) Are there any other cosplayers that inspire you?

(WT) My best friend Mikky (@mikkydyer on the Insta, Internet do your thing) is a huge inspiration for me. I actually adapted my pants for Captain America and my new version of HydraCap and my upcoming Captain America cosplay from her work. Mikky is absolutely amazing, the craftsmanship and attention to detail she puts into each cosplay astounds me. As someone who never learned how to properly sew (I usually just put fabric in front of a machine and pray it doesn’t fall apart as I’m wearing it… yes that has happened before.) it’s really amazing to see people who put in proper technique and methods into their craft. Besides, she’s not just an inspiration to my cosplay, she’s an inspiration to my daily life, she’s without a doubt one of the best people I have ever had the privilege to meet, and the honor to call my friend.

Photo by Michael Benedict

(DS) What is your next convention that fans will see you at?

(WT) I really only go to one or two conventions a year- between school and finances, it gets rather difficult to do more than that- I’ll be at Blizzcon this November, and after that the only thing that I guarantee is SDCC 2019.

  (DS) What would you say to someone who might want to build their first costume but don’t know how to get started?

(WT) Research the heck out of it! You can never find too much information on how to do something. Look at tutorials for characters with similar designs, different tutorials for the same pieces, research the materials you use, try to see how a bunch of other people have done it and use their methods to find what works best for you! And be sure to hit up your local thrift store (I’m partial to goodwill) and see if they have any pieces you can buy for your costume. There’s more than one way to make a cosplay. I started writing a series on my Tumblr page about cosplay research and building.

  (DS) How can our readers find out more about you?

(WT) On Instagram @waifutella, On Twitter @waifutella, On Tumblr at waifutella.tumblr.com and on Kofi (bonus content) ko-fi.com/waifutella!

  GALLERY

Photo by Square Noodles Film & Photography | IG @square_noodles

Photo by Ernie Jay | IG @yo_ernie

Photo by Ernie Jay | IG @yo_ernie

Photo by Michael Benedict | IG @michaelbenedictla

Photo by Bill$ Costello | IG @billscostello

Photo by Square Noodles Film & Photography | IG @square_noodles

Photo by Ernie Jay | IG @yo_ernie

Photo by Ernie Jay | IG @yo_ernie

Photo by Michael Benedict | IG @michaelbenedictla

Temple of Geek's Featured #Cosplay - @Waifutella #Marvel #CaptainAmerica #WinterSoldier This week's featured cosplayer is someone that we wanted to feature for a long time! Her name is Waifutella and she builds some of the most impressive cosplay but if you as her, she will say she is just the world’s okayest cosplayer.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Four More Steps

Pairing: Bucky X Reader AU

Summary: Everyone has a specific number of steps before they meet their soulmate. But when you can’t take anymore steps, how are you supposed to find the one for you?

Warnings: Angst, Injuries (Car accident), Fluff

Word Count: 1.4K

A/n: Finally getting to this gem. I like this idea and I hope I did it justice. Thank you @my-suga-kookies for sharing your idea with me.

@my-suga-kookies said 

“I just thought if this soulmate prompt: step counter to where you meet your soulmate, but then you get paralyzed and the physical therapist is your soulmate or something”

MASTERLIST

~*~

So close.

So fucking close!

Ten steps. Eight steps. Six. Four and then CRASH!!

Four steps left and now you can’t walk. Four fucking steps!

You tear at your hair in absolute frustration, cheeks damp.

“Ah good, you’re up.” You glare at your friend.

“I wish that driver would’ve fucking killed me! I wish he would've! This is so much worse!” Clint sits down beside you and takes your hand in his, sighing when he sees the number on your wrist.

“I know it hurts. And I know you feel... absolutely hopeless, but doctors can be wrong sometimes. They said I’d never be able to hear and look at us!” You shake your head, trying to blink back the stinging in your eyes.

“Four steps ‘till I met them, Clint. Four steps. And now I’ll never walk again.” He sighs and squeezes your hand gently. “I know it’s hard. But we’ll take it one day at a time, okay?” You close your eyes and allow the tears to cascade down your face, absolutely destroyed now that your chances of meeting your soulmate are gone.

~

“Hey stupid!” You groan and roll out of bed, reaching for your wheelchair as Clint comes barrelling into your bedroom. “What do you want?” You demand, tired and aching.

“My coworker has this friend that had a really bad spine injury a few months ago. He made him some fucking crazy leg braces that help him walk and they’re seeing an amazing Physiotherapist. I think you should talk to him.”

A second head pops up and you groan again. “You couldn’t have invited him over when I looked half decent?!” The man behind Clint smiles and invites himself into your room.

“The hawk tells me that you’re paralyzed in your lower left leg and all of your right leg. He wanted to see what I could do to help you.” You open your arms in invitation and he accepts, walking over to you and pulling the blankets off.

“I’m gonna take some measurements and take a peek at your medical file... see what can be done. I should have some kinda news for you within a week.” You furrow your brows, not at all convinced that this man can do anything for you.

