#sams platform is just 'are you people fucking STUPID?? do you have ANY idea what t mr frodos been through?? let him REST damn it!!!'

[lenin-it-to-win-it]

the more I think about it, the more frodo being the deputy mayor following the scouring of the shire is so fucking funny because everyone’s like “oh, our current mayor is unwell and needs time to heal before he can resume his duties... frodo, YOU don’t have any serious physical conditions or horrific trauma to work through, do you?” and frodo, fresh off his miserable death quest, is just holding back tears like “mhm yeah no trauma here,,” 

[ayamturd]

end│dreamwastaken

summary: dream was once your everything that you would do anything for; what happens when you finally confront the reality of his manipulation and sadistic destruction?

prompt: “we’re both at fault here, and now we both have to pay the price.” 

warnings: descriptive manipulation, a single curse word, angst

pairing: in-game c!dream

a/n: this is my entry for @sleepysoupi​‘s 1.8k event! it goes without saying how late i am considering she’s currently working on her 2.0k event, but still a huge congratulatory to her amazing success and obvious, well deserved recognition <33 we love soupi in this household, nothing less of the fact *^*

also i know the prison doesn’t work exactly like how i wrote it, but let’s pretend for the sake of this fic

wc: (1.6k) - m.list

“Don’t do this, y/n.”

The air was sticky and heavy. As the lava bubbled behind you, it felt as if the heat could reach out and smother you entirely; the subtle warmth that felt insufferably suffocating in the tight space was a large contrast to the dark, opaque walls. 

Although you stood in front of him by your own desire, habits quickly fell to place as he stood proudly above you. Chin raised, Dream’s shoulders were relaxed while he spoke to you. His words were firm, and with clenched fists, you swallowed harshly from his mocking tone. 

You could practically hear his condescending grin without looking in how belittling he addressed you, and you hated how familiar the speech was. 

“After all I’ve done for you, and you want to throw it all away?”

Despite all attempts, you unconsciously bowed your head down. Whether in unjustified guilt or the internal rage from his lies, you couldn’t say yourself. He noticed nonetheless, and played into your vulnerability further. 

He was the one defenseless in this scenario, yet he held all the power in the small cage between the two of you. 

“We made promises! ‘Till the very end, right?!” He began to raise his voice and feigned some form of heartbreak, taking a step dangerously closer to you while you stood there in frozen fear.

Staring harshly down at your feet, the weight of gravity pulled at your tears as they trickled down sparsely. This was different than when you originally confronted him mere hours ago. Here, you were alone and with no backing, no one to reassure you that you did the right thing. That he was a monster that had you blinded for so long.

That you were justified for betraying Dream. 

“Don’t play stupid with me now. You can’t act like I did this all alone. That I’m not the only sick fuck in the room who enjoys the-”

“Stop it,” you whispered with closed eyes. While your voice was small, it echoed so loudly and threw Dream off guard. He shook his head and with a dark chuckle, sneered disparagingly. 

“You really th-”

Your eyes opened as you unexpectedly interrupted him.

“No. For once in my life, I mean it. Shut your egotistical mouth for one goddamn second.”

Everything was in a frozen stand still as you snapped. 

Course tears ran steadily down your cheeks, yet your eyes held more strength than Dream could had ever perceived in that moment. It had been so long since you had lost your voice. Lost your confidence, your fire that drew him in in the first place. It had been so long since you felt like yourself again, the person you once were before he teared you down completely to his mercy. 

You swallowed sternly in exposed anxiety; when was the last time you saw his face like this? Saw his face at all, at that. 

The molten lava radiated the room, it being the main source of light in contrast to the faint glow of the lanterns built into the walls. When you had originally requested to see him one final time before he was officially locked away for good, you had no idea what you expected to see. You didn’t see anything, actually, since you couldn’t bring yourself to try and meet his eye line the entire time. 

Until now. 

As the magma shaded the room in a warm shine, his dull eyes gleamed a faded hue of ash green. His dirty blond hair was visible without his signature hoodie, his previous clothes stripped away and replaced with an attired uniform instead. He hid behind a mask for so long, it was surreal to see him as something so mundane and human.

Your mouth felt so dry from seeing him again. He almost looked like when you first laid eyes on him, that beautiful day when you thought you had fallen in love. How nice the sun felt, and how crisp the wind blew. The summer day was fresh and the sweet smell of honey pervaded the air. To think it was by mere chance he approached you in the white flower field, hidden in the depths of the forest with a charming smile and gentle hand.

How cruel reality liked to play with you and give you false hope that such love could truly exist. 

The memory brought a smoldering rage that made your heart race in return. Back straight, you dared a step towards him with a quiet, yet firm declaration. 

“I’m done making excuses for your lies. For your actions, for the hurt you cause, for you.”

Dream could barely register your words as you continued in growing fury. It was like the floodgates were open and you felt free to speak your truth. 

You were riding this new found wave and would hold nothing back anymore. 

“I let you get away with so much because I truly believed that I loved you. That my love could fix you, or change what you are.”

You stepped forward again, your finger shakily pointed at him. His mouth opened to respond but you spoke before he could try. You weren’t going to give him anything, you thought, he doesn’t deserve your silence.

“I went against everything I believed!” you suddenly yelled, “everything I stood for, everything I thought because of you!”

Your vision was a blur as your raw emotions came loose. You screamed from the top of your lungs to the point where your voice cracked with a head lifted high. 

“I let people get hurt! People I love and care for because I prioritized you over everything I had!”

Another step forward, your voice shook with quivered lips as a result of an ached and long scorned heart.

“To think I used to be so proud to say it, to say you were my everything and my world.” With a trembled exhale, you gathered yourself before finishing your thought. “Maybe I am stupid, but trust me when I say my ignorance was your freedom and my considered love a blind devotion.”

Dream’s face softened considerably, for he was at a loss for words and didn’t have anything to probe at anymore. It was his turn to suffer in a lost acceptance.

“I…”

Shaking your head, you scoffed with your head tilted in disbelief. Smiling darkly, you knew then and there you regained the power of the room and your self-assurance over him. How the turn tables.

“Funny how things change when you have no where to run. When you’re the one helpless and reliant.”

Standing strong with your arms crossed, you stared at him with such distaste. Dream’s brows furrowed with a clench jaw as he stepped even closer to you. He was now mere inches away and glared down at you from his given height. Even then, you wouldn’t back down any longer.

“I do love you, y/n. Everything I did, I did for us. You can’t leave me like this.” He gazed down with such intensity that your past you would have wanted to say something just to appease him entirely; you weren’t that person anymore, and you wouldn’t let him drag you down more than he already has. 

Dropping yours arms before stepping back, you messaged Sam without wavering your eye contact from him. 

“We’re both at fault here, and now we both have to pay the price of it alone.”

The sounded mechanics from outside the box indicated the lava dropping, signifying the end of your visit. Dream grew agitated at the thought of you leaving and dropped his eyes down in resent, a huge contrast to your relaxed and calm state. 

You moved backwards until your back threatened to be burned by the heat. 

“Here’s to loosing all those attachments you mentioned.”

Dream’s head snapped up from your words, but before he could attempt anything further, the Netherite divider rose and separated you both. The lava parted as you approached the platform, Sam visible from across the entrapping moat. He watched closely in regard to your safety and anything Dream might try with your back currently turned. 

Approaching the stone platform once deemed safe, you turned to face him a final time as the contraption slowly pulled you away. Your chin was raised, and your tears were dry in satisfaction to your found closure.

“You were right,” you affirmed, “we did make promises, and this is our end.”

Bonus:

Tommy had been tormenting Dream for the past few minutes or so, his obnoxious taunts a sign of recovery from all the trauma he had dealt with from his young age. He hid behind his humor, but was strong when confronting his abuser with no uncertainty then. 

“Who do you miss the most?”

Dream paused from fiddling with the leather of the book covers from the simple question. His hand began to curl around the thick material, and he drowned out Tommy’s rambling from behind him.

A familiar scent filled his senses, an old and precious memory uncovered from the oppressed depths of his mind. He pulled the book in hand open to a random, but intentional page, his callous fingers tracing over the stained ink.

He wasn’t an artist, and it easily would have been passed for messy, nonsense doodles, yet the drawing practically burned the paper as a reminder of his failed objectives.

The innocent azure bluets insulted him despite being his own creation.

Dream was done playing into Tommy’s confidence, and spoke lowly as his head turned further away from the boy.

“… I think you should go, Tommy."

[mattzerella-sticks]

“is scamming gay rights?” - Dean & Jack, DeanCas, Bi!Dean (ao3)

Jack tries teaching Dean about his latest obsession, TikTok, except a breakdown in communication teaches Dean that, sometimes, acronyms can mean more than one thing.

           Dean didn’t understand exactly what Jack rambled on about, but he passed the point of no return a few minutes back and couldn’t interrupt without revealing he had no clue what the younger boy prattled on and on about. As it was Jack currently kept pushing his phone in Dean’s face, gesturing at it and shaking it every ten seconds or so. Dean glanced between Jack and it; each time he did there was a new video on screen and by the time he shifted his focus back to his son the lecture had moved elsewhere along a road he had trouble following. By then, he let himself sink into the comfortable numbing cadence of Jack’s speech, sipping at his beer, surfacing only when he recognized a word before diving back under.

           His ears perked in familiarity as Jack used an acronym Dean recently learned, and so he tuned back in. Jack drew the phone closer to his side of the kitchen table, tapping on it. “There was this big problem with mlms actually, and even though I filtered my home page to avoid profiles like that, they kept popping up,” he said, “Luckily TikTok went ahead and basically blacklisted and deleted all mlm content. Now, I rarely see any of those kinds of content.”

           Dean’s features shuddered, mouth dropping slightly in fright. His ears echoed with the awful drumming of his heart, and a painful wheeze tickled his throat, demanding freedom. He released it on a sigh, slightly curling in on himself. “W-what?” he asked, “You… you didn’t like it?”

           Jack shrugged, “I mean, it was kind of annoying, but I learned to ignore them. When I learned how harmful the content was, however, I was very glad to hear that TikTok went ahead and took some sort of action – Hey!”

           On autopilot, Dean snatched the phone out of Jack’s hands. He slammed it, hard, on the table between them. Dean pointed a harsh finger towards Jack, snarling his next few words. “I don’t want to ever hear you talk like that again.”

           “What?”

           “Or!” he added, fist hammering Jack’s phone further into the wood, “use this, this damned app – if this is what it turns you into!” He huffed, hands retreating to steeple at his chin. “You think you’re raising a kid right… raising a kid to be accepting despite being so close to the Bible Belt… and one dumb app undoes all that hard work.”

           Jack, frozen in his seat, stared at Dean with concern shining in his comically wide eyes. “What are you talking about, Dean?”

           “Look,” Dean said instead, his finger extending once more to point at the younger boy. It was a less accusatory gesture, softened by the gentle tone Dean adopted. “I know I haven’t been the best role model with… with that kind of stuff. Hell of a lot better than my dad was, though… still not the best. But I’ve been getting better, especially after I…” His words bottlenecked on his tongue, and through great effort did Dean spit them out. “After I admitted my own attraction to… to men, especially one man in particular…” Dean’s head felt like it might erupt, magma-like blood swelling his brain to dangerous sizes. “Cas.”

           “Yes, Dean,” Jack nodded, “I know that. I’m… I’m confused what any of that has to do with this?”

           “What it has to do with…? Jack…” Dean pinched his brow, tense shoulders collapsing as the strain became too much, muscles snapping like bridge cables. “I might not be the most… the most out, or the most proud, okay? But I’m trying. Remember that bi flag pin I wore during that hunt one time? That was me… trying. And I’ll keep trying, because this isn’t something I’m ashamed of.” He reached for Jack, ensnaring his wrist to make sure his message was well received. “So you see, being gay isn’t – it’s not annoying. It shouldn’t be hidden, or… banned and it certainly isn’t harmful despite what some repressed shitheads might think.” Emboldened, Dean levelled a disappointing glare at Jack. His lower lip jutted out in fatherly disapproval. “And I’d rather be staked on some piece of rusty rebar than let a stupid app make you homophobic. No more… Ticking-tock. Period.”

           While Jack might not appreciate Dean’s ultimatum now, he will later on in his life. Dean imagined a future where he and Jack, much older than they were in this moment, sat on a porch swing talking about how good a job Dean did raising him to be a decent human being, as Jack’s partner, whose features he couldn’t distinguish from such a distance in their front yard, played with their son, named for the man who set Jack on the right path, obviously. He was knocked out of this fantasy, unfortunately, by the lumbering footsteps of his oafish brother.

           Sam entered the kitchen, Cas at his side with a tome held open in his hands. Their conversation withered as they took in the scene they walked in on. “Hey,” Sam said, shuffling his way to them, “what’s going on?”

           Dean opened his mouth, about to explain that he was dishing some serious parental law and wisdom. Except Jack hurriedly interrupted, rushing to speak first. “I have no idea,” he told them, “I was explaining TikTok to Dean, and suddenly he starts ranting about how it’s a homophobic platform?”

           “Because it is!” Dean argued. He grabbed Jack’s phone, waving it at the others. “Jack told me that they’ve gone full Russia – banning mlms and… and it was brainwashing him, making him hate gay people!”

           “Dean! I don’t hate gay people –“

           “Because I acted before any of the damage actually managed to take root,” he said, “If you used this any longer you would’ve had more harsh things to say about mlms than they’re annoying.”

           Jack groaned, scrubbing his face with twitching fingers. “They are annoying!”

           Dean gestured at Jack, asking with exaggerated brows and frown lines, what they should do about Jack’s denigration. Sam, for his part, seemed unbothered by Jack’s callous attitude. “I mean,” he shrugged, “Jack’s not wrong. Mlms are… pretty annoying.”

           Betrayed, Dean staggered to his feet. He faltered visibly, enough that Cas rushed over, dropping the yellowed book he held, and offered a hand. Dean accepted it, leaning on his boyfriend’s shoulder. The touch on the small of his back renewed his strength. “Sam,” he muttered, voice cracking, “how could you say that?”

           Sam mirrored the confusion noticeably present in Jack’s features. “Dean, why are you taking this so personally?”

           “Because, apparently,” Dean shouted at him, “you find me annoying!”

           “No more than I usually do,” Sam told Dean, “But that’s never bothered you before?”

           “Well, it’s pretty hard staying fucking unbothered when you think my sexuality is annoying.”

           “What?” Suddenly, something flashed behind Sam’s eyes, and the fog of bewilderment dissipated as pure rays of understanding shone from his smug expression and annoyingly struck Dean in the face. “Dean,” Sam sighed, “you… we’re not talking about gay people.”

           Dean snorted, “Of course you are. I’m not stupid.” Sam’s bitchy expression disagreed. “I’m hip, Sam. I know the lingo – better than you would, anyway… ‘ally’. Mlm… men loving men… What else could it be?”

           “Mlm is an acronym for multi-level marketing, Dean,” Sam explained, “that’s the kind of mlm we’ve been talking about this entire time.”

           “What?” Dean’s gaze bounced around the room, from Sam to Jack, then Cas, finally returning to Sam. “No, but I… the Internet, mlm is… it stands for…”

           “Things can have more than one meaning,” Cas supplied, appearing pained as he spoke, “especially acronyms.” He pressed a consolatory kiss upon Dean’s cheek, touch sparking a flame on his already burning skin. “It was nice to see how outspoken you’ve become, though.”

           “Yeah,” Sam agreed, “Like a modern-day Harvey Milk.”

           Dean refused to comment on Sam’s teasing, sinking into his seat again while his mind processed this new information. Cas joined him, continually rubbing soothing circles into his back. Sam sat next to Jack, across from them. Jack, sullenly tracing the cracks Dean made in his phone screen, asked, “Does this mean I’m not banned from TikTok?”

           “I just don’t get it,” Dean said, ignoring Jack’s question, “why would something that sounds boring like multi-level marketing even deserve its own acronym, let alone be banned from a whole app.”

           “Because it’s bad, Dean,” Sam explained, “multi-level marketing is, like, an evolved pyramid scheme, made more prevalent because of how easily social media disseminates misinformation and reaches impressionable people. Companies like TikTok are doing what they can to try and curb all these kinds of scams because, well… they’re annoying.”

           Adamant, Dean scowled and shook his head. “Mlm meaning that is what’s annoying.”

           “Too bad, Dean,” Sam said, “that’s probably the universally accepted meaning for it.”

           “No!” Dean said, “No, mlm is about gay people. It doesn’t have anything to do with scams.”

           Cas scoffed at Dean’s side, mumbling, “But what if scamming people is gay rights?”

           It was ridiculous, made in jest, and held no actual weight in a discussion, but Dean latched onto the throwaway line like it were the last life preserver on the Titanic. “You know what, Cas, you’re right!” he crowed, “Scamming is gay rights.”

           “It is?”

           “It should be,” Dean said, “I mean, do you know the number of times in my life I’ve scammed bigoted jerks for all they had? Scamming definitely feels like something that’s for gays only.”

           Sam rubbed his temples, battling an incoming migraine. “I don’t know why, but that take feels homophobic.”

           “Hush, Sam,” Cas told the other man, “I want to see where Dean goes with this.”

           Jack nodded, camera eclipsing his features. “Just let me hit record first, Dean. This could go viral.”

           Dean waited for the signal from Jack, a small thumbs up, and then he cleared his throat. “Okay, so here’s why scamming is a right for the gays and the gays alone…”

[queenrose730]

Reckless

Part Three

Master List

About thirty minutes later you heard Steve stand up to join you in the front of the jet. You hadn’t let go of the controls. Opting to manually operate the jet just so you were ready if Tony showed back up. Steve placed a hand on your shoulder a squeezed gently. Silently asking if you were ok.

“We just left them Steve. You know where they are going to put them.”

“I know yn.” He let out a small sigh. There were great odds that your friends were going to be sent to the raft. A prison in the middle of the ocean only reserved for the most dangerous people on the planet. You had been there a few times to help with prisoner transfers and the thought of them being held in those cells made your heart ache.

“Something bad happened back there Steve. Something with Rhodey. On minute he was on my radar then he was gone. I couldn’t make out what Sam was saying.” There was panic in your voice. “Could you make anything out?” You turned your face to Steve.

When he didn’t meet you gaze you knew it was more than bad. You bit back tears. Rhodey may have been fighting against you but he was a close friend too. He taught you how to fly when you first joined the Air Force. Long before Iron Man or the Avengers. Instead of answering Steve just squeezed your shoulder again. You nodded at him before he left to sit back down.

“We are about five minutes out guys. Get ready.”

You decided to land the jet close to the bunker. Steve and Barnes needed to get in there quickly. They didn’t have time to tread through the snow. After landing you joined them in the back of the jet. Barnes had already loaded up his gear and was carrying his machine gun. Both men were talking quietly while looking out the back of the jet. All your gear had already been laid you for you. You weren’t sure which man had done it but it made swapping out your gear for something more deadly quicker. The last step was to reach in the med cabinet for an auto injector for both men and one for you. You placed yours in its respective pocket and turned to Steve.

“Here.” You handed him the injector. “Just in case.” He nodded and you turned to Barnes. “One for you too.”

“That won’t work.”

“It’s dosed for me Bucky. It will work for you too.” Steve assured him.

“What’s in it?” He reached out and grabbed the injector.

“A little pain meds and adrenaline. Just pull the cap off and jam it into your body.” You demonstrated which end he needed to pull. “Make sure you aim for flesh.” You gave him a slight tease. “It won’t be any good if you use it on that metal arm.” He gave a quick smile back before you both turned back to Steve. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m not sure yn.”

“Well I have some ideas.” He looked at you surprised.

“Go ahead.”

“Well if there are five super soldiers in there, I’m not much good. You two go in and deal with them. I’ll take care of whatever or whoever comes out the door.”

“Yn? It’s not like you to pull yourself from a fight.”

“I know Steve. But let’s be real. You would spend more time worrying about me and get distracted. You both need to be focused.” Steve have you a slight nod. “Plus, I’ll be able to warn you if Tony or anyone shows up.”

“Right.” He stood up a little straighter. “You ready Buck?” Barnes gave a quick nod before both men headed down the ramp. You followed behind. Stopping to grab a large coat from a locker. Just before they began the decent to the bunker Steve turned back to you

“Don’t do anything stupid or reckless out here yn.”

“How can I? You’re taking it all with you.” Barnes stopped at your words and looked to Steve quickly. Steve let out a small laugh noticing the look from Barnes. Both turned back around and trudged off in the snow and you climbed on top of the jet to have a better view of the surroundings.

“Yn? You copy me?” Steve sounded concerned. You sat up a little straighter

“Yea, Steve. What’s up?”

“The doors open down here. Be on the lookout. You may not be the only one out there.” Your eyes immediately start to scan the landscape closely

“Copy that Steve. You be careful too. You may not be the only two in there.” You continued to scan the land. Feeling like the hair on every part of your body was standing up.

You heard it before anything. You could recognize the sound to Tony’s suit in your sleep. You rolled off the top of the jet before he could get too close.

“Heads up Steve. Tony’s coming in.” Your words were met with silence. “Fuck.” Stupid and reckless. Steve’s words played over in your mind. You were planning to go in the bunker after Tony. Three against six is better that two against six. You told yourself. You tossed off the coat you were wearing and took off to the bunker before your body could sense the cold.

You slowed down as you reached the door. It was still open from before Steve and Barnes went through. Inside was dark. Barely lit by the reflection of the sun off the snow outside. You scanned the entire room with the machine gun raised. It was empty except for a large door.

“Steve. Can you copy me?” You prayed that he responded. When he didn’t you headed to the large door. It was an elevator. It would ruin the element of your surprise but it looked to be the only way down. You cringed are the sounds of metal being pulled up. It was just too loud for your liking. As the noise grew louder you raised the gun again. If anyone was coming up with the elevator you would be ready. Thankfully it was empty. Carefully you stepped inside and began the dissent. There wasn’t any cover in the elevator, so you kneeled down in the corner. This way you could hopefully get the drop on any one waiting at the bottom. The door opened to an empty hall.

“Steve. Please fucking copy me.” Nothing. Dead air.

Slowly you moved down the hallway. Gun leading the way as you checked every crevice for anyone. Soon enough you heard a voice. You couldn’t make out what was being said, you just followed it deeper into the bunker. The hallway opened up into a large room. Barnes was the first one to catch your eye. He shook his head slightly at you. His face almost urging you to leave. But Steve and Tony were watching something on the screen in front of them. You moved closer to them as you heard a woman calling out from the screen.

“Steve?” He turned back to you. He didn’t react to your presence but closed his eyes then turned back to Tony. You made it close enough to see the final image on the screen. The Winter Soldier pointing a gun at the camera. Your brain finally registered the name the woman had been calling. Howard.

“Did you know?” Tony’s voice was cold.

“I wasn’t sure.” Tony turned to Steve.

“Did you know?!” You could feel the pain and anger in his voice.

“Yes.”

In an instant Tony fired a blast from his hand. Steve was able to deflect but it caused whatever machinery around you to come crashing down. You dodged it and landed on your knees. Quickly you pointed the machine gun at Tony. Taking aim at the back of the Iron Man suits knee. You knew that a few well-placed shots could help disarm the suit. Steve and Tony were locked at each other when you took your shot. Sparks flying from where the bullets made contact. Tony turned and shot other blast over your head causing even more metal to come falling from the ceiling.

“Bucky get out of here. Take yn with you!” He shouted as he re-engaged with Tony. You got back up to your knees and started to take aim at Tony’s other leg. You were stopped by Barnes slamming into you and gabbing your middle.

“Put me the fuck down!” You struggle at his grip but he held tight. Barnes walked over to a control panel at the bottom of a tall silo. He slammed his hand on it and metal started to groan to life. He then began to climb.

“Just stop moving and hang on.” He held on even tighter to you with his flesh arm. You could feel the bruises starting to form on your ribs from his grip. You complied for only a moment before begin to move in his grip again.

“Fuck yn stop!”

“Just let me turn!” He loosens his grip just enough for you to turn so your back was against him. Steve and Tony were still fighting each other but Tony was trying to get to Barnes. You had lost the machine gun sometime after Barnes grabbed you. You reached for a pistol that was still on your hip.

“What the hell are you doing!” Barnes had paused for just a moment to look at you.

“Just keep climbing!” You shouted at him and raised your gun. Trying to be as steady as possible as you dangled from Barnes. You found the right rhythm to move so that your aim could be steady. You took aim at Tony’s shoulder firing several shots. One must have hit because now Tony’s focus was on both of you.

“Shit!” You tried to aim again but Tony was faster. Firing a blast from his hand at the two of you on the wall. Barnes let go just fast enough to avoid the blast but it dropped you both down to a grated metal platform. The metal bit into any skin it could find and the weight of Barnes on top of you made something crack.

“What the fuck was that!” He shouted at you as he stood up. You didn’t pay attention to him because you had already rolled to your stomach aiming the gun again. This time you could get a clean easy shot. Sparks came flying from the base of the Iron man helmet.

“Dammit!” Barnes grabbed you up quickly and jumped to another platform.

You opted now to wrap your arms and legs around him so that he could climb faster. You were almost to the top. You peaked over Barnes should go see Tony aiming a rocket at the two of you.

“Barnes!” The rocket was off. Making contact with the giant metal hatch that had opened at the top. The hatch came crashing back down. Barnes fell on his back letting go of you. The force of the fall caused you to roll off the platform and fall down the silo. You reached out of anything to grab on to. Steve caught you half way down. You screamed in pain when he grabbed your arm. Pulling the shoulder out of socket. In one motion he swung you across to another platform. Tony and Barnes are now falling down the shaft. Steve grabbed on as they fell. The three hit a platform lower than the one you were on and that’s were Barnes stayed. Steve and Tony falling all the to the ground.

“Barnes you good?” You yelled down to him. Trying to reach for your auto injector for some relief from the pain in your shoulder. As you looked down you could see Steve’s shield a few levels down. Barnes was just across from it. He was starting to get up.

“Barnes!” He looked up at you just as you launched yourself off the ledge falling toward him. You actually managed to land somewhat easily on the same platform. Barnes was able to keep you upright from the jump.

You glanced down where Steve and Tony were at. Tony was now on top of Steve. Barnes grabbed you again and launched to the shield then down to the ground. He was up instantly slamming the shield into Tony. You took a second longer to right yourself.

“Steve! The reactor!” Breaking the rector at the center of the suit would be the only way now to stop Tony. You reached for any weapons on your body. The only thing left was a knife in your boot. That didn’t matter though because in a moment of distraction from Steve, Tony was able to let off a stun shot to your chest.

Everything was on fire. Your head spinning. You tired yelling again at Steve but weren’t sure if anything had come out. You couldn’t hear the punches being thrown between the men and you could only make out the flashes from Tony’s weapon in your vision. You closed your eyes against the pain. Willing the world to slow down. You opened your eyes just in time to see a large flash. Barnes fell close to you. You could just make out that his metal arm was gone. Things suddenly started to come back into focus. Steve had Tony pinned to the wall farthest from you. Barnes groaned next to you. You tried to reach out to him but your body was not wanting to move. When you looked back, Steve was now on top of Tony. Shield raised high over his head.

“Steve!” The shield came down. Buried deep into the reactor at Tony’s chest.

Nobody seemed to make a move for a long time. Feeling was finally coming back to the rest of your body. Barnes was starting to move next to you as well.

“Steve. We have to go.” You had pushed yourself up to your knees. Steve pulled the shield from where it was still stuck in the reactor. He walked over to Barnes and helped him up.

“That shield doesn’t belong to you! My father made that shield!” Steve paused in front of you. You had somehow made you way to your feet. The sound the shield made as it landed on the cement was deafening. You could feel tears start in your eyes. Blinking them back you moved to the other side of Barnes and let him lean on you for more support. Carefully the three of you made your way to the elevator.

By the time the three of you reached the metal doors, you were leaning more on Barnes than he was on you. The pain meds you had taken earlier wearing off fast. Your feet stumbled over the threshold of the elevator.

“Are you ok yn.” Steve looked around Barnes to you.

“Yea. Fine.” You sucked in a sharp breath. Trying to put on a brave face.

“She’s lying.”

“Fuck you Barnes.” You pushed yourself off of him to stand up straighter. Your body betrayed you though when you stumbled back, the wall catching you. You let yourself slide down to a sitting position.

