#but yeah Steve grabs that one not the warlock

[pizzaqueen]

Eddie has definitely walked in on Steve pretending to be a rockstar with Eddie’s guitar (not his best girl, though) and he just stands there and watches a while, smiling because Steve is such a dork (but also he looks good with the guitar), until Steve turns around and sees Eddie. He gets flustered for a moment, which Eddie loves, and then Eddie says something corny and flirty and Steve winks and starts “playing” again and he’s not even doing the best job of miming but Eddie keeps watching anyway

[bread52487]

This is an idea I had, so. Enjoy ig? It's probably gonna be a one shot unless ppl like it and I get more ideas. Uhm, in this universe I'm writing in for plot reasons the rifts from the end of season 4 didn't happen as bad. They still happened, and it still shook things up enough. A pretty decent earthquake basically. But it didn't split the town like a bad relationship.

There are still some sizeable rifts, but basically it's a universe where they either killed vecna or just hurt him enough he went crawling into a hole somewhere before he could finish doing his big bad things and split the earth open totally. Just some bigger than normal hellportals.

Also I have no clue what to call this lol.

⚠️ warning for relatively cannon typical blood and violence and bullying. Also descriptions including kinda gross sounding words lol. ⚠️

Tags: fix-it, steddie, pre-steddie, humor (?. Idk am I funny?), cannon divergence, vampire Eddie (sorta), kas Eddie (also sorta), weird Demobat hybrid Eddie (yeah mostly that)

~~~

The Upside Down was the same as it had been last time Steve was here, and the time before that. It was still and quiet, like a photograph of the town from the day the first gate had opened. A snapshot of Hawkins through some fucked up filter. The ash still rained as it always did, and the sky was red and angry as it always was. Your shoes still stuck to the ground just enough that it was difficult when you walked.

Steve didn't want to be back here. But, Dustin had insisted.

The Kid had come racing into Family Video that way he'd done a month prior, kicking off the start of the latest season of "What's The Hell Dimension Under Ours Gonna Spit At Us This Time?" His bike was left abandoned on the sidewalk, back wheel spinning idly and kickstand forgotten.

The first thing Steve had noticed was the guitar slung across Dustin's back. It was a Warlock. Eddie's Warlock.

One of the thinner strings was snapped and curling, bouncing as Dustin hunched over trying to catch his breath and talk at the same time. His words were incoherent, but he kept trying until Robin finally stopped him.

"Breathe first. Then speak." She rolled a water bottle to Dustin across the counter, and glanced at Steve. A wordless look that was aimed right to Steve's crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Asking him is he was really going to scold Dustin.

He was.

Steve waited till Dustin was done drinking-- Because yes, Steve Harrington is a decent human being and isn't gonna yell at the kid when he's got a mouthful of water and can't defend himself-- and then bore down on him. A glare directly at the ash still settled in Dustin's hair.

"Didn't I tell all of you to stay away from The Gates? Because I'm pretty sure I did."

"But-"

"You could have gotten stuck! Or attacked by something in there. Not to mention you could've brought back something. How would you feel if someone else's cat got eaten because of some hitchhiker you brought from Hell?"

"I had to bring back something! Before I couldn't anymore." Dustin huffed, struggling with the guitars strap for a second before sliding it gently onto the counter.

It was covered in dust and ash, minus the spots Dustin had grabbed it, but otherwise it looked the same. Just like it had when it's owner left it in the parallel trailer park a month ago.

Robin warily eyed a spattering of... something across the body of the Warlock. "Dude. That thing is probably covered in all sorts of diseases.

"It's- Well, actually it might be. But... it's also all I- we have left..."

Some of the tension bled from Steves shoulders. He understood. He still woke up every night with a sour taste in his mouth and his eyes burning, a memory painted behind his eyelids of having to pry Dustin, broken eyes and going voice, from the body of someone Steve wished he'd known sooner. That hadn't gotten wrapped up in this. That might be here if he were luckier. Of telling Dustin they had to leave the body, because they were running out of time. Because they couldn't grieve yet, because they had to go. And leave Eddie behind.

Robin though, turned her skeptical look to Dustin. "And that's all you brought back. Right?"

"Wh- Yes!" Robin raised her eyebrow, "... Okay. I did go down for him originally but... I couldn't find him..."

"...Are you sure you were looking in the right spot?"

"You think I would forget where he was?" Dustin spat, and Robin held her hands up.

"Hey, I'm just saying"

"Well, yes. I was. I'm sure. His blood was there, but... he and the dead Demobats were all gone."

Silence. Then Robin looked at Steve, eyes wider and jaw clenched. Steve gave her the same look, already shedding his uniform vest.

He and Robin had already talked about this. About going down and bringing Eddie back. They'd been planning since El had walked into Family Video about a week after the earthquake. She'd told them that the Gates were closing. That she had already told the rest of The Party. That her and Dustin had already been tracking it, but there wasn't any consistency in the speed at which they closed only that they were closing, and it was unpredictable and unstoppable.

El had then rented a movie, because apparently Max had suggested she watch Carrie and she was already at the video store, and then left. Leaving Steve and Robin with partially eaten sandwiches from the Subway down the street and the same thing on both of their minds.

From then Steve had declared that none of the kids were to go near the gates. For fear it might draw something out. But it was mostly an unnecessary rule, since most of them weren't at any risk of trying to jump back into The Upside Down. Most of them.

After, he and Robin and started to plan. To think of a way to, before the Gates were too small and when they were ready enough to go back, bring Eddie back topside.

To give themselves, the kids, and Eddie's Uncle the closure they deserved.

To end the gossiping, the people that talked like they knew for sure Eddie had done it. That they were sure Hellfire Club was responsible for the Earthquake. The whispers whoever Wayne Munson was around. And the kids at school that seemed more brutal than ever towards those like Dustin who still wore their Hellfire shirts proudly.

And, to keep Dustin out of trouble.

The first Steve had heard of Dustin's misbehaving was from Claudia. She had called him one day, nearly in tears out of concern for her baby. Asking Steve to look out for him. She told Steve about how Dustins first day back at school, when it reopened two weeks after the 'earthquake', was spent in the Dean's office.

Apparently, some kids had decided to take a sharpie to Eddie's locker. They had already blotted out a good deal of the drawings Eddie himself had done, vandalizing them and, when Dustin had seen them, they'd been writing something across the metal that Dustin refused to repeat.

Dustin had retaliated in a way that would have made Steve laugh proudly. If it weren't so uncharacteristic for Dustin to retaliate at all.

He had picked the locks of the vandals lockers, a skill Steve remembered Dustin mentioning Eddie had taught him after they'd been locked out of the Drama room, and attached the parts from Shock Gum he had gotten from the gift shop back at Camp Know Where to the insides of the doors.

The only reason Dustin was caught was because the lockers were right outside the gym. The PE Teacher had seen Dustin and called to him, and in trying to run away Dustin had tweaked his bad ankle. The PE teacher caught up and marched Dustin all the way to the Dean's office to explain what he'd done.

Since then, Claudia had brought up more things she was concerned about. Dustin's grades were slipping, and he was spending more time locked up in his room than was probably normal for a teenage boy. After this Steve had a sneaking suspicion that the other kids weren't fairing any better.

This was the last straw. Dustin had gone back into The Upside Down. Put himself in danger. So Steve decided it was time. Time to put his and Robins, still admittedly half baked, plan into action. "Rob. Stay here with Dustin. He's not allowed to follow me. No matter what he says."

"What, why?!" Dustin straightened, glaring at Steve.

Steve glared right back, hands on his hips, "Because. You've already been down there for who knows how long once today, I'm stronger so I'll be able to carry him, and I know your ankle is messed up again. You were limping on your way in... I also don't want to have to explain to Claudia if you go missing."

Dustin deflated. It was clear that he hadn't wanted to go back, his hands were still shaking, but he still seemed disappointed. "Fine. But you have to bring him back. And Robin and I are watching The Holy Grail while you're gone."

"Sounds like a plan to me Dusty-Bun!" Robin smiled, just a little too tight, and pressed her palm to the top of Dustin's head. Steve relaxed as Dustin shoved her off with a squawk, like none of this had happened. Like there wasn't a hell dimension under their own. Like Steve wasn't about to hop into it to drag their friends dead body back to reality.

Now, Steve grimaced as he looked across the landscape. Bat in hand, he had jumped into the one where Fred had died. It was close enough to the trailer park it wouldn't be too far of a walk, but far enough that it wasn't swarming with people from the lab.

It was almost the same. Down to the gross squish when he stepped. Except... there was something missing. A pressure in the air was gone. The feeling of the place, like you were being judged. Watched. Hunted. Gone, along with seemingly all the beasts that roamed it.

Not a single bat, no unfurling faceless faces. Not even a screech of something Seve never wants to see.

Nothing.

And so he walks, stopping occasionally at imaginary sounds or to look at the ash falling from the clouds. It was almost like snow, except with the stench of rot.

The feeling Steve had come to associate with The Upside Down and the beings within it finally made its presence known the closer he got to the trailer park. Yet despite the uncomfortable yet familiar weight on his shoulders, he still saw and heard nothing.

It was pretty clear the closer he got that Dustin was right, that the bats were noticeably gone. But, when Steve could finally see the amps atop the trailer in the distance, he stopped. Because he could see it again. See him again.

He could see Eddie, torn to ribbons by those bats. The same as he had looked a month ago. See someone that could have lived if he had been there. Had been quicker.

Steve blinked away the burning behind his eyes and forced down the limp in his throat, and at a second glance Eddie's broken body on the ground was in fact gone.

So Steve crept closer.

Dustin was right, all that remained was the tan dirt stained a red-brown.

But what Dustin hadn't mentioned, or maybe hadnt seen, was the footprints. Maybe Steve had been too busy trying to not die last time he was here to notice them either. But, now he could see footprints in the ashy dirt.

There were fresh smaller ones, Dustin's probably. And some more, various sizes and a bit filled in with ash and dirt. Probably from a month ago. And, there was set going around the area, the blood and the trailer, and then off to somewhere that he knew none of them had traveled. And those same footprints seemed to return and leave to and from the same direction.

So, like the totally sane adult he was, Steve followed them. Off into the twisted, skeletal afterimage of the woods behind the trailer park.

The ash seemed to fall thicker despite the gnarled branches overhead, and the ground turned spongey with wet, rotting underbrush as Steve walked. The trees were draped with... something. Something stringy and slimy that Steve would rather not touch.

He wasn't too far in when he heard something. The first sound he'd heard since he'd come through the gate.

It wasn't identifiable. Not as the low, chest rattling chitters of a Demogorgon, nor the rolling screech of the Demobats. But rather something in between. Something he didn't want to meet.

It was too low to be a Demobat, but too high and hoarse to be a Demogorgon. And it sounded like a call to hunt.

In response to the demonic starting pistol, the trees came alive. Steve ran.

Wings. So many wings. The slimy, leathery wings that plauged his nightmares. All behind him, chasing him.

Steve ran faster.

And then he fell.

A tendril, shriveled and solid, dead and twisted like a comically placed tree root right in his path sent Steve sprawling onto his hands and knees, nail bat flying to his left.

The wings got closer, and the Demobats dropped to the ground. They surrounded him, hobbling closer on wings and tentacles, segmented mouths snapping when Steve tried to reach his bat. There were more in the air, he could hear them. They were calling. Calling for the something that called them to action.

Membrane covered branches broke with wet snaps and the underbrush squelched as the Something got closer and closer.

A flash of huge leathery wings and needle sharp teeth set in a too wide mouth through the dark and the thought of 'I really hope if I live this doesn't give me another concussion' was all Steve got before he was pinned to the ground, hand still reaching for his bat and eyes squeezed closed.

But, nothing happened. The claws digging into his shoulders didn't let up, but the Something didn't move. Steve could hear the Demobats rustling. They sounded annoyed, or confused. But none of them were flying anymore. Then something happened, because the Something was no longer dripping saliva onto Steve's neck.

So, he opened his eyes. And looked straight into the eyes of someone he was so sure had died, far more human looking, a month prior.

Eddie. Eddie. With shoes long gone, Hellfire shirt torn to shreds, covered in what was probably his own dried blood. With wings and claws and a mouth that was closing at the seams to a more normal width than before around too sharp and too white teeth. With big doe eyes and curls matted and dirty. Eddie was pinning Steve to the ground.

Steve stared for a good few seconds, and Eddie stared back before seeming to realize what he was doing and sit back on Steve's legs.

"Thank fuck you're here. I can't find my baby and I'm losing my calluses! See?" He shoved his clawed fingers into Steve's face, "Oh, well I guess your probably can't... there's a lotta dirt. And blood. Well, I don't really think it's actually blood? Do the things here bleed?"

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[xirayn]

Like Biting Bats (Very Metal)

Read the full fic so far here

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Featuring @aibhlynn as Eddie

A mic stand is set down in front of Steve.

“There ya go.” 

Eddie winks at him and Steve’s tongue slides over the roof of his mouth and over his lips against the sudden dryness. If Eddie notices, he doesn’t say anything in favor of grabbing his guitar. He slings it over his shoulder and plugs in. A pick is fished from the small pocket on the hip of his jeans, the one around his neck still secure on its chain. He plucks a string then adjusts a peg, which seems to be the signal for Gareth to start collecting the papers.

“I’ll count you and Harrington in,” he instructs over the varying pitches of Eddie’s tuning. “We’ll join in.”

The start of every race Steve has ever been in beats through his chest. It’s ridiculous. This is just a practice and doesn’t mean anything, but neither did any of those races. He evens his breath, the smell of chlorine clinging to the feeling. This actually means a lot more than all of those races. His eyes meet Eddie’s and that slow, infectious grin is both centering and thrilling. Drumsticks click together to accompany the count then fingers that Steve has caught himself watching more than he will ever admit start to dance over metal strings. A challenge glints in Eddie’s eyes, simultaneously inviting Steve to play and daring him to keep up.

Steve smirks. It’s on.

The vocals start off slow, easing into the music before the wail of the guitar becomes the starting gun to a full throated chorus that lets Steve grab the lead. Eddie harmonizes an echo, openly admiring the way Steve cuts through the music until it slides back into the easier melody of the start. Gareth starts to do more than simply keep the beat with Jeff and Frankie joining in soon after.

The song is a dive, the controlled and steady vocals broken up by a plunging chorus that goes until burning lungs can swallow gulps of air. The instrumentals create the waters of the lake that swirl with the initial break of the surface then become supportive and menacing all at once as the depths are reached. Eddie's guitar nips at the edge of Steve's voice until they clash with furious riffs over a tumble of drawn out, nonsensical syllables. 

Afterward, Frankie’s bass overtakes Eddie’s guitar and the rhythm settles. Rich vibrations buoy Steve’s vocals as Eddie’s guitar joins Jeff’s to counterbalance the stagnating drums. A final note reverberates beneath a repeat of the chorus that isn’t meant to be there. It works, though, the a cappella tones becoming the grounding breaths taken after a fight.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Frankie crows. He slaps Steve hard enough on the back that he takes a partial step forward.

“It’s got potential,” Gareth agrees. He reaches under his stool for a notebook with a pencil tucked in between the pages and flipped it open to jot down some notes.

Any leftover knots of anxiety in Steve’s chest untangle themselves and melt away as he gauges everyone’s reactions. They all know the song was a sketch of a rough draft, but the important thing was that their new singer has lived up to their expectations. Steve’s eyes meet Eddie’s in anticipation only to find them bright and excited. The warlock is moved to Eddie’s back so he can wrap Steve up in a tight hug.

“Told you so, Pretty Boy,” he laughs. His voice drops to a hush meant only for Steve, his words drenched with affection as he murmurs into his ear, “You were amazing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” There is no weed to blame for how the praise shivers down the back of Steve’s neck. His breath is finally released when Eddie turns to the band, though an arm stays across Steve’s shoulders.

“So,” Eddie starts, eyeing Gareth taking notes, “what’s the verdict?”

“Seven out of ten,” Jeff seems to guess with the same considering look. “Definite room for improvement, but that’s why we practice.”

“Solid six, actually,” Gareth corrects. He points his pencil at Eddie. “You’re still everywhere, Harrington just gives you something to circle back to. I think once the rest of us figure out the dynamic, though, that will all balance itself out, and it’ll be bitchin’.”

Tag list

@amoris-no-smut-allowed @zerokrox-blog @babyrunsforfanfic @killmeinmydreams @beeing-stuupid @impeachy @archerwithmanybows @alienace @awkwardgravity1 @nuttychaosface @lexyvey @beckkthewreck @obsessivlyme @artiststarme @icecweme @estrellami-1​ @spectrum-spectre​ @newtstabber​

[niamhalbarn]

Cheater || Eddie Munson

Eddie Munson x reader!Delilah

!!Warnings!!

Please do not carry on reading if you’re under the age of 18, as their are mentions of, drug usage, alcohol, violence, language, sex, and a lot of angst.

Delilah has not seen Eddie over spring break and she’s starting to think something is going on. There relationship had been going strong until Eddie starts seeing Chrissy for deals.

“Robin I don’t know where the fuck he is! I haven’t seen him all fucking week!” I shout to Robin, waving my hands around Family Tv, sorting out the tapes as I rage about Eddie.

“I bet he’s busy doing stuff,” Robin suggests, making me even more mad. “What’s more important than seeing your girlfriend of two fucking years!” I ask, turning to Steve and Robin with furrowed eyebrows and a perked lip.

“Maybe a family members died?” Steve questions, shrugging his shoulders. “We tell each other everything, it can’t be that.” I shoot his idea down, crossing my arms and feeling a pain of sadness rush through me.

“Delilah, you should talk to him. Maybe he’s at his trailer?” Robin says, climbing over the desk to get Steve’s car keys and chucking them at him.

“We aren’t looking for him.” I say, sticking my feet to the floor, shaking my head. “I thought you wanted to,” Steve says in confusion, looking at me like I had three heads.

“Yes we are Lila, now come on. This is exciting!” Robin says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the shop, Steve quickly turn the sign to ‘Closed’.

“Won’t Keith kill us if he finds out we’re skipping work?” I ask, climbing into the backseat. “No, we’ve done it plenty of times,” Robin says, laughing at my innocence.

“Let’s go catch the ginger bread man then!” Steve says, twisting his keys, making the car rumble.

I spent the whole car ride, picking at the skin under and beside my nails, biting my lip enough to make it bleed and shaking my knee. My head was down and I didn’t say a word. What if he was cheating on me? What if he was planning to break up with me? I really didn’t want these thoughts to be true.

Steve parks his car around the corner of Eddies trailer, in hope that he doesn’t see us as we run to his trailer in need or answer.

I hesitantly climb up the steps of his trailer, my knees shaking and I bring my trembling hand up to the door, knocking twice.

“Hello Delilah! Nice to see you! Eddies in his room,” Wayne greets me, giving me a hug. It was a quick one as I run to Eddies bedroom, noticing the door was locked. He never locks his door. I put my ear to the door, to try and hear something, maybe blaring music, or his amp screeching as he strums the strings of his NJ Warlock.

As soon as my ear hits the door, I hear nothing, complete silence.

“Wayne! Do you have they key for Eddies door?” I shout to Wayne, in hopes he had it.

“Yeah! Is it locked? He never locks it?” He questions, furrowing his eyebrows. “I know, it’s not like him at all, thanks.” I say, taking the keys from his hand, and slamming Eddies door open.

I walked into his empty room, the familiar smell of cigarettes, alcohol and Eddies earthy scent hitting my nose. At first, I didn’t like the smell, but I had gotten used to it.

“Is he not in here?” Wayne asks, from the doorway. “No. I wonder where he is,” I say in confusion.

“Try find him, I’m off to the bar? Care to join?”

“No it’s alright, I’ll try look for him.” I shout to Wayne, and waving him a goodbye.

Damn. I wonder where he could be.

That is when the door slammed open, and Eddies footsteps could be heard shuffling around, with someone else’s I couldn’t quite recognise.

This made my body go in auto pilot as I shoot to his wardrobe, hiding myself in there. I probably shouldn’t be doing this.

“Ivey, would you just come on in here?” Eddie laughs. Who’s Ivey?

“I love your room, babe, very metal.” This Ivey girl giggles, sitting down on Eddies bed, resting her back against the headboard. This gave me a perfect view off her.

Black silky her covered her perfectly structured pierced face. She had huge tits, bigger than mine. And she was the spitting image of someone Eddies type.

“Do you know what else is metal?” Eddie asks, husk deep in his voice.

“Hmm I don’t know, you?” Ivey teases, squeezing her thighs together.

“You and me, doll face.” Fuck. That’s my nickname he gave me. He’s definitely fucking cheating.

Eddie slowly climbs in between Iveys legs, running his hands up and down her thighs as I sat in disbelief. I couldn’t bring myself to come out the wardrobe.

And that’s when it hit me. Eddie was kissing her. I starting silently sobbing, covering my hand with my mouth, my hands shaking as I do so.

“I love you Eddie. More than that Delilah girl does,” Ivey says in between moans. “I love you too, baby girl,” He coos, starting to take her Iron Maiden shirt off.

My voice broke and I let out a whimper. Loud enough for them to hear. They both stopped in their movements. Both looking to the wardrobe.

Eddie slowly walks to it, and slings the door open. “Delilah? What are you doing here?” Eddie asks, looking at me face, streaks of mascara rubbing down.

“I haven’t seen you all spring break, and Wayne, let me, uh in,” I just manage to get out.

“I’ve been busy, I told you.” He says, anger bubbling inside of him.

“With her! She doesn’t even fucking care about you Eddie! She’s fucking using you! And I can’t fucking believe you’re fucking cheating on me with a slut like her!” I shout, tears running down my face harder than before.

To be continued…

[bucksbabybug]

Hi! Can i request a Steve x reader . Where the reader is Tony’s sister / the avengers personal nurse? Her and Steve like each other but never act on it besides flirting here and there . Steve gets pretty injured on a mission and reader has to work on him (even tho he’s a super soldier he still needs some help lol) and she confesses her love to him cause she thinks he can’t hear her or something lol. I’m in the mood for pure fluff and friends to lovers.

Hey! I hope you like this, it’s my first time writing again in a long time! Thank you for requesting! 💛

Also, very sorry this is so late. I’m trying to write again and it’s hard to think of things after so long. I hope you like it if not, I’ll redo :)

Y/N’s POV

*Talking in your head* Just gotta finish restocking this med-bay and I can go take a break. I was gathering up my things until I heard a “Hey!” And jumped. “Oh my god Steve! You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry Doc” he said while laughing.

“Something tells me you aren’t.” I say while laughing.

Giggling he says “oh definitely not, I like scaring you.” Walking over to put the gauze box back into the closet I say “Captain America being mean?! Wow I never thought I’d see the day.” I say while smiling.

“Well you’re seeing it sweetheart. Now come here and say goodbye, I’ve got a mission, but I want to see my favorite doctor before I go.”

Blushing at the nickname, I say “Ha ha very funny.” I say while walking over. “Gimme a hug “sweetheart” and it’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.” You say while hugging him. God I really hope he can’t feel my heart beating right now.

“Oo sweetheart now? Glad to know we’re on nickname basis.” He says while smirking

“You started it Mr. Rogers, and besides, you like it.” Biting my lip I look at him and he rolls his eyes. God I really can’t believe I’m being this foreword.

