#I don’t think I’m gonna make it to Friday /srs

[sunwarmed-ash]

Voters Choice: Roy x Jamie x Keeley snippet

AN: its gonna start p angsty before it gets happy, season 2 is where sad boi Jamie shines.(BUT S3 THE POLYCULE POTENTIAL EXPLODES) Trigger warnings: physical violence, Drink spiking/drugging (NO SA)

“What's next for Jamie Tartt?”

The obvious answer was to go back to Man City. But much like, well, everyone else in his life thus far, Keeley, Richmond, Love Island, even his hometown didn't want him. And that was just too much to swallow. Everyone wanted him, ever since he hit puberty. And even more once he became a footballer. 

“The fuck you mean no one wants me! I’m Jamie fucking Tartt!” 

“Jamie, you know I love you, you're like a son to me. But now you're like a dead son. Which makes me love you even more. Now get out.”

For the first time in years, he was at a complete and total loss as to what to do next. He didn't know where to go. He couldn't go home. Not after that horridus talk show re-airs on the late night telly and his father starts blowing up his phone with cruel, warranted abuse. He couldn’t go back to Richmond. He couldn't. The team would probably physically rip him to shreds.  

He was lost. So fucking lost. He needed to talk to someone. 

And he doubts even she would be particularly happy to see him….

Fuck!

-

Arguably, his talk with Keeley did make him feel better. She helped remind him at least one person in this world still wanted to get to know Jamie Tartt the person and not the (failed) celebrity and footballer. 

But now that he's left her place, he’s stuck with the hollow feeling of loneliness again. Keeley was just helping him as a friend, and only a friend. Because Jamie’s the one who fucked up and blew his chance with her. And now, well she’s found someone who treats her better than he ever could. She deserves better than Jamie… 

He talked with Ted too, and it went okay, yeah. If anything, it felt nice to tell someone about his dad. But then he had gotten rejected, again. 

‘Jamie, you're a hell of a player, but I don’t think it's a good idea.’ 

Further reinforcing his manager's (and inexplicably fathers) words that truly, no one wanted him anymore. And it fucking stung. Jamie stared hateful daggers at the beer Ted bought him.  

Well, fuck that shit. 

It was Friday night, he was back in Richmond, and too fucking tired to really go anywhere else. If he hopped enough pubs, he would surely find someone who wanted him. 

-

“Well, well well, look who it is! Me own flesh an' blood!”

Before he can even make it to the first pub he wanted to check out, his blood runs cold and stops him in place at the voice of his father. “Surprised you’d show your face in public after such a pathetic and public fall from grace!” Jamie Sr. continues. 

Jamie had hoped, prayed, if he actually gave a shit about praying, that 200 miles was enough distance between him and his father to avoid a ‘bump into’, but it seems like his bad luck just kept coming tonight.

He ignores him. Tries to be the bigger person. Jamie cuts left and turns to try and get anywhere public as soon as possible, but before he can take a step he’s going down. The first hit was solid, and right to the ribs. It absolutely came from his dads hand. Each of his fathers friends took their turn after. Bug was easy enough to avoid, the man was out of shape and old. But Denbo had power behind his fists. Jamie yanks himself off the ground in time to duck one, but practically walked right into the second one. It hit him square in the gut, knocking almost all of the air from his lungs. 

“Fuck,” he wheezes, wrapping one arm around his torso before rearing back and kicking. He had more power in his legs than his arms, and the swift deliverance to Denbo’s sternum with his heeled dress shoe had the older man collapsing on the cobblestone. 

And then, Jamie runs. And doesn't stop until he reaches the back alley of Crown & Anchor again. 

As soon as he reaches the deserted location he collapses, wheezing out his agony. When his back came in rough contact with the brick, he folds like a paper plane. He yanks up and grips his knees, trying to focus on the steady intake of oxygen and not the throbbing unanswered question of What the fuck is he supposed to do now? He could feel the anxiety rapidly building in his chest, it was too much. He didn't have anything to relieve it. 

Someone is shouting across the street, not close enough for him to be able to make out who or if they are talking to him or not. Jamie pulls up his hood and pushes on his sunglasses. He just wants to be left alone. 

“Jamie?” the soft, now familiar voice asks again. Jamie barely registers the soft hand on his shoulder. He blinks up to see the kind, and familiar eyes of his ex, and favorite person in the entire world (outside of himself), Keeley Jones. 

“Keels? Uh, yeah hey.” He says, quickly adjusting himself so he didn't look so fucking pathetic. Girls didn't like that.

“Hey babe,” she smiles kindly, reading through his bullshit as she offered her hand to help him up. He took it. Of course he did. “Let's get you somewhere warmer than the alley huh? Want to come to my place, it’s just a few blocks. We can take the back way, less people at this hour.”

Jamie couldn't process most of what she said, but he nods as soon as she said leave here. 

-

Most of the speed walk to their old shared flat went by in a blacked out blur, but when he was greeted with the familiar scent of sandalwood and citrus he knew he was home. It helped bring some of the feeling back into his trauma-numbed body. 

“I just need to rest a few hours, honestly,” he starts, hoping maybe she’d offer to lay next to him, but then his eyes land on the most emotionally complicated person in the world, and now ‘home’ is the last place he wants to be. Because it's not his home anymore. It's theirs. Without him. 

“Why’s he here?” Jamie asks, though he knows the answer. 

“He lives here,” Roy explained, albeit nicer than Jamie's immediate, snappy tone.

The confirmation hurts worse than all of the physical attacks he’d endured tonight combined. Rejection burns hot in his gut. He’s gotta get out of here. 

“We’re here to help Jamie.” Keeley attempts to reassure, but the panicky feeling only compounds, and he hates the way the spotlight is now on him. Even if they were just trying to help. It was having the opposite effect. 

“I- can’t- this is too much-” he is barely able to get out. 

“Maybe we should get you in bed,” Roy offers. 

That’s enough to stop the panic attack in its tracks, switch railways and turn Jamie’s mood around. His eyes are blown wide in hopeful confusion, and he’s about to agree, yeah, that actually probably would help, before Roy quickly edited, “not- like that. To sleep.”

Jamie’s mouth snaps shut and he bites into his tongue to keep back how disparagingly rejected and embarrassed that made him feel. 

In hindsight, they were probably right. He was exhausted. His body ached where there were surely bruises forming. Yet another thing he’d have to explain away at training, or tonight if they have sex. Jamie needed sleep. Not sex. 

“Yeah. Yeah, alright.”

They didn't talk about it, not really. Roy and Keeley gave him the support he desperately needed that night. They surprisingly allow him to cuddle between their two warm bodies, and it helps more than he can ever make his mouth admit. 

But then in the morning he left, giving them their life back. 

And they didn't talk about it. 

Like it never happened.

-One week later-

Jamie doesn't drink, and it will become abundantly clear over the next few hours why he doesn’t. Part of it is because his fathers lost his entire life and mind to booze, and tried to take him and his mum down with him. But mostly he just didn't like it. Didn't like the smell, didn't like the taste, and he didn't like feeling out of control of his body. But he was in a mood, one that would not be lightened by anything but sex or Keeley and currently both of those options were off the table. 

The idiots down at the end of the counter are trying not stealthy at all to take his picture and he is just not having it. 

“CAN I GET ANOTHER ONE MAE?” he asks loudly in the crowded pub before flipping the three fans off. It only makes them cheer and giggle more. 

“One second Tartt,” she shouts back, though not unkindly, and his eyes go right back into the bottom of his empty glass.  The buzzing in his head was still too loud. He needed something to dull it out. 

“Maybe I could interest you in this, it'll save you the refill time,” An older blonde gentleman probably Ted's age said as he saddled up next to him. Jamie hadn't seen the man come in, or seen him around town really. This pub had a pretty reliable clientele. Jamie has definitely never seen this man before. 

“What is it?” Jamie asked, nodding towards the fruity looking drink with the pink paper umbrella. 

“Mai Tai,” the older gentleman smiles and something about it makes Jamie's stomach turn. 

“Do I look like I drink Mai Tai’s?” Jamie shot back, because he felt almost insulted by the cocktail. He could hear his fathers hateful monologue in his ears discrediting anything that could be considered soft. Not masculine. Queer. 

“You look like someone who might want company tonight, which is why I came over.” His accent claimed he wasn’t from around here and Jamie considers, well maybe, sex wasn’t completely off the table.

“Do you know who I am?” He asks. Tonight, he really doesn’t want to fuck a fan. 

The man tilted his head like a confused puppy. It was kinda cute. Ya know, if you were into that…

“No, should I?”

Jamie scoffed. American’s. No taste in real sport. 

“Guess not.”

“My name is John,” the man said, holding out his hand with a radiant smile. 

Jamie returned it. 

“Jamie.” 

“It’s very nice to meet you Jamie.”

-

Jamie blinks and suddenly he can't tell if they have been sitting here at the hightop for 5 minutes or 5 hours. All of the faces of the pub patrons look the same and it makes his eyebrows bunch together in frustration. At least he thinks they do that, he actually can’t feel any part of his face…

He turns and suddenly he’s face to face with the Mai Tai man and he’s grinning, in a way that makes Jamie's insides churn and threaten to spew. The next moment the man is attempting to close the distance between their mouths and Jamie is acting on instinct. His fist comes out fast, punching into the jaw of the older man hard. 

It makes quite the commotion, because the man shouts, smashes his own glass over Jamie’s head, and Jamie is shouldering him into the rough edge of the counter in an adrenaline fuled rebuttal. 

The next moments pass in a blur. Everyone is screaming, Mae is yelling at him specifically, and then two bigger regulars are carrying Jamie out of the bar. His attacker is conveniently nowhere to be found. 

Jamie just wants to cry because how could this night get any worse?

[10-19-17uswnt]

Not that kind of librarian Sonny- Tierna x Reader

This is my first ever fic and I’m really nervous about it so tell me what you think. Prompt: “I work at a library and you continuously ask me to help you find books about the most random topics, are you on some sort of quest?”

On this particular day when Tierna walks into the Stanford library she stops dead in her tracks when she sees you standing at your desk. You are the most beautiful girl she has ever seen. She is so lost in thought that she doesn’t notice you walking right up to her.

“Can I help you with anything?”

She blinks quickly and looks around confused. Suddenly she can’t remember why she’s here. Panicking she blurts out the first thing she can think of to keep you from walking away.

“Dinosaurs!” 

An adorable blush starts to creep up her freckled cheeks as she realizes she practically shouted at you. You smile softly and let out a quite chuckle.

“Do you have a specific dinosaur in mind?” You say as you start to lead her towards the correct section.

“Uhh no not really” She laughs nervously with a hand on the back of her neck. “I’m Tierna by the way, Tierna Davidson.” She finishes while extending her hand to you.

What she didn’t know is that you knew who she was the second that she walked through those doors. You were a huge soccer fan and even played all throughout high school, but your senior year you were told that if you got another serious concussion it could result in brain damage so you decided to hang up your boots for good to stay healthy. 

Despite what you went through you still loved the game so when you arrived at Stanford you went to any game you could. Tierna is one of the best players to come through the Stanford program so it was no surprise to you when she finally got her first call up. From the very fist time you saw her play you were smitten, and now is no different.

“I know who you are Superstar,” You can’t help but grin as you watch her eyes widen. “I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” You say as you finally bring your hand up to meet hers.

Just as you are reaching the books about dinosaurs you hear your boss call out to you, “(Y/N)! I need you to put these books back where they go!”

You can’t help but feel disappointed at your time with Tierna being cut short. For a fleeting moment as you turn towards her you think she may look disappointed too.

“Duty calls, I’ll see you around Superstar” You say as you bring your hand up to brush her arm. You’re already beginning to walk away before she can respond, but as you look back you see her nodding. 

With her original purpose for coming to the library long forgotten Tierna quickly makes her way back to her dorm room texting into the USWNT groupchat as she went.

Baby T: SOS I JUST MET A CUTE GIRL AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO

Frat Daddy Sr.: Aww shes a baby gay.

Frat Daddy Sr.: I remember those days

Frat Daddy Sr.: It took me like 3 months to ask out my first girlfriend

Baby T: 3 MONTHS?!?!

Not so Baby Horse: Probably not helping worms

Frat Daddy Sr.: My bad T...

Frat Daddy Sr.: I’m sure you’ll be fine

Pressi: Just take a deep breath and tell us about this girl honey

Baby T: I was headed to the library for only god knows what at this point and I saw her standing by her desk and I couldn’t help but stare because she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. By the time I realized that she was standing next to me I had already forgotten what I had came for so when she asked what I was looking for I just blurted out the first thing I could think of. AND she already knew who I was and didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

Dasani: Wait I thought librarians were only hot in pornos?

PewPew: Eww Sonny, not that kinda librarian

The Great Horan: I don’t see the issue here, just ask her out

Uncle: Yeah just go back tomorrow and ask her to coffee or something

Rose🌹: Leave it to Lyss to be the voice of reason haha

Baby T: Just ask her to coffee, how hard could that be? Thanks everyone, minus Kelley and Emily

Frat Daddy Sr.: HEY!

Dasani: HEY!

The next day you’re sitting behind your desk when you see Tierna walk inside. When she spots you she smiles and starts walking towards you. As she gets closer you call out, “I get to see the Superstar two days in a row? Must be my lucky day”

Her step falters as a deep red blush rises to her cheeks. Making Tierna a blushing mess is quickly becoming your new favorite thing. “What can I do for you today Superstar?”

She stands rooted to the spot staring blankly at you. You start to think that maybe she’s not as into you as you thought and maybe you should cut back on the flirting when she finally rushes out, “Doyouwannagogetcoffeewithmemaybe?”

“I’m sorry, what did you say? All I got out of that was coffee. You’re gonna have to talk slower babe.”

Her eyes widen and somehow her blush gets even darker. She clears her throat before speaking again.

“I uh... I asked if you.. if you... had any books on how to make coffee.”

You give her a weird look as you turn to your computer to see if the library has such a book. While you are distracted Tierna facepalms at her nerves getting the best of her once again. She is pulled out her thoughts by the sound of your voice. 

“You’re in luck Superstar, we have one book on how to make coffee.” You say as you get up to pull the book off the shelf and check it out for her. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” 

“Uh..Nope. That’s it I guess. Thanks (Y/N)”

You watch disappointed again as Tierna walks away. Before your brain can catch up to what you’re doing you grab a pen and run after her. “Hey Superstar! Wait up!” 

Tierna turns around slowly and watches as you jog up to her. She’s extremely confused since she thought that she blew it with you once again. When you finally reach her you grab her arm and before either of you think about it you write your number on her arm. When you see the goofy smile spreading on her face as it dawns on her what just happened you knew that you made the right decision.

“Call me Superstar.” You say with a wink as you start walking back towards your desk.

As you walk back you hear a load yell and turn just in time to see Tierna land from her flying fist pump. You shake you head with a smile, this goofy girl held the key to your heart and she didn’t even know it yet.

On her way back to her dorm Tierna excitedly pulls out her phone to update the team.

Baby T: GUYS GUYS GUYS! I GOT HER NUMBER!!!

Pressi: That’s great sweetheart! Now, do we get a name for this mystery lady of yours?

Uncle: So I guess the plan worked?

Baby T: Oh yeah! Her name is (Y/N), and not exactly...

Frat Daddy Sr.: What do you mean “not exactly” it either worked or it didn’t

Baby T: Well you see, I was GOING to ask her out to coffee, but then she was flirting with me and called me babe out of nowhere so I panicked and asked for a book on how to make coffee...

Not so Baby Horse: Oh honey

Dasani: Wait how did you end up with her number then!?

Baby T: She ran up and wrote it on my arm when I was leaving

PewPew: So now that you got her number are you going to invite her to the game Saturday?

Baby T: Should I?

PewPew: You said she already knew who you were, so that means shes a fan right?

Baby T: Good point. Thanks!

Your shift ended almost an hour ago and you still haven’t heard anything back from Tierna. You were starting to worry that you had written your number down wrong when you hear your phone go off.

Unknown: Hey it’s Tierna

Maybe?Tierna: From Stanford

(Y/N): Hey Superstar, I was beginning to think you didn’t like me anymore ;)

Superstar: Oh, sorry lol. So we have a national team game coming up this Saturday in LA and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come watch and like meet the team and stuff

Superstar: But like its totally cool if you already have plans, or if you don’t want to go

(Y/N): I’d love to

Superstar: Really? Awesome. Okay cool, I can’t wait.

