#howard stark stay dead

[the-winter-spider]

What I Have | B. Barnes

Word Count: 2.5k

Warning: Probably the fluffiest piece ive written lol

A/N: I was listening to What I Have by Kelsea Ballerini and well here we are lol

—-

The year was 2024, over one hundred years since you were born—105, to be exact. Your life hadn’t turned out at all like you had dreamed or hoped it would.

You were supposed to marry the boy next door once the war was done. You’d picked out your wedding dress while window shopping with your best friend, even before he proposed. You made a scrapbook, meticulously curating hairstyles and makeup looks, debating over the choices as if they were the most pressing decisions in the world.

You sketched out your dream house, selecting the colors, the flowers for the front garden, and the vegetables you would surely grow in the back. You even chose the font for your new last name on the mailbox.

You had each of your children’s names picked out—three, to be exact. Two boys and one girl, you had hoped. Everything was a dream, but it seemed so close, so possible, as if it should have been a reality. You should be dead by now, having lived a full life, with your children who should have been walking the earth with their children, your grandchildren.

But everything went wrong. Literally, everything possible went wrong.

Bucky fell off a train and died. He actually fell off a train, and they declared him dead. In reality, he had lost his arm, survived the fall because Hydra had already experimented on him. They brainwashed him, like something out of a twisted fairy tale, turning him into a deadly assassin. Your beautiful, blue-eyed Bucky, your sweet Bucky, became a killer. A Bucky you would never see again, because even though he was still here, and you were so thankful for that, he would never be your Bucky again.

And then there was Steve. Of course, Steve found him, because of course! And let’s not forget that your best friend, Steve, who was once smaller than you, was injected with a serum that not only tripled his size but turned him into a superhero because, yes, apparently those needed to exist. Of course, he went off to war, driven by a need for revenge for his best friend, your fiancé Bucky. And of course, he had to be noble, going down for the cause, leading everyone to believe he was dead. But of course, he wasn’t. They found him, frozen but alive, because he was Captain America, and that’s just what happens.

And then there was you, consumed by grief, first losing the love of your life and then your best friend. You begged, on your knees, begged Howard Stark to use you as his test subject for cryogenic testing. You couldn’t bear to be here without your boys. He hesitated because he loved Steve, and he knew Steve wouldn’t want this for you. But when you threatened that if he didn’t, you would take your own life, he relented. So, of course, it worked because it was Howard, and he was a Stark. But decades passed, and the year he was supposed to wake you up, The Winter Soldier murdered him. So, as usual, you stayed frozen, but alive, until Howard’s son, Tony, found you in his father’s hidden lab.

You woke up to a world that was not your own, a century too late for the life you were supposed to live. The world had moved on, but you hadn’t. Your friends were legends now, mythologized beyond recognition. And you, well, you were the ghost of what could have been.

The years that followed were a blur of new faces, new battles, and new griefs. You tried to adapt, to find a place in this future that had no room for you. But every corner of this brave new world reminded you of the past, of the life that slipped through your fingers.

And then one day, while sifting through old boxes in Tony’s lab, you found something. It was an old, faded book, as soon as you saw the brown cover you heart dropped you knew what it was, it waa your scrapbook. The cover had an old faded photo of you, Bucky, and Steve, taken on a sunny day before the world went mad. You barely recognized the girl in the photo, with her bright smile and unbroken heart. But there she was, a relic of a time that now felt like a dream.

You realised then that maybe you didn’t belong in this world. Maybe you never did. But as long as you were here, you could try—try to make sense of the pieces left behind, to find some small measure of peace in the chaos.

And that’s exactly what you did. Even though you didn’t have the life you had once dreamed of, you still had them. And in what world does all that trauma happen, and you still end up alive with your boys?

You picked up the dusty book, holding it close to your heart, as you navigated through the compound, following the sound of laughter coming from the living room. You paused just outside the doorway, soaking in the warmth of his laugh—a sound you feared you might never hear again after Bucky began recovering from his trauma. But here it was, filling the room, and even though it wasn’t the same Bucky you knew decades ago, his laugh was unchanged, and it made your heart swell.

Rounding the corner, you saw Steve clutching his chest in joy, playfully shoving Sam, who was grinning widely.

Bucky’s eyes immediately found yours; he could always find you in any room. “Hi, doll,” he said, getting up to kiss your cheek and taking your hand to lead you to the couch.

“Hi, Buck. Hi, Stevie, Sammy,” you greeted them, settling in beside Bucky.

Sam rolled his eyes at the nickname. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Bucky glanced down at the book in your arms. “What’s that?”

Steve’s smile faded into something more serious as he noticed the book, instantly recognizing it. “Is that what I think it is?”

You nodded, feeling tears well up in your eyes. “Stark… he kept it. I haven’t opened it yet. I thought… I thought we could do it together.”

“What is it?” Sam asked, his curiosity piqued.

“It’s my life,” you began, your voice trembling slightly. “There are a few pages of what I thought it would turn out to be… but after everything happened…” You paused, taking a steadying breath. The memories of losing Bucky and Steve were still fresh, no matter how much time had passed. “I never planned or dreamed of anything else. It just felt silly without you boys. So, I just filled it with photographs.”

“Photographs of who?” Sam asked, leaning forward.

“Everyone,” you replied softly, glancing between Bucky and Steve. “Peggy and Mrs. Rogers,” you said, meeting Steve’s gaze. You saw the emotion in his eyes at the mention of his mother. “Becca and Winnie, Mr. Barnes,” you continued, feeling Bucky tense slightly at the mention of his mother and sister, their faces now distant memories. “I even have Howard and the Commandos.” You smiled a little. “But mostly, it’s us—all of us.”

Bucky reached out, gently taking the book from your hands. His fingers brushed the worn cover, the room fell silent as the weight of the past settled around you all.

“Let’s open it together,” Steve suggested, his voice thick with emotion. He moved closer, his presence a steady anchor as you all gathered around the book. Sam stayed distant, letting the three of you have your moment but still staying there.

Bucky opened the cover, and the first page revealed a photograph of you, Bucky, and Steve, taken in a simpler time. The three of you looked so young, so hopeful. You felt Bucky’s hand tighten around yours as he stared at the image, memories rushing back. It was a photo from your 16th birthday, the day he had gifted you the book.

“I gave this to you,” Bucky said quietly, the realization settling over him.

You nodded. “For my birthday. You wrote…” You trailed off, pointing to the top left corner of the front of the book.

He read the words aloud, his voice filled with emotion. “Happy 16th birthday to my best girl. I hope you fill these pages with your hopes and dreams. I can only hope that somewhere in amongst them, I’ll be a part of it. With all the love, Bucky.”

Sam smiled, leaning back in his seat. “Who knew you were such a romantic, Buck?”

You watched as Bucky’s cheeks flushed a light shade of red at the comment, and you gave his knee a gentle squeeze, feeling the warmth of the old affection between you.

“For y/n, he was crazy,” Steve chimed in, grinning. “You should have seen him—head over heels is an understatement. Try obses—”

Before Steve could finish, Bucky reached behind you and gave him a playful shove. “Can it, Rogers,” he muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Steve just laughed, catching himself before he toppled over. “You know it’s true.”

You chuckled, resting your head against Bucky’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Bucky’s hand found yours again, his thumb tracing circles on your skin. “Neither would I.”

As you all shared a quiet moment, the weight of the years seemed to lift, replaced by the warmth of old memories and the comfort of the present. Bucky turned the page, revealing more photographs—snapshots of moments that had once seemed so ordinary but now felt like treasures.

The pages turned slowly, revealing a life that could have been—a wedding dress sketched out, a house with a picket fence, names of children that never came to be. And then, the photographs—snapshots of moments frozen in time. Peggy’s bright smile, Mrs. Rogers’ kind eyes, the mischievous grins of Becca and Winnie, Howard’s confident stance, the Commandos’ camaraderie. But the most frequent faces were your own, Bucky’s, and Steve’s, from a time when the world was both simpler and infinitely more complex.

Each image told a story. There was one of you and Steve dancing at a neighbourhood block party, both of you laughing so hard you could barely stand. Another showed Bucky in his military uniform, giving you a wink as he prepared to head off to basic training. Then there were pictures of Steve and Bucky goofing around, each trying to outdo the other in some silly stunt, and you caught in the middle, rolling your eyes but smiling all the same.

There were pictures of Bucky and you around the campfire on the night before everything changed—before he fell off the train. Bucky paused on that photo, his eyes lingering on it. “That was the night before…” he said softly.

You nodded, squeezing his hand, understanding the weight of those words.

“Night before what?” Sam asked, his voice gentle.

“Before I fell,” Bucky replied, those three words carrying a lifetime of pain and loss. The room grew still, the significance of that moment hanging heavy in the air. Sam didn’t say anything more, sensing the depth of emotion in Bucky’s words.

Bucky’s gaze remained fixed on the photo, his voice quiet as he continued. “It was the last time I felt so much joy… I feel it now, but it was different then.”

Steve nodded in agreement, his expression solemn. “I get it, Buck.”

“Me too,” you added, your voice trembling slightly. “I keep thinking about what was supposed to be, what should have been.” You paused, wiping a tear from your eye. “I don’t understand why it all happened the way it did—why I didn’t get the life I thought I was going to.”

“Sweetheart,” Bucky whispered, his hand gently reaching out to wipe away your tears, his touch as tender as it had always been.

The room fell into a reverent silence, each of you lost in your own thoughts, the weight of your shared history settling over you like a heavy blanket. Finally, Sam spoke, his voice soft and full of understanding. “You’ve lived a hell of a life.”

You nodded, taking a deep breath as you wiped away a stray tear. “It wasn’t what I planned,” you admitted, your voice thick with emotion. “But I wouldn’t trade it. Not if it meant losing this—losing you… both of you.”

Bucky’s hand tightened around yours, his thumb brushing over your knuckles. “We didn’t get the life we dreamed of, but we got each other. And that’s enough.”

Steve leaned back, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “We’ve been through so much, but we’re still here. Together.”

Sam smiled, the warmth in his expression offering a quiet reassurance. “That’s what matters in the end. Not what you lost, but what you’ve kept.”

“Till the end of the line,” Steve spoke, the words heavy with emotion and depth.

“Till the end of the line,” Bucky echoed, pulling you closer to his side.

You glanced around the room at the faces of the people who had become your family—the ones who had stood by you through the darkest of times.

As the pages of the scrapbook turned, the photographs shifted from black-and-white to colour, reflecting the passage of time. The images grew fewer as the years became harder, but each one was more precious because of it.

Finally, you reached the last page, where an empty space awaited a new photograph. You looked up at Bucky and Steve, both of them gazing at the book with a mix of nostalgia and gratitude.

“You should take a new photo,” Sam suggested, his voice soft but certain. “One to mark this moment.”

Bucky nodded, his eyes meeting yours with a warmth that melted away the years. “Yeah, we should.”

Steve grinned. “I’ll get the camera.”

As Steve stood to retrieve a camera, you leaned into Bucky, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath your hand. This was the life you had, and it was more than enough. The empty space in the book was no longer a reminder of what was lost, but a promise of what was yet to come—a new chapter, filled with love, laughter, and the people who mattered most.

Sam took the camera from Steve, ready to take the picture. But just as he was about to snap the shot, you paused. “Wait!”

“What? You don’t have food in your teeth, but your hair…” Sam teased with a smirk.

“Well, I was going to say I want you in the picture too, but…” You trailed off

“No, no! I’m sorry, you’re beautiful… perfect—”

“Sam, watch it, that’s my girl,” Bucky warned, a protective edge to his voice.

Sam rolled his eyes, chuckling. “The whole world knows that, Buck.” He placed the camera on the tripod and took a seat beside Steve. “You sure you want me in this?”

“Of course, Sammy! You’re one of us now,” you insisted, smiling warmly at him.

Sam’s expression softened, and he nodded, touched by your words. As the camera clicked, capturing the four of you together, you knew that this was the memory that would fill that final page—the proof that even after everything, you still had your boys, old and new, and they still had you.

The book might never hold the life you once dreamed of, but it would hold the life you had lived—the one you had fought for, the one you had loved.

And that was more than enough.

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Marry Me

Summary: Once upon a time, you dreamed of marrying your girlfriend of two years but she broke up with you before you had the chance to ask her for her hand. Now with a wedding invitation in your hand, she's getting married but she's not marrying you.

Pairings: Past!Wanda Maximoff x reader, Yelena Belova x reader

Warnings: mention of cheating, angst with a happy ending, modern AU, no powers/Avengers, Starks aren't dead and decent parents lol

Word Count: 4.4k

‘Together with their families Wanda and Vision invite you to their wedding,’ the world around you seemed to become white noise. You didn’t hear your roommate talk about some guy that stood her up or the weatherman talking about the weather. Nothing else seemed to matter. “Are you listening to me?” No, you weren’t. That’s what you wanted to say but you stayed frozen, unable to speak. Sarah snatched the invitation out of your hand. You didn’t bother to stop her. “No fucking way this bitch invited you to her wedding,” Sarah had strong feelings about the ending of your relationship with Wanda. She had every right to be upset as she was the one to mend the broken pieces. “Are you going?”

“Fuck Sarah I don’t know,” you glanced at the time on the stove. “And I do not have time for this.” You were supposed to have a quick lunch at home and then return to the office for a meeting with important investors. Being blindsided by an invite to your ex-girlfriend’s wedding was something you didn’t have time for. “I have to go. Just leave it on the fridge,” you grabbed your backpack. Lunch was a protein bar and a banana.

“Hey, dumbass,” you stopped at the door, turning to face your roommate. “I love you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Love you too, dumbass.” You walked out of your apartment, not bothering with the elevator. It was a beautiful sunny day, a stark contrast to the emotions that were swirling inside of you. Once upon a time, you dreamed of marrying Wanda. You were together for 2 years and knew every detail of how she wanted the wedding to be. It would be out in the country, not too many people to save on money. Maybe on an apple orchard or magnolia trees surrounding the ceremony. You would have given her everything, no matter the cost, and you were looking at rings to buy. Then she broke up with you. It was rather sudden, out of the blue, and she never gave you a good enough explanation. She told you that she fell out of love with you. A month later, she and Vision started dating. Sarah figured she was cheating on you. You couldn’t stomach that possibility.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” Tony said as the elevator’s door opened to his office. You rolled your eyes and sat down in the empty chair in front of his desk. You gave Pepper a small smile.

“I’m technically early,” you opened the protein bar. “I got distracted at home.” Tony sent a questioning look to his wife.

“Do you want-?”

“No,” you cut him off. “Let’s begin.” You got out your tablet and the meeting began without a second thought. You were the Chief Entrepreneur of Stark Industries. Your parents were close friends with the Starks and you and Tony grew up together. He was the brother you never had. So when Howard stepped down as Executive Chairman, Tony took over and promoted Pepper to CEO and you to Chief Entrepreneur. You were responsible for managing a portfolio of entrepreneurs. Your team was the future of Stark Industries, taking on risks and coming up with new products while Pepper ran the company. You didn’t envy her job and you loved working here. It was the best part of your day. However, it got uncomfortable and awkward when you had to deal with the CFO, who happened to be Vision and Tony’s brother.

They weren’t related by blood but you knew that made no difference, you were close with Natasha and Yelena. Howard and Maria adopted Vision when you and Tony were in high school. He was two years younger than you. You remembered the day when Vision and Wanda announced their relationship so clearly. Tony dragged you into his office and asked if you wanted him to fire Vision and kick his ass. You told him that it wasn’t necessary. You were professional and respectful with the man. It was rare that your paths crossed. You only had to be in the same room as him during company-wide meetings or meetings with investors. Of course, you had one today. The universe was testing you.

Once Tony concluded the meeting, you and Pepper left his office. It was rare that he came to these types of meetings as he trusted you and Pepper to make the right calls regarding the company. You both stopped to make a quick coffee. “Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Are you helping Wanda with her wedding?”

“She’s asked me for some advice here and there,” she looked at you curiously. “Why?”

“Do you know why she invited me then?” In hindsight, you probably should have waited for the CEO to not be taking a sip of her coffee before dropping the news. She coughed, choking on the hot liquid. You bite your lip, trying to get your laughter under control, and rubbed her back to help her calm down. “Sorry.” You giggled. She waved you off and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“It’s fine,” she cleared her throat. “She invited you to her wedding.” You nodded as you continued on your way to the board room.

“I got the invitation today,” you said. “It was why I was late, kind of took me by surprise.” You took a sip of your coffee.

“Shit, I don’t blame you,” you giggled. You loved Pepper. She was a perfect fit for Tony. She was the only one that could reel in your brother’s energy. “Are you going to go?” You didn’t answer. “Tony is Vision’s best man and I know Wanda asked Natasha to be her maid of honor.” You weren’t surprised by that. Natasha was the reason Wanda was part of your workgroup and how you met her. The redhead held onto a lot of guilt because of what happened. You didn’t blame her.

“Not sure, Pep. We will see,” you saw Yelena and Natasha waiting for you and you quickened your pace. Natasha was the Chief of Staff and the first person you hired when you got promoted. She helped you manage executive goals and you trusted her to oversee projects you didn’t have time for. You worried when your relationship ended with Wanda your friendship would the redhead was going to be jeopardized. It wasn’t and a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders. “Are you ready?” You asked Yelena when you got closer. The blonde was the reason you were having the meeting. She was a new hire but there was no limit to the ideas she had. Her latest project would partner Stark Industries with Wakandans International to develop a better prosthetic.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” her Russian accent took you by surprise when you first met her as Natasha introduced her as her sister. You laughed, shaking your head.

“Don’t be nervous,” she gave you a pointed look. “Come here,” you dragged her away from her sister and Pepper to a more private area. “You are going to kill it today. Do you know why?” She shook her head. “Because you have a passionate for this project on a level I’ve never seen before,” she began to smile. “And you have the support of everyone at this company, okay?”

“Okay,” you smiled.

“Just go in there and speak with the same passion you had when you explained it to me and you’ll do great.”

“Thank you. I appreciate you having some much faith in me,” you put your hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

“No need to thank me,” you brought her back over to her sister with her hand still on her shoulder. You didn’t miss the questioning look the redhead sent you and you removed your hand quickly. “Shall we?” You opened the door for your group and everyone found their seats to wait for the others.

The meeting went…okay. You introduced everyone to Shuri, T’Challa, and Okoye. You’ve spoken to the trip on the phone but it was nice to meet them in person. Yelena began to present her research and the importance of the partnership but Vision questioned every little thing to an annoying degree. You understood it was his job to understand how this would affect the company financially however it was starting to piss you off. Even Yelena knew he was getting on your nerves as you tirelessly defended everyone in your group. The glares he was sending your way weren’t helping. Was there trouble in paradise?

In the end, the deal was signed and work with the Wakandans could being. Plus, you didn’t murder your ex’s fiance so it was a win-win in your book.

*

You loved when a new deal was signed. It meant an influx of projects for your team to work on and more people to help. But the first day was meant with paperwork, scheduling, and delegating responsibilities. And meetings. So many meetings. You were tired, hungry, and in desperate need of a beer. You were putting on your headphones as you exited the elevator and headed for the door but a voice calling out your name caused you to stop. It was a voice you knew so well. “Wanda,” you said as your ex-girlfriend approached you. She looked good, wearing a long dress that touched the ground. Her hands were resting in front of her and she was playing with the rings that were on her fingers. A tale sign of her anxiety. “What are you doing here?” You questioned.

“Waiting for Vision,” Right. Of course, she was. That was a stupid question. “He said you and Yelena closed on a big deal.”

“We did,” you said. “Yelena did a majority of the work. I just guided her in the right direction.” You saw a strange emotion flash across her eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came so you couldn’t place it.

“Well congratulations,” you smiled as your thanks. An awkward beat of silence passed between you two. God, you didn’t know how to get out of this conversation. “Did you get your invitation?”

“Uh yes, I did,” Great. This is exactly where you didn’t want this conversation to go. “It was beautifully designed.” It wasn’t a total lie, you just had no memory of what it looked as you stared at the tagline - ‘Wanda and Vision invite you.’ Wanda and Vision. She wanted to get married but she wasn’t marrying you.

“Do you think-” your name being called out cut her off and you turned towards the sound. It was Yelena. You didn’t realize the blonde was still at the office and you never been more excited to see her.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I didn’t think you were going to wait for me.” She said as she got closer. “Oh hi, Wanda.” The blonde plastered a fake smile on her face.

“Hi Yelena,” the smile on Wanda’s face was strained. Yelena looked at you.

“Ready to go get drinks?” Drinks? Her green eyes said a lot more than her simple statement. She was giving you an out. You made a mental note to increase her yearly bonus.

“I am,” you smiled at your ex. “It was good seeing you, Wanda. I’ll see you around.”

“Of course,” she said. “Congratulations, again. You both deserve to celebrate.” Yelena linked her arm with yours.

“Bye Wands,” the blonde dragged you to the door. When you both stepped outside and you were out of sight, Yelena dropped her arm. “Boy, you could feel the tension in the lobby.” You let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you for the save,” you said. “I owe you one.” She shrugged.

“Don’t mention it. I do it a lot for Kate and America when we go out. It’s second nature,” she started to smile. Oh, that smile was trouble. “Buuuut, if you want to make it up to me I know of a bar that is close by. We do have something to celebrate.”

“Hmm,” you placed your hand on your chin pretending to think. “I don’t think we have anything to celebrate,” you teased. “And I am pretty tired.” You faked a yawn.

“Suka (bitch),” you pushed on your shoulder. You gasped.

