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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

Ch7: Eight Letters, Three Words, One Meaning

Summary: Katie and Steve’s relationship is blossoming, but they’ve still not come out to the rest of the team. Well, not yet anyway…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, spiders (yeah, okay, I need a warning for those eight legged freaks) Smut (NSFW, 18+)

A/N: More credit to my edit partner, @angrybirdcr

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 6

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

June 2013

Katie was trying to listen, she really was, but the warmth of the June sun was lulling her to sleep, despite the fact she had only gotten up two hours or so ago. She was trying to focus on the intelligence that had come out of the Department of Damage Control, that a Warehouse in Columbia was housing a load of the alien based weapons for sale on the black market.

Maybe if she just closed her eyes….

She found herself daydreaming. About her favourite thing to day dream about. Steve. It was now five weeks since they had started dating and two weeks since they had been caught by Tony. Since then they’d spent pretty much every other evening wrapped around one another post making out. Sometimes it would just be a bit of heavy kissing, sometimes there would be a little more. Like when he had lain over her on the bed, kissing her neck, lips, chest, before slipping his hands into her panties for the first time as he’d coaxed her to completion that way before she’d returned the favour, wrapping her palm around him, bringing him off.

And then yesterday had been her birthday, which had brought her one hell of a present.

Katie had been on at him for as long as she could remember for a ride on his motorbike so, amongst other presents, Steve had Clint help him research the best helmet he could get and he’d bought her one, much to her excitement. She’d squealed and then squealed some more when he had revealed they were off out for the afternoon. He’d packed an evening picnic and taken her up to Rock Creek Park where they’d eaten subs, muffins and were now laid back on the blanket, her head resting on his chest.

“Your hair smells different…nice different…” He nuzzled his nose into it.

“Oh, it’s a different shampoo…” She grinned “It was in the hamper of ridiculously expensive toiletries and make-up that Tony sent me. Or should I say Pepper, as he will have had no idea about any of that stuff…”

“Smells of cookies.”

“It has oatmeal in so you’re not far off.” She smiled, looking up at the sky.

The pair of them stayed still, his hand straying into her hair before he broke the calm silence.

“You know, when I was a kid…me and Bucky used to play a game, spotting shapes in the clouds” he said

“Tony used to do that with me.” she smiled, shifting her head so that the back of it still lay across his chest but she could see upwards “See, there’s a dog…”

“Looks more like a cow to me…” He cocked his head to one side.

“A cow?” she snorted, “Where have you ever seen a cow look like that?”

The two of them stayed like that for another hour or so, playing shapes and making conversations before the sun began to stray behind the trees. Reluctantly Katie agreed it was probably time to go home.

“I’ve had,” she undid the strap on her baby blue and silver helmet, pulling it off with a flourish as she stepped off the bike outside her apartment, “the most amazing birthday, thank you…”

She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it doll.” He said gently as she reached into her back pocket for her key card. Smiling he dropped his hand to her waist as they walked to the elevator. When the doors opened, Katie tugged on his hand gently and led him in after her. Once in her apartment, he allowed just enough time for them to remove their jackets and for Katie to hang her new helmet in pride of place on the hooks before his lips crashed onto hers, the kisses growing deeper, and he hooked his hands round the back of her thighs and easily picked her up. She giggled, wrapping her legs round his waist, her nose brushing against his as he carried her up the stairs, dropping her gently on the bed. She spread her legs making room for him so he could settle his hips in between the space they made as she wrapped her arms round his neck, his hands gently running up the side of her ribs, pulling off the t-shirt she was wearing, cupping her face in his hands. He let out a soft moan as her hands started to slide down his chest and it was clear she had intentions of using her hands, if not her mouth as well, on him again but that wouldn’t do, not on her birthday.

“Uh-uh not tonight baby girl.” He said, gently grabbing her wrists.

She frowned and looked genuinely pissed off that he was stopping her. As she pouted at him, he simply smiled “It’s your birthday, after all.” He whispered into her mouth before setting her hands down on the pillow on either side of her head before turning his attention to her chest, sucking and biting through her bra, listening to the sounds she made right by his ear. He continued his affections downwards, pressing small kisses all the way down her body until his nose was skimming along the waistband of her jeans. She let out a groan of delight as he brought his hands up to undo them and started guiding them down.

The idea of tasting her like this had been on his mind since she had first done it to him but he was utterly lost, with no idea on what to do next. He glanced up at her, swallowing slightly and instantly understanding that he needed encouragement, Katie reached down to tangle her fingers in his hair, raising her hips to help him remove the jeans and her underwear. She knew he had never done this before, but now, as she gently bent her knees to allow him access she heard him let out a soft moan of his own and watched him as he snuck one glance up at her and then set his mouth on her.

It took a while, her guiding him gently, telling him what she liked, what was working and what wasn’t but she didn’t really have to give him too much direction. What he lacked in skill he made up for with dogged determination and eventually, her breathy directions died in her throat and then she was moaning and writhing in pleasure as his mouth worked her over, one hand in his hair and the other gripping the sheets. Her sweet, salty tang on his tongue set every nerve in his body on edge and the more he tasted the more he wanted.

Katie could hear and feel him groaning with each lick and suck he gave her. He was aroused, really aroused and surprised to find the warm feeling across his stomach was getting harder to ignore the more he worked her. When he focused his attention back on her little bundle of nerves, licking at it before closing his lips around it and sucking it into his mouth she was done. Her body convulsed, her back arched and she let out a strangled cry, his name on her lips and it made him slightly smug to hear. Steve held her down gently, one strong arm over her small waist and as her hand gripped his hair harder and she groaned brokenly once more, he felt himself go, tipping over the edge and he shuddered gently as his own release washed over him. Katie pushed her hand into his hair, having become too sensitive, gently moving his mouth away from her. Taking the hint, he obliged, kissing his way back up her body, pressing his mouth onto hers.

“Good?” He asked breathlessly, staring at her, seeking confirmation despite the fact she lay completely and utterly undone beneath him.

“God, yes.” Her voice was gruff, as she kissed him, the fact that he could still clearly taste her on his tongue meant that she would be able to too, and the fact that she didn’t care made him shudder, though that also might have something to do with the mess he’d once again made in his pants like a horny schoolboy.

As they kissed she began to trail her hand back down his chest reaching for his buckle but he stopped her again, pulling away.

“I err….” he trailed off, dropping his head slightly embarrassed. But he needn’t have been. The fact that he’d gotten off on giving Katie what was, frankly, the best orgasm she could remember having made her grin and she cocked her head to one side as she eyed him, tipping his head up to look at her.

“Best birthday present ever.” She smirked, drawing a laugh from him before he kissed her again.

“Agent Stark!” Fury barked, jerking her awake. Damned, had she actually fallen asleep in briefing? Steve was perched on the edge of Fury’s desk, and Katie could tell he was fighting to keep a smirk off his face.

“Sorry Sir, didn’t get much sleep last night.” She avoided looking at Steve as she spoke, her mouth tugged upwards at the corners.

Besides her she heard Clint give a snigger which he hastily turned into a cough. Of course he knew about the pair of them. Him, Natasha and Evans being the only people on the team that did although Katie and Steve had both admitted they didn’t really know how much longer they could keep it clandestine.

“So as I was saying,” Fury shot Katie another look as Natasha played along, patting Clint harshly on the back. “Salaad Ali.” Fury pointed at the picture of the main man responsible for the arms ring we had been tracking over the middle East . “Do we know much about him?”

“He’s a sick bastard” Clint sat up, suddenly all business. “Came across him on an op in 2009. Apparently when he was active as part of the regime under Sadam Hussein he was tasked with taking out a Kurdish fighter cell that was stockpiling munitions. He was undercover for a month. Then one night he kidnaps a guard, peels off the skin from his right hand, completely, and wore it like a glove to gain access to their stores using the biometric scanners.”

“That’s about power.” Katie took a breath as she rose from her seat. “Mocking and goading the people who he’s stealing off. Look at me, not only did I infiltrate your organisation, I maimed your security guard in the process.”

Fury invited her to take the floor and she stood up and spoke confidently. “From what I’ve read he’s obviously an organised offender.” Steve had to smile, before she had trained as a sniper after Clint had discovered she had a natural eye for a shot, she had joined STRIKE as a Mission Analyst-slash- Target Profiler. And she was good at it. “He’s sophisticated in his approach, and is a meticulous planner.”

“You have to be to pull off the sort of crimes he has, these are big jobs.” Clint said. Katie nodded as she paced slightly, the way she always did when she was thinking.

“I also believe from the other things he has allegedly done, the murders, rapes…he’s a control freak, a sadist, type of person who will always want the last word in the argument so to speak. Therefore, if he knows someone is on to him, he won’t come quietly.” She stopped by Steve and looked at Fury, then round the room at the assembled team. “We should be prepared for a fight. And they’ll be fighting to kill, not wound.”

“Can’t the air force just blow the place up?” Rumlow asked as Steve adjusted his stance slightly, his hand’s dropping to the buckle on his belt as he studied the man before his attention turned to Fury.

“If it was that simple we would have already sent in an air strike.” The Director shook his head, pushing a button to show a map. Besides him, Steve felt Kate shift a little and he stole a glance at her to see she was concentrating on the screen, her chin resting on the closed fist of her left hand, elbow supported on her right arm which was crossed over the front of her body. Steve watched as her eyes flicked over the details and he turned to the screen as well, immediately spotting what the problem was.

“There’s a civilian village less than five hundred yards away.” He sighed. “That place goes up so do they.”

“Exactly.” Fury nodded.

“Not to mention those weapons are really volatile.” Katie took a deep breath. “If they have as many as we suspect, then if they go up, it’s gonna leave one hell of a hole.”

“Which is why you need take the base and clear out the weapons.” Fury nodded. “And bring Ali in, I have some questions for him before we turn him over to the Authorities.”

*****

They decided to operate under the cover of darkness, to give them the element of surprise. Once they had some form of plan- a heat scan as they hovered over the building told them how many people were in the building and once they had established that they moved in. They operated as a well-organised unit, quickly and meticulously flushing out the hostiles.

It was all going too smoothly, especially as Ali was still in the building. Capturing him was surprisingly easy, even if it was Natasha that found him. In hindsight, that should have been a warning sign they probably should have spotted. As Rumlow and Natasha were leading him away, the team already having dispatched the rest of the hostiles, Steve, Clint and Katie headed deeper into the warehouse to locate the weapons themselves when, just as they found a hidden room off the main service corridor, there was a loud clicking noise and Clint stopped dead.

“Shit.” He muttered and Katie wheeled round and he held his hand up to her. “Don’t move.”

“What…” Katie followed his gaze and swallowed when she saw his foot resting over a small metal pad on the creaking floor boards of the first floor room they were in.

“Yeah…we have a problem.” Clint sighed, looking at her then to the Captain “Should have seen that one coming.”

He’s the type of guy that will want the last laugh, so if he knows someone is on to him, he aint coming quietly

Steve scanned the floor and spotted another trigger a few feet away from Katie. Pulling her to the left away from it he looked around the room.

“What’s going on?” Rumlow asked over the coms.

“The son of a bitch has the place rigged.” Clint wiped his brow “ I’ve triggered some kind of sensor pad.”

“If he’s laying traps in here then the weapons have to be nearby…” Steve said, as Katie dropped to her hands and knees, torch shining through the dirty, well-worn floorboards.

“The device has to be under here…” she said, and she began to follow the wire across the floor, keeping her eyes peeled for more booby-traps, as Steve carefully made his way into a small room off to their right avoiding another trigger as he went. His eyes scanned the various crates of the familiar shining metal weapons and he sighed.

“Found the jackpot…”

“So have I.” Katie said, stopping crawling as the wire ended. She could just about make out the metal box, a red light flashing ominously through the gaps.

“Ok, we’re coming to you.” Rumlow spoke again

“No!” Steve hastily turned and walked back into the main room. “We don’t know how many of these he has laid around the place. Wait for my instructions.”

He glanced over at Clint who was stood, motionless, his eyes focussed on his foot.

“Barton, you okay?”

“Peachy, Cap” he said, looking up “Guess my Hawk eyes let me down”

“Happens to the best of us.” Steve looked at him as Katie stood up, pointing to her foot.

“It’s under there.”

“How big is it?” Steve asked.

“It doesn’t matter how big”. She said gently “It explodes then those weapons go up…” She trailed off.

And Clint dies no matter what, and as they wouldn’t ever leave a man behind, so did they.

"We need to start evacuating civilians.” Steve took a deep breath, “Rumlow…”

��We can start clearing the village but how many we’ll clear before-“

“Do what you can.” Steve cut him off. “Romanoff, have a chat with our prisoner, see if you can get him to talk, tell us how we turn this thing off”

“Yeah, not gonna happen.” She replied, not a trace of her usual biting sarcasm in her voice. “He’s out cold. Suddenly decided he didn’t fancy being captured after all and got a bit rough on the way up. I had to take him out.”

“Shit.” Katie muttered as Steve let out a long sigh, turning to face her as she stood, thinking something over. It wasn’t a great idea, but was the only chance they really had. So she decided to roll with it.

“Can you help me get the floor boards up?”

“Won’t that disturb the bomb?” He asked, frowning a little.

“Not if you do it here.” she moved about six foot to her left. “I can get underneath, see if I can disable it.”

Steve looked at her, then to Clint before sighing. It didn’t look like they had a choice.

“Alright.”

A minute later, Vibranium shield and steel knives had worked their magic as Katie and Steve had prised a space big enough for Katie to lower herself into, head first, torch in her mouth, phone held in front of her, on her stomach. She crawled over to the bomb and looked at it.

“It’s on a fucking timer too!” she sighed, swallowing as the timer had less than 5 minutes on it.

“How long?” Steve asked.

“Long enough…” she said, deciding not to tell them. She snapped a photo before dropping the torch to the boards beneath her so that it illuminated the dark space in front of her.

“Someone patch me through to Lawson …now.” she spoke

Less than forty seconds later Lawson’s British accent hit her ear.

“Nova.” he said.

“We have a situation.” She spoke calmly, although she was anything but. She didn’t like tight spaces at the best of times and there was a huge spider sitting to her right. And she fucking hated spiders. And she was facing a bomb, now with three minutes left on the clock. Swallowing her fear she sent the photo to Lawson’s computer, her hands shaking “Hawkeye triggered this, can we disarm it?”

A moment’s pause.

“Yeah, we can. I can talk you through this…”

Steve swallowed and looked at Clint, the man seemed surprisingly calm considering, but then he was used to staying still for long periods of time on stakeouts. He gave Steve a slight shrug and the Captain looked back to the hole Katie had shimmied into.

“You’re gonna need a knife or something sharp to cut the wires”

“Got it.” Katie wriggle to free the standard issue Swiss Army Knife which contained every single gadget known to man from her thigh pocket.

“Ok so first thing is first, you’re going to need to lift it out slightly to get to the wires ok. There should be 3…blue, white and red….but this is important Stark so listen.”

“Listening”

“The blue wire has to remain intact and in contact with the sensor under Hawkeye’s foot. So don’t cut it or pull it ok?”

“Don’t pull or cut blue, right.”

“You need to gently lift it out towards you, watching that blue wire, and turn it to the side so you can see the red and white wires…”

Taking a deep breath, with trembling hands she gently reached out and slowly, carefully turned the bomb to the side, letting out a small squeak of fear as the huge black spider moved closer.

“You okay?” Steve asked, hearing her noise.

“There’s a spider in here the size of a fucking Chihuahua.” Her voice was a slightly higher pitch than normal. Steve sighed, any other time her fear of spiders would amuse him. Not now.

“It’s gonna be more scared of you than you are of it.” He tried to placate her, but as he spoke he knew that was utter bullshit.

“ Lawson…I’ve got it…what now?”

“Cut the white wire first and then the red.”

Katie took a deep breath, her hands really where shaking now, and she took a deep breath trying to focus, ignoring the timer which was now counting down from one minute thirty. She reached out with her left to hold the white still and her right clutched the knife as she went to work. The wire was tough but in 3 cuts it was severed. She moved to do the same to the red, but on the third cut the knife slipped and slashed into the palm of her left.

She let out a yell of pain. “Shit”

“Katie?” Steve dropped to his knees, trying to see into the space but all he could see was her back.

“My hand slipped, I’m okay.” She assured him. Taking another breath she took another three slashes at the wire and eventually it gave. The light on the bomb went out and the timer stopped on twenty-five seconds.

“Boom.” She exhaled, her head dropping in relief, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Nice work Nova.” Lawson let out a breath.

Katie swallowed, “Thanks Lawson…errr boys, a little help?”

Steve moved first as she shuffled backwards and managed to get one strong arm round her waist and gently she folded herself up so that he could lift her out.

“You alright?” He asked and she nodded, breathing heavily, but he could see from the tears in her eyes she wasn’t. Before he could say anything, Clint had pulled her into a hug as Steve instructed the team to move in for extraction of the weapons.

“Thanks Nova.” Clint said as she stepped back.

Steve gently moved towards her and turned her to face him, “It’s okay, Doll, you did it.”

“Guess I did.” Katie’s breathing was still deep as the magnitude of what just happened overwhelmed her. She began to shake and Steve simply wrapped her in his large arms and she pressed her face into his Kevlar clad chest and he rest his chin on her head, looking at Clint who gave him a little jerk of the head, before he wandered out into the corridor to find the team.

Steve pulled back and gently took her hand, looking at the place her knife had gashed through the leather on her palm gloves. It looked fairly superficial, the leather having protected her in the main “That doesn’t look too deep but we’ll get the medic to look at it.”

Katie couldn’t feel it. She was numb, numb from how close that bomb had been from going up.

“Seconds…” she said, swallowing “Seconds, that’s it, we were seconds away from going up.”

“Hey…” Steve moved back slightly so he could look at his girl. “That doesn’t matter now, you stopped it. Everyone’s okay.”

The blood was pounding in her ears as she looked up at his helmet clad face, his eyes warm as they locked onto hers. She was starting to lose it, and if she didn’t find a way to ground herself she knew she was going to break down into sobs, and she didn’t want that. Not on a mission. Steve watched as she reached up to undo the clasp at the side of his chin strap and before he could say anything, although he really didn’t have anything to say, she’d pulled his helmet off. She looked at him, hair tousled, bottom half of his face slightly grubby compared to the top.

“Baby,” he said quietly but his words died as she ran her non-injured hand up the side of his jaw and then leaned up, catching his lips, hand on the back of his neck. Steve was surprised, but didn’t push her away, he never could. His arms instinctively pulled her closer as he kissed her back, everything else zoning out, until they heard footsteps and a voice which was slightly amused.

“Ok, nothing to see here.” Clint spoke. Steve instantly pulled back and looked over Katie’s head at the assembled team of STRIKE agents, Rumlow, Rollins, Evans and Nat stood at the front. Rumlow’s face was a picture and Steve, despite the fact he was kind of embarrassed about being caught snogging his girl in the middle of a mission, felt a smug sense of satisfaction.

My girl, asshole.

“Told you Rumlow.” Rollins was next to speak as Katie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead into Steve’s chest, the moment of adrenaline fuelled passion ebbed away and was replaced by a sudden worry of her effectively outing them without asking him first.

“Fuck me sideways.” Rumlow muttered “Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Rumlow, you’re an idiot.” Lawson’s voice hit their ears “I aint even there and even I could see that a mile off. Mate, Fury only has one eye and I bet he could see it all the way from DC.”

Steve let out an exasperated sigh, but his arms didn’t let go of his precious charge as he issued an instruction. “Alright, wrap it up. Let’s get those weapons and move it out.”

His grip on Katie released as the team bustled into the room and he stopped to pick up both their helmets, handing Katie hers.

“I’m sorry…” she stuttered. “I didn’t mean to do that, I didn’t know they’d see.”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay.” He spoke gently, brushing her face with his gloved palm

“You’re not mad?”

“No.” He shook his head as she took her helmet off him with an air of surprise. “I mean they had to find out eventually, right. Maybe it isn’t exactly how I would have chosen to do it but…”

Katie snorted “Better or worse than being caught in the kitchen?”

He gave a small laugh “Undecided. Come on, let’s help them pack up those weapons and we can go home.”

******

The two of them were careful to keep a distance for the rest of the mission and trip home, a professional front was imperative to Steve and Katie was also keen to keep it that way too. She didn’t want anyone saying that either of them were impartial or unable to keep themselves objective. That said, on the flight home they took the inevitable teasing that naturally was always going to come their way when the team found out that its Captain and Sniper were together on the chin. It was all well natured though, and there were no smutty remarks beyond Evans asking Katie if she’d had her bed reinforced now she was sharing it with a super-soldier. In response, she hit him square in the face with a well-aimed granola bar, as Steve flushed at the back of the jet when he overheard. The Captain’s sharp eyes, however, clocked that one person who wasn’t joining in the joking and teasing was Rumlow. He looked like he’d been slapped in the face, and all Steve could do was hope he wasn’t going to be a complete prick going forward.

At the debrief Fury was pleased they had gotten a result and surprised the entire team by handing Steve a wad of notes and instructing them to go celebrate a job well done, but the wink he gave the Captain as he left the room before looking at Katie in that way he did, with a smirk on his face left them both in no uncertainty that he knew what had gone down.

The team hit their favoured bar, Loris. Katie and Steve sat together, Steve casually resting his arm round the back of the bench they sat on, as the drinks flowed, food arrived and Clint and Rumlow organised a pool tournament. Pool was one thing, along with art, that Steve had been pretty good at before he got the serum so after a bit of coaxing he joined in, eventually winning after thrashing Lawson in the final. Declining the money, he told Clint to use it to get the team another round of drinks, but they were drinks he had no intention of partaking in. He wanted to take his girl home because he could tell she was still a little shaken from the day’s events.

He wasn’t wrong. Whilst she had sat and eaten and drinking, she wasn’t really listening. The sight of that bomb timer in front of her eyes, and that fucking spider… she gave an involuntary shudder and looked up to see the tournament was now over and Steve was making his way to the table she was sat at, Natasha nodding to him as she headed to the bar.

He dropped onto the seat next to her, leaned forward and whispered “Wanna get out of here?”

She looked around, glancing over at the bar where Rumlow and Rollins were chatting up a group of girls. Clint and Natasha were sat a few seats down, in discussion with Lawson about something whilst Evans was leaning on the bar talking to a few of the other STRIKE team. She nodded. Steve stood up, took her hand and pulled her off the bench, the pair of them making their exit quickly and quietly, jumping into a perfectly timed free cab.

They sat in silence, his thumb skating over the back of her knuckles on the short ride home, his hand releasing hers only when he had to pay the driver. He caught up with her inside the lobby, just as the elevator door was opening and he stepped in behind her, her breath catching as he dropped his head, nose nuzzling into the side of her neck below her ear before he placed a single, soft kiss on her neck. Her arousal was obvious as she bit her bottom lip and let her eyes fall closed as his lips grazed her neck a bit higher. Then higher still until they placed a chaste kiss on her jawline, and that was all she could take.

She turned round, eyes dark with lust and lips met his gently at first before the kiss grew more urgent and she brought her hands up to his face, sliding them back to tangle her fingers into his hair. The way she did that set every one of his nerves on edge and he found himself pressing closer and moved quickly so that he had her pinned against the metal wall of the elevator. His left hand gripped her hip tight, his right winding its way into her hair giving a gentle tug as he pressed his lips against hers, causing the kiss to deepen, a small whimper escaping her mouth. The doors opened to the elevator, and the two of them stumbled out, lips locked, her hands clawing at his hair still, the pair groaning as they went.

His lips started to stray, kissing the corners of her mouth, dipping down to her jaw and neck but she always pulled his face back to hers, kissing him encouragingly, and he knew there and then that there was only one way this was going to end. Which right now was absolutely fine with him, but he needed to know it was with her too. He pulled away and looked down at her, his eyes bouncing between hers.

“You sure?” He whispered, wetting his lips slightly.

“Stevie…” she replied, her voice barely audible over her deep breathing. “Shut up and take me to bed.”

And he knew then he was a goner.

He surged forward again, spinning them both round, pinning her to the panel in the wall which hid the closed elevator doors with his body. His mouth trailed down to her neck, softly kissing, drawing a sigh from her at the sensation as he continued to skate his mouth gently across her collarbone which was exposed on one side due to the slouching top she was wearing. His hands reached down to her thighs and he effortlessly hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, nuzzling into his neck before kissing across his jawline and his cheek as he carried her across the apartment and up the stairs. He was aware vaguely of two small thuds as she shucked off her boots as they went, before he reached the bedroom his lips back on hers, urgently kissing her as he carried her inside, kicking the door shut before he crossed the room and gently fell forwards, depositing them both onto the bed.

His lips claimed hers again, a moan of his own escaping into her mouth and his hands strayed to the bottom of her top. She nodded eagerly, hands going to run through his hair, before she shifted and held her arms up so that he could pull the top over her head. He tossed it to the floor as she reached for his before he pulled back, allowing her to slide it up and over his head, both of them smiling into the kiss as he settled back down on top of her, his hand running up the side of her torso.

He was aware that his breathing had quickened and he let out a low growl before he kissed her, harder and his hands moved down to her jeans, deftly undoing the button at the front. He moved, pulling them down in one go over her legs before he stood slightly, ridding himself of his, the sensation of finally being free was a God send. Katie sat up, eyes trained on him and he swallowed thickly as she undid her bra. He took a second to take her in, he loved her tits, he’d always had a thing for a good “rack” as Bucky put it, and she was a sight to behold. All soft pink curves and rose bud nipples. He was achingly hard now, and he needed to do something about it. In a flash he was on her again, mouth hungrily covered hers as his hands trailed up her legs, to her hips, up the side of her body and then onto her breasts teasing gently. She groaned, rolling her head back on the pillow at the sensation, her hips bucking upwards.

“Fuck.” He seethed out at the feeling of her grinding up against his rock hard crotch, and he nuzzled at her neck with his nose again. She dragged her fingers up his spine as he buried his face in the side of her neck working at the pulse spot beneath her ear, the little noises of pleasure she was making were music in his ear. Her hips moved again and he decided to help her out, his hand moving down and dropping below the waistband of her panties making her gasp as his fingers worked her. She was warm, wet, and he loved the fact he had this effect on her.

Her hips began to move in time with his motions, groans falling from her lips at the sensations lancing through her body as he nipped slightly at her neck and then moved his mouth to her chest, taking her right nipple in. Her groans were growing louder now and Steve couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to be in her, surrounded by her, feel her. His hands both shot to the side of her panties, completely forgetting his strength and he heard them tear. He dropped his forehead onto her sternum, letting out a groan at his stupidity before he heard a laugh, his head shooting up in surprise at the fact she found it funny.

“I’m sorry…” he blurted out as she continued to giggle.

“You literally just ripped my pants off”

“Guess I forgot my own strength.” he offered as explanation, looking at her, an apologetic look on his face.

“You know they were Victoria Secrets?” She quipped, looking at him. Steve had no idea what that meant, but he assumed it was some kind of expensive lingerie shop. A sudden joke popped into his head and before he could stop himself he shot it out.

“Sucks to be Victoria then.” and this made her laugh even more.

Eventually their laughter died down, and they shared another quick glance, and then her lips were back on his, still smiling as she flipped the waistband of his boxers down, and he shimmied out of them, before settling into the space in between her hips. She moved underneath him, telling him exactly what she wanted and he was so ready to oblige. He kissed her hard, his right hand tangling into her left as she reached down with her right, grasping him in her hand causing him to hiss slightly. She guided him to where she wanted him and he gently pushed into her. The feeling caused both of them to gasp and groan, Katie leaning back against the pillows as he stretched her, his girth and length filling her completely.