(Y/N): Me either, I’ll see you Saturday 

Saturday could not come soon enough, you drove 6 hours on Friday to get to your hotel and relax before the game. Tierna had to leave in the middle of the week to meet up with the rest of the team so this will be the first time you’ll be seeing her since you gave her your number. Luckily you bought her USWNT jersey last year so you’re able to show your support.

You get to the game early so you can watch the team warm up, when your eyes meet Tierna’s you can’t help the excited squeal you let out as you wave to her. She had pulled some strings to make sure that you got a seat close to the bench ans was excited to see that the staff went all out and gave you front row seats.

On the field Emily notices that Tierna has gotten distracted and follows her line of vision. When she shes your happy dance and notices your jersey a devilish smirk appears on her face before she calls out to the team.

“Hey look eveybody, T’s Sexy Librarian is here” Her snickering is interrupted by a thump on the back of her head from both Christen and Ali.

“Get your head out of the gutter Sonnett” 

From your seat you watch on amused at the reaction that your presence has caused. Soon after that the game was starting, the US were playing the Korean Republic and while it would not be as exciting as a rivalry game it was still a very good game. Tierna started and played a full 90 with some great plays on the ball.

Once the game was over and most of their gear was packed up Kelley noticed that Tierna kept glancing back towards your seat behind the bench. Tierna jumped when she felt Kelley’s hand on her shoulder.

“Oh, hey Kelley”

“Just go ask her out already dude, you’ve been texting her non stop since you got here so I think its safe to say she likes you too.” She whispers in her ear.

“Now go get your sexy librarian!” She laughs as she shoves her towards you

You smile as you see that ever present blush start to creep up her face as she walks towards you. When she finally reaches you she takes a deep breath before speaking.

“(Y/N)? I really like you. As in make me forget my on name kinda like you. From the very first second I saw you in the library last week I was awestruck by your beauty. That’s why every time I came to the library instead of getting what I came for I left with some book I didn’t need. If you’ll let me I’d like to take you on a date so that we can get to know each other without a phone screen and 350 miles between us.”

Throughout her little speech your smile continued to grow, but towards the end you could read her face and see that the nerves were starting to fight their way to the surface so you decided to interrupt her before she could start rambling.

“Hey Superstar?”

“-oh uh, yes?”

With a smirk you watch her eyes go wide as you lean forward and grab the nape of her neck.

“Just shut up and kiss me already,”

For once she stopped overthinking and listened to her heart.

[chyrstis]

WIP Friday!

I’ve had some tags throughout the week, so I’m going to cash them all in here, since Friday’s the day and I might’ve been hoping to get this posted last night too, whoops! And I want to thank you all for tagging me even if I don’t always respond quickly! <3 I definitely intend to, but there’s never enough time in a day or a week, is there? 

Tagged by @redroci @tommymillers @jackiesarch @ma-sulevin and @amistrio and @adelaidedrubman !

Tagging: @writerofblocks @twistedsinews @painterofhorizons @hunnybadgerv @cobb-vanthss @shallow-gravy @nightwingshero @ma-sulevin @shellibisshe @jackalopestride @unlikelynick @geronimo-11 @fluttyseed @fadedjacket @weekend-writer @starsandskies @faithchel @belorage @tomexraider @consumedkings @vasiktomis @chazz-anova @aceghosts @ofravensandgenesis @scarlettkat86 (and if you’re already posted WIPs, don’t mind me one bit! no obligation or pressure’s ever intended)

First, a snippet from Lighting the Fuse’s Ch. 2 which I’d love to edit up and post this weekend, so here’s hoping I can kick myself in the butt hard enough to pull it off? *crosses fingers*

---

“Not tonight, hon. Not tonight.” Propping herself back up on her elbows, she gave him a smile. “You’re here now, though. So…how about it?”

“How about what?”

“You ask,” she replied, giving him a lazy smile. “Since I’m clearly on the cusp of benching you if you don’t.”

Sharky clapped his mouth shut. Stood there, rooted to the ground and didn’t let out a single peep. 

That boggled her completely. “Seriously, hon? Nothing?”

It was dark, but Hana could almost swear he was a shade of red darker than her hair right now. “You uh…. See I didn’t think it was-maybe you being asleep kinda threw off my groove a bit.”

Hana blinked at him. Watched a crooked smile settle onto his face as he let a nervous chuckle out.

“Like, like I mean I was gonna-was thinking of maybe doing this sorta-” His words trailed off as he clenched his teeth, swallowed hard, and let out a long exhale.  “Okay, so maybe this shit isn’t exactly-”

A loud sigh came from her left directly from the radio, and the sound filled the entire room.

“…Wait, what the fuck?” Sharky asked, his eyes darting everywhere as he tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. “You hear that?”

Clenching her fists, Hana slowly let her hands relax as she let the tension out. “Unfortunately.”

“Deputy, Deputy, Deputy. I know you’re listening. But I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose. I thought you wanted my attention. Would’ve been glad to finally have it undivided, and yet you deny me the pleasure of hearing a single response in turn. How…cruel.”

---

And a bit more of the Hana/Sharky one-shot I’ve been chipping away at, that’s actually getting really close to being finished too. I just need to jot down a few more moments for it and see if these two can actually clam up long enough to let me finish

---

“Yo, it’s not like I’ve been there any longer than a few days at a time, and half of the shit they’ve dragged me down to the jail for’s legal, just not in any of the spots I ended up doing it.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, which is just fucking stupid seeing as lighting a fire by my house’s fine, but if it gets out to the street and catches on the trees ‘cause it’s extra dry out and the wind’s blowing, suddenly I gotta go in ‘cause I’m negligent or some shit. Then the po-po’s claiming I gotta have a permit to burn in the drier seasons, but it rains fucking plenty here.”

He’d draped his arm over her shoulders by this point, the motion coming so easily from him she hadn’t even noticed at first. Just nestled right into that warmth almost on reflex as Sharky kept on talking, and didn’t want to budge an inch if she could help it.

“Man, it’ll be the driest stretch of the year, and the sky’ll just open up and drop a bucket-load on us ‘cause it’s feeling it, but even if it don’t, anything I start’ll get put out. Just ‘cause I’m around doesn’t mean shit’s gonna go down, or nothing. ‘Cause then phone calls are made, people start looking at me funny, and I’m getting pulled out of my car for jack and shit when maybe I just wanted to take a breather there. Maybe get in a few Zs, take five to ten to jerk it, and they don’t gotta watch that too closely if I’m doing it either.”

She’d been nodding along with him, then stopped. Let that statement sink in as her eyebrows drew together before they rose high on her face.

“…Hon, that’s not legal.”

“Aw, come on, Dep! Don’t tell me there’s some kinda permit for parking out-“

“No, not that. You’d probably get slapped with a ticket or fine, sure, but it’s more about the fact that you were  beating it there.”

“It’s indoors.”

That response came quick enough for her to tilt her head back to look at him. To side-eye him heavily as he shrugged, and damn. She’d curled up to him a lot closer than she’d initially thought. Close enough to-

She cleared her throat.

---

And a little more of the No Cult AU, maybe? ...I may have watched Speed again last night entirely due to this. and it might also be up to almost 8K in length as well, pre-edits, so... Help 

---

But that didn’t solve the other problem. Towing it.

A truck would’ve been their best bet, but with him already there it didn’t make sense to try and scrape together cash for a tow truck, or to fire off a call to anyone down at the compound. His car had been used to drag Sr’s truck out of more than a few ditches without tearing the frame up, so this wasn’t a stretch to consider, and leaving them hanging now would’ve just been a shit thing to do when they didn’t even have a working phone or forty bucks between them. 

And while he’d never been able to get a tow bar to last more than a few months max, he had a few solid workarounds that could still get the job done. One of which he’d seen in a commercial a while back. 

He knew it almost by heart at this point, and cool as it’d be to fix their problem by just whipping his pants off and tying their vehicles together with them to help tow them to the compound, he’d gone down that road before. Hell, not just once, but twice now, and considering he’d been left between getting pepper sprayed and arrested, or having a busted set of jeans and his ass hanging out for the rest of the day, he wasn’t sure he liked where that left him on round number three.

Besides these were a well-worn pair, and they seriously didn’t make them like they used to. Long as he tried not to get too creative with them, they had more than a few good years in them yet. So after some sifting and digging through the trunk of his car, Sharky kept his fingers crossed that he’d find an actual tow strap back there. He and Hurk had been through this dance enough times before that he knew he had one, and crossed his fingers that he hadn’t left it over at Sr.’s place. 

Sure enough, there it was. Fucking majestic, and almost crumpled in the back, Sharky withdrew one perfect tow strap and broke out a few moves to celebrate it before hitching the two together. 

Once it was secure, he told them all to hop in, and while trying to cram one extra person into his car was tough three other people might’ve been pushing it. John regularly had the best seat in the house and still hardly made it more than a few miles before fussing at him, and here they were double - and triple stacking themselves in any spare space in order to take a seat. Man, he was already thinking up ways to relay this story to Hurk later on, but with them semi-settled and packed safe as they could be, he fired the engine up and got them all back on the road. 

It wasn’t a far drive out to Joseph’s but he took his time with it. Drove the slowest he’d ever attempted short of being twelve and behind the wheel for the first time, trying to be extra gentle with it all as the van lumbered behind them.

If he went too fast, they’d tear the back of his car off and lose it. If they hit the brakes too hard, they’d get rammed, so he needed to nail that sweet spot. Keep from tipping from one end over into the other as he played his very own version of Speed out on this stretch of road, watching that needle dance back and forth over that perfect point as he started to sweat a little under his cap.

But he had this. Pressed his foot down on the gas and let up when he needed to, exercising the kind of control that even John would give a silent nod of approval to - which would almost make him the Keanu to his Sandra, except John wasn’t there and currently trying to crawl under any of this shit to keep a bomb from going off - but whatever, it was close enough.

So he watched the mile markers fly by as they got closer and closer to the island, and by the time they rolled through the gate and came to a stop, Sharky let out whatever breath he’d started holding, and didn’t even care when the van nearly smashed into them on the home stretch anyway.  

[intothewickedwood]

Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 6x14 Page 23

Okay what episode do we have today?

Ah okay, a Regina centric. That’s cool.

Is that the same guard Snow stripped naked in 1x16? Whaaaat?! Just looked it up and it totally is! Awesome call back! I’m going to name him Jim.

Oh my God, she killed Jim!!

Wait, so this has to be after Heart of Darkness.

The terrified look on that woman’s face when Regina strokes her chin, looks at her longingly and tells her she loves her. Omg Regina was in love with this woman all along! It was never about Daniel. It was about Christina! I’m naming her Christina. 

They are my otp now.

How did Tinker Bell get out of neverland? Pan decides when people leave, and I doubt he’d let her leave just to pay a visit with the Evil Queen. But then and again maybe it was all part of his big plan.

Oh. Pixie dust doesn’t dictate who your true love is. It just shows you possibilities. That’s not what you said before, Tinker Bell!

Regina, we all know you spared her because she’s your ex-girlfriend.

Actually, this visit from Tinker Bell is odd because she doesn’t seem angry at all like when she, like, wanted to kill Regina in 3x03. How did she go from, “okay. I lost my wings because of you but it’s all cool. I just want my otp together.” to “I’m gonna f***ing drug you with pixie dust and rip your heart out!”?

Also, this is the Evil Queen I like to see. So cold, terrifying and breaking on the inside. I’m not a fan of the humorous one in 6x02. I wish Split Queen was more like this as well. Ah different writers and director. Interesting.

Split Queen: “…not some burlap-loving peasant who sleeps on dirt.” Wish Robin: “Excuse me, I sleep on hay.” Important distinction!

Snow’s so excited about the wedding, bless her.

Lol Zelena just drags Emma’s hand to look at her ring. My girl loves shiny things! And how could I forget, her otp is getting married! She is in heaven right now!

I love Emma just casually talking to Zelena like they’re gal pals at a sleepover. More of this please! 

I can see what sqers say about this scene. Regina really does look hurt by the notion of Emma getting married. There is no heterosexual reason for her to react like this unless she’s in love with Hook. I think this is the only time they hug. Man, I feel so bad for sqers because upon this rewatch I can really see where they are coming from with that interpretation. It’s definitely there. And then they hug because Emma’s getting married to someone else. I would be so upset if that was my otp. What am I talking about, I watched 10 seasons of Smallville as a hardcore Chloe x Clark shipper. I think this exact scenario played out and it freaking hurts! 

In other news, I am so in love with Snow. Have I mentioned that? I feel like I haven’t mentioned it in a while and it needs to be said. 

I’m also in love with David, in case you forgot. I want to join their marriage. Can I join their marriage? I’m joining their marriage. Emma, I’m your mummy now. Don’t think about the age difference too much. 

I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate already today. Can you tell? I feel so alive! I want to share my social security number and be freeee!! I am trying to block out my anxiety about having to move house again next friday. Yep, that’s right, 4th place in two years. I think I will write all of these high on chocolate.

What would happen if you cut your hair with those sheers? Or your garden bush? No, that is not a euphemism, you dirty bastards (affectionate). 

I haven’t had a haircut in 10 years. Holy cow! That’s why my afro is so big, it’s full of secrets. 

Nemo is your dad now, Hook. Even though I’m pretty sure he’s a lot younger than you. 

He called him “My boy.” hehe.

I remember when I thought Hook and Rumple had the same mother. That would have been quite the twist.

I thought that vase of flowers was a giant cauliflower. Did you know broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussels sprouts and turnips are all related? I wonder what thanksgivings are like when they all get together. Probably not fun for them. 

See what I did there xD? 

Emma: “This is my fault. I’m the one who convinced you to bring him here. It’s on me.” Regina: “Emma, you don’t have anything to make up for. You were just trying to help.” Omg, this compared to when she told Emma she’d ruined her life because Emma saved Marian. The development. I really appreciate this change because I nearly lost it with Regina when that was her attitude. 

Screw it, I’m making bean enchiladas. Brb. I’ll save you some!

I’m back! They’re in the oven. Anyone wants the recipe hmu! They’re veggie! 

You just know Split Queen and Wish Robin have a sexy dungeon in their castle. They just do.

Enchanted ropes would have been useful in so many situations.

The enchiladas are ready! Repeat after me, Becky: “I will remember oven gloves this time, I will remember oven gloves this time.”

Robin is so into Split Queen. He wants her to live with him and everything, even though they just met. 

I don’t think that arrow would have taken her to Robin since it takes her to the thing she loves most. She can’t love someone she’s never met. We all know it would shoot Christina right in the ass. That’s true love biatches! Evil Peasant 5ever!

Oh snap! Emma found Hook looking at himself killing her grandfather??! I completely forgot about this!

Why does she say, “That’s David’s father”? Why doesn’t she say, “That’s my grandfather,” or “That’s my dad’s dad”? She hasn’t called her dad ‘David’ in years. It’s like she’s trying to separate herself from the victim as much as possible.

She’s not even a little bit upset he killed her dad’s dad? That that event caused her father so much pain? She’s just infuriated that he tried to burn his memory. I mean, yes, she should be angry about that but where’s the empathy for her dad at least? I didn’t know any of my grandfathers well but if I found out I was engaged to someone who did that I would be angry for my grandparent, angry for my parent and angry for myself. I’m just speechless that that’s all she cares about. It seems so out of character. But then and again Regina had her other grandad killed. 

And now he’s gonna leave because he rightfully got told off. Can’t say I’d offer the same thing but she said, “until you’re ready” not “you’ll never be ready”, dude. 

I think he’s just scared David will punch him in the face at this point. It’s the only explanation for doing the exact opposite thing Emma asked of him.

“Captain Hook is always welcome on the Nautilus.” More like welcome on the naughty list after that stunt.

She doesn’t want a man, Henry Sr. She just confessed her deep, passionate, sexual love for Christina like 20 minutes ago, remember? Sometimes I wonder why I bother. It’s not even subtext, dude. Get it together, man.

Why don’t they fight themselves with magic?

