#modern day america is finished... it's a wrap... it's over... goodbye

[harrelltut]

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[diamond-coral]

The Heist- Part Two

Steve x Reader Chapter Summary: Steve sees you working at a club. Now Steve wants you...and he’ll have you.

Series Warnings: dark, rape/non-con, kidnapping, stripper themes, swearing, crime

Chapter Warnings: male masturbation, swearing, stripper themes, kidnapping, crime, mild violence, threats of rape/non-con, creepy crazy stevo

Steve had begrudgingly went to the strip club with Bucky and Sam because, as Sam said, ‘Modern women are somethin’ else compared to the 1940’s.’. Bucky was much more enthusiastic to see how much things had changed as a once been ladies’ man from the 40’s even if it meant having to go with Sam who bickered with him every five minutes. And while Bucky’s enthusiasm remained as they entered the club, the blaring music, flashing lights, and women in skimpy outfits had Steve remaining unimpressed.

Until he saw you.

You weren’t on the stage but rather talking to a coworker in the back of the room, a tray of drinks in one hand and a smile on your face that could light up a room. An honest, genuine smile that stood out in a room filled with nothing but empty sultry smiles given by dancers. Your coworker said something, and you threw your head back and let out a laugh that Steve could’ve sworn he had heard ringing all the way across the club over the blaring music.

You were perfect.

While you were still scantily clad in nothing but a light pink shimmery sheer top that showed your bra perfectly cupping your breasts, a pair of barely their black shorts, and black heels that had his eyes dragging up and down your legs, your demeanor and posture was more relaxed, and that’s what he loved. You weren’t sticking your tits out in front of you or pushing your ass back, but were rather slouched a little, eyes shimmering with excitement as you talked. What Steve saw of you was raw and authentic, and he loved it.

Sam’s voice interrupted Steve from his daydreaming, and Steve shot him a look of irritation causing Sam to raise his hands in defense.

“Woah there loverboy,” Sam chuckled. “I was just gonna suggest, you should ask for a dance from that girl you’re ogling over.”

“And before you go over and court her with your righteousness and whisk her away to waltz like prince charming, he means a lapdance, punk,” Bucky says while taking a sip of his drink.

“I- I was’t ogling,” Steve sputtered, but let out a sigh of defeat at Sam’s raised eyebrow. “I’m not gonna ask for a lapdance. Besides, she seems to be just waiting tables. I wouldn’t wanna interrupt-”

“You’re hopeless,” Sam teased as he brought his fingers to his mouth to let out a shrill cab whistle. You turned, and Sam caught your attention, beckoning you over with two fingers.

“Hiya fellas,” you said, and Steve frowned a little at the sultry voice you put on. “What can I help you with?”

“Just another round of drinks, sugar. Oh- and-” Sam leaned to whisper something in your ear and Steve noticed your eyes widening a little before your gaze snapped to him, a small smile on your painted lips.

“Of course,” you responded to Sam. “I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”

As you turned to leave, Steve frowned at Sam. “What did you tell her,” he asked.

“Oh nothing much. Just mentioned that THE Captain America was looking for a little bit of fun tonight.”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan. “Sam you dumbass.”

“Hey, he’s doing more about it than you,” Bucky interjected. “Sometimes it’s just sad watching you when you just sit and do - oh shit here she’s comes.”

“Alright, and I’ve got another round of drinks,” you said cheerfully while distributing the glasses. “And you, Mr. Rogers…” You sat on one of Steve’s thick thighs while placing your hands on the collar of his button up shirt and smoothing it down. “You’re friend told me you’re lookin’ for something… special tonight?”

Steve’s throat was dry and he was sure you could feel his heart practically beating out of his chest. “Oh well...I um-I.”

“What Mr. Womanizer would like to say is that he accepts your offer,” Sam offered, and Steve shot him what was probably the one-hundredth dirty look of the night.

“Well then.” You got off his lap and tugged on his arm. “I’d be happy to oblige.”

________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, Steve returned a mess. The first few buttons of button up were undone, his hair was tousled, his cheeks flushed, and his heart hadn’t stopped racing.

“Good time?” Bucky inquired with a smirk.

Steve could barely form any words other than ‘where’s Sam’ to which Bucky pointed to the crowd of sweaty dancing bodies where Sam was shamelessly grinding on some woman.

“Oh God, I need a drink.” Steve fixed his hair with one hand while the other dipped into his pocket to retrieve a flask of Asgardian liquor Thor had given him.

“Was she that good?” 

“Well yes, but it wasn’t just the dance. It was her,”  Steve answered while burying his face in his hands. He felt like the scrawny kid from Brooklyn again. Completely flustered as he chased after a girl totally out of his league. “I don’t know Buck, she’s just-she’s just perfect.”

“Stevie, look around you. Every woman here is practically perfect. And they’re goddesses. That girl is just a girl.”

“No it’s just- you don’t understand. She’s just…” Steve let out an exasperated sigh and Bucky’s eyes softened.

“Wow you really like her don’t ya?” Steve just nodded in reply. “Well what if we came back again when she’s working?”

“No that wouldn’t work,” Steve said. “But...I think I have an idea.”

“And am I involved in this idea at all?”

“Maybe.” Steve laughed at his friend who groaned.

Steve then continued to explain his plan. He pointed out the coworker you had been friendly with when he first saw you, and asked Bucky to get some information out of her since he was the less recognizable out of the two. Steve needed to see you again. Not just that...he needed you. You were just so perfect for him, and Steve knew that the moment he laid eyes on you. The genuineness of your smile and laugh, just the way you were so authentic amidst your surroundings just showed you didn’t really belong in this environment or even this time period of imitation and phonies. But you belonged with him. And he’d preserve that authenticity. 

Bucky just simply nodded, and at first Steve was nervous that his best friend was going to call him crazy, but after a bit, Bucky got up and snatched Steve’s flask while flashing him a grin.

“Bout time we got you a girl, huh pal?”

Steve sighed in relief, and as Bucky trotted off, he went to find Sam.

Steve explained to Sam that he was gonna go home while Bucky worked some “wingman magic” and Sam started letting out fits of laughter at how THE Captain America was ‘down bad’. 

Finally, after Sam had finally calmed down, he wished him goodbye and headed home.

He had some things to take care of.

________________________________________________________________

As Steve guided his hand up and down his shaft, all he could think about was you.

Your tits, your ass that had ground on his crotch at the club, your red lips around he imagined on his cock. You’d probably use your skilled hands as well, not being able to fit his entire member into your mouth. 

Steve’s thoughts didn’t stop there.

He thought about how your hips moved while in the private dance room. He thought about how although you were undeniably sexy, you were also so kind to him, once in a while asking if everything was okay and if he wanted anything else from you. He thought about how you simply smiled and let out your angelic laugh as Steve fumbled and stuttered, simply putting your hands over his and telling him everything was okay and he could sit back and relax, not having to take charge after a long day of commanding people. The light pink color of your lingerie was so beautifully innocent as your body moved lewdly in contrast. And he loved it.

Steve came with a shout to the image ingrained in his mind.

________________________________________________________________

A few minutes after Steve had cleaned up and taken a much needed cold shower, he received a call from Bucky.

“You’re right,” Bucky’s voice spoke through the phone. “Two drops of that Asgardian shit and she was completely mentally clocked out. Told me everything about your girl.” 

As Bucky told Steve your name, Steve tried it out on his tongue for himself.

“Also told me a little bit of a little side job they got goin on. Your girl’s a bit of a criminal, Stevie. Sure you still want her?”

“I’m sure she has her reasons.”

“Well you’re right in that actually. According to...Bella-yeah I think that’s her name-,” Bucky recounted. “They steal from people to pay for rent and art school. And I just so happened to tell her about some skeevy old timer government worker who happened to be loaded from scamming low income taxpayers. Who also happens to live at your address.”

“Wait, you want her to rob me?!” Steve exclaimed.

“Will you just let me finish?” Bucky took Steve’s silence as an opportunity to continue. “I told Bella no one would be home while your girl does the job, but obviously you’ll be home so she can’t get away. She’s literally coming to you on a silver platter pal. Could it get any better than that?”

Steve took a moment to consider the situation before replying. “You��re right. Thanks pal. I really owe you one.”

Bucky chuckled. “Well I got one hell of a blow job so I’ll say we’re almost even. Anyway, she’ll be comin in a week, so that’ll give you plenty of time to prepare.”

_______________________________________________________________

You awoke slowly to sunlight streaming through your apartment window, your bed feeling more comfortable than usual, and a warm arm wrapped around your-

What the hell?

Your body thrashed as you jolted awake and flung yourself away from the body next to you in the bed that very much wasn’t yours in the apartment that was always not yours. Steve Rogers just sat up on his elbows and gave a groggy smile at your frazzled state.

“Mornin’ sweetheart.”

You recalled your memory, trying to see if this was some sort of drunken hookup, and it all came back to you. The heist, him coming home early.

“Didn’t mother ever tell you stealing is wrong?” were the words he had said before he had grabbed your hair in an iron grip and smashed your head on the near coffee table. Everything was black after that.

“Oh my God...you,” you began to back away from him.

“I what, sweetheart?” he mused. “Last time I checked, this is my apartment, and you were the one breaking and entering.”

You scrambled backwards off the bed, but just as you were about to reach the bedroom door, something cold and hard pulled against your ankle causing you to topple face first onto his carpet. Turning your head, you observed a metal cuff secured around your ankle with a chain leading back to the foot of the bed. 

Steve used the time you took panicking and hyperventilating to get out of bed and leisurely stretch his arms as if this was a normal occurrence. He approached you cautiously as if you were a wild animal and bent down to softly cup your face with a large hand.

“It’s okay, doll, I didn’t hurt you. Just let you sleep a bit before I caught you up to speed today.”

“Did- did you…,” you sniffled at the thought of what that man could’ve done to you while you slept.

“No. God no!” You nerves calmed a little bit as you were reassured that America’s hero was still the gentlemanly golden boy you met at the club. That was before he tilted your chin to meet his sinister gaze. “I wanted our first time to be while you were awake.”

Your heart dropped. This man was crazy.

You began to frantically yank at the chain on your ankle and your breathing became shorter.

“Hey. Hey! Stop it!” he urged before grabbing both of your hands and holding them in a steel grip. “Listen. I know this is all..new...but you need me. And I need you. When I saw you at the club, you were just so perfect. You’re not like those other women. You don’t belong there. You don’t belong in this life. I can take care of you. I will take care of you.” A tear slipped from your eye at his words but he just brushed it away with his thumb and continued. “You just don’t understand yet. When I saw you, I just knew you were meant for me. You’re perfect, doll.”

All you did was stare at him in disbelief and mutter, “You’re crazy.”

He went to soothe you again and brush a lock of hair away from your face, but you thrashed and said it louder.

“You’re crazy, you’re fucking crazy!”

“Doll, you don’t understand. I love you. And you’ll love me. I promise just give it some time and-”

“No you’re deranged. You’re FUCKING DELIRIOUS!!” you screech as your hand shot out and slapped him across the cheek.

The room went dead silent. You froze, and so did he. You had just slapped Steve Rogers across the face. You slapped the pure muscle mass six foot super soldier and called him delirious, and he looked hurt. His face was painted with a heartbroken look of regret, disbelief, and sorrow. But not from the slap. It’s like your words had hit him like a ten-ton truck, and for a second you saw doubt flicker across his eyes as if realizing that everything he imagined was in his head. And in that doubt was your hope. Your hope that this man would come to his senses and let you go.

“Steve...please, you have to realize this is wrong,” you said softly as he gave you a broken look. In that look you saw the scrawny kid from Brooklyn in the 1940s who only knew rejection, and your heart broke just a little bit. “What you’re feeling...it isn’t love.”

All of a sudden his demeanor changed. Any doubt in his eyes was wiped away in a nanosecond and replaced by a fierce look of determination. His face contorted into a snarl as he yanked you up with him by your hair and spun you around to press your front against the well.

“You dumb bitch,” he growled into your ear. “You think you don't need me when you’re a pathetic thief who whores herself out every night.”

You writhed in his hold but he just gripped your hair harder and let out a breathy laugh.

“You know...for someone like you to stoop so low as to work at that club...it makes me think. You wanna be treated like a whore?” he seethed. “Fine. I’ll treat you like a whore.”

a/n: don’t worry I don’t think working at a strip club is “low” at all. just some classic sexist bs from our good old 1940′s fav

[fluffymcu]

Letting Loose

Part ONE

This series is TICKLE related. Outfits that are linked here are purely for picturing the clothes, you don’t have to look like the model.

Series Summary:  You’re the little sister of the one and only Captain America. You’re also the youngest girl on the team, so that automatically makes you the avengers’ little princess. And they spoil you as such. They have become your amazing family and you don’t know where you’d be without them. This series will show random adventures and fluffy events in the daily life of the reader and her family, along with an unexpected turn later on as you read.

A/N: I’m so excited to be writing this series! This is my first time writing one and I’m a bit nervous but I hope it all goes well. :) The first few chapters will be about random events, not really following a timeline until Chapter 9. Hope you enjoy! 

Word Count: 3,500

Next

-----

It was 1945, and you were only 5 years old. You and your brother Steve lived with your Aunt Kimmie until Steve left to join the army. When HYDRA got word of an enhancing super-serum, they planned to find out who they were experimenting on to try and steal the serum before it was injected. But it was too late. Captain Rogers was born, and their plan to steal the serum from Erskine had failed. Their only resort was to take out the serum out of Steve’s own blood. But they had to catch him first. After doing much research, they found you. Y/n Rogers. You were young, and important to the captain. 

When you least expected it, HYDRA stormed into your apartment, taking the life of your Aunt, your mother figure, and taking you into their clutches. They had taken you to a facility that was dark, and scary. They threw you in a room and kept you there for days, only feeding you when you were about to pass out. Steve had stormed many HYDRA bases in search of you but never found you. In the final battle against Red Skull, he had not know that HYDRA had taken you on the plane to terrorize the world. You were being kept in on the the small cells that were installed in the plane. By the time Steve knew your were on board, it was too late. He had to make a decision. 

“Stop!! Look around you!” Red Skull yelled, weak and defeated. Steve was on the pilot seat, calculating what to do. “This is the resolution to everything, Captain! If you stop this plane, everyone in here that is willing to do our good work will perish!” Steve payed no mind to him as he continued to type in new coordinates. Red Skull grunted as he stood up to give this a chance one more time, grabbing the tesseract in his hands. “DO YOU HEAR ME? EVERYONE HERE WILL DIE! EVEN THE GIRL!” 

This made Steve pause and look at the villain with fear filled eyes. His sister was there. In the middle of all of this. Once Red Skull had his hands on the tesseract, he was banished to Vormir and never seen again. Steve turned back around to face front, with tears in his eyes. This was the most difficult decision he’s ever had to face. He had no problem giving his life to save the world from destruction. But his little 5 year old defenseless sister was on board. He knew what he had to do, but it hurt him deeply. With tears glazing his eyes, he aimed the plane downward, closing his eyes and mumbling out an apology before crashing the plane, freezing the both of you for over 65 years.

You woke up in your brothers arms, and you didn’t recognize anything of the outside. It was so bright, and your brother looked scared and alert, holding you protectively in his arms until a tall man approached you both and explained some things to your brother. 

A lot had passed. Thankfully, you were very young when you were frozen, so it didn’t take you too much time to adjust to the modern world. You lived with Steve in an apartment for about a year and in 2012, after the battle of New York, you both moved into the Avengers tower.

That was 9 years ago.

Things were different now. Those memories were long forgotten and you moved on and focused on what you had now. The team had moves to the compound now, and your relationship with every one of them had grown so strong. They were your family and you were their Princess. And you had the best life you could have.

----

“Y/n, you’re gonna be late to school!” Tony sang, peeking his head through your bedroom door. You groaned and turned on your belly, deciding to ignore him. “Come on. I know you’re sleepy but you’ve got school.” He said, walking over to your bed and snatching the covers off of you. 

“hey!” You whined. Tony sighed and shook his head at you. 

“I can’t believe you don’t wanna go to school. You love school!” He teased. You rolled your eyes and sat up in your bed. 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I wanna go to a place filled with obnoxious kids, degrading principals, and teachers who only care about a number on a paper?” You replied sarcastically. Tony helped you up off the bed and patted your back.

“That’s the spirit. Wanda made breakfast, come down in 10 minutes or you don’t eat.” He smirked. You playfully glared at him but complied nonetheless.

You walked over to your humongous closet and picked out an outfit. You threw on a thin white woven swear and some black jeans. You were a sucker for black jeans. You put on your white shoes and some diamond earrings before grabbing your bag and running downstairs.

Steve, Tony, Bucky, and Nat were up and eating breakfast in the kitchen. “Morning guys!” You greeted. Everyone turned towards you and smiled widely.

“Good morning!” They greeted back and you walked behind Bucky, where he was sitting on one of the stools and hopped up on the foot bars, reaching from behind and hugging him tightly. You had a special place for Bucky in your heart. Just for him. He was your brother’s best friend and you remembered when he would come over to your apartment and play with you, throwing you up in the air and playing with your dolls. And every time you would need a babysitter, he would always volunteer and you never wanted anyone else. You smiled as you nuzzled your face into his back. Bucky smiled, tracing patterns on your arms that were wrapped around him. “Alright, come eat, you leave for school in 10 minutes.” Steve said, being dramatic and pretending to rip you off Bucky’s back and leading you towards the table where a waffle on a plate was. You giggled and sat down to eat. The team continued on with their conversation until you finished eating and put the dishes in the sink. 

“Thanks for breakfast!” You said with a satisfied smile on your face and made your way back upstairs to Peter’s room. You strolled in shamelessly but stopped in your tracts when you saw him passed out in bed. “Oh,,, Happy’s gonna be so mad.” You chuckled, making Peter stir awake. 

“Huh? What happened?”

“You’re still in bed? Happy’s waiting out in the car. You got like, 2 minutes, dude.” You giggled as you saw Peter’s eyes widen in realization. 

“Crap!!” He yelled, scrambling off his bed, only in his boxers and ran around his room, putting on random clothes. You laughed at his frantic state and shook your head slowly. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” He whined at you. You raised your eyebrows and scoffed.

“Me?! Why am I the one to blame? Tony said he came in here to wake you up but you must’ve fallen back asleep.” You shrugged. 

“okay, uhh, just tell Happy I’ll be there in 2 minutes. 2 minutes, I promise.” He said, throwing on a shirt and looking for some khakis.

“Okay.” You shrugged, skipping down the stairs and outside after saying goodbye to the team. “Hey Happy. Peter said he’ll be here in 2 minutes.” You say as you enter the car. Happy nods with a sigh and about a minute later, Peter runs out of the front door and jumps in the car. 

