#should i post the poem? i think i already did deep into my feed

[allamericanb-tch]

wait guys one time i was really in love with this guy (still am tbh and i haven’t seen him in 6 months) and i just remembered one time i wrote a poem about how he is the sun and i was just thinking today about him and i had the aha moment of realizing that he is the james to my regulus.

[golbrocklovely]

people on twitter are being so loud about things that aren’t correct.

1. people are saying that k and kat were friends up until k and sam got together but that’s not true. a shocking amount of people think that. kat was “friends” and i say that loosely because they were never close friends, with singer girl not k.

2. people are still going off on colby because of the poem mlp posted. they’re saying that colby always pretends to date these girls like mlp, stas, and amber. also not true. the only one of those girls that he genuinely pretended to date was amber for the video they did together. he did not pretend to date mlp. they all just played into what she was feeding them behind the scenes. same thing with stas, they were never more than friends but they let themselves get convinced by her that they were together. if any of those girls are hurting it’s because they did it to themselves. im so over that damn app lol.

and you’re right with the k live making fun of kat situation. it could be about singer girl (i forget what you guys call her haha) but because people are so mad at sam moving on they want her to be evil so bad. and people are already coming out saying “i never trusted those girls anyway” 🙂 laugh out loud. first of all, m has nothing to do with if k was making fun of kat on live bc she wasn’t live with her it was a different friend. and second of all, if every single time that snc has a girl around you have to say you had a bad feeling about them maybe you should look inward. maybe you should do some soul searching because there’s a pattern there that is toxic as hell. not every girl around snc is out to get them.

sorry this is so long i’m just so over this year and it’s literally only mid january😄 i never knew so much could happen in such a short time

honestly anon, you are absolutely right and i agree with you a million percent.

1. kat and k were never friends. i don’t even think they followed one another at any point. the only way they knew each other was bc of ms singer and kat being on the same label. but none of them were close or really even friends, besides k and ms singer.

and as we know now, k didn’t really even make fun of kat. fans were jumping to conclusions because they don’t like that sam has moved on to k, and colby has moved onto m, and so they take it out on the girls. i mean, they also take it out on colby because sam never does anything wrong and he’s the golden child but you know… same difference lol

2. this argument is one i don’t understand truthfully. even him and amber barely pretended to date. they teased the fandom like twice and that was it. they constantly reiterated that they were just flirty friends.

when it comes to mlp and stas… i could literally fist fight someone over the shit that was said lol jk

mlp has been airing out colby’s shit for the past two weeks bc he rejected her, finally. and ppl are trying to paint her like she is some innocent victim that got played by the evil colby brock. and look, i get that being rejected can suck and not having your feelings reciprocated hurts deeply. i know those feelings very well. but she claims that they were each others’ rocks, that they relied on each other for support and always came running to one another when things got tough. but now she’s casually telling fans in her live streams that colby has had multiple mid life crisis and he has secrets she can’t talk about. and then in her poems, which all have basically been confirmed to be about him, she talks about him having a darkness in him and that his shadows keep them apart and she was the light he needed and it’s just like………. for the longest time, my issue with her is that she has never been satisfied with just having colby as a friend. that she always needed more. but in the time frame of trying to get to that other side, they grew a deep bond. but now, bc she’s hurt, she’s just saying everything he told her. and that’s just disgusting behavior to me. you want to talk about the pain you’re in? that’s fine. but to air out shit he’s never even told us?? how fucked in the head are you to think that’s what one person should do to another? especially someone you called your twin soul? your rock? not to mention, but you’ve made it seem like he needs to be fixed and you’re the one to do it…

if he does have something dark inside of him, which to me just reads as her saying depression, you’re absolutely fucked in the head if you think someone like that needs fixing. especially by a horse girl like yourself. you still act like a high schooler and you’re 30. how about you get your shit together first, kiddo.

and then with stas, that shit just never happened lol she did the same thing as mlp: tried to plant seeds in the fandom that something else was going on with them. liked comments shipping the two of them, constantly answered questions about him. she did what mlp did but in a shorter time frame. and when malishkagate happened, and fans started congratulating the two of them for finally being together (even tho it’s very obvious that she took his phone after he filmed her and wrote “malishka” as the caption since clearly that man doesn’t know russian), that was the beginning of the end for anything they *could* have had. and then she went on her subscription service after they came home from europe and hung out with colby and friends one more time, only to tell her fans that she was going on a date and then posted colby. so… no wonder that man iced her out. i would too if you were going around and bragging to friends that you got posted on my snapchat 👀

also what i find the most annoying is that there are some fans that blame the downfall of the core four as colby’s doing……… as if a major component of the core four wasn’t a LITERAL couple that broke up. like bffr. and wasn’t stas literally complaining about being abandoned during one of kat’s streams and when she was asked about it, she just kept ignoring anything that had to do with stas?

but i guess that’s none of my business….

[toriwakes]

Pretty Boy 187 [s.r x reader]

summary: reader finds out that her new found tumblr crush is none other than her coworker.

content warnings: she/her!reader, mentions of alcohol

a/n: hi!! i’m so happy to be posting again. i’m really proud of this, so i hope you all like it! as always, let me know if you have any requests!

convincing spencer to get tumblr was tough. not only did he hate technology, he didn’t like social media either.

“it’s gonna be fun! c’mon, please?” you’ve been bugging him about it for about a week. “spencer, please just download it. if i have to hear (y/n) whine again i’m gonna loose it.” said derek, plopping is papers on his desk. “you like it when i whine.” you teased, causing derek to flash you a toothy grin. “alright! jeez.” you clapped of joy and jumped to help spencer, but he stopped you. “no way, i’m not letting you follow me.” he kept his phone facing away from you, your arms dropping to your sides in defeat. “fine. i’ll find your account somehow.” “we’ll see about that.”

