#fic: Alignment

[saiilorstars]

Just a Girl and a Boy

Pairing: 40s!Steve Rogers x OFC

Summary: Steve meets a girl at the carnival and it doesn't end up in flames like every other time. Seren is funny, kind and so pretty and best of all, she saw him first.

Story Masterlist ○ Seren’s Masterlist ○

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon​ @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet​ @averyhotchner@foxesandmagic @kmc1989 @caplanbuckybarnes​

[If you’d like to be a part of any OC’s works/edits, let me know!]

Steve hated these nights out with Bucky and their dates. He always knew — they always knew — that the girls would always end up hanging out with Bucky. Bucky was just too nice of a friend to say it out loud. He had left the group with the excuse he was going to buy treats for them. Truly, he was only going to buy himself one sorry treat and then head home. He had nothing to do at a carnival on his own.

"C'mon, which one are you going to get?" The ice cream employee was a lot more impatient with him, though, than he had been with the customer before him.

Steve had fallen into his grim thoughts and had been staring at the flavors of ice cream. "Uh, sorry," he blinked and cleared his throat before actually taking a look at the ice cream flavors.

Someone tapped his shoulder from behind and before he could look back, the someone spoke to him in a sweet feminine voice.

"Mint chocolate is usually good!"

Steve did a double-take on the woman and flushed. She was very pretty, as was her sweet smile.

She had bright green eyes and perfect pinned curled brunette hair that shined under the carnival lights. She wore a soft green dress with a white shawl over her shoulders. Her smile was wide and beautiful with a soft pink tint on her lips.

"Let's go, man," the ice cream guy shot at Steve again, "You're getting in this nice pretty girl's way. Move it!" And suddenly there was a nice smile on his face as he motioned the woman forward.

Steve took the steps necessary to give way for the girl (who was indeed very pretty). She thanked him kindly and stepped forward to make her order.

"Two mint chocolates, please," she said, and the ice cream guy got right on it. In less than a minute, she had two ice cream in her hands.

"There you are, sweetheart! Enjoy your evening, alright?"

"Oh, I will," she assured and turned away. She suddenly held one of the ice cream in her hands towards Steve, leaving the latter to blink with confusion.

"I — um — you didn't — I didn't —"

The girl chuckled and even that Steve found to be very alluring.

"Don't tell me you don't like the flavor," she tilted her head at him.

Steve swore she was purposely batting her eyes at him. He was only guessing; no one ever did that to him.

Practically gulping, he reached out to take the ice cream from her. Their fingers brushed together and Steve found her skin to be as soft as silk.

She had everything, didn't she?

"I'm Seren by the way," she introduced herself.

"Steve," he said back, eyes glued to her. She had not stopped smiling at him and it took him a moment to realize she was waiting for him to try the ice cream. Like a little boy following directions, he dug his spoon and took a taste like he'd never tasted ice cream before.

Seren giggled as a brain freeze caught up to him. "I'm glad you liked it, but you should probably slow down."

Steve rubbed his forehead and tried his best to ignore the flourishing embarrassment. He was cursed to make a fool of himself in front of every woman on earth. "Th-thanks…"

Seren stopped him when he started taking money out to repay her. "It's on me!"

"Absolutely not, ma'am. Let me pay you, please," Steve was very insistent and even got the money out from his pocket.

"I paid because that guy," she nodded back to the ice cream stand, "was being an unnecessary jerk. Trust me, I would have taken 3 ice cream for free if I wanted to but unfortunately, I only have 2 hands."

Steve chuckled with her. "If you won't let me pay for the ice cream, then you have to let me pay something else for you."

"I'd be much more content with a walk around this place," Seren gestured to the carnival. "I lost my friends in the crowd and I'm new to Brooklyn."

"You're new?" Steve thought it made sense. He knew just about every girl in the neighborhood thanks to their rejections.

Seren nodded at him. "Just moved last week."

"And you already made friends?"

Seren laughed at the question. Steve realized how that sounded and flushed.

"Sorry, I-I'm not that great with, uh — never mind…"

"It's alright," she assured him and dipped her spoon into her ice cream. "I'm not exactly great friends with them. They're neighbors on my street and I suppose they felt sorry for the new girl and invited me here. Regardless of what they felt, I still lost them here."

"I can help you find them, if you'd like," Steve offered. He certainly wouldn't mind spending time with her.

Seren beamed at his help. "Thanks!"

Except instead of walking around the carnival to find said friends, they wound up on a bench together eating their ice cream. Neither one seemed to mind the detour.

"So where exactly did you move from?" Steve asked her out of curiosity.

"Hudson," Seren replied, "Because of the war, my father's job relocated him to Brooklyn."

"And how are you liking it so far?"

"Mm, other than the fact I don't know anyone here, it's great!"

Steve laughed at her sarcasm. "Well, you know one new person now."

"I'm happy about that, trust me," Seren said, sensing him a warm smile. He was the first guy she met who didn't immediately flirt with her. Plus, he was really cute. "What about you? Did you come with someone here?"

"Uh, yeah, my best friend and…and some others…" Steve had been very close to saying 'dates'. He wouldn't even mention it because said dates preferred to be with Bucky anyways. He didn't mind anymore. He found someone much, much better.

"Did you lose them too?"

"On purpose," said Steve quickly, making Seren automatically snort and laugh.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well…" Steve swayed his head, "My friend, Bucky, he's a thrill rider and me…I have some, uh, health issues, that make the repercussions just a bit worse for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Seren said, genuinely sympathizing with him.

"It's alright, I've dealt with it my entire life. It's nothing I'm not used to."

"Well, if you ever need anything, my mother's a nurse. She'd be happy to help you out!"

Steve liked her. By God he was liking her a lot.

She was so sweet and she looked damn beautiful even if all she was doing was eating ice cream. She was funny and had the most dramatic eyes when she was reacting to something he said that she found amusing.

After leaving the bench, they wandered around the carnival in search of Seren's friends. Steve offered to buy her another dessert, noticing that she had a sweet tooth. It was both to repay her and keep her around for a bit more. She had no problem with that.

They came across a house of mirrors and before Steve could say anything — that he absolutely hated houses of mirrors — Seren pulled his hand and ran inside. It took Steve a while to get over the shock of her taking his hand, and it led to him being pulled every which way through the mirrors like an idiot…

But he was a happy idiot.

He held onto Seren's hand tightly and soon began to pull his weight through the maze of mirrors. He may have crashed into a few mirrors here and there — to which Seren giggled each time — but it was about the most fun he'd ever had in one of those things.

"Dammit, another dead end." Seren gazed at mirrors circling them. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

"Me?" Steve looked at her incredulously, though he was beginning to laugh. "I don't see you getting us out of here."

"I was following you!" Seren exclaimed. She walked up to the mirrors in front of them and fixed a few strands of her hair. "And look where you got us?"

Steve watched her with a fondness in his eyes. He'd seen plenty of girls do the same thing and always thought of them as shallow. Something about Seren screamed that was far from who she was.

Seren caught him looking at her and smiled at him through the reflection. "Sorry, the running messed it up."

"You look great," he said, his cheeks a bright red.

Seren stopped with her hair and turned around. "I never asked and I probably should have but are you seeing someone?"

"Uuh, n-no, not…not at all, trust me," Steve said. "A bit more running and you'll trigger my asthma. Not a very, uh, attractive quality…amongst others."

"Your health isn't well?"

There was a hint of worry in her voice and that alone was a very stark difference between her and the other girls. Most took his health as an excuse to reject him.

"Not as great as I would like," he replied, deciding to leave the full history of his illnesses to the side. "The friends I came with were, uh, supposed to be dates but…let's just say my friend Bucky is a bit better looking…"

"How rude of them," Seren scowled.

"It's fine, trust me—"

Seren walked back to him and took his hand again. The scowl was off her face and replaced with a sweet smile. "So then nobody will mind if I steal you for a bit more?"

Steve was sure the look on his face was that of an idiot…because it was. He blinked at Seren and even though his mouth was open, nothing came out.

"I'll take that as a 'let's go'," Seren chuckled and pulled him away from the dead end.

They maneuvered through the rest of the mirror maze until they finally found their way out. They both argued that they each found the way out, neither one willing to back down.

They settled their differences of opinion by playing at a stall of ring toss. Steve threw a few and (of course) missed all of them.

Next to him, Seren laughed teasingly at him. "Wow, you are horrible at this!"

Steve playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Ha, ha…I told you, I don't have the right coordination…"

Seren hummed. "That's alright. I can win…I think…" She prepared to toss the first ring forwards by stepping back and drawing her arm close to her chest.

