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fairytaleendingss · 1 month ago

Note

Could I request another platonic relationship where the reader finally falls asleep on one of the Thunderbolts after not being able to fall asleep for several days, and then Bob or John decide to carry them to their bed?

Your writing is so beautiful, and I have several more ideas, if that’s okay to send them in?

Sweet Dreams

Summary: Sometimes you all needed someone you could lean on. For you, that term may even be needed in a more literal sense.

Pairing: (Platonic) Thunderbolts* x gn!Reader, kind of John Walker x reader (written as platonic but can be viewed as romatic if you want it to be).

CW: Mentions of trauma, alcoholism, nightmares, unhealthy coping mechanisms, descritptions of poor mental health.

Thanks so much lovely! Feel free to send as many requests as you like. I'm buried deep in the hyperfixation rn so the more Thunderbolts requests the better!

This one ended up getting deep really quickly but I loved getting a chance to touch on everyone's coping mechanisms. I think thefact that they've all been through so much is what makes these characters so unique and fascinating. It's something I find really interesting to explore in my writing and I hope I was able to do it justice. Let me know your thoughts.

Sleep didn't come easily to you these days. In fact, it hadn't for a very long time. It was no secret that your past wasn't a particularly pleasant one, and much like the rest of your teammates, there were some lasting aftereffects.

It was something the group had become rather good at over time as you all began to warm up to each other. It had become routine for the rest of you to notice when one of you were having a bad day or night or week. You'd all learnt to notice the signs.

You could tell when Yelena was drinking again. You noticed the way she'd reach for wine at dinner when the rest of you were drinking water or when the vodka bottles in the liquor cabinet had grown diluted.

You could sense when Ava was self-isolating. Those times when she'd retreat for hours or sometimes days on end, into the dark quiet of her room and you wouldn't hear from her until she pulled herself out again.

You'd learnt to understand the patterns of Bob's moods. You recognised the highs when they came and prepared for the inevitable lows that followed.

You knew when Bucky was having nightmares. You could see it in the purple stains that formed beneath his eyes and the way his hands would shake as he made his morning coffee. You could see it, even when he insisted he was fine because as much as you're able to heal from it, that kind of trauma never fully goes away.

You could tell when John's mind began to wander away from him. When the pent up guilt and self-loathing bubbled to the surface. You understood when he'd get irritable and snap at his teammates because you knew he didn't mean it and all that bottled-up anger had to be directed somewhere.

Even Alexi had bad days. Sometimes you'd find him at night, in the kitchen or the living room sitting and staring at the wall, eyes blank as his brain rolled over all the regrets he nursed in the darkest corners of his mind.

Everyone had tells. Their own unique signs and symptoms that emerged whenever the darkness from their past had grown too much to bare and spilled out of them like an overfilled bottle.

The only upside was, that in recognising everyone's habits and behaviours, you'd also found your own ways to help. Slowly but surely you'd all begun to learn what worked (and what didn't) when it came to supporting your friends through their ups and downs. And soon enough it had become habitiual, almost second nature, to understand when your teammates were hurting and what you could do to help.

In fact, it was something that seemed to bring you all closer together. The knowing deep down, that you could fully trust each other to accept and understand you, even on your worst days. The realisation that just maybe, you didn't have to go through these things alone.

So it wasn't particularly surprising when your teammates had noticed a change in your behaviour over the last couple of weeks. They could tell just by your slow reflexes and heavy movements that you were having trouble sleeping.

Usually you were brighter. More vibrant and full of energy. A warm glow seemed to radiate from you wherever you went, one that made anyone around you feel safe and comfortable. However, recently, it seemed to have faded.

It wasn't a rare occurance in your life. Every once in a while you'd find yourself stuck in a loop, plagued never-ending with flashbacks from your past at night as you were trying to sleep. Every time you closed your eyes, you'd be bombarded with memories of all the trauma you'd experienced, all the people you killed. It washed over you like a wave crashing onto a rocky cliff face.

Bucky was the first to notice. He was just observant like that. He'd begun to grow concerned after you dropped one too many items in the kitchen one morning while preparing breakfast. He'd tried to talk to you about it later that day. He'd asked how you were and you told him you were fine. He knew you were lying but he also knew that he shouldn't push you if you weren't ready to talk. Instead, he kept a close eye on you. He lingered just outside the noticable radius, helping you out in whatever ways he could. Moving a chair out of your path before you could walk into it or picking up various items for you and putting them away when you'd left them somewhere strange.

It wasn't long before, the others began to pick up on it too, the way you didn't seem fully present. Ava noticed you spacing out more often in conversations and Yelena didn't like how clumsy and careless you'd grown in your training sessions together. Alexi noticed how you'd stopped laughing the way you usually would at his ridiculous jokes and Bob could feel the way you were pulling back from group activities.

Everyone did their best to accomodate you, supporting you in the ways they know you needed. A cup of coffee left out for you when you came into the kitchen, your favourite takeaway ordered for dinner on a Friday night. Your laundry folded in a neat pile at the end of your bed when you were sure you'd forgotten to take it out of the machine (most likely curtesy of Bob).

However, despite your appreciation towards your friends efforts, the darkness still loomed, cold and quiet but unbearbly obtrusive.

It was three in the morning when you found yourself tucked away on the compound's couch, scrolling absently on tiktok as some episode of 'Parks and Recreation' played in the background on low volume. You weren't really watching, you just needed something to fill the silence.

The thoughts were loud that night. They protested every time sleep began to draw near. You were left wide-eyed and shakey as you watched scenes play behind your eyelids, of all the people you'd hurt, all the things you'd done wrong. They haunted you like dark figures in the corners of your mind, like your brain was screening some twisted, traumatic movie, made just to gnaw away at you.

All of a sudden your room was too small, too dark, too quiet. You'd decided the living area seemed a better fit. It wasn't like you were going to get any sleep anyway.

You looked up when you recognised the sound of footsteps padding down the hall towards you. You could tell they were John's before he even stepped into the room. He always moved with such urgency, like he had some place to be.

He moved into the doorway, rubbing his eyes tiredly before they landed on you. He send you a meek smile, awkward but laced with sincerity.

"Hey. What are you doing still up?"

You shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."

He nodded, stifling a yawn as he further entered the space. His blonde hair was tustled from sleep and his eyes half-lidded as they adjusted to the low light of the room. He seemed tentative and unguarded. Less threatening than you'd ever seen him in a pair of oversized, blue-plaid pyjamas. It was almost funny to think that this was the same deadly supersoldier that could send you flying with a single punch.

"Oh Parks and Rec," he muttered absently, gesturing to the flickering TV screen. "Great show."

He flopped down on the couch beside you, sinking into it's cushions like they were the softest in the world.

"I can turn it up if you like," you offered reaching for the remote.

"No, that's okay. This is fine."

The two of you sat in silence for a moment, eyes glued to the screen in front of you. You could see the way his lips pursed as if he wanted to say something but couldn't think of the right words.

After a beat, he cleared his throat. "So... nightmares huh?"

"Yeah, kind of," you looked downwars, fiddling with the loose threads of the blanket in your lap. It was something you always found difficult to talk about. All of you had things that kept you up at night, and you didn't feel it was right to drag your friends in with you. So you let it sit, like a wait upon your chest, threatening to keep you down.

John let out a breath through his nose. "I get them a lot too."

You sighed softly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Oh no, it's fine," he remarked quickly, as if he was trying to patch a wound but was scared of pulling the stitches too tight. "Well, I mean, it's not really fine. It can be really bad sometimes actually... but what I'm trying to say is, I get it."

You couldn't help but chuckle at his rambling. After all, John Walker was definitly not known for his eloquence but you appreciated the effort all the same.

"Thanks," you respoded softly. "Although, I’d prefer if you didn't."

He seemed to go quiet at that, like he wasn't sure what the next move was. He scratched at his beard as he blinked a few times towards the TV screen.

"I guess, with everything we've been through, it's pretty normal to have feelings left behind. It's good, in a way, I think. It means we're still human."

He smiled sadly in your direction, his eyes swimming with a kind of emotion that could only be felt by someone who'd experienced everything he had.

"Maybe you're right," you sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could be numb instead."

He nodded once, but it looked as though the gears in his brain were still turning.

"Look," he stated gently, turning in to meet your gaze. "I just want to say that if you wanted to talk about it, you can. Even if you don't... sometimes it's just nice to know someone is there."

You couldn't place what it was exactly. If it was the gentleness of his voice or the genuine concern that seemed to swim in the blues of his eyes but something about what he said, hit home. It was as if just his presence beside you had managed to take some of the load from your shoulders and make you feel ever so slightly lighter. Like that weight that you constantly felt sitting on your chest, didn't have to weigh you down so much, as long as you were willing to let someone help you lift it.

"Thank you, Walker. Really. That means a lot."

With a small smile, you scooted closer to him on the couch, adjusting your blanket so that it was splayed over both your laps. John welcomed the affection, lifting an arm to throw comfortably over your shoulders. And for the first time in a while, you let yourself feel safe.

Your eyes drifted back towards the TV screen as the two of you watched the show in silence, feeling the rise of John's chest beside you ever now and then as he chuckled at something Andy Dwyer said.

Before you knew it, your eyes had drifted shut.

When the rest of the team made their way to the living room the next morning, they were surprised to say the least, at the sight of you, curled up against John's side, soundly asleep. Your hair was a mess and a small patch of drool had formed in the fabric of the man's pyjamas but he didn't seemed to mind. He knew this was the longest you'd slept in a while.

He was awake and reading something on his phone by the time the team congregated.

"What has happened here?" Alexi's voice boomed as his eyes landed on the sight before him.

Yelena was quick to shush him, knowing how tired you must have been to fall asleep on John of all people. Although upon closer inspection, you seemed pretty content with your choice of human pillow.

"Is she okay?" Ava inquired softly.

John nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Just tired mostly."

"Do you want me to take her to bed?" Bucky offered, looking between the two of you with a mix of concern and confusion.

"Nah, thats okay. I don't want to wake her up yet."

Yelena and Ava shared a look. John sighed before they even had chance to speak, knowing what was coming.

"Aww, how adorable!" Yelena teased.

Ava gave him a dramatically sappy look. "Looks like John Walker does have a heart after all."

John just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Laugh it up."

"Okay, that's enough hovering, guys. Lets just leave them be," Bucky reasoned once he'd decided nothing was too far out of the ordinary, ushering the group away.

"Wait, stay still a second," Bob muttered as the rest of the team went back to doing their normal morning activities.

Before John could even process what as going on, he heard the shuttering sound of a camera.

"Oh, come on Bob, seriously?"

Bob just shrugged as he lowered his phone, giving John an awkward smile.

"Sorry, but it is really cute."

John just shook his head as Bob walked away, then took a moment to look down at where you were tucked tightly into his side. He couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. As much as he hated to say it, he liked being the person someone could lean on sometimes. He lifted a gentle hand to stroke your hair.

Even he had to admit, you did look pretty cute.

You woke up near midday, tucked safely away in your bed. You didn't know who'd brought you there but there was a fresh glass of water set on your nightstand with a sticky note resting beside it.

You picked it up, trying your best to make out the messy scrawl in the darkness of your blackout curtains.

"Drink this. Then come downstairs whenever your ready. We're all here if you need to talk, or if you don't."

Your lips twitched ever so slightly upwards. Then you sat up, drank your water and headed to the bathroom for a shower. Slowly but surely, you were beginning to feel more like yourself again.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

#thunderbolts #platonic thunderbolts x reader #thunderbolts x reader #john walker x reader #john walker #yelena belova #bob reynolds #alexi shostakov #ava starr #bucky barnes

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dameronspector · 2 months ago

Text

Willow

(A Pjo and Mcu!AU)

Pairing: Bob Reynolds x Fem!ExAvenger!Reader

Chapter Summary: You are were an Avenger. But before becoming an Avenger, you were a demigod— were half human, half god—rescued and trained by Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. You were only 15, then. Fast forward 10 years later, here you were, with the three people that you looked up to, and who had saved your life, being dead. Leaving you alone and too old to go back to your camp. That left you with no choice but to pick up odd, free agent work to keep your life going with the support of your remaining family. What happens when you meet a meek, vulnerable yet the most powerful man who made you relive your worst traumas?

Warnings: No Bob in this chapter, world building + character background, Mentions of Injuries, Blood, Demons, Monsters, Canon Typical Violence, Depression, Death of a parent, Insecurities, Isolation, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Found Family content, CW+IW+Endgame timeline, Reader has magical abilities of the goddess Hecate (eg: necromancy, pyrokinesis, hypnokinesis, dark magic, etc. you can find the rest on rioridanwiki!), that’s all i think!

**this is a work of fiction. I don't own any of these characters and I have made some changes to fit the storyline better and because it's an AU. I have taken all the information from google and riordanwiki. Incase I have gotten anything wrong, please let me know!**

AN: oh i am so IN for this pjo x mcu crossover like... this is literally my childhood and adulthood mixed in one. But im also nervous omg. Also, the title is inspired by the lyirc: 'life was a willow and it bent right to your wind' from Willow by Taylor Swift. (Btw, my godly parent, as per riordanverse, is Apollo, which is yours?😁)

PS: let's assume civil war took place after the reader was recruited.

Look, you didn't plan to abandon your camp.

But when your godly mother is Hecate, you inherit the misfortune of having night empowerment, that is, your magic was the strongest at night and the weakest during the day, which is why you were left powerless when Luke betrayed the camp and joined Kronos, poisoning Thalia's Tree. This weakened the borders and allowed monsters and demons of all kinds to target Camp Half-Blood. It's even more difficult when you were not allowed to use your godly powers in front of the whole world even if the mist would protect you. On top of it, Chiron had strict schedules and rules for your trainings so that meant no excessive or exhaustive training exercises combined with your 15 year old self, you had to heavily rely on your magic, which would often drain you if you used it incorrectly or without proper preparations.

As Hecate's daughter, you preferred solitude and so did the rest of your siblings. But that didn't mean you weren't protective over each other. In fact, you were fiercely protective, and you joined the fight to defend your cabin and your camp from the demons unleashed by Kronos. Since you were an older demi-god, it was your job to look after, and protect, the younger ones as well. And you did exactly that. In an attempt to save one of the newly claimed demi-gods, Percy Jackson, you ended up throwing him out of the way and stood way too close to the camp's border.

"Percy, stay back!", you shouted at him while using your magic to turn one of the demons into a pile of ash and golden ichor. It was nearing sunset, so you could slowly feel your powers coming back to you, but still felt your body shutting down gradually because of the overuse of your powers.

Percy was a very stubborn and reckless kid, you realized that the moment he went head to head with Clarisse La Rue. And when he got claimed by Poseidon himself, you understood where he got that hero complex from. Nevertheless, you found yourself feeling protective over him, especially since Grover and Chiron themselves vouched for him. You had taken it upon yourself to protect him, Chiron's words of worry echoing in your mind.

You had lost your father in an unfortunate accident when you were just 10 years old and that's when Hecate had officially claimed you, protecting you and guiding you to the camp. Having no family in the mortal world, you easily grew attached to your fellow campers. Which lead to you protecting them even if it costed you your life.

On top of it, you stayed up at night everyday, wishing you’d get a chance to say goodbye to your father, at least once. Wishing you’d lead a normal life. You knew how different you were from your half siblings, how it took you time to perfect your magic. All of this made you insecure of yourself, blaming yourself for any shortcomings. Chiron tried to reassure you time and time again, but the mind was a tricky place to get out of.

Percy was grunting and using all his might to fight back the angry Minotaur, his sword glinting in the yellow-orange hue of the sky. His shoes scuffed against the ground, the Minotaur using its huge obsidian black horns to push him back, Percy’s dirty blonde curls shaking violently, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. There was chaos everywhere, sounds of weapons clanking against each other and hums of magic and spells that came from the enchanted cabins, groans and roars of the creatures and a faint smell of smoke coming from somewhere behind you.

"I'm fine!", Percy called back in his breathless voice, his chest heaving with the effort. You finished off the demon that was fighting you and joined Percy, casting a protection spell, a purple bubble of your powers surround you and resist against the Minotaur. Suddenly, a Fury startled you and latched onto your back, a pained groan leaving your mouth. It lead to you breaking the protective shield around Percy, your attention diverted to the Fury.

The Furies were attacking you relentlessly, leaving scratch marks against your arms and back. You managed to conjure a spell and hurl it at them, when you heard a shout of pain. You turned your head to see that Percy was on his back while the Minotaur approached him, nostrils flaring in anger and Percy still trying to come to his bearings. Luckily, someone shot arrows to distract the Furies and you stood up quickly, your head spinning and knees weak. You rushed over and stood in front of Percy, faintly hearing Annabeth's distressed call for him to get up.

Your ears were ringing and all you could see were the Minotaur's glowing eyes and flaring nostrils, it's muscles tensed before it charged and you quickly shoved Percy down the hill before casting a spell as a barrier between you and the Minotaur.

You could see Annabeth cradling Percy against her and you sighed in relief, your eyesight turning blurry because of the exhaustion and unshed tears when the Minotaur managed to charge, pushing you out of the camp border. A choked gasp left your mouth and you could just see Annabeth's mouth open in a scream before you passed through a mist and entered the outside world. You fell on your back, the hard ground hurting your ribs, before promptly passing out.

When you came to, your saw a white ceiling above you and a persistent beeping on your right. The harsh light hurt your eyes, which made you close them while letting out a pained wince.

"Hey, it's okay..", a calm and composed voice muttered next to you, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion because it didn't sound anything like Chiron or Mr D. Slowly opening your lids, you turned your head to the left and saw that a huge, muscular man was sitting next to you. He had cropped blonde hair, light blue eyes, and was wearing a grey t-shirt underneath a leather jacket, his hands pressed against the railing of your bed. You felt like you had seen him somewhere before, but you couldn't recall it.

Licking your dry and chapped lips, you finally spoke up, "W-Who are you? Where's Chiron?"

The man's face shifted in confusion, "Chiron? I'm sorry, I don't know who that is but--I'm Steve. Steve Rogers."

That's when it clicked you, your eyes widened in realisation, "You—oh my gods, you are Captain America...", you let out in a breathy whisper and the man-Captain America, smiled shyly.

Of course you know who he was. An advantage of being a demi-god was that you had to be aware of what was going on in the world. So obviously, you were all aware (and fans) of the Avengers. You and Grover always fought about who was that strongest Avenger—Hulk or Thor (he was Team Hulk, you were Team Thor. #demigodssupporteachother or whatever.) And you'd be lying if you said half of the kids in your camp didn't have a crush on Steve or Thor.

Which is why, him sitting so close to you was sending you, and your heart, into a frenzy, the monitor on your right beeping louder and Steve furrowed his brows in concern.

"Are you okay? Should I call a nurse-"

Your cheeks warmed in embarrassment, "No! No, I-I am okay. Thanks. How...how did I get here? Where are we?", you stammered, still a little out of it. You could make out faint memories of asking Percy to stay back and facing a Minotaur, but everything was a blur after that.

"Well, we are at the Avengers Compound. We found you near the woods at Montauk beach. Thankfully, we were doing some recon stuff and Tony informed us about a heat signature. When we got off to check it out, you were lying unconscious with a few cuts on your body. How did you even get there? It's pretty far away from civilisation", Steve asked you in confusion.

You froze. Although it would've been just another Tuesday for him, you remembered your 'oath' as a demi-god—act normal and unassuming in front of the world outside the camp. So you decided to lie for now.

"Uh- it's...it's a long story. Can we discuss it later?", you asked him hesitantly, hoping he'd believe you.

Steve nodded before helping you sit up and handed you a glass of water. You accepted it gratefully and took a few soothing sips.

"That's alright. We'll probably debrief you later. You should rest, you have a few cuts and bruised ribs. The doctor will come to check on you soon. Do you wanna contact somebody at home...?"

You froze. Since you had travelled all the way across from one end of New York to the other, you assumed that the fight must've simmered down by now. You needed to contact Chiron and inform him about your whereabouts as soon as possible.

"Uh-yes. Do you mind giving me a phone? I must've lost mine somewhere..."

Steve nodded and fished out his own cell, before leaving the room to give you some privacy.

You let out a sigh of relief after the door shut and put his phone aside, casting a mist with your powers and focusing intently to call upon Chiron. It took some time to conjure it in your exhausted state, the mist disappearing and your hands shaking after a while.

After trying for the fourth time, you finally made the connection.

"(Name)? Where are you?", Chiron's aged and worried face shimmered in the rainbow.

"Chiron! Oh gods, I'm so sorry. The Minotaur pushed me out of the borders and, you're not gonna believe this, The Avengers saved me. I'm at the Avengers Compound, right now", you explained to him and his face shifted in understanding before he let out a sigh.

"That's quite far away. When are you coming back? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. A few cuts and bruised ribs. I- Chiron, they're gonna debrief me. What do I tell them? It's not exactly believable to say that a 15 year old came to this remote beach alone and passed out in the woods."

"Well...they're the Avengers, right? This is probably not a big deal for them. What do you think?", Chiron asked curiously.

You pursed your lips, already having made up your mind about what to do.

"I think...I think I'm gonna tell them."

Chiron gave you a knowing smile, as if he could already see what was going to go down, but he didn't stop you. He never did. He was always a very supportive and anchoring presence in all of your lives.

2 days later you were discharged, arms and legs bandaged and a few bandages scattered across your back.

Steve escorted you to the debrief room, where you met Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark, who smirked at the perpetual look of awe and wonder on your face. You almost laughed at their laid back looks and how they looked ordinary out of their supersuits. Almost, because your hands were shaking at the fact that you were standing in front of literal superheroes.

You were absently picking at your chipped black nail polish when Tony addressed you.

"So...(Name)? Right?", Tony began. You nodded and he read something on a tablet before speaking up, "Apart from your father and your early school life, I couldn't find any information on you. Why's that?", he stared at you in scrutiny while Steve and Natasha sat next to him, observing.

You cleared your throat and wrung your hands together in nervousness. Not only were you sitting in front of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but also you were going to talk about your real identity. You just hoped they wouldn't arrest you or worse.

"Well—Before I say anything, you have to promise you won’t rat me out", you stated and the three of them hesitated before agreeing to your condition, Tony squinting his eyes in judgement.

You sighed, "I am...not completely human. I'm a demi-god. Demi-titan actually, but yeah.”

The three of them whipped their eyes to look at you, their faces frozen in shock. How was this unassuming, docile, 15 year old girl, a demi god? And how did nobody find out about this?

"I'm sorry, what?", Tony blurted out and Natasha put a hand on his arm.

"Wait, how does nobody know about this? And why should we believe you?", she questioned you sternly.

You pursed your lips before opening up your palm in front of you, a small flame hovered on it, your eyes glowing purple.

"Whoa", Steve murmured in surprise, Natasha staring at you in wonder and Tony's eyes widened in disbelief. You slowly closed your palm and extinguished the flame, your eye colour returning back to normal, hands inside the pocket of the Stark-issued jacket that they had provided you.

"You can't speak of this to anyone. In fact, whatever I'm about to tell you, none of you can ever mention this to anybody. Or you will risk multiple lives. And I mean it", you informed them in a solemn tone and they understood the gravity of your words.

All of them dutifully nodded their heads and asked you to begin, Tony activating a privacy shutdown around the room.

So you began. You told them about your father who died in a car crash and how the Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft, Hecate, had claimed you. That's when you had found out that you were her daughter, her and your father being lovers. Their faces were slack with surprise, the fact that greek gods and goddesses actually existed as the same time as them was unbelievable to them and you smirked at that. You had managed to shock the Avengers themselves.

You told them how Hecate showed you the way to the camp and you spent the next 5 years of your life there, under the guidance of a centaur named Chiron and the god Dionysus. You told them about the attack, how you were thrown outside the camp's borders and that's why you landed in the woods, making sure to not reveal the exact location of the camp. You also told them about your powers, what you can do with your magic, how much can you handle and how it is the strongest at night and dark places and the weakest during the day.