“I’m here!” He pants. You shake your head at him with a teasing grin and he rolls his eyes, poking your side. Happy leaves to go drop you both off at school. Once you get there, you hop out the car in a rush, since you’re about to be late. “Thanks, Happy!” You both say and run inside. 

“See you after school.” Peter says while running next to you. You nod before both of you going your separate ways to your classes. You run into your classroom just as the bell rings, following your classmate inside. You sigh in relief and go to your seat, panting.

School went on like normal, you studied, had lunch, tolerated Jeremy, who was the kid who constantly teased you and pulled your hair, stole your notes until you ask him to give it back, and so on. Jeremy never really bullied you in the sense that he never said anything mean to you or made you feel bad, he just did things to annoy the crap out of you. You tried your best to avoid him but it seemed like he knew what you were trying to do and made it his personal mission to make himself known to you every chance he got.

The final bell rang to your relief, and you quickly packed your stuff, speed walking out of class to purposely escape from Jeremy. You smiled lightly as you were able to get out of there since he was still packing his stuff. 

You walked to your locker, hoping Peter would meet you before Jeremy did so you could go home. You looked hopefully through the moving crowd and groaned as you saw Jeremy walking over from far away. You sighed but then perked up when Peter suddenly appeared from the other hallway, coming closer. You pumped your fist and waved at him to go faster. Peter looked surprised at your rushed behavior but sped up nonetheless.

“Hey, What’s up? Why were you... eager to see me?” He smirked, wigging his eyebrows. You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself. I wanted you to go faster because Jeremy was right behind you and he would’ve started annoying me again.” You chuckled. Peter hummed and nodded.

“Ah, the douche.” He sighed. You giggled and nodded your head, the both of you going outside to look for Happy’s car. 

---

You walked through the entrance of the compound and greeted everyone in the living room. “Hey guys!” You and Peter greeted before jumping on the couch and settling between Pietro and Bucky. You all discussed what you wanted for dinner before Steve and Clint went to the gym and the rest of the team went to the kitchen to cook and others to their rooms.

You went to your room with Peter and started to put on your ballet outfit to stretch and practice. Peter sat at your desk to start on his homework. You were so glad your teachers spared your class and didn’t give you any homework. “What did Mr. Brandon give you today?” Yo asked, stretching, lifting your leg to rest it on the bar Tony installed on your wall and touching your head to your knee. Peter sighed, flipping through the pages.

“Basically the same thing as yesterday, gave us a 6 page packet and told us to write down why we think these theories are correct or incorrect.” You hummed and continued to stretch for a while before Peter started to collect his papers. “I’ll see you at dinner, Imma go to my room and start writing my essay that’s due in a couple of weeks.” He smiled. You nodded as he left and you decided to finish up and take a shower.

After you got dressed you laid down on your bed, sprawled out like a starfish and sighed. Right then, Steve came in your room with a smile and and sat next to you on your bed. “Hey, Princess. So, how was school?’’ Steve would come over to your room every few days just to have one on one time and talk about whatever.

You shrugged. “Ehh,” Steve chuckled and gently grabbed your arm, pulling you to sit up.

“Why do you say that?” You rolled your eyes at the mere thought of how annoyed you were at school. 

“Jeremy. He’s so. annoying.” You ground out. Steve chuckled and nodded. You had told him about Jeremy before. But it seemed like you were ranting about him more and more often. “He’s always grabbing my notes, or pulling my hair to get my attention, or whispering at me during class. I try to ignore him but he just keeps doing it until I answer! And when I do, I GET IN TROUBLE!” You whined, throwing your hands in the air. 

Steve smiled widely, chuckling at your frustration. “You know, have you ever thought that that’s why he bothers you so much? That he likes getting you angry? Because... maybe... he likes you?” He raised his eyebrow at you. You make a face of disgust, making him laugh. “I’m just saying, especially with teenage boys, their way of flirting with a girl is by picking on them. So maybe he has a crush on you!” He sang, bumping his arm against yours and poking your side. 

“Eww, no! Steve stohop!” You whined, slapping at his hand but he only chuckled and started to run his fingers over your belly.

“You know I have a point.” He said cheekily, smiling when he hears your airy giggles. You push at his hands harshly and twist around.

“Stohohop! Steve I swehear to gohohod if you don’t stop,” You glared at him through your giggles. Steve gasped before tackling you and throwing you on your back. 

“Did you just threaten me? huh?” He teased before scribbling his fingers around your torso with more pressure, causing you fall into a fit on hysterical giggles. “You had the audacity to threaten Captain America.” He shook his head, feigning disappointment before lifting his hand under your shirt to pinch at your bare belly. Just the absence of the thin fabric on your skin made the sensations so much worse as you shook your head side to side, letting out a steam of squeals and hiccups. 

“IHIHIM SOHOHORRY!” You squealed when he came in contact with your ribs, digging in between them at a slow pace before quickening his fingers and tasing them into your ribs. You let out a scream and you arched your back, giving him the opportunity to blow another raspberry on your belly. You cackled and pulled at his hair to pull him away. He sat back with a wide smile and wiped the messy hair off your face. You were panting heavily and moving your hands over your torso, trying to rub off the lingering tingles off your body. “You’re a jerk.” You huffed after you caught your breath, gently kicking him in the stomach. Steve chuckled and helped you up. 

“Come downstairs.” He suggested, walking down with you when you nodded. Everyone was downstairs in the kitchen and living room except Bucky and Peter. Bucky was taking a nap and Peter was still working on his essay. 

You sat on the couch next to Nat and rested your head on her shoulder. She leaned onto you, doing the same. A few moments passed, and Tony and Clint were getting into a petty argument about the spaghetti sauce. 

“It’s too thick. You need to water it down.” 

“Who waters down sauce? You don’t do that. Look, contrary to popular belief, I know what I’m doing. And I’m definitely sure I know how to make spaghetti. Lay off.”

“I’m just saying! It’s already too thick! And the more you boil it, the thicker it’s gonna get, you need to dilute it!”

“You can’t dilute sauce!!”

Nat rolled her eyes with a groan and stood up. “I’m gonna go break them up, I guess.” She mumbled before going to the kitchen. You heard from your place on the couch, all of their yelling and Nat telling them to break it up. You smiled to yourself, shaking your head. The argument died down after a moment and the conversation went back to pleasant. 

You were alone in the living room until Pietro zoomed in and sprawled himself on the other couch. You smiled when you saw him, taking note that he looked very tired. He didn’t look like a sleepy tired, more of a bored tired. You sat up a bit and rested your chin in your hands, looking at him for a bit. When he sensed your eyes on him, he looked at you a smiled. “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“Are you bored?” You asked him, smiling when he sighed loudly and laid back down.

“Yuppp.” He said, popping the ‘p’. You stood up, bouncing a bit on the balls of your feet. 

“Do you... wanna have a pillow fight?” You smiled widely. Pietro perked up and returned the smile. 

“Yes.” You giggled at his quick response and grabbed a throw pillow from the couch. You knew Pietro was very energetic and got bored easily, which made him really fun to play around with because he was always open to do anything if it meant he didn’t have to sit around and do nothing.

He stood up and grabbed a pillow before you both got in a stance.  “COMMENCE!” You yelled, grabbing the attention on everyone else in the kitchen, making them smile fondly at the scene. Tony groaned. “Oh, great. They’re using the throw pillows. They are going to tear. those. up.” He sighed before putting the noodles in the pot. The team went back to their conversation while you and Pietro were battling with your pillows. 

You were giggling a lot, making you lose your balance many times and made your aims more miscalculated. You stepped back to compose yourself again before aiming at his head. But Pietro used his speed to dodge it, appearing behind you and whacking you to the floor. No mercy. You grunted as you hit the floor but couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey! No powers. It’s not fair.” Pietro sighed and agreed before helping you up. He let you whack his head and the fight continued for a few more minutes.

Pietro currently had the upper hand as you were once again in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. He was whacking you over and over, making you cower away a bit, and bring your leg up to shield yourself. Pietro was also laughing, not having any mercy. “Give up, Printsessa.” He chuckled, whacking you again.

 You laughed, trying to grab his pillow away from him but he pushed you onto the couch, stuffing his pillow in your face, pretending to suffocate you. The situation was hysterical to you and you fought against him to get the pillow off your face but your laughter was making you weaker by the second.

Pietro laughed and pulled the pillow off your face and started to tickle you around your sides. You shrieked and kicked out your legs to get get him off. “NOHOHOHO!” You squeaked, hugging your arms to yourself to block his hands. There wasn’t much you could do anymore because the pillow fight had taken a lot out of you already. Your laughter was desperate while he nuzzled his stubble in the crook of your neck. You squealed before falling into silent laughter, the feeling paralizing you and making you melt onto the couch. Pietro blew a final raspberry on your neck before sitting back and getting off of you. 

The team was chuckling at your exhausted state and got up to sit at the dinner table. Pietro helped you up to sit down at the table. You took a seat next to Tony and the empty seat where Bucky was gonna sit. Tony called out for Peter to come down and Pete took a seat across the table form you. When Pepper served the plates, Bucky came down and sat next to you. When everyone was here, you all began eating and talking about the day and the plans some people had tomorrow.

After dinner, you and Peter helped wash the dishes and put them away. You and him were messing around, cracking jokes at each other and Peter was pretending to drop a glass over and over. “Peter stohohop. You’re gohohonna actually drop it!” You giggled, shaking your head as he continued, not even a second later, the glass fell and was just an inch off the floor before he caught it, biting his lip in shock. You gasped, expecting to hear a big shatter but sighed in relief. “See you goof? I told you were gonna drop it!” You whacked his shoulder with the drying towel. 

“Ah, but I didn’t.” He raised his brow at you. You rolled your eyes and pointed over to the sink. 

“Just finish with the dishes before you break something.” You scolded, smiling when he complied with a sigh. Not long after, you were done with the kitchen and you bid everyone goodnight with a hug or a kiss on the cheek. You made your way upstairs to your room, changing into some pajama shorts and a tank top. 

You crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to your chin and scrolled through Instagram for a few minutes before turning off your lamp and going to sleep.

[andawaywego]

A fic where Damie say their first “I love you’s”?

hey! yes! this! i’ve had a few requests for this and i hope you don’t mind, but i set it in a No-Ghosts, Modern AU bc why not? we see what i assume is Jamie’s first “i love you” in the show, which i may touch on later, but i wanted this quiet scene surrounded by the people they love first.

i hope you like it!

..

In the early hours of the day, the kitchen is chilly and mute, blue-gray sunlight drifting in through the windows to cast empty shadows across the counters and floors. The wind rattles through the house, sliding in through any gap it can find, and Jamie thinks that, if she tilts her head just so, she can hear the way the boards beneath her feet, the wood and stone surrounding her, bend and bulge to make room for it.

She tucks herself a little tighter into her sweater and looks across the table at Flora and Miles as they happily eat their cereal, talking to one another and Hannah. Owen is leaned back in his chair at the head of the table, his cup of tea cradled in his hands and steaming a little, still. Providing warmth, perhaps, where the house tries to leech it. Beside her, Dani shifts and their shoulders brush together and, as much of a jolt passes through her at the slight touch, the real magic is this:

That secret, little smile Dani sends her way after. 

Like they are each from a hidden world that belongs to only them—where they exist and twine together in one existence, away from the prying eyes of everyone else—and are only visiting this realm for breakfast, of all things. It says a hundred secrets they’ve whispered in the dark to one another, limbs laced together warmly beneath the sheets as they caught their breath, as they kissed slowly and loose-lipped. Learning and familiar.

It’s been six months of nights spent tangled together in Dani’s bed. Six months of dinner dates in the empty kitchen late at night; of drinks at the only pub in Bly and phone calls before bed. Six months of Dani slowly figuring out sexting and Jamie nearly regretting teaching her about it when she’s interrupted in the middle of the work day with a less-than-appropriate message or worse: photograph.

Six months after that first kiss in June when they’d been walking the grounds one evening. Jamie saying something about her lost family, her shadowed childhood, and Dani turning right then and there and just kissing her. Beneath the sunset-pinked trees at the edge of the property, the heat of the summer pressing down against her skin, sticking her tight to her clothes, as Jamie presses forward into it. 

Dani.

Jamie loves Dani. 

It’s been right there on the tip of her tongue for three full months. She’s come so close to blurting it out on more than one occasion that she’s talked to Owen about it. Hannah. She’s called Rebecca in London and asked for advice on when she’s allowed to just say it. More than once for each of them.

So often, in fact, that Dani might be the only person sitting at the table that doesn’t actually know.

It aches in her chest, rattling around and begging to be set free, but Jamie hasn’t yet. Is too frightened, perhaps. Or maybe there just hasn’t been a good enough time.

Whatever it is, Jamie can see her own pinching emotion reflected back at her from Dani’s smile that morning so clearly that it’s nearly blinding. She’s waxing poetic about wanting to spend a fevered hour beneath the heat of Dani’s mouth in her own mind when Miles’s voice catches her off guard.

“—this afternoon, Miss Clayton?” he is saying.

Dani tears her eyes from Jamie’s and blinks, dazed, then seems to catch up. 

“What’s that?” she asks. Then, “Sorry.”

But Miles doesn’t mind. Doesn’t even register her apology. Just repeats his, “I was asking if we’ll still be painting the school room today,” with little fanfare.

Understanding blesses the soft lines of Dani’s expression. “Yeah, of course,” she says. “You and Flora are going to have to put on clothes that can get paint on them, though, okay?”

Miles nods and Flora lights up the room with a smile of her own. “Oh, splendid,” she says. “I had a dream last night that we all painted a family of bears on the wall! One for each of us. Owen, yours had a mustache.”

“Did it?” Owen asks. “Sounds like a handsome bear.”

“Oh, he was.”

The conversation falls apart then, the children too excited about how they’ll be spending their day to settle down. That’s one of the funny things about Dani: before she showed up, it was like pulling teeth trying to get Miles or Flora to participate in anything resembling a chore. The school room is one that’s needed repainting for a long time—given the humidity of the rainier seasons and its position in the house, the paint has been chipping for years. Jamie always figured that, at some point, she was going to have to just give in and do it on her own, but, now that Dani is here, it seems she’s acquired three new sets of helping hands. Maybe it’s the years of teaching two dozen students in America, or maybe it’s just a special talent, but Dani has managed to turn the mundane into the extraordinary so many times that Jamie wonders sometimes if she might actually be Mary Poppins.

Wonders if that makes her Bert.

Briefly imagines dancing with a cartoon penguin and almost jumps out of her chair when a hand touches her arm.

But it’s just Dani, giving her a look that’s half-amused, half-concerned. “Sorry,” she says, but Jamie shakes her head.

“Don’t hafta apologize for touching me, Poppins,” she says, giving a little wink, and Dani’s cheeks blush pink. “Just caught me off guard.”

Beneath the table, Dani’s hand is still on Jamie’s arm, her grip loose and lovely, sparking like wires up and down the length of Jamie’s skin. She remembers that morning—Dani pressed into her back beneath the covers, one of her arms wrapped around Jamie’s stomach, her fingers moving fluidly and madly between Jamie’s legs. She clenches her thighs together and tries to calm down. 

It doesn’t work.

That’s the thing she’s learned the most often since that first kiss in the gardens: being with Dani is almost like being on fire all the time. Jamie can’t seem to catch a break, and she really believes now that she wouldn’t even take one if it were offered.

“You’re so pretty,” Dani breathes, but that’s clearly not what she’d meant to say. It just comes out in this drifting voice that Jamie recognizes because she has one just like it. Part of her is constantly reassured when Dani speaks like this that she is not the only one left dazed by their each interaction. 

“So are you,” Jamie says. “Before you ask, I’m going to go pick up the paint after breakfast.”

Dani’s eyebrows lift a little, then settle back down. That’s what she’d meant to discuss, apparently, and, now that Jamie has finished the thought for her, she seems a bit more in control of herself and the situation. 

“You’re a saint,” she says next and Jamie rolls her eyes.

“Hardly.”

Across the table, Hannah is getting to her feet and the children are doing the same, grabbing their used dishes and toddling after the older woman to take them to the sink. Dani and Jamie linger at the table for a beat, neither of them willing to release the other from their hold when faced with a long day spent beneath the watchful, innocent eyes of two children.

Finally, Owen stands up and they have no choice. Their only alternative is to spend the rest of the day sitting right there and Jamie thinks she’d end up getting a little stiff if they decided on that. 

Dani offers to take Jamie’s mug to the sink and Jamie smiles.

Says, “Thanks,” and watches her girlfriend make her way over, setting the dishes she’s carrying on the counter beside where Miles is obediently filling up the sink with warm, soapy water.

“Who’s going to be my dish-dryer?” she asks, her voice enthusiastic despite the content of her question. 

Still—magic as ever—Miles and Flora flood the air with eager I will’s and let me’s. 

Owen gives Dani an impressed look. Hannah just smiles and leans against the island counter. 

“I’m gonna head to the hardware shop,” Jamie says, seemingly to no one in particular, but it has its intended effect. 

Dani turns around from the sink and smiles over at her. “You really are a saint,” she says without a hint of joking.

“Just make sure the little gremlins are dressed and ready when I get back,” Jamie tells her. “Housework waits for no man.”

“Hear, hear!” Owen says and Dani laughs as she steps around the counter to reach Jamie, still standing there.

“If you think of anything else you’ll need, let me know,” Jamie says and Dani nods, reaching out to touch Jamie’s cold hand with her own. 

“I will,” she says. “Thank you. Again.”

Jamie shrugs. “No trouble. Won’t take too long.”

Normally, this would be the part where Dani would give her a quick peck on the cheek or on the lips and say her goodbyes. Just a quick thing because they’re half-a-year into being together and that’s the sort of thing couples do. Or so Jamie has seen on TV and is learning now—she hadn’t much experience before Dani. It’s happened so often in the past that it’s practically routine now, but things are different just then.

Something changes.

Because Dani does lean in and give Jamie a quick kiss on the lips. She does say, “Hurry back,” like she normally might have, but there’s an extra part thrown in at the last second. 

“Love you.”

Dani says it so quickly, so thoughtlessly, that Jamie responds before she even processes the significance of those two words.

She just says, “Love you, too,” and goes to pull away.

But, before she can, everything comes crashing into her like a freight train. Dani seems to be undergoing the same realization Jamie is given the way her eyes are wide and unblinking.

They stare at each other for a moment��seemingly forever. Dani stands in front of Jamie, the light from outside brightening her hair into a halo like an angel’s, and her blood is pumping swift through her heart and veins. It’s strange that all she’s doing is standing in the kitchen—Miles and Flora and Hannah and Owen standing just behind Dani—and yet she feels like she could very suddenly run to the moon and back without needing a break. 