"Don't miss," Steve said innocently just as she made the toss…and missed.

It hit the corner of the stall instead.

"Gah! You did that on purpose, you cheater!" Seren threw a reprimanding glare his way.

"No, I didn't!" Steve exclaimed, but Seren shook her head at him.

"I see you, Steve. Don't think for a second I don't. I see you!" With narrowed eyes, she turned her attention back to the bottles.

Steve watched her fondly again. Maybe it was all in his head but for the first time in his life, he actually felt seen.

Seren made the rest of her ring tosses and successfully landed them on the bottles. "I made it! I actually made it! Ha!" She bounced with excitement and threw her arms around Steve.

Steve was forced to bounce with her as she excitedly hugged him. He didn't mind — who in their right mind would? She smelled so sweet like flowers. His nose was ambushed by her hair and like her, smelled so nice. He felt so at peace with her — complete, one would say. He had problems that went on forever and yet in that moment, he couldn't remember a single bad thing.

~0~

"What are you talking about? Caramel popcorn is way better than buttered popcorn," Seren scrunched her nose. "Why would you pick butter over caramel? You're crazy." And to prove her point, she dropped a few pieces of caramel popcorn into her mouth. She winked at Steve afterwards.

He sat next to her on the bench holding his own popcorn in his hands — buttered popcorn. "Not everything needs to be sweet, you know."

"The best things in life usually are."

"What are you, a poet?"

Seren deadpanned him and threw a few pieces of popcorn at his face.

"Hey!"

Giggling, Seren continued to eat.

Steve picked up the pieces she threw at him and popped them into his mouth. They were pretty good. He offered her some of his own popcorn and just as she was going to take it, she reiterated that he was still wrong about the better flavor.

"I'm beginning to get that you are very stubborn," he remarked as she chewed.

"Never say that to a woman, Steve," she wagged a finger at him. "Especially when you're clearly wrong."

He shook his head at her and ate some more.

The sun had set a while back, leaving the carnival lights to illuminate the place. Steve was aware they had not gone in search of Seren's friends like they planned but Seren herself never mentioned them throughout the afternoon. His heart did a little flip wondering if it was because she had a good time like he had. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end.

Steve heard Bucky's voice minutes before he appeared by the bench. For some reason, Steve felt disappointed. One of two things was going to happen in the next few minutes: either Seren would like Bucky more, or it was time to head home for all of them.

Bucky's gaze drifted towards Seren once he joined them. "I was wondering where you headed off to but it all makes perfect sense now. Hello there, I'm Bucky, and you are?" He held a hand out to her.

"Seren," she said back and took his hand.

Bucky kissed the back of her hand with his usual charming smile. Steve was giving him the flattest look ever, clearly not amused. Bucky noticed it.

"This is your best friend, then?" Seren's question and sudden glance pulled Steve out of his thoughts.

"Mhm," he nodded.

"Sorry I took him from you," Seren said to Bucky, and he noted the mischievous glint in her eye when she spoke. "Except I might do it again."

"Oh?" Bucky raised an eyebrow at her, chuckling, especially as he saw his friend flush with embarrassment.

"Well, it's just that I moved to Brooklyn literally last month and I still don't know much about the good parts of the neighborhood…" Seren trailed off as she met Steve's look, "He seems to know a thing or two about the best sweets…"

"Oh, he does!" Bucky exclaimed and not so subtly stared at Steve. "He knows the best spots, don't you Steve?"

"Uh, y-yeah…" He nodded slowly, "I d—"

"Seren!" A blonde girl from a distance shouted. Seren looked over and saw a group of girls waving her over.

"Oh, those are my friends! Scuse me for a second!" Seren promised she would return in a moment and rushed off to meet her friends.

"There you are!" huffed the blonde girl. "We've been looking all over for you."

"I got held up, Chloe," Seren said sheepishly. "Met a nice guy on the way. That's him over there — the blonde one. His name is Steve.

Chloe looked over Seren's shoulder and saw Bucky and Steve conversing with each other in a hushed manner. "I see…" she remarked with her own interest, "Who's his friend?"

Seren rolled her eyes.

Across from them, Bucky was trying his best not to smack Steve in public. "You need to ask that girl out on a proper date, you punk. She likes you!"

But Steve was still very nervous. Every time he asked a girl out, she always rejected him. The real mean ones laughed at him.

"Either you do it or I punch you right now," Bucky hissed. "She's coming!" He shoved Steve forwards. "Go!"

Steve felt like he couldn't breathe and it had nothing to do with his asthma.

"Go!" Bucky gave him another push then plastered on a faux smile as Seren returned. He made himself scarce and pretended to be interested in a nearby game booth.

"Seren, hey," Steve gulped, "everything alright?"

"Mhm," nodded Seren, "My friends were just worried about where I went. I told you, I don't know where anything is…" Her voice was with purpose and that Steve caught this time.

He cleared his throat, preparing himself to ask the simple question that wasn't really simple at all. "I was wondering if you wanted to—"

"Yes," Seren said with a bright smile. Her cheeks were tinted pink but she didn't care. Better to make it easy for both of them rather than lament what could have been.

Steve's eyebrows rose together, his own face feeling the same warmth as her. "I like you, Seren," the words tumbled out of his mouth. He was about to regret it when she giggled.

"Great, because I like you too," she said back. Then, without warning, she leaned over and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

If Steve was red before, he was as bright as a tomato. She was so beautiful…

They decided to meet next week at a certain park and then go from there to wherever they felt that day.

~0~

Many things happened between the day of the carnival and the day of their date. Seren didn't understand why Steve missed it. She was very upset and honestly disappointed in him.

"Honestly, don't get that upset," Chloe remarked the next day, "You could easily find another guy. Sure, he was good looking but he was kind of small — the girls all know he has health problems. He's always sick."

Seren didn't care about any of that stuff. She just wanted to know why, after having such a wonderful time together at the carnival, he would leave her hanging like that. And it's not like she could call him either. He disappeared, for a lack of a better word. He didn't strike her to be that kind of man. She couldn't understand what happened.

"Maybe he just stopped liking me," she said glumly, "Maybe I was too forward."

Chloe scoffed. "Please, you're the prettiest girl on the block! Trust me, Seren, you can find someone better. You'll see."

But a few weeks later, Seren (and Chloe) got the shock of their lives. There was a bumbling noise about the ongoing war and with it came something about a popular show across America. Steve was the face of it all, and he was very different.

For some reason, all of the noise and excitement around his new image didn't cause the same reaction as it did with everyone else. She grew angry, and even more disappointed. Even Chloe had changed her mind about him, although she still made her preference for Steve's friend very clear.

The weeks turned into months and Seren was very tired of seeing Steve everywhere. Suddenly, everyone around her adored him, especially the girls. She hated all of them. It was all a reminder of what he did to her.

The show-tour (whatever it was called) circled its way back to Brooklyn and that day, Seren ignored all her friends going there. She was not stepping foot anywhere near the place.

In the evening, she waited for her friends at a diner. She ordered herself a milkshake though she didn't drink a lot from it. Her mind was somewhere else.

From the corner of her eye, she saw someone take a seat on the empty stool beside her.

"You know, I'll bet the mint chocolate milkshake tastes better," he spoke to her in a friendly voice. "Or the caramel one…"

Seren did not afford him the same courtesy. "I'm surprised you found the place considering you should be 10 miles in the opposite direction…any direction, actually."

Steve supposed he should take the sarcasm as a blessing. She could have smacked him on the spot and left without saying a word. It's a start, he told himself.

Seren watched him through discreet glances. Dammit, he's still good looking. He was just taller now. "I guess I should say that you're about 4 months late to our date…if you even remembered it." She heard his quiet sigh.

"Seren, I didn't mean to leave you—"

"But you did," she snapped, turning on her stool towards him, "and I can see why. Congratulations. Everyone loves you now. My friends adore you."

"And you?" Steve met her look cautiously. "You don't…'like' me anymore?"

Seren scoffed quietly. "I liked you on day one. The carnival…the ice cream…the mirrors and the ring toss…I liked you then and you blew me off." She noticed longer wanted her milkshake, she didn't want to be at the diner again. "So let me repay you with the same coin."

"Seren," Steve watched her get up to leave, "Please just—"

"Goodbye, Steve," she reiterated and walked past him.

"Oh, no you don't…" Steve mumbled under his breath and got up after her. "Seren!" He went after her, following her out the diner.

"Stop following me, you creep!"

