#<- i got too excited and forgot to tag that. dummy dummy stupid

[mye-chi]

aphmau: i can still hear her voice… irene: (chanting) gay gay homosexual gay

[missorgana]

hate me (but don’t)

pairing: bucky barnes/sam wilson, background pairings

fandom: marvel cinematic universe

rating: teen and up

word count: 4521

warning: swearing, smoking, alcohol

summary: Steve's planned a game of secret santa for the team, but Bucky's got other things on his mind. Like his crush on perfect, ridiculously hot Sam. And how he hates his guts. (university au, secret santa)

(my second 12 days of fanfiction fic!! which is totally not two days late... really hope this isn’t too messy. thank you @brandtwilliam for the prompt, i really hope you enjoy this ❤️ and don’t forget, you can still send me prompts if you haven’t already!)

read on ao3

Bucky is going to die.

Is that too dramatic? Maybe so.

But if your stupid secret santa turns out to be your stupid, ridiculously hot, too kind for this cruel world crush, Sam Wilson, who’s given you every perfect gift you could ask for, you’d feel like that too.

The only detail missing? He hates your guts, most likely.

…

Of course, the brilliant idea of a game of secret santa belonged to his best friend.

Steve’s always been social like that, which he guesses can be seen as a good thing, if Bucky was the same kind of extrovert and wasn’t dragged to everything by his friend.

Well, that he was being dragged to events might be a little harsh. Steve didn’t mean to force him, really. If the blonde just didn’t look so disappointed when he said no, Bucky might not give in every time.

And now, as the football team captain, Steve’s suggested a game for the holidays. It gets mixed reviews.

Generally positive, at least Thor and Scott’s in on it, Nat laughs sarcastically but doesn’t intervene, and Clint simply nods.

Rhodey shakes his head, and Bucky feels the same, but why not, he finally says.

T’Challa’s just as tired as he is of Steve’s games, surely. Alas, despite not everyone cheering, it’s settled. Hell, even Carol’s in on it, and she hates Christmas as a known fact.

And then there’s Sam.

Beautiful Sam, who transferred to Steve and his dorm, who his best friend met at a history nerd convention, of all things.

It’s not surprising that he got in on the team this semester. Because holy fucking shit.

Bucky likes to think he’s pretty fit, he can keep up with Steve, at least. Sam, however, just feels like he’s mocking him. 

Because he’s too damn attractive for his own good, that is.

And seriously, he’s tried not to stare, still tries, during practice, but does he have to make it so difficult?

His arms, hands, calves, everything.

Like even just his jawline is perfect, come on!

And it’s been long since Bucky’s last relationship, he’d gotten over her, and a ridiculously hot friend of his best friend might be good for him.

Only problem, said hot friend hates him, first thing when they meet. No, he’s not exaggerating.

It was even before he got on the team, when he moved in the dorm, and Steve suggested the three of them have a game night. Bucky still has no idea what he did to Sam, but that evening, let’s say he got the cold shoulder.

And this guy only talks to him when he has to. Seriously.

“Hey, I, uh, I’m Bucky.”

“I know. And I’m Sam, by the way.”

Shit. All that’s spoken between them the first day, and this guy who may or may not look like a Greek god avoids him at every game.

Steve’s certain he’s imagining things, but it’s obvious, really.

Way to go, Bucky, crushing on the one person you’ll never have a shot with. But he’s learned to live with that loss.

It’s not like he got a realistic chance with him, anyway.

…

First week of December, and Steve seems to think ice skating is a good idea.

It’s supposed to be a whole team friendship thing once again, but a slight malfunction in the planning of it all, ends up having only Nat and Sam along with them.

Nat’s surprisingly sociable once you become friends with her. Believe it or not, Bucky thought she hated him too, in the beginning, but that’s the vibe she puts up around everyone.

Sam, on the other hand, seems like he’s pointed Bucky out as his mortal enemy.

When he’s watching this boy, which is probably distracting him too much during games, and class, and everything else, he’s never seen someone smile as much as Sam.

It gives Bucky this funny feeling in his stomach.

He sort of wishes he could make him smile like that. Or at all, really.

Sam’s always helped out Steve extensively with the last few parties he set up, because he might be an angel. He’s pointed this out to the blonde, who insists Bucky’s helped a lot too. Which, lie, but his friend won’t admit that.

And yes, he has confided this crush to his very friend. Bucky knows Steve wouldn’t tell a soul, he trusts him with his life, but the blonde’s also getting pretty impatient with him.

“If you’d get over yourself and ask him out.” is something his best friend’s told him too many times, believe it or not, Bucky has a hard time keeping quiet about just how ridiculously beautiful Sam is.

“Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen.”

“Why not?”

“He literally avoids me, I told you this!”

“No, he doesn’t!”

“Have you ever even seen him look at me?!”

Nat’s always there when he zones out, too many people and Bucky needs some peace of mind. He appreciates that more than she knows. Like he’s ever gonna tell her that.

This constellation they’ve made on the rink makes sense.

Steve and Sam’s testing their abilities on the skates, cus they’re annoying like that, and the redhead’s joined him by the sidelines.

The boys’ begged her to join them, because it’s somehow destiny that Sam should like everyone but him, and maybe, Bucky felt a little smug when she favored him and declined the offer. He’s not gonna tell that, either.

Twenty minutes pass by before she elbows him, “If I ask you why you own a handbook about butterflies, will I get a sensible answer?” Okay, that does sound weird. He’s allowed to have interests though, right?

Like Steve’s obsession with the British royal family is any better.

And this is a fairly new interest, to be fair, despite that he’s always had a liking for biology. But honestly, bugs are fucking badass. Steve didn’t judge him, at least.

“Well…” he starts, just pausing long enough to witness his best friend nearly falling on his ass, glorious, “It’s from my secret santa.”

She laughs.

“One of those dummies gave you a book about bugs?”

“I like bugs.”

“Fair enough, still funny.”

He even tries to give her a mean eye, but she pats his head like a child. Bucky supposes that honesty’s part of her charm, at least he’s always felt that way. 

Steve pretends to be offended, despite being used to it, and Clint just snarks right back at her. He’s never met two best friends so similar, to be honest.

“Tell me,” Nat speaks up again, even though she’s definitely going to ask Steve when they’re done here so they can eat, which Bucky will wholeheartedly tag along with, “What’s up with you and Wilson?”

If Bucky was drinking something, he’d choke. Maybe he chokes on oxygen for a second.

“I don’t know you’re talking about.” is the answer, he even tries a laugh but it comes out anything but casual.

Damn her, she can always look through him so easily.

She lifts a sharp brow, “For how much you both hang around each other, you spend an awful lot of time avoiding him.”

Oh, if only she knew.

…

The second week of December, the Christmas cheer just increases. In the dormitory, anyway, since Steve and Thor’s in charge of decorating.

Makes sense, given his friend’s eagerness in social gatherings, and Thor being the tallest university student ever, probably.

And in extension, the dorm’s having a Christmas dinner. Once again, Steve’s idea.

This is nice though, Bucky has to admit, when everyone’s bringing food and there’s not the pressure of a dance floor or ice breaker games.

And since Steve’s idea of Christmas cheer is “the more, the merrier”, plus ones are more than welcome.

Rhodey’s brought Tony, who’s a bit of an asshole, but his girlfriend Pepper’s nice, and he’d probably say Bucky can be an asshole too, so it’s whatever.

Carol would probably be alone with her girlfriend Val (who’s also a bit of an asshole, but like, less than Tony) than be here, but seems like she’s taking a liking to Thor’s new boyfriend.

Bruce, he’s from the science department. Doesn’t seem like the party type, and Bucky for once doesn’t feel totally alone.

But all his pessimism aside, this is not totally awful. Might even call it enjoyable.

He doesn’t feel pressured to make conversation, which is nice, and one Christmas beer doesn’t hurt.

Except he may or not become sulky, when, surprise, he spends his night trying not to stare at Sam, collect the courage to talk to him and then fail to do so.

The boy actually catches Bucky looking at him. Midst eating. He just might have hid under the table.

It’s not like anything dramatic happened, really, but he probably looked creepy. He just can’t help staring when he’s so pretty, can he?

And, weirdly enough, Sam raises a brow at him questioningly. The most interaction they’ve ever done, probably.

Well done, Bucky, as if he didn’t dislike you enough.

What boggles his mind is when he, after the dinner, finds a bag placed neatly on his desk. Secret santa, he almost forgot, it’s the end of the week.

Inside said brown paper bag is a bracelet.

Awfully similar to the one he broke last week, he thinks, and the obvious suspicion falls on Steve. He hasn’t told anyone about that besides his best friend, so who else could it be?

It’s sweet of him. And a bit stupid, given that these things have to remain a secret.

But Bucky will play along. Besides, this wasn’t exactly cheap, isn’t this breaking the rules? Maybe the blonde just used this opportunity for an actual Christmas present, all games aside.

He shakes his head with a smile.

Steve’s an idiot, but he means well. And Bucky makes sure to hide the wrapping just before someone, who he assumes to be his friend, walks in.

Only it’s a different blonde.

“Bucky! I was wondering-” Thor sounds excited, however, he stops in his tracks and stares. Right where the evidence of the gift is hidden. Not so hidden.

“Oh, your secret santa!” the giant exclaims, twice as excited, and Bucky nods. “What’d they get you?”

He fumbles with the bracelet, now around his wrist, “Uh, this.”

Thor squints, like this task takes all his concentration, and giggles. Bucky doesn’t really understand that, but the blonde boy takes a seat beside him on the bed before he can question it.

“Seems like someone on the team’s trying to impress you. Anyway, look what I got Bruce!”

…

It’s the third week of December, and because Steve is just the right amount of stupid, he’s broken his ankle. Ice skating, of course.

So, today’s going to be a weird day.

It was already weird from the get go, because Bucky was still thinking about last week’s secret santa gift, but after lunch, the signal for his best friend goes over his phone.

Immediately he’s greeted with, “Bucky?”

The voice is just an octave deeper than Steve’s, and he doesn’t fully register the situation before his “Steve?” is answered with, “No, man, he’s in the hospital.”

Long story short, Sam called him.

It makes sense, because the blonde’s got Bucky listed in his emergency contacts, parents being out of the country and everything, and he’s got Steve in his, but something about actually talking to a certain, ridiculously hot friend makes his brain malfunction.

And it’s not like he has much time to respond before the boy in the other end hangs up, opting to text him the hospital room number.

And now here he is.

He made sure to leave a chair between the two when he sat down, because Sam finding another reason to hate him would only add to the anxiety he’s already feeling.

Steve’s fine, he assures himself, but Bucky has a hard time looking away from the boy beside him. Well, more than usual.

“People ever tell you that you stare a lot?” Sam’s voice pipes up, and he jumps just a bit in his seat.

God, he’s really not subtle at all, huh. Not surprising, given how many times Steve’s told him.

“I, uh- no.”

