#also I’m impatient and I really want y’all to see a bit of em

[sweetest-honeybee]

Aside from that warden lady at the top there and the rest of the ghasts, I have been very busy doing a bunch of adopt designs 👀

Edit: Just gonna cross out the ones that have been pre-claimed

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

[cultgambles]

Is Your Boyfriend Jealous Yet?

Hawks likes putting on a show, can you blame him?

I was on GWA and this girl had a nice fun plot and audio and I was really feeling it in the moment hehe...so largely inspired by that!

Contains: nsfw, car sex, reader cheats, cunnilingus, exhibition, fandom hawks behavior

Also: wrap it before you tap it

Word Count: 2118

Masterlist | Requests? open

“So there I was, staring this villain down at the end of the street, and then he just appeared! My idol!”

“Endeavor? What did he do?”

“Of course he didn’t waste any time taking em down, it was cool and all to see it but he really took the spotlight, ya know?”

“Oh please, as if you need to be loved by the public anymore.”

“I do! That’s who I am!”

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“Who’s that chick staring at you?”

Hawks turns, looking over his shoulder, “I dunno, a fan maybe? She’s coming over!”

“Act natural!”

“I am a natural. All nat-ur-ral.” He smooths down his silky burgundy button up shirt. 

“Hey! Hawks?” 

“The one and only!” Hawks gives a dazzling style, saluting towards you.

“I just wanted to say how cool you are, every time you employ your Quirk I’m amazed! And you’re not too bad to look at either!” you giggle.

“Thanks, kid,” he smiles, a real one. “People like you are the ones that make hero work worth it.”

“Yeah? Do you have time to chat? My name’s [Y/N], by the way. Are your wings okay? They look a little sparse.”

“‘Course I have time to chat. You wanna drink? Hey! One Lemon Drop for the lady, if you will!”

“Coming right up!”

“My most recent showdown against a villain. No biggie, they’ll grow back in a couple days.” Hawks turns a little so you can see the appendages where his feathers would usually be. There’s little small ones beginning to peek through. 

“Wow! I don’t think I saw that fight on the news or anything,” you murmur.

“I’m okay with doin’ it in silence, as long as it gets done, you know? 

It’s nice knowing people are safe and that there’s one less piece of shit on the street. But it’s also hard work” he continued. 

“The man who’s just a bit too fast, huh? You ever get tired?” you query. “Thanks for the drink, by the way.”

“No problem! And yeah, it’s hard to slow down, and I know I need to; but I always feel like I’m bein’ too lazy when I could be out there in the field.” 

Hawks is surprised, he’s never been this forward and vulnerable. Especially to a complete stranger. Maybe it was that gin and tonic he had earlier.

Your mouth opens, but before you can say anything, a booming voice cuts through the crowd.

“[Y/N] What the hell are you doing! Get over here!” Your face falls slightly, and Hawks notices with a curious, but watchful gaze. 

“I just saw Hawks here! I’ve never been this close to a pro hero before, and I wanted to say my thanks,” you mumble.

“Well I don’t like my girlfriend wandering off and talking to other guys, regardless if they’re a hero or not. Come on, we’re leaving!”

“But we just got here!” you protest.

“Now, [Y/N],” he growls, shoving you away from the pro hero, and towards the door.

“Hey, buddy,” Hawks clamps a hand on your boyfriend’s shoulder, holding him in place. “Don’t go pushing women around.” 

“This isn’t even your problem, man.”

“I’m going to make it my problem.” Hawks is deadly, intimidating. Even though you’re a little scared, you’re a bit turned on, to be honest. He’s got this air of danger around him, his eyes slit to pinpricks.

Before your boyfriend can get another word out, one of the club bouncers steps up, towering over the three of you. “Problem here? Or am I going to have to escort you out?”

“Nah, man, we’ll take it outside. Don’t worry about us,” Hawks shrugs. Your boyfriend tugs you along, seething behind Hawks.

“This isn’t over, Hawks. And you, don’t you EVER cause a scene like that, you hear?” 

You sniff. “I just wanted to say my thanks…”

“She was doin’ nothin’, that was all you man.” Hawks shakes his head. “I’d even say she was more into me than she has been in a while. I mean, the way you shouted at her was pretty scary,” he says, popping the ‘p.’

You look at Hawks under your lashes.

“No she wasn’t!” your boyfriend drops your arm, marching right up to the pro hero.

 Hawks leans around him and nods his head at you. “Why don’t we show him a thing or two?” You give him a puzzled look. “My car’s right there if you know what I mean.”

“Hold on, you have a car? How would you even fit your wings in.”

“Baby, you’re ruining the moment,” Hawks laughs, stepping in next to you. “I just take my car for a spin when I can’t fly. Not a walking type of guy, really.”

“So let me get this straight, you wanna fuck me? In your car? For why?”

“Give a little show to your asshole of a boyfriend. So he can see how to really treat a woman, hm?”

“Don’t you go with him, [Y/N]! I will literally kill you.”

“Is that really the smartest thing to say right next to a pro hero? Okay, Hawks, what that tongue do?” You purr.

“I’ll show you,” Hawks’ car’s doors unlock with a click. “Get in the back.”

Your boyfriend outside looks right mad, shouting and screaming at you. You swear a crowd has formed.

Hawks lays down and motions a finger for you. You shut the door behind you, and it’s just you two in this moment, boyfriend be damned. 

“Hold onto the headrests, okay, baby?” Hawks asks as you situate yourself above his mouth. 

“Lucky for me, you’re just wearing that cute little skirt and skimpy top. What, did you want every guy to turn heads for you?” Hawks grips your plush thighs, digging his nose to your panties. “All that from earlier really got you goin’, huh? Look how wet you are for me.” He kisses your clothed sex before pulling your underwear to the side. A long, languid lick all the way up to your clit has you shivering with pleasure, begging for more.

You’re grinding down on Hawks’ tongue, he’s just that fucking good. You briefly wonder how many other people have experienced this ecstasy. At least you have him for this moment. 

Breathy squeaks leave your mouth as his mouth catches on particular spots. 

“Let it out, I wanna hear you. I want him to hear what I’m doing to you.” Locking eyes with your boyfriend outside the car sends you over the edge, his face as bright as the heels on your feet. His eyes dim slightly just as yours slip closed, mouth agape. Hawks continues to pleasure you as you come down from your high. 

Carefully, he lifts you up to sit you on his lap. A little cramped, but worth it. Your wetness glistens along Hawks’ jawline, and you lean in to kiss him, tasting yourself and him. 

“That’s cute,” he whispers, bringing his hands up to knead at your breasts slightly. His gold eyes shimmer as you rub against his cock. 

“Gonna show me your cute dick next?” you ask.

“It’s cute, like, big, not cute as in small. Just so you know. How about you lay down, baby,” he turns towards you slightly, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his black trousers. His cock is nice. As nice as one can be. It’s a little thicker, curved to the left a bit. He’s trimmed. He strokes it a couple times, dragging his precum along the shaft. You flick your panties off and they land on his head.

“Impatient, are we?” he grins. 

“Just a bit,” you smile, reaching between your legs to spread yourself open a bit for him to see. 

“Pretty pussy for a pretty girl,” he leans over, hand guiding to your quivering sex. He pushes in slowly, letting out a deep moan be swallowed up by your kiss. “You’re so tight around me.”

He lets you adjust, and not long after, you’re clawing at him to start moving. “Feels so good, you fill me up so good, Hawks.”

“They’re all watching us now, hummingbird. I bet they’re jealous at how good I’m fucking you,” he says over his grunts.

You’re bleary-eyed and blissed out, barely registering his words. “Who...Who’re they?”

“Seems like your little boyfriend’s screaming match has attracted quite a crowd.”

“O-oh? How big?”

“Enough.”

“You wanna get out, don’t you.”

“Maybe.”

“Yeah okay, whatever you want, Hawks. Who am I to deny a pro hero what he wants? Just keep fucking me, please.”

Hawks’ eyes flash, hand scrambling for the door handle and pulling you out into the brisk air. “Really? Whatever I want? How about I just bend you over the trunk of my car and rail you so hard you can’t walk tomorrow?” 

“Then I guess you’re stuck with me for a lil while longer.” Hawks pushes your head down almost gently as he presses into you against the cool metal. You sigh as he slips back inside of you. Then he’s pulling your top down to your waist, your breasts squishing against the dirt and dust. A few people whoop. Somehow, you don’t care that everyone can see, or that camera flashes are blinding your vision. The way he drills into you makes you even forget how you even got into this situation to begin with. 

“What about the--” you moan “--press?” 

“Don’t give a fuck about them, none at all. My PR team could probably cover it up, I don’t know. Don’t wanna think about that. Y’all see this? Her nasty ass boyfriend was fuckin’ rippin’ on her, treating her like shit on a stick. No one should treat a woman like that, ya hear?” he’s loud, addressing the people around you. “Well, I guess ex boyfriend would be appropriate. What do you think, [Y/N]?”

“Y-yeah You’re right! Oh! OH! Hawks.”

“C’mon songbird, sing me that song,” he says right next to your ear, sucking a hickey into your neck.

“[Y/N], baby, how could you do this to me?” your boyfriend pleads. Ex-boyfriend, you mean.

“That’s what you get for being a shit. And you’re not even that mad, you’re enjoying yourself too,” you moan to him. “Hawks is technically police, you don’t want him to throw you in jail, now do you?”

“He wouldn’t, he can’t! I didn’t really do anything.”

“I can and I will,” Hawks growls.

“You’re just using your privilege!”

“Yeah,” Hawks agrees. “But then again, I’m sure I could find some dirt on you.”

“Haw--”

“Yes baby?” his attention snaps to you.

Your ex was never this attentive. It gave you butterflies. You swallowed them to let him know you were close. 

If he had his feathers, they would surely flush out. 

“Come on, birdie, cream on my cock, I know you can do it.” He reaches around your waist to swipe at your clit. 

“Nnnggft,” you moan, your cunt seizing up, the pressure building. It explodes, sending a chill down your spine. 

“Yes baby, keep up for me, I’m right behind ya...” Hawks thrusts impossibly faster, chasing his own climax, loving the way your sex flutters around him.  

“[Y/N] I’m--” Hawks’ voice dies out as he shoots thick ropes of cum in you, white seed painting your insides. 

The both of you struggle to catch your breaths. Hawks leans over you, massaging your hips. “Why don’t we take this back to your place and finish up?”

“Why not yours?” You laugh, running a hand over his sweat sheened forehead and into his unruly blonde hair.

“Security? At least take me on a date,” he laughs.

You sigh with contempt. “Okay, Hawks. Okay.” He nuzzles your neck slightly, pulling out of you. 

Hawks tucks himself back in his trousers and pulls up your top. “Let’s get outta here, then. Hey! I got it, don’t worry,” he says, pulling the passenger door open.

“Where’s my underwear?”

“Dunno.”

“I’m gonna leave a wet spot.”

“I don’t mind,” he says nonchalantly before hopping into the driver’s seat next to you. The ignition rolls over and Hawks backs out of the parking space. His hand rests on the inside of your thigh, rubbing in slow circles. 

You notice his nails are black, and curved a bit like talons. 

Pretty.

“Okay hummingbird, lead the way,” he says, giving you a soft smile.

[kikis-writing-world]

Sunflowers and Pink Roses

A/N: Full disclosure: I’ve never seen The Mentalist. Anything I know about Marcus is from y’all on here. So I know he’s sweet, romantic and deserved better™. I dunno, I had this fluffy idea and it just seemed him... apologies if I got his characterization way off since this is basically the fic version of broken telephone.

Pairing: Marcus Pike x Female Reader

Word Count: ~1700

Rating/Warnings: PG - It’s super tame, I only even say PG because I think there’s one F-bomb in it. Also not thoroughly edited as usual.

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and you’re still painfully single. Marcus happens to notice.

It was February.

More specifically, the second week of February.

February 14th to be exact.

Valentine’s Day.

You wouldn’t say you hated the holiday, but there weren’t a lot of days that strived to remind you just how single you were. You didn’t mind being single most of the time. You were a strong independent woman raised on Charlie’s Angels, Princess Leia, Miss Piggy. Like Destiny’s Child sang, “I depend on me!” You didn’t need a man to depend on for your happiness.

All of that didn’t stop you from watching those stupid Hallmark Romcoms with glossy eyes and an open yet slightly broken heart. You selfishly wanted someone who would look at you like you hung all the stars in the sky. Someone who would send you good morning and good night texts, buy you little trinkets just because. Not to mention you wanted someone to do the same for. Someone you would think about during the day with a secret smile. You had all the love to give, just nowhere to direct it. At least not yet.

So on February 14th, you plastered the smile on your face with a little more force than usually needed. The water cooler gossip was mostly about who had what reservations where, what lovely things they had planned for the evening. You ignored the red and pink hearts hanging festively along the walls, trying to focus instead on the fact that tomorrow there would be a massive sale on candy and chocolates. Just keep your head down and make it through this one day.

The first bouquet arrived with a ding of the elevator, barely past ten in the morning. It was a modest bouquet of whites and reds. All eyes watched it as the delivery was carried through the office and placed on a coworker’s desk. A gift from her husband. The women fawned over the bouquet and you even offered a polite smile to Jenna, but ultimately turned back to work to tune it out.

The next gift was barely 30 minutes later: a white teddy bear carrying a heart-shaped box of chocolates with a balloon tied around it’s waist deposited on Petra’s desk.

Then chocolates for Selena.

Roses for Anton.

Bouquet for Rhonda.

Cookies for Tanya.

You lost count, but you couldn’t help but watch with envy as each gift was carried past, giggles and chatter following it. Maybe next year.

~☆*☆*☆~

Marcus loved Valentine’s day. He loved it more when he had someone to share it with, someone to dote on, but he still loved the sentiment behind it nonetheless. He watched from his office with a smile each time a new gift was deposited on someone’s desk. The happiness he felt carried a small sting, a reminder of the relationships of the past, but it faded fairly quickly as he shared in the happiness of his coworkers.

He had thought about trying to find a date for the night, trying out one of those dating apps he always heard about, but it felt forced. He wanted that romance but he wanted it organically. He wanted to meet someone at his local coffee shop or at a museum. In a library or at the park. Shy conversations while he worked up the nerve to ask for her number. Wondering how long to wait until he called. Worrying about how many dates until it was acceptable to kiss her. Despite the pain of past heartbreak, he knew when the time was right he’d find the one.

He watched with another grin as a massive, bright bouquet of pink, red and orange flowers was carried through the office. It was a little much for his tastes, he preferred something small that made a statement. He held pride in finding out his partner’s favorite flower or colour, using that information to personalize a gift like that.

As he watched the bouquet cross the floor to Indira’s desk, his eyes fell to your face. Your desk was opposite the windows to his office, so it wasn’t uncommon for his eyes to fall on you as he worked. Even through the window and across the 10 feet or so to your desk, he could read your expression like a book. You watched the flowers pass with a wistful envy before offering Indira a tight smile. You turned back to your work, smile falling and a crease appearing on your brow. Marcus was familiar with that expression because he had definitely made it before.

He leaned up in his chair, trying to sneak a look at your desk. He didn’t see flowers, stuffed animals, chocolates. Nothing left there by a loved one to brighten your day. He leaned back, trying to think if any of the office gossip he’d heard recently mentioned if you had a partner. He knew you weren’t married, not that he’d ever admit to subtly checking your hand for a wedding ring. He was technically your boss, your direct superior, and he knew first hand how messy dating a coworker could get. Yes, he thought you were pretty. And funny. And charming. And had a smile that could light up the room- He’d convinced himself plenty of times not to pursue it further, not wanting to get tangled in another workplace romance.

He didn’t know how long he was lost in thought, but as the elevator dinged with another delivery he watched the resigned envy cross your face once more.

~☆*☆*☆~

The end of the day was nearing. You’d been wondering earlier this morning if you could get away with sneaking out a little early. Luckily the deliveries had slowed down around 2:00, along with the fanfare that came with them. You just had to get through the next 30 minutes and you could head home, put on sweats, and eat the cookie dough that was waiting in the fridge.

A ding from the elevator had you look up, yet another beautiful bouquet walking through the room. It wasn’t as extravagant as some of the ones that had come through today, but it had an understated elegance to it. The sunflowers seemed to glow around the delicate pink roses, a beautiful combination sitting in a clear vase with a white ribbon tied around it. You weren’t sure who they were for, it seemed most of the desks in the office already had flowers or gifts of some kind on it. You were shocked when you heard the young delivery boy say your name. Mary Ellen smiled brightly and pointed your way.

You could feel the heat creeping up your neck as you noticed everyone’s eyes on you, a few of the women bold enough to follow the teen over to your desk. You nodded dumbly as he confirmed your name, setting the flowers down with a mumbled “happy Valentine’s Day.”

“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone!” Selena cooed, brushing her hand lightly against the flowers.

“I-I’m not.” You shook your head, staring at the beautiful flowers.

“A secret admirer?” Mary Ellen gasped, holding her hands under her chin. “That’s so romantic.”

“Is there a card?” Rhonda asked.

“Here!” Selena had found the little piece of cardstock among the stems, handing it over.

You bit your lip as you opened it, having no idea what to expect. You didn’t recognize the penmanship, but it could have easily been written by the florist.

~☆*☆*☆~

“Are you for real?” The guy on the phone laughed, his thick accent mocking Marcus. “It’s the second busiest day of the year and you wanna place an order now? You must be really stupid if you forgot Valentine’s Day.” The man continued to laugh.

“Look, I need it delivered before 5:00.” This was the fourth place he’d called, most of them laughing and hanging up on him. “Is that something you can do?”

“Oooh, that’s gonna cost ya. Big.”

“That’s fine.” Marcus sighed, leaning over to pull his wallet out of his back pocket.

“Okay, we don’t got much left-”

“Sunflowers?” Marcus asked. He wasn’t even sure what drew him to that flower at first, the request was out of his mouth before he really thought about it.

“Gimme a sec.” The man told him, gruff voice fading as Marcus heard him yell. “Hey Martha! We got any sunflowers left?”

Marcus tapped his foot impatiently as he heard the back and forth on the other end of the line.

“Martha’s got sunflowers. Says she’s got a few extra pink roses she can throw in with ‘em. That work?”

“Yes! Perfect!”

“Whatd’ya want on the card?”

“The card?” Marcus parroted. He hadn’t thought about writing anything.

“You’re orderin’ a last minute bouquet, you better become Shakespeare real fuckin’ quick if you wanna stay out of the doghouse, loverboy.”

“Uhh…” He stuttered trying to find the right words.

“I ain’t got all day.” The man huffed. “Second busiest day of the year.” He reminded him.

“Uh, make it say… uh…”

~☆*☆*☆~

“Some may be intimidated by your shine But someone will come along and make you shine even brighter And they will be worth the wait”

“Wow.” Rhonda swooned. “That’s so sweet.”

“Is it signed from anyone?” Selena asked.

“No. That’s it.” You shrugged, trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. It was beautiful.

“Oooh, secret admirer! Mary Ellen, you were right!” Rhonda sang. “This is so exciting.”

“Who do you think it is?” Anton leaned over from his desk to ask. You hadn’t even realized he was listening in.

“I-I have no idea.” You stuttered. It was true. “I wish I knew, so I could thank them or something.”

“Something alright.” Selena purred, making everyone shriek and giggle as you flushed.

“Alright, what’s going on here?” The voice cut through the giggles, making everyone sober up. Marcus was standing just outside his office door, hands in his pockets.

“Nothing. Just some Valentine’s Day magic.” Rhonda trilled. The giggles resumed, much quieter this time, as everyone fluttered back to their own desks to return to work.

“Sorry.” You bit your lip, embarrassed that the excitement had disrupted your boss.

“It’s okay.” Marcus chuckled, toeing at the carpet of the office for a moment. “Just don’t let it happen again.” He teased with a grin, putting you at ease.

“Yessir, Special Agent Pike.” You mock saluted, making him chuckle.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You too.”

tagging: @wickedfrsgrl​

[13uswntimagines]

Put a Little Love on Me (Emily Sonnett x Reader)

Request: Emily x Reader Based on Put a Little Love on Me by Nial Horan

Author’s Note: So Im gonna be honest here, I actually had an entirely different, much angstier plan for this, but i just couldn’t seem to get this image out of my head. I hope you enjoy and that I hit the request enough! Hit me up with questions or comments, it gives me life to know what y’all think. 

The word you would use for you and Emily was inevitable. Like two magnets always being drawn to each other for better or for worse. Your careers weren’t really conducive. You were always on the road with your music and she was always on the road with her soccer, and where those roads crossed was few and far between. 

Distance was hard, and the main cause of issues in your relationship. That and the media was hell-bent on having you date every human being you interacted with. The fight had been stupid, she knew that. It was a bad mixture of Jealousy, exhaustion, and longing that had led to the two of you being at the same award show and not speaking to each other. 

Emily sighed wiggling in her uncomfortable seat, waiting impatiently for the stupid commercial break to be over. The quicker they got through this, the quicker she could talk this out with you. You were only sitting 3 rows ahead of the team, but so far you hadn’t spared a glance in their directions, not even when you had left to go get ready for your performance. She fucked up, she knew that, but it still hurt to have you blatantly ignore them. 

“What happened between you and hot stuff?” Lindsey asked, bumping Emily’s shoulder. You were avoiding her as much as you were avoiding Sonnett, and she needed to know why. She was your best friend too. 

Emily looked down, picking at a loose thread on her red dress. 

****

“It’s not like I have a choice Emily,” You growled back, your hand ripping frustratedly through your hair as you paced the living room. 

You were only in town for the next 36 hours and you wanted to celebrate with your girlfriend, but she was too hung up on a stupid music video. A stupid music video that was currently number 1 in the world. 

“But you do. You didn’t have to do a sexy dance with your duet partner,” She growled back from her place on the couch. You were the big name in the diet with Camila. You were the one with all the control. Maybe Camila wasn’t your type, but that hadn’t made watching her dance all over you any easier. 

“Emily…” You huffed, slumming back onto the couch and scrubbing your eyes. It was complicated. Yes, you had some control, but the pressure had been insane. Camila was in a committed relationship with her bandmate, and you were in love. You had given in because you didn’t want another fight with your managers. And you didn’t want them to take away the already limited time you had with your girl. 

“Don’t Emily me! The entire world thinks you’re fucking her and you decided to let her grope you in your fucking music video,” She growled back dangerously, allowing her frustration with the media and her jealousy take complete control. Hiding how much it hurt to watch you do some of those moves with Camila. To watch her whisper senorita in your ear. Emily knew she didn’t call you that, so who was?

“I’m not cheating on you Emily, I fucking love you, and I just wanna enjoy the time I have with you,” You sighed, just so tired of all of this fighting. Was one quiet night with your girl too much to ask for? 

“What, just so you can go running back to her?” Emily spat, and you winced. 

“We’re on tour babe, she’s my opening act, nothing more, and you okayed it, so I don’t know what your problem is. I love you,” You explained slowly, emphasizing the word you. You only wanted her, why wouldn’t she believe you? 

There was a pregnant pause between the two of you. Your face stayed buried in your hands, and Emily’s chest heaved. If you couldn’t understand why she was upset that another woman was all over you, then maybe you didn’t care about her as much as she cared about you. 

“Well, if you can’t grasp it, then why don’t you just go?” She said, her voice barely above a whisper, and your wide eyes snapped to her. It felt like your whole world was caving in on you, if you lost Emily, you didn’t know what you’d do. 

You opened and closed your mouth several times, finally only a feeble “What, Em-,” squeaked past your lips. Her face remained impassive, as though shattering you was easy. 

“Get. Out.” She gritted out, pointing towards the door. 

You stood, pausing only to stare at her for a few more seconds. The silence between you was heavy, like mud seeping into your bones. 

“I love you, Emily, only you,” You sighed, hanging your head in defeat, and walking out the door. You spared her a glance, wondering how this night had turned out like this. You had been high on the excitement of finally getting to see her, and now you were crashing back to reality. You waited for her to respond, shaking your head when she wouldn’t even look in your direction. 

