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stonemags · 1 year

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SUGAR BABY AU

Ch.5 Champagne problems

Characters in this series: Reader, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Carol Danvers, Darcy Lewis, Maria Hill, Kate Bishop, Pepper Potts, Valkyrie, Shuri

Summary: Keeping your promises can be hard if you are being challenged on them all the time. You try to keep your face straight and enjoy one free evening, but are any of your evenings actually free? What are your actual feelings towards people around you? You can't figure it out if you won't stop to think about it.

Warnings: age gap relationships, sugar mommy/sugar baby relationships, swearing, mensplaning, all story is gonna be +18, you are responsible for your own ass.

Word count: 9612

A/N: I appreciate everyone's patience. I hope you will enjoy this chapter just as much as I do. Thank you for all the comments. It really helps to get a new perspective on things and really motivates me to keep going. Big thanks to my amazing friend, this series wouldn't be here without you @charturnus. And big thanks to my forever judge of the chapters @sweetixsblog!

The flat is just a quick stop for both of you, and it's no surprise it's empty. At this time, everybody is probably already at Carol's house. After this emotional load of today you wish you could stay home, relax, unwind the stress, but promises were made, and you are not someone who breaks them. You tell Kate to take a shower first, and you go to look into Darcy's room for both your costumes. Nicely put dresses take you off guard but as you see just as beautiful a three part set for you with pants you take a breath in. You slowly touch the fabric, taking in the view. Kate will look incredible in hers. It's bigger than you thought but looks so light with the volume of it. The colour is lavender, and it's going to brighten Kate's face so much, the corset is black which is matching to yours, and it's going to be an amazing contrast to her bright look.

“It's beautiful” You turn around at the sound of your friend's voice. She is standing by the door, covered just by the towel waiting for her primer to dry, so she can finish her makeup.

“Yes it is. And you are going to look incredible in it, sweetheart.” You tell her and move to the side to let her see the dress in its all glory.

“I was talking about yours, but I think we both will steal some glances after being so fashionably late.” She puts a tender hand on your shoulder, looking deeply into your eyes, trying to read your emotions of your irises as you are hiding something from her. She had this feeling all day. In moments like those, you are also wondering if you are hiding something from her, or yourself. You put a strand of her hair gently behind her ear so as not to disturb the primer in any way and when you are about to answer, your phone starts to ring. You pick it up, being sure it's Darcy calling to hurry you up, because no texts and no phone calls all day is a weird behaviour for her. Furthermore, you are grateful for the space she gave you and Kate, but it's 9pm, and you probably should head that way already.

“Hey, we are getting ready and…..” You cut mid-sentence, making Kate look at you, quizzingly.

“No I…. Okay I understand but I can't right now. “ You look at her, a few lines appear on your forehead. Your voice sounds distressed and it shakes a little.

“No…. The answer is no, I helped you enough for now.” You start pacing the room. Whoever is on the other side of it is definitely stressing you out, and Kate can see it.

“HOW MUCH?” You didn't mean for it to come out so loud, but it ripped out of you. Right now, you know, Kate has questions. One hand is holding the phone while the second is in your hair, looking like you are going to pull all of it out in a second.

“I'm sending you half of it. I don't have any more right now, and I also have to eat. I'm sorry….. Well, I'm sorry you are disappointed…. Sucks for both of us, I guess.” With that, you hang up a phone and take a breath in. You quickly type something on your phone and as you put it down Kate can see that you are really trying to figure out something, battling with yourself, she just can't figure out what it is about. She slowly closes the distance between you, searching for your eye contact.

“Yn is everything okay?” You smile at her, and Kate hates it. As much as you know her, she learned a thing or two about you too, and this fake demeanour pisses her off.

“Yeah …. Yes, it's just a client of mine not happy with his essay. He is going to pay me less.”

“Oh.” It really didn't seem like it, your reaction was far too strong for some boy to put you off like that. As much as Kate tries to sympathise with you, she never struggled with money, so it really doesn't seem like a big deal for her, for you on the other hand every unplanned loss of money is a big hit. Kate decides to leave the topic and start collecting things to dress up and finish her look, letting you go to take a shower.

“Kate?” She looks at you.

“Can we take your car? I don't have money for a cab right now, and I'm not drinking, so I thought… I'm going to give you gas money back after the pay cheque if you are okay with that.” Kate smiles at you as if you are dumb, but this time in a cute way.

“Mom filled up the tank, so you don't have to give me any money back, and I actually wanted to ask you if you can drive, you are not drinking and being able to leave at any moment we want is a blessing.” This is exactly what you needed to hear, that's how you know it's not true, but you appreciate every moment when your friends are trying to make you feel safe and secure around them. As much as the phone call just added to the mental load, it's something you will have to take care of later, now you don't have time.

It takes both of you an additional 30 minutes to get yourself ready and start driving to the location. You can never get used to the way Carol's house looks like, her main house, you might add. You never thought that you would even have a chance to surround yourself with wealthy people, not talk about being friends with them. As you drive through the gate and park the car in order for both of you space, you take a quick look at the changes in Carol's garden. It's not too overloaded with greenery but the natural bushes creating a path to the entrance is something you fell in love with, the first time you visited her with Darcy. It's a little different at the moment, and you are grateful for that. Added lanterns in the ground help you and Kate find your way on a cold November evening. You hold Kate's arm under yours, soothing her hand to calm down her nerves, or maybe yours, as much as you don't think there is anything you should be stressed about you don't feel at peace. There is a vivid thought about Natasha and Wanda in your head, but you let it go past you as you hear Kate ring the doorbell. You can feel the vibration of music under your feet, it's surprising because to be honest you can barely hear it from outside. As the door opens up you expect Carol to be on the other side of it, you are surprised to be greeted by the waiter, who lets you in by giving each of you a glass of champagne in matching glasses. You always feel bad correcting any workers, you know how it is to be in their place, so you don't say anything. Glass looks amazing in your hand, reflecting all the lights in the room, bright enough to give you a headache at the end of this evening.

“YN! , KATE!” you hear Maria's voice coming from the opened dancing space. She runs to hug you both and just in time you put down the champagne, avoiding any of it landing on your, well not yours but probably expensive clothes.

“You. Both. Look. Incredible.” Maria makes sure to punctuate every single word. She loosely holds yours and Kate's hand in hers. You grab it harder and slowly spin her around.

“Look at you! You look amazing.” She really does, the whole dress up concept suits her so much, she looks like taken straight out of Bridgethones.

As Maria puts her focus on Kate for a second, asking her how she feels and when did you both go, giving her a second glass at the same time, you take your time to drift off away for a second. Carol's interior design feels like visiting a museum in the best sense of it, but this time she has outdone herself. All the details to bring everybody straight into the new world make it all work together with her natural look of the house. The big living room is turned into a dancing floor. A big piano at the side of it gives amazing contrast to the size of this space. Kitchen is opened only for the staff, and you respect that, sitting area have new pillows and added decorations like tones of fresh flowers with almost overwhelming smell and red carpets as a

guide to the bathrooms and balcony for people that want to smoke or just take some fresh air. Even waiters have their own costumes. Most of the work makes live music. It's amazing, and you can't wait to let yourself fall into it, watching the orchestra play relatively new music in a classical way. You are in awe how amazing everything is prepared.

You chose a nice place for yourself a little bit more on the side, halfway to the first floor, where lights are dimmed. High ground is something you enjoy, it opens many more possibilities to observe. Also, you are harder to reach and that gives you the upper hand, literally. Darcy and Carol walk around still talking to some businessmen and other high hierarchy people. You can tell by the way they try to charm their way to Carol's ass, so desperate for her to choose them, that it's funny. You are still worried about Kate, so you follow along with your eyes in red carpet paths to find her in the crowd. She stands at the bar, drinking her, you hope, still second glass of champagne, her eyes are fixated on something, really focused on one space, or person. As you follow her line of sight, you see Maria dancing with an elegant woman who you remember as Pepper. Kate looks almost jealous, and you can't figure out about which one of them. As all your friends are located, you let yourself drown in thoughts about everybody around, who is the most shitty person in the room, who is the drama at the bottom of the stairs about and why the hell someone allowed this dude in sweats even come in here. Just as the thought flew through your mind, you saw a security guard pull the guy outside. You started laughing to yourself about the situation when someone interrupted your peace.

“Would you like something to drink, ma’am?” The waiter asks you politely, and you swear to god you will never get used to people calling you ma’am.

“Non-alcoholic beer please and thank you.” With a nod, he leaves you once again to yourself.

It takes him just a second to bring it back, service is incredible as always at this type of event. You go back to your favourite thing, looking around and as much as you don't care about two redheads, more worried about them annoying you all evening, you can't help but notice them at the edge of the bar. Wanda wears an incredible deep red dress that fully matches the colour of her lips, all her accessories are black though and as you look a little to her right you can see why, right next to her Natasha wears a black suit with red accessories. They are fully matching to each other, and you can't help but smile to yourself. It's nice to see this kind of energy between them. Natasha’s hand leaning on the small of Wanda's back, Wanda's hand reaching, in any moment they are alone, to hold her wife close. They both stand there with a glass of wine, from time to time talking to some important looking man, maybe clients as you assume. You are invested in observing them, probably a little too invested, because you didn't realise that you finished your beer that fast. You look for some place to put it down, but no waiters are around you right now, so you go back to leaning over the smooth, shiny handrail, trying to land your sight back on two women, unfortunately you find their spot empty. Searching through the crowd, you turn right, just to bump into someone standing really close to you. Bump is actually a light choice of words. You fully went into that person just to bounce back, and if it wasn't for their hand catching you, you would surely fall. These two seconds of you almost falling is enough to notice a strong grip on your waist, fingers digging into your skin in a protective manner. To catch some balance, your hand shoots up to grab whoever is in front of you by the side of their jacket with your right hand and the handrail with your left. You pick your head up, and you see Natasha looking down at you, with Wanda on her left side holding you by your shoulder to also prevent you from stumbling back. The woman you went into has this sickening smirk on her face, and you would love to wipe it off, but you promised your friend to be nice, maturity it is.

“I apologise, I didn’t see you there.” You say politely as you move out of their reach, placing your hand from Natasha’s jacket to her chest, pushing lightly to create a comfortable space between you.

“Don't worry, sugar, we got your back.” Words spill out of her smirking lips, as her hands still linger in proximity to your body, and you need to compose yourself for a second. Don't be a bitch, you think to yourself, trying to keep your sarcasm at bay. Maybe honesty will be a good way of dealing with it, so you decide to try it. You clear your throat before speaking, a little too theatrical.

“If you don't mind-’’ you start, but the waiter moves next to you, so you take the chance and put your beer bottle down on his tray, trying not to ruin his balance, before you continue.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead, we don't bite.” This time, Wanda is speaking, and you need to remind yourself to not fall for her warm voice. Her hand did not move from your shoulder, so you decided to gently grab her wrist and physically remove it from yourself. Her skin is soft, softer than you thought, her body is hot which is not surprising with so many people around, and the heating on. As a part of her makeup, she used body mist that smells like roses, and sparkles in the bright lighting of the room. Some of it stays on the tips of your fingers, and you tell yourself to not touch an expensive outfit that you have on, worrying it might ruin it. She gets the idea and actually looks kind of guilty of not letting you go herself after you moved back.

“What's up with the pet names?” They look confused, but you don't mind clarifying. Always willing to go the extra mile if that means that people will leave you alone.

“You saw me… hm… let's see…3 times in your life, you know basically nothing about me, except the things my friends said about me, and for some God knows what reason you feel comfortable enough to call me all kinds of pet names. I just find it weird. What makes you feel so comfortable?” It's funny, the picture in front of you. Two mature, adult and powerful women being taken aback with honesty and putting down boundaries, at least that's what it looks like to you.

“We didn't think you would be against it. Nobody ever was.” Natasha lowered her voice, sounding really confident, which is not fitting for what you read off of her facial expression. Her brows furrowed in confusion and her lips without a smirk, which is not a usual view.

“It's meant to be sweet, heart-warming, and usually it makes beautiful women like yourself feel special.” Wanda adds to her wife's statement, providing a little bit more of their point of view.

“Usually.” You throw under your breath, not being able to catch your bitchiness at bay before your mouth betrays you. Your arms are crossed on your chest, not knowing how to stand or act in front of them. They make you nervous, and you don't enjoy the way your senses are tingling when you are with them. With the goosebumps on your forearms, the muscles on your back tightening, and your fingers twitching, your anxiety is up through the roof.

“Actually, yn, I find it weird that you don't like it. Why does it make you so uncomfortable? You are a beautiful, funny, creative woman, whose company we really enjoy.” Natasha gets a little bit closer to you, her hands lightly trying to reach you, get a chance to touch you again, just being close is all she wants. Pulling any physical reaction out of you gives her information that you yourself are not even aware of. She is really observant of your breathing, how your chest rises when they are close and as careful she tries to be with you, she is sure this is not hatred talking through your body. All of those signs tell her that you crave them, that you are attracted to them. That's what those reactions always meant to them, so it has to mean the same thing, right?

“You see baby, we would love to get to know you a little bit more, but you seem to run away a lot from us. Do we make you nervous?” Wanda is still on your right side, her voice reaches your ear, and you swear to God you can feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up, ugh. Her hand moves smoothly, closer to your arm, the tips of her fingers drawing a pattern on your forearm, leaving a shiny trail behind and as your arm flexes under her touch, you are trying to think of an excuse to move out of their reach.

“No!” You answer her question, probably a little too harshly and too loud. You step back, your body is covered in goosebumps making you feel nervous, cornered and not safe with them. Your arms flex with worry, and you cross them on your chest, informing them that there is a line that you won't allow them to cross. At the same time, your mind is trying to come up with any way to make them feel that you won't let them overpower you, anything to show them that you are not someone to be played with.

“Do I make you nervous, Wanda?” This is the first time you called her by her name, and her eyes widened at the sound, only now realising that she feels much closer to you, than you actually are. It barely happens to her or her wife to feel a connection with people and for both of them to put that much interest in somebody, at the same time. Because of that there is so much need to understand what makes you… well you. The way your friends speak about you, the things they know, and they don't know, and how much of a saint you actually are. This is all Wanda can think about since she saw you at the coffee shop. This is all Natasha is talking about since her wife pointed you out, drinking coffee at a couple of tables next to them, with the most focused look they ever saw on someone. This is not something they are willing to lose, not when it took them so much time to find it. They were on countless dates, dinners, and one-night stands. All girls are similar to each other, most of them not even trying to hide the fact that they are only interested in their money. This doesn't bother them that much, but they decided it's not what they want. The fact is that Natasha and Wanda don't look for a sugar baby, but more of an actual addition to their relationship, someone who will make them feel more whole. Wanda is more patient about getting to know you, trying to make you like them or at least giving them a chance, Natasha on the other hand is impatient, she wants you now, in every way imaginable. Just as Wanda is about to nod at your question, her wife is speaking again, challenging you to reveal what you really think about them, but more in an inflated ego way.

“Please yn, we can see how you act around us, how you squeeze your palms to control yourself, how you shiver when we are close, how you bite your lips at our every compliment.”

“Yes… yes, you are right. I need to bite myself to not be an ass to you. I promised Carol I would try, I squeeze my palms because I wanted to punch you at least 3 times in the last 5 minutes and I shiver because none of you respect any personal space, and it gives me high level anxiety, I would literally rather be in a metal cage in the middle of the ocean surrounded by starved sharks, profoundly bleeding.” Your face shows anger with every line appearing on your forehead, you step closer to Natasha, trying to make her understand that she plays the wrong game here, that you are nervous around them because…. Because they are…. They just….. You are…. Not sure why, and it just hit you. Why would you be, they are not trying to harm you, they are being obnoxious, but that shouldn't make you feel so emotional. This time Wanda is speaking and her voice is so much softer and calmer than Nat's.

“I don’t think you hate us, yn. I think you really want to, but you don't. Let us get to know you, let us show you who we are, and then decide. Give us a chance.” Her hair falls softly on the side of her face, her smile gracefully invites you into her idea, you want to listen to her, and you almost do.

“Exactly, yn, we all know that you would fold for us if we wanted to.” You go straight back to the ground after Natasha's comment. A smirk appears on your face as your eyes meet hers.

“You are so full of yourself. If the whole world is at your feet, then why can’t you find anyone suitable. If you are so confident, why won't you make me fold for you…. Sugar.” With each word, you get closer to her, close enough to look up at her eyes and put a finger at her chest as if it proves your statement. She is a little taller than you, and you look so innocent and sweet from up close. Her jaw is tight, her eyes fixated on you, and she fights with herself not to reach out for you. But Natasha sees more than you are aware of. She sees the way your breath shakes when you lock your eyes with hers. She sees how your body leans to the right when her wife is standing, witnessing the dynamics between you two. Before any of them can react to your comment, Maria comes to your rescue, pushing her way through two women,

“Yn, I need you.” Your friend whines while pulling your arm around her waist. Her face is red, her dress is creased, and she is out of breath. As a good support, you immediately follow her thinking that something happened, leaving two redheads behind, without a second thought. She doesn't ask about what she just witnessed, and you are so grateful for that. You let Maria drag you to the middle of the dance floor, basically making you dance with her because Pepper got tired. You don't blame her, Mia can be a lot sometimes, but that's exactly why you love her, you let music take over and find pleasure in the rhythm as music got a little bit more current style. Lost in having fun with Maria, none of you notice the rest of the group watching you carefully from the resting area. Wanda and Natasha joined Darcy and Carol on the couches, and Pepper brought some drinks over to them. Kate sits close to them but is too shy to attend the conversations. Alcohol is slowly making her loosen up, but it's still not the time.

“Carol-” one of the red heads calls for her, taking her attention off of Darcy on her lap.

“Is there something between Maria and Yn?” Natasha asks boldly, not even trying to hide her motive.

“Actually, I would also like to know.” Pepper chimes in, clearly showing her interest in your friend, she even sounds a little jealous. Darcy opens her mouth to speak but stops herself before it's too late. In this kind of social situation, energy between her and Carol shifts. In public, it's still held in some slow movements and gentle whispers between them, but as the house slowly clears up, only few groups left, they get more and more comfortable with their dynamics. Darcy knows that she should ask permission to speak before talking to her partner's friends, so she waits for her cue. Carol squeezes her thigh and gives her non-verbal permission to answer.

“Yn and Mia were always close, they have known each other a long time now, and sometimes I think they can read each other like a book. There is for sure some sexual attraction between them, but I don't think even they are aware of it. But to answer your question, there is nothing going on between them other than friendship.” Carol takes Darcy's hand into hers, reassuring her that she did good.

“Hm, thank you, sweetheart.” Pepper hums and takes a long sip from her drink, finally taking her eyes off of the dance floor.

“And you-” she stands up, her dress flowing behind her when she does, to add volume to her outfit. She moves to the couch in front of her, occupied just by Kate, and sits beside her closer than socially acceptable. Her arm follows the back of the couch, dangerously close to Kate's face.

“I know you, don't I? I think we met last week at a meeting with Eleanor Bishop.” Kate’s eyes widened at realisation and fear. Her mother doesn't know anything about people around her, and Kate would like it to stay that way.

“I… yes, Eleanor is … my mother, I believe we discussed cooperation between our companies.” How Kate keeps her face straight is a mystery, Pepper definitely intimidates her and after seeing her dancing with Maria and now trying to get to know her, she is at least confused about her own emotions. Today was a hard day for her and wanting to just let loose, mixed with alcohol, gives her enough courage to fall into the casual conversation with a beautiful older woman.

The house is emptying more and more with every minute, it's crazy how many people can fit in here. Everybody falls into light conversions and loosen up after a long party, which is unfortunately a big part of their job. Carol and Darcy are in their own world as usual, Wanda is giggling with her wife about some comment she just said, but when Maria comes back and takes her place next to Pepper and Kate joining in their conversation, Natasha immediately looks for you on the dance floor. You are standing next to the balcony, a few minutes of fresh air can do wonders on your anxiety. It's a cold and bright night. Moon is fully out, brightening up the garden, making it look mysterious and scary, mainly in a good way. A minute to yourself is something you have been praying for since you got here, you know that in just a second you will have to go back and still be fairly active with your friends, despite your exhaustion, so you are trying to enjoy this moment as much as you can. Suddenly, a long shiver goes up from your neck down to the tips of your fingers. You feel a presence behind you and as you turn around, you just wish it wasn't….. Natasha. She approaches you calmly, but there is a strange confidence in each step she takes, each look she sends you, every word she speaks. Because of it, it's harder to read which parts of her are true and which parts are a mask she developed for herself. She is studying your face for a second, taking time to herself to decide her way to approach you, calling out in her head the bullshit of your actions, parts you are not realising are true. She wants to help you with that.

'You are lying to yourself.” You are stunned by her boldness, but you don't speak, allowing her to elaborate on the topic. Your body on the other hand flexes immediately, straightening up you try taking more space, showing her that you are not an easy target, for whatever she is planning against you.

“And about what exactly, Natasha?” You challenge her, that one is obvious, or maybe she challenges you. Either way, you know that all of this is a game to her. She is a predator, and you are a prey, not in this reality you're not. Not in your reality.

“I know you want this y/n, I see you shivering at my touch, I see you looking at me from the other side of the room. The way you looked for me and Wanda in the crowd. I know what you need, and I know what you want. We can give you that, all of it, me and Wanda. You just need to say it, darling.'' She comes closer to you, with each word she tries to lock her eyes with yours to make you truly understand. Her right hand is now lightly touching your left. Her fingers are stroking your palm and her touch is surprisingly soft, delicate, like she is afraid of hurting you while her eyes are saying that, that's exactly what she wants to do. You don't move back, why don't you immediately move back? While you have a second to study her you start to understand that all those words, all she does right now is projecting. She is so afraid of being true with you that she tries to make you believe that her emotions are yours. That has to be the case because you are not attracted to her. Two can play that game.

She comes even closer, with her left hand she holds you around your waist, hand lingering on the small of your back. She doesn't set it down, but you can feel the warmth radiating from it. It travels through you, and you at the top of your head, causing you to shiver. Her perfume is really nice, and it's overwhelming in the best way. It's stronger than Wanda's and so much different than hers, but just as they are together it mixes with each other in perfect harmony, a little bit like them. Her lips are so close to your ear, the intimacy of it makes you weak…. Sick…. It makes you sick. You turn your head to her direction, again being shorter than she at first was annoying to you, but now after her reactions you know how to use it to your advantage, You bring out your innocent eyes, steering up at her makes Natasha grab your waist, and you keep your cool together to not react on that. Her fingers are digging into your skin, her grip, like she is scared you are going to disappear. With the proximity, you both end up with lips inches apart. You smirk lightly when her breath hitches and her eyes shift, they become darker, or maybe it's the lightning in the room, or the moon covered by a cloud, or maybe you just imagined it. Natasha grabs your waist harder, and you put a hand in front of you to stop her, afraid she will try to bring you closer. Your hand lands on her stomach, she is flexed, and it seems like an act all over again. Your left hand is locked with hers, your bodies barely apart, only your palm standing in the way. You can feel two buttons under your fingertips, and her belt at the bottom of your palm, thick leather digs painfully into your skin, so you push at it, causing it to be pushed down. It happens so fast, but you can swear you heard Natasha lightly moan at this action, so you push a little bit harder. She bites her lips hard, and you don't take your eyes off of them as you speak.

"I want..." she focuses more on your voice. Pupils dilated and breath caught in her throat. Only now you start understanding that it's actually you that has all control over the situation. With all her confidence and boldness, in this very moment, you are the one that has control over her. Maybe you judged your friends too harshly on the dynamics of their relationship and this is something you need to put more thoughts in, but for now you need to handle the situation at hand. You repeat yourself.