“That is assault,” you said. “I’m calling HR.” Yelena rolled her eyes.

“Are we going or not?”

“Lead the way, printsessa (princess),” you bowed. She laughed, throwing her head back at your pathetic attempt at Russian. You liked the sound of it.

*

“I still can’t believe you are going to this stupid wedding,” Sarah said through Face time. You sighed as you put your tie underneath the collar of your shirt. “And you didn’t even bring me.”

“I didn’t have a plus one,” that was 100% on purpose. The last thing Wanda would have wanted was for your best friend that wasn’t her number 1 fan to come to her wedding. “What else was I supposed to do? Tony closed the office because everyone was invited and you are visiting family.” You weren’t going to sit at home and be depressed. At least some of your friends were going to be there, but most importantly Yelena. “You put your jacket on. “How do I look?” You were in an all-gray suit with a white shirt. The only pop of color came from your tie.

“Hot,” Sarah said. “Damn if I were into chicks I’d grab you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Thanks,” you sighed, looking down at the watch Howard gave you for your 18th birthday. “I better get going. I’ll text you after the ceremony.”

“Good luck!” You ended the call. You were going to need more than you, what you needed was at least 5 shots.

*

The ceremony was in an apple orchard. It appeared the happy couple rented out the inn and the orchard for a private wedding. You were handed confetti as you approached the rows of seats. There were small groups of people, all of them you knew, waiting for the ceremony to begin. You saw Pepper, who sent you a small wave. You waved back and sat in the back row at the end of the row. Thankfully, no one came up to you to talk because you weren’t in the talking mood. Instead, you played with the watch on your wrist. “Well,” you looked towards the voice and saw Howard Stark. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Mr. Stark,” you stood up, holding out your hand for him to shake. The man rolled his eyes and pulled you into a hug.

“Please. I changed your diapers when you were a kid,” you felt your body heat up in embarrassment. “Drop the act, kid, it makes me feel old,” you smiled and sat down, leaving the end seat for him. “How are you? You don’t come by the house anymore.” That was true. You didn’t want to run into Wanda or Vision by chance.

“I’ve been busy,” you told him. “Your son is running me ragged.” It was the furthest thing from the truth but it pulled a laugh out of the older man.

“It was the best decision that boy has ever made promoting you and Pepper,” you smiled. “But how are you?” He asked again. “How is this?” He placed a gentle hand on your heart. You sighed, looking at the ceremony. This was going to be you, marrying Wanda but she picked someone else.

“Tired, Howard, if I’m being honest. I feel a little lost,” he nodded. You knew the man would never judge you. He’s seen you at your lowest point when you found out your parents were killed in a car accident. You were in a meeting with him and Tony when Maria came in to tell you. Losing them broke you but the Starks were there to catch you. It was why it hurt so much that it was Vision who started dating Wanda.

“I always told my boys to go after what they wanted, I never expected that advice to hurt someone I considered a daughter,” your breath hitched. You always so him as a father-like figured but hearing him call you his daughter brought tears to your eyes. You looked at the archway. You didn’t blame him. “But,” he grabbed onto your shoulder. “You will have your love story that will arrival that of your parents and I can’t wait to see it,” you fought the tears that threatened to fall. “You will always be a Stark, okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered.

“Now I must be going but we will drink at the bar,” he stood up fixing his tie. “I believe I’m paying for it so drinks are on me.” You laughed, whipping away a tear.

“Thank you, Howard,” he gave you a salute and got ready for the ceremony. Folding your hands you sat back and watched as the seats began to fill. Soft music began to play and you were going to need a drink after this.

*

You took a glance at the seating chart. Table 3 with Natasha, Bucky, and Yelena. You were grateful she did that for you. Did you look like an alcoholic as you were the first one to the bar? Probably but you didn’t care. Besides you knew everyone at this wedding and it wasn’t like you were here to impress anyone. You ordered a strawberry mojito and waited for your drink as the rest of the guests filed in. “You know,” you turned to face Yelena as she walked over to you. She was wearing a light green full-length dress. It had a deep v-neck and a slit that went up to her thigh. Her blonde hair was braided. “I did not believe my sister when she said you’d RSVP but here you are.” She ordered herself a long island.

“Yelena,” you said. “You look gorgeous.” The compliment flowed so easily off your lips. You liked the blush that crept up on her cheeks.

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” she fixed the collar of your shirt. “How did you enjoy the ceremony?” She got her drink from the bartender.

“I’m glad to be drinking,” you said, holding out your arm. She took it and you walked her over to your table. The blonde laughed.

“Well, it’s an open bar. So let’s drink till our heart’s content.”

The reception was fun. The first dance was beautiful and speeches made by Tony and Pietro made you laugh. But if you were being honest with yourself, you weren’t paying attention. You found yourself watching Yelena. You weren’t sure when your feelings shifted for the blonde. Since the partnership with the Wakandans, you and she spent late nights at the office. Those nights were filled with laughter, stories, and dreams shared, and stressing over upcoming deadlines. For the first time since your breakup with Wanda, you felt free. Even Tony said something about your mode change.

Natasha sat down next to you with another drink. “I love that you’ve moved on from Wanda,” she handed you the drink. “But can you stop undressing my sister in front of me?” You jumped, startled by the accusation.

“Nat, shit, I’m sorry,” her laughter cut your nervous rambling off. “That’s not funny,” you whined, taking a sip of your drink. It was a lot stronger than your other ones. You wondered if she made it herself.

“I think it’s hilarious,” she leaned back in her chair. “So are you going to ask her out or just stare at her all night?” You groaned, rubbing your hands across your face.

“I don’t know,” your eyes immediately went back to the blonde. She was standing with Kate and Carol. The brunette must have said something funny because she laughed. God, she was beautiful. She must have felt eyes on her because she looked around until her green eyes found you. She waved and you waved back.

“Look, I’m going to intervene because I love you both. She likes you so make a move,” you looked at the redhead, trying to find any sense that she was messing with you. But you found none.

“Are you sure okay with this?” You questioned. “Because if you aren’t I will ignore my feelings for her,” Natasha put her hand on your shoulder.

“She will treat you better than Wanda,” she squeezed. “And if she does anything to hurt you. I won’t hesitate to kill her.” You covered your mouth as you laughed to now draw attention to you. “Go be happy.” You stood up, grabbing your drink.

“Thank you,” you began to walk over to the blonde. You were nervous. If she was going to allow you to date her, it would be different than dating Wanda. You worked with her, you were technically her superior. If it ended as badly, it could affect the work dynamic. But you couldn’t think like that. You had to take it one step at a time.

“Hi,” Wanda stepped in front of you. She changed out of her wedding dress and into a shorter one. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you all night.”

“Must be hard being the woman of the hour,” you took a sip of your drink and locked eyes with Yelena over Wanda’s shoulder. You gave her a reassuring smile. Wanda chuckled, sipping on her drink. It wasn’t her normal cocktail, which was strange unless being with Vision changed her that much.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” You didn’t but you nodded. She led you to a balcony, and your surprise there was no one out there. She leaned her back against the metal railing. Her hands were on her stomach, playing with the wedding ring. It hit you. The drink wasn’t alcoholic, her hands on her stomach. You took a sip of your drink.

“Your pregnant,” you said. She almost dropped her glass.

“How did-” she cut herself off with a laugh. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” You moved to stand next to her. “It was impossible to keep things from you.” ‘I guess you found a way,’ you wanted to say but you bite your tongue.

“How long?”

“2 months,” That was why they got together so quickly. That was why the engagement came out of nowhere. She cheated on you. Your stomach dropped. “Y/n-” she went to touch your arm but you jerked away from her.

“Don’t,” you hissed. “Don’t try to justify your cheating on me.” Oh, Sarah was going to have a field day with this. You took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, trying to keep your emotions at bay. “Are you happy?” It took a moment for her to reply.

“I am,” you nodded.

“Then go be happy with Vision and I’ll be happy with someone else. Have a nice life.” You turned to leave.

“With Yelena,” you didn’t like how she said her name. A hint of dislike and jealousy. When you faced her she was already looking at you. That same look was in her eyes that night in the lobby. She was jealous and possessive. Oh, it was comical.

“Don’t say her name like that,” you said, closing the gap between you and your ex. “Do you want to know the difference between me and you? You moved on while we were still together and didn’t have the guts to call it off because you slept with someone else. You have no right to be jealous over something you have no claim to. See around Wanda,” You waved over your shoulder as you walked back into the party. Drowning the rest of your drink, you saw that Yelena was still talking to Kate but America joined them. You through your cup away and walked over to the trio. You placed your hand on Yelena’s back as you approached them. The blonde looked at you, smiling. “Mind if I burrow her?” Kate and America smirked at each other.

“She’s all yours,” you thank them and moved your hand into hers, leading her out of the party. She squeezed your hand every few seconds, singling she was still with you. Finally, you stepped outside.

“I was going to give you 5 more minutes with her before I went and saved you,” you smiled, bringing her closer to you. She set her drink on the table. God, she was gorgeous. The lights danced in her green eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” You asked the urge was becoming too strong to ignore.

“Please,” she whispered. You connected your lips with hers without a moment’s hesitation. Her arms wrapped around your neck, pulling you closer to her. You felt her smile against your lips. Soon you pulled away but you kept her close, feeling her breath against your lips and her heartbeat racing. “I’m sorry about Wanda.” The mention of your ex snapped you out of your haze.

“Did you know?” She looked away, glancing at the reception through the window. But you gently placed a finger underneath her chin to look at you.

“I did but I’m not even sure if Natasha and Tony know and I thought she told you,” she was working herself into a panic attack. You brushed your nose against hers and captured her lips in a quick kiss. She calmed down. “I caught them at the office. It was late like so fucking late,” you chuckled. “I wasn’t sure what the hell I stumbled on. I think you were with Tony on a business trip to Japan,” you remembered that trip. You didn’t want to go as you and Wanda were planning on going to visit her family. “I’m sorry.” You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or her being so close, you weren’t sure why she was apologizing. But that brain power was for the future, sober you to figure out.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” that much you knew. You didn’t blame her. “We’re okay.” She let out a sigh. “Do you want to get out of here?” A playful smirk formed on her lips.

“I’ve been waiting all night for you to ask.”

*

Wanda stood in her kitchen, listening to her twins playing with their toys with the TV on with the latest episode of Bluey, as she flipped through the mail. A majority of it was junk mail; magazines she didn’t remember signing up for or ads trying to get her to buy something. Her fingers stopped on an envelope addressed to her and Vision written in beautiful writing. She ripped it open and stared at the invitation, ‘You are invited to the wedding of Yelena and Y/n, with a reception to follow.’

_

Part 2

[gingiesworld]

Obsessions

Wanda Maximoff x Nerdy Rogers Fem Reader

Warnings: Angst. Mean Wanda. Internalised homophobia. Homophopia.

AN: I have decided this is going to have another part during the college years. I hope you guys enjoyed this and please feel free to let me know your thoughts as it is my first proper wanda x fem reader.

Taglist: @sytoran @ginnsbaker @gb12d @lifespectator

Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6

18+ MINORS DNI

Everyday was the same for Y/N after she was outed after someone had spread around that Y/N was spotted making out with Carol Danvers. Of course it was Wanda who had spotted the two, especially since she had an unhealthy obsession with Y/N.

Wherever Y/N was, Wanda's eyes followed her, watching her every move. Although she had help of the jocks. Jarvis and Tony were always there to push Y/N into her locker, knock her books from her hands, all the while Wanda watched with a smile on her face.

Although, when they had went too far by slashing one of the tires on her car. Y/N had lost it. Heading straight for the two, throwing punches here and there. Although she was scrawny, she had some power behind her that knocked Tony Stark on his ass.

Wanda watched the entire scene with her lip between her teeth, but she could have murdered her brother. Always the hero he was as he helped Y/N replace the wheel.

"Why did you help that freak?" Wanda askes him when he got in the car.

"Because she needed it." He told her sternly. "And tell your boyfriend and his brother to leave her alone." Wanda just scoffed as she shook her head no as he started the journey home.

"We're seniors Wanda." He scolded her. "Don't you think that this is all a little childish. Bullying Y/N just because of her sexuality."

"Just shut up." Wanda told him. "You do what you want in school and I'll do what I want. Just stay out of my way." Once they had returned home, Wanda exited the car and headed straight to her room, closing the door behind her.

As she heard the sound of another car, she instantly looked out of the window and watched as Y/N got out of her 67' Impala. Watching as Y/N headed inside, her bag on her shoulder.

"How was your day sweetie?" Peggy asked as Y/N entered the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

"Ok." She told her as she turned to her mom. "Are you doing Roast Beef?" She questioned as Peggy nodded with a smile.

"I know it's your's and your father's favourite and I just felt like cooking it." Peggy told her with a smile as she put the chopped vegetables in the pan on the stove. "So tell me, what happened today?" She questioned sternly as Y/N sighed.

"The usual and more." Y/N told her. "I have to get a new tire because the Starks decided to slaah my back left."

"Do you want me to talk to Howard or Maria?" She asked as Y/N just shook her head no.

"I." Before she could finish, the phone had started ringing. Peggy gave her an apologetic look before she answered it. Y/N watched as Peggy spoke to whoever it was, and she could see her mom getting worked up.

"You beat them up." She stated as she looked at Y/N with disappointment.

"They deserved it Mom." Y/N defended as Peggy sighed.

"You don't resort to violence!" She scolded as Y/N just scoffed.

"I worked hard on that car. Dad and I worked hard on that car and if he was here he would be on my side." Y/N yelled.

"But he isn't here is he?!" She yelled back. "Because he is dead!!!" She took a deep breath before looking at her with tears in her eyes. "I know you miss him. I do too but he wouldn't want you to resort to violence either."

"I'm going to bed." Y/N told her. "I'm tired."

"What about dinner?" Peggy asked as Y/N just shrugged, heading upstairs to her room. Closing her door as she let the tears fall, sitting on her bed as she covered her face with her hands.

She knew she was hard on her mom, but she hasn't had to deal with everything Y/N has to deal with. The homophobic slurs that get directed at her as she walks through the halls. All of the girls had basically pushed her out of the changing rooms once they had found out, resulting in her opting to change in the nearest bathroom. Just being herself has become a nightmare, especially when everyone frowns upon her sexuality.

Y/N's room was covered in her works, her comic hero designs and other art pieces that she has a lot of pride in. Something she had wanted to do was become an Illustrator, ever since she read her first comic. It was an XMEN comic and she fell in love with it. So she opted to try and make her own, hoping one day she will be as popular as Stan Lee himself.

She also had her favourite records on shelves, the turntable on the chest of drawers as she picked out her Tracy Chapman record. Sighing as she listened to Crossroads, one of her favourite songs as she lay back on her bed.

"What is with you giving Y/N a hard time?" Pietro asked his sister as she entered the kitchen.

"It's fun." She shrugged as she grabbed a can of soda.

"Is it because she is confident enough to be herself and doesn't care what everyone thinks of her." He stated. "Or is it because you're jealous that she has embraced who she is and you're just a scared little girl who hides behind her boyfriend." With that Wanda just scoffed and pushed passed him, although Pietro decided to tell his parents that he was heading over to Y/N's.

"Hi Mrs Rogers, is Y/N here?" He asked her politely as she just nodded to the garage. He thanked her before he headed to the open door. "Y/N, hey." He smiled at her as he approached the car.

"Hi." She spoke quietly as she was concentrating on doing a check up on the engine. "I'm just changing the oil."

"This is a really nice car." Pietro smiled as he admired the body work.

"It is." She smiled at him. "My dad and I rebuilt it a few years ago." She told him as she wiped her hands as she looked over the car. "It was his idea when I was in middle school, he thought it would bea father daughter project."

"I know I am probably late but I'm sorry to hear about him." He told her with a smile.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "So, why are you here?" She asked him as he smiled.

"I figured we could hang out." He told her as she smiled.

"Sure." She nodded unsurely. "What did you have in mind?" She asked him.

"Well, I figured we could have some food and maybe play a game." He told her. "I've got the new Harry Potter game and I have been dying to play it."

"Just let me get cleaned up." She told him as she disappeared inside. "I'm just going to hang out with Pietro mom." She told Peggy as she disappeared upstairs to get clean.

She was nervous as she followed Pietro into his home, heading straight to his room just as Wanda came out with a teasing grin on her face.

"So you're going to try and turn the dyke straight?" She teased the two as Pietro turned to her, anger evident on his face.

"Shut the fuck up Wanda!" Y/N told her, surprising the two of them. "I am gay and I don't give a fuck what you or anyone thinks." She turned to Pietro who gave her a proud smile. "I have an Xbox at home if you want to play there? I just don't want to be near someone as small minded as your sister."

"Sure, let me grab the game." He told her with a proud smile. Wanda just scoffed as she turned back into her room, slamming the door.

As Y/N and Pietro played the game, he turned to Y/N with a sad smile.

"What happened between you and Wanda?" He questioned as Y/N shrugged. "You used to be best friends when we were kids. Inseparable even."

"I don't know." Y/N told him honestly. "I remember the very first day of high school. We both promised that we would always hang out before school started but she joined the cheerleading squad and well I was me. The nerd with the glasses." She turned to face him. "I guess we drifted apart and well, she hates me now." She turned away, looking back at the screen. "I guess our friendship never meant that much to her as it did to me."

That was the start of a strong friendship between the two, Pietro walked with Y/N to class, always talking about their plans. The Starks had kept their distance from her as Wanda watched the two from afar.

She had been obsessed with Y/N, especially since the two of them had stopped hanging out. She was under pressure from the popular girls so she become just like them, bullying and making fun of anyone she could.

But the moment she saw Y/N kissing Carol behind the school hall, her heart dropped. She knew that she had feelings for her but she was afraid of what others would think about her sexuality so she spread the picture around the school. Because Carol was on the soccer team, everyone turned to bully Y/N who just took everything that was threw her way.

But the jealousy she was feeling as she saw her brother have the friend who she had had for years before.

"So, what are your plans after graduation?" Pietro asked as Y/N helped him with his car.

"I have just got my acceptance letter for NYU." She told him. "I am doing art and english, what about you?"

"I am going to UCLA." He told her. "A full ride for Track."

"That's awesome." Y/N beamed as she wiped her hands. "Turn her over." She told him as he leaned in the car, turning the key in the ignition.

"That sounds so much better." He beamed as she closed the hood.

"You need to lay off the acceleration." She told him. "It can wreak havoc on the pistons and the gasket."

"I'll keep that in mind." He told her. "What are you doing for prom?"

"I don't know." She told him. "I guess maybe give it a miss."

"Come on!!! You have to go." He told her. "I'm asking Monica and maybe you can ask Darcy? You guys are somewhat friends right?"

"I guess you're right." She told him with a small smile. "I'll ask her tomorrow at school."

"Then we can go suit shopping if you want after school?" He questioned as Y/N nodded. Wanda hated the idea of someone else going with Y/N, the idea that someone may be the one to take her away for good.

So when she accepted Jarvis's prom proposal, she had the perfect plan. As the hall filled with the graduating seniors, she watched for Y/N to enter the room. Her heart beat rapidly as she saw her walk in wearing a navy blue suit with Darcy in a light blue dress on her arm. Her twin and Monica was right behind them.

She hated the sight of Y/N being happy with others, a smile that only Wanda used to get from the girl. Wanda took her glass of the red punch and tripped near the four of them, only getting the punch on both Y/N and Darcy.

"What the hell Wanda!" Pietro yelled at his twin as Monica was fast enough to take Darcy to the ladies room to try and clean up.

"What? I tripped." She told him, feigning innocence as Y/N shook her head at the brunette before walking away. Soon groaning as she heard the sound of Wanda's heels on the ground behind her.

"Don't you have a boyfriend to get back to?" Y/N asked her as she turned around to face Wanda.

"I do." She told her with a smirk as she followed Y/N to the exit. "But I want to try something first." Y/N turned around as she approached her car, only to be pushed back by Wanda as she pressed her lips on Y/N's in a hungry kiss. It wasn't until Y/N pushed her away from her.

"What the hell Wanda!" Y/N yelled at her.

"I just wanted to see what Carol bragged about." She smirked. "You are indeed an amazing kisser." She leaned into whisper in Y/N's ear. "Definitely got me going and needing something more." With that, she removed her wet underwear and shoved them in Y/N's face before walking away teasingly. Y/N just stood there in shock with Wanda's underwear in her hands. Watching dumbly as Wanda disappeared back inside the school. She was just happy that she wouldn't have to see Wanda again.

[ad1thi]

stevetony recs you won't see on other rec lists

I've (surprisingly) been reading a lot of stevetony lately, and have come across a couple of gems that i feel are vastly under-appreciated, and wanted to show them some love. Obviously, the title is a misnomer because maybe you have seen these on other rec lists, but it's clickbait okay !! Don't forget to leave kudos and comments, if you like what you've read !!

No Trait As Much As This : @kandisheek-art

Tony gets hit with truth serum. It's a terrible time for everyone.

the year you were mine : @areiton

The night that changes his life forever, Steve is on a date with another man. Or: Steve is a pricy escort and Tony buys him for a year. Neither of them are doing this for love.

Meant : @ardett

What Steve meant when he asked out Tony was very different than what Tony meant when he said yes.

One Last Second Chance : @/Muccamukk

Tony Stark, second newest engineer at Rhodes Labs International, is just trying to rebuild from the ruins of his failed company, vanished fortune, and struggles with alcoholism. His goals include keeping his head down, avoiding stress and convincing Dr. Rhodes to let him build a really cool robot, so why does the universe keep throwing Avengers in his path?