"I-Wow. This is a lot. You are a lot. I have a lot of questions", Tony replied and leaned his head against his hands.

You shrugged, "I really can't tell you anything more than this. I can't risk my family's life. Please, may I go now?"

All of them exchanged looks and asked you to step out for sometime, before calling you back in after 15 minutes.

"(Name)...look. We...have someone like you on our team now. Her name is Wanda Maximoff. Both of you share the same powers, minus the godly parent thing. You'd be an useful asset to the team and she’d help you train. Plus, we'd protect you in return. No more ending up in random woods, no more fighting demons and what not", Tony proposed and you froze.

"What?", you asked in disbelief. Did he really just ask you if you wanted to leave behind your old life and start this one like you knew any of them personally?

“I can’t just leave my home and be an Avenger!”, you said incredulously.

Natasha and Steve sighed before Natasha spoke up, “Look, I get it. It’s not exactly easy to just join us and there’s probably complications that we can’t even imagine. But, think about it. You’d get a place to stay, protection, and appropriate training. You’re only 15, (Name), don’t you think you should be going to school instead of having to constantly look over your shoulder? I know why you went to the camp. It’s so that you don’t end up lonely. I get that, trust me”, she tried to reason and you felt your stomach twist in indignation.

“I’m sorry? I’m not gonna let you sit there and guilt trip me like that, Ms. Romanoff. Let’s not act like you guys live any better lives than we do. And I do go to school, by the way”, you said heatedly, your eyes glowing a muted purple, feeling defensive over your home. Natasha and Steve were silent for a moment while Tony was too busy typing something in the tablet.

You clenched your fists and let out a breath, calming yourself down, “Now, if you’re done, I’d like to leave”, you conceded before standing up and leaving the room in a haste.

“Wait—(Name)!”, Tony’s voice called out and you reluctantly stopped, turning around in irritation.

“Sit down for a moment, will you?”, he requested you and sat down on the sofa outside the room. You grumbled and sat opposite him on the cushioned chair.

Tony began by holding out his hands to placate you, “Listen. We’re not trying to guilt-trip you. I swear. You’ve got potential, kid. And I know how difficult it must’ve been for you to navigate after your father’s death. I get that, I’ve been there. You’re just 15. And we can help you. You mentioned a name—Chiron, right? I assume he's your camp counselor or something?"

You gave him a hesitant nod.

"Why don’t you talk about this with him?”, he offered.

You paused for a moment, mulling over his words. You swallowed in nervousness before replying, “Okay.”

Tony pulled out his phone but you stopped him, “Uh- we can’t use mobile phones. Alerts the monsters and all that.”

Tony made a face, his eyes wrinkling behind his tinted glasses, “How do you talk to people, then?”

You gave him a smirk and conjured a mist, both of your hands splayed out in front of you, before closing your eyes and calling out to Chiron.

“What the fuck?”, Tony muttered next to you and you opened your eyes, seeing Chiron in the rainbow covered mist.

“Chiron…h-how’s everything there? Is everybody alright?”, you asked him tentatively, your leg moving up and down in anxiety, worried about your fellow campers and your siblings.

Chiron sighed in exhaustion, “I won’t lie to you and say it’s alright. Many of the kids, your cabin included, are injured. Grover, the nymphs and the Apollo cabin are tending to all of them. The camp…it’s a mess. Part of our stables is completely burnt, Thalia was barely saved, the hill is covered in small fires, dining area is destroyed…and since the borders are yet to be closed, it’s going to take a while to rebuild.”

Your chest ached, you didn’t want to pile this up on the old man right now. He was already going through a lot.

“Just say it, (Name)”, Chiron quipped. You snapped your head up to look at him. Of course Chiron already sensed you wanted to share something. On your left, Tony was staring at you and Chiron closely—with wonder and something else shimmering in his eyes.

“This is Tony Stark, you know him. Iron Man and Billionaire”, you introduced them before Tony slid in close to you and waved at Chiron. You swallowed before deciding to just bite the bullet, “Chiron, they’ve proposed that I join the team”, you let out in a breath and lowered your eyes in shame.

“Okay. What have you decided?”, Chiron’s calm voice asked you.

You stuttered, “I’m-”, but you knew your answer.

You wanted to get away from the camp for the past 3 years. The place reminding you too much of your father and how you were lesser than the others. How you stuck out like a sore thumb.

But even if you joined the Avengers, you’d still stand out. You’d have to constantly hold back and be careful to avoid hurting others, stay focused and train harder to gain control over yourself and avoid contact altogether, to save them from the monsters that would follow your scent.

But you wanted to do this. The thrill of attending school without getting distracted by some Greek mythological creature following you and finally leaving the camp to try and lead a mundane life was too strong to ignore. You steeled yourself and looked at Chiron.

“I’m doing this, Chiron. I’m sorry”, you could see Tony’s eyes widen next to you and Chiron’s understanding smile.

Chiron was the next thing to a father that you had. His progressive and supportive energy kept you going for the 5 years that you spent in the camp. You would always be grateful for his wisdom and protection.

You felt your eyes tear up before Chiron instructed, “Don’t apologise, my child. You can come to the camp tomorrow. We’ll see you then. Take care.”

You gave him a wet smile and broke the connection, staring at your hands in intense concentration. A few quiet moments passed before Tony nudged you lightly, garnering your attention. You turned your head to the side to look at him with tearful eyes.

“You did good. We’ll discuss the rest when you come back tomorrow, hm?”, he murmured.

You simply nodded in agreement.

You went back to the camp to meet your family for the last time. Bidding farewell to your siblings and your favourite trio—Annabeth, Grover and Percy—along with Chiron and Mr. D. It was a tearful goodbye, Grover and Annabeth crying and Percy trying his best to stifle his. When you went to hug him, he begrudgingly returned it, murmuring into your shoulder that he was upset at you.

You cried harder at that.

After gathering all your stuff from the cabin and bidding everyone goodbye, they walked you to the camp’s borders. Chiron asked you to make a small promise to him, that while you would lead a double life now, you’d try your best to keep this part of it hidden, which meant no sudden iris messages or surprise visits. You vehemently agreed, reassuring him that you’d do anything to protect them and him promising his support to you, anytime.

And then you left. For your new life. As the Demi-God Avenger.

"Well, this is your room, I tried my best to design it to suit you, but if you want any changes, just let me know or shout out to FRIDAY."

"FRIDAY?", you asked in confusion.

Tony smirked in that classic manner of his, "FRIDAY, welcome our newest member."

"Of course, boss. Welcome to the Avengers Compound, Miss (Name). This would be your room and if you need anything, you can just call out my name. I'll assist you at any time."

You jumped when you heard the dismembered voice. It was coming from the entire room, it seemed. Now, you were used to hearing voices out of thin air, but this? The fact that this was achieved without magic was so fascinating to you.

"Whoa...", you breathed out in disbelief, your mouth falling open in awe and your eyes flitting around the entire room.

Tony chuckled next to you, "Yeah, I know. Anyways, settle down and you can join us for lunch or order somethin', if you want. I'll be busy in a meeting and Natasha has gone for an assignment. Steve must be in the gym or the library and it's your lucky day because Bruce is in the labs as well. So, if you need anything, you can go to those two, yeah?"

You nodded absently, and he took your leave. Looking around the room, you took notice of how Tony had personalised it for you.

The room was painted in a terracotta colour, a huge bed in the middle on your left side that was covered in a cream coloured bedsheet, purple coloured duvet, a mountain of cream, purple and yellow coloured pillows. Next to the bed were two side tables, both of them a dark mahogany wood, the one closest to you had a beautiful moon lamp on it. There was a desk lined by the wall in front of the bed, it was in the same dark mahogany wood as the side tables, a purple coloured chair placed in front of it. The bed's left side had an in-the-wall book shelf, and next to it was a huge floor-to-ceiling length window that sprawled across the wall, it was covered in glass and had a sliding door to give you access to the lush green lawn of the compound. The window swathed the room in a golden hue of the afternoon sun, the view of the sun peeking through the trees and leaves moving in the slight breeze putting you at ease right away.

You took in a deep breath, the scent of a lavender candle tickling your nose and you felt like this was home. Your eyes welled up with tears at that.

You see, as the child of a minor goddess, you and your siblings did not have your own cabin. You had to share with the Hermes kids who shared with other minor gods' kids and it was chaotic. You never had a chance to have a place of your own. The fact that Tony, a man you had just met, had done this just to make you feel at home and even allowed you to make any changes as you desire, was everything to you. You'd be forever grateful for how he took you in and let you live at his place as if you always belonged.

You decided to spend the whole day in your room, unpacking your stuff and arranging it. There was a door on the right of the desk that was most likely the bathroom. You opened it and were shocked at the sight in front of you--the bathroom was huge, with a large bathtub and a shower cubicle on the left. You didn't notice it at first, but as soon as you entered, there was another door on the right which lead into the closet, which was substantially big enough for you. After arranging your clothes in it and taking in your room once more, you decided to walk out and thank Tony for all of this.

Tony just waved you off, stopping your attempts at thanking him, telling you to feel at home and pull up your socks for the training, instead. After having dinner with them and introducing yourself to Bruce, you went back to your room and just crashed, falling asleep immediately for the first time in your life.

2016

It's been a whole year since you became an Avenger and moved into the compound. You had settled in quite well, making a friend in Wanda who trained you everyday to control your powers (which, you were sure, that Hecate must have rolled her eyes at), and had a dysfunctional family of superheroes now, being extremely close to all of them. Even if that was the case, you were the closest to Natasha, Tony and Steve--the three people who had given you this life. Soon you met Vision, Rhodey, Clint and Sam, and you got along with all of them quite well except Clint, whom you found a little annoying.

You were still undergoing training, so Tony put you on schedules with Natasha, who taught her widow techniques to you and Steve, who taught you how to make proper use of your body's natural strength. Sam was another great sparring partner, his flexibility and agility as a gymnast and athlete was fascinating to you and he was fun to talk to, always cracking jokes and treating you to lunch later.

You were the unofficial baby of the group so they all took turns to be protective over you and babysit you (you'd be lying if you said you didn't like that.) All of them were fond of how smart and polite you were, but at the same time fearful of your powers and did everything to avoid upsetting you as any tumultuous emotion caused you to lose control, destroying anything around you. You had accidentally burnt down a part of the kitchen when Clint wouldn't stop annoying you, a purple burst of irritation blazing the entire right side of the kitchen, narrowly missing the gas pipes.

Clint was banned from talking to you after that incident.

As for the school part, you did attend school and made new friends there as well- Peter Parker, Ned Leeds and MJ. You were an year older than them, but the school required you to retake your classes so you had to start in the same grade as them. This was your little bubble, the three of them keeping you company everyday and Aunt May spoiling you to her heart's content. You loved how motherly and caring she was, always looking forward to the days she'd invite you over for lunch or dinner or when you and Ned went to Peter's for a movie night.

Safe to say, you had settled in like you always belonged here. No interference from any titans or demons or gods, enjoying your mundane life with your new family and friends. You had gotten inspired to change your room as well-- your godly gifts also included being an amazing interior designer and innovator--so you turned your bed into a four poster with beige curtains hanging from it, an enchanted sky ceiling that showed you the constellations any time that you want, your bathroom was transformed into half covered by dark, moody purple tiles and you had casted a spell to increased the size of your room, turning it into a gym, or a kitchen, or a garden, if you had one of those days where the commotion in the compound became too much. Everyone was freaked out by the way you could transform things into whatever you wished to but they got over it soon, watching you in wonder and requesting the same for their rooms (which you politely declined because using too much of your powers exhausted you.)

Imagine the whiplash when a few months later, your family was arguing over some papers, had split into two, had asked you to pick a side, and were now fighting against each other in the middle of an airport.

Steve had told you about his best friend, Bucky, when you came across an article of them on the internet. Now, you knew who he was and what happened to him, but hearing it from Steve, who had lived to see what happened, was an experience and it gave you the real story instead of the gossip-y and juicy stories squeezed out by media outlets. When you saw the news that Bucky had assassinated King T’Chaka, it was a shock. You didn’t believe he could’ve done that. In fact, you didn’t blame Bucky for whatever he did for most of his life.

But when that man in the footage looked eerily familiar to Bucky, who was going to listen to a 16 year old new recruit?

Tony and Steve argued. Steve, Sam and Natasha broke the law for Bucky and were branded as criminals. The rest of them picked sides. Tony supporting the accords, Steve being against it. And your family broke apart. Now you must be wondering, what did you do?

You opted out. It went against your morals and your affection for the team. The betrayal you felt, when Wanda chose to broke out of the compound and join Steve, was something serious. You hadn’t expected that to happen and you surely hadn’t expected for Clint to be an even bigger asshole and convince Wanda to break out. You argued with the two of them but they did not give you a chance to placate, leaving in a haste while Wanda put Vision six feet under ground when he tried to stop her. If she could do that to Vision, whom she liked, you didn't want to imagine what she could've done to you.

Rhodey had asked you for a last time, whether you wanted to join them or not. You strongly opposed, stating that you’d stay in the compound or at a friend’s. After Wanda left, you were originally going to stay back but then you received May’s call, that Peter had left for a study tour and you straightened up in alarm. There was no study tour. You packed up an overnight bag and left for Queens, choosing to spend the night with May instead.

Come morning, May was rightfully worried as Peter’s phone wasn’t working anymore and he didn’t answer any of her calls or texts. You were proper annoyed. You just had a hunch that he was at the airport, but when you summoned a connection through the mist—it was confirmed. There he was, in Tony’s private jet, on his way to Germany.

See, you always found his excuses for missing out on stuff dumb, the nervousness and lies practically bleeding through his clothes and body. But you chose to humour him, not wanting to stress him out. But there he was, sitting in the jet, in a fucking Spider-Man suit. As if that’s not a big deal.

You were worried you’d scare May off by accidentally blasting out your powers, so you decided to meditate instead. You stayed with her for the whole day, keeping her company and distracting her. And the next day, you received an alert on your watch from FRIDAY that everyone had returned. You hastily took May’s leave and arrived at the compound to find out—a whole chunk of your family was missing, Tony was sporting a black eye and a broken arm, and him and Natasha looking at you with grim faces.

“What the hell happened?”, you muttered carefully, the compound’s common area was way too quiet.

Tony looked away in guilt, Natasha looked at you in concern.

“Hey…are you okay?”, she asked tentatively, as if preparing you for the worst.

“Nat, I asked you something. What the hell happened? Where is everyone?”, your voice wavered, a lump lodged in your throat.

Tony shook his head, avoiding your eyes at all costs while Nat let out a tired sigh.

“Well, to cut the story short—Steve, Clint, Sam and Bucky are in the raft. They are declared as criminals of the state”, your eyes widened in shock, “Wanda and Vision are on the run. Don’t know where they are right now.”

“What the fuck? Tony? What—and what happened to you? Where’s Rhodey? What even happened between you all?”, you growled, irritated with Tony’s non-verbal stance.

Tony took a deep breath before finally meeting your eye, his black eye making it difficult for him to focus without wincing.

“Rhodey…got shot out of the sky. Paralysed from the lower spine and below. He’s getting operated on right now. Might— Will need prosthetics. And uh-I fought with Cap and Barnes”, his voice was low and heavy with guilt, like he was already blaming himself for everything.

Your eyes widened, “What”, you breathed out, “How—what the fuck even happened, how did it escalate so badly? Huh?”, your voice rose in anger, eyes lightly glowing a muted purple, a purple-blue flame simmering at your fingertips.

Natasha held up her hands to placate you, “Hey—kid, it’s okay. I know this is a lot—”

“Of fucking course, it’s a lot! What were you guys thinking? All of this over a piece of fucking paper? And now—now most of them are on the run, are wanted as criminals and in the hospital? And Tony—”, you pointed a finger at him, “what was Peter doing there?!”

Tony’s eyes widened in surprise, “How—”

“Yeah. He’s my friend. And my classmate. And I have powers that help me track down someone who’s miles away from me”, the flame at your fingertips was slowly engulfing your hand, your eyes turning a brighter purple now. Natasha came close to you, her hand slowly settling on your shoulders in support.

Tony swallowed, his face shifting in pain, “I’m sorry. I’m really—I don’t know what to say, kid. What’s happened, happened. We—I fucked up. I’ll…I’ll try fixing it”, his eyes turned glassy by the end of that sentence and he turned back, walking away from you and Natasha.

You gritted your teeth and clenched your hands into tight fists, your eyes glowing a brighter purple now. The lights started flickering, a few scattered objects and frames shaking, Natasha looked at you in shock and fear.

“Hey-hey, hey, come on. Look at me—(Name), come on. Don’t do this. It’ll be alright. I got you, sweetheart”, Natasha said in a gentle voice, wrapping you in her safe arms. You closed your eyes in resignation, hands relaxing, the common area going back to normal, and you leaned into Natasha, a few tears slipping from your eyes.

You weren’t afraid of being alone, no. But you were human. And somehow, you were that one defective child of Hecate that craved for human connection. You had already lost your blood family. You had to leave behind your half family. And now? Now your found family was broken too. And slowly, your brain started working overtime to convince you that maybe, maybe you were the problem.

2018

2 years since your family broke up. 3 since you became an Avenger.

A lot had changed since then.

You grew up, of course. You were 18 and you were a trained Avenger now. Which meant you could assist the rest of them on missions.

But it was of no use because Steve, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Clint—they were all still estranged from the rest of you. You found out about Scott, who was put on house arrest along with Clint. You found out that Bucky was in Wakanda, undergoing treatment for his arm and the trigger words. You were really happy when you found out about that. Natasha was also on the run with Steve and Sam. You didn’t know where they went, originally. Rhodey had recovered, his new prosthetics helping him move around easily.

Steve and Tony had made up, for the most of it. Steve sent a letter and a burner phone for Tony to call him on, which felt awfully similar to an exes to lovers thing. You also found out that Steve had lied about Bucky killing Tony’s parents. That one gave you a massive shock. You couldn’t believe that Steve could do something stupid and...immoral like that. And suddenly, you understood Tony’s anger towards him and Bucky.

But he had already forgiven Steve and the others, that much was clear. It was clear to you the moment you saw him in the sling and black eye 2 years ago, his shoulders drawn in like a small child, and you sensed it immediately on him. That was the thing about Tony, he was quick to take all the blame on him and forgive others in his own begrudging and annoying way.

Then you confronted Peter about his superhero activities.

He stuttered his way through the confession and you eventually stopped grilling him, taking pity on his poor face that was red with nervousness, and decided to let him in your secret. He was positively buzzing then, unable to wrap his head around the fact that his best friend was a "fucking--demi-god/demi-titan, whatever, oh my god!" (his words, not yours.) He even made you show your powers to him, ooh-ing at every single spell that you cast in Latin and Greek and the purple shimmer of your magic.

You decided to train yourself harder, wanting to be prepared the next time your help is required in any mission. Practicing with the book of spells and witchcraft that your mother, Hecate, had gifted you after a quest, with your room shut out from the outside world, the smells of burning incense and herbs permeating your bones and every corner of the room. Tony would be freaked out at your training rituals but you assured him that it was just for concentration purposes.

Chiron would contact you every now and then, you would chat with him, Annabeth, Grover and Percy and that would make you feel lighter. They kept you entertained and updated about the stuff happening around the camp or in their lives, with Grover--being your favourite gossiper--subtly hinting at Percy and Annabeth getting closer to admitting their very obvious crushes on each other. That made you happy and sad at the same time because you couldn’t witness that first hand.

You even introduced them to Tony and Peter. Tony and Annabeth had a long nerdy conversation, after which Tony told you that he was greatly impressed and asked if he could give her an internship, while Grover and Percy had a great time exchanging memes and pop culture with Peter.

It was pretty mundane for these two years. You gelled in with Pepper and Happy, becoming an unofficial member of the Stark family along with Peter, who was also an intern at Stark industries now, you kept an eye on Steve and the others, just to reassure yourself that they were okay, although Wanda was keeping you out, wanting to stay hidden for longer and Bucky was still undergoing his treatment. Sometimes you'd see him step out of his hut and feed the sheep, play with the kids, take walks with Princess Shuri minus his metallic arm, but most importantly—you were happy to see that he looked healthy.

But then came the ugly purple giant and his army of equally nasty alien soldiers and ruined your life. You went to space with Tony, he was fully against it but you insisted, because your powers could actually be helpful against an extraterrestrial. You fought along side Tony, Peter and the Guardians. You even came close to removing the godforsaken gauntlet from Thanos' hand.

But then it suddenly ended. Time stopped. And everyone started disappearing.

Peter disappeared into a pile of ash right in front of you and Tony, departing with a quiet 'I'm Sorry' and you waited for the same to happen to you, but it never came. You leaned back against the debris of the fallen moon, your blown wide in a state of shock, hands shaking violently while Tony tried to bring you back to life.

You were stuck in that space ship with him and Nebula for god knows how long. Tony's cheeks were hollowed, skin pale, movements slower and you couldn't bear to watch that. You weren't doing any better. You had gone quiet and sluggish, half heartedly listening to Tony and Nebula playing a game of paper football. He fed you the remaining rations, forcing you to eat but eventually he lost his own energy, filming one last message in the helmet of his Iron suit and leaned back into the pilot seat in exhaustion. You had passed out long back, falling unconscious with hunger and the lack of energy or hope.

You opened your eyes to a white ceiling, eyes straining against the curtain of exhaustion and confusion, your body weak and limp on the soft bed. You noticed a figure move in the corner of your eye and notice a mop of blonde hair, the whole scene giving you a sense of deja vu, and then you heard his voice.

"Kid?", your eyes flew open. Steve was sitting next to you. Alive. It's been 2 years since you saw him. Your eyes welled up with tears and he laid an empathetic hand on your shoulder, thumb rubbing it gently to soothe you.

"W-where are the others..", you managed to get out and his face turned solemn.

"Nat, Clint, Scott, Rhodey, Bruce--they're all here. The rest..", he trailed off and shook his head. It was enough to make you aware of the situation, swallowing harshly against the lump in your throat as you froze.

Your chest ached as you realised-- you had lost half of your family once again.

2023

It's been 5 years since the snap. 5 years since you lost your family again and 5 years of you wallowing in your sorrows, your magic slowly inching towards a darker side. All that anger, sadness and frustration was simmering beneath your blood, ready to unleash at any moment.

Steve and Natasha kept you close, keeping a vigilant eye on you--almost helicopter parenting you--which was funny, because you were 23 years old now. Tony had retired. Completely given up. He had chosen a secluded cabin and shifted there after his and Pepper's marriage. You were glad he took the decision. But a part of you felt angry, because you couldn't have that luxury and you couldn't check on Camp Half-Blood either, the fear of attracting more monsters making you paranoid.

So you simply sat back and observed, waiting for the right moment to strike back, your magic pulsing beneath your veins, waiting to be released.

Slowly, people started joining--Thor came back extremely depressed with a talking raccoon who was a part of the Guardians' team, then there was Carol Danvers, who was cool and looked every bit of the leader that she is, and suddenly it was a full house again.

You, Steve, Natasha and Scott had gone to convince Tony to help out when Bruce's (or Professor Hulk's, honestly that was a little scary to you) attempts at making a time machine failed miserably. When you reached the cabin, you stopped dead in your tracks at the visual.

Tony and Pepper had a daughter now, the sight of him cuddled up with her making your eyes well up with tears, wishing you had the same. It was difficult to convince him, naturally, with him having a family now.

"I'm really happy for you, Tony", you whispered and gave him a soft smile, waving a hand to Morgan who shyly returned it before running back inside, "But please, think about it. It's been five years", you requested him and he pursed his lips, the gray in his hair catching the light and his brown eyes glassy with emotion. You knew he would join you. You knew you were asking a lot from him, that he wouldn't sleep peacefully if he did this.