“God,” Steve breathed, temporarily paralysed by the way her tightness gripped him. His arms shook and he dropped down to his elbows, the hand around hers tightening as his entire body felt coiled tight like snake ready to strike.

The stillness gave Katie time to adjust to his size, but one she had she was aching for him to move, needing to feel him. She whimpered a little, her fingers digging into his lower back urging him on. “Stevie, please?”

He started moving his hips, slowly at first, building up speed as he gained more confidence, their hips rubbing together with every thrust. With every rock into her, moans of delight and pure pleasure filled his ear as his head rest in the crook of her neck, every inch of their bodies pressed as close as they could get. When she groaned his name, Stevie, the pet name that sounded so much sweeter coming from her, it was like a hot wire to his groin and he felt the tell-tale heat striking across his lower stomach he groaned again, wanting to hold out longer, wanting to get her there first. He brought his lips back to hers plunging his tongue into her mouth and she dug the tips of her nails into his back and he was completely overwhelmed by her. Not the sex, but her.

“Katie, I’m not sure how long I’m gonna…” He began to try and explain but then groaned again as she pushed up against him, his head dropping slightly as he struggled to fight it.

“Let me see you.” she said, nudging his nose with hers, her voice ragged. “Wanna see you let go baby…”

At her words he groaned and raised his head to look at her, her eyes soft and shining. He managed a few more shallow thrusts before he lost himself, stiffening and groaning as Katie watched him, his lips slightly parted as he bit his bottom lip, and then the eyes that had been locked on hers fluttered shut before he pitched forward to bury his face into her neck.

She held him running a hand through his hair as a final shudder ran down his body, the waves of pleasure finally began to subside. Her own heart was pounding with affection for her man. She didn’t particularly care that she hadn’t gotten off, nor did she care that it hadn’t lasted very long either, but he had made her feel good. He took his time, had tenderly caressed and loved every part of her, had appreciated her in a way no one else had before.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out before he could stop himself, “You didn’t even – I’m sorry.” He said again still kicking himself.

“Steve, stop. Just enjoy the moment. Please.” She whispered, kissing his temple.

Steve sighed as dropped his head to her chest, still inside her, as she ran her hand through his hair and down his neck. He stayed still for a while before he rolled off her and onto his back, pulling her with him so she could lie her head across his chest.

“It doesn’t matter you know” she spoke again, hand running through the soft smattering of dark blond and light brown hair on his chest “It was perfect because I was with you.”

“I just wish it had lasted longer.” he said, her words like a talisman in his chest as he cradled her close.

“It didn’t need to.” she looked up at him and felt her cheeks burning. She wanted to explain to him, exactly how she felt, but wasn’t sure she could find the words. She dropped her gaze from his face and he gently reached out with his spare hand.

“What is it?” HHhe asked, gently reaching out to tilt her face up to look at him.

“Just…no one’s ever made me feel like that, like this before” she said gently, her eyes shining. “You were so soft and gentle and…well I don’t think I’ve ever felt so wanted…” she trailed off, shrugging.

The band tightened across his chest slightly, how could anyone not want her? Gently he dropped a kiss to her lips.

“I like being your first.” he said, and she smiled.

They lay still for a while, his fingers gently combing through her soft hair before an idea suddenly hit him and it made him swallow nervously.

“We err…we didn’t… you know, use any…protection?” he said, stilling and Katie turned her head up to look at him.

“I got that covered, don’t worry…”

“How?” he frowned, confusion filling his features.

“Stuff has moved on since the 40s Steve.” she said, simply.

Her head returned to its spot on his chest and she gave a soft yawn. He dropped a kiss to her head and closed his eyes, pulling her closer, relishing the feel of her skin against his as their legs tangled together, the pair of them satiated and completely at peace

****

He was aware of her moving. He had his face pressed into the back of her hair, breathing in her gorgeous smell, revelling in her warmth and softness as her bare back was pressed to his chest, his arm wrapping around her, laying just under her breasts. It was all he could do not to moan as she untangled herself and he cracked an eye open, watching her bare ass and back as she made her way into the en-suite. Smiling softly through his tiredness he rolled onto his back, one hand straying to his hair as he lay still. Eventually he heard her make her way back into the room and felt the bed dip again. He could feel her eyes on him, simply watching. And it was all he could do to keep the smirk off his face.

“You get a good look?” he mumbled, shifting slightly, voice thick from sleep, eyes still closed.

“Sorry…” she said softly and he felt her finger gently tracing his jaw. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Well he was awake now, her touch igniting that desire once more. He shifted onto his side and cracked one eye open, taking in her appearance. Her long hair was cascading in slightly tangled waves round her face, and she looked absolutely stunning.

“I can think of worse things to wake up to.” he said honestly before he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. She responded willingly, his hand dropping to her hip before moving to her back and pulling her closer to him, the other arm snaking under her neck and angling her head to deepen the kiss. He rolled her over onto her back, one leg positioning itself between hers and he dropped his lips to her neck, nipping at that magical spot again. She let out a soft moan before she sat up slightly, pushing on his shoulders. It was just a hard enough shove to make him understand she wanted him lay on his back, and he was more than happy to let her take control this time. As she straddled him his hands tangled in her hair, pulling her face down to kiss him and as he did so she reached down between them, taking him in her hand and stroking him into full hardness which didn’t take much. He groaned but didn’t release her mouth as she adjusted position to take him in.

Slowly she slid down onto him, groaning into the kiss as she stayed pressed against him, and she began to work herself on top of him. She was quick to find a rhythm and her mouth fell open against his lips and she let out a shaky moan before sitting up fully.

This was another first for him and the sight of her on top, illuminated by the early morning sun sneaking in through her curtains was divine. He wanted to touch her, so he did, bringing her hands up to run them up her sides until his hands cupped her breasts, thumbs running over her nipples as she let out another moan. As she picked up the pace his hands went to her hips, pulling her down onto him harder, thrusting upwards to meet her for every move she made. She continued to move, quickening, her eyes never leaving his.

“Steve…”she groaned, as he tilted his hips up harder and he let out a groan himself, increasingly determined to get her there this time. As he felt himself beginning to tip over the edge, his hand moved from her hip to stroke at that spot between her legs and that did it. He felt her tense up and tighten around him, crying out loudly and unbridled as she shook. The sight of her coming undone on top of him, her cheeks flushed, lips pink, mouth open in a now silent scream, was simply incredible and quite possibly the single most exquisite thing he had ever seen. All of that, coupled with the force of her heat tightening even more made him lose himself again.

“Fuck, Doll…” the curse fell from his lips as he thrust upwards, before he spilled himself inside her again, the wave of pleasure deeper than anything he’d felt before. Katie collapsed forward onto his chest, her tremors subsided, both of them panting. He held her close, his fingers running up and down her spine as she let out a soft “hum” of contentment and he sat up, wanting to see her face to face. Still cradling her close he pushed the hair that had fallen over her face back behind her ears and she reached up, running her hands through his, causing him to close his eyes at the sensation of her nails on his scalp.

When he opened them again and looked at her something flashed in her eyes as the slight gleam of light through the curtains caught her face. She was looking at him, features soft, almost as if she was seeing him for the first time. His breath quickened slightly and he knew then that he was head over heels in love with her. No one had come close to ever making him feel like this and as he gazed at her, seeing the adoration in her eyes, he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Katie,” he said quietly, almost nervously, as he pulled her closer, his nose rubbing up against hers, “I love you.”

She didn’t hesitate to reply, she didn’t need to. If she was honest she’d loved him now way before they’d even started any of this. So without missing a single beat, she spoke in return as their noses continued their lazy dance, the words coming easily.

“I love you too, Stevie.”

Her reply lit a fire in his chest and he kissed her softly, grinning like a total idiot as she was smiling too, the kisses growing softer and shorter until she pulled away completely, her hand on his cheek, her eyelids heavy. He glanced at the clock, it was little past 6 and they could sleep in today. He had no desire to run, no desire to leave at all, so he set them both and slid a hand under her neck and pulled her to him, chest pressing into her back. He swept her hair to one side and placed a soft kiss on the back of her neck before he pulled the covers back up over them and closed his eyes.

Right there Steve would have challenged any man on the planet to prove they were happier than him.

**** O/S Phobias

Chapter 8

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #katie stark #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #chris evans #chris evans characters

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artsyxloner · 3 years

Text

Not Just a Monster

Warning: None

15. Running out of supplies

We were running out of water, that's what Eun-Hyuk told me, there was a small Secret group meeting We had. I was Currently in the Storage room packing and dividing the rations.

With Ji-Su, Jae-Heon, Eun-Hyuk's and Hyun-Su he was finally able to come out and Socialize with others. I was happy he didn't have to stay Cooped up in that small room.

Coming out from the closet I saw Ji-Soo carrying a pack of water bottles it must have been heavy because she looked like she was in pain. And her face was more Paler now than before.

Going over I picked them up for her, this time I asked, I was getting concerned. " are you okay?" I whispered, laying the water down. She was caught off guard by the question.

" Pardon?"

I stopped at what I was doing, " I know there something wrong you should tell someone." We packed food and other Essentials, putting them in small crates and boxes. " I'm fine plus if there was something wrong no one will be able to help-"

She was interrupted when someone busted in through the door. It was Seung-wan he started to yell, getting angry. " Stop!" We all looked up at him. Has he gone nuts already?

" did you think I wouldn't notice if you guys, ran away?" I raised an eyebrow, we aren't Secretly running away, where did he hear this from?

Eun-Hyuk and came in, as did the other guys. " give me my share!" He ran towards Jae-Heon grabbing the food he was holding. Trying to take it away from him. " Fuck I can't trust anyone anymore!"

He screamed out like a mad man, Jae-Heon grabbed him trying to calm him down. " clam down, let's talk!" But Seung-Wan pushed him against the glass Freezer. " don't touch me!!" He pulled out a box cutter knife pointing it Jae-Heon's neck.

My eyes widened thinking he was going to cut him. " I'm not going to die here like this! I'm going to leave here by myself!" He then pointed it at Eun-Hyuk I started to walk forward but Hyun-Su grabbed my hand and shook his head.

" give me the car keys." He pushed something pasted him it hitting the wall getting closer to Eun-Hyuk with the knife. " Give me the car keys you asshole! Give me the car keys you son of a-" he screamed, his hand shaking with the knife.

He was about to get cut Eun-Hyuk but was stopped by Sang-Woo. He pulled him away and punched him straight in the face. He fell, groaning in pain, but he grabbed him pulling the mad man up.

Dragging him away, I should have been shocked by what I just saw but in this world it was normal I wasn't Surprised but we humans shouldn't act like this towards each other, we should at least have some common courtesy.

Following them Seung-Wan was on the floor. " why don't you go out there then?" Sang-Wook Insisted, Seung-wan started to scream like crazy. " you don't know how it feels. To have your life and someone else's hands!!"

" what are you doing?" Gil-Seob came in to view. " do you want the kids seeing this?" He questioned, I turned my head to them. " Who cares what the kids see you're not? We're all going to die anyway!!" It all got quiet for a moment.

We all were staring at him until Gil-Seob began to walk towards him. " No... not all of us will." He crouches down to Seung-Wan level. " people who act stupid As you do. Just because they're afraid are the ones who die first!"

He then slapped his knee, " get a grip, and more importantly Take care of your own life." He told him the guy looked like he was about to cry. After that, it was silent and very awkward.

Like the air was on thin ice if you stepped on it, it could break at any given moment. Everyone then began to leave because of it. But before I went, I hadn't realized I was holding Hyu-Su's hand the entire time.

It was Firmly gripped in mine. Did Hyun-Su know we were holding hands? I mean it's not that hard to Acknowledge plus he was holding it tight. Taking a glance at him his eyes were peering down at our interlocked fingers.

A blush formed on his cheeks, eyes wide and big. Letting go, I was kinda embarrassed. He looked up my way, but I left before he could say anything. My stomach was feeling queasy like I needed to throw up.

I knew why though I was getting feeling for Hyun-Su and it was too many feelings for my stomach to handle. I said that I should live life but it's hard when you don't know when you're time is up and that you're gonna turn into a monster anytime soon.

Going to the bathroom, I splashed water on my face, trying to calm myself down. I can like him right? Even though we were both infected he just didn't know it yet. Is it worth it though, I would just end up getting my hopes up?

Why is this so complicated, I grumbled. Knowing liking someone in this Situation leads to trouble and never turns out good. When I was done having a two-sided conversation with myself I went back into the day-care-Center to clear my head.

But Eun-Hyuk stopped me, " I need to talk it's important." He insisted, Motioning for me to follow him we walked into the office and I saw, Gil-Seob and Du-Sik. What were they doing here?

" We need more supplies," Eun-Hyuk began, " food is running sort so is the water as you know it's Been Contaminated we need to get outside resources." He said this writing it all on a Chalkboard.

" first Mr. An has been scouting out the area to make sure it's safe for the person that goes out, Mr. Han is fixing the car and Reinforcing it. And Lastly Soo-Nico you will go out and get the supplies we need."

He explained as if the others already knew about this and volunteered me for the job. " I'm not doing this to use you Soo-Nico you are the best chance we have out there." He said as if I was the only one to do it.

I guess I was the only one able to do the job since I knew were every monster out there, including their whereabouts, how they kill, and how to escape if necessary.

Thinking it over, it was for everyone's survival including mine. So I agreed to it, not seeing I had a choice either. We all made our way to the Day-Care-Center telling everyone we were having a meeting.

I sat in the left corner of the room on a desk. While everyone piled in, seeing Hyun-Su he sat next to me on a stool. Things were still kinda awkward soon we didn't say anything to each other.

Soon Eun-Hyuk brought in the chalkboard I saw just a few moments before he stood in front of it, " we need to Venture outside, we only have five days' worth of food. We'll search the Convenient store first."

He told us, good for him I know a store that still tons of food. " isn't too dangerous?" Jae-Heon, questioned, well yes it was. " we've been preparing, Mr. An has scouted out the area And Mr. Han is working on the car." He explained.

" Hang on there, four eyes who's going then, I mean are we going to draw straws?" Byeong-ll wondered, wanting to know who will go out.

" it's an important mission only Who is likely to succeed will go and knows what it likes out there." He finished, they didn't have to guess they all knew. " Soo-Nico will go out there with her experience."

Everyone's eyes landed on me, including Hyun-Su. " but didn't she get caught up in that spider web?" Someone I didn't even know the name if asked. Eun-Hyuk nodded, " Yes but she got out on her own."

He defeated me, which I was shocked by. Soon the meeting was over and they all left, telling me good luck. I didn't expect it though. Going back outside, I don't know if I was ready?

" So you're going out there?" Hyun-Su spoke, it Startled me when he did. Getting over my mini heart attack I told him yeah. "I'm the only one so who else?" I laughed

I was expecting him to but he wasn't. His face was blank. " but do you want to?" As if he read my mind a few minutes ago, I didn't but there are some things you have to do. " I wouldn't do it if it wasn't necessary but it is." And it was, but Hyun-Su seemed to understand.

" Just be careful."

I smiled, " sure, whatever you say." I was happy he was genuinely concerned, but he shouldn't be, leaving him alone I walked out but saw Ji-Soo running to the restroom she was sweating badly, and she looked deadly pale.

Clutching her side, I knew something was wrong. Going after her, she was banging on the only working stall door. " hurry up, you're still not done?" She was bending over in pain Groaning.

Eun-Yoo was in the stall. She began to talk but there was a short pause. " –yeah I need more time." She said making her wait on purpose. Shaking my head I went over there.

Grabbing the doorknob I shook it violently. " hey open up she needs to go in there it's urgent!" I demanded, hitting the door. Ji-Soo wasn't looking so good.

" that's too bad for her, she should have come yesterday if it was so urgent." I couldn't believe her words, " Hey, do you have a death wish!!" I threatened, " what I'm using the bathroom to survive, you know." I rolled my eyes she didn't understand the situation.

" Hey, Eun-Yoo hey! Hurry up! Come on." She banged on the door. Leaning against it, like she couldn't keep herself up. I have enough of this bullshit. " Eun-Yoo! Open the door right now, she in pain." I heard her sign from the other side.

" I would be careful how your talking to me don't want a little Secret to get out." She laughed, Just as I said that she fell to the floor.

I let out a scream, moving next to her, " Ji-Soo?! Ji-Soo?!" I shook her trying to get her to wake up. Soon Eun-Yoo came out, staring at her she gazed over letting out a small scream.

She ran over, " Hey, what's wrong? Come on wake up!" Now that she was on the floor pasted out did she care? " are you turning too? Because you couldn't take a shit?"

She shook her harder, " Hey, wake up, Yoon Ji-Soo. W he acts wrong wake up!!" She cried, screaming, I was too tears fell my cheeks not knowing if she was dying or not.

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soniaxdixon · 3 years

Text

Until Now pt. 2

Part two of my new series, thank you to @huffledor-able541 for the name! This chapter gets a lil angsty but I promise it’ll get better. I hope you enjoy, thank you for reading!!

Word Count: 2231

Warnings: Mention of readers past, nothing too bad just slack parents. Angst

After a few days of bedrest, both you and Daryl were ready to rejoin the group. You had only met a few of them so far, Rick, Lori and Carol had been the ones to bring you and Daryl food, they were kind hearted, genuine people and you knew you would get along with them. You had met Andrea within your first moments, you two didn’t get off to the best start. You woke up in the same position you had fallen asleep in, right at the edge of the bed with a pillow in between you and Daryl, separating your bodies. Daryl had put it there a couple of nights ago saying that he ‘liked to lean against something while he slept.’ You knew he put it there to make sure you kept your distance. He did put it there for that reason, only it was because he thought that’s what you wanted.

Hershel walked into the room a few minutes after you had woken up.

“Just checking in. How’s your ankle feeling?” The sweet tone of his voice was a welcome sound in the morning.

“A lot better, I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have provided me with. A bed, food, medicine. I really appreciate it.” You smiled graciously at the man as he grasped your hand and squeezed it quickly before letting it drop back into your lap. He walked over to Daryl’s side of the bed as he began to stir.

“You awake there, son?” You smiled at how kindly Hershel treated Daryl, no matter how abrasive he could possibly be. Daryl sat up and mumbled a noise of affirmation. “I need to check your stitches. Make sure they won’t bleed over the next few days.”

Daryl sat up and allowed the man to check over his side and his head. You noticed every little flinch that occurred when Hershel would touch Daryl’s skin.

“I think you’re both right to go back to your people now.”

You nodded and smiled at Hershel before he left the room.

“You gotta introduce me to everyone now, Dixon. Gotta tell me about them all.” You chuckled slightly but could feel slight tension between the two of you.

“There ain't much to say about em. Just uh, just keep an eye on Shane.” His tone was serious but it didn’t stop you from joking around.

“Can’t keep an eye on Shane if I don’t know who Shane is.” You said winking at Daryl.

Both of you made your way over to the camp, you noticed that Daryl’s steps were slow as he was still recovering. Your ankle was stable but it throbbed with pain occasionally. Hershel had given you a tube of pain killers to help if it got too unbearable. Rick walked over to the two of you. “Great to see you guys up and about!”

Daryl nodded at the man before asking, “How’s the search going?” “Search?” You questioned, you were curious and listened intently.

“About a week ago we lost a little girl named Sophia, she’s Carol’s daughter. You found Daryl while he was out looking for her one day.” Rick answered.

“Oh my God, that’s terrible. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.” You couldn’t bare the thought of the little girl being all alone.

“We’re planning on heading out today, how’s your ankle feeling?” Rick gave you a quick once over and noticed that you were standing a lot better than when he first met you.

“Not too bad, I’m happy to go out scouting.” It was what you were best at.

Rick nodded before gesturing over his shoulder to the man behind him. “Great, Shane is gonna-”

“Nah, nuh-uh, not him y/n” Daryl interrupted Rick mid sentence as Shane began walking over to the three of you.

“Daryl, it’s fine.” You turned to face the man that you had never met, outstretching your hand to shake his. “I’m y/n.”

He took your hand and smiled. “Shane.”

Before you knew it, you were sitting in the passenger seat of Shane’s car and driving away from a now very angry Daryl. You looked back at him one more time and could practically feel the daggers that he was sending your way with his stare. You looked over at Shane who seemed very serious, his eyes remained trained on the road, only flicking to the map occasionally. You reached into your bag and pulled out your water. You were in the middle of taking a long sip when Shane spoke.

“You been dating Daryl for long?”

You breathed in the water which sent you into a fit of coughs.

“Woah, woah, you okay?” He reached over to pat your back.

You took a few deep breaths. “Yeah, I’m alright. I just…Daryl and I aren’t um, together. We’re not dating.”

“Oh, I just thought. He seems very close to you.”

Your cheeks flushed red as you turned to face the road so Shane wouldn’t see. “We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. Grew up together. When I left for college I didn’t really keep in contact with him even though I promised to.” You turned to look at Shane now. “I should have called him like I said I was going to, I just got caught up in the college lifestyle. I’m a bad person.”

“Not calling someone makes you a bad person? Nah, you were just becoming your own person. You found him anyway though, right.”

You smiled at the man. What did Daryl have against him?

“So uh, this kid. You think we’ll find her here?” You pointed to the map.

“Nah, she’s been missing for over a week and in this day and age, that only means one thing.”

“You never know. I went missing as a kid. Daryl had taught me how to track you see and one day I saw this stray dog, wanted to take it home so I followed it only I didn’t realise how long I’d been following it until the sun was setting and everything around me looked the same. Trees for miles beyond my sight. I was like 10 years old or something, I didn’t think rationally, I just sat in the middle of this forest and cried my eyes out.”

“Someone obviously found you.” Shane’s eyes remained fixed on the road.

“Daryl did. Said he could tell it was me the second he saw the foot prints, followed them all the way to me and brought me home to my parents.” You looked down at your shoes, finding something to focus on while you told the story to Shane.

“His parents just let him go out into the woods like that?”

“He uh, he lost his mom earlier that year. He’s a couple of years older than me so he was about 12 at the time. His dad wouldn’t have even noticed he was missing. Only person who would’ve cared slightly was Merle and he was in juvie again. He yelled at me when he found me. Told me I coulda died or something, he treated me like I was his responsibility. At least I had him taking care of me, my parents didn’t give a shit.”

“I’m sorry you had to experience that.”

You stared at Shane for a second. He really didn’t seem that bad.

“What are you staring at? It’s my hair cut, ain’t it.”

You tried to stifle the laugh that came out of you. “No, no, your haircut is, well, its a hair cut. Actually now that I’m focussing on it, I think you missed a spot.”

Shane rubbed the back of his head and smiled at you.

“I can fix it for you, when we get back if you’d like. Make sure it’s all even.”

“Thanks, much appreciated. Especially if it’ll stop you from staring at my head.”

The day went on, there was no sign of Sophia, not to Shane’s surprise. You both headed back home, swapping stories and laughing. When you got back to the farm you noticed that everyone was sitting around except for Daryl. Your eyes searched and noticed that his tent was the one slightly further away from the others. You and Shane walked over to the group, Shane broke the news that there was still nothing to be found while you walked over to Daryl’s tent.

“Daryl, you in there?” You waited a second, no response. You unzipped the tent slightly to find Daryl lying on his bed, twirling a bolt in his hands.

“Whad’ya want?”

“To come and see you, tell you about my day. Just like the good old days, right?”

He muttered a quiet noise before shuffling over on his bed slightly. You took it as an invitation to approach him.

You sat on his bed next to him has he started poking holes in the netting of his tent with the bolt in his hands.

“We went and checked a few houses in the town near by, see if there was any sign of the little girl. Couldn’t find anything. Shane thinks she’s dead.” Daryl’s motions suddenly stopped as his focus was now on you. “I don’t think she is, told him about the time you found me in the woods after I was ‘tracking’ that dog.”

Daryl’s body shook slightly as he laughed, remembering how he had to lead you home.

“Ya sat there crying your eyes out and then instead of following me home, ya tried to lead me further in to find that dumb dog.”

“Daryl I always wanted a dog, you know that.” You both laughed.

“Tell ya what, if I find a dog when I go out one day, I’ll bring it home for ya.” You locked eyes with him now and smiled sending shivers down his spine. Your smile did something to him, ignited something within him that drove him insane, it always had. You were soon interrupted by Andrea.

“Hey Daryl I-” Her eyes flicked to you and then back to Daryl. “I didn’t know you had company.”

You stayed sitting on the edge of Daryl’s bed, staring at the woman who was standing at the entrance to his tent.

“I brought you this book, I don’t know if it’s any good.” She handed the book to Daryl as your eyes remained trained on her. She looked at you now and spoke harshly “Daryl, why don’t you tell your guard dog to stand down.” Daryl saw your expression drop and tried to move but you stood up first, Andrea took a step back.

You looked her up and down before looking her dead in the eyes “If I knew how much of a bitch you actually were, I would have hit you harder.” You stepped closer to her. “Please give me another reason to hit you.” She wouldn’t show it but you intimidated her immensely. She rolled her eyes and left the tent.

“Ya look ridiculous when ya act tough.” And by ridiculous he meant ridiculously attractive.

“Act tough? You know I could beat her ass, same way I could beat yours.”

“Yeah maybe while I’m like this but not on a good day.” Your eyes wandered over him quickly, injuries swarmed his body.

“Alright next time you have a ‘good day’ I’ll prove to you that I can beat your ass.” You sat back down on the bed next to him, your hand accidentally brushed his which sent a jolt of electricity through your spine. His cheeks flushed red but his hand didn’t move and neither did yours. You decided to test the waters a little further by actually grabbing his hand in yours. “I thought I was gonna lose you when you got shot.”

“But ya didn’t. I’m right here.” He sent another shiver down your spine as he adjusted himself in the bed, sitting up, ever so slightly closer to you. His hand remained in yours. You noticed his eyes were fixed on your lips which made your head cloud with all types of emotions.

“Y/n, you in there?” Shane’s voice broke your silence and you stood up quickly from the bed detaching yourself from Daryl both physically and mentally. You turned and exited the tent to see what Shane wanted. Daryl was livid, he could hear you talking and giggling just outside his tent. He bit his thumb until he drew blood.

You walked back into the tent with a smile on your face but that smile was not matched by Daryl. “Why don’t ya just say it?” His tone had changed dramatically in the few minutes that you were outside.

“Say what?”

“Ya with him now?”

“With who?” You looked at him but his eyes wouldn’t meet yours.

“Shane.” You could hear the hatred in his voice.

“You think I’m with Shane?”

“I know ya are and I don’t fucking care. Ya deserve each other.” His southern drawl became so prominent when he was angry, apart from his tone it’s how you could tell he was upset. That and the way he would avert his eyes and gnaw at his bottom lip.

“Are you serious, Daryl? I don’t know what to say.”

“There ain’t anything left to say, so don’t. Don’t bother saying anything ever again. Just leave me be.”

You had no idea where this was coming from but you weren’t dealing with it, you left his tent quickly before tears welled in your eyes. Where were you going to stay? You couldn’t ask Hershel to stay in the house again and Daryl was the only person you really knew in this group. You had nowhere to-

“Hey, y/n, you alright?” You turned to face Shane, wiping the tears from your eyes.

“Peachy.”

“You wanna stay with me tonight?”

It’s like he could read your thoughts. “That would be great, thank you.”

