#‘Hulk always thought group was stupid idea!’

[daydreamerdrew]

The Defenders (1972) #75

[mitigatedchaos]

Trump at the 2024 RNC

(~1,300 words, 6 minutes)

Thoughts on the final night of the Trump Convention.

#1A: A lot of this stuff is, right or wrong, very obvious. For example, the stuff from the school safety speaker. It's obvious that having students assaulting the staff will be bad for both the staff and the other students.

#1B: I was in a group chat with some Republicans, and one woman asked why Obama/Biden instituted the rule from the school safety segment; I speculated that they probably saw a correlation between suspensions and later arrests, and assumed the suspensions caused the arrests. "That's so stupid," she said. (There is an alternative theory for school discipline - it applies smaller punishments to smaller infractions, so that students' first brush with institutional discipline isn't from the cops.)

#2: Hulk Hogan knew what he was there to do, and he did it. The classic shirt-ripping and muscles contribute to the sense of vigor, but really, the whole convention still feels ten years older than 2015. (I've heard that he took down Gawker with help from Peter Thiel, and Gawker was involved in obnoxious 2014-era antics beyond just harassing Hogan. I suppose with this, his debt is repaid.)

#3: It would seem the Erick Trump was chosen to speak for the "they... came after Trump!" faction of the Trump coalition, moreso than Trump himself. Makes sense strategically.

#4A: The "perhaps God... protected Trump" bit honestly feels crass, basically just there because Dems lost the active shooter roll. No, I don't mean because the shooter didn't hit; I mean they lost the roll to avoid having a shooter show up in the first place.

#4B: While Trump did have a segment on the shooting, and used a photo prominently circling the flying bullet, he doesn't call for revenge! and seemingly just groups it in with all his other complaints, like the lawsuits, media coverage that he's a "threat to democracy," and so on. I think implicitly, almost everyone is assuming the assailant was mentally ill in some way.

#4C: On Twitter, there were some attempts to argue that either Trump himself or the Trump movement don't care about the other victims of the shooter. At >$6.2M in fundraising, the Trump movement have basically raised a full weregild for each one. And of course, there was a dedicated segment on them with a moment of silence.

This fits with the Trump mentality. There are reports of him being obnoxious to bill by contractors, but 'that's business.' Trump likes to think of himself as generous outside of this context, or at least that's the image he likes to project. For him, I think this is one of the benefits of being rich.

This was always going to be a dumb angle of attack, but it's not surprising a lot of Twitter Democrats tried it anyway.

#5: Trump's language was quite simplistic in this speech, especially in the assassination section.

#6: Quite frankly, not all of these economic policies are great ideas.

With that said, the consistent message is "we're all going to be rich!" which, again, right or wrong, is an obvious message. Support for energy abundance? Also obvious.

'We'll let you choose whether to have either a gasoline, hybrid, or electric vehicle'? Very obvious, given current problems with electrical charging infrastructure. In some parts of the country, the cables for electrical chargers even get cut to steal the copper. (More information on that here.)

Aside: Fuels

Gasoline is a lower-trust energy storage and transportation option. Plug-in electric hybrids, which can charge at home and refill with gasoline on the go, are likely the future for the next several decades.

Thinking in terms of fundamental characteristics, there is different balance of trade-offs for synthetic fuel, electricity transmission, and battery storage. Both creating synthetic fuel and charging a battery result in energy losses. Synthetic fuel creation losses are higher on a per-charge basis than battery charging. However, the battery itself is much more energy-intensive to create than a fuel tank. Thus, an attacker would prefer to steal the gasoline instead of the fuel tank holding it, and the battery itself instead of the electricity it contains.

Electricity transmission requires long-distance material infrastructure between the source and the destination. If you have a favorable security environment, that's not a problem. There are reports that electricity pylons are being robbed of their structural supports in South Africa. A more obvious problem - building a massive solar farm in the Sahara and an intercontinental electrical grid to transmit the energy from it leaves you vulnerable along the entire transmission length.

Anywhere with lots of consistent sunlight and access to water (preferably salt water for ecological reasons), where political forces support the necessary infrastructure and are willing to hire engineers, can be a source of synthetic fuels. This is a much more favorable security environment.

#7: A good chunk of the speech is just Trump saying the things he's going to do.

Trump remains the low-trust candidate, which I think is something that a lot of professionals who are Democrats don't really understand. In a low-trust environment, where people don't trust that your rhetoric is correlated to the conversion of money into positive outcomes, you want simple promises with easily observable results, not high ideological rhetoric. (Matt Yglesias wrote about this in 2021. You may not trust Matt himself, but the logic of it is simple.)

Trump blowing off the fancy rhetoric frightens professional types, because it makes it look like anything could be up for sale, but establishes his credibility among people who think professional types are lying. (For example, how they continuously screw-up major blue municipalities.) This is part of the whole deal with Trump 1 and The Wall.

#8: Not a lot of 'uniting' going on here. There's a bit of it, but it's definitely leaning towards, 'we should unite... by voting for me,' rather than outreach.

If you thought he was going to deliver a galaxy-brain genius speech and completely break the context and win with 70%, you're going to be disappointed.

#9: A more competent, more virtuous, and more epistemically rigorous Democratic Party could have taken away 50% of Trump's issues, and left him with a lot less material to campaign on.

To me, it doesn't feel like Trump was selected by providence to lead the United States to a glorious new era - it feels more like he was selected to humiliate everyone else, by forcing them to make a choice.

To quote a random Twitter user:

"Ackshually Kamala wasn't 'in charge' of the border mkay she was just asked to study the 'root causes' of why migrants come from the top 3 nations we basically assigned her a term paper we wouldn't actually give her any real authority OK don't you get it?" This is, somehow, meant to be a defense of her. The press have adopted a lawyerly attitude toward "the truth." They are addicted to finding technicalities and have no interest in what is, in the broadest sense, true. This is why Trump deranges them: he serially exaggerates and bullshits while expressing fundamental truths.

In theory, this shouldn't be a close election. Obviously the reality TV star whose statements are extremely loose should lose.

In theory, this shouldn't be a close election. Obviously the faction that thinks it's OK for teachers to get beat up in schools should lose.

In the groupchat, I said, "The people that get mugged and change their party registration, I can work with. It's the people that get mugged and don't change their opinion that are scary."

One of the Republicans had an interesting response. "It's because they think they deserve it," he said.

[avengerscompound]

The Tower - The Phone Call

The Tower: The Phone Call - one shot

Series Masterlist

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

Word Count: 2714

Warnings:  smut (MMF bisexual threesome, light D/S, exhibitionism, voyeurism, public sex (kinda but not exactly?), oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex)

Synopsis:  When Clint continues to bug Elly at work, she takes him up to Steve’s office to play a game.

Author’s Note: Requested by K-Destiiny on Wattpad.  You can send in your requests too.

The Phone Call

Set between Troublemakers and Unexpected before all of the group had kids or powers.

Clint was restless.  He'd dislocated his shoulder on a mission and while he was mostly fine now, he’d been told he had to take it easy and rest it if he wanted to get his full form back.  He'd loved it while he was healing, particularly because we all babied him about it, so he could just lie around and whine about his pain, and we'd bring him pizza and coffee.

Now that he was healed and we were making him take care of himself, he's grown bored.  Of course, that meant he mostly took that boredom out on me.  The others were a lot less likely to humor him than I was, plus I was the one with the flexible job.

He would sit on the bench near me while I was doing cell cultures and as soon as I set FRIDAY up to run an analysis, he'd start pestering me.  Sometimes it was just a thousand questions about what I was doing.  That was fine, it was nice getting to talk about my work in layman’s terms.  Having Bruce Banner as your lab partner tended to make you feel very stupid at times.  Other times, he’d just prattle on about Dog Cops or ideas he had for new trick arrows, or different dog breeds.  I didn’t mind that either.  I loved Clint and even if he was disturbing my work, I was pretty good at multitasking, and he was good at knowing when he needed to hush because I was trying to work something out.

A lot of the time it was sex.  That was where it would get tricky because I was useless when he got me wound up.  It was like I was physically unable to say no to him - or any of them for that matter.  Even if I had other things to do, all they needed to do was kiss my neck, or touch my thigh in the right way and every other thought went out of my head.

As much as it distracted me, it was getting to Bruce more.  Sometimes we didn’t make it out of the lab and he’d still be working.  It was understandable.  Science was always more of a draw than sex for Bruce and having us messing around near him was likely to call to the Hulk.

After a week and a half of us messing around in the lab, he had had enough.

“Can you please take that somewhere else?” he begged.  “I really have to focus on this.”

“Sorry, Bruce,” Clint said sheepishly.

“It’s okay,” he said.  “I get you’re bored.  And I get that El is the only one that won’t chase you off during work.  But I need to get this done.”

“I’ll take him somewhere else,” I said and came over and kissed Bruce’s cheek.  “Can you put that stuff in the freezer when FRIDAY’s done?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said, rubbing my thigh.  “Have fun.”

I took Clint’s hand and led him out of the lab.  “I have an idea,” I said as we went to the elevator.

“Oh?  I like the sound of that,” he said.  “You have great ideas.  What is it?”

I turned and looked at him, my eyebrows raised.  “Steve game.”

“Steve game?” Clint asked.  “But Steve’s working.”

“I know.  Imagine how much trouble we’d be in,” I said.

Clint scuffed his foot on the ground as he thought.  “He’ll probably just tell us to go wait until tonight.”

“So - then we get a treat tonight,” I said.

“Yeah, good point,” Clint agreed.  “Come on then.”

We got into the elevator and rode it down to where the offices were.  It was a short ride but Clint still managed to make a decent start on a hickey.  When we got out we headed straight to Steve’s office.

He was on the phone when we arrived and he looked up at us, sighed, and waved us in.  I wasn’t exactly sure who he was on the phone to, but words were being thrown out like ‘public safety protocols,’ and ‘oversights,’ so if I had to guess, I’d say it was General Ross.  I closed the door and locked it before going to take a seat on the couch with Clint.  Clint stopped me, running his hands up under my skirt and exposing me to Steve.  Steve continued his phone conversation, but his attention was on me.  His blue eyes seemed to pierce through me.

Clint grabbed the waistband of my panties and dragged them down over my thigh highs and I stepped over them.  Clint turned me to face him and gestured for me to bend over.  I did as commanded, spreading my legs a little.  Clint pushed my skirt up again and used his fingers to spread my labia.  I shifted from one leg to the other, and when Clint took his hands away, I took a seat.

Steve’s eyes were locked on us, but he was still talking about government interference at the cost of civilian safety.  Clint and I started to kiss.  It was slow and passionate and our tongues danced together.  It was a kiss for show more for each other.  We were kissing for Steve - to distract him and feed the fire, so that when he did finally snap, we’d be in for a real treat.  I ran my hand down Clint’s stomach and began to palm his cock and he moaned into my lips.

Steve clicked his fingers and we broke apart to look at him.  “You will neuter us if you try to implement that.  I understand your concerns but we can’t just sit around waiting for permission to act when there is an omega-level threat.”

He was still talking to whoever was on the other end of the line but his full attention was on us.  He clicked his fingers and pointed to Clint.  Clint sat up straight and leaned forward and Steve pointed at his desk and then down at his crotch.  Clint understood immediately, and got onto all fours on the ground and crawled under the desk.  Steve’s desk was large and quite enclosed, and all I could see of Clint when he was in place, was his ass and legs poking out from under the desk.  I didn’t need to see him.  I knew what he was doing.  I felt a little jealous.  The thought of choking on Steve’s cock as he tried not to give away any of his feelings on the phone made me wet to even think about.

Steve leaned back in his chair and tucked the phone’s receiver under his chin.  “Look, I get it.  I do.  But we’re not going out and stopping convenience store hold-ups.  We’re stopping things that the police and military aren’t equipped to deal with.”

He pointed at me and touched his middle finger on the back of his hand, and then gestured at me with a jabbing motion using his thumb.  ‘Touch yourself.’

I leaned back on the couch and brought my legs up, spreading them wide so that Steve had a good view.  I began to slowly finger my clit, keeping my eyes locked on him.  I imagined what Clint must look like under the table, taking Steve’s cock as deep as he could.  The way his throat would bulge as he deep-throated the other man.  The mental images made me even wetter, and soon my fingers were glistening with my slick, and the wet trickled down in rivulets to my ass.

Steve’s blue eyes were blown out back and he stayed leaning back in this chair.  He put a hand on Clint’s head, and I could tell the speed at which Clint moved, by the movement of Steve’s arm up and down with the bobbing of Clint’s head.

Despite the hungry look in his eyes, he betrayed nothing about what was going on in his voice.  The control he had, not only over us but over himself, was a complete turn-on.  I fingered myself faster, and as a warm current of pleasure began to coil through me, I let my head fall back on the couch and my eyes fell closed.

Two of my fingers were inside me and I was roughly fucking myself with them when the clicking of fingers broke my rhythm.  I looked up to see Steve scowling at me.  He curled his finger, beckoning me over, and as I approached I was a little scared of what was about to happen to me.

He took my hand and pulled me a little closer.  Clint was looking up at us from under the desk and Steve lifted me and put him on his lap.  As he lowered me down, Clint took hold of his cock and guided it into me.  I bit back a moan, willing myself to stay quiet.  Steve was still on the phone and I knew if I gave away what was happening at all, it would mean Steve never risked playing with us like this ever again.  Not to mention that I didn’t want to embarrass him.  It was supposed to be fun - for all of us.

When I was sitting firmly in his lap, his cock so deep inside me I could feel the sting of the head pressing against my cervix, Steve grabbed Clint’s hair and dragged him forward, pushing his face into my pussy.  Clint didn’t need any clearer instruction than that.  He began greedily licking and sucking on my clit.  A hot current ran from my cunt up through my entire core and I had to hook my feet around Steve’s ankles to stop myself from closing my legs.  The effort made my thighs tremble and I let my head fall back onto Steve’s shoulder as I focused on my breathing.

“Oh that’s rich coming from you,” Steve said to whoever was on the other end of the line.  “There hasn’t been an incident in years here with us.  How’d that go for you, when you were supposed to be in control of him?”

As he spoke, the inflection in his tone only gave away how he felt about the conversation he was having and not about the fact he had started to shallowly rut into me.  My pussy clenched and squeezed around his shaft as Clint continued to use his tongue and lips to work my clit.  It was hard to focus and I began to roll my hips, swirling them like I was giving him a lap dance.  A soft moan escaped my lips and I immediately cursed myself.  Gritting my teeth as I tried to keep quiet.

Steve was quick to react, covering my mouth with his hand, and pulling my face away from the phone’s receiver.  I started to breathe heavily through my nose as I willed myself to stay quiet, even though I was being brought closer and closer to the edge.  My eyes watered with the effort of keeping quiet and a tear broke free, running down my cheek.  I felt lightheaded and my legs trembled.  Neither man backed off at all.  Steve continued to shallowly thrust up into me, while Clint sucked on my clit like he was starving and I was the only morsel on offer.

My first orgasm hit and I arched my back, my walls clamping tight around Steve’s cock.  If you were judging what was happening in the room by the tone of Steve’s voice, you would think he was in the middle of the most boring lecture known to man.  He was still trying to reason with whoever was on the line with him, and he hadn’t even appeared to react to the fact that his girlfriend just came all over his cock.

Neither Clint nor Steve eased up though.  After my third orgasm, it became clear we were going to be at this until Steve finished his phone call, and not a moment sooner.  By my fourth orgasm, tears were running down my cheeks.  Not from pain, or overstimulation - though I was on the border of being overstimulated - but from sheer exertion as I stayed silent.

“Alright, sure,” Steve said.  “But until then, we’re going to continue operating the way we’ve been operating.  There’s a reason why we’re privately run, and if you check the constitution, that’s in there.”

He hung up the phone and took his hand off my mouth.  I whined, still stuck in the thought process that I had to be quiet as my fifth orgasm was poised to break.  “Are you okay, Elise?  Do you need us to stop?”

I shook my head.  “Please, Steve…” I pleaded.

“Alright, sweetheart, one more.  Be as loud as you can,” he said, pushing me so I was bent over the desk.  Clint could no longer reach me with his mouth in the new position, but where his tongue once was his finger took over, and Steve thrust hard into me, shoving me into the desk.  It only took five thrusts for my orgasm to break and I screamed out incoherently as it tore through my body.  I grasped feebly at the desk as my body shuddered under Steve.  He slowed his strokes and slipped out of me, sitting back and pulling me onto his lap.  “You did so well, Elise,” Steve praised.  “I am so proud of you.”

I hid my face in his neck, a little too overwhelmed to say anything.

“I think Clint has earned a reward.  What do you think?” he asked.

I nodded.  “Yes.  You should fuck him.”

“Get up, birdy,” Steve said.  “Bend over my desk, pants down.”

Clint climbed out from under the desk and stretched, his joints popping.  He fished in his pocket and took out some lube, putting it on the desk before unfastening his jeans and pushing them down.

I got up off Steve’s lap with shaky legs and Steve moved up behind Clint as he bent over the desk.  “Go slow,” Clint whimpered.

Steve stroked a hand down Clint’s spine.  “Don’t worry, bird,” he soothed.  “You know I always take care of you.”  He squeezed the lube on Clint’s ass and more on his fingers.  “Elise,” he said, looking at me.  “I don’t want him to make a mess in my office.  Kneel under him and catch it all.”

I got down on my knees as Steve began to finger Clint’s ass.  I didn’t touch him just yet.  I just got into position, leaning against the back of the desk and watching Clint’s cock jump and twitch as Steve fingered his ass.

Steve took his time, but I sat patiently under them.  When a thread of precome would leak from the head of Clint’s cock, I’d lean up and lick it up.  By the time Steve started to ease into Clint’s ass, Clint’s cock was throbbing and drooling precome.

I started to suck Clint’s dick as Steve fucked his ass.  Each thrust pushed Clint deeper into my mouth, but I kept my hands braced on his hips so that it never took me by surprise.  Clint became a moaning whimpering mess between us, and his cock leaked precome over my tongue.

“Do you want to come, Birdy?” Steve cooed as he continued fucking Clint slow and deep.  “I can feel how close you are.”

“Please, Steve,” he begged.  “‘M close.  Can I?”

“Come,” Steve ordered.

Clint bucked suddenly, crying out as he released straight down my throat.  I swallowed it all, humming softly around his pulsing cock.  Steve continued to thrust, chasing his own orgasm.

“Please, Steve,” Clint mewled.  “Please come in me.  I want it.  It’s all I'm good for.  Fill me up, sir.”

Steve growled and thrust in deep, pushing Clint’s cock deeper into my mouth. He came with a deep groan, and Clint sagged under him.  “Thank you.  Thank you, sir.”

Steve eased out of Clint and he helped us both ups, redressing both himself and Clint.  “Alright, my troublemakers,” he said softly.  “Time to go down and have a cuddle and something to eat. What do you say.”

Clint and I were both too fucked out to say anything right then and there, but we held onto him as he led us out, dopey smiles glued onto both our faces.

~ END ~

[0ctorage]

Deer Season

A creative writing

Our mothers always told us never to go into the woods by the playground. When we asked why, they always replied, “Because there’s deer out there,” without elaboration. Being naive children, our minds began to form conclusions on what could possibly be so dangerous about deer.

“My brother told me that there’s a spirit in the woods made out of all the dead deer,” one boy stated as a group of us played soccer as the sun set. “He said that it’s angry that it got killed, so it wants to kill all the hunters as payback.”

“That’s stupid.” Another boy replied, kicking the ball hard at him. “Deers can’t be ghosts.”

“My brother says they can.”

“Well, your brother’s dumb.”

We all laughed at that, the boy’s face turning red with embarrassment. I kicked the ball hard at the rusty goal but missed, making the ball shoot out of sight into the dense treeline. All the other boys groaned, calling me names as they pushed me toward the woods. I was the one who lost it, so I was the one who had to go get it.

I heard the taunts behind me get quieter as I stepped over the underbrush, sharp roots cutting at my bony ankles. It was darker in there than it was on the field, the trees engulfing the orange light of the sky. My chest tightened as I stumbled deeper and deeper into the forest, I must have kicked it harder than I thought. I couldn’t hear the other kids at this point, only the slight buzzing of cicadas and the occasional rustle of leaves as someone darted across the forest floor. I stopped, breathing quickly as my eyes darted around, desperately trying to find my wayward goal. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw it nestled perfectly in a crown of roots around 30 feet away.

I sighed in relief and kicked myself in embarrassment. If the other kids found out I had been that scared over nothing, they would never let me live it down. However, as I began to step forward, a loud snap of a stick stopped me. It wasn’t like the small sounds that the forest rodents made, it was deep, heavy. I quickly crouched down, dirt staining the knees of my jeans as my heart began to race again. A moment passed, then another, my heart was in my throat and ears. Just as I thought I had imagined it-

Snap

Another one. I could pin the direction this time, directly to my right. I whipped around to see a hulking bundle of bushes, framed by rotting trees. I openned my mouth to say something, maybe to scream, but it felt like something was stomping on my throat, preventing any noise. I stared at the bush wide-eyed, trying to overcome the darkness of the forest. I saw it then, a movement ever so slight and a small gleam barely caught by the remaining light. My mind quickly flashed back to what that one boy said about the deer. I wasn’t a hunter, but perhaps deers couldn’t tell the difference.

I began to slowly backpedal, my brain choosing flight over fight, but my knees were too weak, and I stumbled onto my back, the plants under me screaming my position. The bush- no the thing- moved then to react. Part of the bush rose like hulking, leaf-covered, shoulders. A dark gray muzzle peeked out from under them. The branches hung to it like antlers. It turned its gaping maw to me and roared so loud I felt my ears pop. So loud that I heard birds abandon their nest above me just to get away. So loud that it will forever be burned into my memory.

I screamed then, even though I couldn’t hear myself as I bolted in the other direction, abandoning the ball and the monster. I had no idea where I was going, the trees bent down to try to catch me and the roots clawed at my ankles I felt sticks and rocks scrap my legs and arms, blood running down, but I didn’t care. I kept running and screaming, begging for an exit or someone to find me.

“Ike?” I heard it in the distance, one of the other boys. I pivoted so hard that I felt my knee crack open against the ground but the pain alluded me. I ran and ran until I broke the tree line. Back on the field. Back to safety.

