#he ran faster than LIGHTENING for her im tearing my HAIR OUT

[comradekarin]

ik atla fandom likes to undermine this a lot, but i still think it’s a little crazy zuko took lightning for katara during the final agni kai,,,,, katara healing zuko and him bouncing back that quick has tricked y’all into thinking what he did was normal behavior I fear,,,,,,,,,, having that moment of bonding over their mothers despite being enemies is one thing,,,, katara offering to heal zuko’s scar is a second thing, zuko being the only visibly supportive figure during katara’s journey dealing with yon rha is another thing, but lightning ,,, thats insane hello !!! atla fandom likes to bully hag zk fans for perceiving it in a romantic light but !! he literally took a lightning strike for her !!!!! in the heart !!! unflinchingly !! there is a permanent mark of disfigurement on his chest because of it !! and they are presumably the only ones that know too !! tired of the forced platonicization of that scene,,,,, GIVE ME BRYKE’S NECK !!!

[billys-hard-grove]

MIA - Army AU pt 2

This goes out to all the people that messaged me in tears and especially to the anon who suggested a way to fix it, it was an EXCELLENT idea.

I tried to make you happy, my dear anon, but this turned into 1000+ words of pure angst with only a very slight sliver of non-angst, im so sorry

Read part 1 here

It had been 3 months.

3 months since Max had shown him the letter and Steve’s life had fallen apart. The hope he had clung to in the beginning was slowly fading and he didn’t know what to think anymore.

Missing in action.

Steve had read the letter over and over again, the words burning into his mind. What did that even mean? What was he supposed to do?

Neil had scoffed and had told Susan almost laughingly that the coward had probably deserted, but Steve refused to believe that. Billy was nothing if not determined and he really did believe in the cause. Steve knew he wouldn’t have left the army. He wouldn’t have left Steve.

Maybe there had been a mistake? Maybe he had gotten lost? Wounded? Captured? The thought of Billy rotting away in a filthy prison cell, beaten to within an inch of his life left Steve nauseated, but at least he would be alive. He couldn’t even stomach the thought of the other option.

That first month, it was hope that kept Steve on his feet and going through the motions.

He had held onto it for dear life. The hope that Billy was still out there, putting up a fight no matter what situation he was in, probably laughing if he knew how worried Steve was. The hope that Billy was missing Steve as much as Steve was missing him. The hope that Billy would return to him safe and sound.

He had clung to it desperately until his hope was shattered into a million pieces and Steve had shattered with it.

One month after they had gotten the letter declaring Billy to be MIA, Brad had visited Hawkins, Brad the army buddy.

He had looked like a broken man when he sat down in front of Neil and Susan and told them about the battle, the battle that had left dozens of soldiers unaccounted for. Their platoon had been lead into a trap and it had been brutal, the rebel troops shooting at them from all sides as they tried desperately to escape, climbing over the lifeless bodies of their fallen brothers. Brad had told them about how brave of a man Billy was and that if anyone from the missing guys was still out there, it would be Billy.

But the words sounded all wrong to Max, who had been listening from the doorway. Silently tears streamed down her face when she heard the man talk. She knew what he was saying. She could read between the lines.

It had been brutal.

Neil had only waited two weeks after that before he organised a ceremony. He had probably been all too eager to get it over and done with and forget all about his good-for-nothing son.

It had only been 6 weeks and the asshole had given him up.

Steve had been so angry when he heard about it. He had raged. He had kicked and screamed, cursed Neil’s name until all the anger was burnt up and the only thing that was left was sadness and pain.

He had spent days crying, sobbing into his pillow. He had wailed and wailed until his throat was raw and his whole body was sore from all the heaving.

He kept imagining Billy’s dead body, covered in blood and dirt in a ditch on the other side of the world, his eyes wide open but unseeing, surrounded by other soldiers, forgotten by everyone.

He wondered if they had buried him.

He had clasped Billy’s necklace between his hands as he prayed and prayed to a God he no longer believed in.

It had hurt so much. 

But now, 3 months after they’d gotten the letter, there was nothing left anymore. He was all cried out and the void that Billy had left behind had filled him up completely.

Steve felt numb. He barely slept, he barely ate, he barely even existed anymore.

Billy’s necklace was stuffed away inside a drawer. Steve couldn’t wear it anymore, he couldn’t even look at it. The memories were too painful.

He spent most days curled up in bed, unable to do anything, unable to smile at Nancy when she ran a hand through his hair, unable to laugh at Dustin’s attempts to lighten his mood.

He just felt so empty.

--

--

It had been 3 months.

3 months of beating, breaking and cutting. Unidentifiable men kept coming in, keeping him awake, spitting on him, screaming in a language that he didn’t understand. They only fed him moulded scraps and only gave him water when Billy was seconds away from dying of thirst.

Every day brought a fresh hell of pain and exhaustion. He knew they wanted information, but the broken man had none to give.

It had been 3 months and they had broken him, he was done fighting. He couldn’t take it any longer.

He felt himself teetering at the edge of consciousness and he was ready to plummet into the darkness. He was ready to surrender.

He closed his eyes and all he could see was Steve, looking back at him with a radiant smile and eyes that were brimming with love. Billy basked in it for a moment before he let himself fall and it all went black.

--

--

He woke up days later in a field hospital where they kept him for another two weeks. It was a blur of sleep and people asking him questions. Where had he been? Who had he met? What did they want?

Billy didn’t have answers. His captors had never given him any clues to their whereabouts or identities.

It was exhausting and the more he recovered, the more he wanted out. The nurses just laughed every time he threw a fit, calling his anger a good sign of his recovery.

Eventually they had let him go. He had been flown back to the US and after even more questions and more paperwork, here he was.

He was wandering through Hawkins, but the familiar town felt surreal. It was even quieter than before he had left and it made him feel on edge. He had gotten used to the constant sounds of war around him and he didn’t trust the eerie silence.

A man walking his dog appeared around the corner and Billy felt himself tense up, eyeing him suspiciously as he approached. The passer-by smiled at him and Billy had to fight down a snarl before he nodded curtly at the man.

Billy started walking faster after the encounter. It took him another 10 minutes until he rounded the corner onto Steve’s street. He felt himself relax when he saw the large house. He hadn’t realise how tense he still was until he unclenched his fist and released a deep breath.

He walked up the driveway, a different kind of apprehension making him jittery as he rang the doorbell.

He waited impatiently.

His heart was pounding in his chest. This was it. He had been waiting for this moment since he had gotten on that bus almost a year ago.

He rang the doorbell again.

He rang it again 5 times actually before the door cracked open and Steve appeared.

His eyes widened when he saw Billy and he had to catch himself on the door.

They stared at each other, neither of them knowing what to say and Billy noticed how bad Steve looked. His skin was pale and blotchy and he had lost weight. His hair was too long and hung limply in his face, Billy could tell it hadn’t been washed in a while. Steve was staring at him with his big brown eyes, but they didn’t sparkle how they used to.

‘B-Billy?’ Steve managed to say, his voice weak.

Billy nodded.

‘You’re here? You’re real?’ Steve looked like he honestly didn’t believe that it was true. ‘You’re… You’re alive?’

‘I’m home, Steve,’ Billy said softly, a smile tugged at his lips.

Steve lurched forward and fell into his arms, crying into his shoulder, desperately clutching onto him. Billy wrapped his arms around Steve’s small frame and just held him. They stood there for what felt like hours until Steve’s sobs died down.

Billy pressed his lips to Steve’s temple and he knew that was he said was true.

He was home.