#but I'm still not over the literal building a tower to the sun thing

[rev3rb]

Hi, it’s me again. Now we’re really getting somewhere!!! New info about the progenitors’ origins, about angels on other planets, and about their purpose overall. Plus them obviously pointing at the parallels between the plagues & punishments The First and Guren both dealt with. History is obviously repeating itself which makes me really curious about their God’s motives. Particularly bc they haven’t done anything about the plague that’s so lethal to all their subjects. Bc seriously, HALF of them are gonna die?!?! And this has always been a problem left unaddressed 🤨 Perhaps the chp title is a clue. Ik Yuu wondered if they were in Hell, but to me it matches better with the idea of Purgatory.

There was a lot of good stuff, I think one of my favorite aspects was seeing more of Urd and Saito together. Them being paralleled with Yuu and Mika was great. I also enjoyed how trippy it was to see all the angels act so adoring towards The First. Truly, my only complaint is that it’s gonna be a bit difficult if we need to remember all the different names for the angels/progenitors lol

Hello Anon!

Yes! After all this waiting we're finally getting somewhere significant! I'm just hoping that it keeps up and we don't take another multipage "Yu needs to eat to replenish his energy" break soon. It can be nice to be "realistic" like that, but it'd just be an annoying detour if it happens.

Oh, I really adore how history is repeating itself because that sort of thing has been present throughout the series, just less obviously. Everyone has been constantly making the same mistakes, and I've always felt like OnS's story has been about breaking that cycle of similar mistakes. I believe I've talked about it before but Yu and Guren are very obviously meant to parallel each other, and Yu is (most likely) supposed to succeed where Guren failed. The fact that Guren is now being compared to The First is wild. Never thought that would be the case. It's actually really interesting.

The plague. See, I'm wondering if The First didn't somehow do something about it. After all, while most of them are demons, it's worth pointing that that everyone shown is still alive today. Maybe turning them into vampires/demons was how he saved them. I kind of doubt it and think it's part of a step in The First's plan instead, but who knows? This does make me wonder though, nothing the characters we saw in the flashback have ever made any indication that they remember stuff this far back. It makes me wonder if they just don't remember, either as a result of being turned into vampires or bc The First didn't let them remember.

While I do agree with you in the whole "this seems more like Purgatory than Hell", it is worth mentioning that, as far as I remember (my knowledge is admittedly limited), Purgatory is meant to be something you can eventually leave once your sins are atoned for. I don't really think there's any atoning going on here. The First is committing a "sin" and is willing to be punished eternally for that. But yes, I think the idea is supposed to be Purgatory since the chapter title is that.

So happy we got to see more of Urd and Saito together! Their dynamic ended up being really interesting, and it was nice to see that, at least before Saito left Urd, it hadn't really changed all that much between what we saw here and when they were both vampires. As for the name thing, I don't think we'll really have to worry about it since Mika and Yu don't seem to know those angel names. If anything it'll likely just be used in passing since really, we're taking Mika and Yu's perspective on things for the most part, so what they call characters will be more at the forefront.

Thank you yet again for your ask! Things are picking up and I hope we continue on this path! It seems like we're getting closer to figuring out what Yu really is and what's going on.

[foreingersgod]

Hii can I request juju Watkins x reader where they go on a cute date in the town

Date Night . JW

pairing: juju watkins x reader

synopsis: juju takes you out for your birthday :)

A/N: i’m pretty sure juju is from LA (to my knowledge) so that’s where this is taking place, thus the beach and all of that. that’s what came to mind so i’m sorry if it’s not exactly what you meant by ‘downtown’ !

NOT PROOF READ

I know there's lots of love in your heart

But, who you gonna give it to?

a warm summer breeze nipped at your bare skin as you walked down the cracked sidewalk. your hand was intertwined with your girlfriends, her thumb rubbing at your knuckles soothingly. her body, one that towered over yours by several inches, bumped into you playfully while she guided you through town.

it was your birthday today and juju insisted that you go out and do something for your special day. before you had met her, you didn’t really care much for your birthday. being the center of attention was never your thing and making a whole celebration about yourself didn’t seem amusing to you. but then you started dating juju and you learned very quickly that that mindset was going to change.

you had been with her since both of yours’ freshman year of high school and every birthday since, she would put together a special day just for you. you could tell, just from how much she articulately planned your birthday, that she had so much love in her heart, and it was all for you.

I'm sure there's lots of guys that you see

But, I swear they're not as cool as me

she was everything you had wanted in someone; your best friend, the best girlfriend, she was all you needed. and you meant it, you had been together for 4 (going on 5) years now and she still managed to make you feel like the only girl in the world.

like tonight, for this particular birthday, she took you on a small date downtown. while it might not seem like anything remarkable, it meant more than anything to you.

downtown was were juju had asked you out on a date for the first time. when you guys went out on a friday night with your mutual friends group and she pulled you aside. the two of you stood underneath a single street light when she nervously played with her fingers, working up the courage to ask you. it was where you had your first date, too. she took you to the movies at the center of downtown, she knew it was one of your favorite things to do. and it was where you shared your very first kiss. when it was a brisk spring evening and she was driving you home, but she was too eager and pulled over off the side of the road. she took your face into her hands and leaned over the driver seat to kiss you right there and then.

it might sound silly to most people when you would say the bustle of downtown was your favorite place, but it was true. every important moment with your girl happened right in the center of it all.

Girl, I can take you where you wanna go, if you wanna ride

We could watch a movie, hit the beach, or just chill and get high

“where are we headed to now, hm?” you looked up at her, grinning from ear to ear. your hair movies slightly as another waft of wind rushed past you.

the sun was in the early stages of setting in the distance. past all the old and worn down shops and enormous buildings, the sky was illuminating a lovely shade of pinkish orange. it reflected perfectly on juju, her beautiful skin quite literally glowing. you didn’t want to look away from her, she looked absolutely exquisite as she turned her gaze down to you.

“well we just finished the movie so i thought,” she looked upwards to ponder “we could go to your favorite ice cream place and walk down to the beach?”

you nodded in acceptance, releasing her hand and joining arms instead. you wanted to be as close to her as possible.

your favorite ice cream shop wasn’t far from where you currently were, but it did give you some time to enjoy a small walk through town. as you continued your evening stroll, you watched anything that caught your eye. you pointed out cute articles of clothing through store windows, telling her she would look so cute in them. you’d look at the other cute couples enjoying the busy nature of downtown on a saturday because you loved to people watch. you’d laugh when juju cracked a joke, always the corniest ones because she knew they would make you fold over giggling. the ice cream shop was nearly forgotten as you were entranced in your girlfriend’s company.

soon enough it appeared around the corner of a brickwork building. it was small and built with tattered white boards, the inside shining a warm light and displaying a few strangling customers.

“what’re you gonna get this time, baby” she asked, arms folded and looking at todays flavors. juju, no matter how many times you came here, never knew what kind she wanted. you on the other hand, knew exactly what you were gonna order.

“i’m thinking cake batter, tonight” you pointed out to her “what about you?”

“how does cookies and cream sound?”

“good, but it’s your ice cream not mine” you chuckled.

“yea, but you always eat some of mine anyways” she smirked, side eyeing you jokingly.

you rolled your eyes back, cheeks heating up with a rosy blush. she knew you too well. it was true, you always managed to sneak bites of her ice cream after finishing yours first.

“yea ok whatever” you said as she kissed your cheek in a false attempt to apologize.

once the very polite employee finished scooping your ice cream, juju paid despite you trying to put your card into the reader. not only was she not about to let you pay on your birthday, but she’d never take you out somewhere without rightfully paying herself.

cones in hand, ice cream dripping down the sides, juju led you out of the parlor and back down the street. this time farther, heading down to the beach. you were almost skipping with excitement as you dragged her down the sidewalk.

And we can do whatever you wanna do

Ooh, oh, oh, oh

sand piled in between your bare toes, samoa warm sensation to the bottoms on your feet. you both kicked off your shoes and socks to abandon them on the concrete as you raced each other to the shoreline. your ice cream was half gone by the time you reached where the icy water met the dampened sand, sun now even lower than it was before. the two of you made yourselves comfortable on the sand, sitting side by side with your knees pulled up to your chests.

“how’s the cookies and cream?” you questioned, taking the last bite of your waffle cone.

“really good,” she took a small bite of hers “…you want to try it, don’t you?”

you licked your lip’s teasingly, leaning over to her to try it. she laughed, scolding you for taking too big of a bite (like you always did). but she didn’t care, she’d let you eat the whole thing before she’d get mad at you.

when the ice cream was finally finished and your hands were still faintly sticky, you scooted closer to juju, hips touching and her arm instinctively wrapping around your shoulders. you let your head fall against her shoulder and nuzzled into her collarbone. the sounds of the waves lulled you into a state of relaxation as you both sat in welcomed silence. it wasn’t often you got a spot like this all to yourselves so you enjoyed the quiet while you could.

you felt her lips press a kiss to the top of your head, her breath hot against your scalp. eyes fluttering closed in satisfaction, you hummed, sitting back up to steal a real one from her. your lips caught hers gently, sharing a sweet kiss. her hand found its way to your jaw to cradle it carefully as she pulled you in even deeper.

“d’you have a good birthday?” she exhaled, looking into your eyes deeply. she asked that every time and you answered just the just the same.

“i loved it” you beamed “the best day ever”

she ran her fingers through your hair suddenly, preventing the wind from dragging it into your face, “i’m glad, i love you so much, YN”

“i love you, too” you resumed your heads position on her shoulder, sighing constantly as you overlooked the perfect ending to the perfect day “so much”

Baby, I want some of your love

Your love (your love), your love

Baby (baby), can I have some of your love

Your love, your love

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

A/N: this was a little rushed but i hope you like it <3

[thehistoriangirl]

HIII i love your works soooo much i literally cry when you update anything *violent sobs* you dropped this my queen 👑 also i don't mean to pressurize or anything, but is the work "If You Hadn't Left (Me)" on AO3 still continuing? if not no pressure! as always, take care of yourself and your health lots of love mwah

aANON IM SO SORRY

I had been in a writing slump—and plotting my original novel didn't help—, but I'm going to start college soon :3 so ofc I'm starting to write for Viktor again!!!

Here's a sneak peek at a scene for chapter 2 👀

Viktor's eyes swept over your designs. All swifts lines and clean sketches you've surely done a million times.

He couldn't help but remember how you had drawn him before, after carefully examining the features of his face with attentive eyes and feather-like touches.

His sigh echoed in the quiet lab, and he felt your gaze over his shoulder, waiting.

"I don't like it," he said, recoiling inside himself after hearing his whine. But it was true; this wasn't your style. You loved sinous curves and flowery details, soft edges that would end in intricate carvings like vines ensnared in an old tower.

Rather, the building was like a rounded obelisk, with sharp walls and a rounded roof that would merge well with the rooftops of the boulevards' buildings. A gigantic tower that was meant to be awed and feared.

"It doesn't surprise me that you never won any ingenieering competition," you huffed, your petty tone trying to conceal the hurt of his words. "Your machines may be good, but they're ugly. You clearly have no taste."

Viktor chuckled, humorless. "I must dissagree, Miss." He could do 'cute-looking' machines. Usually made to decorate your shelves, but he wasn't going to say that. "I dated you, after all."

He didn't register the words until they had come out his mouth, the damage undone and his professional reputation on the floor.

Your eyes were wide open, clutching the papers against your chest as if scandalized.

"You're insufferable," you mumbled, taking your sketch from his desk and dashing toward Jayce's empty desk, where you would finish the necessary blueprints copies for Jayce and the Council without daring to look at Viktor's direction.

"Isn't it a little bit early to already get out of work?" Viktor mused, looking at you putting your things inside a bag. Past lunchtime, but with the sun still shining and the streets still lively with children and students chatting all over the Academy's courtyard.

"I'm working full time. Just not here," you answered dryly, already heading toward the door.

"Why?" He couldn't help but question. It was because of what he had said, of course. How could he let his tongue run so carelessly in an art he had masterfully controlled before?

"I don't have my drafting table here," you said, eyes connecting with his just for a second. "And I forgot my portfolio with my scale rulers and other stuff. I will bring them tomorrow."

He nodded, ignoring the way his heart made a somersault. You'll return here tomorrow—because of course you would, this was your job.

"Good evening then," he said, turning back to his stool, back hunched as he continued to scribble his equations away.

Viktor just heard the click of the door closing behind your back, and then you were all gone.

[vinnival]

Y'know what, I really liked how you wrote that last one so I'm gonna request a bit of a short story based around it considering you do those. I would like one that takes place during Madness 10, where the reader, hank, and sanford fight the Auditor, and instead of Hank using Auditor's newly found halo to power himself up, the reader decided to give him the new arm with lightning, also gives Sanford some powers because why not (you choose what power to give him)

IF KRINKELS ISNT GOING TO GIVE SANFORD BAE A COOL POWER OF HIS OWN

THEN IM DOING IT MYSELF

edit: I dropped something heavy on my toe and I have now seen god is this my punishment? what have I done wrong?

Desperation

"Yo, those main ANTI-AAHW fuckers are here, we should get going to help," one of the Soldat soldiers said to his teammate, flicking his cig away.

The other hesitantly looked around. "Man, we just killed one of the top ones, another just got MAGged, and another has Jebus' abilities... We should stay away..."

The first one rolled his eyes, "Ayder, why are you hesitating?! You're literally part of the top agents. You volunteered to risk your life. Might as well pull through. Stop being a wuss."

Ayder was about to answer when yelling was heard outside, and the two immediately aimed for the nearby door.

The other Soldat approached the door, only for it to be slammed open by a very angry looking Auditor.

"Boss!"

He growled, pushing past them and speed-walking deeper into the building. There were multiple bright red holes, visible around his void-like body.

"Those fucking beetles are right out there, DO something about it!"

The two turned to each other when their boss disappeared around the corner. "Did you see the halo..." Sol was cut off by the door once again slamming open, and he screamed.

There... Stood the newly revived MAG Hank, the one with no shirt, and the one with the halo-band.

Ayder rushed in front of Sol, trying his best to protect his (now scared) comrade.

"Ironic, huh?" Ayder snickered out before he was soon decapitated by an impatient and angry Hank.

Sol followed right after.

You, on the other hand, panted in pain- burning with the intensity of 1,000 suns, it seemed.

Your halo-band reacted to Auditor's newly acquired halo, and electric bolts shot out from it. It ripped through your body, but it looked like the void of a man was in more pain than you. Which was big, considering NO ONE'S attacks were landing on him.

You thought it over once the Auditor ran off after making his towers, and decided to try and transfer that power to Hank, as he seemed to be the one that was willing to get the most physical with him. You had a feeling it would be painful to harness that energy again, since it felt like you were being tasered by WAY too many tasers at once when you first felt it.

Eventually, you had no other choice but to give it to him...

Your group was interrupted in their travels by a new MAG, ready to attack. Sanford desperately kept flinging his hook at the thing, and Hank was trying to punch his way out of the thing's hold, but this MAG was bigger and stronger than all of them physically.

You steeled yourself, and ran at Hank, who was stuck in the MAG's hand still.

"HANK, OVER HERE," you yelled out, reaching out your hand. He automatically reached his giant new arm out, and you transferred all of your electric energy to him for him to wield.

It hurt like a BITCH.

You were lucky Sanford immediately followed you to make sure you didn't do anything stupid.

(He doesn't want to lose another friend...)

He dragged you back so you can recover healthily while Hank harnessed his newfound power to rip a hole into the MAG, killing it off with one final punch to the head.

He trudged over to you once the dust settled, and let out a low grunt at your curled-up form, sat in Sanford's arms.

Heaving for air, you showed them both a shaky thumbs-up. The band on your wrist was still as sparkly and gold as ever.

They both helped you stand up, and you coughed out a thanks.

It wasn't long before you began thinking about Sanford. You were resting your burning nerves while the other two managed to easily take out the many grunts in the way, so you had time to think as you limped along.

Sanford... He's worked so hard, he's suffered so much, and what has he to show for it? You have your halo, Hank has his new form, what about him?

Once you three got to a new resting stop in the tower, you reached your hand out and gingerly touched Sanford's back.

He flinched a little, but only looked at you, an eyebrow raised.

You smiled gently, "You've worked hard, let me reward you, Sanford."

Instead of the painful electricity, you focused on the soothing flow of water, running through your body and flowing into Sanford's own. A blinding light overtook him. He was calling your name in confusion.

When you and Hank saw him again, he was sat on the ground, clutching his hook closely.

Wait.

You looked closer.

The hook was ATTATCHED to him?!

In fact, his skin looked very spiky, and his hands were glowing a dark grey- huh... one of them were just his hook a moment ago, right?

You watched as Sanford studied it in awe. Wait, whoa!

His hands changed shapes! His hook, a gun, his hand, a CROWBAR, all of that formed right in front of everyone's eyes!

The moment didn't last long, though. Rumbling ripped through the tower that the man of the void created. Sanford quickly thanked you, before you all rushed out to finally fight The Auditor.

Finally, you felt like you were prepared.

It is 3 am. If this seemed very all over the place plot-wise I blame my tiredness

[razrbladekiss]

Tyrants | Chapter Two - Gutless

WORD COUNT: 4k

WARNINGS: Death (murder), brief descriptions of gore, Isla and Jax doing something very illegal

MASTERLIST

The morning sun was beating down upon the pair a little bit harsher now, inducing a sheen of sweat to coat over Jax's forehead.