“You better be safe Rogers, or I’ll have my brother after you real quick.”

“Y/N/N, Tony already wants to kill me, I may or may not have put coffee grounds in the garbage disposal.”

“This is the fifth time Steven, anymore and he will actually kick your ass.”

“Yeah yeah okay, I’ll just have to have you make me coffee, and make yourself some and drink it with me, how ‘bout that sweetheart?”

Giggling nervously you say “O-okay, yeah sure.”

“Alright “doll” I’ll see you later.” He squeezes my hand and walks out the doors towards the elevator.

“Bye Stevie, be safe!” I yell down the hall.

“Will do sweetheart, I have you to come home to now don’t I.”

With that, the elevator door closes. And you whisper, “Yes you do, always.”

A few hours later

After my my break, the ER emergency alarm went off and FRIDAY spoke:

“Doctor Y/L/N, you are needed stat in the medical wing, Captain Rogers is severely injured.”

“Oh fuck” throwing down your book, you run to the medical bay, finding an unconscious Steve and a worried Bucky.

Trying not to startle Bucky even more you ask him calmly “What happened?”

“H-he jumped in front of me, trying to stop a car being thrown at me. After he was knocked down, a wizard, warlock whatever the hell it was, threw him through a building.” While talking, Bucky is trying not to break. His best friend is the closest thing he has to family.

“Okay, everything is going to be alright, I need you to put him on the stretcher, and then go to the waiting room. I know you want to be here but I need you to go wait and calm down, after I get him stable, I will come see you.” As you’re talking, and Bucky put him on the stretcher, you use the scissors to cut his suit.

Steve is in bad shape, he has four huge gashes. One on his abdomen. One on his thigh. One on his chest. And the scariest is the one on his face.

Grabbing gauze, sutures, and disposable pans, you get to work, removing the glass in the worst wound. You started to clean them and stitch them up. Trying to do so in a way that there would be little to no scarring. After cleaning and stitching Steve up, I called Dr. Cho to do imaging to see if there is any internal bleeding. Thankfully, there was none so all that was left to do was to transfer Steve to a new, clean bed, put him on fluids, and console a worrisome team.

Walking out, the waiting room is filled with everyone. All looking worried and thinking to worst.

“Firstly, Steve will make a steady recovery. Secondly, the gashes he had, we’re deep and jagged but I cleaned and stitched them. The bruises on his head along with the cut may point to a mild concussion. This being said, keep the lights down in his room here and his personal room when he is transferred. I will program FRIDAY to follow Steve so wherever he goes, the lights will dim. He will be off of missions for a month, even with his super healing, head concussions are serious so I want him on light duty. As of now, Steve is still unconscious, he will wake up but not for a little while. One to two people can go visit him, talk to him, hold his hand, just be mindful of the stitches and bruises.”

“So he will be alright?.” Bucky asked.

“Yes Buck, he will be alright.” You said smiling softly.

“Anything else doc?” Tony said smirking. “You’re very thorough when it comes to Capsicle.”

Blushing you say “I’m thorough will all my patients thank you very much Anthony.”

“Oh I’ve been full named. “Alright, Barnes go first, go by yourself or take someone. The rest of us will file in shortly.”

After everyone came in and sat with Steve, they all but Bucky went back to their respective rooms. You had to basically push Bucky towards the elevator to get him to go clean up as he didn’t wash up before and just waited in the waiting room.

Throughout this whole ordeal, you were so worried about the teams anxiety of Steve’s wellbeing and making sure Steve was going to recover that you didn’t have time to process what happened to him. Just now it hit you how serious his injuries are. You could have lost him. Everyone could have lost him.

Walking to Steve’s recovery room felt like a blur. It looked like a blur as well, with the tears in your eyes. You sat next to his bed on the chair, reaching out to hold his hand. You left the tears fall.

“God Stevie, you have me so worried. When I heard that it was you who was injured, I blacked out. I needed you to be okay. I need you here with me. I always say see you later and never goodbye because I can never say goodbye to you. It would kill me, if I lost you. Seeing you..like this, made me realize something that I’ve been trying to ignore. I realized that I love you. I love everything about you Stevie. I love how even if you don’t realize it, you look for the best in people, even if they don’t deserve it. You help anyone and everyone. You give your all and more. Even though it landed you in this situation, you sacrifice yourself for others. I love everything and anything about you.”

Sniffling, you get up to leave but your hand is grasped tighter, signaling that Steve is awake and alright… and that he might have heard you.

Panicking, you lay go of his hand and walk towards the door.

“Hey Doll.”

You turn around to see Steve smiling at you.

“Hey Stevie, you feeling alright? Do you need anything?”

“I’m as best as I can be now doll but I would like to talk a little.” He says smiling softly.

“Oh, alright but before we talk, I still have a job to do, I need to check your vitals now that you’re awake.”

Walking around him, you’re trying to stall as long as possible, pretending to mess up taking his pulse to avoid the conversation.

“Alright, your vitals look great. I’m just gonna go and-

“Sweetheart I think you’re forgetting something.”

“And what would that be Steve?”

“I asked you to talk to me, you’re a doctor you know, you should remember things easily.”

“Oh right and hey, I remember things just fine for your information.” Giggling softly, you go to sit in the chair.

“I heard you.” Is all he says

Thinking the worst you say “oh my god Steve, I’m so, so sorry. I know you probably don’t feel the same way and the flirting if that’s even what you’re doing doesn’t mean anything and I probably freaked you out I-

“Woah woah woah, doll, calm down alright? Let me finish okay? Smiling he continues. “I heard you and I love you more doll. I truly do. I think you’re one of a kind. There is no one else like you. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Stunned you look at him surprised.

“This is so not how I wanted to tell you Stevie.”

“I know doll but at least you know I love you and I know you love me. So I can finally ask you on a date.”

“I’d love that Stevie.”

“Good now come here.” Opening his arms to you.

Careful not to hurt him or touch and of the wounds, you lightly huh him. As you pull away you come face to face with him. His eyes flicker down towards your lips and yours do the same. Making the first move, the slowly leans in. You do as well, and your lips meet. It feels normal. Not like a bad and bland normal but like you were meant to do this forever, with him. It felt like you could never and will never get enough. He felt like home.

Pulling away for air. You softly smile at him, biting your lip and looking down.

“Don’t get bashful on me now sweetheart.”

Rolling your eyes “Shut up Rogers, it’s your fault for making me this way.”

“As long as I’m the only one making you blush, I’m completely fine with that.”

Laughing you say “Only you Stevie.”

“Good, now when can I leave?”

“Oh not for awhile Rogers, you’re off missions for a month then light duty.”

“Already overprotective I see.”

“No just… thorough.”

He laughs and you say “I’m going to notify the team you’re awake.”

After notifying the team that Steve was awake. Bucky was the first down there.

While your three were talking, you heard the elevator ding then a loud voice rang through the hall “Steven Grant Rogers!” Tony’s voice.

“Uh Steve what did you do?”

“Remember what I told you this morning?”

You run to lock the door before Tony gets into Steve’s room. Not worried that he would hurt Steve but to annoy him.

Giggling you say “Oh you’re in deep shit.”

“Oh yeah you are.”

Once again, I hope you like this. I’m an so sorry that it took so long. Getting into writing again is difficult for me and I had to find my groove again lmao. :)

Not proofread, sorry for any mistakes.

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

Forever & Always: Stage 1 - Denial | Pt. 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Witch!Reader; Platonic Avengers x Reader

Words: A little less than 2.2k words

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Grief (Loss of Parent), Depression, Anxiety, Angst, & Fluff (more to be added) If you see something that I missed don't be afraid to tell me.

Synopsis: Y/N “Birdy” (nicknamed by her family), comes from a long line of witches and warlocks, living her days at the New Avengers Compound, alongside her friends. The Avengers are part of her family and her family is always welcome to the compound. Things for once seemed to be going well now that all was right from the attack on Thanos, everyone was alive, all was forgiven, friendships were thriving, that all ended when Birdy’s brother came calling with sad news, their mother had suddenly passed. These are the stages of grief Birdy faces, through the loss of her best friend, her protector, her mother.

Info: The Sebastian edit in the moodboard is done by @nix-akimbo and the dividers are done by @firefly-graphics. A big thank you too @sllooney for beta editing this, all mistakes are mine. I've had this finished for over a week I just hadn't had the heart to post, but I had my laptop out so here it is! I do not give permission for this to be translated or to be posted on other sites without my written permission.

Forever & Always Masterlist | My Masterlist

Baby wails rang through the kitchen as Birdy sat on the floor with her back against the cabinet. She felt exhausted as she tried to calm her speeding heart, her husband was gone on a mission, and she has been left to take care of the 6 month old twins on her own.

Lyra and Grant had been crying since they had woken up this morning at the crack of dawn and it was now noon. Birdy had tried feeding them, rocking them, tummy time, nothing was working. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Getting up from the floor after making sure the twins were still safe in their playpen in the corner, they both just looked at her red faced, breaking her heart. Birdy made her way to the chalkboard picking up a piece of chalk, writing; Mama HELP! I need you please, I’m having a crisis and I don’t know what to do.

Dramatic? Yes. Effective? Apparently so, because the words 'on my way' appeared immediately under her message. Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Birdy grabbed the pitcher of Orange Blood tea out of the fridge and the shortbread cookies from the jar where she had been hiding them from her husband.

The back door to the kitchen opened and the older Lyra walked in, met by the sounds of her grandbabies wailing their little hearts out. Birdy’s mother looked at her with a soft smile, taking in her daughter's exhausted frame. Her hair was pulled off her face in a ponytail, oversized yoga pants hung loosely on her hips, with a tank and cardigan to match. Birdy looked just about done, but still so beautiful in her mother’s eyes.

“My little Birdy, sit down, I got this.” The mother moved behind her daughter and gently steered her to the breakfast nook, while she went in the direction of the playpen.

“Oh my little cherubs, what seems to be the matter?” Speaking to the babies in a soft voice, the grandmother grabbed Grant and brought him over to his mother, who quickly cradled the bundle of joy in her arms, while she returned for her namesake, cradling her closely, shushing her softly. It didn’t do much but as Lyra sat at the breakfast nook across from her daughter she began to rock the baby in her arms, Birdy copying her mother’s actions, brushing her finger down Grant’s sweet button nose.

“Let’s see… your belly's full, you are clean, warm, nothing seems to be off, I think your Mumma has just forgotten the most important thing, a lullaby!” Birdy looked at her mother with wide eyes, while she simply just smiled at her. “When you were a baby you could be quite fussy as well and the only way to get you to settle down was for me to sing a little lullaby. So I think what these two need is a little diddy and they’ll be right as rain.” Birdy’s mother began to hum one of the ever so familiar songs from her childhood. A song to ease her worries as her mother held her.

“I'm rocking you to sleep, the water's dark and deep inside this ancient heart. You'll always be a part of me.” both babies had stopped crying and were now yawning, holding onto the fingers of the women holding them.

“Goodnight, my angel, now it's time to dream. And dream how wonderful your life will be. Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby, then in your heart, there will always be a part of me.” Little Lyra had drifted off into slumberland, while Grant had gone quiet, his eyes fighting hard to stay open but as Birdy continued to brush her pointer finger down his nose, it was becoming a losing battle.

“Someday we'll all be gone, but lullabies go on and on. They never die, that’s how you and I will be.” Both babies asleep, Birdy looked up at her mother in relief but stopped when she saw the sad look in her familiar eyes.

“Birdy since you were just a Babe in my arms I dreamed this moment over and over again, it never varied until now. I need you to know that I love you so much and I’m so very proud of you, proud of the woman you have become. You are a superhero, not many mothers out there can say their child is a superhero.” it felt as if her heart had dropped to the pit of Birdy’s stomach as she watched her mother put Little Lyra back in the playpen with a kiss to her forehead.

“I’m sharing this moment with you now because I know it’s going to come true for you, but I need you to remember something for me...” Lyra placed her hand on her daughter's cheek, brushing the single tear away. “Remember you were loved by me. That you made my life a happy one, and there is no tragedy in that.” Kissing Birdy on the forehead? Lyra moved towards the back door, her daughter getting up as carefully as possible, hoping not to wake the babies.

“Don’t go please, I love you!”

With a smile on her face Lyra blew a kiss to her daughter and then was out the door.

Birdy gasped sitting up. Wanda, falling off of her, being forced from the comfortable place where she had laid her head on Birdy’s stomach to watch the Breakfast Club in the blanket fort that Peter and Morgan had assembled earlier in the day. The fort took up over half of the New Avengers main living room and sat in front of the television. It's where the duo, Peter and Morgan had hung out and watched cartoons together, waiting for budget meetings and debriefings for the week to be over.

Wanda and Birdy had quickly fallen in love with the fort, and with Peter and Morgan for inviting them inside to help keep the little girl company until her parents were done working for the day. When Morgan had left they had decided to leave it up for a John Hughes movie marathon. Bucky and Steve had come to join the youngest Avengers in watching the films.

All eyes had moved from Breakfast Club to a gasping Birdy. Wanda’s hand was quick to grab hers and give it a reassuring squeeze, trying to pull her from her frantic daze. Birdy’s eyes started to scan the cozy space, seeing that the popcorn was all gone and Peter had stopped mid way to the Jelly Beans, now peering at her in worry. Bucky was on his side looking from her to Steve, as he put his hand on her shoulder, trying to give comfort.

“I’ll go get Mr. Barton and Miss Natasha!” Peter’s quick reflexes had him out of the fort in seconds, without knocking anything down, before anyone could say anything.

Birdy was trying so hard to figure out what was going on. She knew where she was, at the compound. She knew it was Friday, movie nights with Peter and Wanda, and that she had fallen asleep at the end of Weird Science, her least favorite John Hughes movie.

She had been dreaming, yet it felt so real. But she wasn’t carrying a child and she wasn’t even dating anyone, so it made no sense. Also her mother just leaving like that? Strange. The more Birdy thought on the dream the more her head started to hurt. Someone calling her name pulled her from her thoughts and looking up Clint stood crouched above her.

“Hey Kiddo, are you back with us?” Clint held out his hand to Birdy, which she gladly took, letting go of Wanda’s, and allowing the archer to pull her up off the blanketed floor. Natasha stood at the entrance of the fort in her pajamas, looking in, watching as Clint hugged the younger woman. Right away Natasha knew something was off.

“Yeah, I’m sorry you guys, I had the strangest dream and it-” Birdy’s face was scrunched up in almost confusion, as she stared off behind Clint’s shoulder. “-It felt so real.” Her voice died off as Clint hugged her close to him.

“It wasn’t a vision was it?” Natasha moved inside the blanket fort, her question was more of one of concern. Every time that Birdy had a vision, something bad was about to happen or come their way, like the time she had envisioned the meeting with General Ross, the next day the team was torn in two, because of the Sokovia Accords. Birdy just shook her head, it wasn’t a vision that she knew of.

“Well if it was just a dream, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Wanda and Peter, why don’t you go make chamomile tea. Steve go adjust the temperature? I think it’s a little warm. Bucky do whatever it is you want to do.” Natasha waved the former assassin off, “Clint and I are going to just sit in here with you until you feel better.” Sitting on the loveseat, Natasha patted the empty cushion next to her as Clint guided Birdy to sit next to her.

Before anyone could do what the Black Widow demanded, a gust of wind blew through knocking many of the blankets to the ground. Bucky was up on his feet in flash as none of the windows were open. This gust of wind was not ordinary. Steve moved to the opening of the fort with a pillow in front of him, peeking out into the living room.

In front of the windows facing the vast forestry surrounding the compound, stood Pietro Maximoff and Jasper Valentine, the pair of them holding on to Birdy’s older brother Rory. The trio looked disheveled, eyes bloodshot, and their hair all over the place. Steve felt his body relax when he recognized them, dropping the pillow to the ground. Scoffing, Jasper let go of the warlock first, and made his way forward, hugging Steve.

“Rory Sellar, what have I told you about just portaling unannounced into the compound?” Steve let go of Jasper before he made his way to Pietro, hugging the twin of his teammate, then to Rory, who just cleared his throat and looked to the ground. Pietro shook his head, getting Steve’s attention, immediately the scolding died in Steve’s throat.

“Steve, is Birdy awake?” Rory’s voice cracked as Natasha and Bucky looked out. Bucky gave a slight wave of his hand at the newcomers, while Natasha tilted her head in the direction of the fort. The group made their way inside the massive fort following behind Natasha. Birdy, jumping up from the couch at the sight of her older brother, rushed to give him a hug. Rory took his little sister in his arms, hugging her tightly, as he kissed her on the crown of her forehead.

“I just had the weirdest dream…” Birdy pulled away as she heard Rory sniffle, looking up at him in concern.

“Birdy I’m so sorry, she wouldn’t let me portal to come get you, she said she didn’t want you to see her that way.” Birdy’s face scrunched up in confusion. “I begged her to let me come get you, but she said no, and Dad agreed.” Rory started to let the tears fall.

“Rory, you aren’t making any sense, what is going on?” Pietro was by the warlock's side in an instant, his hand on his shoulder, looking at Wanda, who gasped after reading her twin brother's mind. Wanda looked away with tears in her eyes, hand covering her mouth in shock and sadness.

“What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?” Thousands of questions swam through her head, as her brother grabbed her hand, holding it as Natasha made her way to the younger girl's side.

“It’s mom Birdy, she’s gone.” tears started to build up behind the girl's eyes at her brother's words. Shaking her head, Birdy felt as if the room dropped ten degrees in that moment. “She has gone to be with souls in the great beyond.”

Before anyone knew it Birdy was falling to knees, a cry erupted from her mouth, “No!”

Birdy screamed while the power in the building started to flicker as the walls started to shake. Natasha, at Birdy’s side, pulled her to her side. Steve looked around realizing they needed to get the young witch calmed down or they were going to be in trouble.

“Rory you need to get her out of here, the building isn’t going to be able to handle this sort of shaking.” As he spoke part of the stucco from the ceiling fell on his shoulder.

Rory reached down holding onto his little sister's shoulder and looked back at Clint, “I’ll be right back for you.” In a flash, through a portal, the trio were gone. As fast the shaking and flickering lights had started they had stopped. The rest of the group stood there staring at the empty spot that once was Natasha, Rory and Birdy, feeling a sudden emptiness with the news they had heard. Things were about to change and it was out of their control.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[ibelieveindragons141]

Are You Our New Mom?

Summary: Steve is out of town for a week so y/n babysits the gang. When Steve comes back, they decide that their two babysitters are perfect for each other and try to set them up.

Steve Harrington x reader

Word count: 1170

“Will! Y/n is here.” Joyce opened the door to let you in.

You had been babysitting Steve’s kids every day for nearly a week, and had really come to love them. You smiled, hearing the telltale pounding of footsteps which meant you were about to be attacked with teenagers.

Sure enough, Mike, Will, Dustin, El, Max, and Lucas came bounding up the stairs from the basement.

“Y/n!” Dustin cried, “We’re in the middle of a campaign, come on.” He grabbed you by the arm and dragged you downstairs.

“Bye, Ms. Byers!” You called over your shoulder.

She laughed, “Good luck.”

Once situated around the table, you asked, “What did I miss?”

“First there was an ogre-“

Will started to explain, but was cut off by Mike who said, “And then there was this option which could make you immortal for three turns and-“

“Lucas died like, super early on because he’s an idiot.” Max added, earning a glare from Lucas.

“Yeah, and after that El was all PSHHH and BAM and POW because her character is a warlock which is funny because-“

“Dustin!” Everyone shouted at him frantically.

You looked around the group, confused.

“He just means it’s funny because she wanted to learn magic tricks.” Max explained, a little too quickly, but you let it slide. You figured you were probably just as confusing when you were their age.

“What happened here?” You gestured to the scraps of fabric littering the board.

They laughed and Lucas flushed. “Lucas is a sore loser.” Mike laughed.

“Hey, it’s not my fault! I went out way too early, how was I supposed to know there was quicksand there?” The boy tried futilely to defend himself.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, Will, as per usual, had planned an excellent campaign. You ordered pizza once the campaign was over, popped some popcorn, and curled up on the couch with the kids to watch “Gremlins.” You sat on the couch with Dustin and Will on either side of you, and Lucas next to Dustin. Mike sat next to El who was next to Max on the floor. The redhead leaned against Lucas’ legs.

You paused the movie halfway through because the girls needed a bathroom break.

“You know,” you glanced at the boys, “This might be the last movie night we have together.”

“Why?” Will asked, worriedly.

“Well, Steve comes back tomorrow, doesn’t he?” They nodded. “You won’t need me to babysit anymore.” You gave then a sad smile. You’d miss them.

“We can’t let this be our last movie night.” Lucas complained.

“Oh!” You all turned to look at Dustin. “We could do a movie night with y/n and Steve.”

The others instantly agreed.

You laughed, “Well, if it’s alright with Steve then it’s alright with me.”

They cheered excitedly, as did the and girls when they explained the plan to them.

Unsurprisingly, by the end of the movie you had all fallen asleep, and stayed that way until Joyce came from from her date with Hopper.

“Goodnight.” You whispered, sneaking out the house.

“Thanks for watching the kiddos tonight.” She said.

“It was my pleasure.”

“Drive home safe, okay?”

“You got it, Ms. Byers.”

The next day, you got a call from Dustin asking you to meet up at his house that afternoon. When you arrived, you saw an unfamiliar car out front. Steve? You wondered silently.

You knocked on the door, which was opened to reveal Will’s smiling face. “Y/n! We want you to meet someone.”

You entered the living room to see a boy your age with big hair and beautiful, dark hazel eyes stand up to greet you. It was none other than one Steve Harrington.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Y/n, I’m-“

“Steve.” You said, “I know, we had history and English together.”

“We did?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Dustin cut in, “Y/n has been the best! She’s totally awesome, Steve!”

You blushed, “Dustin...”

“They’ve done nothing but talk about you,” Steve raised an eyebrow at the kids, “I might even start to think I’m being replaced.”

You laughed and reassured him saying, “These guys didn’t shut up about you. Trust me, you’re fine.”

“Movie time!” El cried.

“What? Now?” You checked the time, “It’s only three. Let’s go to the mall or something first.”

It took two cars to get everyone there; you, El, Max, and Will in one, and Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Steve in another. You spent the day wandering around and eating soft pretzels. You also had the chance to talk to Steve, and found that he was actually pretty cool.

You surprised the kids by taking them to the arcade. They ran off to beat previous high scores, leaving you and Steve alone.

“Hey,” he asked, “you ever played Frogger?”

“Obviously,” you replied, walking over to the game.

“You think you can beat me?” He smirked.

You out your hands on your hips. “Oh I know I can.”

“You’re so on, l/n.”

“Bring it, Harrington.”

You ended up winning, although you suspected he let you. Regardless, you teased him relentlessly about it. After an hour or so, the kiddos came bounding up to the two of you. After excitedly recounting their adventures, you caught them up on your Frogger competition.