****

“We had a fight,” Emily huffed, pulling around the loose strand. The fight was stupid, but she never thought you’d actually leave. That you’d walk away instead of staying and fighting for her. She had sulked all through the first days of camp until the first letter appeared. 

“Hmm, is that why you’ve been getting so many letters?” Lindsey smirked, and Emily rolled her eyes. 

“No, that was because I wouldn’t pick up my phone,” She snorted, remembering the words that had accompanied the first page. You had said that maybe you could be like Noah from the notebook. That if she wouldn’t answer your calls, then you’d write her a letter every day. And then maybe she’d be like Allie and come back to you. 

You had kept your word. Every day between then and now you had written her a letter, and sometimes she wrote you back. You made up and “talked” out your issues, and now it was time for the reunion. At least she hoped that's what you were thinking. 

“Gotta admit, she’s got game,” Kelley snorted from beside Lindsey. You were a true romantic at heart and that never ceased to amaze them. You were essentially apologizing with Emily’s favorite movie.  

“And she’s totally in love with you Emily,” Alex added over her girlfriend's shoulder. No one sent almost 100 letters unless they were super in love. 

Emily nodded, she knew you loved her and only her. It also helped that Camila was cuddled up with her own girlfriend 2 rows in front of them. It was hard to be jealous when you saw the person of your ire being utterly lovestruck with someone else (and she was pretty sure that the only person Camila wanted to call her Senorita was Lauren). 

****

“You ready kid?” Your manager asked, straightening the collar of your suit. 

You nodded hesitantly “I just hope she dances with me,” you mumbled. If she stayed in her seat, you didn’t know what you were going to do. You had planned this, and the only person who didn’t know was the main component. 

You sighed. You wondered about her every day, where she was, how she was doing. You knew you loved her, and you were about to show her. 

“She’d be an idiot not to,” You manager smiled, patting your back, and you gulped. You hoped so. You were pretty sure she would, she had forgiven you. She had even replied with I love yours, so hopefully, this all worked out. You had so much love for her that you could only pray it would be enough. 

*****

You looked breathtaking on stage, standing in that navel blue suite. The performance was simple, just you and a mic in the spotlight, a piano playing in the background. It was odd for you not playing your accompaniment, but you did everything for a reason. Emily bit her lip, unable to take her eyes off of you. The spotlight mixed with that color made you look… so suave. Almost like the female James Bond. 

“She looks sad,” Lindsey mumbled, patting Emily’s leg lightly. And Emily leaned forward, looking closer. She took in the furrow of your eyebrows, how you bright Y/E/C orbs were slightly dulled. 

“The song is sad,” She huffed. She knew how much this song meant to you. She had asked about it frequently in your letters, and you had been honest about how much pain you were in. 

“Not the ending,” Lindsey smirked, and Emily nodded. The two of you had made up and the end of that song reflected that.

“I wonder what her plan is, she never does anything this simple,” Emily murmured, smoothing out a crinkle in her red dress. If you weren’t playing the piano, then you had to have something big up your sleeve. 

You Unhooked the mic and began wandering down the steps. 

“She’s coming this way,” Lindsey said shocked, and suddenly, Emily’s hand was balling the material of her dress in her fist, and your eyes met for the first time that night. All of your attention was on her. 

You walk slowly down the aisle, the bridge ringing through the room. The audience stared at you in awe, but you only had eyes for one woman. A woman who you had pulled several strings to have sitting on the end of the row. 

You stopped in front of her, just as you got to the acoustic section right before the final chorus. Reaching out a hand and sending her a pleading look when she didn’t immediately take it, praying to God that this wouldn’t backfire on you. She stared at you wide-eyed, frozen at the suggestion. 

You bit your lip as the tension in the room seemed to grow. The eyes on you waiting with bated breath to see what Emily would do. Lindsey nudged her, snapping Emily out of her daze. 

You smiled encouraging down at her, and just as the final chorus began, she delicately placed her hand in yours. You pulled her up into you, her arms wrapping around your neck as yours landed on her waists, and the two of you began to sway in a slow dance. 

“When the lights come up we’re the only ones dancing, I look around and you’re standing there asking, you’re the only one I need,” You sing quietly conscious of your proximity, staring into Emily’s bright blue with so much love as the lights flash on, and you’re the only two dancing. 

She leans in close to you, just as you get the final line, her breath fanning across your lips, your foreheads touching. 

Her lips press against your own, stealing the final note. The crowd erupted in thunderous applause and wolf whistles, but you don’t hear any of it. All of your attention focused solely on the woman in your arms. The woman that you loved so dearly and were so terrified of losing. 

“I love you, only you Emily,” You breathed out, squeezing her side lightly. 

“I know. I love you too,” She smiled, pecking your lips again. It felt so nice to hold her close, to have her right here in front of you. You reluctantly pulled away as the announcers called your name. You shot over your shoulder, before reconnecting your forehead with Emily’s. You just wanted to live in this moment forever. 

“go, I’ll see you later,” Emily whispered, nudging your nose with her own and pushing you lightly in the direction of your impatiently waiting team. 

You laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her with you. “You’re coming with me babe, you’re the only one I need,” You shoot her a goofy thing, kissing her knuckles. 

“Put a little love on me,” She hummed back, wrapping her arms around you and kissing just behind your ear. 

You loved her and she loved you and that was all that mattered. You were magnets, always trying to find each other, always pushing and pulling, always connected. You would talk about the details later, for now, you would just bask in being together again. 

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Destiny

Ch 5- It’s Good Advice, You Should Take It.

Chapter Summary: The final memory Tony and Natasha show Katie sees them back at the compound, in a moment Katie isn’t that keen to relive. And then the time comes for her to say goodbye to her brother and best friend all over again.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So this is it. The last Chapter of Stark Spangled Destiny. I hope y’all have enjoyed this little mini-series as much as I have writing it. As always, thanks for your continued support, comments and re-blogs, and of course for loving Katie, Steve and the kids as much as I do.

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

Stark Spangled Destiny Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Katie looked at the door which led to their apartment in the compound. The familiar smells, noises, sights had all assaulted her senses the minute she had found herself here and she was swamped with a million and one memories of the place that for years they had called home, their private space contained just behind the glossy, dark wooden door she was stood in front of.

She looked at Tony who nodded, as did Natasha- the red head dropping a hand to Katie’s shoulder. With a deep breath she pressed her palm to the pad at the side and the door slid open and she stepped into the apartment, heading into hallway, taking a look around at the earthy tones it was decorated in. She moved further into the apartment, through to the open plan living area, taking everything in, including the large, canvas photo from their wedding day, the pair of them on the dance floor for their first dance, their heads pressed together, stupid grins on their face. The very same canvas now adorned the wall in their entrance hall of their home in Brooklyn, having been moved out of the living room to make way for the various photos of their kids and family.

“I do like that photo.” Natasha smiled and Katie looked at her, smiling herself.

“Me too.” She nodded before taking a deep breath, getting a hit of the wax burner she’d almost constantly had going, with the lingering smell of the Hugo Boss Steve had worn until a few years back when Emmy had informed him that the company had once-upon-a-time made Uniforms for the Nazis. Horrified, Steve had instantly stopped using it, swapping to Gucci Guilty instead, which Katie wasn’t complaining about. She preferred it.

“What am I doing here Tony?” Katie asked, turning to face him, but before he could reply Katie heard the door open to the bedroom. She looked up as Steve strolled in to the room from the hallway, yawning. His hair was shorter, face clean shaven and he was in a pair of sweats that hung off his hips, his top half bare showing off his physique. Katie took a moment, looking at him, taking in how damned young he looked, all the time biting her lip.

Besides her Tony rolled his eyes. “You’re drooling.”

“And?” She shrugged, moving to follow Steve into the kitchen area. His back muscles twitched as he reached up for the coffee and Katie gave a little groan. “I love it when he does that.”

“What, makes coffee?” Nat quipped nudging her, and Katie gave a snort.

“No, flexes his back.” She shrugged “I like it.”

“You know, you’re really fucking weird.” Tony concluded, before Katie gave a laugh which cut off as she caught a movement in her peripheral…

 Steve heard a noise and turned round to see Katie padding her way into the kitchen, wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a camisole top, hair piled on top of her head. She yawned and gave him a tired smile.

“Hey beautiful.” He smiled back, leaning down to give her a good morning kiss. “How’s Emmy?”

“Sleeping.” Katie sighed, rubbing her eyes as she yawned again “She finally drifted off about three am.”

Steve bit the inside of his lip as he looked down at the floor. “You know, I really wish I could help. I feel so useless when she has those nightmares, because I can’t comfort her or…”

“Hey…” Katie shook her head, reaching out for his hands and lacing her fingers through his. “You do help. You give her a safe home. She’ll come round in the end, Steve, you’ll see. We just have to let her do it in her own time.”

“I know, you’re right.” Steve agreed, looking at his wife “Still doesn’t make me feel any better. You know, she’s been here almost three months now. Do we need to call anyone, try and get her some help or…”

Katie pondered for a moment before she shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know how she’d react to it. Maybe. Let’s just see how we go ok? Give it another couple of weeks and then if things don’t get any better we can call someone.”

“Ok.” Steve nodded before he took another deep breath “You want coffee?”

“Dur.” Katie smiled and he chuckled at his dumbass question. “Thought I’d do French Toast for breakfast, that sound ok or are you rushing to meet Rhodey?”

“No rush.” Steve shook his head “I don’t need to leave until 10..” Katie stood watching and turned to Tony. “I know exactly what this day is. This is when Emmy had her meltdown.”

Tony nodded “Yeah, poor kid.”

“It’s easy to forget how troubled she was when she arrived.” Natasha mused as the three of them watched as past Katie and Steve moved around the kitchen like a well-oiled machine and Katie had to smile. It was odd watching it from the outside and she’d never appreciated just how tactile Steve was with her. A touch on the arm here, a kiss to the cheek or neck there, but now she thought about it she realised he was still the same now. Like he deliberately looked for any excuse to touch her or show her affection.  That hadn’t waned in the slightest after seventeen years of being together.

“Gross…” Tony grumbled as Natasha gave a chuckle when Steve stopped Katie and turned her to face him, giving her a deep kiss which was interrupted by Emmy.

“Sorry, didn’t realise you two were making out.” She said, as she pottered into the kitchen dressed in a pair of pyjamas.

“I was making breakfast.” Katie said, completely unabashed by Emmy’s dig. Steve, on the other hand, flushed red and looked down, suddenly realising he was topless.

“I’m gonna…” He trailed off before he made his way out of the kitchen and Katie looked at Emmy as she pulled open the fridge

“You want orange juice or apple, Em?”

“Orange please.” Emmy said, sitting on one of the high stools.  Katie poured her a glass, handing it to her. The eleven year old took it with a mumbled thanks and took a sip, her eyes trained on the surface of the breakfast bar. Katie watched her for a second before she stepped towards her slightly.

“You okay?” She asked, noticing the girl was unusually quiet. She’d come out of her shell a lot more recently but seemed today to be retreating back into it.

“Yeah, I’m just a little tired.” Emmy shrugged.

“I’m not surprised.” Katie said softly

“Sorry.” Emmy said quietly and Katie sighed..

“Em, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” She gently placed her hand on her shoulder. “You can’t help what you dream about.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you both up.”

“Honestly, sweetheart it’s fine.” Katie said, “now, I’m gonna make French toast for breakfast. That okay?”

Emmy nodded and took another drink of her orange juice before Katie turned back to her cooking, Emmy simply watching her. Normally she offered to help but today she was simply sat at the breakfast bar, observing and every so often her eyes would flick round the room. It was a change in demeanour Katie was painfully aware of but let it pass them by, allowing her to do what she felt she wanted, or needed as the case may be, to do.

Just as Katie was serving, Steve emerged fully dressed, hair damp from the shower. “This looks great, thanks honey.” He said, dropping a kiss to Katie’s cheek as she placed a plate in front of him whilst he pulled out a stool and sat down.

Katie settled at the end of the bar, her own food in front of her and she noticed Emmy’s eyes flick from her to Steve before she looked down at her plate. Steve also clocked the look on her face and he glanced at Katie who shook her head telling him not to comment.

“So, what do you two have planned today?” Steve asked instead, breaking the silence.

When Emmy didn’t reply, Katie picked up the conversation. “I have a conference call at eleven for an hour with the guys at SIDE but other than that not much. I do need to go to the store though, that okay Em?”

Emmy shrugged “Fine.”

“I can always see if you can stay with Bruce or Nat.” Katie offered “I know you and Nat have been working through Friends on Netflix...”

Emmy looked at her. “If I’m not too much of a burden.”

Steve frowned and looked at Katie before he glanced back at Emmy. “Of course you’re not. Nat and Bruce love having you here as much as we do.”

Emmy turned her head to Steve, her eyes locking on his almost as if she was searching them to see if he was telling the truth. Eventually she nodded and turned back to her food. “Then if I can I’d like to stay here.”

“Sure.” Katie said, nodding. “To be honest, you can always stay here in your room anyway. FRIDAY is always on hand and if you need anything…”

“Whatever is easier.”

“What do you want to do?” Katie asked, not a shred of impatience in her tone despite Emmy being obtuse. Emmy paused and then looked at her.

“The Common Room with Nat.” she said finally.

“Okay, then when I go down to the office I’ll ask her, ok?”

Emmy nodded. “Thanks.”

Steve looked at Katie once more, before the three of them resumed eating breakfast, Katie and Steve carrying the conversation for the most before Emmy finished and politely asked if she could be excused to wash up and get dressed. After Steve told her of course she could, she took her plate to the sink and then headed out.

“Tell me I’m being overly sensitive but…” Steve began and Katie cut him off.

“She told me before she’s tired Steve.” She replied “She had a rough night, you know as well as anyone what night terrors can do.”

“Think that’s all it is?”

“Honestly I’ve no idea.” Katie sighed. “But until she’s ready to talk what do we do? I’m not gonna keep pushing her as it will make it worse.”

Steve took a deep breath and Katie stood up, reaching for his plate but he stopped her, his hand gently wrapping around her wrist “I’ll do that. You go get yourself sorted.”

Katie smiled, dropped a kiss to his lips and headed out of the room. “I know where this is going…” Katie sighed, “I don’t…do I have to see it again?”

“Yup.” Tony said.

“Why?” she turned to her brother “Why is going over this particular day important?”

“Because it is.” Natasha said simply “You were questioning what the point of you being in your kids’ lives was.” She turned to Katie who met her gaze. “You need to understand just how much of an impact you and Steve had on Emmy, and what your decision to let her stay with you meant for her, and her life. Things could have turned out very different.”

“I know that.” Katie sighed, exasperatedly.

“Do you?” Tony looked at her. “Do you really know or is it just something you think you know?”

Katie looked at him and let out a groan. “Of course I know Tony, she was living on her own…”

“Okay.” Tony held his hands up. “But you’re gonna watch anyway.”

Katie let out a loud noise and when she turned back to the scene in front of her she noticed now that she was fully dressed, in jeans and a sweater and was fishing in the Gold Pineapple bowl. They watched as she fished her car keys from the bowl and then her wallet, opening it, giving an exasperated groan and yelling out the word. “Fuck.”

“Potty mouth…” Tony looked at her and she shrugged.

“My cash was gone.” Katie looked at Tony. “You know, it seems like such an odd thing now but it was so rare in the year or so after the snap. I hardly ever used it, everything was by card.”

“People went into a frenzy, trying to withdraw what they could.” Nat shrugged.

“So much so they basically emptied every ATM in the country.” Tony mused “And to think they ridicule old people for stashing it under the mattress…”

Katie let out a deep breath watched herself ponder something before she headed out, phone in hand, as she closed the door behind her.

“Real informative.” Katie deadpanned, turning to Tony who shot her a scathing look. “Me looking at an empty wallet.”

“Shut up.” Tony rolled his eyes “I forgot what a sarcastic ass you are.”

“I learnt from the best.” She shot back. Natasha gave a chuckle.

“She’s not wrong Shell Head.”

“I hate you both.” Tony sulked, turning away from them as he strode towards the Golden Pineapple on the table. He bent to examine it before he gave a snort and looked back at Katie.

“Why the fuck did you buy this?” Tony looked at her.

“I told you about a thousand times.” Katie sighed “It was a joke between me and Steve. He still has it you know.”

“I don’t get it.” Tony shrugged.

“You won’t because it’s an in joke…” Katie groaned “Look, I know you haven’t brought me here to look at a fucking pineapple bowl.”

“Well I kinda did, in a way, but…” Tony shrugged and nodded back to the door.

Steve opened the door, his hair and shoulders were wet from the shower of rain which had chosen the exact moment he had gotten out of the car to start, and then the moment he’d entered the building to stop. Dropping his kit bag to the floor he peeled off his jacket and hung it on the peg by the door. He then kicked off his sneakers, and made his way into the living area where Katie was perched on the sofa, cross legged. Her hair was pulled up into a hap-hazard bun and her glasses were perched on her nose as she glanced down at the laptop which was resting on her knees, her feet placed on the edge of the coffee table. Sensing his presence as always, she turned over her shoulder to look at him and he smiled.

“You still working?” he asked, nodding to the laptop and she shook her head.

“No, well, sorta…I was looking at some figures but nothing major.” She tapped a button to save what she had been doing before she shut the laptop. Steve flopped onto the sofa next to her, leaning over to place a soft kiss to her lips. “Good day?” she asked.

“Not bad.” He shrugged “I might need to head away again for a while, looks like we’re focussing on another unit in Toronto.”

“How long for?”

“A week, maybe two.” He shrugged “That ok?”

“Yeah, of course.” She nodded “It needs to be done Steve, and like you said, if we don’t then…”

“I know.” He breathed out “Rather be here with you and Em though.”

She chuckled and turned to face him, “Soppy bastard.”

He shrugged before he leaned back against the cushion and she snuggled under his arm. “Speaking of Em, where is she?”

“Oh she’s with Bruce.” Katie replied “She spent a few hours with Nat and then she headed into the lab, she was showing her something to do with…actually, I don’t have a clue. Bruce did try to explain but it went right over my head. Something about energy extrapolation...I think.”

Steve laughed, his hand gently tracing shapes on her upper arm. “Is she feeling better.”

“I think so.” Katie sighed “Hard to gage. She was laughing with Nat when I came back from the store…oh, and that reminds me, Rogers.” She sat up and poked at his chest “Next time you’re gonna use me as your own personal ATM, can you at least warn me first?”

“What?” Steve looked at her, utterly baffled “Personal ATM…I don’t…”

“The cash you took from my wallet.” Katie arched an eyebrow “Not that it matters, everywhere is card, card, card now but you know I like to-“

“Baby…” Steve cut her off, shaking his head. “I didn’t take any cash from you, I’ve still got some spare.”

Katie frowned “Well I know there was about two hundred bucks in there and now there’s nothing, so if you didn’t then…” She trailed off, sighing “Shit.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Steve said, instantly understanding and Katie bit her lip.

“Who else could it be?” She took off her glasses and tossed them carelessly on top of her laptop, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“FRIDAY?” Steve asked.

“Yes, Captain Rogers.” The AI responded.

“Has anyone else been in our quarters over the last twenty-four hours?” Steve asked the question, although deep down he already knew the answer. It was impossible for anyone to get into the compound without them knowing.

“Apart from yourself, Mrs Rogers and Miss McKellen that is a negative, Captain.”

Katie looked at him, “Now what do we do?”

Steve inhaled and let out a deep breath from his nose “Ok, we need to talk to her about it.”  Katie bit her lip before she stood up and Steve frowned “Where are you going?”

“To check her room.”

“Honey…” Steve started to protest but Katie stopped him dead with a look.

“No, Steve, I’m sorry but…” and with that she headed off down the hall. Steve let out a groan, before he followed her. Up until now Emmy had caused them no issues really in the grand scheme of things. The nightmares and panic attacks aside, ok and the melt down she’d Katie had taken her shopping as she refused to go back to her old foster home to pick anything up, she’d been great. Never complained, never moaned about anything, in fact she seemed positively grateful to be there, which was why this was such a shock to them both. And he still didn’t want to believe it.

However, when he watched Katie pulling a rucksack out of Emmy’s wardrobe, opening the front pocket to reveal the money the pair of them were forced to accept that she’d stolen from them. With tears in her eyes Katie opened the main part of the bag and then tossed it onto Emmy’s bed.

“Look.” She said gently. Steve moved, his hands parting the bag open slightly and he stared at the contents. Clothes, a few toiletries, some granola bars, a packet of cookies and bottles of water.

“You don’t think…” Steve swallowed “She was gonna run away?”

“What other explanation is there?” Katie’s voice was a sad whisper, and the look on her face broke Steve’s heart. “I don’t get it, I mean is she that unhappy here that she’d rather take her chances out there alone?”

Steve had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say, because he felt as helpless and as lost as Katie here. Of the hundreds of missions he’d faced, his various dances with death and that flighty temptress fear, nothing had ever prepared him for how he felt then. He had no Plan A, let alone a Plan B.

Katie swallowed and looked at Tony. “You know, looking back on all of this…it has to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I had no idea what to do for the best…”

“Well whatever you did worked out.” Tony said simply, as they watched past Katie and Steve head out of Emmy’s room, Steve clutching Emmy’s bag in one hand, his other gently placed on the curve of Katie’s back.

Katie sighed heavily and shook her head “I really don’t want to see this next bit. Please, I get it…”

“No, you don’t.” Nat said simply and looked at her “You won’t get it until you see it from this point of view.”

“Why?”

“Stop being awkward.” Tony sighed, “Just watch will you, save the questions until after.”

Katie glared at the pair of them before she stalked out of Emmy’s room just in time to see the girl herself walk into the apartment. Lucky padded out of the open plan living area and into the hallway to say greet her. She pet his head and then headed into the living room. Taking a deep breath, as she could remember this next bit like it had happened only yesterday, Katie followed her.

Emmy stopped dead as she saw her rucksack perched on the large oak dining table which was situated in front of the bi-folding doors, behind the sofa. Steve looked up at her from where he and Katie had been sat, both with a mug of tea in their hands, trying to decide how they dealt with the situation.

“You been going through my stuff?” Emmy glared at them both, her arms folded.

“Emmy…” Katie sighed “Sit down.”

“No.”

“Sit.” Steve instructed, his voice a little more stern than Katie’s and Emmy looked at him, her chin jutting out defiantly.

“I said no.”

“Fine, don’t” Katie shrugged “But to answer your question, yes we did go through your stuff…because I was looking for something. Some money that went missing.”

“And you just assumed I took it.” She glared at them both “I get it, the bad foster kid…”

“Oh Emmy stop!” Steve said exasperatedly “For your information, no, we didn’t just assume. We checked with FRIDAY. No one bar us three has been in the apartment. So unless you’re suggesting Lucky stole it then…”

Emmy glanced at Steve and then looked at the floor as from behind the bag, Katie pushed the wad of cash across the table. Emmy glanced up and took a deep breath, at least having the good grace to look remorseful.

“Why did you take it?” Katie asked.

Emmy stayed quiet for a little while before she shrugged “In case I need it.”

“What do you need two hundred bucks for?” Steve asked, his tone softer than it had been before. “Do you owe it to someone? Are you in trouble?”

“No.”

“Then explain to us Em.” Katie sighed, “If you need something or want something, all you gotta do is ask. Not steal from us.”

“I just do…ok?”

“For when you run away you mean?” Steve looked at her “Yes, we checked the rest of your bag.”

“You…you had no right to go through my stuff!” Emmy’s voice raised and Steve felt his temper beginning to rise. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of what she’d been through. Under the table, Katie squeezed his knee gently and he looked away from Emmy, ensuring he kept his composure.

“We didn’t want to.” Katie looked at her “But Em, you stole from us. And you were planning on running away. I don’t get it. Are you not happy here? Do you want to leave?”

Emmy looked down at her feet but didn’t answer.

“This is getting us nowhere.” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “Emmy we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what the problem is.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be here!” she said, her voice raising “You’re the one that made me come!”

“Yeah, because you were about to get yourself in trouble…” Steve protested but she cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah, Captain America…can’t bear to see anyone doing anything wrong.” She glared at him and Steve felt the nerve in his jaw twitch “Where were you when we actually needed you huh?”