That’s all you have to say? Come on, Bucky, you absolute idiot.

“Sorry, I’m just worried.” he shakes his head at himself. And somehow, because the world is being weird in general lately, the other boy looks back at him.

Okay, it wouldn’t be that weird, if he didn’t sigh, “You’re fine. He’s fine. I promise.”

Holy shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Bucky can’t let himself get too excited, most of all due to them currently being in a hospital, but the fact that he couldn’t find a hint of malice in Sam’s voice feels like a surreal dream. Not to mention this is by far the longest conversation they’ve had, ever.

Maybe this is one of those things his stupid best friend would consider a Christmas miracle. Your crush maybe doesn’t absolutely despise you, that’s something, right? 

Less than ideal, but oh well. Bucky’s allowed to dream.

This makes it considerably harder not to stare at the boy, with the added bonus of Sam now being aware of it. Just his luck.

But noticing the other boy’s hands tightly clasped in his lap, this odd blinking that’s a little more rapid than usual, suggests that Sam’s just as nervous.

Strangely, that gives Bucky some peace of mind. Usually, this ridiculously hot guy is a picture perfect example of being calm, collected and patient. Except with himself, of course.

Steve told him they do yoga together, so it makes sense, but it’s like he’s got everything under control, you know?

Bucky wishes he had that sense sometimes, God knows how behind he is on studying, and maybe he’d actually have the courage to flirt with anyone (sitting next to him, preferably) if his nerves weren't such a mess.

He wants to reach out and touch the other boy’s arm. 

Maybe that would ruin the moment, though. Definitely will ruin the moment. Who said they were having a moment, anyway?

“Thanks.” Bucky finds himself saying.

And now, Sam looks surprised.

“What for?”

“You know, uh… for calling.”

Sam is officially a ridiculously hot pain in the ass.

Because they’re having eye contact. For several minutes. Like humans do, you idiot, is what he thinks to himself, maybe he should really just get laid already like Tony told him once.

The other boy looks at him like he’s got something on his mind, mouth slightly open, but looks away before Bucky can think too much about his lips and how soft they may be.

He bites his cheek.

And it’s like the world started spinning around them again when the doctor lets them in Steve’s room, but not before Sam hands him a bag.

“Steve was gonna give you this after skating, man. Your secret santa- it’s so stupid, but they told us to get it. Don’t look at me like that.”

It takes Bucky a minute. Staring at the bag of plums handed to him. Watching the back of the other boy’s head as he leaves.

Too goddamn weird.

…

The fourth week of December comes too fast for Bucky’s liking.

In fact, it’s Thursday night, and Steve’s rambling from the other side of the room, convinced Natasha is his secret santa, when Bucky just wants to  fucking sleep .

He loves the guy, but seriously.

Of course, he hasn’t told his best friend his suspicion that he’s his secret santa, because duh, but also, he’s not all that sure since last week.

Sam told him whoever it is gave it to them. And it kind of makes Bucky feel insane.

Of course, Sam could’ve lied to cover up for his friend, because he knows he’d do that. Damnit, his crush is possibly the sweetest, truest person he’s met in his relatively short life, and he just so happens to hate his guts?

Typical. But Bucky also feels like something’s changed in their dynamic.

He hopes he’s not imagining things. At least, Sam’s started greeting him at practice, and that alone is a major change, believe it or not.

They don’t even uncomfortably look away from each other while playing games with Steve, and God knows they’re doing a lot more now that the blonde needs to rest.

Last night, he had another genuine conversation, and their friend has never looked more confused in his life. He did also tease Bucky for a solid hour about it after Sam left, so there’s that.

Ultimately, near 2am, he gets out of bed and tells Steve he’s going for a walk.

Bucky hates the fact that this secret santa thing’s getting on his nerves, which isn’t his friend’s fault at all, he just needs a break.

Going for a walk usually means going to the roof for a smoke. Yeah, Bucky’s not proud of it, but it is what it is.

It’s helped him de-stress during exams, mostly, and it’s been two months since his last, but he knows Steve’s right when telling him to quit for good.

Sometimes Nat and Clint join him, which is nice, cause they’re not that big on late night conversations, either. He’s mostly looking to be alone right now, though.

Bucky’s putting the cigarette to his lips when he hears the door opening behind him, and who he’s expecting to be Nat and Clint or a shocked Steve turns out to be the very guy that’s been on his mind for too damn long.

He might know his voice immediately. Shut up.

Sam gives him a nod as a silent greeting, which he replies to of course, and standing next to him, with considerable distance, of course, asks him for a lighter.

Seriously, his crush lighting a smoke shouldn’t be so fucking hot.

Bucky feels kind of pathetic, but oh well. This is nice. It makes him nervous as fuck, but after ten minutes, it’s like the knot in his chest unwinds and nothing can be heard in the silence apart from the night traffic.

Until, suddenly, “You and Steve dated, right?”

He might have a small coughing fit after that comment. “I-I, well, uhm, yeah, but like, when we were fifteen!”

It comes out more defensive than he wanted, and Bucky might’ve just gone to the nearest wall and banged his head.

Sam chuckles, but he’s got this sincere look in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, man. Sorry.”

And because Bucky’s too tired to think rationally, he lets his guard down and smiles. He’s learnt to control his love struck smiles, as Nat once called them, very,  very  well around Sam, but fuck it.

It’s dark anyway, let’s just pretend they won’t remember this in the morning.

“No, it’s fine, really.” he scratches his neck, “I love him, really do, but he’s my best friend. Now I can’t imagine thinking of him like that.”

The shorter guy nods.

“Y’know, my ex, Riley,” Sam starts, because, suddenly, the air between them is changing, and it’s becoming a little more personal, “Think that’s same as you two. He’s like my brother now, honestly.”

They share a laugh on that, and Bucky tries to stop the butterflies forming in his stomach, he really does.

It’s on that the silence settles again, until Sam���s finished his smoke, too fast for Bucky’s liking and squashes it with his boot.

He did want to be alone, of course, so it’s whatever.

Just felt nice connecting, or something. He’s not sure that is what this is. December’s really changed his relationship with his crush, and albeit Sam doesn’t seem to hate him anymore, he’s a bit disappointed in this Christmas miracle.

The shorter boy turns before he leaves, however, “I mean, I’m more into long hair on guys, anyway.”

Well, he can’t just say that and not expect Bucky to look like one big question mark. What the fuck?

And as he makes his way back to this room, shaking his head, surely Sam didn’t mean anything by that off-hand comment, he finds not only his best friend soundly sleeping, but also a box of peppermint candies, his favorite, on the dresser.

…

And as by a whirlwind, here Bucky is, the last week of December, and Steve decided on an extravagant finale party, where the team would reveal their secret santa identities.

He hasn’t talked to Sam since that night on the roof.

Unwillingly, because the shorter boy’s started avoiding him again. Seriously, Bucky’s desperate.

His own foolery, thinking things had changed and they maybe could be friends, only his crush seems destined to hate him for eternity.

Bucky doesn’t even complain to Steve, he just accepts the fact.

In fact, he’s been nursing the same beer for the last two hours, still not being able to take his eyes from the ridiculously hot, and  annoying, guy on the other side of the common room.

He doesn’t even care about the thought of getting laid with anyone.

Bucky’s too lost in this to think about getting over Sam, god forbid.

Besides that fact, he guesses the evening’s going alright. Natasha reveals herself as Steve’s gift giver, as suspected, his friend exclaimed in glee, Carol had Sam, Rhodey to Carol, Scott to Thor, T’Challa to Scott, Thor to Clint, Steve to T’Challa and Clint to Rhodey.

And see, that’s what ultimately leaves Bucky in the weirdest, stupidest, most ridiculous situation. He was, still, fully convinced Steve was his own secret santa.

At least he’d never figured Sam to reveal himself as the one.

Bucky wants to die.

How does the stupid hot, real life angel even expect him to react? He must know Bucky’s crushing on him. That’s probably what made him hate him again.

Fuck, this guy volunteers at homeless shelters, helps out every single one of his friends, he’s  perfect , of course he’d give Bucky perfect gifts.

Well done, honestly, despite the apparent dislike.

They gloss over the revelation, anyway, Bucky himself too anxious to react besides the thank you’s, of course, and Sam looks at him the same way he did in the hospital that night. He’s officially going crazy.

That relation’s in the grave, more or less, given how quiet the other boy is. When he realises this, finally grabbing a second beer, Bucky just feels like crying a little bit.

Until the party’s well over, Steve’s puking his guts out in the bathroom, and he’s just  tired.

Of course, that’s when his crush decided to find him.

He’s surprised, of course, but tries to fix his clothes and hair regardless. Who’s he kidding, he looks like shit right now.

“Hey, man-”

“Sam!”

Stupid interruption, goddammit. Bucky has the mind to apologize before rambling on, “Thank you. For all the presents, that is. You didn’t have to.”

Sam’s laughing. Not out loud, like, almost shy. In a Sam way. Fuck, he can’t explain it any other way.

His smile is almost smug when he answers, “Well, I kinda did in that game.”

First time his crush ever told him a joke. Cool, cool, cool.

Seriously, Bucky needs to calm down. He’s been here before, and after the night on the rooftop, he clearly did something wrong.

Must have, to make the angel hate him. There he goes, referring to him like a celestial being in his head. Anyway.

“I know, man. I just,” he’s almost interrupted by another groan from the bathroom, nevertheless, “I’m just Steve’s annoying friend. I mean, I assume you got help on that bracelet-”

“You’re what now?”

Update, said ridiculously hot friend of Steve’s now frowning at him. Probably the first time Bucky’s seen him confused, too, lots of new things happening. He can’t do anything other than shrug.

“Yeah. Man, it’s pretty obvious you don’t like me. Which is fine! Or it’s not, cause I've been... crushing on you ever since we met, but listen-”

Really, he could’ve continued for eternity, if his crush hadn’t walked right up close and grabbed both his shoulders.

Holy shit. Perfect Sam is so fucking close to him right now, Bucky looking right into his deep brown eyes. He never wants to look away. This is real life, somehow.

Even Sam doesn’t seem to know what to say, shaking his head, and Jesus, he’s pretty up close-

“Bucky,” he then says, “What did you think… was going on?”

That’s a weird question, so he furrows his brow. Steve’s probably still hurling, but he’s kinda zoned out all sound apart from their breathing.

Too dramatic. Like a sappy romantic drama. Shut up, brain.

“Like, with us.”

Okay, this is just ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as how hot Sam is, but it’s close. Must be a damn joke.

“Us? Sam, I’m not an idiot, you’ve been avoiding me ever since we met, and-”

“I’ve literally been flirting with you.”

What?

Now Bucky knows it’s a joke. Or maybe he’ll pinch him and he’ll wake up from this hangover dream. 

Whatever it is, he sure knows what flirting looks like. Can’t do it himself very well, but not the point!

“Flirting?”