“.. and then,” you said, “I kicked his ass.” The kids giggled at the idea of Steve getting his ass kicked by you, or by anyone, really.

“Y/nnnn, stop it!” Steve nudged you.

You smirked. “Make me.”

There was a pregnant pause.

Then your eyes met; You both blushed and quickly looked away. Thankfully the gang didn’t notice anything.

For movie night, you decided on watching “The Terminator.”

You and Steve shared the relatively small couch while the kids sprawled out on the floor.

“I’ll be back,” you joked, quoting the movie as you got up to grab some water. Steve got up to join you. When you were alone in the kitchen, he grabbed you by the waist and brought you close to his chest.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered against your lips.

“Don’t stop,” you replied, equally breathless.

He kissed you with his perfectly soft lips, still salty from the popcorn you’d eaten earlier. Your insides melted and a satisfying chill went down your spine.

You tangled your fingers in his hair as we wound his arms tighter around your waist. You pressed your forehead to his. “Come on, let’s go finish the movie.” He grabbed your hand and led you back to the living room.

His arm went around your shoulders, letting you lean cozily into his chest, tucking your head under his chin.

The two of you fell asleep like that and woke up Steve in his back and you lying on top of him with the gang staring down with wide smiles in their faces.

“Does this mean your our new mom?” Max giggled.

You glanced at Steve and winked, “Yeah, I think it does.”

A/n: I hope you like this! It’s my first time writing for Stranger Things.

[need-a-new-hobby]

the descent into hell isn’t easy

s1 ep 2

so i got 2 notes on my last post so imma keep going

did simon just compare jace to mick jagger?!? HA!

did clary just say that she thinks jocelyn is at the center of their war?!? WhAt? look, i get that this girl wants to find her mom, but assuming that the entire shadowhunter race (also they call themselves a race) is fighting over her mom is just... idek what to call it? Arrogance? Naïveté?

also did noone think to bring the body inside?

i swear alec is so done with jace and his mundanes. his entire thing is just ‘another one?’

i’m sorry, i think my eyes just rolled down the back of my skull with the whole ‘best friends’ thing. 

can i just point out that matthew daddario is just watching isabell flirt with simon with such amusement? it’s adorable.

my god, i forgot that they torture their tutor to get info on the circle. i know hodge deserves this later, but seriously, how could clace do that?

‘i hate to make you suffer like this.’ are y’all serious? she’s borderline torturing this guy for info. somehow she makes me angrier by apologising. 

also this kinda thing is so classic. ofc none of them know their own violent history. did no-one bother to find out growing up? i hate to say this but if clary’s right about one thing, it’s the insanity behind not knowing their own history.

also, this scene is one of the first that made me sorta dislike clary. rewatching it just makes me angrier.

‘what is a g. i. joe?’ them not knowing clary and simon’s pop culture references is the funniest. refer to mick jagger above

also where the hell was she planning to go? and clary’s explanation of what a g.i. joe is is kinda off. i always assumed a g. i. joe was like an all-american hero (see steve rogers)

yikes! clary stepped on mom issues. i have no empathy/sympathy for her, she needs to calm down

‘in the shadow world, no training and no plan gets you killed’ - the first sane thing i’ve heard jace say all season.

kay, jace has got to be some kinda genius to go from ‘my memory’s blank’ to ‘your memory’s been wiped’. my memory goes blank all the time. i don’t remember what i had for dinner last night.

one more implausible thing, how doesn’t she know what a warlock is? i mean she’s 18, it’s 2016, has she not heard of Harry Potter, or LOTR for that matter? she’s simon’s best friend, she has to have come across it at some point in time.

kay, first of all, we all saw dot fall through a window about maybe 10 ft high, crack her neck on a fence and fall on the pavement. how is she still alive? 

also, i know luke’s meant to be a good guy and all, but he literally just treated dot like crap considering all she’s been through. and insinuating that she can’t be trusted when he himself was a circle member is just plain discrimination. 

also, she gets it. ‘if anyone can help, it’s magnus bane’. i get it, my baby is super powerful, but please don’t get him killed. i can already sense the magnus bane sass™️

izzy’s so pretty! and her hair is flawless. but the way she says ‘he’s the ultimate protector’, i just can’t

btw, love the inclusion of the ‘izzy can’t cook’ gag from the books. but kinda implausible that she can make porridge but completely burns toast. nvm, the porridge looks nasty (sorry, iz, i still love you though, bad porridge and all)

can i just ask that if jocelyn fray’s real name is fairchild, why would searching her pseudonym come up as restricted? also, hodge very conveniently forgot to tell them that jocelyn was married to valentine or that her real name was fairchild. that’s just sloppy.

also luke’s friendship with his boss is so pleasing to watch (terrible phrasing i know) i mean so often female captains are seen as these stoic, always angry and fierce officers with terrible relationships with their underlings. it’s nice to see her joking around with a colleague. 

clary’s uncomfortability with izzy’s clothing is canon, but she’s basically wearing a camisole. it’s a lot less revealing that izzy’s regular clothes. at least there’s no slutshaming! plus she’s gonna be wearing a jacket on top, but ofc everyone’s comfort levels are different.

I’m so glad that Clary and Izzy are both so positive towards each other. I mean compared to the books, not that bad

‘do you know how to fight demons?’ to ‘i’m an internet search away.’ simon’s the best. 😍😍

i mean, who in their right mind would approve the mission? sure, they’re not teenagers, but they’re messing with Valentine, for crying out loud. besides, we all know how much the clave prioritises down and out warlocks.

‘little girl’

‘clave thing,’ someone needs to educate this selfish matchstick. first of all, she can’t expect alec to turn his back on the clave, they need the clave’s resources to keep the institute running. second of all, she doesn’t really need to go. think about it, if alec, jace and izzy can track down a shapeshifter to a nightclub, they can handle a warlock. besides, she’d just be dead weight anyway. i just hate that clary doesn’t get better than this.

haha, alec’s salt kills me. ‘well, since you have all the answers...’ 

oh, so she’s not gonna explain the vision giving gemstone lolling around her neck? fuuun

‘you were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me right?’ alec’s smile aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. i love one grumpy cat smile so much. also this is like his first smile in the 2 eps

sorry, but magnus’s face when dot grabs his arm, just like ‘bitch who do you think you are?’ 

instant priorities people. see, magnus understands the concepts of ‘risk’, ‘danger’ and ‘consequences’, unlike one matchstick i won’t name. (“I’ve been busy trying to save our people from certain death”)

hahaha, the foreshadowing -> “are you really gonna risk your life for a shadowhunter?” - this is why magnus is my fave.

okay, couple really weird things i have to point out. first off, clary sucks at running. i get that running in heels is hard, i can’t even walk in them, but i can’t believe that the entire institute doesn’t have one good pair of sneakers. second, alec is just walking in the back, that’s how slow they’re going. third, are they seriously just following clary around the club on some strange whim instead of attacking the club strategically? 

but seriously, her running though. her arms are just waggling around. seriously, guys, sneakers.

kay, clary is way too hyper right now. alec never said they were giving up, just that it wasn’t safe and they had to get back to the institute. which is absolutely true, if circle members are after dot in pandemonium, they’re probably in the vicinity

im sorry, but watching alec and izzy know exactly what jace is planning with the silent brothers and in sync just going ‘jace, no’

‘a process that can also kill you, so there’s that.’ i mean, what’s the downside?

‘your bedside manner is abysmal’ - kay, i’m still kinda pissed off rn so that’s probably coming across here, but dude, you are both adults and she needs to know the risks involved. how tf was he supposed to say that...not abysmally? sorry, im a big alec defender. i think its an older sibling thing.

wait, 18 rules? damn, jace has to have like a record or something. i reckon 18′s probably exaggerating. i’d guess at 10, maybe 12.

hold up, he’s asking clary to decide whether she should get her memories wrenched out of her by the silent brothers w/o knowing the risks involved? not a sound decision.

why is she so fucking smug towards alec? it’s kinda hard to see at first, you have to replay it a couple times. maybe it’s just me cuz im writing this late at night but her attitude towards alec really gets under my skin.

also, i think satan is on simon’s van. that’s not at all disconcerting

also, why is this all happening at night? and wasn’t isabelle making breakfast before? 

‘are you kidding? i was born afraid.’ first of all, mood. second of all, proof why simon is my child.

tbh, i really wanted to see a better brotherhood between jace and alec. like, it is still better than in the books, where jace practically ignores alec’s existence until he gets injured by Abaddon. (a moment i wish was in the tv show, but too complicated, i understand.) but i think in this scene, where they discuss the steps they’re taking, you kind of see the chemistry between them. well, not really chemistry, maybe more just their relationship. 

first off, alec tries explaining to jace that even though clary’s made the decision, they’re responsible for her wellbeing, something that isn’t in the book. i really appreciate this bit, primarily because you see why alec is so fussy about missions. as the season progresses, you see the kind of pressures that are on him, something that makes me hate clary all the more

second, jace counters this by giving him the bigger picture. this is a step they need to take to find valentine. i think that’s something the books don’t give you either. you kinda start seeing that without jace, alec gets stuck on the minor details i.e. rules, stipulations etc. and without alec, jace wouldn’t be able to calculate the risks of each decision, which i think is key to understanding them as parabatai.

third, alec’s soft little ‘you were never a stray’ tugs at my heartstrings every time. jace really is family to them, a brother for them and i love that he sort of forces that down; that despite their last names, despite their bloodlines, they will always be brothers, a sentiment i absolutely adore

haha, jace c*ckblocking simon since 2016

i’m still not over the notion that valentine is holed up in chernobyl, of all places. i am really glad though that they didn’t follow the trope of the US being like the only country in the world, or New York being the only city on the planet.

did i mention how confused i am that dot is still alive?

yeah, did not miss jace’s arrogance

‘kay despite the fact that i hate everything about her, i have to commend clary on how much she loves her mom. i mean, i know a lot of people who wouldn’t do the same. and despite the fact that jocelyn lied to her for 12 years (based on what she tells magnus later on) she’s still willing to do whatever it takes.

‘you’re clary freaking fray, you can do anything.’ cue alec eye-rolling in the back. look, it’s not that i have anything against simon and clary being vocal about their bff status, it’s just that a) i would never talk to my best friend like that and b) it is thoroughly making me cringe

kay, i’ve rewatched this scene a dozen times and here’s what i noticed

‘i have seen every horror movie ever and the funny best friend who gets left behind...dead man’

cue isabelle laughing

jace: you’re not that funny

alec is just so done with these f*cking mundanes. “the rune energy will kill any mundane that dares to enter, so please.” motions for the mundie to keep going. 

kay, before i keep going, i’ve noticed this post is going on for a bit, and re-reading, i feel like i have to clarify why i dislike jace’s arrogance but not alec’s. i think it’s mainly because jace’s arrogance stems from a need to be superior to others, which is common with victims of child abuse, or so i’ve read. knowing this makes it a little harder to hate him, but this kind of behaviour, while is justifiable, often leads to them tearing down another person’s self-worth, which you can kind of see in the books. alec’s arrogance mainly stems from being exhausted from dealing with other people’s bullshit, which i can’t really dislike. i’m an older sibling myself, so i kinda know what he goes through dealing with siblings and such. you’ll see with the next point.

‘talk about sacrifice, i’m missing a financial analysis class.’ first off, what kind of class starts in the middle of the night? second, i’d rather be in the city of bones than in financial analysis. third, i feel alec’s exasperation.

‘yeah, i can’t be around this, so imma mind the perimeter.’ *gestures to simon’s entire body*

i dunno why clary’s hugging simon like that, it’s not like he’s the one going down there. i’m gonna move on before i overanalyse and come up with more ways why i don’t like clary

izzy keeps making simon uneasy and I LIVE FOR THESE MOMENTS

aight, imma keep it honest, i skipped the whole city of bones/clace section the first time cuz they’re so boring. but it’s pretty much just jace making stupid jokes and clary being kinda whiny.

‘looking better in black than the widows of our enemies.’ a line that lives rent-free in my head.

also, he keeps saying she’s a shadowhunter now, but she hasn’t done much shadowhunting. she doesn’t even know what the clave is

aand now they’re holding hands. great. very professional y’all.

silent brothers. looking creepy since the dawn of nephilim. but for my book stans, where’s brother smackariah?

imma be honest, i feel bad for the silent brothers. i mean, they’ve devoted themselves completely to the shadowhunter profession, mutilated themselves for the attainment of knowledge, and yet, the first thing that comes to mind is fear instead of admiration. yikers.

“if you are not strong enough, the soul sword will kill you.” this show needs to stop getting my hopes up

“it literally never stops talking.” i love alec with all my heart.

i know i shouldn’t but it’s so funny that they keep referring to simon as ‘it’

“my father is valentine.” cue matchstick running. 

alec is the only sane person on this team. how is he the only one that doubts clary’s loyalty? i mean, i’ll admit he could have phrased it better, but book!Alec is canon for being straightforward so i’m shrugging it off. jace should’ve been a leetle understanding and for once, i think clary’s reaction towards alec was justified. finding out she’d valentine’s daughter, and then being accused of espionage isn’t a fortunate series of events. but alec is correct in his own right. as head of the institute, he needs to make sure. again, he’s always mindful of the consequences behind his actions. even when simon is kidnapped, he doesn’t act rashly, even though no-one would blame him for sticking an arrow through Raphael for kidnapping Simon. (don’t get me wrong, i love raphael.) but he doesn’t, keeping the accords in mind. they’d all be screwed if they broke the law, and alec would be held responsible.

that’s all folks. tune in tomorrow for episode 3

[pizzacast]

Magician x witch

Steve and Billy went to the same magic school and each choose a different path. While Steve choose to do morden witch kraft, Billy choose something with a little more style, putting on magnificent magic shows.

One day Steve is at a book shop gathering some new reader martial and he’s about to grab s book he sees, but it’s snatched up by someone else. It’s Billy.

“Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington?” He Says with a smirk.

“Yeah it’s me, don’t cream your pants. So..how’s the whole performaning for mortals doing?”

“Pretty good. It’s funny how they’re so easily amused.” Steve sighs a little. “Billy you can become a great witch, warlock even. But you’re...um..”

Billy rolls his eyes. “What? Wasting my talents? Listen pretty boy, being a witch or warlock is just boring. I’m happy with what I do. Here how about you come to one of my shows.” Billy makes a card suddenly appear with an address on it.

“It’s for this kid’s birthday. Usually I don’t do those, but the girl who wants me there seems cool. Her name is El.” Steve takes it and reads the card. He recognizes the address. “I know this place. This is Dustin’s friend.”

“You mean that mortal with the bad teeth you hang around with?” Steve glares at him a little for that remark. “Yeah and I’m already going.” Billy grins. “Great! I’ll see you there.” He gives the book to Steve and whispers in his ear.

“Maybe you can be my lovely assistant.” With that he goes out the shop, leaving the witch with a blush on his face.

For @a-very-harringrove-halloween

[averyrogers83]

Trick or Treat

Title: Trick or Treat Author: @averyrogers83 Warnings: A curse word here and there, fluff, smut, NSFW **18+ Only ** Word Count:  1550 Pairings: Natasha, Wanda, Bucky, Sam (Platonic)  Steve x Reader Square Filled: Spiders Prompt: Witch/Warlock, Apple Orchard/In the cellar Summary: For some reason you agreed to go with Natasha and Wanda to a Halloween party in the middle of nowhere. This was either going to be best Halloween ever or someone might get hurt. A/N: This is purely fictional.  This is for my submission for @little-red-83 #redsspookywritingchallenge and @star-spangled-bingo Bingo Card 

“Tell me again, why I agreed to this” you looked at the garment bag lying on your bed and groaned inwardly. “Oh yeah, because Nat threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t.”

“Not bodily harm.  She just said that you might regret it if you don’t.” Wand replied.

“What’s the difference” you mumbled.

Wanda just laughed at you and shook her head. “You’re such a drama queen.”

“Yeah...well you still love me anyway.” you yelled as she walked back to her room to finish getting ready.

You really didn’t want to go to this party.  You had a long shitty day at work and all you wanted to do was sit on the couch and gorge yourself on Halloween candy and binge watch reality tv.  Oh but no, Nat had other plans for you.  She had told you about this party weeks ago and even suggested that she go and pick up the costumes so you could come straight home and get ready.  

You knew it was going to be a losing battle so you just resigned and went to your bedroom where you found that bag from MJ’s costume Emporium.  You exhale the breath you had been holding and stare at the garment bag once more.  You decide you like being in the land of the living even if your life sucked, so you suck it up and start getting ready.  

Once you’ve showered, fixed your hair and makeup you open the bag.  Figures leave it to Natasha Romanoff to get you a witch costume. You can hear Nat and Wanda talking in the living room, but couldn’t make out what they were saying until Nat yelled at you.  “Come on, move your ass!”

“Fine!” You yell back.

You get dressed, grab your purse and keys and head out the door.  “Let’s go you two before I change my mind.”  

They drove a couple hours outside the city to Clint’s place. You’d never been there before but he had several acres of land.  The house sat in the middle of the land and what you made out as an apple orchard surrounding it.  On a normal day in the daylight you were sure it looked normal and beautiful, but tonight it had an ominous feel to it.  

Clint was in the kitchen mixing some kind of crazy concoction together as he talked to Sam and Bucky when the three of you walked in.  You noticed that Sam was dressed as a vampire much like Wanda, Bucky and Sharon were pirates, Thor was dressed like a priest and Jane a nun, while Clint was Robin Hood and Nat Maid Marion.  It was undeniable that this was all planned out as a couples costume party, unfortunately you were there alone. There was no ying to your yang.  You tried not to think about the fact that you didn’t have a costume partner, nor that the one person you had hoped would be there wasn’t.  

Soon the room felt claustrophobic, yet alone.  You felt flushed and out of breath, you needed to leave, needed air so you snuck out and walked out amongst the trees.  The cool air on your skin was a welcome change. The sweet smell of apple filled the air as you continued your walk.  You just kept walking with no clear destination in mind until the cold night air sent shivers down your spine and you headed back to the house.  Problem was you weren’t paying attention to where you were going and you got lost from wandering too far into the orchard.  

With no way to call for help you begin to panic.  Fear of being stuck out in the cold all night overrode your senses.  How could you have been so stupid to wander around without your phone or even your coat. You were sure you’d freeze to death.  As you wandered in the direction you thought you came from you found a cellar.  Inside you found a wood burning stove and a pile of firewood next to it.  

You made quick work at getting a fire going, the warmth quickly removing the chill from your bones.  If you had to you could wait out the night in the cellar till morning and then you’d be able to find your way back to the house.  You just hoped that the others wouldn’t worry about where you had gone.  

The flames from the fire were mesmerizing and you soon find yourself so lost in thought you didn’t realize that someone else had entered the cellar until you heard the crash making you jump up screaming as you looked for a weapon to defend yourself. When you realize who it was you lowered your weapon.  

“Fuck Steve you scared the shit out of me.”

“Y/N...I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean too.”

“How the hell did you know I was in here?”

“I saw you leaving the house and decided to follow you.  I lost you for a bit in the orchard, but then I saw you head down here.”  Steve chuckled as he looked at you.

“What’s so funny?” you glared at him.  Apparently scaring you half to death was amusing to him.

“Nothing” As he burst out laughing. “It’s a good thing I wasn’t some kind of killer clown or something, because I don’t know how effective that…*ahem* toy would have been.”

You look down at your hands and realized what it was that you grabbed to defend yourself with and began laughing hysterically.

“Ew, gross...why the hell...you know what never mind, I don’t even want to know”  you tossed your weapon aside.

The fire was beginning to die out so Steve moved to feed the fire.  As he grabbed a log he let out a girly scream.  

“Steve, what’s wrong...what?”

“Spiders...I fuckin’ hate spiders.”

You had to bite your lip to keep from howling out in laughter.  “Aw, you need me to protect you from the big bad spider Steve?” you teased.  

Steve just glared at you as he stood up and closed the gap between you. “You’re going to pay for laughing at me.”

“Oh really, and what are you going to do about it?”

Before you could utter a sound Steve captured your lips with his.  His teeth nipping at your bottom lip as his tongue darted out and pushed it’s way past your parting lips.  His left hand pulled at the top of your dress exposing allowing him to gently squeeze your breast and pinch your nipple.

You pulled away gasping for air as you tried to catch you breath.  You could already feel the wetness between your legs as your heart raced.  You were trying to make sense of what was happening, but your head was spinning and you couldn’t think straight.  

He leaned down and kissed you once again, but this time he was more gentle, but with the same intense hunger.  He lifted you up and sat you on the table as his tongue continued to explore every inch of each of your mouth till you had to pull away to catch your breath.  Damn this man knew how to kiss.  If he could make you this wet just by kissing you, you could only imagine what it would be like having him between your legs.  

As if he could read your mind he dropped to his knees and in one swift motion rid you of your panties.  You bit your bottom lip as the two of you locked eyes. You drowning in the ocean of blue while he kissed your inner thigh.

You weren’t sure how got to the point, with your head still spinning, but before you knew it he was pushing his hardened member through your slick folds causing a low moan to escape your lips.

So many  nights  you had dreamt of this, having him buried deep inside you as you raked your fingernails over his skin leaving red welts on his back.  You heard him grunt and moan in your ear as he trusted himself deeper and faster inside you.  You threw your head back allowing him suck on the nap of your neck, he thrust his hips into your harder as he gently bit down on the nap of you neck causing your to cry out his name as you clench your walls around him as the two of you came, your orgrasim crashing down around you as your juices mixed together.

Coming down for your high, Steve kissed your forehead and smiled.  “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time Y/N.”

“Me too” you stammered.

“Was it as good as you thought it’d be?”

“Better…..way better” you smiled. “We should probably get back to the party”

As the two of your got redressed you finally noticed Steve’s costume.  Warlock.  She had this planned all along, you’d definitely have to thank Natasha for making you come tonight.  

As the two of you walked hand in hand back to the house you started to laugh out loud.  

“What?” Steve looked at you puzzled.

“Remind me to ask Clint why the fuck was there a hulk sized flesh light in the cellar.”  

“Something tells me that’s a story for another time.” Steve laughed.  

@little-red-83​ @shield-agent78​ @chuuulip​ @hotoffthepressfics​ @buckysforeverprincess​ @ellaprime68​ @dj-lowkey​ @mychemicalimagines​ @drakelover78​ @patzammit​ @caramell0w​ 

[milkcartonbastard]

Wide Eyes

Fandom and Pairing- The Outsiders (Johnny X Dally and background Steve X Soda.)

Notes- The setting is modern times. I use the word 'Fae' as the plural form of Fairy. This was a request and I know I haven't been taking them for this fandom, but it was a lot and I was blown away.

This is a Mythical Creature AU that I am living for.

Warnings- Johnny's home abuse and attempted murder. As well as Dally's New York experience. There's violence towards the end. Language warning too. Leave comments, please. I love hearing from you all.