" I want .... you.... to leave me the fuck alone, and get into your head that I'm not someone you can play with." You saw how her eyes went from lust to shock in a split second. You push her again, getting out of her tight grip on your waist, which you actually might be bruised from, and leave her dumbfounded. It feels like an award.

Shortly after you join them your friend, all of you fall into light conversations between each other, with you actively trying to ignore Natasha and Wanda. They don't make it easy for you, their eyes linger on you too long, too bold for you not to notice, but you won’t give them the pleasure of giving them any reaction. The next rounds of drinks were served and as you try to keep Kate out of taking any more, someone interrupts the conversation of your small circle.

“Hello ladies.” Everybody looked up at a man that decided that the after party is the best moment to shoot his shot with Carol and point her interest at his ideas. He couldn’t be more wrong.

“Hi, excuse me, but the party's over and only the closest friends are staying at this moment, I hope you understand. Thank you so much for attending.” Carol is bold, Carol is confident, and Carol doesn't like to repeat herself.

“Well, that's exactly what I hoped to become.” He is not getting the clue, even when it's served to him on a silver platter. Darcy leaned in to inform you that the man standing in front of you is an owner of a StarL industry and his name is Peter Quill. You heard him before at the party, someone called him Lord and you laughed at the commitment to the party. As it turns out, it's a real title that he tries to get people to call him. His company focuses on tech development, and you can help but smell a copycat of Pepper. His outfit doesn't fit into the topic of the party, his hair looks greasy, and the stupid grin on his face makes you sick. He looks like your high school teacher that you truly hated, who was released from his job, due to his inappropriate behaviour towards some of the students.

“What are you ladies talking about?” Still, this man can't get a clue. He seems so desperate for Carol's approval and probably the rest of the “MILF sisterhood of really expensive pants” club, that you are pretty sure he actively chooses to be oblivious.

“Art, music, girly stuff, probably nothing that would interest you.” Wanda is trying once again to tell him off. Her hand is on Natasha's thigh, maybe to feel her close, maybe to comfort her, but the main reason, as you assume by Natasha's body language, is stopping her from taking the case into her own hands.

“That's exactly the thing I love, especially the part about girls.” Well, that was creepy.

“But I know a lot about art and music. Actually-” he continues, and you wish he didn't. “ I saw this incredible painting, right there.” He points to the place above the piano. The painting is framed with a wooden frame, covered in hand made golden little leafs. It's hard to distinguish from so far what it is, but you had a chance to take a close look at it closely, when you entered the house. The painting shows a beautiful view of nature. Big forest is dark with some light falling through the trees creating spots of breaks between the darkness. It's really detailed, so you can't figure out the real looks of it, if you did not study it from up close. Between each tree in the sunless ground, there is a horror looking creature, creeping from the depth of it, looking afraid of the bright spots.

“Oh, do you like it?” Wanda speaks again, taking your focus off the painting.

“Yes, very. It reminds me of Albert Bierstadt. It's so detailed, I could see every leaf and it's so calm and domestic.” You can't help but laugh at his bullshit. Clearly he learned two or three names just to impress somebody and if you had no knowledge whatsoever maybe you would fall for it, but you do, and you call it bullshit.

“What's so funny?” His arms are crossed on his chest, challenging you with his domination. All eyes are on you.

“Bierstadt is a realist, there is nothing realistic about this painting, and please enlighten me what's so domestic about it?” He seems to be caught in a moment. His hands grabbing the side of the couch with unnecessary hard grip.

“What do you think about it, yn?” Natasha moved closer to her wife, embracing her in a side hug, allowing Wanda to rest her head on her shoulder. They are both focused just on you, somewhat like the men disappeared, like everybody disappeared.

“Well-” you start slowly, not really trusting why they are even asking your opinion. “ I really like it, it's an unusual piece.” They take a sip of wine and wait for you to continue.

“At first, yes it might look realistic, but it's really not. It's a nightmarish painting, showing the fear and struggle of staying in light, or maybe escaping it. It might be about the contrast between light and dark, maybe about how you can see what is really there until you actually focus on the darkness, which not a lot of people do. Not only that, but it reminds me more of Beksinski style than any other.” Wanda looks happy, Natasha truly impressed and Carol has this know it all smug on her face.

“Well, Wanda here created this masterpiece and gave it to me when I bought the house. She has talent doesn't she?” The question is pointed at you. Peter left the group in the middle of you talking, before making an even bigger fool of himself.

“Yes… yes she does.” You answer faster than you can think. You don't take your eyes out of Wanda, drowning in her focus on you, feeling pulled in before you can grab anything in reality to stop it. Your compliment makes her really happy, it's rare for her that someone truly gets her, and you…. You seem to do it all the time. She cannot explain this connection she feels, just as she can't stop smiling at you. Her nose is scrunching a little in the cutest way you ever saw. Natasha kisses her on the forehead, enjoying the moment between you too.

“Well, yn is also an artist.” Oh, god, Darcy, why? You wish she hadn't said anything. She always does that, brings your hobbies or any achievements that you have at any possible moment. There is something irritating about it, and at first you had a big problem with that, but with time you understood, and you felt the love she has for you even more. You never got that as a kid, your parents praising you for grades, your art or internships, college, the list goes on. Darcy only wanted you to feel appreciated, and let you see how proud she is of all the things you did in your life, or simply with yourself. Watching you grow as she grows with you was one of the best things that happened to her, and she will happily remind you of it every day.

“Now I need to know more, what do you do yn? Artistic, in life, work, relationships? Tell us something about yourself.” Natasha is pushing, and she knows she is, but it's harder for you to back up when you are surrounded, and she will take her chance, even if it means not playing fair.

“Well, I'm studying language and literature at the university, working as an intern at a publishing company, and I'm having additional shifts at the bar. About artistic stuff, there are a lot of things, but I mainly write poetry.”

“She wants to put her own poetry book at some point.” Says Maria.

“She also writes essays for other students, she goes to the gym, she learns to play an instrument.” Kate adds, and you start feeling like an item on an auction. You appreciate your friends either way, you know they mean good.

“Our yn is a really versatile person.” Darcy can't help but add her thoughts into the praising bucket.

“Oh well, that's a lot yn, I'm surprised you have any free time.” Wanda talks to you in a more calm way, with no judgment, but you can't help but look for it in every statement. That's a little spice added to your personality.

“What about your family? Any siblings?” This topic shifts the conversation in a way you don't enjoy. It feels like interrogation now. You really want to finish this conversation, run, stop them from talking and asking questions, take all the eyes off of you, but you will try to stay on top as long as you can before your anxiety will drown you down.

“I have a brother. My parents are dead.” You answer casually, like talking about the weather, or household duties on Thursday evening. Your voice is similar to a salesman who's been at the same position for the past fifteen years and doesn't know why he is still alive.

“YN! They are not dead!” Darcy always corrects you, and you know that if she were closer to you, your arm would be hurting now. She calls it a gentle jab, but it's never gentle.

“Might as well be. You know, I'm going to go check if they need any help in the kitchen, excuse me.” This has become too much. Air too thick, shoulders too heavy. You can feel each time your lungs are filling up with oxygen, and you feel like you have too much and not enough of it at the same time. You are too aware of your body, feeling a shiver traveling through your skin but never leaving. You are surprised after going to the kitchen to see it empty, but you couldn't be happier.It's after midnight, and the morning shift of Carol’s staff was going to take care of the after party mess. Silence makes you feel free, the lack makes you feel whole. Just for a moment, you can be yourself. It's not that you are not with your friends or around people, it's just… There are so many versions of you, and all of them need some space. You feel like you have been neglecting this one with the lack of time, and anxiety is her way to make you aware of her needs, of your needs. You decide to grab some iced water. Due to the high ceilings, all the cupboards hang higher than usual. It's so irritating, but you don't have a chance of grabbing one of the cups without getting on the kitchen counter. For a second you debate your choice, on the other hand you can go outside and grab your mug, but that would mean coming back to your friends and probably staying there. Climbing is it. You take off your shoes and jump to sit on the kitchen counter to stand on it slowly to look through the cupboards. The first cabinet is empty, the next one is filled with plates and the third with bowls. How many dishes do people need?

“You need some help?” A voice behind you almost makes you fall, you lose your balance, but in the last second you smoothly land on the ground without any harm. Natasha looks at you and her smirk seems to disappear, at least for now.

“Do I look like I need help?”

“Yes… yes, you do.” Son of a-

“Well, I don't, thank you.” You really just want to be left alone, you want some water, some ice, and 5 minutes for yourself.

“Yn… you're going to hurt yourself, let me-'' Natasha tries one more time as you climb the counter again, this time on the right side of the kitchen.

“I-” first one is a beautiful set of tea and teapot, “-got-” second one is filled with plastic containers, “-this. Ha!” Third one is a jackpot. Yes, it has only vine glasses, but at this point you would even drink from a plastic container. You grab one glass by its thin leg and carefully try to get down.

“Okay, I got you.” Natasha is right next to you in two steps, she grabs you by your thigh and waist trying to help you down, and it makes you jolt away. It was just a second, you would have been okay if it wasn't for her, but you slipped and as you try to get any balance your hand holding the glass slams on the counter, breaking it in your palm.

“FUCK!” you harshly bite your lip to not yell, immediately grabbing your injured hand with the free one. Redhead gives you some space as you pace around, but she tries to grab your attention.

“Yn, let me take a look, let me help.” Your hand is bleeding, and it's not a light one either. You stretch your hand in front of you in fear of ruining the clothes you are wearing.

“You’ve helped enough.” You bark at her like all of this is her fault. It is, but it…. Isn’t.

“If you would let me help you nothing would happen, why are you so stubborn. Ugh.” She is stressed and annoyed by your actions, that much you can tell. She doesn’t yell, but her tone is far from soft or tender. You weren't trying to be mean now, you just want to be alone.

“I- “ You are trying to come up with some good comeback, but the pain makes you shift your focus.

“You are doing it to yourself.” With that, Natasha leaves. She just left you alone as you sat down on a cold floor, bleeding from your hand, staining the floor red, which by the way you will have to clean. You can still feel that there is something in your palm, a piece of glass that causes more pain with every move. Okay, get your shit together yn. You tell yourself as you stand up and take a kitchen rug to try and stop the bleeding, carefully putting it around the piece of glass. You need to disinfect it and clean it from glass shards. Carol's wine collection is amazing, beginning at wines, through additional tools and ending on the glass, but when it shatters it's like sand. All of a sudden, doors open with force.

“What happened?” It’s Wanda, Natasha went to get Wanda. You don't know why but the realisation, the fact that she came back makes you…. Feel something. You are glad that it's not anybody else, or everybody at this point, which you assumed would happen after the big noise caused by your fall. Her voice is worried, it takes you back to the evening when you met her and got a nose bleed. It's the same tenderness, the same soft tone you have heard then. The worry on her face makes you feel guilty. You don't like that feeling.

“Natasha made a bet that I won't be able to juggle with 4 wine glasses.” You joke, you always do. It's light, it's making the situation less stressful and less stress means no arguing, shaming or attacking you.

“She didn't let me help and she fell. I tried to take her down from the counter and I think I scared her. It's my fault, I'm sorry yn.” Natasha apologises and you… you don't know how to act. Why is she doing that? Is it because Wanda is here? She also seems worried but mainly scared, her hands don't seem to find their place, she looks at her wife like she is waiting for her to order what to do, to guide her through the next steps. It's new, and you didn't see that dynamic between them before. It’s like Wanda has all the power in here.

“I just slipped, it's nothing.” You are not sure why you protect Natasha, it was her fault, but… you are doing this to yourself. She is also right about that. Maybe you just want to ease her worry, or yourselves, at the end it's the same thing for you.

“Whatever happened, we need to take care of that.” Wanda points at your hand.

“Do you want me to get Darcy for you, hon- yn?” She catches herself halfway of the pet name, and you appreciate her actually listening to you before. You sit on the floor again with your back to the cabinet while your legs are spread to avoid blood landing on your pants. She kneels in front of you, and you shift immediately when she tries to grab your hand. She looks hurt by your actions, and that makes you explain.

“No, no. It's okay, she doesn't have to worry about me more than she is. Also, I still have glass in my hand and I don't want you to get hurt or dirty” Wanda nods in understanding. When it comes to Darcy, she would be here in seconds scolding you about your behaviour, followed by the most caring moments you ever receive from her. Wanda and Natasha bring you over to the staff bathroom. It's connected to the kitchen, so nobody will see you, and you don't want to be seen now. Natasha went to look for first aid while Wanda helped you take off the stained towel. When she comes back, you hear her speak.

“I have bandages and some plaster stitches, so that should work till we are going to get you to the doctor.”

“No! No doctors, thank you, I'm fine.” You try to stand up and run away from them. You know you shouldn't, but you really can't go to the hospital or a doctor.

“Baby it's okay.” Wanda tries to calm you down by tracing patterns on your forearm skin after she rolled your sleeves up. She slightly pushes you down, so you don't get up, scared that you might get injured even more.

“No, you don't get it. Can we just finish it up here, please?” You don't want to argue, you are tired, in pain, with the lack of sleep, and projects to give tomorrow at school. You don't have time or energy for that. Ignoring Wanda, you get up and try to grab bandages from the other redhead.

“Okay yn, sit your ass down, now.” Natasha is demanding, but she is not aggressive. This version of her is much nicer. It scares you less than a smug version of her, the overconfident bullshit version of her. This one feels more real, and more real is safer for you, because you know what to expect. You sit down and hang your head low. Slightly embarrassed, you let them help you.

“ I'm going to take the glass out and clean the wound, okay? Natasha will put some plaster stitches on you and bandage to keep it clean. Are you okay with that?” The pain is worse now, or maybe the adrenaline is wearing off, your eyes are glossy because of it, and you don't want to pick your head up at Wanda, so you nod.

“Yn, why don't you want to go to the doctor? Can you explain?” She asks, while taking pieces of glass with tweezers, her voice is really gentle, scared she might push too hard.

“I can't afford it.” You answer through your clenched teeth.

“What do you mean, you can't-'' You don't let her finish, you're too embarrassed to even speak about it, but this is your reality?

“I don't have health insurance, I can't afford to just go to the hospital, it would ruin me. I already have to pay for school, flat, my m-” You cut yourself off, clearly the rumble gets too fast out of you, it's better to stay quiet, you already said too much. Wanda finishes her part and after rinsing your hand with water, Natasha takes over. She takes your hand into hers and gently starts to put the stitches on you. Fortunately, the cut is not too deep, it should heal on its own.

“I really think a doctor should take a look at this, and your headaches sugar. We could pay for it, that's no problem.” Natasha is gentle with you, and you can forgive the pet name slip this time. You look at your hand as she finishes, thankful for the help they’ve put in. You look at them and straighten your back, tears still lingering at the corners of your eyes, it still hurts, and you can feel it all now. Your red eyes betraying your poker face.

“No, that's absolutely out of the question. I know you just want to help and thank you for what you just did, but I don't need you and I certainly don't need your money. You can't just buy everything.” Your voice is not accusatory this time, it sounds like you are in pain, but not the physical one. Both women in front of you learned a lot about you today, and they seem to put that knowledge into use. It doesn't matter how much they want to take care of you, spoil you, or be close to you, they don't want to cross your boundaries any more, or at least they will try. Natasha wants to try one more time to convince you, but Wanda stops her before she can, and she speaks up.

“We understand, hopefully it will get better soon. Can you please at least let us know tomorrow how you are feeling?”

“Yeah, sure.” You answer, trying to sound casual. Wanda takes her wife's hand and Natasha takes out their card with her free one. She hands it to you, knowing that you probably got rid of the last one she gave you. She is not wrong. They leave the bathroom, giving you some time alone. You throw away all the rubbish from tending your wound and clean the kitchen floor the best you can. You go back to your friends and after answering multiple questions about what happened, you decide with your friends that it's time to go home. They grab their stuff and get into one car. Darcy and Carol are lost in their moments of goodbyes which are always so dramatic, but you hope it will never change. Kate and Maria are half asleep at the back of the car, leaning on each other.

You check your phone seeing multiple messages and missed calls, sighing to yourself you decide to deal with that tomorrow. Cold air eases your mind a bit, and you appreciate the time of the day. It's late, but there is nothing better for you than the world at 2 am.

“Are you sure you can drive?” This time Pepper checks up on you, Wanda and Natasha already left, and from what you've heard Pepper stays at Carols today.

“Yes, I'm sure. It’s okay, don't worry.”

“Take care of yourself, yn.”

“You to Pepper.” You go into the car and take your seat behind the wheel. Darcy opens the door and sits next to you, while her girlfriend knocks lightly at your window to pull it down.

“Text me please when you will be home. Keep her safe for me.” Carol is always so protective over your best friend, and you couldn’t be happier about it. Darcy deserves nothing less.

“Always.” You answer and go straight back home. You have to get up at 6, and you will make the best out of those 4 hours of sleep.

Next chapter

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#natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #stonemags #elizabeth olsen #marvel #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you #natasha romanoff x reader #sugar baby au #maria hill #pepper potts #kate bishop x valkyrie #kate bishop #carol danvers

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tuiccim · 10 months

Text

A Scarred Enigma - Alternate Ending

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC Lexa Green

Word Count: 3.3k

Trigger Warnings: Depression, anxiety, fear of touch.

Summary: Fellow Avenger Lexa Green is an enigma that intrigues Bucky to no end, but a painful past has left her scarred, both physically and mentally. Will she be able to overcome her past to find love in the future?

Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby

A Scarred Enigma Masterlist

Upon their return, the team is surprised to see Maria Hill at the end of the ramp.

"Agent Green," Maria says as she makes eye contact with Lex.

"Agent Hill," Lex nods to her.

"Lantern is on fire. I need you to join me in the conference room."

Lex goes cold hearing the coded message.

"Lex?" Bucky says from beside her.

"It's the compound I grew up in. They're in a standoff most likely. I have to go. I'll let you know what I can," Lex squeezes his hand.

"I'll come with you," Bucky says.

"Alexandria Naomi Cole."

"Who's that?" Bucky asks.

"Me. Lexa Green was the name I chose when I became an agent. Alexandria Naomi Cole is my real name and I think it's time I buried her once and for all. But I need to do it alone, Bucky. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. But I'm here if you need me."

"I love you," Lexa says it for the first time without qualification.

"I love you, too. Can I kiss you?" Bucky smiles.

"Yes, always yes," Lexa leans into him as he kisses her. After a moment, they separate and Lex turns to Maria, "Ready."

Maria smirks, "Let's go."

In the conference room are agents from both the FBI and ATF. They grill Lex for any information on the compound, cult beliefs, and members. Sliding a photo across the table, FBI Agent Birch asks, "Do you know this person?"

Lex's stomach churns as she recognizes the face, "Levi Michael Walsh. He was my stepbrother."

"He's now the leader of the cult and is threatening deadly force if anyone attempts to enter the compound. We'd like you to try to talk to him. You know him and understand their ways."

"I don't think he'd take kindly to that," Lex counters.

"Why is that?" Agent Birch asks, curiously.

"I killed his father and escaped the compound. I'm probably the last person he'll speak to," she explains.

"I see," Birch raises his eyebrow, "We'd still like you to join us. Your insight could be invaluable."

Lex gives a curt nod.

"Can you be ready in ten minutes?"

"I'm ready now," Lex lifts her go bag onto her shoulder.

"Great. Helicopter's on the roof," Birch leads the way out.

"Good luck," Maria says as Lex passes her.

"Thanks," Lex follows the other agents out, heading back to the one place she dreaded most in this world.

–

Standing on a ridge overlooking the compound, Lex pulls out her binoculars and surveys the area.

"What are you doing?" Birch asks.

"Looking," Lex says.

"For what?"

"Activity. Has there been any communication with them?"

"He accepted a walkie-talkie but has been very curt answering any questions.

"Can you take a look at this, please?" Birch's voice has a slight edge to it as he rolls out a large sheet of paper.

Lex looks over the map of the compound and begins pointing things out, "This is all housing. This is the school. This is the chapel. There is a bunker underneath for the women and children and a tunnel that leads out to the southwest. There were plans to add more when I left."

"What kind of firepower are we looking at?"

"I wasn't privy to much of that but a lot."

"Is there any chance this could turn into a mass casualty event?"

Lex stares at Birch for a second, "It's possible but it would be a last resort. Levi is despot. He wants all of the power and control he can have. He won't give it up but if he's backed into a corner, I wouldn't put anything past him."

"Alexandria?" The radio crackles to life, "Alexandria, is that you? Have you finally come home?"

The voice causes a chill down Lex's spine. She immediately feels nauseated.

"Talk to him!" Birch points to the radio.

"No," Lex balks.

"This is the first time he has reached out. If you can get him to talk, maybe we can end this."

Lex puts her head in her hands and takes a deep breath, "Fine."

"Stay calm with him. Don't let him goad you. Ask if they need anything. Try to get us an in."

Lex nods and picks up the walkie-talkie, "Hello Levi."

"Alexandria! My long lost sister. Have you come back to rejoin us?" Levi's malevolence seeps through the radio.

"Is everyone okay, Levi? Do you need anything for your people?"

"We're all just fine here. Our only problem is these feds thinking they should be able to change our way of life. Are you trying to help them? Things have changed here since you ran away, Alexandria. I should be thanking you."

"For what?"

"For killing our father. It allowed us to finally move past the old ways and into the full light of God. It called forth the true leadership."

Lex goes cold, "That being you?"

"Yes, dear sister. Had you stayed, you would have seen."

"Is there anything we can provide you with? Food? Medical supplies? Anything?” Lex pushes.

“And what would you want in exchange for this generous offer?” Levi practically growls.

“Some of the children are sick,” whispers Birch.

“We understand that the children are ill,” Lex says.

“The children are taken care of,” Levi says.

“We can help them, Levi. Please.”

“I’ll give you the children.”

“What can we give you?” Lex asks.

“You.”

“What?”

“You in exchange for the children. You can come in and negotiate for us,” Levi says.

Lex feels sick. The thought of going anywhere near Levi was sickening but knowing the needs of the children, Lex knew there was only one answer, “Done.”

“Agent Green! He might only be inviting you in to kill you!” Birch exclaims.

“Am I worth more than, how many children?” Lex argues.

“At least 20.”

“It’s done,” Lex removes her utility belt and weapons. When the line of children begins to march towards the gate accompanied by a woman, Lex advances. Some of the older children carried the babies and smaller children. As they get closer, Lex recognizes the woman accompanying them. Sarah was her closest friend as she grew up. The gates open and the children walk out as Lex walks in.

“Hello Alexandria,” Sarah nods at her. “If you will follow me I will take you to Levi.”

“Hello Sarah. How are you?”

“I am very well. I was sad when you left but I see now that it was to help me fulfill my purpose.”

“Your purpose?” Lex asks carefully.

“As the wife of our leader. He took me as his first wife. It is the honor of my life to be by his side,” Sarah smiles.

“I see,” Lex says.

“No, you don’t. But you will, you will.”

Lex was led into the chapel where the entire commune sat as Levi stood before them.

“Here she is! My lambs, here is the woman who killed my father, one of our great leaders. And now, she returns with those who would force us from our home, take our God-given right to bear arms, and who will always persecute us for our beliefs. We will not stand for it!” Levi shouts.

Lex stared at the man who had abused her for years and knew nothing she said would calm him.

“Come along, Alexandria,” Sarah takes Lex’s arm and drags her up the aisle. Murmurings of murderer and traitor follow Lex as she approaches Levi.

“On your knees,” Levi says to her, “beg for your life.”

“No,” Lex says clearly.