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

over the next few weeks you acquired a few new followers, only one catching your eye. ‘prettyboy187’ followed you on a quiet friday afternoon. the username caught your attention at first, but when you checked is profile? that’s when you were hooked. half of his pictures were just aesthetically pleasing: outside of his window, his extreme sugary coffee, some books. but others...

it was an excerpt of a poem and his hand was holding back the pages. you doubt he meant to capture it so beautifully. just his hand was godly. you wasted no time dming him.

hey :)

how desperate did you look right now? he followed you barley an hour ago. you cant stop staring at that picture.

hello

he didn’t sound happy. well, he didn’t “sound” anything, you guys were texting. but you could feel his tone through the screen. where you overthinking this too much? you shuffled into your bed, wrapping yourself in the covers as you pondered what to say next.

i just wanted to tell you i really like your account. are you a photographer or something?

no, i’m not. my friend convinced me to get this app and i noticed people post aesthetically pleasing photos on here, so i’m just doing the same haha.

ok, well you don’t post nice pictures. at least, not that type. maybe you’d post a picture of the snow or your bed, but every now and then you’d bless the feed with a picture of you in a swimsuit. it was more for opinions on the suit than anything else.

ohh. maybe i should start doing that.

how do you mean?

oh.

that sounded like a very judge-y ‘oh’. your eyes scanned your own profile to see what he could’ve hated. there was you in your favorite red swimsuit, a picture of your computer with netflix on the screen. the rest of the posts were of the same type, so you couldn’t pinpoint what the problem was.

what is it?

no, nothing. your recent picture. that’s a nice swim suit.

oh. that’s what he meant. you practically threw your phone across the room and squealed. thank the universe that he didn’t dislike you already. you shot him another text. just like that, you had your first ever tumblr crush.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

“what’s up with you pretty girl?” derek asked when you walked into work. you supposed you still had the blush on your face when pretty boy wished you a good morning and day at work. “nothing!” you said, obviously it being something. as if on cue, spencer walked in behind you also giddy. “what, you’re both sweet on someone now?” when neither of you responded, derek laughed. “what?” emily inquired, taking her seat. “spencer and (y/n) both have a crush.” emily’s jaw dropped. “spencer has a crush?” everyone broke into laughter, jj overhearing and almost dropping her files. “why is that so surprising?” spencer defended himself, derek giving him a ‘you know the answer to that’ look. “well?what’re their names?” he pushed. you bit your tongue. you didn’t even know his name. yikes. “let’s start.” aaron called. saved by hotch. thank goodness. “this ain’t over.” derek warned the two of you. yes it was. by the end of the day morgan would’ve forgotten all about this.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

you were right like always. morgan didn’t ask anymore about it, instead offering to get drinks. you turned it down, desperate to get home and text your boy. and you did, only at 11pm.

hey, sorry it’s so late. had a long day at work.

no worries, so did i. listen, i have a question.

this boy only sent messages that would make your heart drop. with a pacing heart, you texted back.

yes?

his ‘online’ button flashes on. then he was typing. then he was deleting. it seemed like hours before he responded.

what’s your name?

godamnit. you didnt have a display name because you didn’t want anyone you knew finding your account. what’s a fake name you can use? maybe...

lila.

why did you pick spencer’s ex’s name? you don’t know. you remember being insanely jealous of her because she got to kiss spencer in the pool while you were posted outside. your crush on spencer was still very much alive, but not as much as it was with pretty boy.

that’s a pretty name.

thanks. now you have to tell me yours ;)

you’ve never been so nervous for a text conversation in your life. for some reason, the back of your head wondered what it would be like if you were texting spencer. it was just a thought, though. spencer would never say half of this stuff.

call me morgan.

oh NO. please no... you stalked his profile again, terrified that you’ve been flirting with your coworker this past month. alas, your eye caught another body picture- this time of his arm. no tattoos like derek. not to mention he was much smaller. not that that’s a bad thing. you don’t think you’d ever be able to handle derek...

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

you arrived at work yet again with a blushing face. “come on, you can’t keep hiding this from me! tell me something at least!” derek whined. “okay! his name is morgan. and i know what you’re thinking, and no, it’s not you, my boy is much more attractive.” derek’s mouth formed into an ‘O’ shape in fake offense. “that’s damn near impossible. ain’t nobody prettier than derek morgan.” spencer walked in now, again with a dorky smile on his face. “spencer. (y/n)’s got a crush on-“ you jumped to cover his mouth, the sound of your crush’s name muffled. “what- hey! no fair! derek gets to know but i cant?” spencer whined. derek held his hands up and sat back down, not wanting to get you mad. smart. “three can’t keep a secret.” was all you said before sitting down to clean your workspace.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

the new highlight of your day was texting morgan. you learned several things about him; he has a job he can’t specify for personal reasons, he really wants a dog but he feels like animals hate him. you told him about your cat joel, and how they could absolutely love him. he appreciated that.

if i tell you something, do you promise not to freak out?

depends. are you about to tell me you’re a serial killer?

no!

you giggled to yourself at your humor.

i wanna meet you.

you promised not to freak out, but you were freaking out. it was just now setting in that you didn’t know this man at all. where he lived, how old he was, even what he looked like. you took a few deep breaths and asked a question.

where do you live?

quantico virginia.

no hesitation on that one. he lived in the same town as you? you didn’t know how you’d be able to turn this down...

shit, me too. let’s meet up then.

i’ll send you a good place to get drinks.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

