#10marvelousthingsihateaboutyou

[jbbarnesandnoble]

Hearts in Secret: Part Two

Pairing: King!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader

Series Summary: People always assume that princesses are free to do as they wish, to dress and act how they want to. In fact, it’s actually quite the opposite.

Chapter Summary: The princess sneaks out to meet Bucky

Words Count: 1,405

Warning/s: Fluff, Really Short Chapter

Prompt: “Do you even know my name, screw boy?”

Series Masterlist

A/N: Once again, this is my entry for @littledarlinhavefaithinme ‘s 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You writing challenge! I spent like ten years on this but I managed to get it done. A huge thanks to my wonderful beta, @itsbuckysworld I hope you guys enjoy this mini-series of mine:) I love hearing your feedback! Let me know what you guys think!

[Part One]

(not my gif. yikes, finding a gif to fit the story is like a sport)

Just as promised, Y/n meets Bucky under the large oak tree located on the top of a hill. “I was worried you were going to stand me up.” she can hear the joking in his tone. “I considered not showing up at all, but figured that wouldn’t be very ladylike of me.” she teases, once again his hand finds hers when he helps her down from Luna. “Thank you.” her words come out barely above a whisper. She finds herself lost in his ocean eyes. Somehow they look even more magnificent at night. 

He leads her to a blanket spread out in the grass. She hadn’t noticed it until now. “I figured a lady shouldn’t sit in the dirt.” he explains without her having to ask. She smiles at the sweet yet simple gesture. She sits down next to him on the warm blanket. 

While she watches the night sky. Bucky’s eyes never seem to leave her, he wonders how you manage to look so beautiful even in the dark. If she notices him watching her instead of the sky above she doesn’t show it. “Hey Buck?” he smiles at the new nickname she has given him. “Yes, m'lady.” 

She laughs at his nickname for her, “Why did you ask to meet me again?” she twirls a lock of hair around her finger, distracting herself so she doesn’t have to face him. “I suppose I find you intriguing. The more time I spend with you, the more I find myself wanting to know everything about you.” he admitted softly, his eyes never straying from her beautiful face. 

“It seems I have succeeded in remaining a mystery to you.” she pulls her knees closer to her chest, feeling the slight chill from the evening breeze. “Why did you agree to meet me?” he asks her. “I suppose I find entertainment in keeping you guessing.” he laughs at that, “You torment me.” she gives him a joking smile, “I try my absolute best.” this time they both turn to watch the galaxy above them. Letting a comfortable silence fall between them. 

He takes notice of her slight shivers. Slipping off his cloak, he places it around her small figure. He ignores the confused look on her face. “You’re shivering.” he shoots her a charming smile. She smiles back at him thankfully. Leaning her head on his shoulder. 

"M’Lady.” his voice is low, filled with gentleness. She hums half asleep. “You are falling asleep.” he brushes a few strands of hair behind her ear. “No, I’m not.” she grumbles, her eyes still closed. 

“It’s almost morning.” she sits up abrupt. He tries his best not to look disappointed when she removes her head from his shoulder. The warmth from her skin leaving with her. “What? Why didn’t you wake me earlier? I can’t believe this.” she starts rambling incoherently. She’s broken out of her tangent by Bucky’s warm voice. 

“Hey, calm down.” she meets his eyes, chest heaving. “You okay?” She rolls her eyes when she sees a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. She genuinely can’t believe he has the audacity to be amused at a time like this. Mother will have her head for staying out all night. She can’t even begin to imagine the torment her mother must have put Samuel and Clinton through.  

She paces back and forth, hands combing through her H/c hair nervously. “No, I most definitely am not-” she stopped in her tracks when she notices the moon hanging low in the sky. Illuminating the field below them. She has to fight the urge to punch him in his annoying, handsome face. “I can’t believe you scared me like that.” Y/n says, marching towards him. She bats his shoulder when he starts laughing. She had to fight the urge to smile. She never thought someone’s laugh could be so infectious, could make her feel so much warmth. Even when it’s directed towards her torment. 

She crossed her arms over her chest, “That was not very knightly of you.” she mutters, storming off towards Luna. “Wait, m'lady, don’t go.” despite his words falling out between bits of laughter, she can hear the pleading behind them. 

Without much effort she climbs onto Luna before turning to face him again. “You should have thought about that before you nearly gave me a heart attack.” her dry tone doesn’t match the mischievous glint in her eyes. He can see through her facade. “Did I just ruin any chance I had in seeing you again?” he pouts, trying to guilt her. It almost works. Almost. 

She rolls her stunning eyes at him. “You’ll just have to find out tomorrow, won’t you?” she winks, before saying her goodbyes to the dark haired man before her. 

- - - - -

Over the course of the next week Y/n met with Bucky every night at their spot under the old oak tree. Each time he saw Y/n he wanted to learn more about her. Each time they meet Bucky finds it harder and harder to leave her. She won’t deny that she feels the same way. She finds herself counting down the hours until she can meet Bucky again. Which has caused her distraction during the lessons her mother suggested she take, before taking on the title of Queen. Of course her ‘suggestions’ aren’t actually ‘suggestions’. She has to do them whether she wants to or not. More often than not she would much rather not. 

She’s halfway out of the door when her teacher, Lady Natalia calls out her name. “Your Highness, you seem to be in a hurry.” she freezes, turning to face the red haired woman standing behind her. “Mother requested I see her after my lessons.” she lies, to anyone else she might have gotten away with her lazy lie. Natalia can see right through her. After all, she did teach Y/n everything she knows. Sass included. 

She takes a step closer to her rebellious student. “You insult me,” Natalia steps closer, speaking in a hushed tone. “Even that guard of yours, Sir Clinton. Could have seen through your feeble lie.” Y/n met her green eyes, they shine playfully. 

Y/n laughs in a way that would displease her mother, snorting a little when she does. “You are putting a lot of faith in Sir Clinton, Lady Natalia.” 

“I could be, or you aren’t as good at lying as you believe you are.” Y/n rolls her pretty E/c eyes at the woman in front of her. “What does that say about your teaching?” she bursts out laughing, draping an arm over her stomach. She places her other hand on Y/n’s right shoulder. “I’m a great teacher. You, m'lady, are a terrible student.” Y/n eyes the woman in front of her, raising an eyebrow at Nat. 

“I wonder what mother would have to say if she were to find you have been teaching me how to lie.” she gives the red haired woman a playful glare before turning to leave the small room. “You knew how to do that without my help, I’m just helping you along.” she doesn’t have to see Nat’s face to know she has a smirk planted across her pretty face. 

“Be careful,” Natalia calls out, when Y/n turns around she’s met with emerald eyes. All the playfulness in her voice from earlier is gone, replaced with seriousness. She notices the hint of worry behind her soft gaze. 

She doesn’t need to ask her to explain further, her eyes tell the princess everything. Only because she lets them ‘you don’t know him as well as you think you do.’

She winks, “I always am.” and with that, she’s gone.

- - - - -

Y/n sneaks through secret paths and down narrow hallways. Doing her best to avoid palace workers and guards. More importantly her guards. They would never let her out of their sight if they spotted her sneaking away. She barely managed to lose them after leaving Lady Natalia.

The previous evening, when she met Bucky. They agreed to meet earlier than usual the next day, due to a certain King’s unwanted visit. Y/n wanted to explain that this is going to be goodbye, quite possibly forever. She can’t deny that she felt a surprising surge of sadness when she realized this. Something in her didn’t want to say goodbye to Bucky.

______

Part One - Part Three

[coffee-with-bucky]

Roulette Wheels and Broken Heels

Summary: What’s better than winning the jackpot? Winning Bucky’s heart.

Words: 2.3k

Genre: Fluff (The good stuff)

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and tiny bits of cursing 

A/N: This is for @littledarlinhavefaithinme‘s 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You writing challenge! My prompts were: “Tell me something true.” / “Something true… I hate peas.” / “No, something real, something no one else knows.” And another side note, if you don’t remember who Jack Rollins was, he was apart of HYDRA in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dice bounced across the craps table, stumbling on its corners until it came to a halt. An eleven. The whole table erupts in cheers. You watched from the sideline, an older gentleman in a very luxurious suit with a fairly large cigar stuck between his lips cackling in victory. You wince under your breath, feeling the soles of your feet starting to become raw. How can Natasha actually walk in these? Curse these heels!

Without faltering like a feeble fawn, you made your way over to the bar to grab a seat. You smoothed out the wrinkles in your silk black dress. The bartender made her way over to you with a glass and towel in hand.

“Manhattan please.”

The bartender nodded, proceeding to make your drink as your eyes scanned the bodies adorned in suits and dresses. Target yet to make an appearance.  

“Say, why is a beautiful girl sitting at the bar all by herself?” You heard in your earpiece.

You rolled your eyes, spotting the owner of the voice by the slot machines. Bucky was decked out in the sharpest all-black suit, sunglasses perched on his nose, long brunette hair loosely held in a low bun, and a toothpick between his plush lips.

“That girl is doing her job, unlike the man I’m watching right now who’s supposed to be keeping an eye out for the entrances. Looks like he’s on the prowl.” You smirked, eyes glossing over the busy heads in the casino.

“Hey, this lion is doing his job. It’s just unfortunate that his attention is being grabbed by the stunning lioness across the room.”

Your drink was placed on the bar. Bringing the crystal glass to your lips, you took a sip. Even though Bucky was wearing shades, you still maintained eye contact with him, knowing very well that he was still watching you with avid eyes.

“Did you really just call yourself a lion?” You scoffed, “Barnes, please. You’re more like a lion club.”

His mouth hung open as he stared at you. He laughed, taking a seat at one of the machines.

“I am not!”

“You can try to fool everyone with that suave demeanor of yours all you want, but I know under all of that is just soft.” You winked.

“You think I’m suave, huh?” He smirked, entering his cash into the machine.

“Suave and cute. A complete dreamboat-” Your breath hitched, cheeks ignited into flames upon the realization that you revealed a bit too much of your thoughts.

Bucky sat at the slots stunned, his face turning ruby red as his toothpick fell from his lips. The corners of his lips lifted into a grin, bashfully looking down at his polished dress shoes as he tucked some stray hairs behind his ear.

“I don’t think I can make a better comeback when the most gorgeous person that I know of said that to me.”

The fire from your cheeks dispersed to the entirety of your face as your mouth hung agape.

“I’m honestly about to throw up. You two are disgusting you know that? I have to third wheel and listen to this for another hour if our target doesn’t show up.” Sam protested through his comms.

You quickly glanced up to see Sam standing on the balcony on the second floor. Annoyance was written all over his face as he adjusted a cufflink. Sam’s position was to keep a birdseye view of the whole casino while you and Bucky got the main floor.

“You can always leave and fly back home to your nest if we’re bothering you too much.” Bucky laughed.

“Don’t push it, tinman. In one button I can call in redwing from the car and put a tranquilizing dart in your ass.”

From the corner of your eye you caught the glimpse of shining and slick-backed hair and a pair of shifty eyes scanning the casino.

“Guys, he’s here.” You muttered under your breath.

Jack Rollins, former STRIKE team member and HYDRA agent who worked with Brock Rumlow and Alexander Pierce. Ever since the fall of HYDRA, Rollins had been in hiding and visiting casinos owned by multiple crime syndicates in the last few years, turning gambling as somewhat of a profession. Now that he’s shown up on radar, it was time to finally turn him in for his crimes.

“Got eyes on him.” Bucky glanced, hanging his sunglasses off the collar of his dress shirt before pulling the lever of the slot machine down.

You watched from your peripheral as Rollins sauntered towards your direction to the bar. Bringing your drink to your lips, you pretended to take a sip.

“I’ll isolate him. Keep watch for me.” You mumbled into the rim of your glass.

“Copy.” Sam confirmed.

Rollins took a seat at the opposite end of the bar, asking the bartender for a drink. Setting your glass down, you gave yourself a few seconds to prepare.

Remember what Nat said. Make eye contact with him, give him a smile, not for too long or it will creep him out, look down for to reset, then glance at him again and bit your lower lip.

Glancing up, you realized he was already looking at you. Perfect. You did what Nat taught you, adding in a few flutters from your eyelashes and before long there was a smirk on Rollins’ face. You eyed him as he got out of his seat, strutting over until he sat beside you.

“What’s a pretty girl like yourself doing alone at a bar?” Rollins smirked.

“Hey, he stole my line!” Bucky whined in your comms.

You fought off the urge to scoff, masking it with the flutter of your flirtatious lashes once again.

“Taking a break from roulette to get some alcohol in my systems.” You pursed your lips, tracing a forefinger around the rim of your glass.

“Roulette, eh? I’m more of a blackjack type of guy.” Rollins chuckled.

“You probably have better odds at winning compared to me,” You pouted, “Luck wasn’t on my side tonight.”

“Maybe you just need to find the right good luck charm.” He suggested as the bartender placed his drink by his hand.

You smirked looking at the very familiar auburn liquid contained inside his glass.

“I think I just found it,” You smiled, nodding your head to his drink, “Manhattan? You have nice taste.”

