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Act II: Echoes

“All Together"

Five years after The Snap, you've finally conceived a baby with Steve and decide to finally throw off your hesitations over his proposal once he returns from his mysterious conscription by Tony Stark. While he is away, you begin to see the victims of The Snap re-materialize around you, and you realize with horror what that means for you, Steve, Alice...and Bucky.

CONTENT WARNINGS: pregnancy complications

WORD COUNT: 5.4k

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STORY MASTERLIST

“N…Nightingale? Steve?”

One moment, he was beside you, dressed in layers of thick, tight leather (even in the midst of battle, it drove you crazy) and kicking ass while holding a raccoon/ The next, his face looked distressed, confused, and empty as he took two steps before his legs evaporated before his eyes. One last frightened look at you, and before you could even reach out to touch his face or shed a tear, he was atoms, scattered into the air like a puff of dust in front of you.

Those eyes…those frightened, pleading eyes…did he know he was about to face oblivion?

Those eyes…the echoes of those eyes burned into your retinas for an eternity…

Five years later…

You were squirming in bed and mumbling into the pillow when Steve’s firm, reassuring hand stilled you, gently shaking you back to consciousness. You flipped onto your back, gasping and gripping his arm.

“Shhh, Y/N, you were having another one,” he said. “You’re here with me. It’s all the past.”

You sat up as quickly as you could (for being nearly seven months into pregnancy), and Steve followed suit in order to wrap you between his sturdy arms and slowly rock you back and forth until you calmed down, anchored in reality again.

“I thought they were over,” you whispered. “I haven’t had one in a long time.”

“I still have them once in a while, baby. It’s probably because I’m leaving today,” Steve suggested. “I know you don’t like it, especially right now.”

A hand trailed down your chest and settled on your belly, rounder than it had been the first timer at the same stage. You moaned sadly. “I look terrible. I feel terrible. What’s different this time?”

“I’m not sure. I need to get the new edition of that baby book.”

“For pete’s sake, Steve, you have that damn thing memorized! You don’t need the latest edition!”

Steve chuckled. “Well, I was vigilant enough when Alice was in there. You didn’t think I’d go a bit overboard when the baby was mine?”

“My mistake, I should have known,” you laughed. “I should have never agreed to try for one so soon.”

“We still haven’t gotten married,” Steve added. “I know I’m already breaking the rules, but maybe once she’s born, we could finally set a date.”

“Maybe we could sit down today,” you offered. “Tell Tony you’re bailing.”

“I can’t,” Steve moaned. “It sounds like he needs as many of us as possible for this idea of his.”

“He still won’t tell you what’s going on or what his plan is?” you asked, shuffling away from his embrace and starting to maneuver yourself to a sweet spot on the bed to get to your feet from.

“No, he says it’s a shot in the dark.”

“Don’t leave me like this,” you whined dramatically, turning around and showing off your pregnancy, bending your back dramatically to emphasize it.

“You’re strong,” he said while getting up and wrapping a blue robe about his body. “And it’s not like I’ll be gone for two months.”

You sighed sadly. “When you get back, the first thing we’ll do is set a wedding date,” you promised. “But, mind if we at least wait until I’m not the size of the Goodyear blimp?”

“I think you’re radiant,” Steve countered. “I could keep you like this forever.”

“Please don’t. My poor body can only take so much!”

After a year and a half in Woodstock, you finally agreed to go off your birth control, thinking that if Steve really wanted his own child, you only had so much time left before your ‘clock’ ran out. Neither of you knew if the super serum in Steve’s veins would work to your advantage or disadvantage. It clearly had kept Bucky virile. You just didn’t expect the pee stick to show two lines only seven weeks after you stopped taking the pill.

Steve was naturally ecstatic, and Alice was thrilled to be a big sister, especially when this one turned out to be another girl. She was already planning out what games they were going to play once she arrived. Her natural extroversion was beginning to show. For as little as Ally herself seemed to be into pink dresses and playing house, she sure seemed excited to turn her little sister into her own personal baby doll.

He smiled and kissed your forehead. “Well, seeing as we’re up early, I’ll make us something to eat. What does the baby want this morning? Omelets?”

Your heart fluttered. “I think she feels more like waffles…with peaches and cream on top?” You smiled cutely, batting your eyelids coquettishly. “I know it’s a lot, but you ARE abandoning me and our children today to go off and indulge in Tony Stark’s folly.”

He mocked being grumpy as you walked hand-in-hand out to the kitchen. “Alice never ate this much in your womb.” Steve joked.

“I think this one is straight-up going to have vibranium in her bones,” you said solemnly. “For as strong as Bucky was, you were always stronger.”

You entered the kitchen, and Steve sat you down on a barstool at the island before beginning to gather the ingredients for Belgian waffles. From your seat, you could see into the den, where Bucky’s photograph hung on the wall in a spot of prominence. As promised, Steve worked with you to help Alice understand the truth about their family, and what Bucky’s role in it was. It wasn’t easy to explain to a preschooler, but seeing as Ally showed signs of superior intelligence more and more every day, it still sunk in with time.

“He’s happy that Steve is going to adopt you after we marry,” you’d told her. “He wants you to have a stepfather and sisters and brothers, because it means we’re all happy again. And Steve was his best friend, so who else would be better for the job?”

Now, five years after Bucky and half of creation was wiped out of existence, life was relatively calm. Alice was starting kindergarten a year early because of her advanced reading skills. You and Steve were finally having a child together. Steve worked running a group therapy circle for veterans, and you gave music lessons and directed the school play at the local high school while Ally was in kindergarten during the week. He was usually the one to pick her up in the evenings.

You were finally ready to take that walk down the aisle. It was time.

“Mom? Is that breakfast?” cooed a high-pitched voice from the hallway. Ally was rubbing her eyes with one fist, and from the other first hung a stuffed purple porpoise that had seen more than its share of hugs and tears.