“Yn!” Steve was all you could focus on. His hands were on each side of your face.

“Hey Steve.” You smiled weakly. The edges of you vision going black.

tags- @ginger-swag-rapunzel

[abrooklynboy]

Soul of an Artist

Summary: Five Stones and Mjolnir are dropped off, without incident. Steve wants Natasha and Gamora restored to their lives. The Soul Stone’s guardian has other ideas.

Steve doesn’t come back to October 2023 in seconds or minutes. He comes back 7 months later.

AKA: Captain America Reborn - featuring MCU flavoring.

Warnings: Canon-Typical. Alcoholism, child abuse, torture, not-rosy tinted depictions of Great Depression and World War II.

Notes: This started a while ago as a love letter to my Steve muse, exploring relationships and how his experiences change him. It also became a ‘fuck you’ to Endgame. Due to length and lack of muses for certain characters, I had to skip people Steve 100% does see.

Inconsistencies are deliberate. Some scenes take place in AU (Emmaverse - clones, Piano Boy - mob brat adopted!Bucky). Most can be read as-is.

This is 2023-Pre-War. I’m writing War and 21st Century as well.

This is why I haven’t done drafts.

2023:

It’s the morning after Tony’s funeral. Early morning. Sam, Bruce, Bucky, and Steve gather around the platform. Steve hugs Bucky. A “Don’t do anything stupid till I get back.” Hands the shield to Sam. “It’s yours. You earned it.” Bucky nods.

Time travel is new. Anything can happen. He wants to be sure the shield has a new wielder before he goes.

Steve steps on the platform, case of Stones and Mjolnir in hand. What needs to be returned to their proper time and place.

He’ll be back in a minute.

It goes off without a hitch. Time, space, power, reality, mind. Mjolnir. He stops for a dance with Peggy. Apologizes for being late. They sit and talk for hours.

It’s okay. He has time.

Soul.

Steve saved this one for last, because there’s a problem. Natasha and Gamora. They had said there was no trade. Steve doesn’t believe in such a thing as never.

Steve tosses the Soul Stone off the cliff.

There’s also the guardian to deal with. The Red Skull approaches, eyes shining in triumph.

Everything goes orange, then white.

1923:

“You’re my miracle, Steve.” 

“Mam?” He coughs. Small, so small. What was happening? 

They’re on the couch. Mam kisses his head. “I knew God wouldn’t take me from you.” Steve knows this story. He’s never not known this story. Born premature, not expected to survive, baby Steve Rogers had been incubated at Couney’s Coney Island sideshow. Sarah refused to give up. Joseph was overseas, fighting in the Great War. Sarah was alone. But she wouldn’t give in. Yelled at one of her sympathetic nurse friends to wrap the baby in a blanket and go straight to Coney Island. Get him warm. Proper medical care in the incubator.

The Rogerses and the rest of the families didn’t have to pay a dime.

It took him 6 months to be stable enough to go home for the first time. 

In a way, he was always on exhibit.

“I’m so proud of you. You have ten times the heart as most men out there.” She holds his hands, “Use your head.”

Everything goes white.

1924:

Steve’s under the table, covering his ears. Eyes shut. He had just been shot. Joseph came home drunk again. What was the excuse this time? Bills? Rent? Steve and Sarah’s medicine? Sarah taps his shoulder, having him come out.

“How?” He hasn’t asked why Joseph does this for a long time. They wouldn’t survive with just Sarah’s nurse salary and Steve selling the evening papers after school. “How do you keep going?”

Sarah smiles, tired. “If you run, you won’t ever stop. You always, always have to get up. Stand and fight.”

Everything goes white.

Year Unknown:

Bullies. He gets beaten up before school, recess, after school. Kids knock his books away. Corner him in the hallways. Sharon. His friends need him. He takes that to heart. In his head, against the bullies, his punches are timed to stand and fight. Stand. And fight. Are they effective? No. But it won’t keep him from trying.

This could be any year, any grade.

Everything goes white.

1929:

There’s a man in his apartment. Himself? His adult memories wonder.

“I’m waitin’ for ya to be be able to an’ that’s why ya gotta remember.”

His hand slipped off the sketchbook page, leaving a smear where the suit was. “From the future?” He was from the future. He was from the future. “Like a scientific romance?”

Charlie’s mouth dropped slightly, “That’s…Quite a conclusion to come to.” He stands up to his full height (tallest man he’s ever seen), walking in a circle around the little room, “Ain’t. Ain’t romantic. Trust me~ I just…I need ya to remember me. I’m….I like to think I’m important…to ya.”

Who is he? Jason. 

“But if ya don’t want ta come get me, it’s fine. Promise. I get it.”

He’s in the past. His little body hyperventilates. He’s in the past. How. Why? Find me.

Everything goes red.

Cold. The Valkyrie. Where’s his shield? The Red Skull looms. 

“This isn’t happening,” Steve gets out. “We’ve done this.”

“Herr Rogers."

Everything goes white.

1929:

In the morning, Joseph is found dead on the couch. Booze finally caught up with him. Steve looks down at him, laying still on the couch, bottle on the ground.

Good riddance.

Everything goes white.

1930: 

Another day, another fight. This time, Steve’s just trying to cross 10th Avenue. They punch him to the ground. Steve gets up. “Not payin’ you a red cent.”

“Look at this runt. Too dumb to know he’s beat.” Another punch to the face. “S’alright. I can spend it all day provin’ it to him if I have to. Not like I got anything better to do.”

Steve staggers backwards.

“I’ll say.” Bullies go backwards. The new kid is skinny, with fire in his pale eyes. He’s dressed in clothes that look like they could have been nice, once. “Watching you shake down little kids every day is making me nauseous.” He fights like he knows what he’s doing, with glee, which is more than the bullies can say. Steve hits one over the head with a garbage can lid and the gang legs it. Kid makes a crack about the gang being worn down by Steve when they die of old age and Steve puts his fists up, ready to go. Kid just laughs, “Y’got m’ta wake up.”

Steve puts the fists down and holds out his hand, “Steve Rogers.”

Kid takes his hand, flicking between the shake and Steve’s eyes. “James B. Barnes.” A smirk, thumb pointing at himself, “M’friends call me Bucky.” Well-rehearsed, a line.

“What does the B stand for?” Steve cocks his head to the side. “Can’t just have an initial.”

“I sure can.”

“Buchanan.”

“What?” A long laugh, holding his gut.

It’s history, from there. Bucky’s been living on the street for a while. How long? His friend is cagey, but follows Steve back to the orphanage on 8th. Mam’s in the hospital and Steve’s too young to be by himself. A month later, Mam is better and Steve goes home. Bucky stays, until a girl and her parents visit. The girl and Bucky cling to each other like nothing will tear them apart again.

Bucky’s family a couple blocks away from Steve’s apartment. He drops by the orphanage while Steve lives there. From this moment, they live out of each other’s pockets. 

Everything goes white.

1931:

Steve experiences Bucky’s fists firsthand (outside of a boxing ring) only once.

Most days, Bucky acts like he sprung out of Steve’s head, like Athena. 

Bucky never asks questions about Joseph and Steve never asks too much about Bucky’s past. He reads the paper daily, front to back. Sneaks out of the orphanage at night. Sleeps through school. Anytime Steve asks questions about where Bucky came from, he’s met with a stare or a deflection. Another line. “Here and there.” “LES.” 

Bucky has a couple of knives. There’s an old scar on his left knuckles (“Tossed it wrong an’ y’only do that once.”) Steve’s favorite of them is a butterfly knife with brass poppies embossed on the handle. Pages upon pages of his sketchbook are of Bucky’s clever hands. Opening and closing. Tossing. He can never get the knife right. One day, Steve sneaks the knife out of Bucky’s coat while Bucky is sleeping. Will sneak it back in his pocket and nobody will be the wiser.

Too bad he wakes up. Stares at Steve from his nest of blankets on the couch cushions. A chill runs down Steve’s spine. Feral. A cornered alleycat. Launches himself at Steve, knocks him off his chair. The knife hits the ground. Steve hits the ground. 

“Get off me, Buck,” he wheezes, own punches not doing any good, nose bloody, one eye on its way to black.

Becca hauls Bucky off of him. Something gets through. Steve doesn’t understand Yiddish but the adult who’s hitching a ride in this body understands German to catch the jist of it as he pinches his nose and sits up.

“<Tell him. Give him something. After you apologize. He’s your friend, Jimmy. You can’t just. You’re acting like a->”

“<A right bastard, huh? Maybe that’s all I am!!!>” His fists are still clenched, shaking. “<No good bastard, Buckskin Barnes, huh? Just like D->”

Becca slaps him across the face, eyes glassy with unshed tears. Bucky flinches. Steve flinches. Becca will smack them upside the heads or punch them in the shoulders. Kick their shins. All playful, nothing serious. In her nightgown and robe, she looks like she’ll slap Bucky all the way to the pearly gates. “<You’re better than him. I know it.>” She helps Steve onto a chair and passes him a handkerchief. Bucky goes out for a smoke. Comes back, eyes serious.

“M sorry,” he says, and it takes a lot for Bucky to say those words. Like pulling teeth. 

“Thank you,” Steve says, all stubborn jaw. “What was that?” he snaps. Bucky pulls him out of fights, Becca patches them up. That’s their thing. Not Bucky beating Steve black and blue.

“This one,” Bucky says, holding up what started this wakeup call. It shines in the early light, “Belonged to m’dad.” Comes out in a rush, like he doesn’t want to talk about it. Nothing to see here. A tight smile, “All I got left of him, sides the name. Appreciate it if y’don’t touch it.”

Steve knows enough to know Mr. Barnes was a real piece of work. He’s seen scars that have no place on a kid. Lashes on his back, a curved line with a small straight line through it on his upper left thigh. White with age. Steve doesn’t have scars from Joseph (they’re all internal).

“Sorry. I wouldn’t’ve if I-”

“Don’t apologize t’me over this.”

He got enough down to use as a reference until the end of time.

Everything goes white.

1937:

They’re in the Barnes’ (even in the universe where Bucky is adopted and his family’s name is different, Steve will always think of his family’s home as the Barnes’, thank you) sitting room. Bucky playing the piano, head nodding to the music. Steve slides his arms over Bucky’s shoulders, clasping his hands together.

The only time when Bucky sits as still as he can get, in one place, for hours at a time. 

They talk, Steve on Bucky’s left, sketching or reading. School, girls, jobs. When the next fight is. The Y matches got too boring, too tame, so Bucky finds bare knuckled fights advertised in the alleys where Steve gets beat up in. Steve’s always in his corner. Patches up Bucky so his family doesn’t go ballistic.

Steve’s in art school. He takes to it like a fish in water. Finally, people who understand him. His circle of friends grows - and for once, it feels like his friends. Not just Bucky’s pals. He’s still introverted and can’t flirt to save his life. But he blossoms. Learns French, starting with all the swear words. Bucky’s just happy that Arnie will also haul Steve out of fights if things get too hairy without him. Outside of class, he works on Federal Art Projects or paints signs. Thinks about getting hired somewhere as a cartoonist.

Bucky works on the docks in the morning and plays piano at bars at night. He’s drawn Bucky on the bench hundreds of times and will do so a hundred more. Becca’s going to go to nursing school. Things are looking up.

Everything goes white.

1938:

Mom passes, Steve holding her hand. The world loses its color. Over the past year, he had to drop out of art school.

The priest gives a good eulogy. She’s next to Joseph.

Steve hopes this memory doesn’t repeat. It does. His timeline loops. Forwards and backwards. Out of order. He has seen her die before and will again. Over and over again. Who knows why he hasn’t gone insane from feeling the grief exactly as it was the first time.

He knows why. His will. It’s a trick by the Red Skull and he will never fall to a bully, fascist or no. He’s caught/will catch the Infinity Gauntlet in his hands. (His head will cave in from the force of Thanos’ punch. For thirty seconds, he will keep the Mad Titan at bay. Time is rewound, he’s alive, Vision is dead. There’s a Snap). Telepaths, when they have read in his mind, in the past/the future are met with his shield, from floor to ceiling. Nobody will ever break it. In front of the wall, is a skinny Steve, dressed in charity shop clothes or a soldier’s fatigues. 

It’s never been about brawn or size.

“Thing is. You don’t have to.” In front of him, Bucky has his hand on Steve’s shoulder. Shakes him, like he can shake the wall that’s up in Steve. Letting him know it’s okay to fall apart, to reach out, to not be so damn noble. It’s after the funeral. The Barnes family offered to give Steve a ride but he walked, to and from. Wanted to be alone. Bucky followed. For all the leading Bucky does when he gets an idea in his head, Bucky really follows Steve. 

Steve can’t. He never does/will.

“I’m with you till the end of the line, pal.” 

Everything goes white.

1939:

Bucky moves in with Steve a few months after the funeral. It’s less of a request and more of “I’m taking a drawer from when I crash on your couch after a shift. oops, I live on your couch now. Clothes are in the closet. Here's my portion of the rent.”

Bucky’s never as slick as he appears but Steve needs help covering the rent. Would rather do this than let the Barnes family offer for him to move in (“We have the space, pal.”). So, Bucky gets upgraded to a mattress in the back room and smokes on the fire escape with bare feet in the middle of winter. Steve bawls him out every single time.

The Bund takes over Madison Square Garden one February night. Being the types these people hate (Eugenics and Antisemitism aren’t unique to certain goosesteppers), Bucky, Steve, Becca, and the art school set join the crowd that’s protesting. 22,000 fascists vs 100,000 protesters? 1,000 cops? Recipe for Chaos.

The protestors are pressing against the barricade of police on horseback. Bund-members who show their faces outside of security brawl with protestors.

Isadore Greenbaum, a 26 year old Jewish plumber, stormed the stage and screamed “Down with Hitler!” Greenbaum, who interrupted Fritz Kuhn’s speech, was brutally beaten on stage by Bund storm troopers before police got there.

Dorothy Thompson gets escorted out by Bund stormtroopers for screaming “Bunk!” at the speakers.

“Give ‘em medals,” Bucky says the next day, wincing as he raises his eyebrows and turns the newspaper page.

“I would’ve done it if we could’ve gotten in,” Steve says, icepack on his black eye.

“They would’ve killed you.”

“Or you.”

“If they got my pants down, maybe.” Winks.

Becca punches her brother in the shoulder, rolling her eyes, as she takes a bite of toast."You would've flashed them to get the message across. Paid more than $25 like Greenbaum." She had scraped knees from being shoved. Got her own lumps in. The Bund tried to humiliate her but she stood strong, between her brothers.

The rhetoric is nothing they haven’t heard before. “The strong are supposed to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Steve snaps, jaw jutting out. “This is cowardinance. Bullies playing dress up.”

Everything goes white.

1940:

One time, Bucky gets beat so bad he’s hardly recognizable. Steve’s worried when Bucky’s late. It doesn't really mean anything. Could be chasing tail or playing cards. Steve's drawing at the table when he hears the key in the lock. Hardly looks up when the door opens. "Where you been, I went down to the-"  

A fat old man and a younger man with a baseball bat drop Bucky off in their apartment. Unceremoniously, the younger one drops him on the floor. Bucky yelps and curls up. Every visible part of him is freshly pummeled.

"Take care of him," the older man (Christ, he's huge). Turns to go.

"Hey!" Steve snaps, kneeling at Bucky's side. God, it's a wonder he's not dead. "I can't care for him if he can't work."

"Steve. Don't..." Bucky whispers, eyes swollen shut.

The big man belly laughs. "No wonder he keeps you around." Tosses the biggest stack of bills Steve's ever seen at him. It bounces. They actually leave.

“Who did this to you?”

“Some...bastards...Don’t like it when I say...I ain’t...enforcer...Material,” Bucky whispers.

Steve runs as fast as he can to the public phone down the hall. Dials the Barnes’ number. Asks for Becca. She’s there in half an hour. In the meantime, Steve does what he can from watching his Mom and Becca, and cleaning up his own scrapes.

His pal has nightmares. Becca stays by his side. Sings - the only time she’s done this around Steve. The song is sweet and beautiful. The boys nod off.

Bucky’s out of work for a month while his hand heals. The money is blood money, but it keeps them alive. Bucky does something unsavory to pay the men back.

They move in with a couple of friends for that month and then into a different apartment.

They never talk about it, other than Bucky telling him outright to “Never talk back to types like that ever again, do you hear me Rogers? And never, ever, accept money like that. I don’t care how bad off we are.”

Everything goes white.

1941:

September:

Steve can’t dance. It’s not like he hasn’t been offered lessons by either Barnes. He clutches his sketchbook to his chest as he watches Bucky talk with the bouncer. The dance hall is way too classy for them. “It’s not gonna work,” he hisses to Becca.

“It will.” She laughs as Bucky claps the guy on the shoulder and saunters back, “Told you.”

“He doubting me?” Cocky, arms spread, “Steve, c’mon. It’s for Becca’s birthday and you’re doubting me?” Mock offense, hand to his heart as the artist sputters.

Inside is smokey and warm. They pick a spot where he can be out of the worst of it and still see the floor. Bucky and Becca move in ways Steve can never imagine himself doing. 

After what seems like a few minutes but really was five songs, they sit, all flushed and sweaty. Becca turns to him, all smiles, “Your turn?” Steve stammers. “It’s my birthday. My fella should know how to dance.” He turns a darker red. 

The marriage pact started out as a joke, when Steve was 18, Bucky was 19, and Becca was 16. Bucky had been once-again lamenting Steve’s lack of dates. Lack of interest in dates. Since then, Becca was determined to drag an agreement out of him. If Steve made it to 30 (“course he’ll make it to 30,” Bucky huffed, rolling his eyes) without having a steady gal (“That’s likely.” “Fuck you, Buck.”), Becca will marry Steve. (“Not out of pity,” she said, pointing a fork at the beet red man. “Because you’re my brother too and it’s no good for man to be alone.”) What about what Becca wanted? What if she found a fella? (“Don’t worry about it.” A tight smile.)

Tonight Steve decides, watching Becca twist some prick’s privates like it's a doorknob, that yes, if he makes it to 30 and they’re both unattached, he’ll marry Becca.

Where else will he find a gal who can do that?

Pearl Harbor gets attacked a few months later. Bucky and Becca ship out. Steve’s alone. 

Everything turns white.

[ishouldreallybeelsewhere]

Tattoos in the Dark

Dean wasn't one for taking breaks. John never let him, and he had no reason to let himself be any different, even though John was gone. but Sam was gone too. There was no one for him to take care of, at that moment, there were no cases, no things to hunt, no people to save, and for the first time in his life, Dean had no idea what to do.

There was nothing but him and the open road, a half-empty pack of cigarettes in one pocket, a lighter in the other. The thought of smoking used to scare him. It would be a bad example for Sam, but dean already knew that his life wasn't going to be a long one, so he may as well enjoy it while it lasted. It reminded him of his high school days, smoking behind the bleachers, hooking up with anyone who was willing, and pretending the smoke that saturated his jacket was someone else's. It still sent shivers down Dean's spine, thinking of what john's reaction would be if he knew, but right now, there was no way for him to find out, and nothing that could stop Dean.

He pulled up outside an empty corn field, wandering through the thin paths, jumping over the occasional fence, until he reached the other end. There was a platform there, easy enough to climb up, an empty billboard that could no longer see the road.

The sun was already starting to set, playing with the colours of the field below, painting the sky gold and red. Dean leaned against the back of the platform and lit up a cigarette, enjoying the smoke as it funneled into his lungs. It wasn't going to kill him any faster than the job, and at least this way it would be something he had control over, instead of being daddy's little soldier.

Dean sat there until it was dark and the butt of the cigarette no longer glowed. Walking through the uneven path without any sort of light probably wasn't the best idea, but Dean's mind was fuzzy, and nothing like that really seemed to matter. Maybe he would get a tattoo. His own one, not the stupid demon one that john had made him get the moment it was legal. He would've made his sons get it earlier had bobby not intervened.

"You can pick," said Dean a few hours later. He was at the front desk at a tattoo place. it smelt like ink and home, unfamiliar but comforting nonetheless. The guy behind the counter smirked and nodded, then grabbed a binder from under the counter and led Dean through to another room.

"Where do you want it?" asked the man in a smooth voice. It wrapped around dean, a shroud of comfort that he couldn't quite understand, and he thought for a moment. Where was the one place he couldn't hide it?

"Up here," he said, pointing to the patch of his neck that showed above his collar. If he let his hair grow out again, it would be hidden, but John had been pretty firm that if Dean was going to be a man, he better fucking look like it.

Getting the tattoo was strange. He was completely relaxed, even as the needle drove into the skin beneath his ear, unlike the last time, where every fiber of his being had been tensed beyond belief. Now he was calm, almost enjoying the experience. The cracked leather chair he sat in reminded him of his car, the smell, the feeling, everything, but the hands on his neck that deftly made permanent a piece of art he couldn't even see was even more comforting.

"All done," said the artist some hours later. The studio had closed hours ago, but Dean hadn't been told to leave, and the artist seemed content to work. "Do you wanna see?" Dean nodded, stomach churning with anticipation as he looked into the mirror the artist was holding.

A black scorpion curved around Dean's neck, pincers beneath his jaw, the tail curling under his ear, a sharp contrast to the slightly red skin around it.

"It's perfect," said Dean, inspecting it with pure glee. The artist smiled, clearly proud of his handy-work, before wrapping it and giving dean some basic care instructions.

"So, I gather you're not from 'round here," said the artist as he organised the payment. Dean shook his head, the tattoo twinging ever so slightly with the movement. "Didn't think so. So where're you staying?" Dean realised there wasn't enough on the stolen car to cover the tattoo and a motel for the night, but he didn't really care. He'd get a new one in the morning.

"My car, for tonight. Then I'll be heading off who-knows-where." Dean laughed without humour at the thought of it. Back on the road 'til John gave him a case, or he ran out of money and had to go back to Bobby's.

"Well, my place is free for the night. Just up stairs. Free of charge." Dean considered it briefly, studying the man in front of him. His pale skin was coated almost entirely by ink, piercings wherever almost everywhere, and a loose black shirt over ripped jeans. Not straight, definitely not, and it seemed unlikely that Dean would get any sleep. He said yes.

Dean hadn't hooked up with a guy in years, and when the morning came and the night's events came back to him, he couldn't imagine why.

The artist, whose name, Dean had learned some time during the night, was Jamie, was up long before Dean, and already opening the shop when Dean went downstairs.

"How's the tattoo holding up?" asked Jamie with a smirk.

"Better than expected," replied Dean, mirroring the expression. He booked another tattoo immediately, once again letting Jamie choose anything he wanted.

Dean stayed in the tattoo parlour for a week, each day with more ink, each night learning more about his partner. It was nothing official, of course. Dean wasn't going to let that happen. Not when his phone could ring at any moment, and he'd have to leave Jamie for ever. But he made ever second count. Lingered with every kiss, keeping the memory of Jamie's hands on him long after they'd left.

Then the call came. A case two states over. And Dean's break was over.

"Life catching up with you at last," joked Jamie, but there was no humour. All of a sudden, Dean's jacket felt far too heavy, almost oppressive. It wasn't really his jacket, was it. It was John's, a constant reminder that he'd never grow into John's clone, and that would always be his biggest downfall.

"Keep the jacket," said Dean, slipping it off and handing it to Jamie. Their fingers brushed, and Dean held the contact for as long as he could, before he turned on his heel and left.

The car felt a lot less like home as he slipped into the front seat, his inked up forearms no longer fitting in, his tattooed hands not gripping the wheel in the same way, but the cracked leather reminded him of the chair he'd spent so long in over the past week, and that was enough to make him drive.

Hours passed in the silence of the road, all music Dean once loved now a stark reminder of who he didn't want to be. Nothing felt as right as it once had, nothing felt as right as sitting in that tattoo chair, or lying beside Jamie in his bed. And nothing would for a long time.

[incarnateirony]

Okay so I have acquired

a FUCK TON of new followers

So let me make something... irrevocably clear.

I do not. Actually. Do. Fandom bullshit.

I observe a show that has a large fandom.

I do not care about your character stan wars. I do not care about manufactured ship wars. I do not read fanfiction. I may, on rare occasion, trip over a piece of fanart or a gif set I like, and that is RARE. 

I do not belong to any technical lane, and I sure as hell do NOT give two flying FUCKS about any Tolerance Paradox logic of whatever weird ass social conventions people imagine within their particular lane.

If people bring dumb to my wall, I am going to drag the dumb over the hill and back. I did not sign any magical social contract to play nice just because everyone’s used to operating in this completely fabricated fucking system of behavior. If you use my blog as a springboard or an anon dump just to try to be some sort of contrarian, I will make you regret that. I am not obligated to tolerate any of it.

I did not ask to be a big name fan. The better part of my fandom existence consists of hiding in discords with very select groups of people. I at best lurk in the big discords and remember they exist once a year. 

I am happy to help with organization on things or opening up ideas or pathways for people. That’s uh, literally my patron’s way. My patron is also a trickster, an inverter of forces, and exists largely to make fools out of people of all capacities. He can be kindly, as long as he is respected, and respect is shared. I match him, and thus, I match energies. 

Don’t want to feel called out, even hiding behind an anon sock? Use some basic self control and think before you hit the enter key.

My friends call me everybody’s Vodka Aunt. And it suits. Apply that in the future. I am not your Mocha Latte Mom. I am definitely not... whatever... *gestures out over a random fandom wing* that is. 

I exist on a platform to talk about a show completely divorced FROM fandom’s structures, and will welcome people to talk about that show with me as long as they do not try to shove me INTO those structures. I do not use “destiel fandom meta structures” and have voiced VERY loud disagreement with many of them. I didn’t even make POLOL on purpose. It was literally the domino result of ragequitting a bunch of group chats after receiving an endless array of shitty takes, and a few friends pulling together. We didn’t expect it to become a phenomenon or even widely known. It was never an endeavor.

Vodka Aunt can and WILL throw the goddamn flipflop at you if you’re making noise.

Oh and by the way, those shitty takes I ragequit all my GCs over before making POLOL? Was people monkey climbing me for saying Dean was always going to die in the finale and that Sam was going to live a full life separated from him. The shitty takes included saying I hated Dean, or I was trying to make it all about Destiel, and more.

If you wonder why I haven’t made a goddamn PEEP towards anyone throwing a fit over Dean dying, it’s because that’s not the corporate fuckery going on and was never part of the corporate fuckery. Of the very few things that survived in skeletal forms to their ending, in its most bare bones and frankly embarassing form, that is it. That or the “cas helped” summary of one of the greatest theosophical renderings ever told. “Cas helped.” rofl oh my god “cas helped” yeah sure okay that’s how to summarize the same pathwork that led me to the conclusion on Sam and Dean, this clearly wasn’t the entire rebirth of the Axis/Anima mundi by Shadow integration and Death as an infinite vessel to become the new womb of heaven they literally blasted comedically obvious signs all over about.

Literally.

Literally the same pathwork. But I’m going to guess some dipshit suit went all Hollywood Babylon asking if ghosts have superhearing and got a tired “sure whatever Jack pulled him out” (though not said in the text) or more hilariously, “Cas helped.” 

This is literally the kind of horse shit hackneyed shit Hollywood Babylon and French Mistake exist to call out and yet fandom is like “HMMMM IS THAT REALLY HOW IT WORKS THO” despite Hollywood Babylon adjacent interviews when they’re like, yes, this is literally how it works, we literally pulled this episode from notes we got.

And I’m sure, ironically, they’re patting themselves on the head for a job well done where nobody will be the wiser, despite fucking up with the 15.19 cuts (x) and despite the dub shit and dubbers explaining how it works (x) and despite Dabb literally writing an entire ode to this shit all year and admitting in-advance he knows how fucking stupid it is and despite all of that because fandom, in and of itself, will mindlessly do the shoveling for them. (x) 

Hell, despite a suit (yes I know honey you hate being called a suit and you’re more of an assistant but Suit is easier to type than Glorified Secretary That Schedules Important Things For Important People; you’ve worked for the CW since it was the WB before the merger, to the fandom, you’re a fucking Suit) fucking up in my inbox for a consistent week thinking they were getting one-up on me before they realized what all they ran their fucking lips on (be that their true attitude towards representation, be that things they admitted covid wouldn’t have truly fucked with, be that them admitting they actually appreciate the fandom tire fires because it benefits them). Congratulations, you’re why companies get away with this shit and perpetually displace blame while doing this shit on all their products. (x) (x) Good job.

