#;; ofc jet to my knowledge?

[heirscrchd]

jet 🤝 azula

being so traumatized that your actions over time become far more radical than your friends can handle and so end up being abandoned/betrayed by them

[mxtantrights]

Maybe AK Jason or another jay? If you're comfortable with writing it ofc! I was thinking maybe a sidekick like reader but also they have a relationship?

a/n: okay I do wanna say that I don't have too much knowledge on Arkham Jason. I just know from what I see in other people's fics. so this isn't heavy on the AK Jason, more neutral but you can take it and fill in the gaps as you want! <33 thanks for sending it in anon!! <333

you didn't mean to say it. Really, it was just a slip of the tongue. And you have a sweet tooth. But you didn't really think this was how you're night was going to go.

Because now, right now, Red Hood is buying you and him ice cream. It doesn't help that the seller is an old man who is smiley as can be about the whole situation. It's like he doesn't know who red hood is and what he does in this city, but he as to know. Apparently he's owned this coffee shop for thirty years.

Red Hood hands the man cash and the man hands you your cone, and Red his. You take it and thank the man. And fairly quickly you and Jason are out of the door...

"How are we gonna eat this?" you ask.

He looks at you for a beat. Then he tilts his head at you.

"The masks, red." you clarify your earlier question.

"Oh right, well I just thought we'd take them off to eat. Like normal people. Yo are normal under there, right?" he jokes with you.

You laugh, "Almost as normal as you."

"Is it weird that we've worked together for three years and never seen each other's faces?" Red asks you.

You reach up and pull the hood off, and then take your domino mask off.

"I've shown you mine..." you trail off.

Red hood takes the hint and is removing his helmet- he has jet black hair. You never really thought about how his hair would look. Then his domino mask, and you realize how fucked you are. You're screwed.

"You're prettier than I imagined." Jason says.

Your eyes widen, "You think I'm pretty?"

"Amongst other things, like being a pain in my side." Jason answers.

You clear your throat and take a lick of your ice cream. Then you look him over again. White streak of hair. A bit of a cowl, but he has the wrinkles on the sides of his mouth like he does smile from time to time. Pecs. Thighs. Yeah, you're screwed for sure. This specimen of a man just brought you ice cream on a whim.

"Eat your ice cream, it's gonna melt." you order him.

He smiles, "Yes ma'am. You know I could get used to taking orders from you."

Yeah you're down bad.

[amell333]

His own personal desk pet. S.R

HELLO this is my fist ever fic pls Iwould love to hear what you guys think and i hope you will like my first ever fic! enjoy!

!!English is not my first languge!!

summary: Spencer like having you sitting near or on his desk, he like being able to have you close to him so he can hold you, but sometimes forgets you're not the only onse there. but can you blame him he loves having his own personal desk pet. especially one as cute and pretty as you. but just bc you can doesn't mean others can.

pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Content Warnings: none really just dr Reid being cute and needy. And reader being a litte embarrassed. just fluff yk.

Spencer had never really liked the idea of physical contact with another person. He didn’t like handshakes nor sitting too close to people where they were almost touching. Going his way out to mostly avoid having to touch another person. You could say he is a bit of a germophobe if you would.

But that was before you.

Everybody at the BAU knew Doctor Spencer Reid had a massive soft spot for you, ever since you walked in the doors at the FBI, the moment he laid his eyes on you he knew he was hit, Spencer had fallen for a person he didn’t even know the name of at the time, hell even the whole FBI knew how much he liked you, everyone except you. For a member of the BAU you had an extremely impressive knowledge on criminals and murder, but when it came to love you were facing a wall almost stupid on the subject of love.

You were so oblivious that you never noticed how all of his rules was thrown out the window the second you it came to you. You never noticed how his touches would linger on you’re shoulder when explaining something to you or how he would scooch closer to you when you all set at the round table going over a case, or in the jet how the seat next to you was always reserved for him. You never saw how he would stare at you with his adorable big brown puppy dog eyes like if he didn’t, he would be striped of all life.

Being the same age and having common interests made the two of you inseparable from the start, oh and ofc Spencer’s massive crush on you. You two had been best friends for almost 6 years now and in these last 6 years Spencer’s crush had only been grooving bigger and bigger.

“Earth calling Doctor Reid! You there pretty boy? Or are you too busy making lovey eyes to you’re crush over there?” Morgans voice snaped Spencer out of the spell like trance you had put him in.

“What?” not really hearing what he said, Spencer only then looked back at Morgan, locking eyes with him. Spencer’s eyes getting used to looking at something closer again needed some time to adjust. “Sorry? what did you say again? I didn’t quite hear you.”

Snickers could be heard from not only Morgan but also JJ, Emly and Rosi, “Man she got you hooked pretty boy huh? You sure that shot to the leg didn’t effect your braid as well?” spencer still confused didn’t  get time to answer before the sound of  JJ’s voice broke the laughter.

“Guys Hotch just texted we got a case”

And only a few minutes later there they were sitting around the round table explaining the case. You sitting next to Spencer, like always. No one really had seats around the table that was theirs, but you and Spencer did no one had ever mentioned it or even talked about it, but everyone on the team knew it. it was an unspoken rule. No one sits next to Spencer unless it’s you.

Spencer scooted closer to you while the quick briefing was happening, not really completely listening but enough to drop his point of view on the different point’s of the statements on the murders here and there, before randomly info dumping something only just related to the case at hand, no Spencer was far to busy loving the heat you’re  body gave off you’re arm touching his. He loved how warm you were. But once again he was broken from his thought’s by a voice.

“Ok guys wheels up in 20”

Spencer turned his head to you. You’re pretty face already looking at his face. “So see you on the jet. Save me a seat ok” it wasn’t really a question because you know he would he always did.

And like always there you were sitting next to him, you where almost sitting on his lap with how close together you were sitting, but neither of you minded, his hand around you’re waist and chit resting ever so gently on you’re shoulder.

You didn’t fly for long before landing and getting of the jet. The drive to the small town station wasn’t that bad either, it was a small town on a big land a lot of desert with not so much town. When you and the team walked in Spencer’s hand still hadn’t left you’re body it was still ever so gently resting on the small of you’re back.

Having been introduced to the sharif and the people you were going to work with. Next thing was splitting into teams on who were going where and doing what, and with Spencer’s injury it was not hard to see he was going to have to work from the station.

“So who’s staying with Reid at the station?”

Darek was quick to shot a look between you and Spencer before saying. “actually I think Pretty boy is going to be most comfortable staying here with Y/N here more then any of us others” Spencer stopped and looked over at you expectingly.

The other’s looked over to you. You feeling and uncomfortable feeling having all eyes staring at you waiting for an answer Hotch’s voice sounded “Y/N? you’re ok with staying here with Dr Reid?”

“Of curse I’ll stay here with Spence! Can’t have him getting lonely now can we.” You said with an adoring smile on you’re face. “Grate you two stay here and see what you can find on victimology and see what’s may connect the victim in any way’s. sharif could you find a desk for the two of them they can use as work station?”

“Sure yeah of curse, I’ll go find 2 desks for the two of you-“ he was quickly cut off by Spencer. “No one will be fine, we have no problem sharing a desk.” Quick looks was shared between the team. You’re voice rung out. “yeah one is fine I have no problem sharing a desk with Spence.”

“ very well then, I’ll go find and clear a desk you guys can use. In the meantime you can just wait here.” The sharif went off to find a desk you could use. Not even a minute later he came back, and showed you and Spencer to the desk. “well we should get started now huh?” you asked Spenser. He responded with a nod and a dorky smile.

Hours later you were sitting on the desk with you’re legs crossed with a Spencer leaning up against you’re thigh. The news had in someway slipped out to the press and the phones were going off like crazy. “ We know who his next victim is. I’ll go outside and deliver the news to the team.” And with that you hopped off the table and walked out the back door.

and around 5 minutes later a female cop walk up to the desk you only 5 minutes ago were siting on. “So I se you’ve been working hard huh you deserve a teat here I brought you some coffee from the coffee machine.” Handing the Warm cup To Spencer he thanked her knowing damn well he wasn’t even going to thing about drinking it.

Spencer didn’t pay much attention to her or what she was saying to be honest, that was until she leaned half sat herself on the desk not only that but a little too close to him touching his arm. Spencer almost panicked but calmed himself. “please don’t touch me nor sit on my desk I’m a bit of a germophobe.” He said as calmly as he could

“A germo-what? But you let that other girl full on sit on the desk and she was touching you? That doesn’t make any sense buddy.” She said almost offended. “ yeah but she’s different. She’s so much different then you.” With that said she stormed off. And didn’t approach the team again especially not Spencer or you.

 But at the end of the day you caught the killer. And was packing up to go back home. You and Spencer was the fist in the jet. “spence?...” Spencer was confused by the tone and turned around. When he did he did see a smile on you’re face like always you’re expression was impossible to read. It scared him. What if he had did something wrong? Had he done something to make you sad or mad? He didn’t know and he couldn’t read you. It scared him.

“spencer am I different to you then others?” the question made him panic. “Wh-what are you talking about of course not-“ he was quickly cut off by you’re voice. “Spence I heard what you said to the female cop.” Silence the only thing there could be heard was the steps you took to take you closer to him.

“ you- you heard that?! I can explain ok! It’s no because you’re different! I mean you are diff-“he was cut off by the soft touch of you’re lips on his. He was surprised but quick to kiss back, scrabbling with his hands to hold the sides of you’re face. “I like you Y/N. I like you a lot, I would even say I love you but I would want to scare you away like that.” “I like you a lot to but..” he was quick to think of the worst. “but?...” “ but I would love you if you took me on a date.” The smile returning to his face. “of course! Of course I will” hugging you with a smile.

The happy little session you had was cut off with a loud “fucking finally!” you and Spencer turned around to see the whole team standing there. You were embarrassed. Realizing they had probably seen it all or at least most of it. “my man! So you finally got the girl” ohh man this was going to be a long flight home for you and Spencer.

AGHHHH MY FIRST FIC!!  I really hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. and I wish you beautiful ppl a good morning/afternoon/night:33333

[cannibalhellhound]

@bo0tleg answering here because its more convenient

From this post

So I like anatomy and enjoy collecting knowledge like pokemon so ofc I went down the rabbit hole of birds

This DeviantArt post is literally heavenly and i will forever praise @scribbly-blue-hearts for it

I love it

Then you get the character's height and wing type to calculate the wingspan with the info of the post and put it down on paper because being inconsistent with sizes makes me itchy

For the wing patterns I just got a reference and drew the opposite side (changing feather positions) using my light tablet

Basically lots of references 👍🏼

The making up clothes part was interesting

Figuring out whether only flight birds exist or there are flightless and swimming birds, the accommodations for each of those, accommodations for bigger wingspans, etc.

I also like adding characteristics of the bird I chose to the character, like diet and habits.

ALSO

How their work would involve the wings, like special harnesses for the jet pilots or fireproof sprays or something for firefighters (? Stuff like that

Ofc there are times when I'm tired and just say Fuck It We Ball but world building is fun

[dragonfightingsocietea]

spare kobra kid thoughtz? (when u get a change ofc)

oh my god i have so many (p.s. my zones/danger days knowledge is a bit rusty, so forgive me)

-kobra learns that he is trans from a BL/i "be a better human" manual. he'd never really thought much about his appearance- there weren't many mirrors in his apartment that his mother or pois hadn't broken, but nonetheless, he just didn't care. what he had known was though is that he wasn't whatever people thought he was, but naturally, he couldn't communicate this. party poison is in re-ed one day during what mom and dad call "summer", and kobra is reading, keeping his head down, lying low so the crows don't send him to re-ed, too. flipping through manuals, he kinds pasted-in accounts of long gone juvie halls spitting about revolution, how they are the unclean, never washed, pure color that BL/i speaks ill of. they talk about gender and expression and pronouns and kobra just about collapses. he tells poison when they get home. they say they've always known. well, that's news to him.

-not talking much as a kid, kobra and poison end up teaching themselves sign language, and it gets so garbled throughout the years that they end up having their own language. when coming to the zones, jet and cherri are almost 100% sure they know sign language. until they meet the venom siblings.

-kobra had really bad acne as a kid. i just don't know how to elaborate but i have so many Thoughts about it.

-those who don't know the kobra kid- and even some who do- take him as calloused and unforgiving. have you ever seen him smile behind that helmet, seen his eyes squeeze tight and his face go red behind those glasses? no, no one has, unless you're in his crew and when someone tells you this, you laugh in their face but not dare confirm or deny. cherri cola wouldn't ever tell you that the kid is his first and only love in a way that isn't nondescript and vague. he wouldn't ever tell you about how kobra cooks him breakfast and taught him how to wash the girl's hair, and how kobra steals his jackets and always hides them in different places. party poison would surely never tell you the way they became the venom siblings or how the name was a mix from something found in a BL/i manual and something their grandmother called them. they would never tell you about how much kobra tells them that he loves them or to be careful every time they're separated, and that the only thing that can lull the kid back to sleep is poison singing songs.

-finally- ghoul and kobra, upon meeting many years after poison and ghoul did, went bounding up, to party poison, shoulder to shoulder, dumbly asking permission to be friends. pois has never answered the question to this day, but it's pretty clear to tell.

[avengerscompound]

The Tower - Loss and Grief

The Tower: Loss and Grief - one shot

Series Masterlist

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2776

Warnings:  Death, Funerals

Synopsis:   The group lose Rhodey and have to come to terms with the fact they will outlive all their friends.

Author’s Note: Requested by Jaredwalker94 on AO3.  You can send in your requests too.

Loss And Grief

Takes place between Family and Happily Ever After

Losing people is never easy and you never get used to it, even if the ones you are closest to don’t really age.  Over the years we’d lost lots of people as well as our pets.  The loss could hit differently depending on who it was.

The pets were who we lost first.  First Spotty, who made it to 12, and then Tyr a couple of years after that.  We had loved them so much and most of the kids didn’t know a world where they didn’t have those dogs with them.  We all grieved them immensely, but you expect to outlive your dogs, and we could see it coming with each of them and we were able to prepare ourselves.

When my mother died, we had been expecting it.  She had been unwell, and a daughter expects to outlive her mother.  I grieved, but even considering the fact we’d worked hard at repairing our relationship, I found what I was grieving most was the years I didn’t get to have a mother that looked out for me, and the fact my children had lost a grandmother who had loved them in a way she had never fully managed to love me.

When one of Steve’s protegees named Jet was killed in battle, he felt it so strongly that he slipped into a depression that lasted months and none of us could seem to get through to him.  His grief wasn’t just about losing someone he’d grown to love like a daughter, but the fact he blamed himself for her death.  It took so long for him to work through those feelings and we all felt so helpless trying to help him through it.  It was a tragic death that came out of nowhere, the kind that everyone experiences at some point in time.

The death of Nick Fury had been hard on all of us.  He managed to live a long life considering, but even still, it wasn’t old age that got him, but rather a battle in space with most of the team.  He’d had such a huge send-off, and it felt more like a celebration of all the things he’d achieved in his life than the sadness of his loss.

It wasn’t until I’d been part of the group that Clint had nick-named the sex-vengers for a little over thirty years, that we had a friend who we should have aged with, died of old age.  Rhodey was the first of our close friends that we lost.  It was surreal to watch a friend who was the same age as my husband grow old, get sick, and then pass on while we all stayed the same age.  It affected Tony the most.  He had these ideas of the two of them growing old together, working side-by-side, settling down at the same time.  Getting old and crotchety and bitching about the youth.

In a way it happened, Rhodey and Carol Danvers had an on-again-off-again relationship that started a few years after the birth of Riley and Pietro, and the year that Billy was born, Carol gave birth to a little girl they named Niesha.  For years Tony and Rhodey continued to fight side-by-side.  Our kids grew up together.  Rhodey was as an important and constant part of Tony’s life as he had been from the day they met at MIT.  It was just that Rhodey reached the Murtaugh age where he kept complaining about being too old for things, while Tony was still running around like Riggs.  Then he retired and Tony was still juggling Avenging, running Stark Industries, and raising kids.

When Rhodey got sick, I think it was when it really hit Tony.  He was going to outlive his best friend by not just a few years, but millennia.

Rhodey passed away in his sleep while Tony was home with us, and Carol was staying with Niesha.  The nurse said sometimes people waited until they were alone.  That bit of knowledge hadn’t helped Tony at all.  He jumped straight into the anger stage of grief and took it out on himself.  He was so fucking mad at himself for not being there with him at the end, and it seemed to drive him into this frantic organization phase.  Rhodey had made it to be the secretary of defense in his career. and the funeral was going to be a huge event.

Riley and Pietro had come down from Asgard for the funeral, and the whole family had gone to DC where it was being held.  That meant that we had booked out every suite in the Waldorf Astoria just to fit us in.  It also meant that we had to split up between the rooms.  I was in the presidential suite sharing a bed with Tony and Bruce, while Marya took the second bedroom.  When I woke up the morning of the funeral, it was just me and Bruce in the bed.

I got up to go looking for him, following the thread that connected me to him.  He wasn’t in the suite anymore and I had to follow it down to the fitness center.  I found him running on one of the treadmills, staring out the window with a scowl on his face.  I came up beside him and leaned against the machine.  “Couldn’t sleep?”

He didn’t say anything, but he turned up the machine.  “Come on, old man,” I said.  “We need to go and get ready.”

“I can’t do it,” he said.  “Go without me.  I can’t stand up and talk about how much he meant to me when I still look like this.  It’s not fair.  It’s not fair that I have to keep going on and on and on and he gets taken like this.  Why should it be different for him as it is for me?  I’d sound like a fucking hypocrite.”

“Tony,” I said, frowning.  “Life isn’t fair.  Nothing about it is.  These things you’re feeling now - they were what I was worried about when I agreed to bond with you all in the first place.  The idea of losing Clarke is devastating for me.  It’s not fair you had to watch Rhodey grow old when you haven’t been.  But you loved him and he loved you and if you don’t come today and say goodbye, you’ll regret it.  Think about how you feel now about not being there when he went.”

 “It’s going to keep happening,” he said.  It’s Rhodey today.  Then what?  Coulson?  Hill?  Peter?”

“All of them,” you agreed. “And it sucks.  It’s always going to suck.  But we’ll have each other.  Won’t we?  We’ll be there for each other when it happens.  And when it’s me that’s the one that’s completely devastated, you’ll be there for me.  We all loved Rhodey.  Let us be there for you.  And you be there for us.  And Neisha.  She needs her Uncle Tony today.”

I was crying by the time I was done speaking.  He turned off the treadmill and stopped running it, letting it roll him to the end as it slowed and then stopped.  “I should have just taken off.”

“You know I have Synergy with me.  I would have found you,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said.  “I suppose you would have.”

“Come on.  We have to shower and get dressed before we meet everyone for breakfast.  And they have lobster waffles.”

He got off and put his arm around my waist.  I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and we went back up to our suite.

After breakfast with the family, we took several cars to the hall where the service was taking place.  We took our seats at the front with Carol and Neisha, and when everyone was seated a stripped-down version of Kiss’ War Machine started to play.  I couldn’t help but smile at the very personal and quite silly touch that had been added to the funeral.  Everyone stood as six air force officers carried Rhodey’s coffin down the aisle between the seating, held on their shoulders and with the US Flag draped over it.  When the coffin was placed on the stand amongst the flowers and a photo of him in his prime, dressed in his blue dress uniform, everyone took their seats and Thor moved up to the plinth.