“On your knees, now,” Levi holds up a detonator, “beg for your life and the lives of everyone here.”

Lex knows that whether or not she gives in, Levi has no plan to get out of here alive. She assesses the situation and makes the only call she can. Pulling the one knife she had kept on her person, Lex lunges for Levi and manages to get him to drop the detonator. A tussle ensues and after only a few seconds, the knife slides into Levi’s carotid and he falls to the floor.

“NO!” screams Sarah as she kneels next to him and watches her husband bleed out. “NO! LEVI!”

“Finish it,” Levi whispers to her with his last breath. Sarah and Lex lock eyes for a moment before they both lunge for the detonator.

–

Bucky paces his room. It had been 24 hours since Lex had been called away and he was irritable with the lack of information he had received. The TV in his room was tuned to the national news channel that was covering the standoff. He was kicking himself for not having gone with you. He should have insisted but he understood the need to face your past.

“There is movement here at the compound. It looks like the children are coming out! This is breaking right now. We are at the Torchlight Compound in New Mexico where the FBI and ATF have been in a three day standoff. It appears that the compound is releasing the children to authorities. And wait- an agent is entering the compound! It looks as if the compound is finally allowing law enforcement in to negotiate…”

Bucky’s eyes glue to the tv where he watches as Lex enters the gates, speaks to another woman, and then follows her into one of the buildings. His gut clenches knowing what you must be going through as she enters. She’s strong enough for this, he reassures himself, repeating the words as a mantra.

“Bucky!” Steve comes through his door with Nat and Sam on his heels.

“You saw?” Bucky asks.

“Yes. She’ll be okay,” Steve says.

“I know, I know. She’s strong enough for this,” Bucky says again. “Right?” His voice strains out the last word.

“Yes. She is,” Nat says, “Because of you.”

“Because of all of us,” Bucky says, his eyes glued to the tc.

They watched the tv, their only lifeline to Lex at the moment. The reporter droned on, repeating information from earlier and occasionally showing clips from the last few days. She breaks in announcing that while she can’t reveal the name of the agent who entered, they were getting reports that the agent had close ties to the cult. It was as she was announcing this that people began streaming out of the chapel and gunshots began ringing out. The reporter ran and it was obvious the cameraman was hit as he screamed and the camera hit the ground. Just before the feed cut, they watched in horror as the building Lex had entered, exploded.

“No!” Bucky screams.

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder, “She got out, Bucky. I’m sure of it.”

“How? How are you so sure?” Bucky yells.

“Let’s assume she did until we know any different,” Nat says.

“We gotta go. Let’s go!” Bucky stumbles towards the door.

“We can’t, Buck. We can’t bring more attention to this,” Sam says as he blocks the door.

“Move,” Bucky growls.

“I can’t let you go, Buck,” Steve joins Sam.

“Steve, Sam, get out of my way!” Bucky's voice rises.

“You can’t fight all of us,” Nat says gently.

Bucky clenches his fists, anger at his friends for holding him back quickly gives way to his fear, “What if she’s gone?”

“I’ll find out. Just give me some time,” Natasha begs.

Bucky nods, dropping down to sit on his bed and cradling his head as his worst fears play over and over.

Nat returned an hour later, “Everything is crazy down there .There are several people hurt. A lot of people didn’t make it out of the chapel. They don’t have word on Lex, yet. I’ll keep trying.”

She quietly slips out again while Steve and Sam stay, waiting with him. When Nat returns later, Bucky jumps up, “Anything?”

Natasha nods, “She’s injured but she’s alive. Tony’s prepping the quinjet. Let’s go,” Nat leads the way out.

–

“Agent Green?”

“Agent Birch, come in,” Lex invites the man standing in the sliver of open curtain of the emergency department.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Birch smiles as he enters.

“Thank you. I’m sure you have some questions. Take a seat,” Lex motions to the chair beside her hospital bed.

“I just need your statement,” Birch takes out his notebook and pen.

Lex relates everything that occurred since she entered the compound up until her disarming of Levi and then explains, “Sarah and I locked eyes and then went for the detonator. I got to it first and disarmed it. Sarah got away from me and I knew she was going to the bomb to set it off. I got as many people out as I could. When Levi pulled out the detonator, some of their faces told me they had no idea but some wouldn’t budge. I ran out the side door and made it maybe fifteen feet before I was shot in the shoulder, then the building exploded and I was thrown. I woke up here.” Lex paused for a moment before asking the question she dreaded, “How many did we lose?”

“We’re still sifting through the rubble. So far it’s forty-three dead but you saved twenty-nine children and more than a dozen members who did escape the chapel. Remember those.”

Lex nods, “Do the other statements corroborate mine?”

“I’m not really supposed to say but, the hell with it, some do and some don’t. Don’t worry about it,” Birch gives a small smile as he stands up. When the curtain flies wide open a second later, Birch has his hand on his gun as he takes a stance to fight.

Bucky stops suddenly seeing the man in a threatening pose.

“Bucky!” Lex smiles, amused at his clamorous entrance. “It’s okay, Birch. Stand down. This is my friend, Bucky.”

“Hi,” Birch looks over the Winter Soldier. Certainly not who he would have expected her to be with but he glad she had someone.

“Hi,” Bucky says but his attention is on Lex as he makes his way to the side of her bed. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay,” Lex smiles at the beautiful face she wondered if she’d ever get to see again as she ran from the chapel.

“Well, thank you for everything,” Birch’s voice said from the doorway. “I’ll, uh, leave you two alone.”

“Good luck with everything, Birch,” Lex said, never breaking eye contact with Bucky.

The curtain squeaked as it pulled closed and Bucky reached to touch Lex’s face. It was littered with tiny cuts, her arm was in a sling, and she seemed to be holding herself rigid.

“You’re hurt. Tell me,” Bucky looks over her with concern.

"Don't worry. It's nothing terrible. Just a through and through to the shoulder, a concussion, a couple of broken ribs, and some bumps and bruises."

Bucky nods, tears in his eyes, "Well, you know I'll be here to take care of you until you're healed."

"You have been since I met you," Lex says as she reaches for his hand.

Bucky stares down at her hand in his before lifting it to his lips for a kiss and his heart nearly bursts at the tender look Lex gave. Only a few weeks ago, she would have quelled at the touch and run away from affection. Now, she accepted and returned it. The other night they had kissed, her sitting on his lap for what seemed like hours, before falling asleep together.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. The, uh, team held me back until we knew something," Bucky says.

"That was probably best," Lex pauses.

Bucky picks up on her hesitation, "What is it, doll?"

"Are they here?"

"Yeah, they'll be here any minute."

"Then I have two requests before we’re interrupted. First, kiss me, please," Lex bites her lips as she watches a grin spread across his face as he leans forward. It's as perfect as she remembers when his lips meet hers. When they finally part, they sit smiling at each other for a minute.

"And your second request?" Bucky asks.

"Take me home. I want out of here."

"You got it." Bucky barely gets the words out before the rest of the team is clamoring around.

Lex finds herself laughing as they all speak at once but then winces at the pain in her ribs. Finally, Tony raises his hands and declares, "Alright, enough. You ready to get out of here, kid?"

"Yeah," Lex nods enthusiastically.

"I'll go wrangle a nurse," he winks as he heads out the door.

Lex is grateful when a couple of hours later, she is sitting gingerly in the quinjet headed for home. Home with Bucky.

–

Over the next few weeks, Bucky watched over Lex as she healed and, this time, she welcomed his presence. Lex’s shoulder healed up pretty quickly but the broken ribs took a while. Bucky was always gentle and treated her as if she was fragile until Lex had told him enough. They’re relationship continued with the physical part growing each day. Lex still shied away at times, overwhelmed and overstimulated by something that was still so foreign to her, and Bucky was more kind and gentle than she ever thought a human, especially a man, could be. It had any apprehension, all of her fears, melting away. Or, perhaps, morphing into the love that seemed to grow with each passing day.

One night as Lex and Bucky were wrapped up in their weekly movie night, she made a decision. Lex rested her head on his chest, his arm around her as they watched. When the movie reached its conclusion, Bucky turned the tv off and kissed the top of her head, “Do you want to get some ice cream or something, doll?”

“No. I, um… I want to go to bed,” Lex answered.

“Oh, okay-”

“With you,” Lex interrupted.

“Lex?” Bucky stared at her as he tried to make sense of the statement.

“Will you make love to me, Bucky? Please?”

“But, you… your ribs- You’re still healing,” Bucky stuttered.

Lex smiled and bit her lip, “I’m fine, baby, really. I love you and I’m ready. I want this, I want you. Unless… Unless you don’t want me, that, anymore-”

“No! I mean, yes! I mean- I want to be with you. I just want you to be sure.”

Lex smiled brightly and nudged his nose with hers, “I’m sure.”

Their lips met and Bucky was sure his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He had imagined this moment a thousand times. Even when he was unsure if she would ever be able to handle his touch, he had hoped, even pleaded with whatever god would listen, that this beautiful, amazing woman would one day be able to accept, not just his touch, but his love. He had placed his heart squarely in her hands from the first moment his eyes had met hers. She had looked away quickly, withdrawing into herself, but Bucky had known, somehow in that moment, that they were kindred spirits and soulmates.

Pulling back for a moment, he looks deep into Lex’s eyes, desperate for her to understand everything he was feeling, “I love you. I love you so much more than I can explain. I don’t have the words.”

Lex smiles, her eyes luminous, “Then show me.”

Bucky could barely hold himself back as he entered her body for the first time. Their fingers intertwined and foreheads pressed together as they both sighed with pleasure and fulfillment. When he looked down at her, his breath caught at the sight of tears.

“Did I hurt you?” Bucky questioned gently.

“No, no. I didn’t know it could be like this. I love you, Bucky,” Lex shuddered as the words left her.

“I love you,” he whispered as he kissed away the tears.

“Bucky,” Lex moaned. She never imagined that the physical could be like this. It was as if their souls had connected and her world had finally set itself right. Her scars would always be there, but with Bucky’s help, they had become just a part of the story instead of her whole story. She would be scarred always, an enigma sometimes, but now, her whole self. A whole person, loved and loving. The way it should be.

Updates and taglist: My taglist is closed. Please follow my sideblog @tuiccimfanfiction for update notifications. All series and new stories will be reblogged to it. You will only receive notifications when a new part or story is out! Nothing else will be blogged to the page. I can’t thank you enough for your support!

#bucky barnes #bucky #marvel #avengers #bucky fanfic #captain america #bucky x oc #oc #the winter soldier #winter soldier #a scarred enigma

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oficiallymoony · 1 year

Text

SYNOPSIS: After a few years, Yohan finally see an old friend.

PAIRING: Priest Yohan x Enchantress!Fem!Oc

WARNING: Angstish?

CHARACTERS: Priest Yohan, Moon Enchantress ( Maria Madlock ), Death Enchantress ( Inari Hill, mentioned ), The Elemental Sisters ( mentioned )

FANDOM: Alternative Universe

AUTOR: Yeah it will happen a romance between then, please don’t kill me 😭 — Also, should I make it a series of One-shots or a Book/Fanfic?

For years she disappeared, hiding in the shadows and protecting her COVEN, known as The Elemental Sisteers, however, on a fateful night, when they were in one of her cults, they were attacked by Demons, the bad thing was that they were still weakened due to being On the Waning Moon, Sisters were too weak to fight, which consequently caused them to suffer a huge loss, they were destroyed the Enchantress and their pupils, killed, and only two managed to escape with their Familiars.

The New Moon Enchantress, Maria Madlock and her Familiar Draugolf, a Moon Wolf & The Death Enchantress, Inari Hills with her Three Familiars, The Three Spirit Cats: Macaria, Thanatos and Circe, the Spirts of Death.

In the midst of that chaos they ended up getting lost and following opposite paths, now, the Moon found herself alone somewhere in that forest in the company of her Moon Wolf, a large wild dog that could even serve as a mount if she wanted to.

At that moment, Maria and her familiar were walking through the forest looking for some sign of civilization, the Coven was extremely far from the city so, they would need to follow the road with a certain safe distance so that they would not be seen; especially on account of the huge wild dog with her.

Draugolf huffed.

“ We're too far away.. we won't have a chance to find them, if we go back, we'll surely run into those demons, we have no choice… we have to go on and find a place to stay until the dust settles ” — She sighed as walked, her feet making the dry leaves crunch on the ground.

' We should have followed them... we wouldn't be in this situation if we had done that ' - Drougolf's voice came in her mind.

“ Of course, in the midst of that chaos we would think of following them while all our other two sisters were being ripped to shreds by those demons ” — She spoke in a sarcastic tone as she cast a sharp look in the direction of her familiar who responded with a roll of his eyes — " We can only hope that they are safe somewhere and that they managed to escape from those monsters "

' And wait for some sign from them.. ' - He commented.

“ That too ” — She sighed.

When they finished walking, having reached the end of the trail, which led directly to a highway, as she saw they had no option, she turned to Drougolf.

He knew what he had to do.

In the blink of an eye, from a large wolf, he transformed into a blue-grey dog of the Great Dane breed.

" Thanks, now let's go, I believe we are close to the city " — She said while putting her hands inside the pockets of her blue coat.

Of course when she ran away from the massacre she wasn't wearing that outfit, but using her magic, she managed to change her Coven outfit with more common clothes like a dark jeans, a white shirt and a blue coat and black alls stars sneakers, plus her auburn hair was loose and messy from running so much.

With that, they continued their walk along the side of the road, and at the same time paying attention if they saw any signs indicating where they were going and returning how many kilometers were still left to reach their new destination.

However, instead of spotting a sign, she spots an extremely familiar figure of someone she hasn't seen in over years.

She quickly recognized him from his priest's uniform.

“ Miss Moon, what a surprise to see you here ” — The young priest said with a sweet smile on his lips, clearly pleased to see his old friend.

“Yohan? Why are you here? ” —she said, clearly surprised; stopping her steps on the road.

She hadn't seen him in years, and she hadn't the faintest idea of his whereabouts in recent years.

Drougolf stopped beside her, letting out a small growl.

“ I came to visit my father, but I decided to take a walk in the woods before going there, would you like to come with me? ” —He invited her.

The Familiar looked at its owner as if silently asking her if she would accept the invitation.

“ Uhh… sure? I don't see why not.. ” — The redhead replied as she shoved her hands into her coat pockets and with that followed behind him, Drougolf following close behind.

However, she kept a certain distance between the two.

“ So how are you and your sisters? Are you all okay? Are you still serving Lady Selene? ” —He might be a Priest, but that didn't mean he would disrespect their faith and what they served.

She was dead silent, which made him stop walking and with that he turned to her.

“ Moon? ” — He Questioned.

“ They are dead, all of them, killed by demons… well, I think that except one who also managed to escape… Sister Death managed to escape, but I haven't heard from her for days.. ” — She replied, her voice carrying pain and nostalgia.

His eyes slightly widened.

But finally it seemed that the dots connected for him, New Moon was always loyal to Selene, her most loyal pupil and practically the first of all, the one who possessed the most knowledge of Lunar Magic.

Only something horrible like that would make her flee her sanctuary.

" My condolences, Moon, may they be resting in peace " — He said, making the sign of the cross — " I will pray for them tonight before I retire to my bed "

The Enchantress simply nodded in agreement, saying a small 'thank you'.

“ You… you've been alone since then? ” — He questioned.

Drougolf barked, as if to say he was still there.

“ Yes… Me and Drougolf have been wandering the forest since then, we're looking to get to the next town to look for shelter and wait for the dust to settle… ” — She explained while keeping her gaze on the ground.

She was feeling like she was talking to a complete stranger, Johan used to be her closest friend but now that he had become a real priest it left her feeling like she was talking to someone completely different.

After all, she was what his religion considered a 'Witch'.

“ Why don't you come with me to my father's house? I'm sure they'll have a room for you there ” — He asked, stopping in his tracks.

" Johan I don't want to disturb, Drougolf and I can manage, we can reach the next town in a few hours, from the signs I saw we are not very far " - Maria tried to argue.

“ Please, I insist, I won't be able to lay my head in my pillow without feeling guilty for leaving you here at the mercy of the world ” — He said with a sad smile.

Drougolf looked at the redhead, waiting for her answer.

The young woman sighed.

“ Okay, I'll go with you, BUT… I'll only stay for a few days, understand me? ” — She warned.

“ For me that's more than enough time, it will be enough time for us to talk and catch up ” — Johan chuckled.

However, she remained silent.

Her silence was slowly killing him, it was as if she had placed an invisible barrier between the two, even their distance was too much for him.

He wasn't enjoying this.

Yohan knew that she was a witch, not just any witch, but one of the best good witches that ever lived, however, he never thought that his becoming a priest would affect her so much when they saw each other again.

He didn't blame her, the story itself told how women like her had suffered at the hand of the church.

But at the very least, he was grateful that he had finally found her after years.

TAGS: @werelosingdaylight

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waywardxrhea · 5 months

Text

Part Fifteen - The Party

[slow burn romance between Steve Rogers and SHIELD agent Emma Baker]

Warnings: 18+, contains humor, fluff, mental health, family trauma, romance, angst, language, violence, (potentially smut later on).

installment list

Word count: 5.4k

Emma attends the Stark Industries party. The past gets dredged up by Ultron and Emma has to deal with the harsh reality that her past is no longer a secret.

Saturday afternoon comes and Emma heads over to Maria's place to get ready and then go to dinner before the party at Avengers Tower. Emma knocks on the door with her foot, struggling with the many bags she is balancing in her arms. "I'm coming!" Maria calls from inside.

The door opens to reveal Maria with curlers in her hair. "Hey that's cheating," Emma teases as she makes her way into the apartment.

"Oh I'm sorry my hair doesn't have the beautiful waves yours does naturally, I have to work for mine. I'd say you're the cheater here." They both stare at each other seriously for a second before bursting into laughter, not able to be serious with each other for long.

"Fair enough I guess," Emma replies while putting her things down. She hangs her garment bag on a door while moving her makeup bag to the bathroom, calling back to Maria, "Are you excited for tonight?"

"It should be interesting, to say the least. Stark has a rep with parties as you know."

"Let's hope for a good night with no mishaps," Emma says as she comes back into the living area. "This'll be my first Stark party, I hope I won't be overdressed...or underdressed, or over-anything. I just want this to be perfect."

"Overdressed huh? Let's see it," Maria tells her, sitting on the arm of her couch for the dress reveal.

Emma unzips the bag and reveals a blush pink long-sleeved dress that sparkles in the apartment lighting. It was a bit tighter, but Emma was told it looked great on her at the store. "Too much? The slit may be a bit much, but the stylist at the store insisted I get it."

"Wow," Maria says and then smirks while asking, "are you trying to impress a certain someone?"

"What? No," Emma replies quickly and defensively, her voice going slightly up in pitch. "It was just really cute and I thought as a first-time guest at a famous Stark party I should dress the part."

"Uh-huh," Maria says and crosses her arms, "and it's not about anyone whose name rhymes with Shmaptain Shmerica?"

Emma instantly gets flustered and dodges the question, instead asking, "So where are we going to dinner later?"

"I'm for real!" Maria tells her while laughing. "I was the Deputy Director of an intelligence organization Emma, I know how to read people. Plus little miss obvious asked me that one time if an agent had feelings for another what the protocol was. You think I didn't know right then and there?"

Emma can't help the embarrassed smile that creeps onto her face as she rolls her eyes and asks, "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, yes," Maria says with a laugh, "but like I said I know how to read people and you're one of my closest friends. I will say it was very professional of you not to do anything about it when you were working together at SHIELD."

Now it was Emma's turn to laugh, saying, "You act like SHIELD was the reason I never said anything. I haven't said anything because I don't want to risk our friendship. Plus with how involved with the team I am, I wouldn't want things to be all weird. I feel like Tony and Romanoff would go wild with jokes about us."

Even though Emma would hate the awkwardness of the latter situation, she can't help but have a smile on her face at the thought. She would totally endure some embarrassment if it meant being with Steve. Maria takes in the smile on her friend's face and says, "See, look at that smile, you need to make a move. Tonight. Or I'll do it for you."

"I think the hell not," Emma tells her while laughing. "If this happens it's on my terms, Hill."

"Okay, fine, fine. But I'm just saying there are going to be lots of ladies at this party and Steve is not an unattractive man." In retaliation for the comment, Emma throws a small pillow in Maria's direction which she dodges easily.

Emma then sighs and says airily, "A girl can dream she has a chance with him."

"You never know until you try, now let's get this show on the road."

With this, the two begin getting ready, Emma hooking up her phone to the speaker in the living room and playing 90s and early 2000s throwback pop. The pair are swept back into their teen years as they dance around the apartment while getting ready. After Emma pins her hair up into a braided crown and does her makeup, she does a spin for Maria, asking, "How do I look?"

"Like you could get any guy you want, including Captain America himself. You've got me feeling underdressed, Baker."

Emma smiles, a high of confidence running through her veins because of her incredible mood and the way she feels in the dress. "Oh don't kid yourself, you look amazing, Maria."

"Why thank you," Maria replies with a smile while grabbing her jacket and purse. At the same time, Emma takes an item out of her purse and inserts it into a secret pocket she had put into the dress. "What do you have there?" Maria asks as they make their way out.

"Oh, it's just that new tech Tony is programming for me. I told him that I would get it back to him tonight."

Maria nods, asking, "Is that what he needed those files for the other day?"

"Yeah, he's planning on finishing the coding then I should be good to go more or less into battle soon."

"Sweet, I've always wanted to see you in action after Fury told me what you did in the SUV that day."

"I can credit you for that. Those days at the shooting range have helped out a lot."

"It's a good skill to be burdened with," Maria replies as she locks the door behind them. Before they head to the tower, the pair head off to a chic place for dinner, bumping their favorite songs on full blast all the way there.

Later after dinner, Maria and Emma arrive at the party, getting escorted in by a couple of Stark Industries workers. After thanking the two for their service, the pair start their walk into the party. Maria takes off to mingle and Emma is about to head off to find Tony to give him the chip when she hears from behind her, "Emma Baker! Man, you're looking good!" It was Sam coming up behind her with a big smile on his face.

Emma laughs as she turns around to face him, greeting him with, "Hey Sam!"

"Did you ever get the chance to talk with Steve?" Sam asks.

Emma shakes her head, replying, "Not yet, no, but I feel like tonight isn't the best time."

"Well speaking of Cap, here he comes," Sam says, nodding his head toward Steve who was approaching the pair. "Isn't Emma looking great tonight, Steve?" he asks as Steve makes their company.

Steve takes in Emma's outfit and his heart skips a beat, getting lost in how beautiful she looks. He realizes probably didn't say anything for a bit too long when Sam subtly elbows him in the ribs. Steve snaps back to reality and smiles at Emma, telling her, "Looking great as always."

Emma smiles ear to ear and is very thankful she has makeup on to hide her blush. She gathers her words and replies, "Why thank you, Steve." Feeling confident, she then adds, "You look quite dashing yourself."

The two smile and hold eye contact for a second before Sam says, "You know, I caught word that they're about to start a pool tournament, y'all in?"

"I'm in," Steve says with a nod, finally breaking his eyes away from Emma's, "What about you, Em?"

"Absolutely! Prepare to be crushed," she tells him.

"Oh those are fighting words, Baker," Steve tells her with a laugh.

"You do realize he's Captain America right?" Sam interjects as they walk to the pool tables. "You know, great coordination and marksmanship skills, the whole shebang?"

"Yes I do realize that, but I'm my grandfather's kin, I like my odds," Emma replies.

The three go to the multiple tables Tony had lined up and begin playing, each beating their first opponents. Then the second round comes, knocking Sam out. While the games go on and gain a bit of a crowd, Sam starts making bets with people.