There was a glint in Rollins’ eyes, a smile lacing his face. You lured him exactly how Nat said you would, instantly sparking up a conversation with him and slowly gaining his trust. You started placing your hand on his forearm every so often, pretending to let him know that you were interested in him. The evident frisky comments Rollins made towards you made Bucky complain, his words dripping in envy.

You didn’t mind the jealousy. In fact, you were flattered. Behind the teasing and playful banters were romantic feelings that you and Bucky had never fully addressed to each other before. The fine line between flirting and being an official item blended every single day and it has come to a point whether or not the two of you will finally cross the line to step into a real relationship.

Bucky’s protectiveness over you was more than just jealousy and Rollins. He immensely cared about you and the affection you have for him was equally as vast. You and Bucky were undeniably head over heels for each other.  

It was when Sam threatened to use Redwing on Bucky again if he didn’t stop complaining where you were starting to get distracted from the mission.

As Rollins was checking his phone, you quickly plucked your earpiece out of your ear, tossing it into an empty roulette wheel nearby. Tossing back the rest of your drink into your mouth, you rested your palm against his kneecap.

“I want to get some fresh air, but I don’t want to go alone. Could you come with me?” You pouted slightly, displaying the best puppy eyes you could muster.

“Sure thing.” He smiled, slinking his arm around your shoulders as you led him out of the casino. You needed to take him down out of sight from the public. Seeing the glowing red exit sign, you took hold of his hand and left through the side of the building, stepping into the alleyway.

Before you could predict and map out the situation beforehand, his arm had slid off your shoulders, slowly hovering down your back and sinking lower inch by inch.

“What are you doing?” You sharply questioned, trying to step away from him but his arm was wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to him.

“What’s gotten into you, sweetheart?” Rollins’ eyes suddenly turned darker, a new intention in his mind as he tried to bring you into his chest.

Finally, an excuse to finally take him down. With quick reflexes you grabbed his hand, twisting it, making him yelp in pain. His eyes widened as you punched him straight in the nose, a cry leaving his lips. You dodged his hands as he tried to grab you, countering him with a sucker punch to his jaw. And for the grand finale of the night, you kicked him where it didn’t shine between his legs. As he fell onto the concrete with a loud grunt, your right leg suddenly dropped to the ground, making you stumble. Glancing at your foot, you realized the toothpick that you called of a heel had snapped. With a huff you drew your gun from your hidden thigh holster, aiming your gun at a currently agonized Rollins.

Two sets of feet hit the pavement, running into the alleyway. You glanced up to see a slight smirk on Sam and Bucky’s faces.

“Okay not only did his ass get handed to him, but ours too. You took him one-on-one without breaking a sweat, doll. I’m impressed.” Bucky smiled.

You couldn’t help but smile back, putting your gun back into your holster as Sam dragged up Rollins up to his feet. Rollins winced as he held his broken and bleeding nose in his hands. A buzzing flew over your heads, red lighting scanning the alley. Redwing focused in on Rollins as Sam began to escort him to the front of the building.

“Don’t do anything stupid or Redwing will take you out. Got it?” Sam warned.

Rollins nodded, limping along while he threw a glare at you.

You pursed your lips, uncomfortable from the height difference of your smashed heel.

“Damn these stupid shoes.” You scorned, unstrapping your heels and stepping out of them.

“Hey wait, what are you doing?” Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Buck, I can’t deal with these anymore. Do you know how impractical these are? Sure they look nice and they complete the outfit, but it’s so hard to walk around, let alone kick a guy down when you’re a flamingo with wobbly legs.”

“I hate to break it to you, but this alley is disgusting and I’m pretty sure there’s broken glass and discarded needles here.”

“Then what am I going to do?”

“I can carry you.”

You raised a brow, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s for your safety.”

“Alright.”

Heels hanging from your fingers, Bucky picked you up and held you bridal style, walking down the passage with a smile plastered on his face.

“It was for your safety, but it’s mostly an excuse to hold you in my arms.”

You slapped his chest with a scoff, putting on the most dramatic voice you could muster, “Oh my knight in shining armor, thank you for saving the day!”

He laughed, his nose scrunching up. Bucky was absolutely adorable when he laughed and he never failed to make a warmth blossom across your chest.

“I keep forgetting how deceitful you are with your charm,” You grinned, leaning your head against his shoulder, “Will you ever tell me something true for once?”

“Something true… I hate peas.” He chuckled.

“No, something real, something no one else knows.”

Bucky’s pace slowed as he bit his lower lip, taking a moment to think. Despite the dark alleyway, you managed to notice the slight tinge of pink dusted on his cheeks.

“I’ve liked you for a while now – pretty obvious, I know. But I think tonight hit the nail on the coffin for me. You kicked ass today and made me fall for you a bit harder than I should have, princess.”

A smile broke out on your face as your heart began to flutter, “Buck?”

Bucky hummed in response, his cheeks turning red.

“Can the princess get a reward for kicking ass?”

“Sure, and what would she like?”

A pleasant burn seared through your cheeks, “A kiss from the knight.”

Bucky’s eyebrows shot up, stopping in his tracks, “I thought she would never ask.”

You cradled the side of his jaw, leaning in to press your lips to his. A smile peeped through his lips and you couldn’t help but tenderly kiss it away. Parting his lips, Bucky let the kiss deepen as you twirled the strands of hair that framed his face. Kissing Bucky in an alley was definitely not the vision you had in mind, but you could care less, focusing on his warm and soft lips moulded to yours.

Just as you were becoming lightheaded from the lack of air, a light whirl buzzed above your heads. You pulled away to see redwing, scanning the both of you.

“Seriously?” You heard Sam sigh through Bucky’s comms, “I already handed Rollins over to the FBI and I have the car pulled up at front so you two better hurry up.”

“Before I forget, I like you too Buck.” You beamed.

Bucky chuckled, his nose brushing against your cheekbone as he peppered a few kisses against your cheek, making you giggle.

“There will be absolutely no PDA, any sort of embracing, or face mashing of any kind in the car, do you hear me? I will not tolerate any kissy faces, lovey-dovey eyes, and if I see unwanted movement in the backseat I’ll kick you out of the car and make you two walk home.” Sam proclaimed before heaving a sigh.

Permanent tags: (Strikethrough means I can’t tag you for some reason)

@princess-evans-addict / @extremeobsessions101 / @buckyofthemyscira / @harryngtonewithyourshit / @mywinterwolf / @jamierdr / @mariamermaid / @keepcalmandsosayweall / @rororo06 / @yoyolovesbucky

Bucky Barnes tags:

@shield-agent78 / @drivebywaystobetherewithyou / @courtmr / @yknott81

[avintagekiss24]

Doodles and Diamonds

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x black reader (high school!au)

Rating: teen

Warnings: slight language

Word Count: 1858

Summary: Calculus sucks. If it wasn’t for your habit of doodling, you’d never make it through class. Apparently, your drawings help someone else stay awake as well.

A/N: I told y’all I have a problem! Challenges are my weakness. This was written for @littledarlinhavefaithinme 10 marvelous things I hate about you challenge that I found yesterday. The prompt is in bold. Here’s some high school fluff to balance out all of the porn I’ve been posting lately, lol. (the title is referring to a baseball diamond, just fyi)(i’m terrible at coming up with titles).

Calculus is the worst class of the day. It’s right after lunch, so you’re usually stuffed to the gills with french fries and orange soda. You never bring your calculus book with you, so you have to walk clear across the school to get to your car to grab it, so by the time you make it back to the classroom, you’re hot, sweaty, and out of breath. Plus, it’s calculus, so in it’s own right, it’s just terrible. But, day after day, month after month, you stuff yourself stupid with french fries, you run to your car and back, and curse yourself when you finally collapse into your chair from sheer exhaustion. 

The only thing that keeps you awake in calculus is your doodling. You prop your sketchpad in between the pages of your calculus book and fill the pages with everything you can imagine. Puppies, dragons, witches, your teacher turning as a frog- doesn’t matter the subject. You think it, it gets doodled.

Something weird happened a couple of weeks ago though. When making your daily trek to your car, you noticed a sticky note on the drivers window. You peeled it off, your face screwed up in confusion as you read over the chicken scratch.

Can you draw lion eating an ice cream cone?

You looked around but saw no one paying you the least bit of attention. You didn’t recognize the handwriting, which, to be honest, you wouldn’t recognize your own mother’s handwriting if your life depended on it. You shoved the note into your pocket, grabbed your book, and ran your ass to the classroom. You glanced around as the room filled with students, trying to find the doodle requestor, but no one even looked in your direction. Class started a few minutes later, and to keep from falling asleep, you drew a lion eating an ice cream cone. 

Every day after that, a new post it note appeared on your car, asking for some stupid little drawing. A cat playing the flute, Captain America punching a baby, a happy little dinosaur flying a kite during a storm; the requests were endless. But, everyday, you obliged your secret doodle admirer. You drew exactly what they asked for, ripped it out of your book, folded it up all nice, and left it in the seat of your chair. 

Why not just wait and see who picks up the prized drawing, some would ask? And risk being late to art class? The class that just happens to be your favorite, have your favorite teacher, and you share with your bff since third grade? You think not. Finding out who the doodle master is, is really not all that important. Plus, you kinda like the mystery of all anyway. 

Today is like all the others. You finish off your french fries, tossing the paper basket into the trash before you head for the parking lot. Your face is buried in your phone, your fingers tapping away at the screen as you approach your 1965 fire engine red Ford Mustang (a present from your dad, who lives clear across the country and has never been there for you and is trying to make up for it with money- you’re not complaining.) You pick your head up, just in time to see one Bucky Barnes standing at your drivers door. 

You stop, squinting as the wind blows your out of control, curly, frizzy hair in your face. His head is down, his expensive sunglasses propped up on the top of his head, pushing his hair back. You can’t really tell what he’s doing as you approach from the passenger side, but the likes of jock, douche-bag Bucky Barnes being next to your pride and joy, makes you uneasy.

“Umm, what are you doing?” You finally huff as you reach the passenger side door. 

He snaps his head up to you, his blue eyes wide as he shoves his hands into his back pockets, “Uh, you know, just um, admiring your car. It’s in fantastic shape.”

You nod slowly as you purse your lips, glancing around the parking lot, “Uh huh.”

You open the door and dump your bag into the front seat before grabbing your calculus book and your sketchpad. You slam the door shut and pop back up to find Bucky still standing there, his eyes still wide, his hands still in his back pockets. You fold your arms and rest them on the hood as you blink back at him, a smirk on your face as you lift your eyebrows.

He clears his throat and laughs nervously, “Did you um, restore it yourself?”

“Nope.”

He nods, sucking his teeth, “So, you bought it like this, huh?”

“Obviously.” You answer, your voice dripping with annoyance. 

He chuckles again as his nerves get the best of him, “Not a big talker, huh?”

You shrug, “Depends on the topic. My fenders don’t really whip me into a verbal frenzy.”

“Right.” He starts, backing away from the car, “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. I’ll uh, I’ll see you, um, in a few minutes, in calculus, I guess.”

You scoff, rolling your eyes at the whole conversation. The two of you have been in the same classes since second grade, and these are the most words the two of you have ever exchanged. You squint at him as he walks off, a small piece of yellow something grabbing your attention from his back pocket. You lean down to peer through the window to the drivers side, noticing that your usual sticky note isn’t pressed to the window today. 

You move around to the drivers side, checking the door and then the ground, but there’s... nothing. You snap your head back toward the brunette as he crosses the parking lot, that yellow something still sticking out of his pocket as he moves. Your mouth drops open. Holy shit! 

You take off in a sprint, your black converses slapping against the pavement as you advance on him. When you finally reach him, you snag the folded up sticky note from his pocket and nearly double over from the fire that is now your lungs. You should really participate in gym a little more often. He turns, throwing up his hand at you as you try and catch your breath, your hands on your knees.

“What the fu-” He starts, his words halting as soon as he notices the sticky note in your hand, “Gimme that.”

You stand up straight, lifting your arm up into the air as you whip around so that you’re facing the opposite direction. He pulls at your arm and swipes at your hand as you turn sharply left and right, moving your arms up and down and side to side to keep it out of his reach. You bend over and stretch out your arms, using your ass and hips to keep him at bay as you unfold the three by three piece of yellow paper.

“Can you draw a giraffe driving a fire truck?” You read out loud, laughing  as he swipes at your hands again, “Oh my god.”

He curses lightly underneath his breath and finally drops his hands to his sides, “Fine. Fine. You caught me.”

You stand up straight again and turn to face him, “I would have never guessed in a million years that it was you.”

“Why not?”

You scoff, widening your eyes at him, “Golden boy, all star shortstop Bucky Barnes, who hasn’t said two words to me in ten years, is leaving weird requests for me to draw on my car? The Bucky Barnes?”

He shrugs, “I like em, your drawings. You’re really good.” You scoff, rolling your eyes toward the sky, “I mean it! You are.”

You shake your head, unable to wipe the smile from your face, “Thanks. That’s, that’s really nice of you to say.”