“Let us take a few deep breaths to prepare ourselves.  Breathe deeply and remember the love you have and the joy you share,” he said and lowered his head.  He took three deep breaths and the crowd followed with him, centering ourselves.  He raised his head again and looked out at the crowd.  “And so we begin.  Friends, family, admirers, and loved ones, we are here today to remember a remarkable man.  James Rhodes grew up poor in Philadelphia and was subject to many hardships, yet he was focused and driven and he fought hard to get where he wanted to be in life.  He made it to MIT on a scholarship, and then joined the Air Force.  He rose in the ranks quickly due to his skills and intelligence, and when Tony Stark created a suit of armor and became the hero Iron Man, Rhodey followed on with a suit of his own that he called War Machine.  He won the heart of the remarkable woman, Major Carol Danvers, and they had a daughter together.  He was well loved, and well respected, and was one of those rare people who left a mark on all who knew him.  I now invite his family and friends to speak.”

Neisha got up first.  The twenty-five-year-old was such an even blend of both her parents.  She had inherited her mother’s powers and both of their determination and intelligence.  Today she wore a black two-piece suit with a tapered vintage jacket that reached her knees.  Her black curls were held back from her face with a black scarf that wrapped around her neck and draped over her shoulder.

“My dad was the best dad.  He wasn’t perfect by any means - what man is?  But he loved me, and he did his best, and that’s all that anyone can ask.  He was protective - sometimes to the point that you might call him a helicopter parent, which was funny considering I was born with invulnerability and the ability to fly.  It was pretty funny as a kid, being told to be careful when climbing a tree when falling out of it wouldn’t particularly hurt.

“Still, as protective as he could be, he never held me back from reaching my potential.  I was told to be careful, not no.  Sometimes he’d hover over me or explain why something was a bad idea.  Sometimes he’d make me stop and talk through a plan and he’d discuss the risks of that plan.  I never felt like there was a thing in the universe that I couldn’t do if I put the work in.  And when you’re parents are James Rhodes and Carol Danvers, those sights can be set really high.”

She stopped and wiped the tears from her cheeks, and I did the same, taking a moment to get out some kleenex from my handbag and wipe my face.  She took a deep breath before she continued.  “He made sure I got to just be a kid, and that I knew there would always be people there to protect me - usually it was him.  I love my dad, and the only thing I would change would be that he decided to have me sooner because I hate that I only got to have him in my life for 25 years.  I’m going to miss him every day for the rest of my life, but I was blessed to have him for the time I did.  I love you, dad.”

She went to sit back down, but Carol got up and hugged her, holding her close and nuzzling into her hair.  When they broke apart, Carol went up to the podium.  “What can I say about James Rhodes?” she said.  “He is the most remarkable man I’ve ever met, and I’m surrounded by remarkable people.  He is the only person I could have ever imagined settling down with because he was the only person who never expected me to.  It’s no secret that our relationship was on again/off again.  When we broke up it was never because we weren’t getting along, it was always because we were giving each other the space to achieve something separate from the relationship.  They never felt like actual breakups, more that we were taking time to be together apart.

“You all know about his achievements.  His Ph.D. from MIT.  His impressive military career.  War Machine.  But only the blessed few got to experience the man on a personal level.  He was the kind of man who believed in tough love.  He didn’t let people get away with shit and if they were wrong, he made sure they knew it.  He was as loyal as a person could be and expected the same kind of loyalty back.  He was supportive and stubborn and so fucking smart.  Not just book smart either.  He was street smart, emotionally smart, and smart in all the ways a person can be.  I loved him so fucking much, and I will continue to love him until the end of time.  We had a life together.  A family.  He gave me a daughter when I never expected to be a mother.  The world is not as bright without him in it.”

She came to sit down and I gave Tony’s arm a rub.  He wiped his eyes and got up.  I had never seen him so nervous about giving a speech before.  He tapped his fingers on the podium as he centered himself.  “Rhodey was my best friend.  No - he was more than that.  He was the brother I never had.  I have a lot of people in my life I’m close with, but the thing I had with Rhodey was special and can’t be compared to the other relationships in my life.

“I was fifteen when I met Rhodey, and let me tell you, he was not exactly happy about the rich, entitled, white kid, coming in and latching on to him.  But I am incredibly charming and it wasn’t long until whatever trouble I was getting up to, he wasn’t far behind shaking his head.  I loved him so fucking much, I think if he had been in any way attracted to men, I’d have settled down a lot sooner and ended up having a much different life.  That’s not what happened, but even still, he was always there.  He was the one who found me when I was kidnapped.  He was there when I first took a stab at love.  He was there when I ruined it and it blew up in my face.  He was there when I let my heart open again - even when he thought my relationship was weird and he didn’t understand it.  He was there when my babies were born.  He was always there and now he’s not - and it’s not fair.  It’s not fair that he doesn’t get to see how things turn out for his daughter.  It’s not fair he’ll never get to walk her down the aisle.  It’s not fair that I get to go on and on with the people I love and he doesn’t.  I don’t know who I’ll call when I have exciting news about my family.  I don’t know who I’ll take out drinking and make toasts with when my kids start getting married and having kids of their own.  I don’t know who I’ll take out and test my new tech with.  None of this is fair.  Rhodey, I love you, buddy.  I wish you could be here and see how many people turned out for you, but then I guess that’s not how funerals work.”

By the time Tony was done with his Eulogy tears were streaming down his face.  I was weeping openly too, as was Wanda, and Sam.  When Tony sat back down beside me, Bruce and I, wrapped our arms around him and let him sob between us as we held him.

I didn’t know if these kinds of things would get any easier.  I hoped not.  Love was the thing that defined us as a group more than anything else.  Grief was hard, but I wanted to keep being able to love people this strongly even knowing that it would end like this every time.

~ END ~

[cartierbin]

pls could you do a dilf!minho smut? haha your dilf ones are so good

ofc baby. tysm.

『 pairing — minho x reader

genre — smut, + dilf!minho but sex therapist type shit

word count — 1.532k 』

smut under the cut !

“I don’t know what it is to be quite honest with you”. you muttered, fiddling your fingers and hastily checking the clock every five minutes. it could’ve been any minute until your husband came home, and you knew he was going to ask you where you were. the last thing you wanted to say was that you were out in the late hours of the night, seeking help from your therapist. especially your sex therapist.

dr. lee minho shifts a little his seat, his muscular yet lean body complimented his grey suit perfectly, and his circular lenses made him look that much more enticing. his jet black hair was parted to the left without flaw. your therapist was sexy and he knew it. and most importantly you knew it. It was hard to believe this was a man with three children. he glides his tongue over the span of his parched lips and continued scribbling in his notes. when his eyes focused back on you they were serious. for some reason whenever he gazed at you it almost looked as if he was reading you, like he was prepared to tell you your future out of a crystal ball. he held knowledge and wisdom in his eyes even if he didn’t say much of anything. “what you have to understand is that communication in the bedroom is really essential. if you and your partner are not communicating then you will never get what you need”. he always talked with his hands too, he was confident with every word and it’s clear that he knew what he was talking about. and if he wasn’t he was for damn sure good at hiding his uncertainty. “that’s the thing I don’t know where to start. I ask him if he wants to try new things but he turns all of my ideas down and I’m not sure what to do anymore. I’m afraid if this continues I don’t think this relationship would last. does that sound childish of me? shifting away from him because of the sex?”.

“baby what I need you to do first is stop tearing yourself down with this. don’t invalidate your feelings. sex in a relationship is just as important as everything else and we’re only humans, we have needs. and we want our partners to be able to meet them. I think your dilemma is stemming from the fact that you think you’re being too pushy if you ask for more. and you need to stop that”. it wasn’t until you started coming to his sessions where you realized someone could talk in such a demanding tone but yet so loving. he never spoke as if he knew it all even though he did, but he spoke as if he sincerely loved you and only wanted the best for you. you nod at his response taking heed to his advice. he continues, “and once you stop that you’ll be able to ask without that weighty feeling on your shoulders”. you nod yet again, all of a sudden feeling kind of fidgety and anxious. “so where do I began?”. he places his notepad on the table beside him and stands to his feet, ushering you over with a hand. when you stood up you were fairly intimidated by his austere demeanor. you knew he was probably a playful man outside of the office but in it, he was much different. he guided you to the long mirror between two potted plants, making you stand right in front of him. you practically shuddered once you gazed right past your reflection and directly at his while he was standing directly behind you.

“loosen up a little. we’re going to do an exercise”. you nod, “what is it?”. he licks his lips again and makes a ponytail out of your hair, bringing it all behind your shoulders so you could get a clear view of yourself. you grew hot in the face from his gestures. “I’m going to be your husband. and you’re going to look into this mirror and tell me what you want more of. no matter what is it I’ll have to listen to you. this will help you gain confidence in yourself so when it happens in real time you’ll be prepared and not embarrassed when you hear yourself”. your heart steadily pounded at his request. you kindly obliged to his orders. “before we start I’d like to know if it’s okay to touch you?”. you agreed to that request as well, not really caring where and how. you weren’t prepared for him to immediately attached his lips to your neck, peppering specks of kisses along the coast of your shoulders. his lips were so gentle and heedful, kind of like the way he spoke. you stood there for a while tensed, not knowing what to do and being absolutely frozen on the tingling feelings his lips left you with. he spoke into his next kiss, “go on, tell me what you want”. your eyes fell to his veiny calloused hands and you couldn’t believe what you were about to say but you had to say it. it was apart of the exercise after all. “I want you to touch me”. you admitted weakly, your voice going hoarse between syllables. you were nervous and you didn’t know what to expect. his mouth moved further up your neck and you could see his arm slither around your waist to the front button of your jeans, undoing them and zipping down your zipper. you stopped breathing completely once he crammed his hand inside the front of your panties.

“stop sounding like that. control your voice”. he demanded, you gulped hard and twitched when you felt his fingertips rub the surface of your already moistened folds. “rub my clit please”. you sort of whined. he followed suit, circling it around lazily. your heart was throbbing in your ears. he wasn’t even doing much and it felt fucking good. you drew in a sharp breath, realizing that watching yourself get touched in a mirror was ten times hotter than you thought it would be. he swivels his head over to the other side of your neck, catching abandoned spots of skin in between his lips to suck. “this is all you want baby?”. he spoke in a tone so dark you wanted to just fall to your knees. you were already starting to throb at his gestures. “can you rub it faster please?”. you stutter, mentally cursing at yourself for doing so and being oblivious to the fact that minho thought it was kind of sexy. he does so. “don’t leave it at that. tell me how wet you are. tell me what your pussy feels like”. he could feel his fingers becoming slippery with your slick, it was getting harder and harder to rub you. It turned him on but it was only obvious, you felt his bulge poking you from behind. you breathed, “my pussy is throbbing so hard I’m getting so wet-“. he languidly tongue kisses your jawline and an overwhelming wave washed over your body. “mm what do you need?”. electricity courses through your torso. it was hot the way his mouth moved passionately against your skin as if he’s known it for years. “I need you to stick your fingers inside me please”. with no hesitation he sunk his fingers into your hole going a bit deeper than he intended, but nonetheless proud of himself for making you arch your back against him. he could feel your slick sliding down his knuckles. “shit”. he unexpectedly groans, revealing to you how much he actually enjoyed this.

you shut your eyes tight while his fingers delve inside you steadily and pulled out at a measured pace. you began to whine and rub your ass against him in the process. “open your eyes for me. I want you to see yourself”. his voice made you want to collapse and his fingers moved so smoothly inside you you were starting think that he went to school for this. they were magic in between your legs and you didn’t want him to stop. your eyes fluttered open, one after the other and your mouth hung open. “tell me how it feels”. by now his lips was so close to your mouth you just wanted him to kiss you already. it was a tease the way his mouth ran over everything but your lips. but it was hard to ask for that when you were prompted with another question. you could barely think with him touching you like this. “it feels— it feels so fucking good oh my god”. the whimper in your eyes is what drove him insane. you looked so needy and burdened with want he wondered how and why your husband wasn’t doing this to you already. your thighs were threatened to clasp around his wrist, you didn’t know if you could take much more. his other hand snakes up your shirt and grasps your naked breasts, massaging one and pulling and tugging on your nipples. the feelings were foreign, your husband usually filled one night with one of these motions. It was never everything happening all at once like this. your pants became quicker, “faster”. you hummed, becoming more confident with your demands. you watched the outline of his fingers in your panties hastening their pace, finger fucking you at an intensity that had you reaching back just to clutch the fabric on his shoulder. you could wrap your mind around how perfect and skilled he was at doing this, well you couldn’t wrap your mind around anything for that matters. your head falls back into the crook of his neck and you reached down the grip his moving wrist. “fuck I’m going to cum. I’m going to cum so hard”. he sticks his tongue in your mouth and performs the hottest kiss you’ve ever felt in your married life. “yes keep talking like that”. he exhales sounding just as winded and breathless as you were. “I don’t think I can take it please my pussy is throbbing too hard”. you whine at the top of your lungs feeling his fingers deeper inside you. you could feel the palm of his hand rubbing your ass a little. “there you go, cum down my fingers”. he demands licking and sucking the skin of your neck until your eyes rolled to the back of your head in a mind blowing orgasm.

you were still bucking inside his hand as he rubbed all of the aftershocks right out of you, enjoying how much you were cumming especially since it was the first time you’ve came like that in years. you were limp and weak, and you just knew that your husband probably already texted you about twenty times trying to figure out where you were but you didn’t care. minho sneaks kisses to your hot earlobe. “from a professional standpoint I’m proud of you for speaking up for what you wanted. but aside from me being your therapist that was so fucking sexy”.

[sleevesareforlosers]

do the rest of the diner crew know that party was reeducated and was almost a “perfect citizen” til he snapped out of it? how much of that story do they know and how does/would it affect how they think about pois???

oh this is such an interesting question holy shit. okay okay okay

first off, if poison knows it, kobra knows it, and anything kobra remembers from before reeducation, party knows as well. its the one thing that they are 100 percent completely and wholly open about with each other, even though its weird and hard to talk about. the thing is, even they dont have the full story. kobra was like eight when poison was reeducated, party doesnt remember anything from before it and hes foggy on the first few years after it and kobra started having his own issues to worry about when he was like 11 so 'the mystery of whats up with my weird brother' wasn't his highest priority from then on.

i dont wanna say the crew Doesnt know but i dont think party's ever like. sat everyone down and done a "storytime: I was on a fasttrack to being a mid-high level BLI executive". one of party's big things is this complex they have about being a 'real killjoy' and how they're always worried about being seen as a fraud and having people leave them bc of it so they arent like. eager to tell people anything that might complicate things

but stuff slips out and makes people wonder yknow? he never Really talks about life in the city (which kobra does to an extent) and he has Huge blank spots in his memory, but he'll absent-mindedly know Intimate details about how the city functions. Jet could tell instantly that they had some kind of job in the city because of some of their mannerisms in the early days (calling people sir, adopting an unnaturally perfect posture when stressed, etc) but jet hadn't been in the city long enough to recognize any of the origins of those. by the time ghoul and cherri were on the scene, those mannerisms were gone and ofc even when kobra's talking about his city days he never really mentions party bc they didn't have much of a relationship at all until they left. so they all know theres something, but they dont know what

what the crew DOES know is that pois left the city with a tracker in the back of his neck, a working knowledge of city schematics and security, the ability to drive, and a little brother he'd do anything for. none of them feel a need to know because they know party As He Is Now and thats enough for them, they all trust each other 100 percent.

would it affect how the crew saw them if they knew? absolutely not. ghoul and cherri are kinda experts at having pasts they arent proud of. especially considering how party more or less put aside his shitty-about-addicts views to help w cherris recovery, both of them would feel SO weird about not returning the favour. scenarios you cant control, right? as for jet, they met party when he was three days out of the city. thats a tough time in anyones life, especially someone who JUST snapped out of reeducation, and as much as party wasn't eager about all the parts of desert life, they Never wavered in how badly they wanted to be out there. like i dont think anyone would ever think party believed in city rhetoric, especially not his crew.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Kismet {9}

Henry Cavill x Famous OFC Aliya Taylor

Warning: Slow Burn, Mild Cursing, Dialogue Heavy, POV Changes

Words: 3.5k

Summary: Aliya is a singer turned model turned actress. Since she was fifteen, she’s been creating her empire in the entertainment world. As the daughter of a famous fashion model/designer and Hollywood director, you’d think life is easy for her, but her past has been anything but easy. Due to past trauma, she’s forever changed and no longer trusts any man that is not in her family and a select few in her team. She’s sworn off love and serious relationships and has planned never to fall again, but love isn’t something that can be planned. It just happens when it’s meant to. Can Aliya outrun a love that seems hellbent on holding tight to her, a love that is Kismet?

If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!! 😘  

As always, thank you so much for reading. ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 

The change within you was instantaneous, and your body fought it like a foreign virus. You’d barely slept a wink the night before. You tossed. You rolled. You took up your phone and hovered over Henry’s contact only to put it back down and toss and turn some more. Half of you wanted to talk to him so badly, but the other half wanted you to practice some restraint. There was no happy middle ground, and because there wasn’t, you struggled to find any peace in your mind. By the time you managed to fall asleep, it was one hour before you had to get up to prep for your day. When you opened your eyes, the first thing you saw was a message from the culprit to your sleeplessness himself.

 MSG Henry: Good morning, beautiful. I didn’t sleep a wink. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I must have picked up my phone ten times to text or call you. It’s torture not being able to hear the one voice you want to hear more than anything.

 As soon as you read the words, your heart literally melted, and butterflies filled your belly.

 “Christ almighty,” you whispered as your fingers itched to rapid-fire. Before you could catch yourself, you’d already typed out a reply and sent it.

 MSG: Good Morning to you too, handsome. I know what you mean. I didn’t sleep either. I almost called you so many times. I think you’re addicting.

 You reread the message then groaned at the last sentence.

 “Really, Aliya, addicting?” You rolled your eyes hard and pushed to get yourself ready for the day.

 By the time you’d left the hotel, he still hadn’t replied, and you regretted responding altogether.  So, here you were sitting in one of your four meetings for the day trying to keep your head in the game and your mind off of Henry’s lips, or his eyes, or the feel of his muscular arms around you. It was proving more complicated than it sounded. When you weren’t thinking of his lips, or his eyes, or his arms and kisses, you were overthinking your message and his lack of response.

 A little more than halfway in your first meeting, your phone went off, and you had to make yourself slow down and not leap for it. Nonchalantly, you glanced at the screen and saw Henry’s name.

 MSG Henry: Addicting, huh? I like that, but you should not be talking. I have been addicted to you since the day you bumped into me.

 Any worries you’d had the last few hours melted away, and a smile spread across your face.

 MSG: Do tell me more, Mr. Cavill.

 Barely a minute passed before another message came in.

 MSG Henry: I would rather tell you while looking in your eyes so you can see the depth of which I mean them in my eyes.

 You bit your bottom lip and closed your eyes. He was different alright, you thought.

 MSG Henry: I’m sorry it took me this long to reply. I’m trying to finish up all business between today and tomorrow. I had to hide my phone from myself, or else I would have been messaging you this entire time.

 You couldn’t lie. That felt good to know that he was having as much of a struggle going about his typical day to day tasks as you were. The knowledge of that comforted you, but it also worried you. This thing was still so new. For the duration of your meeting, you texted on and off. It continued as you moved to your second and third meetings, and by then, your focus was shot. The only thing you cared about was what he was saying.

 You loved how open he was. He always found a way to describe to you just what he was thinking or feeling while still remaining mysterious enough to have you wondering what he felt and thought. It was interesting. You’d always been able to predict every man that tried to enter your life. You could predict their motives, what tactics they’d use to try to weasel themselves in, and you often could predict how things would end. With Henry, you’d been having a difficult time with those predictions. It bothered you.

 By the time you got back to your hotel room, it was nearing seven o’clock. You wasted no time putting your phone on silent to concentrate on a little self-care beginning with a soak in the jetted tub. You did your best to keep your mind open to allow the meditation track you played to really work at loosening the knots in your shoulders and tension in your neck. The stress of your life, mainly from work, was really beginning to show. It had always shown, you just never listened to your body whenever it told you to slow down or take it easy.