Not just a river in Egypt (Tony is most certainly not in denial) : @lilgideon

"You are most definitely not in love with me, Cap, what you are experiencing is called cabin pressure," Tony explains, because he has a rational train of thought and he's met enough shrinks to have figured out their tactics by now. "And possibly, you know, sexual frustration, because it doesn't matter at all that you're, like, America's national icon, Fury still won't let you out. I know that, I see that, I acknowledge your pain, I feel with you, Cap, believe me, I do. And I get it, because I am a very good-looking fellow and we spend a lot of time together, stuck in this tower, and it's easy to--" "I am," Steve cuts off, equal parts amused and frustrated and concerned. "In love. With you. Tony, I'm in love with you."

then sirens, then bells (the broadcast remix) : @isozyme

“I tire of this,” Amora says, and with a casual gesture the entire team is pinned in place, frozen in mid-air. Steve has the unsettling, half-familiar feeling of someone rifling through his head like it’s a card catalogue. A mind-reader as well as a witch, then. A female voice whispers into his mind’s ear. It’s very tragic in here, dearheart, but I think your armored friend is, somehow, more psychically toxic than even you. What’s wrong with Tony? Steve thinks, but the presence is gone, leaving his memories of war stirred up like flying insects rising off a lake in at dawn.

The Enchantress opens Tony's mind to anyone and everyone near him. Steve knows he should let Tony keep his secrets, but he's not noble enough to stay away

The Twice-Told Tale : @arysteia

For someone he'd hero-worshipped for so long, Steve Rogers in the flesh is a pretty big disappointment. For one thing, he keeps looking at Tony as though he reminds him of someone else, and even if he never says anything, Tony's pretty sure it's his father. A lifetime of not measuring up to Howard's expectations is more than enough, thank you very much, and he's certainly not going to make an effort to live up to any of Steve's. Steve's pretty clearly failed to live up to his expectations, in any case, and that's not hypocritical at all.

i'm going too far (just to have you near) : @/zaynerpaner

“Rhodey, why did you leave me here?” Tony demands. The voice on the other line doesn't sound exactly like Rhodey’s – in fact, it sounds like he’d woken somebody up, which couldn’t be right since Rhodey had been here with him earlier. “Who is this?” the voice speaks again, and – it’s too deep. Rhodey’s voice isn’t that deep. “Rhodey? It’s Tony, m’phone’s dead and I need you to pick me up,” he tries again, frowning as he leans against the bar. “Uh, I think you have the wrong number.” OR the one where Tony drunk calls the wrong number looking for a ride home from the bar, and Steve comes to pick him up.

Living In The Future : @/Closer

Eighteen-year-old Tony Stark is the boy genius who woke Captain America, and now he's stuck with him. That's not a bad thing, but between Steve's wide-eyed wonder at the new world and Tony's little fanboy crush, the awkwardness just keeps happening.

if we ever meet again : @/anonymous

"It’s been two months," Steve says, voice low. "Rhodey- Colonel. It’s been two months.”

[jackiequick]

What If Bucky Barnes saved a life that day? | MARVEL Fanfic

Pairing: Jason Grey Underwood & James ‘Bucky’ Barnes

Setting: Flashback to December 16, 1991

Summary: It was a old winter night when a crash happened that would swirl the weekend for a world wind, as both eyes met in the chaos of it all. Becoming a interesting sight of secretive events. An old memory coming back to life?

Characters mentioned: Howard Stark, Maira Stark, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Elizabeth Stark, Daniel Sousa and Peggy Carter

Marvel Au fanfic

Warning: Angsty fic with some fluff

———

Gravel crunches under the tires of the Rolls Royce as it trundles up the country road. The Winter Soldier peers through the scope and adjusts his grip, his finger ghosting over the trigger. He's been in position for hours, has watched his targets for over two weeks before this. He knows their routine.

Inside the car sat Howard driving as Maria chatted on the phone with Peggy and Jason trying to figure out a way to nap quietly. Tony was at home he refused to go and stay with his godmother Peggy Carter instead.

This is the first day of a long weekend in the Stark Family country estate. They were meant to meet some people there in the upcoming weeks.

But no one will think to look for them until at least Monday.

The Soldier takes careful aim. If he misses, he will have to eliminate his targets individually. This is much cleaner.

He fires.

With the silencer, the shot is noiseless, but the blown tire is not.

The expensive Rolls Royce had been on the final turn before a wide country driveway. It skids onto the soft shoulder, and flips on its side to slide down a steep ravine. Having the family gasping for air, shielding themselves for comfort and deeply coughing as the car takes a spinal shock.

Screaming and yelling were silence soon enough. Groans can be heard from Jason squeezing his eyes shut as a trickle of blood ran down his forehead and a few shards of glass scarred around him, his pain increased. He felt dizzy, nasty feeling twirling in his stomach and his airways feeling like they shut down for a moment.

Snapping in and out of consciousness at whimpering and soft yelling he recognized. However you could’ve sworn he was dead by his chest not puffing.

Carefully, the Soldier packs away his rifle and makes his way down the slope, dragging piles of dry brush behind him. No one will see the wreckage from the roadway.

The Soldier sees that the woman has been ejected from her seat. Maria Stark. She is dead. He mentally crosses her off his list.

Ripping away the car door from its hinges, he peers inside. Howard Stark trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth waking up in soft mumbling, alerting the others in the car.

Howard Stark opens his eyes, glances over an somewhat conscious Jason as he looks at the Soldier. There is no anger or fear in his gaze -- but something else. Something that gives the Soldier pause. This is not an expression he has seen from his targets before.

Jason’s eyes flickering open falling onto the Howard, before looking at The Solider in pain, trying to search for his gun under his seat.

He locked eyes with the Solider seeing right into his soul. His steel blue eyes deep in an unknown word he can’t trace. The pain behind the lifeless face he gave, pausing at their actions. He doesn’t pull his gun on him, one bit. It was unspoken line between both parties.

"Bucky," Howard muttered. His hands fumbling weakly at his seatbelt, but his gaze is unfocused and vague. Dying, Jason knows it. But he hears his friend say, "Don’t hurt my son if he’s next…”

The word rattles around in the Soldier's head for a few moments without purchase. Jason waits for him to make a move, trying to figure out what happened that his last breath hasn’t come. But nothing.

Howard however takes a battling breath, then his shoulders lower. He dies with his eyes half open.

His attention snaps back at his words, knowing he meant every word as Jason weakly kicked open the door. The Solider finished the job for him tugging him out of the car, scooping up the blondes hand in his. Both men locked eyes once again, confused about the quick actions.

He could snap his neck, pull a gun on him or something.

In the Soldier's pocket is a lighter -- the authorities will assume the fire sparked from the car crash and caught dry brush. The flames will cleanse all evidence he was here.

Bucky... don’t hurt my son if he’s next..

Finish the assignment, the Soldier thinks. However a part of himself couldn’t murder the blonde. He didn’t have it in him to do it. None of them would know. He wondered why the man didn’t say a word to him yet, just staring at him a glint of trouble in his eyes as he felt his hand.

Jason just he recognizes those blue eyes, allowing the man to grab his bicep now as the other was occupied by a handheld gun trying to comprehend why he wasn’t dead yet. Then it hit him, his target included him in the flesh with the dog tags around his neck or at least his wristwatch, for extra evidence of his job being completed.

His eyes wet as all he could do was follow the instructions the Solider—Bucky—gave him. Then he turns and walks into the forest with him. The Solider’s work is not complete. He will be expected to end him.

It's only then he realizes he doesn't want to. His memories felt like they were split in two when they reached a hotel. Jason told him before entering that they will need to straighten up they’re hair and clothes, coming up with a cover story to tell the recipients. Bucky refused to comment on the request but eventually gave in.

An odd couple who needed to stay the night and thankfully she brought it.

Once entering the hotel room, Bucky finally let go of his bicep not realizing he might’ve left a bruised on the blonde. The room was somewhat cozy with beds, the lights were deemed reasonable, tiny kitchen, table with chairs and a bathroom. His eyes flicker titled his heads getting a better look at the man who sat down in one of the chairs.

It rattled Bucky’s brain at the moment seeing him again in full lighting, having not seen him in the longest time. He hasn’t aged a day! It pained him as he watched his movements, trying to remember the night they met. It came in patches across the entire trip here. The memories.

That night and the morning afterwards. It stunning. His smile and glimpse of joy in his eyes.

Everyone dressed in their finest whites and browns laughing teasing one another across the room. But Bucky’s eyes stayed that weekend on the blonde man chuckling with his buddies sharing a beer. With Howard Stark.

His pals were having fun. So, all he wanted was some alone time with the man, ready to enjoy himself and he did.

His voice brought him back to the present day.

“You can take a seat, you know? Get comfortable. I’m not your handler or anything. You took me as your hostage tonight. And for what, Bucky?” He said, his tone was calming but slightly bruised feelings. Tired and hurt.

“Okay..” Bucky replies softly taking a seat, unzipping his suit a bit to allow himself to breathe, “…my mission seems to not be complete. I was expecting to end everyone in that car.”

“So why didn’t you? For the last half hour I have been trying to comprehend why you did pull the gun on me? We were in the forest, you could’ve done it..”

“Because I couldn’t. The look in both of your eyes…I didn’t’ want to. Why didn’t you defend yourself, hmm? The whole time you were silent.”

“I couldn’t defend myself assuming your actions, so I waited for you to make your decision. Now your keeping me safe, why?”

“I don’t know..”

“Yes you do. You don’t remember right? But when my—Howard said your name…you paused. I saw a look in your eyes, you regret it. You heard what he said about his son and you paused. Then looked at me.”

They locked eyes again. Jason hitched a breath, his eyes scanning every feature his face. The look of confused as if he wanted to admit something but couldn’t due to his orders. But he didn’t need to know why he murdered, the only other man to look at with such kindness and the women who took him into her heart with so much love.

The dead know everything. He would just have to accept that one day, but that didn’t mean he decided to not get a swing at Bucky for his actions. He just needed some satisfaction, some answer. By the second swing to the face, his body crumbled in pain from accident. The brunette guided him back to his seat holding his wrist.