Soon enough, the final two in the last game are Emma and Steve. They shake each other's hands before the game begins. "You're going down, Rogers," Emma tells him with a wink. The gesture is small, but it's enough to knock Steve off his game for the first few shots. Had Emma been flirting with him or simply trying to win?

A few shots before the game ends, Thor comes up and claps Steve on the back as he studies the table. He gives him some words of encouragement before stepping back to watch. Even after the words from Thor, Steve takes his shot and misses, leaving the turn to Emma.

Emma studies the table and position of her targets before lining up her shot. She too misses and accidentally lands the ball right where Steve can take a perfect shot to win. As Steve looks at the table with a hint of a victorious smile on his lips already, the thought crosses Emma's mind to try and distract him, but decides to be a good sport and lets him take the winning shots. "Good game," Emma tells him with a smile.

"It was, you held your own quite well," Steve replies with a smirk.

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Emma asks with a laugh.

"That's how it is," Steve replies with a chuckle. Sam rejoins the two along with Thor who sweeps the men away with him to try some of his ale from back home, leaving Emma on her own.

After they leave, Emma walks around the party for a few minutes mingling with people she recognizes, catching the tail-end of a story Rhodes was telling. "Boom! You looking for this?" he asks as he finishes his story with a nod at the small crowd's laughter.

After a few more minutes of not being able to find Tony, Emma settles onto a barstool at the far end of the bar Romanoff is tending to. "What can I get for you, Baker?" she asks while grabbing a glass for herself.

Emma shrugs as she says, "Feel free to surprise me."

Romanoff nods, making Emma a drink and putting it down in front of her before asking, "No date tonight?"

Emma shakes her head while taking a sip. "Dates haven't seemed to be a problem I have to worry about lately. Just have to worry about me, myself, and I."

"Oh come on, there's got to be someone," she says.

Shrugging her shoulders, Emma changes the direction of the conversation, asking, "What about you?"

A smile makes its way onto her lips before she looks over her shoulder at the latest person to walk up to the bar: Bruce. "I guess we're about to find out, aren't we?" she asks as she makes her way over to where he is.

Emma watches Romanoff effortlessly flirt with Bruce and she wishes she had that kind of courage with Steve when she wasn't in a fancy dress and hyped up on adrenaline combined with the slightest bit of alcohol. On the other hand though, she still didn't want to ruin what they currently had in their friendship... She sighs and looks back to her drink, not noticing Steve come up to the bar and start chatting with Bruce because Romanoff comes back to talk with her for a bit.

"It's nice - you and Romanoff," Steve tells Bruce with a smile. "She isn't a very open person, and with you, she's relaxed."

"No, Natasha... Natasha just likes to flirt," Bruce replies, shrugging the comment off.

"I've seen her flirting up close, that wasn't it," Steve tells him. "Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on waiting too long, don't. You both deserve a win." As Steve tells Bruce this, his eyes drift to Emma at the other end of the bar.

Bruce follows Steve's gaze and comments, "Maybe you should listen to your own advice, Cap."

Steve smiles a bit and claps Bruce on the shoulder before heading off in the opposite direction. He wants to say something to Emma that night, he does, but even his courage only goes so far. Emma just looks so beautiful and her charisma is out in full force and this seems to be proving to be a deadly combination that is knocking Steve off his game every time he starts to say something to her. He likes seeing this confident side of Emma, but wow did it make him weak. He wipes the grin off his face as he meets up with Sam again for some mingling. If Sam knew what the smile was for he would never hear the end of it.

A little while later, almost all of the guests have gone for the night, so Emma starts to head for the doors to go home. "Woah, woah, woah where do you think you're going?" Maria asks.

"I don't want to mess up the dynamic, you guys have fun, though!" she replies.

"I don't think so, I'm your ride and it's dark out. You aren't leaving," Maria tells her sternly.

From his spot on the couch, Tony pipes in with a wink and a laugh, saying, "Plus, you aren't going out in that dress with no escort."

Emma rolls her eyes and laughs before saying, "As if, Stark."

Tony throws his hands up, telling her, "I'm just saying anyone with eyes can see that you look drop-dead gorgeous, and as my employee, I'm not letting you get hurt leaving a company function."

"Fine, fine, I'll stay," Emma says, giving in with a laugh. As she makes her way over to them she says, "Oh and I have that drive you sent me home with. Do you want it now or before I head out?"

"Before you leave works. You can drop it off in the lab on the way out," he tells her.

"Great," Emma replies with a giddiness in her voice, excited for the new tech.

She makes her way to the couches with the group consisting of the Avengers plus Maria, Helen, and Rhodes sitting around a coffee table that holds Mjolnir. Emma sits on the couch behind Maria who is on the floor, listening to Barton and Thor bicker. "It's a trick!" Barton shouts while spinning a drumstick.

Thor laughs and replies, "Oh no, it's much more than that, Barton." In response, Barton proceeds to mock Odin's proclamation of who would have the ability to wield the hammer. With a sly smile, Thor gestures to it and says, "Please, be my guest."

In response, Barton stands up and shakes his hands out preparing for his attempt. As he does, Tony quips, "It's been a long week, don't be ashamed if you can't get it up." Emma chokes on the champagne she was sipping in response to the comment. Usually, she doesn't laugh at those types of jokes, but with the buzz of alcohol running in her body, she can't help but laugh.

Barton of course can't even make Mjolnir budge, so he invites Tony to try his hand at it. "Okay. I'm never one to shrink from an honest challenge," Tony tells him.

Maria turns her head up to Emma, saying, "He's not gonna be able to do it."

Emma shakes her head, replying, "No way."

They turn their attention back to the scene in front of them where Tony asks, "So if I can move it, I rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course," Thor replies nonchalantly.

When Tony can't budge it at first, he goes to get part of his suit to assist him, and then adds Rhodes to help. As they watch, Emma leans down and whispers to Maria, “I wish we had popcorn for this show.” Maria laughs as the guys all continue to take turns, Bruce even pretending to Hulk out to try and make it move.

Next up after Bruce is Steve. Emma tries not to give her crush away by eyeing him too much, but it's hard not to at that moment. She averts her eyes to anywhere else in the room but his muscles as he puts forth a solid effort, but even with all that super soldier serum running through his veins, Mjolnir stays in its spot on the table.

The attention turns to the ladies in the room after Steve throws his hands up in surrender. Bruce gestures his hands to Romanoff first who responds with, "Oh that's not a question I need to be answered."

Eyes turn to Helen who shakes her head quickly and then to Maria who just laughs. Maria is the one to ask Emma, "Why don't you give it a try, Em?"

Emma forces a laugh and tells her, "Oh I'm not worthy and you know it." The past events brought up into her mind during the last week cement that statement as fact in Emma's heart. There was no point in embarrassing herself.

"All deference to The Man Who Wouldn't be King, but it's rigged," Tony smarts off after Emma's refusal.

"You bet your ass it is," Barton agrees.

"Steve!" Maria calls with a smirk. "He said a bad language word!"

Steve sighs and turns to Emma and jokingly says, "That tech of yours. Does everyone know about that?"

Emma can't help but get distracted by Steve's smile, and while she’s mesmerized Thor gets up and easily lifts Mjolnir, tossing it in the air. As he does this, he smirks and says, "There is one answer to all of this. You all simply are not worthy."

That comment earns a groan and laughter from everyone but the moment gets interrupted by a high-pitched ringing noise. Emma cringes at the noise and covers her ears while from behind them, there is a mangled voice saying "Worthy? No..."

Everyone turns to look at the mangled robot in confusion. Emma gingerly stands up from her perch on the couch, leaving her heels on the cushion in case she has to run from the potential threat. Her mind instantly begins searching for an escape route, thinking of all the exits nearby and if they could be blocked by the mangled Iron Legion suit.

From behind her, Steve sees Emma tense up as the threat presents itself and he sees her hands start slightly shaking. Boldly, he takes a step toward her and gently laces his fingers with hers to comfort her. The shaking in her hands stops momentarily while Emma holds onto Steve's hand as the robot begins speaking, but her mind doesn't fully process what was happening, her senses all too heightened to worry about it.

In front of them, the robot almost drunkenly stumbles about mumbling, "Worthy? How could you be worthy? You're all killers and criminals. Do you know how many people each of you have killed? How many laws you've broken? How many lives you've uprooted? Or do you even care about that as long as it's good for your endgame?" The robot sweeps what would be its eyes around the room and Steve drops Emma's hand, not wanting him to use her as leverage against him.

The bot looks around at all their faces and starts with, "Mr. - No, Dr. Banner... Hulk really does love to go on the path of most destruction, doesn't he? Not caring who or what he leaves in his wake? And Miss Romanoff...how's that red in your ledger? How much more will you add until you realize it's better to stop while you're ahead? Oh and Mr. Tony Stark... How many people do you think your tech has killed? Because I can guarantee that it's at least double what you think it is.

“And Thor Odinson. God of Thunder. I don't even want to think about how many you've slain off-world. Newsflash people, it's probably a lot more than you would think! I can't forget Mr... or should I say, Captain Rogers. Always in a war. You see, your captain here didn't get into the military in the most legal way if you didn't know. Faking enlistment papers is a federal crime, Captain... Oh and don't let me forget the archer himself, Mr. Barton. Those high-tech arrows do a lot more damage than you'd think, but you can tell that to any bodies that were mangled up in the Battle of New York all those years ago."

"What do you want from us?" Steve asks in a low voice, not wanting to listen to the robot continue the slander on his team.

"Oh, I'm not done yet! You interrupted my monologue!" The robot exclaims. "I'm not going to be done until I've torn into every...single...one of you. Well except Miss Cho, she's the only one really saving lives here. Let's start again with Colonel Rhodes. You have a body count from your military service and not the fun kind. Do you ever think of those men and women who never get to go home to see their families again? And Miss Maria Hill. You may not have killed too many people directly, but all those hoops you had to jump through to become Deputy Director of SHIELD? And all the things you had to do in the line of duty? Criminal. And speaking of criminals...now I can't just let you off the hook can I, Miss Baker?"

Steve can't help but have a look of confusion on his face at the statement. "Oh, you didn't know Captain? Miss Baker here used to hack into police radios, which is totally illegal by the way. Top that off with illegal surveillance and she was at the top of her game. Never got caught, except of course by Fury and Hill. Which is another one of Miss Hill's crimes, what willingly hiring a criminal and wiping her slate clean just so she could work for you? How dare."

Maria slowly stands up and cocks her gun while turning toward the robot, willing to go into a firefight for Emma. After all, it was her responsibility to get everything about Emma's past off the books and clearly, she didn't do well enough...

Emma's heart races out of her chest. She didn't think her past would ever be mentioned so many times in one week. She can't get the look Steve gave her out of her head, he just looked so disappointed in her... Emma can't even pay attention to what’s going on around her, her anxiety getting too high with the thoughts of the past. She doesn't know how long she'll be able to hold on before breaking down but knows she can't with the seemingly all-knowing bot in front of them.

While the robot monologues for a little bit longer and Emma tries to calm herself down, Steve says, "I'm going to ask you again. What do you want?"

"I'm on a mission," the robot replies.

"What mission?" Romanoff asks.

"Peace in our time," he replies. At that moment, as if on cue, two Iron Legion robots bust through the wall and come flying into the area. Maria hits the ground and Steve kicks up a table to block himself and Emma from the oncoming attack. As they fly by, Emma throws her arms over her face to protect her head while she gets knocked to the ground.

In the chaos, everyone scatters, trying to find something to defend themselves with. Emma thinks back to the lab where Tony had started work on her drone and tries to make her way there, avoiding the flying suits around her. Through her tunnel vision though, she doesn't see a suit flying straight at her which topples her over the railing. Emma groans as she sits up, kicking away the suit that she ended up falling on and destroying in the impact. Through the ache, she stands up to try and make it to the lab.

Her feet get stuck with shattered glass, but she powers through, needing to prove to the team and herself that she could do more than just sit on the outskirts of battle and watch. Tony sees where she's heading and shouts, "Baker, it isn't done yet! Find something else to defend yourself with or get to cover!"

"There's a hidden pistol under the piano bench," Romanoff informs her as she and Bruce run up the stairs trying to get away from the action.

Emma spots the piano above her and shouts, "Thor, can I get a lift?"

Thor flies over to Emma and swiftly lifts her up to the piano where she starts searching for the gun. Emma notices Helen Cho hiding behind the piano and tells her, "It'll be okay, I got this." Although the words are directed at Helen, they were also words of encouragement to herself, trying to calm the shaking in her hands as she checks to make sure the gun is loaded.

As Emma's shaking hands finally ensure the gun is loaded, she hears the sound of one of the Iron Legion suits charging up its hand to blast the pair of them. Emma secures the gun in one hand and puts the other arm up in front of Helen, feebly attempting to block her from any damage the suit could do.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to take the thing on with the pistol alone, Emma slowly moves her body in front of Helen's and looks up at the suit, ready to take what it was about to dish out when Steve comes up behind the bot and throws it towards Thor who smashes it into bits. After that, Steve's shield gets thrown at him and he takes out the second to last Legion suit.

"Well that was dramatic," the main robot in charge says. Ultron, that's what Emma thinks she heard it call itself while she was trying to calm herself down earlier. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well, you just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How can humanity be saved if it's not allowed to evolve? There's only one path to peace. The Avengers extinction." At that, Thor has had enough and throws Mjolnir at the mangled suit, destroying it.

The team gathers themselves and makes their way to the lab following Bruce and Tony. Emma flinches at the pain in her feet, the adrenaline finally wearing off so she feels the full effects of the glass in them now. Helen reaches out her hand to help Emma walk easier and tells her, "Go take a seat. I'll get my mobile lab and start healing your feet. Thank you, by the way."

Emma nods and says quietly, "It's not like my career isn't ruined after that fiasco with that thing anyways. What would it have hurt getting blasted to bits?" She pauses for a second before adding on with a cringe, "Sorry, that was dark."

"Hey, it's okay. Just get to the lab and I'll help you out."

Emma nods and limps to the lab, staying on the outskirts of the room and sitting down on a bench near the door, relieved to be off her feet. As Emma waits for Helen to get back, she punches herself mentally, wishing that damn AI didn't know about her past. She had never told Steve about it, why would she? It was a time she just wanted to forget...

From across the room, Bruce assesses the damage left behind by the bot and announces, "All our work is gone... Ultron cleared out. He used the internet to escape."

As she searches the lab, Romanoff speaks up, telling the group, "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance." She pauses and throws a glance Emma's way, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, and says "He obviously knows more about us than we do each other..."

Emma turns her eyes down as Steve and Rhodes look toward her which makes her feel sick to her stomach. While looking at her, Rhodes asks, "Are we not gonna talk about the elephant in the room, Tony?"

"No, we're not going to talk about the elephant in the room because there is no elephant to talk about. I knew about her past and I chose to tell Pepper about her skills and get her on board. Because that's what Baker has. Skills. End of discussion. Now the elephant we need to be talking about is the fact that Ultron has read everything we have. Every file, every lead, everything."

Rhodes reluctantly drops the subject, tearing his eyes away from Emma and saying, "Well if he read everything and is using the internet to travel, what if he decides to access something a bit more...exciting?"

As the group continues their discussion, Helen emerges into the lab and begins picking the glass out of Emma's feet. Emma grips the sides on the bench in pain and she leans her head back, only half-listening to the conversation at hand.

The next time Emma's ears tune into the conversation, Romanoff is asking, "Nukes? I thought he wanted us dead?"

"He didn't say dead," Steve pipes in, "he said extinct."

"He also said he killed somebody," Barton reminds them all.

"There wasn't anyone besides us in the building," Maria tells him.

"Yes, there was," Tony says, signaling up JARVIS who looks like he got completely destroyed by Ultron.

The group examines the mangled AI in disbelief as Emma is suddenly jerked away from the conversation by a sharp pain in her foot. Helen had pulled out a rather large piece of glass that made Emma's foot start bleeding. "Sorry," she whispers before putting pressure on the wound for a few moments.

"It's fine," Emma breathes, closing her eyes, wanting to be anywhere except there. She regrets not going home now... Emma focuses on the pain in her feet because at least that pain she knew would be temporary. Focusing on the pain keeps her mind away from the nagging feeling that her friendship with Steve and what could have come from it was out the door, never going to happen.

Even through that concentration though, Emma's mind is ripped away yet again to Thor storming into the lab and holding Tony up by his neck. "Use your words, buddy!" Tony manages to choke out.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark."

"Thor," Steve warns and he drops Tony.

Thor looks to everyone and announces, "The trail went cold about 100 miles out. He has the scepter."

Helen sets up her tech to begin repairing Emma's feet and stands to be with the rest of the group. Finally joining the conversation, she says, "I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" In response, Tony just starts laughing.

"What, so this is funny to you?" Thor asks. Tony of course responds with sarcasm to which Thor tells him, "This could have all been avoided if you didn't play with things you don't understand."

"No, this is so funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"God, not again," Emma whispers to herself, not wanting to listen to more bickering between the team. She tries to focus on her breathing or the pain her feet are in rather than listen to them, but her mind has other ideas. It yet again wanders back to when she was a little girl, listening to her parents fighting outside her bedroom door. To get herself back from that thought, Emma kicks herself and reminds her brain of her physical pain which brings her back to the present.

When she tunes back into the conversation at hand, she hears Tony say, "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but up there..." he points upwards, to space, "that's the endgame. How are you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve replies.

Tony gives him a look and replies, "We'll lose."

"Then we'll do that together too. Ultron is calling us out and I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place, let's start making it smaller."

a/n there’s a LOT of music that goes with this chapter that covers a LOT of emotions! enjoy!

link to the next part

#fanfic #marvel #captain america #slow burn #steve rogers #writing #romance #fanfiction #friends to lovers #Spotify #marvel fanfic series #captain america fic #steve rogers friends to lovers #steve rogers slow burn #steve rogers romance #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers angst

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taiblogcomics · 8 months

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Time Keeps on Skippin', Skippin'

Hey there, catgirls made of living glass. Well, we're nearing the end of this whole affair, and I won't be sorry to see it go. And clearly neither will the creators, given how it's clearly rushing towards a bit of a slapdash conclusion, based on this issue. More or that in a bit, but let's just get into it~

Here's the cover:

Wow. Just wow. Like, I've read stuff with timeskips before. One Piece has a pretty significant timeskip. DC did a whole event around a timeskip, the whole "One Year Later" initiative following Infinite Crisis. You know what you don't normally see? A timeskip announced right on the freaking cover. I mean, I guess "One Year Later" did, but that was a whole thing, almost an event in itself. It wasn't suddenly dropped into an ongoing single storyline. You can tell this is when the writing was on the wall and the series was on the brink of cancellation, coz now we gotta jump ahead 90 days and wrap this shit up quickly~

All righty, since we're skipping ahead three months, do you need a recap? Does it even matter? We're about to get a two-page montage spread anyway. Anyway, we start with Deathlocket doing the narrating, all about summer break. Her mom would over-schedule her so she had tons of activities and classes even during summer, which kinda sucks. That, more than anything, is motivation to go supervillain. The point is, at the end of the three months, she'd be asked what she learned. And she'd reply "I dunno, not much". Very relatable, honestly~

By contrast, these three months she's learned a lot! Here's a two-page splash of a montage of all the learning she did! Arcade and Cammi bond in prison. Nico Minoru learns magic and makes out with Alex Wilder. Hazmat and Anachronism fight Hydra agents, then she admires him being shirtless. Maria Hill throws a hissy and kicks over a table. And that's what she learned this summer! Convenient the comic's ending so we can gloss over these things and just say they happened without actually having to show how they happened.

That's what really bugs me about this timeskip here. Oh, boo-hoo, comic's getting cancelled, we have to rush the conclusion. But, like, not only are we missing the stuff like seeing how Cammi eventually warms up to talking with Arcade (presumably because it's a plot point we need to have happen to make the conclusion work), but also especially the unspoken stuff. So in three months, these characters have neither put their secret plan into action or been caught for having this plan? The Avengers have never found and rescued them in three months? Same problem as Avengers Arena, the time jumping ahead too much and not talking about what happened in between, but even worse because this is three whole months.

We really start with Hazmat and Anachronism on a mission at the mall with Madame Masque, fighting some Hand ninjas. The Hand are basically high-functioning zombies, so it's okay to kill them. Convenient! Madame Masque gets distracted by a dress in the window, and they call her out on shopping while fighting. But they're in Madripoor, where ninjas are endless. That's when Sabertooth and Mystique enter and Madame Masque just disengages the fight and walks off with them as pals, to the kids' bafflement.

The villains talk business, while the kids sit a few feet away and admire the sunset together. The gist of the business is that Zemo wants Sabertooth and friends to make a lot of noise and attract "the appropriate attention". Doesn't matter what they do or where, just when. Sabertooth is pretty ameniable to this. Meanwhile, Hazmat shows how smart she actually is by discussing how even if this current life is fun, it can't last forever. Neverland isn't real and villains are villains. They gotta step up that plan and get back to real life. If they see an opportunity, they gotta take it.

Anachronism, in response, kisses her. This is what he wanted to hear, because he agrees. Madame Masque swings by, saying she's glad all their will-they-won't-they crap is resolved now. You know, all that stuff in the last three months we couldn't show. Anyways, she's also here to say screw Zemo, she's tired of leaving such obviously competent people out of their major plans, so she's inviting them to the big kids' table. You know, if they're interested. Anachronism knows when opportunity is knocking, so he says they're in.

We then cut over to Hank Pym answering his phone. Hank was A) not in the montage with Cap and Maria Hill, and 2) looking very disheveled. On the other end of the phone is Hazmat. Hank once told the Avengers Academy kids they can always call if they need something. She's kind of pushing the limits of that deal, but he agrees to it. Say what you will about Hank Pym, but this is clearly a guy trying to do the right thing right here, and I respect that. Hazmat then rejoins the group, and Madame Masque grouses that even her great grandma can hold it longer, making me have to Google whether helicopters have bathrooms (fun fact: they don't!).

Hazmat and Anachronism return to the base, and Hazmat pulls Deathlocket aside to let her in on the plan. Apparently she still thinks Locket is in the dark on the whole undercover deal, which is another thing they probably should've taken care of in those last three months. But she does know, Chase did manage to tell her before he got hurt. And she told the Young Masters of Evil, who are now right behind Hazmat. Well, fuck. They may be a bunch of teenage goons, but some of them are still pretty heavy hitters. You know, comparatively, at least.

And meanwhile, Anachronism drops by his shared dorm with Cullen Bloodstone. Fortunately, we already know Cullen's on the villains' side, so there won't be any trip-ups trying to recruit him. No, instead we get a genuine character moment, where Anachronism apologises for not being present for his best friend lately. And while he doesn't explicitly say it, he also says sorry for not realising Cullen was gay and in love with him. Mostly he just wants to fix whatever's between them. Unfortunately, what's between them is tentacles, as Cullen's monster powers reach out and wrap him up.

But you see, Cullen's not home right now. No, his "friend" Hellstrom is possessing him and using his powers to attack Anachronism. So this isn't his fault. The rest, though, is defintiely Deathlocket's fault. Hazmat lays out the Young Masters while she and Locket have a more verbal sparring match. And honestly? I don't have a problem with Locket going full villain here. Unlike everyone else in Avengers Arena, she didn't come from a hero background. Her first hero experience was getting kidnapped and made to play Hunger Games. Only natural she has no loyalty to Hazmat and crew.