“You’re welcome.” He says proudly, “You know, conversations work both ways. You haven’t said anything to me in ten years either.”

“Second grade, actually.” You agree, “You broke my purple crayon.” He throws his head back and laughs loudly, the sound of it making you smile in return. You made Bucky Barnes laugh. Pride swells in your chest.

“Holy shit, you still remember that?”

“Of course, I do!” You screech, “I loved that crayon! Purple is my favorite color. I’m still mad you about it, honestly.”

He throws his hands up, still chuckling, “I’ll buy you a new one. Okay? Will that squash it finally?”

You close your left eye and hum as you tilt your face toward the sky, pretending to think it over, “I dunno, man. That was a special purple crayon.”

“I’ll buy you a whole pack of crayons.” He smiles widely, “I’ll get you that sixty four pack, baby. You’ll be the talk of the town with that thing.”

You cover you face with your hands and laugh, “Oh, god.”

“Everybody will be so jealous of you. It’ll be so fetch.” He exaggerates, holding out his palms toward you as he stains his voice to reach a higher pitch. 

“You’ve clearly lost your mind.” You laugh.

“Hey, I’m just glad our ten year stalemate is over. I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted.”

The two of you share another laugh before it dissolves into silence. He still smiles at you, causing another large grin to break onto your face. You drop your head under his gaze, giggling stupidly as you tuck some hair behind your ear. Are you flirting right now? Is that what’s happening? What in fresh hell?

“So um, you should come to one of my games some time. Like, Friday night, maybe.” He says after a minute, nodding slowly. 

You click your tongue and nod with him, not really sure what to do or say, “I don’t know. I don’t know much about baseball.”

“That’s okay.” He shrugs, “We can get some pizza or something afterward. Or, french fries, since that’s all you eat.” 

You snap your eyes back to him. He wouldn’t know that unless he’s been watching you. Why is Bucky Barnes watching you? What is happening? This is definitely taking a turn that you did not expect.

“I mean,” He shrugs, shaking his head, “You don’t have to, I was just, I just, you know, it’d be cool or whatever, since we’re, you know, talking, or, whatever.”

“Um, yeah, okay. Yeah. That, that’d be, that could be cool.” You answer, nodding your head faster as you fumble over your words. 

Bucky smiles, running his hands through his hair, “Ok, cool. Cool. I guess, I'll see you Friday.”

“Well, aren’t you coming to class?” You ask, pointing your thumb toward the building behind you.

“Oh shit,” He laughs, “Yeah.”

He shoves his hands in his back pockets as the two of you start a slow stroll to your calculus class. You both end up being late and take a tongue lashing from Ms. Fertman as you take your seats. You scoot down in your chair, crack open your calculus book, and draw a giraffe driving a fire truck.

tags: @jetaimeamore @mixedbutdivine @shay-iamiam @wildfirecracker @amberjoy38 @mannarn @bellaamor88 @stellarxfresh @metsforever @freshprincessofwakanda @euh-say-what-now @golden-ariess @ishipwhateverthefuckiwantto @bitchacho25 @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes @mangos4u @flowersbound @atthediscowithoutpanic @marvel-mystery @honeyloverogers @awesomecamillatthings

fill out the form to join my tag list! or send me an ask!

[littlemarvelfics]

Vile

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: about 1,000

Warnings: None

A/N: This was a request and also for @littledarlinhavefaithinme’s challenge, a request and mutual pining for @star-spangled-bingo. I hope y’all enjoy it! 

“What is your problem Barnes?!” you yelled as you stormed off the Quinjet. 

“My problem? You almost got yourself killed!” he retorted. 

“Being lightly stabbed is not ‘almost’ getting killed! It’s not even in the same neighborhood!” 

“Children!” Steve scolded. “Break it up! Debrief in the conference room in an hour.” 

You pushed past Bucky and made your way up to your room in desperate need of a shower. You were outside your door when Natasha grabbed your arm to stop you. 

“Hey, take it easy on Barnes,” she said, raising her eyebrows at you.

“Why?! It’s not like he gives a shit about me one way or the other. It’s just more paperwork for everyone if I die.” 

“Woah, woah. Do you really not see it?” she questioned. 

“See what?” 

“Oh my God. I thought you were just being an asshole!” 

“Nat, can you please get to the point? There’s alien goo stuck in my hair and I’d really like to get it out.” 

“Just… take it easy on him okay? He cares about you more than you think,” she said gently. 

“Yeah, okay. I’m sure he does,” you said sarcastically as you walked into your room. 

Thirty minutes later, you were freshly showered and dressed in leggings and a baggy tee. You wandered into the kitchen to grab a snack before the debriefing where you ran into Steve. 

“Hey Cap?” 

He simply hummed in acknowledgment while he perused the contents of the refrigerator. 

“Did I mess up the mission?” you asked. Your shower had given you time to think about what Bucky said. Maybe you were being reckless. “I know I went off book…” 

“Hey,” Steve said, cutting you off. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I could have done without you getting hurt but it happens. You’re here and you’re okay- that’s all the matters.” 

You smiled and nodded, grateful for his reassurance. 

“Bucky getting to you huh?” 

“What? No. Not at all.” 

“We’ll chalk it up to a lover’s quarrel then,” Steve said with a smirk. 

“Lovers?! No, no, nope, nu-uh, not a chance. Bucky Barnes does not love me,” you rambled. 

“Oh but you love him?” Steve teased. 

“I did not say that!” 

“You’re not denying it.” 

“Denied!” you yelled. 

“Clever,” Steve said with a laugh. “I may be old, but I’m not blind. I see the way you look at each other.” 

“Have I, on occasion and completely subjectively, found Barnes attractive? Sure. Have I entertained the idea of dating him? Perhaps. But he doesn’t like me, Steve! Plus… bylaws or some crap,” you said weakly. 

“You know, I was reading the bylaws the other day and there wasn’t anything in there about two consenting adults going out on a date. There was a section called ‘get your head out of your ass’ that you might find interesting though.” 

“Don’t you have a debrief to get ready for?” 

“Listen, I’ve known the guy forever. Maybe in the ’40s, he was a ladies man but it’s different now. Just don’t shrug him off so quickly.” 

Steve exited the kitchen and left you alone with your thoughts. Sure, Bucky was attractive but anyone with eyes could see that. He hadn’t exactly been open with you but he wasn’t really chatty except with Steve and Nat.  You rolled your eyes, Nat and Steve were probably just messing with you. Glancing at the clock, you grabbed a bottle of water and headed over to the conference room, quickly plopping down in a seat. The room quickly filled and you realized Bucky was sitting across from you. 

Steve droned on about the success of the mission, crediting you with grabbing the information they needed. You gave Bucky a smirk and you saw a smile cross his face quickly before he looked away from you. The meeting didn’t last long and when it was dismissed, you went straight to your room, exhausted from the day's events. You were about to open your door when a tap on your shoulder stopped you. You turned around and saw Bucky, eyeing you nervously. 

“Bucky, I don’t really want another lecture tonight. I’m exhausted. Can we pick up the bickering tomorrow?” 

“No, I just…” Bucky trailed off and simply looked at you. 

“You just what? Out with it Buck-” 

Bucky suddenly moved forward, placing his hands on your hips and pressing his lips against your gently. It was over as quickly as it began, Bucky pulled back and looked into your eyes, attempting to decipher your feelings. 

You were at a loss for words so you did the next best thing- you kissed him. You pressed your lips back to his, letting him take the lead. Your fingers ran through his hair until your hand settled at the base of his neck, pulling him closer to you. You could feel his heart racing as your chests smashed together, his tongue pressing into your mouth. 

When you finally pulled away, you rested your forehead on his, breathing rapidly. 

“That was…” Bucky started. 

“Unexpected,” you finished. 

“I know, I’m sorry. I came up here with this whole speech about how much I’ve come to care for you and how I’m shit with my feelings these days but then I looked at you and I’m pretty sure I forgot every word that has ever been spoken,” he rambled. 

“You know, you’re not as vile as I thought you were,” you teased. 

“Vile?!” he said, his eyebrows shooting up. 

“Calm down old man, it’s from a movie.” 

“I know I did this in the completely wrong order but maybe we could go out on a date? Dinner and maybe the movie that made you call me vile?” 

“That sounds perfect Buck,” you said, kissing his cheek lightly. “Tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow,” he confirmed, turning to walk away. 

You walked into your room and leaned against the closed door. You owed Steve and Nat an apology. 

[emptytypewriter]

good for me

Hello! 

This is my submission - late I know - for @littledarlinhavefaithinme‘s writing challenge ‘10 Marvellous Things I Hate About You’. 10 Things I Hate About You is one of my favourite films and when I found this challenge I had to be a part of it. Thank you for being patient with me Darlin’ and I hope I can be a part of that too.

Prompt: “Oh, see that, there. Who needs affection when I have blind hatred?”

Her eyes stared at the clock through the mirror as she sat in front of her vanity. Natasha and Wanda were rushing around her to get her hair and makeup ready for the evening whilst Pepper had perched herself on the bed after helping herself to a glass of wine. [Y/N] had no interest in attending the party. She’d just gotten back from a mission and the last thing she wanted was to be around a bunch of people she didn’t know and hadn’t the energy to socialise with.

When the girls who were flitting about finally gave her a nudge to get dressed, she wandered into the bathroom, the silver gown hung behind the door. Her fingers travelled gently over the silk material, the light bouncing off it like a mirror. Tugging it gently off its hanger, she tugged the zip down and stepping into the gown before slipping her arms into the thin straps.

“Can one of you help with the zipper please?” She asked, stepping out back into her room, looking up  expecting to see her friends but rather seeing Pietro sitting where Pepper was, holding two glasses of wine in his hands “What are you doing here?”

“Wanda asked me to wait for you.” He answered, rising from his seat and placing the glasses down as he walked towards her. Motioning for her to turn around, she stared up at him for a moment considering her options before begrudgingly turning around to allow him to zip her up.

“They could have at least told me,” She muttered, feeling one of his hands place itself on her waist while the other one to a firm grip on the zipper, his knuckles pressing against her spine, “Why didn’t you let me know you were in here?”

His hand stopped halfway up her back at the question, his head drifting towards her ear. She could feel his breath hit her ear, her body tensing in response as she tried to get a look at him from the corner of her eyes,

“I know you like to be surprised,” He spoke softly, his voice low and accent thicker as the words flowed out, “I wanted to surprise you.”

[Y/N] couldn’t help the scoff that left her mouth at the statement as it left his mouth. Turning fast on the heels to face him, she stopped momentarily taken aback by just how close they were to one another. His fingers had slipped from the zipper and his hand slid onto her hip. At the sight of his smirk growing, she composed herself quickly and took a step away from him.

“I wouldn’t want a surprise from you...ever.” Huffing, she turned away from him and made for the bathroom until a hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Oh come on, let me at least finish zipping you up.”

“I’m fine-”

“Come on darling.”

“No thank you Maximoff.” Tugging her wrist out of his hold, she shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

With her back pressed against the bathroom door, she let out a deep breath before glancing at herself in the mirror. Huffing at the fact that she had no way of reaching the small zipper so conveniently stuck in the one place on her back that she couldn’t reach. Perching herself on the edge of the bathtub, she pursed her lips as she thought to the man waiting on the other side of the door. She wanted to drop her head into her hands but with all the hard work her best friends had put forced to just let out a groan before forcing herself back up and haul the door open with more effort than necessary. The sound of the door hitting the wall sprang around the room as Pietro looked up towards her from his seat at the vanity.

“Okay...zip me up.” She muttered, staying in the doorway as she turned around. She watched him through the mirror as he approached in silence. His left hand finding its place on her hip whilst the other fell onto the small zipper once again. 

Neither of them said a word even after the zipper had reached its end at the nape of her neck. His eyes rose to meet her own in their reflections in the mirror as his hand gently rubbed at her side. She inhaled deeply, her body relaxing completely under the gentle action despite her head telling her to move away she found herself stuck in place. 

She had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t allow vulnerability to guide her again. She’d made a mistake once that had been etched onto her skin ever since and she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She simply watched him slide his hands up to her shoulders and stroke her arms before whispering ‘Beautiful.’ It was all she needed to shake her out of her stupor. Clearing her throat, she slipped out of his reach before sliding past him and towards her vanity, throwing a quick comment over her shoulder.

“You can leave.”

“Oh and if I don’t want to?” His response came, slyly with amusement lacing his words. She couldn’t help her eyes rolling at him as she fiddled through her jewellery box in search of her favourite necklace.

“I’m afraid this isn’t your room so bye,” She stated cheerfully pulling out the silver chain with a soft smile before turning back to him as she carefully untangled the fragile chain, “Sucks to suck doesn’t it?”

He watched her for a moment before walking towards her noting the way she handled the piece of jewellery. He wasn’t used to her being so soft with her actions. He’d watched her endlessly in the training room, gym and even on the field but he’d yet to see her warmer side. He’d been told about it most definitely, Wanda always spoke about [Y/N] with nothing but the kindest of words especially her ability to handle hostages with, seemingly innate, ease. As he continued moving forwards he paused until he was directly in front of her. 