“Yeah, sweetie. Steve’s leaving in a few hours,” you said, opening your arms to say good morning with a hug.

He called from across the kitchen. “I’ll hug you in a second, Little Princess, I just need to finish this batter before your mother drinks it right from the bowl.” You stuck out your tongue in mock offense, making Ally giggle adorably.

After a somewhat-quiet morning meal, you cleaned the dishes while Ally drew doodles in her giant coloring book. Steve packed his rolling suitcase. None of you wanted to prolong the goodbyes. This would be the first time Steve would be gone for more than one night since the Snap.

When the town car Stark sent to pick him up arrived, he took his time sweeping Alice into his arms, twirling her above his head like Superman. She shrieked and laughed while your maternal instincts made you cringe at the danger. After putting her down, he dipped you like some big, romantic film actor, laying a big kiss on your trembling lips.

“I’ll be back before you can miss me,” he promised.

“Too late,” you replied.

“Take good care of the baby while I’m away,” he whispered, softly tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. “I love you. All of you.”

“I love you too, Steve.”

Alice started crying as you picked her up to wave while Steve drove off in the town car, headed for the highway that would bring him to the city within two hours. “He’ll be back soon, right Mommy?” she asked quietly, leaning her head on your shoulder.

“It’s okay, Al,” you said, wiping a tear from her face. “He’ll be back soon, and when he returns, everything will be the way it was again. You’ll see.”

“Mommy! My leg!”

Alice was limping toward you, her face scrunched up around her nose as she tried to hold in the tears. Her playmate, Seb, was running up behind her with a concerned look on his small, pale face. “I didn’t do it! She fell in a hole and tripped!”

You got up from the stoop where you sat with Seb’s mother Kate. They lived two doors down and across the street. Kate was a bit bland for your usual taste in company, but she was the only other mother on the street with a child Alice’s age. Seb went to kindergarten with Ally, and they usually got along. She may not have been one for deep conversation, but Kate was a kind lady and a good person to shoot the breeze with.

“Oh, it’s a scrape,” you said with a silly smile, hoping to calm your child down. It was hard to bend over to see the wound in Ally’s knee with the baby bump in your way. “Just a moment.”

Seb’s mouth hung open as he gathered around to watch you perform your spell. You sang a short, tender melody while running a finger over the cut, and within moments, the scrape was gone, and Alice was on her feet again, challenging Seb to a footrace down the driveway.

Kate was shaking her head as you rejoined her on the front steps. “Not sure I’ll ever get used to seeing that…or to seeing Captain America taking out the garbage on Tuesday nights.”

It had been three days since Steve left, and you hadn’t heard a word from him, Nat, Tony, or anyone else on the team, which was strange. It gave you an uneasy feeling, which wasn’t helping the creeps you already had crawling under your skin for the past few days. Something wasn’t right in the air…something was unstable. You couldn’t pin down what was making you feel so apprehensive, but it made you keep a closer eye on Ally, even when she was reading on the bed next to you.

“Hmmm,” you agreed, reaching behind you for the glass of lemonade you brought outside, taking a long sip of the slightly-too-sweet drink.

“You think of a name yet?” asked Kate, raking a hand through her thick blonde hair.

You shook your head. “We have a few now that we know it’s a girl. But we don’t seem to agree on any one, and none of them stand out to me in particular.”

“It took us three days to name Sebastian, and it took Randy another few weeks to come to terms with it,” Kate explained. “Supposedly it took them a week to name Prince William. The right name will come in time.”

The baby was due in two months, at the end of August. It felt like so much time, and yet so little.

You looked at the end of the driveway, where Seb and Ally were both looking at something further down the street. Suddenly Seb screamed. n“A GHOST! A GHOST!” he hollered, running as fast as his little legs could bring him to his mother. Ally was running just behind him, her arm pointing frantically down the road.

“Mommy! A man just came out of thin air! There he is!” she was yelling, jumping into your arms as Seb cowered next to Kate.

Kate looked at you with an odd expression. “Now, Sebastian Walter, you know ghosts aren’t real. Time to act like a big boy.”

“He’s right, Mommy,” added Ally, holding you tightly and trying in vain to scramble over your belly, which sat in the way of her crawling outright into your lap. She gestured again in the same direction down the street.

“Holy…” Kate mumbled under her breath. “...but how?”

Someone you didn’t recognize, a tall man with ashen skin and thick coke-bottle glasses was walking down the middle of the street like he didn’t quite know where he was. “Is that the ghost man, Seb?” Kate asked. Seb nodded silently, hiding bravely behind his mother’s broad shoulders.

“Who is that, Kate?” you asked.

“Uh...oh my god, that’s not possible, though!” she muttered in complete disbelief. “That’s Glen Bergdorf. He’s Lily’s husband.”

Lily Bergdorf attended your weekly therapy group for Snap widows. She was very outspoken and emotional, and god help anyone who got ahead of her in line at the coffee table. Kate was shaking her head, panic rising in the form of a red blush painting her cheeks. “No, but he disappeared five years ago when--”

“--Alice, get inside,” you said, standing up and handing Ally your drink glass. “Kate, are you sure?”

“Positive. Randy always borrowed his lawn mower,” she confirmed. “I’d know him anywhere.”

“Oh, Kate!” the new man in the street waved in your direction. “Is Lil back from her mother’s yet?”

She was speechless. “Uh, Y/N, I’m going to take Seb home early. Tell Alice he’ll see her at school tomorrow.”

You went inside and shut the door. Alice moaned. “Aww, where’s Seb?”

You sighed and went into the den to look for the remote. “He’ll see you at school, honey. Go wash up for dinner.”

“But you haven’t even made dinner!” Alice replied cheekily.

“Not now, young lady,” you lowered your voice sternly. “Mom needs to turn on the news.”