Like she could fly or spread her arms around the world without an ounce of trouble and squeeze it tight. Like she should because Dani just said she loves her and shouldn’t that make her capable of anything?

She thinks so.

“I love you,” she hears herself say, slower this time, making sure that Dani understands.

Dani’s lips part just barely and she nods like she’s agreeing to something, but Jamie isn’t sure what. “I love you, too,” she says. “Hey.” 

“Yeah?” Jamie asks, her eyes tracing the gentle shape of Dani’s face, the dip of her nose and the slender arch of her neck. 

Dani leans forward a little, their foreheads brushing. “I love you,” she repeats.

Their lips brush together, soft and singing reverence in a kiss that can’t be sustained because each of them is smiling too much for that. Cool fingers wrap themselves around Jamie’s hands and it very suddenly doesn’t matter who else is in the room for this. It might as well just be them.

An ordinary morning. Breakfast in the kitchen and work to do later. After a night spent doing normal things; making dinner together and watching TV. Jamie vacuumed her flat and Dani wiped down her counters and then they fell into bed together because that’s what it is to love someone. 

That’s how you do it.

In the little in-between times. Love in offering your jacket when it’s cold; in pressing your chilled toes against the warmth of your other’s skin; in brushing your teeth side-by-side and holding hands when you’re waiting in line with your shopping basket at the market.

What is so frightening about that?

What better time to say it than when you can’t keep it contained any longer?

Nothing.

There isn’t a better time.

Easy does it.

Life ticks on around them—the children laughing and splashing one another with water, Owen making a joke that only Hannah finds funny, and that soft, green paint waiting to be picked up in town—but Jamie takes a moment to breathe. To let the puzzle pieces slide together, colors mixing in and stirring out smooth. Clean.

Leans in and kisses Dani again, longer this time, and says what she’s been wanting to say all along, which is this:

“I love you, Dani. I love you, too.”

..

[dontcare77ghj]

Simplicity

Steve x reader x Natasha

Date Night series 

Just a quick note thank you so much for all the sweet inboxes I received after my last post. They were all so sweet and made my day, thank you all so much. I love you all. 

The three of you weren’t extravagant people. It simply just wasn’t how you were raised. This trait followed with you all as you grew into the people you were today. You didn’t care for fancy dates, cars, clothes or anything of the sort. All you cared for was that you had a home and love.

And that was what you gad. You had a home with the Avengers, who had become the family you all needed, and you had love. The three of you loved each other more than you had ever loved yourselves. Anyone could see the love you held for each other, it lit up the room and your faces simply when you were around each other.

Because the three of you weren’t extravagant people, the things you did together weren’t extravagant. But it was in their simplicity, others sought to interrupt.

“Nat, this smells divine.” You complimented, wrapping your arms around her waist as she stirred a pot on the stove.

“Not as good as you do.” She smiled, leaning over to kiss you on the cheek. “Go find Steve for me please? Make sure he’s not on the phone.” Natasha asked, making you laugh.

“He almost threw his phone out the window before, I highly doubt he’s on it.” You mentioned, kissing her on the side of her head before walking towards the bedroom. “Stevie, you better not be on your phone.”

“No, that thing is evil, I threw it far away.” Steve said, walking out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

“It’s a cell phone, Stevie, that’s all it is.” You smirked, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“It started speaking, doll. It’s evil.” He repeated, securely wrapping you into his warm embrace. “I told Tony to lock it up.”

“I bet Tony pissed himself at that.” You laughed. “Big bad Captain America, scared of some modern technology.” You added, making Steve gently push you onto the bed.

“I can show you big and bad, doll, if that’s what you want.” He smirked, hovering over you. Before either of you could move further, Natasha strolled into the bedroom and looked at you both with a wide smirk.

“Steve get dressed. It’s dinner before dessert.” She said, moving over to the bed and taking your hand in hers.

“You’re no fun sometimes, Tash.” You pouted as you both walked over to the table that she had set.

“You know that you love me either way.” She said, leaning over to kiss your pouting lips. “Now sit.” She told you, tapping your ass before she moved over to the kitchen where dinner sat.

As you sat down Steve exited the bedroom, fully dressed, and moved over to the chair next to yours.

“This looks amazing Nat.” Steve complimented as Natasha placed the plates onto the table. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

“Thanks, med.” Natasha said, taking a seat. “Cooking is so peaceful, I wish I had had more opportunities to do it before.”

“Well with the two of us, I think you’re going to need to do all the cooking.” Steve smirked, causing you to narrow your eyes at him.

“I can cook.” You said, still holding a forkful of food up to your lips.

“No you can’t, dorogoy.” Natasha shook her head. “That’s not us trying to be mean, it’s just fact.” She added, smirking over her wine glass.

“Maybe next date night we can go to a cooking class together.” Steve suggested, looking at you both with a smile.

“Sounds like a plan.” You said, finally taking a bite of Natasha’s cooking. A moan escaped your lips at the flavour. “Yeah okay, Steve, I agree with Nat’s doing all the cooking from now on.”

“You’re not going to eat much of it if you keep making noises like that.” Natasha said, watching you with lust in her eyes.

“Save it for after dinner, Tash.” Steve smirked.

“You know what, Rogers,” Natasha started, pointing her fork at the blonde man. Before she could continue her sentence a loud thud echoed through the tower and shook the floor.

“Captain Rogers, agents Romanoff and L/N, it seems mister Stark has caused a code green.” F.R.I.D.A.Y said as you all heard a roar.

“Looks like we’ll have to have to finish this some other time.” You sighed as Natasha and Steve rushed to grab their weapons.

“We’ll be finished in no time.” Steve assured as you all rushed towards the elevator.

“Good because I was looking forward to eating that.” Natasha said, strapping her widow bites on.

“You were looking forward to eating a lot of things.” You smirked as Steve strapped his shield to his arm.

“We’ll get to that too.” She said as the elevator arrived in the labs where the growls and roars of The Hulk became nearly deafening.

Looks like date night would have to wait.

“Steve we all know we haven’t left the building I don’t know why you had to blindfold us.” Natasha sighed as Steve led the two of you to your mystery date location.

“Because it’s all about the element of surprise, darling.” Steve said, his voice a riddled in mirth as Natasha continued to complain.

Out of the three of you, Natasha simply could not handle surprises. You weren’t sure if it was because of the surprise factor or not being in charge of it, but she really didn’t like surprises. Usually, she refused to go along with surprises and would use her skills to find out what was happening, not this time though.

“It won’t be a surprise when someone falls over.” Natasha grumbled.

“Let’s be honest that’ll be me.” You said, shaking your head slightly. You would freely admit, you were a bit of a klutz, okay a lot of a klutz.

“Trust me, I won’t let either of you fall.” Steve promised before stopping the two of you. “Okay don’t move I need to finish setting up.”

“Rogers you know I hate blindfolds.” Natasha sighed, shifting next to you.

“Really than what was what happened last week?” You snorted, making Steve chuckle deeply.

“Keep it up you two and the blindfold will be the least of your worries.” Natasha assured, grabbing your hand in hers. Though you couldn’t see, you knew the woman was smirking deviously.

“Alright, it’s all set up. You can take your blindfolds off.” Steve said. Without another word, both you and Natasha removed your blindfolds in one fluid motion.

“Oh Stevie.” You breathed out. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

He really had. The three of you stood atop the Tower on the roof patio Tony had renovated. Steve had set up strings of soft twinkling lights, both along the roof top and the low picnic table he had set up. Blankets and pillows surrounded the low-level table which was laden with food and wine.

To anyone else this would be considered simple and normal, but to the three of you it was almost extravagant in its simplicity.

Natasha didn’t say anything as she moved forward and wrapped her arms around Steve’s waist. Even after all these years, she still struggled with emotions. You didn’t hesitate to follow her and embrace your two lovers.

“Love you Steve.” Natasha murmured; face pressed into the blonde’s broad chest.

“I love you too darling. I love you doll.” Steve said, placing a kiss on top of each of your heads. “Now let’s eat.” Steve said, pulling away. He grabbed both your hands and led the two of you over to the table.

While Steve wasn’t the best cook out of the three of you, he certainly was a good one. The three of you sat under that sky until it turned from dusking to darkened. 

“No Steve!” You shrieked as Steve yanked you onto his lap, your wine spilling onto your lap. Natasha laughed heartily as she watched the blonde hold you tightly to himself.

“You started it.” Steve smirked, burying his face in your neck.

“Did not.” You protested, attempting to turn in his lap.

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“You really did start it, med.” Natasha smirked, watching the two of you in amusement.

“You’re lucky I love the two of you.” You grumbled with a pout as Steve pressed a kiss to your temple.

“Aw we love you too sweetheart.” Natasha cooed sweetly. She moved closer to the two of you and laid so her head was resting on your lap. The three of you sat there, you in Steve’s lap and Natasha’s in yours, simply watching the sky above you. All was silent until it wasn’t.

“Rogers.” Tony’s obnoxious voice echoed from his metal suit. “You know Fury has been looking for you for an hour, right?”

“Tony tell him I’m busy.” Steve said, looking up at the metal man.

“Can’t tell him that really. You’ve got a mission.”

“Go.” Natasha said, standing up and pulling you with her. “Go save the world, we’ll be here when you get back.” She promised as you helped the blonde up.

“I’m so sorry, dolls. I’ll make it up to you when I get back.” Steve promised, pulling you both individually into his arms and kissing you both sweetly.

“We know.” You said, cupping his cheek. “Now go save the world. We’ll be here when you get back.” You reaffirmed as Steve said one last goodbye before running towards the stairs.

As you stood there with Natasha’s arms around your waist, watching as Steve left, you could only think one thing.

Date night would have to wait.

“Okay I have the popcorn.” Steve announced, placing the large bowl onto the table. “Doll, shouldn’t you be sitting down?” Steve asked, watching as you picked up a pile of DVDs.

“Steve I’m not an invalid, it’s just some movies.” You said, setting the pile by the DVD player. “You’re such a worry wart sometimes, sweetie.” You smiled, putting one into the player.

“It’s because I love you.” Steve told you, sitting down as you sat next to him.

“You gotta stop being sappy Steve or Y/N’ll start crying again.” Natasha commented, walking into the room with her arms full of chocolate covered snacks . 

"I can't help it, my emotions are out of wack." You complained, happily taking a bag of chocolate covered pretzels out of Natasha's hands. 

"We know, dorogy, and we don't mind the mood swings or the weird cravings. They'll all be worth it soon." She said, sitting next to you. 

The three of you sat on the couch, contently watching the movie you had picked, until you had to stand up abruptly. 

"Shit." You cursed, looking down. "I liked these pants and now they're ruined." 

"Oh shit is it time?" Natasha asked, eyes widening as she jumped from the couch with Steve right behind her. 

"Yeah, it's time. That was my waters breaking." You said as Steve took your hand in his. 

"Let's get you some new pants. Nat can you grab the hospital bag?" He asked. 

"On it." She said, leaning over and kissing you on the cheek. "She's finally coming."

"And she's already a cockblocker." You joked as Steve helped you to the bedroom. 

She was finally coming. Your daughter was finally about to be born. 

"Thank God she takes after you and Romanoff Y/N." Tony joked as he rocked the tiny pink bundle in his arms. "No offense Capsicle."

"In this case, Tony, none taken." Steve said, holding your hand with a gentle smile on his face. 

"You know you're never going to get to have time again, right?" Clint questioned from Natasha's other side. 

"That's okay." Natasha said as Tony handed her little Sarah. 

"It's all worth it." You added, smiling at your wife and daughter. "It's all worth it for her." 

Looks like you wouldn't be having date night for a while. But again, it was all worth it because you had little Sarah. You had a family. 

Taglist

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[parson-kent]

you should die with me

""Nurse," he mumbled through a mouthful of cookie, "why do you always gotta make things so sexual? Can't you just enjoy things, for like one fucking time, without turning it weird?"

"Well, why are you such a fucking prude, Dex? How about letting me eat this goddamn cookie without judgement? 'Why do you make things so sexual, Nurse, blah blah blah?' It's because we're so rooted in early Protestant ideals that you're like this-"

And, yeah, it kinda devolved from there."

or Nursey and Dex get on each other's nerves and also get off on each other's nerves.

My first nurseydex fix!! Also posted on ao3. Trigger warnings for language, ignorance. Check below the cut for the fic :)))

and every word that you mock sounds so pretty to me, you should die with me - Saturday Night, HUNNY

-

Dex was working on the boiler in the basement of the Haus when he heard Nursey come in through the front door. He recognized the stomp of his hipster-thrifted boots across the living room floor and his laugh as he talked to Bitty in the kitchen. He recognized the way he could almost make out their conversation. He also recognized the way he said goodbye and turned to head down the basement stairs.

Nursey came clambering down the stairs with two big cookies, one in each hand.

"Dude, look what Bitty made!! It's his MooMaw's chocolate chip recipe, apparently she has like tasks he has to complete before she rewards him with the best recipe? Anyway, he just got this one. They smell so good, dude! I brought you one."

Dex smiled, face hidden behind the broiler. "Let me just deal with this last screw and I'll grab one."

Nursey apparently seemed content to stand there and ramble as Dex finished up. He was talking about his Mexican poetry class or something, but Dex wasn't really paying attention. He just let Nursey's words wash over him.

Finally, he gave the screw one final twist before standing up and grabbing a towel off the floor to wipe his hands. He brushed off any oil or grease that would be on them before grabbing a cookie out of Nursey's hand. They both took their first bite at the same time, and Nursey let out a small moan. Dex blushed and tried to focus on enjoying Bitty's delicious baking skills. And you know what? Dex could also attest to the sinful delightful-ness of this certain cookie, but did you see him moaning over it? No.

"Nurse," he mumbled through a mouthful of cookie, "why do you always gotta make things so sexual? Can't you just enjoy things, for like one fucking time, without turning it weird?"

"Well, why are you such a fucking prude, Dex? How about letting me eat this goddamn cookie without judgement? 'Why do you make things so sexual, Nurse, blah blah blah?' It's because we're so rooted in early Protestant ideals that you're like this-"

And, yeah, it kinda devolved from there.

-

Shitty stomped down the steps about 15 minutes later to break up their fighting. By then it had gotten so loud that Dex was pretty sure the Lax bros could hear it from their house. He was pretty sure he had been going on about respecting people's boundaries, while Nurse had been off on some rant about Protestant ideals and how they had cursed America. Whatever it was, it had been pretty bad.

But then, Shitty arrived and taken them into the reading room.

"Bros, I want you to reflect on this moment. Do you feel in anyway better than the way you were feeling before? Do you feel accomplished or satisfied"

Dex shook his head, but resolutely refused to turn even the slightest inch to see what Nurse said.

Shitty just shook his head before he launched into some complicated lecture about emotional control and shared space. Dex listened with some level of interest before tuning it out.

Suddenly, Shitty snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Hey, both of you, pay attention. You'll be quizzed on this later."

-

Dex woke up the next morning to sunlight leaking in from the windows. He blinked at the sudden brightness then quickly squeezed his eyes shut. Apparently, his roommate had forgotten to shut their black out blinds properly.

"Are you fucking shitting me, Trevor? This type of shit happens every week, you've got to stop it."

No response. Dex leaned over the side of his bed and stared at the empty bed across from him.

"Oh- fuck, you've gotta be kidding me? He's gone, that's just great, he already left," Dex mumbled to himself as he stood up, back cracking.

He stretched his arms up to the ceiling, twisting and yawning. Then, he stomped over and yanked their blackout blinds shut. Dex turned and grabbed his phone and then laid back down in bed in the blissful darkness. His first class wasn't until 1:00, so he had a nice day ahead of him, seeing as it was only 8:30. He checked Twitter first, liking some of Bitty's tweets and laughing at some new memes. Then, he stumbled across a tweet from one Derek M. Nurse posted only a couple minutes after Shitty's lecture.

derek loves smh @dnursey   when ur much better at shitty's end-of-lecture quizzes than that other guy #nailedit #educateyoself   [ Picture of a slightly crumbled piece of paper with what seems to be a quiz on it. Each answer is hastily bubbled in, and at the top is sloppy handwriting that reads "11/12 Excellent job, Nurse. Lots of improvement since last time." ]

Dex felt anger rising in the pit of his stomach. He snorted with intense derision as he finished reading Nurse's stupid post. He threw his phone to the foot of his bed. Dex laid there, just looking at the ceiling for a few minutes. Why the fuck was Nurse so annoying? Sure, his own quiz was lying next to his bed with a "7/12 Dex, I know you can do better. Don't let your anger get to you." written on it, but seriously, who the fuck even actually gives quizzes after lectures anyway. It was all too much for Dex sometimes. He had ideals and ideas and values and morals and a ton of other bullshit engrained in him from years of living in his small town in Maine. That type of stuff doesn't just fade away from 8 months at a private liberal arts college.

Sure, maybe he came to Samwell to discover more things and explore, but he was afraid sometimes. Afraid of rejection, of failure, of judgement. So many times he wanted to do something, but then worried about it getting out or being made fun of... or even of being supported. Knowing he now had people who would love and support him through whatever? That shit was scary. Dex didn't have any more excuses to push himself down because now he had people who wanted to build him up.

He leaned down and picked up the crumpled quiz off the floor. He smoothed it out before grabbing his computer. Maybe if they were so intent on building him up, he could help a little bit too.

-

A month later, Dex and Nursey were hanging out together in the Haus living room. Well, "hanging out" might be stretching it. They were in the same room, working on schoolwork separately. And not fighting. It was pretty much a miracle. However, getting to this point had required some hard work on their part. Something had flipped in Dex after Shitty's lecture. He realized the reason why he had picked Samwell. The slogan "1 in 4, maybe more" was burnt into the deepest recesses of his mind. Samwell represented everything Dex wanted to be - everything he couldn't be back in Maine. So, he had sat down with his computer that afternoon and searched everything he could on Protestant culture and its effect on modern America. Then, through gritted teeth with genuine emotion in his eyes, he apologized to Nurse the next day. Nursey accepted it with little chirping, apparently seeing something in Dex that was different from all the other apologies.

Dex continued to work on his behavior. He would borrow books on social justice and unbiased history from the Samwell library and engage respectfully in debates in his classes and even just out on the quad. He noticed that the team was being more open with him too. Before, they would hide the hard conversations and reprimands from him. But now, they had been including him, asking him for his opinions and educating him on important topics. Still, he and Nurse got into it sometimes, but now it was mostly just playful. Dex had come to love their arguments - it was amazing getting to be so intense and passionate with another person.