Her dad is so heartbroken the person Regina hates most is herself. 

That is really sad that the person she hates most his herself. I can relate.

Yes! Launch those apples at yourself! 

My conversations with myself be like-

Oh boy. This is too reminiscent of conversations with myself. Yes, I sword fight myself wearing a fancy black, cleavage-revealing dress in my head all the time. Only joking, I wear trilby hats. 

Oh okay. Now they’re tying each other up. I see what this is really about. I still haven’t bleached the “we do like it rough, don���t we Regina?” line from my mind. 

I suppose she did take back some of her own darkness. But I was hoping she would just merge herself back together. That would have been a really predictable outcome, but I just would have preferred it. 

This scene is so weird lol, but it helped me tremendously. I used to hate myself so, so much. You don’t even understand. It was like a violent hatred for myself for not fitting in and for every single little mistake I’d ever made. Then with a lot of self- healing and the help of this episode I began my journey into loving myself. I wrote on a sticky note “Love yourself. If the Evil Queen can do it, so can you.” and stuck it to my wall. Nothing I’ve done is comparable to what the Evil Queen has done and if she can learn to love herself, why can’t everyone else. Anyone who’s struggling with self-hatred, please take this episode to heart. You are worthy of love, most importantly from yourself. Any time you find yourself hating yourself just try to remember this scene and that the flipping Evil Queen of all people recognised the importance of self-love and didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. She damn well gave herself a chance. I’ve heard a good technique is looking in the mirror and telling yourself what you love about you. Even if you’re not feeling it at first, you could get into the habit of it and your brain will start to accept those words as true. Because they are true.

Aww she sees the Charmings as her family. 

Regina: “it did give me hope when I needed it most, and that is just as important.” Oh my God, preach the word Regina! Regina is preaching with fire today! 

It’s like she’s having a therapy session with herself. I need to do that. I really do. Then I need to get actual therapy lol xD. But baby steps! 

Okay. A loophole as to how he can change Split Queen’s story. You know what, at this point I’ve learnt just to go with it.

Can Snow and Zelena be best friends? Please. It’s literally all I want in life. And to join Snowing’s marriage. I’m not asking for much. I’ll talk about it in self-therapy.

Henry’s got Gideon’s haircut now. He wants to be cool like his uncle.

I want to look at myself with the love and adoration Regina looks at herself with. We should all get to that point where we look like we’re about to intensely make out with ourselves when we look in the mirror. 

I know what they were doing with page 23. I just wish Split Queen had changed her outfit so it could have been exactly like the page illustration. But I don’t think it was meant to predict the future. It was just one of Isaac’s fanfictions, wasn’t it? Hmm. I think it was a mystery to him as well if I can remember correctly.

It’s nice that oq shippers got their ship in the end in one form.

Snow is just constantly high up to her eyeballs on hope, bless her. 

Emma needs a dog. She seems like such a dog person.

Also, that enchilada was yumilicious, if I do say so myself.

[sanjuno]

So a thing happened

Hey, so who remembers me saying that “Wildfire Hearts” was a one shot and I wasn’t gonna create an entire crew of OCs for a one shot?

... I’m weak and think too much so here have a crew list.

SHIP: Days of Reckoning

CREW: The Anarchy Pirates

Captain: Portgas D Riot | “Wildfire” Riot

Technically South Blue by way of his mother and birthplace, East Blue by way of his father and part of his childhood

Has eaten the Legendary Logia - Mera Mera no Mi, Model: Ghostfire (because “Hotarubi” reminds me of bog lights.)

Will never admit to anyone what happened in the canon timeline

Wants to bang Marco the Phoenix like a screen door in a hurricane

Completely out of fucks to give

Has died once already and fears nothing

First Mate: Ranger Dustin

Literally a cowboy

From East Blue

If Jesse McCree was a pirate this is the pirate he’d be

Has a Seahorse, likes to rope Seakings when he’s bored

Has roped and tied his crewmates and Captain to stop them from doing a Dumb more than once

Main weapons are his lassos and his ability to suplex a rowdy Seaking, but he’s also got a decent quickdraw – he shoots from the hip!

Hat-tip to Dusty – we loved you before you had a real name, white cowboy hat pirate man

Quartermaster: Occhio D Vittoria

Clairvoyant Clearfin Lionfish Mermaid

A “first generation” D – the D means “Drowned”

Technically an Author-SI but shh that’s a secret so she says she’s from Fishman Island

She’s basically a waterbender but only with seawater

Old enough to have legs and that’s all you need to know

Probably a witch actually

Spends a significant amount of time yelling at the Sea – please don’t freak out when the Sea starts arguing back if it happens just roll with it

Navigator: Kele of Shandora

Shandorian from a tribe that migrated away from the main Sky Island to an arpeggio to get some distance from the fighting

Has eyes tattooed on his eyelids for the lols

Black hair and black eyes, swarthy skin, many tattoos

He swol but built rangy like an alley cat

Has a magic compass

Fell off the Shandora arpeggio when trying to catch a seaturtle as a birthday present for his mother

Has pearl beads in his hair

HC that people from the Sky Islands have hollow bones, so Kele looks scary but is actually comparatively fragile.

Pirate married to Hilda and Tern

Cannoneer: Svan Hilda

Former North Blue noble

Platinum blonde with red eyes, very pale skin

Jacked like whoa – this woman can bench-press both her husbands and the main cannon at the same time

Also very tol

Really likes it when her “little surprises” make a bigger boom than the other guy’s

Frequently kidnapped by other pirate crews; proceeds to take them over through brute force and broken arms before absconding with their loot before they regain consciousness

Pirate Married to Kele and Tern

Bladesmith: Heel Tern

Why are there so many knives?

East Blue native and exactly as stubborn as you think that means

Light brown hair and dark brown eyes, tanned

Basically immune to fire because of Armament before Riot drags him out of East Blue because he started playing with burning coals before he was old enough to know better

Pirate married to Kele and Hilda

Doctor: Angelo Merci

Always smiling. Always.

Lost her medical license when she “accidently” slipped with her scalpel during surgery on a World Noble who was “fond of children”

Originally from West Blue

Technically was supposed to get killed for that but shanked the Marine escort and bolted before the order was given

Pink curly hair and green eyes, dark brown skin

Swordsman: Iago Montoya

Is basically what happens when a flamenco dancer and a swashbuckler have a baby

Very Dramatic Person

From South Blue

Dark purple hair and bright purple eyes, dark tan skin

Is BFFs forever with the Badu Brothers

Likes to accuse his opponents of killing his father to “set the proper mood!” even though Mr. Iago Sr. is running a popular theatre back in his hometown

Shipwrights: Ghal Friday and Mahn Gull

They are both from Water 7 but moved to East Blue as children

Friday looks like a dairy maid pin-up and has a grip that can crush cinderblocks barehanded

Has orange hair and blue eyes, tanned with freckles

Gull is really fond of secret passages and trapdoors

Has dark grey hair and overly large orange eyes, pasty from spending as much time as possible inside the ship

Friday and Gull are either married or co-dependant. We dunno for sure and we’re too scared to ask

They will finish each other’s sentences… and sandwiches.

They share only one braincell and it’s usually occupied with ship maintenance

Bard | Chronicler: Tarone Deff

A Lobster Fishman

From Fishman Island, obvs

His swimmerets have pseudo-hands that he uses to play instruments that need digits

Mostly a singer and percussion player tho

Has perfect pitch and can imitate voices really well

Musician: Dandy Leon

Has a massive embarrassing crush on Badur Mofu

Fails hard at flirting when he likes someone but gets like six different denden codes when he’s schmoozing for clothing discounts

Believes that every fight should have a musical score

Plays instruments beautifully, sounds like a dying cat when he tries to sing

Tucks his shirt into his pants but then leaves it unbuttoned so he can show off his “assets”

Fights with a giant fucking axe wtf you twee little bastard where were you keeping that?

Sniper: Mark Tagger

Has a telescope that is the same size as his rifle, and carries them both on his back in a harness, and that has caused some interesting incidents when he mixes them up by grabbing the wrong one

Best artist of the crew, so he helps Kele make the maps

Rainbow dreadlocks and black skin

Never seen without his visor on

Wears massively oversized shirts – I have no idea if he’s got pants on your guess is as good as mine

Cooks: Badur Mofu and Badur Asif

Twins – have recent Artic Wolf Mink Ancestry that makes them look feral, but far enough removed from it that they’re mostly human

White hair, gold eyes, claws, fangs, and slightly off proportions

Badur Asif talks, Badur Mofu doesn’t talk

Enhanced senses mean they are super strict about seasonings

Lookout | Spymaster: Long Conner

Extremely farsighted – can see an approaching ship 3 days away, cannot see own shoelaces

Learned hypnosis and grifting from his granny

Has a very trustworthy face

He is a lying liar who lies

Apprentice Captains:

Portgas D Ace

Born Gol, took mother’s family name instead

Ate the Mera Mera no Mi because he was shipwrecked and forgot to pay attention to what he was eating

Portgas D Sabo

A “First Generation” D

Formerly Outlook, forgot this due to brain trauma

Joined the crew at 13 when the Anarchy Pirates stole him from the Revolutionary Army

Ate the Yami Yami no Mi because Luffy did a Dumb Thing

Portgas D Luffy

Formerly Monkey

Ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi because he thought it was a desert

Gonna be the next King of Pirates

[valeriethepussycats]

Deleted scene of Assemble Queensbridge Park.

Y/n has taken a little detour to Time Square so she could show Steve all he miss from being under ice. I know what your thinking why would Y/n do that well that how Gambit taught her how to swim.

Throw her in the deep end if she drowned save her if she don’t let her swim.

When they got there all he could see shoppers weighed down by bags, older women dragging a dolly for their groceries, dog walkers, and students with backpacks. You could smell the cooking oil from fast food fryer vats. This was not the New York he remembered. The old New York was never this lively.

“What happened?” Steve thought.

“Time.” Y/n answered. “Everything is different now.”

Steve looks over at Y/n shock.

How could she know what I was thinking.

“Welcome to New New York I came early so I could show you some sites.” Y/n beamed. “And maybe I could show you somemore after we're done with whatever Shield wants us to do.”

Steve looks over at Y/n and smiles. “I'll like that.”

“Now come on let's go get something to eat.” Y/n said as she pulls Steve away from time square.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Y/n and Steve walks in a Pizza joint it’s the kind where they have the red and white checkers and the pictures of all the the famous people that came and ate here like Al Pacino(‘Say Hello To My Little Friend.’), Robert De Niro(‘You Talkin' To Me?’) and Leonardo DiCaprio( do I need a quote.). Anyway, to other people it’s just your average pizza place but to Y/n it’s was the place her father would take her every other Friday and they would eat at the table in the middle of the restaurant so she’s pretty famous.

“This is Castle's pizza the best pizza in Brooklyn.” Y/n broadcasted.

Upon hearing those words the store owner Francis David Castle Sr. looks up and sees his favorite customer. “Stop it Y/n I’m gonna have to star paying you the publicity.” Francis said as he walks from behind the counter and up to Y/n to give her a hug. “Y/n, how you been?”

“I’m good Francis, I need ya best pepperoni pizza for my friend Steve here.”

“For ya friend uh?” Francis said in a smirk.

“We're just friends sir.” Steve said in a courteous manner.

“And he haves manners Y/n you gotta keep him.” Francis proclaimed.

Robin laughs while Steve just looks anywhere but Y/n while rubbing the back of his neck.

“For here or to go?” Francis asked as he pulls out his notepad and pen.

“To go please.” Y/n replied.

“In arrivo la pizza ai peperoni di Sam per Y/n.” Francis said to Sam Guthrie in Italian. (coming right up Sam pepperoni pizza for Y/n).

“Come sei stato Sam?” Y/n asked. (how have you been Sam?)

“Sto bene. Com'è la doppia vita?” Sam said in a curious tone. (I’m good. How’s the double life).

“Same old same old.” Y/n answered.

“You can speak Italian?” Steve wondered.

“Ya Sam and I would come here after school and help out around the restaurant and in exchange Francis son’s Frank would teach us.” Y/n told Steve.

“It was the only place us mutants felt save.” Sam said put forth. “Any who, I’ve been meaning to call you and see if I could become an agent.”

“Mutants? What are mutants?” Steve thought.

“What you tried making pizza?” Y/n said with a broad grin.

“Something like that. My code name could be Cannonball.” 

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“You know Frank is still single.” Francis announced to Y/n as he walks into the kitchen. “He has such bad luck with women.”

"Mamma non voglio non voglio uscire con Andrea ho 26 anni posso trovare il mio appuntamento.” Frank proclaimed to his mother.(Ma I don’t want I don’t want to go on a date with Andrea I’m 26 I can find my own date). “Y/n!! How ya been?”

“I’m Good.” Y/n answered with a smile.

“Who’s the stiff?” Frank asked.

“Oh it is Steve Rogers .” Y/n said declared. “He’s new in town and I’m showing him around.”

Francis walks out of the kitchen and hands Y/n her pizza. “It’s was good seeing ya.”

“You two Francis.” Y/n said with a smile. “Arrivederci!” (Goodbye)

“Arrivederci!” Frank,Sam,and Francis said at the same time.

As Y/n and Steve walks out the restaurant she looks over at Steve like an idea just pop into her head. “I know the perfect place to eat this.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Y/n is sitting on the rim of the bench with her feet on the base of it while Steve is sitting on it,overlooking the a river. Steve goes to take his first bite out of the pizza.

“Oh man this is good!” Steve exclaimed.

“Told ya.” Y/n said covering her her mouth.

“I never really had pizza everything was boiled.” Steve told Y/n. “So this Queensbridge Park.”

“Ya. This is my favorite spot mainly because they flim an amazing tv show here called Person of Interest.” Y/n replied.

“I'll give it a look.” Steve said biting into his pizza.

“I know everything is still fresh on your mind about being frozen....Steve if you ever want to talk about it I'm here.” Y/n said with quiet empathy.

“Thank you.” Steve said with a smile. “I’ve been meaning to ask-“

“What’s a mutant?” Y/n finished for Steve.

“Yes if you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s The label society gives people who are born with powers.” Y/n answered.

“You have powers.” Steve said in a curious way.

“Ya.” Y/n said as her eyes turn white and a hurricane starts to form in the river

“Wow. That's amazing!!” Steve said blinking. “How!?”

“Like I said I was born with it.” Y/n said holding her head high smiling.

“Really?” Steve said still in shock.

Y/n’s eyes turn back to normal and the hurricane disappears. “Here.” Y/n said as he gets off the bench and hands Steve a little book.

“What's this for?” Steve said with a quizzical smile.

“You can write everything you want to catch up on in here.” Y/n explained.

Steve looks at Y/n and start to get this familiar feeling like

“Steve.” Peggy’s voice echoed in Steve’s head.

Peggy?

“Steve? Who’s Peggy?” Y/n asked Steve with a Cocked head.

“An old friend....you of remind me.” Steve answered.

“Was she amazing?” Y/n wondered.

“She sure was.” Steve said with a sad smile. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Y/n said as she goes to pick up the pizza box. “Now come on we have to get Chinese food.” Y/n holds out an hand and waits for Steve to take it. This time when she looks at him she see a relaxed brow free of frown lines and that her smile mentally. Steve hesitate for a few seconds then takes Y/n’s hand and they walk off together as friends.

A/n- In this universe Frank Castle isn’t born yet so the one in the story is his father and grandfather.

[mattbellphotographerstories]

An Ode to High School Football

For the first time in eight years, I’m not walking the sidelines of a high school football game.

It has nothing to do with choice, but instead circumstances.

Sure, we’ve talked about the love of the game and what it means for a community to cheer on their favorite team each week. So much has been stripped away because of no play due to COVID-19.

Just tonight, I rode by J.T. Christopher stadium at George Washington High School in Danville, Virginia. It’s my home field. I choked up a little seeing the old field dead. The lights should be on and the band should be playing loud.

Instead, silence.

I’m not sure I could tell you the difference between a screen play and a flee flicker. But as a photographer I gave Friday night my all.

For five years I was privileged to call it a job. But it was never a job. It felt more like a hobby you got payed to cover for the love of the game.

There is nothing better than standing on the sidelines and hearing the fans get louder as GW moves to the endzone and scores.