“It’s there,” Ally pointed. Sure enough, the remote was on the table next to Steve’s lounge chair. You curled up in it, somehow still too small for it with your large, pregnant body. Ally stood in the doorway a moment before walking over to you and hopping in the chair, curling up under your arm.

You switched on the news, and immediately felt your skin run cold. A stone-faced reporter was making a special announcement, his voice filled with energy.

“People across the world are reporting the return of their loved ones who disappeared when the gauntlet of Thanos was snapped five years ago. They are appearing in the exact positions they were last seen in, and none of them seem to have any idea of what has transpired. We’re going to our correspondent Lisa McBride who is just outside of the current carnage taking place in Wakanda. Lisa?”

The camera cut to a pretty young redhead in a white coat, looking excited. “Thank you, Lester. Moments ago, after the Snapped began to re-materialize across the world, fighting broke out here in Wakanda, as if continuing exactly where things left off five years ago.”

“Oh my god,” you whispered. Ally squirmed.

Lisa continued her story. “The Avengers have appeared to have all assembled to participate in the battle, including those who reportedly fell in 2018, including Sam Wilson aka ‘The Falcon,’ King T’Challa of Wakanda, and James Buchanan “Bucky’ Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. Barnes is known to have a wife and child who remained alive after the Snap.”

Ally looked up at you. “That’s my real dad, isn’t it?” she asked meekly. “She’s talking about us.”

“...yeah,” you said, unsure if you'd be able to move again.

“So…I’m going to meet him? He’s alive again?” she added. “What about Steve?”

Your tears were silent. As long as you didn’t look down at your daughter, she wouldn’t be able to tell you were losing your cool. On the wall nearby, Bucky’s portrait beamed at you. He would be here soon, undoubtedly Steve would be bringing him here. But would he say anything? Would Bucky be completely clueless when his eyes fell upon you, pregnant with his best friend’s baby, four years into raising his own, engaged and happy?

“I don't know, sweetie. I really have no idea what will happen next.”

After about eighteen hours of sleepless pacing by the phone, Steve called you, only speaking to you for a few minutes to say that he and Bucky would be back around sunset, and to be ready with Alice. He also said that he mentioned nothing. Bucky, along with everybody else, had to be told that they were gone for five years.

“I only told him you have a daughter with him, and her name is Alice,” said Steve. “He knows nothing about us. We need to be careful about this.”

“Don’t keep us waiting,” you answered.

“Stark’s memorial is the day after tomorrow. We’re all expected to be there,” added Steve. Tony Stark had died saving the world. You owed him even more than most, and were truly sorry to hear about his sacrifice.

You spent the day having mother-daughter time with Ally, telling her stories about Bucky, and answering any questions she had about him before he came into her life from literally out of nowhere. You braided her hair with a bright red ribbon, which stood out against the brunette knot. You let her dress the way she felt most comfortable, and she agreed to wear a yellow sundress that wasn’t particularly puffy or itchy.

“Mommy, does this mean Steve won’t be my stepfather?” she asked sadly.

You sighed, deciding to try and say what you rehearsed in your head you would say if it ever came to this (not that you ever thought it would). “Alice, this does not change anything about the love that Steve and I have for each other, and for you, and for your baby sister. It’s only going to add another person and all of the love they have for us to the house. There’s always room for more love, right?”

Ally nodded. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“He will, silly goose,” you said with a smile. “And no matter what the grown-ups decide to do with each other, all three of us love you bunches, and nothing will ever stop that.”

Just before the streetlights came on, you went out into the yard to sit with Alice to await the men. A large black town car pulled up to the curb after a few seconds. You got up again. Alice took your hand, and you gave it a loving squeeze.

Steve got out first, having barely enough time to give you a look of concern before Bucky emerged from the car, looking exactly the way he had the morning after your wedding, young and healthy, ready for a scrap.

He was still so handsome, just looking at his face made you quiver with lust. You’d fallen for him with little effort. His smile was his weapon, and it could always bring you to your knees. He wore a long-sleeved navy blue t-shirt and black jeans. His hair was tied back, his beard trimmed.

And just like that, with the snap of a finger, I’m married again, you thought. For a moment, you didn’t understand why his face fell upon closer look. You looked down, where his eyes had found your hand running itself over your belly.

“Bucky,” you said, making an attempt to redirect his attention. “This is Alice. She’s our baby, Buck.”

Indeed, he moved his gaze to the little girl at your side. His eyes widened. “Oh, Nightingale, she’s perfect.”

Steve looked relieved, even if it was only temporary.

“Go ahead, Ally,” you encouraged, gently nudging her forward as Bucky and Steve stepped onto the lawn so the town car could pull away. “He’s happy to meet you, see?”

Bucky bent down, amazed at the sight of this new person who just blinked into the world from his perspective. “Hi, Alice.”

Alice’s eyes began to fill up with tears, which surprised you. Steve slipped next to you as Alice fell into Bucky’s arms. “I’m happy to see you Daddy,” she sobbed. You felt your heart soar. Steve slipped an arm around your back.

“What do we do?” you asked under your breath.

“Put Alice to bed and sing a strong lullaby, we’ll talk down in the basement after she’s asleep.”

You let Bucky tuck her in. He wasn’t exactly a natural. In fact, he awkwardly listened as Alice explained her bedtime routine, from brushing her teeth for exactly 1 minute, to getting a glass of ice water and reading a few pages out of a story book. You hoped the routine would last all night. The longer Ally was awake, the longer you were safe from the inevitable confrontation in the basement you weren’t looking forward to.

Bucky stood in the doorway and listened as you sang her to sleep, gently massaging her back while humming. He smiled in spite of the hundreds of terrible thoughts on his mind. “Your voice has only gotten prettier, Y/N.”

“I give music lessons at the high school, so I’ve had constant practice,” you said as Ally’s eyes closed for the final time that night, a peaceful smile spreading across her face.

