#and then him winning (she's lost her stability while he's finally found his)

[ofswordsandpens]

I fear that "fire bending didn't come easy to zuko" and "zuko isn't a prodigy" (both true) has somehow snowballed into "zuko is a bad or at best average fire bender".... which simply isn't true, especially by the end of book 3

[chanterelledreams]

What's been happening lately- CW- death of a loved one, abuse (not in details), childhood neglect

Feel free to ignore! Long, long post. Sorry for any typos.

My father passed away unexpectedly on September 27 this year. He had been sick starting saturday night with what he thought was a stomach virus.

I went to see him at 9:30pm on monday night, and he was ok- just said he had terrible stomach cramps.

My mom texted me early the next day to call her. She had called the ambulance around 5:30am on Tuesday morning, as my dad was trying to stand up and couldn't, and wasn't completely lucid. At that point, we didn't know what was wrong other than his heart was beating very fast.

I went to see him at 2:30pm in the hospital- he was talking and making sense, but still had bad cramps and kept gasping for breath. We spoke briefly and I gave him a kiss, saying goodbye and that we'd be back later. Visits are limited to 15 mins due to covid, and he was going in for more tests. The nurse told me his heart was beating fast, and they found out he had a bad infection, and would most likely spend the night at the hospital.

His doctor called me as we drove away from the hospital, he re-iterated the heart and infection thing and that while he was stable right now, just to be aware this situation could change at any moment.

I went to my mom's house and helped her cancel a trip they were taking down south (their plane was scheduled to leave early the next morning).

When I finally convinced my mom to come to the hospital to see him, we were taken to a room with the doctor. He explained that my dad was septic, and they found a blockage or a twisted area in his intestines. He explained that his heart was beating too fast (around 198) and they had to shock it to slow it down. It took 6 tries. He also explained that they had induced a medical coma, and he was being transferred to another hospital in intensive care.

My mom flat out refused to go to the other hospital, despite the doctor's insistance, so she had me go.

I arrived there before my dad. Saw his being rushed in on the hospital bed. Saw a nurse running out of the room then back in. The nurse, inhalotherapist and doctor that had supervised the transfer came to see me and told me he was not doing good at all. I was trying hard to hold it together at that point.

The doctor came to see me an hour later. My dad had crashed- his heart rate high and blood pressure low. They stabilized him after an hour- but it was the last time. The meds were all maxxed out, and to call the family.

I lost it then.

My spouse called my sister and my mom, having them come over to say goodbye.

My mom stayed for maybe 10 mins, until my sister arrived, then left.... and doing so, forced me to be the one to take the final decision, to turn off the machines that were keeping him alive.

His organs had been without blood for an hour- and that's without counting the previous crash that happened. His kidneys were failing when he first got to the hospital. There was nothing they could do.

He had septic shock, caused by mesenteric ischemia- a blood clot blocked a major vessel in his large intestine- which was dying by that point.

It was a shock. A slap in the face. He was 67 years old.

I never had a great relationship with my parents. They were both neglectful and abusive- moreso my mom. Verbal abuse was a daily thing, and she poured beer on my head more than once when i was a child. She also broke a plate on my head when i was a teen. My dad never hit me, my sister or my mom, but raised his fists at me once. He was verbally abusive in a certain way- angry, raised voice and curses directed at me was not uncommon.

There was no love between them. I saw my mom punch, slap, hit my dad on more than one occasion. She knew he wouldn't hit back. She called him terrible things, threatened him into doing whatever she wanted. He changed from the person I knew as my dad as a kid to an empty, unhappy husk.

They were millionaires- winning the lottery a while ago. My mom was thrilled- the only thing she loved in life was money. They spent most of it by now, and i've never seen a cent of it.

All this lead to the realization that a part of me was holding on to a sliver of hope that my dad would one day be back. If only the version my child mind had made up. When he passed, that chain snapped. I will never have the dad I thought I had. I will never have the parents I needed.

My mom has already started her manipulation, passive-aggressive tactics with me. She wants things done -now- and if you dare not do them, she WILL take it out on you.

This is the first time in my life that I've stood up for myself. I've always done whatever was needed to make her (and other abusive people in my life) happy. I was raised to make sure that people around me had what they wanted. Never question. Never say no.

This made me vulnerable to certain types of people, and destroyed any self esteem i had.

While I've made progress in the last decade or so recognizing these types of people, and how to protect myself, my dad's passing rocketed me forward. I feel more grounded than I've ever felt. I feel like i'm finally allowed (or allowing myself?) To be a person. To live. To have boundaries.

I've come a long long way, and there's still a while to go, but i'm getting there.

[rayshippouuchiha]

Okay, So I have ideas about the AU where Kisuke and Aizen team up as villains and also court Ichigo, and I've been holding them back out of embarrassment but I'm just gonna say it.

1. Aizen and Kisuke knew each other in Rukongai and were really close, but they lost track of each other for a while. They found each other after Kisuke gained captaincy. Yoruichi's response was basically that she now had two little brothers to commit war crimes for.

2. They didn't actually mean to create the Visored. With both of them working together they didn't need as many test subjects, and going after such high profile targets wouldn't have been worth it. But then Hinamori got suspicious and tried to break into their lab and then the others followed her. They were in the middle of a very volatile experiment. Aizen and Kisuke did bother to stabilize their souls.

3. When Ichigo was born, Masaki and Isshin went to Ryuuken for help. Masaki hoped that it could be the first step in mending their relationship, and Ryuuken might have even hoped that too, but then... Ichigo came out of the womb screaming and ready to fight the whole world and holding his own soul together with grit and determination, and a baby shouldn't be able to do that, a baby shouldn't have a Vasto Lorde and a high ranking Quincy in his soul either but Ichigo did and where in another world Kisuke would have been thrilled Ryuuken feared.

There is reason Ichigo never knew his cousin.

4. When Ichigo was barely ten years old and already the only thing keeping the household together with his mother dead and father gone he met a strange man. He looked young, skinny as a rake with blond hair down to his chin, but his eyes were so old. So old.

For his part, Shinji didn't appreciate being called old by a tiny little pipsqueak, but he also didn't appreciate seeing a baby Visored (how the fuck did that happen?) live practically on his own because his father was useless. He enjoyed kicking Isshin's ass. Then he panicked and called the others because somehow he was now in charge of three children, and he did not know what to do.

(this means that Ichigo gets more training at a younger age, and also the Visored get their crap together earlier because there is nothing like a little kid telling you it's easy to get you but in gear.)

5. When the war finally happens, about five years later than it would in canon because Aizen and Kisuke together can afford to be patient, it's great fun for those two and their allies and awful for everyone else. They're winning, and winning quickly; with the two of them there's nothing they can't plan for, nothing they can't foresee, but then a battle comes too close to a small mortal town called Karakura, and they only have time to notice a glint of orange hair and tidal wave of reiatsu before the entire battle field and every combatant in it is thrown nearly three miles away from the town.

(Ichigo planned to get in, make them move, and get out. He did not want to get involved in the Seretei's bullshit. But then the two leaders? leaders of one side noticed him and decided for some reason they didn't want him to leave why were they so pretty and then they were monologueing about some science thing that was apparently the reason why they were kicking everyone else's asses so badly and he listened because it's generally a good idea to know what someone's going to use to try to kill you and of course he asked questions, the stuff they were talking about was fascinating and they were clearly geniuses and in retrospect he probably should have just stayed home.)

I have no idea why you were embarrased about these ideas because yes yes yes to all of this. This is it. This is the vibe, this is the AU.

All of this is perfect.

[ezrasarm]

Roommates Part 3: KO

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader

Word count: 2k

Warnings: drunk reader, Santiago is a bad influence, drink responsibly kids! That’s all I think?

A/N: I know it’s been a long wait but the next part is finally here! Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy it!

<– previous chapter | Roommates | next chapter –>

Frankie had been gone for a while. He had excused himself to go to the bathroom almost twenty minutes ago and Benny was bound to go on soon. You didn’t want him to miss the fight and get in trouble is what you’d excused the nag in your gut urging you to seek him out as when you were about to go looking for him. You knew he would get an earful if he missed even a second because you were the one in the hot seat last time when you missed a whole fight after being called into work last minute. 

Pope seemed to find you first, shoving a drink in your hand as you peered over his shoulder, expecting Frankie to be close in tow. “You don’t have to sound quite so disappointed you got me instead.” Santiago teased you when you not so subtly asked where he was.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” You assured him with a roll of your eyes, giving him a nudge to the shoulder and a thank you for the drink. But if you were being honest, you’d been with Pope all day and had hardly seen Frankie all week. You were beginning to wonder if something was wrong. “He’s right over there. Ran into an old high school classmate and they’re catching up by the bar.” Santiago said with a directed nod of his head and you followed his line of sight over to where you could see the familiar silhouette, corduroy jacket and baseball cap and all, stooped a little with his arms folded over his chest and talking to some woman you’d never seen before. 

You weren’t sure what the feeling that twisted in your stomach was or why it decided to rear its head right now but you found yourself feeling slightly defensive when you turned back to Santiago with eyebrows raised. For some reason, you hadn’t been expecting a she and you couldn’t tell why that threw you off so much. Frankie could talk to whoever he pleased, it was none of your business but you still found yourself downing just about half your drink in one go to try and drown whatever feeling it was that had begun growing in your belly.

“That was fast.” Santiago remarked, giving you a skeptical look as he glanced between you and the almost empty cup in your hand, “You alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, fine! It’s just been a while since I let loose. Thought I might let myself have some fun tonight.” You shrugged.

He glanced back up in Frankie’s direction and eyed you for a second, taking a moment to consider it, “Can’t argue with that,” he nodded before downing his own drink as though it were a challenge. 

You had lost track of how many beers you and Santiago had snuck behind Will’s back who was too busy to play baby sitter tonight as he usually did. Drinking with him had certainly done its job to distract you. You had almost forgotten all about the fact that your best friend had decided to spend the evening talking to some stranger instead of you. God what had gotten into you? You were not the jealous type and you didn’t like how it felt-

Thud.

You didn’t have time to consider that thought any further before you had run straight into the man of the hour himself on your way back from the bar.

“Shit, sorry- Oh hey!” You exclaimed, having miraculously avoiding throwing your drinks all over both of you with those dumb plastic cups they gave you here.

“Woah, you alright there?” Frankie asks, throwing an arm out to stabilize you. “I swear, I left you alone for ten min- okay an hour and a half and- how many of those have you had?” He asks, noticing the slight wobble to your balance and slur to your speech as you introduced yourself and shook the hand of the woman he had been talking to.

“Uhhh good question,” you ponder for a moment before shrugging “Santi and I found out that if you’re a girl alone at an MMA fight you can get a lot of free drinks so we’ve made it our mission to find out exactly how many.” You explain, shooting a wink and a slight salute over to Pope who was still standing, waiting by your seats.

“And have you gotten an answer yet?” Frankie asks, slightly amused but also positive that he would be making sure this was your last drink of the night when you stumbled slightly over nothing and he had to wrap an arm around you for support.

“It appears there is no limit.” You say proudly, missing the fond look in his eye when he shakes his head with a soft and slightly disbelieving smile.

“Cheryl, this is my uh, roommate.” Frankie says gesturing towards you.

“What, are you embarrassed of me or something’? I’d say we’re a little bit more than that.” You interject. You had meant friends but from the look on her face she appeared to have taken it another way and for some reason or another you felt no need to correct her.

“Oh well uh, it’s nice to meet you.” She says politely although clearly thrown slightly by your quite obvious inebriation. 

“Nice to meet you too, Carol!” You declare happily and you mean it, it’s interesting to see the kinds of people Frankie went to high school with but you really weren’t in much state to be particularly conversational at the moment.

“From Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, standing six foot three, weighing in at a hundred and ninety five pounds, I bring you… Ben Miller!” The announcer blares over the booming speakers, pulling you from your conversation. You and Frankie are quick to give Benny your support, you perhaps a little more enthusiastically in your less inhibited state as he and Will walked into the arena and the crowd roared to life.

“Well we should get back. I’ll never hear the end of it if I miss any of this and I’ve gotta make sure these two don’t get into any more trouble,” Frankie explains, “But it was nice catching up with you.” He says and Carol- Cheryl? One of those- nods.

“Yeah, I hope to see you around again sometime.” She says. She’s hardly turned to walk away before you’re wiggling your eyebrows suggestively at Frankie on your way over to Pope and Will.

“You realize she was hitting on you, right?” You asked when Frankie turned back to you, a teasing smile on your lips despite the rising feeling of inadequacy you felt from having stood within a two-meter radius of the gorgeous woman. 

“What? No! She was just-” Frankie cuts himself off after considering it for a moment. “...huh.” He says, eyebrows rising in slight surprise when he looks over his shoulder at the woman who he had already lost in the throngs of people. “I’m sure she was just being polite.”

“You’re too hard on yourself! She was checking you out!” You exclaim defensively, more for his own self esteem than anything else.

“...Me?” He gives you a skeptical look. 

“Yeah, why not you? You’ve got this sort of je ne ce quoi about you. The ladies dig it.” You say with a goofy grin and Frankie can’t help but burst out laughing. 

“That so? What about you?” He asks. For a millisecond your heart stops in your chest. Could he read your mind? Did he know about the thoughts that had just slipped to the forefront? The jealousy? The little bit of longing? It was the alcohol talking you were sure. You would never want to jeopardize your friendship by allowing yourself to picture him as anything more than that but for a flash of a second it hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea.

“Oh, I dig it too.” You say, nudging him in the gut teasingly. What you didn’t see was the way Frankie’s breath had hitched at the slightest inkling of you expressing interest in him, even if he knew you were just joking around. “I bet if you asked you could get her number.” You say and he’s snapped quite violently out of his trance. 

He didn’t want her number. He wanted you.

“Nah, she’s not really my type.” Is the response he settles for, his attention resettling on the fight in an attempt to drown out the feeling of disappointment he wasn’t sure he knew how to hide. He knew it wasn’t fair on you but the slightest hint of jealousy might have been nice to hear and instead you were giving him a rousing endorsement to go after someone he didn’t even like all that much.

“Are you kidding? Pardon the pun, but she was a knockout!” You exclaim just in time to watch Benny take a rather jarring blow to the jaw.

“Meh,” Frankie shrugs and you can’t help the yelp of surprise that escapes you.

“If she’s ‘meh’ then what am I?” You exclaim and Frankie’s jaw just about hits the ground at the fact that you could even think to ask him such a question. You were just about perfect to him in every way imaginable.

He doesn’t get the chance to tell you when the crowd roars to life as Benny finds himself making a comeback and you’re practically jumping out of your seat to bolster your support for your friend.

“You should go get her number.” You suggest when you sit back down, a little confused as to why. Perhaps you were overcompensating for your wave of jealousy earlier but there was still something in you screaming for you to stop acting like you were so okay with it. Because if the way you had reacted earlier and your current state of inebriation was any inclination, you clearly weren’t, but your mind was in no place to put those pieces together at the moment.

“Why is everyone trying to set me up all of a sudden?” Frankie scoffs playfully trying to shrug off your suggestion. “First Pope, now you,” He stops himself hoping you haven’t realized he’s probably said too much.

“Who was Santiago trying to set you up with?” You ask. Just the question he didn’t want to answer, especially not right now, not like this. He’s quite literally saved by the bell announcing the end of the match and when you look up Benny’s opponent is unconscious in front of him. A KO and you’d both missed it. You wouldn’t be getting out of that one too easily. You’re whisked away in post win festivities before you can even think to get an answer from Frankie.

He thinks you’ve forgotten about the conversation completely until he’s gotten you and Pope both wrangled into the car on your way back to the apartment and you pipe up from where he thought you had passed out the moment he had you strapped in. 

“So what’s Francisco Morales’ type?” you ask groggily, clearly not ready to give him a break yet and he laughs as he peers into the rearview to make sure Pope is still asleep before he even considers giving you an answer. 

“What makes you think I have a type?” He counters fruitlessly in hopes that he can at least attempt finding a suitable answer.

“Well you said Carol-”

“Cheryl-”

“-wasn’t your type so I’m assuming that means you have a type.” You prod him, your eyes still shut as you leaned back in the passenger seat.

“Well… I’d say my type would be someone who is smart, funny, supportive, all those wonderful things,” He explains, feeling a little more at ease when he looks over to see your breaths have shallowed slightly and your head has lulled against the window. “Has a good sense of humour, makes me smile, is fiercely loyal to her friends,” he goes on, “can be a complete dork if she wants to be, has no idea how beautiful she is,” he adds “and has me completely and utterly wrapped around her finger.” He mutters to himself when he looks back up at the road with a sigh.

<– previous chapter | Roommates | next chapter –>

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[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Sorry for Not Winning You an Arcade Ring | Joaquín Torres

✦ pairing — Joaquín Torres x female!Barnes!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 8.7k (should I even apologize at this point?)

✦ summary — your ex-boyfriend comes back into your life the moment you finally meet your dad — although things are complicated, your feelings are intact.

✦ request — Could I please ask for a story where reader is Bucky’s daughter and she used to date Joaquin but they broke up and then when she meets Bucky they get back together? Angst and drama and fluff and something steamy but no smut please?

✦ warnings — angst, drama, mentions of food and beverages, mentions of violence, language, depiction of symptoms of mental illnesses and light depiction of abandonment issues, daddy issues, fluff.

✦ author's note — coney island (the song) doesn’t have much to do with the fic, but I couldn’t take that line out of my head and thought it was fitting. Next Joaquín fic will be the one where reader used to date Peter, I promise.

════════════════════════

Joaquín swallowed with difficulty. His saliva had become unbearably thick in seconds. As he stood in front of the building, the building that now looked taller than it really was, he felt an itch in his neck.

Sam gripped Bucky’s nape, encouraging him to lead the way inside the building. Bucky was as frozen as Joaquín.

The older man was speechless. Joaquín, however, was not. “Are you sure this is the right building?” he rasped the question directed to Sam.

“One hundred percent.”

Joaquín nodded. The world was small, and he didn’t want to find out just truly how smaller it could get. “I’ll wait here.”

Bucky shook his head. Joaquín’s stomach dropped. He wanted to be there for Bucky, Sam had told him how important this was for him — when he agreed, Joaquín didn’t know he would come back to this place by supporting Bucky.

Connecting dots had never been hard, much less now that it was part of his job, yet he wanted to be mistaken.

“Let’s get this over with, boys.” Sam patted Joaquín’s shoulder. His other hand was still on Bucky’s nape, and by the looks of his grip, he wouldn’t let go.

Joaquín knew exactly what Sam was doing and he wished he had somebody to stabilize him too. “I’ll lead the way,” he mumbled.

“I have to talk to the—“

“There’s no need,” Joaquín interrupted.

Pushing the main door open, he nodded down at the security guard. Still the same old guy. The man smiled, nodding upward as though asking if Sam and Bucky were with him.

“They’re cool,” he assured the guard.

“It’s good to see you,” the guard told him, still smiling.

“You too.”

Joaquín slanted his head, motioning for Bucky and Sam to follow him. He walked past the elevator, explaining, “The elevator is always broken.”

Sam frowned. “We’ll take the stairs, then.”

Their steps, silent yet heavy, carried nerves and apprehension. Joaquín didn’t know how to explain himself or he should even try to do it, Bucky was scared of being rejected, and Sam knew Bucky wouldn’t recover quickly from this.

Joaquín leaned over to look at the paper in Sam’s hand. The number scribbled on it confirmed his suspicions.

“I—“ God, he couldn’t back down now. “Who will do the talking?”

“I will,” Bucky said in a quiet voice. “I just need you two there.”

“Yeah, man, no problem.” Joaquín was thankful his voice didn’t crack.

Bucky lifted his fist, yet his knuckles didn’t touch the door. Not yet. Joaquín felt cruel for wishing Bucky would take longer.

The knocking wasn’t desperate as Joaquín had anticipated. Perhaps Bucky wanted to make a good impression, or perhaps he was wishing nobody would answer the door.

The door opened and Joaquín found himself frozen. Stuck between running away and pulling you into the tightest hug you had ever received.

The euphoria of seeing you again was overwhelming and bittersweet. You looked good. You had always looked good in his eyes.

You were speechless. He wasn’t sure if it was because of him or because of Bucky.

Sam said a soft hi to fill the air, only making it worse for Bucky and unbeknownst to him, for Joaquín.

You stared at him, trying your hardest to smile although the muscles in your face didn’t give in. Eyes moving to Bucky, you found yourself rudely staring.

He did the same. Nobody said anything for a while. Three pairs of eyes were on you, and your brain couldn’t seem to function.

You had looked for him for years, in different countries, finding rejection in every corner of every big and small city alike.

Your gaze deviated to the other side where Joaquín was standing. You picked on Sam’s shift, sandwiched between the other two men.

Joaquín tried to hold your gaze, but you looked away.

“Uh...” you trailed off, eyes jumping from Bucky to Sam. They stopped for a moment before deviating again towards Joaquín. “Come in.”

There weren’t any pictures left in the living room, instead you had filled the spaces with ceramics and trinkets.

You had the same colorful couch Joaquín once spilled coffee on, and the same cozy chairs you had bought online by mistake.

”I should have introduced myself...” Sam trailed off.

“I know who you are,” you assured him. “Nat talked a lot about you.”

“You met Nat?”

“She came looking for me no longer after people disappeared. Maybe two months.”

You motioned for them to sit. Bucky and Sam did so on the same couch whereas Joaquín walked towards a chair. Your cat jumped onto the chair before he could take a seat.

The cat looked up at him and meowed.

“Fatatita,” you chastised the cat. “Let him sit down.”

