#defeating your friend and returning home a hero but deep down being devastated by it?? god

[aka-catnip]

jayce and viktor are so glinda and elphaba actually

[mochegato]

I Can’t Fight This Feeling

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

This was supposed to be an easy job, the last thing he had to do before Talia would think he was ready and let him go on his own path.  Trail the heroes back to the Guardian, steal his miraculous, wait until the heroes detransform, steal their miraculous.  Lure the villain out and steal his miraculous.  Child’s play. He didn’t need years of training for this.  

But then they were kids.  Kids who started the same age as him.  Kids who weren’t being protected as they risked their lives protecting everyone else.  Kids who actually cared about the people they worked with.  Kids who weren’t self-righteous, condescending, assholes. Kids who deserved to have good lives. But they were kids who were sacrificing their lives for this fight and he could help with that.  

Once he finished the mission, they could have their lives back.  He takes their miraculous, tracks down Hawkmoth and takes his miraculous, and everything goes back to normal for them.  Their lives can go back to normal, like none of this even happened.  He just needed to track down Hawkmoth, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.  He didn’t know what the heroes had tried already, but they were civilians.  

Everything he found out about Ladybug, or rather Marinette Dupain-Cheng, indicated that she had no detective training.  He had been trained by the World’s Greatest Detective and the League of Assassins.  Even if the butterflies were impossible to track, he should be able to find something that would lead him to the villain.  Then he takes that asshole’s miraculous, and the heroes, more specifically Marinette, could have her childhood back, what’s left of it anyway.

He just needed to get started and since he knew Marinette’s identity, that made her the weak link, so he’d start with her.  He’d been hoping he could track her to the Guardian, but she hadn’t gone to him.  Probably because knew she was being tailed.  She hadn’t done anything definitive to show it, she was too good for that, so if he didn’t know the signs, he would have missed it.  But he did know the signs, so he hadn’t missed them.

He could see the way her shoulders would tense up when he was watching her soothe to one of her classmates when they were panicking. He could see it in the way her eyes lingered around the playground just a little longer than was normal when she was babysitting.  He could see it in the forced even breaths when she was feeding strays.  He could see it in the way she would be in a design trance, focused on sketching, her eyes bright, and she would suddenly snap her head up, snap her book closed and head home.  He could see it in the way her smile suddenly strained when she was helping a stranger.

After another few weeks of trailing her, he had finally decided it was time to take her miraculous.  Instead of trailing her to the Guardian then take her miraculous, he’d take her miraculous and trail Chat Noir to the guardian.  He was the second in command, therefore he was the most likely to approach the Guardian with the information and come up with a plan. Whatever plan they came up with didn’t matter, as soon as he knew where the Guardian was, it was over.

Now, he just had to come up with the perfect time to take it, without hurting her too much in the process, which was going to be a challenge no matter when he did it.  There was no way she would just let him take them and while he could definitely overpower Marinette, he was hoping to do it with as little violence to her as possible.  Everything he’d observed so far about her told him she would likely already feel like she failed once he took them, he definitely would have.  Hopefully she reacted better to it than he would have, because back then, when he worked with Bruce, when he had a home, or thought he did, he would have gone into a deep depression.  He already knew it was going to happen, but he didn’t want to make it worse. She didn’t deserve that.  She didn’t deserve any of this.

The easiest way seemed to be to knock her out as painlessly as possible.  So here he was, following her, hanging back more than a respectable distance so he wouldn’t alert her to his presence and waiting for the perfect opportunity to isolate her and use the tranquilizer dart in his pocket.  And that would have been the way things went except it seems fate had a change of plans, in a way that only a crowbar to the side of the head could do.  This time it wasn’t a clown wielding the crowbar, but the effects were just as devastating.

There was a somewhat sheltered part of the park Marinette was walking through, trees on either side of a narrow walkway, shielding the area from prying eyes.  If she kept the direction she was going, she’d walk right through it, and that was where he’d strike.  He gripped the dart tighter in his pocket, prepping himself for what he was about to do to her.  He’d just picked up his pace when someone burst through an apartment building wall. Or rather, something did.  

An akuma calling himself the Shusher jumped at the kids in the park, wielding a crowbar of all things, to silence all of Paris. Each hit stole a bit of volume, until it stole their life, which to Jason’s horror, he demonstrated on Marinette. She’d acted immediately, jumping in front of the kids, giving them time to run, drawing him away from the direction they ran.  She’d dodged well for the first few swings, but after that, she’d grabbed his arm and kicked his kidney.  If the man hadn’t been an akuma, Jason was positive he’d be on the floor, but with the magical reinforcement, the akuma didn’t even flinch.  Instead, he swung hard, and with the close proximity, she didn’t have the room to dodge this time.

Jason froze at the first swing.  Why did it have to be a crowbar?  He couldn’t get his body to move.  He couldn’t react.  He couldn’t help.  And he couldn’t tear his eyes away.  The first hit knocked him out of his stupor.  The sight was horrifying.  His body finally moved, but slower than normal.  It didn’t seem to respond to him like it usually did.  He didn’t reach them until Marinette was already on the ground, no longer breathing.

He watched the blood seep out from under her until it had saturated the ground around her.  A sickeningly satisfied smile spread across the akuma’s face as he examined Jason to see what he would do.  Jason looked to the side toward the sheltered part of the park and back to the akuma. He pulled his hood over his head until the only part of him that could be seen was his glowing green eyes.

“Game on, mother fucker,” Jason growled as he sprung at the akuma, catching him around the waist and rolling toward the shielded section of the park.  He let the akuma attack him, backing him up until they were fully shielded on all sides by the trees.  Once he was sure nobody could see them and no cameras could record them, he leaped up and attacked the akuma with a volley of kicks and punches that would have left any normal human dead and unrecognizable within seconds.

He continued to attack the akuma until he heard the miraculous team arrive.  He kept the akuma distracted while Marinette’s team found her body and took a minute to mourn.  When they approached with a new found determination, he backed into the trees, effectively disappearing from the scene.  The akuma switched targets quickly, more interested in taking the miraculous than continuing a pointless fight with him.  Jason watched the akuma jump away and the team follow him.

The fight was long and messy without their leader there to guide them and them emotionally thrown off by her death, but Jason kept a close eye on the news coverage of it in case he had to step in. Every fiber in his being was pushing him to join the fight and tear the bastard to pieces, slowly and in the most painful ways possible.  But he couldn’t do that.  If he did, Talia would know what he did, that he intentionally betrayed them.  He wouldn’t last the week, let alone Marinette.

And regardless of the outcome of the fight with the heroes, the man wouldn’t survive the week anyway.  Jason was going to make sure of it.  That thought was the only one running through his head as he watched Marinette’s lifeless body strewn out on the ground, her arms at odd angles, the bruises starting to form, the spots where the crowbar hit starting to puff up.  He could no longer make out the shape of her face.  Her eyes, which had always been so bright and hopeful and passionate, were now lifeless and dull.  

It stole his breath away.  He felt a sharp pain in his chest that wouldn’t go away, worse than if he would have taken a hit to the chest from the crowbar.  Which is exactly what should have happened.  He had training.  He had experience.  He should have been the one to jump into the fight, not Marinette.  She didn’t have any of that and she jumped in to save those kids.  She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold him off for long and she still did it.  

And he wanted to be angry or surprised but he wasn’t either.  Because he’d done his research.  He’d been observing her for over a month now in and out of the suit.  That’s just who she was.  That’s who he was supposed to hurt.  God, the idea of being the cause for her eyes to dull over hurt.  But he kind of was, wasn’t he.  And his plan, if he went through with it, would do it all over again.

After an eternity, a wave of pink and red ladybugs swept through the area, returning the surrounding buildings to normal. Marinette gasped back to life. She jolted up to sitting only to slump immediately after.  She took a few shuttering breaths before reaching up to feel her ears.  “No, no, no, no,” she started panicking and searched her surroundings.

“They’re gone,” Jason answered the unasked question.

She stared at him wide-eyed, fear lacing her eyes, quickly turning to a furious glare.  He held up his hands in surrender.  “It wasn’t me.  It was your friend so she could fight the akuma.”  She looked at him doubtfully, but nodded.  She was healed after all, so the akuma must have been defeated.  She kept her eyes on him and slowly urged her body to tense in preparation for whatever attack he had planned.