But you know what would've helped if she had been Hazmat's friend? Hazmat would've taught her how to fight. And thus she goes down rather easily--poetically, in fact, as Hazmat whangs her across the face with her boytoy's shovel. The comic ends with Nico and Alex watching Cullen go full monster shape, while Alex points out Hellstrom's influence. Nico wonders what's even the point while Alex muses about Zemo springing his trap finally. When Nico demands to know what he means, Alex is fine telling her, since she's not the target, she's just the bait. They invited the kids and held them for villainy to bait out the Avengers.

Well, here we are. And you know what? I don't think I hate this issue. Oh, sure, all my criticisms about the timeskip and the handling thereof are completely valid. But you know what? At least it's moving the story forward. That was mostly my complaint about the last couple issues, wasn't it? Everything was mostly setup and wheel-spinning. Well, now we gotta rush to finish up, and at least a fast-paced mediocre comic is more fun to read than a slow-paced one~

Likewise, the whole thing with Deathlocket? Like, normally I'd rant forever about how I hate heroes turning villain, and I do! But the difference here is, Locket was never a hero. She has no previously established character to go back on. Her first experiences in the hero world are being kidnapped to Child Murder Island, and then being mind-controlled as a weapon half the time. Among other reasons, most of the time why I hate heroes turning villain is that A) it doesn't make sense for their character, and 2) it feels disrespectful to their history. But as noted, Locket doesn't have a history to disrespect. A guy can do what he wants with his own OCs!

As for the other point, this totally makes sense. She came from a very rigid homelife, and then her first friend was also controlling, in a more literal way. Now she's finally in control herself, and it's pretty natural she'd fall into a bad crowd after all that. Now do I still think she made the wrong choice? Of course I do. I'm a fan of superheroes. I think people should always do the right thing and not be assholes. But I feel like her making the wrong choice is a natural direction to take the character. And that's what I don't have a problem with~

#comics #reviews #Avengers Undercover #Avengers Arena #Taiblog

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lovelyirony · 7 years

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Nevertheless, She Persisted

I wrote a drabble about marvel women persisting. Here it is.

When Peggy was little, her mother told her to keep her chin up and strong. Her father told her much the same. Society said “no, not like that.” Peggy shot back “yes, exactly like that,” and kept on going. The British army shot down her request to be an agent. “Go get me a coffee and some smokes,” one of them had said. It was as if they would never consider her for a position of power. (Oh, how they underestimated her.) She came to America and demanded it. They said okay. She got to meet a small man who grew four sizes, and who looked at her like she was an equal. She wasn’t just some dame in the war. She was a terrifying woman who knew how to shoot and knew how to get things done. And he appreciated it. She continued as the Director and Founder of SHIELD. She vowed that they would never question a woman in power. (They did, but no one ever said or did anything in public.) Hydra lived in fear of her, and they would never plan anything if she was in town. If she had known, Peggy would have laughed and destroyed them in one day. She persisted.

Pepper went into business. Her family was from Cape Cod. She grew up playing with Barbies and talking about marriage. Her plans deviated. Pepper was good at math, organization, and making plans on the fly. She was the sole reason that the Thanksgiving of ‘92 was saved. But all around her, men would look at her as if she was there for enjoyment. They would think that she couldn’t hear as they commented on her looks. On how her body was. She burned bright red not out of embarrassment, but out of fear. Sure, Tony patented the nickname, but it was around long before him. She dominated the business field, made sure women knew they were important. More important than the men who demonized them. She ruled Stark Industries with an iron fist, taking little shit and receiving it all with a razor-sharp smile. She persisted.

Jane Foster was a woman in STEM. This was before all of the programs for young girls. She was a woman who was working on a theory that many considered impossible. She forgot to shave and shower like a regular person, and never looked good unless Darcy worked some make-up magic. Men would scoff at conferences. “Some lady,” they’d say as they saw her brushing Pop Tart crumbs away from her pantsuit. Because they thought that she would have to be some alluring woman for them to gaze at. But she wasn’t. And Jane would never be, because that isn’t something a lady has to be. So Jane stared them down as she announced to the world her findings. She walked off the stage with a slouch, not tall and straight. “I want to go back to sleep,” Jane announced. They left the event early. It was noted that her hair was a mess, and that was the only thing they noted about her; not the fact that she had discovered possibly a new way to travel to distant planets that sustained life. Jane just brushed it off and released a new theory that no man had ever thought of. She persisted.

Maria Hill was young and fresh out of the army when Director Fury snatched her up to be his righthand woman. She was sharp, intelligent, and could do orders as asked, rarely questioning anything. (At least, he thought.) Maria was to the point and blunt. There were no sweet smiles or nervous laughs. If she was uncomfortable, she would ask them to stop or she would leave. She was a frigid bitch, the ice queen, a lesbian. (The last labels and the previous ones did not bother her in the slightest.) She wasn’t trained in the army to hold men’s gazes. She wasn’t trained to flirt and flutter her eyelashes. She was trained to save lives and make the tough calls. And that’s what her job description was. When Ward tries to make her angry and say that Romanov should have been chosen so they’d have someone to look at, it just amused Maria. She looked nice; smooth hair, lipstick, contour on some days. But the fact that Ward thought he could get under her skin with insults about how she looked? Now that, that was hilarious. When Fury “dies,” she keeps going. People ask her if it was “serious.” Maria says she will date never, and leaves it as that. She continues on in his stead, taking on the complicated jobs that no one else at the fallen agency has the guts to take. She persists.

Sharon Carter had Peggy Carter as a distant relative, but that didn’t stop Sharon from looking up to her great-aunt. “Never, ever, let a man walk all over you,” Peggy would reiterate to a young Sharon. Her parents were embarrassed but altogether thankful that someone had the courage to tell their daughter what they couldn’t. (They did not appreciate that Peggy gave Sharon her first pistol at age fourteen. Peggy claimed that “Tasers were sold out.”) Sharon has never relied on a legacy to get her into SHIELD. She dealt with people asking her questions about what she did at her job. She handled tough jobs because she was the person to do it; once people realized that Agent 13 was a girl, they had a tough time accepting that she could actually do the job. “It’s pretty gruesome,” a man had said. “Ladies shouldn’t see this.” Sharon gives him a flat look. “Ladies shouldn’t see a lot of the things men do, but unfortunately enough, we still have to. Now move, or you’re gonna get killed.” She wears a sweet smile as she eviscerates the competition. She outshoots Rumlow in a contest and he claims she was using her “assets” to distract others. “You’re just mad because I’m better than you,” Sharon gloats. Rumlow doesn’t like that. Challenges her to a hand-to-hand competition. Sharon has a family dinner, so she declines. Sharon fights hard for her work, and loves every second of it. (Almost.) She fights through men who think she’s there as the distraction. She smirks as she shoots bullets, nearly laughs as the mark stumbles and falls over the balcony. “Yeah, I guess I am pretty distracting when I’m being a badass,” she says with a shrug. “I really want some chicken right now. After the briefing, I guess.” After that “civil war” smackdown, her boss questions her allegiance because of “romantic feelings.” Sharon stares him down, glaring. “The day that ‘romantic feelings’ compromise the ability to do my job, feel free to fire me. But they didn’t, and I’m insulted that you would think I was that inexperienced.” She persisted.

Natasha Romanoff doesn’t remember her childhood. Just learning how to be a lady, and a deadly one at that. She remembers sweat pouring down her back, and her teachers saying that men should never see you sweat. Natasha nods. Life after the Red Room is different, but not. Men still salivate after her, the agents make bets on who can “bed the Widow.” Natasha smiles sweetly and says that the next person who tries to take her to have sexual intercourse will be strung by their uniform to Lady Liberty. Natasha wears make-up most days. She likes the feeling it gives her. She doesn’t wear it other days, and people ask her if she’s feeling okay, or that she looks better with make-up on. Natasha shrugs it off, but says that if they think she looks better with make-up on, then she will make sure they never find a date. (Ask about Agent Sammond. He has never found a date since.) She continues even when men still underestimate her. She is the freaking Black Widow, the name usually tips women off at least. They know to stay away. Natasha leans in with her fragrance and smile, and eviscerates them. She is courageous, and she is strong. Sometimes, she’ll teach other women how to be their own kind of deadly. Even after everything, Natasha is still herself. She persists.

#natasha romanoff #sharon carter #maria hill #pepper potts #peggy carter #i love marvel women so much but i couldn't include anymore bc i couldn't remember them #well i know guardians of the galaxy but i'm not sure about the role of sexism is their world #maria #hill #it won't let me put maria hill #separately #mystery????#it just backspaces #lovelyirony writes

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thefallenbibliophilequote · 3 years

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Welcome to New York

Loki x Reader

1989, chapter 1

"We begin our story in New York"

Summary: It's hard to find the one, but even if you do find him it's always going to be a daily struggle to make it work. Can you even make it work after he broke your heart? The answer to that is complicated, but it all started when you found each other again in the stark tower- and that's where our story begins.

Word count: 2,306

Warnings: language as always

A/N: I have wanted to tell this story for so long but I was insecure I will ruin it. I am still not sure if my writing is good enough for this. But this is my idea and my story to tell, so with a little confident boost from my mutuals here we are. For all the non-swifties: The whole 1989 album has hidden messages but this one is different because it all combines to tell one story. the link to the song is down below!

A/N 2: thank you for @sweeterthanthis for giving me the encouragement, and to @slothspaghettiwrites for beta reading this alongside @nacho-bucky and to @chrissquares for making me custom dividers especially for this series! I love all of you!

No one is allowed to repost my writing or steal or copy my work! Reblog on tumblr is fine.

Series masterlist

song on Spotify or YouTube

"Do we have a deal then?"

"You assisted us, and our motives align- we will get those powers." The man closed the long suitcase, the red skull on it shining through the dimmed warehouse.

They went their separate ways after that, he heard the loud noise through the wind before it got quiet yet again, the wind was howling as he carried his case close to his chest, protective of it.

•

You walked through the crowd of New York, through the rushing people until you saw the doors to the big Avengers tower. After all this time you still weren't used to the extravagant halls, but you will have to eventually. This is your world and now this is your home.

Your powers were of no use to SHIELD, so after a long debate, you started to work with the avengers, being there every day and not living there seemed unreasonable- so you finally gave in to Tony's offer. "Your room here will always be waiting for you." He told you until you took him up on it.

Perhaps this additional new start will be good for you. You decided to abandon the past behind you a long time ago.

"Y/N dear, so glad that you're here," Tony hugged you and ignored the loud yells coming from his phone. "Set up in your room, then come down here, we have a special visitor."

"Oh okay, anyone I might know?" you smiled at him.

"No, he is not really important." Tony scrunched his nose and escorted you to the private Avengers elevator. You waved at him as the doors closed.

You ignored the bright lights and walked in with a smile into your new room, leaving all the past behind you as you shut the door. So here it was- your own little space all fresh and new- your small little corner in the tower. Well, it wasn't little by any means- if anything it was an apartment, but it was still yours.

"Hello new home" you said to yourself, looking at the four corners with anticipation of what's to come.

"Hello Miss Y/N" F.R.I.D.A.Y chimed in, causing you to laugh. You dropped your bags on the floor and went to unpack all of the boxes that were already there. Your music was playing at full volume as you danced around your room until it was clean and filled with all your favourite things.

"I'm glad to see you're settling in." Natasha's voice startled you and you turned around with burning cheeks. "Those are quite some dance moves."

"Haha very funny, you didn't see anything." You rolled your eyes, stupid spies. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, just came to see how you were doing, the room looks great." She smiled at you and giggled as you hugged her. "Finally you're here for good! Tony wanted to throw you a little welcome party."

"Tony? Little? The only time those two can go in the same sentence is if you're talking about height."

"Don't worry I talked him out of it. Besides, he was soon occupied with Thor when he got here- you haven't met him yet now did you?"

"Thor? Like the god from Asgard?" you stared at her in shock, but she just laughed at you.

"Yes, but don't worry he is really nice and surprisingly down to earth."

"Tony said he is not important." You let her lead you as the two of you made your way downstairs.

"Of course he did."

•

"He is doing better, he is even courting a young maiden, I am certain their marriage will be arranged soon." You heard the booming voice getting louder and louder. "Loki is on the right path I assure you, my friend."

Your heartbeat sped up more and more, but you willed yourself to look more put together when the god was in your sight, sitting on couch that seemed so little now, next to Tony and Steve.

"Thor, meet Y/N," Steve introduced you to the god and you nodded to him as he shook your hands.

"It is very nice to meet you Lady Y/N" Thor smiled at you, and you relaxed a bit.

"It's nice to meet you too. I am not a lady though." You chuckled.

"Well I have heard high praises about you so I assure you that you are." He spoke with such certainty that you decided not to argue it.

"Well she might look sweet, but don't piss her off." Tony snickered.

"Hey, I won't do anything." You stared at Tony who was quick to fix his mistake.

"She will kick your ass in training, trained by the Black Widow herself."

"That I can confirm." you looked at Natasha and winked.

You sat with them for a chat then. You might have been a different person before everything went down but you always did have manners even if you wanted to adjust in your room. You shook your head when Tony's phone ringed and he hastily took Steve and went out with him.

•

"What's up with this surprise mission?" Clint asked as he walked onto the quinjet, with his combat suit and his arrows. It has been ten minutes since F.R.I.D.A.Y alerted you of a new mission. You were already on your way with Steve, Tony, Clint and Maria Hill. You were on edge by the fact that she's here, clearly, some things about this mission were left unsaid.

"We are going to get some intelligence from an underground building we found," Maria answered instead of Steve.

"If that's the case then why am I here?" her eyes turned to you now, you could see her calculating an answer.

"Because the place is not abandoned at all, it is full of agents but we don't know what we are there to pick up, and we need the people there alive." Tony replied.

"Oh fun, I get to keep hydra agents alive." You took in the new information, something was still off about this mission, but you'll probably figure that out soon enough.

The snow was heavy as you walked through it; your daggers were safely tucked inside their pockets, not wanting to accidently draw attention to yourself with a glimmer of light.

According to Tony the small warehouse that was on the ground was mostly empty, so you advanced forward with Tony from above, searching for any devices that may lay hidden in the snow.

So Tony went down first, then Clint, then you, Maria and then Steve. You exited into a big area underground, you could already hear the hydra agents coming your way so you split up, as Maria and Steve went to find whatever it was they were trying to find, the three of you provided backup and tried to clear rooms.

The four of you got to the doors, and as Tony blew up the doors you moved in, pulling your weapons out at the soldiers. There were only seven of them there, but with the sounds of the fighting and the gunshots, it was certain that your presence was known.

"Y/N there are three scientists coming your way, keep them alive, to a certain degree at least- whatever you want." you heard blasts from your earpiece and you smirked when you saw the scientists in front of you. When you saw the guns in their hands you smiled at them.

"Hi," you advanced towards the first one, your eyes caught his- he saw the glimmer in your eyes and in panic he raised the gun and shot forward. You dodged it and quickly came closer, gently taking the gun from his hand keeping eye contact with him until he dropped to the ground and closed his eyes. "I hope you enjoy my gift."

The other two scientists tried to fight you but soon their eyelids closed and they fell with a silent scream. You sighed and grabbed the back of their coats and dragged them to an empty room, oh what you wouldn't give for some telekinesis now.

The mission had to go on. So you got up and went to show some other agents your gift. Another agent to the kill, he screamed as he looked at you, the machine in his hand shattered and he fell to the floor before you were even near him. Shit. You relaxed him a bit when you reached him, his shaking calmed down a bit. You didn't mean to show him that much, but he brought it on himself- it was really easy to find with this one. Every weakness played as if it's a movie in your brain, you showed him just some parts of it now, and paralyzing him until you'll bring him out if you will at all.

"Y/N we need you here, leave them where they are- Tony will pick them up."

"Are you kidding? I kept them in a safe room for nothing? They are some heavy sons of bitches Steve!"

"Language," Steve sighed, you smiled. "He was busy then but now we need you, we found what we were looking for, but there are too many of them here, they will ruin the weapons."

"Or use them on us."

You came here for weapons? You jump a story down and advanced towards Steve and Maria.

"Go loose on them, they'll survive, we can't lose what they may have here."

"You don't even know exactly what they have there?" you questioned Maria, she only glared at you. So you went into the room, the doors slamming against the walls, you let yourself go, eyes sparkling as you reached into every soul in the room, their eyes going blank as you showed them every version of themselves that you wanted. You tuned out their screams until they passed out.

"All clear." You replied, and went around the room, looking at the files and unfamiliar technology. All sorts of sealed boxes were on the desks, they must have been packing. You passed a desk, and right then objects flew out as they combust into flames. "What the fuck?"

"Y/N stay away from this, we don't know what this does," Hill talked to you when she opened a case that you couldn't see. "Get out of the room."

It was an order with which you didn't argue and closed the doors behind you, leaving Steve and Maria in there.

•

They were shooting at you now, and you stole the best defense you could get from Steve. You snatched the pillow from under his arm and shielded yourself from the attack of popcorn the two redheads were now throwing at you. A girl has to fight back, so pretzels it was

"You can't use a pillow Y/N! That's not fair!" Wanda yelled at you. You will get betrayed by those closest to you.

"No, what isn't fair is you using your powers on the popcorn! It's not my fault that you threw all the pillows to my side- that was not a good strategic move for you."

"She's right about that- we are way better a team." Steve dodged a water bottle the spy expertly threw at him for the comment. The war always leaves scars.

Your laughs were cut short when F.R.I.D.A.Y called all of you in from the living room.

"What's up Tony?" Natasha asked when you walked into the room and saw all the other avengers there.

"We found some concerning new details about what hydra has been up to lately," Tony paced through the room, leaving you waiting.

"Did you contact Thor? Is it confirmed?" Steve asked him then and the billionaire nodded.

You shook your head and looked at them as you leaned on the wall opposite them.

"Hey boys?" Steve and Tony looked back at you and you smiled shortly at them before they had a chance to stop you when a flash of purple crossed your eyes.

Steve was annoyed when he saw the thunder in the distance and the rain pouring down on him and Tony. Tony grumbled and looked around Steve at the muddy ground they were surrounded with.

Within a second they blinked and saw the room in the compound, taken aback for a moment.

"Did you have fun boys? I personally love the rain but now I am just annoyed so can you please just share with the group for fuck's sake?" they glared at you now.

"Y/N, you can't just use your powers on petty things like that." Steve shook his head, shaking the imaginary feeling of the rain from his face.

"Don't ever, place me in that disgusting place again, you are lucky I wasn't in my favourite suit there!"

"I'll be sure to keep that little detail in mind next time you annoy me." You smirked.

"You little menace- Okay, we found Asgardian weapons and technology in the custody of hydra."

"What the fuck? How did they get it?" Natasha rose up now from the table.

"We are trying to figure it out, but from what we managed to gather is that these are ancient things… so we need an expert."

"Then why is Thor not here?" Bruce asked his friend, who pinched his nose.

"No, I said we need an expert…" he then looked behind you, and you turned when you heard the door opening. No, your past should stay sealed shut.

There in front of you came in Loki, when he caught your eyes, you were sure his look of shook matched yours. And you were frozen in place.

"Y/N?" he was confused to say the least, but your eyes never left each other even when you felt all the eyes in the room focusing on you. You shook your head at him. No.

"You said you'd never come back." It felt as if you stabbed him with that comment.

Tags: @ayybtch @buckys-other-punk @chaoticpete @madcrazy50

#1989 #my writing #loki x reader #loki #loki odinson #taylor swift #fluff #loki laufeyson #loki odinson x reader #loki x you #tom hiddleston #welcome to new york

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tuiccim · 3 years

Text

A Scarred Enigma (Part 10) Finale

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC Lexa Green

Word Count: 1.6k

Trigger Warnings: Anxiety, confronting the past, cult life, violence, character death.

Divider by @firefly-graphics / Beta read by the lovely @liebs82

A Scarred Enigma Masterlist

Upon their return, the team is surprised to see Maria Hill at the end of the ramp.

"Agent Green," Maria says as she makes eye contact with Lex.

"Agent Hill," Lex nods to her.

"Lantern is on fire. I need you to join me in the conference room."

Lex goes cold hearing the coded message.

"Lex?" Bucky says from beside her.

"It's the compound I grew up in. They're in a standoff most likely. I have to go. I'll let you know what I can," Lex squeezes his hand.

"I'll come with you," Bucky says.

"Alexandria Naomi Cole."

"Who's that?" Bucky asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. But I'm here if you need me."

"I love you," Lexa says it for the first time without qualification.

"I love you, too. Can I kiss you?" Bucky smiles.

"Yes, always yes," Lexa leans into him as he kisses her. After a moment, they separate and Lex turns to Maria, "Ready."

Maria smirks, "Let's go."

Lex's stomach churns as she recognizes the face, "Levi Michael Walsh. He was my stepbrother."

"He's now the leader of the cult and is threatening deadly force if anyone attempts to enter the compound. We'd like you to try to talk to him. You know him and understand their ways."

"I don't think he'd take kindly to that," Lex counters.

"Why is that?" Agent Birch asks, curiously.

"I killed his father and escaped the compound. I'm probably the last person he'll speak to," she explains.

"I see," Birch raises his eyebrow, "We'd still like you to join us. Your insight could be invaluable."

Lex gives a curt nod.

"Can you be ready in ten minutes?"

"I'm ready now," Lex lifts her go bag onto her shoulder.

"Great. Helicopter's on the roof," Birch leads the way out.

"Good luck," Maria says as Lex passes her.

"Thanks," Lex follows the other agents out, heading back to the one place she dreaded most in this world.

Standing on a ridge overlooking the compound, Lex pulls out her binoculars and surveys the area.

"What are you doing?" Birch asks.

"Looking," Lex says.

"For what?"

"Activity. Has there been any communication with them?"

"He accepted a walkie-talkie but has been very curt answering any questions.

"Can you take a look at this, please?" Birch's voice has a slight edge to it as he rolls out a large sheet of paper.

"What kind of firepower are we looking at?"

"I wasn't privy to much of that but a lot."

"Is there any chance this could turn into a mass casualty event?"

"Alexandria?" The radio crackles to life, "Alexandria, is that you? Have you finally come home?"

The voice causes a chill down Lex's spine. She immediately feels nauseated.

"Talk to him!" Birch points to the radio.

"No," Lex balks.

"This is the first time he has reached out. If you can get him to talk, maybe we can end this."

Lex puts her head in her hands and takes a deep breath, "Fine."

"Stay calm with him. Don't let him goad you. Ask if they need anything. Try to get us an in."

Lex nods and picks up the walkie-talkie, "Hello Levi."

"Alexandria! My long lost sister. Have you come back to rejoin us?" Levi's malevolence seeps through the radio.

"Is everyone okay, Levi? Do you need anything for your people?"

"For what?"

"For killing our father. It allowed us to finally move past the old ways and into the full light of God. It called forth the true leadership."

Lex goes cold, "That being you?"

"Yes, dear sister. Had you stayed, you would have seen."

"Is there anything we can provide you with? Food? Medical supplies? Anything?” Lex pushes.

“And what would you want in exchange for this generous offer?” Levi practically growls.

“Some of the children are sick,” whispers Birch.

“We understand that the children are ill,” Lex says.

“The children are taken care of,” Levi says.

“We can help them, Levi. Please.”

“I’ll give you the children.”

“What can we give you?” Lex asks.

“You.”

“What?”

“You in exchange for the children. You can come in and negotiate for us,” Levi says.

Lex feels sick. The thought of going anywhere near Levi was sickening but knowing the needs of the children, Lex knew there was only one answer, “Done.”

“Agent Green! He might only be inviting you in to kill you!” Birch exclaims.

“Am I worth more than, how many children?” Lex argues.

“At least 20.”

“Hello Alexandria,” Sarah nods at her. “If you will follow me I will take you to Levi.”

“Hello Sarah. How are you?”