But that’s the shitty takes that drove me out of even some of my more exclusive rings. Read as: me being goddamn right the whole time. 

Which about sums up 99% of the shitposts people drop on my blog. But this is my blog, not yours. If you don’t want the slipper, Not Commenting is fucking free.

[possum-rat]

King ophelia

is this nearly 2 months late? yes yes it is.

@king-ophelia 

“If i die im totally haunting your ass”

(Y/n) x C!Sam  Platonic

______________

Mentions of: death, blood,tommy’s prison arc 

There had always been a close Mentor and Student type of bond Between a certain droopy elf-eared green-tinted skinned man and a young kid around the age of 15-16? Some might even say that it was closer, more Father and child-like. So naturally when Awesamdude began distancing himself from everyone while making the prison (Y/n) felt a mixture of anger and slightly guilt. Guilt because it wasn't Sam’s duty to take care of them. Sam had simply shown them Human kindness, and (Y/n) not having many good encounters with people had clutched to the praise that Sam had given on the regular. (Y/n) had only felt angrier and angrier as time passed. Especially when Ponk had stumbled into their small dark oak cottage on the outskirts of what was Pogtopia. His red yellow and black mask burned beyond repair and holding what was left of his arm. Leaping up from the small couch situated in the middle of the small one-floor house (Y/n) turns their attention to Ponk. As they work feverishly whispering that it’ll be okay more to themselves than anything else. That day they realize that the Man that they had admired so much and had tried to please didn't care. ------ “Sam? I made something look!” (Y/n) says happily as they pull the prosthetic arm they had been working on for Ponk. “I'm busy (Y/n), Tommy needs help with something,” Sam states as he brushes past (Y/n) without a thought. “Of course. It’s always Tommy and tubbo this. Why don't you have a second of time for me?” (Y/n) mumbles dejectedly. Shoving the arm back into their bag they grumble annoyed. Eventually, they bump into Foolish. “(Y/n)! Didn't see you there! How are you?” he asks cheerfully crouching into a squat. “I made something for Ponk. I tried showing Sam but he was busy. As always.” They say quietly while fiddling with the hem of the bag. Foolish’s emerald eyes widen in interest. “You did? Can I see?” Nervously they pull a wooden base of an arm armor of the bag before turning their attention to Foolish, (Y/n) smiles shyly up at the man before gently placing the arm in his huge calloused hands. Foolish sits on the ground in front of (Y/n) and turns the arm silently, his jade eyes staring intently at the arm that’s a quarter -if that -the size of his hand. Growing more nervous and agitated at the lack of response (Y/n) a close mentor-student type of bond between Sam and (Y/n). If you were to look closer it might be called a Father/child type of bond. Maybe even Found Family. Always ever since (Y/n) had been younger. (Y/n) had always looked up to him, always trying to be just like him. Horror was the least they felt when Ponk- stumbled into (Y/n’s) small cottage. His arm was bloody in his other arm. His mask torn in places, his hood pulled up pasted his face. To cover the deep cuts. Dropping the book they had been reading: The Book thief, on the couch they spring up and run toward Ponk one line still ringing in their head. “I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.” The meaning of those words smacks (Y/n) like a truck. Just like how Sam had destroyed (Y/n’s) view on the world, Ruining the one last thing that kept (Y/n’s) view of the parental figure like a parent. It didn't help that (Y/n) was the youngest in the vast land of DreamSmp. Being 12 when they lost their first life jumping in front of Technoblade's fireworks that Schlatt had ordered him to fire at Tubbo. And 13 when they had lost their second life to a forest fire that Niki had started. Niki had apologized of course, but techno. You know how he is. ---- It had been a few weeks after Ponk’s visit, and (Y/n) had been wandering around looking for Sam for some input. Eventually finding him they tap his shoulder and present the Wood and golden ornate hand they had been making during the past 2 weeks. “Sam! Look!” They state excitedly. As they hold out the arm. “That's nice (Y/n). But I'm busy. I need to help Tommy with his hotel.” Sam says as he shrugs (Y/n) off brushing past them. Nodding slowly (Y/n) stands on the prime path before turning and shoving the arm into their bag before walking down the prime path with no particular idea. “Oh- sorry I didn't see you there-” A tall man with bright observant jade green eyes and golden shining olive skin gazes down wearing Egyptian royalty wear with gold, and emerald stitching along the hems of the shendyt. Shifting down he smiles down at (Y/n) his gold ornately patterned Wesekh with lapis emerald and Netherite hangs off his chest while he grins happily. Sharp shark-like teeth gleaming. “(Y/n) right?” he asks as he offers out a huge hand. “Y-Yeah. You're Foolish right?” the man nods causing (Y/n) to breath in deeply the scent of pine filling their nose. (Y/n) gazes at the ground while Foolish asks “May I see the arm you tried showing Sam?” nervously (Y/n) obliges. As Foolish sits on the ground examining the minuscule arm (Y/n) grows agitated at the lack of negative response- well any response. “Sorry- I know. It's stupid and it won't work-” they mutter quietly. “No, no-no. that’s not it at all. Im amazed at the level of detail on the fingers and the knuckles (Y/n).” --------- “Tommy? I can give a note to Dream so you don't have to see him.” (Y/n) states with an undertone of wanting to prove themselves. “No- You're too young-” he begins. “No.” They interrupt loudly. Tommy raises an eyebrow. (Y/n) never really questioned anybody's judgment, they merely followed without question. “I- uh. I want to help. Please.” they continue their voice growing quieter as the sudden jolt of courage dissolves into fear of rejection. Tommy nods a small smile on his face. “Sure. Only if you pinky promise you’ll be safe okay?” ------ As they reach the prison, the anger they had repressed for months begins bubbling up. In addition to anxiety. (Y/n) hadn't really interacted with Dream much. Only briefly when he needed somewhere to hide. And foolishly (Y/n) had let him. As they reach the other end of the portal Sam doesn't look up from the desk he’s sitting at. “Tommy. Kid. I have something for you to sign.” he says tiredly. As he places a book in front of (Y/n). “Read that out loud.” (Y/n) feels a twinge of anger at the nickname Sam had given Tommy. Sam had never taken the time to do that for (Y/n). Taking a deep breath they begin. “Page 1 I HEREBY ASSUME ALL OF THE RISKS OF VISITING THE HOLDING CELL, including by way of example and not limitation, any risks that may arise from negligence or carelessness on the part of the Prison guards, prisoners misbehaving, from dangerous or defective equipment”  (Y/n) read haltingly and slowly sounding out negligence. Sam suddenly glances up and sighs “(Y/n) why are you here. Tommy said he’d be here.” ignoring what sam had asked they continue rambling

“Page 2 or property owned, maintained, or controlled by the Prison Guards. I certify that I waive, release, and discharge the Prison from any and all liability, including but not limited to, death, disability, personal injury, property damage,” they glare at Sam and murmur “you did that to ponk. You hurt him.” they take another breath before continuing:

Page 3 property theft, or actions of any kind which may hereafter occur to me, including my traveling to and from visiting the Prisoner. Written name, then sign: (Y/n)” They sign it and slide the book toward Sam. “(Y/n). Why are you here.” they scoff annoyed and reply “Why else? I'm visiting Dream. I'm telling him something Tommy wanted me to say.” ------------- As (Y/n) reaches the platform they turn toward Sam and state. “Sam. If I die. Then I’m totally haunting your ass.” Sam sighs and retorts “You're not going to die. And stop talking. Face forward.” Nodding (Y/n) turns forward tears forming in their eyes. Gazing up at the ceiling (Y/n) lifts a hand pressing it against their eyes while mentally shouting at themself to not cry. Being in prison wasn't as bad as they thought. Dream seemed nice enough, so he made conversation. “So (Y/n) have you made anything new? I’ve heard that you like making things.” Dream says as he leans against the wall his tone curious. (Y/n) jumps at the opportunity of having someone showing genuine interest in what they enjoy. “Well- I’ve started reading Norse Myths. Those are cool- I also really like- I like uh building things. Like a few weeks ago I made a fake arm for ponk cuz Sam ripped him off.” They state excitedly. Dream nods his mask contorting into a small smile. “Wait-” Dream pauses his mask’s eyebrows contorting into a frown “Did you say Sam ripped off Ponks arm?” (Y/n) freezes the hairs on the back of their neck suddenly standing on end. They laugh awkwardly, alarms blaring internally “What- nooo that's preposterous. Why would Sam do that? I mean Sam loves Ponk.” they blabber nervously as they fiddle with their hands nervously. Suddenly there’s an ear-splitting boom. Causing (Y/n) to freeze in place. ------ About a week has passed since (Y/n) got trapped in the prison. (Y/n) eventually grew more nervous and twitchy whenever Dream so much as looked at them. On the 4th day, they had gotten a cat. (Y/n) had named the calico “Fat Ass” as he was one of the Fattest cats (Y/n) had seen. On the 8th day or so (Y/n) had been trapped Fat Ass had seemed to have enough with everything and committed unalive by walking into the lava. (Y/n) would never forget his pitiful yowls as he burned alive. The ninth day (Y/n) began growing desperate Screaming at the lava for hours on end until their throat grew dry or Dream had yanked them up and tossed them across the small room. As he yelled “(Y/N) SAM DOESN'T CARE. HE’S GOING TO LEAVE YOU HERE TO FUCKING ROT. WHY WON'T THAT GET THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEAD.” (Y/n) grew silent at that. Playing with the orangy drawstrings of their hoodie. “Okay.” (Y/n) whispers in defeat. “You win. Just stop yelling at me please.” Dream scoffs bending closer to (Y/n) grabbing the collar of their Hoodie. “(Y/n). You're pathetic. I could kill you right now and revive you because I'm bored. I could do that for hours and Sam wouldn't move a damned muscle.” (Y/n’s) (e/c) eyes widen in fear as they whisper “Your lying.” gulping they rasp “You wouldn't. You don't have it in you-” Dream grins. “(Y/n), I’m a GOD.” He Lifts a clenched fist before sending it into their gut. “I can do this as much as I want and you can't do anything about it.” He sends blow after blow. And as he bends closer to (Y/n). They take the chance and grip his ears tightly. Before screaming as loud as they could. “SAM-” As Dream sends another punch to their gut (Y/n) pulls down hard on the ear. Dream squeezes his hands around (Y/n’s) throat. “SAM PLEASE HELP. DAD-” they wail as they kick trying to escape Dream’s grasp as air begins to be a long-lost luxury. “Aw- Are you calling for daddy? He won't come (Y/n). He’s busy.” Those last words are the final words (Y/n) here before everything doubles and shifts into kaleidoscopic colors and shapes, and they take one last half-hearted breath.

(Y/n) wakes up in a calm place. Everything is so...peaceful...weirdly so. As they spin in a circle they see a playground. The cool midnight breeze ruffling (Y/n’s) hair as they skip toward the structure. Not thinking twice (Y/n) sits on one of the swings and begins to kick off. The rocking mixed with the cool breeze of the night and footsteps- wait why were their footsteps… Jumping from the swing at the top of its arch (Y/n) comes crashing down to earth. Wincing at the feeling of their body slamming against the ground. “Hello?” (Y/n) asks quietly. “Dear? Oh my- oh you were so young- Come here let’s have a little chat you and i.” a feminine voice says. (Y/n) tenses up and replies “Can- Could I stay here? On the swings I mean? I- I don't really know- I’m a little scared here- Where am-” the feminine figure comes into sight wearing a flattering simple black dress that throws her elegant features into greater depth. “Oh Honey, Do whatever makes you comfortable okay? You're in well that's hard to explain. But to put it simply, you're dead. I guess this Empty park is yours- what did My husband's son call it? Limbo? You're stuck here while we talk.” (Y/n) freezes tears forming as they sit in front of the woman. “No- I cant- Sam saved- I’m just- I'm dreaming right?” they whimper as they clutch the soft material of their sweatshirt. “Sam- He was- He saved me and I'm just having a nightmare.” (Y/n) whispers to themselves as they rock back and forth. “Here Honey let me help you. You have a bad cut and I don't want it to get infected.” (Y/n) nods slowly and as the gentle touch of the woman’s hand grazes their cheek (Y/n) jerks awake with a start. ------------------------- There had been an alarm. Luckily Sam had been in the prison at the time. As the automated voice says calmly “The Prisoner is displaying violent acts toward the visitor.” Sam’s blood runs cold. “(Y/n)” he gasps as he sprints through a special tunnel he had created in case of an event like this. As he waits for the lava to drain he regrets ignoring (Y/n). As the lava finally drains he can see Dream leaning against a wall, a hand covering his left ear as bloodstains it. While (Y/n) seems to be asleep at his feet. That doesn't help his fears. “Dream. What the hell did you do?” Sam asks quietly as he reaches the halfway point of his destination. Dream turns slowly before reaching down to (Y/n’s) head and turning it where it’s on full display for Sam to see. Bloody, and 2 giant purple hands print upon their throat. Sam Backs up disgust filling his brain. “They wouldn't stop yelling for you. I got annoyed.” dream states simply. Sam backs away in disgust as he crouches down and hoists (Y/n) up. “Sam- D’you know they kept begging for mercy. They shouted and I quote“Sam Please help. Dad” Dream’s tone is mocking as he stretches. “Obviously you failed them as a parent. When they first came in they were so eager to have someone listen to them for once instead of being bossed around.” Dream laughs. “They tried so hard to make you happy or to be proud of them. (Y/n) felt so neglected that they were genuinely excited when me- a prisoner showed interest. That says a lot about them doesn't it Sam.” Sam stares at the floor, his heart beating faster and faster. “Sam- I heard what they said to you before they came in here.” As Sam steps back onto the floating bridge he set’s (Y/n’s) body down and backs up his hands rubbing his face as the Lava begins to return to place. Sam leans on the wall a few feet from the lava covering the entrance of Dream’s holding cell. ----- Phantom(N/n). That's the only thing the ghost remembers. The only name apart from Awesamdude. Phantom(N/N) is pretty sure that Awesamdude isn't their name.  Standing in a small purplish room, where two unfamiliar men stand one cowering under another man with a scar running down his face making his eye white. Tensing up Phantom(N/n) backs up and crutches into a small ball trying to stay out of view. But they were spotted. The man with the scar crutches in front of Phantom(N/n) and smiles offering out a reddish hand. Phantom(N/n) gazes up at him before taking it nervously and avoiding the gaze of the man wearing green while Alive(Y/n)’s voice murmurs to stay away from Dream. The man with the scar has warm hands Phantom(N/n) notices. Glancing up Phantom(N/n) smiles up at the man, as he gently guides the two of them across the bridge. As they reach the other end Phantom(N/n) lets go of the man's hand, noticing then that he has Light brownish feathers coming from the side of his head along with wings coming from his back with dark shiny greens and other colors. “(Y/n)?” he asks as he places his hands on each side of their shoulders. Phantom(N/n) frowns before saying “Oh you're talking about Alive(Y/n), I’m Phantom(N/n)” they smile up at him taking in his injury. Gently raising their hand Phantom(N/n) places a finger on the man’s cheek while frowning. “Does it hurt?” Phantom(N/n) asks their head tilting in concern. Phantom(N/n) removes their hand from his slightly rough scar before turning when a set of footsteps grow louder. As they turn Phantom(N/n) fiddles with the orange drawstrings while they gaze at the shiny slightly refective Blackstone floor. Lowering themself Phantom(N/n) sits on the floor tracing the cool stone tile as the two people talk in hushed hurried tones. Before the man with duck-like feathers suddenly erupts “SAM- THIS IS A CHANCE FOR YOU TO TRY TO REPAIR YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH (Y/N).” The other man Sam retorts his voice shaking “Quackity. (Y/n’s) dea-” Phantom(N/n) looks up at those words. As their eyes meet Sam’s they flick their gaze back to the floor. “I’m not (Y/n). I’m Phantom(N/n).” Phantom(N/n) murmurs quietly while Quackity and Sam continue to argue. As their shouting becomes louder and louder Phantom(N/n) stands up and tries to find an exit. Finding a passageway probably for employees Phantom(N/n) walks through pressing a hand to the wall as they skip through the cold narrow halls. The cool rush of air a pleasant change in contrast to the hot sticky-stale air of the prison cell. The yelling growing fainter Phantom(N/n) feels a breath of air go. On they didn't realize they were holding in. Reaching into their pocket Phantom(N/n) pulls out a soft Bunny. One with orange wool, and a small carrot attached with a thin string. Holding it in their hands Phantom(N/n) stares at it a small smile spreading on their face. An expression of confusion replaces the small smile before the grin returns.“ You’ll be...uh...Your...Pluto. Yeah, you’ll be Pluto.” One of pluto’s shiny black eyes catches the light of something and Phantom(N/n) stiffens as they gaze forward. Slowly turning around Sam stands their Axe in hand. Tensing up Phantom(N/n) says with a huff.“That’s not nice. You shouldn’t point pointy sharp things at people. Someone could get hurt.” Sam frowns before crouching infront of Phantom(N/n) and placing the axe somewhere in his inventory. Smiling in approval Phantom(N/n) shrugs their jacket higher on their shoulder before jumping toward Sam. “Who are the rings for? You and Mr.Quackity both had 2 each. Are you married to two people? Do I get 2 more dads?” The questions roll of Phantom(N/n’s) tongue fast. Sam stands up resting Phantom(N/n) on his hip his left arm securing them to his body. Sam hesitates before nodding. “Yeah.- yeah you do. Do you want to meet them?” the two people walk through the same hall that Phantom(N/n) had walked through. “Mr.Quackity? Who are you married to? Isn’t it the man with the swirly pattern and the other man with the headband?” Quackity nods slowly before muttering. “Something like that. They forgot about me.” Phantom(N/n) doesn't seem to like this information. Squirming in Sam’s grasp Sam gently places them down before they grab Quackity’s hand and smiling up at him “Well We’ll go make them unforget! Come one!” They state firmly as if there were no room for criticism.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch36: I Bid You Farewell And Good Luck, Morons. Part 1- It’s Like A Pirate Had A Baby With An Angel.

Intro: Thor wakes up on a strange ship, surrounded by even stranger people, a talking tree and a rabbit. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the fight to save Vision is won and the group make their way back to the compound to understand what exactly it is that they’re facing. 

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So I HAD to write Thor and Tony’s POV over the IW chapters too, because, frankly, they had some of THE best scenes in Infinity War, and I love that freaking Norse God Himbo and chaotic Stark chemistry so bad! I know this is Katie and Steve’s fic, but Steve had so little screen time in this film all things considered…we were so robbed!!! Once again, I can’t thank @angrybirdcr​ enough for her edits, they’re awesome!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 35

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Thor wasn’t dead. But he felt like it. Every inch of his body ached and when he was jerked back to consciousness for a moment, just one split moment, he thought he saw Little Stark. Only it wasn’t her. The woman had dark hair, yes, but as he focussed he realised she looked nothing like the woman he loved dearly as a sister. This wench had huge eyes and antenna dangling from her forehead. And, whilst he knew it had been a while since he had seen his friend, she wouldn’t have changed that much.

Finding his feet he looked around, chest heaving, at the band of people stood in front of him; a woman with green skin and red hair, a man with grey/blue skin covered in red designs, a tree creature- a Flora Colossus unless he was mistaken- which was off to the side draped over a chair, some kind of furry, animal thing- a rabbit maybe- and finally a man who appeared to be a normal, human being. That was until he opened his mouth and Thor realised he was probably the most stupid human being he had ever encountered.

His rescuers had offered him soup, and then when he had explained about Thanos, the green skinned lady called Gamora had told Thor what the Titan wanted the stones for.  Which she knew, because she his daughter.

Thanos had a daughter. Interesting.

“Families can be tough,” Thor spoke wisely, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Before my father died, he told me that I had a half-sister that he imprisoned in Hell. Then she returned home, stabbed me in the eye so, I had to kill her.” He shrugged. “That’s life though isn’t it I guess? Round and round, but I feel your pain.”

The human, Peter Quill, pushed his way between Gamora and Thor, and looked at her “I feel your pain, as well, because, I mean it’s not a competition, but I’ve been through a lot. My father killed my mother, and then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I, came out with both of my eyes.”

Thor wasn’t paying attention. The man was clearly a moron, and he’d just noticed he had bent the spoon in the bowl of soup and was having a flashback to the time he had tried to bend the Captain’s shield. Little Stark had laughed so much at how annoyed he had gotten when he failed that she had cried. And then, to make it worse, a few days later the Captain had managed to move Mjolnir. Just a fraction, but it moved. No one had seen it, bar Little Stark of course, but there was something there, Thor was sure. Steve Rogers was a man worthy of a lot of things, but his hammer was complicated. You have to prove your worth. That had been explained to him by his Father the day he had given it to him. Of course, he hadn’t realised then that Eitri had actually made it for Hela first.

Eitri… Oh, yes!

“I need a hammer, not a spoon.” Thor mumbled, as the idea took hold and he looked at the pod at the back of the ship. “How do I open this thing?” He began pressing random buttons on the screen next to the door. “Is there some sort of a four-digit code? Maybe a birth date or something?”

"What are you doing?” the rabbit animal, Rocket asked.

“Taking your pod.” Thor replied nonchalantly.

And then there was an argument in which the moron Quill tried to imitate Thor’s deeper voice telling him he could not take the pod, but Thor was going to take the pod anyway because he was the God of Thunder after all, and then the lady Gamora cut them off quite rightly directing the focus back to Thanos by stating they needed to find out where he was going next.

But Thor had already thought of that. “Knowhere,” he answered as he brushed past Quill and over to the refrigerator he had seen Gamora get his soup from.

“He must be going somewhere.” Mantis argued innocently.

“No,” Quill shook his head and Thor noted his stupid voice was back to normal. “Knowhere? It’s a place. We’ve been there. It sucks. Excuse me, that’s our food.” He jabbed,  suddenly noticing what Thor was doing.

“Not anymore.” Thor shrugged, stuffing it into a backpack he found.

“Thor!” Gamora cut across the pair of them again. “Why would he go to Knowhere?”

“Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored there with a man called the Collector.” Thor stated.

“If it’s with the Collector, then it’s not safe.” Quill snorted. “Only an idiot would give that man a stone.”

“Or a genius.” Thor shrugged.

“How do you know he’s not going for one of the other stones?” Gamora asked.

“There’s six stones out there.” Thor began to explain, “Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it, last week, when he decimated Xandar.”

He didn’t missed the shocked and horrified look the group shared with one another.

“He stole the Space Stone from me, when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind Stones, are safe on Earth. They’re with the Avengers.”

“The Avengers?” Quill asked.

“They’re Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.”

“Like Kevin Bacon?” Mantis called out.

“Errr he may be on the team now, I don’t know.” Thor shrugged, having no idea who the man named after a breakfast meat was. “I haven’t been there in a while. And as for the Soul Stone, well no one’s ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can’t get it. Therefore, he’s going to Knowhere. Hence, he’ll be getting the Reality Stone. You’re welcome.”

“Then we have to go to Knowhere, now.” Gamora stated, looking around.

“Wrong. Where we have to go is Nidavellir.” Thor picked up the backpack.

“That’s a made up word.” Drax, the blue man countered.

“All words are made up.” Thor smiled, slinging the backpack onto his back.

“Nidavellir is real?” The animal called Rocket’s eyes grew wide and he jumped up onto the table and looked at Thor. “Seriously? I mean, that place is a legend. They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the Universe. I would very much like to go there, please.”

“The rabbit is correct.” Thor grinned at Rocket’s excitement. “And clearly the smartest among you. Only Eitri the Dwarf can make me the weapon I need.” He turned to the furry animal. “I assume you’re the captain, Sir?”

Rocket grinned and nodded, “You’re very perceptive.”

“You seem like a noble leader. Will you join me on my quest to Nidavellir?”

“Let me just ask the captain. Oh, wait a second, it’s me!”  Rocket grinned. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Wonderful.” Thor beamed.

“Uh except that I’m the captain,” Quill chipped in

“Quiet!” Thor was now beyond bored of the moron.

“And that’s my backpack.” Quill continued pointing to the bag that Thor was stealing.

“Quill, sit down.” Rocket tapped at the pad and keying in the digits to open the pod.

“Look, this is my ship. And I’m not going to - wait, what kind of weapon are we talking about here?” Quill looked round.

“The Thanos-killing kind.” Thor smiled.

Boy, was it going to be a big, fucking weapon like no one had ever seen before…

“Don’t you think that we should all have a weapon like that?” Quill frowned.

“You lack the strength to wield them. Your bodies would crumble as you minds collapsed into the madness.” Thor shook his head.

“Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?” Rocket asked.

“Erm, a little bit weird. Yeah.” Thor looked down at him, frowning.

“If we don’t go to Knowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone, he’ll be too powerful to stop.” Gamora stepped forward.

"He already is.” Thor shrugged.

“Look, I got it figured out.” Rocket interrupted, looking at Gamora. “We got two ships, and a large assortment of morons.  Me and Groot will go with the Pirate Angel here, and the morons will go to Knowhere to try and stop Thanos. Cool? Cool.”

“So cool.” Thor grinned before he climbed into the pod.

“For the record,” Quill said leaning down to Rocket, “I know that you’re only going with them because it’s where Thanos isn’t.”

“You know, you really shouldn’t talk that way to your captain, Quill.” Rocket smirked, walking backwards and gesturing outwards with his arms. “Come on, Groot. Put that game down. You’ll rot your brain,”

As Rocket sat down Thor nodded out of the pod to the rest of the people on the ship. “I bid you farewell and good luck, morons. Bye.”

******

It wasn’t hard for the team to track Wanda, her red power flashing bright against the dark sky over Edinburgh City Centre, and as the jet followed her movements, the four friends saw her spiralling through the sky with Vision and crashing through the train station roof, just as Sam put the jet on the ground.

Within seconds the Ex-Avengers were sprinting off the jet.  

“Katie, Nat, take the side!” Steve yelled, as he vaulted over the railings at the edge of the road running down onto the bottom half of the concrete ramp which led to the station. “Sam, up high and remember, we protect Vision at all costs!”

“Got em.” Sam spoke over the coms. “Platform seven, near the café.” 

Steve vaulted over another set of barriers, the station now deserted thanks to the evacuation taking place by the local police. As he ran onto one of the walkways over the lines, he was just in time to see two of the aliens crash through the station roof. Weighing up his options, he realised it was going to be quicker for him to hop down onto the platform he was currently overheard, and jump across the lines to help. He swung his legs over the railings and landed easily, looking up. Across from him he could see Natasha and Katie emerging to the right, as Wanda stood and moved protectively in front of Vision, building power in her hands. An express train whizzed past him and he stood still, waiting and it wasn’t long before the taller, blue looking woman spotted him, and she launched her spear over the platform. Steve easily snapped his left shoulder back whilst leaning over his body with his right, catching the staff in his hand.

“Heads up.” Sam muttered, and as Wanda and Vision turned to see Steve step out from the shadows, fury lining his face, Sam swooped in and kicked one of the aliens across the platform and through a closed café’s security gate, causing tables and chairs to go flying, before he spun and started to fire on the other alien.

Steve launched the weapon he had caught across the tracks where Natasha caught it and stabbed the second assailant in the gut as Katie moved in to head off the other who was stalking back towards them. The weapon Natasha had been using flew back into the alien’s hands and Katie ducked as she swung, jabbing her in the back of the leg with an electric powered escrima stick. The alien let out a yell, stumbled slightly and Steve cleared the platform in an easy leap, rolling and scooping up the second assailant’s staff from the floor, holding it up to block the blow that the creature aimed at Katie. He grit his teeth, planting his legs to absorb the power of the hit, as Katie rolled to the side, jumped up and the two of them began to fight the alien, joined shortly by Natasha. Steve had to admit, the woman (if you could call her that) was a force to be reckoned with, but the three of them were just about getting the upper hand when they heard Sam yell.

“DUCK!”

The three of them did so and Sam flew in hard, kicking the woman backwards where she fell and scuttled over to her fallen friend. Sam landed next to Katie, drawing both his submachine pistols on the couple.

“Get up” The alien instructed to her fallen partner, her voice was deep.

“I can't.” His gravelly, robotic voice replied.

“We don’t wanna kill you.” Natasha spoke coolly “But we will”.

