#she can be in a coma for several chapters to make it more angsty

[owensgrumpyoranges]

So since I'm in denial I've been thinking-

Back in 1955, Ein and Tesla would have been considered dead. They were stabbed through the heart (dang, Coralie gets a matching scar to her mom. . .. no? too soon) and they were sitting around for probably ~ a half hour while Erwin and Otto fought and Erwin figured out how to work Abyss Flower. You can bleed out from a stab wound to the chest in five minutes. And while there's the whole leaving-the-stabby-in-keeps-blood-in, Tesla at least was actively bleeding from several places.

So they were probably *legally* dead for quite some time before Schro did her thing.

All this to say that Abyss Flower did it once, it can do it again, and as for Ein?

She'd never had a chance to give her an answer. Back then, she hadn't known what it would be- her mind said no, I can't subject you to this kind of torture, but her heart screamed yes, yes I would, I would do anything to keep from losing you too.

And now, as she waited- the answer was crystal clear.

Yes.

I'll always save you.

You're the only one I can save.

I cannot be alone forever.

[all1e23]

Swallow [Pt.5]

Chapter: Never Enough

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Summary:  Clint & Y/n learn the truth

Warnings:  Protective Clint. Angst. Soft, sad Bucky. Angsty. 

A/N:   I know this has taken forever. I’m sorry. My muse has left the building I guess. I’m somewhat sick, so I probably missed a few things while editing. Send me love because I’m needy.  

***My fics are not to be saved or posted on any other sites without my written permission. Reblogs are my jam though! Thanks!*

With Bucky out of the garage, Peter was able to have the radio on whatever station he wanted, and no one was going to throw screwdrivers at him or threaten to rip his voicebox if he decided to add another voice to the chorus -- loudly. In Peter’s defense, about the singing? Everything is really loud at the clubhouse, and it’s not like motorcycles known for being quiet! There are clients, club members, and wives dropping by all day. It’s noisy. If he doesn’t sing loud how will he know he’s hitting the right notes? It was nice to have a bit of peace in the garage though. He forgot what it was like to work in a place where everyone wasn’t grumpy. 

“Peter!” Clint shouted through the garage startling the poor kid enough to cause him to smack his head on the hood of Y/n’s jeep. It was too good to be true. He shouldn't have even thought it!

Clint pushed right by Tony and completely ignored Sam -- who was attempting to block his path to Peter. “Where is my sister?” asked Clint, stepping between Sam and Peter. “Buck’s bike is gone. Where did he take her? You were here when they left, right?”

Peter rubbed the back of his head where a bump was already beginning to form and nervously glanced at Sam and then Tony. “I-- um.” He dropped his hand and fiddled with the broken belt in his hand doing everything he could to avoid eye contact with Clint. “You see, I-- I am not really sure what I am supposed to say here. Because technically Bucky is in charge, but the way you’re glaring at me right now is making me feel a little sick if I'm honest.”

Sam sighed and stepped around Clint grabbing the teen by the shoulders and ushering him away from the jeep and Clint. 

“Go get the replacement belt, Pete,��� Sam pressed, gently, turning back to face Clint. He shook his head and grabbed the dirty rag hanging off the propped-up hood cleaning his hands the best he could with just the thin cloth. The tension between the two men steadily rising through the silence and most of it was pouring off of Clint.

“What are you doing Clint?” Sam eventually asked, disapproval ringing loudly in his voice. “He’s a kid. You know she’s with Buck. She’s not seventeen anymore. She can make her own decisions.”  

Because Y/n’s decisions making skills when it came to Bucky always worked out in her favor. Was Clint the only one that thought this wasn’t a good idea? Because it was starting to feel that way.

Clint crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sam, he wasn’t in the mood for games today. He didn’t care who was in charge and not in charge. Everyone was so wrapped up in worrying over Bucky and what would happen to him if Y/n left town again, but no one was worried about what would happen to Y/n if Bucky made her leave again. Clint wasn’t a dummy -- regardless of what his sister says after one too many beers. After everything Y/n told him last week, he knew whatever happened the first time around was Bucky’s fault. Y/n was the only family Clint had, besides Nat and the boys, and he wasn’t going to let her walk away again.

“I’m just protecting my sister,” Clint said, harshly, starring Sam down. “Where is she at? They go to the lake?”

“You think she needs protecting from Bucky?” Sam challenged, his frown deepening as Clint’s unspoken accusation filled the already tense air around them. Ringing loud and clear for everyone to hear, Clint didn’t trust Bucky with Y/n. “You really think he would do anything that would put her in harm's way? After everything he has done to keep her safe, you think he would hurt her?”

“Yeah, I do.” He replied, coldly, his eye darkened with anger. “I don’t know if you noticed, but when it comes to each other they don’t think clearly, and she’s always the one that ends up hurt in the end.”

“Buck was hurt--”

“Don’t,” Clint growled cutting him off before he even attempted that pathetic defense. The same shit excuse he has heard for years, and he was done listening to it. “Don’t try that bullshit with me. Buck hid away for a few months and drank himself into a coma. I didn’t get to see my sister for five years because of what he did to her.  Where. The fuck. Are they Sam?”

“Clint.” Steve beckoned, the sharp edge to his voice putting an end to the fight that was about to break out in broad daylight, in the middle of their only source of legal income. That wasn’t something they needed at the moment. 

“Bucky took Y/n on a ride about thirty minutes ago. I told her it would be a good idea if they took some time to talk in private and it looks like she took my advice.”

Clint spun around to face Steve, “Why the hell would you do that? They don’t need any help forcing whatever the hell they are.”

“No one is forcing anything. We all knew Bucky, and Y/n would end up here, and they both need this. They both need to clear the air, and I think it’s time you and I do the same.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Steve stepped out of the doorway that led into the clubhouse and nodded towards his office -- the office that once belonged to Bucky. Clint glanced around the garage at Sam and Tony, two men he considered family was all avoiding meeting his eyes, and he didn’t like that one bit. What did they all know what he didn’t and how long have they kept it from him?

“You should know everything that happened the night they broke up. You should know the truth, Clint.”