“That’s not the only thing you’ve appeared to have constant practice in,” Bucky suddenly added, his voice turning bitter. You slowly got up from the bed and shut the door behind you. “Bucky, let’s go downstairs where she can’t hear us.”

“It’s going to be a long damn night,” he said, his tender, fatherly demeanor falling away almost instantly. “You and Steve have some serious shit to tell me, from the looks of it.”

You quickly led him downstairs, where Steve was waiting behind a small bar that was built into the corner of the large, warm basement. Steve’s boxing equipment was down there, as well as some of your instruments. A pair of sofas faced one another in the middle of the room.

“Close the door, please,” Steve instructed you. You were way ahead of him.

“Goddamnit Steve, is it yours?” Bucky immediately began growling angrily. “Did you impregnate my wife?”

“It is my baby,” he answered sternly. “ But she hasn’t been your wife for five years.”

“Well, that five years is up, so she’s my wife again, right, doll?” he looked at you expectantly. You felt your skin go cold. “So we take Alice and move out on our own, right?”

“She’s not going anywhere,” he insisted. “We have a guest room off the kitchen that we’re more than happy to offer you.”

“What? Really? So I can watch hee go about forgetting we were ever married? Moving on with you as she so easily did??”

“How dare you say that?” you shouted. “I was in hell! When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I was going to die or lose my mind! Steve stepped up, and he did it FOR YOU!”

Bucky shook his head and looked skeptically at Steve, who was making a pitcher of Arnold Palmer and setting up three glasses, one for each of you. “Oh, for me? He fucked you full and moved in on my family and he did it for me?”

“I wanted to make sure the woman you loved was safe, and that your baby was healthy, and over time, our feelings changed. But would you rather she live life alone?” asked Steve.

Bucky gritted his teeth and looked at you. “I was married to her for less than a day!”

“It was five years from our point of view! How is that our problem?”

“And how is it mine that I was brought back at all? In fact, that was your fault in the first place, Captain,” he spat the moniker out mockingly.

“And that’s not all,” Steve continued, “Y/N and I were going to set a date for our wedding when I got back. We’ve been engaged since we moved here two years ago, and I was in the process of adopting Ally.”

“Like hell you are!”

“Yeah, well, I think that goes without saying that won’t be happening now,” you answered. Bucky smiled as if celebrating a personal victory. Steve looked heartbroken, but surely he understood the extraordinary circumstances?

“Stop trying to move forward with your plans like I didn’t just come back from the dead,” Bucky pleaded angrily. “I missed out on being with the woman I love while she gave birth to our child! I missed out on Alice’s first words and first steps! Goddamnit it, you took my life!”

“Neither of us asked to fall in love with each other,” you cut in. “In fact, we both tried avoiding it for a long time, and we pushed it off because we were both worried about you, Bucky!”

Bucky and Steve didn’t reply. Both men were too busy looking at you with sudden worry. You were growing a bit wobbly on your feet, likely from the intense stress. Your breaths were loud and shallow as you spoke. The stress was beginning to make you ill.

“Look, this is something that’s going to take more than one night to figure out,” you said, sinking onto one of the sofas. Steve brought one of the iced teas for you, but you waved it away. Bucky sat beside you and took your hands. “And I don’t know what to do. Steve, I love you. That’s not any different.” You turned to your husband. “Bucky…I love you too. The fact that you’re here right now…I can’t begin to say how happy I am!”

You fell into his embrace, letting the tears come freely as you tried to speak coherently between sobs.

“So,” Steve cut you off after a moment of watching Bucky sniff your hair, “what do we do?”

“We live here together,” you proposed. “All of us. Each of us takes a room, and Alice sleeps in mine.”

Bucky sneered. “Are you cr--” he stopped himself just before committing the cardinal sin of calling a pregnant person ‘crazy.’

“Please,” you asked, wiping your face awkwardly, “this is already getting to be too much. I don’t know what to do or who to pick right now.”

Steve sighed, resentful. But how dare he be? His best friend was back from oblivion! Granted, he was about to take back his family, ripping all of Steve’s own happiness away that he’d worked five years for. Yet, such thoughts were selfish. Bucky was the one whose life was stolen from him. Alice was never your child, and Y/N was never your bride.

“I love both of you. I have a daughter with both of you. I want you both here with me while I make sense of all of this,” you pleaded.

Bucky looked down at your bump, blinking back a few tears of his own. Five wasted years…

“When’s this one coming?” asked Bucky.

“End of the summer,” Steve answered. “About two more months.”

Bucky hid the desire to cringe. “It’ll get crowded once it--”

“--she!--” corrected Steve.

“--she gets here,” he corrected himself, his eyes narrowing. “I guess I can put my feelings aside for the summer while you make your decision.”

Steve shook his head. “I’m not giving up my child.”

“No one said you were, Steve,” you reasoned.

“No, the only way I get to keep my daughter is if you choose me over him, and you don’t seem to keen on that from my point of view!” he expressed defensively.

“She can give her to you and then leave with Alice and me!”

You began to feel a light dab of pain shoot across your stomach. It hurt, but it was nothing that concerned you at the moment. “Bucky, Steve and Alice are very close.”

“You have to be kidding me.”

“She isn’t,” Steve’s voice was low, his brows tilted in a threatening appearance.

“Bucky, it’s true,” you said, running a hand over your stomach as if it would help with the flicker of discomfort. “It would be unfair to separate them, especially with no warning for any of us. Alice trusts Steve more than anyone.”

“She’s mine,” Bucky growled again, territorially. “I don’t even know her favorite food or her middle name, and she’s moved on to a new father, huh?”

“Please stop seeing it that way,” you wept softly. “She’s never moved on from you because she never knew you. You can have that now if you swallow your pride and consider my idea.” Seeing you crying softened Bucky, at least it appeared to.

You looked to Steve to supplement your proposal. He knew Bucky better than you. Maybe he could say something to convince him to abandon his wrath for now. Steve pursed his lips, thinking of the right way to bring his best friend around.