Her fingers paused their actions at the feeling of him in her personal bubble, head rising slowly until their eyes met. She knew that he hadn’t left the room, she’d have heard the door close but she didn’t anticipate him moving closer. He normally gave up by now so why was he still trying. Tensing, she said nothing but instead, she simply lifted her brow at him in question. A smirk grew on his lips as he slid the chain out of her hands and moved behind her.

“Just trying to help.” He muttered as he clasped the chain behind before moving to stand in front of her once again. 

The two stood to watch one another for a second before his hand cupped her cheek as he went to speak, she rose on her toes and placed a quick kiss on the edge of his mouth. Before he could react or speak, she gave his cheek a tap twice before moving towards the door. Grabbing hold of her shoes as she passed them, she paused at the door and looked over her shoulder at him.

“At least you’re good for something.” 

“Oh, see that, there. Who needs affection when I have blind hatred?” Without saying anything, she left him with a wink as she walked down the hallway with a smile. Pietro couldn’t help the smile that grew on his lips, it’d been there since the kiss and he was sure no one would be able to ruin his night.

I hope you enjoyed this! It’s my first time actually writing something for Pietro and publishing it for people to read so feedback would be a godsend.

[banditthewriter]

Deserve - Billy Russo

My entry for the writing challenge that @littledarlinhavefaithinme created is for the quote “Don’t let anyone, ever, make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.”

Tags are at the bottom. Let me know if you would like to be added to one of my tag lists!

*gif is mine*

Enjoy!

*****

The party was actually pretty boring. You weren’t even sure why you decided to come to this party except that the invitation for one of these hoity toity rooftop parties didn’t come along that often. Of course you hadn’t realized just how many people were going to be there.

How’d you get invited to a party with so many people that were probably models? In fact you were pretty sure those two women near the table with the finger foods were in a magazine on your coffee table back at your house.

The real reason that you came to the party was near the beer with a woman who looked like she was made from ninety percent legs. Billy Russo was gesturing to the area with one hand while his other was propped up on the railing, his eyes twinkling as he talked to the leggy bombshell.

And here you were wearing the same thing you wore to work. You pulled at the hem of your blouse and mentally berated yourself for not going home to change first.

Not that anyone was looking at you.

You glanced over to where you had seen Billy but he was gone. And so was the bombshell. You felt a frown tug on your lips before you shook your head.

What use was it to get upset just because Billy was going to be getting laid? You should be happy for him; he was your friend, after all. Weren’t friends happy when the other got laid?

Granted you were kind of in love with your friend so him getting laid kind of soured the whole mood.

You put down the drink you had been nursing for the last twenty minutes. You had spent the first five or ten minutes with Billy but he had excused himself to greet someone from work and then you hadn’t seen him until you saw him with the bombshell. Of course the two of you hadn’t come together, not really, but since he was the one that asked if you wanted to come, you kind of thought you’d spend more time with him.

A hand brushed against your arm and you looked over your shoulder. It was a guy you had run into a few times at other functions. You apparently orbited similar groups but you couldn’t think of his name.

“You’re the girl that came with Russo, right?”

Oh, great. A cherry on top of your night.

“He was kind enough to give me a ride, yeah,” you said careful, always on alert when people asked you about Billy.

“Hah, yeah,” the guy said with a smirk as he looked around the party. “Looks like your ride ditched you. I was wondering if you’d like to hang out with me. Maybe I can give you a ride home.”

Your stomach rolled and you tried not to make a face.

“No thanks,” you said, hopefully politely, and turned to leave.

The guy grabbed your arm and stopped you from leaving.

“See, I don’t really think you have much of a choice. You’re obviously in love with Russo and he can definitely do better,” he admitted with a shrug as if he wasn’t insulting you, “so you really shouldn’t look down your nose at someone who is offering to spend time with you. You should just be grateful.”

God why did you come here? This was adding insult to injury.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realized I should be flattered to have some guy I don’t know flirt with me, grab me, and then insult me all in one go. Where are my manners?”

You pulled your arm away from him with a shake of your head. If this was the state of the city’s elite, you were happy on your lower level.

The flick of the guy’s eyes had you turning around to see Billy. He was giving the guy what you could only describe as a murder stare. He was dressed more casually which meant that it was a little more obvious that he was in good shape. And the asshole who had come on to you looked like his version of working out was lifting his phone for a selfie.

“Russo,” the guy greeted with a meek nod of his head.

Billy just raised an eyebrow. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to respond, the guy huffed a breath through his nose and raised his hands.

“Teaches me to hit on the wallflower,” he muttered as he stormed off.

Wallflower? You made a face at that. Billy caught the sight and let out a short laugh.

“You looked like you were handling that on your own. I just happened to come up at the end,” he added as he gestured towards the edge of the roof.

You followed him over there and away from the crowds. It was less noisy where you were so you sat down, your back leaning against the ledge around the roof. Billy copied you, his arm brushing yours as he leaned against the wall as well.

“I can handle myself okay,” you admitted with a shrug. “My dad gave me pepper spray and brass knuckles when I moved to the city.”

Billy laughed outright at that. You enjoyed watching him in moments like this. The joy on his face was contagious and you giggled along with him.

He got a little more serious, his eyes finding yours. It felt like you were drowning in his dark—impossibly dark—eyes. All you wanted to do is stay in this moment for a little while longer and then go home to change into comfortable clothes and ignore the world for the weekend.

But…

“You shouldn’t listen to him, you know,” he said as he finally tore his eyes from you.

You bit your lip as you tried to remember what all the guy had said. The last thing you could remember before you snapped at him was him telling you that you should be grateful that he was hitting on you.

“Oh what, about me being grateful? Guys like that think they are hot stuff. It’s just bravado,” you added with a shrug.

He gave you a look that said that that wasn’t what he was talking about. You thought about it again, recalling what else the guy had said.

“You’re obviously in love with Russo and he can definitely do better,” is what he had said in an offhand manner that you hadn’t even paid attention to at the time.

But now you couldn’t stop hearing it repeat over and over in your head.

“Oh. That.” Your chest hurt from how fast your heart was racing. “Billy, that was just… he d–doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He was just being a… dick.”

You looked away from him, your fingers tight on your knees. There were going to be nail imprints on your legs when you got home.

This was mortifying. This was… this was what hell must feel like.

While you tried to think if you could survive the fall if you jumped off the building, Billy bumped his shoulder against yours.

“Don’t let anyone, ever, make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.”

It was so simple and yet…

“You don’t have to say that,” you said quietly with your eyes still on your hands, unable to even think about looking over at him right then. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better about this.”

He tilted your face to his, his dark eyes moving over your face. When he leaned in, you started to jerk away, but you froze in place. He brushed his lips against yours so gently that you barely felt it.

“I meant every word,” he whispered against your lips, his eyes searching yours for a moment. “And a few that I haven’t said yet.”

You swallowed thickly, your eyes not wavering from his.

“Like?”

He grinned and leaned in for another kiss. Guess you were going to have to wait for those words.

But you had a feeling they were going to be worth the wait.

X

Let me know if you want to be added to my Permanent Tag List @hermioneshandbag @onebatch--twobatch @smiley-celine @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @starless-skyox @youveseen--thebutcher @citation-is-here @mightymelly @realduckvader @1550kilogramsofsilver @hxbbit @rockintensse @missphanosaur18 @thepuffyeyedpuff @the-three-eyed-ravenclaw @yessy2012 @gingerstarlight @siriusement @marauderskeeper @xinyourdreamsx @wickidlady @sassygirl25 @maraudereestauderelb @rainyboul @cutie-bug @random-quartz @holamor @lea----b @heyitslexy @detectivebourbon @coffeenmoscato @presstocontinue @elisemockingbird @assbuttwithwings @geeksareunique @siriuslovesmarlene @witch-of-letters @delicatelilyflower @l-l-c-m-w-b @whovianayesha @hiddenprincess @yannii04 @jeanettexkillian @brighteststarinthesky @kilyra @gallxntdean @sweetvengeancee @lady1505 @thedarklightwithinus @ateliefloresdaprimavera @siriuslyimmoony @elodieyung @fudgeflyss @madamrogers @thatwrestlingfan91 @teranya @sophiabulbu69 @delusionsofnostalgia @effielumiere @mamaraptor @hot-and-spiceyyy @i-padfootblack-things @aya-fay @fcavalerro @sithskywalkers @raquelbc2003 @iwishyoucouldbekissed @lostinthoughts23 @tamanamohain @newtstarmander @suchatinyinfinity @blushingskywalker @queencocoakimmie @funerals-with-cake @love-dria @arrowswithwifi @swiftyhowlz @cheyfleur @dark-night-sky-99 @margot-black @celestegolden @king4thesirens @beautifuldesastre @ashkuuuu @luminex3 @nerdypinupcrystal @iblogabout-stuff  @curlyhairedblueeyedangel @myplaceofheavenorhell @cafeconsoya @nea90sweetie @traeumerinwitzhelden @kryyta @russosprettydiamondnow @dorkybryan @mahalobro @yesixoxo

Let me know if you want to be added to my Billy Russo Tag List @something-tofightfor @piink-magnolias @hoodedhavok @aylinnmaslow @musingsofbanana @bluebird214 @rileyblues @nerrdstark @that-bwitch @ethereal-heavcns @queenisabella789 @colddecember-night @j-finco @arthoeaesthetixbs​ @tomhiddlestonsbeard @mischiefs-never-managed @romanceyour-ego @evyiione @drinix @sweetheart-im-the-boss @thebabblingbook @katieswinforddiaries @benbarnesfanforever @releasethekracko @itsjustmylifeconfessions @nostalgic-uncertainty @aveatquevale- @clarasworldofwonders @ladyblablabla​ @thehanneloner @hellostarposts @girlwhoisfearless @maria-beretta @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo @marcelskittel @fictionwillneverdie @avipshamitra @hysteriadarling @living-on-rice @hello-la-v-en-rose @tiredofthisgeneration @marveliskindacool @giggleberts @stateofloveandvedder @encounterthepast @ironstank @spettrocoli @xserenax-13 @sleepwalkingelite @dreamingofonceuponatime @supernaturalcat7 @rosebunnie @damagelove @petersunderoos96 @dylanobrusso @littlemermaidprobz @agent-scully-182 @editboutique @audreychaz @songforhema @tngrayson @ilikebeachessushiandsmallanimals @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes​ @ania2603 @screwmesiriusblack @figlia--della--luna @balladblood @cloudywithachanceofcupcakes-blog @jessicahh @flightoftheflightrisk @slamharder @roschele 

[buckys-old-habits]

PMS Not Covered By Insurance

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Prompt: “Whoops? My insurance does not cover PMS!”

Warning: Mention of menstruation

This is my entry to the 10 Marvelous Things I hate about you writing challenge by @littledarlinhavefaithinme. I chose the prompt above, because I thought it would be fun.  I didn’t have much time to write it, because life was busy, but I hope that it will magic some smiles on some faces.  Also... I love genderfluid Loki. 

Thank you @littledarlinhavefaithinme for letting me join. 

Loki didn't mean to go down to the lab, but sometimes he would just wander when he was bored and when he passed the hallway to the labs, he heard a muffled crash and a shriek. With lazy steps and a raised eyebrow he walks up to the room and looks inside.

Tools, robot parts, large holograms and more are strewn around the lab and he tries to pinpoint where the crash came from. A sob makes Loki's eyes focus on a further corner of the room. And he sees the cause of the crash and probably the shriek too.

You are cowering in the corner, head down and frantically trying to pick up some metal pieces at your feet. Slowly and quietly Loki comes closer and peeks over your shoulder, taking a look at the destroyed mechanical thing.

Another sniffle comes from you and Loki sighs softly, fighting with himself if he should just walk out and act like he never saw anything.

"He will kill me", you mumble and try to piece the different parts back together again. Maybe if you glue them, Tony won't notice it that fast. When he figures it out, you will have moved out of the city.

"Stark doesn't have it in him to kill." You startle and turn around, looking up at Loki who is standing over you. "Loki… When did you?"

"You broke it?", he points to the parts and you sigh. "I didn't mean to. I just… Tony said that he would upgrade my gear and I was getting impatient and… It fell when I tried to figure out how it works."

You stand up and rub your eyes, feeling the eyes burn with tears. You were emotional, not only because you know that you will get in trouble but also because your hormones are all messed up. Your period started a day ago and earlier you already cried about a dog video.

"Can you not fix it?", Loki asks and you shake your head. "I can't… I'm not smart enough." Your lip quivers and you angrily wipe at your eyes. Don't show weakness in front of Loki, the god of lies and your crush.

The door to the lab hisses open and you freeze, hearing the familiar footsteps of Tony coming closer. "Oh God…", you whisper and Loki looks at you, sighing when he sees your distressed face. "This one time. You owe me."

You watch in amazement when Loki suddenly changes his form from the gorgeous man to a beautiful woman. Black, long hair and a strong female body. He… No, she gently pushes you back and trades places with you, when Tony walks towards you.