“Relax.  I’m not going to fight you, kid.  I’m not looking for a fight today… except maybe that guy with the crowbar,” he growled the last part of his sentence, his eyes wandering in the direction the fight had gone.

“No!  You can’t do that,” Marinette exclaimed loudly, almost lunging at him, but collapsing back down almost instantly from the shock of movement to her system.

“Are you serious, Goody Two Shoes?  He killed you.  He beat you until you stopped breathing.  He took your life from you with no remorse and you’re going to protect him?” Jason barked.

“It wasn’t him.”  Jason scoffed at her.  “I’m not saying he’s a good guy.  I don’t know him.  But, the akumas, they change a person, morph them, make them into someone they aren’t. It isn’t them.  And I don’t want anyone dead because of me.”  She met Jason’s glare with a determined one of her own for a few seconds before she looked away.  “And it’s Marinette, not Kid or Goody Two Shoes.”

Jason narrowed his eyes at her and pressed his lips together in frustration.  “Fine. I won’t kill him.  But you need to be careful because the League of Assassins is after your jewelry.  And stop telling strangers your name.”

Her eyes snapped back up to meet his.  “What is the League of Assassins?” she asked cautiously. “And like you didn’t know my name already.  You know it. Use it.”

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes.  “And you wouldn’t believe me about the League if I told you.” He shook his head lightly, but the serious expression on his face was enough to scare Marinette.

“Try me.”  Her voice held more confidence than she felt.  Like she was challenging him.

“It’s a league … comprised… of assassins.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed out a long suffering breath.  He gave her a charming grin, maybe the first authentic, happy smile he’d given since before he died.  He looked in her eyes and suddenly turned away.  His smile faded to a frown.  “There's a timer on this peace.  They want the miraculous and they want them before you defeat Hawkmoth because they know they’ll have no way to track them once you’re not using them anymore.”

He looked back in her eyes.  “They'll send somebody else as soon as I leave here.  They’ll send more.”

“Someone better?” she chuckled mirthlessly.

Jason scoffed and gave her a roguish smile.  “Oh Pixie, there is no one better.”

Marinette actually laughed.  “Well then, I've already survived the best.  I'm sure I can survive the rest,” she said defiantly.  “And I told you to call me Marinette.”

Jason smiled proudly, but quickly shook it off.  As long as Hawkmoth was active, they were in danger, she was in danger and he wouldn’t be able to protect her.  The only way out of it was to become him.  “Not unless you're willing to kill them. They're not like me.  They won't walk away when they see who you are.  They'll keep coming until you kill them.”

She looked at him curiously.  “And who am I?  Who am I to you to make you stop?”

Jason looked away, his eyes unfocused for a moment before returning to her eyes.  “You're like me, like I used to be.  But better.  You're who I should have been, who I was supposed to be.”  His head whipped around to the sound of people calling her name. “Time’s up.  Good luck.”

“Wait…” she called after him.  She tried to get up and go after him, but he was already gone before she could ask more questions.

Two weeks later she received an email addressed to Pixie with a clear video shot through a window of Gabriel Agreste transforming into Hawkmoth.  A week later, she, Chat, and the rest of the team took him down, with video documentation of the whole thing and Officer Raincomprix as a witness.  Ultimately, once they knew who to go after, it was actually extremely easy to sneak in camouflaged and immobilize him.  They just needed that last piece of the puzzle.

The justice investigation was quick, as was the trial. Everyone involved was eager to get it over as quickly as possible, and with incontrovertible evidence against him, Gabriel didn’t have much of a defense to give anyway.  Waking up Adrien’s mother took a bit longer, but with the help of the monks in the temple, she made a full recovery.  Marinette’s memories of the previous three years, however never did.

Chapter 3

Tags:

@jasonette-july-event @jayjayspixiepop @aespades @how-to-function-properly

[bitchfitch]

Because, That's How The Stories Always Go

Count this a prolog, or a self contained tragedy.

An adventuring party lead by the fated hero of this land trecked across the scorched earth beneath the red moonlight. The smell of rot and char and burned blood filled the searing air between the cragly cliff faces. Twisted roots and branches, now more charcoal than wood caught on their clothes and gear as they pushed on ward down this path towards their shared destinies. The cracking and snapping as each delicate piece of destruction as it fell from its trunk joined the marching footsteps through the cinder and ash.

Twisted approximations of people and animals shambled in the distance, barely hidden by the thick, putrid yellow of the sulphurous smog that drifted from cracks in the ground. The Villain's influence burned all around them and twisted the world and everything in it to match his hellish nature.

This was once an idealic place, a sprawling verdant valley with a beautiful white stone castel at its center. That was where the princess, the beautiful and noble future queen of this land, had been sent to keep her safe from the encroaching vile destruction rought at The Demons Kings hands. Only for his forces to have invaded this land and taken her hostage as a putrid bid for power.

They had demanded that the true and righteous king give up the land their bile had seeped into in exchange for his only child's life. In bloody ink and spat words The Villain had threatened to kill her and feed her to the the six eyed bull-wolf monster that stood at his right hand, or crueler yet, to make her the beasts wife, or perhaps even his own if he was feeling particularly mean, if his demented demands were not met.

The Hero and his party trudged onward, ever closer to the center of this plight. To the princess, to her captor, to the Villain of this story. Unbeknownst to them though, their every step was being watched by the burning crows that cawed and croaked overhead, their ruby eyes cutting through the smog to track every step.

---

The Villain watched from within his throne room, the simple dark metal hand mirror that acted as his view to this scene was clutched tight in his white knuckle grip. He kept his sholders square as he watched the march, his face neautral, but he knew what was coming.

His hands shook, his gut turned itself inside out, the fire that ran in his veins seemingly died and left him cold to his very core.

He flicked his wrist to change the view, a final check over of everything he'd built. His people cowered from the path they had suspected the Hero and his party would take, their store rooms were full, their defenses ready. The Villain tried to unclench hks jaw, they were all so scared. They were all in so much danger.

He had to protect them. That was what he promised to do. To keep them safe from a world that scorned their ilk. He had failed so spectacularly. How many had died to protect this infant kingdom? How many had nobly, foolishly, bravely, stood between The Hero and The Villain? How many had been slain? How many would be in the aftermath of this? Would there be another cull? How many parents would live just long enough to see their children die?

They were in danger, and it was his fault. He wasn't strong enough, or clever enough. He wasn't enough to keep them safe.

But, maybe, just maybe he could buy them time. Allow another fire wrought ruler to take his place as protector. To keep them all alive just a little bit longer.

A hand, Heavy and bulky rested on his shoulder, only his thick cape kept it from being burned as his turmoil made his skin glow with searing heat.

"Minion," The Villain said as he set aside the mirror, turning to look at the goliath of a monster he called his best friend, "Promise me something," His own hand came to rest on the back of Minion's, spindly stark ash white fingers that were barely cool enough to stand, against shiny and thick black and rust red fur,

"Anything," Minion said without thought, "But know I am bad at promises," His voice was heavy, a deep baritone that rumbled through his chest, carryimg the sorrow that was held their out with it,

"Be a better king than I was," his own voice was cold, all the fire gone from it. He had done his mourning alone in his private rooms earlier, with one of Minion's shirts clutched tight to his chest. Now he just needed to be strong one last time,

"You ask impossible things of me," Minion snorted his almost pitch black eyes found the Villain's fire blues, "I can stay, We could fight them together-" he was always earnest, but now the force behind his conviction could burn hotter than even The Villain could,

"Then we would both be killed, and I would spend my last moments grieving," Villain sighed. He's seen his friend fall to those heros too many times to have any hope that he would survive another encounter. Villain wouldn't allow his own selfish desire to not be alone while facing his execution be what kills Minion.

Villain pulls his hand away, before slowly reaching with both to remove the crown from his head.

It was a circle of twistend and melted sword blades that he had forged for himself when he declared himself future king of this land, blood drenched and victorious. The tarnish on its surface evaporated as it turned red then white hot. The hard metal melting in his heated hands as he shaped it. The circle had fit him perfectly, it would sit nicely just behind his horns as a twisted accent to them. But it would have been far too small for Minion's skull. So he bent and twisted it until it was perfect again, now a half circle that could rest above his broad horns without interfering with his bovine ears or the pair of eyes that sat the highest on his face.