--------

There was a natural calm that came with being on the back of Bucky’s bike. It hasn’t always been like that. The first time he took you on a ride you had squeezed your eyes shut, refused to open them and held on so tight your bracelet left an indent on his ribs -- you apologized profusely for that. It didn’t take long for that fear to fade with every ride after that. Everything slipped away the moment you wrapped your arms around him. It was just you, Buck and the road and you realized how easy it would be to slip back into your old life. Bucky was just waiting for you. 

Everyone knew that, including you.

Your hand made its way up to his chest and rested over his heart atop his leather, it was automatic, and you hadn’t noticed you had done it. It was the same way you always rode, hand over his heart and chin resting on his shoulder. In the past, you would have nuzzled his neck, placed random gentle kisses to that spot right behind his ear, and whispered sweet things at stoplights. It would be so easy to let him take your heart and run with it again. It would be simple to go back to the way things were before you left, without ever missing a beat. Bucky’s hand came up over yours, and it gave it a tender squeeze, firmly pressing it against his chest.

Who were you trying to fool? There was no letting him take your heart. He never gave it back, to begin with.   

When you recognized your street, you felt a sharp blow to your chest. Bucky was just driving you home -- the long way, but he was still just taking you back from the shop, and it made you ache. You don’t know where you expected him to bring you, but you didn’t think it would be back to your house. Part of you had hoped the lake or somewhere the two of you could just be Bucky and Y/n for a little while longer. It didn’t look like he was ready to take that leap with you yet. His motorcycle slowed to a stop in your driveway, and Bucky killed the engine setting both feet on the ground as he did.

You weren’t ready to go back to reality, but you didn’t have much choice in the matter.  

Bucky grinned when he felt your arms tighten around him and he could have sworn his heart sparked when he heard the soft ‘shoot’ you breathed out before forcing yourself off the back. You tried not to look too disappointed when you moved towards the front of his motorcycle, but you couldn't look him in the eye. It was too much all at once. You slipped your helmet off to hang on the handlebars. Bucky shook his head and held his hands up.

“Keep it. It’s yours after all.”

“I don’t know how much use I’ll get out of it,” You mumbled, clutching the fiberglass helmet to your chest like you needed it to keep breathing. It was the only lifeline you had left.

“I have a feeling you’ll be getting plenty of use out of it baby.” He smirked at the way your eyes widened and nodded towards the old wooden swing nestled in the shade of your front porch. 

“I kinda wanna talk if you’ve got a few minutes.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and nodded practically running to the porch steps. The faster you sat down, the sooner this was all over and you could both move on.  You hated the way that sounded, it left a cold empty pit in the middle of your chest. Bucky’s boots weren’t far behind you by the snap of several twigs hitting your ears, you dropped your helmet on the post at the top of the stairs and twisted around to face him.  

“C’ mere. Please?” 

He held out his hand, and you didn’t hesitate to take it this time around.  Holding his hand didn’t seem like that big of a deal after spending forty minutes with your arms wrapped around his waist. The gentle tug to your hand urged you forward, and you sank down onto the swing, Bucky following your lead.

“I forgot how much I like having you on the back of my bike. It’s been a long time since...” His voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. He didn’t really know, but he did know his fingers were aching to touch more than just your hand. He knew he couldn’t and shit, Bucky despised being kept from you like this, hated the distance he put between the two of you and Bucky really disliked how tense you were to be sitting this close to him. That hurt more than the morning Clint told him you skipped town without even a goodbye.

“It’s just been a long time is all, and I missed you. When I heard you were home -- I knew you would find your way back to me eventually,” Bucky whispered, feeling your tension fading with every gentle caress of his thumb. Your eyes fell to your intertwined hands, and you watched his thumb drawing small circles over your skin. How could something so little have such an effect on you?

Bucky’s always had that hold on your heart. You shouldn’t be surprised. 

“I missed you, too,” You admitted, reluctantly, still staring at your fingers laced together, unable to meet his eyes. “I wasn’t sure it was okay to come back, so I stayed away, and the longer I stayed away, the easier it was to pretend I didn’t care about everything that happened. About you.”

Bucky sighed and draped his right arm over your shoulders closing the tiny space between you. His left hand tightened on yours until you glanced up to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry about everything I said that night. I never wanted you to leave. I was mixed up with what I thought I had to do for-- We, uh, should probably talk about that night.”

“Okay, let’s talk.” You muttered ramming down the overwhelming desire to run as fast as you can.

“That night--” He blew out a breath and shook his head, annoyed with himself. He barely said anything, and it already sounded like an excuse. A bad one at that, but he had to get it off his chest. Honesty, Peggy had told him. Be honest with her, and she will come around. 

“The club was getting back into trouble you didn’t want me in, trouble you made clear you wanted me to stay away from, and I was trying to find a way to keep you out of it. After I proposed your dad got into that accident and we went to see him in the hospital. Remember that?”

You nodded not trusting yourself to speak and hold your tears back. That had been one of the longest months of your life. You lost your father and the love of your life in one swoop and in turn, lost a part of yourself when you fled.

“Y/n,” He sighed, tightening his arm around you. He had a feeling you weren’t going to like what he said next. “I know what Steve said to you. He told me everything.”

“W-what?” you stammered already attempting to push him away, but he gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze, silently asking you to hear him out. 

“He told me about a month or so after you left and he was right. I would have never let you go. I wasn’t strong enough to let you go, and I made your dad a promise.”

“I’m sorry. Wait--” You stopped him with a squeeze to his hand, trying to clarify what bullcrap just came out of his mouth as you forced Bucky's arm off your shoulders and turned to face him. There was no way you heard that right. There was no way he broke your heart all because of some stupid foolhardy commitment he made to your father. 

“You did what now? Because it kind of sounds like you broke my heart and left me for some bullshit vow, you made to a dying man that was so loaded on pain pills he couldn't even remember his daughter’s name?” Bucky tightened his arms around you to keep you from jumping off the swing and bolting away from him. He knew you better than anyone, and he knew when things got tough, your first instinct was to run and to run fast. 