As the crowd erupts, the award winning Marching Eagles break into playing the GW fight song.

I’ll sing most of it in my head, still snapping photos, and thinking about all the excitement surrounding the score.

The fight song always reminds me of so many greats who supported and loved the Eagles for years. One in particular, Wesley Clarke Whitfield, Sr. who passionately stood for the fight song each time it played. His legacy lives on with Clarke as the color man for Chuck Vipperman calling games and Burl working the camera in the north endzone.

I think of so many legendary stories that won’t get told during the year. They’ve been told countless times, but each time they’re repeated you might catch or hear something different.

Among the classics, the time a referee thought team pastor Freddy Vicks was cussing at the officiating. It was actually Richard “Loose” Wells — a lifelong Eagles fan who attended games until he died.

The story goes Loose didn’t agree with a call against GW. Well he then mouthed off something towards the sideline ref who heard it and told him not to use that language on the sideline. To which Loose turns to Vicks and says, “yeah rev don’t be using all that language.”

Another instant classic is from 2008 during the playoffs.

While covering Liberty Bealton, Clarke Whitfield was on the field covering what was supposed to be a 28 degree game. After factoring in a 35 mile per hour wind, it was closer to 6 degrees. A photo survives of Clarke in the huddle for the coin toss at that game bundled up and prepared for a cold night.

Another favorite from that season comes from the memory of the late Don Robertson.

During a pregame interview at home, David Wilson told Don and Chuck he planned to do a flip into the endzone.

So late in the game, David ran a pass into the endzone and Don had the call.

“I said, “he’s gonna do it Chuck there it is,” and David completed a flip into the endzone for a touchdown. Flags flew from the referees but they really didn’t want to give him a penalty. It was that impressive,” Don once said.

One of my personal favorite memories came from 2017, when Weber Harris scored one last touchdown against Liberty Christian Academy on the road to seal the deal for GW. I had a strange deadline that night, but I went back down on the field to shoot some file art. I got a shot of Weber going into the endzone, with Coach Nick Anderson jumping in the background. I can still hear Chuck Vipperman’s call for that moment. I shot the photo off to the sports desk anyways, and to my surprise they managed to get it in for the Saturday edition.

There are so many other stories — from Alger Pugh’s championship 1968 and 1982 football teams, to his coaching techniques, to the many legends who went on to play in college and the NFL.

Games may have started at 7, but the fun really began an hour or two before the game.

It was worth getting to the field early to shoot the breeze with everyone in the press box and sometimes whoever was on the field.

I knew Mo Haskins, so when he was a part of the team it was always fun to catch up with him.

Up in the press box, there was no shortage of laughs and good times.

From ragging on college rivalries, to making predictions for Saturday’s college games and Sunday’s NFL games there was plenty to talk about.

Even when Danville was down, there was still football. It has always been the subject on Saturday morning for how the boys played at the area high schools the night before.

There would be anticipation for the E.C. Glass game no matter if it was home or away. You could bet it would be close and sometimes unpredictable.

After each game, I would rush back to process photos. I always gave the game my all, because I wanted the kids to see themselves in the newspaper as they saw their heroes in professional football. It was never enough to me to just snap a few basic photos of the game and leave. I wanted the kids to have the very best.

On controversial calls, I was always running up to Clarke Whitfield and showing him if the refs got it right or not.

After the game, it was time to show Coach Nick Anderson some of the photos, and of course talking to him during the week about the upcoming matchup.

I still wanted to come and shoot the games this year, even if that meant buying a season pass to do so.

And now it’s 2020. The awful COVID-19 has forced plans to be cancelled or changed. For high school football the gridiron’s are quiet. The stands are empty. The concession lines are nonexistent.

High school football, we love you. We miss you. And we hope to see you soon.

[rafespeaks]

(( Jinxes, Mermaid, Goblin ))

Jinxes- If you could be anywhere, where would you want to be?

Probably somewhere in California, Hawaii, or Japan. But only if I could afford to stay & live there and only if Turbomun was with me. Otherwise, I’m happy at home with Turbomun right now. 

Mermaid- What are you looking forward to? 

Right now? Not much. My job is dragging on & while I seriously hope I don’t lose it, it’s a bit of a slog & an energy sinkhole to go every weekday. Especially now I think I’m salaried with a bonus system in place? I still gotta ask about that bonus system. The couple paychecks I’ve gotten since the shift have been lower than when I was hourly. We’re gonna be moving in with Turbomun’s parents, and while that’s a lot more stability for us, it also means a loss of privacy. We’re planning on visiting my family for Mother’s Day, but I’m not entirely sure if we’ll be in a good position financially to do that. & the only other thing we’ve got ‘planned’ is Invader Con. That’s a pretty cool thing that I’d like to go to, & Turbomun’s SUPER excited - but again, financial situation. It’ll feel more real if/when we get the tickets. Other than that, not really anything. Oh, unless you count PMD DX coming out this Friday. I’m gonna get some parts for my Switch on Friday too, so I can fix the chipped joycon locks & the SL/SR ribbon cable on the left joycon.

Goblin- What makes you happy?

Indulging in my special interests, especially if they have a good story. Also making up stuff for my special interest with friends. Usually Turbomun, since we talk a lot now that we see each other in person all the time. 

[fandomwtightsunderneath]

S(w)inging in the Rain | SR

Summary: Steve has developed a crush on his running partner, Reader. He knows that she has a boyfriend, so he doesn’t make a move. What happens when one morning they are running in the rain and Reader’s makeup washes off, revealing a black eye?

A/N: *shrugs* 

Warning: Some mentions of domestic abuse

Word Count: 1680

Steven Grant Rogers was always a man of principals. Always opening doors for ladies. Always greeting someone new with a firm handshake. Always remembering his manners.

Which is why it wasn’t a surprise for him to respect [Y/N]’s relationship, even though he was on the verge of believing he was in love with her.

They had met roughly a year ago, while on their morning runs. Steve was usually out running the National Mall strip (A/N: for those of you who don’t know, this is where all of the museums are located in Washington DC - it’s not an actual mall) before the sun even came up. He had stopped for just a moment to grab a sip of his water when she ran passed. What caught his eye in particular was the way her [Y/S/C] skin looked in the rising morning light.

It took Steve about 3 more days of not-so-creepily stalking her for him to approach her. He introduced himself and had inquired about her running routine. [Y/N] was more than happy to explain how she had just moved to DC, and she was looking for a new running partner - which Steve eagerly offered to do.

[Y/N] had nearly laughed herself hoarse, “I’m sorry! I don’t mean to be rude! It’s just... I���ve seen you on your run Steve, there’s no way I could keep up with you. And there’s no way that I could ask you to slow your run either.”

Steve had come up with the perfect compromise, he would run 4 laps before slowing down to join her on his 5th lap around.

For a year they stuck to their compromise, using every 5th lap to learn more about each other. [Y/N] learned more about life in 1930-1940’s. Steve learned that [Y/N] was a defense attorney in a firm downtown, that she moved to DC from [Y/H/T], and that she was in a committed relationship with her boyfriend.

Steve had to constantly remind himself of that fact, [Y/N] had a boyfriend. He had to respect that. But even as he reminded himself, Steve couldn’t help but fall deeper and deeper in love with her every time they went out for a run.

He loved how [Y/N]’s [Y/E/C] eyes would scan the skies after the sun came up. He loved how on Friday’s she opted out of her usual ‘splash of milk and two sugar’ coffee for tea. He loved how after their runs she would pull her hair out of the hair band in a violent shake.

Steve shook his head, letting a groan passed his lips. No! She had a boyfriend!

“What’s going on over there, punk?” His best friend’s voice sounded from across the table.

Steve looked up at his friend, giving him a sad smile.

“He’s probably thinking about [Y/N].” Sam answered for him.

Bucky’s eyes knitted in confusion, “is that the girl you guys run with?”

Steve responded with a nod.

“Wasn’t she the one who convinced you to watch that musical?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah Singing in the Rain.” Steve smiled at the mention of [Y/N]’s favorite musical.

“Yeah. That one with a boyfriend.” Sam added on, Steve’s eyes narrowing at his other friend. Sam could only shrug, “What? It’s true. I don’t know why she’s with him though. Her boyfriend is kind of a dick.”

Just before either men could respond, Steve’s phone gave out a chime.

A smile graced his lips when he read the name, speak of the devil…

From: [Y/N]

To: Steve

Hey Star-Spangled Man!

Hope your mission went well!

You better not be hurt! (WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT MY RUNNING PARTNER!)

Anyway, just letting you know that I am not going to be running tomorrow.

I’ll see you on Friday.

Steve’s smile dropped. That wasn’t right… [Y/N] went running every day. Without question. She’d run if she was sick. If she couldn’t run in the morning, she’d run in the evening. She always ran.

Steve shot back a text before he could overthink it.

From: Steve

To: [Y/N]

Hey doll!

Hope you’re okay… it’s not like you to miss out on a run.

See you Friday.

Steve frowned in confusion. Thinking back to Sam’s comment, he chimed in, “what do you mean her boyfriend is kind of a dick?”

Sam snapped his eyes back to Cap, “you don’t see it? [Y/N]’s boyfriend is always giving you the stink eye. He always has an attitude. And he’s kind of controlling.”

Steve tried to think back to all of his encounters with her boyfriend.

“Hey Steve! This is my boyfriend, Tyler. Tyler this is Steve, my running partner. Remember? The one I was telling you about?” [Y/N] smiled.

Her boyfriend stood beside her assessing Steve. Steve was standing there with his hand held out, ever the gentleman.

Taking Steve’s hand, Tyler looked him directly in the eye. It’s was a battle of wills, and Steve was not going to back down.

“Captain.” Was all Tyler said before breaking eye contact.

He leaned down and whispered something in [Y/N]’s ear, thanks to the Super Soldier Serum Steve could hear him growl, “I don’t like him.”

Friday couldn’t come fast enough for Captain America. Steve was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

Looking at the rolling gray clouds, Steve couldn’t help but frown.

“Rain or shine. We run, Rogers!” Someone interrupted.

The first thing his eyes were drawn to was the NASA ball cap (A/N: shout out to Chris’ nerdy obsession). Then it was drawn to her tee shirt, right in the middle was a graphic of Steve’s shield.

“Nice shirt!” Steve joked.

The two of them briefly caught up while they stretched. But as Steve began his 4 laps without her, he couldn’t shake the feel that something was off with [Y/N]. When she had jogged up to him earlier she averted her eyes from him. When she spoke it was quieter than usual.

When he questioned it during their lap together, she denied anything being wrong. They had just looped around their lap together, when the thunder rolled over the capital.

Steve was in the middle of one of his alone laps when the clouds opened up and began to pour, soaking him instantly.

He lapped [Y/N] two more times before slowing down for their second lap together.

“So… where’s Sam?” [Y/N] inquired.

Steve was occupied with how water was dripping off of the bill of her hat, “he’s on a mission with Stark.”

Although Steve considered her a very close friend, he tried to keep information about the Avengers as vague as possible.

“That’s cool. And how’s Bucky?”

Steve smiled lightly, [Y/N] had only met Bucky once, but she made it a habit of asking about Steve’s childhood friend.

“He’s good. Still adjusting, but doing a lot better. Thanks for asking.”

Silence fell over [Y/N].

“[Y/N]? Are you sure you’re okay?” Steve’s voice filled with concern.

When she didn’t respond, Steve looked over at her. His hand came down on her shoulder, stopping her.

From his angle he could see her tears mixing with the rain. Turning her slowly, his eyes honed in on the dark mark that graced her other eye. The rain had erased the makeup that was covering it up.

Anger began to bubbling in his stomach, “[Y/N]. Where did you get that black eye?”

When a sob escaped her lips, Steve pulled her against him. [Y/N] let the tears overflow onto his already soaked shirt.

Steve began whispering sweet nothings, trying to calm not only her but himself. “Shh.. doll. I got you. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you anymore.”

The sound of pouring rain was the only thing they could hear until, “[Y/N]!” Someone shouted from across the field.

Even in his arms, Steve could feel [Y/N] tensing up. When she tried to step away, Steve’s arms wouldn’t budge.

“Steve… please.” His heart broke at the sound of her whimper.

Captain Rogers could hear the sound of [Y/N]’s boyfriend’s footsteps drawing closer.

“Steve, he’s going to get mad.”

Steve looked down at the scared woman in his arms, “you’re not going to go back to that monster.”

Pressing a soft kiss to her bruised eye, Steve released her.

“What the hell Rogers? What do you think you’re doing with my girlfriend?” Tyler roared, causing [Y/N] to flinch.

“Would man give his girlfriend a black eye?” Steve emanated pure rage.

Tyler took another step towards the pair, Steve subconsciously moved [Y/N] so she stood behind him.

Steve stole one last look at [Y/N], “it’s like that musical you love so much. I’m swinging in the rain.” He smiled cheekily.

But before she could respond Tyler descended on Steve. What [Y/N]’s dick of a boyfriend failed to remember is that Steve was faster and more trained. Ducking Tyler’s right hook, Steve angled his body and threw one solid jab right into Tyler’s jaw.

After Steve laid waste to Tyler with one punch, he turned his attention back to the woman that held his heart.

[Y/N] stood there in shock.

“What do we do now?” was the first thing out of her mouth.

Walking back over to her, Steve glanced back at the unconscious fool. “We leave him. He’s a piece of shit anyway!”

[Y/N] quickly smacked him on the chest, “language Steve!”

Picking her up by the waist Steve swinging her through the rain, “I told you doll, I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you anymore.”

It took a minute of spinning for her to finally break out a giggle. Steve thought that right then and there that there was no sweeter sound.

As they walked away [Y/N] couldn’t help but add, “two schools of thought here Cap. 1. You threw a jab, there is no swinging in a jab. And 2. The musical is “Singing in the Rain” NOT Swinging in the Rain!”

Steve stroked her bruised eye carefully before kissing her cheek, “whatever you say, doll.”

[language-rxgers]

Happy Birthday to Me (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Summary: It’s your birthday, but you don’t want anyone to know, because you never celebrate it. (Un)luckily for you, today is just about the worst day you’ve had in a long time, but a visit from your metal-armed best friend may just make you feel a little better.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Reader, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark

Warnings: None, I don’t think. Fluff. Maybe some sad thoughts.

You woke up ten minutes before your alarm, feeling rather indifferent to the date despite its apparent significance. Even though today was your birthday, you felt no urge to celebrate or even bring it to anyone's attention.

"Good morning, Miss (L/N), and happy birthday," FRIDAY's voice sounded through your room. You sighed.

"Thank you, FRIDAY, and good morning to you too. Um, but could you not tell anyone else that it's my birthday today?" You asked the artificial intelligence program.

"I could, Miss (L/N), but may I ask why?"

You worded your response carefully. "I'd just rather today be like any other day. I don't celebrate my birthday, and I'd like to keep it that way." On top of these reasons, you couldn't help the feeling that something bad would happen today, something that would ruin your day. Who would want that to happen on their birthday? Whatever, it's not like you acknowledged or celebrated your birthday anyway. Best if no one else did either. 

There was a hesitation from the AI system.

"Very well, Miss (L/N)."

You got up and got dressed for a run, tying your hair in a ponytail before leaving the Tower. You walked to a hidden park you'd discovered a few weeks ago, stretching before starting your run.

Before the Avengers, you had been a sniper with a degree in mechanical engineering for the army, repairing and modifying equipment and weapons for your base when you weren't on the battlefield. During one order with your unit, you were taken prisoner by a branch of HYDRA, who tried to force you to create new and enhanced weapons for them, but you refused, despite their… creative attempts of convincing.

Apparently impressed by your will and strength, they experimented on you, giving you an improved version of the Super Soldier serum. The serum, in addition to enhancing you to peak physicality, also made your mind more advanced in every way. Your brain became like a hard drive, in which they essentially "downloaded" dozens of languages, complex scientific concepts, cultural customs, leaked government information, several forms of combat and martial arts, you name it, to make you the perfect soldier and spy. However, they did not foresee that with all these improvements and enhancements, your mind could still not be controlled by them. You were still you, still had a conscience, and still believed strongly in your morals, which were strictly against HYDRA. It was nearly too easy for you to escape.