"What are you doing in here?" Loki just smiles and Tony looks down at the destroyed tech. "How? I just finished that", he cries out and you want to step forward and tell the truth, but Loki lays her hand on your shoulder.

"I wanted to see how the female uniform would fit me, maybe it would be helpful in some missions. But then it wouldn't fit and I got angry." Tony blinks and looks at her, the sweet smile on her face only conveying innocence.

"Do you know how much that costs? I'm not a charity." "Whoops? My insurance does not cover PMS.", Loki winks and Tony shakes his head, knowing that he can't win against Loki in this scenario.

"Go, both of you. I don't wanna hear anything else." Loki takes your hand and pulls you away from Tony and the lab, walking back to the elevator.

"Loki?", you ask softly and she hums. "Do you even have insurance?" Loki chuckles a sweet, melodic sound. "No, dear. I do not have insurance." "Oh…"

[lexxierave]

Au Revoir to My Heart - Billy Russo Part 1

This is a continuation of Why Should I Care and my first writing Challenge!! 😱

Prompt: “You’re not as mean as you think you are, you know that?” / “And you’re not as badass as you think you are.”

That old saying that time flies when you're having fun also seems to work when you want time to stand still. Three days flew past as quickly as if you had blinked them by. You were now standing in the same spot at the same place and in the same mood you were in when you first meet Billy. Honestly, you not only hated early hours but you were starting to loathe airports too. The flight announcements over the speaks, people always in a hurry one way or another, and the bright fluorescent lights were a big turn off for you. Though it might also have something to do with how much you drank the other night, but you were giving the guys a send-off at the bar and it wasn't like you had a hangover, no just a lack of sleep.

You had positioned yourself off to the side as you watched all the significate others say their final farewells to their loved ones. It did pull at your heart to see Maria already have to part with Frank but when you watched them it wasn't like looking at the others. There was no sobbing, no death grip that required someone to pull the person off, and no arguments. It was like they had a silent agreement, some type of understanding that set them apart from the others. It fascinated you and also gave you a deep longing in your heart you always tried to push off whenever you were around Frank and Maria.

"Kind of makes you sick doesn't it." Came a voice you've come to know well, followed by an arm wrapping itself around your waist.

You smiled before turning to see the smirking face of one Billy Russo. "You're only saying that 'cause you're jealous." You pointed out poking him in the chest.

His hand quickly grabbed your wrist and pulled you flesh against him. "I have no reason to be jealous of anything Frankie has. Not anymore." He whispered as his lips ghosted across yours. "Not when I have you."

"Do you have me, Billy?" You teasingly asked as your other hand traveled up the base of his neck to his hair. 

He only grinned at you before crashing his lips against yours. You responded immediately matching his moves with your own.  The feelings you got from his touch and his taste would always leave you with the feeling of fire in your veins and a craving for more.

He pulled away from you all too soon for your liking but you felt him slip something into your hand. You pulled away from him a little bit to be able to bring your hand up. In your palm rested a set of keys.

"What's this Russo? The key to the lockbox where you hid your heart?" You jokingly questioned as you looked from the keys to his eyes.

"Ha.ha. Very funny AJ. No. They're the keys to my apartment." He stated and the response had you so shocked you nearly dropped them.

"Why are you giving me the keys to your apartment?" You asked narrowing your eyes wanting to know where this sudden act was coming from.

"Maria told me about your apartment being broken into." He replied moving his hands to rest firmly on your hips.

"So what? You give me your keys? Why?" You pressed trying to get to the real reason he just handed you the keys to his place.

"Let's just say after all the hard work I put in since my return I'd hate to leave and you wind up in trouble again." He tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal but you knew it was. Billy never let anyone in his apartment unless he was there. He didn't trust anyone enough to get that close and this gesture resonated in your soul.

"Careful Russo, people might start to think you're not as mean as you think you are." You teased but still made a show of pocked his keys.

"For that to be even remotely true that would mean you're not as badass as you think you are." He countered pulling you back against him.

"Well, we both know that's a lie." You retorted rolling your eyes before smiling up at him as the speakers nearby announced it was time for their departure.

Billy never had someone to say goodbye to before, never had the thought of someone waiting for him back home. He didn't know how to approach the subject. How do you say goodbye to something you just obtained? How different would he be overseas now that someone wanted him to come back alive and cared if he didn't?

As if reading his mind you interlaced your fingers with him and gave his hand a squeeze. "This changes nothing Russo. You go over there and you kick ass just like you always have. I'm not a factor in that. I don't change how things work over there. Just keep that sharp mind of yours working and come back in one piece, just like you always have." You spoke the words so eloquently like you've rehearsed saying them a thousand times but you only spoke the truth.

You being here changed nothing over there and he needed to know that. He couldn't be changing how he reached to situations over there just because of you, that's how people get killed. And if he made those changes it wouldn't just be his life on the line it'd be Frankie's too.

You curled your unconnected hand around his neck and pulled him down to you kissing just as you had three nights ago. Sending him a silent wish to come back for more, to stay alive long enough to see you again. "Au Revoir Billy." You whispered against his lips.

A grin grew on his face at your words and you knew he had heard. He gave you one more quick kiss before pulling away when he noticed Frank and Maria heading your way.

Frank gave Billy a knowing look as he approached before turning his attention to you. "I'm gonna miss ya kid."

"I'll miss you too Frankie." You said you grinned holding back tears. You stepped away from Billy and gave the bruiser in front of you a big tight hug.

"Take care of 'em for me." He whispered into the embrace

"I always do." You replied. Though you might not have always been physically there the whole time Frank left but you always stayed the whole summer and visited on holidays. If anything came up you were only a phone call away and come hell or high water nothing would stop you from helping them.

You would have to give it to your ex, he never tried to mess with the Castles, knowing how much you cared for them. Though he learned quickly what happens when he did threaten them, it was his first and last time.

"I know you do. That's why I taught you what I did." He gave you his sideways smile as he pulled away and you grinned back at him.

"We gotta go." Billy spoke up as you stepped back beside Maria. She looked like she was about to cry too so you grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You keep him safe Billy!" Maria shouted out, her voice cracking slightly as she choked back tears.

"I always do." He replied giving her a wink before he and Frank disappeared into the crowd of other Marines.

You stood there for a few minutes longer just holding your best friend's hand as you watched the rest of the men go through the gate.

Tag List:

@lysawayne

@ms-delos

@rogueshadowkat

@the-blind-assassin-12

@likeorions ​

@suchatinyinfinity

@something-tofightfor

@lynne1993

@editboutique

@whovianayesha

@funkycoldlatina

@petersunderoos96

@gollyderek

@strawberriewithchocolate-blog

@mrspeacem1nusone ​

@drinix

@wangmangagavroche

@littledarlinhavefaithinme

[jbbarnesandnoble]

Hearts in Secret Masterlist

THIS SERIES IS COMPLETE

Pairing: King!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader

Series Summary: Some seek love, others freedom. But what if Y/n finds both, by simply talking to a blue-eyed stranger underneath an Oaktree《Royal AU》

Series Warning(s): fluff, lots of it! two strangers falling in love in the woods (please don’t never talk to strangers you meet in the woods) questionable writing, very poorly written and inaccurate medieval traditions and themes

Series Word Count: 18k

part one

part two

part three

part four

part five 

epilogue 

Main Masterlist

Visuals

Luna + Apollo

The Roger's Greenhouse + James' Castle Garden

[ultramarvelslug]

Distractions (one shot)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: none 

Words:744

Summary: An awkward encounter will cause Bucky to confront his feelings about you. 

A/n: This was done for @littledarlinhavefaithinme ‘s 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You Writing Challenge. Thanks for hosting! Prompt will be in bold. :) 

Right. 

Left.

Right. 

Left. 

Over and over again. 

This training session was getting monotonous. Usually the punching bag was your favorite workout. But not today. Today, you just couldn’t concentrate on the task in front of you. You were too busy thinking about Bucky. Bucky who looked so good in his blue suit last night. Bucky who you couldn’t take your eyes off of. And Bucky who couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Memories flooded you of the previous night. 

“Just go talk to her man.” Bucky whips his head towards Sam with a confused look on his face. Bucky had been distracted by you the whole night. It was getting to the point that even Sam was taking note.

“Talk to who?” Sam sighs deeply. 

“Y/n.” Bucky opens his mouth to deny Sam’s accusation. But before he could get out a word, Sam pipes up. “And don;t say that you don’t like her because I’m way smarter than that. Every time she walks into a room, you light up. And she does the same. She likes you too you know.” 

Bucky considers this. He had had a crush on you ever since you came to the compound nearly a year ago. And his crush had grown over time since the two of you had spent more time together. The two of you had been exchanging glances throughout the night, each of you wondering if the other was going to act on your intentions. 

“You don't know anything Wilson.” Bucky rolled his eyes at Sam while he denied his accusation. “And since we’re on the topic of secret crushes, why don't you go talk to Michael?” Bucky gives Sam a playful smirk, to which Sam rolls his eyes at.

“Whatever man.” Sam walks of to go chat with Nat. 

You dance a little more until you get tired and work up your courage to go talk to Bucky. 

“Hey Barnes, you make anyone cry today?” 

“Sadly, no, but it’s only 9:30.” Bucky gives you a sly smile and the two of you laugh together. 

“What’s so funny?” You and Bucky look at Steve, then at each other and burst into giggles. Steve looks at you disapprovingly. “Seriously guys?” 

“Loosen up Captain.” you accentuate the last word with an eye roll.

Bucky begins explaining “It’s just something that happened yesterday on that mission.” 

You interject. “Because Bucky,” You make the mistake of looking over at him. The two of you make eye contact and start busting into gut wrenching laughter. This goes on for a couple of minutes, until Steve interjects. 

“You guys are adorable with your inside jokes and finishing each other's sentences. You're killin me over here.” You and Bucky simultaneously stop laughing and look awkwardly at each other. 

“Well I just gotta-”

“I'm gonna go get a dr-” 

The two of you start at the same time and laugh uncomfortably. 

That was the last time you saw Bucky after the two of you parted ways. You talked to Nat about how awkward Buck was being. You crashed in your room after you got tired of talking to people. 

Back in the training room, you mind begins filling with questions about Bucky’s weird behavior at the party last night. Why did he act so awkward around you? To be fair you acted weird around him to, but that’s just your personality. Bucky has always been the suave, charming man ever since you met him. But this new perplexing Bucky was strange to you. 

You hear light footsteps coming down the hall and then the small squeak of the door opening up into the training room.  

“Hey Buck.” You greet him without looking back and continue punching the punching bag. You don't hear anything for a couple seconds and then Bucky speaks up. 

“I’m sorry for last night.” Your hands go to the side and you turn to face him. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for Bucky.” He come closer to you, inching away from the door. 

“Yes, I do. I’m sorry y/n for being so weird yesterday. I just- I just like you so much that I can’t function around you. You just make me crazy.” You are taken aback at his confession. You step closer to him and look up into his deep navy eyes. Standing up on your tiptoes, you close the gap between the two of you. Bucky melts into you and your body’s become one. Bucky pulls away, earning a groan of disappointment from you.

“Does this mean that you like me too?” 

“What do you think idiot?” You pull him in again, grinning into the kiss.

[iambuckyrogers]

The Morning After (The Night Before)

Summary: You wake up in a strange bed with little memory of the night before, Clint helps you piece it all together.

Word Count: 2017

Chapter Warnings: a little angsty, binge/heavy drinking, throwing up (idk if that’s a warning?), IT ALL ENDS WELL THO

Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader

Prompt: “Why are you doing this?” / “I told you, you may have a concussion.” / “You don’t care if I never wake up.” / “Sure I do.” / “Why?” / “Well, because then I’d have to start taking out girls that actually like me.

Authors Note: This was written for @littledarlinhavefaithinme ‘s 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You Writing Challenge!!! I lOOOVE this movie and I hope that I did the prompt justice. Italics are flashbacks/Clint’s story. Likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

*****

Your POV

Your head was pounding, the world spinning as you blinked your eyes open. You were lying in bed, but not yours and you couldn’t remember how you got there. Slowly you sat up, slumping against the headboard when the thumping in your head became too much.

“She lives!” A rough voice came from the corner of our room, startling you.

“Clint?” You tried to focus on the spinning room, you were almost certain you could make out the archer’s figure on the chair in the corner, but then again it could always be a pile of dirty clothes.

“Forget all the fun we had last night?” he chuckled, getting up from his chair and making his way over to the bed with a glass of water and headache tablets.

“F-fun? Shit, what did we do?” you stammered, looking down at your body you realised that you were no longer wearing your dress from the gala last night, instead, you were just in one of Clint’s shirts and your panties.

“Relax sweetheart, we didn’t do anything. No chance after you vomited on my shoes,” He handed you the water and tablets, sitting on the bed next to you.

“Oh god, I did what?” you gratefully swallowed the tablets as you tried desperately to remember what happened last night.

“Don’t you remember anything that happened?” He asked, cocking his head to the side like a curious puppy.

“No, just flashes, did I really pick up Mjölnir?”