 Many of your friends and family teased you that you lived to work instead of working to live. There were times you were inclined to agree with them because you didn’t need to work so much to maintain the lifestyle you were accustomed to. You had more money than you knew what to do with. You could afford to take time off to recharge but, you’d lived with the belief that the less time you had to be idle, the better it was for your mental and emotional health. Idle hands, after all, were the devil’s playground. You’d grown so accustomed to working nonstop that you didn’t know how to just do nothing.  

After almost two hours in the bath, as you walked into the bedroom, you saw your phone light up. It was an incoming call from Henry. Sighing, you plopped onto the bed, trying to fight back the smile that wanted freedom. The smile won the battle.

 “Hello?”

 “Did I wake you? I called earlier but--.”

 “No, I’m awake. I put my phone on silent and took a long bath,” you clarified.

 “Ah, that sounds relaxing. Maybe I should try that. I’m feeling this burnout more and more.”

 “Those who are serious about their craft work too much.”

 Henry sighed softly, and you wondered if there was a hint of mint and Guinness on his lips.

 “I don’t want to work tonight,” Henry declared. “Tonight, I want to be with you.”

 You dropped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, do you now?”

 “Yes,” Henry confirmed, his voice dropping in baritone. Your belly fluttered, making you press your palm against it.

 “Have you eaten?”

 “I haven’t,” you breathlessly replied.

 “Good. I’ll be around for you in forty-five minutes.”

 You sprang upward. “That’s not enough time.”

 “Oh no? High maintenance are you?”

 You snorted and shook your head, hearing the tease and challenge in his voice.

 “Forty-five minutes then, just don’t get mad when I don’t look like pictures in magazines,” you quipped.

 “Come as you are.”

 Your reflection caught your eye. Because you’d gotten your hair slightly wet in the tub, it was now in a half natural half blown out state, making you look crazy. You doubted forty-five would be enough to tame it.

 “See you soon,” you said before hanging up to focus on getting yourself together.

 Forty-nine minutes later, you were dressed and on your way down in the elevator. As it made its way down, you assessed your appearance, thankful you were able to straighten your hair again to add a few loose curls. Part of you hadn’t wanted to bother, but you knew the dress you were going to wear would be better complemented with a sleek look. Your eyes skimmed the half sheer and half bodycon black dress you wore, loving that it was the right mix between sexy and classic. You added another layer of your mauve tinted lip gloss and just in time for the doors to open.

 It didn’t take long for you to spot him sitting in the lobby where one of the big-screen TVs were placed. He was watching a rugby match. You crossed the black and white designed tiled floors and approached behind him. When you dipped to his ear, his scent almost had a moan escaping you—almost.

 “Either, no matter where you are, you gravitate to rugby, or I took too long,” you whispered.

Henry turned, and the moment his eyes landed on you, a dumbfounded look washed across his face. You tried not to bashfully look away as you watched his jaw drop when his eyes took in the full view.

 “Wow.”

 A giggle that would have been nauseating from someone else slipped from you, making you press your fingertips to your lips.

 “You’re breathtaking.”

 You smiled, then gently tapped his chest.

 “Stop.”

 “I’m being completely truthful.”

 Those damn butterflies made their presence known once again.

 “Thank you,” you whispered.

 Henry held out a single peony to you. “For you.”

 As you took it, your smile widened. “Wow, one of my favorite flowers.”

 “Is that so?”

 You nodded.

 “Hmm, happy coincidence,” Henry replied as he stood and buttoned his suit jacket. Once done, he held out his arm for you. “Shall we?”

 You nodded and looped yours with his, ready for whatever the night brought on.

  -Henry-

As you sat across from him under the hanging flowers and dim lighting of the restaurant perusing the menu, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. It could have been the way the golden light bathed your skin, giving it an almost glowing aura. Or it could have been the soft smile pasted to your subtle painted lips. It could have even been the spell of the restaurant, the classical music playing, and the sweet scent of flowers that surrounded the two of you. Whatever it was, he itched to touch you, itched to get closer, and itched to do nothing but find a way to keep a smile on your face.

 “What?”

 Realizing you were now looking at him, he smiled back at you.

 “Nothing.”

 “No, no. That’s a something look,” you said, still not able to not smile.

 “It’s nothing,” he repeated.

 “Henry, seriously. What is it?”

 You reached out and gently slapped his hand, then rested it on top of the table.

 “Nothing, really. It’s just—I can’t seem to keep my eyes off of you,” he admitted.

 Your smile slipped, revealing a serious expression for a few seconds before you smiled again and dipped your head in a bashful way. Unable to keep his hands to himself any longer, he closed the gap between your hands and took yours.

 “Your parents must be proud to have raised such a charming son.”

 He smiled, then shrugged. “She has five of them.”

 “Bless her heart,” you added, making him chuckle.

 A comfortable silence drifted between you as he enjoyed the softness of your hand in his and the way your warmth mingled with his. He could get used to this, he thought to himself. When the waiter returned to the table to pour the chosen wine into your glasses, you pulled your hand away, but he didn’t take offense.

 “So, by this time next week, I will be off the grid,” he said after the waiter walked off again.

 A quizzical look swept across your face.

 “Off the grid? Are you a spy?”

 He smiled. “I promise I’m not.”

 Another waiter approached the table, this time carrying your selected third and final courses. He thanked the waiter as he laid the plates before you before he retreated.

 “You were saying,” you prompted, lifting your dinner fork from the selection of three different ones to your right.

 “I’ve earned some much needed R&R.”

 With your fork paused at your lips, you smiled. “Oh, that’s great. Congratulations. When was the last time you took a holiday?”

 He watched you chew and quickly got lost watching your mouth. It took him several seconds to regain his train of thought.

 “Eh-em, uh—perhaps a year and a half, if we are talking about a true holiday.”

 “Wow, that’s a long time.”

 “What about you?”

 You smirked, then scoffed. “Define holiday.”

 He returned your smirk then rested his knife and fork atop the braised beef on his plate before he replied. “Time off, no work, nothing that you have to worry about that can cause stress,  anxiety, or tension. Oh, and of course, sleeping late, drinking until three or four in the morning, fun every day, and feeling refreshed upon return.”

 You smiled as you finished chewing. He watched you take another sip from your glass and knew the wine was only making your lips even sweeter than they already were.

 “Ha! Jeez, when you define it like that, it’s been years upon years,” you replied.

 “Not good at all.”

 You nodded. “Tell me about it.” A soft smile was still on your lips as you placed another forkful of the pan-seared sea bass you were eating.

 With those words, a thought formulated in his mind, and it was a thought he wondered if he put words to would you be receptive. The remainder of dinner passed comfortably. Another reason why he couldn’t stop thinking about you and enjoyed being around you was because your conversation was always excellent. There was never any form of discomfort or awkwardness between you. You easily talked about so many things, and the things you said were always thought-provoking and intelligent. While everyone thought you were just a pretty face, you’d repeatedly allowed him to see that the world knew nothing.

 His hand was rarely without yours in it, and when he held your hand, you softly raked your fingernails against the palm and fingers. Every time you did it, the goosebumps that raced across his skin sparked a reaction that was visible much, much lower than his hand. Everyone else in the restaurant could have disappeared for all he knew because you’d captivated him and every single one of his senses.

 By the time you left the restaurant, it was close to midnight, but you didn’t seem to care what time it was. You held onto his hand as you walked along The River Thames. He often did this late at night when he couldn’t sleep. It was really the only time he could come and not be bothered or recognized because he was more than likely the only one there. Tonight your laughter danced through the air, and the gentle ebb and flow of the water only helped the glistening light from the bridge and neighboring buildings shimmer that much more. It was quite romantic.

You stopped and pressed your back to the iron gating that kept pedestrians out of the river. You stretched your arms out, leaning back as if to really enjoy the gentle breeze.

 “It’s a beautiful night,” you sighed out.

 Just like that, he drifted closer to you until there were only a few inches between your bodies. When you came upright again, your smile was still bright, even realizing he was so close.

 “Are you trying to push me in?”

 He smiled and shook his head. “Never.”

 “Oh no?”

 “No,” he repeated, taking another step to you.

 You bit your bottom lip then sucked it into your mouth, and he became even more painfully aware that he hadn’t sampled them since the night before.

 “Unacceptable,” he whispered.

 “What?”

 Reaching out, he cupped your jaw and slid his thumb across your cheekbone while he slowly traced every inch of your face to his memory. When his eyes met yours, he fell another foot or two deep into the quicksand-like pit of his growing feelings for you. He was so close to going under it was alarming.

 “It’s unacceptable that I haven’t tasted your lips in over twelve hours.”

 He heard a soft gasp escape your lips, and it was the only sound you made before his lips pressed to yours. The only move you made was to entangle your fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. The feel of your fingers against his skin brought those familiar goosebumps. He moaned, then pulled you flush against him. The feel of your body against his made his heart thump rapidly, and when you moaned against his lips, the need to consume you took precedence.

 When he delved his tongue into your mouth, he was shocked when you swirled yours around his, and the sensual move had him pressing you firmly against the iron behind you. It was out of character for him to do this so wide in the open, but he felt himself doing things that no one would ever guess he would do when he was with you. Your soft nibbled on his bottom lip brought his mind back to the rising dilemma, rising being the operative word.

 Pulling his lips from yours, he rested his forehead to yours. Both of you didn’t speak; instead, you were both lost in trying to catch your breath. Long moments passed, and in those moments, he fought to regain his composure. He’d never reacted to anyone the way he reacted to you.

 “Come with me,” he whispered, his voice shakier than he’d expected.

 Your eyes fluttered open, and he didn’t know if it was wishful thinking, but he swore he saw actual stars in them that put the night sky to shame.

 “Where?”

 “Away on holiday.”

 You pulled back a few centimeters and gazed into his eyes more intently. He watched them dart from his left eye, then to the right and back again. Slowly the stars vanished, and humor replaced them.

 “Good one,” you said before you laughed out loud, pulling your body from his.

 “Oh my god, you really had me going for a second,” you said through laughter.

 You took two steps as if to continue walking, but he laced his fingers with yours and pulled you back before him. You gasped, and the sound of it made him close the space between you again, pressing you onto the iron bars. With his body pressed to yours leaving no evidence of there being two bodies, you moaned, and the sound almost had him capturing your lips again. If he did though, he didn’t know if his hands would remain respectful.

 “I wasn’t kidding.”

 Your eyes were on his lips, and the desire for you to take control, almost overrode his desire to be in control—almost.

 “What?”

 “Come on holiday with me, just the two of us, a beach wine somewhere—anywhere.”

 He saw the moment you realized he was as serious as a heart attack.

 “You’re serious,” you reiterated.

 “More serious than I’ve been about anything.”

 You didn’t speak for the next minute, but you also didn’t move away. He decided he’d give you the time to consider it.

 You scoffed before you spoke. “What? Henry—we can’t.”

 “Why?”

 You gaped at him as if he were insane.

 “Why?” That was when you pulled away from him and took a few steps sideways while still leaning against the gate. “We—we don’t--.”

 You looked as if you were wracking your brain for a response, but you also looked like you were trying to catch your breath.

 “We don’t know anything about each other.”

 He took a step to you. You didn’t move.

 “Which is why a private holiday would aid in us getting to know each other—uninterrupted without the pretexts,” he replied.

 Your eyes widened before you shook your head then turned to face the water. You peered out silently, baffled. “Henry—we can’t.”

 He approached you, and as he leaned against the gate, you looked at him. “Tell me why,��� he requested.

 “Why—because—I—I don’t do—that,” you stuttered.

 “What holidays?”

 He saw the exasperation wash across your face before it went blank. You stepped away again, then cleared your throat.

 “I have an early flight out tomorrow.”

 It was hard not to feel the rejection, but he hid it the best he could. Nodding, he held out his arm for you to take.

 “Then let’s get you back to your hotel.”

 The entire ten-minute walk, his mind went from one thing to the next. He worried he’d come on too strong, or that he’d said the wrong thing, or somehow offended you. Then he went back and forth with his decision to even ask you. Part of him felt like maybe he was jumping a little too far ahead, but the other part of him felt there was nothing wrong with inviting you especially based on how things had gone the entire night and the vibes he picked up. That made him wonder if he’d read the evening entirely wrong.

 When he stopped with you in your hotel's lobby, he was in no hurry to ask you again. He’d begun to feel quite stupid. His hurt feelings needed the night to recover. He took your arm from the crook of his elbow and held your hand. Again, you didn’t pull away. Deciding he couldn't afford to give you the time to, he lowered your hand and stepped away from you.

 “Thank you for dinner.”

 “T—thank you,” you said barely above a whisper.

 He nodded and debated his next move. He took a timid step forward and kissed your cheek.

 “Have a safe flight.”

 “Thank you.”

 This one was a whisper.

 “Good night, Aliya,” he breathed out before he quickly kissed your forehead then walked away out the door and down the street without looking back.

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

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[letthefrogsbe]

remember when I was gonna write that parkner fic?

cool so I've decided I'm gonna, but because I cannot write for SHIT and I hate my writing every time I see it, ill just share my outline of what I have so far. its not coherent. sorry. 

Section one: aunt may dies. It’ll be like “it's been 3 months. 3 months since May was shot. 2 months and 3 weeks since she died.”

Something like that idc. Basically this section will base around peter living tony, because he’s not doing well, and he is only 17- which is not actually old enough to be on your own after something like this. Setting is established, with cameos from dr strange (who tony is dating and lives with (yeah bite me, this is my fanfiction i can make it what i want.) it will be made obvious that this takes place after endgame, which also means that tony is Not going to die. I’m not that mean lmao. The avengers are like largely together, there was not as much death in this as there was in endgame. Whatever. Everyone is very nice to peter because they know that for him its either this or him becoming a ward of the state so like.

Section two: harley gets kicked out. His mom finds out that he’s gay (from gossip sources idk) and kicks harley out. Im not going to write them having a big fight like in the moment, but harley will recount what happened somewhat to tony in this section, and then more to peter later in the story. Gay ppl trauma dump, we know this. Okay anywaysss so harley calls tony literally sobbing and like freezing fucking cold. IM SORRY IM BEING SO MEAN TO THEM I PROMISE THEY'LL GET A HAPPY ENDING. Okay. harley explains how his mom kicked him out. Tony asks why, harley says something like “she didn’t agree with my lifestyle choices” like bitterly. Tony is a good person in this (i know, im really taking some character liberties) and he’s in the mood for collecting strays apparently, so he has happy send over the quinjet. He can’t make it himself bc hes in fucking japan or something for the next few weeks,, but. Yeah! Tony also calls peter, who is presumably in bed and feeling depressed. “Hey pete. How ya feeling? Any better?’ ‘Not really, tony. Sorry.’ ‘you don’t have to be sorry-’ ‘damn tony you sound like my therapist.’ “sorry pete, but i do have something to tell you- you know harley?’ ‘only from what you’ve told me about him, but yea. He was the tennessee garage kid, right?’ ‘i mean. Yes. so- he’s gonna come stay with me for a while too- it might not be permanent but it will probably be a bit. He’s about your age, and he just has no where to go (just like u). He’s not going to stay in your room or anything, but with bruce and thor here, he will be in your apartment area.’ ‘okay tony.. Will i have to talk to him a bunch?’ ‘not if you don’t want to- i already warned him about you, so it should be okay. I wouldn’t worry so much pete- you guys are so similar in a lot of ways that i wanted to introduce you two long before he called me.’ ‘okay tony, i trust you. Thank you again for letting me stay with you :)’ (yeah that kind of got away from me)

Section 3: build up. this is a shorter section. Harley and peter are gonna meet in section 4. This section is harley’s jet ride (with an intuitive happy) and harley’s nerves about how he really isn’t worth this (i mean hes pretty intimidated tony sent a private jet just for him) and happy like reassures him. Hes still insecure though. Peter is also nervous bc what if harley doesn’t like him? What if he doesn’t like harley?? Tony did say they would get along, but peter hasn’t really been himself recently, so who knows? Yeah lots of that. I do want to emphasize though- peter is not completely unhealthily coping. Like he has a therapist and he has been reaching out to ned and mj, but its still an open wound for him. Obviously. He still has a sense of humor though, but its to cover these deep insecurities. Like the first month or so that he was with tony, he was reallllyyyy trying to not get close to him bc he sort of thinks he kills everyone around him. Like logically he knows this isn’t true, but he does really think the that non superheroes that he surrounds himself with are very at risk if they know about his spider-man-ness. The only people who know now are ned and mj (may knew too).

Section 4: the meeting of harley and peter. Keep in mind peter has been living in this apartment/area of stark tower for about 3 months now. He actually moved in while may was in the hospital because he couldn’t stand to be alone in the apartment when he knew why may wasn’t there. And um. Yeah. so peter is like comfortable in this space, basically. Also- the reason theyre in the same apartment is because stark tower was not really created with the idea of housing broken orphans in mind, so it only has a certain amount of residential space. Thor and bruce are currently staying there together (although no one really knows if theyre together, or if theyre just best bros who went through some extreme trauma together and are now inseparable. Hmmm wonder if thats gonna come up later) and theyre using one apartment, and happy lives there with his own apartment, and tony and stephen are currently sharing the penthouse, even though thats not public knowledge. Really only the people close to tony know that he’s dating stephen. So. this leaves just the one other 2 bedroom apartment for peter and harley. It has one bathroom, and the bedrooms are connected by a door but theyre pretty big so like. Theres a kitchen, a living room with a fancy ass tv, and a really pretty view (with a balcony bc <333). May died in march, peter got leave from the school in april, and it is now the middle of june btw. Tony is now peter’s official guardian (he was before may died anyways) and now has sole guardianship over him which he has fully accepted, even though peter and him both know that there are going to be times where he has to go out of town bc he does own a company after all. Times like right now. Harley is pretty nervous that tony isn’t going to be there to greet him and that he is going to have to like introduce himself to peter and everything. Cmon, theres no reason to feel like that, he’s the one intruding after all, he should at least be able to handle himself. (<--- harley’s thoughts). Yeah so theyre insecure super cool. A n y w a y s so peter was stressing about harley as he arrived, and so when harley walked in they were both complete bundles of nerves. Harley walks up but knocks. Peter actually jumps (bc spidey sense okay whatever) and goes to get the door. Oh my god these awkward teenagers i hate them so much (i love them). Peter kinda looks like shit, sorry king. He was a little bit crying earlier, then tony called and he switched into stressed out ball-of-anxiety mode. Distractions are good, its okay. Peter opens the door for harley and they like introduce each other all awkward (again sorry) and peter shows harley where he is staying. Harley doesnt really have muchhhh bc he was kicked out and all. He just has a suitcase full of clothes, his favorite blanket, his favorite stuffed animal (yeah whatever bc ofc he does) and his phone/charger. He sets all his stuff down at once. He thanks peter for letting him stay in his apartment and also said sorry. First thing peter noticed was harley’s accent. Stfu. peter asks why harley’s here- ok. Harleys had a long ass day. Too fucking long. He- he breaks down. He tells peter a lot. About how his mom found out that he was gay, and how she told him never to come back. Yikes. Anyways, this is establishing the beginning of their relationship as friends. Peter is there for him even though he doesn’t know him at all. Peter sees some of himself in harley in this moment, even though he’s not talking about himself yet. Eventually harley does ask about peter, and they really just get to know each other really quick. They have these deep scarring individual traumas, and neither has nearly recovered, but they find comfort in just knowing that theyre not alone in their suffering. At least for now. At least in this moment.