"I'm a creep now?"

"Trust me, it's better than what I actually want to call you!"

Steve rolled his eyes behind her. He picked up his pace and caught up with her down the street. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. His pull was a bit stronger than he expected — he was still getting used to his newfound strength — and so her body fell against him.

"Get away from me!" She pushed him away but found it did nothing against him. "I don't want to talk to you!"

"I don't, please just listen!" Steve exclaimed. His arms were wrapped around her waist to keep her with him.

"I don't need to listen to anything you have to say because I know what you're going to say!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

"And how do you know what I'm going to say?"

Seren scoffed in his face. "Because every guy says the same thing when he blows off a girl! You'll say the same thing to get me to forget what you did and guess what, I'm not buying it!"

"Well, I actually have something I need to tell you that will definitely help you understand what happened and why I didn't come find you!"

"I severely doubt that! Now let me go!" she hit her fists against his chest. "I will start screaming! Don't think I won't!"

"I'm sorry, Seren! I didn't mean to leave you like that, I swear! I-I tried enlisting into the war and I met a doctor and he — he did this —" Steve gestured to his new appearance, "—and before I knew it, I was being put through tests. I would have called, but I didn't have your number. I didn't even know where you lived."

Seren stopped hitting him there and then. Her big green eyes flickered up at him, her brows hunching together. "What?"

Steve felt confident enough to let her go without fearing she would run off. "They took me away to run these exams and yeah, it was in Brooklyn, but I had no way of contacting you. I didn't have your number…I didn't know your home…I only had your first name. Your beautiful name and the memory of you is all I had. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Seren stared at him in silence, making Steve feel worse. She brought her arms across her chest and began to feel quite awkward once Steve's words registered in her head.

You never gave him your number…She closed her eyes as a sigh left her lips.

"God, I hate that you're making sense," she muttered with annoyance.

Steve blinked at her, then realized what her words meant. His heart began to relax then.

"I guess…I was just so confident that you were going to come…" Seren lowered her head, "Didn't even think about…"

"I was going to come," Steve promised her. He stepped closer to her, daring to slip a finger under her chin to lift her head. "You have no idea how awful it was knowing I was supposed to be there and I wasn't. The idea of you waiting for me killed me."

"Trust me, it was not very fun for me either," she mumbled. In that moment waiting for him, she felt embarrassed just sitting on her own waiting for a guy she thought liked her back.

"I'm sorry, Seren, I really am."

She nodded at him, accepting his apology. Her eyes looked him over then. "So…enlisting in the war…makes you change your whole body?"

Steve chuckled lightly. "Not really."

"Did you do it for everyone else, then?"

"No—"

"Why did they do this to you?"

Steve paused for a second and took note of her expression. "Do you…do you not like me…?"

Thanks to the night, he couldn't see the complete blush on Seren's face. She was very grateful. "No, no, I — of course I do — I — yeah, I—" She passed a hand through her hair, feeling the air suddenly get very hot around her.

Steve tried to follow but in the end, Seren's stammering entered a whole other language. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Seren nodded and worked hard (and fast) to calm herself down. "I was, um, I was asking…wh-what was the…the, uh…purpose…of your…change…?"

"It was supposed to be a blueprint thing to create a better soldier for the war," Steve explained. "More strength, better senses…"

"Was?" Seren caught the word, as well as the lingering sadness in his eyes.

"The creator, Dr. Erskine, was killed just seconds after the experiment happened. He was a good man. He didn't deserve that."

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Seren said, touching his arm for comfort. "So if this whole thing was to help the war…why are you here?"

"With Dr. Erskine dead, there's no way to recreate the serum. I'm sort of all they have and, uh, they don't really want me."

"They have no idea what they're saying," Seren said decisively. "You look perfect to me."

Steve felt the familiar warmth spread across his face. "I thought of you," he said, looking her in the eyes, "Every day I was thinking of you…"

"Really?" Seren raised a brow at him. "Why? Everyone loves you now…you didn't even have to come back to find me anymore…"

"You said it — they love me now. They would've never looked in my way before I changed." He gently touched her cheek and grazed her skin with his thumb. "You made me feel seen when I only ever knew what it was like to be invisible. You, the carnival, that whole afternoon was the best day of my life. Why did you see me?"

It was hard concentrating with his fingers rubbing her cheek, but Seren still tried. "I…I thought you were…sweet. When we were waiting in line for the ice cream…I don't know, I just wanted to talk to you…maybe it was all my big mouth…"

"I'm glad you did," Steve said, bringing his hand down under her chin, "Because I don't think I would've had the courage to talk to you."

"Mm, did I look mean?"

"Beautiful more like it. The most beautiful girl at that carnival…"

He thought of her in the house of fled fixing her hair that didn't even need fixing in the first place; then of her at the ring toss and how happy she was to win; her eating popcorn with him on the bench bantering about the better flavor.

"Do you think I could steal you this time?"

Seren looked at him with a mischievous glint. "I thought you said you weren't brave enough to talk to me?"

"It's either I try or I lose you forever this time," Steve said, "I prefer the former. Are you busy?"

"I am, actually…"

"Oh," Steve startled, not expecting that answer. "I'm—"

But then Seren started giggling at him. He threw his head back and groaned.

"Okay, I deserve that…"

"You do," she nodded. As soon as he straightened his head, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him down for a kiss.

The shock of it wore off pretty quickly as Steve preferred to take advantage of her move and show her how much he missed her. His arms came around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. His new strength definitely gave him a few new perks he loved, like this one.

He had taken her air in a way Seren never dreamed of. Pulling away from her almost made her mad. Her hands were still on his face, lowering to his jawline.

"You were planning on doing that for our first date?" she whispered, her eyes still shut. She didn't want the moment to be over just yet.

He pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Not precisely…just felt right…"

"You've definitely changed a bit on the inside too…"

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know yet, give me another kiss and maybe I'll decide."

Steve smirked. "You're certainly the same."

"And is that good or bad?"

Steve took her hands off him in a gentle manner. "I'll decide in a moment," he said before diving forwards for another kiss.

[yaoi-hate-machine]

[ephemeralstarss]

i just had to change the chapter count from 85 to 100 someone shoot me

[lightyaoigami]

did alignment!light know he likes men before meeting L

great question. yes. i think he indulged in a bit of comphet by going on a date with naomi in chapter 1, but in his heart of hearts he knew he only had eyes for men and that this date was more of a "one last try" with a woman. i don't think he realized 1) the closet was glass 2) exactly how much he likes men until he met L. for context he had never ~been with~ a man until L. maybe he kissed some guys in college. i hope that answers your question!

[cheeseandcake-from-ao3]

[jade-of-mourning]

it's finally done, and it's probably the gooiest garbage i'll ever make.

credit to my new buddy @i-love-tdp-if-you-can-tell for doing almost all the characters' flat colors!! i am so so so infinitely thankful to them bc otherwise none of the other efforts of making this would have happened. between the lineart, backgrounds, shading, and touch-ups, these five pages have taken years off numerous braincells' lifespans, and without their help, may have annihilated my entire brain capacity.

if you like, please reblog! we put in a Lot of time and effort into this!

you would think that between last time (one other event) i tried comic-ing and now, i would've learned to not handwrite the text, but alas...

thank you for answering my plead for help, sky! and for managing to work around my design inconsistencies and sketchy lineart <3 ik you said you didn't need anything, but if you ever decide you want an art, hit me up any time :)

and to the tdp fandom, whoops… sorry for all the requests rotting in my inbox. it was a fun september and a fun six years of lurking, but alas i think i will be bailing for the moment. maybe you'll see me around.

[stewykablooey]

matt damon: dude did u see the succession finale? tragic ending for kendall :(

ben affleck:

[that1notetaker]

Shamura took the prophecy as if war was already there at their doorstep. Shamura is a good strategist, the brains of the family. They approached the issue as the god of war, when perhaps, he should have done it as Narinder's sibling instead. Narinder: dw guys I don't need chains to self-isolate myself B)

Btw if you're asking yourself where's the blood in Narinders face coming from, this happens right after The Eye Thing

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐓𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

a/n: reader is a civilian

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ | ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ ᴵᴵ

ESTP

Gryffindor

Chaotic Good / Chaotic Neutral

Pisces Sun, Aries Moon, Sagittarius Rising

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

・He is the complete embodiment of 'gruff, rugged, protective, knows what to do at all times.'

・Yes to others he comes off as ... intimidating, dominating, and even a tad controlling. But that's not how you see him. Not anymore. He's different with you.

・And that's because he's yours and you are his.