Before you could approach the couch to pick the cat up, Joaquín lifted her in his arms. He sat down and placed her on his lap.

The cat curled up there, spiting you.

You sat on the other chair, closer to Bucky and Sam.

“Do you know who I am?” Bucky asked. So timidly you barely heard him.

You nodded.

“What else do you know?”

“Not much. You— you’re my dad and nobody knows who my mom is.”

Bucky looked down. “I’m assuming Natasha told you.”

“No.” You made a face, remembering that day like it was yesterday. “Somebody sent me an uncensored file. They probably wanted me to track The Winter Soldier down and make their job easier.”

“But you didn’t.”

You couldn’t tell if he was offended or relieved. “I actually did. I poured a lot of money into it and it never paid off. I lost track of you after Siberia.”

Joaquín squirmed around on the chair at the mention of Siberia.

Siberia practically ruined your life. Picking yourself up had not only been hard but something you hadn’t even been sure you wanted to do. Things had lost meaning. The only reason you were still here was your stubbornness.

Sam curiously asked, “Were you trained or something?”

“Not thoroughly. I’ve always been fat so I was useless in their eyes.”

Bucky sighed. “Sounds like them.”

You didn’t expect anything else from a terrorist organization.

“Oh! I didn’t offer you anything to drink...”

“I’m good,” Sam and Bucky answered at the same time.

You hesitated before turning to the other side. Joaquín barely shook his head. His fingers were buried in Fatatita’s fur as the cat laid on his lap with her eyes lidded closed.

“So... to what do I owe the visit?”

Bucky cleared his throat. “Well, I wanted to meet you.”

Your breath got caught in your throat. You had assumed he needed something from you. Knowing he wanted to meet you made your decade-long sacrifice and the heartbreak almost worth it.

“I was saving up for a trip to Brooklyn. I heard you were around there.”

“Yeah. It’s home again.” The glance he gave Sam didn’t go unnoticed by you.

You wondered if you’d be in the same situation they were if things had been different.

Home was a foreign concept to you. The word didn’t even feel real no matter how many times you said it in your head.

════════════════════════

Outdoor cafes weren’t really your style. However, you could admit the place Bucky and Sam had taken you was nice.

You took his offer to visit him and Sam for a week. Working from home was a pain in the ass sometimes in terms of organization, but it had given you the ability to look for him from the beginning.

The square table shook as Bucky placed his metal hand on it. “Would you stop texting?” He chastised Sam who was sat in front of you.

“It’s something urgent. I wouldn’t be interrupting family bonding time if it wasn’t, you know that.”

Sam’s comment was the end of it. Bucky reclined back onto the chair and gave you a small smile.

Oh, so Sam truly meant the family part. Family — a magical word that evoked foreign sensations in the pit of your stomach.

Sam’s cellphone started ringing. “I’ll be back in a couple minutes,” he announced as he declined the call.

Both Bucky and you followed Sam with your gazes. Your stomach flipped as Sam greeted Joaquín.

Sam smiled. “You got it so quickly?”

Joaquín nodded as he tried his best to not look your way. Sam took the envelope from Joaquín’s grasp.

He could hear your laugh as though you were giggling in his ear like you used to and the temptation was too much for him to handle. He was only human.

Bucky was laughing too, seemingly at something you had said. Joaquín didn’t blame him, it was easy to like you, to laugh with you, to regret every second not spent with you.

“Okay,” Sam sighed. “I didn’t want to ask, but I can’t bite my tongue any longer... what’s up with that face and those eyes you’re giving (Name)? You did the same—“ He groaned. “Don’t tell me...”

“I won’t tell you,” Joaquín tried to joke.

“Shit, man. What happened?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure.”

“Mmmh. Why don’t you join us?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea...”

“Please? I need you for this.” Sam waved the envelope. “But I promised I’d have coffee with them. She just got here.”

Joaquín hesitated to answer. On one hand, he knew Sam would need his help; on the other, he didn’t want to ruin whatever you had going with your dad.

“Come on,” Sam insisted. “Bucky is paying.”

Your eyes were on them as they approached the table. Sam once again took the seat in front of you, leaving Joaquín to seat practically next to you.

You wanted to flip the table and scream yet you remained in your seat, neutral and borderline frozen.

Sam leaned over to say something to Bucky. They were close enough for you to hear, but your ear didn’t pick it up.

You stood up from the table, surprising yourself more than you surprised the three men accompanying you. “I’ll place our order,” you announced.

The place was pretty in its simplicity, only decorated with coffee and pastry themed artwork. Functionality had been a priority and by how busy the place was, you could only presume they had succeeded.

There was a couple all over each other next to the window and a group of friends doing homework three tables from them. Laptops could be seen everywhere, just like people checking their phones.

You had to wait in line to place the order and the line was already building behind you too. The couple all over each other didn’t even seem to realize somebody was staring at them and if they did, they couldn’t care less.

You took a glance outside where Bucky was chatting with Joaquín while Sam made a phone call.

Sam slipped his phone into his pocket. “I didn’t give her my order... do any of you want to add anything?”

“I gave it to her,” Bucky assured him. “We thought you would take longer.”

Joaquín feigned interest in his phone. He had already read all of his messages, but he wanted to avoid the comment building in Sam’s mind. He could only hope his friend will keep it to himself.

He felt your presence as you sat back down. “There are two orders above ours. They will bring it to us.”

“Did you ask for extra milk?” Bucky asked.

“Yes.”

“Thank you. My acid reflux has been giving me trouble.”

“Because you eat too quickly,” Sam chimed in.”

You lifted both eyebrows. “You could have ordered tea.”

“Absolutely not.”

You snickered. Joaquín snorted. Instinctively, the two of you turned to the side to look at each other.

Something flashed in his eyes, the same you fell for that hazy summer. They were still warm, albeit tired now. As they became glossy while he held your gaze, you wondered if yours looked the same. You wondered if he had something to say and hoped he wouldn’t find the courage. You knew you wouldn’t be able to take it.

The order arrived, shattering the moment.

“Thank you,” Joaquín said, staring at you.

“No problem,” you rasped. Fuck.

“We’re hoping to convince her to move closer to us,” Bucky said, not subtle at all, as he took a sip of his beverage.

Joaquín followed the circumference of the mug with his finger in clockwork motion. “Good luck.”

“Thank you. I want to make up for lost time and the distance makes it difficult.”

“Videocalls are quite effective,” you reminded him.

Joaquín winced. His finger slipped into the beverage.

Bucky tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

“It’s hot.”

“Well, it’s coffee,” Sam stated the obvious.

You couldn’t take Joaquín’s reaction off your mind. Not even on the way to Sam’s and Bucky’s place.

Sam said he’d be home by dinner time. He also warned you to not let Bucky cook. You couldn’t even bring yourself to laugh.

The guest room was practically the same as the one in your apartment. Same size, and a close enough layout.

Bucky had a proper look at your luggage. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring more clothes.”

You frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Your apartment is so well-decorated that I assumed things.”

If only he knew how hard it had been to replace the remains of Joaquín... “I did it at random, just trying to fill empty spaces.” You lightly changed the subject, “I like your couch, by the way.”

“Sam hated it at first, but he has grown fond of it.”

You faked a chuckle, prompting your cat to lift her head. Sprawled on the bed, she stared at you.

“Comfy, Fatatita?” You reached over to scratch her head.

“How did you come up with her name?”

“Count Von Count’s cat is named Fatatita. It’s an homage.”

“Count Von Count?”

“From Sesame Street. He’s a vampire obsessed with numbers and he’s also a Count.”

You sat on the bed, pulling Fatatita onto your lap.

Bucky sat on the edge, twisted so he could look at you. “Sooooooo...”

“So...”

“Where do you know Torres from? You had a weird moment there.”

You hummed, entertaining yourself with combing your cat’s fur.

Bucky didn’t let it go. “Now that I think about it, you knew his coffee order without asking...”

“Intuition.”

“Does your cat have intuition too?”

“Probably. They’re curious creatures.”

“You can tell me anything, (Name).”

”That’s the thing, there’s nothing to say,” you admitted. “Whatever you’re assuming is pretty much what happened.”

“I will kill him for cheating.”

“What?!” Seeing him cross his arms with a faint smirk on his face, you added, “You know what? Do it. You’re not making me talk.”

He let out a hybrid between a whine and a sigh. “I thought that one would work.”

“If you must know, the breakup was shitty.”

“Touchy subject, got it.”

Touchy would never cut it and you couldn’t understand why. “Do you remember any of your breakups?”

“From when I was a teen, yeah. But I don’t think they were bad.”

“Oh, so you were the one who ended the relationships.”

After a short silence, he admitted, “Yeah.”

Your body shook with laughter. ”At least you’re honest.”

════════════════════════

After an hour and a half of working on your computer, you decided to stretch and fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea. 9:00 AM was the perfect time to drink something other than water.

The door to the bathroom closed as you opened the guest room. The living room was empty, just like the kitchen.

Such a thing didn’t last. Somebody called on the door. Bucky hurried to open the door,

You heard Joaquín’s voice. “Is Sam ready?”

“Come in. He’s taking a shower.”

Great! Just who you didn’t want to see. Why was he even here? He should’ve been doing whatever he did in Las Vegas, not ruining your family bonding time.

Your cellphone rang in your hand just as you had finished pouring coffee in a mug. Seeing your neighbor’s contact name, you took the call immediately.

“Hey, Ben. Everything okay?”

Your neighbor giggled. You knew it was fake as always. “Hey, pretty girl. Where have you been? I made your favorite pastries yesterday but you didn’t answer the door.”

You ignored the pet name. “Oh! That’s very sweet of you. I’m out of town right now.”

“Ah.” You could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Is your cat by itself?”

“No, no. I brought Fatatita with me and my best friend is taking care of my plants.”

“Well, then,” Ben said drily, “call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Joaquín rolled his eyes. Oh, so he was listening in, huh.

“I’ll hold you up to that,” Ben said.

The line clicked and once again you couldn’t take your eyes off Joaquín who was glaring at you.

“What?” you snapped.

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

You hummed. He nodded. Neither of you gave signs of tearing your eyes off each other.

Bucky cleared his throat. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope.” You took the mug in your grasp. “I was just about to get back to work.”

Walking past him still hurt, maybe less than the last time, but that wasn’t saying much when he shattered your heart that day.

What was his fucking problem? First, he barged back into your life without warning, and then dared to give you that look as if you still owed him explanations for how friendly you were with other people?

The nerve of him! Of his stupid pretty eyes you were sure nobody could say no to.

Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck this. You were tired of not getting over him when he had no consideration of what you wanted or needed. He was the one who led you on by making you believe everything would go back to normal.

Had you made a mistake by breaking up with him to go look for your dad instead of asking him to go with you? Maybe, but at least you didn’t make him believe everything would be okay.

At least you had the decency to admit you had fucked up when you went back to him. At least you didn’t try to impose your wishes on him.

Now your day was ruined and you still had a shit ton of work to get through. Approaching the bed, you picked Fatatita up and hugged her to your chest.

You technically could have asked Bucky for a hug, he had said he wanted to make up for lost time, but you didn’t know him that well and it was embarrassing.

Begging for affection was something you were past of. You had taken care of yourself since you were 14, and learned the hard way that people didn’t deserve your tears.

Still, hot tears streamed down your face. You weren’t sure if you were angry, sad, or frustrated, but you wept until your cat forced you to let go of her.

If Bucky knew you had been crying, he surely know how to keep it to himself. You had lunch together between idle chats and nothing more happened.

You couldn’t get used to him, no matter how hard you tried or how much interest he showed in getting to know you.

Tearing down the wall you had built for years didn’t even sound easy to do, actually doing it seemed impossible as of now.

“I gotta run a few errands,” he told you as you carried the dishes to the sink, “wanna come with me?”

“I haven’t finished my work for the day.”

His face fell. “Next time.”

“Yeah,” you whispered.

Bucky gave you a tight smile and so you watched him leave with a weird feeling in your stomach. Was this how children felt when they saw their parents leave for work?

Sam didn’t take long to arrive. You didn’t have the full grasp of what they truly did, the superhero part was clear, but you didn’t know if that was their job or their side gig.

He greeted you with a smile. Trying his best just like Bucky.

“Bucky’s running errands,” you notified him.

“Yeah, Joaquín told me he called. I forgot my damn phone in the morning.”

“Oh...” You didn’t know what to say.

Sam sat on the yellow couch he used to hate. “Piece of advice?”

You braced yourself for the same thing your best friend had told you. ‘Joaquín doesn’t deserve your hostility.’

“Don’t call him Bucky to his face.”

“Wh—“ It took you a minute or two to process what he had said. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he told you softly. His eyes were on you, analyzing you. “Are you okay?”

“Lots of new things at once... I’m not good with...” You bit your bottom lip. “Work is driving me crazy,” you lied.

Sam pensively hummed and you knew he wouldn’t touch the subject again. He probably knew you were lying, and he’d surely tell Bucky, but what could you do?

Well, you left Brooklyn in a hurry. Your bags had been made for days when the date finally arrived. Relief washed over you the moment you stepped into that plane.

Bucky’s feelings worried you, that was true, but you felt out of place in his and Sam’s apartment. They had been welcoming and kind, and the fact that they weren’t the problem stung.

As a teen you fantasized with everything you would do and say when you found your dad, but adulthood had crashed onto you in a giant wave. It washed away the naive illusion of one day having a normal life; a family.

You called him as soon as you got to your apartment. “Just wanted to let you know I made it safely.”

“That’s good to hear.” The line shuffled. “How’s the weather?”

“Fine, I think?”

“Sunny?”

“Kinda cloudy. It’s drizzling.”

“Ah.”

“Hey, I— I gotta go. I’ll call you soon, yeah?”

Bucky craned his neck as he looked up to the ceiling. “Yeah. Take care.”

You hung up immediately.

“What am I doing wrong?” Bucky asked out loud.

Sam threw his arm over Bucky’s shoulders. “Nothing. Just give her time.”

“We should get her a job here,” Bucky suggested. “Maybe that way she’ll move closer to us.”

Joaquín shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“I forgot you’re an expert on her,” Bucky bitterly said.

Joaquín turned to look at Sam. His friend didn’t help him out and instead said, “You could ask her first.”

“Should I?” Bucky asked Joaquín.

Shrugging, Joaquín stood up from his seat and took his jacket. “I think we all know the answer she’ll give.”

“If you had told me where she was when we met—“

“I didn’t know you were her dad,” Joaquín snapped. He looked down, frustrated with himself for letting Bucky get to him when it wasn’t his fault either.

“You dated her.”

“Look, she didn’t tell me who her dad was. I just knew she was looking for him.”

Bucky was left speechless. Joaquín put his jacket on and walked towards the door.

“Joaquín...”

“Not now, Sam.” He pulled the door open and left the apartment without any other comment.

Joaquín walked down the street, aimless. He should’ve called — he could’ve called you right now in fact. But what could he say? He didn’t even know why it hurt this bad.

The next time he heard about you was a couple months later. Sam and him were on a quick mission and Sam felt the need to give him updates about the family dynamic.

“She doesn’t want to meet Sarah and the kids,” Sam ominously said.

“I understand Bucky and you want to have a good relationship with her,” Joaquín assured him, “but I don’t get why you come to me for advice when we’re not together anymore for a reason.”

“Because you know her and we don’t.”

“She doesn’t cope well with change.”

”Is there any way to convince her?”

Joaquín had asked himself the same question. Many times, in many places. The conclusion was always the same. “No.”

════════════════════════

Walking up the stairs with produce bags was part of your weekly routine. The elevator rarely worked and you didn’t trust using it when it did.

It was early. The market had been almost empty when you arrived — you had to wait for a few people to set up their products before buying.

Early mornings and all-nighters were your norm. You couldn’t remember the last time you slept in.

That was a lie. You could, you just chose to ignore it had happened. Everything always went back to a time you weren’t sure you would ever get over, and at the point you were in your life, you would rather ignore your past altogether.

As you reached your floor, you tried to remember if you had bought lemons or limes. Oh, well, you’d make do. Now you just needed to buy cat food and you’d be set for the week.

You had just unlocked your door when you heard a voice behind you.

“For a second there I thought you were out of town again.”

“Nah, I just really wanted some fresh fruit.”

Ben hummed. “Wanna hang out for a while?”

You considered it for a moment; you wanted to say no. Yet you gave in. “Yeah, why not?”

You let him in first. Ben avoided knocking the bags you had placed on the floor in order to open the door and stood in the living room, eyes on the plant near the window.

“Make yourself comfortable,” you told him as you carried your bags into the kitchen.

He remained in the same spot until you came back. His blue eyes focused on you as you awkwardly stood in front of him.

Ben leaned in, hands ghosting your sides.

You placed both palms on his chest and pushed him off you. “We said it wouldn’t happen again.”

“Right...”

Whoever was at the door saved you from an uncomfortable conversation by knocking with urgency.

Ben frowned. “You didn’t tell me you were expecting somebody.”

“I’m not.”

The moment you opened the door, you realized something was terribly wrong. Sam hadn’t visited you since the day you met him although he and Bucky called often.

He went directly to the point, “I need your help. It’s important.”

You nodded, letting Sam in. “I’ll talk to you later, Ben,” you said, hand on the door handle as you waited for him to leave the apartment.

You saw him glare at you, but Sam’s presence was enough for him to keep his complaints to himself.

Sam sat down on the couch, watching you as you hesitated on whether to sit down or walk into the kitchen.

“Want some water?” you offered.

“Sure.”

“Ice?”

“No, thank you.”

You filled your glass with crushed ice and a little bit of water and carried both glasses towards the coffee table.

With your glass between both hands, you asked, “What’s up?”

Sam didn’t look at you as he said, “It’s about Joaquín.”

“I—“

“Listen, I don’t know what happened between you two and I don’t care.” Sam made a pause, allowing you to munch on ice. “I haven’t seen him in two weeks, I can’t find him anywhere.”

You cleared your throat, fighting a cough. “And what do you want me to do? I don’t even know where he lives.”

Sam took a gulp of water, not knowing what to expect. “You said you weren’t trained. Your file says otherwise.”

“I never said that.”

You had been careful when you answer that particular question. You hadn’t been enough for Hydra, but that didn’t mean they didn’t break you first.

“Why did Viper spare you?”

You bit the inside of your bottom lip. It was more than complicated — you didn’t even remember much from that day. “I don’t know,” you answered honestly. “She beat me up and the next thing I knew, Kraken was taking me to my first foster family.”

“So you haven’t had any contact with her ever since?”

“No—“ You made a face. “Well... I think she sent me the first lead to find Bucky. The actual file that said he was my dad.”

Sam placed his glass back onto the table. “She’s been on and off in Vegas for a while.”

“You think she did something to him,” you asserted.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

You clenched your jaw. “How can I help?”

“Telling me the truth.” He became extremely serious as he added, “I know you have contact with Seraph.”

You squeezed your eyes shut. You didn’t care about Seraph, but the girls under her wing had suffered enough already. “I can’t tell you anything about her, Sam.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” he promised. “Look, (Name), I already talked to Zemo and he doesn’t know anything.”

“Why can’t somebody from the Air Force find her? Or him?!” you defensively asked.

Sam scoffed. “Just how much you know about him?”

“Last thing I knew he was choosing The Air Force over me.”

You poured ice into your mouth. Barely able to close it, you let a few little chunks melt before you started munching again.

“We don’t have time for this,” Sam lamented, “Joaquín’s life might be on the line.”

You shook the glass in your grasp. “I can link you up with one of her angels. That’s it.”

Sam nodded, pulling his phone out. “Give me her info.”

“No, no.” You put your glass down. “We go to Madripoor and the contact is made there.”

“I’m not taking you to Madripoor. Are you insane?”

“Probably.”

“Your dad would kill me!”

You shrugged. “Don’t tell him.”

“I can’t ruin my relationship like that.”

“Sam...” You whined when he shook his head. Almost pouting, you stared directly at him. “Please.”

“No, that face won’t work on me.”

“I’ll explain things to Bucky.”

“Oh, you will. You are taking a flight to New York in...” He checked the time. “In two hours and telling him to his face that you still have contact with Hydra.”

“I’m not a child.”

“That’s exactly why you’re telling him. Adults don’t hide shit like that!”

“You don’t get it.”

“And I never will. Besides, you owe this to us for the stress you’ve given your dad and for refusing to meet my sister and nephews.”

He was right.

You pushed yourself off the chair. “How light should I pack?”

Sam made a face, twisting his mouth. “I don’t know. Pack like you did last time just to be safe.”

Well, you had twenty minutes to pack. And to struggle with putting Fatatita in her cage.

“Hey,” you called for him from your bedroom’s doorframe. “Would you do me a favor?”

“Depends.”

“I bought produce that could go bad. Can you give it out? Everything’s on the counter.”

His face softened. “Of course.”

Your cat wasn’t too happy with being trapped in a carrier, much less with once again putting up with children in the plane.

So there you were, uncomfortable against the window with a whiny cat. You hated window seats and although planes were fine, you were sick of them.

Bucky picked you up at the airport without a word. He helped you with your luggage while you freed Fatatita from the carrier.

She snuggled up on your lap once you were in the car, but Bucky didn’t start the engine.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he softly asked.

You would’ve preferred that he yelled at you. Maybe he would once you explained yourself.

“My plan was to join The Angels.”

He didn’t yell. “What?”

“I was lonely.”

“You have a cat. You could’ve gotten another one or something. Anything that wasn’t that.”

“Yeah, and I love Fatatita,” you said indignantly as you massaged her head, “but she can’t talk or hug me back.”