“Emily…” Katie frowned “That’s not fair…”

Steve looked down at the table, shaking his head “You know exactly where we were…”

“I don’t mean the fight, or whatever…” She blazed “I mean after! It took people months to realise I was on my own, and I’m not the only one.”

“I know!” Katie shook her head “But we had a lot to deal with, why do you think I’m working so hard with setting up these homes?”

“Yeah, great coz that’s what kids like me need isn’t it, to be dumped back in a home.” Emmy shook her head “God this is so shit.”

“Ok, that’s enough.” Steve snapped. “Emmy that day in the store, I brought you back here to try and help and we’ve done nothing but accommodate you. We put a roof over your head, fed you, clothed you…Katie’s sat up countless nights with you when you’ve had nightmares…and this is how you repay us?”

“Sorry I didn’t realised you wanted payment.”  Emmy glared at him. “What do you want? I have no money…I could always work the streets, you know, turn hooker…”

“Oh for…” Steve finally snapped, he stood up quickly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him as he turned away, drawing his hands over his face. 

Simultaneously, Emmy’s eyes widened and she stepped back further away, an action Katie spotted.

“Emmy,” she began and Steve turned back round. One look at Emmy’s petrified face made his heart sink. He’d frightened her. That hadn’t been his intention, far from it but as he stepped towards her to try and calm her down, she retreated away, moving backwards towards the door before she turned and bolted out of the room.

“Shit.” Steve mumbled, and in a flash he was after her “Emmy…”

“Get away from me!” she screamed, running into her room. “Leave me alone…”

“Em…” Katie was behind Steve, “Emily, just listen…”

But she was having none of it. She reached her room and made to slam the door, and Steve knew she’d lock it if she did so acting on instinct he reached out and stuck his hand straight in between the door and the frame. It slammed straight onto his fingers, and he gave a grimace, gritting his teeth slightly as Emmy screamed and repeated the motion. But he never once made a sound. Katie had tears in her eyes as she looked at Steve and as Emmy made to slam the door on his hand for a 3rd time he reached up with his left one, and placed the palm flat on the wood stopping it dead. He pushed gently, making it swing back open and Katie moved past him into the room.

“Emmy what’s going on?” she asked, “Please, you need to talk to us.”

“You want me to leave!” Emmy cried, as she slumped to the floor in the corner of the room, hugging her knees to her chest.

“No, no we don’t.” Katie insisted, kneeling in front of her, as Steve strode into the room quietly, sitting on the end of Emmy’s bed in an attempt to make himself slightly less imposing in the space of the room.

“I heard you!” Emmy screamed, “I heard you earlier, saying that you’d give it another couple of weeks before you called someone to come and take me and…”

“Woah, woah, woah…” Steve held his hand up, cutting her off. “Emmy, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Don’t fucking LIE TO ME!”

“Emmy, he isn’t!” Katie insisted, “That wasn’t about sending you away, it was about getting you help with your nightmares, babe.”

Silence fell over the room and Emmy’s mouth clamped shut, her large brown eyes blinking as she looked at Katie then to Steve.

“It’s true.” He said softly “It was my idea.”

“So you don’t wanna send me to a home?” Emmy asked quietly, her tears trickling down her face.

“No, sweetheart, we don’t.” Katie said, her own eyes spilling over as she reached up to wipe Emmy’s tears away “Look, we weren’t gonna tell you until it was all sorted out but a week ago a place for you opened at one of the homes that SIDE has been organising, but…” she took a deep breath and looked at Steve who licked his lips.

“We don’t want you to leave Em.”  He finished for Katie. “So, we’ve applied to the Authorities to make this your permanent Foster Home.”

“You have?” Emmy’s voice was a whisper and both Katie and Steve nodded.

“ We’re not sending you anywhere.” Katie looked at her. “As long as you’re happy here then you can stay. But if you’re not then…”

“I am…” she blurted out, before she looked down at the spot on the floor between her and Katie “I just…I’ve been bad and…”

“Emmy, look at me sweetie.” Katie sighed, shuffling forward a little and Emmy turned her brown eyes onto Katie’s.. “Stealing is bad, yeah. But we’re not gonna send you away for misbehaving. Yeah, ok, down the line there’s probably gonna be times we get cross and tell you off but that’s part of us all growing up and navigating this new family life. I promise you, with everything I have, that none of that will ever mean we’ll send you away.”

“But I’ve been really bad. I stole. A lot of money too…” Emmy began to sob again and Katie reached out for her, curling her arms around her as she sobbed against her shoulder. Steve made a moment as if to comfort her too but hastily pulled his hand away and Katie gave him a sympathetic look. She knew not being able to do something as simple as hug her was killing him. Instead he took a deep breath and spoke softly, his gentle baritone carrying over the sounds of her crying.

“We’re not bothered about the money.” Steve said as Katie looked at him as she rocked Emmy gently to and fro “We’re more bothered about the fact you felt so bad and that your first thought was to run away. You should have talked to us, Honey.”

 “I know.” Emmy sobbed, her face pressed into Katie’s neck. “I won’t do it again, I swear, I’m so sorry.” She turned her head to look at Steve “I’m sorry about your hand, I didn’t…”

“I’ve had worse.” Steve said, shaking his head as he flexed the fingers of his right hand. It was slightly painful, but he knew there would be no lasting damage.

“Yeah, like the time you put it through the stud wall in the Tower.”  Katie looked at him. He frowned, wondering why of all the times he had hurt himself she’d brought that up, but then he suddenly understood.”

“Well, it was a very vivid nightmare.” He shrugged and at that Emmy looked at him, swallowing.

“You had…you had nightmares?”

 “Still do sometimes.” He shrugged.

“What about?” Emmy looked at him, wiping her eyes.

“It used to be the War.” Steve said gently. “I don’t get those so much anymore. Now, well it’s mainly about the Snap.” He trailed off, looking at his hands. “I see all those people on that battlefield, our friends…”

“I get them too.” Katie said softly “About HYDRA.” She swallowed as Steve took a deep breath. “About Thanos. I lie awake sometimes, wondering if we could have done more…” she sniffed and her hand moved instinctively to her stomach, caressing the place their surprise baby had been before Thanos had cruelly ripped that away from them too and Steve looked down once more. To not even find out until after it had gone had been a double blow to the pair of them. “But the thing is Em…” Katie looked back at her “We deal with it by talking to one another. We have to, otherwise it would eat us up inside.”

“And I get that isn’t always easy.” Steve said, “Hell, in my day if you talked about stuff like that people looked at you like you belonged in a Bug House.”

“Steve…” Katie chastised his turn of phrase as Emmy gave a soft chuckle.

 “Well, it’s true.” He protested slightly, before he looked back at the dark haired girl, who still had her head laid against Katie’s shoulder. “And it took me awhile, almost a year actually, to open up to Katie…and even then I only did that because I fell asleep on her couch and had a night terror there.” He took a deep breath “But the point is Em, what I was worried about was Katie, or anyone else for that matter, thinking less of me if I did tell them what I was feeling, that it would make them believe I was weak because I was dreaming about all this stuff…but that’s not the case. It takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.”

Emmy looked at him and sniffled a little, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

“Whatever is going on up here…” Katie said gently, tapping at Emmy’s head with the arm that lay round her shoulders “We want to help. But we can’t if you don’t talk to us.” Emmy nodded gently, to show she understood as Katie continued. “So no matter what it is, how stupid you might feel, how dumbass you think it makes you sound, we want you to tell us. Or if not us, Nat or Bruce or Tony. Because then we can help, we can deal with it instead of getting ourselves into a situation like this again.”

“And we promise, and for the record, I’m Captain America ergo I can’t lie…” Steve looked at Emmy and she gave a little titter of a laugh “That no matter what it is, we’re not gonna go mad, or kick you out. We just want you to be honest with how you’re feeling, ok?”

Emmy swallowed and nodded, before the tears filled her eyes. “I know, I really am sorry….”

“We know you are.” Steve said softly as Katie pulled her close again. “It’s ok.”

“Think we can draw a line under this and move on?” Katie asked softly and Emmy nodded against her shoulder, sitting back and wiping her eyes.  

Steve looked around the spare room Emmy had taken up residency in. They’d found her a book shelf in one of the old rooms that was no longer used and brought that in for her, Tony had installed a state of the art flat screen TV which linked to FRIDAY on the wall so she could watch whatever she wanted, but it was still bare in a way. There was a lack of real personal touches to the décor, and to him it still didn’t feel like it belonged to her. And then he had a sudden idea “You know, if you are staying, I think this place could use a little personalisation.”

“What do you mean?” Emmy looked at him.

“Well, beige and cream is ok but…surely it could be a little more colourful.”  He mused looking around before he looked at Katie “What do you think honey?” Katie smiled and glanced at Emmy “You know what, I think Steve-O might be onto something.”

Emmy chuckled and then looked at Steve “What, so you mean we could paint it?”

Steve nodded “Yeah, maybe pick up a few other things.”

“I’d like a new lamp.” She said a little shyly.

“Why don’t you go to the hardware store tomorrow?” Katie looked at her, then to Steve “See what they have?”

Steve looked at Emmy “I’m game if you are kid.”

Emmy nodded again and smiled before Steve slapped his thighs with his hands “Ok, that’s settled…” he stood up off the bed and offered Katie his hand. He pulled her to his feet and then she did the same with Emmy.

“I’m gonna go wash my face.” Emmy said gently, “And then can I take Lucky for a walk? Just to the lake.”

“Sure. Why don’t you pop back in on Nat?” Katie suggested “Tell her I’m making tagliatelli for dinner. Should be ready for about 6-ish ok, so if you wanna stay with her until then, we’ll see you in the big kitchen.”

Emmy nodded as she headed to the door before Steve spoke again.

“You mind if I join you?” Steve asked “Just for a walk, I could do with stretching my legs, been sat in a Classroom all day with the new recruits….”

“Basically that means he hasn’t been running.” Katie said, winking at Emmy  “And you know he gets cranky if he doesn’t do something….”

“I do not.”

“You so do Steve-o.” Emmy agreed with Katie and Steve gave a dramatic sigh.

“I do not get cranky, I just get a little restless…”

“Whatever.” Katie shrugged. “Same thing.”

“No, it’s…they’re not the same at all.” Steve folded his arms and Emmy gave a giggle as Katie looked at him.

“See, you’re being cranky now. Cranky and argumentative.”

“Pot,Kettle Mrs Rogers.”

“Are you guys having a domestic?” Emmy smirked, folding her arms and Katie chuckled, before she leaned up and gave Steve a peck on the cheek.

“No, just reminding him who’s boss.”

“Yeah, that most certainly is not me.” Steve rolled his eyes and Emmy giggled.

As soon as she was gone Katie ran her hands down her face, where they came to rest over her nose and mouth before she looked at Steve.

“You ok?” he asked and she nodded, stepping forward into his arms. He dropped a kiss to the crown of her head and she pulled back.

“How’s your hand really?”

“A little sore but it’ll be fine in a coupl’a hours.” He shrugged “Nothing broken.”

“Do you need to ice it?”

“Nah.” He said, flexing his fingers. Katie took his hand and pressed her lips tenderly to the skin over the already slightly bruised knuckles and looked up at him.

“I can’t believe she thought we were gonna kick her out.” She said sadly.

“Yeah, but it’s done now.” Steve said “We told her not to dwell on it, so we need to follow our own advice ok.” His hands cupped her face gently and he smiled. “Stop drowning in here…” he said, kissing her temple and she laughed a little.

“I remember I used to say that to you.”

“Well its good advice” he smiled, and at that Emmy came back, her face looking slightly less tear stained.

“Ok, do you wanna go?” she asked looking at Steve and he nodded and turned to her.

“You bet.”

She turned and headed back down the corridor and Steve paused in the doorway, turning back to Katie.

“I love you sweetheart.” He smiled at he and Katie’s face split into a grin.

“Love you too Soldier.”

Katie felt Tony’s hand on her shoulder. “You get it now?”

She turned to him, tears stinging her eyes. “It takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.” She repeated Steve’s words. “This isn’t just about Emmy is it? You want me to realise I shouldn’t have tied to hide what I was feeling.”

“Well, like you so eloquently told Em, We deal with it by talking to one another. We have to, otherwise it would eat us up inside.” Tony smiled, reaching out and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ears. “It’s good advice, you should take it.”

She sniffed and blinked away her tears as Tony wrapped his arms around her. She lay her head against his shoulder, breathing in his smell, his touch, his feel before she pulled away again. And this time she found herself outside the compound, on the large driveway, the setting sun made her squint slightly as it lit up the sky over the roof of the building that she had once called home in stunning streaks of orange, yellow, red and purple.

“So, now my little guided trip through life is over, is the bit where I click my heels together three times and say ‘there’s no place like home’?” Katie asked and Natasha snorted.

“Why would you do that?” Tony looked at her, before he gestured to his side. “Just drive.”

Katie glanced to her left and saw her Cameo was parked on the gravel driveway beside the Audi. She smiled “I love that care you know, I can’t bear to part with it.”

“I should think not.” Tony scoffed, clearly affronted at the simply idea of that.

“Only because you gave it to me.” She said quietly “It’s had a lot of work done, I don’t use it often but Jamie likes it. Rori too. She calls it the Kardasheen Car.”

“The what?” Tony looked at Katie and she shook her head.

“She saw an episode of ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, and now she’s obsessed, don’t ask.” She snorted “Ever since then it’s all about her nails, hair,  Barbies, blingy and expensive shit…drives Steve and Jamie mental.”

“You know I’m gutted I never got to meet her.” Tony mused “I sense we would have gotten along.”

“I tell her about you all the time, both of you.” Katie swallowed “She knows what her name means, and that she shares her Uncle Nee’s birthday…” she fell silent, the tears once more pricking her eyes “Please don’t go…” she whispered.  “I’m don’t want to say goodbye to you both. Not again.”

“Well then, don’t think of it as goodbye.” Tony wrinkled his nose, reaching up to wipe her cheeks with his thumbs. “More like a temporary parting of the ways.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before she stepped back, the tears coursing down her face and she turned to Natasha. The two women smiled at each other and then embraced. “Tell Clint I like my tree.” Nat said gently and Katie gave a little chuckle through her tears before she stepped back and nodded. She took a deep breath, stepped towards her car and then paused.

“Missing something?” Tony asked, waving the keys at her. With a smile she caught them as he tossed them over the roof of the car and took another look at her brother and best friend. The ache in her chest was growing stronger and although she KNEW this was a dream, it was so real, so vivid. The smells, touch, tastes, sounds were all assaulting her senses, and the fact Tony and Natasha were leaving her yet again was killing her.

But, as she opened the door to her Camero, another smell hit her. A mixture of sandalwood and citrus from Steve’s cologne, along with something slightly more gentle which she recognised instantly. She could smell her home. And she was suddenly overcome with a huge desire to be there, with her kids, with Steve and even that damned dog.

At the thought of Stark, she grinned. “Hey Tone, did you know we have a dog named after you?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “but I am awesome so…”

She rolled her eyes and looked at her brother, Natasha was now nowhere to be seen.

“So I just get in, and drive?” Katie asked.

“Yup.” Tony gave her a nod his eyes shining in the light “Exactly the same way you got here.”

She paused, and then rushed round from her car to give him one final hug. “I miss you every single day.” She stuttered, her breath catching in her throat.

“I know.” He smiled, his arms holding her close. “And I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

They stayed still for a moment, Tony’s chin resting on her head before she stepped back and looked into his brown eyes “I love you Tone. To the Stars...”

“…and back.” Tony smiled, his own eyes brimming with tears as he sniffed slightly before he stepped back and she moved back to her car “Hey Kiddo…”

She turned to face him and he raised an eyebrow “Next time you have an existential crisis, maybe try and dream up somewhere hot, sandy…I hear Fiji is nice.”

Katie snorted and he shot her one last wink before he climbed into the Audi as she settled in the driver’s seat of the Camero, not sure exactly what the fuck was going to happen when she started driving, but following Tony’s lead she turned on the engine and drove up the drive. As the cars drew to the end where the little lane joined the road she drew level with Tony’s audi and he shot her one last smile as he turned left, and she turned right.

Leaning over she turned the radio on and had to smile as ‘Drops of Jupiter’ rang out around her car.

Their song, hers and Tony’s. There wasn’t anything more perfect for the moment.

*****

“Em, keep an eye on this lot will you, I’m just gonna go put Floss down and wake your Ma.” Steve said. “Food should be here soon.”

“Sure.” Emmy nodded from where she was sat in the Den with Jamie, both of them mid game of Mario Karts. Harry was sat on the rug with a Tonka truck whilst Rori was busy at the little table by the patio doors, sticking something into the Crap Book.

“Come on, baby.” He spoke gently, Flossie nuzzling her face into his neck as he carried her up the stairs, feeling her yawn against his skin. He crossed the landing to her nursery and gently placed her in the crib, tucking the light blanket over her before he turned on the baby monitor and gently smoothed down her hair. Pulling the door to, he then made his way into their room and took a moment to look at Katie. She was led on her side, pillow clutched to her chest, her eye lids fluttering slightly. He moved towards the bed, and then frowned as she started to murmur.

“I love you Tone…” she sighed “To the Stars…”

Steve felt his heart catch, she was dreaming about her brother. He swallowed a little, the emotion of the moment washing over him and then she spoke again.

“Stevie…where..I can’t see you…”

At that he walked over the floor, the carpet plush beneath his sock clad feet, and sat on the bed besides her, gently shaking her shoulder.

“Katie, sweetheart, come on.”

With a gasp she sat bolt upright, her eyes flying open, frantically searching the room.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Steve smiled as her eyes locked onto his, her breathing deep “You alright?”

“Yeah, I…” she swallowed and took a huge gulp of air in “I was dreaming and…” she took another deep breath “Tony and Nat were there, and it was so real and…”

He gently smoothed her hair back “It was just a dream sweetheart.” He said and he wrapped her in his arms, his hands softly rubbing at her beck. He felt her relax into his hold and as she pressed her face into his chest, he heard her sniff and her shoulders began to shake as she started to cry. “Oh honey…” he soothed as her sobs grew stronger, and Steve felt a lump in his own throat as she pressed harder into him. He hated seeing her like this. It worried him, scared him even. To see her struggling as she was it hurt him, more so because there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it other than comfort her. Deciding that would have to do for now, he gently pulled her onto his lap and she pressed further into him. He wrapped his strong arms around her as he rest his chin on top of her head, all the time gently rocking her to and fro. “It’s ok, let it out. I got you.”

“I saw so many memories…” she whispered as he dropped a kiss to her hair. “From years ago.”

“Good ones?” he asked, his hands rubbing up and down her back.

“Some of them.” She nodded “Others…well…”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

She stayed silent before she pulled back and glanced up at him. “I was at the Compound, near our tree. And Tony and Nat appeared, said they had some stuff to show me. It was all like major moments and stuff…” she trailed off before she picked up again, laying her head back on his chest. “You weren’t in all of it, I went right back to before I even joined SHIELD. That was kind of nice actually, to see it from the outside so to speak. I found out it was Natasha that actually recommended me for recruitment, not Coulson as I thought…and the whole New Mexico thing with Thor was a ruse to get me to join…and then I saw the time we went to Niagara Falls.”

“Yeah?” Steve smiled softly and she nodded before she looked back up at him, her brow furrowed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to go into stasis?”

Steve paused, and then looked at her, blinking slightly at the shock of what she’d just said. “What?”

“I saw you with Fury, telling him you’d decided not to go into stasis. You told him what I said you that day at the Falls, you know that the world had changed but that didn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful…”

“How did…” Steve’s mouth dropped open. He’d never told anyone that SHILED had offered him the opportunity to go on Ice and be wheeled out when needed. As far as he knew that was between him and Fury.

“Nat and Tony told me that I was the reason you decided not to do it.” She looked at him. “Is that true?”

Steve swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Why did you not tell me?”

“I didn’t want to burden you.” He shrugged “You know, have you dealing with all the crap that was going on in my head. It wasn't your responsibility.”

“You were never a burden Steve.” Katie shook her head. “You were my friend, I cared about you.”

“I know, but at the time, well my head was all over the place.” He gave her a sad smile as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was overwhelmed. I felt insecure and unsure about everything and I couldn't cope. I lost seventy years, and everyone I knew or cared about and it was just too much.”

“I wish you’d told me, I could have helped.”

“You did.” He looked at her. “When I was around you, everything just became clearer and that day at Niagara, I realised I had to try and make it work. I can’t explain it any better than that, I just, decided to get busy living…”

“Shawshank.” Katie smiled and Steve let out a soft huff of a laugh as he nodded.

“Who told you?” Steve looked at her, “About the stasis thing?”

“I just said, I saw it in the dream.”

“Yeah, but someone must have told you before.” He pressed.

She shook her head “I never knew, not until I just saw it.”

Steve frowned, “How could you dream something you didn’t know about?”

She paused for a moment, and then shrugged. “I don’t know, I really don’t. Like I said, I had no idea it was Natasha that recruited me, or that the whole Thor thing was a set-up because they knew I’d turn them down until I saw something like that, something so whacked out that I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.” she looked at Steve “Maybe…, do you think I could have actually seen them? Nat and Tony I mean?”

“Honey, I…” he began to tell her that was ridiculous, but she spoke before he could.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter.” Katie shrugged, wiping at her eyes before she gave a chuckle “I slapped him, Tony I mean. For dying.” Steve arched an eyebrow, smiling a little before she carried on. “He was over the moon Parker ended up with Emmy, said they’ll make cute kids.”

Steve rolled his eyes and let out a groan “Seriously?”

Katie snorted “Yeah, and then demanded to know if we’d named Harry after Hank Pym…” she trailed off “Oh, and when I told him what you said about Rori, you know that she looks like me and has his attitude he was pretty pleased about the fact he’s been dead for seven years and still managing to bug the crap out of you.”

At that Steve laughed “Sounds about right.”

Katie chuckled a little before the memory of the last scene flashed across her mind and she took a deep breath “I also saw that afternoon at the compound, you know when Emmy had her meltdown after she stole and how you told her that it takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.” Katie whispered and Steve looked at her as she bowed her head “I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner how I was feeling, I just thought I could cope and…”

“Hey, look.” He shook his head, his hands cupping her face “I should have noticed how bad things had gotten…”

“No, Steve…” she shook her head “I couldn’t even admit it to myself, how were you supposed to notice.”

“Because I’m your husband.” He said gently, his voice cracking. “It’s my job to look after you, help you, make you feel safe…”

“Oh Steve…” Katie moved so she was knelt up, and pressed her forehead to his “You do. More than you can ever know.” Her lips met his in a gentle kiss and she pulled back, her hand cupping his cheek. “I’ll make an appointment to see the doctor on Monday. Will you come with me?”

“Of course I will, you don’t need to ask.” He smiled, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her back into a hug. He kissed the top of her head again, and then pulled back. “I ordered dinner. I know you said you didn’t want anything but…well Em suggested a double cheeseburger might hit the spot.”

Katie grinned “Great, I’m starving.”

***** Katie was thrilled with the flowers the kids had picked for her, and thanked them all. Jamie gave her a huge hug, tearfully telling his mom he was sorry and that she was the best mom in the world and he loved her so much, before Emmy also apologised for being selfish and vowed never to do it again. And that was it, they drew a line under it and moved on. Because that was how things worked in the Rogers household. Together they sat and ate, chatted, joked, Steve all the time keeping one eye on Katie. He was glad she was feeling better, relieved that she’d agreed to get help, but the thing she’d said about him going into stasis was really, really puzzling him. How on EARTH could her subconscious drag up something she knew nothing about?

Excusing himself from the table under the guise of having left something in his car he wandered outside to take a little air and he felt Stark push past his legs. The dog bounded to the gate, where he stopped and peered through the wrought iron rails and gave a little whine, his ears picking up, tail wagging furiously.

“What is it, pal?” Steve asked, walking over to take a look and he frowned as the figure which was stood in the dark by the ornamental lamp that signalled the point where their driveway met the main road, and then another figure joined from the left, a female. The male turned to her, giving him a clear view of the outline of his profile and Steve swallowed. He’d recognise that nose anywhere, he looked at it on a daily basis on his wife’s face and that of three of his kids. As he watched, the shadowy figures turned to face him, the long hair of the female catching the light with a flash of firey red. Steve felt his heart thumping so strongly he thought it might beat out of his chest. He shook his head, blinked, rubbed his eyes and looked back.

