#OR HOW ABOUT THE AVENGERS!!!!! OH WAIT!!! CAP WOULD ONLY WORK WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF US LAW AND INTEREST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[punkrogue]

some fucking idiot: when we say "magneto was right" we're saying he's right about society and shit not supporting his terrorist actions

me: don't lump in with your cowardly ass i'm in full throated support of his terrorism. sentinels, purifiers, the mardies etc are all real and exist and want mutants dead and literally no one gives a single shit. they'd rather pass the mutant registration act and make "scaly lives matter" jokes on twitter then help stop the genocide of mutants. it's a good thing actually he's blowing shit up and he should do more of it actually.

[the-desolated-quill]

WandaVision: ‘Subverting’ Good Television - Quill’s Scribbles

(Spoilers for the first five episodes)

Hey everyone! Well... it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The last time I wrote a proper review or Scribble, people still thought the COVID crisis would be over within a month. The poor saps. But I thought that as a special way to mark this year’s Valentines Day, we could take a closer look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s shittiest power couple in their new Disney+ show WandaVision.

The first of many MCU spin-off shows that nobody asked for, broadcast exclusively on Disney’s totally unnecessary streaming platform, WandaVision is about everybody’s favourite whitewashed Nazi experiment and her red sexbot boyfriend as they try to fit into a suburban sitcom neighbourhood without arousing suspicion.

Yes, you read that correctly. The MCU has a sitcom now. My life is now complete.

Sarcasm aside, I was legitimately curious about WandaVision because of its unusual setting. And considering one of my most common criticisms of the MCU is its total lack of creativity, anything that’s even a little bit subversive is bound to attract my attention. Of course ‘subversive’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good.’ I could hand you a canvas smeared with my own shit and call it subversive. That doesn’t necessarily make it good art. And that’s exactly what WandaVision is. A canvas smeared with shit.

So lets split this critical analysis/review/angry bitter rant into two distinct chapters. The first focusing on the plot and setting, and the second focusing on the characters. Okay? Okay.

Chapter 1: Bewitched

Critics seem to be utterly enamoured with the whole sitcom gimmick, and it is a gimmick. As far as I can tell from the episodes I’ve seen, the sitcom setting serves no real purpose whatsoever other than to make the show ‘quirky.’ Which I wouldn’t mind, believe it or not, if the show was actually funny. There’s just one problem. It’s not.

Now in some ways describing why a sitcom doesn’t work is often futile because comedy is largely subjective. What I find funny, you won’t necessarily find funny and vice versa. With WandaVision, however, I won’t have that problem. I can demonstrate to you precisely why WandaVision, objectively, isn’t funny. And it all comes down to one simple thing. The stakes. Or rather the complete and total absence of stakes.

The show makes it very clear from the beginning that none of what we’re seeing is real. The cheesy theme song, the era appropriate special effects (mostly. It’s actually very inconsistent), the joke commercials, and, in the case of the first two episodes, which are in black and white, the appearance of red lights and objects in Scarlet Witch’s general vicinity. (Gee, what a mystery this is).

Basically Wanda has brought Vision back from the dead and created this sitcom world for them to inhabit. I’ll explain the stupidity of this in Chapter 2. The point is none of this is real, and that has a negative effect on the comedy because the very nature of comedy is suffering. Take the plot of the first episode. Wanda and Vision have to prepare a dinner to impress Vision’s boss. If they fail, Vision could lose his job and the couple could be exposed as superheroes. If this were a normal sitcom, it would work. The stakes are clear and it would be satisfying to see the two struggle and overcome the odds. But here, we know it’s not real. If it’s not real, it means there’s no stakes. If there’s no stakes, it means there’s no suffering. If there’s no suffering, there’s no comedy.

It would be one thing if the unfunny sitcom stuff lasted for like the first ten minutes or so before making way for the actual plot, but it doesn’t. Oh no. It doesn’t even last for the first episode. Out of the five episodes I’ve watched, four of them are almost entirely about these unfunny, objectively flawed sitcom homages, each set in a different time period. The fifties, the sixties, and so on. And what’s worse is that nothing that happens in them is plot-relevant. That gets relegated to the last five minutes of an episode. So you’re forced to sit through twenty five minutes of boring slapstick and puns in order to catch even a whiff of actual story. Which begs the question... who is this for exactly? It can’t be entertaining to Marvel fans, who have to slog through all this pointless shit so they can figure out what the fuck is going on. Comedy fans may get a kick out of the sitcom pastiche at first, but after four episodes, surely the joke would wear thin. So why is it in here? Clearly someone in the writer’s room absolutely fell in love with the idea of doing a Marvel sitcom, but nobody put in any time or effort to figure out how it would work in context.

I cannot stress enough how bad the plotting of this series is. As I said, the vast majority of a thirty minute episode is about shitty sitcom plots that aren’t funny and don’t have any impact on the story, only to then tease you with a crumb of actual plot in order to keep you coming back for the next instalment. Admittedly it’s an effective strategy. I was more than ready to quit after Episode 2 until that beekeeper showed up out of the sewer (don’t ask. It’s not important). WandaVision essentially follows the Steven Moffat school of bad writing. String your audience along with the promise that things might get more interesting later on and that all the bullshit that came before will retroactively make sense by the end. Except, as demonstrated with BBC’s Sherlock, that doesn’t work. And even if it did, it wouldn’t justify wasting the audience’s fucking time. And that’s what the majority of WandaVision is. A waste of time.

The only episode that doesn’t follow the sitcom format is the fourth episode. Instead it basically exists to explain all the shit that happened before. The shit that the audience, frankly, are smart enough to figure out for themselves. Wanda created the sitcom world as a way of coping with the loss of Vision, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, we got it. Thanks. It doesn’t advance the plot or anything. It’s just a massive info-dump. But by far the lowest point was when Darcy (by far the most annoying character in the first Thor film and is just as obnoxious here) was sat in front of the TV, watching the sitcom and asking the same questions we were. Not even attempting to look for answers. Just reiterating what the audience is thinking. Like this is an episode of fucking Gogglebox.

In the end it becomes apparent why the series is structured the way that it is. It’s to hoodwink people into subscribing to Disney’s stupid streaming service. If you think about it, there was no reason for WandaVision to be a TV series other than to lure gullible fans in with a piece-meal story buried in a mountain of crap. This isn’t a TV show. It’s what is cynically known in the world of big business executives as ‘content.’ They’re not interested in entertaining the audience. Instead they crave ‘engagement’, which isn’t the same thing. Watching WandaVision is like staring into the void, waiting for something to happen, while Disney charge you for the privilege.

Chapter 2: I Love Lucy

So the plot sucks balls. What about the characters? Surely if Wanda and Vision are likeable at least, it’ll give us something to cling onto.

Well as I was watching the first episode, it suddenly hit me that I couldn’t remember anything that happened to them in previous films. I knew Vision died, but other than that, I couldn’t tell you significant plot details or their personalities or anything. Not a great start.

See, up until now, Vision and Scarlet Witch have been little more than background characters. So already there’s an uphill struggle to get us invested in their relationship, especially considering we haven’t actually seen that relationship develop. In Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Scarlet Witch is killing people because she’s pissed off about Tony Stark killing people (you work that one out) until all of a sudden she stops and joins the good guys because the script said so. Vision meanwhile is introduced as a convenient deus ex machina to beat Ultron and gets no real personality other than he’s a robot. Captain America: Civil War comes the closest to giving Wanda a story and personality of her own as it’s her actions that cause the Sokovia Accords to come into effect, but she never gets any real growth or payoff as the film is heavily focused on Cap and Iron Man’s penis measuring contest. And as for Vision, all he does in the film is accidentally cripple War Machine. No real character or arc there as such. And then we have Avengers: Infinity War, where Wanda and Vision are now sporadically in love and on the run until that pesky Josh Brolin, looking like a CGI cross between Joss Whedon and a grumpy grape, comes along and rips out Vision’s Infinity Stone to power up his golden glove of doom, and the film treats this like a tragic moment, except... it isn’t. Because we haven’t really had the time to properly get to know these characters and see their romance blossom. So instead it just comes off as hollow and forced.

WandaVision has the exact same problem. Apparently Wanda was so distraught about Vision’s death that she broke into a SWORD base, stole his corpse, brought it back from the dead... somehow, and then enslaved an entire town of people to create an idyllic lifestyle for her and her hubby while broadcasting it as a sitcom to the outside world... for some reason. Putting aside the dubious morality of it all, it’s impossible to really sympathise with Wanda or her supposed grief because we’ve barely spent any time with her. Had the Marvel movies taken the time to properly explore the characters and show us their relationship grow and develop, this might have had more emotional resonance. But no, it just happens. In one film they barely speak to each other and in the next they’re a couple. No effort to explore how they feel about each other or any of the problems that may arise trying to date a robot. It just happens and we’re just supposed to care. Well I’m sorry, but I don’t care. You’re going to have to try a little bit harder than that I’m afraid. What’s worse is that, thanks to the whole fake sitcom thing, it’s impossible to really become invested in Wanda and her plight because the show has to constantly keep us at arms length at all times in order to keep up the pretence that this bullshit is somehow mysterious.

Looking through the WandaVision tag, it amuses me how many people say that she’s acting out of character. And yeah, her actions are a bit of a head scratcher. Why would an Eastern European’s ideal life be an American sitcom? Why a sitcom? Why kidnap an entire town? Why keep changing the decade? None of it makes sense, but you’re wrong for thinking that Wanda is behaving out of character for the simple reason that Wanda has never actually had a character. In fact, ironically, Wanda mind controlling an entire town and forcing them to do her bidding is probably the one consistent thing about her as she did this in Age Of Ultron. In interviews, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany described how they used actors like Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick Van Dyke as influences, which is really funny because they’re straight up admitting they don’t have characters and even now they’re still not playing the characters, instead emulating the work of far better actors.