“Live with us, Buck,” he implored, sitting on his other side, squishing him in between the two of you. You couldn’t shuffle to the side much because of your added weight. “Al can get to know you all summer. There are therapy groups for all of us out there, even she goes to one. Maybe we’ll find a natural answer to this with time. “

“This is still so fresh for all of us,” you added. “Look, sweetie,” you brought your hand up to Bucky’s face, tracing his prickly beard with your finger, suddenly remembering how it felt against your face whenever you kissed him. “Don’t think I’m not still in love with you, Mr. Barnes. I married you. I’ve missed you every day for five years.”

Steve deliberately cleared his throat. You scowled. “Not now, Steve. I’ll talk to you separately.”

“I can explain it to Ally,” you planned. “And Steve, I’ll move out of our room and in with Alice in the little room, so we each have a separate space to retreat to if we have any—”

“—no, I’ll take the little room,” Bucky and Steve declared at once before looking accusingly at one another.

Steve shook his head, putting up a hand. “I’m not letting you move into a child’s room when you’re about to give birth. I’ll sleep in her room and she can stay in the big bed with you if you’d like to keep her close.”

“It’s likely just for the summer,” you reminded him. “Her bed is a standard full, by the way, so there’s room for you.”

The Captain got up from the dofa and held out a hand to his best friend. “You can have the guest room. It’s got it’s own bathroom. And…we’ll try not to be so romantic around you.”

Bucky bit his lip. “Thank you, Steve.”

You finally found a small smile to put on in front of your men. “By the way…it’s Jane.”

“Huh?”

“Alice Jane Barnes is her full name, and she likes sour apple-flavored lollipops and candy.”

Bucky scowled. “Candy is her favorite food? She’s four! She’ll break all her teeth off.”

Steve chortled. “Now you sound like a real dad!”

The comment brought a pinkish tinge to Bucky’s face, thankfully obscured by his slightly overgrown facial hair.

Finally, you felt the tension in the air begin to break as Bucky took Steve’s hand giving it a firm shake. There was still much to be done, but having each one agree to cohabitate for the season was one step further than you thought you’d be by the end of the evening.

“No arguments, and no manipulating me or Alice, please. We are all adults,” you firmly instructed the super soldiers. “And please always think of our baby during this weirdness, okay?”

You realized that Bucky and Steve both thought you were speaking directly to them, and you bit your lip nervously, hoping to end things here on this somewhat neutral beat. “Can someone help me up? I’m globe-shaped and tired.”

You hardly finished your sentence when each man took an arm and gently lifted you upward.

That was when the small twinge in your belly became a sharp, heart-stopping bolt of pain that locked your knees in place. Your head suddenly began swimming, your vision blurring as the basement around you became hot.

“Nightingale?” asked Bucky, noting your state first.

“Sweetheart?” Steve nearly yelled.

“Ooh…ahh…help…dizzy…” was all you could muster before falling backward. Bucky was barely able to catch your head in his one, large hand before you hit the ground.

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ijuststareatstuffhereok89 · 6 hours

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**NEW FIC PREVIEW**

When you're marooned on an island after the quinjet crashes over the Pacific, you and your bitter rival find yourself constantly at odds on how to survive, even has the heat of the island begins to have a more romantic effect on you and the notorious god-whore, Loki. Will the only sparks that fly be from a distress signal? Or will "Loki Atoll" slowly turn into the perfect paradise?

Please enjoy a sneak preview of my upcoming summer story, friends...

“You…you set this up,” you hissed, your anger bubbling to the surface now that your employer was out of range. “I ought to ask your father to hang you!”

This only made Loki laugh. “He would only love the pleasure, I’m sure.”

And I would love to see your corpse swinging by the neck, you thought. “Why? Why did you do this?” you asked with frustration. “You hate me and I absolutely hate you, Loki, so why force us to be in closer proximity for longer than necessary?”

“Oh, I couldn’t stand the idea of being apart from you, sweet pea! It’s my greatest delight in life to always hover five paces behind you and piss you off. The mere idea of being so far away for so long!” Loki brought a mocking hand to his heart, expressing fake sadness in both his body and face. “My heart would only cry for you.”

“I should just make you go alone and make an ass of yourself,” you suggested. “Maybe some Australian hell-beast will swallow you whole.”

“Oh-ho! By all means,” Loki chuckled, throwing his head back. “Let me loose without supervision in a foreign country as the sole representative of the United States, the Nine Realms, and the Avengers. That will go over well for all of us.”

Your jaw hung open, no witty retorts for him, Unfortunately, he was right. Punking out would in one way or another, only serve to humiliate yourself and Stark.

“Ah, ah…” Loki tucked a finger under your chin, nudging your mouth closed by poking your chin upward, “You’ll catch flies.”

He left you there, speechless in the middle of the room, only turning back in the doorway to add: “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow, darling!”

MASTERLIST to follow later this week. Please reblog/comment to be added to the taglist either here or on said masterlist.

A few mutuals who might be interested *no pressure* @muddyorbsblr @mochie85 @holdmytesseract @lokischambermaid @lokisgoodgirl @maple-seed @anukulee @foxherder @joyful-enchantress @simplyholl @mischief2sarawr @fandxmslxt69 @queen-paladin

#loki #fanfiction #mcu #mcu loki #loki x reader #loki fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #loki laufeyson #loki/reader #loki smut #loki comedy #ene #enemies to lovers #castaway romance #island fever #loki's island fever #summer fanfic

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ijuststareatstuffhereok89 · 7 hours

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"Time & the Trickster" a Loki/Doctor Who crossover

Chapter 15: Journey's End

With no other alternatives, you and Loki face destiny.

CHAPTER WARNING (18+): I cried like a bitch writing this, make of that fact what you will

Previous Chapter · Epilogue MASTERLIST

It took both The Doctor and Loki to calm you down enough that you could think rationally, even as you felt like you were dying inside.