“For once, stop running from me,” Bucky begged, urgently, fear building in his eyes. “Since we were kids I’ve been chasing after you. Just stop running and hear me out?”

You didn’t have some snappy comeback or crude jab. Bucky was right. Your whole lives he’s been chasing you, waiting for you to come around. Every time he got close and thought you were within reach a new wind would blow in and you’d be ten miles ahead and out of his grasps again. You sank against the back of the swing letting Bucky pull you a few inches closer to him, he needed it and truthfully so did you.  

“I promised your dad I would keep your safe even if that meant letting you go. I’d burn this whole damn town down to keep you safe and you know that. I never thought it would be somethin’ we needed to deal with. Once I got to thinkin’ about it, I got pissed. What right did he have to tell me I’m not good for you? As if he wasn’t doing the same damn things at my age.” Bucky blew out a long breath to steady his voice and gain the courage to say what he needed to say next. “Then the vote came down, and everyone agreed the only way to handle Red Skulls was to take down the charter. Clean house. And to do that we needed to make some deals with some... questionable people.”

You didn’t need a further explanation. You knew what it all meant. Take down the charter meant bloodshed. Questionable people was code for illegal trades to handle the 'clean house.'

“What was the vote?”

“Y/n--”

“You wanted to talk. I want the truth for once. What was the vote Bucky?”

Be honest with her thick head.

“It was unanimous.”

You let out a half-suppressed laugh, jerking and untangling yourself from Bucky’s hold -- He didn’t even try to stop you this time. You paced up and down the small porch before finally standing in front of the man you once loved, leaning on the porch rail behind you because you weren’t sure your knees could hold you on their own. 

“My brother?” You asked, cold and detached. “Clint agreed?”

“Yes. Red Skulls-- Clint had his reasons.”

“And you?” You spat pushing yourself off the railing and storming towards the house, intent slamming the door in his face, packing your things and never looking back. 

“You knew I didn’t want you getting involved in any of that and you still voted yes? So much for doing everything you could to keep me out of trouble. Just more James Barnes bullshit--”

“They threatened you!” He shouted, stopping you in your tracks your hand frozen on the doorknob. You didn’t make a move or prompt him for more. Just waited until you could feel him standing behind you and you sagged back against his chest listening to his strained whispers, “They threatened you and Peggy and Pepper. It was an easy call to make. I’d vote the same damn way today.  No one threatens your life and gets away with it.”

His hands settled on your shoulders giving you a soothing squeeze while you considered everything he just dumped on you. The question that fell from your lips next was one he expected. He would have been disappointed if you hadn’t asked him. 

“It’s been five years, and they are still around. Why?”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, nervously chewing at it. He was dangerously close to saying too much, saying things he wasn’t allowed to talk about outside of club walls. Things that could put you in danger and he promised himself he would never put club business before your life again, but if Bucky continued to hold back, he was terrified that would push you so far away he would never get you back.

“We’ve had some complications is all. We’ve got some eyes on us right now. Just being cautious, being smart.” He nervously drums his fingers against your shoulder letting his hands fall down to your wrists, encircling your wrist in his hand. He could feel your need to run, that want to get away from him. After everything you’ve been through together you didn’t trust that he just wanted to keep you safe?

That stung. 

You wiggled your wrists out of his hold and stepped towards the front door. All the times you played this very moment over in your head, all the excuses you thought he would use and all the bullshit he would give you about ‘being an MC girl’ not one of those moments played out like this and you just needed a minute to process all of this. 

“So that’s it?” Bucky asked, hurt filling his voice. You didn’t have to see his face to know the look the anguish he was wearing. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t see it. It would just make this harder. 

“You’re just gonna walk away again? Yeah, I messed up, but runnin’ wasn’t the answer back then and it’s not now. We are meant to be together, pretty girl.”

“I need some time, Bucky.” Your voice cracked as you forced the words out .“I need some time to understand all of this and what it means. I got laid off at the hospital did you know that? I thought it was a sign to come back home and figure things out and now…” 

You shook your head as you pulled your keys out of the front zipper of your purse and unlocked the door with trembling fingers. Bucky didn’t have much left, but he had one last hand left. 

“I love you, Y/n,” Bucky choked out. “I love you, and I know you love me. Did you really forget everything we were to each other? There was a time when that was all you needed. Me lovin’ you isn’t enough anymore? Are we that lost?”

“Yeah,” You whispered softly, “I think we are, Buck.”

Previous // Next

[blackcatmanor]

RWBY V7 Ch13 Photo Review- The finale

A solid ending that wraps up V7 decently while still leaving good set up for V8.

The good:

Fights

Fights as usual were good. I liked Winter riding a griffin into battle, and I liked the power disparity between JNPR 2.0 and Neo when the writers forgot what power disparity meant last chapter. JNPR 2.0 was clearly no match for Neo, but they only managed to succeed because of their teamwork. The fights this volume were very, very well done. I hope they retain the same fight animation staff going forward.  

More to this point, I thought that Winter or Penny would get the powers, and another Maiden showdown would happen in the Relic Room. I’m actually glad it didn’t. Having the fight stay in the hospital walls was nice. It was a way to force the fight to stay grounded (literally and figuratively) and focus more on cool animation moves rather than just magical beings flying around and smacking each other occasionally like V5 finale. They had a flying bit but it still managed to be grounded to the characters rather than just vague magical beings flying around. Penny’s obvious use of flight and Winter riding a griffin was true to who they are as combatants, and they don’t just rely on some magical plot device that makes them fly around.

James

James has been the strongest Character of this volume, and this chapter was the same. I really liked his quote “All great philosophical points that won’t Matter if Salem wins.” It shows his motivations well, outlines clearly his beliefs, and actually makes a decent argument for doing something that is morally wrong. It was also interesting to see the argument with Oscar go from 0 to 11 SUPER fast, as soon as Oscar accused him of acting out of fear and beginning to say “It’s what we do in fear that shows who we-“ as if to impugn James’ character because of his actions. It was shocking to see him shoot a kid, but his character is staunchly committed to carrying out his plan so it fits. And since Oscar didn’t die it’s still something that James can be redeemed from.