Section 5: the next day. Peter and harley spent that whole night talking about what they were going through. Peter said good night at around 5 am (there were no adults around they can do what they want to) and they both got good sleeps. In peter’s case, one of the first solid nights he’s had in a while. Harley was kept up a little longer after peter left, however, because he just couldn’t shut off his mind. It was really cathartic for him to just lay everything out there and for someone to just accept him. Peter told him he was bi, but he was.. Lucky. He had accepting people in his life. May was accepting. God, harley couldn’t fathom having lost everyone in his life, everyone he ever cared about, and still having the heart to sit and talk with the dumbass anxious gay kid who can’t go home anymore. His problems felt so small compared to peter’s, and all he could do was admire peter’s resilience and how he was seemingly able to bounce back from anything. God, peter was something. He couldn’t wait to get to know him more. With that thought circling in his head, he finally went to sleep at oh shit 6:30 am. Peter woke up around 1. Harley at 2. When harley woke up, peter was watching tv and eating cereal on the couch and he just sat down next to him. No words, just sleepy children being sleepy. They stayed like this for like an hour when someone knocked on their door. Enter stephen strange!!!!!!!!!!! Get excited people. Hes just coming in to check on them bc tony told him to, and he didn’t get the chance last night bc he was _busy_. K so now he’s here and hes awkward and he just wants to make sure these boys r okay bc theyve both been through too much recently, and it would be just the cherry on top if they didn’t get along. Him and harley had never actually met before so he like introduced himself and all that. Offered like if they needed anything he was there, and its only gonna be a few days until tony gets back (did i say a week earlier? Im retconning that bc i cannot find it in my writing so it is now retconned). Peter and harley just have to sort of explain to dr strange that theyre getting along gREAT and there is no need for concern….. And peter was even thinking about showing harley around the city a bit that night (something he had not yet told harley, but wanted to make it seem like he was doing well and not acting too depressed in front of Dr. Strange) so dr strange is like yeah !!!!!! do that, that sounds super fun petey !!!!!! and so now they have evening plans

ok ps I wrote this like 2 weeks ago and completely forgot I posted something on Tumblr about this fic idea, and so this is literally just how I talk to myself. was not gonna ever post this but then I decided to because I'm bored. there are more sections but I'm not gonna post them rn because this post is really fucking long already!!!!

[graffitibible]

How do you think people in the zones deal with disabilities??

it’ll really really vary imo. “disabilities” covers a huuuuuuge umbrella so i dont wanna generalize too hard. however i think as a whole theres a lot more acceptance of that kinda thing than there would be in battery city.

cw: discussion of in-universe ableism

--------

the zones have had war living in them for god knows how long. the analog wars were definitely fought in or around the zones in canon, and we dont know how long ago that was. and war is a pretty grisly thing. war vets from the analogs are gonna be carrying around serious injuries like missing limbs or bad hearing or chronic pain. nerve damage from burn wounds. blind from too many blitzes going off in their faces. so i think its not really out of the ordinary to see people who lived through the wars to have missing hands or needing prosthetics, etc. and since living in the zones is a pretty rough life, i dont think itd be too far out of left field to think that killjoys and zonerunners who live out there post-war might have to deal with that kinda thing too.

we do have a little basis for what the attitude for this might be in canon. canonically dr death defying (who imo is criminally underrated) is in a wheelchair and has a leg brace and a big deals never really made out of it. he mentions losing his legs in the wars in the comics and then hurting his leg in the listening party, but thats about it. no one else comments on it. while being physically fit and able-bodied might be a boon in the zones, i dont think it is a necessity the way that, say, battery city would consider it to be.

battery city’s general take on disabilities, as far as i can perceive it, has more to do with appearances. they dont really give a fuck about whether youre actually doing better and recovering and improving. they want you to function in society. they want you to look “normal” and fit into their preconceived notions of what is acceptable. hence why their medications, i think, are such a bad tactic - theyre not trying to treat anyones illnesses. theyre just trying to eliminate the symptoms that they deem to be unpleasant, uncomfortable, or not Useful to the better living machine. their priority isnt making you happy/healthy, its making you more objectively useful to their capitalist dystopian hell.

now ofc theres gonna be jerks in the zones and outliers but by and large the feeling of “community” and “accommodation” is gonna be better than what youd get in the city imo. like for example if you get your leg blown off at the knee, there are a probably few junkpunks in the zones you can find who can piece together a prosthetic out of droid parts and scrap metal. i like to think the zones have their own sign language dialect - ive touched on that before in some of my works, though i havent ever really elaborated on what that is. its not straight up ASL though, it is very much its own zone-specific variant of sign language. i imagine that it’s commonplace enough for it not to be too weird - especially among older generations of killjoys who might have had war buddies who were deaf or hard of hearing, or are themselves.

in my read on the universe i have a lot of zone-rats who are wandering around with prosthetic legs and stuff and that’s not really out of the ordinary so much. also a ton of zonerunners who gotta deal with the long-term effects of living in such an irradiated part of the world (nine-volt rocket and haywire from jet’s backstory both had to deal with the terminal repercussions of this, and this was seen as pretty much standard as far as jet was concerned). poison’s a little surprised to see prosthetics but they’ve got a more limited exposure to the zones compared to almost everyone else in the fab four except kobra. a few canon characters have prosthetics and such too, though i haven’t gotten into that just yet so i’m not gonna say which ones. yall might be able to figure that out though lol

now when we get into psychological disabilities, thats a lot more of a gray area. i suspect a lot of zone mentality settles into “just fukcin cope with it bud” cause i imagine there are a lot of anti-medication mindsets and people Paranoid about pharmacological solutions due to better living industries being What They Are. which kinda sucks tbh cause medication can be a great thing for navigating bad brain stuff and also for handling chronic/terminal conditions. thats a hard line for me to walk personally, cause i do not wanna demonize medication out of universe but i recognize that, in universe, that mentality is probably gonna be pretty common, which sucks.

so my general take on it is that the attitudes in the zones are generally more accommodating of disabilities of all kinds, but low resources might make it hard to actually find suitable accommodations. depending on the era/part of the desert that youre in, youll either see a lot of community in the zones and people who dont mind helping you out, or youll just have to....Handle it on your own or pay someone to give a shit for you (i.e., i suspect the desert was way more unified when the fabulous four were at their peak and way more fractured after the analog wars happened, and so on).

i know im probably overlooking a lot wrt diversity in disabilities here. if other people with more knowledge in this area wanna chip in, please do!!

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch51: Captain America -Homecoming

Intro: The team at the compound begin their experiment with the Quantum Tunnel, but it doesn’t all go according to plan. But just as everything seems lost, Tony appears having rethought his initial stance, with a little surprise for Steve.

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist 

(Special thanks to @the-omni-princess​ for fact checking my limited knowledge of the US education system!)

Bruce needed a day to calibrate the computer and systems to the right configuration to use with Scott’s Quantum Tunnel (which was, amusingly yet completely unsurprisingly in the back of his ugly brown van). Katie took the chance to head into the office to catch up and then inform Soraya she didn’t know how much she would be available in person over the coming week. It wasn’t an issue, the department was well structured and pretty much ran itself, plus she was capable of working from anywhere given the level of connectivity she had but still, she felt like she was abandoning her post. It was silly really, after Jamie she had been away for almost a year but this felt different.

They had another day before they were due to collect Emmy from the train station, her five day trip to Philly was drawing to a close and when they had spoken to her last night she had been equal parts excited to come home and fed up that it was ending. But she would be back at school soon, and she had an important few weeks coming up as she was studying for her end of year exams. Katie and Steve had agonised over whether her going to Philadelphia was such a good idea so close to her tests, but when they had seen her stressing out over revision Katie had told Steve how crappy she had found it, so they had agreed that a break would do her good. Plus, Emmy had said she had found the trip useful in that she had found out a lot more facts she would be able to use for her history paper. That, and she was a complete brainbox. Although she was only a freshman, she was taking APs in Human Geography and Psychology (having told her parents she wanted to be a Therapist) and was already being touted by her tutors as Harvard potential. But she was expressing an interest in going to the UK like Katie had done, which scared the shit out of Steve, his daughter being the other side of the Atlantic. But he knew he had to let her make her own decision. And they’d cross that bridge when they got there.

For the time being, the only bridge Steve wanted to cross was the one he and Natasha were currently planning on making to reach out to the remaining original Avengers, Thor and Clint.

“Thor should be easy, surely?” Nat asked, swinging her feet up onto the table as she sat back in her seat. She looked to Steve for confirmation, but instead he sighed and shook his head.

“Has Katie not told you?”

“Told me what?”

Steve scratched at his chin “He had a row with one of the Elders about 6 months back. From what Valkyrie told Katie, there was a bit of a disagreement over the rebuilding of their army and the elder took a shot at Thor, saying he wasn’t fit to lead any kind of battalion as he had failed to keep them safe from Thanos.”

“That’s harsh.” Nat frowned.

“Yeah, I know.” Steve said “I think it was more anger speaking than the guy actually thinking that, but it sent Thor into another downwards spiral and he’s ignored Katie’s attempts to reach out to him again so she’s given in.” “Ok, so, a little harder than we anticipated…” “Least we know where he is.” Steve sighed “Any luck on Barton?”

“Rhodey thinks he’s targeting a gang in Hong Kong.” Nat sighed, “But I won’t know for sure until he arrives.”

Steve, nodded “Ok, well when we find out where he is we can scramble a jet and…” “No.” Nat shook her head “Not we, me. I’ll go alone.” “Nat.” Steve frowned “Clint, he’s been leaving a trail of utter carnage behind him, I don’t think you-“

“He wouldn’t hurt me.” She shook her head.

“It’s not him I’m concerned about, more the people he’s taking on.” “I can handle myself” she said firmly, looking at him. Her eyes were sparkling with that Black Widow venom Steve had to admit he had missed over the past few years. He took a deep breath and against his better judgement conceded.

“Alright. We’ll do it your way.”

Natasha frowned, and smirked “really? That’s it, no argument?”

Steve raised an eyebrow “You want an argument?” “Not really” she shook her head, smiling.

He gave a chuckle and then they were cut off by an incoming call springing up in front of Natasha. She swiped to her right and the hologram form of Rocket appeared on the desk.

“Hey Nat.” he nodded, turning “Cap.” They both greeted him.

“We’re wrapping things up on that latest lead, then we have to nip to Contraxia as I need a few things…” he said, looking the red head “Should be with you day after tomorrow lunchtime, ish” “Rocket, you were close to Thor right?” Steve said, an idea coming to him.

“Kinda.” the animal spun to face him “why?” “We need him.” Steve said “He knows about the stones, but convincing him could be a bit of a task. So I was thinking maybe you could help and go with Katie to New Asgard.” The animal pondered for a while before he shrugged “I can try.”

“That’s all any of us can do.” Steve nodded.

The raccoon nodded again “Alright.” He turned to Nat. “We’ll see you soon.” and with that he disappeared.

Steve stayed at the compound until late afternoon, popping in to see how Bruce and Scott were getting on, before he made his way home. Katie and Jamie were already back and he could hear the two of them in the living room.

“Who’s that?” Jamie asked as he pointed to the photo in the album that his Mom had open on her lap.

“That’s your Uncle Sam…” she smiled at the photo of Steve and his best man at the reception of their wedding “You know you get your name from him, well one of them…”

“Where is he now?” Jamie asked.

“He err…he went away” Katie said, trying to figure out how to explain this “You know how daddy has told you about his friend, Uncle Bucky?” “Yeah.” “Well, a few years ago, before you were born, The Avengers, well they had a fight, with a nasty man, and your Uncle Bucky and Uncle Sam, and one of our other friends, a lady called Wanda…they had to go away afterwards.”

“Was Uncle Tony in the fight?”

“Yeah, he was.” Katie nodded

“And Auntie Nat-Nat?”

“Yeah. And Thor. There was a lot of people involved?”

“Did you and daddy fight with the Avengers?” Jamie asked, his eyes wide.

At that point Katie looked up and saw Steve hovering in the door way. He swallowed and walked into the room.

“A long time ago buddy, yeah.” he said.

“Did you know Captain America?”

“I did yeah.” Steve nodded, kneeling down in front of his son “But he gave up fighting.” Jamie pondered something as Katie looked at her husband. “Not for much longer though…” she said, locking eyes with him.

Steve took a deep breath and swallowed once more. He wasn’t sure he’d ever hold that shield again.

“Maybe.” he said, shrugging, before he stood up and settled on the couch at the other side of his son.

Jamie made to turn the page in the album and the next photo was one of Steve’s favourites and one they had a large framed version of on the mantle piece. It showed him and Katie at their first dance, heads pressed together, huge smiles on their faces as he held her close.

“Momma you look pretty!” Jamie smiled and Katie dropped a kiss to his head.

“Thanks Baby.” “Your momma always looks pretty.” Steve smiled “She’s the most beautiful girl on the planet.” “Charmer.” Katie looked at him as he stretched his arm over the back of his son and pulled her in closer.

“Only for you.” he winked, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

****** Tony stood at the sink, rinsing down the dishes from dinner whilst Pepper settled Morgan down for the night. He’d spoken to Kiddo earlier, she’d told him they were running the first Time Travel trial the day after. He’d managed to push it out of his mind for most of the afternoon but now, as he stood alone, he kept thinking about it over and over again. He knew Bruce was clever, but this really wasn’t his area… but that wasn’t his concern.

What if something went wrong? Not his problem.

His grip on the attachment to the tap slipped and it jerked out of his hand, spraying water all over the place. With a sigh he turned it off and grabbed the tea towel, mopping up the water from around the sink and then the shelf which it had squirted all over. He glanced at the photos, and paused for a moment at the frame that was placed just to the right of the one which held a picture of his dad. He took a deep breath as he wiped the water off the faces- him and Peter Parker holding the fake Stark Internship Certificate upside down, each one pulling peace signs behind the other’s back. He swallowed.

“We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everybody back.” Natasha said.

Tony looked around his kitchen, his stomach turning slightly. Yes, he had something to fight for, something personal, the kid. They all had something personal right? Natasha had Clint’s family, Rogers and Kiddo had Barnes, Wilson and Wanda… Scott had his girlfriend, or whatever. But he couldn’t risk it. He shouldn’t risk it….

“Or screw it up worse than he already has”

“I don’t think we would.” Steve shook his head.

But they were going to risk it. He knew that. And they could, probably would, fuck it up without him.

“Damned it Rogers.” he mumbled, placing the photo down and heading into the dining room.

Two hours later Pepper was out in the greenhouse as she often was later at night and Tony was talking to FRIDAY, with whom he had been brainstorming a number of ideas for the past hour and a half. He looked the holographic model in front of him and tapped at the pad on the table.

“Look at a mod inspiration, let’s see if it checks out.”  He said, watching as the image changed in front of his eyes. “So…” he pressed a few keys again “run one last sim before we pack it in for the night.” he clapped his hands together and paced round the side of the table “this time, in the shape of a mobius strip, inverted, please.”

“Processing. “ FRIDAY replied as Tony crossed his arms and watched.

“Give me that Eigen value” he reached out to spin the image with his hand “That, particle factoring, and a spectral decomp,” he grabbed the bottle on the side of the table to take a drink of the smoothie he had made, “that will take a second.”

“Just a moment.”

“And don’t worry if it doesn’t pan out,” he replaced the top on his drink and grabbing a blueberry from the packet he had been eating, “I’m just kinda…” he trailed off chewing the fruit, as he watched FRIDAY do her business.

“Model rendered.”

The red words “Model Successful…” with a rating of “99.987%” flashed in front of his eyes and Tony felt his mouth drop open, utterly bewildered by his discover. He fell back into his chair, looking up at it and his mouth flew to his hand. He’d figure it out. He, Tony Stark, had figured out how to do exactly what Lang had proposed. He’d sussed out how to safely travel time.

Despite himself, he felt a certain level of pride and smugness, and he threw his arms out to his side, “Shit!” he almost laughed out.

“Shit.” a voice spoke from behind him, followed by a giggle. He paused, and turned to see his daughter was sat on the bottom stair, grinning at him.

He held his finger to his lips and shook his head “What are you doing up, little miss?”

“Shit.” she repeated again.

“No, we don’t say that. Only Mommy says that word.”  She coined it, it belongs to her.”

“Why you up?”

“Cause I got some important shit going on here,” Tony jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the hologram “What do you think?”

Morgan shot him a frown and he took a deep breath, when she pulled that face she looked ridiculously like her Auntie. ”No, I got something on my mind. I got..I got something on my mind.” he explained in a softer tone.

“Was it Juice Pops?” Morgan asked, hopefully.

“Sure was.” Tony said, looking at the other side of the room before he turned back to his daughter “That’s extortion. That’s a word. “ He stood up, “What kind you want?” he said, taking her hand and she stood up. “Great minds think alike. Juice Pops, exactly was on-” he looked back to the model then turned towards the kitchen “-my mind.”

A little while and a juice pop later Morgan was back in bed, demanding a story.

“Once upon a time, Morgoona went to bed. The end.” Tony grinned.

“That is a horrible story.” Morgan looked at him with a glare.

“Come on, that’s your favorite story. I love you tons.” he said, making it clear that was the end of the conversation. He kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you 3000.”

“Wow.” he said, quietly as he smiled at her. His daughter had an ability, very like Kiddo, to say things that sideswiped him, and made his chest burst with love, and this was one of those moments. He contemplated that for a moment before he stood up and turned off her lamp “Three thousand, that’s crazy.”

He walked to the door, and closing it behind him, still grinning he told her “Go to bed, or I’ll sell all your toys, night night.”

By the time he reached the living room Pepper was back inside, sat on the couch reading a book.

“Not that it’s a competition-” Pepper looked up at him “-but she loves me three thousand.”

“Oh does she now?” Pepper smiled.

“You were somewhere on the low 6 to 900 range.” Pepper laughed and turned back to her book. Tony, still chewing on the juice pop stick looked back to where the model was still projecting over his table.

“What you reading…” he asked, although he wasn’t particularly interested. His mind was racing once more.

“Oh, it’s just a book on composting”.

“What’s new with composting?” his eyes were still on the image. “Interesting science…” she began, but he cut her off.

“I figured it out, by the way.” he looked back at her, removing the juice pop stick from his mouth.”

“And, you know, just so we’re talking about the same thing –“ Pepper looked up at him.

“Time travel.” he whispered.

“What?” she asked as Tony glanced back at the hologram, arms folded. “ Wow…” her gaze dropped down slightly “That’s amazing, and… terrifying.”

“That’s right.” he dropped down besides her, his left arm hanging over the back of the sofa.

“We got really lucky” Pepper said, stroking his arm.

“Yeah, I know.”

“A lot of people didn’t.” 

“No, but I can’t help everybody.”

“Well, it sort a seems like you can” she pressed again.

“Not if I stop.” he shrugged, and Pepper gave a small huff of a laugh “I can put a pin in it right now, and stop.”

“Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my entire life.”

Tony gave a soft laugh and his right arm gently rubbed the hand that was laid over his left arm.

“Something tells me I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of the lake, go to bed.”

There was a pause, before Pepper looked at him again, her eyes soft and her face rearranged into a knowing expression.

“But would you be able to rest?”

He didn’t reply, he didn’t need to. They both knew the answer was no. *******

“Alright, Emmy, remember what I said?” Katie looked at her daughter who was sat on the couch in the living room of their old quarters.

“Yeah, I can’t leave here until someone comes to get us.” Emmy nodded

“No matter what…”

“Yeah mom, I got it. We’ll be fine, wont we Jamie?”

He nodded, grinning up at his mother “Yeah, fine.”

“Ok, love you both.“

With one last glance back at her kids, Katie made her way back to the hanger.

"Breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby.” She heard Steve call out as he strode back towards the computer. Katie couldn’t help but admire his ass, he looked pretty good in a pair of black denims, light blue shirt as always tucked into his pants, belt circling his toned waist. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow with a smug smirk as he caught the expression on her face and she shrugged.