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixion imagine #daryl dixon x you #you x daryl dixon #you x daryl #daryl x you #daryl dixon x reader series #daryl x reader #reader x daryl #twd #twd fic #twd series #twd fic series #twd fanfiction #the walking dead #the walking dead fic #the walking dead imagine

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reogou · 4 years

Text

Promise || bakugou.k

→ pairing: merman!bakugou katsuki x fem!reader

→ genre: fluff

→ warning/s: swear words

→ word count: 5K+

→ A/N: This is my contribution to the Just Add Water || Mermay Event of @bnhabookclub . Lmao I think this is the longest fic I’ve ever written asdfsdggk. Was really frustrated at this cuz I was taking way too long to finish this. And this went to so many edits ajfjfjg. A very big thank you to @writeiolite @clauclaustar @b0kuto and @lcaita for beta reading and for helping me edit this! Credits for @dailydoseofanimescenery for permitting me to edit their gif! Anyways, I hope you liked this! Enjoy!

→ prompts: “I’m trying really hard not to freak out right now.”

“That’s just an urban legend.”

→ tagging: @pretty-settersquad @t-amajiki

The full moon was in a full view as you sat by the shore of the beach, the calming sounds of the sea clearing your mind for a bit. The wind was somewhat cold, but it didn't faze you as you sat by the seashore, feet buried in the sand as you played with them. You could say that today was a great day to relax from all the stress and problems in your life. Your family decided to go on a trip to the Philippines, which was the reason why you're here. It was a great trip, you could say. The people were welcoming and the food here was great. One of your favorites was a street food delicacy called 'Isaw'. It's a barbecued pig or chicken intestines. At first you really didn’t want to try it, but after your mother encouraged you to eat it, you were surprised at how tasty it was.

The tourist spots were also majestic and beautiful. The beach was clean. You get to visit the falls too, which was one of the tourist spots you loved. The view was breathtaking, almost magical. Even though you didn't get to swim in the falls, the place itself was enough to astonish you. You also enjoyed singing karaoke together with the locals. It never bored you since they were all so lovely and always engaged in conversations with you.

This trip was not so bad, you enjoyed it. Really. It's just that something felt like a piece was missing. Something that’s somehow stuck in your head. Or rather, someone. Particularly Bakugou. The ash-blonde had always been in your mind for the past days, lingering and distracting you. You just missed him, very much.

Bakugou had been your crush ever since middle school. Though you only got to hang out with Izuku, the angry boy had always captured your attention. Ever since you had started attending UA, you had been given the chance to become closer to him. Despite his aggressive stance and obnoxious behavior, you never backed out and had always reached out to him. Now that you two had finally become friends, it filled your heart with joy.

Hanging out with Bakugou and the squad was one of the highlights in your week. But being away from them now, the sense of longing had built up inside you, making your heart feel like it had been longing for a particular emotion. You missed them so much. Not just Bakugou, but the whole class.

You trembled as a chill crawled down your spine. Perhaps it was the cold breeze, or the muted eeriness in the vicinity, but you felt like someone was watching your every move. You gripped your jacket close to your body to protect you from the cold, but the unsettling/disturbing feeling had remained; as if it had a diverse intent to make you feel anxious with your situation right now. You were certain that someone was staring at you. Fear crept inside you, but you merely shrugged it off. There's no way that an intruder could be here, lurking in the shadows. The resort was private and your family had exclusive access to it. Maybe it was just some workers or the night guards and maybe it was only your thoughts that had been bothering you to no ends.

Just as your nerves began to calm down, you almost jumped when a hand appeared in front of you making you scream. A loud laugh filled your ears. You turned around, glaring at Sero who was laughing at your reaction. He only laughed harder when you slapped his shoulders.

"Sero! I'm gonna fucking kill you! I almost had a heart attack because of you!" Your dark haired cousin just continued cackling, annoying you even more. How dare he ridicule you when you were genuinely scared by the unnerving feeling you felt just now?! It didn't even help when he surprised you like that! If you were holding a knife right now, you would've stabbed him already!

Out of annoyance, you gripped onto his hair. Sero immediately shouted out in pain but he was still laughing. Goodness, he even had the audacity to cry out of laughter!

"Ouch! Ouch!" He chuckled again, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise I won't do it again! Just please let go of my hair!"

You growled at him, still annoyed at his actions. "Stop laughing, you idiot! Or I will really pull your hair out!"

You gave him another slap on the shoulders before letting go of his hair. Sero massaged his aching scalp before chuckling again. He was quick to jump out of your reach before you could lunge at him again. You returned your attention back to the calming sea and hugged your knees, turning away from the pesky prick behind you. Of course, Sero had to annoy you more by sitting beside you. In retaliation, you found yourself admiring the moon from above in hopes of regaining your own composure.

"You're really scary when you get angry you know," he snorted, making you glare at his direction. "You always get so violent. I'm starting to think that Bakugou's attitude have influenced you."

You tensed, just a mention of the ash-blonde made you miss him even more. Sero noticed your change of attitude from earlier.

"You okay?" The dark-haired boy stared at you with curious eyes, his features softening. It was not a secret from the Bakusquad that you had feelings for that angry boy. Not because you were open about it, but your actions were enough for them to know who it is.

Your gaze shifted to your toes. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just missing someone."

Sero gave out a sigh and looked over the moon in front of you. "I miss them too."

You turned your head towards the black-haired boy, resting your cheeks on your knees.

"By now, we should be going back to the dorms after a drink in the bar. We would probably be dragging a drunk Kaminari while Bakugou would lecture him for being a dumbass and drinking too much even though Aizawa-sensei will check on us in the morning."

You chuckled at his words, already imagining the scenario. It's not far from reality, though, but you wouldn’t be sober enough to remember the details since you would be a drunken mess too.

"Yup. It would happen."

As you two talked about the Bakusquad, your memories of UA and Class A crossed your mind. You tried to shake off those thoughts and forget all the problems you left in Japan, just for today. You wanted to break free from all that chaos right now. Someone might question your decisions because you were aiming to be a hero, but then all you did was run away from your problems. But you couldn’t help it. If you let it get to your mind, you will surely lose control of yourself. And you don’t want that.

"Well, enough of that. We'll only miss them more." Sero looked over to you, a glint of excitement slowly flashing in his eyes. "Have you heard of the legend about the Mermaids?"

A mischievous grin was plastered on his face, making you roll your eyes. “That’s just an urban legend.”

"But what if it's true? They say that mermaids of the modern era hide in the deepest part of the sea, some also hide amongst the people to protect their identity. Since they bring fortune and luck, pirates and yakuzas always hunt them down and capture them, the reason why numerous numbers of them are killed due to pain and from the tortures."

"Sero, you're too old for that crap. Do you really believe that mermaids are still alive nowadays? They're probably extinct already."

"You never know! Besides, I also learned from the locals that mermaids often gather in the oceans of the Philippines because they're one of the few countries who don't kill mermaids."

You scoffed at him, not buying his theories. "Even if the Filipinos didn't kill them, they would probably be killed by other countries already."

"But-" Just when Sero was about to defend his theory, your grandmother called you back for dinner, interrupting your conversation. As you walked back towards the resort's lounge, both of you were oblivious of the vermilion eyes gleaming in the dark, staring at your figure.

The sounds of crashing waves filled your ears as you stared at the sea in front of you. The waves were a little rougher today. The moon was still in view, but partially hidden by the clouds. Nevertheless, gazing at the moon could always calm you down. Regardless of where you were, or whether the moon could be seen that night, you always took comfort in knowing that the moon was there to guide you.

You were dragged out of your thoughts when soft murmurs reached your ears. Out of curiosity, you peeked at the other side of the rock formations. The whispers were still a little indistinguishable, so you decided to inch closer. You knew you shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but there's just something inside you telling you to find out who was behind those rocks.

“...shouting, Y/N wouldn't notice us! If we ever get caught, it's your damn fault!"

Your eyes widened at the mention of your name. Your heartbeat halted momentarily as you felt your mind go blank. Why were you being mentioned? And more importantly, who the hell were they? Determined to find out, you tip-toed towards them, only to find a familiar head of ash blonde hair in front of you.

Katsuki?

Katsuki scoffed under his breath as he swam towards the shore of Palawan, a Filipino beach that doubled as their hideout. He just came back from Japan after a mission to send some supplies to the western groups. The trip was pretty short since mermaids and mermen were able to swim faster than any other sea creature.

If anyone knew of Bakugou being a merman, they would've laughed their asses off and think that the idea was ridiculous and impossible. But the world is filled with surprises, and one of those is Bakugou being a merman. If Shitty Hair and the other's were to see him in his merman form, they would most likely freak out.

"Bakugou, have you already sent the supplies to the western groups?" One of the leaders of the eastern group greeted him. With a face void of emotions, Bakugou stopped swimming and nodded at the leader, his ash-blonde hair floating with the waters. The leader looked at him in the eyes, examining his expression.

"You know you don't have to do this, Bakugou." The leader spoke, his expression softening. Bakugou only scoffed and turned away, clicking his tongue in the insides of his cheeks.

"Shut up." The leader heaved out a sigh. Bakugou growled as the leader patted his shoulders. He only chuckled at Bakugou's reaction and smiled warmly at the young merman.

"If you really want to see her, she's just by your reach. She's the reason why you're here at the headquarters, right? You did that again yesterday. What's the difference if you do it again?"

Bakugou clicked his tongue once more and glared at the man in front of him. "The hell are you saying, old man?"

Shaking his head, the leader just let the rudeness of the young merman go. After all, the whole clan was used to Bakugou’s attitude ever since he was a child. Even though Bakugou always made snarky comments and pushed them away, they know what he's going through on the lands, and still understand where he's coming from.

"Anyways, I'm gonna head out. You can visit her again if you want. She's at The Coast right now." Bakugou's body tensed after realizing that you were so near. Just a few miles from his reach.

Although he doesn't openly portray his feelings well, he does miss you. A lot. His world just doesn't feel the same when you’re gone. Every time he has to go back to the ocean and leave you, the feeling of loneliness clung to him. It felt like he couldn't live without you in his reach. And it was painful. So painful that all he wants is to come back and be with you, even though you don't know his feelings for you.

"Good luck, young man." Was the leader's last words before he swam away, the pressure from his tail and speed making Bakugou lose balance. He clicked his tongue in exasperation and began to swim towards the headquarters. But it felt like something was pulling him off course, tugging him towards the direction of The Coast, where you were. He tried to ignore it and continue his way towards the headquarters, but the force was too powerful to fight with. The more he struggled, the more he was being dragged towards you. Shutting his eyes closed in frustration, Bakugou heaved out a sigh.

"Ah...fuck it."

As soon as Bakugou's head emerged from the waters, the calming lights from the resort greeted him. He scanned his surroundings, searching for your silhouette. And there you were, sitting by the rocks, your serene face gazing at the moon above you. His eyes softened at your appearance, but he immediately shook his head to empty his thoughts. Careful to not alert your sense, he started swimming towards your direction slowly. Just when he was about a few inches from you, a hand shot out and pulled his arm down the ocean. Bakugou’s brows immediately furrowed at the sudden tug, and he turned around to glare at the culprit, Awase, who was scowling at Bakugou as well.

"What the fuck, Bakugou? Do you want to get caught or something? What the hell was that?"

"Oi, what the fuck, extra?! Who the hell told you to drag me down so easily, huh?! You wanna fight?!" Bakugou's deep voice echoed in the waters, making Awase's eyes widened in fear.

"Shut the hell up man! She could hear you!" Awase hissed at him, tightening his grip on Bakugou's shoulders.

"Let go of me, you asshole!" Bakugou shrugged the other merman's arms off of him, growling.

"Bakugou, this is not the right time to fight! Let's get out of here before she notices us!" Awase tried to pull him away from the rock formations, but Bakugou was persistent and refused to leave, glaring at the merman.

"No fucking way, asshole. You don't have the right to boss me around. And stop following me, will you?!" Before Awase could stop Bakugou, but the ash-blonde was already swimming back to the surface. When Bakugou emerged from the waters, he noticed that you were still staring at the sky above. Bakugou attempted to swim closer towards you, but Awase had already caught up and tried to stop Bakugou yet again. Out of irritation, Bakugou growled at him, making Awase flinch a little.

"Bakugou, I swear to god, let's go before she sees us!" Awase was getting more and more desperate. Why can't Bakugou understand him? If Bakugou got caught, he would face grave consequences. Why was Bakugou acting so reckless?

"What the fuck are you even fussing about?" Bakugou was boiling with anger, and his fury was evident on his face. "If you just stop shouting, Y/N wouldn't notice us! It would be your damn fault if we got caught!"

Suddenly, a small yelp interrupted their heated argument. Awase flinched at the unexpected noise; horror could be seen on his face as he slowly looked at the young girl behind him, who was trying to peek at the two mermen. In shock, you smiled nervously at them, subtly shifting backward for fear that they would harm you.

"Uh... hi?"

"What the fuck?!"

Out of panic, you lost your balance, a loud shriek escaping your lips as you fell into the water. While underwater, you saw their tails as you struggled to reach for air. Thankfully, Bakugou immediately caught you and brought you back to the surface. Your heart was beating erratically as you caught your breath. Preventing yourself from falling again, you grabbed onto Bakugou’s shoulders for support, your florid face buried in the crook of his neck as you desperately reinforced yourself to regain your composure. Once your breathing became steady, you came face-to-face with Bakugou.

What the heck? Your eyes widened as you took in the view in front of you. Why does this man have to be so hot? You watched as the water cascaded down from his soft hair onto his nose, to his plump lips, and to his chiseled jaw. You couldn’t help but gulp at his appearance - he looked like the Greek God of the ocean, Poseidon. While checking him out, your gaze lowered to his biceps, onto his exposed chest and abs. Ohlala~ Can someone bring in some coffee? The bread is already here.

"Done checking me out, Shitty woman?" His sharp words caught you by surprise, as you blushed at the realization that you were checking him out so openly. Out of embarrassment, you buried your head on his shoulders again to hide the blush painted on your cheeks. You wished the waters below you would cut you in half and swallow you alive.

"Now, don't be shy. You can stare all you want." Bakugou chuckled, making you whine and punch him playfully on the chest.

"Shut up."

“I’m trying really hard not to freak out right now.”

Bakugou sighed. Getting caught was not part of his plan. But there's nothing he could do about it. You already found out his secret.

"Y/N." Bakugou started, his voice a lot gentler than usual, causing you to flinch when he called out your attention. Not only is Bakugou a lot softer than he usually is, this was also the first time he addressed you with your real name, and not those stupid nicknames of his. Something inside you tingled at how your name rolled out of his tongue. You never thought that Bakugou calling your name would have an effect on you.

"Oi, are you listening?" Bakugou frowned.

"Oh, sorry." You chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of your head. "I was not listening. What did you say again?"

Bakugou heaved out a sigh. "I said, now that you already know what I am, you should not tell anyone about this. You understand that?"

You nodded in his direction, understanding his words.

There was a long silence as both of you stared at the moon, sitting on the rock formations once again. Bakugou had moved you here, after the incident a while ago. Awase excused himself after informing Bakugou that he has to take care of this mess before the leaders find out. You couldn't comprehend what was happening even until now. Seeing him sitting beside you, his gorgeous, golden tail in full view, all this felt like a dream. Not to mention the fact that you and Sero were just arguing yesterday about how mermaids and mermen are not real. But here you are, coming face-to-face with one of them. And out of all the mermen out there, Bakugou was one of them.

"Hey, Bakugou. I wanna ask something." You locked eyes with him, your eyes full of curiosity as they stared into his vermilion orbs. Bakugou raised both of his brows in your direction, awaiting your next words.

"What?" The unsettling feeling of anticipation and fear slowly crept up on Bakugou. He may not have shown it, but he was terrified for your reaction when he saw you staring at him with eyes wide in shock. What if you freak out and get scared of him? And now that you're starting to question him, all the emotions that he felt before unwillingly came crashing back. What were you gonna say? Would you ask him about being a merman? Would you ask him to stay away from you? Would you-

"What shampoo do you use?" You felt Bakugou freeze on the spot, an unexplainable expression plastered in his face.

"Hah?!" Out of all the things he was expecting you to ask, the shampoo that he uses was not one of them. Heck, it didn't even cross his mind!

"What did you say?!" You flinched at his shouting, starting to regret that you asked him about his shampoo.

"Is it...is it a secret?" As you spit out the words from your lips, your voice got smaller and smaller too. You backed out slightly, scared of what he might do to you. At this rate, you looked like a puppy who was about to get beat by it’s master. A Chihuahua, on that note.

"What?!" The ash-blonde merman stared dumbfounded at you. In disbelief, he couldn’t help but laugh at your ridiculous question. Meanwhile, you stared at him in awe. His face while laughing was so ethereal that it almost made you cry. Why the fuck does he have to be so beautiful?! Why? Shortly after, Bakugou stopped laughing but was still holding his stomach while wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Ahh… that was a good laugh after ages." He chuckled at himself and looked over your direction. "This is why I admire you."

At this point, it was your turn to be frozen in place as his words slowly sank down your brain. Seems like Bakugou also realized what he said and froze too. Oh god. He gulped. A blush started to emerge on his cheeks as your face became red too. Trying to hide his embarrassment, Bakugou cleared his throat and focused on the moon hanging above the both of you, hiding his face from your line of sight.

"W-what I mean is that I-I just like your personality. It's not like I l-like you in a romantic way or whatever crap."

You snickered at his pathetic excuse. Even though Bakugou tries to hide it, the redness on his neck and ears didn't go unnoticed by you. You bet that if he turned around right now, his face would be as red as a tomato. You chuckled at that thought which made Bakugou glare at you.

"Stop laughing!" Ignoring his complaints, your laugh got louder when he turned to face you. Your assumptions was correct - Bakugou’s looks did resemble a tomato due to the intense redness on his face.

"You're so cute!" You were laughing so hard, your stomach started to hurt and tears started to well up at the corner of your eyes. The ash-blonde man hissed at you once more, the scowl on his face making it obvious of how annoyed he is right now.

"I said stop laughing! If you don't stop right now, I'm gonna throw you to the water." Despite his threatening words, Bakugou was actually enjoying this moment, seeing your cheerful face in front of him. All of this is just perfect. You're actually cute when you laugh, but there's no way in hell would he say that to your face.

"Ok, ok! I'm gonna stop now." However, you couldn’t stop chuckling. No matter how hard you tried, stopping was not an option right now. Bakugou clicked his tongue in irritation but didn't say anything. Once you've calmed down, you grinned at him, eyes shining with happiness.

"Bakugou…" You started, "I'm happy to see you right now."

Your words struck through Bakugou's heart. He was glad to know that you were content about seeing him. His heart skipped a beat at that thought and the blush on his face was tinted with a shade of crimson yet again. At this point, he was already sure of his feelings for you.

"Y-you should be, Shitty woman." He clicked his tongue again, hiding the smile that started to form. Chuckling, you gazed up at the moon, the stars surrounding it making the scenery even more beautiful. You could just sit here with him all day and you wouldn’t get bored. After all, this was what you wanted, to be with him even for just a bit.

"By the way..." Your brows shot up when Bakugou spoke, his eyes still glued at the moon. When he felt you staring at him, he turned towards you, brows arched.

"Aren't you cold?"

Now that he mentioned it, you were practically freezing right on your spot. The cold gust of wind didn’t help either and only added on to the chilly sensation.

"You should go and change first before you catch a cold." His calloused hands ran through his damp hair, the tiny droplets of water only made him look more handsome to the eye.

"I don't want to…"

"Huh? Why? Aren't you freezing? You wanna die or something?"

You grinned, a small giggle escaping your lips. Heaving out a sigh, you looked back at the moon above you, stars twinkling around the celestial body. You pulled your knees up to your chest as you gazed back at Bakugou, who was eyeing your every movement.

"I don't want this to end."

"What?"

"This," You pointed at him. "You and me." And then to your chest. "Us, conversing peacefully. I don't wanna stop or ruin this perfect moment by going back to my room to change, while knowing that by the time I'm done, you'll be gone."

Bakugou’s heart broke into pieces when he noticed the pain that crossed your crystalline eyes. He knows that you have feelings for him. And he knows he feels the same. He knows what you want, what you need. But he can’t give it to you right now. All he can give you now is assurance. That one day, after all of this comes to an end, he will come back to you.

A heavy sigh came out from his own lips as he shifted his weight to his arms and placed them behind him. There was an emotion that was plastered on his face you couldn’t name. "Go. Change. I won't be leaving." Bakugou glanced over his shoulders, eyes lingering on your face with that soft look of his, his vermilion eyes mirroring your own.

"I'll stay. Just trust me.”

Two sentences. Those five words were enough for your tears to drop one by one, your heart filling with joy and love for the man in front of you. You could genuinely feel the emotion behind his words. The assurance. The promise. His feelings. All of them embraced you as Bakugou stared at you with that emotion close to yours, an emotion you can finally name. The emotion called love.

"...wait."

A splash startled you when Bakugou jumped towards the waters. You waited for him to appear from the waters. You waited. And waited. But nothing. Minutes have passed but there was still no sign from him. Disappointment filled your heart at the thought that he already left. Didn’t he promised to stay? He didn't even wait for you to leave. You tried to think if it as a logical explanation. Maybe he had some errands to do. But would it hurt to say a simple goodbye to you? Was that really hard to do? A sigh escaped your lips as you fumbled with your fingers, distracting yourself from the aching pain growing in your heart. You thought that maybe, your relationship with him somewhat grew. You were certain, so sure that he feels the same way about you too. It may not be the same level as your feelings, but you know that he’s starting to like you too. The blush on his face, the stark emotions on his face, and his softness a while ago were enough clues for you to connect the dots. Bakugou was never that soft to anyone, only to you.

"Hey." You looked over your shoulders when you heard a voice coming from behind you. Seeing the familiar smooth ash-blonde hair of his, the feeling of euphoria and excitement filled your heart when you saw Bakugou below you, hair damp from the waters. He was holding a plastic bag with jeans inside it. You closed your eyes when a light appeared around his body, hurting you a bit. As soon as the blinding light disappeared, you came face-to-face with Bakugou's chest. You shrieked out of shock and moved backwards, your face turning red once more at the realization that the ash-blonde male was naked in front of you.

"What the hell, Bakugou!" You immediately shielded your eyes to prevent seeing something you will regret. “Get dressed!”

Bakugou snorted at your reaction, amusement dancing in his red orbs. “It’s not like you don’t want to see my body.”

“Bakugou!” Bakugou only laughed and got dressed. When he was done, you felt a piece of warm cloth placed around your shoulders, the comfort making you purr a little. He pulled your hands away from your face and handed you a white, glowing pearl. It was so beautiful you couldn’t take your eyes off of it.

You looked up at him with your eyes filled with curiosity, “What’s this?”

“It’s a pearl, dumbass.” His cheeks started growing red and he averted his eyes from you. “It’s a...a p-promise pearl for us...mermen…”

“Oh…” Your cheeks heated up, as a tinge of red hue began to dust it as you blinked at the information he gave, gripping at the blanket wrapped around you. What does he mean by that? Is he...giving you hints? Or what?

"Uh...why would you give this to me?"

"Don't you understand, dumbass? I'm giving that to you as a promise that I will claim you when the day comes. So take that shit and put it in your forehead."

"Huh?!" You felt like your world was spinning. You don't understand why Bakugou was saying this all to you. You felt utterly bewildered by all that’s happening right now.

"Bakugou-," Bakugou clicked his tongue before snatching the white pearl from you. He kissed the pearl and placed it on your lips. Your cheeks burned even more when you realized that you had just kissed Bakugou indirectly. His calloused pads grazed on your soft cheeks as he pulled the pearl away from you, the pearl now flat on his hands. You were amazed at how he did that, but the pain on your forehead distracted you.

"Ouch! Bakugou, it hurts!" You tried to back away from him, but Bakugou placed his hands firmly on the back of your head to stop your struggling.

"Shhh...don't worry, just endure it a little bit more. The pain will go away." He cooed, his hot breath fanning the top of your head, sending butterflies into your stomach. When the pain subsided, you stared at Bakugou's features.

"Bakugou..." He arched his brows while still looking at the pearl on your forehead.

"What?"

"Why are you so...I don't know, soft right now?"

Bakugou stilled at your words. "W-what? I'm not, idiot."

You just smiled at him.

"You promised, ok?"

A long silence fell between the both of you. You thought Bakugou wouldn't answer, but his hands dropped on your shoulders, his grip tightening as he raised your chin up, making you look directly at his eyes.

"I know." He whispered, just enough to reach your ears. "But I wouldn't call that as a promise. I don't want to break that. So I will do all of my best to make you mine. You understand? So don't let any other man get close to you. Especially Tape Face." He gritted his teeth at the memory of you and Sero talking last night.

"What? But he's just my cousin!" You laughed.

"I don't care. Tsk. Now go and change your clothes or you'll catch a cold."

"Ok." You stood up and placed a chaste kiss on his cheeks before running away from him, giggling at yourself. "I'll be back, Bakugou!" You couldn't believe that you just kissed Bakugou on the cheeks. You felt like a highschool teenager at that moment, gushing over her crush.

"Y/N!" You stopped on your tracks and turned around, facing Bakugou whose face was once again red.

"It's Katsuki."

Your heartbeat raced 10 times faster. It was like you ran 3 kilometers in just a minute at how fast your heart raced inside your ribcage. A genuine smile appeared on your lips, smiling cheerfully at the ash blonde just a few meters away from you. At that moment, everything felt so right, everything felt so surreal. Like a happy ending in a disney movie, with the two main characters starting a new journey together. A new chapter in a book, the book that contains the story of you and Bakugou's. Of you and Katsuki's.

"Okay, Katsuki."

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featherburnt · 3 years

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skdjbfsikfd Y’all, okay, so back before I knew what I was even doing with Saryn’s character, I was super torn between making him a villain or a hero, completely forgetting that vigilante was an option and also that you can still be a hero with a complicated opinion/thought process/history, etc etc. This rant is MONTHS old, but it really helped me decide where to take his character - which is...well, not to make him a villain. Just a super angsty hero.

So, there are two potential outcomes that could result from all that’s happened in Saryn’s life and what arises from the ashes of his shattered resolve: Will he become a hero, like he always wanted to be, or will he shift the blame from himself onto pro heroes and become a villain? Will he hold fast to his desire to protect other people, be they civilians, friends, even lovers? Or, will he seek refuge among those who, in some ways, understand him, stoke the flames of his rage, corrupt him? Both are possible and equally as likely, and here’s why.

It begins and ends with his trauma - just like everyone else.

————-

His younger years (up to age 8) were spent in the care of his birth parents, Shiroma Hisato (a mid-level hero; Firebrand) and Juno Miris (an American low-level hero; Dogstar). The first five years of his childhood were altogether very normal. He was free to watch tv, play, be a kid, and get excited about heroes such as All Might, and both Hisato and Juno encouraged him to become a hero some day - just like them. They started training him early on, before his quirk ever began to reveal itself, pushing him through certain forms of endurance training and mixed martial arts in an effort to both prime him for his quirk and his future as a hero. He had to be ready for anything that came his way; The world was far more dangerous than it’d ever been and he was their only child. He had to be the best, no matter the cost, and, so, they were incredibly strict about his training. But, when he began to display aspects of his quirk, a touch later than most (age 6), their views on the matter turned on a dime. It stopped being about providing him with the tools necessary to survive, to become a hero, and entirely about controlling him. See, his quirk was an unexpected marriage of their own and instead of being proud of what they created, instead of finding an upside, all they could see was a blackmark, a wild and vicious mistake. The love they had for him had been quickly replaced by regret and disgust, seeing his aggression, making note of how easily he could be set off when he was overwhelmed. The dog in him came first, and it became a point of contention between him and the other children his age - and the worst part was, he didn’t understand why.