It felt... intimate, really. It was almost like, despite their two very different backgrounds, Nursey was the only person who really understood him. He knew the ins and outs of Dex's personality better than anybody, even Dex himself. He knew how to push his buttons, but he also knew to look out for Dex's shaking hands when he codes for too long and then get him a water or gatorade. Nursey knew Dex. And it felt good to be known.

Dex was deep in these thoughts as they laid together in the living room. Suddenly, a resounding BANG from the kitchen echoed throughout the Haus. The two of them scrambled to get up, Dex knocking over his computer and Nursey creating a shower of paper in the middle of the Haus. They rushed into the kitchen to find Bitty, covered in flour, the lid to the food processor missing.

"Oh y'all, I'm such a mess," he said, close to tears. "Finals are just stressing me out, no big deal."  

Dex ran to him, wrapping him in one of his signature bear hugs reserved for close friends. He locked eyes with Nurse over Bitty's head and they exchanged a curt nod. Nursey immediately began to clean up the mess in the kitchen while Dex led Bitty upstairs to the bathroom. He made sure Bitty was situated and ready to take a shower before heading back downstairs with a load of flour-covered clothes for the laundry.

"I'm going downstairs to do the wash," he called into the kitchen as he passed by the door.

Nursey just threw him a small wave before he turned back to scrub the tile. Dex smiled to himself the whole way down the stairs to the basement. Nursey and him were both learning; growing together.

Dex reached the bottom of the stairs still wrapped up in his thoughts. He really did love the way he and Nurse were getting along now - it caused something to stir inside him. He felt it deep in his stomach, something fiery and passionate just like Nursey coiling there every time they were together. Dex dumped the load into the washer. He just wished it had happened sooner. Nursey was one of his best friends now, along with Chowder. They were both such amazing people. Samwell had changed Dex - he was a better person now, with friends who loved him and helped him become the best version of himself that he could be. He set the dial to normal load and finished with pouring the detergent in. Then, he leaned against the washer and sunk deeper into his thoughts.

-

Nursey found him ten minutes later. He had flour in his hair and some in his stubble. His stupid hipster shirt was also covered in flour and he looked pretty angry. Dex had to laugh.

"God, Nurse, what was Bitty cooking in there?"

Nursey just groaned and glared at Dex. "Dude, get your ass up there! I need help cleaning up this mess."

Dex smirked, a glint of amusement in his eyes. ""Help'. 'Cleaning'. Two words I never expected Derek Malik Nurse to say at all, let alone in the same sentence. Didn't you have maids for that in your brownstone?"

Nursey stomped closer to him. "Well, you're the master of cleaning, huh? All those years in bumpkin Maine, on that lobster boat."

Let it never be said that William J. Poindexter was one to back down from a challenge. He stepped closer, laundry and flour both far from his mind. "Like you would know a thing about responsibility. It was all just prep school and expensive field trips and Broadway and hundred dollar dinners with you, huh? Never learned the value of hard work."

"Of course I know hard work, try writing a 20 page essay in a week. With a 15 page-"

Dex cut him off. "Try coding an entire plug-in in the 30 minutes so I have 30 minutes to troubleshoot in my hour long lab! English is just some words-"

"Oh, I've heard this one before! 'My name's Dex and I just think English is just some words on paper!'"

They were both yelling at this point, trying to outdo each other in the loudness factor. Their fights always ended like this. However, Dex was just realizing how close they were. In their fury, they had gotten almost uncomfortably close.

Intimate, Dex's mind whispered.

Dex tried to shove that thought from his mind and focus on Nursey's rant, but it lingered. Suddenly, almost as if he couldn't control his own limbs, he pushed Nurse against the washing machine. He held him there, wrists trapped against the cool metal.

Nursey became very quiet and swallowed.

Dex looked at him, with flour everywhere and a righteous passion still contained in his warm brown eyes. He leaned in close and released one of Nursey's wrists so he could cup his cheek.

"Is this okay?" He asked, head bent in close enough that his warm breath washed over Nursey's face.

Nursey nodded and whispered, "Just fucking kiss me, Poindexter."

Dex leaned in with just a faint brush of the lips. Then, Nursey pulled his other hand from Dex's grasp and pulled him in close, trapping him in an almost brusing kiss. They fought with each other just like in real life. Nursey moaned just a bit when Dex moved his body so he and Nursey were flush against each other. Dex took that as a sign, pushing his tongue into Nursey's mouth.

They pulled apart slowly, each breathing heavily. Nursey looked up at Dex from lidded eyes. Dex smiled in his head.

Finally, Nursey's passion was directed at him. And only him.

[spidey-babe-parker]

Fragile Line

chapter 5:

oh, holding my breath

Inspired: Beauty and the Beast 

Featuring: Bucky Barnes

warnings: angst, tears, sadness, oh and yeah smut happens... finally.

an: So it’s been forever and a day, and I’m sorry about that. There might be one more chapter of this if people like actually want epilogue chapter. Also Infinity War totally didn’t happen in this story for many reasons.

 I’m starting almost done with a Drunk Bucky Barnes college au mini series, that I’m trying to finish so that’s going up soon. Oh and the next next fairy tale inspire story is going to be the modern day little mermaid story with Steve Rogers and Bucky is going to pop up in that.

Series Masterlist: links are broken, the series masterlist is in my masterlist. The link is in the bio.

Lydia listened to what Steve has told her to do. She got down to Amsterdam and checked into a hotel with nothing but her duffle bag and purse. She watched as the feud between Iron Man and Captain America played out in front of the world.

After the constant coverage it got to the point, she couldn’t watch it anymore.

She couldn’t believe all of this seemed to be happening over Bucky. Who was being framed for something he didn’t even do.

She went into to town to find a bookstore so she could find a something to reader to keep herself distracted. She avoided seeing newspapers or watching TV. She didn’t want to read the horrible things that everyone was saying about Bucky Barnes. She saw over and over again he was being referred to as the assassin the Winter Soldier. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that some people considered him to be a killer. The man who rescued her who seemed more afraid of himself didn’t seem like the man who would kill people. She knew he had a dark past but she knew he didn’t have any control over who he was or what he did. He wasn’t the monster they were making him out to be.

It had been two weeks since she last saw Bucky, and she missed him. She missed constantly having him around even if they didn’t talk much. She just felt safe being around him and she like his presence. On the fifteenth day they had been apart she opened the door to her hotel and found a flip phone with a text on it. It simply read “meet me at the café rose at 8:30am”. She didn’t have a doubt in her mind that it was Steve finally coming to let her know she could leave. That night she nervously sat around. She was worried Steve was going to tell her something bad happened to Bucky. That night she didn’t get much sleep, she tossed and turned and a dream about being with Bucky again.

She got dressed and headed into town in the early morning. At eight thirty she walked up to Café Rose to find Steve Rogers sitting outside with a baseball had on and sunglasses. Slowly she walked over and sat down across from him. She could tell something was wrong, he just looked sad.

“Morning,” he softly said.

“Morning,” she replied not exactly what else she should say. She hadn’t ever talked to Steve outside of the time Steve found her in Bucky’s apartment.

“Before you ask, he’s safe and hidden away from everyone,” he looked over at the girl who seemed to be on the verge of tears right in front of him.

She let out a soft sigh and nodded her head knowing that him being hidden away was for the best.

“He’s not hurt at all?” she asked knowing there had been a big fight in an airport in Germany.

Steve sighed and her heart dropped at the thought of him being hurt. “He got pretty beat up and his metal arm gotten taken off.”

She gasped and reached up to cover her mouth. She suddenly wanted to cry at the thought that he lost his arm again. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah he’s fine I took him somewhere where he can get a new arm and he’ll be okay,” Steve sounded so calm and it was making her feel better about the situation.

“Where is he?” she asked.

Steve let out a heavy sigh and looked down at the table that had a coffee sitting in front of him, “Lydia I can’t tell you that unfortunately. I can’t let anyone know where he is. I can only keep him safe if nobody knows where he is.”

She knew he wouldn’t be able to tell her, but there was a part of her that wished he could, “is he still having nightmares?”

He shook his head, “no he won’t anymore. Where we took him, they’re going to fix him and take away what Hydra put in his mind away.”

Her eyes grew wide and started to brim with tears, “please tell me you’re not gonna wipe him.” She felt bile crawl up her throat at just the thought of someone wiping Bucky again, when he was just getting some of his memories back.

Steve’s own blue eye grew wide as he reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers, “oh god no, I will never let that happen to him again.” He paused for a moment. “Were trying to get him back to being normal Bucky. I don’t want them to ever be able to trigger him again.”

She nodded her head trusting Steve. From what she had read in the last two weeks, Steve and Bucky were childhood best friends. She knew that he cared for Bucky as much as her.

“What happens from here?” she asked knowing that Bucky was never going to be in her life again. It was finally time for her to go home to the states for a while. She just needed to hear what Steve thought she should do.

“I’m going to go into hiding and you should probably leave Europe for a little while. If anyone ask about your time in Romania don’t let anyone know you knew who he was.”

“Okay will do.”

-&-

She had been home back in the states for about two months. She moved back into her parent’s house. When she first came home, they asked her loads of questions of about her time in Romania. She didn’t tell them much other than she worked in a café. She worked on restarting her life back in the states. She had just started working at a coffee shop in her town. Her life was simple and she knew that, but since coming home she felt like something was missing. She knew it probably had to do with the fact she never actually got to say goodbye to Bucky. The last time she saw him was the morning in the safe house after they shared a kiss. She had fallen in love with the man that saved her life, and now here she was having to live her life acting as if she had never met him.

She often heard people talking in the coffee shop about Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Every time she heard Steve’s name, she would help but listen in at the thought that maybe they might mention Bucky. After everything had originally happened Bucky’s picture was plastered across magazines most of them referred to him as the Winter Soldier one of the deadliest assassins to live. It always made her sick to her stomach reading about him, because she knew the Winter Soldier wasn’t truly Bucky. That was who the people who wiped him turned him into. She hated that people didn’t know the Bucky she knew, and they never really would.

Three years later

Sitting in the kitchen at her parent’s house she was listening to her parents talking about her birthday that was tomorrow. She hadn’t even actually thought about her birthday her mind had seemed to be in other places recently.

“What are your birthday plans Lydia?” her mother asked grabbing her attention.

“What?” she looked up from her coffee that was sitting on kitchen table in front of her.

Her mother gave her an unamused look as she knit her eyebrows together, “Lydia have you even been listening to me or your father?”

“Sorry I zoned out,” she picked up the large cup of coffee and brought it up to her lips. Her eye looked at her mother who gently shook her head at her daughter.

“Did you want to have dinner tonight with us?” she asked her daughter.

Nodding her head, she gave her mother a half smile, “yeah I’m going out tonight with some friends and people from work tonight. So, tomorrow is perfect.”

-&-

Walking into the crowed bar with some friends and coworkers, she couldn’t help but wonder if she made a mistake by going out. She wasn’t ever a person who enjoyed going to crowed bars, and she wasn’t sure why she thought going to one with all her friends to celebrate her birthday would be a good idea.

Standing at the bar next to her friend Allie she was listening to her go on and on about her cousin who she thought would be a great match for Lydia. Allie had been a friend of hers since high school, and she was on a mission to find Lydia a man, even though she had told her often she wasn’t interested in dating. Allie like everyone else had no clue about Lydia’s time with Bucky. She just assumed that Lydia didn’t want to take because of her terrible break up before she left to move to Romania.

“Lydia you and Kyle would get along amazing, why do you at least go on one date with him?” Allie asked before taking a sip of her cranberry and vodka.

“Allie I’m not interested in dating,” she sighed looking down at her drink that was sitting on the bar.

“Come on Lydia one date wouldn’t kill you,” Allie wasn’t ready to give up on getting her friend to go out on a date.

“Allie maybe another time,” she picked up her drink and walked over to the table where the rest the group was sitting.

Allie followed behind her friend, and shouted to the group, “someone buy the birthday a shot we need to get her drunk.”

Lydia did nothing but roll her eyes as she sat down at the table. Moments later some of the group were waving down a waitress to order her a couple shots. She groaned as two shots of tequila were sitting in front of her. Taking both shots, she shook her head as the gold colored liquid slid down her throat.

Soon she was being dragged on to the dance for in the corner of the bar and was dancing with some friends. The gold liquid left her feeling slightly tipsy, few people offered to buy her drinks, but she turned them down not wanting to get drunk. As the clock struck midnight, she said her goodbyes to her friends telling them she couldn’t stay out super late because she had family stuff to do the next morning.

Walking outside she hailed a cab. Luckily the bar she was out wasn’t too far from her apartment. The warm feeling of the alcohol flushed through her system as she walked up to the elevator in the lobby of her apartment building. Clicking the button, the doors to the elevator opened and walked inside alone. Leaning against the wall of the elevator she couldn’t help but wonder if she should have maybe stayed at the bar for another hour, but for some reason she wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate her birthday. As the elevator doors opened as stepped out into the hallway. She saw a man in a hoodie standing in front of her door and she suddenly got nervous, she was tempted to go back to the bar instead of walking up to the man. Before she could even decide what to do a familiar face turned and looked at her.

Her heart jumped at the sight of Bucky standing at her door. Her eyes went wide as her eyes locked onto his icy blue ones. Without even thinking she took off running down the hall towards him. The second she got to him she wrapped her arms around him holding his body close to hers. “Bucky,” she muttered as tears started to slide down her face.

“Lydia,” his metal hand rubbed her back holding on to her.

As she held onto him tightly afraid if she let go of him, he would disappear again. Her body shook gently as she held on to him.

Pulling away from him slowly she looked up at him with watery eyes. She was still in a state of disbelief that Bucky was standing in the hallway in front of her apartment. She reached up placed her hand on his scruff covered cheek. A soft smile formed on his lips as his blue eyes stayed lock onto her eyes.

They hadn’t said a single word to each other, other then their names. She still seemed to be in a state of disbelief that she was with Bucky again, and he was shocked that she wasn’t mad at him for leaving her.

Leaning down he rested his forehead against her taking in her presence.

She wasn’t even sure what she should say to him right then. She had no clue where he had been for the last three years, and even though she thought about him often. She was constantly trying to remind herself that most likely she was never going to get to reunite with the man standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry I left you and never said goodbye,” he whispered breaking the silence that was between them.

She closed her eyes pushing back the tears that had formed between them. Reaching up he rested his hand on her cheek, and his thumb reached up an brushed the tears off her cheek.

“You didn’t have choice,” she said softly.

“Can we maybe go inside and talk?” he asked pulling away from her.

Nodding her head, she reached into her purse to pull out her keys. Bucky took another step away so she could the door. Walking side she set her purse on the floor and walked over to the couch in the living room. Bucky followed behind her and sat down on the couch next to her.

They stared at each other for a long moment neither of them exactly sure what they should say to each other. She reached over and rested her hand on thigh, and gave him a soft smile.

“I’m assuming you have a lot of questions,” he said softly knowing that three years had passed since they had seen each other and she had to have some questions.

“How did you find me?”

“Steve tracked you down for me,” he reached over and rested his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed her hand.

At the mention of Steve’s name, she couldn’t help but wonder if Steve had told Bucky that she thought she loved him all those years ago. She couldn’t lie that even with three years passing she was pretty sure she loved the man that was sitting next to her.

“Did he tell you that he met up with me after Germany?”

He nodded his head, “I asked him to make sure you were safe. I had him check on you occasionally.”

She nodded her head not exactly sure what else she should ask him, she was still completely blown away by the fact that she was seeing him again. “Are you still having nightmares?”

He shook his head, “no, they were finally able to take away what Hydra put in me.”

He gave her a gentle half smile that suddenly gave her butterflies.

“This might embarrass me, but did Steve possibly tell you how I felt about you?” her heart raced at the thought of Bucky rejecting her feeling she felt for him three years ago, especially since she still had those feelings.

Slowly he nodded his head, “he told me about them a little while ago. He also made sure to bring you up often. He knew you were one of the only real things in my life in the last seventy years.”

Tears started to slide down her cheek slowly, “when he found me that day, I honestly thought I was never going to see you again. We had shared that kiss that morning and I thought things were getting better for you…” she paused for a moment reliving that morning. “I should over never ask for you to go out and get fruit. We might have had more time together,” she couldn’t help but cry feeling suddenly guilty.

“Hey,” he reached up placing his hand on her cheek so she was looking up at him. “We were living on borrowed time. If I didn’t go out that morning, I was eventually going to go out again, they were going to find me at some point. I’m just glad that Steve found you and not someone else.”

She nodded her head and asked him the one thing she needed to know in that moment, “are we on borrowed time right now?”

He shook his head, “no I’m not going anywhere unless you ask me to.”

“Okay good because I’m not ready to lose you again.”

“Lydia, just so you know, I felt the same way you did back then.”

She couldn’t help but smile. Reaching up she placed her hand on his wrist that was resting on her cheek, “do you still have those feelings?”

She needed to know, even if he didn’t it wouldn’t change how she felt then or now.

He nodded his head, “you’re still the realest thing that has ever been in my life.”

“That makes me feel better knowing that I’m the only one with those feelings,” she said softly causing him to smile.

“Are you single?” he asked completely out of nowhere.

Her brows furrowed together as she gave him a confused look, “yes, why?”

“Because I would like to kiss you again, but I want to make sure you’re not taken.”

Her eyes lit up at the thought of them sharing another kiss. “I would love for you to kiss me.”

Without another word he leaned forward and connected his lips to hers for a gentle kiss. His lips moved against hers slowly as if he was testing the waters. Pulling away from her he couldn’t help but smile, he had waited a long time before he was able to see her again, and here he was being able to kiss her again.

“I have missed you so much,” she whispered.

“I missed you too, I know I have been gone for a while, but they fixed me.”

Even though they had taken out what Hydra put in him, Bucky was still left with what he had done under his control. He felt a substantial amount of guilt for the people he had hurt because of Hydra.

“Why does it sound like you don’t feel like you’re fully fix?” she asked knowing that by his tone he still sounded guilty.

“I will never be able to forget what I did because of them. Even being wiped I’m still left with the memories are coming back,” he sighed.

“Hey, we’ve been over this, you weren’t in control you aren’t a monster. You didn’t do those things,” she sighed shaking her head.

“I know, that’s what Steve reminds me of all the time.”

“Bucky what happens now?” she asked needing to know if eventually he was going to leave again.

“I don’t exactly have a plan, I asked Steve to track you down. I told him I needed to see you, I wasn’t sure if you had a boyfriend or something, but needed to see you again.”

She smiled, “I’m glad you tracked me down, because in the last three year I have thought about you often.”