“every time you walk in here, you’re blushing. now so are your ears.” you beamed at derek, sitting at your desk before spilling. “i’m gonna meet him.” “wait what? are you sure that’s safe?” you rolled your eyes. “i’m an fbi agent. i’m not scared of a little danger.” you playfully winked and derek blew out a huff of air. “if anything happens, you know you can call me.” you pouted at your friend and nodded, appreciating his concern. spencer was spinning in his seat. “you happy too?” you asked. he only nodded and didn’t elaborate. you we’re going to press on, but hotch called you all in and you lost your chance.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

on rare occasions, the bau got tough cases with very happy endings. this was one of those cases. the plane ride home was extremely joyous and derek offered to get drinks again. this time, everyone accepted (all except hotch). you texted morgan telling him you were going out tonight and you wouldn’t be back till late. you laughed to yourself. it was like he was your boyfriend.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

the night was young and you were fairly tipsy. ok that’s generous, you were drunk. you were spending most of your time with penelope and it took you a minute to remember spencer. “ohmygosh! spence!” he was startled at your presence but he gave you that flat mouthed smile of his. “how are you! you’re my favorite scorpio.” you nodded as you said it, as if trying to convince him it was true. “thanks? i’m good. you’re drunk.” he pointed out. “no shit. hey!!! you never showed me your tumblr user! you gotta show me that girl you like, bet you she’s really sexy.” you didn’t even know what you were saying at this point, whipping out your phone and snapping a picture with spencer. “what are you doing?” he asked, watching you type. “posting this on tumblr! i want everyone to know you’re my favorite in the world.” he wanted to ask favorite what, but a ping on his phone distracted him. lila posted. he smiled and checked her page.

holy fuck.

♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

“(y/n)?” he asked, not looking away from his phone. “yess?” you responded. “what’s your tumblr?” what is your tumblr? “uhhh..i don’t know, check.” you tossed him your open phone, and his eyes only grew wider. “you’re lila?” the words rang through your ears like a siren. “what?” the word was breathy, you couldn’t add stability to what you said. spencer showed you his phone, ‘prettyboy187’ on the screen. “you’re morgan?” still no confidence in your voice whatsoever. your feelings were supposed to change, you weren’t supposed to like that morgan was spencer. but they didn’t. you didn’t even think about the fact he saw your swimsuit photos. you loved that morgan was spencer, and you still wanted to see him on the weekend. “are you mad?” you asked, not being able to stop yourself from sipping from your glass. “no. should i be?” you smiled. “no. do you still wanna meet up this weekend?” “yes. but i don’t wanna get drinks.” he wasn’t even drinking, why is he complaining. “where should we go then?” “my house.”

[sadienita]

How To Fall In Love 101 - Part 3

Jihoon x Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

It was a relief that school was done and you weren’t going to be busy with assignments. You also wanted to spend more time with Jihoon. He could be a little awkward but you had a feeling if he relaxed a little you’d get along well.

Today was a beautiful day. Today was wonderful because you had your last exam yesterday. You were officially done your undergrad and that was terrific feeling. Your instagram feed was full of your friends excitement over being done with four years of school and you were no exception, having posted pictures as you left your final exam.

You and Jihoon had spent some time texting in the last couple of weeks. You were very busy with your studying and Jihoon wasn’t the best at responding to messages. He rarely did so right away and you didn’t mind too much with how much studying you had to too but it also meant that you weren’t getting to know him very fast. You asked him questions about himself from time to time but he seemed to get a little awkward when he talked about himself too much. He did send you good night texts some days, it was always random but it was very sweet of him.

You were excited for today though. You were both done with everything and had the day off and he had messaged you and asked you out on another date. You giggled to yourself at how formal his message was. Jihoon was cute, if a little awkward. But he seemed more and more like he did want to get to know you so you chalked it up to nerves. A new relationship was always nerve wracking so you couldn’t blame him.

You spun around and checked yourself in the mirror. You’d picked something cute and comfortable and you hoped he’d like it. He didn’t seem like the type to comment on that too much but it was still nice to put some effort in, who knows he might appreciate it. You checked your phone again for the umpteenth time, waiting for Jihoon to text you or ring the bell. He told you he would pick you up and take you wherever it was you were going. You glanced out the window, happy that the weather was so nice at least, though you didn’t know if you were going outside much or not.

The buzz of the bell brought you out of your thoughts and you calmed your footsteps, trying to hold back from skipping towards the door to see him. You made your way out of your apartment and down to the main entrance and smiled brightly at him when you opened the main door. Jihoon gave you a shy, nervous smile, his hand held behind his back.

“Hey, how’ve you been?” you hummed.

“I’m good. I- uh-” he pulled his hand out from behind he back, nearly shoving a bouquet of flowers into your hand, a blush creeping up his cheeks. “These are for you.”

You giggled and took the flowers. “Come on in, I’ll put them in a vase before we go.”

Jihoon followed you up to your apartment, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He was quick to ask you about your exams, what classes they were for and you how you thought they went. He seemed to like it when you talked more and he could listen so you went on a little bit about your exams and which ones you thought you did better on and he hummed and listened with a small smile on his face. He did seem more interested in your poetry seminar, asking what sorts of poems you had studied and which were your favourites.

It didn’t take too long for you to be on your way. You followed him through the crowded city streets, keeping close but not trying to take his hand. He mumbled to you as you walked until you were stood outside a nice restaurant. You glanced at him and noticed him giving you a nervous look.

“I figured… I mean dinner is a good date right?”

You bit your lip “It is…”

You didn’t want to alarm him but the hesitation in your voice had already done that. It wasn’t that a dinner date, or in this case lunch, was a bad idea. But the restaurant was pricey and being at the end of the semester your funds were getting low. You definitely didn’t want him to end up with the whole bill, especially when he had covered the cost for the movie.

Jihoon fidgeted as he started to stumble through his thoughts. “I’m sorry if it’s a bad idea… I-I just thought-”

“No, it…” you took a deep breath looked at him calmly. “It’s not exactly cheap. I don’t want you to have to cover a pricey meal when you already paid for the movie and snacks.”

“Oh…” Jihoon deflated a bit and you thought for a moment.

“Jihoon, can I take you on a date?”

He gave you a surprised look. “Isn’t that my job?”

You shrugged. “Maybe traditionally, but it doesn’t have to be.”

“Well… okay.” Jihoon seemed both a little disappointed and a little relieved. You led him down the street and further into town and he slowly realized you were going towards campus.

“Wait, where are we going?”

A grin tugged at your lips, “You’ll see.”

He followed you curiously and guessed a few times at where you were going, nudging you and whining when you just grinned and told him it was a surprise. His expression only got more confused when you turned to go into the library.