“Yeah!” he exclaims, suddenly seeming unsure of himself, which isn’t something Bucky wants to see ever again, making his stomach hurt, “Well, I thought so. That I was being cool, you know? But Steve suggested these gifts, and I admit, it’s better.”

All he has left to do is nod.

“Ugh, sorry.” Sam’s hands tragically leave his shoulder, scratching his forehead, and it’s official, confused Sam is  adorable,  “I see the misunderstanding. But also, I never got you alone, so.”

“Yeah, cause I thought you hated me!”

Well, this December’s much more interesting than Bucky would’ve bargained for. Ever.

Least of all that his stupid, ridiculously hot crush somehow liked him back. Damn, all this time he thought he had a nemesis, too?

“To be honest, thinking I had an enemy was kinda cool.” he tells the shorter boy with a laugh, because fuck it, this has turned into the messiest love confession ever, and it’s too late for Sam to take it back now.

Might as well ride with it. And of course, his angel of a crush rolls his eyes. But he’s smiling, just like on the rooftop.

He does also return his hand to the back of Bucky’s neck instead. Okay, cool. He can definitely keep going. Please keep going.

“You want me to take it back, or?”

“Oh my God, no.”

“Good.”

They’re so fucking close. Bucky’s head screaming at him. Those butterflies are probably fainting from exhaustion, at this point.

And they’re certainly having a moment now. Actually, they’re moving even closer, which he can’t complain to, and he doesn’t even care that he’s staring at his lips, until-

“Guys. I’m happy for you, but literally dying in here. Go away.”

Way to ruin the goddamn moment, Steve. He’s this close to cursing at the blonde boy, he loves that little shit, but seriously?!

Luckily, Sam’s in for the whole rescue.

“My room?”

“Definitely.”

[random-mha-thoughts]

Red (Bakugou x Reader)

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Genre: Fluff gosh its fluff sdfgaeb, Slice of Life?

Summary: Bakugou’s leaving on a trip for a week and you came back to his house after a party to help him pack.

Word count: 1,300

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog​ @bunnythepipsqueak​

a/n: First post! I kept it as gender neutral as possible, I hope I did okay!  If I didn’t please let me know? Bakugou isn't too aggressive here bc I imagine this is kind of a long term thing and he wouldn't act that way around a s/o he's been with for a while.

"Kirishima's such an idiot, I don't know how Denki and him are gonna clean up by themselves," Bakugou furiously scratches his hair.

I squeeze his hand in mine.  "He just wanted to celebrate before you leave."

"Yeah, but he didn't need to throw a whole party," he scoffs.

We finally get to his apartment building, punching in the code to get into the lobby.  As we pass through, I spot the giant mirror on the wall.  "Oh, I forgot to take a picture of us before we left."  I tug our joined hands towards the mirror.

"Pft, you and your obsession with pictures," he teases, but I still catch the way his mouth turns up slightly in a smile.

"What?  We look good."  I take out my phone and angle it to capture our bodies in the reflection, but I can't find the right position.

"I'll take the picture, I'm taller."  He grabs the phone from my hand and raises it higher, pulling me by the waist into him.  "Smile, babe."

We take a few in different positions and faces, before he catches me off guard and plants a kiss on my cheek.  "Got it," he smirks.

My face heats up.  "M-Mean."

Bakugou shows me the picture.  My shocked expression comes as widened eyes an slightly agape mouth.  He then walks straight to the elevator with my phone and presses the button.

I follow him.  "Wait- Katsuki what are you-"

"I'm sending it to myself, you look so cute."  He starts pushing buttons on my phone as the elevator door opens.  We get inside and he continues, wrapping his left arm around me.

In that moment, the excitement of the party leaves my body, letting me relax into his warmth.  I snort out of nowhere, "Did you see how smashed Denki was?  There's no way that mess is being cleaned tonight."

"Like I said, Kirishima's an idiot."  He finally finishes playing around with my phone and hands it back to me.  "He was on his way down too."

I swipe through the photos, admiring my boyfriend.  Not to be smug, but I picked his outfit for him tonight and he looks stunning.  Red is definitely his color, it brings out his eyes.

Bakugou plants a kiss on top of my head.  "Enjoying the view, babe?"

"I told you to wear that button down, didn't I?"

"Doesn't it make you wanna take it off though?" he growls in my ear.

I can feel the heat all the way up my face as the door opens on his floor.  "Can't you go one day without saying something suggestive?" I mutter, scurrying to his apartment door.

"Oh, you love it," he smirks again, digging his keys out of his pocket and opening the door.

Katsuki's apartment is pretty modest.  His personality really shines from the burgundy accent wall color by the window, but nothing else really stands out in his living room.  His bedroom, though, is a huge mess.  There's some All Might memorabilia on his shelves, clothes scattered across his black comforter, random papers on his desk and chair.

"God, if your mother saw your room, she would beat you," I sigh.

"Which is exactly why I moved out," he responds, pulling a duffel bag out from the top of his closet and throwing it on his bed.

Seeing the item reminds me why I'm here, sending my mood plummeting though I try not to show it.  I've already been upset about it for the past few days, which is stupid because I know he's not leaving forever.  "I hope you already know what you're packing."

"I'm just going home, nothing fancy."  He opens his top drawer, pulling out a stack of T-shirts and stuffing them in.  "I don't know why you offered to help, I don't need any."

I creep over to his bag as he rummages through his drawers for more clothes.  I refold some of the shirts just to keep my hands busy.  "You're such a mess, Katsuki."

He throws a stack of jeans at me.  "I'm gonna get my stuff out of the bathroom."

I roll my eyes, neatly placing them in the bag.  My heart sinks when I realize I'll miss him for the week he'll be gone; his aggression, his warmth, his small pecks, his soft hair.

A hands pushes down on my head, startling me.  "What're you so down about?"  He sits next to me.  "You're not seriously that upset about me leaving, are you?"

"No."

Katsuki pulls me into his lap and forces me to look at him, resting his hands on my hips.  He's undone the top few buttons of his shirt and pushed up the sleeves.  "I'll only be gone for 10 days," he says softly.

"Yeah, but I see you every day, it'll feel like too long without you," I pout.

The boy chuckles.  "I knew you were stuck on me, I just never knew how bad it was."

"So you won't miss me?"

His hand brushes through my hair lovingly.  "Of course I'll miss you, dummy.  I'll think about you every day.  I need to make sure you're happy while I'm gone since you're like a lost puppy without me."

"Katsuki~" I whine, hitting his chest.

A soft smile spreads across his face before he places a kiss on my forehead.  "Whiny baby."  His lips trail down to my nose, cheeks, before stopping at my lips.  "Guess I'll miss that too."  He molds our lips together in a kiss that starts gently before slowly heating up.  Desperation slips into the heat, our tempo increasing as we almost devour each other.  My hands run through his hair and his hands roam my body.  His calloused palms reach under my shirt and trail up my back, letting me sigh into his mouth.

"At least I know your body will certainly miss me," Bakugou smirks as he pushes me to lay down, placing another slow kiss on my lips before hovering over me, raking me over with his crimson eyes.  "Don't even look in someone else's direction when I'm gone, you hear me?"  He lifts my shirt up below my ribs and his head descends to trail his lips over the exposed skin.  "Just to make sure."  He reaches a spot on my hips right above my pants, biting and sucking on it to leave a reddening bruise.  "There," he looks up from his handiwork.  "A reminder that you're mine."

As he replaces my shirt over the spot I can feel a numb soreness radiating from it.  Bakugou plants a quick kiss on my nose again.  "Next time, I'll have to bring you with me," he promises earnestly.

"Your parents wouldn't mind?"  My voice comes out shaky after the sensation that happened moments ago.

"They know how special you are to me, babe."  He stands up and continues packing his stuff away while I slip away to the bathroom.

In the mirror, I lift my shirt up to examine the mark he's made on me.  "Katsuki, why'd you put it there?  How am I supposed to wear crop tops now?" I frown.  It's too high for me to hide under even my high-waist pants.

He comes up behind me.  "That's the point.  I don't want you showing off to anyone while I'm gone."  He brushes his fingers up my sides, delicious sparks running under my skin with his touch.  "This body is only mine to see," he mutters into my neck and pulls me back into his room.  "Help me figure out if I missed anything."

I take one look at the halfway-filled duffel before laying down inside it, barely half my body fitting inside.  "There we go," I smile triumphantly.

Bakugou chuckles at my antics.  "What am I gonna do with you?"

[nineteenseventeenbarnes]

Cinderella

Pairing: CollegeAU! Bucky x reader Genre: fluff Word Count: 3084 Warnings: n/a

I stood in the middle of the school gym, sweat dripping down the back of my neck, I was dead tired. I can’t wait to get home and jump under the sheets of my big comfortable bed.

I snapped out of my trance as I heard the beat of the music blasting through the stereo and moved to the side, waiting for my cue before I hopped in and began dancing to the music alongside my cheer mates.

“Good job, girls!” Our head instructor yells, clapping her hands. “Take a break! Be back in 5. We’ll go through the routine a couple more times and we’re done for the day!”

The other girls cheer, some of them dropping themselves on the floor, others making their way out the gym to grab food or a breather. I need one too.

I walk over to the bleachers and grab my water bottle, chugging the entire content of the bottle down, savoring the feeling of the water passing through of dry and itchy throat.

“Hey! Save some for me!” Nat yells and grabs the bottle from my hand, drinking whatever was left in the bottle. I let out a big sigh and sit on the bleachers, massaging my aching legs.

“I just want this to end,” Nat groans, plopping beside me.

“You’re telling me,” I mumble in response.

“Wanna go grab a bite after practice?” she asks me, watching me remove my shoes and massaging the sole of my aching feet.

“Nah, I’m gonna head right home and sleep,” I reply. Nat rolls her eyes and grabs one of my shoes, examining it.

“Hey, give that back,” I demanded, scared of what she’d do.

Sometimes, Nat could be unpredictable. There was a time in high school where she pulled the fire alarm because she thought the whole week had been too ‘uneventful’ - her words. Needless to say, it was definitely eventful for her after the incident, I heard the principal’s office served instant coffee.  

Nat looked at me, wiggled her eyebrows, and then threw my navy blue Nike Air shoe across the gym, landing right below the ring of one of the basketball courts.

I give her a look. She just stood up with an innocent look on her face and skipped away, knowing I was going to be annoyed. I rolled my eyes and made my way across the gym to grab my shoe.

Right before I could pick my shoe up, someone beats me to it and holds it out for me.

“Thank you!” I tell the stranger before I glance up and get a better look at him. He was around 6 to 6'2, wearing the university’s basketball jersey and had a towel hanging around his neck. He had dark brown locks that he pulled into a bun, a little stubble growing, and the most captivating set of ocean blue eyes ever.

“No problem, Cinderella.” He grins and walks away.

Hi, my name is Y/N L/N, a senior college student at Oregon State University. I’m a member of the university cheer group together with my best friend Nat, and we’re proud of that. We worked really hard to get where we are.