He wasn’t aggressive at first, still figuring things out about his quirk, excited to even have one. He wanted to share it, show everyone, boast about it, and play with all the others, but some found him a little scary despite having only seen one aspect of his quirk and it was entirely because of his increased aggression. Any hands that came near him were instinctively bitten by jaws transformed by exposed muscle and twisted fangs (beginnings of Devil Dog), and while this began as an instinctual defense mechanism, it became much more severe, often resulting in terrible injuries. Things only compounded when the other aspect of his quirk (flame) came into the mix. In the end, he was ostracized, alienated, and left to flounder on his own - Ironic, considering there are other students with aggression issues and interesting enough quirks to match that weren’t given the same treatment. His teachers chalked it up to him simply acting out and this was true, for the most part, but he had no idea how to control his instinctive impulses, let alone his quirk, on the whole.

Regardless, something had to be done about his behavior. He needed to be corrected lest he bring shame upon the family name - or kill someone. Hisato and Juno’s fears were warranted in some ways, but proved to be terribly irrational the moment they took to…disciplining him. Any outbursts, back-talk, use of his quirk for anything but his training, childishness, etc. was met with over-reaction and violence. They did not level with him. They hardly spoke to him outside of training. Every bit of love was gone, replaced only by steadily building hatred of him. Hisato took on the bulk of his punishments and often had he dragged him along for training sessions, hands overheated by agitation, and every single time did he leave a burn. Saryn was not allowed to protest, but throughout the duration of these sessions, he was terrified of his father. Again, he had no understanding as to why he was being treated this way, not by his peers at school and certainly not by his parents. So much of his time was spent crying, and even that was met with harsher treatment.

In sparring with Hisato, it was common for him to make use of his Devil Dog ability, in which his body would shift and change to allow for flexible ‘plates’ made from raw, exposed muscle to form over vital parts of his body, the most notable being his face (shite reference here). He was, of course, instructed to use it and, despite his fear, he would inevitably wind up biting the ever-loving shit out of his father. Sometimes, a chunk or two would be taken. This is what made way for the use of a muzzle, and focus was then turned onto other aspects of his quirk. It was humiliating, painful, and crushing for Saryn - because even after each training session, the muzzle would stay on. Demoralized, depressed, alienated, afraid, and gradually becoming more and more bitter, his parents would begin to see the changes they wanted; He was so lethargic and low-energy that his teachers reported no further incidents. He rarely spoke, and he wouldn’t even when he was called on to answer questions or read passages from school books. His grades slipped, too, and some of his peers started thinking he was stupid. He was teased and bullied accordingly.

The only good thing to come out of any of this was the steady gain of control over both his emotions and certain aspects of his quirk, and he’d progressed to a point Hisato and Juno deemed it necessary to soften a little, throw him a bone. He was their son, after all. Their only son. During one particularly messy training session in late autumn, Saryn asked his father to make things harder for him. He wanted to know that everything he’d suffered up to this point meant something. He wanted to know that he’d made progress. Hisato relented, and everything went about as well as you’d expect. Saryn used his anger, his pain, his sadness as fuel, pushing himself to keep going even when he didn’t have the energy, and, for a brief moment, both of his parents were proud of him. For a long time, they’d been pushing him to and beyond his limits, leading to the discovery of a handful of abilities in relation to his quirk, and he was using them intelligently for his age. Of course, this momentary sense of pride was terribly short-lived, as when Juno went to remove his muzzle, he reacted like an animal, caught by surprise and trapped in the throes of his quirk; He snapped his jaws around her hand so fast, it was ripped clean off. Hisato burned him for this, grabbing him by the arm and damn near lighting him on fire - and he couldn’t even scream.

Life after that was very different for him. While his mother was in the hospital, his father sought out the necessary avenues for putting him up for adoption. Saryn was entirely on his own from then on. Hisato never spoke to him again and Juno swore she’d never return home so long as he was there. A few short months later, he was dropped off at some adoption agency and he never saw his parents again. By this point, he is only 8-years-old.

Truthfully, he didn’t rightly know how to feel, let alone how to express his feelings. He started life well-loved, his dreams encouraged, but the moment his quirk developed, everything was turned on its head and he was punished for it. He didn’t know how to control it at first and wound up harming the people around him, be they fellow students or his parents, and it frightened him. Worse, still, were the punishments themselves. Being muzzled for hours at a time, burned or beaten into silence, pushing and pushing and pushing to be what his parents wanted him to be– It took its toll, and Saryn could not trust himself, couldn’t trust anyone else. He missed his parents, but he hated them, too. He wanted to be a hero, to use his quirk to protect others, but how could he when all he seemed capable of doing was hurting people? He felt guilt, shame, disgust in himself, and he was bitter about his life, hateful, angry– And he’d no outlet, no one to turn to at all.

A few months later, a woman by the name of Yana Ivaniuk (a Ukrainian scientist specializing in quirks and DNA, working with the Japanese government), came into the agency. She was a kindhearted woman, and she’d chosen him. The paperwork had already gone through when she visited and he was taken away with her that very same day. It was a confusing time for him, to say the least. He didn’t understand why she’d wanted him, what she hoped to achieve, and he didn’t trust her by any stretch, but some parts of him wanted to. Over the next several years (ages 9-16), his training continued and he was given a surprising amount of support and encouragement from Yana, who had come to genuinely love him as though she were of his own flesh and blood. Great effort on her part was put into repairing the damage caused by his birth parents. She included him on the not-so secret aspects of her research, teaching him all about how quirks work and more. She gave him the space he needed to train on his own and would check on him to see how he was doing. Her gentle, supportive approach had a significant impact on him, enough for him to eventually let his guard down completely. He grew to trust her and, eventually, love her. She was his mother, in his eyes. The next several years would pass without incident. Their little family unit was stable, tight-knit, and he even started to come out of his shell in other social situations.

He loved Yana. He looked up to her, valued her advice, valued their little family with all his heart. He learned so much more from her than he ever did Hisato and Juno. And he was loved in turn.

Unfortunately, however, during his first year at U.A. High, just two weeks before the sports festival, Yana would tragically lose her life to an unknown villain. Heroes did nothing. The police did nothing. And he could do nothing. There were no updates. As far as he knew, there was no further investigation. All he knew was all that would consume him: Grief. He saw the blood, her lifeless body, the state of their home. He saw the lights, all those horrible faces looking at him, camera flashes, officers collecting evidence, shattered windows, decimated floorboards. She put up a fight, at least, and he wasn’t sure if that’d made everything worse. He felt nothing but shame, guilt, like it was his fault she’d been killed. If he’d only come home sooner, he could’ve done something. He could’ve protected her. If he hadn’t gone to school at all that day, she’d still be alive. If only, if only, if only, if only– Old habits beaten into him as a child resurfaced and he withdrew once more, socially isolating himself from his classmates. He put himself on auto-pilot, focusing his energies into his studies and preparations for the festival, cutting off any who tried to converse with him. He moved into a small apartment relatively close to U.A. with his inheritence, but even that was put off and procrastinated on in favor of burying himself in busywork. He had to keep going. He had to keep pushing himself forward or he’d fall apart.

But he did anyway, when the festival came.

After the festival, he begins to really question his role as a fledgling hero, kept alone with his thoughts in hospital. He questions the lines drawn between heroes and villains, what makes someone a hero, what makes someone a villain. He questions everything he’s seen on tv, everything he’s been led to believe. He questions whether or not the ends justify the means, if becoming a hero is worth all his own suffering and loss. His resolve has all but tanked and he has next to no morale, struggling with his own preconceptions of what it means to be a hero, all the while still very much dealing with the loss of his adoptive mother. What point is there to any of this when he’s lost everything? Why should he keep pushing himself to move forward when there’s nothing left? What difference would it make if he became a hero or villain, if he lived or died? What good could he possibly do? And why should he continue looking up to any of the pro heroes when they did nothing about the villain who slaughtered his mother? How can they be role models if they don’t follow through on the promises they swore to fulfill, if they don’t catch the bad guy?

And the rest is ultimately history.

————–

So, we see his trauma here. Abuse from his birth parents and the death of his adoptive mother. We see this profound lack of support early on in his life, suddenly gaining it, and eventually losing it completely. We see him beaten, burned, muzzled, and abandoned. We see him supported and loved, only to lose that when his adoptive mother is murdered. We see him beginning to question every aspect of his life, his motivations, how things really work between heroes and villains. We see him lose his resolve. And we see him push through every bit of it anyway.

The way the rest of his life plays out is entirely dependent on his upbringing and certain events and trials faced during his time at U.A. As I said before, there are two possible directions he can go: Hero, or Villain. What it will come down to is whether or not he can hold true to what motivated him to become a hero in the first place. He hates unnecessary suffering, hates seeing people suffer, and it was his goal to protect people, keep their families together, prevent tragedy where possible, put villains behind bars. This was such a strong motivator for him even when he was facing his abuse that no matter how bad things got for him, he was still so focused on becoming a hero so he could make up for everything he’d done and protect everyone he’d ever hurt. Even Hisato and Juno. Having his resolve shaken and ideals challenged by his circumstances pushes him to a certain point where he could either rediscover his core desire to protect or head down a dark and terrible path.

Does he put his nose to the grindstone to achieve his original goals, or does he allow his anger, hatred, sadness, and grief to consume him? Does he make his concerns known to the pro heroes he’s learning from, or does he bottle them and let them fester? What would serve as the catalyst to solidify his position as a hero or villain? Would his classmates try to level with him, befriend him, and support him in what ways they could? Would he even accept it? Would some horrible person try to convince him that he is justified in his thoughts and feelings, that it’s okay to be angry and let loose, punish those who have harmed him or stood by and done nothing all the while? Would it be a mixture of both? Would he continue to be confused and torn on what he’s supposed to do with himself well into adulthood? Would he consider hunting down the villain responsible for his mother’s death, and would he attempt to kill them? Would he succeed? Would he die himself?

I’d like to say it’s clear cut for him, but it isn’t. Saryn’s always been on his own mentally and emotionally, and the resounding lack of support from people who are supposed to support him is more demoralizing than you’d think. The weekly chats with the guidance counsilor do absolutely nothing for him. Passing comments from his teachers do nothing for him. Even if there are people who understand his plight, he has been lost in the shuffle, no focus put on him for anymore than half an hour once a week. He’s already feeling like he’s been hung out to dry, forgotten, like everything that’s happened in his life is just meaningless suffering on top of more meaningless suffering, that he has no place among heroes, and he’s so angry, hurt, still grieving his loss. Will no one look at him, talk to him, anything? Is he not worth the effort?

I think, ultimately, the answer to the question of whether or not he’d become a hero or a villain is muddied and unclear. At the very least, he’d have a complicated relationship with the idea of heroism and would be the sort of hero to make the hard decisions no one else wants to make or are bound not to by law. He’d make reactive decisions, sacrifice one to save many, and I think this, too, would take a huge toll him. His career as a hero would be dramatically cut short by his decisions and he’d either be imprisoned or killed in action, which is already an occupational hazard and statistical probability. In the end, though, it’s somewhat more likely that he would give up on becoming a hero entirely. He might not side with other villains or any one organization, but he would become one if only by virtue of his desire to hunt down those responsible for his mother’s death and the resulting cover up (her research was vitally important and if word got out that it was stolen by villains, there’d be hell to pay, so all but her murder was kept from the public, and he only knew this because he had some knowledge of her research to start with). If he had any influences during this time, it’s possible he could be swayed to kill others, including heroes and other villains. His birth parents would also be victims of his wrath and for good reason.

He’s just this kid who gets lost in the shuffle and has to navigate everything on his own. No one gives a shit. No one cares. So, why fight for them at all? He’d end up parroting the same bullshit as some people in the LoV, so consumed by the pains of his life and his rage. At best, he’d be disgruntled hero with no faith in the system, and at worst, he’d become what he once aimed to protect people from, the monster he never wanted to be.

He’d just end up a killer.

#hellhound #old rants

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kawaiichibiart · 4 years

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Big Sister!Azula, Little Brother!Zuko AU. Gaang Edition.

Aang:

Unlike when Zuko becomes his firebending master, Azula has a lot more trouble convincing him to let her teach him. She doesn't have a bison to vouch for her, he and his friends know she's the one that attacked them. Not even Toph will come to her defence, knowing how well she lies.

Aang is also hesitant in taking Zuko in. He doesn't know the young firebender, but he had to better off in their care than Azula's, right?

He ends up sending them both away after the kid refuses to leave Azula's side. He refuses to admit he thought the little boy waving bye to him was cute....Okay, he admitted it.

When Azula does join them, their "field trip" doesn't go as smoothly as his and Zuko's did in the show. They bickered and almost didn't succeed.

When he isn't training, Aang spends time with Zuko, whether it's helping him with his bending or taking him around the temple, they're together.

When Azula and Sokka leave for their "fishing trip" Aang decides to kill two birds with one stone by having Zuko be his student. He ignores Azula's lessons so he can make his own for Zuko.

Aang doesn't call Azula his friend when the war ends. He does tell her that maybe one day, they could be. But for now, he was sure he could somewhat trust her to be his ally.

Katara

She has it out for Azula more than she did Zuko.

For one, unlike Zuko, Azula never gained her trust and broke it. For another, Katara was there when she struck Aang with lightning.

When she learns, thanks to Sokka, that Azula brought a child with her, she can't help but suspect it was part of grander scheme.

While he was obviously from the Fire Nation, Katara couldn't just let him stay with Azula. So she tried to convince Aang to let the kid stay. But the boy wanted to stay with Azula, so Aang didn't force him to stay.

Katara is very clear to Azula about she will do to her if she steps out of line. Azula tells her she doesn't care, so long as she doesn't touch a hair on her little brother's head. A statement that shocks Katara a bit, but when she thinks about, makes sense.

Katara tries to teach Azula to cook, but ultimately bans her from it. She let's Zuko taste test though.

She's a lot nicer to Zuko in this AU. They don't have any history, and as far as she knows, he's just a little boy born into an unfortunate life, what with Ozai as his dad and Azula as his sister.

Katara does bitterly accept that Azula can be a good sister, when she watches how she takes care of her little brother.

The night she and Azula go after her mother's murderer, the two come to a mutual understanding. Their both sisters and care for their brothers.

You bet Azula highly encouraged murder and got disappointed when it didn't happen.

Azula has caught Katara braiding Zuko's hair and telling him stories as she does. She has to convince herself that she isn't jealous. It doesn't always work.

Sokka

First things first, he's the one to notice Zuko.

He doesn't trust Azula with a child; he's onboard the "adopt the child and keep him from Azula" train

He's surprised to find out the child she brought was actually her younger brother. He looked so....innocent. Was she sure he was her brother?

After Azula joined, he made sure to watch her train Aang. She already hurt him once, he wasn't going to stand idle somewhere else, when he could standby close enough so that if she hurt him, he would know.

This is how he and Zuko bond. Watching Azula teach Aang.

Sokka will forever question how Zuko and Azula are related. The kid is genuinely nice, a bit violent at times, but overall, nice. Azula was blunt and sarcastic and spat out lies left and right unless her brother was around.

When he leaves to go to the Boiling Rock, Azula joins him.

"My first girlfriend turned into the moon." "Get over it, Water Tribe." "*grumbles*"

Azula does get arrested while they're there. It's only then that she learns Ozai has a bounty on her head.

Sokka has to work harder to assure everyone Azula wouldn't do anything.

Azula says nothing because he's right. She wouldn't do anything. Not when she's risking losing Zuko.

Seeing everyone else bond with Zuko makes Sokka want to bond with him. So, he decides to teach him how to use a boomerang.

Everyone was weary about this. Rightfully so, they all got hit at least one time by a boomerang.

Toph

Toph doesn't know how to feel about Azula being there.

On the one hand, she knew how well she lied, on the other, because she knew how well she lied, she couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

Well, she couldn't, until she bonded with Zuko.

Azula almost never lies to Zuko unless she's talking about Ursa. So, if Toph wants information from Azula, Zuko has to be there. It doesn't always work, but it does work.

Zuko was still the one to burn Toph's feet. When she told Aang, Katara and Sokka, it was Katara who said that was why they should have just taken Zuko in the first place. Obviously being with Azula was making him violent.

Toph uses Azula to get better at detecting lies.

Sometimes Zuko sleeps next to her.

Toph is used to being an only child, and with the Gaang, Aang included if you count his 100+ years of life, she was used to being the youngest and being treated as the little sister. When Azula showed up with her little brother, Zuko, Toph was able to find out how it felt to be an older sister.

She loves it. It's nice being the youngest and having others take care of you, even if she has shown she's capable of taking care of herself (it just meant she didn't have to do it herself all the time). But having someone younger she can take care of is also nice. She never had siblings prior to the joining the Gaang, and again, once she did, she was always the little sister. Azula and Zuko let her be a big sister.

Suki

Like Katara, Suki has a personal grudge against Azula.

Suki is very surprised when, upon arriving after escaping the Boiling Rock, she and the others are greeted by a child who ran up to Azula.

Said child was demanding Azula pick him up. That's when Sokka let's the ball drop by telling her the child is Azula's little brother.

Zuko actually takes quite the liking to Suki, he follows her around a bit more than he did the others.

When the Ember Island Players perform the Boy in the Iceberg, she has to keep herself from punching some other people because they kept glaring at them for bringing a child, ("Mother would have spoiled Zuzu and brought him." Azula has said) she would take note that she wasn't the only one.

Her "special time" with Sokka is interrupted because Zuko had a nightmare and she was the first person he went to (he didn't want to bother Azula)

Bonus:

Appa

Appa doesn't trust Azula when she shows up.

He is curious about the little boy, though.

He let's the little boy, her brother apparently, ride and play and sleep on him. He doesn't mind.

He growls at Azula if she comes near. She'll growl back and yell at Aang that "the stupid bison won't let me pick up Zuzu!'

Momo

Honestly, look at Appa's stuff. It's pretty much the same things.

Differences are as follows:

He's able to physically torment Azula more, pulling her hair and throwing stuff at her face.

Zuko tries to play with him but just ends up carrying him around.

If Zuko is napping on Appa, so is Momo.

Hakoda

Hakoda is very surprised when Sokka tells him Azula had helped him get to the Boiling Rock to free him.

He thought that Sokka was also arrested and being forced to play guard, so that he would have to hurt people.

So, when they all escape, he's surprised to see, yeah, she did help Sokka free him.

When they arrive at the temple, and a little boy runs over to Azula, Hakoda feels as if he can't get anymore surprised. A child, going up to Azula?

He was wrong. The child was her little brother. How?

Hakoda often hears Azula tell Zuko about their mother, but never about their father.

He asks her about it and she tells him, only after ensuring he wouldn't tell anyone else.

He stays quiet as the Princess tells him about her mother leaving. About how she felt as if she never loved her, but how, despite how short it was, it was obvious she adored Zuko. Ursa was always with Zuko up until she left. But the night their mother left, was the night she made a promise to her. And that was to keep her brother safe, and their father wasn't safe for him. So the less he knew, the better.

Hakoda could somewhat agree, but he also told her she couldn't avoid talking about Ozai with Zuko. He had to know. If she felt he wasn't old enough, that was fine. But one day, he would find out.

The next day, both siblings are oddly quiet.

Azula tells him later on that she told Zuko about their father. He cried because he had seen Ozai, but never once, did he hear a good thing about him. Especially in regards to himself. Ozai genuinely didn't want him and it hurt that he didn't have either parent around to love him. His mother was gone and his father had wished several times for his death. He only had Azula but it wasn't the same. That was one of the few times Azula heard him cry for Ursa. It was almost always her.

Hakoda decides to take whatever amount of time they have together to be a real father to them. Azula doesn't care for his attention, but doesn't stop him from giving his fatherly affection to Zuko.

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ashleyswrittenwords · 4 years

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How to be a Queen [Part 22]

Summary: Princess Zelda is at a loss. Her handed royal responsibilities have begun to weigh heavily on her and she is eventually backed into a corner. Live a life she loathes or run away from everything she’s ever known? Navigating life is hard, and Link forces her to learn that she doesn’t have to do it alone.

Part 1

How To Be A Queen

Every night brought dreams, but none as strange as this.

“Zel…”

The ballroom was unlit. Cloth covers were draped on furniture and unused candelabras. A ghost of a room’s intentions. I was in a large gown that swept the floor with every movement. My partner led us through a dance that I couldn’t pinpoint, but my feet knew it quite well. His left hand was in my right and the other was securely around my waist.

“…da.”

Each time I tried to discern who this mysterious man was, I would lose focus. There were a few general details that I could make out. He was tall and solid. The suit he wore felt expensive under my fingers. Attractive, was a word that rung in my thoughts. Most noticeable, were his eyes. A brown so light I could make out yellow and orange specks.

“Here we are,” he said through a smile I couldn’t make out, “again.”

I wanted to ask the obvious: Who are you?

But a voice in my head told me I wasn’t leading this dance. Without my conscious effort, my lips formed a small plastic smile.

“Zel… da.”

It wasn’t him saying that. Something else rang through the room, which was quickly disregarded in our dance to silent music.

“Someday,” the word hung on his lips. “Someday the ground will give way.”

His voice was smooth, the type of low that one could feel in their chest. It hummed and stuck to me like glue. The dance turned us into a circle and his hand sunk to my lower back, bending me into a dip. With a bittersweet grin, he leaned in to grace my ear.

“And I will break you.”

“Zelda!”

I startled awake, feeling hands on my shoulders. My heart thrummed in my chest. Red eyes were widely staring down at me as I came to. When Impa saw I was awake, she leaned back and held out an item at my bedside.

Confusion deftly swept over me.

The first words that my tongue decided to stumble over were, “What is it?”

I spoke like I was out of breath and I certainty didn’t feel rested.

“Get up. We have to get a move on,” Impa plainly said, emphasizing the article that she was holding. Her speech barely reached me. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and recognized it as my white night robe.

Slowly, I unfurled from the blankets and heard a sniffling.

“Anju?” I found myself saying, a croak was in my voice. She was at the base of my bed holding a cloth under her nose. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and looked away, quietly crying.

My brain seemed to have a moment of clarity and fear gripped me.

“Come on,” Impa softly motivated. “Hurry.”

I ambled out of bed. She shrugged the thick robe on despite my shaking hands.

“Is it my uncle? Is he-”

“No,” she turned me and tugged the fabric over my night dress with a certain force before tying it.

My slippers awaited my feet and I caught myself from tripping as I followed Impa out of the room. She moved swiftly, every now and again looking back. Anju tailed the both of us.

I didn’t like walking these halls at night. Portraits of people long dead filled the space and all I felt was their silent gaze. Now, actual people lined the hallway. Servants, knights, and sometimes a person of prestige watched us pass by.

It was odd. Odd enough that I was gracing their presence in only my night clothes – something that was entirely out of propriety. However, that wasn’t it. Their expressions, their whispers, it was as if everyone knew what was happening except me.

Well, I had an inking.

We took the stairs and turns that were all too familiar; they were towards Father’s bedchamber.

My throat grew dry.

Impa’s feet stopped in front of his door. Between us were two armored guards staring ahead diligently. My steps paused behind her. We shared a glance. A look so miniscule yet was proof enough to lean my worries on. She moved aside to allow me to enter first.

I hardened my heart.

The door creaked. It always had done that, even when Mother was among us. The sound drew out until I could make out the candlelight from within. Within the King’s parlor was a large table that had been dragged in front of the fireplace that entertained my Father and I during suppertime. Men stood around it with hushed comments till one looked up, and then the rest fell to a silence.

They all looked towards the door – towards me.

It was when I could faintly make out the spindly white hair of Whitehurst and the bushy grayness of Fierlin’s beard. All the admirals, or at least most of them, stood in front of me. They were either in their night shirts or the clothes they wore the day before. Though, every one of them looked animated.

As the silence overtook them, they moved aside and I saw Father at the only seat there.

I moved across the room with the only sound being my grazing slippers. An antique grandfather clock ticked on near Father’s bedroom door. It was hardly three in the morning.

Once I reached the table, I was offered a chair and was about to refuse until Father spoke.

“Gentlemen.”

He said it in a tone I hadn’t heard in a while.

Without conversation, they left through the door I came from. I turned to my father, finally letting my slight dubiety show.

“What is happening?” I said, in an almost whisper and took the seat before him. Documents littered the table and a rolled-out map that I notice was usually pinned to his bedroom wall as decoration. Pen marks were scribbled onto it.

He shut his eyes and breathed in, “The opposition has attacked a small gathering of Zora reinforcements.”

“Zora?” I looked at him in admonishment. “Zora… they are neutral. I- reinforcements for us?”

Father placed his hands on the table, “I have been attempting to pull some old favors from King Dorephan.”

I thought back to his letters. None of them had anything to do with garnering Zora support. It must have been something he did independently.

“That’s,” a smile born of bewilderment grew on my face, “That’s brilliant, Father. They haven’t been in active participant in Hyrulean conflicts in – why, in a century.”

“I did get the idea from another,” he said with a glint in his eye, it made my smile broaden. “But now that battalion has been attacked and the casualties are heavy.”

That tiredness of his settled back onto his features.

My eyes scanned the table and I spoke my thoughts out slowly, “I believe it would imply that if the rebels are willing to attack an ally, then I wonder what is stopping them from attacking Hylian forces that are far closer.”

I traced the pen markings from the desert with my finger. It was deep into the countryside, the Zora had a ways to go to converge with our troops who had just made it to Gerudo Town. I suspected that they were meant to be support by the border as Zora weren’t as proficient in the sweltering temperatures. My small smile overturned. The Zora hadn’t fought in decades. Unlike us, they were far out of combat practice; trained properly, yes, but even if their lifespans were thrice ours only their elders would be battle hardened.

It meant that young Zora soldiers were entirely unprepared for an enemy they had never seen.

“Zelda,” Father suddenly wrought me of my thoughts. “I must admit to you.”

I met his eyes, “Yes?”

He simmered for a moment, seemingly to be caught in his head.

“My shoulders are worn.”

“What do you mean?”

He let out a sigh that came from deep within, “I did not send for you solely based on the attack.”

I didn’t reply immediately. The alarm of before rung in the back of my head again.

Father clasped his hands together, “My daughter. You have so much of your mother in you.”

I frowned, “The last time you said that it was in the context of being a bad thing.”

“I was blind.”

I watched him in surprise as he continued, “I would still be if I keep the allusion that you are still a child. I’ve forced you through so many follies. Built so many walls around you in the guise that it would keep you from failing, but it was me that was failing you. The one time I allowed myself to slip and you’ve… you’ve flourished.”

“Father, I-”

“It would be undeserving that I keep the full extent of your potential from coming to fruition,” he clasped his hands harder. “I must ask, would you resent me for this burden?”

The realization of his words hit me and I felt my heart stop.

“No,” I said almost too quickly. Nerves laced my words. “No, I would not.”

Father moved to speak, but I cut him off in a rush of words.

“However, I would more hardily accept it if you allow me to bespeech you for guidance.”

Despite the tension and the monumental circumstances of this moment, he laughed. It was deep and genuine and acutely reminded me of my uncle.

“Absolutely,” he said once his laughter died down. “Yes, unquestionably.”

Eventually, Father called the admirals back in. I stood at the back of my chair, gripping the backrest with unsure hands.

“Allow me,” my father motioned towards me once he found his seat once more, “to reintroduce you to the acting monarch of Hyrule.”

I watched idly while men who had previously resented my presence bow in the type of reverence held for a King, I felt like I hadn’t woken at all and this was an elongated dream.

I pulled my robe tighter around me as a chill snaked up my bare legs. Pressure settled onto my chest and I was unsure which emotion was appropriate. Numbness didn’t seem to be the one. A part of me knew that the acts of tonight wouldn’t settle in until the next day, perhaps in the next week.

“I do believe,” I uttered in a muted daze, “That we must come to a decision.”

“Yes, Your High-” Whitehurst swallowed his words, “Your Majesty.”

A beat of silence went on until he carried on, “We have to agree on a response.”