“Ugh, I spent so much of the last month here,” he grumbled.

“So did I, but I have a cute idea,” you hummed.

He kept up with you as you headed in and up the stairs. He tried to figure out where you were going and he mumbled to himself about where the scores were and thinking he might have been here once or twice but couldn’t remember why. You grinned as you stopped him before pulling him between the stacks. Exam season was almost over and the library was nearly empty and Jihoon blushed deeply as you pulled him into such a secluded spot.

“W-Wait, w-what did you have i-in mind?” he gulped, clearly flustered.

“Relax,” you chuckled. “We’re here to do some reading.” He gave you an unamused look and you giggled as you continued. “This is the poetry section.”

“Oh,” he hummed. “I knew I’d been here once or twice. I had to set some poems for a choir.”

You smiled. “I was hoping you’d been here before. You seemed interested when I was talking about my poetry class and I wanted to show you some of my favourite poems, and I thought maybe you would have some to show me…” your voice got quieter as you spoke, suddenly a little nervous that he wouldn’t like your idea.

You relaxed a little when Jihoon smiled. “That actually sounds pretty cool, I think…” he trailed off as he started to search the books lining the shelves, muttering to himself. You smiled to yourself as you easily found a book by one of your favourite poets, glancing at him as he searched. You leafed through the book until you found the pretty poem that you thought he might like. You smiled to yourself as you reread it.

Jihoon’s tiny “ah-ha” caught your attention as he jumped off the step ladder and flipped open the book to a poem.

“I thought of this one right away. I almost picked it for my project.” You passed him your book and both of you read the poem the other had suggested. You felt a heat rising in your cheeks as you absorbed the sweet, loving words in the poem. When you looked back up at Jihoon to see that he was also blushing.

“That was cute,” he said.

“So was yours,” you added, a shy smile tugging at your lips. “Do you want to find some more?”

He grinned at you before going back to search.

You spent the afternoon like that. You each collected a pile of books, reading through poems and passing them back and forth to each other. Some of the poems were silly or tragic. More than a few of them were sweet love poems that made the both of you a little flustered. You stopped from time to time, talking about the poems and at times sharing stories. You found yourself with a soft smile on your face as Jihoon found a poem he had set to music and excitedly explained how he’d done it and what he loved most about that composition.

He faltered a little as he took in how you were staring at him but only smiled wider when you encouraged him to keep talking, thinking you could listen to his voice for an eternity and never get bored of it.

Jihoon sighed contentedly as he glanced at his phone. “We’ve been here all afternoon,” he hummed, looking up at you. “You’re so good at this.”

“At what?” you chuckled.

He waved his hands through the air in circles. “The whole dating thing. It makes me feel so out of my element.”

You gave him a reassuring smile. “You wanna know the secret?”

“Please,” he snorted.

“Don’t worry so much about what a date ‘should’ be. Just pick something fun we can both enjoy. And don’t push yourself towards milestones you’re not ready for.”

He ducked his head as a nervous laugh left his lips. “I’ll have to try that,” he gazed up at you shyly, “but I still kinda want to believe it’s just because you’re so amazing.”

[myrainydayloves]

On The Idea of Farms and Family

In which I post the longest fic I’ve ever written. It’s long ya’ll.

In which the gang visits old friends and are forced to help out with the up coming harvest. Featuring: family drama, a taste of angst, hurt and comfort, and more honey than most people could handle. Also featuring @blackquills-wife and her husband Klaus.

Rated T because swearing

The excitement was keeping her up. Tossing and turning as if to warm up for the long day of play tomorrow. Their family and friends were all coming to help harvest honey and fruit and vegetables then sitting down for a feast of fresh cooked food. Zed had been watching her prepare for weeks, making gallons of ice cream, ordering an entire cow from the butcher, setting aside the best ingredients, picking the most beautiful flowers, and cleaning endlessly. 

All with the widest smile on her face. 

Zed could still see the smile even under the bags under her eyes. And now she turned to him and blushed. 

“Have I been keeping you awake? I’m so sorry!” She whispered over the sound of crickets and rustling trees. 

“No, no, Annaka.” He said her name with such reverence, like just letting the syllables out would cause the mountains to move and the sky to break out in rain. “I was just thinking about how I don’t deserve you.”

And he didn’t, or so he thought. He wasn’t human like the rest of them. Zed couldn’t even help on the massive garden they planted for too long without becoming dehydrated and needing a shower. A real human could have tilled along side her, wiping the mud from her cheek-

“Not this again,” she groaned. “Zed, My Prince, I don’t deserve you! You’re the most wonderful person alive! Literally in the whole world! I adore you.”

“Ah But-“

Annaka silenced him with a kiss. “Please. You are my true love. If it’s your personality? You are my match in both art and books, outwitting me without demeaning me. You create comparisons I could never think of. I’m in awe of your brain. And of how you selflessly help others! I fell in love with you all over again when you just donated all your treasured books to the library after it burnt down. No thoughts. Just gave them to the town. And don’t get me started on your looks…”

A single finger traced down his chest and if he was able to get goosebumps, he would have them by now. She let her fingertips roll over his chest, tracing every scar with the wonder of someone discovering stars for the first time. The scent of honeysuckle blossoms from her conditioner filled his lungs as her hair curtained around them when she leaned in for another kiss. 

“Annaka…”

As they laid quietly, pondering their love, Zed slowly moved into kiss her when-

“HEY YOU’D BETTER NOT BE DEEP SEA DIVING IN THERE!!”

A Zapp of electricity killed the mood. 

“Son of a bitch……” she cursed. “You know what? Fuck it, let him hear. I want you-“

“I KNOW YOU’RE AWAKE, ANNAKA!!” Zapp cried again from outside their front gate, banging on the wood. 

“Fucking asshole, WHY ARE YOU HERE!!! I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING, YOU STUPID BASTARD!!!”

“YOU FREAKIN INGRATE!!! KLAUS FIGURED YOU WOULD WANT US HERE WHILE THE BEES WERE ASLEEP!!”