But the perspiration could've formed as a result of coming to the realization that he'd just blown the brains out of an ATF agent, left his body to decompose on Tara's bathroom floor, and spilled his guts--not even twenty-four hours later--to Isla.

Jax knew that he could trust her with anything--he always had been able to trust her with anything. But there was something telling him that she didn't exactly feel too wonderful about his revelation.

Her arm lifted to run across her forehead, ridding the skin of a few salty droplets.

"What do you mean--"

"I mean I put a bullet through his fuckin' skull and blew his brains out, Isla! That's what I mean."

He ran a thumb over his lips, realizing that he should've kept his tone subdued so close to the main doors of the clubhouse.

"Jesus, Jax." She breathed out, pinching the bridge of her nose as he started to pace quietly. "I--I can't believe you're telling me this."

Well, she could. Really, there wasn't anything she could've put past Jax anymore. And when it came to Tara...The man was an idiot. Always had been.

"Why was Kohn even at her place?"

Jax was fidgety. Uneasy. She couldn't blame him for that, could she? Because he'd just fucking killed a man--but still.

He wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Or did you lure him there or something--"

"Shut up." He growled, grabbing her bicep with his left hand as he pulled her to the side of the building. "Just listen to me."

"I'm listening, Jax, but you don't seem to be telling me a lot."

Realizing that he wasn't offering very much explanation, he nodded. Jax let go of her and beckoned her closer, pleading eyes melting her fucking heart.

"Isla, please." He wrapped his arms around her, minding the bloodied shirt.

"What do you want me to do?"

Ringed fingers splayed over her cheek, pushing stray blonde hairs out of her face. He sighed hard. Exasperated.

"Help me get rid of him--"

"Jackson--"

"I'm not asking you to lug his dead body to the creek and throw him in. I'm just asking you to offer a helping hand and be a lookout or something."

Isla searched his features for a morsel of something that'd indicate Jax was messing with her. But he was dead serious--his face set to neutral, eyes glazed over.

"But--I--what about Cameron?"

"Tara and Chibs have it covered." He murmured, heeding the apprehension sail over her.

She was as strong and willing as she possibly could've been. Isla was consistently the person that Jax and Opie would turn to for advice when it came to their girls, or when they needed to be pointed in the right direction.

But he'd never asked her to do such a thing before.

Her loyalty outweighed her nervousness, however. He knew she'd never say no to helping him with such a matter--but it was still asking too much.

Chibs would've been furious that Jax felt it necessary to beg Isla for assistance during such a time, too. Hell, Gemma would've admonished him for it.

"Where is he?" She mumbled, hearing the clubhouse door open and an irritated grunt sounding from the front of the lot.

Jax held her close to his chest, a hand tracing over the skin of her shoulder that'd been exposed as the shirt fell to the middle of her arm.

"Tara's place." His whisper was monotonous, bordering on lifeless.

"Okay--when do you need to do this?"

He eyed Tig storming from the building and toward his motorcycle, completely unaware of the two conspiring.

"Tonight." His voice came low and gravely. "I'll ride to her place now, and you go home, get yourself cleaned up, do whatever you've gotta do today, and we'll head there--"

"I'm not cleaning myself up. I'm already covered in blood--I don't think I need to destroy another shirt."

"Okay." Jax's lips rubbed together, almost turning upward into a smile. "But don't follow me out, alright? Go tell Gemma that you don't know where I went, and then you take it from there."

"And if Tara asks..."

A gentle kiss against her forehead almost forced tears to collate in her eyes.

"She won't ask--she knows I've gotta do this."

Isla silenced herself, though she nodded and watched as Tig--pissed as hell--rode out of the lot and onto the street.

She guessed that he was still piqued after she and Chibs yelled at him.

And she was still pissed at Jax, but for a different reason now.

This time, she wanted to slap the shit out of the blonde idiot standing before her, requesting help with disposing of a literal dead body.

Isla couldn't quite believe that Jax had turned to her and not somebody like Opie--somebody who would be able to help a little more physically--but she could only assume that it was more of a trust thing.

He had a lot of faith in her and she lauded that. But it also saw her get thrust into some questionable situations.

"You look like you're gonna puke." Juice stifled a laugh as Isla padded in, the bottom of her shirt wrenched between bloodied fingers. "Are you good?"

"Yeah." Instantly, she responded. "I'm fine. I just need to get my purse."

Clay was nowhere to be seen--possibly in the back room with Chibs and Tara--but Gemma's eyes focused on the blonde's form as she strolled across the wood.

"You don't look fine. Come sit for a little while."

"I'm gonna head home--"

"Where'd Jax go?" Gemma cut in, lifting an eyebrow conspicuously.

Tell Gemma that you don't know where I went.

"I don't know." She frowned, sitting on the barstool opposite the woman. "We shared a cigarette, talked about Abel, and then he told me he had to go--where, I don't know."

Did she feel bad about roping his child into their little lie? Yeah, a bit. But it was foolproof. Gemma never would've suspected anything to do with Abel because, really, Jax brought him up to everyone whenever he got the chance to.

"Ah. He's probably headed over to see him. I'll go--"

"I wouldn't." Isla pushed. "He's trying to get some alone time with him. He said that he hasn't really been able to spend one-on-one time with Abel all too much."

Which wasn't a lie. Jax needed to spend those rare solitary moments with his baby because his mother couldn't seem to leave St. Thomas for more than three hours at a time.

Gemma just hummed, turning away.

She knew how he felt. But she was Abel's grandma--she just wanted to know that he was safe and being looked after.

"I'm sorry, that was mean...I just think he's a little confused right now, and could use five minutes with his son."

"No, you're right." She nodded, unable to heed the trepidation flitting over Isla because she felt bad about coming down on Gemma in such a way.

That woman was a Godsend to Jax, his children, and even Isla's family. She didn't deserve to be randomly admonished for wanting to visit her baby's baby. Not after everything she'd done for them.

Well, besides trying to murder the mother of Jax's first born. That was a little fucked up--even by SAMCRO's standards.

But Isla adored her. For everything she had done for her during the time she'd resided in Charming, Gemma was regarded extremely fucking highly in her book.

"Go home, baby. Get some sleep, too--you need to rest."

Isla waved her off. "I'm not tired, just feelin' a little gross."

"I'd bet." Gemma pushed her lips together, smiling as much as she could've. "You go yourself pretty again, and swing by later for dinner."

"Yes ma'am." She mock saluted, reaching for her purse.

Goodbyes between Isla, Gemma, and Juice were uttered for a few moments before the blonde made her way to the door.

Her eyebrows raised inquisitively, urging her to turn back to the duo.

"Gem?"

"Mhm?"

"Was Tig alright?" Sincerely, she asked. Feeling a little guilty about snapping earlier.

Gemma didn't say anything but her head bobbed in confirmation, providing Isla with the answer she needed.

The Irish in her shone through during instances like those. She was brash in her actions, words, and the fact she'd always speak before she thought--but the solemnity with which she would ponder, apologize after making a mistake, was just so plainly Irish.

Isla was kind. Caring. Nurturing. She was everything that SAMCRO was not--but, at the same time, everything that Chibs was. Reliable. Loyal. Committed. A true ride or fucking die.

Everybody trusted her, and nobody second-guessed confiding in her.

And, once again, that had its reparations alongside a multitude of perks.

"Holy mother of Jesus." She cursed, the unmistakable Belfast twang flickering through her brusque tone.

Jax haphazardly pulled the bed-sheet over Kohn's lifeless frame, turning to face his little friend who was, to put it lightly, fucking stunned.

"You sound super Irish when you're mad."

"I'm glad you could recognize that I'm mad at you, Jax." Her eyes never once left the outline of that dead body half on Tara's bedroom carpet, half on the tile of her en-suite.

Getting to her knees, disregarding an incredulous amount of blood decorating the walls and carpets, Isla pulled the floral cover off of Josh.

She sighed. "Why'd you do it?"

"He was stalking Tara--"

"So you just blew his fucking brains out?!" Her shriek was guttural. "Jesus Christ, Jax. And you idiots think that Tig is the one with a trigger problem."

"He does have a problem, and you know that! This was different!" He countered, pulling her to her feet. "This was fucking restitution, Isla!"

"No." Calmly, she stated. Her glare piercing. "This was fucking stupid. Possibly the most idiotic thing that you've ever done, Jackson."

His head shook as he sneered, towering over her. Isla felt intimidated. For the first time ever, she felt an unwavering sensation of overawe whilst in the presence of her best friend.

"He was a bad guy. He had to die."

"But he was fucking ATF! Hale is gonna get your ass, and there's nothing Unser will be able to help you with once he gets wind of this--"

Isla's voice cracked around a small sob. She wasn't even aware of the tears welling in her eyes, but they were there the entire time.

It was the thought of Jax making one incredible life altering fuck up--one that he wasn't going to save himself with a bribe, or the simple luck of a good connection to Charming PD--that was maiming her uncomfortably.

Jax's arms wound around her trembling waist, hugging her tightly against his palpitating chest.

The sheer terror visible in her mannerisms was what frightened him. Isla never seemed to scare very easily--or, at least, she didn't show it.

She was fearless, but she was still human. And he had only seen her crack twice. Both times because of the club, too.

"He was stalking Tara." He reinstated, circling his fingers over Isla's svelte spine. "They dated when she was in Chicago, she broke things off but he was a clingy motherfucker and he wouldn't leave her alone."

"She should've gotten a restraining order or something." She mumbled into his chest, sniffing back tears.

"That's the thing. She did. But he broke it by coming back to Charming, pretending to be setting up shop at the PD with Hale, but he followed her around town for a couple weeks instead."

"And nobody questioned why he wasn't getting anything done?"

Jax's head shook. "He was still working for Chicago--or so he said, anyway--so Hale just assumed any intel for whatever the fuck it was he'd been workin' on was going straight back to the big bosses."

She was struggling to follow on.

It was such a convoluted scenario that Isla never thought she'd become entwined with--though, with Jax and Charming being, well, Jax and Charming, she didn't know why she ruled something of the sort out.

"Are you gonna tell Gemma and Clay--"

"No. This is between us, and Tara."

Isla didn't have the energy to bicker with him again. She didn't want to bicker with him again, truthfully.

"Alright, what's the next move, then? 'Cuz this pig can't stay wrapped up in a sheet for too much longer or else he's gonna start to stink this place out."

Jax situated both hands against crimson coated shoulders, lightly pushing her backward so she could look up to meet his gaze.

"I got a plan. But I don't think you're gonna like it."

His eyes went straight to the lighter atop Tara's bedside table, right next to the pineapple scented candle, and she sighed hard.

The man was so sadistic. It wasn't even slightly discreet anymore, really.

Whereas Clay had always been ruthless, remarkably barbaric toward those who had wronged him--or anyone, really--Jax had more of a moral compass. Not much more, but a little. And that was the sort of thing that tied him straight to JT.

But Clarence Morrow had a much more potent impact on Jax's life, thus the man's foibles ended up transpiring to his stepson.

"This is seriously fucked up."

"I know." He didn't even try to argue, pushing Josh into the small grave he'd spent the last ten minutes digging at the pit of a deep, deep ditch.

Isla's body was below freezing, cold and uneasy at the prospect of potentially being caught, or assumed as an accessory to the murder of a federal agent.

"I'm sorry for roping you into this." Jax stated, almost reading her mind. "I just didn't know what else to do."

She ran a hand over his forearm, resting her head comfortably against navy-cotton covered flesh. "I know."

He didn't expect the woman to douse the dead body in gasoline, set it alight, and wait all night for the corpse to torrefy entirely--but she was there now. There was no reason she shouldn't go to the trouble of lighting the first match.

Tara should be the one doing this, Isla thought to herself as the small stick caught alight. She dropped it atop the sheet, taking a few steps backward when the thing immediately shot up into thick flames.

Jax engulfed her warmly with both arms, holding her tightly as if continuing their prior embrace. It felt safe, unusually so. But, to Isla, it felt like he was scouting for that security more than what she was.

"I can't believe you committed murder for a woman that you haven't seen for ten whole years." She laughed against his sweatshirt, eyes watering. "Is there something going on with you two again?"

"No." Huskily, he responded. "There isn't, and there won't be, either. I just swung by her place to make sure she was alright--I knew she was having trouble with that fucker--and he was there. I had to do it, Isla."

"I know."

She didn't. She did not know. She did not want to know, either. She couldn't fucking believe he'd acted out so rashly, how he was so trigger happy.

Jax was morphing into a different man and she couldn't help but pin that on the club.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't think so." His mumble was barely audible, but she caught it.

Isla squeezed his arm reassuringly, knowing that he felt bad about bringing that sort of trouble to Tara.

"She will be." She confirmed. "She's a strong girl, Jax, she'll be okay."

It didn't kill her to speak positively about Tara, she still held a place in her huge Irish heart--but it was an odd sensation to be mentioning her at all.

Ten years had passed by and Isla wasn't even certain that she was still alive. Her concern for the doctor seemed to dissipate over time because Tara didn't want anything more to do with them, so they didn't try with her.

Maybe it was a pang of jealousy that held her back. She was undeniably envious of the fact that she'd gotten out of town, worked her ass off, and experienced bigger and better things.

But, essentially, everything led back to Charming, and Tara Knowles had ended up falling into that same heap of trouble she left behind a decade ago.

Isla pulled her cellphone from the back pocket of her jeans, groaning when she saw the time.

"We've got an hour before Gemma wants us for dinner. You think this son of a bitch is gonna turn into dust within the next sixty minutes?"

"No." Jax laughed, leaning to his left and propping his head atop hers. "But he'll be unrecognizable in the next twenty."

"Perfect."

It was barbarous. Vile. Inhuman.

Isla's mother would be spinning in her grave if she knew the chaos she'd managed to find herself meshed with. Diane would kill Chibs, too.

She'd kill him for roping her baby into such malice after leaving Belfast. She'd want to throttle the Scottish son of a bitch for welcoming little Isla Áine Telford to SAMCRO, to Charming, to Jax fucking Teller.

They weren't natives to the small town, nor were they natives to California. Chibs had just moved from charter to charter. Continent to fucking continent. And taking his little angel along for the ride wasn't exactly planned until his late wife took her very last breath one stormy morning.

It was the most upsetting thing he had to do, telling his daughter that the woman she looked up to and adored with every fiber of her being wasn't coming home.

He'd been in the army, he'd seen things no man should've ever seen, but the sight of that six year old--teary-eyed and partially cognizant--was something that cut him so deeply, Jimmy O'Phelan's mark didn't seem to scratch the surface of Chib's inconsolable hurt.

"I think we're good now." A little nervous, Isla noted.

She simply couldn't wait to get out of the bitter chill, into a hot shower, and to the dinner table at the Teller-Morrow residence.

Jax surveyed the scene. He crouched down, heeding the flicker and sick crackle of flames engulfing the barely fleshed body.

"I think so, too." He confirmed, throwing her the keys to his SUV. "Get outta the cold--I'll finish up here. K?"

She nodded, clutching the chain close to her chest.

Isla wasn't sure how badly she was trembling until she sat still in the passenger seat, watching the club's VP commit the unspeakable.

Really, she wasn't shocked to find out that Jax was capable of the sort. Burning a man dead was better than burning one alive, and she was thankful that Josh had been put out of his misery before his body was cauterized into dust...Which was more than what could've been said about Kyle Hobart.

She remembered overhearing the club's plans to sear, or slice, the SAMCRO tattoo from the back of that brute once they'd gotten wind of his inability to black it out.

And she would've felt bad about that man getting viciously harmed, if he didn't fuck Opie over and subsequently land him in Chino to serve five years away from Charming and his family.

It was cruel, she knew that. To blowtorch the MC tattoo from the stretch of his back, was fucking cruel. Isla knew that Tig was adept at causing such blistering agony, but she didn't think he would actually go through with it, least of all with such delight.

Isla feared that man sometimes. Clay's right hand, the man who sought to protect her, fucking terrified her because he was so unpredictable. So fast acting.

"He's done." Jax officially confirmed, sliding into the driver's seat. "You okay?"

She was staring off into space, her eyes glazing over at the realization she had just helped dispose of another human being.

"Isla--"

"I'm good." Finally, she spoke. "I just--uh--I just wanna get cleaned up and head to dinner now."

He pinched the keys from a frail palm, sticking them into the ignition. All the while wondering what the fuck he was going to do with the shaken up woman to his right.

Twenty-three years of friendship, and Isla never once thought she'd be involved in such incredulous activity. Jax never thought she'd get hauled into it either, really.

Juice was right. She looked like she was going to throw up, all pale and sickly.

He had done that. Jax was, essentially, the reason that Isla seemed as though she wanted to crawl out of her own fucking skin. Granted, she was already feeling rather discomfited after tending to Cameron's laceration for hours on end--at odds with her father and Tig for that time, too.

But now this...This made Isla feel horrible. Dirty. Disgusting.

"You want me to tell Gemma you're not feeling it tonight?" Jax looked beside himself, noticing her head hanging low as she flared out of the window. "So you can skip seeing everybody--"

"No." Flatly, she responded. "No, I wanna make sure Tig doesn't hate me."

"Why would he hate you?"

"I yelled at him." Isla sounded downcast, sad. "He was watching, being awkward, trying to tell me what dad and I were doing wasn't going to suffice, and I just snapped."