“I understand that a number of you have been resilient against the idea of declaring war,” I turned my eyes to the rest of the group. This felt odd. It took a considerable amount of effort to form words. “However, it would be a proper reply to this aggression. It would show the Zora – and the remaining races of Hyrule – that we bound to them. This was deliberate and their choice of attack adheres that these people do not want unity.”

Unexpectedly, not even Whitehurst had an immediate response. Some of them were making notes.

“This… is not an order,” I tilted my head. “If there is opposition, I would like it to make itself known.”

Fierlin took a step to the front, “We’ve all come to a similar conclusion on the matter. We are in unanimous agreement.”

Father’s voice grew behind me, “Then a decision has been made. As my final act as King, I will declare war for my own daughter’s reign to be of victory. Let us announce it at sunrise.”

Another hour was spent determining terms of war that I wasn’t familiar with. My fingers itched for my notebook and I tried to commit the unfamiliar topics to memory. Eventually, several men filed out of the door. Plenty of plans had been divided and they were swift to send messengers.

A shorter man I recognized as Byron stopped me as on his way out. He led most discussions on espionage and reports from the field. The man was also someone I would find myself sitting next to during many meetings. If Admirals Fierlin and Whitehurst were too busy in their quarrels, he was most helpful breaking their volume to bring attention to my comments.

“Despite these untimely events, I look forward to your leadership.”

“Thank you, Admiral Byron,” I said sincerely. Then, something occurred to me. “Not that I doubt your promptness, but has there been any news on the usurper’s whereabouts?”

“I wish I could say. Nothing has come since I sent scouts through the city,” he sighed. “You would think a Gerudo man would be an easy person to find.”

“I see…”

“If I may, we do have rebel prisoners,” Byron raised his eyebrows. “There is information we can pull.”

My eyes widened and felt a chill crawl up my spine. In my mind’s eye, I saw my blood draining out on a table. So much that it spilled over to drip on the floor. The dull punctures of a blade against wood ticking away.

I gripped my hands together.

“No,” I met him sternly. “Hyrule doesn’t commit war crimes, Admiral. Torture is out of the question.”

His hopeful expression upturned, “My apologies.”

I felt Impa’s hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her to see a gentle smile and I realized my own tiredness. She motioned towards the door, but I felt that thread of responsibility pull my gaze back towards the remaining Admirals to find Father watching. He gave a small nod.

You have time, I told myself.

Slowly, as my slippers grazed under me, I counted the steps my governess had told me as a child. Straighten my back, square my shoulders, set my jaw, and keep my eyes from wandering. A phantom book balanced on the crown of my head and I approached the door.

Impa held it open and like when I entered, small chattering from outside succumbed to silence. There were more people now. They stared and whispered, but I remembered myself. The steps toward them made them part. Duchesses, servants, lords and ladies all mixed into one made space for me to pass. It was a gesture that imbedded itself into my heart. A gesture that I had seen nobody make since I was little and my mother took me out into the markets, but I was in my mother’s place now – wasn’t I?

There won’t be a coronation any time soon. Festivities were shunned during wartime and until that is over there wouldn’t be a ceremony. To me, it was appropriate, if that rule wasn’t in place then I doubt I would have gone with the proceedings. For now, this would be one of my first appearances. Father still had to sign away the title, but with the way people averted their eyes it dawned on me that perhaps the formality didn’t matter.

I also tried to forget that I was passed down the title of Queen in my night clothes.

With everything that has happened, the child in me wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

---

“What in your experience makes you suited for the responsibility of being Hyrule’s trigger?” Whitehurst said. It made Fierlin lean over to glare daggers from the other side of me.

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to go back to forty years ago when I was in my prime,” the old man went on, staring off to an empty corner of the room as he did every time he launched into an anecdote.

My wrist was growing sore from my head. I didn’t like how easy it was the drown out the candidate’s voice, but at this point I could even see Urbosa growing weary. How long has it been? Two hours?

Hyrule’s trigger, I mused to myself how it’s been a while since I’ve heard that label for commanding general. I decided I liked it, it was poetic… in a murder-y war way. My pen jotted that down to tell Uncle if he was feeling better after this.

Lately, he had his moments where we would think he was recovering and the next day would be far worse. I learned that it was easier to finish my work if I didn’t think about it too much.

“-and I said, ‘Nope, don’t think that’s a fair idea sir. I sure don’t.’ and well, golly, he considered it! Thought it was a good idea, he did, to retreat. We surely woulda been in a good bit ‘a trouble if we went in unprepared,” he put up a withered finger before anyone could interject. “In actuality, it reminds me of another story.”

“Oh, no I do think we’re done here,” Urbosa was quick to say. “What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?”

I offered a polite smile, “I have to agree with Lady Urbosa. Thank you for coming in Sir William.”

“Certainly,” the old knight nodded. “I have lots of thoughts, you see. I worry if this meeting has covered the full scope of my wisdom. For example, one time they thought that I could be the descendent of the lost hero and s-”

“Thank you, but if we need anything else we will be sure to send for you,” Fierlin rigidly said.

The door shut not too long after and I found myself grasping for straws.

“He’s uhm,” I played with the weight of the pen and found there was only two words on my paper. “Well, he is rather… ah…”

“Old,” Urbosa sighed, relaxing in her chair. “He’s an old man. Older than Nathaniel. I realize there is value in experience, but that is not quite it.”

I nodded slowly, “To be frank, and the quality of that experience. Sir William is wise in age, but his depth is lacking.”

Whitehust begrudgingly agreed, “I suppose I misjudged his character.”

“Gods willing, you misjudged the man’s ability to walk.”

“Before you two decide to prolong this,” I asserted between the admirals, “I propose we discuss our prospects up until now and take a break before I melt into my seat.”

There was a short silence that felt heated with the rustling of pages.

“With the six candidates we have spoken to,” Fierlin seemed deflated and set the paper down. “There isn’t one that I can defiantly say is worth pursuing.”

Admiral Whitehurst didn’t mention much.

“Surprisingly, I have the same sentiments.”

“With that last pick? Yes, that is quite surprising.”

“Gentlemen.”

It was quite odd when they didn’t stand with me, instead waiting a moment before following me out of the room.

Fierlin scratched his beard, “You know, John, there are a couple of my captains coming in.”

“So what?”

“Nate likes one of them and mentioned to me something a couple weeks ago when he was awake.”

I was about to turn and question about who the man he was talking about was, but a familiar voice distracted me.

“Has it sunk in yet?” Urbosa quietly asked outside, we were walking towards the courtyard.

I shook my head, “No. I can barely think about it. Whenever I do, I see Mother and then things don’t feel quite as real.”

A couple of maids stopped at the door leading to the courtyard, staring and whispering as they did. Urbosa hung behind me as I walk through.

“Like that,” I said in a hush once she regained distance. “That is strange and if it happened to anyone else it’d be awkward.”

“You are the Queen.”

She spoke it plain as day and it made me turn.

My eyes searched the ground, “Well, I don’t feel like one.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she lazily observed the blooming flowers. “It doesn’t matter because much of Hyrule still entertains divine right. When ordinary people see you, they will no longer see the girl you once were; they’ll see a woman chosen by the goddesses. Some see it as proof that you are a piece of their immortality. Mariam was just as unaccustomed, if not more.”

“Obviously that immortality wasn’t in her favor,” I mumbled. It was childish, and I regretted the words as I spoke.

Urbosa hummed, “No, but she put up with it. People loved her because she was a symbol for the future. She gave us you.”

I stared at my hands, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.

“That’s what you should do. Give them hope, even if you have no hope yourself.”

I filled my lungs with air in hopes it would calm my frantic heart and nodded.

“I understand. Thank you. I… I truly am unsure where I would be without you.”

“Good,” her smile was genuine, but there was nothing ingenuine about the woman. “Though, I wonder now. Why don’t you appoint one of those voe? Too big-headed?”

I blinked, “Oh, Admiral Fierlin and Admiral Whitehurt! It’s an old standing law that admirals can’t be appointed as General.”

“Another Hylian oddity.”

“It wasn’t without reason,” I laughed, “There was an attempted coup before it was put in place. I don’t recall the specifics.”

Under the pretense of visiting Uncle, I excused myself. I felt a little better about everything and found that my decision to ask Urbosa to attend was greatly rewarding. The ongoing search for Uncle’s successor was not an easy process. Initially, I worried about choosing between candidates, but now I was concerned if there would be anyone of eligibility. Afterall I shouldn’t be surprised that he wasn’t easy an easy man to be replaced.

He would laugh at that.

Despite what Urbosa said, I took the lesser traveled halls. I felt better seeing less people. The last few days were filled with nothing but formality and a part of me wanted to see no one at all. The stones grew darker with age the farther I went down the corridors. Embrasures passed me by as I went and I saw the daylight.

I reached my fingers out and let the tips brush against the coarse stone.

Maybe if other people saw the future in me, I could learn to see it too. It all seemed so limited, as if I could only see as far as my hand could stretch. A part of me was curious and another was full of dread. My feet stopped in front of an embrasure that overlooked a portion of the market below. The air was warmer and I could see children playing in the middle of throngs of people.

I wonder if I should leave for the day? Change from the shimmery fabrics that Anju chose for me into something simpler and more comfortable. I’m sure she could use some reprieve as well. A good walk is what we both need.

There were some scraping footsteps that I blocked out to continue my observation of the children below. My dread for drastic changes didn’t appear to be justified with the official declaration of war two days ago. They were still happy and playing tag while people went about their normal business. Though, I made sure to remember this if a draft were ever to come into proposition.

I winced.

Gods, there I go again. Thinking about issues that should be set aside.

“I should have known better than to not expect you around places like this,” a warm voice said. I startled with a small gasp. Despite myself, I held onto the curse that was halfway out of my lips.

Unmistakable blue eyes held me in place, altogether making me paralyzed and unsure. My own widened and suddenly I wanted to be anywhere else but here. I wanted to say so much for so long, but now it was all thrown out the window – well, the embrasure.

Of course I would just stumble upon Link Forester like this.

“You’re back,” I managed to spit out with a certain amount of disbelief.

“Just for a couple days,” he looked away for a moment and back, “and then I have to go.”

“I see.”

Something bubbled in my chest and I talked, “When did you get here?”

There was a long pause. His hair got longer in the back. It was tied, but I didn’t care to admit that it looked good. That Link looked good. It made that something grow.

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday,” I found his eyes again with a furrowed brow, barely cognitive of my tone. The something reached my throat, filling me almost completely. I repeated it again in a question and he studied our feet.

I realized what I was feeling was a red-hot anger. One that I convinced myself I was feeling every time my mind wondered to him. With that, I understood what Fierlin was referring to. Link was in his uniform with metals lining the left side of his collar.

“For the successor interview. I…” I forced a smile on, “I didn’t know.”

“Really?”

“No. I-I mean yes, really,” I shook my head, “I had no clue, I let the admirals choose who they thought were best.”

Link didn’t say anything. I hated it. Nearly four months and I feel like a fool.

“Well! I’m glad you had a safe journey,” I pushed passed him, hating that I had to touch him as I did. “I apologize that I can’t stay, but I have to visit my uncle.”

I was several steps down the hall when he piped up, “He’s asleep.”

It made me pause and turn, “What?”

“I just tried to see him,” Link said. “He’s asleep.”

And as we stood there I couldn’t help but remember his lips on mine, pushing my back against a wall. His warm breath on my cheek as his lips drifted down my neck. All the while, I remembered staring at a little for countless nights after Impa left and spending hundreds if not thousands of tears reading over words. For the life of me couldn’t figure out which was worse.

All he could fucking do was stare at me.

“Why did you leave?” I exclaimed with a bite in my words.

He acted like he was expecting it, but his voice was half mine. “I thought you would know by now. There were reports that Hylian villages were being raided and the General sent me with a group of men.”

“And that,” I shrugged, holding out my hands as if the answer would fall from the ceiling. My leather book, however, did fall from my grasp and to a clattering on the floor. “And that’s it?”

I bent to pick it up, but he was already there. I took it from him, he kept one hand on it.

His eyes were harder, “No, that’s not all. People died.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. You know that!”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them I saw him frown.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not that deluded.”

“You are not deluded.”

Now I frowned, “Don’t say that because of what I am.”

His expression worsened, “What do you want me to say? That you are?”

That bubbling anger was back as the frown turned into a grimace.

“No,” I started, blinking the emotion from my eyes. “I want you to explain why I went months without hearing from you. I want you to stop ignoring that you know what I’m thinking because I know you very well do. I just want to understand, Link!”

I pulled the book away from him and held to against me like a shield. Link looked from it and then to me.

“And what?” he suddenly said. “And then what?”

My confusion slacked my previous outburst. “Wha... what?”

Link turned to look behind him and when he turned back he seemed smaller. The bravado of before lessened to a tired glaze. For a moment, he studied me and I thought maybe he would pull me in — but he didn’t and promptly directed his gaze to the wall.

“All the conflict ends, miraculously, and I get to come back to the castle,” he continued despite the puzzlement in my stare, “You get the coronation you deserve and properly start your reign. Time will go on.”

“Link-” I said with the intention of interrupting, but he calmly stopped me.

“Time will go on, Zelda,” Link gestured behind him. “If I — for some gods-forsaken reason — become what they’re vying for, I will never return as your attendant. We will never be as close. Eventually, you’ll want you to move on.”

Anger sparked in me, “It isn’t that simple. You can’t reduce me to something like that.”

Then, he met me with eyes that echoed injury and needs he would never voice.

“Is that so? Because if you don’t, someone will force your hand in time. They’re already calling you Queen and soon you will have the world at your fingertips. You’ll need someone who can match that,” he spoke quickly with speech more formal than I had ever cared for.

My hands itched to do something and it teetered precariously between wrapping them around myself to cry and gripping his shoulders to shake some sense into him. Neither seemed to fit the pulling in my chest and the unwelcome discomfort I felt. Was this his way of gently letting me down?

“So, that’s it then?” I said, swallowing thickly. “That’s what you want? To not... for me to not speak to you like before. For me to convince myself that this was all a childish delusion and for us to pretend that nothing happened? Because-” my shoulders drew up in a mechanical shrug, “Because for months I felt this is what you wanted.”

“No,” Link suddenly said with fervor. “Gods, no. I’ve written,” disbelief was in his face, as if I was the one wanting nothing to do with him. He had a way about him where even when he was grasping for words, his eyes told you he had thought about this conversation far in advanced.

“I’ve written letters upon letters to you. Letters to tell you that I wanted you to wait and how I would do the same. Letters to plead for your smile to stop haunting my dreams. Dozens of letters I have had to fight myself over,” he stopped at seeing the anguish I tried to hide, only to be betrayed by my quivering lip.

I swiftly brought my wrist up to swipe the wetness of my nose and said matter-of-factly, “You’re lying.”

Link exhaled and seemed as if he was going to leave until he spoke, “I don’t blame you for believing that. The proof is ashes in a desert because I can’t trust myself.”

“You’re lying to me.”

“Ask Fierlin,” his voice was soft, even when I wanted a rise out of him. “Ask him for my file from last month and see the reprimands for using more writing supplies than we were given. I know I’m hurting you, but I would never lie about this. Believe me, I want to be-”

Then, he choked on his words and that energy left as fast as it came as he relented to saying, “It doesn’t matter what I want.”

I harshly blinked the burning from my eyes. “I care about you. You’re asking me to stop.”

There was a moment where neither of us spoke and all I could do was meet his eyes. In them, I wanted to see stoicism and coldness. Something I could etch into my memory because it was easier to hate than love. And even in doing this, he disappointed me. I didn’t see that at all.

Barely noticeably, he tilted his head down to look at the floor; just enough to affirm me.

My stomach dropped, but I had my own responsibilities to attend to. If I let myself become overwhelmed, everything I had worked for would fall through the cracks. I pressed my lips together into a fine line and forced myself to nod.

“Okay,” my voice was barely there. “Excuse me.”

I turned on my heel, heading towards Uncle’s quarters and knew I’d have to take a hard left and find another way back to the interviewing room.

While I walked towards where the hallway opened up, I remembered what Impa had told me about controlling emotions. Focus onto something simple and describe it. There was a painting on the far wall of Hyrule Field. The grass was a variety of green shades. The frame was gold and perfectly centered. The sun was yellow and the sky was a ridiculous blue that I forced myself to hate. Anger was less damaging to gossip about if anyone saw me.

I turned the corner, nearly running into Urbosa who leaned against the wall. She didn’t say anything with a look of concern, but she didn’t have to. She heard most, if not all of our conversation and I almost regressed into a puddle of tears. Instead, I pulled myself together with a thin string of determination and gave her a thin-lipped smile that hurt more than it was worth.

“You’re right on time. I was just about to head back,” I surprised myself with the solidness of my words.

She verged on asking a question and simply nodded. We walked back in the direction of the courtyard again – using the main halls this time.

---

We burned through two more people, which took an hour each.

Admittedly, I didn’t have many questions to ask nor did I try to muster the energy. It had surprised me, however, when they were both sons of dukes that I loosely knew from court. Each had joined the army seeking some fantasized glory of knighthood. Whitehurst had thought of them as adding a political leverage to the position.

I remember him distinctly saying, “If you can sway the people, you can sway a war.”

As the last one left, I turned to the man.

“Please tell me that’s the last of them. I’m sure you mean well, but they don’t preform well under pressure,” I breathed out rather tiredly.

Fierlin had rose from his seat for the first time in two hours and walked towards the door.

The other admiral dropped his pen, “I tried my best, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t bully the poor man, Your Grace,” Urbosa jested. “He’s been doing some heavy lifting with the picks.”

Though he didn’t voice it, Whitehurst seemed to appreciate the gesture.

His counterpart laughed on the other side of the door just as it swung open.

“-it’s fantastic to see you, my boy,” he was grinning wryly. Behind him, Link walked in with his own grin. It dropped when he saw me. I looked away quickly.

“Let us get introductions out of the way,” Fierlin nearly skipped to his chair and I could see Whitehurst wanting to bury his head in the sand.

Link cleared his throat. I had to look up and at least attempt to appear indifferent. As was unfortunately expected, he addressed me first with a low bow, “Your Royal Majesty.”

“You may rise,” I said, maybe too quickly. Blue eyes met mine and I felt a deep flush take over.

I don’t care. I truly do not care about him and I will treat this interview like any other.

It felt like a bold-faced lie.

“I am Link Forester. First captain under the command of Admiral Traeriel Fierlin.”

“So,” Fierlin leaned on his elbows, “You have previously been the former Princess’s, now Queen, knight attendant during peacetime. Is that right, Sir?”

His voice was steady, “That is correct.”

“Can the committee assume that you can handle yourself in politics?”

“I would beg to say that even in wartime, most things are politics up until the combat itself,” Link went on as I caught Urbosa’s gaze in my attempt to look anywhere but at him. I decided to stare at my notebook instead, but even that was tainted by his touch earlier.

“However, I will say I did learn much while in service of Her Majesty.”

It was a struggle to maintain a professional composure when I was conscious of each time he looked at me or how long I was avoiding him. I couldn’t grasp where my eyes should be or how my hands should be folded. My indecisions made the next hour excruciating.

Admiral Fierlin seemed to ask pointed questions about Whitehurst’s former worries. Link had political and combat experience along with being a current leader.

Looking through his papers, Fierlin raised a brow, “That is it for my questions. Are we ready to adjourn?”

I could tell that it was strange that I wasn’t more engaged, so I could only think of one question. With a dainty hand, I set down my pen.

“Sir Link,” I looked up, “If you were appointed General at this moment, what would your first actions be?”

He watched me carefully and for a second, I thought we were alone together.

“My first action,” Link didn’t wither under my gaze, but he didn’t strengthen his stance either. “Would be addressing the concerns of my cabinet and my Queen.”

I could feel Urbosa’s eyes on me, but I ignored them.

“My second would be establishing a base near the conflict that halves the amount of time to deliver orders. That way we can erect a better, more fortified transport for supplies and reinforcements. It could deter their use of gorilla warfare tactics behind lines. My third would be corresponding with the Gerudo’s own army and creating a more seamless alliance.”

I hoped to look satisfied and went through my blank page of notes, “That’s all. Thank you.”

Fierlin dismissed him shortly after and turned, “I believe he’s very favorable.”

“He is simply up to par,” Whitehurst merely said, making the other upset.

“There’s a reason Nathaniel hasn’t promoted him,” he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “That’s all I will say about it.”

It didn’t last long though as the man sat up once more, “And the Sword spoke to him. Now, I’m done.”

“A silly legend. I could have pulled the thing.”

As the admirals bickered, I stood to stretch out my legs. Urbosa stood with me.

“And your thoughts?”

I looked towards the closed door, “I would be a fool to let my feelings get in the way.”

“Is that your… approval?”

I gently smiled, “We still have two more interviews to go.”

Listlessly, I saw Fierlin’s victory and Whitehurst’s silent defeat. I thought about Urbosa’s words from the courtyard. The country would be plunged into war and they need a strong leader for their military.

If Link could give that hope to them, I would not dare deny them.

#:( im sorry #loz #zelink #zelink fanfiction #zelda #link #loz fanfiction #ashleyswrittenwords #htbaq #how to be a queen #fanfiction #zelda x link

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what-is-your-plan-today · 5 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner Ch 7: 8 Letters, 3 Words, 1 Meaning

Summary: Katie and Steve’s relationship is blossoming, but they’ve still not come out to the rest of the team. Well, not yet anyway...

Pairing: Steve Rogers x O/C

Warnings: Bad language, Smut, Spiders (yeah, ok I need a warning for those 8 legged freaks) NSFW no under 18s.

June 2013

Katie was trying to listen, she really was, but the warmth of the June sun was lulling her to sleep, despite the fact she had only gotten up 2 hours or so ago. She was trying to focus on the intelligence that had come out of the Department of Damage Control, a joint venture set up between Stark Industries and the Ministry of Defence to clean up post Chitauri invasions, that a Warehouse in Columbia was housing a load of the alien based weapons for sale on the black market.

Maybe if she just closed her eyes….

She found herself daydreaming. About her favourite thing to day dream about. Steve. It was now 5 weeks since they had started dating and 2 weeks since they had been caught by Tony. Since then they’d spent pretty much every other evening wrapped around one another post a heavy make out session. Sometimes it would just be a bit of heavy kissing, sometimes there would be a little more. Like when he had lain over her on the bed, kissing her neck, lips, chest, feeling her arousal on his fingers for the first time as he’d coaxed her to completion that way, almost blowing his load himself at the feeling of her clenching around his fingers, and then she’d returned the favour, wrapping her palm around him, bringing him off. And then yesterday had been her birthday, which had brought her one hell of a present.

She’d been on at him for as long as she could remember for a ride on his motorbike so, amongst other presents, Steve had Clint help him research the best helmet he could get and he’d bought her one, much to her excitement. She’d squealed and then squealed some more when he had revealed they were off out for the afternoon. He’d packed an evening picnic and taken her up to Rock Creek Park where they’d eaten subs, muffins and were now laid back on the blanket, her head resting on his chest.

“Your hair smells different…nice different…” he said, nuzzling his nose into it.

“Oh, it’s a different shampoo…” she grinned “It was in the hamper of ridiculously expensive toiletries and make-up that Tony sent me. Or should I say Pepper, as he will have had no idea about any of that stuff…”

“Smells of cookies…”

“It has oatmeal in so you’re not far off.” she smiled, looking up at the sky.

The pair of them stayed still, his hand straying into her hair before he broke the calm silence.

“You know, when I was a kid…me and Bucky used to play a game, spotting shapes in the clouds” he said

“Tony used to do that with me.” she smiled, shifting her head so that the back of it still lay across his chest but she could see upwards “See, there’s a dog…”

“Looks more like a cow to me…” he cocked his head to one side.

“A cow?” she snorted, “Where have you ever seen a cow look like that?”

“I’ve had…” she undid the strap on her baby blue and silver helmet, pulling it off with a flourish as she stepped off the bike outside her apartment “…the most amazing birthday, thank you…”

She reached up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it doll…” he said gently as she reached into her back pocket for her key card. Smiling he dropped his hand to her waist as they walked to the elevator. When the doors opened, Katie tugged on his hand gently and led him in after her. Once in her apartment, he allowed just enough time for them to remove their jackets and for Katie to hang her new helmet in pride of place on the hooks before his lips crashed onto hers, the kisses growing deeper, and he hooked his hands round the back of her thighs and easily picked her up. She giggled, wrapping her legs round his waist, her nose brushing against his as he carried her up the stairs, dropping her gently on the bed. She spread her legs making room for him so he could settle his hips in between the space they made as she wrapped her arms round his neck, his hands gently running up the side of her ribs, pulling off the t-shirt she was wearing, cupping her face in his hands. He let out a soft moan as her hands started to slide down his chest and it was clear she had intentions of using her hands, if not her mouth as well, on him again but that wouldn't do, not on her birthday.

“Uh-uh not tonight baby girl…” he said, gently grabbing her wrists.

She frowned and looked genuinely pissed off that he was stopping her. As she pouted at him, he simply smiled "It's your birthday, after all...." He whispered into her mouth before setting her hands down on the pillow on either side of her head before turning his attention to her chest, sucking and biting through her bra, listening to the sounds she made right by his ear. He continued his affections downwards, pressing small kisses all the way down her body until his nose was skimming along the waistband of her jeans. She let out a groan of delight as he brought his hands up to undo them and started guiding them down.

“Good?” he asked breathlessly, staring at her, seeking confirmation despite the fact she lay completely and utterly undone beneath him.

“God, yes…” her voice was gruff, as she kissed him, the fact that he could still clearly taste her on his tongue meant that she would be able to too, and the fact that she didn’t care made him shudder, though that also might have something to do with the mess he'd once again made in his pants like a horny schoolboy.

As they kissed she began to trail her hand back down his chest reaching for his buckle but he stopped her again, pulling away.

"I err...." he trailed off, dropping his head slightly embarrassed. But he needn’t have been. The fact that he’d gotten off on giving Katie what was, frankly, the best orgasm she could remember having made her grin and she cocked her head to one side as she eyed him, tipping his head up to look at her.

“Best birthday present ever…” she smirked, drawing a laugh from him before he kissed her again.

“Sorry Sir, didn’t get much sleep last night.” she said, avoiding looking at Steve as her mouth tugged upwards at the corners.

“So as I was saying….” Fury shot Katie another look as Natasha played along, patting Clint harshly on the back. “Salaad Ali…” Fury pointed at the picture of the main man responsible for the arms ring we had been tracking over the middle East . “Do we know much about him?”

“He’s a sick bastard” Clint said, suddenly all business. “Came across him on an op in 2009. Apparently when he was active as part of the regime under Sadam Hussein he was tasked with taking out a Kurdish fighter cell that was stockpiling munitions. He was undercover for a month. Then one night he kidnaps a guard, peels off the skin from his right hand, completely, and wore it like a glove to gain access to their stores using the biometric scanners.”

“That’s about power.” Katie said, taking a breath, “Mocking and goading the people who he’s stealing off. Look at me, not only did I infiltrate your organisation, I maimed your security guard in the process.”

“You have to be to pull off the sort of crimes he has, these are big jobs.” Clint said. Katie nodded.

“I also believe from the other things he has allegedly done, the murders, rapes…he’s a control freak, a sadist, type of person who will always want the last word in the argument so to speak. Therefore, if he knows someone is on to him, he won’t come quietly.” she looked at Steve, then Fury then round the room at the assembled team “We should be prepared for a fight. And they’ll be fighting to kill, not wound.”

“Can’t the air force just blow the place up?” Rumlow asked.