It was all over. Despite everything you’d done, despite all of your efforts to try and make it right, you’d only accomplished what you swore you would never do: you led Loki back to where he started, facing down a great and terrible destiny. And no matter what the wise, skinny alien said, you still felt it deep within you: it was your fault. You should have let go yourself and forced Loki to take Sylvie.

What the hell were you even saying?

Almost two months ago, you thought you were letting a kooky, deluded street rat sleep in your bed. You were regretting paying his bail. If you could only go back…

“We have about ten minutes before we arrive at the…the TVA,” said The Doctor. “Once we land, you’ll only have a moment to do what you need to.”

Loki nodded, still holding you tightly. “May I have a moment alone?”

He nodded a moment, before something caught his eye: lying near the basin was Sylvie’s stone, having fallen out of your hand in the scuffle. He slowly picked it up, bringing it over and kneeling beside Loki to place it in his hand.

The crack in the stone began healing at Loki’s touch. It glowed a much brighter green.

“Y/N, look!” he said quietly, showing you how the stone was practically regenerating.

The Doctor got an idea, based on something he’d witnessed happen once before, some time ago. Taking your hand, he placed it on top of Loki’s and the stone.

Something flashed before your eyes, but you didn’t recognize it. You withdrew your hand as quickly as The Doctor had placed it. “What..was that, Doctor?”

“I saw it too,” added Loki. “What just happened?”

“With everything in time and creation so unstable, the stone is able to show you echoes of places you may have been in other realities…ones where you are both together.” The Doctor remembered once how he’d held onto a fob watch in another’s hand and experienced the same thing.

“It means you have about five minutes to live your lives together,” said The Doctor. “I’ll give you privacy.”

He left you alone with Loki in the chamber, and your god took a moment to gently wipe a tear from your face. You leaned into his palm, letting his warm hand comfort you. He was holding the stone in his other hand. “What do you say, Y/N? Shall we take one last journey together?”

You nodded, whispering a delicate “yes” as you slipped your hand over Loki’s and the glowing time stone.

You and Loki materialized on a cliffside, overlooking a massive golden city of rainbows, gems, and gilded splendor. As if you were watching a film, you found your variants sitting by a small fruit tree, pink blossoms floating in the wind and adding perfume to the air. You were sitting on a silk blanket, a wicker basket of fruit and nuts at Loki’s feet.

“I grew up in that wing, the northernmost spires of the palace were my playrooms…” Loki was explaining to you where he grew up, showing you Asgard in its full glory. He took a moment from his story to pluck a grape from the basket and slowly place it between your lips.

Your spectator self sighed romantically.

“Y/N?” the projection of Loki took your hand and kissed it delicately before repeating the pleasure with each individual finger. You could almost feel it for yourself.

“I know what this is,” Loki said softly. “I’ve only ever been here once.”

“What is it?” you asked.

“The place my mother and fa—Odin—became engaged. He showed it to my brother and I once, and I determined the next time I visited the spot would be to propose to my mate beneath that tree.”

As if on cue, Vision Loki whispered into Vision You’s ear. She gave an excited yelp and leapt on top of Loki, throwing him against the ground and littering his face with affectionate pecks. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly you couldn’t roll off if you wanted to. You

You almost hated to hear it. This was no longer your future. Perhaps it never was. This future belonged to the variants acting out the tableau. Their glee was not yours.

“That means we would have…” Loki trailed off. You squeezed his hand, the stone in between pulsing slowly, erasing the world around you and bringing up another.

A woman in sky blue twirled dreamily in exquisite gossamer. It was only through a few moments of careful study that you and Loki were able to determine it was you.

You were in a bedroom. Loki sat watching your dance from the edge of the bed, his formal armor cast aside, leaving him in a white undershirt and leggings. He was laughing, his gaze lingering on your body with desire.

“My bride, is the alcohol still in your head? The feast and dance have ended!”

You stopped twirling to pout playfully. “But I feel so beautiful!”

Loki got up and laid a hand on your cheek. “And so you are, my Princess.”

A hot tear slowly rolled down the side of your cheek as you realized what you were looking at: a lost wedding night. You didn’t know whether you wanted to stay and see more or leave before anything made you cry harder. Loki saw your sadness, and squeezed your hand just as you could see the bridegroom sweep the bride off her feet, the laugher reaching a crescendo as the room fell away…

A Realm-wide celebration was being thrown. The royals stood on a balcony overseeing a large, cheering crowd as banners and confetti were thrown everywhere.

Thor, Loki’s brother, stood strong and victorious, raising Mjolnir in the air, a petite brunette at his side you recognized as Jane Foster. He was giving a speech as you tried to find you and Loki. Only you were present, hands folded politely as you listened.

“My people! The Dark Elves and Malekith are fully defeated, with the help of my brother, Prince Lo—” he stopped short, looking around him before looking directly at you for answers as to his whereabouts.

You smiled and looked past Thor. Loki, in full regalia, led two young boys dressed in miniature versions of their father’s armor onto the stage. Thor glowed with a big grin on his face. “You’re late for letting my nephews see my triumph, brother! Did naptime run a little long this afternoon?”

“Perhaps my dear brother the King shouldn’t mock fatherhood until he’s won the title for himself!” Loki quipped back, releasing the toddler princes’ hands. Both made a beeline for your wide, waiting arms.

Thor chortled. “I am King of Asgard! I am the father of a Realm!”

Loki rolled his eyes and went to join you at your side. Each of you picked up a giggling, star-eyed twin and looked affectionate at one another. The warm contentment was almost enough to envelope you like a thick fleece blanket.

“We…we had kids, Loki,” you whispered, hardly able to believe it for yourself. “Those are…ours!”

And they were perfect. One with his father’s raven-black hair, the other had your unmistakable smile and laugh. How old were they? Three?