~~~

  The fan hanging from the ceiling of the Curtis living room hummed loudly in the gang's ears. There was a frequent swishing sound coming from Two-Bit flicking his switch blade around, his eyes locked on the black television screen. The gang was getting restless and sweating profusely. It was the end of Spring and it was already one of the hottest Summer's in Tulsa. Which was fitting, because the Curtis brother's were behind on their bills, causing their power to be cut off. Darry had the money to pay the bill, which had been doubled in order to be reactivated, but had to wait until Monday when the City Court House was open and accepting over-due payments.

  Steve had been generous enough to use his abilities to hook up a system that caused the fan to move without electricity. But it was slow and just moved the hot-air around and caused the sweat-fall to worsen. Steve was good at things like that, but that was his gift after all. Steve's mother was a witch and had passed her genes down to him. He had a natural sway- one that didn't require spells, of course he could still do those too- over fire and mechanics, which was fortunate considering the only place that would hire him was the DX down the road from his place. He worked on cars during the hottest parts of the day and then came home at night to relax. But it was never very relaxing, considering his step-dad was a piece of shit and always trying to push him around and control his life. He was a warlock, like Steve, but his power must have been bitterness, because Steve had never seen him do anything useful in his life.

  Steve's magic was pretty superior to other warlocks he knew, which was not many, at least that's what he believed. He knew of his step-dad, some prick at school who loved to make strong breezes blow girl's skirts up, and Johnny Cade. Johnny kept his powers more concealed than Steve had ever been able to. He'd only seen Johnny use his abilities once and it was against some psycho who had flicked his knife out at the gang. If it hadn't been an emergency- also a situation where the Curtis brothers weren't there- he would have been sure Johnny still wouldn't have used them. It was an incredibly strange thing to see, which said a lot considering Steve had know the Curtis brothers his entire life. Johnny's black colored eyes expanded until you could no longer see any of the whites of his eyes and his voice sounded like it was under water.

  "Sleep." Johnny had gently placed his hands on either side of the man's greasy face and then the man had fallen unconscious as soon as the word's left Johnny's lips. Steve had known Johnny was a warlock, but seeing that had just shocked him as much as not knowing would have. Two-Bit had been there with them and had told the rest of the gang about it as soon as he'd seen them again, changing his face and acting it out for the Curtis brothers, who were having an 'inside' night. Everyone had patted Johnny on the back and told him he'd done a good job. He'd smiled only slightly, but his rosy cheeks gave away how thrilled he was.

  "Alright. Fuck this. It's hotter in here than it is outside! Surely we can find something to do outside." Two-Bit whined and stood up. He pulled his chuck's on and laced them up. Nobody moved to stand up or put their own Converse on.

  "I don't know, Two. It's hot and I've heard some rumor's going around about some Hunter's in the area. Maybe we should just stay in and lay low." Darry said. At the mention of Creature Hunter's, Pony's eyes left the homework he was doing off to the side and flickered across his oldest brother's face. Their parents had been caught a couple years back and had been terminated, which had prompted Darry to raise his brothers and the three other boys since. The Hunters had never gotten a possible ID match, which meant their parent's bodies had been too mangled to identify. That was a good thing- an impossibly horrifying thing- because that meant the three Curtis brothers were safe. For now.

  Two-Bit sighed heavily, his knees buckling to the floor in front of the oldest boy's feet. He pressed his palms and fingers together, his bottom lip jutting out and quivering slightly, begging Darry for some freedom. "But it's so nice out. We can go play in the park and you can chase all the cars you want. Please? You can't say no to this face."

  "Yes, I can. No, Two-Bit." Darry stated firmly. He leaned back in his recliner, his shirt soaked in sweat. Two-Bit groaned and thought for a second. A split second later, he stood up and his face had changed. Barack Obama was now standing in the Curtis house. He smiled charmingly at Darry and fixed the tie that was laying perfectly with his navy blue suit.

  "Well. Certainly we can work something out. Come now, the President of the United States Of America has decided we are going to the park." Barack Obama fixed his cuff-links as he strolled to the door. Johnny was quick to shut the door, kicking the bottom while sitting on the floor nearby. Johnny would hate for someone walking by the house to see the President looking through the screen door. Obama stopped in his tracks and suddenly the Shift was gone. Two-Bit stood with a defeated look on his face.

   "What if we all just go out and grab a bite to eat. If we open your fridge with all this heat, who knows what will happen?" Two-Bit was deflating, already going to take his shoes off.

  "Fine. We'll go out for a little. But no Shifting, no magic, and no wolfing out. 'Hershey bars' is the code if you see anything suspicious or if something happens. You all know the drill." Darry grabbed his shoes and Soda hopped off the couch and went to grab a shirt. Two-Bit fist punched the air as they all got ready. It was around 6pm and he was ready for some fun. Of course, the Dairy Queen wouldn't be a blast, but he knew milkshakes would be involved.

  Pony flipped his Calculus book closed and grabbed his shoes out from underneath the couch. The ceiling fan came to a complete stop, Steve's magic had stopped working and his red eyes faded back to their whisky brown. Soda came sauntering in, wearing one of Steve's cut up thrift store shirts. It had been carelessly cast onto the floor earlier when he and Steve had disappeared into his room. Pony was very glad that he'd decided to get his own space and move out of his brother's room, cause he was sure he would have had to change his sheets.

  Steve and Soda stood by the door with Johnny and Two-Bit. Pony stood up and brushed the cookie crumbs off his pants. Darry was tying his boots up and everyone waited patiently by the door. Soon enough, Darry was shutting the door to the house and they were piling into the Curtis's beat up red truck. Two-Bit got shotgun, and since it was a stick shift and Darry couldn't change gears without hitting the knees of whoever sat between him and Two, the other four boys piled into bed.

  By the time they got to Dairy Queen, the boys were no longer sweating and their damp of their clothes had dried. Pony and Johnny were sat crisscross beside each other and talking amongst themselves. Steve was sitting with his back against the cab window and Soda was laid in his lap, staring up at the clothes and pointing every now and then as they drove.

  Johnny felt a strange twisting in his gut. Steve's fingers were carding through Soda's wheat-gold hair. Steve wasn't looking up at the sky, only at Soda's pretty face. Johnny wanted that. He wanted someone to stare at him like he was the stars. Like he was the only beautiful thing in the world to them. He'd used to like Ponyboy, then he'd gained a small crush on a girl up the street- Malia Smith was pretty, but her personality was like pouring salt in an open wound- and then he'd ignored his feelings for anyone until they had all just faded away. Pony was nothing more than a really good best friend and Johnny had decided he'd wanted it no other way.

  "What kinda milkshake do you want? I feel like it's a strawberry kinda day for me." Pony said. Johnny felt a smile spread across his face. He only loved one type of milkshake from Dairy Queen and everyone knew that. Pony's face twisted up. "Peanut butter, again? Gross."

  "It's delicious, thank you very much. One day you're going to be in a peanut butter mood and you're going to be telling me how wrong you were all these years." Johnny's face got hot and he laughed softly. "Whenever you concur your peanut allergy, that is."

  Johnny and Pony both started laughing hysterically. Two-Bit heard this, which prompted him to unbuckle his seat belt and open the beer-window. He asked the two what was so funny. It took a full minute before either boy was able to compose themselves enough to answer him.

  "Pony's the only werewolf I know wuh-who is allergic to peanuts." Johnny felt laughter bubble up inside of him again and then the silent laughter fit took over. Two-Bit snorted and watched the two teens.

  "Yeah! I thought dogs were supposed to like peanut butter! What a-" Two-Bit was being dragged back into the cab and hit in the back of the head by Darry. Two-Bit cackled and just like that, the family was pulling into Dairy Queen and parking. It was almost empty, save for a few people at the drive-in and a couple people getting carry out orders. Darry led his motley crew of creatures into the restaurant. They all got milkshakes, minus Soda who decided he wanted a cookie dough blizzard instead. They payed and went outside to hang around at the tables. They laughed and swapped shakes occasionally. Nobody but Darry drank any of Johnny's peanut butter shake, meanwhile Soda wouldn't share his blizzard with anyone but Steve.

  "Well if it isn't my favorite mutt. How ya been Horseman?" Curly Shepard hopped the little neat gate around the outside eating area. He clapped his hand on Pony's shoulder and stole a sip of his milkshake.

  "Sweaty. What about you?" Pony snatched his shake back and Curly grabbed a nearby chair. He spun it around and sat with the chair back against his stomach.

  "Fan-fucking-tastic. I found this awesome hangout for ya know- people like us- and figured y'all could use a new club-house since yours no longer has air-conditioning." Curly grinned lopsidedly. His dark eyes stuck out against his pale-white face. His curly black hair was getting shaggy now, almost as long as Pony's. But Pony had tied his back in a small bun today, since it was too hot to have that mess in his face.

  "Sounds shady. Any Hunter could waltz in at anytime. That's a trap with a beacon attached." Darry shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest. His muscles jutted out of his tank top, causing him to look a lot more defined than usual. The tan that he'd gotten a week earlier was helping too.

  "Nah, this cat had a glamour Cast on the place. Only our kind can really see the place. It makes normal eyes just glide over it. A Hunter's worst nightmare. I'm heading down there right now. All kinds and species are welcome. Come with. All y'all." With that Curly stood up and pushed his chair back where it came from.

  "Who is this guy? He could be a Hunter for all we know." Steve had his arms crossed too. Pony glanced over and noticed Johnny's closed eyes. What was he doing?

  "Show up and find out." Curly started to walk away, grinning widely, but that grin faltered quickly and he stopped moving. He walked closer to the table and started to speak again. It sounded like words were being pulled from his body.

  "His name's Buck Merril, he's an Elf and part of a sm- small resistance. His goal is to get a bunch of our kuh-kind together and let us interact. He thinks it'll make us all stronger if anything ever happens in Tulsa and - ugh, what the fuck!- and we'll know each other good enough to want to stand together." Curly's mouth snapped closed and he was breathing hard, his cheeks puffing in and out. His mouth opened, he snapped it shut, then it opened again. "Other than that he just wants to party."

  Just like that, whatever was pulling the information from him stopped and his body relaxed. Curly cleared his throat and shook his head, like he was shaking an intrusive thought away. "The club is on the East side, in the middle of Blossom Street. Can't miss it, it's got a Elvish symbol carved on the door. Only we can see it. See ya fuckers there."

  Curly finally left that time and the table was dumbfounded. Two-Bit was the first one to speak up. His poster was loose and he had a giant smile on his face, but his grey eyes were stormy. "Anybody want to go for a Hershey bar? There's some good ones down the street."

   "That was me. No chocolate needed." Johnny whispered. Soda's head snapped around, a look of amazement on his face.

  "What did you do to him? He looked like he was going to shit himself!" Soda's mouth tugged into a smile and Steve snorted.

  "I just made him give us some more information. It didn't hurt him, it's just that he was fighting back a little. Happens." Johnny sunk down in his chair and slurped his milkshake. His face was a little bit rosy, but it wasn't the sun. He'd used his powers for the first time in a while, which shocked both him and the others.

  "Alright, well, I am willing to bet my fur that 'Buck's' place has air-conditioning. I say we check it out." Soda sat his empty blizzard cup down on the table. Steve rested his arm across Soda's shoulder and nodded along. Darry worried his bottom lip and looked at the other three. They all shrugged and nodded their heads.

  "Alright then. Codeword is the same and so are the rules. If we don't want to go back after tonight, we do have to. We'll just check the place out." Darry stood up and gathered his trash. They all threw away their garbage and loaded the truck up. They picked up Curly on their way, since he was trying to walk in the heat. Curly had his head stuck through the beer-window and was giving Darry directions.

~~~~

  When they arrived at Buck's, they were immediately caught off-guard. The place was crunched between to shabby looking houses and was... kind of crooked. From the way Curly was talking about the place, it was a mansion with golden windows and door-handles. None of them had expected this run-down bar to be the destination. Curly clapped his hands down on Darry and Two-Bit's shoulders.

  "It only gets better from here. Let's go, boy!" Curly ruffled Darry's hair and pointed at the building. Darry smacked his hand away. Annoyance clearly on his face.

  "Once more wolf joke and I swear-"

  "You'll what? Bite me?" Curly yanked his head out of the cab before Darry could do anything. The gang unloaded and followed Curly Shepard to the door. He placed his hand over the Elvish symbol on wooden surface and the door swung open, letting them in. The place looked like shit from the outside looking in. As soon as they had crossed under the doorframe though, everything blurred with movement.

  The 10ft by 10ft room with dusty walls and shitty looking bar tables changed. The room was giant now, stretching way open like a high school gymnasium. Large chandeliers, dripping crystals, hung a good 15 foot off the floor in replacement of the one naked lightbulb that had been there. The cracked tiled floor became marble and perfect. There wasn't a speck of dirt on the shiny floor and the gang wasn't prepared to see people appear out of nowhere. Soon the music reached their ears and they noticed all the people dancing. All the Creatures dancing.

  "Holy shit." The entire gang's mouths were hanging open. Curly had changed along with the room. He had two, dark, ruby, colored horns poking out of his messy curls and bending backwards. His demonic features were showing and Darry almost panicked. Curly's cheek bones were jutted out and looked like they could cut someone. His tongue was forked and he had dark fingernails. He gestured to the room and grinned at the six of them.

  "Welcome to Paradise. All Glamors and magic disguises get removed at the door- since we're free to be ourselves here. Buck will probably come and introduce himself to you all." A girl came sashaying out of a section of people. She was all curves and long, white, hair. She had a set of shimmering, butterfly looking wings, sprouting from her back and pink tattoos wrapping her exposed, chocolate colored, skin. She wrapped her fingers around Curly's horns and tugged him down to kiss aggressively. She was pulling him into the crowd and he was wrapping his hands around her waist. He struggled out a 'behave' before disappearing completely.

  "Are we going to get a welcoming like that?" Two asked, incredulously. He laughed, smacked Darry in the chest with the back of his hand, and disappeared into the crowd. Darry rolled his eyes.

  "We can split up if you want. I think- I think we'll be okay here." With that, Darry disappeared into the crowd of people too. Steve and Soda coupled off and started dancing along with the other groups of people. Pony and Johnny stayed together.

  "No offense, but if a Pixie grabs me too, you can count me as good as gone." Pony shouted over the music. They were making their way through the crowd, looking around. Johnny laughed softly, no sound so much as his shoulders moving up and down.

  "I'll probably just awkwardly stand next to you two." Johnny really laughed as Pony's cheeks and the tops of his ears went red. Something solid collided with Johnny and he stumbled backwards. The literal troll that he had bumped into caught his arm and steadied him.

  "Sorry, I wasn't watching wear I was going. My bad," Johnny looked up at seven or eight foot troll. His skin was a mossy, green color and was like thick hide, sort of like a pig. He had two large teeth poking out of his mouth. They were a pearly white color, like the whites of his eyes. His iris's were a pale yellow. He waved Johnny off.

  "Happens all the time, kid. Your first time here?" He asked. Johnny nodded and the troll gave him a smile. "Well, my name's Phillip. Nice to meet you, kid. What are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "Warlock. My name's Johnny, by the way."

  "Well, Johnny, my advice to you is to hit up the pool. The merfolk love to be in the company of warlock's. They're pretty friendly, if you get my flow. Have fun, Johnny." Phillip took a big swig of his cup- which looked more like a bowl- and left Johnny alone. Johnny stood in the middle of the room, looking around at all the different creatures. He could see centaurs, trolls, goblins, Fairy folk (Fae), Elves, and some he couldn't even name. He felt a rush of excitement fall over him. He went to hit Ponyboy's arm in excitement, but realized he must have been washed away in the sea of people. Johnny didn't feel anxious to be without one of his friends. After all, he had no reason to be scared right now.

  Johnny was in a building full of people just like him. He wasn't in school surrounded by normal kids. He was in a room full of people like him, which meant he was the new normal. For the first time in his life, Johnny thought about the fact that here, he wasn't a freak. He was normal- he was himself. Johnny felt his muscles loosen up and he began to move through the crowd again.

  For the first time that night, he noticed that little lanterns and tiny houses were strung up on the ceiling. If he looked close enough, he could see Pixies- which were in their normal form, that was roughly the size of a dragonfly- flying around and going in and out of the houses. If he listened hard enough, he could almost hear the soft buzzing sound their wings made- sort of like a hummingbird's wings.

  "Hi, there. Who might you be?" A sweet voice brought his thoughts back to the ground and not to the tiny village floating above him. The voice belonged to a very attractive Fairy. She didn't have any wings, but he still knew she what she was. She was gorgeous and had fire red hair. Gold markings were beside her emerald eyes and she smelled like lavender. She giggled when she caught Johnny staring. She wet her bottom lip and grabbed Johnny's hand. She started dragging him forwards. He followed, absolutely dumbstruck that anything as beautiful as her would even look at him.

  When they broke out of the crowd, she pulled him into another nearby room, which Johnny was shocked to see. This place was even bigger than he'd originally thought. Wow.

  The look of this room was far different than the room in the front. There was wallpaper with little naked Cherub babies on it and clouds with naked men and women sitting atop of them. The floor was grassy and he could hear a stream trickling from rock to rock. The grass looked real and Johnny was almost positive it was. The ceiling looked like the starry, night, sky. Johnny could pick out Jupiter and its moons, but that was about it. More Fae and Pixies were sitting in the room, at the base of trees and in the knee-high grass. Johnny saw Two-Bit was off in the corner, telling jokes and shapeshifting as he told the story. One second he was Elvis, then the next he was Kim Kardashian and Johnny was clueless as to how those two people were interactable.

  The Fairy girl was still pulling Johnny along. She looked as though she was headed to the big tree in the back of the room, by the wall. The tree had a hole in it, which a pearly liquid was dripping steadily from. There were Fae and an Elf or two sitting around that tree. They were all beautiful and despite Johnny feeling like he wasn't a freak in this place, he started feeling very self-conscious.

  "Drink with us." The girl dipped a piece of bowl shaped piece of bark into the liquid and held it out to Johnny. "You just look so lonely."

  Johnny thought about that story, Tuck Everlasting, that he'd had to read in 5th grade. But that Fountain of Youth and Immortality had come from a spring in the ground, not a nut-hole in a tree. The girl giggled, which sounded high-pitched and like wind-chimes. A male Fairy with brown and white feathery wings started to run his fingers through Johnny's hair and giggled too. Surely one drink wouldn't be so bad? If he didn't like it, he wouldn't drink any more of it.

  Johnny gently took the bark-bowl from her and went to put it to his lips. Before he had time to, it was being jerked from his grasp and thrown into the little lake of pearly liquid at the base of the tree. Before Johnny knew what was going on, an arm was around his shoulder and he was being led away from the tree and the people there.

  They were all laughing and giggling hysterically. Johnny felt a clarity, he didn't know he had lost, return to his mind and he turned back around to look at them. They were not Fae, nor were they Elves. They were Dark Pixies, standing there with scarred and torn dragonfly wings. They were not nearly as beautiful as Johnny had believed either, which made his gut clench. He was a Warlock with the ability of illusions and mind control. How was he not able to realize somebody was literally using powers like his own against him? Shame knotted up in his gut.

  "Dark Pixies are trouble makers. All of them. I'd give them a piece of my mind if I really thought it would do any good. They're just so damn- pesky." The person leading him away from the Pixies was talking, but Johnny hadn't realized that there was a person leading him away. When he finally caught back up in the situation, Johnny's eyes wondered over to try and see who had knocked the drink- if there even was a drink- away from his lips.

  Johnny had not been prepared, at all, to see the most beautiful guy he'd ever seen to be beside him. He was obviously a Fairy, since Johnny could see his pointed ears poking out from underneath his shaggy white hair and some Fairy tattoos circling his left wrist and disappearing at his forearm. He had the iciest  blue eyes that Johnny had ever seen.

  Even with those couple features, it should have been impossible for any more of him to be attractive, but his cheek and jaw bones were chiseled and hard. If he stood still for a long period of time- Johnny was sure he could pass for the most gorgeous work of art to ever exist. Just like before, Johnny felt the need to curl in on himself.

  "What kind of non-Fae, moron, are you? Didn't your parents every teach you about Fairy Drink?" The guy stopped guiding the two of them when they reached a kitchen-esque area. Food was piled high- like there was a catering job going on. The Fairy fixed his blazing eyes on Johnny and he felt breathless.

  "Uh-well- I... no. What's a Fairy Drink?" Johnny felt his face get hot. The Fairy's eyes softened a little, but only for a millisecond.

  "It can only be ingested by Fae and Fae alone. Anyone else, even the strongest of Pixies and whatever the fuck else, either goes insane or dies. Most of the time both." Johnny's throat went dry. Those Pixies were trying to kill him? What did he ever do to them? Johnny had never met any other Creatures beside the ones in the gang and the Shepard family. Were they just plain old bullies, or did they have a grudge against warlocks in particular? Certainly that couldn't have been it. They didn't know Johnny was a warlock. He could have been a vampire, werewolf, or even a wendigo for all they knew.

  "I can clearly see you overthinking this, Kid. Don't take it personal. Those assholes feed off of mischief and, apparently, attempted murder." The guy crossed his arms over his chest and heat flared in Johnny's stomach. He had toned arms, sort of like the in-between stage of Steve and Soda. Johnny offered a weak smile.

  "Thanks for helping me out back there. I'm Johnny Cade." Johnny stuck his hand out to the taller of the two. A large grin appeared on his face.

  "Johnny Cake?" He chuckled softly. Before Johnny could correct him, he had clapped their hands together. "Well, Johnny Cake, I'm Dallas Winston. You can call me Dally, since I did save your life."

  Dallas tossed his arm over Johnny's shoulder and led him toward the giant refrigerator. He opened the door and motioned to all kinds of drinks. "What's your poison? Animal blood, human blood, lactose free milk- whatever the hell that is-, or some actual poison?"

  "Water is fine. But, thanks." Johnny swiped a water-bottle and cracked the seal. He took a few drinks to unclog his throat. Dally leaned back against a counter. He was looking at Johnny with a curious gaze, something Johnny fidgeted heavily under. He could feel those blue eyes trailing over the puffy scar on his cheek. His father had given him that. He'd slung a glass cup across the room, sending it splintering and cutting across his ten year old's face. He hadn't meant to, Johnny had thought then and still believed. He was drunk and had no idea he could actually hit his only son. Surely.

  "Alright, Johnny Cake. Help me put together the puzzle on what kind of Creature you are. Vampires would never turn down blood and I highly doubt you're a werewolf. If you were, of course, that scar on your cheek would never have happened. It would have just healed. Of course, you could let it scar over if you were a werewolf, but most don't. Even then, you wouldn't have such dark circles under your eyes. Werewolves sleep like the dead." Dally's crossed arms flexed a little.

  "I'm a warlock."

  "Really? And if I were to say I don't believe you?" There was a mischievous glint in Dally's eyes. He wanted Johnny to show him his powers. Johnny nibbled at his bottom lip. He had never shown his power off to anyone before. Not even Ponyboy, who had been his best friend for many years. Was he really going to show an almost-stranger his powers because he was cute?

  Yeah. Sounded about right.

  Johnny closed his eyes- a habit he had when he did use his magic- and held his left fist up. He felt the gentle sensation of his magic wrap around his chest. It felt sort of like someone was hugging him softly, which is a reason he used it when he felt scared or lonely. The magic made him feel like someone was there with him.

  He felt a fluttering in his hand and he opened his eyes to see if he had made the right thing. Sure enough, when he opened his fist, a white butterfly with the same dark purple markings that Dally had was fluttering into the air. Dally's hand shot out and grabbed it. When he opened his own palm up, a little sticker with the words 'Good Job!' was all that was there. A lopsided grin spread across his face.

  "Cool trick. Your parents teach you that one?" He asked. Johnny opened his mouth to tell Dallas that his parents were both normal and despised anything that wasn't human, but he opted to just mention that he learned it himself. Dally's eyes flickered up to Johnny's and he saw the surprise in those icy irises.

  Dallas moved forward and cupped Johnny's face gently. The pad of his thumb was rough as he ran it over Johnny's right cheek- the one without a scar- and made gooseflesh rise to his skin.

  "Your eyes don't look like any other warlock's I know. Usually the color changes, but I've never seen fully black eyes. The whites just completely disappear... which parent did you say had magic?"

  "Oh, uh, my paren-"

  "Let's go, Johnny. It's late and we all got to get back." Steve and Soda had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, which made Johnny jump. Dallas let his hand fall and had backed up. Soda's eyes narrowed slightly, but he hid that before the Fairy could see.

  "See you next time, Johnny Cake. Watch out for those pesky little shits." Dally pushed himself off the counter he had immediately gone to lean on and started to walk off. He turned around to eye Sodapop for a second, which Johnny could tell Steve did not enjoy. "All the food here is free to take with you. The third shelf has plenty of protein for those... rough nights."

  As soon as Dally left the room, Soda was eyeing the fridge like it was a party trick. Johnny opened the fridge and grabbed a pack of soft, pink, meat. He tossed it in Soda's direction and Soda tucked it under his arm. Tonight was one of those nights, in about an hour and the Curtis brothers had to be home.

  Usually on their transformation nights, one of the gang wouldn't stay at the house and make sure all three of them stayed in the basement. Steve was going tonight, since it was his old man's birthday and he didn't want to be at his own place. Johnny was tempted to stay and go find Dallas, but he knew that the heat of walking home would suck, even in the dark. He joined Steve and Soda and they went to get the others.