“Good, coz if we blow the grid, I don’t wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950s,” Bruce said through gritted teeth, jerking his thumb at Scott, only his comment wasn’t quite as quiet as he thought. Scott, who was stood in his suit, fiddling with something on his helmet heard perfectly.

“Excuse me?” Scott glared at Banner as Katie and Steve exchanged a glance. .

“He’s kidding!” Natasha said in an play-full voice, shaking her head as she tapped on the tablet she was holding which would be used to track Scott. She looked up with a smile, which Katie knew perfectly to be false and laughed “You can’t say things like that.” she said to Bruce.

“Yeah, sorry, it was…just a bad joke.” Bruce smiled as he looked at Scott. Scott nodded once as he walked back to the van.

“You were kidding right?” Katie looked at Bruce.

“I have no idea!” Bruce hissed. “We’re talking about time travel here, either it’s all a joke or none of it is!”  He looked away from Katie and flashed Scott the thumbs up “We’re good.”

Steve crossed his arms and let out a breath as Scott pulled his helmet on. He gave Bruce a double thumbs up and Katie smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way.

“Alright Scott, we’re gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?” Bruce asked as he tapped at the keys on his desk with a pencil

“Perfectly not confusing.” Scott shrugged.

Ok so now Steve was nervous. He took a deep breath and looked at the man stood by the back of the van, his hands dropping to his hips.

“Good luck Scott. You’ve got this.” He refrained from adding I hope…

“You’re right. I do Captain America.” Scott said, proudly, as Bruce hit a button, sucking him into the tunnel.

“On the count of three-“ Bruce called, and Steve dropped his hands, his fists clenching, mouth open slightly as he watched . At the other side of Bruce, Katie and Nat shared a nervous glance “Three… two…one…” Steve breathed a sigh of relief as someone appeared but it was short lived as he realised the person in front of them could be no older than Emmy. Katie frowned as did Natasha, confusion etched across her face and next to them, Bruce adjusted his glasses.

"Guys, something doesn’t feel right.” The boy informed them nervously.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked, as Bruce set about pressing a load more buttons. “Hang on…”

“Is that Scott?” Katie’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Bruce, who ducked down to hit something on the console, her eyes locking with Steve who looked as utterly perplexed as she felt.

“Yes, it’s Scott!” the boy exclaimed.

Teenage Scott was sucked back into the tunnel, Natasha watching Bruce as he straightened up and the four of them looked back to the tunnel to see another person thrown out, this time an elderly man.

“Ow, my back!”

“What is this?” Steve asked

“Can I…I need a little space!” Bruce said, moving to his right.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Steve hastily moved out of the way and going to stand in between his wife and Natasha. “Can you bring him back?“

“I’m working on it…” Bruce hit one of the screens. Katie, Steve and Nat shared another panicked look as Old Scott was yanked back in only to this time reappear as…

"That’s a baby.” Steve deadpanned.

“It’s Scott!” Bruce defended.

“As a baby!” Katie snapped as the infant looked up at them wide eyed.

“He’ll grow!” Bruce said, attempting a joke.

“Bring Scott back!” Steve instructed sharply.

“Nat, when I say kill the power, kill the power!” Bruce called and Natasha ran off to the breaker at the side of the hanger.

Katie and Steve watched as Bruce jabbed more buttons, before he yelled out “Kill it!”

Natasha pulled the lever down and Bruce slapped a large red button. This time Scott Lang returned exactly as he had been before he left.

“Somebody peed my pants.” he said loudly, standing stiffly still “I don’t know if it was baby me,.or old me. Or, just… me-me.”

“Time travel!” Bruce beamed excitedly, throwing his hands out to the side as Katie, Steve and Natasha looked at him. “What? I, I see this as an absolute win.”

Steve simply stared at Bruce in silence for a moment, before he shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. He looked down at the floor before he walked off, Katie watching him as he left the hangar and stepped outside.

“I think we should take a break.” Katie took a deep breath. “Nat can you check the kids, I’m gonna…” she jerked her thumb after Steve and Nat nodded.

Steve stood outside by the large metal pillar at the side of the building, hands still on his hips as he stared at the floor. What was the point of being able to time travel if you couldn’t control it? The worse thing being that he wasn’t even sure if they would be able to perfect it with practice, and was he willing to keep risking Scott to do that? They had been so close, but Tony was right, it had clearly been a pipe dream.

“Hey.” Katie said, her hand gently falling to his elbow. “Honey, we knew it was a long shot…” “I know.” he sighed, looking at her “But I thought it might have worked, you know. That we might have had a chance to…”

He was cut off as a deafening noise rose in the distance. They both looked out over the compound to see a familiar Audi R8 speeding down the drive towards the hangar. Katie and Steve exchanged a glance as the car pulled up to where they were stood, but overshot their position slightly. Steve followed the car with his eyes as it backed up and Tony rolled down the window and looked at them both. Steve raised his eyebrows, looking away.

“Why the long face?” Tony asked, directing his question to Steve “Let me guess: He turned into a baby”

“Among other things, yeah.” Steve said, an edge of frustration in his voice as he looked back at Tony “What are you doing here?”

Tony opened the car door and climbed out, walking to the back, completely ignoring Steve’s question as he spoke.

“That’s the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might’ve wound up pushing time through Lang.” Tony looked at Steve “It’s tricky. Dangerous. Somebody shoulda cautioned you against it.”

“You did.” Steve deadpanned, not in the mood for a lecture.

“Oh, did I?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow and Katie felt a grin cross her face at her brother’s sarcasm “Thank God I’m here. Regardless, I fixed it” Steve raised his eyebrows as he glanced at his brother in law who held up his right hand which bore what looked like a watch of some description.

“A fully functioning Time-Space GPS.

At this Steve let out a genuine smile as he realised Tony was here to help. Tony returned it with one of his own

“I just want peace.” he made the sign with his fingers “Turns out, being angry and bitter is corrosive, and I hate it.

“Me too.” Steve nodded softly, recognizing this for what it was. An apology for the other day, and he was happy to provide his own.

“Guys, we got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities.” Tony urged softly, looking from Steve to Katie and back again “Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs”.

“So do we Tony.”  Katie implored “Our kids…”

“Nothing we do can jeopardise them” Steve dropped his left arm round Katie “Any of them.”

“Yeah, and maybe not die trying will be nice.” Tony shrugged.

Steve smiled and held out his right hand “Sounds like a deal.”

Tony shook it, before he smiled cheekily and headed to the trunk. Steve looked at his wife and she shrugged, before the two of them followed him, Steve watching curiously. He lifted something out, turned it upside down to dislodge the teddy bear sat on it and Katie’s hand flew to her mouth as she saw it was Steve’s shield. Steve hesitated, taking a deep breath.

“Tony… I don’t know..” he swallowed, the nerve twitching in his jaw. He wasn’t worthy of that shield, not anymore.

“Why? He made it for you.” Tony held his gaze “Plus, honestly I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding” Steve looked at Katie, who was fighting back her tears and she gave him an encouraging nod. He lifted his arm and Tony slid the shield straps over his shirt and Steve looked down at it, taking a shaky breath. It felt like slipping into a familiar pair of sneakers. Tony looked at Katie who was wiping her eyes, and he gave her a smile which she returned.

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve looked up at his brother-in-law, his voice choked.

“Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn’t bring one for the whole team.”  Tony hesitated for a moment “We are getting the whole team, yeah?

“We’re working on that right now.” Katie nodded, before she heard a yell behind her.

“Uncle Nee!” Jamie shot by her and launched at his uncle.

“Hey sport!” Tony grinned, picking him up “What you been up to?” “Me and Emmy were colouring and making dinosaur models.” “Wow!” Tony said, turning to Emmy who was walking towards them.

“Mom?” She said, her voice a whisper as she spotted what Steve was holding. “Dad’s…” “Yeah.” Katie smiled at her, dropping an arm round the teenager’s shoulders as she glanced at his shield. Never one to miss anything Jamie glanced at his Sister, then his dad and his eyes widened. 

“Why you have shield like Captain America?” Jamie frowned as Steve ran his fingers over the edge of the Vibranium before looking at his son as Tony placed him on the floor, struggling to find the words to explain.

Tony clapped Steve on the shoulder “Alright, I’ll leave that one with you…time to go see what a mess of my compound Brucie has made.”

He walked passed Emmy, dropping an arm round her shoulders “Walk with me kid, tell me about Philly…” he shot a glance at Katie who smiled as he steered the teenager back to the compound whilst she began excitedly telling him about her trip. Steve turned to look Katie, his eyes glistening with emotion.

“Still suits you.” she smiled to him and he gave a little chuckle.

“Daddy!” Jamie insisted, tugging on his trousers, annoyed at his question being ignored.

“Sorry pal,” Steve crouched down, shield still on his arm. “I have a shield like Cap because I was Cap.”

Jamie frowned before his eyes grew wide. An older kid might have laughed and told his dad to stop being silly, but Steve had never lied to Jamie before and it would never have occurred to the 3 year old to ever think he would.

“You were Captain America?” Jamie frowned. “When you fighted with the Avengers?”

“Yeah” he sighed, running his hand through Jamie’s golden hair “I was.”

“Are you now?”

“I dunno.” Steve glanced back at his shield.

“I think you are” Jamie cocked his head to one side as his hand reached out to touch the shield. “Because Cap’s a hero and you’re my hero”

Katie saw Steve’s eyes water instantly as he pulled Jamie closer to him, dropping a kiss to the side of his head as the boy’s arms wound around his dad’s neck. He glanced up at Katie and she swallowed, leaning against the column to her left, wiping her eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had called any of the Avengers that, and to hear it from his son meant more to Steve than anything.

“Daddy?” Jamie mumbled against his dad’s shoulder, where his head lay.

“Yeah?” 

“You got a helmet too?” Jamie pulled back to study his father’s face as Steve gave out a soft laugh

“Yeah buddy. I do.”

“And a uniform?”

“I have a few…”

“Can I see?”

Steve looked up at Katie and she smiled, nodding.

“Sure… come on.” Steve stood up, Jamie easily lifted in his free arm.

“You coming?” he stopped at his wife’s side as she reached up a hand to smooth down Jamie’s jumper which had ridden up slightly.

“I think this is a hero to son moment, don’t you?” she smiled, standing on her toes so she could give his lips a peck. “Besides, someone’s gotta stop Tony creating havoc in there.” “Good luck with that” he muttered, giving her another kiss before he carried Jamie into the compound, striding through the hangar doors and across to the corridor. Katie waited for a moment, composing herself before she headed back inside.

**** True to their word, Nebula and Rocket arrived the following lunch and it wasn’t long after that Katie and Rocket headed off to New Asgard, along with Banner. They knew Banner and Thor had shared a lot during the events leading up to Thanos attacking the Asgardian ship and Katie was hoping that together they stood a better chance of convincing the God to help. Katie sat in the passenger seat of the truck belonging to one of the Asgardians who had come to greet them. She couldn’t help but smile as they rolled past the sign at the side of the road WELCOME TO NEW ASGARD, PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY. They stopped at the small port, and Katie hopped out of the truck, thanking the man, whilst Bruce and Rocket climbed out of the back.

“Kind of a step down from a golden palace for an Avenger highness and whatnot.” Rocket mused, looking around.

“Hey, have a little compassion, pal.” Bruce said “First they’ve lost Asgard, then half the people. They’re probably just happy to have a home.”

Katie spotted Valkyrie who smiled at her, and then her face rearranged into surprise as she saw Bruce.

“You shouldn’t have come!” She warned as they approached her.

“Ah, Valkyrie! Great to see you, Angry Girl.” Bruce smiled.

“I think I liked you better either of the other ways.” she almost chuckled, taking in his appearance.

“This is Rocket.” Katie gestured to the raccoon.

“How you doin’?” He greeted her.

Valkyrie nodded at him before she turned to Katie “He won’t see you.

“Still that bad, huh?” Katie folded her arms.

“We only see him once a month, when he comes for... “ she looked over to the pile of kegs on the side of the port “… supplies.

“It’s that bad.” Bruce mumbled.

“Yeah.”

“We have to try.” Katie bit her lip, looking round before she turned to Bruce and Rocket, “Come on.” She led them down the side of the harbour and they walked up the small, cobbled street towards the fishing hut Thor was living in. She paused, and tried the handle. It opened and Rocket stepped in first. Instantly Katie was hit with a smell that made her nose wrinkle. It was a combination of dirty clothes, stale beer and old take-outs.

“What the… Woo!” Rocket grimaced “Something died in here.”

“Hello? Thor?” Bruce called.

Thor’s voice rumbled through to them from another room. “Are you here about the cable?”

They made their way into the main room and Thor, who was shirtless, having definitely put on more than a couple of pounds since Katie had last seen him, was walking across the room gesturing to the TV.

“The Cinemax ran out about two weeks ago, and the sports are all kind of fuzzy.” he grabbed a beer from the ice bucket and Katie looked at Bruce who was frowning. She gave him a sad nod.

“Thor?” He asked, his voice disbelieving.

Thor turned and took a moment to look at the three of them, before his face cracked into a smile

“Boys!” He laughed out “Little Stark! Oh my God! It’s so good to see you!”

He crossed towards Rocket, trying to hug him, his knuckles rubbing the raccoons head “Come here, you little rascal!”

“No, I’m good. I’m good. That’s not necessary.” Rocket groaned, wriggling away.

“Hulk, Little Stark, you know my friends, Miek, Korg, right?”

Miek and Korg were sat on a couch, the Rock creature in a Hawaiian shirt, play station controller in his hand playing what looked to Katie like Fortnite- one of Emmy’s favourites.

“Hey guys!” Korg raised his hand in greeting.

“Hey!” Bruce smiled. “Long time no see.”

“Beers in the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously.” Korg said cheerfully as he turned back to his game, growing suddenly serious. “Thor, he’s back. The kid on the TV that called me a dickhead again.”

“Noobmaster.” Thor growled out as he spun round. Miek threw a piece of pizza towards the TV in disgust, giving a little click.

“Yeah, Noobmaster69. Called me a dickhead.”

Thor stomped over to Korg, took his headphones and spoke loudly into the mic.

“Noobmaster? Yeah, it’s Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder? Listen, buddy. If you don’t log off this game immediately, I am gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you’re hiding in, rip off your arms and shove them up your butt! Oh, that’s right. Yes, go cry to your father, you little weasel!”

Katie and Rocket exchanged a look as Thor returned Korg’s head set, before she glanced up at Banner who was watching, a look of disbelief on his face and Katie couldn’t help but echo his feelings. Seeing their friend, their once mighty Avenger partner in such a state made her beyond sad.

“So you guys want a drink? What are you drinking? We have beer, tequila, all sorts of things.” Thor asked, using Stormbreaker to open a bottle of beer. Bruce walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Buddy, you all right?”

“​​​​​​Yes, I’m fine! Why, don’t I look all right?” Thor frowned.

“You look like melted ice cream.” Rocket crossed his arms, but despite his joke Katie could tell he was concerned.

Thor simply laughed and looked at them all. “So, what’s up?

“We need your help” Katie said gently “There might be a chance we could fix everything.”

“What, like the cable?” Thor burped “Cause that’s been driving me bananas for weeks.”

“Like Thanos.” Bruce spoke and Katie saw Thor’s smile slowly disappear. He put a shaky hand on Bruce’s shoulder and pointed at him.

“Don’t you say that name.”

Behind Thor Korg stood up, taking off his headphones. “Um, yeah. We don’t actually say that name in here.”

“Please take your hand off me” Bruce’s tone was quiet as he brushed away Thor’s grip on his shoulder. “Now, I know that… guy might scare you…”

“Why would, why would I be scared of that guy?” Thor scoffed, turning away. “I’m the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy? Nope. Didn’t think so. Korg, why don’t you, tell everybody who chopped Thanos’ big head off.”

“Umm… Stormbreaker?” Korg offered.

“No, who was swinging Stormbreaker?” Thor shot back.

“Thor.” Katie started gently “I get it, we all get it. You’re in a rough spot right now-”

“I’ve been there myself.” Bruce picked up from her “You wanna know who helped me out of it?”

“I don’t know…Natasha?” Thor snorted and Katie rolled her eyes.

“It was you. You helped me”.

Thor walked back over to Bruce and pointed out of the window with the hand holding his beer. “Why don’t you ask the Asgardians down there, how much my help was worth?” he dropped onto the chair “The ones that are left, anyway.”

“We think we can bring them back.” Katie looked at him.

“Little Stark, please stop. Stop, okay?” He pleaded, opening a packet of M&Ms. “I know you think I’m down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and saved. But I’m fine, okay? We’re fine, aren’t we?”

He looked at Korg and Miek eating pizza and playing once more on the Playstation.

“Nah, all good here, mate!” Korg nodded.

Katie looked back at Thor as he stared up at her. “So, whatever it is that you’re offering, we’re not into it, don’t care, couldn’t care less. Goodbye.”

“We need you Thunder God.” she said gently. ”Please.”

Thor shook his head and ignored her.

“There’s beer on the ship.” Rocket said, crossing his arms.

Thor paused, and without looking up he spoke again, this time his words softer “What kind?”

Tags

@the-omni-princess ​ @momobaby227​ @geekofmanythings16​  @angelofhell-666​  @thewackywriter​ @marvelfansworld​  @cobalt-gear​  @asgardlover75​ @jennmurawski13​  @jtargaryen18​ @saiyanprincessswanie​  @navispalace​ @patzammit​  @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​  @icanfeelastormbrewing​ @djeniiscorner​  @ayamenimthiriel​  @coldmuffinbanditshoe​  @disneylovingal​

[valkyrieofsmut]

Salvator

Bucky x Avenger!OFC

Descriptions:  Bucky finds a half dead kitten on a mission an brings it home, Dawn helping him nurse it back to life and keep it hidden from Tony. Over time, he has started coming out of his shell, and realizes some feelings that he didn’t know he had. So, did he save the kitten, or did the kitten save him?

Types: Fluff, a bit of romance, NO smut!!!

Prompt: This is a gift for my Secret Santa-ee, @rivertam-art I hope you like it and merry Christmas!!!

Warnings: Fluff- like, so much fluff...

Words: 6242

A/n- Note at the end...

Masterlist

Story!

The gunfire was deafening, shattering any semblance of silence.

Bucky pushed the limp body of an unconscious enemy soldier from him, an unnoticed shiver moving through his spine in the freezing weather.

Snow fell around them, covered the ground, filled the area, up to Bucky’s knees, sticking to his tactical pants, his boots, his hair, all over him. The shiver caused him a moment’s hesitation, which caused him to miss the large piece of scrap metal flying through the air toward his head.

Twenty minutes later, Bucky’s eyes snapped open. A disturbing quiet filled the air.

Silence.

Nothingness that filled the air, audibly and visually.

Darkness surrounded him, until his eyes adjusted enough to focus on the light fluffy flakes falling straight down on his body and face.

He didn’t feel cold.

Bucky closed his eyes, accepting the darkness, waiting for it to devour him. It had been a long time, but he was at peace- he was ready.

His ears adjusted and Bucky heard the slight, nearly silent, swooshing that didn’t quite break the silence. The sound of snow falling- of nothingness. Emptiness.

A tiny sound broke through the silence. It came again. And again. It was quiet, but still a complaint. It cut through the quiet and made Bucky open his eyes. The tiny, sharp complaint radiated from a single point, but echoed off of whatever obstacle was around what was making the noise.

Bucky pushed himself up, pulled himself from the ground, stood and stumbled through the piles of snow.

He had to stop the noise. He had to stop the little plaintive sound that was stopping him from relaxing into oblivion in this God forsaken place far from home.

Snow kicked up around him as he stumbled, sending sprays of white up into the blackness around him. The noise got a little louder the closer he got to it, but the vast emptiness around him told him that he was alone.

Still alone.

Always alone.