“If it was that simple we would have already sent in an air strike.” Fury said, pushing a button to show a map “There’s a civilian village less than a 500 yards away. That place goes up so do they.”

“Not to mention those weapons are really volatile Brock.” Katie looked at him. “If they have as many as we suspect, then if they go up, it’s gonna leave one hell of a hole.”

“Nova is right, you need to get in, take the base and clear out the weapons.” Fury said “And bring Ali in, I have some questions for him before we turn him over to the Authorities.”

*****

They decided to operate under the cover of darkness, to give them the element of surprise. Once they had some form of plan- a heat scan as they hovered over the building told them how many people were in the building and once they had established that they moved in. They operated as a a well-organised unit, quickly and meticulously flushing out the hostiles.

“Shit…” he said and Katie wheeled round and he held his hand up to her. “Don’t move.”

“What…” Katie followed his gaze and swallowed when she saw his foot resting over a small metal pad on the creaking floor boards of the 1st floor room they were in.

“Yeah…we have a problem.” Clint sighed, looking at her then to the Captain “Should have seen that one coming.”

He’s the type of guy that will want the last laugh, so if he knows someone is on to him, he aint coming quietly

Steve scanned the floor and spotted another trigger a few feet away from Katie. Pulling her to the left away from it he looked around the room.

“What’s going on?” Rumlow asked over the comms.

“The son of a bitch has the place rigged.” Clint said, wiping his brow “ I’ve triggered some kind of sensor pad.”

“If he’s laying traps in here then the weapons have to be nearby…” Steve said, as Katie dropped to her hands and knees, torch shining through the dirty, well-worn floorboards.

“Found the jackpot…”

“So have I.” Katie said, stopping crawling as the wire ended. She could just about make out the metal box, a red light flashing ominously through the gaps.

“Ok, we’re coming to you..” Rumlow spoke again

“No!” Steve said, hastily turning and walking back into the main room “We don’t know how many of these he has laid around the place. Wait for my instructions.”

He glanced over at Clint who was stood, motionless, his eyes focussed on his foot.

“Barton, you ok?”

“Peachy cap…” he said, looking up “Guess my Hawk eyes let me down”

“Happens to the best of us.” Steve looked at him as Katie stood up, pointing to her foot. “It’s under there…”

"How big is it?" Steve asked.

"It doesn’t matter how big”. she said gently “It explodes then those weapons go up…”

She trailed off. Clint dies no matter what and as they wouldn’t ever leave a man behind, so did they.

"We need to start evacuating civilians." Steve said, “Rumlow…”

“We can start clearing the village but…”

“Do what you can.” Steve said, “Romanoff, have a chat with our prisoner, see if you can get him to talk, tell us how we turn this thing off”

“Yeah, not gonna happen…” She said back, not a trace of her usual biting sarcasm in her voice. “He’s out cold. Suddenly decided he didn’t fancy being captured after all and got a bit rough on the way up. I had to take him out.”

“Can you help me get the floor boards up?” she said, looking at Steve.

“Well, yeah.” he said, “But won’t that disturb the bomb?”

“Not if you do it here.” she said, moving about 6 foot to her left. “I can get underneath, see if I can disable it.”

Steve looked at her, then to Clint before sighing. It didn’t look like they had a choice.

“Alright…”

A minute later, Vibranium and steel knives had worked their magic as Katie and Steve had prised a space big enough for Katie to lower herself into, head first, torch in her mouth, phone held in front of her, on her stomach. She crawled over to the bomb and looked at it.

“It’s on a fucking timer too!” she sighed, swallowing as the timer had less than 5 minutes on it.

“How long?” Steve asked.

“Long enough…” she said, deciding not to tell them. She snapped a photo before dropping the torch to the boards beneath her so that it illuminated the dark space in front of her.

“Someone patch me through to Lawson …now.” she spoke

Less than 40 seconds later Lawson’s British accent hit her ear.

“Nova.” he said.

“We have a situation…” she spoke calmly, although she was anything but. She didn’t like tight spaces at the best of times and there was a huge spider sitting to her right. And she fucking hated spiders. And she was facing a bomb, now with 3 minutes left on the clock. Swallowing her fear she sent the photo to Lawson’s computer, her hands shaking “Hawkeye triggered this, can we disarm it?”

A moment’s pause.

“Yeah, we can. I can talk you through this…”

“Ok…” Lawson spoke “You’re gonna need a knife or something sharp to cut the wires”

“Got it…” Katie wriggle to free the standard issue Swiss Army Knife which contained every single gadget known to man from her thigh pocket.

“Ok so first thing is first, you’re going to need to lift it out slightly to get to the wires ok. There should be 3…blue, white and red….but this is important Stark so listen.”

“Listening”

“The blue wire has to remain intact and in contact with the sensor under Hawkeye’s foot. So don’t cut it or pull it ok?”

“Don’t pull or cut blue. Got it….”

“Alright, so you need to gently lift it out towards you, watching that blue wire, and turn it to the side so you can see the red and white wires…”

Taking a deep breath, with trembling hands she gently reached out and slowly, carefully turned the bomb to the side, letting out a small squeak of fear as the huge black spider moved closer.

“You ok?” Steve asked, hearing her noise.

“There’s a spider in here the size of a fucking Chihuahua.” she said, her voice slightly higher than normal. Steve sighed, any other time her fear of spiders would amuse him. Not now.

“It’s gonna be more scared of you than you are of it…” Steve said, but as he spoke he knew that was utter bullshit.

“Yeah, anyway, Lawson…I’ve got it…what now?”

“Cut the white wire first and then the red.”

Katie took a deep breath, her hands really where shaking now, and she took a deep breath trying to focus, ignoring the timer which was now counting down from 1 minute 30. She reached out with her left to hold the white still and her right clutched the knife as she went to work. The wire was tough but in 3 cuts it was severed. She moved to do the same to the red, but on the 3rd cut the knife slipped and slashed into the palm of her left.

She let out a yell of pain. “Shit”

“Katie?” Steve dropped to his knees, trying to see into the space but all he could see was her back.

“My hand slipped…I’m ok.” she said. Taking another breath she took another 3 slashes at the wire and eventually it gave. The light on the bomb went out and the timer stopped on 25 seconds.

“Boom…” she said.

“Nice work Nova…” Lawson let out a breath.

Katie swallowed, “Thanks Lawson…errr boys, a little help…”

Steve moved first as she shuffled backwards and managed to get one strong arm round her waist and gently she folded herself up so that he could lift her out.

“You alright?” he asked and she nodded, breathing heavily, but he could see from the tears in her eyes she wasn’t. Before he could say anything, Clint had pulled her into a hug as Steve instructed the team to move in for extraction of the weapons.

“Thanks Nova…” Clint said as she stepped back.

Steve gently moved towards her and turned her to face him, “It’s ok doll, you did it…”

“Guess I did.” Katie said, still breathing deep as the magnitude of what just happened overwhelmed her. She began to shake and Steve simply wrapped her in his large arms and she pressed her face into his Kevlar clad chest and he rest his chin on her head, looking at Clint.

“I got her…” he mouthed, and Clint nodded, heading into the corridor to find the team.

He pulled back and gently took her hand, looking at the place her knife had gashed through the leather on her palm gloves. It looked fairly superficial, the leather having protected her in the main “That doesn’t look too deep but we’ll get the medic to look at it.”

Katie couldn’t feel it. She was numb, numb from how close that bomb had been from going up.

“25 seconds…” she said, swallowing “25 seconds…that’s it, we were less than half a minute from going up.”

“Hey…” Steve moved back slightly so he could look at his girl. “That doesn’t matter now, you stopped it. Everyone’s ok.”

“Baby…” he said quietly but his words died as she ran her non-injured hand up the side of his jaw and then leaned up, catching his lips, hand on the back of his neck. Steve was surprised, but didn’t push her away, he never could. His arms instinctively pulled her closer as he kissed her back, everything else zoning out, until they heard footsteps and a voice which was slightly amused.

“Ok, nothing to see here…” Clint was saying. Steve looked over Katie’s head at the assembled team of STRIKE agents. Rumlow, Rollins, Evans and Nat stood at the front. Rumlow’s face was a picture and Steve, despite the fact he was kind of embarrassed about being caught snogging his girl in the middle of a job, felt a smug sense of satisfaction.

My girl, ass hole.

“Told you Rumlow…” Rollins was next to speak as Katie closed her eyes and pressed her forehead into Steve’s chest, the moment of adrenaline fuelled passion ebbed away and was replaced by a sudden worry of her effectively outing them without asking him first.

“Fuck me sideways.” Rumlow muttered “Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Rumlow, you’re an idiot.” Lawson’s voice hit their ears “I aint even there and even I could see that a mile off. Man, Fury only has one eye and I bet he could see it all the way from DC.”

Steve let out an exasperated sigh, but his arms didn’t let go of his precious charge as he issued an instruction. “Alright, wrap it up. Let’s get those weapons and move it out.”

His grip on Katie released as the team bustled into the room and he stopped to pick up both their helmets, handing Katie hers with a small smile.

“Sorry…” she stuttered “I just…”

“Sweetheart, its ok.” he said gently, brushing her face with his gloved palm

“You’re not mad?” she asked, looking up at him, green eyes wide.

“No.” he said as she took her helmet off him with an air of surprise. “I mean they had to find out eventually. Not exactly how I would have chosen to do it but…”

Katie snorted “Better or worse than being caught in the kitchen?”

He gave a small laugh “Undecided, come on, let’s help them pack up those weapons and we can go home.”

******

The two of them were careful to keep a distance for the rest of the mission and trip home, a professional front was imperative to Steve and Katie was also keen to keep it that way too. She didn’t want anyone saying that either of them were impartial or unable to keep themselves objective. That said, on the flight home they took the inevitable teasing that naturally was always going to come their way when the team found out that its Captain and Sniper were together on the chin. To be fair, it was all well natured and there were no smutty remarks beyond Evans asking Katie if she’d have to get her bed reinforced now she was sharing it with a super-soldier, which resulted in her hitting him square in the face with a granola bar, as Steve flushed at the back of the jet when he overheard. Steve’s sharp eyes however clocked that one person who wasn’t joining in the joking and teasing was Rumlow. He looked like he’d been slapped in the face, and all Steve could do was hope he wasn’t going to be a complete prick going forward.

He dropped onto the seat next to her, leaned forward and whispered “Wanna get out of here?”

“You sure?” He whispered, wetting his lips slightly.

“Stevie…” she replied, her voice barely audible over her deep breathing. “Shut up and take me to bed.”

And he knew then he was a gonner “Whatever you want baby girl…”

He surged forward again, spinning them both round, pinning her to the panel in the wall which hid the closed elevator doors with his body. His mouth trailed down to her neck, softly kissing, drawing a sigh from her at the sensation as he continued to skate his mouth gently across her collarbone which was exposed on one side due to the slouching top she was wearing. His hands reached down to her thighs and he effortlessly hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, nuzzling into his neck before kissing across his jawline and his cheek as he carried her across the apartment and up the stairs. He was aware vaguely of 2 small thuds as she shucked off her boots as they went, before he reached the bedroom his lips back on hers, urgently kissing her as he carried her inside, kicking the door shut before he crossed the room and gently fell forwards, depositing them both onto the bed.

She pulled away from him this time and he watched as her eyes followed her hands downwards before she looked back up at him as her fingers gently grazed his stomach, lingering there before moving down to his jeans. He bucked at the touch as she slowly undid his belt, taking her time as she locked her eyes onto his again, lust had turned into softness as she looked at him. He stared right back at her, her eyes reminding him of emeralds, deep green, speckled with dots of brown, the slight ring of amber surrounding her pupil reminded him of the sun. Telling him of the power she exuded over him and the warmth she brought to his life. He was aware that his breathing had quickened and he let out a low growl before he kissed her, harder and his hands moved down to her jeans, deftly undoing the button at the front. He moved, pulling them down in one go over her legs before he stood slightly, ridding himself of his, the sensation of finally being free was a God send. Katie sat up, eyes trained on him and he swallowed thickly as she undid her bra. He took a second to take her in, he loved her tits, he’d always had a thing for a good “rack” as Bucky put it, and she was a sight to behold. All soft pink curves and rose bud nipples. He was achingly hard now, and he needed to do something about it. In a flash he was on her again, mouth hungrily covered hers as his hands trailed up her legs, to her hips, up the side of her body and then onto her breasts teasing gently. She groaned, rolling her head back on the pillow at the sensation, her hips bucking upwards.

"Fuck." he seethed out at the feeling of her grinding up against his rock hard crotch, and he nuzzled at her neck with his nose again. She dragged her fingers up his spine as he buried his face in the side of her neck working at the pulse spot beneath her ear, the little noises of pleasure she was making were music in his ear. Her hips moved again and he decided to help her out, his hand moving down and dropping below the waistband of her panties making her gasp as his fingers worked her. She was warm, wet, and he loved the fact he had this effect on her. Her hips began to move in time with his motions, groans falling from her lips at the sensation as he nipped slightly at her neck and then moved his mouth to her chest, taking her right nipple in. Her groans were growing louder now and Steve couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to be in her, surrounded by her, feel her. His hands both shot to the side of her panties, completely forgetting his strength and he heard them tear. He dropped his forehead onto her sternum, letting out a groan at his stupidity before he heard a laugh, his head shooting up in surprise at the fact she found it funny.

“I’m sorry…” he blurted out as she continued to giggle.

“You literally just ripped my pants off” she snorted out and he felt himself begin to chuckle too.

“Guess I forgot my own strength.” he offered as explanation, looking at her.

“You know they were Victoria Secrets?” She quipped, looking at him. He had no idea what that meant, but he assumed it was some kind of expensive lingerie shop. A sudden joke popped into his head and before he could stop himself he shot it out.

“Sucks to be Victoria then.” and this made her laugh even more.

Eventually their laughter died down, and they shared another quick glance, and then her lips were back on his, still smiling as she flipped the waistband of his boxers down, and he shimmied out of them, before settling into the space in between her hips. She moved underneath him, telling him exactly what she wanted and he was so ready to oblige. He kissed her hard, his right hand tangling into her left as she reached down with her right, grasping him in her hand causing him to hiss slightly. She guided him to where she wanted him and he gently pushed into her. The sensation caused both of them to groan, Katie leaning back against the pillows as he stretched her, his girth and length filling her completely.

"God," Steve breathed, temporarily paralysed by the way her tightness gripped him His arms shook and he dropped down to his elbows the hand within hers tightening, as his entire body felt coiled tight like snake ready to strike.

The stillness gave Katie time to adjust to his size, but one she had she was aching for him to move, needing to feel him, She groaned, fingers digging into his lower back urging him on. "Stevie, please?"

“Katie…I’m not sure how long I’m gonna…” he began to try and explain but then groaned again as she pushed up against him, his head dropping slightly as he struggled to fight it.

“Let me see you.” she said, nudging his nose with hers, her voice ragged. “Wanna see you let go baby…”

"I'm sorry," he blurted out before he could stop himself, "You didn't even – I'm sorry." He said again still kicking himself.

"Steve, stop…." She said soothingly. “Just enjoy the moment. Please”

“It doesn’t matter you know” she spoke again, hand running through the soft smattering of dark blond and light brown hair on his chest “It was perfect because I was with you.”

“I just wish it had lasted longer.” he said, her words like a talisman in his chest as he cradled her close.

“What is it?” he asked, gently reaching out to tilt her face up to look at him.

The band tightened across his chest slightly, how could anyone not want her? Gently he dropped a kiss to her lips.

“I like being your first.” he said, and she smiled.

They lay still for a while, his fingers gently combing through her soft hair before an idea suddenly hit him and it made him swallow nervously.

“We err…we didn’t… you know, use any…protection?” he said, stilling and Katie turned her head up to look at him.

“I got that covered, don’t worry…”

“How?” he frowned, confusion filling his features.

“Stuff has moved on since the 40s Steve.” she said, simply.

****

“You get a good look?” he mumbled, shifting slightly, voice thick from sleep, eyes still closed.

“Sorry…” she said softly and he felt her finger gently tracing his jaw. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Katie…” he said quietly, almost nervously, as he pulled her closer, his nose rubbing up against hers “You know…I love you.”

"I love you too.”

Right there Steve would have challenged any man on the planet to prove they were happier than him.

*********

Thanks for reading so far!!

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#steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #captain america #nick fury #clint barton #hawkeye #natasha romanoff #black widow #avengers #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #fanfic #mcu #mcu fanfiction #new writer

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h-styles-babes · 5 years

Text

FOURTEEN

Week Four

It didn’t take long for Sia to discover why it was that Harry had shot Mitch that scathing look at the beach the previous weekend.

True to his word, they finished all the recording and preliminary mixing for ‘Anna’ early Tuesday, so after lunch they went into the new song that Harry and Mitch had been working on together after hours. They started off with recording that original bass beat that Mitch had come in with that first week they’d been in the studio. Sia was as in love with it as she had been the first time she’d heard it, the sultry tones and slow draw clawing at her music-loving heart. They spent the first hour laying down an unedited track, just getting it in the computer in order to lay the vocals Harry had prepared for the song on top.

Harry shot a concerned look to Mitch from opposite sides of the glass in the booth, before darting his eyes over to where Sia was sitting. Sia couldn’t help but wonder what Harry seemed to be so nervous about. She watched Mitch give Harry a reassuring nod before Harry signaled for them to start the track. Alex pressed play on the board in front of them. Harry let the beat play for a two counts before opening his mouth, eyes closed, like he either was so into it he couldn’t be bothered to look at anything else, or he didn’t want to have to look at Sia.

“I’m selfish, I know…”

Sia could do nothing but stare, gobsmacked as Harry sang the entire song through, hanging on his every word. Every song they’d recorded up to that point had been fun, upbeat, maybe a little provocative, and there’d been one that was very obviously about his mum and sister. However, this was the first one that was a bit more agonising and beseeching. It wasn’t a hard guess as to what—or whom—he was singing about through his beautiful words of imagery and metaphor.

When he’d finished the first run through the whole song, the people sitting in the room promptly erupted into a round of applause, cheering for Harry, who was bashfully smiling behind the mic still. When Jeff and Mitch flashed him a thumbs up, he chuckled and took a mocking bow

Sia stood quietly by herself. Everyone’s cheers and words of encouragement sounded hazy and muffled in her ears. All that was playing in her mind was Harry’s beautiful voice, singing those words that were obviously drawn from a place that contained her and their relationship. She obviously couldn’t fault him for writing songs about his emotions and experiences, but it was still a hard pill to swallow, hearing him sing about her so longingly and reflectively. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared for it, and it had certainly caught her off guard.

No one besides Mitch and Harry noticed when Sia quietly slipped out of the room.

~*~*~*~

Sia successfully avoided any human contact for the rest of the day. When she’d left the studio, she’d made a short detour to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, and then gone promptly to her room. She’d sent a quick text to Ellen to tell her about the song Harry had apparently written about her, and she hadn’t bothered to read whatever her friend had replied. El knew not to bother Sia if she didn’t answer her texts, so she turned on the telly and put on Forensic Files, happy to watch some mindless show for the rest of her day. Mitch came in to check on her around dinner time, and Sia had declined his offers to bring her something small. No one bothered her for the rest of the evening.

That night, she hadn’t been asleep for more than three hours when she was woken by a nightmare, a recurring one she’d been having since December of the previous year. She sat straight up in bed, heart racing, chest heaving, and tears streaming down her face. She stumbled her way to the bathroom, lights still off, and ran cold water over her face to calm her down and hopefully mitigate some of the swelling.

The nightmare occurred every night for the rest of the week. Coincidentally, that was the same span of time they were working on this song that was hitting a little too close to home for Sia. She effectively avoided Harry and Mitch for the rest of the work week, and she was relieved when they went out with the rest of the crew on Saturday. There’d been talks of a barbecue on Sunday, and Sia had promised Alex and Ben that she’d be there, but she was working herself up to that.

While everyone had broken for lunch break on Thursday, Sia decided it was an appropriate time and put in a call to her therapist back in LA.

“I thought I was doing better,” Sia admitted, picking at the little fringed bits that hung off the decorative pillows on her bed. “But evidently, I’ve regressed.”

“Having your nightmares come back isn’t a regression, Sia,” Dr. Lind soothed, her voice taking on that motherly quality that Sia had become used to when she was talking her off the metaphorical ledge.

“Well, considering I haven’t had them since April, it sure feels like it,” Sia huffed.

“I’m honestly surprised it took you four weeks of being in that environment for them to come back.”

“That’s why I thought I was actually healing.” Sia swiped at the tears that threatened to fall.

“I’ve told you before, and I will continue to reiterate this: healing is not a straight line. Sometimes you’ll kick a habit or symptom only for it to return months later, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean all your work has been for nothing. It just means there’s been a bump in the road that you will overcome, because you have the tools to jump that hurdle. Sia, compared to the mental and physical state you were in when I first met you in March, you’re doing worlds better. And from what Dr. Grant sent me from when you were seeing him in London, you’re not even the same young woman he first met back in January. You need to be proud of the progress you’ve made and all your accomplishments, because they are celebration-worthy. But you also need to accept that this isn’t a straight path, and that’s perfectly okay.”

“I just want to be me again.” Sia’s vice sounded strained even to her own ears. The lump in her throat made it harder to talk over, and she knew she was only a few minutes away from completely breaking down. Today was the perfect time for a cry session in the shower, she reckoned.

“You’re still you, Sia,” Dr. Lind hushed. “You’ve just experienced a trauma that no one expects you to just get over. And the sooner you tell Harry and let him shoulder this burden with you, the sooner I think you’ll really begin to feel better. While I see all this progress in you, I know that is something that you will see as a marker for your journey. Let yourself have that, even if that means pushing yourself. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. And I think Harry will be more willing to share that heartache than you believe.”

Dr. Lind let Sia quietly cry on the other end of the phone for a few minutes before she sniffled out an affirmative, promising to herself in that moment that she would tell Harry about her demons before their time in Jamaica was over. While she hadn’t really wanted to tell him, first because of her own emotional state, and then for fear of derailing the recording process, she knew it needed to be done. She needed to be selfish for once in her life and let herself own this heartbreak and hurt and live in it with someone that was so closely connected with it.

Her therapist gently ended the phone call with a reminder that she had an appointment in five minutes and needed to prepare. Sia thanked her for her impromptu phone call and agreed to call back in a week with any progress or concerns. She hadn’t been great at keeping up with her doctor while she was on the island, but she knew it was something that she needed to make a weekly commitment to in order to keep her sanity and not lose the forward momentum she was experiencing.

Sia sighed and wiped her eyes one final time before heaving herself off of the bed. She checked the hallway for wandering people before darting across to the bathroom to fix her makeup and make sure her face and eyes weren’t too red from her short crying session. When she was sure that she was pretty put together, she emerged and joined the rest of her coworkers in the kitchen.

When she walked in, Mitch offered her the rest of the antipasto salad he had been eating. She took it with a smile, but she was pretty sure it didn’t pass as anything close to genuine. She was still feeling raw from her phone session with her therapist and all the thoughts swirling in her head.

“You okay?” Mitch asked her as she sat down beside him at the counter.

She flashed him another closed-mouth smile and a quick nod before looking down into the salad he’d given her.

Harry and Mitch both tried including her in the conversation everyone was having around the island, but nothing they said could pull her attention away from her intent focus on her salad. Something was on her mind, and both men were curious as to what, but neither were going to push her. Mitch had a pretty good clue as to what it was, but that was a conversation for a different time.

~*~*~*~

Sia maintained her aloof act the rest of the day and into the following day. Harry could tell she was deep in thought most of the time they were together. He was sure it wasn’t always about work, as she was mostly silent during their time in the studio, only offering feedback when it was specifically asked of her from Alex or one of the musicians. During breaks, she spent her time in her room, and when Harry walked past, he could hear that she was on the phone with somebody. She denied his requests to go on walks and have their regular yoga sessions, claiming she was tired from the recording session that day.

Harry was worried about her, but he didn’t want to push. They had just become tentative friends again. He didn’t want to risk anything.

However, on Friday night, Harry was up particularly late, unable to fall asleep. So, he left his room and ventured into the kitchen to find some sort of snack and make himself a cuppa to hopefully lull himself into comfort and then sleep. He went to go back to his room after he’d fixed himself a bowl of grapes and slices of cheese and his tea, when he heard Sia sobbing in her room. And it wasn’t even sobbing as much as it was hysteric bawling, and it sounded like she was hardly pulling in any breath between wails.

Harry quickly set his bowl and mug down on the floor beside the door and knocked softly. “Sia.”

There was no break in her crying.

“Sia, I’m comin’ in, love,” he called out, hoping she could hear him above her own noise. Harry opened the door just enough to let himself slip in, not wanting to alert the rest of the house to whatever turmoil Sia was going through. Her cries hadn’t quieted any, so Harry rushed to her side. He’d dealt with Sia after she’d had nightmares before, but they were nothing like this. She would typically wake with a gasp and take a few shuddering breaths after she gained her bearings, and it was just enough to wake Harry beside her. He would usually coax her to lay back down beside him and ask her what it was that scared her. She’d more likely than not tell him about some absolutely ridiculous scenario that she would usually laugh about before settling back in enough to fall back asleep.

This was nothing like that.

She was thrashing almost violently, her face absolutely covered in tears, and she was wailing like she was in physical pain. But she was obviously still asleep. Harry wasn’t sure if it was best to wake her or try to get her to calm down while she was still unconscious, but he was running out of time to make that decision. Her wild movements were getting so out of hand that she was starting to hit him on accident, both with her hands and her legs.

At that point, he figured waking her up was his best option.

“Sia,” Harry called, gripping her wrists in order to keep her from further lashing out. “Sia, you need to wake up, darling.”

It was clear she wasn’t hearing him over her continued wails, so he gathered both her wrists in one hand and used the other to stroke her tangled hair back from her face. Back when they lived together and she was being particularly stubborn about waking up in the morning, running his hands over her face and hair was a sure fire way to get her up. So he took his shot at it again, and combined it with a low shushing sound to try to soothe her out of whatever terror she was experiencing.

It took nearly five full minutes before Sia seemed to finally come out of her nightmare. She blinked owlishly into the dimness of her room, a little startled at first by the person that was obviously in the room with her. She thought at first that it might have been Mitch, but she realised he most likely wouldn’t have heard her from his room all the way across the house. So, the only real logical conclusion was that it was Harry. And from the warm grip on her wrists and the light, tender strokes to her hair and face, she was sure it was her ex-boyfriend.

“Harry?” she asked, the hoarseness of her voice surprising her when it shouldn’t have. She knew she cried so hard in her sleep that it made her throat raw when she woke in the morning. She just wasn’t used to waking when it was still dark outside.

“There you are,” he cooed, dropping her wrists now that she was conscious and no longer struggling. He didn’t cease his stroking to her hair, though. He figured she still needed some comforting, given how upset she was in her sleep.

With her hands free, she reached up to wipe at her cheeks, trying her best to get rid of all the evidence of her emotional struggles. Harry was really the last person she wanted to get into with right then, but he was there. It was all inevitable anyway, but she’d still put it off as long as possible. Hopefully Harry would leave her be given he was pretty accepting of her need for space when she asked for it.

“Sorry I woke you,” she sniffled, using her hands to prop her up further in her bed. Harry let his hand fall from her hair to her thigh, leaving it stationary as a sign of his support.

Harry shook his head. He reached over to the bedside table and retrieved her a tissue to help pull herself together a bit more. “I was already awake. I was comin’ back with a midnight snack when I heard you in here. Just wanted to make sure that you weren't hurt or anything.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine, so…” she shrugged off, crumpling the tissue in her hand before she started ripping it into little bits like she usually did when she was upset. She did it a lot when she was sitting across from Dr. Lind in therapy, especially when she was speaking about something close to her heart.