~~~~

  In the couple months since the gang had discovered the Haven that was Buck Merril's, they had been back more times than they could count. It was something about the pulsing of the music and the way they were free to look and act like themselves was the most freeing thing they had ever experienced. Two-Bit had made a dozen of friends and he'd gotten on Buck's good side.

  Buck Merril was one of the few Elves that resided at the club. He'd come from New York with one of his kid-friends. Buck had deep and angry looking scars that ran down his face and neck. They weren't from a fight with another Creature or an angry honey badger. He'd gotten them from a group of Hunters, which was the reason he'd left New York all together. Him and his best friend's little brother had gotten caught and tortured before they eventually got away. Johnny had heard the story three times now, but each time made his stomach twist.

  The first time he'd heard it, the Curtis brothers had been with him. He couldn't imagine the thoughts running through their heads. Were they thinking about their parents? Were they wondering if it had been quick? Maybe they were just thinking about what could happen to the gang if they were caught. Whatever was playing in their minds, Johnny had never seen such anguish on his family's faces. He hated it.

  Tonight wasn't a night they were going to Buck's though. It was around midnight and Johnny was laying on his bed. He couldn't sleep, so he was laying on his back, staring at the palm of his hand. He'd already knew that he had natural powers over minds and illusions, but he hadn't realized how much he could do without spells. It was kind of like how Steve had manipulation over fire and mechanics, but he needed spells for the majority of magic. The only difference was that fire would dance whenever Steve did magic and all Johnny had was a thin layer of black smoke that settled over his palm.

  His magic had been strengthening a lot since he'd met Dally. He'd even managed to get his hands on a spell book. Dallas had been letting him borrow some of them so that Johnny could practice his magic. Which gave Johnny something to do when he couldn't sleep. His parents were arguing in the living room, but Johnny was so used to it that he tuned them out. He guessed they were fighting over something stupid. His dad probably forgot to throw his beer can away or something.

  Johnny was working on a levitation spell, which was kind of complex. Dally had assured him that he could do any magic he wanted, as long as he practiced. So here he was, practicing as best as he could. He had caused the water bottle on his to levitate and then he had gently put it back on the ground. He had been listening to his parents earlier, but as soon as he lifted the bottle and the sensation of a gentle hug encircled him, he'd felt tons better. His magic made him feel safe, so that was another reason he was practicing in his room.

  Johnny closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. He extended his left arm, his palm open and his poster loose. He let the spell words- there were just two of them for such a complex spell- fall from his lips in quiet mummer. He felt that gentle pressure wrap around his chest and hold him softly. For a second, he imagined it was Dallas's arms, and then he felt the unmistakable movement of his target, except it was more than he'd wanted.

  When Johnny opened his eyes- which were completely black- he realized that everything in the room was floating. His dresser and everything on it, the nightstand by his bed, his ratty old Converse, and his bed with him still on top. The bottom of the curtains in front of his bedroom window were gently floating, almost like they were blowing in the wind. Johnny smiled widely. He was making everything float! He was doing that. It made him feel incredible. He had mastered his first complex spell and he felt like he was floating- er- not in the literal sense.

  Johnny's door swung open and hit the wall. His parents were arguing and his mother was pointing at Johnny over her shoulder. Johnny's black eyes widened and he gasped. "Let's just ask Johnny then! See what he has to think about wha-"

  His parents stopped arguing. They were deadly quiet, in fact. Johnny dropped his arm, the dark air in his palm vanished, and everything crashed to the ground. It rattled the house, shaking the Cade family to their cores.

  "What the fuck were you doing?" James Cade's eyes narrowed to slits, his fists clenching together tightly. His mother had her hand grasping her mouth, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears. She was afraid. Johnny was watching his mom with wide eyes, but he had been too focused on her.

  A fist smashed against the left side of his face. It hurt too much for Johnny to be able to pinpoint exactly where he'd been hit. Johnny's eyes immediately began to water, despite his previous experience with being hit in the face. A hand wrapped up in his white t-shirt, dragging him by it. His father was leading him to the living room. He was yelling something, but Johnny was too focused on the pain in his cheek.

  Why did this have to happen? He'd been so happy, he'd felt so good in those few seconds. But like always, as soon as he had a peaceful and genuinely happy moment- it turned to shit. Johnny was thrown to the floor, barely even inside of the living room. His mother was silent, but words and spittle were still flowing from his father's mouth.

  Johnny must have been asked a question that he didn't hear, because a fist collided with his face again, his nose giving another sickening crunch. This was about the third time his nose had been broken and two of the times it had been his father's doing. Johnny wanted to sob.

  "I asked you a question! How long? How long has your soul been sold to the Devil?" James was hovering over his son, his beady eyes were small and hollow. His mother was still quiet, lurking in the shadows with her hand covering her mouth in shock.

  "You... did this! Not me! I was born thi-"

  Johnny's father didn't even let him finish before he was boxed in the ear. One punch. Johnny's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear the words being bellowed at him. He could barely see anything for the blood covering his face and the tears in his eyes.

  James stood up and stormed away. This was it? No more punches and no more broken bones? This was one of the easier beatings Johnny had taken. This was nothing compared to the time he'd broken one of the good China plates his mom had used for Christmas. That had been the first time his nose had been broken and his arm. Johnny didn't think he'd ever seen the gang that mad, besides when he'd shown up with a deep cut on his face, which had needed stitches.

  Johnny had never dreamed his parents had ever really wanted to hurt him. Sometimes he deserved it, since he was a problem child. They had just been trying to shape him for the real world, but they just had a difficult way of doing it. He knew his mom would smack him every now and then, but it was more the liquor than it was her. His dad was just angry all the time and Johnny perfered him to hit his son than his wife.

  Johnny had made plenty of excuses over the years for the abuse. He'd truly believed it was him and not his parents. It was hard raising a kid and it made parents tense. Being too tense causes people to snap. Little snaps was all it was, but as soon as he saw the gun in his father's hands, he realized that was not it at all.

  His father was sick in the head. He had to have been, to pull a gun on his only child.

  "No child of mine will be a freak. No son of ours will be a monster." His dad spit the words out at Johnny. He was cowering on the floor, but as soon as his dad cocked the gun and put his finger on the trigger, he felt something. Instead of a gentle hug wrapping around his chest, it felt like a punch crashing against his breastbone. Johnny screamed and his dad went flying across the room, the gun going off and the bullet lodging into the floor a few inches from Johnny's head. All of the lights and the windows cracked and shattered, sending shards of glass flying all around the living room.

  It was deadly quiet. His father's head had bounced against the wall, causing his unconscious body to limply slide to the ground. That got his mother's mouth working. She started to sob and wail, walking around Johnny in a large arc. She had a couple thin scratches from the glass on her forearm, causing Johnny's heart to thunder.

  "Mom, are you okay?"

  Her head swiveled quickly- her eyes locking on Johnny. She snarled at him, teeth glinting in the flickering light- the only one that hadn't shattered- above the couch. "You're a monster. A fucking monster!"

