#honestly all of Haz' designs pop off so hard

[chipistrate]

3 STAR FAM FOREVER!!!!!

designs by @reluct4ntfollower

I love these designs sosoSO much especially Vanessa's she's so fucking sick,,,, Also GREGORY IN A SKIRT!!! BASED!!!!!

The entire family is gnc as fuck and we love them for it<3

No PQ/Rabbit ears ver under cut

[abundanceofsoph]

SkyFire 1: Chapter 22

The Columbia University Shooting - September 29th, 2015

Word count: 3.7k

SkyFire 1 MASTERLIST

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CW/TW: This chapter contains a mass shooting and the aftermath of that event. It includes details of injuries and blood. None of the main characters die, but please proceed with care if this is something that can be difficult for you. If you want to skip this chapter message me for a summary of the key points 

A month into the start of her 3rd year at Columbia, Aurora was sitting in the library with a few friends from one of her painting classes. It was the end of September and they were talking about the fact that she would be at the CMAs in a little over a month. They were chatting happily when the first sound of gunfire rang out, at initially she didn’t realize what it was. Her first thought was that someone had set of firecrackers in the hallway outside the library and then realization dawned. Rori saw the fear in the eyes of other students around her as everyone scrambled for somewhere safe to hide. They’d all run through the drills countless times over the years and every one of them knew what to do, stay away from windows, hide behind something solid and stay quiet. When she’d first moved to America the concept of an active shooter was so foreign but that had been years ago now and there had been countless school shootings across the country since. She could feel her heartbeat in every limb, her breathing rapid and her hands were trembling as she cowered under the table in the library beside her friends. She remembered watching a documentary on the Columbine massacre and let out a small whimper as she remembered those kids also hiding under tables in the library. 

Aurora reached for her StarkWatch on her wrist, scrolling through the menu to pull up the panic button Tony had shown her when he’d first designed the product, the same button she’d used the previous year the night that she’d almost been mugged in central park and first met Peter. She hit the button, knowing that JARVIS would alert any Avenger in the state. “J activate Eyes and Ears protocol,” she whispered, ensuring that the AI was now recording everything that the microphone picked up, while muting any and all notifications so as not to draw attention to herself. “Send the following alert to Avengers; There’s a shooter on campus. I’m in the library and they sound like they’re close to…”

She was cut off from continuing her message as a girl let out a shriek of fear nearby when the doors were thrown open and the sound of gunshots echoed off the walls, deafeningly loud. Rori whimpered, clasping one of her hands over her mouth to muffle the sound, the other reaching out to hold onto one of her friends beside her. She listened in horror as the unknown gunman moved from one table to the next, indiscriminately shooting everyone they came across, and eventually their blood stained shoes came into Rori’s view. Her cheeks were damp with falling tears when he ducked down, locking eyes with her as he raised his weapon.

“Please don’t,” she begged helplessly, raising her left hand in front of her as if it could shield her from what came next.

The pain was excruciating, beyond explanation as blood ran down her arm, pooling on the ground. A second wound blossomed across her lower abdomen, quickly soaking through her pale grey sweater. More gun shots continued to ring out as Aurora’s vision became hazy and she fought against the desire to rest. She slumped backwards on the floor as still more blood continued to pool around her, a lot of it her own, but more still coming from her friends. 

She was barely holding onto consciousness when Steve found her. He hadn’t even taken the time to suit up when the alert rang out through the tower, sparing only enough time to grab his shield before he was running for the balcony, Tony meeting him there in the Iron Man suit. They flew together, covering the distance in mere minutes, arriving on the campus to hear the discharging of an automatic weapon and the screaming of victims. The police arrived hot on their tales and the couple shared a brief moment to coordinate before heading into the sprawling campus. Tony would seek out the shooter, while Steve would head for the library to find their daughter. The live broadcast from Aurora's watch was playing out over their comms link, so Steve could hear the injured wails surrounding his daughter. His heart had lurched when he’d heard her beg for her life, a sound he knew he would hear in his nightmares, but since then she had been silent. He tried not to think about what that meant, pushing his muscles to the extreme as he sprinted across the campus. 

He found her curled up beneath a table, blood soaking through her sweater and her left hand a mangled mess of flesh and bone. He sucked in a deep breath, pushing aside his torment as a father and focusing on the scene as a soldier. He slipped his arm through the straps of the shield, freeing both of his hands and bent down, scooping her up and cradling her against his chest, his white button down shirt instantly turning red with blood. Aurora’s eyes fluttered open briefly as she moaned in pain. 