The next day, I get to the campus and see a bunch of colorful posters and streamers being hung up. I almost forgot graduation was around the corner, meaning the graduation ball was coming up.

On the way to my last class for the morning, I receive a text from Nat, who had decided to ditch classes today.

FROM: Nat Y/N/N, meet you in the mall at 5. See you! Xx

Oh right, I was going graduation ball shoe shopping with her this afternoon - I nearly forgot. I tucked my phone in my pocket and proceeded to class.

I impatiently tapped my foot on the tiled floors of the mall and checked my phone for the 100th time. It was nearly six, and Nat was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t reach her through her phone, nor could I find her in her favorite café down the street.

A couple of minutes later, I receive a text and nearly screamed out loud.

FROM: Nat Y/N, I LOVE YOU. SO MUCH. Can’t make it. :( Bruce’s taking me out to meet his parents. I’LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I SWEAR. xx

“Fucking hell,” I mumbled, closing the message. “Guess I’ll have to go pick something out myself.”

I begin to walk around the mall, looking through shop windows to see if any heels attracted me, and as I got on the escalator to get to the second floor, someone grabbed my wrist, startling me and making me lose footing.

I fell backward and crashed into someone’s chest as the escalator continued moving upwards.

“Whoa, easy there, Cinderella,” A familiar voice spoke, a hint of playfulness in his voice. I spun around and saw the boy who gave me back my shoe during practice the other day.

“It’s you,” I whisper, standing back up, still a bit shocked from the fall. He grins and gently pushes me, signaling me to get off the escalator as we got to the top.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, trying to make small talk. It’s not that I wasn’t comfortable with him or anything; it’s just that we barely knew each other and he was talking to me as if we were buddies.

“Well, I was going to buy a tie for the ball next week, but then I saw you,” he tells me. I nod and turn to walk away, letting him go do his business until he grabs my wrist again.

“Yes?” I politely ask him.

“What are you doing here, Cinderella?” he asks me with a toothy grin.

“Shoe shopping for the graduation ball.”

“That’s pretty ironic,” his smile turning into a smirk.

“How so?” I ask him, trying to humor him and his small talk.

“You’re Cinderella,” he starts. “Buying shoes. For the grad ball.” He explains. I raise an eyebrow, obviously confused with where this ctonversation was going.

“Well, Cinderella, why not let Prince Charming come along?” he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

A small smile forms on my face, amused by what this boy was saying. Hell, I didn’t even know his name.

“Well, Prince Charming,” I play along. “Before I let you take me shoe shopping, may I know your name?”

“My name is James Barnes, but they all call me Bucky.”

“Well, hello, Bucky, the name’s Y/N L/N.”

“Well, Y/N, shall we start looking for your glass slippers?”

About an hour and a half later, Bucky plops himself on the sofa of the last shoe store in the mall.

“I swear, if there isn’t a pair you like in this goddamn shop, I might as well just get you to sneakers,” He grumbles, tired from following me around the 26 shoe stores in this mall. I chuckle and start looking through the shelves. "Dummy, you didn’t have to tag along,“ I told him the 10th time today.

"Dummy, I told you wanted to,” he responded, mocking me.

After walking pass every shelf in the store, with nothing catching my eye, I turned around and got ready to go, until I saw those pair of shoes in the corner of one of the shelves. It was a pair of gold stilettos, probably 5 or 6 inches.

“Hey, Cinderella, are you done? 'Cuz I’ m-” Bucky whines, walking over, but stops midway. “Those look hot.”

I roll my eyes at his comment and check the bottom for the size. It’s a size 38, perfect. As I bend down to try the pair of heels on, Bucky stops me.

“What?” I ask him.

“May I have the honors?” he asks in a fake British accent.

“Sure. I AM Cinderella after all,” I joke and give him the pair. He bends down and grabs the left heel and my left foot, gently slipping the heels on, followed by the right one.

“It’s perfect.” I squeal, walking around in them.

Bucky grins widely, probably relieved that I finally found a pair of heels.

It was the night of the ball and I was sitting at our table, going through some of the pictures I’ve taken with Nat earlier tonight. I was in this gorgeous gold gown and my matching heels from the other day.

Surprisingly, I hadn’t seen Bucky around all week. I never got to thank him for tagging along with me the other day. After paying for the shoes, we had a quick dinner and McDonald’s and parted ways.

“Boo,” a voice whispered into my ears, making me jump in my seat.

“Good Lord,” I breathe out, turning around to see Bucky with an amused look on his face. Speaking of the devil.

“Scared you, Cinderella?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, chuckling. I roll my eyes but smile a little.

He sits on the empty chair next to me. It was supposedly Nat’s seat, but she’s off somewhere playing or mingling.

“Hey, Bucky?”

“Yeah?” he replied, looking at me.

“Why do you keep calling me Cinderella? You know my real name,” I ask him, wanting to know what he’d say. He merely shrugs and smiles.

“Boys,” I mumble, earning a soft chuckle from the boy.

“And why are you here, Bucky?” I ask him, trying not to sound rude.

“I was bored. Plus, I missed you,” he answered, giving me an adorable crooked smile. I return his smile and get back to looking through my pictures, Bucky still beside me.

“Hey, Y/N,” he calls out.

“Yeah?” I tore my eyes away from my phone and to the boy beside me.

“I-”

“Y/N!” Nat calls out, walking back to our table from somewhere. She gives Bucky a questioning look, wondering why he was here.

“Umm… See you around,” Bucky mumbles as he stands up and quickly leaves the table.

“What was that about?” Nat asked.

“Don’t know…"

It was almost midnight when the ball ended. The students were leaving the area, but Nat and I stayed, waiting for our other friends.

When we were finally ready to go, Wanda, one of our other friends, suggested we should hit the club down the road.

"We’re going drinking?” I asked, not exactly surprised, but just making sure.

“Yeah!” Wanda responds, hopping up and down in excitement. Clubbing was her forte. So we left the area and walked towards Club Hydra. 80% of the seniors should be there right now, partying.

“WOOOO! YEAH, BABY!” Tony, a guy from one of our classes, screams in our ears as we walked in the club, music blasting through the speakers. Many people sat by the bar, others in the booths while others danced on the dance floor.

“Let’s go dance!” Nat shouts over the music, pulling me along. I laugh and follow her to the dance floor, jumping around, doing really stupid moves like the sprinkler and bunny hops.

Half an hour later, I got tired and told Nat I was going to grab a drink and sit down. She shooed me away and continued dancing with our other friends.

I made my way towards the bar and ordered a margarita, making myself comfortable on one of the bar stools.

“Hey, Cinderelly,” a familiar voice called out, I turned around to see Bucky standing there, his signature crooked smile etched on his face. His bow tie and the first two buttons of his dress shirt were undone.

“Hey, Prince Charming,” I played along, laughing as Bucky struggled to get on the high bar stool despite his height.

“Here’s your drink,” the bartender says, pushing the blue drink towards me. I thank him and take a sip, feeling the alcohol burning down my throat.

“My, oh my,” Bucky talks in his not so convincing British accent, his words slurring a bit. “Her majesty drinking alcohol?”

“Bucky, are you drunk?” I asked, amused at how similar his attitude when he’s drunk and when he’s sober are so similar.

“Of course I’m not, Y/N!” he replies, taking a sip from the glass he was holding. Probably whiskey.

“Oh yeah?” I chuckle. “How many fingers am I holding?” I ask him, holding all five of my fingers up.

“I’m tipsy, not blind,” he reminds me, patting my head.

“You just admitted you’re drunk,” I tell him, shaking my head.

“No, no, no,” he shakes his head. “I’m tipsy. There’s a fine difference between the two, Cinderella.”

“Sure, sure,” I answer, not wanting to start an argument with a drunk – I mean – tipsy person.

“There really is a difference, though!” he begins, his words becoming more and more slurred as he takes another sip of his whiskey. “If I were tipsy, I would tell you you looked beautiful tonight, if I were drunk, I’d tell the same thing and tell you how much I regret not asking to for a dance.”

“E-Excuse me?” I shrieked, choking on my margarita, surprised at the sudden confession. I feel my face heating up, will he notice?

“Aww, look, she’s blushing!” he chuckles slowly, his head was probably spinning. Yeah, he did.

“I said you looked beautiful tonight,” he repeats, smiling.

“Umm,” I mumble, not sure how to react. “Thank you…?"

Wow, smooth, Y/N. Someone just drunkenly told me I was beautiful and my response sounded half-assed.

"BUCK. PAL, THERE YOU ARE!” someone shouts over the music, approaching us.

“STEVE!” Bucky shouts back, reminding me of a puppy whose owner just got home after a long day. He stands up from his seat, almost tumbling in the process.

“Whoa,” Steve, as Bucky called him, quickly catches his friend. “Slow down, pal.”

“Hey, Steve,” Bucky quickly speaks. “I was just telling Y/N how beautiful she was tonight.”

I mentally slapped myself as I felt my face growing even hotter. Steve shook his head and chuckled.

"I’m sorry about all of this, Y/N,” Steve apologizes, throwing an arm over Bucky’s shoulder, holding him up. “I’m Steve Rogers.”

“No harm done. I’m Y/N L/N,” I smile as Bucky’s piercing eyes continue to stare at me.

“We should get going, Buck,” Steve mumbles, trying to pull Bucky away.

“Whaaaat? But I was talking to Y/N,” he whines, his words continued to slur. Steve chuckled and kept dragging Bucky away as he protested.

“We’ll see you around, Y/N. It was nice to finally meet you,” Steve grins.

“Bye, Bucky, bye, Steve,” I waved as they left. I continued thinking about Bucky’s words. Was he being serious? I tried not to think about it, but his words continued to echo in my head.

Here I am, six months later, still kind of fresh from college, but definitely enjoying my 8-8 job - sarcasm intended.

After the party, in the two months before graduation came around, I never saw Bucky around campus or around town anymore. Yeah, sure, I searched him up on social media, never having the guts to add or follow him, and I saw Steve around campus, we occasionally said hi, but never had we ever brought Bucky up. I didn’t bother asking anyone either. It felt like that night, the night at the club, it was supposed to be something between us.

For two months, I wondered and wondered about where he had gone. It’s not my fault, after his remarks at the club, I wouldn’t be a girl if I didn’t want to confront him and ask for answers. Did he mean it? What he said? That was the question running through my mind, a question I believed never would be answered.

But of course, like every question we have, we find the answers eventually. I found the answer to my question on graduation day as all the students were called one by one.

It was a windy, but sunny afternoon. Everyone was gathered in the university auditorium and our school director began the ceremony. He was reciting his long boring speech about how a chapter in our life was ending and we were starting a new one. Not interested, I decided to glance around the auditorium, trying to get time to pass.

On the other side of where I sat, I saw Steve, who met my eyes. He smiled and waved, mouthing congratulations. I smiled back and congratulated him back. I glanced around his area, wondering if Bucky was around.