  She moved James's body, letting his head rest on her folded legs. She was sobbing, hands on either side of his face. She was talking, but Johnny couldn't hear anything. He was looking down at his hands. How could he have hurt his mom? His mother, who must have been too shocked to stop his father with the gun, hadn't deserved to be hurt. She was scraped up a lot more than he originally thought. Cuts were all over her chest and arms. He could have killed them both.

~~~

  Johnny was crying, blood running from his mouth and nose. It was hot again tonight, but Johnny didn't care. He'd been walking for a while. He'd grabbed his one pair of shoes before he'd ran off. He hadn't known where he was going, only that he didn't want to be home or anywhere nearby. Which canceled out the lot and the Curtis house. He'd text the gang in the morning and hope they wouldn't be too mad at him for not showing up after what happened.

  Johnny wasn't that surprised when he'd found himself at Buck's club. He'd been there a lot in the last couple months and didn't expect it to change anytime soon. He kicked some pebbles around outside of the shitty looking building. Maybe he shouldn't be here. Johnny turned on his heels, turning his back to the busted neon sign that said 'Buck's'. It hadn't been working for a few weeks now. Johnny picked up his feet and started walking again. He could probably crash at the Shepard house.

  "Johnny Cake? That you?" Johnny jumped at the voice. Of course it would be Dallas who would notice him outside. Johnny turned around and looked at him. He was standing on the porch of the club, looking down at the bloody teen with furrowed eyebrows. Dallas couldn't really see Johnny in the darkness of the night, but Johnny could see him. His purple Fairy tattoos were gone, just like his ears. He looked like a normal teenager with a normal face. Nothing too handsome, but nothing too ordinary about him either. It was his Glamour, which had activated as soon as he crossed the threshold to the outside world.

  "Yeah, it's me." Johnny's voice cracked and Dallas jerked his head over his shoulder. Johnny looked at the door behind him, still not sure if he should be here. Dallas sighed and hopped of the porch. His boots crushed the gravel under his feet and he stuck his hand out for Johnny to take. As soon as Dally's eyes focused and he saw all the blood on his face and shirt, a dark look washed over his face.

  "What the fuck happened? Was it Hunters? Did they jump you?" Dallas grabbed Johnny by his shoulders and gently tilted his chin up with his hand. Johnny shook his head and then Dallas was dragging him up the porch steps and into the club. Not too many people were there, but it was still pretty full. Johnny saw Phillip the troll dancing with a troll girl nearby. Bethany, if Johnny remembered correctly.

  Johnny was already trying to hold fresh tears back, keeping his head low and letting Dallas drag him wherever. Dally's hand was wrapped tightly around Johnny's wrist- a lot harder than Johnny thought he meant to.

  Soon enough, Dally had brought them to a bedroom and shut the door behind the two of them. Johnny looked around and saw a mouth guard, the bandage wrapping for fists, and a first aid kit. Pictures of random people and things were stuck in the mirror above the dresser. Dally was in two of the three with people. In one picture, it was of a little Fairy kid with black wings. The kid looked like an angel with the feathers all prim and proper. It seemed to personal for someone to have up in a random room. This was Dally's room. He had brought Johnny to his room. Johnny let out a small sob and Dallas jumped slightly. He released Johnny's wrist and Johnny rubbed it softly.

  Dally's icy blue eyes widened. They looked softer again, much unlike when he was around other people. Johnny was the only one he looked at like that, but Johnny still couldn't process that. "Shit, I didn't realize. What happened to you, man?"

  "My parents. They caught me doing magic in my room. Weren't to happy," Johnny whispered. The words hurt his throat too much to say loudly. Confusion warped across Dallas's face.

  "Why would- why would they be upset about you doing magic?"

  "They're human. They didn't know I wasn't. They hate anyone not like them." Johnny wrapped his arms around himself, shaking slightly. He didn't need to be here right now. He needed to leave. He opened his mouth to offer an apology for inconveniencing Dallas, but what he did say wasn't what he meant to. "They tried to kill me. And I hurt them. I hurt them really bad."

  Dallas didn't need to hear anything else, because he was wrapping his arms around Johnny's thin frame. He could feel the younger teen shaking like a leaf and he held Johnny tightly. Dallas was pissed. More pissed than he had been in a while. He'd never even met Johnny's parents, but he was already ready to break a couple laws.

  "I'm a monster..."

  Dallas shushed Johnny, rocking the two of them softly while standing. Johnny sniffled a couple times and patted Dally's back awkwardly. Dallas let his arms fall to his sides and he pulled a chair away from the wall and patted it. Johnny sat down and Dallas grabbed his first aid kit.

  "Where are you hurt? Just the face?" Dallas asked. Johnny nodded, so Dallas gently took his chin in his grip and tilted his face up. His nose was definitely broken and his eye already had a deep purple and black bruise around it. Dallas was still mad, but that wasn't helping right now. Johnny winced when Dallas tried to wipe the blood falling from his nose. His lip was split too, but it had already stopped bleeding.

  Dallas reached in the kit and grabbed a blue tube of liquid. He handed it to Johnny, who gently took it from Dallas's grasp, like he might hurt the other one. "Drink this. It'll make you feel weird for a second, but you'll be fine after that."

  Johnny wiggled the container, watching the liquid swirl inside. He downed it in one go and Dallas watched him carefully. Johnny didn't feel anything at first, but soon his entire face was tingling violently. This was what Dallas drank after the ring fights, which happened every other week. Buck hosted fights sometimes and people bet on the winner. It was pretty cool to see people fight, when it wasn't Johnny or his parents.

  Dallas wasn't undefeated, but he was closer to that than any of the other fighters. Johnny had been around for about four fights total and Dallas had been in about two of them. Dallas had won them both, when Johnny was there to watch. After the two fighters stopped fighting, they were both given two little blue vials. They healed automatically after that, which was wild to see.

  "You're all fixed up. It got rid of the blood too, so now we just need to get you a different shirt." Dallas said. Johnny looked in the mirror that sat on the dresser. Sure enough, his face wasn't bloody anymore. Johnny gently prodded his no-longer swollen lip and repaired nose. It wasn't even crooked anymore, which had happened from the first two breaks.

  "Thank you. You didn't have to do that." Johnny caught a t-shirt that Dally had thrown at him. Dally motioned for Johnny to give him the other one. Johnny stood up from the chair and tried to pull his shirt off. He was still shaking pretty bad though, his fingers kept trembling and dropping the hem of his shirt.

  A pale pair of hands gently grabbed a hold of the bottom of Johnny's shirt. Dallas spoke in a soft voice, almost a whisper. "Bullshit I didn't have to help. I know what that shit is like and just because nobody really helped me, doesn't mean I can't help you. Suck it up, Cake, it's what friends are for."

  Dallas was gentle, so gentle that Johnny was ready to break down and cry more. Dallas pulled Johnny's shirt over his head, their bodies really close together. Gooseflesh rolled across Johnny's bare skin. It wasn't remotely cold in here, but he could feel Dally's gaze on him and that was enough. Dallas helped Johnny into the clean shirt. Johnny really wasn't expecting Dallas to pull his shirt off, so he almost choked on air when he saw the bare chest of the Fairy.

  Dallas discarded his- also bloody- shirt and tossed it into a hamper in the corner of the room. Johnny's eyes widened and his fingers were already reaching out to trace the tattoos on Dally's back. They were like the ones on his wrists. They were thorn bush vines that circled his waist and curled a little ways up his back. They were the same grape purple as the ones on Dally's wrists. They were really pretty.

  "I've had them since I was little. After a certain age, all Fae get them. Mine and my mom's were the same." Dallas was looking over his shoulder and watching the warmth in Johnny's dark eyes increase. His fingertips were light and gentle, sending shivers up Dally's spine.

  "I've always wanted tattoos, but I don't think mine could ever be as pretty as these." Johnny gave a small smile and Dallas watched him in the mirror. Johnny was mesmerized, tracing each and every vine and thorn. He wished he was Fae, just for the tattoos, honestly.

  Johnny was silent as he traced them. Dallas didn't seem to mind, which made sense. They were friends and that's what friends do. They are comfortable around each other.

  Friends do not do this. They don't trace each others shirtless bodies or stand as close as we are right now. All I have to do is move half and inch and I'll be pressed against him. Johnny thought the words, but as quick as they arrived, they left.

  There were thick, pink scars on Dallas's back. They were raised above the skin and looked jagged. Johnny's fingers left the tattoos and traveled to the two, long, thick, and puffy scars that were on Dallas's back. They started a little below his shoulder blades and ended a couple inches above his tattoos. How had Johnny not noticed them first?

  As soon as Johnny's finger ghosted the top of the left side scar, Dallas jumped. Johnny stopped moving and waited to see if Dallas told him to stop. He didn't, so Johnny finished tracing the jagged- cut?

  "What are these from?" Johnny asked. Dallas pulled away then, going to grab a shirt from his dresser draw. Johnny backed up and watched the taller of the two move around his room.

  "I used to have wings." Dallas spoke so softly, Johnny almost didn't hear him. Dallas had wings? The scars did match up with where the wings were supposed to be. How did he lose them? Was it an accident? Was there a fight? How long ago did it happen? Why did it happen? Johnny had questions swarming his mind, but he remembered when he got his cheek cut up and all the questions from that. He'd hated each answer that was drug out of him.

  "What did they look like?" Johnny whispered the question. He saw the frustration- which he knew wasn't aimed at him- and anger flash across Dallas's face. Johnny just wasn't ready to see the painful expression on his face. He locked eyes with Johnny and flashed a weak smile.

  "They were beautiful. I wish I cou- yeah." Dallas shook his head, like he was throwing the thought away. The words made Johnny's chest hurt. The pain was still on Dallas's face and just like with the Curtis brother and that story, Johnny would do anything to make that look go away. The picture stuck in the frame of the mirror jumped out at him. That was Dallas. The kid with the black wings- the ones that made him look like an angel. Those were Dally's wings.

  Before Dallas could put his shirt back on, Johnny placed a hand on his back. The familiar hug sensation wrapped around Johnny's chest and black wings sprouted from Dallas's back. They were just like the ones in the picture, the little grey feather towards the top and all. Johnny backed away and the wings stayed on the scars. They even moved back and forth. It was a pretty good illusion.

  Dallas's eyes locked on himself in the mirror and he smiled. It was a bittersweet smile, but the pain in his eyes was gone and Johnny had made it go away. Dally's hands twitched to touch them and Johnny nodded at him. Dally's right hand grazed the feathers of his left wing and he gave a startled laugh.

  The illusion did not falter, but remained very solid. Dallas leaned into the touch of his wings and smiled at Johnny. He crossed the room and pulled Johnny into a hug. The wings disappeared, since it caught Johnny off guard. Dallas was hugging him tightly and Johnny felt nice. It was a 'thank you' that Dallas couldn't get out.

  Dallas pulled back, but didn't move out of the space. He was looking down at Johnny, eyes scanning his face. Dallas brought his left hand up and let his thumb graze Johnny's scar. He was gentle, just as Johnny had been. Dallas opened his mouth to say something, but his bedroom door swung open. Dally's eyes lost their softness and he glared at whoever had opened the door. He dropped his hand from Johnny's face, but didn't move away from Johnny. There bodies were still inches apart.

  Buck was standing in the door, looking at the two of them with a twinkle in his eye. He had grey eyes and his ears were tall and pointed. He had his long dirty blond hair pulling into a bun at the base of his neck. He was slim, but not as tall as Dally. Dally sighed and looked back at Johnny.

  "Head up to the roof and I'll meet you there." Johnny nodded and Buck moved out of the way to let him head up the other set of stairs off to the side of Dally's room. He was going to go look at the stars and wait for Dally to join him.

  "You're falling for that warlock boy, huh?" Buck leaned against the door frame. Dallas knew his face had given his answer away, because Buck whooped and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thought so. Go keep the kid company. Have fun, but we're going to talk about the next fight in the morning. I need to figure out who to put you up against."

  Dally shot him the finger and earned himself a hair ruffle as he was going out of the door. He jogged up the stairs, trying to get the pink out of his cheeks and ears. When he got to the roof, Johnny was sitting on the edge and staring up at the stars.

  Johnny looked over when Dallas joined him and gave him a small smile.

  "What are you looking at? Any constellations?" Dallas asked. Johnny shook his head and looked at his feet, that he was kicking back and forth over the ledge of the roof.

  "I'm just lost in thought."

  There was a silence that hung between the two. Johnny was thinking about his mother's sobbing and the cuts from the glass in the windows. How could he have done that? To his own mother?

  "What happened, Johnny? Why'd they do that to you?" Dallas was looking at him with those soft eyes again. Johnny wondered why he cared so much. Why he cared at all. He was a monster, someone who hurt his own family. What would stop him from hurting his friends? Johnny looked away and figured this was a shitty last conversation to have. Dallas would definitely hate him after this. If not hate, then just not want to be around.

  "My parents are human, like I said. My powers started up around the time I met the Curtis family. I showed them that I could make Ponyboy fall asleep, just by touching him and saying it. They told me about them being werewolves and asked if my parents knew. I said no and then they explained that it should probably stay that way. I agreed, even then.

  "Tonight, I was practicing a levitating spell in my room. It was just a water bottle on my dresser. Then it was supposed to be my dresser, but I made everything float. It was the best feeling in the world. My parents had been arguing and decided I should be brought into it, so they came into my room. They saw everything floating and the next thing I knew, I was getting beat up in the living room. My dad pulled a gun on me. I freaked out and threw him across the room. The windows and lights exploded, which cut my mom up pretty bad. She called me a monster and I think she's right."

  Johnny took in a deep, shivering, breath. He felt tears try to pool into his eyes, but he blinked them back. "I know that they were just scared and it's my fault. I shouldn't have been practicing in the house. I knew better and my dad's just stressed over work and I-"

  "Johnny, stop. Stop. This is not your fault in any way, shape, or form. No matter how scared or stressed a parent is, they don't try to kill you. They should never hurt you." Dally's eyes flickered to the scar on Johnny's cheek. He knew who had done that, without even having to ask.

  "I still shouldn't have hurt them. I feel so bad." Johnny took his shirt-tail and wiped a stray tear away. Dally's shoulder pressed against his and there was a silence again. He waited for Dallas to get up and leave him, but it never happened. He stayed there and never once made a move to leave.

  "My parents weren't great either. Back in New York, when I was with my parents, they fought a lot. They were drunks, so it happens. Well, my mom took it too far one night, after a huge fight with my dad. My mom got into his liquor, sort of to spite him. She got into a bottle of Fairy Drink, which was really bad since she was only half-Fairy. Long story short, she died and I just got... angry. I was out with friends more than I was at home. Buck and me were out one night and we got caught by some Hunters.

  "I don't know how they knew about us. Either way, they stripped off my Glamour and when they saw my wings... you get the picture. I got us out of there, which was hard since Buck was so torn up and my brother was dead. They had us there for two days, just playing with us. When I got back to the apartment, my dad had all of our shit packed up and ready for us to leave. Buck came down to Tulsa with us."

  Dallas scoffed and spit off the side of the building. Johnny was surprised at the fact that Dallas was the kid that Buck was with. That he was the kid in the story. "It wasn't until after we got down here that my dad told me about the Fairy Drink. He told me that someone had broke in. He said it was random and that they got scared and ran off without taking anything. Bastard."

  Johnny was looking at the ground still. He almost jumped out of his skin when Dally's fingers slid under his chin and turned his head towards his. He was looking Johnny in the eyes seriously.

  "So don't believe what your parents say. I know monsters, but you are not one of them." Dallas was staring Johnny down. "Okay?"

  "Yeah. Okay." Johnny said the words honestly. He wasn't a monster.

  Even after Johnny agreed, Dallas never removed his hand. His forefinger stayed where it was, but his thumb moved across the scar on Johnny's cheek again. It was dark outside, but the two of them were illuminated by the stars and the big, almost full, moon. Johnny bundled his left hand in Dally's shirt.

  As if on instinct, Johnny's tongue wet his bottom lip. Dally's mouth quirked a little and then he was leaning down, closing the small distance between them. Johnny's mouth found his and there was a moment where neither one of them moved. Johnny felt like a middle schooler right then, so he deepened the kiss. He wanted to smile when Dally's other hand moved to his face, but he didn't want to mess up this kiss.

  Dallas was gentle with him still, the only rough thing was his fingernail grazing across Johnny's scar and Johnny's hands doing the same to the scars on his back. Dally's mouth was soft and his face had a small amount of stubble, which nipped gently at Johnny's warm skin.

  They broke away and rested their foreheads together. Dally's hands were still on Johnny's cheeks and Johnny's hands were twisted in his shirt. They breathed the cooling air in, smiling like idiots.

  "See? Nobody thinks a monster is beautiful. So obviously, you can't be one." Johnny rolled his eyes and Dallas leaned back down for another kiss, something Johnny was more than ready for. Their lips had barely brushed when door to the roof crashed open.

  "This better be important, Buck." One look at Buck's face was enough to tell the two boys that it was important. Johnny's stomach dropped and Dally was already getting to his feet.

  "The Hunters. They're here."

[insideoutstory]

Inside Out → Chapter Fifteen

summary: The party goes looking for the gate. But things don’t go the way they’d hoped. word count: 6k warnings: N/A

[ masterlist ]   [ FF.net ]

If Christine lived through this, she was seriously considering trying out for cross country. She’d gotten enough training in, that was for sure, with all the aimless wandering around Hawkins. She was so tired, she wasn’t even sure if she was tired anymore. 

After their doomsday meeting, the party had split up to change and grab supplies. What the boys had told their mothers, she had no idea. If they’d even told them anything before sneaking out. Christine had taken the Dustin-route of preparation. She just filled a backpack with a few water bottles and granola bars in case they needed to hike through dinner. Also a hammer from the garage, just in case. She’d changed into pants, made sure to wear her boots this time instead of her tennis shoes, and put on a warmer sweatshirt. Despite her best efforts, Eleven still refused to change out of her pretty pink dress. 

Once they’d reconvened, they set out for Mirkwood again. They’d learned their lesson from last time. Not enough not to go, of course, but enough to go without their bikes. It would take them longer to get there, but save them time in the long run. They’d spent so much energy slipping and sliding on their last hike, untangling their wheels and handlebars from brambles. And it wasn’t like they could ride their bikes through the trees anyway.  

“Besides,” Dustin had pointed out at Lucas’s impatient groaning, “we’re going to find an interdimensional portal with massive electromagnetic force. Bikes are metal, dude. Get them close enough to a magnetic wormhole and—whoosh! Bye-bye bicycle.” 

“Just shut the hell up and walk,” Lucas had grumbled. 

The two of them had taken the lead as navigators. They kept their compasses out in front of them, cross checking occasionally to make sure they were still heading in the correct direction. Mike and Eleven trailed behind them, and Christine stayed at the back, unable to contribute much after her magnet presentation. 

There was less chit chat today than there had been the first time around. Christine couldn’t be sure if that was because everyone was more tired or more nervous. She certainly was the latter. It was a supposed portal to another dimension—a realm of monsters and death for crying out loud. And they were armed with, what? A super-powered twelve-year-old and a hammer? She was sincerely regretting not grabbing her father’s shotgun instead. 

Christine wasn’t sure where they were headed, or what they’d actually be able to do when they got there. For now, the only thing keeping her sane was doing a head count every sixty seconds. 

One kid, two kids, three kids, four kids. One, two, three, four. One, two, three four. 

From Mirkwood, they trekked through the woods, drifting deeper than they had last time. They were all on high alert, waiting for another twig to snap, for the low, growling, clicking sound to advance on them from the shadows of the trees. But nothing happened. 

The trees stayed close together, until the five of them were spilling out onto a set of train tracks that wound through the forest. Christine had been dead set against it. She was not going to let them get distracted on the tracks and send five more bodies to the Hawkins Mortuary. But Dustin had assured her that the Hawkins Railway had been shut since for about fifty years. There hadn’t been a train on these tracks since FDR was president. After several minutes of the boys calling her chicken, Christine had relented. Only because it was easier to walk on the tracks than through thorn bushes. 

Christine had actively not worn a watch. She did not want to look down and despair about how long they’d walked without finding anything. She did not want to look down and realize it had been twenty minutes when it felt like four hours. And telling the boys it was getting late was not going to make them turn around. So what was the point? 

At some point, after what felt like a very long time, Eleven stopped walking. 

“Hey,” Christine said, suddenly on high alert. “You okay, El?” 

Eleven shook her head, but Mike sighed beside her. “She said she’s tired.” 

“Yeah, join the club.” 

Christine huffed, watching Dustin and Lucas’s backs grow smaller as they forged ahead. There was no stopping them. That was for sure. So she looked down on Eleven with a weary smile. 

“You want a piggyback ride?” 

“A…what?” 

“Come on.” She passed her backpack to Mike. Then she kneeled down, helping Eleven put her arms around her neck and hoisting her up onto her back. “Oof! Okay. See? I can’t carry the magnetic force field of the Earth, but I can carry you.” 

Mike snorted next to her. “Wow. That was bad.” 

“Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it.” 

They started off down the tracks again. Every now and then, Christine had to hoist Eleven a little higher, making her squeal. Christine would ask if she was alright. Eleven would sniffle, wipe her face, and nod into her shoulder. It was so cold, Christine thought nothing of it. 

“Hey, Chrissy?” Mike asked as they walked on. “Thanks for coming with us.” 

“Of course. Mike, I know how important this is. And I wouldn’t want you guys out here alone.” 

He nodded, his eyes trained on the ground. “That was pretty cool what you did before with the magnet. It really helped that you knew that.” 

“I guess,” said Christine. “But Dustin knew what he was talking about. I’m sure he would have gotten you guys there eventually.” 

“Maybe. But you also helped hide Eleven, and made us all listen when we didn’t believe you about her powers. So thanks.” 

“Um…you’re welcome,” she said, unable to mask her surprise. “Thanks for…saying thanks, I guess.” 

Mike nodded at the dirt. It looked like he still had more to say, but being genuine was apparently very hard for him. Christine did her best not to push him. 

“I’m sorry, too. I know that I keep calling you annoying, and telling you that we don’t need your help. But the truth is…it’s kind of nice to have someone to talk to about crazy stuff like this. You know, someone older. Someone outside of the party.” 

“Ouch,” Christine said with a smirk. “We’re hunting down a portal to another dimension and I’m still not part of the party?” 

That made him smile. 

“We’ll discuss it. I’ll let you know when the party decides.” 

“No rush. We’re just trying to travel out of the earthly plane and into the shadow realm to rescue Will from the Demogorgon. Just let me know by Sunday so I can be ready for the next campaign.” 

“Remember when you first moved here?” he asked. “You were helping Nancy with some dumb English project while Lucas, Will and I were planning in the basement.” 

“Ugh, I do remember that project. It was on Huckleberry Finn. I hated that book. I was so glad when you guys started screaming and broke up our study session.” 

“We weren’t screaming. It was a battle cry. We were going to war to save the Paakliah people from the wrath of their warlock overlord.” 

“Right,” said Christine, rolling her eyes. “Well from upstairs it just sounded like a bunch of screaming. Nancy dropped everything because she thought one of you had broken a leg or something.” 

“You guys were pretty cool about it,” Mike said appreciatively. “I really thought Nancy was gonna kick us out to the backyard, but you just picked up a tube of wrapping paper and started sword fighting with Lucas. He had no idea what to do. It was awesome!” 

“Well, you can’t wage a war without a pair of warlock bodyguards to duel. So you’re welcome. And—God, Nancy was mortified at first. She really thought I was gonna take one look at you guys and bolt, make her do the rest of the project by herself. That feels like so long ago.” 

Christine chuckled at the memory. They all seemed too small, even her and Nancy. She’d still been in middle school then, the boys in elementary school. All of them had been wild and energetic, for the most part carefree. She shuddered to think how she’d swapped a tube of wrapping paper for a hammer. 

“Are you still not talking to Nancy?” 

“Yeah. I mean—…” The question took her off guard, and she glared at Mike affronted. “No. I’m…Why do you know that I’m not talking to Nancy?” 

“I heard her talking to my mom about it,” he said with a shrug. “She said you guys had a fight and she was mad at you, and then she did something stupid so you were even more mad at her. She was crying and everything. She told Mom she was really scared, and then that you guys were blaming each other for Barb going missing.” 

“Great. Well…just do me a favor and unhear all of that, okay?” 

“It’s stupid,” he said, glaring at her. “You know it’s not Nancy’s fault if Barb’s gone. And it’s not yours either. If she’s gone like Will is, then we can get her back.” 

“It’s not that simple, Mike,” Christine groaned. “Nancy and I have both done a lot of stupid stuff lately.” 

“Because you both like Steve Harrington?” 

“Just shut up and walk, Mike.” 

“Fine. But it’s dumb that you guys are fighting over some lame douchebag. There’s way more important things happening. Like, life or death things. And Nancy really misses you. Plus, she’s way less annoying when you’re being friends. Fighting’s making her cranky.” 

He hiked Christine’s backpack up onto his shoulders and marched ahead. Christine tried to grumble her curse words quiet enough that Eleven couldn’t hear, and stomped on after him. 

The train tracks curved to brush along the edge of the woods, and the five of them walked out into a clearing. It was some kind of junk yard. Abandoned cars and rusty barrels were strewn across the field. Even an old transport bus sat on the edge of the hill. It would have been a killer place for parties, but there wasn’t a single red Solo cup on the ground. They must have been too far out for even rebellious teens to walk. 

Dustin came to a stop in front of the group, looking around in confusion. “Oh, no.” 

“Oh no?” Lucas repeated in annoyance. “What’s oh no?” 

“We’re headed back home.” 

“What?!” 

“Are you sure?” asked Mike. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Setting sun right there. We looped back around.” 

“Oh, for the love of God,” Christine sighed. She set Eleven back on the ground, stretching her aching arms. “It’s the sun, Dustin! How are we only noticing this now?” 

“Well it’s darker in the woods! If it’s so obvious, why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Because I’ve been carrying Eleven, and you two idiots said you had navigation under control!” 

“Hey, don’t look at me,” snapped Lucas. 

“What?” Dustin demanded. “Why is this all on me?” 

“Because you’re the compass genius!” 

Dustin sighed, spinning on the spot and looking at his compass again. “What do yours say?” 

“North,” Lucas and Mike replied in unison. 

“This makes no damn sense,” Dustin groaned. “Any ideas, Chrissy?” 

He passed off the compass, allowing her to look at it as well. But the needle was pointing the way they’d been headed. Without seeing the magnetic field, there was no way to tell where the interference was coming from. 

“I don’t know,” she said, spinning it in her hands. “I mean, it could be a third magnet? Layering three magnetic fields? But we would’ve had to walk a perfect circle right around it.” 

“So it’s in the woods?” Lucas asked. 

“Maybe. Still, for the needle to point at neither the whole time…that wouldn’t happen if they were two fixed points.” 

“So maybe the gate moves?” Mike suggested. 

“I don’t think so,” said Dustin. “It’s a tear in time and space. Not exactly portable.” 

“Okay, so…maybe something here is screwing with the compasses. You know, that’s how we ended up in the junk yard.” 

“It’s not gonna be just a bad car battery,” said Christine. “To cause miles of interference like that, it’d have to be like a super magnet.” 

“It’s not a magnet.” 

Lucas was glaring back at the path. Eleven was still standing exactly where Christine had put her down, avoiding all their eyes. 

“Lucas, knock it off,” Christine sighed. 

“No! She’s been acting weirder than normal! If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass.” 

“Why would she do that?” asked Mike. 

“Because she’s trying to sabotage our mission. Because she’s a traitor!” 

“Woah, okay! Hold on, boys.” Christine planted herself between Lucas and Eleven as he tried to advance on her. “Look, we’re all tired. We’re all desperate. Why don’t we just sit down for a minute and…?” 

“Will doesn’t have a minute!” Lucas yelled. He tried to walk around her, only for Christine to grab his arm. It didn’t stop him from snarling at Eleven. “You did it, didn’t you? You don’t want us to reach the gate! You don’t want us to find Will!” 

“Lucas, come on, seriously,” Mike shouted. “Just leave her alone!” 

“Admit it. Admit it!” 