"Take this and go to your people, my friend, give them my apologies and your strength," He spoke while he finalized the shape, "If you do not think you can be a better king than I, then at least promise to be one that sees happier times and many, many more years," He took a breath before turning to look his friend in the eye, "Now kneel for me one last time,"

Minion's breath was choppy as silent oily tears stained the sides of his muzzle. Still, he knelt before the throne with his head bowed, not another word passing between his fangs. Even like this, hunched forward on one knee, he was almost a full hand taller than Villain.

Villain sapped the heat from the crown, setting it into its new shape and cooling it enough to not burn as it was placed, "The land shall recognize its new king," he set it between Minion's horns, his hands hesitating for a moment before drifting from the now cold metal to cup the sides of Minion's face, the fur here beneath his six eyes was silk beneath the former king's fingers.

Memories flooded him of the days spent with a pair of scissors between them as they tried to tame the thick beard that seemed determined to make a home here against Minion's wishes, and the laughter as they struggled to clean up the choppy edges, and the unavoidable bald spots that always cropped up do to Minion's inability to sit still, and Villain's imprecision.

"The people shall love you as much as I do," He brushed the tears away as Minion shook with a barely contained sob.

How many times have they spoken their love to each other? Whispers of desire hidden behind their genuine and iron strong friendship,

"You shall be victorious in all you attempt," Villain guided his friend to lean forward just enough for Villain to press a barely there kiss to the top of his snout as he passed on his final blessing before stepping away,

"Go now, go to your people and keep them safe. When you return… Let someone else handle the mess you will find, I couldn't bare to know I left you to sob over my corpse," Villain said, he sat the throne again, decidedly careful to look anywhere other than the hulking and devastated beast before him. He needed to be strong. He couldn't cry. Not now, not ever again.

Eventually Minion stood, his hooves scraping against the stone floors, "Rest well, when it happens." He said with shaky words, "You will be remembered, I will make sure of it," with that final promise he turned and left. Only stopping at the door to say one last thing before shutting the Villain in this tomb, "I love you,"

The door shut, the sound echoing theough the room like a thunder clap as the Villain's composure broke. He wiped at his eyes, furious with the hot red streaks that were surely staining his skin. No, no, no.

He needed to be strong. He needed to do this. He couldn't break now. Couldn't run to Minion and sob into the fur on his friends chest. Villain was always going to die. He was always going to be defeated by his fated enemy. But still, fear pulled at every inch of him.

He sobbed into his hands, staining his palms blood red. He had everything he ever wanted. A kingdom that was thriving, people that respected him, friends, a home, someone that he'd carve his own heart out for. And none of that mattered.

Because He would be dead before sunrise.

Because, thats how the stories always go.

[emmilynestill]

Previously on To Sacrifice the Sun (Fall 2019)...

The new chapter will be out in a few.  In the mean time, you can refresh your memory with the chapter summaries.  :-)

Under the cut:

Prologue:

ARGUS Agent Felicity Smoak is preparing for a mission.  The next day, her team will go to the Temple of the Jaguar in Tikal to find the Obsidian Skull, a powerful Mayan artifact, before Reiter and Shadowspire.

Her “secret” boyfriend, Oliver, arrives and to take her mind off the mission, plying her with Guatemalan rum. Felicity teases him about how most of their team is hooking up. (Ronnie and Caitlin are married.  Lyla and Digg, their CO, are together.  Only Slade and Sara are not).

They make love and Felicity is overcome with emotion and the feeling something horrible is going to happen, but can’t bring herself to tell Oliver.  He tells her after they defeat Reiter he wants to move in together and finally go home to see his family (who believe he died five years ago).  

Oliver tells Felicity about his dream of getting married and having a baseball team of children, a Queen Legacy.  They plan their future together.

Days later, Felicity wakes up in an ARGUS medical facility in terrible pain.  Her surgeon, Shado, explains they defeated Reiter, but Ronnie was killed.   Felicity was shot in the abdomen.  They had to do a hysterectomy and now she can’t have children.  In shock and in pain, Felicity feels hopeless and doesn’t believe she will ever feel happy again.  

To preserve Oliver’s dream, she decides to sacrifice her happiness for his.  Felicity refuses to talk to him, believing he will leave ARGUS, go home to Starling, start over, and have his dream life with someone else.

Chapter 1:

Five years later, Felicity is working as a Team Leader in the ARGUS Science Center, the CAVE.  After Tikal, she sealed her medical records and refused to speak to anyone except Caitlin, who had lost her husband.  

Three months after Tikal, Felicity learned that instead of leaving ARGUS and going home as she had wanted (and expected), Oliver was taking an undercover mission with the Bratva, deep in Russia.  Felicity rushed over to stop him from going but was too late.  Since then, no one has seen or heard from Oliver but his handler.

In present day, Felicity returns to her lab to find Digg, who she hasn’t seen in years.   He tells her that there is a new threat, Damian Darhk and HIVE, who are searching for Kin Cuudad, the Lost City of the Sun, and a magic artifact, Kin Zil, the Gift, which is rumored to be far more powerful than the Obsidian Skull (the totem that killed Ronnie).  Digg needs Felicity to come back into the field, because no one knows the Lost City mythology and the Mayan language like Felicity.

Felicity, suffering from PTSD, tries to deflect, saying the city is just a myth.  Digg tells her they found a Door.  They are assembling the old team and Caitlin has already agreed to come.  He leaves and Cait, who is now a part of Felicity’s CAVE team, asks Felicity to help her face her demons on the Yucatan Peninsula.  Feeling she has no choice, Felicity agrees.  

Chapter Two

At the airport, Felicity and Caitlin meet Curtis and Cisco, two other members of their CAVE team, who are joining them for this mission (Curtis replacing Ronnie as Team Engineer and Cisco running comms from base).  Their silliness starts to relax Felicity until they start teasing her about seeing her “Gorgeous ex” and she realizes Oliver, who she believed was still in Russia would be meeting them in Mexico.  Felicity has a panic attack in the bathroom and Caitlin talks her down, but she is still convinced she ruined Oliver’s life with her bad decisions.

During the flight, Felicity prepares herself to see Oliver again and decides when they arrive at the Beach House/Safe House it would be best to get it over with.  She goes to the beach to find Oliver, only to see him smiling and talking to a very pregnant Lyla.  When Felicity sees him touch her pregnant belly, she panics again and runs.

After calming herself some, Sara finds her and welcomes her warmly, introducing her to Roy, Lyla’s replacement for Special Ops (since she is too pregnant to go on the mission).  Roy worked with Oliver in Russia and recognizes Felicity’s name.  Sara and Roy express their belief that the break-up was Oliver’s fault.  Shado and Caitlin interrupt before Felicity can convince them otherwise.  

Surrounded by friends and support, Felicity is feeling better even if they are all pushing her to talk to Oliver. Until they see him and abandon Felicity to her fate.

Chapter Three

Left alone with Oliver, Felicity freezes.  Oliver takes this badly and offers to leave the team if it would make her more comfortable. This leads to Felicity giving a long, anxious, babbling speech about how she is a train wreck emotionally.  She is devastated to learn that Oliver has blamed himself for the break-up all this time.  When Felicity tries to say it is her, not him, Oliver reveals that he feels responsible for her getting shot since the gun was aimed at him.  Then he walks away.

Later, the entire team gathers in the War Room where they are told they are going to the Mayan City of Palenque to gather clues before heading into the jungle and to the Door.  Curtis and Cisco reveal their inventions for the trip, including a new bow for Oliver.  Digg tells Oliver if things go south it is his job to protect Felicity. Felicity is given a photograph of the supposed Door and translates it with her newly enhanced glasses.  For the first time, she believes this may all be real and gets excited, feeling more herself than she has in years.

The next morning, the team of 8 travel to Palenque which has been emptied of tourists.  The old team (Slade, who lost an eye there, Sara, Digg, Cait, Oliver, and Felicity) come face to face with the Mayan world for the first time since Tikal.

Chapter Four

At Palenque, Felicity is searching the Temple of the Sun for clues to help open the Door to the Lost City, but all she is able to find is a fresco she knows well.  It depicts the founder of Palenque, King Cadmeal, who escaped from Kin Cuudad and is said to be the child of the Daughter of the Sun and the Warrior King.