You loved her snuggles, she was a sweet cat and you wouldn’t have survived the last six years without her. But she wasn’t human.

Painfully, you added, “I feel like I don’t belong here. You have Sam and his family already, you have a home...”

”We’ve invited you to join.”

You didn’t fit in with Bucky or with Sam, much less with Sam’s family — they sounded like nice people, but if Sarah was half as intuitive as Sam, she would be able to tell you were uncomfortable and you didn’t want to offend anybody.

You hated being alone and yet every path you took seemed to lead to loneliness. Maybe it was time to accept you had idealized your dad and he couldn’t live up to the standard.

Or maybe that wasn’t the issue, maybe you were as a whole. Living with it was your only option.

“It’s not that easy.”

“Nothing is.”

Yeah, nothing was easy, but this thing particularly was kicking your ass.

════════════════════════

Things between you and Bucky were tense. He took great offense after you confessed you had considered going back to Seraph so he barely spoke to you.

You had only heard updates about Joaquín — or better said, the lack of updates about him.

Focusing on work or anything that wasn’t the phone on the table next to the couch was practically impossible.

Sam’s call eventually came through. He said Joaquín was alive which wasn’t relieving for either you or Bucky.

You wanted to hear that he was safe and sound. Alive was good, but not enough. Not when you knew exactly the type of things Ophelia was capable of.

“Bring a jacket,” Bucky told you. He couldn’t hide how mad he was — his voice was rough.

You silently complied, making sure to leave water for Fatatita.

On your way to the hospital, you tried to find something to say. The silence was unbearable, but you couldn’t help but think you would be a bigger nuisance.

Bucky pulled into the vast parking lot and found a good parking spot in no time.

You didn’t want to go there. Your mind had already run wild and the things you could encounter terrified you.

Fear seemed like a distant experience from a naive child. You hadn’t been raised like this.

But you hadn’t been raised to love anybody and yet you were, so full of love you would have rather died.

“I’ll wait here.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and stretched his arm to open the passenger door. “You are not staying here.”

Huffing, you got out of the car and waited for him to do the same. You slammed the door closed and he glared at you.

You immediately regretted listening to Bucky and coming to the stupid hospital. What were you even doing there? What would you fix?

Joaquín looked like shit. You could feel each hit as your eyes analyzed his bruised face. To make it worse, his left arm was wrapped and immobilized. You didn’t want confirmation he had more injuries — you didn’t need it.

“What did you find?” Bucky asked calmly.

Joaquín struggled to speak. “They’ve been doing experiments on people. Kids included.”

“And you didn’t think of telling anybody in case you needed backup?”

Bucky called your name sternly, warning you to shut up.

“No. He deserves it. They could’ve fucking killed him!”

Joaquín stammered. Of course he didn’t have a good answer. Of course he had to worry you sick even years later.

You felt actually sick to your stomach. Regret and anger often came hand in hand, but they had never made you feel like this.

“Let’s go outside,” Bucky commanded. “You need air.”

He pushed you out of the room and all along the hallway. People looked at you weirdly, surely wondering why you were being rushed out of the hospital.

If air had filled your lungs, you didn’t feel it. Stripping yourself off your jacket, you looked up at the sky. Why did you have to react like that?

Showing you cared never brought you anything positive. When you didn’t put people in danger, you ruined your relationships. And now you were just acting like an emotional idiot over nothing.

You punched the wall out of frustration.

It was not nothing.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Bucky moved you away from the wall and further into the open-air parking lot. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” His arm was tight around your shoulders.

“I just— I can’t believe him, dad! He’s always been this careless.”

Bucky became frozen.

“I know I’m being too emotional and I shouldn’t, I’m sorr—“

“Don’t.” Bucky tightened his grip on you. “Let it out, it’s okay. I’m here.” His voice broke. “Dad’s here.”

You hid your face in his jacket, for the first time in your life crying on your dad’s shoulder as he steadied you.

════════════════════════

You had to admit you missed the bus. New York wasn’t what people painted it as, much less the romanticized version your dad had presented you.

Either way, you were already there and you didn’t plan on moving out any time soon.

You were careful to not shake the reusable bag in your grasp too much. Bucky had never tasted your cookies and you would change that in a few minutes.

Memorizing the path towards the apartment was easy. Sam had given you a few tips so you wouldn’t have to call him all panicked because you were lost again. Luckily, he had gotten over it already.

Sarah was already at Sam’s and Bucky’s when you arrived. Apologizing for being late, you placed the homemade cookies you had brought on the table.

Sitting between Sam and Bucky, you asked Sarah, “You didn’t bring the kids?”

“Joaquín took them out for ice cream so we could talk about adult stuff,” she easily explained.

You glowered at Sam who had just served you a glass of lemonade.

“You’ve avoided him for too long,” he said.

“And you know exactly why.”

“I’ve heard both versions.”

You shook your head, knowing you wouldn’t win this argument. Sarah lifted her eyebrows.

“She’s as stubborn as her dad,” Sam told his sister.

“If I remember correctly, you used to refuse to admit you liked Bucky,” Sarah shot back.

“Don’t take her side!”

“No, no, Sarah, tell me more,” you encouraged her. “This is great material.”

She laughed, so did Bucky and eventually, Sam joined in.

The day you met Sarah had been bittersweet. She hadn’t held grudges against you for refusing to meet her and her children earlier and they welcomed you the same way they welcomed Bucky.

In contrast, you did hold that grudge against yourself. Yes, you hadn’t been ready to meet more people and were scared of not fitting in, but it wasn’t their fault.

The kids won you over the second you met them and the rest was history.

You tried to avoid glancing at the door when you heard the key sliding in, but you betrayed your pride and gazed at Joaquín the moment the door opened.

His face wasn’t bruised anymore and his hair was longer. He looked good, but that was to be expected.

You stood up to greet AJ and Cass, hugging them both. Joaquín smiled yet didn’t say anything.

As he parted from you, AJ asked, “You didn’t bring your cat today?”

“She’s at the apartment, probably asleep or enjoying her new cat tower.”

“You finally bought one!” Cass had given you the idea when you mentioned you wanted to find something for Fatatita to entertain herself. “She must be so happy.”

“Yup. Wanna see it? I’ve taken hundreds of photos.”

Both kids nodded. You unlocked your cellphone and patiently showed them the photos. The living room hadn’t been ideal for the cat tower so you put it in your office.

The problem, truly, was that the office was almost empty and you hated the color on the walls, but you hadn’t gotten around to buy paint.

Fatatita looked adorable in her cat tower, though. She would sometimes jump to the desk and lay on it, demanding attention. You never died her.

“You’ll get to see it in person soon,” you promised AJ and Cass.

Both kids were happy with such promise. They ran towards their mom, leaving you facing Joaquín. Once again, you couldn’t not stare at him.

“You look great,” he told you.

“Thanks.” You could’ve said he looked great too, but you didn’t want to make it awkward. “It’s good to see your arm isn’t broken anymore.”

He let out a small laugh. “Yeah...”

“I— Uhmm... I brought cookies.”

His face lit up. “I haven’t had one of your cookies in ages.”

You extended a hand in a welcoming gesture. “Help yourself.”

He didn’t move immediately and in consequence, neither did you. What ifs didn’t matter anymore, they didn’t even hurt that much — you just genuinely wished you could interact with him without feeling like you were crossing a line.

You used to be able to communicate without words, to know what he needed just by gazing at him from across the room. Joaquín would read your body language perfectly every single time and never once failed to respect your boundaries.

Not even the godforsaken evening he left.

Would the two of you ever be able to go back to what it was? You didn’t care if he still loved you — he probably didn’t. You wanted your best friend back.

“Anybody want anything from the kitchen?” Joaquín asked.

“Beer, please,” Sam replied.

Sitting back down, you drummed your fingers against your lemonade glass with no particular rhythm. You were being silly, there was no reason for you to be nervous.

Joaquín handed Sam his beer. He then stood behind you.

“Here.” He placed a glass full of ice in front of you. Crushed ice.

Okay, maybe there was a reason for you to be nervous. Something you hadn’t been on your first date or even the day you met him.

“Thank you,” you mumbled.

Bucky kissed the side of your head. You leaned into your dad’s warmth, letting the others speak. You were getting better at joining into their conversations, but this time you simply couldn’t focus.

His eyes were on you and yours would’ve been on him if you weren’t resting your head on Bucky’s shoulder.

You used to fantasize about something like this. A family afternoon, Joaquín and your dad getting along...

You lifted your head off Bucky’s shoulder and sighed. “I should get going. I’m still getting used to the subway.”

“Want me to drive you a little bit later?” Bucky offered. “I don’t get drunk.”

“I can drive her if she wants,” Joaquín said.

Bucky looked at him then nodded. “If she wants.”

The answer should’ve been no, but a little indulgence never hurt anyone. “Sure.”

So you stayed until Joaquín had to leave. Sam’s eyes lingered on you as you said your goodbyes — his hug was tight, an attempt to remind you things would be okay.

Bucky hugged you even tighter, almost lifting you off the floor. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he whispered in your ear before parting from you. Your dad kissed your forehead before watching you go.

It wasn’t the first time Sam or Bucky tried to encourage you to talk to Joaquín. You weren’t dumb, you knew he had offered to drive you because he wanted to say something.

Had they planned it all out? You hoped they hadn’t.

The night sky was clear, perfect for a long walk. Although long walks in New York were different, they were a good vehicle to get used to the environment which your therapist would’ve loved for you to do. Oh, well, another night it would be.

══════════════════════��═

“You can drop me at the subway station.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want me to know where you live, but I offered to drive you home.”

Home. It still felt like a dirty word. He didn’t say it to mock you, there was no malice in his voice. Once again, you were the problem.

You gave him the address, explaining the directions Sam had given you to not get lost. Joaquín only hummed in acknowledgment.

After a mostly silent drive, you weren’t sure your assumptions from earlier had been correct. Maybe he was just trying to be nice and your brain had played you.

It was probably for the best in the general scheme of things, but you had to admit you were disappointed.

He stopped the car in front of the building. Neither of you attempted to move.

“Can we talk?”

You nodded. “Here? In the car, I mean.”

“Wherever you feel comfortable.”

You both knew where things could go if you dared to invite him in. But you still did.

The elevator was thankfully empty. The space between your bodies almost disgusted you. The last time you had been in an empty elevator with him, neither of you had been able to take your hands off each other.

Turning the lights on, you apologized, “Sorry for the mess. I have a lot of things to organize still.”

You walked towards the couch and picked the box you had left there up. Something moved inside.

A hiss let you know Fatatita was inside the box. You reached in and held her between your arm and your chest.

You put the box on top of the other boxes stacked up against the wall. And motioned for Joaquín to get comfortable.

Fatatita shifted in your grasp so you slowly put her down onto the floor. The cat ran towards the kitchen.

You tried not to stare at Joaquín. The more you did, the more you wanted to bury your fingers in his curls.

“Sam told me what you did,” he quietly told you.

“It’s nothing.”

“You had to move because of me.”

“It was bound to happen,” you said simply as though it hadn’t been one of the hardest decisions you had ever had to make.

He looked down. You hoped he was thinking the same thing you were. ’It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.’

“I’m sorry for not telling you who my dad was.”

“I’m not going to say it didn’t hurt, or that I get why you did it,” he admitted, “but I hope you know I would have dropped everything to help you find him.”

“I know,” you assured him quickly. “That’s why I never said yes, it wouldn’t have been fair.”

“What do you mean?”

“You wanted to join The Air Force more than anything. Your eyes would lit up when you talked about it and I didn’t have the heart to pull you away from your dream.” You let out a small sigh, perfectly picturing him, so hopeful and excited. “And I wanted to, I really did, but you deserved better.”

“But you were part of that dream.”

“You know how much I’ve always hated not having a home, but you still wanted me to move every few years.” It was never going to work, no matter how desperately you wanted it to.

“So I wasn’t enough?” He masochistically peered up.

“Wha— who said that? Why are you putting words in my mouth?”

“Because you would have moved every few years with me. I was only going to leave when deployed. I had all of it planned. We would get married eventually so you’d live with me at the base and...” he trailed off.

Whether he was trying to spare your feelings or to find the right words was irrelevant. You stayed silent, in part because you didn’t know what to do but mostly because you knew him well and were sure he wanted to finish his comment.

“I thought waiting for you was proof that I was serious about us. I asked you to move with me. WITH me, not for me.”

You sat down too. You didn’t need him to remind you or to make emphasis on his words — you had understood what he wanted from the beginning; you wanted the same for the most part, but not like that.

Compromising would’ve been good. Healthy. You wouldn’t be in this mess now. But comprising entailed a specific kind of vulnerability you were afraid you would never recover from.

And you lost Joaquín because of that.

“I was scared and I already said sorry. What else do you want me to do?”

He twisted to face you. “Don’t get defensive, we’re just talking.”

“I just...” You wanted to say a lot of things. If you had drunk alcohol you would’ve let them all out at once and finally, the nuisance from the pills was paying off. “I don’t want you to hate me. That’s all.”

“You can’t possibly think I hate you.”

You shrugged. “I sorta resented you for a while.”

“How did you get over it?”

Lying would have been so easy, but you couldn’t when he was implying you had gotten over him. There had been other people in your life after him and you had ruined those relationships too, but none of them hurt like this.

“I didn’t.”

He sat there, unmoving as he stared at you as if he was waiting for you to tell him it was a joke.

“Fuck,” he murmured.

“Please don’t make it awkward,” you begged him. “We can forget this conversation happened. You will go back to Vegas and I will stay here, it’s okay.”

Everything would be okay. This was just the closure your therapist said you needed.

Joaquín broke it to you, “I live here.”

Speechless, you felt your blood drop to your feet. Deep breaths and counting to ten were as effective as ever and at the same time didn’t cut it. Only you had this luck.

“Sam didn’t tell you I’m Falcon now?”

Now Sam’s and Bucky’s attitude made complete sense.

“He forgot that small detail.” As you recovered your ability to speak, you stressed, “The offer stands. We can forget this conversation happened.”

“I don’t want to forget about it.”

“We can’t do this, Joaquín. Not again — last time was hard enough.”

He enthusiastically nodded. “But I’m not going anywhere this time.” Seeing your apprehension, he added, “As much as I want to, I’m not asking you to immediately get back with me.”

“What are you asking for, then?”

“Another chance? A fresh start? I don’t know. I miss you and I want to be with you, but I’m not going to force you.”

“It’s not that you would be forcing me,” you clarified, “I miss you too, a lot. And the excuses I could give you are minimal, maybe a little petty...” He huffed a laugh. You continued, finally explaining yourself, “I’m scared we won’t really get past what happened.”

Joaquín placed his warm hand on your shoulder. “I’ve already forgiven you.”

You rested your hands on his shoulders, blinking rapidly. Sliding your hands to his back, you hugged him.

His free arm snaked your waist. Joaquín hid his face in your neck, moving his hand to the back of your head.

He shifted to kneel on the couch, making you lightly part from him. Your eyes met and you pulled him closer again before he would say anything.

Joaquín bit his bottom lip. “Can I kiss you?”

You kissed him first, tired of pretending you hadn’t been waiting for this since the day he left.

He softly kissed you back, bringing a hand to your face as he cupped your cheek. You relished in his warmth and gentleness, leaning into his touch and consequently kissing him harder.

Removing his arm from around you, he placed his hand on your belly and lightly pushed you onto your back. You ended up in an awkward position, yet you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

He hovered over you, fingers caressing your sides as he continued kissing you. You tangled your fingers in his curls as he deepened the kiss.

You rendered each other breathless, touch growing looser as both of you panted.

“So much for not rushing in,” you breathlessly joked against his mouth.

“Am I making you feel uncomfortable?” he panted.

“No, don’t worry.”

He hummed, leaving a small kiss on your jaw before dragging his lips to your neck.

“Although...” He immediately stopped. You chuckled. “My back hurts.”

Joaquín moved off you, standing up and offering his hand to you to help you sit up.

Instead, you stood up altogether and took his hand. He didn’t say no, he let you take him to your room.

You sat on the bed, tugging on his hand.

“Come here,” you needily said.

Joaquín happily complied, leaning in to kiss you again.

When you woke up the next morning, he was sound asleep next to you.

[mickey-millagher]

At long last she’d found aunt Ginger’s body, just the latest of Frank’s many mistakes that she’d had to take care of over the years. Least with the body located she could finally have a moment of peace before the next disaster hit, Fiona thought as she made her way up to steps to the kitchen.

She opened the door.

Mickey Milkovich was bleeding out of his ass onto her countertop.

So much for a moment of peace.

“Ian what the fuck?” She yelled over the yelps coming from the teenage thug being operated on by... Jimmy’s dad.

“I can explain this.” Came Ian’s earnest reply.

Yeah he better have a fucking good explanation to boot, Fiona thought before noticing the woman standing in her living room.

After that in the chaos of having the kids yet again taken away from her, their home and each other. Finding out why Mickey Milkovich was bleeding out in her kitchen didn’t seem very important.

The house was quiet at last, Debbie, Carl and Liam finally being convinced to get some sleep after hours of celebrating their win at count. Jimmy had turned in hours before hand but Fiona couldn’t make herself stick to the kids bedtimes tonight. She knew it probably wasn’t the best start to her guardianship but she’d missed her kids so much and it wasn’t a school night, one late night wouldn’t hurt.

|

She smiled over at Ian as he crashed back down onto the sofa, handing her one of the beers he’d gone to get from the kitchen, leaving the second on the coffee table for Lip once he returned from the toilet, and opening the third himself.

“Good to be home?”

“Yeah, definitely beats the group home.”

That wasn’t a surprise, she’d spent time in group homes herself, back when she was still considered a kid. They’d been horrible enough but had nothing on what she’d heard about Gunderson House.

“So you still owe me an explanation.”

Ian blinked at her, clearly confused.

“Huh?”

“Why the hell was Mickey Milkovich of all people basically being operated on in my kitchen?”

In the weeks since her kids had been taken, there had been a lot more pressing issues on Fiona’s mind than the shot up Milkovich kid. But now that things were settled she wanted answers. Answers it seemed her little brother was reluctant to give if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Ian looked away from her, shrugging.

“It’s kinda a long story.”

“You said you could explain.” Fiona said, reaching over to nudge him slightly. “Well I want that explanation.”

Ian looked up at her then, thats when she realised he’d looked away to hide the tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

“I’m kinda tired, can we talk about this another time?” It was a question but his voice cracked slightly at the end and he was moving to get up before he’d even finished the sentence.

Fiona wasn’t an idiot, she knew her brothers hid things from her. Honestly there was a whole lot of things she was glad they didn’t talk to her about. Teenage boy stuff she really didn’t need to know. Ian especially, for a kid who’d always worn his heart on his sleeve, had always been good at keeping his cards close to his chest. Fiona had hoped that after he’d felt comfortable to come out to her, that he’d start to let her in, just a little bit more, talk to her about the important things he’d kept hidden away. That hadn’t happened, if anything he was pulling further away. She worried that soon he’d be lost to her completely.

“Hey.” She reached out grabbing his arm. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing, just tired, it’s been a long day.” He attempted to smile but it seemed off, fake instead of his usual big dopey grin. Thinking about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen it.

“Ian I changed your shitty diapers, you honestly think I can’t tell when you’re lying?”

Ian let out a breath and dropped back down onto the sofa. She could see Lip, standing in the shadows of the kitchen, concerned, ready to jump in to help their brother, same as always. If even Lip didn’t know what was going on with Ian, it had to be bad. She shook her head slightly at Lip, telling him to stay put, the more people the less likely it was that Ian would open up, and she was really starting to get a bad feeling.

“Come on Sweetface, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I’m handling it okay?”

“Can’t be nothing if there’s something to handle. You know you can talk to me.”

Ian looked at her for a second. “Yeah I know.” He paused for a second, maybe debating finally opening up to his sister. “I’m gonna turn in, night.”

“Ian wait a second.”

Ian didn’t reply, his back already disappearing up the stairs.

Fiona turned towards Lip who’d slowly made his way into the room while Ian had ran upstairs.

“You know what’s going on with him?”

“No, he seemed fine, well about a week ago he came back with bruises and seemed a little shaken up, wouldn’t talk about it but he seemed okay the next day so.”

Fiona frowned, turning to look once again to the stairs, up which where her little brother had just gone. Something was definitely going on with him, it was only a question of if he’d ever let her know what.

|

It was the sixth day in a row that she’s visited Ian at the Milkovich house. Six days since she got an early release, only to get home to find her brother practically comatose in Mickey’s bed. She still didn’t quite understand what was going on between the two teenagers, just that when Ian came home, Mickey came with him. And now that Ian was sick, the Milkovich was saying Ian was his family and refusing to let him leave. Not that there was much of a chance of moving Ian, getting him to the bathroom was hard enough, let along the few blocks to the Gallagher house. Still she didn’t trust Mickey to be able to take care of him, family or not. So everyday she came over, brought him food, spent hours sitting with him, trying to get him to talk. All the things she’d long since given up doing for Monica. All the things she couldn’t imagine giving up on for Ian.

She eased the door open, no one without a death wish would dare steal from the Milkoviches so the front door was almost always unlocked. She could see a few Milkovich siblings or cousins, she was never sure which, while on her way to Mickey’s bedroom but didn’t pay them much mind, they weren’t who she was here for.

The door to Mickey’s room was slightly ajar, letting Fiona see into the room without making her presence known.

“Come on man you gotta eat something.” Mickey was crouched down on the far side of the bed, a bowl and spoon clutched in his hands.

“Not hungry.”