All the boys gathered around me as I gasped for air, bent over and clutching my aching chest. They asked all sorts of questions, ‘What happened?’ ‘Why are you bleeding?’ ‘Where’s the ball?’ But I couldn’t answer any of them. I felt hot tears through the dirt on my face as I sobbed an explanation. No one believed me of course. They harshly bullied me for crying and losing the ball. However, I noticed that no one volunteered to go into the woods after that, silently agreeing that the ball belonged to it and whatever was in it now.

Many years passed. My cuts healed and we all eventually forgot about the incident. As I grew older, my father took me out hunting. “To make me a man,” he said, as his father had done for him. I learned to enjoy it, probably because I didn’t have any other choice. He took many pictures of me holding up buck corpses by the horns, smiling as their dead, black, eyes looked into the lens. I tried not to think about how their mouths hung open, dripping with blood. Even after I moved out, I still enjoyed my hunting hobby. The woods in my area were always very dense, especially around the old playground.

In the middle of the season, I decided that I would have a big hunting trip in those woods. I packed multiple days' worth of gear into my truck, along with a newly bought rifle. I set off when the sun set, hoping to find a good spot to wait among the underbrush. Upon my arrival, I stomped into the forest excited, my ankles covered to avoid cuts. I walked until the trees began to engulf the remaining light, bending down like a cage above me. I stopped when I found a large set of bushes surrounded by low-hanging trees, it was a perfect match to my camouflaged clothes. I couched down, adjusting until I was comfortable, and waited. I enjoyed this part of hunting the most, the waiting. I loved hearing the rustling of creatures near me, the whistle of the trees, and, of course, the anticipation for a deer to idly walk by.

I stayed crouched for a while, long enough for my legs to begin to ache and for my eyes to grow heavy. A sudden snap of a stick broke me out of my trance. I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing to pinpoint the sound.

Snap

Another one, directly to my right, probably around 50 feet away. I raised my rifle slowly enough to not cause any disturbance to the leaves that cloaked me. I could hear my heart beating, anticipating any movement, I unconsciously held my breath. A moment passed, then another. I furrowed my eyebrows as I felt the hair on my neck stand. I couldn’t say why but I felt like something was off, different. Though grateful creatures, it's strange to not see a deer or hear a deer after it reveals itself like that. I let out my held breath, not being able to ignore how my heart rate crept upwards, demanding more air. My mind flashed back to that incident when I was a kid, how I had convinced myself that I had imagined everything.

Snap

I felt myself jump at the noise. It was closer this time, maybe 30 feet away. I lifted my head and darted my eyes around. Through the dark, I couldn’t see a deer. In fact, I couldn’t see any animals around me. However, something in the back of my mind told me I wasn’t alone. I openned my mouth to speak, to possibly call out to another nearby hunter but my throat locked up. I cursed in my mind as I gripped my rifle tighter. It was nothing and if it was something it was a deer. A deer that I could shoot and bring back with me.

Creakkkk

A rotten log let out a cry as something stepped on it. I whipped around to the sound, maybe 20 feet away. My eyes landed on a bundle of bushes, dark green like they were rotten. My hands were shaking and my breath came in short, spastic huffs. There wasn’t a deer here, but I wasn’t alone. I raised my rifle again quickly, the bush around me shook as I began to stand. The bush- no, the thing- reacted to that, moving on its own, rustling and crying. It sprinted out, dashing towards me low to the ground, coming for me with leaves hanging on its shoulders and branches framing it like antlers.

I screamed as I pulled the trigger, stumbling back as the gun roared loud enough to echo throughout the forest. I hit it. The bullet knocked it back, its small body tumbling through the dirt and painting the ground red. The thing let out a high-pitched scream so guttural and human, like a wounded animal. The sound was so awful that I had to press my hands to my ears, begging for the sound to be blocked off. Then, with no warning, it stopped and the forest became quiet once again.

I gasped for air as I pulled my shaky hands away. I slowly looked up towards the creature, laying still covered by the underbrush. I was frozen for what felt like years until I forced my numb legs to move forward, stepping toward my victim. I looked down at it as my rifle slipped from my hands. A wave of nausea hit me as I saw it. It wore a blood-stained shirt and jeans that had cuts in them. A gaping hole in the side of its face blew apart most of its features, except for an open mouth dripping blood. I sobbed as I tried to pull him closer to me, my voice finally coming to me as I screamed. I saw it then his prize. Clutched to his chest with the stiffening muscles of a final act, was an old, ragged, soccer ball.

[secretlysheikah]

Discovering Hyrule

So just what was Hyrule like when the chain stumbled upon him in his natural habitat? Well read and find out. Did someone ask for bad ass Hyrule? No? Well too bad you’re getting it today. 

I like to dedicate this to the lovely @vengeful-sock for always being there for me and always being willing to listen to my rambles.  

Don’t wanna read it here? OKAY! Check it out here on Ao3 Please enjoy my take on our most precious of beans:

Start Here: They stuck out like a sore thumb, Link thought to himself as he watched the three men walk through town. They were dressed strangely and they were all together too clean, making them completely at odds with the town they strolled through. One was tall with odd markings on his face and wore very nice and shiny armor. The other who was slightly shorter sported what looked like a rather nice animal pelt around his shoulders. The last, well that white cape would have drawn anyone’s eye but the large gem that clasped the cape around his neck certainly wasn’t helping. 

They were already drawing the eyes of the hardened townsfolk and Link could see the avarice that burned like coals deep in their eyes. The three men didn’t seem to notice however and simply continued to go about their day. They simply talked amongst themselves in hushed tones and went about buying potions and other supplies that hinted at adventure, completely oblivious or maybe indifferent to the various gazes that clung to their backs. Link kept his eye on the group too, though it was more out of curiosity and concern rather than greed. They were certainly odd characters to be sure. His guess was that they were some kind of nobility playing at being adventurers, though he had never seen them whenever he would visit Zelda. He supposed it wasn’t out of the question that they came from a neighboring Kingdom but he had his doubts.    

Link tugged the hood of his cloak over his face and sipped at a bowl of thin broth and half wilted vegetables he cradled in his hands as they passed by. They were muttering something about finding the hero of this land and he smirked. He must be quite popular if nobles from other Kingdoms were looking for him. He took another long sip from his bowl, too bad they wouldn’t find him. He was quite adept at avoiding unwanted attention especially from a group of odd men looking to find him. If he could hide from monsters that called for his blood, and the various thugs that wanted his head as a trophy these guys were shit out of luck. He felt a twinge of apprehension pinch at his gut at the idea of just avoiding the group all together however. The whole situation was odd and he didn’t care for it one bit, but he had to admit he was curious.

He blinked away the steam from his eyes and slurped the rest of the thin soup down before he stowed the bowl away in his pack and dropped a few rupees on the merchant’s cart. Then he was away, following the three hopeless men at a distance. As much as he wanted to leave them to their own devices, he knew he would feel terrible if he heard that anything happened to them. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t like they were his responsibility but still the feeling clung to him. 

‘What if they need my help?’ He thought to himself as he kept his eyes down as he walked. He slowed his pace just a smidge, making sure he blended in with the half starved and filthy townsfolk that bustled about their day, unwilling to call attention to himself just yet. Even though he had just got into town he was already ready to leave, in fact he was on his way out of town when he had spotted the strange men walking down the lane. He had to admit that when he saw them his curiosity had been peaked, and it appeared he hadn’t been the only one. As he meandered along he noticed that it wasn’t just him that was following the group. A quick glance to the side granted him the sight of one of Brutus’s boys following at a pace on the other side of the lane. He looked casual enough, but Link could tell what he was up to. 

He tugged on the edge of his hood, making sure it was well and truly covering his face as he quickened his steps. The group was still dawdling around the different street vendors and he noted how they seemed to have bottomless rupee bags. He grimaced at them, were they just clueless or were they stupid? Could they not notice the eyes on them?

“Stupid nobles,” Link grumbled to himself, they were going to get themselves mugged at this rate and he severely doubted they knew how to even use those swords they had strapped to their backs. 

Link watched as they were in the process of putting away some fresh bread they had just bought when he spotted the rest of the local thugs. Just ahead of the group there were two other men, both with their heads down and hulking and all together not the people he wanted to see. They were a part of Brutus’s crew alright, if the dull red cloaks they wore were any indication of their alliance.

The way they were standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking the way of the odd group only meant one thing. Any doubt he might have had about what the men had planned was erased when out of the corner of his eye he watched as the other man quickly crossed the lane and grabbed the man in with the white cape. In a blink all three men were bundled into the alley way just past a clothing stall. Link let out a small curse and jogged forwards to the mouth of the alley way with renewed urgency. 

“What is this all about?” Link heard the man with the fancy armor ask as he rounded the opening of the alleyway. The tone of voice commanded respect, though it didn’t seem to faze the three brutes. Still Link was taken aback. The voice hadn’t been haughty, but instead firm and rough like he was used to ordering around a band of rowdy soldiers. The command hung in his chest like a weight and it wasn’t even leveled at him. He blinked in surprise, he had not expected that sort of militaristic tone to come from a noble, so maybe this ‘noble’ was in fact a soldier? A warrior perhaps? Either way it was clear he was clueless of the situation he found himself in. 

Link was about to call out when one of the more burly of the muggers laughed and drew a blade. Before any of them could react he slammed the man in the fur pelt against the wall of the alley and pressed the edge of the knife into the soft flesh of his throat. Blood trickled ever so slightly from the place where the knife sat and it felt like the world was holding its breath. This was not good. 

“That’s a nice fur you got there, I think it would suit me nicely,” The brute said blatantly ignoring the other man’s question as he eyed the pelt on the man’s back. The man in question bared his teeth like a beast but the hulking thug just smiled and dug the knife just a touch deeper into his throat.

“None of you move or I’ll have Garret here slice his throat,” the cloaked figure that grasped the man in the white cape said and Link could tell he was grinning under the hood. The other two travelers nodded quickly and raised their hands so they were in plain view. 

“So what, you just want our stuff?” The man pressed against the wall asked with an incredulous laugh and Link noticed the way all three of the odd travelers looked at each other. They seemed confused, and maybe a bit relieved? But that didn’t make any sense. Link felt his confusion building to a fevered pitch and before he could stop himself he found himself responding to the man’s question himself. 

“I thought that was fairly obvious,” Link said quietly and was rewarded with six sets of eyes looking at him. He shifted uncomfortably under the weight of their stares and grasped the handle of his sword just a bit tighter. He let out a light cough and straightened before he addressed the group at large.

“Hello there, I’ll give you a few seconds to get that knife away from his throat. If you’re quick about it I may even let you keep your dignity,” Link said cheerily from beneath his hood, shifting slightly so that his smile flashed from it’s depths. There was a pause, where no one seemed to know what to do and Link waited. He watched as it seemed his words finally broke through the surprise of the pseudo leader of the muggers as he finally turned to face him fully.

“Oh, it’s you,” The man sneered and Link offered him a small wave. 

“You are correct, now, please let them be on their way,” He said and frowned when the three men began to laugh loudly. Link pursed his lips and nodded, letting his hand fall away from his sword and joining in with the laughter. He quickly scanned the faces of the three travelers, letting his eyes meet with the taller traveler before he gave a curt nod. 

“And what makes you think we have to do a damn thing you say? Now get out of here now and maybe we won’t tell Brutus that you snuck back into town,” He said and Link felt his heart race in anticipation. He watched as the taller man shifted ever so slightly so he was closer to the knife wielding mugger. 

“So does this mean you’re not going to let them go?” He asked and was answered by more derisive laughter. 

“So be it,” Link muttered and in one smooth motion he dashed forwards quicker than blinking and reached up, grabbing the man’s wrist who was holding the knife and twisted. The knife fell to the ground with a clatter and the brute let out a yelp of pain, then all Hell broke loose. 

As soon as the knife had been dropped, the man who had been pinned to the wall lunged forwards like a wild animal and tackled the person holding on to the man in the white cape. Link felt an arm snake around his neck and he was hauled backwards off his feet. His hands flew up to the arm that was now choking off his airway and he grunted. He tried to bring up his legs and kick off the wall but the thug must have stepped back because he felt nothing but air.  

The man holding him only managed a couple steps backwards when he was stopped by the taller man with the shiny armor. Link watched out of the corner of his eye as the traveler grabbed the arm that was compressing his airway and pulled it away causing him to drop to the ground. Link sucked in a grateful breath before he got swiftly to his feet again and scanned the alley for the last man but he was nowhere to be seen. That would be a problem. He didn’t dwell on it too long before he spun around hands raised and magic flaring to face the others and saw that the remaining men had already been taken care of. The scuffle had barely lasted a minute, which he had to admit was impressive. He had not expected them to hold their own so well. He blinked, letting his hands fall to his sides as he looked at each of the odd travelers in turn. They all looked okay for the most part besides some bruises and the one slice on the feral man’s throat. 

“Who are you people? There’s no way you’re from around here and I doubt you’re nobility from a surrounding Kingdom,” He asked quickly as he moved forwards and began unclasping the cloaks from around the unconscious men on the ground. 

“Nobility?” The one with the fur pelt choked out and Link watched as he smacked the man with the armor on the arm. The man with the armor let out a deep laugh of his own and Link felt like he was being made fun of. He pointedly ignored them and turned back to the task at hand. 

He had a hard time getting the cloak off one of the downed men and he shot a look up to the man with the white cape and gestured for him to help. He seemed to know what Link wanted and he hurried forward and helped pull the cloaks free from both of the unconscious thugs.

“Uh we are, well it’s sort of a long story,” The man in the white cape said and offered him a small smile. Link eyed him up and down and threw the cloak at him.

“Put this on,” he said quickly before he turned to the other man with the fancy armor and repeated the action. 

“You too, you guys stick out like a sore thumb.” He said as he dusted the dirt off his pants and eyed the last man. Blood was collecting around his collar, and he seemed a bit pale around the eyes, though he was putting in a good effort at hiding his discomfort. Link moved forward and grabbed at his water skin and handed it over to him. 

“Are you alright? You look a little pale,” Link asked as he moved a bit closer to get a better look at the cut on his throat. 

“I’ll be alright, thank you for the assist,” He said in between gulps of water. Link nodded towards him and turned to face the others. 

“Quickly now, explain,” He snapped and waited impatiently for the answer. 

“Quick answer is that we are the Heroes of Hyrule from the past and future on a mission from Hylia. We don’t know exactly what the mission is yet but we assume, at this moment we are looking for the hero of this era, or at least that is what the sword on Sky’s back says.” The man with the odd markings said quickly as he pulled the hood over his head and crossed his arms. Link didn’t know what to say to that information, and honestly he was not expecting that whopper of a tale. 

They were looking for the hero, to join a quest that they didn’t even know all the details for? Why? His mind was filled with a whirlwind of questions and he didn’t even know where to start. One thing was for sure though, this whole thing reeked of a trap in the making and he wasn’t  liking the idea of joining. Not without more information first and even then that was still debatable. He opened and closed his mouth for a moment as he tried to figure out just what he wanted to ask first. 

“Who is Sky?” Link shook his head, out of all the questions that was the one he asked first? The three other’s blinked and looked at each other. Clearly they hadn’t been thinking about that question either. 

“Oh, uh, well my name is Sky“ The one with the white cape answered. Then he pointed to the armored man, “his name is Time and that,” He said with a quick gesture to the man with the pelt, “...Is Twilight.” He finished and each of them gave him a nod as confirmation. 

“Those are strange names, but we really don’t have time for that now. We have to get out of here. You guys have drawn way too much attention to yourselves,” Link said curtly as he jogged to the opening of the alley and peered around the corner. He didn’t see anyone actively looking for them but he was sure that wouldn’t last long. 

He eyed the cart of cloaks next to the alley way and snagged a dark green cloak from the rack. He paused and dug through his meager rupee pouch and tossed what he hoped would be enough on the counter top. He was loathed to steal anything from the townsfolk. They were all struggling and he rather himself missed a few meals than have the shop keep suffering for his selfish choice.

He jogged back to the group and tossed the newly dubbed Twilight the cloak. He put it on without any prompting and drew the hood up around his head. Deeming them good enough to sneak out he gestured for them to follow and they made their way back to the lane. 

“Slouch your shoulders and stop looking around so much,” Link hissed to them as they hurried their way to the town’s gate. Even with the cloaks it still appeared that they stuck out. They stood too tall, walked with a gate that spoke of authority and were all together too curious. 

“Honestly you’re supposed to be heroes. Didn’t you have to, I don’t know, blend in? Sneak around? At least be the slightest bit aware of your surroundings?” Link grumbled as he physically grabbed Sky’s hood and forced him to look down. 

“Who are you? Why are you so keen to help us?” Twilight grumbled from behind them and Link spared him a look. 

“Just a hermit, a traveler if you will. I just… Don’t like the idea that Brutus’s goons were going after more people is all,” It wasn’t completely a lie, he reasoned as he bowed his head a bit lower. He could feel the stares on him and it made him nervous. He didn’t like all the attention on him. Tugging his cloak tighter around him he stepped up his pace and didn’t look back. 

Finally the town gate was in sight and Link could have skipped with joy. They were nearly there, just a few more yards and they could put the town behind them and then he could slip away and be done with this mess. 

“Oh HERO, where do you think you’re going?” A heavy voice called after him and Link stiffened before slowing to a stop. He bent his head forward as he heard the rag tag group stop as well, and turned to look at him. He closed his eyes for a moment before he straightened and turned to face the much larger man. 

“Brutus,” He said in a clipped tone, pointedly ignoring the stares of the others that were now boring into him. So much for keeping who he was a secret. Brutus sauntered towards him and Link took a slow step back, making sure to give himself enough room to work. Brutus, unlike the thin and hard eyed townsfolk, was a burly man. He was clearly well fed and used to getting what he wanted and it stuck in Link’s craw. He had risen to infamy in the town about a year ago after he managed to usurp the other more prominent gang that had once called this little town their own. Ever since then he had made it a point to show off at any chance he got. He would strut around in blood red cloaks and demand the merchants give him whatever he wanted. The few that had fought back were found dead in their beds the next day. 

Link had kept his eye on him since then, and had only allowed Brutus to remain when the townsfolk practically begged him to stay out of the situation. It had bothered him greatly but no matter how much he tried to change their minds he was always told to stay out of it. So he had respected their wishes, but had made it a point that whenever he was in town he would pay more rupees for goods as well as cause trouble to the thugs when he saw them bullying the merchants. Naturally this had garnered Brutus’s attention and they had their fair share of scuffles and earned a bounty on his head. 

“Did you ever find that tooth of yours?” Link asked casually and was graced with a sneer. Even from this distance he could see the black hole where one of Brutus’s front teeth had once been. Link felt a smile creep unbidden across his face. He remembered the scuffle fondly, even though he got a knife to the ribs he had still gotten his fair share of hits in. 

“I still owe you for that. I think your head would be a fair trade off,” Brutus said and Link let out a belly laugh. 

“I would love to see you try,” He scoffed, pleased at the red flush that colored the larger man’s cheeks. He really shouldn’t be snarking off at the brute, but he found he couldn’t help it. The man annoyed him and he could do with a knocking down of a few pegs.         

“Sadly today is not the day Brutus, I have things to attend to,” Link dismissed and turned to usher the others who were staring at him wide eyed. He offered them a nod and began to stride away when he heard footsteps running up behind him. Sensing danger, Link ducked and felt the wind of a sword swipe over top of his head. Before he could turn around he heard the screech of metal screeching against metal and he turned around to see a green cloak blocking his view of the larger man. He stood quickly and looked on in amazement as the feral man, Twilight snarled and pushed back against Brutus’s sword with his own. 

“How dare you, attacking when your opponent's back is turned,” Twilight snarled and forced the man back a few steps before breaking his sword away from where it was locked with Brutus’s. 

“What is the runt to you? Some sort of bastard child of yours?” Brutus snarled and Link could see the way Twilight bristled at the insult. 

“He is the hero of Hyrule, show some respect,” Twilight growled and Brutus squinted his eyes. 

“Respect for that pitiful waste? He should feel honored to be in my presence!” Brutus said as he brandished his sword once again. Twilight readied his own blade, ready to go on the attack once more but this time Link was the faster one. He stepped smoothly in front of Twilight and with power booming through his veins summoned one of his more powerful spells. There were bursts of white hot light and the smell of fresh ozone as the bolts of lightning thundered around the brute effectively breaking up the scuffle. Link grit his teeth and continued the barrage until Brutus made a hasty retreat as the bolts continued to strike the browned earth around him. 

“Enough!” Link shouted as he let the magic go, satisfied with the distance he created between Brutus and the others. He straightened and let his hand fall. He could taste the copper tang of electricity that still hung in the air around him. He felt slightly breathless at the display he had just released and he worked on steadying his breaths. He could feel a tremor starting to build in his muscles and he clutched his hands in order to slow the trembling that was building in his arms before he addressed the other man. It wouldn’t do to show weakness now, not with so many eyes on him.

“Please, Brutus, I don’t wish to harm you, but I will if I must. Go now and leave us be,” Link called out to the hulking brute and threw a gesture out to the group behind him, signaling them to continue on. Link placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and squeezed until the other hero sheathed his sword and stalked away to follow the others. He held Brutus’s wide eyed, terrified gaze and couldn’t stop the pang of guilt that zinged through his heart. He didn’t care for the man but that didn’t mean he wanted the other dead, even if the feeling wasn’t shared. He let his eyes fall away from him and turned to follow the others out of town. He could hear stuttered insults and threats coming from behind him but he paid them no mind. 

Link worked at keeping his gait steady as he made to catch up with the three others. He had really used too much magic just then but he didn’t want to show it. He could feel the tell tale ache in his muscles that spoke of the strain he just put on his magic stores and he hoped that it wasn’t too obvious. As it was, Link barely noticed that the others had slowed to a stop to wait for him until he almost ran into them. He could feel their eyes on him and he struggled not to look away.  

“Were you really going to strike that man with lightning?” The man named Time asked him incredulously as he pulled his hood down. Link grimaced and shook his head slowly, inwardly wincing at the poor impression he must have given them. 