“Pops?” She mumbled, squinting up at him from where her head rested against his shoulder. 

“Shhh, I’m here bug,” he soothed, already exiting the library and heading for where the triage point had been set up. “Everything’s gonna be ok.”

xXx

Harry was sitting with Niall on a sofa in the green room of the O2 Arena in London while Louis and Liam were playing table tennis across the room. That night’s show was set to start in a little over 2 hours and there were plenty of people coming and going from the room as the boys relaxed before they had to go out on stage. Harry was laughing at Liam’s failed dive to save a shot when a member of their management team, Dan, rushed into the room.

“Everyone not in the band, out, now!” he yelled. Confused looks were exchanged before the order was followed and within a few minutes the room was empty of everyone except the four boys.

“What’s going on,” Louis asked as he and Liam walked over to join the other two on the sofa.

“I’m not sure how to break this so I’m just going to say it,” Dan said, his gaze nervously flitting to Harry before he looked away. “The news is reporting that there’s been a mass shooting at Columbia University in New York.”

The silence that followed his words was thick in the air. No one moved, barely even breathing as the words slowly settled between them. Louis was the first to recover, quickly looking to Harry in dawning horror as Harry pulled his phone from his pocket, already dialling Aurora’s number. Liam also pulled his phone out, pulling up the latest news report. He gasped in shock when the first article included a photo of Steve carrying Aurora out of a building, blood soaking through both of their outfits.

“Haz,” he whispered, unable to make his voice any louder but not needing to in the dead silence of the room. Harry looked towards Liam, his phone still pressed to his ear as it continued to ring and ring and ring. Liam turned his phone around to show the others the photo, watching as all the colour drained from Harry’s face. He hung up his phone, knowing now that there was no one to answer his call.

“I…” he stammered. “I need to be on a plane.”

“You have a show in 2 hours,” Dan replied.

“Fuck the show!” Louis shouted, causing everyone in the room to jump in response to his outburst. “Get him on a plane, we’ll deal with the show later.”

xXx

The flight was the longest 8 hours of Harry’s life. He’d tried to call both Tony and Steve before he boarded the plane, but when neither answered he’d opened up the JARVIS app that Tony has installed on his phone when he last visited the tower. He informed JARVIS of his flight details and asked the AI to let both of Aurora’s parents know that he was on his away and then he turned his phone to airplane mode and ran his hand over his face, exhausted but unable to sleep. By the time he reached JFK, Harry was unsure how he was still on his feet. He was beyond tired and scared to the point of being sick as he walked through the terminal, his duffle bag hanging from his shoulder, grateful that there weren’t any fans to stop him for a photo. He recognised Happy once he made it to the curb and slipped into the backseat of the town car, closing his eyes as he lent his head back against the seat for the brief moment it took Happy to round the car and climb into the driver’s seat.

“Any news?” he asked.

“She was in surgery last I heard,” Happy told him, swinging the car out into traffic and heading for the hospital. “How are you?”

“Terrified,” Harry said honestly. “Tony and Steve?”

“About the same,” Happy replied.

They lapsed into silence for the rest of the drive and when they finally arrived, Happy walked Harry passed the media camped outside the front doors, waiting for any updates on the survivors.

“They’ve got a private waiting room set up for you guys,” Happy told him once they reached the correct floor. “It’s the second door on the left up there. I’ll go take your things to the tower and then I’ll check in with Pepper.”

“Thanks Hap,” Harry said, offering the man a tired smile before slowly walking down the hall.

When he opened the door, he found most of the Avengers team sprawled out across the hard, unforgiving seats, a few looked up at the sound of his entrance and offered him sad, exhausted nods in greeting. It was Steve who stood and made his way over to Harry. Tony remained in the seat next the one Steve had just vacated, his head buried in his hands, somewhat oblivious to anything around him.

“Harry,” Steve said, pulling him into a hug. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” Harry replied, patting Steve’s back before the pair stepped apart. “How is she?”

“She’s been in surgery for the last few hours and we haven’t had an update yet,” Steve explained, walking Harry back over to where Tony had still yet to move. They both fell into the empty seats on his right. “She was in pretty bad shape by the time we got her here, but the doctors seem pretty confident that she’ll be ok.”