It was crazy how those two words made Fiona’s heart soar. They weren’t positive but Ian had made such few acknowledgments of them over the past week that it still felt like improvement.

“Couple of spoonfuls and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Ayy Mickey get out here, need your opinion on something.” Came a yell from the living room.

Mickey looked up from the redhead, locking eyes with his boyfriend’s sister from across the room, but seemingly unsurprised to find her there.

“Can I try?” She asked tentatively, not wanting to cause Mickey to have another outburst, not with Ian so vulnerable in the room

Mickey shrugged. “Sure.” He replied, leaving the bowl and spoon on the side table before leaving to settle whatever his family had going on.

“Hey Ian, how’re you feeling today?” She asked taking Mickeys spot on the floor.

Ian just blinked back at her before slowly closing his eyes completely

“Things seem kinda crazy around here, guess crazy just goes with the Milkoviches. Follows them around or something. You know crazy, like that time Mickey was bleeding out in the kitchen. Seems almost like it could be a normal occurrence here, that why I never got an explanation?” Fiona forced a little laugh at the end, she was trying to keep all her interactions with Ian upbeat in the hope in might help him. It hadn’t so far.

“M tired Fi.”

“That’s what you said last time I ask you know.”

Ian made no move to acknowledge she’d spoken that time, a reaction she was slowly getting used to.

“Okay you don’t wanna talk. Can you eat something for me?”

She didn’t get a response that time either.

|

It was hard to believe this was going to be the last time she sat around this table, in this kitchen, having dinner with her family like she had so many times before. She may have moved out two years ago but the time she’d spent here, growing up and raising her siblings alongside her, was never something she would fully leave behind. Even if now they were selling the house, all of them moving on with their lives like she’d chosen herself when she’d left.

“The amount of shit this kitchen has seen, hope the new owners have bleach.” Lip said with a laugh.

“I feel like I’ve got to ask, but do you mean actual shit?”

“What no, well probably not.”

“Cousin Patrick did leave that toilet in the middle of the living room.” Debbie pointed out.

“Okay maybe actual shit.”

Mickey wrinkled his nose. “You said my house was bad.”

“Like you haven’t left you’re mark on the kitchen, I came home to you bleeding out on the countertops once.”

“Oh fuck yeah, still got the scars from that shit. If I’d been allowed to take my guns.” He paused to glare at his husband. “Then none of that would have happened.”

“How was I suppose to know the drunk old lady had a shotgun?”

“It was your fucking heist, you’re meant to find this shit out!”

“Wait so that’s what happened, you were breaking in somewhere and he got shot?”

Ian shrugged. “Ned asked me to steal some stuff from his wife’s house. Didn’t think anyone would get hurt.”

“Well you thought wrong.” Mickey huffed.

“Aww poor baby.” Ian cooed, putting a hand around Mickey to pull him over and kiss the side of his head. Mickey seemed to be trying to keep glaring throughout but a slight smile broke through. The stability the two of them seemed to have these days was a welcome surprise for Fiona when she’d arrived the day before, she hadn’t been fully sure what to expect from the renewed relationship between the two of them but it looked like this time for the most part the two of them had their act together.

“Wait who’s Ned?” Liam asked.

Ian opened his mouth to speak but Lip beat him to it.

“Ned was this old dude that Ian was banging back in the day to make Mickey jealous. He was also the dad of Fiona’s boyfriend at the time.”

“Thanks for that Lip.”

“I wasn’t fucking jealous.”

“I regret asking.”

The three replies came at the same time, sparking more voices to keep talking over each other and several conversations spiralling at once.

Fiona leaned back, not quite wanting to participate right now, just wanting to bask in the warmth of the chaos of her family home one last time. And processing that finally she got that long ago promised explanation, maybe not quite worth the wait, it was still nice to finally know.

[redhairedfeistynerd]

Captain McHippityHop

A/N: A long lost piece that I forgot to post last Easter! Another part of my ‘Seasons of Bucky’ series. Loosely edited, all errors are my own.  Enjoy and have a great long weekend everyone.

Don’t not copy or redistribute any of my pieces.

Summary: It’s finally Spring and the Barnes family is ready for some Easter fun. Uncle Steve has something to hop on about.

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word count: 2200+

Warnings: kissing, nudity, sexual situations, implied smut, teasing, cautious Bucky

No bunnies were harmed in the making of this fic

“We’ll be there at 10, okay? Don’t worry, they’ll be up and ready.” Bucky rolls his eyes while he listens begrudgingly to Steve as he carries on about the importance of being on time.

Y/N sits across from him on the couch, her left elbow resting on the arm and her hand folded up, flapping open and closed as if it were Steve’s big mouth. Bucky is trying to control the look on his face, if it cracks, he is likely to burst out laughing. And IF he laughs, y/n will follow and they both know that Steve will not be impressed.

Bucky ends the call and looks to y/n. “You’re a pain in the ass. I was TRYING to be serious and keep a straight face but you kept smirking and your eyes brightened up like you were going to laugh. I can’t stop myself when you do that, I want to laugh with you!”

He lunges towards her and tackles her into the soft cushions of the couch. He knows that it’s finally ok to kiss her and he attacks her neck as she tries to curl into herself; he attacks the left side, kiss by kiss. Her giggles have turned into shrieks and he knows that she is enjoying it. He can’t get over how playful she is, he could drown in her laughter and happiness. It fills all those empty places inside of him, all the places he closed up when his marriage ended all those years ago. They’ve be silent and dark for almost a decade and then she came along and into their lives.

She crept in slowly, a hot chocolate date here and there with his girls, a walk in the park and then a stop at the playground, a rare night at his house when the girls were able to visit their mom. It had taken years for him to build up the courage to talk to her about how he felt but she was the first one to move her lips to his. Soft, tasting of vanilla and beeswax, everything he thought it would be, was everything that he received. Her arms wrapped around him first and she whispered in his ear that it was ok for him to do the same. His arms went around her softly but he still had a thought in his head the he could crush her, that all of the years without holding a woman meant that he was going to use all of his force at once and hurt her.

“Barnes, you aren’t going to crush me, don’t hold back. You hold your daughters every day, I know you’ll be gentle with me,” she said as she kissed his forehead softly.

“It’s just… I don’t,” he fumbles with his words and y/n brings a finger to his lips.

“Less talk, more kissing, Barnes.” She pulls his face back to hers and kisses him with a bit of force, trying to encourage him to be forceful. He does try to pull back but her hand is in his hair and she uses it to pull him back in. “No way Barnes, I’m not letting you back out after all these years. You’ve told me how you feel, let me show you how I feel.”

He really likes her and he has told her how he feels but hell, he loves how she is showing him. Her mouth is warm and incredibly soft, the sweet taste of her lip balm is swirling around inside his mouth. How can someone be so sweet, both in life and in her delicious mouth. Pulling back slowly, he looks into her eyes, admiring their colour before he whispers “Will you stay?”

“Why are you whispering, no one is going to hear us and it’s not as if I haven’t spent the night here before. The girls are with their mom tonight for Easter dinner. We are alone, my sweet,” she whispers into his hair and kissing his ear.

Bucky’s cheeks are slowly turning from pink to red, he can’t look her directly in the eyes. “I mean…” he chokes a bit on the words, clears his throat and begins again. “I mean, I want you to stay with me, in my room. Not the spare room like when we have sleepovers with the girls. You with me. In my arms. I would really, more than anything, like to have you in my arms tonight.” He can’t meet her eyes and curls into himself a little with the embarrassment he is feeling.

“Don’t you dare shy away from me, Bucky Barnes,” she gently scolds him as she crawls into his lap. She brings a hand to his chin, and pushes up so his eyes meet hers. “You don’t need to hide from me, ever.”

He can’t help but be nervous about this. A woman in his bed after all these years. Forget the quick one night stands he rarely had at someone else’s apartment after a night at the bar. This meant something. He had never been more aware of the carpet beneath his feet as y/n pulled him down the hallway to his bedroom. Each step sinking into the carpet, pulling him into the plush fibers, and releasing him.

“Help me,” he thinks he, hears her say as she pulls him closer. He hasn’t moved and her eyes are wide and staring into him. “Bucky,” his name softly escapes her mouth and she brings his right hand the front of her dress, guiding him to the buttons. “Help me,” is whispered into his ear and he freezes. Her hands have moved over his, picking one up and gently placing it on her breast. “Start here, this button first,” she coaxes him, “you can do it Bucky. You aren’t going to hurt me. I trust you.”

It’s as if it finally makes sense in the darkest pits of his mind. One by one, he pushes the button out of the holes and pulls the dress away and down her body. He can’t help but stare and before he makes her feel comfortable with his eyes looking her up and down in awe, he brings her closer, wrapping one around her and pulling her into a deep kiss. Bucky pulls away first and brushes her hair back, “I think you said something about showing me how you felt?”

The girls are dropped off early the next morning as y/n is starting to make breakfast. Bucky is quietly sipping his coffee and staring out the window. He’d woken y/n up early, soft kisses up the back of her neck, trying to enjoy her warm body that had curled into him during the night. He fell asleep soon after and awoke to an empty bed. He found her the kitchen table, pink sparkly rabbit ears on and placing chocolate eggs into baskets.

“Did you, did you make the girls Easter baskets?”

“I sure did, I thought we could say our good ole bunny friend popped by your house too.”

Bucky leaned over to give her a quick kiss, “it makes me incredibly happy that you think about them. It makes me feel so fulfilled that I’ve met someone that considers my daughters.”

“They’re part of you Bucky, why wouldn’t I think of them? Besides, I remember loving baskets like this when I was a kid and I want Riley and Piper to enjoy them too.��

The girls had squealed when they saw the large baskets on the kitchen table and ran to y/n, smothering her in kisses. Bucky’s ex-wife watched from the doorway and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to y/n. Once the girls had hugged their mom goodbye and wolfed down a breakfast of French toast and fruit, Bucky packed the girls in the car and they headed off to meet Steve.

It’s 10 a.m. and it looks like the Easter bunny and friends exploded pastel colours everywhere. The girls run into the kitchen, where Pepper is placing cupcakes adorned with mini eggs and Peeps on a tray.

“Hey you two, are you ready for some Easter treats and crafts? I hear the Easter Bunny will be here as well! Why don’t you take a look out back and see if there’s someone hopping around?” Pepper hands the trays of cupcakes to Bucky and pushing them towards the patio door.

The two of them head out towards the picnic tables, Bucky placing the cupcakes down before he turns to see a 6-foot-tall bunny out of the corner of his eye.

Bucky bursts out laughing before he can get a hello out. “Oh… my…” he keels over, his laughter so powerful that he has to hold onto the picnic table to stabilize himself. He can hear y/n ask what’s so funny and Bucky points over to wear Steve was last standing. He hears a little snort and it’s not long before she has fallen to the grass in a fit of laughter. Bucky can’t help but laugh louder at y/n’s display.

“What the hell are you wearing, Stevie?”

“It’s for the kids, you jerk. I have ears on, a cute little nose, and a bunny tail,” he says and wiggles his behind. “Obviously, I’m the Easter bunny.”

Tony saunters by, a mimosa in hand “why don’t you ask Rogers how “America’s Ass” ended up with a bunny tail.”

“Stevie, what did you do?” y/n laughs

Steve is between blushing and looking furious at Tony. “You just had to open your big mouth.”

“Rogers here thought it was a smart idea to make a bet with Pepper. This ancient idiot thought he could have a bake off with Pepper and win,” Tony snorts and take a sip of his drink.

“Oh Steve, you should have known Pepper would kick your ass,” y/n says, wrapping an arm around his waist, trying to comfort him. “I know for a fact, that the second the girls see you, they’ll jump all over you and tell you how much they love it. So, enjoy that it will be a hit with them.”

Bucky could hear their giggles coming from inside, Pepper, holding their hands, led them out to the picnic tables where the egg decorating had started. Y/n leaned into him a pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, letting him know that she was going to paint some eggs with his daughters.

“Come on Stevie, bounce away and introduce Cap McHippity Hop to the girls,” Tony teased.

“If those kids weren’t here Tony, I’d be kicking your f-”

“Now, now Cap, language,” mocked Tony, a sly smile forming across his face.

Steve muttered something unintelligible and made his was over to where Bucky’s girls were sitting with Y/N. His girls were so preoccupied with dipping their eggs in the coloured pots, that they didn’t notice Steve peeking over their shoulders. It wasn’t until Y/N started up with her giggling again, that Riley and Piper looked up to see what was so funny.

“Uncle Stevie!!! You have fuzzy ears AND a bunny nose!! Are you the Easter Bunny?” Riley asked loudly, jumping up to stand on the bench of the picnic table, now eye to eye with Steve.

“I’m your very own bunny, princess. Looks like you are doing a fabulous job with those Easter eggs. How about you and Piper come with me once you’re done and you can look around the yard for all the candy I hid?”

“Uncle Stevie, you’re the best!” Riley squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But don’t tell daddy that, ok?” she whispered into his ear.

With a smile, Steve squeezed her once more before heading over to where y/n was sitting. He sat beside her and smiled.

“Those girls sure love you, Steve. Thanks for doing this for them, even if you did lose a bet and had to wear a cute little bunny tail,” she said as she peeked over to see the fluffy white ball attached to his pants. “I think the tail suits America’s Ass,” y/n laughed, pushing against him lightly.

“Ya, ya, keep laughing. I’ll have you know, that I had already planned all of this before I lost the bet, the outfit only adds to the festivities. I wanted to make this day special for Bucky’s girls, they’re my family too.” He looked at Y/N and pulled her into a hug. “I hope you know that you are part of my extended family as well, I love all of you.”

The girls finished quickly and made their way around with baskets, collecting jellybeans and bunnies, the smiles are their faces making Y/N smile. Bucky made his way over to her, once they had finished with lunch and the girls were slowly slipping into a sugar coma from all the treats their Uncle Steve had bought for them.

“Hey Barnes, before we get out of here, I think you need to take that tail and ears from Steve; I’ve always wanted to be a playful bunny,” she winks at him and walks towards the girls. She watches as Bucky picks up his pace, going after Steve as he headed inside with empty platters from their lunch.

“Come on girls, let’s get everything together and head on home.”

“Hey Y/N? Thank you for coming with us and helping us keep daddy happy,” Piper says, her big eyes staring up at Y/N.

“You’re welcome sweetie, l love seeing your daddy happy too,” Y/N replied smiling. She was more than happy herself and glad that she had this little family to love.

[oftenderweapons]

Mold Me New (1) – Taehyung

A Small Town Swoons story

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Wordcount: 3.2k

Genre: ceramic artist!Taehyung, divorced!reader, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Angst, Slice of Life

Rating: 18+ (for future smut and explicit thoughts)

Hello to my readers!!!  Welcome to the Small Town Swoons Universe! 🥰✨

In this episode: Introducing the reader’s backstory, exploring her life as a wife and then as a single woman who is slowly getting to know herself as an individual person.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: There are mild curse words, a bit of a sad vibe regarding falling out of love and getting a divorce, description of several bad dates and good ones that end badly, mention of getting drunk, mention of sex toys, mention of one night stand.

In case you like my writing, here is my directory for idol!AUs, scenarios and imagines, and in case you need it, here’s the Spotify music companion.

I forgot to mention, bc I’m dumb and bc we’re becoming one body with two souls, but this chapter (as most of the decent, edited things I post) was beta read by the magical @joheunsaram​ (she’s recently lost her previous blog and she’s rebuilding it, please go say something nice and YOU SHOULD FOLLOW HER SHE’S A QUEEN ,,,,, my queen 🥺✨)

Enjoy 💜✨

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7 

When you fall in love with someone, the feeling is like entering a chocolaterie. The scent engulfs you, full and rich and sultry, igniting your senses, the heat making your skin glisten in a light sheen of perspiration, making you exceedingly vulnerable to pointless stuff, like the way your lover exhales. Or their hands skimming your arms.

At least, that was what your best friend had told you.

You had none of that. To you love was a daisy being twirled under your nose, sharing cotton candy, the smell of crisp apples, flannel sheets, the sound of dead leaves crackling under matching footsteps, a sturdy but shiny steel band around your finger suddenly substituted by a golden one.

That had been the beginning of the end. When practicality and simplicity had turned into conventionality and disinterest.

When gifts stopped being things you loved and became things he thought you loved. And then things everyone loved.

When love became a chore, that's when everything crumbled. When kisses became just a good morning and a welcome back, when there were no more laughs echoing in the kitchen, when leaves kept falling but it was your footsteps alone making them crackle, when flannel sheets kept feeling warm but still something was missing — because someone was missing — when suddenly there was no more time for fairs and cotton candy, when daisies became roses, Love stopped making sense. It stopped having a meaning for you.

You were no longer sure of the life you had built with the man of your dreams, the boy you had fallen in love with when you were eight, the guy who had walked with you across the corridors of your high school, who had made you twirl under the lame disco ball of your prom, who had gone through college finals with you, who had spent three summers making your hangout spot into a home, turning the small old shack into a proper place for you to build a new life together. He was your first kiss, your first valentine, your first time. He was the man at the end of the aisle, the man who would walk with you until the last of your days.

But one day he started running and you still walked.

Or maybe you were both running in different directions, no longer on the path to the same destination, your priorities somehow switched.

Of course, it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't yours either.

You had both participated in this small unraveling, and you had both expressed the intention of changing, of finding compromise, an in-between, without either of you actually making the effort of fixing your trajectory, small habits and old pet peeves pulling you even farther apart.

The attempts — multiple ones — were painstakingly embarrassing. There were tears on both sides as you wondered what had caused this sudden rift that separated you — except it wasn't sudden, only your realisation was; the crevasse had been there for way longer. Maybe it had started as a small chipping the very day you met him, and it wasn't until now that you realised how the small sign had turned into an ominous presence, and then into unfathomable, inevitable doom.

And then the divorce.

It had been disgustingly easy, both parties agreeing on the procedures.

You didn't want the house. And you didn't need it. He didn't either.

Selling it had been exceedingly painless, you had shared the money, since he wanted to offer you stability. He already knew you would both suffer and he didn't want you worrying about rent. He was still your friend, after all.

Going back to being alone scared you at the beginning, until you realised that few things were truly bothering you. At least there wasn't this ghost of a human making you doubt all of your plans. You could plan dinner five days ahead or improvise. You could go to the restaurant as a last minute deal. You could go on long walks without the 'I'm sorry baby, emergency' making you rush back to town.

It felt like a bit of a liberation.

And your family's bookshop was doing well enough, since it was situated near the college and it also offered printing service.

Of course there were bad days. Sometimes you woke up searching for a body beside yours, however that feeling had significantly subdued after you had gotten used to the new bed. You missed human contact, being close, intimate with someone, having someone who knows you that deeply.

And then the true nightmare.

Finding someone new.

You were genuinely uninterested in dating. You had given it a go and it had sufficed.

It wasn't your world.

How could it possibly be?

You had never dated. You had basically offered your heart to the person that has always owned it. It's not like you had any experience in that labyrinth that is dating. All those unspoken social norms and the pining and tension. You only knew the comfort of a warm hug, the beauty of a kiss sparking from innocence and affection and slowly turning into steady, warm passion. You didn't like infernos, you liked candles. You liked the domestic hearth. You liked moderation.

And dating was all about extremes, from strangers to 'I'm inspecting your throat' on date one. And then suddenly it's date three and the same guy who brought you to a pizza place and a diner is suddenly going out of his way to bring you to a pretentious, expensive restaurant as a way to propitiate the possibility of you dropping your panties.

You had allowed this foolery only three times. Apparently all the suitable suitors were either really prone to pushing the pedal or had a passion for tongue gastroscopies.

The first one, Albert, had been quite the gentleman on date one. On date two he started making inappropriate jokes with a heavy body shaming undertone — a bit cliché for the stereotypical gym rat. And on date three he had dropped all pretenses at politeness and had outright palmed your ass in public, which made you rightfully uncomfortable. As you pointed that out, he proceeded saying that after all it was your third date and it was time to loosen up a little.

You didn’t even bother staying for dinner, left a bill on the table and left.

No matter the first disappointment, you decided not to let that disrespectful fool slow you down. And since your best friend knew everything about rat headed number one, you allowed her to set you up with one of her colleagues after she reassured you he was nothing like the one before.

Except somehow he was. The first date was at the local pub, and you somehow found yourself getting along well, his jokes were funny and he had good timing, he was relaxed, confident but still a bit clumsy and shy. He could be a good candidate.

But that was before he pushed his tongue to your tonsils as he kissed goodbye.

You gagged.

On date two he admitted you weren’t exactly his type. You were glad to reciprocate the statement after he told you his dream was having four children and a farm, alluding to the fact that his bride needed to be the perfect housewife.

You were pretty adamant that was not the kind of future you wanted for yourself.

Candidate number three was a guy you had met while grocery shopping, and somehow he had impressed you in an absolutely positive way on date one and two. Everything had been perfect, he was kind, considerate and well-mannered. Date three had been innocent, simple, down-to-earth. And then date four. Perfect dinner at his place. He had made you swoon and he had a very pretty cat he was very affectionate with.

He was the first man you had felt desire for in a very long time — almost eight months after your divorce.

The sex had been decent for being a first time.

And then he had entirely disappeared and never texted or called you back, which didn’t sit entirely wrong with you. You wished him all the best but you were actually glad. You liked being you and doing your own thing: having someone too much down your neck, getting in a relationship, having to check in with another person again felt more like a burden than a win.

Maybe it was just a coping mechanism to avoid facing the fact that he had been someone you could have liked, someone you could have built something with.