“BEES DON’T SLEEP, ASSHAT-you know what? I’m just gonna frickin’ kill him. I’m just gonna chop his head off and use it for fertilizer. I’m just gonna-“ 

Annaka continued to whisper the other gruesome ways she planned on murdering her brother as she put on her robe. Even when she slammed the door to their room closed and walked towards the front gate, Zed could hear them screaming at each other. 

Family, huh? Were all families like this?

God he certainly hoped not. 

—

Annaka flung open the front gate, nearly smacking her brother in the face with it as it swung out. The Libra team stood happily, but sleepily, in front of her with Klaus already in his beesuit. 

After momentarily wondering where he could have found one that fit his colossal frame, Annaka turned to glare at her brother. All the excitement and joy she had been holding to see him vanished and she was right back to wondering how satisfying it would be to make him eat dirt. 

“Sorry to get here so early,” Mary apologized. “I hope we didn’t wake you up too bad.”

Zapp scoffed. “Oh she was up. And so was fishcake, showing her all the ways it can bend-OW!”

With a soft shimmer, Chain appeared on top of Zapp’s head, still in her jammies. Over the chorus of pained cries from her brother, she asked. “Do you have coffee?”

“Seconded,” Stephan grumbling, still wearing a suit despite the farmwork to come. 

“I’m sure Zed’s already got a pot going. Where’s Leo?”

“Still asleep in the back,” Mary said with a small smile. “He was navigating for us up until about an hour ago when he passed out.”

“Poor thing,” Annaka cooed. “I hope he didn’t wear himself out too bad.”

“He’s so adorable when he’s sleeping, reminds me of my boys,” KK cooed, heaving the sleeping boy over her shoulder like he was a naughty fat cat. 

After a few more greetings, Annaka guided them through the walled front yard. It was done in an almost perfect replica of Master’s old training ground. Everything from the rocks to the meticulously maintained meditation spiral. Zed often trained on rainy days or when there wasn’t much farming to do. Just the memories of watching his smooth graceful movements brought the smile back to her face. 

“This is lovely,” Mary cooed, taken with the koi pond. “Oh my! These koi patterns are beautiful!”

“Thank you, Zed likes to care for them. And they adore him.”

“Glad to see they can recognize family,” Zapp scoffed. 

Annaka punched him in the gut so hard that he fell to the ground looking for air. All without moving a single hair out of place. She smiled brightly. 

“How do you like that, bro? He’s been teaching me some moves.”

“Hate it, thanks,” he groaned from his human puddle on the ground. 

The group stepped over him and they entered the home. It was a relatively small living space. There were only a few rooms: a dining or maybe living area, the door to the main bedroom, and the tank room. They passed through the living space, stopping to set the exhausted Leo on the couch to sleep, and into the garden.

What Annaka liked to call her Garden of Eden.

Flowers bloomed from very vine, fruit swung heavy from trees, vegetables seemed to pop out of the ground to say hello. A stone fountain stood off to the side, water trickling over rocks and down into a stream the feed into the garden. 

“Ah that’s the irrigation system!” Annaka exclaimed. “We pumped it from a near by river and then let it fall over the Stone Mountain to aerate it, and then it flows to specific parts of the garden from the bowl here! Zed designed it! Isn’t it beautiful! Oh...the afternoons I spend in the hammock, listening to the water splash over the rocks...My Prince…”

“You’re still so cute, Anna,” Mary cooed. 

The girls held hands and gazed into the night sky together. 

“Oh Mary, oh KK! I understand how wonderful it is to be married!”

“Yes yes! My Klaus and I are just as happy as you two! Oh joy-“

“Why the frick are we here if this is the whole garden.”

And all the joy was Zapped out of the air again.

Annaka broke from Mary and turned to him. “This is just my private Garden of Eden. Our real farm is acres big.”

“Ah! You’re here! Zapp, the wood got wet from last night, will you come light it?” 

They turned to see Zed poking his head out of the window of an extremely small cottage. Annaka quickly explained that because they burn things like cornstalks and wheat stalks, things tend to get pretty smokey so they built the rooms housing the kitchen and subsequently the heater outside. 

“Course they got wet from your gills touchin’ em, Ariel!” Zapp spat, making his way to the kitchen without complaint. 

She continued to lead the rest of them on a tour, showing them the outdoor shower, her lovingly carved wooden platewear, her huge marble bathtub, and finally the tank room

Their bedroom was plain save the aquarium tank in the middle, except for, of course, the depictions Of Annaka in so many mediums. An oil painting of her artfully sleeping on the bed, a photo of her playing in the tulips, poems framed and hung on walls, sketches of her working in the yard. It was a shrine to her as much as it was also a bedroom. 

“Oh my, this feels…” Stephan stopped himself before he said, ‘fucking weird’.

Mary finished his sentence.  “So very intimate.” She said this over the sound of KK silently weeping and taking photos to send back to her husband. 

“Ah, Yeah,” Annaka responded, trying to shove them out the door while protecting the blush on her cheeks. “He’s certainly added more since I was last in here….” 

By then, Zed was calling them back for coffee served with the hint sunrise. Annaka pushed past Zapp into the kitchen to quickly throw together a decent breakfast, ordering the boys to go set the table under in the gazebo.

—

“Zed! How are you?” Mary cried when she saw him, wrapping him in a hug. 

“Happy, I would say,” he answered, setting plates on the table. “Very happy.”

Stephan couldn’t help a playful, “Yeah, we saw your art room.”

“And it was great! Your dedication to your young wife! Your adoration of her!” KK pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I’ve never seen anything like it! You’re so deeply in love.”

“Ewww gross, you like my siste-“ 

THUMP.

Zapp clutched the back of his head and cried, “HOW THE FUCK DID YOU HIT ME FROM THE KITCHEN! THE MASTER SHOULD HAVE TRAINED YOU FOR THE FRICKING ALLSTARS!!”

“COME HELP ME CARRY THESE DISHES, YOU AWFUL WORM!”