In understanding, he hummed. He knew how irritating Alexander Trager was. Irritating, insufferable, it was all the same.

"He won't hate you for that." Comfortably, Jax rested a hand on Isla's thigh.

She barely felt the ringed fingers gently gliding along her jeans as she shook. It was a tremor, light and unnoticeable to the naked eye, that Jax felt reverberate through his entire body through his palm.

"I don't think he's managed to be pissed at you for more than fifteen minutes at a time."

"Yeah." She mumbled, shifting awkwardly. "Yeah, you're right. I'm too sweet for anybody to stay mad at me--"

"I wouldn't say you were sweet."

She smacked at his hand with a laugh, throwing her head backward as her smile started to fade.

It was bittersweet.

Bittersweet because she was realizing that Tig had pardoned her for being a bitch, but she had also just disposed of a dead body on the side of the freeway.

Bittersweet because, now, there was no clear path for her and Jackson and whatever happened was just going to happen and they had to grin and bear it. Pretend it wasn't eating them from the inside out.

Bittersweet because their families--their family--were currently sat around the oak table in Gemma's dining room, waiting for the pair to waltz in after doing the most heinous.

Bitter. Fucking. Sweet.

"Where were you guys?!" Tig pointed his beer bottle at the duo, heeding Jax's hand in Isla's back pocket.

Of course, to Trager, that was more than just a comfort thing. He didn't know what they had just done--nor would he--but she was going to let him believe whatever the fuck he wanted to as long as it wasn't the actual truth.

"It don't matter." Clay dismissed, gesturing to Jax and Isla's designated spaces at the table. "They're here now. That's all I care about."

Her smile was warm, friendly and welcoming while she sat in between her father and partner in crime. Literally.

Chibs nudged her. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Slowly, she uttered. She reached for the wine glass that Gemma had so kindly laid out for her.

The two blondes made eye contact for a few moments, Jax's crystalline hues completely lifeless. Arid. He nodded toward her, an indication that he was feeling alright.

But Isla...She wasn't. Lying through her teeth was the only feasible means of getting over this. Whatever this was.

"I'm fucking brilliant, dad."

[fayeimara]

Kuroo Tetsuro || Freefall

*Song Scenario | Inspired by Devil Eyes by Hippie Sabotage*

PAIRING. Kuroo Tetsuro x you

GENRE. Fluff

WARNINGS. Suggestive content

The breeze shifts through and lifts your hair, cooling the surface of your body from the midsummer heat, as you stand at the peak of the bluffs and stare down into the dark, seemingly eerie depths of the bay. Joyful squeals and deep hollers echo around you, an erratic staccato from both your group and another, at times torn away with the wind.

"Scared?" The amused mono-syllabic question tears you away from your contemplation and you lock eyes with one of the boys from the other group, his golden gaze searing into yours, somehow more scorching than the sun high in the sky above you.

"Not exactly." You tilt your head back and close your eyes before you answer with what you know he just may never understand, "Just working myself up."

He laughs a little, but it's not mocking.. or confused, it's actually appreciative like he's already caught your vibe, "You're building the apprehension."

Your eyes pop open and slide over to him again in surprise, "Exactly."

"More of an adrenaline rush with the anticipation, the deeper you psyche yourself out."

"Before letting go and freefalling."

"Wow." He definitely sounds appreciative and his unusual gemlike eyes are burning with a curious desire, "Can I join you?"

You finally smile then, just a curl of your lips up, and tilt your head in a silent answer.

The two of you stand at the edge and look over, enjoying the sharp tug of the breeze, even when it threatens to shove you over without your choice in the matter. Studying the churning water below and savouring the sounds of excitement emanating from your friends behind you as people inconsistently dive in. Allowing it all to weave together and spiral into the most natural high.

"Kuroooo!" You're startled as a tan, black and whited haired blur passes just by you, breaking your balance and threatening to drag you over with him.

The guy next to you grabs your elbow to steady you, heat from his hand curling into your skin, as he laughs at his exuberant friend who literally hurls himself off the cliff, jumping incredibly high and reaching a near impossible peak before he begins to drop in.

You can't help but laugh too, because that was just beautiful to see, and then take a deep, smiling breath before looking over to the boy called Kuroo and state, "I'm ready to fall."

His eyes widen at your choice of words but you just smirk and back up for your own approach. Your friends get louder, calling out your name and cheering you on as a wide grin takes over your previous unreadable face.

You take two steps only to find your way blocked by the towering stranger, "You said I could join you."

"Yeah, for the buildup..?" You blink in confusion but he's already prepared with his counter as if he expected your response.

"Will you let me 'fall' with you? Just say jump and I won't even ask how high." He grins unabashedly and you twist your lips to try and hide your answering smile.

"I'm not holding hands with you or anything." You concede with a shrug even as you narrow your eyes on him. But he just laughs before leaning in and trapping you in that mesmerizing gaze again, this time too close to escape with force of will alone.

"Who said I'd hold you while you fell?" His voice is low and teasing.

You roll your eyes and cut back, "Not you, I guess, asking a complete stranger if you can fall with her."

"A completely gorgeous stranger, sure." His sly grin sends another rush of heat through you, as if you weren't close to a heat stroke anyways.

"Right. And I'm still supposed to believe you don't want to hold my hand when we fall, like some cheesy meet-cute."

"Bold of you to call this a meet-cute."

"Isn't it, though?" You raise an eyebrow in challenge, "But what will we tell the kids? Daddy didn't let mommy jump so she pushed him in, I guess."

He does blush then, even while he's laughing in complete awe and amusement at your provocative banter; he's a stunning sight to behold, for sure. Regardless, you smirk in victory as he swallows and runs a hand through his hair, responding, "Sure, let's save that for the next story though. I want be able to tell them we chose to dive right in together first."

"You can tell them that," You shake your head at his flirting and sidestep, starting your run to the edge and calling over your shoulder, "-if you manage to keep up!"

You vault into the open air on your last word, eyes and grin wide as you're momentarily suspended before the breeze turns into a gale force and you're really falling through the space. The water rushes up to you at an unbelievably pace and you slap your hand over the lower half of your face, but just before you close your eyes, you see red shorts and raven-hair drop into the water beside you. And then you're engulfed too, shooting down and opening your eyes to look into the murky nothingness.

Using both your hands to propel yourself up, you finally break through the surface of the water, pushing your hair back and gasping with laughter, and meet eyes with the previously bedheaded boy who's surfaced just in front of you with his hair finally tamed down with the water.

The two of you are so close, you're brushing against each other as you tread but you're both laughing and paying it no mind. No, you're more struck by the way his arm flexes as he moves his hand up to slick his hair back, and the unruly dark strands that escape his attempt and fall back over his right side. Your eyes trace the drops of water as they tip off the ends to grace his cheeks and caress down over his face, neck, and finally chest before rejoining all the other drops that come together and create the bay.

You're so busy observing him, you miss how he watches you in return. He's captivated by the swirling locks of your hair, curling as if they're melting into the ripples of water around you. He can't help but be caught in the curve of your lips as you hold that curious, small smile, the one he saw peek out as he studied you earlier, before making the move to approach the beautiful girl lost in a thrall to the water below her.

He traces his gaze over that smile, wondering how he can continue to entice it forward, along with that beguiling look in your eye, the one that answers the call to adventure with an irresistible sparkle. He's staring directly into your eyes, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, when you finally pull your gaze back to him.

There's a moment of easy silence, spent with mutual, secret smiles and an undeniable connection, before you finally make the move to break away. As you start to swim back towards the sandy shore next to the outcropping of the bluffs, he moves as well, to keep pace next to you, and declares, "Looks like I get to tell the kids how much I liked falling in with you."

You hope you got enough sun on your cheeks today to cover the certain blush at his words. He's definitely a cheeky, persistent one. You don't respond as you reach the shore and he extends a hand out to help you against the current of the waves lapping back and forth from the sand, threatening to drag you with it. You curl your fingers into his with butterflies lifting off somewhere inside as he tugs you forward, but you stumble into him instead, your hand finding his bare chest for balance.

Oh.

Your blush deepens and you can't help but look up in that embarrassing moment to find him looking down at you with a wicked sparkle in those golden eyes and a knowing smirk that remains long after you move your hand and step away, feet sinking into warm grains of sand.

"Well, at this point, I guess we might as well hold hands on the next one." His tone is light and teasing, but still he gives you an out so you look back at him in amusement and he manages a cavalier shrug, trailing behind you as you both head for the path back up to the bluffs, "For the kids, you know."

You decide you've been at a little more of a disadvantage in this game between the two of you and throw back, "But I never promised I'd hold you when you fell?"

"Aw, that's just mean, Kitten. Didn't I just save you from the waves?" His voice is teasing but you refuse to blush at the mention of that too recent intimate moment.

"Says the guy that literally told me the same thing not even ten minutes ago."

You both reach the top before he answers and when he does, it sets off a warmth incomparable to the sun, a warmth you realizing you've been wrapped in and enjoying since his very first word to you.

"I might not always hold you as you fall, you may not even want me to." You feel his warm, callused hand slip into yours as he speaks, moving up beside you again as you both begin to walk back your groups, "But if you let me fall by your side, I swear I'll always be there to catch you."

A/N: I need to figure out how to format these posts :( Anyways, I don't know how I feel about this one either, but I hope you guys enjoy it :) <3

If you liked reading this and decide you want more Kuroo (or Haikyuu boys in general), feel free to check out my Meant To Be SMAU series!

© 2021 fayeimara. All rights reserved. Please do not repost, modify, or claim as yours.

[babylooneytoonz]

Warnings : lot of Russian phrases and words

Word Count : 2500+

Blood Trails Masterlist -> here.

You fixed yourself on the window, drawing the blood red silk curtains together, your binoculars resting on the bridge of your nose. You squinted your eyes, licking your lips as you eyed the interior of the penthouse suite on the building top opposite yours; the home of your target. Everything looked okay, a warm fireplace lit in one corner, a woman walking around in the house, a Christmas tree; it looked like a normal family. Except for the little girl, she ran around the house like a little bolt of lightning, not literally, but she was faster than what was considered normal for children her age.

You had been living at this place for over a week now, and all you did was stand by the window and observe. The man in the house was hardly ever home; the only time you saw him was after 10 at nights, and that was it. Now, if you wanted to break in, you had to do it before he was back home. The less the people, the easier it'll be to get this done.

Finally, you pulled the binoculars off your eyes and stepped away from the window, dragging your feet against the concrete flooring until you were in your bedroom. Placing the binoculars on the bedside table, you sat down against the edge of the bed, ready to go to sleep when a buzz from your cellphone alerted you. Your hand flew to your phone, that was laying under the pillow, and you saw your Handler's photo flash on the screen.

"Открой мне дверь, моя птица." (Unlock the door for me, my bird.)

For a split second, you let your true feeling reflect on your face, in your eyes; something that you preferred to hide within the layers of your life. Your eyes held a sudden fear, which was quickly masked into cold, emotionless steely ones.

Clutching the phone to your chest, you tiptoed barefooted towards the front door of your furniture less apartment of one week, until you were pressed against the dusty wall beside you, and the door was kicked shut by Vasili, using his foot.

"Не мог перестать думать о тебе, моя красавица." (Couldn't stop thinking of you, my beauty.)

Those were the words he whispered against your lips, as his soft, plump lips were pressed against yours, his arms holding you against his warm body so you could not escape from him. You didn't protest, you didn't fight back, but neither did you kiss him back; it was a one sided kiss, but he didn't seem to mind. Finally, after about a minute or so, his lips pulled away from yours as he brought his palm up to wipe the corner of his mouth.

"Я знаю, что меня здесь не должно быть. Но я не хотел тебя проверить." (I know I shouldnt be here. But I just wanted to check on you.)

You stepped backwards, so you could give the man the space to walk into your apartment. He looked around in distaste for a while, before moving on and disappearing into your bedroom. You fluttered your eyelids shut, and then opened your eyes again, taking one deep inhale, as you followed him in.

"Снимай одежду и дай мне увидеть эти шрамы." (Take your clothes off and let me see those scars.)

Swallowing the lump forming in your throat, along with what little reluctance you felt at the back of your head, you brought your hands to the hem of your nightdress, until you slowly pulled it over your stomach, your chest and then over your head. All this while, Vasili's eyes raked over your body, the dark, almost fading marks a sharp contrast with the smooth, milky exterior of your skin. His breathing hitched, and his eyes darkened with an insatiable hunger, the more his gaze wandered over your body.

"Подойди и ложись сюда, мой маленький сосуд. Позвольте мне заполнить вас." (Come and lay down over here, my little vessel. Let me fill you up.)

Slow, graceful movements, you found yourself laying on your bed, the only piece of furniture that was there in this apartment, with Vasili towering over you, murmuring to you in Russian. You closed your eyes, when you felt him part your legs so he could fill you with himself.

He didn't wait for your body to be ready, he just pushed himself into you, the thickness and his girth causing a sudden friction and a dull stinging pain in your abdomen, making you almost hiss in pain, "Ah, ты чувствуешь себя прекрасно." (You feel perfect.)

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Natasha looked at herself in the mirror once before her eyes trailed along over the bed and she saw her lover's sleeping form. She was already dressed in her uniform and ready to step out as she had been called out on an urgent mission by Tony just hours back. She pulled open the drawer, and her hands flew to her handgun, that she placed in her holster, when Bucky's sleepy voice drawled through their bedroom, "Доброе утро, красивое. (Morning, beautiful.)"

Natasha couldn't help but chuckle, squinting her eyes in the mirror towards him as she grabbed her boots and sat down by the edge of the bed where Bucky's feet were.

"You sure you can take care of her alone?" She smirked, eyeing Bucky from the corner of her eye and he just rolled his eyes, ruffling the sheets slightly and rolling over so he was now propped on his chest, his face held by his palms.

"Oh we'll be just fine, you should go before Stark decides to blow up the towers in protest when his most favourite spy is late for a mission."

Natasha smiled, leaning forward until she was face level with Bucky, and quickly pecked him on his lips, "Well, I'm off, Barnes. Kiss Sasha goodbye for me later, I don't want to wake her up."

He fell back in bed, yawning wide before burying his face into the pillow, "Stay safe, Natalia."

Rubbing her palm against her hair, scratching her scalp absentmindedly as she was lost in his thoughts, she walked out, and forgot to set the security alarm again as she stepped outside. Neither did Bucky, in his semi sleeping state, get out and check the alarm system, for he was sure that his girlfriend must have done it on her way out.

You looked at the the security camera on the wall. Your hand reflexively flew up and you gave the camera a little wave, just when the sounds of Natasha's boots hit your ears, and you pressed yourself against the wall, until the sounds of her boots clanking against the marble flooring of the reception of the building faded away. You smirked, pulling your black mask over your face as you pressed the elevator button. You had already taken care of the security guards down at the reception area, so you didn't have much to bother. The only thing you were now bothered about was the fact that it wasn't the Black Widow that you were to face, but rather, the Winter Soldier.

You had seen the man fight, in videos, in footages and it looked like he was out for blood. Every move, every snap of a neck with his metal arm; the move appeared to be a highly practiced one, that he managed to pull on effortlessly. Shaking these thoughts away, you stepped into the elevator, waiting as the elevator started moving upwards until, with a ping, it finally opened just outside the penthouse suite, the door of which was wide open, thanks to Natasha, who had forgotten to put the lock and the alarms back on.

You stepped into the warm apartment, instantly greeted by a wafting aroma of French toast, and a nice breakfast, that made you smirk slightly. Too bad you were going to ruin a family breakfast, but a woman had to do what she had to do, unfortunately. Keeping your pace steady, but making sure that your boots were not making a ruckus as you tiptoed through the hallway that you had been observing from the outside, you could hear someone whisking eggs in the kitchen.

You had memorized by now, the way to the little girl's room. You had to keep walking down the hallway; until you were standing by the brown door at the extreme end. You brought up your palm to the doorknob, twisting it slightly and the door started opening, with a creaking sound.

"Are you awake, моя кукла?" Bucky's voice called out from inside the kitchen; perhaps owing to his super soldier serum, his sense of listening had enhanced and he had heard the door. Without bothering to reply, you snuck yourself through the opening, and once you were in, you shut the door behind you.

The sun streamed into the room through the cracks in the blinds, but other than that, the room was still engulfed in darkness, and it took almost a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to it. That's when you saw that the bed was empty, the sheets unkempt, as though someone was sleeping in here but had woken up. The first direction your head snapped towards was a door, that you assumed was the bathroom. You lunged towards it, and within seconds, you were standing in an empty bathroom, without any trace of the girl.

Anger surged through your veins, and instinctively, your hands gripped the porcelain of the washbasin, when you heard the small thud of the door shutting outside. Grunting underneath your breath, you darted out of the bathroom, towards the door, your hand now flying to your handgun that was securely held in your waist holster.

Only to come face to face with a gun drawn to your face.

"Sasha, Иди в нашу комнату и не выходи, пока я не приду за тобой." (Go into our room, and do not come out until I come get you.)

The girl glanced at the man with the metal arm, and then she turned towards you, your eyes meeting her blue ones. There was something really familiar about those eyes; and you wanted to get lost in them. It wasn't like Vasili's eyes that hid an evil within those irises, this was something else, something pure.

"Sasha, go."