You were a happy woman, and it’s not like you really felt lacking or incomplete, like some of your single friends felt. And you had no intention of starting a family anytime soon, no matter if your old high school classmates had begun popping out kids left and right. You were more than happy to live the teen and early-twenty years you had spent in a relationship.

You were getting to know yourself in a way most of your friends didn’t have time to — you could already see them going through a midlife crisis after their kids became old enough to navigate life by themselves, which meant no more need for overprotective, and sometimes borderline suffocating, mothers, who suddenly found themselves with too much free time and too little tasks to complete.

Knowing your needs made you a stronger, better woman, and solitude had gifted you a level of introspection and balance that you doubted they could ever reach; maybe that was an arrogant consideration, but you knew there was no way knowing and loving yourself would ever bring you to crying over disrespectful, ungrateful youth whose only fault was that of growing up out of their mothers’ plans.

Unfortunately, there was no way your family — especially your grandmother — could ever tolerate the idea of you not needing a man and a family to be happy.

“Oh, come on, isn’t it time for you to bring a nice fellow back home?”

You shook your head as you and your grandma took a walk along the river, the sunny March afternoon feeling way too nice to stay at home. “Granny. There’s no people like Grandad anymore.”

“Oh, darling. You’re starting with the wrong role model. Not even back in my days we had men like him. He was the exception.” She nodded to herself with a sweet smile, remembering the husband she had lost a few years back.

“It’s so frustrating. And after all that happened… You know how it was. We were together for years. He was the only one I had. I don’t even know how to do these things. And books cannot teach you stuff like that. The more you read, the more you realise that most of these men had never even seen a rom com.”

“Oh, come on, but you have the internet these days! Can’t you find him in there? You have all these phones and computers and everyone has them, there must be a good one in the internet.”

She always said that “in the internet”. Like it was a physical place.

“I don’t even want to look in there, Granny. There are so many dangers in there.” You shuddered as you thought at the funny instagram pages where the people posted screenshots of the worst descriptions. All the embarrassing playboys and the fishermen and the lame wanna-be poets.

“Right… How can you know he is really is a person?” She considered, patting your back proudly. “You’re pretty. And you’ve always had the most perfect bum of all your cousins. Just like mine!” She grinned cockily, giving a playful smack to your ass, making you laugh loudly.

“It won’t last long.” You said, looking down. Solitude scared you sometimes. Being old and alone could be hard on the spirit and you had a feeling that old hag you would curse your dumb arrogance and inconsideration. However, for now you were still somehow making it through. Your divorce was finalised almost ten months ago. You could still consider yourself just fresh out of it.

“You’re smart. And I’m sure you have a lot to offer. You’re a good woman, and you’re far from being too old. There’s never a thing such as too old. Don’t let yourself be fooled. Look at me.” She said. “I’m still living a good life. Herbert has left me but I’m still here. Walking. Cooking. Drizzle keeps me good company.” She smiled sweetly at the mention of her dog, a lovely large poodle elegantly strolling at her side, its light grey fur finely trimmed by your grandmother’s expert hands. She had been a hairdresser for decades: learning how to keep Drizzle’s coat had been a cup of tea for her and he’d kept her distracted from grief after your grandpa passed away.

Her face formed a meditative pout. “Maybe you should just get a dog. Or even better, a cat. You’ve always looked like a cat child to me. So quiet and focused, like you knew some secret that nature would speak to you alone. You were always so attentive as a child!”

You smiled and looked at the path under your feet. Drizzle stayed unbothered as a loud, angry dachshund walked towards him, barking annoyingly. You had never felt sympathy for that small evil breed.

“I think I could get a kitten one of these days. Or a cat, from the shelter.”

“I’m sure you’ll find it in the internet!”

“So we’re really doing the party thing?”

“Listen, baby. It’s gonna be your first party as a free woman. Real mind blowing birthday sex.”

“I’m not a virgin, you know?” You stared at your face in the mirror, spreading some moisturiser over your forehead, inspecting the small lines there. You shrugged and let them be.

Maybe you would spend your best years single and find a sugar baby in ten or twenty years. Wait, weren’t those called toy boys?

Who cares.

Maybe it was time to get the post-grad you had always dreamed of. You would need to check your bank account before making that decision — maybe finally telling yourself yes could be the real birthday gift. That is, beside the huge dildo waiting in your drawer. Not being attracted to men or women didn’t mean you didn’t like sex.

You just found it difficult to imagine being with someone.

“Darling I’d bet an arm and a leg he never gave it to your right. You just need a bit more experience.”

All you needed was a hot bath, some candles and a good book. No man, no one night stand, no birthday sex could possibly make you as happy as decent jazz, wine and a novel.

“Why aren’t we doing that wine tasting at the winery out of town?”

“Because I want you choking on cheap alcohol, having all the fun you didn’t have on your twenty-first birthday because you were planning your own wedding. And I bet you’re the only one who wasn’t fucked in the bathroom of the Wickhead.”

Terry could be incredibly crude, but you loved her nonetheless. You loved her even more for it. She had never hidden anything from you, she had told you even the most embarrassing details of her own life. And she had always been the kindest, most faithful friend: she had driven you way out of town when you were eighteen and your period was late and you needed to buy a pregnancy test without all everyone and their dog knowing; she had chosen your wedding dress for you, spotting it and telling you it was going to be the one before you could even see it. When your marriage had started crumbling, she had spent countless nights with you, keeping you company when your husband was busy with his business trips. Though Terry had insinuated cheating, you knew he would never break your trust like that, and she had decided to trust your better judgement.

You had simply fallen out of love with each other.

And when you had moved into your new apartment, Terry had helped you repaint the walls and build the extra bookcases and install the shelves and fill your wine stand. Before leaving she had grabbed an unfamiliar box from her car, placing it on top of your bed, opening it and spreading out a set of “single necessaire”, as she called it. A couple toys, lube, condoms. To celebrate your re-found sexual promiscuity, she had said, though you objected, it was hard rediscovering something you had never had.

She had shaken her head and left you to “familiarise” yourself with everything.

“You know I’m not exactly a party person, Terry. This will end badly.” You said, sitting on your bed with your back against the headboard, your legs stretched out before you.

“You can allow yourself some fun once in a decade, you know?” You could hear her scoff on the phone.

“But I do have fun. Book. Wine. Bingo!” You explained, rolling your eyes as the booed.

“Come on, do it for me. Do it for your single friend who wants to get drunk and possibly sixty-nine? Please?” The other thing wrong with Terry is that if you ever met her in person, you would face the sweetest five foot three and a half — she insisted on the half — human being you could ever meet, with pretty wavy blonde hair and wide, sweet green eyes, the most boopable button nose and a sprinkle of freckles on her golden skin. She literally glowed in sunlight and her flowy gowns always made her look like a goddess: you could see men fighting for her, dying for her and going to war for just one of her gentle smiles.

“Don’t you have a FWB for that sixty-nine thingie?” You asked with an exceedingly inquisitive tone. It had been a while since she last updated you.

“Dumped him.” She replied curtly.

You tutted before exhaling. Emotionally constipated people — what’s wrong with them?

“He’s dating someone since he was ready for a relationship.” Terry sounded a bit colder than usual.

“And you weren’t?” You asked. You felt your tone hesitate with slight concern. You knew she would just put up a wall and ignore your question.

Fortunately, she didn’t. “I’m not ready to talk about that. It’s complicated, Frog.”

She was hurt and wanted a distraction.

“Okay, Terry. We’re going to get rip roaring drunk this Saturday.”

The line went silent.

“You know I love you right?”

“I love you too, sweetie. Now go to sleep, you have an early shift tomorrow.”

The line went silent after you bid each other goodnight, your body settling underneath the sheets once you realised your eyes were fluttering shut  as you tried to read a few pages to put yourself to sleep.

Placing down the book, you hugged the extra pillow, settling your face in the corner between your sleeping pillow and your spare one, the heavy woolen comforter acting like a weighted blanket. You placed another pillow behind your back, making a soft cocoon all around you.

Yes, sometimes you still missed being hugged to sleep.

The taglist is open!

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7

[a-pretty-nerd]

Tomura Shigaraki x AllMight!Daughter!Reader

Chapter 7

Premis:

When The League of Villians discovers that AllMight has a daughter, they are quick to snatch you up and hold you hostage. Shigaraki had a careful and thought out plan, but that was before you got there. Now you're in the mood for some not-so-healthy rebellion.

Word Count: 2,270

Warnings: Fighting, trauma, family issues, etc. 

A/N:

I'm really glad you guys seem to like this series, I'm having a lot of fun with it! Please don't be afraid to interact, like, comment, share, and I do requests too! Every little bit helps support me. I also post my original work on my Wattpad, and I have a Patreon if you wanna support me further! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

chapter 6  Chapter 8 

"How long has it been since you last took your medication?" Shigaraki asked from across the room, seated in a chair as he adjusted the quirk-neutralizing gloves over his hand.

"The day you took me." You told him, standing awkwardly waiting in the middle of the room. The old office space had furniture pressed against the walls to create an open space. A makeshift ring for fighting. Shigaraki had tried to get you to use your quirk to do so, but you found yourself unable to control it. He stood from his seat, dressed in a comfortable set of all black. As were you, something Toga had brought for you at Shigaraki's request.

"How long have you been working out for?" He asked. His eyes and face nearly emotionless. He was cold and calculating. Trying to put pieces of a puzzle together to form what he perceives as you.

"Since I can remember. Mom always had me in some kind of sport. She said it would help me keep my head straight."

"Today I'll be judging your physical skills outside of your quirk. Even if you had control, you can't always rely on your quirk alone."

"Don't have to tell me twice." You scoffed, holding your hands up to protect your face as Shigaraki shifted into a defensive stance.

"Don't hold anything back." He ordered. He moved closer, walking with you as your bodies traced a circle around the ring. You watched him, preparing yourself to fight. This wasn't your first taste of combat. In fact, you had the luxury of free self-defense classes when your mother married her first wife, Sandra. As a hero trainer, Sandra worked to train future heroes before they chose what course they wanted to take in their "hero" careers.

Sandra was a kind woman. She made you feel strong and safe in a way your mother never could. Sandra was more like a mother to you than she ever was. It broke your heart when they divorced. They had been together so long and everything seemed fine. But out of nowhere, Sandra's place in your life shrunk. She still called to talk and sent you birthday/holiday gifts, but she wasn't around anymore. You felt you had lost the only parent you'd ever truly had.

Distracted, a hit to your cheek shook you awake. You paused and turned. He hadn't really even hit you that hard, just pushed your head with his knuckles. You looked at Shigaraki, puzzled.

"You're distracted. Get a grip." He told you. You felt embarrassed. You adjusted your stance and dug your heels into the concrete floor. You looked into his eyes and furrowed your brow.

"Right. Sorry." You blurted. Suddenly he moved, quickly going in for a real hit. With your wrist, you blocked and went in for a hit. Only for him to dodge and aim for your stomach. He hit and hard. It was enough to shake you, but not enough to get you down. You raised your fists up and brought them down on his upper back, knocking him to his knees. That low, you lifted your shoe to kick him in the face. Only to have your ankle swiped out from until you. Hitting the floor, you let out a loud and upset grunt.

"Pay attention. You keep leaving yourself vulnerable." He scolded. Still on his knees, watching you as you pulled yourself away from him. Swinging your legs around to kick him in the gut, creating a distance and knocking him to the floor.

It hurt him, but not enough. He hardly even seemed hurt by it at all. All it did was create distance. Any normal man would be down for the count, but Shigaraki was no normal man. You'd have to be smarter than that.

"Is that all?" He mocked before charging you again. You held up your fists to block punch after steady punch. Bruising the back of your hands and forearms. His movements were quick and steady now. You found your opening and cut up into his ribs. He flexed before you could hit, doing little to no damage. You repeatedly hit his ribs when there was an opening, hoping to wear him down or build up in preparation to rush him. No such luck. He would flex and lean into the hit absorbing your impact so it did almost nothing but maybe hurt a bit.

You dodged and blocked as best you could, but eventually he landed a hard hit to your cheek, sending you back a bit.

"Years of athletics and this is it?" He asked with a grin.

"Piss off. It's been a little while since my last fight." You told him, lunging forward to rain a series of hits down on him. You even landed a few, the more you fought, the more you got used to his movements and his tactics. You knew winning or at least passing this fight wouldn't be about strength, it'd be about getting him to quit. You'd have to outsmart him, or at least distract him.

You backed him up to the center of the ring, hitting harder into his ribs so it forced him back. Regardless of how hard you hit, even if it was a good one, it always seemed more like a wild inconvenience than a painful hit to his body. He'd let out deep grunts here and there, maybe a comment or two, but otherwise he was quiet. He watched you as you moved around him. Watched the way you hit and dodged and danced around him. Swinging your leg up to bring your knee to his nose. Thats what got him.

He backed up, holding his face as he groaned. He looked down at his hand, no blood. You hadn't hit hard enough to draw blood, just enough to hurt. Its not like you were too weak to break his nose, your hits to his ribs and his back proved that. You were strong. You controlled your hit.

"I said don't hold back." He grumbled. You shrugged.

"I'm not. I just didn't want to damage that pretty face of yours." He scoffed at your joke. He charged you again, setting off another round. It would take an hour of fighting like this before he became satisfied. You swung your foot to his face again, only for him to grab ahold of your ankle to stop it. His eyes met yours as the two of you panted.

The way he looked at you. It wasn't cold or calculating, no gears were turning. It had stopped. His grip loosened, a few fingers raising away. The glove on his hand made a loud creaking sound as he moved away. His expression appeared satisfied, content, and almost pleased. It made your cheeks feel warm. You weren't joking when you said, 'pretty face' you really did find him strangely attractive.

"We're done for now. We'll work on your pacing later." He told you as he pushed your foot away so it fell back to the floor. You hopped back as you tried to stabilize yourself as you watched him walk back to his chair. He tossed a bottle of water at you. You fumbled with it before finally grasping it to take a drink.

"How'd I do, teach?" You jokingly called him. He raised his brow at the name as he drank from his water.

"You need work, your style and movements need to be refined. And you could be a bit stronger. But," he paused, looking away from you, "you're okay. Our real focus needs to be on your quirk. You need to gain more control."

"Control." You muttered to yourself as you looked out a window in thought. "My meds always kept me in control."

"No. Your meds kept you weak. You needed structure and help, not medication." He told you, approaching you as he removed his gloves.

"Why don't you keep those on?" You asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to-"

"I can't rely on them all the time. Like your meds, If I wore them all the time, I'd hardly know how to function without them. Then, when I'd need to use my quirk, I might make a mistake and not realize it till it's too late." He placed his palm on your shoulder, fingers splayed out in the air. "I'd lose the control I've worked for. That's why you need to learn how to control your own powers. So you don't need the meds at all." Fingers came down on your shoulder, all but his thumb which held out. He gave your shoulder a tight squeeze.

"But, not everyone on meds can just go off them and be okay. That's not how it works, medication is different than gloves-" He squeezed tighter, leaning in closer to face you and get your attention.

"You're not everyone, Y/N. You're stronger than you think." He growled before suddenly letting go and walking out of the room. You gripped the water bottle in your hands as your heart raced in your chest. Your lip began to quiver and your eyes started to water. You hadn't heard those words in a longer time. It was strange to hear such encouraging words from him. But the way he looked at you, he meant it. You nervously looked around the room as the tears started to fall.

They were gentle, sad tears. When was the last time someone had been so encouraging? So, patient and willing to work with you like this. You chuckled through the tears at the horrible revelation. This came from a villian, your captor no less, a man trying to use you for his own selfish gain. Even now, in helping you, he was probably trying to use you to help him somehow. Still though, what did that say about your own family?

Speak of the devil. Your mother starred out the apartment window, teeth gnawing on her nail. Her eyes peered down at the cars below and the people on the street. Her other hand dug into her side, supporting her other elbow.

"Hey..." Toshinori called to her. She paused and turned her head towards him. Her eyes still anxiously glued to the window. Your father sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She spat.

"For...For everything." His terrible posture consumed him as he shuffled forward to stand beside her. "This is all my fault."

"No. It's not. It was my idea to send her to Japan for the summer." She stated. She continued to gnaw on her nail, absently starring outside.

"Can I ask you something?" He mumbled, sharing her view.

"What?"

"Back then...when we first met. Well, do you ever regret-"

"Are you asking me if I regret my own daughter?" She barked. Toshinori let out a startled grunt.

"Uh! No! I just- You never- All these years-" your mother sighed.

"Sometimes." She said softly, almost a whisper it was so quiet. "I wouldn't give her up for the world. But sometimes, I wish things were different. I wish I had known the things I know now. I just wish things could have been different."

"She told me about school. How come you never came to me for the money?" Your mother scoffed at him.

"It was never a money issue. It was a work issue. After her tantrum, she needed a distraction. She needed to stay focused on her work so she didn't fall behind. She ran away, yknow."

"No. I...I didn't."

"Yeah well, she threw a fit over something stupid, classes I think. She stopped taking her meds and ran away to a friend's house for a while before her friend called me to come get her. Her fits had gotten so bad it nearly destroyed her apartment. Had to call the police. It was so bad. She spent time in a facility for a month before she finally came around."

"A facility? Why didn't I hear about this?" Your mother turned to him with a sad and tired gaze.

"Why would you care? Usually you're too busy with hero work to even send her a birthday card. You think you could have helped her? You hardly even know her." Your mother scoffed. Toshinori fell silent before taking in a deep breath and speaking again.

"I may not have been there for her then, but," he held his head up, balling his hand into a fist, "I won't let her down this time. I promise, from here on out I'm going to be the best father I can be. I won't let my little girl down ever again."

"Where's this coming from? You hardly ever expressed interest in her before. Is it because she's finally someone that needs saving?" She mocked.

"It's true that I always put my career above everything else. Y/N always frightened me, I never knew what to say or do. I just wanted her to be safe, I thought I was doing the right thing by leaving her alone and letting her live her life away from mine. But when I saw her at the airport, all grown up, I realized how long it'd been. How absent I was. And talking to her, I realized how smart and kind she is. I regret not being there for her. For you, when you needed me. But she needs a hero now more than ever and I won't let either of you down."

"Are you sure you can handle it? From what I hear, your last fight with All For One was your last."

"I'll do what I can."

Taglist <3: 

@craftybean13 @babayaga67 @imjustverable

@bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love

@kamenoyaki @hentaiqween101 @skzero-99

[ladyrynofsunnydale]

Bo-Katan Week Day 4/ Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: References to Major Character Death, References to Mild Drug Use

Characters: Bo-Katan Kryze, Koska Reeves, Boba Fett, Din Djarin, Cara Dune, Moff Gideon (Star Wars), Fennec Shand (mentioned), Ursa Wren (mentioned), Sabine Wren (mentioned), Satine Kryze (mentioned)

Summary: Post-Mandalorian Season 2 Rescue. Bo-Katan isn’t quite sure today could have gone any worse. She had failed to enact her revenge, she was in pain, and honestly, she wanted all these aruetiis off her ship now. And if Din Djarin tried to get her to take the Darksaber one more time, she might just lose it.

Author’s Note: Happy Day 4 of Bo-Katan week! I think this counts as Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss? Anyways, I couldn't stop thinking about how Bo-Katan would have reacted to the finale of the Mandalorian Season 2 so I cranked this out. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Tags: @bokatanweek 

Click on the link up top to read or continue reading below

Bo-Katan hissed when she settled into the chair in the light cruiser’s medbay. She’d walked there on her own just on sheer force of will and anger, but now that the adrenaline was leaving her body she was left aching and in pain. She wasn’t thirty anymore and she felt those blaster wounds far more than she used to. Could also be due to the fact that she no longer used battle stimulants. While she didn’t miss the not sleeping for days and jittery energy high that accompanied the stims, she did miss the absence of pain.

She pulled out her knife to cut into her flightsuit and barely kept herself from crying out as she pulled it out of the singed flesh on her left thigh. Gritting her teeth, she leaned into her anger to help her through the pain. Anger at allowing herself to be distracted by the Jedi carving a path through the dark troopers. Anger at allowing herself to be thrust back in time into long ago memories, memories of a simpler time when her greatest worry was that her sister was ruining Mandalorian culture while a host of Jedi led a grand petty war at the head of an army of clones. How different things could have been if her sister’s Jedi love had been able to save her. How different things may have been had the Jedi not fallen. Her distraction had allowed karking Gideon to get the jump on her. Again. Six shots, four pinging off her armor and two hitting their mark in her mid and upper left thigh. To compound that, one of the shots had hit her left shin guard and had hyper extended her knee. The pain made her whoozy and she leaned over, holding her still helmeted head in her hands, and willed the world to stop blacking out at the edges and for the contents of her stomach to stay where they were.

She had lost the Darksaber. Her one shot at proving to her people that she was worthy to lead them one more time. Proving to herself that she was worthy to lead them again. That saber had consumed her life for years. She’d accepted it once without winning it, and she couldn’t do that again. Maybe that is why she had lost everything. Why her people had lost everything. She still remembered holding Ursa’s body as she died. Ursa, her oldest friend and confidant. After that, she couldn’t look Sabine in the eye. Not until she had avenged Ursa and her people by taking revenge on Gideon and winning the Darksaber back. And karking Din Djarin had taken that from her.

She pulled out her blasters and fired continuously at a deactivated droid in the corner of the room until it was just a smoking hole in the wall then removed her helmet and launched it across the room, screaming her rage and pain. Standing she limped her way to a cabinet and violently yanked the doors open and riffled through the contents until she’d found cleaning solution, bacta, and an elastic bandage. She sat down again and cleaned the wounds before spreading the bacta on them, grinding her teeth together to work through the pain, then wrapped the elastic bandage around her aching knee to stabilize it. Once her task was accomplished, all her energy left her and she dropped her head back into her hands and stared at the floor. The Darksaber. Din Djarin. Gideon. Sabine. Ursa. Ahsoka. Satine. Fenn Rau. The Darksaber. Her mind spiraled and spiraled until there was a knock at the door. She looked up to see Koska. And Boba Fett. The clone.