He glared feeling weak as he looked up at Bucky again. Some urgency in his face to tell him. Both men knew it. It was silent. It was only then Bucky’s mouth opened and shut, hesitate to say it even though both men knew it all too well. He remembers all of it.

~~~~~

Hours came and went. Jason went on to take a shower after Bucky did. It was a kind offer. It was his only time to actually think.

He was flabbergasted at the sight standing underneath the water that fit his face. In that room held the face of the man he didn’t expect to see. He remember it all too well.

That weekend after that mission, he just met Howard thinking he would never see that man ever again in his life. But he was very wrong! Jason had tears in his eyes missing him so badly, the smell of his cologne still in his nose.

He remembered Howard and him being brought up to a bar. The 107th and 106th gang was there. He was talking with his buddies, along with Howard who was more interested in the bartender. She was hot.

But his eyes fell onto the one of prettiest brunette around. Sergeant Barnes.

Hell he would’ve dated him.

Honestly Jason always had a thing for brunettes since he had Howard and Violet but he loved Angie more than his life itself. As well as his darling Maria, he loved her so much.

Damn the respect people, including himself had for that man.

He remembered both men chatting afterwards enjoying each other’s company. Laughing and teasing one another every once in a while. He looked at him with such kindness and respect. It felt good.

Then he remembered the words that kickstarted the rest of the night and morning after.

Hey, Barnes stole a jeep! Yelled Howard so loudly half of bar heard it.

Next thing he remembered was all three of them riding across the streets, dropping the genius off once he saw the bartender from earlier clocked out, leading him and Barnes alone. The two rode off into the night, passing through street lights and stores glancing over at each other every so often. It felt like a breath of fresh air, laughing the whole time.

They talked about life after the way, family they were waiting for them, and hopefully new opportunities to take upon once it all over. Seeing each other again and heading to vacation for a while. He asked Bucky if he had a lady waiting for him at home and his response was a simple no. Jason remembered his eyes perk up hearing that teasing him on any lady would love to have him.

He remembered the jeep coming to a stop near a park bench on a high hill. Nobody around, just pure sliver dollar silence as the cloudy skies cleared up to reveal the moon and stars. The smell of the flowers and air as he followed the brunette up the hill, sliding over to seat next to him at the benchmark and nice autumn breeze that blew past them.

The way Bucky teased him asking if he had a chance with a girl. His reply was a honest, ‘No, i don’t know if i will settle anytime soon.’

‘Why not?’ Was his response with a smile.

‘I feel like I forgot what normal is meant to be.’

‘I get that. I feel like I didn’t really know how to live before.’

‘Hmm. Maybe, we shouldn’t settle for normal.’

The next morning. It was a sight to see. The sun was coming up, the orange light turned the field into liquid gold shining down on both men. Bucky’s head rested on his shoulder as his hand placed on his shoulder snoring softy. His own head nuzzled against the brunette humming in his sleep, waking up as the sun hit his eyes.

Jason smiled at the memories.

Since it was weekend full with sightseeing, training with his pal and meeting new ones. Sneaking off with Bucky and Howard to the stores then heading off to the restaurants for a quick bite. It was a delightful surprise how comfortable he felt about Barnes, the sweet warm in his eyes and the charming smile that he portrayed everywhere they went.

———

But now in that very room sat the brunette with longer hair, deep blue eyes and a body language that said an unknown things. He barley cracked smiled however he remembered it all. The memories that were made and he actions he took.

To anyone who knew Bucky Barnes, would say he was a bit of a distant distraction from the normal life. He dated plenty of men and women in his time. Always had a thing for people with a respectable background. Something he would come to apparently appreciate in the future.

His mind flew back to that weekend with Underwood. The laughter they shared, the drinks, the running from the bar onto the jeep that night and the hopes to see one another again.

Bucky even gave the man his number and a cheeky wink before he took off to return fight the war.

But he didn’t get the chance to call him. Or even received a phone call since he fell off that train…

The last thing he remembered before waking up to that laboratory full of scientists was dreaming about that weekend. That smile and laughter that escaped Jason’s lips. The grin he gave everyone and the wink he returned to the night.

God! If he wasn’t in this situation, he would run over to the blonde and tell him everything he knew.

But he couldn’t. He shouldn’t. He spared his heart by letting him live.

Bucky Barnes cared way too much to murder the man who gave him, a lifetime of memories.

He felt stupid.

But he shouldn’t. He deserved to smile. To see the man he cared for again.

“Bucky..?” Asked the blonde, coming out of the shower with wet hair and a white t-shirt giving him, a gentle smile.

“Hmm.” He responded, sucking a breath flickering his eyesight towards him.

“What’s going on that pretty little head of yours? You can tell me..”

“I um..you won’t like what you hear…i can’t..sorry.”

“I can tell enough. Your working for the other side against your will..you’ve been manipulated by them. I don’t know why you killed my..doesn’t matter.”

“…did you love ‘em?”

“Yeah..with all my heart..”

“I’m sorry..I’m so sorry.”

Bucky stood up, he wanted to run. He tried to escape the room, his hand was on doorknob as his voice hitched. He was tired. Annoyed. Sad. Hurt. He looked over his shoulder to look back at the blonde.

The kindness in his eyes. He paused, letting go on the handle as he turned around to face the man. His head dropped in sorrow, facing the floor as he felt light fingertips crawl up his chin, lifting his head to meet the green eyes. Bucky wouldn’t admit it but he missed the starving touch of someone’s warmth against his cold face.

That comforting gaze that would soften his cheeks.

His blue eyes met the green eyes once again. He wanted to let his shoulders fall but he feared it would show weakness. He wanted to let out a sob, but he feared he would let his guard down. But he wasn’t with anyone who would hurt him.

He hoped that Jason wouldn’t try to hurt him, yeah sure he killed his friend however, he could see something else in his face. Sorrow and compassion. Comfort. He was in a vulnerable position.

They both were.

Jason didn’t think he would admit the words that slipped his lips but they did.

“I’m not gonna hurt..i can’t blame you for what you did. It wasn’t your fault. You hear me Bucky? It wasn’t your fault...i just missed your voice..i wish i gotten your call..” The blonde admitted with a soft gaze.

He needed to hear those words.

The brunette shoulders finally fell as his guard fell down, tears slowly shaking down his cheeks. He wouldn’t expect forgiveness for what he did, but he gotten caught up in a tingled mess. Bucky’s head fell onto Jason’s shoulder as the blonde run a hand across his back, whispering softly to his ear that he wasn’t his fault.

Never was his fault. It was a guilt they would be have to carryover until the end of time.

He’s not the villain here, he’s the victim of a crime scene. He didn’t want to do it, but he knew the whole mission had to be done.

And now, here he stood in the arms of the man who showed him some kind of love. Compassion. Reassuring words. Kindness towards him after all the mistakes he did.

He wasn’t in stupid Russia. He was in the arms of someone who treated him like a human. Not a weapon to be experienced with.

“I missed you so many times…” Jason told him, his feelings were hurt but his heart was beating quickly for the brunette in front of him.

Feeling that reached up to the surface again after years of forgetting that heartbreak. It was a weakness inside him, when he looked at someone like Bucky Barnes.

Love? Was it some kind of love? Lust?

Possibly. It was a single weekend they both shared but it felt good. Freeing from the issues the world has been facing. A war.

Bucky eyes were pooled as a sob reckoned his body, he crumbled into Jason’s arms. He remembers the warmth and kindness theses are showed him that late night.

All he wanted now, was to faced him and beg for the blonde to help him with the hidden wound he tried to patch up eariler but failed to do so. However he knew he didn’t need to beg for help, he was already getting it. He was allowed to let his guard down for once in a long time.

It felt good, real good.

“J..JJ..I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry for what I did.” Bucky admitted with a chocked sob, “I didn’t expect to see you again after all theses years..and I have to return back soon…but I don’t want to..”

“I know you don’t…I know you have to return but when you do, I want to know that you survived so long and I’m proud of you. You did the hard part and one day you will get a better break..” Jason told him, trying to find the words to express how he felt.

“When..?”

“I don’t know when or how you will get a chance to breathe again but you will Bucky, all I could hope is for you to be happy one day...and for now, I’m going to give you one.”

“Huh? JJ I can’t let you do that..I’m already in so much trouble soon..”

“Let me fix your wound..like I used to?”

“I’ll like that…uh, are you okay?”

“I will be..”

Jason gently guided Bucky to the edge of the bed, waiting for him remove his jacket so he saw the badly cleaned wound. He found a first aid kit and started to clean it correctly, with such ease and gentleness asking if it stings every so often. Bucky started to smile down at the blonde who cleaned his wounds. He noticed the cuts and bruises on his face and arms.

Bucky winced as he softly muttered, “Sorry…”

“Don’t be..I’ve been though worse.” Jason said with a soft smile.

“You got better at this..”

“Yeah well, with the plenty of injuries I kinda had to..”

“You’ve been injured before?”

“Fights and missions in my own line of business..”

“How are you still alive?”

“Same as you, my body is frozen in time. But that’s a story for another time…”

“…are you uh, married? Kids?”

“Oh? Um, no. I couldn’t find anyone who could deal with my burdens. I mean I loved and lost before but i wouldn’t want anyone to suffer a lie that isn’t theirs..”

“Do i wanna ask?”

“I think it’s best not to. I mean, I’m not asking for anything about your line of work or lifestyle. We don’t need to talk about it.”

“Where are you going after this?”

“I uh, don’t know yet..I need to keep the wounds on and build another cover story. But I’ll figure it out later..”

“And now?”

This time, Jason looked up with a soft smile once he finished cleaning and patching him up correctly, as he shrugged. His green eyes burden so much hurt, love and confusion that carried so much depth behind that. Bucky would’ve loved to take that away, anyone would have given him a chance to breath during this time.

He doesn’t know what he did to describe or even deserve this one thing from him.

But sure as hell he was grateful for it.

“Do you ever…wonder what life would’ve been like if none of this ever…uh..um, happened?” Bucky asked, sounding kinda stupid the way his words slurred, “.. I would’ve loved to hang out with our buddies a lot more and date around..”

“Well I would’ve been married, with a kid or two..we would’ve lived closed by to your house..” Jason said with a small smile taking a few pauses as he thought, “…maybe you and me would sneak off for a night at the bar..”

“…I would’ve married Dot..god I loved her..and you would’ve gotten Angie..that was her name, right? I remember her eyeing you a lot..”

“Yeah, Angie Martinelli..I loved her way before I knew she would’ve been friends with Peggy Carter..but times change.”

“You haven’t..”

“You can say that…”

“What about us? If I wasn’t Hydra…where d-did you work after the war?”

“Uh, the SSR..now it’s SHIELD..you would’ve loved it. Hell, I think you would’ve loved Elizabeth.”

A smile crept up Bucky’s lips at the reminder of Elizabeth Stark’s name.

She was smart, sweet as candy, gorgeous, a wildcard and a total badass in his eyes. He got flashes of her face and the moment they met after he was rescued by the others. She was one of the most beautiful and kindness ladies he ever met, greeting each other with so much respect.

She teased him about a dates and he gave her his number. As they were spending night just chatting on the phone at hotels and campsites available for calls. He remembered promising another date before the war ended.

But never did live up to that promise. He hoped she was alright.

Jason noticed the look on his face and gave him a gentle smile, “Hey..it’s alright. We all miss her.. and i know you did the best you could do with the time we had in the war..”

“I know..I know..sometimes I wish I didn’t fall into the woods and that I held onto that railing…but it wasn’t my intention for any of it..it never was. I had a clear goal that day and it got turned into something else…I’m sorry for everything..” Bucky admitted looking down for a moment.

“It wasn’t your fault, okay? None of us could’ve predicted any of this to happen to our lives..but we are surviving and that’s all we can do..”

“I can only imagine what you’ve seen and been though over all theses years..”

“Don’t worry about me..I can handle it…or so I hope I can….what else do you remember?”

“A lot of it..sometimes it comes in flashes..”

“Such as?”

“…this blonde haired man..tall..blue eyes..”

“Ohh..”

“There was a old knock off comic book, I saw it a few days ago…Captain America, I think it is was?”

“Yeah, a lot of countries and states still sell them…and? You remember anything..?”

“I um..I know him, I think i do? I know I do…who is he?..Rogers…”

“...he was your best friend, Bucky…Steve Rogers.”

The name rattled in Bucky’s brain for a few short minutes as he stayed silent. Searching his eyes waiting for a sign as he stayed biting his bottom lip, sniffling trying to remember.

He remembers it. The face, the name, and the sound of his voice.

His best friend til the end of the line…

Jason took out his wallet, rummaging though the brown leather until he pulled out a small picture. A tiny one of the night at the bar that a photographer grabbed. He handed it to Bucky, as his fingers crossed the old photograph as his eyesight got blurry. Fresh tears came rolling in.

“Steve.” The brunette muttered, as the flashes of memories came back better than ever, like someone clicked the undo button.

“You have this?” Bucky asked mumbling about the picture in his hand.

Jason nods, “I like to keep old photographs in my wallet..that one was supposed to be for Peggy, uh Carter, to keep..she wanted it framed.”

“He looks..i look..oh god Steve..how could i—? How could I forget his face of all people?”

“It’s not your fault. HYDRA..they did it. They don’t want you to remember of this, because they know something might happen..”

“…did they ever take you..?”

“They tried. Once. In the 40s, a lot of Russian men and women. They kidnapped me during a mission..they almost wiped my mind..i mean, they kinda did..”

“..you don’t remember a lot either?”

“Some memories came and went..just like you, the situation it feels a little fuzzy. But I’m okay. We’re both okay…do you remember anything about Steve?”

“I remember a lot..before and after the war when i fell, I remember the memories of him..”

Bucky had a look in his eyes as if he’s reliving a memory. He let out a light chuckle and sniffled, “..he’s a little punk. I told him to not do anything stupid…”

Jason just watched Bucky in that moment. He didn’t say a word. Just listen to him as he mumbled and muttered softly with a light smile at his memories. A look in his eyes seemed to return as he watch him.

Some lightning of gentle glee in the brunette’s eyes as he talked, running his fingers crossed his long brown hair and catching the other man’s eyes every now and then.

“..do you remember your full name..?” The blonde asked softly, after being silent for so long leaning against the bed.

“Mhmm…more or less..i don’t like it..” The brunette admitted, matching his soft tone.

“..James Barnes..I always liked Bucky better..”

“..i think i was a good friend, right? I was good enough that it became my nickname..?”

“Well, I remember you did say that Steve gave you that nickname when you were kids..so i think you were a great friend..”

“..and was i good to you?..am i good to you?”

“What do you think?”

“..i think i was good to you?..i hurt you though..i hurt a lot of people’s feelings..i know it..”

“It wasn’t you. I can’t blame you, for hurting me or those people..”

“..why are you so good..to me? The world has been cruel to me..”

The blonde gave him a small smile, tugging some hair out of his face for a second and let out of a breath before standing up. Jason knew why he was good to Bucky Barnes. The world is a cruel place fulled with cruel people and niceness isn’t something everyone gets. He should know.

In his eyes, the brunette deserves some kindness and attention after everything.

“The world is cruel and hard and if it sees any bit of light..it will crushes it. And you deserve a chance to feel cared for, not be seen as a weapon. Or an experiment..” Jason said with a soft gaze.

His words meant more than he lead on.

“It sounds like your talking from experience..” Bucky replies, fumbling with his sleeves.

“I sorta am. And how i seen it, your more than what they made you to be.”

“You know…your the only thing that makes sense right now to me..thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

———

The rest of the night went as follows. The silence of fallen snow along with the sound of plates clanging together then dropped into the small sink. They were able to get food and water from the hotel, and able to find some form of entertainment on TV.

Hell, they found some extra clothing left in a closet to borrow for some time.

Both of them stayed in comfortable silence, giving all smiles and having conversations.

It was late. Very late into the night when tiredness started to take fold. It was mostly Jason who was tired, trying to nurse a tiny headache meanwhile Bucky was just resting his head on a pillow.

“You should rest..” Bucky said softly, resting his head against his curled in arms.

“You first.” Jason replied with a soft tease in his voice, looking over his shoulder.

“Hilarious..at least take a nap.”

“I’m fine..”

“What’s wrong?”

“Should i be the one to ask you that?”

“Jason. What’s going on?”

“..how can i rest knowing what i know now..? I’m not mad about anything, just sad and tired..surprised.”

“Why?”

“It’s Christmas time, Bucky. I lost a lot my friend beforehand..my nephew hates his father..and some others are god knows where..”

“..i’m sorry. It’s my fault your gone..they’re gone.”

“No it’s not..our Christmas was already a messy one, before you showed up..no one really cares about the holiday too much anymore.”

“So i sorta saved your Christmas?”

“I guess you did.”

Both men let out a small chuckle at the last comment. It was the holiday season and here they are in the mist of it all, hiding out til morning or early afternoon. It wasn’t so bad, per say since they weren’t alone in the slightest bit but they would’ve liked it to be in better circumstances. Jason knew he wasn’t gonna enjoy this holiday season as much as he used to, and seeing Bucky was a surprise to say the least.

But a serious secret he would have to keep, like other things he kept secret from the world.

He knew he would have to return back home soon, change his whole identity once again and transfer any information onto new documents, like he did every December reach the end of a decade.

Bucky watched him, move across the room to reach forward and grab a few dusty books from the small group of shelves. It confused Bucky onto what he was he doing, seeing the man pick up a napkin and a pencil. He watched him scramble and scribble onto the napkin, crossing things down as he went. He justified his own actions against the questions he had, leaning over to get a closer look at the actions Jason silently took.

It made him wonder how much times he did this in pure silence as the TV played as background noise. His bets were 15 times a day, once every couple of months? He saw titles of different types being scripted on the napkin, but it wasn’t clear to him because of subtle it was written, where it look like a small riddle or rhyme in a children’s book.

He watched Jason pick up on the paused that he made, looking over at the TV Christmas movie that was set up on the screen.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Bucky muttered, turning the volume of the movie up to an 8.

“Hm?” Jason answered, resting book against the bedside table.

“The napkin. The books. You look like a mad man.”

“Hilarious, Barnes. I’m just tinkering with something, a new theme..”

“N-new theme?”

“Uh, new alias, I guess..”

“Walk me through this, for I can understand what you mean..because I think I get it.”

“You were sent to murder Mr and Mrs. Stark, not knowing they would have an extra passenger seated in the back, right?”

“HYDRA assumed that Stark would have a party or something following him to his drive but they didn’t confirm that being the case. They want anyone who was in the car, as witnesses or something to be dead..you were there.”

“Exactly. I was there, they didn’t even bother to confirm if Stark would have another passenger there like his son or his best friends. But they want evidence of the murder, you shot the sirens and cameras right?”

Bucky gave him a look as if he was stupid or something, of course he shot the cameras. Jason cleared his throat after that look he received, getting his answer. That was also when Bucky realized what he means and where he’s getting at. A new cover story, an alias and everything after tonight. It made him wonder how many times has he done this routine before.

Bucky sighed, “I see what you’re doing. I get it, I do and you won’t tell me anything about the alias to keep you safe..for HYDRA doesn’t ask me question, they might as well wipe my mind after this mission is over..”

“Hm, yeah. I’ve done this before and I’ll do it a million times over.” Jason repiled, handing the brunette an old school pin from his jacket marked with dried up blood and sighed, “This is mine.”

“What the hell is this?”

“Old school SSR pin, every single agent had one. Howard had copy in his jacket pocket that you didn’t take, they won’t know the difference between the signs of the pin, that’s your evidence.”

“Ja-I can’t take it. It’s yours..it’s evidence but still..”

“They might want evidence, Bucky. I won’t need it, not where I’m going. I have everything else at home..I’m glad Howard died with his pin in his pocket, it meant he created everything he could for the organization’s future and I would have to return back to SHIELD without mine..”

“You’re an idiot. They will know you don’t have yours, won’t they?”

He shook his head this time, he had that one covered. With all the years he lived, he made sure he had a copy of everything he could possibly own and could be used for travel tucked away in a small area at his house. Certain items stayed within that box and others were thrown away, to not stir any controversy over him. Jason wasn’t that stupid.

It made Bucky wonder however, if he didn’t murder Jason Underwood allegedly since it seemed like that name died for the public a long time ago, then what alias did he take down within that flamed car earlier? It was better he didn’t know that particular name until later, when asked. He just nodded instead with a soft sigh.

The rest of the night was spend a rather sleepless one, due to Bucky wondering and reloading his equipment, packing up everything needed to return back to work soon. Meanwhile Jason stayed sat on the bed, trying to rematch up his own wounds and rewrite in his mind the way to get back home without any deep questions. His cover was the easiest part, he was badly hurt which was truth and wasn’t thinking straight due to having an unlimited amount of time.

His mind ran across to only responsive person he knew who would grab him what was needed was Daniel Sousa, no questions asked, without Peggy on his back door for too long pondering what happened.

Bucky was half asleep, his head rested on the pillow with a soft smile watching the blonde chuckling softly to himself. Jason was resting in his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling humming a soft tune as his eyes glanced over at the brunette who was staring right at him. His piercing blue eyes connected with his green ones in a shimmer of the bedroom lights. If it wasn’t for the night he wouldn’t have blushed more easily as he should have.

“What? Can’t find the confidence to look me in the eyes, Underwood?” Bucky said with a grin, chuckling as he let out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding. He might as well be flirting.

“Watch it, Barnes. Last person who looked at me that way, i ended up on a hill in France.” Jason added shaking his head, returning the effortlessly warm grin.

“Ohh who was the lucky one?”

“You know who. For someone who just finished a murder mission, you’re awfully flirty with me.”

“I didn’t want to do it..you know that. It’s just seeing you all relax..makes me forget about everything, you know?”

“I know..despite that whole look of yours, I’m actually digging the number you’re wearing..it’s stupid..I’m delusional.”

“If you’re delusional then I’m sure as gone.”

The two of them softly chuckled.

Jason softly smiled, “Hey.”

“Hm?” Bucky replied staring back at him again.

“You look..good.”

“I uh..I feel good.”

They shift in their respective positions, rolling over in bed to face the other person in a more comfortable manner. Despite all the stress and frustration that they feel about tonight, the moment they looked at each other’s faces, it all melted away.

Hydra, being on the run, Shield, keeping lies to themselves and begging for the truth not to come back to haunt them—all of that? It drifted over to the back of their minds like it was nothing.

Funny, how seeing someone who you missed so much time with can do to a person.

As if, it was written in stone by the gods above to somehow be interwoven in each other’s life one way or another. Jason and Bucky shouldn’t be allowed to share such a secretive moment together, tucked away in some hotel room after such a harsh encounter, yet here they are. Both cold and alone in the mist of the night, despite the central heating system wrapping around the ground, it seems like it would barely survive the hours up ahead.

“I missed you..” Jason admitted, as his voice lowered to a whisper but the brunette heard it.

Bucky was taken back by his words as he melted a little and returned to confession, “…so did I. I uh, I missed you a lot..”

“It was some silly night but I remember it, you know?”

“You remember the rest of the week? We sneaked off to every other store to find the best souvenir but ended up at a ice cream parlor instead.”

“Didn’t we share an ice cream together?”

“Cause they only had a couple scoops of Rocky Road left! You do remember.”

Bucky roared a laugh as Jason grinned.

The Winter Soldier wasn’t in his eyes, nor was the Agent at SHIELD in his own.

Just two old men, Jason Grey and James Buchanan.

There was a lot bending on their hands with the horrific incident that occurred in front of their eyes, yet neither side had the slightest intention to bring it up again for a long time. Yes, Jason could’ve shot him while stuck in this hotel and Bucky could’ve done the same at any point, but they didn’t dare to do so.

Jason knew if he did, HYDRA would’ve been after him in a matter of weeks and it would take longer for him to recover and return home to his life in California. Bucky knew if he killed him, it would’ve been another kill in his books that would haunt him forever and he made a silent promise to Howard Stark to not go after his son, in response he needed the blonde to return home alive.