“I’M NOT YOUR SLAVE!! GET YOUR OWN-OW!!!! THAT’S IT!!! I’M ABOUT TO COME GIVE YOU A NOOGIE LIKE YOU’D NEVER BELIEVE!”

“AFTER YOU HELP ME CARRY BREAKFAST!!”

“F I N E!!”

Zapp trudged off to help with breakfast instead of continuing to insult Zed, who sat down at the newly set table. 

Klaus leaned in, still in full bee suit and asked, “So when are we going to get the honey? We should get it before the bees wake up, correct? We don’t want to disturb them.”

“Honey, they don’t sleep,” Mary cooed, petting him. “Don’t worry, the bees are excited to meet you too.”

“What is on the docket though? Assuming it’s not just twelve straight, uninterrupted hours of Annaka and Zapp screaming at each other,” Stephan asked. 

“I think it’s sweet, in a family way,” Gilbert said, sipping the coffee from his mug and finding that it tasted distinctly of chocolate and cinnamon. 

Chain huffed. “I do need my hearing to work, you know.”

Klaus smiled quietly, pulling Mary a bit closer. “My siblings and I never really fought. It’s nice to see how a normal family gets along.”

“Nothing about the Renfro’s is normal,” Stephan mocked in good fun. 

“Here, here,” everyone cheered, clinking coffee mugs with a laugh. 

The siblings in question returned holding breakfast, setting plates upon plates of home friends potatoes that smelled like garlic and spices, thick slabs of pepper crusted bacon, farm fresh eggs still sizzling on a large pan, and loafs upon loafs of bread. (I know it’s loaves but loafs is more pleasing to the mouth) All served with fresh butter and cherry jam. 

Without so much as a “Thanks for the food” the table descended on the breakfast like ravenous wolves. But the sound of silence is the highest compliment you can pay to food, sans pointing at things with your fork and going “mmm!!!”

Annaka kissed Zed when she sat down next to him and fixed him a plate like she’s done every day since they moved here. Without fail, she got up and cooked him a little something, even if it was just roasting some bread, before going back to bed. 

His heart soared when she drank the coffee he poured for her and she hummed, shoulders dropping and back relaxing. 

“Tastes goood buuuut-“ his heart plummeted until she stole his mug and took a big gulp. “That one tastes better.”

KK screamed with delight as he blushed. With that, the table broke into conversation about the harvest, about work, about life in general as the sun lazily crept up the side of the sky. Soon, the farm cats and dogs arose to work: scared off pests and chasing chickens out into the field before coming to beg for scraps at the table. 

All to soon, breakfast was over and the day was set to start. Annaka commanded them like soldiers off to cut down men instead of fruit. She, Klaus, and Mary were on honey duties. Chain and Stephan on fetching fresh water and mushrooms from the forest(she added a small wink at Chain). KK and Gilbert on fruit trees. And finally Zapp and Zed vegetables.

“Why are you giving me the dirty work?” Zapp complained. 

“With your abilities, you’ll be able to harvest the veggies in no time. And take extreme care not to hurt my melons! There are a lot this year and if we harvest them all now, we’ll be eating melon for every meal for a week.”

“K, I heard the first time you old hag.”

“Shut up and go pick my veggies.”

—

To say Klaus was buzzing with excitement was an understatement. He was floating off the ground as Annaka suited up and suited Mary up. 

“You look like the cutest marshmallow,” He cooed.

“Awww and you look like a big white polar bear!” 

Mary had been listening to Klaus talk about bees for a solid month and she loved her husband. But she was ready for a different topic. Despite this, she was practically drunk off his happiness. Fluttering around him like a worker bee did flowers. 

“Okay, let’s go get some frames, boys,” Annaka said, slamming the door to her workshop shut. Despite the door being closed she could still smell the uncapped gasoline and paint Annaka kept in there. Family tradition, she insisted. 

Mary questioned why Annaka was dragging such a huge wagon behind them until the hives came into view. There must have been two dozen hives, all four frames tall, standing in the field. 

After motioning them over, Annaka pried the box lid off and a swarm of bees greeted them. Worker bees buzzed around them for a bit before recognizing Klaus and Mary’s non threatening auras and settling into the box. 

“Now, we’re gonna take the top two boxes of each frame. Bottom two are for the babies and where the drones sex up the Queen. Oh-look! Her highness came to say hello!”

A bee the size of Mary’s thumb buzzed up to gently bonk Klaus and Mary’s hats as if to knight them before returning to her chambers. 

“Better back off my Klaus,” Mary jokes. 

Klaus turned to her. “I understand you’re joking but I want you to know that despite my excitement for the bees, you are equally if not more important to me right now. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They shared a romantic gaze over the soundtrack of Annaka heaving and groaning over the weight of the supers. 

“It’s like 30 pounds a super!” Annaka cried. 

Klaus hugged Mary. “You are my beautiful wife.”

“Oof! These boys are thicc with honey!”

“And you my beautiful husband,” Mary whispered back. 

“Fucking! Sticky and heavy! What a combo!” She heaved, setting the first super in the box. 

The shlop sound of the sticky honey hitting the metal wagon was enough to jar them out of their love. Soon the work began, filling the wagon with four dozen 25 pound supers all filled with honey. 

“And here’s why I need Klaus. This wagon is now nearly 15 hundred pounds. Can you move it for me?”

Like he was pushing a feather, Klaus began to tug the wagon to the shop. 

Mary nearly choked on the smell of the workshop again, all deadly fumes pouring into her nose. Luckily, Annaka quickly dragged the extractor out to them and set up rather quickly, blissfully closing the door to what would knock out a normal person. 

“Okay so we put the frames in the extractor like thiiis. Then you close it. And you spin it,” Annaka taught to Klaus.

“Ah, for how long?”

“Eight to ten minutes for each side. So twenty minutes total.”

The couple stood shocked as she continued to spin it. Despite the agonizingly long time they had spinning that thing to look forward to, Annaka was still smiling. 

Must be the paint fumes, Mary mused silently. 