When you returned to the army, James Rhodes heard of you and what had happened, and told Tony about you. Your file was impressive even before HYDRA took you, so Tony passed it on to Nick Fury, and the rest is history. You had connected with Steve due to your similar moral compasses and, obviously, your experiences with HYDRA, becoming good friends with him. And then Bucky came along, and despite the long road of recovery and trust-gaining that followed, you became nearly attached at the hip.

As you got to know Bucky, you began to see why Steve had fought so hard for him. He truly was one of a kind, the best friend you could hope for. The kind of friend you wished you could be. You knew you could hardly call yourself his and Steve's best friend, but you knew they were yours, and you cherished them greatly.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of your phone in the pocket of your leggings. You stopped running and checked it, seeing a message from Steve.

All members report for mission briefing in 10 minutes. Wheels up at 0800.           -SR

You headed back to the tower and beelined for the meeting room, where Steve, Bucky and Natasha were already seated. A few minutes later and you had been joined by Sam, Rhodey, Tony, Bruce, Wanda, Clint and Vision. Steve checked to make sure everyone was there, and then began the briefing.

Basically, your intel was telling you that a HYDRA base had established itself in Russia and was allegedly experimenting on volunteers, like Strucker had been doing with the Maximoff twins. Your mission was to recover and download as much data as you could while the others fought off the HYDRA agents. Your mind could retain any and all information you saw or read, and you were quick and stealthy, which made you the best candidate to do the job.

Half an hour later, you were all boarded on the quinjet and taking off. You were looking over a map of the base to decide the best route to take to the data room when you felt a presence behind you. "Morning, Bucky," you quipped, still inspecting the map.

"Morning, doll. That the map?" You nodded. Bucky leaned forward, looking over the routes you'd highlighted. He pointed at the one you'd been drawn to most. "That one looks like it would be easiest in and out. I can cover you there and hold 'em off till you've got what you need. And there's a window down that hall. Easy exit once you've set the bomb."

You nodded, smiling. "You know, Buck," you turned to him, "I was thinking exactly the same thing."

You were almost done downloading HYDRA's files on your thumb drive, reading through their paper records in the cabinets in the corner. Most of it was the same as what was on the computers, until you came across one file in the back. It was written in French, which made it stand out like a sore thumb among all the others in Russian. It was a file on what looked to be some sort of top secret training program. You read as much as you could, but were only halfway finished when Steve's voice broke through your comm.

"Barnes, (L/N), return to the quinjet now. We're coming to pick you up now on the southeast side of the building. 20 second countdown; abort immediately." Your eyes flashed to the computer, which was 96% downloaded.

"Steve, I'm gonna need at least another minute. I've got 96 percent on the drive."

"Not an option, they're closing in on every side. We need to leave with what we've got."

"Steve, just 30 seconds-"

"No, (Y/N), we're at the rendez-vous point right now, detonate the package immediately and get out of there. That's an order."

Bucky broke through the door, panting. "(Y/N), we gotta go now. There's more coming."

You glanced at the hard drive. 99%. You shoved the paper file in your jacket, starting the 10 second countdown. The thumb drive beeped, signaling 100% completion. You practically flew to the computer, grabbed the drive and ran out the door with Bucky on your tail. You raced down the hall and broke through the window just as the bomb went off, the force of the blast expelling you and Bucky through the air. As promised, the quinjet was hovering just outside the window, the door open with Steve waiting just inside. You and Bucky landed on the ramp, climbing up and into the quinjet.

You immediately went to Bucky's side. "You good?" You scanned his body for any injuries before he waved you off.

"I'm good. You?" You nodded. You turned and counted the heads in the jet, frowning when you came up one short.

"Where's Nat?" Relief flooded through your chest when the familiar head of red hair popped out from around the corner.

"Here."

The door to the jet closed and you opened your jacket, pulling out the French file and taking the hard drive out of your pocket. You handed them to Steve, still panting.

"I’m sorry I took so long, but I just needed that last 30 seconds." You knew you shouldn’t have argued with Steve, but you didn't regret what you did. You might have left important information if you hadn't waited, and at the moment, the Avengers could use every advantage they could get on HYDRA. Steve looked at you sternly, jaw clenched in frustration and disappointment. In that moment he wasn’t Steve, your friend. He was Captain Rogers, your superior commanding officer. You hated when he looked at you like that, and it seemed he did a lot more than you'd like.

"Just sit down, (L/N)." He took the file and thumb drive, walking off to the table in the middle of the quinjet and set them down, not taking a second glance at them. He never did work when he was frustrated; he couldn't focus. He usually just went to think by himself until he cooled down.

You sighed and went to one of the benches, leaning your head against the headrest. Bucky sat beside you, patting your knee. "It's not your fault; he was just scared you'd get hurt. You didn't do anything wrong. Your mission was to recover the intel and detonate the bomb. That's what you did."

"Yeah, but I also disobeyed his direct orders in doing so. He's the captain, Buck. What he says goes; you know how he is about following orders. A team listens to each other and works together, that's what makes it a team and not a bunch of people running around shooting guns. It is my fault. But, hey, at least now we've got a one-up on HYDRA." You looked at him with a bitter smile and he sat back. You didn't care what he said. You knew you were right. You were in the wrong. You deserved Steve's frustration and disappointment.

"Don't do that to yourself, (Y/N). Steve's just throwing a fit because things didn't go the way he wanted." You looked up at him. "Nat said things were getting real rough out there for them too, which is why Steve called it off. HYDRA was ready for us, there were more than we were expecting. I could barely stop for a second holding them off from the control room; they just kept coming. But Steve was a little overboard; 20 more seconds wasn't gonna kill anyone, he just wanted us outta there before anyone got hurt too bad." You knew he was trying to make you feel better, but even if what he said was true, you knew you were still at fault for Steve's anger. He was the captain, commanding officer, in charge of making sure everyone came back safe. It was a tough job and you just made it harder by not following his orders.

But you also knew it was easier to just keep those thoughts to yourself.

You plastered on a smile and patted Bucky's hand. "Thanks, Buck."

You headed down to the gym, swinging your towel over your shoulder. You'd booked a solo slot in the training room as soon as you'd come back, knowing you just needed some time alone to settle your mind. You pushed open the door, only to stop as you saw Wanda and Nat on the sparring mat, clearly in the middle of a session.

"Oh, hey-" you checked your phone, frowning. "It's 2:30, right? Or did I book under the wrong time again?" Nat raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, shit, sorry, (Y/N), I totally forgot you had cleared out the training room for now. Can you take my solo session tomorrow instead? I'm helping Wanda with some hand-to-hand and she could use the extra time." Nat frowned apologetically, and you felt your shoulders sag, but shook it off.

"Oh, yeah, no problem at all. It's okay, I don't need need the solo session. You can keep yours for tomorrow, too." You gave Nat a convincing smile, playing off your disappointment as well as you could.

"You sure?" Nat held your gaze, already slightly turning back to Wanda to continue. You nodded.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll just go finish my run. I had to cut it short this morning 'cause of the mission. Work hard, girls!" You waved before leaving the gym, feeling the smile falter before the doors even closed.

You were almost in the elevators when you heard your name being called. You turned around to see one of Tony's many assistants running after you. "Agent (L/N), Mr. Stark's asking for you. He needs your help for a project he's working on in the lab." You groaned internally, but smiled politely at the young man, barely halfway through his 20's by the looks of it. Geez, look at yourself. Calling him young when you were 29. But hell if you didn't feel 39 at this point.

"Sure thing. I'll be right there-" you waited for his name.

“Oh, uh, John,” he finished for you.

"John," you repeated. "Could you please tell Tony that I'm going to change into some work attire and be right there?"

He nodded before turning away, hurrying down the hall. You quickly went to your room and changed, then headed to the lab, dreading the fact that you'd inevitably be spending the rest of your day working on a project you couldn't care less about.

You looked up from the blueprint projected on the hologram screen you were analyzing, to see Tony finally strutting in, with a single box of what looked like Chinese food. Your stomach grumbled, and you checked your watch, realizing you'd been there for four hours already.

"Hey, (Y/N), make any progress yet on what the problem is?" He munched in your ear as he looked over your shoulder, and the smell of lemon chicken had your mouth damn near watering.

"Where the hell have you been? You left me here two hours ago." He shrugged.

"My brain was hurting, so I went to get some air. Clear my mind. You know, the usual," he shoveled more food into his mouth. "Found this cute little Chinese place around the corner. You should really try it sometime, changed my life." You rolled your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose.

"Wish I could, Stark, but I've been here working on fixing your latest experiment for the last four hours. And yeah, I figured out your problem, and fixed it, thank you very much. Did you even double check when you were putting it together to make sure the wiring was correct? Did you even try to figure it out yourself before getting me?"

Tony pauses mid-chew, looking up in hesitation. You scoffed, standing up. "Right, well, it’s fixed, problem solved. Excuse me now, I’m going to get some food.”

You rested against the counter as you heated up what little leftovers you'd found in the fridge from the dinner you'd missed. You sighed, holding your head in your hands as you let the frustration roll off of you. Thank God no one knew it was your birthday, or this day would have been even more awful than it already was. On top of all the frustrating things that had happened, everyone would feel bad for you because it was your birthday. Then, knowing your team- whom you loved and appreciated, don’t get me wrong- they would try to make it up by throwing some big party you weren't in the mood for and, quite frankly, didn't deserve.

The timer beeped and you took your plate out of the microwave, pouting at the table scraps left from dinner. You didn't expect any different; with two super soldiers, five other grown men with huge appetites, and a certain young witch and assassin who could certainly hold their own, you hadn't expected there to be any leftovers at all. You checked the clock, seeing it was 7:15. Your mind wandered to the pile of reports and paperwork to be filled and signed sitting in wait on your desk, and you huffed, resigning to the fact that you were looking at the rest of the evening spent in your office. Yay.

You worked through the papers and forms, trying to get them all out of the way as soon as possible so you could get Steve and Fury to sign them, sipping your coffee absentmindedly. You grimaced at the now cold liquid as it touched your tongue, not realizing how long you had left it untouched as you worked. You set the cup back down and started filling in your last document, only to be interrupted by a gentle knocking at your door. Your head jolted up, recognizing Bucky's large frame filling in the doorway.

"How long have you been working?" He asked. You checked the clock by the door. 10:30.

"A while," you answered, surprised by the scratchiness of your voice as you spoke for the first time in hours. Bucky chuckled.

"I can see that. How're you doing? I've barely seen you since we got back. I didn't see you at dinner."

You smiled at Bucky's concern. "Eh, I've been working all day. Stark had me holed up his lab trying to fix his ridiculous experiment and then I had paperwork. Tony disappeared basically as soon as I got to the lab and came back hours later with Chinese food for himself. Now all I can think about is the goddamn lemon chicken. Promise me we'll visit that Chinese place around the corner sometime? But I did eat-" you gestured to your long empty plate. "I had leftovers."

"Shit, those table scraps? (Y/N), there was barely a meal for one person left over tonight. I'm sorry, if I'd known you were working all day I'd have picked something up to bring to you. It's been kind of a shit day, huh?" He sat on the corner of your desk, playing with one of your pens.

"Yeah, best birthd-" you stopped yourself. "Best day ever," you corrected. Bucky frowned, looking at you.

"What did you say?"

"I was being sarcastic, Buck, geez." You blatantly ignored his implied question. His eyes flashed to the planner above your desk, seeing the date. His eyes widened.

"Shit, (Y/N), it's your birthday! It's your birthday and I didn't even remember! Fuck, I'm sorry! I didn't even realize the date." He was in front of you now, remorse clear in his crystal eyes. You frowned.

"How did you know it was my birthday? I wasn't telling anyone."

"I asked FRIDAY after you made that cake for my birthday. Oh, God, (Y/N), I'm so sorry. I-"

"Buck, honestly, it's fine. I didn't tell anyone. I barely even acknowledged it myself." You held up a hand to interrupt him, forcing on a reassuring smile.

"B-but, it's your birthday, and no one said anything. FRIDAY didn't even give a reminder."

You sighed. "I asked FRIDAY not to because I didn't want to celebrate it. I don't really make a big deal of my birthday. Buck, I told you, it's fine."

He shook his head fervently. "But you made a cake for me on mine. You'd barely known me three months and you took the time to make a goddamned cake. And on Steve's birthday, you got him that book he was wanting and we all watched a movie instead of going to that bullshit party Tony threw because you knew we didn't want to go. Of course we should be making a big deal for you, because you always make a big deal for everyone else."

"Bucky-"

"You made a cake," he said quietly. You sighed. "You're always putting everyone first. You always think of everyone else, and you put yourself last. On missions, you don't get on the jet until everyone else is first, and even if you do, you don't relax until you know everyone's there, safe. You always step up when someone needs help with training, and you never hesitate when Tony's asking for help in the lab or Vision asks if you'd like to make some new recipe with him. You're there for Wanda when she's having trouble handling everything that's going on, and you take over Clint's paperwork when he has a family emergency. And on top of all that," he takes your hands in his, pulling you up from your chair. "You're always there for me whenever I need you, without a second thought. If I'm having a nightmare or flashbacks or just need someone with me, you're there. You deserve to be celebrated more than anyone, because you're everything, doll. You might not think that, you might dismiss yourself or shove yourself into a corner to make sure everyone else's needs are met, but you're the heart of the team. You're everything, (Y/N), and don't you dare think otherwise for a second." 

You struggled to meet his eyes, unable to process and believe what he was saying. You felt your chest tighten at his words, touched that he thought so highly of you and appreciated you so much. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug and you kept the tears that overwhelmed you at bay.

"Thank you, Bucky. No one's ever said anything like that to me before," you whispered. "I never thought anyone noticed." Bucky chuckled sadly, pulling away from you just enough to meet your eyes.

"I noticed you. Doll, I've always noticed you." Confused at his words, you barely had time to process him slowly leaning in, stopping just before his lips met yours. Your heart pounded in your chest in anticipation. "Can I kiss you?" He whispered softly. All you could do was nod, but it was enough. Your lips met, Bucky's right hand sliding up from your waist to your jaw, his thumb gently brushing your cheek as your eyes slid shut. It was the most exquisite feeling you'd ever experienced, his lips on yours, and you never wanted it to stop. His chestnut locks felt so soft tangled around your fingers and his lips tasted so sweet and his hand was so warm on your cheek compared to the cool metal of his left around your waist and his chest was so broad and you had a million thoughts running through your head before they all disappeared and then suddenly it was only Bucky. It was all Bucky, washing away your stresses and frustrations and disappointments and worries.

Finally, you broke apart, gasping for air, Bucky resting his forehead on yours as your eyes met. You were lost for words but you felt as though his eyes and that dorky smile tugging at his lips were telling you everything you needed to know. Bucky lifted his head to kiss your nose before returning to its previous position, and you closed your eyes in bliss.

"Happy birthday, doll."