The little girl, upon hearing her father's low pitched voice, ran into the nearest room, the door slamming shut.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my house?"

There was a safe distance between the two of you, but it really didn't matter, for the two of you had your guns drawn towards the other one. Your eyes sparkled, with adrenaline, and your smirk was uncanny, hidden behind the mask that covered your face, leaving only your eyes in his view.

"Who I am.. doesn't matter. What matters is the reason I'm here for. It's a pity you just sent her away. We were just getting started to know each other."

It seemed to be working; engaging in a conversation with him. He was distracted, his mind entangled in a web of your words, and the way he held his gun, you could easily get him to drop it. It didn't take much of an effort, you lunged at him suddenly, taking him by suprise, your left foot jutted out to knock the gun off his hand. The kick caused his grip to loosen on the gun, and as a reflex, he dropped it with a clatter to the floor. However, just as the gun dropped, he used his metal arm to catch your foot midair. This time, you used your other foot, jumping over his head with it, your other foot slamming against the side of his neck with a sickening crack.

He grunted as his thick body crashed against the floor with the impact of your kick, his metal arm colliding against the floor with an even louder noise.

"Я слышал истории о тебе, Солдат. Я слышал, тебя сложно победить, потому что ты был создан в том же самом месте, откуда я родом." (I heard stories about you, Soldier. I heard you were a hard one to beat, for you were made at the exact same place from where I come from.)

His metal arm grabbed your foot, and he pulled you hard, which made you lose your footing, and fall backwards, the back of your head hitting against a corner of a cabinet. It was as though it happened in slow motion, but you could feel a sudden crippling pain spread through your skull, rendering you useless, and frozen on spot, on the ground when he pulled himself on top of you, so he was straddling your waist, his body arched forward so he was now whispering darkly against your ear, while you struggled to push him off you, "Вы слышали обо мне еще что-нибудь? Зимний солдат не проигрывает."

(And did you hear another thing about me? Winter Soldier doesn't lose.)

"Могу только сказать ... Солдат, ты начинаешь ржаветь." (I can only say... Soldier, you're getting rusty.)

You slammed your forehead hard against his, and squeezed yourself from underneath him the second he got disoriented enough to loosen his grip on you. What followed after this was a series of punches, kicks, tooth breaking smacks across the face, punches to the ribs, pulling and pushing over each other until the two of you were coated in a sheen of sweat with Bucky once again on top of you, his metal arm pressed against your throat. His flesh arm latched itself to your mask, and he was about to rip it off your face, growling down at you in the most animalistic way when Sasha's voice sounded through the hallway, "Daddy?"

"Sasha, I told you to stay in, until I come get you."

Once again, Bucky's distraction proved beneficial for you as you pushed him off you with all your might, immediately stepping up to your feet, your eyes now on the frightened girl. You would have grabbed her, pulling her over your shoulder of the buzz in your phone had not alerted you.

You pulled out your phone, watching from the corner of your eye as Bucky started getting up, after having made sure that Sasha had run back to her room, you quickly placed your phone to your ear, "Johanna. Mission abort. Уходи оттуда. The Avengers are almost on your tail."

"But Vasili, the kid."

"We'll have more chances, Мой дорогой."

"Fine," you slid the phone back into your pocket, and without thinking, you turned back on your tail, as you darted towards the elevator, with Bucky now running after you. You turned right just as you reached the elevator, and kicked the emergency exit door, watching the wood splinter into two as you slid through the opening your kick had caused. Bucky cursed, when he realized that his body structure was not slender enough to fit in through where you had just managed to easily slide yourself out from.

You smirked to yourself, when you realized that Bucky was now trying to completely break the door, you slowly lowered your upper body, in a dramatic bowing stance and took a step away, eyeing him one last time before you started skimming down the stairs, humming a Russian song,

Без тебя родная я не я

Ты моя мания, ты аномалия

С тобой хочу взлететь на небеса

Я всё построю сам по белым парусам

И мне не нужно много слов, а я снова я

Ты просто будь со мной и всё оя, всё оя

Ведь без тебя родная я не я, родная я не я, родная я не я.

Permanent Bucky Barnes Taglist :

@really-dont-forget-it @thepeakygurl @all-art-is-quite-useless @baumarvel @janajjj @chipilerendi @nyotamalfoy @skittychat @allidoiswritewritewrite @jessyballet @x0xchristine @evansgirl7 @laisbeltrans @thegayseance

Want to be added to the Taglist? Please fill the form here.💙

[paradox-psyc-hoe-sis]

The Strongest Avenger

Carol x fem!reader, avengers x reader (platonic)

Word count: 5.2k

Warnings: so many oh boy. Attempted angst, fluff, insecurity, broken bones, injections + needles, so much gore, organ removal, vomit. If you're sensitive to any gore then please don't read it, I'm sorry oof

A/n: I've never written anything like this before, so feedback is always welcome. Tamika, if you're reading this, I am going to marry Carol Danvers one day. Try and stop me, I dare you. - Aphrodite

"Your turn, Nat!"

You, Carol, Natasha, Wanda and Peter all sat on the floor of your bedroom. Carol had a week free, so she decided to spend that week back on earth with her best friends; she was completing a 6 month long mission and it had been exactly 123 days since you saw her last. Yes, you were counting. Whenever she returns from a mission, you host a girls night (eith the exception of Peter, of course. He looked up to you all so much, you couldn't just not invite him), and tonight you had decided to play a game of 21 dares. It's practically the exact same as 21 questions, but with dares instead. After all, you were avengers, and none of you were scared of a bit of danger.

"Alright, alright." Nat looked deep in thought before her eyes lit up, thinking of the best dare. "Carol. I dare you to make out with the prettiest person in the room." Peter gasped, making everyone laugh, and you met Carol's eyes. She raised and eyebrow, to which you gave a small nod; next thing you knew, she had scooted over to sit next to you, and casually put her lips on yours. You didn't think too much of it; you and Carol were closer than any of the other avengers were, and she probably felt more comfortable kissing you than anyone else. The fact that she had chosen you as the prettiest never even crossed your mind.

You'd had a crush on Carol since the first time you saw her. It was about two years ago; she was moving into the avengers tower, and you had to give her the tour. Her sandy blonde hair fell casually onto her shoulders, and she wore black jeans with a white jumper. You had offered to carry her bags, but that was a mistake - being roughly half a foot shorter and only having 3% of the strength that she has was the fatal flaw. Over those two years, you and Carol grew to be best friends, and your feelings for her slowly faded. What was once a raging fire of passion had fizzled down into a small candle flame, but it shone bright with hope nonetheless. She hadn't changed since you first met her, yet she now sported short hair, rather than her longer curls.

Oh, and now you were kissing her.

Her lips were soft, contradictory to yours which were chapped and rough. You were so focused on her that you didn't hear Wanda trying to get your attention. Carol snaked a hand up to your neck and opened her mouth slightly more, yet you could still feel her smiling into your mouth. Before you could put a hand on her waist, you felt someone flicking your face. Laughing as you pulled away from her, Carol sat back where she originally was, and gave you a wink. Wanda was now knelt next to you, and it became apparent that she was the one who had flicked you.

"Any longer and we would've had to cover Peter's eyes!" Her accent came out thick between a giggle, and you felt a familiar burning in your cheeks.

☆☆☆☆☆

You rolled over in your bed to look at the time; 1:38 am. The game of 21 dares didn't last much longer after your kiss, and you all crashed on your bed. It was the climax of summer, so you wore only underwear and a tank top while you slept. Being sure not to wake anybody up, you climbed off of the bed, internally thanking your past self for choosing to lay on the side closest to the door. Grabbing a pair of pyjama shorts to slip on, you studied everyone's expressions to make sure they were all still asleep, and your eyes lingered on Carol's face for a bit too long. Peter wasn't there, he must've woken up earlier and gone back to his bedroom, you thought. Sighing, you walked out of the door. Even out in the hallway it was blisteringly warm, so you headed to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

The song Dancing Queen by ABBA has been stuck in your head for weeks, so you quietly sang it to yourself on your way to the living area. Once you got to the kitchen you closed your eyes, still singing, and began dancing in the space that you had. Minutes must have passed before you opened your eyes and saw Steve sat at the dining table. He didn't say anything, but instead took a long sip of the coffee he had. Without even flinching at his sudden appearance, you got your bottle of water, and walked out. As you passed him on the way, you leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"This never happened."

Instead of going back to your room, you headed straight towards the elevator, and made your way to the roof. Stepping out into the warm breeze, you walked closer to the balcony. You noted the clarity of the stars above you yet you saw the sun poking out from above the city skyline, and took a deep breath of the early morning air. Disturbing you from tranquility, the sound of the door behind you opening awoke you from your daze.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite earth human."

You turned and saw Carol stood in the doorway, holding two mugs of cocoa.

"Good morning, space alien. What're you doing up?" She walked over to you and handed you one of the mugs. No whipped cream and extra marshmallows, just how you like it. She knew you so well.

"Couldn't sleep, you?"

Before you answered, you took in her appearance. Her short hair was messy as a result of her slumber, and she rocked a matching set of baby pink pyjamas.

"I guess I could say the same. I've had too much on my mind lately." You took a large gulp of your drink, ignoring the fact that its heat felt like molten lava was being poured down your throat. She hummed in response, looking out to the horizon. She turned to you with a frown, sighed, and then asked you a question. "What do you want to do in the future?" The question took you aback, but you knew what you wanted out of life, and you were comfortable telling her. As you thought of your future, you saw a wedding, maybe children, and a steady career.

"Well, once more heroes rise from the future ashes of the avengers, I want to settle down. Helping the earth, and the universe, is everything to me, so I want to work for as long as I can. It would be brilliant to meet somebody soon..." you took a breath, "and possibly fall in love. I don't know about kids, but having somebody to share my life with means the world to me. What about you?"

She was looking at you with such admiration, and you met her gaze. She smiled and turned back to the view, thinking hard. "I think I want to stay on earth." She put it more bluntly than you've ever heard her speak, and you were surprised with the answer.

"Seriously? You literally have super powers, have travelled to so many galaxies, fought the universes biggest threats, and are practically immortal. And at the end of the day, you really want to stay on this junk yard of a planet?"

She faked an offended look and punched you on the arm. "I have more friends of this junk yard of a planet than I do in the entire galaxy. And it's not every day that you get to spend the rest of your life with a group of misfits like us who only care about protecting people. After things have settled down in this realm, I want to stay here to protect my family." You smiled as she turned her head towards you. "And besides, this junk yard of a planet has a very amazing person on it who I'd never be able to get rid of, no matter where I decide to settle down."

You both laughed, and you finished your cocoa. "I'm going back to bed, I promised Natasha that I'd train with her tomorrow and God knows that I need the energy." You smiled and turned to walk away before she grabbed your wrist. Neither of you said anything, but words weren't needed. She pulled you into a hug in which you happily returned, and she gave you a small kiss on the forehead. You stayed like this for a while before you found your eyelids growing heavy. She let you leave for real, this time, and you fell asleep thinking about her.

☆☆☆☆☆

Two days later, you were sat in the conference room with all of the other avengers. Carol sat across the table from you, and you'd love to just stare at her for the entire meeting, but this was important. Somebody in New York had been committing a series of crimes. At first, it was small stuff like shoplifting or stealing somebody's bag on the street. But the longer they were left unnoticed, the bigger their crimes got. Yesterday, you had recieved information that five people were murdered in an attack in the Wall Street building. The criminal went by the name of Neeko, and he always left a note at the scene of the crime. All but one were addressed to the avengers - the note left at Wall Street was addressed to you, and you only. It soon became clear why; you knew all five people killed. One was a former colleague, another was a childhood friend, two of them went to college with you, and the last was your ex-boyfriend. Of course, you were distraught over all of these people being killed, but your determination to catch the killer overpowered your sadness. Steve was

leading the meeting, creating a plan as you went, and you perked up when you heard your name.

"In his last note, Neeko said that if y/n doesn't meet him in the warehouse on 42nd street tonight at 8pm, he'll be attacking one of the schools within the week." Steve looked directly at you. "There's no way that we can find out what school he could be targeting, so we're going to have to use you as bate?"

You nodded, feeling secure. Your family would never let anything bad happen to you, especially not in the hands of a serial killer.

"Now, I don't want to seem condescending, but are you sure you can do this, y/n?" The question came from Sam, who was sat at the opposite end of the table. You glared at him, confused as to what he was talking about.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You asked calmly, but with a hint of annoyance. They did this to you a lot; you were one of the younger in the group, and you were probably one of the weakest. They'd usually never put you in the centre of a mission, but it was a necessity this time around.

"I'm sure what Sam meant was that five people who are close to your heart have just been murdered." Steve sat in the empty chair next to you. "Are you sure you're stable enough to be put directly into the hands of the person who killed them?"

The wat he phrased it made you furious; they always doubt your abilities, and in this time where protecting your loved ones is more important than ever, they were hesitant to trust you. As soon as he asked you this, you stood up from your chair and stared directly at him.

"Stable? You're asking me if I'm 'stable' enough to be trusted?" You looked around at everybody else. Natasha ducked her head down, Bucky casually shielded his eyes with his hand, Tony gave you a sympathetic look; they all agreed with Steve.

You looked at Carol who gave you a small nod of approval, as if to say 'I wouldn't blame you if you burned down the entire avengers tower just from that remark.' Grabbing your jacket from the back of your chair, you walked out of the conference room. You heard Rhodey calling your name, but you weren't going to go back in there and be treated like a child. You and Carol had arranged to get brunch at 10:30, which was in an hour; you didn't know where you were going, but you were leaving the avengers tower. You needed a break.

Sitting down in a small red booth, you closed your eyes and rubbed your forehead. You went for a walk around the city before going to the diner, and once you were there, you were still far to annoyed to even think about eating. 60s music quietly rumbled from speakers on the walls and the smell of waffles and burgers clouded your thoughts.

"Y/n, are you okay?" You looked up and saw Carol who had just come from the tower. She sat down in the booth and placed her hand on top of yours, stroking the back of yours with her thumb. You sighed before giving her a weak smile.

"They don't think I can do it." You saw her nod, knowing exactly what you were thinking.

"It's not that they don't think you can do it, y/n. They know your abilities and how good you are under pressure, but a few of your friends have just died. They're worried that you might get a bit carried away, or worse."

Before you could reply, Carol got the attention of one of the waitresses and ordered a strawberry and cream waffle for you, and a root beer float for herself. You've both been to this diner so many times together that you each know exactly what you like. As soon as Carol turned back around, you started talking.

"That's the point. They're worried that I can't do my job, when we do this all the time. Every single one of us has been in a situation similar to this; where we've lost someone close to us and have to ignore how we feel, and continue to protect the world. Nobody would dare question Steve or Tony's judgement if they were in my position, so I don't see why they feel the need to question mine."

Carol looked surprised at everything you had just said, and it was clear that she didn't know how to reply. Before she could think of anything to say, you scooted closer to her and wrapped her in a hug. You breathed in the sweet smell of her vanilla perfume and the fresh cotton scent of her tee shirt. She rubbed your back, and you pulled away.

"I have to do this. Not just for myself, or the school kids, or my friends that were killed, but for them. I'm going to smash this mission so hard that they'll never dare question my abilities again." You were both smiling, and Carol gave you a high five.

"That's my girl!"

☆☆☆☆☆

It was nearing 8pm. You, Steve, Bucky, Tony, Natasha and Carol stood outside of the warehouse on 42nd; bringing all of the avengers would seem suspicious, so Steve chose just the right amount of people to protect you and catch Neeko. They were all suited up, except for you. You weren't dressed in your dark purple latex suit, but the skirt and jumper combo that you had worn earlier in the diner. It was your idea; showing up in your suit would alert Neeko and his companions, and make them think that you were planning an attack. Wearing normal clothes would make it seem like you weren't planning anything. When you told Steve, he was impressed that you had come up with the idea, and happily approved. However, you were slightly regretting it now. Being without the suit that Tony had made for you and knowing that you could, possibly, be walking into your place of death gave you a wave of fear, but you brushed it off. You had to prove to the rest of the group that you were more than what they think, or at least you'll die trying.

All of the avengers wore black watches, but when closely inspected, were actually tracking devices. They each had a tiny button on the side that when pressed, would alert every other device of where you were. The button was only to be pressed when you knew you'd be in a certain place for a while, and/or you were in a lot of danger. The button was really only meant to be pressed by you, so the rest of the group knew when to come and get you and where you were. But if another avenger was in trouble and needed backup, they could use it too.

Steve started going over the plan. "As soon as y/n gives us the alert, we head inside. Carol and I will go in from the front and find her, Bucky and Nat will go in from the back to see if there are any hostages or prisoners there, and Tony will fly above the roof and use his scanners to find out how many people inside are working for Neeko."

He gave you a clap on the back. "Are you ready, y/n?" You looked up at him, took a deep breath, and nodded. You were more ready than you'd ever be. You checked the phone in the back of your pocket, which read 7:58pm, it was almost time. Everyone watched as you grabbed Carol's hand, interlaced your fingers, gave it a weak squeeze, and walked straight through the main doors of the warehouse.

Everything smelt damp, and the faint scent of machine oil lingered in the huge hall. You looked around, not seeing a single sign of life in the entire room. You calmly strolled through the warehouse, being sure to stay in the main hall and not get lost in any other rooms.