“Honey that wasn’t actually Mjölnir, it was a prop. Ok, you know what I’ll just tell you everything that I remember…”

*****

Clint’s POV

“Shit, shit, shit,” He cursed under his breath, taking the steps 2 at a time up to your floor. He was over 15 minutes late to pick you up for the Avengers Gala and he knew you’d give him hell for it. He knocked on your door but was interrupted when it was yanked open.

“You’re late Barton,” you ground out, pushing past him as you came through the door.

“Sorry, I got held up,” he tried to explain but you just brushed him off with a curt wave of your hand.

“Doesn’t matter, let’s just go,” you locked up your apartment and started off down the stairs leaving Clint trailing behind.

*****

Your POV

You listened to Clint with your head in your hands, the thumping in your head refusing to go away.

“I remember all of that, the car dropped us off at The Met, we were swarmed by paps, nothing really out of the ordinary,” you recalled, the memory still clear, “when we finally got inside I went to talk to Steve,” and there the memories started to become fuzzy, you looked up to Clint who was watching you intently, “and that’s all I remember.”

“Of course it is…”

*****

Clint’s POV

The second the two of you were inside you dropped Clint’s arm like a hot potato.

“I’ve got to talk to Steve, I’ll find you later,” you left without letting him reply, weaving through the crowd towards Steve who was sat at the bar nursing a drink. Now alone, Clint sought out company, spotting Sam and Bucky through the crowd he made a beeline for their table.

“Bird guy!” he laughed, clapping Sam on the shoulder, ”Soldat,” he saluted to Bucky sarcastically earning an eye roll from the super soldier.

“Arrow man! How’s it going?” Sam replied, holding out his drink

“Same old, same old,” he replied stoically, grabbing the drink and downing it in one mouthful.

“I’d suggest otherwise,” Bucky noted. Clint looked over to where you were sitting, now alone at the bar, with a line of empty shot glasses scattered in front of you. You wobbled precariously on your chair as you tossed your head back and downed another drink, raising your empty glass triumphantly in the air.

“Nah it’s all good,” he lied through his teeth, turning back to the boys. They fell into comfortable conversation talking about all sorts of things and catching up on each other’s lives as the drinks flowed and the night wore on. Clint was careful to keep an eye on you, well aware of how much you had drunk in such a short amount of time, looking up every now and then to make sure you were still at the bar. The screech of a microphone cut through the room, everyone looked around confused trying to find the source of the noise. Clint looked to where you had been sat for the last few hours but you were nowhere to be seen.

“What a party, am I right?!” someone slurred over the speakers. Clint was sure that was your voice, and his suspicions were confirmed when a large spotlight illuminated you, very drunkenly stumbling up the steps of the stage.

“No get those lights off,” you shouted in your very best (terrible) Donald Trump impression, waving your hands around causing you to lose your grip on the microphone, sending it hurtling into the audience. Fortunately, no one was hit, unfortunately, you found another microphone on the stage.

“How’s everyone feeling tonight?” you were met with a very unenthusiastic wooh from the crowd, except Tony who cheered encouragingly, throwing you a thumbs up as he filmed you on his phone.

“That’s what I like to hear!” you walked along the front of the stage, almost tripping on your floor length gown. “Did I hear someone say pick up mould near?” You gestured to the prop of Thor’s hammer, clarifying what you were trying to pronounce so poorly. It was sitting on the corner of the stage next to replicas of Steve’s shield and Tony’s helmet. You looked very disappointed with the lack of response, and Clint was getting concerned that no one had tried to remove you yet.

“I said, did I hear someone say pick up mould near?” you repeated, this time a little louder. Clint had seen enough, getting to his feet he pushed his way through the crowd towards the stage where you were now trying to amp them up with a chant of ‘pick it up’. Surprisingly, it was catching on and by the time Clint made it through the masses the whole room was alive.

“Y/N please get down,” he yelled up to you.

“No, Clintothy, Clintamin, Cli- what even is your name short for? Who even cares? Don’t you think I’m worthy?” You sneered angrily.

“Y/N, you know that’s not what I mean. You’re going to hurt yourself, please get down,” he pleaded in a last-ditch attempt to stop you from embarrassing yourself any further.

“I am worthy!” you shouted, dropping the microphone dramatically. The crowd started to chant ‘worthy’ as you strode confidently over to the hammer, wrapping both hands securely around the handle. You bent your knees and shot the crowd a wink before yanking the hammer up with all your power. You grossly misjudged how light the prop was, using too much force you sent yourself toppling over backwards smacking your head on the floor, causing the crowd to gasp in unison. Clint leapt into action, pulling himself up onto the stage and scrambling over to your side.

“Hey, Y/N, Y/N/N, honey, speak to me, are you ok?” he cupped your face in his hands. You nodded weakly, you tried to sit up but Clint pushed you back down gently.

“Woah not too fast, I think you might have a concussion we have to take it slow,” he helped you to your feet, slinging your arm around his shoulders he helped you across the stage.

“I’m ok!” you yelled to the crowd giving them a big wave as Clint basically carried you down the stairs and out into the fresh air of the night.

“Alright here we go,” he set you down on a chair carefully, kneeling in front of you he looked you over to make sure you hadn’t broken anything or done too much damage to yourself.

“Why are you going this?” you asked, looking at him with glazed over eyes.

“I told you, you may have a concussion,” he replied, moving to sit next to you on the chair.

“You don’t care if I never wake up.” Your words stung, leaving Clint shocked as to what he did to make you feel that way.

“Sure I do,” he replied taking your hands in his and rubbing small circles with his thumb reassuringly.

“Why?” You scoffed, clearly not believing anything he was saying.

“Well, because then I’d have to start taking out girls that actually like me.” You froze and looked at him wide-eyed, like a deer in the headlights.

“Honestly Clint that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” you slurred slapping him gently on the cheek and shaking your head. He was confused to say the least, looking at you quizzically in the hope that you’d explain what you meant.

“I like you, like, like like you,” you blabbered looking down at your hands, “like a lot. And I know you just asked me to be your date to get back at Nat.” You looked at him sadly with tears in your eyes.

“Oh god please say something,” you panicked.

“Nat and I aren’t… No, I asked you because I like like you too Y/N, but I thought you hated me.”

“Au contraire, Clinton,” you smirked, leaning in towards Clint, your eyes fluttering closed as you moved in closer. Suddenly, you opened your eyes wide, your hand flying to your mouth before you doubled over and emptied the contents of your stomach right onto Clint’s shoes.

“Oh sweetheart,” he sighed, looking sadly at your weak figure, “feel better?” You shook your head no as you threw up again, this time aiming a little further away from his shoes and closer to the garden.

*****

Your POV

“So, once you’d finishing yacking your guts up, I got you into the car and brought you back to my place. I didn’t feel safe leaving you on your own I’ve heard stories of people choking on their own vomit and I got was worried that you’d throw up again. You got yourself changed while I made up the guest bed but you must have decided that mine was more comfortable because when I got back you were curled up and fast asleep,” He smiled sheepishly, “and that brings us back to the present.”

“Wow, that was a ride,” you laughed looking at Clint, “so what now?” Your confidence from last night had clearly come up with your drinks.

“I thought you hated me,” Clint whispered, “we used to hang out all the time, we were really close but now, we don’t really see each other, and when we do you’re short and kind of bitchy.”

“Oh Clint, I’m so sorry,” you apologised, “I thought that you were dating Nat, the more time we spent together, the harder I started to fall for you. I didn’t want to have my heart broken so I pushed you away, hoping that my feelings would disappear” You explained, “but, evidently not.”

“Oh honey,” Clint chuckled, using his index finger to gently tilt your head up to look at him, “Nat’s like a sister to me, I- we- just no,” he shivered and wrinkled his nose at the thought, “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, we could have gotten to this,” he leant in and quickly pressed his lips to yours, “a whole lot sooner.” Your face heated up as the widest smile stretched across your face, one which was mirrored on his too.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” you pulled Clint in by the back of his neck, crashing your lips onto his. He returned the kiss just as passionately, rolling the two of you so you were on your back and he hovered above you, pressing soft kisses all over your face.

“We’ve got lost time to make up for.” He arched his eyebrows playfully before connecting your lips to his once again, and nothing had ever felt so right.

[meganlpie]

You Shouldn’t Drink Tequila

Wrote this for @littledarlinhavefaithinme 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You Writing Challenge. I got the prompt: I hate him/ Well you’ve chosen the perfect revenge: mainlining tequila.

I do not own Clint or Natasha. They belong to Marvel. 

Word Count: 1,312

Warnings: A little angst and some fluff, humor, mentions of drunken behavior

Pairings: Clint Barton x fem!reader, mentions of past!Loki x fem!reader

The moment you saw Loki, you knew the night was going to take a bad turn. The two of you had been lovers once, but it had ended badly. Now he'd shown up at Tony's party with a new lady on his arm. You didn't care about that. What you did care about was the fact that it seemed like he was trying to flaunt himself and her everywhere.

         The smug look on his face made you want to slap him until he couldn't see straight. However, the last time that happened, Pepper threatened your job. You didn't want that. You enjoyed your job with Stark Industries. That left one option. Drinking until you couldn't see straight. Your turned on your heel and headed toward the bar that Tony always had at his parties.

         "Tequila, Nat and keep it coming please." Natasha raised a brow at you, but nodded. A moment later, she slid a shot of tequila your way. You downed it quickly and she refilled. And again. And again. And again until you lost track of how many you'd had. The annoyance you'd felt up on seeing Loki had worn off, but you weren't feeling like yourself.

         "You know what, Nat? I think I should just swear off men altogether," you said. Or at least that's what you thought you said. What came out was just some slurred together words. Natasha chuckled softly and shook her head. She waved to someone over your shoulder. You soon felt a hand wrap around your waist. "Hey, watch it buddy." You looked too see that it was your friend Clint. You smiled.

         "CLINT! I MISSED YOU!" you cried a little too loudly. Clint practically dragged you off the barstool and outside. He sat your down on the nearest chair as he waited for the valet to bring his vehicle. Loki appeared a moment later with his girlfriend. He nodded curtly at Clint before his eyes found you. You flipped him off while you tried not to fall out of your chair. Loki rolled his eyes but before he could say anything, the valet returned with Clint's truck.

         Clint helped you into the truck and got in without saying a word. Only when you had been driving several minutes did he speak. "So that's why you were drinking. Loki." You scoffed. "Ugh. I hate him." Clint couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, you've chosen the perfect revenge: mainlining tequila." You giggled, something Clint loved hearing.

         "You're funny, Clint. I've always thought you were funny. And smart. And cute...like really cute. You have pretty eyes." Clint shook his head. He knew you were just saying those things because you were drunk, not because you really meant them. "Go to sleep, Y/N." You firmly told him no. "I don't want to. I want to talk to you. I gotta tell you stuff. I gotta tell you that I went out with Loki to get over you. It worked too. A little too well. He's such a prick."

         "You don't mean any of this, Y/N. I'm going to take you home and let you sleep it off." You protested the entire way back to your apartment. Clint had to physically grab you out of the truck and hoist you over his shoulder to get you inside. Turned out to be a bad idea when he stopped outside your apartment and you proceeded to throw up all over his back.

         "Sorry," you muttered as Clint set you down inside. You were looking a little more sober than before. "I-I think I have a shirt of yours here you can put on." You took an ungainly step and tripped into Clint. He caught you before you could stick your hand in the sick on his back. "Just...go get in bed. I'll find my shirt."

         Finding the shirt was easy enough. Clint knew exactly which one it was since it was your favorite of his. He also noticed several other pieces of his clothing from the last time he'd crashed there. After he changed shirts, he grabbed a glass of water and some aspirin out of the bathroom. He expected you to be passed out on your bed, but you weren't. "Stay with me?" you asked in a soft voice.

         Clint knew it was a bad idea. He didn't want you to think that he took anything you said while you were drunk to heart. But when he looked into your pleading eyes, he relented. "Sure. Lay down." With a small smile, you did as he said. Clint kicked off his shoes before climbing into bed with you. You snuggled close to him and whispered as you drifted off to sleep. "I love you, Clint." Clint bit back a sigh. You wouldn't remember any of this in the morning, but he would. He kissed the top of your head. "Love you too, sweetheart."

         The next morning, Clint was up before you. He decided to get up and cook you some breakfast. But first he needed a shower. He grabbed the clothes he'd seen last night and grabbed a shower. Sure, he smelled like you know, but it was better than smelling like a bar. Now he could cook breakfast. And that was what woke you.

         You came staggering out of the room as Clint was plating up breakfast. "Morning, Sunshine!" You let out a groan and shot a glare in his direction. Clint laughed softly. "You know, you really shouldn't drink tequila, Y/N. It gets you so much more drunk a lot quicker than anything else." You waved him off as you sank down in a chair. Clint pushed a cup of coffee your way.

         "What happened last night?" Clint glanced at you from the corner of his eye. "I figured you wouldn't remember. Let's just reiterate that you shouldn't drink tequila." He was refusing to meet your gaze. You narrowed your eyes. "Clint...what happened?" Clint licked his lips. "You said some things you didn't mean and I put you to bed. That's it." You pushed the plate away. "Clinton Francis Barton, you never lie to me. Don't start now."