“You’ll never get the chance again.” The female levelled them, with a cold glare and with that a beam shot down from the hole in the station roof and the two were transported upwards. The weapon Steve was holding also shot out of his hand. He frowned in surprise for a moment, looking at his hand then upwards as the beam of light disappeared and the ship sped off.

“Can you stand?” Sam asked Vision as Katie replaced her sticks and walked towards Wanda and the android. When Vision shook his head, Sam moved forward to help him up.

Supported by Wanda and Sam, Vision looked over at Steve, Natasha and Katie, electricity shimmering over his surface. He’d been badly damaged in the fight, and as he spoke his voice distorted.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Steve took a deep breath and nodded. His face stern, but his eyes were much softer than his expression and Katie knew why. It had been a while since anyone other than Sam, Nat or Wanda had called him Captain.

Steve looked at the android, he might have been damaged but they had the stone, and that was the main thing. Nodding, he spoke. “Let’s get you on the jet.” His voice was soft and he moved to let Sam and Wanda support Vision on their way past him, Natasha following.

Katie hung back a little, trying to stop the light-headedness she was feeling from washing over her.

“You okay?” Steve turned to her as she blinked.

“Yeah, just took a whack that’s all. “I’m fine.” She assured him as they took up the rear of the group, her fingers lacing into his.

Once Vision was safely settled in a seat at the side, Sam dropped into the pilot’s seat. Katie hit the button to close the ramp as the Jet rose into the air.

“I thought we had a deal.” Natasha spun angrily to Wanda. ”Stay close, check in. Don’t take any chances.”

“I’m sorry. We just wanted time.” The younger woman said gently.

Katie glanced at Steve, he was stood up in the middle of the jet, hands on the buckle of his utility belt, staring seemingly at nothing but clearly contemplating something.

“Where to, Cap?” Sam asked.

Steve looked up, he glanced at Sam then locked eyes with Katie as he spoke one word, one simple word that they had all been waiting to hear for almost two years.

“Home”

*****

After a few hours, with the morning sky being the only thing in sight, Sam started to lower the jet through thick white clouds and Katie couldn’t help but inhale sharply when the compound began to take shape as she watched out of the front window. It looked the same. The buildings, the grounds…she wasn’t sure why she had expected anything to change, maybe because it felt like everything had changed for them, but either way, there it was. The exact same as the last time she had seen it.

Steve noticed her demeanour change slightly as they landed. She stood up straight, her shoulders squaring as if she was about to face an onslaught. And they were, in a way. On their way Steve had called Bruce to tell him that they had Vision and were heading back, but had had no idea what they were heading back to, nor did he care. Be it Ross, police, the army, whatever, Steve was done bowing to anyone’s will, he was over playing other people’s tunes. The two years they had spent hidden had shown them all that they could operate on their own if required, and he wasn’t afraid to fight anyone who got in his way.

They stepped off the ramp and strode over the lawn, Katie taking a deep breath as she looked around. So many emotions flooded her system, she couldn’t explain or identify half of them. Memories flashed in front of her eyes, visions of long summer nights spent outside in the garden and on the BBQ patio until sunrise. Laughs during team dinners. Sam and Wanda collaborating on pranks. Training sessions with the team and Vision reading Tolkien aloud to Wanda before asking questions about humanity’s love of fiction. Walks and picnics and other things in the ground, just her and Steve. Their wedding, God their wedding! Frequent visits from Tony, bringing in new ideas and improved gadgets. Getting back safe after being out on a long mission. Feeling relaxed and at ease.

Feeling at home.

Steve’s arm curled round his wife for a moment before he pressed a kiss to the side of her head as Vision opened the door.

“Still no word from Vision?”  

“Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh.”

“On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world’s most wanted criminals.” “You know they’re only criminals because you’ve chosen to call them that, right, sir? “

“My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own.”

The sound of the call between Ross and Rhodey echoed down the corridor reaching the group that were making their way through to the lab.

“If it weren’t for those Accords, Vision would’ve been right here.” Rhodey shot back and Katie glanced back at Vision as the sounds the voices grew louder as they neared their destination.

“I suspect it will be a Hollo Call.” Vision said gently, answering Katie’s unasked question.  His suspicions were proven correct as they rounded the corner and the lab came into view. Rhodey was stood across from where the holographic image of Secretary Ross was facing off against him.

"You have second thoughts?” Ross was challenging Rhodey, who smiled simply as his eyes shot sideways. Steve strode forward, his presence as intimidating as ever, and the first thing Rhodey noticed was just how dark he looked. Gone was the upstanding, All American Hero, and in its place was someone much harder, far rougher round the edges. Kiddo looked different too. Her hair was shorter and she looked slimmer.

“Not anymore.” He grinned.

The holographic Ross followed Rhodey’s gaze and his eyes fell on Steve who was stood next to Katie at the front of the group, Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Vision behind them. Steve raised his chin a little defiantly and moved to take his power stance, feet apart, hands on his belt, before he greeted Ross politely.

“Mr. Secretary" 

Katie couldn’t help the smirk on her face as she watched Ross attempting to cover up the shock he had clearly felt at the group of outlaws turning up again. She locked eyes with Rhodey who gave her the smallest of winks before he glanced back at Ross who was shaking his head slightly as he approached Steve, his holographic form almost trying to square up to him.  Steve simply raised his chin further and looked down from the steps he was stood on.

"You got some nerve.” Ross sniffed, staring up at him “I’ll give you that.”

“You could use some of that right now.” Katie shot back bluntly, Ross turned his head to face her for a second. She held his gaze and arched an eyebrow until he turned back to Steve.

“The world’s on fire.” Ross said incredulously. “And you think, you can just walk back in here and all is forgiven?”

Steve levelled the secretary with a firm gaze. “I’m not looking for forgiveness.” his voice took on a threatening tone as he spoke “And I’m way past asking for permission.”

At that point the smirk on Katie’s face grew even wider as she stole a glance up at her husband, pride swelling in her chest as he continued, stoic and unyielding. 

“Earth just lost her best defender, so we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way,” he stepped down to be at level with the hologram, and stared it square in the eyes “We’ll fight you, too.”

Ross was practically foaming at the mouth as his eyes went to Rhodey and he spat out his order, “Arrest them.”

“All over it.” Rhodey promised nonchalantly before shutting off the hologram, shortly after a beeping noise sounded from the computers.

“That’s a court-martial.” He informed the group as he slapped the back of his right hand into his left palm, though his tone said told Katie that he blatantly couldn’t have cared less for Ross’ demands. There was a short pause as the group glanced down at their friend, Steve smiling softly, before Rhodey’s face split into a huge smile of his own.

“It’s great to see you, Cap.” He stepped forward.

“You too, Rhodey.” Steve answered, taking the last two steps down before he shook Rhodey’s hand. Katie threw herself at her brother’s best friend and he gave her a huge bear hug before he looked down at her.

“You do something to your hair?” He teased.  Katie smiled, stepping back from his embrace while he looked the rest of the group over.

“Well. You guys really look like crap. Must’ve been a rough couple of years.”

Steve looked round, an amused smile on his face as he glanced at his wife then to the rest of the team.

“Yeah, well, the hotels weren’t exactly five star.” Sam quipped back cheekily, the banter flowing between them like no time at all had passed.

“Uh, I think you look great.”

Steve turned at the new voice to see Bruce inching his way into the room nervously wringing his hands together.

Steve and Katie remained silent, exchanging a glance. In the rush around and the fray of the fight, we’d forgotten to explain exactly who it was that called.

“Yeah. I’m back.”

Katie glanced over at Nat, she had her gaze fixed solely on the scientist as she spoke “Hi, Bruce.”

“Nat.” Bruce answered inclining his head towards her slightly as he fidgeted.

“This is awkward.” Sam piped up. Steve and Katie looked at one another, before they both smiled and looked back up at Sam.

“Any news on Tony?” Katie asked gently, interrupting the silence that had fallen.

“Not yet no.” Rhodey said. “FRIDAY lost him when he left the atmosphere. We got NASA running scans and we’re trying to track his trail but…” He shook his head. 

“Typical Tony.” Katie rolled her eyes “Always has to go one bigger and one better doesn’t he?”

Her blasé tone wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Banner.” Steve said gently, looking across the room at the scientist. “Can you fill us in on what we’re up against here?”

“Yeah sure,” Bruce said nodding hesitantly.

Without so much as another word, the group all started to make their way out of the room. As Katie turned to follow Natasha, Steve’s hand gently fell on her shoulder. Without looking at him, she reached up and gently wrapped her fingers round his, giving them a squeeze before she left.

Steve took a deep breath as he glanced around the room once more, before he too followed on, that sick feeling in his gut was getting worse.

**** Chapter 36 Part 2

[aries-writingblog]

Atlas (2)

Summary: After years of being imprisoned on the Raft, Tony negotiates freedom for his sister Tessa. When she’s free- so is her past, and it will never stop hunting her.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC(Stark)

Chapter Word count: 2299

Warnings: PTSD (subtle ish), trauma, torture (in later parts), suicidal behaviors and thoughts, mentions of death, character death, injury, violence, angst, and a lil bit of fluff in there

Disclaimer: Atlas is my own, original work with characters belonging to Marvel (except Tessa and Dr. Clifton). Plagiarism is not cool kids.

A/N: this is my first work I'm posting to this platform and I’m really excited and nervous about it. Hope you enjoy- constructive criticism is always helpful as well!!

“i’ve about had it with two starks around this place.” bucky grumbled, pushing the bar another rep. sam scoffed, and leaned on the bar as bucky huffed, trying to push it up.

“you’re just upset cause she’s a pretty girl that doesn’t want to talk to you and doesn’t care what you think.” he rebuffed, pressing down more. steve sighed from across the room, seeing the tension building between the two.

“that is not what i think at all-“ he pushed sam up and hooked the weight bar, sitting up on the bench. “i’m glad she’s making herself comfortable- she was locked up for six years, that’s wonderful but there’s something about her... i feel like she’s hiding things. big things.”

for the past week, tessa had been mostly hiding away on her floor. the few times she did come down she didn’t speak much. she did, however, leave socks on the common room floor, seemingly at night when no one was there. she also left dishes at the counter, also at night. bucky only knew for certain it was her because on the nights he couldn’t fall asleep, he would see her, slipping back into the stairwell as he approached the common floor. and every time she looked at him, she would scowl and sneer at him. granted, he had killed her parents and of course he felt bad about it, the guilt keeping him awake, but he didn’t even know if she knew it was him. she had been away for years with no contact.

the only person she seemed to be normal around was tony. she would go to the mechanics lab some days and help around there. the only other person she spoke to every day was sam and he had to rub it in everyone’s faces. anytime he got the chance.

“she’s still leveling out, buck. give her a chance.” steve called out, using his t shirt tail to wipe at his forehead.

“do we even know why she was locked up? sam said she served in the army- what did she do to be in the raft?” bucky countered. sam sighed and put his hands to his hips.

“i don’t even know. i never met her officially, our teams worked closely once- on the same mission but we never spoke. i saw her maybe twice that whole time- leading her group on the ground while we worked from the air. she was an amazing leader- her men trusted her with their lives. but... she’s nothing like i saw years ago. not even the same person.” sam shook his head. “but that could’ve been anything- war changes people. there’s no telling what she’s seen. what she’s done. tony won’t explain?”

“oh, sure- he’s my best friend and he’ll answer any question about his family i have.” bucky snarked, rolling his eyes.

“no, i’ve asked why she won’t join us at dinner or when we’re all around.” steve interrupted. “never answers it, goes around it.”

“she’s hiding something.” bucky insisted. “i don’t trust people like that. they mean one thing- trouble.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

pain. searing, white hot pain ran through her veins. bursting vessels and capillaries. a high pitched whine drawled on through the haze of pain. she wasn’t going to make it through this- she couldn’t take it anymore. the heat was too strong. too intense.

tessa jolted awake, panting heavily. there was an intense heat surrounding her. she cursed loudly as she leapt from her bed, the sheets on fire. for the third time this week.

“Friday!” her voice was croaky and rough. “extinguish the sheets! and turn off those damn alarms!”

“yes, miss tessa.” the AI complied immediately, performing her intended actions. tessa ran a hand over her eyes, rubbing them harshly. tessa quickly moved across the room and snatched a hoodie from the desk chair. yanking it on, she left the room, slamming the door behind her. she had to get her control back. calm. collected. control. And that started when she could get the smell of smoke out of her nose.

Wandering, she made her way to the kitchen, stumbling into the room. She took a deep breath and opened the fridge. She had skipped dinner again. The whole team ate together and she didn’t want to chance it. She didn’t want them in her business. She didn’t want them in her head- she was well aware of the witch. And she certainly didn’t want a flare up at dinner. How embarrassing would it be if she killed one of her ‘new teammates’ while shoving rice and turkey in her face?

So she ate at midnight when there was no one around. Except sometimes when Barnes came a little too close to finding her. Then she would abandon everything just to sprint to her room. She was aware of his transgressions- Tony thought it wise to tell her when she wouldn’t rage on the tower. He told her when she was being transported, obviously a great idea. But, Tessa had accepted the news graciously. Being upset, of course, but also understanding. She knew it wasn’t his fault- he’d been forced. She was well acquainted with accidents...

Tessa sat at the counter, at two AM, eating leftover, cold Chinese food because it was safe. It was control. Stability. She scrolled through her phone, stared at the wall. The usual. Until she heard steps coming down the hallway. She was quick to get up, abandoning her things. But, she’d underestimated how far the steps were. She turned to walk out and collided with a broad chest.

Looking up, she saw Barnes, leering down at her. His blue eyes ice cold. She backed away, looking down and scowling. Angry at herself for letting him touch her. She could have hurt him. She should’ve been more aware.

Bucky noticed how stiff and quiet she was, as well as the scowl on her lips. He also took notice of her dark under eyes, the frizzy nest that was her hair and the slight smell of smoke and fire that lingered on her skin. At first, he felt slightly concerned. He recognized the signs of insomnia and sleeplessness. But then, it was taken over by an irritated, angry shadow.

“What the hell is your problem?” He demanded, using his body to block the only exit from the kitchen. He saw the shift in her face as she clenched her jaw.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered, moving to try and step around him. He blocked her again. She scowled deeper. “Look, I’m sorry alright- didn’t see you coming.”

“Not about that-“ Bucky sighed, running a hand down his face. “Why do you run out of here so fast when I’m coming in? And the fucking socks on the floor in the living room- pick the fuckers up, it isn’t that hard!”

Tessa flinched and her eyes shot up to meet his. She didn’t realize he saw her leaving every time. Bucky noticed the flinch and softened his gaze. He took a deep breath before trying again.

“Sorry- I guess I could’ve said that a little kinder.” He explained. “Every time I come into a room you leave. I just... I thought it was something against me.” Tessa furrowed her brows, quickly taming the anxiety boiling in her stomach.

“No- no it’s not because of you- it’s more of for you... it’s hard to explain.” She stumbled over words before shaking her head. “Just... I’m sorry.”