Nothing.

Stark let out another whine, before he turned and headed back into the house, Steve hot on his tails.

“You alright Dad?” Emmy looked at him as she paused in the hallway, her hand on the door to the downstairs bathroom. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Two, actually.” Steve muttered, closing the door behind him.

What?” Emmy frowned.

“Nothing, sorry.” He shook his head “Ignore me.”

Emmy gave him another puzzled look before she shrugged and pulled open the door, disappearing into the bathroom.

“Do you think I could have really seen them? Nat and Tony I mean?”

Katie’s voice flashed across Steve’s mind as he stood still, wiping a hand over his face. Before it had sounded ludicrous, in fact it still did. Ghosts? Really? Was that where he was right now, that he was starting to believe in the supernatural?

Mind you, he’d seen stuff far more ludicrous really when he thought about it…but, no. Absolutely not. It had been a trick of the light, his mind toying with him after what had been a very, emotional day, nothing more.

He shook his head and walked back to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to observe his family as they sat round the table, Rori said something that made Jamie and Katie laugh, and Harry grinned along with them.

But, that said, if ghosts did exist… well then Steve couldn’t think of any other two people he’d rather have watching over them all.

 **Original Posting**

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Destiny

Chapter 5: It’s Good Advice, You Should Take It...

Chapter Summary: The final memory Tony and Natasha show Katie sees them back at the compound, in a moment Katie isn’t that keen to relive. And then the time comes for her to say goodbye to her brother and best friend all over again.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So this is it. The last Chapter of Stark Spangled Destiny. I hope y’all have enjoyed this little mini-series as much as I have writing it. As always, thanks for your continued support, comments and re-blogs, and of course for loving Katie, Steve and the kids as much as I do.

Katie looked at the door which led to their apartment in the compound. The familiar smells, noises, sights had all assaulted her senses the minute she had found herself here and she was swamped with a million and one memories of the place that for years they had called home, their private space contained just behind the glossy, dark wooden door she was stood in front of.

She looked at Tony who nodded, as did Natasha- the red head dropping a hand to Katie’s shoulder. With a deep breath she pressed her palm to the pad at the side and the door slid open and she stepped into the apartment, heading into hallway, taking a look around at the earthy tones it was decorated in. She moved further into the apartment, through to the open plan living area, taking everything in, including the large, canvas photo from their wedding day, the pair of them on the dance floor for their first dance, their heads pressed together, stupid grins on their face. The very same canvas now adorned the wall in their entrance hall of their home in Brooklyn, having been moved out of the living room to make way for the various photos of their family. “I do like that photo.” Natasha smiled and Katie looked at her, smiling herself.

“Me too.” She nodded before taking a deep breath, getting a hit of the wax burner she’d almost constantly had going, with the lingering smell of the Hugo Boss Steve had worn until a few years back when Emmy had informed him that the company had once-upon-a-time made Uniforms for the Nazis. Horrified, Steve had instantly stopped using it, swapping to Gucci Guilty instead, which Katie wasn’t complaining about. She preferred it.

“What am I doing here Tony?” Katie asked, turning to face him, but before he could reply Katie heard the door open to the bedroom. She looked up as Steve strolled in to the room from the hallway, yawning. His hair was shorter, face clean shaven and he was in a pair of sweats that hung off his hips, his top half bare showing off his physique. Katie took a moment, looking at him, taking in how damned young he looked, all the time biting her lip.

Besides her Tony rolled his eyes. “You’re drooling.”

“And?” she shrugged, moving to follow Steve into the kitchen area. His back muscles twitched as he reached up for the coffee and Katie gave a little groan. “I love it when he does that.”

“What, makes coffee?” Nat quipped nudging her, and Katie gave a snort.

“No, flexes his back…” she shrugged “I like it.”

“You know…you’re really fucking weird.” Tony concluded, before Katie gave a laugh which cut off as she caught a movement in her peripheral…

Steve heard a noise and turned round to see Katie padding her way into the kitchen, wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a camisole top, hair piled on top of her head. She yawned and gave him a tired smile.

“Hey beautiful.” He said, leaning down to give her a good morning kiss. “How’s Emmy?”

“Sleeping.” Katie sighed, rubbing her eyes as she yawned again “She finally drifted off about 3 am.”

Steve bit the inside of his lip as he looked down at the floor “You know, I really wish I could help. I feel so useless when she has those nightmares, because I can’t comfort her or…”

“Hey…” Katie shook her head, reaching out for his hands and lacing her fingers through his “You do help. You give her a safe home. She’ll come round in the end Steve, you’ll see. We just have to let her do it in her own time.”

“I know, you’re right.” Steve agreed, looking at his wife “Still doesn’t make me feel any better. You know, she’s been here almost 3 months now. Do we need to call anyone, try and get her some help or…”

Katie pondered for a moment before she shrugged “Honestly, I don’t know how she’d react to it. Maybe. Let’s just see how we go ok? Give it another couple of weeks and then if things don’t get any better we can call someone.”

“Ok.” Steve nodded before he took another deep breath “You want coffee?”

“Dur.” Katie smiled and he chuckled at his dumbass question. “Thought I’d do French Toast for breakfast, that sound ok or are you rushing to meet Rhodey?”

“No rush.” Steve shook his head “I don’t need to leave until 10..” Katie stood watching and turned to Tony. “I know exactly what this day is. This is when Emmy had her meltdown.”

Tony nodded “Yeah, poor kid.”

“It’s easy to forget how troubled she was when she arrived.” Natasha mused as the 3 of them watched as past Katie and Steve moved around the kitchen like a well-oiled machine and Katie had to smile. It was odd watching it from the outside and she’d never appreciated just how tactile Steve was with her. A touch on the arm here, a kiss to the cheek or neck there, but now she thought about it she realised he was still the same now. Like he deliberately looked for any excuse to touch her or show her affection.  That hadn’t waned in the slightest after 17 years of being together.

“Gross…” Tony grumbled as Natasha gave a chuckle when Steve stopped Katie and turned her to face him, giving her a deep kiss which was interrupted by Emmy.

“Sorry, didn’t realise you two were making out.” She said, as she pottered into the kitchen dressed in a pair of pyjamas.

“I was making breakfast.” Katie said, completely unabashed by Emmy’s dig. Steve, on the other hand, flushed red and looked down, suddenly realising he was topless.

“I’m gonna…” He trailed off before he made his way out of the kitchen and Katie looked at Emmy as she pulled open the fridge

“You want orange juice or apple, Em?”

“Orange please.” Emmy said, sitting on one of the high stools.  Katie poured her a glass, handing it to her. The 11 year old took it with a mumbled thanks and took a drink, her eyes trained on the surface of the breakfast bar. Katie watched her for a second before she stepped towards her slightly.

“You ok?” she asked, noticing the girl was unusually quiet. She’d come out of her shell a lot more recently but seemed today to be retreating back into it.

“Yeah, I’m just a little tired.” Emmy shrugged.

“I’m not surprised.” Katie said softly

“Sorry.” Emmy said quietly and Katie sighed..

“Em, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” She gently placed her hand on her shoulder “You can’t help what you dream about.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you both up.”

“Honestly, sweetheart it’s fine.” Katie said, “Now, I’m gonna make French toast for breakfast. That ok?”

Emmy nodded and took another drink of her orange juice before Katie turned back to her cooking, Emmy simply watching her. Normally she offered to help but today she was simply sat at the breakfast bar, observing and every so often her eyes would flick round the room. It was a change in demeanour Katie was painfully aware of but let it pass them by, allowing her to do what she felt she wanted, or needed as the case may be, to do.

Just as Katie was serving, Steve emerged fully dressed, hair damp from the shower. “This looks great, thanks honey.” He said, dropping a kiss to Katie’s cheek as she placed a plate in front of him whilst he pulled out a stool and sat down. Katie settled at the end of the bar, her own food in front of her and she noticed Emmy’s eyes flick from her to Steve before she looked down at her plate. Steve also clocked the look on her face and he glanced at Katie who shook her head telling him not to comment.

“So, what do you two have planned today?” Steve asked instead, breaking the silence.

When Emmy didn’t reply, Katie picked up the conversation. “I have a conference call at 11 for an hour with the guys at SIDE but other than that not much. I do need to go to the store though, that ok Em?”

Emmy shrugged “Fine.”

“I can always see if you can stay with Bruce or Nat.” Katie offered “I know you and Nat have been working through Friends on Netflix...”

Emmy looked at her “Ok, if I’m not too much of a burden.”

Steve frowned and looked at Katie before he glanced back at Em “Of course you’re not. Nat and Bruce love having you here as much as we do.”

Emmy turned her head to Steve, her eyes locking on his almost as if she was searching them to see if he was telling the truth. Eventually she nodded and turned back to her food. “Then if I can I’d like to stay here.”

“Sure.” Katie said, nodding. “To be honest, you can always stay here in your room anyway. FRIDAY is always on hand and if you need anything…” “Whatever is easier.”

“What do you want to do?” Katie asked, not a shred of impatience in her tone despite Emmy being obtuse. Emmy paused and then looked at her.

“The Common Room with Nat.” she said finally.

“Ok, then when I go down to the office at 11 I’ll ask her, ok?”

Emmy nodded. “Thanks.”

Steve looked at Katie once more, before the three of them resumed eating breakfast, Katie and Steve carrying the conversation for the most before Emmy finished and politely asked if she could be excused to wash up and get dressed. After Steve told her of course she could, she took her plate to the sink and then headed out.

“Ok, tell me I’m being overly sensitive but…” Steve began and Katie cut him off.

“She told me before she’s tired Steve.” She replied “She had a rough night, you know as well as anyone what night terrors can do.”

“Think that’s all it is?”

“Honestly I’ve no idea.” Katie sighed “But until she’s ready to talk what do we do? I’m not gonna keep pushing her as it will make it worse.”

Steve took a deep breath and Katie stood up, reaching for his plate but he stopped her, his hand gently wrapping around her wrist “I’ll do that. You go get yourself sorted.”

Katie smiled, dropped a kiss to his lips and headed out of the room. “I know where this is going…” Katie sighed, “I don’t…do I have to see it again?”

“Yup.” Tony said.

“Why?” she turned to her brother “Why is going over this particular day important?”

“Because it is.” Natasha said simply “You were questioning what the point of you being in your kids’ lives was.” She turned to Katie who met her gaze “You need to understand just how much of an impact you and Steve had on Emmy, and what your decision to let her stay with you meant for her, and her life. Things could have turned out very different.”

“I know that.” Katie sighed, exasperatedly.

“Do you?” Tony looked at her. “Do you really know or is it just something you think you know?”

Katie looked at him and let out a groan “Of course I know Tony, she was living on her own…”

“Ok…” Tony held his hands up. “But you’re gonna watch anyway.”

Katie let out a loud noise and when she turned back to the scene in front of her she noticed now that she was fully dressed, in jeans and a sweater and was fishing in the Gold Pineapple bowl. They watched as she fished her car keys from the bowl and then her wallet, opening it, giving an exasperated groan and yelling out the word “Fuck.”

“Potty mouth…” Tony looked at her and she shrugged.

“My cash was gone…” Katie looked at Tony. “You know, it seems like such an odd thing now but it was so rare in the year or so after the snap. I hardly ever used it, everything was by card.”

“People went into a frenzy, trying to withdraw what they could.” Nat shrugged.

“So much so they basically emptied every ATM in the country.” Tony mused “And to think they ridicule old people for stashing it under the mattress…”

Katie let out a deep breath watched herself ponder something before she headed out, phone in hand, as she closed the door behind her.

“Real informative.” Katie deadpanned, turning to Tony who shot her a scathing look. “Me looking at an empty wallet.”

“Shut up.” Tony rolled his eyes “I forgot what a sarcastic ass you are.”

“I learnt from the best.” She shot back. Natasha gave a chuckle.

“She’s not wrong Shell Head.”

“I hate you both.” Tony sulked, turning away from them as he strode towards the Golden Pineapple on the table. He bent to examine it before he gave a snort and looked back at Katie.

“Why the fuck did you buy this?” Tony looked at her.

“I told you about a thousand times.” Katie sighed “It was a joke between me and Steve. He still has it you know.”

“I don’t get it.” Tony shrugged.

“You won’t because it’s an in joke…” Katie groaned “Look, I know you haven’t brought me here to look at a fucking pineapple bowl.”

“Well I kinda did, in a way, but…” Tony shrugged and nodded back to the door.

Steve opened the door, his hair and shoulders were wet from the shower of rain which had chosen the exact moment he had gotten out of the car to start, and then the moment he’d entered the building to stop. Dropping his kit bag to the floor he peeled off his jacket and hung it on the peg by the door. He then kicked off his sneakers, and made his way into the living area where Katie was perched on the sofa, cross legged. Her hair was pulled up into a hap-hazard bun and her glasses were perched on her nose as she glanced down at the laptop which was resting on her knees, her feet placed on the edge of the coffee table. Sensing his presence as always, she turned over her shoulder to look at him and he smiled.

“You still working?” he asked, nodding to the laptop and she shook her head.

“No, well, sorta…I was looking at some figures but nothing major.” She said, tapping a button to save what she had been doing before she shut the laptop. Steve flopped onto the sofa next to her, leaning over to place a soft kiss to her lips. “Good day?” she asked.

“Not bad.” He shrugged “I might need to head away again for a while, looks like we’re focussing on another unit in Toronto.”

“How long for?”

“A week, maybe two.” He shrugged “That ok?”

“Yeah, of course.” She nodded “It needs to be done Steve, and like you said, if we don’t then…”

“I know.” He breathed out “Rather be here with you and Em though.”

She chuckled and turned to face him, “Soppy bastard.”

He shrugged before he leaned back against the cushion and she snuggled under his arm. “Speaking of Em, where is she?”

“Oh she’s with Bruce.” Katie replied “She spent a few hours with Nat and then she headed into the lab, she was showing her something to do with…actually, I don’t have a clue. Bruce did try to explain but it went right over my head. Something about energy extrapolation...I think.”

Steve laughed, his hand gently tracing shapes on her upper arm. “Is she feeling better.”

“I think so.” Katie sighed “Hard to gage. She was laughing with Nat when I came back from the store…oh, and that reminds me, Rogers.” She sat up and poked at his chest “Next time you’re gonna use me as your own personal ATM, can you at least warn me first?”

“What?” Steve looked at her, utterly baffled “Personal ATM…I don’t…”

“The cash you took from my wallet.” Katie arched an eyebrow “Not that it matters, everywhere is card, card, card now but you know I like to-“

“Baby…” Steve cut her off, shaking his head “I didn’t take any cash from you, I’ve still got some spare.”

Katie frowned “Well I know there was about two hundred bucks in there and now there’s nothing, so if you didn’t then…” She trailed off, sighing “Shit.”

“Ok, let’s not jump to conclusions.” Steve said, instantly understanding and Katie bit her lip.

“Who else could it be?” she took off her glasses and tossed them carelessly on top of her laptop, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“FRIDAY?” Steve asked.

“Yes Captain Rogers.” The AI responded.

“Has anyone else been in our quarters over the last 24 hours?” Steve asked the question, although deep down he already knew the answer. It was impossible for anyone to get into the compound without them knowing.

“Apart from yourself, Mrs Rogers and Miss McKellen that is a negative, Captain.”

Katie looked at him, “Now what do we do?”

Steve inhaled and let out a deep breath from his nose “Ok, we need to talk to her about it.”  Katie bit her lip before she stood up and Steve frowned “Where are you going?”

“To check her room.”

“Honey…” Steve started to protest but Katie stopped him dead with a look.

“No, Steve…I’m sorry but…” and with that she headed off down the hall. Steve let out a groan, before he followed her. Up until now Emmy had caused them no issues really in the grand scheme of things. The nightmares and panic attacks aside, ok and the melt down she’d Katie had taken her shopping as she refused to go back to her old foster home to pick anything up, she’d been great. Never complained, never moaned about anything, in fact she seemed positively grateful to be there, which was why this was such a shock to them both. And he still didn’t want to believe it.

However, when he watched Katie pulling a rucksack out of Emmy’s wardrobe, opening the front pocket to reveal the money the pair of them were forced to accept that she’d stolen from them. With tears in her eyes Katie opened the main part of the bag and then tossed it onto Emmy’s bed.

“Look.” She said gently. Steve moved, his hands parting the bag open slightly and he stared at the contents. Clothes, a few toiletries, some granola bars, a packet of cookies and bottles of water.

“You don’t think…” Steve swallowed “She was gonna run away?”

“What other explanation is there?” Katie’s voice was a sad whisper, and the look on her face broke Steve’s heart. “I don’t get it, I mean is she that unhappy here that she’d rather take her chances out there alone?”

Steve had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say, because he felt as helpless and as lost as Katie here. Of the hundreds of missions he’d faced, his various dances with death and that flighty temptress fear, nothing had ever prepared him for how he felt then. He had no Plan A, let alone a Plan B.

Katie swallowed and looked at Tony. “You know, looking back on all of this…it has to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I had no idea what to do for the best…”

“Well whatever you did worked out.” Tony said simply, as they watched past Katie and Steve head out of Emmy’s room, Steve clutching Emmy’s bag in one hand, his other gently placed on the curve of Katie’s back.

Katie sighed heavily and shook her head “I really don’t want to see this next bit. Please, I get it…”

“No, you don’t.” Nat said simply and looked at her “You won’t get it until you see it from this point of view.”

“Why?”

“Stop being awkward.” Tony sighed, “Just watch will you, save the questions until after.”

Katie glared at the pair of them before she stalked out of Emmy’s room just in time to see the girl herself walk into the apartment. Lucky padded out of the open plan living area and into the hallway to say greet her. She pet his head and then headed into the living room. Taking a deep breath, as she could remember this next bit like it had happened only yesterday, Katie followed her.

Emmy stopped dead as she saw her rucksack perched on the large oak dining table which was situated in front of the bi-folding doors, behind the sofa. Steve looked up at her from where he and Katie had been sat, both with a mug of tea in their hands, trying to decide how they dealt with the situation.

“You been going through my stuff?” Emmy glared at them both, her arms folded.

“Emmy…” Katie sighed “Sit down.”

“No.”

“Sit.” Steve instructed, his voice a little more stern than Katie’s and Emmy looked at him, her chin jutting out defiantly.

“I said no.”

“Fine, don’t” Katie shrugged “But to answer your question, yes we did go through your stuff…because I was looking for something. Some money that went missing.”

“And you just assumed I took it.” She glared at them both “I get it, the bad foster kid…”

“Oh Emmy stop!” Steve said exasperatedly “For your information, no, we didn’t just assume. We checked with FRIDAY. No one bar us three has been in the apartment. So unless you’re suggesting Lucky stole it then…”

Emmy glanced at Steve and then looked at the floor as from behind the bag, Katie pushed the wad of cash across the table. Emmy glanced up and took a deep breath, at least having the good grace to look remorseful.

“Why did you take it?” Katie asked.

Emmy stayed quiet for a little while before she shrugged “In case I need it.”

“What do you need two hundred bucks for?” Steve asked, his tone softer than it had been before. “Do you owe it to someone? Are you in trouble?”

“No.”

“Then explain to us Em.” Katie sighed, “If you need something or want something, all you gotta do is ask. Not steal from us.”

“I just do…ok?”

“For when you run away you mean?” Steve looked at her “Yes, we checked the rest of your bag.”

“You…you had no right to go through my stuff!” Emmy’s voice raised and Steve felt his temper beginning to rise. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of what she’d been through. Under the table, Katie squeezed his knee gently and he looked away from Emmy, ensuring he kept his composure.

“We didn’t want to.” Katie looked at her “But Em, you stole from us. And you were planning on running away. I don’t get it. Are you not happy here? Do you want to leave?”

Emmy looked down at her feet but didn’t answer.

“This is getting us nowhere.” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “Emmy we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what the problem is.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be here!” she said, her voice raising “You’re the one that made me come!”

“Yeah, because you were about to get yourself in trouble…” Steve protested but she cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah, Captain America…can’t bear to see anyone doing anything wrong.” She glared at him and Steve felt the nerve in his jaw twitch “Where were you when we actually needed you huh?”

“Emily…” Katie frowned “That’s not fair…”

Steve looked down at the table, shaking his head “You know exactly where we were…”

“I don’t mean the fight, or whatever…” She blazed “I mean after! It took people months to realise I was on my own, and I’m not the only one.”

“I know!” Katie shook her head “But we had a lot to deal with, why do you think I’m working so hard with setting up these homes?”

“Yeah, great coz that’s what kids like me need isn’t it, to be dumped back in a home.” Emmy shook her head “God this is so shit.”

“Ok, that’s enough.” Steve snapped. “Emmy that day in the store, I brought you back here to try and help and we’ve done nothing but accommodate you. We put a roof over your head, fed you, clothed you…Katie’s sat up countless nights with you when you’ve had nightmares…and this is how you repay us?”

“Sorry I didn’t realised you wanted payment…” Emmy glared at him. “What do you want? I have no money…I could always work the streets, you know, turn hooker…”

“Oh for…” Steve finally snapped, he stood up quickly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him as he turned away, drawing his hands over his face.

Simultaneously, Emmy’s eyes widened and she stepped back further away, an action Katie spotted.

“Emmmy…” she began and Steve turned back round.One look at Emmy’s petrified face made his heart sink. He’d frightened her. That hadn’t been his intention, far from it but as he stepped towards her to try and calm her down, she retreated away, moving backwards towards the door before she turned and bolted out of the room.

“Shit.” Steve mumbled, and in a flash he was after her “Emmy…”

“Get away from me!” she screamed, running into her room. “Leave me alone…”

“Em…” Katie was behind Steve, “Emily, just listen…”

But she was having none of it. She reached her room and made to slam the door, and Steve knew she’d lock it if she did so acting on instinct he reached out and stuck his hand straight in between the door and the frame. It slammed straight onto his fingers, and he gave a grimace, gritting his teeth slightly as Emmy screamed and repeated the motion. But he never once made a sound. Katie had tears in her eyes as she looked at Steve and as Emmy made to slam the door on his hand for a 3rd time he reached up with his left one, and placed the palm flat on the wood stopping it dead. He pushed gently, making it swing back open and Katie moved past him into the room.

“Emmy what’s going on?” she asked, “Please, you need to talk to us.”

“You want me to leave!” Emmy cried, as she slumped to the floor in the corner of the room, hugging her knees to her chest.

“No, no we don’t.” Katie insisted, kneeling in front of her, as Steve strode into the room quietly, sitting on the end of Emmy’s bed in an attempt to make himself slightly less imposing in the space of the room.

“I heard you!” Emmy screamed, “I heard you earlier, saying that you’d give it another couple of weeks before you called someone to come and take me and…”

“Woah, woah, woah…” Steve held his hand up, cutting her off. “Emmy, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Don’t fucking LIE TO ME!”

“Emmy, he isn’t!” Katie insisted, “That wasn’t about sending you away, it was about getting you help with your nightmares, babe.”

Silence fell over the room and Emmy’s mouth clamped shut, her large brown eyes blinking as she looked at Katie then to Steve.

“It’s true.” He said softly “It was my idea.”

“So you don’t wanna send me to a home?” Emmy asked quietly, her tears trickling down her face.

“No, sweetheart, we don’t.” Katie said, her own eyes spilling over as she reached up to wipe Emmy’s tears away “Look, we weren’t gonna tell you until it was all sorted out but a week ago a place for you opened at one of the homes that SIDE has been organising, but…” she took a deep breath and looked at Steve who licked his lips.

“We don’t want you to leave Em.”  He finished for Katie “So, we’ve applied to the Authorities to make this your permanent Foster Home.”

“You did?” Emmy’s voice was a whisper and both Katie and Steve nodded.