   The good, but

Winter Maiden powers.

Fria’s final stand was really interesting to see. BUT if she was going to be so integral to stopping Cinder, it would have been nice to fully understand how these powers affected her life, who she was before and after she got the powers, and more importantly show what the powers are fully capable of. I hate that we never get to see flashbacks anymore, and the story now exclusively exists in the current day. Even Amber’s flashback was just to the day she was attacked, but at least we got to see how she landed in a coma. It’s frustrating we don’t develop anyone anymore with much-needed background and flashbacks, but obviously we have no time and 20 other characters to cram in and under-develop so…. *shrug*

 Penny getting the winter maiden powers became kind of obvious as time went on, with as much development as she got this volume. However, I don’t totally hate it because it at least means they didn’t bring Penny back just to kill her again, and she’ll probably be an important character going forward. She may even be a big part of the FINAL battle against Salem, since I still believe that the final confrontation will involve having to get the Maidens altogether, PLUS the relics, plus Ruby the silver eyed warrior to beat Salem. I THOUGHT the writers would be kind of lazy and just find ways to eventually give the powers to team RWBY, but now I think this may not be the case

Cinder’s voice acting

Every bit of dialogue Cinder spoke was trash, but her screams of pain upon getting her arm cut off and growing it back, her screams of anguish upon losing the Winter maiden powers and being banished by Ruby and the team were really, really good! It shows that Jessica Nigri is capable of delivering good performances, but the directors and writers don’t give her good dialogue to say, nor do they pull from her a decent delivery in the lines she speaks.

 Watts

Am I glad he’s not dead because I think he’s a great villain? Yes. But am I also annoyed he’s back because it negates Chapter 11? Also yes. So as it turned out, Chapter 11 accomplished nothing, and was ultimately undone by Chapter 12 and 13. At least Tyrian escaped custody because of his own cleverness (And Qrow’s idiocy). But we don’t have any idea how watts mysteriously survived being dropped into lava pits without aura, seemingly unscathed. James’ sacrifice of his arm was for nothing, and it’s SUPER TROPEY the whole “no body, no death” thing. I hate the writers played into that stupid cliché

The bad:

OMG Cinder die already!

I really appreciated Jessica Nigri trying her ass off, but the writers just REFUSE to give her a character. When she started talking I thought the writers were finally going to heed everyone’s complaints and give her some sort of character, but with each sentence I literally groaned louder and louder. No backstory, no motivation, just more cobbled-together edgelord lines about being hungry for power. We already know Cinder wants power- since volume 3. THIS ISN’T CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Either get a character or die.

 Ren

Ren sucked this volume. And it’s not fair to say he sucked, it’s more like the writing SUPER sucked. They kept having his emotions all over the place- sometimes he’s totally fine and then suddenly he’s SUPER angsty. They didn’t grow or develop it, they just kept randomly looping back to it. I get that V8 is a straight continuation of this volume, so they weren’t going to RESOLVE it, but we don’t even get a set up for these problems, we don’t understand what is happening whatsoever, and they didn’t seem to evolve. It’s just jarring, and him suddenly becoming dumb and thinking Neo/Nora was Nora so he can get hit in the face was just weird. He knew who it was, it was just probably some arbitrary reason for Ren to blame Nora for his inability to focus. *Groan*

Random thought: If the fight between JNPR 2.0 and Neo was just going to end with Neo taking the lamp- why did she even stick around to fight in the first place when she had the lamp before Oscar punched her?

Overall: 7.5/10. It was solid. The character’s actions actually made sense this episode, and no one did anything super stupid just for plot’s sake. The set up for volume 8 was good while still wrapping up the story of volume 7 (I had a weird feeling that the Winter powers would be a cliffhanger but settling on Penny was nice, and RWBY on the run was a nice ending to how things unfolded).

The chapter was slightly hindered by good things having huge drawbacks, like Fria ending up an important climax dues ex Machina despite lack of development, and Watts just coming back again because...of course.

Unpopular opinions for V8:  

JNR should leave

JNR should head to Vacuo for reinforcements in V8 and leave the cast. I think they’ve peaked in usefulness, and now Oscar seems split off and trying to do his own thing they especially won’t matter. It will give the writers time to develop RWBY and Penny and Oscar. They were severely minimized this volume and it didn’t hinder the story at all, so we can actually have them doing their own thing and we can occasionally check on them without missing much. With Ren’s “issues” I doubt they’ll just leave for volume 8 but I wish they would 

Qrow needs to go, too- it looks like he will be a martyr and be locked up in V8, which I would love. If not HE needs to head out to Vacuo to try and get reinforcements. I’m done caring about his character. He’s a one-dimensional pit of sadness that is becoming boring to watch. We actually saw a glimmer of hope that he would become something other than a writer punching bag, but it didn’t happen and the writers insist on just finding new, contrived, and sadistic ways to continually torture him. Oh look- a friend to cancel out your bad luck? BAM, DEAD! It’s getting old, so I just hope to not really see him next volume.

It turns out Salem has been lagging behind because she was picking out her prom dress. 

[the--sad--hatter]

Phantom pain (2)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - Bucky X Reader

WARNINGS - Bad Habits and Rough Sex, Angsty and Dark AF.

DESCRIPTION -  Everybody in the world knew of you, but not who you really were. Some called you a vigilante, some called you a criminal and some called you a hero but all of them called you The Phantom. Only two people knew your real identity and they swore to never tell anyone but when The Avengers need to infiltrate a high-security facility, Bruce Banner deduces that you’re the only one who can pull it off. That decision puts you and Bucky Barnes on a path you can’t turn back from, even if neither of like where it’s leading.

Chapter Two - While You Were Sleeping

You had mere minutes to make this plan work.

Racing invisibly through the halls, you brought up the mental map of the facility map you had studied only hours before, making sure to avoid bumping into anything and giving yourself away. Nobody could see you but if you knocked over something or ran into someone, it would give you away.

Sweat poured off you in buckets, going invisible took up a lot of energy but you could do this if you did it fast. You reached the door you were searching for and phased through it and slipped inside. You paused and strained your ears for any sounds, making sure you were alone in the room. You crept through the room, eyes peeled for the right cabinet.