[ongfreestyle]

High School AU (Yoo Kihyun)

*This idea was floating around in my head *And man it sounds juicy but idk lol *(SPOILER ALERT this ain't turn out how I wanted :( I'll try again) *So it's freshman year of high school and you joined the yearbook committee *Your literally one of the only freshman who joined *Except Yoo Kihyun (ayyyyeee #PlotConvenience) and some other kid named Minhyuk who was annoying to you at first *So freshman year starts off easy *But holy shit you've gotta go to school events to get pictures AND you have to design the yearbook pages AND THE COVER AND THE THEME AND YOUR COUNTING VOTES FOR SR. FAVES *It's a lot tbh *But luckily you've got a whole team of people who are there to help you out *Except on Friday Night Football *Not one person volunteered to go on the sidelines and take pics *Everyone's "too busy" or being in the sidelines is "too dangerous" *But the truth is everyone just wants to be in the bleachers hanging with friends instead of doing stuff for the yearbook *So guess who gets roped into doing it? *The freshmen of course! *So you Kihyun and Minhyuk are now on the sidelines, with your sideline passes and your all shook *Because why the fuck are all these football players so big? And why are the cheerleaders and pom girls all here on the sidelines? A news crew is here too? *It's hectic *You and Kihyun are just gripping you cameras for dear life unsure of what to do *And Minhyuk is like "k I'm gonna go snap some pics of the mascot" *He's so bold and confident it seems *And you and Kihyun are a bit more shy *But then the game starts and there is zero time to be shy because you guys are running all around trying to get a shot of every group you can *After like and hour and a half you're beat *So you're looking at your pics while you take a break off to the side and you realize they're mostly blurry and out of focus *You're literally like FML all this for nothing and you really wanna go home because there is so much going on and your stressed :( *So your about to call your mom and you look over and see Kihyun crouching down by the endzone clearly trying to get some aesthetic shot of the sky or something *And he's so focused he doesn't realize that the game is still going *And that number 85 is CHARGING TOWARDS HIM *SO on a whim you drop your camera and run over there *Just like you in some kinda KDrama you shove him over and fall on top of him *And literally the whole school can see *Plus Minhyuk is definitely taking a picture of this *And you get up as fast as you can because this can't be a flattering angle and you're sweaty and probably smell like a locker room at this point *85 scored btw *Kihyun is like "um what the hell? You almost crushed my camera?" *Then your like "85 was running and he would have hit you and he was running so fast he couldn't stop... probably" *Kihyun is like "oh thx ig" *He kinda doesn't buy it but he sees 85 is had ran way past the endzone so it's plausible *Anyway that's your first encounter with Yoo Kihyun *And it sucked *But you try not to think of it and hope no one actually cared that you were on top of him during the game *So you go home *And THEN MONDAY YOU RETURN AND EVERYONE IS SHIPPING Y'ALL *It's the weirdest thing too because you literally only know his name and he probably doesn't know yours so HOW ARE PEOPLE EVEN COMING UP WITH THIS IDEA *Then you remember that you two were actually on top of one another at the game last Friday *And your friends are like so...👀👀👀 *And you're like "SO ?? I WAS HELPING A FELLOW YEARBOOK TEAM MEMBER!" *And they're like "help him with what?" 👀👀👀 *And it gets worse when they show you the pics some people got *Because from a higher angle it looks intentional and more sensual I guess *Really it's a mess and when you go to yearbook class Minhyuk has taken the liberty of printing the HD pictures he got and putting them on your desks *He's smiling *And your shook and embarrassed *One of the upperclassmen literally asked you if he was hard and how big he felt because she like younger men ! *You're just !!!!!!! *You toss the picture in the trash and try to trash the one on Kihyun's desk, but he comes in and you are too shy to make eye contact when he asks you why you're at his desk *So you just go sit down *Then he's furious when he sees the pic *His rage is only stopped by the teacher calling role and assigning a yearbook page for everyone *You get the cheerleader page and Kihyun gets the football page *And then you guys all head to the computer room by your class to start making pages *And as soon as you guys exit the classroom you hear a large SMACK sound *And Minhyuk is like OOOUUCH *"MINHYUK WHAT THE FUCK?!" *"THE WHOLE SCHOOL IS TALKING ABOUT THIS SHIT AND I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY WHAT THE FUCK?!" *Minhyuk is just laughing and saying sorry, but he's clearly not sorry *And you're just ... *Then you get into the computer lab and somehow you end up sitting next to him *And he's working in his football page *You're doing cheer *But you don't have many pictures and most are blurry *And Kihyun has amazing pics but his page layout is trash *So you decide maybe you can make a deal *You can help him with layouts if he helps you with pictures *And after class you suggest it *And he's surprisingly all for it *He gives you his number so you guys can discuss in further detail *Weeks pass and your deal actually never makes a start *You just have Kihyun's number chilling in your phone *Every freshman girls dream tbh *Finally towards the end of the year he is like "hey you still down to help me out with my pages? I wanna make them good before we submit them" *And you were like "sure if you show me how to properly work a camera and get cool shots like you" *He's happy with your compliment it's written all over his face *And your happy that he's taking to you because all year you've been so awkward and your only friend has been a Senior and Minhyuk and they're great *But like *You also wanna befriend Kihyun *So you guys pick a weekend *Meet up at a Starbucks *And you start teaching Kihyun all the technical stuff about making a good layout *You're both looking at your laptop *You're sitting pretty close together *Kihyun has a nice scent he smells like a fresh shower *IDK he looks like he smells pretty fresh *Anyway he's got those Harry Potter style glasses on *{Swoons} *Plus black hair that looks kinda wet *Is it moose? Is it post-shower hair? *Is it kinda hot? *Yes *So after going over tips for like an hour Kihyun stops you and buys you a coffee *And you're like feel all shy inside because that was super nice *So he's like "K let's go outside. I'll show you how to shoot" *You're packing up your things and he's helping you and your fingers touch and y'all pull away so damn quick *It's like you got burned or something *Awkward *Then Kihyun is leading you across the street and showing how he would capture the Starbucks you were just in *And as he's talking your just like 💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟 *He's really cute and passionate about photography *And he's cute *Dude Kihyun is really cute k *So anyways he hands you the camera and says "try it" *You're obviously fucked because you haven't been listening to anything he said *Plus he camera is some fancy Nikon and you haven't the slightest clue how to work it *"Is it on?" *"Yeah" *He chuckled at you *Bitch it was the best chuckle you've heard in your life *So you snap a pic if Starbucks *It's basic as shit and kinda off center *The focus is a bit strange too *But Kihyun isn't an ass so he tells you "it's a start" *And your DYING inside like WHO CAN'T SNAP ONE PIC *But Kihyun keeps teaching you and while you're finally focusing correctly it's not professional looking like his *Still it's much better than before *After all that Kihyun offers to walk you home *You're like sure *You're sweating *But he takes you home and y'all don't even speak *When you get home you friends are like what's the tea ???👀👀👀 *Ain't no tea *But Kihyun is definitely cute and you have a slight crush *The schools ship might sail *LMAO BUT NOT YET BIH I'M NOT THAT LAZY *FAST FORWARD TO JUNIOR YEAR *Y'ALL ARE BESTIES *Still on that Yearbook grind *But Kihyun does all the pics for you and you do all his pages for him *It's fair enough tbh *On the weekends y'all get together to work on more yearbook stuff and Minhyuk 3rd wheels since he quit to join the broadcast team *He just likes to hang with y'all tbh *And ship y'all *Then say it was his iconic picture that started it all *When honestly you two got close Sophomore year by doing each other's work and collaborating on the weekends when you could *Junior year though you guys just stayed together because you like to be around one another *It was about yearbook all the time anymore *It was about friendship *Of course you're crushing on Kihyun really bad now though *His hair is dark brown now *He got a bit taller *He works out now *He has contacts *He keeps his hair slicked back and dresses and smells sO NICE *HE'S NOT CUTE ANYMORE *HE'S HOTTTTTTTT *You gotta play it cool *But every weekend it's getting harder *He's so relaxed around you *He looks super cool just leaning back in a chair at your dining room table *And when he talks his voice is kinda low *You swear he's doing it on purpose *But no he's just being all casual and shit *It's too much *One day he's looking through pics on his camera and he just stops *Looks at you *And smiles *Your heart 💕💔 *And then he says *"Thanks for buying me a new SD card yesterday. These pictures came out great" *💔💔💔💔💔 *Not that you were waiting for him to say something sweet to you 😑 *And this keeps happening *He'll give you the most endearing look and say something stupid *Like: *You have ranch in your hair *I got you a napkin *Nice shirt *Are those new pants *You think dogs have emotions like us? *And eventually you stop even thinking about him confessing and move on *And every boyfriend you get is chased away by Kihyun *They all say your just too close with Kihyun and they can't take it *So you give up on dating *And move on to SR. Year *Prom season sneaks up on you and your single af *All your friends are shopping while you just watch and nod at them like "yes, you need a bigger size, don't squeeze" *And after a while they're like "hey why aren't you trying on anything?" *You're like "I got no date" *You're friends actually laugh *"WYM no date? UuuUmMm Yoo Kihyun" *"We're just friends" *"Sounds fake but okay" *"Kihyun isn't into me" *{Spoiler he is} *You ain't hearing it *You decide to be headass and find a new date *Some jock named Rick *Rick isn't a complete ass, but he's too cocky *Really your favorite part about starting to date him was to hear Kihyun roast him *Fast forward to Prom day *You're at Kihyn's place laying on his bed listening to some OSTs *And he's doing that thing again *Ya know when he looks at you like he loves you with all his life then says something irrelevant *Yeah *But this time he walks out of the room and comes back with a binder full of pictures *And he tosses it on the bed and he's like "look" *So up open it up and see all of his amazing shots *He's so talented *You also see a ton of candid shots of you *"Why so many...me's?" *"Cuz you're beautiful. Duh." *He TRIED to play it cool, but BOI HE ACTUALLY ALMOST SAID HE LOVED YOU AND WANTED RICK TO GET LOST *"Thanks" *Suddenly you get to a page of just you and him and you're blushing *Also your getting hella soft because freshman year pics are there *Anyways, Kihyun just lets you look and then says *"If Rick is a dick let me know. You can't be with a guy who doesn't appreciate you like me" *"You appreciate me?" *"Duh" *Then he gives that lovely look again and he grabs your face gently *"Kihyun?" *"I wish it was me, but I'm..." *You're waiting for him to say something anything, but he doesn't so you literally just call his name and he jumps *Guess what he says? *"Sorry I was lost in your eyes" kdkskkdkfjdksks *Yup *And you wanna snap him in half *Honestly you thought this was it *But no *You swat his hand away from you face and storm off *You actually wanna cry because this was his last chance to confess and take you to prom, but NOOO *You leave his house and he follows you outside all confused *B you just snap *"Leave me alone! You play around too much! You know exactly what you do to me!" *Kihyun actually almost passed out when he heard you *He races after you and he's like *"What do you mean by 'what I do to you?'" *"Nothing" *"No you mean something!" *Your just gonna go to your car and he grabs your wrist (slow motion replay KDrama style) *The he's like *"Don't go with Rick" *You're like *Well fuck *You can't stand up Rick *He's a decent dude *So you reluctantly say that you will be going to prom with Rick and go get dressed *Homie, prom is lit ASF *You and your girls are actually having so much fun that you low-key forget about your dates *Until slow dance time *And Rick is gone *Probably shitfaced in the bathroom *All your friends go back to their dates and your reminded that you totally lost your chance to be with Kihyun *And you're pouting about it *Yeah *You're sitting by the punch bowl all sulky looking gorgeous *Hoping for someone to come save you *But nothing *8 more slow songs pop off and you're like JFC I wanna leave *But lucky from you prom is actually ending and people are heading out, it's getting late *Rick turned up he was escorted out for being drunk on school premises *So you're dateless again *You're making your way out and then you see this sexy guy running into the place *Black suit *Dark hair slicked back *He smashes into you *It's Kihyun *And he's got you by the waist suddenly and he's looking at you in the eyes smiling *Holy !! *He smells fresh *And he's looking at you like you invented the whole universe *And you're in awe because he looks like a God or something *And he just says, "You wanna dance?" *And even though everyone is exiting you pull him to the dance floor *And you slow dance *Y'all are FACE TO FUKKEN FACE *CAN U IMAGINE *And you are SUPER CLOSE *He has your waist *You have your arms around his shoulders *Your swaying with no music *But Kihyun is a doll so he just sings to you *IM (FUCKING) AGINE *HE'S SINGING THAT DAMN GOBLIN OST AND YOUR SWOONING *Like your knees are weak *And he's probably helping you stand up because wow *It's literally just you two until he's done singing and the staff is like GTFO *So he walks you to your car *Your holding hands *AnD HE GIVES THAT DAMN LOOK BUT THIS TIME HES SAYS HE THINKS HE LOVES YOU AND HE KISSES YOU *ON THE LIPS *Then LEAVES YOU TO SORT OUT YOUR FEELS *You mull it over for a week and of course you want to date Kihyun *So you dump Rick ASAP *Head to Kihyun's house *Nag him about his dirty room *And how he almost ruined your prom by not going with you in the first place *And then you notice he's looking at your lips and your all sensitive *But doesn't care and just says *"I don't think I love you" *You KnOw what's COMING NEXT BIH *"I KNOW I love you" *Oh and he leans in to kiss you and you close the space *And then all of a sudden your Frenching on his messy bed *Your on top and it reminds you of the first time you interacted *So you stop kissing to inform him that everything has come full circle *And he laughs and asks if he should call Minhyuk to take a pic because next time he plans to top 😜😜 *You smack him because wth you guys aren't even OFFICIAL yet *And how can you get used to you hot BFF being you BF ?? *Mysteries I tell ya *Anywho *You guys are now OFFICIALLY the schools fav couple *You win Sr. Faves and everything *And that picture of you two us LEGENDARY *And you guys go around being obnoxiously adorable *And you take pictures so often *Y'all's Instagrams are POPPING *IT GOALS HOMIE *GOALS *And if Kihyun isn't the best boyfriend ever *He's super sweet yet sassy *(My phone tried to correct that as daddy) *If he sees that you're overwhelmed he'll literally force to go relax with him or force you to let him help you out *You guys are ALWAYS FLIRTING AND TEASING EACH OTHER *You know what makes Kihyun really red and embarrassed? *PDA *He calls you embarrassing pet names as revenge *He is always cheering you on and he's still your best friend *And one day you two are chilling and you throw him that look that he always gives you *And he's like "what?" *"I dunno...I think I love you." All casually *And he just laughs and kisses you *"I think you love me too."

[starkissr]

would u look at that I just had my first break down in a rly long time

today I honestly thought that things have never been worse for me. but u fucking know what? fuck my anxieties. fuck my fears. fuck every doubt and insecurity that's been replaying in my mind. I literally don't fucking deserve to put myself thru this emotional turmoil anymore than I already have. Friday started stressful. yesterday I relapsed back into my bad bad habit. I didn't even mean to but I couldn't stop it. I knew I was doing it and I couldn't care less and altho I just realized it but the level of dgaf I was abt it and how it got so bad literally so quick scared the fuck out of me. now I see it meant I didn't care abt myself anymore. I did see it was wrong but I rly didn't trust myself to take care of myself so my plan was to tell my most trusted friend n roommate here abt my problem so she could also look out for me and help me a little n yesterday I thought abt it but brushed it off. today I texted her and told her I needed to tell her something when were alone. I was so proud of myself for telling her that bc I was like ok now I can't back out of it and I rly rly have to speak up abt this. I guess I should've emphasized that it was v important to me but anyway she left before we got a chance to talk and that was yet ANOTHER thing that went wrong. I swear I've heard like just numerically more bad news today than I have in my life I think. everytime something else came up n I thought shit can't get fucking worse another thing would pop up n fucking emotionally destroy me all over again. but this one was so shitty bc this girl is MY GIRL n the only one I feel comfortable enough talking abt this and I even told her how I desperately needed a solid cry 2 n she wasn't fucking here for me when I needed her. I'm not mad at her like she's been thru v srs shit as of late too n ik she was stressed and why we weren't able to talk but it still fucking hurt bc all day when the hot tears would flood my eyes I kept trying to tell them and all my shit thoughts to sh go away. I would tell them at the end of the day u will come flooding out and I would stop torturing myself and not hold anything back and just say out loud every fucking last thing that's going wrong rn but then it would be ok bc at least it'd all be out of my head. so like I said I'm not mad at her bc that would just be selfish of me but I'm still hurt and i hate so much that I don't feel comfortable having that conversation w her anymore. I'm scared that no one here knows that I don't feel like I can take care of myself rn. I actually decided right now that it's ok that I don't wanna tell her anymore. I rly can't force myself to make myself feel uncomf and tell her something that deeply personal when I don't have the desire to anymore. but the only reason why I'm ok w that is I just compromised n I'm gonna go to talk to the psychologist at my school tm. even tho I rly can't afford to waste a fucking second of my time this week I literally have to go tomorrow or I'll never go. I've been telling myself for legit 4 years that I would start seeing someone but when it came down to it I would never go bc I would tell myself it's not like I have any like life or death problems anyway n when I would think abt making an appt since it would be scheduled in like 2 weeks I automatically would assume whatever the issue was would go away by then. but I fucking need to do this for myself so even tho I'm not planning on killing myself or anything I honest to fucking god need immediate attn rn and everytime I would consider doing the emergency mtg b4 I would be like oh I'm taking that time away from someone who honestly might wanna kill themself n since of c my problems aren't nearly as valid as that I would just be wasting everyone's time. but I need to be selfish this once. I need help I know I desperately fucking need it but I fucking can't stand myself that even tho ik that I still feel like I'm not worthy of going and getting the help I need. I'm still gonna make myself go but like shit man I should not be thinking that way abt myself. whatever idk I'll try to work on it

anyway I still rly did need to talk to someone even if it wasn't to tell my secret I still needed to vent abt all the other million things that had just gone to shit. I had a weird thing that wasn't a fight but like we never fight so it was just even weirder that happened w my best friend who I never have a problem spilling my heart and my soul to so that also was like ugh but I still woulda been down to call her until I remembered how she just started grad school n has more going on now than ever and that rn wasn't a good time for her. there's this other girl here who just within like the past couple of weeks I've gotten to know better n we just vibe so I thought abt dumping my shit on her but then I felt stupid bc I was literally just w her all day n of c now after she left I feel like bitching abt all my shit but I was like that's not a good enough reason to not talk to her so I decided to reach out