“We’re not sending you anywhere.” Katie looked at her “As long as you’re happy here then you can stay. But if you’re not then…”

“I am…” she blurted out, before she looked down at the spot on the floor between her and Katie “I just…I’ve been bad and…”

“Emmy, look at me sweetie.” Katie sighed, shuffling forward a little and Emmy turned her brown eyes onto Katie’s.. “Stealing is bad, yeah. But we’re not gonna send you away for misbehaving. Yeah, ok, down the line there’s probably gonna be times we get cross and tell you off but that’s part of us all growing up and navigating this new family life. I promise you, with everything I have, that none of that will ever mean we’ll send you away.”

“But I’ve been really bad. I stole. A lot of money too…” Emmy began to sob again and Katie reached out for her, curling her arms around her as she sobbed against her shoulder. Steve made a moment as if to comfort her too but hastily pulled his hand away and Katie gave him a sympathetic look. She knew not being able to do something as simple as hug her was killing him. Instead he took a deep breath and spoke softly, his gentle baritone carrying over the sounds of her crying.

“We’re not bothered about the money.” Steve said as Katie looked at him as she rocked Emmy gently to and fro “We’re more bothered about the fact you felt so bad and that your first thought was to run away. You should have talked to us honey.”

 “I know.” Emmy sobbed, her face pressed into Katie’s neck “I won’t do it again, I swear, I’m so sorry.” She turned her head to look at Steve “I’m sorry about your hand, I didn’t…”

“I’ve had worse.” Steve said, shaking his head as he flexed the fingers of his right hand. It was slightly painful, but he knew there would be no lasting damage.

“Yeah, like the time you put it through the stud wall in the Tower.”  Katie looked at him. He frowned, wondering why of all the times he had hurt himself she’d brought that up, but then he suddenly understood.”

“Well, it was a very vivid nightmare.” He shrugged and at that Emmy looked at him, swallowing.

“You had…you had nightmares?”

 “Still do sometimes.” He shrugged

“What about?” Emmy looked at him, wiping her eyes.

“It used to be the War.” Steve said gently “I don’t get those so much anymore. Now, well it’s mainly about the Snap.” He trailed off, looking at his hands. “I see all those people on that battlefield…our friends…”

“I get them too.” Katie said softly “About HYDRA…” she swallowed as Steve took a deep breath “About Thanos.I lie awake sometimes, wondering if we could have done more…” she sniffed and her hand moved instinctively to her stomach, caressing the place their surprise baby had been before Thanos had cruelly ripped that away from them too and Steve looked down once more. To not even find out until after it had gone had been a double blow to the pair of them. “But the thing is Em…” Katie looked back at her “We deal with it by talking to one another. We have to, otherwise it would eat us up inside.”

“And I get that isn’t always easy.” Steve said, “Hell, in my day if you talked about stuff like that people looked at you like you belonged in a Bug House.”

“Steve…” Katie chastised his turn of phrase as Emmy gave a soft chuckle.  “Well, it’s true.” He protested slightly, before he looked back at the dark haired girl, who still had her head laid against Katie’s shoulder. “And it took me awhile, almost a year actually, to open up to Katie…and even then I only did that because I fell asleep on her couch and had a night terror there.” He took a deep breath “But the point is Em, what I was worried about was Katie, or anyone else for that matter, thinking less of me if I did tell them what I was feeling, that it would make them believe I was weak because I was dreaming about all this stuff…but that’s not the case. It takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.”

Emmy looked at him and sniffled a little, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

“Whatever is going on up here…” Katie said gently, tapping at Emmy’s head with the arm that lay round her shoulders “We want to help. But we can’t if you don’t talk to us.” Emmy nodded gently, to show she understood as Katie continued. “So no matter what it is, how stupid you might feel, how dumbass you think it makes you sound, we want you to tell us. Or if not us, Nat or Bruce or Tony. Because then we can help, we can deal with it instead of getting ourselves into a situation like this again.”

“And we promise, and for the record, I’m Captain America ergo I can’t lie…” Steve looked at Emmy and she gave a little titter of a laugh “That no matter what it is, we’re not gonna go mad, or kick you out. We just want you to be honest with how you’re feeling, ok?”

Emmy swallowed and nodded, before the tears filled her eyes. “I know, I really am sorry….”

“We know you are.” Steve said softly as Katie pulled her close again. “It’s ok.” “Think we can draw a line under this and move on?” Katie asked softly and Emmy nodded against her shoulder, sitting back and wiping her eyes.  

Steve looked around the spare room Emmy had taken up residency in. They’d found her a book shelf in one of the old rooms that was no longer used and brought that in for her, Tony had installed a state of the art flat screen TV which linked to FRIDAY on the wall so she could watch whatever she wanted, but it was still bare in a way. There was a lack of real personal touches to the décor, and to him it still didn’t feel like it belonged to her. And then he had a sudden idea “You know, if you are staying, I think this place could use a little personalisation.”

“What do you mean?” Emmy looked at him.

“Well, beige and cream is ok but…surely it could be a little more colourful.”  He mused looking around before he looked at Katie “What do you think honey?”

Katie smiled and glanced at Emmy “You know what, I think Steve-O might be onto something.”

Emmy chuckled and then looked at Steve “What, so you mean we could paint it?”

Steve nodded “Yeah, maybe pick up a few other things.”

“I’d like a new lamp.” She said a little shyly.

“Why don’t you go to the hardware store tomorrow?” Katie looked at her, then to Steve “See what they have?”

Steve looked at Emmy “I’m game if you are kid.”

Emmy nodded again and smiled before Steve slapped his thighs with his hands “Ok, that’s settled…” he stood up off the bed and offered Katie his hand. He pulled her to his feet and then she did the same with Emmy.

“I’m gonna go wash my face.” Emmy said gently, “And then can I take Lucky for a walk? Just to the lake.”

“Sure. Why don’t you pop back in on Nat?” Katie suggested “Tell her I’m making tagliatelli for dinner. Should be ready for about 6-ish ok, so if you wanna stay with her until then, we’ll see you in the big kitchen.”

Emmy nodded as she headed to the door before Steve spoke again.

“You mind if I join you?” Steve asked “Just for a walk, I could do with stretching my legs, been sat in a Classroom all day with the new recruits….”

“Basically that means he hasn’t been running.” Katie said, winking at Emmy  “And you know he gets cranky if he doesn’t do something….”

“I do not.”

“You so do Steve-o.” Emmy agreed with Katie and Steve gave a dramatic sigh.

“I do not get cranky, I just get a little restless…”

“Whatever.” Katie shrugged. “Same thing.”

“No, it’s…they’re not the same at all.” Steve folded his arms and Emmy gave a giggle as Katie looked at him.

“See, you’re being cranky now. Cranky and argumentative.”

“Pot,Kettle Mrs Rogers.”

“Are you guys having a domestic?” Emmy smirked, folding her arms and Katie chuckled, before she leaned up and gave Steve a peck on the cheek.

“No, just reminding him who’s boss.”

“Yeah, that most certainly is not me.” Steve rolled his eyes and Emmy giggled.

As soon as she was gone Katie ran her hands down her face, where they came to rest over her nose and mouth before she looked at Steve.

“You ok?” he asked and she nodded, stepping forward into his arms. He dropped a kiss to the crown of her head and she pulled back.

“How’s your hand really?”

“A little sore but it’ll be fine in a coupl’a hours.” He shrugged “Nothing broken.”

“Do you need to ice it?”

“Nah.” He said, flexing his fingers. Katie took his hand and pressed her lips tenderly to the skin over the already slightly bruised knuckles and looked up at him.

“I can’t believe she thought we were gonna kick her out.” She said sadly.

“Yeah, but it’s done now.” Steve said “We told her not to dwell on it, so we need to follow our own advice ok.” His hands cupped her face gently and he smiled “Stop drowning in here…” he said, kissing her temple and she laughed a little.

“I remember I used to say that to you.”

“Well its good advice” he smiled, and at that Emmy came back, her face looking slightly less tear stained.

“Ok, do you wanna go?” she asked looking at Steve and he nodded and turned to her.

“You bet.”

She turned and headed back down the corridor and Steve paused in the doorway, turning back to Katie.

“I love you sweetheart.” He smiled at he and Katie’s face split into a grin.

“Love you too Soldier.”

Katie felt Tony’s hand on her shoulder. “You get it now?”

She turned to him, tears stinging her eyes. “It takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.” She repeated Steve’s words. “This isn’t just about Emmy is it? You want me to realise I shouldn’t have tied to hide what I was feeling.”

“Well, like you so eloquently told Em, We deal with it by talking to one another. We have to, otherwise it would eat us up inside.” Tony smiled, reaching out and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ears “It’s good advice, you should take it.”

She sniffed and blinked away her tears as Tony wrapped his arms around her. She lay her head against his shoulder, breathing in his smell, his touch, his feel before she pulled away again. And this time she found herself outside the compound, on the large driveway, the setting sun made her squint slightly as it lit up the sky over the roof of the building that she had once called home in stunning streaks of orange, yellow, red and purple.

“So, now my little guided trip through life is over, is the bit where I click my heels together three times and say ‘there’s no place like home’?” Katie asked and Natasha snorted.

“Why would you do that?” Tony looked at her, before he gestured to his side “Just drive.”

Katie glanced to her left and saw her Cameo was parked on the gravel driveway, to the side of the Audi. She smiled “I love that care you know, I can’t bear to part with it.”

“I should think not.” Tony said, clearly affronted at the simply idea of that.

“Only because you gave it to me.” She said quietly “It’s had a lot of work done, I don’t use it often but Jamie likes it. Rori too. She calls it the Kardasheen Car.”

“The what?” Tony looked at Katie and she shook her head.

“She saw an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and now she’s obsessed, don’t ask.” She snorted “Ever since then it’s all about her nails, hair,  Barbies, blingy and expensive shit…drives Steve and Jamie mental.”

“You know I’m gutted I never got to meet her.” Tony mused “I sense we would have gotten along.”

“I tell her about you all the time, both of you.” Katie swallowed “She knows what her name means, and that she shares her Uncle Nee’s birthday…” she fell silent, the tears once more pricking her eyes “Please don’t go…” she whispered.  “I’m don’t want to say goodbye to you both. Not again.”

“Well then, don’t think of it as goodbye.” Tony wrinkled his nose, reaching up to wipe her cheeks with his thumbs. “More like a temporary parting of the ways.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before she stepped back, the tears coursing down her face and she turned to Natasha. The two women smiled at each other and then embraced. 

“Tell Clint I like my tree.” Nat said gently and Katie gave a little chuckle through her tears before she stepped back and nodded. She took a deep breath, stepped towards her car and them paused.

“Missing something?” Tony asked, waving the keys at her. With a smile she caught them as he tossed them over the roof of the car and took another look at her brother and best friend. The ache in her chest was growing stronger and although she KNEW this was a dream, it was so real, so vivid. The smells, touch, tastes, sounds were all assaulting her senses, and the fact Tony and Natasha were leaving her yet again was killing her.

But as she opened the door to her Camero another smell hit her. A mixture of sandalwood and citrus from Steve’s cologne, along with something slightly more gentle which she recognised instantly. She could smell her home. And she was suddenly overcome with a huge desire to be there, with her kids, with Steve…and even that damned dog. At the thought of Stark, she grinned.

“Hey Tone…did you know we have a dog named after you?”

“Yeah…”he shrugged “But I am awesome so..”

She rolled her eyes and looked at her brother, Natasha was now nowhere to be seen.

“So I just get in, and drive?” Katie asked.

“Yup.” Tony gave her a nod his eyes shining in the light “Exactly the same way you got here.”

She paused, and then rushed round from her car to give him one final hug. “I miss you every single day.” She said, her breath catching in her throat.

“I know.” he smiled, his arms holding her close. “And I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

They stayed still for a moment, Tony’s chin resting on her head before she stepped back and looked into his brown eyes “I love you Tone. To the Stars...”

“…and back” Tony smiled, his own eyes brimming with tears as he sniffed slightly before he stepped back and she moved back to her car “Hey Kiddo…”

She turned to face him and he raised an eyebrow “Next time you have an existential crisis, maybe try and dream up somewhere hot, sandy…I hear Fiji is nice.”

Katie snorted and he shot her one last wink before he climbed into the Audi as she settled in the driver’s seat of the Camero, not sure exactly what the fuck was going to happen when she started driving, but following Tony’s lead she turned on the engine and drove up the drive. As the cars drew to the end where the little lane joined the road she drew level with Tony’s audi and he shot her one last smile as he turned left, and she turned right.

Leaning over she turned the radio on and had to smile as Drops of Jupiter rang out around her car.

Their song, hers and Tony’s. There wasn’t anything more perfect for the moment.

*****

“Em, keep an eye on this lot will you, I’m just gonna go put Floss down and wake your Ma.” Steve said, “Food should be here soon.”

“Sure.” Emmy nodded from where she was sat in the Den with Jamie, both of them mid game of Mario Karts. Harry was sat on the rug with a tonka truck whilst Rori was busy at the little table by the patio doors, sticking something into the Crap Book.

“Come on baby.” He said gently, Flossie nuzzling her face into his neck as he carried her up the stairs, feeling her yawn against his skin. He crossed the landing to her nursery and gently placed her in the crib, tucking the light blanket over her before he turned on the baby monitor and gently smoothed down her hair. Pulling the door to, he then made his way into their room and took a moment to look at Katie. She was led on her side, pillow clutched to her chest, her eye lids fluttering slightly. He moved towards the bed, and then frowned as she started to murmur.

“I love you Tone…” she sighed “To the Stars…”

Steve felt his heart catch, she was dreaming about her brother. He swallowed a little, the emotion of the moment washing over him and then she spoke again. “Stevie..where..I can’t see you…”

At that he walked over the floor, the carpet plush beneath his sock clad feet, and sat on the bed besides her, gently shaking her shoulder.

“Katie, sweetheart…come on.”

With a gasp she sat bolt upright, her eyes flying open, frantically searching the room.

“Hey, it’s ok…” Steve said as her eyes locked onto his, her breathing deep “You alright?”

“Yeah, I…” she swallowed and took a huge gulp of air in “I was dreaming and…” she took another deep breath “Tony and Nat were there, and it was so real and…”

He gently smoothed her hair back “It was just a dream sweetheart.” He said and he wrapped her in his arms, his hands softly rubbing at her beck. He felt her relax into his hold and as she pressed her face into his chest, he heard her sniff and her shoulders began to shake as she started to cry. “Oh honey…” he soothed as her sobs grew stronger, and Steve felt a lump in his own throat as she pressed harder into him. He hated seeing her like this. It worried him, scared him even. To see her struggling as she was it hurt him, more so because there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it other than comfort her. Deciding that would have to do for now, he gently pulled her onto his lap and she pressed further into him. He wrapped his strong arms around her as he rest his chin on top of her head, all the time gently rocking her to and fro. “It’s ok, let it out. I got you.”

“I saw so many memories…” she whispered as he dropped a kiss to her hair. “From years ago.”

“Good ones?” he asked, his hands rubbing up and down her back.

“Some of them.” She nodded “Others…well…”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

She stayed silent before she pulled back and glanced up at him “I was at the Compound, near our tree. And Tony and Nat appeared, said they had some stuff to show me. It was all like major moments and stuff…” she trailed off before she picked up again, laying her head back on his chest. “You weren’t in all of it, I went right back to before I even joined SHIELD. That was kind of nice actually, to see it from the outside so to speak. I found out it was Natasha that actually recommended me for recruitment, not Coulson as I thought…and the whole New Mexico thing with Thor was a ruse to get me to join…and then I saw the time we went to Niagara Falls.”

“Yeah?” Steve smiled softly and she nodded before she looked back up at him, her brow furrowed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to go into Stasis?”

Steve paused, and then looked at her, blinking slightly at the shock of what she’d just said. “What?”

“I saw you with Fury, telling him you’d decided not to go into stasis. You told him what I said you that day at the Falls, you know that the world had changed but that didn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful…”

“How did…” Steve’s mouth dropped open. He’d never told anyone that SHILED had offered him the opportunity to go on Ice and be wheeled out when needed. As far as he knew that was between him and Fury.

“Nat and Tony told me that I was the reason you decided not to do it.” She looked at him. “Is that true?”

Steve swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Why did you not tell me?”

“I didn’t want to burden you.” He shrugged “You know, have you dealing with all the crap that was going on in my head. It wasn't your responsibility.”

“You were never a burden Steve.” Katie shook her head “You were my friend, I cared about you.”

“I know, but at the time, well my head was all over the place.” He gave her a sad smile as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was overwhelmed. I felt insecure and unsure about everything and I couldn't cope. I lost 70 years, and everyone I knew or cared about and it was just too much.”

“I wish you’d told me, I could have helped.”

“You did” he looked at her. “When I was around you, everything just became clearer and that day at Niagara, I realised I had to try and make it work. I can’t explain it any better than that, I just, decided to get busy living…”

“Shawshank.” Katie smiled and Steve let out a soft huff of a laugh as he nodded.

“Who told you?” Steve looked at her, “About the Stasis thing?”

“I just said, I saw it in the dream.” 

“Yeah, but someone must have told you before.” He pressed.

She shook her head “I never knew, not until I just saw it.”

Steve frowned, “How could you dream something you didn’t know about?”

She paused for a moment, and then shrugged. “I don’t know, I really don’t. Like I said, I had no idea it was Natasha that recruited me, or that the whole Thor thing was a set-up because they knew I’d turn them down until I saw something like that, something so whacked out that I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.” she looked at Steve “Maybe…, do you think I could have actually seen them? Nat and Tony I mean?”

“Honey, I…” he began to tell her that was ridiculous, but she spoke before he could. 

“You know what, it doesn’t matter.” Katie shrugged, wiping at her eyes before she gave a chuckle “I slapped him, Tony I mean. For dying.” Steve arched an eyebrow, smiling a little before she carried on “he was over the moon Parker ended up with Emmy, said they’ll make cute kids.”

Steve rolled his eyes and let out a groan “Seriously?”

Katie snorted “Yeah, and then demanded to know if we’d named Harry after Hank Pym…” she trailed off “Oh, and when I told him what you said about Rori, you know that she looks like me and has his attitude he was pretty pleased about the fact he’s been dead for 7 years and still managing to bug the crap out of you.”

At that Steve laughed “Sounds about right.”

Katie chuckled a little before the memory of the last scene flashed across her mind and she took a deep breath “I also saw that afternoon at the compound, you know when Emmy had her meltdown after she stole and how you told her that it takes an even stronger person to face up to their fears and admit they’re struggling or scared.”  Katie whispered and Steve looked at her as she bowed her head “I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner how I was feeling, I just thought I could cope and…”

“Hey, look.” He shook his head, his hands cupping her face “I should have noticed how bad things had gotten…”

“No, Steve…” she shook her head “I couldn’t even admit it to myself, how were you supposed to notice.”

“Because I’m your husband.” He said gently, his voice cracking. “It’s my job to look after you, help you, make you feel safe…”

“Oh Steve…” Katie moved so she was knelt up, and pressed her forehead to his “You do. More than you can ever know.” Her lips met his in a gentle kiss and she pulled back, her hand cupping his cheek. “I’ll make an appointment to see the doctor on Monday. Will you come with me?”

“Of course I will, you don’t need to ask.” He smiled, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her back into a hug. He kissed the top of her head again, and then pulled back. “I ordered dinner. I know you said you didn’t want anything but…well Em suggested a double cheeseburger might hit the spot.”

Katie grinned “Great, I’m starving.”

***** Katie was thrilled with the flowers the kids had picked for her, and thanked them all. Jamie gave her a huge hug, tearfully telling his mom he was sorry and that she was the best mom in the world and he loved her so much, before Emmy also apologised for being selfish and vowed never to do it again. And that was it, they drew a line under it and moved on. Because that was how things worked in the Rogers household. Together they sat and ate, chatted, joked, Steve all the time keeping one eye on Katie. He was glad she was feeling better, relieved that she’d agreed to get help, but the thing she’d said about him going into stasis was really, really puzzling him. How on EARTH could her subconscious drag up something she knew nothing about?

Excusing himself from the table under the guise of having left something in his car he wandered outside to take a little air and he felt Stark push past his legs. The dog bounded to the gate, where he stopped and peered through the wrought iron rails and gave a little whine, his ears picking up, tail wagging furiously.

“What is it buddy?” Steve asked, walking over to take a look and he frowned as the figure which was stood in the dark by the ornamental lamp that signalled the point where their driveway met the main road, and then another figure joined from the left, a female. The male turned to her, giving him a clear view of the outline of his profile and Steve swallowed. He’d recognise that nose anywhere, he looked at it on a daily basis on his wife’s face and that of 3 of his kids. As he watched the shadowy figures turned to face him, the long hair of the female catching the light with a flash of firey red. With a smooth action, the male raised his hand to his head and saluted, as the female folder her arms, her legs parting slightly as she took up a relaxed stance, both actions oh so painfully familiar...

Steve felt his heart thumping so strongly he thought it might beat out of his chest. He shook his head, blinked, rubbed his eyes and looked back.

Nothing.

Stark let out another whine, before he turned and headed back into the house, Steve hot on his tails.

“You alright Dad?” Emmy looked at him as she paused in the hallway, her hand on the door to the downstairs bathroom. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“2 actually.” Steve muttered, closing the door behind him.

“What?” Emmy frowned.

“Nothing, sorry.” He shook his head “Ignore me.”

Emmy gave him another puzzled look before she shrugged and pulled open the door, disappearing into the bathroom.

“Do you think I could have really seen them? Nat and Tony I mean?”

Katie’s voice flashed across Steve’s mind as he stood still, wiping a hand over his face. Before it had sounded ludicrous, in fact it still did. Ghosts? Really? Was that where he was right now, that he was starting to believe in the supernatural?

Mind you, he’d seen stuff far more ludicrous really when he thought about it…but, no. Absolutely not. It had been a trick of the light, his mind toying with him after what had been a very, emotional day, nothing more.

He shook his head and walked back to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to observe his family as they sat round the table, Rori said something that made Jamie and Katie laugh, and Harry grinned along with them.

But that said, if ghosts did exist… well then Steve couldn’t think of any other two people he’d rather have watching over them.

[tori-beanie]

Here we are again with part four! Y’all get it right? Idea by FanartFunart. Check em out.

This is the longest part yet! I hope you all enjoy it!!!

https://fanartfunart.tumblr.com/post/184661279405/filed-under-aus-i-do-not-plan-on-actually-doing

Soulmarked Part Four

Whirlwind

~~MORE~~

Logan was in eleventh grade now, a junior in high school. It was nearly Christmas break, so he had turned fifteen a bit more than a month ago. That meant it had been ten years, and the boy only had one of his four marks colored. Virgil… Virgil was a good soulmate. Logan helped to keep him grounded, and since he had joined public school, Logan also helped him with homework. However, he was still missing three of his soulmates. He had to meet them sometime, but Logan was impatient. He wanted answers and he wanted them as soon as possible. The boy was lost in thought, not noticing as he once again rain into a boy. He had to stop doing that. However he looked down at the freshman in confusion before looking down and seeing a red line fill in on his arm. It was the one closest to his wrist.

However as he rubbed his nose, he looked over the freshman. Logan recognized him as being part of the drama club. He was actually supposed to be the lead for this year’s play, Newsies. Ironically the reason Logan knew him? He was part of tech crew with Virgil. His first soulmate did the makeup, and Logan worked with the lighting. However he had never really interacted with Roman, hence why his soulmark was only appearing now. He offered a hand just has he had done to Virgil, the corners of his mouth moving up in one of his rare ‘smiles’.

“Hello. Roman O’Ryan correct? My name is Logan Foley. This is our first proper meeting. I believe you are one of my soulmates. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Patton Foster was fourteen, and still had only grey, black and white. Where was his soulmate. Where was the one person he was supposed to spend his life with? He just felt alone. Patton tried to stay happy and bubbly, but he had nobody. His colors were still being kept from him! What did green look like again? What was purple? What was red or yellow or blue? Patton couldn’t remember anymore! He let out a soft whimper as he sat in the bathroom before shaking his head. No, he had to stay positive! His soulmate would come to him one day. He couldn’t lose hope. He had to stay positive…

Patton struggled a lot with things. He had to pay close attention to labels, as he couldn’t tell things like flavors just by glancing and seeing if the wrapper was a certain color. Art was a struggle, as he had to be very careful when choosing colors. His teachers went easy on him, as it seemed he was the only colorless person in the freshman class. He had to do an assignment on Blue in his psychology class, and ended up getting all the right facts, but accidentally drawing everything in brown because he wasn’t being careful enough. The teacher didn’t subtract points, but being laughed at wasn’t fun. Patton could only hope that his soulmate would show up soon. He didn’t want to be alone, to be without colors forever. He wanted to see the world, to see how bright things could be in their proper shades. Yes. That was his wish.