Your skin was burning and you dropped the invisibility, saving your energy for when you left.

You found what you needed and quickly rifled through the files, silently thanking Hydra for being paranoid enough to keep a paper copy of all their files. You slipped out your phone and took pictures of everything, regardless of what it was. Tony could sift through it.

Names, dates and awful pictures caught your eye and you swallowed thickly, trying not to focus on it. Voices drifted down the hallway and you picked up the pace, changing to video camera and rapidly flicking through all the files. You could freeze frame each page later, and by you, you meant Friday.

Someone jostled the door-handle and you slammed the cabinet closed and slipped your phone under the material of your suit. You let your body deteriorate again and the tendrils of odourless smoke you left behind dissipated as an agent opened the door. They didn’t even flinch as you walked straight past them and through the door.

You ran back through the hallways, holding onto the invisibility and didn’t drop it until you were at least a mile away from the facility and walking up the ramp of the shielded quinjet.

“Twenty-three minutes and seventeen seconds. You owe me a bottle of Macallan select reserve.” Tony crowed victoriously.

You didn’t have the chance to respond before the floor of the quinjet was rushing towards you and everything went dark.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You dragged your eyes open and winced at the bright lights that assaulted your poor innocent eyeballs. Your mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool balls and your skin felt like you’d fallen asleep on the beach at high noon.

“Oh my god.”

You turned your head to the side to see who had spoken and saw Tony stood at the door watching you in shock and awe, dropping the beaker he was holding and ignoring it as it smashed against the ground.

“You’re awake.” He said, slowly.

“Oh, is that why my eyes are open?” You croaked.

He stumbled over to your bedside and looked down at you reverently.

“You’re really awake. I thought... we thought...”

“Why are you being so weird?” You said, coughing to clear the scratchy feeling in your throat.

“Princess, you were in a coma.”

“What?” You demanded, well wheezed pathetically.

“You’ve been asleep for three years.”

You tried to sit up in a panic, when Tony started chuckling loudly at the look on your face.

“Oh you fucker.” You rasped.

“Like I’d keep you in my lab for three years, I’d pull the plug as soon as I could.” He joked, ducking to avoid the pillow you threw at him.

“I hate you.” You grumbled.

“Nobody hates me, I’m adored the world over. You were only out for three hours by the way.” He said, lapsing back into laughter as you pouted at the pillow you’d thrown and made grabby hands until he handed it back.

“Everybody hates you, you just pretend otherwise so you don’t shatter that impressively huge ego.”You retorted.

“You think I’m impressive?”

“Fuck off Snark.”

“Fine, I won’t help you remove your IV drip, you can HEY STOP THAT!” He shrieked at you in the middle of sentence as you pulled the IV out.

“What did she do?” Bruce’s worried voice preceded him as he hurried through the door.

“You’re the worst patient ever.” Tony reprimanded you.

You started flatly at Bruce and motioned between yourself and Tony.

“You’re right, he’s a worse patient.” Bruce agreed, checking your vitals.

“Rude. I’m leaving now, you two are ganging up on me again.” Tony muttered as he stalked away, though you noticed him quickly check your vitals himself before he did.

“What’s up doc?” You asked Bruce as the Iron Man flounced away in a huff.

“Same as usual. You over exerted yourself. You were dehydrated so we put you on an IV but since that clearly didn’t last, go drink some water. You’re nearly back to your baseline health.” Bruce said, shaking his head at you fondly.

“Did Snark get the pictures off my phone?” You asked as you sat up and stretched, Bruce hovering over you.

“He did. Friday is combing though them and converting them into computer files for the team.” He said, patting you on the knee proudly.

“I owe you one Friday.” You said.

“You owe me several dozen.” She pointed out.

“Petty doesn’t suit you darlin.” You retorted.

“It looks like you got everything we needed though, as well as a little extra. It would have been a perfect mission if you didn’t pass out again.” Bruce said snarkily.

“Oh good, I can go home before anyone wonders where I was. I’m running out of excuses, I don’t know if I can pull off another ‘rehab’ cover.” You said in relief.

“You might want to shower and change first.” He said, motioning to the Phantom suit you were still wearing.

“Good idea... Friday wanna let me into Tony’s room? I bet he has the fanciest shower.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bucky had spent far too many hours researching you, flipping through article after article about your drunken adventures and ‘sexcapades’. You were a party animal according to the tabloids, always hitting up clubs and throwing extravagant parties. There was also mention of a few stints in rehab and numerous different flings mentioned.

Surprisingly there were very few photo's of these ‘incidents’. Most likely you were buying off the tabloids to keep the embarrassing pictures out of the articles. Over all, he wasn’t impressed by you at all.

According to Bruce, you were basically a prodigy and if Banner thought that, it must be true. The fact that you were so reckless and stupid when you were so gifted annoyed Bucky. You were brat, and you needed someone in your life to set you on the straight and narrow. But that wasn’t his problem.

His eyes narrowed as you waltzed into the common room, your hair messily piled on your head and your feet bare.

“Making yourself at home?” He asked you.

You glanced up at him nonchalantly.

“Yup.” You said, popping the p at the end as you opened the fridge and perused it’s contents, pulling out a bottle of water and guzzling it.  

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy hacking Hydra?” He asked you.

“Been there, done that.” You said smugly.

“You’re done?” He blinked owlishly at you.

“You did hear the bit where I’m the best in the world, right? Oh my bad, age has probably affected your hearing.” You said, smirking cheekily at him.

He stood up and stalked over to you where you were leaning against the counter-top and pressing the cold water bottle to your neck.

A small drop of condensation dribbled off the glass bottle and into the hollow of your throat and his eyes tracked it as it rolled down your chest and disappeared into the valley between your breasts.

“You’re insolent and egotistical Devchushka. That attitude might amuse Stark but it doesn’t amuse me.” He growled at you.

“Oh.” You said, looking chastised and biting your lip.

“Well, It’s a mighty good thing that I’m not trying to amuse you then Starikashka.” You teased in a seductive purr, winking at him and strutting away.