And he did do it. He made time travel possible. And he remade the gauntlet. Only Tony Stark could make it happen. All of you, joined by Clint, went back in time, to gather those stones. And Clint returned without Natasha. It took Tony and Steve together to calm you down before you destroyed the entire set up. You didn't even get time to recover from it when the entire compound collapsed. It was infiltrated and attacked by Thanos and his army again.

You had exhausted yourself thoroughly, casting spells left and right to protect someone or to kill an alien. You protected Clint when he had the gauntlet in his hand, you protected Nebula when she was attacking another alien, you conjured a spell to create the Empousai, who sucked the blood out of the aliens, you used your pyrokinetic powers to light up anything on fire and deflect attacks, you even tried to use your time manipulation powers to reverse the events but the stones and Thanos' power was too strong, him using the power stone to fling you across the field where you dropped down harshly, knocking against the hard ground violently.

That's when you saw, felt and heard, the buzz of a million spirals in the field, the magic of the mystical arts, cast by Strange, Wong and their supporters and you faintly made out blurry figures whizz past you. Suddenly a strong hand clamped around your arm, pulling you up slowly and letting you lean against them, your eyes flying open in surprise when you saw that it was Bucky.

This meant that everyone was back. Bucky handed you over to Tony, who helped you sit up and you heard a thwip above you, hands helping the two of you stand up, the field around you was engulfed in chaos and sounds of pain and fighting. When the person started speaking, you and Tony snapped your heads up to stare at Peter.

Your best friend, Peter. Tony's son, Peter.

The two of you were crying, listening to Peter's nerdy ramble with fond attention before Tony wrapped him up in a hug, Peter quieting down and returning the hug, his eyes closed in contentment and he grabbed your arm to pull you in, the three of you embracing each other in silence.

You thought everything was okay now. You thought it was over and all of you could go home, try to mend each other again, when suddenly a bright light blinded you, your concentration breaking and hands coming up to cover your face. When the light faded away, you noticed that it was too quiet.

Everyone had stopped fighting, looking at each other helplessly, trying to figure what just happened when you heard a sound of metal against metal, a body dragging down a piece of debris. You whipped your head to the side to see--Tony. His right side was charred and gray, like he had walked through a wild fire, his eyes were blank, body language sluggish and exhausted.

You felt it--His heartbeat was slower. His breathing too thin. You could feel his soul fighting to stay alive, and you fell to your knees, Steve's arms coming around you to keep you grounded, your eyes brimmed with tears and face damp with them as you saw Rhodey, Pepper and Peter say their goodbyes to Tony.

Peter was held back by Rhodey, his body shaking violently with sobs, Pepper was murmuring something and every single person standing around them had tears in their eyes. You crawled over to Tony, placing a careful hand on his cold forehead, and you whispered a soothing spell, one that would lessen his pain in his last moments.

"Thank you for everything, T", you whispered wetly, his blank eyes shining with tears as he tried to move his head to look at you and abruptly stood up, crying into Steve's shoulder for god knows how long.

As if losing two of the most important people in your life wasn't enough, right after Tony's funeral ended, Steve decided to leave you.

He left you, Sam and Bucky behind, without any warning. Well, you assumed Bucky knew but Steve had still betrayed you and Sam. He left the shield behind with Sam, passing the mantle of Captain America to him. You felt proud but empty, unable to celebrate as you were shaking with annoyance at Steve's nonchalance and ignorance.

"Take care and don't underestimate yourself. You still have a family", he told you and gestured towards the two men standing at the end of the grassy path, the wrinkles and white hair making him look like a stranger.

In a way, he was a stranger. This wasn't the same Steve Rogers that you knew. You had walked away furiously, your chest hurting with the pain and frustration. Sam and Bucky watched you leave helplessly, the three of you caught in the same dilemma.

First it was your dad. Then it was Natasha. Then Tony. And now Steve.

Your life had completely uprooted itself and you weren't the same anymore. So as Hecate and fate would have it, you went back to your old friend: isolation.

2024

Yeah alright, you had said you would isolate yourself blah blah blah.

But turns out, you can’t resist Sam Wilson, with his big brown eyes and gentle voice working overtime to convince you. He had been the one to coax you out of your depressed state and the dingy apartment that you lived in (that wasn’t dingy at all on the inside, but the exterior helped you to stay undercover. Sam lost his mind when he discovered that you could do the decor stuff too.)

You’d been out of service for a whole year, choosing to keep to yourself, keeping your head down, leaving your apartment only to go for grocery runs or food—that’s all. You didn’t contact anybody, didn’t take up any assignments, didn’t use your magic for saving-the-world-purposes-nothing. You felt like an empty shell of your previous self and there was an ever lasting ache in your heart, your mind constantly sending signals that something—someone was missing.

But when Sam came knocking on your door, scolding you for being off the grid and so difficult to track, he managed to convince you to join him and Bucky for a small party at Sam’s hometown.

You refused, shutting him down quickly. He observed you closely with the eyes of a soldier then--taking in your black sweats, dark blue oversized hoodie dwarfing your body, the bags under your eyes, the smell of lavender and herbs that seemed to stick to you, the dim yet large ambience of your home, the constant fidgeting with your hands--and he let out a big sigh, his heart squeezing with empathy for you.

In way you reminded him of Bucky, who was nothing less than a wounded animal in the initial days. That’s what you looked like.

He then tried to break you by telling you that Bucky wanted you to come, knowing you had wanted to talk to him for a long time, and you perked up at that, reluctantly agreeing to his invitation and also because you couldn't say no to Sam's big-eyed-kicked-puppy-look anymore.

You went to Louisiana with him and joined his family’s cookout. Sam encouraged you to dress up and you did it for him, making yourself presentable after months--wearing a striped blue and white shirt, paired with your most comfortable pair of jeans, your favourite shoes, a brown handbag that Natasha had gifted you, your hair pulled up in a neat hairstyle and your face touched up with light concealer (those eye bags were serious.)

When you got there, the entire place was bustling with happy families and deliciously smelling meals. You eventually spotted Bucky, noticing that his hair was shorter now, and he was playing with 2 teenaged boys. That brought a tiny smirk to your face, happy yet surprised to see him so free and excited like this. Bucky spotted you and ran over, shocked to see you. He tackled you in a hug, a surprised squeal leaving your mouth before you returned the gesture. Sam’s sister and his nephews welcomed you with opened arms, making you forget your pain and suffering for sometime.

That night, you hugged Sam close and cried into his shoulder, him reassuring you that he’d stick around and that he wanted you to work with them. After Sam went to bed, you sat by the dock and looked at the water, the moonlight making it sparkle and Bucky joined you, the two of you chatting for a while before he extended his hand for a possible friendship and acquaintance, and you hesitantly but happily accepted.

This is how you began your new journey, with your new family.

Chapter 2

AN: whewwww this was a lot! I'm sorry if this was rushed but there's so much content i wanna fit in it and a lot of characters too! i hope you understand <3 i hope i did justice to the characters and the original material!! Please like and reblog and let me know your thoughts.🥹

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yelenasburnbook · 1 month ago

Text

Lifeline

———————————————————

Pairing(s): Bob Reynolds x Fem! Reader - Platonic! Yelena & Reader Dynamic - Platonic!Bucky & Reader Dynamic 💞

Summary: After a mission goes wrong, you’re forced to confront just how much your best friend means to you, and how far you’ll go to keep her alive.

Warnings: Mentions of Violence, Gore, Injury, Blood, Medical Settings, Panic Attacks, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Distress, Explosions, & Probably too much Dialogue

A/N: Between summer classes, my sisters graduation party, and my job, this took me a lot longer than I thought it would. That being said, I’m very proud of it! I changed up the writing style to 2nd Person POV, because that’s how I used to do it, and I like it better. Enjoy this hurt/comfort that I promised 🩷

Translation: Дорогая - Sweetheart

———————————————————

The mission was going well. Suspiciously well.

Bob and Bucky had already cleared the north wing, taking out the remaining guards and disabling the perimeter defense grid without much resistance. Ava had slipped through the lower floors like a… well a ghost, disabling the compound’s internal sensors and wiping all surveillance data before the enemy even realized she was there. John was waiting on the jet, prepared to take off incase of an emergency extraction.

Alexei was not allowed on stealth missions.

It had all gone a little too smoothly. No alarms, no last minute reinforcements. Just a quick, surgical takedown.

Which made the final step feel almost too easy.

“Intel should be in the west records room,” Ava reported over comms, her voice calm and efficient, “It’s not on the servers, so someone’s keeping hard copies. Probably a hard drive. You might have to search for it though.”

“I sent you the hallway blueprints,” Bucky added, “No booby traps, no guards posted. Should be clean.”

“Should be,” Yelena muttered, side eyeing you as the two of you advanced through the smoky hallway, “Which means it absolutely won’t be.”

You snorted, “Oh come on. Maybe for once a mission could actually go right.”

She narrowed her eyes at you, “You just jinxed us, you know.”

“Please. That’s not real.”

She smacks your shoulder lightly, “That’s exactly what someone would say right before they get blown through a wall.”

You and Yelena moved through the smoke choked hallway side by side, weapons drawn, boots crunching over shattered glass. You were supposed to clear the west wing of the compound; secure the hard drive with intel, take out any remaining stragglers, and rendezvous at the extraction point.

“Bet you five bucks I find the drive first,” You murmured, flicking your eyes across the scorched corridor ahead.

Yelena scoffed, “That’s it? What will I do with that? Buy half of a New York coffee?

You grinned, “Fine, ten bucks says I get to it before you.”

“Make it twenty, and loser has to scrub the showers,” She challenges.

“You’re on.”

The complex rumbled slightly, and Yelena’s arm stuck out in front of you. The two of you halted your movements, listening for potential threats. After a few beats of silence, you both quietly carried on.

She continued the conversation, murmuring, “You’re going to regret it when you’re elbow deep in Alexei’s hair clogs.”

You gagged audibly, “No no no, that’s foul. I take it back. No showers.”

“You can’t take it back you coward!” She hissed softly, her finger jabbing into your shoulder as she stepped over the body of a downed Hydra soldier.

“Fine!” You roll your eyes, “If I lose I’ll clean the showers, but if I win,” You paused for a second, thinking, “You’re doing my laundry and folding my socks into little burritos like you do yours.”

Yelena scowled, “I don’t fold my socks into burritos.”

“You do. I’ve seen it. You treat your socks better than your teammates.”

Before Yelena could fire back, Bucky’s voice came back over comms, low, amused, maybe slightly annoyed, “Is this really happening? Are we wagering chores in the middle of a hostile zone?”

Yelena taps her comms with a smirk, “It’s called multitasking old man.”

A low, familiar hum vibrated through your ears, “Sounded more like flirting to me.” Bob added, teasingly.

You grinned, tapping your own earpiece, “You jealous?”

His dry tone didn’t miss a beat, “Of the world’s weirdest foreplay? Not even a little.”

You shrugged, “Sounded a tiny bit jealous.”

Bob’s chuckle came soft and low over the line, “Eyes up, sweetheart.”

The two of you continued on, stealthy, and silent.

You and Yelena had always moved like this; side by side, shoulder to shoulder, like you were born knowing each other’s rhythm. It hadn’t started that way. She didn’t let people in easily, and you’d spent the first few weeks trading dry sarcasm and fake glares across briefing tables. But something had shifted.

Maybe it was the shared past. The haunted edges. The quiet understanding between two people who knew what it meant to be used, and to fight your way back to yourself. Maybe it was that she never treated you like you were fragile, and you never treated her like she had to be unbreakable.

Whatever it was, it stuck. And before long, she was your best friend.

Not the kind you just trained with. She was the one who’d knock on your door at midnight because she found a movie she knew you’d hate and wanted to make you watch it anyway. The one who made fun of your combat stance while bandaging your hand. The one who stood between you and your demons without a second thought.

Sister. Best friend. Lifeline.

And now she was smiling like none of this was dangerous.

“You coming or what?” Yelena teased, already stepping into the next corridor.

You smirked, “I’m just making sure you don’t walk into another tripwire.”

“Please. I am the tripwire.” You made a face at her that practically screamed, that doesn’t make any sense.

Over comms, Bucky sighed, “And I’m the one with a migraine now.”

You both laughed quietly.

The two of you turned the corner into what looked like an old generator room. The walls were charred, exposed wires were hanging; still sparking, and… a sound. Just a hum at first, quietly buzzing through the walls. Then rising.

A trap.

Your expression dropped, “Yelena-”

A flash of light. A sharp beep. Neither of you even had time to turn around.

The explosion hit like a thunderclap, blinding white and deafening. You slammed into the ground with a force that stole the breath from your lungs. Your back hit something hard, maybe debris, maybe a wall, you couldn’t tell. All you knew was that your ears were ringing painfully, the air was thick with dust, and something was burning. Your whole body hurt, head pounding with every beat of your heart.

And Yelena-

Yelena was nowhere in sight.

You blinked rapidly, trying to orient yourself. Blood dripped down your temple, warm and sticky. Your vision swam, and the comms were a static mess in your ear, with nothing but garbled voices and white noise.

You tried to push yourself up, your arms trembling beneath you, and legs unsteady. Every fiber of your being screamed for you to stop, and your powers sparked faintly at your fingertips; weak and unfocused.

Then you saw her.

A pile of rubble. Blonde hair. An arm too still.

“No,” You breathed hard, stumbling forward on instinct, “No, no, no- Yelena!”

The sound of your own voice made your head throb and your vision blur. The vibrations in your skull sent a white hot pain down your neck and you groaned, pushing yourself forward.

You dragged yourself across the broken ground, pushing aside scorched metal and fractured concrete to reach her. Your hands shook, blood smearing your palms, and you weren’t sure if it was yours or hers.

When you finally uncovered Yelena, she was still breathing, but barely. Her body was limp, unconscious, and stained with ash and blood.

Your heart plummeted.

Protocol in this situation was to fall back, to regroup. But you couldn’t move, you couldn’t leave her. Your arms found themselves hooked under Yelena’s, as you fought your own fatigue, and dragged her out of the rubble. Your body was trembling, tired, and nearly collapsing under the weight. But your eyes were wide and frantic, and your heart was thumping faster than you thought it could.

She had to be okay, she just had to be.

“Y/N! Fall back, now!” Bucky’s voice barked through the comms.

But you didn’t answer. Couldn’t. You knelt beside Yelena’s body, your own chest heaving, tears mixing with the soot on your face. For the first time in a long, long time, you didn’t know what to do.

——————

The jet was moving fast, cutting through clouds and sky, but time still felt too slow.

Yelena was laid out across the med-table, strapped in, Bucky and Ava working furiously to stabilize her. Blood was still seeping from the gash in her side, and her breaths remained uneven. The sight of her made your stomach twist. You hovered nearby, trying your best to help. But your vision was still blurry, and the pounding in your head made you nauseous and dizzy.

Bob watched you warily, not straying too far.

“I can help. Just-” You stepped forward, reaching for a roll of gauze someone tossed near the med table. But your hands were shaking too badly to grip it.

“Y/N,” Bucky said quietly.

“I can do it, just let me-” You stammered, your voice ragged as you reached back for the gauze near the edge of the tray. Your fingers barely curled around it before it slipped from your grasp again, hitting the floor with a soft thud. Your breath hitched, short and frantic, “Shit- I can-”

Bucky gently stepped between you and the table, bending slightly to your level. His voice was softer than usual, “You’re not okay. You have to step back.”

“No, no no no, she’s not okay! She needs help! I need- I need to help her, I can’t-” Your voice cracked, raw with panic, “She’s not waking up, she’s not-”

Bucky glanced to Bob, who didn’t hesitate.

He reached out and gently pulled you away from the chaos, wrapping his arms around you even as you resisted, “Hey, hey- sweetheart, look at me.”

“No! Let me go, Bob- she needs-”

“She needs them right now. You need me.”

You shook your head, body trembling in his grasp, eyes still locked on the blood still soaking through Yelena’s suit. You tugged at his arms once more.

“Stop,” he whispered, “Breathe, honey. Just breathe.”

You could only whimper in response, finally feeling the affects of your sudden movements, the throbbing pain fading back into your skull.

Bob held you tighter, “You’re hurt, you’re bleeding, and you’ve probably got a concussion. Let me help you.”

Your hands fisted in his shirt, trembling hard, “I can’t-I can’t think. Oh god what if she-” Bob shut that down quickly.

“She’s alive. You saved her.” He soothed, hand stroking your back softly, but you shook your head, crying now, silent tears streaking your soot covered cheeks.

“She wasn’t moving-” you were cut off,

“Baby breathe. Come on, in through your nose.”

You were gently guided to sit against the wall of the jet, his body pressed to yours, one hand cradling the back of your head, and you took slow breaths, “Good girl. That’s it. I’ve got you.”

As your breathing began to steady, he carefully examined the wound on your temple. The blood still hadn’t clotted. He reached for the medical kit, using its contents to gently dab at the wound. He grabbed the small penlight, testing it before meeting your eyes.

“Follow the light, but keep your head still.” He ordered softly, heightened concern etched into his features.

You flinched, but obeyed.

Your left eye lagged slightly, and the dilation of your pupils was severely delayed. Bob’s expression turned grim, as he turned to the others, “Concussion confirmed,” he relayed, and Bucky grunted in response. He turned back to you, “You’re gonna sit still for the rest of the flight.”

You grimaced, “But-”

“No buts. Head down pretty girl. Let me wrap this.”

You let your head fall against his shoulder as he gently patched you up, arms still trembling. Your eyes flicked back to Yelena every few seconds, never staying away for long.

Your breathing was slow again, but still ragged, trembling hands clinging to his sleeve as he cleaned the wound, pressing gauze gently to the side of your head.

“I thought she was dead.” You whispered.

“She’s not,” Bob replied, firm but gentle, “You saved her.”

——————

Back at the Tower, the med team was waiting on the landing pad. Yelena was whisked away on a stretcher. You immediately tried to follow, stumbling forward with glassy eyes.

Bob’s hand closed around your waist the second you tried to push forward.

“Y/N,” he said gently, voice edged with urgency, “Slow down.”

But you didn’t. You twisted in his grip, eyes locked on the medbay doors just ahead. Your boots skidded on the tile as you tried to wrench free.

“I have to be with her-”

Bucky stepped in from the left, cutting off your path completely, “You’re next,” he said, voice low but unmoving, “You don’t look good, Y/N.”

“I don’t care,” you protested, throat tightening.

“You need to let the doctors take a look at you,” Bob murmured behind her, voice low and soft, “You’re not okay.”

“I’m fine!” You snapped, louder than you meant to.

Then your knees dipped.

Bob stepped in closer, bracing you as gently as he could, “Okay, hey- hey. I’ve got you. Just breathe for a second.”

“You’re not fine ,” Bucky said quietly, “You’re disoriented, bleeding, and barely staying on your feet.”

You closed your eyes tight, forehead pressing into Bob’s shoulder as the hall tilted sideways. Your legs felt too far away, and your heart wouldn’t slow down.

“I don’t want to leave her,” you whispered.

Bob pressed a kiss to your uninjured temple, “You’re not leaving her, honey. You’re letting someone help you, so you don’t end up needing that hospital bed too.”

You hesitated, then looked up at Bucky, eyes brimming with tears.

“Promise me,” you whispered, “You’ll stay with her.”

“Swear it,” Bucky said, firm and sure.

Bob gently brushed the hair off your cheek, “And I’m not leaving you either.”

Your shoulders sagged, finally giving out.

“Okay,” you breathed, “Okay. Just please, hurry.”

“We will,” Bob murmured, adjusting his hold as he started guiding you back, “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you patched up.”

——————

The moment the med team cleared you (mild concussion, bruised ribs, no internal bleeding) you were already halfway out of the room.

You didn’t wait for the nurse to finish her sentence. You slid off the exam table and made it three steps toward the door, heart pounding and legs ready to sprint.

But Bob was faster.

He stepped in front of you just as you reached the hallway, one hand gently pressing to your shoulder, the other hovering at your waist in case you stumbled.

“Easy,” he said softly, but firmly, “You still look like you might tip over.”

“I have to see her,” you said, voice hoarse, “I’ve waited long enough.”

“I know,” Bob murmured, gaze searching yours, “And you’re going to. But not if you faceplant in the hallway trying to run there.”

You faltered, chest tight, the instinct to bolt still coiled beneath your ribs like a spring.

Bob softened, “Walk with me. Please.”

Your shoulders dropped, groaning in annoyance as you agree, “This whole concussion thing sucks ass.”

That elicited a chuckle from him as he guided you down the hall to Yelena’s room, “I could always grab one of the wheel chairs. Strap you in, blanket over your lap, maybe even a juice box. Really complete the whole ‘I’m severely concussed’ look.”

That earned him a light slap to the shoulder and a correction of being “mildly” concussed, the air feeling lighter for the first time in a few hours. That was, until you reached the recovery room.

Yelena was still out cold, pale and bandaged, but breathing steadily.

Bucky stood up from the bedside chair, gesturing for you to take his place. You took him up on that, and dropped into the seat beside her. You were curled in on yourself, one arm hugging your middle, and the other resting lightly on the edge of the bed. Bucky stood in the doorway, watching quietly.

“She’s okay,” Bob whispered again, laying a hand on your shoulder.

You nodded, chewing on your your bottom lip nervously. You believed him, but that didn’t mean you were going anywhere.

——————

Four more hours passed, and you didn’t move.

Not when the nurse came in to check vitals. Not when Bob quietly tried to coax you into eating something. Not when Bucky mumbled that you should at least stretch your legs or, “your spine’s gonna fuse to that chair.”

You barely blinked, eyes fixed on Yelena’s still face. Her head was wrapped in bandages now, and you imagined the gash in her side was the same way under the gown. An IV line fed fluids back into her, and the color just was just barely returning to her cheeks. But she hadn’t moved.

So you stayed.

Bob stayed too, right beside you in the other chair, one knee bouncing anxiously. Bucky leaned against the far wall with his arms crossed, chewing silently on the inside of his cheek, watching you more than her.

The other’s were coming and going, not wanting to crowd the room, but still wanting to make sure Yelena was alright.

Alexei didn’t stay long. Couldn’t stay long. Even though he knew she would be alright, he couldn’t bare to see his daughter like that. He left quickly, mumbling something about, “-preparing her favorite soup for when she wakes.”

Now the room was quiet and still, and you were trying your hardest to keep your eyes open.

Then, without warning, Yelena stirred.

It was subtle; a twitch of her fingers, the barest shift in her brow, but it might as well have been an earthquake.

You straightened so fast you startled Bob, and your breath caught in your throat, hand reaching for hers instinctively.

She groaned softly, her face scrunching. Her lips parted, dry and chapped, and her eyelids cracked open just the tiniest bit.

Her voice came out rough and low, “I told you so.”

You blinked, “What?”

“You jinxed it”

Bucky snorted from across the room, “Unbelievable,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

You let out a soft, watery laugh and covered your mouth with your hand. The sound surprised even you, half-sob, half-relief.

Bob chuckled under his breath, “She’s awake five seconds and already picking a fight.”

Yelena’s mouth twitched into the faintest, sleepy smirk, “Felt wrong to leave you unsupervised.”

“Shut up,” you whispered, smiling through the sting in your eyes, “I should’ve left you under that pile of rubble.”

Yelena opened her eyes a little more, focusing on you slowly, “You didn’t?”

“Unfortunately,” you muttered, voice tight with affection.

She didn’t comment further, but her lips twitched upward for just a moment. She looked around the room with exaggerated slowness, “Ugh. Medbay. Lame.”

“You almost died,” you said pointedly.

“Keyword there is almost,” she croaked, “I am not so easy to kill Дорогая.”