"Hello? Hellooooo!? Anybody home?" You called into the darkness, hoping somebody would walk out any second. You were about to turn around and make your way back out through the doors before somebody threw a sack over your head. You shouted at whoever was behind you, kicking your legs out in an attempt to knock them over. This failed, and you only aggravated your captor more. They grabbed your shoulders to hold you still, and another pair of hands appeared to tie your wrists together in front of you. The same person who tied your hands also did the same to your ankles, and you felt the familiar pain of rope burn against your wrists and ankles. You continued to shout and scream for help, but the two people who had tied you up had picked you up and carried you away.

When the sack was removed from your head, you were tied to a chair with thick black rope. You looked down at your wrists, and blood dripped down your forearms. Just by looking at your surroundings, you knew you were probably inappropriate storage room; you tried, but failed to reach the button of your tracking device, letting out an angry sigh. The only thing lighting up the room was an old lightbulb above your head, but you could still see what was on the floor surrounding you: bodies. People who you didn't recognize, their organs pooling out of their lacerated stomachs. Their eyes had been gouged out of their faces, and a thick, brown liquid dripped from their mouths. You screamed, not out of fear, but of anger. You shouted until your voice became hoarse and your eyes watered.

Not long afterwards, you heard the locks on the doors being undone. You sat up, preparing for some sort of mob boss to walk in with a set of weapons. Instead, a tall man wearing an apron walked in. He wore a shirt and jeans, a pair of black glasses resting on the bridge of his nose; you would've thought he was a normal person if it wasn't for the heavily blood stained apron he wore. What disgusted you the most was that he looked no older than Tony did. Following him was one of his companions, short and stocky, carrying a sizeable wooden box. Along with them, they brought the scent of blood and rotting bodies.

"It's nice to meet you, y/n." His voice was low and fitting to what you would expect a serial killers voice to be like; thick, eerie, and leaving a sour taste in your mouth. He walked over to you and bent down, examining your face.

"You're a monster."

He chuckled at your stern expression, and didn't reply. You squirmed and wriggled in your seat, desperate to break free and kick him in the balls. Instead of breaking free from the chair, you just caused yourself more pain. Blood continued to slowly drip past your wrists and onto your hands, coating your dainty fingers in pure red. Noticing how desperate you were to get out made him visibly frustrated, so he stood up and gave you a hard punch in the face. This was the hardest you've ever felt somebody punch you, and you've trained with Steve before.

Your ears started ringing and vision went blurry. He had, quite obviously, broken your nose. Blood poured out of your nose like a waterfall, and you could feel a bone sticking out of place. You groaned, sitting up straight in your chair. Although you weren't really listening, he began talking again, pacing around the room.

"I know you and your little group of superheroes have been getting my letters, and I have to say, I'm quite offended," he stopped and looked at you, "you never wrote back. I'm sure your angry, y/n, I really am. After all, I killed some of the people who you trust with your life, and I'm about to do more than just that."

You were confused by what he meant, before his companion handed him a laptop. He placed it on the floor in front of you, and you saw what appeared to be security camera footage of another room in the warehouse. Two people were tied up on chairs just like you, and it took you a moment to recognize who those two people were.

Your parents.

And before you could open you mouth to ask him why your parents were here, another figure appeared on the screen. It was him.

"How are you in two places at once?" You asked, seeming stupid. He laughed again, a low, broad chuckle.

"Oh, you silly girl, I'm not in two places at once. That was recorded half an hour ago." You put two and two together and realised that your parents were here half an hour ago, and the blood on his apron was fresh. You couldn't think of anything to say, so instead, you watched the video. You gasped when Neeko pulled out a knife, and screamed bloody murder when you saw him slit both your mother and your father's throats. You looked away, but he grabbed your head and forced you to see what happened to your parents. With the knife, he cut out their organs and their eyes, being sure to look into the camera every now and again. You were sobbing, your eyes were puffy and red, matching the crimson blood that covered the bottom half of your face.

"That's enough! I can't watch any more!" You screamed up at him, choking on your own sobs. He showed no pity as he flicked his fingers at his companion, who went and collected the wooden box. Neeko opened it in front of you, showing you a syringe full of clear, slightly yellow tinted liquid. Before you could scream for help, he had already put the needle to your neck and injected you with the serum. Your eyelids began to feel too heavy to keep open, and you fell into a deep slumber.

You woke to the sound of knives being sharpened. You were still bound to the chair, but were in a different room. It was much larger, with a few mahogany desks along one of the walls. Instead of paperwork being laid on top of the desk, there was a selection of knives, scissors and other surgical tools. You knew what was about to come, and you were prepared for the worst.

"If you're going to try and kill me then you've picked the wrong fight." Everything hurt as you spoke, but you meant what you said. The avengers would be worried by your lack of alert, and would come and find you. Any minute now, Steve and Carol were bound to break down the door and rescue you.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, little girl." You hated him calling you that, you were in your mid early twenties but never treated like it, not even from the avengers.

"No, I'm not going to kill you. But what I am going to do is mess you up so badly that you'll never be able to fight with your precious friends ever again, and you'll live with the knowledge that you weren't strong enough to save your parents, and you weren't strong enough to save yourself." You spat at his face, which only made him laugh even more.

Turning his back to you, he picked up a knife from one of the desks. He walked over to you and sat down on an empty chair that you never even realised was beside you. Your legs were bare under your skirt, showing the most skin than any other part of your body. He placed the blade of the knife on the middle of your thigh and slowly pressed it in. You screamed, pure agony surging through you body. Hearing you scream only made Neeko want to continue, so the more you screamed the deeper her pushed the knife. Only the first half of the blade was inside of you, but you only realised how bad it was when you felt the cold metal hit your bone. He pulled the knife out and basked in the sound of your piercing screams. Just in fucking time, you heard a knock on the door. Who in the living hell would be knocking at the door while this was going on?

Neeko rose and went to answer the door. Only opening it slightly, he peered out at who was there. Then, you heard her voice.

"Pizza delivery, motherfuckers." She sent a photon blast directly to his face, and then another to his companion. She strode in, and as soon as she saw you she went pale. Your entire face, arms, thighs and ankles were drained in your own blood, and you were bound to a chair, panting. She ran over to you and broke the ropes with her own hands, and pressed the alert button on her watch. She knelt beside you, and once you were fully untied, you couldn't help but collapse directly on top of her. Your arms were draped over her back as she picked you up in a fire man's lift, walking out of the door to meet the other avengers.

☆☆☆☆☆

It had been 6 days since the night in the warehouse. After passing out, you were taken back to the tower by Carol, Bucky and Nat, where Bruce managed to identify and heal your injuries, to the best of his ability. Steve and Tony caught Neeko and his accomplices, turning them into S.H.I.E.L.D., their fate was to be decided by Nick Fury. It took you 3 days to wake up from your passing out; whatever they had injected you with keeps you asleep for longer, and they had put far too much in you. Once you had finally awoken, you used the next three days to recover in and out of bed, being forced to do mandatory small exercises to ensure your body was working perfectly. The sixth day was your first day fully out of bed, walking around the avengers tower. You needed crutches, as the wound on your leg wasn't big enough for stitches and had to recover independently. Additionally, you wore a small brace on your nose, so your bone could be shaped back into place. The only people you had seen since waking up were Bruce, Steve, and Peter. Steve had come to tell you everything that happened, and Peter came to see if you were okay. Bruce recommended no visitors until you were able to get out of bed, as it could over stimulate you, but Peter couldn't sleep knowing that you were in pain.

Carol left 3 days ago to return to her mission. She was the only person who you wanted to see; you had been through so much, and nobody could get you thought it better than her. Hobbling into the elevator, you went to the roof. You were wearing a onesie, courtesy of Wanda, and just wanted to be alone on the balcony to see the city like you and Carol had done a week ago. Once the elevator doors opened, you felt the chilly evening breeze hit your skin. Before you could step out of the elevator, you saw somebody stood on the balcony. You didn't recognize them at first, but they knew exactly who you were.

"Well well well, my favourite earth human seems to be doing quite well considering that she almost died last week."

Carol turned around and jokingly winced when she saw the state you were in, and you would've laughed if you weren't in complete shock.

"Carol..."

"Y/n."

"What are you doing? You shouldn't still be on earth." You made your way over to meet her on the balcony.

"I couldn't just leave you in a coma while I fight crime across the galaxy."

You laughed, and grabbed her hand, not a single worry crossing your mind.

"I love you, Carol. I have for ages, but I've never appreciated how much you mean to me until now." She smirked, raising a hand to tuck a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

"I love you too, y/n." You stood on your tip toes to kiss her, and she pulled back immediately when you did. You worried that you had done something wrong.

"It feels better to do this now that we're actually a couple." You both laughed as she leaned back into the kiss, but instead, she accidentally bonked your brace with her nose, which resulted in even more laughing.

You have been waiting so long for this.

[jamiebluewind]

Character/Location Descriptions for Fantasy High 2.10!

***

As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out!

Warning: emprisonment, multiple injuries, canon typical violence, multiple blood mentions, gross descriptions, poison mention, broken bone mention, vomit mention, torture mentions, trauma, abandonment,

***

Brennan

"Free dad slap."

"You 'Ally'ed out of the box of doom!"

***

New Character/s

Fire Elemental #3

Genderless

Was summoned and bound by the elves of old to protect the elemental pylon that powers the permanent magical effects of Ka'lethriel Tower, which transformed them into a monstrous fire thing along with 2 other fire elementals bound there

Was embrased by Fabian in a deep dip as he cradled their head and his sheet wrapped around them both and roiled above them

The power of Fabian's dance partially stunned them and took them out of active combat

The thing binding them to protect the pylon went when the fire pit helix was put out, causing them to change back to a creature with an elvan face of wreathing flame

They cry fire

They kissed Fabian softly on the lips (for 8 points of damage) and whispered in his ear (softly like flame) "Thank you. For my freedom. For my life." before disappearing

Established Characters

Arthur Aguefort

Slows localized time at Ka'lethriel Tower, opening a rift from his desk at the academy to talk to Adaine

Crawled through the rift after Adaine confirmed that her captors chose the way of pain

The way of pain involved Aguefort using new and experimental magic resulting him growing 450 feet tall (massive thudding steps), reaching up to grab the Sun (causing his veins to light up with golden fire and his mouth to fill with a fire that releases and races across the sky), calling thousands of terracotta Agueforts to burst out of the ground and sprint north, moving the Sun itself (leaving a burning scar across the sky), and shooting lasers the width of highways that have enough power to cap a mountain in one hit with lasers that shot out of his eye (which took on a golden bright glow)

He appeared to Kristen later (via a spell that appeared as a scroll glowing with illusionary magic with his name on it that allowed him video chat with her from back in Elmville) badly injured, wrapped up in bandages, bleeding a lot, and in pain.

The new magic tore up his guts so bad that by the time he got about 50 miles north of the tower, he "shit about an ocean of blood" and almost passed out (we can't get that big, 450 feet tall is too big)

Was also hit with a lot of powerful elven counter magic before he teleported back to Solace

His terracotta army fell apart when he left

Admitted that he had been going ham for a while since after Kristen snuck him into heaven, that being dead for a couple months really messed him up, and that attempting to destroy the government of Fallinel was "just too much"

Got in a lot of trouble with the government of Solace, will probably have to go to court, and he has to move the Sun back ("gotta figure out how to do that")

Dragged the Sun "a little bit north of where it should be" (causing the far south of the Earth to be colder and far north to be hotter), but said the Sun was "going in the right direction" and "still going around the Earth", resulting in clarifying that Spyre normally goes around the Sun, but he's not sure of what he did when he dragged it across the sky and that there was more of a poetic understanding of how things really work, but he still "really fucked up"

Kear/Keer

Was horrified by Augefort's actions

"I'm getting very confused and upset with everything that these children do."

Was poisoned and vomiting when Kristen banished her with a kiss on her face, came back when Kristen broke her ankle, and was banished again by Ayda who loudly pronounces "mwah!" while kissing her face like Kristen

Oak Warriors

8 foot tall

Look like green men (not automaton) made of magic with elven faces

Vulnerable to fire

Controled by Kear

Anguin

Was blinded by Kristen

Went invisible and ran

Was knocked unconscious by Fig and left in the vault (with some of his teeth knocked out) when Ka'lethriel Tower collapsed

Aelwyn

Kept awake for 5 months

Was rescued from the tower and fell unconscious/comatose immediately

Was carried out by Ayda

Even outside the orb, her body shook with the strain and effort

As she and Adaine tranced, a tiny piece of her abjurative magic (an innate cantrip, abjurer's ward) came back and she started building a shield around Adaine in her "sleep"

Was taken to a hot spring with elven healers by Adaine

Was unsure if they actually escaped or just died before trying to cast a feeble shield around Adaine again

Her mind was damaged and the torture had a profound and corrosive effect on her well being and memory

The inside of her mind looked like a city razed to the ground with crumbled walls, battlements, towers, and arcane defenses. Only a weird, vulnerable labyrinth of images remained

Has a deep self loathing (especially for not saying anything on Adaine's behalf against their parents) and a powerful fear of her parents. Her cowardice fed into her self loathing which fed into her cowardice in an endless loop.

Had an intense magical charm in the center of the labyrinth of her abjurations and a little faint enchantment with "Despite all of the torment and tribulation, let this be proof. I always knew there was only one person clever enough to find this." written on the outside. The charm was a custom modify memory spell (which The Court Of Stars had been searching for) and contained a saved unbroken version of her from before she was capture which overrode her current broken state once it was dispelled

Adaine

Found a sword in the vault while looking for a weapon to fight with

Later gave the sword Fan-dran-goorh to Fabian (was made by his grandpapa Tel'amine)

Held Aelwyn as they sleep

Detects magic on Aelwyn and find a faint whisper of enchant magic before using detect thoughts on her

Found and dispelled the magical charm within Aelwyn which returns her sister's mind to a version before she was captured by The Court of Stars

Gilear

Fluid in his feet, especially his right (due to rolling his ankle months ago) which now has a band of purple around it (possibly a bone issue) and causes him an ambiant throbbing pain and heat from all the extra blood (GO TO A DOCTOR!!!)

Tel'amine

Tried very hard to say "Gorgug" one last time, but just said "Chedge" and then cried and became really embarrassed when Gorgug responded "It sounds like literally no sound was correct in that."

Dances with Fabian at one point in the night to the sound of Fig's bass.

He and the other adults of Kylo Me'newra give teens grapes because they believe it will make them less horny (doesn't actually work)

Riz

Shot a fire elemental over Gorgug's thumbs up

"Stay positive."

Said "It's beautiful" about Fabian dancing with the fire elemental and shed a tear before saying "It's beautiful Gorgug" and lowering his gun, aiming at the last pitcher

Poked his head in when Adaine was about to go to sleep to ask if her sister was still trying to kill them (since she was just kind of there now), listens to her answer (doesn't think so, especially with her trauma), and then slowly (and awkwardly) backs out of the room as the sisters doze off together (after Ayda dropped her off)

Gorgug

Soot on his face and singed hair after being set on fire

Had his thumb knicked slightly when Riz shot over it

Fabian

Slashed the first fire elemental on his first two turns before hiding behind Gorgug

Had an elven sheet on hand which has the ability to put out fires, so he used to put out his friends

Danced and jumped with his sheet during the battle and did a bit of contact juggling with the fire

(On being kissed) "I take it. I take every point of that damage and I take it slowly. I can feel it. In my whole body."

Was left with red hot lips after kissing the fire elemental and (with a gulp) felt a glowing moat of fire travel down his throat and rest hot and warm in his chest

Had the sheet tied around him like a cape while traveling back to meet with the others

At Kylo Me'newra, danced (badly due to rolling a 1 and a 2) all night outside with his sheet (like nobody is watching) as the ground lit up behind him with a dull glow with each step. It helped him get in touch with his feelings and his body

Enjoys the taste of the flower his grandpapa gives him

Gorgug, Riz, and Fabian

Ran to and from their pylon with their arms back like anime characters

"I believe in you/us."

"Spring break!!!"

All three were burned from their fight

After getting back to Kylo Me'newra, Fabian danced all night while Riz and Gorgug watched (cradled in the boughs of treents that hummed a song as the trees rocked them)

Riz: You know? This place isn't so bad.

Gorgug: How did this part start happening?

Riz: I thought I was just gonna sit in a tree and it started singing to me.

Gorgug: Hey. Really not horrible.

Riz: Yeah.

Tel'amine: Yes. Really not horrible at all. *catches a blossom and shoves it into Gorgug's mouth* Eat it.

Gorgug: *chews*

Tel'amine: Yes.

Riz: Is it good or is it just a flower?

Gorgug: *shakes head*

Riz: It was beautiful.

Tel'amine: *glides off into the night*

Gorgug: *coughs and sticks his tongue out*

Riz: Did that dude just feed you a flower?

Gorgug: Yeah. *hacking sound*

Riz: That was insane.

Gorgug: It's a complex flavor, I don't like it.

Riz: That was insane.