Yes, somebody definitely needed to put you in your place.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“West? Are you here?” You called as you unlocked the front door to your apartment.

Silence was the only answer and you breathed a sigh of relief as you shrugged your coat off and flung it over the back of an armchair.

There was a small chirping meow at your feet and you smiled.

“Hello Frank, did West feed you?” You asked the bulky cat.

Frankenstein, or Frank as you called him wasn’t technically your cat. He was just some ass-hole stray cat who followed you home one night and refused to leave until you fed him. He would disappear for days, sometimes weeks and reappear at will.

You padded over to the kitchen with the infernal cat twisting around your ankles. You noted the dry cleaning hung over a kitchen stool and the foil covered lasagne dish on the counter. Apparently West had stopped by earlier and left food for you.

He was your fathers butler/assistant and had practically raised you so when you moved out of the family home, he didn’t take it well. He came by nearly every day and continued to look after you.

Your phone vibrated in your coat and you skidded across the floor back over to it to read the text.

Snark: You still owe me that bottle of Scotch, just because you swooned into my arms it doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten that you took more than 20 minutes to get the files. Also, we need another favour.

Snark: If you do this one, I’ll give your suit an upgrade. Be here tomorrow at lunch.

Snark: Bring my scotch.

You scoffed. You knew helping them out would backfire, this was why you had avoided them for so long. You couldn’t afford to have anyone know you were The Phantom and The Avengers were likely to figure it out sooner rather than later.

Still... If they were asking for your help, it was probably important.

“What do you think Frank? Self preservation or desire to do good, which one’s gonna win out?” You asked.

A tail swish was his helpful response.

“Well you’re a cat, of course you’d advocate self preservation.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Hey Bucknasty, what do you think?” Sam called.

Bucky looked up and frowned, trying to figure out what Sam was talking about.

“Sam wants to ask Princess out, I think he should go for it.” Tony said gleefully.

“Why?” Sam asked suspiciously.

“She’ll eat you alive and leave your mangled corpse on the lawn for your feathered brethren to pick at.” Natasha explained with a smirk.

“How do you know that?” Bucky asked.

“She’s a maneater and a womanizer, think a pre Pepper Tony Stark with boobs...” Sam said, looking excited.

“She’s an infamous heartbreaker.” Natasha clarified.

Tony and Bruce exchanged a subtle look of amusement. Once upon a time, they’d believed those rumours as well. Now they knew you, they knew how untrue it all was. But your reputation was carefully cultivated so they didn’t correct anyone.

“I’m sure she’s not like that really, she seems sweet.” Steve interjected, chivalry demanding he defend your honour even though he didn’t know you.

“Well, one way to find out.” Sam announced.

“Tomorrow will be fun.” Tony said.

Bucky resisted the urge to storm away. For some reason he hated the idea of Sam asking you out. Maybe because despite their bickering he actually considered The Falcon a friend and didn't want to see you get your claws into him.

For someone he’d only met twice, you’d gotten under his skin. He was determined to take you down a few pegs and in the process, keep you from dating his friend.

The fact that he couldn’t stop the image of a droplet of water rolling between your breasts from replaying over and over in his mind didn’t factor into it at all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, two questions. One) Do you like this story? It's not as good as Name Calling yet. Two) Who are your fave interactions with so far?

You can ask to be added to or removed from tags at any time folks, just comment or inbox :D @lifewandererblog​ @drdorkus​ @gravedollie666​ @sadsoldat​ @bigplantdaddy​ @moodyruth​ @likes-to-smell-books​ @shirukitsune​ @inquisitor-selvala​ @brownle-22 @myfandomlife-blog​ @markusstraya​ @adeleoctobre​ @vajeenparty​ @sexyvixen7​  @love-nakamura​  @buckitybarnes​ @littledeadrottinghood​ @pinkisokay​ @jsmith509​ @brownlee-22​ @angieptt​  @thosesexytexasboys​ @liveonce-sodoitright​ @tarastudiesalot​ @spnrvt​ @dahkness​ @dilaila95​ @rororo06​ @mizzzpink​ @fairislesheets​ @strangersstranger​ @life-wanderer​​ @uuuuuuuuggggghhh​​

[faintblueivy]

“ I fucked up. ” BORUSARA

Hello everyone! I’m back with another chapter of ‘Matters of the Heart.’ This story will be wrapped up next in three or four chapters. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Matters of the Heart

Chapter - 5

Words of Wisdom

He was stuck in the hospital bed. It was really annoying him. He has never been in ease when settled. Maybe the vagabond lifestyle has ingrained his behaviour permanently. He, at the moment, wanted nothing more than to get out of this room. Well, not that he had much of a choice. His injuries were severe and with a wife who was also one of the best doctors in the world didn’t support his case.

Though, Naruto had it worse. Its been almost a month since they were ambushed in the enemy territory during the negotiations to prevent the war and preserve peace. Even though they had managed to survive…it was only by a hair breadth. Sakura told him that Naruto was in a coma like state. The difference was that momentarily we would open his eyes but then again we would pass our for God knows how long. Although recent reports are showing his improvement.

And knowing him, he’ll make through. The man is too stubborn for his own good. 

His deep eyes flicked at the morning scene outside. The sound of birds chirping and fluttering around with the rustle of leaves of the nearby trees was almost therapeutic. There was a time when Sasuke didn’t imagine that he would find solace in the nature’s tiniest gestures. But now, everything makes him marvel over life and its ways.

The appearance offamiliar chakra outside his room alerts him of the guy’s presence. There is aknock after which Boruto pokes his head inside the room and gave him a grin.

“Yo! Sasuke Oji-san!”

“Boruto.” Sasuke acknowledged his presence with a curt nod as the young man shuffled inside the room.

“I came here to see my old man. So, I thought that I should check upon you as well.” The boy explained.

Sasuke smirked, “Worried about your old man?”

Boruto sputtered, “H-hey! He is getting old, ya know.”

Sasuke chuckled, “Of course he is.”

Boruto pouted like a kid for sometime before it turned into a soft smile.