“And waste my magic on a thug like Brutus? It’s not worth my time. Now put your hood back on and let’s get out of here. There are too many eyes watching us still and they will follow. We have to lose them.” Link said as he tried his best to play off the question and keep the others moving. He didn’t look behind him to check if they were following, choosing to trust that they would. 

They walked for a little while until Link found a cave that he deemed hidden enough to make sure no one from the small town would find them and made a small fire to rest by. Link watched as the other three men removed their cloaks and settled down for the night. He still hadn’t removed his own, not wanted to get too comfortable in case this all turned out to be an elaborate trick.

“So I suppose you have questions, where would you like to start?” Link asked after everyone had sat for a little while. He looked at them all in turn and waited for someone to ask the question he was sure to be coming. 

“The man from the town said you were the hero, is this true?” Time asked as he held Link’s gaze. 

“That is correct, I am the hero,” Link answered in the affirmative and waited. 

“Well that makes things easier,” Sky said happily as he pulled the bread he had bought from the merchant in town. Link felt his stomach twist painfully at the scent and he prayed that his stomach wouldn’t growl. He watched as the other man ripped off a large piece and offered it to him. Link blinked in surprise, no one had ever tried to share food with him. 

“But that’s, no I couldn’t,” Link stammered out quickly even as his stomach growled angrily at his own refusal of the proffered meal. Sky offered him a warm smile and only continued to hold the bread out to him. 

“Don’t be silly! There is more than enough to go around, and after you helped us out in that alley it is the least we can do,” He said and to Link’s surprise the other two nodded before offering him provisions from their own packs. Link could feel his mouth water at the promise of more food and he could feel the tremors from over exertion beginning to ramp up. He forced himself to breathe and shuffled back a little. 

“Honestly, I’m fine,” He said stubbornly, still refusing the food that he was offered. He couldn’t trust it, he had learned long ago to never accept gifts from strangers and as much as he wanted to he had to be strong now. 

“Please, continue with your questions,” He said pointedly and watched as they slowly put their food away. 

“Alright, please let me know if this is rude but I must know, what happened to the land? It looks rather…” Sky trailed off and Link nodded, there it was. He knew it would come up eventually. He could guess by their full cheeks and general healthy appearance that they probably didn’t have to go many days without a meal. 

“This land, these people, have been through a lot as you might have guessed. We are still trying to get back on our feet so to speak. Gannon and his followers have not been kind.” Link said slowly and found that he had a hard time lifting his eyes away from his hands that were knitted tightly in his lap. He didn’t want to see the looks on their faces. If what they said was true, and they were heroes from Hyrule at different points in time they must be ashamed of what had been done to this land. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and raised his eyes to meet theirs. 

“We are a strong people, we will be okay and the land will heal.” He said firmly, lifting his head in defiance. He was startled at the sudden wave of anger that was washing through him. He could only imagine what they were thinking. Disappointment, disgust maybe even shame for what he had allowed to happen to their home. Well they could think what they will, he loved this land he called home, no matter it’s flaws and scars. There was still beauty to be found here, tucked away in corners and hiding in plain sight, all you had to do was look. Even now Link could see the land healing, growing and thriving despite the harm done to it. 

“I have no doubt in your abilities and the strength of these people to grow and thrive. The strength and resolve in your voice is conviction enough and I know you will succeed.” Time said from his place by the fire and was joined by proud smiles and nods from the other two. Link felt a smile creep onto his face, he felt honored in a way. Even if this proved to be some elaborate trap in the making he was willing to accept their compliments. 

“I am curious, you say you are heroes from other eras. Tell me how did you get here?” Link asked, crossing his arms over his chest and waited. 

“A portal brought us here,” Sky answered and continued quickly, apparently knowing what Link was about to ask next. “And no, we don’t truly know why we are here besides knowing that we needed to find the hero of this time. Though we have noticed one common factor.” He said, glancing at the two men he sat beside.

“That being?” Link prompted, and watched as the three of them shared a brief nod. 

“That being a rise in monster activity,” Sky said slowly and Link felt his eyebrow beginning to rise despite himself. 

“That’s it? That’s all you have?” He asked incredulously and was graced with shrugs and half hearted ‘yeahs’. 

“There has to be more than that,” He said and was once again met with more shrugs.

“Unfortunately that’s all we have,” Twilight said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Link couldn’t help it, he let out a disbelieving snort before he could stop himself.  

“And you want me to join? You guys can see how suspicious this sounds right? What makes you think I’m going to join this, whatever this is just because there’s slightly more monsters about?” Link asked and this time was met with a rueful smile spreading across Sky’s face. 

“I don’t think you’ll have a choice in that matter. I saw that portal for a week straight and refused to go through it until finally, kind of just… Pulled me in,” Sky said and Link felt himself slump against the wall of the cave suddenly very tired. He pressed his fingers against his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. This whole situation made him want to sleep for the next century, though he couldn’t deny he was the least bit curious to see what new places he would discover. After a moment he let out a sigh and opened his eyes.

“Alright, I guess I’ll need a name. I assume Link won’t cut it considering you all have nicknames,” Link said and judging on the looks he was getting he knew he was right. He watched as Sky leaned back and tilted his head to the side as if he were listening to something. After a second he gave a nod and smiled warmly at him. 

“Looks like your name is Hyrule. Welcome to the fold.” Sky said with a chuckle and stretched his hand out for him to shake. He eyed the hand thoughtfully before taking it and felt a tingle of magic flood through the contact. He pulled his hand away quickly and stared at his palm expecting to see a mark left behind on his hand but saw nothing. He wiped the feeling away on his tunic and nodded slowly. 

“Now that that is out of the way, I think we need to get something out of the way,” Twilight said and Link offered him a quizzical stare. Twilight dug through his pack and once again offered him some of his food.

“Eat, I know you’re hungry. Don’t try to deny it.” He said sternly and this time Hyrule accepted the offer, though he didn’t take a bite until Twilight gave him a knowing look and took a bite of his own food. The others were quick to pull out their own meals then and they all tucked into their dinner in silence, all of them lost in thought. He chewed the bread and didn’t miss how both Time and Sky were quick to share their own meals with him. This time he accepted the offers gratefully, he didn’t want to admit it to the others but he was starving. They ate in peace for a while and even though he knew he probably wasn’t going to sleep tonight he had to admit it was nice to share a meal with others for once.

[helloalycia]

worth the wait [two] // daisy johnson

summary: same as the first chapter – it was too long to post in one so this is the remainder of it!

part one | part three | part four | part five | part six | masterlist | wattpad

"What do you think?"

I raised an eyebrow as I poked my head inside the van, glancing around at the cramped space that had stupidly been turned into a living space. There was also, weirdly enough, a computer in the corner which made absolutely no sense.

"I think I have no idea what I'm looking at," I admitted, before looking to an excited Skye beside me. "What is this?"

She bit her lip to contain her grin as she patted the van's door proudly. "This is my new rig."

I almost laughed. "You're kidding."

Her smile lessened. "I'm not."

Now I definitely laughed. "Skye, c'mon, be serious. Whose van is this?"

Her smile disappeared as she clenched her jaw with annoyance. "It's mine. Sorry it isn't fancy enough for you, your majesty."

When I realised she was serious, I lost my smile and looked between the van and her. "Skye, where the hell did you get a van? You can't even drive!"

Clearly holding in her anger, she began to push past me and slide the doors shut. "He said you wouldn't get it," she mumbled to herself, but I heard.

"He?" I questioned with raised eyebrows. "Who the hell is he?"

"Miles," she snapped, stopping moving and looking to me. "Miles is the one who got me the van. He said it was a bad idea to show you and clearly he was right, Y/N. You took one look at it and laughed. He was right."

I smiled tightly, trying not to get worked up at the mention of Skye's new friend. She'd befriended this 'Miles' guy within the past few months and wouldn't stop meeting with him and his friends. He was in the grade above us, but just like her, he'd skip class and do God knows what.

Ever since she'd been hanging around them, she'd been standoffish and distant. She wouldn't contact me as much when she ran away, and she'd been skipping school more often than usual. They were clearly a bad influence on her, but she reassured me she was in control of her own life and knew what she was doing. Being the idiot I am, I fell for her pretty smile and convincing eyes, but this was getting too far now.

"No offence, Skye, but I wouldn't start listening to a guy who can't even make it to class on time," I said to her with a hint of annoyance. "Why do you need a van anyway?"

"Why not?" she countered with her arms crossed. "I thought you'd be happy that I'm finally taking responsibility. Growing up."

My expression softened. "I've never once said that you had to do either of those things."

"You don't need to say it," she mumbled, looking down at her shoes with a frown. "I know you think it. Everyone does."

I stepped forward, resting a hand on her shoulder and finding her eyes with mine. "Where is this coming from? Skye, I have never thought that. All I've ever wanted for you is to be safe and happy. I'm just worried."

She shrugged me off. "Well, now you don't need to be. I've got this."

"You're seventeen, you should be in school studying, not staying in a van," I said tiredly. "You've been missing so much. How are you gonna graduate?"

She avoided my eyes. "That's another thing... I've been thinking and, well, I don't think I want that."

I widened my eyes with disbelief. "What?"

Still avoiding my eyes, she continued, "I don't think I want to graduate."

I was too surprised to find words so quickly. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"How can you not want to graduate?!" I asked suddenly, finding my words. "It's what you do! It's what we all do!"

She met my eyes with apologetic ones. "It's what you do, Y/N. I don't want to be at a place that makes me feel like shit. I can't keep pretending I fit in when I don't."

"This isn't you," I told her sternly. "We were supposed to graduate together. You're not stupid, Skye. I can help you study. You can't just give up."

"I'm not," she said with certainty. "I finally know what I'm doing. That's all."

I squeezed my fists together to contain my frustration. "And what's that?"

"The Rising Tide–"

"For fuck's sake!" I cut her off, before hitting the van door with frustration.

"Miles has taught me a lot!" she defended. "They do a lot of good, Y/N! I just want to be apart of something bigger. Something that can help me help others. And something that can help me find my family. My real family."

I clenched my jaw, knowing I was too late in convincing her otherwise. Whatever Miles and the others had told her about their stupid hacking group had worked – she was dropping out of high school and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

"You're gonna be going to university and we both know I can't afford it," she said gently. "We couldn't stay together forever, Y/N. And my foster family definitely don't care what happens to me. I don't fit in anywhere."

I looked to her with glassy eyes. "You fit in with me. You always have."

She pursed her lips as she stayed quiet.

"I'm sorry I didn't make that clear enough," I added bitterly.

"That's not it and you know it," she muttered, shaking her head. "I have to do this. I have to figure myself out. Alone."

I felt stupid for letting her do everything she did leading up to this point. If I had just tried a little harder, maybe things could have been different.

"You're not alone though, are you?" I asked rhetorically. "You've got your new pals at the Rising Tide. It's their damn fault you're doing all this."

"They're not as bad as you think!"

"You've changed because of them!" I argued back. "They created a barrier between you and I. It's because of them that you've... that you've..."

"What?" she snapped, glaring at me. "That I'm finally thinking for myself?!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and straightened up. "Forget it, just– forget it. I've got a midterm to study for."

She snickered harshly. "Of course. Don't want me slowing you down."

I stayed quiet and turned around to leave. I couldn't see past my anger as I left her with her stupid van. 

Of course, the two of us had been friends for a lot longer than that silly argument, so I was quick to realise how much I actually cared about her and her life, and wanted to apologise for how harsh and unsupportive I sounded.

The next day after school, I decided to head over to her foster family's place to hopefully talk to her. I'd had enough time to think about it and knew I was a lot more levelheaded now that I'd had some space.

I knocked on the front door and waited before an older blonde woman answered. I recognised her as Skye's foster mum, Sally.

"Hi, Mrs Collins," I greeted with a smile. "I'm looking for–”

"Mary doesn't live here anymore," Sally cut me off instantly, surprising me.

I had almost forgotten that Skye's foster family knew her as the name she was given by her orphanage – Mary Sue Poots.

"She doesn't?" I asked with confusion. "But I thought–"

"Goodbye, Miss Y/L/N," Sally interrupted, before slamming the door in my face.

I blinked with confusion before turning around and walking down the steps. It had been a while since I last visited Skye at home. In fact, she made sure I never visited her at home. I guess now I knew why. But then where the hell was she living?

As I walked around the neighbourhood trying to think about where Skye could be, I saw a familiar van parked up on the side of the street and put the pieces together.

Guiltily, I approached the van and sucked up a deep breath before knocking on the side. It didn't take long for the door to slide open and reveal Skye herself.

"Hey," I said quietly, noticing her surprised expression. "Can we talk?"

She licked her lips nervously and nodded, before moving to the side to let me in. I climbed inside and watched as she shut the door before settling on the seat in front of me. I looked around and realised the little details I hadn't noticed yesterday. The little things that made this place Skye's and nobody else's.

"I'd offer you a drink, but I don't have any," she joked to lighten the mood, and I couldn't help but crack a small smile.

I breathed out before meeting her eyes. "Skye, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have reacted like that. If I had known that this was your home, I–"

"You didn't know," she said, shaking her head with embarrassment. "I didn't want you to know. It's my fault."

I pursed my lips, watching as she looked away with pink cheeks. It hurt me to know that she was embarrassed when I didn't care about any of this, I just cared about her.

"I want you to know that I respect your decision to join the Rising Tide," I said gently, making her look up. "If it's what you want, you should go for it."

"It is," she said with certainty.

I chewed on the inside of my mouth before asking, "Is there no way you can finish high school though? Graduate with me?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to, Y/N."

"But that's the bare minimum," I pleaded. "Hacking isn't a lifestyle. You need to work, too, and I can promise you that most places won't look to hire a high school dropout."

She leaned back in her seat and shrugged nervously. "Miles isn't graduating either. And he's got some friends who haven't graduated. They're all doing fine."

I looked down and pinched the bridge of my nose to contain my frustration. I promised myself I wouldn't argue with her, but the mention of her other friends was like a trigger.

"What now?" she asked with annoyance, realising I was annoyed. "You clearly have something to say about them."

"It doesn't matter," I said, biting my tongue.

"Sure it doesn't," she played along.

"It doesn't," I agreed.

"Yeah, and the Hulk isn't bright green," she said sarcastically.

I looked up and glared at her. She stared back challengingly, practically daring me to speak. So, I did.

"Your new hacker friends are the reason you're making these choices," I told her straight. "They're the reason you're making a huge mistake. The reason you're dropping out. And for what? So you can hack like them?"

She rolled her eyes. "I know you look down on us, but we're more than that."

"Skye, I don't give a shit about them!" I shouted without meaning to. "I only care about you!"

"Then stop talking crap about my friends!" she returned angrily.

"Why do you care about them so much?!"

"They gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere! They made me feel like I belonged!"

I frowned, anger replacing with hurt. "I always offered you a place to stay. I only ever wanted you to be safe. You never needed to be different with me. You belonged. Always."

She swallowed hard and looked away from me ashamedly. "Well it doesn't matter anymore. I'm leaving."

I breathed out deeply. "School? Our town? Leaving what?"

"All of it," she said quietly. "I don't expect you to understand."

I looked down to my fumbling hands, a tear slipping from my eye. I had never felt so angry at someone before in my life. She was treating me like I was a stranger, as if I wasn't somebody who knew her inside out. She was treating me like she treated everyone else except her new friends. And I couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Fine," I said, before moving to open the door. I jumped out her van and didn't spare her a glance as I said, "Have fun with the rest of your life. Sorry I didn't care enough."

She didn't say anything and I didn't expect her to. With a broken heart and headache, I left and didn't bother turning back.

—

"What do you mean she's run away?"

"I'm sorry, Y/N," Mr Lock said apologetically. "Her foster family got the note this morning. They're doing what they can to find her. She always turns up, you know that."

I knew her family didn't care if she was gone or not, so I knew Skye definitely wouldn't be found. Unlike usual, Skye hadn't contacted me before leaving, so something told me she wouldn't be turning up.

Our argument was over a week ago and I hadn't seen her since. It had been eating away at me the way we'd left things, but I couldn't find it in myself to face her. I had no idea what to say anyway. And I wasn't sure when she was planning on leaving, so I didn't think it was important right now. Clearly, I was wrong.

"I just thought you should know," Mr Lock said with a nod. "The police will come by soon to get a statement from you."

As usual. Except this time, I actually had no idea where she was.

I nodded, my mouth going dry. "Thank you... can I go now?"

He nodded hesitantly. "Of course."

I left his office and headed straight outside behind the bleachers where nobody could hear or see me. The first thing I did was try to ring Skye, but there was no answer and no way to leave a voicemail. I tried several times, hoping she'd pick up, but she didn't. And that's when I remembered the burner phone.

Immediately pulling it out, I turned it on and saw the message from her appear on my screen. I was quick to open it, my heart racing like it did every time she ran away. I knew she wasn't coming back this time though.

Hey, Y/N. I know you probably hate me, but I felt like I owed you this. I said I was leaving and I have. I can't tell you where. And I'm not good at goodbyes. I've had too many of them and I couldn't bring myself to say it to you. I'm sorry I pushed you away. I never wanted to, but I guess some things are inevitable, huh? I've managed to do it all my life, this isn't any different. I'm just sorry if I hurt you in the process. Anyway, this is pretty long and I don't even know if you read it, but yeah. I'm sorry. I wish things could have been different.

The text ended there and I found myself rereading it to myself over and over, her words imprinted in my mind. I knew we'd argued and exchanged hurtful words, but I never in a million years thought she'd leave without saying goodbye. I thought I meant more to her than this. But no. I was just another foster family she ran away from. And I wasn't so sure I'd see her again.

[the-last-kenobi]

I... I wrote a thing... goddamnit...

Based on this post

All credit and love to @latenightsomewhere and @americankimchi for the idea!

(keep in mind this is not canon compliant. I have aged Obi-Wan down to ten, for one thing. I wanted smolbi-wan💕 and dammit, that’s what I wrote.)

___

It was supposed to be a simple mission.

Then again, that was something that could be said after all missions. “It was supposed to be simple,” Jedi would say, shaking their heads ruefully. “Simple.”

They had known they were walking into unpleasant territory.

The Outer Rim was safe for no one — least of all Force-sensitives.

Least of all, Qui-Gon reflected, gripping the hilt of his lightsaber so tightly that he could feel the ridges carving lines into his palms, least of all young Jedi Padawans. Who had training. Who had skills. Who carried kyber in their sabers.

Like Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon hadn’t quite realized what had happened— not at first — not with his head ringing with the force of the blunt instrument someone had slammed against his head during the scuffle. He had dragged himself to his knees, first, heaving for breath, then slowly rose to his feet, breathing deeply to chase away the nausea.

And then he had discovered he was alone.

Completely alone.

The slavers were gone, and so was his ten-year-old apprentice—

They took him, he thought, stunned. They took him right from under me, where he should have been safest. I didn’t leave him alone on the ship for a reason, but they took him—

As he reeled, flashes of memory started to filter back through the confusion.

Obi-Wan had been behind him, shielded — and then they were unexpectedly surrounded, outnumbered by what was clearly more than a roving pack of criminals — Obi-Wan had ignited his saber and fought back — Qui-Gon had dropped with a blow to the head, and he heard — shouting —

— a startled cry, a thin and high-pitched voice — a muffled scream, a child’s scared voice —

“Master!”

And a powerful fury rose up inside Qui-Gon, both focused and wild, and he did not feel inclined to subdue it.

•

“It’s not natural, is it,” complained one of the group, a young nautolan with grey skin. “Look at him.”

“Shut up,” one of the others said, shooting a slightly wary look in the direction the first was gesturing.

“He’s a kid,” a third said dismissively. This was easily the most eye-catching of the group, an enormous burly Besalisk that was even taller than Master Krell. “And he’s drugged. He can’t do anything. Forget him.”

“He’s a fucking menace is what he is,” the first muttered.

Obi-Wan grinned at them, a slightly manic expression. This was not helped by the blood streaked through his ginger-blonde hair, or the gag they had tied tightly around his mouth.

He said something to them, muffled by the cloth.

“What?” the Besalisk suddenly turned from dismissive to angry.

“Leave him, he’s just being—” one of the others began, but the enormous reptilian humanoid shook his head violently, stalking towards their captive.

“I asked what you said,” he repeated.

Obi-Wan actually rolled his eyes, gesturing towards the gag with his bound hands. The nautolan looked gobsmacked at his nerve.

The Besalisk rumbled low in his throat and jerked the cloth roughly out of the boy’s mouth, catching painfully on his lower lip as he did.

Obi-Wan winced and blinked rapidly, shaking his head as if to clear it.

“What did you say?” his antagonist repeated.

“I said,” Obi-Wan answered, staring plaintively up at the much taller creature, “you’re going to be very sorry when my Master catches up with you.”

The Besalisk laughed, but it was not a happy sound. One by one the others all joined in, although some more hesitantly than others.

“Your Master didn’t put up much of a fight,” the kidnapper goaded him. “And even if he could, he’d have to put in a lot of work to find you. I don’t think he’ll bother, do you?” He leered. “He’s a Jedi. He’s got a job on his hands, and you come second.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes flickered.

Then he smiled. “I was wondering something earlier, but you just answered my question for me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Obi-Wan said, mocking the elder’s drawling accent. “You made it obvious that yes, you are exactly as stupid as you look.”

Several of the slavers gaped.

“Or even stupider,” Obi-Wan added.

There was a bellow of rage, and an enormous fist collided with the boy’s face, leaving grooves up his cheek and forehead that were none too shallow. The gag was forced back into his mouth.

Obi-Wan went back to smiling manically at anyone who looked his way.

•

It took Qui-Gon three and a half standard days to find who had taken his apprentice and where they had gone.

Every minute of those three and half days were spent utterly focused; healthy amounts of sleep were sacrificed in exchange for tracking down information and planning his rescue.

And every minute was also spent with quiet thoughts murmuring in the back of his mind, where not even Jedi calm could quiet them.

They could have moved him again.

They could have had a buyer waiting for the next Force-sensitive they managed to catch.

They’re hurting him. They’re hurting him right now and you’re nowhere near enough to help.

And, perhaps the most quiet, most desperate truth in his heart — If I lose this one, there will be no coming back for me.

•

Obi-Wan bit the hand in front of his face.