She slipped around his side and forced herself through the opening. When her skin grazed his, he felt the heat rolling off her in waves. She was too warm. Suspiciously, he took note of the Chinese boxes on the counter and decided there was something suspicious about her. He wanted information, he didn’t like how secretive everything was around her. Bucky Barnes was determined to find the bottom of this whole thing.

~~~~~~~~~~

Tony knew a storm was brewing when the door to his mechanics shop was slammed. Tessa whirled around the corner, eyes on fire and veins glowing in anger. She slammed her hands onto the metal table, a sizzling noise instantly coming from the surface.

“You didn’t tell any of them?” She demanded, loud and disbelieving. Tony pursed his lips before turning to face her. He didn’t even have to respond verbally for her to know the answer. She scoffed loudly and threw her hands up. In the place where they used to lay were two scorched hand prints identical to her flesh hands. “I can’t believe this Tony- none of them know what they’re getting into bed with you’ve set them all up for a wicked end!”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting any of them to get into bed with you, however...” Tony’s voice trailed off when Tessa’s scalding glare fixated on him again. “Okay, okay. So none of them are aware of your talents“ Tessa scoffed. “It wasn’t my news to tell.”

“It’s not that- it’s... I thought- it’s stupid.” She muttered, beginning to cool off, feeling the room temperature lowering. Tony gave her a look, telling her to spill her guts. And she did. “I thought that’s what all the stares were for... they always stare at me when I come around. I thought it’s because they knew...”

Tony looked at his sister, at the dejected, defeated look she wore. He knew it would be hard for her to adjust. But he didn’t know that she would shut herself off completely. He sighed before responding.

“That’s because all you do is stay locked in your tower, Rapunzel.” He jabbed, tossing his tools to the table and leaning on it. “Give them a chance. Be around a little more and maybe they won’t stare. Come down tonight and eat dinner with the group. I’ll be there the entire time, it’ll be good. We’re eating pizza.”

Sure enough, when seven thirty rolled around, Tessa found herself wandering downstairs to the common area. The whole team was lounging around, passing a box of pizza around the circle they were all sat in. She hesitantly exposed herself from the dark doorway. Steve took notice of her first, putting his plate down and standing up.

“Tessa, hey. Why don’t you come sit down and eat with us?” He gestured to his seat. Tessa shook her head slightly, seeing as he was seated right between Bucky and Natasha. She couldn’t risk that close contact.

“I’ll sit here, thank you.” She sat on a separate armchair, one that would keep any accidental flames near her own body. Contained. Controlled.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve joined us.” He responded, sitting back down. She squirmed slightly, feeling Wanda’s lingering gaze, as well as Sam’s. Sam, however took it a step further.

“So what have you been up to since the army days, Atlas?” He asked, with the purest of intentions. Tessa’s face fell flat as she cast a devilish gaze to him.

“Prison.” She responded. The conversation halted to an abrupt stop. Tessa knew she’d made a mistake- she hadn’t meant to. It was supposed to come out lighter than it had but it seemed she didn’t have that much light in her to portray. She looked down to her lap, clasping her hands tightly.

“Well, none of us know much about you- except Tony and he won’t breathe a word.” Natasha explained. She gave Tessa a warm smile. “Tell us about yourself.”

“Nothing to tell, really.” She muttered. Then she bit her tongue and glanced up to the faces around her. You’ll never get anywhere if you never try. You have to give them something to work with here, Tess. “I served in the army, the 95th, for three tours. Overseas when I was fresh out of high school. Two nine month tours and one twelve month. After that I was... I was chosen for a project by the US government.”

“What kind of project?” Steve asked, trying not to be too pressing as it seemed she had enough trouble trying to steel her nerve to talk to them. Tessa responded well to the prompt, picking up the conversation and handling it delicately.

“It was called Project Fire Maelstrom. It was run by Dr. J.R. Clifton. His original intent was super soldier serum but something went wrong and he created me instead.” Tessa explained carefully, choosing words precisely.

“Created you?” Vision asked. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. What was created?”

Tessa brushed a hand over her neck before extending her palm. Then, she snatched it back and leapt from her seat. She quickly backed away, into an open area. She took a deep breath and focused before extending her palm again. She bit the inside of her cheek and - there it was. Fire bloomed over her palm, dancing It’s way out to her fingertips. There was a quiet awe in the room and she quickly extinguished it, feeling the embarrassment creep up her neck.

“The serum was off- Dr. Clifton created something different. A new type of soldier.” She explained, taking her seat again, carefully keeping a watch on her focus. It was rare but flare ups have happened after using her powers.

“So what landed you in the Raft?” Wanda asked cautiously. Tessa turned her face to look at the witch, a curious gaze met her eyes. “You were a soldier- how did you end up in prison?”

Tessa swallowed harshly. Bucky watched as she seemed to space out, but only for a moment, before she snapped back to attention. But he had caught it- that dead eye, thousand yard stare. He’d perfected it over the years. So why was it mirrored on her face now? Tessa gave a small, half hearted smile to Wanda as she picked at her pizza, disinterested in eating it. When she did answer, it was quiet and apologetic.

“That’s a story for another day...”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #327

starting to run outta steam... haha.

What design is on your shower curtain? It doesn't have one. Did you get in trouble for cussing on accident when you were a kid? Ha ha yeah, for yelling "HOLY SHIT!" once, lmao. Ever made a snow angel? Yeah. Do you laugh at racial jokes? Absolutley not. What’s the highest you can count in a different language? 999, in German. How’s your flirting skills? I wouldn't know, ask those I've flirted with. Have you ever cried over a breakup? For a whole year and then some. I still have episodes. What does your dream life look like? Living isolated in the woods by a river and waterfall with a fantastic spouse, me being a very successful photographer and at least somewhat above *just* financially "stable," maybe having at least one poem published, lots of pets (mostly snakes), plenty of travel opportunities (mostly for photography), being free of my social anxiety and actually being reasonably confident, back in great physical shape... I'm really daydreaming now. What’s something you wish would happen, but know won’t? bleh Where did you meet your current or last significant other? YouTube, back when it was a much more social platform. Do you enjoy wine? No, it's way too bitter. What did you last ask your parents permission for? I asked Mom if I could snack on some chocolate chips she was saving for fudge (since Christmastime...). She was fine with it. Periods are fun. Do you get annoyed when you hear babies crying? I shouldn't, but I do. Me and babies just don't mix. Why were you in a waiting room the last time? I was at a doctor's appointment. What’s your lawyer’s name? I don’t have one. Do you own a lot of scarves? I don't think I own any... Would you ever get a face tattoo? I doubt it, but maybe something very small and subtle. Are your expecting anything in the mail? No. What would you like to see out of your window everyday instead of what you see now? Nature. The woods. Would you rather have a house exterior made from wood, brick, or stucco? Aesthetically, wood, but I don't support the continuation of wood housing in a society where we have many other options that don't harm the environment as much. So, realistically, brick. What is your favorite breakfast? Cinnamon rolls. Do you own a diamond ring? No. Have you ever stripped? No. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? IT with Girt. Whose house did you last sleep over at? Sara's. Yes or no: foreplay? Lmao who the fuck does it w/o foreplay first. Would you ever record you having sex? No fucking way. Something nobody’d ever guess about you? I used to be in great shape. Would you like to be a journalist? I actually wouldn't mind it. It was almost my minor the last time I was in college, actually, but the required courses were a no-no for me. Last year for school, we had an assignment where we had to choose a popular song to write a story based on. What song would you’ve picked? I don't know popular songs, so I'm picking any song. Off the top of my head, given my love for dark and morbid shit, maybe "Voyeur" by Otep. That song is messed up as fuck. No, it's actually not about sex, 'cuz I ain't interested in writing about that. Did the vacuum scare you as a child? I don't think it did. Do you have a long driveway? No, it's actually very short. Have you ever begged someone to stay with you? Oh yes. Are you friends with anyone missing one of their five senses? Not to my knowledge. Are you good at Pac Man? I'm no better than anyone else. Do you have an embarrassing period story? If so, what is it? No. Have you ever gotten high off a prescription medication? No. Do you prefer tampons or pads? Tampons. Pads are mega uncomf. How old were you when your parents talked to you about puberty? I don't know, actually. What stereotype do you fit the most? Geek, maybe? Emo? Idk. If you’re a worshipper, how do you worship? I don't worship anything. What’s your favorite pain reliever? Advil. Do you have a lot of people blocked on Facebook? Not a lot, no. Does your father have facial hair? Yes. Have you ever had a hamster? Yeah, we went through a few. All of 'em were evil. Grape or strawberry jelly? Absolutely grape. What language would you most like to know fluently? German. Do you remember the last song you slow danced to? "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. Do you plan on having alcohol at your wedding? I don't know. Do you have an idea of who you might kiss next? I know who I WANT to kiss next, but that doesn't mean it'll happen. I hate psychic questions. Who’s the most controlling person you know? She's not in my life anymore. Do you own a microphone? No. Do you enjoy trailers at the cinema? I do. Name a pet you definitely wouldn’t want. A centipede, to name one. I've gotten more into the idea of owning invertebrates, and centipedes are in that hobby, but they creep me the fuck out. They're cool to watch, but I don't want one in my house. Do you have a picture of you throwing up the peace sign? Yeah, it's actually one of my favorite pictures of me without makeup. Has a very "me" vibe. Do you enjoy romantic movies, even when they’re cliche? Ha, yeah. Can you tell the difference between a Scottish and an Irish accent? Nope. Can you read music? Probably not anymore. Ever sang someone to sleep? No. What is the movie that you have waited the longest for/which film do you remember anticipating the most/are still anticipating? Finding Dory takes the cake. What is something that an interested guy/girl could comment about you, that would make you instantly open to them (e.g., “That book you’re reading is from my favorite author”)? If you compliment my Markiplier tattoo because you get it, we are immediately family. Out of all your usernames for websites, which one is your favorite? Do you use it for more than one site? Ozzkat. I use it essentially everywhere. Have you ever spent the whole day (or multiple days) just looking up one thing on the internet (e.g., videos of your favorite band, how-to videos, quizzes, etc.)? HA, way more than once. Hyperfixation is a friend of mine. Bow ties on guys, dorky or adorable? C U T E ! ! ! What are your thoughts on mini-skirts or mini-dresses? ALSO C U T E ! ! ! Have you ever died in one of your dreams? Yes. What appliance in your kitchen do you use the most often? The microwave. Do you use Skype to talk to your friends? Sara, yes. And Sam once in a blue moon if we're playing WoW together. Are you allergic to any animals? No. Have you ever had to go to the police department? No. Have you ever been called bipolar? Well yes, because I am. Have you ever made fun of a handicapped person? Hell no, and fuck you if you ever have. If a necklace/ring gives you green marks, do you still wear it? No. Have you ever had food poisoning? I don't think so, no. Favorite emoticon? Probably c: Do any emoticons annoy you? No, but an excessive amount of them I find disruptive to whatever I'm reading. Do you think there will be a WWIII? Yup, someday. Has anyone ever asked you if you were emo? Yeah, back in high school. The most interesting thing that’s ever happened to you at a grocery store? I dunno. Probably running into someone unexpected. Do you have any good book ideas? Having written RP since I was 10 years old... I could by now write a dozen dictionary-sized novels encompassing what I think are the greatest storylines. I genuinely do believe there's some fantastic stuff we've got, but there's just too many horribly dark and twisted parts in the evil mobs that I am not comfortable publishing. Are you gonna see Cars 2? Well, this is old. I never even saw the first one. In all honesty, can a person be too nice? Yep. *points at Weed from GDW* Have you ever posted a video onto YouTube? Yeah, mostly "meerkat music videos," I guess you could say. Some tributes to certain MM characters, others just music with meerkat clips. How often do you compliment other people? I try to any time I have a sincere one. I am very much for complimenting people openly and often. The Legend of Zelda series: Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time? I'm not a fan of the franchise, honestly. Never got the hype. Do you even game at all? Most certainly, but not nearly as much as I used to... You can only replay old games but so many times before you just can't anymore. And the "newest" console I have is the original Wii, so... I definitely don't have the modern equipment. Would you give Zumba dance lessons a try if presented the opportunity? Probably not. Definitely not while my legs are in such bad shape; the dancing is pretty intense and would seriously hurt. I could easily imagine myself fainting. Do you own a rosary? No, but I did in my Catholic-raised childhood. Do you like Adult Swim? No. Sorry excuses for humor everywhere. What’s the first thing you do when you get on the computer? Do a quick check on KM just to ensure everything's in order. What’s one thing that you just wish you could do all of your life? Not have to pay bills, haha. If someone asks for your honest opinion, do you give it? Yes, if they emphasize they really want honesty. When was the last time you felt uninformed or out of the loop? Apparently some politician (I think) died recently and people practically rejoiced on Facebook. I knew zip about him. When in a car, where do you like to sit? Passenger seat/shotgun. Have you ever fought with a good friend over something completely stupid? Oh, absolutely. There have been plenty of RP-related arguments with multiple people... In the big picture, it's laughable to fight over a game, but when you're so invested in your own creations, in the moment, it can seem like a big issue. Those drama days are long behind me now. Would you ever visit a third-world country? I don't think so, no. It would shatter my heart, especially seeing children in poverty. Are you the type that’s too ashamed to ask for or use directions? No. You overhear two people gossiping about you; what do you do? Probably call over something like, "I'm not deaf, you know." I highly doubt I'd sit there with my mouth shut. Have you ever felt manipulated? Yes. If you were homeless, how would you cope? If I was truly, entirely homeless, quite honestly, I'm almost positive I'd kill myself. Have you ever done something just to fit in? Yeah. When was the last time you tried to impress someone, for whatever reason? I'm not sure, but I've certainly done it at one point or another. Do you think that the world could function in a state of anarchy? Definitely not. How well do you know your U.S. [or your country’s] history? I mean, I know the bare bones of it, but I'm far from well-versed in history. It was one of my weak subjects in school. Would you ever wish to move to another country? I'm not kidding when I say if it weren't for family, I would probably move to Canada. What is something that you do that others might consider “nerdy”? The way I write, particularly for academic purposes. I'm very descriptive and have an exceptionally large vocabulary. Have you ever had anything expensive stolen from you? Not from me specifically, but our basketball hoop was stolen from my childhood home. I doubt it was very cheap. Do you understand/notice when someone’s using sarcasm? Usually, anyway. When was the last time you were fooled? HAHA there was this drama video suggested to me on YouTube that involved Mark in the title, and I was mega confused and inevitably clicked. Now it's basically a YouTube meme just how "perfect" Mark is, so there was no real drama; apparently some newer fans are just upset at him for playing the sequel to HuniePop, a very sexual puzzle/dating game that's honestly entertaining and can be really funny. Like... he's played the original and despite the discomfort of some scenes (which are censored, mind you), he still had fun, and it was a big hit on his channel. So him playing the sequel isn't surprising, but apparently some people got shit to say. What first Impression do you hope you make with other people? Something along the lines of "wow, she's very nice." Have you ever thought about how you make other people feel/think? Well of course. I think everyone should take time to consider this. What is your stance on getting revenge? A petty waste of time. Any wise/truthful/witty quotes that you live by? Ha, another Mark answer. He once gave the casual innuendo of, "Life's hard; shouldn't you be, too?" (this might have actually been in a HuniePop video!), but when you take the... uh... sexual theme out of it, it's a good way to look at life???? Have tough skin, unmoving willpower, y'know, that stuff. Who was the last person you sat beside at a restaurant? My sister Ashley. Spongebob or Patrick? Patrick is a whole-ass mood. Would you rather watch little kid’s cartoons, older kid’s cartoons, or adult cartoons? Hm. Probably little kid's, given my love for Pokemon. How about watching regular cartoons or anime? Anime. Who is the last person you spent money on? Myself. Do you own a copy of Roller Coaster Tycoon? No; I had SeaWold Tycoon instead. I loved that game. Do you have any birth marks in embarrassing places? No. Have you used Limewire before? Of course. Free music for the low price of a catastrophic virus. :^) When was the last time you required a band-aid? I think when I cut one of my toenails way too short. Are you afraid of snakes? Oh no! I adore them so, so very much. Not saying I'm gonna go scoop up the first copperhead I find herping or something, but I love and respect them so very much. They are such fascinating animals. If you believe in reincarnation, what animal would you want to become? I don't think I believe in reincarnation, but hypothetically, maybe a lioness. Who do you tell everything to? Pretty much whoever reads these surveys, haha. Did you have candles on your birthday cake? Not my most recent one. Exactly, how old are you? I just turned 25 years and one month old. Have you ever been bitten by anything? Besides bugs, I don't think so. I've had cats and dogs playfight with me, but none have ever seriously bitten me with actual effort. Do you wear hats? No. What was the last song you sang along to? "Lunchbox" by Marilyn Manson. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years time? I'd like to be, but idk if it's realistic.

[golbrocklovely]

Girl he for suuuuuure notices everything. Im new to this fandom and although i knew of Amber and watched her vids before his and Sams, i learned about the hate other girls have gotten and his other friendships through learning who Shea was (that says a lot).. Her fans make hate edits sooo much its pathetic. Do they honestly feel so threatened that thats the only way for them to vent, does she feel so threatened and insecure that she feels the need to like this stuff as if we wont see it? Her fans tag him in everything so ofcourse we'll see it. She's the only girl (besides Amber who already had a platform) to gain so much from appearing in his vids, and remain relevant simply because she continues to engage and add herself to everything involving him. She has almost 4k followers on a youtube channel that she made that has nothing on it, does she deserve it? Of course not. So yes he does see the hate and the positivity he just chooses to not say a single thing and allow it to happen and bait his followers. And yes Amber can fend for herself but should she have to? She never had this amount of hate before, her tag was full of fashion and now if you look at it, its all hate or Colby content and people picking her apart for nonsense. She doesnt even post as much as she used to since she started appearing in his vids. Also many of the other girls that got hate went private, or deleted their pages and he never muttered a word.

(i feel like i went off on a tangent so sorry if this kinda feels out of no where lol)

i feel like maybe shea's fans think they are justified in their hate towards any girl colby comes into contact with bc according to them, colby is dating her possibly. i think that as much as shea likes to believe she isn't a social media person, she is. she has tons of fan accounts and so many ppl that are dedicated to her and her art. she needs to be honest with them, or if she feels like that's too much of her privacy being shown, at least tell them to lay off other girls and stop liking hate posts all together. it's stupid to say 'well i only like the post bc i was tagged' bc there are times she has left comments too. stop hiding behind 'women need to stick together' bs and just be honest.

to me it was stupid of her to claim she was not a social media person. like.... so normal ppl who don't want/have a following have 376k follows for shits and gigs right?????? it's fine that she wants her privacy and it's fine that she doesn't want to talk about every little facet of her life. but let's face fact: her fans bring up colby a lot, she talks about colby a lot, and she alludes to them maybe being together. what did she expect to happen from this???? of course ppl are gonna ask if they're together or not or what's the scoop on them. if she doesn't want to talk about that type of shit, then don't bring it up or play with the idea to your fans. it's pretty simple.

and again with colby, he needs to stand up for his girl friends. it is ridiculous that he has to in the first place, but for a guy that hates drama and hate, you'd think he would be more firm on the fact that his fans and shea's fans are being mean to amber. he needs to tell the fandom to back off. so many girls he was once connected with no longer exist on any fucking platform. no wonder why he's alone.

all of his fans push everyone away from him.

[tfw-needs-baby]

sam winchester | internet personas

based on my own experience. 

read on ao3? 

Sam Winchester and his brother stumbled upon fanfiction and the fandom a while ago. He swore to himself that he would never, ever go back and visit the crazy people that existed there. 

Well, sitting in his room in the bunker, he was bored and had nothing much to do because the supernatural had been pretty quiet for the past month or so and he was scrolling aimlessly through new articles and finding nothing. He doesn’t know how or why the idea popped into his head, but it came and he was curious at the time, so why not? 

‘Best places to’ Nope, delete that. 

‘Where to join a fandom’ Delete that too. That just sounded stupid. 

‘Fandom friendly sites.’ Yeah, that sounded about right. He clicked onto the first link, and it immediately brought him to a site called ‘Fandom.’ 

How ironic. Although it didn’t exactly help him much, it was just an explanation guide to their platform and what it had to offer. The rest of the links weren’t much help either, and he sighed. Alright, how to find the fans...wasn’t there something called livejournal? 

According to a couple of articles, old and inactive journals had been purged, but were still doing pretty well. And then, the Winchester searched up ‘best places to read fanfiction.’ 

A couple of suggestions appeared underneath ‘Popular on the web.’ 

‘Wattpad - tumblr - kindle words - deviantart - archive of our own - asianfanfics’ 

Huh. Visiting a couple of sites, Wattpad and Fanfiction.net and Archive Of Our Own popped up frequently, so he decided to visit Wattpad first. He went to browse works and choose fanfiction, and it brought him to a selection of hot and trendy stories with millions of views on them. Woah. It ranged from k-pop to a selection of animes to CBS shows and weird crossovers. The ‘x reader’ tag seemed very popular and he shivered, reminding him of Becky. 

Signing up wasn’t hard either. It had only taken him a couple of minutes. But when he was reading a selected few from the hot section, they didn’t exactly grab his attention. A lot of them seemed to be written by younger ten to fifteen year olds. They did have a large amount of potential and amazing storylines, he’ll give them that. 

Then he wandered over to Fanfiction.net. The sign up process was easy, but the site was a bit more historical and a bit more him. There were multiple forums, and he scrolled down and viewed a couple of them. Oh. They were similar to roleplay, but just - more building along a storyline with it, if that made any sense. The sign up was pretty easy here too, and he smiled as two notifications popped up in his gmail for both sites. 

Backtracking now, he went off to ‘archive of our own,’ nicknamed ‘ao3’ for short and a paragraph popped up and he skimmed through it quickly. It was just a warning that everything could be viewed by whoever and whatnot. The writing here definitely seems way more advanced, way more complex and interesting, with canon divergences going all out and unheard au’s. And the cliche plots we’re simply adorable. 

He went over to sign up, and raised an eyebrow when it stated that you needed to get an invitation, and all you had to do was enter in an email. And wait a day for an invitation. 

Hopping onto tumblr, he made an account quickly and started scrolling through it, and everything seemed different somehow. Like, more modern day than the last time he came to the page. The fandom had definitely become smaller due to a ‘nsfw ban’ and he couldn’t decide whether that was a good or bad thing. They had gifsets of memories that had happened about three years ago, with their final stand against Chuck, and he smiled as he went through year’s old blogs that never updated anymore, reblogging everything ‘Supernatural’ underneath the username ‘babytrenchcoatnougat’ and he started to tear up when he stumbled upon a post where they had created a small art of playing the rainbow slinky with Dean based on a gifset of a memory. He still remembers how happy Dean had been when he got it just for him, he played with it for the next week. 

A couple of week’s later, Sam want’s to do more than reblog and comment on content. Sam does have artistic potential, and he could definitely look into that. Although, writing seems easier at the moment, and he scrolls through an endless amount of fanfiction on archive of our own - ranging from major character death to general fanfiction - from his brother and best friend sleeping together to him turning into the boyking to high school universes to Apocalyptic worlds where they have failed.

He wants to write his own world, where they’re all happy and care-free and able to actually live happily, where no one he’s loved has died. Making a post on tumblr he states: By any chance, is there anyone on this platform that can help me with a non-romantic general Supernatural fanfiction?

He places a couple of normal tags that fit into the category, then presses post. About an hour later, he gets a reblog from someone called @ misha-moose-dean-burger-lover [and wow, that sounds like a handful] offering to help. 

I’m available if you need me to, @ babytrenchcoatnougat ; what’s the plot? We can discuss more in DM’s if you’d like! Besides, I’m free for the week, but if you need a beta reader I can offer a couple of people that I know. 

Sam sends her a message. 

babytrenchcoatnougat: can you give me some advice or writing tips if you have any? i'm not looking to make any implied romantic pairings in the fic

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: well, that depends, what’s the fic going to be about? 

babytrenchcoatnougat: i don't know yet, maybe team free will 2.0 just taking a roadtrip to nowhere without a destination in sight after defeating chuck?

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: eeeeee

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: that sounds like a awesome idea misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: you're definitely going to want to have specific destinations in mind, and only a hint of angst, and what they’re going to do at these locations 

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: use transition words and make sure it doesn’t repeat often, descriptive details but don’t use it in every scene, and make sure there are frequent movements in the characters so they don’t sound so stiff, and make sure to slowly transition into the next scene, as time skipping to every scene will make the story seem boring. misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: make sure the characters aren’t ooc either! 

And so, Sam writes. He writes until his eyes hurt and he definitely needs some sleep, so he sends a quick message to a beta to read it over for him and they do, gushing about how the plot was wonderful and badly needed after all the terrible angst that occurred this season. He smiles, giving his thanks before uploading the first chapter out of 15, 13k words, onto ao3. 

[He checks over the grammar and tags over fifteen times.]

He can hardly contain his excitement, jumping around happily all day, even baking Dean a pie which makes him get sprayed with holy water and go through every test just to make sure he isn’t some supernatural creature. 

Later that afternoon, he checks his ao3 underneath the same username and finds out it’s gotten about 150 hits, and 38 kudos, which makes his heart swell. He’s also gotten a comment, and he presses comments eagerly. 

‘Kill yourself, psycho virgin fag.’ 

He re-reads the comment a couple of times, eyes tearing up and dropping his phone onto the kitchen table recklessly. What the fuck. Was his story really that bad? Did those people who didn’t leave a kudo really hate his story that much? Did the fans think his story was too child-like? Badly written? OOC? Do they really hate him that bad that he actually should commit- 

Sam breaks down right then and there, pushing his computer aside, placing his head down and crying softly. Castiel and Dean don’t find him until an hour later, and he’s still softly crying. They rush over to him, Dean quickly sitting to the right while Castiel sits to the left. “Sammy? What happened?” Dean asks, and the younger Winchester shakes his head. 

“N’thing.” He mumbles, and the older Winchester sighs. He’s just being stubborn, when he doesn’t want other people to worry about him, afraid that he’ll give them his problems. “Sam, please, if you talk to us, then we may fix the problem together. Remember, we made that promise two years ago, to be more open with each other.” The former-angel now archangel says, pushing Sam’s hair out of his face. Sam takes a shaky breath, pushing himself off the desk and grabs the laptop, opening it up to the recent fanfiction he had written, and Castiel and Dean both skim through it before Dean snatches the laptop. “Is this a fanfiction?” He looks at him as if he’s crazy, and Sam slowly shakes his head in agreement. Castiel walks over to Dean, both of them reading the first chapter silently, and everytime he glances over to see their reactions it seems unchanged. His brother probably thinks he’s weird, and Castiel is going to find him crazy-

“Damn, Sammy, you’ve got talent.” Dean says, and he actually sounds impressed. “W- what?” 

“That is incredibly written and a wonderful idea, I think we should go on a roadtrip ourselves,” Dean nodded in agreement. “Is this why you’re crying? I think this is perfect.” 

“Wait - you two do find it weird or anything?” 

Castiel and Dean look confused. “Why would you think that Sammy? I like it.” 

“You should uh - read the comment.” He says, and it takes the angel and older hunter a moment to find the comment section at the bottom, Castiel pointing at the button. Their faces turn into pure fury. 

“I’m going to smite them.” Castiel all but growls out, and Dean shuts the laptop closed. “Don’t listen to ‘em, this is fucking amazing, got it? I want the second chapter. Don’t listen to what anyone else says, they're probably jealous that we’ve got a New York bestseller writer and all they can do is write the abc’s.” Dean hugs his brother, Castiel immediately joining right in and Sam sighs happily. They stay there for a bit, muttering out a ‘thank you’ before jumping up slightly, seeing that he’s gotten two more comments on his fanfiction, and nervously opens up the comment section to see that a user called ‘quicksilvermalec’ writing on how much they enjoyed the fic and can’t wait to read the second chapter while an anonymous user has attacked the one that insulted him, throwing a whole truckload of insults and Castiel smiles. “They got what they deserved.” The archangel says, and Dean shouts ‘damn straight’ joyfully. “Would the two of you want to write fanfiction with me, then?” Sam asks while writing the second chapter about an hour later, and the unison ‘yes’ gives him a warm feeling in his chest. 

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers XIII (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: I really like making song-fics, so I absolutely loved this. I think this might be sort of a thing that could stay? Feel free to tell me if you like it or not :)

Words: 6,521

Warnings: Cursing and a hint of abusive behavior cause Maya is evil.

Previous chapter // Next chapter

Wesley managed to thrill everyone with the dance and now they’re all helping with the decoration and the stage, which means the pharmacy is all alone cause the kids are too busy to try stupid dares that will harm them and that’s great for me, it means I finally have precious, beautiful free time to rest my wrist properly.

I’m sitting on the garden chair next to Wesley and Josh, above the beds where we usually sleep. Wesley has a tablet on his hands and is selecting songs for the playlist. 

Josh and I are chatting about nothing and everything, it’s been two days since we had time to talk and... actually, I think we’ve only had time to talk like one or two times before everything exploded in our faces. Which is not a lot, but it’s enough to make us feel comfortable around each other. 

More than comfortable in my case.

“You have any plans for the dance?”

“Like what?”

“Like wearing crazy outfits for the occasion,” Josh insinuates with a little smirk.

“The correct term is cool, not crazy,” I stick out my tongue, “no, I don’t have anything in mind. Why, you got some ideas?”

“I’m not really good with clothes,” He squints, “but I’m sure that whatever you choose to wear will look nice, everything looks nice on you”

“Okay...” I’m unsure of how to reply without crossing a line, I suck at it, so I just end with: “Thanks”

“I-I mean...” Josh suddenly changes his demeanor, like he didn’t mean to say what he’d said, “Not that I’m being weird, it’s just true. You look good, you’re... nice?”

I frown, understanding zero shit of what he was trying to say. I laugh it off and start to play with the bandages on my own hand, messing them up. Josh chuckles lightly and reaches for the loose part of the bandage, fixing it for me.

“So...” Josh speaks up tilting his face a little to the right, now talking to Wesley, “Which are you gonna choose?”

I lean my head so I can see Wes over Josh’s shoulder. He takes longer than expected, raising his head with a funny expression on his face.

“Choose?”

Josh chuckles and finishes up, gently letting go of my wrist he turns around to see our friend.

“Songs!” He points towards the tablet, “For the homecoming dance playlist?”

“This is no mere playlist,” He replies, finally going back to his normal self, “this is no mere homecoming dance do-over.”

He jumps off the platform with Josh going next and landing on the bed. I stand up from the garden chair as well and I stop for a second, stabilizing my body so I can sit on the edge and then jump with the impulse my healthy hand can give me. 

I see Josh, waiting in case I need help. I think that’s sweet, but luckily I’m able to do it on my own and he looks really satisfied when I rush over to where they are.