As I was watching the show, it became abundantly clear that not only do Marvel not have the faintest idea what they wanted to do with these characters, but they also straight up don’t give a shit about these characters. Wanda in particular has had a rough time under the tyrannical regime of the House of Mouse. First they cast Elizabeth Olsen, a white woman, to play a Romani character, then systematically erasing her Jewish roots, even going so far as to put a cross in her bedroom in Civil War, and now the character is being butchered even more by forcing her into an American sitcom housewife role that she apparently willingly chose for herself, which is laughable. I mean say what you like about Magneto in the X-Men films, at least they actually depicted his Jewish culture. At least they recognised his Jewish background was important (though not important enough to cast a Jewish actor apparently). Wanda’s steady cultural erasure over the years is incredibly insidious and judging by Olsen’s comments in interviews, where she called Wanda’s comic book outfit a quote ‘gypsy thing’ unquote, it seems nobody has an ounce of fucking respect for the character or the culture she’s supposed to be representing. (and to all those kissing her arse saying it was a slip of the tongue, she has been repeatedly called out for using the slur in the past, so at this point I’d describe her behaviour as wilful ignorance)

If you want further proof of how much Marvel doesn’t seem to care about Wanda, look no further than her brother Pietro, aka Quicksilver. At the end of Episode 5, Wanda brings Pietro back from the dead, except it’s not Pietro. It’s Peter Maximoff, the Quicksilver from the X-Men films played by Peter Evans, who coincidentally is not Jewish or Romani either. So Quicksilver has the dubious honour of not only being whitewashed three times, but also twice within the same franchise. But should we really be surprised at this point? It’s Marvel after all. The same company that whitewashed the Ancient One in Doctor Yellowface and claimed it wasn’t racist because Tilda Swinton is ‘Celtic’. But now I’m going off topic. My point is that this isn’t a simple case of recasting an actor like Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as the Hulk. WandaVision actually acknowledges the recast in-universe, which makes no sense. Why would Wanda bring back her brother, only to make him look like a different person? We the audience may be familiar with this version of Quicksilver, but she isn’t. That would be like me bringing my Grandad back to life and making him look like Ian McKellen. He’d be perfectly charming, I’m sure, but he wouldn’t be my Grandad. 

If Marvel really cared about the characters or narrative consistency, they would have brought Aaron Taylor Johnson back. Instead, now they have absorbed 20th Century Fox into the hellish Disney abyss, they use X-Men’s Quicksilver as a means to keep viewers from switching off and so that people will write stupid articles and think pieces about whether the rest of the X-Men will show up in the MCU. It’s like dangling your keys in front of a toddler’s face to distract them from the rotting corpse of a raccoon lying face down in the corner of the room.

And it’s here where I decided to stop watching the show because fuck Disney.

Epilogue: One Foot In The Grave

You know, I am sick and tired of the so called ‘professional’ critics bending over backwards to praise these god awful films and shows when it’s so clear to anyone with a functioning brain cell how bad they truly are. WandaVision is without a doubt one of the most cynically produced and poorly structured TV shows I’ve ever seen. Its riffs on classic sitcoms are pointless and self-indulgent, the writing is terrible, the characters are unlikable and unsympathetic, and it’s entirely emblematic of what the entire MCU has become of late. And it’s only going to get worse as Disney drowns us with more ‘content’ to keep the plebs ‘engaged’. In short; pathetic.

[marvel-m-lee]

Fire, Note books and a- kid? •Part 1 of M-Verse•

Warning! This series will include gruesome descriptions of blood, bodies etc. These may be rare but they will be graphic. (This one doesn't have much tickling but it has a⁸ little haha)

This Series is also a tickls series, so if you dont like it, sorry oof.

Fandom: Marvel

-

"CRAP" Sam yelled as he flew right under a collapsing tie beam. "Language!" The cap yelled through the intercom, they were on a mission. There had been an explosion in an old warehouse building, no one knows how it happened but once they got there the place was covered with fire and dead bodies.

They were now in the building, fighting what they believed to be ex hydra workers that went into hiding for more experiments.

Cap fought from the ground whilst Sam was trying to get some shots from above while reading looked for any potential prisoners.

"Ain't seeing nothing from RedWibg Cap, the place is about to blow, we've gotta get out" Steve had just taken out about 17- now 18 Hydra agents, throwing them in the burning flames or beating them in combat.

"Alright, have one more look around the perimeter. Nat get the Jet prepared for exit incase the place actually does blow" He yelled, fighting off the last two Hydra agents in his area, throwing one onto another knocking them into a large fire screaming.

"K, sam make sure there arent any survivors" Nat ran back to the jet and started it up, the lights turning on as it slowly began to hover over the ground.

"Will do Widow" Sam flew up above the collapsing building to get another view of the area.

"Black Widow or Natasha" A sassy voice explained down the intercom.

"Okay Spider Lady" A grunt was heard that made both Cap and Sam laugh. Sam was looking through Redwing and his own eyes and couldn't seem to spot anything. "It all seems clear" Just as he were about to fly back down though he noticed something.

A young girl, her hair stuck together with some blood, mixed with dirt and wood. Her skin covered with brown mud and small cuts, she wore a white ripped hospital gown, too no longer white- or had seemed to be in years?...

"Holy shit-"

"Language!"

"There's a kid- west bound, see if you can get her. Covered in dirt and seemingly blood, right near where the fire seemed to have started from the burnt wood scraps and dying fires around her"

"A kid? West bound? Nat how long we got left?" Steve asked, running through the flames, dodging their burns and running as fast as he could.

"Before the place explodes? From my view about 150 seconds, just over two minutes. But you're gonna need to be fast so we can all get out." Nat watched over the intercoms and the computers showing where Steve was.

"Take a left"

"What?"

"Take a left! I'm giving you the fastest route to the west bound. Keep running until you find large doors, go through them and the last one at the end should lead to the girl"

Steve stopped asking the questions and complied. It wasnt his first time saving a kid, but the closer he got, the more he saw about the place. Cages, torture chambers, training halls.

This place wasnt a good one, especially for a kid... He thought.

He found the large doors, chained shut. Before he reached them he threw his shield, breaking the locks almost instantly. He ran through, but stopped in his tracks. The room was full of blood, the sticky walls glossed over, there were bones, some shattered, some scattered. Not hundreds, probably enough for the bodies of a good couple of people though... it was gruesome. Some of the worst things he had seen in a while, probably since... well. The blip?..

How was a kid kept here? How did we not know sooner?...

The thoughts span round the super solider head, taking up more time than he would have cared for.

"Steve? What's happened why'd you stop? We've got a minute!" Nat asked, she was getting impatient, the adrenaline was rising and so were the flames, everyone felt on edge here, as soon as they stepped down something felt very wrong.

"Shit, yeah. Alright, I'm going!" Steve ran and soon found the young girl, she didn't seem too strictly harmed for being so close to the flames. And for surviving in this, this prison.

"Got her, how long have I got left?"

"45 seconds"

Steve now had the young girl over his shoulder, he was trying to run even faster than he had before. This place. Something else had been happening here.

As the 100 year old ran though, he seemed to notice the fire die down wherever he ran to, creating a simple path for him to run in. He spotted the jet, Sam was standing in the open doorway, waiting to see if cap would make it. Silently cheering him on.

"10 seconds Cap"

"Start taking off now, we'll make it."

"FUCK NO! HURRY UP MAN" Sam yelled, this time to Captain America ratger rgan through the intercoms.

Time felt like it was going in slow motion, Steve got close enough just to jump and as soon as he did the whole place behind blew up. It all went so quickly after that, Sam grabbed his hand, holding on with all his might as Steve held the young girl. Nat, quicker than ever, sped off into the sky, miles from the ground to make sure the explosion wouldn't hit them as harshly as it should have.

Steve lay on the floor, with the young girl cradled in his arms behind the shield so she wouldn't get burnt. He was staring at her, even though she was covered in- well not so flattering things, she was beautiful. Something within began stirring. Something warm, familiar...

"Holy shit my dude. We almost died!" Sam droned, going to sit down on the chairs they had.

"We usually almost die, its part of our job" Nat explained, walking in and rolling her eyes. "Nahhh, Nat even you know that place was off" Sam looked over to the spy who sighed and walked over to Steve to help him up.

"How's the kid?"

Steve stood up and pulled away the shield to show off a little girl with y/c/h hair, covered in mud and pieces of blood, tucked up into his chest, breathing gently. "Wow" Sam sighed from the back.

"She's not in as much bad of a state as I would have imagined?" Nat said, watching over the little girl. "She wasnt too close to the big fire, must have been thrown into the mud and spotty snow from the explosion." Sam suggested.

Steve just held onto the small angel in his arms. He felt as though it were only he and she in the world, that time was no longer relevant. He memorized every piece of her face, even the pieces with dirt, cuts and bruises.

Suddenly Nat snapped him out of it, "Alright, I'm going to go get Bruce over. See if she's alright. For now just but her on a bed." Steve nodded as the Spider left to go call Dr. Banner.

"We haven't got beds though?- oh fuck you man" Steve laughed at Sam, he had just pulled out a bed from the sides of the ship. "You didnt know?" He teased. He and Nat had let sam sleep on the chairs or ground for the past few years. It seemed to be a secret agreement not to tell him amongst the avengers.

"Nah man, that's cold" Steve placed the little girl down and pulled up the walls of the bed to make sure she wouldn't fall out. Watching her little breaths as Sam's words started to fade away.

"Oi you even listening to me?" Sam asked unamused sitting up and looking at the fallen solider. "She's gonna be alright Steve" Steve sighed, deep down he knew she'd be fine. But he felt something strange. Fear. Like he had just found an old journal or someone he hadn't seen for a very long time.

He sighed and stood up, walking over to the bird man who was now sitting up watching the soldiers actions. They both heard Natasha in the background talking with Bruce.

"She's gonna be alright Steve"

"I hope so..."

It was a while till they had all landed at the compound. Rogers and Wilson played some card games- dont question it, Roger's made Tony buy him loads for each mission. He enjoyed the games. He also won most of them.