———

“Another break, Flounder?” Zapp asked, pulling up another arm full of carrots. “Why the fuck are there so many carrots?”

“Lots...of people...who juice,” Zed explained pouring water over his drying skin. “Ahh.”

Zapp stabbed his shovel into the earth, a satisfying thunk mixed with pebbles crushed. His designer jacket wrapped around his waist as he glared at Zed. It was like a cheetah who’s spotted a bird just close enough to take a swipe at. 

“We’re not gonna get anything done with you gasping like a fish on land. Did you really make my little sister do this all by herself, blowfish?”

A stabbed remark that hit so close to Zed’s heart, he felt it break. 

“I-“

Zapp crosses his arms. “Because if I find out my sister was slaving away in this heat while you played Southern Belle on the porch all day, I’m gonna be seriously pissed.”

“My skin gets dry. I-I over-heat because I don’t sweat. She agrees-“

“So you did huh? You just wanted to mooch of my sister’s hard work?”

Zed’s head sunk. He wished he could drown in the shame but...gills. For the life of him, he could not fight Zapp on this. A difficult silence fell between them. 

If only Annaka was here to explain. Or was he relying on her too much? Maybe he was a burden to her. Just a freak show she had to love because she was afraid no one else would love her. Was he taking advantage of her?

He stood up quickly. “I need to go sleep.”

“Sure, sure,” Zapp said flippantly. “Useless crustacean.” 

The tank room was a safe place for him. A place he could still be surrounded by his wife but also be alone to think and meditate. 

Zapp was good at getting under people’s skin. A talent Annaka shared but tried desperately to keep under control. Two siblings alike in more ways than one, he sighed. 

Just as he settled in to sleep, the door opened again, revealing a very sleepy Leo rubbing his eyes. “How long was I out? Is there still coffee?”

“Ah, yes. You can reheat it in the microwave, our stove is rather difficult to use for first timers.”

“Cool.” The door closed halfway before it opened again. “Wait, why are you in here?”

Because Zapp hurt my feelings-

“Just grabbing some air...well water.”

“Okay! I’ll catch you outside!”

“Ah Wait! Leo…” Zapp looked down at the lights on his tank. “Do you think...Annaka...that I’m good enough for her?”

A snort. “Of course, dude. She loves you like...so much. Even when you two were back at the office, she totally loved you. Don’t worry about it.”

“....thank you.”

“Course man.”

———————

Hours later, and I do mean hours, the honey was collected in a couple hundred or so jars. Annaka smiled at Mary, who wanted her arms to fall over, and Klaus, who also wanted his arms to fall off but was more than willing to catch Mary’s arms as well. In a box, she selected a few dozen jars and motioned for them to follow her back up the hill. 

“You guys did great for your first time! I won’t make you deal with the beeswax cleaning,” Annaka chirped. “And you’re welcome to take home as many jars as you want!”

Klaus’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Mhm! They make great gifts! I’ll even give you some of the tiny leftover bottles from the wedding!”

“Thank you!”

“Of course! I’m just glad we got all the supers back on! You both looked be-“

“HEY!! WHAT’S THE WIFI PASSWORD!!”

“IT’S ON THE DOOR!!”

“THANKS.”

Annaka turned back with a small sigh. “Anyways! I just wanted-“

“YEAH ANNAKA, LEO’S HUNGRY!”

The was a barely audible, “I didn’t say that!”

“And off we go to make lunch,” she muttered. “Sorry, Klaus will you carry these jars up for me? I’ll run ahead and get dinner started.”

Without waiting to hear his response, she dumped the box full of jars of honey into his weeping arms. It was like she just placed the world in his aching arms and he was barely able to keep from collapsing out of exhaustion. He stared blankly at the hill in front of him as Annaka scrambled up it. 

She walked into the kitchen to start the fire and found a Leo already trying to light the cornstalks. “Ahh, thank you, Leo. What would you like for lunch?”

To answer her, his stomach growled like tiger, shaking both of them. Annaka nodded with a soft ‘I see’ and shooed him to wash up as Zapp had undoubtedly thrown mud at him while they pulled up veggies. Suspiciously missing though, was her husband. 

Another growl for Leo’s stomach heard across the yard made it clear the matter could wait. 

Quickly, she whipped up some simple burgers with a side salad and potatoes wedges and carried them out to the gazebo where her brother sat looking through her vines of flowers and out into the valley. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked. 

He didn’t turn to look at her. “Yeah…”

“Hey Big Bro?”

“Yeah, Zipp?”

Clicking her tongue at her embarrassing childhood nickname but letting the matter drop, Annaka said, “Thanks for coming. It really means a lot to see you here.”

Leo sat at the table and practically swallowed a burger whole, which somehow did not break the moment. After chugging down the fresh juice Annaka squeezed, he said, “He’s been working hard all month-“

“Can it, pubes,” Zapp snapped, glaring at him. 

Leo only smiled back. “What don’t want your sister to find out you trained all those newbies to watch the city just so you could be here? You should have seen him! We hit a new record, only three deaths this month thanks to this gu-“

“I said, can it!” He stuffed a burger into the younger boy’s mouth before slowly making his own burger. Zapp ignored the happy eyes Annaka was giving him in favor of artfully making a mess. 

“Zapp…”

“Annaka.” The use of her name brought her to full attention as he began looking out into the valley again. “Are you happy here? The middle of nowhere, hard physical labor, and fish brains? Mom and Dad said they’d be happy to have you back home and Master said he could use an extra hand with the new-“

“I would not trade this for anything,” she whispered. “With all due respect to Master and with a due swear words and insults to mom and dad. I am...so...so happy here.”

“But it’s hard!” Zapp snapped, losing all the teasing that usually kept him distant from others. Slamming his fist on the table, he cried. “It’s hard right?! You work your ass off and what can Zed even do around here? You always work so hard and make me look bad! And you found someone who actually loves you verse-“

He closed his mouth and twenty some odd years of emotional distress poured onto the table like spilled fresh squeezed juice. Jealousy was a rotten thing that spoiled all the fruit and vegetables. It crept into a person and decomposed someone from the inside out. 