His breath puffed out in a cloud in front of him, and he stopped, seeing a dark spot- a little hollow next to a bush. The noise was coming from the spot, and Bucky looked down, seeing a glimmer in the dark.

“Mew,” came the tiny sound again. Bucky looked down, stock still except for his breath clouding around him. A small, dark, matted thing was there, one little leg poking out as the shivering, wet, freezing bundle of fur tumbled forward, landing nearly on it’s face. “Mew!” It cried, looking up at Bucky.

There were no tracks, not even old ones. It was alone. It was crying for help, begging for him to help- asking him to save it…

But he was destruction.

He was also abandoned and going to be on his way out. He couldn’t help the ragged little thing. There was nothing he could do for it- except make it quick and painless.

Bucky’s gloved hands scooped up the shivering little blob of wet fur, holding it up to his eyes. A wide, pink mouth surrounded by sharp little teeth opened as a squeaky mew left it.

Begging for help.

Begging for life.

Begging for love.

Warmth.

Bucky could give what little warmth he had to the kitten, his last, dying warmth. He opened his coat, unsnapping, buckling, and zipping what he needed to, opening the flap a sliver, feeling the freezing air hit his warm chest. He tucked the little wet bundle against him, looking down and watching it huddle against him and mew.

“Hey, Bucky, there you are!” Dawn called, her feet crunching through the snow. Bucky looked up to see the form coming toward him. “Are you ok?” She asked. Bucky turned and looked at her, his hands around the now only slightly open line in the front of his coat. “Aww! Look at the little thing! It’s so tiny!” She reached toward him and touched the lump in his coat.

Bucky was a little stiff, but the more Dawn fussed about how cute the little bump on his front was, even though she couldn’t really see anything, the more relaxed about her knowing he felt.

“C’mon Bucky,” Dawn said, her hand going to his arm, seeming to spread warmth from it though there was no way he could feel it with her gloves and his coat in the way, “we gotta get you two to the jet. Get you two warmed up.” Bucky mostly closed his coat, keeping as much warmth inside as he could, and he noticed that you really couldn’t see any lump or anything from the kitten.

Bucky sat in the back, away from the others, and Dawn came back to him, bringing a clean, dry shirt she pulled from her go bag, pushing it into his coat and rubbing it a little roughly over the kitten.

“What’re you up to over there?” Clint asked suggestively with a smirk.

Dawn raised a brow and looked at him. “I shoved some snow down Bucky’s jacket, and now I feel bad about it,” she told him.

Clint shook his head and walked away.

Dawn watched him go, then took the kitten from Bucky’s jacket, making a jolt of electricity shoot through him as her hand brushed his chest. She held the wet little body in the shirt, rubbing the shirt on both sides of it, drying it off, and making it move around a little, more alert. Long, mostly dry fur stood out around the kitten in tangled spikes, but it was moving, and Dawn pulled a small scrap of fabric around it, bundling it up and tucking it back into Bucky’s coat and closing it.

Bucky watched her, his eyes following her movements. “Why did you do that?” He asked softly.

“To make sure the kitten’s blood was flowing,” she answered, just as softly, “it’s something you have to do sometimes when they’re born, too.”

“I meant lie to Clint,” Bucky told her.

“Oh,” Dawn said, looking up to him, then adjusting his coat a little. “Tony would probably freak out if he knew you were bringing some strange animal home.”

Bucky nodded as he thought about that. “True. Same could be said for you.”

Dawn smirked up at him. “Are you calling me an animal?”

“No,” Bucky shook his head, “me.”

Dawn lifted a brow. “Strange as you may be, you are not a stranger. And you’re not an animal.” Bucky looked away. “Bucky,” she said, trying to get his attention, saying his name again as a warning so that he looked at her. “You’re not an animal.”

…    …    …    

Bucky sat in his room, a place that no one other than Steve had entered since he moved into it.

The tiny kitten was against his chest, held there by his shirt. His body ran warm, ever since the serum, and he hoped that it would help the little body warm up and recover.

There was a knock at his door and Bucky froze, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and crossing his arms to better hold and hide the lump. He opened the door and saw Dawn standing there as though she were carrying contraband; a plastic shopping bag on her arm, trying to look inconspicuous as she looked around.

“Hi!” She said sweetly as she looked up. She peeked into the room and looked around. “Can I come in?”

Confusion pressed into Bucky’s brow as he leaned away from the door, making enough room for her to enter. Why had she knocked on his door?

Dawn walked over to his bed and sat down, setting the bag beside her and opening it. “I brought some things.” Bucky went to the bed and sat next to her, looking into the frail looking plastic. She grinned up at him and held out a hand for the kitten. “Where is it?” Bucky silently opened the blanket and took the small, also frail looking, kitten from his shirt, putting it in her hand. “Poor baby… looks like it’s not doing very well…”

“I tried to feed it,” Bucky told her, for some reason feeling like he needed to defend himself. “It wouldn’t eat.”

“Feed it what?” She asked, glancing up at him.

“Tuna…”

“Ah, well… he,” she said as she held it up and lifted it’s tail, “is too little to eat tuna.”

“How can you tell it’s a he,” Bucky asked, surprised by her knowledge.

Dawn turned the kitten and rubbed her finger over his nose, then down to rub over his body. “Boys look like a colon, girls look like a semicolon,” she shrugged. “Anyway, he needs milk.” She handed the kitten back to Bucky and dug around in the bag, pulling out some things and going to his bathroom, talking to him as she walked. “He’s still a little cold, but it makes sense if he hasn’t eaten in a while. Keep him close to you while I get this all set up. He should be warm enough to eat.” The water ran for a bit, and when she came back through the door, she had a towel over her shoulder and was holding a tiny bottle upside down and watching the bottle drip onto her wrist.

Bucky silently watched her, seeing her nod and then stick the bottle in her bra between her breasts, making him blush. She sat next to him and pulled the towel across her legs. “Ok, let’s check him out.” Bucky handed the kitten to her, and watched her shift everything around to get it comfortable before pulling the bottle out of her bra and holding it for the kitten. “Come on, little guy,” she tried to encourage him, but the kitten wouldn’t take the nipple, no matter how she held his head. “Ok,” she said simply, laying back on the bed, grabbing Bucky’s pillows to prop herself up so she could still look down at the kitten. She pulled the towel up onto her belly and chest, holding the bottle and kitten near each other, letting a drop of the milk get on the kitten’s closed lips. The kitten licked his lips and realized what was happening. He immediately went for the nipple, latching on without Dawn having to do much.

Bucky realized that he was staring down at her, and laid next to her, trying not to look intimidating while watching the kitten suckling. “Why lay down?” He asked.

She shrugged. “More surface area for the kitten to lay on; you don’t have a table, and we can’t go out to the kitchen. Warmer up here, too.” Bucky’s hand drifted closer to the little bundle of fur that she had started brushing with a toothbrush. The kitten started kneading her, it’s little eyes closed and toes working against the towel covering her as it seemed to smile around the bottle’s nipple. “So, have you named him yet?”

Bucky’s eyes shot up to hers, but she was still watching the kitten, making sure to keep him at the correct angle, on his belly with his head up, brushing his fur to detangle it and encourage him to keep feeding. “It’s only been a day.”

“Yeah- and?” She asked.

Bucky just looked back to the kitten, pulling his hand back and turning to look up at the ceiling, sitting up after a moment as he started to feel vulnerable. “I haven’t thought about it.”

Silence surrounded them until Dawn broke it softly. “Little kitten,” she hummed as she stroked him with the toothbrush. “Petit chaton… petit sauvetage… Safe now. Loved now…” {little kitten, tiny rescue}

Bucky couldn't take his eyes from her, watching how gentle she was with the kitten. When it was done eating, she changed the towel to over her shoulder again and laid the kitten over it, thrumming her fingers along the kitten's back, tiny little tapping until he let out a few small sounds that Bucky would guess were the kitten version of burps.

Dawn smiled at the kitten and brushed her finger over his nose before turning and handing him to Bucky. “So, three or four times a day, that much,” she told him, pointing at a line on the bottle, “just follow the instructions, keep the bottle at about forty five degrees, it'll be fine. He'll let you know when he's done.”

“How do you know all this?” Bucky asked.

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. “I had a cat who had two litters of kittens when I was little, and after seeing the miracle of birth, I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian for a while.”

Bucky was a little surprised to hear that she was so caring as a child, but then it made sense; she was still a very caring person.

…    …    …    

Dawn rolled over from her phone, looking up at the ceiling. “What?” She asked.

“Mr. Barnes is calling for you.”

“From where?” She asked, sitting up.

“His room,” FRIDAY answered.

“Alright, let him know I'll be there in just a moment.” She stood from the bed and straightened herself out before heading to Bucky’s room.

The door opened nearly immediately when she knocked. “He won't stop mewing,” Bucky told her.

Dawn’s brow twitched, and she stepped into the room, moving toward where the kitten was sitting on the bed, mewing miserably at them. She could see how concerned Bucky was about the kitten, though he was hiding it pretty well, and she didn't think she'd ever seen him so concerned about anything, other than maybe Steve, before.

“Every time I put him down, he cries, but I have to go train with Steve. He gave me a few days off due to nearly freezing to death, but I have to go today,” he told her as he stepped next to her.

Dawn picked the kitten up and held him against her chest, but he immediately tried to climb over her shoulder to get to Bucky. Dawn giggled and leaned close enough that his chest touched the back of her shoulder, and the kitten jumped across onto him. Dawn felt shivers wiggle in her stomach at the touch, unaware that Bucky had the same wiggles. “He just wants to be on you,” she said, her giggles getting louder when she turned around and saw the kitten burrowing against Bucky's chest. “So cute!” She murmured.

Bucky looked up at her with a worried expression. “What do I do?”

“I'll watch him, you go train,” she answered.

“What if he just keeps mewing?”

“It'll be ok,” she told him.

Bucky set the kitten in her hands when she held them out, and he climbed to curl up against her chest, right over her heart. Bucky didn't realize that's where the kitten was before, but now that he saw it on her, he realized that the kitten laid over his heart, too, something he always seemed to forget existed.

.

When Bucky returned, he found the two of them cuddled up on the bed, the kitten tucked against her chest, under her arm. He actually felt his lips lift in a smile at the tender scene on his bed.

…    …    …    

Bucky opened the can of can food, tossing the can and the lid in the bathroom garbage after emptying it into a small bowl. The kitten ran from where he had been waiting to ambush Bucky, hidden behind the pillows on the bed, pouncing on the floor next to the bowl and sniffing at the food before rubbing against Bucky's leg. Bucky sat on the floor and stoked the kitten's back, giving a scratch, and he climbed up and settled himself against Bucky's chest, giving him no choice but to hold him- over his heart.

There was a knock at the door and Bucky looked up nervously, worried about who was there. “Who is it?”

“It's me,” Dawn called through the door.

“Come in,” Bucky answered, and she did, smiling when she saw the kitten on his chest.

“He really likes it there, huh?” Bucky shrugged. “Well, come on, we need to go out; presents and stuff,” she told him.

“I- I can't leave him here,” Bucky told her.

Dawn chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, then asked, “he hasn't stopped crying when you leave after three weeks?” Bucky shook his head, his hand covering the kitten protectively. Dawn held back her chuckle, but couldn't stop the grin. “You're his Sauveur,” she told him. “He doesn't want to leave you behind, or you to leave him behind.” {Savior}

Bucky grimaced at the kitten, but followed Dawn's suggestion and bundled up a bit, keeping the kitten in his coat, cuddled against his chest.

No one noticed or commented, and it became the norm; Bucky carried the kitten with him, hidden under a sweater and his jacket or coat wherever he went, except when he left him with Dawn when he had to train.

Finally, Christmas eve morning came and the tower was full of the sound of laughter as Wanda made cookies with Vision's help, trying to explain to him that just because the recipe said this much, it didn't always end up being exactly right, and Tony and Bruce talked about the experiment they were working on to make a special, super amazing Christmas tree.

“But, is it going to be done before Christmas?” Dawn demanded.

Tony waved his hand at her. “Not if you keep distracting me. How am I supposed to get anything done when everyone comes to me with their problems? Can no one live without me?” He asked, his face turning to the ceiling as though in despair, and Bruce snorted in laughter.

“You love it, and you know it, you big attention vacuum!” Dawn told him.

“Wait, wouldn't that mean that there is a lack of attention here?” Bruce asked, waving his hand in a circle in Tony's direction.

“No, I mean that he sucks it all up!” Dawn insisted, her hands going to her hips.

Tony smirked at her. “You know it, babe!”

Dawn noticed Bucky where he had stopped, pondering the tightening in his gut at the endearment, and declared, “I'm going to get a freaking Christmas tree, Bucky's going to help me bring it home- and there's nothing you can do about it!”

Tony smirked over at the two of them as she headed toward Bucky. “Ok, but don't cry when our tree is better!”

“I won't, because you won't even have a tree!” She called back to him, slipping her arm through Bucky's and leading him to the elevator.

“We'll see about that!” Tony called back.

The kitten poked his face out of Bucky's coat and Dawn giggled, petting his nose before Bucky urged him back into his coat. “Let's get lunch first, I'm starving,” Dawn suggested, and Bucky smiled, following her through the door and out into the cold, snowy weather.

.

Bucky was worried about if anyone found out about the kitten as they walked around, but Dawn just bit her lip to hide her smile and fed him a piece of chicken when he stuck his head out at the restaurant, and most of the people wandering around either didn't notice the tiny kitten face poking out of his coat or they awwed and asked to pet him.

.

Bucky was sure that his face was stuck in a permanent smile by the time they got back to the tower.

He hauled in the huge tree that Dawn had picked out, and they spent the night decorating it after everyone else had gone to bed.

“Just the star left, or angel,” Dawn said, looking at their hard work.

Bucky bit his lip and looked at her, knowing that back in the day, before Hydra, he would have made a comment on her not fitting on the top, and that would usually lead to a kiss, and suddenly, he wondered whether he wanted to kiss her, or if he was just remembering his past self.

“Do you think the kitten will stay there long enough, or jump down?” She teased, and he realized that she had done the same thing, but with the kitten, and he smiled, pulling the kitten from his coat and going to hand him to her, but the kitten jumped and in a panic of dropping him, Bucky's hand landed on her shoulder, with the kitten, who had then proceeded to flail and get him, and Bucky's hand, tangled in her hair.

They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Bucky looked up and saw the mirth on Dawn's face, feeling his heart swell at it's sweetness.

They went to bed, and Bucky couldn't help but smile as he thought about the smile on Dawn's face.

.

The sun hadn't even started over the horizon when Christmas music started blasting out of the speakers in the tower, the lights flashing red, green, blue and white.

There was a mass grumbling as everyone got up and made their ways to the common area.

“Damn it, Tony!” Nat yelled over the music, throwing a pillow and hitting him in the head. Steve was not happy either, but he was much more polite about it, and Clint was aiming an arrow at Tony.

“I thought we discussed that we weren't doing this?” Bruce grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. Dealing with Tony could be so wearing some days, even this early in the morning.

The music and lights stopped- of course Tony never want to drown himself out. He just smiled his “give me all your funding” smile, the one he used at fundraising events and the like, dressed immaculately in a perfectly tailored suit, hair perfectly quaffed. “And then, after you went to bed, I decided I was!” He told Bruce. “Everyone gather close! And smiiiileee!” He called out, giving a reputation making smirk to a wall. Everyone else turned to see what he was looking at, and jumped at the flash that came from the spot on the wall.

“Tony- you ass!” Natasha snapped, her hand shooting forward to smack him in the back of the head.

Bucky turned and went back to his room, his eyes scanning for Dawn, but not seeing her. He hurried, knowing that the kitten would be crying; he'd had to quickly set him down to run out and knock some sense into Tony for his stupid stunt and how much it was upsetting the kitten. He opened the door and saw Dawn sitting on the floor, dragging a jingling cat toy across the floor around her.

“Sorry, I was coming to see you, but he was crying,” she told him when she looked up at him with a smile.

Bucky felt warmth fill him at her smile, and it was reflected on his face. “S’ok, doll.”

Dawn showed him the tiny little stocking she had gotten for the kitten and filled with presents.

The kitten was busy jumping all over the little mouse filled with catnip when Dawn looked up at the window and gasped in delight. She climbed from the floor, Bucky catching her as her sleeping foot tried to trip her on the way to the window, and looked out next to her when she peeked through the shade.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, doll?” He asked.

“It's snowing!” Bucky looked over at the ecstatic look on her face, smiling in her radiated joy. “God- the city is so loud... I wish there was somewhere quiet we could go and listen to the snow,” she murmured.

The way her face fell a little made a strange yearning to see it again fill him. “I know a place,” he told her quietly.

“You do?” She asked.

Bucky chuckled as a small smirk crossed his lips. “You forget how long I've lived here; I know where everything is, and where it use to be.”

Dawn smiled again, but it wasn't the same smile; happy, laughing, but lacking the same wonder and amazement. “Let's go, then!” She declared.

.

They got bundled up and headed out to the spot Bucky had meant, walking through the streets, eventually heading through a park and ending at the edge of a river. They turned and headed along the frozen bank, her following him down the small trail cut through the snow. He stopped and Dawn was so busy watching her feet that she ran into him, and he had to catch her so she didn't fall in the snow.

“Thanks,” she said with a bright smile. Bucky continued on, this time with her holding his hand, so she didn't fall. “It's a pretty popular place, huh?” She asked.

“Just to me,” Bucky answered, stopping and letting her see the patch of clean ground under the edge of the bridge they'd come up to without her paying much attention.

There was a large concrete block there, and Bucky gestured for her to sit first, sitting next to her with a polite space between them. After a moment of silence as they looked out over the banks on both sides of the river and the river, it was quiet enough that they could hear the soft sound of snow falling. Silence floated around them, but it was a comfortable silence that Bucky found himself often looking over to Dawn in, his heart swelling with warmth at the joyful look on her face. He realized that he was staring and quickly looked away, but noticed a shiver wrack through her body.

“I should have brought a blanket,” Bucky murmured.

“It's ok, you didn't think of it. Neither did I,” she shrugged. “If I was smart I would have brought my own space heater, like the kitten did,” she chuckled.

Bucky felt his cheeks heat, and his hand went to his coat, unzipping it and holding it a little open. “I think he'd be ok with sharing,” he murmured softly, looking down, unable to meet her gaze.

“Are you sure?” She asked, biting her lip.

Bucky looked over to her, and saw the hope mostly hidden in her expression. Bucky’s cheeks warmed a little more, and his lips turned up in a smile as he looked back to the ground. ���He's not saying no…”

Dawn scooted closer to him, ducking under his arm and huddling against him. “He's so lucky to have such a good protector,” Dawn said, her gloved fingers reaching out to brush over the little kitten’s nose where it was poking out of his coat.

Something was making Bucky’s guts twist up in knots, something that he suspected had to do with the warm body leaning against his side. He tightened his arm around her, using the excuse of keeping her warm.

.

It was freezing outside, so they only stayed out for a couple of hours, heading back through the snow, Dawn holding Bucky's hand the whole way this time, not wanting to trip over nothing in the fading light.

It was dark when they made it back to the tower, and the smell of delicious food was filling the whole floor when they arrived, and they saw that Sam had joined them, standing in the walkway between them and the team's rooms.

Bucky lead the way, quiet as usual, and the others were talking amongst themselves, laughing and setting up the food on the counter.

“Finally, Tinman, where've you been keeping Dawn's light all day?” Sam joked offhand, looking back to Tony as they shared a laugh.

Bucky didn't know why Sam teasing him made his jaw clench; he usually shot it back at him, but bringing Dawn into it changed things.

There was a tiny rumbling against Bucky's chest, and his brow quirked in confusion at the strange sensation.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she followed Bucky past the others, but he froze in his tracks as a tiny hiss sounded from his chest. His eyes darted down to see that his coat was still a little open, and that the kitten was looking out through the space. He quickly zipped it the rest of the way up, but Sam had heard.