“We rescued these kids from Baron Triumph,” Wesley continues, “this is a Saturnalia to the wonder of life, drinking from the water fountain of youth...”

I laugh under my breath and Josh discretely nudges my arm so I cut it out.

“Tonight, we stare the Grim Reaper in the face and we say,” he raises his left hand as he speaks, “if you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it”

I laugh again, this time Josh and Wes do it too.

“This is the soundtrack of our lives!” Wesley exclaims, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“That sounds like a lot of pressure,” I tell him.

“I can handle a little pressure,” He winks, “if you wanna help, I’ll give you two some privileges since you’re also saviors of these kids. You get to pick one song for the playlist.”

“One song? How generous of you,” I joke.

“Hey that’s more than any of them is getting,” He points at me, “so pick wisely”

“You heard him,” Josh raises a brow, “better get to work”

“Sure thing, boss,” I turn on my heel, moving towards the pharmacy. 

I see Eli talking to KJ and I get to hear a bit of the conversation.

“Someone’s gotta make sure you ‘fugees are copacetic. You remember ICE?” He gives KJ his board and opens his hoddie to reveal the print it has, “Well, I’m the new ICE.”

He’s gonna get his ass kicked soon, and at this point, I can’t wait to see it.

“Okay, I need you to sign this oath of allegiance. Basically, you gotta do what I say at all times and you can’t make fun of me behind my back like Dana Rappaport did when I sharted in the third grade... Oh! And also it automatically casts a vote for me as Gender-Neutral Homecoming Royalty.”

KJ gives him the board back with a dick drawn on it and turns around, done with the conversation.

“This counts as a vote!” He exclaims as she walks away.

“Okay but what about making fun of you on your face?” I speak up, smirking, “Cause I have lots to say about your excessive use of bad T-shirts...”

“Hey, my T-shirts are the shit!” Eli replies.

“Sure...” I get to where he is and take the board from his hands, reading the papers, “You know, if you really want to win you have to find a different way to do it cause intimidation won’t work on them. It won’t work for you at all considering how tiny you are.”

“Fuck off, Y/N,” He frowns, “if you’re not gonna vote for me, then step out of the way”

“Who said I wasn’t going to?” I smile.

He stops and turns so fast for a second I think he might have hurt his neck. 

“What?”

“Yeah, I think you deserve a victory after all the ass-kicking that we’ve put you through”

“You’re fucking with me”

“This is my way of making peace with you, I don’t wanna fight,” I raise my hands, “if you don’t trust me or don’t want my help, I get it...”

“No!” He looks over his shoulder to where Josh and Wesley are, preparing some stuff on the stage, “Talk now, knock-off Doc.”

“Bet that one gave you lots of satisfaction,” I chuckle, “Whatever... What you should be doing is give the people what they want from a leader: Order, equality, promises. Tell them that if they vote for you they’ll get their own comfy bed and bags of twinkies with chips, we’ll make schedules so they don’t have to worry about looking for stuff on their own once we run out of food...”

“That sounds like a total nerd-campaign”

“It’s a good campaign! Wesley, Josh and I brought them here. Now what? We’re not doing anything for their comfort, that merciful human could be you. You were the one who controlled the mall in the first place, convince them that you still have that power and they’ll vote for you”

“But I don’t have that power anymore, do I?” He asks bitterly, “Not after you assholes took everything from me”

“Maybe. You forget something important: As much as I find you annoying, I’m still the only one that trusts you a little bit, I can talk on your behalf, you can be sure they’ll listen”

Eli seems to think about it, then gives me a curious look.

“Why do you wanna help me?”

“I already told you,” I roll my eyes, “we’re gonna live under the same roof, I want things to be friendly between us. I don’t want any beef with anyone right now...”

As I say it, I catch a glimpse of Maya on the other side of the hall, helping some kids to carry a few sets of tables.

“Fair,” He nods, eyeing me carefully, “but if it doesn’t work-”

“It will,” I finish, patting his shoulder harshly, “get back out there and win tons of fans!”

I continue my way towards the pharmacy and find Alex there. It’s still completely empty except for us. He’s too focused on the book he’s reading to notice me.

“Boo!” I slam my hands against the table and Alex jumps, scared shitless. I let out a loud laugh and step back so he can’t hit me with the book.

“Asshole,” He leaves the book facedown on the counter, “Where were you?”

“With Josh and Wesley, talking about the dance,” I raise a brow, “why aren’t you helping with the decoration?”

“I don’t know, I’m not into it,” he shrugs, “it won’t be the same, you know that right?”

“Of course I do, Mr. Sunshine,” I scoff, “I was against the dance too at first, now... I guess everyone could use a break. We’ve been through a lot these months”

“You’re right about that,” He sighs, “Josh’ still bummed out about Sam?”

I told Alex the whole story, obviously. How Josh and I met, how everything went downhill after that and why I decided to stay. (I let out a tiny detail of the story, which is my stupid crush. He doesn’t need to know about that.) Now he fully understands why I can’t leave. Better yet, he also wants to stay and be part of our little... whatever we are, I still can’t find a proper name for us.

“He tries hard to hide it, but three days aren’t enough to get over someone’s death... If you ask me, I think this dance is kind of therapeutic for him”

“Maybe,” He tells me to move away and when I do he jumps over the counter to my side, grabbing the book and walking with me towards the exit, “You're helping with the planification?”

“I’m more like a back-up,” I smile, “whenever they can’t figure something out they ask me, apparently my creativity is somehow precious around here”

“It always was”

“Aww, that’s cute,” I nudge his arm.

Alex laughs and puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer and ruffling my hair. Around us there’s a lot of movement coming from all sides, so no one really pays attention.

“Stop!” I grin, pushing him away, “I take it back, you’re an absolute heathen”

“Wow, careful there, you might hurt my feelings,” Then he asks me “What are your plans for the dance, then?”

“Have fun, try to keep my wrist away from any harm and dance a lot, I guess.”

“You going with any of your new friends?” I’m relieved to hear how friendly the question sounds, yet another confirmation of how things are back at the usual routine between us.

“Well, I didn’t ask...” I frown slightly, “like you said, it’s not like the real homecoming so I was going to assist on my own”

“We should go together!” He offers excitedly, “a way to affirm that our friendship is stronger than ever. What do you say? Should we go to the do-over dance as a platonic couple like the good old days? We could even get matching outfits!”

“Oh, those good old days,” I shake my head, smiling, “sure, why not?”

“Cool!” Alex raises his hand and we high five.

The music blasts on the speaker closest to us and raises its volume quickly, gaining our attention. So do the screams coming from one of the stores at our left. Crumble is there covering her ears and closing her eyes tightly, she seems to be suffering.

“Hang on,” I tell Alex and I walk over to the stage at the same time Angelica rushes out of the store.

“Turn it down! Turn the music down!” She urges them, climbing up the bench.

“Guys!” I scream, “Stop the music!”

I climb beside her and disconnect the speakers.

“Hey!” Josh pouts.

“The ghoulie part of the witch is super sensitive to loud noise,” Explains Angelica in slight exasperation.

“Shit! I was only playing this on chill,” Wesley complains, “I barely got to thumping, What happens when I get to cranking?”

“If you pump up the volume tonight, we’ll be doing the electric slide with a horde of ghoulies,” She says, then jumps down from the bench and goes back to the store.

I do the opposite and finish climbing until I reach the stage.

“Don’t take it personal, you know how important Crumble is to her investigation...”

Wesley gives me a side-eyed look.

“Hard to make the soundtrack of our lives with no soundtrack.”

“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Josh offers, it’s the first time since he found out about the dance that he doesn’t sound optimistic, “recreating what we will never have again...”

I look over at Alex, he reached over to the bench already and is listening. I know he’s thinking how he just said the same thing, but now that he heard it from Josh, it seems like he feels bad about it.

“You’re missing Sam pretty hard...” Mumbles Wesley.

Josh scoffs.

“We were gonna go to the dance together... She was gonna be Homecoming Queen”

I know I shouldn’t let his words get to me, that’s just another reminder of how my feelings are completely onesided, that I’ll be better if I keep my distance with Josh. Safer.

I walk away from their conversation and start to tie the net with balloons that Wesley wants to put above his DJ table, Alex appears again in front of me and hops up to the stage, crouching beside me and helping me.

“You’re okay?” He asks under his breath.

“I’m fine, I don’t know why hearing him talking about Sam gets me down... Maybe he makes me think about Katie too,” I lie, What else can I do?

“How are you dealing with that?” Alex puts his hand on my shoulder as a way of comfort, “Have you talked about it with someone?”

“Yeah,” A bitter smile appears on my face, “with Josh”

“Josh,” He chuckles, “sounds like you got to know each other quite well during these days, even if it was on such short notice”

“I guess we both have things in common”

“Like what?”

“We can’t keep our mouth shut,” I smirk.

Alex laughs and his hand falls from my shoulder, he shakes his head.

“I really missed our talks.”

“I missed them too,” I push him lightly, “don’t get sappy, though. We have a dance coming our way and I need you ready to impress.”

“Enough with the sappy then,” He stands up, finishing the net.

“You can pull it up now!” I speak up to the guy next to the column, he obeys almost instantly, pulling the net above our heads.

“Look at that,” Alex raises a brow, “someone’s learning how to be a leader.”

“Shut up, I’m no leader,” I roll my eyes.

Which reminds me, I still don’t know what’s the answer to that question. Who am I?

Strangely enough, that same question brings out the answer to another thing, and it’s about what Wesley said a few minutes ago:

The soundtrack to our lives. 

I love music. I think Wesley is right, music has its own way to tell stories, it helps you get in the moment, attach ideas, make a memory special. That’s how I decide that from now on I’ll attach a song to this... whatever it is that I’m doing. Maybe it won’t be helpful at all but it explains a bit better how I feel during these times.

It is extra? Very. I’m doing it anyway. You better wait for those songs, buddy. Maybe that will also help me pick one for the dance. 

When I'm getting off the stage with Alex we run (again) into Wesley and Josh. They were doing their own thing around the platform, but apparently, Wes is leaving.

“...I’m heading out, gotta feed Triumph and Turbo”

“I’ll go with you,” Josh replies.

“I got it,” Wes shrugs, “you use your survival skills to solve this noise issue.”

“I can help you with that,” I say, gaining their attention.

Wesley turns around and smiles.

“I knew I could count on you, Y/N,” He winks before heading out.

Josh looks at me with a small smile, then before Wesley leaves, his eyes widened slightly, something just came up to him.

“Hey, uh...” He turns back to Wesley, “What about Mastermind by Delton 3030 for the soundtrack?”

Wes nods, a knowing smile on his face.

“Right? Yeah?” Josh turns around, quite pleased with himself.

“Is that the song you’re gonna go with?” I smirk.

“Well, it was either that or... uh, one that’s a bit too much for the occasion, I think”

“Really?” I raise my eyebrows, “Which one?”

“No,” He blushes, “don’t push”

“You guys are making the playlist?” Alex asks.

“Wesley let us pick one song for the playlist. Only us,” I shrug, “because we saved your asses”

“Josh was the savior, you were only around.”

“She helped,” Josh replies, standing next to me and putting an arm around my shoulders, “she gave me a motivational speech before the fight, so... uh, yeah.”

“What a great comeback,” I tease him, “I still get to pick a song and you don’t so I’m winning.”

“Rude,” Alex huffs, “anyway if you guys need help let me know, I’ll be around”

“Sure,” I nod.

“See ya,” Josh waves, then he looks down at me, “don’t pick a song yet?”

“It’s been like thirty minutes since he told us, I need more time”

“I already chose”

“Tell me what was your second option, c’mon” I try to tickle him but he moves away.

“No!” He laughs, “It’s a dumb song”

“No song is dumb. Unless is like, a sexual song. The misogynistic type of song you know? Or a kids’ song, the ones that only have like one line that repeats itself over and over for two minutes-”

“Okay!” Josh interrupts me, “If you find a way to fix the noise problem I’ll tell you”

“I’m in,” I nod, shaking his hand in an overdramatic way that makes him laugh, “I’m so gonna win”

“Is not a competition,” He clarifies.

“It is now,” I wink at him, starting to walk away.

“Why do you have to be so annoying about stuff like this?” He pouts, “Y/N, where are you going?”

“I’m gonna fix the noise problem!” I speak up, already turning my back to him.

I decide to go with the genius of our little group.

“Not a clue, ask someone else,” Angelica tells me as soon as I ask her.

“Come on!” I scowl, “You could help! You just don’t wanna do it cause it’s not fun”

“Exactly.”

I hear a skateboard passing by and thinking it’s Josh, I turn around to tell him to convince Angelica. Only that is not Josh, it’s KJ. She’s using Josh’s skate though.

“Where did she get that?” I ask, turning back to Angelica.

“I gave it to her,” She shrugs.

“You gave-? Josh is going to kill you if he finds out”

“He’ll find out, that’s the point,” She rolls her eyes, “I want to set KJ and Josh together”

“You what?” I ask, accidentally kicking the table.

“So he forgets about Sam and stays with us,” Angelica replies matter-of-factly.

“He’s already with us,” I say, “Why would you do something like that? You can’t force him into another relationship!” 

“Why do you care so much? It’s not like you care?” Although she’s got her back facing me, I know she’s smiling.

“Oh,” I whisper, stepping closer to her, “I know what you’re doing, you little creep”

“Do you?”

“You’re not trying to set them up, you’re trying to see if I get jealous!” I whisper-yell, “You think you’ll manage to get something out of this?”

“I will,” She turns around, satisfaction all over her face, “I just have to see the ridiculous doe-eyes you make whenever Josh does as little as brushing his fingers with yours to know you wanna get in his pants. Which means you’re staying as long as he stays. Which means I was right and you can die mad about it.”

“You’re not,” I hiss, “I don’t want to get in his pants and I can leave anytime. I chose to stay cause-”

“You like him. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise, I remember how you used to act around him the first day and I see how you act now, is not hard to see. I won’t tell him... but-”

“No but,” I cut her out, “I won’t play your games.”

“You guys look cute together! You’re equally dumb and cheesy!”

“See that’s rude,” I frown, “So what if we have things in common? He’s hurting, if I date him now I’m just the rebound, I’m not desperate enough to agree to that”

“What if he likes you back? What if he wants to be with you right now? The only thing stopping him it’s that he thinks you’re with that guy you hang out with, or that he thinks you’ll say he’s an asshole for not waiting longer to end his mourning?”

“Does he?” I cross my arms.

“I don’t know,” Angelica replies carelessly, “I could find out if you want.”

“This is stupid,” I shake my head, “let it go, okay An? We’re here and I promise we won’t go, at least for a while. You can live with that, right?”

“I can’t. I need results, not sappy promises,” She says dryly, “and KJ and Josh are the fastest way to get them if you’re so reluctant to give it a try cause you’re a coward. Step aside and let me take care of this.”

“You know what?” I reply harshly, “Do whatever you want, the only thing you’ll do is push Josh and me even further away from you”

I hold my anger as best as I can. I remind myself that Angelica’s a scared kid, she needs to feel safe. I understand why my tendency to be impulsive annoys her. Maybe she feels like she can’t count on me. That kinda hurts, if I’m honest.

It’s not really her fault, one day soon she’ll see she doesn’t need to play with our minds for us to stay with her and she’ll stop. 

I’m officially upset though, so I go to the second floor to get my skates and have a little fun around the mall. 

I make sure no one sees me. Technically, I’m not allowed to skate because I could worsen my wrist, but I think I’ll be fine. It’s a mall, nothing dangerous.

While I’m putting them on, back on the first floor, Maya walks up to me and throws a piece of paper.

“What’s this crap?”

“Glendale. I was looking at the map and I realized there’s this small corner at the limits of the city where no one goes cause it used to be the place where gangs lived but now is empty. There’s a mansion-”

“The mansion’s fucked. Josh used to live there, the giant pug ruined it”

“Of fucking course,” She rolls her eyes, “are you sure he’s telling the truth?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” I look up at her.

“Maybe he said that so you wouldn’t go there to steal his resources”

“Why would I even think of stealing his stuff? I have my own,” I reply, completely disinterested, “Listen just stop, okay? I’m not going.”

“You’re wasting your time here,” She kneels in front of me so she’s at my eye level, “so is Alex. When they get tired of you, they’ll kick you out with a dumb excuse and... and then you’ll be sorry you didn’t take my offer.”

I’m about to reply when I see a hint of fright in her eyes. Along with something I hadn’t seen before: desperation.

“It’s you who is sorry,” I finally understand why is she so obsessed with getting us back, “you didn’t leave the tribe to look for adventure, they kicked you out didn’t they?”

She stammers, stepping back from where I’m sitting.

“N-No! I got bored of their rules! That’s it!”

“You never learned to play by the rules, that’s true,” I half-smile, “but that’s what it’s like to be part of a tribe, Maya. You have to follow the rules and be a good team player”

“They never appreciated my skills!” She replies bitterly, “they threw me with the rest instead of having me in their front lines!”

“That’s because you are like the rest! Like me and Alex! The only ability you have is the ability to keep relationships for your convenience...”

“I don’t have anything to prove to you,” She snarls, “the main loser of our former group. Ha! Like you could do anything to get to me.”

“Very welI then, better keep my mouth shut,” I stand up with my skates tightly laced on my feet, “if you excuse me...” 

I leave the store, I turn right on the hall and I see KJ on the other side, she’s using a different skateboard so I assume she already ran into Josh. 

That’s not what gets my attention, what makes me stop is the set of headphones she’s using: No cords. I make my way towards her and touch her shoulder, signaling her to take off the headphones.

“Sorry, it’s just that I noticed your headphones and I wanted to ask you something...”

She replies in Chinese and I interrupt her.

“KJ, I know you can speak English I heard you talking with Burr on your first day of school”

She gives me a stern look and shakes her head. After I insist, she sighs heavily.

“What do you want, Y/N?”

I smile, happy of how I always noticed this kind of silly stuff back in school.

“Your headphones,” I say, “we have a problem with the music. Crumble can’t stand loud noises and neither can’t the Ghoulies outside the mall, so they’ll try to murder us if we blast the speakers. You know if there’s a way to connect a bunch of headphones to a single dispositive?”

“Maybe,” She tilts her head, deep in thought, “I can try to figure it out, later though, right now I’m skating”

“That’s okay,” I point to my skates, “cool if I join you?”

“Sure,” She looks at my wrist, “but no talking. I don’t want the guys blaming me in case you get hurt”

“I’m fine,” I roll my eyes, “let’s go”

I’m happy to see my skills are intact, I turn and jump without falling (my knee is much better now, thank you very much) I skate backwards and I don’t crash against anything. KJ is amused and is looking at me with a tiny smirk while she keeps on skating without showing off. Am I showing off? Yeah, a little. I really missed my skates and I’m proud of all the things I learned on my own.

After a while, I hear another set of wheels and when I look over to my right I see Josh. He tries to look upset because he caught me skating, but a smile makes its way out. He shakes his head and speaks up.

“Having fun?”

“I had missed this,” I nod, “it’s a crime to have these beauties collecting dust”

“It will also be a shame if you hurt yourself more and can’t go to the dance” He adds in what it tries to be an innocent tone.

“You say that like you’re not as dumb,” I reply, “between you and me, who has the most injuries inflicted by their own hand?”

“I... think that’s me,” He scoffs, “fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

I look at KJ and she’s trying to hide a smile, I wink in complicity and keep skating in silence.

Something funny happens, I start humming this really corny song I was obsessed with a few years ago. I have no idea why it comes back to me right at this moment, I assume it’s cause I used to hear it a lot whenever Alex took me on one of his skate rides. 

It’s a good song and it’s a nice moment to introduce you to the soundtrack of my life. There you go.

Y/N from a year ago always thought that I would sing this to Alex on one of our dates, which is kind of ironic cause the song it’s pretty much about this dude in denial about loving someone who he knows is not the one but he’s so desperate to have, that ignores it all just to have her.

Music is funny like that. I never stopped liking this song, even after I realized what the lyrics said. Now I’m here, my mind is already giving the lyrics a new meaning. One that takes me to Josh.

So when I discretely move over to Josh’s side, I stretch my hand out to him with a teasing smile. I expect him to roll his eyes and push my hand away, instead, he holds it. It’s like someone turned up the sound inside my brain.

“Put your hand in mine You know that I want to be with you all the time You know that I won't stop until I make you mine You know that I won't stop until I make you mine Until I make you mine...”

I know, I know. This is so ridiculous that there’s no way it’s actually happening. Well, the part about the song isn’t. The music is not really playing, I added the song in my head. I hum without saying anything to Josh, I hold his hand and both of us have this dopey smile cause we know we look silly and someone could easily tease us if they see us holding hands and skating together. We do it anyway.

I don’t know why he does it but I do it because it’s stupid and cute and it makes me giggle like an idiot. It’s been a while since I felt this, so I decide to give in for a brief moment, I don’t have to look badass or cool all the time anyway.

‘What about Sam?’ You ask with tons of worry. Don’t get all stressed, I’m just fooling around, this doesn’t mean I’m making a move. I’m just enjoying our time together. Besides, Josh seems happy, if he were acting uncomfortable I would immediately retreat my hand and apologize.

I respect his decision and that means I only do the things he lets me do. You know, consent and stuff. If he needs more time to recover I’m willing to wait... Not that I’m waiting to make a move. Of course, I’m just saying that- I mean, if there’s ever a slight chance, I wouldn’t refuse- ugh, nevermind.

“...You need to know We'll take it slow I miss you so We'll take it slow...”

“Hey,” His grip on my hand tightens for a moment to get my attention, “what were you doing with KJ?”

“Oh,” I smile, remembering I have news for him, “fun story... I saw her when I was getting ready to skate and I noticed she had her headphones on...”

Josh looks over to her for a few seconds and jerks up, turning back at me with an excited smile.

“I thought of something”

“What?”

“Hold on,” He releases my hand and moves over to KJ’s side.

As soon as he’s over there, KJ moves slightly to the right and I look forward, noticing the janitor’s cart in the middle of the way.

“Shit,” I whisper, now also moving to KJ’s side to try to prevent the accident.

I’m too late. Josh is way ahead of me and he stops in the last second, crashing and falling.

“Josh!” I stop a few feet away, waiting for his reaction, “Dude, are you okay?”

“Ugh, yeah I’m fine,” He grunts.

“I’m dying to point out how you said I was going to be the one injuring herself when you just broke your own record of self-inflicted wounds but I’m truly worried about your state so I won’t say anything”

“Thank you for not mentioning that,” He pushes himself up and looks around, “fuck, that thing came out of nowhere”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was there before,” I offer a hand, he takes it with a grumpy expression, “cheer up! You were telling me about how you just realized something when I was telling you about KJ”

“What? Oh! Right,” Josh smirks, then he grabs his skateboard and adds, “you’ll find out soon enough”

“Oh darlin', darlin', baby, you're so very fine You know that I won't stop until I make you mine Until I make you...”

With that, he skates away and I decide to catch up with KJ. When I reach her I poke her arm and she takes off her headphones.

“Yes?”

“Can we start with the headphones now?”

She looks over to the watch on her wrist and nods.

“Let me change first, I’ll see you in the main hall.”

“See you,” I turn over to go back to the pharmacy.

I find a whole scene when I get there: Maya is going from one side to the other, fucking up all the work Alex and I made during the whole week. She’s pushing boxes and bottles, searching frantically for something.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask loudly.

“She’s looking for a knife,” Alex says, he’s at the counter with his arms crossed and looking like he’s dying to kick her face, “she thinks you took it”

“She was the last person I talked to, of course she has it,” She points to me, “Where is it?”

“I don’t have your knife,” I reply calmly, “I have my own weapon”

“A fucking hammer,” She states, “obviously is not as good”

“Fuck off,” I scoff.

“You fuck off,” She walks up to me, “first you tell me you don’t want to come, then you steal my stuff?”

“How are you so sure it was me? There’s like forty people in here”

I see Angelica curiously peeking through the entrance, I remember how she threatened to do something if Maya ever tried to fight me, so I try to finish the conversation before Angelica gets involved.

“You know what, I don’t have to prove anything to you,” I repeat her words, “I don’t have your knife. Period. Now-”

“Is this your knife?” I hear Angelica behind me.

I turn around to see her holding a purple pocket knife.

“How did you..?”

“You little rat!” Maya walks over to her and starts to pour her anger and frustration onto Angelica, “didn’t your parents teach you to ask before taking things from others?”

“Calm down,” Angelica frowns, “you sound like a fifty year-old virgin”

“Give it back!” Maya snatches the pocket knife from Angelica’s hand.

My friend hisses and I see her hug her hand tightly against her chest. It’s the first time I see that look, she’s scared.

I’ve had enough.

“Get out,” I say coldly.

“What?” Maya turns around, frowning.

“Get out of our mall.”

“You can’t-”

“You have no self-control and you use any excuse to insult people. You can scream at me as much as you want, but I won’t allow you to scream or touch Angelica like that ever again.”

I grab the backpack that I’m sure it’s hers and I extend it to her, waiting.

“Who the fuck do you think you are to just kick people out of the mall like it belongs to you?” She asks, refusing to take the backpack. 

She’s being so loud that a few kids are staring now. 

It comes to me as I stand there, in the middle of the pharmacy with two people that I care about deeply. To be honest, I feel a bit dumb about not realizing sooner.

“I’m the healer,” I reply, “you injured An’s hand. My duty is to make sure she won’t get hurt again so I make sure by kicking you out. How’s that for a contribution, huh?”

“That’s not what I’d meant...” She mumbles.

“Doesn’t matter,” I throw the backpack to her feet, “you have twenty minutes, take enough stuff so you can make it on your own for a while and go”

“You’re gonna let her do this?” She asks, this time looking over at Alex.

“You heard the boss,” Alex replies, indifferent, “good luck out there”

Maya gives me one last glare before turning on her heels and walking away in indignation. I let out a heavy sigh, I suspect that during that whole exchange I wasn’t breathing.

Angelica gets closer to me and I look down at her hand.

“Let’s fix that,” I point to her hand.

“That was really badass,” She replies, “I’m sorry I called you a coward, I hope you’re not angry about it”

“I’m not, you were sort of right about it. I am a coward when it comes to... you know, admitting my feelings”

I see how her eyes light up at my statement as we walk over to the counter.

“I’m right? You like-”

“Shhh!” I search for Alex and I find him leaning over some boxes, he’s not paying attention to our talk, “Yes, you are. Promise me you won’t say anything, not even to Wesley!”

“Why not?”

“If something happens I want it to be because he wants it, not because you two forced him into dating me, that’d be embarrassing for both of us, understand?”

“Fine,” She picks a box of bandaids and hands it to me, “but you should definitely go with him to the dance, I bet you’d have fun.”

“I can’t,” Before she starts to complain about how I don’t have the guts, I add: “I already told Alex I’d go with him.”

“What?” She frowns, “You said you didn’t like him!”

“I don’t! This was our way to say ‘hey, everything’s okay between us now, we’re friends again”

“When you fix things with a friend you give them something, like a gift,” She complains, “you don't cock-block them!”

“He’s doesn’t know!” I grumble, “Don’t worry, I don’t have to try anything right now, remember how he’s still sad about Sam?”

“About that... after you left he came to the store and I asked him stuff”

“About what?”

“Sam, KJ (and yes, he’s not into it, shut up) and... about you”

I try to keep my hands as steady as possible while I put the bandaid.

“And?”

“Since you’re so scandalized about making a move before a proper period of mourning, I’ll keep it to myself,” She smirks.

“Traitor,” I mumble, finishing my work and standing up, “get out of my pharmacy before I kick you out as well”

“As you wish, all-mighty Healer,” She teases, bowing before me.

I like how it sounds. Not the ‘all-mighty’ thing, but the last part.

Y/N L/N: The Healer.

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic @slythermyg​

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch36: I Bid You Farewell And Good Luck, Morons!

Intro: Thor wakes up on a strange ship, surrounded by even stranger people, a talking tree and a rabbit. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the fight to save Vision is won and the group make their way back to the compound to understand what exactly it is that they’re facing. 

But there’s no sign of Tony, and the more they heard, the more they start to wonder if this is a battle they stand any chance of winning. 

Warnings:Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist 

This is a bit of a longer update than normal, but I wanted to explore IW using all 3 of the perspectives that were shown, for no reason other than I had favourite bits in them all! And I LOVE writing for Thor and Tony!

As always tags are open and I’m taking suggestions for that lovely 5 year gap post snap/pre time Heist so if you have any ideas or wants, hit me up!

 “It’s like a pirate had a baby with an angel…”

Thor wasn’t dead. But he felt like it. Every inch of his body ached and when he was jerked back to consciousness for a moment, just one split moment, he thought he saw Little Stark. Only it wasn’t her. The woman had dark hair, yes, but as he focussed he realised she looked nothing like the woman he loved dearly as a sister. This woman had huge eyes and antenna dangling from her forehead. And, whilst he knew it had been a while since he had seen his friend, she wouldn't have changed that much.

Finding his feet he looked around, chest heaving, at the band of people stood in front of him; A woman with green skin and red hair, a man with grey/blue skin, bald head, and red lines all over his body, a tree creature- a Flora Colossus he thought- which was off to the side draped over a chair, some kind of furry, animal thing- a rabbit maybe- and finally a man who appeared to be a normal, human.

They had offered him soup, and then when he had explained about Thanos the green skinned lady had told Thor what the Titan wanted the stones for. Which she knew, because she his  daughter.

"Families can be tough," Thor said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Before my father died, he told me that I had a half-sister, that he imprisoned in Hell. Then she returned home, stabbed me in the eye so, I had to kill her." he said, shrugging "That's life though isn't it I guess? Round and round, but I feel your pain."

The human, Peter Quill pushed his way between Gamora and Thor, and looked at her "I feel your pain, as well, because, I mean it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot. My father killed my mother, and then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I, came out with both of my eyes."

Thor wasn’t paying attention. The man was clearly a moron, and he’d just noticed he had bent the spoon in the bowl of soup and was having a flashback to the time he had tried to bend the Captain’s shield. Little Stark had laughed so much at how annoyed he had gotten when he failed that she had cried. And then, to make it worse, a few days later the Captain had managed to move Mjolnir. Just a fraction, but it moved. No one had seen it, bar Little Stark of course, but there was something there, Thor was sure. Steve Rogers was a man worthy of a lot of things, but his hammer was complicated. You have to prove it. That had been explained to him the day it had been given to him. Of course, he hadn’t realised then that Eitri had actually made it for Hela first.

Eitri…

"I need a hammer, not a spoon." Thor mumbled, as the idea took hold and he looked at the pod at the back of the ship. "How do I open this thing?" he began pressing random buttons on the screen next to the door. “Is there some sort of a four-digit code? Maybe a birth date or something?"

"What are you doing?" Rocket asked.

"Taking your pod." Thor replied nonchalantly.

And then there was a row in which the moron called Quill tried to imitate Thor’s deeper voice telling him he could not take the pod, but Thor was going to take the pod anyway because he was the God of Thunder after all, and then the lady Gamora cut them off quite rightly directing the focus back to Thanos by stating they needed to find out where he was going next. But Thor had already thought of that.

"Knowhere," he answered as he brushed past Quill and over to the refrigerator he had seen Gamora get his soup from.

"He must be going somewhere," Mantis argued innocently.

"No," Quill shook his head and Thor noted his stupid voice was back to normal, "Knowhere? It's a place. We've been there. It sucks. Excuse me, that's our food." he said, suddenly noticing what Thor was doing.

"Not anymore," Thor shrugged, stuffing it into a backpack he found.

"Thor," Gamora cut across the pair of them again "Why would he go to Knowhere?"

"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored there with a man called the Collector." Thor said

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe.” Quill snorted. “Only an idiot would give that man a stone."

"Or a genius." Thor shrugged.

"How do you know he's not going for one of the other stones?" Gamora asked.

"There's six stones out there." Thor began to explain, "Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it, last week, when he decimated Xandar.”

He didn’t missed the shocked and horrified look the group shared with one another.

“He stole the Space Stone from me, when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind Stones, are safe on Earth. They're with the Avengers." Thor stated.

"The Avengers?" Quill asked.

"They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

"Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis called out.

"Errr he may be on the team now, I don't know.” Thor shrugged, having no idea who the man named after a breakfast meat was. “I haven’t been there in a while. And as for the Soul Stone, well no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Knowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome."