Sasuke stared out of the window, “So am I.”

Boruto shook his head but asked, “Do you need me to do anything for you?”

“Yeah. Can you get me out of here?”

“Sorry, not happening.” Boruto’s blue eyes danced with mirth. But continued, “But seriously, do you want something?“

Yes, I do. My freedom.” Sasuke deadpanned.

Boruto face palmed, “Oji-san, ask for something that won’t give Sakura Oba-san a chance to lock me up here. She’s already mad that I got myself discharged early.”

Sasuke laughed at his response. Sakura’s terrorism , especially when it came to her loved ones was feared by almost everyone. Him and Boruto being no exception.

There was lapse of comfortable silence enveloping both of them. Sasuke leaned against his bed, his eyes flicking to the young man beside him. And for a second he visualised the shadow of a kid he had been years ago. Boruto looked so much like his father and yet so different. The lines of maturity on his face covered a lot of the carefree child he was. The scar over his eye being a testimony of the trials and tribulations he had faced…and conquered.

Sasuke would admit…he was proud of Boruto and the person he has become. But still, nothing beats him being a protective parent. As much as he loved his student, Sarada - his daughter, would always come first. So, he had to ask.

“Boruto, I want to ask you a few questions and you have to answer them honestly.” Sasuke looked his protégé in the eye.

Boruto detecting the hint of seriousness in his mentor’s voice straightened up.

“What are your intentions for my daughter?” Sasuke asked bluntly and Boruto looked utterly gobsmacked.

“W-what are you talking about, Oji-san?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Sasuke wasn’t going to let him escape from this.

There was a long stretch of restless silence and Boruto looked heavily conflicted. His blue eyes were clouded with distress and his gaze jumped from one place to another. But then he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and mumbled.

“I-I love her.”

“Yes, I figured out that much a long time ago.”

Boruto’s head shot up to look at him as if asking how-did-you-know but Sasuke calmly ignored it.

“Now that you are aware of your feelings, what are your intentions?” Sasuke emphasised again.

“Huh?”

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, “I mean, you know you love her, right? So, what are you planning to do now?”

Boruto looked like a lost child, “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Sasuke repeated stunned. Well, that was not an answer he had expected but it definitely explained the loss of shine in Sarada’s eyes. So he couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

Boruto closed his eyes for a second, trying to formulate an answer.

“Oji-san, I-I am not the one for Sarada. I’ve made mistakes - some are very stupid ones. And I know how much of a selfish bastard I am. She so different from me. She wants to become Hokage to help people and you know I’m not like that - ttebasa! She deserves someone who understands her. Someone better than me.”

Sasuke mentally grimaced at the obliviousness of his student. “You’re right about the part that she deserves someone who understands her, someone who is better than ‘you’ as you tell yourself . But selfish? I don’t know if ‘selfish’ is a word to describe a person who almost willingly invited death in order to protect his comrades. You’re not selfish. Mistakes? Every one makes them. But those mistakes don’t determine your path to the future. And you already know that there cannot be a better example than me for that.”

“You’ve made sacrifices Boruto. For Konoha’s sake. For the sake of peace. And Sarada understands and respects that.”

At Boruto’s look of wonder, Sasuke relaxed but the slight hesitation in his posture was still visible. He took a deep breath and leaned against the pillow. Having an emotional talk related to his daughter with his student was draining. But they were both precious to him. Obviously in different ways and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to see them happy.

“You know, Naruto was right.”

“Huh?”

“You’re a lot like me. After everything was over, I still had a hard time believing that Sakura was still waiting for me. That Naruto and Kakashi were still willing to stay by my side. To accept that they still welcomed me with open arms was overwhelming. They made me realise that it was okay to lean on them. That I deserve happiness.

“Same goes for you, Boruto.”

“Hm?”

“You let your doubtseep into your decisions. You let your insecurities control you and in theprocess you accidently caused pain to the people you consider precious. I knowmy daughter, Boruto. And I also know what she feels for you. So that’s why Ineed to say this. I’ve seen you growing into man from a child. I trust you.”

Boruto wasoverwhelmed. The fact that his teacher conveyed such an important message, thewords of wisdom, and inner feelings made him soar high and yet his heart achedover the fact that he had hurt Sarada so much by being a coward and notacknowledging his own feelings. She didn’t need a coward. And if he thinks he’snot worthy of her then he’ll try his best to become someone to be by her sideand protect her.

“I fucked up,didn’t I?” he asked, his head hanging down in shame.

Sasuke smirked,“Not yet.”

Boruto foundhimself grinning like a maniac at his words.

Yes, maybe not yet. Maybe he still has a chance anddamn him if he fails this time.

Hohoho! So, the angsty part of this story ends and now Boruto is a man on a mission! The next chapter is going to be full of Borusara, so stay tuned and just like I said the end is nearing.

and another news is that the next chapter of 'Is She Beautiful?’ will be out soon.

Don’t forget to tell me your thoughts regarding this chapter, okay?

Have a good day!

See you again.

You can read my other stories here.

My ffnet and ao3 accounts are here!

[sapphicscholar]

Summary: 

“Alex has no memory of the attack, nor of Reign or really much of the past couple of months,” J’onn explained.

“And?”

Eliza turned to face Maggie. “And she’s asking for you, Maggie. She’s asking for her fiancée.”

Or the one where Alex loses her memory and wakes up thinking she and Maggie are still together.

A/N: Alright, I've never written anything quite so angsty, but my fiancée asked for angst and amnesia, then along came this prompt on Twitter, and here we are. I hope you...is enjoy the right word with angst? Who knows! I'm a little nervous about posting tbh.

The first two chapters are short, and then we jump to long chapters from there on out. Most of the fic is already written (and it's completely plotted out), so it'll be posted on a regular basis until it's done (I'm thinking about 6 or 7 chapters over 2-3 weeks)

Chapter Text:

“Turn off your phone!” a voice yelled from behind Maggie in the movie theater, and she scrambled to find it and click off the volume. She’d never wanted to be one of those people, yet here she was: that asshole sitting in a crowded theater with her phone’s ringtone blaring, not muffled in the slightest by her seat or the bag. And god, it was for a random number too, not even the precinct. It wasn’t like she could do the whole, “I’m a cop! It’s an emergency!” and run out looking like someone who mattered.