・So, since capturing his heart. The game as been over.

・There is no one else for either of you.

・And you see a very different person than the public.

・Because this man is your husband. You know he would do absolutely anything for you.

・For a long time, he thought he wasn't worthy of softness. Of a life of peace.

・The things that he's done keep him awake at night, struggling to see himself as anything other than a monster.

・But you're there. And it's as if you are his tether to the light. The warmth. To living.

・You never have to drive yourself anywhere; John MacTavish does it for you.

・He also opens every door for you, keeps a hand on your back when walking through crowds and always puts himself in front of you if there's danger.

・You are so protected. John would never let anything happen to you. And if something did, then he would rage.

・He isn't great with expressing his feelings, but he does things to prove how much he cares:

・Fixing things around the house (even if it's just 'squeaky' he is on that shit)

・You want renovations done? Then baby he's on it

・He also remembers everything you love. Whether it be a tv show, movie or piece of jewellery. That man would buy anything for you.

・Captain MacTavish is a very commanding, confident, and action-oriented man. That doesn't stop around you; you're just able to tell him when enough is enough...

"John, honey, sit down and have some tea. You're doing my head in love."

・The banter between you two is caused because you - sometimes - like being told what to do, while John is so used to barking orders and having them done.

・But it is John who does the laundry (apparently you don't fold the clothes the right way.)

・He's an alright cook; food that fills your belly. That's all that matters when he's on deployment. So it's just what he's used to.

・Loves when you frame photos of the two of you. He always straightens them when he walks by

・Quite affectionate when he wants to be. And he wants to be while he's at home, alone with you.

・Forehead kisses, running his hands through your hair, kisses your knuckles and moving you into his lap

"Yer mine, alrigh'. Fuckin' mine.'

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

“Shut Up” x “Make Me”

Cheerful Optimist (honestly, anyone looks cheerful compared to him x Grumpy Asshole (Soap, through and through)

"Being With You Makes Me Better"

𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Healing and Rebuilding Together

Constant Banter

Sun x Moon

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Let The Light in by Lana Del Rey

Shrike by Hozier

Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon

𝑁𝑆𝐹𝑊 🔞

・Sex with John, is ... overwhelming, claiming and yet, still reverent. John both feels and shows deep and sincere respect for you, your body, your feels and wants/needs.

・Doesn't want you to ever feel like you can't come to him with ... new ideas or how you want to be handled.

・Loves spending time worshipping your body. Licking every part of you, from your feet to your neck.

・Whispering one word over and over again, "mine, mine, mine."

・MacTavish becomes ... feral.

・Holding you down and playing with you; not even needing to be inside you to bring a climax.

・He's obsessed with your chest. Your nipples and how they're so sensitive. A pinch, a bite, a suck; and you unravel before him. Whining and wiggling.

・And by gods, does he love hearing you beg.

"Please, please Captain! I need you. I - I need your cock."

・When he feels pleasure, the noises he makes are fucking filthy.

・Deep groans, growls, low grunts. And the first time you moaned his name? He growled so deep it made your legs weak.

・His favourite positions are: the mating press, doggy and cowgirl/cowboy.

・And his favourite place to cum is inside you. Filling your body with his essence, cumming over and over again until he can see it seep out of you.

・That's what he like to see.

・Feels a pang of pride everytime your legs are too sore after sex

・Has to smack your ass at least once every day

[hivemindscape]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOU!!!

Fluff for the occasion!!! set in 2015; in the current day and age he's turning 25 which is crazy, hope mans nailing adulthood

bonus air kiss to my fellow queers and especially aspecs:

[opens-up-4-nobody]

:-]

[saiilorstars]

ch.24: When it's Broken...

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd) OFC

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​ ​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​ @gloryekaterina​​ @lenonizi​ @averyhotchner​​ @foxesandmagic @kmc1989 @caplanbuckybarnes​​​​​​​​​​​​

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist​​

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

When Steve found Seren in the morning, she was working on her new suit. It had become a little custom since they moved into the Tower. Seren either worked on the suit herself or sometimes had Tony around for consultation. Steve began to wonder if she was really working on it for the sake of working or if it was just to distract herself. He supposed it was the same as when he visited the training room.

"Did you even bother to sleep?" Steve asked despite already knowing the answer. They had laid together the previous night for some sleep but a couple hours later he woke up to find Seren gone.

"Course I did," Seren said much too quickly and she knew it. "I mean, for a bit…" She swiped left and right on the holographic plans of her suit. "No, actually, I didn't," she admitted a second later. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't. I was hoping Chloe would call or at least text me." But she hadn't done any of that.

"You just have to give her time," Steve said. He sounded like a broken record. Seren was just too kind to tell him that.

"At least if I get this suit finished, then I'll be able to start scouting areas for the scepter with Stark."

"Seren…"

"I'm good Steve," Seren assured him. "All I need right now is a hug...or two...or three…"

A fair request. Steve took the necessary strides to get to Seren quickly and hugged her. Seren was tired but every problem they had prevented her from realizing it until now.

"You want to take a nap?" Steve offered.

"Maybe," Seren nodded. "I did get something through with my suit this morning. I've added a touch of color. I always hated the sheer black suits of S.H.I.E.L.D. I felt like they never suited me like it did for Maria and Natasha."

Steve let out a low laugh. He swayed Seren a bit. "I thought you looked amazing in them."

"I didn't take you to be that kind of man." Seren smirked as soon as she felt Steve's body stiffening. She had to laugh.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it," he huffed.

"I know, lovey, I just like messing with you," Seren raised her head to meet his gaze. At least she was smiling now.

"How's about that nap?" Steve asked again, feeling like this time she would really end up falling asleep.

Seren nodded her head. Steve let her go and took her hand. He started leading her for the door when someone walked in, or rather sprinted in.

"Chloe…" Seren breathed at the sight of her best friend but not entirely over her mere presence but her appearance.

Steve did the same thing. "Chloe, what's wrong?"

Chloe's face was stained with tears, her eyes red and puffy from the tears still glistening around. "I did something bad…" She said and only barely for her voice was strained.

Seren pulled her hand from Steve and hurried up to Chloe. Chloe didn't give Seren an opportunity to ask anything else — she dove for a hug instead. Seren rocked back a couple steps but was able to claim some balance in the end. Chloe's body shook from her sobs. Seren had never seen Chloe like this, much less Steve.

"Chloe, what is it?" Seren insisted on an answer.

Chloe's eyes met Steve behind Seren. Steve felt a little out of place with such an intense gaze. It appeared like Chloe was frightened but it couldn't be of him, could it? That didn't make sense.

"Chloe—" Steve started when Chloe cut him off.

"I was with Bucky."

Silence fell over the room. The only noise was the constant beeps of the computers around them.

Seren froze. Steve's eyes widened.

Chloe's breathing became jagged. She wanted to explain everything — how she met Bucky, how it all got started and how it ended — but the words that came out of her mouth were a far cry from that detailed explanation. It was a garbled mess.

"I didn't plan on him sticking around and I definitely didn't think he would just get up and l-leave me!" Chloe's eyes fell shut as new tears rolled down her face. It was perhaps what hurt the most. Up until now, the arrangements, every deal she and Bucky had made were kept — whether it was something as small as 'I'll try to sleep' or something really important like him agreeing to stay with her until they figured something out. It didn't make sense why he would leave without her, but he did.

Seren's lack of sleeping made it a bit difficult to follow everything Chloe was saying. It sounded like she was saying that...she and…

"Are you actually saying that this whole time, Bucky's been with you?" Steve's question was sharp and demanding, nothing that Seren had ever heard from him. He had heard Chloe perfectly and followed as such.

The same went for Chloe which was why she retreated a step from the couple. "Y-yes," she swallowed hard.

Seren looked between the two, suddenly feeling a lot smaller than what she typically felt when she was around them.

"Chloe, I — why didn't you tell me that!?" Steve openly demanded for the answer, expecting it to be a damn good one which was quite impossible. There was nothing that would justify Chloe keeping Bucky a secret.

And Chloe saw it. It was all in his face. His eyes were narrowing on her. His lips had thinned and were soon to be forming a scowl. "Steve, I couldn't say anything. Bucky didn't want that."

Wrong answer.

Seren's eyes flickered at Steve. That answer was brutal. Bucky didn't want to be found.

"He needs help, Chloe," Steve snapped harshly, ignoring Chloe's flinch, "You were supposed to tell me!"

"It wasn't up to me!" Chloe reiterated. "I couldn't make decisions for Bucky! We could only make decisions for ourselves."