The first thing Roman registered was that his nose hurt. The second was that this big was vaguely familiar. And finally, that his ears were popping. Huh. The Junior was holding out a hand, and as Roman finally register his words, he reached forward and gripped it tightly. However instead of shaking it like a normal person, Roman dropped to a knee and kissed the back of his hand. Logan seemed to be rather confused. However the dramatic boy just kept that grin on his face as he stood.

“Logan? Ah yes, a name fit for a tenuous such as yourself! And you already know of me! I see I’m rather popular then? Ah no need to fear! I promise I will offer you as much time as you need with yours truly!”

Roman was proud of his speech, even if Logan seemed a bit confused. However be just nodded, taking his hand back. However he wasn’t allowed to get a word in edgewise before Roman continued to speak.

“Oh I was on my way to meet Declan! He’s another one of my soulmates! Come along fair sir, and you can meet him as well! He is rather amazing, even if he isn’t as grand as me!”

Yes, Roman was doing his best to keep Logan interested, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the hallway. He was just excited, and tended to not really listen to reason when he was like this. Logan didn’t seem to be objecting, just allowing himself to be dragged along behind Roman. Yes, this would definitely be an interesting day.

Roman dragged Logan through the school until they reached an almost never used study area. Logan didn’t come here often, liking to study his material at home and simply email a teacher if he had questions. However Roman yanked him to a table containing one other person. Oh, so there was yellow… Yes, it really was interesting.

De gasped as a burst of light appeared above Romans tattoo, and made its way to color part of Declan’s face. Dark blue filled in an open book, making the solid black of the pages able to be read now. ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’ The phrase was written in the book, and Logan looked to be interested in it. What seemed like a ribbon bookmark stretched up to his cheek, small blue stars above his eye and on his jawline coming to appear along with the book. It was rather beautiful. De finally looked up from his shoulder, looking Logan in the eye. That same dark blue… It really was a beautiful color.

“Declan Shea. Nice to meet you.”

“Logan Foley. And I assure you, the pleasure is mine.”

When De looked, he saw a black stripe on Logan’s arm fade to a rather pleasant looking yellow. His was the closest to Logan’s elbow, next to a purple colored one. That meant Logan had met another one of them too. Yes, Declan wanted to know more. He needed to know more. He needed to meet Purple. Maybe they would color another part of his body. Yes, De certainly hoped so.

He had been with Roman for years, keeping him safe and entertained. However when it came to Drama, Declan didn’t want to be on the stage. He wanted to be away from the eyes, but help at the same time. He was an assistant director. De was mostly in charge of props and making sure everyone was still doing their jobs. Honestly it was a wonder that he hadn’t met Logan yet. But he was usually in the lighting booth. And De never liked to go out of his way. Lights were doing fine so he never saw a point. Now he wished he had though. That was then though. And this was now. And in this now, he would take as long as he could to lead Logan. Who he was, what he liked… Anything he would be willing to share. And hopefully afterwords, he could meet Purple.

Virgil had spent the day at home. He had gotten sick the night before. And texted Logan to let him know. His soulmate was going to get his homework for him and meet him back at Virgil’s home later.

But he was late.

Logan was nothing if not punctual. Where was he? Had something happened? Had he gotten hurt? Lost? Hurt and lost!? Virgil took a shuddering breath. He needed to calm down. Logan had been helping him with his anxious thoughts, but they still got pretty bad when he was alone. However as he was calming himself down, Logan knocked a precise five times before letting himself in. But immediately Virgil noticed something different. He was very perceptive.

“Red and yellow? You met more of them? How were they?”

Virgil was clearly nervous, as he didn’t know if his soulmates were going to care about him. Logan only grinned, filling him in on how he met the pair before adding on.

“They want to meet you. I didn’t tell them much, but when you’re ready Virgil, they would like to be able to see you themselves. You don’t need to now. Take all the time you need.”

Thank god Logan was so calm. He had been scared about being forced into a room with them so soon, but Logan had planned ahead. This was why he was a great soulmate.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll meet them. But like not now. Not soon. I don’t think I could do that…”

Logan nodded before handing over Virgil’s homework. They would work on it as a distraction and talk later. Logan would help him through this, just as he would help with anything else. Patience and determination.

General Tags: @your-friendly-neighborhood-enby @heathers-dorkness-0923 @midnight--fox

Soulmarked Tags: @fanartfunart @logan-sanders-is-my-binch @dragonsworn05 @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing @astraheart04

[thewhumperinwhite]

Café: Forest

Previous: Teaser 1, Teaser 2, Hospital/Squad Car, Empty Bar, Used Car Lot 1, Used Car Lot 2, Gas Station, Roadside 1, Roadside 2.

Kent and Pax have incompatible methods for coping with trauma. Sol tries to make due with the trio’s one communal brain cell.

TW for: suicidal ideation which is not handled particularly well by companions, Kent gets triggered and doesn’t explain that to anyone, referenced past domestic abuse, gore, eye horror, terrible communication skills, Sol is trying his fucking best but nobody does a great job here, Vehicular Horror (as in many zombies get run over by cars idk how to warn for that exactly)

@whumpitywhumpwhump

Continues directly from Roadside 2.

Sol stares at Pax, revulsion rising in the back of his throat, but he’s honestly startled when Kent is suddenly on his feet and shoving Pax in the chest.

Pax stumbles back from Kent, who is suddenly his full six feet, eyes blazing.

“You goddamn bastard!” Kent screams. “How the hell could you— I might still have been able to— “

Pax slaps him.

“Shut the fuck up,” Pax says, their voice low and dangerous. “What, you think that was super easy for me, you spoiled little shithead? You think I liked that?” Pax is shorter than Kent, almost certainly, but their slap bowled Kent halfway over, and he hasn’t straightened, his hair hiding his face. “We all. Wanted. To help,” Pax snarls. “But we’re not all trying to feed ourselves to zombies, you dumb asshole, you don’t get to decide that for the rest of us. I’ve got my own reasons for wanting you to get where you’re going but I will not die for you, you got that? You want to be a martyr, go do it someplace else.” He rounds on Sol. “And what the hell is your problem?”

Sol, who has been tugging on Paxon’s sleeve, points.

“Oh, fuck me,” says Paxon.

It’s hard to really make them out in just the truck’s headlights, but there are at least three figures standing at the edge of the trees on the other side of the road. Backing up to stand behind Paxon— he’s pretty sure he’s past the point of being ashamed of himself— Sol spots a fourth. And— there’s a fifth, too.

“Back in the car?” Sol prompts, a tad desperately.

“Back in the car,” Pax agrees, taking a step toward the truck.

Sol reaches down to pick up his bat from the asphalt, and as soon as he closes his hand around it one of the figures breaks from the others and lurches at a jerking, unsteady run toward the circle of headlights.

“Shit!” Sol squawks, stumbling backwards, but Paxon, their sword swishing smoothly out of its sheath, surges forward to meet the man and slices through his neck in one clean swipe.

“There a reason you two idiots ain’t running yet?” they growl over their shoulder, and Sol shakes his head clear and takes off toward the truck, grabbing hold of Kent’s collar on the way past and dragging him along.

Kent stumbles after him, his head still bowed, and finally croaks, “Wait, we— we can’t just leave them to— “

“I think they got this,” Sol snaps, and glances over his shoulder to see Pax spin to neatly decapitate a second running, bloody-eyed figure. “‘Sides,” he goes on, a bit snidely, yanking the driver’s side door open, “how exactly were you gonna help without a weapon, genius?”

Kent climbs into the back seat, not meeting Sol’s eyes. He’s breathing heavy, and his hands are in tight, shaking fists in his lap. 

It occurs to Sol that he has now seen Kent slapped twice in the very short time he’s known him. There’s no time to think about that now, but it— maybe bears examination later.

“You know how to drive, right?” Kent mutters, at the floor of the truck.

“‘Course I do,” Sol snaps, throwing the car in reverse and taking a deep breath. “Mostly!”

He rolls his window down. “Coming on your left, Pax!”

Paxon pauses with their sword in the stomach of a very large man whose eyes have spilled out in bloody streams down his cheeks— Sol gags a little before he makes himself focus on driving— to glare at the truck over their shoulder, and then they readjust their grip and slice the man clear in half, before swinging their sword straight down through one of his ruined eyes. Sol sees Kent wince and throw a hand over his mouth in the rearview mirror.

“Take your time,” Paxon calls, sword flashing. There’s beginning to be kind of a large pile of bodies around them. “I’m enjoying myself out here.”

“Wow,” Sol says, focusing on reversing the car in such a way that he will not run Paxon over. He does his best to ignore the sickening lurch of the car as it rolls over one body, then two. “You really pissed them off.”

Kent glares at the floor of the truck. Yeah, they’re going to have to have a long conversation about this later, assuming they can actually get out of this.

When the truck rolls to a stop beside them, Paxon yanks the passenger side door open and climbs in, turning as they do so to shove their sword straight into a lunging man’s open mouth and up into his brain.

“Uh—” Sol swallows. “You good?”

“If you are,” they snap, settling into their seat and slamming the door closed.

“We, uh, we are, we’re—” He clears his throat awkwardly. Kent is still glaring at the floor, and Paxon is staring out the window, which a woman with blood running down her chin is now throwing herself against. “We’re great. Yeah.”

Sol puts the car clumsily into drive and slams his foot down on the gas, apparently a bit too hard.

A small dark figure is illuminated by the headlights for a second before they disappear under the truck’s tires. Sol forces himself to keep his eyes on the road and orders himself not to think about it.

He almost swerves to avoid the next one, but Paxon reaches over and puts their hand on the wheel.

“Just hit ‘em,” they say in a low, flat voice. “It doesn’t make a damn difference either way.”

Kent makes a horrified sound from the backseat, and winces badly when the car thumps over the woman’s body.

“Uh,” Sol squawks.

“Look at ‘em,” Pax says. “They’re running right at the damn tires. They don’t give a fuck what happens to them, so why should we, huh?” They look straight forward through the windshield, and don’t look at Kent, who Sol can see jolt in the backsea; Kent tangles a hand in his own hair and pulls it, hard; Sol winces.

The next one Sol hits leaps right at the front of the car and slides up onto the hood, hitting the windshield with a sick crack. Kent squeezes his eyes shut, and Pax glares straight ahead, though their hands tighten into fists on their bloody pant legs.

“Um,” Sol says. “Are we gonna talk about this, or...?”

“No,” Kent says flatly.

“Ain’t a damn thing to talk about,” Pax snaps.

Sol rolls his eyes. “Oh, yeah, right, fine. My bad.”

The last one is another woman, and the headlights catch in her blonde hair for a second, and Sol can’t help but swerve to avoid her. He very carefully does not look at Paxon, who scowls at him.

Finally he rolls his eyes and shoots Paxon a glare, and then he glances up at the rear view mirror to include Kent in it, too. “I’m not picking sides here, okay? I think y’all are both fuckin’ nuts.”

Pax pouts. Kent does too, a little bit.

“First of all,” Sol says, “fucking cool it with the martyr complex a little, okay, Kent? Jesus.” Kent flinches, and opens his mouth to protest, but Sol holds up one hand for silence, keeping the other carefully on the wheel. “And you,” he says, rounding on Paxon. “It’s great that you swept to our rescue, and everything, but fucking forgive us for being a little slower to adjust to the whole ‘zombie apocalypse so murder is okay now’ thing, dude. We’re not all fucking naturals like you apparently are.”

“I saved your life,” Paxon says shortly.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sol says uncomfortably. “And, like. Thanks? But do you for real not get how watching you cut a bunch of people’s heads off does not make us more likely to trust you, man?”

“Oh, Christ, not you too,” Paxon snaps, swinging their sword off their back and slamming it down at their feet. “Do neither of you kids get it yet? The world has changed. Y’all’s idealism or whatever is cute, but it’s also gonna get you both killed.” They reach out and shove at Sol’s shoulder, although not very hard. They don’t even look angry anymore, not really, just— tired. “You’re not supposed to trust me, dumbass. You listen, okay, both of you. I do not require that you trust me. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t. And I’m not gonna trust you. And then none of us are gonna be disappointed. Okay?”

Sol blinks, feeling kind of confused and— weirdly hurt. “Uh— yeah, fine. Yeah.”

“Don’t worry,” Kent says, sharply. “We won’t.”

Pax turns back to glare at him. “Well good,” they say with their teeth bared. “You shouldn’t.”

Then they both turn and glare out opposite windows.

The tension is so thick that for a second Sol is almost glad when the engine emits a sharp pop and a puff of smoke and the truck begins to roll to a stop.

“Aw, shit,” Sol says, trying to gun the engine. “Aw, shit, no, not now—”

Paxon presses their hands over their eyes and makes a noise that sounds like it would be a scream if their teeth weren’t clenched. Kent leans forward between the passenger and driver’s seats to watch the plume of smoke drift upwards from the engine.

“Either of you know how to fix that?” he says flatly.

“I know how to hotwire cars, not fix them, man,” Sol says, flopping back in his seat and closing his eyes.

Kent hesitates. “...Paxon?”

Paxon removes one hand from their face long enough to give Kent the finger. “Fuck you, blondie, I can’t do everything around here.”

Kent frowns at the dashboard as if he can somehow guilt the engine beneath into running again. “Oh,” he says. There isn’t really much else to say.

There’s a long and very pregnant pause. Paxon massages their temples. Sol counts to ten, twice, and tries without much success to regulate his heart rate. Kent fidgets and turns in his seat to look out the back window.

“Um,” he starts, unconsciously tapping the back of Paxon’s chair like an impatient five-year-old. “I don’t think you quite— got all of them,” he says hesitantly.

Paxon takes in a long breath and then lets it out, and then they drop their hands and toss their long red ponytail. “Yeah, yeah,” they say, yanking the door handle with a little more force than necessary. “It was getting a little cramped in here, anyway.”

“H-hey— hold on!” Sol yelps, reaching for their sleeve. “Are you out of your fucking mind? We can’t go out there!”

They’re already on their feet outside the truck and repositioning their sword on their back. “Yeah, well, it would also be pretty dumb of us to stay in here and get surrounded. Rein in your underage martyr and let’s jet, babe.” They shoot Sol a shiny and very fake grin and cross in front of the truck toward the woods, boot heels clicking against the pavement. They swing their sword out of its sheath as they go and the metal glints alarmingly in the light from the headlights.

Sol frowns after them, feeling... more intimidated than he wants to.

“I hate to say it,” he mumbles at the back of Kent’s head— the blonde is kneeling on the back seat and staring out the back window— “but I think they’re probably kind of right, man. You coming?”

Kent is silent for a moment, watching the vague forms milling about in the darkness behind the truck.

“Hey,” Sol says, reaching out for his shoulder. “...Kent?”

Kent winces when Sol’s fingertips brush his coat collar, and then he looks down at his hands and mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like “sorry”.

“Huh?” Sol retracts his hand hastily. That was a bad idea. In fact, it didn’t happen. He 100% did not notice Kent shaking and reach out to comfort him like somebody’s goddamn mother.

“I said, ‘you’re right,’” Kent says, turning to give him a shaky smile.

Sol blinks at him, debates calling him a liar, reaches for the car door instead. “Yeah, sure, whatever, man. Let’s just— let’s go.”

The sky is starting to spit rain, and Paxon is waiting for them with their hand on their hip and and expression of almost violent impatience on their face. They raise an eyebrow at Sol and pointedly do not look at Kent. “You took your sweet time,” they say tightly.

Kent, hugging himself a little against the cold dankness of the air, raises a hand to catch a few raindrops and frowns up at the sky. “It’s raining.”

Paxon frowns at him, and then rolls their eyes, turns on their heel and stomps off into the trees. “Yes, sunshine, it is. Thank you for pointing that out.” They sneer at him over their shoulder. “At least you’ve got your looks, kid.”

Kent wrinkles his nose at them, following. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned that,” he says, a few slivers of ice in his voice. “I’m flattered, I guess, but you’re actually not my type, Paxon.”

“Now there’s a surprise,” Paxon says, rolling their eyes.

“Oh my god, you guys,” Sol runs a hand through his hair and tries to focus on not tripping over tree roots. The woods are getting thicker, and Pax is walking very quickly. “Will you please shut the fuck up.”

Kent grumbles, but shuts his mouth. Pax picks up their pace slightly, the ass.

The drizzle is turning into something more like a downpour, now, and still companionable silence is apparently too much to ask.

“What I meant,” Kent snaps after five blissful minutes of nobody snapping at anybody else, “was that it is raining, and we have no shelter, or changes of clothing, or food, or— or anything.”

“Some of us have weapons,” Paxon says sweetly. “That’s not nothing.”

Kent huffs. “I’m sure that’ll be a great comfort when we’re— what, huddled in trees, freezing to death?”

Sol wrinkles his nose. His own coat, while thick enough to stop the old man’s teeth, is not waterproof and is starting to get kind of heavy with rainwater. By morning it’ll probably smell like a wet sheep, too. Kent might be okay in his oversized black coat, but Paxon’s poncho and leather jacket don’t look warm at all, and they’re certainly not waterproof.

“Yeah,” he says. “That’s, uh, a fair point. Do you have, like, a plan, Pax?”

Pax turns on their heel, half-skipping along backwards, dancing over the rough ground in a way that doesn’t really seem fair. “Plans are for squares, kid. Everyone knows that.”

Kent glares at them, discomfort written clear across his face. Sol looks from Kent’s shaky irritation to the tight, tense set of Paxon’s shoulders and their white-knuckled grip on their sword.

“We’re all gonna die,” he says flatly.

[in-tua-deep]

Consider: they go back to rescue Grace and bring her to Ellie like she’s a robot but Diego insists she has feelings so can she stay? And Ellie the lumberjack lesbian just sorta stammers ‘uh yeah sure ok whatever’ because wow for a robot nanny she’s really cute?? And they fall in love

y’all are very insistent on this lmao for anyone new this is regarding the broken five au where Reginald tries to control Five by threatening Vanya’s life so the kids run away! for all of it check out the ellie fortuin tag ;3c

I should make a master list of my aus at some point smh

ANYWAY so after Reggie arrives and Ellie kicks him the entire fuck out the kids reveal that they wish they could also rescue their mother, which is the first Ellie is hearing about this (she assumed the reason they looked sad when she accidentally brought up mothers is because theirs gave the up and sold them to Reginald Fucking Hargreeves - she did her research when she figured out who they were okay)

but in all she looked up she didn’t find anything about Reginald Hargreeves being married or anything so ???

and there’s another thing she’s been meaning to do for a while which she kind of needs to go to the house/Reginald to do and whatever so, you know. She tells the kids she’s going out, puts on her nicest plaid shirt (because actually fuck getting dressed up to see this dude she’s going to wear her muddiest boots) and gives them all kisses and reminders to be good and then sets out

(she puts Marmalade in charge because as much as she complains about the cat she doesn’t trust Clyde not to be a pushover and at least Marm is street smart)

so there she is hammering on the door to the Umbrella Academy with a backpack pull of papers on her back, a lengthy consultation with a lawyer to remember, and a mission in her mind and the door opens and there is a chimpanzee in a suit looking at her and Ellie is honestly just kind of like “Ah you know now it makes some sense why the kids are weird about bringing up monkeys” and just embraces that her life is weird as she follows the chimp (who talks and has introduced himself as Pogo what the fuck) into the house and is told to wait while he informs Master Reginald of her arrival

and while she’s waiting impatiently and kicking off bit of dried mud on her boots to kick under the fancy furniture to be spiteful, she hears humming and who comes into view but an absolute angel?? Ellie would genuinely swear her heart skipped a beat

“Oh!” The Angel says, spotting her, looking mildly surprised, “A guest! Has Pogo already seen to you, dear?”

“Uh.” Ellie says, very intelligently as her brain short-circuits

“I’m Grace.” The Angel smiles warmly and Ellie genuinely wants the floor to open up and swallow her because she cannot form a single coherent sentence and also didn’t the kids say Grace was their mothers name this is not the random old lady she was expecting, “Are you here to see Mr. Hargreeves?”

Thankfully Ellie doesn’t have to embarrass herself any further by attempting to produce something approaching speech because Pogo is back and gesturing for Ellie to follow him.

“It was lovely meeting you.” Grace tells her, before turning back to cleaning or whatever she was doing and Ellie is helpless except to follow after Pogo to do what she actually came here to do.

So that’s what has Ellie standing in front of Reginald Hargreeves and slamming a whole bunch of papers on his desk and saying “Independent adoption” to him as though he, who literally bought seven children, did not know what adoption was.

And then there is a long an complicated argument that busts out a lot of legal terms and more than a few vague threats on both sides. Because Ellie does not want this man to have any legal power over her kids and apparently he is still under the delusion that the kids will ever go back to live and train under him or whatever which HA is not happening

“They need to stop the apocalypse.” Reginald Hargreeves insists to her face.

“Those kids,” Ellie says, voice low and dangerous, “Are powerful beyond measure, and before I got them they didn’t care about the world one lick. Because they’d never seen it. Because what had the world ever done for them? The only thing they knew about humanity was you, Reginald Hargreeves. And you taught them that people were cruel and ruthless and only wanted to use them. You taught them that people without powers were useless and worthless and ordinary.”

She opens her arms wide, “And you think that those kids would save the world? You think they would lift a finger to help humanity when all they knew was that it was evil? The way you were raising them, I’d be more shocked if it wasn’t them who caused the apocalypse for goodness sake.”

Reginald sits before her, pale in his fury, but she doesn’t drop it there.

“Luther likes building with his hands, and he’s really good at it. His favorite food is baby carrots because he likes the crunch and also likes sneaking them to Clyde. He likes helping people carry things to their cars and any praise makes him light up like a Christmas tree, bless him. And when I got him? He didn’t know how to help people, he only knew how to stop ‘bad guys’ and had no idea how to even talk to people.”

Reginald doesn’t say anything. Ellie presses on.

“Diego is an angry kid, yeah, but he had a heart of fucking gold. He’s the first one to volunteer to help with chores or dinner or anything. He’s protective as anything when it comes to his siblings. He was the one who brought home the cranky old tomcat that no one could get near just because he thought that he was lonely and needed a home. And when I got him? He would barely even talk to me because he thought he’d get in trouble for struggling with his words. Thought that his ideas were worth less somehow just because he took longer to get them out. And that’s what you taught him.”

Ellie is really still furious about that. Diego’s stuttering usually only surfaced when he was nervous or stressed now, which wasn’t as often as it used to be, but the fact that he told her once with anger and heartbreak on her face that he was just dumb broke her heart.

“Allison made friends quicker than anyone. She loves to talk to people. She was so excited to go to her friend’s birthday party and when I asked her why she said she’d never been allowed to have friends, before. Never allowed to have friends. Her and Klaus pick out some of the wildest clothes because they’d never been allowed to express themselves before. She’s so bright, and wonderful, and she loves going to the movies more than anything.”

“You can stop, now.” Reginald tells her.

“No I can’t.” Ellie surges up with a roar, clearly taking Reginald aback. “No, I can’t, because those kids are just that - kids. They didn’t know how to save the world because they didn’t even know what the world was! They weren’t allowed friends, they weren’t allowed outside, they weren’t allowed to be kids - do you know anything about them? Do you know that Klaus is brilliant at knitting, and that Vanya can be bribed into just about anything with butterscotch cookies? Do you know that Ben can’t get enough of soap operas, and that Luther would rather go a science museum over a gym any day of the week?”

Ellie shakes her head slowly. “Do you know that they’re all afraid of you? Does it make you feel big to have a bunch of children absolutely convinced that you would kill one of them to keep them in line?”