Steve picked the young girl up and brought her to Bruce as the doors opened up, they lauded her down on a hospital bed and hurried off. Bruce stayed back checking in on everyone. "The mission?"

"A success as always"

Steve seemed quiet, Sam answering fir him rather than fir himself. He watched the girl be scurried along into the building.

"Did you clean all her wounds?"

"Mhm"

Steve looked down and nodded before they all began walking. He didnt mean to seem any less- well captain america-y, but he definitely had something on his mind. Bruce began to follow quickly to ask what's up.

"Hmm? Oh.. nothing. Just worried for the child" Steve tried to brush the feeling off but couldn't his gut had other plans. They wanted to see the girl, see if she was okay.

"She's gonna be alright, she only needs a few tests done- safe ones of course, blood pressure, cut cleansing etc" Bruce smiled at the much taller man. Oh god he was short. Steve smiled back to the Dr with 7 PHD's.

"Thanks Banner, I'm gonna go see Stark"

"Okay, stay safe, I'll tell you when she's improved"

Steve nodded and walked into the building, turning an opposite way to Banner and going to go see Stark. Steve was secretly very grateful Bruce would tell him about the child once she was improving. He felt a connection.

"Stark?" The 100 year old asked, knocking on the doors to the Lab.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, Open the Doors for Roger's Pleade and Thank you" The billionaire didnt move from his seat, he had been working on some new tech as usual.

"Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y" Steve walked in, still in his spandex from the mission covered in blood and dirt with little scuff marks all over from the fire flames.

"Its an 8 Code Pin Rogers"

"I know I know, I just can't seem to remember it"

Tony rolled his eyes and looked up leaning on his chair with one arm resting over the top.

"What's up?"

Steve furrowed his brows. "Hmm?"

"You, you seem... less Super, more Man"

Steve rolled his eyes, "I'm not Super Man Tony!" Tony just shrugged and chewed the side of his cheek.

"Dunno there Cap" The genius stood up and walked over to him, the man was much seemingly smaller without his heals on, just bare foot walking around. He got extremely close to the Cap and got on his tip toes leaning in. If he wanted he could have kissed the man he were so close, though they both knew it wouldn't happen, Tony just liked getting close to annoy people.

That's when the billionaire squealed and almost fell to the ground with a jump back, a light blush on his face. "Dick" Steve smirked at the man, he sure was one ticklish man, billionaire, genius who cares. He was still ticklish. Tony went to go sit back down.

"So what's up?" This time, happily keeping his distance.

"I saved a kid today"

Tony furrowed his brows and chuckled, slowly clapping his hands. "Well done soldier, you saved a kid"

"Tony im serious"

"Well I didn't really think you were lying-"

Steve stepped forward making the Billionaire loose his confidence. He never minded being tickled, but then again it didnt help his reputation being melted into a giggly mess. He was still really nervous. Steve smirked at the man but then continued.

"She was covered in dirt and bits of blood. But before I found her, I ran through a hall. It was Dark, but the raging fires lit it up. There were bones, scattered. Probably enough for a good few people, some big some small. And blood, all over the walls..."

Steve tensed up, remembering the place. "It reminded me of the war with Thanos."

Tony stayed quiet, no longer fearful of childish tickles. It seemed horrifying. Even for them. "Okay, send me the Locations, I'll get F.R.I.D.A.Y up and working on it alright?" Tony wasn't the best when it came to comforting, but he knew he could do something.

Steve looked up at him and smiled thankfully, but Tony coukd tell there was something else bothering. Yet he didn't want Steve to be too focused on it all.

"Hey, here" Tony grabbed something from within a draw, it had a captain America's shield on the front, he handed it to steve. Just a normal sketch book. And some pencils. "You're welcome to use these and sit down at the window or something while I work. Keep your mind off things.

"Thanks Tony" Steve smiled at the billionaire, he wasnt great at comforting, but he knew what Steve wanted. It was a strange friendship that's for sure.

"Look at the first page too! I did a little something" The billionaire smirked as Steve turned the book open, on the front was an IronMan helmet with a little speech bubble saying "I Am IronMan" and a little stick figure with a shield in a cage in the bottom corner saying "I stink!"

Tony burst out laughing at Steve's expression. Let's just say his laughing continued for longer than expected...

[imagine-loki]

You Have Heart

TITLE: You Have Heart CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 4/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE:  Imagine finding out that your soulmate is Loki and your very first kiss is interrupted by Thor shouting “Yeeessss”

RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS:  This is a rewrite of the original work of the same name.  Also on AO3 here

You looked around the room with fresh eyes, though you were understandably overwhelmed by everything that was going on.  “This is really the Avengers’ tower?” You asked the first stupid question that came to your mind.  Your mind was reeling and trying desperately to keep up with everything that was going on.  It was failing.  Miserably.  

But you saw the skyline from the windows of the tower and recognized the view.  You also saw familiar things lying around the common room you were standing in: Clint’s quiver of arrows, a Jarvis interface screen that was open to Jarvis, Cap’s shield in the corner, a couple of guns on the coffee table that looked like they were in the middle of being cleaned.  It definitely looked like the team lived there.  

You looked up at Loki again, sure your eyes were wide. Your heart felt like it was going too fast as was your breathing.  Was this what hyperventilating felt like?

Loki gave you a gentle look.  “Breathe, drotning,” he said gently.  “Focus on me,” his voice was a purr, but was no less an order and you couldn’t help obeying, focusing your breathing on his.  Slowly, as you breathed together, your heart rate slowed and your mind started to calm.  “Better?” He asked when you were calm again.

You nodded and gave him a sheepish look. “Yes.  Sorry,” 

Loki’s smile was gentle and… awed.  It was as if… as if he’d never thought he would find his soulmate.  “I understand, drotning.  It’s a lot to find one’s soulmate.  Then to be teleported to the Avengers’ Tower of all places… Trust me, I understand,”

He was a lot different than you expected.  Much more gentle and caring.  

“I have waited a thousand years to find you, drotning,” he continued.  That could definitely explain why he was being so kind and gentle.  He was in just as much awe as you were.  

“For me?  But I’m just…” you were a no one.  You had no skills, no abilities.  You had a useless degree, a dead-end job, and more importantly, you were mortal.  What could you possibly have to offer a god?

Loki smiled.  “You’re my soulmate, drotning,” he replied.  He reached for the gauntlet on his left arm and unbuckled it carefully.  He removed it, then vanished it in a shimmer of green magic.  You were awed by more magic use.  You couldn’t help it.  Magic was so rare on Earth, and real magic was unheard of.  Though the team could do some amazing things, none of them could do real magic.  Loki could and you found it absolutely amazing.

Loki pushed up the sleeve on his left arm to display the words tattooed there.  They were lit up the same as yours were, the same glowing green, the same gold sparkles.  But they were the words you had spoken to him earlier.  ‘Oh gods, it really is you’ the words read, but without tone, without inflection.  

Had Loki misunderstood your awe for all those years he waited?  Had he thought that his soulmate would deny him?

When you looked up into his eyes, you knew you could never deny the soulmate bond.  You couldn’t deny this god.  It was amazing that he was your soulmate.  He wasn’t evil.  You felt it, and he had been mind controlled during the battle of New York.  

“I can’t believe we finally found each other,” you said softly.  “I thought… I thought you’d returned to Asgard after the battle?”  You knew that was what happened.  Your question was how he was back. 

Loki inclined his head.  “I did return to Asgard to face the Allfather’s mercy for my crimes against Midgard-“

“Crimes that were mind control,” you replied defensively.

Loki chuckled and nodded his agreement.  “I like you already, drotning,” he said with a smirk.  “The allfather decided that my fate was to rot in the dungeons of Asgard for the rest of my days.  Mother talked him around and he eventually decided I could come to Midgard and work with the Avengers as a form of penance,” 

You nodded your understanding.  That made sense.  It also explained your sudden fascination with the Avengers’ Tower.  Loki was in there and the soulmate bond drew you to him.  The soulmate bond could apparently transcend the realms if your soulmate was from Asgard.  “What…?” You paused, stopped, tried again as you gathered your words “What happens next?” You asked him softly.

Loki looked sheepish.  “There are some things we need to discuss first,” he said gently and led you over to one of the couches.  You followed him and took a seat.  There were things to discuss.  Your entire life had just been upended.  “Thor is currently explaining the situation to your friend.  He will meet us here and bring your things.  So you do not need to worry about that,” he reassured you.  “I don’t intend to destroy your life, but,” he hesitated and picked nervously at his hands.  “I’m afraid there are some things that will have to change for you, being my soulmate,” he made it sound like a curse, being bound to him.  You saw how bruised and easily hurt he was.  Instinctively, you wanted to make it so he was never hurt like that again.  You knew that was the soulmate bond talking.  It drew you to each other, made it easier to get to know and care for the person on the other end of that bond.  No one quite knew how the magic worked, just that it did work. 

“Like what?” You asked suspiciously.  You didn’t like how this was sounding.  Yes, you’d found your soulmate, and you were planning on getting to know him and building a relationship, but that took building and work, even for soulmates. You still had a life, still had an apartment, a shitty job (ok, you were willing to give that one up, especially for something better), and a life.  You weren’t just going to give those things up.

Loki hesitated before he spoke again.  “I don’t wish to take your independence, nor will I, but… I do have quite a lot of enemies, drotning.  I wish to know you’re safe for one thing,” that was fair.  All the Avengers had enemies.  You only knew of one who had a soulmate and that was Tony and Pepper.  Pepper usually lived in the tower and had security details when she was working.  “And for another…” he hesitated, then reached for your hand.  “May I?” He was perfectly polite.  

You didn’t know what he was up to, but you gave him your hand.  There was no harm in that.  When you did, power flared between you and you felt it not just from him.  But from within you.  

“As I thought, drotning.  The soulmate bond has given you the gift of the seidr, of Asgardian magic,” 

[notyetneedcoffee]

Soul Seer, Pt. 12

Loki Master List

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Angst, 18+ Smut

Author’s Note: Takes place right after Avengers 1, with time travel elements and hints of Infinity Wars. Does NOT follow cannon after Avengers.