Kristen

Unmade a oak warrior due to the annoyance of her spirit guardians

*appears behind Kear and puts her hand on her back* "You're on the wrong side, but you could join us if you want. Just something to think about." *casts banishment to give Kear time to think and kisses her on the side of the head before she goes*

Tried to ribbon dance fly down 10 stories in the middle of the tower and ended up just slamming into the floor at the bottom instead, breaking her ankle

Her spirit guardians attacked Anguin while he was invisible and trying to sneak into the vault, ending his invisibility

Used sending to get in contact with Jawbone (Jawbone. Hey. Having some trouble with Tracker. She's pretty upset at me. I keep saying the wrong thing. I kept something from her. Oops? -> Tough break kiddo. Happy to help if I can. Should I find a way to contact you other than this spell? -> Fuck yes. -> Hell yeah.)

Had a long distance talk with Jawbone (using Aguefort's video chat spell) where she got advice on not treating her partner as a means to an end and about transparency.

Fig

Gave Wicklaw's sword back to Leviathan

Disguised herself as a Arthur Aguefort (but with a bass guitar) and accidentally really upsets Ayda

Played a really sick guitar riff that would make all the gems dance (to persuade them somehow and find out more about gems) and ends up causing a large gem built into the base of the tower to crack and the tower to collapse (but not before grabbing a book on gems lore)

Tried to set Adaine's dad on fire with a pack of cloves as they left

Had a sleepover with Ayda (text link below)

Ayda

Brennan stated outside stream that an incarnation of Ayda has been living on Leviathan for a very long time, building the Compass Points. When she dies and is reborn, it is a true rebirth and her new incarnation has none of the memories of her previous forms, only knowing her previous selves from the written instructions they leave behind. Her current incarnation is the same age as Tracker (17).

Can fly with two other medium sized people (and later the two plus an underweight Aelwyn)

Immune to fire

Her dad is very triggering for her

Had a sleepover with Fig

(to Fig) "Have you said something so kind on purpose?"

When Fig attacked her as her dad (due to spell fail), she got very upset and said "Dad. Dad. I'm sorry. I'm done. I'm sorry. Dad. Dad." as Fig tried to calm her

When she counter spelled Angwin and Fig told her thank you, she answered "Whatever. I would help you, Fi-du-du-Dad. You're not my dad. You're Fig! Right? It's an illusion. Yes. You're Fig. I know. Why would I have carried my dad here? He never carried muh... me."

Told Fig that she might need to work through some of her stuff in battle as she "elected to have a disguise that was very upsetting."

After dispelling a spell on Fig that was gonna make her run away "Dad don't leave! I mean Fig! Fig don't leave."

Was very happy to see Adaine.

Said "My friend Kristen did this" before giving Kear a loudly pronounced "Mwah" kiss to the side of her head and banishing her again

Fig: How dare you do that the Arthur Augefort!

Ayda: PLEASE STOP THAT!

Fig: I know, but see, it's intimidating for them-

Ayda: It can't possibly be helping us more than it's hurting us!

***

Location Descriptions

Ka'lethriel Tower (new details)

The tower itself is 10 stories tall and sits near a wall (with a gate) that surrounds the tower and the garden

Each floor has one room (save the top which has at least two)

The first floor holds a vault (which is normally protected by permanent magical effects) with a big locked door

There's a large gem built into the side of the tower within the vault

The vault is filled with a lot of things, including Adaine and Aelwyn's property (spellbooks, arcane focuses, and The Jacket of Useful Things), Fan-dran-goorh (Fandrangor): Sword of The North Star (long, whip thin elven sword that shines a gleaming green golden light, can talk with the voices of elvan ancestors, and once belonged to elven kings long past), a massive religious tome, a quarenteened series of top secret elven scrolls that is the research of Adaine mom, a series of notes by mom looking for the location of a temple in Sylvar (Kristen knows due to a book at the Compass Points Library), and a book on gem lore

Fire Pit Pylon

Large elvan smithy (only in looks as it's an arcane power station and not an actual forge) and worst of the two pylons

Stone, mossy covered building with a floor covered in traps and an entire infrastructure filled with a high elven adoration for magic

In the center of the building, there is a hexagonal 6 pointed room with a fire pit in the center that's so hot that it's hard to look at. The fire is golden green helix at the start (changes to purple gold with the first pitcher of water spilled into it, ruby red with the second, and out with the third. It also flickers with other energy at ruby red from the other pylon being attacked).

Surrounding the fire pit in altering positions around the 6 sided room are 3 braziers and 3 statures (each statue directly across from a brazier)

The elven statues have ornimental stone weapons on them and are holding huge alabaster pitchers of clear water which bend towards the fire pit and require a cantrip (or enough damage to break them) to dump their water

The large firy silver elven braziers are piled high with burning coal (responsible for the smoke) and are traps that conjure a monsterous fire elemental when the water from its corresponding stature spills into the fire pit or when a floor trap is triggered

***

<- PREVIOUS

[saltandburn-ilovesamwinchester]

Break Down Here

"I'd sure hate to break down here,

Nothin' up ahead or in the rear view mirror.

Out in the middle of nowhere, knowin'.

I'm in trouble if these wheels stop rollin'.

So, God help me, keep me movin' somehow.

Don't let me start wishin' I was with him now.

I made it this far without cryin' a single tear.

I'd sure hate to break down here."

You sat up straighter behind the wheel of your '69 Camero. The slim road was winding down to nothing but trees and wild animals, and as night was falling you hoped there was at least one motel around the next corner. The last sign you passed was three miles back and worry had started to scatter through your brain.

Rain had started drizzling and your gas tank was on its way to empty. You pulled into a little curb and stared at the building before you. The grey cement had aged from 50 years or more which made it look like something out of a horror film. There was a door at the very bottom, large enough to lead to a garage you had assumed.

Looking into the back seat for your raincoat and umbrella, you gathered the courage to walk to the front door. You took your time walking to the door, your feet walking in front of the other.

Swaying back and forth on your two feet you decided to knock. You took one last nervous glance at your cherry red car sitting by the greenest trees you had ever seen and back to the door where two tall men where staring you down.

The tall stranger with shaggy hair, dressed in a black v-neck and jeans, was holding a stack of papers so old they were forming into different colors. His height was the first thing you noticed. He was so tall he nearly had to duck before walking in the door. Definitely not the type you wanted to run into late at night in the woods somewhere.

Although the frame of his body was huge and he towered over you, his face held delicate features. "Hi, is there anything I can help you with," his voice was smooth and formal, like he had been a lawyer at some point. "I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean," he pointed over his right shoulder at the man behind him.

The man on his heels was just a head shorter, with short cropped hair and eyes that were as dark as the bottom of evergreen trees. He was simply in grey sweats and an old Zeppelin tshirt, and he was holding a messy plate with a small bite of pie left around the edge. He was easily caught off guard when he noticed the car behind you. "Whoa, is that yours," his excitement spread into a breathtaking smile.

You turned to meet his gaze and followed it to your car and back to him. Glancing one more time at him and his, what you agreed was his younger brother, you began. "Hi, I'm Y/N. Uh, I hate stopping at this random moment but a store clerk, miles back, told me there was an old hotel around the corner and my gas tank is almost empty..." you cut your explanation short when a small smile spread on Sam's lips.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "A lot of people confuse this place for something else. It's just a big home." Sam seemed so easy to talk to. You had only been there a total of five minutes and it felt like the two of you were lost in conversation about the old building they called home while glancing down at your sneakers that was beginning to flood with rain water. "Hey, if you want to come in for the night I'm sure Dean wouldn't mind," he stopped to look at his brother admiring the new wheels that had just rolled in.

"Of course," Dean yelled from behind the car before walking up beside you. "Then, in the morning we can take my ride and go and get you some fuel." His smile was friendly and comforting. "Come on, Sammy. Let's show Y/N her room for the night," he said to his little brother and stepped past him through the open door.

“Mi casa es tu casa,” Dean held his arms out and welcomed as you stepped over the threshold to the gigantic house.

You followed Dean down the long staircase with Sam following close behind you, and stared in wonder at the huge room you were standing in. “I know, right,” Sam smiled when he saw your face light up. “Do you like to read, Y/N,” he asked and raised his eyebrows.

“Yea, actually. I have a box back in the car full of old books,” you laughed and felt your cheeks burning from the small smile Sam and his brother wore. “What? Don’t tell me you have a library too,” you giggled and looked between the two guys.

“Show her,” Dean looked at his brother before winking at you.

It was your turn to follow in Sam’s footsteps, walking past a large table with a map on the counter top. “What is this place,” you whispered and looked at Dean, not shocked to see him staring at you.

“We call it our war room,” Dean said. “It looks like someone who had served in a war or some sort would have lived here before us,” he shrugged his shoulders. “You should have seen all the other stuff we found when we came upon this place.”

“Hence the name,” you cracked a smile and Sam and Dean laughed. “Oh wow,” you sighed when you stopped in a room with two large wooden tables lined in the middle and books shelves on either side full of dusty books. The lights in the room gave a small glow and a warm and cozy place to find peace.

“Beautiful, isn’t it,” Sam asked when you ran your fingertips along one of the book shelves. “It’s like everything is worn down and outdated, but so new to you.”

Dean watched his baby brother show you around the library while he tidied up the papers that occupied one of the tables. No way, was he ready for you to see their research papers for the new case in town. “Sam,” Dean cleared his throat and the two of turned to face him. “Maybe Y/N would like to settle in and then we could cook dinner,” he suggested and nodded yes.

...

Later that night you layed in one of the extra beds the Winchester’s had to offer. Your body and mind sat in that comfortable, lazy state after eating one of Dean’s bacon cheeseburgers. “Man, could he cook,” you thought.

You picked up a book you found in library and turned the first page. That’s when Sam knocked on the open door. “How’s the book,” he smiled and stood in the doorway.

“I literally just picked it up to read,” you laughed and placed it back on the nightstand. You sat up against the wooden headboard and tapped the bed, welcoming him to sit. He smiled, finally finding the opportunity to ask questions that had been on his mind since you arrived.

Sam made his way to the foot of the bed and the mattress dipped when he sat across from you. “Y/N, can I ask you something,” he said and looked from his hands that were on his knees to your eyes that were watching him. You smiled and waited for him to ask his question. “Out of all the places you could have ended in, why Kansas?”

“I.. I don’t know, Sam,” you sighed, feeling defeated. “I knew I was in a place I didn’t want to stay in. I just knew I had to leave if I was going to be happy again.”

Somewhere behind Sam’s eyes he knew what you were feeling. He had asked himself a long time ago when he would settle down, who he would settle down with. “I understand,” he smiled after a long silence. “I guess for people like us, it just takes longer to find out.”

The two of you talked for an hour before both of you were a yawing mess. “I guess I should let you sleep if you are going to be on the road all day tomorrow,” Sam sighed and stood from the bed. “Y/N, I want you to know that you can stop by any time. Dean and I would like to see you again.”

You nodded once and wished Sam a good night, watching him leave the room. Rolling to face the opposite wall, you tucked the blankets in around yourself.

...

“And this bird you can not change,” you and Dean sang along to the radio as the Impala pulled into a gas station the next morning.

“So where do you go from here,” Dean asked while the gas can was filling up. “Any family around here?”

You shrugged and shook your head, “Not really. I’m not sure what I’ll do. I just know I have to keep moving right now.” Leaning against the car, or ‘Baby’ you come to know her as, you shielded your eyes from the bright sun to finding Dean’s eyes staring back at you.

“I understand,” Dean nodded and put the nozzle back on the can. “For a while it was like that for me and Sammy.”

“And then,” you asked, wondering how long it would take you to settle down. You and Dean slid back into the car, the gas can in the trunk.

Baby roared to life as you pulled away from the store. “And then,” Dean said, “We came across the bunker and it was too good to pass up.” Dean glanced at you to see if you were understanding. “It just felt right.”

Dean focused on the road in front of him and you sat beside him, fiddling your thumbs and reliving the last conversation. “It just felt right.” That’s what Dean said. Well, what if things won’t ever feel right for you?

You stored your thoughts in the back of your head as Baby stopped in front of the bunker. Thank God your things were still inside because you were not ready to say goodbye. Goodbye to the that amazing library where Sam showed you first generation books. Goodbye to that lovely kitchen where Dean fixed those awesome burgers. Dean told you to go ahead and go inside while he filled your car up and you listened.

Your feet hit the threshold of the bunker for what would feel like the last time and you turned the knob, walking in. “Hey,” Sam welcomed from the bottom of the stairs. “I thought I heard you two pull in.

“Yea,” you exhaled. “I was just coming to get my bag and I was going to get on the road. Dean’s filling up my car.” You watched the younger Winchester’s expression, knowing this would be the last time he would see you.

...

Your eyes fixed on the blacktop ahead of you and your hands tightened around the wheel. Sam and Dean, you thought. The nooks and crannies of the bunker, the smell of food cooking and wafting throughout the large house, and the sight of Sam and Dean reading their old, dusty books came back in a flood of memory. You could still smell Sam and Dean when you embraced them for the first time, making you wonder, will there be a next time?

… … …

So, I’ve had this thing hidden away for a while now. All mistakes are mine. I hope y’all like it. Let me know what you think. ❤️

@waywardbaby @imperiusimpala @leatherandapplepies @idreamofplaid @plaid-lover-bay25 @waywardnerd67 @maddiepants @sammyimpala-67 @oldfreakything @idabbleincrazy @tumbler-tidbits @shatteredabby @destielhoneybee @cosicas-cuquis @heycasbutt @flamencodiva @coffee-obsessed-writer @thoughtslikeaminefield

[geminimoonbeamx]

I'm Not Your Toy

A/N: So I’m finally getting through my asks! This one was a request for an insecure reader and an over zealous flirty Bucky. I love writing him like this! So I got carried away and suddenly this was almost five thousand words so I’m going to have to split it into a two parter! Ugh, charming Bucky. You do things to my heart

Word Count: 4k+

Warnings: A disgusting amount of pining, sailor like cursing, maybe triggering self doubt and insecurity, pretty SFW…for now.

Summary: You’d supported Steve and his decision to not kill Bucky. Fuck, you even supported Steve when he’d literally started a war over Bucky. Done jail time for him. But you what you couldn’t manage to do for the life of you, for the love of Steve, was get along with Bucky. Especially when he managed to make you blush every time you were in the same room as the man

💛💛💛💛

James Barnes drove you absolutely crazy.

And not in the way that he drove most to madness. You knew that both he and Steve( And Sam, Tony, Thor and the rest of the guys on the team) had their fan clubs. You’d nearly coughed up a lung when you’d found that Tumblr page dedicated to “Daddy Clint: A daddy and a father”. You could still clearly recall Wada choking on her cup of soda when you’d shoved your phone in her face. Women loved celebrities, fuck it was in human nature to admire what you saw on TV’s and movie screens. And who didn’t love a superhero? Pst, everyone did.

At first, when Bucky had first come to live in the Tower with Steve after the reconciliation of “the time period that shall not be named” (the Sokovian Accords), he’d been stoic. Keeping mostly to himself, coming and going from therapy to the gym. Building himself up from the ground, with Steve as his foundation. Because Steve was the only thing he really knew.

And where there was Steve, there was you. The two of you had become more then close over the years of Avenging together. It had happened so…naturally. You couldn’t even remember when your friendship had even really begun. He just seemed so…lonely. And you couldn’t understand why no one else honed in on it the way you did. It gnawed you so much, you couldn’t help but butt in. Talk to him, be there for him. You’d helped him master the internet. You’d made a decent dent in that list of that he kept in his little journal; when you’d seen that Star Wars was on it you’d squealed and the two of you had spend an entire day curled up watching all seven of them. You’d been the one to encourage him to go the VA when he’d first met Sam, helped him decorate that apartment he’d had for a while. Followed him into battle over and over.

Steve had become your best friend. And you his. He wasn’t the Captain to you. He was Steve, you could lay on and watch draw for hours and who was way more sassy then anyone gave him credit for.

But- you weren’t his only best friend. You’d been there, when he’d discovered that Bucky was alive. You’d gotten your fair share of the Winter Soldier during that whole take down of S.H.I.E.L.D. You had the crook in your neck to this day as a reminder. Even though you agreed with Sam, that some people you just couldn’t save, you’d supported Steve and his decision to not kill Bucky. Fuck, you even supported Steve when he’d literally started a war over Bucky. Spent jail time for him.

But you what you couldn’t manage to do for the life of you, for the love of Steve, was get along with Bucky.

You tried, by god you know you did. First, you’d attempted to be warm to him, to get him to warm up to you. He would only acknowledge you with nods and gruffs. With one word answers and side ways looks. You didn’t take it too personally(that’s what you told yourself), you knew that he had been through seventy plus years of torture. He wasn’t going to turn into chatty Cathy over night. So you got used to him being push pop like frigid to you.

Until one day, after months of therapy, he wasn’t anymore.

He’d started to find himself again, surrounded by Tony’s top shrinks, the spark in his azure eyes came back…it happened to come back in his personality too. It started slow, him actually joining in on your and Steve’s teasing conversations. Putting his opinions, sharp ones. Funny ones. Looking at you straight in the eye with a confident quirk of his lips that you’d never seen.

And then it came all at once. Anoyone who spent a prolonged amount of time with the group had to be at least a little bit of a smart ass but the mouth on Bucky Barnes shocked you. Crude and dripping with 40’s charm. It was shocking, at first.

Now it just annoyed you.

Because some fucking how, you’d become the focal point of his affection.

You roll your eyes at the thought. It wasn’t affection. It was…attention. It was flirtation that made you squirm and blush. The blunt, outrageous kind. Where he’d compliment you(sometimes very raunchily) infront of everyone. It was mortifying. Not only because it got a rise out of the rest of the team but because you knew he didn’t mean it.