He reached up and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and asked, “where were you tonight?”

She let out a heavy sigh, “I went to the bar with some friends to celebrate my birthday.”

His eyes went wide at the mention of her birthday, “it’s your birthday?”

She smirked at how caught off guard he sounded, “well technically since it’s after midnight yes it’s my birthday.”

“I wish Steve would have told me that I would of brought you a gift,” he sighed feeling suddenly stupid that he didn’t know this information.

“I don’t really need a gift. See you again is enough,” she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again for a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close to her, she didn’t think she would get over the fact that she was able to kiss him again. Pulling away from him she looked over at the clock to see that it was one in the morning. “Did you maybe want to stay the night? It’s late and I’m exhausted, but I’m not ready for you to leave again.”

He nodded his head, he couldn’t lie he thought about the nights he shared wrapped up in her arm held close against her curvy body.

“I would really like to stay the night.”

Standing up she reached over and laced her fingers with Bucky metal fingers and led him down the hallway towards her bedroom. She dropped his hand and walked towards her dresser to grab her pajamas.

“You can sleep how ever you want. If you want to sleep in your boxers,” she as she walked towards the bathroom so she could take off her makeup and get ready for bed.

She removed her make up and washed her face and changed into her pajamas. Walking back into her bedroom she found Bucky sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but his boxers. Walking over to him she moved to stand in front of him, he looked up and smiled at her. He never in his wildest dreams thought he would see her again, let alone get to share a bed with her again. Reaching up he gently took her hand and pulled her closer to him. Standing up he moved to press her lips to his for another kiss.

“How are you even real?” he asked wondering how he found her.

“I’m pretty average at most,” she whispered as his hands moved to her round hips.

He shook his, “you are far from average Lydia. You are perfect.”

Before she could even say anything sat back down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him as he sat on the edge of the bed. Reaching up he held her face in both hands staring at her.

“I don’t know what happens tomorrow, for all I know you could kick me out and tell me to leave…” he paused for a moment to stare into her eyes. “But I would love to share one real night with you.”

“Bucky I would never kick you out and tell you to leave,” she leaned down and connected her lips to his for an intense kiss. Their lips moved together as if they need the other to breathe. Her fingers tangled in his long hair hold him close to her as his hand gripped her round hips grinding her against him. There tongued moved together as she rolled her hips gently against him. His lips moved from her mouth and started kissing down her jaw. As his beard tickled her skin, she couldn’t help but moan at the feeling of his lips against her skin. His metal hand pushed her shirt up exposing the metal of his touch to her bare skin. The cool metal sent a shiver down her spine in the best way possible. Tilting her head back she gave him more access to her exposed skin.

Pulling his lips away from her skin he reached down for the bottom of her shirt. Pulling it off he couldn’t help but groan at the sight of her bare chest in front of her. He licked his lips before his lips moved to kiss her collarbones, before working his way to her bare chest. His lips kissed her sensitive skin as she grinded her hips against his grown bugled.

“Bucky, I need more,” she moaned.

With his lips ghosting her skin he spoke, “I didn’t come to see you with the intention of this happening.”

“I know you didn’t, but I need all of you,” she sighed as his lips peppered kisses across her skin. “I have missed you so much, and I just need all of you.”

He pulled his lips away from her skin, and in one quick motion stood up holding Lydia’s curvy body as if she weighed nothing. Her eyes went wide as he held onto her. She attempted to have him put her down but before she could say something he said, “you weigh nothing to me, quit freaking out.”

He moved and laid her down on the bed. Reaching up to her curvy hips he hooked his fingers into the band of her pajama shorts and panties, and pulled them both down in one quick motion. Laying on the bed completely naked in front of him she sat back on her elbows and watched as Bucky removed his boxers leaving him naked and proud in front of her.

“Do you have a condom?” he asked sounding slightly nervous.

Nodding her head, she moved to reach into the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a foil packet. Holding the foil packet out Bucky took it and tore it open and slowly slid the rubbed down his length. She watched with lust filled eyes as he pumped his length a few times before crawled into the bed. Lying next to her he connected his lips to hers for a searing kiss as his flesh hand moved down to her sensitive mound, his finger slid up and down for slit a few times before his fingers did lazy circle on her bundle of nerves while their lips moved together. He was attempting to give her some foreplay before. Pulling his lips away he continued to move his finger against her bundle of nerves causing to moan her name.

“Lydia what to you want?” he asked lying next to her.

“All of you,” she moaned.

Pulling his fingers away from her, he moved so he was hovering over her. She reached down and helped line him up with her entrance. Slowly he slid in and she gasped at his size, it had a been a really long time since she had sex. She was going to need a moment to adjust to his size. Once he was fulling in, he stilled for a moment giving her time to adjust. Her head rolled back as she took a deep breath and then looked up at Bucky who was staring out with lust blown eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked feeling suddenly worried at the was hurting her.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just need a moment,” she said giving him a soft smile. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers for a soft kiss. “Go head and move,” she said with his lips still brushing hers.

With a slowly roll he started to move his hips against hers. Her hands moved up to grip his back as he continued to move into her. Groaned as his hips thrust into hers picking up the pace slightly. In all the time that had passed since they had last seen each other, he didn’t think he would ever get to be with her. In his mind back then he thought that they might event sleep together, especially after they had kiss, but then again, he wasn’t sure if she ever would want to do this with him.

“Bucky,” she moaned.

“Baby,” he groaned dropping his head to her shoulder. He started placing wet kisses across her bare skin. She moved her hands down to his butt pulling him as close as possible with every thrust. His teeth gently dragged across the skin of her shoulder as he moaned her name. He was getting close to the edge and he needed her to finish before him.

“Are you close?” he asked.

“Yeah Bucky,” she moaned as he picked up the pace.

Biting her bottom lip, she rolled her back moaning. Her fingers dug into his tone butt pulling him closer. With a few more thrust he pushed her over the edge. Her hands moved from his but up to his face pulling him closer to her so she could kiss him as she rode out her high. She moaned into his kiss as he rolled his hips a few times before hitting his own high. With a couple sloppy thrust he rode out his high before stilling his hips as he kissed. Pulling away from her he rolled off her and laid on the bed next to her. Silently he discarded the condom, and reached over to pulled her curvy body close to him.

She was left in a dazed state as she curled up next to him.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” she whispered as she was coming down from her high.

“I won’t ever let anything take me away from you again,” he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

All my taglist are open. Let me know if you want to be tagged in the Steve Little Mermaid Modern day AU story.

@thisismysecrethappyplace @minahraven @lokilvrr @justreadingthesefanfics @inmyworstlies @shlach @imanaesir @theinsomniacsblog @unhealthyobsessionwithmarvel  @acebelle @nerd-without-a-cause @captain-rogers-neighborhood @sadancing @theonelittleone @all-of-the-little-infinites @thepandadrawer @hermione0919 @tnupsweetpie  @learisa @kgcurtis30 @alwaysbandslut @ruckystarnes @sarahsassafras13 @jessicao19 @breezy1415 @violetrose90201 @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @iamthemaskhewears @lapels123  @explorer–of–the–unknownn @coal000 @thorsstorms @libbymouse @asadmarveltrashbag

[lambroseforlife]

High school lambrose

Since this suggestion said “high school” and not “secondary”, I’m just assuming that anon wanted this to take place somewhere in North America during a modern time period since there technically was no existence of “high school” in the 1800s.

— — —

“Ahhh.” Lilly exhaled in relief when the car’s engine shut off, parked at its destination. She stretched out her limbs, propping her feet on top of the dashboard, her battered black Converse high tops nearly scuffing the front window.

From her left, she felt a frosty glare burrow into her tanned legs, exposed by the pair of shorts she was wearing. A moment of cold silence passed before an equally icy tone filled the small space of the car — in her opinion, far more effective than the air conditioning system.

“Feet. Off. Now.”

“Alright, alright.” Lilly grumbled, complying at the command. She turned expectantly to the driver sitting next to her.

The car may have been a used one, but was recently purchased as a present to him from his parents shortly after he had passed the driving test and received his license. Their insistence to him that it was both a privilege and a responsibility to have a car was one that he held remarkably to utmost seriousness.

His sea-colored eyes reflected annoyance as he reached over in front of her to open the glovebox, pulling out a white cloth and rubbing at the area on the dashboard where her shoes had been. She glared at him.

“Oh, come on! I just threw these in the laundry last week.” She protested, gesturing to her high tops.

He cast a distasteful glance downwards at her feet, clearly unconvinced at the sight of the faded, worn-down shoes before vigorously wiping down the dashboard for a few more seconds. He returned the cloth back to the glovebox and closed it, still not saying anything.

Lilly sighed. “Rick, live a little. We’re supposed to be celebrating.”

He finally broke the silence, raising a black eyebrow. “Celebrating what?”

“You know, finishing high school? Surviving eight torturous hours of classes five days a week for the past four years?”

“Technically, we still haven’t received our diplomas yet. Nor do we know our final grades for this semester.” He pointed out coolly.

“Don’t be a buzzkill. Graduation is tomorrow and I bet you aced all your exams like usual. I’ll eat my shoes otherwise.”

He snorted. “Very well, celebration it is then. Is that why you didn’t want to go home yet?”

“Yep.” She chirped. She opened the car door and stepped out, with Rick following suit. 

They had just departed from an outing with the rest of their friends at the town’s local diner. The place had been packed, with many of their other classmates there as well to feast for the occasion. To say the least, the diner would have stellar business for the night but also one hell of a cleanup job afterwards. Lilly decided she had socialized enough once the noise level had reached to a peak, enough to be headache-inducing. After promising to meet up with their group before and after tomorrow’s ceremony, both she and Rick had left since he was her ride for the evening. Once they sat in his car, she told him that she wanted to make a quick stop at a particular place. He was surprised but nonetheless, silently obliged.

A gust of hot air blew in her face when she closed the car door. Grumbling, she pulled her hair back into a short ponytail using the hair tie around her wrist in a vain attempt to mitigate the frizz from the summer weather. Lilly could already feel the heat clinging to her skin and hear the mosquitos buzzing about in the humid air. She was thankful that she had remembered last minute to spray on repellant before leaving the house.

Rick locked the car before falling in step beside her. They said nothing as they trekked a short distance through the grass, finally sitting side-by-side on a concrete bench directly under a lamppost.

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark track pants, speaking up. 

“So…” Rick began. “Any particular reason you wanted come here?”

“Kinda.” A deep crease settled by the corner of her frown while her nose scrunched. He recognized it as the expression she wore whenever she was lost in thought.

She continued. “I wanted to have some time to think among all this…craziness.”

He waited for her to elaborate.

“I dunno. It just feels like everything happened so suddenly, you know? First it was college applications, then semester exams, then waiting on college acceptances, then club activities and dances, and then even more exams. Now we’re graduating tomorrow. Like, bam!” She clapped her hands for extra emphasis. “Where did all the time go this year?”

“You’re right.” He spoke quietly. “Things felt hectic.”

“Exactly! And soon we’re all supposed to be going off into the adult world. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really excited. For starters, it’ll be nice not having to ask for permission every time I want to go to the restroom.” She rolled her eyes at the absurd concept. “But still, at the same time I don’t feel ready having to say goodbye to all the friends I made. Meeting new people. Moving to a new environment by myself. Like I’m being thrown into this all at once and I’m so damn sure that I’m going to screw up.”

“Then screw up.”

“What?” She turned her head to glare at him directly. “How could you say that?”

“Look,” he explained calmly. “You’ve made mistakes before and you’re going to make them again. Expecting to not make mistakes is, frankly, rather stupid. What matters is how you use those mistakes. You’re going to meet all kinds of people, ones that you’ll get along with and ones that you won’t. And you being you, you’ll probably make some really dumb decisions along the way too. But also being you, you’ll reflect on that and learn from them. Life would be dull and boring without its challenges.”

She stared at him, her dark brown eyes widened and her mouth slightly ajar.

His voice lowered. “Don’t forget, you’re not alone in all of this. We are in the same boat together and we both will do stupid things in the future. It’s guaranteed to happen. But we are going to the same college and you know you can rely on me whenever you need it. I’ll always have your back, Lilly.”

Her eyes were watery. “Have you considered switching your major to Philosophy instead?” She choked out, leaning forward to pull him in for a hug.

“Tempting, but I’ll pass.” He muttered into her ear as his arms wrapped around her.

Pulling away, the pads of his thumbs wiped at the moisture leaking out of her eyes. “I thought we were supposed to be celebrating?”

She coughed out a laugh, sniffling then hiccupping. “They’re happy tears.”

They sat back to their original positions, settling into a comfortable silence for several minutes.

Lilly raised her legs, bringing her feet on the bench and tucking her knees under her chin. While in her curled position, she stared ahead with her large brown eyes focused in the distance.

“Do you remember when we first met?” She slowly asked.

From the corner of her vision, she could see the teenage boy next to her shoot her an incredulous look.

“All I remember from our kindergarten days was you constantly ruining my finger paintings by smearing your grubby hands all over them.”

“Good times.” One corner of her mouth quirked up in a devilish smirk. “You used to cry for an hour afterwards.”

“I did not.” He scoffed. “Why are you asking me about our first meeting?”

“Because I don’t remember,” she confessed sheepishly. “So I was hoping that you did. But I do remember how we used to always hang out here at the park on weekends.”

He chuckled. “Back when the biggest problems were who got to go down the slide first and use the shovel in the sandbox.” His nodded in the direction of the playground out in the distance.

“Life used to be so much easier back then.” Lilly frowned. “What happened?”

“Like with everything else, time happened.” He simply said.

She pouted. “From the wise words of Einstein, ‘time is an illusion.’”

“Technically it’s freedom that is an illusion, not time.”

She gave him a bland look. “Let’s not argue about this again like last time.”

They settled into comfortable silence once more. A few minutes passed until Lilly spoke up again.

“Rick?” She asked in a small voice, glancing sideways at him.

He met her gaze. “Yes, Lilly?”

“I, um, wanted to thank you. For all that you did for me during our senior year, especially at the beginning. It’s because of you that I’m even able to participate tomorrow.”

He stared at her, perplexed, and she elaborated.

“You know…the dress code incident.”

Sometime during the start of the school year on a particularly warm day, Lilly had worn a red scoop neck blouse that had exposed her collarbone and partially her shoulders. Their widely unpopular school principal, Mr Ellingham, had spotted her during the lunch period and declared that she had violated student conduct for dress code rules. Despite Rick lending her his hoodie to cover up, Lilly had been written up for a two week suspension and sent home, with her privilege to walk at the graduation ceremony revoked. The official reason given had been stated as “insubordination”, but it was obvious to Lilly that Mr Ellingham had never really liked her or her witty disposition from previous disputes — readily using the first available opportunity for his own subjective motivations.

To put it lightly, Rick was livid when he found out what had happened. As vice president of the student council, he had wasted no time in subtly spreading news of the incident. Within two days, the entire school had heard and was in a state of unrest. News had spread within the county and even out of state as well, all thanks to social media. When Rick had also informed his mother, she had taken direct action. As an active member of the school’s parent-teacher association and a distinguished generous patron of the school district, Samantha Genevieve Ambrose had wasted no time in bringing awareness among her extensive social circle, which included those on the town’s council and newspaper staff. 

By the time Lilly’s suspension had ended and she was back in school, Rick had informed her that the school and the district had been on the receiving end for public complaints and anonymous threats for the overly harsh treatment towards an honor roll student with a clean record for no previous incidents of misconduct. A few months later, Mr Ellingham had resigned and had been replaced by Mrs Gibbons, an older, no-nonsense lady with a heart of gold. The new principal had been well-liked by the student body instantly, especially by Lilly for giving her a written formal apology on behalf of the school and clearance to participate in the graduation ceremony.

Understanding dawned on Rick’s face as he recalled the whirlwind of overwhelming events from the year. “You don’t need to thank me for that. I was just doing what any student council member– no, what any person with decent morals would have done.”

“But still…you were the one that spoke up about it first and it means a lot to me. And also just for these past four years in general. I never got to say it properly but I really appreciate everything that you did. How much you looked out for me.”

“Who are you and what have you done with the real Lilly Linton?” He squinted at her suspiciously.

She lightly punched him in the arm. “Don’t ruin the moment, I’m trying to be nice here.”

“Nice? I guess miracles really do happen.”

Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Why are we best friends again?”

“I have no idea.” His face was deadpan but his eyes sparkled with amusement. “You tell me.”

She couldn’t help but to roll her eyes.

“But thank you as well.” He added seriously, with sincerity. “For being by my side during all these years, Lilly.”

She looked at him for a moment then reached over and squeezed his hand, smiling up at him. Letting go, she abruptly stood up.

“Alright, let’s go now. We’ve stayed long enough and the air here is making us both sappy. I need my beauty sleep for tomorrow anyway.”

He rose from the bench and they left the park. They walked back to his car, her arm linked with his.

— — —

Rivulets of sweat trickled down Lilly’s neck as she squinted up at the weathered brick building in front of her. Placing a tanned hand over her eyes to shield from the sun’s harsh glare, she stared wistfully at the familiar black plaque letters above the main entrance 

Empire High School.

She pulled her phone out from her small crossbody purse to glance at the time. 8:43 A.M., the brightly-lit screen displayed. She was early, all of the seniors were supposed to meet in the gymnasium by 9:30 in preparation to go over the ceremony procession order. 

Lilly yawned, casting off any traces of sleepiness as her hand reached out and grabbed the metal handle of the door. It was unexpectedly hot, absorbent of the outside heat. She yelped and flinched, yanking the door open as fast as possible before slipping inside.

A cool gust of air hit her face, and she instinctively closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of the air-conditioned interior of the school. A bittersweet feeling washed over her, knowing that it was the last time she had entered the place as a student. It had been a crucial part of her life for the past four years — with hours spent in the library fussing over chemistry notes, gossip exchanged in passing while going to lockers, lunch periods filled with comically absurd discussions, and after-school meetings reserved for dreaded group projects.

She walked through the maze of empty hallways, frowning when she could not spot another student in sight. She fiddled with the golden graduation cap pinned to her hair and adjusted the matching golden gown draped over her arm.

As she drew closer to the gym’s entrance, she could hear laughter. A turn of the corner and she saw some of her classmates already in their attire, chattering animatedly with their friends and taking pictures. Some of them smiled in greeting and even waved when they noticed her, the dress code incident having made her more well-known among her peers. It was something that had bothered her at earlier in the year until she became used to it with time, learning to automatically smile and wave back.

“There she is!” A voice squealed excitedly.

A second later, something slammed into her. Hard. She wheezed and stumbled back, the breath knocked out of her lungs. She steadied herself, ready to give a piece of her mind to the person that had rudely crashed into her. Looking up, she saw who it was and her glare melted when she recognized the wildly grinning face of Eve Sanders.