Sorry for taking so long to update... there’s only a couple parts left to go!

“We have a problem.” Tony Stark strode into the conference room Steve Rogers had taken over as his head quarters for the rescue and clean up operations. Cap looked up from the tablet he’d been studying. Tony didn’t usually sound that angry even in the middle of a fight.

“What is it?” Cap stood up.

Tony looked around the room. You felt the wave rage, betrayal, flowing off him and looked over at Loki with confusion. The other three men in the room, Army General Ramirez, Colonel Whitehall and the FDNY Fire Chief all stopped, waiting.

Tony flicked his mobile unit, sending a holographic display over the table. A huge group of citizens was gathered outside the damage zone. They were chanting and carrying signs with things like “Justice Must Be Served”.

“Someone leaked who our out of town help really is.” Tony flipped the display to a news anchor. An image of Loki taken from the battle sat next to an image someone caught on their cell phone of him in his “Luke” disguise. Tony crossed his arms and scowled. “They’re calling for him to be turned over to authorities.”

“He’s helping us.” Steve scowled. “He’s been held accountable by his own people.”

“Anyone know who leaked?” The General slapped his notebook down.  

For all of the confusion and anger flying around the room, Loki was a center of calm. You stood, walking slowly to Loki’s side. You placed both your hands on his chest. His eyes remained on the holo image, but his focus was elsewhere. At your touch, his hands came up to cover yours.

“Loki?”

“The secret is out and cannot be put back. There are now but two choices. You deny your people a justice they deserve and watch as dissent and violence erupt amongst the masses, or you turn me over.” His eyes lowered to meet you wide stare.

“No.” You shook your head.

“That- “ Tony waved his finger around. “That is not going to happen. God, I can’t believe I’m going to say this! But we actually need your help.”

“He’s right” Steve rubbed his forehead. “We would not have accomplished what we have in the last three weeks without your help.”

“Loki is also right,” General tapped his pen on the desk. “If people know he’s here, even if we prove he’s helping, they’ll call for blood. People are terrified. This was an alien attack on American soil. It’s going to be ugly either way.”

“Excuse me.” Jarvis cut in to the conversation. “Sir, Secretary of State Wallace is calling for you.”

“Fuck.” Tony shut down the holo image.

“Buy time, Tony.” Steve folded his arm. “We need to talk about this before we agree to anything.”

“Yeah.” Tony brought his mobile to his ear. “Hey Jack! How’s it hangin’?” He marched out the room for his office.

“Loki, why are you so calm?” You studied his face. “Oh, no. No. You knew this was going to happen. You’ve been waiting for it to happen.”

His cool hand cupped your face, thumb ghosting over your lower lip. “Yes, my pet. I knew.”

Within an hour, you found yourself sitting beside Loki in a room filled to the brink with Avengers and US officials. You listened to the arguments fly around the room, felt level of animosity rise. Fury insisted if Loki was going to be incarcerated it should be with SHIELD. Others insisted there be a trial. Some wondered if sentenced to death, could he even be executed. What it mean in the public opinion if he couldn’t be killed. Bruce was adamant that Loki had already been tried by Odin.

“Are you alright, my pet?” Loki’s baritone voice cut through the noise.

“No.” You shook your head, realizing how close you were to tears. Anxiety, anger, and frustration raged inside. “You can’t let them take you.”

Loki stood and held his hand out for you. Before you made two steps from the table, Rogers called out. “Loki. Where are you going?”

“Captain, I believe you know my intentions in regard to the work you are doing here. I am bound to whatever order is given me. Being here, while my fate is decided, is not necessary.” Loki’s gaze moved to you then back to the Cap. “Don’t you agree?”

He understood. This was about you. “You’re right. The conversation may even be a little more honest with you out of the room. We all know the weight of Dr. Banner’s opinion. We’ll let you know when we’re done.”

Loki tipped his head and led you from the room with a hand at your back. The calm radiating off of him was infuriating. He was normally full of fire and fight. It scared you and you hated being scared. You managed to keep quiet until the elevator doors closed.

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re just giving up.” You growled, staring at the readout taking you to your floor.

“I must do as Dr. Banner orders. What is there to give up?” Loki sounded distant.

“What is there – “ You spun, instantly furious. “My entire life, my entire existence, has changed! Do you have any idea what would happen to me if they took you! Do you know what that would do to me! What is there to give up?! You selfish- “

Loki’s mouth crashed over yours. His hands roughly pulling you flush against his body, lifting you off your toes. Waves of possessive need, protective outrage, wrapped around you as tightly as his arms. Your fingers slipped through his silky hair as you clung to him.

The elevator doors opened, Loki waltzed you onto your floor. A tickle dance across your skin just before he dropped you down on the soft sheets of your bed. The cool air tickled across your bare flesh. Loki pinned you to the bed, hands holding down your wrists.

His face hovered over your, eyes blazing. “You are mine. I will not allow you to be . . . taken . . . from me. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe.”

“But you were so calm.” The tightness in your chest began to unravel. “What if they decide to. . .”

“It doesn’t matter what they decide.” Loki’s nose ghosted over yours, his breath mingling with yours. “The only word that matters is Banner’s.” His tongue slipped along your lower lip. “He is a man of reason.”

“You’re not concerned?”

“No, my pet, worry not.”

“But…”

His mouth covered yours, tongue dancing around your, drawing a moan from your throat. He nipped your lower lip between his teeth. “Whatever may come, I will protect you, my feisty little pet.”

“Don’t laugh at me. I was furious.” You rocked your hips up against him, causing Loki to growl. You twisted your wrists until your fingers entwined with his. “You are mine.”

Loki fell upon you like a man starving. He bit marks across your neck. His body slid along yours. The coolness of his skin against your flushed skin sent shivers over your body. His teeth grazed your nipple. You pulled at his hair, calling his name. Loki marked your delicate flesh.

“So fine.” Loki growled. He pushed apart your legs, teeth nipping, hot tongue painting wet trails along your inner thighs. It sent fire racing through your veins. His fingers slid through your wetness, delving into your depths. With a wicked smile, Loki licked his fingers. “My sweet.”

“Loki, don’t tease.” You clawed at the sheets.

He pressed your knees toward your shoulders, his tongue taking a long sweep across your sex. His voice rumbled deep. “Don’t tell me what to do, my pet.” He flicked your clit with his tongue. “I do what I want.”

You wrapped your legs around him and twisted. He allowed you to flip him over onto his back. Straddling his waist, hands on his chest, you nipped at his jaw. “I wanted to stand in front of you, and dare anyone to take you from me. I would rip them apart. You are mine.”

His fingers dug into your ass as you rubbed against his hard cock. Loki’s eyes fell closed. Your declaration feeling more intoxicating than any Asgardian mead he’d ever tasted. “You are a marvel, my dear.”    

“Loki,” you breathed, lowering yourself on him. “Loki,” you sighed, relishing in the stretch and the feel of him. “Oh, fuck, Loki,” you panted sitting up and rocking on him. His cock hitting you perfectly.

His feet anchored on the bed, thrusting up. So powerful. Your cunt clenched around him. Loki growled, holding you in place and fucking you harder. You reached back, balancing with a hand on his knee. Heat coiled in your center.

Loki watched the sweat break out on your skin, delighted in your tits bouncing for him. He extended a tendril of magic. A cool vibrating thrum pressed against your clit.

“Oh fuck!” You began to quiver.

“Do not come until I say.” Loki ordered. You whined, but nodded. The onslaught of his cock and the vibration overwhelming.

An icy pinch nipped along the edge of your breast. You yipped. A series of them circles your breasts, making them feel tight and hyper-sensitive. Ghost finger pinch your nipples hard, sending a shock to your cunt that near pushed you over. “Oh, god, Loki!”

He growled, a smirk upon his face. The thrum upon your clit became stronger and pushed against you harder. “Not yet.” Loki slammed into at a brutal pace. Wet, skin slapping skin. You panted. Shook. You couldn’t help it. The pinches upon your nipples pulled hard, coming free, the flash of pain making you snap.

Heat burst forth. You flooded, squirting over his cock. Soaking everything. Shaking uncontrollably. Falling forward. Loki wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against him. Burying in you deep, coming hard with groan.

You lay boneless on his chest, breath slowly returning to normal. Loki stroked your skin, holding you gently. He allowed himself to get lost in your breath and heartbeat. You sighed and drifted into near sleep. He would not say it aloud, but if Banner makes any decision that takes you from him, he would tear everything to the ground.

You’d become his salvation. Loki once again wondered if the Norns laughed at him. A fragile little mortal.

He let you sleep, just holding you.

In short order though, Jarvis quietly alerted him of visitors. “Loki, excuse me, but Captain Rogers wishes me to inform you that he and the others are on their way to your suite.”

You lifted your head, sleepily.

“Thank you. Have they come to a decision?”

“I believe so, sir.”

“Time to get up?�� You sat up, the worry returning.

“Yes.” Loki stood and held a hand out for you.

With a shimmer of magic, you were both clean and dressed. You smiled, leaning into him. “Magic is so cool.”

His lips covered yours in a gentle kiss just as the door to your suite chimed. You both walked out of the bedroom just as the living room filled. Rogers was joined by Stark, Banner, Romanoff, and surprisingly Fury.

“You’ve come to a conclusion.”

“Yeah.” Banner was smiling. Good sign.

“We explained about Odin’s orders and the oath.” Cap began. “But the court of public opinion is a pretty powerful force.”

“Indeed it is.” Loki agreed. He took you hand in his to keep you from fidgeting. Everyone’s emotions were bounding all over the spectrum.

“We couldn’t exactly ask some of the others to defy direct orders,” Fury continued the story. “So we figured we’re going to have to handle this one on our own for a while.”

Natasha smiled. “We are the spies after all.”

“So what did you finally decide to do about Loki?” You finally blurted out.

“If we’re going to get the happy ending we all want,” Tony smiled. “Loki has to die.”