I honestly dk what I would've done if she hadn't been there for me. if ur actually reading this ridiculous thought process no like I said I wasn't gonna kms but that anxiety attack was sooooo bad n I've had my fair fucking share so I don't say that lightly but regardless I'm sosososoosososo grateful to her for being there n hearing out all my irrational concerns and being patient n eventually talking sense into me. I felt so vulnerable at first bc even tho she already knew abt some of what went down I honestly felt ashamed abt these problems I'm facing n it takes me a while to warm up to ppl and be THAT open even if it may not seem like a big deal to some I'm super private w somethings idk but she was so fucking amazing I even did kinda preface or hint or like not in as srs of a way but still did lightly bring up a lil part of my secret. she prob didn't even know it but that was so cool n felt liberating tbh. I'm so happy bc while we were studying earlier today, in a moment when those tears found my eyes again n I was tryna keep my cool n not bawl my eyes out in the library n just take deep breathes I drew this simple as can be flower at the top of my page with a cute smiley right in the flowers center in an effort to make myself feel better n showed it to her n when I was showing it off I decided i would want nothing more than to have this be my next tattoo. she laughed n we just talked n then I was like no but I'm not kidding I rly am getting it. to me it was so real that I was having a day from literal hell but that lil silly flower smiley lit up my insides n made me feel soooooo happy I can't explain n it was just a nice thing to try to redirect my thoughts to bc I already love flowers but idk this drawing is like literally a stroke of genius idc if it sounds crazy n anyway she looks at it longer n told me she honestly rly liked it too n said she would get it tatted n I told her again like I'm so srs this thing is giving me LIFE n she surprised me n said yeah me too n so we decided we would get matching tats n I thought abt all the past friends who I've had this convo w like obv abt diff tattoos but I was just asking myself if I rly would want to share this lil treat w her n I can't explain how but all the other times I've talked abt getting matching tattoos w good friends it just felt like a game and not real but this felt different. I'm so stoked were gonna do this together n the fact that I'll have one of my own doodles on my skin like I just love every bit of it. n I thought abt how it's gonna be so magical even when we graduate how the same smiley flower on me will go and see the world thru her eyes. she's from Dubai so even tho it's sad we can't live in the same city forever idk I genuinely feel like I'll be connected and there w her no matter where we go. it's unbelievable to me just how much of the same person we are n how close we've gotten so fast I'm so blessed to have her in my life

wow what an experience. hopefully tm is better

[selfiecharmedlife]

RE: A Year in Review

           It’s getting colder and the leaves are starting to change. That means it was around this time least year that I picked up and moved myself from Florida to DC. It’s been a quick year, but also extremely eventful. Since turning 30 in August, it’s been hard not to get stuck in my feelings about where I’m at in life. This feels like a good junction to take stock of things and try to focus on what has changed for me in the past year. I’ve also been given the feedback that I tend to only think about my transition through loss so I’m gonna try to be positive.

           To start, I was a wreck this time last year. In May, my ex-fiancé told me she was no longer in love with me over the phone and specifically pointed to my transition as to why she could no longer see a future with me. What followed was weeks of passivity where she refused to call-off the engagement while refusing to be part of the relationship. I called it off and she insisted we were going to stay friends. We were going to be like sisters! I had decided to be the passenger on our post-PhD job hunt so the end of our relationship also meant that I had delayed my job search to accommodate her needs and ended up dumped and unemployed. The stress of trying to find a job as a non-passing and unsupported transwoman broke me. I started losing my hair, lost my insurance and couldn’t get my hormone levels where they needed to be. I effectively detransitioned from the stress. Eventually, I found a job in the DC area and packed up my stuff and moved up to Maryland. The one time I’ve seen my ex since then, she told me that she didn’t want anything to do with me and has ghosted from that point on.

           The moment my insurance kicked in; I was able to start working on getting my medical needs met. I worked with a local LGBT clinic to switch to injectable estradiol and that helped get my levels where they needed to be for the first time ever. In some ways, I guess I didn’t even really start HRT until October of last year. I was also able to connect with a new therapist. In that space, I’ve worked through a lot of issues relating to my identity as a lesbian, what that means for me and what I want out of my second adolescence. At work, I struggled a lot with feeling like an impostor and the implications of working in an environment where being openly trans could get me fired. However, my coworkers all like me, as far as I know I always pass at work. I’ve managed to be successful having authored multiple new papers. My boss even recently mentioned extending my contract.

           In the past year, I’ve managed to go from a space where basically everything that could be on fire was to happily have put that behind me. Where I’m at now is so different that those lunch breaks of crying in my car while begging my insurance company to cover my HRT medications almost don’t feel real. However, there are some things that haven’t gone great. Even though I’m good at my job, everyone I work with near my level is substantially older than me and the people around my age are my research assistants. It’s a hard dynamic to navigate while trying to make friends. I like the people I work with a lot and even think some of them could be friends but having to hide such a big part of myself from them to stay employed makes that feel unlikely. Never mind the power dynamics of technically being their boss on some projects.

           It’s not a perfect model, but I think my current situation maps well onto Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. When I first moved to DC, my basic needs were not met. I didn’t have stable housing, savings or confidence that this job would work out. Correspondingly, I didn’t feel lonely while I was trying to reestablish myself. Now that I have security, I’m starting to fail the pains of loneliness. It’s an intense and sometimes physical pain. There are weeks where I sit at the end of the day on a Friday and feel a lump in my chest knowing I don’t have anyone to go home to. Having been engaged, I really yearn to be in love again. It’s a crushing feeling that drove me to stay in a relationship that was taking a toll on my mental health far longer than I should have. I’ll probably write something later about how hard it’s been to learn to date while queer.

           Laying it out like this, I’m proud of myself. I’ve managed to rebuild my life and self-esteem. I’m good at my job, advocated for myself to get the health care I need, will have SRS later this year and have tried to come out of my shell socially. As down as I’ve been about loneliness, I’ve been putting myself out there and already met some really awesome queer people in DC. A relationship has been elusive, but I think it’s going to be lonely until it’s not and I just have to keep trying. Going back to the hierarchy of needs, transitioning has allowed me to meet a basic need that I never knew I had. Living as my authentic self has let me connect with people so much more easily than before. When the intimacy I yearn for does find me, I think it’ll be even better than when I was with my ex. To the extent that Maslow maps onto lived experience, this is the first time in my life that my basic needs have actually been met.

[belledamsceno]

The Good Neighbor (Part 3)

Prompt: A series of unfortunate events lead to you being in a journey with a total stranger. Inspired by the prompt #11 on Kait’s 5k milestone AU writing challenge. “Why do you keep trying to mow the lawn while I’m sleeping? Fuck you!”

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Warnings: Sickness, swearing, feeling uncomfortable… *If you do feel triggered by anything else, let me know so I can add here and warn other readers!

Word Count: 1,348

Author’s Note: What about some backstories?? As always, if you see any words that could/should be replaced or sentences that could be better put together please feel free to point it out! English is not my first language and this will help me improve ;)

Part 1  —  Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

The car came to a stop on the parking lot of a little restaurant, Steve had clearly parked as close from the entrance as he could. You heard him get off the car and took a deep breath before opening your door and getting out.

When you stood up your head felt like a rock and your legs like jello. You closed your eyes trying to focus and repeated in you head that ‘you could do it’, you would get to the table no matter how slow and paused it’d have to be.

You felt a hand hold your waist and your eyes bugged as you pushed the person far… well, not far… Steve was heavy enough your push only made him give a step back “What the hell are you doing?!?”

“I’m sorry, you seamed a little out of balance I was going to help you inside”

“I can do it by myself.”

He nodded mouthing a 'sorry’ and let you go ahead, the little jump scare woke your senses and you could walk a little steadier, still you were secretly thankful for Steve to still be following you close by, clearly ready to catch you.

The place was a little stuffy, and if the table right next to the door wasn’t empty you didn’t know how much further you would be able to go once inside.

Steve was fast to ask for a water, and thankfully the waiter didn’t take long, you didn’t know if it was efficiency, the dead look on your face or the over dramatic urgency in which Steve asked for it.

Any way, the cold feeling of the liquid going down your throat was enough to give you new life and you opened your eyes to see Steve handing you a menu

“I know reading will probably get you dizzy… dizzier” you gave him a dirty look and he smiled “but I really don’t know what to order for you…”

You took it and started to search for something that wasn’t making your stomach turn.

“I really don’t know you, period.”

Now it was your time to laugh “What do you suggest, do you want to play 20 questions? Become the best of friends?”

“Why not?”

You knitted your brows, where was he going with that? Okay, you were also dying of curiosity so you might as well take advantage of this “Well, I’m gonna start then…”

He leaned back on his chair, ready for whatever you were going to ask him, the waiter came to your table to see if you already had your orders, which gave you some more time to think, you wanted to ask something that would get him talking, one question that would give you more than one answer…

When the waiter left you had something in mind, it wasn’t the perfect question, but Steve looked like the kind of person that wouldn’t give a short answer, that and you were genuinely intrigued “Do you live alone?”

He chuckled as if he knew you were going to ask that, which, not gonna lie, pissed you off a little “Not exactly…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The house in front of yours? Yes, in that one I life alone, but…” Done, now he was talking; You leaned back in your chair and smirked in triumph as he continued “I also live in a compound in New York and let me tell you, is very hard to found yourself alone there…”

Okay, that didn’t exactly answered your questions, in fact it gave you many more “What do mean? How can you live in a compound and have a house? How old are you?… What do you do for a living?”

“Shouldn’t we take turns? I think is my time to as-”

“We’re not playing a game, I’m questioning you… If you want to make a question be quick and do it before I do” You were huffy and that was clear in your voice and mannerisms which made everything more funny to Steve.

“Okay, fair enough… I live in a compound because I work there” the waiter came with your order and Steve stopped, but you wouldn’t let him simply stop there.

“What do you do?”

He laughed again “Calm down, I’m getting there… I work for some NGOs, thus I travel a lot because of work, I was in Sokovia a month ago and last week I was in Wakanda looking for a sponsorship, thus I have a little house in the suburbs for when I have some time off, my life is not normal by any means so I like to have a taste of the typical American life for a couple of days…”

Your eyes were bugged and your moth was open, you didn’t even see the waiter bring your food that laid untouched on the table; That was certainly not what your were expecting “Do you get paid for that?”

He laughed again, the question was insensible but you didn’t really care “For the NGOs, no, I’m a volunteer; But I work on the Stark project for gifted children, I’m one of the owners, that’s the compound I live in, and that’s my paying job”

You grabbed a piece of your food and leaned on the chair completely astonished “Real life hero… That explains a lot…”

He clapped his hands together and leaned closer to you, resting his elbows on the table “Okay… My turn”

You rolled your eyes, you didn’t want to answer any questions right now, but it was only fair so you signaled him to get on with it.

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a journalist.”

“What do you write about?”

“Social equality, political crisis, world hunger… this kind of stuff. It’s a small paper but at least I get to write about what I want…”

He gave a sturgeon face and you chuckled “What? Not what you were expecting?”

“I’m just surprised… You’re feisty, I thought you were a wrestling champion or something…”

He seemed really proud of his joke and you rolled your eyes once again “Ha-ha”

“Okay, continuing… I know you don’t live on that house across the street, I’ve never seen you there and I’ve chatted many times with, I assumed they are, your parents. I saw them leaving the house this morning when I woke up so is not like they leaved or something for you to be there…”

You were perplexed about how much he knew about you just by putting one and one together so you didn’t even stop him from talking… “By your reaction this morning I assume you live and work in New York so my next question is… Do you visit them often?”

“No…” You got serious and as much as you wanted to hide, it was clear that there was something there, Steve’s expression changed making it clear that he noticed that too and making you fear his next question.

“And why were you there this weekend?”

The events of Friday night flashed in your mind and you faked a laugh to disperse from what you were truly feeling “Sorry Stevie, you must be at least a level 4 friend to unlock this backstory”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”

“It’s okay…”

The atmosphere had clearly changed; You finished your food in silence and went on with your journey; You knew it wasn’t fair, Steve had told you everything you asked about and more, and besides, you would probably never see the guy again after this trip. But still, you felt embarrassed about what had happened…

In the car you caught yourself staring at Steve, maybe he noticed maybe he didn’t; He was literally the kindest guy you had ever met, he didn’t even know you and he helped you more in one morning than most people had help you, or anyone for that matter, in a year. And you had been nothing but harsh on him…

“Okay… You’ve earn it”

He looked at you surprised and you continue without looking him in the eye.

“So here’s what happened…”

Part 1  —  Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

>>I actually am curious about what you guys think happened on Friday night (feel free to tell me -send an ask, message, reply to this post… however you prefer, I already know what happened for sake of the story so is not like I’m going to choose one of your ideas, but I really want to hear you!

Feel free to ask if you want to be tagged

@crownie-sr @winterboobaer @supernatural52 @promarvelfangirl @always-an-evans-addict @ballerinafairyprincess @ailynalonso15 @do-you-mind-if-i-slytherin1 @hairdye-enthusiast @marvelouslyloki @mattymattymerduck @pato-el-cerdito @lapetitsyrene @anastasiaannaa

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[onyourrightstevie]

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like Stucky.