“Come to gloat?” she snapped out.

“Thought about it, Princess. But I’m not one to kick someone when they’re down,” he answered.

“Since when?” she snorted. He shrugged. She couldn’t see his face with his helmet on and the voice modulator masked any emotion.

“When the mood strikes me. Here,” he said and tossed her a loaded stimulant gun. She caught it and clenched her teeth together.

“I don’t use these anymore.” Fett crossed his arms over his chest.

“You might want to consider it.”

“I’ll take the pain, thanks.” She tossed it back to him. He shrugged.

“Suit yourself. Fennec and I are leaving. Good luck on your fool’s errand of retaking Mandalore.” Bo ground her teeth together. Staring at Jango Fett’s clone in Mandalorian armor and hearing that voice so easily dismiss her home planet made her blood boil. That voice that she had owed so much to when they’d helped her reclaim Mandalore, and then the voice that had just as quickly turned on them to claim Mandalore for the Empire. She’d hated the clones. Hated that they were based off a Mandalorian’s DNA and had gone against everything a Mandalorian stood for. They had no honor. They had gunned down her people, adults and children alike, to force the planet into submission. Even Ursa had submitted.

However, she could use Fett and Fennec’s skills. They were both true and formidable warriors. But Fett didn’t believe in her cause, didn’t believe in her, and how could she blame him? She couldn’t even reclaim the Darksaber and was just shot by the man who’d taken it from her. And where Fett went, Fennec went.

“Try not to get yourself killed,” she snarked.

“You too, Princess,” he answered back, and she was surprised to hear a note of sincerity. He then turned and was gone. Koska leaned up against the doorframe and she could feel her eyes on her as she pushed herself up to standing and tested her left leg. It held. Thank the gods. She limped her way to her helmet and picked it up.

“You alright, boss?” Koska asked. Bo had known Koska since she was ten. Her Aunt had been one of her most loyal Nite Owls, and after watching her parents get gunned down by clones she’d enthusiastically volunteered when she’d come of age. She’d quickly become one of her most trusted people, especially as the commandos around her had dwindled, and she was happy to have her by her side now. And proud of the woman and warrior she had become.

“Just fine, Reeves.” She turned around and saw Koska staring at her. She softened just a bit. “I’m alright. Just not as young as I used to be.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Koska said, smirking, coming into step beside her while she limped out the door and back towards the command bridge.

She prepared herself to once again be among the remaining people there. Din Djarin, the New Republic drop trooper, and Gideon. As she’d suspected, Fett and Fennec were already gone, and the trooper was speaking with somebody on the comms.

“I want both of you off this ship,” Bo snapped, limping into the room. Everyone turned their eyes to her, and she could see Gideon once again smirking. The Darksaber was just lying there on one of the control consoles. Breathe, Bo-Katan, breathe, she told herself.

“The Republic will meet us…” the trooper said and Bo cut her off.

“I’m not rendezvousing with any New Republic fleet. You can take Gideon and the shuttle and get off my ship.”

“You didn’t take this ship all by yourself,” the trooper said, narrowing her eyes.

“Get. Off. My. Ship.” Bo stalked towards her and loosened her blasters in their holsters. She saw the dropper’s eyes flick to her repeating rifle then back to Bo, and Koska stepped up beside her. Their stare off was finally interrupted by a voice from the console.

“Dune? Dune, do you read me?” The trooper, Dune, broke her gaze and stared down at the console and pressed a button.

“I read you. Slight change of plan. Send me your coordinates and I’ll meet you with the prisoner.”

There was silence for a while, then finally a response.

“Protocol dictates…”

Bo limped over and slammed her hand down on the button.

“I don’t give a damn what protocol dictates. If you want Gideon alive and not a smoking corpse, you will transmit your coordinates to Trooper Dune so they can get the hell off my ship.”

Silence again.

“Who is this?”

“I am Bo-Katan of Mandalore. I am taking over command of this ship as recompense for what the Empire did to my people.”

They didn’t respond for a few minutes. She was sure they were looking her up, and she figured she knew what they’d find.

“Lady Kryze,” the voice came back, and she wasn’t surprised. “As former regent…”

“Transmit the fucking coordinates,” Bo-Katan interrupted.

Silence.

“Transmitting now,” the voice finally said. Dune downloaded the coordinates onto a disk.

“We’ll meet you there,” she said into the console and took a step back. “Well, it’s been a pleasure,” she said sarcastically and Bo ignored her and walked further into the bridge. “Din, what’s your plan?” Bo turned to see his response. He was just sitting there, where she’d left him however long ago, his helmet on the console beside him and his head in his hands, staring at the ground. As much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn’t. She pitied him. She knew it had not been easy for him to hear what she’d had to say on Trask. Having grown up in a cult herself, she knew how it took over your persona. Djarin had forsaken everything he’d known for the foundling, and then had lost him. Just like she’d lost Satine. And Ursa. And her planet.

Djarin looked up. His eyes were red, and he seemed to be unused to focusing on people with his bare eyes.

“I…” he started, his voice rough, and cleared his throat. He looked between Bo, Koska, and Dune, then stared straight at Bo, then to the Darksaber, then back. “Please take it,” he pleaded. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. He dropped his head and stared at the ground again, a defeated man. He took a shuddering breath then looked up again. “I’ll come with you, Bo-Katan.” She nodded then turned to Dune and raised her eyebrow. 

“Very well,” Dune sighed, and walked over to Djarin and he stood and they clasped arms. “Good luck. You know where to find me.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Dune turned and pulled Gideon up and dragged him towards the door.

“Let’s go, asshole.”

And then they were gone. A short time later she heard the beep that signaled a ship leaving the hanger and she watched the shuttle move away then jump to hyperspace. Djarin finally broke the silence.

“What’s the plan now?”

Without turning around from the vast expanse of space, Bo answered.

“We take back our planet.”

[girlandthedarkness]

the avatar I azula x reader part II

what if azula will have a crush on a girl that turns out to be the avatar, what would she do? part one

a/n: this is a second part, thank you for everything, warning a very ooc azula and an evil!zuko, so if you don't like stuff like this don't read it

She won. The reign of the Ozai is over. To give him credit it was a rough fight, but despite her young age, Y/n wasn't worse, striking him without a hesitation, deadly. Y/n moves fast, the war is over, but the fight is not finished yet, she could see some devoted soldier who still keep attacking, but that's in vain. The ones deep red sky is now smoky blue and with a move that Katara taught her she rises the ocean's water to put down the fire who still burn. Y/n let a heavy sigh, she wants to pass out right here, forget about the war and what will happen after this. The girl almost let her body fall down when she remembered: Azula. The last time she saw her she was ready to fight along with Katara against Zuko, taking the flying bison. Y/n close her eyes and make her body to move again, the memories of the goodbye at the bay and her long road to earth kingdom still fresh in Y/n's mind like an open wound.

“She's in one of the village of Kyoshi Island, Y/n thought it's a good idea to hide from the fire nation under the protection of the order that one of her past lives created. She stayed here and tried to learn anything that will improve her bending, studying one by one the many Kyoshi's diaries and thanks spirits, there's a lot of them. Kyoshi was a fascinating avatar, her era was one of the most peaceful, so there's a lot that Y/n can learn from her, also she needs to learn everything about peacemaking.

In one of the days, where she was studying another old scroll she was interrupted. "Avatar Y/n, there are some intruders that we found at the beach, one of them claim to be an airbender." No one except a few Kyoshi's warriors knew that she's the Avatar, one of them was Suki, who's voice was fast and breathless, probably from running to her. "Take me to them."

Turned out it was indeed an airbender and also two people from water tribe, the girl, Katara, was even an waterbender. "Why are you here hiding?" Katara sounds hurt and her teary eyes prove it. "It's not like I have other options; I can't even learn how to bend. The only thing I'm good at is firebending." Y/n came closer to Katara and looking at her she addressed everyone. "Look guys, a year ago I wasn't even a bender and know look at me an firenation avatar, in the times when your own nation wouldn't hesitate to hunt and kill you." It was quiet while everyone perceived the story. "I can teach you airbending" Aang's voice is cheerful and you smile involuntary at him. "And I can teach you everything about waterbender, I don't know much, since, you know..." Katara fall silent, struggling to find the right words. "Since what? I don't know? What happened?" Y/n is panicked, what happened to southern water tribe? "Since they took all waterbenders from us" Sokka finished for her and this time Y/n fall silent, how can she assert herself as a good avatar, when her own nation has brought so much damage and pain? Training and traveling, that's how they spend the following months, hiding from the firenation, who mistakenly thought Aang was the Avatar. But keeping it a secret that she's the avatar was like a rock on Y/n heart, that's why when she found out the prison for earthbenders she decides to reveal herself, saving together with her friends everyone. That's it, it was the first step to bring the peace into the world, Y/n thought. Later alongside the road Y/n meet Toph Beifong, who became her earthbender master.

When Y/n and Azula finally meet, they were on different sides, Azula besides her brother, Zuko, and Y/n beside her friends. Y/n heart was beating so fast when she saw Azula, who changed so much during almost a year, but her hair was still proudly in a top knot and she's dressed in a perfect firenation clothes. Y/n couldn't help but smile, when she saw the face of the girl who hunts her both in nightmares and daydreams, but was only meet with a frown a stone cold face. Studying her, Y/n didn't notice when Zuko attacked her, fortunate she was saved by the earth that was bend as a shield by Toph. Y/n notice the quick mad glance that Azula throw at Zuko, until she attacked them as well, not actually making any harm, Y/n observe. 'Maybe she's not mad, she did say that she cares about you' Y/n though, dodging Azula's fire. It wasn't a long fight, two firebenders against three benders and the Avatar isn't the fairest battle, hopping quickly on Appa Y/n gaze one more time at the breathless Azula, engraving the princess image in her brain.

The next time they meet they were alone, standing on the same bay were almost year ago they split up, this time the weather is peaceful and sunny, with sea breeze. "How are you?" Azula's voice is calm as always, Y/n's voice on other hand is stuck in her throat and she can't speak anything. Azula takes this silent moment to look at the girl next to her, studying very careful every detail, feeling weak for the storm that is caused by Y/n in her heart. The last time they meet, Zuko was mad at her, claiming that she was too soft and that's the reason they lost. After that he didn't took her with him on hunting the Avatar anymore, finding thousands excuses, making Azula very mad. She knows Zuko do that deliberately to mess up her relationship with father, tending to win her and to became the father's favorite child. Azula don't care anymore, her father and family don't care about her, they never were, Azula's own mother hated her and father just use her. Her friends were the one who care about her, but after the story with Y/n being the Avatar she lost them as well. "Azula, I know you're loyal to your father, but he's evil, the firelord caused so much pain and destruction, but we can stop him, together. Please?" Y/n voice interrupts her endless thoughts again, like in old times. " I don't know if I can leave everything behind..." "No one here cares about you more than I do, join us, please." Azula will lie if she'll tell that she wasn't thought about leaving the firenation and join Y/n and her friend, but every time something was holding her back. But right now with the wind that cares softly her hair, she realizes, Azula don't have anything to lose anymore, everything she ever care about is gone and now she has a chance to return at least a piece of herself. "I'll join you Y/n, not avatar Y/n and not your friends, you."

That's how they found out the Ozai's plan about the Sozin Comet, that he wants to use it to destroy the Earth Kingdom. Together they come up with a plan how to defeat the firelord, training and strengthen themselves. Y/n knows that Katara and Azula have some disagreements, but she also knows that they best in their elements, that's why Y/n paired these two together. "Y/n, I don't want to fight alongside with some peasant, I’ll go with you." Y/n notice Katara's angry stare and how she's ready to reply something as well offensive. "You and Katara are the best fighters from our group, you'll go and fight with Zuko and his people and you'll take over the royal palace." Y/n quickly respond trying to avoid a quarrel before the battle. "And I'll became the firelord." Ends for her Azula.

Y/n found her with Katara near the palace stairs, while the waterbender was healing the unmoved body on the ground. That scares Y/n, until she notices Azula stating on other side, having a desperate stare and Y/n is sure, this sight will be tattooed in her brain forever. Y/n runs faster at the girls, fearing to be late, kneeling beside Katara, Y/n see Zuko, with a lighting mark on his chest, which rises slowly. "Is he alright?" Y/n knew that the siblings have a difficult relationship, but she just killed Azula's father, it was enough deaths for her to endure today. "He almost died, but I stabilized him, should be fine." Receiving the answer that she needed, Y/n hurried up to Azula, who sat silently on one of the stairs step. "Did you killed him?" Y/n don't need to ask who's him, she knows. "Yes" Azula slowly nods and stand up, giving Y/n the most bone crashing hugs that she ever received. This surprised Y/n, Azula was never for affection on public, choosing to keep everything private, she's still a princess.

The following weeks was the messed part of Y/n life. It's supposed to be a happy ending, Y/n overcome the firelord, won and end the one hundred war. But still so much destruction and pain that wouldn't heal over a small amount of time. Y/n is at her old house now, deciding to pick some honorable clothes that she left behind trying to save herself. Sitting here, in her old room it's weird now, Y/n grew up, but this walls still holds a part of her old, careless life, Y/n shakes her head as if to escape unpleasant thoughts. Soon enough Azula will be crowned as the new firelord, marking the new era for the firenation and she'll need to figure out a way to improve the world.

The coronation day is today and the spirits may be with them, because they blessed the day with a sunny and warm weather. Y/n takes a quick look at the large window, that revealed a big crowd, divided by clothes colors, she notices as well only one bright yellow spot, Aang, he's the only survivor of the air nomads. Y/n suddenly feels very selfish, she was worried about herself, that's why she decided to stay here, in palace, hiding in the dark halls. Not ones a thought about her friends flied through her mind. Also, Azula asked her to sit next to her, on the outside as the symbol that their nation started the path to the world healing, but Y/n was too afraid to meet the hope that people will put on her. She feels stupid now, she's the avatar and she needs to face the consequences, Y/n hurried herself to the hallway that leads outside, meeting here a certain nervous princess. "Did you changed your mind?" Azula asks with so much hope in her voice, that even if Y/n didn't change her mind prior, she would do it now. "Yes, I figured out that the world need their avatar and I'm willing to give them one." So together they start their walk to the crowd, ready to change the world side by side.

this is very god damn cheesy end, but i didn't wanted to do a sad ending, thank you for all supporting and kind words, I'm so excited to finally finish this, I work a few days, so I hope you enjoyed this!

[37-children-of-the-dreams]

Day #31: Fearless

Dear Dave Filoni, thank you for being the next person who had hurt me through a fictional character. I saw the leak and now this fanfiction of Crosshair and Korkie has gotten a million times sadder. Especially because this means Crosshair would never be friends, let alone acquaintances, with Korkie. He'd just kill Korkie if they met.

Because of Dave, the next titles will just be Taylor Swift songs for reasons.

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

Crosshair had a long list of things he hated in life. Regs, war, discord and people.

True, bringing Korkie in his life brought some discord, but he gave him some stability in his new life. Also, Korkie mostly made sure there was some sense of peace. And he never saw Crosshair as just a clone, but a person he loves to marry.

But Bo-Katan? Crosshair was willing to put a technical war crime in his resume. As in kidnap the heir to the Mandalorian throne, and marry him so Bo-Katan can't do anything. Which was one part of their insane plan.

Looking at his Korkie and the aunt who abandoned him made Crosshair grab Korkie's hand to make sure they couldn't take him away.

"Drop your filthy hands off my nephew!" Bo-Katan barked.

"No," Crosshair declared. "I'm Korkie's fiancé, and only he has the rights to tell me anything."

Bo-Katan glared at Korkie. Korkie glared back in defiance and tightened the grasp Crosshair had of his hand. He can't break his stoic face and smile at Crosshair's declaration. He wants Bo-Katan to know who he'll listen to.

"Korkie Kryze, you need to stop this! Your relationship with this clone will destroy our House. Don't you want to bring glory back to this House? To Satine? The woman who raised you?"

"Don't you ever dare use my mother against me!" Korkie roared. "I was the one who had always stayed by her side while you ran off with Death Watch because you were a coward who couldn't argue with my mother."

Bo-Katan opened her mouth, but Korkie used the Force to shut her up. Bo-Katan felt her mouth closing and saw that Korkie had his free hand raised. She mentally gasped at the revelation and knew what Korkie might be capable of.

"I am not done," he added. "I know I'm just a young boy to you, but I've just found things about me that made realize how much I needed to grow up. One, I, and by extension you, came from a long line of Force Seers who could see the past and future. Two, I've been using the Force to see our family's history and you know I'm not wrong when I said you ran from Mother because you were never one to win an argument with words. And lastly, Crosshair is my future husband and I don't care if you hate him, you need to respect my choice or I'm going to make things harder on you."

Korkie dropped his free hand Crosshair hugged him in the back. Crosshair smirked at the sight of Bo-Katan freezing at the knowledge that she has no more power over Korkie. And even if she did, who's to say Korkie wasn't going to bolt and leave Mandalore for good?

Bo-Katan finally stopped being a statue and looked at the sight of her nephew with his lover. It disgusted and rocked Bo-Katan to her core that Korkie would follow in Satine's steps in choosing the wrong person to love. She didn't even need to guess who helped sired Korkie because she already knew, and she hated how he had picked a clone who might have worked with his father.

Bo-Katan must right this wrong before Korkie marries the clone and destroy his future as Duke of Mandalore.

"I will leave for now," she said. "But I'll come back with my Nite Owls. You know what must happen or else."

Korkie sighed. "Really? Threatening my nanny? You might be my aunt by blood, but Nanny Rana is more of an aunt to me than you."

Bo-Katan left the scene through jetpack, but she still heard the screams of a pissed off Korkie. The only way to right a wrong between Kryzes is a duel. Winner take all, loser must fall.

Korkie screamed at the air as Bo-Katan left. He almost fell to the floor, but Crosshair was still hugging him and he sat the angry former duke on the floor. Rana got to his side as Crosshair was running his hands through Korkie's hair. The nanny hugged her former charge and walked him through their old breathing tactics.

"She's the one who left me!" he argued. "I'm nothing to her. Nothing!"

"Maybe in your head," Crosshair said. "But you're actually important Korkie. You were announced as your mother's heir, and Bo-Katan has not right to say you're not."

"He's not wrong," Rana agreed. "You might have been under house arrest, but unless you die, Bo-Katan has no power over what you are. You might think of yourself as a former royal, but that's not true."

"But I haven't been active in almost a year," Korkie argued. "Bo-Katan has been in the spotlight, not me."

"But who was the one with the bounty?" Crosshair reminded. "They know how important you are. You're the real heir, not Bo-Katan."

Korkie sighed as the thought settled in. He was so done with the trauma that he basically let him down. He became so dependent on Crosshair's praises that he forgot how much he really cost to Mandalore and the throne. He forgot that Amis, Lagos and Soniee came for him because of who he is. He might have lost his Mother, but he was Satine's heir.

Korkie stood up as Crosshair steadied him. He looked at his future husband and laughed. Crosshair give him a confused look as he stopped laughing.

"You know," he said. "I know you never worked with my father, but you did say you used to work with Commander Cody before, who was my father's second-in-command. My mother fell in love with my father, and now I'm in love with you, who worked with his former second-in-command."

"And why is that important?" Crosshair asked.

"I think Bo-Katan wants to make sure I don't end up like my mother. Falling in love with the supposed enemy. Which makes me want to fight harder for tomorrow."

"But it's late!" Rana protested.

"I'm not losing to Bo-Katan. I want her and her Nite Owls to respect Crosshair."

Rana sighed and gave Korkie her blessing. Korkie left to find a perfect training area.

"Crosshair, come with me!"

Crosshair sighed as he went after Korkie. Korkie lead Crosshair to the basement. There hasn't been a good reason to use the basement in years. It wasn't really much as a basement as an underground training facility. Crosshair was amazed at the Kryze's details in how much they wanted to train their heirs. Weapons were placed everywhere and the floor was basically a battle court floor. Korkie took a sword from the walls and looked at Crosshair.

"Shoot me," he said.

"I know you hate Bo-Katan," Crosshair said. "But no."

"She loves using blasters. You have a rifle."

"Not the same thing."

"Then get one of the blasters here."

Crosshair looked around and saw the amount of blasters around the area. It seemed the favorite weapons in the Kryze family were blasters because there was not one wall that hadn't had a blaster.

"How in the world did you guys turn to pacifism?" Crosshair asked.

"Grandfather Adonai wanted peace," Korkie reminded him.

"But the amount of weapons here."

Korkie laughed as Crosshair picked a blaster. Korkie steadied himself with the sword as Crosshair shot him. Korkie deflected the blast with the sword as Crosshair smiled. They did it alone until Fennec came and help them.

The day broke and Bo-Katan came with her Nite Owls as promised, but she brought a few extras. Amis, Lagos and Soniee came with her to see that Bo-Katan did not end Korkie's life. They were in front of the entrance when the door opened.

Korkie and Crosshair greeted them along with Fennec, Rana, and Luka and Kristal Shand. Crosshair escorted Korkie to Bo-Katan and kissed him good luck in the duel.

Bo-Katan recoiled in disgust at the display. Her Nite Owls whispered among themselves with Amis, Lagos and Soniee keeping quiet.