"Then we have to go to Knowhere, now." Gamora said

"Wrong. Where we have to go is Nidavellir." Thor said picking up the backpack.

"That's a made up word," Drax, the blue man countered.

"All words are made up." Thor smiled, slinging the backpack onto his back.

"Nidavellir is real?" the animal called Rocket’s eyes grew wide and he jumped up onto the table and looked at Thor "Seriously? I mean, that place is a legend. They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the Universe. I would very much like to go there, please."

"The rabbit is correct." Thor grinned at Rocket's excitement, "And clearly the smartest among you. Only Eitri the Dwarf can make me the weapon I need. I assume you're the captain, Sir?"

Rocket grinned and nodded, "You're very perceptive."

"You seem like a noble leader. Will you join me on my quest to Nidavellir?"

"Let me just ask the captain. Oh, wait a second, it's me!”  Rocket grinned. “Yeah, I'll go."

"Wonderful." Thor beamed.

"Uh except that I'm the captain," Quill chipped in

"Quiet!" Thor said, now beyond bored of the moron.

"And that's my backpack," Quill continued pointing to the bag that Thor was stealing.

"Quill, sit down," Rocket said, tapping at the pad and keying in the digits to open the pod.

"Look, this is my ship. And I'm not going to - wait, what kind of weapon are we talking about here?" Quill looked round.

"The Thanos-killing kind." Thor smiled. Boy, was it going to be a big, fucking weapon...

"Don't you think that we should all have a weapon like that?" Quill frowned.

"You lack the strength to wield them. Your bodies would crumble as you minds collapsed into the madness." Thor said.

"Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?" Rocket asked.

"Erm, a little bit weird. Yeah." Thor looked down at him, frowning.

“If we don't go to Knowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone, he'll be too powerful to stop." Gamora said, stepping forward.

"He already is." Thor shrugged.

"Look, I got it figured out," Rocket interrupted, looking at Gamora. "We got two ships, and a large assortment of morons.  Me and Groot will go with the Pirate Angel here, and the morons will go to Knowhere to try and stop Thanos. Cool? Cool."

"So cool." Thor said with a smile before he climbed into the pod.

"For the record…” Quill said leaning down to Rocket “ I know that you're only going with them because it's where Thanos isn't."

"You know, you really shouldn't talk that way to your captain, Quill.” Rocket said, walking backwards and gesturing outwards with his arms. “Come on, Groot. Put that game down. You'll rot your brain,"

As Rocket sat down Thor nodded out of the pod “I bid you farewell and good luck, morons. Bye."

******

It wasn’t hard for the team to track Wanda, her red power flashing bright against the dark sky over Edinburgh City Centre, and as the jet followed her movements, the four friends saw her spiralling through the sky with Vision and crashing through the train station, just as Sam put the jet on the ground.

Within seconds the Ex-Avengers were sprinting off the jet.  

“Katie, Nat, take the side!” Steve yelled, as he vaulted over the railings at the edge of the road running down onto the bottom half of the concrete which led to the station. “Sam, up high,and remember protect Vision at all costs!”

“Got em.” Sam spoke over the coms “Platform seven, near the café.” 

Steve vaulted over another set of barriers, the station now deserted thanks to the evacuation taking place by the local police. As he ran onto one of the walkways he was just in time to see two of the aliens crash through the station roof. Weighing up his options, he realised it was going to be quicker for him to run down the platform he was over and jump across the lines to help. He swung his legs over the railings and landed easily, looking up. Across from him he could see Natasha and Katie emerging to the right, as Wanda stood and moved protectively in front of Vision, building power in her hands. An express train whizzed past him and he stood still, waiting and it wasn’t long before the taller, blue looking woman spotted him, and she launched her spear over the platform. Steve easily snapped his left shoulder back whilst leaning over his body with his right, catching the staff in his hand.

“Heads up.” Sam muttered, and as Wanda and Vision turned to see Steve step out from the shadows, fury lining his face, Sam swooped in and kicked one of the aliens across the platform and through a closed café’s security gate, causing tables and chairs to go flying, before he spun and started to fire on the other alien.

Steve launched the weapon he had caught across the tracks where Natasha caught it and stabbed the second assailant in the gut as Katie moved into to head off the other who was stalking back towards them. The weapon Natasha had been using flew back into the alien’s hands and Katie ducked as she swung, jabbing her in the back of the leg with an electric powered escrima stick. The alien let out a yell, stumbled slightly and Steve cleared the platform in a leap, rolling and scooping up the second assailant’s staff from the floor, holding it up to block the blow that the creatured aimed at Katie. He grit his teeth, planting his legs to absorb the power of the hit, as Katie rolled to the side, jumped up and the two of them began to fight the alien, joined shortly by Natasha who had stabbed the other one in the gut, taking him out of the fight. Steve had to admit, the woman (if you could call her that) was a force to be reckoned with, but the three of them were just about getting the upper hand when they heard Sam yell.

“DUCK!”

The three of them did so and Sam flew in hard, kicking the woman backwards where she fell and scuttled over to her fallen friend. Sam landed next to Katie, drawing both his submachine pistols on the couple.

“Get up” she instructed to her fallen partner, her voice was deep.

“I can't” his gravelly, robotic voice replied.

“We don't wanna kill you.” Natasha spoke coolly “But we will”.

“You’ll never get the chance again.” The female levelled them, with a cold glare and with that a beam shot down from the hole in the station roof and the two were transported upwards. The weapon Steve was holding also shot out of his hand. He frowned in surprise for a moment, looking at his hand then upwards as the beam of light disappeared and the ship sped off.

“Can you stand?” Sam asked Vision as Katie replaced her sticks and walked towards Wanda and the android. When Vision shook his head, Sam moved forward to help him up.

Supported by Wanda and Sam, Vision looked over at Steve, Natasha and Katie, electricity shimmering over his surface. He’d been badly damaged in the fight, and as he spoke his voice distorted.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Steve took a deep breath and nodded. His face stern, but his eyes were much softer than his expression and Katie knew why. It had been a while since anyone other than Sam, Nat or Wanda had called him Captain.

Steve looked at the android, he might have been damaged but they had the stone, and that was the main thing. Nodding, he spoke “Let's get you on the jet.” his voice was soft and he moved to let Sam and Wanda support Vision, Natasha following as Katie dropped behind to stay with him as they took up the rear of the group, her fingers lacing into his.

Once Vision was safely settled in a seat at the side, Sam dropped into the pilot’s seat as Katie hit the button to close the ramp as the Jet rose into the air.

“I thought we had a deal.” Natasha spun angrily to Wanda. ”Stay close, check in. Don't take any chances.”

“I'm sorry. We just wanted time.” The younger woman said gently.

Katie glanced at Steve, he was stood up in the middle of the jet, hands on the buckle of his utility belt, staring seemingly at nothing, clearly contemplating something.

“Where to, Cap?” Sam asked.

Steve looked up, he glanced at Sam then locked eyes with Katie as he spoke one word, one simple word that they had all been waiting to hear for almost 2 years.

“Home” he said, looking round the jet.

*****

After a few hours, with the morning sky being the only thing in sight, Sam started to lower the jet through thick white clouds and Katie couldn’t help but inhale sharply when the compound began to take shape as she watched out of the front window. It looked the same. The buildings, the grounds…she wasn’t sure why she had expected anything to change, maybe because it felt like everything had changed for them, but either way, there it was. The same as the last time she had seen it.

Steve noticed her demeanour change slightly as they landed. She stood up straight, her shoulders squaring as if she was about to face an onslaught. And they were, in a way. On their way they’d let Bruce know that they had Vision and were heading back, but had had no idea what they were heading back to, nor did he care. Be it Ross, police, the army, whatever, he was done bowing to anyone’s will, over playing other people’s tunes. The two years they had spent hidden had shown them that they could operate on their own if required, and he wasn’t afraid to fight anyone who got in his way.

They stepped off the ramp and strode over the lawn, Katie taking a deep breath as she looked around. She felt a wave of that many emotions she couldn’t explain or identify half of them. Memories flooded in, the long summer nights they sat outside in the garden and on the BBQ patio until sunrise. Laughs during team dinners. Sam and Wanda collaborating on pranks. Training sessions with the team and Vision reading Tolkien aloud to Wanda before asking questions about humanity's love of fiction. Walks and picnics and other things in the ground, just her and Steve. Their wedding, God their wedding! Frequent visits from Tony, bringing in new ideas and improved gadgets. Getting back safe after being out on a long mission. Feeling relaxed and at ease.

Feeling at home.

Steve’s arm curled round his wife for a moment before he pressed a kiss to the side of her head as Vision opened the door.

“Still no word from Vision?”  The holographic figure of Ross looked up from where he sat at a table and glanced at Rhodey.

“Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh.” Rhodey replied. He knew they were on their way to the compound, but hadn’t told Ross deliberately. 

“On a stolen Quinjet with four of the world's most wanted criminals.” Rhodey felt his temper beginning to flare. “You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir? “

“My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own.” Ross said as he stood up. The sound of the call echoed down the corridor reaching the group that were making their way through to the lab.

“If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here” Rhodey shot back and Katie glanced back at Vision as the sounds of Rhodey and Ross’ voice grew louder as they neared their destination.

“I suspect it will be a Hollo Call.” Vision said gently, answering Katie’s unasked question.  His suspicions were proven correct as they rounded the corner and the lab came into view. Rhodey was stood across from where the holographic image of Secretary Ross was facing off against him.

"You have second thoughts?" Ross was challenging Rhodey, who smiled simply as his eyes shot sideways, as Steve strode forward, his presence as intimidating as ever, and the first thing Rhodey noticed was just how dark he looked. Gone was the upstanding, All American Hero, and in its place was someone much harder, far rougher round the edges. Kiddo looked different too. Her hair was shorter, she looked slimmer too, but her upper body looked stronger. 

"Not anymore." he grinned.

The holographic Ross followed Rhodey’s gaze and his eyes fell on Steve who was stood next to Katie at the front of the group, Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Vision behind them. Steve raised his chin a little defiantly and moved to take his power stance, feet apart, hands on his belt, before he greeted Ross politely.

"Mr. Secretary" 

Katie couldn’t help the smirk on her face as she watched Ross attempting to cover up the shock he had clearly felt at the group of outlaws turning up again. She locked eyes with Rhodey who gave her the smallest of winks before he glanced back at Ross who was shaking his head slightly as he approached Steve, his holographic form almost trying to square up to him.  Steve simply raised his chin further and looked down from the steps he was stood on,

"You got some nerve." Ross sniffed, staring up at him "I'll give you that."

"You could use some of that right now." Katie shot back bluntly, Ross turning his head to face her for a second. She held his gaze and arched an eyebrow until he turned back to Steve.

"The world's on fire." Ross said incredulously. "And you think, you can just walk back in here and all is forgiven?"

Steve levelled the secretary with a firm gaze. "I'm not looking for forgiveness.” his voice took on a threatening tone as he spoke “And I'm way past asking for permission.”

At that point the smirk on Katie’s face grew even wider as she stole a glance up at her husband, pride swelling in her chest as he continued, stoic and unyielding. 

“Earth just lost her best defender, so we're here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way," he stepped down to be at level with the hologram, and stared it square in the eyes "We'll fight you, too."

Ross was practically foaming at the mouth as his eyes went to Rhodey and he spat out his order, "Arrest them."

"All over it." Rhodey promised nonchalantly before shutting off the hologram, shortly after a beeping noise sounded from the computers.

"That's a court-martial." He informed the group as he slapped the back of his right hand into his left palm, though his tone said told Katie that he blatantly couldn’t have cared less for Ross’ demands. There was a short pause as the group glanced down at their friend, Steve smiling softly, before Rhodey’s face split into a huge smile of his own.

"It's great to see you, Cap." he said, stepping forward.

"You too, Rhodey." Steve answered, taking the last 2 steps down before he shook Rhodey's hand. Katie threw herself at her brother’s best friend and he gave her a huge bear hug before he stepped backwards.

“Hey Kiddo, you do something to your hair?” he teased.  She smiled, stepping back from his embrace while he looked the rest of the group over.

"Well. You guys really look like crap." He said lightly. "Must've been a rough couple of years."

Steve looked round, an amused smile on his face as he glanced at his wife then to the rest of the team.

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star." Sam quipped back cheekily, the banter flowing between them like no time at all had passed.

"Uh, I think you look great."

Steve turned at the new voice to see Bruce inching his way into the room nervously wringing his hands together.

Steve and Katie remained silent, exchanging a glance. In the rush around and the fray of the fight, we’d forgotten to explain exactly who it was that called. "Yeah. I'm back."

Katie glanced over at Nat, she had her gaze fixed solely on the scientist as she spoke "Hi, Bruce."

"Nat." Bruce answered inclining his head towards her slightly as he fidgeted.

"This is awkward." Sam piped up. Steve and Katie looked at one another, before they both smiled and looked back up at Sam.

“Any news on Tony?” Katie asked gently, interrupting the silence that had fallen.

“Not yet no.” Rhodey said. “FRIDAY lost him when he left the atmosphere. We got NASA running scans and we’re trying to track his trail but…” He shook his head. 

“Typical Tony.” Katie rolled her eyes “Always has to go one bigger and one better doesn’t he?”

Her blasé tone wasn’t fooling anyone.

"Banner.” Steve said gently, looking across the room at the scientist. “Can you fill us in on what we're up against here?"

"Yeah sure," Bruce said nodding hesitantly.

“We’ll use the living area.”  Rhodey said, “Slightly more comfortable”

They made their way to the lounge, the same lounge they had all sat in discussing the Accords. Not much had changed; the furniture was different, there was couple of new sofas and the TV was larger, but that was it. 

“So start from the beginning.” Steve looked at Bruce where he stood near the window, one hand on the back of a chair, the other on his hip. He nodded encouragingly, he could see the man was nervous “Who took Stark and what are we up against?”

“I’ll give you the short version and we can plug in the gaps later.” Bruce sighed, “His name is Thanos. He’s a War tyrant, from a planet called Titan. He goes from place to place, destroying worlds, taking what he wants, when he wants. Loki’s attack on New York?” Bruce looked around “Thanos was the one who sent him to attack Earth,"

"But what does he want?” Katie asked.

“All six Infinity Stones…” Bruce supplied.

“Infinity Stones?” Sam questioned.

“Yeah, so erm… the big bang, when it happened, it sent six of these crystals out across the universe. They each control an essential aspect of existence. Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind. Time.” Bruce said, rubbing his temple.

“Thor told us about them, after Ultron.” Katie looked round and her eyes fell on Steve’s “He said there were three out there unaccounted for, and three that he could locate. One was with some collector or something, one was housed in the tesseract which was locked in a vault in Asgard and the other…”

"Viz." Wanda murmured, glancing at the Stone in Vision's forehead.

Bruce nodded again. “Thanos came to our ship for the tesseract, which means he already had the Power and Space Stones before he came to Earth looking for the rest. Just that alone makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe, if he gets his hands on all six he could destroy all life as we know it."

“Hang on, the Tesseract was on your ship?” Katie looked at Bruce, “I thought it was on Asgard?”

“It was, but right before Ragnarok…” “Ragnarok?” Katie frowned, her mind whirring “But that’s…that’s the fabled downfall and the destruction of Asgard, I mean....” “I know.” Bruce looked at her. “Asgard was destroyed as part of a battle between Thor and his sister. So was his hammer.” “What?” Steve let out a breath as Katie felt her mouth drop open.

“Thor has a sister?”

“Look, that’s a whole different story.” Bruce said, his tone slightly frustrated. “All you need to know is that Loki –yeah, surprise, not dead, -stole the tesseract from the Vault before we left. Thanos boarded the ship and took the stone. Just took it.” he said, his arms swinging out to his sides before returning with a slap.

The room fell silent.

“So Thor.” Katie took a deep breath and asked the question she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to “Where…”

Bruce dropped his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh no.” Steve muttered as he dropped his head, looking downwards. He glanced up and saw across the table that Katie had her right hand against her forehead the heel of which was pressed hard into the space between her eyes in utter dismay.

Thor. Gone.  

“He was no match for Thanos, not when he had those stones.” Bruce said gently. A single tear trickled down Katie’s cheek and fell to the floor and Steve watched as she took a deep breath, furiously wiping at her face.

“So the two we fought came for the mind stone.”  Sam spoke for the first time “I’m assuming the ones you fought were after another one that’s located somewhere in New York?”

"The Time Stone.” Bruce nodded “It was being protected by some mystical arts guy, or a Wizard as Tony called him, Dr Steven Strange.” Katie’s head whipped round to Steve and he took a breath and straightened up, before he glanced over at Sam and Natasha and the four of them shared an instant understanding, they’d heard that name before on top of a multi-storey parking garage in DC.

"A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future.”

“But he was taken along with Tony.” Bruce finished.

Katie didn’t even want to think about that right now. She had to trust in her brother’s quick mind and sharp resilience, because the alternative didn’t bear thinking about.

"Well, we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodey said and Steve looked down again, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of everything Bruce had said.

"And they can clearly find us." Wanda added.

"We need all hands on deck," Bruce said pacing, "Where's Clint?"

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal," Natasha explained, "It's too tough on their families. They're on house arrest."

"Who's Scott?" Bruce frowned.

"Ant Man," Steve answered.

"There's an Ant Man and a Spider Man?" Bruce looked around in confusion, but it was Rhodey who nodded, simply, like it was just perfectly normal. Bruce shook his head, realising that it didn’t really matter at the moment before he continued. "Thanos has the biggest army in the Universe. And he is not gonna stop until he gets Vision's stone." He said the last part softly, almost reluctantly.

"Well then, we have to protect it," Natasha said stepping forward but Vision immediately corrected her.

"No, we have to destroy it," he said resolutely, his gaze focussed on something out of the window as everyone turned to him.  He turned to face them and gestured to the stone in his head. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps" he made his way over to Wanda and held onto her upper arm, "Its molecular integrity could fail."

"Yeah, and you with it," Wanda looked at him, shaking her head "We're not having this conversation."

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."

Katie noticed Wanda’s eyes flash as she glared at Vision. "It's also too high a price."

"Only you have the power to pay it," Vision said quietly.

Steve shifted slightly. He knew that Vision was right, but the idea of losing someone else in their group didn’t sit well.

"Thanos threatens half the Universe.” Vision persisted “One life cannot in the way of defeating him."

"But it should," Steve argued, his eyes were diverted to the floor as he spoke gently, and it was right. Who were any of them to decide one life was worth less than anyone else? He took a deep breath and looked up and around the room before landing back on the android "We don't trade lives, Vision."

"Captain, seventy years ago you laid down your life to save how many millions of people? Tell me, why is this any different?"

Steve took a sigh and stepped towards Vision, unable to answer because he knew the android had him, but then Bruce did it for him.

"Because you might have a choice," Bruce answered, and Steve could see the Scientist had suddenly had an idea, "Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixing together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asked.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."

"Can we do that?" Natasha asked looking back and forth between the android and the scientist somewhat impatiently.

"Not me. Not here."

Steve suddenly began to think, maybe not Bruce, but could Suri? She had fixed Bucky after all, surely she could do this. T’Challa would be happy to help. And with his defences, maybe Wakanda was the safest place for Vision to be.

"Well you better find someone and somewhere fast," Rhodey pipped in.  "Ross isn't just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back."

Steve nodded to himself, his mind made up before he raised his head to look up around the group. "I know somewhere."

His eyes momentarily locked onto Katie’s and he watched as the realisation crossed her face, she knew instantly where he meant.

“Wakanda?” she asked.

He nodded, turning to Sam. “Can we get wheels up in 20?"

Sam nodded and Steve turned to Rhodey. "That enough time for you to load up your suit?"

"Yeah. Should be."

“Ok. “Steve looked round “Banner, I suggest you grab what you need. The rest of us, back to the jet.”

The team began to bustle about and then Katie remembered something.

“Rhodey?” she asked, hopping down off the table, “Where’s Steve’s shield?”

Rhodey paused in the doorway and turned to face her. “I don’t know, sorry Kiddo. Tony never mentioned it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Steve said gently. As Katie opened her mouth to suggest they had a look for it, he cut her off “And we don’t have time either, we need to go.”

Truth be told he didn’t want the shield back. It wasn’t his, not anymore.

“Fine.” Katie said somewhat stiffly. “I’m going to raid the armoury anyway, pick up a few things…” “Katie!” he called after her as she hurried out of the room. He let out a frustrated groan.

“I’ll go.” Rhodey said, patting the Captain on the shoulder. “I need my suit anyway.” The directions ingrained in her memory forever she headed to the armoury on autopilot and once inside she stopped dead. It had all changed. To the left were the usual lockers, although they now held no names she would lay odds on all the original seven of them still having kit in there. The guns, arrows, widow bites, shock batons were all still there on the racks. Rhodey’s War Machine kit stood in the corner, but what wasn’t was an Iron Man suit, or a Nova suit, of any description. Instead, in place of the the usual glass cabinets that held them were rows of smaller capsules.

“What the…” Katie mumbled, heading closer to examining “FRIDAY?”

“Welcome home Mrs Rogers…” The AI spoke, a hint of amusement in her voice “I believe Pod Seventy-Six is one of yours”

“Tony’s been working on upgrades” Rhodey spoke from behind, making her jump. “Nano-tech, courtesy of some work with Helen Cho.” “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Katie frowned as Rhodey made his way to the War Machine suit.

“Sevety-Six you say?” Katie’s eyes scanned the wall. “OK, FRIDAY hit me up.” One of the capsules opened and a smaller capsule flew out, opening in mid- air and then out of nowhere a suit formed around her body.

“Woah…” Katie said, as the familiar heads-up display lit up.

“The suit is held in a simple bangle” FRIDAY explained. “I’ll show you once the calibrations are done.”

As FRIDAY rattled through the new features, including a shield, new weapons Katie stole a glance in the mirror. It was much sleeker and less bulky, almost like wearing a cat-suit in a way. It was dark blue and gold, as always, with her Supernova Star in the middle of the chest. She gently reached up to touch it and the suit melted away to a silver cuff with the star in the middle which she tentatively placed around her wrist.

“Impressive huh?” Rhodey asked as he stepped into the War Machine suit.

“One word for it.” She said softly, tracing the outline of her bracelet with her fingers. “I can’t… why did he make it?” she looked up at Rhodey who slid his face plate back up to look at her.

“You know what Tony’s like.” Rhodey said, “Just because you left doesn’t mean he stopped caring.”

Katie looked down at the bracelet on her right wrist.

"Was- Was he okay, you know...after?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"He was as okay as he could be…” Rhodey hesitated slightly “To be honest, nothing was great though. The team was split and…”

Katie looked down “I had to go, I couldn’t stay, not after what he said to me.” Rhodey looked at her. “And have you ever considered why he said what he did?” “Because he hates me?” “No, because he loves you.” Rhodey took a deep breath “He knew full well that whatever choice you made it was going to kill you, but he couldn’t see you sat in a jail, he just couldn’t Kiddo. So he did what he had to do make sure you stayed away.” Whatever she had been expecting Rhodey to say it wasn’t that. His words hit her like a tonne of bricks and she felt her face screw up as she blinked back the tears. 

“Shit…” she managed to mumble out. “I could, you know we could have called him, or he could have called us, tried to …” “You’re both as obstinate as one another” Rhodey said, shaking his head as he started to walk to the door of the armoury “Which is why I know he’s still alive. He’s too much of a stubborn asshole to die. “

*******

Tony was pissed, really pissed. Not only was he stuck on this fucking ship, the kid was still here too. Peter Parker was almost as much of a pain in his ass as Katie had been when she was his age. The thought of his sister brought a pang to his heart, especially when he knew she was more than likely at the compound now after Bruce will have called them. He hoped anyway, he’d thrown the phone down before the fight after all, he just hoped the scientist had found it.

He looked around and glared at Peter before his shoulders fell. Well the kid was here now, might as well use him.

“Come on.” Tony sighed “We got a situation” He lead Peter over to a viewpoint to see the torture going on below. Peter crouched to study the situation, with that damned cloak leaning over his shoulder. “See him down there? He's in trouble.” Tony continued “What's your plan? Go.”

“Um. Okay, okay... uh...” Peter and the cloak popped back up suddenly, a smile playing on Peter’s face. “Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?”

It was a dumbass plan, but dumbass enough to work. Tony blew a hole in the side of the ship which caused a huge depressurization and as such the alien was sucked out of the side. A quick struggle and Dr Strange was rescued from drifting off to space, Tony repaired the side of the hull with nanites and that was that.

“We've gotta turn this ship around” Strange looked at Tony who rolled his eyes. .

“Yeah. Now he wants to run. Great plan”. 

“No, I want to protect the stone.”

Tony walked towards the expansive front view-port and from the way things were moving out there, he assumed they were travelling at some kind of hyper speed. The wizard was irritating him though, if he’d just agreed to get the stone out of the way they wouldn’t even be in this mess. 

“And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening.” he turned to glare at him.

“For what?” Strange snorted, “Nearly blasting me into space? 

“Who just saved your magical ass? Me.” Tony looked at him. “

“I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet”. Strange shook his head as he eyed the billionaire up and down. 

“Admit it.” Tony said, for some reason he felt the need to make this guy admit he was wrong, just like he used to try and do with Rogers. No particular reason for it, other than being the one to come out on top “. You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused.” 

“Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you”. 

“And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup.” Tony gestured around him.  

“I’m back up.” Peter said, raising his hand. 

“No, you’re a stowaway.” Tony said, waggling his finger between himself and Dr. Strange “The adults are talking”. 

“I'm sorry, I'm confused as to the relationship here. Wh-- what is he, your ward?” Strange frowned.

“No. I'm Peter, by the way.” Peter said, holding out his hand. 

“ Dr Strange.” Strange replied, looking at him.

“Oh, we're using our made-up names. Um. I'm Spider-Man, then”. 

Before Strange could respond, Tony piped up. “This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot.”

Strange walked closer to where Tony was stood. “Can we control it? Fly us home?”

Home…Thanos…home. 

They’d almost flattened New York once, and then there was Sokovia…no, home was most certainly a bad idea.

“Stark?” Strange’s voice cut across his thoughts. “Can you get us home? 

Yeah I heard you. I'm thinking. I'm not so sure we should.” he said, honestly.

“Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos.” Strange warned “I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here”.

“No. It's you who doesn't understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he's back!” Tony said, stalking towards Strange, jabbing a finger in the air as he pointed towards the ground. “And I don't know what to do. So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he's not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him. Doctor. Do you concur?“

Strange had to admit, the guy had a point. Let Thanos destroy his own place, not theirs. “Alright, Stark. We go to him. But you have to understand... if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it”

“Nice. Good. Moral compass. We're straight” Tony nodded. Stepping over to Peter he tapped each of the kids shoulder with the edge of his hand, dubbing him as is done at a knighting. 

“Alright, kid. You're an Avenger now”

Tony couldn’t look at him as he spoke, because he knew what he was signing the kid up for. 

******

The jet was filled with chatter as Rhodey, Bruce and the rest of the team were catching up but Katie wasn’t listening. She wasn’t feeling great either, that damned sick feeling was back, most likely this time down to utter fear about what was to come. If Bruce was right, she wasn’t convinced this was a battle they were ever going to be able to win.

“You know,” she said, looking up at Steve and voicing her fear softly, “if he’s already killed Thor, and it’s going to take us, plus a royal army to attempt to fight this guy off what fucking chance does Tony stand?”

Steve didn’t answer, he couldn’t. Because what he was thinking wasn’t going to provide her any comfort. Instead he merely tightened his arm around her and pressed his lips to her forehead.

It was a couple of hours later before they hit Wakandan airspace.

"We're coming up." Sam spoke as Steve focussed his attention out of the front of the jet, one arm hanging lightly against the grab rails on the roof.

"Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0." Steve instructed.

Sam glanced back over his shoulder before he spoke, "I hope you're right about this, Cap. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to."

Katie gave a small smile as she drew up next to Steve, wrapping her arms around his waist. They both stood, waiting as Sam flew the jet right into the trees, and swore with a loud ‘holy shit’ as it passed right through the hologram barrier into Wakanda. Everyone on the jet moved to get a better look at the beautiful mountains, lakes, buildings as the jet circled and Steve directed Sam to the runway.

They disembarked and Katie strolled off shortly behind Steve, followed by Natasha. Vision and Wanda stayed put, Steve telling them he would get them some help soon.

Bruce, who was at the rear with Rhodey whispered as he shrugged his arms into his jacket, "Should we bow?"

"Yeah, he's a king." Rhodey answered casually without missing a beat.

Steve ignored their banter instead smiling warmly at T'Challa as he reached out to shake his hand. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something."

T'Challa smiled back and he shook Steve's hand before embracing Katie in a warm hug. “Mrs Rogers, it is a pleasure to see you.” “And you.” She smiled softly, before she stepped back and T’Challa nodded to the rest of the group. The clearing of a throat caught Katie’s attention and she turned just in time to see Bruce bow forward towards T’Challa.

"What are you doing?" Rhodey asked, looking at him.

"Uh, we don't do that here." T'Challa said kindly waving a hand to stop Bruce’s bow. Everyone smiled in amusement expect for Bruce who turned and shot a disbelieving but amused look at Rhodey who grinned back at him, nudging him with his elbow.

Then they turned serious again as T'Challa asked, "So how big of an assault can we expect?"

His guards moved as he spoke, opening up a path that T'Challa took, leading them away. They followed quickly while Bruce piped up politely as he explained, "Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault."

"How we looking?" Natasha added, addressing the king with a similarly concerned frown on her face.

"You will have my King's Guard," T'Challa listed, "the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and-" He gestured to the side just as a familiar, dark-clothed man stepped out of the building to greet them by the door.

"A semi-stable, one hundred-year-old man." Bucky grinned. Katie smiled back and then glanced at Steve as he walked forwards, that familiar boyish grin on his face as pulled the man into a hug clapping him on the back a few times.

"How have you been, Buck?" he pulled back to look at his friend. He looked as well as he’d seen him in years. Healthy and dare he say it, happy.

"Not bad," Bucky shrugged looking down at his new black vibranium arm, "For the end of the world.” Katie stepped forward to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You look good Buck.” she said, standing back to look him up and down before smiling, something that didn’t escape Steve’s notice. And yes, he knew there was nothing in it, and this was the most inappropriate time to get jealous but still…

“I feel it.” Bucky smiled as Steve slid his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Goat farming suits me.” With that, Bucky turned to Sam. “Hey man.”  

“Frosty.” Sam responded with a jerk of his head.

They left Rhodey, Sam and Bucky with some of the guard to keep watch, and the rest of them followed T'Challa up to the labs where the person who was said to be able to safely remove Vision's stone was waiting. Steve could tell that the rest of the group weren’t expecting that person to be T'Challa's sixteen year old sister, Shuri. But T'Challa had full faith in her, as did Steve after she had managed to remove Bucky's programming.  

"Whoa." Shuri blinked as she stared at the hologram of Vision's brain and the stone in awe, "The structure is polymorphic...”

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially." Bruce nodded and Shuri glanced at him with a raised brow.

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" She asked looking at Banner. Vision also glanced at the doctor in question.