How could he?

When he’d regained a few puzzle pieces of himself, one of them happened to be his way with the ladies. And there was an abundance of them that would do just about anything to be seen with an Avenger. Even if he had been labeled an international terrorist only years before, you kept the bitter afterthought to yourself.

He never really dated any one, no he just flirted. With. Fucking. Everyone. He did it as easily as he breathed.

It was annoying and honestly a little insulting.

Especially when he did things like lean against the island in the kitchen, his biceps, both flesh and vibranium, flexing under the thin gym t-shirt as he complimented Natasha on her crazy fight skills.

“I like the way you move, Romanoff”

You literally couldn’t have scrunched your face harder at that moment as you grabbed a nectarine and tried to hurry away from the scene.

“Thanks Barnes. I’d return the compliment but your getting rusty, soldat” The redhead taunts and Bucky grins. It’s gross. Watching them flirt. Because they’re so perfect for each other. Beautiful and modelesque. You ignored the sinking in your stomach.

“Baby Doll, tell her she doesn’t know what she’s talking about” Bucky reached out and caught your waist as you tried to leave. He looked down at you with waggling eyebrows “You don’t think I’m getting rusty, do you?”

You frown and squirm away from his hand on your chubby waist “I don’t think about you at all, actually” You tell him before walking out of the large space.

Natasha full out, heartily laughs at the gob smacked expression on Bucky’s face.

Or what about when you walked around in your pajama shorts? You could never get by without a “You’ve got a gorgeous set of gams, doll. Anyone ever told you that?” You could literally feel his eyes burn holes into your thighs and it made you want to put on pants.

He could see the dimples from the cellulite. That’s what he had to be looking at. When Steve noticed that you were wearing pants a lot more he’d slapped Bucky on the back of the head and warned him to stop.

“Are you the sun? Cause your so beautiful it’s blinding me” that had earned him a little scowl.

“Your so cute it’s distracting, you know that, Sugar” You’d flat out walked away from him at that one.

“You look cold. You need me to warm you up?” He’d offered, genuinely but in that flirtatious voice as you stood in the frigid New York air. It was during one of Stark Industries many Fundraising Gala’s and you’d escaped out onto a balcony to get away from the politicians and socialites. You didn’t even care that the gown you wore was off the shoulder and it was twenty degrees outside.

“Thanks but no thanks” You grimace as you folded your arms over your chest, fighting shivers.

“C'mere, your shaking” He reaches out to you but you manage to shrug out of his grip and give him a warning look.

“Bucky”

“Y/N” He teases back in the same tone and you cant help but crack a smile. You let him give you his suit jacket, allowed him to drape it over your shoulders. Happy that his broad ones were much larger then yours. You’d never really been the small one in a relationship, always the big girl. The smart girl and defiantly the funny girl. But the big girl none the less. The fact that the fabric of his jacket was oversized and loose on you made your heart flutter.

“Holy fuck it’s clear out, the stars are you gorgeous tonight” You distract yourself, change the conversation as you stare up at the unusually clear starry night sky. Your breath coming out in little puffs of steam that clashed with the cool night air. Your eyes wide and trained above you.

Bucky feels his chest ache as he looks at you. His mouth feels dry and he licks his lips before he responds “They’ve got nothing on you”

You don’t react the way he wants you to. You don’t giggle and blush. You frown and look over at him, your eyes shrouded and almost hurt looking. It feels like he’s making fun of you, honestly.

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” He’s confused. He really truly is.

“That. Flirt like that. It’s- It makes me uncomfortable” You huff, your bottom lip jutting out in a way that made him want to reach over and nip at it.

“Why? You like it?” He’s using a hellu'va lot of self control. He wants to kiss that pretty pout of yours so badly

“No. It makes me feel pretty shitty actually, because I know it’s bull, Bucky” It comes out in a white hot run on sentence “You don’t have to…do that with me. I mean there’s plenty of women here who would die to hear this shit coming out of your mouth. So stop…lying to me-”

“Lying to you? Y/N I’m-” You interrupt him by shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to him, almost robotically.

“It’s fine, Bucky. I’m going back inside”

“Hey, I think you’ve got the wrong-” But you, for what feels like the thousandth time, leave him standing there wondering what the hell he could have possibly said to make you react that way. He knows going after you would just make it worse. So instead he goes to find Steve, and ask him what the holy hell your problem with him was.

You kept your distance from him for the following weeks after that. Discreetly…or so you thought.

Bucky could feel you running every time he came close. You barley looked at him. You laughed, and pretended like everything was normal but he could feel the distance from you and it felt like a bullet hole. He would know, he’d endured plenty. But you icing him out…he thinks it feels more awful then anything he’s ever felt. An icepick like pain that had him reeling because even though Steve had explained to him that you had, had issues in past relationships, that you had one hell of a body dysmorphic complex, he couldn’t get how you didn’t believe he was sincere. In everything he had ever said to you.

It’s almost to a breaking point when most of the team is assigned to a mission. You and Bucky just so happen to be two of the people assigned, along with Steve, Sam, Nat, Tony and Bruce. It was supposed to be an in and out. If anyone could have guessed just how wrong everything would go, just how outnumbered you all would be-

You sigh.

But there were no rewinds in life. Not even with all of the technology- Alien and Human alike. Time didn’t do take backs.

Your limping, dragging yourself like dead weight into the Tower. Your honestly a little delirious, but isn’t everyone? The mission had been extremely taxing, and everyone that had been on it had taken a hell of a beating. Even Steve and Bucky- the genetically modified super soldiers looked like they had walked straight through hell. Tony collapses into a heap onto the couch once you reach one of the many common areas. Natasha and Steve were both on the med floor with Sam who had taken it the worst. The fall he’d taken after a Hydra agent had launched a missile at him had been gnarly. Luckily Bruce had been able to stabilize him back in the Quinjet.

You blanch at the thought, at the memory of Sam falling from the sky. At your legs working hard, burning from the strain, as you ran to him and found him so still- so…dead.

You cant think that. You wont. You lift your chin high, in an attempt to steady yourself and make a beeline for the elevator, wanting to get to your floor and wash off the grime. Wash off the fear and the gunpowder. Your so wrapped up in your self yourself you don’t notice Bucky’s hawk like gaze, his pale eyes that follow you all the way out of the room.

He winces when your out of sight. It physically hurts, for him to not be able to see you. After everything, after that mission, he just wanted to grab you. Hold you tight against him, never let you go. His heart had almost fallen out of his chest so many times during the duration of the assignment. He didn’t know if he could ever be paired with you again for work. He couldn’t focus, on anything else but you out in the field.

Where the fuck had all those years of learning to compartmentalize go? Right out of the fucking window when he saw you get shot at.

“Oh Elsa” Tony gives a little exaggerated sympathetic sigh from his place on the couch “You’ve got it so bad”

Bucky cant even deny it, there’s no use. So he just mumbles about going to check on Sam. Tony chuckles at him, at the way he looks like a kicked puppy but grips his ribs as the cackle agitates what he knows must be a fracture.

After what feels like hours in the scalding hot waterfall shower you pull on a pair of barley there stretchy black shorts and an oversized heather T-shirt that your pretty sure you’d stolen from Steve at one time. It’s always like this after a particularly hard mission, you feel…drained. Like there’s noting under the skin and bone. Hollow- and yet still in pain.

Because you’d gotten a nasty side graze by someone’s knife at one point during the fight. You couldn’t even remember getting it- but it stung like a bitch. You assessed it in the bathroom mirror. It wasn’t too bad, it was big. Long and jagged. But not too deep. Plus it was on a meaty area of your body- your chubby love handles saving you from any major damage. You let out a humorless laugh and drop the shirt, grabbing a random bottle of pain pills that you’d acquired from another mission.

Battle wounds were nothing new.

Just another scar. Not like your body had ever, or would ever be perfect.

Whatever.

You’d swallowed the Percocet dry when you hear a knock on your door.

You figure it must be Steve. Or Nat. Or even Wanda. Coming to check on you. When you type into the key pad, opening it you cant fight the surprise.

Because it’s Bucky.

You can tell he’s just recently showered as well, his still wet hair is pulled into a little knot on the back of his neck and he’s dressed in a dark sweat suit, his feet bare.

“Hey?” Your voice wavers. You hadn’t really spoken to him much lately. He was the last person you’d expect to find on your door step.

“Hey” Bucky starts. It’s the first time you’ve heard him sound truly unsure in a long time “I thought I’d uh, swing by and make sure your doin’ alright”

You hadn’t even noticed he was holding a granola bar and a bottle of water in his hands until he holds it up, as kind of a white flag. You smile, sadly. Gratefully, as you take it.

“Thanks Buck, I really appreciate it”

“No problem at all. I figured ya’ might be hungry” He’s figuratively twiddling his thumbs as he speaks “I ate seven of those just a minute ago”

You laugh, even though your exhausted and hollow, he makes you laugh.

Bucky has never seen you look so…frail. Usually your bold and bright and now your pale and he doesn’t even know how your standing. His eyes trail down your body- and he only lets himself look because he’s trying to tally up all of your injuries. Every scrape and bruise- it just so happens that there’s a large blooming bruise on your right thigh. The plush flesh looks so- fuck he wants to grab it. He wants to grab you in his arms so bad.

The look in his eyes…scares you? Thrills you? God, it sets your nerves on fire because he’s never looked at you like this before. He looked at you a lot of ways, no doubt. But the way his steely eyes drink you in now is new.

“Have you been to the med bay yet?” Bucky knows you haven’t, so his brow is raised high.

“No, I’m fine” You wave him off, shaking your head. Your dripping hair swaying against your back.

“That bruise is nasty, Y/N. You should get it looked at” Bucky insists. You don’t know why he cares so much.

“I think they’ve got their hands busy, I’ll be fine. I’ve got my handy dandy pain killers” You try to not be affected by him or the pain in your side as he leans against the doorway. You can tell he’s not going away anytime soon. You don’t think you want him to. “Do you want to come in?”

Bucky answers embarrassingly quick.

“Yes! Uh- yeah. If that’s okay?”

Oh, the thrills this boy gives you. You hate them as much as you love them.

You just nod reassuringly and usher him in, the door electronically sliding shut behind him. You go over and take a careful seat on the edge of your bed, and he sits across from you on one of the accent chairs.

“Have you seen Sam, is he okay?” You toss out questions as you peel at the granola bar.

“He’s stable, they think he’s goin’ to be okay. Bunch'a broken bones, but his internal organs weren’t too shaken up. Bird brain got lucky…” Bucky trails off, giving one gruff laugh. For as much as he and Sam gave each other heaps of shit, they were close. He’d been worried- when the bird had been shot from the sky.

“I’m happy” You chew slowly, trying to absorb his words. “I really thought for a moment there-”

“I know. Me too”

That feels so good, hearing him say that. Me too. You weren’t alone. Bucky knows exactly how you feel, and at that moment in time, that’s all you needed.

Your phone chirps and your too fast as you go to grab it. The pained gasp that leaves your lips has Bucky’s head perking up. Of course him, with his enhanced hearing, had picked up on it.

Your hand flies to your side, because you know it’s reopened the scab. That more then likely your bleeding again.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine” You hiss through the sharp pain as you stand.

Oh shit that hurts. Bucky jumps to his feet and goes to you, his metal arm going to your shoulder, and his flesh to the small of your back. “Obviously not. Where are you hurt, show me”

“No!” You protest at his demand, half because who did he think he was? And half because it would be a cold day in hell before you lifted your shirt and let Bucky look at all your jiggly bits.

“Your bleeding through your shirt. Did you even dress it, Jesus” Bucky tries to angle you so that he can get a better look at where crimson has begin to poke through the gray Tee. “Just let me clean it up and bandage it”

“No, it’s fine. I can do it”

“Y/N!”

“What?”

“Why are you so difficult? Fuck, just let me help you, okay? Your bleeding” He’s almost yelling this at you…though at the end of the sentence he’s begging. Because he knew he shouldn’t have let you out of his sight.

“I-I” You stutter. Your terrified. Of him. Of this. Of your body, and of him seeing your body.

“Please” Bucky’s voice is low and his eyes hold you captive.

You couldn’t bring yourself to say no, or yes. So you just nod, and let him lead you to the bathroom.

You’ve never felt so exposed, as you hold up your shirt, it fisting right under your breast as Bucky bends don so that he’s eye level with your wound and tends to it. He’s gentle, but nimble. His fingers working fast as he cleans and bandages. You can feel your heart thundering against your chest. Is he looking at your tummy? At the stretch marks?

“I can hear your heart beat, doll. Calm down” Bucky sooths with a small chuckle, not looking up from his work. He’s not looking at your tummy or your stretch marks…he’s looking at how smooth for skin appears. At how soft it feels under his finger tips… “I’m almost done”

He never wants to finish.

“Your actually really good at this”

“Yeah, I had a little trainin’ back durin’ the war” He tells you as he finishes up, securing the bandage “Nothin’ too extensive, but I know the basics”

“Good for you” He looks up at your wit and shakes his head. “That sounded ungrateful. I’m sorry”

“No, it’s okay” Bucky reassures, his fingers trailing over the edge of the bandage…he knows he shouldn’t…but he cant resist leaning his head in and pressing a soft kiss atop the bandage. Quick, just a peck really but your head spins. He looks up to make sure your not about to slap him.

You don’t look angry in the least. You look…awed. He wants to kiss up your stomach. Wants to kiss every inch of exposed skin…but instead he reaches up and grabs the hem of your shirt from your grip, and pulls it down before patting you hip and grinning at you. Your in a haze, at his touch. At the intimacy of it all. Even when your back seated on your bed, your still…not all the way there. Your in your head, your thoughts going wild.

You decide you want him. Lord, do you want him. No one had ever been so…tender with you. None of your ex’s had ever shown that level of gentleness with you. You lay back against your pillows and he shifts unsurely at his place, standing at the end of the bed.

“I could go?”

“Please stay” You plead. The thought of being alone makes your teeth clench “I don’t really want to be alone…do you?”

“Nah, Sugar. I don’t” Bucky could scream. He’d wanted nothing but this for months. He goes to sit back in the chair but you sit up and reach for him.

“Lay back, you mook!” Bucky urges, coming to your side of the bed to place a hand on your chest “You’ll reopen that cut”

“Can you…lay with me?” It’s a big bed, it wasn’t like you two would even really even have to touch. Even though all you wanted was for him to touch you.

Bucky must be dreaming. He must have gotten shot during that mission. Maybe he’s dead?

He doesn’t ask twice though, after searching your desperate eyes for any sign of doubt, he climbs onto the bed next to you.

Part Two

————————————– @geekyweed hope you like this first part baby girl!

DUN DUN DUNNNN. Part two will be nothing but totally NSFW smut. Desperate and needy yummy smut. If you want to be tagged you know the drill, let me know! Leave me some feedback babies!✨

[kingfallstranscripts-blog]

Episode 18: Make King Falls Great Again

Sammy:Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a very special daytime broadcast with Sammy and Ben.

Ben: We are live at the Main Street park celebrating a very special day with what looks like the entire town.

Sammy: I gotta tell ya, while I've got my doubts about the veracity of the claim today -

Ben: Don't.

Sammy: Let me finish...this defiantly brings a smile to my face and warms my heart to see this massive turn out. So many familiar faces...and voices. This is a big deal...

Ben: Yeah, Sammy, it is a big deal. Can you name another town in history that's been voted best small town in america 7 years straight?!

Sammy: Legit? Or just by the Chamber of Commerce? 

Ben: ... that's besides the point.

Sammy: I think that'st he actual entire point, Ben. This is propaganda. 

Ben: Don't! 

Sammy: But very lovely propaganda, no less. 

Ben: Don't go all "conspiracy theorist" on me. You don't even believe half the stuff that walks right on through our radio station door! 

Sammy: You know what, you're right. I'm just gonna punt this care package of sense and reason right out the door and instead celebrate our towns storied history like a patriotic citizen. 

Ben: That is good to hear. 

Sammy: You're ridiculous. 

Ben: It is what it is man! Regardless of who voted on this, I believe it is the best small town in america. 

Sammy: And you know that is what really counts. 

Ben: You see that parade, Sammy? How can you be pouting over statistics with a parade like that?

Sammy: It was a beautiful parade. I'm not completely sure that the day-time strippers from Sassy's House of Ass should have been along side the rest of the floats, but... not my call.

Ben: I will concede you that point. Although! A big shout out to Karen's Craft Corner for best use of paper mache on that stripping pole. 

Sammy: *chuckles* Folks, I know you aren't used to hearing out voices in the daytime, but if you are in the area, you should really come on down. It's a hell of a party here. Fair type atmosphere, there's balloons for the kids, lots of heart stopped cholesterol laden treats. 

Ben: Plus! The official coronation starts in less than TEN. FRIGGIN'. MINUTES people and you don't wanna miss it. So put some stank on it, and high tail it downtown.

Sammy: (monotone) So... I know that I have to introduce the mayor.

Ben: (mimicking monotone) Can you please hide the excitement from your voice, Sammy? We don't wanna cause a panic.

Sammy:*chuckles* As I was saying, I know that's coming up in just a few minutes, but you do have a guest for us before -

Ben: YOU KNOW IT. This is really special. 