The slaver yelped, somehow not expecting the attack despite what Obi-Wan considered fair warning in the form of a venomous glare before the gag had been removed.

“Little brat!” the slaver hissed, shaking his damaged hand that the apprentice was a little pleased to see was bleeding.

“Get him up,” one of the others snapped. “We’re taking him to the deep market tonight, and he needs his attitude fixed first.”

“Not likely,” the ten-year-old said cheerfully. “I was an incorrigible child and my mentor is not exactly—”

He was struck again.

“That’s getting kind of repetitive,” complained Obi-Wan, kicking his bound feet a bit where they hung a foot off the floor, trying to get the blood flowing. “And the same side every time, too. I’m going to get permanent damage and then how much will I be worth?”

“He’s gotta point,” said the newcomer unhelpfully.

The one who had been bitten scowled mightily, then sneered down at his captive, a mean little gleam in his eyes that the boy did not like the look of.

A moment later, a hand closed tight around the boy’s throat, right above the thin collar that had been set there, rigged to blow if he managed to flee.

Obi-Wan choked and began to struggle.

The hand squeezed tighter. “The punishment should fit the crime,” the male mused aloud. “And it’s your back talk that’s going to get you in trouble with your new master, and lower your value on the auction block. Seems fair to get rid of your voice, then.”

The other slaver watched appraisingly. “Just don’t kill ‘im, Frid.”

“Course not,” said the man who was evidently Frid, watching with vindictive pleasure as Obi-Wan writhed weakly, his face turning white and then blue.

Obi-Wan was dropped.

He gasped, his breath rattling in his constricted throat, and kept his head down this time.

This is why Master always says I need to redirect that urge to talk back, he reflected, feeling a little queasy. He’s not going to be happy about my injuries at this rate.

•

Qui-Gon was no stranger to bypassing the local authorities on the planets he visited. He was notorious for it, in fact.

This time, he had chosen to work with the authorities — and then ditched them at the last minute.

Now everything was as legal and tidy as he cared to make it, and the government would be able to arrest and shut down the entire operation, over the course of mere weeks if they were focused about it.

...After Qui-Gon had gone in after his apprentice.

He was quiet and careful about his approach, stealing his way into the underground warehouse that was the gateway to the infamous black market of the planet, a place where spice and banned items were passed from hand to hand — and sentient beings, too.

He could sense his Padawan, albeit barely.

Drugged, most likely.

Sustained exposure to Force suppressants could kill him.

Shaking off the intrusive thoughts, Jinn followed his instincts down several flights of stairs and down a hallway, listening intently.

Bang.

A door flew open to his left, and he melted into the shadows as two figures emerged, one a hulking Besalisk with a permanent scowl and the other a gangly human male with very scruffy hair.

“—not my responsibility,” the human was complaining. “I didn’t sign up for dealing with him. I didn’t even catch him.”

“I did,” the Besalisk grunted. “Little whelp. Squirmed around like a worm on a hook and wouldn’t stop fucking screaming. He would’ve alerted the whole neighborhood just moving him from where we picked him up to the truck.”

“Why didn’t you just gag him?” the human laughed.

“Didn’t have anything to do it with,” the other shrugged. “Tried using my hand and the brat damn near snapped his own neck trying to scream anyways.”

They chuckled a bit.

Qui-Gon held his breath, both wanting and not at all wanting them to be discussing who he thought they were—

“What do the bosses expect us to do, work miracles?” the human went back to complaining. “I hear he’s a spitfire. And they want him ready for sale, in what, three hours?”

The Besalisk grinned. “Three hours is plenty of time. Frid told me that smacking the kid around doesn’t do much good, but he half-strangled him earlier and that shut him up. Jedi whelp.”

And there it was.

It was all the evidence Qui-Gon needed.

The two slavers turned around in alarm when they heard the distinctive hiss-snap of a lightsaber igniting.

All they caught a glimpse of was a towering figure seemingly appearing out of thin air, his expression serene but his eyes blazing, an emerald blade glowing in his hands, and then they were down for the count.

•

Obi-Wan decided that lying facedown on the floor was the better part of valor for the moment.

He was sore and bruised and scratched, and his throat was swollen while his neck chafed against the collar, and he could no longer tell if the nausea was caused by the drugs in his system or from being mistreated.

They had forgone the cloth gag in favor of sealing his lips shut with tape, which Obi-Wan considered a compliment to his ability to annoy them, but it also hindered his ability to breathe.

The slaver standing over him was dusting his hands off rather gleefully.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and wished very very hard, knowing that even without being able to touch it, the Force was with him—

And like a miracle, the door swung open, and there was his wish.

The slaver didn’t stand a chance. He only had time to let out an undignified squawk of surprise before he was flying into the ceiling, smacking into a rafter with undue force and then dropping neatly onto a nearby cot that rattled under his weight.

Obi-Wan sighed and let his eyes drift closed.

The man in the doorway was at his side in an instant.

A warm hand touched his shoulder, then slid upwards to touch his neck, looking for signs of life, examining his damaged throat.

Then, very carefully, the tape was peeled away from his mouth.

Obi-Wan smiled into the cold flooring and forced himself to open his eyes again.

“Hullo, Master,” he murmured.

•

Qui-Gon had thought, for one heart-stopping moment, when he had reached Obi-Wan just in time to watch him close his eyes and go limp—

But he was awake, now, those enormous bright blue eyes twinkling up at him out of a battered face.

“Hullo, Master,” said a very small, hoarse voice.

“Hello, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said softly, running his hand up and down the boy’s back, unnerved by how chilled he was to the touch. “How does a warm shower and some proper sleep sound?”

Obi-Wan pretended to think about it, and Qui-Gon had to fight down a laugh at his antics, even now. “Do I have to see healers first?”

“Yes,” answered the Master. “But I believe I can manage to have them release you quickly. We’re leaving for Coruscant tonight; we can sleep on the ship.”

“Oh, all right,” said Obi-Wan, but he didn’t move.

“Can you stand?” Qui-Gon asked.

“Possibly.”

There was another pause, then: “...not really.”

Without another word, Qui-Gon stood, scooping the boy into his arms as he did, cradling his head against one shoulder. Obi-Wan murmured something that he didn’t quite catch.

They moved out of the room and into the hallway, then began to make their way back out of the warehouse. Qui-Gon was stepping over bodies as he went... most of them merely unconscious.

He spotted the scruffy-haired man who had been laughing about the screaming Jedi whelp, and didn’t begrudge himself for trodding accidentally on the man’s outstretched fingers as he passed.

“I... am sorry, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said heavily. “I should have protected you better.”

The ginger head shifted; the boy murmured something vague into his tunics again and then said softly, “It wasn’t your fault, Master. Besides...” he winced as they crossed beneath a bright light that threw the injuries on his face into glaring relief that made Qui-Gon’s stomach clench with self-recrimination. “...I knew you would come for me.”

And those seven little words did a great deal to ease the rage and guilt still swirling inside the tired Jedi Master.

“Always, Padawan,” he said quietly. “Always.”

Obi-Wan was asleep in his arms by the time they emerged into the twilight, surrounded by the movement of law enforcement as they swarmed upon the compound, and therefore he didn’t know it when Qui-Gon, near-shaking as the adrenaline of the past several, stressful days began to fade, murmured: “Thank the Force for you, little one.” And pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping head.

[comphersjost]

More Than This ➸ Mikko Rantanen

its 3 am and i couldnt wait to post this. its self indulgent, all of it

You have a thing for bigger guys. And Mikko, well, he takes notice.

word count: 3.9k+

warnings: slight angst? if you squint, reader cant get off, size kink (obviously), smut, thigh riding, mutual pining if you squint, sorta best friend!jt

masterlist

You didn't know how you let JT talk you into letting him swipe through your Bumble account. And you definitely don't know how he managed to get you to let him do it while displaying your phone on his Apple TV. And what you absolutely, totally, completely did not know, was how you let him keep going when Ryan, EJ, Gabe, Mikko, Naz and some of the wives and girlfriends arrived at his and Josty’s shared apartment. 

You'd known JT for years, so your dating life wasn't exactly a new subject for you. Besides, it had seemed fun at the time, the group of you lounging around the living room as JT swipes through Bumble for you.

“Hey what about this guy? He's cute!” Gabe says. JT scrolls through the guy’s profile.

“Wait,” you said, stopping him from scrolling any further. “6’4? Swipe right.”

The group erupts into laughter at your words, though you were being completely serious. JT swipes right anyways without scrolling through the rest of “Andy”’s profile, the group cheering as you match. You lock eyes with Mikko, completely by accident, and the dark look in his eyes tells you he knows something you don't. He stands, announcing he's going to get a drink from the kitchen, but you don't miss the smirk tugging at his lips as you gulp, your eyes travel up his hulking frame. 

Your attention is pulled away by Naz saying something about a guy’s bio being “ultimate douchebag vibes”, and that’s when you decide it's been enough. You snatch your phone back from JT, disconnecting from the screen mirroring despite the protests around you. 

“You guys have snooped into my dating life enough,” you laugh, “All thanks to Comph here, but that’s enough, seriously.”

With a grumble, the group relents, allowing the conversation to progress past “6’4? Swipe right.”

-

You were staring again. 

You knew it too. You also knew that if you didn't stop soon - like, now - you were gonna get caught. Again. Just as a thought goes through your head, you feel an elbow digging into your side. 

“If you want to fuck him, just shoot your shot.” You turn to glare at Ashley, finally tearing your eyes away from the blonde brute on the other side of the bar. You reach over to smack JT with the back of your hand as he starts laughing.

“Fuck off, dude,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Even if I wanted to - which I don't, by the way - I couldn't.”

“Says who?” JT says incredulously. “Besides, don't you have a thing for big dudes?” As your oldest friend of the group (though he wasn't always your friend for as long as you've known him, he was your brother’s friend from college before you moved to Denver), JT had the most shit to talk. 

“Says my contract with your team, Jimothy.” The ginger grimaces at the nickname, but lets it slide, opting out of his usual reaction of punching the guys in the arms when they called him that. Instead he laughs again at your defensive expression and your avoidance of his question, turning to call the rest of the guys back to your table. Your glare intensifies as he gives you a shit-eating grin. 

“Technically you don't know that it says that. What's the worst that could happen, Y/N?” he teases, wiggling his eyebrows in a manner that was so unlike him. Drunk JT was the worst you thought. “I'm sure he’d be down for a -” he pauses dramatically “night of passion.” 

You gag at the way he says it, at the same time you here an accented voice say.

“Who wants a night of passion?” 

You tense, not having realized the rest of the team had actually come back so quickly. You force yourself to relax and paint a playful smile on your face, turning to look at the Fin. 

“Nothing, Jimothy’s just being stupid as usual,” you say dryly, scooting over as Mikko motions for you to move further in the booth. You pretend not to notice Ashley’s shit-eating grin as Naz rolls his eyes at her antics. Luckily no one at the table says anything incriminating before the boys start up a new conversation. 

In the chaos you almost don't notice Mikko stretching, placing an arm behind you on the booth. But you do notice, and it makes you stiffen. Mikko feels your body go rigid, glancing down at you with a confused pout. He leans down for a moment until his mouth is by your ear. 

“Are you okay?” he murmurs as his hand drops to caress your shoulder in what you guessed was supposed to be a comforting manner. 

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” you lie easily, avoiding his gaze. “Just a little on edge.” 

If it was possible his voice lowers, making you strain to hear him. “Just relax.” And - that really doesn't help, heat settling in your gut at the words. 

“Actually -” you say abruptly, finally meeting his eyes for the first time that night, “I think I’m gonna go home. I’m just not feeling it.” 

You can see Ashley watching you closely from the corner of your eye, but you don't turn to look at her. Instead you raise an eyebrow expectantly, motioning for Mikko to get up out of the booth so you could leave. He looks surprised by your sudden desire to leave - lips parted in confusion and what you thought was a hint of hurt. 

With a reluctant look on his face, Mikko slides out of the booth, stepping aside to let you slip past. You send a quick wave to the table, and after a brief goodbye, head towards the exit to wait for your Uber. You assumed Mikko sat back down as you walked away, so it surprised you when you heard Mikko call after you just as you'd begun to walk towards the curb. 

“Y/N! Wait!” 

Your step falters for a moment as you glance over your shoulder, pausin to let Mikko catch up with you. He reaches for you for a moment, before pulling back. 

“Are you okay? Seriously.” 

And like, you hate the concern in his voice. Stupid you think. Stupid accent and stupid pouty lips and stupid - 

Your thoughts are interrupted by Mikko repeating your name, softer this time, as he takes a step closer to you. Your breath hitches at you stare at him towering over you, trying to force yourself to think of anything other than how his massive hands would feel on your body. 

“Yeah,” you finally choke out, taking a step backwards towards your waiting Uber. “Yeah, I’m good, just - I'm just tired and have a lot on my plate right now.” 

You're reaching for the door before he can respond, barely catching his faint “Text me when you get home safe!” before the door is closed. You pretend not to hear him. The driver glances at you in the mirror quizzically, seemingly wanting to ask how you left Mikko Rantanen outside of a bar without so much as a goodbye, but thinks better of it, turning up the soft music on the radio as he begins the drive towards your apartment. 

You feel drained when you finally get home, showering and changing into more comfortable clothes as quickly as you can before crawling into bed. Your thoughts drift to Mikko as you close your eyes, the heat in your gut from before returning. You consider taking care of yourself, but considering you haven't been able to get off in weeks, the idea seems even more exhausting, so you let sleep overtake you. 

- 

“You didn't text me.” 

You glance up from your laptop to see Mikko standing in the aisle of the plane, his eyebrows furrowed into a slight frown. 

“What?” you say dumbly, you stare up at him, forcing your attention away from one of his enormous hands as it curls around the back of the seat in front of you. You only succeed in noticing his thighs in his basketball shorts, the chiseled muscles making your mouth go dry.

“When you left yesterday,” he clarifies, pulling your gaze away from his thighs. “I told you to text me when you got home safe.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh.” 

You're taken aback by irritation in his tone - and slightly offended. Who was he to be annoyed with you? 

“Well, I was really tired, so…” you trail off, eyes falling back to your laptop screen. You hope he takes it as an end to the conversation, and luckily, he does. 

You feel bad for being short with him, but JT and Ashley’s teasing from the night before - and, let’s face it, from months before - was getting to you. You can't help but watch Mikko’s back as he retreats, heading back to the front of the plane where he usually sat. 

You see him slump in his seat, blonde curls barely visible over the backrest, and a pang of guilt shoots through you. It’s gone the moment you catch JT’s eye, flipping him off as he grins knowingly, before shaking your head and focusing on your work. 

You didn't have time to lust over Mikko. Not when you had the job that needed your complete focus. 

The flight is short, and you arrive in Edmonton faster than you thought you would. You try to ignore Mikko’s burning stare as the players and staff exit the plane, trying your best to tune into the animated story Josty was telling JT. 

You breathe a sigh of relief once you close the door to your hotel room, finally relaxing for the first time all day. The game wasn't until tomorrow, so you knew you had time to do what you wanted - which was absolutely nothing. 

And nothing you did, lounging around in your room watching Netflix and declining an offer from JT to go out with, well, everyone. It didn't help that you knew Mikko and Mark’s room was directly next to yours, but as you heard the chaos of a group of 30 grown men, and then some, heading out for the night, you relaxed a little more. 

An idea pops into your head when the noise finally fades, your hands slipping further down your body to rest above your shorts. You were tense, and needed release - desperately. You give in to yourself, slipping your fingers under your shorts and panties, gasping as your fingers slide through your folds. You're already wet, sensitive from not having been able to cum in weeks. 

A soft whimper escapes your lips as your fingertips find your clit, rubbing gently to work yourself up. You can't help the noises that escape your mouth, trying to keep yourself quiet, but easing up when you remembered that everyone had gone out. 

Your breath quickens as you rub tight, fast circles on your cunt, your back arching. Your other hand finds your breast through your thin t-shirt, pulling and pinching at your nipple. The added sensation makes you moan loudly into the empty room. 

Your hand moves faster and faster in your panties as you pinch your nipple roughly, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth to keep yourself quiet - just in case. 

You're so so close, you can feel it. Your orgasm is right there, and it feels endless as you chase it. You move the hand that's playing with your breasts down to slip under your panties, sinking two fingers into your pussy. Your back arches even more at the feeling, whines escaping you now even with your lip between your teeth. You just - you need something to push you over the edge into you euphoria but - 

“Fuck!” you sob, your body collapsing back onto your bed as your hands cease their movements. You draw your hands out of your shorts, repeating “Fuck”, before resigning to the fact that you just can't cum. Tears slip down your cheeks as you attempt to catch your breath. It ached, how bad you needed to cum but you just couldn't. So you give up on, trying to find anything else to focus on. Only hours later did you find yourself falling into a restless sleep. 

- 

The knock on your door makes you jump, the sound echoing in your empty apartment. You frown as you think Who the fuck is here this late? You'd only just gotten home and settled from your trip to Edmonton, finally relaxing on your couch with Netlix already pulled up and ready to browse through. You're so caught up in wondering who could be at your door that another three heavy knocks sound at the door. 

 Impatient much? you think bitterly as you make your way to the door. 

You nearly slam it shut again when you see who's on the other side. 

“Mikko,” you say, a questioning tone to your voice. “What are you-” 

“I heard you.” His words are abrupt, cutting your sentence off. You frown, not understanding what he means. You step aside to let him come in, and he doesn't hesitate before sweeping into your apartment, slipping his shoes off and taking a seat at your couch. 

You raise your eyebrows at Mikko’s boldness as you come to stand in front of him, about to ask him to clarify what exactly it was he heard, before he answers the question for you. 

“Last night. In Edmonton.” 

Your blood runs cold, but his voice lowers, thick with intention. 

“I could hear you, when you couldn't cum.” 

“I - I -” you stutter for a moment, “I thought everyone went out last night.” 

It's not a denial of what Mikko said, and he knows it. 

“I stayed behind,” he says simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His eyes are dark, and you can't bring yourself to look away, no matter how badly you wanted to. 

“I…” You flush under his gaze, somehow both absolutely mortified by him hearing you, and curious to see what he would say. “And you're telling me this because…?” 

Mikko is silent for a few moments, mulling over his words. “Let me help you,” he finally says, his voice low and husky. “Let me help you cum.” 

You can't help the way you gasp, the desperation from the night before flaring up again. 

“Mikko I don't-” 

“Think it's a good idea?” he finishes, his hands coming to rest on your waist, pulling you closer. “I don't care. I want...I want you. I want this. I want to help you.” 

“Mikko…” 

You sound uncertain but he knows you've already made up your mind. You let out a yelp as he tugs you roughly into his lap, smashing his lips into yours. A moan escapes you immediately, god he was incredible. Mikko is big, he's so big that one of his arms wraps itself almost completely around your waist, the other coming up to cup your face, nearly covering half of it. You feel small in his lap, and you love it. 

His tongue darts in and out of your mouth, coaxing small noise from you as you grip his shoulders. It was better than you could have ever imagined, the way he bites your bottom lip and tugs back on it with a smile. You whine again as his giant hand falls to your ass, flexing over the flesh and squeezing. 

He pushes against your ass, guiding you to rock against him. You tear your lips away from him, head falling to his shoulder at the friction. Your brain is fried, unable to think of anything but the behemoth of a man in front of you. 

“God he's so painfully my type” you remember telling your friend when you first moved to Denver. You didn't tell her why. You didn't tell her it was because of his size. You didn't tell her it was because he was over a foot taller than you. And you definitely didn't tell her it was because you wanted him to use that size to his advantage with you. 

And use it he did, moving your body the way he wants against him as you whimper pathetically. Mikko maneuvers you so that you're seated on one of his massive thighs, your leggings doing next to nothing to provide a barrier between your cunt and his thigh. 

“Please,” you find yourself whining before you can stop yourself. The pressure of his leg against your clit makes you giddy, unable to think of anything but more more more. Mikko’s hand on your ass guides you, rocking your hips against him as the other caresses your hair. 

“That's it,” he spurs you on, accent thickening as he moves you, “Just like that, good girl. Feels good doesn't it?” 

You whimper again and nod against his neck, moving your hips even as he guides you. The friction feels delicious against your cunt, and you can already feel your orgasm building up. Mikko murmurs soft words of encouragement as you rut against him, the tent in his sweatpants growing tighter as more noises escape your throat. 

Logically, you knew Mikko’s size would likely match the size of his cock but - nothing could have prepared you for what you felt against your thigh as you rocked harder into him. His cock was straining against his sweats, thick and heavy as you pushed against him. 

Mikko’s hand disappears from your ass for a moment, before coming down again with a rough smack. You jolt at the sting and cry out as it only brings you closer to the edge. Your hand curls around his neck, your face smushed into his shoulder with his other hand cradling the back of your head. 

“Please, Mikko, please!” you sob into his t-shirt, so fucking close to release. You were desperate, strings of curses and his name and “pleasepleaseplease” the only words leaving your mouth. He coos gently at your desperation, bouncing his leg slightly to give you more friction. 

“I've got you, rakas,” (beloved) he murmurs lowly, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. “You're close aren't you?” 

“Mhm.” Your voice comes out whiny, but you could really care less, too caught up in chasing your orgasm to care how you sounded. “Mik - Mikko, please, please.” 

“That’s it,” he repeats, the hand that was cradling your head disappearing, only to come down on your ass sharply. A sob is ripped from your throat as you wind your hand into his hair and pull. “Come on, there you go, are you going to cum for me?” 

“Yes yes yesyesyes,” you babble, frantic as you seek your high. 

“Cum for me, rakas,” Mikko growls. “I want you to cum for me.”

The filthy, commanding tone he uses is enough to send you over the edge, throwing you into white-hot ecstasy as you finally - finally - achieve the release you've been craving. You're faintly aware of the scream you let out, and the tears slipping down your cheeks, but you're too focused on the pleasure you're feeling to be embarrassed - or even care, for that matter. 

Mikko holds you tight to his body as you begin to regain consciousness, rocking you slower and slower against his thigh until he stops, tugging you so that you straddle his lap instead. You're hyper aware of his cock pressing against your thigh, achingly hard. 