Harry didn’t realise he’d been holding his breath until he heard Steve say that Rori would be ok. He let the air rush out of his lungs as a sob burst from his lips. Steve placed a comforting hand on the younger man’s shoulder as he finally let out all the built up emotion that he’d been desperately holding back since he’d first seen the photo of Aurora ,unconscious and blood-drenched in her father’s arms. His sobs echoed around the room, filled with all the fear that had been building for hours and the relief that his worst nightmare had not become a reality.

“I thought I was gonna be too late,” Harry confessed when he finally regained enough composure to speak. “I was terrified that by the time I got here she’d be gone.”

“She’s gonna be ok,” Steve promised, wrapping his arms around Harry and hugging the young man again. “Our girls a fighter.”

“I love her so much, Steve,” Harry whispered. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

“We know,” Steve replied, his voice also soft in the quiet room. “Everything’ll be ok. You’ll see.”

xXx

A few more hours passed before a surgeon came out to explain Aurora’s condition to them. She’d sustained serious damage to her left arm below the elbow, with much of the limb needing to be reconstructed with future surgeries. She had also been shot in the upper arm and shoulder, both wounds being less severe through-and-throughs, however her collar bone had been broken, as had her shoulder blade. While most of her injuries were confined to her left arm, one bullet had pierced her lower abdomen, causing a wound that had been the main focus of her time in the operating theatre. The surgeon explained that given the circumstances that she had been incredibly lucky that none of bullets had impacted any of her vital organs and that she was now being transferred into a recovery ward.

A nurse had come in half an hour later to escort them to Aurora’s room and the rest of the team had headed home. Tony, Steve and Harry were slumped in uncomfortable plastic chairs at Aurora’s bedside when she finally awoke from the anaesthetic.

She was disorientated at first, groggy from the anaesthetic and confused by the harsh fluorescent lighting. All three men surged forward out of their seats as she started to wake, rushing to her side immediately. Her eyes flitted from her fathers to Harry before she burst into tears. Harry reacted quicker than either of the other two men, gently wrapping his arms around her, cautious of her injuries, and pulled her against his chest as she gasped for breath.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she sobbed.

“I’m right here,” Harry soothed. “You’re ok. I’m here. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“I love you Harry,” she continued. “I love you so much, I was so scared.”

“God, I love you too,” Harry replied. “More than anything. I love you, you’re safe now. I won’t let anything else happen to you. I love you.”

He kept whispering his promises and confessions of love until her breathing finally calmed and he loosened his hold on her just enough to turn her towards her fathers.

“Please don’t scare me like that again kiddo,” Tony begged, his own tears welling in his eyes as he gazed at his daughter. “We can’t lose you, ok?”

She nodded silently, tears dripping down her cheeks as she leant away from Harry’s chest and reached her uninjured hand out towards her dad, urging him to move forward and pull her into a hug. Steve added his arms around them both and Harry watched on as the small family held each other close, trying not to think of what the alternative scene would have looked like.

xXx

For the next 3 days following the shooting, Aurora found herself meeting with one surgeon after another, first discussing the recovery process for the abdominal wound and her broken collar bone and shoulder blade, and then they were making plans to reconstruct her hand and forearm. The initial surgery had merely stopped the bleeding and stabilized the bones to avoid further damage but as the doctors explained, more surgeries would be needed if she wanted to regain use of the limb. 2 days after the shooting Aurora went back into the OR to have a steel rod inserted where her radius and ulna used to form her forearm and countless plates, pins and screws were imbedded into her hand to stabilize the shattered bones and torn muscles.

While she was in surgery, Steve and Tony went back to the tower to shower, change clothes and update the team while Harry remained in the waiting room having refused when both men had tried to convince him to go with them. Instead he used the time to call Louis, filling him in on everything the doctors had told them and getting updates on the status of the tour he was currently missing. They had 2 shows out of 6 to go in London when Harry had left, and those along with the Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham shows had all been postponed. Louis told Harry that they were rescheduling the shows for the week following the Sheffield shows that were originally slated to be the end of the tour. This left Harry with 2 weeks in New York before he needed to fly back, although Louis promised that if he needed longer, they would make it work.