"But it sounded like you two came to the same decision…" Seren cut in quietly and quite cautious. She studied Chloe's expressions. "That's what you were saying, wasn't it?"

Chloe nodded slowly. "Yes, but Bucky left me. He betrayed me. I thought...I thought we were allies but…" Her eyes brought fresh tears to her face. Something hurt inside like it never had before and she didn't know how to handle it so it came out as tears.

Seren's face softened.

Steve's did not.

"We were going to run today in the morning," Chloe said. It didn't matter anymore if their plan came out. "I-I reached out to someone to get us to Europe without being spotted."

"You were going to take Bucky to Europe?" Steve's eyes widened again, although they quickly settled into a glare. He was outraged! "Chloe, what the hell!? You were seriously going to leave without telling any of us and with Bucky!?"

"Steve…" Seren motioned him to calm down or at least for him to try and calm down.

"Bucky was going to Europe regardless of whether or not I would!" Chloe exclaimed. "I just couldn't take all this Animinds stuff and—"

"You were going to run away," Steve spat.

Seren helplessly looked between Steve and Chloe. She tried getting a word in but they were both talking over her.

"I was scared, Steve!"

"We are all here for you, Chloe! And I wanted to be there for Bucky but you didn't let me!"

"He didn't want anyone to find him! Hydra's still out there and they're looking for him...and me!"

"Chloe, nobody's touching you again," Seren managed to cut in for a second. "Running away is nowhere near the answer. That's what you did the first time!"

Chloe nodded. "I know, but I did what I did and somehow I got burned by the person I never suspected."

"Walk me through it," Seren pleaded before Steve started snapping again, "What physically happened last night?"

Chloe swallowed hard, took a deep breath and began explaining the plan she and Bucky meticulously came up with. They were to meet Chloe's contact at the docks and travel under secret then take refuge somewhere in Europe. "But then I woke up, saw my old stuff from Malibu and a letter from my mom and Bucky. He left me."

Seren's eyebrows raised. "I brought that stuff over, Chloe."

Chloe did a double-take at Seren. "What? You met Bucky?"

"No," Seren shook her head, "I visited your mother, Chloe. I brought back a box full of your stuff so you could go through it. I...I guess I must have been talking to Bucky on the other side of the door. He must have grabbed the box and left it for you." It also sounded like Bucky realized she was right. Chloe did have hope to reclaim her old life and he wanted to make sure that she did. So, he left.

"Do you have any idea where Bucky can be right now?" Steve's question was no question at all but a demand instead. Chloe shook her head for half a second before Steve demanded to know the contact that was supposed to help them.

"Chloe, you need to tell us," Seren said gently. The secret was out anyways.

"It's Citlalli," Chloe answered quietly.

Steve's eyes fell on Seren who didn't appear to be surprised nor confused with the name. She knew who that woman was. "Seren, who is it?"

Seren let out a long sigh. "A CIA agent and our friend, more so Chloe's than mine."

"No one is more connected than her," Chloe said. "But I've been trying to call her and she's not answering."

"We need to talk to that agent," Steve muttered, taking a headset for the doors.

"No, wait!" Chloe panicked and rushed to catch up to him and blocked his way. "You can't out Citlalli — she'll be in huge trouble!"

"That's not my problem!" Steve said.

"Steve!" called Seren sharply, making him look back at her. "You don't understand. Citlalli's deep into this network stuff and not all of it is legal, persay. I don't even know how deep it is and personally, I don't feel like making an enemy out of her because we didn't think things through."

"We need to get in contact with her," Steve reiterated, and Seren nodded.

"And we will. But let me do it, please. You can trust me."

"Yes, I can," Steve nodded at her, giving Chloe a brief glance before storming out of the room.

Chloe sank down on the nearest stool. "He's so mad at me…"

"Well, Chloe, what did you expect, honestly?" Seren crossed her arms at Chloe. "That was his best friend you hid from him."

"Bucky really didn't want to be found," Chloe insisted. "You think I wouldn't have loved to bring him here? To call Sam or Steve—"

"Yeah, but would you have?" Seren cut her off. "You haven't taken any of our calls in ages."

Chloe's shoulders slumped down. "Okay, so I haven't been the best of friends…but you didn't talk to him, Seren. You didn't live with him. Steve has told me so much about Bucky Barnes, the charming sergeant, the confident, sweet man…but the man I met was not him. He's a shell, Seren. Forcing him — if I could miraculously match his strength — wasn't something I would've been able to do. And I understood him."

"Because you didn't want to be found either," Seren nodded. She lived through something similar in Hudson. Getting away from everything was essential to her healing. It just made things harder with Chloe, though. She wanted to be as mad as Steve but that was out of the question. In the end, Chloe was her best friend and she empathized with everything that had happened so far.

"You just need to give Steve some space," she told Chloe. "This is his best friend we're talking about. He's been devising plans with Sam about where to look. It's hurtful to know that all this time Bucky was right here and...that he didn't want to be found." Seren grabbed another stool and brought it over to sit in front of Chloe. "How did this get started? Tony's been working with you nonstop."

"Bucky surprised me," Chloe said, feeling like that was an understatement now. "He was in my apartment one night and I thought he was going to go all Winter Soldier on me but it turned out he was returning that second piece of the tech that, um, Tony's working on now."

"He brought it back to you?" Seren blinked. Of course now it made sense how Chloe managed to deliver Tony the second piece.

"Yeah, sort of," Chloe half smiled. "Scared the shit out of me that first night. He wanted to barter with it."

"What did he want?".

Chloe's smile widened a bit. "He wanted to know who he was. He wanted to know anything that I knew about him. Of course I told him everything without bartering. And I swear I told him that Steve was looking for him, that he had nothing to be guilty over. He was a victim like me, only far worse. He didn't want to be found and he still doesn't."

Seren could understand where Bucky was coming from. He had gone decades masking as someone Hydra created and now that it was all out there along with his real identity — someone reigned as a hero — it was hard to come back. For a lack of a better word, he needed space.

That was contradicting the story Chloe was telling Seren.

"And, so, he stayed with you? This whole time you guys were, what, roommates?" The redhead asked, tilting her head at Chloe. "Why?"

"We were passing each other information that we both wanted to hear. He wanted to know who he was and I wanted to know more about Hydra. There's a couple of things that I knew for a fact and I needed locations."

"Again, walk me through it," Seren motioned with wiggling fingers to gear the story.

"My time with Hydra taught me that they try not to make any mistakes and just in case that they do make mistakes, they always have a fail safe. It's like with Bucky, he was a Winter Soldier and their failsafe was a mind wipe and cryogenic stasis. If he ever fell out of line, they would just stick him back in there and start a mind wipe or something. Me being another pawn meant that Hydra had to have a failsafe for me. And I figured it out, or rather Bucky did."

Seren's eyebrows knitted together. "And what would that be?"

Chloe leaned forwards, holding her breath as if the secret she was about to reveal was her most guarded one yet. "Hydra has enhanced people all over the world. According to Bucky, some of them are active and others aren't. My guess is that those enhanced people, one of them, could be a fail safe for me."

"Oh God, and they have the scepter," Seren said, her expression all horrified.

Chloe nodded. "Yes. Bucky said they were particularly interested in unlocking the powers from that thing. They went through countless 'subjects' to help tap into those powers."

"Who would want to tap into those powers?" Just remembering what that scepter did to her head made Seren shudder with genuine fright. It was all dark and cold, hopeless.

Chloe shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well then we need to stop them," Seren declared. "This is what Tony brought Steve and I in for. I'm already trying to figure out how to get Thor to come back to Earth. I'm calling Jane Foster a lot these days. And then there's Natasha...and my suit. Did I tell you Tony made plans for my suit?"

Chloe nodded her head. Tony did talk about it a lot. "Yeah…"

"I'm working on it," Seren said proudly. "This is going to be my suit. It's going to be designed just by me."

"You deserve that, Seren," Chloe said. Her gaze began to lower again. "You deserve a lot more than what I've been giving you."

"Nu-uh," Seren snapped her fingers to get Chloe's full attention. "None of that. You're my best friend and I'm going to be here for you. It's why I went to Malibu and got you your stuff. Your family's waiting for you, Chloe. I'm waiting too. There's no reason for you to feel like you have to run away from us."

"I'm scared," Chloe confessed in a light whisper. "I'm scared of the Animinds taking full control of me after the surgery. I'm scared that I won't be anymore. I'll be a version of what Hydra wanted."