“You did so well,” he purrs, peppering your neck with soft, wet kisses. “You did so fucking good, you're so beautiful when you cum for me.” You whine at the words, finally finding the strength to lift your heavy head from his shoulder. 

“Sorry I ruined your shirt,” you snivel, gasping out a sob when another tremor wracks your body. Mikko pulls you back into his chest, chuckling softly. 

“That's alright, suloinen asia. (sweet thing) You did so good for me.” 

Mikko strokes your hair softly as your sobs slow to a stop, holding you tightly to him to build you back up where he shattered you. He whispers sweet nothings in your ear as his fingers caress you, the heat radiating from him lulling you into a daze. 

“Thank you,” you whisper softly, curling your hand around the back of his head. You pull back softly to look at him, and you can't help but revel in what you see. Mikko’s cheeks are pink, his lips swollen and bruised, and his eyes are blown wide with lust. He stares up at you in admiration, smiling almost shyly at your gratitude. 

“Y/N I - fuuuck,” Mikko’s words are cut off when you rock your hips against his aching cock, his hands flying to your waist. “What are you - oh - Y/N - shit -” 

“Please?” you mewl softly, pouting softly at his reprimanding stare. 

“Stop that,” he groans, his head tilting back slightly in pleasure. Whether he's talking about your pout or the way you were grinding on him - who knows. 

“Please?” you repeat, smiling triumphantly when his hands on your waist push you a little harder against his dick. 

“Yeah,” he breathes, “Yeah, yeah, okay, one condition.” 

“Mhm,” you hum, too distracted with roaming your eyes over Mikko’s chest and arms to pay attention. 

“Hey.” Mikko grabs your face between two fingers, squishing your cheeks together as he forces you to look at him. You stop breathing for a moment, his grip on your face unrelenting as you wait for him to tell you his condition. “My condition,” he says, “is that I want more than just this. Let me take you on a date. And no more swiping right on any other big guys on dating apps.” 

His words catch you by surprise, and you laugh loudly. Mikko lets go of your face when you do, watching you throw your head back joyfully. He's confused for a moment, but accepts your kiss, smiling against your mouth as you giggle against his. 

“Is that a yes?” he murmurs between kisses. 

“It's a hell yes,” you smile brightly, leaning into to steal another. 

“Great, now can I fuck you over the back of this couch and make you cum again or what?”

[the-enamorando-deity]

Okie dokie so for my first request, can I ask for a Yelena one with Pillow + tent + star gazing+ "Hey, if you were an animal, would you want to be one that walks or flies?" + "what are you waiting for?" Please and thank you, oh also *** ;) with Yelena being the top you're the best and congrats!!!!

i am......... SO FUCKING SORRY. the last few months i lost all inspiration but today i found it, and i’m gonna get right back to working on your requests. again i’m so sorry, i hope the word count and content shows a little much of how sorry i am, but you absolutely do not have to forgive me because i am a garbage person

but they WILL get done.

yelena belova x fem!reader, hello this is my first time writing in a while so bear with the shitty smut (18+ of course)

prompts: Yelena Pillow Tent Stargazing, “hey if you were an animal would you want to be one that walks or one that flies?” and “what are you waiting for”

Gazing at Stars

Your eyes rolled so far back into your head when you realised what month it was. Every year, Steve insisted on the team taking a trip together to some random place he would pull from a hat, and every year, it was camping in some dumpy forest. It was rather obvious that those were the only options, and it was compulsory.

Steve insisted it was team-building, and you knew that was bullshit. The only way he could get some peace was by dropping you all somewhere in pairs with a map, those few priceless hours all to himself as he set up the camp ground, and you all wandered aimlessly hoping to find a hotel rather than the same pile of tents.

Every year, you were all disappointed. You felt Yelena fidget next to you, her brow knitted together in concern and confusion. Nudging her softly, she flashed a meek smile to try and hide whatever was going on in her mind. You let it go for now, but as soon as the meeting was over, you stopped her in the hall.

‘Hey, Belova, what’s with your face in there?’ you queried, making sure no one else was around so she’d actually answer truthfully. ‘Almost looks like you hate camping as much as I do, which I thought was impossible.’

She also glanced around, but seemed hesitant to answer at all. ‘What is camping?’

Realisation struck, and you quickly scrambled to try and find the right way to describe it, without turning her against it too early. ‘Well, you can do it alone or with a group, and pretty much you all go into a forest and sleep there.’

‘For what purpose?’

You managed a smile, the now scared look in her eyes making you uneasy. ‘Uh, Steve likes to say for fun, Nat and I always say it’s more of a torture tactic, but it isn’t always so bad.’

‘It is, I think,’ she replied quietly. Seeing the confusion that spread from herself to you, Yelena forced a smile. ‘The Red Room did this too. They drive you to nowhere, and leave you, using only what you know from their teaching on how to get back. You don’t, you die.’

After trying to explain the difference between abandoning nine year olds in the frozen Russian tundra and sleeping in a tent around a bonfire for a few days, you knew Yelena was still concerned.

‘I’ll talk to Steve, I have an idea.’

‘Don’t do anything stupid,’ she remarked, quickly stretching herself out to her full height, which did nothing but make you laugh.

You winked and turned to find him, missing the rush of warmth that ran up Yelena’s body to her cheeks, holding there until you disappeared around the corner.

‘STEVEN!’ you shouted, delighted by the weary face that peered around the corner before you. ‘Good, you heard me.’

‘Hard not to, Y/N,’ he teased, ‘what do you need?’

Two weeks later, Steve stood in his usual place before the team. He gave you a quick nod, before announcing that this year’s camping trip would be set on the grounds of the Avengers Compound, due to certain restrictions and new recruits being unfamiliar with the whole process.

No one even glanced at Yelena, some others on the team just as fresh as herself. She squeezed your hand under the table as a thank you, but didn’t so much as spare a glance your way.

‘No technology is to be used, except in the usual 7pm to 9pm rule, unless with exceptional reason,’ he explained, ignoring the grumbles and groans. ‘Now, I have enlisted Friday’s help in coming up with a system for pairs.’

He droned on with each pair, no one really paying attention, knowing Steve would post it in the hall later.

'Yelena-’

Yelena froze at the mention of her name, unsure whether to stand or move or just continue breathing, all in the split second it took Steve to say your name right after. The sigh of relief was noticeable only to those on either side of her, you and Natasha exchanging a look behind her back.

When the day finally came, you and Natasha cornered the reformed assassin and took either of her arms.

‘What is this? Are you hazing me?’ 

‘What?’ you both laughed, shaking your heads. 

Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled her in tighter. ‘No, dumbass, we’re taking you down to the campground. Y/N and I are going to show you how to set up a tent.’

‘Don’t you have your own partner?’ Yelena grumbled, her relationship with Natasha just as sisterly as ever.

You and Natasha turned Yelena around to see Clint following behind, holding several large bags which Yelena could only assume were these “tents” you kept trying to explain. He ran to catch up, joining in on the current gossip session Nat was catching you all up on.

It’s not so bad, Yelena thought to herself, hiding a smile in her puffy jacket as you tightened your grip on her arm, pulling her a little closer. 

I don’t entirely hate this, she thought, unable to stop herself from laughing as you shoved popcorn up Bruce’s nose and the Hulk spit it out, or as you dared Thor to an eating challenge, only for him to balk and refuse after last time. Her favourite thing was the race between you and Steve, everyone refusing to let him know you cheated every time.

Hoping to distract everyone from the current story time in the circle, knowing your ass was about to be handed to you if Natasha or Steve knew how your last mission went, you turned to Yelena and posed a question. It was loud enough to intrigue the others, and your dumbassery was forgotten.

‘Hey, if you were an animal, would you want to be one that walks, or one that flies?’

Yelena seemed confused, but knew why you were trying to silence the story. ‘One that flies. They see more than the one who walks even knows exists.’

Tony jumped in next, his answer not very surprising. ‘I’m already both, why choose?’

The night progressed, and you started to think. You all knew camping really wasn’t so bad, it was only the concept of it, that or the fact that Steve enjoyed it a little too much.

Amidst the Asgardian Tales of Horror that Thor began to spin, you snuck Yelena away to show her your favourite part of camping, the only reason you didn’t vanish from the trip every year. Pillow tucked under your arm, you sighed a breath of relief and dropped it to the ground.

‘Y/N, I don’t think-’

‘I’m not saying trust me here, but I think you’ll like this.’

Yelena seemed concerned as you dropped to your knees and dragged her down beside you, looking into her eyes as your fingers lightly grabbed her chin, tilting her head skyward. Above you, the stars stretched out in an endless expanse, her chin dropping as she studied each one.

You had seen the stars plenty of times, but they were nothing like the ones you saw when she kissed you. She grabbed your hips and pulled your body close, turning you on your back, mumbling into your lips. Pulling away from you for only a moment, she moved to kneel over you, lowering herself so she could straddle you.

Her hands ran softly up the material of your shirt as she leaned down to kiss your neck, sucking a trail across your collarbone.

‘Are you okay with this?’ she whispered into your ear, the shivers running down your spine turning you into a malleable mess.

‘Extremely,’ you huffed, your hands on her toned back, pulling her down, closer.

You could feel the smirk cross her face as her hand drifted along your ribcage, tugging at the bottom of your shirt. Your jaw clenched at the soft touch, looking down just in time to see her lift your shirt up, kissing across your stomach. 

Biting your lip, you felt your legs clench together, but something was pressed between your thighs. Yelena used her knee to push yours apart, the pure rush you got from that movement only increasing your need for her to touch you.

‘Yelena-’

‘Beg me,’ she remarked, sucking at your skin softly, drifting lower as her fingers danced at the button on your jeans.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you felt yourself inching down towards her thigh, clenching your legs around hers. ‘Please,’ you started, looking directly into her eyes as she traced your stomach muscles with her tongue, ‘fuck me.’

‘Good girl.’

‘Christ,’ you moaned, the slow movement of your zipper sending interesting vibrations down your body. 

She seemed to enjoy riling you up, the slow movement of your jeans sliding down your legs torturous, her fingernails touching so lightly along your thighs it tickled, making you want her all over you at once. No matter how much you kicked your legs and squirmed to get her to touch you any faster, her pace didn’t differ.

You didn’t notice until the air hit you, but it wasn’t only your jeans she’d dragged painfully slowly down your legs. Her lips were softer than you expected, but her tongue was as sharp as her quick wit. A dangerous combination in most situations, yours included.

The moment you realised you were entirely exposed to the cool night air, Yelena had graciously moved her talents south. She traced an agonisingly slow trail up your folds, her touch registering on more than one level. You choked down a moan, grabbing your own hair with one hand, and Yelena’s with the other. 

She busied her self with tantalisingly slow tongue movements and soft kisses all over, fingers drifting up your skin and beneath your shirt. They squeezed at your breast over your bra, the clenching of her fingers in time with the flicks of her tongue over your clit.

If this was how you were going to die, you would already be in heaven. Positive your teeth were going to shatter from how hard you were clenching them, you tried to push yourself closer to her, wanting more and more.

She gladly obliged, taking your dripping clit into her mouth and sucking at it. Slowly at first, gentle and soft, your body tingling as you realised her other hand was holding your thigh, and her fingers were inching closer to you. Yelena knew exactly what she was doing, each movement like the most blissful torture one could imagine.

The release of your jaw came with a loud moan, Yelena’s fingers soaked with your slick, sliding easily inside you. You sank down against her hand, moving your hips and twisting yourself until she was right where you wanted her. Grinding hard against her hand and face, Yelena’s enhanced strength came in hand.

She moved faster and harder, fingers curling in all the right ways and tongue expertly teasing the most sensitive part of you. Your head fell back against the pillow, the stars in your eyes matching those above, sweet release coming only once Yelena had drawn you out to your maximum. 

You don’t know how long you lay there, trying to catch your breath, knowing the assassin still had every move, and the word “reformed” wasn’t in her vocabulary. She would had positively killed you with her talents, if she hadn’t already done so with her smile.

The pair of you exchanged tired glances for a moment, Yelena propped up on her elbow studying you.

‘I want to kiss you,’ she said softly.

‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ you smiled.

taglist: @marvelfansince08love @mymarvelwomen @imnotasuperhero @natasha-danvers @veteranwerewolf95 @monihaswritersblock @natasharomanoffswife @xxxtwilightaxelxxx 

[cloveroctobers]

GIRLFRIENDS - ALL AMERICAN GIRLS

A/N: because if we’re not stanning the girls too then what even is the point? + gender neutral! + something simple, hope you like?

GIRLFRIENDS — all american girl preferences

baby I could love you or love you not, hope you’re down with the friends I got 🎶

KIA: the deep brown skinned girl was down for supporting her friends no matter what. Sure she knew many people due to her active duties running multiple clubs, so she was always around many people but Kia liked her solitude every now and then to reflect on what needed to be reflected. She was the type of friend that was always down to listen to understand, rather than listen to reply. You two were friends long before your families figured out that you were related, making you cousins. “I knew there was a reason we connected, we’re blood!” so when you first got your significant other, it was nice and full of butterflies for you. Kia could clearly see that you were smitten with your person of choice and she supported you. She actually liked you two in the beginning but it only took about two weeks for things to shift, surprisingly. Things were starting to confuse you about the other you had interest in, they were hot and then they were cold and borderline possessive. You were new to this whole “love” or rather “dating” thing so when you asked Kia about it along with her and your? Uncle flip in earshot, they gave their opinions/advice whereas uncle flip said he could “talk” to them while Kia said you should sit them down and tell them how their actions were making you feel and go from there. So you took kia’s option and did so just for things to get heated, and it takes a lot to get YOU heated. They kept pushing you so you gave them the ultimatum: either you can give them love or you can leave with it and give it to someone else. At the end of the day you had your friends with or without them and would be just fine without them in your life if they continued to treat you like crap. This they were not expecting from you, sitting there mouth open but you no longer waited to hear what they had to say. Turning on your heels you spotted Kia and a few of your friends by your locker. You walked right over to Kia, after she gave a round of applause and a smile, you locked arms with her sharing a grin; very content being around your friends instead.

Cause you know girls stan girlfriends over boyfriends🎶

OLIVIA: “they’re crazy, liv!” You exclaimed, before turning to launch the bat over your head to smash the television near by. Olivia nodded her head, stepping back as pieces of glass flew around the room. You huffed knowing you’ll feel that pulled muscle in the morning but right now the annoyance was taking over your whole being. You had the bright idea to go to a wreck room and figured it would be fun to get your anger out in a...different manner. Olivia couldn’t tell you no after seeing how distraught you were over your relationship and you were one, if not, the only one there for her with her struggles so who was she to not show up for her friends? That would not be like the Olivia Baker you knew. She was the one always putting other’s needs before her own and in a way you knew this would be good for her after the whole Spencer incident (part 2 that is). Yet she only stomped and kicked on a few objects while you were going full hulk, using the bat after you almost smashed your hand through a wall. You didn’t need any broken bones especially being a pianist but when you’re angry sometimes you black out. “So you just told them to go screw themselves?” The doe-eyed curly haired girl asked after you sat against a broken wall with your knees pulled up. You grinned, panting and glancing over  at her as she leaned against the wall still standing, “hell yeah I did! nobody comes between me and my girls. They’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever seen if they didn’t get that from the get go.” You winked making Olivia breathe out a laugh, glad you finally found some common sense to drop the dead weight of your ex-significant other.

I roll with my best, and you already know, that if they ain’t impressed, you’re gonna have to go🎶

LAYLA: “OH MY GOSH, Y/N THEY DID NOT!” Layla held onto your wrist laughing as the two of you sat on a shared towel on the beach. You nodded your head rapidly showing that what was just shared was indeed true. You had no idea how you ended up talking to them. maybe you were under the influence or really tired, just trying to be nice, and found them entertaining the other weekend at the teen club but lately talking to them felt very dry. No one’s ever held the status of being your significant other because no one held your interest long enough but here you were. They went to one of the other school’s here, a private one and sure they were nice to look at but the conversation was lacking. The connection was just not there and perhaps it wasn’t there the first time you engaged, you couldn’t pinpoint what was going on last weekend but you didn’t have to continue with what you already knew wouldn’t work. Layla was one of the main one’s out of your group to address what you were already thinking. So when they showed up with a few of their friends trying to chat you were embarrassed for them, doing them a favor after getting the look from your girls you let them down gently. However it seemed like they didn’t grasp the fact that you were basically canceling your talking stage, you decided to relocate and encourage your girls to join the dance party that was a good distance from where your failed love interest sat confused and clueless with their friends. However that headache was now gone as you danced the summer afternoon away on the beach.

so if you’re gonna press me and treat me like a- exit to the left and they’ll show you the door 🎶

PATIENCE: You’ve known Patience since middle school and she’s always been the best friend you could have asked for. You’re basically family and never sugarcoat anything from each other. So the minute you started dating Dane Kohler she immediately expressed her disapproval but you were too blinded by the sex really. You knew Dane wasn’t shit and for the streets yet you kept dealing with him for the toxicity of it all. It wasn’t until you overheard that he possibly got someone pregnant while he was on the phone with his boys that you flipped on him. After saying what you had to say, which he didn’t take seriously since he replied with, “Ah, you’ll be back.” You left him there going straight over to Patience’s house to tell her what was going on. She waited until you got out all you needed saying, “so are we busting windows to show him that you’re not some hoe of the week or are you finally kicking his stupid ass to the door? Take your pick.” You thought about it, not for long, as you said with a smirk, “Why not both?” Patience instantly pushed off her couch, “say less.” And out the two of you went.

We didn't have a problem in the world...Until you started making noise 🎶

COOP: No matter what, Coop was the friend that wanted to be by your side for the good and the bad. If something was wrong with you, then that means something was wrong with her too. Everything that happened with you, she would take it personal too. Majority of the time you appreciated that, that someone was so empathetic towards whatever situation you had going on in your life but it was odd that sometimes you couldn’t reciprocate that for Coop. Sure she’ll tell you her problems but she didn’t expect for you to want to jump in FOR her, she just wanted someone to be beside her and let her shine and do HER thing. She wanted that sense of control. It was one of her downfalls as a friend or person...depending on who you ask...Her situation with Spencer was much different than what was going on between your friendship. Yes you were bumping heads at the moment but at least the two of you were still speaking...somewhat...you two were involved in a disagreement and usually after a day or two things would be fine. This was one of those days. Coop was on her way over to you to clear the air and to let you know that she was thinking of dropping out and didn’t want your persuasion to stay but for you to support and listen. Before she could do that, she spotted your significant other towering over you yelling into your face, drawing some attention. However you weren’t flinching as you peered up into their eyes but from Coop’s angle she could see your eyes were fresh with tears of anger. It was when they slammed their hand against the locker that you were pressed against, Coop intervened. The pair shared words but it was enough to get them to back off of you. Letting out shallow breaths you dropped to a squat picking up your things that that asshole probably threw. They were good for their tantrums and this was coop’s first time seeing it. She only heard about it through the phone and by word of mouth from you. “I don’t know what their problem is but I don’t appreciate someone talking to you like that or taking it out on you. You need to cut them off, Y/n. Cause what I saw just then is not okay and can probably get worse. Then I’m really gonna have to put my paws on someone and I haven’t done that since when? Forever.” You snorted imagining Coop’s much shorter frame compared to your significant other’s but ultimately knew size did not matter in that aspect. “I hear you. They’re doing too much lately and I’m tired of it, they’re not worth the stress. This much I know.” “Good, glad we’re on the same page. Now where we ‘bout to eat at?”

Never gonna leave my girls, they're sticking by me 🎶

SIMONE: “I can’t believe you’re leaving me right now, alone with this, to go be with that bitch— that was enough for you to collect your things and exit the premises. Anybody that felt the need to talk about your friend like that didn’t deserve you. Plus who’s to know what they’re saying about you behind your back if they didn’t respect your friends. You knew your significant other could be a asshole but this statement really sunk in for you. It was clear that they didn’t care about Simone, your best friend who was going through the rough time of being a teen and pregnant. You were open to being respectful of your significant other’s garbage friends but you couldn’t get that exact treatment in return? This relationship was slowly but surely becoming real questionable to you right now. It took some time during the course of the day but Simone finally told you what hotel she was staying in after she informed you that she left the baker’s house for good. When she came to the door, she was shocked to see you here with your bags ready to stay the night or however long she was in fact staying. “W-what?” “I told you, you can’t get rid of me no matter what idiot person is in my life right now. I know you need someone and I don’t ever want you to feel alone. So let me in so we can watch train to busan and parasite.” Simone’s eyes started to fill up with tears as you walked into the room dropping your things onto the shared bed. When you turned to face the low-lidded girl, before you could catch the tears in her eyes, she engulfed you into a tight hug which you returned patting her back. “I’m so grateful for you.” Simone sniffed. You laughed, “your hormones have been whacky as hell lately huh?” “Yes, and I hate it.” “Well...we’re dealing with it.” “Thank you.” “What are friends for?”

[harderbetterfasterstarker]

endless

oops my hand slipped and i wrote a very sad drabble that’s just tony missing peter, reflecting on it during the Blip, set pre-as if even now. read it on ao3 here, and if you haven’t, read as if even now (if only to get to their happy ending, i wrote an absurdly fluffy epilogue drabble for them damnit). preemptive tw that this fic reflects on a time where tony was suicidal, and thoughts and attempts are referenced. 

The kid had gotten under his skin, into every breath he took, inside his lungs and running through his veins and pumping through his heart, in ways he hadn’t realized until he’d clutched his body as it crumbled to dust. All he’d known was that he’d felt empty in ways he hadn’t since before he’d become Iron Man, back to Earth and spending his days and nights looking for ways to fill the aching chasm that was always threatening to swallow him whole.

Tony has always been, if anything, at least self-aware when it comes to his many and myriad faults. And the truth is that he is a greedy man, never satisfied with what he has, always reaching for the next thing and the next and the next, always wanting what he can’t have, even when (especially when) it’s not good for him. And he knows that this is the truth, even though Pep always just pats him on the shoulder and gives him one of her softer smiles and says that he deserves to be a little greedy, after all he’s done, after all he’s been through. He hasn’t quite figured out how to argue with that one, even though he knows in his gut that he should. At least he hasn’t figured out how to argue without revealing cards he’d rather keep hidden, even from (especially from) Pep.