Aside from the obvious mess brewing upon them and lack of self respect, if it was up to Jason and Bucky, the two would run away together. Be hidden away from the world until everything died down and they could start somewhere else, have a better chance to escape the chaos and breathe.

Yet, it wasn’t in the cards for either of them.

Instead both men ate whatever snacks found in the refrigerator and vending machines in the halls, watching the crappy old movies on television as they stayed chatting until dawn…

…the morning sunlight peaked through the shades of the hotel that very first alarm to strike upon the room, cracking open the notion that this wasn’t a dream, everything that happened last night was just fact.

The second clue to this alarming trend was that the other bed was emptied out, paneling over the bed closes to the door as glimpses of the blonde and brunette snoring calmly. Fully clothed, wearing some fabric they found in one of the closets comfortable enough to rest in. Bucky’s hand lay across Jason’s chest as the blonde hummed in his sleep with his fact turned toward the brunette’s direction.

Both curled underneath the blanket for warmth, breathing deeply into the air surrounding the room. The pillows were soft, the mattress kept itself polished and comfortable, as blankets were stacked one over the other beneath the pair.

The third striking feature of the set was the moment Bucky slowly turned to his left, letting out a soft groan as he fluttered his eyes open. He squeezed his eyes for a second to breathe in the silence and light that filled his senses, meeting the sleeping gaze of the blonde man.

He only felt a slight smile reaching his lips, as the memory of last night slowly wired in his brain, where the two were watching on a movie then nodding off on his bed unexpectedly, the temperature dropped as it resulted in finding a couple more blankets to keep warm. A part of him should shiver and regret this folding turn of events that took place.

But he couldn’t shake off the pressure of leaving him in the hotel alone after all of this is over. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t think twice and find a way to escape this situation, bringing the other with him for just a little while. Despite the high urge to do something about it, he couldn’t get himself to disappear from the bed and leave the key behind.

Instead he stayed, watching every tall tale feature the blonde had to offer his memories.

“..mornin’..” Mumbled Jason softly and ever so gently as his eyes stayed closed.

It almost startles Bucky at the sudden voice reaching his ears but nonetheless he smiles, “..m-morning.”

There was a peaceful silence that drafted between them.

“How did you sleep?” Asked the blonde, slowly opening his eyes turning to get a glimpse of the brunette.

And by god, James Barnes wasn’t allowed to look this well at the crack of dawn. His long dark locks curled around the edges of the pillow, his blue eyes shining in the sunlight and the cool metallic hand rested on his chest just as comfortably.

After a long second, Bucky responded, “I uh, I slept well actually..”

“I bet.” Jason joked, bringing a light smile to his face.

That caused a crash of light chuckle to fill the air.

The morning went pretty well. The two stayed in bed staring at the ceiling and stealing glances half of the time, enjoying the light banter. Eventually Bucky crawled out of bed and got himself in the shower, then soon went Jason’s turn to freshen up.

After a long period of time of declining interest in food, Jason’s stomach growls as he grabbed himself a sandwich from the hotel bar and a couple of drinks from the vending machine. He may or may not have taken a couple of bucks out of the brunette’s wallet that morning.

But he repaid him with a sandwich and a bottle of water, despite Bucky’s light glares he couldn’t be bothered to give a remark as hunger strikes. He just ate calmly and hummed a small smile to the man.

Sadly enough, the time they had spent together came to a close. Items were packed, stitches were wrapped and clothing was tucked away for any cleaning lady to come in later. Jason sat on the bed buckling his bootstraps and cuffing his socks into place, as his gaze turned to the man who was fumbling with his jacket once more. Bucky nodded, getting the last clasp secured on his jacket and swung his bag over his shoulder.

The two had a seamless idea to leave the hotel one after the other, in order to not stir up any wondering eyes or glimpses of controversy in the air. Yes, the thought was more than simple for anyone to follow along if they were looking too closely but neither was willing to take that chance.

Barnes was first to leave.

Neither said a word, just kept their gaze afar from another.

As Bucky stood by the door, his hand hovering over the doorknob, a sudden wave of emotion washed over him once his gaze fell on Jason for the 5th time this morning. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving without expressing the depth of his feelings and gratitude towards the man.

He didn't know if he would retreat or regret this later on, however at the moment, he didn't care to dwell on those thoughts.

With a swift and decisive movement, Bucky turned around, closing the distance between them in an instant. A finger hung under the blonde's chin, staring into each other's eyes. Without a second later, his lips met Jason's with a gentle and tender touch, a silent testament to the unspoken words that lingered between them.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still as they shared the intimate embrace, the weight of their emotions hanging heavy in the air.

Jason's initial surprise quickly melted into a reciprocal response, his body instinctively leaning in to meet Bucky's kiss. Their lips moved together in a dance of longing and affection, each moment filled with a sense of warmth and belonging that neither wanted to let go of.

When they finally parted, there was a softness in their smiles, an understanding that transcended words. It was a silent agreement, a shared moment of mutual affection and longing that bound them together in ways they couldn't fully comprehend.

A couple of milliseconds past, standing there in pure silence.

Bucky once turned to leave, a smile graced his lips, his heart filled with a newfound sense of peace and contentment. The door closed behind as he turned towards the steps leading himself to the first floor of the hotel.

Jason watched him go, still slightly breathless from the unexpected kiss, a part of him couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself, shaking his head in disbelief at the whirlwind of emotions that had swept over them both.

And as they went their separate ways, the memory of that fleeting moment lingered in the air, a reminder of the small yet somehow profound connection they shared...

//

Ahhh! Couldn't resist writing for this unexacting pairing, this has been in my drafts for a year now and decided to finally post it. Anyways let me know what you think. Remember to like, comment and share

Tags: @gaminggirlsstuff @gcthvile @missstrawbs2001 @cherrysft @rickb-chaos @starkleila @infinetlyforgotten @meiramel @sherloquestea @buckysteveloki-me @yetanotherwells @nakiaswg @carellmcu @ximehs @xgoddessoffandomsx

[robertdowneyjjr]

hey, so. funny thing.

@whinysteve and i have been going insane for like two days because we couldn't find this one fic we really liked, and we both remembered reading it not so long ago but somehow neither of us could recall how it ended? and we kept saying that it's so GOOD and how the heck did it just disappear? well, after hours of losing my mind going through my ao3 history, the steve/tony tag with various keywords, the findingstony blog... it. it hit me that i can't find it because it doesn't exist. because it was the soulmates au idea you posted like two weeks ago where their words only show up after they've met their soulmate.

i thought you might find this amusing. 😩 (i do, but i also need to lie down for a bit because i will never know how steve fixed that mess)

hahahaha omg liv if this is your way of peer pressuring me into writing the whole fic i might actually do it??? because your ask has got me thinking about what would happen next.

that said, steve still hasn't figured out how to fix this mess. i'm very sorry about this.

(stonyclunks soulmates au part one here)

---

having been rescued by SHIELD, news of steve's recovery was immediately delivered to howard stark who, while not as involved with SHIELD as he used to be, still receives weekly reports as one of its co-founders.

he'd gone home that night and brought it up in the middle of cutting his steak. coincidentally, tony had been visiting that day and stayed for dinner, so he found out about captain america's miraculous resurrection before the general public did, and honestly, he had enough of hearing about how great this guy was growing up. he really didn't need to keep hearing about it as an adult after he'd finally worked through his issues with his dad and his obsession with a (not quite) dead war hero.

so after howard's announcement, tony politely requested howard refrain from talking about this guy with him.

"i know he's your friend, and you'll probably be spending a bit of time with him now that he's been found, and i'm really happy for you, but i think it would be better for our relationship if we could talk about literally anything but him," he'd said.

and, well. howard was trying. he knew he wasn't the best dad and he also wanted to do right by maria, who spent so many years torn between her son and her husband while trying to mend their relationship. they were finally in a relatively good place with each other which made maria happy. and to be frank, howard had actually come to really enjoy tony's company whenever he was home. he was quite happy too. so he agreed. they don't talk about steve and howard doesn't ask tony to meet steve.

that very night, tony made sure 'captain america' and 'steve rogers' were muted in all his news feeds and social channels.

he literally doesn't know a single thing about the man besides what he learned in his childhood, which he's blocked out. it's a peaceful two years of blissful ignorance.

fast forward to now, tony's packing up his suitcase and getting ready to check out of his hotel when he sees a text from his mom in their family group chat.

seems he's not quite the perfect role model you always made him out to be, howard 🤡, her message reads.

what follows is a link to an instagram post, and from the message preview he can see that it's steve rogers' profile, and under normal circumstances he wouldn't even bother clicking the link.

but 1) maria usually never brings up the man in tony's presence either, and 2) her comment made him laugh. so color tony intrigued.

he taps the link and sees the post. it's a picture of a coffee cup from the place he was at a week ago. the one where he got body slammed by his mysterious dick of a soulmate and unfairly yelled at for it.

he reads the caption and his legs give out under him.

i don't even know if you'll see this, but all i can do is hope. i'm sorry for the words that have made their mark on you. i know i don't deserve it, but i'm hoping you could give me a second chance. i won't yell at you this time, i promise. yours, a fucking asshole

one week ago, captain america was barely even a blip on tony's radar and that's how he preferred it. now, steve rogers is tony's mysterious dick of a soulmate.

what the fuck even is his life.

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Thinking about how great CATWS was and how Marvel dropped the ball on all the characters from that movie.

Steve? Got character assassinated beyond repair.

Natasha? Killed off, didn't even get an on-screen funeral and her only solo movie was more about introducing Yelena than her.

Bucky? Never got a prober story, was victim blamed, and will possibly die in Thunderbolts.

Nick Fury? Got character assassinated in Secret Invasion.

Maria Hill? Was killed off in SI.

Sharon Carter? Turned into a villian.

Sam Wilson? Unlike the rest they haven't completely fumbled the bag with his character but he was still screwed by FATWS in many ways, and his first solo movie doesn't look very promising either.

Also consider that their sequel to the movie where we find out Howard Stark knew about Nazis in SHIELD (the specific Nazi that tortured Bucky and killed members of the 107, and tried to kill Steve) ...was a movie where Howard is assassinated by Hydra and yet Bucky gets blamed and brutally attacked for it. Even though this is the same movie where we find out Bucky was mind-controlled.

And their sequel to the movie where we find out Peggy knew about Nazis in SHIELD is..... Uh. Nothing. They never address it. A character who died offscreen gets screen time wasted on a fulblown Royal funeral (attended by people who didn't even fucking know her!!)

They treat her like some kind of living saint, to the point where she's now a full blown Mary Sue, with yet another bloody tv show where every storyline must be about her, and her possessing Steve, and Steve is reduced to a Stepford Husband wheeled out to repeat 'Peggy. Is. Perfect' type lines. 😬 (Steve. Blink if you need rescuing.)

All Bucky's everything now belongs to Peggy.

Oh, apart from the blame of course! He gets to keep all of that! 🙂

(Oh, and as per What If, Sam is no longer part of CATWS, his own intro movie, and even Natasha's own movie is now about- guess who?? Peggy! And Peggy having Steve!)

Apparently Sharon has been turned into a villain in the comics, too. Just as they start product-synergy introducing MCU!Peggy to over-ride comics Peggy. I wonder why...

(It's so funny that TFATWS assigned MCU-Sharon MCU-Peggy's annoyance at being overlooked by men (cough the man she's relentlessly hitting on cough) and decided that this would be her villain origin story... and yet nobody has connected the dots to Peggy and her behaviour?)

Sharon and Sam's characterisation only feels like an organic continuation because, frankly, the MCU never bothered to write them being particularly nice people to begin with?

Sam being a fratbro-style dick to Bucky in TFATWS, with a side of dispensing unsound self-contradictory counselling advice, is consistent with being a dick to Bucky (and arguing against helping him) since CATWS and quitting a counselling job at the drop of a hat. (Only the 1980s movie locker-room homophobia queerbait is new.)

Sharon being a villain is consistent with being a Carter not being asked to join the 'bringing down Hydra' team in CATWS, dressing up as the same profession as Steve's dead mother to 'befriend' him while she's just spying on him (contrast: the calling-out Nat got from Steve just for not telling him something), staying in SHIELD while they were hunting down Steve and Natasha, immediately joining the CIA (aka, the people who just happen to have a superhero-proof electric chair and want to shoot Bucky on sight, who also have Everett 'ex-husband of Madame Hydra who laughs at the idea of Bucky getting a lawyer' Ross on staff), ...which is easily infiltrated by a (thinly-veiled-Hydra) villain who wants to mind-control TWS to bring down the Avengers (deja vu??), being snippy to Sam for no reason, continuing to lie about herself beyond the point of it being necessary, and also being a creep who expects a thank you kiss from Steve just for doing one basic helpful thing when asked. *phew!*

But the geniuses who inherited the job of writing her in TFATWS can't see any of that... They see no issues, so they think they've written her 'turning' bad. The writing is still shonky because it still isn't self-aware about what it's portraying. The cognitive dissonance is still dissonant.

(Same problem with Fury. They keep giving him 'bad' things to do, showing him instinctively first joining the 'bad side', eg. Pierce's SHIELD, the Kree, etc. But with the exclusion of Steve yelling at him in CATWS -- and only so that Nick gets called out, but not precious Saint Margaret, ofc -- it's never addressed. They can't do anything interesting with the moral charcoal that they've accidentally cooked up, because they aren't even aware that it's there. 🤦‍♀️)

We were mercifully spared from Joss Whedon's terrible ideas for Maria... (supposed to be a villain in A1, baffled as to what to do with a female character so obviously she should be hinted as a love interest for Steve out of fuckn nowhere in A2) ...only to end like that.

Outside of that AOU Avengers party, where she was chill and kinda gay, I feel like the best characterisation we got for her was when- was it in one of the Spidey movies?? -she was a Skrull. 😤 If only I could say the same of Steve...

[x-plain-cherik-ffs]

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE VS MCU - the post.

We’re going to compare both universes :), so buckle up and get ready bc this is gonna be a wild ride.

( this isn’t my way to try and point which one is better, I love them both, but it’s my opinion )

1- THE AVENGERS.

MCU’s avengers are full of angst. I think their film has the biggest joke count, but they spend like 80% of the saga arguing, which, I gotta admit, makes better their bonding moments, but still.

Steve’s the leader.

AA’s avengers are the dream team. They do not work together anymore but they assemble one more time to save their friend ( because that’s what they are, friends ) and then keep working together. They know each other, they understand how everyone works and are practically a well-oiled machine.

Tony is the leader.

MCU’s Avengers work together because they need to, AA’s because they want to, and it shows in the team dynamics.

2- STEVE AND TECH/PAST

Both Steves are old men, so we obviously can’t expect them to be as skilled with technology as anyone who was born after the eighties.

MCU’s Steve lives in the past. He tries to adapt to the future but we can’t see him actually trying to live there. When he has the chance to go live with Peggy in the 50s, he takes it. We don’t know if he gave it much thought, but he spent years in the twentieth century and he still couldn’t find a single reason to stay.

( Natasha and Tony were dead, but he still had Buck, Sam, Clint, Thor, Bruce Sharon, Peter P, the rest of the avengers… )

When AA’s Steve was given the opportunity to return to the Second World War with Peggy, he realised that his life was now there.

He was used to searching on the internet, and holograms, and murderous robots, and phone calls, and spaceships and else. He was used to the avengers, to having a team. A family.

And he knew he couldn’t give that up.

He wants to honor his past, not live in it.

[ also here’s a link with cool headcanons I really liked about this ]

As OP said in her post: people like to forget that modern technology is really intuitive, and Steve shouldn’t have that much trouble using it.

Pd: in AA there’s a scene in which Tony promises Steve to help him understand technology, one step at a time without it being overwhelming, if he teaches him how to be a little more “Analog”.

I’m not saying either of them ( Steves ) loves technology, but only one of them introduces it into his life and is eager to learn about it even if it’s hard for him.

3- HOWARD STARK

I wanted to talk about it given that in both universes Howard has appeared and/or has been talked about by Tony.

Neither AA nor MCU had me satisfied with this point.

⛔️( TW: alcoholism, parent abuse, underage drinking until after the green light )⛔️

Howard Stark is known to be a shitty dad in every universe. In the comics, he verbally and physically abused Tony and because of that he turned his back to people, because they, unlike machines, were too unpredictable. He forced him to drink alcohol from a young age, he tried to trade him to Dracula for immortality, he fought him in hell, he sent him to a boarding school because he wasn’t “man enough” and there are many fucking more.

Both Tonys have trouble with self-worth, building relationships, talking his problems, showing weakness and are always trying to make themselves necessary, and whose fault is that? Exactly. ✳️

They spent years resenting Howard for everything he did and everything he was not ( a caring, supportive, DECENT parent ) ( which they had all the right to do ), and still they tried to live up to his expectations. Even dead he was still making them feel not enough.

He always compared them to Steve Rogers, the perfect soldier and the perfect man, which made Tony resent Steve too when he met him.

What does this prove? Resentment is corrosive ( see what I did there? ) and Tony had no reason to love Howard! He only felt bad, insecure and unsafe around him, and all he makes him feel before and after his death was self-loath and resentment.

Maybe AA and MCU’s Howard didn’t do all that, but the series/films still showed that he wasn’t a good father either.

MCU’s Howard told Tony in endgame he already loved his son even if he hadn’t even been born yet. [ literal words: Let me tell you, that kid’s not even here yet, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him ] This initially comes as sweet, right? Because he loved Tony.

But when you think about it, this means that Tony didn’t live up to his expectations, like it was his fault his father didn’t like/love him and he failed even if he didn’t do anything. He literally said he loved him more when he wasn’t there than when he was. He told him he did something wrong, when all he was doing was be himself.

No wonder he has self-esteem issues.

He didn’t do anything for him, except filling him up with trauma.

Both Howards said that Tony was their greatest creation. ( MCU’s a few moments after neglecting him and make him feel like a nuisance ), as if the way Tony turned out ( a good, intelligent, caring man ) had anything to do with him. He turned out that way TO NOT BE like him. Because all the shit he had to go through made him care.

He was never there for Tony, he TAPED himself doing fatherly-things instead of teaching them to his own son personally ( okay, he died, but Tony was like 17 when he did, he had the time, he just didn’t spend it with him ) [ https://smthgavengersassemble.tumblr.com/post/160060510540 ]

And when Steve talks about them in both universes, he does it as if he were a hero and Tony had to make him proud. AND TONY AGREES.

[ AA 2x17- Transcript -

Tony: you don’t get it, Arsenal was my father’s greatest creation

Steve: no, you don’t get it. Arsenal’s not you father’s greatest creation. You are. Make him proud, Tony ]

*GASPS*

THE AUDACITY!

When they met him as their adult-selves, they hugged him and had conversations with him as if he wasn’t ( in the best case ) an absent parent and ( in the worst ) an abusive one.

[ Here’s a nice post about that ]

So can anyone really be mad about Tony not trusting people or coming off as “mean” or “harsh” just because he’s afraid of getting hurt?

Next time I talk to a Howard Stark apologist I will commit a crime.

4- TEAM DYNAMICS

AA’s Tony is the leader, though he’ll take Steve advice blindly. He usually calls the shots but everyone’s free to give their ideas ( which will be heard and taken into consideration ). The rest of the team mostly just follow Steve and Tony’s orders because in the heat of the battle there isn’t much time for consideration.

AA’s Tony is sarcastic, charismatic, practical, intelligent ( duh ) and mathematical. He’s all about probabilities and physics and stuff, but he also has his moments of what I call “believing in the power of love”, which basically means acknowledging that being human, “vulnerable” and different from each other is what actually makes them invincible and unbreakable.

When he jokes he does it to make people believe he’s funny or to make them laugh ( at least that’s what I think )

MCU’s Tony is all of the above except “the power of love” moments. He loves humanity but he doesn’t acknowledge it as much as AA’s does.

When he jokes he doesn’t do it to come up as “funny”. He’ll say everything and If it’s fun, cool. If not, he doesn’t care.

He’s cool, tired, and he has spent all of the saga adopting every child he’s come across [ Dad!Tony Stark ]

AA’s Steve is way less problematic than MCU’s. He’s lighter, takes things seriously but not to an extreme. He cares about trainings and being prepared, he takes his job seriously and is very responsible.

MCU’s Steve is more serious, we don’t see him worry a lot about everyone training, just him. He cares about plans and preparation. He is also more conflictive.

In AA when Steve and Tony have a disagreement they talk, and they don’t attack each other ( verbally or physically ). They communicate. In the MCU all they do is fight and accuse each other, never really talking, but arguing because the other doesn’t make things the way they would.

[ this post shows the differences between AA and MCU’s Steve ( and Stony ) perfectly: ]

Clint ( ah, where to begin with )

AA’s Clint has nothing to do with MCU’s.

They literally just share the name and the aim.

AA’s is more like 616’s Clint. He’s carefree, cocky, fun, cool… he’s like the teenager who thought he was a cool kid. He loves food and 80% of his dialogues are bad puns ( or really good ones ), and he wears glasses because of the aesthetic.

MCU’s is serious, a certified dad. He jokes sometimes but nothing to really remember him for.

Nat is Clint’s best friend in every universe.

Gotta admit it, I like MCU’s Nat more than I do AA’s ( even though

In AA she is like this serious, mean, badass, harsh, mom of the group lesbian. ( she’s not a lesbian but she could be ), and I love her, but MCU’s more elegant while still being all of the above, and that’s the Natasha we love and would die for.

AA’s Thor is comics’ Thor. He talks like he’s a thousand years old ( which he is ) and has all this respect for the war and the customs of each culture.

MCU’s Thor is like some dummy in comparison. In the first two movies he’s serious and war-like, but in the last two he’s a lighter, funnier, sort-of-dumber version. ( Don’t saying I don’t love him, NOBODY CAN HATE THOR )

Now Hulk. In AA we usually just get to see Hulk, not Banner, and we gotta admit that Hulk is smarter in the series than in the MCU.

In the MCU we get to see Banner, which is a plus, and even though he’s not my favourite character I don’t dislike him.

And last, but not least, Falcon. Now if the hawkeyes were different, this is a whole other level.

They don’t have ANYTHING in common. Not even the age.

They’re both Sam Wilson and they’re both Falcon. That’s it.

In AA he’s practically still a kid, he’s like 20 years old and really smart. He usually helps Tony in the lab and creates stuff of his own too, but he shares Steve’s patriotism. He’s a mommy’s kid and he’s the newbie, but he doesn’t really shine.

In the MCU he’s a middle-aged man, ex-soldier and gives the best advice. He’s really sure of himself, he started off as a secondary character but now he’s a protagonist and captain America ( loved that ). He really steals the thunder when he’s in the scene, and he’s cool af.

AA’s avengers are much closer than MCU’s. They share things in common, experiences, they live together. There’s a certain domesticity we can see in each chapter, plus the banter and the “Hulk finished all the popcorn” stuff. They also help each other out, they have their bonding moments, they get over their pasts with each other’s help… they can count on each other unconditionally.

[ There was a time they were fighting Thanos and they won, so they were in the tricarrier and Steve felt something was off. He acted in consequence, and told the team Thanos was messing with their minds. He said “don’t you feel something’s not right?” ( or something like that ) and Tony answered “No, but if you do that’s good enough for me”. AND THEY ALL FOUGHT AGAINST THANOS. Now, THAT’s TRUST. THAT’s TEAMWORK ]

( credit to @justlous-art )

In the MCU they have some sort of strict-work relationship because they’ve proved that they can’t be together without a war for more than five minutes, at least on screen. We’ve seen them have parties and eat together, but it’s not like they’re actually connecting ( short of Nat & Clint, Nat & Steve and Hulk/Banner & Thor ).