“I am very well. I was sad when you left but I see now that it was to help me fulfill my purpose.”

“Your purpose?” Lex asks carefully.

“As the wife of our leader. He took me as his first wife. It is the honor of my life to be by his side,” Sarah smiles.

“I see,” Lex says.

“No, you don’t. But you will, you will.”

Lex was led into the chapel where the entire commune sat as Levi stood before them.

Lex stared at the man who had abused her for years and knew nothing she said would calm him.

“Come along, Alexandria,” Sarah takes Lex’s arm and drags her up the aisle. Murmurings or murderer and traitor follow Lex as she approaches Levi.

“On your knees,” Levi says to her, “beg for your life.”

“No,” Lex says clearly.

“On your knees, now,” Levi holds up a detonator, “beg for your life and the lives of everyone here.”

“NO!” screams Sarah as she kneels next to him and watches her husband bleed out. “NO! LEVI!”

“Finish it,” Levi whispers to her with his last breath. Before Lex can react, Sarah has grabbed the detonator and the room explodes.

Just over a year later, the team gathers in the conference room for a meeting.

“I still say it’s too soon,” Bucky says to Steve. He had taken Lex’s death hard. She had given her life to save the 29 children who walked out of the compound but it had broken Bucky. He had to be removed from duty for a few months and required to undergo an evaluation. It had taken some time but he had begun to piece himself back together.

“I’m sorry, Buck. We held off as long as we could but with Clint wanting to retire, we need someone,” Steve replies.

“Yeah. I know. I guess I won’t ever really be ready.”

“I get it, man.”

“Captain,” Director Fury says as he walks in.

“Director Fury,” Steve nods at him.

“I’ll cut to the chase. With Agent Barton’s retirement, you’ll need a new sharpshooter on the team and I’ve recruited the best of the best.” Fury motions to the agent who walks in.

“Hello,” she says, looking at each person in turn, “I’m Y/N.”

Alternate Ending

Tuiccim’s Masterlist

Updates and taglist: My taglist is closed. Updates for series will be made weekly. Please follow my sideblog @tuiccimfanfiction for update notifications. All series and new stories will be reblogged to it. You will only receive notifications when a new part or story is out! Nothing else will be blogged to the page. I can’t thank you enough for your support!

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s1rcus · 3 years

Text

The Road to Love and Truth (Blackhill)

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 2827

Chapter: 2/2

Fandoms: Marvel

Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury

Additional tags: -

Summary: Maria struggles after her night with Natasha. She gets some good advice from Steve.

Authors note: Blackhill Bingo square I3 "Steve Rogers"

Story below the cut or in AO3 here

Maria still has a huge headache. She's been debating taking another aspirin to ease it down for the past 10 minutes, but it hasn't been too long since she took the first one and it might just not be working yet. The situation with Romanoff might not be helping either.

Without thinking she's making her way towards Phil's office. She's not sure why, she knows she won't talk about something like this to him. He's a good friend but she just can't talk about her sex life with him, less about feelings. Maybe he'll have some work she can do to distract her from the night before. She can't use her key card on a day off, (Fury has made it very clear she's not supposed to be doing work during any type of leave) so she can't go to her own office to continue work.

Phil isn't in his office. Now that she actually thinks about it, he has been on a mission since yesterday. She still needs something to distract her though. Maybe Fury would let it slide this once if she'd go do work, but she'd rather not see him right now. She decides to just go for a walk. Hopefully that'll clear her head a little.

------

The fresh air does help her headache and clears her head just the tiniest bit as well. She stands outside of the Triskelion for a short time and decides to go for a short walk along the river.

She keeps her eyes mostly on the water as she walks hands in the pockets of her sweats. She probably should've changed if she's honest, but she didn't want to go back to her room. SHIELD agents weren't that rare sight around these parts, but they definitely didn't go out in their gym clothes. She kicks around some pebbles every once in a while that are lying around the sidewalk.

She loses track of time, trying to just focus on nothing but the movement of the water. And she might have let her guard down, because she gets startled, when a hand taps her on the shoulder.

"Maria, what are you doing out here?"

"Jesus, Steve. Warn a girl next time."

"I literally yelled your name when I saw you. You're not usually this distracted. Are you okay?"

There's concern on his face and Maria doesn't like it one bit. She's fine, and even if she wasn't, everyone else needs to think she is.

"Everything's fine," she lies.

Steve gives her a long look, not quite believing her.

"You can always talk to me, you know? Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'll listen."

Damn Steve, and his kind heart.

"I know," she says.

"Okay, well I'm gonna finish my run. Come and find me if you want to talk about whatever this is," he says as he runs past her.

Maria just waves him off. She continues along the river for a while longer until her headache becomes worse again. Deciding it's best to just go back and take another aspirin, she turns around and heads towards the Triskelion again.

------

Eventually Maria realises she needs to talk to someone so she heads towards Steve's quarters and knocks on his door. He opens the door with a smile. They're good friends but it's quite rare she actually ends up on his doorstep.

"Hey, Maria. What's up?"

"I slept with Natasha," she answers as she pushes past him into his room. She sits on his bed, head in her hands. She hears the door click shut as Steve closes it.

"Not what I was expecting. How are you feeling?"

Maria groans at the question, "I don't know. I find out she's queer and few days later I find her in my bed. That's not how that should go. And worst of all I want to do it again, but I don't think I can just keep it at that."

"So you want to ask her out?"

"I think so?" She says and lays down on the bed so she can stare at the ceiling. "But I'm her superior, it's unprofessional, not to mention way too complicated. How am I supposed to be able to send her out there, if I'm worried if she'll make it back? How is Fury supposed to trust in me, if I get compromised because of her? Or what if I make the wrong decision, because I can't--" Steve cuts her off. She feels the bed dip, as he sits next to her on the bed and places a hand on her knee.

"Maria, you're forgetting one important thing, she's the Black Widow, she knows how to handle herself. Do you know how many times she's saved me out there? Because I've lost count by now. And Fury won't see you any differently if you start showing normal people emotions. Also stop worrying about 'what if's. Those are situations you can't know the answers for before it's too late. And for the record, I think you're already compromised. You care more about her than you know. Have for a long time."

"Fuck", Maria breaths the word out.

"Language."

"No, I actually fucked up."

"What did you do?"

"I just left her. She wanted to talk, and I just left her. I wasn't thinking clearly. I told her it was a mistake. Well it technically was because that was definitely not how I wanted that to go, but… I let her believe I don't want her. Shit!" She gets up quickly and starts pacing around. "I gotta go find her. Tell her that I'm sorry for how I treated her. That last night was great. Not that I really remember anything. To hopefully ask her properly out." She freezes on her tracks and turns to face Steve. "What if she says no? How am I supposed to continue working with her then?"

"Maria", Steve warns her.

"Right, won't know the answers before it's too late." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna go to find her. I wonder where she could be."

"At the gym with Barton."

"How would you know that?"

"Just a hunch."

------

She does find Natasha at the gym. She's beating up Barton at the mats. Maria decides to just stay by the door and watch, she'll notice her eventually. Natasha seems more tense than normal, maybe even a little angry. She doesn't move around as smoothly as she usually does. Her movements are a little more jacked, more forced. Maria realises that she's not fighting with a clear head. She's trying to push her feelings out. Maria was the reason the Widow's usually flawlessly smooth fighting style looked harsh and broken. It makes her heart twinge.

Eventually Natasha pins Barton down and he taps out. She gets up and her gaze shifts to Maria's. Maria physically flinches under her gaze. She quickly straightens her back and neutralises her face, when Barton gets back onto his feet and notices her presence.

"Commander," he coughs, eyes moving from Maria to Natasha and back again. After a couple of beats of silence he starts backing towards the men's locker room. "I'll just go then."

Maria just looks at Natasha, not really sure what she's supposed to say. Before she's able to say anything, Natasha turns on her heels and heads towards the women's locker rooms. That gets Maria on the move as well. She runs after Natasha and grabs her from the upper arm.

"Natasha wait," Maria says and Natasha stops on her tracks. "I'm sorry about earlier. Can we talk?"

Natasha turns around and Maria tries to look as apologetic as she can. Natasha just stares at her for a while.

"Fine. My quarters in 10."

Maria nods and drops her hold of the other woman. She didn't even realise she had still been holding her upper arm. Natasha eyes her quickly once more before she turns around again and heads out of sight to the locker room. Maria just stands still for a while, looking after her, until she spins around as well and heads out of the gym and towards Natasha's quarters.

------

Natasha is punctual as ever, and appears exactly 10 minutes later. Maria follows her silently into her room. Natasha sits down on her bed, one leg under herself while the other hangs off the edge. Maria is reminded of the morning. She stays standing near the door, but is faced towards Natasha. She's trying to figure out her words, even though she's been trying to figure out what to say ever since she walked out of Steve's quarters.

"Well?" Natasha prompts her.

"I fucked up. I'm really sorry for how I treated you. I panicked and I fucked up. I try my best to keep my private life and work separate, and I mostly live at work so… I'm having a hard time, to put it lightly. I also have never done this before."

"What? Been with a woman?" Natasha asks with a serious tone. It takes Maria a beat to realise she's not actually seriously asking that.

"No, Romanoff. You know that's not what I meant. I mean sleeping with a co-worker. Actually kinda never slept with anyone without being on a date first. And especially never had someone in my bed in a SHIELD facility."

"So I was your first one night stand?"

"About that, I wouldn't mind doing it again."

"Was I that good?" Natasha asks with a smirk.

"Natasha! I'm not talking about the sex. I'm talking about all of it. Everything since the mission. Spending time together at that bar and during the mission and also everything that came after."

"Wow. Is Commander Hill getting soft?"

"No,” she says. Taking a breath she continues, “I'd just like to see if this could become something. You're one of the few people around here who I can stand, and I actually had a really nice time yesterday. And I'm not regretting what happened after, so that probably says a lot."

Natasha gives her a small smile.

"What changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"You left the room in such a hurry and now you're here saying you don't regret it."

"Yeah, that. I might've talked to Steve and he had some good advice."

"You went to Steve?" Natasha's voice sounds almost scandalous.

"Who else would I go to? Fury? Do you think I have many friends around here? People who I could talk to?"

"Fair enough."

"So, if I'd ask you out on a date what would you say?"

"I would love to, but do you really want to go on a date? Because I feel like we're not the dating kind of people."

That was actually fair, she did always hate going on dates.

"What do you suggest then?"

"How about this?" Maria is really unsure about how she should feel about the smirk that follows that one simple question.

Natasha gets up and walks towards Maria. She stops when their chests are basically touching. She grabs Maria's hands and wraps them around her waist. Then she wraps her own arms around Maria's neck and rises up on her toes to kiss her. Maria basically melts into it. Eventually she lifts Natasha up and they move on the bed. Natasha seems very impressed that Maria can lift her. Maria might be a bit hurt about that.

------

When they decide to leave for an early lunch (neither remembered to eat breakfast), they're barely 100 feet down the hallway from Natasha's room, when they're stopped by a junior agent.

"Commander, Agent Romanoff. Director Fury wants to speak to both of you."

Maria and Natasha exchange a look.

"Did he say what about?" Maria asks.

"Not really," the Agent answers but there's a look on his face Maria doesn't like. It's like he knows something he shouldn't.

Maria debates for a little bit, if she should push and get some answers from him but decides against it. She dismisses the agent and starts heading towards the Directors office with Natasha.

They get a couple weird looks and smiles on the way there. They walk the whole way in silence. Both clearly trying to figure out what Fury wants from them.

Fury sees them immediately, which tells Maria that it's something important. She's getting nervous. Natasha is here as well, so her mind goes only to a specific direction, but how would Fury know?

"Director Fury, you wanted to see us?" Maria greets him.

"Hill, Romanoff. Has either of you checked the news today or any social media?"

Natasha shakes her head. She's been awfully quiet after they ran into that agent.

"No, sir. I haven't checked my phone at all today. Pretty sure it's dead anyway. I've been a bit distracted," Maria answers truthfully. There's no point in lying.

"Well, you probably should stay out of social media for a little while but that's just a suggestion. Do you have anything else to report to me?" His eye shifts from Maria to Natasha and back.

He knows. Maria takes a deep breath. She feels Natasha's hand touch hers, a sign that it's okay.

"Yes, sir. We, uh... Natasha and I are involved."

"Will it be affecting your work?"

"No, sir."

"Then I'm happy for you," he says with the slightest hint of a smile.

Maria is surprised and she can sense that so is Natasha. She lets her posture get a little more relaxed.

"Now to the real reason I invited you in," Fury says as he pulls some tabloid articles up on the screen behind himself. They're all saying basically the same thing: Black Widow at a gay bar with a mystery woman . Some of them have clearly done a better job with trying to figure out who this "mystery woman" is because a couple of them have actual pictures of Maria along with her name. And there's pictures. Pictures of them kissing, the intense looks they changed during that night and pictures of them leaving together.

"We tried to get them down before they spread too far, but clearly we didn't manage that. Anything about the Avengers' personal life spreads like a fire. I'm sorry about the situation it puts you in."

Both of the women just nod. There wasn't anything to say. Fury takes this as his answer and turns off the screen.

"Well then, you're dismissed. Hill, if you could stay for just a little longer?"

Natasha squeezes her shoulder a little before she steps out of the room.

"Sir?"

"No reason to be that formal anymore. This is just me checking on you. How are you feeling?"

"Well, that's a lot, but I think I'm fine. It's not the way I wanted things to go, but I guess it's good that it's out. If we wish to go out, now we don't need to worry if someone sees us or not."

"Okay, still I wish the situation wasn't this. I strongly suggest that you don't check any social media for the next few days. I know you think you can handle it, but there's gonna be some bad stuff there and I'd prefer the dust settles a bit first. Also if anyone, and I mean anyone, in SHIELD gives either of you a hard time because of this, let me know. I will handle it. It's out there, so everyone knows. I wish you could've handled this on your own terms, but the situation is what it is."

Maria smiles at him.

"Thank you, Director. I know I said it won't affect my work, and I truly believe and hope so, but if it ever seems like I'm putting her before the mission; pull me out of it, if possible. I know I won't be happy about it, but I need to know that I won't be making mistakes because I'm compromised."

"Of course. But I have full belief that you'll do great even then."

Maria nods and heads towards the door but Fury's voice makes her turn around before she gets to open it.

"Also, before you go. I am truly happy for you, Maria."

Maria smiles at him and nods her thanks and joins Natasha on the other side of the door.

Natasha hugs her as she closes the door. Maria circles her arms around her and presses her cheek against Natasha's head.

"That went better than I expected." She hears Natasha mumble against her chest.

"It did," Maria agrees.

"I'm so sorry about the articles though. If I would've just realised--" Maria quiets her with a kiss.

"Natasha, there's nothing you could've done about it. The second we walked in there everyone was paying extra attention to us. Those articles would be there even if we hadn't kissed. I'm just glad we did. I don't think I would've ever dared to take this step otherwise," Maria says. She looks Natasha in the eye and they exchange smiles. "Now, how about that lunch?"

#bhb21 #blackhill #maria hill #natasha romanoff #Black Widow #marvel #MCU #My fic

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levai · 4 years

Text

Maybe In Another Life

Erwin Smith // reader

synopsis : late at night, you come to say goodbye. i listened to "the night we met" by lord huron when writing this. i recommend you do, too ;)

If there was heaven and hell, you weren't sure where Erwin would find his place.

You found yourself pondering upon that question quite a lot the past days.

Perhaps he'd fit somewhere in the middle.

To you, that man was an angel. He had a vision, something to look forward to. In your eyes, he was the embodiment of hope. The hope for a better life, one where humanity wasn't plagued by everpresent death and sorrow at the hands of monsters.

To others, he was the monster. A ruthless Commander, willing to step over mountains of corpses, striving to complete a seemingly unachieveable goal. A lot of people badmouthed him, cursing him to the Walls and back.

Some days, you questioned his intentions yourself.

Still, you never failed to put your trust in his decisions and follow through with his commands.

Maybe that was why you were searching for his office in the middle of the night. Your boots made no sound against the carpeted floor, your kerosin lamp illuminating your path. He had made his decision once more.

The upcoming mission was to reclaim Wall Maria, to get to the basement that seemed to hold the answers to their questions.

That's why tonight, you came to say goodbye.

You stopped before his office, knocking three times to announce yourself. You stood in silence. For a brief moment, you thought he was asleep. Then you heard a faint 'come in'. He never was, not at this hour.

With one last swallow and a racing heart, you let yourself in. The office was dark and smelled of wood. Over the years, it hardly changed. Never had it been any different- clean and almost empty, except for the needed necessities.

Now, the angel was sat right across from you. His previously hunched over form straightened, and his gaze met yours. It was as serious and professional as it always was. His blonde hair had lost it's shape throughout the day, loose strands falling over his eyes.

Now that you were right there, standing face to face in his office, you didn't know what to do. You'd been there countless times, but back then the circumstances were different.

You cleared your throat.

"Good evening, Commander Smith."

He observed you quietly, dropping the pen he'd previously gripped in his hand.

"Good evening- What brings you here at such a late hour?" he asked.

Your heart skipped a beat when he said your name. Indeed, tonight was a special night.

"I just came to say goodbye," was your blunt response.

Erwin smiled, looking down at the papers below him. Those documents seemed so irrelevant now. Then he looked back at you. He knew what you meant. He himself had thought about it one too many times- the upcoming mission, that is. He didn't want to admit to it, but he knew.

The closer he got to it, the farther it seemed to stray from him, his dream. He didn't want to admit it to his comrades, nor to himself. For the longest time he hadn't questioned himself. Now he found himself wondering if that was really what he wanted. If every decision that he ever made at least had a purpose.

For a brief moment he wanted to ask what you meant, to feign ignorance. He knew how to persuade his subordinates to sacrifice their life. But with you, he never could. You knew too much, you've seen too much.

He stood up, saluting as well as he could with one arm missing.

"Goodbye. Thank you for sacrificing your life. Your death won't be in vain!"

You looked tired.

"Drop it, Sir. I don't need any of this," you said.

Slowly, his arm fell by his side. You rose your chin, walking closer.

"But if I am giving up my life, I want to request one last thing."

"That is?"

"I want to take you to my most favorite place in the world."

Erwin didn't know how to respond. Instead, he found himself walking past the desk, offering his arm to you. It was as if his body moved on it's own accord. Your warm touch was stark against his cool skin, your heat seeping right through the thin material of his shirt.

You looked up at him, your eyes glimmering under the dim light. You were so familiar to him, his lady. Your presence was his comfort.

He smiled down at you softly, a smile you returned.

"Lead the way, Cadet," he mused.

He should be sleeping right now. Or at the very least prepare himself for the upcoming mission. But he didn't. For once, he wanted to enjoy himself.

You lead your angel to the very top of a hill, where the cool breeze wafted through your hair and your mind felt free.

You were about to sit down, but the Commander stopped you.

"I brought a blanket," Erwin said.

"Right, I forgot," you giggled, helping him spread it out.

Only then you laid down, directing your gaze to the sky. To your luck, the stars were twinkling brightly. And how many of them there were!

You felt the man shift- and then he was next to you, shoulders touching. Your smile only grew wider.

For a while, you stayed silent. The only sound came from cicada chirping in the distance. You imagined you were far away with him, far away from any danger, any despair, any pain.

You layed there, in the tall grass, the wild flowers tickling your skin.

You looked back at him, trying to remember his side profile. He had grown a bit of stubble along his jaw. In a daze, you reached out to caress it.

Erwin turned to look at you. Your face seemed so close now. He swallowed, basking in the intimacy of your touch. Your eyes were glazed over, your lips slightly parted.

Realizing what you were doing, you pulled back, but you didn't apologize. After all, you didn't regret what you did.

"Do you remember the day we met?" he asked, seemingly out of nowhere. But the truth was, he'd been meaning to ask this for some time.

You took a moment to recover, but the corner of your mouth curled up.

"Getting sentimental now, are we?"

"If that's the way you see it. I was merely curious. I still recall it like it happened yesterday," he replied with sincerity.

You thought for a moment. Memories of all your previous interactions came flooding back. In all that time, not once have you thought about the relationship you had with him. Just like many things, it must've been somewhere in the middle. Somewhere in the middle between friends and rivals, Commander and subordinate.

"Me too," you admitted, "How many years have passed since then? Nine?"

"Nine and a half, to be exact."

"I'll never forget the day you first asked me to dedicate my heart, Commander."

"I meant our first real encounter, y/n."

"You mean the day I stumbled into your office off my rocks, and in a drunk stupor, challenged you to a chess duell just to prove a point?"

Erwin chuckled.

"Exactly, that one."

"Do you want to know what point I needed to prove?"

He hummed, waiting for you to elaborate.

"My bunk mates dared me to- they really thought I would chicken out, hah. So I proved them wrong!"

"Where are they now? I don't recall having seen you around anyone else than Hange these past years."

His question caught you off guard. It should have hurt, as blunt as it was, but it didn't. Erwin knew to choose his words more carefully, usually. He didn't know what drove him to pry, but he couldn't back down.

"In a better place, I hope," you replied, your thoughts drifting off to somewhere else.

You turned on your side so you could see him better. The little fireflies dancing next to his head made it look like he had a halo. You sighed, feeling the tears come to your eyes. Erwin was silent, watching you.

"Do you think I'll see them again?"

The corners of his mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something, a forlorn look in his eyes. He thought about his own comrades. The one's he had sacrificed, the one's he had seen die right before his very eyes. Were they watching him now? It felt like they were.

You didn't wait for an answer.

"I guess I'll have to find out for myself."

It pained him how accepting you were of your fait. But you knew you couldn't change it, you knew the very day you applied for the Scouts Regiment. And so did he, it was just the way things went.

Everything and everyone had their place in the universe. And you were certain you would have yours, too.

"I am enjoying this quite a lot, Captain."

"Please just call me Erwin," he pleaded, his voice almost cracking.

"After all those years, I've finally made progress! Wohoo!" you cheered, raising your fist in the air in lazy victory.

"But let's not move too fast, shall we?"

"I wouldn't dare dream of it," you laughed.

The banter slowly eased away the tension. You wished you had fessed up earlier.

Another gust of wind hit you, and you shuddered. But Erwin pulled you close, resting your head on his chest. He wished this moment would last forever.

It was quiet, the both of you just enjoying eachothers presence. To you, it felt like he was wrapping his wings around you, encasing you in warmth and safety.

What an irony it was, feeling secure in the arms of a man that would send you to your death.

You clutched onto his flimsy shirt when you felt him cover you with his jacket.

"You know," Erwin started. His voice was deep, soothing as you felt it rumble in his chest. "I was hoping I could be the father of your children."

"Maybe in another life," you muttered, your voice thinning.

Erwin felt you flinch, trying to hold back the sobs that shook your body.

He held you tighter, afraid to let you go. You would have rejoiced at his confession, had it come earlier. Now it was just too late.

At that moment he realised; Even if he survived the mission, even if the sun still rose above the walls, the days still went on , the planet kept spinning and the world was rid of titans, he would miss you. Without you, he was a broken man.

You fell asleep in the arms of your angel that night. He whispered sweet nothings into your ear even when you couldn't hear him anymore. And when he made sure you were fast asleep, he wept himself into a dreamless slumber.

The next morning you woke up in your bed, as if nothing had ever happened.

But that couldn't be the case. You held his gaze as you mounted your horse, smiling at him with sweaty palms and a heavy heart.

At that time, no one knew what they were getting themselves into. You were on the other side of the wall when everything spun out of control. You ran along the rooftops, following the mission. But your mind was elsewhere; it was stuck with him.

You would always remember the last time he told you to dedicate your heart.

You were right among them as you flew towards your certain death, your comrades falling at your sides. You pressed further, bitter tears streaming down your face.