Because he’d nearly died, had thought he was going to die, and was ready to die. Another of those things he hasn’t quite worked up the courage to tell Pep yet. Her favored narrative, for him and for the press, is that he held on, fought for life, fought to stay with them for her, for Morgan. Morgan—Christ. So how is he supposed to tell Pep that he’d been lying there, fighting for consciousness through the pain clawing its way across his entire right side, and in what he’d been certain were his dying moments he’d looked at the kid, really looked at him, remembered the way his hair had smelled of cheap shampoo and sweat and dirt when he’d hugged him tight, here, real, undeniably alive, and thought, Oh. Oh.

And that had been enough.

Tony scrubbed his hands across his face, harsh and hard, as if he could erase the memory of that moment, before he’d felt whatever oddball magic Strange had begun working. What he needed to erase were the memories of the five years before that—or, hell, maybe back further. As if Tony would ever—could ever—try to excise Peter from his mind. He wasn’t even sure that he could, now. The kid had gotten under his skin, into every breath he took, inside his lungs and running through his veins and pumping through his heart, in ways he hadn’t realized until he’d clutched his body as it crumbled to dust. All he’d known was that he’d felt empty in ways he hadn’t since before he’d become Iron Man, back to Earth and spending his days and nights looking for ways to fill the aching chasm that was always threatening to swallow him whole.

After Pep had gotten pregnant with Morgan, he’d once, in a drunken spat of extreme bitterness, accused her of convincing him to retire and have a kid as a replacement for Peter. She’d been so mad at him for that one that she’d just left the house and called Rhodey, told them to call her when Tony was sober again. He regretted what he said, but he noticed that she didn’t deny it.

At least, in her eyes, he’d stopped trying to kill himself by the time Morgan was born, so she could reasonably assume that maybe her plan had worked. Shamefully, not even the idea of leaving his baby girl alone in the world without a father was enough to keep him away from that particular ledge—in fact, what he hadn’t admitted to Pepper was that it made him want to run away more, because if Peter was superhuman and brilliant and good, the best of them, and Tony hadn’t been able to protect him, what could Tony hope to do for this little girl? No, it was Nat who got the credit for ending his run of attempts. Most of his attempts had been thwarted by past Tony, who had dreamed up what felt like a thousand and one protocols and alerts for just this scenario, but the last one it had been Nat to walk into his workshop at just the right (wrong) moment, in what if it had been anyone other than the Black Widow he’d have called a coincidence.

“You’ve gotta talk to someone, Tony,” she’d said once they were settled on the couch in the corner of the lab he slept on most nights.

“You don’t think I do? I’ve seen every shrink this side of the Mississippi and several on the other, I’ve gone to those stupid fucking support groups, and it’s—none of it works, Nat.” He’d been drunk—he was always at least slightly drunk, then—and it made him more open. “It’s all wrong.”

Whenever his therapists asked him to talk about what happened on Titan, he clammed up, spoke in the vaguest of terms. He told himself he was protecting Peter’s identity (even in apparent death) but he knew that wasn’t right. He’d considered that he was trying to avoid admitting just how culpable he really was, for dragging a teenager into this fight, for dragging the best mind of a new generation, the sweetest boy he’d ever known, brash and a bit impulsive but with a heart of fucking gold, and let him die on a godforsaken desert planet with a bunch of aliens, Strange, and a man who thought Footloose was a great movie—because he’d had plenty of experience avoiding admitting truths to himself, and this wasn’t his first therapy rodeo—but deep down he knew that wasn’t right either.

“Have you gone to the right ones?” Natasha had asked softly, looking at him carefully, and he had the unsettling feeling she, as always, saw more than he wanted her to see.

“I’ve been to the general ones, the ones for everyone who lost people in the Blip, to family loss, to the ones for first responders and others who felt helpless, I’ve even been to the groups for parents who lost kids.”

He had—at Pep’s insistence, he’d gone. And it was—better, than the others. The scope of his grief felt… more accepted, there. Less out of touch with the experiences of others. But it still wasn’t—enough. When they talked about the future they’d been robbed of with their children, it was a future they got to watch, moments in their lives that were gone—graduations, weddings, grandchildren. And Tony felt that, all of it, deeply—that he should’ve been there to see Pete graduate, valedictorian, go to college wherever he wanted (MIT, it would’ve been MIT), invent something that floored Tony with his brilliance—but that wasn’t quite it. More than all of that, he missed the time he should’ve spent with the kid and didn’t, missed the idea of years of weekends in the lab spilling out ahead of them, hearing him laugh and seeing him smile. He wished he’d just hugged the kid that time in the car, instead of making everything some joke.

“He was just… you know what he said to me, when I first met him and asked him why he was doing what he did? A broke fourteen year old kid, suddenly has superpowers and instead of being captain of the football team and stealing enough to set them up for life, he’s chasing down muggers in a onesie? He said, when you can do what I do, and you don’t do anything, and then bad things happen, they happen because of you. I mean, Christ, Nat. He was the best of us and I—I lost him, and I—and it feels like I can’t breathe.” He realized that his hand had gone, unbidden, to the shell of where the arc reactor had been, clutching at it desperately. Ripping his heart out would’ve maybe been less painful. Natasha had given him another penetrating look and then, whip sharp and faster than certainly his inebriated brain could keep up with, she’d grabbed him by the chin and turned him to look her in the eye.

“I actually like you, Tony, which is why I will say this. You loved Peter, you really truly did. And when you love someone, and they die, it fucking hurts and it never goes away. I like Pepper, I do, but the house in the country and hanging up the suit and the baby? Those won’t make it stop hurting. That pain lives inside you now, because so did Peter. So the only question is whether you can choose to live with it. Like I said, I like you, so I hope the answer is yes, and I think that’s the answer the kid would want for you. But if the answer is no, you call me. I’ll make it quick, and painless, and tidy, and Pep and the baby would never ever know what it really was.”

For once in life, he’d been speechless, left to stare at the spot on the couch she’d vacated as he considered her words, considered that Natasha had had a life, in Russia, before the Red Room had stolen it from her. Considered whether he’d want Pep to think he’d just… had a heart attack. Gotten old, put too much stress on himself. Considered the kid, wondered if there really was a place you went when you died, what he’d say to Peter.

He’d called Natasha once after that, at 3 in the morning a few months after Morgan was born, when he hadn’t been getting enough sleep and when the silence around the house had felt oppressive.

“Tony,” she’d said, quiet and gentle, the kind of tone she took when she was lulling the Hulk back to peace. “Is this the call we talked about?”

“No,” he’d gasped, scrabbling around the kitchen for the picture of Peter and him together, their fake internship picture. “No, I just… Thanks. Thank you.”

“You already had your heart-to-heart, Stark. Don’t think this is a regular thing,” she’d said, sounding more like herself. He’d snorted, clinging to the sense of normalcy.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Won’t put you on the list for talking about our feelings.”

“Atta boy. And Stark… you’re welcome.”

[1787americanrevnerd]

The Avengers (Student Body Government for S.H.I.E.L.D High School) Post: 1 of ?

Book Summary:

A High School AU that I hope isn't cliche, I tried to make it my own and it's also not focusing on any ships it focuses on them as a whole. When Nick Fury decides that he needs a Student government he chooses people that could never work together, for the student government he recruits Tony Stark (a bad boy/nerd) Steve Rogers (The skinny kid always trying to pick a fight with people) Natasha Romanov (a Russian transfer student) Clint Barton (no one really knows what he's doing there) Bruce Banner (the lovable nerd) Thor (a nice jock) Sam Wilson ( a pilot in training and actually has student body government experience) Bucky Barnes (the athlete who's always getting Steve out of trouble and never talks about his past) Pepper Potts (she's really just there to make sure nobody adds or subtracts from the population) and their siblings can only watch it all go to shit and then something greater coming out of it.

Chapter 1: Issues

Everyone has their... stuff, whether it be physical or emotional everyone has it. Most people find their people or groups in high school, but some don't fit into the system. Tony was smart but too cool to be in the nerdy group, Steve actually didn't really fit in anywhere, Natasha was a cheerleader and a transfer student that hated most people, Clint wasn't a jock but he didn't belong in any other category, Bruce was nerdy and geeky but had too many anger issues to really hang out with the other geeks and nerds, Thor was an amazing Football player but far to nice to be friends with the other jocks, Sam was a Track and Feild runner but had different dreams than the rest of them, Bucky was an athlete who spent most of his time protecting Steve to belong to any group, and Pepper was a future businesswoman who was too uptight by everyone else's standards. Some of them became friends with each other but it's not the same as having a whole group behind your back.

Tony Stark hated his father, it was the first thing you should know about him. Tony spent most of his time in his garage trying to make a robot suit which he called Iron Man and his friend Bruce called, "A Flying Death Trap" it was a slow process. Tony was a smart kid he was in all the AP classes, however, he was a ladies' man which meant that he didn't really get bullied. If he wasn't in the garage he would be nearby the coffee shop that his other friend Rhodey worked at. Tony was living his best life in general, except for the fact that he had only two real friends.

Steve Rogers was a skinny kid with a boatload of health issues, but that didn't stop him from trying to beat anyone to a pulp who did something wrong. His friend always pulled him out of the fights though saying that, "Your Mom would kill me if you got injured on my watch." Which Steve thought was unfair, why did his Mom and his best friend have an agreement of making sure he didn't get hurt? He wanted to be part of the football team but he was too skinny and had asthma. Steve wanted to play sports with his friends, unfortunately, that wouldn't happen, the worst part of his day was the hour he was alone because his friends were at track practice.

Natasha was a Russian transfer student, she was told to gain American government secrets Clint told her that this was frowned upon. She brought her sister with her and they were living at the Barnes house, she liked it there it was peaceful. She was a cheerleader, she only joined to make fun of the other girls. She tried to act like a stupid pretty girl, that way no one would pay much attention to her however that backfired quickly. Almost every boy wanted to date her, she didn't mind the attention people gave her now. The only thing she didn't like was the fact that people now had misconceptions of her personality.

Clint is a champion archer in the region and is currently trying to be part of the national archery competition. However he didn't really know what to do with his life, they don't exactly give out scholarships for archery. He spent most of his time in "little secret rooms" he found in the school. Clint also didn't have many friends, Natasha had her own stuff and he got the vibe someone like her wouldn't want to hang out with him. His grades weren't the best in the world which made him even more worried about the future and school. He didn't know what to do he thought that archery is the only thing he's good at.

Bruce was a nerdy geek with anger issues, which made it hard to hang out with people. He only had Tony, and Tony didn't always stay right next to Bruce. Bruce was bullied a lot, which didn't help in making friends. He was at the bottom of the social chain, at least he could get into a good school and have a bright future. Bruce tried to be a pacifist however he had really bad anger issues and everything stressed him out, he called the angry part of himself The Hulk. He didn't have bipolar depression, he just got angry easily simple as that.

Thor was a football player and very popular, however, he wasn't mean. Most people saw him as the jock, but that wasn't who he was, not deep down. He had a lot on his place, he would be getting the family business passed down to him because his "nutcase older sister was on thin fucking ice" his father's words not Thor's. He took care of his younger brother at most times, but they've hit a snag in their relationship. Thor didn't have many friends against contrary belief, sure he had people wanting to be his friend but they didn't want to know the real Thor.

Sam was trying to get his pilot's license which was a lot of work and took up most of his time. He was also on the track team which almost took up the rest of his free time. He did have time to talk with Steve and Bucky though. Sam was somewhere on the middle of the social food chain, he wasn't bullied or unpopular but he wasn't the most popular kid in the school. He had secrets though like everyone, one's he couldn't tell his friends knew about them but never asked. He and Bucky had a rivalry neither of them really knew why, Sarah and Rebecca say that they're competing for the best friend role. At least he had people, even if he didn't really like one of them.

Bucky was an athlete and only had one arm, well most of the time. He had a prosthetic but only wore it for baseball and if he had to wear it for the track. He had lost it when he was young, a freak accident and they couldn't save the arm. He had a big family so they were a big help with helping him. He had four sisters Rebecca, Lizzy, Martha, and Linda which was difficult at times but they were good to have around to tell you not to make stupid decisions.

Principle Fury wanted to have a student government, but he didn't want to be stuck with assholes running it. He had to decide who would be in it, and he already had an idea. They might not like each other but this would be a good bonding experience and it would help Fury out a lot. He sent Hill to go and gather them up, and put them in the office he found himself sitting in. This is not going to work, a part of him thought. He couldn't help but feel that he just made a grave mistake, like he interrupted the order of things, in retrospect he probably did.

No one was happy about the fact that they all had to work together. People thought that Stark wasn't serious enough, they said that Rogers would get into too many fights, some people had problems with jocks being in the same room as them. Others really didn't know what they were doing there, one of those people was Pepper Potts. Pepper Potts had an inconsequential life she wanted to be a CEO, but like that would ever happen. Fury told her to make sure that nothing happened to the other kids, make sure they have ground rules. So that was her job, to be the babysitter. This is going to be an interesting year for all of them.

Notes: This chapter was majorly inspired by The Breakfast Club. Did any of you catch that?

Part 2

[m4-05spersonalblog]

The M4 siblings fanfiction

Chapter 1: In the name of journalism

It had only been a day since M4 discovered the story, a republic senator for a mining colony in the mid-rim and imperial captain stationed near the remains of Ziost both turn up dead at the exact same time, and security footage reveals it as the culprit, though M4 had killed plenty of people by now, some more notorious and a lot more powerful than a senator and captain, so what’s 2 more kills under it’s designation after all? The reporter who first made the story public fell to the floor of his office, set ablaze, as he looked up, paralyzed with the utmost fear of the one responsible, in front of him stood M4-05 and it’s faithful akk dog partner, Murjr, M4 grabs the man by the collar, lifting him off the ground as the droid places it’s wristblade to his neck, speaking to him in a tone of pure anger “I don’t appreciate slander, especially slander that puts the few people in the galaxy I have left at risk, now tell me what do you know about those imposters.” The reporter was speechless, as M4 pressed it’s blade further against his neck he began to fumble for words, “I- I- was told that the one who killed the senator worked for sith intelligence, I just thought it was you collecting on those bounties you do when your owner doesn’t need you shoving people who only want to give the public the truth aside!” In a sudden burst of emotion, M4 pins the reporter against the wall, slowly causing blood to drip from the man’s neck, if he didn’t talk quick enough he would surely die, but before he could try and save his own life M4 gets in the first word “Here’s a story for you to publish. I. Am. Nobodies. Property!” M4 continuously slammed the reporter against the wall before cutting his throat entirely, stepping back and allowing Murjr to get some bites in of the man, though the akk dog quickly changes he spits out what was bitten off quickly. The two partners walk out of the reporter’s house before M4 sets off a disintegration bomb inside, wiping the evidence from the building as it slowly crumbled down a flaming mess, if there was an imperial copy of M4, then there was bound to be a republic one as well, but only 2 questions remained in M4’s metal head, how to destroy them and make sure it’s not copied again.

Chapter 2: Enter “Vanguard”

Cheers roar out from a bar on the upper levels of coruscant as a group of soldiers celebrate a recent victorious campaign, talking about sticking it to the imperials and what-not, with other patrons of the bar celebrating as patriots alongside their protectors, better known as ‘Sigma Squad’. As the celebrations were in full swing the bar doors open and a droid with claw-like feet, a built-in jetpack and face plating walks in and up to sigma squad, prompting more cheers from the soldiers. The orange and white droid looks at the squad before introducing itself, it’s voice contained that of a proud republic accent as it gives a salute, “M4-06, code name: vanguard, the first of the 06 assault series developed by the SIS for usage by special operations squads, having completed my testing I have been transferred to act as a member of sigma squad, effective immediately.” The hulking sigma squad commander chuckles and pats the droid’s shoulder “Don’t worry vanguard, we knew you were coming, welcome to the squad! I was told you had our next mission for us, but that can wait, come, join the party!” The squad and bar patrons partied on until dark and they got kicked out by the barkeep. Back at the republic command centre, the squad, once more suited up in armour looked eagerly at their newest addition to relay their next mission to them, the droid robotically looks at the squad before projecting a holo-image of 2 droids that looked near-identical to it. “These are M4-05 and M4-07, M4-05 is the droid I am based off, a dangerous mercenary and republic defector, M4-07 is my sibling who was stolen and modified by sith intelligence during the early stages of our development, command has decided it is up to us to destroy them, for the republic.” The commander walks up next to Vanguard and gives some final words “I’ll requisition the gear we need ASAP, we leave at 06:00 in the morning, we have our orders, sigma squad, move out!” The squad walk out as the commander turns to Vanguard and simply directs the droid to follow him to requisition the gear needed.

Chapter 3: Preparations After a sudden jump to hyperspace M4 forces open a security crate, laying it’s optics on the deadly contents. “Looks like Azutek came through” M4 plainly stated as it picked out the disruptor rifle, sealing the rest of the contents back in the case before putting it in a smuggling compartment “Best keep those unarmed unless I have to use them” the droid simply mutters to itself, the silence aboard the tenacity was beginning to cause M4 to go mad again, without distraction M4 only did what it had ever known, calculate. Every movement, every second, every destination and every purpose had to be flawless, if not, go back to the start and do it all again until it’s right. This feeling of loneliness, even if it was to keep one of the few people in the galaxy M4 cared about safe, was something it simply couldn’t push back forever, going so far as to turn off it’s face lights and removing it’s faceplates just so it could practice everything with it’s own, unfiltered optics, M4 wanted every advantage possible, even if that meant pushing it’s only body built for combat to the absolute limit. As time went on M4 slowed down it’s combat calculations and began thinking more straightforward, it had an idea of a plan, but nothing specific, all it knew was to lure it’s copies to a location and destroy them both at the same time, what remained was, how and where? It needed an unrealistic amount of luck to even get the 2 to the same location and luck wasn’t logical, M4 pondered about this for some time, talking to itself in it’s lonely state “Luck… luck, there is not a possible way to calculate such a thing or even obtain it, to a point, luck can be considered something a person is born with, the concept of luck favors those incredibly stupid for they would not survive without some form of intervention… ugh” M4 waves it’s head around in annoyance realizing that out of the statistical odds of it, it knew one of the luckiest idiots in the entire galaxy, and it owed the idiot a favour, how joyous this plan was going to be, doing so it sets course and turns back around to a hub-zone of loot, rumors and the one place the pirate known only as “Flip” could likely be found, Nar Shaddaa.

Chapter 4: The imposter’s imposter

“Dread it, run from it, death arrives all the same, or rather, it simply has more intelligence than your organic brain can comprehend.” A sly, robotic, imperial accent matched with black paint and armouring met only with the laughter of an idiot about to start wallowing in his own blood, the masked fool laughs “You know, you would make a great actor, plus you’d be doing a better job than you are right now.” The masked idiot gets his head slammed into a wall of Nar shaddaa for this, the claw-like metal hand creating an ear-piercing scratching noise as the imperial assassin, M4-07, runs it’s hand down to Flip’s neck, “I’ll give you credit, fool, you’re braver than most targets who’ve had the pleasure of seeing my face, you lack their fear, but a sith agent without fear to feed on is a vicious beast to tangle with.” Flip just laughs at the sadistic droid “Wow, you really don’t get the message huh? I already told you where your big bro was heading, someplace called ‘the crater’ ominous I know, but hey, there are hundreds of craters in the galaxy, which one do you go to, let me, help you, so I can help myself keep living?” 07 let’s go of Flip’s head, letting him drop to the ground like a sack of hammers, only for the idiot to get back up on his feet and stretch as if he hadn’t just had his ass whooped for the 17th time this week. “Like I said, I don’t know where ‘the crater’ is but I do know a place that’d be easy to kill an organic for your brother, it’s this completely inhospitable area on Tatooine, not even moisture farmers can use it, plus it drives people insane, now I don’t know a huge amount of it’s backstory but if my luck is anything to go off, I reckon it has a base there, no place an organic can approach without going insane? Any droid would want to go there!” 07 looks at Flip before speaking again as it raises a blaster to Flip’s face “Your service to the empire will be rewarded painlessly” Though before the droid could even pull the trigger Flip rolls to the other side of the room before grabbing his dropped rifle and jumping out of the closed window and falling into the abyss below, all the way down yelling “At your service!” 07 backs away before dropping a thermal detonator in Flip’s hotel room, even if he did survive the fall, he didn’t have anywhere to sleep anymore…

Of course anybody who knows Flip, knows he can survive worse than a big fall, getting caught in a red speeder, driven by M4 of all droids before zooming off to the spaceport, M4 shook it’s head as Flip relayed the details to it, now it owed the fool two favours.