That doesn’t mean they don’t care for each other deeply or that they can’t be considered friends, after all they’ve been through together there’s no doubt they care, just that they don’t share the same relationship and there are some parts missing.

5- AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED/CIVIL WAR

Now here’s something really simple and really complicated at the same time.

These two events happened because of different reasons.

When the avengers disassembled in AA it was because Tony kept important secrets regarding the team’s and Earth’s well-being and safety. He was putting them in danger, running blindly into the unknown, and Steve gave him a few opportunities to amend that, and he knew that he was on thin ice, but still he didn’t.

Steve told him he couldn’t be in a team where he couldn’t trust the leadership, so he left, and Hulk, Falcon and Natasha left with him.

They formed two different teams, one lead by Tony and other by Steve ( who was working with shield ) and even though they weren’t on talking terms, they still worked together ( not merrily, there was a lot of angst between them ) to save the Earth.

MCU’s reason to disband was that they didn’t agree on the sokovia accords

( here’s how each Steve thinks about that btw )

I admit it makes a little sense given the government’s punishments, but it all went downhill in the moment the winter soldier came up.

Now, I understand that MCU’s reason to cause a civil war was much bigger than the accords, and their reactions weren’t so off given that the winter soldier was the murderer of Tony’s parents and Bucky was Steve’s best friend, so I’m not gonna comment on that because I myself couldn’t have done it better.

We all can understand that in the heat of the moment we don’t make rational decisions, and peace was not an option in the moment Tony discovered Steve knew almost everything from the beginning and didn’t tell him. ( that was a shitty-person move ) ( Steve totally took Tony’s trust, spat on it and threw it under a truck )

In the link above we can see this gif, which I think counts as a conclusion for this point.

6- STONY

This is the last point, and the one I’ve been looking forward to.

There’s no doubt AA’s Stony is full of sweet, playful banter, care, mistakes, amends, fun, trust and forgiveness.

AA’s stony is the home of gay!Tony and bi!Steve, the fluff one-shot. Mutual pining, best friends to lovers, idiots in love!

MCU’s is more of a bi!Tony, gay!Steve, angsty 300k slowburn. It’s the enemies to lovers version, full of hurt/comfort.

It completely depends on what you want, and that’s totally up to the viewer/reader.

( I personally love AA :)) )

AND THAT’S IT!! THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED-TALK!

This one is the friends-to-lovers, established relationship, fluff, one-shot version. The bi!Steve, gay!Tony version.

MCU’s Stony is the Angsty enemies-to-lovers and emotional hurt-comfort slow burn. The bi!Tony, gay!Steve version.

( credit to @dakt37 )

What you choose depends on what you like best, it’s simply a matter of preferences.

[ironfey-42]

...And Long Live the Queen [PHOTO EDIT and AU]

“The King is dead! Long live the Queen!”

Omega Tony

Alpha Stephen

Alphas have masculine titles.

Omegas have feminine titles.

There is magic in this world, but it’s not the focus of this au. It’s just there in the background. People from each kingdom can use magic, and they will use it to their advantage. Eithil has a deeper understanding of magic than the other seven. Tao and Agatha have deep knowledge of magic. Stephen learned from them, and Tony knows enough magic to defend himself.

Omegas, male or female, wear dresses, especially in the five kingdoms that aren’t as forward-thinking. In the other two kingdoms, male and female omegas choose what they wear daily. 

Royal Omegas can also rule the kingdom, but no Omega has been able to because for so long, it’s just been Male Alpha rulers, and the Male Alpha rulers have erased their kingdoms’ histories of having Omega Rulers. Male Alpha Rulers have made their Omega spouse just be breeding machines until they give birth to a Male Alpha heir. Female Alphas, despite being Alphas, don’t have much choice, like their Female Omega counterparts, who are weak. At least that’s what the other five of the eight kingdoms think. (The eighth kingdom is tiny and not much of an empire, it barely has any power, and the five other kingdoms chose not to overthrow that kingdom since they barely have any control and wealth) 

This au uses the tag Howard Stark is an A+ Parent but not in a sarcastic way. He and Maria Stark have made Tony Stark, their Omega son, heir to the Iron Throne of the Luceras Kingdom. (This is not a Game of Thrones AU. I just needed to call the throne something)  

The Luceras Kingdom and one of their neighboring kingdoms, the Idrisi Kingdom and the kingdom Stephen is from, are two more progressive kingdoms. With the whole letting Omegas rule and work jobs that they want to work. They’re not stuck in their homes being House Omegas because they are being forced to stay there. Everyone has a choice.  

In the Idrisi Kingdom, Alpha Stephen is of the Royal family, but his Alpha sister is heir to the throne. Since Idrisi and Lucera are neighboring kingdoms, the two royal families are close, and Stephen and Tony are best friends. One day while the Idrisi Royal family was visiting Lucera, with Stephen and Tony playing in the woods, the Lucera Kingdom gets invaded by traitors to the Lucera Throne, let’s say Stane and Justin Hammer, working with the other five kingdoms because they hate how the Luceran Kingdom is getting powerful. (Stane didn’t have to manipulate Hammer a lot since they technically have the same goal of overthrowing the king and queen. However, Hammer is blind to specific machinations; they still ruled with an iron fist and made crazy stupid laws that hurt the people of the Lucera Kingdom. Stane is like the backseat ruler while Hammer is like the puppet.) The Luceran King and Queen, Howard and Maria, are overthrown and killed. The same goes for the Idrisian King and Queen. Stephen, Donna, and Tony are safe in a hidden spot within the castle that only the three know and a few other loyal advisors/knights/guards in training know.

The three run away from their home kingdoms and make their way to the eighth kingdom, which is the Eithil Kingdom. They find refuge there. (I’m going to make Stephen and Tony close in age with a four-year age difference. Between Stephen and Tony, Stephen is the oldest at 12, and Tony is eight years old. Donna is 14 years old). In the Eithil Kingdom, since it’s not much of a kingdom, the leaders are Tao and Agatha. All the Avengers and any of the allies/friends they’ve made in the MCU are in the Eithil Kingdom. For 13 years, the three have been in the Eithil Kingdom working to figure out how to get rid of the traitor rulers sitting on the Idrisian and Luceran thrones. Tony was very traumatized by seeing his parents and Stephen and Donna’s parents killed. So he becomes determined to get his revenge and his throne back as the rightful heir. He works/trains hard to become a ruler like his parents, who were fair and just, gentle but firm. The original Avengers, the first iteration of MCU, become Tony’s royal guards and advisors along with the others that were part of the three’s group when they arrived in Eithil.

Tony’s starting group from when they escaped Lucera: Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy are in training while their parents lead the escape.

From Stephen’s and Donna’s kingdom: Wong, Hamir, Orion

Tony is vicious in getting the throne back. Stephen and Tony fall in love as they grow. Stephen is someone who can lead/rule and be the symbol but prefers supporting Tony. Donna falls in love with someone from Eithil. 

So 13 years later, Eithil was slowly getting more powerful, but the seven kingdoms didn’t know because they still thought that Eithil was weak and useless. They don’t know that Eithil has been silently going around the kingdoms and passed the continent's borders, looking for people to join their cause. Eithil attacks the Luceran traitor king with Tony in the lead, Tao and Agatha by his side. (Tao and Agatha, who are together, have taught Tony everything they know about leading supplementing anything that Howard and Maria may have taught him before their death)

When they get to the throne room, Tony confronts Hammer and Stane. Stane thinks that Tony doesn’t know Stane has more power than Hammer. While Hammer and Stane are monologuing, Tony gets pissed and, with a big swing of his sword, cuts not only Hammer’s head off but also Stane’s. (Cutting off the part of the speech where they said, “I will be King forever, no one can kill us.) Also, when Tony cuts off Hammer’s and Stane’s heads, his outfit of pants and a shirt padded with armors change into an elegant deep red with hints of gold, a royal gown. The bodies are magiced away, but the heads are still on the floor, and the moment Tony sits on the throne, the Luceran Crown for Rulers appears on his head and says the words, “...And Long Live the Queen.” in a calm voice.

Tony and Stephen and Donna also take back the Idrisi Kingdom, and Donna takes back her rightful throne. It takes a while, but the two kingdoms bring back peace to their kingdoms and manage to get the other five domains to change (The five rulers get overthrown by the actual heirs, they have overthrown years and years ago, and the former ruling families just needed that spark.) Eithil becomes part of the Kingdoms again. Donna marries and mates someone from Eithil, and they have three kids. Stephen and Tony also get married/mated, with Stephen becoming the King Consort, and he also has a say in things. Again, Stephen and Tony have three kids.

AO3 Link

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 14 – AUTHOR WEEK

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Cluegirl

I love all of Cluegirl's voices for the Avengers – they're so funny, and the team family vibes just warm my heart. Cluegirl's writing is fantastic, and if you haven't already, you should go and read their entire AO3 catalogue, because everything in it is great!

Here's some of their work that I think you should check out:

Gladhand

Pairing: Gen Rating: G Words: 1,260 Tags: Injury, Team Feelings, Action

Summary: Steve Rogers has work to get done, and staying down is not on the schedule. The rest of the Avengers are not on board with that plan.

Reasons why I love it: Tony the Italian Grandma is hilarious, oh my god. I love how the team immediately swoops in to save Steve after he makes his blunder, the way they care for each other is so sweet. And Steve toughing shit out is as frustrating as it is admirable, which feels like it should be a tag line for his character. I love this fic, and I bet you will too!

Tea and No Sympathy

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 1,286 Tags: PWP, Masochist Tony, Misuse of Yoga

Summary: Tony needs to pass Gym class. Steve needs not to wring his neck while coaching his strength training. This is their compromise.

Reasons why I love it: I wouldn't wish having to work out with Steve on anyone, holy shit. Then again, the view might make the pain worth it. I love this one, it's sassy and fun and a perfect little pick-me-up. Give it a read if you haven't already!

Operation Extraction

Pairing: Gen Rating: G Words: 2,117 Tags: Humor, Team Loyalty, Morphine

Summary: Far be it from Tony Stark to educate SHIELD Medical on any particular details, but it just so happened that it was totally possible to make a stable boot cast out of common office supplies.

Reasons why I love it: Tony is so funny in this, holy shit. I could read the way Cluegirl writes him all day. And the rest of the Avengers nonchalantly foiling his plans is hilarious. I adore this fic, and I bet you will too, so I hope you give it a shot!

Stony Going

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 6,070 Tags: Sassy Steve, Clint's A Troll, Smut

Summary: Steve Rogers makes an awkward discovery on the internet. This does not work out at all the way Tony Stark expects it will.

Reasons why I love it: Three cheers for breaking the fourth wall with some good ol' fanfic-ception. I love Steve being more experienced than anyone thinks, and that bit about critiquing someone's fanworks made me nod along. Preach, girl, preach! This fic is amazing, and you should definitely read it!

Detour

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: G Words: 2,447 Tags: Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Recovery, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: A weak man knows the value of strength. A guilty man knows the value of forgiveness. Steve finds Bucky dredging the shadows of his past late one night, and rattling the bones of long-dead ghosts while Tony sleeps, unawares. But this time the terrible confession Bucky has to make isn't the one he's been braced to hear -- it's actually worse.

Reasons why I love it: Oh my god, I love this so much. Those last few sentences really tear at my heartstrings – one quote specifically, you'll know it when you see it. Because you SHOULD see it, please go and do that right now if you haven't. I bet you'll love this story just as much as I do.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Captain Marvel: Part One

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: For the sake of this rewrite, Howard and Maria Stark dies on December 16, 1997 instead of 1991. Tony is 23 when they die.

x

What planet will be your next home? Where are you going to go? The love of your life and your best friend are dead, there's no one tying you to Earth, and you're free to go wherever you want for however long. Maybe drifting in space is the way to go at this point. There isn't a habitable planet in Earth's solar system, so you have to go outside of it to find one.

Space is an ever-expanding place with trillions of planets in just one galaxy. There's bound to be a habitable planet somewhere close by. The Solar System is located closer to the edge of the Milky Way galaxy than the middle of it, and when you reach the center of the galaxy, there is a whole mess of planets just waiting for you to claim them.

Off in the distance, you notice a gigantic spaceship hovering over a planet. If you're nice enough, maybe whoever is occupying that ship might let you hang with them for a while. From the time you escaped your home to arriving on Earth, there have been plenty of spaceships you've come across. Some of them weren't hostile, but others made your skin crawl from how evil the occupants could be.

Let's hope this craft is the former.

As you approach the ship, someone from inside notices you coming toward them. A circle opened on the base of the wing of the craft right above you, and they use their technology to beam you up into their craft. In a flash, you're transported from space onto the lower deck. Everyone inside had blue skin and they all had their space guns trained on you. They must not like intruders.

The person in the middle must be their leader because they all seem to look to him for instruction.

"I mean you no harm. I just wish to ask for transportation to the nearest habitable planet," you say with your hands up in defense mode.

They clearly don't want visitors, so you'll have to make do on another planet by yourself. Your space helmet is removed digitally, but the rest of your suit stays on your body in case they kick you out of their ship.

"Where are you from?" the leader asks.

"Sir, she's from Xenia," one of the soldiers says.

He must have seen the logo on your back which you tried so hard to hide. Your home planet has a lot of bad blood with other planets, even from multiple galaxies away. Markus was smart, but he wasn't very hospitable. The leader quickly aims his gun at you, causing the other soldiers to be on high alert.

They need to kill for him whenever he asks it of them.

"Xenia. What business do you have with us, the Kree Empire? That planet has caused nothing but trouble for a lot of people."

"I know, but I don't mean you harm. It's been such a long time since the great battle, things are different now."

"What's your name?"

"Y/N."

"How lucky am I to have come across the subject that was injected with the power that comes from the Tesseract?" he asks with an evil grin. He gestures to someone behind you and that someone puts handcuffs on you so quickly that you don't have time to react. One of the soldiers presses something to your neck which sends a chill down your spine. The leader walks closer to you and bends to reach your level. "I can't wait to find out more about you, Y/N."

"Ronan, where would you like her?"

"With the others."

Two soldiers drag you down to where they hold all of their prisoners. You'd use your powers to get out of here, but whatever they planted on your neck prevents you from shifting.

You're screwed beyond belief.

"In here," the guard seethes as he throws you into one of their cages.

There are many slaves and hostages on this level of the ship, but only one person shares your cage. He is the same shade of blue as the other soldiers, and you wonder if they would lock one of their own down here.

"What's your name?" the man asks without looking up from his spot on the cot. The pain is still there from the injection in your neck, but the burning in your spine is gone. "They do that to every single one of us. They have to do it daily because they aren't smart enough to make the effects last longer than twenty-four hours."

"I'm Y/N. Who are you?"

"They call me Yondu. What put you down here with the rest of us?"

"They found out who I am. If I had known they were the Kree, I would have never come aboard this ship," you whisper.

"And who are you?"

"I'm from Xenia. They want me because I have the power of the Tesseract running through my veins."

"You're in for a lot of pain, Y/N. They had the Tesseract once, but it was stolen from them. Now they're looking for it, and if they know that its power runs within you, then you're going to become their new best friend," he chuckles.

"What did they put in my neck? I can't use my powers."

"Yeah, it stops them. Most everyone here has powers, but that injection stops it from working."

"It's nice to meet you, Yondu," you sigh and sit on your own cot. The only response you get is a grunt followed by a nod.

Ronan is smart not to keep clocks or dates of any kind around the prisoners because not having a sense of time is torturous. The other slaves mark their walls each day they're trapped, and some of them have well over hundreds of days. You're not going to find a better way to keep track of the time, so you opted to do this same thing.

The first few years of being trapped were the worst. Ronan did everything he could to try and break you. He tried every form of torture you could think of, but nothing compares to the torture Markus did to you. Yeah, what Ronan did hurt but after a few years, you became numb to it.

Their efforts are kind of amusing at this point. So, when you're brought into their "torture chamber", you don't bat an eye for them.

"You know, Y/N, I'm impressed," Ronan says. "Not a lot of people can hold out the way you can. What, it's been six years since you first came aboard this ship? You're stronger than I thought."

"Is this going somewhere? If not, can I go back to my cell now?"

"Do you know why I favor you over the rest? Because of where you came from."

"Xenia?"

"I'm not talking about Xenia. I'm talking about Markus Hottle. He created the best weapon ever to walk this universe."

"Yeah, he's so great," you roll your eyes.

"What I don't understand is why he didn't make more of you after you left. I heard about what you did, so I asked to hold a meeting with him but he never showed."

"Yeah, that sounds like Markus."

"Where is he?"

"I have no idea. Quite literally."

Ronan nods twice before grabbing a long metal stick that he favors whenever he tortures someone. You don't blink when he raises the stick and slams it into your abdomen. He throws the stick off to the side and grabs your jaw tightly to make you look at him.

"Where is he?"

"Go to hell," you gasp.

"I have contacts on Xenia who could find him. I bet he'd love to know where you are."

"Go ahead. Call him. Tell him where I am. I've been dying to kill him myself," you glare.

He's bluffing and he knows you know it. If Markus is out there, then contacting Ronan would be the last thing he'd do. Markus is smart and he likes to keep people in his life that will benefit him. Ronan is sloppy and greedy and someone who Markus would never do business with.

Six years with Ronan turns into twelve and eventually, you run out of room on your wall to mark up. Sharing a cell with Yondu makes the time go by faster because despite being slaves with him, he's a really nice person. He's been your best friend, your rock for the entire time you've been here.

Ronan likes to filter through his slaves so they all receive the same treatment, and he's just summoned the people in the cell next to yours. That can only mean you and Yondu are next. He might be from a different planet than humans, but you're the one with the powers. Anytime you can, you try to make them focus on you since you can heal from their efforts to break you.

"Do you ever think we're getting out of here?" you ask Yondu when they return the other prisoners to their cells.

"I don't know. I don't like to think about stuff like that. It gives false hope. Ronan has the entire place on lockdown."

"Do you think people are still looking for you?"

"Unlikely. My parents never cared much for me. They're the ones who solved me to Ronan to pay off debt. I was too young to have mattered to anyone. What about you?"

"Anyone I do know can't rescue me. Humans don't know they're not alone, and the ones that do, don't have the ability to space travel. Humans aren't as technologically advanced as I hoped they'd be. No one's coming for me," you sigh.

"Y/N, you're up," one of the guards says as he approaches your cage.

"What, you scared to take me? Are you some kind of coward?" Yondu argues when the guard grabs you.

The guard looks at Yondu and considers taking him, but before he can let go of you, intervene. There is no way he's taking the fall. If Ronan wants you, then it's you he's going to get."

"Are you scared to hit a girl? Are you afraid I'm going to beat your ass if I get free? I bet Ronan is going to kill you if you bring him instead of me." The guard must follow Ronan's orders or else he's going to face his wrath. The guard shoves your wrists into handcuffs and drags you to the entrance of the cell. You look back at Yondu who looks like he's going to cry. "It's okay. I'll be okay."

When you return, Yondu is sleeping so you do your best not to wake him up. Your entire body is sore from the beatings you took but it's not like you're going to show them how much they're hurting you. You're not sure how much time has passed when Yondu shakes you awake.

"Y/N, wake up," he whispers. Sleep isn't something that comes easily on Ronan's ship, so you're not sure why he's up when he doesn't have to be. "Come with me. We're getting off this ship."

"What?"

"I'll explain it later. Come on, we have to go now."

Yondu doesn't give you time to think about what's happening because he's pulling you out of your bed. With groggy eyes, you follow him out of your cell and down the hall where someone is waiting for you. He didn't look like Kree but the last thing you're going to do is say anything. You trust Yondu with your life, so you know he wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't legit. The stranger leads you and Yondu through a service elevator to a lower level where a group of people is waiting.

There is a window next to the elevator and when you look through it, you see a huge ship. If Ronan doesn't know about this, he will soon.

"You'll need this. Put it on. I found it in storage. It had your name on it."

The stranger hands you the space suit that you had when you first arrived. After putting it on, the stranger leads you and Yondu to one of the loading docks where their ship is hooked to. The metal door shuts behind you so that when the stranger opens the door to his ship, the rest of Ronan's ship isn't affected by space.

Everyone flies from Ronan's ship to the strangers, and as soon as the doors closed, the ship takes off.

"What's going on, Yondu?" you ask and take off your helmet.

"My name is Stakar Ogord, and you've just been rescued by the Ravagers. Compliments of Yondu."

Stakar starts walking towards the main deck of the ship, and you look at Yondu for some answers.

"I told you we're getting out of that hell hole. I met someone who knew of Stakar. We've escaped."

"Yeah into the hands of the Ravagers. I've heard of them. I'm no thief."

Stakar stops and turns to you with narrowed eyes.

"Would you rather I take you back to the Kree?"

"No, she wouldn't," Yondu says for you. "We're grateful for your rescue."

"That's what I thought. I'll give you two a day to get settled before I recruit you to our team."

A lot of different planets around Earth are much more technologically advanced, but you've never seen some of this stuff before.

"Wait, year is it?" you ask.

"1962."

His words stop you in your tracks.

"We were prisoners for twenty years?" you gasp softly.

"Time flies by when you're getting picked and prodded at by Ronan," Yondu sighs.

"Twenty years," you mutter as you take a seat.

Twenty years.

Everyone you knew and loved either is dead or you've been pushed to the back of their minds. No one is coming for you now. Earth doesn't need you anymore, so there's no point in going back to it.

Another twenty years of stealing with the Ravagers go by before Stakar sees potential in you and Yondu to the point where he grants you your own division. You and Yondu can break away from the main clan and steal on your own as long as most of the profits go back to him. This gives you and Yondu some breathing room since you won't have Stakar breathing down your neck all the damn time.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[tujhse-raabta]

ooh!! do elaborate

okay okay okay so. OKAY.

you know tony stark? and you know how howard stark neglected him in favour of looking for a dead man.

you know morgan stark. you know how tony tried so hard to honour Peter's memory with her.

do we ever think? that maybe he wondered whether morgan lives with an eternal sense of being less? do we wonder whether he stares at his crow's feet in the mirror and tries desperately to highlight the differences between him and his dad, assure himself that he isn't neglecting his child in favour of a lost love?

that got me thinking. so many howard stark, tony stark parallels...... my favourite thing in the world is writing abused children grow up and try to not be like their abusers. because it's real. it's a struggle. it's a fear that never leaves, because each time you look in the mirror, you see eyes that looked at you once with disdain, and never stopped looking.

that spiralled into a character study ish thing that spans across Tony's life, probably a oneshot, highlighting all the ways he's 'just like his dad'

also uh. snapshot of it bcs i wanna !

You are four, and the world calls you the next Howard Stark.

The word 'genius' is thrown at you more than your own name is. You know what it means, of course. You are one, and you do it all in hopes that maybe your father would, for once, deign to look at more than pictures of the Arctic.

You've never thought it was a bad thing, to be like the man who runs the world.

Except - today, you go with your mama to meet her friends. The party is nice, you think, abstractly, even if there is nothing you can taste and appreciate. The women coo over you, ruffle your hair and touch you everywhere, as if you are a specimen and not a living breathing child.

It doesn't seem wrong to you. After all, mama doesn't do anything to stop it. They manhandle you as if you're a toy, ordering you to 'show your genius' as if you're a well trained monkey.

You revel in it. It's either that, or break silently every time the world looks at you and holds out its hands, asking for more and more and more while you still walk with hesitant steps.

You make them smile. You make them laugh. You bask in their glee and their pride, and as grating as it is, it soothes you too.