She gave Lilly a slow once-over, nodding her head in approval. “Well, well, well. You look amazing if I do say so myself. That dress is gorgeous on you.”

“Thanks.” Lilly glanced down at the burgundy skirt of her dress that flowed to her knees. “The same goes for you too, Eve.” She appraised the small bit of the white floral print dress peeking out from her unzipped graduation gown.

Her two other best friends, Patsy Cusack and Flora Milton emerged into view. They were fully attired in the golden graduation gown, cap and matching tassel assigned to all of the graduating females. Lilly gave them both a hug.

“We have to take pictures.” Flora insisted, taking out her phone. They posed for a few pictures until Eve asked them to wait.

“I have to keep fixing my hair.” She complained, tugging at it. “The humidity outside made it all frizzy.”

“I’m pretty sure the heat melted half of my makeup off already. I bet I can pass for a haunted wax doll after today.” Lilly remarked.

“Ugh. Girls, girls! You’re both pretty. Can I go home now?” Patsy quipped.

Eve and Lilly glared at Patsy.

“Children’s movie quotes? How original.” Lilly sarcastically commented.

It was Patsy’s turn to glare this time, scowling at her.

Lilly turned and spotted an approaching familiar face in the distance. She went up to him.

“May I say,” she said a sickly-sweet tone while fluttering her eyelashes, “that navy blue graduation gown really brings out the color of your eyes?”

Rick’s face turned sour. “You absolutely may not. Speaking of graduation gowns, why aren’t you wearing yours yet?”

She sighed. “It was too hot outside. Don’t you feel it too? You’re wearing two thick layers of dark colors.” She nodded to the hem of his black dress pants peeking out from the bottom of his customary male blue graduation gown that nicely contrasted with her golden one, the two school colors in sync.

“The heat isn’t as bad as you think. You’re just being dramatic.”

“Or you’re obviously a robot.” She mumbled under her breath.

“I heard that.”

A group of classmates approached him and he turned to speak with them. Shaking her head, Lilly headed back to her group of friends, putting on her gown and zipping it up. Together they headed to the gym, forced to separate into clusters based on the first letter of their last name.

What proceeded afterwards could only be described as boring, with her former history teacher, Mr Pearson, attempting to arrange the students in her group alphabetically and droning on in a monotonous tone for “appropriate presentation”.

When they finally filed out of the gym and onto the athletic field an hour later, Lilly felt a short-lived sense of relief which quickly dissipated once she went out into the heat. The sun was unforgiving on all those trapped in its presence, the multitude of floppy hats and waving hand-held paper fans as tell-tale signs within the sea of people seated in plastic folding chairs on the field’s trimmed grass.

The tones cut from a section of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance ‎March No. 1 played as the typical designated graduation theme song while they stepped onto the grass. The groups of students walked in two separate lines down the center of the two halves of the group of chairs. 

Ten minutes later and Lilly was internally screaming, still standing out in the sweltering sun while her group waited for their turn to be seated. She felt like she was turning into a baked potato from the heat, the square top of her graduation cap not wide enough to provide shade for her face. Under her graduation gown, she could feel her dress plastered to her skin from the sweat and her ears wanted to bleed from hearing the same music played on loop. She had seen Rick enter among the first of students and sit at the first row, as per the alphabetical order of last names.

When she was able to finally enter an empty row of chairs and sit down, she passed the rest of the time waiting for the other seniors to be seated by perusing through the booklet of graduation ceremony agenda, a copy set on each empty chair. The last row of students sat down another thirty minutes later and Lilly let out a sigh, leaning back into her chair as the principal, Mrs Gibbons, opened the ceremony.

The rest of the event passed by without a hitch. Speeches were made by the selected speakers, both graduating seniors and favored faculty members. Heartfelt songs were performed by those from the music club, from their own original compositions. When the time came to bring the seniors forward to individually receive their diplomas, a hush fell through the crowd. The graduating students automatically straightened in their seats, ready for the moment that they had all been waiting for since the start of the year.

They were dismissed by rows, ascending to the stage one by one after their names were announced. When a “Rikkard Ambrose” was called, people cheered for their vice president and Lilly jumped out of her chair, whooping excitedly, earning laughter from those around her. A certain boy, tall and lean with sea-colored eyes, saw her and shook his head in embarrassment as he stepped forward and accepted the embellished proof for something he had worked rigorously to achieve, with the aid of sheer willpower and countless hours of skipped sleep.

When the turn came for her row, she exhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders as she rose. She walked in line with the rest of her classmates to the stage, silently hoping that she wouldn’t awkwardly trip. The stage’s center drew closer and closer with each person in front of her called. Until finally…

“Lillian Linton.”

Lilly felt as if she were in a dream as she stepped forward towards Mrs Gibbons, who held her diploma in an outstretched hand.

Cheering erupted from the crowd, people chanting her name. From her family, from her friends and everyone that had been sympathetic to her plight and supportive to her cause. Lilly couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes as she reached her principal, accepting the diploma and shaking her hand.

“Congratulations. You earned it.” The older lady smiled proudly at her and Lilly beamed back.

She posed for pictures on the side of stage with the other faculty, taken by a professional photographer hired by the school and then descended the stairs onto the grass, heading back to her row and sitting in her seat.

The rest of the procession passed by without a hitch and once the last row of students returned to their seats, Mrs Gibbons spoke to the crowd again.

“Will the graduating class please rise?”

They all did in perfect synchronization, Lilly’s heartbeat hammering furiously in anticipation.

“For the final closing gesture, you all may now move your tassels from right to left as you all have now…officially graduated!”

Thunderous cheering and roaring applause erupted from the crowd of attendees as the now-former students moved their tassels. Someone– Lilly did not know who– threw their graduation cap into the air, and the rest of her former classmates followed suit. Carefully unpinning her cap from her styled hair, she threw hers also– but not very high, as she wished to keep it as a memento.

The crowd began to scatter, as the new graduates wished to reunite with their families and their friends. People were crying and hugging, while others were laughing and cheering together. Lilly turned to head in the direction for her parents and sisters when she spotted a recognizable figure towering above the other graduates. 

She pushed her way through the sea of gold and navy blue gowns, heading towards the person. When she finally reached him, he was facing away from her so she tugged on his gown’s sleeve. He sharply turned around and upon recognizing her, he wordlessly pulled her to him.

They embraced each other fiercely for an immeasurable amount of time, her head tucked into his chest. In that moment, Lilly didn’t care if her makeup got on his gown or that he was also sweaty as well. All she knew that in that very moment, both of them had shared something special together: that feeling of accomplishment when reaching a milestone.

They pulled away but still refused to let go of each other completely, their hands grasping onto each other’s forearms. After staring at one another in disbelief, only then fully registering that they had just graduated high school, they both began to laugh. 

Lilly let out a boisterous giggle while Rick just chuckled, a faint smile on his face while his broad shoulders shook. Their amusement died down eventually and they regarded each other with a look of understanding, recalling the previous night’s conversation.

“Onto something new?” He asked, and she nodded in confirmation.

“Onto something new.”

— — —

Well, there you go anon. Is Rikkard OOC here? You bet. I always imagine his younger self as being nicer like how Lady Samantha mentioned in SB before he left home. And yes, I know they could have been dating here or I could have gone with the whole “bad boy meets feisty girl” cliche. But I felt inspired to write something more realistic and coming-of-age despite being platonic. I hope I did this prompt some justice and that it wasn’t too terrible to read.

Sidenote: The dress code incident that was discussed was actually based off of a real-life event that a high school senior experienced in Charlotte, North Carolina back in spring 2017.

[harrelltut]

卍 Mama T [Queen Tiye]… present day humanity of basic artificial intelligence Still ain’t ready 4 My HIGHLY EVOLVED [HE = JAH] TONGUE of Biblically Black [Ancient] Egyptian [BAE = COSMIC] Parables about JEHOVAH’S Biblically Prophetic Apocalypse [PA] on earth 卍

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @anyberry!

Merry Christmas Berry! I hope you have a wonderful festive season and I hope you enjoy this Stereky goodness. Love from your Secret Santa

*****

Stiles really hated lacrosse, despite the fact that he was on the lacrosse team. In fact, Stiles probably hated lacrosse mostly because he was on the lacrosse team. It was a perfectly reasonable if slightly nonsensical sport back when he was sitting on the bleachers watching other people run around trying to throw a ball into a netted goal with the aid of another, smaller net at the end of a stick. But now that he was one of those people he was finding it significantly less reasonable.

And the most unreasonable thing about lacrosse? Summer practice sessions. Stiles never would’ve joined the team if he’d known about summer practice sessions. Stiles was expecting after-school practice, it goes with the territory of playing a school sport. He could deal with weekend practice, grumpily, because he could see the benefit of extra training before big, important games.

But summer training? When they wouldn’t actually have a game, important or otherwise, for at least another two months? When he wasn’t even sure he’d make the team again in his junior year? Lunacy. Absolute lunacy.

Which was not really that surprising considering Coach Finstock was a lunatic. But Stiles hadn’t known that when he’d let Scott beg and plead and puppy-dog-eye him into signing up for tryouts last year.

And now he was paying the price for his ignorance. During summer.

“I hate you so much right now,” Stiles muttered to Scott as they packed up their gear, the rest of the team plodding past them towards the locker room.

“Aw c’mon, it’s not that bad! Doesn’t it make you feel alive, being out here, under the sun, feeling the grass beneath your feet and the wind against your face and the solid weight of your crosse in your hands?” Scott said, grin lopsided, arms open wide toward the pitch before them.

Stiles stared at him for a while, because he felt he needed to.

Then, “No.”

There was a noise from behind him and Stiles turned to see the back of Derek Hale moving toward the low, squat wing of the school that housed the locker rooms. If Stiles didn’t know better he might’ve thought Derek had laughed. In reality Derek probably just had gas.

Turning back to Scott he continued, “No, it makes me feel the opposite of alive, because the sun is burning the shit out of my lily white Polish ass, the grass is generally beneath my face not my feet, the wind is usually getting pounded out of my lungs, and I’m far more likely to feel the weight of other dudes’ crosses getting smacked into me.”

Scott gaped at him.

“You realise that sounded, like, aggressively sexual, right?”

“Oh shut the fuck up,” Stiles grunted, and he hauled his bag over his shoulder, stomping off to the locker room.

***

Apart from unreasonable training schedules, the locker room was the worst thing about lacrosse. Or, more specifically, it was the worst place to have to be, three times a week, during summer, when one was possibly maybe potentially having a small sexuality crisis.

Not that Stiles felt that there was a major crisis to be had. He was 98.3% certain that his dad and his grandma and Scott and Scott’s mom would all be completely accepting of a potentially not-straight Stiles. And Stiles knew he was extremely lucky in that sense, and he was grateful. But still, that 1.7% was enough to keep him up at night.

And it wasn’t as though Stiles really, deeply cared about what other people thought of him, outside of those four that really mattered. But still, he wasn’t naive and he was extremely aware that homophobia was well and truly alive in modern America. Particularly within hyper-masculine environments such as high school locker rooms.

And the most crisis-inducing aspect of Stiles’ not-major and yet also not-insignificant sexuality crisis was the simple fact that Stiles was not who he thought he was. And that’s not at all a bad thing, but it is a confronting thing. Thinking that you knew who you were, that you have known who you are for years, and then slowly realizing that you don’t, in fact, know yourself inside and out. To be certain and then to be suddenly not, it was overwhelming. It felt raw and jangly and new underneath his skin.

So Stiles felt edgy enough as it was, and all those male abs and backs and thighs in the locker room, three times a week, during summer, were doing nothing to help his already frayed nerves.

Stiles faffed and fiddled around his locker, double-checking he had his helmet, carefully wiping off his pads, until most of the rest of the team had finished in the showers. It basically guaranteed that there would be no hot water left for him, but it was worth a cold shower if it meant he wouldn’t be surrounded by naked dudes on all sides. Plus it was the middle of summer, Stiles could not stress this enough, and who was wanting a hot shower anyway?

When he could hear only two or three other people moving around the dark, humid room Stiles stripped the rest of his clothes off and grabbed his towel.

He spent a while in the shower, letting the lukewarm water soothe both his aching muscles and the stinging-hot parts of his skin that were exposed to the sun for too long. He was in there long enough that Scott shouted his goodbyes and left without him, but Stiles didn’t mind. He’d catch up with Scott later, probably to annihilate him in a virtual world. The undisputed natural and proper way to be spending summer vacation.

Once Stiles towelled off he headed for the door and blessed freedom, feeling relief and jubilation, planning to reward himself with an ice cold milkshake on the way home, the rest of that fine summer's day stretched sweet and sticky before him and -

The doorknob wouldn’t turn.

Stiles tried it again.

It still wouldn’t turn. It remained unmoved and unforgiving, like Coach Finstock when Stiles tried to weasel his way out of running suicides.

Stiles rattled and pushed and pulled and still the doorknob wouldn’t turn and the door stayed shut.

“Fuck!” Stiles shouted and kicked the closed door. Which, in hindsight, was a thoroughly idiotic move, so Stiles cursed some more as he hopped around on one foot, a hand clutching at the toe of his other sneaker.

“What’s going on?”

Stiles froze at the voice behind him. Because he knew that voice. And he should’ve known that horrible, embarrassing things come in threes. The locked door, his crumpled toes, and now…

“Derek!” Stiles squeaked.

It hadn’t started out as a squeak. But then Stiles had turned around halfway through the word to find Derek Hale, half-naked and wet, staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead, water droplets were gliding down his shoulders, his pale eyes seemed even paler in the dim light of the room, and a towel, a tiny scrap of material wrapped around Derek’s hips, was the only thing saving both Derek’s dignity and Stiles’ sanity.

“Uh,” Stiles said, super intelligently.

And then he just stared at Derek. Naked Derek. He ogled, there was no denying it. He was ogling, and he made himself stop.

“Stiles? What’s going on?” Derek repeated.

“The door’s locked,” Stiles mumbled at the floor.

“What.”

“The door,” Stiles said, slightly louder, no less squeaky. “It is locked. The way is shut. We shall not pass.” And he flailed with one hand to emphasize his point.

“What,” Derek said again, the same word, but entirely different.

He strode forward and Stiles made a garbled sound in the back of his throat, backing himself into the wall next to the door.

Derek grabbed the door handle, twisting it and pulling it, like he thought Stiles was lying to him, or like he thought his superior lacrosse captain strength would prevail where all others before him had failed.

But the door, surprise of all surprises, was still fucking locked.

Derek kept trying to open it though, and he was starting to look panicked, and his breath was beginning to rush in and out of him like frantic waves against a stormy shore.

“Dude,” Stiles said, but Derek either ignored him or couldn’t hear him at all. “Derek.” He put a hand on Derek’s warm, broad shoulder.

Derek stilled, and he looked at Stiles, and he suddenly seemed to notice that he was more or less caging Stiles in against the wall while he fruitlessly pulled at the door handle, and then an even more panicked expression passed across his face and he jumped, literally jumped, backwards.

Stiles held his hands up like he was trying to calm a wild animal, because it felt like he was trying to calm a wild animal. There was something extremely wild about the way Derek was looking at him.

“Hey,” Stiles started softly. “Are you okay? Are you claustrophobic? I have panic attacks sometimes, I could help you through some breathing exercises if you want,” he said, making his hands and his voice as gentle as he could.

Derek was clutching his towel with both hands like it was a liferaft, and at Stiles words his expression shifted, becoming no less panicked but now somehow longing too, like Stiles was the liferaft, and he couldn’t quite reach.

He took two deep breaths and Stiles could see him visibly trying to calm himself.

“I’m fine,” he said, but Stiles could hear the strained hoarseness of his voice.

“How about this,” Stiles said, his brain clicking into gear, “you dry off and get dressed and I’ll make some calls, see if I can get someone to come get us out of here.” Doing something proactive, something physical, working towards a goal always helped Stiles when he felt a panic attack coming on.

“Okay,” Derek said shakily and turned to go to his locker. Just as he was about to round the corner he glanced back at Stiles over his shoulder, and the same panicked, longing look swept over his features again.

Stiles swiped open his phone with determination. It was just his goddamn rotten luck that he gets trapped inside the boys locker room, during summer, with the one person who was possibly maybe potentially responsible for kicking off Stiles’ not-major and yet also not-insignificant sexuality crisis in the first place. Jesus.

Stiles tried Coach Finstock first, because he had Coach Finstock’s number, because Coach Finstock insisted on each of his players having his phone number and him having theirs in return, because Coach Finstock was a lunatic.

And in keeping with Stiles’ luck, Coach Finstock didn’t answer.

Next Stiles tried his dad, and because his dad was a steady, solid, dependable presence in Stiles’ life he did answer his phone. Of course he spent the first three minutes of the conversation laughing himself to tears about the newest ridiculous predicament that Stiles had found himself in, but after that he came through.

The Sheriff promised that he would try to track down someone with a set of keys to the school locker rooms, and failing that he would send over a locksmith to get them out. It might take awhile, but Stiles and Derek had access to running water and working toilet facilities, and Stiles was pretty sure he had a flattened Cliff Bar or two floating around in the bottom of his bag somewhere, so they could survive in there for a good few hours.

Sure, it wasn’t an ideal way to waste a day of vacation, but things could be worse. And Stiles could be stuck with far worse survival buddies than Derek Hale. All in all Stiles was feeling pretty positive about their situation.

Until he went in search of his survival buddy and overheard Derek on the phone.

“God, why did it have to be him?” Derek was whispering desperately to someone on the other end of the call. “Out of all the guys on the team why did I have to get trapped in here with Stiles fucking Stilinski.”

***

It took about half an hour but eventually Derek came looking for him.

He found Stiles sat on the cool tile floor, back against the wall, arms curled around his legs and his chin resting on his knee.

He looked confused, and a little bit hurt, but Stiles couldn’t be bothered wondering why that was. Stiles’ stomach still felt all hollowed out and empty, his fingers still tingled with humiliation and unspoken rejection.

Worst of all was the cavernous feeling inside his chest where his bruised heart bounced and echoed around.

In all honesty he never truly believed he ever stood a chance with Derek. Derek Hale was handsome and popular, respected by his teachers and revered by his peers. He was as intelligent as he was athletically gifted, he volunteered at the local animal shelter in his spare time, and he loved his family unabashedly. And he knew who Stiles was. By name, even. Sometimes he’d stop and give Stiles little tips about hand placement and throwing technique when they were on the field during practice, and he always nodded at Stiles when they passed each other in the hallways.