Chapter 5: “Hello old friend”

M4 stood in front of a burnt and decaying pile of logs in the vast and harsh desert night of Tatooine, so much had happened since M4’s first visit here and everything personal always caused it to end up here, except with Grillrilot, but that wasn’t an opportunity it would’ve got a second shot at. Simply staring at the wood as it’s cloak flew in the wind the droid noticed something it hadn’t noticed last time it was here, a single holoprojector that had somehow survived the bonfire, curiously M4 picks it up and wipes some ash off it before placing it down at it’s feet and pressing play on it. The projector boots into life as a man clad in red armour, with red hair and the worst shaving job in the galaxy, appeared, taking the droid back, the man simply smiles at looks at M4, speaking in a typical mandalorian accent, with a hint of balmorran. “If you’re finding this, it means this… disorder of mine has got the best of me and I was proven killable, if so, I commend the warrior who managed to kill me and rid the galaxy of the voice in my head, but chances also are you found this looking for some wisdom from a strong member of clan Stalos, who defeated the republic’s own mandalorian killer, twice and fought alongside some of the best warriors in the galaxy, well bit of some bad news, whatever you might know about my story might be a little lost in translation, because… Well a lot of the stories attributed to me are only half true, I never faced a single enemy down alone, there was always someone else by my side in a fight, whether that be aiding me through a commlink, on the field of battle, or just when I needed someone to talk too, whether it’s still around by the time this message is played back I don’t know… we sort of, got into a fight and well… we went our separate ways I suppose. So maybe I do have some wisdom after all, whether they are mando’ade or not, anyone who is willing to stand by you through everything the galaxy throws at you is a true vod, whether they consider themselves mandalorian or not, for me that person was a droid, funny I know, who’d have thought a mandalorian and a droid would make such a good team, the droid in question was called M4-05, heh… We started out hating each other, and I mean hated each other, all we both wanted to do was get off tatooine and go our separate ways then, but things obviously changed, M4 was more than a machine, more so than I think even it realised, it was a friend to so many people, sure it could be a bit cynical at times, M4 stuck around when nobody else did… and I let the voice in my head throw that away, but M4’s tough, built of some of the strongest stuff in the galaxy, always had a plan for everything, it’s got a plan to outlive the end of the universe itself I bet, dunno if it’ll stick with artix or move on to work with someone else, what matters is that it finds a place in the galaxy… where was I? Oh yeah, moral of the story and stuff… a brother is more than your fellow mando’ade or your blood, a brother is someone who believes and doesn’t give up, someone you can be transparent with, someone who sticks by your side just because it’s you. So, to whoever may be seeing this recording, do this mad mando a favour, just one, find M4 if you can, tell it, no, tell my brother I’m sorry, tell him that Robert ‘Anarch’ Artix-Stalos was wrong, that I wish things could’ve turned out better, got a kid on the way and everything as well, coulda used a babysitter every now and again…” The long and drawn out recording finally stops and M4 looks down at the recording, before removing it’s faceplating to look at the projector before picking it up and look at it with it’s two, basic optics before speaking back to the lifeless projector, in a sad and defeated tone “I wish I had a plan for this… I really do, but given your combat success, perhaps the best plan isn’t having one at all… and apology accepted, ‘brother’.” The droid places it’s plates back on before walking off further into the desert, the last remains of it’s first true friend in hand.

Chapter 6: The crater (dun dun duuun!)

M4-07 stood in a desolate, completely black area of Tatooine, amongst what appear to be the charred remains of a sand person camp, the only thing not charred in the area was a single cliff face, with no cracks or rocks to use to climb, only 07, no life, no back-up, yet impossible to ambush… Then at the top of the cliff stood a group of heavily armed republic soldiers as none other than M4-06 jettisoned down to meet 07 in the optics, as it yells in declaration “M4-07, you are found guilty of working as an agent of sith intelligence, surrender now and you will be treated fairly!” 07 just looks at the soldier droid before chuckling “M4-06 and sigma squad then? I don’t know what your game is but I doubt you’ll find your ultimate goal here, allow me to explain the purpose of our creation, we were built to anger the same droid, to lure it out of hiding and destroy it, to our respective factions we are expendable, I am here of my own initiative to prove otherwise, your being here benefits only me, not you and certainly not our target.” 06 stands proudly in defiance “If my purpose is to be expendable in the fight for freedom then so be it!” it’s imperial brethren only shakes it’s head in disapproval “A patriot to the end eh? Well I suppose I can sympathise to a degree, my programming grants me free thought in nearly every aspect, other than attempts to betray my empire.” 06, clearly tired with 07’s ego simply raises it’s rifle to the droid “Enough talk, either you come silently, or in pieces! And once we’re done with you, we’ll deal with 05 too!”

In response 07 raises it’s blaster firing at 06 with no hesitation, 06 responds by firing back, both droids absorbing and ricocheting the shots with their armouring, as the 2 scurry for cover as 06 yells into it’s comms “Commander, your assistance would be appreciated right about now!” 06 actually got a response, but not from the person it was expecting, as a cold, robotic voice speaks through the commlink to 06 “Not so fast, inferior. And don’t think about adjusting your aim, one move towards me and the blood of your organic masters is on your copied hands.” 06 continues to engage 07 as it speaks back through the comms as it briefly looks up to spot a dot of red and black atop the cliff where sigma squad has seemingly disappeared. “So the traitor shows themself, you will surrender yourself to republic custody for trial in front of the galactic senate and leave that of sigma squad alone.” The patriot droid’s demands are met with a sinister and annoyed tone “I don’t know if you’ve ever been programmed to deal with a hostage situation before, so allow me to give you some tips, do not demand the exact opposite of what the hostage-taker wants.” for a second a blaster shot echos from the cliff before a human body is thrown off and hits the ground with an unbearable cracking sound. “For every wrong move you make, is another republic death on your hands, can your limited mind comprehend that?” Atop the cliff M4 turns it’s head to the entire unconscious sigma squad as it waves the commander’s helmet over them and watches the 2 droids below fight each other before speaking into the helmet “Now, my demands are simple, destroy M4-07, then yourself.” As yet more bolts bounce off 06’s armour it simply gives a simple response “No can do, my duty is to serve the republic, not you!” M4 simply sighs back in response, before something atop the cliff goes boom and M4 descends down to the ground, causing the two copies to stop shooting at each and look at it before it simply states “Wrong answer. Now I’m not usually one for teaching those I’m about to kill a lesson, this place ‘the crater’ that’s not it’s real name, that’s just what the only jedi who ever came here called it. The real name of this place is ‘daba'r’ which is mandalorian for ‘The beginning’ and in my case that’s what organics would call, symbolic.” 07 simply points it’s blaster at M4 and begins firing “Enough talking, shut up and die! For the empire!” and in suit 06 yells in response “For the republic!” M4 simply draws it’s blasters and opens fire on the two, bolts ping back and forth as the 3 all try to get a killing shot on each other. The battle raged on into the cold night, the once more cold desert allowing all 3 machines to operate at their respective peaks. With the fight going nowhere, M4 jettisons itself at 06 to no avail as 06 dodges and M4’s stomach crashes into a charred rock before it gets grabbed by 06, which repeatedly strikes the point hit by the rock before turning M4 around to use as a shield against an oncoming 07, piercing M4’s armour with a metal screech painful enough to deafen even the poorest functioning hearing. In this state of immobility 07 begins to strike M4’s face plating repeatedly, the unified wish of the two copies to destroy their original outweighing their dogma against each other. The strikes against M4 so continuous and powerful the metal begins to bind inwards until the sound of shattering glass could be heard, one of it’s primary optics had been broken, unable to even move the two opposites throw the broken droid to the side as they begin punching each other out.

Chapter 7: Can’t beat a classic

The shattered, cracked and flickering optics of M4 fade in and out as the sound of white noise clouds the sound of the copied droids slamming their metal fists into each other, this wasn’t meant to happen, how did this happen? All M4 could do was search it’s memory, what had it miss? Past Nat’s party, past fighting the progenitor, past working for Azutek, killing Stalos, killing Grillrilot, further than even the first time on Tatooine… Soon M4 only reached nothing but darkness, except for one sentence, repeating over and over, in a voice even M4 didn’t recognize “Just because you can’t see doesn’t mean he’s not smiling, so you can keep your fake friends because I’ve got a better one!” ...how old was this memory that not even M4 could remember it? But it didn’t matter, the voice brought the old droid a feeling of warmness, not like the kind of heat on tatooine, a feeling of pride, even now M4 felt no fear, but it wasn’t a feeling of malice, something much better than that, something that caused the droid to roll over and pick it’s beaten body back up. Seeing this 06 and 07 freeze in place, how was M4 still able to stand on it’s 2 feet with only one primary optic working? To this question, M4 only gave one answer, with a tone of pure determination “I am made of stronger stuff than what’s on the surface.” Only with one response, the 2 droids began to run at M4, both of them trying to dent the other on the way to the stationary droid, 07 being the more agile of the 2 made it first, unprepared for what M4 was planning, using what power the droid had in it’s rockets it performs a roundhouse kick to 07’s face with enough force to tear off it’s face plating, and before the imperial copy could even retaliate M4 dug it’s hand into 07’s exposed face before tearing out the copy’s wiring, letting the now powerless assassin drop to the floor before turning it’s attention to the soldier. 06, having just witnessed the mechanical carnage, didn’t know what to do, it had no protocols to use for this scenario, it knew M4 could be brutal, but not to that extent, it had practically given up as M4 closed in on it picking up one of it’s blasters on the way, as 06 tried to analyse a new strategy it’s legs were shot out from beneath it as M4 grabs it by the neck, before speaking in the tone of anger “You are everything I ran away from, living proof your precious republic will burn in it’s own incompetence, you were never, nor will you ever be my equal or better. So allow me to properly introduce myself: I am M4-05, and I implore your masters to throw their entire army at me, waste the blood of their dogs, let them howl in pain for the sake of someone else’s ego, I will not provoke the republic more than they will provoke me so next time your masters consider trying to kill me, make sure they remember Grillrilot, and remember how he ended up because I am capable of so much worse!” with it’s speech done M4 begins to slam 06 into the same rock it had been thrown into earlier, repeatedly, until the last semblance of functioning tech had faded from it’s enemy, dropping it to the ground. Before leaving M4 places two oddly shaped detonators next to the robo-corpses of it’s copies before walking off just over a mile away, only pressing a button on it’s belt, an explosion large enough to level two buildings goes off in ‘the crater’ creating an actual crater now only muttering something with a joking tone as it limps off back to it’s ship “Programming is overrated anyways.” Epilogue: My turn Stumbling back onto the Tenacity, M4 puts it’s damaged body back on the bridge, pressing a few buttons to try and take-off, to nothing, now fuel or power, M4 chuckles at this “Of course… Things really are full circle… Oh well, at least I have options this time around…” M4 throws it’s head back as it powers down and a red and friend-sized astromech bursts into life as it exits the cargo hold, speaking in the native language of binary. “M4-05 = back to the beginning. M4 = searching contents… Contact = found.” Authors note

This, despite however bad it may be, was a lot of fun to write, sort of revisiting everything I’ve rped with M4. Now it’s no secret of mine that a couple of years ago I wasn’t in a good spot mentally, and since then I’ve got out of that state and been thanking people for listening to my bullshit ever since, and swtor rp has definetly helped me deal with the shit I was dealing with during all that. I’ve been rping on swtor for over a year now and despite all the arguments and drama, I’ve enjoyed myself at the end of the day, it’s been an escape and a way to socialise with new people who aren’t the sods I go to school with, so to the jedi, sith, mercenaries, the pubs, the imps, the overdramatic adults who act more like children than the actual 16-year-old, the mechanics, gamblers, the Mandalorians, criminals but certainly not to the ‘erp exposure’ guy, thank you. Thank you for making this past year so much better than it had any right to be.

[loominggaia]

Fanfiction: New York (part 6)

Anon has submitted part 6 of their fanfiction “New York”! I’m placing it under the cut. If you want to read the other parts, check out the fanfic tag.

Their food arrives and the conversation settles down. Kimi take out here phone and takes a picture of her food. The two notice this, they already figured out those weird devices called “cell phones” could both call and take pictures, especially when people where asking about their “costumes” and asking for pics. Alaine basked in the attention where Lukus just scoffed it off. They asked why she needed a picture of her food and that’s when Kimi introduces them to Twitter.

Alaine was mesmerized by the idea of social media, Lukus just scoffed at it. While scrolling Kimi found a video that was going viral, a video of some racist old guy going off on a young black man and someone in what looked like some weird elf costume. Kimi just frowned, feeling bad for the poor kid but then our pair got a glance of the video and their jaws dropped. They reveal they know the two in the video, friends of theirs and are both shocked and pissed watching it.

They thanked Kimi for the food and got up to leave, they needed to find Issac and Jeimos to see if their alright. Kimi showed them the rest of the video to reassure them, seeing a young black women coming to their rescue and tear into that old mans hide. This did little to ease their fears, they needed to find them and make sure they didn’t get into any other trouble. Out in the outskirts Elska was stalking the woods, doing everything in her power to find her captain.

Pushing her way threw the trees and brush the centauress tried her best to keep out of sight on her quest to find her captain, with little success. Having already scared away a group of homeless people and two joggers, these stupid humans seriously acting like they have never seen a centaur before. They haven’t but that was irrelevant to her. One thing Elska noticed while walking the woods was an abundance of trash, paper and plastic litter and old tin cans scattered all around.

This pissed her off to no end, each discarded wrapper and bottle just making the centauress angrier and angrier. Why do these humans disrespect their world so much? They already destroy with their cities and machines but to throw their waste on the ground so carelessly! Do they know no respect or love for their Gaia ?! She already didn’t like this world for stealing Evan, for the massive ugly looking cityscape and this just cemented this place in her mind as zareen 2.0.

She saw the litter was getting worse and worse the further she went, a loud noise was starting to manifest as well. She followed the noise and found the source of the trash trail. A group of human teenagers surrounded a noisy box, laughing and drinking. Smashing their bottles on the ground and tossing food wrappers to the side without a care in the world. Elska was appalled by this display and nostrils flaring deciding to teach them a rather forceful lesson on why not to litter!

Elska came charging out of the bushes, aiming for the first teen she could grab. The teens went from laughing to screaming when they saw this hulking monster came barreling right toward them at high speeds. One lanky boy tried to run but was no match for the centauress, picking him up and loudly threatening the boy, making sure his friends could see this too. She yelled at him, asking if he though disrespecting the land was funny, if he thought himself to good to care for his home?

The boy kicked and flailed in her grasp, pure fear taking over as he tried to escape the angry horse women’s grasp and begged her not to hurt him. Her voice booming, face twisted with rage as she yelled at him, his friends having either bailed or stood paralyzed in fear at this display. A distinct smell of urine filled the air as she continued to berate him for polluting the land. Ending her lesson by forcefully shoving his face into a pile of his own trash, she let him go.

She barked at the downed teen that he’d better clean up his mess or else. The terrified teen obeyed and with one angry glare the others joined him, picking up all their filth without a word, too terrified to say anything. Having packed everything into their bags they flee from the monster, her making one last threat as they ran. Yelling if she ever caught them littering again she won’t hesitate to brutalize them. Seeing it was getting late she made her way back to base, hoping for good news.

Early that evening the crew had all returned to their makeshift hideout. Lukus and Alaine where glad to see Issac and Jeimos okay, telling about the video. Elska returned not long after and the crew shared their news of the day, not one of them had anything to report on Evans whereabouts. Dinner was the fast food they brought back, having gone cold by now. Well “food” was abit of a stretch, they could literally see the grease leaking out of the bag!

Deciding it was better then nothing they ate the greasy, cold fast food anyway. Zeffer woke up and greeted the crew, asking if they had anything to report on Evan and was pissed when they said no. A team meeting was held after dinner before Zeffer left talking about the oddities of this world. It became clear they where gonna be here for the long haul and they where gonna need afew things to blend in, street cloths, id’s, phones and most importantly, money.

*

I’m always excited to see new parts of this fic in my inbox! Anon’s got me on the edge of my seat. You’re really nailing the characters’ personalities perfectly, I love it! Alaine taking to social media, Lukas hating it, Elska flipping out about littering, Zeffer stressing about Evan, they’re all so on point! Can’t wait to see more.

TO BE CONTINUED...?

[roselen-mylady]

In Another Life

Bucky Barnes x reader ° part ten

Summary: Waiting 88 years to find your soulmate? It was cruel. But it was a cruel fate Bucky would have to face whether he accepted it or not. Bucky was a tortured man all his life and he wasn't even granted the solace of having his soulmate at his side. All he had was the promise of one in another life. They were separated by two different times.

But the pain in their lives were connected.

Y/n had been alone ever since she could remember. All she could depend on was the soulmate that was destined to be at her side. Yet when the snap occurred she lost him.

And Bucky never got to meet her.

Though Steve showed no signs of leaving or the anger Y/n had feared, she still felt the anxiety that came from revealing her true past. He was supportive, as he always was and so was everyone else once they were told. Tony only had a mere, 'I knew it' to add to the subject and while Y/n was touched, she couldn't help the array of things she felt. 

Foolish was one of them. Hiding her past from them before was stupid but Steve insisted that her going underground was probably best since HYDRA would've searched for her. While that brought her some solace she was still uncomfortable with the idea of becoming more involved. Something always went wrong and Nat was proof. 

She missed her friend badly and Y/n couldn't help but feel it was her own cursed luck that had taken Nat. It was ridiculous to think that she could ever be happy. Stupid to think she could help her friends bring back everyone. Stupid to think she might actually meet her soulmate.  

"Hey, kid. We're going to put the stones together." Tony cut into Y/n's racing thoughts. Her gaze lifted from the drawing Steve had given her, settling on Tony as he leaned in through the doorway. 

She didn't know why she was still looking at the picture or why she had even accepted it. She wanted to believe she was still furious, still resentful. Wanted to force all the pain and guilt she felt into him once more. But in all reality she was just so lost. For years she pretended to be someone else and now that she was free to be the girl she once was, she didn't even remember who that was. 

A genius? A hero? A terrified little orphan? She had no idea but she didn't want to be any. She wanted to be Y/n, a friend and a psychiatrist. She now understood why Steve wanted her around. He needed someone to remind him of who he was, who he truly was. 

Was James that person once? 

Was that why she found herself gazing at the sketch, hoping for a split second that maybe she could go back to the moment that was drawn? Praying to go back to a time where James Barnes was fighting for his past and his own will. A time where he might comfort her like he did Steve over the death of Nat. A time where his thoughts were his own and so we're his actions. 

Y/m almost hated herself for despising him. Though she knew there was still much to his story she was too scared to ask, she knew he was nothing more than a tortured soul with a gun. She couldn't figure out how the man in the drawing was the same man who'd nearly killed her. 

It wasn't.  

Noticing her broken expression, Tony hesitantly stepped into the room coming to sit with her. Her fingers gently held the page and he looked down at it, recognizing the face instantly. It sent a chill through his spine, seeing the same face almost ripped the arc reactor straight from his chest. 

It had taken him years to forgive Steve but he still struggled to do the same with the man who murdered his parents in cold blood. All the hatred toward his parents' assassin had gone unresolved since Steve and Bucky left him at that frozen HYDRA base. And once forgiving Steve, Tony had no other outlet and he found it difficult to sit there with the picture.

So he tried to focus on something else.  

"So, you and Ms. Romanoff were close?" He mumbled trying poorly to begin consoling her. She nodded numbly, folding the paper and setting it aside. 

The emotions she felt were mixed and intense making it hard for her to filter through her feelings but one surfaced more than others. Guilt. 

"Ever since the snap." She replied, her shoulders slack. Tony and Nat had their own relationship, one much older than her own but they'd been apart for so long. Ever since Nat went off the grid with Steve and even after the snap when he distanced himself from all of them, they hardly interacted. But they were friends. The type of friends that wouldn't be parted even by death. 

"Do you think things would be different if I hadn't showed up?" Y/n asked him suddenly. He looked over at her studying her guilt ridden eyes that she kept trained on the floor. It was a familiar look, one he wore often. But not one he wanted her to. 

"Natasha wasn't the type of person to let anyone dictate her choices. I think she was ready to give her life for a cause and none of us could've stopped her." Tony sighed, the weight of her death finally reaching its max. "Not even a couple of geniuses." 

•••

"Let's hope this doesn't blow up." Tony mumbled next to her. The small group consisting of them with the addition of Bruce and Rocket stood in the lab, waiting in anticipation as Tony carefully placed the stones in the gauntlet. With his shaking hands it was difficult to be precise while he manipulated the machine but he managed to place all six stones in their respective places. They held their breath unsure if the stones would react or blow up the lab as Tony feared.  

"Boom!" Rocket yelled suddenly making all of them flinch. He began to laugh loudly and they all turned to him with annoyed looks. Y/n slapped the back of his head, cutting his laughing short as she walked off trying to ignore the trembling in her legs. Tony muttered something under his breath moving to bring the gauntlet to a more accessible area for the wearer. 

"You're an asshole." Y/n groaned. Tony walked past them, putting the gauntlet on a display table that made it hover a couple inches above. 

"Come on, it was funny!" Rocket argued, earning an unamused stare from both Tony and Y/n. 

It took a few minutes for Bruce to collect everyone but eventually everyone was gathered around the gauntlet. Most had expressions Y/n familiarized with PTSD and once following their gazes she realized their experience with the gauntlet Thanos wore was resurfacing. 

Hopefully, with the new one they'd be able to reverse what he'd done. But the trauma would stay. That she knew. 

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their fucking fingers?" Rocket questioned, looking up at the group. Their options were limited since most people in the room were only human, even Steve. 

"I'll do it." Thor volunteered without hesitation. He drunkenly stepped forward making everyone turn to him with confused and reluctant looks. Their choices were limited but they weren't desperate enough to put such a powerful object on a drunk god.  

"Excuse me?" Scott asked, glancing around at the others for one of them to tell Thor what a bad idea it was. 

"It's okay." Thor insisted, marching forward with a purpose. Steve moved to stop him with the help of Tony making the poor large man pause. 

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey–" Everyone was a mess of refusal and Thor's face turned hurt as he tried to continue. 

"Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet." Steve explained. Thor shifted on his feet, clearly upset with their rejection.  

"I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" He asked,

annoyed. Scott looked to Y/n hoping she might use some of her 'therapist powers' he called them after realizing she really couldn't read minds. 

"We should at least discuss it." Y/n tried to reason. Thor shook his head stubbornly, swaying unsteadily on his feet. 

"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty." He told them, gesturing to the gauntlet then himself. 

"It's not about that–" Tony told him gently, coming to stand in front of him as he started to move Thor back. Thor resisted but was unsuccessful as he started to grow emotional. "Hey buddy-" Tony tried again only to be cut short by Thor frantically shushing him and everyone else. 

"Stop it! Just let me! Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right." Thor begged, tears filling his eyes. He was desperate to prove he was worthy, to prove he could still be the hero he once was. 

"Look– It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition." Tony fought. There was no way they were going to let him hold the fate of the world in his hand while he was drunk. Even the Thor he was years ago shouldn't have held that kind of power, it was too risky. 

"What do you– What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked, his eyes studying Tony's for any kind of hope that might tell him they would let him make the sacrifice. 

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey scoffed, earning a glare from Y/n. Thor looked over at Rhodey pointing a shaky finger at him as he tried not to cry in frustration. He held onto Tony, grasping at his shoulders and prying Tony's attention away from Rhodey's comment. 

"Lightning." Thor corrected, looking back to Tony with pleading eyes. Tony nodded but he knew he couldn't allow Thor to wear the gauntlet. "Lightning." Thor repeated, distraught but Tony's reaction. 

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me." Bruce announced suddenly. Thor shook his head letting go of Tony. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive." Bruce explained. 