Except maybe you step too far, that day. Maybe you walk the tightrope between Stark and Carbonell and slip, like a toddling child instead of the trained circus ape.

(you are a toddling child)

You don't know what you built in minutes with deft hands. You do know that for the entirety of the day, the women around you say that you are 'all Stark' as if it doesn't break your mama's heart.

She doesn't look at you for the rest of the day. At night, you walk over to her and ask her to sing you to sleep, as she has always done. It is the one moment of the day where Maria Stark is truly your mama, instead of the stunning socialite, and it is when she bids you away from the conscious world.

That night? She grabs you by the chin with fingers too harsh, nails digging like claws, and spits 'entitled' at you as if it's a slur. The stink of wine rests heavy and settles into your lungs.

Angry tears start running down her face, as yours contorts in pain and hurt. "You don't get to be hurt." she insists. "You will always have everything. You will be the next man to run the world. You will be just like him. You don't get to sob when the people you trample over to reach there don't take it quietly, Ho- An-" she hiccups.

You stand still, her red nails painted scarlet with the blood they draw from your chin, till Jarvis enters with a shout and disentangles you from her grip. They scream at each other in front of you. You stand still.

Jarvis leads you to your bed, silent assurances that "She will apologize in the morning, young Sir, don't you worry. Now look up, let me bandage that up, please."

You look up. You don't say a word. Your eyes dry.

Jarvis stays for long, holding onto you and cradling your head. He leaves when you've tricked him into thinking you're asleep.

You are not. You don't sleep that night, the emptiness of the room echoing harshly as the absence of 'mia caras' claw a hole in your little heart.

She doesn't apologize, the next morning. She doesn't look at you, for the next few years. The next time you look into her eyes is at her funeral, wide and glazed and unseeing. Till then, the only version of them you remember is brown swimming with resentment and darkness.

You are four. The world calls you the next Howard Stark.

You cannot be, for surely the man who runs the world does not sob into his pillow every night, aching to hear an Italian lullaby that will never repeat.

[finitepeace]

january-march reads: stevetony

stony I've read in the past three months

How to Date a Superhero Without Even Trying by sabrecmc | based on a prompt from a Tumblr Anon, it's 2am and Tony drunk dials his ex. He gets Captain America instead. (Warning for attempted non-con that is most definitely interrupted.)

Ripple Effect (post-IW time travel fix it) by sabrecmc | After the events of Infinity War, Steve is sent back in time on a desperate mission to find the Tesseract. Instead, he meets up with 21-year old Tony, still reeling from his parents' deaths. Who, naturally, tries to climb Steve like a tree. Somehow, this fixes everything.

(Restricted) While Everyone's Lost (The Battle Is Won) by jukeboxhound | E, 6.9k words | Steve closes his eyes in 1945 and wakes up in 2012. Well. They certainly didn’t put that on the recruiting poster.

The Future by InesStarkDowney | T, 1.6k words | After the whole Germany thing, Peter is quick to spend a lot of time with his mentor, Tony Stark. And despite feeling and acting like a fanboy over his mentor, Peter is quick to find several things that he wasn't aware about Tony, simply because it's not public knowledge, like: Tony Stark is a very sad man. Peter wants to change that.

You can make this figure with your hips by haemodye | E, 6.2k words | Tony wakes up with a screaming headache, years into the future, where almost everyone he loves is dead.

Bless The Broken Road by PinkEasterEggs | G, 104k words | In 1950, Peter Carter goes missing. In 2005, a boy who looks exactly like Peggy Carter and Steve Roger's kidnapped son is found. Tony doesn't even hesitate (okay, he may have hesitated a little) to take the boy under his wing.

the steve rogers rating system by meidui | G, 866 words | Tony has an internalised Steve Rogers rating system, but it’s not standardised. It’s also not a foolproof system because Steve behaves in ways that crash it all the time.

Kingdom of Iron, Kingdom of Clay [unfinished] by WhenasInSilks | E, 9.9k words | Tony isn't pining. He can’t afford to--doesn't have space for it in his head. It's hard enough just to do his job while wading through the murky waters of post-Accords international politics, and Steve Rogers? He’s a liability, in more ways than one. That's why Tony laid down the law at the end of their last, ill-conceived encounter. “Take care of yourself, Cap. Stay the fuck out of my life.” If only Steve weren’t so lousy at following orders (aka the one where Steve and Tony have a conversation, and then another conversation, and then bang things out in a hotel. There's a lot more nuance, world building, character detail, emotional turmoil, etc. but, like. In a nutshell. part of a series)

ends of the earth by meidui | T, 2k words | “We have a new deal,” Tony interrupts. “From now on, you feel like you messed up, you come home to me. You come home to New York and we figure it out together. If you’re on this cross country road trip and living on a farm because you like it, fine, I’ll come out and visit. But if you’re out here because you’re sorry, I’ve got some bad news for you, buddy. Not even you could fix the entire world.”

A Teddy Bear Named Steve by nightwalker | G, 2.6k words | While cleaning out the attic, Tony finds some old friends he thought long lost.

capsize by killaidanturner | T, 4.4 k words | For the first time Steve sees Peggy in Tony, he always thought it was Howard, the showman, but all along it’s been Peggy and the way that she had her shoulders pulled just a little bit back to make her appear taller.

Life After You by ashinan | G, 2.5k words | Steve knew Peggy had a life after the war. He just didn't think it included telling stories to a young Tony Stark.

Fairy Godmother by Amuly (restricted) | T, 5.1k words | Auntie Peggy has been telling Tony stories about Captain America his whole life. Only problem is, the real thing just about measures up to the stories. Which means, of course, that Aunt Peg has to go to work, because an Aunt's work is never done.

I never knew how much I would lose by percy (shittyspacedads) | T 583 words | It's Peggy Carter's funeral, in the middle of a civil war. And she was very important to both Tony and Steve.

Trying to Bridge Dark Water by sororexitium | T, 4,9k words | Peggy was ninety-one years old and trying to bridge the gap between the then and the now. Steve and Tony were good at making that difficult.

Celestial Navigation by sabremc podfic version by cookiemom607 | original text version

[themculibrary]

Bucky And Natasha (Winterwidow) Masterlist 2

part one

Burn With Me (ao3) - MissMorwen E, 48k

Summary: “What year do you think this is?” The Soldier looked like he was ready to bolt.

Natalia’s mouth was dry despite the water she’d drunk so recently. This was bad. Very bad. “I don’t know.” It came out as a whisper. Her body buzzed as if it was filled with static. As if she was a snow globe that someone had shaken so hard that the falling snow had turned into a blizzard, making it impossible to see the object within.

“Fuck.” He said for the second time. Apparently noticing her reaction, he stepped closer, grasping the railing of her bed with both hands. “You’re safe. This isn’t the Red Room, no one’s gonna punish you or anything for a wrong answer, but Christ, Romanoff…” He trailed off.

-

Natasha loses her memories during a fight and while everyone around her wants to help her recover them, she only trusts one person: Bucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier.

dead ones walking (ao3) - shewritesall T, 5k

Summary: Tangling his fingers through her hair, he gently lifted her face up until he could see her again. Her eyes were closed tightly in pain and her lips were dripping with blood, and panic filled him like never before. She'd die before they got out, he realized and suddenly he was much more amenable to Hydra's demand.

"I'll do whatever you want," he snarled, turning to them with Natalia still in his arms. "If you save her life, I'll do it. Whatever you want."

Golden Locks, Silver arms (ao3) - Caspinn, kalkoenvsneoklak bucky/natasha, howard/maria, pepper/tony, clint/bobbi, peggy/daniel M, 52k

Summary: Before she was known as Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow and member of the Avengers, Natalia Alianovna Romanova was an assassin. Trained to kill at a very young age, Natalia is considered the best asset at the Red Room. Getting the chance to train under the Winter Soldier must be one of the best opportunities for her. And indeed, both their lives change because of it. Though, if it's for the better? That's up to debate.

Go Ugly Early (ao3) - just_another_tinker steve/tony, clint/phil, bucky/natasha E, 252k

Summary: He’s The Captain?

This was not good. This was so not good.

There were theories of course, of what The Captain would look like. Most followed the typical Hollywoodesque belief that he was some version of the Godfather, sitting in a dark room with a cigar, commanding his forces with a flick of his wrist. There were even some that even thought that The Captain was not one person, but a whole network of people with eyes and ears everywhere.

The blonde Adonis in front of him was definitely not what Tony was expecting.

Of course, in the end it didn’t matter.

There was a reason no one knew what The Captain looked like.

Because anyone who saw his face never lived to tell the tale.

Heart Full Of Bullets (ao3) - Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye) T, 12k

Summary: When Kate brings Yelena a piece of strange tech, Bucky figures out how it works. The consequences of his choices are going to be anyone's guess.

Help I'm Alive (ao3) - IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics) steve/tony, bucky/natasha T, 57k

Summary: Bucky moves silently, following Stark to his car. He presses the gun muzzle lightly against the base of Stark’s neck causing the man to start and freeze.

“Didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try and hold me at gunpoint. Least of all in the basement of my own office building.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I just want your help.”

“You’ve got a funny way of doing that. Most people use the suggestion box.”

In a blink, Bucky’s pulled the gun away, flipped it on his finger, and turned it around so that Stark can grab it if he wants. In another, he moves to stand in Stark’s line of sight. Dark eyes flit from his face, to the gun, and back at his face.

“I’m a funny guy,” Bucky answers dryly, letting the gun drop from his hand and onto the ground between Stark’s polished shoes.

--

Where Bucky decides to go to Tony for help instead of staying on the run. Friendships are formed, tested, strengthened, along with romances.

Hold My Hand Through This (ao3) - ap_marvel T, 7k

Summary: “I’m the only person in your life you can technically call a friend,” Natasha countered with a snort. “You haven’t left this… Place you call an apartment, in a week. I mean, seriously,” she scoffed, looking around at the bare walls. “It looks like you’re squatting here.”

He rubbed a hand over his face with a tired sigh. “I didn’t exactly get to choose the upholstery when they gave me the keys.”

“How horrible of them.”

I See Red (ao3) - spinachgarden T, 1k

Summary: Every day is a perfect day.

He wakes up with her in his arms, a faceful of red hair, smooth skin under his fingertips. For a blissful, quiet moment, everything is red, red like her hair, red like the moment right before the sun slips below the horizon on a perfect night, red like a fire in the fireplace, warm down to his bones, defrosting some of his winter. She fits perfectly against him like a puzzle piece, their jagged edges smoothing out into a beautiful picture, a picture of fall leaves and crisp air, of cool mornings and warm afternoons, right before the world turns icy again.

I Think We Need Each Other (ao3) - nataliasromanoff N/R, 27k

Summary: Natasha doesn’t want to work with him.

Bucky doesn’t want to work with her.

But they have orders and a disgruntled boss and a high profile target that just might make these next few weeks worth it. The job, exactly?

Marital bliss.

Supposedly.

AU where Natasha and Bucky are partnered up for a mission neither of them want to be on. There's arguing, insults, anger, and the constant, irresistible urge to rearrange the angle of someone's nose. But it's when Bucky gets horribly injured does Natasha realize that she might need him more than she thinks.

June Hymn (ao3) - EliotRosewater T, 3k

Summary: After a mission, Bucky and Natalia met up at a safe house to wait for extraction.

normal people stuff (ao3) - buries T, 5k

Summary: Bucky and Natasha team up for their most intense mission yet: they’re moving into their very own house.

Of Felines, Fistfights, and Falling in Love (ao3) - Green_Angst_And_Ham T, 14k

Summary: James Buchanan Barnes is no longer the Winter Soldier.

James Buchanan Barnes is still very much capable of murder.

And right now, he’s weighing the pros and cons of it in his mind. Maybe he’d be able to explain himself to Dr. Raynor. Convince her that a slight relapse was justified given the circumstances.

Because what is Sam Wilson thinking, leaving a cat on his doorstep.

(Or: Unexpected cat acquisition leads to the reunion of everyone’s favorite ex-Hydra disaster couple).

Stone Cold Sober (ao3) - MedeaV E, 13k

Summary: It sinks in only then that he woke up in bed naked with Natasha, Natasha who is basically his mentor, his supervising officer, informally, precisely because she doesn't have the attachment to him Steve has- oh, thinking about last night really hurts. Natasha gets up, not bothering with her pants, and he blushes because he just blatantly stared at her ass, she throws one more look at the floor, clutching her clothes to her chest, and then she stumbles out, door falling shut behind her.

He groans, burying his eyes in the pit of his elbow, feeling for the blanket blindly, resolving to deal with anything else later.

That's MY Bucky Bear! (ao3) - emma98 steve/darcy, bucky/natasha T, 120k

Summary: Steve Rogers and Darcy Lewis didn't exactly get along. In fact, when they were within a stone's throw of one another, they were often bickering. If you asked Steve, it was because Darcy couldn't manage to not get herself kidnapped every other week. And if you asked Darcy, it was because Steve was a giant douchewagon.

Leave it to Natasha and Bucky to bring them together for their own personal reasons and enjoyment. But when Steve and Darcy turn from bickering adults into bickering children (with incredibly foul mouths), it turns out the joke is on Mother Russia's finest.

Through the Darkness Shines a Light (ao3) - orphan_account T, 4k

Summary: Life might've been just a collection of moments, but she'd been on the run for long enough. Maybe this one could last a bit longer for a change. - Natasha and Bucky try to cherish what they have as long as it lasts, with the end of the world just around the corner.

Together, we'll both be warmer (ao3) - MedeaV E, 12k

Summary: He already knew he liked her. What he didn't know was that as soon as she acted like she really likes him, he'd jump on it like a hungry wolf, regardless that it's just for a cover. Willful blindness. And now that they're probably about to die, he maybe overreacts a little.

When We Were Young (ao3) - Xi_khaleesi E, 128k

Summary: It is 2002, 18 year old Natasha Romanova is looking her graduation from the Red Room in the eyes. Fear isn't what she should be feeling. Madame has broken her of that habit. Someone has given her a reason to be afraid now.

James doesn't remember anything. Only that he's woken up, metal arm in tow and the newest member of an underground Soviet academy to train super soldiers. He's been the only successful one of the five. The only thing that really has mattered is the girl with red hair who's made him forget to breathe.

Natasha and James encounter each other many times, each time reminds them how hard it is to deny feelings they've been told to not have.

Worse Before It's Better (ao3) - All_InProcess T, 4k

Summary: After managing to rescue him and get him to a safehouse, Natasha sets about the most challenging part of the situation: convincing Bucky to let himself be comforted and taken care of.

[b2-ar19]

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis

A Captain America/Star Wars crossover fanfic (Werewolf AU)

Chapter 1: Always free

The wind whipped and howled, sounding like a pack of hungry wolves, the icy air coming from the shattered windows of the wrecked plane. Steve’s blue eyes where focused and settled on the snowy hell-scape that was the Artic, yet his mind was on Peggy, Logan, Victor, Dugan, Monty, Jim, Denier, Gabe Jones, Colonel Phillips, Howard Stark, Dr. Erskine, Bucky Barnes, and lastly his mother, Sarah Rodgers. He knew he would never see the Howling Commandos again, but there was a small silver of hope. He would see his mother and best friend, his brother in all but blood again. He would see the father he never met, and he would see Erskine again. The man was the father he never had; in the brief time he had known him. He stared out the window, eyes locked in a frozen fear. In a quick moment of agency, he flipped the switch to on, turning the radio from off to on. Then he pressed the button that was on the radio. 

“Anyone copy? This is Captain Rodgers!” 

“Come in Captain Rodgers, this is Jim Mortia,” 

            “I’m here. Schmidt’s dead. I repeat Schmidt’s dead!” A loud cheer went up on the other end of the radio, revealing one of the reasons the most (in)famous infantry unit in recorded military history, was called the Howling Commandos. The other was a well-maintained secret that only Phillips, Howard and Erskine had privy to. And one of them was dead. Phillips will die to protect that secret, and Howard had made it into a confidential Military record. No one will dare to open it as long Stark continued to breathe.  

            “Where are you?” Peggy’s voice broke out, shattering the cheer and joy of the Red Skull’s death. 

“I’m not sure, but the plane is heading to fast to New York,” 

            “I’ll get Howard on the line,”

“Peggy, there isn’t time, I have to put her in the water. This is my choice,” 

            “Steve…don’t talk like that, we’ll find you, just hold on,” 

“Peggy, remember, Semper Liber and Semper Fortis,” 

            “Always free and always brave. Oh, and Steve, remember to always be Semper Fidelis. Stay true to your beliefs, no matter where you are,” 

            Steve was oblivious to the whirring and whining of the leftover energy of the Cube that surrounded the airplane like a thick, heavy blanket. What he didn’t expect was for the cosmic energy to continue to whirr and whine, as it turned into a glowing portal of blues and purples. His face morphed into one of confusion, as the energy swirled and surrounded the airplane, pulling it across time and space itself. 

When the portal closed, the plane was heading to a planet covered in snowy pines and tall, snow-capped mountains. The cockpit of the plane rattled, as Steve pushed the stick downwards to an icy covered lake. He didn’t know if this planet was inhabited by humans, but if it was, they didn’t need to know the horrors of Schmidt and of Hitler. He had no idea he was crash-landing on a planet gripped in a lover’s quarrel that de-evolved into a full-blown civil war. The plane continued to rattle and creak, as the damage it took from the Howling Commandos and the 107th, as well the fury of a Leader who lost his second. His brother in all but blood, his most trusted. He looked out the window, and saw the wing fly off, causing the plane to spiral down into the lake. Steve sent a silent prayer to anyone who was listening, fully knowing that he can’t reach the Howling Commandos, he was way out of radio range.

He also had no idea that he was being watched by one Jaster Mereel, who was curious about the falling object, and who knew that Death Watch would love get their claws all over it. He couldn’t focus on it for long, as his dar’riduur, Tor Vizsla, hanged on the outside of his tank, ranting about how he was going to restore kote and ijaat to all Mando’ade. Jaster knew better, one doesn’t go around to win glory for oneself, glory was bestowed on you through acts of honor, true honor. Not honor that was soiled through acts of deception. That was what he was taught through his buire. Clearly, Tor forgotten that, despite hailing from the same clan that produced Tarre Vizsla, a Mando’Jetti’ade, and the creator of the dha’kad’au. Possibility one of the most, if not, the most important relics of their culture and history. And now, the New Mandalorians want to destroy their history, for fear of repeating the past. While he agreed that their past was a bloody one, there was a chance to start over, and rebuild a better future for all Mando’ade. Not destroy it. What was the point of history, if one can’t learn from it? 

Through his helmet, he looked at his former riduur, while trying to fight the tears in his eyes. His heart still loved him, while his mind screamed at him to move on, and find someone else who will love him, and truly love him for what he stands for. Jaster quickly looked down, and saw his left kneecap was completely blown off, from the blast of Vizsla’s ion cannon. How long has that been bleeding? The blast torn off the armor there, shattered the bone in his knee and torn it to shreds. He knew his unique biology will take care of it. 

Jaster was fully aware he wasn’t fully human. No true Mando’ade was fully human, especially those that hailed from the Old Clans. Jango, his ad wasn’t even human, he was a Lupain, through and through. Jaster had Lupain blood, he can shape-shift into their wolven forms, he has their healing factor, heightened senses, slightly pointed ears, but he lacks their claws. He also has Tuang blood running through his veins, and Tuangs, while they were humanoid, were known for their dual-sexuality. Meaning they were born with both male and female reproductive parts. Jaster theorized because of that dual nature, is why mando’a does not include gender in their language, and because Lupains where an androgynous species and their home planet, Lupal, was once a colony of the Mandalorian empire. Their language was also similar to mando’a in the fact it does not include gender. 

He saw the canon turn slowly towards him, and he wondered if Tor had forgotten him, truly, during his bloody rampage against the New Mandalorians. He didn’t blame him for his anger, but this had gone too far. It was time to put an end for it, once and for all. He tried to stand on his feet, his beskar kad drawn from its scabbard that sited next to his jet-pack. His left leg threatened to give out on him, without his kneecap to hold it in place. Jaster couldn’t fight back the tears in his eyes, as he watched his former lover point the canon at him, with no remorse in his gaze. A gaze that once held so much warmth and love for him, and then their son, Pre, had suddenly turned cold. 

A circular blur of something, came flying directly at the canon, embedding itself into the duralsteel siding. A shadow soon followed, landing in front of him. Jaster looked up, and saw a massive canine like creature looming over him. It resembled the wolven forms of Lupains, but it was bigger, and covered in gold-tawny fur. Lupains only had solid-colored coats in their wolven forms, and where smaller, adapted to their forested planet. This one was big enough to compete with the fabled Loth-wolves from Lothal, but it was not as lean as them. Then he looked at the front-paws, they were vaguely shaped like human hands. 

The wolf-like creature growled, a deep resounding sound from its chest. The thick fur on its neck bristled, as it raised its tail high in a show of dominance. Was it challenging Tor? If it was, Jaster knew he was in no shape to challenge Tor for the title of Mand’alor, despite him having the backing of the Old Clans. He knew deep down he needed the dha’kad’au to firmly cement his rule as the ‘alor, the symbol of his people. This will create a migraine inducing nightmare if the wolf-like creature won. He wouldn’t challenge his savior. 

“Back off, aruetii, this does not concern you,” Tor barked. 

“Stay away,” the canine-like creature growled back, the words garbled, but the threat was clear. Tor ignored the threat, and swung the canon directly at it. Jaster blamed the pain from having his entire kneecap shorn off, for what he heard next. “I hate bullies. Picking on the little guys just to feel big and powerful, good news for you, my fangs and claws are not dulled, and I’ve been itching for a fight. Give me one!” 

            “Challenge accepted!” Tor answered the challenge with a self-assured smirk on his face. He turned and faced the challenger with the dha’kad’au drawn and ignited, the black blade hissing and humming. It suddenly felt heavy in his hands, and something nagged the back of Tor’s mind, back when his buire where telling him his family’s legacy. But he had forgotten one single important story about the dha’kad’au. One that will be his downfall. 

            Jaster felt his heart lurch. On one hand, he still loved Tor despite what he became, but his mind screamed at him to let him go. His Lupain/Tuang instincts roared at him to claim the other as his new mate, for the wolf-like creature had changed into a humanoid form, who was fighting Tor with everything he has, despite being stabbed in the gut by the dha’kad’au, by biting on Tor’s arm, not caring the man was wearing a full beskar set of armor. Then he topped Tor into the ground, pinning him into the mud. 

“Yield,” the man growled, his voice sending warm shivers down Jaster’s spine. Then he heard something that rang in his heart, much like the clanging of hammers and tongs on beskar, Tor slamming his hand into the mud, signaling his defeat. 

“BUIR!” Jango yelled, running through the battle-grounds as fast as he can, worry fogging his scent. 

“Jango! Ad, what are you doing here?” Jaster asked, trying to stand on his legs. 

But before he fell face-first on the muddy ground, someone grabbed him. He quickly realized he was in the stranger’s arms. He turned to face his rescuer’s face, and was greeted by a warm smile and dazzling sky-blue eyes with a tint of green in them. Dirty blond hair was plastered to his scalp, messed up as if he just took a helmet off. Jaster caught a whiff of the man’s scent, it was a combination of warmly baked bread, cooking flavoring, and something else, building smoke, and the fainter scent of animal musk. It was pleasant. 

“You, okay? I wasn’ goin’ to let ‘im kill ya, and I hate bullies,” the man asked, in the strangest accent Jaster had ever heard. 

“Yes, I’m fine,” he answered, trying to control his blushing. 

“HEY! You are not fine, Mereel, your karking knee just got blown off by your dar’riduur!” a voice yelled, sounding cross. 

“I am perfectly fine, I can stand, and therefore, I can walk myself to the Med bay,” 

            “Oi, verd! Can you drag him to the Med bay for me, he is literally in your arms right now?”

“Yes, Sir, also I have a glow-y sword stuck in my guts right now, is there any way for me to remove it?”

“Manda preserve me, there are two of them. I am dragging you both to the Med bay, and there is no complaining. Got it?” 

“Yes, sir,” 

            “Good, now, get on this stretcher, and don’t do anything stupid,” 

Jango watched as his buir and the unknown verd where escorted to the Med bay. He sensed something was going to change, but for better or for worse, who can tell? His inner wolf growled when he saw the stranger attempt to court his buir and who was the Mand’alor! It was not right, and he will figure out the stranger.

[jackiequick]

Jennie Rue Woods — Marvel’s Timeless Gal 📝

MARVELOUS AU — Auntie JJ

Full name: Jennifer Ruth Underwoods

Other Identity: Jeanie Woods

Nicknames: Jen, Jennie, Jeanie, Jean, Ruthy, Rue, JJ, Dollface, Barbie, Quinnie, Fefe

Age: 28–32 (87 years of age)

Birthday: June 30, 1923 (Cancer)

Height: 5’5 (5’7 in heels)