A fond smile reached your lips, glad for her to finally be back, “You’ve been unconscious for hours.”

“Yeah, well… I needed the nap.”

Bob raised an eyebrow, “You almost gave her a panic attack.”

“She did panic,” Bucky said, now walking over with a smirk, “Went full ‘deer in headlights.’ Even tried to assist with field surgery in the jet while she could barely stand.”

Your mouth dropped open, “Okay well-”

Bob leaned in slightly from his spot beside the bed, his voice low but laced with just enough dry humor to soften the reprimand, “You also almost collapsed. Twice. And then proceeded to argue with me, Bucky, and the doctor, about how you were ‘fine’ while bleeding from the head.”

You winced a little at the reminder.

“I didn’t argue…”

Bob raised his brows, unimpressed, and Yelena blinked at you slowly, like her brain was still buffering.

“You’re hurt?” she asked, her tone shifting just slightly; still scratchy, still dry, but gentler now. Concern lingered behind her tired eyes.

You hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod, “Concussion. Couple bruised ribs.”

She stared for a second longer, processing.

Then, “You absolute dumbass.”

You laughed, relieved at the familiar edge in her voice, “Oh come on.”

“You dragged my unconscious body through a half-collapsed hallway while you were concussed and barely standing?”

“…Yes?” You deadpanned, with an attitude that said, and I would do it again.

Bucky gave you a pointed look, “She also refused help, wouldn’t sit down, forgot how breathing worked…”

“Okay,” you mumbled, holding up a hand, “Everyone here is being a little dramatic.”

Yelena’s voice was a raspy mutter, “You’re like a baby duck with a death wish,” she gave a tiny shrug, or tried to, but winced halfway through, “All wobbly and confused, just waddling into danger.”

You let out a shaky laugh, pressing your palm to your face, “That is… the most insulting and adorable thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Bob, still hovering nearby, smirked, “Honestly? She’s not wrong.”

You turned to him, offended, “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I am,” he said, already grinning, “That’s why I helped stop the baby duck from passing out on the jet.”

You didn’t even try to fight the grin that crept its way to your face.

She rolled her eyes, but the concern was still there in the tight way she held your hand, “I missed being conscious, not being able to mock you was really boring.”

“Shut up!”

Bob smirked at that, but gently laid a hand on your shoulder, “Mock her later. She’s got about fifteen minutes of energy left before I physically carry her to bed.”

Bucky cleared his throat, “Speaking of that, I’m getting some sleep.”

You looked up, “You alright?”

He gave a small nod, eyes steady on the two of you, “You’re both still breathing. That’s enough for me tonight.”

His tone was quiet, but the weight behind it said everything he didn’t. Relief, worry, care. All packed into that single sentence. Yelena tilted her head slightly, “Wow. That was almost… sweet.”

You smiled, “A little poetic, even.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at both of you, deadpan, “Don’t get used to it.”

“Oh, we won’t,” Yelena replied, grinning through the soreness, “Wouldn’t want you pulling a hip trying to express feelings.”

You bit back a laugh, and he sighed dramatically, shaking his head as he walked to the door, “Every time I try to be nice…”

“Night Bucky,” the three of you said in unison, still smiling.

He glanced back one last time, “Proud of you. Both of you.”

Then he was gone, leaving the room a little quieter but warmer. The moment he disappeared through the medbay doors, Bob turned back to you with that knowing look; part patient, part amused, all gentle concern.

“Alright, duckling,” he murmured, brushing his fingers lightly over your temple where the bandages still sat, “Time to sleep before you collapse in this chair and I have to explain to the nurses why you’re drooling on the floor.”

You rolled your eyes, too tired to come up with anything clever, “You are obsessed with dragging me places.”

He grinned, “Only when you’re too stubborn to go on your own.”

With a little help, you stood. Your legs felt unsteady, and you leaned into him without thinking, letting his arm wrap around your waist, solid and steady. You glanced down at Yelena, your smile fading a bit.

She was still propped up a little, eyes half-lidded, but awake enough to catch the shift in your demeanor, “I’m fine,” she said. “Go.”

You hesitated, gaze flicking to the chair beside her bed, “Do you want someone to stay with you?”

Yelena snorted softly, “What, you think I’m scared of the dark now?”

You gave her a sheepish smile.

“I’m okay,” she assured, her voice softer this time,“I’m sure the nurses will be in and out. They love to bother me. Go let Bob hover over you for a while. He lives for it.”

“I do,” Bob said, not even pretending to deny it.

Yelena looked over at him, “If she doesn’t sleep at least six straight hours, lock her in her room.”

He gave a short nod, “Already planning on it.”

You exhaled a quiet laugh, leaning down to gently squeeze her hand one last time, “Don’t scare me like that ever again.”

“No promises,” Yelena muttered, smirking, but then her features softened, “Thank you. For saving me. For staying.”

You smiled again, but it felt a little heavier this time, more vulnerable, “Always.”

Yelena’s voice was quiet now, sleepy, “Goodnight, little duck.”

“Goodnight, Lena.”

Bob gave her a two-finger salute, then gently turned you toward the door, his hand warm and steady on your back.

And as you let him lead you down the dim corridor back to the living space section of the tower, you felt that weight in your chest finally start to ease; not gone, but softer. Safer.

Because she was okay.

And so were you.

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jungkooklover777 · 3 months ago

Text

𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 ; robert “bob” reynolds

| one-shot |

summary: y/n, meet bob. bob, meet y/n.

pairing: fem!reader x bob (platonic) + avenger!reader x bob (platonic) + asgardian!reader x bob (platonic).

trope: found family (duh) + potential friends.

genre: fluff + slight angst + comedy.

warnings‼️: crude language + tall!reader (a little over 5’8) + spoilers!

word count: 1,756.

“Oh, hey! You’re here.” Bucky says as he watches you fly through the open balcony.

“Perfect timing.” Ava comments as your armor melts back into your skin, revealing your original outfit.

“So fucking cool.” She softly says in awe.

“Right? It’s also super convenient.” John crosses his arms, watching you switch back into civilian mode so languidly.

You lay your sword on the side of the coffee table in front of the couch, plopping down on it with a heavy sigh.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Bob asks, confused by the random spark of commotion.

“Y/n is here?” Yelena pokes her head out of the pantry, eyeing your exhausted head tipped back on the headrest with your eyes closed.

Bucky hands you a water bottle and smiles when you sense him.

You open your eyes to look up at him.

“Good to see you, kid.” His voice smooth and steely blue eyes kind.

“Thanks, you too.” You say as you accept the cool drink.

You, Thor, Loki, Scott, Hope, Cassie, Valkyrie, and Carol were off-world fighting an intergalactic enemy when The Void almost took all of New York into the shadow realm.

You just got back from the grueling trip a day ago.

“Well, well, well. It is the younger Asgardian.” Alexie affectionately pats your head.

You chuckle softly at the old santa’s loving actions.

“Where’s your dad?” Bucky’s eyes wander out the balcony when he hears silent noise following you.

“He’s getting beers with Valkyrie, he’ll join us later.”

You give a quick side-hug to Yelena and a crisp high-five to Ava when John straightens his back, expecting a welcome as well.

You walk straight ahead, not meaning to ignore him but step back and look to the side in surprise.

Your head snaps from him to Bucky, from Bucky to him and back. You blink rapidly, pointing a finger up at him and ask, “What’s he doing here?”.

You can’t help how you sound.

“Oh. He's, uhh… part of the team now.” Bucky shrugs.

You don't say anything but your face does. Bruh y'all couldn't find anyone else?

“He'll catch on fire if you stare at him any longer.” Ava says behind an amused smile.

“No, wait! Keep staring! I am recording just in case.” Alexie gives you a big thumbs up and is recording on an older version of the iPhone that’s not surprisingly cracked.

How he got ahold of technology before Steve is beyond you.

“I'm literally standing right here.” John says in disbelief.

“Almost as if that is the whole fucking point, genius.” Yelena rolls her eyes and scoffs as she goes back into the pantry.

Bob is still confused but he has to admit, it's entertaining seeing everyone vouch for you.

He senses a great power in you, one that may very well rival his own.

You look oddly familiar but he can't place his finger on it. Where have I seen you before?

“Oh, before I forget.” Bucky moves aside so you can meet the new guy.

“Y/n, this is Bob.”

He extends his metal arm out to the fresh set of new eyes and they're wide in curiosity.

You put your hand up and wave, giving the new addition to the team your best welcome. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

He now has a full view of you.

You're nice, he thinks.

Bob doesn’t takes first impressions lightly and since yours is a good one, that counts for everything.

You're tall, he estimates your original height to be a little over 5'8 since your heeled boots add quite a few inches to you.

He believes you'd be the same height as him with them on.

Your shiny hair and bright eyes contrast nicely with your smooth skin. Your youthful appearance is refreshing to see and invokes an almost familial feeling in him.

Your smile is warm, comforting.

You don't seem to have anything to hide, it's like you're letting him see you for who you are on the first meeting.

It intimidates him— the confidence you have in yourself.

He wishes to learn that one day.

Your features resemble someone he's seen before, he knows it.

It's getting kind of frustrating trying to remember something he can't.

“Bob, meet Y/n.”

You assess the added member; hair is medium length, dark brown and wavy. He seems pretty tall, your guess is 6 feet. He's also timid. His body language is reserved and calm.

Bob smiles shyly, showing his top set of perfectly straight and white teeth. He does a little wave, eliciting a small laugh from you at his actions.

“Hi. I-It's nice to see you, too.” He repeats your sentiment and you can't help but smile.

He reminds you of a little boy on his first day of school.

Cute.

“Well, I’m gonna go sleep forever now so I’ll see y’all later.” You announce before shortly departing.

You set a mental reminder about texting Peter to meet up after you wake up to go do something.

Everyone goes their separate ways.

John goes out for an interview rehearsal (that’s a thing??). Bucky is joining Sam, Clint, and Bruce to train the younger avengers. Ava phases through the walls, you assume she’s going to her room. Yelena takes her snacks and father to the theater room upstairs for a movie.

Bob stands in the common room, studying your sword.

“Wow.” He whispers.

Bob marvels at the sight of your beautiful sword.

The grip seems about 3 inches wide and thick. It’s made of pure gold along with the guards. The grip and guards have intricate designs drawn on them.

The blade is a long and thick slab of metallic steel, seemingly heavy to hold.

He spots a design on the blade. The design is gold and creates an illusion of glass, a very clean mirror that can be used as a prism.

Bob can tell the designs were made by hand, impressive craftsmanship in detail.

He looks closely, a particular detail catching his eye.

There’s a small symbol in the middle of the guards, an emblem of some sort.

Bob squints his eyes as he tries to understand what it could be, decipher its meaning.

“It’s a rune of my realm.”

Bob immediately jumps up and yelp, his palm clamps over his mouth, muffling it a bit.

His breathing is as erratic as his heartbeat and you feel guilty.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you heard me come back.”

You weren’t stealthy but you weren’t noticeable, either. Still, you feel as though you should’ve made your presence known.

“I’m truly, very sorry.” You apologize again as you nervously peer at him.

He gulps and blinks. “It’s okay, I’m okay. It’s fine.” Bob nods to himself, a tightlipped smile on his face.

You lick your lips and purse them, nodding slightly to yourself.

“Okay.” You say softly.

It’s awkward for a beat before you two speak up again.

“I—”

“You—”

You both close your lips and stare at one another before laughing in embarrassment.

“You can go first.” You offer.

You’re sweet he decides.

“No, no. I-I think you were saying something first.” He insists.

You smile and go ahead. “I was just saying that I’m gonna take that and go back, for real this time.”

You hold out your arm and open palm, calling your sword to you. She listens and is compelled by your hand like a magnet.

“Woahhh.” He breathes.

You laugh, successful in the art of showing off. It’s all about subtlety.

“That’s so cool, how-how did you do that?” He tilts his head quizzically.

“Where I’m from, magic is in everything. My grandfather had this sword forged long before I was born and is embedded with magic.”

You trace the blade with your free hand, remembering the hard work you toiled to be deemed worthy of carrying the responsibility of the blade.

“Where are you from?” He wonders out loud.

“Asgard.”

Bob gasps and snaps his fingers like he just figured out the missing piece of a puzzle (he did).“That’s it! That-that’s where I know you from! You’re Thor’s daughter!”

You chuckle softly at his excitement, his bubbly demeanor melting away your tiredness.

“The one and only.” You joke as you raise your hands and shrug nonchalantly.

“Wow, man. I gotta tell you, you’re awesome.” He guffaws.

You feel warm at the praise, not really expecting anything from this guy you just met.

“Oh, wow… um, thank you. That’s nice of you to say that.” You say shyly as you scratch your arm.

He nods. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

“You’re great, too.” You blurt.

He looks at you and you see an insecure look on his face.

“Your powers are really cool, a thousand exploding suns and all that.”

His eyes shine with an unspoken curiosity. One that says, You really think so?

“R-Really?” A silent laugh escapes him and his adam’s apple reverberates.

“Yeah! You’re super fast and really strong. You’re even bullet and knife proof.” You beam. “You’re like me.”

Ever since The Thunderbolts* weakened The Void with the power of friendship, Bob has never felt more connected.

There’s an entire group of people who welcome him and treat him with the care and respect he deserves.

Your statement was clear and concise, you’re not trying to imply anything. There’s no hidden agenda with you.

You were simply making an observation and connecting it with yourself; a very well-respected, renowned hero.

Bob’s no hero, he’s still trying to find things that make him feel like himself.

You’re young, so young and filled with such an encouraging spirit that makes him feel willing.

“Yeah.” He softly agrees. “I guess I am like you.”

You sense a deep sadness in him, something that troubles him and obstructs him from speaking freely.

You don’t want to force him out but you also don’t want to come across as overly sensitive.

“I’m not sleepy anymore. Do you wanna… maybe go do something?”

Peter can wait, you think. You also think he and Bob would get along well.

He thinks about it for a moment.

He doesn’t have training anytime soon and has read up all his books. Some new scenery would do him good and this way, he’d get to know you better.

He wants to be your friend and hopes you share the same sentiment.

Little does he know, you’re almost there.

“Yeah, sure. Why not.” He smiles once more and this time, it reaches his eyes.

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alilobsessive · 5 months ago

Note

I have probably sent you an ask before about this but idk I NEED someone to make something from this idea:

Neglected!Wayne as Bob Belcher inspired

The early season crashouts, the struggling to pay the bills….it’s glorious

OR OR for a more like ‘different’ au:

Bruce Wayne falls in love with a struggling single parent with three kids, a burger shop that SHOULD be renowned worldwide, and a shitload of debt

🎤

Omg omg, okay, so I admittedly never watched Bob’s burgers I have seen clips, obviously. So I can’t in good conscience write this. I will never be able to do it justice, not until I binge watch at least a season or two or more, maybe the movie. But you’re definitely on to something.

If we’re going for option A

Neglected Wayne is probably about the same age as Dick, maybe older. None of there kids are that old 6 at the oldest. There desperately trying to keep the Restaurant going, this has been there dream since they were young! Not the running a Burger Place part but running a Restaurant, beggars can’t be choosers and you picked a Burger Place solely to spite the chain restaurants and Batburger’s that keep popping up. They desperately don’t want to contact there family for financial help. There relationship with them is awful and Reader would rather die then contact them. But one night during an attempted robbery at the restaurant all of that changes. You’re back on Bats radar, not just you but your whole family and that is not a good thing.

B though, I think it would be hilarious to see Bruce is kid and the medias reaction to him falling in love with this stressed and sarcastic single parent. Like

Reader: *Drenched in sweat, eye bags under eye bags, makeup? Don’t know her. Trying to stuff one of there kids into a hamburger costume in some big to gain more visitors or the restaurant will close for the 5th time. Another one is trying to blackmail and guilt trip a customer into tipping extra. The oldest is aggressively typing away at there phone writing 100 wpm, creating what can only be described as a 2010 pre-teen fanfiction. That in realty is mid at best but looks like high art to her.*

Bruce Wayne: *pining aggressively*

Bat kids: Really? You have women that could become supermodels if they wanted at your beck and call. Man that could revile gods swooning like teenager girl when you just glance at them? And you want that? That’s why to normal for you are you feeling okay?

The Media: Really? You have women that could become supermodels if they wanted at your beck and call. Man that could revile gods swooning like teenager girl when you just glance at them? And you want that?

Maybe instead of Bruce coming over as well Bruce Wayne it’s as Batman.

Picture this, your a single parent running a family owned Burger place in Gotham City. It’s a miracle you aren’t secretly a front for something. One of your kids is at the cash register, the other two doing homework, it almost completely empty. Then suddenly you hear it “HOLY SHIT!” One of them screams as the bell jingles signaling another customer. Instantly you’re on edge unsure of its a bad holy shit or a good one then they continue “ITS FUCKING BATMAN!” And instantly there’s a stampede if tiny footsteps. You look out of the kitchen and see your kids crowding around Batman who is still at the door. “What are you doing here?!” “Why are you here” “Baba didn’t commit any crimes did they??” “Baba’s not cool enough to commit crimes idiot!” “When did Baba get cool!” You’re youngest snaps her head to look at you. “You committed crimes and didn’t include me!?” She says both shocked and offended, Batman, the Dark Knight, someone who was nothing more then a cryptid when you and your Ex Partner first started this business, slowly turns his head to look at you. You feel nothing but fear, a primal fear you thought was long forgotten as you make eye contact.

Without a word he orders enough food for a small army, making sense judging by the amount of protégés and coworkers he has. He then pays solely in hundred dollar bills, leaves a hundred dollar tip and then disappears into the dead of night not taking his change. To your horror and your kids glee not just the Batman but his entire posse become regulars.

We’re cooking! We’re cooking here!

And remember kids! Always support your local businesses! Steeling from large companies is not a crime! And if you’ve never been to a Burger place before that isn’t fast food, go to one ASAP it will change your life a swear!

#batfam x reader #platonic batfam #x gender neutral reader #x reader #neglected reader #bruce wayne x reader #the bobs burgers au

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marveldcfandom · 3 months ago

Text

Y/N helping Bruce & Bob with their trauma.

Y/N: You guys have a lot in common. loneliness & childhood trauma. It’s okay, you both are not alone.

Bruce: We are the same, Bob. The Hulk & The Void are our monsters.

Bob: At least, I have someone to relate to.

GIFs from @dimesbags & @doctor-brucebanner

#marvel #mcu #marvel fluff #marvel imagine #marvel incorrect quotes #mcu incorrect quotes #bruce banner #hulk #bruce banner x reader #bob reynolds #the sentry #bob reynolds x reader #platonic #mark ruffalo #lewis pullman #mental heath awareness

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munsonify · 25 days ago

Text

apologies and interruptions 𓂃 continuation

pairing. bob reynolds x fem!reader (romantic), john walker x fem!reader (platonic, teammates)

summary. after being a little less than favorable to you, walker decides to apologize for his behavior in the best way he can. meanwhile, you and bobs relationship takes an exciting step forward.

content warnings. a little angst and sm fluff, mentions of injuries and missions, john taking accountability (crazy), so much pining, romantic and (slight) sexual tension, a briefly shirtless bob, food, swearing, hugging, an almost kiss. not proofread

word count. 3532

check-ins 𓂃 part one!

———

you’d woken up sore and poorly rested.

the ache in your side was the first thing you felt. despite attempting to situate yourself before you’d fallen asleep, there wasn’t much you could do for the pain. it was honestly a miracle you’d even fallen asleep. you thought that, maybe, bob had a little to do with it. you’d fallen asleep right before the credits rolled for the romcom you started with him. you always felt comfortable with him, he put you at ease. so, you thought that he’d helped you just a little by being there, even if he didn’t realize the comfort you brought him.

you woke up without him by your side, that was the second thing you felt. there was a warmth missing beside you, the weight of his body gone from your bed. you frowned at the realization he’d left. sure, you were only friends, and he had his own bed to sleep in, one bob was more than likely eager to find solace in. that didn’t mean you couldn’t be disappointed he had left. another thing you noticed was the fact he’d tucked you in properly. your blanket was secured up below your chin, engulfing you in its warmth.

the last thing you felt was how awful you’d slept. the ache in your side must’ve kept you from fully falling asleep, keeping you just inches away from rem. you reckoned you’d be dealing with this for a week or two until the wound healed better. you’d find a way to manage, even if it meant being on the grumpy side for a while. it’s what you always do.

your fingers grasped at your comforter as you pull it closer to your body, adjusting yourself off of your wound the best you could. a low groan slipped from your mouth at the feeling, the ache shimmying its way down to the rest of your body. the impact you’d made against the ground yesterday was beginning to catch up with you. all you wanted was some more sleep, despite knowing you weren’t going to get it this morning. instead, all you did was lay down, cozied up in bed for the time being.

your hand began searching for your phone, fingers eventually grazing it, tugging it off the charger. it wasn’t very graceful the way you’d grabbed ahold of it, nor the way you looked down at the bright screen. maybe you were a little grateful bob wasn’t in your room to see your eyes squinting desperately and your chin tucked down into your chest. you didn’t have much to dwell on that though, the moment your eyes found a notification on your phone your heart began to sink.

it was a message from john.

“fuck,” you whispered out, quickly unlocking your phone as you gulp slightly. your hands began shaking a little with nervousness. you were convinced he texted you to tear you a new one, to double down on what he’d said to you the day before. what he’d actually said, you were sure, was actually so much worse.

“let me know when you’re free. we should talk.”

it was a little ominous in a way only walker would do. part of you wished he would just leave the conversation as it was yesterday, to simply move on and forget about it. another part of you wished he had tore you open over text. at least that way you wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes as he argued. you thought it would be easier that way. your stomach began to ache right along with your wound, suddenly a little nauseous at the thought of rehashing your argument with him. you knew that’s what he wanted from you.

with a grumble, you pushed your blankets off of you, before slowly sitting up in bed. your face crinkled up in slight pain as you plant your feet to the ground, slowly moving to stand. if you were going to do this with walker, you were at least going to shower and change your bandages first.

the old bandage from last night were slightly bloodied on the inside, the gauze a muddy brown. you tried not to think too much about the flakiness or the texture as you gently begin cleaning around the wound again. you got any sort of dried blood off of you out of the shower, figuring it would be easier that way.

you focused on the rest of your slightly sweaty body in the shower, gently washing yourself clean with soap. you were even more careful with the way you cleaned your knee up. a soft smile quirked up on your lips as you thought about last night. you mimicked bobs gentleness with yourself, the thought alone taking your mind off of the soon to be conversation with walker. you wondered what he was doing now, and if he was thinking of you just like you were thinking of him. it’s silly, you knew that. still, you couldn’t help but let your mind drift to it.

it wasn’t until youd bandaged yourself back up, slipping into clean, comfortable clothes after the much needed shower that you’d picked your phone back up. there walkers text was, unanswered, intimidating. you swallowed again thickly, thumbs fumbling at your keyboard as you finally answer back, just as simple as he’d texted you.

“i’m free now if you are.”

your text was left un-responded to for ten minutes. you were sure he’d gotten busy, it’d been two and a half hours since he’d sent that first text. still, you sat on the edge of your bed, anxious and very impatiently waiting for some sort of response from the man. that’s when a knock at your door caught your attention, a lot more rough than the knock bob had given you last night. with a long, deep breath, you pushed yourself off of your bed, walking towards your door.

you opened it to find john standing in front of you. he gave you a small, tight lipped smile as he scratched the back of his neck, looking down at you with eyes that had guilt written all over them.

“hey,” he said, voice a lot more quiet than yesterday. he moved to cross his arms in front of his chest, a little uncomfortable with the situation. “any chance i can come in? we need to talk about yesterday.”

you nodded at him, offering up a small, worried smile. you tugged the door open a little more, giving him space to come in “yeah, yeah we do.”

walker carefully let himself into your room, eyes beginning to wander the interior. he’d never been inside your room, there was never a need for him to be until now. when you shut the door, you’d pointed to the end of your bed, slowly making your way to sit. he was hesitant in the way he sat next to you, giving you two a few inches of space between your bodies. the air was thick with tension. you noticed the way he nervously slid his hands down his thighs. man he really looked worked up.