TAGS

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[fanficimagery]

Imagine chaperoning your little brother on a field trip of his, only to end up chatting with Captain America.

Steve X Reader

With your parents both working around the clock, it's no surprise they both forget to schedule a day off to chaperone your little brother on his field trip. So on the day of his trip, you find yourself being woken up just a few hours after you'd gone to bed to take their place on the bus. You're not sure what the trip is about, so your mouth falls open in surprise when the school bus rolls down into the private garage of Stark Tower.

All the little kids seem super excited and after the night you had last night you can't help but cringe at all the noise they're making. Leaning across the aisle and tapping a fellow chaperone on the shoulder two seats ahead of you, you ask her what exactly the trip is supposed to entail.

"The Maria Stark Foundation is opening up several learning centers around the city for underprivileged children. We're here because our kids were chosen to test run the programs and various activities they have."

"Oh. Well I wish I had known beforehand," you muse while pulling a pair of large sunglasses down over your eyes. "I would have dressed more appropriate."

Your fellow chaperone eyes your sloppy bun, loose cardigan, and yoga pants, she stifling her laughter as she shakes her head in amusement. "You'll be fine. Just grab a cup of coffee when we get inside. You look a tad hungover."

You smile sheepishly. "Just a tad."

The teachers then grab everyone's attention, explaining that Mr. Stark is going to have breakfast for everyone in the cafeteria before you’re all to head on up to the seventh floor where they set up a learning center for today's activities. And then once everyone has a grasp on what to do, you're all let off the bus in a single file line and led to the cafeteria.

The kids are all fed pigs in a blanket and you find solace in the numerous fresh pots of coffee waiting to be consumed. You then manage to scarf down a breakfast burrito and then cap off your third cup of coffee when everyone is set to move on.

The seventh floor is filled with low tables and small chairs for the kids, numerous of state of the art computers lined up to be used. There are also some round tables where tablets reside and various adults at every station to explain how to use the learning programs that will soon be available to them in the coming months.

As the kids are encouraged to find a place at any station, all the chaperones head off to the side of the room and take a seat on the adult chairs.

You're blowing on the cup of coffee in hand through the small sipping hole when you hear a familiar, grating laugh and let your gaze trail off to the right where Stacy Hoskins- the school's infamous not-so-single mother who likes to hit on anyone with a pulse- walks her fingers up and down a clearly uncomfortable Captain America's arm. The other chaperones look on in amusement, while the others from Stark's tower look on in a mixture of amusement and horror at the woman's boldness.

Seeing as no one is saving the poor soul, you take a moment to think up a plan. Unclasping the lid to your coffee, you leave it in your seat as you stand up and make your way towards Captain America and his unwanted admirer. So keeping an eye on your brother, you make it seem like a total accident as you bump into Stacy's knees and spill your coffee all over her lap.

Stacy shrieks and your eyes widen in horror. "Oh my god. Stacy, I'm so sorry! I didn't see- I didn't mean-"

Now standing herself, Stacy forces a smile as she fruitlessly wipes at her coffee-stained jeans. "Of course you didn't," she grits out, flipping her bleached blonde hair to the side. "I don't see how anyone can see through those ridiculous glasses you wear."

Grinning, you push your sunglasses up on top your head. "Well I needed something to deflect the glare from that bad dye job of yours," you muse, gesturing to her hair.

Stacy gasps in outrage, not hearing the snort coming from the one she just had her claws dug into moments ago, but decides to not make an even bigger scene. Instead, she lowers her voice and mutters, "You're a total bitch, Y/N," before marching off.

Turning to follow her with your gaze, you smirk. "That comment is not as offensive as you think, Stacy. If you're trying to hurt my feelings you totally failed."

The other chaperones are laughing behind their hands and their own cups of coffee, and you shrug when several gazes meet yours. Hearing a throat clear behind you, you tense up when you remember just who you had saved from Stacy's clutches. Cringing, you slowly turn back around and glance up, only to meet the now standing Captain America's amused gaze. "Well.. that was something."

"I'm really sorry," you chuckle nervously. "Stacy is- I just couldn't watch that train wreck happen. You looked uncomfortable and I decided to step in, so I'm really sorry if I overstepped."

He laughs. "No apologies needed, ma'am. I needed a way out and was hoping a friend of mine would save me, but they apparently enjoy watching me squirm." You follow his pointed gesture to see a beautiful redhead sitting next to none other than Tony Stark himself- the latter of who salutes you with his own cup of coffee. "I'm Steve, by the way."

Facing him once more, you smile and nod. "Y/N."

He gestures to the seats beside the two of you and you take a seat with him. "So which one is yours?" He asks, taking your now empty cup of coffee and tossing it into the bin behind the chairs. "I'm assuming you're here as a chaperone since I've never seen you around the tower before."

Clasping your hands in your lap, you grin. Then looking out towards the children who have made themselves comfortable running back and forth between stations, you find one kid in particular and groan when you see him reaching towards a rather expensive looking vase in the corner. "Robert!"

The kid whirls around. "I didn't touch it!"

"Of course you didn't," you shout back. "Now go find a station." Robert's shoulders drastically droop as he drags his feet towards the nearest station, he then sitting in a chair in front of a tablet. 

"He get in trouble often?" Steve wonders.

"So-so. I usually keep him out of trouble with mom and dad since I'm the bad influence, but we're not at home right now. He breaks that vase and it's me who'll be yelled at when we get home."

"Oh. So you're not his-"

"Mom?" You meet Steve's gaze, cocking an eyebrow at him. "How old do you think I am, Steve?" You ask, mentally feeling smug when you see his lips quirk at the use of his name. Not Captain America, not Mr. Rogers, but Steve. Just Steve. "Robert's my little brother. Mom and dad forgot to take a day off of work, so they asked if I could skip classes for a day to chaperone the little terror. Luckily for me I'm on good standing with my professors and they trust me to make up the day's work within the week."

"That's awfully nice of you. And your professors."

You shrug your shoulders, feigning innocence. "What can I say? I'm very likable."

"I think Stacy would say otherwise."

Snorting, you bite your bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud and drawing attention. Then when you're under control, you say, "Yes. I'm sure she would." A moment of silence falls over you, it then turning slightly awkward when everyone keeps glancing in your direction. Jerking to sitting upright, you sheepishly meet Steve's gaze. "I, uh, I should go and make sure Robert is actually.. learning or something. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you as well," Steve muses.

Stalling for a brief moment, you slowly stand to your feet while saying, "If you see Stacy coming, run. Or come find me," you grin. "I'm not afraid to chase off crazy women when they're clearly not wanted."

Steve stands with you, tucking his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I will. I hope you and your brother have fun."

You nod and then scan the room for your brother, and try to not make it seem like the hounds of hell are on your heels as you make a beeline for him. 

What the hell was your life coming to when you got to talk one on one with Captain America?

Lunch rolls around and you lead Robert to an empty table so he'll focus on his food and not his friends. The cafeteria is abuzz with excited voices and you manage to mostly keep your little brother in line. And just when you're about to let him run off, you see his eyes widen as he slowly retakes his seat and stares at something- or rather someone- above your head.

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I sit with you?"

The newly familiar voice gives you pause and you now understand why your little brother seems so starstruck. Captain America- er, Steve- is standing right behind you. Slowly glancing over your shoulder, you're starstruck yourself for a moment before clearing your throat and gesturing with a hand. "Go ahead. Stacy find you?" You then grin.

Steve laughs as he pulls out a chair. "No. But I did see her eyeing me in hopes of sitting next to her."

"And you brought your tray over to my table? Don't I feel special," you tease.

"Y/N! You can't flirt with Captain America," you brother exclaims.

Your head snaps in his direction just as Steve snorts and you narrow your eyes at Robert. "Don't you have friends to make trouble with? Go before I find the Black Widow and tell her all about your crush on her."

Robert's grin vanishes, a pout replacing his amusement. "Fine. But you're taking my tray."

And before you can deny his demand, he's up and out of his seat only to be racing to the opposite side of the cafeteria.

"That was harsh of you," Steve muses. "You should never out a boy to the woman of his dreams."

You scoff. "Please. As if I'd actually go up to the Black Widow and make conversation. That woman is both beautiful and terrifying. I'd never have the guts to speak to her."

Steve laughs. "I'll tell her you said that. She's bound to be amused."

"Please don't. Or do," you then reiterate. "The lone lady Avenger needs all the love she can get. According to People magazine it's a tight race between you, Iron Man, and Thor."

"You actually read that tabloid?"

"Only when I need to kill time. I don't believe anything written in them, but I do find the polls rather amusing."

"That's a relief." Steve starts assembling his lunch, he taking a quick bite before following it with a sip of what looks like sweet tea. "So how's your day been so far?"

"Tiring. In case you hadn't noticed, I was a bit hungover this morning," you huff. "I bartend nights and last night was a friend's birthday, so we stayed later to celebrate a bit. I think I'd only been asleep for a few hours before I was being woken to chaperone Robert."

"Hungover? I think you were still drunk," Steve says. "Luckily for you, no one could really tell."

"It was all that coffee I drank. Trust me, if Stark hadn't had the cafeteria opened I would be dead on my feet right now."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better. And for all that coffee you drank. If it weren't for you, I think I'd be stuck with Stacy right now." Following Steve's gaze, you grin as you spot Stacy glaring directly at you. Mockingly wiggling your fingers in a wave at her, Steve snorts and ducks his head. "Don't antagonize her."

"What," you feign innocence. "It's not like you have to drive home with her. And besides, the other chaperones will get a kick out of it. Stacy is widely known at my brother's school and her reputation isn't exactly squeaky clean. Her not getting her way today will be what all the other mom's will be talking about for the rest of the year."

"Yeah. Her, you, and me," Steve then says.

You freeze mid-sip, your eyes subtly widening. "Fuck. My mom's gonna hear about this. She's never gonna let me live this down."

"Language."

You startle at the admonishment, but his lips twitching and eyes crinkling at the corners causes you to droop in relief. "God you're such a little shit. How do people not know this about you?"