"Are we sure Korkie Kryze can still be the heir?" one of her Nite Owls asked.

"I can't see him as the heir anymore," one of them replied. "He's allied with a clone."

Bo-Katan glared at her Nite Owls. And then at Korkie.

"You know the rules," she said. "If I win, you must leave that clone. He will never be your husband."

"And if I win," Korkie countered. "You're invited to the wedding."

Amis peeped a small laugh. The Nite Owls looked at him with concern, but the girls smiled at him. Even with the dread atmosphere, Korkie still managed to make a joke.

"Weapons are always used," Bo-Katan continued. "But they can't help you at all."

Bo-Katan pointed at Korkie's party.

"Same with you," Korkie countered again. "Also, is the Force technically a weapon?"

The Nite Owls gasped at the revelation. Their leader's nephew was a Force user? That might that Korkie was not Satine's nephew, but her son with that Jetii!

"Bo-Katan!" one of her followers cried. "You can stop this duel. He's not a Kryze anymore, he's dar'manda."

"Enough!" Bo-Katan ordered. "Korkie is still a Kryze. He just needs to lose the side that makes him a Jedi."

Korkie rolled his eyes as he readied himself with the sword. Bo-Katan shot him, but like last night he never let any blaster fire hit. He was busy closing the gap between them that he had a clear shot of knocking off Bo-Katan's blasters. Which he did making Bo-Katan freeze long enough to head butt her. Bo-Katan stepped back, but steadied herself and fought him hand-to-hand. Korkie was never the best in hand-to-hand, but he always knew how to dodge. He pushed Bo-Katan with the Force and made her land on the ground with her back. Korkie ran to her, sword on hand and stabbed the ground near her face.

"You know I can't kill family," Korkie said. "My mother loved you. As her son and your nephew, please let me be. You know what I am."

Bo-Katan screamed and attacked Korkie making him use the Force once again to scare her into losing. The Force fear was immense and instant that Bo-Katan dropped to her knees and looked at Korkie.

But all she saw was Satine's crying face. It was as if Satine came back to say she needed to accept Korkie's new life. Bo-Katan cried at the spot as Korkie knelt beside her and placed a gentle hand on her back.

"Please don't make me do worse," Korkie begged. "You can be the heir to Mandalore now. We both know they'll figure things out, and they will never accept a Jedi's bastard as a ruler."

Bo-Katan stood up and Korkie raised with her.

"Leave Mandalore," Bo-Katan said. "You've won your freedom. Leave and never use House Kryze's name ever again."

Korkie nodded and went back to Crosshair's side. The two left the mansion with Fennec as Rana and the Shands waved them goodbye. Amis, Lagos and Soniee also waved the three goodbye as they left. Bo-Katan stole one more glimpse of her sister's son and shook her head as the Nite Owls surrounded her with questions.

Korkie could have been the Duke of Mandalore. Now, he's a nobody with a clone for a husband. What a pathetic win.

[writersrealmbts]

Protect Them: Delicate

Description: Safe with Me Sequel! Hoseok x Reader. Life can be so delicate.

Posted: 05/23/2020

Tags: Hybrid!au, hybrid!Hoseok, Safe With Me Sequel

Words: 1,521

A/N: Didn’t exactly plan this, but I figured someone might ask for it eventually.

“Y/n? Y/n, baby, wake up, I need you to wake up. Our baby needs you to wake up.”

You barely managed to pry your eyes open, feeling like you got hit by a truck. No, like you did after the tornado. But worse.

“There, come on, wake up. Please, y/n. Please,” Hobi’s voice was desperate as he pleaded with you to keep waking up.

You frowned a little in confusion. You were in pain. A lot of pain.

“Open your eyes and look at me,” He said more urgently.

You did, finally looking at him, but he was out of focus. “What’s going on?” You slurred.

“You had a seizure. Also, the baby came early and you need to stay awake. Just stay with me, and keep talking to me.”

“I don’t feel like I’m having a baby,” You said, feeling confused.

Hoseok offered you a smile, but you were starting to notice how pale and sweaty he was. His eyes red. “You already had it, baby. They had to do a c-section. But I need you to stay awake.”

“I couldn’t have had it, it’s not time yet.”

Hoseok let out a choked sound. “I know. I know it’s not time yet.”

Alarm started to keep you awake, but it was a struggle. “Where’s my baby? Hobi, what’s happening?”

“You had a seizure, a really bad one, and they had to do a c-section for both of your safety. He’s being taken care of, y/n. We’ll go see him together when you’re stronger,” He sobbed. “I’ll go see him when you’re stable.”

“Hobi…” You whispered, tears filling your eyes.

He wiped them, and you noticed how badly his hands were trembling. “Stay with me. Please stay with me.”

“I’m here,” You said.

“Stay here,” He answered, pressing his forehead to yours. “Stay here this time.”

“I will,” You whispered.

You didn’t.

You woke up again, feeling groggy and unclear and like you’d just had to worst sleep in your life.

Hoseok was asleep in the chair beside your bed. Your stomach hurt. Your chest hurt. Your head felt like someone had turned on a static-y channel and turned the volume up all the way.

“Y/n? You’re awake?”

You turned toward the soft voice, recognizing Jin after a moment. “What happened? I was at home, making lunch.”

“You had a seizure, and it pushed you into early labor. They took you for an emergency c-section, but they had a lot of trouble keeping you alive,” Jin explained softly, helping you to take a couple ice chips. “Your son is fine, he’s in the NICU. They let Emma up and she’s been checking on him as often as possible. Hoseok has been up there as much as he could ever since you stabilized and we made him rest to recover from his panic.”

You let the ice melt in your mouth while your brain made sense of it all. A vague memory of a panic-ridden Hoseok begging you to stay formed fuzzily in your head.

“Y/n?”

“Sorry, I heard, just…processing is a little slow,” You whispered, closing your eyes.

“I better wake Hoseok, give you two time. He’ll definitely cry, though, just a warning.”

“I can handle tears,” You replied, turning your head to watch him gently wake Hoseok.

Heart breaking at the panic that seemed to wake Hoseok completely.

“What?! What happened? Are they okay?” He immediately looked at your heart monitor and then Jin.

Jin placed his hands on his shoulders, carefully turning him toward you again.

“My poor Hobi,” You whispered.

His eyes filled and he was suddenly on the bed, holding you so delicately that you thought you might be close to breaking as well. He sobbed wordlessly into your shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Hobi.”

“Don’t apologize for being alive,” He sobbed back, holding you a little tighter.

“I’m not. I burned lunch.”

He choked, but you could see a smile. “I don’t mind.”

“You do, you hate char on your grilled cheese.”

He was laughing-sobbing now. Sobghing? “I’ll eat it because you made it for me. Oh, yn, he’s the cutest little thing ever.”

“He’s so early, though,” You whispered, worried.

“They said he’s doing really well, they’re impressed. And since Emma just had her baby, she,” He paused to cough and sniff, “She’s been giving them milk for him.”

You nodded, resting your head on his.

“I almost lost you,” He whispered, barely loud enough to hear. “I almost lost you again.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave you.”

He just nodded, quietly crying. Calmly crying. He pushed himself up to hold you more. Your head to his shoulder his arms around you. His lips on your forehead, pressing kisses to your face with words you couldn’t make out. “Rest, baby. Rest and get strong. Please.”

You nodded, getting as comfortable as you could and closing your eyes.

———

“He’s so small,” You whispered, looking at your adorable little one, finally out of his incubator and in your arms where he belonged.

Hoseok’s hand was almost as big as him, resting on your son’s back. “Hello, our little one,” He whispered, sounding like he might cry from the joy of it. “We’re gonna break him.”

You laughed softly, but were choking up. He was so, so fragile. “We still need to name him.”

He laughed as well, pressing closer to look at your baby. “I can’t think of any.”

You smiled. “Finally gave up on Huimang?”

He hummed. “He doesn’t feel like a Huimang.”

“I was thinking Hyunseok, Hyunshik, Inseok, or maybe Hyeonjun?”

He smiled. “I like Inseok.”

You smiled. “Inseok it is. Can you get the birth certificate?”

“Mmm, later.” He pulled you closer, thumb gently rubbing your son’s cheek. “Oh. Can you take a picture for us?”

The nurse nodded, taking Hoseok’s phone, and taking the picture.

Hoseok grabbed the birth certificate since he’d moved anyway, filling it out for the two of you. Then he picked up his phone, quickly coming back to your side while he sent the picture to the family chat with the message, “Held Inseok for the first time today”.

His family had been amazing, taking care of you two (which often meant staying with you while dragging Hoseok to the nearest home to shower and nap in a real bed. Taehyung was especially good at dragging Hoseok away, mostly because Hobi was still in the mindset of “I don’t see you as often as I should” instead of “you live half an hour away from me and I can see you as often as I like) and making sure you had everything you needed. It helped that Emma was also still in the hospital that first week (the doctors had concerns about their daughter’s heart and Emma had been having some blood pressure issues), and she’d let you hold her baby when you got too sad about not being able to hold your own.

They’d backed off a bit now that you were getting healthier (and because Emma and their daughter, Hana, were home now) and mostly just brought you food and other comfort items. They also were always asking if they could help in any way, and when they’d be able to see the baby in person (but in a kind way, not in a pushy way).

Tae had been going to your house and keeping your plants alive and finishing the nursery for you guys. He’d done a nice mural in there that you were really happy with even though it hadn’t been planned.

“Look at his little tail,” Hoseok gushed in whisper as your baby’s tail moved a little. “And his little ears!”

You laughed softly, then pressed a very gentle kiss to the top of your baby’s head. “He’s perfect. I just wish I could have carried him to term.”

He pressed a kiss to your forehead. “They said we might want to consider adopting if we want more kids. It’s too dangerous for you. I’ve heard about some really good places we could adopt from.”

You nodded, resting your head on his shoulder. “Okay.”

He kissed your forehead. “And for now, we have our perfect little cub.”

“Beyond perfect. He’s so perfect,” You whispered, closing your eyes and focusing on the little body laying on your chest. “How did we make something so perfect?”

He laughed breathily, then pressed a kiss to your lips, followed by a kiss to the top of Inseok’s head and the tips of his cute little fox ears. “Because he’s the product of True Love, the most powerful thing in all the realms.”

“Your TV privileges have been revoked with that,” You teased, but you were smiling. “I love you so much, Hoseok.”

He met your gaze, so serious and sincere. “I love you more.”

You let him win with that, especially since you’d found out that your heart stopped twice. “I stayed for you.”

He nodded, pressing his forehead to yours, and holding you like you were fragile and precious. “I’ll always stay with you.”

—

Previous  

Masterlist  Series Masterpost

Tagging: @jiminslye @musicandmusing @it-is-dana @kimmie113080 @bluebirdphantom​ @ephemeral-mindset​ @young-yellkie​ @alex–awesome–22​ @bryvada​ @knjhe @missmoxxiesworld​ @i-dont-even-know-fck​

[redhairedfeistynerd]

Captain McHippityHop

A/N: A long lost piece that I forgot to post last Easter! Another part of my ‘Seasons of Bucky’ series. Loosely edited, all errors are my own.  Enjoy and have a great long weekend everyone.

Thanks to @firefly-graphics​​ for the dividers

Don’t not copy or redistribute any of my pieces.

Summary: It’s finally Spring and the Barnes family is ready for some Easter fun. Uncle Steve has something to hop on about.

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word count: 2200+

Warnings: kissing, nudity, sexual situations, implied smut, teasing, cautious Bucky

No bunnies were harmed in the making of this fic     

“We’ll be there at 10, okay? Don’t worry, they’ll be up and ready.” Bucky rolls his eyes while he listens begrudgingly to Steve as he carries on about the importance of being on time.  

Y/N sits across from him on the couch, her left elbow resting on the arm and her hand folded up, flapping open and closed as if it were Steve’s big mouth. Bucky is trying to control the look on his face, if it cracks, he is likely to burst out laughing. And IF he laughs, y/n will follow and they both know that Steve will not be impressed.  

Bucky ends the calls and looks to y/n. “You’re a pain in the ass. I was TRYING to be serious and keep a straight face but you kept smirking and your eyes brightened up like you were going to laugh. I can’t stop myself when you do that, I want to laugh with you!” 

He lunges towards her and tackles her into the soft cushions of the couch. He knows that it’s finally ok to kiss her and he attacks her neck as she tries to curl into herself; he attacks the left side, kiss by kiss. Her giggles have turned into shrieks and he knows that she is enjoying it. He can’t get over how playful she is, he could drown in her laughter and happiness. It fills all those empty places inside of him, all the places he closed up when his marriage ended all those years ago. They’ve be silent and dark for almost a decade and then she came along and into their lives.  

She crept in slowly, a hot chocolate date here and there with his girls, a walk in the park and then a stop at the playground, a rare night at his house when the girls were able to visit their mom. It had taken years for him to build up the courage to talk to her about how he felt but she was the first one to move her lips to his. Soft, tasting of vanilla and beeswax, everything he thought it would be, was everything that he received. Her arms wrapped around him first and she whispered in his ear that it was ok for him to do the same. His arms went around her softly but he still had a thought in his head the he could crush her, that all of the years without holding a woman meant that he was going to use all of his force at once and hurt her.

“Barnes, you aren’t going to crush me, don’t hold back. You hold your daughters every day, I know you’ll be gentle with me,” she said as she kissed his forehead softly.  

“It’s just… I don’t,” he fumbles with his words and y/n brings a finger to his lips.

“Less talk, more kissing, Barnes.” She pulls his face back to hers and kisses him with a bit of force, trying to encourage him to be forceful. He does try to pull back but her hand is in his hair and she uses it to pull him back in. “No way Barnes, I’m not letting you back out after all these years. You’ve told me how you feel, let me show you how I feel.”

He really likes her and he has told her how he feels but hell, he loves how she is showing him. Her mouth is warm and incredibly soft, the sweet taste of her lip balm is swirling around inside his mouth. How can someone be so sweet, both in life and in her delicious mouth. Pulling back slowly, he looks into her eyes, admiring their colour before he whispers “Will you stay?”

“Why are you whispering, no one is going to hear us and it’s not as if I haven’t spent the night here before. The girls are with their mom tonight for Easter dinner. We are alone, my sweet,” she whispers into his hair and kissing his ear.

Bucky’s cheeks are slowly turning from pink to red, he can’t look her directly in the eyes. “I mean…” he chokes a bit on the words, clears his throat and begins again. “I mean, I want you to stay with me, in my room. Not the spare room like when we have sleepovers with the girls. You with me. In my arms. I would really, more than anything, like to have you in my arms tonight.” He can’t meet her eyes and curls into himself a little with the embarrassment he is feeling.

“Don’t you dare shy away from me, Bucky Barnes,” she gently scolds him as she crawls into his lap. She brings a hand to his chin, and pushes up so his eyes meet hers. “You don’t need to hide from me, ever.”

He can’t help but be nervous about this. A woman in his bed after all these years. Forget the quick one night stands he rarely had at someone else’s apartment after a night at the bar. This meant something. He had never been more aware of the carpet beneath his feet as y/n pulled him down the hallway to his bedroom. Each step sinking into the carpet, pulling him into the plush fibers, and releasing him.

“Help me,” he thinks he, hears her say as she pulls him closer. He hasn’t moved and her eyes are wide and staring into him. “Bucky,” his name softly escapes her mouth and she brings his right hand the front of her dress, guiding him to the buttons. “Help me,” is whispered into his ear and he freezes. Her hands have moved over his, picking one up and gently placing it on her breast. “Start here, this button first,” she coaxes him, “you can do it Bucky. You aren’t going to hurt me. I trust you.”

It’s as if it finally makes sense in the darkest pits of his mind. One by one, he pushes the button out of the holes and pulls the dress away and down her body. He can’t help but stare and before he makes her feel comfortable with his eyes looking her up and down in awe, he brings her closer, wrapping one around her and pulling her into a deep kiss. Bucky pulls away first and brushes her hair back, “I think you said something about showing me how you felt?” 

The girls are dropped off early the next morning as y/n is starting to make breakfast. Bucky is quietly sipping his coffee and staring out the window. He’d woken y/n up early, soft kisses up the back of her neck, trying to enjoy her warm body that had curled into him during the night. He fell asleep soon after and awoke to an empty bed. He found her the kitchen table, pink sparkly rabbit ears on and placing chocolate eggs into baskets.  

“Did you, did you make the girls Easter baskets?”  

“I sure did, I thought we could say our good ole bunny friend popped by your house too.”

Bucky leaned over to give her a quick kiss, “it makes me incredibly happy that you think about them. It makes me feel so fulfilled that I’ve met someone that considers my daughters.”

“They’re part of you Bucky, why wouldn’t I think of them? Besides, I remember loving baskets like this when I was a kid and I want Riley and Piper to enjoy them too.”

The girls had squealed when they saw the large baskets on the kitchen table and ran to y/n, smothering her in kisses. Bucky’s ex-wife watched from the doorway and mouthed a ‘thank you’ to y/n. Once the girls had hugged their mom goodbye and wolfed down a breakfast of French toast and fruit, Bucky packed the girls in the car and they headed off to meet Steve.  

It’s 10 a.m. and it looks like the Easter bunny and friends exploded pastel colours everywhere. The girls run into the kitchen, where Pepper is placing cupcakes adorned with mini eggs and Peeps on a tray.  

“Hey you two, are you ready for some Easter treats and crafts? I hear the Easter Bunny will be here as well! Why don’t you take a look out back and see if there’s someone hopping around?” Pepper hands the trays of cupcakes to Bucky and pushing them towards the patio door.

The two of them head out towards the picnic tables, Bucky placing the cupcakes down before he turns to see a 6-foot-tall bunny out of the corner of his eye.

Bucky bursts out laughing before he can get a hello out. “Oh… my…” he keels over, his laughter so powerful that he has to hold onto the picnic table to stabilize himself. He can hear y/n ask what’s so funny and Bucky points over to wear Steve was last standing. He hears a little snort and it’s not long before she has fallen to the grass in a fit of laughter. Bucky can’t help but laugh louder at y/n’s display.

“What the hell are you wearing, Stevie?”

“It’s for the kids, you jerk. I have ears on, a cute little nose, and a bunny tail,” he says and wiggles his behind. “Obviously, I’m the Easter bunny.”

Tony saunters by, a mimosa in hand “why don’t you ask Rogers how “America’s Ass” ended up with a bunny tail.”

“Stevie, what did you do?” y/n laughs

Steve is between blushing and looking furious at Tony. “You just had to open your big mouth.”

“Rogers here thought it was a smart idea to make a bet with Pepper. This ancient idiot thought he could have a bake off with Pepper and win,” Tony snorts and take a sip of his drink.

“Oh Steve, you should have known Pepper would kick your ass,” y/n says, wrapping an arm around his waist, trying to comfort him. “I know for a fact, that the second the girls see you, they’ll jump all over you and tell you how much they love it. So, enjoy that it will be a hit with them.”

Bucky could hear their giggles coming from inside, Pepper, holding their hands, led them out to the picnic tables where the egg decorating had started. Y/n leaned into him a pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, letting him know that she was going to paint some eggs with his daughters.  

“Come on Stevie, bounce away and introduce Cap McHippity Hop to the girls,” Tony teased.

“If those kids weren’t here Tony, I’d be kicking your f-”

“Now, now Cap, language,” mocked Tony, a sly smile forming across his face.

Steve muttered something unintelligible and made his was over to where Bucky’s girls were sitting with Y/N. His girls were so preoccupied with dipping their eggs in the coloured pots, that they didn’t notice Steve peeking over their shoulders. It wasn’t until Y/N started up with her giggling again, that Riley and Piper looked up to see what was so funny.

“Uncle Stevie!!! You have fuzzy ears AND a bunny nose!! Are you the Easter Bunny?” Riley asked loudly, jumping up to stand on the bench of the picnic table, now eye to eye with Steve.

“I’m your very own bunny, princess. Looks like you are doing a fabulous job with those Easter eggs. How about you and Piper come with me once you’re done and you can look around the yard for all the candy I hid?”  

“Uncle Stevie, you’re the best!” Riley squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But don’t tell daddy that, ok?” she whispered into his ear.

With a smile, Steve squeezed her once more before heading over to where y/n was sitting. He sat beside her and smiled.  

“Those girls sure love you, Steve. Thanks for doing this for them, even if you did lose a bet and had to wear a cute little bunny tail,” she said as she peeked over to see the fluffy white ball attached to his pants. “I think the tail suits America’s Ass,” y/n laughed, pushing against him lightly.

“Ya, ya, keep laughing. I’ll have you know, that I had already planned all of this before I lost the bet, the outfit only adds to the festivities. I wanted to make this day special for Bucky’s girls, they’re my family too.” He looked at Y/N and pulled her into a hug. “I hope you know that you are part of my extended family as well, I love all of you.”

The girls finished quickly and made their way around with baskets, collecting jellybeans and bunnies, the smiles are their faces making Y/N smile. Bucky made his way over to her, once they had finished with lunch and the girls were slowly slipping into a sugar coma from all the treats their Uncle Steve had bought for them.  

“Hey Barnes, before we get out of here, I think you need to take that tail and ears from Steve; I’ve always wanted to be a playful bunny,” she winks at him and walks towards the girls. She watches as Bucky picks up his pace, going after Steve as he headed inside with empty platters from their lunch.

“Come on girls, let’s get everything together and head on home.”

“Hey Y/N? Thank you for coming with us and helping us keep daddy happy,” Piper says, her big eyes staring up at Y/N.

“You’re welcome sweetie, l love seeing your daddy happy too,” Y/N replied smiling. She was more than happy herself and glad that she had this little family to love.  