Reginald looks very tired. Ellie doesn’t feel very sorry for him though because she kind of wishes he was dead, so. “What do you want, Miss Fortuin?”

“Custody of the kids.” Ellie shoots back without hesitation. “I have the forms with me. I have arrangements made for a home inspection by the relevant people to make it official. I have the numbers of people to call to go through with it. They’re already living with me anyway, this would just make it official.”

“Why?” Reginald asks her, which is a fair question she supposes. She already has the kids and threatened Reginald into staying away from them, after all.

“It’s their birthday soon.” She tells him, after a long pause. “We finished the extension so they have their own rooms, even if they all end up camped in one. But I want to give them certainty. I want them to be absolutely sure that you can’t waltz right in and destroy everything that they’ve worked for. I want them to be less afraid.”

Reginald pulls the papers to him and starts scanning them, making Pogo (who had been standing silently by the door the entire time) start in alarm. “Sir? What about the apocalypse?”

And that just makes Ellie angry. She whirls around, jabbing a finger at the alarmed looking butler. “Why don’t you do something about the apocalypse, huh? Why don’t you fix the world? Those kids might have powers, but they are children. Fuck you for putting the weight of the world on their shoulders. Luther can pick up something really heavy? There’s an entire fucking sport that revolves around that, find one of those guys. Diego can curve knives? You built them a fucking robot mother I’m pretty sure it’s within your capabilities to makes some kind of targeting weapon. Heat seeking missiles exist, it’s not that much a stretch. Stop pinning all your hopes on them and start getting off your ass and do something yourselves you sanctimonious pricks.”

Pogo looks shocked. Reginald looks taken aback.

“They’re just little kids.” Ellie tells them, suddenly tired herself. “They’re just little kids. They aren’t soldiers in whatever war you’ve cooked up in your head. They deserve a chance to be happy.”

Reginald looks down at the papers, not managing to look her in the eye. “And if there is someone bringing about the end of the world? Will the children fight, then?”

“Maybe.” Ellie shoots back, no hesitation. “But before I let them have at it’s going to be me going in with my fucking wood axe first. Or at the very least I’ll be there right alongside them helping out. My axe will kill ‘em dead just as much as Diego’s knives or Vanya’s sound waves or Ben’s tentacles.”

Reginald sighs and signs the papers with a flourish. “Will there be anything else, Miss Fortuin?” He says it almost sarcastically, as thought he can’t imagine her needing anything else.

Ellie’s honestly surprised that it actually happened. She thought she’d leave her empty handed and furious but at least knowing she tried. She swipes the papers up into her hands, unwilling to give Reginald to chance to back out.

And then she decides to press her luck. “Actually, yeah. The kids want their mother back. I understand she’s a robot, so we’ll need the appropriate charging materials.”

Reginald raises an eyebrow at her.

“I’ll be back in a week to pick everything up. At the very least I’ll install charging stuff at my house so she can come and visit.” She feels a little bad for just demanding custody of the kids mother as if she’s just an object. Diego insists she’s a whole person who is just under the control of their dad, and unfortunate and hopefully fixable issue.

“It’s a robot.” Reginald says, almost dumbly. 

“She’s their mother.” Ellie corrects Reginald viciously, “And she did a damn sight better at parenting than you ever did, even though it must have been an uphill battle the entire time. I’ll be back in a week. Good day to you, sir.”

And with that she turns on her heel and strides out of the room, wondering when the fuck she turned into an angry character in some regency show. Good day to you, sir? Maybe it was the house. Or that ridiculous fucking monocle, god.

She almost runs right into Grace, who blinks at her and smiles beautifully.

“I’ll show you out.” Grace tells her, and Ellie doesn’t have anything to say to that. They get to the door, and Grace opens it, and - 

“Do you uh, do you want to come with us? In a week?” Ellie asks, before she gets all the way through, turning to Grace. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask I just - ”

“Thank you,” Grace cuts her off, eyes sparkling and Ellie knows she’s more than just a robot. “Thank you for taking care of my children. For doing what I could not. I will see you in a week.”

The door closes and Ellie is left on the other side with a whole bunch of papers in her arms and hope in her chest and the need to get in contact with more than one person to verify all of this and make this adoption go through.

There was still more to do - like changing the kids legal names (which were still numbers) and figuring out where the charging port and stuff would go in the house (would Grace want her own house?? Ellie was 100% sure they absolutely could not finish an entire small cabin in a week even between the eight of them but Ellie’s cabin wasn’t exactly as spacious as the mansion Grace would surely be used to - Ellie liked to refer to it as cosy)

(a week later, Ellie borrows a friend’s pickup and grabs all the stuff from the Hargreeves mansion she needs. Grace rides shotgun smiling the whole way there.)

(Ellie doesn’t mention that the ‘luggage’ Grace brought with her looks suspiciously like a wrapped up painting that may or may not have been stolen straight off of Reginald Hargreeves’ walls)

(Ellie might just be a little bit in love)

[twilightofthe]

I found a totally legal way to watch The Mandalorian!!!  Gonna do one of my first live-blogs of it, here’s Chapter One! (tag is “liveblogging the mando show” if y’all wanna block it)

Ooooo I really like the helmet flashing new logo (tho still curse you Disney)

OOOOOH THERE’S BEEPING THERE HE IS HE’S HOLDING A BEEPER I CAN’T HANDLE THIS

Ew gross don’t molest the guy you’re beating up my dudes

EW GROSS LEAVE HIM ALONE

Yayyyy Mando Man’s here!  He gonna help this dude or?

Wait how’s he supposed to drink through his fancy mask

I love how they’re going back to Huttese omg the nostalgia

YUS BOI GET EM GET EM GOOD

Aaaaaand back to business as usual typical bars

This guy’s gonna get captured too lol I know it

Ahaha I knew it

Welp at least Mando Man’s gonna be probs a bit nicer about it

OOOOOHHHHHHHH I FREAKIN LOVE THE TITLE MUSIC

Wait did we even know what planet this was?

So he doesn’t like droids or they’re easily tracked or????

Can’t be the opening of a Star WArs movie without a trashy old Uber driver of some sorts

Also cannot be proper Star Wars without someone calling another person’s ship garbage ahah I love this

Oh dinosaur monster walrus worm cool

Ya know this guy is surprisingly nonchalant about being taken in for a bounty

Shock staff or bug zapper?  A two in one deal!!!

Oh NOW you like his ship

Pfft I know like exactly zilch about ships, I’m not one of those SW nerds, can someone tell me if Razor Crests or anything are supposed to be important or not?

Vac Tube?  Huh, I thought “fresher” was the word for “space potty”.  Guess there’s more than one lol

Ooooo weapons

C’mon this guy really thinks he’s getting out?  Pfff

Oh so Life Day is canonically a galactic holiday then, not just another word for “birthday”.  I mean I kinda knew cuz they use “birthday” for Ezra in Rebels but this confirms Life Day too

Ooooo new planet!  I wish they told us the names like Rogue One did

Aaaaaand yet another bar

OMG RECOGNIZABLE LUCAS ALIENS THANK YOU FAVREAU I’M GONNA CRY THANK YOU

*Pokemon theme* Catch em’ alll

heck yea boi stick it to the Empire

Omg I’m hopeless Pedro Pascal has such a nice voic aaaaaaaa.

“I’ll take them all” Cocky bastard

his VOICEEEEEEE AAAAAA.  

I’m already intrigued, but I really want to see more of his character behind just “cool armor fighter mask man mystery”.

Ik ik I’m being impatient this is only the first ep but still

Also his cloak game is On Point and I love it

HEY IT’S SOME OF THOSE TRASH CAN DROIDS I LOVE THOSE

*Obi Wan voice* Hello there stormtroopers xD

Hmm so who’s the doctor?

That metal old dude’s wearing, it’s not Rebel Alliance, is it Empire?  It makes sense if he’s hanging out with Stormtroopers

Wait shoot Old Dude could be another Mando, if he’s got beskar and all

BAHAHA ROASTED MONKEY LIZARD AND THEY’RE TRAUMATIZING THE LIVE ONE XD ANAKIN WOULD BE PLEASED HE HATES THOSE THINGS.  SO WOULD POE HAHA

I’m adoring the Western-style soundtrack

Oooo more Mandos

And color me wrong but that curvy fleur-de-lis thingy on the wall is the Mandalore symbol right?  I forget, don’t kill me

Head of his guild here I guess?

What is the Purge?  Ooo so he doesn’t have legit beskar armor cuz it’s rare, so he’s trying to build a 

new suit?

I like the design of the armorer’s mask

What’s a Foundling???

Ohhh his traumatic backstory I guess?

Bahaha I just thought he’s got the same tragic backstory as Kung Fu Panda pffffttttt

I Love The MUSIC

Another planet, this one sandy.  Tatooine?  The rocks look right and I know the show was going there 

Aight this looks right Imma say this is Tatooine for now, the planet likes to pop up in people’s scanners Tusken-style and attack you like Space Australia does

I recognize this alien guy’s (Ugnaught? Gah I can never keep species names straight ik I’m horrible) voice from somewhere

Vaporizers, another point towards Tatooine

Oooo sassy “idk if I want your help”

Omg bluurgs, those were on Rebels!!!

Bahaha animal taming time!  I’m glad they’re keeping some Star Wars Humor in here, it wouldn’t feel quite right if it was too serious

*How To Train Your Dragon theme plays*

The CGI my dudes!!!!!!!

At least Mando Man is polite

“I have spoken” That’s gonna be my new answer for whenever I don’t know anything and someone calls me on my BS

Weequays!!!!!!!

Oop now they dead

Guess someone’s got competition

He just doesn’t like droids then :(

Wait what can a droid do with credits?

I guess every SW protag needs a trusy droid sidekick lol

Bahaha “do not self destruct” me @ me

I love him he’s got that “done with everything” attitude

Wheeeeeeee spinny gun!!!!!!

Yay they’re friendly!

Aw he’s nice for a bounty hunter!

Omg old-timey door sparky explosions THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Another trash can lol

Omg they put the freaking Baby Yoda in the trash can pfffttt it’s a literal trash baby gremlin

Awwww he likes children!!!

Ok good he protected the baby over the droid

THAT LITTLE FINGER

AND FILONI DIRECTED IT OF COURSE HE DID

AAAAAAAAAA

STILL REALLY LOVING THE WESTERN-STYLE MUSIC

I can’t watch the next one quite yet cuz busy, but omg omg omg omg I really liked this!  I know Filoni and Favreau know probably the most about canon Mandalore between the two of them (Favreau played Pre Viszla on TCW) so I totally trust them to do this well.  I’m liking Mando Man! (I shall call him Mando Man until they give him a real name and No One Can Stop Me)  I haven’t learned much about him yet, but so far I see that he’s a dedicated hunter and kinda a crankypants, but he cares about children!  He has a moral compass!  I’ll stan for now!!!!

I’m really really happy they brought the old Star Wars aliens back into this, I haven’t seen any live-action ones for so so long now ;_;  

I’m interested about the Great Purge, but I’ll go more into that on a separate post lol

[shiieldmaiden]

Y’all I never post my own shit on this blog but this is Important

i’ve got an amazing dnd group and because we’re Super Invested a bunch of us made playlists for our characters

feat. a Very Long playlist write-up under the cut 💫

The Adventure Zone: Amnesty Theme by Griffin McElroy

This is the true start to this playlist, even though it’s not on Spotify. I had to start off with something from my Good Good McElboys. I imagine Bardrynn’s hometown of Quarrycrest as something of a fantasy Appalachia, all beautiful smoky mountains and close-knit families and communities living and working together. Everyone knew everyone and everyone helped everyone. What better way to set that scene than the Amnesty theme?

Woman by Kesha

Bardrynn is so. goddamn. independent. She’s impatient, she’s impulsive, and she’s not one to let just anyone tell her what to do. She’s a motherfuckin woman and this song captures her attitude, especially before she got more familiar with the darker parts of the world. She takes responsibility for herself, does things for herself, and doesn’t like asking for help. She’s got this.

Mess is Mine by Vance Joy

That being said, she’s a fiercely loyal friend. Bardrynn is a Gryffindor through and through and she will do anything for her friends. Well hold on, my darling. This mess was yours, now your mess is mine. She is someone who will shoulder her friends’ troubles without a second thought. You know you gave me all your time, but did I give enough of mine? Even though she gives so much to her friends, she still worries that it might not be enough. She wants to be enough for her friends, to be there whenever they need her, whatever they need her for. If she can’t be there for her friends, what good is she to them?

Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men

No matter how far she travels, Bardrynn’s heart lies in the mountains. She knows that whatever happens, she has the mountains to go home to. And as brave as she is, she’d be lying if she said she’d never considered running away from her problems and running home to those mountains. Heard them calling in the distance, so I packed my things and ran.

Map of the World by Monsters of Folk

She may be a small town girl, but Bardrynn has a streak of wanderlust to her. She wants to see the world, she wants to explore, she wants to see and experience new things. That far-off feeling, that up-close kind of ache - she tries to fight it, she denies it like hell, but Bardrynn is homesick. She has been for awhile, but she’s just ignored it. Having friends helps. Exploring new things and going on exciting quests helps. She’s doing what she wanted, she’s doing good and seeing the world, so why isn’t she happier?

Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles

A little self-explanatory, your girl tries to keep a positive outlook. She knows she’s not the brightest and doesn’t always notice things, but one thing she does notice is that if she keeps up a positive attitude, the people around her tend to perk up too. And I say “It’s alright”

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Wow, is that Bardrynn’s Saving People Thing I see?? Holy cow, that’s Bardrynn’s Saving People Thing I see!! I told you you could always count on me darlin’. From that day on, I made a vow - I’ll be there when you want me some way somehow. Bardrynn will do absolutely anything for her friends - from taking the blame for ruining the publicity campaign in Dragon’s Brawl and getting herself fired so that Mori could keep her job to throwing herself into harm’s way to protect her party members. She’ll move heaven and earth to help her friends, drop anything to go to their side, hell she’ll take a killing blow if it means her friend will live.

Maps for the Getaway by Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness

Leaving home to go fight for Dragon’s Brawl was hard. It was really fucking hard. For all her life, Bardrynn had lived in Quarrycrest. Her family lived in Quarrycrest. Her ancestors were buried in Quarrycrest up in the family plot at the top of the Oakburn holler. (If she has anything to say about it, she’ll be buried there too, when her time comes) No cash in the bank, no paid holidays, all we have - all we have is gas in the tank, maps for the getaway. She had a dream and a plan and a metric ton of uncertainty, but she did it anyway and she was so proud of herself when she was able to write home to tell her family that she had done it. She was a professional fighter.

The Boxer by Paul Simon (Mumford & Sons cover)

When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy. In the company of strangers, in the quiet of the railway stations, running scared. The mood of this song, the story of a fighter doing what they love in the ring and then struggling with loneliness outside of it is just - it’s so perfect. It took Bardrynn awhile to regain her footing with her new job away from home. Even with Mori there, it wasn’t the same as being able to just walk down the holler a bit to say hello to her brother or strolling into town and saying hello to everyone she passed on the way. Plus, Mumford’s sound is so Appalachia to me, it suits Bardrynn really fucking well, all strings, bluegrass rhythms, and tight harmonies.

In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade, and he carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down and cut him til he cried out in his anger and his shame “I am leaving, I am leaving,” but the fighter still remains.

Applause by Lady Gaga

Once she got her footing though, once Bardrynn got comfortable, she was fucking ecstatic with her life. She practically got high off of the crowds and their reactions to her, their applause and their cheers. Nothing could bring her down when a stadium of fans were cheering her name. I live for the applause

Jenny by the Studio Killers

OOF. Bardrynn’s bad at feelings. She didn’t plan on catching feelings for Mori. She really didn’t. She didn’t even realize it was happening at first, she’s terrible at reading feelings from anyone, including herself. She was her best friend! She couldn’t feel like this about her, she was just a really close friend! Jenny darlin’, you’re my best friend, but there’s a few things that you don’t know… Once she figured it out (it took her an embarrassingly long time, looking back), she tried to just shove it down, ignore it. Telling her would just ruin things. They had a good thing going, the two of them being best friends in and out of the ring. That was, until their bosses decided they needed to stage a rivalry between them.

Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

Bardrynn carries a lot of guilt over fucking up that fake rivalry. It was just one slip-up, they’d been doing so well. But Mori had made a really funny joke and Bardrynn couldn’t help but laugh and someone had to go and catch her looking at her like that… and the next thing they knew, the two of them were being threatened with losing their jobs over the way they handled that “publicity strategy,” or whatever the fuck the boss had called it.

So Bardrynn took the blame.

She couldn’t let Mori get fired too. But it was not your fault but mine. And it was your heart on the line. I really fucked it up this time, didn’t I my dear? It was her fault, not Mori’s. Only one of them should lose their job over this and if someone had to take the fall for it, it was going to be Bardrynn. Mori tried to argue when Bardrynn told their boss that it was her fault, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. Bardrynn couldn’t fix the damage she’d done to Mori’s image as a fighter, she couldn’t fix any dips in popularity her fights might suffer, but she could make sure she kept her job.

And now, she’s terrified of letting her friends down. She doesn’t want to fail them like she did Mori. She can’t let that happen. Let’s be real, Bardrynn would die for her friends or her family without a second thought.

Bastards by Kesha

After her fallout with Dragon’s Brawl, there were a lot of people who started bad-mouthing Bardrynn. People who accused her of ruining the Dragon’s Brawl story because she couldn’t just play along, people who were disappointed in her for failing at this, people who were angry with her for messing up this or that. Been underestimated my entire life. I know people gonna talk shit, and darlin’ that’s fine. But they won’t break my spirit, I won’t let ‘em win. I’ll just keep on livin, keep on livin’ the way I wanna live. It was hard, really fucking hard to brush it off, but Bardrynn did her best to not let it bother her. She’s gotten better at it. She’s gotten a lot better at it. It’s still hard sometimes, and she still feels guilty sometimes when she braids that bright blue ribbon from a fan into her hair, but she’s getting better at tieing those reminders to the good memories rather than the bad ones.

Heaven When We’re Home by The Wailin’ Jennys

Been a fool, I’ve been cruel to myself. Been hangin’ on to nothin’ when nothin’ could be worse than hangin on. And somethin’ tells me, there must be something better than all this … And it’s a long and rugged road, and we don’t know where it’s headed. But we know it’s gonna get us where we’re goin’. And when we find what we’re lookin’ for, we’ll drop these bags and search no more, cuz it’s gonna feel like heaven when we’re home. I’m tempted to just leave it with those lyrics, but tbh, they’re very true to her attitude going forward from Dragon’s Brawl. She wandered, she didn’t know where she was headed, but she trusted that she’d figure it out eventually. So far it’s worked out alright. Plus, the Wailin’ Jennys’ sound is just So Perfectly Bardrynn. I also love the harmonies in the chorus, kinda shows, at least to me, how important having people around her is to Bardrynn. And maybe I’ll walk awhile and feel the earth beneath me. They say if you start lookin’, it doesn’t matter if you find it. And who’s to say that even if I did, it’s what I’m really looking for?

Below My Feet by Mumford & Sons

Keep the earth below my feet. From my sweat, my blood runs weak. Let me learn from where I have been. Keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn. As she started traveling the world and exploring, Bardrynn started to see things in terms of what she could do - what she could do for other people besides just the ones she holds nearest and dearest. She started helping people. She started looking for people to help, jobs to take, towns to protect. Anything she could do to make herself useful, to find some kind of purpose beyond just wandering aimlessly, unemployed and technically homeless. She found that helping people was really fulfilling. She liked it. She was good at it. And it made other people happy, it made other people safe.

We’re Going to Be Friends by The White Stripes

Bardrynn makes friends super goddamn fast. She’s a friendly and outgoing woman, and while she may not be good at telling if someone is lying, she believes that she has a good sense of when someone is going to be a friend. To be fair, she tends to go by the philosophy of friend until proven not friend, but still. She could tell within ten minutes of meeting the party that this was going to be a good thing. They were going to be friends and it was going to be so much goddamn fun. And when I wake, tomorrow I’ll bet that you and I will walk together again. I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend by girl in red

Now, Bardrynn has a wisdom of 9. She’s terrible at recognizing other people’s feelings and even worse at diagnosing her own feelings. This has happened to her before, with Mori. She got confused, she was certain that the feelings she had towards Mori were just that of a best friend. 

She would’ve been this freaked out if anyone in the party died, right? Sure, she’s been worried about Liana and keeping an eye on her in battle since she died and came back to life, and she might feel a little more protective of her lately, but it’d be the same for anyone else in the party if they died, right?

Right?

Beautiful Dawn by The Wailin’ Jennys

I feel like this rounds her out nicely. Bardrynn is trying to get better. She’s trying to improve herself, to grow, to become the friend her friends need her to be. She’s trying to become the woman she wants to be, more than just a brokenhearted has-been fighter - a woman who doesn’t let down her loved ones, a woman who protects those she cares about, a woman who defends those who can’t defend themselves, a woman who can do some good in the world. Take me to a place where I feel no shame, take me where courage doesn’t need a name. Learning how to cry is the hardest part, and there’s only one way to mend a broken heart.

Dang, this is a long post.

[jaxcns]

y’all know this mans? yuh.. really gets ya thinkin that men might deserve rights after all huh? i mean they dont but it makes ya think! anyway.. i’m urayai ( uri for short ), eighteen, she/her, and from bumfuck nowhere usa over in the est timezone. we livin in a winter wonderland over here rn issa nightmare :) if ya feelin the vibe now then check out my statistics page yuh maybe i went the extra mile MXDDDN! anyway if ya poppin ya p*ssi to nct, love wastin time playin the sims, or are prayin for both taes scalps then smash that heart! we need validation in order to live in this economy laid ease!

basic details

( wong yukhei, cismale, he/him ) — meet jaxon wu, the nineteen year old sophomore at washington state university. i heard that the hedonist is a literature major who spends most of their time either practicing on the soccer field or interning at dorrance publishing two days a week. if you ask around, you’ll find out that the scorpio was born on october 28th, that the last song they listened to was uncomfortable by chase atlantic, and that they currently live in the kappa zeta nu fraternity house. ever since the death of carter hayes though, the only thing anyone can seem to recall when it comes to them is that they used to share a room with him at the frat house.

+ smoke-filled lungs, constellations in his eyes, denim jackets, disappearing acts that rival houdini, heart-shaped boxes, thumb rings, lazy grins, broken promises, and rainy mornings.

full sleeve on his right arm plus a chest piece in progress

ears and nose pierced but he doesnt always rock the nose

emotionally stable? no. financially stable? also no.

on an athletic scholarship for soccer but he loves hockey more so its #emohours

plays soccer, hockey, and baseball

loves the finer things in life but can barely afford the free breadsticks at olive garden ja feel

hes a snake who loves that 5 finger discount

selfish but also too invested in people he cares for

impatient as hell like.. chile

middle child ya he was dealt only the best cards in life

loves space and conspiracy theories #wow so original amirite

gets super obsessive over projects hes def a perfectionist

bisexual / bitter / bilingual

mom is a bank tell and dad is a professor at boston u

not very close to his older brother since hes off gettin his doctorates degree

very close to his little sister tho they’ve always been best friends

enjoys goin on hikes to clear his head

other than writing he also enjoys all other things creative like painting, drawing, sculpting, photography, etc

he attends a weekly art class in the city

he def dabbles in drugs so if ya lookin he can probs hook ya up

he was carters roommate 

ADAMANT — stubborn as shitttttt like fr. once he sets his mind on sumn and believes hes completely right cant be wrong then theres no changin his mind! at all! even if he realizes later that he was wrong he’d rather lower himself into the grave than admit it. he’ll also argue with you til the ends of the earth until the bitch literally dont have vocal chords anymore!

CONFIDENT — if i could’ve picked an alternate label for him then it woulda been the bellwether. he always carries himself with confidence which he gets from wearin nice clothes and accessories plus always bein well groomed ig? like his hair is always done, you’ll never find a speck of dirt on his shoes, that type of shit. even when his hair is messy it was done that way he would never go outside lookin like a wreck so jot that down!