“I highly highly recommend popping over to Roger’s Physiotherapy. Everyone who’s had a problem like yours has been... essentially cured by them. Like Doctor Stephen Strange, for example. Search him up if you don’t believe me. These guys... they know what they’re doing.” You hum in agreement and wait for Clint to see Tony out before rolling back into bed, pulling the blankets up to cover your face.

Are you depressed? Absolutely. Should you be doing something to try and help yourself both mentally and physically? Yes. Are you going to? Only if Clint forces you. And a small part of you hopes he forces you to get up soon.

“C’mon (Y/n). I think we should go down there for a consultation.” You look over at him and sigh, “even if I wanted to, I’m sure we can’t just go down there for a consultation. We’ve gotta schedule one.” He scratches the nape of his neck sheepishly and you sigh.

“You already scheduled it, didn’t you?” He nods, chuckling as you throw a pillow at him.

“Get up. If you... need help getting dressed just let me know. I’ll be in the living room.” You watch as he walks out of the room, a small smile on your face. He really cares about you.

~

“I’m Steve Rogers and this is my Partner Bucky Barnes. Well, James Barnes. But everyone calls him Bucky. Clint said that you’re paralyzed entirely in one leg and only partially in your other?” You nod, confirming what the god-like-man said.

“The doctors said that with the proper care and PT she might be able to walk again. And my buddy Tony Stark is making her some leg braces to help with the process.” Steve nods and glances down at a file.

“I think we should meet at least twice a week. As soon as Tony has the leg braces we’ll get to some... intense things. I want you walking just as bad as you do.” You hold back a scoff. No one wants you walking more than you do. No one wants it nearly as much as you do.

“Sure.” You look at the other man, trying not to stare at the metal prosthetic where his left arm would be.

“(Y/n), you won’t get better unless you want to. You’ve gotta put in the effort that you think might kill you. It’s not gonna be easy but it’ll be worth it.” You give the blond a tight smile, your eyes darting back to his partner for a moment before you look down at your knees.

“Alright.” Steve smiles at you, taking your hand gently in his.

“You’ll walk again. I promise. Now, as soon as you have the braces, call us and we’ll start you up.”

~

“Thank you so much, Tony.” The billionaire shrugs, watching as Bucky and Steve help you put the leg braces on. “I know what it’s like to have a friend so close yet so far,” he whispers to Clint.

“Alright (Y/n). Let’s see what these babies can do.” Steve takes your hands and helps you to a standing position, frowning as he holds up most of your weight.

“The braces will stimulate muscle movement and memory, it’ll take a little while, but she should be able to work those bad boys again soon,” Tony says when Steve sits you back down.

“Sounds good. Let’s just try some basic movement things. I want you to wiggle your toes.” He pulls your shoes off and watches your feet as you concentrate.

Your toes twitch and Clint smiles.

“Anything more than that, (Y/n)?” Steve asks, looking up at you.

“If I try any harder I swear I’ll shit my pants.” A choking laugh makes you look over at Bucky and you cannot help but grin. He’s got his left hand covering his mouth, doing nothing to hide his laughter.

“Alrighty,” Steve says almost awkwardly, grabbing a clipboard off of the desk. You find yourself feeling more at ease when Bucky smiles gently at you, the look in his eyes encouraging and gentle.

Maybe this whole Physiotherapy thing isn’t going to be so bad after all.

~

“Good morning, (Y/n). How are you today?” Bucky asks when you roll into the room.

“I’m alright I guess. I’m feeling strong. I think today’s gonna be the day.” He smiles at that and rubs your back while helping you up onto the little cot.

“Let’s go over the basics first, okay? Then we can try walking.”

You go through your regular exercises with him, smiling proudly as you do them with ease.

“You’re doing amazing, (Y/n). I’m gonna go grab a file from the front desk and then we’ll try walking, okay?” You nod, watching as he walks out of the room.

When you’re sure he’s gone, you slowly get off of the cot, your legs shaking as you carefully take a step forward.

Then another step.

Tears are streaming down your cheeks as you take a third step away from the cot and towards your future.

One final step and then-

“(Y/n)!” Bucky grabs you as you stumble, one arm securing around your waist.

“I thought I told you to wait,” he whispers, not liking the tears on your cheeks. “I didn’t want to,” You reply, giggling as he shakes his head.

His eyes find their way to his wrist, widening for a moment before looking at your own wrist.

“Have you met your soulmate yet?” He asks suddenly. You cock your head and frown.

“No. The day of the accident I was four steps away from them...” you trail off, counting the steps you just took in your head.

Risking a glance down at your wrist, you gasp.

0.

“It’s you,” you whisper, looking up into his ice-blue eyes.

“It’s you,” he replies, wiping your tears off of your cheeks.

“Fuck, I thought I was done for. I-I thought after the accident... I thought I’d lost my chance. But I didn’t. Fate is just... fucked up.” He chuckles, his eyes glossy.

“Would you um, like to get a coffee sometime?” You nod furiously, holding tightly to his arms as he helps you over to the cot again.

“I’d love nothing more, Bucky.”

~

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