He broke out of Christine’s grip, running at Eleven. She jumped back in terror, but not before he could grab her wrist. He held her arm up to the light. In the dying light, dark blood was shining on her jacket sleeve. 

“Fresh blood,” he spat, throwing her arm back at her. “I knew it!” 

“Lucas, come on!” Mike pleaded. 

“I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!” 

“Lucas, it’s just cold,” Christine reasoned. “We’ve been walking for miles…” 

“No! She was using her powers, and you and Mike are too stupid to see it because you like her! You think she’s cute and innocent, but all she is is a liar!” 

“Bull,” shouted Mike. “That’s probably old blood. Right, El?” 

But Eleven did not answer. 

Mike squinted at her, fear rising in his voice. “Right, El?” 

“It’s…not…It’s not safe…” 

Eleven was sniffling again. But it was not because she was using her powers, and it was not because of the cold. Christine could already see the water welling in her eyes. She was moments away from bursting into tears. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Christine said instinctively. She dropped down next to Eleven, brushing the hair out of her face. “I know it’s scary.” 

“See?” Lucas demanded. “She just admitted it, and all you two care about is making sure that she’s okay! But what about Will? She’s leading us around in circles and Will’s out there running for his life!” 

“And we’re gonna find him!” yelled Mike. “El’s just scared! We—We all are! Right, Dustin?” 

Dustin, however, seemed to know better than to answer. 

“It doesn’t matter how scared she is,” said Lucas. “She lied! What did I tell you? She’s been playing us from the beginning!” 

“That’s not true! She helped us find Will!” 

“Find Will. Find Will? Where is he then? Huh? I don’t see him!” 

“Yeah, you know what I mean.” 

“No, I actually don’t. Just think about it, Mike! She could’ve just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn’t. She just made us run around like headless chickens!” 

“Alright, calm down,” Dustin said, finally pushing between them. 

“No!” 

 Lucas smacked Dustin’s arm away, storming toward Eleven again. Christine immediately stepped in front of her. 

“She used us!” he yelled. “All of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants! Food and a bed! She’s like a stray dog!” 

“HEY!” Christine shouted, but Mike was beating her to it. 

“Screw you, Lucas!” 

“No, screw you, Mike! You’re blind—both of you! Christine’s just lonely cause she’s fighting with Nancy, and you’re blind because you like that a girl’s not grossed out by you. But wake up, man! Wake the hell up!” 

“I SAID HEY!” 

The boys stopped as Christine rose to her feet again. And now, she was shaking with fury. 

“Both of you are going to shut up right now. No one speaks, no one leaves until we all calm the fuck down. We’re not gonna get anywhere throwing bullshit insults like this. We will figure out where Will is…” 

“We don’t have to figure it out,” Lucas snapped, jabbing a finger at Eleven. “She knows where Will is. And now she’s letting him die in the Upside Down.” 

“Lucas, I said stop.” 

But Lucas would not. 

“For all we know, it’s her fault!” 

“Shut up!” Mike screamed. 

“We’re looking for some stupid monster, but did you ever stop to think that maybe she’s the monster?” 

“I said shut up!” 

Mike leapt forward, grabbing Lucas around the neck and attempting to throw him to the ground. Lucas was faster, grabbing Mike in the same way and countering the throw with a harsh tug of his own. They wrestled and screamed, toppling over and still attempting to fight. 

Everyone was screaming. Christine ran forward with Dustin, trying to pry them apart. 

“Stop!” 

“Knock it off, you idiots!” 

“Boys—Mike, just stop!” 

“Stop it!” 

“Mike, get off!” 

“Stop it!” 

“Dustin! A little help, please!” 

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

Before Christine knew what was happening, Lucas was flying out of her hands. His body shot into the air. It was like he was being propelled by an invisible force strong enough to toss him like a rag doll. He hit the ground hard, sliding through the dead grass and colliding with a totaled car. 

Dustin and Mike ran forward. Christine stayed where she was, too shocked to move. Then she turned around to gape at Eleven. Her nose was bleeding again, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She looked horrified already, the reality of what she’d done beginning to sink in. But Christine couldn’t scold her. Couldn’t comfort her or yell. She felt paralyzed in the grass. For the first time, she actually felt afraid. 

“Why would you do that?” Mike demanded. He seemed to have figured out what had happened. He looked up from Lucas’s limp body, glaring at Eleven the same way he had at the quarry. “What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with you?” 

“Mike…” Eleven whimpered. 

It was enough for Christine to push her fear aside. She started toward Eleven, ready to…was she going to comfort her? She had no idea. But Eleven needed to calm down. If bodies started flying when she got upset, the best thing Christine could do was keep the situation under control. But then Dustin called out to her. 

“Christine! Chrissy, he’s—he’s not getting up! W-What do we do if he doesn’t get up?” 

She froze, torn at Eleven’s tearful face and Dustin’s broken voice.  

“Okay. Just—Just hold on, El.” Christine held up a hand and backed toward Lucas’s body. “Eleven, just breathe, okay?” 

“Christine!” 

She turned, and ran to Dustin’s side. She slid the last few feet on her knees, despite the pain. Lucas was still lying unconscious against the car. He didn’t show the slightest response to Mike’s voice, or the way Dustin was shaking him. Christine had to beat his hands back. 

“Stop. Stop, Dustin! If he’s hurt, you could just make it worse. Just back up.” 

The boys followed her instructions immediately, which just proved how scared they must’ve been. Christine braved a straight face. She didn’t want to scare them more by admitting she had no idea what she was doing. 

She looked over Lucas head to toe. His limbs looked normal and he didn’t appear to be bleeding, which was good. Unless all the bleeding was internal, in which case it was very bad. She stroked his hair, trying to ease him into consciousness rather than shout. Unfortunately, that wasn’t working either. 

“Lucas? Come on, bud. Can you hear me? Lucas?” 

“Do we need to give him mouth to mouth?” Dustin asked behind her. 

“What—no!” 

“Fine! If you don’t want to do it, I will. Move!”

“Dustin, stop! He’s breathing! We just need him to wake up.” 

“Oh…” 

Christine was ready to break out a water bottle and pour it over his head. But Lucas stirred before she could ask Mike to hand over her bag. 

“Lucas? Oh thank, God.” 

She sagged back onto her butt, giving the boys more room to push forward. 

“Lucas, you okay?” asked Mike with a relieved smile. 

Lucas did not respond. 

“Lucas, how many fingers am I holding up?” asked Dustin. He waved his hand in front of Lucas’s face. “Lucas, how many fingers?” 

Again, Lucas did not respond. 

“Let me see your head,” Mike offered, reaching out. 

Lucas smacked his hand out of the air faster than a rattlesnake. 

“Don’t touch me!” He struggled to his feet, ignoring his friends’ concern and shoving Mike again for good measure. “Get off me!” 

He pushed his way past the group and marched toward the woods. Christine could hear the fear in his voice. She’d only seen him this upset at the quarry, when his best friend’s body was right before his eyes. It was why she grabbed Mike before he could go after him. 

“Mike, stop,” she said softly. “Just let him go.” 

“But—But what if he’s hurt?” 

“Man, just let him go,” Dustin agreed. 

They watched as Lucas disappeared into the trees. Christine felt sick to do it, but running after him would only make him more upset. Lucas would be alright, she tried to convince herself. He had his compass. And she knew from personal experience how sobering rage could be. So long as nothing else bad happened… 

“Where’s El?” 

Mike’s voice echoed around the yard without response. Christine whipped around, staring at the bus, which Eleven had been standing next to less than a minute ago. Now she wasn’t. Not next to the bus or the cars or the trees. She wasn’t anywhere. 

“Eleven!” Christine screamed, looking around at the tree line. “Eleven, it’s okay!” 

“El?” Mike called, and Dustin joined in. “El! Eleven! Eleven? El!” 

They must’ve screamed for ten minutes. They checked inside every car, behind every bush, searched the forest ten feet deep in all directions. But there was no blonde wig or pink dress in sight. 

Christine bit her lip hard. She’d been trying to bottle it all up, trying to be the adult. But it was exhausting. 

“FUCK!” 

She screamed, and it echoed around the sky. Christine kicked the closest rock, which collided with the closest wreck. The impact chipped the windshield, and Christine watched the crack spider its way across the length of the glass. 

Dustin was at her side in an instant. 

“We’ll find her,” he assured her. “Christine, we’ll find El. We’ll help you look.” 

“No.” Christine felt her body shaking, but her voice was firm. “No, I want the both of you to go home right now.” 

“No,” Mike argued. “El is out there alone! And so is Will!” 

“And you’re not gonna find them in the dark. You two are going home. Now. Before the sun goes down, and before your parents start asking questions. I will look for Eleven, and I will call you if I find her.” 

She did not give them room to argue. She seized her backpack from Mike, taking out both her hammer and a flashlight. Then she walked back into the forest, following the train tracks the way they’d came. 

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She’d been so worried about Eleven and Lucas that she hadn’t thought twice about marching into the woods alone. It wasn’t until she’d lost sight of the junkyard, after she’d followed the train tracks and trekked back into the brush, that her personal safety occurred to her. It was getting dark. Even without leaves, the trees blocked out the fading light overhead. Unlike the boys, she didn’t have a compass, and she only had a vague idea where she was going. But at a guess, she wasn’t far from Mirkwood—where they’d heard the first twig snap. 

The thought made her tighten her hand around her hammer. 

Occasionally she’d call out for Eleven. Most times, she tried to make as little noise as possible. The darker it got, the more aware she was of the sound of the wind. Trees rustled in the breeze. Twigs snapped. A few times she thought she heard voices in the distance. She’d called for Eleven—and the sound had immediately stopped. After she imagined someone calling her name, she decided it was safest to stop looking and find the road. 

How she got there was as much a mystery as it was a miracle. But she nearly fell to the pavement with relief. She would have sprinted the last leg home if she weren’t so tired. Luckily, someone else had thought ahead. 

“Finally,” said Dustin, perched on his bike where the wilderness gave way to the suburbs. His headlight blinded her like an interrogation lamp as she approached. “If you were gone another twenty minutes I was gonna call the cops.”

“I told you to go home, Dustin.” 

“I did. Where do you think I got the bike?” 

“And you came back here alone? To the place Will went missing? What if something had happened, Dust? Don’t be an idiot.” 

“That’s rich, coming from the girl who was just walking alone for over an hour. Now do you want a ride home or not?” 

Christine was hesitant. She was a lot bigger than Eleven, and she hated to put the burden on Dustin. But he was already turning the bike around, patting his back wheel. And her legs were killing her. So she stowed the hammer and flashlight in her bag, and climbed onto the bike. 

To his credit, Dustin did a better job keeping them steady than she thought he would. It was only a block or two before they were sailing smoothly. So long as he didn’t brake too hard, they had it under control. 

“Did you find anything?” he asked her as they cruised down the street. 

“Does it look like I found anything?” 

“Cranky.” 

“What about you? Anything at Mike’s house?” 

“Nah. He thought El might hide in the basement, but there’s nothing there.” 

“Not really surprising,” said Christine, and Dustin nodded. The way Mike had yelled at her, Eleven wasn’t likely to look for safety in his basement. “What about Lucas? Have you heard from him?” 

“No. But he’s definitely home. I went passed his house and threw stuff at his window until he closed the blinds. So he’s alive.” 

“That’s a relief.” 

They leaned into a curve as Dustin made a sharp turn. She’d just recovered when he threw her for another loop. 

“Why aren’t you mad at Eleven?” 

“Dustin…” 

“I mean, I kind of get it. I’m still worried about her too. But she threw Lucas with her mind. That’s not cool.” 

“I don’t think she did it on purpose, Dust. El was scared, and all of us were screaming. She just wanted it to stop. I think when she gets overwhelmed, her powers probably act up.” 

“Like Jean Gray,” Dustin supplied. 

“Sure. Like Jean Gray,” Christine agreed. “And then she thought we’d be mad at her, so she ran. I just hope she’s okay.” 

“Still. Lucas had a point, you know? She lied. Will needs us, and we still don’t know where the gate is. If Eleven doesn’t come back, who knows if we ever will?” 

“Dustin, if anyone can find that gate, I know it’s you.” 

He shrugged his shoulders, not all that comforted by the thought. Christine gripped his jacket a little tighter, trying to think of a way to explain it. 

“Think of it like this,” she tried. “Say there were two sets of train tracks. On one track, one person’s tied up, and on the other there are four. You can’t move any of them. You can control where the train goes, but it has to follow the tracks. What do you do?” 

“I don’t know,” Dustin said quietly. “Why can’t I save them?” 

“You don’t have enough time. There’s no wrong answer, bud. It’s just a hypothetical.” 

“Okay, well…the one I guess. Cause you save more people.” 

“Alright. Now imagine the same thing, but the four people are me, Will, Mike, and Lucas. What do you do?” 

“Who’s on the other track?” 

“You don’t know. It’s a stranger.” 

Dustin was quiet for a few blocks. “Is this a trick question? It feels like a trick question.” 

“It’s not a trick question,” said Christine. “But it’s hard. That’s what Eleven was trying to decide this afternoon. She wanted to protect the four friends she has, because sometimes that’s scarier than losing someone you don’t know.” 

“I guess. I didn’t think about it like that.” 

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride. Christine let Dustin mull over the situation, and kept her eyes on the streets. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of pink hiding behind one of the houses. It was a long shot, but she felt like that was all she had for now. There was only one other place Eleven might be hiding, and Christine couldn’t check there just yet. 

She hopped off the bike as Dustin leveled with his driveway, allowing him to shoot up and park his bike next to the garage. 

“Will you come talk to Lucas with me tomorrow?” he asked her. “You’re better at explaining the metaphor than I am.” 

“I don’t know. I think I’m just gonna stay home. In case…you know who comes back.” 

“But what am I supposed to say to Mike and Lucas? What if they won’t talk to each other?” 

“They will, Dust. They just need time to cool off. But they’re best friends. If anyone can make them see reason, it’s you.” 

“Easy for you to say,” Dustin huffed, tugging on his backpack straps. “Whatever. I probably shouldn’t be taking advice from you about it anyway.” 

“Excuse me?” Christine chuckled in surprise and folded her arms. “What does that mean?” 

“It means that Lucas and Mike are fighting about Eleven just like you and Nancy are fighting over Steve.” 

She must have gaped at him for a solid ten seconds. 

“No,” she managed to squeak through the shock. “Dustin, no! That is—That is so not the same thing!” 

“Um, yeah it is.” 

“No, it is definitely not!” 

“Let’s think,” he said, stroking his chin. “Two really close friends get pushed apart because some cute person comes between them. One of the friends gets hurt, and gets mad cause the other friend doesn’t care. How is that not the same thing?” 

“Okay, well—for one—Steve didn’t throw me across a junkyard with his mind.” 

“No. He just made you cry because he used you to get to Nancy.” 

Christine shut her mouth. It felt better than standing there with her jaw dropped as she stared at her miniscule fetus of a neighbor, standing there so sure and so confident and so…right. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. 

“Just go inside, Dustin.” 

She tried to walk back to her house, only for Dustin to grab her hand. 

“Hey,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry about what Lucas said too. About you being lonely and obsessing over Eleven. That was dumb. But if Lucas and Mike are gonna make up, I think you and Nancy should try too. It’s easier when everyone’s being friends.” 

“I know it’s easier,” she said wearily. “It’s just not easy to make them that way.” 

“Okay.” Dustin nodded, playing with his backpack again. “Do you wanna stay over? I can ask mom to drive us to the video store.” 

And just like that, he drew another smile out of her. 

“Nah, not tonight, Dusty. Like I said. I’m gonna stay home to be safe.” 

“Alright. If you need anything…” 

“You’ll be the first to know,” Christine assured him. She rubbed his cap on top of his curls. “Get going. Your mom’s probably gonna kill you.” 

Dustin scurried inside at her suggestion. The front door slammed behind him, but Christine could still hear Claudia’s worried shouts. She smiled, backing off the lawn and sneaking around to her own back door. 

It was locked. Not that that meant anything. Christine knocked halfheartedly—two slow, then three quick. There was no response. She tried again, just in case, but got the same result. After a few minutes of waiting, she grabbed her spare key and let herself in. 

Everything was exactly where she’d left it. Her unmade bed, the empty pillow fort, the abandoned waffle plates and ruined magazine. The stereo was off, and though she checked her freezer, there were still the same amount of Eggos. 

“Eleven?” she called hopelessly. “If you’re here, you…you can come out. I’m not mad. No one is. It’s okay.” 

She continued to stand in the dark, knowing she wouldn’t get a response. 

At some point, her exhaustion must have caught up to her. She didn’t bother making dinner. She didn’t even bother turning on the lights. She just changed into her pajamas and grabbed her dwindling box of Cheerios. However, she hesitated at the back door. 

Habit told her to lock it. She was a teenage girl home alone in a town where two people were missing, mysterious scientists were hunting children, and interdimensional horrors were running loose. But a lock wouldn’t stop a mad scientist, and it wouldn’t stop a Demogorgon. The only people it might stop were the boys, or a scared little girl looking for a place to sleep after running away. 

Christine dropped the cereal in her room. In the kitchen, she popped one waffle in the toaster, then placed it on a plate. She left it on the back stoop, looking longingly at the shadows outside. The waffle would get cold fast, she knew. But it wasn’t about whether or not Eleven would eat it. She just wanted to send a sign. It was still safe inside. It was okay to come home. 

Without much debate, she left the porch light on. And when she went to bed, she left the door unlocked.

[lemonsandstrawberries]

A Piece of Cheese for the Road

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony)

universe: Avengers Academy mobile game (high school/college AU), has references to the game

summary: It is the last evening at the Avengers Academy and Steve needs a push to finish some unfinished things with a certain handsome genius. 

length: 2 644 words

a/n: today is the last day when Avengers Academy is still available to play and I never thought that closing a mobile game would affect me that much. sometimes the game was a pain and things were rushed, but there were also many pluses, like beautiful graphics and entertaining storylines and interactions MCU would never give us. this fic is my goodbye and I hope that AvAc universe won’t be forgotten!

——————–

A Piece of Cheese for the Road

"This our last evening together. You know what it means, right?"

Tony made a dramatic pause, surrounded by other students of the Avengers Academy. He prolonged the moment and grabbed the handle of the fridge door, before opening it in a grand gesture and letting everyone feast their eyes on the treasures inside.

"Cheese for everyone!"

The crowd cheered, blocks and wheels of cheese being passed from student to student. It was the evening after graduation and tomorrow everyone would head home and their realities and there was a lot of cheese to eat before that.

Steve leaned over the bar area in the Club A, watching the commotion around Tony and his cheese fridge. He saw Clint biting into a block of cheddar, Lucky jumping around him and demanding a piece, Natasha smearing a piece of brie over a baguette, but the most entertaining was the trail of moving cheese blocks, as Scott used his small friends to get some of his favorite kinds for him, Hope and Cassie without having to fight between always hungry A-Bomb and Hulk. Luke and Jessica were playing pool, forming a team against Foggy and Matt, which honestly didn't surprise anyone anymore as Daredevil didn't have any limits. Not far from them Miss Marvel kept talking to Captain Marvel, and Steve caught some words like 'fanfiction', 'new ideas', 'otp', among many others, and Carol listened to Kamala, nodding her head in agreement. The dance floor was probably the most crowded, people coming and going to grab a drink or a snack, and the one person always present was Loki, dancing all the time, like he kept through the school year, all in rhythms played by DJ Vision and Viv. And at midnight Guardians of the Galaxy were supposed to give their last concert at the Club Galaxy. It was a good evening.

A good, very, very sad evening.

"Steve, you okay?" Bucky asked, stopping next to his friend, holding a package wrapped in silver tinfoil.

"Yeah," Steve smiled sadly. He remembered the day they got Bucky back from Hydra's school. His friend was finally safe and managed to find an outlet for his emotions in rather gloomy music. Speaking of which. "Shouldn't you get ready for your concert?" Steve asked, remembering that Bucky was supposed to play some new songs he and Adam Warlock had created in their 'Winter Warlock' band.

"I still have a minute before that," Bucky answered, leaning against the bar in the same manner as Steve. For a moment, they stood in complete silence, just taking in the atmosphere and watching their friends and teachers mingle. And still, Steve's eyes were always drawn to the cheese fridge and Tony, all dolled up in his business suit…

"What's that?" Steve asked, noticing the silver package Bucky was holding.

"Tony gave it to me," Bucky said, moving the package closer to his eyes so he could get a better look at it, and Steve felt some tug in his heart after hearing the name. "It is a Sainte-Maure de Touraine."

"He gave you cheese?" Steve laughed. Punching Hydra, fighting in the multiverse and knowledge about different types of cheese where what Steve would take with himself from the Academy.

"Not just any cheese," Bucky almost bragged, "it is soft goat cheese, rolled in wood ash. Tony said it matches my style. Maybe I will write a song about cheese," Bucky's voice dropped in thought.

Steve laughed and put a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "I will gladly listen to that, pal," he smiled.

"Hey, did anyone see Captain America?!"

Steve's heart beat faster. He turned around and locked his eyes with the person who was calling him. "Here?" he said, even rising his hand a bit.

"Oh!" Tony paused, lowering his sunglasses. "Sorry, not you! Meant Roberta!"

Captain America 2099. Not him.

"Didn't see her," Steve answered, trying to be neutral, despite some pain in his heart.

"Man, I hope she didn't leave yet. I have a nice piece of aged mimollete I think she will like-"

"I saw her and other 2099 people near the hot tub," Pepper said, holding her own piece of cheese, a rectangle shaped one and Steve could guess it was a piece of some expensive parmesan. Some students had to leave and earlier today Steve and Bucky said their goodbye to Peggy and other Bucky, and even if Steve wanted to ask Tony to stay, he wouldn't hold him back. After all, Roberta seemed like everything Tony ever wanted.

"Ah, Pep, I can always count on you to know everything around here!" Tony brightened. Pepper did work as a school administrator all this time and was irreplaceable. He almost turned around and walked away, when Pepper grabbed him under his arm and twirled around with him.

"Don't you have something to do first?" Pepper said sharply, almost as if disciplining Tony.

"Um, right," Tony admitted, looking away and seemingly distressed. He reached into a paper bag he had been holding which Steve just noticed and took out a medium wheel of cheese covered in red wax and handed it to Steve. "This is for you, something to remember me," he said, smiling and Steve took the offered piece with a stunned look on his face. "It is baby gouda. Mild, soft and boring. Just like you," the friendly smile changed into a pleased grin as Tony delivered his final remark to Steve.

"Gee, thanks, Tony," Steve said, rolling his eyes.

"Welcome! Now, excuse me," Tony wriggled out from Pepper's hold and disappeared among partying students.

"Sorry for him," Pepper turned to Steve with an apologetic look on her face.

"It is fine, Pepper," Steve laughed. As odd as it sounded, he would miss being teased by the snarky genius. He would miss...

"Oooh, I see you got your cheese!" Janet squeezed past Pepper. She was holding a half-eaten piece of colby jack cheese, cheese with two colors, giving it a marble-like look. It wasn't the most expensive kind of cheese, but it was tasty and creamy and brought a lot of joy. Just like Janet. "What are you going to do now?!" she demanded answers in her usual overenthusiastic way.

"Eat it on a cracker?" Steve asked back, unsure what kind of question Jan was expecting. His answer made even Bucky sigh. "What?"

"Hopeless. I have to get ready for my concert," Bucky commented, waving over to get Adam's attention and walking away. Both girls stayed and eyed Steve critically.

"What?" he asked, feeling on edge. "Whaat?"

Pepper and Janet exchanged looks. They had to do everything around here.

"Just go and talk to Tony," Pepper said in her office voice.

"But-"

"Just go!" Janet wasn't that understanding and gave Steve a push, sending him stumbling on his way. He turned around, shooting a confused look at the girls, and saw Jan giving him an encouraging thumbs up and Pepper waving at him to move it. Not understanding and having a wheel of gouda as his only companion, Steve started to navigate through the crowd.

Finding Tony wasn't easy. He passed many students, almost everyone holding a piece of cheese hand-picked and personally delivered by Tony Stark and soon Steve decided to follow the cheese trail, finding the paths Tony had taken. Finally, he found him, near the blasting range and handing T'Challa a piece of Beaufort d’ete, known as the prince of gruyere’ cheeses. Seemed fitting for royalty.

Steve stopped in a distance from them and waited for the talk to finish. T'Challa and Tony shook their hands, and Steve had a feeling that it won't be the last time Wakanda and Stark Industries crossed their paths before both took their separate ways and Tony turned, pausing upon seeing Steve on his path.

"Hey," Steve smiled insecurely, his voice warm and low.

"Hey," Tony repeated, walking and closing the distance. It was quiet around them, the air a bit cold and a starry sky above them. Almost perfect. Almost.

"Thanks for the cheese," Steve said, motioning to the piece of gouda in his hand.

"You already thanked me, old man," Tony said, his characteristic smirk back on his face.

"I know, but - uh, can we talk for a bit?" Steve asked, unsure what he was doing.

Tony looked at him, the smirk disappearing, replaced with surprise before a smile took its place. Steve liked Tony's smiling face better. "Sure. Just a bit though, I have more cheese to give," he said, walking with Steve to the stone bench. It was pretty cold and Steve took off his denim jacket and laid down for Tony to sit on.

"Seriously, Cap?" Tony asked, sliding his sunglasses down considering such gesture completely unnecessary.

Steve only smiled. "Don't want you to catch a cold," he said, and Tony let out a small, irritated huff, but sat down, Steve following. He looked at Tony's profile and pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why are you still wearing sunglasses?"

"Oh, it was pretty bright at the party and my eyes hurt from working and looking at holographic screens. But I guess I can take them off now," Tony said, taking the sunglasses and putting into the front pocket of his suit. "So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, turning to face Steve and Steve's breath stopped as he looked into the brown eyes, in the warmest, most welcoming shade of brown ever imaginable. He always knew Tony's eye color but it was probably the first time he was seeing them so close. Almost hypnotic. When Tony blinked, Steve realized that the other student was still waiting for an answer.

"Um, what do you plan to do after the graduation?" Steve asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know yet," Tony smiled lightly, "probably return to Stark Industries for a while to sort things out. Oh, and I and Jan have this plan, but it is still in the making, so don't tell anyone, okay?"

Steve smiled and nodded, seeing an excited spark in Tony's eyes and hearing his voice rising in pitch as whenever Tony got enthusiastic about something. Adorable.

"We are thinking about setting up a foundation to help kids become superheroes. I have my lab, Jan has her sense of style and there are a lot of people out there who could be heroes, but don't have the right means. I think we could make a difference," Tony explained, a happy smile not leaving his face. Steve listened, feeling his heart swelling with love. He always knew that Tony was generous, but this was a new level.

"That's a great idea, Tony," Steve smiled back, honestly thinking so.

"Of course it is, like all my ideas," and the old Tony Stark was back, and oddly, Steve didn't mind. "What about you? What are Captain America's plans for the future?"

"I wish I would know," Steve sighed, "there is no Hydra left for me to punch," it was supposed to be a sincere complaint, yet Tony laughed like if Steve told a joke.

"If that makes you better, you can punch me," Tony offered with a grin.

"I don't want to punch you, Tony," Steve quickly said, sounding irritated and mellowing down the next second. "Sometimes I wish that we had spent more times on getting to know each other instead of fighting," he sighed again, looking down at his feet.

Tony hummed. There was a lot of conflict between them on numerous occasions but it was also what kept things interesting. "I will have to discuss it with Jan, but if you have no other plans, you could join us. We could use someone with military training and a solid, moral spine. Unless…" Tony's voice dropped down, some sadness hearable, "unless you rather go back."

Steve didn't understand. He looked at Tony, and Tony turned away the second he did so.

"Go back where?"

"Back to your times. To Aunt Pegg- to Peggy and the other Bucky. The portal didn't close yet."

Maybe it was an idea. To hide back in the 20th century, to live his life how it was supposed to be. Just knowing what he knew now, could he go back?

Steve shook his head. "It is not my place anymore," he said, accepting the truth.

"Right. Your place is here."

"Or at least I like to think so," Steve smiled, looking at the sky above them. So many stars.

Tony glanced over at Steve. He bit his lip, wanting to ask something but holding back. He didn't want to make things more complicated and painful.

"You okay?" Steve asked, noticing with the corner of his eye that Tony shivered.

"Yeah," Tony breathed out, wrapping arms around himself. "Just cold."

"Come here," not thinking much, Steve wrapped an arm around Tony and drew him closer. Tony blinked in surprise, but soon leaned into the super soldier, taking in the warmth. Cozy. And Steve smelled good. And Tony really didn't want to lose this. And it was their last evening together. And what the heck.

"Steve…"

"Hm?" Steve's breath stopped, when Tony tipped his head up, his lips pressing to Steve's tight ones in a brief kiss which lasted too short for Steve to properly react. And when Tony drew away, it was the most horrible thing.