“listen,” walker started slow, eyes glancing over to you for just a second. your eyes locked in that brief moment, and he’d noticed you were a little nervous, too. his guilt only weighed down on him more. “i’m not really the best with these kinds of things. i don’t think you are too. but i just wanted to explain myself.”

you gave him another nod, eyes flickering to him again. your shoulders were tense and so were his. you were good with feelings, but you weren’t good with confrontation. and walkers stubborn, just a little more than you are, and struggles verbalizing what’s going on in his brain. it was quite the situation you two had found yourselves in. you whispered out a small ‘okay’, urging him to continue. he let out a deep breath before he spoke, something you could tell he truly thought out and practiced.

“i shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. i get, just, so worked up sometimes, and i don’t know how to control it. i need to control it, and i’m working on it, but it’s difficult for me sometimes. when you got hurt like that, all i could think about was lemar, about how i couldn’t save him. that could’ve been you. i don’t know if i was angry at myself for not being there with you, or if i was just frustrated with the situation. either way, i shouldn’t have blown up like i did. that’s not how that conversation should’ve gone.”

walker was here to take accountability, and god did it feel nice to hear that from him. at the end of his little speech, his eyes found yours, a little desperate for some sort of affirmation. he was first met with your gentle eyes, something that’d eased up as he spoke. he was next met with your hand gently smoothing up and down his back a few times as you gave him a nod. this whole thing was a little awkward for the both of you. the apology, the vulnerability, the communication, the touch. walker still found a little comfort in your gesture, though.

you two were the kind of close that could only really be compared to siblings. he was an older brother to you in the sense that he was an obnoxious little shit that had your back when you really needed it. you may not talk about feelings, or much of anything super personal, but you knew he was there for you. especially during missions.

“i’m still a little upset with you,” you whispered, hand drawing away from his back. you kept eye contact with him as you spoke. “but i appreciate you telling me that, it means a lot to hear. it helps knowing where you’re coming from. i’ll try and be more careful next time, i promise.”

walker shrugged his shoulders at your words, eyes moving away from yours to look at the wall as he thought for a moment. his eyes squinted a little as he gave a short reply. “you’re good at your job, i trust you to make the right decisions.”

you nodded once more at his words, now a little unsure what to say. it seemed walker didn’t have much else to say, either, deciding it was best for him to get up and leave. he hoisted himself off your bed, you following his lead a little slower than him. walker offered up a fist, earning himself a genuine smile from you, the first he’d been given in days. you fist bumped him, watching as he heads towards your door to leave.

“we’ll train when you’re feeling better,” walker said while opening your door, free hand motioning down to your side as he slid outside. “practice how to take someone who’s coming up behind you.”

“yes sir,” you say, saluting him teasingly. with a roll of his eyes, he leaves, gently shutting the door behind him. you let out a giant breath when he leaves, hand reaching up to press against your forehead, rubbing slightly. it was relieving having that conversation with him. the air felt a lot less heavy, your chest loosening up as your anxiety mostly eases.

now, it was your turn to go knocking.

you’d found your way towards bobs bedroom only minutes after your conversation with walker. you were eager to speak to him, to tell him that you’d smoothed things over with the hot headed man. your knuckles were gentle with the way you’d knocked on his door in hopes not to startle him.

when bob answered the door, you were slightly taken aback by the sight in front of you. he’d so obviously just gotten out of the shower. his hair was damp and so was his skin - which, by the way, was fully on display, given the fact he was in only a pair of shorts -, the soft vanilla of his shampoo wafting into your senses. you tried not to ogle, truly you tried. how could you not stare for even a second when his chest was on full display, his toned muscles tensing at the sight of you. you weren’t sure who he was expecting, but you didn’t think it was you.

“bad time?” you asked, eyebrows knitting together in worry. you began to worry again, ready to make a quick departure at his request. that’s not at all what he’d told you.

“not at all,” bob said quickly, ushering you into his room, quick to shut the door behind you. he stumbled around until he found a clean shirt, sniffing it to make sure, before tugging it over his head. you frowned only long enough for him not to notice, eyes scanning his back as it disappears beneath the cloth. he turned back to you as he spoke, cheeks tinted pink at his slight indecency, even more so at the realization you’d been staring. “how’s your side?”

you shrugged, eyes blinking a few times as you attempted to compose yourself. you’d finally looked him in his face, your own face burning slightly just like his. “hurts, but it’s not infected.”

bob gave you a smile, nodding as his shoulders slouch in a weak attempt to fold in on himself. he whispered ‘good’, hands clenching at his sides. you decided that you’d try and fill the silence, desperate not to make things awkward. you’d felt bad for staring, even if he was really nice to look at.

“john apologized to me,” you spoke. bob looked a little bewildered at your words, head nearly spinning off as he turns to look at you again. you giggled a little at his reaction, moving to explain yourself. “he texted me and told me he wanted to talk and i almost shit myself. i thought i might genuinely have to take him in a fight.”

bob began to laugh with you, shaking his head softly at your words. his nose crinkled up at the thought of john apologizing. it was something he’d only seen a handful of times. “and all he wanted was to apologize? why’d he text you so weird?”

“no. clue.” you replied through gritted teeth. “it was actually a pretty decent apology though. he didn’t try and put the blame on me, he took accountability and stuff.”

you spent the next few minutes giggling about the situation, relief washing over the both of you now that everything was done and over with. admittedly, bob had been a little worried for you. he knew how worked up walker had gotten you, and how nervous you were about seeing him and confronting him again. he was glad things went well, for your sake and his. as much as it would’ve scared him, bob would’ve stepped in and defended you against walker, even if you didn’t need him to.

after the conversation died down, you’d realized how late in the day it had gotten. it was nearly 11, and you’d yet to eat. you noticed the way your stomach began to growl, how you felt a little lightheaded. you’d lost a bit of blood from the stab wound. not eating anything other than a little fruit in a day and a half was beginning to catch up with you. thankfully, bob seemed to catch on. you weren’t sure if it was obvious you weren’t feeling too well, or if he’d simply just knew you hadn’t eaten in a while, though you were glad he’d realized.

“would you, maybe, wanna go get pizza with me?” bob asked, looking at you full of hope. “we can go get a box to share at that place you’ve been eying up. the one a block or two away.”

you nodded quickly, almost too quickly. your eagerness to be around him continued to grow more and more apparent the longer you were around bob.

that’s how you two ended up walking the streets of the city, side by side, deep in a conversation about the book you’d been reading together. it wasn’t often the two of you were able to talk like this without any interruption. you savored every last minute, clinging to every last one of his words like they’re about to run away from you. during this walk, you’d made a note of how he’d taken the side closet to the road, something that made your heart stutter in your chest. it may not have been intentional, or even something bob put a lot of thought in to, but it had you swooning.

when you’d made it to the pizza shop, he’d ordered you two just a simple pepperoni and cheese. the shop was a little crowded, and it forced the two of you a little close to each other as you stood and waited for it to be made. you didn’t mind in the slightest. the warmth you were searching for earlier in the morning had found its way to you again, inviting and intoxicating. you wondered if he had even the slightest idea the effect he had on you.

an effect that you so happened to have on him, too. you’d just missed the way bob swallowed nervously as you shuffled a little closer to him. your pretty eyes were staring up at him as he spoke, and it had him stumbling on his words a little. bob wanted nothing more than to reach a hand out to you, to feel your warmth against his fingertips. he had to stop himself from doing that often.

after your pizza had finally finished up, the two of your readying to step outside, you noticed how the sky started to darken. bob groaned as you guys pushed out the doors and onto the street, eyes scanning the sky passed all the large buildings. your trip back to the tower was a lot quicker than your trip from in hopes to beat the rain. and, lucky for you two, you had. the moment you’d scanned the both of you in, slipping inside of the building, heavy rain let loose against the streets. you and bob shared smiles as you hustled towards the elevator, heading right up to the living quarters.

the pizza was eaten in the silence of bobs room. you’d say on the ground at the foot of his bed, backs resting gently against the cushioned bed frame. silence with him was just as nice as a conversation. it was almost never awkward. you were able to just exist next to each other in a way you couldn’t with the rest of the team. when the two of you finally finished up your meal, closing up the box now empty box, you’d gotten the urge to touch bob. to feel his warmth up close this time. before you could lose the confidence, you turned to him.

“thank you for helping me out last night,” you whispered, hand slowly finding its way to his elbow. bobs eyelashes fluttered while he looked over at you, sitting the box to the side as his heart began to pick up in pace. “for cleaning up my knee and for listening and stuff.”

“of course,” bob said, head bobbing slightly as he tried to think of the right thing to say. his brain short circuited a little at the feeling of your hand sliding up his bicep. he watched as you leaned into him, your arms moving to wrap around his neck, gently pulling him into a hug. his arms were hesitant in the way they wrapped around your waist, hands finding a comfortable place on your back. he was careful not to brush against your wound, resting his touch just around it. bobs face pressed gently into your shoulder at the same time yours tucked into the crook of his neck, beginning to mumble against your hoodie. “i’m always here for you.”

you sat in this hug comfortably for a few moments, relishing the feeling of his touch and his warmth. a part of you expected him to pull away, to cringe and tell you to stop. all bob did was lean in closer, holding onto your body with such care that it made you a little ill. what he was about to protest was the fact that you’d pulled away from him. that didn’t happen, no. he couldn’t seem to find the words now that your face was only inches away from his.

your breath fanned against his face, eyes staring right into bobs. his hands moved to carefully steady you at the hips, his grip gentle, just enough to keep you upright. your chest was brushing right up against his, his mind swimming back to the night before, remembering the sight of you in your bra. and just when he’d thought you were going to lean in, to close the gap between your lips, a loud knock interrupted your moment. both of your heads snapped towards his door, hearts stammering in unison as you looked. it was yelena, seemingly annoyed.

“team meeting in 15, val’s orders. you lovebirds better be there.”

#munsonify #bob reynolds #robert reynolds #bob reynolds imagines #bob reynolds imagine #bob reynolds x fem!reader #bob reynolds x you #bob reynolds x y/n #bob reynolds x reader #bob reynolds fluff #robert reynolds x fem!reader #robert reynolds x y/n #robert reynolds imagines #robert reynolds imagine #robert reynolds x you #robert reynolds x reader #robert reynolds fluff #john walker #john walker x platonic!reader

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imbadatwrighting · 1 year ago

Text

Curtis!reader: Yeah, I think people will be pretty happy with my winning phrase: “You just got banged.” Then I point to my bangs.

Darry: Mm, Hun, don’t say “banged.”

Curtis!reader: What’s wrong with “banged?” I banged you. I banged Soda. I banged Pony. I banged the whole gang!

Darry: Oh my god.

#Curtis!reader is too young to know what banging is #source: bob's burgers #x reader #the outsiders #the outsiders x reader #curtis sister #x female reader #platonic #curtis brothers #darry curtis x reader #sodapop curtis x reader #ponyboy x reader #johnny cade x reader #dallas winston x reader #two bit x reader #steve randle x reader #cue to Dallas laughing in the background #the outsiders incorrect quotes

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mallory524 · 1 month ago

Note

Okay, so this is kinda like a pt.2 of platonic child reader if that'd okay? I just thought about something, what if something happens to you, ? Like something about Valentina doing something to you that changes you a bit, and how they react to it? Bob's def mad about that,

This is a bit angst, but everyone needs a bit of angst in their lifes, hehe :3

(STOP THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA i love it, part 2 babyyyy)

thunderbolts & platonic child reader - angsty part ii

tags- a year after thunderbolts*, manipulation by valentina, mentions of minor burn injuries, angsty because reader's sad and everyone's sad but it's all okay, mentions of all the thunderbolts' pasts

notes- hey y'all idk what happened, i was crashing out like 2 days ago and i guess i redirected all my stress and obsessive energy towards this and then forgot to post it until now. maybe this is incoherent or great idk, anyway it's way longer than i intended

It's really weird when you and Valentina start to talk like you're friends or something.

At first you had just kinda brushed her off. She took advantage of your friends and nearly had them killed, but it's a weird position to be in because the New Avengers now work with her. Of course they all hate her, and so do you.

She is good at making conversation, though. At least you've got someone to talk to when the team is away.

She shows you around some labs and rooms you haven't had the clearance to get into before. Whenever you're together, she sprinkles in little comments about how smart and mature you are, and how the team should let you in on more than they do. You know what she's doing, so you mostly just ignore it. Mostly.

Valentina does have a point; they haven't been letting you in recently. Make no mistake, they always make sure you feel really appreciated and loved, but they've just been a bit distracted with all the work that's started to pile up.

One day Valentina offers you some wearable tech you've never seen before. She says it's so you can "protect yourself". It's a weapon. A weapon that's too powerful for you. It feels all wrong. You're an honorary New Avenger at best, you're not a fighter like them, and they'd freak out if they found out Valentina offered you this. You don't get why she's doing this, and you turn it down. It's just too weird.

Of course, you don't even know the half of it. You weren't around when she did this exact thing to Bob.

A few nights later, Bucky finds out about your friendship with Valentina... if you can even call this a friendship. It's like a working relationship between two people who don't work together. She has no business trying to get to know you like this. It feels nefarious.

You never get into fights with the group, or at least not about anything serious; it's usually just bickering about nonsense. This night however, you and Bucky argue for a while. The others jump in to side with him, and that just makes it worse.

There's a lot of "We told you, she's not someone you want to be friends with." and "It's not like we're best friends! I can't talk to people? Why are you acting like I'm a little kid" and "We told you about everything she did and you're still-" and on and on and over and over-

There's something different about you tonight. Maybe it's your cadence of speech. Maybe it's your posture. It's been slowly happening for a few weeks and no one can really put their finger on what it is, but it's weird. You've never shouted at your friends like this. It's clear to all of them that Valentina is trying to turn you into someone else, like she did with Bob and "the Sentry".

When everyone's given up and gone to their rooms for the night, you go to find Valentina and tell her you changed your mind.

Big mistake.

You just wanted to take back a little control by having something cool that was your own.

That weird machinery she gave you? Clearly no one had ever tested it out while wearing it the way you're supposed to. It's out of control and excruciating the moment you turn it on.

You aren't sure if you'd even be able to take it off. It looks like it fused with your skin or something horrifying like that. It's unclear what kind of tech this is. What could even do this? You don't want to know.

After that, more than anything, you're angry.

You're angry that Valentina used you as a test subject. You're angry that your friends treated you like a little kid who didn't know any better about her. You're angry that they were actually right. You're angry that you started to trust Valentina and let it ruin everything.

You've become a lot more quiet and irritable, and you just look tired all the time.

You don't think you can fix this.

Yelena is furious that Valentina managed to do this again.

All Yelena's ever wanted for you is to have a better early life than she did. You shouldn't have been used like this. Your vulnerabilities shouldn't have been played on like this.

She feels awful. She knows you had to have felt really isolated to get yourself into this situation in the first place.

She just didn't notice until it was too late. That'll bother her for a while.

Of course, Yelena’s friends can always rely on her when they make a mistake. That’s who she is. That goes for you, too.

You're zoning out a lot more often. Your silence doesn't seem as comfortable, it just seems sad. She always manages to pull you out of it, though.

No matter what you're feeling or thinking, about yourself or others or everything that's happened lately, she wants to make it better. She's pretty good at it, too.

You might not feel like you're in the mood to laugh, but that's too bad. Yelena's natural warmth and humor makes it hard to stay quiet and sad for very long.

Maybe you'll be in a weird mood for a while, but at least for the moment, Yelena saw you start to smile. That's enough for her. For now.

Bucky may have been pretty tough on you the night everything went down, but you won't hear a single "I told you so" from him. He feels too bad, he wouldn't get a sliver of enjoyment from that.

He's focused on fixing everything about this that he can.

You're injured from that equipment you had attached to your arms. Bucky knows the feeling. It took him a long time to see his own arm as anything besides the weapon he didn't ask for.

Luckily, yours isn't permanent like his. He'll help you fix it.

He knows a lot of people. He'll get in contact with some very skilled medical professionals who can repair any physical damage that's been done to you.

He also knows a few people who'd be very interested to know about Valentina's continued shady activity.

If you ever apologize to him for yelling at him that one night, he tells you not to worry about it.

If you never apologize, he doesn't mind. He knows that being wrong about something with such awful consequences is a tough thing to come to terms with. Your relationship will mend anyway. You both understand the other without having to say all that out loud.

Ava was used as a weapon for a long time. Forced to be a soldier when she was way too young.

Luckily, your situation is a little different. You have all of them, the Thunderbolts. Together, you can undo what's been done. You may have learned the hard way, but still.

She sees how you've gotten a bit sullen and reclusive, whereas your silence used to be comfortable and peaceful.

She's seen that attitude before, in herself, when she was just a young lonely girl.

She's just a little easier on you than usual, but for the most part she tries to treat you like she always has. She doesn't want to overwhelm you with special attention or anything.

You spend your usual chill quiet hang out time together. It's very comforting.

John is a very protective person, and the moment he catches on to those little changes in your behavior, he is really bothered by it.

Valentina swooped in during one of his lowest moments, and now he sees she tried to do it again.

That night you were all fighting with each other, John was probably the most mad.

Mad at Valentina, not really you, but it may not have looked like that.

"How do you not understand what’s happening here? You’re smart, but you’re letting her in after everything she’s done to each of us-"

When the dust had settled and you could eventually see what had been going on, you look back and you know that John was just worried about you. Sure, he's really not great at expressing it, but that's what it was.

You're healing physically and mentally, and he'll try to check in like a normal person.

"So. Yanno. How are you feeling? Does your... like, your arm hurt still?"

He always sounds like he's never comforted anyone before and he's just copying what he's seen other people do, but it's sweet anyway.

He regularly peeks his head into your room when the door's open to see how you're doing and to ask if you want to hang out. That's how he shows he's there to listen.

Alexei was the first to notice the little changes in your behavior. At first, he didn’t even know what kind of change it was, but it eventually became pretty clear what had started to happen: You haven’t been yourself lately, and it's because of Valentina.

It's like with Yelena all over again. "The light in your eyes has dimmed"

He did so much for you and was always there when you needed him, but he doesn't see that right now. All he can think to do is blame himself.

He feels like he wasn't present enough. He thinks that if he’d really done enough for you, Valentina wouldn’t have been able to sway you like this.

He's not too good about personal space or "alone time", but sometimes that's what helps. You never question whether or not he cares. He makes that pretty clear.

Bob. How do you think Bob reacted to this?

He finally sees it from the other side. When Valentina had tried to get close to him and win him over, it felt weird, but he was so vulnerable he fell for all of it. The memory makes him feel a little queasy.

Knowing it just happened to you too makes him feel sick to his stomach.

He feels like this is worse because Valentina's experimentations on him, inhumane as they were, left him invincible, whereas you've only got painful injuries to show for it.

Bob is mad.

He's as comforting to you as he can be. You're keeping to yourself even more than usual, so he gives you the space you want, but he's there if you need him.

If you try to reach out, even in a small way, he's there.

He doesn't want to act like anything's wrong. He doesn't want you to think he sees you any differently. It's difficult though, because you have changed. Maybe just a little, and maybe not forever, but it's hard to pretend everything's the same it's always been. You're so sad and withdrawn.

Valentina keeps a bit more distance after this. She may not be intimidated by the rest of the New Avengers, but she is kind of intimidated by Bob. He's a sweetheart, but it's hard for her to forget everything he's capable of and everything he did to NYC like a year ago.

To you, though, he's as sweet as ever.

They're all so worried about you, but this part of your life isn't forever. You trusted the wrong person and let it get between you and the life you've started, but your friends are there to help you.

That's because they 1) love you more than anything and 2) want to help you to live a life they didn't get to live. They all see pieces of themselves in you. They see parts of their past in your current situation. They know what they would've wanted and needed back then.

One day you're all sitting around and talking and nothing feels off anymore. No one notices at first, because everything's natural like it used to be.

One messy argument with some ugly consequences didn't ruin your life. Far from it. Everything will be like it was again, if not stronger, because they saw you when you were low and you all banded together to get through it.

#thunderbolts*#asks #new avengerz #platonic thunderbolts #thunderbolts x platonic!reader #x reader #platonic!reader #yelena x platonic!reader #bucky x platonic!reader #bob x platonic!reader #john walker x platonic!reader #alexei shostakov x platonic!reader #ava starr x platonic!reader

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peasack · 27 days ago

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Yesterday I Accidentally called my chemistry teacher dad and I was so embarrassed.

So that lowkey got ne into thinking what if you'd call the thunderbolts-men dad? So I brought that into reality, enjoy!!

Thunderbolts x Gn!Teen!Reader

✦Thunderbolts Accidentally Calling Them Dad Headcanons ✦

∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗

✦ John Walker

You were in the kitchen trying to open a stubborn jar of pickles when John passed by, towel slung over his shoulder, still sweaty from his morning run.

“Need help with that?” he asked, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

You held out the jar with a grunt. “Yeah, it’s like Fort Knox.”

He cracked it open easily, handed it back. You mumbled a thank you under your breath before saying—

��Thanks, Dad—uh. John. I meant John.”

Silence.

Your face went crimson as John blinked at you. You looked anywhere but at him. He set down the water bottle and tilted his head.

“…You called me Dad.”

“Yeah. Slipped out. Sorry.”

John was quiet for a second. Then he gave a small chuckle, half a breath, more real than most things he said.

“Well,” he said, voice softer than usual, “I’ve been called worse.”

You glanced at him, surprised. He looked a little flustered himself, lips twitching like he was trying not to grin.

“You want me to… stop calling you that?”

He shook his head. “Only if you want to. But if you do it again, I’m claiming the Father’s Day card.”

You rolled your eyes. “Deal.”

✦ Bucky Barnes

It was late. You were exhausted after school and halfway through asking Bucky something when it slipped.

“—and can you sign this field trip thing, Dad?”

You froze. He froze.

He looked up from his book, eyebrows raised slightly. His expression didn’t change much, but you could feel the tension in the air.

“I—sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just—habit. Or...brain slip. You know.”

Bucky didn’t speak for a beat.

Then, slowly, he nodded.

“…You sure that’s a bad thing?”

You looked at him, brows knitting. “What do you mean?”

He gave the tiniest smile. “You calling me that.”

You hesitated. “You don’t mind?”

“I think… it’d be nice, actually,” he said, voice gruff but honest. “If it came from you.”

Your heart thudded. You didn’t say anything, just quietly handed him the form. His metal hand brushed yours as he signed it.

Later, he left the signed paper on your desk, folded with a sticky note on top.

“Next time, just ask your old man directly.”

✦ Bob Reynolds

You were crying.

Not the loud, messy kind—just the quiet, brittle sort, tucked into the corner of the couch with your sleeves covering your face. Bob had come to check on you when he noticed you didn’t come down for dinner.

He sat next to you gently, not asking questions. Just offering a tissue and setting down a mug of tea.

After a while, when your voice finally returned, it cracked like glass.

“Thanks for… being here, Dad.”

It was a whisper. A whisper you didn’t realize you said until Bob’s breath caught.

You looked up at him, startled. “I didn’t—oh. I didn’t mean—”

He was looking at you with that soft, stunned expression. The one he got when something beautiful happened unexpectedly.

“…You sure?”

You blinked. “About what?”

“Calling me that. Do you want me to be?”

You opened your mouth. Closed it. Nodded.

He smiled. Small. Fragile. But it reached his eyes.

“Then I’ll be here. As long as you want.”

✦ Alexei Shostakov

You were yelling.