"That's not happening," Seren said in a matter of fact tone. "Because if you've been paying attention, these aliens are benign, first of all, and they've been trying to help. They're the ones who told Tony that we needed to help you connect with your family again. It's overwhelming, of course it is, but I think the key to really owning these powers of yours is to actually want to work with them. You can't go in there with, well, twinkle toes," Seren rolled her eyes. If Tony was listening through the comms, he was having a good laugh for sure. "You need to be assertive. It's something you've always done in the past."

"But it's different, Seren," Chloe sniffed. "I've been starting to see the future sometimes and I don't want that. There's so many things that I don't want and the Animinds don't precisely listen to me."

"With the surgery, that could become easier," Seren said, "But you'll never know if you don't try it. If you don't do the surgery then nothing will get easier. That's a fact. You won't have control at all."

"I understand that," Chloe said, sighing, "But the alternative is becoming one with the Animinds and that's scary enough. They're aliens."

"Well, I'm an alien too and we get along," Seren shrugged lightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Seren raised a hand to stop Chloe. "I know what you meant. It's fair to be scared but these Animinds have been trying to work with you. If they had wanted to be against you, they would've done it by now."

"They've been quiet all day," Chloe remarked quietly.

"Well, have you wanted to talk to them?" Seren posed the question like a mother challenging her child.

Chloe shook her head. "Not really, no."

"Mm, the problem. You need to want it too. It's a Hivemind. You're connected, yes, but when it comes to accessing it...that has to be on you." Seren stood up from her stool, thinking it was best to give Chloe some time to think about things. "Don't you dare leave the Tower — Jarvis will tell us."

Chloe had no desire to go anywhere anymore. Her pain was enough to keep her sitting for hours. The only reason she made it to the tower was to find a way to reach Bucky. "I won't go anywhere," she promised.

She had nowhere to go, no more desire anyways. She felt like she was back where she started, only this time things just hurt too much. She had yet to figure out why that was.

"And listen, about the last time we saw each other…" Seren swallowed hard, her eyes falling over the scar on Chloe's palm. "I am so sorry…I would have never done that if—"

"I wasn't trying to kill you?" Chloe finished for her. Seren lowered her head guiltily. "I have nothing to forgive you for. You defended yourself and you made sure that I couldn't hurt anyone. I can always trust that Stardust will protect the innocent."

"But I don't want it to be at the cost of hurting someone who's like my sister. I never want that to happen."

Chloe nodded. "I feel the same. You have no idea how bad I felt knowing that I hurt you — that I continuously tried hurting you."

"But that wasn't you," Seren said. "You were brainwashed. I know a thing or two about that. And look at Steve and I right now."

Chloe smiled lightly. "I'm glad you two are going strong. I don't want to ruin it with my problems so…I'll go back to my apartment—"

"Nope!" Seren cut her off immediately. "I'm not letting you out of my sight! We have a lot of work to do and we need to start working like a team. SHIELD may be gone but the Avengers are on the brink of formal creation. I want you to be part of this new team, Chloe."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Steve hates my guts right now. I didn't even think he could hate someone like that besides HYDRA."

"He's angry, there's a difference. Please, Chloe. Don't leave again," Seren stepped forwards, "I really missed you. SHIELD is gone, Natasha's off somewhere and who knows where the hell Clint is…you and I are all that's left of the only place I've known my whole life. Please don't leave."

Chloe's lips pulled into another smile. "I think we're pretty much glued to each other…ever since you pulled me out of that god awful building when I was a teenager. You had no idea what you were getting into."

"Pretty sure it's the other way around…" Seren said, sharing a small chuckle with her.

Chloe then hugged her tightly. How she had missed her best friend — her sister. Seren felt the same exact way because in the end, however different they were, life had given them similar challenges that led them down a more lonesome road.

~ 0 ~

It was like mayhem in the Tower after Chloe's revelation. Knowing what they knew about Bucky Barnes had Steve and Sam going through their plans and files to fit with what Chloe said. The enhanced subjects and the usage of the scepter had Tony and Seren working together. Tony, however, would split his time between the search for the scepter and the surgery Chloe was now opting for, if only to give herself one more chance. Dr. Helen Cho was arriving in New York shortly to finalize the surgery.

Meanwhile, Seren also worked fervently on her suit, intending on finishing it quicker than planned to be able to head out in the field in search of the remaining Hydra locations. Bearing that mission, Natasha was scheduled to return to New York sometime next week after she finished with her own side missions. They were in the middle of getting in contact with Banner as well, and Seren had finally gotten through to Jane Foster.

"According to Jane, Thor's gone off world but he's coming back in a couple of days," Seren walked alongside Maria Hill who, at the request of Tony, was taking charge of the details of the soon-to-be team's soon-to-be missions. They had various possible locations they would check out soon.

"That'll be interesting," Maria said after jotting it down on her tablet, "Seeing as the last time he was around, he wasn't too keen with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Jane says he doesn't know what happened with S.H.I.E.L.D. yet," Seren shrugged. "She'll explain it and then he'll be right over."

"And he'll be staying here?" Maria asked.

"Well, it's not like the Tower isn't big enough," Seren gestured to the long hallway. It was one of many. "Even Natasha's contemplating on staying here as well. At least for the time being."

"Mm, and Steve?"

Seren came to a slow stop beside an open door. Her awkward smile told Maria enough. Seren thanked Maria for understanding and led the woman through the door.

Chloe and Tony were in the lab, the former bearing several sticky nods against her forehead.

"Ah, Twinkle Toes, great that you're here," Tony made a gesture for Seren to come to his side by the computers. Seren's glare as she walked over to him meant nothing to him. "Can you please tell Chloe that I'm not lying when I say that her signals are just fine? Better than they have been in recent times."

Seren wasn't one for dramatics, especially Tony Stark's, but when she saw the screens for herself and realized Tony was right, she did as he wanted. "They do look good, Chloe. Everything's pretty much in normal range."

"I've been meditating more," Chloe said quietly, not showing very much excitement at the news. One would say that she was also talking more, per say. She was saying more than she had been before. She didn't want to admit it but letting out everything that she'd been holding in was helping her far more than the meditations.

"Good, keep that going," Seren said with her encouraging smile quite present.

"Helen's going to be here in two days," Tony shared, "It'll be a couple more days before we do the surgery but no later than next week."

Chloe visibly gulped.

Seren left the computers and rushed to Chloe's side. "Everything will be fine," she promised. "You're in the best hands. And I'll be here. We all will be."

"Is Steve going to be around?" Chloe dared to ask. It wasn't very fair to put Seren in that place, Chloe knew that, but Seren was also the only person that Steve would be truly honest with.

Seren bit on her bottom lip. "Um, he's...he and Sam are building up their search so...he's not really here. Either of them, actually."

"Oh." Chloe's gaze fell. Seren was too nice to tell her that Steve was still beyond angry with her for keeping Bucky's presence a secret.

Seren didn't like seeing Chloe like that and she wished she could do something to help. It seemed like this time, even she couldn't convince Steve to come around.

"Hey Megamind," called Tony, if only to pull Chloe out of her trance and earn an emotion besides pity from her, "Why don't we go test those psionic blasts? Things might be getting stronger with these new advances."

Chloe nodded and with Seren's help, she got the nodules off her face. She followed Tony, and Maria, out the room but not before glancing back at Seren. She could've passed off as a frightened child the way she looked.

Seren kept her encouraging smile and nodded Chloe to go on. She always showed up a little into the training sessions.

As soon as Chloe was gone, Seren left the room and headed in the opposite direction. She headed for her — their — floor, more specifically to the small living room where Steve and Sam currently worked together. The two were huddled over papers sprawled over the table.

"How's it going?" she asked, not really startling either of them.

"Well enough." Sam looked up to greet Seren with a typical warm smile that she would return. He had not taken Chloe's secret as Steve had. He had talked privately to Seren previously and admitted that he saw Chloe as a young girl who'd made a mistake. He couldn't hold that against Chloe, so he didn't.

"That's good…" Seren stopped by Steve's side, hand coming to rest over his shoulder.

Steve stiffened very briefly and then went back to looking over the papers. "Did you get a hold of the CIA agent?" he asked without making any eye contact.

"Umm…" Seren felt like she should be more apt at answering the question that Steve had taken custom of asking every time he saw her. Apparently, she just wouldn't get it. "Not quite."

Steve's 'subtle' movement forced Seren's hand off his shoulder. She curled her hand and drew it back to her side. For sympathy, Sam acted like he hadn't seen that at all.