Curtis and Sara manage to leverage open the stone slab to get into a chamber where Felicity has never been before. She and Caitlin search there for clues and come up empty handed.  She is about to look in one of the four (uninteresting) tombs when Curtis starts teasing her about Oliver and trying to get her to tell them why they broke up.

This leads to Caitlin telling them how they escaped Tikal, after both Felicity and Sara were unconscious, a story Felicity had never heard before.  Caitlin tells the full story, including Ronnie being killed, Sara being buried in rubble, and the gun being shot at Oliver and Felicity stepping in the way.  Only Oliver and Cait, at that point, were unharmed and in his rage, Oliver was able to capture the Obsidian Skull and smash it against the wall, so Digg could shoot and kill Reiter.

After the emotional story, Felicity seeks Oliver out and tells him she is glad she took the bullet because he saved them all and is a hero.  She hugs him and walks away.

Chapter Five  

That evening, Felicity is sitting on the crumbling steps of the Palace staring out at the jungle when Oliver finds her.  They talk about their memories from their time in the Yucatan five years ago and things are just starting to feel normal, until the talk turns to Russia.  

Then Felicity learns Oliver came to bring her to dinner.  Her CAVE team often tease her about forgetting to eat, but she is humiliated that they sent Oliver, until he confesses he volunteered.  

Felicity blurts out that she didn’t want him to go to Russia, that she wanted him to go home to Starling and be happy, which makes things tense again.  She tells him she tried to stop him from going to Russia, but it was too late. Oliver is obviously upset about the information but tells her he’s glad she told him.  

He asks her to come to camp and have some of his famous five-alarm chili.  Slade and Digg want to “initiate” Roy and Curtis.  Felicity agrees, thinking the chili will be her penance.  Then Oliver confesses he made a special not-lethal batch for her and Cait.

Chapter Six:

Back at camp, Felicity confronts Caitlin for sending Oliver to get her and playing matchmaker, until she finds out Oliver really did volunteer.  Cait apologizes for pushing them back together and confesses that she is ready to move on with their CAVE teammate, Barry, and feels guilty about it but, also, she wants both Felicity and Oliver to be happy.

At the campfire, Cait is convinced that the nonlethal chili is evidence of Oliver still being in love with Felicity.  The team gangs up on the newbies as they eat the painfully hot chili.  Roy handles it well, knowing what is expected of a Spec Ops, but Curtis freaks out to everyone’s, especially Slade’s, amusement. In the end, they confess the joke and Slade shares his flask with the team, Guatemalan Rum that reminds Felicity of her last night with Oliver.

The rest of the team gets drunk and decides to try and play Mayan ball, which gets very competitive very fast. Slade’s team starts to win when he puts Sara on his shoulders.  Curtis falls and twists his ankle and Oliver turns to Felicity and asks her to help him, “Kick Slade’s ass.”

Chapter Seven:

Caught up in the moment, Felicity allows Oliver to bring her into the ballgame which involves her sitting on his shoulders and trying to get a ball in a hoop 30-feet off the ground. At first, she’s freaked out, but they work well together and manage to play to a tie.  Roy tackles Sara and Slade, but Slade refuses to forfeit.  The game looks like it will never end when the skies open up and it starts to pour.  

Oliver and Felicity share an emotionally heated (and UST ridden) moment in the rain before Slade calls them to help gather their gear.  Felicity pretends to fall asleep in the tent to avoid Sara’s ribbing and Cait’s questions, trying not to imagine Oliver naked in the next tent over.

Chapter Eight:

Felicity wakes up the next morning after a strange dream about King Cadmeal and his wife dancing around tombs, with the intense need to look in the tombs in the chamber under the Temple of the Sun.  No one else is up and Felicity struggles with Curtis’ fancy coffee maker until Oliver shows up and does it for her.  They have a pleasant breakfast discussing how eggs are eaten in Russia.

The conversation turns to how they slept and Felicity confesses her dream and is pleasantly surprised by how serious Oliver takes it, though he always does.  Oliver offers to take her down into the Temple of the Sun himself and doesn’t seem to find it necessary to wake anyone else.

In the base of the temple, Oliver struggles with opening the tombs by himself, but refuses to admit it. There is nothing exciting in the first two tombs and Felicity starts to think it’s a dead-end.  Talk of her dream leads her to admitting having intuitions and premonitions since before Tikal.  He is upset she didn’t tell him back then.

But then Oliver loses control of one of the huge limestone slabs covering a tomb and it falls to the ground, causing a layer of red clay on the inside surface to crack and reveal an intricate carving underneath.  

Chapter Nine:

The Carving to the underside of the tomb reveals symbols of Kin Cuudad as well as a large fresco/carving of the Daughter of the Sun and the Warrior King, kneeling facing one another and making a strange pattern with their fingers.  They also seem to be wearing jewelry that Oliver postulates may be the Gift, Kin Zil.  

Oliver confesses a fascination with the Daughter of the Sun and while discussing them Oliver and Felicity almost kiss, but it is interrupted by Felicity having a panic attack.

The spell is broken and they explore the inside of the tombs.  The hieroglyphs of one of the tombs reveals it to be Cadmeal, the Daughter of the Sun and the Warrior King’s son and the founder of Palenque.  Another may be his wife and they discover an intricate moonstone carving in her hands.  Her fingers are also splayed like on the carving.

Before they can discover anything else, the emergency comms crackle on and they learn from Digg that they are under attack.

Chapter Ten:

While Oliver and Felicity are in the base of the Temple of the Sun discovering what was in the tombs, Palenque was invaded by HIVE.  The rest of the team engaged in a gun fight and Digg orders Oliver to take Felicity and get her to the Door ahead of the team.

They take what they can from the tombs and photograph what they can’t.  Oliver hoists Felicity out of the underground Chamber first.  While she is waiting, she gives into temptation and listens to what is happening with the team, learning back-up is on its way, but Roy is seriously injured.  An explosion rocks the temple sending Felicity into a flashback of Tikal.

A kiss from Oliver pulls Felicity out of the flashback.  They zipline to the other side of the park, where he drags her into the jungle. There, they find an all terrains motorcycle and take off into the jungle.

Chapter Eleven:

On the back of the motorcycle, Felicity struggles to hold on with the rocky terrain, but manages to work the GPS and communicate with the team (while Oliver drives and only has access to what she is saying.)

Ground back-up has arrived at Palenque, but things are not going well for the team and a medievac has not arrived for Roy who is rapidly losing blood.  Cisco and Lyla, from base, reveal they can not send in air back-up because of an approaching hurricane.  This triggers a panicked meltdown from Caitlin until Felicity talks her down.

Then Damian Darhk announces his presence over the comms, having captured Curtis, Slade, and Sara as they attempted to lead HIVE away from Oliver and Felicity and the rest of the team. Darhk demands the location of Kin Cuudad.

Lyla shuts down the comms, tells Felicity they are erasing all records of the Door’s location from everyone but her and Oliver’s devices, and then cuts them off from the ARGUS communication system to protect them from HIVE.  Just as Felicity is about to explain this to Oliver, a black blur jumps in front of them. The bike crashes and the world goes black.

Felicity wakes up to Oliver’s concerned voice and they discover a jaguar jumped out at them.  The crash broke Oliver’s ARGUS watch and damaged Felicity’s, messing up their GPS.    As she works to fix her watch, she catches sight of their missing jaguar in the tree.

Chapter 12:

Stranded in the jungle without access to the team or base, with broken tech, Oliver and Felicity come face to face with the reason for their motorcycle crash, a giant blue-eyed black jaguar.  Oliver asks for his bow, but Felicity gives him the tranq gun, instinctively not wanting to kill the animal.

Reluctantly Oliver agrees.  While Felicity works furiously to fix her ARGUS smart watch and get the GPS to the Door back up.  Unfortunately, while rebooting the watch it makes loud high-pitched noises that startle the cat and it pounces, leading Oliver to shoot it twice with the tranq gun.  

The confrontation leaves Oliver tense and pessimistic, pushing Felicity to take on more of her ‘Sunshine’ roll.  She is able to get her watch to work on basic settings and tapes it to the handle bars. Then while Oliver checks on their bike, she indulgently watches the jaguar, which she begins to find beautiful and fascinating.

Oliver freaks out a tad when he sees her pet it, but they are soon back onto the bike headed for the Door.