So although it was fun to fantasize, to daydream about holding Derek’s hand, Stiles never honestly believed Derek would ever want to date him.

He had thought they’d been sort of friends, though. Friendly teammates at least. And to hear Derek say his name with such utter anguish, like being forced to spend time with him was the worst punishment in the world, was a fist to the gut that Stiles was entirely unprepared for.

“Where have you been?” Derek asked, and it was such a stupid question that it punched an ugly laugh out of Stiles’ throat.

“I’ve been here,” Stiles replied slowly. “Locked inside the locker room.”

A hint of a smile began to grow on Derek’s lips, but it withered quickly at the sarcasm in Stiles’ voice.

“Well, yeah, obviously,” Derek said. He looked at Stiles in confusion. “I meant, why didn’t you come back to m- um, why didn’t you come and tell me what’s going to happen. Is someone coming to get us out?”

“Yeah, my dad’s working on it.”

Derek nodded.

And then when he seemed to be waiting for more Stiles just couldn’t help adding, bitterly, “And I thought I’d give you some space, seeing as how you wish you weren’t trapped in here with Stiles fucking Stilinski.”

Stiles had never seen Derek’s face get so pale so quickly. In fact, he didn’t think he’d even seen Derek’s face go pale at all.

“You heard that?” Derek asked, and he sounded pained.

“Yep,” Stiles said, popping the P, because his assholish tendencies kick into overdrive when he feels hurt.

“It’s not what you think, I swear.” Derek sounded urgent and he crouched down onto his knees in front of Stiles.

“Really?” Stiles hated it, but he couldn’t help the way his voice went all high and disbelieving. “Because it sounded like being alone with me was the worst possible torment you could ever face. And that’s a real ego boost, dude, thanks.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Derek was wringing his hands at this point.

Stiles just raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘please, do go on’.

Derek sighed, then squared his shoulders.

“The truth is, I like you.”

Stiles snorted. A real, guttural, wholly unattractive snort. “Could’ve fooled me, dude.”

“I’m being serious, doucheface.”

And didn’t that make Stiles sit up and listen. When he finally looked Derek full in the face he could see that Derek was serious. Also kind of pissed, but mostly just very sincere.

“I like you, Stiles. A lot. Probably more than I should considering you’ve never shown any interest in anyone outside of Lydia Martin. But,” and here Derek shrugged helplessly, looking away from Stiles for the first time, “I guess we don’t have much control over these sorts of things.”

Stiles was so shocked he lost the rigid control he’d had over his body, arms unfolding and legs flopping down onto the floor.

Derek’s cheeks were pink, as were his adorable, small, sticky-out ears. He wasn’t making eye-contact and he was picking at a hangnail on one of his fingers.

“Really?”

Derek sighed and glared at him, but hey, at least he was looking at Stiles again.

“Right, sorry, stupid. What I’m trying to say is, I like you too.”

Derek’s mouth dropped open. Stiles could see bunny teeth.

“Yeah,” Stiles said with a spreading grin, slow and unstoppable. “You’re adorable as hell and I like you.”

Derek leaned closer to him, and Stiles knew what was coming and the air shivered inside his lungs. The meeting of their lips was slow and dry and impossibly sweet. It was a soft kiss, quiet, and it spread through Stiles like the most delicate breeze, soothing the raw parts of him, silencing the jangling. It was still new, but it felt right, and instead of feeling like he didn’t know himself this felt like greeting an old friend.

Derek pulled away from him when Stiles’ smile became too wide, rather than continuing to awkwardly kiss his teeth.

“I knew summer practice sessions were one of my greater ideas,” he sighed.

“Wait, what?” Stiles squawked.

***

Stiles and Derek were finally released from the locker room after a couple of hours, a severe tongue-lashing from Stiles, and then a different kind of tongue-lashing altogether. The audience to their triumphant emergence included Stiles’ dad, Scott, Coach Finstock, a good half of Derek’s extended family, and a random locksmith.

If Stiles had known they’d attract so many spectators he probably wouldn’t have tumbled out of the door holding Derek’s hand and trying to bite his ear. As it was, Stiles’ coming out of the closet moment was a lot more literal than expected.

That 1.7% had Stiles freezing in fear, but his dad gave Stiles a knowing smirk, Scott gave him a perfectly indiscreet double thumbs up, and Laura Hale cheered “I knew it!” and snapped a photo.

[uniquequotesonlife]

10 Best Movies of 2019 (So Far)

With the summer movie season winding down, we look back at the top 10 films cinema has had to offer this far into 2019.

The summer movie season of 2019 is over. While the heat continues to swelter, and school by and large remains out, the final weekend of new Hollywood blockbuster extravaganzas has sped off the scene like a getaway car. And given the box office receipts for most of the studio tentpoles this year, we imagine the whole industry is ready to put the summer behind them. Be that as it may, cinema remains strong, hence why we think is the perfect time to look back on the year so far. While many others like to take stock of the movie calendar at the literal halfway mark that occurs at the end of June, we prefer letting the biggest moviegoing season to wrap up and only start reflecting during the deep breath before film festivals like TIFF and Telluride kick off the awards season. Indeed, you’ll see below that this July and August have been unusually fruitful. Looking back at the first seven-plus months of 2019 reveals that, for whatever box office hand-wringing, it’s already been a promising time for new voices making an impact and legendary auteurs communicating with the changing filmmaking landscape. So without further ado, please join us in celebrating the top 10 movies of 2019. So far.

10. The Peanut Butter Falcon

Tall tales and the myths they build can be stronger than any river current in the American South. Many of the best works of fiction from that part of the country embrace such grandiosity, and The Peanut Butter Falcon is no exception. An infinitely sweet film populated with outsized personalities, directors Tyler Nilson and Mike Schwartz’s transcendentalist adventure was one of the biggest surprises out of SXSW earlier this year, and months later it still radiates an authentic breezy charm. Very much a modern day Huckleberry Finn for those labeled as disabled or special needs, the film crafts its own legend around Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down Syndrome that society wishes to forget. Save for Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), his concerned doctor at the retirement home the state abandoned him in, no one really cares when Zak escapes to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Yet a dispiriting prologue gives way to the loveliest journey as Zak befriends Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) and hitches a ride with the good ol’ boy on a raft floating down the North Carolina Outer Banks. It’s a movie happily supplied with homespun love and wonderfully textured characters, including all three leads, among whom LaBeouf proves nigh unrecognizable as the reluctant Good Samaritan by way of Mark Twain’s St. Petersburg.

9. Luce

The best movies provoke discussion, and few this year will be as challenging as the conversations borne by director Julius Onah and screenwriter J.C. Lee’s Luce. A film based on Lee’s own play, the movie interrogates the idea of the American Dream and wonders if even when it comes true, how much of that is a manipulation by those who espouse skepticism of it. The film is about a star athlete and valedictorian named Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Actually, Luce was just what his parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) made up after they adopted him from a war-torn African nation, unable to pronounce his birth name. Even so, he very much is their son and not only the apple of their eye, but that of his whole school. Perhaps this is why his teacher, Ms. Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), holds him to a different standard than his other African American peers. It’s a story about a school-sized tinderbox of good intentions that threatens to ignite after Harriet finds illegal fireworks in Luce’s locker, all of which bubbles with the tension of a thriller even as it plays like a truth-searching drama. Luce is a Rorschach Test for both the characters and audiences to examine their own racial biases, and the hypocrisy of expectations. Nevertheless, the film exceeds ours.

8. Avengers: Endgame

It would be easy in more cynical circles to shrug off Avengers: Endgame as the ultimate fan service movie, and in fact it is. But after 11 years of world-building, and the even more impressive franchise-building occurring outside of its continuity, Marvel Studios’ 22nd installment is the grandest of commercial and long-form narrative achievements. By making a series finale to all the movies that came before it, including the cliffhanger in Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and his legion of collaborators, most notably directors Joe and Anthony Russo, and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr., find the rare quality that most eludes traditional television storytellers: a fully satisfying ending. At three hours, Avengers: Endgame rises above almost anything else Marvel has ever produced and acts as a pseudo-manifesto for the studio. While many of the parts are lesser than the whole, the tight storytelling and tonal consistency over nearly two dozen films pays off with the kind of multi-tiered catharsis and spectacle that drives global moviegoers into theaters by the tens of millions. Not since the days of Cecil B. DeMille has there been an epic so brimming with familiar faces, but unlike the overstuffed Infinity War, this showmanship is wrapped in a bow of gracefulness. This is the ultimate Marvel Studios movie. With a renewal of the charisma and humanity Downey first brought to this enterprise, there is a creative spark shining bright here… and that leaves open the question of how Marvel can possibly repeat this high-note, both in terms of heart and gross, ever again.

7. Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 didn't need to be made. The ending of 2010’s Toy Story 3 was the perfect conclusion to a saga that began the day a child named Andy first played with a cowboy doll called Woody. Yet we’re so glad that Toy Story 4 exists, as Pixar discovered a soulful epilogue to the characters who first made the studio the preeminent animation house of the 21st century. Essentially a coda to an already finished yarn, Pixar’s elegant solution to being required to return to the childhood daydream of Woody and Buzz Lightyear is to permanently wrap-up their shared journey in the most adult of ways. On the surface, this is another story about Woody (Tom Hanks) trying to teach a wayward toy its purpose, in this case a do-it-yourself Frankenstein’s Monster named Forky (Tony Hale). But Toy Story 4 raises a much more interesting question about what would make Woody want to move on with his life as a lost toy? Experiencing something akin to a midlife crisis when he crosses paths with old flame Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Woody is asked to change his perspective of what life is meant to be after reaching a certain age, just as a post-John Lasseter Pixar discovers a new and hopefully more inclusive identity. This movie does, after all, finally give Bo Peep depth and a humanity as heart-rending as anything to do with the cowboy that has a snake in his boot. Not bad for characters made of cloth and porcelain.

6. Midsommar

If you ever wanted a movie to burn down your toxic relationship, Midsommar is gasoline that comes with already lit flames. As Ari Aster’s heartfelt explanation of why some people do not belong together, this Swedish set film turns cult-based horror on its head and reverses everything you might expect from the director of Hereditary. Bringing horror out into the sunshine, Midsommar presents a world that is as shadowless as it is pitiless. Taking place almost entirely during the July rituals of an obscure (and fictional) Pagan commune, the film provides a set of antagonists who might kill you with kindness while displaying an egalitarian empathy as foreign to modern (and selfish) American traditions as their deadlier customs. This creates a striking backdrop to a potent allegory about why Florence Pugh’s Dani and Jack Reynor’s Christian really should have broken up long ago. Pugh is especially haunting as a young woman who’s in a state of perpetual trauma after hanging on to a worn-out band aid in need of tearing for six months. Her harrowing epiphany adds an insidious persuasiveness to cruel machinations that turn cooing Millennial intellectuals into horror’s new dumb American red meat. And the fumes produced by their roasting are quite beautiful, indeed.

5. The Farewell

Another film about the shock incurred by contrasting cultures, The Farewell is also a gorgeously realized portrait of a woman who feels drawn yet alienated by both sides of her identity. But whatever confusion she might experience is supplanted by an absolute love for her grandmother and the connection that elder represents to an ever-fading past. Writer-director Lulu Wang’s incredibly personal drama is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, all while never once making a single false step in its unusual path through grief—one that must be made in total silence. The Farewell centers on Awkwafina’s Billi, a 30-year-old New Yorker who was born in China and was only six when her parents moved to the States, leaving a vague impression of an idyllic childhood with her grandmother Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhou). However, what exactly this feeling of severed identity means to Billi comes to the surface when Nai Nai is diagnosed with lung cancer… something that her family will not tell her of because in China, it is the family’s emotional burden to carry the knowledge of a seeming death sentence. Believing she only is suffering from a cold, Nai Nai is thrilled that her adult children from America and Japan are returning home for a wedding that is in reality a pretense for everyone to say goodbye—although not Billi. Her parents think she’ll crack and admit this pantomime. Thus she must crash her grandmother’s own living wake. Billi’s saddened homecoming is constantly juxtaposed by her grandmother’s glowing delight to have a full house again. Occupying the space between tragedy and joy, Billi’s Western apprehension to Chinese custom and her longing to reconnect with it, Wang finds a canvas to paint every shade of anguish and exhilaration offered by nostalgia and an unfamiliar heritage. Awkwafina also confirms she is a star on the rise by carrying this intimate tragi-comedy with a role that requires her to speak in English, in Chinese, and most impressively not at all, while still saying everything.

4. Us

Jordan Peele follows up his directorial debut with another horror movie that will be dissected and debated for a long time to come. More ambitious than Get Out, and arguably the most vividly photographed chiller in ages, Us is bigger but still razor-focused on its subject. A massive allegory about class warfare turning storybook supernatural, Peele imagines a conflict between the haves and have-nots in American society while noting that, at the heart of the matter, they’re the same exact type of people. With a deft touch and sense of humor that is as refreshing as it was in Get Out, Peele introduces audiences to the Wilson family, who have seemingly everything but are still envious of keeping up with the proverbial (white) Joneses. For patriarch Gabe (Winston Duke), this can be accepted as a point of obliviousness, but Lupita Nyong’o’s Adelaide cannot feign such innocence as she has seen the face of want and hunger—it was her own—and she left it to rot. Yet it rises for her again when “Red,” her doppelganger she once spied in a funhouse mirror, comes home with equally twisted doubles of her family. It is a tour de force showcase for Nyong’o, who gives an Oscar-worthy turn as both Adelaide and Red. Us provides a juicy parable as rich as the best Twilight Zone storytelling by Rod Serling that inspired it. The end might overreach, but the breadth of its vision and arm remains an inspiration.

3. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

You cannot hate a place unless you love it. This is a paradox that Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails’ The Last Black Man in San Francisco posits with illuminating insight. An epic poem for the modern age of gentrification, this is a movie that focuses on a Bay City whose skyrocketing real estate has pushed the faces and hands that built its skyline to the fringes. It’s a fact of life encapsulated by an opening image of a young black girl going to school by the edge of saltwater so poisonous that city employees will only venture there in hazmat suits. Pushed literally to the edge of society, Jimmie Fails—a character played by the man who has lived this life and wrote the story down—dreams of reclaiming what was once his family’s birthright: a Victorian home in the Golden Gate area that his grandfather claims to have built with his own hands. It is now owned by a privileged middle aged white couple, yet when they enter into an inheritance dispute with relatives, an opportunity opens up for Jimmie and his best friend Montgomery (Jonathan Majors) to move in as squatters. This is a lyrical love letter to cities that no longer exist, and landscapes that once allowed dignity for those who toiled in them. Obviously it is Jimmie’s personal life story, but it is the insights of Montgomery, Emile Mosseri’s mournful score, and Adam Newport-Berra’s surreal camera setups that elevate Last Man’s song and verse into a celestial elegy. One which provides as much hope as it does despair.

2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

The arrival of a new Quentin Tarantino movie always comes with debate and some degree of controversy. But when the smoke clears, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood will be remembered as one of his very best. A film that demands multiple viewings, Once Upon a Time is the rare major studio movie that requires you to meet it on its own terms, a sad fact Tarantino is aware of and deconstructs with a surprising degree of wistful melancholy. An obvious love letter to the long-gone Hollywood of the 1960s, which by ’69 saw the studio system in its death throes, the movie is also a commentary of our own cultural moment where auteurs pursuing massive original ideas, like Tarantino, and movie stars not defined by what cape they’ve worn on screen, like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, are almost a thing of the past. Tarantino’s elegiac meditation is as much about his and movie stars’ own setting sun as it is the Hollywood movies he grew up on, but it is also an unimaginably ambitious and celebratory film that dismisses plot and audience expectations that have been flattened by a decade of formula. Here is a film that revels in just chilling out with morally ambiguous characters while also offering a vessel that connects the past and present via giddy historical revisionist madness. Starring DiCaprio and Pitt as fading TV star Rick Dalton and his stuntman Cliff Booth, the film champions the intangible alchemy between charisma and cinema, providing both with their best material in years. Pitt may, in fact, have never been better than as the smiling cowboy whose high noon is with a counterculture that is burying his and Rick’s livelihoods. Their journeys, meanwhile, are paralleled by the rise of a new star named Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and the youthful change she represents. The importance of Sharon, and her subtly interconnected world, is determined by how much you know of her going in. For those who do, she is more than just the idol of her age; she is the soul of Tarantino’s sweetest movie, both in terms of its ‘60s setting and its desire to divorce a lifetime of light from the specter of Charles Manson’s half-century of darkness. Unlike Tarantino’s last three pictures, this isn’t about revenge; it’s a bedtime yarn dreaming of salvation for Hollywood, for culture, and for a legacy that can live on past 26 years.