“Dude- did you just hiss at me?” He asked, his face twisted in humored confusion.

“No…” Bucky answered quietly.

“Hiiiiissss,” Dawn hissed at Sam from behind Bucky’s shoulder. The three men looked at her in shock.

“Really?” Tony asked sarcastically with pivot of his neck. Dawn glared at him as she hissed again. He rolled his eyes back at her, taking an olive and popping it in his mouth.

“Your eyes are going to stick that way one day,” Dawn snarked at Tony.

“Then I'll be a gif,” he snarked back, rolling his eyes again playfully.

.

A week later, Steve stopped Bucky as he headed to the shower after training. “Hey, Buck… are you avoiding me?”

Bucky looked up at the hurt in Steve's eyes in surprise. “No, no way. Why would you think that?”

“I was just wondering, I haven't seen you around for a while, except for training…”

“Naw, Steve, I'm just… just hanging around with-”

“Dawn,” Steve finished for him, and he actually looked a little better.

“Yeah…” Technically it was true; he had been spending a lot of time with her and the kitten.

“So, you finally decided to do something about being sweet on her, huh?” Steve asked, more at ease knowing that his friend was just being his old self, enjoying the company of a pretty woman, and not ignoring or avoiding him.

“I'm not sweet on her,” Bucky mumbled, but his cheeks heated.

Steve grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. “Sure, Buck, sure.”

Bucky watched him walk away with a grin on his face, his own brow crimping in confusion and denial.

.

“It's new years eve eve,” Dawn said as she made a red point of laser dart around Bucky's room, the now larger and obviously long haired, gray tabby kitten darting after it. “You really don't have any plans?” Bucky shook his head. “No girlfriends vying for your time?”

Bucky shook his head again, feeling a little apprehensive at asking, “You?”

Dawn smiled at the kitten, a little sadly. “Well… There's this guy I like,” Bucky felt his stomach drop, “but, I don't think he even realizes that I'm a woman.”

“Sounds like an idiot,” he mumbled, and Dawn laughed.

.

Later, as Bucky was headed out to get a sandwich, Tony looked up from where he was messing around with a piece of tech at the table. “You and Dawn going to kiss tomorrow?” He teased.

Bucky turned to him, a look of confusion on his face. “What?”

Tony smirked. “It's new years eve tomorrow. You finally going to kiss Dawn?”

Bucky lifted a shoulder and tilted his head as he turned away. “She has some guy she likes.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony nearly chuckled.

“So she wouldn't want to kiss me.”

“Wow. Did they take out all of your brain? I thought they only took out the bad parts.”

“What?” Bucky snapped in irritation.

“Just asking-”

“Why? Why are you even asking this?” Bucky demanded.

Tony lifted a brow at him, leaning back in surprise at his anger. “You think she doesn’t like you?” Bucky clenched his jaw, turning to walk away. “Hey, Toy soldier- she hissed at people she knew were going to make fun of her for it to hide the fact that you were smuggling a kitten around in your coat.” Bucky froze, shocked at hearing it put that way. “If there was anything that was a more obvious sign that someone liked you, I don’t know what it is,” Tony told him, taking a drink from his glass of disgusting green, mushy looking liquid.

Bucky turned back to look at him, squinting at him as he tried to determine if he was being honest. “Wait- what did you say about a kitten?” He suddenly asked, his face falling and losing color as the entirety of what Tony had said hit him.

Tony smirked. “That kitten you carry around in your jacket. You think I didn’t know?” Bucky’s brow twitched. “You really thought you could get away with having a kitten here, in my house, carry it around- in your jacket- without me knowing?” Tony laughed, taking his time as he sipped his drink, then swallowed and continued, “I’ve known the whole time.”

“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything?” Bucky demanded angrily, and

Tony shrugged with a smirk. “I just thought it was amusing to watch you go through so much trouble trying to hide it.”

Bucky growled quietly to himself, turning and storming away back to his room.

When he got back, he saw Dawn right where he’d left her; on the floor, bouncing around a toy on a string for the kitten to chase. “Dawn-” His voice failed him when she looked up. “Will you- I know a good place that we can sit and watch the fireworks tomorrow night… Do you want to come watch the new years fireworks with me tomorrow night?” Bucky asked, his heart starting to speed up in his chest.

“Sure,” she answered- so simply, as though there weren’t a million and one reasons that she wouldn’t want to come watch the fireworks with him.

.

Bucky lead the way down the path toward the bridge, holding her hand to keep her upright in the dark.

“This glow stick necklace is not helping as much as I thought it would,” Dawn commented, the smile lifting the corner of her lips audible in her voice. Bucky smiled, too, feeling his stomach churn as they neared the concrete block. He spread out a blanket and held her hand as she sat down, then spread another blanket over them. It was thick, heavy, something made to withstand the freezing night air. They cuddled close together as Dawn quickly checked her phone. “Ten minutes. You timed it pretty well,” she told him, giving a smile that her glowing necklace lit up.

The warmth from her body felt like it was burning into him, heating him up and making it feel more homey.

“So… When you said that there was a guy that you liked…”

“Yeah?” Dawn asked.

Bucky bit his lip, unaware of how crazy it drove the woman in front of him. “Anyone I know?” He asked. 

Dawn chuckled. “Yeah.”

“It’s not Salvator, is it?” He asked, trying to inject some humor to deflect from his nervousness.

Dawn arched a brow. “Who?”

“Salvator, the kitten…”

Dawn’s grin deepened. “Well, I wouldn’t mind giving him a kiss, but I don’t think he’d return it,” she said, tilting her chin down to the edge of Bucky’s coat where the kitten was bundled and leaning forward. Salvator poked his head out and bumped his nose against her lips, blinking and nuzzling her.

Bucky felt a pit in his stomach twist around- some feeling he hadn’t felt for a long time- and fluttering in his heart- what was that?

“Awww!” Dawn cooed.

Jealousy, that was the feeling that he hadn’t felt in such a long time-

“Nevermind, I guess-” Dawn lifted her head to look at Bucky, but her sentence was cut off as her eyes met his.

“Doll, can I kiss you?” He whispered, his lips already a hair's breadth away and still getting closer.

“Yeah,” she whispered back.

Their lips met and the fluttering in Bucky's heart grew, filling it full to bursting with winged insects that had no logical hope of surviving the freezing temperature outside.

Affection- that's what the feeling in his heart was; deep, longing, caring affection.

Love.

The kiss dragged on, letting them acquaint themselves with each other, until they had to pull apart for oxygen. Bright, multicolor light flashed around them as the echoing booms filled the air. “Wow, that was some kiss, doll. Got me seeing fireworks. I thought they said that only happened after really great sex,” Bucky teased.

Dawn bit her lip and blushed. It was silent for a moment as they smiled and cuddled against each other, basking in each other’s presence. “Is Salvator a Romanian name?” Dawn asked.

“No, or at least, not how I mean it…”

“No?” Dawn asked.

“No. It's a Romanian word, like you might name a pet Spot or Fluffy...”

“What does it mean?” She asked.

A huff if laughter made it out through Bucky's nose. “Savior…” He mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

Dawn suppressed her snorts of laughter the best she could. “That's so cute; naming him savior… as though he saved you instead of you saving him…”

“Yeah,” Bucky murmured, the rest of his comment except the word ‘him’ unheard. He was looking down at how her hands were setting on him, his arm and knee. “Can I ask you a question?” He asked.

“Will you kiss me again?” She bargained. Bucky grinned and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on her lips. “I guess that answers my question,” she hummed in content.

“And, I think, mine,” he added softly.

“Oh yeah?” He nodded. “What was your question?” Dawn insisted.

“If that guy you like is me…” His voice was soft against her lips, a bit raspy and rough, as though unwilling to leave his lips at the chance of rejection.

Dawn's grin widened. “Yeah, Buck,” she tried not to giggle.

“Good. That means I don't have to make anyone “get lost”,” he murmured back, his lips paused against hers to whisper before he kissed her again.

A/n- So, @rivertam-art... I hope you liked it, I didn’t have much idea of anything actiony to write for the season. I wanted to give you something good (felt a little bad that they sent you, someone who doesn’t like nsfw/smut to someone that that’s their speciality... lol), but I was really worried if you’d like it (still am, honestly lol), but didn’t want to give too much away about what was going be in it over anon ask. I was mainly inspired by the pics of kittens and cats on your dash.

Tag List!

If you’d like to be added to any list, let me know. I’m also on Ao3 at ValkyrieOfSmut

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[justkending]

A True Wesson. Part 19.

Summary: You are a prodigy hunter that recently lost her father on a hunt after you decided to retire from the hunting life. You run into the Winchesters when a case comes up in your town. Along the way you realize something that you always felt but never truly understood about yourself.

Chapter Summary: Another showdown, but we are about to get some insider knowledge from a guest star.

Pairing: Eventual Dean x Reader/OFC (Kendall)

Warning: Cussing.

Word Count: 2105 (Yes, kinda short for this series, but it’s still good I promise.)

Series Masterlist

Part 19:

As you were running, you felt the presence of another creature around you.

 The same one you felt in the station. The plan was working. You were driving the she demons away from your work family.

You were able to get pretty far into the woods that were behind the parking lot, when you ran straight into a body that appeared out of nowhere.

Falling to the ground you looked up clutching the journal you had taken from your office close to your chest.

“My, my, my… If it isn’t Miss. Runaway. Good to see you again.” The redhead hissed crouching down grabbing you by your chin, and lifting your face to hers. “I’m surprised you didn’t burn this meat suit when you had the chance, but lucky for me I quite like her so I’m glad you didn’t.” she said throwing you face harshly towards the ground.

You grunted before laughing and turning to look back at her.

“I would have if I wasn’t bleeding out, but you know life decisions and all. Plus, what’s the point if you can hop into anyone you please.” You said giving her an evil glare.

She smugly turned away from you, and walked into the woods more before turning back to you.

“Did you not think we would find you after your little escape plan?” she asked crossing her arms and popping out her hip.

“Oh no. Actually I was counting on it.” You said getting up, brushing off the leaves on your pants, and standing tall. “This way I can do the deed of ending you myself.”

She started laughing loudly to the point that she couldn’t catch her breath. You raised an eyebrow at the outburst, and decided to take this moment to get a feel of your surroundings.

She was the only presence that you could feel. Where was her sister? Shit.

“So ugly step sister number one…” you said interrupting her moment. “Where’s number two?” you said with a wise ass smirk on your face.

She stopped laughing abruptly and turned her attention to you again.

“Rude first off, and she’s just taking care of a little… side business.” She said walking closer to you.

You instinctively moved away, and you were now circling each other like a showdown.

“Side business huh? Didn’t think you guys could even handle one business let alone two.” You sassed watching her every move. “You know… because I got away and all.” You smiled wickedly.

That tipped her off the edge and she lunged at you, and since you weren’t fully healed you weren’t fast enough to dodge her completely, and she was able to grab a hold of your hair.

You screamed out in pain at the pull, and your leg went out as she swept it out from under you causing you to fall to the ground once again.

“Listen here you little twit. I could end you right here and now. Don’t. Think. I. Won’t.” she seethed venomously into your ear.

“That’s enough Scar.” You heard a man’s deep and poised voice say from behind you.

_______________________________________________________________________

As soon as you left the station, Dean went out to see the six to seven people that were on duty looking around in a confused state in a huddle together.

Aren’t these people supposed to be the help when situations like this happen? Small town. Not much exciting things happen here I guess.

He grabbed their attention quickly wanting to get them out of there as soon as possible.

“Listen up. There has been a security breach! Your captain has gone to do a quick search of what the problem is, but she wanted me to direct you all back home to safety. If you got a car, get in it. If you don’t, find someone who does!” He shouted.

Everyone nodded in understanding, and all but three left to do as instructed.

“What are you two doing? Didn’t you hear me? Get out of here!” he yelled at three officers that stayed behind.

“See, you aren’t the boss lady so why should be listen to you?” A man with blonde hair said.

“Yeah, for all we know you are the security breach, and you have the captain locked in her office, or worse.” The women of the bunch said as the all got closer to Dean.

“You all have seen me around here before. I’m FBI, and I’m directing you to get out of here and leave.” Dean said standing strong in his position, and getting frustrated by the response.

“Well, maybe we don’t want to.”

After the last cop said that, they all blinked and their eyes went black. They all held a satisfied grin on their face.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Dean mumbled as he backed up and ran to the storage closet.

Luckily the salt was already opened, and he laid it at the crack where the door and the ground didn’t meet. Only a second later, the door started banging harshly. Dean stood back, and looked at his surroundings hoping to find some form of weapon. Iron… anything. 

Yet again, he didn’t want to kill these people, because they were people that were just being used as a makeshift home for some ugly ass demons.

“Ken, I hope your plan is going better than mine.” He said leaning against the wall trying to think of his next move.

_______________________________________________________________________

Since you weren’t in a position to turn around to see who was calling off the demon that had a grip on you, you honed in on the presence with your senses. 

You knew this feeling the being was giving off. It was familiar, but you couldn’t quite pinpoint it. It was evil, but somehow calming.

“This isn’t what I sent you here for. I had to called off your sister too before she could do too much damage.” His tone was unhappy, but composed.

With a jerk your head was thrown down, and you heard her stomp off like an angry teen to stand by the mystery man that technically just saved your life.

You quickly got up, and held the journal that you had yet to drop in a death grip in your hand. You stood in fight stance ready to take on whatever was coming your way.

“Now, now Bug. Is that any way to greet an old friend?” the deep voice said.

You saw him now. A tall man in a dark dress coat, and nice suite. The white marbled eye. The Jet black hair that was starting to become peppered with white hair here and there. He had crow eyes by his eyes, and wrinkles scattered across his face, but he was still a well put together looking older man.

“You.” You whispered in disbelief.

“Yes. Me. Nice to see you all grown up, and in person myself.” He replied starting to move around you as if to examine you from all angles. You stood still, but never let your guard down. “Well didn’t you grow up into a beautiful specimen. Quite stunning, really…”

His stare was making you uncomfortable, but you felt like you couldn’t move. You were in a state of shock.

“Can’t say the same about you. I didn’t realize Demons aged. Your hair’s graying a little, old man.” You sassed seeing Scarlett glare at you from a distance with her arms crossed in anger.

“Quite the mouth too. I heard you were one to talked back. Didn’t think I was going to like it, but I like the fire that you have inside.” He stated coolly.

“What do you want old man?” you said wanting to get to the point. “I’m tired of the constant head games and kidnappings. Is it too much to ask for one day to sleep? Let’s just get to the good stuff.”

“All in good time my little Bug…” he replied.

“And WHAT is with THAT NAME?! Stop calling me that! Stop ruining my dreams with your face, and constant thoughts and nicknames.” You shouted getting frustrated.

“Because darling. That’s just what you are. A bug that I can squash in a heartbeat if I wanted to.” He said getting closer and making you tense at the motion.

“Yeah? Then why haven’t you done it yet, huh? Why haven’t you squashed me yet?” you said only getting silence in response. “Or is it because your just making empty threats. Trying to scare me, but can’t actually do the job?”

“Now, I would be careful what you say to me Bug. You don’t want to end up like your mother now do you?” he whispered in your ear as he stood right behind you.

You froze. Your mom?

“You. You were the one that-“ you couldn’t finish the sentence. You were gasping for air that had just been knocked out of your lungs.

“Go on… Finish your thought.” He whispered wickedly while circling you again.

“My mom. You- You were the one that… k-killed her?” you said feeling your eyes watering at the thought, and bile rising in your throat.

“Stepped on her. Crushed her. Flattened her like a bug…” He said in his deep hushed tone.

You couldn’t handle it. Your heart took control of your actions, and you lunged at the man. He quickly stepped to the side causing you to fall, but you hustled to get back up and attack again. You threw a right hook at him, but he was faster. He grabbed your fist and twisted it causing you to lower down to the ground. He leaned down with you as you descended to the ground, and never broke eye contact. His white eye bearing into your soul.

“Now, let’s not make the same mistake as your mother, and try to fight with me.” He threw your arm vigorously to the ground causing you to fall in the leafs below you.

You crumbled not having the strength to fight because all your emotions of your mom were coming to the surface. You started to sob, but kept quite not wanting to come off as completely helpless.

“Oh now don’t cry Bug.” He said crouching beside you, and going to remove a tear from your face. You swatted at his hand, and turned the other way. “I didn’t come for you tonight. It’s not time yet. I came for this.” He reached for the journal that had fallen from your hand at some point, and turned to hand it to his sidekick who now had a smug grin on her face. “You see,” he walked back over to you. “I know a little bit about you, but you see… Your mother and father knew more. So that little diary over there is going to help me get to know you better. Hmmm.” he hummed happily.

You broke from your distressed state, and looked up at the man with your tear stained face.

“I’m going to kill you.” You gritted out through your teeth. “I’m going to make sure you suffer, and rot in hell.”

“Honey, you think I’m scared of hell? I live there. I practically own it.” He said squatting beside you once again. “Nothing you say will scare me. You said it best yourself. You’re feeding me empty threats.” He said with a pouty face before it turned to a malicious smile. “Now, only what? Less than a month, and I’ll see you again. Keep your head up kiddo.” He said as he walked back to Scarlett that was as happy can be with the situation that was presenting itself in front of her. “I need you at your utmost best for when I come back. Got it?”

“You’re going to regret all of this. I’m going to-”you stood quickly and started stomping toward them.

“Uh uh. None of those threats now. We’ll see you around bug.” He said with a wink, and he was gone before you could lay a hand on him.

You looked around hoping to see him just in another corner of the woods, but the essence of evil was no longer there. You let out a scream, and cried falling to the ground letting it out while you were alone. After about 10 minutes of letting out your anger punching a tree, you looked down at your bloodied knuckles.

“No more Miss. Helpless.” You said to yourself. “I’m over this shit. To hell with Mr. Bug. It’s time for someone else to get squashed.” You muttered to yourself as you made your way back to the station fist clenched by your side.

Your eyes changed to the green, but you didn’t notice due to the fury building up in you.

Part 20

Tags:

@shamelesslydean @sleepless-sin  @ain-t-bovvered @dean-winchesters-bacon@angelkurenai@unabashedsoul97@sandlee44@gripmetight-raisemefromperdition@cabbagewithissues@supersleepygoat@anotherwaywardsister  @torn-and-frayed@spnwoman@ravengirl94@carryonmywaywardcaptain@ezilyamuzed @thosekidswhohuntmonsters@purpleskiesandcherrypies@anise-d-castle6@adoptdontshoppets@casper57x@tailsoflightning@spookycowz@eve05glee@snffbeebee@angelessquirrel@mirandaaustin93@natura1phenomenon

[fanfictionized]

Help Me Help You - EXmode (5/?)

Character: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced!Reader / OFC

Chapter summary: They've finally cracked Hydra's database, meaning that they have a name; The next one of Hydra's victims and they need to find her before they do.

Also they have more of an idea of what enhancement-program they're dealing with...Something familiar, perhaps?

Warnings: Mentions of torture and death, angst?

Words: 1.9k

Previous Chapter // Help Me Help You - Masterlist

“It didn’t occur to me until I tried matching the people’s blood samples up with the rest in S.H.I.E.L.D’s database.” Bruce recited as he called up the different hemograms. Bucky wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at, numbers and percentages listed in tabular form that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him.

Bruce rambled on about the numbers and percentages and Bucky noticed that he was not the only one drifting off until the next swipe with his hand showed a microscopic animation of real blood cells. He remembered that much from school. Micrography had been quite a new technology, allowing to show real, yet blurry and black and white examples over a projector. But that was nothing compared to this.