Really, the whole incident seemed like a summation of her life these days: one shitshow after another. She didn’t even care that much about the movie; it had just seemed like a good way to get out of her shitty new apartment for a few hours to distract from the reality of everything that had happened. New apartment. She hated that phrase. It sounded like something she chose. Like how once upon a time National City was her “new home” because she’d chosen to leave Gotham. Only this time she hadn’t been the one to make a choice at all. Alex had. Alex had decided that her earlier promises about Maggie’s being everything she needed didn’t actually hold true, that Maggie wasn’t enough for her, just like she’d never been enough for anyone to want to keep her around. And so now Maggie had a “new apartment” far from the precinct with water stains on her ceiling and rats in the stairwell and a cheap mattress she’d gotten at IKEA that felt like sleeping on a pile of old yellow phonebooks. It made her long for the days of dormrooms and regulation furniture. At least then she had someone to call about the rats.

When she looked back up at the screen, she realized she had no idea what was going on. Two people were kissing, and she only recognized one of them. After a few more minutes of confusing dialogue, she got up and left. It wasn’t like the wasted twelve bucks for her ticket really compared to the wasted thousands of dollars on wedding shit that she’d let Alex convince her mattered. Because it had mattered to Alex, and Alex had mattered to her. She would’ve been happy enough to go down to the courthouse and get married—it wasn’t like she had family or even many friends coming out for her. The handful of friends she was still close with would understand. They’d make it down to whatever casual celebration Maggie eventually threw. Really, she’d wanted to have a party on the beach—just get the people closest to them to come out and have a bonfire and some drinks and good food and celebrate being alive and together and happy. Even after all these years, Alex still loved the beach, and Maggie loved things that made Alex look light and happy, like the cares and stresses of her job and her day-to-day life could finally fade to the background. But Alex had wanted the biggest, gayest wedding National City had ever seen, and Maggie couldn’t say no to that. And, she thought, with Alex by her side, she might just have been able to want that too, even if her side of the wedding would be quite a bit smaller than Alex’s, filled out as hers would by her family and all their friends. The same friends she saw still hanging out with Alex at the alien bar—the bar that had once been a space where she felt comfortable. She stopped going. It wasn’t the same after M’gann left anyway.

As she wandered the blocks around the theater, Maggie checked her phone, finding a voicemail from the unknown number. Furrowing her brow, she typed in her password and held the phone up to her ear.

“Ms. Sawyer? This is Nurse Roberts at National City General. I’m calling because Ms. Danvers was in an accident and is in the ICU, and this is the number she had listed as her emergency contact.”

Maggie hung up before the nurse had even finished her message. She was in a cab before she was quite conscious of having hailed one. In what felt like mere seconds, she found her feet propelling her toward the front doors of the hospital she knew too well from seeing crime scene victims rushed here after terrible accidents.

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

Maggie blinked slowly, as if just now realizing that she had made it all the way up to the ICU. “I, uh, I’m her emergency contact.”

The woman arched an eyebrow at her. “Whose emergency contact?”

“Alex. Alex Danvers.” The words felt heavy in her mouth, and nothing seemed like it was quite real.

“ID?”

Maggie passed over her badge, figuring it worked as well as anything else.

“She’s in room 311. Can you follow the signs alright?”

“What happened?”

The nurse’s frustration seemed to give way into pity then. “I don’t know, dear. Her nurses and doctors will be able to tell you more.”

Maggie nodded mutely before wandering down the corridor. Everything seemed different, like she was getting all the sensory inputs but not in a way that made sense anymore. She heard herself speaking and responding, but the voice didn’t sound like her own, and her body seemed to move independently, as if it still knew what to do even when she no longer did.

“Ma’am. Ma’am!” a voice yelled as if from underwater.

“Yeah?”

“You can’t go in there,” the nurse explained, stepping in front of Maggie.

“I’m her emergency contact.”

“Ah, Ms. Sawyer?” he asked.

“That’s me.”

“Alex is currently being examined by her doctor, but you’ll be able to see her in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want a seat? I can drag a chair into the hallway for you.”

“What happened to her?” Maggie asked once more.

“No one told you?”

Maggie was surprised to find that the urge to snap and yell wasn’t as strong as she expected it would be in a situation like this. There had been a few times when Alex had gotten injured at the DEO or when she’d been late home from a dangerous mission. Somehow this felt different. Maybe it was because she genuinely knew nothing this time. How could she be mad when she needed whatever scraps of information she could salvage from these people? “No,” she answered simply.

“She suffered severe trauma to the head.”

“Is she…”

“She’s in a coma right now. We…people do wake up, though.”

“Right.”

Maggie slumped down to the floor of the hallway, ignoring the nurse’s offers to get her a chair. Eventually the doctor came out and said more words to her. They were all similar. Coma. And traumatic brain injury. And blunt force. Then he told her she could go in.

It wasn’t how she’d expected to see Alex for the first time in months. She’d caught glimpses of her at crime scenes, and then the one time out at the bar, but she hadn’t seen her like this. Well, she’d never seen her like this. Now Alex’s face was mottled with deep bruises. A line of stitches ran across her skull and through her hair, and there was still some matted blood that the sponge bath Maggie assumed she probably got hadn’t taken care of. She wondered how much earlier Alex had gotten hurt. She wondered why she hadn’t been called then. Then again, if it was urgent enough that she was rushed into surgery without identification…she didn’t want to think about what any of it meant.

She sat still in the chair until the doctor came in again to check Alex’s vitals. It was a new doctor this time—a woman with graying hair and shallow wrinkles around her eyes. She introduced herself, and Maggie managed the most basic of pleasantries. She didn’t seem to expect anything more from Maggie.

One of the overnight nurses brought Maggie a blanket and a pillow at some point and showed her how to use the recliner in case she wanted to sleep. Maggie reclined the chair back and covered herself with the blanket and stared up at the tiled ceiling. There were watermarks on this one too.