I’m not one to deny that I’ve taken a liking to him. A normal person wouldn’t just come up and call you Cinderella and almost treat you like one.

But then again, Bucky wasn’t a normal person.

An hour later, after all the speeches and presentations, they finally started calling our names one by one for our diplomas.

“James Buchanan Barnes,” the school president called out. I looked around, hoping that maybe that certain a particular 6 foot, brunette’s head would stand up, but to my dismay, no one stood up.

“Ah, yes,” the president spoke up, clearing his throat after. “Barnes moved to another state a few months ago.”

Well, you can imagine my reaction by now. Wide eyes, mouth agape. But, at least my question was answered.

I sat at a café across the university. The area just brought back so many memories and even after graduation, I didn’t want to move away, not especially since Nat was staying.

I was going through the notes I had written during my meeting with my client earlier and occasionally sipped on my peppermint latte, scanning through my notes.

A couple of minutes later, I receive a text, my phone lighting up, the picture of Nat and me at the ball was set as my wallpaper. I unlocked my phone and saw that I had received a text from Nat asking me where I was.

The picture brought my mind back to the graduation ball, back to Bucky. To the first time I met him, thanks to Nat, to the time at the mall, the stupid jokes he made, his whining - I shook my head, quickly replying to Nat’s text.

No, I shook my head. He was just a little crush, his crooked smile and steel blue eyes didn’t affect me. Brain, just shut up.

I went back to reviewing, blocking out the chatters in the café, when suddenly, the seat across me was pulled back.

I looked up and my eyes widened. I couldn’t get anything out of my mouth.

“Mind if I sit here, Cinderella?”

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

The Less I Know The Better (Peter Parker's iPod, Part 9.)

Description: Blip was hard. Dating MJ was a pleasure in Parker’s life, so it was even harder when she told him that things aren’t working as she anticipated - one month before college. Although they remained friends. But Peter isn’t too sure if he can handle liking yet another girl.

Part Summary: As another week came by, another visit from the masked hero was granted. And this time, MJ maybe started to pick up some vibes of you being even bigger weirdo than normally.

A/N: We're feeling fierce today, my babies. Let's give this boy a taste of heaven, shall we?

Word count: 2.5 K

Tagging: @fanboyswhereare-you, @lukesbabylon, @eridanuswave​

Master list: H E R E

This time, when Peter decided to come by, it was raining like crazy. The season of crazy spring thunders came by, it was just two weeks away from May. There were gallons of water pouring down every damn second. If you would like a shower or go out for a swim, you could. You just needed to count on having a cold afterward.

Peter came by your window two days earlier actually, with a rose in his hand even, being in one of his super romantic moods, but he forgot that you were about to visit Betty's place along with MJ, so he just gently opened up the window and closed the flower into the doorframe. And now, while the ice-cold water poured down on him, he watched as you laid on your bed, dressed only in a t-shirt and shorts, doing work for school on your old laptop. He could hear a tune playing pretty loudly - and he saw even the rose put in the vase on your desk, which excited him.

Carefully, he knocked on the glass, waiting before you noticed. Your eyes almost popped out when you realized who that even is - quickly, you locked the door and went to open the window.

"I'm certainly not coming on the rooftop with you today in this freaking weather, so, come on in." - You stepped aside, tugging his forearm in, and you could already tell that he's grinning under his mask. He was also insanely cold to touch. That boy was about to be sick, just because he wanted to see you. While he tried to get into your room through the window somehow, you cleaned up some mess before you turned back right at him.

"I'll let you be if you're working, I can come later or tomorrow." - Peter said when he finally got in, looking at you sitting down with your laptop again. Oh, you were playing a happy tune today. It was Vance Joy and his Mess is Mine, which was just radiating with joy and love. You looked at Spidey a bit cluelessly, showing him the math problem.

"I would use some help now. I don't have any idea what the hell am I supposed to do now. But... Are you cold? Won't you take the spandex off? I can lend you something." - You offered. Yes, you wanted to see him undressing and maybe even see more of his body, but also, you didn't want to see the boy get sick. - "And I can warm you up if you want." - You said with a devilish giggle. You, of course, didn't think anything nasty with that comment, you thought about some snuggles in the worst and best-case scenario.

That kinda caught Peter off guard. He started to blush again, for an unknown, stupid reason as he was watching you slowly looking back at the math. Did you just... Could he... Didn't you think something else..? Peter could say yes, since, for a reason, his body was missing your warmth ever since you had to wake up for school after the Twilight Saga marathon. But, let's be honest, Peter had his morals and these couldn't be crossed.

"I'm fine. I can just press a little button on the suit and it does this." - He showed you and the only thing you could see was steam coming out of him along with an intense heat since his suit had turned on the heating function. You nodded and a grin appeared on your face as you wrote down something into your math notebook.

"You could just say yes and take such a privilege, but you need to play the gentleman until the end, don't you?" - You said while looking at the numbers you had written down. Peter shook his head and sat on the chair in front of your desk while you put your blanket over your legs. Before you started to look at the problem again, the man stole your laptop, automatically doing your homework.

"Give me the paper and a calculator would be nice." - He asked you, but the only thing you could give him was the paper since you were consistent with stealing Peter's calculator. You still hadn't bought one. He just let a long inhale out, knowing there isn't any calculator coming, as he found the app in your notebook, finishing the page in the next few minutes.

"How can you be so smart? Math is a torture device, and I'm sure of it." - You mumbled when you stuck your head from behind his back as you watched him just... Finishing the whole homework off just like that. He turned his head on you and you just noticed that he had already pushed his mask a bit up, to breathe some normal, fresh, cold air.

"I'm not that smart, come on. I just like this thing. Also, instead of 3.5, you should get 4.8 here. Now you see why it wasn't working. It kinda makes sense." - Speedy pointed on the screen, showing you where you wrote the wrong number you'd know what to do the next time. - "Why aren't you freaking out? I heard stalkers do that when they have their idol in their bedroom." - He mumbled and his mouth was just flat. For a moment, you thought that maybe he's serious.

But when you opened up your mouth, that boy just started laughing out loud. You bumped his shoulder, saying him that he's a dumb frick before you send the e-mail off to your teacher's address.

"I'm joking, come on, I'm just joking." - He sat next to you on the bed, watching as your expression didn't change a single bit. You looked pissed for a reason, but to be honest, you were just concentrated so you wouldn't do that much typos in that one e-mail. - "Hey, talk to me. If anything, it's only fair to give me something for writing your homework for you, missy."

"I don't know who's the stalker. Do I knock on your windows at eight o'clock in the evening, Speedy?" - You mumbled and send the message off, closing the laptop. Then, you were looking at him. And with that, Peter had to say that you had a point. He was acting like a stalker at that point. - "But to your luck, I'm okay with having a stalker." - A whisper came out when you put that piece of technology away and leaned in to catch his chin in with your thumb as MJ just knocked on your door, making you both jump at that sound.

Jesus, what was her deal at nine p.m. when you had something more exciting going on. You shoved the Spidey boy behind your bed, going to unlock the door for her. She was standing there with her hair let down and her face was just dead from the inside. MJ was holding a cup with ice-cream in her hand, staring you down.

"What's that about?" - She asked, feeling the air in your room. It was extremely humid but pretty cold. - "Are you having a party without asking me to come?" - MJ rose her eyebrows. You smiled at her, opening the door more so she could see that you're all alone in there.

"I don't know what you're talking about, girl. I just finished my math, if you want help with that, I can send you the homework." - You mumbled and leaned your temple into your door. MJ closed her eyes a bit, noticing a rose on your desk. Why didn't she noticed anyone giving you that flower? It seemed to be pretty fresh.

"What you were talking to, then? And why did you lock the door? You never do that." - She mumbled with suspicion in her voice. With a long sigh, you told her that you had Peter on the phone and that you locked the door so the flat wouldn't get too cold since you knew she doesn't like that.

"Yeah. Right. Do you even know that locking your door doesn't help with the temperature at all? You only have to close it, dummy. Physics aren't your thing, are they?" - She mumbled and turned around to walk back to the living room, eating on the ice-cream. Her brain started working and thinking about the mysterious rose in your room. When you locked the door again, you walked to the door to close it a bit, and afterward, you rose your blanket which was hiding the boy.  

"Momma Capulet is gone now, Romeo. You can come out." - You whispered, stepping away from him. You saw him looking at the door, licking his lips.

"I will have to take you out on some balcony, then." - Speedy answered, walking to the window. You seemed to be surprised to see him leaving, but he was pretty scared of MJ. - "Since, you know, you're calling me Romeo and stuff."

"What’s the matter? She hadn't seen anything, calm down." - You mumbled and closed the window just when he was reaching out to it. - "You think you're going, don't you? But there weren't any criminals misbehaving or Avengers searching for their youngest addition, so no, I don't think you're leaving."

"Miss, this is considered threatening personal space and kinda holding me as a hostage. And I know you know that I can file a lawsuit at you for that." - Spidey tried to resist, but that was when you pushed him down onto the bed. And Peter just knew that at that moment, he won't be leaving no matter what.

"Oh, you won't do a thing about that, boy." - You said confidently, leaning yourself down to sit on his lap, smiling into his face. The tone of music shifted drastically, as Tame Impala came in with his seductive base guitar.

"You seem to be sure." - The boy remarked as you hugged his outer thighs with your inner ones, leaning your lovely bottom into his knees. You moved your hair away, biting your lip while you looked down on him. When your thumb rested on the top of his chin again, he felt a bit like a little kid whos getting a lecture. Just before you finally kissed him again, he felt a gentle whisper on his lips.

"Watch and learn, boy." - That was the only smart remark you had before getting full silence from that boy. Peter couldn't get enough of your lips, those were just the fact. But there also were the small things like your grip on one of his shoulders, small whimpers before you leaned before another kiss and occasional smiles every time he opened up his eyes.

"Are you fine with this?" - You asked suddenly, making Peter look at you as he slowly tuned back into reality. He looked at you, panting, hearing the song slowly fading away, tuning Jawny’s Honeypie.

"Why? Do I look like I'm running away?" - He joked back and your eyes traveled to his hands just laying around his body. Oh, OH. Peter was just so taken by you kissing him that he forgot to touch you. That was normal for him. He was taken away by you all the time.

"I mean, do you like... Want to dance or will you participate in this activity as well? You know, I don't know if someone told you, but because you're single you might not know that... There are two people when they're making out." - You said courageously, biting your lips as you tried not to laugh. Peter closed his eyes at this and laughed out loud as well. Just seconds after, you almost let a scream out when you were thrown onto your pillows like a sack of potatoes.

"Does this count as me participating enough or what do you want me to do exactly?" - He shot back in the same tone, feeling your palms gently circling his waist again. He leaned into the bed with one of his elbows, holding your face with the other one. The song in the background was playful as well, which made him hum the tune.

"I'm quite fine with this situation going on, Gonzales." - You nodded, rising your knee to meet his hips, laughing when his lips blew air into your neck, making loud farting before he pushed you a bit closer to bring you in for another kiss. MJ intervening was long forgotten as you lost the track of the time or of what was even going on.