[3laxx]

Bring It Home - Chapter 4

Gus, Edric, and her had opted for the skis, hoping that having their legs separated would give them some sort of stability. But that had been a mistake, too. She supposed Edric was buried somewhere in the snow as well.

Whot? Whott????? Three chapters?!??!?! Noooo!!!!!!

Yes >:) This one is light-hearted, too! It's pure fluff and fun, I promise. The squad needed that, hng. But yes, this is purely fun. I hope you enjoy it!

Ao3 / FF.net

---

Grumbling, Amity lifted her face from the snow.

She hadn’t anticipated skiing to be so hard.

Eda had shown her how to do it and had weirdly enough, been a really good teacher after they had crafted the necessary gear. She supposed Eda had been skiing in the Human Realm already.

Huffing, she got back up and somehow managed to maneuver her heavy legs against the steep hill again. These weird boards on her feet were hard to handle and less fun than she had imagined after Eda’s descriptions. They were almost up to her chin and very flat and as narrow as her feet, and while she did have some sticks to hold herself up with, they could get really fast and very hard to steer before she would inevitably faceplant again.

She couldn’t imagine how Luz would’ve found any fun in that.

Luckily, she hadn’t gone for the board version, though, the one Emira and Willow were trying out. Their reasoning had been that one board should be easier to control than two, but that had apparently been a very bad mistake, as Amity watched her sister barreling down the slope farther down for the umpteenth time, only being stopped by Gus who was thinking fast and stopped her with a pile of snow he conjured.

Gus, Edric, and her had opted for the skis, hoping that having their legs separated would give them some sort of stability. But that had been a mistake, too. She supposed Edric was buried somewhere in the snow as well.

For some reason, Willow had managed fairly well, but she suspected her friend was somehow using her plant magic to cheat. Gus had immediately figured out these wretched things and had begun riding down the slope faster and faster every time. Amity was kind of jealous of him.

Edric and Emira had tagged along for the promised fun, but it had soon turned out to be a pretty precarious situation, with Edric unable to stay standing on his skis for more than 5 minutes while Emira got down the slope in three-sixties more often than on her board like she was supposed to.

Eda, meanwhile, had barely shown them the necessities before skiing down the slope by herself, looking graceful and fun and leaving the kids desiring some skill to at least enjoy this somewhat.

Picking herself up, Amity slowly tried making her way downhill again, keeping her skis in the braking position Eda had shown her, with her legs so wide she was already struggling exhaustedly after barely an hour of being on the slope.

Once again, the tips of her skis clicked on top of each other and she groaned when she felt herself getting faster again because her edges couldn’t dig into the snow properly anymore. Trying to pull them apart, she only pushed them further on top of each other, didn’t see the next hill of snow coming and with a big whoomph!, she felt her skis once again being ripped from under her body and face planted, her legs crossing when she whined in frustration.

“Oof, big crash. Are you okay, Amity?”, Willow’s voice sounded from behind her and when she somehow managed to turn around, she met her friend’s concerned gaze.

“Just-… Trying to figure these stupid things out. How’s it going with your, uh, snow plate?”, she asked, trying to make easy conversation while trying once again to unwrap her legs. She felt Willow shuffling closer, the board still attached to her feet, sitting in the snow before grabbing at Amity’s skis to untangle them, before helping her getting them against the slope again.

“It’s a snowboard, I think. And it’s going quite okay, I have to take care not to tumble like Emira but, I think I should be fine. I see your skis are giving you a hard time?”

Once again, Amity groaned in exasperation but gratefully smiled at Willow, shaking the snow out of her hair again. “Yeah, they’re kind of hard to handle. I don’t know how to keep the tips apart from each other and when I don’t, they just kind of cancel each other out, if that makes sense.”, she grimaced, but Willow suddenly lit up, apparently coming up with a solution.

“Oh, I had the same problem that when I wouldn’t tilt my board enough, it wouldn’t have enough grip. Maybe try to go lower with your knees and keep your skis tilted sharper? That should do it?”

Skeptically, Amity got up again and tried the position out. With keeping her body lower, she would need more strength to keep upright, but at least the tips of the boards wouldn’t get on top of each other anymore.

Drawing a turn around Willow, she ended up lower on the slope than her friend and smiled up to her.

“It works!”

Giving her a thumbs up, Willow got up again and well and Amity saw what she meant. By tilting her board sharper against the snow, she would get slower. Eager to try this out on her skis, Amity tried turning more into the slope again, and lo and behold, it worked.

Giggling, she pumped a fist, before holding out her arms for balance again, not noticing how Willow watched her while turning again and skiing along the slope once more.

A few rounds later, she was sure enough to try out keeping her skis parallel to themselves while only using the braking position for turning and it turned out to be so much easier.

This was actually getting fun if she was being honest. She could do this more often!

She wondered if Luz had tried out skiing already and if she had been able to have fun with this, too. Maybe she was even as good as Eda and Amity would never know.

Laughing to herself, she tried getting a bit faster before braking again and making a turn. But something in the corner of her eye made her look up and she saw a big snow cloud approaching her. It soon turned out to be Gus, who had finally lost control of his skis and barreling towards her.

He only managed to keep on his stomach for long enough to yell something to Amity.

“Stop me!”, he cried and Amity quickly turned to the slope to get out of his way, watching him slide past her with an indignant expression.

“Everyone for themselves!”, she yelled back as he continued sliding down the hill, his heavy skis now pulling him down while Amity giggled and watched the betrayal written across his face, before finally drawing a spell circle and stopping him against a gentle abomination hand. He stayed in the snow, though, still staring at her, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did you seriously think I would risk my life and catch you?!”, she yelled back to him under tears and Gus finally let out a cry in disbelief, getting up. Amity burst out laughing at the snow that had slipped up into his jacket, all the way up to his collar to come out by his neck. He had to be soaked by now.

“Who wouldn’t have?!”, he shot back and Amity laughed harder at the snow sticking to every inch of his front, making him kind of look like a snow gremlin.

“Gus, I would’ve taken your skis to Titan knows where and we wouldn’t have stopped!”, she laughed and he aggressively patted down his jacket, a shiver going through him with all the snow still trapped underneath his jacket.

“You deserted me!! Betrayal! You traitor!”, he cried and Amity collapsed against the slope, holding her stomach laughing. He looked like a very angry fairy.

“Come on, Gus, we didn’t get hurt, that’s the important thing!”, she yelled back, prompting him to immediately take off his skis and start running towards her.

“I’m gonna hurt you!! Come here, you selfish traitor, you heartless monster of a woman!!”, he yelled and Amity squeaked in exhilaration before making a turn and skiing down the slope, winning in speed while looking back up to him while he struggled to put his skis back on and chase her.

Giggling madly, Amity started turning faster and ditching the braking position, instead drawing turns big enough to let her skis stay parallel. Laughing in delight, she looked back up again to see Gus speeding down the slope yelling obscenities, but the grin was spreading across his face as well.

Laughing and giggling, they chased each other down the hill, even accompanied by Willow at some point, who tried to keep up but decided not to get up to the neck-breaking speeds her friends were at.

Amity still giggled when she finally avoided Gus towards the end of the slope and turned once again, to watch him barreling past her and shaking his fist at her, before she followed him again, watching him slow down.

She made her way towards him, intending to turn before him, but suddenly, he made a turn and stopped in the middle of the slope.

“Guuuus!!!”, she shrieked, trying to curb herself before crashing into him, but he held his arms wide open and grinned at her while she couldn’t stop anymore. One of her legs went between his and when she crashed into him, he threw himself downhill, making them both tumble down the slope as they laughed and shrieked whenever the cold snow managed to sneak into their jackets, up their pants, or into their sleeves.

When they finally came to a stop, Gus was fortunate enough to be on top of her so he grabbed a handful of snow and smeared it into her face while she giggled and tried to push him off, but she was defenseless with how hard she was laughing.

“And some down your jacket, you traitor! You left me to die!!”

He shoved the snow down her collar and Amity laughed harder, before throwing him off and grabbing her own handful of snow, rubbing it in his face in turn.

“I didn’t leave you to die, I just didn’t want to fall, too!”

“And where did that get you?!”, he cried indignantly and Amity had to laugh again, letting off of him. They sat up, still laughing and brushing the snow off of themselves, before Willow finally caught up, sitting down next to them in a controlled and obviously meticulously practiced fashion. She had apparently worked on her technique while Gus and Amity had just aimed to race down the slope like mad.

“Are you guys okay?”, she asked, half concerned for their health because they were both sitting and seemed fine.

“She betrayed me!!”, Gus immediately picked up the conversation and Amity had to giggle, throwing some snow his way, which landed on his face but he was so focused on telling Willow how exactly Amity had deserted him, left him to soak and die, that he didn’t even notice it.

“Gus, you’re being overdramatic!”, Amity laughed again, shaking her head to Willow who just amusedly smirked, before looking up.

“Take care, there come the twins!”, she suddenly yelled, and out of reflex, Amity scooted away from the slope they had made, before looking up and seeing Edric frantically waving his arms to keep his balance before falling headfirst into a pile of snow after being tripped off by a smaller pile. Emira kept her control better this time, but she also seemed pretty exhausted and soaked, coming to a safe stop a few paces away from their group.

“I’m just about ready to go home.”, she announced and now that Amity could get a better look at her, she was shivering and had blue lips already. Nodding and smiling, she got up again.

“Eda should be coming down this way shortly, then we can go home.”

Farther up the slope, Edric stuck his head out of the pile of snow and grimaced.

“I don’t think I got this!”, he called and Amity laughed.

“Take off your skis and come down here, we’re ready to call it quits!”, she shouted back and he showed a thumb up before reaching back to take off his skis while using the relative stability of lying in a pile of snow to his advantage.

They only had to wait for a few moments, when Eda already came riding down the slope gracefully, making Amity deadpan. Just how often did she have to ride down these slopes to even be half as good as that witch?

She arrived with their little group a second later and propped herself up on her sticks, grinning widely. “You kids look like you need some hot apple blood.”, she announced and all the kids nodded energetically, grinning up to her, “Alright then, let’s get off the slopes. Did you all have some fun today?”

The mixed answers she received were enough to make her snort and laugh.

“That’s good enough for me! Let’s go take a break!”

“Our treat!”, the twins immediately announced and Eda let out a loud whoop, before pumping a fist.

“I get to be a freeloader for once!”

Taking a relieved sigh while unclipping her skis, Amity didn’t notice Willow also taking off the snowboard and getting up to stand next to her, nudging her shoulder.

“Thank you for letting us tag along for the bucket list, Amity. I had a lot of fun today.”

The young witch smiled at her friend before nodding and smiling.

“Me, too. Let’s do this more often!”, she giggled as Willow wrapped her into a one-armed hug, before shivering in memories, “Because this is a lot better than skydiving, honestly.”

Grimacing, Willow nudged her friend to guide her off the road.

“I don’t exactly know what skydiving is, but I can hardly imagine that Eda shoving you from her staff before catching you again is right.”

Frowning, Amity recalled the memory again. Eda had flown up way higher than any of her parents had ever flown and had shoved her off her staff, before catching her just by the treetops again.

“No, I think that’s pretty accurate to what humans do, at least Eda said so. Except that they have fabrics that carry them and make them fly and they land with them, too. But I doubt I would’ve wanted to try that out.”

Shivering, Willow shook her head.

“No, you’re right, being caught by Eda sounds better.”, her friend chuckled nonchalantly and Amity giggled along with her.

“All I know is that I don’t wanna try skydiving again. But skiing is fun. We should do that every now and then.”, she had said that last part louder so that the group could hear her and earned wide smiles and nods from everyone as they agreed.

---

Let me know if you liked it!

[detroitbydark]

Crossed Connections: Part II

Characters: Tech x Togruta!Reader 

Warnings: None

Summary: Everyone experiences exhaustion. Some handle it differently than others.

You can read the first part here

Tech swore he’d seen something as the transport had skimmed the tree line in an attempt to cruise under Separatist radar. A dark shape, springing from through the deep red treetops, attempting to keep up with the Havoc Marauder. 

That’s how Hunter found himself an unwilling student to Tech’s lecture on Anaxes’ native fauna.

“Did you know fyrnocks typically roost in tree canopies? They’re almost entirely nocturnal and are incredibly light sensitive but they don’t sleep underground.”

Hunter nods vacantly, knowing that once Tech started on a topic it was best to let it run its course. Wrecker and Crosshair were both asleep in the cargo bay. It was upto one of them to keep their brain occupied while his battery wore down. 

Even exhausted, Tech’s mind never seemed to slow, jumping from one topic to the next. Exhaustion only seemed to bring to surface the more obscure things he fixated on. At least he wasn’t focusing on languages this go around. 

Last mission Wrecker sat with him for over two hours as he’d slipped in and out of Shyriiwook. Wrecker, never to be confused with an intellectual, had smiled and nodded to his young vod before he’d finally burned through enough energy to pass out over the ships console.

“It’s thought that the species as a whole springs from a single mother entity.” Tech looks up to see if Hunter was still listening “it’s all very fascinating.”

Tech types away at the small datapad secured to his vambrace. “There’s even some chatter about them being linked to the dark side of the Force. Can you imagine? I mean, from what I understand of the Force-“

“Tech” Hunter interrupts gruffly “save it until after debrief with Commander Cody?”

With a flip of the wrist, the younger clone closes the pad. “Of course Sarge, just thought it was interesting” 

“It is but we’re all running on fumes at this point. Not sure any of it is sinking in.” He taps at his temple and Tech nods.

“Understood.”

“Plus, we’re only a few klicks away from base and I need you to organize your part of the debrief.”

Tech nods before flipping the datapad back open and beginning to splice together the data he’d collected during recon.

------

You’ve been on Anaxes for two weeks. It still felt foreign, sleeping in the depths of the caverns the base had been built in and around was seriously beginning to mess with your internal clock. No windows to show you night or day, no warming from the sun or cooling as twin moons rose into the sky. You’d never been so thankful for your chronometer. It was hard to sleep as you adjusted to the new environment. While it left you exhausted you also had yet to be late for your shifts already up before you chrono had to wake you. You’d consider it a win.

You were weary of seeing clones on the edge of death, mangled and passed off to you like they were no more than broken droids, only their brothers and a few of the generals seeming to worry about their well being. It wasn’t right. You’re heart hurt and while the other staff had either their clone brothers or other civilians to cling to you seemed to be left to your own devices, as if everyone else could just sense that you weren’t like them. Like on Kiros.

Your people believed only the strong survived. If you couldn’t keep up the Togruta left you behind. Your belief in the value of life made you an outsider within your own tribe. You believed life needn’t validate itself to matter. Simply existing in the first place gave it meaning.

It was a highly unpopular opinion.

The sheer number of casualties you saw roll in daily was another change from your post on Coruscant. Generally, by the time you’d seen the troopers there they’d been stabilized and needed supportive care. Anaxes brought you the worst of the worst straight from the front lines. The GAR was taking mass losses, entire squads destroyed in the blink of an eye without warning. You’d lost count of the number of Clones who’d taken their last breath in your presence. You’d never experienced anything like it on Coruscant and your training had done nothing to truly prepare you for the crushing feeling each loss brought to you and the rest of the medical staff.

You swish your mug around before bring it to your lips taking another swallow of caf. It had gone cold long ago, forgotten when the last emergency had rolled through the doors. You fantasized about a hot mug of it to soothe your throat. You kept up a steady stream of talk when you worked.  Your patients always knew exactly what you were doing and your colleagues knew exactly what you were seeing. You’d heard some other medics comment on how annoying it was but you were never going to be accused of not communicating effectively, not when troopers lives could depend on it.

 A side effect of hours of talking were often a scratchy, dry throat and a hoarseness that silenced you for the rest of the day. It was ok. Outside of the medbay you were never really sure what to say. Your confidence in your professional skill did not cross over to personal affairs. 

“Y/N?” It was one of the clone medics, Kix, from the 501st. He was amiable enough and seemed easy to get along with the few times you’d worked together.

The empty mug was set aside, to be forgotten till a later time when desperation drove you to more of the swamp water that sat bubbling bitterly in the break room.

“I’ve got a squad coming in off a recon run. They’re due for a once over so the powers that be are going to send them down after debrief.” Kix looked on edge as he spoke and you cocked your head trying to figure out what he was saying between the lines.

“You want me to do it?” You knew how to do what he was asking, you just weren’t sure why he was asking you of all people.

“Uh, the boys in 99 don’t much care for other clones.”

That was a new one.

“I can do it Kix” you nod reassuringly. “Don’t worry, ok?” A knot was beginning to tangle in your stomach. You brush off the feeling and try to give the clone your most reassuring smile. 

Clones that didn’t like other clones? You hadn’t heard of such a thing outside of the Coruscant Guard. 

Those guys were dicks.

Kix seems relieved, running a hand over his face roughly “I owe you. I’ll have them sent over to Exam 3 when they’re done?”

“Make it 5” you correct “they’re still getting blood off the floor in 3 and 4”

-----

Crosshair is spitting mad by the time The Bad Batch is dismissed from Cody’s debrief and Tech can’t figure out why. He just had to acknowledge that  pissed off was simply the sniper’s default setting. Tech figures he’s mad no one was willing to take the bait and give him the fight he was looking for.

To his left Hunter seemed as relaxed as Hunter could be, ever vigilant eyes scanning the halls as they traveled. 

Per usual, Wrecker was all smiles (if maybe slightly menacing ones) as they entered the lift down to medical.

Tech was pleased. He’d been told the intel would be useful. No one had insulted anyone. No punches had been thrown. It all seemed pretty good as far as he was concerned. All they had to do now was do a quick medical check and they were good to go for at least a solid day of rest before their next assignment. he falls in behind the others while they queued into a single file in front of him, each dipping into the room in turn for their scan. Hunter is in and out before Tech can blink, same for Crosshair. 

Wrecker was never the best behaved for the medical staff. He just didn't like medical. Tech couldn't blame him.  Hunter and Crosshair wait for a few minutes, making sure they weren’t needed to calm the big man down, before the excuse themselves to the small barracks the four of them called home.

Tech uses the wait to browse the holonet for anything that might pique his curiosity and bookmarks a couple things to look into once he could crawl into his rack.

When Wrecker pops out of the exam room with a sucker tucked into his cheek some twenty minutes later without any shouting following him, Tech takes notice.

“It’s stormfruit, man” Wrecker hums around the sucker “I like this one” He tips his head back toward the exam room as one big mitt cuffs Tech on the shoulder, knocking him back a step as he passes by. 

Tech doesn’t bother to take his helmet off when a bright voice calls “Next!” 

He’s greeted by the sight of a dimpled Togruta smiling up at him from her spot on a stool.

“Hey you must be…” she glances quickly at her datapad resting on her crossed knee “Tech?”

The voice is exceedingly familiar but he doesn’t know the face as she motions to the table. His feet stutter step as he moves further in the exam room, taking a seat on the table the composite of his armor clanks loudly. 

“Long day?” The medic asks and he nods, eyes narrowed as he rifles though his mental files. He knew that voice.

“You're not gonna give me trouble like the last one, right?” She starts, “it took me half a dozen lollys to convince him to let me scan him. I’m starting to think he played me, ya know?”

He nods again.

“You don’t talk much do you? Nexu got your tongue?”

Tech huffs quietly, flipping his visor up to view her without the incandescent screen in the way.

“I think you're the only person that’s ever said that.” He chuckles.

She beams at him, squinting and searching his face.

“Yeah? I won’t complain about being your first.” She teases before her cheeks, already a rich color, flush brightly. When she smiles nervously he sees the quick pearly flash of her incisors. He liked the way she smiled at him. It makes his stomach flip in a vaguely familiar way.

That’s when the data points come together. The realization hits him.

He’d often wondered what Grutababy looked like, curiosity only reaching a fever pitch after their conversation on the comms. He’d lay awake at night, while his brothers slept and try to piece together what she might look like, cursing himself for never once asking for a picture. 

His mind would run through the many sentient species he was familiar with as he’d try to place the voice from their lone conversation to it it had become a game. Twi’lek, Mirialan, human… Togruta?

It makes sense now, her profile name. Grutababy. Really it shouldn’t have taken a genius level IQ to figure that out. 

He watches her lekku sway gently as she moves through the room. Her skin, somewhere between red and pink, reminds him of a sunset he’d once seen on an outer rim planet, the name of which he’s since forgotten. 

The white markings of her people cross from one temple to the other, circling her eye like a mask. Others travel in soft swooping lines from the outer corners of her eyes down, crossing at plump lips and fading out at her chin. A small diamond shaped mark rests above each brow. 

Her eyes are a pale, icy blue. The overall effect is… stunning. 

She was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined (and he’d tried).

“This may sound weird-” she hums” her fingers fumble for her scanner, nearly dropping it off the counter. Frowning, she taps it against the heel of her palm when it refuses to turn on.

Once. 

Twice.

Three times.

Tech winces, wants to tell her that there was no evidence that treating a device like that would make it work. On the contrary it would often-

The scanner buzzes to life and a triumphant smile lights her features.

“Like, I was saying, it may sound weird. I just get the feeling….”

Tech swallows hard.

She lets out a nervous laugh and waves it off, “Nevermind, ignore me. Not enough sleep or caf and I’m imagining things”

Something akin to disappointment filters through his chest as she rubs the back of a montrail nervously. He wonders if he should tell her? She interrupts his train of thought with a deep breath and the moment has passed. She's all business now as she adjusts the scanner in her grip.

“So Trooper, how about we get your scan done and you can go get the sleep that I’m not.”