Chapter 13

The remainder of the trip to where Felicity’s broken watch locates the Door is long and largely silent, leaving her far too much time to think.  Most of it she spends thinking about Oliver.  She decides she needs to tell him everything as soon as they have a free moment and, for the first time, she starts to think that they might actually have a future together.

Once they reach their destination, they find nothing special and begin to worry the watch is truly broken. The storm is worsening and Oliver is focused on finding shelter.  

And grunting.  And brooding.  And generally being a pessimistic jerk.  

But when Felicity sits to work on her tablet, Oliver notices that she is sitting on a hidden tarp.  Under the canvas, they find the Door, but since they still don’t know how to open it and the hurricane is fast approaching, Oliver leaves in search of shelter, leaving Felicity to examine the Door.

After digging away at the bottom edge, Felicity finds a carving almost identical to the slab at the Temple of the Sun.  Then she realizes that the sun carving in the center is actually composed of two sets of handprints and her hands fit perfectly.  She calls for Oliver, who is irritated by the interruption, but he reluctantly agrees to place his hands next to hers in the carving.

The Door shifts and opens, disappearing into the hillside.

Chapter 14:

The Door opens to a staircase leading into the ground.  Felicity is ecstatic and disappointed Oliver isn’t, but they head down anyway.  At the bottom of the stairs, they find an opulent room filled with magnificent Mayan frescos and carvings but, unfortunately, no way out other than how they came in.  There is another Door like the first, with a handprint sun, but there seems to be a piece missing from the center and when they place their hands in this one nothing happens.

Oliver leaves to gather their things while Felicity translates. He spends the next several hours out in the storm and she has the distinct feeling he is avoiding her.  Worried and upset, Felicity heads out to find him.  

She finds him struggling with securing the tarp over the entrance to keep out animals during the storm. Feeling foolish, Felicity insists on helping and they quickly get the job done, barricading themselves inside.

After caring for their (fairly minor) wounds, Oliver asks Felicity to show him her translations.  One side of the room depicts the Daughter of the Sun and the other the Warrior King.  They meet in the middle where their lives combine.  During a betrothal scene, the Queen gives the Warrior a sun shaped medallion, a shape that appears in each of her panels and they postulate that this may be Kin Zil, the Gift.

After Felicity tries to begin a conversation about five years ago, but Oliver insists he needs to sleep.

Chapter 15:

24 hours later, things have not gone as Felicity hoped.  Oliver has groused and grumbled and avoided her.  Now he was out hunting it the tail-end of the storm in a thinly disguised effort to be away from her and Felicity has had enough.  Her guilt only extends her patience so far and now she’s pissed.

Sick of being stuck in the chamber alone, Felicity goes into the rain to freshen up.  Outside, she decides ‘frak it’ and takes off her clothes to take a shower in the warm rain.  Oliver returns, dead bird in hand, and flips out.  They have words.  He stomps off.

Back in the chamber, Felicity decides to only wear her dry clothing (her shirt and a pair of panties), and the hell with Oliver.  When he arrives, he’s even more irritable and finally Felicity calls him on it.

Oliver breaks and confronts Felicity on her confusing behavior, now and in the past, and how difficult it has been to interpret.  He wonders if she is playing games and if he ever knew her at all.  Felicity fervently denies this, along with ever lying to him. Oliver says that is a lie because she promised to be with him ‘always and forever.’  Felicity tells him she promised to LOVE him ‘always and forever’ and not only has she never lied, but she never broke her promise.

Oliver takes a moment to process this, then crushes her to the wall in a searing kiss.

Chapter 16:

Oliver and Felicity kiss.

And they kiss.  Then they kiss some more.   Lots of kissing.

Felicity reassures Oliver that she did indeed mean she was still in love with him and always has been. Oliver is relieved, but confused. He asks her why she left him and she tells him he couldn’t possibly understand because he’s missing an important part of the puzzle.

They untangle themselves and Felicity nervously explains how difficult this is for her.  Oliver asks for her to start at the beginning and she explains that the last night in Tikal she had been genuine in wanting to build a life together.  Everything changed at the hospital.

Oliver is upset because he was sedated when this happened and angry at himself, but Felicity only agrees to go on with her story if he agrees not to blame himself.  She tells him there were complications from the surgery which make him think she has a chronic health problem.

Finally, Felicity blurts out that she lacks the requisite parts to make babies.  Oliver is first shocked, then devastated, and she has to fight her own answering defensiveness and anger, realizing a large part of the reason she never told him was her fear he would eventually leave her over it.

Oliver expressed anger over Felicity keeping this from him and believing her choice could possibly have led to his happiness.  He tells her he needs to take a walk and leaves.

Felicity collapses in sobs.

Chapter 17:

After Oliver leaves, Felicity is overcome with grief and, feeling abandoned, she cries her heart out.  But once she is done and is able to think more coherently, she realizes that Oliver probably didn’t leave because she is infertile and doesn’t want her anymore, but because he needs to process the enormity of everything she kept from him.

Pulling herself together, Felicity realizes that Oliver left without even the shirt on his back or a weapon, which is terrifying.  But, since she can do nothing about it, she sits and spends her time fixing his comm link and waiting.

Oliver returns calm and sheepish after getting lost.  They begin to talk and Oliver tells Felicity he is angry with her but not for the reasons she thinks.  He is angry at her for even thinking he cared more about having children than being with her and feels he had the right to mourn this with her, since if she doesn’t have children he has no intention of having children either.

They cry in each other’s arms and talk about their grief and how hard it is, and will be, watching John and Lyla have a baby together.  They reaffirm that whatever happens from here on out they plan to do it together.  They begin to solidify their relationship physically, when Oliver rolls off Felicity and grabs his bow.

HIVE has found them.  

Chapter 18:

Ghosts swarm into the chamber. Thankfully, they seem intent on capture and are not shooting.  With a combination of Oliver’s arrows and hand-to-hand, as well as Felicity taking down two Ghosts with her pen dart, they are able to disable/kill the operatives.

Oliver expresses his pride in Felicity with numerous kisses, but they both realize they are no longer safe. As Felicity begins to gather essentials she has a strong feeling they cannot leave this place to HIIVE.

Unfortunately, Darhk and HIVE are already outside, at a stand-off with their jaguar friend.  Darhk uses his magic to force a confrontation, but the jaguar triumphs over automatic weapons and magic.  When Darhk orders the Ghosts to open fire Felicity calls out, not wanting the jaguar hurt, prompting Oliver to send an explosive arrow into a gas tank.

The smoke sends them into the chamber to grab their things and the jaguar follows.  Felicity picks up the moonstone that had fallen on the ground and a strange calm takes her over.  Speaking to the jaguar (who she names Kinich Ahau after the Mayan sun god and who does not speak back), Felicity realizes the moonstone is the key to the other Door.  

Kinich Ahau lies down peacefully, happy with her deduction.  Felicity places the stone in the palm print sun and her hands on top.  Reluctantly Oliver turns his back on the jaguar, curls himself over Felicity and does the same.

Chapter 19:

As they fit their hands into the door, Felicity feels a sense of rightness and happiness.  The moonstone becomes warm and starts to glow. The wall breaks away and starts to spin.  Oliver pulls her and their bags through just in time for it to seal them into a long tunnel.

As soon as Felicity’s hands fall away, she feels cold and all the confidence leaves her in a rush.  The happy feeling is gone, leaving her dizzy. Oliver comforts her from what he calls a “post-magic crash” and chuckles at her insistence magic is just undiscovered science.

Now that they are safe from HIVE (at least for a while), Felicity wants to continue their reconciliation. Physically.  It seems to help the cold worried feeling.  Oliver instead tries to refocus Felicity on the matter at hand, finding the Lost City and surviving.  

Oliver admits he worries he unleashed a curse when he blew up the tombs on Palenque.  This leads to him also confessing that when Felicity mentioned, “the baby,” during her flashback, he had the irrational fear she was pregnant with another man’s child. Felicity confesses it felt like she lost a child after Tikal and Oliver agrees.  

Then Felicity notices Oliver is still holding the moonstone and is worried it is affecting him, but he denies it.   He convinces her to try holding it again to get information on Kin Cuudad.