Those cells were red and pink with a purplish center and it seemed as if they were vibrating as they coursed slowly into one direction like a current. The dark purple was starting to spread out into its entirety, the yellowish green edges of the cell beginning to extend small antenna-like arms that wiggled their way outside the cell. Bucky had never, in any way, been good at biology or science, but he didn’t need to to determine it strange. Nothing but normal.

“But I had kept myself so busy with the mutation in your blood and what the super serum did to you” He continued, looking at both Steve and Bucky “That I didn’t think about the rest of Hydra’s altering experiments.” His head turned towards Wanda. She had been staring at the screen for quite some time now.

“It’s… mine, isn’t it? My blood?” She asked cautiously and Bruce nodded, pushing back the glasses onto his nose and continued explaining with a soft tone to his voice.

“Strucker’s experiments were revolutionary after Zola’s.” Bucky looked up at the familiar name, a shiver running down his spine. “It seems as if Hydra has gotten more information on how to put both of their lives’ work together.”

“To create the ultimate weapon. Indestructible and enhanced.” Vision stated as he had entered the room by floating through the glass. Another thing Bucky wouldn’t be able to get used to. It was only the third time he had seen him. He had disappeared to go on his own mission weeks before. Something about S.H.I.E.L.D he assumed, but it didn’t really matter anyway.

“Vis!” Wanda squealed excitedly as she saw him floating towards her and wrapped her arms around him. The others smiled and greeted him back. “Vision is right. I’m not just talking about your super strength or physical resilience” He looked back at Bucky and Steve “Or your enhanced abilities, Wanda. This could be a whole new thing.” He shook his head in disbelief as he showed the next picture.

A sea of dark purple spots trembling across the screen. The room got quiet as everyone watched the oval cells with jet-black cores quivering with, what everyone assumed; pure fucking energy.

“What the hell is this?” Sam asked, clearly shocked. “That’s the sample of Nina Alice, one of the victims.” Bruce added before Sam interrupted him “And let me guess; the others look exactly like hers?” Bruce nodded. “More or less, yes. You can see a slight change in the bloodstream, but my guess is that Hydra is still playing with the formula…” “But” Natasha inquired “They were all dead when they found them, right?” Her voice was laced with something Bucky had never heard from her. Possible fear of what they were facing. “Yes, unfortunately-” Bruce began but she continued. “Then how… are the cells still moving?”

Goosebumps crawled over Bucky’s skin at the realization and the others looked just as horrified as him as they faced each other. Bruce sighed deeply.

“All of them were found within 24 hours after their initial time of death. The autopsy showed that even though their hearts had stopped beating, they were not quite… dead… in a literal sense.” “What are you talking about?” Wanda asked, as confused as the rest of the group. “Their brains are still active. Something inside them was still keeping them alive for a couple more hours.” “The new serum?” Natasha asked. “Probably.” Tony responded “Their brains’ activity essentially shut down after an average of 16 hours after their death.” “Actually, post-mortal brain activity is not uncommon, but the average time span for that is maybe up to six minutes.” “Not sixteen hours…” Steve repeated calmly as he looked down, either thinking or processing. “How the fuck are you so calm? Man, we got a new Hydra weapon that could take us all down, how are you not freaking out right now?” Sam clearly wasn’t. Rightly.

Bucky’s own heart had begun to thump inside his chest at a maddening pace. He didn’t want to imagine what those people must’ve gone through in comparison to him. His story was one to ignite nightmares by its own. He had gone a long way to become what he was, but it was the aftermath that still traumatized him. They had died getting there.

“I’m not.” Steve replied “But we might be able to stop them before anything else happens to any more civilians.” He said and gestured to Tony who was still pacing around restlessly. “…Tony? Do you know something we don’t?” Natasha asked as he picked up his tablet. “Maybe.” He shrugged and projected the picture on the screen above the table with a tap of his fingers.

“S.H.I.E.L.D has found more than one of Hydra’s programmer. They… interrogated them-” He raised his brows and Steve scoffed “What do you want from me, Cap? Because I want this to end.” Steve crossed his arms in front of him but let Tony continue.

“-Anyway, they got enough information from them to add to the hacking of the system they had already achieved to find out the plan on the new serum.” The information on the operation appeared with a title.

“The Exome-Modification and Enhancement Program.” Tony said “Also called EXmode.” He remarked, letting everyone observe the information in front of them. “We have the names of the victims right here- “ “Along with their process-evaluation during their treatments.” Bruce finished his sentence “They never wrote down the actual formula, but what it did to the people as they used it on them.” “Something like a fucked-up diary…” Sam muttered angrily. Bruce began to look more and more depressed during the course of explaining the current situation.

“They have all the names here in order. But not only the ones that were found… but also the ones they still… want to experiment on.” “There, after Yorick Lambert.” Natasha pointed out the name on the sheet. “Has anyone after him been reported missing yet?” “Not yet, no.”

Annabelle Feldner. Bucky read inside his head. She was the next one on the list, right underneath Yorick. There was nothing else, no date, no information.

“We need to find her, Tony.” It just slipped out, his thoughts running freely and he felt the need to express them. “We can’t let them get to her.” All eyes were on him. Although he didn’t speak much, his words had value once they were out. And of cause he was right, they all knew it.

“S.H.I.E.L.D is already on it.” He assured him, but it didn’t quite answer his question. “Are they bringing her to a safe location?” Bucky asked, but Tony only fidgeted on the spot, looking over at Bruce who was already eyeing him.

“Not exactly…” Bucky’s scalp began to prickle, the fiery sensation spreading over his skin. Nausea settled inside his stomach the second he thought about other people living through the same hell as he did. This was no longer a simple mission. This was personal.

“What do you mean…?” His voice was low and dark. “Well, first off; There are a few Annabelle Feldners on the face of the earth. Trying to find out which one Hydra is interested in is a bit of a predicament since we still don’t know what connects all of them.” He tried to explain. Bucky’s shoulders tensed up.

“Second, I have my doubts S.H.I.E.L.D will tell us once they’ve figured that one out, because, well…” He sighed and took off his yellow sunglasses “They still don’t have the serum. My guess is that once they know which Annabelle they’re after, they will wait for Hydra to show up so they can see where they’re taking her.” All of them listened carefully as he explained his theory.

“Of cause this is all just assumption, but I’ve known those guys for a couple of years. They are trying their best to find her, but also they won’t let an opportunity like this slip through their fingers. Thinking about the greater good- “

“No way.” Bucky interrupted as he stood up, almost knocking over his chair. He was angry. Tired of this, but mostly angry. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t let one more person be the victim of the “greater good” because the “greater good” had him killing pointlessly for decades for it. Who were they to decide if they could spare that life? They would take Hydra down to help themselves to their knowledge to use it for whatever, but not for the greater good. “They can’t do that.”

“I’m afraid that’s not up to you anymore.” Tony said and sunk back into his chair with a huff “We’ve come this far but I wouldn’t count on S.H.I.E.L.D taking us any further than that. Maybe they’ll call us if they want their base destroyed or their agents taken out. But I doubt they’ll let us know about the formula once they have it. They want to avoid this- “He pointed at Bucky, Steve and Wanda “-happening again. Not unless they know how to control it.” “So what? You’ll let them play god?” Bucky asked incredulously. “Buck…” Steve started reaching for his friend’s arm but he pulled it back. “Bucky is right.” Wanda agreed and stood up as well “You’ll never know what it’s like to be experimented on like that. They cut you open, the pump you full of stuff that makes your veins burn and make you wish you were dead.” Tony lowered his head at her words and even though she had hit a blade in his heart with the accuracy of her words, Bucky was proud of her speaking up as well.

“They don’t have a voice, Tony. But they don’t deserve it. No one does and that should be out first priority instead of being sad because we cannot change how it is.” “She’s right, you know.” Sam muttered. “I know!” Tony groaned “Of cause I know that.” “We’re Avengers.” Steve spoke “We need to stand up for the little guys. Especially since no one else will.”

Bucky chuckled. Captain America in its full glory. He was expecting nothing less. “Then it’s settled.” Vision spoke with a faint smile on his lips. “Oh, so what now exactly? I’m supposed to break into S.H.I.E.L.D’s security network?” Tony huffed sarcastically. “Haven’t you already...?” Bruce asked him, but Tony immediately tried to shush him. “Shhht! All right, okay.” He threw his hands into the air dramatically “God, I feel stupid for saying this, but let’s spy on S.H.I.E.L.D.” “We can do it. As a team.” Steve said and Tony rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Miss American beauty pageant. I’ll do most of the work anyway so lay back until I’ve found a name.” Everyone laughed at that.

.

.

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Next Chapter

[laufeyodinson]

So It Goes... Chapter 2

Chapter Title: Observations

Pairings: Loki/OFC

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: N/A.

Tag List: N/A

The sorcery bookshop was bleak, boring and mediocre compared to the studies I kept in my quarters at the palace. If it wasn’t for a particular book mysteriously missing in my collection, I wouldn’t even be here among commoners. The shopkeep, an aging old man with white hair and dark circles around his eyes was sorting books when he heard the door close. He fumbled down from his ladder and bowed.

“Your Highness, what an honor it is for you to grace my shop today.” he stammered.

“At ease, old man.” I replied, the cat on my shoulder jumping down. “I’m looking for a specific book and was told that this shop is a forefront for important works of sorcery, is this true?” I questioned, looking at the man as he stood up straight.

“Wh… well, yes Your Highness.” the man stuttered. “What work are you searching for that would bring you here to the marketplace? Certainly there is no work that a Master such as yourself doesn’t have…”

“I did have this, it just seems to be missing.” I began, silencing his further questioning. “The book is titled ‘The Laws And Life Of A Dynasty In The Sorcerer’s World.’ Do you have a copy?” I questioned.

The man shifted his eyes to the top of one of his many bookcases. Waving his arms, the book slowly slid out from it’s spot on the top shelf and slowly descended into his arms. The cover was black with gold, foil lettering and was covered in dust. The old man looked up at me and held out the book in his arms.

“You know, Your Highness…” he started. “The only person I have ever given this book to was Her Majesty, The Queen. Such wonderful magic and confidence in these pages, but such power that can be destructive.” I stared at him and took the book from his hands.

“What are you implying, old man?” I retorted, the cat jumping up on a shelf at the corner of my eye.

“Only that you must be careful. I gave Queen Frigga the same warning. In my many years of life, I’ve seen that book do incredible things for Sorcerer’s like yourself.” he breathed, his eyes shifting from the book and then back at me. “But I’ve also seen it do terrible things as well.” I nodded.

“Well then, if that’s all…” I announced, but was cut off by the cat pulling a book from the shelf with his paw and it slamming on the floor. I stepped over to him and picked up the book.

“Keeping Up Appearances: A Guide In The Life Of A Monarch.” the old man recited. “Funny, I don’t remember ordering that book and I’ve worked here my entire life.” The book looked brand new and the cover changed appearances from a dull gray to a shiny gold with emerald accents.

“I’ll be taking this one too.”

————————————————————————

Asgard was a beautiful city, but highly flawed. The palace flourished and the inner city reaped the benefits, but on the outer corner it faltered. The homeless and beggars roamed begging for money and food. You could easily tell that it’s where I had come from. The beggar disguise and the dirt on my face stood out in the sea of lavish daywear and people wearing their finest jewels knowing how close to the palace, and the princes, they were. Regardless of if Prince Thor was banished, they could hope to get a warrior’s eye or even a passing glance from Prince Loki as he walked the open grounds.

Peeking my head out of the alleyway where I hid, I notice Prince Loki walking out of the sorcery bookshop with Drengr on his shoulder and two books in his hand. Véurr lingers around my feet before jumping up some crates to get a better look.

“So he seemed to have found the book,” I smirked, clasping my hands together in front of me. “It would seem Drengr did his part.”

“What part, my Lady?” Véurr questioned, his blue gaze shifting to me as Prince Loki walked into the palace grounds.

“A book may have mysteriously been placed in the bookshop just as Loki had entered.” I responded, shrugging my shoulders. “Such a magical place with magical knowledge. I haven’t the slightest idea how it could have gotten there.”

“My Lady…” Véurr sighed. “We discussed this. I may have no final decision but I was your advisor all those years ago. We shan’t be drawing attention to ourselves.” I looked over at him and he turned his head away.

“Véurr, darling. It was a book. Should Zeus have any idea, may he smite me down now.” I pledged, unclasping my hands and raising my arms. When nothing happened, I looked back at Véurr and shrugged. “You worry too much. A little chaos is fine.”

“Little amounts have often had large consequences.” he concluded.

Rolling my eyes, I looked up at the sky and noticed the sun setting. We had a number of hours before Drengr would come back with information and Máni wasn’t due back. I sat down in the alley behind the crates that Véurr stood upon and looked up at him.

“Keep an eye on those palace grounds for me, will you? I want to know his every movement that is visible to our eyes.” I instructed him.

“What exactly is our plan, my Lady?” he questioned, his head peering around the corner before turning back to me for a moment. “What is this purpose?”

“Well…” I began. “Our new King is a troubled man. The Asgardians do not believe in him. What chaos would it be to have them actually admire him in place as king only to find out he’s a Frost Giant and is not of this realm.” I continued.

“So you’d expose his true lineage? What would that accomplish, exactly?” Véurr pondered. “What has he done to you?”

“He’s done nothing. But these people turn their noses and belittle us because of our ‘place’ in society.” I mocked. “If they truly believe in Loki, they’ll see appearances do not matter and they will learn to respect us.” I proclaimed, crossing my arms over my chest. Véurr peered around the corner again.

“Or instead of doing all this and exposing us, you could just put on your old attire and wreak havoc on the realm…” he suggested, licking his paw before picking his head back up. “Oh, wait… we already are.” he grumbled. When I turned to look at him, he was already lying down and focusing on his post until the sun set. —————————————————————

The two books I had picked up from the sorcery bookshop lay on a dresser next to my bedside. I vowed to myself that I would attempt to get some sleep as the duties of a king are long, tiresome and quite boring. Meetings day in and day out were things I did as a prince to aide Odin, so doing them now seemed meaningless. I knew what to do within the realm. I knew how to rule these filthy people. And yet…

I picked up the black and gold book that I had initially went to the shop for and sat up in my bed, the new cat curling in a ball by my side. I began to shift through the chapters, recognizing some points from when I had read the book when Mother had first gifted it to me.

The book told of how to rule with grace, dignity and how to use your magic and sorcery to encourage the people and keep them safe. The chapters were riddled with spells and enchantments that were easy in comparisons to what I know how to do now. Turning pages, I eventually got to the chapters of power struggle and the warnings that were littered through the book.

“Hear this one, beast…” I began to read aloud as the cat’s head lifted. “‘Be wary of how you use your power, for people will more quickly become fearful rather than astonished.’ Hear that?” I questioned. “People are more dumb to be scared than to be bewildered. Such low creatures.” I scoffed, turning to place the book back on the shelf.

The gray book that the cat had dropped off the shelf had changed it’s skin to it’s gold and emerald as I had turned. It was as if it was asking me to look at it. With a sigh, I picked the book up and placed the other in it’s space. Opening the book, the words on the pages changed from a silver foil to a jet black ink. Taking a glance at the front cover to see the title, I turned to chapter one.

“Appearances, eh?” I criticized, looking at the pages. “Why are appearances so important anyways?” The cat meowed at me and stood up, looking at me with it’s large green eyes. “You pulled this book off the shelf, hm? What do you know?” I glared at the cat.

He looked down and I followed his gaze to my hand which was turning blue. Shutting the book, I threw it across the room and grasped my hand tightly as it went back to it’s normal color. The cat meowed and laid back down next to me in a ball and went to sleep.

————————————————————

The bright stars of Asgard shone into the King’s tall bed chamber windows as the night continued on. Picking my head up, I turned to make sure the King had finally fallen asleep before stretching and hopping down from the tall bed. The book that Lady Eris had put in the bookshop still lay on the floor where Loki had thrown it after his… mishap.

What she said must have been true then. He’s ashamed of being a Frost Giant, but he also seemed frightened. Why frightened, I do not know. I placed a paw on the cover of the book and watched it disappear only for it to reappear on his bedside table. As I walked to the window to go to my Lady, the King began to stir and I froze, watching him turn over in his sleep. When he was still, I hopped up to the windowsill and opened the window only just to jump down and out of the palace.

I hastened my way through the twists and turns of the palace grounds, knowing I didn’t have much time in the night to get back to the King’s chamber. I let my cat nap go on too long and would no doubt hear Véurr complain. He sat on a crate in an alley close to the border of the palace and the inner city, waiting. Glaring. Véurring….

“A lovely night, yes?” I stated nonchalantly, approaching the alley. His glare never wavered.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? Look at the moon, Drengr!” Véurr spat, jumping down from the crate.

“Well, I can’t look at the moon, she hasn’t returned from Lady Eris’ mission!” I retorted, referring to Máni who wasn’t due back until tomorrow night. Véurr swatted a paw at me and hit my ear.

“You’re daft. It’s close to morning and we need to plan! We need to figure things out, and…” he was cut off by a figure coming into view, leaning on the crates with amusement on her face. Lady Eris placed her chin on her hand and looked down at us.

“Boys… having a little spat are we?” She questioned. Véurr and I looked at one another and then back up at her.

“You’re making us fight again, aren’t you?” I asked, swiftly swatting my paw back at Véurr.

“Truthfully, my loves…” she giggled. “I’m quite unsure if it’s my magic or your simple instincts as brothers. Either way!” she threw her arms up and walked back into the alley. “It’s no less amusing.”

“So…” Véurr started as we walked to meet her in the alleyway where she sat on the ground. “What did you observe?” he turned his attention to me, waiting for my report.

“Well, for one…” I began. “That book you gave him freaked him out. It turned his hand blue.” This put a smile on Eris’ face. She nodded to go on. “He’s stressed, my Lady. He’s frightened of his lineage, bored with the duties of a King and doesn’t understand why the people of Asgard do not bow to his feet yet they did so with Odin, who he feels is inferior and…” I trailed on but she held up her hand.

“All these observations in one day.” she pondered. “He’s fascinating.”

“Where do we continue from here, my Lady?” Véurr asked. Eris hesitated before standing up, walking to the edge of the alley. She looked down at us and then up at the palace.

“The people of Asgard bow to Odin because he protects them. His Queen helps them bloom. Loki is currently in the misfortune of his father’s council and army remaining loyal to Odin even as he sleeps, and the Queen is stricken of woe.” she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “He will not flourish as a King of Asgard. When Máni returns, his bigger purpose will be realized. Until then…” she smirked, uncrossing her arms and picked myself and Véurr up, letting us both jump up to her shoulders.

“I remain with Loki, my Lady?” I questioned.

“Yes, Drengr. You’re my warrior and Véurr is my protector. You must stay with Loki, but I promise my loyal guard…” she looked back to the palace and her eyes met his window. “You’ll see us again quite soon.” Eris finished, nodding for me to jump down her shoulder. I bowed my head and made my journey back to the palace.

The walls surrounding were high and I silently cursed knowing if Eris had her choker, she’d be able to teleport me back into his chambers. The journey into the palace was much longer and took much more energy than breaking out.

Upon reaching his window, I noticed a small flicker of light. Stepping in and using a back paw to close the window behind me, I jumped down and walked over to his bedside before hopping up onto the emerald duvet. The King sat up in his bed, reading the book he threw across the room a few hours earlier. This time, however, his skin was blue and his eyes were red. He turned his head to me and tilted it to the side, closing the cover.

“Cats are such smart beings.” Loki growled, his red eyes glaring at me. “But to magically put a book back on a much higher bedside table… now that’s something.” he continued. I backed up on the bed and he reached his arm out, grabbing me. “Now, now. I won’t hurt you. If anything, I’m intrigued.” he let out a sigh and watched as his hands began to change back to their normal color while he scratched my ear. “You’re a sign of something greater, and I will find out. One way or another, I will.”