The morning after her second surgery, Aurora was sitting up in hospital bed, checking social media on her phone, while Harry sat on the side of her bed with her and Tony and Steve sat against the nearby wall in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. They were interrupted when a nurse came in to start the paperwork for her discharge and Tony followed her out of the room. Once he was gone Steve announced that he was going to go get everyone coffee and he invited Harry to join him. At first, he had declined, arguing that he would stay with Aurora until she pushed him to go.

“I’ll be alright for 10 minutes while you get coffee H,” she said. “Go stretch your legs. Promise I’ll be here when you get back.”

Reluctantly Harry had agreed and followed Steve out of the room and down the hall.

The moment the door closed behind them; Aurora burst into tears. She’d been holding it in until that moment, knowing that if she cracked in front of any of the three men hovering over her, she would only cause them to worry and she knew that they had worried enough in the past few days to last a lifetime.

Aurora was crying softly when Tony walked back into the hospital room and at first, he didn’t say anything. He just sat down next to her on the bed and let her lean into him, his arms wrapping around her and holding her gently as she gasped for breath. By the time she pulled herself together, Tony’s eyes were shut, and he was humming softly, his lips pressed into her hair. 

“Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in the library,” she whispered, “and I feel like I can’t breathe, and my chest is so tight it feels like my heart’s about to burst.”

“Sounds like a panic attack,” Tony told his daughter. “I had them after the wormhole.”

“You did? How come I never knew?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he admitted, “and I was ashamed. I shouldn’t have been, but I was. I thought I should have been stronger, and I was scared to let you see me be weak.”

“What made them stop?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper but hope clear in her tone.

“It’s still there,” he admitted. “I’m not sure it will ever fully go away, but it got better when I talked about it. Wilson’s offered to help. You know he worked at Veteran Affairs back in DC helping soldiers with PTSD?”

“I’m not a soldier,” Aurora replied. 

“But you did experience something pretty traumatic.”

“You want me to talk to him, don’t you?”

“I want to help you get through this.”

“I don’t know how to talk about it. I don’t even want to think about it.”

��We don’t have to do anything right away,” Tony promised. “Let’s get you home first and then you can sit down with Sam and just see how it goes. Sound like a plan?”

She nodded in agreement, pressing her cheek back against his chest, finding comfort in the soft hum emanating from the Arc reactor lodged next to her ear. By the time Harry and Steve returned, Aurora was sleeping soundly, and Tony was reading up on PTSD treatments on his phone. Steve passed him a coffee, placing a kiss on to his temple before slipping into the seat next to him. Harry sunk into the empty seat on the other side of Rori’s hospital bed, pulling out his own phone to update the boys on Rori’s condition and letting them know that she was being discharged later that afternoon.

xXx

Aurora was relieved when Happy pulled the town car into the tower’s underground carpark and she let Harry help her out of the car and into the elevator. She leaned heavily against him as Tony and Steve joined them and the car slowly ascended to the penthouse apartment. She was exhausted and was grateful for Harry’s strong arms holding her up by the time the doors opened. They stepped out together and slowly made their way over to the nearby sofa. After helping her to ease herself down onto the cushions, Harry excused himself for a moment.

“I’m just gonna go grab something from my bag,” he announced heading off down the hallway to where his bag had been left in Aurora’s room. Tony helped Rori get herself comfortable on the sofa with her legs propped up on the edge of the coffee table and a small cushion placed between her arm and stomach to take the pressure off of her sutures. Steve pulled a soft blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it over her lap and when Harry returned to the living room, both Steve and Tony excused themselves, leaving the young couple alone.

“You get whatever you needed?” Rori asked her boyfriend, watching as he stepped up to stand between the coffee table and where she sat, but instead of sitting down next to her like she expected him to, he dropped down on one knee. Rori’s breath stuck in her throat as Harry held the ring box open in front of him, a soft smile stretching across his face, making his dimples pop and his eyes shine. 

“Aurora Louise Stark, I love you so much,” he began softly. “Loving you and being loved by you has made me the happiest and the luckiest man on earth. I’ve wanted to ask you this for so long now and I was waiting for us to be together again at Christmas to finally ask you, but things haven’t gone the way any of us expected. I spent 8 hours on a plane fearing that by the time I got here I’d be too late, and I just kept thinking that I couldn’t lose you. I couldn’t imagine my life without you, and I don’t ever want to find out what that would be like. I want to spend every minute of every day of the rest of our lives making sure you know how much I love you. Rori, will you marry me?”

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