"Their belief is that Captain America is highly virtuous. And since Steve Rogers is Captain America, they think I'm the same way. I've learned to go with the flow and troll them unexpectedly."

"Oh man. What I would give to see that in person."

A moment passes in silence as the two of you take a few bites of food, and then Steve's clearing his throat. "You can," he says, gaze solely focused on his tray as he talks. "See the trolling in action, I mean. Would you.. like to grab coffee some time?"

You blink in surprise, mouth gaping. Just as you're about to retort, a strangled noise escapes instead and you click your mouth shut. Steve stares at you in amusement then, and you roll your eyes. But before you can give your answer, a chair across from the both of you is being pulled out and someone is taking a seat.

But it's not just anyone, no. It's James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky. Former Winter Soldier. Steve Rogers' best friend.

"Uhh..."

"Thanks a lot, punk. Ditch me for a pretty girl while leaving me to stage four clinger Stacy over there," Bucky says, gesturing over his shoulder. "Did you at least get to askin' this one out?" He then asks, staring at you.

You can feel your face heating up and Steve groans. And before you can think anymore on it, you blurt, "Yes."

"Yes?" Bucky wonders.

Looking at Steve, you say, "Yes. To the coffee." Steve's startled expression turns pleased and this time it's Bucky's turn to groan. But before he can retort with something embarrassing, you say, "And now that that's out of the way, I'm gonna go.. and be somewhere else to get my heart rate back under control."

"How will I contact you?" Steve asks as you stand, collecting your and Robert's tray.

"Uhh.."

"Just rattle it off," Bucky muses. "The punk will remember it. He has a good memory."

"Oh." As you rattle off your number for Steve, you only have a moment to regret doing so when you see Bucky typing it into his own phone, smirking all the while. You have a feeling both these gentlemen are going to bring a lot of amusement in the near future. "So, uh, it was nice meeting you guys." Looking at Bucky, you say, "I guess I'll see you around? And you," you shyly smile as you then stare at Steve. "I guess I'll be seeing you sooner rather than later."

Steve grins. "You will."

"Okay then." Leaving the table in a slight daze, you manage to dump both trays in hand before finding your little brother.

As you take a seat next to him out in the hall, he asks, "Did you really give Captain America and the Winter Soldier your phone number?"

"I.. think I did," you gulp, suddenly paling. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Cool! You are officially the best sister ever. If he becomes your boyfriend, you're bringing him home to dinner."

"Shut up, Robert."

[roonil-wazlib-at-221b]

Hacked: Part 8

Spider-man is chasing you through the streets of Queens.

If it wasn’t so serious you might be laughing right now.

You should have known better than to steal from a store in broad daylight, but you’d been drunk with exhilaration and reckless. It doesn’t count as a heist if it’s only a few candy bars, right? Stick’s probably going to yell at you later, but you’re so close to finishing the article he’ll only tell you to keep focused.

You’ve never been more glad for Pom’s training than now. Navigating the different alleys and narrow streets is laughably easy compared to racing through the woods.

You take a sharp corner and lean back, lowering the board, but you do it so much your butt hits the ground. The board pulls you the remaining few feet until you’re lying on your back under a car. You hear Spider-boy curse when he swings ‘round the corner and grin.

Your watch, new from Dennis, buzzes against your skin. Inaudibly, you bring your wrist up to see a text from Pom: His suit can do heat-reads. I’m trying to hack into it before he sees you.

You mentally curse. Of course the suit has heat-reads; it was made by your dad! You type back that you’ve got it and pull up a hologram of the suit. Within seconds you’re in. You shut the suit down, grinning even wider when Spider-boy lets out a shout of surprise.

“What the hell, Y/N? I could have done it!” Pom snaps in your ear.

“Sorry, Pom, but it was a bit time-sensitive,” you grumble, worm-crawling your way out from under the car, made more difficult by the dead weight that is the board and your feet.

“Karen?” Spider-boy asks.

You tap a button on the side of your neck, activating the mask that Dennis had also gotten you, and wait until it’s covered your whole head except for your ponytail before whirling around. “My name isn’t Karen.” He’d even included a voice-warper. He’s endlessly surprising you with how smart he is. He could probably rival your dad in brains.

“I know; my suit’s named Karen! Did you break her? Who are you?” Without his suit on, he sounds just as young as you, maybe younger. You turn away. Putting a face on your enemy will just make your mission harder.

You try to gain height, but you can’t. You look down to see that Spider-boy’s suit has disappeared except for the helmet. You’ve been webbed by a superhero wearing boxers and a mask. You hadn’t even heard him getting out of his suit! His chest is distractingly muscular.

Saying a silent good-bye to the board Dennis had lent you for a new test run, part of his new version, you crouch to press the ‘shock and detonate’ button before jumping off and starting to run. Behind you, you hear Spider-boy’s pained yell as electricity carries down his web and an explosion.

“Pom?” you say, pressing your earpiece. “Bit of a situation. Stick’s prototype is gone, and this bag’s bound to attract attention.”

“Oh, you can’t handle this on your own?” she snaps but then sighs. “I’ve got you. Take a left up here. Spidey’s not chasing you yet. You’ve just got to make it to me and Dennis.”

When you get into the tunnel they’re hiding in, Pom starts laughing at you. “Your pants!” she gasps. You look down at them. “I don’t see the issue.”

“The butt,” Dennis snickers. You twist around to see that your trick with the car had ripped the butt of your jeans into shreds. You curse.

Pom offers, “Here, have my sweatshirt,” and chucks it at you. You tie it around your waist.

“Your tech’s amazing,” you say honestly to Dennis. When you touch the button on your neck, your mask stretching out again. It’s smooth black metal except for the eyes, which are grey and completely see-through from the inside. You only have to press the top for it to contract or stretch, and touching the outside will cause the button to detach itself from your skin. Your new watch has holograms for texting, emailing, and video calls, and you can pull up holograms of nearby tech for hacking.

He waves a flippant hand at you. “It’s really not that impressive.”

“It is,” you insist. “The prototype was amazing. ‘Shock and detonate’ worked so well.” You shake your hair out of its ponytail, effectively hiding the button on the back of your neck. “It’s perfect for facing Spidey.”

“Well, we’ll be seeing a lot of him in the future,” Dennis says grimly.

“Who do you think is under that mask?” Pom asks thoughtfully.

“Most likely no one we know. An Avenger’s kid, probably, so they would most likely stay in the tower except for stopping crime,” you hypothesize. “Shall we go?”

You, in a new pair of jeans, frown when you browse through the deleted articles about Tony Stark. They all seem to be about one of his kids that got kidnapped. He had been looking frantically for them when suddenly he just… stopped.

Finally, good stuff. What kind of father would just stop looking for their child? The articles saying that he took the child’s pictures down from the Missing Kids list said they had only been missing for a week and that they were definitely not found. A week? Seriously? You may not be patient, but even you could wait more than a week if one of your kids disappeared.

Finally you find a picture of the kid. You can’t tell if they were a boy or girl, only that they were wearing a baseball cap and a shirt that said “Iron Man is my favorite Avenger”. They disappeared when you were about three or four years old. You can’t find any trace of them on the internet, not at all. You can’t find pictures, their name, or when they were born.

You suppose that Tony’s got so many bastards running around that one missing won’t make a difference. If you went missing today he wouldn’t even notice. He doesn’t even know you exist.

You add that to the article you’re writing. It’s pretty good, if you do say so yourself. You’ve got a list of every woman that wanted to be featured in the article (not that many, and the ones that do want in are either holding out that he’ll come back when he sees their statements or just looking for attention), the fact that he only looked for his missing kid for a week before giving up, construction charges he hasn’t yet paid, and you’re working on hacking into his credit card to see how much alcohol he buys. You haven’t really sat down and focused on that, and you’re sure if you do make time for it, you’ll be able to finish the job easy-peasy.

Your laptop beeps with an incoming video message. You open it and smile shyly at Stick, hoping he doesn’t even know about your robbery earlier.

“Do you think you’ll be finished with the article by tonight?” he asks quickly.

Taken aback, you stare at him, before nodding slowly. “I could probably do that.”

“I’ve got contacts set up in Canada for you. You’ve got papers there, too. You’re going to be an orphan who’s living with a foster family. By your senior year you should be able to come back here. I can ‘adopt’ you. Your travel’s all planned out, too.”

Your jaw drops. “Senior year?” you squeak.

“You can’t come back too quickly or you’ll be caught,” he explains. “And even when you do come back you’ll need to look drastically different.”

“Senior year,” you repeat again, leaning back in your chair. Could you really leave your friends for two years? Could you leave Peter?

“Do you want Tony Stark to get away with abandoning you?” Stick presses. “Do you want other kids around the world growing up the same way you did?”

“I’ll be in his card by tonight,” you promise. It’s encoded but you’ve got time. You had thought that you were all right with ending the life you know and either getting arrested or starting a completely new one, but now that the fact is staring you in the face, you’re having cold feet. Which is ridiculous. You’ve been working on this for months. Tony Stark ruined your life. He’s murdered so many people. You’ve known what you’re going to do. You’ve been preparing yourself.

“Good,” Stick says and ends the call. You take a deep breath, squeeze your eyes shut, and begin the final steps in ending your life.

It’s six-oh-five in the morning, but you’ve written the article, complete with sources, graphs, and who knows what else. It looks like it really was written by a professional, and you’ve hacked into multiple newspaper websites and are one click away from posting it from under a fake name on all of them; you’d written the code that way. Stick, Pom, and Dennis had all looked over and revised the essay, but you’re still jittery with nerves because this is truly, truly, going to end your life. Your stomach is filled with butterflies and falling down fifty floors at once. After today, you’re going to be Ava Blake, orphan, currently living with foster parents Bella and Jacob Miles.