And you were right there, when Levi told Erwin to give up his dream. You were there,watching with sad eyes, seeing his life flash before his eyes as he made his final decision.

You stood there in the small crowd, listening to his motivational speech as rubble fell around you.

But you weren't the only one. Moblit, Petra, Olou, Gunther, Mike... everyone was there, right at your side. They knew better than to speak. It was too early for you to realise.

You followed your angel, watching him go. Everything was in shatters, everything was aflame. You watched him go down and to you, he was the biggest hero. You held his head in your lap, gently moving the wet hair from his pale face. And like a loyal guard dog, you stayed by his side as he was carried to the roof by Floch.

Hange was there, Levi also. His three children as well, the new recruits of his squad. Only this time, the shifter cried for him to rescue the burnt blonde, instead of the Commander. Your heart ached at the sight.

Levi had no choice, Erwin rejected the syringe.

He had been through hell, it was cruel to bring him back for a rematch with the devil.

You held his hand until he woke up, while Armin devoured the Colossal titan.

"So we meet again, Commander Smith," you greet him with a soft smile.

He looked up at you, dazed. He was no longer in pain, and he was surrounded by the one's he cherished the most.

Slowly, you helped him rise and look around. For a while, you just stood there, watching the scene unfold in silence.

It was subtle, but you felt his pinky hook around yours.

He looked down at you, tired. You met his gaze right when he felt a weight on his shoulder. It was the hand of his fallen soldier.

They all stood behind him, scattered across the many buildings. They were there, they always had been. And now they were so close you barely believed it.

Everyone was watching, and you caressed his shoulder. An arm wrapped around you, startling you. It was Petra.

"Enough tears, already. Let's go! We have a lot of catching up to do!"

You looked at your Commander, tugging at his hand.

He looked back one last time, letting go of himself and the people he held closest, and spread his wings.

"Fair enough, love. So we meet again."

#erwin smith #aot imagines #attackontitan #erwin smith x reader #angst #fluff #shingeki no kyojin #Spotify

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awakendreamersworld · 3 years

Text

Here's chapter 8! Revealed

Once Giulia and Maria were finished with deliveries, they started riding back down the hill back to their home just as the boys were coming back from fishing. "Whoa, that's a lot more fish than before!" Giulia said, "That's because a lot of fish start migrating." Luca said. Maria stared at the pile of fish, hungrily. "Uhh, you ok, Maria?" Alberto asked but she didn't respond and walked away into the house. Everyone joined inside taking the pile of fish so Massimo can cut them and Giulia can deliver. At night, Maria was up in the treehouse eating some raw fish she snuck out of the kitchen as Alberto was approaching from behind whispering "Silencio Bruno, Silencio Bruno!" and he took a deep breathe and tapped Maria's shoulder and she turned around.

"Uhh... Hey!" Alberto said nervously. "So... About earlier today... just wanted to point out that that was an accident...." "We don't experience your culture of 'love,' could you perhaps teach me?" Maria asked "Oh! Uhh... Sure?" Alberto said nervously "You did say you were an expert on humans." Maria said "I am! And I'm an expert on love! So I'll teach you." Said Alberto sitting next to Maria. "Giulia said that kissing meant you 'like' someone." Maria said facing towards Alberto "Yes, but there's a bit more to it than that." He said, "Like what?" Said Maria "Uhh, well, like, getting to know someone, someone that's like you! What you like, what your into, understands what you need." Alberto said "Like you?" Maria said, "What?" Said Alberto confused, "Yes, when we rode your Vespa up the hill and I spoke about my troubles, you understood what I needed, to be free, to live like you. And you and I both like flowers and we're both into exploring." Maria said.

"Yeah, I guess so!" Alberto said giggling out of excitement then he turned and saw Luca coming out of the window with a book, "Hey, Alberto! Wanna read this pirate book with us? It's amazing!" He said excitedly, Alberto sighed, "No thanks, Luca. You two have all the fun you want, I'm fine." He said turning away in a annoyed tone. "Ok!" Luca shrugged and went back inside to Giulia to continue with their fun. Maria noticed Alberto's facial expression changed, "Why are you mad?" She asked, "You know how you felt when you saw your friends' corpse? Yeah, that's how I feel sometimes, like, they just forgot about me..." Alberto said sadly, "I would never forget you, Alberto." Maria said putting her hand on his shoulder, Alberto smiled, "Thanks, Maria." He said putting his hand on top of hers.

Maria leaned closer and kissed Alberto on the lips like before and closed her eyes, Alberto deepened the kiss and closed his eyes too then pulled away when Massimo called him down to hunt for some more fish. "I'll be right back." Alberto said and jumped down from the tree exiting through the gate with Massimo waving goodbye to Maria who was waving back from the tree.

The next day, Maria was hovering over Alberto who was still sleeping. Then Giulia opened her window and played her trumpet noise again waking up Alberto who accidentally bonked his head against Maria's. "Ow, sorry Maria." Alberto said rubbing his from the pain, "Are you ok?" Maria asked, "Yeah, how hard is your head?" He asked "We are trained to be strong in every step. Muscles, instincts, knowledge-" She started "Yeah yeah, I get it." You won't really need to use those techniques now that your here." Alberto said standing up.

"Hey, c'mon! We have to get to work!" Giulia shouted, "Alright already, we're coming!" Alberto said and jumped down from the tree along with Maria as they both headed towards Massimo to the boat. While heading towards the boat, Alberto turned to see Luca get on a bike and ride with Giulia through the town to deliver some fish from yesterday, he turned back around and looked down angrily but sighed and hopped on the boat.

While out at sea, Maria jumped out of the boat into the water. "Where is she going?" Massimo asked, "Probably to catch some fish for us." Alberto said as they pulled the net into the water. Maria was swimming fast, going far away from the boat and searching around for anything to give to Alberto when she saw a big wrecked ship. Maria swam over to the giant wreckage and took a look inside to find some more fish inside and some skeletons from when the ship sank. She also found a chest with chains, she swam over to it and broke the chains with her bear claws and opened it to reveal jewelry and treasure, she took some of the jewelry breaking them and mitch matching them into necklaces for her and Alberto to wear.

Some fish got caught into the net as Massimo and Alberto started pulling the net up, "Thanks, Maria!" Alberto said shouting into the water, but there was no response, "Maria?" He said and then sighed "She must be at my island again, I'll go get her." Alberto said and dove into the water to find Maria swimming back to the boat, "Hey, where were you?" Alberto said swimming up to her, "Gathering the fish." Maria said hiding the gifts behind her back then grabbing her floating shorts and hopped onto the boat turning back into a human and putting her jean shorts back on and placing the necklaces in her pockets.

Once back on the boat, they started heading back to shore. Luca and Giulia were heading down the hill while Giulia was timing Luca's speed, "Woohoo! New record, Luca!" Giulia cheered, Luca giggled and hopped off the bike and placing it next to the door. Then they both started walking towards the dock where Alberto, Massimo and Maria were getting off the boat with another load of fish.

Massimo took the net full of fish and brought it inside to prepare for tomorrow, Alberto and Luca started heading back to the water. "Where are you going?" Maria asked, "Oh, I have lifeguarding, and Luca is helping." Alberto said "What is 'lifeguarding?'" Maria asked. "It's when you have to be on lookout to see if anyone's drowning to go save them or if there are sharks in the water. And its quite fun." Alberto said "Can I join you?" Maria asked, "You can, just don't get wet." Alberto said as they headed into the water and turned into their Sea Monster forms.

Maria sat on the edge watching them have fun and standing lookout for any sharks. After a few hours of everyone playing and enjoying the water, Maria took the time to continue with the necklaces, carving Alberto's name into one that had a small, thin gold chain with blue sapphires attached to it and some small seashells that spell out Alberto's name. "Hey, Maria." Alberto said swimming up to her, "What's that?" He asked "For you." Maria said holding out the gold and blue necklace to Alberto with his name carved into the seashells. "It's like a promise, as long as we wear these, we'll never forget each other." She said giving Alberto his and putting hers around her neck.

"Wow, thanks!" Alberto said putting on the necklace. Maria smiled, but then Ercole came up to ruin the fun. "Aww, how cute. Number one has a fidanzata!" He said laughing, Alberto groaned in annoyance "Ignore him, Maria." He said getting out of the water, "Oh, my apologies. I guess you two just need to cool off a bit." Ercole said pushing both of them into the water as they turned back into their original forms. Maria tried to swim back up to face Ercole but Alberto stopped her "Maria, swim away! Before he sees you!" "Sirens don't run away from a fight." Maria argued, "Maria, if he sees you your dead! Remember what he said earlier!? He sees you like this he's gonna try to hunt you down and hurt you, or worse!" Alberto said putting his hands on Maria's arms trying to get her away from Ercole.

"Alberto, stop! I'm stronger than him! I'll manage what he throws at me!" Maria said breaking free and getting into Alberto's face, "That didn't seem to work with your friend back there, did it?" Alberto snapped getting into Maria's face back "If he sees you your gonna end up like her!" Maria gasped and back away, "Who are you?" She said tearing up, "M-Maria, I didn't mean-" Alberto said swimming closer to her before she ripped her necklace off and started swimming away at a speed too fast for Alberto to catch up, "MARIA WAIT!" He said before stopping and seeing her fade away into the ocean.

Alberto jumped back up to the surface, "Eh? What was that!?" Ercole said seeing Maria swimming away and that she wasn't human either, nor a Sea Monster. Alberto went up to Ercole and punched him causing him to lose some teeth and a bloody nose. "Alberto!" Luca yelled and started getting out of the water, "What's going on?" Giulia said coming out to see what Alberto did. "Ercole, what did you do now?" Giulia sighed "YOU STAY AWAY FROM US AND LEAVE US ALONE!" Alberto yelled as Luca tried to hold him back, "Oho! We're ready for round two!" Ercole said putting his fists up. "Ok, that's enough. C'mon guys, let's go home." Giulia said as she and Luca drag Alberto back to home. "Yes, go on and run away!" Ercole said while turning away to face the direction Maria went and whispered to himself "I have a Siren to capture and a prize to win!" He whispered evilly.

"Alberto, what happened?" Luca asked, Alberto sighed "Nothing I just... I just want to be alone for a while." He said climbing the stairs and heading back to the tree sitting down while looking out the ocean thinking about Maria. Alberto sighed and realized how much he messed up, pulling out Maria's necklace and sighed again. Alberto layed down and whispered "I'm sorry, Maria." Then dozed off into sleep.

#luca 2021 #luca fanfic #luca movie #pixar luca #disney luca #luca paguro #Alberto Scorfano #Maria Rose #Giulia Marcovaldo #Massimo Marcovaldo #Ercole Visconti #Ocean waves #Fanfic #Alberto x Maria

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buckmecaptain · 4 years

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Distraction on Halloween

Bucky Barnes is stuck at a Tony Stark Halloween party, annoyed and bored. What he needs is a little distraction.

Bucky Barnes X OC, Steve Rogers

Mentions of Sam Wilson, Maria Hill, Tony Stark, Sharon Carter

Picture is not mine. Neither are the MCU characters.

This was supposed to be a drabble, turned into a one-shot. Kinda. I wrote this in an hour, so I’m sure it’s full of mistakes.

WARNINGS: Blood, Unprotected Sex (Wrap it before you tap it!), Supernatural beings, Alcohol consumption, Naughty words, Smut, Bucky’s huge dong

Another holiday, another Stark Party. Bucky huffed and rolled his eyes, annoyed at the mostly-drunk costumed revelers who were networking and jockeying for the best selfie positions. Leaning an elbow on the bar, he nursed his whiskey and watched the various Avengers scattered around the room.

He couldn't help but chuckle at Steve and Sam, who were dressed as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, respectively, and Sharon Carter and Maria Hill, who were both dressed as Princess Leia and pretending - maybe - to swoon over them. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from a couple of spots away.

“Ginger ale, please. Plenty of ice.”

A little shiver ran up his spine, like cold fingertips spider-walking on his back. He side-eyed the speaker, who was not looking in his direction. She was tall, stacked, in a floor-length long-sleeved black dress that showed astonishing cleavage. Long night-black hair and pale skin, blood-red lips, and incredible dark lashes almost completed an enticing picture. He desperately wanted to see her eyes.

Oh, why the hell not? It's a party, it's Halloween... He turned his head toward her only slightly. "Designated driver?" he asked.

The barest hint of a smile pulled at the corner of her lips and she toyed with the straw in her drink. “Something like that.” She didn't look at him. “You're not mingling.”

“Not really my thing.”

She sipped her ginger ale. “Oh? I would have thought otherwise. There's an angel and a French maid at your seven o'clock who are absolutely ready to, um, mingle with you, Luke Skywalker.” This time she smirked, but still didn't look over at him.

He'd been well aware of the inebriated giggling twosome and had been ignoring them for at least twenty minutes. Their voices were grating on his nerves. “Also not my thing. Things, whatever,” he shrugged.

She hummed. "Well, too bad. That was a sure way to get to put your lightsaber to good use." She turned away. "See ya around."

He couldn't stop himself from turning to watch her go. Eventually, he lost her in the crowd due to constant interruptions from party guests and was growing more frustrated by the minute. Deciding fresh air was the cure for his malady, he ducked down the caterer's entrance and stepped out onto a balcony.

The late October air was crisp and bracing, and he pulled in a lung full.

“Did all those drunk fools take your breath away, Sergeant?”

Bucky whipped his head around to see his mystery girl perched on the balcony's handrail, the hip-high slit in her dress revealing her long shapely legs, crossed and swaying slowly in the night breeze. He snorted. “More like sucked all the air out of the room,” he leaned back against the rail and blatantly looked her up and down. “What's your excuse, doll?”

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes, “So many people in one space. Overwhelming. This is better.”

He nodded. “You're gonna get cold.”

“Maybe so,” she uncrossed her legs and stilled. “Interested in coming over here to keep me warm?” This time she did look at him, and he was startled by how luminous her eyes were in the light of the full moon. Oh yes, he was definitely interested.

Bucky sauntered over and leaned back on the rail beside her. “Better now?”

She hummed an affirmative. “Won't your friends miss you in there?”

“Nah, they know I'm not big on these shindigs,” he watched her carefully as he spoke, “I could go back to my quarters right now and they'd think nothing of it.”

“I see.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “'Course, it's kind of lonely up there.”

“Pity. The night is so young and you look like you're just- just full of energy.”

“Honey, you have no idea.”

She leaned down and purred in his ear, “I'd like to get an idea.”

He shivered and turned his head, their lips meeting immediately. At first, he was surprised to find hers to be as cold as the handrail on which she was perched, but when she opened her mouth to him and caressed his tongue with hers he found nothing but warmth.

The kiss quickly became heated, breathless moans filling the space, and he soon found himself standing between her legs with her fingers buried in his hair. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer as she arched her back and wrapped her legs around him.

He pulled back, eyes darkened with desire, and pressed the tip of his erection against her center. “Darlin', if you want to continue this we'd better go to my place,” his breath hitched as her lips found his throat, “or else we're gonna traumatize the catering staff.”

She nipped his neck and pulled back. He almost did a double-take at how wanton she looked; her eyes were dark and feline, parted lips bee-stung and still blood red, cheeks and chest flushed scarlet. She was going to tear him apart and he was going to let her.

They'd barely made it to his bedroom when they came together again, hands, teeth, and mouths everywhere, grinding against each other in a frenzy.

“Too many clothes,” she complained, tugging on his costume tunic.

He stepped back far enough to tear off the outfit. “You know who I am. What's your name, sugar?”

“Elanor. Call me 'Elle',” she replied simply as she tossed her heels aside and opened the clasp at the waist of her dress, letting it slip from her body and fall to the floor.

Bucky growled low in his throat when he saw her standing before him in nothing but a tiny pair of silky scarlet panties. He stalked forward, predatory and beautiful in the low light, catching her as she jumped into his arms and wrapped around him. They made their way to the bed and sank onto his slate gray comforter.

He was everywhere at once, grinding his erection into her clothed center while nuzzling and massaging her full breasts as she moaned and writhed beneath him. He suckled and flicked his tongue at her nipples, tasting, always tasting. She squeezed her legs around him tightly and flexed, lifting them both off of the bed.

“Damn, doll, you're strong,” he chuckled and moved to cover her neck and shoulder with kisses.

She shoved her fingers into his hair and pulled his head up. “Need you inside me. Now.”

“Yes ma'am,” he purred, standing and shoving his boxers down and off.

Elle's eyes went wide at the sight of his engorged cock. “You're very blessed, Sergeant. Is all that for me?” she asked playfully as she raised her hips and slowly slid her panties over her bottom and halfway down her thighs. She stopped there, toying with the delicate fabric.

Bucky's mouth watered and his cock twitched. “Gonna tease me, sweetheart? Might wanna be careful,” he warned, one corner of his mouth turning up as he took in her pinup-girl pose.

“Why, what are you gonna do, spank me? It's not teasing if I fully intend to follow through.” She shimmied out of the underwear and tossed them aside while he stood there transfixed by the gorgeous woman laid bare before him.

He made no move to approach.

“Now who's being a tease?” she pouted, knees parting. She snaked a hand down to touch herself and sighed dramatically. “Making me wait when I’ve already told you I want you.”

He lunged forward, landing between her legs and batting her hand away. "Oh no, you don't. That's my job," he rasped, replacing her hand with his and stroking her arousal-drenched folds.

Elle whimpered and moaned, grinding herself against his hand as she dug her nails into his biceps. “Sergeant, I need-”

“Patience, doll.”

She pulled his head down to her chest, arching into him when his lips and teeth claimed a nipple. “Fuck yes. Harder,” she demanded.

He increased the suction on her nipple and thrust two fingers deep into her entrance, his thumb circling her clit. “Don't hold back. Let me hear you,” he urged, pumping his fingers slowly but firmly in and out of her.

She clutched at the comforter as pleasure coursed through her, head thrown back, gasping, hips gyrating in time with his hand, maneuvering so his thumb made better contact. Her hands flew to his face and pulled his mouth to hers. “I want to ride you,” she declared against his lips, her tongue slipping into and out of his mouth, flicking, fucking. "I want you to watch me take your cock." She grasped his wrist, pulling his hand from her entrance and brought it toward his mouth.

He automatically opened and sucked his fingers clean of her juices, moaning in appreciation. “Taste so fuckin' good, doll. Like Heaven.”

She laughed darkly and claimed his mouth with a clash of teeth and lip-bruising force.

Somehow in the middle of that kiss, Bucky ended up on his back with Elle straddling him. She rocked her hips, rubbing her silky-slick center along his length, making him gasp and press harder against her.

“Doll, if you- you don't stop that it's gonna be over way too soon,” he choked out between moans.

“But it feels so good,” she reasoned, then pushed up onto her knees and grasped his cock. “Eyes on me, Sergeant,” she commanded, looking into his eyes. Hers were almost completely black as she stroked the tip of him along her center, fully coating him in her arousal.

She needn't have asked; he couldn't look away. His hands latched onto her hips as she eased down onto his length, moving achingly slowly inch by inch. The feel of her hot, wet heat wrapping around him as he watched her take him in was almost too much and he had to bite his lip hard to keep himself from coming right then and there.

Once he was fully inside her, she moved her hips in small circles, her body sensually undulating above him, hypnotic and serpentine. “Sergeant.. your cock feels so good. So big. Filling me up, hit all- all the right spots,” her voice was wrecked, needy and raspy with her heavy breathing. She trailed her hands over the planes of his stomach, scraping her nails lightly over his heated skin, as he shivered and bucked his hips.

She leaned forward, those perfect full breasts swaying tantalizingly close to his chest. He couldn't stop himself from leaning up to capture a nipple in his teeth, teasing the taut peaks with the tip of his tongue. He thrust up into her faster as she keened with pleasure.

Flexing her powerful thighs, she set her rhythm to match his power and speed, huffing out a breath each time his pelvis met hers. Leaning down again as far as she could she pulled his head to hers, their lips meeting and parting, tongues sliding together wet and hot. She moaned into his mouth, “So close. Harder.”

He obliged, fingers digging into the soft curves of her ass, hips ratcheting up into hers, his breathing ragged. His movements were growing uncoordinated – he was close as well - and brought his hand over to rub her clit with his flesh thumb, bringing her over the edge.

When the orgasm hit, Elle raked her nails down his chest then arched her back, inner walls clamping down on his thrusting cock. The angle and sensation sent shockwaves buzzing through his body.

Bucky thought he'd never seen a more beautiful, desirable woman, and he was about to tell her as much when her walls clenched him again and he came. His eyes slammed shut as his senses overloaded and he missed seeing the dark, leathery wings that unfurled from his lover's back.

As her wings flexed she leaned down and kissed him hungrily, trailing open-mouthed kisses over his jaw to his neck, tongue tracing the pulse point, and sank her teeth into his skin. She licked the wound, immediately dulling the sting, and sucked.

He didn't care that she was marking him. Caught up in the after-effects of the most intense orgasm he'd ever had, he didn't find it strange that he was seeing stars, brilliant colors, and feeling a strong pulling sensation from where her mouth was connected to his neck.

He was so lost in the resulting euphoria of this otherworldly climax he only partially came back to himself when Elle pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed, delicately wiping off the blood running from the corners of her mouth with her fingers. She then licked them clean.

“I was right, you know. Blessed. You taste so good, like a fine brandy and cinnamon,” she complimented, smiling smugly.

Bucky was woozy as if he'd had a bit too much of Thor's infamous Asgardian liquor. His head felt heavy, his tongue thick, mouth dry. "Wow, doll, that was a helluva ride." He flopped back onto his bed with a goofy grin on his face.

“Thank you, Sergeant. I had a damn good time. It should hold me over for a while.” She winked at him as she clasped her dress and slipped on her heels. “See you around.” She stepped out onto his balcony and disappeared into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The super-soldier woke with a brutal headache the next morning. His head was pounding and he was cold.

What the fuck? His balcony door was open. What the hell did he drink last night? Had he been drugged?

He sat up and the pounding in his head intensified.

Wait. That pounding was coming from the door.

He clutched his head and hollered, “What the hell do you want?”

The noise stopped and his door opened.

“Pal? You okay? It's eleven o'clock. You missed breakfast.”

“Yeah, Steve, just one hell of a hangover. Was Thor at the party last night?”

Steve tilted his head to the side, hands on his hips. “Thor? No, he's still off-world.”

Hissing out a long breath, Bucky lay back down. "Fuckin' killer headache. The bartender didn't have any of that Asgardian alcohol, did he?"

Concerned, his friend suggested they go to Medical and get him checked out, and Bucky agreed.

“I'll get you some clothes, Buck. Sit still for a minute,” Steve offered, handing him a water bottle.

Bucky took it gratefully and drained the entire contents. “So damn thirsty.”

“Well, dehydration is the first sign of too much alcohol. Maybe it's alcohol poisoning. Maybe you just lost track of how much you had to drink? Guess I should save the assumptions,” Steve rambled, suddenly standing stock-still.

“Hey, uh, Buck? Did you have company last night?”

“Shit. I don't remember. If I did, she's not here now.”

Steve turned to him with a familiar pair of red silk panties hanging off of one finger. “I'd say this is proof that something went on here last night,” he smirked.

“Wow, you'd think I'd for sure remember something like that.” He tilted his head and squinted at the feminine garment.

Steve paled. "Buck, I- I think we'd better, uh, get you to the medbay right now. C'mon." He stared at the side of his friend's neck and grabbed his arm, hauling Bucky to his feet.

“What the hell, man?”

Steve dragged him over to the dresser mirror and pointed. There were two holes, spaced slightly apart and perfectly round, perforating his neck over the jugular vein.