"If she's Chloe's friend, she should be answering, right?" Steve kept going as he switched papers. "What was her name again?"

"Citlalli," Seren said with a sigh. "She's a very busy woman."

"Oh, there's no denying that," Steve retorted.

Seren wasn't used to being on the receiving end of his snips. It was actually hurtful, more than a punch to be exact.

"Is there any idea where this woman would lead Bucky to?" Steve kept going as if he couldn't feel Seren's dejected gaze on him.

Seren tucked some of her short strands of hair behind her ear. "It's not that easy, Steve," she said, regretting her words as soon they left her mouth. It wasn't what Steve wanted to hear.

"Why not?" He demanded.

Once again, Seren had to give herself a moment to get over the sharpness of his voice. It genuinely felt like someone was stabbing her. "Citlalli's been in the CIA for a long time. Like Chloe, she's built networks for her personal reasons and she's not going to give it up just because we asked."

"Like a code amongst her and her network," Sam concluded. Half of his intentions to speak was to cut the palpable tension in the air.

Seren nodded at him. "Yes, exactly."

"She's technically hiding a fugitive," Steve spoke as if nothing had been said between Seren and Sam. "That would terminate her job and most likely put her under arrest."

"Well, that's exactly what would happen to you if you actually found Bucky," Seren pointed out and for that, she earned Steve's apprehensive gaze.

"What are you trying to say?" His accusation startled Seren.

Did he honestly think that she would—

Seren swallowed hard. "I think I'll just leave you two to work," she whispered and quickly turned to leave.

Steve went back to the papers, though he listened to Seren's footsteps getting farther. She wasn't coming back for a while, if she even decided to.

"You cannot keep doing that," came Sam's comment a few minutes later.

"Do what?" Steve was aware that he had read the same line on the paper three times now.

"You're being cold towards Seren and she hasn't done anything wrong." Sam pretended to over a mental checklist of the recent happenings then reiterated his stance. "Yeah, she's done nothing wrong."

"I'm not mad at her," Steve clarified, although it didn't really do much and they both knew it.

"Then why the hell are you acting like it? If you have a problem with Chloe, figure it out with her. Last time I checked, wasn't Seren your, I don't know what you used to call it—sweetheart?" Sam smirked at Steve's deadpanning response. "Well?"

Steve swallowed down his snap at the comment in favor of talking about the real point of the conversation. He put the papers down on the table, finishing the facade of reading them. "It's hard to ignore the fact Seren's coddling Chloe when she...she lied to us for a long time. Bucky was right here, Sam. He was here the whole time and Chloe didn't say anything. She made plans to run away with him and Seren's just acting like it's nothing."

"I'm pretty sure that's not the case but even then, go talk it out with Seren," Sam insisted. "The way you're acting is going to push her away for good. No woman likes the cold shoulder."

That was a truth that even Steve knew. With a sigh, he relented and agreed that he would have a word with Seren. But first, they really needed to sort through these papers.

~ 0 ~

Seren had taken to working on her suit through the nights. It was when Chloe slept — at least Seren hoped that Chloe slept — and it was also the only way she could technically avoid Steve without it being blatantly obvious. Their shared bedroom wasn't such an advantage during these days.

"Jarvis, is it possible to run a simulation testing whether or not the suit would withstand my strongest attack yet?" She managed to smirk for a few seconds just at how confident she was that her strongest attack would one day be second best.

"Of course, Miss Soul," answered the computerized voice.

"Thank you." Seren pulled herself out of her stool and decided it was best to take a stroll out of the lab. Truth be told, the all-nighters she pulled on stools were making her back hurt.

Not wanting to make small talk with anyone, she took the elevator up to the rooftop. She crossed the entire top until she was resting her arms on the rails overlooking the city. It would be raining soon. Seren felt the chill of the air and could hear the warning cracks of thunder in the sky — either that or Thor was making his grand entrance.

The sound of the elevator dinging wasn't enough to pull Seren's gaze off the city. It wouldn't be the first time Tony interrupted her quiet time, or Chloe came in search of her for support. Even Maria sometimes found her accidentally and took the opportunity to go over some details about their potential missions.

All three options were dismissed once Seren felt a jacket come rest over her shoulders. Her body instinctively froze but after a moment, she was able to turn her head slightly.

"I don't want you to get sick." Steve's voice was quiet and plainly filled with caution as he stepped up beside Seren.

"You know I don't really get sick," Seren mumbled, and yet she held the jacket a little closer to her body.

Silence stretched between them in the following seconds. Steve didn't really know what to say and he'd been thinking about things long before he got the courage to come find Seren. From her side, Seren wasn't sure where the conversation was going to go. The jacket on her shoulders gave her some hope that this wouldn't end with displeasure.

"I called Citlalli again," she said, and Steve once again looked at her albeit trying to put up a front that he wasn't urgent for the information. "I finally got through to her. She admits that Bucky met her where Chloe and she had agreed and that she helped him."

"She helped him?" A dozen questions swarmed Steve's head at that moment. "But she barely knows him. Why wouldn't she—?"

"Turn him in?" Seren half smiled. "Trust me, there's a reason Chloe called her out of everyone else she knew."

"Look, I guess I'm grateful that she didn't turn Bucky over but why would she help him escape? He needs help, not isolation."

"Neither of us know what conditions Bucky was in during these days," Seren said and felt awful for the look on Steve's face. As much as he loved his best friend, he had no idea what Bucky was thinking/going through at the moment. "I'm grateful Citlalli helped him."

"Well, where'd she send him to?"

"I don't' know," Seren said.

"What? Did she not tell you?"

"It's more complicated than that, Steve. Citlalli helped him escape, but by that she really only helped him get to the first stop of his journey. She doesn't know where he is after she dropped him off."

"I'm not understanding…"

"It's complicated and confusing, trust me I'm very much feeling that last one too. Citlalli doesn't know where he is."

Steve's knuckles turned white from how hard he was gripping the rail again. Seren watched him go through the many stages of fury all over again.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" he muttered with gritted teeth.

"I don't know…" Seren's faint voice is what broke Steve out of his ire-filled trance. He looked at her and found she had taken a step back from him.

Suddenly, Sam's words were running through his head again. The way you're acting is going to push her away for good.

Seren took his silence as her cue to leave. She would much rather the silence than the arguing but it didn't do anything good for her heart. She started to leave but halfway, she turned back around. "I know you're angry with Chloe and you have every right to be, but this wasn't just on her and you know it. Bucky was thinking lucid enough to know who to go to and honestly, with the way Chloe's talked about him, he sounded like a guarded man. He was never going to stick around."

"How long was he here?" Steve asked. Whether or not the answer would give him peace was left unclear but Steve still wanted to know.

"About two weeks."

"They got close," Seren said quietly. "They were both pawns for Hydra, each twisted and broken in their own ways for what Hydra required. They had things to be close about. I think by the end of it, Chloe didn't choose to run from us but more so to stick with the only other person who could understand some of the things she went through."

Steve thought well and hard about this. It was true that he had already considered how he would talk to Bucky if he had found him earlier, and the truth that Steve wasn't sure of how he would do it was disappointing. The Bucky he knew wasn't around. Steve didn't know what he would've done and the act of not knowing and the fact that Chloe had found a way to talk to Bucky was…

"He shouldn't have left," Steve said. Seren presumed it was still the same feelings of indignation and hurt that anyone else in Steve's place would feel...until Steve spoke again. "Chloe did something to make him think clearly after decades of thinking like the Winter Soldier he was programmed to be. He listened to you that night, he went through Chloe's old things and thought she had a better chance to fix things. That's not even what the Bucky I knew, before the war, would typically think about."

Seren's eyebrows raised, almost indignant on Chloe's behalf.

Steve pulled away from the balcony and faced Seren. "The Bucky I knew before the war was a gentleman, no one could argue against that, but to say that he actually took his time to talk and be around a woman the way he did with Chloe. It was different back then but even then…"

Seren afforded him a little smile once she understood the point he was trying to make. "I thought something along the same lines in regards to Chloe. But still, I'm sorry about everything and Chloe is too. You should know that we've managed to convince her to do the surgery she needs to finally stabilize her connection with the Animinds."

"So in the end you going to Malibu was the right decision," Steve said, and she smiled lightly. "Still saving lives outside of SHIELD."

Seren's faltered for a moment. "But it seems like I'm unable to save what's most important to me…"

Confusion settled on Steve's face until Seren gestured at him. "Me?"

"Miss Soul," Jarvis' suddenly cut in, "your simulation has finished. Would you like to hear the results?"