1. Booksmart

Despite her celebrity, Olivia Wilde has always seemed a little underrated as an actor. That should change going forward as Wilde also announces herself as a major directorial talent with Booksmart. A pitch-perfect comedy that writes a teen anthem for the next generation, Booksmart proves that the cinematic R-rated comedy is not dead, and further it can only get better as it invites new diverse voices to reconfigure the form. Among those voices accompanying Wilde are screenwriters like Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, and a fresh-faced cast that is more than game to refocus the coming-of-age narrative on the type of nerdy young women who previously might’ve been lucky to be in the fuzzy background, if included at all. Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein make a banquet out of protagonists Amy and Molly, two Type A’s who are Ivy League-bound and think the perfect night before graduation is watching Ken Burns documentaries. But upon realizing that all the supposed flakes they wrote off in their senior class are also headed toward bright futures after four years of partying, Molly will make up for missing out by dragging Amy on an odyssey toward the perfect Gen-Z high school party. So there you have it, the 10 best movies of the year so far. Agree? Disagree? Did we leave something off? Let us know in the comment section below! Sourcehttps://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/282640/best-movies-2019 Read the full article

[wonder-vixen]

Character Diaries: Green Dragon

I worked hard on this and I’m sharing it because I’m proud of it. I would love to hear what you think of it. Thank you

“Character Diaries: Green Dragon”

People believe that the universe is a balance between light and bright. Some believe that they exist because of each other. Others believe they work with each other. I don't know what I believe anymore. I was born in 1786 Japan. When I was 5, I was taken from my parents by the House of Tatsu. They gave me the name Hisako Fujiwara and began preparing me for my destiny. Training me in every form of combat known to man. They sharpened my mind and spirit as well. I learned how to protect myself and innocents. How to solve puzzles and mysteries. I studied the history of Earth, it's cultures, and it's languages. When I turned 16 I went through the Rites of Ryuu. Showcasing my skills, knowledge, and perseverance. The last rite I had to surrender my body, mind, and spirit to Relonikiv, goddess of Dragons. I could feel her entering my body. Caressing my mind. Kissing my spirit. Memories long forgotten flashed. A heated sensation washed over my body. The closes thing I could compare it to would be an sexual orgasm. I felt Relonikiv leave my body in a state of euphoria. I tilted my head and brushed back my hair. Exposing my neck. Williny giving myself to my goddess. She bite my neck and began to feed upon my blood. Once she finished, she slit a gash into her wrist and presented to me. I accepted and drank from her. Refilling my body with her essence. For blood is life. Blood is energy. Relonikiv and I are now bound by blood. The goddess has seen me worthy of her gifts and has blessed them upon me. My training continued, now to help me harness my new abilities. I was now as strong as a legendary dragon. When in battle, my skin becomes as tough as Dragon scales. I would learn how to control water, as well as camouflage myself into any surrounding. In time I was able to transform myself into a green Asian Dragon. I was even able to fly in human form by temperately growing wings. While I thought her gifts were a blessing, it was also a curse. For dragons live for centuries. There for I age slowly. I should have known. Yin and Yang. Once I reached 18 years of age, I was finally able to fulfill my destiny. Becoming a Draco Vintex. Modern society would call us superheroines. We fight to protect the innocent and battle the darkness. We seek to keep balance and peace in the universe. Locals would name me Hekishoku Tatsu or Green Dragon. I've grown to embrace the name over the years. Being a Draco Vintex is a lonely life. You are encouraged to avoid relationships with outsiders. The pain of seeing love ones grow old and die, while you barley age a day, is unthinkable. We only have each other and we are few. A small handful of us spread out across the world. Protecting our own area. Rarely venturing outside our borders. Draco Vintex had become myth and legend over the years. Stories passed down through the ages. During the 1900s I started hearing stories of heroes and protectors but they weren't Draco Vintex. House of Anguis confirm their champion hasn't took the rites yet. Somehow the United States of America has their own protectors but they are different. These heroes choose to help people. They were given a power and choose to use it to help those who can't. It was very strange to me. Confusing. I had to learn more. See these supers in action with my own eyes. Even though it was forbidden, I sneaked over to America. These so called superheroines had flashy attires. They wear mask to conceal their identities. Were they ashamed? The names they called themselves were quiet strange. Lady Minx. Ms Moon. Kat Marks. Jay Bird. What do these names mean? Why all the colors? The tights and spandexs? Using my camouflage ability, I started following a young superheroine who called herself Sensational Fox. The colors of her attire match those of real foxes and concealed her face behind a fox like mask. I could tell that she lacked any training but somehow still managed to get by. She was fast and agile which she used to her advantage as she appeared to not be as physically strong as other heroes I've seen. I followed her home and discovered that was just a teenager. She looked to be the same age as I was when I took the Rites of Ryuu. She has a family. Parents. Two older brothers and a younger sister. I barely remember my parents. Never had a family. This little girl had a family and still fights for the innocent. Why couldn't I have kept my family? I continued to follow her trying to learn more. She attends a school a few days a week. It's nothing like the teachings I've had. She has friends that she talks to. They laugh together. She was very close to one of her friends. They'd often hold hands and kiss. She'd refer to him as her boyfriend but never called her female friends girlfriend. A 16 year old girl has a family, friends, a romantic partner, school, and still chooses to fight for the innocent. While I don't understand the spandex, I do understand the mask. It allows them to try and have a life and protect those they care about. That is truly amazing. Unfortunately this secret mission of my brought up a lot of questions and emotions. I don't remember my real name. Did my parents have more kids? Am I able to have kids of my own? What is it like to Be in love? To have friends? I allowed my emotions to get the better of me. Falling to my knees sobbing. My camouflage broke and Sensational Fox could see me. She had just stopped a bank robbery and was about to leave when she noticed me. Instead of leaving she walked over to me. Bent down to her knees and wrapped her arms around me. My tears flowed more yet I had a sense of safety. Once I've regain my compulsor, she asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and asked if there was somewhere we could talk. We went to a local dinner and I started to explain to her who I am. I admitted to following her and ensure her I had no interest in using that information, because she had inspired me. I continue on, asking her question after question. She was very open and honest with me. When she started asking of me, I was open and honest as well. We talked for hours and she insisted we keep in touch. I didn't own a phone or have a home address but I promised I would keep in touch. Once I return to Japan I began looking for a place to call home. Natsuki was a small village surrounded by beautiful Sakura flowers. They welcome me with open arms and helped me build a place to call my own. After we finished building my home I was able to start writing Sensational Fox. Her name was Amy Kyle but I always called her Sensational Fox out of respect. I was so inspired by Fox that I worked with local blacksmiths to create an dragon like armor to wear into battle. I also adopted a mask and embraced the Green Dragon nickname more. This allowed me to be Hisako Fujiwara when I was in Natsuki. I'd also make regular trips to America to visit my friend. I'd train her in combat and tried to pass along any knowledge I could to help prepare her for a battle. I was even lucky enough to team up with her a few times. When she was expecting her first born, she named me godmother. When her son came into this world, I was by her side. She named him Drake. Fox convinced me to try dating. It wasn't easy. By this time I looked, at most 25 but I was nearly 200 years old. Everyone was younger. But I managed to find someone who accepted me. Akio Yamamoto. He was such a sweet boy. We tried for a baby. I even carried a child in me for 6 months before I lost him. I have never felt so much pain in my life. Little did I know it was an omen. The dark times came and the superheroines of the west started disappearing. One heroine, Lady Minx, turned her back on the innocent and became greedy. Because of her actions, nearly every hero died. Some in battle. Others in their own home. Even my follow Draco Vintex were starting to be slain. I had to get to America to see if my friend was okay. I kissed Akio goodbye, telling him I'd return and I loved him. I flew to America. I made it to Fox's house and found sobbing on the ground. In her arms she cradled the lifeless body of her son, my godchild, Drake. All I could do was hold her as she once held me. This was when I learn the true horror. That Lady Minx turn and started murdering heroines. Minx learned of Fox's identity and slaughter her entire family. Making sure Fox seen her only child died. Moments before I arrive they were in battle. Minx was injured and fled. Fox knew where she was heading but she was too weak to make it there in time. I told her I'd fly her there and we'd end this together. I promise her Minx would die.I was filled with rage and sarrow. I wasn't afraid to get my hands bloody and I really wanted to dig my claws into this Lady Minx. We manage to catch Lady Minx before she could sail away on a stolen ship. She was on the radio with some man she only referred to as Doctor. Fox and I fought her and her group of rouges. I focused so much on killing Minx that I didn't realize one of those rouges was G.I. Payne. I could have finished off Minx quickly but I was driven by anger and revenge. My emotions got the best of me. I wanted Lady Minx to suffer. After nearly drowning her I ripped off her head and smashed it with my own hands. I was relived for a moment. Then I hear Sensational Fox whisper my name. Hisako. I turned around and seen her sitting on the ground. Several bones throughout her body had been broken. She was paralyzed. Payne was holding her head as he grinned at me. Amy was whimpering and crying as she tried to say "I love you". She wasn't able to. He snapped her neck and jumped into the ocean. I cried out in pain. I rushed to her side but she was gone. My first friend. My best friend. My first love. She was gone. She died because I allowed my emotions to rule me. If I'd been faster maybe my godson would still be alive. If I didn't torture Minx, my best friend would still been alive. I failed them. I brought shame to the Draco Vintex. My search for Payne found no results. No idea who this Doctor on the radio was. If there were any Superheroines left, they went into hiding. I flew back home only find that Natsuki had been burned to the ground. No survivors. No clues as to what happened. All that beaty. All that hope. Turned to ash. I had lost everything I had held close to my heart. House of Tatsu made sure to let me know that I had brought shame to the goddess Relonikiv. That me defying tradion was the reason I am suffering. It was a lesson I had to be taught. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I left and traveled the world. Trying to find my place. I couldn't be a Draco Vintex anymore. Over the years the world moved on. The events of the dark times became a bedtime story. Like the Draco Vintex, the superheroines became myths and legends. But one day I heard stories of a woman in Kingston Falls. Someone fighting against the injustice. I thought nothing of it at first. But I kept hearing different stories. Stories of a masked woman stopping a bank heist. These stories seem familiar but new. I looked into more and continued to find more stories about a new hero. This couldn't be right. I tracked her down and watched her in action. She had was stronge but lacked confidence. Something about her seemed familiar. After witnessing her stop a bombing, I was about to fly off. I seen enough. However, I smelled something I haven't seemed in years. I heard a crash and seem this young heroine was in a battle with G.I. Payne. It took so much not to react. I had to keep my emotions in checked. The battle was fierce and the young heroine held her own. She was inexperienced to say the less. No sign of training at all. Nearly tripping over a rock which was all it took for Payne to gain the upper hand. He pummeled her and began toying with her. He broke her left leg. I can seen where this was going. I summon a body of water and blasted him away. He was only down for a moment but it was long enough to grab the heroine and fly her to safety. She was a bit freaked out but wasn't able to flee. I just looked at her as I took her leg in my hands and starting healing her bones. A trick I picked up from my world travels. It takes a lot of Chi. After the young women realize what I had done she thanked me and introduced herself. "Whoa. You healed my leg? Thanks. Hey! I'm Wonder Vixen. At least that's what Twitter calls me. What do they call you?" Vixen? I looked up at confused. Twitter is still strange to me. I didn't know if it was destiny, but I knew that I couldn't let this Wonder Vixen fight without being prepared. She needs a mentor. Someone to guide her. This must be my purpose. "My name is Hisako Fujiwara. I was trained to be a Draco Vintex from a young age. I was blessed with the gifts of Relonikiv, goddess of the dragons. I was once known as the Green Dragon until the dark times came and took everything I ever loved. I will be your teacher. I will prepare you Kitsune. You will become a fierce champion that will inspire hope." Wonder Vixen looked complex but eager as she said "Right? So excuse me, what's Kitsune? I'm Wonder Vixen" I smiled for the first time since that dark night. "To me you are Kitsune. When you are ready, I will tell you what it means."

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Andrew Rannells: Girls’ Best Friend

As Girls enters its finale season, we visit its resident gay best friend Andrew Rannells for a look at how his career has evolved — along with his character on the hit series.

There’s no missing Andrew Rannells. From the instant he strides onstage in the current Broadway revival of Falsettos, you’ll notice that, at 6’1”, he towers over his costars. Put his bearded face on a product, and it would move a mountain of Brawny towels or sell enough cans of Manwich to feed an army. Clean-shaven — as Rannells is onstage tonight — he radiates a post-fratboy glow that still find him playing parts a decade younger than his 38 years. Rannells’ evolution from fresh to familiar face has been like watching an languid summer afternoon roll by. He’s gracefully lept from Promise Ring roles like Elder Price, which he originated in the hit musical The Book of Mormon, to more acerbic characters like Elijah, the one-man Greek chorus who appears to pamper (then puncture) the inflated egos of the galpals who populate the beloved HBO series, Girls. It’s not easy, he says, but “I know my skill set and my strengths. I just do what I do.” Stage vs. Screen In demand on two coasts, Rannells has a Red Bull-binge awareNess that this is his moment, and he’s determined to make the most of it. Much of the time, he ricochets from sitcom sets to the stages of Broadway stage. These days he’s wrapping up Girls’ sixth and final season. Between that and Falsettos, Rannells briefly stepped in to play King George in Hamilton when Jonathan Groff left to finish the Looking film finale. One can’t help but wonder how long Rannells thinks it’s possible to maintain this bustling bi-coastal, multi-media lifestyle — and whether one career path must ultimately win out. ”Well, theater will always be nearest and dearest,” Rannells muses. “It’s where I feel most comfortable and in control and happiest.” He knows it’s rare to be in such demand that he can pick and choose between theater and TV projects. But his coworkers and representation have long become accustomed to Rannell’s need to alternate between screen and stage: “They understand,” he says with certainty. “I need this to recharge.” Despite living in a maelstrom of activity, Rannells remains remarkably polite, grateful and calm. Why? “I’m fortunate to be a gay man at a time when there are great roles to play,” he explains. “I’ve been lucky that way, because I have no issue playing gay men — since I am one — as long as there’s a good script. You just have to find the right ones.” Finding His People Rannells attributes his breezy optimism to his Irish/Polish origins in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born fourth of five children. Neither oldest nor youngest, Rannells had to distinguish himself somehow; theater quickly became his ticket out of obscurity. “I was not initially very outgoing,” he admits, “but through my involvement with theater, I gradually became more comfortable. “I do remember back in kindergarten I developed a strange little clique that lasted up through eighth grade,” he says, flashing that megawatt smile. “Three guys who eventually came out as gay. Obviously that was a godsend, because they were accepting of me and I of them — even though being gay was never openly spoken about. It was, somehow, something we understood between the three of us. I mean, I remember lip-syncing to Cher in my friend’s basement.” Rannells attended an all-boys Catholic high school where “it took me a second to find my people. But eventually I made a great group of friends, some of whom I’m still in touch with,” he recalls. “While it was all-male, it was also a Jesuit school, where the teachings are ones of acceptance and there’s a lot of room for interpretation of the scriptures.” As a teen, Rannells became a familiar fixture on local stages, and by 18 he’d landed a string of voice-over parts and a commercial spoofing Grease opposite a young Amy Adams. But New York was always tugging at his sleeve, and so — with little more than the zeal to perform — Rannells moved East and began parlaying his voiceover experience into directing cartoons for Fox and Warner Brothers. “I did Sonic the Hedgehog,” he laughs, “along with many others. I directed the voiceover portion. So there I was at 23, trying to get performances out of actors making these Saturday morning cartoons and trying to sync to the originals when we dubbed them over from Japanese.” At the same time, the sense of treading water gnawed at him, until finally something snapped, he says. “I was going deeper and deeper into debt; so I thought I’d see if could just get anywhere by auditioning.” Rannells quit school and began seeing casting agents.

Saying “Hello!” to Broadway In 2002, Rannells was cast to play the title role in an Austin, Texas production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The show was a runaway hit and quickly ballooned from a four-week to a four-month run. He walked away with the local scene’s award for best actor in a musical. That was heartening, but only a hint of things to come. “My big break,” Rannells always says, “came from Hairspray.” “I was an understudy for nine months — then to get to be a lead on Broadway was something amazing.” By then, Hairspray was already in its third year; so although he could finally call himself a Broadway song-and-dance man, Rannells wasn’t exactly hot on the radar of industry professionals who could put him in bigger parts. His whole universe shifted again when the actor learned about a hush-hush project being assembled by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. Rannells says he landed the lead in The Book Of Mormon the old fashioned way: by auditioning. “The people behind the show were very secretive, and all we really knew was: that it was about the Mormon church, it was a musical, and that Trey Parker and Matt Stone were doing it.” He heard that the producers were replacing the actor who’d played the role of Elder Price at early readings. “It was really fast,” he says. “It was three auditions: … Something clicked, and I was cast.” Soon after opening, the show became the hottest ticket in town. “I had no idea that it would become what it has,” Rannells admits, “but it was so funny and so smart, I knew we were going to have a very solid audience. It was a surprise that it’s as universal a hit as it has become, that it’s still running and traveled to Salt Lake City.” The Book of Dunham Book of Mormon also allowed Rannells to look for TV roles filmed in NYC. So he took an initially-peripheral role in Girls as Elijah, ex-boyfriend to Hannah (played by series star and creator Lena Dunham). Elijah comes out to her as gay in the show’s third episode. Then, two years into the run of Mormon, Rannells took a vacation during TV pilot season and dashed to LA, where he threw himself into a series of meetings. One of them was with Ryan Murphy, the maestro behind Glee and American Horror Story. “I learned he was working on a show about gay parents [based on Murphy’s own life], and I asked him about it. I had this strange moment of confidence. I thought, ‘I don’t know much about this, but I want to be a part of it.’” A month later, he got the offer to play Murphy’s alter-ego in The New Normal. Rannells had two seasons under his belt playing bestie to the ladies of Girls; so he was understandably itchy to play a lead. He met with Dunham and series producer Judd Apatow. “They said of course I had to try this.” Despite the magic of the Murphy name, The New Normal struggled to find its audience. The challenge was evident: Shows like Modern Family and Will & Grace proved that America could embrace gay characters, but were network audiences ready for a show where gay people were central rather than showcased for spice or comic relief? Normal was cancelled at the end of its first season. When asked if the show was ahead of its time, Rannells is quick to respond: “That’s exactly what I think. Modern Family was very successful and Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet were hugely popular; so it seemed like a good time for a show like ours. But New Normal was principally about gay people trying to have a baby, and Justin Bartha and I were the focus. We had a great cast with Ellen Barkin, Bebe Wood and the rest, but — at its heart — it was the gay couple’s story. Maybe it was too soon for that.”

The show ended, but Rannells didn’t miss a beat. In no time, he says, “Lena offered me my job back on the third season of Girls and it’s been great to be back and see Elijah grow and evolve.” In fact, Elijah has since gone on to become one of the most multi-layered gay characters ever put on a television screen. He’s dealt with issues of sexual fluidity — sleeping with Allison Williams’ character Marnie, and when Hannah’s Dad came out as gay late in life, he turned to Elijah for comfort and counsel. Most recently, Elijah grappled with his desire for monogamy while dating a decidedly non-monagamous TV personality (played by House of Cards alum Corey Stoll). In a show that relies on irresponsible antics for its humor, Elijah often ends up the only adult in the room. “This season, I’m looking forward to showing even more different parts of Elijah. He’s no longer the messy friend, you know?” Rannells offers. “And there’s the storyline with Cory Stoll, where I get to continue to try to be more grown up and proud. Of course, Elijah still observes the girls just as the audience does, and I still get to call them out on their B.S. and being narcissistic.” Getting Bigger Dreams Rannells is now weighing his options for the future, since Girls will soon say goodbye and the lights of Falsettos won’t stay lit forever. “It’s like Oprah says, once you’ve achieved a dream, you’ve got to get bigger dreams,” he reasons. “That’s sort of been my approach. You get where you wanted to go, and move the line several steps.” It’s worth noting that Rannells’ star has risem parallel to the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the beginning of marriage equality. Unlike generations before him, he was not as seriously faced with the possibility that being openly gay and playing gay characters could threaten his career. But he’s wary that the incoming Trump administration may yet prove a danger to that kind of freedom. “What to do? “My plan is to stay vigilant,” he says.

Now when he’s asked if playing gay characters has limited him, Rannells sets the doubters straight: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone ask straight guys if it’s limiting playing a straight guy. I know a lot of gay roles are played by straight people, and if they’re the best people for the job — well, fine. But playing gay? I have a little insight into that.” The final season of Girls premieres Sunday, February 12 on HBO. Visit hbo.com for more details.

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