The TV was too loud. Alexei was hogging the remote. You just wanted to play your game without hearing an entire Russian action movie blaring in the background.

“Alexei, please turn it down—”

“No! Is dramatic climax! They are in helicopter with no fuel!”

“For the love of—Dad, please—!”

Silence.

The movie kept going, but neither of you heard it.

You clamped a hand over your mouth. “I didn’t—I mean—I’m—”

Alexei turned to you, eyes wide.

“…You called me Dad.”

You winced. “Yeah. Sorry. Reflex.”

He grinned like a kid who just won a prize.

“I am the dad! Yes! Finally!”

You groaned. “Don’t make it weird—”

“I will not! I am honored! You hear this? ‘Dad, please!’” He mimicked you terribly.

You threatened to throw a pillow at him. He caught it mid-air and gave you a one-armed hug, ruffling your hair like a proud giant.

“Is good day,” he said with a smile. “Very good day.”

∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗

AAAAAAAAA

oml I loved writing this, was highkey smiling the whole time.

If you guys want me to make one of calling the others mom leave a request! <3

#marvel #alexei shostakov #alexei shostakov x reader #bob reynolds #bob reynolds x reader #bob thunderbolts #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #john walker x reader #john walker #thunderbolts #platonic thunderbolts #thunderbolts x y/n #thunderbolts x reader #domestic thunderbolts #thunderbolts headcanons #Thunderbolts x teen!reader #marvel x reader #marvel x teen!reader

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creepycranberry · 1 month ago

Text

Nettles

John Walker X Reader

Synopsis: you’ve been missing for 20 years while John has been holding out hope that you’d come back to him.

Warnings: torture, angst, depictions of m*rder, blood, gore, violence, abuse, cursing, human experimentation, s*icidal ideation, much hurt, little comfort

A/N: this Will have a part two! <3

And I can’t find an actual name for John’s son but I saw another fic by @cursedheartsclub use the name Elijah so I’m gonna go with that. I’m working on writing relationships within groups so bear with me

Word count: 4.6k

—————————————————————————————————————

‘Dear John,

Things are okay. Works fine, Kelly got fired, thank god. I don’t know if I could handle dealing with her acting like a manager for another shift. Went on a date the other night and the guy was a dick. But I got to come home to your letter which was really nice. Definitely the highlight of my week.

I wish I could do something to help make things less bleak for you, though I know that’s impossible at this point. I won’t try to be positive for your sake because I know you hate it when people do that. I miss you a ton, when you come back I’ll be here, waiting. Maybe then I can make things a little better.

- Much love luck.’

John’s eyes are trained on the letter taped to his mirror. He’s going through the motions of putting on his tactical gear. He’s standing in the bedroom of his small dark apartment, getting ready for a mission that’s meant to be a walk in the park.

‘When you come back, I’ll be here.’

But you weren’t. You were gone by then. Nothing more than a photo on a murder board at a police station or fbi office.

If you’re still alive you’re not coming back to him, not at this rate, not after all of this time.

You were one of the only people he’d lost without it being his fault. If you are alive you are the last person on earth who may think of him as the boy he was as opposed to the rotten man people know him as now.

On the other side of the mirror is a photo of his son, a photo of his dad, and then a photo of you.

You look like your mom, he’d once seen a picture of the two of you at your grandparents house. Your mother was beautiful in her thirties, he now had to wonder if you would have been just as, if not more beautiful.

He figures he’ll be wondering that forever now.

—————

John’s simple, walk in the park mission was falling apart in his hands. The room was heating up at an alarming rate, he and two other seemingly trained assassins were running around like headless chickens, there was a woman in scrubs sat in the middle of the room with her head down, shes wearing a mask that looks like a muzzle and has seemingly no preservational instincts to be found, and a guy in pajamas just spawned here out of nowhere and is basically having a panic attack.

Now everyone’s just waiting for Ava, staring at the door, willing it to open.

When it does, everyone runs forward except for the woman, who is still frozen in place.

“Come on, we’ve got to go.” John says, trying to meet her eyes but she’s looking down, her hair in her face, thick and long like she hasn’t had a hair cut in years.

“I’ll be fine. Go ahead.” The woman says, her hair is in her face enough that he can’t see them but he feels her eyes on his, “I’m okay.”

I’m okay.

There’s something painful in how still she is, how ready. John simply lifts her, throws her over his shoulder and runs like hell.

She attempts to fall over the side of him and drop her weight but he won’t let her.

They get out just as the heat becomes overwhelming.

The impact of landing on the floor knocks the air out of her lungs and her hair falls back away from her face as the muzzle skids across the floor.

And then the whole world stops, the heat and the coughing and pain from the impact with the floor all fall away into static.

And now not even the floor can make him feel upright or grounded.

You look scared of him. You’re trembling almost, holding yourself back and pushing yourself backwards on the floor.

He says your name, it leaves his lungs like a death rattle. He says it again, and then one more time.

“I didn’t know you’d be here, i didn’t know it was you when I-I promise this was supposed to be-“

He bounds towards you and grabs your hand, crouching to hold your face in one of his hands. You close your eyes like you’re bracing for impact.

“You’re alive.” He breathes.

“I’m sorry,” tears well up in your eyes, your gaze trained on the blooming bruise on his jaw “I’m sorry.”

“Walker, what’s going on?” Yelena’s voice brings him back to the present, to where he is.

Everyone else is looking at the two of you, he doesn’t say anything, you don’t say anything.

“Okay, clearly we’re missing something but we don’t exactly have the time right now to hear the whole story. We need to get out of here.” Ava grouses.

John looks at you again, “dude, let go of her. She’s clearly petrified.” Bob walks over, lightly holding onto your other hand, “come on, no one’s gonna hurt you.” He mumbles to you. He helps you up, his eyes looking over your face as if he’s searching for injuries to appear.

John steps back, his mind reeling.

“Do you two know each other?” John’s asks him, now approaching Bob with a puffed chest and accusatory tone.

“I don’t remember much, I just know that she was in the lab with me. She’s flighty, she won’t even look you in the eyes if you’re being too aggressive.”

John pushes ahead, leering at Bob, “I wasn’t being aggressive.”

“You grabbed her face-“

“I needed a closer look-“

“And you couldn’t look and not touch?” Bob snaps.

“You-“

“Okay, okay. We swung our tiny dicks around, it was fun. Clearly the last thing this girl needs is any more yelling and fighting, Bob, go in the corner.” Yelena orders and though Bob barely knows her and he has no reason to have to listen to her, he does. She goes with him, talking to him calmly, he looks at ease with her.

John just keeps staring at you. He wants to apologize, he didn’t mean to be aggressive or to scare you. You looked so scared of him. He always thought if he was to see you again you’d be the one person who’d be the least scared. Because you knew him, if he scares you then maybe he’s not worth the reform.

Yelena steps towards you, her face set in a relaxed, open expression, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” You answer quickly, looking around her at Walker, “you should have just left me. I would have been fine.”

“You would have been incinerated!”

“There are worse things to go through, John.” You snipe and everyone seems a little taken aback by the bite in your tone.

“Okay, clearly there is a history here that I don’t fully understand,” yelena sighs, “strange girl, why don’t you sit with Bob while those of us who haven’t been victims to mysterious experiments in recent months figure out how to get through this.”

And though you don’t know this woman and you don’t have to listen to her, you do.

You sit in the corner with Bob, listening to everyone else bicker.

“Are you okay?” He mutters to you.

“I’m fine. I just have to get out of here.”

“I think that’s the common goal right now.” He says quietly.

“Yeah. Just one more rock.” You mutter.

“What?”

“I don’t know. Something some guy I shared a cell with used to say. One more rock. It’s like telling yourself you just have to do one more thing and then you get to that thing and then you just have to do the next thing. It was supposed to be like advice I guess.”

John watches the two of you as Ava and Yelena climb up into the elevator shaft.

Your expression is easy, it’s completely different compared to how you were looking at him earlier. You're talking to Bob like it doesn’t take any effort. Like he makes you comfortable.

“Come on, guys.” John calls over and the both of you stand. John gives you a boost into the elevator shaft, you don’t quite meet his eyes.

——————

You watch as John freezes, his mind going somewhere else as he stares down the elevator shaft.

You want to say something but someone beats you to it, getting his attention. He walks past you like you aren’t even there.

—————

You’re stuck with Walker, he’s waiting impatiently for yelena to give the signal, for the lights to go on.

“Come on, come on, come on.” He keeps mumbling to himself.

“Just be patient John.” You mumble to him.

His name on your lips has catastrophic consequences on him.

“I’ve been patient.” He croaks.

“John-“

“I’ve spent twenty years being patient, believing that you were alive and waiting for you to come back to me and this is how it happens? This is how you do this?”

“How I- you act like I’ve had a choice in any of this. Like I’m the one who decided that the best way to reconnect with you after decades was to end up in a vault preheated to a thousand.” You bite back.

“I just- I don’t get how you could be out in the world and not at least want to-“ John’s breathing starts to quicken, you can’t tell if it’s due to anxiety or rage.

“I didn’t have a choice, John. Believe me, I would much rather have been home, with you. Instead I was passed around from corrupt government agency to corrupt government agency like a lab rat. I wasn’t out in the world. If I was, I would have-“

There’s noise nearby, footsteps moving in time with other footsteps. John holds his hand over your mouth, being as gentle as possible.

“Fuck it-“ he mumbles, moving to do something he probably definitely shouldn’t do.

—————

you’re walking on foot through the desert.

John hands you a piece of cactus fruit and you take it tentatively, biting into it softly and listening to yelena and Ava talk about the sentry experiment.

“Were you part of this?” She asks you, holding up a piece of paper, “did you get the serum?”

You shake your head, “I was going to at some point I think? Or maybe that was something different. I don’t know. I’ve been injected with a lot of things, most of the time it hurts like hell but I’m the same at the end of it.”

“You wear that mask, like the one Bucky had as the winter soldier.” John pipes up.

“That’s what I’m meant to be, I think, or was I guess. But then hydra stopped being hydra, and I was sent some place else and then some other place and then hit the lab with Bob and now- now I don’t know.”

John’s gaze is intent upon you, soft and resigned.

——————

Bucky didn’t tie you up with the others, he didn’t expect to see you at all. He thought you were dead or some where living your life away from all of this.

He knew you as a scared girl in a cell. You never really talked, he never saw you much. You knew his name, you called him James when they tried to socialize the both of you with each other.

He didn’t know how you knew that, your handlers didn’t know how you knew that. Years later while going through files he found you again, a picture in a file with very limited notes.

You always reminded him of a doll, something breakable his sister used to take care of like it mattered the most. Maybe you just reminded him of her.

But he didn’t know you to be dangerous, or have abilities and he didn’t have the heart to look you in the eyes and restrain you. Made him feel too much like a handler chaining up his dog.

Everyone’s arguing, you’re sitting in the corner with your knees to your chest, waiting for direction, for something to start, or stop.

John says something to make Bucky chastise him like a child, “I know things have been hard since Olivia left you and took your kid-“

Olivia? He married Olivia?

You didn’t think he had it in him. You supposed he didn’t if she left.

He has a kid?

A hand waves gently in front of your face.

“Why are you with them?” Bucky asks you, hands on the tops of your arms.

John mumbles something under his breath that you choose to ignore, “they told you already. We were in a vault and it got hot and-“

Bucky's phone rings and he steps back, giving you an apologetic look.

He looks at the rest of the team, “Bob?”

“Bob!” They all exclaimed.

——��——

Bob wasn’t Bob anymore. He was something darker, something self important and unauthentic.

But he still doesn’t touch you, doesn’t hurt you. You’re not a threat to him. But when he steps towards you, monologuing. Something about your resilience and potential. He reaches out for you and you see John step forward in your peripheral vision. You look at him, a hand raising slightly at your side.

You can hold your own. You don’t need his protection anymore.

And maybe that’s what cuts him the deepest, or maybe it’s that there are suddenly two other random men in your life who have some semblance of who you’ve grown up to be and that was a luxury he was never afforded.

“You could be so much more than a perpetually failed experiment,” Sentry is telling you, “you could be so much more than these men who wish for you to hide behind them. And you know that.”

Your eyes are trained on the glowing embers of his irises, looking into him, trying to see if Bob is there somewhere. For a moment John thinks you’ll give in, that you’ll reach for Sentry’s reached out hand.

“The blond really isn’t your look.” You mumble, reaching out to move a stray hair from his face, “and your eyes look better blue.”

Something in the Sentry’s gaze hardens and he starts towards you, something holding him back enough to give Walker time to step between the two of you, “not her.” He says like it means something, like twenty years didn’t deter his fierce protectiveness of you, like he hadn’t had to grieve you like you were dead, like you’ve been alive to him the whole time.

The blows land but he keeps getting up, keeps stepping between a god and you.

—————

Everyone’s running away from each other, Walker sits with Yelena’s words, letting them sit heavy in his gut like weight he can never work off.

You start to make your way down the block, not knowing what to do but knowing that standing still is a worse fate than the torture you’ve been subject to these past years.

“I know I don’t have to protect you.” His voice comes like an angels, like a message from a god you spent years praying to, to no avail. When you turn to face him your eyes are as soft as he remembers them, “I don’t do it because I have to. I do it because I want to, because I didn’t when it counted and I’m trying to be better than how scared I was of you.”

“You were scared of me?” You ask softly, your eyes amused and alight.

“Terrified. I’ve never met anyone more petrifying.” His words are honest, rare coming from him.

You open your mouth to speak but then the world cracks above you and everything falls apart.

—————

John had broken through so many mirrors that if he ever gets out of this place he’ll be stuck with an eternity of bad luck.

He’s stuck with everything, he’s stuck in the middle of war, watching his best friend die, watching himself spill innocent blood, watching his head be stuck so far up his own ass that he couldn’t see that he was ruining everything for himself.

And then he hears humming, intentional melodic noise from somewhere beyond where he’s watching his team die. And then he sees you, in a puddle.

You’re kneeled in front of a little girl, your body shielding her from what’s happening around her. He doesn’t understand at first, he calls your name but your eyes are closed and you are only focused on the humming.

And then, as John reaches for you, a gunshot goes off.

He thinks it’s coming from his side but then he sees it tear through you, the world flips on its axis as he watches your blood drip slowly onto the floor under you, the humming still echoing.

He rests his head in the puddle just to fall in, his chest landing on the hardwood floor of a living room he’s not familiar with.

Everything starts over again, there’s a woman who looks so like you crying, begging for mercy as she stands before a man who has a knife in one hand and a pistol in the other.

He’s laughing, something in him seems broken, like he doesn’t see what’s happening in front of him, what he’s doing.

The woman is pregnant, heavily so. And she’s bleeding, red running down her chest and throat in droves.

He looks to you, blocking the little girl John’s just now realizing is you.

And then he knows what’s happening.

The man lifts the pistol, John tries to knock it out of his hands but he’s too late. The woman falls limp on the ground, blood and brain matter soaking the floor.

And then the man turns to you and the little girl, this time John does it, he grabs the gun from the man and the man lunges at him with the knife, he gets John in the shoulder but not before John pulls the trigger, shooting the man in the chest so he can get back to you.

Everything rewinds but he doesn’t try to undo this time, he just grabs your hands, “we have to go, sweetheart, we have to get out of here.”

Your face is tear streaked and you stop the broken humming to sob into his chest, “I can’t leave her, John. He scares her so bad, she’s so scared of him, John.”

“I know, she is, I know. But if we leave this will stop, she won’t have to see it anymore.” He reasons and you look back to the little girl whose eyes are trained on the fighting couple. You plant a lingering kiss to her forehead, letting John help you up and lead you out the front door.

It’s hot now, the sun beating down on the both of you as you try to assess where you are.

You hear a commotion at the end of the street. John sees a sixteen year old you. You're bleeding from the nose as you get up again, wiping your nose on your sleeve.

“Is it true that you dad killed your mom cause she was a whore?” A boy who’s very clearly a few years older than you bites.

“Shut up.” You say lowly, your voice nasally.

“My daddy says that your dad killed her because she was pregnant and the baby wasn’t his.” A girl calls from behind the boy.

“That’s not true.” You spit.

“It’s too bad you know you’re his. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll snap just like he did.” The boy leers.

And then a fist collides with his face. Not yours though, a sixteen year old John.

“Leave her alone.” He shakes his hand, turning to face you and look at your nose.

“I thought you already had a girlfriend, Walker.”

“I don’t need someone to mean something to me to want to be a decent person, jackass.” Young John spits.

Now John grabs your hand, pulling you into a shop that turns into a concrete floor and walls. You’re sitting on the floor, curled into yourself. You’re wearing a tank top, bruises bloom on your shoulder, throat and back.

Wheezing sounds leave you like you’re crying but every sob hurts.

You stare at yourself and John is overtaken by a nauseous feeling. This is what you were going through while he was at war and getting married and going to Lamar’s family functions like he’d moved on.

This is what they were putting you through.

The door opens and you tug on John’s hand, “we have to go John.”

John lets himself be pulled away as he watches men descend upon you, baring your neck to them by holding your hair back so they could inject something into you.

“John please.”

The begging cuts through John’s haze of self hatred and he comes to, following you as you smash a mirror that sits above a sink and jump through it.

And then you’re with Bob, and Yelena and everyone else is there too.

And then you’re following John as he barrels through Bob's past, his eyes intent on finding his way out.

——————

The world fades back in and you’re standing on the street, John firmly grasping your hand.

The team closes in on Val, you going along with John.

——————

It happened slowly, neither of you enjoyed living alone. You because you had a hard time feeling safe even in a group of people, and Bob because he liked to have somewhere to go because he couldn’t handle being stuck in his own head.

So while everyone else was on mission the two of you weren’t allowed to go on or know much about, you and Bob became roommates.

Neither of you announced it or even really talked about it, Bob just ended up with all of his things moved from his floor and into your guest room.

He liked how you decorated the space, how you never used the big lights, only string lights and soft lamps. He liked that you always had a record playing in the background in the living room.

Mel had someone come to design a speaker system for your apartment because she noticed that when she would come to your apartment to inquire about your schedule and when your appointments for therapy and various medical tests and scans, and you would always have your headphones in, noises playing so you didn’t have to sit quiet and alone.

Bob liked that you didn’t speak to him first thing in the morning, he liked that you cooked every night. You taught him how to cook things your grandmother grew up making you.

John had given you the cookbook in a box of things your grandmother had left him for you, “just in case you ever came back. She wanted-“ John throat was thick with grief, the loss of the woman who was his only living connection to you aside from olivia heavy and weighing down on his emotions, “she wanted you to be able to feel at home, even if she couldn’t make home for you.”

You cried the whole night. Everything in the box smelled like her and the home you grew up in.

Bob sat in the room with you while you cried. He didn’t say anything, didn’t try and comfort you because he knew he couldn’t fix it.

He sat on the armchair in your living room and pretended to read, plucking tissues from the box o the table beside him every once in a while to give to you.

You liked having someone in the apartment with you. It’s hard to make a home feel like a home when you’re doing it entirely by yourself.

John didn’t realize you and Bob were living together for weeks. He was just sitting at your kitchen counter one day, watching you make lunch, when Bob came out of the bathroom, hair wet and soaking through the neck of the T-shirt he was wearing.

John didn’t mind it necessarily. He understood almost, he just wished you’d turn to him when you felt alone.

The both of you were building your relationship back slowly.

For the first few weeks, before missions started weighing on his time more and more, he spent almost every afternoon sitting with you, showing you movies and music he had been keeping note of while you were gone, because he thought you’d like them. He was right about 60% of the time.

It didn’t really sink in how odd you suddenly living again was until Olivia saw you for the first time.

She liked you in high school, she enjoyed going to the drive in with you when John was busy with football games and practice. John wanted the both of you to be good friends and you both ended up becoming closer than he could have hoped for.

The first time she saw you was when John brought you to their divorce hearing because he knew it would be hard for him and he knew Olivia would want to see you. And she did, her face had a look of relief that almost made you feel okay.

She hugged you tight, and for the only time the entire hearing, she looked at John and thanked him for bringing you. You went to lunch with her after, John headed home and probably to the bar down the street with Yelena.

Olivia dropped you off later, hugging you for a full minute before letting go and saying goodbye, like you might disappear again.

The first time you met Elijah was John’s first weekend with him, a trial run for him and Olivia to see how co parenting would be in the tower.

Olivia and John sat in the living room and watched Elijah interact with you. You’d always been good with kids, it was instinctual almost, a deep seated need to protect their innocence and love them as much as possible.

Elijah liked you fine, he handed you pieces of plastic fruit and named them to you, offering them to you like food, expecting you to pretend to eat them.

John enjoyed watching you with Elijah. You smiled the entire time he was with you, laughed more than and louder than normal. A bubbly sound that caused Olivia and John to share a rare smile.

Now on his weeks Elijah stayed with you while John went on shorter mission, overnight ones where he left one morning and was back the next, entering your apartment to find you trying to convince Elijah to eat breakfast while he watched PBS kids on the tv.

And now that Bob was living with you he was spending time with Elijah as well. He was tentative at first, sitting on the exact opposite side of the room from the child.

It took convincing from you for Bob to actually sit on the couch with the child but once he did he was so captivated by the little boy. He’d do anything Elijah wanted.

One day you came into the living room after taking a shower to find Bob being led in circles around the couch because Elijah was holding his hand and he didn’t want to take it away from him.

You were enjoying how loud life had gotten, between your music and Bob and Elijah’s laughter and John’s footsteps down the hall from the elevator and to your room, you’d forgotten to be scared.

————————————————

Tag list: @linkpk88 @aureliacalista

#john walker #john walker x reader #john walker angst #john walker fluff #john walker thunderbolts #john thunderbolts #platonic!Bucky Barnes x reader #bob reynolds #bob reynolds angst

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dameronspector · 1 month ago

Text

Challengers (Avengers edition)

Pairings: Joaquin Torres x Fem!Stark!Reader (Established Relationship); Bob Reynolds x Fem!Stark!Reader

Summary: Coming back from a mission, you discover that Bucky has joined a whole new team, lead by a freak like Valentina. In order to get information and protect Sam, you and Joaquin decide to visit Bucky and his new team before taking the next step. But a certain golden boy laid his eyes on you and is instantly head over heels. How will everyone navigate this, especially when you have a boyfriend?

Warnings: Fuff, Banter, Angst, Cameos, Joaquin loves Reader a LOT, Joaquin being a cutie, SamBucky being angsty husbands and protective dads, Poor Bob suffers :(, Mentions of Bob’s Addiction and Mental Illnesses, Yearning and Longing from Bob, Jealous!Joaquin, Jealous!Bob, Reader is a littleeee short tempered, Reader is mentioned to have hair long enough to be let down loose, thats all i think! Let me know if i should add something else!

DISCLAIMER: i have not seen challengers yet, this is just my imagination and i have shifted some events from thunderbolts to fit the time frame better for the fic.

AN: this was so juicy to cook……I love the concept of both of these men loving me and yearning over me. HEHE. 😛 Enjoy!

If someone would've told you a few years ago, that you'd be in the same team as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, you would've laughed in their face.

And if someone would’ve told you that you’d start dating Sam Wilson’s protégé, you’d maybe chuckle.

But if someone would've told you that Bucky Barnes would join a government controlled Avengers team, you'd have laughed hysterically because there's no way, that the man who fought against your father about letting the government handle the Avengers would do this, right?

Wrong.

Here you were, fuming on the couch at Sam’s base, with Joaquin, your boyfriend, sitting on your right, with his usually composed face hardened with anger.

And poor Sam, he was simply leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees, face set into an upset frown, eyes slightly glossy.

You see, the news channels were flashing with the hottest news of the hour: 'CIA Director, Valentina Allegra De Fontaine forms her own Avengers team: The New Avengers.'

The members?

Yelena Belova: Ex-Widow and Natasha Romanoff’s sister.