He wasn’t saying anything, but you got the feeling from the look on his face that he longed for what he saw, and yet understood the tragedy of it. When he broke the silence, it was to say, “Two lives that we will never see.”

“That will never exist,” you added, your face getting hotter.

Loki shook his head. “They exist,” he assured you, “This isn’t a hallucination. The time stone doesn’t show visions, it shows time and timelines, and what we are seeing is a timeline somewhere in the cosmos that is very real, I promise.”

You weren’t sure if you were more jealous or heartbroken. True happiness was so, so far away! “Still, I…I...I can’t see this anymore!”

The disembodied voice of The Doctor interrupted you. “Which is well enough because you’re out of time.”

The spell of the stone fell away, and you and Loki were back on the floor of the vortex chamber, holding onto one another.

The Doctor was once again in the doorway. He looked solemn. “The TARDIS has locked down the TVA’s coordinates. Means we have about five minutes. Take the stairs on your right all the way up to the console when you’re ready.”

After he left you alone again, you could help but swear at Loki one more time. “Goddamn you, what were you thinking?”

He spoke with conviction. “That I would rather sit on that lump of rock at the end of the universe for ten eternities than choose another over you.”

You were beginning to feel frustration mixing in with your sorrow. “I told you I didn’t want your fate to be on my head!”

Loki tucked a finger under your chin, drawing your gaze upward. He was smiling like a condemned man would, trying to save face on his way up the scaffold. “I made the choice. I would make it again every time, Y/N.”

“Loki…” you whispered, unable to finish your thought as he drew your lips into one last kiss, the bright light leaking from the sealed vortex basin silhouetting your faces and painting massive shadows of you against the wall, joined as a single shape, attached at the mouth.

The intensity, the pace, the eternal-yet-fleeting perfection of a final kiss was never lost on you. Whenever you were alone in the apartment, whether Joey was at work or otherwise unable to hang out, you watched romances. The ones that made you weep at the end were your favorite. They all involved a goodbye as bittersweet at this. And they all involved the most beautiful, earth-shifting final kisses. All five of your favorite kisses from fiction were tragic goodbye kisses, each one filled with more heartache and passion than the last.

This one left them all behind. You tasted paradise on his lips.

The unmistakable sounds of the TARDIS breathing as it made its final appearance at its destination began to echo about the room, an alarm clock signaling that the miserable time was upon you.

One your mouths parted for the final time, Loki pulled you against his chest whispering softly. “Don’t cry for me, please, my star. I have chosen this. I wanted to give you your life. Live it, live well. Just…never forget that you need real people. Not just films and television screens full of false heroes.”

“It’s how I met you,” you quivered from under his arms. “It’s how I got to know you.”

“No,” Loki answered, rocking you back and forth. “Those actors and writers will never know my greatest adventure of all. There will never be an episode of that Tom’s television show when a mortal from the most forsaken reality found the power within herself to lead the god Loki across land and sea and returned him to the stars to save us all.”

Loki helped you to your feet, but as you began to climb the stairs to the console, he stopped you one more time, taking your hand and holding it as if about to propose.

“Y/N, you’ve been the hero of our story this whole time. I want you to bask in the world you’ve saved and be fulfilled. Please promise me you won’t dwell on what we could have salvaged, and instead lull yourself to sleep with the dreams of what you have yet to do.”

“I’ll try,” you said weakly, before correcting yourself. “I will.”

“I am so proud of you, my star.”

After kissing your hand, he looked deeply into your eyes. “And if you do, I promise you in turn, that any time you need me, if you look to the night sky and see a green star streaking above…I am thinking of you, and in my mind we are already back in that hot spring, counting each twinkling light above until dawn breaks over us again.”

You threw yourself against Loki’s chest so hard he nearly fell back down the stairs. He kept his arm around you, holding you close as you ascended together, finally meeting The Doctor at the TARDIS console.

He was leaning casually against the railing, looking gently sad as you finally relinquished Loki to where he’d needed to be all along.

“Are you ready?” he asked. You both nodded.

Loki graciously stepped forward and shook his hand, and even The Doctor couldn’t help but smile again. “I still can’t believe I met the God of Mischief today! You’re brilliant!”

“So are you, new friend,” said Loki. “And…uh…” he looked around the ship. “Safe travels!”

“Godspeed to you, my friend,” said The Doctor. “We’ve landed.”

As the TARDIS doors opened for Loki, you felt a firm hand on your shoulder keep you anchored to your position at the top of the front set of stairs. The Doctor was lightly restraining you. “I don’t think you should go.”

“But, what if he needs me?” you said quietly, Loki turning at the open threshold to give you one more, reassuring smile. “This is so much…what if he needs me?” you repeated.

“He does. That is why this is a sacrifice,” The Doctor answered, looking you sternly in the eye. “But he wouldn’t want you to see it happening to him.”

“Y/N?” Loki called up to you one last time.

You couldn’t speak. Your mouth opened and air fell out. You felt The Doctor take your hand in his, giving it a supportive squeeze.

“I love you,” he said. “And I would make the same choice every time.”

You finally smiled back, even if just for his benefit. “No regrets?”

Loki shook his head. “Never.”

The Doctor’s grip on your hand tightened as Loki turned his back to you, slowly stepping out and into his world. You could barely make out a large, gray-and-brown room with tech and a few figures waiting beyond the doors for him. A blonde man in a brown suit was looking both stunned and relieved. Mobius, you thought.

You had the idea from the stories of Mobius that Loki had relayed to you that perhaps their bond was more than he let on, but you weren’t jealous of it. If anything, you felt a kinship with Mobius. You were both about to lose the man you loved.

In a moment that felt both instant and endless, Loki left the TARDIS to meet his fate. The doors slowly closed behind him just as he turned back to get one last glimpse of you.