         Clint sighed. It wasn't often that you used his full name. "Okay. You said I was funny. And smart." Your brows rose a little. "That's not so bad." Clint cleared his throat and went on, "You also said I was really cute and had pretty eyes." Your eyes widened. It was obvious that you hadn't intended on saying anything. "Oh god, shoot me." Clint laughed then you asked what else.

         "You asked me to stay with you. As you were falling asleep you said-you said." He was having trouble getting the words out. "I said that I love you, didn't I?" Clint nodded, prompting you to let out yet another groan. "I'm sorry, Clint. That wasn't how I wanted to tell you. I was really hoping for something more romantic." Clint froze in place. You had meant it?

         Suddenly, you said, "Wait! I thought I heard you say it back." Clint felt the blush creep up his neck to his face. He turned away from you. Why was he acting like a lovesick teenager? You were his best friend not some stranger. He heard the chair scraping across the floor and soon felt your arms wrap around him. You rested your cheek on his back.

         "I did mean it, by the way. I do love you, Clint," you whispered. Clint turned around so he could see your face. "I meant it too." You smiled and he leaned in to kiss you. Then he suddenly pulled back. "No offense, Y/n, but really, you shouldn't drink tequila." You brought your hand up to your mouth with an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry. To be continued?" Clint beamed. "Try and stop me." He placed a kiss to your forehead and let you go brush your teeth.

(a/n: I hope you like it!)

Tagging: @brewsthespirit-blog @esoltis280 @aikibriarrose @jotink78 @ghostie-writes @iwillbeinmynest @mala-firebringer

[benbarnesfrustration]

Black Days 2

I received an ask about making my one-shot Black Days into a series, and I was considering it when I came across the 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You Writing Challenge. All the pieces started to fall into place. Here we go, and I hope you enjoy!

Prompt 1:  “I loooove your Black Days fic and want more. Would you consider making that a series?”

Prompt 2:  10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You Writing Challenge #41: “Unless she kicked the crap out of your dumb butt, I don’t wanna hear about it”

Rated T for angst and language, but part one is rated M for all the smut.

TW: discussion about war-like situations, references to sex, language, training with weapons

Word Count: 1975

Black Days Part 1

It had been a few days since the ambush outside of Kandahar, and your military base was abuzz about what went down. Lt. Russo and yourself were thoroughly debriefed, and as the only two survivors of the attack, you were treated like minor celebrities among the other military personnel. It was determined by the general in charge that everything was done by the book, and there really was nothing else you could have done to avoid the loss of life, which ended up totaling 16 American troops, five Afghan soldiers, and six al-Qaeda fighters. War was messy, and Kandahar was nothing but one big fucking mess.  

You were successfully extracted from the bombed out old hospital in which you took shelter. While waiting for help, Lt. Russo had skillfully dug a bullet out of your arm and then...well. Things took an unexpected turn. Psychologists speak of such moments of heightened sexual arousal after a traumatic event; it’s the mind’s way of coping with something horrifying. It also didn’t help that the Lieutenant was an extremely good looking man-- the guy looked like a model. 

You hadn’t seen him since the debriefing. You figured he was busy, especially considering he was an officer.  Or perhaps he was just avoiding you, since the two of you crossed a line that could cost him his military career. Either way, you weren’t surprised.

“So I did something really stupid,” Russo said.

Frank looked up from his guitar and fixed his best friend with a look. “What’d you do this time Bill?”

Russo lay on his cot staring at the ceiling of their tent. “I had an intimate encounter with a subordinate.”

That surprised even Frank. “Jesus Bill. That’s bad even for you,” he replied, shaking his head..

“OK, before you get ideas, let me tell you it's probably not what you’re thinking,” Billy said while sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the cot to face his friend.

“Oh? Then how was it Bill?”

Russo sighed. “We had barely gotten out of that attack alive. We were alone, injured....adrenaline, pheromones...”

Frank laughed. “Spare me the chemistry lesson.”

“I kissed her,” Russo said, and looking embarrassed. “And then--”

“Unless she kicked the crap out of your dumb butt, I don’t wanna hear about it,” Frank interjected with a chuckle.

“No,” Russo said, grinning. “No, she was into it. And let’s say things progressed from there. A lot.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You telling me you slept with this girl? A soldier??” Frank hissed. “You’re going to be court-martialed, you idiot.”

Bill shook his head defensively. “The fraternization policies are stupid, if two people who almost died can’t blow off a little steam--”

“Listen to yourself.” Frank interrupted. “What if she talks? What if she has second thoughts and reports you?” 

“She won’t. It’s not like that. We had fun, that’s all.”

“You didn’t take advantage of her?” Frank asked, pointing a finger at Russo.

“Christ, Frank, No!” Russo replied defensively. “I actually tried to stop it at first.”

“You think that’ll matter?  You’re the officer Bill. You should have known better.”

"Well I’m sorry I told you Frank. Jesus, don’t have to judge me!”  Russo slumped back against his pillow and ran a hand through his hair.

Frank sighed, and when he spoke, he was careful to use a gentler tone. “I’m not judging you. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. So what are you going to do?”

“I have no idea,” Russo said. “What can I do?”

Frank shook his head. “If I told you to drop it, would you listen?”

“Probably not,” Russo laughed.

Your dreams were all over the place. One minute you were running from bullets, and the next you felt hands on your skin. Deep kisses, then blood. Chaos and terror warred with ecstasy. You couldn’t sleep more than an hour or so at a time, and you were feeling the strain during the day.  

On the fourth day after the incident, you were standing at your locker, buttoning your fatigues with shaky fingers, when a honeyed voice pulled you out of your sleep-deprived daze.

“How’s the arm, Corporal?”

You jumped and slammed your locker door shut with a loud bang, revealing the face of Lt. Russo. He looked good, even though the shrapnel he took to the scalp left a mottled bruise on the upper left area of his forehead.

“Oh! I...uh...” you stammered, surprised. “Sir. Yes. The arm. The arm is good. The corpsman who stitched me up said you did a great job removing the bullet, thank you, sir.”

Russo nodded. “Curtis Hoyle is a buddy of mine. He told me he looked after you. He’s the best corpsman the Navy’s ever had.”

“He has a good touch,” you agreed. “And... how are you, sir?”

Russo shrugged. “Oh you know. Hanging in there.”  You noticed that he looked tired too. The two of you simply stood looking at each other for a moment. You got the impression that he was trying to decide what to say, and you also were at a loss.  He sighed. “I wanted to check in on you sooner, but I had some pressing things to attend to.” 

You nodded. “Of course, lieutenant.” He smiled then, and it lit up his whole face. He reached out and gently brushed a lock of hair away from your eyes that had escaped your bun. It was over in a flash, but you broke out in gooseflesh all the same.  “See you around Corporal,” he said, and headed off, smile still on his lips.

“Sir,” you said distractedly to his departing form, and felt that telltale butterfly flutter in your stomach. You silently cursed your excitement. So Russo touched your cheek...so what? It would certainly be for the best if nothing else happened between the two of you. He was an officer, and you were his subordinate. There were fraternization rules forbidding this sort of behavior, but you wanted his hands on you again...his lips, his tongue...all of him. You took a deep breath and tried to shake off the thoughts that were making your heart beat faster. After all, this was a dangerous game you were playing at. The simple fact was that it was not worth jeopardizing your career over one man, and you had to accept that.

You didn’t see Russo the next day, but the following day, a private came trotting over to you. “Corporal! Lieutenant Russo wants to see you in the training tent,” he said, before heading on his way. You swallowed anxiously, no idea what this could be about.  You made your way over to the training tent and were surprised to find Russo alone, standing with his back to you reading some paperwork. He turned around when he heard you approach, and smiled.  “Corporal,” he nodded in greeting. 

“Lieutenant,” you replied.  “What can I do for you?”

“It’s been almost a week since your injury, and I thought I would see how you’re healing up.”

“I’m a little sore sir, but I’m fine,” you replied.

Russo walked over to a weapons rack and gently ran his hand over the top of the various training weapons leaning against it. “Have you been getting in any practice?” He turned his head to look at you. “Gotta stay sharp, Corporal.”

“Not any formal training, sir. Just sit ups and runs, that sort of thing. Trying to take it easy on my arm.”

Russo picked up a wooden training staff and circled around your left side. Without warning, he tossed you the staff and you instinctively grabbed it with your injured arm-- your left-- and you grimaced in pain. You fixed Russo with a look. “You did that on purpose. Sir.”

He smirked. “Think the bad guys care if your arm hurts?”  You shook your head, and he returned to the training rack to grab another staff.  He walked back to you and stood in front of you. “Ok then,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

You nodded, took a deep steadying breath, and stepped forward.  "Sensei,” you said simply, and bowed your head.

Russo chuckled, then before you could say anything else, he leapt into action. You raised your staff to block his strikes, parrying and dodging to the best of your ability. You were in good shape, but he clearly had more strength and experience than you, and you found yourself losing ground. You tried to change tactics to gain the offensive, trying-- and failing-- a couple of times to trip him up. You spun and changed direction, so he had to turn around to face you. His eyes glinted mischievously, and you realized that he was really enjoying this.

His long arms and legs were also a serious disadvantage for you, but you were determined not to make it too easy for him.  The staves were a blur as they spun, swooped, and struck. Your gunshot wound was on fire, and the surrounding musculature was burning from the strain. You started to sweat as you struggled to parry all of his strikes, which didn’t show any signs of slowing. The man was fast.  You were about to lose all hope of ever gaining the upper hand when you successfully swept his left leg, and he went down to one knee.

“Well done,” he said breathlessly, and he was smiling as he said it. “I’m impressed, Corporal,” he added as he got to his feet.  

You chuckled. “You’re kicking my ass, sir.” 

He laughed. “Not exactly, but if you’d like me to be more rough on you....”

“Oh sure, why not?” You replied, and rolled your eyes, making him laugh again.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” he said, and lunged at you.  The staves whirled and clashed again, and this time, your grunts were more audible as you tried like hell to take him down. Your arm was beyond pain at this point; just a numb lump that was somehow still managing to grasp one end of your staff.  You managed to glance a blow off of one of his shoulders, but before you could feel too proud of yourself, he had somehow managed to hook his staff behind your right knee and yank to the side; not only knocking your foot out from under you, but completely throwing off your balance.  You started to go down but instinctively reached out to grab the only thing in your reach, which was Lt. Russo.

You fell backward onto the mat, taking him with you by the collar of his shirt.  You lay there panting for a moment. He was on top of you, but holding himself up by his forearms so as not to completely pin down your upper body. You said nothing, just looked at him. God, you thought. He’s so fucking attractive. You suddenly wanted nothing more than for him to kiss you and tear your clothes off.

You feared that you had let something show on your face when he broke out into a brilliant smile. “What?” You asked.

He remained silent and just looked at you. You could see his eyes moving along the features of your face.  It was agonizing, being this close and doing nothing.

“Nice match,” he said suddenly, breaking the spell and lifting himself off of you. He held out a hand to help you up, which you  grasped with your good hand. You stood up and faced him. “Thank you, sir,” you said quietly.

"We should practice more. You’re good, but I think I can show you a few things.” He tossed you a towel. You grabbed it and mopped your forehead.

“I’d like that sir,” you said as you cleaned yourself up. You tossed the towel into the hamper.  “Thank you. I guess I should be getting back.” You turned to walk away.

“Corporal,” he said, and you stopped to look back at him. “When it’s just us, please call me Billy.”

You smiled. “Only if you call me Y/N.”

“Deal,” he said, grinning. 

Next chapter

@littledarlinhavefaithinme

[jbbarnesandnoble]

Hearts In Secret: Part One

Pairing: King!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader

Series Summary: People always assume that princesses are free to do as they wish, to dress and act how they want to. In fact, it’s actually quiet the opposite.

Chapter Summary: Y/n meets a charming, blue-eyed, stranger in the woods (don’t talk to strangers you meet in the woods kids) 

Word Count: 2,963

Warnings: Fluffy at times(?) this is no where near being historically accurate, think of it more as a fairy-tale than anything else

Prompt: “Do you even know my name, screw boy?”

Series Masterlist

A/N: This is my entry for @littledarlinhavefaithinme ‘s 10 Marvelous Things I Hate About You writing challenge! I spent like ten years on this but I managed to get it done. A huge thanks to my wonderful beta, @itsbuckysworld , I couldn’t of done it without her! I hope you guys enjoy this mini-series of mine:) I love hearing your feedback! Let me know what you guys think

(gif isn’t mine)

She sighs, relishing in freedom, breathing in the cool wind, dancing across her face and though her windswept hair.

The only time Y/n feels free is when she manages to escape from her royal duties. There's no pressure, no high expectations, no title, just her and her trusty steed. Riding freely through the open fields.

When she rides like this, alone, she never bothers with a saddle. She feels more herself when she goes out bareback  -when you're trying to make a quick getaway, tacking up a horse takes too much time anyway- To her mother it's considered improper and unladylike. Not that Y/n cares.