“Darlin’…” Harry pled gently. “You’re not havin’ night terrors over nothing.”

Sia didn’t bug him about the term of endearment this time. Instead, she rubbed her lips together, looking back at Harry as he gazed at her, his green eyes betraying his concern. She knew she wasn’t going to get out of this by insisting that it was nothing, so she went with the route that would give her a chance to gather her bearings until he asked again. Hopefully that was a few weeks from now, if the recording schedule kept them all as busy as it had the previous weeks.

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now, Harry.”

Like she knew he would, Harry nodded sympathetically. “Okay. Do you want me to leave?”

“Actually,” she said, probably surprising both herself and him, “can you stay? At least just until I fall asleep? I could use the distraction.”

Harry sat still for a second before smiling at her. “Alright, budge over. Nearly takin’ up the whole fuckin’ bed.”

She playfully scowled at him. “I sleep alone. I’m allowed to take up the whole bed. After years of sharin’ a bed with your crazy limbs, I deserve to hog a bed.”

Harry laughed as he settled himself in beside her, rearranging the extra pillows to better support him against the headboard. “S’pose you’re right. I’d wake up some mornings to you nearly hangin’ off the edge and I’d be spread out like a toddler who’d snuck into their parent’s room in the middle of the night.”

“Exactly. You’re like a giant toddler,” Sia agreed with a grin of her own. She settled deeper into the pillows she had around herself, getting herself comfortable.

Harry shrugged. “I’ll take it.”

#Harry Styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fanfic #harry styles angst #harry styles au #harry styles blurb #harry styles fic #harry styles imagine #harry styles writing #the long road home #TLRH

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oliverwxod · 6 years

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She told me that i’m not enough (1/2) - Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader and minor Steve Rogers x reader

Warnings: Implied smut, angst, sad thoughts

Summary: The girl Bucky fell in love with tells him he isn’t what she wants, so Y/n tries to prove that he is more than enough.

Part 1 Part 2 Prequel with Steve

Masterlist

She told me that I’m not enough, yeah And she left me with a broken heart, yeah

Bucky was devastated. He had been through a lot of terrible things in his life and this was definitely one of the worst. He always use to scoff at people who claimed they had their heart’s broken; telling them to ‘get over themselves’, but he finally understood the pain now.

It had taken him long enough to come to terms with looking after himself and trying to make himself happy, so once he found this girl; her name Jenifer, he suddenly had the role of making not only himself happy but her too.

He though he had been doing a good job at it. Not once had she told him she wasn’t happy. Jenifer had even told him she loved him, which he realized now mean’t nothing, it was all empty words. Whereas when he told her he loved her, he actually mean’t it, with his whole being.

“you’re just not what I want James, I’m sorry” she spoke, her facial expression looking as if she was sad but he could hear in her voice she didn’t really mean it.

How had he been so oblivious. As a highly trained assassin, Bucky couldn’t believe he had missed it.

She fooled me twice and it’s all my fault, yeah She cut too deep, now she left me scarred, yeah

Bucky was self doubting everything now. Closed off from the rest of the Avengers. Just the other week he was chatting happily to them all, smiling brightly at how he had managed to change his life around, start being happy and open with his friends.

But all his progress had come crashing down on him, as heavy as an avalanche; burying him 6 feet under. Bucky wasn’t sure he wanted the surface again. Too embarrassed to face the team and their prying questions.

They could all tell there was something off with the soldier. He hadn’t been seen around the tower much, keeping his contact minimal.

It had all become too much for him. He had willed himself not to cry, he couldn’t remember the last time he actually cried. Bucky was so deep in thought.

Why wasn’t he what she wanted? Why wasn’t he good enough for her? He had given everything to her, putting his whole self into the relationship, yet it wasn’t enough. How was he ever mean’t to be in a relationship if his best wasn’t enough?

“Mr Barnes, Y/n is outside your door, requesting to enter” F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke animatedly, making Bucky jumped. He had obviously been thinking too loudly to hear Y/n knock at the door.

Did he really want to face her? Knowing as she was one of his closest friends in here she would want to know what was up with him.

“yeah, that’s fine. Let her in.” Bucky replied.

The click of the lock sounded and Y/n pushed the door open.

“Hey Buck” she spoke, her voice as soft as always, kind and caring; just like her Bucky thought.

“hey doll” he said, gesturing for her to come and sit next to him on the edge of his bed.

She sat next to him, patiently. They were quiet for a couple of minutes just taking in the comfort of the others presence.

“so… what’s going on with you Bucky?” she eventually asked. “you don’t have to tell me, you can talk to Steve if you prefer, but just tell someone, it’s scaring me.”

Bucky didn’t mean to scare her by his silence recently. Hating the thought of it.

“she broke up with me” he said outright. There was no point hiding it from her, she would find out one way or another.

“oh… that’s a shame.” she spoke, taking hold of one of his hands to show she was there for him. Little things like that were why Bucky trusted her so easily. “it will be alright… you’ll be alright” she spoke.

Now there’s too many thoughts goin’ through my brain, yeah And now I’m takin’ these shots like it’s novacane, yeah

“not too many” Steve warned Y/n, knowing how bad she could get from alcohol. He had spent countless nights by her side, comforting her while she cried over being drunk and stating how she was ‘so lucky’ to have all her friends and how she ‘loved them all’, holding her hair back as she threw up, claiming she would never drink at parties ever again. Yet she always broke the promise.

Steve didn’t mind though, he loved being in the company of her, even if it was to hold her hair back.

Y/n smiled at the super soldier, throwing back another shot as she sat at the bar with Bucky. Steve sitting the other side of the soldier; giving her a sad looking smile.

Bucky chuckled, taking his own shot. All of them had a bit too much, laughing and giggling at the silliest of things. Y/n had suggested they had a night in the tower, telling Steve his friend needed help fixing his broken heart and what better than to start with alcohol.

Steve eventually decided he needed to stop drinking so he could wake up on time in the morning to get his run in.

“i’m off up to bed, if you need me just get F.R.I.D.A.Y to call me and i’ll be down. Be safe” he sad, giving Y/n a pointed look.

“Of course we will, Captain” she spoke, flashing him an innocent smile.

Steve couldn’t help but smile back at her, shaking his head before turning to leave to the stairs.

“so more shots” Y/n spoke, getting off the bar stool and walking around to the other side so she could scan the array of alcohol Tony has stashed.

She picked up a bottle of whisky, the glass bottle heavy in her hand.

“this will do” she mumbled to herself, pouring one for herself and Bucky.

“Isn’t that a little strong for you doll?” he asked, raising one eyebrow up at her impressed with her choice.

“that’s the point” she laughed.

“how about I drink the strong stuff, and you stick to the slightly lower percentage drinks, if not we will definitely have to get Steve’s help” Bucky laughed, his first genuine laugh in weeks.

“no, whatever we do … can’t get Steve” she spoke shaking her head.

“why not?” Bucky asked.

“he- uh… Steve kissed me…” she spoke, not making eye contact with the soldier, whose eyes went wide at the information.

“what?!” he asked, chuckling. “the punk actually kissed you?”

“yeah… the other day.”

“well- was it good? did you kiss back?” Bucky asked sitting up in his seat and leaning closer to her in excitement. His two best friends kissed. He was happy about it, well he thought he was, it was a weird feeling he couldn’t really describe.

“Yeah… and uh- we may have-”

“oh my god… you and Steve? you two - you slept together?” Bucky asked, shocked. Y/n nodded, embarrassed, her cheeks heating up as she tried to avoid looking at Bucky.

“well I never would have guessed that” Bucky spoke leaning back in his chair and shaking his head, laughing lightly, still in shock.

“it’s not a big deal though, it’s not going to happen again.” she spoke, shrugging.

“what?” he asked, confused now. “why not? does he know that?”

“He knows. I love Steve, he’s one of my best friends in the entire world and I adore him. But I don’t want to be with him like that.” she shrugged, not wanting to carry on the conversation.

“I don’t understand. Steve’s the perfect guy for you-”

“you don’t know whose perfect for me” Y/n cut him off. “Steve deserves someone better than me, someone who will love him. I can’t give him that-”

“why not?” Bucky asked, still confused.

“because I love someone else and it wouldn’t be fair to him.” she said, glaring slightly at the soldier for making her say it.

“oh” he replied, swirling the whisky around in his glass before downing it. “that makes sense.”

She poured them both another drink.

“who?” he asked curious. Bucky can’t remember her ever talking about another guy, and surely she would have told him this before.

“it doesn’t matter” she spoke “he doesn’t feel the same way”

“well- that’s shit” he mumbled.

“yeah”

Oooh, I fall apart Down to my core Ooh, didn’t know it before Surprised when you caught me off guard

“I tried my hardest everyday” Bucky spoke, his words slurring. “I couldn’t give her anymore than that, yet it wasn’t enough… I’m not enough…”

They were still drinking into the early hours of the morning. Hearing Bucky speak of himself so lowly was taking it’s toll on Y/n. She hated the way he was speaking. Y/n thought Bucky was amazing, everything he did she was enamored by.

“hey, you know what, she’s the one who didn’t deserve you! you’re truly amazing Buck. Have you looked at yourself! you’re a beautiful person inside and out, she’s the one who doesn’t deserve you” Y/n spoke, getting angry at Jenifer for making him think of all of these things.

Bucky gave her a sad smile.

“if that was true doll, she wouldn’t have broken up with me” he said laughing spitefully. “how is anyone mean’t to love me when I can never give them enough”

“you’re being silly now Bucky. There’s lots of people who love you already, Steve.. the team… me” she answered.

“I mean love me as in wanting to spend the rest of our lives together, raising family, having our own house- that kind of fluffy shit” he replied waving her statement off.

“what if I told you that there was someone who loved you that way?” she said, suddenly feeling sober.

“I’d tell you to jog on, because you’re lying.” Bucky scoffed, facing her, eyes meeting as he stared her down.

“what if I told you that I did?” she asked.

“you don’t have to say that just because you feel sorry for me” he spoke, shaking his head.

“Bucky, I’m being-”

she was cut off by Bucky standing up, swaying an dimmeditely falling to the ground, passing out from the amount of alcohol. She sighed, knowing she would have to get Steve’s help.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y” Y/n spoke “can you get Steve for me please”

“I have already alerted him, Captain Rogers is on his way”

Never caught a feelin’ this hard Harder than the liquor I pour Tell me you don’t want me no more But I can’t let go

“so…” it was awkward between them. Not having spoken since they spent the night together.

Steve had helped her carry Bucky to his room, putting the super soldier to bed. They were both walking along the tower corridors to their own rooms.

“it’s him, isn’t it?” Steve asked, sighing sadly.

“what?”

“the reason you don’t want to be with me- you love him… you love Bucky” Steve said, having figured it out by the way you looked at the soldier when making sure he was safe in bed.

“Steve- i’m sorry-” she spoke

“it’s alright” he said, it wasn’t; but he didn’t blame her, he knew the heart couldn’t be controlled. He knew Bucky deserved to be happy.

“have you told him?” he asked, still acting awkward, reserved and quieter than usual.

“nearly, but I didn’t, I don’t think I will for a while. He’s still getting over Jenifer at the moment, it’s all still too fresh in his mind. He hates himself and keeps blaming himself that he’s not enough, and I want to make him realize he is” she spoke.

“well, don’t leave it too late. If not none of us will be happy” he said, smiling sadly.

“i’m really sorry Steve, you deserve to be happy too, but I can’t make you happy, you deserve someone much better than me; I mean, so does Bucky… but you… I know there’s the perfect person out there waiting for you” sh spoke, her hand resting on his arm in reassurance.

Steve thought that even the most perfect man in the world wouldn’t deserve her, not knowing how she could think that way when he thought she was the sun, the moon and the earth.

“thanks” he spoke, smiling halfheartedly. “I hope everything works out for you”

“thank you Steve”

Ice keep droppin’ and the drink keep flowin’ Try to brush it off but it keep on goin’ All these scars, can’t help from showin’ Whippin’ in the foreign and the tears keep blowin’, yeah

Steve left to retreat to his own room. His thoughts and heart racing when she hugged him before departing.

The touch of her skin bringing back memories of the night they shared together. It was perfect to him.

He wanted to live everyday like it. With her by his side, she made everything seem okay in the world; as if he didn’t have to face it all by himself.

Steve was devastated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fluff #winter soldier imagine #winter soldier au #the winter solider x reader #bucky barnes x reader #marvel au #marvel imagine #marvel writing #steve rogers imagine #avengers imagine #avengers au #bucky barnes angst #steve rogers angst

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biscuitincharge · 6 years

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☯ + talking with Lapis on her ocean water tower and healing her gem

Send me ‘☯ + a scene from my characters canon’ and I will drabble it from my character’s POV.

Despite how fast he was being pulled up, it felt like it was going on for ages. Then again, he did have to hold his breath the entire way up, which hadn’t exactly made the trip all that comfortable. By the time it didn’t seem like he could hold it for that much longer, Steven found himself suspended in a bubble of water, and his head popped free. He gasped for air, which ended up being a tad harder than he intended due to how thin the atmosphere was.

“Lapis!” There she stood at the top of the tower, hand outstretched and a frighteningly cold glare on her face.

“What are you doing here, Steven?” she demanded in a quiet yet venomous tone.

Steven was taken aback by how chilling it was for a moment. “What? I... No.” He shook his head, pulling himself together and remembering why he was there. “What are you doing here?”

He gestured about with his head (the rest of his body was harder to move in such a concentrated blob of water) at what Lapis was doing. “This thing! The ocean!” A huge and important part of the Earth, and it was all just sucked up almost in an instant and pointing into space, for crying out loud! “This is crazy!”

Why did Lapis hate the other Gems so much? They were guardians. Protectors. Heroes. It’s not like they trapped her in that mirror; they’d never do something like that to someone. Pearl even said she found the mirror like that.

“Can’t we work this out?” he pleaded. “We Gems should be friends.”

Lapis caught Steven off-guard by dragging his water bubble right up to her face for her retort. “Don’t you know anything, Steven?” she growled. “Your friends... They don’t really care about other Gems. All they care about is the Earth...but I never believed in this place...”

She turned to look away, her focus out into space. What did Lapis mean, saying his friends didn’t care about other Gems? Sure, they fought Gems all the time, but...that’s just because they were corrupted into acting like dangerous monsters. They fought them to keep people safe, and they kept them safe in Gem bubbles in the hopes of one day curing them, as Rose Quartz herself tried and failed to do.

Before he could think much further about it, Steven found himself in midair for a moment when the water around him popped, and he landed on his back atop the tower. It felt strangely solid for being made of water. As he took a moment to assess the change in the situation, he noticed Lapis walking away and kneeling down towards the other end of the tower. Her anger subsided, she seemed melancholy. Determining the surface was safe to walk on for him, Steven went to join her.

“I just...wanna go home...” she sighed.

Since Lapis had calmed down, perhaps now was a better time to try explaining the problem to her. Steven and the Gems weren’t necessarily trying to keep her from her home; she was just unfortunately trying in a harmful way. “I know how important home can be, but...that’s why I’m here,” he calmly explained. “You took the ocean away...and the ocean is an important part of my home.”

“I’m only using the ocean because my gem is cracked,” she explained in turn once she’d heard his part. “If I just stretch it far enough...”

She gazed off into the vast reaches of outer space as she spoke. Sure, there was a whole lot of water in the ocean...but probably not enough to get her to any particular ‘home’ of hers out in space. The tower was already stretched thin as it was and still technically within the atmosphere, given Steven technically could still breathe. Judging by the look on her face, it seemed to be dawning on Lapis as well. She sighed, sounding defeated. “This is never going to work...”

Poor Lapis. She may have lashed out at a lot of people and caused a bit of damage, but she was just scared, injured, and homesick. Steven kind of wished he could somehow help her get back to the home she longed for, but spaceships weren’t exactly easy to come by. He doubted NASA would just let them come and borrow a shuttle. And Lapis herself said she couldn’t leave of her own accord because her gem--Hang on!

Inspiration struck Steven as he suddenly recalled another cracked gem in the recent past and an ability he ultimately learned about afterwards. “I can fix your gem!” he exclaimed excitedly, thrilled to finally have a resolution in sight. “I have healing powers!”

“Wait...” Lapis turned her head to look at him in surprise. “You have healing powers?”

Steven grinned proudly; she was obviously amazed by how mind-blowingly awesome a power like that was. “I know, right???”

“Oh, what should I...?” Lapis turned around so that her gem fully faced him, allowing the opportunity to follow up on his offer.

Wait, was this gonna be weird for her, he wondered? His healing powers were in his spit, after all. Obviously going up and licking her gem would be pushing boundaries way too much. So the next option would probably be to apply a coat of saliva to something like his hand and get it onto her gem that way. Still... “Sorry...uh, this might be a little weird...”

Steven heard her briefly question that warning, but he was already licking his hand to get ready. She’d find out in just a moment. Once he saw a nice layer of spit on his palm, he brought it down on the cracked gem and wiped it in to make sure it got a good coating of it. Lapis shivered on contact--yeah, an understandable reaction to getting spit rubbed on your back.

Before anything else could be said or done on the matter, Lapis’s gem glowed brightly before Steven’s eyes. He took a few steps back as she stood up and a pair of big, beautiful wings made of water sprouted from her back. She flapped her newly formed wings before him, looking actually kinda majestic.

Lapis turned to look at Steven, her expression genuinely happy and her once glassy eyes now a deep shade of blue. “Thank you, Steven!” she cheered.

Steven stood there, impressed by the sight as he wiped the remainder of his saliva onto his shirt to dry his hand. He felt obliged to respond and dropped a simple, “No prob, Bob.”

Lapis just stood there and stared at him for a moment and then said, “It’s Lapis.”

Um, that’s not what he... This was awkward... How exactly did he explain...? Ah, never mind. “Yeah...” he said to end it here, not sure what else to say.

“OK...” This was awkward for both of them now, wasn’t it? Lapis just ended it with a quick, “Bye,” and then launched herself off into space.

Steven gazed after in wonderment at the spectacular sight. It seemed Lapis Lazuli got what she wanted after all--she was going home. She didn’t even need the water tow--Waaaiiit...if Lapis was gone, then who was keeping all the ocean water...?

Oh... Crud! Crud! Crud!

#Prompt: Canon Drabble #Beach Summer Fun Buddy (Lapis)#((Cliffhanger! OK we know how this turns out but still...))#outofthisgxlaxy #ask

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donotgogentlyintothatgoodnight · 6 years

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Stranger Places (a stranger things tale) Chapter four: New Kid On The Block

Description: Everything changes when Dustin finds his mother’s lifeless body, but he is quickly reminded that he still has family when his older sister comes home. Though she is not the company he wants, can he learn to live with her? Can she readjust to life in Hawkins?

Keep reading.

Jane woke up in an all too familiar place. Her hair was long and she was in the PJ’s she went to sleep in. She looked around the white room with drawings on the wall as she swung her feet off to the side of the bed. Jane walked over to the door. Her hand reached for the knob but stopped; hovering over it. No, she thought. It couldn’t be unlocked. She places her hand on the knob and twists. Her eyes widen when the door opens with ease.

She walked down the halls, pass surveillance cameras, guards and doctors. It was as if she wasn’t even there to them. She stopped in front of a nurse and went to grab her hair, nothing. Her hand simply went through the blonde locks. Out of the rather quiet corridor, there was a scream that shattered through both dream and reality dimensions. Jane follows doctors and nurses closely as they lead her to the sound. They stop and turn into a room where a child is hooked up to a machine that gave her the chills.

The child put their hand up to the doctor in a pathetic and pleading way. Jane couldn’t understand what they would want with this child, who seemed on the verge of dying any moment. Two doctors argued in the corner, she could barely make out what they were saying, but unfortunately, couldn’t comprehend the half she did hear.

“Please,” she heard. She looked back at the child, who had a bloody nose, tears in their eyes and was now staring directly at her.

“What?” Jane asked, surprised and scared at the same time.

“Help me,” The child begged before letting out another horrible scream, that made Jane and the doctors grab their ears. It didn’t seem to stop; the screaming only turned into what sounded like a siren, that lead to a big flash of light and energy. Jane screamed. Jane screamed so loud, she woke herself up. Her scream was so loud, that it startled Hopper from his slumber and he came bursting into the room.

“What happened?” he asked urgently. “What happened? Are you okay?”

She couldn’t say anything to him though. All she could do was stare at Jim with her big wide eyes and try to catch her breath. Tears started to fog her vision. Hopper’s expression softened as he rushed to her side to hold her. “Its okay babygirl.” He pulled her in tight to his chest, letting her cry into his sweater. “It’s okay. I’ve gotcha now. Nothing’s gonna hurt you.”

Hoppers eyes dodged around the room. He was a paranoid man, but with good reasoning. His eyes caught a glimpse of the clock that read 4:25am. He sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to get anymore sleep for the night.

Steve crunched on a piece of toast with jam smeared across it, as he examined Dustin sleeping; who was spread out in the strangest way. He kicked the frame, making the whole bed vibrate. However, Dustin didn’t budge. Steve noticed Dustin’s ankle peaking out from under the covers and grabbed, giving his leg a few shakes like it was a heavy rope.

“Hey. rise and shine.” Dustin groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Steve rolled his eyes. “Come on, dude. Ya gotta get ready for school.”

“I mop blowing.” Steve scrunched up his face. Dustin was too muffled to understand anything he was saying. Steve sighed, tired of playing this game. “I’m sorry what was that? I couldn’t hear you,” he said, yanking the blanket off of Dustin’s body. Dustin eyes shot open and immediately went in search for Steve. “I said, I’m not going.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not going.”

Steve looked up at a corner of the guest room, pretending as though he was debating something in his head.

“No, yeah,” He said, nodding his head at Dustin. “That is a shitty excuse.”

He took another bite of his toast as he watched the young teen boy flop over onto his stomach.

“Why are you being like this?” Dustin asked, irritated Steve wouldn’t let him sleep.

“Because one week of school is hard enough to catch up on. And flunking out is unfortunately not an option for you, Dust.” Steve popped the last bite of toast into his mouth, wiping the crumbs off of his hands onto the old pair of sweatpants he was wearing. “Plus the sooner you get back to a normal life, the sooner you’ll feel better.”

Dustin whined into his pillow. “You’re a dick, Steve.”

“Yeah, but I’m right. Get up.”

Dustin swung his legs to the side of the bed. His eyes fell closed and his head felt heavy. He really wasn’t a morning person, and this Monday morning he particularly hated more than the others. He hopped up onto his feet, taking a moment to steady himself. Steve watched the whole time.

“One foot after the other,” Steve encouraged.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Dustin told him, dragging himself to the bathroom.

“Here’s five bucks for lunch,” Steve said, handing Dustin the money. “Get whatever you want. Keep the change.”

“Thanks,” Dustin replied, shoving the money into his pocket.

“I’ve got practice today, so see if you can go to Mike’s house after school. I’ll pick you up there afterwards.”

“Okay,” Dustin said. Normally he’d poke fun at Steve, saying he only wants him to go there on the off chance he runs into Nancy, but he wasn’t in the mood for it. Steve was surprised by this too.

“Okay,” Steve replied. Dustin hopped out of Steve’s car.

“Hey Dustin!” He called out before Dustin closed the door all the way. He bent down and poked his head in. “If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know. I’ll hang them on the flag pole by their underwear.”

Dustin stared at Steve for a moment. He couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. He decided not to question it. “Okay, Steve,” he said calmly and closed the passenger door.

She pulled her books close to her chest. She had never had so many eyes on her at once and it made her extremely uncomfortable. People whispered to one another as they stared and it made Jackie anxious. Did they remember her? What were they saying about her? She wasn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary; her army green parka with a black turtleneck underneath, as well as combat boots and light washed mom jeans. Her hair was pretty tamed today too, so it couldn’t be her appearance. It all seemed to check out. There were a few snickers that made their way to her ear. She hurried her pace to where her assigned locker was.

Jackie let out a sigh of relief when she found her locker with ten minutes to spare before class. She entered the code to the lock and yanked down. Nothing happened. You’ve got to be kidding me, she thought. She entered it again, paying extra attention to her turns and yanked. Again, nothing. She tousled her hair to the left side of her face and tried again, this time yanking harder. The boy standing next to her noticed her struggling.

“You have to push up, then pull down with that one,” he told her. She gave it a try. The lock unhinged from its state and opened up the locker. “That one was mine last year,” He adds.

“Guess I’m lucky you were standing by,” she said with a smile. “Thank you.”

He gave her a nod with a smile back. She took off her jacket and hung it up on the hook of the-

“You know, I’m sorry, but you look so familiar. Are you new or have we met?” She looked from behind the locker’s door. He was looking at her with eyes that were eager for an answer. “I don’t know. Maybe. I used to live here a while ago. I just moved back.”

His eyes widened. “Wait. Jacqueline? Jackie Henderson?”

She looked to the side of her. People were still staring at whispering. They clearly remembered her. “Yeah.”

“Dustin’s older sister.”

She looked at him confused. “yeah,” She answered.

He let out a chuckle put his hand on his chest. “Jonathan Byers,” he re-introduced himself to his old friend. It had been years since the two had seen each other, but this was the first face today she was actually excited to see. She threw her arms around his neck, happy to be reunited with her best friend. “Jonathan!”

He let out a huff when her body slammed into his, but he didn’t mind her excitement. He honestly thought he’d never see the day when she’d come back to Hawkins. “It’s good to see you,” he told her, wrapping his arm around her back.

She stepped back, with the first genuine smile she’s had in awhile. “You got so tall!”

Jonathan laughed. “The wonders of puberty.”

She giggled. They stared at each other in silence, but it wasn’t a strange, awkward one. It was pleasant and comfortable one that was shared between two people, who were content enough with the company of one another. That was until the bell rang, indicating the start of the day.

“Shit,” Jonathan muttered. “I have to go. Meet me in the cafeteria for lunch though.”

Her heart fluttered at the thought. “Okay,” she said, as calmly as she could. As far back as she could recall, Jackie had always had a small crush on Jonathan, and seeing the man he grew to be made that feeling come out of hiding.

“I’ll see you then!” And with that, he hurried to first period, leaving her weak in the knees. It wasn’t until he had vanished that she realized she should’ve asked him to help her find her first period. Now she wasn’t only going to be the newbie, but tardy as well. What a great first impression.

The boys and Max watched as Dustin pushed the food on his tray back and forth with his fork. Will took a bite of his pb and j as he gave a look to Mike that asked, “Should we do something?” Mike shrugged and averted his attention back to Dustin. “Dustin?”

He didn’t respond; he just absent mindedly continued to play with his food.

“Dustin,” Mike tried again and Dustin looked up to find his friends all staring at him.

“Sorry,” he said with a smile. “What were we talking about?”

“We weren’t,” Max told him.

“Are you okay?” Mike continued.

Dustin thought about laughing it off but his friends knew him too well. So he came up with the best answer he could give them. “I’m going to be.”

His friends smiled at him.

“That’s good,” Will told him.

“Max and I are going to the arcade after school,” Lucas told the table.”We’re gonna try and knock out the top score on Galaga.”

“I’m in!” Will chimed.

Mike turned to Dustin. “Are you up for it?”

Dustin nodded with a smile. This must have been what Steve meant.

Jackie scanned the cafeteria for Jonathan. It was weird having to be in such a crowded place for lunch. In middle school, Jonathan and Jackie would always find themselves in the library or track field during lunch. She smiled when she saw a hand go up, waving her down. She weaved through the maze of lunch tables, until she found the empty seat across from Jonathan.

“You survived!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, barely,” she said pulling the chair out.