You’re going to live in Canada for two years with no contact with Michelle, Ned, or Peter. You’re going to go through sophomore and junior year without being able to skip class to wander the hallways with MJ or argue with Ned during lunch. You’re going to have to learn a whole new neighborhood. You’re going to have to meet a whole new school of people. You’re going to have to play on a new lacrosse team. You’re going to have to memorize a new school layout.

Occasionally you might be able to see Pom, Stick, and Dennis, but not often. You’re not going to see Crookshanks. Juna’s going to grow up without you, and maybe even forget you. Your mother’s going to die without you being there—you might not love her all that much anymore, but you still can remember her pushing you on the swings when you were younger, and you can at least want her not to be alone when she dies. Maybe MJ will kick Flash off the Decathlon team. Maybe they’ll stand up to the bully.

Maybe Peter will fall in love with someone else.

You close your eyes and twist your face with determination before letting out a loud breath, running your hands through your hair. You open your eyes and slam the burner laptop shut. You can’t do it just yet. You need to do one more thing first.

MJ had mentioned a before-school Decathlon meeting today, and the second you remember that, you know exactly what you need to do. You shove both the real and the burner laptops in your real backpack, not the school one, and put your board under your arm. You’re going to the cabin directly after this.

You sprint down the streets of New York, grateful for your training and how you’re not that out of breath. You occasionally whack people with your board, but it doesn’t matter. You’re never going to see them again.

You stop short when the looming building of your high school is directly in front of you. You can definitely feel the butterflies in your stomach now, and you’re pretty sure that the police are going to show up any second now, preventing you from posting the article and sending you to jail for the rest of your life.

You nearly kick the doors to the school open—one step closer to dying—before striding down the hallways to the Decathlon room. When did you start thinking about completing the mission as dying? Sure enough, the whole team is in there. You open the door and ask the teacher, “Can I borrow Peter for a second?”

Looking confused, he nods. Peter turns red when you look at him and hurriedly stalks out of the room. “Y/N? What are you doing?”

“I just wanted to do this,” you say quietly, mentally preparing yourself for what you’re about to do.

“That’s not your regular backpack,” Peter notices. “And that… that’s…” He points to the board under your arm, his eyes widening.

“Peter,” you say sternly. “At first I thought you hated me.” The poor boy’s eyes widen and he splutters, but you put your finger over his lips. “But then you started talking to me and you were sweet and funny and nice and I… have to do something before…”

“Before what?” Peter asks, panicked, against your finger. “Y/N, are you all right?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” you say with teary eyes. “I’m fine.” For the first time in your life, you might be completely fine. Which is odd, considering in five minutes you’re going to practically be killing yourself. Before you can talk yourself out of it, you grab Peter by the collar of his (adorable) sweater and smash his lips onto yours. Fire erupts from your lips, burning your whole face. Peter’s mouth opens against yours, obviously a question, but you just put your hand on the back of his neck and deepen the kiss. He says something against your mouth and you pull back, your lips and fingers tingling. You can’t believe you just did that.

“I’m sorry,” you say, breathing heavy, voice surprisingly steady for someone who just kissed the person you may or may not be—but you don’t say it, you don’t think it, because if you do, you might not be able to go through with it. But do you love Peter more than you hate Stark? “But I’ve gotta go. I’ve got… a job. Tell Michelle and Ned I love them, all right?”

You sprint out of the school, leaving Peter not even able to put two words together.

Here we go.

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Canadian Girl

Epilogue 

Master List  |  Steve Rogers Master List

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC  |  Word Count: 3338 Warnings: Swearing, Pure FLUFF, stereotyping of Canadians (I'm allowed, I am one) Also, Happy 150th Birthday to Canada!!! 

As Kennedy stood anxiously awaiting the test results in her lab, she did the math. Officially she and Steven had been together for six months by her count.

Steven counted from far sooner than she did, going all the way back to the weeks leading up to him kissing her in the kitchen at the lab, but she refused to count that as dating when she’d been so incredibly clueless to the fact of him even liking her in that way.

Returning home to New York after CFR had proved both trying and satisfying.

Trying in that Steven had insisted she move in with him. Trying in that Tony had already seen it done without her say so. Trying in that whenever she turned around, she was having visitors show up in her lab. It was highly frustrating.

Until the day she’d turned to yell at whomever it was who felt it perfectly acceptable to simply walk into her lab without invitation, only to discover the person was Bruce Banner.

Out of all the Avengers, he was the only one she hadn’t met by that point.

Afterward, Steven had teased her endlessly because she’d fangirled a little over meeting Bruce, but he was someone she admired greatly. To find out Bruce also admired her work had been thrilling.

Then, Bucky had casually commented, “Least she knew who he was,” which had shut Steven right up.

The satisfaction came when the newness of it all had settled into a routine. She still got regular visitors, but she’d learned to work around them. Now that she’d broken the secrets of the serum, she’d begun working toward using the parts she could for MS research. Her days were filled with new and exciting discoveries, while her nights were filled with passion and love.

When he wasn’t working, Steven would often show up at her door, dragging her out of her lab when she’d worked too late again. He always made leaving worth her while. The heat and fire of their relationship hadn’t dimmed at all. It seemed only to grow stronger with each passing day. As he’d said, they continued to light each other up.

She’d never felt more loved, more cherished than she did when she was with him.

His love simply… overflowed.

She’d found a second home, a second family, in the Avengers team. They’d made her a part of them, even if she never used her powers. They all knew she could, but no one ever asked or pushed her into anything. For that, she was grateful.

Hydra was still a concern, but with her being practically tower-bound, something she had no issue with, she didn’t worry too much about them. Anytime she wanted to go to the park to clear her mind or stretch her legs, one of the team or a couple of agents went with her. Add to that Natasha’s insistence on teaching her things, and Kennedy was getting regular exercise.

Did she grumble about it? Yes, she did. Did she still go? Yes, she did.

It was Natasha, a woman who, like Wanda, had become a close friend very quickly. Nat wanted her to learn, wanted to teach her, so Kennedy went along with it. Besides, it was kind of fun and the added exercise made up for the excessive amount of poutine they all ate.

It was probably a good thing her family had agreed to the deal offered them by Fury. It made it easier to have coffee, and other Canadian foodstuffs brought back to the tower.

Tim Horton’s coffee was now a mainstay in the Avengers kitchen, Tony enjoying it so much, he was making noise about adding a Tim Hortons location to the ground floor.

Kennedy only shook her head, wondering why she'd ever been afraid of Tony.

The man could be all kinds of ridiculous.

And, when Thor had discovered the all dressed potato chips, well, her entire stash had been depleted in three days.

But today, for the first time in months, Kennedy stood nervously twisting her hands together. She was worried, a little bit scared, and it wasn't a feeling she’d had within these walls in a long time.

Steven had been gone for a week or so, off on a mission with Sam and Wanda. When he was gone, she often spent long hours in the lab, disliking going to bed without him. So it hadn’t really surprised her when she’d come down with the flu.

Not sleeping or eating correctly, it was kind of bound to happen. Except the stomach flu didn’t happen every morning at the same time three days in a row.

When the computer pinged, informing her of her ready test results, Kennedy’s hand shook slightly as she pulled the page from the printer.

Her eyes scanned the results. Her breath hitched softly. “FRI… FRIDAY?” she called out, her lab AI getting a serious upgrade.

“Yes, Kennedy?”

“Where’s… Natasha?”

“Natasha is in the gym at current.”

“Can you tell her I need to see her… right now,” Kennedy gasped out, tears in her eyes, and worry in her heart.

She hadn't planned for this.

***

Sweeping down, Natasha took Bucky’s feet out from under him. “Getting slow, old man,” she snickered.

His arm lashed out, jerking her feet out from under her, so she landed on her back beside him on the mat. “Now who’s slow?”

“Bite me, Barnes,” she quipped, wincing a little.

“Natasha?”

“Yes, FRIDAY?” she said sitting up.

“Kennedy needs to see you right now. It appears to be urgent as she is quite upset.”

Nat and Bucky were both on their feet and moving toward the door at a jog. “Lab?” Nat called out.

“Yes.”

“Steve back yet?” Bucky asked the AI.

“Just. He’s debriefing.”

“Get him,” Bucky barked.

“Bucky, she asked for me,” Nat reminded him.

“Yeah, but she likely doesn’t know he’s back. If something’s wrong, you know she’s gonna want Steve.”

Getting on the elevator, they both headed for the seventh floor.

***

Sitting in the debriefing, Steve wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there and go find Kennedy.

The latest mission had been a shit storm. Everyone had gotten out alright, but barely. It had him longing to hold onto the good in his life. To seek comfort in the arms of Kennedy as he’d been doing for months.

Shortly after they'd returned to New York, the news had come in of Carl's confession and subsequent incarceration.

Not a peep had been leaked about his five minutes in interrogation with the man, not one single word. It impressed him enough to have the table replaced as well as a large anonymous donation made to the Edmonton police service for use in whichever charities they deemed worthy.

Kennedy had taken the news in stride, saying only she was happy it hadn't gone to trial. She didn't want to testify, nor have all her past dirty laundry aired. Though she'd looked at him curiously a few times, she'd never once out and out asked what he’d said to Carl.

He would have told her the truth if she had. He figured that was why she hadn't asked.

She had moved on from Carl, from that part of her life. She’d been through so much. Learning to use and control her powers. Her genius brain taking her to university early.

Carl and his depravity.

She was, literally, the strongest woman he'd ever known.

He loved her with everything he was. Heart and soul, they’d belonged to her for months.

When the phone on the table in front of him went off, an update from FRIDAY, he frowned. Listening to Sam and Wanda relate what had gone down, he pulled it toward himself to read better.

The chair slammed into the wall behind him as he shoved to his feet and raced out of the room.

“What the fuck!?” bellowed Sam, nearly leaping from his skin.

“Something’s wrong with Kennedy!” Wanda gasped.

"Go," said Fury. "Keep me apprised."

On the twelfth floor, Steve didn’t bother waiting for the elevator. He slammed through the door to the stairwell at a dead run.

***

Pressing her palm to the plate, Natasha shoved open the door to Kennedy’s lab. “Kenny? What is it? What’s wrong?”