IMPETUOUS — this bitch reckless af! he does things to benefit himself and only himself most of the time without taking into consideration other peoples feelings or how it might impact them. thats not to say that he doesnt regret it after the fact but lbr he normally? doesnt? see: selfish. hes just tryna get ahead tryna get dat coin tryna get him sum gucci slides!

PETULANT — sulky, bad-tempered, etc is jax thru and thru! and he aint afraid to take everyone down with him either. hes def the type to stir up drama ngl but he’ll back it up too and he aint afraid to throw hands! hes been in his fair share of fights and with his shiny new fake id y’all been knew hes been in more than one bar fight with more to come i’m sure!

plot ideas

MUSE — pretty self explanatory i think? this person just ignites fuckin inspiration for him whether it be thru takin pictures of them, writing about them, filmin them, drawin them, etc etc. jax always knows that when hes in a slump he can find them and that shit will come back as quick as flippin on a light switch!

RIDE OR DIE(S) — y’all already know wtf it is! we love those friends who just talk shit with each other, those that’ll go to bat for one another, but also arent afraid to be like “yo step back ur gettin a lil outta line” ja feel? literally gimme all that!

ANGST — i live for anything angsty tbh like im one of those bitches that gets bored when things are goin too well for my chara so i need someone to fuck that shit up fam!

RELATIONSHIPS — im here for it all! im talkin enemies, friends, rommates, party buddies, smokin buddies, fwb, exes, partners in crime, etc etc! im here and ready to snatch em all up!

TEAMMATES — jax plays hockey, soccer, and baseball so if ur chara does too then? uhhhh we def gotta plot cause we could go any way with the teammates thing like imagine teammates who hate each other and purposely try to hurt one another durin practices.. ugh we love pettiness!

ADVENTURE BUDDIES — hiking, goin to abandoned / haunted places, spontaneous road trips, etc! need someone or multiple people who’re down to just drop everything and go. doesnt even matter where tbh they��re just always up for a lil adventure.

SEESAW — lemme be basic for a sec ok just hol on! i rlly want a plot based off of yoongis song seesaw where maybe the two of them were together and at first it was great but then they just fell out for wtvr reason and obvs didnt wanna be together anymore. neither of them wanted to let go tho maybe it was like a comfort thing? so they just kept repeatin their same old shit and actin like everything was cool until one of them finally took the step and ended it just.. ik there’d be angst ik it and i need it!

PARADISE — the new song by chase atlantic! bitch! i felt it in my soul maybe i cried? jax dabbles in literally everything hes truly a mess so havin someone who just checks on him would rip my soul in half? someone who gives him a call randomly in the middle of a sunday night and is just like “hey ya been ok? not fallin back on bad habits are u?” shit like that. it would def be a thing where he falls a lil bit in love with them because its smth hes not used to tho that def doesnt mean at all that they feel that way about him! it can unrequited i dont rlly care tbh.

ik i forgot sum shit and ik this is a damn m e s s but if ya wanna plot then just lms and i’ll hit ya up! we can brainstorm or pick from one of our wcs idc just give this h*e sum plots i’ll literally die without em? im def the type whos down to prettymuch™ fill anything so if ya got a plot that ur rlly wantin but no one seems to be takin then give it to me i’ll 100% take it lmao! ya im desperate what about it?

[junionigiri]

Work In Progress [BNHA] [Preview of Chapter 1!]

Rating: T for strong language (since Bakugou is in it )

Summary: For the year’s Interscholastic Fantasy Festival, Class 2A is working on a musical! The reluctant Bakugou is assigned to work on the script with Uraraka, who proves to be a more eccentric writer than he thought.

Relationship: Kacchako <3

Notes/Warnings: This is a preview of a part of chapter 1. Since there’s the main story and the story within the story, the chapters are pretty darn long. I’ll start publishing the chapters in full once I’m five chapters in ^^’ Apart from Bakugou’s language and liberal 4th wall breaks I don’t think there’s anything to worry about in this fic~

Bakugou seriously did not want to work on Uraraka’s dumbass script. It’s not that he was bad at writing--in fact, beyond his good grades, he knew he was pretty good at it. Principal Nezu had personally informed him that the essay he submitted on “Why I Want To Be A Hero” was one of the most well-composed ones he’s ever read.

It’s just that Bakugou hated fantasy. And hated fiction-writing (because fiction was not real, therefore it was a waste of his fuckin’ time).

Most of all though, he hated having to work with other people to achieve any kind of common goal. Look at his damn stats for cooperativeness in the character book and anyone with half a brain would get it. And to cooperate for a stupid ass waste of time like the Fantasy Festival? Who the hell thought up of the stupid Fantasy Festival anyway?! Weren’t there more important things in society to worry about?

And the fact that he was working with Uraraka fuckin’ Ochako was in itself pretty aggravating. It’s not that he hated her--in fact, she was one of the few to earn Bakugou’s (grudging) respect, since their infamous Sports Festival encounter when they were first years.

However, since their encounter at the festival, Uraraka learned not to be the tiniest bit afraid of him anymore. He knew that this girl wouldn’t be the type to just shut up and do what he tells her to, and he really didn’t feel like making such an effort just to write a stupid play.

But now that he knew that fuckin’ All Might was counting on him to write the script, well… he couldn’t get out of it now, could he? Bakugou was many things, but a disappointment to All Might, he’d rather not be.

So that was how he found himself stomping his way away from the common areas to his room, with Uraraka bouncing right behind him. They were going to sit down there to look over her draft, but it was overrun by the costumes, set-design, and props people with all their shit.

“Why your room?” Uraraka said, huffing as she struggled to keep up with Bakugou’s pace. “I don’t think girls are allowed there…”

“Let ‘em try to kick you out, Round-Face,” he growled as he tapped on the elevator button impatiently.

“If you say so, Explodey-face,” she teased, earning her a growl which was received with a giggle. This was what Bakugou was talking about. This damn girl knew no fear.

They eventually made it to his room, with Bakugou stomping the entire way and Uraraka skipping like an oblivious little red riding hood romping through the forest with a picnic basket, the purest picture of ignorance and innocence, unwitting of the ravenous wolf who lurked in the foreboding shadows of the dark, nightmarish wood.

Ugh. Really, Bakugou? Already gearing yourself up to write this fuckin’ fantasy shit? You guys haven’t even sat down yet. Don’t be too fuckin’ eager. 

“Uwaa, your room’s amazing, Bakugou! I didn’t think it would be so neat and sparkly~”

Much to his annoyance, Little Pink Riding Cheeks was already making herself right at home next to his desk. He felt a vein or two pop over his forehead, like in animes if they were in an anime. “Why the fuck wouldn’t it be neat and sparkly?! You expect a guy like me to just live in a dump?!”

“I’m just sayin’, I wish my room was as neat. I knew you were great at lots of things, but even cleaning?” she said wistfully. “Hey, I have an idea! Next time, let’s go to my room, and--”

“I ain’t helping you clean your damn room, Round-Face.”

She pouted and innocently twiddled her thumbs. “I -wasn’t- going to say that, but, you know, now that you mentioned it…”

He grit his teeth so loudly Uraraka gasped and asked him if his teeth were okay. “Let’s just…!!! Get this fuckin’ script over and done with already!”

“Eh, fine, fine. Sorry for teasin’ ya! Watch yer blood pressure, a’ight?” She reached over to open her bag and pulled out a messy folder that was crumpled, filled to its limit with papers with tags pointing in all directions. A post-it with a messy scrawl on it flew out as she pulled out the mess. “So, this is what we’re gonna be workin’ on!”

“What the fuck is that mess? Did you fuckin’ sit on it and flush it down the toilet and set it on fire?”

“How rude!” Uraraka puffed her cheeks. “I only sat on it once! On accident! And I don’t bring homework to the toilet! That’s just unladylike.” She opened up the folder and revealed a disorganized array of handwritten scripts scrawled on legal pad, post-its, sketches, more post-its, reference photos of their classmates with post-its on them, receipts, a grocery list, and a few folded-up paper bags from Tokyu Hands.

Bakugou’s fingers itched. He spent so much energy restraining himself from fixing the mess that was now taking over his desk that he barely heard Uraraka’s spiel.

“So, in the meeting which you missed, we drew lots. Everyone’s working on the production and stuff but all of us will be acting in the play too. Some of us bit parts and stuff, but yeah. I asked everyone what they wanted their roles to be. Based on those ideas, I sketched out my ideas on what their characters would be.”

She pulled out the sketches, and Bakugou had to admit, they weren’t badly done. He would go so far as to say that she might have a talent in drawing. They were scratchy and messy, but Uraraka seemed to place great care in drawing out the likeness of each classmate, and the details of each character and costume and even background information were at least 70% fleshed out for each of them.

“So based on the lottery, Deku-kun’s the lead character. You, me, Tsuyu-chan, and Todoroki-kun are gettin’ large roles, plus we gotta pay attention to All-Might-sensei’s important cameo. We’re gonna write the story based on all of this! And, if we want to allot time for practice and stuff, we have to finish most of the script in a week!”

“The f-- I’m gettin’ a large role too?! Nobody said that!”

“It ain’t my fault you weren’t at the meeting, Bakugou-kun.”

The blonde boy scowled as he went through the sketches. The fucking nerd Deku’s role was that of a ‘Squire’ (but his costume made him look like a fucking hobbit). Uraraka had a hood (fuckin’ coincidence from his red riding hood fantasy earlier) and a staff, and she was a ‘Mage’. Frog was a froggy lookin’ barmaid. IcyHot was a Prince (probably of the Land of Half and Halfs where people were always shitty and constipated). All Might was a Legendary Knight in exile (also fitting, in a morbid sort of way).

And Bakugou was… a Bard. His sketch had him wear fuckin’ poofy pants and a stupid fuckin’ hat with a feather on it and a stupid shitty tiny harp that the chubby babies in those old fuckin’ European paintings had. He all but made the paper disappear from a blast from his fist. “Oi, Roundface. Who’s the fucker I gotta kill besides you for giving me this pansy-ass role?!”

“Hey, it’s your fault. You weren’t there yesterday.” Uraraka repeated, not even the least bit apologetic. “And that thing you destroyed was a brilliant joint effort between me, Kirishima-kun and Kaminari-kun. Nice goin’, Explodey-face.”

“Fuck y’all! I’ll kill those idiots!” He shredded the paper further. “Gimme that pencil!” Within seconds, he sketched out something different, muttering expletives the entire time. After he was done, he dumped the pencil on the desk, almost breaking it into tiny little pieces.

Uraraka gasped. “Wow, Bakugou! That’s really impressive! A Dragon Tamer, huh?” She traced his sketch with one finger, which showed him with a fur cape, tattoos, a necklace made of the fuckin’ skulls and teeth of his enemies, pants and boots, and lots of fire blazing in the background for extra badassery. She grinned at him teasingly. “So you have been thinkin’ about this so-called fantasy shit too!”

“Fuck you,” he said, shoving her in the face unceremoniously. “Now I know that I gotta change that fuckin’ script of yours. Let’s just get this fuckin’ shit over with.”

“Okay…” Uraraka pulled out the legal pads, but shielded them from Bakugou. “Um. Just so you know, Bakugou, these are really, really, rough drafts, okay?”

His jaw jutted out in annoyance. “The fuck you mean by rough drafts. I thought I was just gonna edit your shit.”

She gave him a ridiculous look. “Well, you are. But also, I started workin’ on this just a week ago sooooo you gotta help me finish like a teeny bit of it.”

“How fuckin’ teeny do you mean.”

“Um. Like. 50% of it, mmmaybe…?”

Bakugou could almost see the smoke coming out of his own fuckin’ nostrils.

“Anyway, that’s exactly why we can’t waste anymore time, right?” said Uraraka, a positive beam glowing out of both ears. “And don’t you worry! The story’s practically finished in my head!”

There’s probably nothing in there but a single light bulb struggling to survive, thought Bakugou in annoyance. He put his palm to his face and tried his hardest not to yell at her. “Fine, Uraraka. Let’s just fuckin’ start already. No matter what, I’m kickin’ you out of my room by 10 PM.”

“Okay! Glad ya see it my way, Bakugou-kun!” She smiled and pulled out the first page of the script, which read:

*

 - Deku and the Final Fantastic Lord of the School of Wizardry!: The Legend of the Airbender’s Song of Ice and Fire -

(A Work in Progress)

Act One, Scene One: In Which Deku-kun Leaves His House and Adventure Begins

Written by: Uraraka Ochako

 *

“The fuck? Are you trying to outdo Class B’s lameass play from the last year’s cultural festival, Round-face?”

 “It’s a work in progress! We can edit it out later.” Uraraka said as she scribbled Explodey McSplodeface next to her name on the by-line.

[rampancys-archive]

You should write auuuuuuuuuuuuuu blupburns (Blupjeans + Magnus,, or just blupjeans if the 3rd makes u uncomfy) farm AU

When Lup opened her door to find Magnus standing on herporch, covered in sweat and grime, she simply looked him up and down and raisedher eyebrows.

“Why is it, Magnus, that every time you show up at mydoorstep you look like you’ve been rolling around in the dirt?”

“Oh, you know how it is.”

Magnus twisted his hat in his hands. He glanced around the insideof her house and then looked over his shoulder, back up the road.

“You expectin’ more company?”

“Maybe.”

“Company of the rowdy kind?”

He grinned. “Only if they know I’m here.”

She mirrored his grin and stood aside.

“Come on in.”

They wandered into the kitchen and Barry, when he saw who itwas, put down his spoon and sighed.

“What did you do this time?”

Magnus opened the pot of stew on the counter and took a deepsniff.

“I may have punchedthe sheriff in the face and he mayhave put out a warrant for my arrest. Can I have some of this?”

Barry took off his glasses and messaged the bridge of hisnose. “Magnus…”

“Help yourself,” Lup said.

“What on earth possessed you to punch the sheriff?”

Magnus ladled some stew into a bowl and sat down at the table,next to Barry. He took a few eager bites before answering, his mouth stillfull, flicking his spoon at Barry for emphasis.

“He was being a dick.”

“He is kind ofalways being a dick.”

“Someone should’ve punched him years ago,” said Lup. “I’msurprised he didn’t blow your head off, though.”

“I bolted as soon as I realized what I’d done. I wantjustice, but I also like my head where it is.”

“So now he’s looking for you.”

“Yup. I hid out in the hills for a while, but I saw some ofhis men comin’ my way, and this was the only place I thought I could run to.”

Barry shook his head again, but he caught Lup’s eye andsmiled. He stood up, rubbed Magnus’s shoulder affectionally, and kissed hisdust-covered hair.

“We’re glad you did. I’m gonna do dishes, you wanna takefirst watch, Lup?”

“Yup. It’s been a few years since I got to shoot someone. Thanksfor bringing ‘em right to me, Magnus.”

She gave him a quick peck on the corner of the mouth andheaded toward the front door, a new bounce in her step.

“I’d appreciate it if we could get out of this withoutshooting anyone, actually,” Barry called after her as he filled the sink withsoapy water.

“Don’t lie, babe, I know you think I look hot when I shootpeople.”

The front door closed behind her.

“I mean, she does,” said Magnus.

“Oh yeah, she totally does.”

“And I bet you do too.”

Barry blushed. “I’m a damn awful shot, actually, despiteLup’s best efforts.”

“Maybe you just need some real targets. That’ll get youfocused if nothin’ else does.”

“As much as I am sort of admittedly turned on by idea ofwatching you and Lup play cowboys, I’d really rather not have the full force ofthe law on my ass.”

Magnus put his empty bowl on the counter beside him andrested his hands on Barry’s hips.

“Yeah, I bet you’d rather have something else on your—”

“I appreciate the effort, Magnus, but you smell like actual horseshit.”

“And is it kind of sexy?”

“No, it’s not.”

Magnus took a whiff of his shirt and grimaced. “I did hide ina barn today. Mind if I use your tub?”

“Please do.”

When he came back from his bath, wearing some of Barry’sclothes—they were a bit big but fit well enough with a belt—he found the two ofthem looking out the window, whispering urgently about something.

“What is it?”

“We’re trying to decide if we’ve spotted your boys or not,”Lup said. “The sun’s going down and it’s hard to see.”

She handed Magnus her spyglass so he could look for himself. Hethought he could make out several figures, but she was right—in the shadowsbetween the hills it was hard to tell. He gave it back to her with a shrug.

“We’ll just have to keep watching.”

His hosts both went outside. Lup kept watch out front again,and Barry went out back, in case they decided to circle around. Magnus took hisplace at the kitchen table and impatiently drummed his fingers on the scuffedwood as daylight faded.

It wasn’t long before Lup came back in with Barry in tow.

“There’s five men heading down the road toward us. Go andhide in the bedroom until Barry and I give you the all clear.”

Magnus stood up. His hands clenched and unclenched at hissides.

“It isn’t cowardly to hide when you’re outnumbered, y’know,”Barry said.

“I guess you’re right.”

He did as he was told but left the door open a crack, justwide enough to see what was going on.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Lup got up. Barry remained sitting in half-darkness, a gunhidden under the blanket on his lap, ready to come to her aid if needed. She openedthe door but kept it on its chain, making no effort to hide her wariness.Bandits roamed these parts. People were expected to be suspicious.

“Who is it?”

“The law.”

“What does the law want at this time of night?”

The man on the other side of the door was silent for aminute. Magnus strained to see who it was through that sliver of darkness.

“Is your husband home?”

Lup’s hand tightened on the doorknob. Barry frowned and madea move to get up, but she shook her head slightly, stopping him. Withoutbreaking eye contact with the man, she took the door off its chain, threw itopen, and pointed at Barry, all in one flourish.

“Yeah, he’s right here and he’s listenin’, if you needed toknow. Now, as I was saying, what do you want?”

The man, who Magnus now recognized as the deputy, loomed inthe doorway, a lamp in hand. He shot Barry a questioning look, but Barry onlycrossed his arms, his frown deepening. Lup leaned against the doorframe andlooked the assembled lawmen over. Her gun holster hung from the coatrack behindthe door, out of sight but within reach. The deputy’s gaze returned to Lup andhe appeared to give in.

“Have you seen a stranger passing through these parts today?He’s about my height, but big and burly, with brown hair and a scar over oneeye.”

“Hmm. Nope, don’t think I’ve seen anyone like that aroundhere,” she said. “We’re kind of out of the way. Don’t get too many peoplepassin’ by.”

The deputy looked at Barry for confirmation. He shrugged.

“She’s right. I haven’t seen him.”

“Did he do something bad?” Lup said.

The man nodded solemnly. “He did. He assaulted the sheriff.”

“Oh lordie Jesus,”Lup gasped.

Magnus bit his lip. Barry covered his mouth and burst into acoughing fit.

“Excuse him,” she said, without a single shift in expression.“He’s got a touch of bronchitis. We’re both very sorry about what happed to thesheriff and we’ll be sure to let you know if we see anyone suspicious. Isn’tthat right, sweetheart?”

“Of course,” Barry said, and cleared his throat. “If itweren’t for this damn bronchitis I’d help you catch the bastard myself.”

“I appreciate that,” the deputy said. He nodded at Lup andBarry in turn, then ushered his men off the porch and back into the night.

Magnus left his hiding place and joined them in the frontsitting room.

“Thank god that’s over.” Lup said, grinning up at him. “SeeMags? Told ya we could handle it.”

“You’re right. Sorry y’all had to do that.”

“It’s no problem, right Barry?”

“’Course. I just wish that asshole hadn’t talked down to youlike that.”

“Whatever. I’ll egg his house the next time we’re in town.”

Magnus went to the window and lifted the curtain just enoughto peer into the dark. The deputy’s lantern bobbed up and down for a while,going over the hills. Soon, it vanished.

“Looks like they’re gone.”

“Some of them could’ve split off from the group and doubledback, though,” Barry said. He had gotten up and was looking out a differentwindow, facing the left side of their house.

“Well I’m not goingto let them intimidate me into staying inside,” Lup said. “We’ve still got workto do.”

“It’d probably be more suspicious if we stayed hunkered downlike we’ve got somethin’ to hide, anyway.”

“I doubt those bozos are thinking about it that hard, butyeah, good thinking babe. I believe it’s your turn to muck the chicken coops,yeah?”

He grinned. “I figured you wouldn’t forget that. You gonnafeed the horses?”

“Yup. Wanna come with me, Magnus?”

“Are you sure it’s okay for him to go outside?”

“He’ll be fine. It’s too dark for them to see shit unless theyget up close.”

Lup strapped on her holster before they left the house, andas they crossed the yard, boots crunching the dry grass too loudly for Magnus’s comfort, she kept a hand on her gun.

“You really are lookin’ for an excuse to shoot them, aren’tyou?”

“You’re damn right I am.” Her teeth flashed at him in thedarkness. “No one sends their goons after myfuckbuddy and gets away with it.”

“I prefer the term lover.”

“Ok, lover, are youready to help me lift some feed bags?”

She opened the barn doors. A horse snuffled and stamped itsfeet inside.

“I’d lift the world for you, m’darlin’.”

“I can’t see. Are you tipping your hat at me?”

“I am.”

“Eugh.”

She lit a lamp and stalls emerged from the darkness, eachwith a pair of soft brown eyes peering out of it.

Magnus put a hand on the nearest muzzle and it blew damp,warm air into his palm.

“This one got a name?”

“Garyl. He used to be my brother’s, but he hurt his leg and hehad to retire him. Caravan life can be hard on a horse after a while.”

She handed Magnus an apple from a bag hanging on the door.

“See if he’ll eat from your hand.”

Garyl looked Magnus over, his big eyes unreadable. He wasn’tnervous; it was as if he was trying to decide if Magnus was worth his time. WhateverGaryl was looking for, he must have found it, because after a minute of coolinspection he tossed his hair and chowed down.

“He likes me!”

Lup chuckled at the triumphant look on his face. She handedhim a bag of feed and began taking care of the animals on one side of theaisle, motioning him to look after the ones on the other side.

“Let’s see if you can charm the rest, Mr. AnimalProficiency.”

*

Magnus woke up the next morning with Barry’s arm slung overhis chest and Lup’s leg crossed over his waist. For a while he just laid there,listening to the land come alive, watching dust float through a sunbeam shiningon the ceiling. Barry mumbled something in his sleep and nuzzled against his collarbone.Lup was facedown on her pillow, snoring magnificently. Magnus smiled to himselfand sat up, carefully untangling himself from their limbs.

He went to the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on, enough forthree, and while it was brewing he attacked his beard with Barry’s razor. It wasa while since he had last shaved and it was starting to get gnarly, but lastnight Barry had said he liked it, so…Magnus trimmed the beard up, but keptit. He used a pair of clippers to cut off the dead ends of hair on his head,too.

He stood back from the mirror and nodded.

“You look dead sexy, Magnus.”

“Hell yeah you do,”said Lup behind him.

Magnus jumped and whirled around to see her standing there inBarry’s oversized shirt and nothing else, cackling.

“Get outta the way, dork. I’ve got some nasty morning breath Ineed to take care of.”

He found Barry in the kitchen, sipping coffee and whippingsomething together in a bowl.

“What’s cookin’, handsome?”

“Pancakes. Want blueberries in yours?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

When the pancakes were done Lup joined them at the table. Sheslung her arm over the back of her chair and ate her breakfast with slow, lazybites, watching her boys eat with satisfaction.

“So, Magnus,” she said, pouring out some syrup on top of asecond helping. “Are you gonna stick around for a while?”

“I dunno. I don’t want y’all to get in trouble for hiding me.Someone’s bound to find out eventually.”

Lup and Barry exchanged a look.

“To be honest, Magnus, we’re not asking for you,” Barry said.“We’re asking for us. We really like having you around.”

Magnus doodled a pattern in the syrup on his plate, thinkingit over.

“Okay, but only for a little while, until this blows over andI can make it to a town where I’m not in trouble.”

“I figured that you’re in trouble everywhere around here,”Lup said.

“I mean, the town where I’m in the least amount of trouble. Or,a town where they’ve forgotten that they’re supposed to be mad at me.”

Barry snorted. “One of these days you’re gonna run out oftowns with short memories.”

Magnus leaned on the table, chin in hands, grinning at thetwo of them.

“It’s a good thing that I’ve got you guys then, huh?”