Alexei Shostakov: Russian Super Soldier, Yelena and Natasha’s ‘father’.

Ava Starr: Most Wanted Assassin in 15 countries.

John Fucking Walker: Grade A Asshole, your personal enemy.

Some guy named Bob: who wasn’t even visible in the footage?

And the sixth member? None other than James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes.

The same James Barnes, that had visited you three a few months ago, after Joaquin’s accident and had hugged you while you cried into his suit.

The same James Barnes, that had hugged Sam and said that he loved him, his first ever admittance to another human, since he went under the ice.

The same James Barnes, that had told Sam that he believed in him to reestablish the Avengers and lead them, and that he’d be the first one to join his team.

And now all this. Him in the same team as John Walker? In a team that was formed by Valentina? Evil and corrupt Valentina, who was also the CIA director? He didn’t even think once about consulting Sam?

Boy, were you pissed.

You see, the three of you were off completing an assignment in Belgium for the past week. Which means, that you had completely missed out on the whole blackout stuff that happened.

The team was a proper mess, and you had just entered the base when Sam received a call from Sarah, asking him turn on the TV immediately.

You dropped your bags and settled down in front of the TV, watching the atrocious press conference with Bucky standing there in the background.

“Has he—is he serious right now?!”, you glowered, looking at the TV screen and then Sam, incredulously.

“Dude. This should be considered treason like, I don’t care”, Joaquin added, looking at Sam with his face awash in irritation.

Sam let out a weary sigh, “Guys, just…leave it”, he lifted the remote and turned the TV off, sinking into the couch with a hand dragging down his face.

You exchanged a worried look with Joaquin, who noticed your clenched fists and gently held them in his hands, thumbs caressing the back of them to soothe your anger.

As if it wasn't bad already, your phones went off, notifications pinging one after the other. Joaquin opened his phone and sighed, showing the texts from the group chat you'd made for Sam's Avengers.

The Avengers

Ant-man: Did you guys check the news?

Kate: @/Sam Wilson what are we going to do about this😵‍💫

Carol Danvers: What's going on?

Princess Shuri: is that Bucky??? and is that Ross’s ex wife??? has white boy lost it?? im sending this shit to ayo

Shang-Chi: @/Carol Danvers Bucky joined a new team 🤐 Turn on NBC

Kamala: Umm...@/Scott Lang isn't that Ghost...😦

Ant-man: @/Kamala Khan Yes, she is...I didn't know she was allowed to roam around in public..

Kate: @/you where are you girl

Kamala: omgggg yessss @/you the audience needs you here

Carol Danvers: @/Sam Wilson Should I come over? What is our next plan of action?

Shang-Chi: @/Joaquin Torres Don't leave us on seen bro tf

You groaned and Sam looked up at the noise, his eyes narrowing at you two.

"What is it?", he mumbled.

"The team is going crazy, Sam. Princess Shuri is talkin' about sending this news to the Dora", Joaquin replied, his fingers still scrolling through the endless chats. He put up a text in the chat that he was with Sam and you right now and that's why none of you were answering the texts.

"Sam, we need to do something. At least sue them, or whatever. They can't just take up the name like that", you argued, fingers fidgeting with each other restlessly.

You were never known for your patience, much like your dad. Always bouncing off the walls with stress and your short temper. And now that he wasn't around to keep you grounded, you just got worse. Your grief bleeding into your frustration. And right now, Bucky was not helping you by abandoning you, Sam and Joaquin like that. Just when you thought that it was all falling into line, Valentina had to fuck it up and break your family apart, again.

"Can we even do that?", Joaquin asked in confusion.

Sam beat you to it, "Yes, but it'll be messy. We need a good lawyer for that. And besides, I don't wanna hurt him.."

“Nobody wants to hurt Bucky. But you can’t possibly excuse this…this stupidity, yeah? And we’ll get the best lawyers in the entire country. You’re Captain America, don’t forget that”, you urged earnestly.

Sam exhaled deeply, closing his eyes before continuing, “I need some time to think about it. I’ve gotta meet Riri Williams and this Spider-Man after that. We’re doing nothin’ for now.”

He sat up and grabbed his phone, about to get ready to leave for New York to meet up with Riri Williams, the team’s possible new member.

“And both of you aren’t going anywhere, you hear me? I swear, if I see y’all’s faces on the TV or in the papers, you’re benched. For months, this time. We’ll do this legally. And we need to be as careful as we can be, to make our case stronger”, he chided gently, his face stern as if he was saying there would be no arguments about this.

He was referring to the time you’d confronted Walker outside the police station, after Bucky was bailed. Walker being a piece of shit, gave an interview about it and trash talked you in public, basically. All that PR training that Pepper had taught you, had gone out of the window when you saw Walker’s arrogant face.

You swore that you’d punch him atleast once, then.

You grumbled at Sam’s words, Joaquin immediately responded in defense.

“Dude, come on. We gotta give it back to them! Bucky will understand, he probably even hates being there. None of them look like they wanna be there, if I’m gonna be honest”, he shrugged and smiled in disbelief.

Sam chuckled and messed your hair, patting Joaquin’s back after.

“Don’t let her do somethin’ dumb”, he teased, making you grumble once again.

Sharing a smile with Joaquin, he promptly left the room and prepared to leave.

After Sam left, you absentmindedly made your way back to the living area, plopping down on the couch with your teeth stressing your lips.

In your daze, you didn’t notice Joaquin sit down next to you, his eyes trained on the lost look on your face.

He could see the gears turning around in your head. He knew exactly what you were thinking. Knew it right after he saw you gasp at the news. Nudging you slightly, he brought you out of your trance, you jumped before looking at him with furrowed brows.

“You’re gonna meet Bucky anyways”, he simply stated, brown eyes shimmering knowingly. He knew you too well.

You paused, giving him a sheepish smile. He chuckled and kissed your cheek, standing up to bring his laptop to the couch. You watched him go in amusement.

“Well, we gotta see where they’re headquartered first, Miss Stark. Then, we ride at dawn!”, he quipped as he sat back down next to you.

“Wait. Really? You’ll help?”, you asked in disbelief. Him breaking Sam’s rules wasn’t shocking, but he was protective of you. You thought he’d listen to Sam and make you stay back.

His hands jumped across the keyboard, him replying to you without taking his eyes off from the screen, “Of course, baby. I’m not letting our cyborg hurt our old man like that. And, I’d love to punch Walker as well, so...”, he trailed off and flashed you a dopey smile, one that made his cheeks look squishable.

You shook your head, pinching his cheek gently. He leaned into it before going back to his research. The sunlight coming in from the large window behind you made his golden skin look like he was the sun himself, his flannel making him look cozy.

A few beats passed and he suddenly froze, hands gripping the laptop tightly and lips pursed, eyebrows scrunched in distress. You instantly straightened up, your hand falling from his cheek and resting on his shoulder instead.

“What is it?”, you asked in urgency, your mind already conjuring unrealistic scenarios.

He looked at you nervously, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“Joaquin, just say it, I’m freaking out”, you pleaded, a hand squeezing his shoulder.

“They…Do you know what happened to the Tower?”, he murmured hesitantly.

You made a face, “The tower? You mean, the Avengers Tower?”

Joaquin nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah, Dad sold it to Valentina- or rather, OXE, after the Sokovia shit”, you informed.

“Uh—what are the chances of you guys-like, the Starks- having any control over it?”, he asked hesitantly.

You frowned, “Well, none, because she owns it now. If she suddenly decided to auction it, then it’s possible. Stark Industries can buy it back. Why?”

Joaquin pursed his lips and shifted the laptop so that it faced you, “Baby, she’s made the Tower the official HQ of their team.”

“What?”, you blurted out, a deep ache settling into your chest, your hands moving on their own accord and grabbing the laptop, reading the headline displayed on the screen.

‘“As they say: History repeats itself!”’—CIA Director Valentina De Fontaine speaks out about turning the iconic landmark, 'Stark-turned-Avengers' Tower into her new team’s HQ!’

You gritted your teeth so hard, your gums hurt. Joaquin could feel the anger radiating off you, the emotion mixed with a high bout of grief and sadness. The kind that came after going through too much shit for too long. The kind that came from bone deep exhaustion and a weird mixture of emotions.

He knew that. And he knew you.

He knew you weren’t taking this easy. This was personal. That tower was your home, made by your father, a place where you’d spent a good chunk of your childhood, a place where your family spent most of their time together.

Now? Now it belonged to that manipulative leech who was trying to pull you all down. And she was parading it around like it was some fucking trophy. Like the legacy was a joke to her.

“We’re going. Now. I don’t—”, you choked on the lump your throat, Joaquin extending an arm to tuck his hand behind your ear, thumb gently caressing under your eye.

“I know, I know. We’ll be going. But not now, okay?”

You opened your mouth to disagree when he stopped you, the other hand coming up to brush your hair behind your ear.

“Listen to me, angel. We’ll go tomorrow, yeah? Let Sam settle in New York. He’s gonna introduce Riri and Kate, will have a meeting with them tomorrow, so he’ll be busy. Till then, we’ll also get some time to think and plan before marching there. I understand how you’re feeling. But we need to be careful, okay?”, he soothed you, hands cradling your face like you were made of glass, eyes oozing with concern and love.

Your bottom lip trembled, unable to hold your tears back after his gentle words. What did you do to deserve him?

He set the laptop aside, bringing you in his arms and letting you bury your head in his chest. A hand came behind your head to keep you there, the other hand smoothing over your back and his lips pressed into your hair.

You fisted his flannel tightly in your hands, tears dampening the soft fabric of the t-shirt he wore inside the flannel, sniffling constantly as more tears fell.

“It’ll be okay. I promise”, he murmured, lips brushing against your hair.

Although, you weren’t sure it’d be as easy as it sounds.

“We’re not entering from the main entrance.”

Joaquin looked up in confusion at your words, “What?”, his hands halting on the cursor as he scoured through Valentina’s files to get some more information on her.

It was the next day, Sam had been busy in meeting with Kate and Riri, as Joaquin had said. The two of you were planning to visit Bucky today, in the Tower, but it needed to be done discreetly. Without the media finding out.

You came up with the only option you knew: using your suits to get in.

You pursed your lips before smirking, “You know, there’s a launch pad in the Tower for a reason, right?”

Joaquin’s eyebrows creased before his face lit up with realisation.

“You mean, the suits? Angel, at least you can hide yours but Sam will take away my privileges to fly, for sure”, he quipped nervously, hating the fact that he’d lie to Sam but also thrilled at the thought of entering the Tower with his wings. He loved his wings like he’d birthed them.

You walked over to his chair and hugged him from behind, leaning down to press your cheek against his. His hands came up to hold your forearms, nuzzling his face back against yours.

“I know. I’ll help you, don’t worry. And you’re literally his son, when has he ever been strict with you?”, you teased lightly and he chuckled. He definitely took advantage of the fact that Sam had a soft spot for him.

It reminded you of someone, but you blanked out, your mind restarting mid-thought. As if you weren’t supposed to think of that.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay. But—”, he turned his face to look at you in the eye, “You’re gonna stay calm and protect your peace, hm? I don’t want you to stress about those dollar store Avengers more than it’s necessary”, he proposed, his eyes darting from your lips to your eyes, admiring your side profile. How did he manage to get distracted every time he looked at you, was beyond him, but it was always a welcome distraction.

You bit the inside of your cheek in thought. You both knew that was going to be a task, because you’re not qualified to be a Stark if you don’t have the drama and flair in you. It was natural.

“We’ll tackle that problem when it arises. For now, let’s move before we lose our window”, you murmured, nuzzling your nose against his lightly.

Joaquin hummed and brought you closer with a hand on your cheek and pressed a loving kiss to your lips.

Bob’s POV

Bob was having a relatively normal day.

Well, as normal as it got for being a new avenger, moving into the Tower with a bunch of assassins, and battling with his own powers and demons, then yes, it was a normal day.

He woke up, had waffles and his iced coffee and lounged on the sofa in the living room, with a book in his hands. They had another press conference today, the rest of the team buzzing around the area, minus him, because he was not cleared for any activity for the next few months, at least.

He was fine with it, honestly, having no energy to put up with the other guys and the memory loss that followed. He had promised Yelena and Bucky that he’d go to therapy, Bucky even suggested his own therapist, saying that she’s a bit tough, but she gets the work done. Bob agreed to taking a trial session with her and proceed further.

“Where the hell is Ava?!”, Yelena cried out in irritation, stomping into the room.

Bob looked up from the page he was reading, Yelena panicking around the room, John sauntering in like he owns the place, Bucky looked perpetually tired and Alexei was missing. Ava too, apparently.

“She might be inside the walls, knock on ‘em, maybe”, John quipped.

“Shut up, John, I don’t need your lame jokes right now. Bob, have you seen Ava?”, she asked heatedly, hands resting on her hips.

That’s when he noticed—all of them were wearing nice clothes. Like, tailored suits for the guys and a formal dress for Yelena, their hair set perfectly and faint scent of perfume wafting in the air.

Bob was surprised. All of them looked really good. He stood out like a sore thumb in front of them, his oversized blue sweatshirt and black joggers making him look smaller and homely.

“I’m not sure, she’s not been here since I came in…”, he trailed off, his blue eyes looking at Yelena sheepishly.

She huffed, pressing a hand to her forehead, “Valentina is already on our ass and now Ava decides to disappear, I’m—”

“Wowww. That was an oscar worthy performance. Although you could relax, I’m here.”

Ava suddenly appeared behind John, who jumped at her voice next to him.

“Fuck—what is wrong with you?!”, he scowled.

Ava quirked an eyebrow, “Seriously? Whatever happened to being in the military and being a decorated soldier—”

“Don’t go there—”

“And being in several war zones, like oh, look at me! I’m John Walker! I’m fearless—”

“Oh, shut up—”

“QUIET.”

The entire room was quiet after Yelena’s shout.

“Both of you, shut the fuck up! Valentina has dressed us in these super tight, uncomfortable, fancy clothes and is going to show us off like we’re some trophies, so you better get your shit together and move”, she ordered. Furiously.

Bob was watching the whole scene with his mouth open, Bucky couldn’t be anymore bothered, and Ava and John had to decency to look ashamed.

Bob was having a normal day.

But then they heard some noises coming from the launch pad and all of them stiffened up. Bob was the closest to the window, so he slowly stood up, resting his book face down on the couch.

Bucky slowly raised his head in confusion, Ava and John exchanged a look and Yelena walked a little closer to Bob to protect him.

“What the hell is that?”, John grumbled from above the sofa pit, his face scrunched up as he tried to decipher what or who was there.

Bob’s curiosity peaked. He shuffled closer to Yelena so that he could get a clearer look at the pad and then—

He saw a flash of red and silver. A pair of thrusters. And a flash of green and silver behind.

The green and silver belonged to a guy, that much was clear. But the red and silver suited person had their face covered. There was something distinctly familiar about the red suit.

They found out soon enough, when Bucky finally spoke up behind them.

"Oh, fuck", he groaned lowly.

And the two figures finally stepped in.

The guy with the green and silver wings had curly, dark hair. His jaw was clenched tightly, eyes trained on the entire team as if they had personally hurt him by simply existing.

And that's when John spoke up, "Hold on. Torres?", he exclaimed and looked at Bucky, who was looking at his shoes instead.

"So, that's-", John didn't get a chance to finish that sentence because the red and silver suit dissolved and revealed you.

Bob almost fainted.

Because not only were you The Tony Stark's eldest daughter, who was an all rounder and a literal hero, but you were also drop dead gorgeous.

Clad in a simple emerald green cardigan and dark blue, high waisted jeans with shoes, your soft and luscious hair was let down loose, not a single strand out of place, a dainty silver necklace rested just below your collarbones, weighted down by a red pendant, which is where the suit disappeared in.

And your eyes. Oh, your eyes. Bob could just feel the power radiating off them, your body held in such elegance and poise that he was feeling intimidated to even stand in front of you.

It felt like time had slowed down for him, and while he was busy fawning over you, he didn't take notice of the fury inside your eyes and how they were piercing through Bucky.

"Whoa, whoa. Who are you, and what is going on here, huh?", Yelena protested, looking at you, John and then Bucky.

Your sharp gaze shifted to Yelena, "I'm gonna excuse that, only because you're Nat's sister. But this is my house, as my father literally built this place and also because your team has kept my family member hostage. So, please, don't interrupt."

Yelena blinked in shock. Bob stared at you in awe.

"Barnes, what the hell?", you called him out, your face tugged into a sneer.

Bob managed to turn his head around and saw Bucky wince. The Winter Soldier just winced at the words of someone. The same Bucky who didn't even smile around them. If he was being honest, Bob found you incredibly hot at that moment.

"Hold on, what are you doing here, (Name)? And Torres? Really? We weren't gonna hurt her or anything", John scoffed.

"Oh god", Bucky murmured lowly and shook his head in disagreement at John's words.

Bob suddenly turned around, his breath hitching when his eyes passed you, before they landed on the guy next to you- someone whom Walker kept calling 'Torres.'

This...Torres guy was attractive, sure. But he was standing way too close to you and that caused Bob's jaw to tick in irritation.

Torres chuckled, "Actually, be glad that she didn't come alone, Walker. Now that I'm here, she might think of carrying this forward peacefully", he shrugged casually.

Bob didn't miss the way Torres’ eyes shone with pride when he talked about you. He felt an ache in his chest, again.

"I'd listen to him", Bucky rasped and the entire room looked at him in shock.

Bob almost laughed as he thought: did you beat Bucky in combat?

"I need to talk to you. Alone", you admitted, arms crossed around your chest, face set tightly as you looked at Bucky.

He pursed his lips and nodded grimly, "Let's go-"

"No, no, hold on. You can't just come here and take him away. We have a press conference to attend-", Ava protested and was cut off with your scoff.

"You know damn well, you don't give a fuck about that. And I can take him away, because he’ll join me willingly, isn't that right, James?", you quipped.

Bucky swallowed and met Ava's piercing gray eyes, Yelena and John observing him closely.

Bob's eyes darted from you and Bucky, lingering on you for longer.

"Guys, I'll...I'll be back. Come on, there's a room-"

"I know", you cut Bucky off and gestured Torres to join you.

And Bob wished he hadn't looked at you then, because Torres had his hand on your lower back and he looked at you with so much concern, that it made Bob clench his hands tightly, his blue irises surrounding themselves with a golden ring.

Bob watched the two of you go, Torres’ hand touching you so gently, as if you were something precious (you were.)

The worst part of it though? You didn’t stop him. It looked like the world was mocking him for even thinking about falling for someone as out of reach as you.

And soon enough, he felt that demeaning, cocky voice echo in his mind: ‘You’re out of your depth, Bob. She’d never look at someone as broken as you.’

And he slowly felt himself slip, the lights flickering around him when Yelena put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise.

“Bob? What’s up? You’re doing the…thing”, Yelena asked in concern, her eyebrows creased tightly.

Bob swallowed thickly, a trembling hand coming up to rub his eyes.

“Uh- nothing. I’m-I’m okay. I’m alright. Don’t worry”, he replied nervously, voice pitched high because of the lump stuck in his throat.

How was he going to tell her that he had just fallen in love with somebody he was meeting for the first time?

“Bucky, why’d you do this?”, you almost whined, your glossy eyes looking up at him in disbelief and hurt, the front that you had put up out there, had completely disappeared. There was just a deep betrayal shining in your eyes, your body coiled tight with tension.

Joaquin was torn between glaring at Bucky and pulling you in his arms, your teary eyes and the ache rolling off your body hitting him in waves.

Bucky stood there helplessly, his own tearful eyes were trained at his shoes, hands clenched tightly which caused his vibranium arm to whirr softly.

“Sam has been working so hard”, your voice cracking at ‘hard’.

“He’s been going to one end of the world to the other, just to recruit people. Half of them are either dead or off world. The pressure is on him. You know he gets scrutinised for everything he does. All this time, we held out hope that you’d join, just like you’d promised. And now you’re going against him? You guys wanna make history repeat itself and become Tony Stark and Steve Rogers? You promised!”, you jabbed a finger in his chest.

Bucky stumbled back and looked up at you, hurt flashing over his face like a splash of water.

“No, don’t cry, kid, please”, he almost begged, his hands held up in a placating gesture.

You sniffled, vision blurry from the tears pooling in your eyes.

“Man, do you have any excuse for this? We get back from a mission to find out that New York was in a backout, and you were standing there, behind the devil herself, with a whole new team, with the same name!”, Joaquin said incredulously.

“I know, I know. I didn’t do this on purpose. I swear, (Name)”, he pleaded.

You frowned, “What does that mean, Bucky? You can’t be possibly saying that someone forced you.”

“Not forced. Valentina has threatened to release the files and documents related to us in the public if we don’t cooperate”, he clarified.

“But, it’s not like they don’t know about you?”, Joaquin asked in confusion.

“True. But she’ll put back the parts that were omitted. And she’ll get us acquitted of all the crimes we were pardoned for.”

You furrowed your brows, “What? Maybe she should look into the mirror once, because I know shit about her that she wishes I didn’t.”

And then he told you about everything that lead to this. The vault, the mission, the Sentry project, the Void, Bob's profile—everything.

“You mean, that blackout thing, that was because of one, singular guy?”, Joaquin sputtered, his face frozen with an incredulous look.

“Yeah. And…he’s here. He’ll live with us now”, Bucky replied tentatively, watching you closely.

You frowned as you realised Valentina’s intentions, “You said he struggled with addiction and mental illnesses. So, Valentina is manipulating him to become the Sentry and the blackout thing?"

"Yep. All that happened because she provoked him to hurt everyone", Bucky sighed before continuing, “He’s not dangerous when he’s not being…the other guy. The guy who was standing next to Yelena? That’s him. Bob. He’s actually not allowed to leave the tower for a while, so…”

Joaquin froze, “Wait, Bob. We saw his name in the news but….we couldn’t see him?”

Bucky scoffed, “When he’s not being an all powerful god, he hates social interactions. Very awkward and shy. Think me, but from a few years ago.”

You made a surprised voice, “Huh. He’s the guy in the blue sweatshirt?”

Bucky nodded. You sighed, mulling the fact over. Joaquin chewed on his lips.

“Anyways…we need to send her ass to jail, Bucky. What are you gonna do next?”, you asked. Waiting for him to propose something before you could spoil Sam’s plans.

Bucky let out a bone deep sigh. The exhaustion clearly written across his face, “I don’t know. They’re all just as hopeless as me, if not worse.”

“Hold on. That reminds me, Walker?”, Joaquin quipped, his arms tightly crossed around his chest.

You perk up, “Oh, yeah. What, you’re buddies with him suddenly? Is this an enemies to lovers thing?”, your eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Bucky sputtered, “No, no. It’s not like that. You—”, he let out a breath before continuing, “Okay, there’s no friendship or anythin’ between me and Walker. I just have to put up with him. I don’t even talk to them much, apart from Yelena and Bob. But, getting back to the topic at hand, no, we can’t do anything against Valentina right now. My hands are under rocks. I’m sorry, kid.”

His face had melted into a sad puppy look, one that made him look older and exhausted. Like he just needed a nap.

And you felt your anger melt away. You could never stay mad at him and his puppy dog eyes for long, anyways.

“Sam…is he…how is he?”, he asked softly, his voice getting caught at Sam’s name. You and Joaquin exchanged a look.

The two men were practically each other’s soulmates. This was killing them more than any one else.

“Oh, he’s proper mad at you. Blocked you and everythin'”, Joaquin decided to tease. You elbowed him gently, coaxing a small chuckle out of him, his shoulder bumping against yours.

Bucky’s jaw clenched, “Not surprised”, he said dryly.

You clicked your tongue, “Shut up, Jay”, chiding Joaquin gently. He pressed a kiss to your temple as an apology.