"Thank you, Jarvis, I'll go down to the lab myself," Seren said, dismissing the computer. She looked over at Steve. Awkwardness fell now that the conversation was pretty much done. It was the only thing they had talked about in days and about the only direct conversation they had that lasted for more than a few seconds.

"Seren, what did you mean by that?" Steve asked, seeing she had all the intentions of leaving the room.

"Seriously?" she raised a brow at him. "You hardly speak to me and when you do, you're angry at me. And it's not fair. We had such lovely moments together and it crashed down so easily."

"We haven't...crashed…" Steve said slowly. This was all his fault. Seren thought they were practically over because of one disagreement and it was all his fault.

"This is the first real conversation we've had in days," Seren said shortly. It was hard to act like she wasn't upset at all. She was…and rightfully so. "And it wasn't even about us."

"I know, I know…" Steve sighed, bringing a hand to the back of his neck, "And it's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you." Sam was right. Out of everyone, Seren was the least at fault. "I'm really sorry, Seren."

"I get why you're upset…you have a right to be mad at Chloe, not talk to her, I guess. I can't do the same. I've known Chloe for so long, we've seen each other at our worst, that cutting her out of my life isn't even a question for me. You want to save Bucky — well, I want to save Chloe."

"I get that, I do, but I also think you shouldn't be coddling her. She's not a child, Seren. She's 25 years old. She needs to take some responsibility for what she did, almost did."

Seren nodded. "Yeah, I should work on that. Truth is, sometimes I'm just so used to thinking about Chloe as the teenager I found all those years ago. Scared, alone...but she's not anymore. I'm sorry about that."

Steve walked over to her and reached out to brush a ginger strand of hair from Seren's forehead. "I'm really sorry, sweetheart. I hate that I made you feel bad but I promise you that we have not crashed down."

"Well, it certainly feels like we have. Then again, I've never really been in a relationship where I am fully head over heels in love with someone. Maybe I'm being a tad dramatic."

Steve smiled at her softly. "You can feel however you want when I'm being the world's biggest jerk." His fingers dropped under Seren's chin, raising her head. "And you can expect that I will be putting all my efforts into making this up to you in every way possible."

"Every way possible?" Seren repeated, raising one skeptical brow at him.

Steve nodded fervently. "Every way possible." He gave her a preview of what he meant with a kiss.

Seren wrapped her arms around his neck, dropping his jacket around her shoulders in the process. She would gladly exchange the piece of clothing for the real thing any day.

~0~

It was bright and early when Chloe got started on her exams again. Tony wanted everything to go by smoothly for the upcoming surgery. Dr. Helen Cho was finally coming in today as well, hence the early start of today's exams. The last thing Chloe expected was for Steve to appear in the lab.

"It's only me in here," she said quietly, assuming he was searching for someone else. She turned for another table.

"I was looking for you, actually," Steve surprised her.

Chloe's head flipped back towards the entrance. "Me?" Steve nodded. "Me-me?"

"Yes, I think we need to talk."

"Right, but, if there's anyone you need to talk with it's Seren." And for her best friend whom she hadn't been the kindest to lately, Chloe hurried towards Steve. "All of this is my fault, not Seren's. She had no idea what I was doing. Please go talk to her."

Steve smiled down at Chloe. At least that was the same. Chloe would do as much for Seren as Seren would do for her. "We've, uh, already reconciled our differences…well, my differences. We're okay."

"Really?"

"Yes, so now I think we need to talk."

"Yeah, guess we do…" She knew that sooner or later Steve would move past his initial anger and could shoulder bit to get to the questionnaire, the more in depth one. She owed him that too.

"How did you and Bucky…? I mean, did he just...did he just drop in on you?" To this day, that first meeting still didn't make sense for Steve. The whole reason he started planning for Europe is because he assumed Bucky would leave the country as soon as he could.

Chloe shrugged meekly. "He sort of did, honestly. He was inside the apartment one night and I thought he was there to finish the job but it turned out he just wanted to know what I knew about him."

"About the Winter Soldier?"

"No, about Bucky Barnes."

That made less sense. And it hurt more. It showed on Steve's face. "I'm his best friend," he said, "Does he not remember me at all?"

"He does," Chloe said, "It's all in pieces but he knows who you are and what you were to him in the 40s. Steve, you can't take all of this so black and white. Bucky's head is as messed up as mine save for the aliens in my mind. He wanted to know who he was but he obviously can't go out in public that much and I don't think he's ready to see a familiar face. Don't take it personally."

"Believe me, I'm trying," Steve said with a long sigh to follow. "If you had known us back in the 40s — well, you probably wouldn't have talked to me so much as Bucky"— Chloe laughed softly, "—but you would see why I'm so upset. We were brothers."

"I get it, I do," Chloe assured Steve. "Because I just did the same thing to Seren. Not talking to her really messed me up. And I know Seren took it personally even when it wasn't her fault. It's exactly what's going on with you and Bucky now."

Steve smiled wryly. "Well, you certainly became like a little expert on us, huh?"

Chloe flushed slightly at the comment. Her head ducked on instinct. "Bucky and I talked, that's all."

Steve hummed. He was sure that definitely happened.

"Steve, I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I know it really hurt you. It wasn't my intention but it happened and I'm sorry."

Chloe's sincerity is what had Steve making the effort to let it go. It would take time, but he could do it.

"Steve, when I get my stuff together," Chloe tapped the side of her head, "I would really like to join you and Sam to search for Bucky."

That was the most startling thing she had said to him so far. Steve did a double-take at her, this time the effort to be cool wasn't quite successful. "Um, are you...you want to?"

Chloe nodded. She knew what he was thinking. 'Why would you want to go looking for him when he left you?' It was a fair question that deserved to be answered, at least to make things clear. "Bucky promised me that we would look out for one another. We made plans and I had every intention of following through, but he left. He picked up his things and just...left."

Steve winced at the sharpness in that one word. For a second, he genuinely feared for Bucky's fate if Chloe found him. That almost made him reject her request to join them...almost. At the same time, Bucky owed Chloe that explanation. Plus, Steve got the feeling that whether or not he agreed to let her in, Chloe would still conduct her own search for Bucky. It was better to unify all efforts.

They were a team, after all. They were broken, perhaps heartbroken in their own ways, but at the end of the day their goals were the same. They were aligned.

A/N:

Next is the epilogue which means this fic is technically all done! *sniffs, I think this is probably my favorite fic so far in the storylines but I'm also excited for the future ones like Civil War when I finally get to include all 3 OCs and just start the crossovers!

I'll probably post the epilogue of this story and the new fic this weekend!

[cyber-skeletons]

In the beginning, it seemed so simple. The Senate had informed him immediately upon his awakening exactly who and what his enemy was, and he had not questioned them. Why would he have? The evidence was plain all around him. He arose as Optimus Prime, and immediately set out to war against Megatron; Megatronus, in those days, and his Descepticons. Orion Pax had been weak in those early days, his spark still under shock of taking the Matrix of Leadership, capable of little other than tracking Megatron on the battlefield, the spark always settling in whichever nook of his spark chamber was closest to Megatron.  Another harsh stab of fury filled his processors. The Matrix… Optimus could feel Orion's hatred and fear of it. He couldn't understand it. The Matrix of Leadership was a gift to be bestowed only on those worthy of a Prime. Orion Pax should be grateful towards the Matrix. For millennia… he didn't understand. 

Please go read "4 Million Years" by @spreadwardiard if you like angst <3

[ephemeralstarss]

he's basically the equivalent of padmé amidala in the star wars films (and she does in fact die!)

i have a path for either of the options so i'm curious what the public thinks

[lightyaoigami]

the alignment fashion deck as requested by @korrororo !

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

i’m literally soo addicted to the idea that armand continues to visit daniel and make him forget for decades after they first get together. armand needs to read everything daniel’s ever written and needs to own signed copies of all of his books and needs to be there in the background from all his major life events. he’s there as a shoulder to cry on at the end of his first marriage, and again at the second. he’s the stranger at the bar who daniel tells about his daughters even though his relationship with them is crumbling. i need armand to be obsessed with daniel in every way he can manage and daniel to reciprocate every time. i need daniel to start aging and armand to be more excited every time he sees signs of it, and daniel — before he remembers — is confused and flattered and fond of the beautiful young man who curiously combs through his gray hairs and prods at his new wrinkles. and every time daniel remembers he's more angry, more hurt, more willing to beg (or demand) for armand not to do it again. and it gets more difficult for armand to do it every time, but that doesn't stop him. why should daniel remember how much he loves him?