Chapter 20:

This time, when Felicity held the moonstone she didn’t feel strange and floaty.  She didn’t think it was working until Oliver shined a light down the tunnel and asked her where it led.  Then Felicity knew with absolute certainty that this tunnel was built for the Royal Family of Kin Cuudad as a secret entrance.  And escape route.

She also has a flash that the moonstone and the sun-medallion (which they have yet to see except in carvings) fit together to create a powerful totem.  That may or may not be the Gift.

But it isn’t the stone that makes Felicity realize that in all likelihood this tunnel leads to where the best scholars thought the Lost City lay, an area 25 miles north-east of there. Having no choice, hand in hand, they begin to make their way down the tunnel.

Three hours later, Felicity is fading fast, but fighting it, refusing Oliver’s frequent offers to rest.  Until she trips over something in the tunnel and Oliver insists.

After a few heated kisses, Oliver insists Felicity is too tired to continue and she falls asleep to his whispered promises of what awaits them back in Cancun.

Chapter 21:

Felicity is woken from a strangely vivid and terrifying nightmare where she is paralyzed and blinded, unable to find Oliver, but with the sensations of intense heat and the smell of smoak.  When she realizes they are in the tunnel she is not reassured and it triggers a panic attack.

Oliver talks (and kisses) her down.  This leads to a discussion of the PTSD Felicity suffered after Tikal and her fear she’s not allowed to be happy.  That they might die down there.  Oliver tells her he would rather die down here with her than live without her.  

That finally pulls Felicity out of her fears.  She wonders at how excessively romantic Oliver is and they talk a little about his life before the Gambit.  And Oliver’s belief that it was ARGUS, but mostly Felicity, that found the goodness inside of him.  

Talk turns to the future and Felicity tells him that she is tired of their lives being in constant danger. They worry over what may have happened to their friends after they left, but Oliver is cheered by the idea of convincing as many as they can manage to leave with them and being able to tell Waller the news himself.    

They resume their journey down the tunnel feeling more hopeful than they have in a long time.  

Chapter 22:

As they walk through the tunnel, Oliver and Felicity are debating  various career paths they could choose after leaving ARGUS when they come to a giant mural of the Mayan sun.  Felicity is excited until she realizes there is no door, just a dead end.  

Oliver attempts to use brute force to get through but sees reason when it becomes clear it’s solid limestone.   Stuck in a loop of hopeless confusion, Felicity finds herself clutching the moonstone and trying to understand why the Mayans would have built a tunnel with a blind end.  

While Oliver is trying to come up with a plan of action, Felicity comes to the realization that if they only have this short time together, she wants to take full advantage.  

At first, Oliver is concerned Felicity’s desperate kiss is a sign of her losing hope, but she manages to convince him it’s about savoring the time they do have and soon they are on the verge of making love against the sun mural.  

Just as Felicity is about to come for the first time in forever, she finds herself falling backward.   The wall disappears and they find themselves in a cave with sunlight streaming in through the ceiling.  There is a pool and waterfall and Felicity realizes this is a cenote (a sink hole, a sacred well of the Mayans).  

Oliver retrieves their things just in time for the wall to reappear, sealing them out of the tunnel.

Chapter 23

Things are just starting to get good when Oliver pulls away to check out the Cenote.  It soon becomes clear he intends for Felicity to join him in the water.   It takes her a moment to realize that her irritation is mostly due to her reluctance to strip naked in the bright sunlight.  She’s not ready for Oliver to see her scars from Tikal.

Felicity manages to get in the water without him seeing and things get back on track, right back where they were before the wall disappeared.  Only better. She even manages to convince Oliver that the first time should be together.  Then everything goes to hell when they attempt to make love and she experiences pain that she cannot hide.

While trying to reassure Oliver (and herself) that there is nothing seriously wrong with her, she confesses (with great humiliation) that she hasn’t been with anyone since him, five years prior.  Oliver is overwhelmed by this and apologizes for his instinctive relief and possessive glee. Felicity meets his possessive passion and they are once again carried away.

Oliver insists on staying in control this time and after giving her an amazing orgasm, they are able to make love without pain.  

They are able to celebrate their bond with great pleasure, leaving them both feeling happier and more whole than they’ve felt since they parted.

Chapter 24

After they make love, Oliver and Felicity swim and tease and play in the Cenote.  They break for food and while refilling their canteens she jokes about the Magical Fairy water.  

It doesn’t distract Oliver from feeding her and Felicity decides to distract herself from the terrible tasting protein bars by focusing on the taste of his fingers instead.  This leads to a teasing blow job where Felicity pushes Oliver to let go of all his control.  After vowing that he’d get “his turn” soon, he lets go.  She’s pretty damn sure it leads to an amazing orgasm, but then she realizes the release let down more walls than she intended.

Faced with an overly emotional Oliver, Felicity urges him to tell her whatever is tormenting him.  

Chapter 25

At Felicity’s assurance that she will love him no matter what he tells her, Oliver breaks down, confessing to doing horrible things in Russia.  Felicity dribbles water from the Cenote on his head and tells him the Magic Fairy Water will heal his soul and wash away his sins.  

Oliver asks if the Mayans believed that and Felicity tells him they believed Cenotes lead to the Underworld and they often threw human sacrifices into them.   Oliver insists they did no such thing in Kin Cuudad.   The Daughter of the Sun wouldn’t allow it.  

Felicity gently brings the conversation back to Russia and Oliver confesses that as part of his cover he slept with a lot of women.  She assures him that he wasn’t cheating. He tells her it felt like he was, but the thing that torments him is that he found out later that many of the girls were victims of human trafficking and not there willingly.  

After finding out one of the girls was sold to the Bratva and under age, Oliver pretended she was his mistress to protect her and later helped her escape Moscow.  He then became involved with a widow, knowing she was using him but consoling himself that at least he knew she consented.  

After finding out what an evil person the widow was, Oliver, now a top enforcer in the organization, kept sleeping with her to gain information until she was eventually killed.  

Felicity understood how much prostituting himself for ARGUS ate at Oliver and wasn’t surprised that he swore off woman after that.  Roy started a rumor that Oliver thought celibacy made him a better killer and he became known (and feared) as the ‘Monk.’

Oliver finishes his story with how he was able to transfer power in the Bratva to his ally, Anatoly, in exchange for the end of Human Trafficking, but is astonished that Felicity isn’t disgusted with him.  

Felicity tells him the story just made her love him more.  She asks if he can finally forgive himself and Oliver turns it around and asks her the same thing.  Thrown, Felicity bursts into tears and tells him that everything Oliver went through in Russia was her fault.  

Oliver carries her over to the waterfall, so it can wash both of their souls clean.  Standing underneath, they offer each other absolution and start the process of forgiving their selves.  

Chapter 26

Oliver and Felicity kiss under the waterfall and joke about the power of the Magic Fairy water.  But when Oliver says Felicity is the one to heal him, she feels the need to remind him it was her fault he was in Russia in the first place.

Instead of arguing, Oliver tells her the story of how Roy learned her name.  Trapped together in a wine cellar by a CIA-triple agent, Roy had asked for advice on how to maintain his humanity in this line of work.  Oliver had told him about how he had survived Lian Yu and how Felicity had taught him life was worth living again.  That it was people like her that they fought for.

Felicity is horrified, because throughout it all Oliver had put her on a pedestal and blamed himself.  He told her blaming himself had allowed him to hope.  After that night he had fought to defeat the Bratva and come home to win her back.

Feeling the need to take responsibility for her actions, and for Oliver to acknowledge them, Felicity insists she is not the paragon of virtue he sees her as.  To convince her that’s not it, Oliver proceeds to list all her faults.

Felicity is left shocked at how well he knows her.  Defenses down, when Oliver promises not to leave her, she tells him that’s not a promise he can make.

Oliver replies with, “If they take you from me, I will find you.  If they take me from you, I will find you.  No man or god, not even death itself can keep me from you.  My soul will find yours.”

Chapter 27

Oliver and Felicity make love under the waterfall.  Beautiful. Passionate.  Inventive.  Athletic. Soul-affirming.

After Oliver carries Felicity out of the Cenote and lies her on the moss.  As he stretches out next to her, he asks her about her scars.

Chapter 28

It isn’t easy but Felicity manages to confess the reasons behind hiding her scars and is rewarded with Oliver’s acceptance and reassurance.  Then she is thrown when he tells her that he wished he’d been awake all those years ago so that he could’ve ask Shado to freeze her eggs.