“He’s naturally upset, Buck. Just…try talking to him. It’s better if the two of you converse with each other, rather than us being the mediators, yeah? You guys will figure something out. He’s broken the law for you, twice. What’s one more time?”, you reminded him gently, a hand resting on his arm.

Bucky looked at you and gave you a nervous smile, vibranium hand coming up to cover yours on his arm.

“See? We’ll get the band back together just fine, angel”, Joaquin smiled, tapping Bucky’s shoulder with the back of his hand. Bucky looked at it and stared at Joaquin blankly.

“Tell your boyfriend to tone it down with me, doll”, he deadpanned.

Joaquin gasped dramatically. You giggled.

“C’mon. I’ll introduce you to them”, he urged, pulling you and Joaquin with him to the main area.

The team was now seated around the sofa pit, mindless chatter and bickering being passed back and forth. They stopped when you entered, looking at you warily instead.

The sight almost gave you a very real flashback.

Instead of Yelena, you saw Natasha. Instead of John, it was Steve. You could hear their laughs, your dad and Steve’s useless arguments, Pepper fussing over your dad, Rhodey and Thor annoying Bruce. It felt real.

You almost smiled, your eyes teary and lips twitching, when Joaquin pulled you out of it.

“Baby? You okay?”, he murmured into your ear, hand smoothing over your back.

You snapped back to the present, suddenly feeling everyone’s eyes on you and you shrunk back, Joaquin’s arm coming around your waist to ground you.

“Alright, stop staring at her, you’re putting her on the spot”, Bucky announced and all of them coughed, shifting their attention to Bucky instead.

You looked around the room skeptically and that’s when you saw him.

Bob. Clad in a blue sweatshirt, black joggers. His hair was curly and shabby, brown in colour and it fell around his face in waves. Are we sure this was the same man who was deemed as a weapon?, you thought.

Joaquin seemed to have been observing him too. But he noticed his nervous and jittery body language. The way he made himself small, even though he was 6 foot tall, at least. How could this man be capable of ending the world with just a flick of his hand?

Another thing that Joaquin’s sharp eyes noticed: Bob’s eyes kept nervously darting around the room, lingering on you every now and then. Except, Bob’s eyes lingered on you for too long. A dazed look on his face whenever they landed on you.

Joaquin made note of that and kept a close eye on him, just to test something. His hand brought you closer to his side, finding comfort in your warm body pressed against his.

“I’m sure you all know who she is. She’s (Name) Stark, Tony Stark’s daughter, philanthropist and genius. You might also know her as Iron-Lady, her alter ego”, Bucky introduced you to the others.

Of course, John had to speak up first.

“I’d introduce myself, but you know me already, so”, he smiled like a dumbass.

“Unfortunately”, you deadpanned and everyone snickered.

Except Alexei, who chortled like a bear. John grimaced and covered his ears, as the man began talking in that thick Russian accent of his.

“You very funny, Miss Stark. I like that. I like funny people. Welcome to the team. I will give you a customised track suit as well. Just—”

“Dad, stop it, she's not joining the team”, Yelena groaned.

“Why’d you say unfortunately, I—”

“Why wouldn’t she join, Lena? This merch so soft. I bet she’s never felt anything like this before—”

“She’s literally royalty, you idiot-”

“All of you, shut up”, Bucky ordered and suddenly the room fell quiet. You and Joaquin looked at him impressively.

The role of a leader suited him quite a lot. You felt your heart bloom in pride, to be very honest. And you were sure, that Sam would be very proud as well. More reason for Bucky to be a part of Sam's team, instead of this mess.

Suddenly a voice spoke up from next to Yelena, “And who’s that?”

All eyes snapped to look at Bob, who’d asked the question. He’d not said a word until now, his eyes intently focused on Joaquin and you.

Joaquin narrowed his eyes in challenge, the team exchanging confused glances, Bucky observing the situation closely.

“Uh…That’s Captain Joaquin Torres. He’s in the Air Force and he’s Sam’s protégé. The new Falcon”, Bucky gestured towards Joaquin.

Joaquin gave everyone a two fingered salute, his eyes lingering on Bob, who clenched his jaw.

Alexei’s eyes widened again, “Air force?! Oh, you do great work, Captain Torres. And you’re the falcon, you’re literally a a bird yourself. That is so cool. Thank you for protecting the country, from the skies, like a free bird. We salute you—”

“Oh my god”, John grumbled and rolled his eyes.

“You guys are so irritating”, Ava groaned.

“What—I was just comp-”

“Okay! Okay. Hi. Um. Nice to meet you all”, you cut their banter off, nudging Joaquin lightly to return the greeting back.

But Joaquin’s gaze was fixed elsewhere.

His brown eyes were staring intently at Yelena and Bob, Yelena’s face twisted in worry as she kept checking Bob’s eyes, whereas Bob kept staring at Joaquin and darting his gaze away.

“Quino?”, you asked him softly, worriedly looking up at him.

He saw your worried face in his peripheral and brought his attention back to you, immediately, “Yeah?”

You gestured at the team.

“Oh. Yeah. Hey, guys”, he awkwardly smiled. They returned a half hearted ‘Hey’ back, the inevitable tension clouding the room again.

“Are we going to talk about it, or not?”, Ava finally asked, ripping the bandaid off at once.

You hesitated, looking at Bucky for answers.

“Uh-not now. Later. We need to go for that conference thing before Valentina sends somebody up here. And (Name)”, he turned towards you, “You should go back. I don’t want you two getting into trouble, okay?”

You and Joaquin simply nodded your heads.

“I’ll see them off”, Bucky announced to the team and they absentmindedly chorused a ‘Yes’, waving you and Joaquin ‘Bye’.

Bob’s POV

If you would’ve stood there any longer, Bob would’ve set this whole thing on fire. Like the damn incinerator back at the vault.

He was feeling particularly charged up, right now. And watching you and Joaquin together, standing so close, had just triggered him more. The way you instantly leaned into Joaquin. The way his hands were around you all the time. Protective. Loving. He knew he was in denial, but he prayed that Joaquin was just a friend to you.

Bob was jealous. Which was, ridiculous, because he just met you. And he wasn’t hiding it from Yelena or Bucky's observant eyes. Like, at all.

All he wanted to do, was walk over to you and introduce himself. But the crippling self doubt rooted him to his place. Because why would someone like you, want someone like him.

He was doing it again. His eyes were turning golden. His hands trembled. The lamp behind him flickered. Yelena sat up in alarm.

“Bob. What’s going on. Do we need to call help? Should I stay back?”, she asked rapidly, her head blocking his eyes from others.

Bob scoffed, his sass dialed up to a hundred. Yelena quirked an eyebrow in interest.

“You can’t fix this”, he stated cryptically and got up, sauntering over to the launch pad. Yelena followed closely, the other three engaged in some useless discussion.

Part 2

AN: at this point yall should know im incapable of writing one parters LOL! but also, this concept is too scrumptious and ill be including this in another fic w joaquin and bob hehehehe.

Fun fact: the reader’s outfit was inspired by kaia gerber LMAO.

Please like and reblog!

taglist: @hearts4barnes @msfirth @spideybrie @parkersjoy @joaquinsgf @wolflikesstuff @frvv @99buttowski @eggyboyoart @superchatnoir07 @wierdlyinlike @peachyrue-777 @makinurbed @abc1234y @ba-space-geek @elyi-o @ph-1isagod @missbrekker @patheticgirl127 @lookitsgrim @spinstertheuncommon @bcystar @yelenaseyeliner @dormammuiivecometo @justeveeeee @lilajoy-ily @spvctor

Sorry if I forgot anyone or reply if u wanna be removed from the taglist!

#joaquin torres x reader #joaquin torres x fem!reader #joaquin torres x stark!fem!reader #bob reynolds x fem!reader #bob reynolds x reader #bob reynolds x stark!fem!reader #bucky barnes x platonic!reader #sam wilson x platonic!reader #marvel cinematic universe #fluff #angst #bob thunderbolts #thunderbolts #joaquin torres fluff #captain america brave new world #yelena belova

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averagewriter-inthedark · 8 months ago

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What He Didn't Do | Top Gun Maverick Imagine

Takes place after the events of Top Gun: Maverick

TGM Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: female country singer!reader x Dagger squad (platonic), reader x ex!oc (past romance)

Content Warnings: fluff, slight angst, mentions of toxic relationship, pop culture references | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 3k

Requested 📨 yes/no (rules for requests)

Premise: On a trip to Nashville to visit their country friend and Natasha's best friend, Y/n, the group gets a peak at some music she's been cooking up. In doing so, they learn the inspiration behind a song on her upcoming EP is linked to her most recent heartbreak.

Note: holy shit guys, I know it's been A LONG TIME but I'm 2 weeks away from finishing grad school!! I cannot believe I'm about to have a Master's degree, but now I gotta really start figuring out what the hell I'm doing next 💀. Job searching sucks, but I plan to get some writing done as I apply now that I will for sure have plenty of time to work on some stuff. Plus I've been in a reading binge which I've been slumping on also. ALSO WOW THANK YOU FOR 2K FOLLOWERS!!! HELLO?!?! how'd that happen omg I cannot thank y'all enough for the love and support on my works. I love you all so so much. I hope you enjoyed this work and the person who requested it I hope I did it justice!

------------------------------

“Hey, Natasha! Over here!” shouted the familiar voice the moment Phoenix stepped into The Barnyard country bar & grill, flanked by her fellow Navy pilots who joined her on the trip to Nashville, Tennessee following another successful mission. The voice belonged to her best friend since high school, up and coming country music sensation, Y/n L/n. Donning her usually boot cut denim jeans, white tank with a weathered flannel tied around her waist and sparkly boots. Her cream colored Stetson hat topped her head.

A beaming smile on her face, Natasha embraced Y/n, her hat slightly tipping back causing the woman to reach for it before it fell. “Been a long time, cowgirl.”

“A long time indeed, citygirl,” she laughed, pulling away with a grin. “And I see you brought some friends too. How you doin’ boys--ah!” a squeal ignites when Y/n’s swept off her feet by none other than Rooster. Spinning her around once before setting her back. “Nice to see y’all missed me after all.”

“Are you kidding,” Rooster scoffs, moving aside to allow the others to greet her. “We’ve been counting down the days before you finally decide to move back out west. The Hard Deck ain’t as popping anymore without your shows.”

“Yeah, Y/n, when are you gonna change the mountains back to the beach?” Coyote jokes.

“I don’t know,” Jake muses, glancing around the packed house, being not so subtle in his checking out of the ladies. “I quite like the scenery.” Fanboy and Payback exchange a look.

“Yeah. Scenery.”

“Awe y’all too sweet,” Y/n takes the small bag Bob hands her, “What’s this?”

“A little gift from all of us,” he replies, watching with a smile as she removes the tissue paper followed by a growler of Penny’s famous draft beer straight from the Hard Deck.

“Ah!” she gasps, inspecting the bottle with joy. “You brought me Penny’s IPA?! Y’all don’t know how long I’ve been thinkin’ about this. Ugh! I can already taste it.”

“Penny and Mav send their helloes,” Payback tells her, “they wanted to come but with the Hard Deck being renovated they unfortunately could not.”

“Oh I understand. I can’t wait to see what the place looks like next time I visit. Penny told me how she’s extending the back patio to have an outdoor bar.” Y/n places the growler back in the bag, moving to hug them all again while saying thanks. “C’mon now, I got y’all a spot up front with some cold ones ready.”

Jake claps his hands, “That’s what I like to hear.”

They follow Y/n and settle down at the large round table next to the stage. It was still a couple hours till the show, and the band had already set up leaving them plenty of time to catch up on all things new while also playing darts since the board was beside the table.

After a few minutes, Natasha glances around with a curious frown on her face, “Where’s Klein?”

The glass of whiskey in Y/n’s hand pauses mid-air, her smile dropping to something strained, “yeah….he’s not coming tonight. Or ever again.” The table quiets, Mickey, Javy, and Jake stop throwing darts. Licking her lips, Y/n places her glass down, “I meant to tell you on our last phone call the other day, but felt it was better to tell you in person since I know he was your friend too.”

Klein and Y/n had been together for what felt like forever but really their relationship had been five years. They met in college, became friends and then a couple years after graduation the two decided to pursue a relationship. It was bliss in the beginning. Full of romance and the things one sees in the movies. Yet, once the honeymoon phase wore off a year in, things went sour. Klein went to grad school for business and Y/n started her journey in country music and from there the couple’s problems began.

They say that when you’re happy and having fun, time flies. But when you’re miserable….it’s dragged out until you’re drained and on the verge of losing it. That was the best description of their relationship. Miserable and dragged out. Both parties were aware they were not going to last and just kept it going for the sake of company and having someone. Leaving them resentful and doing or saying things that hurt the other.

They barely saw each other with Y/n playing gigs with her band and Klein working long hours at the office. She was becoming a household name in the South and Midwest. Her TikTok where she posted short clips of her shows and songs went viral, followed by reaching three million subscribers on YouTube. Then when Y/n decided to move to San Diego with Natasha for a year, the two fought over the decision and actually broke up for a period of time. A decision that only lasted three weeks.

They flew out to see each other, facetimed every other day, texted consistently. Tried desperately to make it work. Thinking back to their friendship before dating and how happy they were that first year. But still, they knew it was to no avail and their relationship was crumbling. They accused the other of cheating, they hung up during phone arguments. Klien forgot their anniversary. Y/n missed his birthday.

It was a disaster. And it finally came to a climax a month ago when the two broke things off for good.

The dagger squad knew Klein, and Natasha knew him even longer having been best friends with Y/n. She supported her friend, and was there as her shoulder to cry on. Though she disapproved of their relationship with how toxic it had gotten, Natasha never interfered unless it got bad. Then again, Y/n resorted to keeping her and Klein’s problems private roughly two years after they started dating.

“You broke up,” Nat stated for her. Y/n’s face telling her all she needed to know.

“Yeah,” a nod confirmed for the rest of the table, the singer’s eyes drawn to the half drunk glass of whiskey. “It was inevitable. You know that.”

Nat tightened her lips, falling into the back of her seat with a sigh, “I hoped otherwise. But yes, I had a feeling when you didn’t mention him the past several calls we’ve had.” her voice softened, a wave of sadness for her friend consuming the pilot.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I had a lot going on between him moving out and meeting with the producer on my EP.” After reaching five million followers on TikTok and returning to Nashville, a producer from Warner Music Nashville, label for names like Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band, messaged the singer about setting up a meeting. “I lost track of everything else.”

Nat patted her shoulder, rubbing it softly, “You’ve got nothing to apologize for, Y/n. Breakups are hard and there’s nothing wrong with taking a little time for yourself before having to face the world. I’m just glad you’re telling me now so I can be there for you from here on.”

“Us,” Rooster corrects with sass, “Thank you for telling us, so that we can be here for you.”

“My bad,” Nat rolls her eyes, but her smile says she’s not really annoyed. “Us. We’re here for you, Y/n, and whether it’s to listen or offer advice, we got your back.”

“Thank you,” Y/n taps her fingers against the glass, her face expressing gratitude. “I really appreciate that and it’s comforting knowing I have you guys,” she meets each of their eyes, “I’ll be fine. I always am when something doesn’t go as planned, but it’ll take some time.”

“Of course,” Nat assures with a smile. “Take all the time you need.”

“I can’t lie though,” Y/n pauses to down the rest of her whiskey, “it’s been a great help with songwriting lately. Been pouring out my feelings into the work like I’m writing a diary.”

Nat raises a brow, intrigued, “well that’s something good to come out of it. When will we get to hear it?” a smirk graces Y/n’s lip, mischief in her eyes. “Sooner than you think.”

“Alright ladies and gents, theys and thems, listen up!” booms the bartender who’s taken the stage the moment the clock struck 9. Everyone’s attention turns to them, the once vibrating chatter of conversations seizing. “It’s my honor to introduce tonight’s entertainment. She’s a local gal on her way to becoming a country music sensation. You might know her from YouTube and TikTok, or seen her performance with Laney Wilson this past spring.” Few people, including the Dagger Squad, begin clapping and cheering. “Give it up for Nashville’s own, Y/n L/n and the Barnyard’s beloved The Barrels!!”

Whistles break out and hollers from every corner of the Barnyard. People snapping photos and ready to video record as Y/n waves to the crowd, walking up the steps to the stage and approaching the mic. The Barrels taking their places by their instruments.

“Howdy folks!” a chorus of “heeeyyyys,” follow the greeting. “How we doin’ tonight?” she waits for the audience to respond, slinging the guitar--her most precious possession--over her shoulder.

“Thank y’all for coming tonight, it’s always a grand time playing here at The Barnyard, seeing all you fresh and friendly faces. Much thanks and appreciation for the wonderful staff and owners for letting us grace this stage,” raising her whiskey, the crowd follows suit and cheers for the staff. The head bartender/owner sent a salute her way.

“Thank you to the lovely musicians behind me,” she turns to raise her glass to the band, “The Barrels, who’ve allowed me to join them and be a part of their expedition to this crazy world we’ve sold our soul too.” They all laugh, tipping their beers and glasses to the singer. The crowd whistled.

Taking a large gulp, Y/n hands the drink to Natasha, and adjusts her guitar. “We’ve put together a great show for you tonight. First a few covers of Country’s best and then some originals I’m honored to share with you after much anticipation.”

“Yeah let’s go,” Jake shouts, clapping with the rest of the daggers.

“You got this, Y/n!”

“Show them how it’s done!”

Y/n’s angelic voice carries through the establishment. Singing along to “Ain't in Kansas Anymore,” By Miranda Lambert from the Twisters soundtrack. Followed by “Bless the Broken Road,” by Rascal Flatts. That had Nat and Bob tearing up, as well as Jake though he’s never admitted it.

They covered “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” by Carrie Underwood, had a few couples slow dance to “Tennessee Whiskey,” by Chris Stapleton, and had the crowd hype to “Man! I feel like a Woman,” by Shania Twain.

Then they began to perform the songs Y/n had spent countless time and energy writing. Pouring her heart and soul into the words on the paper. The memories surfacing, the smell of grass and liquor. Block parties on a Friday night. Line dancing and barrel racing. Sun beating down and rain pelting from the sky. The love and heartbreak coming together as a symphony.

“This last song,” she spoke into the mic, having just sang the more upbeat and happy songs for the crowd. Waiting for the right time to introduce the piece she was most anxious about. Y/n wrote it fresh off the breakup following two pints of ice cream and a bottle of Riesling. It took only two hours, and she felt so confident in how raw the lyrics that she hardly made any corrections.

It was her most intimate song ever.

“Is a personal one. One that really had me searching into the deep parts of my soul. It’s a song I feel many of you will relate to if you’ve experienced a great love that became a great loss.” Faces in the crowd shift, mirroring her own to signify they understood the meaning behind her words. “Sometimes to move forward in the future, you have to let go of the past. And this song is just that. I hope you like it.”

Silence filled the bar, Y/n taking a deep breath and glancing at Nat, who raised her thumb and mouthed, “You got this.” Exhaling, the woman started strumming, letting the melody flow into the air.

“Everybody's asking what the hell happened

Wondering why it all went wrong

Mama always said, "If you can't say something nice

Then don't say anything at all"

I've got my side of the story and he's got his side, too

So I ain't gonna go and tell you what he did

But I'll tell you what he didn't do”

Nat perched her elbows onto the table, letting chin drop on her hands as she listened intently to her best friend’s voice. The words cutting deep and letting Nat feel all the emotion Y/n was releasing after keeping it bottled in for so long.

“Treat me right, put me first, be a man of his word

Stay home 'cause he wanted to

Always fight for my love, hold on tight like it's something

That he couldn't stand to lose

The devil's in the details

I won't tell the hell that he put me through

All I know is in the еnd, it wasn't what he did, no

It was what he didn't do

“I'm already halfway ovеr him and I ain't taking time to turn around

So I'mma take the high road, even though we both know

I could run him out of this town”

Y/n strummed the guitar, keeping her eyes closed the entire time to hold back the tears threatening to escape. The music guided her, a comforting blanket like the hug of a loved one.

“That's just dirty laundry, I don't need to wear the truth

So I ain't gonna tell you everything he did

But I'll tell you what he didn't do

“Treat me right, put me first, be a man of his word

Stay home 'cause he wanted to

Always fight for my love, hold on tight like it's something

That he couldn't stand to lose

The devil's in the details

I won't tell the hell that he put me through

All I know is in the end, it wasn't what he did, no

It was what he didn't do

I ain't met the right one yet, but I know when I do

Coming up to the final verse, Y/n unleashed everything. Belting out the lyrics and giving it everything. The moment signifying not only the end of her and Klein for good, but the beginning of a new era in her life.

“He'll treat me right, put me first, be a man of his word

Stay home 'cause he wanted to

Always fight for my love, hold on tight like it's something

That he can't stand to lose

The devil's in the details

I won't tell the hell that he put me through

All I know is in the end, it wasn't what he did, no

It was what he didn't do

All I know is in the end, it wasn't what he did, no

It was what he didn't do”

As her fingers brushed over the strings one last time, Y/n opened her eyes right as the crowd exploded into elation. Whistles and hollers at every corner, louder than anything she’d heard before when playing at the bar. Igniting a wide smile on her face and the tears she’d been holding back to finally fall.

The loudest of course were the dagger squad. The guys all pounding their fists on the table while shouting, Nat jumping up and down with her own face caked in tears.

“Thank you everyone!” Y/n waved, removing her guitar before embracing the members of the band. “Thank you for having us and we hope to see you next Friday! Be on the lookout for our debut EP dropping Christmas Day!” The audience released another wave of loud cheers, excited by the news. The owner saluted Y/n again when she threw up a two-finger salute of her own. A moment later, a staff member was bringing over a bottle of Whiskey and glasses to the table, “Courtesy of the owner.”

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Rooster held up his glass after pouring everyone theirs. They all stood, Natasha’s arm around Y/n’s and Mickey on the singer's other side. “To friendship. You clowns are by far the most annoying assholes I’ve ever met, but there’s no one else on this goddamn planet I trust more with my life. You’re more than friends, you’re family and I know like the wingman you are in the sky, you’ll always have my back.”

“Here, here!” the table echoes. But none raise the glasses to their lips yet as Rooster continues, “And to Y/n, our darling, country belle, you’re going grab the industry by the balls and make it your bitch,” the two women break into belly laughs, nearly spilling the alcohol on each other. Y/n tips her glass with a look reading, “You know it, baby.”

“Best wishes and good luck to you on this next chapter in life. You are going to do wonders in the world, and we are all honored to be here to witness it unfold. We love you, darlin’.”

“Here, here!!”

“I love you guys so much!!” she shouts in unison with the clinking of the glasses. Throwing back the whiskey in one gulp.

Y/n may have lost a piece of herself in the many years spent with Klien. The endless hours of crying, wondering where it all went wrong. Anxiety piling up like a volcano just waiting to explode so the steaming lava flowed out. The years with Klein were an integral part of her 20s going into 30s. And he was a constant figure in many milestones she achieved.

Mourning the end of their relationship was not only the loss of a lover, but also a friend.

But Y/n looked forward to the next chapter in her life. Knowing she wasn’t alone in her endeavors, there was the ever lasting support of her friends and family. Visible by the group of naval pilots surrounding the table. Her career looked promising, an EP done and about to release. The power of social media gifting her opportunities she’d dreamed of years ago.

As the whiskey flowed and the jukebox played, “Mississippi Girl,” by Faith Hill, Y/n leaned into the warmth of her best friend Natasha. Ready to barrel race her way to the top of the Country music charts.

............................................

Tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan, @caitsymichelle13, @poppyalice2001, @cutelittlepotatofry, @luckyladycreator2, @americaarse , @elenavampire21, @back-tooo-black, @wildellaa , @artemissunn , @pinkpantheris , @kmc1989

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