"Will you stay to watch a movie or you're in a rush?" - You mumbled sleepily, just having your head leaned into the funny feeling spandex, listening to his heartbeat. He was keeping you closer, having an arm over your shoulder.

"What about you'll play something and I’ll stay until you fall asleep? Hm?" - He hummed back, kissing the top of your head. For a good portion of your fourth date, you were just making out - and even if Peter knew that he won't fall asleep for a pretty long time, he could understand that you're tired. Especially when the weather was crazy outside.

You nodded, playing the first thing you found on Netflix, sniggling under the warm blanket. It felt quite nice to feel someone pressed to your back, having their hand on your waist. You fell dead asleep rather quickly, snorting lightly after just ten minutes. When Peter poked your waist and you haven't moved an inch, he slowly took the mask off, finally looking at you with his eyes only.

He knew that Karen kept on recording everything he saw, that was why could simply rewatch the two hours of you making out, but there was some intimacy about looking at you in the dark room. His face slowly leaned in until his forehead rested on your shoulder as he took a few long, deep breaths.

This maybe was beautiful and much more, but he just wanted to be Peter with you. Oh Lord, he wished you to kiss him with such an eagerness every single morning. Or he could tickle you until you'd woke up in the morning. And... With that, it hit him.

Another realization. And he just knew that he doesn't only has a huge crush on you. He felt that small impulse - as if something inside of him clicked. That feeling everyone told him about. That something which made you wanna do stuff with someone else. Not just kiss them or snuggle them. But stuff, like... Adult stuff.

How he was about to survive all of that? He didn't know. Peter just hoped that you might be able to love Peter as much as you felt affectionate toward Speedy Gonzales.

[anonbebe97me]

Somebody Else (Changkyun Short Story|| Pt.1)

Inspired by “Imported”- Jessie Reyez (Ft.6lack)

Pt.2 ||

Warning: Some smut; will label parts accordingly.

“You’re in love with somebody else. Maybe I can offer some help; get over them by getting under me…”

She throws her head back as she downs the glass of whiskey. Her face immediately puckers as she tastes the bitterness left in her mouth. Her cheeks are streaked with mascara that she had halfheartedly tried to wipe away only minutes before. “Give me another,” She says, glancing at the bartender. He nods and grabs her glass.

“You should probably slow down,” Changkyun says, taking a sip of his drink. “You should mind your own business,” She says, watching the bartender place her new drink in front of her. Changkyun rolls his eyes, “Y/N… getting drunk won’t make you feel any better,” He looks at her, trying not to let the worry show on his face. 

“Yeah, well…staying sober won’t make me feel any better either…” She looks down into the glass for a moment and then takes a gulp. He sighs and shakes his head, “You’re gonna regret it later.” 

Her phone sits face-up on the bar, open to instagram; a pretty picture set in a rose garden- Jooheon and a girl he’d known for six months, officially announcing their engagement. 

“I have so many regrets already…what’s one more?” She looks down and bites her lip, fighting back more tears. He looks at her, eyes low; he wants nothing more than to take her hurt away. But how can he? 

So he sits there next to her as she stares blankly ahead. 

After an hour of drinking in silence, he finally decides he’s had enough, “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

She looks up at him lazily, “I’m not finished with my drink…” 

“Too bad. Let’s go.” He gently grabs her arm to help her off of the stool. 

They walk out to his car and he opens the door for her, helping her into her seat. When he gets into the driver’s side, he feels his phone buzzing in his pants’ pocket. He takes it out and swallows when he sees Joheon’s picture show up on his screen. He’s about to put it back in his pocket, but she clears her throat,

“It’s okay…you can answer it.”

He looks at her and shakes his head, “No, it’s okay. I’m sure it’s not important-”

“Changkyun. Just answer it.”

He sighs and looks down, “Fine…”

“Hello?”

“Yo! I’ve been waiting for you to congratulate me,” Jooheon’s voice is lively and full of excitement. 

Though the volume on Changkyun’s phone is at the lowest setting, Jooheon’s voice seems to fill up the quiet car.

She closes her eyes, trying hard to keep it together until the call ends.

Changkyun sees her struggle but continues, “Yeah, man… sorry. It’s been a rough night. Uhm…can we talk tomorrow? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“Oh- okay…” There’s disappointment in Jooheon’s voice, “Talk to you later then.”

“Mm.” Changkyun presses end and tosses the phone into the center console. 

For a moment, there’s only silence, and then…deep, painful sobs as Y/N slumps over in her seat, not even bothering to cover her face as the tears fall.

She’s spent years hiding her love for her best friend, and then her pain as he went through women like wildfire; she has no more strength left to try to hide anything anymore.

“I know I should be happy for him, but…” she trails off.

He stares through the windshield as people walk into the bar, “Why would you smile over a broken heart?”

Though his words are painful to hear, they bring her a certain comfort- validation, even; like she’s not the worst person in the world for not being happy to see the love of her life happy with another woman.

“Changkyun…” She looks at him,“I can’t be alone tonight…”

He nods, looking down, “Alright.”

She stares out of the open window as cars and streetlights seem to fly by on the ride to Changkyun’s house. The harsh wind is an invited guest to dry the hot tears that pour silently from her eyes. 

He leads her up the winding staircase up to his apartment.

She’s breathless when they get to his front door, and her sadness is momentarily replaced with irritation, “Damn it, Changkyun. Why don’t you tell your landlord to fix the elevator already?”

He shrugs, inserting the key into the door, “Keeps rent low.”

She rolls her eyes, “Cheap ass.”

“I liked you better sad,” He says plainly.

She glares at the back of his head as he leads her inside of his shoebox studio. 

She sits on his bed, and then suddenly lets herself fall backward, letting her mind travel back to Jooheon.

Changkyun fills a glass of water up for her and grabs the half-empty box of Cheez-Its from one of the cabinets. He walks over to her and sets the water and snacks on the bedside table,

 “I brought you some water,” He sits down next to her and looks over, “Sit up.”

She stares up at the ceiling, “I’m not drunk.”

He rolls his eyes at her, though she can’t see him, “Humor me, then.”

She sighs and sits up slowly, “Fine.”

The cool water fills her empty stomach, and she finishes the entire glass. He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. She gently sets the glass back down, but doesn’t bother trying to eat. She grabs one of his pillows and holds it against her chest,

“Changkyun…have you ever been in love?” 

Her voice is haggard and broken as she speaks. 

He thinks for a moment; faces from a few distant memories flash through his mind before he nods, “I guess so…”

She looks at him and smiles wearily, “No you haven’t.”

He raises an eyebrow at her, “Oh? And how would you know?”

She purses her lips, “Because…anyone who’s ever been in love…” She throws herself back onto the bed,

“are certain about it.”

He furrows his brows, taking her words in. It’s true, he doesn’t know for sure if he’s ever been in love…but does that really mean he’s never felt it? 

He lays back and stares at the ceiling with her. He wonders what Jooheon might be doing right now…though after sharing such thrilling news, it’s not hard to imagine…

“You know what else pisses me off about this situation?” She asks, not looking at him.

“Mm?” 

“He tagged everyone… you, the guys, even that stupid friend of hers that he hates- what was her name?”

“Britney.”

“Britney. He tagged Britney…but he didn’t tag me…” She bites her lip and then looks over at him.

“Would that have made you feel better?” He asks, looking back at her. 

Her eyes well up again, though she doesn’t break eye contact, “No…”

“I think that the pain would’ve hurt exactly the same, whether he tagged you or not…and he just happened to go with option B.”

In more ways than one… 

“When we were little, I was sure that one day, he and I would grow up and marry each other…” She gives a small smile, but it quickly fades, “I thought for sure he’d be my first…”

Her eyes widen at the realization of what she’s just said and she quickly turns back to the ceiling.

 Changkyun is taken aback by her accidental revelation, but he tries to pretend like he didn’t notice, “I guess life can’t always the way you planned…”

Y/N sighs, “All those years I spent waiting around for him…”

He clears his throat, “Do you believe everything happens for a reason?” 

“Yeah…do you?” She asks. 

He shrugs against the mattress, “I don’t really know…I think it’s a pretty thought, but some times I think life is just a series of repercussions…

like, there’s no rhyme or reason for anything. It’s all just…”

“Bleak,” She finishes his sentence.

“Yeah…” He sighs.

She hits his chest with the back of her hand, “No, dummy. What you’re saying is bleak.”

“Ow?” He chuckles.

She props herself up on her elbows and stares into the expanse of the room, “I- I know that some times, it seems aimless… but some times…things just work out too well, you know? Jooheon and I were in two different classes in Kindergarten, and it was smack dab in the middle of the year- the morning that I met him, happened to be the exact morning that my mom…,” she pauses,

“…it was the morning that my mom caught my dad cheating on her. She was so distraught, she could barely focus on anything, so she put my shoes on my feet but forgot to tie them up for me. She hadn’t taught me how to tie my shoes yet, so when I got to school, I was tripping over my laces on the playground- I ended up skinning my knee and Jooheon was the only one who came to see if I was okay… From then on, he’s been with me through some of the most painful moments of my life…” A single tear spills from her left eye, but there’s a look of determination on her face. 

Changkyun turns his body and rests his head on his hand as he listens to her

“And yeah, it’s fucked up that he’s with someone else now, but if I hadn’t met him, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me. I think about it all the time… and I credit it all to that morning when my mom didn’t tie my shoes…

Even meeting you,” She looks over at him, and is surprised to find him already staring so intently at her.

He feels strange- he’s been friends with her for over two years, and he’s always known how she feels about Jooheon, so she’s always been someone Changkyun considered as ‘off limits’.

Why then, is he imagining the feeling of her lips against his?

“…If I wouldn’t have met you, I wouldn’t have anyone to watch out for me like this… it’s like puzzle pieces. Everything always falls into place…” 

Her eyes are low as she studies his face under the dim light of the lamp on the side of the bed. Her heart is beating hard in her chest, and she wonders if he can hear it. 

She finds herself moving closer to him, and before he can give it a second though, he’s matching her movements,

until their faces are only inches from each other.

Their eyes are locked, and the only sound in the apartment is of their breathing.

“Changkyun…are you drunk?” She asks, not breaking the stare.

He shakes his head, “No…are you?”

“No...” She whispers.

A second later, they’re closing the distance between them- it’s a soft, delicate kiss… like dipping your toe in the water to test the temperature. And then, their lips part, their movements becoming more rhythmic and in synch as their kiss deepens. 

He can’t help but wonder;

Is this what she meant by puzzle pieces?

[nineteenseventeenbarnes00]

CINDERELLA

Pairing: CollegeAU! Bucky x reader Genre: fluff Word Count: 3084 Warnings: n/a

I stood in the middle of the school gym, sweat dripping down the back of my neck, I was dead tired. I can't wait to get home and jump under the sheets of my big comfortable bed. 