Galloping through the open green fields and lush forests is the only reason she manages to keep sane. Belonging to a royal family is not all glamorous tiaras, ball gowns, and jewels. It's a lot more suffocating and tiresome.

She whispers a small ‘whoa’ indicating for her horse, Luna, to slow down to a walk. Luna has always been wild at heart, maybe that's part of the reason Y/n felt so connected to her. Neither of them like to be controlled, they aren't meant to be tamed. They're meant to be free.

“We could run, so easily. With no one to stop us, we could run away. Never to be controlled again.” she speaks to Luna. Despite her not being able to answer, she's a great listener. Luna neighs softly in response. “Yeah, they would find us. If only it were that simple.” she lets out a defeated groan.

She watches as Luna's head picks up. Hearing something Y/n cannot. She can see in her big brown eyes she's nervous. “Easy girl.” she speaks softly to the white horse. Patting her neck. “It's okay.”

Suddenly she hears what Luna heard long before her. The sound of horses racing through the field. Knights, “They found us sooner than expected girl.” Y/n gives her a light kick in the side. Luna breaks into a gallop, racing away from the knights chasing after them. She steers her loyal horse down a small path through the thick evergreens. “Whoa, it's okay, they won’t find us here.”

She must be too distracted by the sounds of horses and the incoherent shouts of their riders to hear the trees moving behind her. “We must head back before mother gets angry with me.”

“I don’t suppose you are hiding?” the sudden question makes Luna spook, causing her to rear. She mutters soft, calming words to her horse. Hearing Y/n’s voice soothes her instantly.

Once she has calmed, Y/n turns her head, she is met with stunning light blue eyes. ‘whoa’ she takes a moment to collect herself before speaking. “I suppose that depends on who is asking.” she eyes him suspiciously. His clothes don't look like that of a knight, in fact he seems to be dresses as a commoner. Though she has been deceived in the past.

He lightly kicks his horse, urging it to walk towards her. “Bucky.” he shoots her a charming smile. One she knows he must use often. “Tell me Sir Bucky?” she questions, raising an eyebrow at him. “Just Bucky.” he corrects her.

“Okay Bucky.” She says, a hint of unease laces her voice. “Tell me, why are you in the woods hiding from the royal knights?” a small chuckle escaped his lips. “I never said I was hiding, love.” she opens her mouth to answer, only to close it again. Letting out a huff. He guides his horse next to hers. His blue eyes never straying from her own. “Why is it that I found a maiden such as yourself, out riding a horse with no saddle?”

“I find it a nice change.” she shrugs, stating bluntly. He quirked an eyebrow at her, “From?” She laughs at his question, busying herself by braiding Luna’s mane. “That’s not for you to know.”

“Then enlighten me, what can I know about you m’lady?” she considers his question for a moment, taking a break from Luna’s mane while she thinks. “Where is the fun in simply telling you?” she smirks at him.

“Are you going to keep me guessing?” she nods in excitement. “That is exactly what I plan on doing.” he can’t help a laugh that escapes his lips. He runs a hand through his short brown hair.

“Answer me this, do you even know my name, screw boy?” he looks at her, shock and amusement evident in his baby blues. “Such words coming from a fair lady such as yourself.” he jokes, smirking at her. To which she only rolls her stunning eyes. He answers, “How can I? When you have not told me.” she doesn’t miss the hint of mirth in his tone

“I presumed as such.” she smiles slyly at him. Letting out a small sigh of relief. ‘At least he doesn’t recognize me.’ She can't help but think. Hoping he genuinely doesn't recognize her. It’s then she notices that the knights are long gone. “I must go.” she kicks Luna gently, telling her it’s time to go.

“Wait-” she turns her head, looking back at him. “If you’re going to ask for my name, worry not, I have a feeling we'll see each other again.” she gives him a wink before galloping off into the open field.

- - - - - 

By the time she gets back to the palace the sun has already started to set. She sneaks in the back, knowing at this hour few people will be passing through.

“Here we are Luna.” she speaks softly to her horse. While leading her into her stall. “Mother isn't going to be pleased with me, is she?” Luna neighs and shakes her head. Like she actually understands. Which causes Y/n to laugh.

Y/n stands there, brushing Luna's main. When her lady-in-waiting, Wanda, walks in. “Lady Y/n, did you go out riding again?” she turns, facing whoever interrupted her thoughts. She hums in response. “Where else would I have escaped to? If I'm going to get in trouble for leaving I might as well have some fun with it.” when she laughs there is a sadness behind it, or maybe it’s bitterness. “Your mother has been looking everywhere for you. You must get back to her immediately.”

“Thank you Wanda.” she says, setting the small comb down. “Shall I tell her you will be inside after washing up?” Y/n sighs before stepping out of the stall, closing the gate behind her. “No need, I shall inform her myself.” dusting her hands off on her dress, she matches past Wanda.

“She won't be pleased by your appearance. You might reconsider?” she doesn't bother looking at Wanda. Instead she looks ahead, watching a few children run past playing carefree and happy. “No need to worry, this won’t be the first time I have disappointed her.”

She makes her way leisurely down the vast, empty hallways. Wanda left her side only when she got stopped by one of the new palace workers. She stops when she spots her royal guard, Sir Samuel. Walking hastily down the hallway. Needless to say, he doesn’t look all that pleased. She doesn’t have to think hard to know the reason behind his expression.

“The Queen is asking for you.” he says coldly. She can only assume how much trouble she must have caused him for not only running away, she didn’t even having her guards with her. “So I have been told.” she sasses him. Running a hand through her windswept hair.

“Where did you run off to this time?” she looks up to find him smirking at her. “The fields just north of the palace of course, where else would I have gone?” she teases him, bumping into his shoulder.

Ever since Y/n was little she never had many friends. Which caused her to spend most of her time in the stables, or interacting with the help. Her parents never approved of course. She got better at sneaking away the older she got. Now that she’s older she has befriended her loyal guards Sir Samuel and Sir Clinton and her lady-in-waiting Wanda. Not to mention Lady Natalia who’s been like an older sister to Y/n. Though she has to keep their friendship a secret. In fear of her parents finding out and sending them away.  

They reach the dining room and she can already hear her mother complaining about something. Probably Y/n never acting like a proper princess. When she steps through the large doors her mother's face falls instantly, taking in her dirty appearance. Her father’s face on the other hand has a look of amusement. He always did enjoy Y/n’s tendencies to not submit to being a princess.

“Where on earth have you been, rolling around in the pigs pen? You’re filthy.” Queen Sarah shouts. Her words echoed through the room. Y/n has to stop herself from making a snarky remark. Instead she straightens her back, eyes never leaving her mothers. “Out riding.” her answer is short, she knows not to over speak, that would only add fuel to the fire. She sighs deeply, rubbing her temples while muttering under her breath. Probably asking herself where she went wrong with Y/n for the millionth time. “Dear, leave her be. Let her have some fun for once.” she looks to her dad, offering him a small, thankful smile. He nods, a huge grin planted on his face.

“Let her have some fun? She can not be acting like this once she becomes queen. She’ll have responsibilities of her own. She won’t have time to... to have fun.” the last words come out like poison. She turns to look at her daughter. “You better not act like this in a week.” her words are hard, laced with warning. “What is in a week?” she looks between her parents. Genuinely confused.

When she knows her mom won’t answer her question she looks to her dad. He smiles at her again. “We will have King James as our guest, he will be staying here in the palace for a few days.” she doesn’t have to ask why the King of the neighboring kingdom will be staying in their home. She already knows what it means. ‘You will be meeting King James as a suitor.’ she has to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from groaning. “You will be present. No exceptions.” the Queen adds. “Yes mother.” she says, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

“Will Steven be home?” her eyes shine, hopeful that her brother will be present so she won’t have to suffer alone. Her father, King Joseph, answers. “He will not be back for another month.” she nods once before excusing herself.

- - - - -

The next day Y/n sneaks out once again. If she’s going to get married she might as well go riding as often as she can before that happens. Who knows what King James will be like. She’s never met him before, she has only ever heard stories about him from her brother. She has no idea why, but they have been friends for as long as she can remember. Though she has never had the misfortune of meeting him. From what she’s heard, he seems like he is an arrogant, egotistical, know-it-all.

She signals for Luna to stop when she’s met with a figure riding towards her. A small smile pull at her lips when she sees who it is. “Well, if it isn’t her royal highness.” she tenses when the words leave his lips. “S-Sorry?” she asks in a nervous laugh. “I’m not-” his intoxicating laugh stops her before she can ramble on.

“Don’t worry, I am only joking.” she lets out a sigh of relief. “I did not expect to see you again so soon.” he says smiling brightly. “Bucky, was it?” she asks him, ignoring his statement. He turns his horse around, facing the same direction she is. Before answering. He only nods in response. “You never did tell me your name.”

She tells Luna to continue walking, “I find it more exciting that way.” she lies, she really doesn’t want to risk him finding out who she really is. “If you won’t tell me, what shall I call you instead?” she thinks about it for a moment before answering. “Whatever you feel is fit. Just nothing stupid.” she smiles at him, enjoying their little game.

“How about, M’lady.” she bursts out laughing, in a way that she knows her mother would scold her for. “That’s so… so, tasteless.” he urges his horse to trot a little, catching up to her. “I don’t suppose you have a better suggestion.” her silence is answer enough for him. “I can assure you that whatever I come up with will be better than m’lady.” she makes a face when she says ‘m’lady’ “Until that day comes I think I will stick with my nickname for you.” she rolls her eyes playfully at him. They let silence fall between the two of them. Walking side by side.  

Her E/c eyes light up with a wild idea. She suddenly breaks their comfortable silence. “Do you want to race.” He looks at her, his stunning blue eyes meet her wild eyes. He chuckles, running a hand through his hair. “Racing against someone riding without a saddle would be unfair, would it not?” she appreciates he’s taking that into consideration and not turning her down because she’s a woman.

“I guess we’ll have to find out, won’t we.” she looks at him through her thick eyelashes, checking to see if he’ll take her bait. “I guess so.” she lets out a squeal of excitement before she could stop herself. “If we’re going to race, we need a few rules to keep it fair.” she hums in agreement. “We’ll race to that tree at the top of the hill.” he points towards the large oak tree in the distance. She watches as a light breeze causes it to dance in the wind. “ We’ll go on three. No cheating and don’t be a sore loser when I beat you.” he winks at her. They both stop their horses, getting ready.  

“You mean, if you beat me.” he mirrors the confident look she gives him. He begins counting, when he says two she takes off. Leaving him behind. “What happened to no cheating?” he yells, chasing after her. “I never was one for rules.” she laughs breathlessly.

When he reaches the top of the hill she’s there waiting for him, already off of her horse. “You cheated.” she can tell he is only teasing her. He follows suit and hops off his horse. “I do not remember agreeing to your rules.” she sasses him. She lies down on the soft, green, grass. Looking up into the blue sky above.

“Do you ever wish you were born someone else?” she asks him suddenly. She rolls onto her side, watching him slowly pet the two horses. His silence begins to worry her. Making her feel stupid for asking such a question. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” she lies back down.

“Sometimes.” he finally answers, sitting down next to her. “Especially when my responsibilities become too overwhelming.” he leans back on his elbows, watching the morning sky. From this angle they can see the sun rising above the trees.

“But then I remember the things that make it all worth it.” she looks up at him, he's looking off into the distance. Watching the skyline. His eyes shine from the morning sun. He has an easy smile on his face. This one seems different than the one she has seen many times before. It's content, peaceful. He isn't joking or being sarcastic. She wishes she could be as content in her duties as he seems to be. Whatever they may be, he seems to enjoy them.

‘What if you don’t have anything that makes it worth it?’ the question burns in her mind, begging to be released. It takes everything in her not to ask him. Steven has always been the one born to rule. You can see it in his personality. He’s made for leading a kingdom. There’s no doubt in Y/n’s mind that he’ll make an excellent King one day. Y/n on the other hand isn’t. She doesn’t know how to rule and if she’s being honest the thought terrifies her. 

They sit there for what feels like forever, talking, laughing and getting to know each other. She tells him all she can without giving away her identity. If he asks a question that's too personal she'll make a joke or sarcastic comment to distract him. She isn't sure what it is, but there is something he isn't telling her. She chooses to ignore it.

“I should really get going.” she reluctantly says. Not wanting to go home just yet. She looks up to find him already standing, hand outstretched. She takes it gladly. “I wish you could stay longer.” he admits sheepishly. “Though, I suppose I should be going as well.” he helps her onto her horse.

“Will I be able to meet you again?” There’s a bit of reluctance lacing his voice. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to meet him again. “Right here, tomorrow evening.” she tries her best to stop from smiling. “I shall see you then M'Lady.” he gently takes her hand into his, kissing the top of it. He takes notice of the small blush that creeps onto her cheeks. But decides against mentioning it.

He stands there, watching her ride away before he finally mounts his horse. “I'm going to be screwed. Aren't I, Apollo?” he pats his horse before riding off.

_____

Part Two