The super-soldiers stared at each other in the mirror, both wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Holy shit," they said in unison and turned to the open balcony door.

#bucky barnes smut #halloween smut #bucky x oc #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #Bucky Barnes

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mrs-dr-reid · 4 years

Text

The Avengers Part 3

Word Count: 2626

A/N: Okay, so I lied a little. This one is pretty short, too. Don’t get used to it, though

———————————————————————

Status Report:

So sorry for the cliffhanger, but that last entry got WAY too long. Being as attention-to-detail as I am, I can get pretty long-winded. Whoops. Wait, where was I? Oh, yeah.

A huge explosion shook the Helicarrier, and the exhaust from the blast came up through the vent in the floor of the lab, flinging Steve, Tony and I to one side of the lab, Thor, Fury and Rosalie to the other, and Bruce and Nat through the window to a lower deck. Rosalie was the first to sit up, and she looked at the busted window fearfully (for an entirely valid reason).

I heard her say, "Bruce," before making eye contact with me, so I nodded discreetly, and she flung herself out the busted window and parkoured her way down to the lower level to try and get to Bruce and Nat. Steve and Tony exchanged eye contact, Steve said, "Put on the suit," Tony agreed, "Yeah," and they both started leaving the lab. I stood up and went to follow them, but Steve put his hands on my shoulders and said, "Steph, what are you doing?", so I said, "Following you? What does it look like I'm doing? A conga line with the Third Reich?" (Stark letting out a snort at that comment, as he had stopped walking when he realized that Steve wasn't following him anymore), and he said, "No way. You're staying here to help Fury. Stark and I will handle this."

I shot an appalled look at him and said, "Are you kidding me?! I'm 26 years old, Steve. I'm not a baby," so he sighed and said, "I know you're not, Doll, but this is really dangerous, and you could get seriously hurt," earning another appalled look from me. I grumbled so only I could hear, "You sound like Fury when I first started at S.H.I.E.L.D.," then said louder, "I'm old enough to handle myself, Steve. Why can't you accept that you don't have to baby me all the t-...," but was interrupted when he pulled me closer by my shoulders and pressed his lips against mine in a desperate kiss.

When he pulled his lips away, he said, "I can't lose you, Doll. If something happened, and you got hurt, or worse, killed, I'd never forgive myself. Can you promise me that you won't endanger yourself?", so I pouted slightly, and when he gave me a stern look, I exhaled in defeat and said, "Fine," in an exasperated manner. I pressed a quick kiss to Steve's lips, then said, "Give 'em hell, Babe," so he grinned, then trotted out the door after Stark. I smiled, then ran off to the Command Center of the Helicarrier. I hopped a railing to get down to the computers, and I started typing away to see what the problem was.

Fury came over the headset and said, "Hill!", so Maria replied, "External Detonation. Number three engine is down," then walked over to the guy typing at the computer next to me. She said, "Can they get it running? Talk to me,” and the agent replied, "The turbine looks mostly intact, but it's impossible to get out there to make repairs while we're in the air," so I said, "If we lose one more engine, we won't be," then pressed my headset button and said, "Somebody's gotta get outside and patch that engine," just as Maria went to push her own button. Fury said, "Stark, you copy that?", and he said, "I'm on it," so Fury said, "Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section then get to the armory. Romanoff?", and she said, "We're okay."

I heard growling over her com, and she said, "We're okay, right?", so I said, "Oh no," because Loki's plan was working, and we only had one shot to keep Bruce under control, and that was Rosalie. I pressed my button, then said, "Rosalie, come in. Nat's in close proximity to Dr. Banner, and from what I could hear, he's Hulking out. Try to keep him contained," so she said, "Already on it," and I heard the growling getting louder. A loud roar echoed through the Carrier, and I knew it was too late. The Hulk came out, and Rosalie couldn't get him back in on time, which meant there was a very good chance the Helicarrier was going to get ripped to pieces.

Fury came running into the Command Center saying, "Bring the Carrier about to a 1-8-0, heading south!", then said to a nearby agent, "Take us to the water!", so the agent replied, "We're flying blind. Navigation's recalibrating after the engine failure," and I looked at him like he was a three-headed toad, astounded by how idiotic he was. I said, "Oh, my god. Is the sun coming up?", and after a look out the window, he said, "Yes, ma'am," so I snapped, "Then put it on the left! Get us over water! One more turbine goes down, and we drop!", and he started going to work after saying, "Yes, ma'am."

I walked past Fury and said, "You really need to update the basic skill criteria for being an agent, Director," and he said, "I'll make a note, Commander," so I shot him a smirk, then dashed off to Engine 3, because even though I promised Steve, there was no way that I was gonna let him become a fish without water (me being the water, and him being the fish). I heard roars coming over the com, so I pressed my button then said, "Nat, get out of there!", and she snapped, "I'm trying!!!", so I said, "Can a girl not try to keep her best friend alive?"

She said, "I'll manage, okay? Focus on getting our systems back up," so I said, "Just making sure," and hopped over a small fire in the hallway before putting it out with my cryokinesis and continuing to sprint to Engine 3. Agent Sitwell engaged the PA system and said, "We've got a perimeter breach! Hostiles are in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear. Call-outs at every junction," so I swore under my breath, "Goddamnit," then kept running through the halls.

The PA was engaged again and it said, "We have the Hulk and Thor on Research Level 4. Levels 2 and 3 are dark," and I said, "Good lord," before I kept running. I paged Fury and said, "Sir, the Hulk is going to tear this place apart! What's our next move?", and he said, "Get his attention," so I said, "Hill, you have the wheel."

She said, "Escort 6-0, proceed to Wishbone and engage hostile," I added, "Don't get too close," and the pilot replied, "Copy," so I kept on running. After a minute or two, he said, "Target acquired," then said, "Target engaged," and began firing non-lethals at the Hulk. I heard roaring, then the pilot said, "Target angry, target angry!", and I heard crashes, so I knew the Hulk had charged the fighter plane. I didn't stick around long enough to see the outcome, because I was too focused on getting to Engine 3.

I heard a grenade go off through one of the coms, and grunts and machine gun fire followed soon after, so I said into my com, "Rogers, so help me God, if you die, I will kill you," but I didn't get a reply. I said, "Rogers?", but I still heard nothing but grunts and gunfire, so I shouted, "ROGERS!", and an exclamation of, "What?! Jeez!", came after, so I said, "What's your position?"

He said, "Still at Engine 3. Why? You're not on your way, are you?", so, lying through my perfect white teeth, I said, "No, you idiot! I promised you, didn't I?", and he said, "Fair enough," more fight sounds coming after. I sighed, then said, "Don't hurt yourself, Babe. I'm sending backup your way," and disconnected before continuing to sprint, because I was the backup (obviously). I heard explosions coming from the Command Center, so I said, "Sir?! What happened?", but no answer came. I shrugged it off, and kept running to the down engine.

I felt the constant hum of engines cut out, and over the PA, an agent said, "Engine one is now in shut-down," so I said, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!", before I kept running. An agent said, "We are in an uncontrolled descent," and I heard someone contact Fury and say, "Sir, we've lost all power in engine one," Fury replying, "It's Barton. He took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Does anybody copy?"

The line went blank for a few moments, then Nat said, "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy," and she signed off, me feeling slightly worried for her, because if I knew Clint Barton as well as I thought I did, I knew he wasn't gonna go easy on her, especially since Loki brainwashed him. Fury said, "Stark, we're losing altitude," so he replied, "Yeah, I noticed," then said nothing else. After a few minutes of me navigating the halls, an agent said, "All hands to crash stations immediately," so I knew we were falling fast.

I snapped into my com, "Stark! We kinda need you to speed this up," and he said, "I'm working on it, don't get your ballistic nylon in a twist," so I groaned, not having anything to clap back with, and kept running. I encountered a few hostiles on my way, but I made short work of them. I felt us stop falling, and Stark said, "Cap, hit the lever," to which Steve replied, "I need a minute here!"

I swore, "Damnit," and ran as fast as I could to get to the engine. Stark said, "Lever. Now!", but Steve didn't say anything. I kept running, then I heard a small, "Uh-oh," come from Stark before a series of scrapes and bangs sounded off, along with a few Help!'s coming from him. I said, "Hang tight, Stark, I'm on my way!", and kept running. A hostile was shooting at Steve when I got there, so I swung around a pole and judo kicked him out of commission, Stark hurtling through the gap not five seconds after I did. I saw Steve on a balcony, so I parkoured my way up to him and launched myself at him to crash my lips against his in a don't-you-dare-scare-me-like-that-ever-again kiss, his arms wrapping tight around me as he kissed me back.

A few minutes went by before Fury said through the com, "Agent Coulson is down," making my heart snap in two. An agent replied, "A medical team is on its way to your location," and he said, "They're here. They called it," making me tear up, bring my hands up to my mouth, and lean into Steve for support, his arm wrapping around me comfortingly.

Tony, Steve, and I changed out of our suits, then met Fury and Hill on the bridge. We sat/stood there in silence for a minute or two before Fury said, "These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. I guess he never did get you to sign them," and tossed a small packet of cards at Steve (which I recognized to be his Captain America trading cards) that were stained with blood, making me tear up just by looking at them.

Steve picked one up, and Fury said, "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, the location of the Cube, Banner, Thor...," while I peeked at the card in Steve's hand, and saw it had him on it in his dorky 1940's USO suit while saluting the camera. Fury continued, "I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming," making me look up at him and say, "Sir..."

He shot a quick look at me, then said, "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier," making me look away, not wanting my boss to see the tears in my eyes. He continued, "There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative," intriguing both Steve and I enough to look at him. He explained, "The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could be something more,” so Steve and I exchanged a look, and he grabbed my hand reassuringly while Fury continued, "To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony stood up, then left the bridge, me watching him go. Fury said, "Well, it's an old-fashioned notion," and Steve and I just sat there, not saying anything, as there wasn't really anything to say. We got up to go to the detention block, and saw Tony there, looking at the steel trap where Thor got flushed out by his own (albeit adopted) brother. Steve was silent for a minute, then he said, "Was he married?", and Tony replied, "No. There was a cellist, I think," so Steve said, "I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

Tony smirked, then said, "He was an idiot," and Steve said, "Why? For believing?", so Tony said, "For taking on Loki alone," making me mumble, "That was pretty dumb of him," earning a look from Steve before he said, "He was doing his job,” earning a scoff from Tony. He said, "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have...," Steve walking forward and cutting in, "Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony," when he trailed off. Tony said, "Right, I've heard that before," while he walked past us, making Steve say, "Is this the first time you lost a soldier?", so Tony wheeled back around and snapped, "We are not soldiers."

I raised my hand and said, "I'm technically a soldier," making Tony make a face at me before saying, "I'm not marching to Fury's fife," and Steve said, "Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list...," but Tony cut him off after looking at Coulson's blood stain on the wall and said, "He made it personal."

I raised my eyebrow at him, then said, "Tony, that's not the point," so he said, "That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?", and Steve said, "To tear us apart,” which made me start to see where they were going with this. Tony said, "Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience," so I said, "Right. Steve and I caught his act in Stuttgart," and Tony said, "Yeah, that was just the previews. This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered...," then he stopped, everything clicking into place.

Steve and I shot him a "Ya think?" look, and after standing there dumbstruck for a few seconds, he said, "Son of a bitch," and dashed out the door and down the hallway, Steve and I exchanging a knowing look before following after him, prepared for the battle that was almost guaranteed to happen.

TO BE CONTINUED... AGAIN

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ilosttrackofthings · 6 years

Note

october 11 2015, "but you just won't leave" and or january 26 2016, "s"

send me a sunday six name+date and I’ll respond with more

So I can’t actually find “but you just won’t leave” in my fic folders so I can’t give you another snippet buuut I can tell you that it was supposed to be chapter 2 of I’m hoping you can save me. In it, Mike would spend pretty much the whole night knowingly hallucinating Jess, he assumes, as his own mental punishment for failing to save her. I have always hoped I’d manage to finish it up and I did rewatch Until Dawn recently so I’ll likely keep hunting for it in hopes it’ll actually get an ending.

Luckily, such is not the case with S (weird, considering that the one has a ~title that was its for real title but this one was just a random fic that by all rights I should never have been able to track down again because my organizational system was nonexistent back then). It was written in response to a Jemma/Steve prompt and I just couldn’t finish it but I’m too fond of what I did write to scrap it entirely so I hope you all enjoy:

Throughthe creepy fake wall, into the even creepier secret lair. One guard.Back of the room. Shield to the chest knocks him out before he candraw his sidearm.

Stevecatches the shield after it rebounds off the ceiling and only thennotices the other person in the room. She’s wrapped up in so manyrestraints he almost missed her. The contraption they’ve got her inis familiar, reminds him of what he and Sam dug up on the WinterSoldier in the early days. Poor girl’s just a kid, shaking andfighting while her eyes are fixed on that - what’s the word? -psychedelic screen up ahead. He smashes the star into the damn thingand she whimpers.

“Hey,hey, it’s okay. I’m Captain America; I’m gonna get you out ofhere, all right?”

Gently,he starts with the clasps holding her eyes open. She shuts them andher whole body relaxes so that when he gets her out of the cuffs, shesinks into his arms.

“Miss?”he prods, trying to hold her on her feet. “Miss, can you stand?”

Sherests one small hand on his shoulder - the other is held protectivelyclose to her body and he vows to punch at least one more HYDRA agentin the teeth before leaving this hell hole - but wavers so badly hecatches her around the waist with one arm.

“Okay,that’s not gonna work.” He taps his earpiece. “Sam? You stillairborne? I need a medical evac.”

Thereare a lot of calls questioning whether Steve’s the one who needshelp and he ignores them just like he ignores the backgroundexplosions and gunfire, focusing on Sam’s “What floor?”

“Thirty-eight.Whitehall’s office. I’ll make a hole.”

“Gotcha.Comin’ around now.”

Stevetaps off the device and looks down. The woman is resting against hischest, so still and peaceful. “Miss? You still with me?”

Shehums lowly and tips her head back. Her eyes are glassy but at leastshe’s awake. “Oh! You’re-”

“CaptainAmerica,” he says gently, filing it away to let Banner know she’shaving some memory issues. “You okay to walk or do I have to carryyou?”

“Um…”She catches her lower lip between her teeth and glances down likeshe’s checking to make sure she’s even got legs.

“Carryit is.” He hefts her into his arms before she can protest.

Shesways in his grip and falls heavily against his shoulder. “Whoa.”

“Youokay there?”

“Yes.Just …” He’s made it back into the office and is setting herdown on one of the couches when she finally gets to the en of that sentence. “Woozy.”He’s more and more glad he called Sam by the minute.

“Stayhere,” he says, using his captain voice and hoping it’ll keep herfrom rolling off the cushions. He makes sure her bad arm is restingsafely on her stomach and her good hand lands against the side of hisneck. “I’ve gotta blow a hold in the wall,” he saysapologetically. She nods like that makes complete sense.

Beforeleaving to set a few charges on Whitehall’s big, landscape window,he kicks the coffee table away so if she doesroll off she won’t be in danger of cracking her head open.

Theexplosion doesn’t wake her up. Neither does Sam lifting her in hisarms. Steve watches him disappear through the giant hole beforeheading back downstairs to beat up a few more HYDRA grunts.

She’snot their only rescue of the day - not by a long shot - but she’sthe only one on the quinjet that Clint brings around to pick him andNat up.

“Hi,”she says when he walks past. She’s on a gurney on the floor andsmiling in a very obviously drugged way. She doesn’t seem to noticeBruce splinting her swollen hand at all.

“Hey.”He squats down to look her over. “You remember me?”

Herface scrunches up so dramatically he has to bite back a laugh. “You-”she pokes him in the chest with her right hand and gets momentarilydistracted by the IV line- “smell good.”

Brucesnorts and on the other side of the cabin Sam doesn’t even tryto hold his laugh in.

“Mm-hm,”she says, patting Steve’s chest. “Very nice.”

“Don’ttake it too personal,” Bruce says, “Jemma here called me Tripwhen she first woke up and then tried to get me to confess I wasn’treally Bruce Banner.”

“You’renot,”Jemma says, swinging her hand over to give Bruce a weak smack - ormaybe she was trying to rub his hair, that’s more what it ends upbeing.

“Didyou?” Steve asks, giving up on keeping the smile off his face.

“Toshut her up,” Bruce says. “She was trying to quiz me on my work -did a damn good job considering she was already high as a kite - soI’m guessing HYDRA wanted her for her brain.”

“Yeah,”Steve says, remembering the machine she was hooked up to. “Theremight actually be some memory loss - how is she physically?”

Brucelooks up from his work on her arm. “Decent for someone in HYDRAcustody. The wrist is broken but it doesn’t feel too bad. She’sgot some bruising and some swelling. Not enough to do real damage,but enough to scare her.” His voice goes cold and distant, the wayit does when he’s thinking of things he shouldn’t be.

Stevekeeps alert for signs his emotions are getting away from him butotherwise leaves Bruce be.

Jemma’sdrifted off to sleep again and Steve brushes her hair from herforehead, revealing another bruise. Bastards.

Beneathhis feet the quinjet takes a wide turn. He and Bruce exchange a look;he’s not the only one confused.

“Uh,what’s happening?” he calls up to the cockpit. The cargo ramp isopening and he rests a hand on Jemma’s stomach just to be certainshe stays put.

“Starksays to head west!” Nat yells, her words almost lost on the wind.

Theramp closes and Tony’s heavy footfalls echo in the tight space.“Stark,” he says snarkily, “has been on the phone with MariaHill. Who very casually asked if we’d recovered any prisoners andthen even morecasually asked if any of them were former SHIELD agents.”

Stevetips his head back. “Was she?”

“Idon’t know!” Tony snaps. “The only records on this girl areHYDRA’s. You google her name and there’s nothing.She’s a ghost.”

Stevelooks back to Jemma’s peaceful face. He can feel Sam watching himand he’s willing to bet Nat’s paying just as much attention,though she’s too good to show it.

“Howdo you know Hill wants her?”

Thebreath hisses out of Tony as he steps away from his suit. “Ifinally got her to admit Agent Jemma Simmons is who she was fishingfor - probablywhy she gave us this base’s coordinates in the first place. Shetried to say the girl’s dadwas worried about her, but unless her dad’s the Invisible Man, I’mbetting that’s a load of crap.”

“Soyou’re having us fly awayfromHill,” Sam says slowly, “because … what?”

Tonyfalls into the two seats next to Bruce. “Because I want answers andI’m pretty sure she’smore likely to give them to us than Hill is.”

Bruceand Tony get into a fight over what, exactly, constitutes akidnapping, while Steve makes himself comfortable on the floor nextto Jemma’s head. He’s pretty sure Tony’s wrong - about thedefinition of kidnapping andJemma giving them answers. She just got out of HYDRA’s worstinterrogation cell and she still had the wherewithal to make Bruce Banneragree he was lying about his own name; she’s not gonna be easy.

Steve’sright. The next day - after her system’s clear of HYDRA’s drugs,the cast on her wrist is dry, and they’re all settled in at thewest coast base (aka the underground bunker Tony built out of theremains of his mansion after he got it blown up) - Jemma wakes up,realizes her doctor really is Bruce Banner, and promptly shuts hermouth. Tony cajoles, he threatens, he begs, but there doesn’t seemto be a damn thing he can say to get her to talk. It’s hilarious.

Steve’stempted to let it keep going - they’ve got popcorn and the securityfeed up on the big screen - but once people start placing bets, it’sgone a little too far.

“Okay,okay. I’m going in.”

There’sa lot of yelling - a surprising amount of it from Natasha - and evenmore popcorn thrown at him, but he’s not backing down. They’rethe Avengers, they don’t kidnap people, and despite Tony’sattempts this is looking more and more like a kidnapping - or atleast an unlawful detainment - every second. He snags an unopenedwater bottle on his way out of the lounge and jogs down the long hallto Jemma’s room.

“-allthe alien technology you can study! Seriously! I know Thor.”Tony’s latest line of attack is a good one - assuming Jemma reallyis a scientist like her HYDRA file says.

Steve’sbeen looking over it the last few hours. Far as he can tell, shedidn’t exist prior to six months ago when she started working intheir bioweapons division. Since then, she’s been an exemplaryemployee, even saving a superior’s life while on a field missionlast month. (What a lab rat was doing in the field, the file failedto say.) There’s some sketchy evidence linking her to a data leak,but it could just as easily lead to another branch of HYDRA as to areal enemy. They really have no idea who this woman is.

“Hey,”Steve says, stopping just inside the doorway. “You wanna give us aminute?”

“No,”Tony gripes. He steps up close so they can speak without beingoverheard. Steve keeps his eyes on Jemma, who looks worryingly smallin the oversized bed. “You think you can get her to talk?”

“Shehasn’t said a word in hours. Ten bucks says I can get her sayingwhole sentences in ten minutes.”

“Fiftyand five minutes.”

“Done.”

Tonyslaps Steve’s shoulder on his way out.

Stevegives Jemma a pained smile as the door swings shut and then grabs astool from the wall to bring it over to her. “So. I get that thisis … weird. You get captured by HYDRA, then you get saved by theAvengers, and now you’re in our secret base. Weird.”

Jemma’slooking him up and down warily, so he takes his time about pullinghis phone from his back pocket.

Heholds it out to her. “Here. You wanna call someone, go ahead.”

Shewants to. She’s temptedto, but slowly she shakes her head. Her eyes stay on the phone untilhe sets it on her bedside table.

“It’sright there if you change your mind. Water?”

Thistime she accepts, taking slow sips from the bottle. Steve’s beenthere. Even with the fluids Bruce has got her on to replenish whatshe’s lost, she wants that visceral feeling of drinking. She needsit or she’s never gonna feel normal in her own skin again, so helets the time tick by until she lowers the bottle to her lap andrecaps it.

“Let’sstart over,” he says. He holds out his hand. “Steve Rogers.”

Shestares - at him, at his hand, and then at the wall on her left.

“Canyou talk?” he asks, pitching his voice to sound worried. “Youneed me to call Bruce back-”

“Ican speak,” she says and Steve does a mental victory lap. He wisheshe could hear Tony cursing.

“Butyou’re not?”

Sheshakes her head, back to the nonverbal.

“Youwanna tell me why?”

Shesighs heavily and, when she speaks, sounds like she’s quoting amanual - or a lecture. “I am not legally allowed to be in the sameroom as any member of the group codenamed ‘the Avengers,’ nor amI allowed to communicate with any of them.”

That’sa new one. “Well now I gotta know why.”

Asmile tugs at her lips but they’re shut tight - tighter,if he had to guess.

“Allright. Plenty of time for that later. You were a SHIELD agent, right?Loyal?” He tries to sound uninterested in the answer but whatlittle residual anger he still feels over that day doesn’t seem toaffect her. She goes far away, her eyes haunted.

“Yes,”she says. And then she does the damnedest thing: she smiles.Steve doesn’t know what to make of it.

Henods, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Yeah, Mariasaid you were.”

Jemma’seyes snap to him, all at once back in the moment. “M-Maria…?”

“Hill,yeah. She was very interested to know whether we’d gotten you outof there safely.”

“Oh.”She doesn’t seem too happy about that. “You were sent … forme?”

“That’swhat we’re trying to figure out. Maria wants us to bring you backto New York yesterday.We’re a little more interested in the why.”

Aaaaaand then there would’ve been some fun with the Avengers figuring out that SHIELD is still going but Fury’s not in charge and Jemma trying her darndest to not let them in on the Coulson secret and of course some Jemma/Steve happening. But it was not meant to be, sadly.

#sunday six meme #my fic #/#//#///#aos fic #mcu fic #anonymous

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