I snapped out of my trance as I heard the beat of the music blasting through the stereo and moved to the side, waiting for my cue before I hopped in and began dancing to the music alongside my cheer mates.

"Good job, girls!" Our head instructor yells, clapping her hands. "Take a break! Be back in 5. We'll go through the routine a couple more times and we're done for the day!"

The other girls cheer, some of them dropping themselves on the floor, others making their way out the gym to grab food or a breather. I need one too.

I walk over to the bleachers and grab my water bottle, chugging the entire content of the bottle down, savoring the feeling of the water passing through of dry and itchy throat.

"Hey! Save some for me!" Nat yells and grabs the bottle from my hand, drinking whatever was left in the bottle. I let out a big sigh and sit on the bleachers, massaging my aching legs.

"I just want this to end," Nat groans, plopping beside me.

"You're telling me," I mumble in response.

"Wanna go grab a bite after practice?" she asks me, watching me remove my shoes and massaging the sole of my aching feet.

"Nah, I'm gonna head right home and sleep," I reply. Nat rolls her eyes and grabs one of my shoes, examining it.

"Hey, give that back," I demanded, scared of what she'd do. 

Sometimes, Nat could be unpredictable. There was a time in high school where she pulled the fire alarm because she thought the whole week had been too 'uneventful' - her words. Needless to say, it was definitely eventful for her after the incident, I heard the principal's office served instant coffee.  

Nat looked at me, wiggled her eyebrows, and then threw my navy blue Nike Air shoe across the gym, landing right below the ring of one of the basketball courts.

I give her a look. She just stood up with an innocent look on her face and skipped away, knowing I was going to be annoyed. I rolled my eyes and made my way across the gym to grab my shoe. 

Right before I could pick my shoe up, someone beats me to it and holds it out for me.

"Thank you!" I tell the stranger before I glance up and get a better look at him. He was around 6 to 6'2, wearing the university's basketball jersey and had a towel hanging around his neck. He had dark brown locks that he pulled into a bun, a little stubble growing, and the most captivating set of ocean blue eyes ever.

"No problem, Cinderella." He grins and walks away.

Hi, my name is Y/N L/N, a senior college student at Oregon State University. I'm a member of the university cheer group together with my best friend Nat, and we're proud of that. We worked really hard to get where we are. 

The next day, I get to the campus and see a bunch of colorful posters and streamers being hung up. I almost forgot graduation was around the corner, meaning the graduation ball was coming up.

On the way to my last class for the morning, I receive a text from Nat, who had decided to ditch classes today.

FROM: Nat

Y/N/N, meet you in the mall at 5. See you! Xx

Oh right, I was going graduation ball shoe shopping with her this afternoon - I nearly forgot. I tucked my phone in my pocket and proceeded to class.

I impatiently tapped my foot on the tiled floors of the mall and checked my phone for the 100th time. It was nearly six, and Nat was nowhere to be found. I couldn't reach her through her phone, nor could I find her in her favorite café down the street.

A couple of minutes later, I receive a text and nearly screamed out loud.

FROM: Nat

Y/N, I LOVE YOU. SO MUCH. Can't make it. :( Bruce's taking me out to meet his parents. I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I SWEAR. xx

"Fucking hell," I mumbled, closing the message. "Guess I'll have to go pick something out myself."

I begin to walk around the mall, looking through shop windows to see if any heels attracted me, and as I got on the escalator to get to the second floor, someone grabbed my wrist, startling me and making me lose footing.

I fell backward and crashed into someone's chest as the escalator continued moving upwards.

"Whoa, easy there, Cinderella," A familiar voice spoke, a hint of playfulness in his voice. I spun around and saw the boy who gave me back my shoe during practice the other day.

"It's you," I whisper, standing back up, still a bit shocked from the fall. He grins and gently pushes me, signaling me to get off the escalator as we got to the top.

"Yes, it's me."

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, trying to make small talk. It's not that I wasn't comfortable with him or anything; it's just that we barely knew each other and he was talking to me as if we were buddies. 

"Well, I was going to buy a tie for the ball next week, but then I saw you," he tells me. I nod and turn to walk away, letting him go do his business until he grabs my wrist again.

"Yes?" I politely ask him.

"What are you doing here, Cinderella?" he asks me with a toothy grin.

"Shoe shopping for the graduation ball."

"That's pretty ironic," his smile turning into a smirk.

"How so?" I ask him, trying to humor him and his small talk.

"You're Cinderella," he starts. "Buying shoes. For the grad ball." He explains. I raise an eyebrow, obviously confused with where this ctonversation was going.

"Well, Cinderella, why not let Prince Charming come along?" he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows. 

A small smile forms on my face, amused by what this boy was saying. Hell, I didn't even know his name.

"Well, Prince Charming," I play along. "Before I let you take me shoe shopping, may I know your name?"

"My name is James Barnes, but they all call me Bucky."

"Well, hello, Bucky, the name's Y/N L/N."

"Well, Y/N, shall we start looking for your glass slippers?"

About an hour and a half later, Bucky plops himself on the sofa of the last shoe store in the mall.

"I swear, if there isn't a pair you like in this goddamn shop, I might as well just get you to sneakers," He grumbles, tired from following me around the 26 shoe stores in this mall. I chuckle and start looking through the shelves. "Dummy, you didn't have to tag along," I told him the 10th time today.

"Dummy, I told you wanted to," he responded, mocking me.

After walking pass every shelf in the store, with nothing catching my eye, I turned around and got ready to go, until I saw those pair of shoes in the corner of one of the shelves. It was a gold and black pair of stilettos, probably 5 or 6 inches.

"Hey, Cinderella, are you done? 'Cuz I' m-" Bucky whines, walking over, but stops midway. "Those look hot."

I roll my eyes at his comment and check the bottom for the size. It's a size 38, perfect. As I bend down to try the pair of heels on, Bucky stops me.

"What?" I ask him.

"May I have the honors?" he asks in a fake British accent.

"Sure. I AM Cinderella after all," I joke and give him the pair. He bends down and grabs the left heel and my left foot, gently slipping the heels on, followed by the right one.

"It's perfect." I squeal, walking around in them.

Bucky grins widely, probably relieved that I finally found a pair of heels.

It was the night of the ball and I was sitting at our table, going through some of the pictures I've taken with Nat earlier tonight. I was in this gorgeous black and gold gown and my matching heels from the other day. 

Surprisingly, I hadn't seen Bucky around all week. I never got to thank him for tagging along with me the other day. After paying for the shoes, we had a quick dinner and McDonald's and parted ways.

"Boo," a voice whispered into my ears, making me jump in my seat.

"Good Lord," I breathe out, turning around to see Bucky with an amused look on his face. Speaking of the devil.

"Scared you, Cinderella?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, chuckling. I roll my eyes but smile a little.

He sits on the empty chair next to me. It was supposedly Nat's seat, but she's off somewhere playing or mingling.

"Hey, Bucky?"

"Yeah?" he replied, looking at me.

"Why do you keep calling me Cinderella? You know my real name," I ask him, wanting to know what he'd say. He merely shrugs and smiles.

"Boys," I mumble, earning a soft chuckle from the boy.

"And why are you here, Bucky?" I ask him, trying not to sound rude.

"I was bored. Plus, I missed you," he answered, giving me an adorable crooked smile. I return his smile and get back to looking through my pictures, Bucky still beside me.

"Hey, Y/N," he calls out.

"Yeah?" I tore my eyes away from my phone and to the boy beside me.

"I-"

"Y/N!" Nat calls out, walking back to our table from somewhere. She gives Bucky a questioning look, wondering why he was here.

"Umm… See you around," Bucky mumbles as he stands up and quickly leaves the table.

"What was that about?" Nat asked.

"Don't know…" 

It was almost midnight when the ball ended. The students were leaving the area, but Nat and I stayed, waiting for our other friends. 

When we were finally ready to go, Wanda, one of our other friends, suggested we should hit the club down the road.

"We're going drinking?" I asked, not exactly surprised, but just making sure.

"Yeah!" Wanda responds, hopping up and down in excitement. Clubbing was her forte. So we left the area and walked towards Club Hydra. 80% of the seniors should be there right now, partying.

"WOOOO! YEAH, BABY!" Tony, a guy from one of our classes, screams in our ears as we walked in the club, music blasting through the speakers. Many people sat by the bar, others in the booths while others danced on the dance floor. 

"Let's go dance!" Nat shouts over the music, pulling me along. I laugh and follow her to the dance floor, jumping around, doing really stupid moves like the sprinkler and bunny hops.

Half an hour later, I got tired and told Nat I was going to grab a drink and sit down. She shooed me away and continued dancing with our other friends. 

I made my way towards the bar and ordered a margarita, making myself comfortable on one of the bar stools.

"Hey, Cinderelly," a familiar voice called out, I turned around to see Bucky standing there, his signature crooked smile etched on his face. His bow tie and the first two buttons of his dress shirt were undone.

"Hey, Prince Charming," I played along, laughing as Bucky struggled to get on the high bar stool despite his height.

"Here's your drink," the bartender says, pushing the blue drink towards me. I thank him and take a sip, feeling the alcohol burning down my throat.

"My, oh my," Bucky talks in his not so convincing British accent, his words slurring a bit. "Her majesty drinking alcohol?"

"Bucky, are you drunk?" I asked, amused at how similar his attitude when he's drunk and when he's sober are so similar.

"Of course I'm not, Y/N!" he replies, taking a sip from the glass he was holding. Probably whiskey. 

"Oh yeah?" I chuckle. "How many fingers am I holding?" I ask him, holding all five of my fingers up.

"I'm tipsy, not blind," he reminds me, patting my head.

"You just admitted you're drunk," I tell him, shaking my head.

"No, no, no," he shakes his head. "I'm tipsy. There's a fine difference between the two, Cinderella."

"Sure, sure," I answer, not wanting to start an argument with a drunk – I mean – tipsy person.

"There really is a difference, though!" he begins, his words becoming more and more slurred as he takes another sip of his whiskey. "If I were tipsy, I would tell you you looked beautiful tonight, if I were drunk, I'd tell the same thing and tell you how much I regret not asking to for a dance."

"E-Excuse me?" I shrieked, choking on my margarita, surprised at the sudden confession. I feel my face heating up, will he notice?

"Aww, look, she's blushing!" he chuckles slowly, his head was probably spinning. Yeah, he did.

"I said you looked beautiful tonight," he repeats, smiling.

"Umm," I mumble, not sure how to react. "Thank you...?" 

Wow, smooth, Y/N. Someone just drunkenly told me I was beautiful and my response sounded half-assed.

"BUCK. PAL, THERE YOU ARE!" someone shouts over the music, approaching us.

"STEVE!" Bucky shouts back, reminding me of a puppy whose owner just got home after a long day. He stands up from his seat, almost tumbling in the process.

"Whoa," Steve, as Bucky called him, quickly catches his friend. "Slow down, pal."