Pete: (in the distance) King Falls AM? I can't believe those two jokers are still on the air! I say, we boycott! Rally everyone! Storm the tower! *starts chanting* Take them down! Take them...everybody, everybody, come on now *still chanting alone* Take them down! Take them down!

Sammy: Who the - Pete Meyers?!

Pete:...no. No, uh, it's - oh hey guys I didn't see you broadcasting there. 

Ben: Whatever, Pete. Why don't you put your leash back on and go hang out with Howard Ford Beauregard. 

Pete: The third! I don't know why you don't acknowledge it. It's important, it's part of the name. And... I can do what I want.

Sammy: Let it go, buddy. Uh, you were saying about the guest...

Pete: Shows you! He ain't even here, anyway.

Ben: Oh,right. What was I thinking? Vampires hate the sun, right? Of course he wouldn't be here, my bad. 

Pete: Right! I mean...no- wha? No! Vampires? What?

Ben: Exactly! You heard it here folks! Another King Falls AM exclusive. Howard Beauregard's own gardener confirms -

Pete: Sensationalist liberal media! (voice fades as he walks away) I am never watching you broadcast in the park ...

Ben: GOOD! 

Sammy: Hey, Ben? 

Ben: Oh, uh, right right. Uh, you aren't gonna believe this, Sammy. Seriously, we are in for a real treat. Joining us right after this commercial break? I'm literally shaking look at this. 

Sammy: Alright, enough suspense Ben! Reel in this fish. Also, please say it's Merv the station owner.

Ben: Come on, Sammy, I can produce guests. I can't produce miracles. 

Sammy: Worth a shot. 

Ben: Good luck with that. But, uh, anyway, right after the break - King Falls very own *mimics drum rolls* RICH MCGUFF FROM RICH MCGUFF'S LEATHER BOUND BOOKS.

Sammy: ... you just used that much build up - 

Ben: Dude, you have no idea! Rich McGuff does not come out in public. He's like King Fall's own Howard Hughes. I can count on one hand how many times I've actually seen him in my life time. 

Sammy: And you got him?! That is pretty impressive, Ben.I guess.

Ben: They say he has the essence of a 1980's Tom Selleck. And the libido of well, uh... like uh, a young Tom Selleck.  

Sammy: So one could say he's the young Tom Selleck of leather bound books? 

Ben: Oh man he's gonna love that! Can I tell him, do you mind?

Sammy: But does he have the mustache?

Ben: Sammy... if you've ever seen a more elegant mustache than Rich's? Well, *scoffs* then, you're lying. Because it's magnificent. Spellbinding, even. 

Sammy: Right after the break?

Ben: After the break! 

Sammy: That was your cue to go to break, Ben.

Ben: Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about that glorious, sculpted facial hair. You know I couldn't grow a mustache like that in a million years...

(sounds of crowd cheering and clapping suddenly)

Sammy: We are on schedule, right? 

Announcer over loud speaker: King Falls Own... Dusty Reynolds!

Ben: We are - uh - you know what? Let's use the power of technology to jump over to the main stage where Dusty Reynolds is about to perform. He can sing us to break!

Sammy: Sounds like a plan.

Ben: King Falls, we'll be back live from the Best Small Town America celebration in Main Street park right after the smooth sounds of my personal friend, Dusty.

Dusty: *starts strumming guitar* *in country voice* ♪Javier the pool boy, you have ruined my life. You used to clean my filters now you're banging my wife. Oh, Javier, hey Javier... I hate you. Donald Trump said you should go back where you came from. And after seeing you with my girl I don't think he's so dumb. Hey Javier oh Javier... I hate you. Wish that you would just disappear! Oh man I wish you were dead. And when I think of you and Gloria I wanna put a gun to my head. Oh Javier, hey Javierrrrr. I (censored) hate you ♪ *crowd cheers*

Ben: Oh, uh- sorry about that. Here's a word from our sponsors.

 *Upbeat Piano music*

Hi. I'm Sammy Stevens from 660 on the radio dial. The kind folks at the Chamber of Commerce know that our elderly friends at the King Falls Geriatric Center can't make it down today. Especially after the handicap ramp closures... so please enjoy an afternoon with your favorite King Fall's ivory tickler, Ed Shambley. Ed is graciously taking the day off from Nolan's Drugstore to come play from his self released smash, "Peanuckle Shuffle". From what I've heard there's no better way to get ride of the colostomy bag blues. From "Uh-oh I Can't Get Pp" to " I Think My Grandson Stole My Savings Bond" Ed Shambley will keep the King Falls Geriatric Center rocking, rolling, and mall strolling to the hits. Happy 7th Best Town Small in America, ladies and gents. 

 Sammy: Welcome back to King Falls that's 660 on the AM dial. We've got a -

Emily: Hi, Ben! Hi, Sammy! 

Ben: Hi, Emily!

Sammy: Hi, Emily! Come on up here. The lovely Miss Emily Potter is making her way up to join us. *quietly* Hey Ben are you sure she's gonna be okay to be around Rich McGuff?

Ben: Oh, good point. I'll make this quick. 

Emily: Hi, guys! Are you live? 

Sammy: We are live. How are you doing today, Emily?

Emily: Oh, I'm just having a great time! These kind of things is exactly why I love King Falls so much. It really is the best small town in america.

Ben: See, Sammy?

Sammy: Well now I'm sold.

Emily: Well I just wanted to tell you two hi and good luck with your special daytime show today! I hope it goes swimmingly. 

Ben: *clearly flusted* Aw, thanks, Emily.It's really sweet of you..,.

Emily: Don't mention it. I'm just happy I don't have to stay up so late to talk to you.

Sammy: *softly* Ohhhhhhh.

Emily: Uh, I - I mean, the show. To listen to the show. I-I love you guys. I, well, I mean - I love, uh, the show. I love the show, and you guys. 

Ben: I'm happy to hear your voice too, Emily. 

Emily: Sooooo, after your broadcast, do you maybe wanna come to Frickards with me?

Ben: YES. Wait- what?

Emily: See, Greg Frickard came by the library booth earlier and asked if I'd like to have dinner after everything is wrapped up at the ceremony. Annnnnd I was hoping you'd come with me?

Ben: That son of a...Frickard. 

Emily: But, y-you don't have to. If you don't want to...

Ben: Oh! I mean, of course I do! It's just...a frog place? I don't really -

Sammy: It's not a conflict of interest, Ben. You know that Granny Frickard's Froggery is just one of our amazing SPONSORS here.

Ben: *dryly, very monotone* It's a delicious place to eat. Put's some pep in my step and... some hop in my heart. 

Emily: So... is that a yes? I...really can't tell. Are you alright?

Ben: I'd love to go with you. Anywhere. Even a - 

Sammy: Ahem.

Ben: ... the best froggery this side of saddle creek.

Emily: Great! So, it's a date! Just come find me after the show. Bye, Sammy. Bye, Ben!

Ben: Did she say date? She said date, right?

Sammy: It sounded like she invited you to a date. 

Ben:... Frickard. 

Sammy: Ben, I don't wanna alarm you, but there is a heavily mustachioed gentleman walking up behind you. 

Ben: Oooohohoho! Oh man, oh man. Okay, okay. King Falls I am so proud to introduce Mr - 

Ernie: *heavy typical New York mobster accent* Heyyyy ya Ben. Hows yous guys doin?

Ben: Ernie Salcedo? 

Ernie: From Ernie's mufflers! How ya doin, pally?

Ben: I...uh...

Sammy: Hi, Ernie! Uh, nice to meet ya, sir. 

Ernie: Nice to make your acquiescence or..what have yous, Sammy. 

Ben: I'm sorry, Ernie, we were just uh expecting - 

Ernie: Rich McGuff! Yeah, he couldn't make it down to the thing, eh, he had some little thing to do somewheres else. 

Ben: Uh, why are you here? 

Ernie: Ohhhh, Rich and I go way back to this one thing that we did for this one guy. Long time ago. 

Sammy: Uh-huh

Ernie: It's a long story you might say. I can't really get all into the encompassing details and what not. Long story short, Rich can't make it. He's, uh, a little tied up/

Ben: *nervously high voice* Like actually tied up? 

Ernie: You're a funny guy, Benny. 

Ben: *same high voice* Uh-huh

Ernie: It's a compliment. Some cultures, when a compliment is paid, the complimented might give some appreciation back...

Ben: I - uh- th-thank you so much Mr. Salcedo... do you want actual money? I-I don't have my wallet on me, but - 

Ernie: Haaaa, this guy. You gotta watch him! He's a regular Don Rickles.

Ben: Ha... is that a compliment?

Ernie: You're almost too funny, Benny...alomst. 

Ben: Uh, uh. Th - uh, thank you, Ernie. You - you are a very large...broad shouldered...intimidating man. 

Ernie: You're a sweet kid. 

Sammy: Well, thanks for letting us know, Ernie. Ernie from Ernie's Mufflers, ladies and gentlemen. For all your... muffler needs?

Ernie: No problem. I gotta go see a guy about a thing anyway. You stay funny. Benny. 

Ben: *whispering* Is he gone? Please tell me he's gone.

Sammy: Are you okay over there, Ben? 

Ben: He didn't leave a fish anywhere, did he?

Sammy: He's gone, Ben. I think your safe?

Ben: Jesus...

Sammy: So, no Rich McGuff? 

Ben: I forgot after running into the Godfather - uh, Godfather of muffler... things?

Sammy: I think the term your looking for is "whosies whatsies" 

Ben: I really wanted to talk to Rich McGuff too DAMMIT.

Sammy: Well, let's just hope that Rich is alright. Maybe you can snag him for the 8th annual next year, Ben.

Ben: Don't get cocky about it, man. There's no guarantees we'll get it again. 

Sammy: Something tells me that it's a lock...

Ben: Phew! Okay...I'm okay, folks! Uh, Sammy? Uh, you better go get ready to announce -

Sammy: *monotone* Mayor Grisham. 

Ben: Yeah, but try to have some excitement in your voice? That'd really sell it. Like you actually like the guy. 

Grisham: How ya doin fellas? This is a fine day. How's your mom, Ben?

Ben: Oh man! Such a great day to be part of King Falls, mayor! Thanks for inviting us to host the uh -

Grisham: Yeah...that wasn't my call. It was originally Storm Sanders, but since he's-

Sammy: Please say off the reservation -

Grisham: That's completely culturally insensitive, Sammy! Have some tact. Since Storm is....ummm, not available to us today...the Chamber of Commerce insisted we go with...you.

Sammy: Believe me, Mayor, we are just as thrilled about this as you are. 

Grisham: Right. I'll see you up on that stage, Sammy. Please make it short and sweet. I've got an announcement to make.

Sammy: Oh, so I should totally throw away the 8 pages of compliments I wrote for ya. Oh, all that hard work right down the drain.

Grisham: Yeah yeah yeah, good stuff, Stevens. 

Ben: Uh, Mayor, before you go, would you mind giving the listeners at home a sneak peak of your announcement? I mean, most of the town is here and they'll hear it live. Could be a cool little thing for the station. 

Grishman: You know what, Ben? I think that's a good idea. A great idea, even. You think this might help mend this mutually hurting bridge between King Falls AM and myself?

Sammy: Mayor? We'd love to get the scoop if you're willing to give it to us. 

Grishman: So, we're good? 

Ben: Water under the infrastructurally unsafe bridge. Sammy?

Sammy: Mayor, if you're happy, we're happy. 

Grisham: That's the spirit! 

Ben: So, Mayor Grisham, after the coronation in just a few short minutes, you're making an announcement? 

Grisham: Absolutely, Ben. After today's crowning achievement of King Falls being the best small town in america and for the 7th year in a row, I don't think there's a better time to let the citizens of this wonderful town know that I'll be running, once again, for mayor in 2016.

Ben: Oh, wow! This is big news! This is a real scoop! This is - 

Sammy: A load of horse (censored) !

Ben: WHAT?

Grisham: Excuse me?! Stevens?!

Ben: Uh *laughs nerviously* uh, what Sammy meant to say is that -

Sammy: *matterly of factly* Is that this is such a load of - 

Ben: Sammy!

Grisham: Jesus (censored) Christ, are you serious right now, Sammy? Are we on the air, Ben? Alright, you guys are "Punking" me, right?

Ben: Uh, w-w-we are... live.

Sammy: So, mayor Grisham, you're announcing your bid for the seat you already hold at the town wide celebration that, let's face it, is far from legit. 

Grisham: Are you- are you doing this right now? What happened to water under the bridge?

Sammy: That bridge literally collapsed under the load of manure you are planning on dumping on to it. Do you announce something special like this at every made up King Falls event, or is this just something special?

Grisham: How dare you! 

Ben: Mayor *laughs nervously* Sammy's been taking a lot of cold medicine. You know how the old 'tussin makes ya loopy! He doesn't even mean this...

Sammy: What did he announce last year at the sixth annual best small town in america celebration? 

Grisham: If you must know, smart ass, we announced the- the uhh -  

Ben:  *slowly like it's just starting to hit him* He announced the 2.5 million dollar add on to the already newly remolded city hall...

Grisham: I..I'd have to - I'd have to talk to Riley first and get the figures - 

Sammy: And what about the fifth annual fest - 

Grisham: You know what, we're done here - 

Ben: Mayor Grishman announced 20% raises for all the King Falls county government employees.

Grisham: Again - gentlemen, I...I need to speak to Riley - I need to figure out these figures. You- you know it may have happened -

Ben: *sadly and softly* This is a sham...

Grisham: Are you happy, Stevens? Is this what you want? To ruin this town for everyone? Bring your big city conspiracy and your trash talk radio to my town? Are you happy?

Sammy: I think anyone that has this much problem with checks and balances is probably shady and worth looking into. 

Grisham: You're a real piece of...work, Stevens! 

Sammy: Coming from you? That means absolutely nothing. 

Ben: Uhhh, whoa, uhh, I know this probably isn't the best time, but you two gentlemen are needed over at the main stage for the presentation and ribbing cutting.

Grisham: One word about this, Stevens. One utterance of your conspiracy fueled hog wash, and I will... AHEM. Ahem. 

Sammy: Oh, I'm sorry, please continue to threaten me live on the radio waves. What was that?

Grisham: Listen up. You listen good. You have you little slice on sensationalized lies with your 12 listeners on AM radio. You stick to the damn facts and go announce King Falls as the best small damn town to live in or, so help me, I will have Sheriff Gunderson drag your ass outta here for preemptively inciting a riot! These people deserve it!

Sammy: And you of course. 

Grisham: You're absolutely right. I love my city! Unlike yourself. Do your job for once and I'll do mine. You two disgust me. And don't think I won't write Merv a strongly worded letter after this! 

Sammy: Yeah, good luck finding him.

Announcer over loud speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a real treat for you - 

Ben: *sighs* Sammy, you should probably go do what ya gotta do...

Sammy: You know that I'm not doing this to - to paint the town in a negative light, right? 

Ben: I do! I really do, but... do you know how much this town needs this? 

Sammy: I do. And I love this town, I love these people. And maybe knowing the truth behind things is hard, but..I'd like to think it's better than living with the lie of it all. This isn't some BS proclamation by the Chamber of Commerce or a marginalized and power hungry schmuck that makes this town what it is... it's the people. It's the town. That's what makes King Falls great, and they deserve to know that.

Announcer over loud speaker: From King Falls AM, 660 on the radio dial, let's hear some applause out there! Mr. Sammy Stevens from the Sammy and Ben show!  (crowd cheering and clapping) Oh, uh, my apologizes, Mr. Mayor,... yes, of course... uh, sl-slight change of plans, ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome back to the stage, Mr. Dusty Reynolds!

Ben: What the?!

Sammy: Oh, I'll be back. POST MY BAIL, BEN!

Ben: Wait, what? Sammy! Uh, oh- okay. That was Sammy leaving. He's heading over to the - yup! He's running up on the stage, there...

Grisham: You're done, Stevens! DONE! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR (CENSORED) HEAD OFF!!! 

(Crowd gasping dramatically ) 

Ben: Oh! Mayor Grisham just punched Sammy in the face! What the - (lots of censoring and fighting coming from the stage) Hey! Oh - oh - okay. Sammy just got- Sammy just- ohhhh. That's a suplex. Pretty sure that was a suplex. Sammy and Grisham are on the ground. This is literally like the end of Lethal Weapon. Except no rain... and neither of these men are proficient in mixed martial arts. (more screaming from crowd) HEY! DON'T! Oh, Mayor Grisham just went for a - a round house kick. And Sammy, nope - that - Sammy didn't even have to duck that was a terrible kick. No! Sammy! No, don't- don't- ooooo. How have they not broken this up? SOMEONE BREAK- SHOULD I BREAK THIS UP? (baby starts crying) Wh-where's Troy?! 

Grisham: Someone cut their feed! Cut it! Cut the feed now! 

Ben: I'm not even being biased, I think he's just angry Sammy had that headlock on him so long. La-ladies and gentlemen, I better - 

Announcer: *nervous laughter* There's just horse-playing, folks. Right? Right guys? (more screaming and commotion from crowd) *Sighs* Somebody get the hose. Dusty! Play your damn song already! Best small town in America, my ass...

Dusty: (singing over crying babies, screaming crowd) ♪ Came up to my trailor when I was out of town, lord he took my smile and turned it upside down. Cause I caught you having sex with a rodeo clown. from the size of his shoes, I just can't compete ♪

(Sirens from police cars pulling up - music fades)