Occupations: Waitress, Coffee Girl, SSR Sectary, Agent, Widow, Mama Bear, Assistant

Alias: Alexa Bowmen, Paige McKenna, Jacquline Stark, London Holloway, Olivia Erhart, Eliza Pearson, Emily King, Barbra James Scott, Ashlee Lance

Family:

- Parents, Alexander & Fran Underwood (dead)

- Older Sister, Dolores Marie Underwood (dead to her)

- Sister, Peggy Carter (the big sister she never had)

- Brother Figures, Jack Thompson & Daniel Sousa (her boys)

- Howard & Maria Stark (her found family)

- Anthony Edwards Stark (her nephew #1)

- Rei Stark ( #1 godchild )

- And list goes on!

Relationship status: Single, but has dated and been engaged once

—————

Personality: Jen is a sarcastic goofball with a heart of gold despite all the crap she been through in life. On occasion she is spirited, stubborn and determined. Not just that, she’s quick-witted with a sharp tongue. However she is very kindhearted, a little slow at times but she’ll get there, she can get distracted very easily at times and motherly to those around her.

Due to being on her own for a good part of her life, she ended up being observant and trying to be resourceful. She has a knack for getting information without raising suspicion and being sneaky for the most part.

Style:

Evie has a vintage and classy style, often seen in 1940s-inspired dresses, with a touch of modern flair. Her wardrobe reflects her independent spirit and love for classic fashion. Even as she progresses over the decades she stays with a simple yet gentle sense of fashion as a way to blend in with the crowd.

Skills:

Proficient with weapons, particularly guns.

Basic combat

Previously worked as a nurse during WWII, honing her medical skills.

Quick thinker, adapts well to challenging situations.

Handle a control panel

Design and disguise

———————————————

—Background:

Jen grew up in a decent sized house with a Russian father and a Italian-American mother, along with her older sister Dottie. When it came to both children, their parents loved them both the exact same.

However, behind the smiles and glittering eyes on both daughters held an small rivalry that over time.

Dottie was always the one-upper of the pair, acting like she knew more and always one step ahead of everything. Hell, Dottie enjoyed having her nose in her young sister’s business, ignoring her most of the day, parenting her like she was a second-mother and treating her sister, Jen, like a pest that she couldn’t stand.

But Jen wasn’t far behind either, as she rather enjoyed sometimes sticking her nose in older sister’s business, taking her sweater without asking and bugging her with whatever new thing she was obsessed with at the moment. The difference was that Jen knew her limits, as she held a fear behind her smile when it came to Dottie, often intimated by her status and rude attuned attitude.

It didn’t help that both ladies couldn’t be more different when it came to their interests.

In result, it often led to plenty of bickering, fighting over every single thing possible and barking off more than they can chew.

However, it all came to a sudden pause when their father Alexander was overseas with Dottie to Russia saying they had business to attend to. Her mother only simply nodded and hugged them both watching them drive away, before entering the house to continue her daily task, asking Jen to follow behind.

The girl was confused on the matter and questioned the trip later that night. Her mother, Fran, simply told her that Dottie was one of the few girls signed off to train and becomes a skilled fighter.

Saying that one day, Jennifer might get her turn to do the same but the young blonde refused the idea. She rather stay home, be a kind young lady, fall in love, paint all the gardens in the fields and learn what she needs to in America. She visited Russia before, as she always found it to be colder and unassuming to her likely.

Whatever Dottie was doing, Jennifer wanted no part of it.

Thankfully, with a small sigh, her mother agreed to her dreams and kissed her cheek.

Years later, Jennifer would learn what her sister was doing and fought to not follow the same path. She had to desire to become a skilled fighter in Mother Russia and train to be become an assistant to The Red Room. But faith had other plans, as her parents promised her to do a trail run, live in Russia and educate herself into getting certificate of achievement.

Just for a few short months. 3 months.

With a deep sigh and small grunt, she did so as promised. In The Red Room, she was made to watch videos on culture, read books, take any notes and practice her knowledge on what she already knows. Not just that, Jennifer was brought in to take up a couple of activities such as dance, carefully handle weaponry, learning basic combat and drive a vehicle, if she ever needs to hot-wire and getaway.

Jennifer wouldn’t admit it but a small part of her enjoyed watching the women in those rooms all move in one single motion like trained dancers, ready to performance for a show on stage, and she was in the front row getting a glimpse of the sight.

She looked over her shoulder as a tall shadow took behind her, she gulped assuming it was one of the teachers ready to shout in her face for sneaking out of her bedroom this late in the afternoon, but instead it was her older sister.

“What?” She grunted out, spinning to face the taller blonde.

The tall blonde held a slinging smirk, “Nothing. Like what you see?”

“You’re new high ponytail or the performance?”

“Both, Fefe.”

“Don’t fall me that. What do you want?”

“Just want to know if my baby sister is enjoying it here?”

“You mean having my wrist cuffed to the bed, being held in a isolated room twice a week with no windows and a locked door? Oh yeah, I love it.” She repiled with a sarcastic tone.

Dottie grinned, “And having me here as a upper classmen.”

“Yeah…that. When are you gonna realize you’re just as insane to enjoy this, Dot? You love it here and actually find it trilling. I don’t.”

“Oh, Fefe, when are you gonna realize that with this opportunity you can be just like me? With grace and perfection.”

“That’s my point. I am not like you and I will never be like you. And when my time is up, I won’t be seeing you ever again.”

And Jennifer was right.

She was out of the building soon enough, in hopes to keep her head down and never have to be stuck in a place like that again. But Dottie did warn her as a hard heavy threat, one day, they will try and offer you a deal, snatched her up and order her to work for them.

Jennifer grunted and hoped with her luck, she wouldn’t. However, as lucky as she was with never being dragged there again, she did have Dottie reappear later on her life once or twice just for add measure…

—————————————

📰~The 1940s~ 💡

Plenty years past since those 3 sleepless months within that building and Jen couldn’t be more pleased with herself to be blessed to see a new path her way.

She was living in New York City, Queens as a waitress and painting on the side. She enjoyed painting the city skyline, the people in the park and her favorite flowers whenever possible. She was what many called her, a cartoonist. And her job wasn’t so bad either, yes the clients can be rude and annoying at times, but she made it work.

And her uniform was her biggest perk of her job. The simple teal-blue dress, her white headband, brown flats and her cute pins over her apron.

It was good, also with the fact she clocked out early to visit the fair, as everyone was there to see all the new attractions, men getting tested to see if they’re qualified for the war, people going dancing and much more. One evening, she found herself reading the newspaper wondering the fair, enjoying the sights, getting a drink and eventually standing in the crowd to see the main attraction.

Howard Stark. The Expo.

Little did she know that the man on that stage would change her life, by becoming apart of it.

She laughed, awed and smiled during the show. Even catching glimpses of his young sibling on stage, who eventually joined him.

She looked over her shoulder noticing a ‘help wanted’ signed stamped over a couple of posters, removing one of the tickets and followed to the small building to see what can could apply for. It seemed with the war going on, they need volunteers to help nurse the men on the field and inside buildings. Jennifer thought for a moment, onto her decision but then realized that it was worth it to help the good wanting to men serve their country.

Two weeks laters, she was working as a volunteered nurse. She got tested, signed off and given new uniform to wear. When a certain doctor asked for her name, it seemed like he missed heard it, as he wrote down a different name under her paperwork.

Instead of Jennie Underwood, he put down ‘Jeanie Wood’.

Jen didn’t know if it was on purpose it or not, but it taken her by a surprise at the name. The last person to give her a similar name like that was her 5th grade English teacher, yet she wasn’t complaining. She liked it, a lot.

And if she had to admit, she enjoyed it more than she expected, making friends with the other nurses, checking on the vitals of men and women, along with cleaning their wounds. It’s also when she met Miss Margaret “Peggy” Carter, who came in to recruit some nurses for an experimental program to help out the war, as she was handpicked to do so.

To say, Peggy Carter wowed Jen was an understatement. The women was kind, fierce, charming, witty, a little sassy, had a stronghold on her role here and cared for others. It surprised her how Peggy took a liking to her during those days spent on the job.

That same week, she met Howard Stark as he was preparing for the super solider experiment that she was apart of. The moment Howard met her, he was dazzled, in awe and flirting with the blonde. That was the first time Jennie ever actually blushed and smiled, turning her face to hide her blush from Howard’s darling compliments and witty comments.

Howard simply smiled at her blushing and went off to finish preparing his equipment for the day, before offering to buy her lunch. His tongue accidentally slipped nicknaming her ‘JJ’ for short. Jennie hesitated as she removed her gloves after preparing the equipment and serum with the other nurses needed for tomorrow. One of the nurses nudged her to say ‘yes’ as Jennie just smiled and nodded, following the brunette out the door.

The following day, she met Steve Rogers, as she was there helping to performance the processor and watching the man transform from a skinny kid to a tall solider. But the cheers and awes were cut short as Dr. Erskine died, causing Jennie to remove a gun off the table aiming at the person who fired the shot, but missed by a close second as the man ran out the door. Before she can get a second to blink, Steve and Peggy raced out the door to follow him. Jennie stayed behind to help, get Dr. Erskine to a more comfort position and calm down the crowd.

After that whole event, things were put back into swings as the war went on, Steve became Captain America serving his country, Peggy was brought to help, along with Howard and Jennie to do their part in serving for the better of their playing field.

Once again, she was given a slight change of clothing instead of white, it was light browns and a dark brown jacket to watch.

Jennie was put to work, not as a volunteered nurse, but a someone who helped with the design and coordinates for any trips. She put her skills to some use, which made her smile. Soon enough, the war ended per say in some victorious cheers and others in sorrows for the ones they lost.

When Steve Rogers went down in the plane, after speaking to Peggy on the radio as their side of the speakers cut to static, Jen was the first to enter the room and pull the English brunette into an tight embrace.

———————

💭 ~Meetings and revisiting the past~📑

Once the war ended, Peggy and Jen stayed friends, keeping Howard in touch of course. As both were brought to working in New York City at The SSR (which would later on become SHIELD), Peggy worked at an assigned sectary despite her endless response to her being able to do more. Daniel Sousa saw more in her, which made the women smile at the thought and respect she got from him.

Meanwhile Jen didn’t mind it being the coffee girl/assistant at the SSR, basically a sectary with a nicer name. It gave her a flexible schedule most days, other days she was spent working later hours at her desk.

Thankfully she had Agent Jack Thompson to keep her company, despite his personality, the man saw Jennie as a little sister whenever she entered the building. As if he wanted to shield her from harm and have her stand back from the tough stuff, even through she reminds him that she seen men come back from the war wounded or worse.

Jack would sometimes buy her burger if they knew everyone was gonna be working a late night. He would often bicker with her and Peggy as the English women rolled her eyes, but Jen would respond by saying that it seems like Thompson has a crush on Carter. Which results in Peggy chuckling at the blonde women.

Things were going fine until Howard Stark was wanted for crimes against the country, recruiting for Peggy to help find the truth and prove him innocent. She even entrusted his butler Edwin Jarvis to asset her with the investigation.

In which Jennie met while she was getting herself coffee one morning at the diner where she used to work as a waitress, ordering Mr. Jarvis a coffee.

Mr. Jarvis smiled and thanked for, offering to pay for her donut as an exchange. They soon became friends after that. Little did Jarvis know that Jennifer would become good friends with his lovely wife, Ana, too.

Jennifer didn’t want any to be thrown too far into the mix of things, as she eventually joined to the two Brits on their investigation.

Especially after the plot thicken, she started to be thrown in for a loop as The SSR all visited Russia and reunited with The Howling Commandos, finding themselves in a building that once held many men and women who were spies.

The beds with handcuffs, weird therapists, scientists and much more on that visit to Russia. At one point, Jen froze as she stayed rubbing her wrist at the sight, as it took A Howling Commando to drag her out of the rooms. Hell, some of their own agents froze at the sights, meanwhile others stayed strong during the fight.

On the plane ride home, Jen started to let Peggy in on why she froze, but not everything, as Peggy held the blonde close. Jen was given flashbacks to those 3 months in Mother Russia, the trips she went on and how during the war she remembered the men she had to nurse coming home lost to confused.

But the biggest punch to the grunt was when she saw her older sister on the streets of NYC, under some false name living at The Griffith Hotel for Women, pretending to be some new lady here and wanting to go sightseeing. It made her sick, especially since Dottie got closer to Peggy and watched her baby sister from afar, with sneaky eyes to see her next move.

That’s when everything made sense to Jen.

Dottie was here undercover working for someone who was framing Howard Stark and having everyone turn against the man. Peggy didn’t fully believe Jennie at first when she came in with her claims, Jack Thompson nor Daniel Sousa did either, but soon enough the truth came into full force.

As one could imagine things took a turn for people at The SRR, as they close in on Howard Stark, the true enemies are revealed and much more to everyone involved. As they planned to draw out the real threat, The Leviathan.

But it goes awry when Dottie Underwood distract the agents while Stark is kidnapped, as her boss uses hypnosis to make Howard drop as gasp he invented called “Midnight Oil” to onto Time Square.

Thankfully with Jarvis’s help, they all found them just in time. Jack Thompson and Daniel Sousa handled The Leviathan, who’s name was Johann Fennhoff. Meanwhile Jennie, Jarvis and Peggy handled Dottie, while also trying to convince Howard to not drop the gas over Time Square.

To say Dottie was excited to see her sister again in full swing and having a thrilling fight with Peggy was an understatement.

However this time, Jennie wasn’t too frightened to fight her sister again, as she found strategy and strength in herself to be more confident. It was a bigger perk, that this time around, she had Peggy who was more than intrigued to battle Dottie after their last encounter.

In the end, things were brought to light, they defeated Dottie (who escaped), the right people were imprisoned with scheming with Zola and everyone was given a chance to breath once again.

But like always, life for Jen didn’t stop there as she moved to Los Angeles for her next adventure…

————————

🦅~The 50s—60s~ 🕰️

In 1956, things were looking swell for Jennie as she was working for SHIELD in Los Angeles as an agent. She had her own office, meetings scheduled, kept designing models, going out to dinners and the occasional trip for sizable missions.

She discovered she had a little love for the unknown, collecting items, designing, doing presentations and going on trips to report new things back to SHIELD headquarters.

She was the one to design the SHIELD logo and style of the front over the years after all. Her and Howard liked with idea of an eagle with spread wings.

-> Eagles with its keen eyes symbolized courage, healing, hope, vision, resilience and most importantly strength.

However one late spring night, everything flipped on it’s head for Jennie. It was one of their agent’s bridal shower and she was invited to join in the celebration, free drinks and food, of course she was coming.

Yet, she was soon about to regret that trip.

She was driving home in one of SHIELD’s invented cars, that was had a working mentor that connected to the battery phone. She was on the phone was Jarvis’ wife, Ana, talking about how wonderful her weekend was, crossing a simple long bridge, when a light shower of rain started to fall from above. It wasn’t anything unusual, the weather did call for a light shower that weekend, but what took her by surprise is the springing dose of snowflakes.

“Uh, Ana, I’ll have to call you back…” She said, hanging up the phone and hanging it back where it belong.

It was simply magical to such a sight, however it went from beauty to a beast wanting the snowflakes became a slamming balls of hail hitting the car as she started to carefully hurry along the bridge. However the road soon became dangerous, causing her to swirl off the path and hitting the railing as her car went flying and smash into the water.

The faint sounds of the phone could be heard, ringing with a voice on the other end as the car drowned into the large body of water. In the car, Jennifer was silent with bruises and cuts all over her body, her forehead held a large cut that was covered by blood.

Her breathing stopped as her heartbeat slowed down in seconds, her core body temperature dropped greatly. At that very moment her heart stopped beating.

At 8:55pm, a blot of lighten struck the car. The volts of electricity impact was more than strong enough to reset the heart into a clear rhythm. Jeanie Woods—Jennie Underwoods body slowly lifted from the lower end of the car to regain its awareness. Her head rushed to the surface, jolting out of her anoxic state, causing her to draw her first breath in 4 minutes.

Cough and breathing heavy, Jennie regain memory of recent events, using all her skilled strength within her to carefully climb out of the car, knocking the side door open capturing the cool air that surrounding her.

She breathed heavily, spreading outside of the side door and swimming forwards to the surface, finding a pot of greenery in the cold depths of the night. Once she climbing onto the grass, rolling over as she let her back hit the grass such a reliving impact. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened it once again to watch the snowy sky fall onto her cool skin.

Well, she was screwed.

Thankfully she crawled onto her feet and found the nearest gas station, entering a phone booth to call Jarvis to pick her up. And being the good friend he was, the man arrived with a blanket as well, bringing to his house to stay the night. She explained to Jarvis the accident, planning on trying to recall everything she could remember to have it on record of that night and how the car was totaled in the process, but the man didn’t care as long as she was safe and sound.

As the years went, she credited her appearance to a healthy diet, often exercising, skin care, good genes and just plain luck. However actions was required only months laters when she was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction.

“Ma’am, it says here that you were born in 1923.” Said the officer.

“That’s right, officer.” She repiled with a kind smile.

“That would make you 40?”

“Yes. I look young for my age.”

“Ma’am I might have to hold onto this.”

The two talked by the man didn’t look so convinced, asking to come by the station tomorrow if possible and to bring her birth certificate.

That’s when she knew she needed to start packing, calling up family and making a few adjustments to her life. That’s when she moved back to New York City for a while, keeping her job within SHIELD, but taking up studies for medicine to research her condition, talks with other scientists.

But they all slowly came to the conclusion that it seems like there was no results for her condition, despite the records, recalling of events and etc.

It happened again where officers would stop the women and question her appearance, age and name. Even tried to take her into the station, as she would always do what she must to get out of it, even call up a friend for witness.

Packing up once again, making a couple of whole calls and planes to drive off somewhere off the grid of neither New York or LA, she found herself in San Diego instead. Making sure that Peggy, Howard, Jarvis and their friends know what to do, if anyone contract them, remove any records and to do something about the officers who taken her originally.

In result, Jennie Woods went on to change her name, keep her files close to her chest, residence and appearance the best she could every decade. And to never speak a true word of her fate to answer living soul (unless they were family of course).

To her relief, as the years went on things calmed down and she was less frequently questioned, however she would get wondering eyes at work.

——————

——————————————————————

🐤~Auntie JJ~ 🪿

-> May 29th, 1970 her nephew Anthony Edward Stark was born.

The day she held that tiny will soul in her arms, she knew she would love him til her dying days. She would take care of him, spoil the boy, and make sure he knew he was loved, even if she wasn’t there everyday to see him.

And that she did.

In the 70s, Maria and Howard knew they would need a pair of helping hands, aside from Jarvis, as they offered for the women to live with them. And of course, she said yes.

Jennie was there every step of the way and she loved it. Watching Tony grow up, taking his first step, first words, teaching him to read and write. Hell, when he was old enough, Tony would draw her so many drawings that she hang up in her office showcasing her godson’s work.

There were plenty of days and nights where neither of his parents were around as work and events took up their time, so in result if she was free, Jennie would do it.

“..’So after Lisa sewed on the missing button, she gave Corduory a big hug.’ The End. Now it’s time for my little bear to go to sleep.” She said closing the book with a smile.

Usually the 7 year old would give her a sleepy remark but after the long day he had, he decided against it. He rolled onto his side getting comfy.

“Auntie JJ?” He yawned in his small voice.

“Yes baby?” She asked standing up and putting the book back on his bookshelf.

“Would you always love me like Lisa love Corduroy?”

Jennie paused what she was doing as a small smile appeared on her lip at the question, she turned out and kneeled over the bed, placing a hand above Tony’s small cheek. Her warm touch smooth his worries.

“Of course I will, bubba” She replied and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

He smiled in returned, “Can we have pancakes tomorrow?”

“We will have to see. But first night night.”

“Night night.”

She gave him one more smile watching as his eyes closed, pulling his blanket closer. When she knew it was clear to leave, she gently closed the door behind her and escaped to the living room to watch a rerun of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Midway through the episode, she paused the taping and through back onto what Tony asked her earlier. She looked down at her lap, playing with the throw pillow in hand and sighed deeply. She knew why he asked that question, with his parents getting busier as the day goes by, especially at such a young age, it makes sense Tony would wonder if the adults in his life still love him.

And she meant what she said earlier, this unconditional love she has for her nephew is true. She adores that tiny little troublemaker, even if she sometimes drives him nuts, it’s one of the reasons she cares for him. He’ll keep on learning , as time slips through her fingers watching him grow up.

She knew she will be always try to be there for him, even if she’s in a different city, she’s only one call away.

And she was right.

Tony’s auntie JJ is there for him every time she can be. The smallest moments and his biggest. His graduations, his first true inventions, taking him out for ice cream, reading him bedtime stories, making him bacon on his birthday, the two of them sneaking off to watch movies late at time and the list goes on.

Hell, if she’s in the same room and near by, JJ is there to poke and pinch Tony when he says something he isn’t supposed to. Which results in him yelling a small, “Ow!” As she’ll give a smile in return or a certain look to tell him to quit it.

There are moments that his aunt JJ would have a date pick him and Tony would try to question his intentions with his aunt. Little did she know her godchild Rei would be the same way in the future. Every single one of her dates biggest haters.

———————

—Likes:

Mysteries, romance and detective novels

Waking up late

Coffee (of course!)

Classic movies from the golden era & sitcoms

Vintage fashion and style

Baking

Jewelry

Design

Painting & Drawing

Donuts

The sun setting

—Dislikes:

Narrow-mindedness

Cold coffee

Being underestimated or misjudged

Chaos in the house

Being underdressed or overdressed for an event

Sitting still for too long

Big Crowds

Closed spaces

Horror movies (however she enjoyed CW’s Supernatural)

Hiking

Fast rides

—Languages:

- Fluent in Spanish and English.

- Russian and Italian

- And some French

——————-

—Additional information:

- Jennie has a couple of scars, some small and some are a little big

- She tends to wear reading glasses or sunglasses at a lot

- You can sometimes find her on the couch wearing her earbuds listening to her favorite songs or binge watching a series on her IPAD

- As said before she likes jewlery, so in result you can find her wearing rings, earrings and sometimes necklaces. Such as her charm bracelet she got as a gift back in the 80s from a old friend

- She has traveled a lot over the years, sometimes she been a place more than once or even lived there. As well, as she met a couple of likely faces too

- Due to trying to keep up her energy and stamina levels, when it came to changing her appearance Jennie always tried to have a little fun. Such as dying her hair different a color, giving herself a new haircut, buying statement pieces that seemed timeless and testing out makeup to make her blend in with the crowd

- When it comes to makeup, she tries to keep it rather simple (she used to wear a lot of over the years but it resulted in some acne)

- When she’s under stress or filled in anxiety while in public spaces, she tends to play with her nails, add pressure to her inner palm, rubbing her wrist, wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans and etc

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—That’s all folks! I wanted to add more detail about her but then it would’ve been wayyyy too long of a ride 😅

Anyways pls let me know what you think! Remember to like, comment and share

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