This triggers a strange sensation, like defrosting frostbite to take over Felicity’s body, ending in a burst of pain and a memory.  Then, horrified and embarrassed that she never made the connection, she confesses that she still has one ovary.

She’s braced for Oliver’s anger but he shocks her when instead he comes to the conclusion that all of this is happening exactly as it was meant to.  He tells her that he believes that they are soul mates and to that Felicity agrees.

But then Oliver catches sight of a starburst of gold ore in the wall behind her.  They follow the veins of metal down to find glyphs covered in a thick layer of moss.

The glyphs proclaim that they are in Kin Cuudad.  What’s more there is a Mayan translation of the exact vow Oliver made to her not an hour before under the waterfall.  “My soul will find yours.”

Under that is a date. Tomorrow’s date.

[supernaturallymarvellous]

Happy Times Ahead

Author: @supernaturallymarvellous

Characters: Steve Rogers x Reader (mentioned: Pepper Potts, Thor, Clint Barton, Tony Stark)

Word Count: 724

Warnings: THIS CONTAINS ENDGAME SPOILERS - TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!!!!!  I’ve inserted a “keep reading” break so don’t click it if you don’t want to ruin the movie for yourself!  This fic follows some events of Endgame but also ignores others!

A/N: Day 15 of the Daily Writing Challenge being hosted by @sdavid09.  Tag Lists are open.

Prompt: Your character has never laughed so hard...what made them do that?

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It took a long time before anyone who had experienced the snap felt like laughing again. Those who had vanished from existence had to deal with the consequences of their return, while those who had been left behind were dealing with traumas that could barely be explained, let alone rationalised. It was the same all across the world; regardless of age, gender or religion, everyone was working through issues which left very little time for fun and laughter.

Eventually though, as time wore on and the scars of the past started to slowly fade, people began to realise that the old adage was true - life really was too short. People began to enjoy their lives again, and joy returned to the world.

It was the same way for the group of heroes formally known as the Avengers. After the devasting and life-changing battle against Thanos and the losses that came along with that, not a single surviving member of the team had felt able to go on under that banner any longer. They had done their avenging, had taken the hits and dealt with the pain, and now they had gone their separate ways - still willing to help should they need to but not a part of active service any more. 

But every so often, for special occasions, the team got back together. Today was one such occasion. It's been five long years since they defeated Thanos and everyone has gathered together to celebrate Morgan Stark's 10th birthday. The day is bittersweet; everyone in attendance knew and loved her father Tony and his absence brings back long suppressed memories for most people. And no one feels it more than Steve. There hasn't been a day since Tony's death that Steve hasn't wished he'd been able to save the man he admired so much, the man who gave his life to save the world. So, while the party gets underway and the birthday girl and her friends are running around beside the lake that surrounds their home, Steve sits with Y/N and Pepper reminiscing about the good old days. Yes, it's painful and sometimes no one wants to mention his name for fear of crying, but the three of them are determined to keep Tony's memory alive for Morgan's sake.

The three adults have taken refuge on the small balcony that overlooks the front door - it's out of the way of the marauding children led by Thor and Clint, but close enough to keep an eye on proceedings. The scene below them can only be described as absolute chaos. The remains of a brutally destroyed pinata hangs from the tree, bearing scorch marks that Y/N swears blind can only have been caused by Thor's lightning. The buffet table looks as though a plague of locusts has descended upon it; empty plates and cups are stacked haphazardly, abandoned by children and adults alike, more eager to have fun than to care about tidying up.

Then from nowhere a scream is heard, swiftly followed by laughter. By the time Y/N, Steve and Pepper have reached the location from which the yelling occurred, old reflexes being hard to kill, the laughter seems to have reached unprecedented levels. High pitched giggles mingle with the deep bodily, belly laugh being emitted by Thor. Steve is first on the scene, swiftly followed by the two women who almost crash into him as he comes to a dead stop in the pathway. The three of them arrive just in time to see an incredibly wet Clint Barton dragging himself out of the lake. Lord only knows how he ended up in there but no one is hurt and Pepper lets out an audible sigh of relief.

And then Y/N hears something she hasn't heard for many years - she hears Steve laugh. Not just a small chortle but a full-on bent-over, hands on knees laugh. There are tears rolling down his face and he can't stop, looks like he’s barely able to breathe. It's a sight for sore eyes; it's been so long since Y/N heard such a sweet sound and she once again gets a glimpse of the sweet, happy man she first fell in love with. 

As she watches him, Y/N thinks quietly to herself...perhaps he's finally starting to heal, finally starting to forgive himself.

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Tagging: @sdavid09   @xxloki81xx   @waywardimpalawriter    @zepppie     @helvonasche   @redlipstickandplaid

[justwritingscibbles]

Everyone Needs Some Love

I felt like Dark needed some love. So here it is! I’m in a cuddly, cute, sorta sad? mood so forgive the less murderous side of Dark in this.

Fic Request:  “Can you do another fluffy and cute fix on Dark, it doesn't matter what it's about I just love them so much that I need more”

Mark didn’t sound good over the phone.  His voice was strained, tone deep and rough as if in pain.  You knew that Dark was trying to get out, and this time you weren’t there to stop him.  You arrived home, expecting the place to be burnt to the ground. Or some nightmarish trap waiting for you.  But instead, you walked into a house completely intact and a slouched form on the couch.  “Dark?” You asked. You didn’t get a response. Edging closer, you glimpsed the black-rimmed eyes staring down at the floor. They were distant, lost in thought.  You crouched in front of the man, waiting for him to acknowledge you. On rare occasions when Dark had slipped out, he hadn’t been nice. He had fooled you into believing he was Mark once, but then tearing you apart emotionally by pricking at the secrets you had trusted in your friend. It had destroyed you.  Other times Dark had mock you, endlessly poking at your conscious. He had been so confident, so smug, all you had wanted to do was swipe at him.  When Mark returned he had tried so hard to mend what Dark had torn apart, you knew it wasn’t just an act. Two people resided inside Mark. And you grew fearful of the creature lurking in his mind.

But here, he looked defeated. His posture was tense but bent, like a wilted flower. With the expression of a child, he looked up at you, finally meeting your gaze.  “I’m not in the mood to play today,” He said. “Go along with your business.”  Shock riddled through you, and despite yourself, you sat in front of him.  “Are you...ok?” You asked.  The question seemed to confuse him. As if he didn’t know himself. When he didn’t give an answer you moved to sit beside him. You gave him every chance to stop you or move away. But instead he turned his gaze back to his lap. You waited for him to do something.  Leap at you.  Yell at you.  Snarl, growl, hiss, anything. But Dark remained silent. Like a statue. You nudged his shoulder with yours, “Do you wanna hear a story?”  He didn’t look at you, but he didn’t refuse either.  “When I was really little, I had tried to be a superhero.” You told him. “I had a cape and a mask, designed by yours truly. It was actually just a really colorful sheet that I cut up and a frog mask from a dollar store. And I thought that was all you needed to fly. Ii didn’t get the concept of “super-powers”, I thought it was the cape that gave you the abilities.”  Dark remained quiet, you knew he was listening by the slight turn of his head.  “And on that day, I had climbed this massive pine tree that was in the neighbors yard. I climbed until the branches were too small to hold me. And...I jumped.” You said with a grimace. “And for a second, I actually thought I was flying. I didn’t feel any fear, until I started to hit every damn branch on the way down.”  You glimpsed Dark’s mouth twitch and you continued. “Two cracked ribs, many bruises and a broken pride later, my mother refused to let me wear anything cape-like till I was fifteen. I was devastated. Can you imagine me in a super-hero outfit? I’d look amazing!” 