“So, how’s Dustin holding up?”

She let out a sigh. “I don’t know. He hasn’t been home.”

Jonathan gave her a confused look. Great, now she would have to explain. “Dustin wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me, so he decided he was going to stay with his friend, Steve.”

“Harrington?”

“The one and only,” she said sarcastically with a forced smile. Honestly, she was completely heartbroken by the fact her brother refused to give her the time of day, but she tried to understand.

“I’m sorry,” Jonathan said sincerely. “I’m sorry about everything.”

Jackie waved it away, along with the tears that were threatening to leave her eyes. “Lets not dwell on it. How’s Will and your mom? I’ve missed the Byer’s house.”

He smiled. “They’re good. We had a rough couple years, but things are finally settling down.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “What happened?”

“Uh,” Jonathan began but stopped and laughed nervously.

Jackie smiled. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “It’s just absolutely insane.”

Jackie leaned forward eagerly. “Try me,” she said with giggle.

“Its better you hear it from the source, regardless.” He let out a sigh.

“Alright go head,” She insisted.

“Will went missing about a year and a half ago.”

Her face fell, “No shit.”

Jonathan nodded. “Yeah. About two weeks after my mom put out a missing persons report, a young boy’s body was found in the lake by our house.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Oh my god. Poor Joyce.”

“Oh, no. My mom knew it wasn’t him.” He went to take a mouthful of green beans, but paused. “I mean, it was him, but it wasn’t. It was fake. It was weird; we had a funeral and everything. But mom never believed Will was dead.”

Jackie scrunched up her face, and her expression made Jonathan laugh. Jonathan reached for his camera, that hung around his neck. Jackie’s hands instinctively went up to cover her face. “Oh come on! that would’ve been a great shot!” Jonathan teased.

“Geez, Jonathan. Not right now. I look like shit.”

“Just one,” Jonathan begged. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Let me get one snap.”

She hesitated, but brought her hands down to expose her face.

“And you look great,” he said, adjusting the focus.

Jackie smiled, hoping he couldn’t notice the change in color of her cheeks. The camera made a small click. Jonathan smiled. “It’s a good one.”

Jackie shrugged, noticing that there were a few more eyes on her than there were before.

“Anyway,” Jonathan continued. “We ended up finding Will alive, but he was sick. No one knew what was wrong with him. He just recently got better.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Jonathan took another mouthful of green beans. “I told you it’s a wild story.”

“Where did you guys find him?”

Jonathan continued to chew his food thoroughly before swallowing it. “I can’t tell you that,” Jonathan said, wiping his mouth on a napkin.

“Why?” Jackie asked.

“I just can’t, I’m sorry Jack.”

Jackie stared down at her sandwich, picking at the crust as she tried to come up with a reasonable solution. “Was he abducted?”

Jonathan laughed nervously. “Jackie-”

“I mean what else would describe the fake body?” She whispered.

“Jackie, I really can’t talk about this,” Jonathan pleaded with a smile, hoping she would drop the subject. He sounded irritated with her, which made Jackie anxious.

“Okay,” she replied, leaning back into her chair. She looked at the lunch she had packed herself and compared it to the one Jonathan had. She notices the pudding packet sitting in a corner of his tray. Without asking, Jackie swaps it out for her bag of chips. Jonathan watches her and laughs.

“Still have that sweet tooth,” he chuckled. “Surprised it hasn’t fell out yet.”

Smiling, she hummed at him, glad he was still okay with her stealing his dessert.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Henderson.”

“Neither have you, Byers,” she said licking the tin cover.

“Hey stranger!” She felt a delicate touch on her shoulders. Jackie looked up to find Nancy Wheeler gleaming at her and bending down for a hug.

“Hey!” she replied, she embraced her back. Nancy and her were never best friends, but enjoyed each other’s company and used to occasionally work babysitting gigs together.

“Your hair has gotten so long!” Nancy declared.

“And you cut yours,” Jackie replied.

Nancy smiled as she bent over and kissed Jonathan on the cheek, sitting in the empty seat next to him and placing her hand in his. Jackie noticed this, and it made her heart drop into her stomach. Were they dating? They had to be by the way they were looking at each other. Jackie swallowed the lump building up in her throat as she glanced around the room. The whole lunch room was now staring her down. What were their problems? Losing her appetite, she no longer felt comfortable sitting in the cafeteria.

“I just remembered,” she stated. “Mr. Sidman wanted me to stop by and grab make up work for the semester,” she lied.

“Oh! I have him too,” Nancy told her. “If you need help, I’m totally available.”

“That’s okay,” Jackie said with a smile and swung her backpack over her shoulder and made a b-line for the exit. She hurried into the west wing’s girls bathroom which she had passed multiple times already that day; She quickly checked all the stalls before slamming her backpack against a door to one and letting out a frustrated yell. She was so embarrassed. What made her think that she would even still have a chance with Jonathan? What made her think no one would remember her or that anything would be normal about coming home after being away for so long? All she wanted was to be invisible and she was front center stage.

“Why the hell am I here?” she asked herself, leaning over a sink.

“That’s a good question,” She heard come from behind her. She rolled her eyes. Jackie knew this voice. She straightened herself up and turned around to find three girls looking her up and down. “Why are you back from the grave, little orphan Annie?”

Jackie faked a smile. “Carol, unpleasant as always.” She looked over at the two girls behind her. “Nicole, Beverly, still Carol’s little yappy dog minions I see.”

“Bite me, Henderson,” Beverly hissed, making Jackie scoff.

“I almost didn’t believe it when Tommy told me he saw you talking to Byers kid this morning,” Carol said, “I mean it would make sense, he is related to zombie boy, so you guys would have a lot in common. But I told Tommy he was just seeing things.” Jackie clenched her jaws at the way she spoke about Jonathan and Will. “But alas, here we are. Tell me, Jacqueline, what did you do for them to let you out of the nut house. Did you blow one of the psychiatrists.”

Jackie shook her head. “You have no idea what you’re even talking about, Carol.”

“Oh, well I know your Daddy must be so happy to have his little girl back. Where is he anyway?” Carol’s words came at her like bullets and all Jackie had to protect herself with was a knife. She quickly grabbed her bag and pushed pass the three girls. “See you tomorrow Annie!” Carol yelled out to her.

Jackie fiercely wiped the tears from her eyes. Coming home was definitely a mistake. Not even her brother wanted her here. Jackie was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice it when she bumped into someone.

“Woah,” the person let out, trying to get back their balance, his friends laughing at his reaction.

“Sorry,” she muttered to them.

“Jackie?” She jumped hearing her name being called. She looked up at Steve who looked concerned.

“Hi,” she said with a smile, failing miserably at an attempt to hide her emotions.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” She said going around him and the two other students. “Sorry for bumping you.”

Jackie was focused on making it to the school’s exit, so she didn’t pay attention when Steve called out for her. She pushed open the doors and was threatened by the chilly Indiana winter’s wind. Her parka was in her locker still, but she wasn’t going back inside that building. She just picked up her pace.

She heard the set of doors behind her open again. “Jackie! Wait!”

“I’m fine, Steve,” She called back to him. “Really. I just want to be left alone.”

“Stop,” He told her grabbing her shoulder. “Just wait a second.”

She spun around on her heals. “What?” Her voice laced with irritation.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Nothing,” She told him.

“Really?” Steve asked, crossing his arms at her. “So you’re just hysterical for the sake of it?”

“I’m not hysterical,” She hissed back. “I just don’t like being treated like an exhibit at the zoo.”

When he didn’t reply with anything back, she let out a shaky sigh and started walking again. “I’m going home.”

“Let me drive you,” he insisted.

“No,” she said shutting down his offer.

“But it’s cold.” Jackie stopped in her tracks. He was right; she was already shivering and if she kept going in this weather, she was definitely going to get sick. She couldn’t afford that.

Jackie turned to look at Steve, who was dangling his keys on his finger.

“You’ll miss class,” she warned him.

“They won’t miss me,” he told her, already headed towards his car.

Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter of Stranger places. I’m thinking of maybe starting to post two chapters a week. So if you want me to start posting more frequently, remember to like and comment what you think on each chapter. Otherwise, I may just start posting for myself. Until next time, keep it weird!

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lizuouou · 3 years

Text

1:17am

jan/18/21

NewYork NY

Today was interesting. I caught myself off guard by realizing how easily a person can get influenced by another. My cousin and I have been discussing family a lot and it feels guilty because there’s so many mistakes, mess and drama. I feel like I definitely over spilled the beans. I need to learn how to stay civil like this is not the best, I know this because it didn’t feel the best but also that my mom sent me a long paragraph explaining how I need to be mature enough to see a world through my win lens and not always be influenced by others, even if they have more votes, my opinion should be entitled to myself and not bias. Bias is a bitch.

I read about Poland springs and how the water they promise us from the springs of Maine doesn’t even have “a drop of fresh water” and Nestle got a lawsuit worth $5millll like bro serves you right we out here drinking tap water lmaooo are we kidding ourselves? Is it really false advertising? Because the last I remember ain’t nobody getting an entire carton of water for like $4? And the plastic, manufacturing, transport, and resources used to get the water itself probably costs so much more. And we’re being promised fresh water from the springs. But why would they give out fresh water from the springs? Who even are we kidding. Isnt water supposed to be worth much more? I thought there’s a war that’s going to happen on water. Shit’s precious!!!

Either ways, I was so bored that right after I actually opened Omegle. No not for any perverted business but because I just wanted to talk to someone. Anyways I came across an 8 year old who told me her boyfriend probably cheated on her and when I asked what? She said yeah haven’t spoken to him in 2 years. I had to control my laughter so hard and I just said “well if you haven’t talked to him in 2 years chances are he probably talked to someone else.” And now as I write this I realized damn, I just gave a little girl advice way too much for her maybe. She dipped faster than a wizard, b knows Whatsup, confrontational issues and shihhh. Then I came across this 19 year old girl from West Virginia who told me her parents left her with her grandmother along with her two younger siblings. They’re drug addicts. I felt kind of really bad because when I confessed I’m glad I saw her face and not a 40y/o’s dick she laughed and said “I just wanted to talk” and I felt that. We both reached out for our puff bars and simultaneously took turns to spill. She told me her dad doesn’t give a shit. We were so chill, no omg I’m sorry to hear that shit. Because let’s be real, you don’t need to be sorry. This is my life, if anything I just want God to feel sorry. Sorry as in, I’m sorry you is sad :( here are your dreams and goals in your hands ta-da. I wish. I felt bad for the girl, the internet kept twitching so I just closed the tab. An 8 y/o and a 18 y/o girl I’ll never speak to again. She told me so much about herself but we never told each other our names. Just our pain? Her boyfriend was a scum bag. Ex boyfriend. Well, I kept silent because I felt like she was being really open. I will never talk to her again. Feels so weird?

That is our generations summary of emotional connection. Short. Like all the fkn boys in my school in FPS like fam just grow up literally lmao jk. Am I? Nah. Anyways I also ditched a friend so brutally I feel bad. They booked an air bnb in front of Central Park and got food and zaza and everything but I chose to meet my best friend his mom and sister, he knew I’m no way interested in him at all. He’s actually always been this genuine. Man’s took the biggest L for us. While Yaldram, rhyme and i walked to his place, he took out a joint and lit it up. Mind it, ain’t legal. A cop literally took a u turn and Yaldram passed it to him cause he was shutting his pants and this dude said yeah give it to me nothings going to happen. BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED.

the cop showed up and asked if that’s weed and rhyme said yes. Holy shit at this point he stretched his arm out and asked for it again and he said no it’s just weed bro, then he reached out called 4 other cop cars by pressing a button (for backup) and I finally said “just listen to him man”. It was embarrassing, people walking past kept looking. Anyways he took all the blame, honestly I just took one puff and was not onboard with the idea to begin with, not even 3 minutes ago I was reminding them how that’s illegal.

He got a ticket, and then I met Yaldram’s mom for the first time and I think I made it so weird because of all what had just happened, was so anxious but whatever. Met his sister and will meet her again tomorrow even though he won’t be there. That makes me happy. I’m welcomed.

However, it was 11:35 pm and I really had to leave cause metro closes at 12am and I realized now it’s too late to go to the air bnb. I didn’t go for two reasons. 1) it’s an airbnb with one guy and stoned? Yeah kinda not the best situation to put myself in. 2) 1

But I felt really bad, this guy rhyme said nothing. He went full MIA for more than a year and doesn’t speak to anyone and didn’t even get back on social media but reached out to me and met me and actually did all this and at the end said bro it’s no worries I’ll drop you, paid for my metro djdnt even let me Venmo (or give me his # or Venmo) only contacts on insta. I didn’t tell anyone I met him because I have to respect his privacy. I apologized a few hours ago because lastnight I said sorry and just that sorry about the food. Because he ordered food there already. But in the morning he told me that I’m a gem of a person and don’t realize that. Like why are you being so nice to me? I can suspect he has a soft spot for me and I have made boundaries and this friendship completely platonic the moment it happened. And he then told me remember the first time we met? ( I didn’t )

It was 2 years ago at a party where I was crying talking to my ex after 2 years of the break up. And this guy randomly walks upto me asks me if I’m okay and gives me water. Mind you no one in a party gives a fuck. Especially that party. And especially my tears against his. It was politically warm? I don’t even know. So that guy who saw me then, came to surprise me on my 21st birthday from NY with the goodies (so illegal) and then ended up meeting my other ex and Yaldram him and I roamed around Boston. It was fun because of my friends. And I was fkn stoned. But yeah and then he looked at me yesterday at the metro and laughed saying “you’ve grown beautifully” I get ceeped out super fast but with this dude I dont. Everhone (including me) thought he’s bi or gay because every time there’s a good looking man he’d say “wow he’s beautiful” but he’s straight he said and also I realized maybe he just speaks his mind. He asked me of the rumors I heard and I told him it was 1) stealing 2) gay and he was like who tf said I’m gay bro, and then he said the guy in front was cute, and then he said “that’s so gay” and laughed. So see? This is a very unusual man. But I had to be home regardless because a) arham b) 12:35am was a perfect time to be home. I don’t like staying out too late anymore? It feels weird. Unsafe perhaps.

However I apologized properly finally. Explaining myself. Saying that I get defensive when I’m high and that the metro closes at 12am but even though the original plan was Yaldram him and I meeting at the place he booked but Yaldram couldn’t show up so I made us go to him instead and we used the time up in getting him his first ticket and in letting me meet my friend before he goes.

I will never forget this man, he told me two of his best friends died that’s why he’d never want his friends to be in any type of trouble. And you know what’s weird about it all? He literally took all the blame in a heart beat with a calm smiley face and I know he’s the one who’s the real gem because not once did he complain or remove that smile off of his face. There was also supposed to be a surprise there but I won’t know anymore. I didn’t ask either.

Writing this made me realize, I want to live harder. I want to be a gem ( no tickets ) but I want to be a gem in my own eye where I can adore myself and allow others to too, and adore them back. Oh and there was also a drunk girl after the whole popo incident who was so sus she acted drunk and said I look like Ariana grande “petit, long hair, big eyes, trust me girl you’re good” and in my head I thought yikes these are the beauty standards in her head which are normalized and thst made me realize oh no she thinks she isn’t good enough does she? Well I hope she does. But also she was sus just weird, walked with us for so long then disappeared then 14 minutes later found myself again running into her at a grocery store by his house?? And she acted as if she never saw me before so I was like oh...

Anyways it’s 1:54 am and I’m glad I wrote today. I’m glad for today, today I was a little less sadder. Particularly because I complained less, tomorrow I’ll try harder.

The end

1:55am

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elli-dawn-stories · 7 years

Text

Doubt- Eisuke

It must be a dream. Dating the great Eisuke Ichinomiya? It felt surreal. Elli never would have imagined a few months ago that she would be in a relationship with him now. Although she couldn’t help but feel unworthy of being his girlfriend; especially after she told him that… Elli has yet to be intimate with Eisuke. She told him she wasn’t ready yet but in truth Elli is afraid of her own body. Elli is very self conscious of her body and feels she needs to lose some weight before going any further with Eisuke. After being picked on and called fat growing up it is no surprise she feels that way now. What Elli lacked is confidence in herself.

One day, Elli was cleaning one of the rooms in the hotel when she was approached by two of her co-workers. They gave off an unfriendly vibe making Elli tense up. Ever since they knew she was dating Eisuke they had been giving her sour looks and barely spoke a word to her.

“Do you need something?” Elli stopped what she was doing and turned to them.

One of the women scoffed, their expression turning smug. “I don’t know what Eisuke sees in you. You must have blackmailed him to make him date a hippo like yourself.” The woman said with a smile full of spite towards Elli.

The woman next to her smiled equally so and praised her friend for what she said. Both looked so pretentious, Elli thought.

“Is that all you have to say? I don’t have time for this…” Elli waved them both off and tried to get back to work.

“Hey. Don’t ignore me!” The woman marched up to Elli and shoved her making Elli almost fall over. Elli stumbled backwards but got her footing in time. She looked at the woman with displeasure.

Elli narrowed her eyes, “Please, leave me alone. I don’t want to fight.” She begged them.

But the women weren’t listening. They both had cornered her. “Eisuke deserves someone better. There is no way he could ever be happy with you. If you really love him then let him go.” The woman said and then her eyes grew dark as she spoke in a near whisper, “Your fat, ugly ass never deserved him in the first place.” She said and then stood up straight with a pleased smile.

Elli was overwhelmed with emotions. Their words stung. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stood frozen and speechless.

The women pleased by Elli’s reaction decide now they could leave. They left the room leaving Elli all alone with her thoughts and worries.

Too emotional to continue work Elli falls to the floor in a heap. Tears flowed freely down her face. “I…shouldn’t be crying but I can’t help it…” she sobbed. “I may not be beautiful like them but why does that mean I can’t make him happy…? I don’t know… Maybe they are right.“ Elli’s thoughts began to run wild. Her doubts only grew. Elli couldn’t get their words out of her head.

Elli spent some time crying her heart out before she had no tears left. Eventually she continued her work- only after applying some makeup to hide her swollen eyes.

Later that day Elli was walking down one of the hallways when a well dressed man walked by with a young girl. The little girl was standing rather close to the man and seemed to be unhappy. At first glance it looked like a father and child and he had just scolded her but as Elli looked harder she knew something was off.

Elli decided to follow the pair and see where they were going; she was sure to keep her distance so she wouldn’t be spotted.

(He is being rather shady. And the girl isn’t making a sound. Odd.)

Then Elli caught sight of something that made her gasp. “A knife?!” Elli spotted the knife being held behind the child’s back. The man was being very careful to hide it. That explained the child’s silence.

(That man is trying to kidnap her!)

Elli knew she had to act fast. The man was armed though so she had to be careful. He just turned a corner, Elli peeked around and saw him look around cautiously before dragging her into a room.

(What?!)

That definitely wasn’t good. That girl needed help now. Elli was about to head to the room when the two maids from earlier appeared behind her.

“You two. Call security now. A girl has been kidnapped by a man armed with a knife. He has trapped her in one of the bedrooms.” Elli said in a very stern voice before the two could say anything.

Both looked surprised and then grew scared. “A k-knife?!” One of them said, going white in the face.

“Don’t just stand there go now.” Elli said and started to head towards the room the girl was being held, “I am going to try hold off the kidnapper in the meantime.”

Both women were speechless, shaking in fear. They quickly scurried off like headless chickens, hopefully to call security. Elli rolled her eyes at the pair and how hopeless they really are.

Elli quietly snuck in the room. She quickly hid behind a piece of furniture after spotting the man throwing the girl on the bed. Thankfully he was too preoccupied and didn’t notice Elli.

(Disgusting! How could he attack an innocent child?!) Elli was boiling with anger.

There wasn’t much time. Elli had to act fast. But how to fight someone with a knife?

(I only have this feather duster.) Elli looked at the duster in her hands, sighing quietly.

(I don’t have much of a choice. It’s now or never and I need to save that little girl.)

The man was just about to try touch the girl when Elli jumped from her hiding place and shouted, “Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!”

The man quickly pulled away from the girl with surprise. Upon seeing Elli he grew angry and pulled out his knife. “Sorry, I don’t have time to play around. I’ll make you regret disturbing me.” His voice was ice cold making a chill run down Elli’s spine.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Elli shouted, doing her best to show no fear. She pulled out her feather duster and pointed it at the man, “I have my trusty feather duster with me and together we will take you down!” She declared, smiling confidently at the man. Though her whole body was shaking and her heart was beating so fast she may have heart failure.

The man started to laugh like she was crazy and then charged towards her with his knife. Elli had no time to be scared now, she quickly dodged his knife and did so over and over. Elli had no idea how she was managing it but the man was getting frustrated. He stopped and started to yell at Elli but she took this as her opportunity and shoved her feather duster in his face.

The feathers tickled the man’s nose and now he looked ready to sneeze. Elli took this chance with him off guard to kick him between the legs followed by an elbow to the stomach. As he crouched down due to the pain she just inflicted Elli grabbed a nearby vase and smashed him over the head. The man fell to the ground with a thud and dropped his knife. Elli quickly grabbed the knife and checked the man.

“Huh. He’s knocked out cold.” Elli was in shock she even managed such a feat. She stood up with a pleased smile and waved her feather duster, “A maid and her feather duster is a force to be reckoned with.” But moments later she sighed with relief as all her pent up fear came bursting forth. “That is not something I want to do again.”

Realizing she was now safe the little girl started to cry. Elli quickly rushed to her side and cradled her in her arms until security arrived. Unfortunately though, the two maids were credited for saving the girl. They faked the story and said they had already knocked the man out before getting security and Elli was just comforting the girl when they arrived. They even said the girl was delusional from fear and mistook Elli for them when they saved her. Elli didn’t care though, she was just glad the little girl was safe and the girls thanks was more than enough.

After such a tiring day Elli couldn’t wait to return to her room. But now that she was all alone her thoughts from earlier started to plague her mind.

(What does Eisuke see in me? I wonder…) Her thoughts gradually became more and more negative and she felt like she was on the verge of tears again.

“Do I really deserve him? Maybe he doesn’t really love me and I am just some plaything… People love to mess around with me so It wouldn’t surprise me.” Elli sighed. She walked to her mirror and looked at her reflection, “I will never be beautiful. I will always be a chubby and ugly human being.” Her shoulders slumped as she hung her head.

*knock knock*

“Huh?” Elli wondered who might be coming to see her now. She went to open the door. Eisuke was standing there. “Eisuke?” She wasn’t expecting to see him.

“I came to check on you. Are you okay?” Eisuke seemed worried. Was this genuine concern? “Hmm.” Eisuke was looking at her cheek. “What’s this?” He gently touched her left cheek.

“Oh.” Elli quickly turned away to hide her face, “I…I got injured.” The man from earlier had managed to graze her cheek in their scuffle.

“That was very reckless of you.” Eisuke’s deep voice surprised Elli making her look at him. “You could have gotten killed.”

“Did someone tell you what happened?” Elli asked timidly. She hadn’t told anyone what happened so she wondered how he knew.

“There is no chance those foolish maids put their lives at risk to stop that man. And there was only one other person who could have done so.” Eisuke said, he seemed very worked up.

“I see…” Elli was amazed how quickly he put the pieces together. The next moment she was being held in his arms. “Eisuke…?” Elli was surprised.

“Do you realize how scared I was when I heard what happened? If I lost you…” Eisuke was being unusually open, Elli had no idea how to react. “However…” Eisuke leaned back and smiled, “You were very brave. That’s my girl. Always putting others ahead of yourself. You have a big heart.”

“Eisuke…” Elli was speechless. She could feel mixed emotions well inside of her. Then the words from earlier popped in her head. “…” Elli grew sad and looked at her feet.

“Elli?” Eisuke wondered why she looked ready to cry.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry for not being beautiful and that I can’t make you happy. I’m sorry for being fat and ugly and not having any redeeming qualities. I understand if you don’t really love me and want to break up. You deserve better than me, anyway.” Elli went off like a bullet, Eisuke could hardly keep up with her.

“Elli. Slow down.” Eisuke said but Elli kept going, continuing to talk herself down. Eisuke grew mad, “Stop talking!” He shouted and Elli immediately shut up and looked at Eisuke to see him very angry. “Did you just ignore everything I just said? Why would you even say such horrible things?” Eisuke was furious, his body was practically shaking, “Your words are nothing but lies. All of them are lies.”

“What?”

“Don’t really love you? You are the first girl I have ever really loved. This is the honest truth. I could never love another after meeting you.” Eisuke said.

Elli felt her breath get stuck in her throat. This was the first time he was ever so openly honest with his feelings. He continued on…

“Ugly? Fat? Don’t be ridiculous. You are fine just as you are. So what if you don’t have the body like a model. You don’t need to look like anyone else but yourself. Stop trying to be who you aren’t and start being happy with who you are. Only you can be yourself. And I will always love you no matter how you look.” Eisuke said and stopped to breath.

“Eisuke… I didn’t know you felt this way…”

“I may not be very open with my feelings but that is just how I am. And as for having no redeeming qualities, you have plenty. Just take today for example. You risked your life to save that girl. That took bravery and a selfless spirit. It may have been reckless but I am thankful for what you did.” Eisuke said. He brought his face closer and kissed her forehead. “Just don’t risk your life like that again. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you… I only wish for your safety.”

“Eisuke… I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible girlfriend.” Elli was so touched by his kindness she couldn’t stop the tears.

Eisuke looked at her and looked ready to give her another talking to if needed, “Do I need to repeat myself?”

Elli shook her head, “It’s not that. I’ve been so conscious about my body… That’s why I wouldn’t let you be intimate with me.” Elli finally said her true feelings.

Eisuke looked surprised to hear that but then he smiled his usual smile, “So that’s why. Well you have nothing to worry about.”

“I know that now but…”

“You still want a little more time?”

“Yes. I’ll be ready soon.” Elli’s smile was bittersweet.

“I shall give you that time but I will only wait so much longer. So be ready soon.” He teased and Elli just kept silent while shying away a little.

(I don’t think he was joking. He must really be getting impatient.)

“By the way, you won’t have to worry about those maids any longer.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I fired them.”

“What?”

“Baba happened to overhear your little conversation. I won’t stand anyone disrespecting you like that, so I showed them the door.” Eisuke said.

Elli was surprised by this news. And relieved. Now she would have to worry about them anymore. She got her worries out and has grown closer to Eisuke as a result. Things are finally looking up.

“Now then…” Eisuke was now looking at Elli provocatively. “I will have to keep you company tonight so your thoughts don’t start to wander again.” He said, starting to inch closer to her and Elli started to back away.

“W-Wait. I thought you said you would give me more time?” Elli said, her voice a little shaky.

Eisuke backed her up all the way to her bed where he then pushed her down.

“Eisuke!” Elli cried out, worried.

Eisuke started to chuckle surprising Elli. “Haha. I was only going to cuddle you all night long.” He said and then smirked mischievously as he laid down besides her and wrapped his arms around her, “Or were you hoping for something…more?” His hot breath tickled her ear.

“N-No…” Elli was so nervous but he had no intention of letting go.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. Just let me hold you like this tonight. But next time it won’t stop at simple cuddles. So prepare yourself.” He said and gently squeezed her.

“I will…” Elli smiled softly as she looked at him. “Eisuke… I-I love you… Thank you.”

Eisuke smirked, “You are lucky I have self control because the face you are making is very tempting…”

Elli jumped and clamped her mouth shut making Eisuke laugh. At first Elli was nervous being so close to Eisuke but it didn’t take long for her to settle down in his arms and truly feel safe within them. Elli knew now without a doubt she was loved and was perfect just the way she was.

#Voltage inc #kissed by the baddest bidder #Eisuke ichinomiya

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