"Oh man, I am sorry," Tony went into a chatterbox mode, clearly distressed, "did I read this all wrong? Because I thought we were having a moment and you needed some encouragement and-"

"Tony, shush," Steve ordered, only to put both hands on Tony's cheeks and kissed him properly. Slowly. Soft. Lasting. Only the two of them kissing under the stars.

"FINALLY!"

Or not.

Tony and Steve drew apart and saw half of the academy crowding behind the blasting range, the most noticeable Jan, who was yelling at Peter Parker to take photos and looking as almost crying, and both Tony and Steve got blinded time after time by the flash.

"The heck- get out of here!" Steve yelled, waving his hand as if trying to chase everyone away. Meanwhile, Tony took out his sunglasses and clearly started posing. Those photos would go to a school yearbook for sure. When the crowd got back to the main party, chatting and laughing on their way, Steve still seemed irritated with everyone sneaking up on them like that. Tony didn't mind, laughing and going in for more kisses, finally having permission to do something he wanted for a very long time.

"We should go back. I want to hear the Guardians playing. Also, I scheduled a surprise firework show," Tony grinned, not faltering when Steve sent him a harsh look.

"Did you discuss it with Director Fury?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I discussed it with him," Tony stood up, kissing Steve for the last time. For now. They had like three years of kissing to catch up on. "And I still have some cheese to give away. Do you think Loki will hate me for giving him velveeta? That guy is super hard to please anyway."

Speaking of cheese...

"Tony, why did you give me gouda?" Steve asked, remembering that this whole commotion started after Tony gave him his gift.

Tony paused in surprise. "Because it is my favorite cheese. And the best one for grilled cheese sandwiches," he explained simply.

Steve slowly smiled, finally making a connection. "And you love grilled cheese sandwiches."

"I do love them," Tony confirmed, smiling brighter and more beautiful than the starry sky above them. "Let's go, I want to see you dance Charleston for the last time," Tony urged.

Steve laughed and followed Tony, having some other dance in mind. After all, he and Tony had to make up for the lost time, and hopefully, they would have all the time to spend together very soon.

[ladyleoart]

First Time For Everything

Fandom: Marvel - Avengers {MCU} AU:  Domestic Avengers - Let’s pretend they’re in a time bubble, I just want them to be HAPPY okay! Pairing: Steve/Tony {Stony} Rating: This is a solid fucking G, basically? Sex implied Warning(s): None <3 Prompt: "Stony goes through a haunted house, Steve does bobbing for apples for the first time, Tony takes Steve trick or treating" 

For: Eric @fiction-is-my-diction also viewable on ao3!

(Note: Bucky’s halloween costume is actually inspired by this post from @dorkcoffee !! Amazing artist <3)

--

Captain America is a symbol of hope. He’s an American icon, but his reach extends beyond its shores and touches the heart of every dreamer, the fiery soul of every broken and beaten outcast, the spot buried deep in anyone who looks into the face of inequality and inhumane treatment and yearns to kick and scratch bloody stripes into their skin. He’s a hero, a role model, a mythical figure in his own right.

And he’s terrified of robot babies.

Tony can’t believe it, but it’s true - Captain America has fears, and not something so grand and vague as fascism, war, or another metaphoric big bad. His fear is the goddamn animatronic baby in the haunted house crib.

“Steve, it’s not real.”

“I know that!” He groans, fingers digging into Tony’s arm so hard it hurts.

“We can’t leave until we walk past it.”

“I know that too!” His feet seem to be glued to the spot, and the baby’s scripted routine of jerking upright and wailing resets, causing Steve to jerk and yank Tony’s arm nearly out of the socket.

“Steve,” he hisses involuntarily, and the star-spangled crybaby relents slightly, allowing Tony to roll his sore shoulder and grab his wrist instead. “Alright, come on, I’ve got you.”

A soft whimper and at first Steve’s dragging his feet through the small “nursery”, but once the baby lays back down Tony is able to pull him out the draped doorway and into a hall of mirrors.

As they wander through, Steve seems to calm down; he’s almost back to normal by the time they make it to the exit - but Tony can still feel him flinch when a short little vampire pops out for one last jumpscare. The kid must be about sixteen, but Steve glares him down like he’s Red Skull all over again; Tony can’t help but slide him a twenty to make up for what are most likely stained pants as he drags his surly boyfriend across the lawn of the haunted house.

Steve is dead silent - pun intended - and Tony shoulder checks him gently. “They do say it’s the scariest haunted house on the east coast.”

“I am never doing this ever again,” Steve snaps, but the pout says he’s more embarrassed than angry.

“Hey, at least that kid has a story to tell about the time he almost made Captain America cry.”

“Oh shut up.”

��----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They show up to the Halloween party fashionably late - a quick pit stop to change into their costumes turned into Tony’s suggestive “Trick or Treat” implications which turned into a quick tumble in the sheets. Eventually, Steve manages to get into his cowboy costume without Tony prying pieces of it back off, even if it means he has to yank Tony’s grim reaper hood down over his entire face.

There’s music playing and lights pulsing when they finally make it into the party, which is conveniently located three floors under their penthouse apartment in Stark Tower.

“The party’s at your house and you show up late?” Rhodey greets them with a grin, an arched brow, and two glasses of scotch, one of which he hands off to Tony while initiating their routine banter. He’s making the most of his robotic leg braces and has committed to being a cyborg for the party, complete with glowing red eye-piece.

“Oh, you know traffic always sucks.”

“You know,” Natasha interrupts, appearing from seemingly nowhere to stand directly beside them. “This is the boring business equivalent of a Dad Joke.”

Tony looks horrified. “You take that back, I am funny.”

“Maybe the first time, if I’m being generous.”

“Hey, Nat,” Steve interjects, casually sliding between them to steer her away from a sputtering Tony and laughing Rhodey. “Where are Sam and Bucky?”

“Just arrived to the party and you’re already heading to the time out corner?”

“The what?”

She grins. “That’s what I call the corner where they’re inevitably snarling and glaring at each other.”

He snorts. “Guess I better go make sure they don’t start another brawl.”

“Nice costume by the way,” she gives him a once-over. Natasha herself is wearing what can only be called a combat ballerina costume. Grey tights and steel-toed black boots, a fluffy pink tutu and bedazzled bodice, hair in a tight bun and war paint streaked on her cheeks.

He can’t help but laugh. “You too.”

She salutes him with her glass of vodka and a dangerous smirk.

He finds his two best friends right where Nat suggested - staring each other down in a little corner lounge space. The armchairs are plush and they’re sprawled in relaxed poses, but the tension in the air does nothing to suggest comfort - in fact, the chairs seem to have been yanked out of place so they can stare unblinking over their bottles of beer. Sam is decked out in what he calls “modern warlock regalia” which is really just a fancy, fitted charcoal gray suit and a velvet magenta duster, both dripping with chains and jewels. Bucky, true to form, has gone the lazy route with his costume. He’s wearing a blousey black shirt with loose sleeves that has a laced front undone to mid-torso, tucked into tight black pants and tall boots with several belts and a red sash.

“Are you a prince, or a pirate?” Steve interrupts their staredown brightly.

“Pirate,” Bucky spits, wiggling his many-ringed fingers and taking a long swig of Sam Adams’ Octoberfest without breaking eye contact.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Steve frowns sternly. “This is a party and we are here to have fun. No more pissing contest, ya hear me!”

“Aw, fine.” Sam is the first to break and cave to societal convention. “I know what to do!”

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

Bucky is scowling and Sam is grinning and Steve is wary, but Thor enthusiastically grabs them all in a big bear hug as they approach the bucket of water.

“Bobbing for apples?” Bucky’s brow is arched sharply as he squirms away from the embrace, but his relaxed stance betrays his interest.

“On Asgard we call it epli grípa,” Thor explains. “And it is a great game of sport.”

“I saw Thor carrying in the bucket,” Sam explains excitedly. “My cousins and I used to love bobbing for apples as kids.”

“Y’know,” Steve muses aloud, “I don’t think I ever did bob for apples.”

“Wait what?” Bucky frowns. “I did.”

Steve smiles wryly. “I think too many dunks in the school toilet turned me off the concept.”

Sam spins to look at him, incredulous. “You got swirlies?”

“There’s a name for those?”

“Oh yeah,” Tony grins, sliding up behind them and wrapping an arm around Steve’s waist. “I had my fair share, being the misunderstood rich genius that I was.”

Rhodey snorts. “You were a smart-ass punk and everyone could see it.”

“Same thing,” he waves a hand dismissively. “All geniuses are inherently misunderstood.”

“Now!” Thor grins. “Will the Captain be the first to…bob?”

He pauses, and Tony nudges him. “Go on then, Cowboy. Reclaim your honor.”

“Reclaim his honor?” Bucky frowns.

“Don’t you dare!” Steve snaps.

Tony smirks. “If you can catch the apple within three tries, I take the secret……to the grave.”

Natasha, passing by with Pepper and Darcy and a plate of snacks, groans. “Oh, reaper puns? Now it’s getting worse.”

“You shut up, you,” Tony points at her sternly, shaking his scythe, and she sticks out her tongue.

“Fine,” Steve declares, pulling attention back to himself. “I’ll accept your challenge.”

“When have you not accepted a challenge?” Bucky mutters.

Thor claps firmly, grinning broadly. “Yes!”

“I kinda wanna hear the story,” Sam wonders aloud, and Tony winks.

Steve is focused on the tub of water like it hold the secrets of the universe, eyebrows furrowed with concentration.

It’s like watching a blind dog try to find its water dish in the dark. He’s flailing and pecking at the water like a chicken, and Tony Is trying so hard not to pee himself laughing. In the end he goes past three attempts with no success, a fact which seems to drive him further out of spite. Steve is nearly submerging his entire head at this point, and eventually Bucky and Tony have to pull him back by the arms - with an apple clutched firmly in his teeth.

“Good job babe,” Tony smiles, pulling the apple free and taking a bite. “I’m still telling the story though.”

Steve groans, proud grin falling into a resigned expression. “I knoooow….”

So Tony gets the treat in the end.

[dabblinginmarvel]

The Soul World

Request: What about an imagine where everybody that either died or disappeared in IW ended up in the soul stone and reader is a part of the avengers. She thinks Loki died but as they save everybody from the soul stone she and Loki reunite? Idk if i make any sense but i love you and your masterpieces. 💟💟

Plot: Reader sacrifices themselves to the Soul Stone to find Loki after Thanos is defeated.

A/N: This was a challenge to write, because I thought using time travel was going to be too easy and I’ve seen it done too many times in everything (sci-fi nerd, hello), so I came up with something else to go with the request. I took some liberties, too, to fit in better with the movies and comics. Hope you like it, and I am so sorry for what I had to do to get there.

Warnings: Infinity War spoilers

Word Count Total: 2073

Long Imagine #20

Title: The Soul World

It took a long time and a lot of effort, but finally the remainder of the Avengers and your new friend Carol Danvers, who was Captain Marvel, subdued Thanos and Thor was able to bury the god-killer in his head.

The last breath was satisfying to you, but also a sound of finality. Everyone was gone. Half of the universe had been destroyed, beings and planets alike. Steve had been disintegrated and you hadn’t seen Ant-Man nor the Wasp since the beginning. Even though the villain was dead, you still felt like you had lost.

Together you, Thor, Tony, and Carol pulled the gauntlet off of the dead body. It took a lot of strength, but it finally came off of the Titan’s lifeless hand.

Thor rammed his axe through the gauntlet and it finally fell apart, having destroyed not one but two powerful entities. The metal crumbled to the ground in large chunks and the handle splintered. The break in the gauntlet caused the stones to fall out, no longer being held on by magic.

“Now what?” you asked.

Tony shook his head and turned away, likely having expected everyone to return after the gauntlet was destroyed.

“From stories I’ve heard, the Soul Stone holds the souls in a little world all its own. It collects them in a paradise if they led lives where they worked hard to better the world and help people.” Thor shrugged.

That didn’t sound like the Loki most of the universe knew. To them, he was a lazy, selfish, terrifying man. But to you, he was a careful, kind man.

“Has anyone been able to leave?” you asked.

“Adam Warlock, I believe. I do not know if he is near or if he is in the stone already.”

“Then I’m going in,” you said.

Tony grabbed your arm. “Like hell, you are!”

“No Tony, I didn’t come this far to only go this far! I’m going!”

“I’ll go!”

“No!” you sobbed. “I need you here! I need an Avengers leader to stay here with Thor and Carol!”

“Steve is still here!”

“Steve got pulled in before Thanos was killed!”

Tony froze. “What?”

Your voice was more subdued now. “Yeah. I’m going.”

He grabbed your arm. “Y/N, wait -”

“Tony. Please.”

He pulled you into a tight hug, trying to hold back his sobs.

“Hey, I’ll be back. I promise.”

You walked up to the destroyed gauntlet and the spread out stones, offering up yourself mentally to the orange one. At first nothing happened, then you felt a jerk around your navel and your physical self began to fall away, disintegrating, and your essence being sucked another way.

When your eyes opened next, you felt nothing but your emotions. You no longer felt tired or pained. You felt free of any physical burdens. You were seated on the ground and pushed yourself up. The Avengers suit you had was still torn as it had been before – before what?

You couldn’t remember. But the anxiety you expected to feel didn’t manifest itself as you had expected. Thoughts ran through your head quickly, but you didn’t feel sick.

If you stayed in here too long, you weren’t going to want to leave.

Tony, you thought, focusing your head on the image of him in his signature Iron Man colors and suit.

Loki, you thought next, bringing up the image of him in the first thing you could think of – his black suit and a gold horned helmet.

A man appeared out of the orange surroundings, shaking you out of your thoughts. His skin shone as if made of gold and his hair was a dirty blonde. “Hello. My name was Adam Warlock.”

“I’ve heard about you. You are the only being who is able to escape the Stone.”

“I am. I assume you are here because of the enormous amount of newcomers.”

“Yes.” You froze for a second, pulling up Tony’s image, fighting to remember what had happened. The Stone was not taking this from you just yet. “Thanos obliterated half of the universe. Or, well, sacrificed half of it to this sentient stone.”

“I see you did your research. Did you say Thanos?”

After a while of explaining the war to this man, stumbling through the details as you struggled to keep a hold onto, he agreed to help everyone escape. But the stone required that someone had to stay behind as a self-sacrifice. Your heart sank, but you knew what came next. You volunteered.

He motioned for you to follow him through the landscape. There was some mist you walked through and you saw the surroundings change, the barren landscape turning into a paradise. But it was all orange and a nagging thought at the back of your brain reminded you that this was all wrong. You tried to hold it there and focus on that thought. There was no guarantee you could remember to leave if you lost it.

This is wrong this is wrong this is wrong –

“Might I ask you why you think this is wrong?” he asked and you remembered he likely could hear your thoughts.

“Because I have to get everyone home before I succumb to this place. I can’t succumb just yet.”

“Your boyfriend.”

You nodded. “I have to make sure everyone can make it out and that I see my boyfriend one last time before I go.”

“I have not seen, nor heard, Loki in here.”

If you still had your heart, it would have throbbed painfully, but all you were capable of were sad thoughts. The lack of physical response to your emotions was so wrong.

After a bit of walking (you weren’t certain, time felt different here, it moved differently here, you knew it in your – heart; no, not your heart, but it was close enough), Steve appeared. He was still in his Captain uniform that you kindly called his Nomad suit because he had torn off the star, and he was chatting with Bucky, holding his shoulders, and a giant smile on his face.

“Steve,” you said.

“Y/N! What are you doing here?” He released Bucky and walked over to you.

“I came to find you all.”

“Well, you’ve found us. And now you’re stuck, too.”

“Yeah. Sort of.” You glanced back at Adam as he pushed Bucky through a white portal. “I found everyone a way home.”

“Did he just go home? How did you get us all released?” Steve asked, an alarmed look in his eyes (or feeling wavering off of him, you weren’t certain because it was all blurring together as the stone changed, losing more and more souls in multiples at a time) calming down.

“He should be with Thor by now. I used a little negotiation.” You couldn’t stop your thoughts that came next, And relinquishment of my soul.

“I will do it,” Steve said. He must have heard your thoughts, louder as the stone fumbled to hold on to others and getting emptier quickly. “I’ve lived my life and no one needs me anymore. If need be, Bucky or Sam can take the shield.”

“Steve, no!”

Steve smiled sadly. “Steve yes. Y/N, I could do this all day. But I’m staying. Tony’s going to need you. They all are.”

“Adam, tell him it’s already been decided!”

Adam shook his head. “I am sorry, Y/N, but the Stone has not definitively decided. A potential Mjolnir wielder is a wonderful candidate, however.”

“Mjolnir wielder?!”

“Ask Thor.”

“No! This -”

“Goodbye, Y/N,” Steve said, then shoved you through the portal.

“Steve!” You flew backward, limbs flailing, into the light. Your butt hit the ground and you slid a little backward. Your ears popped and your vision swam.

“Y/N,” a voice said in the distance. Well, it seemed like the distance, you weren’t sure how far away until two hands grabbed your shoulders. “Y/N!”

The voice was louder, in your ear. Tony.

You tried to say his name, but it came out garbled. Your vocal chords were a little raw. All you were able to get out was a whisper.

So you attempted again and again to work your chords until you could get out, “Steve’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” Tony asked, nearly dropping T’Challa as he helped him up with Bucky’s help.

“He sacrificed himself to let everyone else out.”

“What?!”

You breathed deeply twice, trying to see around you. You knew what the answer to your next question was, but you had to ask it anyway. “Is Loki here?”

Thor frowned, his face still coming into focus. “Y/N, he died before the Soul Stone was retrieved.”

“But he’s Loki. He doesn’t just die over something stupid. He always has a plan!” You sobbed, making your words harder to understand. Thor knelt down and held you. Over his shoulder, you could see through your swimming vision others standing up slowly with the help of still more people.

“He would have appeared by now, Y/N.”

You jerked your head up, narrowly missing Thor. “The Soul Stone was sentient. Could the Space Stone be, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if he attached himself to the stone to keep himself hidden and is stuck? What if we opened it up?”

“How would we do that?”

You thought back to the attack on New York. “It took a specific amount of energy for Dr. Selvig to open the portal. How much?”

“I don’t know about energy, but there was a huge amount of heat he had to use, according to Tony.”

You turned to look at Tony. “You remember?”

“A hundred and twenty million Kelvin,” Tony said, but he was uncertain.

“Jeez, where are we going to find that much heat? The sun is less than six-thousand Kelvin on the surface for comparison.”

“Maybe lightening?” he suggested, turning to Thor.

You shrugged. “That sounds too small still, but it’s the only thing we’ve got.”

“How much heat?” Thor asked.

“I don’t know, Thor. I think it’s more than the sun, but I don’t know!” Tears filled your eyes. It wasn’t fair.

“We have to try,” he said gently, understanding you were upset. You nodded, wiping away a tear.

Thor summoned lightening and then channeled it around the space stone, letting sparks hit it and agitate it to open it. The small sparks weren’t enough. He didn’t want to damage it, so he slowly started to add more and more to it until it was surrounded by a ball of white lightening. A blue circle appeared, growing larger by the minute, showing stars on the other side. But no sign of Loki. You began to cry.

“He really is dead, isn’t he?”

“No, he’s alive,” said a voice behind you that after all this time all you could describe it as music to your ears. The voice had crackled a little, but you would know it anywhere.

“Loki,” you breathed, turning around and running over to him. His open arms welcomed you and you didn’t mind the grey space dust on his uniform. Loki pulled you against his chest, his cheek resting on top of your head.

“Hello, my love.” His voice reverberated through your chest and you relished being pressed against him again.

“I’m so glad to see you.”

“Are we safe now?”

“We are.”

Thor broke in, placing a hand to Loki’s shoulder. “Y/N went into the Soul Stone to find you.”

Loki pulled back to look at you. “Why would you do something that dangerous?”

“Because I love you. Everything is over and I had to know. You can have a life now. It won’t be the same, but now you can live without him hunting you.”

His eyes were wide. “Did you say -”

You nodded, your lower lip between your teeth. “Yeah. I love you, Loki.”

He smiled widely, tears in his eyes. “I love you, too.”

“I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to admit. But I’m glad I have the chance to, now.”

“Me, too,” he whispered, pulling your cheek against him again. You didn’t care what happened next, not when Thor and Wanda destroyed all of the stones but the Mind Stone, not when Peter and Tony reunited nor Groot and Rocket, not even when Vision was restored (although, all of it made you happy eventually). You had Loki back and you two were going to fight side by side until the end of time.

 - - -

Second author’s note: this required a lot of research on the stone and I want you to know I fancasted Alex Pettyfer as Adam to help me imagine the scenes, if anyone’s interested

Masterlist

Permanent Tag List (please alert me if you change your username, want to be tagged for only one character, or if you want to be untagged): @abbybills22, @coffeebooksandfandom (for Steve tags), @dreamer821, @everything-but-the-not-natural, @elxrini, @estelgilvala, @fangirling-equestrian, @feelmyroarrrr, @hellomissmabel, @httpmcrvel, @iamwarrenspeace, @kudosia, @m4df4n, @marrvelle-fics, @mindlessnerd89, @ms-cellanies, @mylittlefandomfanfictions, @space-helen, @susiejustsusie, @tea-with-loki, @wkndfrvr, @wxnchestervevo (tag list is open!!)

Strikethroughs are blogs I can’t tag.

Reminder, if your name is not linked and you are not getting notifications you have been tagged, please refer to this guide here: https://dabblinginmarvel.tumblr.com/post/168371559776/strikethroughs-i-cant-tag

[jamilelucato]

They Don’t Know About Us || Loki X Superhero Reader || Part Six

Summary: Y/N is a new Avengers and, while she tries to adapt to this new position, she has to deal with some new feelings for a guy who is not that good — and really older than her.

A/n: So, here the girl is basically eighteen and Loki has an appearance of a thirty-year-old in the human world. You’re able to control the earth element and all the things related to it. This story happens before Infinite War, everyone is already forgiven after Civil War and Asgard still exists (and Thor still has his hammer).

Part 5 || Last Part  ||        Masterlist

@leleleish @namelesslosers @satellitesweetpea @hesvoid34 @cwctusys @cinnamon-toast-warlock  

It was 1 in the morning when Loki showed up in your room. He had to keep knocking for a while because you were falling asleep. 

“I’m so sorry, love,” he said once you opened the door “I didn’t mean to wake you up. If you want me to go...”

“—No, no” you interrupted him, making space for him to enter your room “I just practiced a lot of exercises today and that made me go lay down in my bed. I’m not tired though”

“Really? I can leave.” he offered again.

“Please stay. I want you here” you replied. That was the moment that you realized that you meant it. Truth be told, you were a bit tired, but you didn’t want to leave Loki. Especially when it was only your second ‘date’. Could you call those night meetings ‘dates’?

“So... what do you want to do?” Loki sat in your bed, and you did the same.

“That’s a good question” you had no answer so you two just sat there next to him for a couple of minutes, doing nothing. “I don’t want to do anything in particular.”

“Well, then chilling out is just fine” he replied, smiling at you. “Can I... Can I lay on your bed?”

“You’ve done it before, haven’t you?” you smiled back “Sure, go ahead”

“But this time is different. I was asking if I could lay on your bed while you lay on it too” he said, looking in another direction that wasn’t your eyes.

“Oh!” you let it scape “I guess... you still can”

“Thank you, love” he finally laid down, leaving you one pillow where his head wasn’t touching.

But you didn’t need the pillow.

You laid on his chest. You came close very slowly, studying the situation. But you thought that that was enough for a baby-step, and you settled for it.

It wasn’t as comfortable as you thought, but it made you feel safer than laying anywhere else. You couldn’t see his face so you couldn’t tell how shocked he was, but it didn’t take him to long to pass his arms around, making you feel even safer if it was possible.

“I have a feeling that someone will fall asleep in this position” he commented, with a happy voice.

“That’s not a problem” you answered. That moment was too precious for you to lose because of something sleepy.

“I thought you wanted this to be a secret” he tried to catch your eyes.

“You wanted to, actually,” you said, “Something about our ages, I recall?”

“But you are the one who told Thor I wasn’t your type. Wouldn’t that be weird if it wasn’t true?” you could swear he had an eyebrow lifted.

“I don’t really care about Thor’s opinion at this point” you answered.

He said nothing more, and you guys just cuddle in the silence for what it felt like hours. When you were falling asleep all over again, you heard him saying something.

“I’ll be gone when you wake” but you couldn't protest — sleep had taken you to a far away reality.

¨

He had kept his promise: when you woke up, he was already gone.

You got up, still not believing you fell asleep right next to Loki, the Norse God of Mischief. Putting your normal-days-jeans and a simple black shirt, you got out of your room.

As always, Steve was making coffee in the kitchen.

"Good morning," he said, smiling when he saw you.

"Good morning, you too" you replied.

"Are you feeling better? Or stronger?" he asked, offering you a cup of coffee.

You got the cup "Normal, I guess. It's like yesterday never happened" in all of the ways because you couldn't still believe in the Loki situation.

"Hello, Midgardians!" you could recognize that voice anywhere now. 

You turned over and smiled a little once your eyes met Loki's. He smiled a little too, but it was all gone when Steve started talking with him.

"Loki! Good that you're here! I might need you"

"You wouldn't be the first. But I'll pass it; you're not really my type" Loki answered and that made you laugh loudly.

"Not like that! Y/N is actually the one who needs you" True, but not the moment. Steve got closer to Loki and grabbed your left arm on his way. "I think that Y/N is your perfect equal"

"What?!?" you screamed, almost spilling your coffee. Did Steve know about you two? But Loki wasn't even in your room this morning!

Although your face was really suspicious and chocked, Loki was holding it together very well. Maybe because he's a god, you wondered.

"I talked with you about it yesterday, little rock. Don't you remember?" Steve looked at you.

"Oh! You meant like my equal fighter!" you calmed down.

"Yeah. What did you think? That you two looked good for a couple?" Captain laughed "You're too baby for him!"

You're too baby for him! his words made your whole body shake. That was going what the Avengers would think, wasn't it? 

You looked at Loki, with sad eyes but he didn't look back at you. That made you feel even sadder.

"What's your point, Rogers?" Loki asked with a bored voice.

"I want you two to fight against each other. Y/N still don't have an equal fighter and I really think you'll be a match."

"Our powers are definitely not alike," Loki said, getting away from you two and getting closer to the fridge.

"They don't look alike at first. But I've fought both of you now, and I can affirm there is something in common" he explained.

"If it isn't any problem for the young lady, I would not mind fighting her," Loki said, closing the fridge door with a yogurt in his hands.

"I don't mind fighting the gentleman either" you replied.

"Great! Then it's settled! 2p.m at the gym, guys!" Steve said, still not letting go of your arm. "Y/N I have to talk with you about something"

"O...kay?" all you wanted was a free time with Loki, one you didn't need to sleep or fight against him.

Steve led you to the living room where Natasha was. It made you look away. You couldn't talk to her, not yet.

And that's what you whispered to Steve.

"You got to let go of that, little rock. I already gave her a hard time about it too. It wasn't right." he said to you with a low voice "You are just a girl and Loki is a bad man. I told her that what she did was wrong. If you were one year younger, this would be like a crime. She gets it now. Seeing you sad is killing her. She's been your friend from the begging, you know."

"And I wish she could be my friend in the end. But all she did was confuse my mind to flirt with him" you liked flirting with Loki but Steve saw that as something so wrong as killing someone, so you had to go with it.

"Talk to her, Y/N," he said, leaving you two.

That was when Natasha finally notice you in the room.

"Hey, Y/N," she said.

"Hello, Natasha" you knew that it would hurt her hear you call her for her name and not the nickname.

"Can I say 'I'm sorry' again or are you tired of it?" she asked "Because I can go away if that's what you want. I realize that what I did was wrong; I should have told you from the beginning..."

"— I get why you did what you did," I think "but I still need a little time"

"What does that mean, Y/N?" she asked, getting up from the couch and getting closer to you.

"I mean that you are forgiven. But I don't think we can be best friends right away" you explained "I don't know if we ever were"

"Of course we were! When Tony Stark brought you here for the first time I already knew we would be friends. You looked like me before... you know" sure you knew, she had told you everything about her horrible past. "In your second day, I helped you out 'cause you got lost in this big construction. Or your first training day, which I paired up with you so you wouldn't end up with someone weird" 

Someone weird: there are only a few Avengers she considered 'weird'. Those were Bucky, Falcon and Scarlet Witch. Sometimes Vision.

And you only knew those stuff because she trusted you with it. 

"Tasha, I... I'm not mad at you, but you did make me start feeling something about Loki." you let it all out, not holding yourself any longer.

"I don't have that power Y/N. If you are feeling something for him, that's on you two. I just made you realize that sooner" she said, running to your arms. Actually, you were the one who hugged first, because she was afraid she couldn't. "Tell me everything"

And you did.