"Hey, Steve," Bucky quickly speaks. "I was just telling Y/N how beautiful she was tonight.” 

I mentally slapped myself as I felt my face growing even hotter. Steve shook his head and chuckled. 

"I'm sorry about all of this, Y/N," Steve apologizes, throwing an arm over Bucky's shoulder, holding him up. "I'm Steve Rogers."

"No harm done. I'm Y/N L/N," I smile as Bucky's piercing eyes continue to stare at me.

"We should get going, Buck," Steve mumbles, trying to pull Bucky away.

"Whaaaat? But I was talking to Y/N," he whines, his words continued to slur. Steve chuckled and kept dragging Bucky away as he protested.

"We'll see you around, Y/N. It was nice to finally meet you," Steve grins.

"Bye, Bucky, bye, Steve," I waved as they left. I continued thinking about Bucky's words. Was he being serious? I tried not to think about it, but his words continued to echo in my head.

Here I am, six months later, still kind of fresh from college, but definitely enjoying my 8-8 job - sarcasm intended. 

After the party, in the two months before graduation came around, I never saw Bucky around campus or around town anymore. Yeah, sure, I searched him up on social media, never having the guts to add or follow him, and I saw Steve around campus, we occasionally said hi, but never had we ever brought Bucky up. I didn't bother asking anyone either. It felt like that night, the night at the club, it was supposed to be something between us.

For two months, I wondered and wondered about where he had gone. It's not my fault, after his remarks at the club, I wouldn't be a girl if I didn't want to confront him and ask for answers. Did he mean it? What he said? That was the question running through my mind, a question I believed never would be answered.

But of course, like every question we have, we find the answers eventually. I found the answer to my question on graduation day as all the students were called one by one.

It was a windy, but sunny afternoon. Everyone was gathered in the university auditorium and our school director began the ceremony. He was reciting his long boring speech about how a chapter in our life was ending and we were starting a new one. Not interested, I decided to glance around the auditorium, trying to get time to pass.

On the other side of where I sat, I saw Steve, who met my eyes. He smiled and waved, mouthing congratulations. I smiled back and congratulated him back. I glanced around his area, wondering if Bucky was around. 

I'm not one to deny that I've taken a liking to him. A normal person wouldn't just come up and call you Cinderella and almost treat you like one.

But then again, Bucky wasn't a normal person.

An hour later, after all the speeches and presentations, they finally started calling our names one by one for our diplomas.

"James Buchanan Barnes," the school president called out. I looked around, hoping that maybe that certain a particular 6 foot, brunette's head would stand up, but to my dismay, no one stood up.

"Ah, yes," the president spoke up, clearing his throat after. "Barnes moved to another state a few months ago."

Well, you can imagine my reaction by now. Wide eyes, mouth agape. But, at least my question was answered.

I sat at a café across the university. The area just brought back so many memories and even after graduation, I didn't want to move away, not especially since Nat was staying.

I was going through the notes I had written during my meeting with my client earlier and occasionally sipped on my peppermint latte, scanning through my notes.

A couple of minutes later, I receive a text, my phone lighting up, the picture of Nat and me at the ball was set as my wallpaper. I unlocked my phone and saw that I had received a text from Nat asking me where I was. 

The picture brought my mind back to the graduation ball, back to Bucky. To the first time I met him, thanks to Nat, to the time at the mall, the stupid jokes he made, his whining - I shook my head, quickly replying to Nat's text.

No, I shook my head. He was just a little crush, his crooked smile and steel blue eyes didn't affect me. Brain, just shut up.

I went back to reviewing, blocking out the chatters in the café, when suddenly, the seat across me was pulled back. 

I looked up and my eyes widened. I couldn't get anything out of my mouth.

"Mind if I sit here, Cinderella?"

THE END.

_______________________

A/N forgive me

[sumergosuigeneris]

June 10, 2019

Woke up thinking about not-great things from my life again. And thinking that I am repeating my mother’s patterns despite myself. Hell of a way to wake up. Probably need to go to therapy. Probably need to address issues in my life.

Yesterday ended up interesting.

Got confused about when I was gonna get in. Thought it was an hour later than I thought. When it turned out I was right, I decided to get food before heading to the club. The bar was closed and there was nowhere else nearby. Went back to train station and asked the guy sitting there to take me. Never doing that again. First of all, he only took cash (I technically didn’t have enough). I didn’t have enough to give him a tip, which is bad. But in a way, I felt it made us even because I was forced to make conversation. Hoo-eee is this guy loyal to the local university. I expressed my support for not-that-school and he proceeded to talk about how horrible another school was. I tried to say all schools do these things, not that it’s right but that they’re common. It went eh. Another guy that listens to his own opinion exclusively. And it cost me $40! Technically $42+tip, but I only had 40 in cash. How much would it have been if I took the deliberately underpriced car sharing service? Grrrrrr. But yay for supporting the beleaguered taxi drivers. Also, the Jus sie case came up. Of course. So I pointed out that celebs and rich people get away with the same shit all the time. I really really wanted to say if it was a yt person, you’d be fine with it, but I kept it together.

Get to the club....and no one was there. Not even Bob. I called him and somehow he thought I was coming in at 1am, so he gave up on me and went home. He lives about 45min away, esp because he’s a hypermiler, but he drove back for me. I was ambivalent b/c I wanted to shoot, and give him his stupid gifts, but I felt guilty for making him drive. Anyway, while waiting I discovered I’d left one of his gifts on the train. IDIOT! I spent twenty-five minutes total on several phone calls to am-not-track, only to be told to fill out a form online. So fucking stupid b/c I figured it out within an hour so that would have been perfect timing for the train staff (I’m blanking on everything except conductor) to find it and tag it for me. Fucking terrible customer service AGAIN! I was gonna complain on social media but it felt like all I was doing was complaining about companies and so companies would stop taking me seriously.

And of course, i couldn’t fill out the form b/c there was no internet at the club. Civil War Bob got there in time for me to be in a rage. I gave him the gifts I had, and told him (not asked him) that I was getting him an emergency cell phone. Fuck that shit. Our incident could have been avoided if I’d called him before he left for the club, but I forgot about the time change, and then despite that, if he’d had a fucking cell phone. He could have called me or I could have called him. Aggravating.

He took me to shoot pistols. I missed shooting rifles, but I’d never shot anything except black powder pistols before. It was fun. It was loud. Real hand guns, at least before these modern plastic models, are not like portrayed on tv/movies. Harder to aim. And very, very loud. Still throw gun powder depending on the model. But I can say I shot a Colt and a Smith&Wesson - quality American brands. I forgot my safety goggles, and all CWB had was prescription sunglasses. Whew that was hard. I made a few good shots but mostly bad, and I’m not sure how much of that is me being out of practice shooting new to me weapons, and how much was prescription sunglasses. Oh, and it’s really nice to take forever to load or clean. I like pistols.

Oh, and I found out that some guns have serial numbers already. They’ve been having serial numbers. Like a car vin. Although now that I’m writing this, I feel like I did know that a while ago, b/c on tv they’d talk about filing off the number. Dummy. Anyway, the point is guns could be registered to owners like cars are. Not like permits for carrying or safety (although a safety permit would be nice) but for gun policy level safety. Although, as with other things on guns, the people who would follow it wouldn’t be the problems but they’d be mouthy about how it was infringing on their rights.

The one thing was he started making political comments, about how someone shot up a place or people and was theoretically sympathetic to IS IS so CWB thinks of IS IS as terr orists. Oh no. I was not gonna have that. You’re going to ignore all the white supremacists? And also fo x was probably lying, but I’m not sure b/c I don’t know who he was talking about. We only do well when we don’t acknowledge his ignorant views, so I decided to shut that shit down. I told him I think of Tr ump supporters that way (re: ter ror ism). Shut him the fuck up.

We had fun. He gave me a tshift he’s been hanging on to. It’s orange, which is fine. But he said I like to wear loud colors. Which is not true. I will wear them, like I had an orange hooded jacket for a few years, but that’s me trying to expand beyond my mostly black, and brown and green and red. Anyway.

I didn’t tell him I was staying overnight. 2 1/2 hours is pretty good for me hanging out with CWB. 4 1/2 is the limit.

At this point, it was 5-ish, and I’d only had 1/2 a coffee and a terrible blueberry muffin. i was starving. i asked him to drop me off at a location that seemed like i was  going to the bus station but was close enough to walk to the hotel. I passed restaurants. It was so hard not to just stop at one of them, but I was determined to address my longing for pizza from here.

Also, while I feel I only had to talk about school once, it was extremely uncomfortable. Why *do* we always ask people what they do, or if they’re in school? Social media says it’s so we can judge people and how much respect to give them.

Got to the hotel and was excited b/c my room unexpectedly had a jacuzzi. Which doesn’t work. There were hardly any working lamps, basically one plug for me to plug things in. Very few channels and most of them were terribly staticy. I went to the pool and there was a family monopolizing it. They’d have made room for me, but it would have curtailed them a bit, and not really given me room to do anything besides sit there, so I went to go to the hot tub. Which wasn’t working and looked yucky. This hotel actually kind of sucks. Because the coup d’grace? The internet is *atrocious*! So I couldn’t do online instead of real life. I ended up going to bed pretty early. Which I needed.

But I ordered my pizzas. I ordered two. I wonder what the front desk person thought of that. I ordered one from the place that I’d found is closest to real pizza but was expensive and didn’t deliver as far away as i lived before I moved. And I ordered one from my favorite local chain.

As I was afraid of, both were disappointing. They weren’t as good as I’d built them up to be in my memory. The one was about as good as I think it was the last time I’d gotten it several years ago. The thing is, when I ran away to this particular state, the pizza was really really decent, but it changed a few years after that.To be less good. Which was a reason I hardly ever ordered the expensive stuff. The chain one was good for itself, but there was too much dough. Not sure if the recipe changed or the location made a mistake or b/c it was a medium. But it tasted yummy. Really the issue is with pizza in general. To make good pizza, you need to do the whole dough tossing thing. It’s not just for show, or to make a lump of dough spread out. It does something with air bubbles or whatever. And no one does that anymore. Almost no one. Because making pizza properly takes too long.

So anyway, now I can let that go for a while. And I’m taking home at least 3 meals worth of pizza. Yay!

All in all, I think I spent significantly too much on this trip (and I’m not home yet). I won’t do this again. It’s only renting a car, and only a one day thing (so get up ungodly early in the morning). I’m nervous about taking the bus. I’ve never had a problem, but the company itself has a reputation. Anyway, $120 ish for transpo and hotel. $80 for taxis. $50 ish for pizza. Well, as I type it out, only the car/taxi nonsense was unexpectedly high. Still, I need to take the bus to the bus pickup. Grab coffee, etc.. take the bus back to my city...take the train or bus home. Then, I’ll know. And feel safe lol.

And the bus isn’t known for having good internet. Here’s crossing my fingers.

Boy, I’m gonna sleep well tonight.