Not looking up, Kennedy held out the paper toward the woman. Breathing out a shaky breath, she pressed her other hand to her mouth.

Frowning, Nat took it, glancing at Bucky. Scanning what were clearly test results, she frowned. “What am I reading?”

“I’m… pregnant.”

“What?” Bucky gasped.

Her head whipped up. “Oh god! You brought Bucky!”

“You didn’t say come alone!” Nat shrieked. Darting forward, she grabbed Kennedy up in a tight hug. “Why aren’t you happy?”

“I don’t know how… Steven and I haven’t talked about kids… it was an accident… but… Nat… I want this,” her breath hitched.

Steve slammed through the door seconds later. “What is it? What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“Oops…” Natasha breathed against Kennedy’s ear when the hug turned into a death grip. “It’s Barnes’ fault. He figured you'd want Steve.”

A panicky feeling filled her chest. She almost didn’t want to let go of Nat, but the choice was taken from her when the redhead pulled away. Teary-eyed, she looked to where the big blond, still in his Cap suit, stalked toward her, concern etched across his face. “Steven…”

“Is it your aunt? Did something happen to Joan?” he asked, taking her from Nat. “Do we need to go home?”

Her heart just fell to splat at his feet with how he was concerned for her family. “No, Steven it’s not them.” She pressed shaking hands to the red and white stripes over his abdomen.

He cupped her cheeks. “What is it? You’re kind of freaking me out, Kennedy? Are you sick? Do I need to get Bruce?”

“For fuck sake, punk! Let her talk!” Bucky huffed.

She glanced his way, couldn’t help but see the excitement and joy on his face. She could only hope Steven would feel the same. “Steven… I’m…” She sank her teeth into her lip.

“What, baby? Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together,” he vowed, caressing her cheek as Sam and Wanda came through the door.

“Pregnant,” she whispered. Staring up into his bright blue eyes, she watched as first surprise-filled them, then shock morphed into a joy which had the breath she’d been holding rushing out.

“A baby? We’re having a baby?” he asked, voice full of awe.

She nodded, teeth worrying her lip.

***

Tilting his head back, Steve laughed before he shouted for joy. Wrapping her up tight in his arms, he swung around to face their four friends. “We’re having a baby!”

Sam and Wanda both cheered.

Dropping her carefully to her feet, Steve kissed the breath right out of her. “Wow,” Kennedy said once he let her go.

A stillness overcame him before he was tugging her toward the door, through the congratulations of the others. “Come on, Doc.” He sent a sharp glance Bucky’s way, his friend’s grin wide and filled with understanding as he held everyone back.

“Where are we going?” she asked, jogging a little to keep up.

“Upstairs.” Striding onto the elevator, he called out, “FRIDAY, living quarters. No stops.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Steven?” She still sounded worried.

Turning into her, Steve caged her against the wall. “Kennedy, I love you so much.” Leaning down, he kissed her softly, a gentle brushing of lips which had her sighing and melting into him.

Her arms went around his waist.

His hands went to her face and her hair as he worshiped at her mouth. Nipping and tugging her lip, he kissed and sipped, kept her distracted long enough to arrive on their floor. Drawing her from the elevator, he swept her up, making her gasp in the same way she always did, a pink flush filling her cheeks.

Her arms went around his neck. “Are you… really happy about this? We haven’t exactly talked about kids.”

“Kennedy.” He smiled down into her emerald eyes. “There's nothing that would make me happier than having a family with you.” Walking into their suite, he set her on the bed and went to rummage through a drawer.

Turning back, he said, “Well, maybe one thing would make me happier.”

“What?” she asked curiously.

Taking the three steps he needed, he knelt before her. “If my child’s mother was also my wife.” He held out the ring box he’d been hiding from her for months.

Her eyes were huge in her face when she gasped, “Steven?”

“They kept all my things for the museum and stuff, the historical significance and all that. So, when I went looking for it, SHIELD had a record and managed to help me get this back.” Lifting the lid, he revealed the antique gold ring, the setting a twisted band with three stones. “It was my mother’s. The outer stones were lost when I was a kid, so I had them replaced with emeralds because they reminded me of your eyes, but the diamond was surprisingly good quality, or so the jeweller said so it's original.”

Her mouth was hanging open, the shock evident. “How… how long have you had this?”

“I started looking for it at Christmas. Finally got my hands on it February. Got it back from the jeweller in March,” he said, a light flush on his cheeks.

“Three months?” she whispered. “You’ve had this… three months?”

He nodded. “I was… gonna ask you on the first of July.”

“Canada Day?” Her eyes filled with tears which trickled down her cheeks.

“Baby,” he brushed his thumb across her face. “Yeah. What better day to ask my Canadian girl to marry me?”

She threw herself at him, taking him over backwards to the floor.

Landing with an oomph Steve asked, “Is that a yes?”

Nodding vigorously, Kennedy hiccupped as she cried, “Y-yes!”

Sitting them back up, he held her in his lap, plucked the ring from its box, and slipped it onto her finger.

“It fits,” she said, wiping at her face, holding out the hand with the ring.

“Of course it fits. What kind of master spy would I be if I couldn’t get my girl’s ring size right?” he chuckled before kissing her soundly. A hard banging at the door had him growling out, “What?”

“For fuck sake, punk! We’re dying out here! Did she say yes or what?” Bucky hollered through the door.

Laughing, Kennedy used his shoulders to get to her feet. “C’mon, Steven. We can finish this later.” She held out her hands.

He took them but heaved himself back to his feet with very little of her help. Before she could get too far away, he drew her back, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and laid his hand on her belly. “I love you,” he said softly, looking down into her sparkling eyes. “I love you both.”

“Oh god, Steven! As if I don’t have enough issues with the hormones. I’m going to be a sobbing mess you say stuff like that too often.”

“Every day, baby. I’ll tell you every day.” Kissing her deeply, he held tight to his family.

***

Hours later, after the entire team had gathered for an impromptu celebration, Steve was standing off to one side of the room, watching as Kennedy laughed up at something Thor had said.

She’d made the big man’s night when she’d told him on the sly how excited her father would be to finally get to meet the God of Thunder.

Thor had quite monopolized her time afterward, but Steve didn’t mind. The Asgardian even let her try to lift the hammer. It hadn't budged, but she shrugged it off with a laugh.

She glowed. Kennedy had never looked more beautiful than she did right now.

Tomorrow, they would be making a surprise trip to the ranch where they'd tell her family the good news. Hopefully, her daddy wouldn't punch him in the mouth for doing things a little backward. After all, he'd already asked for Jonas's blessing when they'd gone up at Easter and gotten a resounding yes.

“You keep staring at her with that goofy ass grin I may just have to punch you,” Bucky said with a smirk as he sidled up beside Steve.

“Shut up, jerk,” Steve quipped, uncaring. He was too damn happy. “Where’d you disappear to?”

“Had to go get something.” Bucky dropped the small blue gift bag on the table beside Steve. “For you, punk.”

Frowning, Steve shook his head. “I don’t… for what?”

Crossing his arms, Bucky huffed, “Just fucking open it, Stevie.”

Eyeing Bucky, he tugged the card from the top and the box from inside. “Great wrapping job.”

“So help me, Steven…” he growled.

Chuckling, Steve ripped open the card, only to have to sit down rather hard on the barstool beside the table. “How?” he gasped softly, looking up at Buck in shock.

“Third Sunday in June is this weekend. Happy father’s day, Steve.”

The card with the picture of big boots and little boots read for the father-to-be. Scrubbing his hand over his mouth, Steve swallowed hard, fighting back the thick knot of emotion which had appeared in his throat.

“Open the box before you lose your shit, Cap,” Bucky muttered, his own eyes shining brightly.

Placing the card on the table, Steve lifted off the top of the box. Beneath the tissue paper was the tiniest of tiny clothes he’d ever seen. “Buck…” he forced past the lump.

“Not yet, punk. Take it out.” Buck’s voice was hoarse.

Lifting it out, amazed at how small the onesie looked in his hands, Steve turned it over. The half sob, half laugh exploded from him. A dark blue, the front read My Daddy’s a Super Soldier, and his shield was printed bold as life beneath the writing. “How in the hell…?”

“Saw it a while ago. Guess they’re kind of a novelty thing, but in this case, it’s true.” His hand closed over Steve’s shoulder.

His hand closed reverently around the tiny piece of clothing. Jerking to his feet, he seized Bucky in a hug which would have crushed a normal man. “I’m gonna be a daddy.”

Bucky’s arms closed just as tight around Steve. “Congratulations, pal.”

Tears of happiness and joy slid down his face. “Thanks, Buck,” he said, pulling back and scrubbing a hand over his wet face. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.”

Bucky reached out and patted Steve firmly on the cheek, his grin wicked. “Just wait till the kid gets here, and you’re sleep deprived.”

Chuckling, Steve shrugged. “Don’t care. It’s my kid.” Turning his attention back to the room, he smiled at Kennedy as she made her way toward them. Poking Bucky in the ribs, he muttered, “Find a box of tissues. She’s going to bawl like crazy.”

Bucky was quick to make his exit in search of the required item.

“What’s going on over here with all the bromancing?” she asked, her smile cheeky.

“Wait for it.” He held up his hand, tucking the other behind his back.

“For?” Her brow arched as Bucky returned with the box of tissues.

“This.” He held up the tiny shirt.

Kennedy’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh… oh, Bucky.”

The former winter soldier thrust the box of tissues toward her. “Seemed appropriate.”

“So much!” she gave a watery laugh, going in for her own hug, clutching a handful of Kleenex. “Thank you, Bucky.”

Looking down at the tiny piece of clothing, Steve smiled. He’d gotten everything he’d ever wanted in the span of heartbeats. His Canadian girl was going to be his wife, they had a child on the way, and, when he looked up at the faces around him, he knew his team, his family would do everything in their power to make damn sure his family, their family, stayed safe.

Whatever came next, they would face it… together.

- The End -