Dark sighed, the tension in his shoulders had released some and he lifted his head.  “That was the most moronic thing I’ve ever heard you say,” He said.  “Trust me, my younger self was the stupidest child you’d ever have the misfortune of knowing.” You chuckled. “I tried to jump from my second story window to catch a bird.”  Dark shook his head, returning to the slouched position.  The story helped, but only a little. Biting your lip, you squirmed under his arm, wriggling till your head was on his lap and you were staring up at his somber gaze. “What are you doing?” He asked, retracting slightly. “Not sure yet,” You admitted. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”  His eyebrows furrowed, watching you as you smiled up at him. His arms relaxed, laying around your body like a cage.  Never being so close before, you took the time to examine him. Dark of course had Mark’s features, but they were somehow different. Small changes, enough so that you’d glance over them and not notice.  But now, with only a small space between you, you could tell.  Dark had slightly sharper cheekbones, his jaw hitching upwards like blades. His eyes were darker, with longer lashes and a paler face.  Where Mark was warm and friendly, Dark was cool and predatory.  Without thinking, you lifted your hand and traced a finger along his jaw.  Dark flinched, but didn’t move away from your touch. His eyes fluttered close as you followed the lines of his chin, lightly tickling the scruff coating his cheeks. 

Your hand followed your fingers, cupping the side of Dark’s face and gently rubbing his temples.  Dark leaned into your palm, nuzzling your fingers as his arms tightened around you. He held you softly, like a wounded animal that might try to scamper away if he moved too quickly.  Your hand traveled upwards, very lightly stroking the black strands of his hair.  A slight rumble echoed from Dark’s chest as you continued to outline his features with your fingers.  It wasn’t menacing like you were use too, it was almost calming.  Your thumb brushed over his eyes, a finger delicately sliding down his nose and outlining his lips.  Dark peeled open his eyes to watch you. His gaze no longer sullen or cold, a faint warmth had melted the onyx gems. And the corner of his lips curled up lightly. His breathing was slow and deep. Arms cradling you.  “I understand now why he is so fond of you,” Dark purred.  You smiled up at him. “Everyone needs some love sometimes.”  Dark hummed, his eyes shutting again as your fingers dusted over the lashes lining them.  Suddenly, he started moving. Dark lifted you off the couch, placing you beside him and then stretching over the cushions himself.  Laying his head on your lap and guiding your hand to his face.  You grinned, chuckling softly as you continued your mapping. He hummed and closed his eyes.  You allowed your hands to travel down the sides of his head to his neck. Following the veins that were located beneath the skin, then floating back up to his lips and across his forehead. Dark started to drift into sleep. He fought with the void, wanting to stay and feel your touch a little longer. 

The sensation, the warmth, it calmed the swirling thoughts in his head. The itching in his fingers ceasing to nothing as he lay there. He turned his head towards you, allowing your fingers to explore the back of his neck. Ticking the soft hairs and very gently tangling up in the strands.  Your scent surrounded him. Consuming his senses in your presence and only your existence.  You were the only thing in his world at that moment. There was no reality, no Mark, no deranged thoughts.  Just you and your hands.  And as you swept your thumb over his cheek, caressing the bristles, Dark slipped back into the blackness and Mark opened his eyes.  “Oh, hello.” He said. “I’m back.”  “Good morning,” You said. “I think I’m beginning to grow on Dark.”

[devilslibrary]

Blind Date With A Book!

I’ve kind of wanted to do something like this for a while, but wasn’t sure how to go about doing so. I get a lot of new books, which never end up being read. Some are from well known authors, some are debuts, self published books, ect. Both paperbacks and hardbacks. But they all need love, right? 

I would put them up for sale on etsy/ebay and so forth but I feel like it wouldn’t gain much attention, so I’ll try here first. All books would be in new condition and unread. Some MAY be signed by the author, or have a written message addressed to me in, that would be specified. Seeing as tags and genres can be a bit off, and differs between each person, I think posting the blurb would suffice. This would be for UK residents only, sorry. Each book would cost £7.00, and this includes postage, If one of these takes your fancy, please send me a message! Books below the cut. If you’re a booklr, please share?

Book 1

Sometimes you have to dig deep to discover what you really need. Marketing events manager Molly Keir doesn t realise how much she still cares for her ex until she meets him with another woman. Her answer is to seize the chance of a glittering job in London even though this will mean leaving behind her aging father and pregnant best friend Lexie Gordon. Adam Blair is in the wrong job. Pressured by his father to join the family law firm, the stress of work helped break his marriage. Now Molly is moving to London, and he knows he needs to move on but events soon overtake his best intentions. A year ago, Caitlyn Murray quit her well-paid job to avoid becoming a whistleblower. Now she is stuck at home with her overworked mother and four needy step-siblings. Tempted by the offer of a good wage, she returns to her old firm where her nightmare comes back to haunt her. Molly and Adam seem to have gone too far to recover the love they once had, and when Caitlyn finds the courage to speak out, she brings all their worlds tumbling down.

Book 2

In October 1947, after a summer-long drought, fires break out all along the Maine coast from Bar Harbor to Kittery and are soon racing out of control from town to village. Five months pregnant, Grace Holland is left alone to protect her two toddlers when her husband, Gene, joins the volunteer firefighters. Along with her best friend, Rosie, and Rosie's two young children, Grace watches helplessly as their houses burn to the ground, the flames finally forcing them all into the ocean as a last resort. They spend the night frantically protecting their children and in the morning find their lives forever changed: homeless, penniless, awaiting news of their husbands' fate, and left to face an uncertain future in a town that no longer exists. In the midst of this devastating loss, Grace discovers glorious new freedoms--joys and triumphs she could never have expected her narrow life with Gene could contain--and her spirit soars. Then the unthinkable happens and Grace's bravery is tested as never before

Book 3

When retired bank clerk Dave Prendergast makes the find of a lifetime on eBay with an opening bid of just a few pounds, he sees the route to a rosy future. As the auction clock runs down, all that stands between Dave and the highlife are rival bidders, his conscience ...and a big pile of ironing.

Book 4 - Written message from author

Kids in Bravo Hills trailer park usually have to grow up fast, and fifteen-year-old Jesse Sampson is no exception. With a meth addict for a mom and a drug dealer for a stepdad, Jesse spends most nights taking care of his sister, Pony. But when the cops arrest his mom for a mini-mart robbery gone wrong, Jesse hides his sister under a pile of dirty clothes and escapes through a window. In the morning, he finds his mom and stepdad have been arrested, and Pony is gone. And due to a botched drug deal, she may also be in danger. Scared, homeless, and desperate to find her, Jesse sets off on a trek that sends him from dusty rural back roads to the drug-infested streets of Los Angeles. He must dodge drug dealers, gangs, cops, and social workers as he searches to find Pony and ultimately, himself. A gritty story told from the point of view of those most affected by other’s actions. Those with the most to lose. Disillusioned by the institutions designed to help, Jesse is forced to become an adult, and does his best to protect his sister and their way of family. Sometimes without much success. Jesse is villain. Jesse is a hero. Jesse is a survivor. Chance encounters teach him not everyone is who they appear, there are reasons . . . and there are consequences for everything.

Book 5 - written message from author.

1648 and the forces loyal to King Charles 1 are defeated; the English Civil War is over, but some would not have it so……. Leading a resurgent Royalist army, Sir Charles Lucas enters the Parliamentarian town of Colchester in Essex. But the enemy, Sir Thomas Fairfax’s undefeated New Model Army, encircles the town. In the pitiless siege that follows, Katherine Wade, bound to a husband she loathes, discovers a perilous form of liberation. Beth Sayer, an impoverished weaver’s daughter, fights for the survival of her family and Tobias, a wounded soldier, must choose between duty and love. Based on one of the most harrowing episodes in the history of Colchester and the English Civil Wars, this is a story of human endurance and the cruel consequences of conflict, for victor and vanquished alike.

Book 6

Why would a girl who has everything want to run away and never be found? Willow has staged runaways ever since she was a little girl. She has everything a young person should want: a rich daddy, clothes, money, a pony and a place at a prestigious boarding school. In reality, she has everything except the thing she really wants: a father who cares enough to find her. Aged sixteen, on the eve of her father’s wedding, she ruins the bride’s dress and escapes through a window, determined never to return. Her missing mother was a circus performer, and Willow wants to follow in her footsteps. But the performers she meets don’t want her. When her last bit of money is stolen by Suze, another runaway girl she thought she could trust, Willow becomes really homeless. Then Suze comes tumbling back into her life and a desperate Willow has to decide whether to trust her all over again . . . So begins their frightening, exhilarating odyssey though hunger, performance, desperation and dreams. Will they both survive and will Willow make it to the circus of her imagining? Olivia Levez takes you into the very heart of a girl who wants so hard to be lost, but saves herself through a powerful friendship and the awakening of a need for home.