“Well,” The Doctor said, adding a little perk to his voice to try and lighten the mood, “We both need to get off this timeline before Loki does his work, otherwise we’ll be trapped here.”

He ran back to the console and began speaking a mile-a-minute again. “We should have several minutes to get everyone back to where they need to be before the lines are fully repaired and sealed, so…”

You couldn’t hear a word he was saying. You felt every emotion drain from your body as you became a shell, barely able to hold it together.

The Doctor looked at you with some pity. Not long ago he was alone in the TARDIS, fresh off of a loss of his own. Unlike him, you wouldn’t have someone new literally beamed into the room beside you to fill the hole in your heart.

He chose to speak softly. “Y/N?”

“…yeah?” you said meekly.

“Let’s…let’s go get your brother. We’ll meet him at the park five minutes after we left.”

As soon as the TARDIS hit solid ground, The Doctor took your hand and coaxed you outside. “We only have a few moments before our window of opportunity to hop around realities, so let’s collect your brother and return you home.”

You were still entirely numb from your painful farewell. You only looked straight ahead of you with glazed-over eyes as The Doctor brought you into the open air. “Look!” said The Doctor with a sweet, encouraging smile. He pointed upward. “He’s already doing it. Brave man, brilliant man, that Loki!”

The deep green of the sky was giving way to light blue that indicated mid-afternoon. The people who were panicking seconds ago were beginning to rejoice. The Doctor had been true to his word: he’d returned you to only minutes after you and Loki found him in the park. Granted, it was only in order to retrieve your brother, who had sadly missed everything in his never ending quest for parking space for your stolen car.

Joey’s jaw fell open as he came up around a bend, finally spotting you.

“Well, fuck a duck! Sis, what the hell--?”

“Ssh!” The Doctor silenced him. Joey couldn’t believe who he was looking at, and thus clammed up. You were ignoring all of this, watching the sky paint itself blue again with a cold tear in your eye.

“He’s got us all in his hands at this very moment,” said The Doctor slowly. “He’s thinking of you and saving your life right now!”

The air around you grew cool, calm, and sweet, and you knew it was Loki blowing you one final kiss from his new perch inside a new Yggdrasil, where he had been meant to go all along. You sucked in your breath. Even the wind had the lightest reminiscent scent of Loki’s hair.

“Thank you, my love,” you said quietly.

The sky gave one last flash of green before dissipating back to its natural hue. The Doctor leaned in and spoke only to you. “He heard you.”

“Do you really think he hears me, Doctor?” you whispered.

But he didn’t answer you this time, with only seconds left to deliver you home. “Well, now that we’re all back together, shall we get you two back to America?” asked the Time Lord.

Joey was still confused. “Where’s Loki? What did I miss? It’s only been, like, half an hour!”

You found yourself standing in front of Gino’s Pizzeria once more. It was the last place in all of time and space that you wanted to be. The Doctor had delivered you to exactly where he promised. As the three of you disembarked, any evidence of the greened-over sky or collapsing realities was gone.

Joey shrugged and stuck out a hand to shake The Doctor’s. “What can I say, man? I got to ride in your TARDIS and meet you and…just…thanks for everything!” He may as well have been meeting God.

The Doctor grinned. “Oh, my pleasure, Joey! Always good to meet someone who appreciates my work!”

“If you ever find your way back to our little pocket of space, look me up! I want to see those swaying mountains one day.”

“Oh, you know it!”

Joey took out his key and opened the side door, dwelling in the frame when he saw you needed one more moment.

The Doctor looked at you, while you couldn’t keep your eyes off the sky. It was sunset. The TARDIS must’ve skipped around a few hours in time while you flew back.

“Are you going to be ok?” he asked. When you didn’t reply, he put a hand on your shoulder. “Remember, our duty is to live.”

Swallowing, you turned into The Doctor’s waiting arms, holding him close. “Thank you for everything,” you said. “I’ll be okay.”

“Good,” said The Doctor. The TARDIS breathed as the last remnants of Loki's magic began to fade. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my ride’s about to leave the station!”

He turned away, but had one final thought, compelling him to spin on his heels one last time. “Oh…and Y/N?”

“Yes?” you perked up.

“He can hear you.” He winked, and you waved with a sad smile.

You and Joey stood in the alley and watched as the TARDIS flew off, back to the reality where he was needed most. You cried quietly as you stood for a moment after everything felt silent, and the last traces of the engine’s noise were undetectable.

It was all over. Everyone was where they were always meant to be.

“Hey Sis,” Joey asked, still hanging out in the doorway. “I still have some weed in my drawer. Let’s get baked, order takeout, and watch Thor.”

You smiled as you looked down. You were beginning to fiddle with the tarot pendant, the last reminder of your summer of wonderful insanity. Loki had called you his star. No matter how many realities separated you, nothing would ever change that.

“No,” you said. “I’m feeling the bowl and the food, but let’s watch Captain America instead.”

Epilogue to follow next week!

@crashingwavesofeuphoria @kkdvkyya @red-shirt-mania @misschris1412 @salvinaa @marygoddessofmischief @spiderstyles04 @fireflymoonwitch @mochie85 @loz-3 @lcolumbia1988 @lokilurker @eleniblue @gruftiela @starkzdaughter @mrsbarnes-avenger @thedistractedagglomeration @km-ffluv @lokisgoodgirl @holdmytesseract @itsthattimedarling @wolfsmom1 @scully2u @shinisenko @mischief2sarawr @ririsutty73 @lulubelle814 @meg81589 @gloriuspurposeposts @theonetruepotato87 @linllewellyn @wistfulclueless @etherealkistar @tinydancer40 @hardtravelerwizard-blog @fangirlofmanysstuff @krabog @soulpiercing @archivelaurarps @banjo-bastard

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ijuststareatstuffhereok89 · 19 hours

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No lie, I thought you were gonna be mad at me for choosing this ending. 😆 idk whether to say you're welcome or apologize