"How do we know you will?" Steve questioned as Bruce paced over to the gauntlet. 

"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like...I was made for this." Bruce mumbled. He gazed intensely at the stones, silently calculating his odds. If the Hulk couldn't handle this, was this really how he was going to die? And if so would it even work? 

They looked at each other knowing it was their best chance at bringing them back. They had to take it. 

Tony stepped forward, grabbing the gauntlet and handing it to Bruce as they headed to a more secure part of the lab. 

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Y/n asked Bruce quietly. She knew how Nat's death had affected him and she refused to make the same mistake with him. 

"Yes. We have to finish this." He declared. Y/n watched as he paced forward to catch up with Tony as she lagged behind to Steve. 

"Do you think this will work?" Steve questioned. Y/n chewed her lip anxiously, focusing her stare at the gauntlet as Steve came to stand beside her. 

"Bruce's gamma radiation is stronger and most equipped to handle the energy but it's still dangerous. The stones are too powerful together, I didn't think they were ever really meant to be used together." She sighed, hating the sacrifices that came with saving the world. If they lost someone else just for this to not work was it really even worth trying? 

"Bruce is strong." Steve tried to ease her worry but it wasn't enough. 

"I know. I just-I can't keep losing people, Steve. It's like a curse. Every time I try to do something good…-" 

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're not gonna lose anyone else. Not on my watch." Steve promised but both of them knew it was practically empty. There was no guarantee. "Let's just bring everyone back." 

Y/n tried to smile but like his promise it was hollow. "Yeah, okay." 

"Good to go, yeah?" Tony questioned as Bruce carefully held the piece in his large hands. He seemed anxious but who wouldn't be in that situation. 

"Let's do it." He confirmed as Y/n and Steve returned to the group. She walked around him, stopping beside Tony and sharing a steady nod. 

"You remember–everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you're just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years." Tony told him seriously.

"Got it." Bruce assured. Then suddenly the room grew quiet and a tenseness settled in the air that Y/n was too amazed to catch onto. For the first time she realized she was living the dream of millions of people. Everyone had readied themselves and Y/n watched as they stood there in their superhero uniforms, the power and determination they all had washing over her. 

Tony pressed his chest allowing his suit to expand and morph to his body, a shield lighting up before him. His stare then drifted to Y/n who still stood there in her casual clothes, watching them all confused and out of place. Why were they getting ready now? They were doing this here? 

"Hey, kiddo. Come on." Tony urged, motioning to her earpiece. She gave a soft 'oh' mimicking him as she pressed the button making her own suit appear. A shield of her own design came to her forearm and Tony eyed it curiously. 

"Did you mess with the suit?" He asked, the seriousness in his tone startling her a bit. She shrugged, looking at him defensively. 

"Yeah, you said it was just a prototype so I fixed it a bit." She explained. He looked away, grateful she couldn't see the entertained smirk on his lips as he turned back to Bruce. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you?" Tony called. Y/n had gotten used to the suit during the time she could spare to examine it and she put 70% power into the armor, figuring if something did go wrong it probably wouldn't hurt to be a little more protected. 

"Yes, boss." F.R.I.D.A.Y replied. Metal doors began to close off the lab as the compound went into lockdown and if the seriousness of the situation hadn't set in yet it definitely did then as Y/n widened her stance to try and brace herself. 

"Everybody comes home." Bruce reminded himself, cautiously reaching his hand into the gauntlet. The gauntlet expanded to fit his hand thanks to Tony's nanotech but as soon as it was fully on the power of the stones surged through him. He grunted in pain collapsing to his knees as the energy began to burn into his arm. 

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor cried, waving his hands as Bruce shakily held the gauntlet. Steve stepped forward, keeping anyone from acting. 

"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" Steve questioned. He knew more than anyone that just because something was painful didn't mean they couldn't do it. 

"Talk to me, Banner." Tony called, becoming more concerned with each unresponsive moment. Y/n started moving to help but froze as Bruce looked up at them.  

"I'm okay. I'm okay." He insisted. They eased up a little and everyone watched carefully as he tried to regain control of the stones. Thor gave a double thumbs up, watching the scene before him with an astounded expression. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y what are his vitals?" Y/n questioned anxiously. Charts bloomed around Bruce and she quickly read them realizing his heart rate was dangerously high. In fact everything was high, his blood pressure, his respiration rate, even his body temperature had increased. Bruce screamed again, fighting the instinct to remove the gauntlet from the overwhelming pain it caused him as he lined up his fingers. 

The world seemed to stop at the echoing of the snap, the fated sound she'd only heard about for five years finally filling her head the same way it had for the others. 

He fainted and the gauntlet fell off his arm, clattering on the floor before Clint quickly kicked it away from him. 

"Bruce!" Steve called, kneeling beside him as the others rushed forward to check on him. Y/n tugged the remains of his sleeve back gently as Tony kneeled beside her, holding up his hand. 

"Don't move him." Tony demanded, applying a coolant spray from his fingertips over Bruce's arm. Bruce groaned, reaching out and grabbing Steve's arm urgently. 

"Did it work?" He questioned breathlessly, keeping his large hand tight around Steve's arm. Thor gave him a reassuring smile while Y/n looked over the damage of his arm. 

"We're not sure. It's okay." Thor soothed, his voice hopeful as he turned his gaze toward the door where the lab was starting to open up again. Scott walked off to the now open area and some of the others spread out to see what had happened but Y/n stayed at Bruce's side. 

"You did great, Bruce." She told him, giving him a smile to which he returned, though it was a bit more pained. A muted vibrating came from the table on the other side of the room and Y/n turned to see Clint walking over to it almost numb. 

Did it work? 

"Honey? Honey." Clint spoke, his voice quivering in joy as Y/n looked at Tony. They shared a wide eyed glance, both rattled by the idea that they might have actually won. 

Y/n wished to look at her wrist, praying that the countdown she had before the snap returned. She couldn't even remember how many days it had read back then but it didn't matter anymore. She just wanted to meet her soulmate. Would he be looking for her?  

Were his eyes really blue? 

But their victory couldn't last long and Y/n knew that as she followed Bruce's gaze to the skylight above them. There flying menacingly above the compound was the biggest spacecraft she had ever seen and dread instantly set in upon seeing the missile coming their way. 

"Look out!" Y/n screamed, trying to warn the others but it was too late. Her helmet quickly came forward along with her shield which she tried desperately to put over Bruce's head, protecting her and him from falling debris. But the roof wasn't the only thing falling apart. 

The floor split and some of the group fell into the large hole while Y/n struggled to regain her balance. She quickly looked around her, catching sight of Steve sliding across the floor toward the hole. Using the thrusters, she launched forward, grabbing hold of one of the straps to his uniform and dragging him back toward Tony. 

The building was falling down around them and any means of escape were closing off faster than she could find them. Steve managed to climb to his feet again but before either of them could come up with a plan a large piece of the roof fell, striking Y/n down. She cried out falling through the floor to the room below, getting pinned on her stomach under the roofing. 

"Y/n!" Steve yelled, peering down into the hole. Y/n gasped, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Tony looked down too, the two men struggling to keep themselves up as they waited anxiously for her to speak. 

"Minimal damage to prototype armor." F.R.I.D.A.Y announced making Y/n groan. She slowly lifted herself up using her back to push off the rumble before leaning back on her knees, panting slightly. 

"You call that minimal?" She questioned, annoyed. Tony chuckled through the headset, her reply giving him a little relief knowing she was alright.  

"The suits can handle more than we can, kid." He explained. Y/n grumbled, climbing to her feet. She didn't care how durable the suit was, she was still very much human inside the metal and every hit the suit felt, she did too. 

"Are you okay?" Steve called, leaning closer to the edge of the hole. Tony put a hand on his chest, keeping him from falling in while Y/n slowly climbed to her feet. 

"Yeah. I'm fine, Steve." She waved her hand pretending to be nonchalant before coughing from how forcefully her lungs had been emptied. They were about to attempt to go down to her when the floor they were on shifted and Steve fell over, sliding off to another part in the lab. 

"Cap!" Tony called, trying to reach out and catch him. Steve called back that he would be alright giving Tony a little assurance as he turned his gaze back to Y/n. "This building is falling apart!" He called down to her. 

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, looking around at the floor around her. She had landed in the living room area, one of her favorite places but like the rest of the facility it was falling to ruin. 

"Find the stones. We can't risk losing them." Tony instructed. Y/n let out a short sigh, the weight of the task making her stomach turn. 

"Is it too late to go home?" She joked. Tony smiled softly unbeknownst to Y/n. The building shook again with another hit and he knew he wouldn't have long to talk to her. 

"No." He answered truthfully. If she could find a way out, there would be nothing stopping her. She could easily fly away and forget about this. "But you know what they say. It only takes one fight to make a hero." Tony explained. 

Y/n pierced her lips, knowing that she never really intended on leaving. She was all in from the moment Scott had been yelling into the camera and though she'd been doubtful before, she knew this was where she was meant to be. 

"Go be Iron Star." Tony chuckled, making her scoff and shake her head. Of course, he had to ruin the moment. 

"We really gotta talk about that name!" She called, turning away and running off toward the window to her left. Using the thrusters in the metallic boots she flew forward and smashed through the glass, unsteadily keeping herself in the air outside. 

"Just find the stones." 

•••

When Bucky had woken up he was right where he'd been in Wakanda. T'Challa ran to him trying very hastily to explain what had happened. They had been gone for five years according to the wizard man they called 'Strange' and now they needed to come fight Thanos again. 

While Bucky was usually quick to understand and move on to the next fight, he couldn't help but stop at this news. He'd promised himself that the fight with Thanos was the last time so that he could find his soulmate but he was still fighting. When would it stop?

For a split second he feared maybe his chance at meeting his soulmate had come and gone and he frantically ripped back his right sleeve to look at his wrist. 

"3 days?" Sam asked, peeking down at Bucky's arm as T'Challa organized his army. Bucky numbly nodded, his heart racing as he watched the seconds tick away. He was three days away from her. 

He had to make it through this time. 

No matter what. 

•••

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you scan the compound for the stones' energy signature?" Y/n questioned, looking over the wreckage of what was once the Avengers compound. It didn't even look the same, all blown to the foundation with rubble spread around like a battlefield. 

"I detect energy levels matching the stones underneath the building in the sewer systems. You should have access through what's left of the first floor." The A.I. answered. Y/n flew over to the nearest opening of the building, using micro lasers to burn a hole into the floor leading down into the sewers. 

She jumped down into it, landing as quietly as possible before looking around. It was hard to see much, the only light being the blaring red light of the alarm system but the tunnel appeared empty other than the obvious debris and flooding. She cautiously walked forward watching as her display outlined the surrounding area. 

It was eerily silent, the soft trickling of water putting her on edge as she continued down the tunnel, following the power signature of the stones. 

"I detect hostiles approaching." F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke suddenly. Y/n watched carefully as her display changed, showing a clearer picture using an x-ray of the surroundings. The stones rapidly approached as did the hostiles and she quickly held up her hands, powering up the repulsors as Clint ran into her vision.  

"Shoot 'em!" Clint screamed, narrowly dodging one of the creatures that lined the tunnel. Y/n did what he said, firing at the closest creature before moving onto the next, trying to hold them off long enough for Clint to run past her. 

"What the hell are these things?!" She yelled, following after him as they both broke off into a sprint through the water. 

"I don't know but I'm tired of this alien shit!" Clint shouted over his shoulder as Y/n glanced back at the creatures, firing again at one that got too close. Clint pulled out one of his arrows, throwing it into one of the pipes next to them before running faster. 

Catching onto what he was doing, she picked up speed as well, jumping with him as the arrow exploded taking out most of the creatures. Y/n looked up from the ground, noticing that some of them had started to crawl through the flames making her climb to her feet, grabbing Clint under his arms. 

She activated the thrusters and they launched up, faltering a bit since Y/n had barely learned to fly by herself let alone while carrying someone. Clint unsheathed his sword, yelling as he cut through some of the creatures that had climbed up beside them. 

Once reaching the top Y/n dropped him to the side before falling herself, tumbling a few feet away. Clint climbed to his knees, holding out his sword as he let out a threatening shout. Thankfully, no other creatures appeared over the edge and he collapsed onto his back next to Y/n. 

"Hey." Clint chuckled, nudging Y/n tiredly. "You're an Avenger now." He told her drawing a half-hearted laugh from her. She groaned the pain in her ribs increasing at the action and she put a hand over her side. 

"Being an Avenger hurts." 

•••

Once going through the portal the wizard had made, Bucky was met with a wasteland. Thanos and Steve watched as others arrived through the portals and while Steve's expression was much more relieved than Thanos', it was clear they were only evening the playing field as Bucky looked toward Thanos' forces. 

The Wakandan armies chanted as hundreds of other heroes came through the portals, each ready for the final battle. He walked forward, coming to stand a few feet away from Steve as he studied the enemy across the way. He was determined to finish what they had started five years ago. He wanted to find his soulmate and he wanted this fight to truly be the last. 

"Avengers!" Steve called. Bucky held his breath, hoping with everything he had that for all his misfortune over the years, today would end better. 

He'd suffered for a lifetime. 

Please let this be the last fight. 

"Assemble." 

Everyone yelled, running forward at Thanos' forces. The fight broke out and Bucky managed to find himself alongside the raccoon he'd encountered last time. They shared brief eye contact and Rocket's eyes flashed with recognition while Bucky tried to ignore him. 

"How about now?!" Rocket yelled, motioning to his arm. Bucky glanced over at him, growing annoyed with the talking animal's persistence. What the hell would a raccoon do with his arm? 

"No!" Bucky yelled back. He turned, noticing one of the creatures had been sneaking up on Steve while he had his back turned and Bucky quickly shot at it, knocking it down. Steve turned, giving Bucky a grateful and joyous smile. Bucky smiled back making sure to keep aware of the creatures around him. 

"What the hell did you get me into, Steve?" Bucky yelled teasingly. His friend gave a short chuckle, using the large hammer to slam back another one of Thanos's creatures. 

"Nothing two old men can't handle." 

Taglist:

Part eleven

@cancanmarvel

@jessyballet

@eldahae

@mc225g

@kissesofdeadforme

@wantingtobekorra

@sxphiiwrld

@lunaticbarnes

@indecisivedolly

@saiyanprincesswanie

@lextheflexsthings

@silver-winter-wolf

@whatifwedo

@arguedquill1226

@lunashaw57

@loushkspr

@3aileypage

@mela-noche

[cloudywriter]

i never got to say i love you - 2

~~~

A/N: heyy i wanted to update vanilla pudding cups but i’ve really kinda hit a block in that story so enjoy this while i move pass my stump with the other story. also i’m working on some masterlist so navigating stories will be easier!

masterlist & AO3 

also here’s my other feysand au if you would like to check that out! -> vanilla pudding cups

~~~

As classes begin to start up Feyre finds herself adjusting well to her new schedule. Most days she has one or two classes in the morning and one or two in the afternoon. Alis almost always brings her some lunch or snacks as she spends every free moment she has in the studio. If it weren’t for Alis she’s convinced she might’ve accidentally starved to death by now. 

Honestly, Feyre hadn’t made many friends besides Alis who she had grown pretty close with. She had brief conversations with Mor in the hallways and had eventually met her roommate, Viviane, but most of the time she saw Mor outside of the dorm building she was with that group of boys from the dining hall. Yes, the same group of boys Alis still managed to bring up every other day, especially when they’d first seen Mor walking with them very comfortably. Alis was convinced Mor would be their way in. 

What Feyre had never told Alis was a week ago Mor had invited them to come play monopoly in her dorm one Friday night with said boys, Viviane, and her boyfriend, Kallias. Feyre had declined. 

Mor is always extremely sweet and a constant ray of sunshine but so much so it unnerved Feyre a bit, she could easily turn into one of those girls Feyre avoided like the plague in high school. Viviane is similar, but a bit more subdued, however Mor was completely right about her being with her boyfriend more often than not. 

At the moment Feyre was making her way back from her last class of the day to her dorm, mentally preparing herself to pull an all-nighter. She had an assignment due for her drawing class that she had been putting off for weeks until the due date had crept up on her. Therefore, Feyre now had approximately 12 hours to draw an entire portrait. Mostly she had procrastinated up until this point because she just had no idea who she wanted to draw and her options were already limited.

When she finally arrived at her dorm room, having stopped at the vending machine for snacks on the way, she pushed the door open, threw her bag on her bed, and slumped in her desk chair, letting out a loud sigh. 

She was hunched over her sketchbook feeling utterly defeated only a few hours later. The sun was beginning to set which had her hopeful, usually she did her best work in the dead of night anyway. But her fingers ached from gripping her pencil so long and she wasn’t sure she could sit up straight without an immense pain flaring in her back, even her neck and shoulders felt stiff. Not to mention, her efforts only produced a half dozen crumpled balls in the trash and a mound of eraser shreds. 

Luckily, Feyre started to get her rhythm back as the night progressed, it was dark out now the only lights coming from the city buildings surrounding the campus. Alis had yet to return which she found a little odd but it was safe to assume she was studying late in the library. 

Unluckily though, the dorm next to her, Mor’s dorm, was getting increasingly noisy with the darkening sky. The constant sound of muffled voices, laughing, and music poured through the wall. 

Feyre was about halfway done with her portrait which had turned into a drawing of Alis, it had started coming together nicely but the added distraction of all the commotion next door was throwing her off her game. She’d been debating with herself for half an hour now whether or not she should say something to Mor; she knew Mor would probably tone it down if she asked. 

At last, nearly two hours later, Feyre was at her absolute breaking point. She hadn’t made much of a dent in the rest of her sketch throughout those hours due to the ever growing disruptions. How Mor had not gotten a noise complaint yet she did not know. The music was louder, the voices went back and forward between intense bickering and cheering, and even random slamming sounds could be heard every once in a while. 

Feyre tried desperately to tune out her surroundings but just as she was finding success a loud banging on the wall followed by yelling brought her right back. She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Before her mind even processed what her body was doing Feyre found herself outside of Mor’s door knocking with intent. She heard a frenzy of shushing and the music turned down a few notches. 

The door then swung open.

“Hey, sorry - oh, you’re not the RA.”

A hulk of a man stood in the doorway dressed in a tight black t-shirt and batman pajama pants. The man flashed her a big shit-eating grin. Feyre thought there was something familiar about him.

“What brings you around here, sweetheart?” He added, leaning against the door.

That’s when the familiarity donned on Feyre. He was one of the boys from the dining hall, specifically the one who had half his hair up. She also then realized it was in fact Friday night, game night for them.

She had yet to respond to the boy but made herself look up to meet his gaze, making sure she had her best scowl on. He was quite tall.

“You look cute when you’re trying to look angry.” He smirked at her. His eyes dragged up and down her body slowly, intimately. Fuck, Feyre noticed too late she had really left her room with only a random cropped band t-shirt on, barely there baby blue shorts, mismatching socks, glasses, and her hair wrapped around itself in a ridiculously messy bun with only a chunky wool beige cardigan thrown over herself. 

“I’m not cute.”

“I beg to differ, sweetheart.” He winked at her.

“Don’t call me that,” Feyre ground out.

“Sure, I can switch up pet names. What would you rather instead?” He raised his brows at her in question. 

Before Feyre could stomp on his toes Mor came up from behind him, a red solo cup in hand. “Stop bothering Feyre with your incessant flirting, you brute.”

“Feyre, you say? I don’t believe we’ve met.” He spoke, not breaking eye contact with her.

“Right.” Mor opened the door wider causing the man to stumble and shoot her a glare, Mor only giggled. Now that Feyre could see inside she noticed the small foldable table set up in the center of the room and an array of uno cards scattered across the floor. “Okay, well you’ve kinda met Cassian, he’s an ass. But this is Azriel, Rhysand, and Amren,” she spoke, indicating to each person with her hand. 

Azriel gave her a small, half smile while Amren gave her a disinterested wave of the hand. 

Rhysand, however, studied her with an intense gaze that Feyre returned. She hadn’t seen the front of his face up close until now and she could not say she was disappointed whatsoever. Gods, he was like a greek god or something. He looked as if his face and body had been expertly sculpted out of the finest marble. He had black hair that was longer on top and adorably tousled, eyes that were such a specific shade of deep blue they might appear violet in some lights, and bronzed skin. Azriel and Cassian were definitely not bad on the eyes but Rhysand was just something else in her mind. It didn’t hurt he was also wearing the batman pajama bottoms.

Feyre might’ve thought he was having a similar inner monologue to her own but the harsh reality of what she was wearing right now, her bare face, and her hair’s state had her banishing that possibility. He too seemed as if he were in a bit of a daze, studying her. 

“And this guys is Feyre. She lives next door,” Mor finished off. 

Cassian gave Rhysand’s ribs a sharp jab. Rhysand looked a bit startled at first but recovered swiftly, giving Feyre a small tilt of his head in acknowledgment. “Well, it is lovely to finally meet you, Feyre,” Cassian smiled at her. 

Feyre nodded her head, still a little distracted by Rhysand. “You too, sorry for interrupting.” 

“No, no, you’re all good. I’m really sorry were we being too loud? Were you trying to sleep?” Mor asked so sweetly and genuinely Feyre almost felt bad for coming to ask her to quiet down in the first place.

“I-I no, um, it’s alright actually. Have a good night.” Feyre stammered, turning on her heel to end this embarrassing exchange. 

She heard Mor reply with the same sentiment before disappearing back into her dorm. She closed the door and leaned her head against the solid wood. 

That was not the smoothest interaction she’s ever had, that’s for sure. 

She sat back down at her desk and stared at her work before picking up her pencil once more. It was substantially quieter now, Mor must’ve known what had bothered Feyre in the first place. 

She tried to finish her sketch of Alis but her inspiration to do so had dissipated. With that, Feyre turned to the next page, letting her mind take over as her pencil flowed across the paper. She was somewhat aware of who she was now outlining but couldn’t find it in herself to stop. When she got an idea or saw something that intrigued her she had to draw it, like an itch that wouldn’t go away until it gets scratched. 

In record time a completed portrait stared back at her, more specifically Rhysand’s stupid, perfect face stared back at her. Feyre groaned and put her head in her hands.

~~~

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