You: [between TWS and CW, Bucky has a service dog] This little girl came up to me while I was out walking Ruby. BB

Stranger: Yeah? What'd she say? - SR

You: She wanted to touch my arm. She said it was cool and shiny. She pet Ruby for a bit too. BB

Stranger: That's real sweet, Buck. See? It ain't so intimidating. - SR

You: I assumed little kids would be afraid of me, but I guess the dog makes up for my lack of looking friendly. BB

Stranger: Not just Ruby. You don't look so... afraid of everything anymore. Kids are more open-minded than you think. - SR

You: Oh, I forgot to mention. The kid was an amputee too. BB

Stranger: Bet it made her feel even better to see how well yours works. - SR We could go to hospitals, if you want. You could meet more people like that. - SR

You: Same arm and everything. She said she wasn't born with one. I told her that I just decided I was tired of having a left arm and took it off. It made her laugh. BB I guess I'm still good with kids. I remember how little girls are. BB

Stranger: Becca turned out great 'cause of you. - SR I'll set something up, okay? Nothing fancy or formal. Just... some time with kids. Bet it'd make them feel better to know someone like you's okay with the arm. - SR

You: She gave me hell, she better have turned out great. BB You think so? You think SHIELD would be cool with it? BB

Stranger: I don't think SHIELD has to be cool with it. Just you, me, and maybe Pepper Potts, because she's very helpful when it comes to organizing things in general. - SR

You: Do you think kids know who I am? BB Their parents probably do. I'm not sure if they'd want me around. BB

Stranger: They won't know, unless maybe they're a bit older. - SR Let's just try it out, okay? - SR

You: You know how people were before the trial. Most of the country wanted me dead or in a cell forever. BB But I like kids? And this little girl didn't seem to know who I was. BB

Stranger: Give me some time and I'll have the details figured out. But it's happening. - SR

You: We should get Sam in on this. He's the therapeutic one. BB

Stranger: I think you're the one being therapeutic for this. - SR But I'll see what he thinks. - SR

You: I'm just a guy with a metal arm and a german shepherd. BB You should come with too. BB

Stranger: I wouldn't miss it. - SR [hours later] We got a place, if you want. A big temporary foster-care placement. The woman in charge agreed if it meant she could head out while we were there. I don't think Mr Barnes was a familiar name to her. - SR

You: Hey, that was fast. BB Are we doing this today? BB

Stranger: Friday night, if you're up for it. - SR

You: I'm up for it. BB Is there any way we could keep the press away? I don't want this to be a "the Winter Soldier tries to redeem himself" kind of frenzy. BB

Stranger: No one'll know. I promise. - SR

You: Alright. This'll be good. BB

Stranger: Definitely. I'll let Sam know. You want him there? - SR

You: He likes kids. BB

Stranger: Yeah. He's gonna make a good dad someday. - SR

You: He definitely will. BB So would you. BB

Stranger: I don't think that's in the cards for me. - SR But I'll make a good uncle when you and Sam get some. - SR

You: No way in hell I'm having kids with Sam. BB You never used to talk about kids way back when. You helped out with Becca lots, though. BB

Stranger: Not with Sam, man. When you get some on your own. You know. With a nice woman. - SR Becca's kids were great. Loved 'em to bits. But I still don't... talk about it. It's part of the American dream, you know, to have 'em, pass on your legacy, but I don't think... It's just that back then, I didn't have the health for it, and right now, I don't have the lifestyle for it. - SR

You: You think I'm gonna have kids with some lady? You're losing it, Rogers. BB None of us have the lifestyle for anything. But you'd make a good dad. BB

Stranger: Not some lady, a good lady. The lady. - SR

You: I'm not gonna marry some woman any time soon. I figured you'd picked up on that decades ago. BB

Stranger: What? - SR

You: Hell no. What's wrong with you? BB

Stranger: I... I don't know. Sorry, I guess. I just... it just made sense. - SR

You: You think I forgot about us? It was the only thing I knew how to remember. BB

Stranger: [slight delay] Thought I was the exception, not the rule. - SR

You: You've never been an exception. You've always been you and that's all that mattered. BB

Stranger: Oh. - SR Right. - SR

You: This feels like a conversation we should have in person. I can walk over to yours, if you want. BB

Stranger: Yeah. Yeah, sure. M'home. Getting some dinner on - I'll make extra. - SR

You: Ruby's tagging along. She'll be happy to see you. BB

Stranger: Love her to bits. Got her some new toys, for when the harness comes off. - SR

You: She'll love you even more than she already does. You spoil her. BB

Stranger: She's a good dog. Deserves to be spoiled. - SR

You: She's a great dog. I'm just jealous that she likes you more. BB

Stranger: She doesn't, Buck. She just wags her tail at me. She'd give her life for you. - SR

You: I'm mostly joking. Mostly. BB We're a block away. I told her we're seeing you and now she's all jumpy. Did you know that she can recognize names now? BB

Stranger: Didn't know, but I believe it. Never known a smarter dog. - SR

You: We played a game with her during training where the trainer guy would go "Go get Bucky" and she'd come over to me and then he'd go "Go get Natasha" and she'd go over to Nat. Smart fucking dog, man. BB

Stranger: To think they got that potential, though. How many more sessions do you have with the trainer? - SR Door's open, when you're here. - SR

You: A couple more. Just to make sure she's got everything. BB Coming up the stairs. BB

Stranger: Steve didn't usually like avoiding conversations, or averting them. That was more Stark's deal, and any time Tony did it, he was sure to give him a pointed look. But this was different, of course, because it wasn't talk about work, it was talk about Bucky. "Hey, Buck," Steve greeted when he heard the door open, before grinning wide at the sound of Ruby's paws on the floor. "Hey, babe! Missed you! Such a good girl, huh?" Steve knew not to pet her 'till the harness was off, not to reach for the toys and treats, even if he knew she was well-trained enough not to go after it while she was working. Steve lifted his eyes to meet his friend's, and he couldn't help how his ears went pink or his smile faded somewhat. "So, uh, have a seat. Pasta. You want water or juice?" he asked, distracting himself by putting both options on the table.

You: Bucky had known he and Steve had been together. Hell, it was one of the first things he'd truly known to be a memory of his own and not the Asset's. He'd been in love with him. He'd been with him when they were younger, when they were teenagers. They'd always had each other. But once he started getting back to being a person again, it was different. Steve didn't treat him like he used to. Bucky'd figured he'd moved on. "Hey, Steve." Ruby's tail was wagging so hard that her whole body was moving with it. "Sit, Ruby." He said, kneeling down to unclip her leash and pull her vest off, the velcro popping. "Good dog." He cooed. Bucky was really soft on this dog. No shame. He scratched her ears and stood up, gesturing lazily to Steve with his free hand. Ruby bounded over to him in seconds. She was fast. Steve was squatting down and rubbing her back as soon as Bucky had gotten the leash and vest wrapped up. He smiled fondly as he watched Steve fawn all over Ruby. He raised an eyebrow when Steve looked back up. "Uh, water's fine." They needed to talk about this. About them. Right? Ruby had trotted back over to sit at his feet as soon as he got in his chair. He scratched her chin while he watched Steve get glasses.

Stranger: "And to think she was just a puppy not long ago. Already so big, but still a baby." The best baby there was. Steve clucked his tongue, avoiding eye contact, getting glasses and finally plates of pasta, setting one down in front of Bucky before he put one in front of his usual spot and sat down. "Hope you like it." He knew they had to talk about this. That's why Bucky was here, and confrontation was sort of Steve's thing, after all. Of course he remembered them being together, remembered how they were together, so close, even before they'd learned to be physical. But he remembered, too, the women before that, during that, and honestly, it had never bothered him. Bucky was popular then, drew attention, and what warm blooded American back then wouldn't indulge? The exception, not the rule, that's what Steve had thought then. Had thought every day since then, until their conversation not long ago. "Look," he said, finally meeting Bucky's eyes. "We don't... have to make this weird or anything. You remember and I remember, and it was good, but... there's no pressure. This is a different time, and we're... different people. I don't mind things how they are now."

You: When they were young, this kind of thing would get them thrown in jail or a huge fine for sodomy. So Bucky went on dates. He felt like a shit head for smiling at some redhead while his Stevie was at home waiting for him, but he wanted to keep up appearances. He wanted to keep them safe, keep Steve safe. People called him a fairy already and they couldn't catch on to the fact that he was doing it with his roommate. Bucky had been in love with Steve for almost as long as he could remember. Nothing had ever changed that. No woman could ever hold a candle to what he felt for Steve. That fucking idiot who got beat up so much that Bucky was sure he liked it. That idiot who got sick every winter and scared him half to death. That idiot who made charcoal sketches of him while he drank his morning coffee. Steven Grant Rogers, the love of Bucky's life. He thought he'd never remember that? Bucky tried to catch his gaze (what is he trying to avoid?). "Steve." Beside him, Ruby stood up and trotted over to him. Bucky stifled a laugh. He hadn't meant for it to be a command, but Steve needed her support more than he did anyways. He waited a little while to figure out what to say. There was a lot he could say, it was just a matter of what to pick first. "I've been in love with you since the summer of 1934." He ran his cool metal fingers over his knuckles. "I've never stopped for a single minute."

Stranger: Ruby by his side was definitely a comfort. She was a good friend, and he went to pet her head, rub her chin, while he waited. Waited, because this was an important, decades-overdue, conversation. They didn't talk about it back then. It just happened, at some point, their relationship just evolved and it made sense, just like it had made sense not to question it when Bucky went out with women and then slipped back into his bed to warm him up at night. Never a word about it, just an understanding, except it wasn't really an understanding. Steve realized that now. Maybe just a habit. He caught those steel-grey, ever-warm eyes with his own when Bucky finally explained. "Oh," he said first, and for a while, that was all he said. His ears were red now, not just pink, and his hand stilled in Ruby's fur. Right. And that did sort of make sense, didn't it? Because even if Steve had longed for Peggy, he'd always pick Bucky over her. "Then I think we got a lot of time to make up for," he finally settled for, a hesitant, almost excited, smile growing. "Punk," he added, before grinning bright, squeezing Bucky's hand in his own, and taking his first bite of dinner before it got too cold.

You: Men weren't keen on sharing their feelings back in the 1940s. It wasn't how things were done. That's what Bucky found a little weird about this century, you could get all touchy feely and it wasn't a sign of weakness. Bucky's face lit up and it felt like there was a wave of heat that passed over him. Relief. Bucky knew Steve better than he knew anyone and he was easily his favorite person in the world. Steve knew. He'd told him he loved him before. They didn't talk about what they were, they just... were. And Bucky was okay with that. They really were both stubborn mules when they wanted to be. "Damn right you do. I haven't kissed you in 70 years." He twirled his fork and offered him a smirk. God. Things could be normal. While he and Steve were barely echoes of the people they once were back before the war, he needed the normalcy of them having each other. If he had Steve he could do anything. Ruby was a nice addition too. He squeezed his hand back.

[sweets-fanfics]

Honeymoon (Steve x Reader) P. 8/?

AN: I had to force myself from adding more. I’m sorry it’s been so long. Know that I love you all.

Word Count: 1571

You sat back in the office chair and sighed. You told everyone you were going to try to figure out a counter to Riley's ability but you couldn’t stop staring at the picture of the two of you on Bruce’s desk. It was from the day you graduated high school. You looked so happy, and not trying to kill each other. That was also the last day you saw Bruce before he started turning green.

You looked out at window trying not to think about the past. You could see Steve outside as Tony showed him new weapons he had created for the suit. One more sigh and you looked at the the whiteboard in front of you.

“Reily, what have you done?” You turned up the movie scores you were listening to so that you could tune everything out and think. “I feel like I need some outside insight.” You picked up your phone. You scrolled through until you found one of the numbers of someone who you knew back when you had to check up on Inhumans.

“Hello.” His smooth voice said softly.

“Hello, my favorite bullet proof friend.”

Luke chuckled. “What does Shield want now?”

“Shield doesn’t know I’m calling you. I have a question.”

“Alright go ahead and ask.”

“You were once in the force right? And you yourself are Inhuman. How would you deal with someone who can control blood?”

Luke was quiet for a second. “The hell have you got yourself into?”

“Nothing new. Just my crazy brother who I thought was dead trying to kill me.”

“Yeah, I know how that feels. He’s inhuman, huh? I haven’t dealt with that before. You could ask Jessica, or Matt maybe.”

“How about you three get together see what you can find out.” You could see Coulson walking down the hall. “Shit. I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”

You hung up the phone right as he walked in. “Who was that?”

“I bought Wade a new coffee machine he didn’t know how to use it. What are you doing here?”

“I want to introduce you to the Director of Shield.”

“Who?” As you said that a tall white man with dark hair entered the room.

He held out his hand for you to shake, “Jeffrey Solomon Mace, pleasure to meet the Wife of Captain America. I looked up to him so much as a child.”

“Pleasure to meet you as well, but my name is (Y/N) Rogers, not Captain America’s wife.” You shook his hand firmly and let go. “I’m in the middle of something Phil. I can’t be bothered.” You turned around and fixed your notes.

“About your brother?” The new director asked.

You spun around in a split second. You turned so fast your eyes might have glowed a bit because Coulson placed a hand on Mace and pulled him back an inch. “What do you know?”

“We know you and Deadpool lost to him.” Mace continued. “I want to pull you off the case.”

“No!” You slammed your hand on your desk and it froze as a thick layer of  covered the top. “I.. I mean,” You pulled your hand off the desk so that the ice thawed out. “I have to be the one to do it.”

“No. That anger is exactly why I’m pulling you off.” Mace walked forward to shake your hand again.This time when you did he squeezed so hard you felt your hand snap and made you let out a yelp. “A team that trusts, succeeds. And right now I don’t trust you.”

He let go and straightened out his coat. “Alright, let’s get going. More meetings to attend. Pleasure meeting you Mrs. Rogers.” He turned back on last time as if listening to the song, “Darth Vader’s March, good song.”

He walked out the room as Coulson ran up to you but you pushed him away. “What an asshole! I hope he never has as great as a title as my Husband. I don’t trust him why is he in charge.”

“Let me look at your hand.”

“No. You made your point. Get out of here I’ll have bruce look at it.” Coulson sighed but left. “Friday.”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“I need Bruce.”

“I’ve already notified him and Captain Rogers.” As if on cue Steve slammed the door opened and was at your side in less than a second.

“Who hurt you?”

“Your biggest fan apparently.” You rubbed your hand.

Bruce walked in with an ice pack. “Picking fights again?”

“I was kicked off of Reilly's case. It’s all you know with figuring it out. No one be surprised if I’m sent on a mission tomorrow.”

As if on cue your phone vibrated. You looked at the screen and sighed. “Maybe I can see the future.”

“Where are they sending you?”

You squinted at the phone a bit, “London.”

“What’s in London?” Steve asked.

You shrugged, “It’s probably a made up something or other.” You smiled at Steve. “I’ll take it as a vacation.”

You got another text,

Can we meet without Hydra or Shield knowing?

You quickly locked your phone.

“What was that?” Bruce asked.

“Uh… Wade, is drunk texting.”

“Is it funny let me see?” Steve asked.

“It’s inappropriate pictures.”

“Ah… Maybe talk to him about that.”

“I will. I’m going to go put him in bed.” You gave Steve a peck on the cheek, grabbed your coat and keys and hurried out.

“She gonna be okay?” Steve asked looking at Bruce.

“She’s probably going to let some anger out. You know how she is with getting off of missions”

You walked into a theme park with your only cover being a hat and sunglasses. You found the meeting point and sat down to wait. Soon someone the same height as you sat down extremely close.

“Make it quick. I think I’m being watched.” You mumbled.

“How are you?” Riley asked sweetly.

“Stick to why you are here.” You said in a flat tone.

Your twin brother sighed, “They want me to kill you.”

“I’m touched.”

“What about you?”

You sat quietly for only a moment, “They kicked me from your case.”

He turned his head towards you. “What why?”

“New Director.”

“I saw him on the news. He seems fake.” You thought the same thing but you weren’t about to tell a Hydra assassin that. “Why is your hand broken?”

“He has superhuman strength.”

“I bet Cap’s pissed.”

“Why are you being friendly?”

“I regret how I acted those many years ago.” He said that with a type of tone like he was testing if that was an okay thing to say.” It really wasn’t.

“I have to go.” As you tried to stand your legs suddenly couldn’t move. “Let me go. Or I’ll hurt you back.”

“I can’t do that.” Riely kept looking straight.

“Really? Right now? In a Theme Park?”

“It’s my job.” As he spoke your hand slid into your pocket as an emergency panic option text your had set up went out to Steve and Bruce. “They won’t get here in time.”

“I can keep you busy until then.” You froze your hand and socked him in the face confusing him long enough that your legs could move. You jumped up and looked around for an employee. Once you caught the eyes of one of them you yelled out, “Evacuate the park!” You took off your hat and sunglass so the lady could see who you are.

By then Riley was now standing. “You’re going to make this difficult…” he rubbed some of the blood on his forehead where you hit onto his hand. As he swung at you again the blood turned into the shape of a blade right in front of your face giving you barely enough time to duck. You made the ground shift under him so that he was on the ground again.

Your eyes started to glow a flame grew in your hand. Your brother looked at you still with a blank face. “Is that the crazy look they said you always had when you were in that prison.” That made you stop a bit as you thought back to that horrible place. “These people don’t deserve you. You’re dying for no reason.”

“Shut up!” a fire ball flung from your hand to Riley who moved out of the way by taking one step to the right. When you tried to throw another your body froze again. “You are too much of a coward to actually fight me.”

“I have abilities so I should just use them.” As he got close you could see something in his eyes.

“The winter soldier serum. That’s why you're attacking aren’t you.”

“That or I hate you.”

“Not enough to kill me.” He shrugged as he prepared to strike.

That’s when a giant ball of red white and blue bumped him out of the way and Steve caught you as you tripped back a step. “Nice timing.”

“Yeah, well, you never hit that SOS button so I assumed it was bad.”

“Where’s Bruce?” As if on cue you could hear Riley struggling. When you looked over you saw him hanging upside down with his feet in Hulk’s hands. “He came green?”

“Like I said, you never hit the SOS button.”

“Hulk, knock him out, we’ll take him with us.” Hulk hit him once and your brother was out.

I’m realizing now that this is short to my standards I’m sorry

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