"Because... we didn't think of it." Bruce admitted sheepishly.

Shuri smiled and Katie had to fight the laugh that was brewing at the Princess’ playful nature "I'm sure you did your best."

"Can you do it?" Wanda asked stepping forward anxiously.

Shuri's smile dropped as she became more serious. "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." Her gaze moved to T’Challa “It will take time, brother."

"How long?" Steve asked, straightening up slightly.

Shuri shook her head. "As long as you can give me." She answered honestly and worryingly.

A loud warning siren suddenly started and instantly Katie looked around. General Okoye tapped at something on her bracelet and she looked over at T’Challa."Something's entered the atmosphere."

Seconds later, Sam's voice called over their coms, "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here."

Katie moved over to the floor-length windows of the lab to look out, Steve stood close behind her as everyone followed to see what was going on. In the distance, they could see the plains all around as far as the border stretched to the city. A giant ship descended from the sky and as they watched it exploded high above the city as soon as it touched the shield, causing Katie to jump back slightly. Steve gently caught her, his hands going to her shoulders as his focus remained on the exploding ship which dissipated above the invisible barrier they had flown through.

"God, I love this place."  Bucky’s contented sigh rang over their coms.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome." Rhodey warned.

More ships came crashing down to Earth just outside the Wakandan barrier disturbing the dust and sand on the ground as they landed. The lab they were stood in shook slightly and Vision sat up.

"It's too late."  he whispered and both Steve and Katie turned to look at him as he sat up. "We need to destroy the stone now."

"Vision, get your ass back on the table." Nat replied snapping her head back to look at him as she made her way to the door.

"We will hold them off." T'Challa said motioning to his guard.

"Wanda," Steve spoke up, looking at the young woman, "As soon as the stone's out of his head, you blow it to hell."

Wanda nodded with promise, "I will."

Steve turned his attention back to the window, watching the space ships which at the moment were doing nothing. T'Challa meanwhile, turned to his General and her warriors and began barking orders, "Evacuate the city. Engage all defences."

Steve turned to look at him as the king pointed in his directing before adding firmly. "And get this man a shield!"

Steve gave a small nod before he glanced back out of the window. For 2 years his fighting days had been focussed on simple people. Small groups of nobodies. Now, they were being thrown back into the crazy world of Aliens, AIs…and he knew they were going to look to him for leadership.

He might not be Captain America anymore, but he was still Captain Rogers, still that dumb kid from Brooklyn. And he still wasn’t going to run from a fight. 

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[fanfic-scribbles]

Lunch Buddy: Chapter Sixteen

Masterlist

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Overall Story Facts:

Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers

Story Summary: Steve Rogers makes a friend. A prickly, generally people-averse friend, but they’ll both take what they can get.

Quick Facts: Friendship (/Eventual Romance) – Steve Rogers & Reader (leading to Steve Rogers/Reader) – Female Reader

Story Warnings: Reader-insert that verges on OFC, written in 1st person past tense

Chapter 16: Insecure

Chapter Summary: It’s not a date. It’s not. Two out of three people agree.

The third person thinks the first two are morons.

Chapter Word Count: 6340

Chapter Warnings: Insecurity, pining, self-deprecation

A/N: Poor Sam. Also, sorry; I had way too much fun with this chapter. Me every step of the way now: is this too much self-indulgence? Yes, yes it is. [Tosses it right in]. So just a heads-up, there’s a little thing at the end of the chapter that takes us out of the main POV, because it was fun to write. I just love [fist clench] idiots. So much.

      I got dressed up, I got dressed down. I even put my pajamas back on and got into bed. Only to slink out of it five minutes later, grumbling.

I kept up the grousing as I dressed in a comfortable outfit, grumbled as I trudged out of the house, and kept quietly complaining all the way as I went to meet Sam and Steve for dinner. When I was on the platform waiting for the train I actually got a little self-conscious, but that went away fast– I wasn’t the only one talking to myself, so I kept it up in effort to get all my grumpiness out of the way.

It actually kind of worked. I started out as a goblin hunched over in a big jacket cursing to myself, and I ended as a…well, still a goblin trying to curl up in my jacket, but it was more because it was cold and less of wanting to roly-poly my way home. I actually felt better. Hungry, even, although when I got close enough to see the restaurant sign my stomach did a flip.

I tried to peer in through the windows but it was pretty full and I couldn’t see much of anything, so I pulled out my phone to check the time. I was a little early, and I fired off a quick text to both Steve and Sam.

Me: Are you guys here or should I put my name for a table? Sam: Almost there. Don’t worry, we’ve got reservations

That was nice. There were enough people that the line to wait spilled outside, and I hoped that might work in our favor as far as Steve going unnoticed went. But, for the moment, I was a weird woman alone in a crowd of people waiting for tables, and bundled up fairly unfashionably by comparison to boot. Thankfully the people that made me the most self-conscious seemed to be overflow waiting at the bar next door, but I was still…

“Hey.”

Steve’s voice was gentle despite the noise of a busy sidewalk and I turned, already smiling as my stomach did something that made me wonder if I might be sick. Except I realized– no, fucking butterflies? Seriously? Maybe if I ate enough I could crush them under the weight because that was just fucking embarrassing.

“Hey,” I said and opened my arms to meet his hug, and I did not embarrass myself, thank god. When I hugged Sam I even tried to linger for a few seconds more. If I got my way, Steve would never suspect a thing while I worked my way out of these feelings.

“Good to see you too,” Sam said, smiling like he was amused. “Steve told me you were getting better at hugging, but I didn’t think you’d be that enthusiastic.”

I shrugged. “It’s easy to be ‘enthusiastic’ when it’s cold.”

“Well, let’s get you warmed up,” Steve said and with one hand opened the door, while the other was flat against my back. I lost control of my tongue then– not in the sense that I started saying a bunch of stupid shit (thank god) but I was, yes, warm, too warm, what the hell was I supposed to say to that, even.

“What a gentleman,” I finally said when we got our table and I grabbed the chair before Steve could, because gentleman or not, I had lines.

Steve, who never met a boundary he didn’t like to poke at, smiled deviously. To his credit though he backed off and I took off my coat and surveyed the restaurant to give myself a little extra time. I was just out with friends, with two friends, and I was glad Sam was there because I didn’t think I would have been able to be out, with Steve, just the two of us.

Unfortunately as I looked around I spied a familiar face. K was sitting at a table with a large group of friends, including a handful of people from work, and she was staring in my general direction. Our general direction. Shit. I could probably guess what– or rather, who– she was focused on. She noticed me looking so she smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back, and quickly sat down.

“A friend?” Steve asked.

“Co-worker,” I said.

“Ah,” Sam said and thanked the waitress as she filled our water cups on her way. “Sorry; I thought she was staring at Steve.”

“So did I,” Steve admitted bashfully. He looked so cute it almost distracted me from the inevitable awkward conversation to come.

“She probably was,” I said and gave him an apologetic smile. “She’s…a fan. But she’s really nice? Overly friendly, maybe, but she seems like a really good person.”

“Okay,” Steve said as he flipped open his menu. “If she comes over I’ll behave.”

I shared a look with Sam, who looked as unconvinced as I felt.

“Stop it,” Steve said, buried in his menu.

“Shut up; you’ve got no room to talk,” Sam said and opened his own menu, so I did the same. He glanced at me though and added, “If he doesn’t behave, I’ve got a story to share with you. Like all great stories, it involves super glue.”

Steve dropped his menu and looked as betrayed as if Sam had just cut off his hand and told him he was his father. “Sam!” he hissed.

Tantalizing. “Is this story worth me having to find a new job?”

Sam seemed to consider that. “Hm,” he said. “Just might be.”

I patted Steve’s arm. “Never mind– go ahead and be yourself.”

“Asshole,” he mumbled and I burst out laughing.

K made her approach then and Steve, wisely, shut his face while she and I greeted each other. I didn’t do too terribly, but I was mostly just reacting to her small talk and I did not miss her eyes darting every other second to Sam and Steve. Neither did they, because Sam was biting his fist trying not to laugh and Steve was ‘helping’ with half-hearted harsh looks and a badly suppressed smile himself. I decided to put us all out of our misery.

“I’m just out for dinner with friends,” I said to her question and gestured at the other two-thirds of the table. “K, this is Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Sam, Steve, this is my co-worker, K.”

She gave them her full name as she shook their hands. While she tried to calmly fangirl, I tried to focus on other things– where the waitress was (busy), if any of her other friends were watching (not really), if anyone else noticed (no)– but I kept getting drawn back to watching them. K was naturally magnetic and Steve and Sam looked genuinely charmed and happy to be talking with her.

She said something that made Sam laugh and when she smiled I was struck by how pretty she was. She was a bigger lady but still smaller than me and shaped in all the ways people liked. Her makeup was bold and looked good on her, and her hair was so perfect it made me touch my own head as I noticed all the things I lacked.

“Well, I’ll leave you to eat in peace,” she said and gave a flirty little wink as she stood up straight. “It was nice to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” Sam said and he and Steve and K all said their goodbyes and shook hands.

K then turned to me, as close to beaming as I had ever seen a human smile be. “I’m sorry I crashed your hangout,” she said. “But thank you.”

Her effusiveness took me aback and I regretted not actually listening to their conversation. Did she expect me to know why? Shit; I hoped it wouldn’t come up again. “Of course,” I said. “It was nice to see you.”

She closed her mouth but her smile was still holding back a lot of excitement, and then she surprised me with a quick hug before bouncing back to her friends, her very cute and flattering dress flowing behind her.

I smoothed down my shirt and resisted the urge to pluck a stray thread. “Thanks,” I said to them.

“She really is nice,” Steve said. “Are you okay?”

I wanted to joke, ask if they would rather have K to hang out with, but it felt too real, too close, and I knew it would come out wrong. And Sam and Steve looked happy and I wanted so badly to not bring them down, I knew I had to try. ‘Fake it ‘til you make it’ and all. “I am,” I said as earnestly as I could. Steve’s smile bloomed and I wasn’t sure if coming out with them was the best idea or the worst. I braced myself to think that a lot over the night. “The portions look pretty big,” I said and skimmed the menu. “But it all looks so good.”

“It does,” Steve said. “Do you want to share plates?”

Tempting. “Nah,” I said, eyeing something in particular. “This looks spicy.”

“So?”

I put my menu down and tried to channel my inner school marm to show him just how much he did not impress me with his act. “You hate spicy stuff.”

“I do not hate spicy stuff,” he scoffed. Scoffed.

“You avoid it every time we go out to eat.”

“I don’t avoid it; there are just other things to choose.”

“You almost died when I gave you one spicy-hot Dorito.”

“I– you– I did not. And you surprised me with it!”

“It isn’t bad if you don’t like spicy food, Steve; just admit it.”

“Says the person who mocks me for it.”

“Just that once. You ran to the sink like your head was on fire.”

“You surprised me!”

“It was one chip!”

Sam cleared his throat and I realized Steve and I were leaning close enough to keep our argument quiet, but that meant our foreheads were nearly touching. Sam was smirking and our waitress was giving that patient smile of ‘please fucking order already I have so many tables.’

Steve and I pushed away from each other and I quick flipped through the drink menu. “Shit, what has the most alcohol?” I asked as I scanned through names. “I don’t think I can deal with you sober.”

“Stop it,” Steve said and swatted at me with his menu.

I picked something familiar just to send the poor lady on her way and I was as nice as nice could be in hopes that my drink would get to me safe and sound.

“I got a sample platter of appetizers,” Sam said.

I felt guilty, then. Stupid dumb feelings aside, I really liked Sam a lot– it was mostly that I knew Steve better, so of course I gravitated to him. That instinct was really coming to bite me in the ass now. “Sorry Sam,” I said and scooted another inch away from Steve.

Sam waved a careless hand and looked truly unbothered. Still, I resolved to do better. Maybe next time we went out to eat, Sam could be between me and Steve. Except, judging by Sam’s mischievous smile that flitted from me to Steve and back again, maybe not? I felt a sudden fear that maybe I was being obvious and he knew. “You can pay me back with whatever that ‘Dorito’ story is,” he said. “I couldn’t hear much but I did hear that.”

My heart attack stopped just as it started and the memory of Steve crunching down on a super-spicy chip only to run to wash his mouth out in my kitchen sink was still a memory that made me smile. “I’ll trade it for the superglue story.”

“I guess Steve is safe for now then.” Sam clicked his tongue. “I promised I wouldn’t tell that one except if absolutely necessary.”

“You said you wouldn’t tell at all,” Steve grumbled, raising his voice just loud enough for Sam to hear him over a sudden burst of laughter from a group nearby.

“That’s what you wanted me to promise,” Sam said. “I would never actually promise that and you know it.”

“Because you’re smart,” I said.

“Am I supposed to resent my friends this much?” Steve asked. “I feel like I’m doing something wrong.”

“You love us and you know it,” I said without thinking.

“Yeah, I do,” he said. Casually. It was very casual and very familiar and meant absolutely nothing. Like it always did. Because he was probably working off the same basic script I was and we had that exchange down, we used it so much for such petty, meaningless shit. It was nothing and that was fine.

But the way he smiled at me after he said it felt so different that it hit me in the chest. I wished he meant it, but Steve was just being Steve and I was reading too much into it, into everything.

I had to hide my face in the menu just to cover up how sad that made me.

After a few seconds Steve said my name and, with some more control over my emotions, I put the menu down. “If we’re going to share,” I said. “What are you bringing to the table?”

I hoped for a change of subject to take my mind off of myself, but Steve smiled, opened his menu and said, “Whatever you want.”

It was going to be a long night.

~

I tried. I made a conscious effort to steer the conversation to Sam at every opportunity, but it almost felt like he was thwarting me to talk up Steve. At first I thought it was a cosmic joke and it was just that my focus was constantly drawn to Steve, but our favorite blond was blushing pretty red by the time Sam was finishing up his story about what a good wingman Steve was.

“I swear, I almost left with four people, he talked me up so much,” Sam said.

“Sam…” Steve groaned, but by then there was no food left for him to stuff his face with and hide.

“Did you keep anybody for yourself?” I asked Steve, mostly joking, but the way they both went quiet made something in my chest leap.

“No,” Steve said, but for some reason I didn’t feel relieved. I felt a little sad, a little…actually, a little curious. Maybe that was my solution. Steve was out of my league, but theoretically obtainable. But if he was in a relationship with someone, anyone, that changed things.

And if it made him happy, it was all I needed.

“Do you ever act as his wingman?” I asked Sam. “Aside from the obvious.”

“Man, have you ever tried to set him up?” Sam shook his head. “Best let him come around when he’s ready.”

“I am pretty stubborn,” Steve said.

“And the ocean is wet,” I said, still thinking. As far as ideas went, it wasn’t half bad. “I’ve never been a wingman before, but how hard could it be?” I asked no one in particular. Steve and Sam, however, shared very concerned glances. “Hey! I could talk him up.”

Sam snorted (rude) and Steve smiled and said, “Or embarrass me?” which was double rude.

“It makes you relatable,” I said. “You are so ungrateful sometimes.”

Steve stared at me like he was thinking of a good comeback and I braced myself. But he suddenly flinched and whipped out his phone.

Sam sat up straighter. “Trouble?”

Steve frowned and answered the call. After a few seconds he rolled his eyes, pulled it partially away and turned his face to Sam. “Not an emergency, but I’ll be right back.”

Steve then looked at me, apologetic puppy eyes already kicking in. “Do what you need to do,” I said and watched him go. As soon as he was out the door I said, “Hey Sam?”

Sam, in the middle of sipping his drink, raised both eyebrows and slowly set his cup down. “I do not like the sound of this.”

“I just said your name.”

“Uh huh, in that tone, right after Steve left. What is it?”

I wanted to ask what that tone supposedly was, but I wanted more to get to my actual question before Steve came back. I leaned back in my chair and tried to affect an air of utmost carelessness.

“Do you think Steve’s lonely?”

Sam blinked. “Okay. Yeah, I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything for that.”

He sounded so surprised that I felt queasy with embarrassment. This was a bad idea and I was an idiot. “I didn’t– I– I’m sorry–”

“No, no.” Sam leaned in. “I didn’t mean anything by that. You just surprised me.”

“Sorry.” I wanted to have extra-human abilities more than ever. Going invisible would have been the best right then. Except Sam still had my number. Shit. “Can we forget I said that?”

“No,” Sam said. “You sound worried.”

“I was trying for mostly aloof, maybe slightly concerned.”

“Missed the mark just a little.” Sam smiled. “But is there a reason you’re asking?”

Oh, right, he was Steve’s friend too; of course he’d want to know if something was wrong. “It’s nothing he’s said,” I said. “Steve is just…a person who likes people. I’m worried sometimes that there are things he’d like to be doing that maybe he’s afraid to. I’m his friend; it’s my job to make him super uncomfortable.”

Sam grinned. “And what about when he comes back at you with that?”

“Obviously he’s just being mean.”

Sam laughed, but not for too long. At least he wasn’t looking at me weird anymore. “It’s harder than you think to set Steve up,” he said.

“Maybe because he’s not thinking about it,” I said. But if he just happened to find someone who made him go ‘oh’ and imagine settling in…I bit my lip. “What kind of partner do you think Steve would like? Who would be good for him?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Well…probably a smartass…someone who doesn’t worship the Captain America ideal; gets along with his friends…smart…doesn’t back down from calling him out when he’s stupid, but is still nice to him and treats him well…”

I frowned. That was way too specific. Well, it was also common sense, but how could I know that about a person unless I knew them. “I get that Steve isn’t shallow but I was kind of hoping to start off with something like ‘brunettes’ or ‘a cute smile’ or something easy. I don’t know a lot of people I can say that about.”

Sam choked on his drink. Hard. I almost went to pat him on the back but he moved away. “Sorry,” he said and wiped the bit of splatter that hit the table. “But are you trying to make Steve a Tinder profile or something?”

“No! No; I would never catfish anyone,” I said and played with my straw. “I just wonder if Steve would like. Someone. In that way. That’s all.”

“Hmm.” Sam was looking at me. I did not know what was going on in his head but I did not like it. “What about you?”

“What about me what?”

“You’re single,” Sam said. “You ever think about Steve as potential?”

Even if I could trust anybody with that one single idea, I could never honestly answer that question and keep my dignity. As it was, Sam was relaxed enough about it that I didn’t meltdown into a panic, and I tried to play it off. “He’s the first friendship I haven’t fucked up in a long time.”

“That’s not answering the question.”

Okay, that was more pointed. Was I somehow exuding ‘want!’ like a pathetic hanger-on? I thought I had been doing all right. “I’m not the kind of person someone would want like that.”

“That’s not true,” Sam said, sounding earnest to such a point that I looked at him. “Steve likes being around you.”

“As a friend,” I said. “Romantic relationships are…something else.”

“Not always,” Sam said. “Sometimes it’s a friendship with more physicality. And only if the people involved are into that. Anyway…” He sat back in his seat. “I was just asking. You two are pretty close.”

“He’s my friend,” I said and looked out the window. Steve was waiting for a few other people to exit, and even caught the door before it could slam on someone. They looked up to thank him and he smiled, like the gracious dork he was. “I want him to be happy. He deserves someone kind, and smart, and strong, and if not pretty, then someone who cares about their body enough to take care of it. Someone good. Someone good enough.”

Sam chuckled. “I like Steve too, but you know him. He ain’t exactly Saint Rogers.”

“Oh, he’s definitely not,” I said, still watching as Steve tried to extricate himself from the thankful person. Poor guy; another good deed gone wrong. “But he still deserves all good things.”

“And what if he wants something else?”

I didn’t get to tell Sam that Steve deserved more than a mess, because Steve managed to sneak away while the woman was looking elsewhere, and he ducked into his seat next to me with a bashful, “I’m so sorry.”

“Did she offer to give you her firstborn or did she want you to help make them?” I asked.

Sam laughed and Steve pushed his face into his arms with a long, drawn-out groan of my name. “Ooo, I don’t think I’ve gotten one that big before,” I said. “That must have been good.”

“You’re both the worst,” Steve said as he sat up, and brushed some of his hair back. There was a stray strand after his hand left and I almost, almost reached to pull it down.

I cleared my throat and sat very, very straight in my chair, and put my hands in my lap. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine.” He waved a hand and the motion moved the hair into place. “Tony being Tony.”

“And you answered?” Sam asked.

“The last time I ignored him like that he left hundreds of one second voicemails and made it so I couldn’t select them all at once,” Steve said. “I had to delete them one by one.”

I snorted so hard I sounded like an actual pig, and when Steve shot me a dirty look I clamped a hand over my mouth. “Sorry,” I said, trying not to smile.

Steve wasn’t helping by holding back his own smile. Enabling jerk. “You would have been so mad if it happened to you.”

“Undeniably pissed,” I agreed. “But…it’s a little funny.”

“Nope,” Steve said primly. “Not when it happens to me.”

“You're both assholes,” Sam said and I toasted him before throwing back the last of my drink. Sam was working on his second glass so I checked my phone to see if I had time for another. It was a little late, but…

“Do you guys want dessert?” Steve asked.

I pushed the glass away and leaned over to scan the menu he pulled out from the stand. Steve turned so he could move the menu closer and I tried not to crowd him too much, but after not finding anything I could eat by myself I turned my head up to ask him if he wanted to split something and came face-to-face, literally, with just how close we were. His arm was behind my chair and my shoulder was touching his chest, and now that I had realized it I couldn’t be anything but hyper-aware of the contact. He was leaning over– to read the menu, of course, since it was mostly in front of me, but I hadn’t noticed that I was practically ensconced by him, until now, and when he said my name, his lips–

“Can I uh…” I scooted away just a little bit, if only to give my brain some room to function. “Can I steal this for a second?”

“Oh, of course.” Steve sat back in his own chair and I was as disappointed as I was relieved. “I know what I want.”

Sam didn’t say anything and I couldn’t bring myself to look up, even after I selected something. I didn’t have anything I could feasibly distract myself with, so I stared at the page. ‘Very subtle; A+ deflection, Self. Idiot,’ I thought sourly.

“What did you pick?” Steve asked and put his hand back on the back of my chair. It was light and more distant than before but it was there and god, I really needed to get over myself. I took a swig of water and sat straight, ignoring the brief brush of his fingers on my back. I could do this. I could not be a desperate creep logging every point of contact with my friend who was just being his normal friendly self.

“There’s a fancy boozy hot chocolate that looks good,” I said. “What are you getting?”

Rather than tell me, he showed me. By coming in even closer than he had before, putting his arm fully along the back of my chair, and pointing excitedly at some peanut-butter-chocolate monstrosity. It was a testament to just how much he fried my brain that I wasn’t more focused on the exact specifications of food, and instead fixated on ‘Steve wow muscles wow he’s warm Steve hi Steve hi oh god I’m in so much trouble.’

So much for non-creepy.

“It– uh– it looks real good,” I said and swallowed hard. Sam snorted and I lifted my eyes, not my head, because I didn’t want Steve to see the look I was giving him. As far as superpowers went though, invisibility was out and telepathy was in, because being able to actually tell Sam ‘if you say one fucking word I will eat your HEART’ would have been invaluable right then.

He was duly unimpressed. And held his hand out. “Can I have a look, or…”

Steve snapped the menu shut and handed it over faster than I could even have a chance to respond. “Sorry Sam,” he said.

“Sorry,” I said, feeling genuinely so. I needed to stop acting like I was a moon in Steve’s gravitational orbit.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Sam said, but he was smug about his magnanimity that I didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Getting dessert was a painless ordeal, at least. I stayed quiet while Sam and Steve talked and tried to center myself. Steve’s dessert looked delicious (and yes, definitely monstrous) and Sam had a piece of cheesecake, and the two of them bickered over which one was better. When they turned to me I had finally pushed aside some of the mountain of whipped cream (that I was definitely going to get to later) and I took a tentative sip. It was hot, but the new burn on my tongue was worth the rich, full, sweet and spiked flavor that rolled in over it.

I glanced up and when I saw Steve staring at me I did a double take that made me hit my lip on the cup in a way that pinched it. Graceful. Great.

Steve smiled. “How is it?”

“It’s, um, good. Really good,” I said and looked at the massive cup with new longing that maybe I could drown in it. Or maybe upend it over my head. At least then I’d have an excuse to leave that would be slightly less embarrassing.

“We can tell,” Sam said and I flipped him off. They both laughed and I managed to pull myself away from the cup, feeling like I was safe.

That was not to be.

Sam snorted. “Uhh…”

I looked at him but he had the strangest smile. “What?” I asked and looked at Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing,” he said, but before I could feel okay again he said, “You just have something, right…” and touched my face to wipe away whatever it was with his thumb.

I sat stock-still for a moment and tried to get a handle on that. Steve said my name and I snapped to. “Did you get it?” I asked, shockingly casual to my own ears. Hopefully that wasn’t just a wishful interpretation.

“Yeah, I– sorry; I should have asked,” Steve said and went back to his food. Sam was stifling laughter but I ignored him and tried to enjoy my liquid dessert…but I drank it way too fast just out of nerves.

At the end of our courses Sam stretched and I didn’t bother even fake-haranguing Steve over the bill. I felt exhausted. It was a good thing I still had a day to recover so I wouldn’t be sniping at my co-workers due to social fatigue.

“We can give you a ride back to your place,” Steve said.

“I think I’ll walk,” I said. Some cold air sounded nicer than a stiflingly hot cab at the moment, even if I was worn down.

“I’ll walk with you,” Steve said. I couldn’t think of a good reason to argue, and I was too tired to panic, so I looked at Sam.

“I’m gonna get a ride back and go to bed swearing that I’ll never eat this much again, until I wake up in the morning looking for breakfast,” Sam said and patted his stomach. “But you two have fun with that.”

When we were parting outside the door I stopped and gave Sam a real tight hug. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t the best company, but I’m glad you guys invited me.”

“We’re happy to take you however you are,” Sam said and hugged just as tight. “Ain't that right, Steve?”

“Absolutely,” Steve said fervently.

They were too good to me. I gave Sam one last squeeze and stepped back. “In case I don’t see you again before you leave, don’t be a stranger.”

“Well, maybe you can come out to DC sometime,” he said.

“Hm.” I considered traveling. “We’ll have to discuss our friendship level later. That’s a much longer period away from my couch.”

“I bet my couch is more comfortable.”

That woke me up a little. “You haven’t even been on my couch!”

Sam smirked. He was just as devious as Steve; he just looked better doing it. “Doesn’t matter– now you’re curious.”

I slumped. He was right. “You’re awful and I’m never going to DC if only to spite you.”

“Right, right,” he said, utterly unconvinced. “Good night you two.”

“Bye Sam,” and “See you tomorrow Sam,” came from me and Steve respectively, but we both lingered on the sidewalk awkwardly.

Steve opened his arm to gesture towards home. My home, that was. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” I said, mocking the words just a little before I fell in line next to him. I wasn’t really that affected from the drinks but the cold night air kept me pretty awake and aware and I felt all right, everything considered. I had gone out to a new place with two people I really liked, and I hadn’t abjectly humiliated myself, and the friend who I had a crush on was none the wiser. I was starting to think I could really do this; I could come to grips with these feelings and move past them before he even knew they existed.

“Here.”

That was, naturally, when Steve decided to put his arm around me and pull me in closer. My heart made a single beat within my esophagus and then just gave up entirely. Jesus Christ; I’d have rather lived out hard mode in “Dark Souls.” At least then I knew the torment would end.

“Am I shivering that much?” I asked as non-judgmentally as I could.

“Just a little,” Steve said. I could tell he was looking at me and I couldn’t bring myself to look back at him. “Is this okay? Would you rather have my jacket?”

“No.” Him being a stupid self-sacrificing jerk snapped me out of my own head and I wrapped my arm around his waist. “Don’t you dare.”

“It’s not dirty.”

I looked at him then. Sternly. Or at least, that’s what I tried for. “I know how you feel about the cold,” I said, lowering my voice just in case.

I still wasn’t sure if that was okay to say, but while he got more serious, it was…in a soft way. “I’d be fine,” he said, but he hooked me closer. “I feel pretty warm right now.”

“You only had one sip of my hot chocolate. Did the booze get to you that much?”

“It’s not the booze. Or the hot chocolate,” he said meaningfully.

Oh no. Oh no. If he knew, would he ever–

“You're not going to get sappy on me, are you?” I asked, trying to pull this plane up, up, up.

“Why not?” he said. “You did.”

“I did not.”

“You did.” He grinned and that– that, I could handle. Keep being a little shit and maybe I’ll get through this with some pretend dignity, I thought. Hoped.

“Nope,” I said. “I was being mean. And– and scolding, and stern.”

“Nope,” he said, like the overgrown brat he was. “You were being kind and considerate and sweet–”

I burst out laughing. He looked surprised and I tried to wave it away. “I’m sorry, but I–” I coughed and stifled my laughter into something quieter, to match the white waves of hot breath disappearing into cold air. “Nobody has ever thought of me as sweet.”

“That’s not true,” he said. “I’m thinking it right now.”

Honestly it was too ridiculous to be real. “You’re just doing it because you want to be annoying. You don’t mean it.”

“Why can’t it be both?” he said, but he tugged on my hand and we stopped, off to the side of the walkway as people passed us intermittently. I didn’t know if he meant it, but the look on his face meant something. “I’m glad you felt well enough to come out. Tonight. With us,” he said.

I managed a little smile. “Me too. Thanks for inviting me. And being understanding.”

“Of course,” he said.

A yawn overtook me so suddenly I had to rush to cover it. Fucking ‘moodkiller’ was my middle name. “Sorry,” I said. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

But Steve just smiled and brought me back out with him closer to the street. “Then we’ll get a cab, and I’ll see you home.” And he did. He rode the whole way with me, paid the guy to wait, and walked me all the way to my door. Since he had the cab downstairs I was able to keep him outside the apartment, but I still closed the door so slowly, like I could savor every second. As soon as it was shut and locked though exhaustion settled into my every pore and I was thankful for it. I went right to my bed and barely managed to change into my pajamas before I passed out, and found a momentary reprieve from my fears.

    ~bonus~

Steve: So? Sam: I should be asking you Sam: You staying the night? Steve: Sam Steve: You promised Steve: What do you think? Sam: I stand by that I think you need to grow up Steve: You owe me, you said anything Sam: I said I’d do it, I never said I wouldn’t make fun of you Steve: Well? Sam: Well Sam: I think you’re both equal on the low self-esteem Sam: So you have that in common Steve: Oh :( Sam: I’m not the one you should be sad-eyeing Sam: But to the point: Sam: My opinion hasn’t changed; I think you have a shot Sam: But you’re gonna have to put in the work to convince her she’s the one you want Sam: She was more concerned about you having a partner that was ‘good enough’ for you Sam: Do with all that what you will Sam: I love you man but I am out of this Steve: Thank you Sam Steve: I appreciate the help and I promise I have it from here Steve: But Steve: I can’t believe you were going to tell her the super glue story Steve: Worst wingman ever Sam: Hey now Sam: I wasn’t really going to Sam: I knew you’d back down Sam: I was just saving you from yourself Sam: Lesson #1: don’t embarrass your girl in front of her co-workers Steve: Are there other lessons? Sam: Well #2 would have been ‘don’t call your girl an asshole’ Sam: But she seemed pretty okay with that so you’ll have to make your own rules Steve: I will :) Steve: She’s not my girl though Sam: Not with that attitude she’s not Steve: Good point Steve: Night Sam Sam: Night asshole. Do not step foot in here in the morning unless you want it up your ass

Sam flipped away from the conversation before Steve could jam the metaphorical foot down his throat and went to his second-most-recent conversation.

Sam: What does it take to get the good vodka Natasha: Depends on the story Sam: I just spent the last few hours as a 3rd wheel with two people who were on a date but pretending they were not on a date while desperately wanting to be on a date Natasha: Come to Clint’s Natasha: I’ll ready the Beluga Natasha: You bring the story Sam: You keep the good shit at Clint’s???? Natasha: You’ll see why when you get here ;)

Sam knew Natasha better than to question, so he slipped his shoes back on and went to bitch the night away. At the very least, he’d have some good company and commiseration. At best, Steve would have someone else on his ass, and hopefully this whole situation would get resolved before anybody got hurt.

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