“Oh!!! Is that Klaus I hear calling me!?” Leo asked as he stuffed burgers into his arms. “Bye!!”

A few moments passed before Annaka spoke, “Remember when we were kids and one of the caster kids tried to bury me alive at some conference. I bled out so much but I couldn’t get the boulders off me. Then, you came and rescued me, took me to the hospital, and then put that kid in the hospital bed next to me?”

“Heh, yeah. Fuck that kid,” Zapp said. 

“That night his dad came to visit us in the hospital. He gave me a bunch of flowers then pulled the curtain around that kid. I..” Annaka looked down. “He hurt his son. Broke a bone, I think.”

“Always knew that guy was bad news,” Zapp mused. 

She laughed, wine chimes rustled in the breeze, and she said, “That’s when I knew I wanted to help people. I wanted to keep them safe-“

“Yeah, I know. You’re moral and upstanding, I should be more like you-“

“Wait,” she said and the pond stilled at her words. Her brother looked up, all the same mess of white hair and stupid face he’d always had and she smiled at him. 

“You help people too, Zapp. We’re alike in more ways than one.”

“No, I don’t...I ruin everything. Ask anyone. You come and you clean up my messes and everyone loves you.”

“That’s because people can’t see past arbitrary values of morality. You sleep around and you drink and you smoke so you must be a bad person. I donate time and money to people so I must be a good person. Neither is true. Those who know you, who really know you, know that you are a kind person at heart. They know you struggle with vulnerability and are willing and able to understand you through your actions.”

She beamed at him. “Everyone loves you, Zapp. And how could they not?”

For the first time in a long time, Zapp felt tears running down his face. Honest tears of relief and of understanding fell from his eyes. His sister crossed the table and hugged him. 

“You’re the best big brother anyone could ask for, Zapp.”

And then he wept.

—————

Zed didn’t fall asleep. He floated there for hours, watching the water pump onto the small fountain in his room. Next to it was a small piece of marble he’d been carving to go on top for a while. It was going to Annaka, skirt all flared out and happy as the water shot up around her like the did in the city. 

He sighed and stared up at the ceiling again. Maybe a bit of training would help? Just to be angry? 

But he hadn’t felt anger at anyone since he moved here. Anger at things sure. Bees that stung me, fruit trees that dropped fruit on his head, and animals he caught eating their plants but not people. Not Annaka.

Not even Zapp. 

His door opened to reveal the man in question still smirking like he hadn’t been crying his eyes out. “Hey, sea urchin.”

“Hello, Zapp.”

The other man pulled a chair up to the tank and stared at the painting and poems and drawings of Annaka that covered the walls. Zed’s stomach churned in fear when he was finally looked at but Zapp only sighed. 

“It has come to my attention,” he said dramatically. “That I might have been too hard on you.”

“Is that an apology?”

“No, god no, of course not,” Zapp scoffed. “But...looking at all these...uhh...all this Annaka stuff...you still don’t think you’re good enough for her?”

Zed paused before sighing again. “No.”

“Well, man up and start thinking you do. Even if you have to fake it, she choose you and you’re stuck with her now.” 

With that, Zapp set the chair back and waved to him over his shoulder.

“...I thought you hated me..”

“Nah...I...you’re good by me.”

“Well you certainly don’t act like it,” Zed pouted. 

Zapp laughed and leaned against the door. “So?”

“I would like your approval to be with your sister. You’re Real approval without Annaka holding a gun to your head.”

They both shivered remembering how that day went. 

“Look dude, am I the one married to you? Do I suck your dick at night?”

“Vulgar.”

“But if you need my approval to sleep at night,” Zapp sighed, lighting a cigar and taking a long breath. After exhaling, he said, “Yeah you got it.”

They stayed like that for a second, Zed drying himself off and Zapp smoking under the watchful frozen eyes of many Annakas. Together they walked back out into the garden where all their friends laughing and talking with Annaka, surrounded by flowers and good food. 

She smiled at them, pushing at each other still, and said, “Hey.”

[generallynerdy]

All I Ask of You Part 2 (Bucky Barnes X Reader High School AU TBT Special)

Part 1

Note: This is the final part! Honestly, this got much better reviews than I thought it would...huh. Okay, well, I promise the next thing I post is probably gonna be angsty af. Unless I decide to post a different fic, but I swear to you, I have something that will break your heart. Anyway, yeah uh

Warning: I can’t write poetry for shit. Just a little pre-warning there. Also, in the famous words of a certain Star-Spangled sweetheart: Language.

And that was exactly how it happened. I got out of class earlier than I thought and jogged over to the theater room to get ready for practice to find Tony there with another girl; Virginia Potts. Great name, too. I was, to say the least, hurt and pissed.

“T-Tony?” I stammered, tears already pinching at my eyes.

He released Virginia, or Pepper, as most called her and looked at me with a face that said: ‘Oh shit.’ “(Y/N), this isn’t what it looks like!”

“What does it look like, Tony?” I choked, disappointed in him.

“Uh-”

I didn’t bother sticking around to hear his dumb excuse and immediately turned back toward the dance/ballet room to find Nat. Our director noticed me leaving and tried to stop me, but I ignored them. They turned to Bucky for answers and he explained quickly, though I didn’t catch much of what he said.

Tony chased after me and caught me by the door to the dance room, “(Y/N)!”

“Leave me alone, Tony.”

“What, like you left Bucky alone the other night?” He asked threateningly.

I turned to him furiously, “Excuse me?!”

He scoffed, “Yeah, I know about your little ‘platonic bed sharing’, which is complete bullshit, by the way.”

“How the hell do you know about that?” I questioned him.

He snorted, “I have my ways.”

“You’re honestly freaking out about me sharing a bed with my best friend when you’re the one who was just making out with some- some slut?!” I tried to bring logic into the argument, though Tony would never listen to that.

“A dude best friend!”

“Yes, my best friend, because we can’t afford two beds unlike some people who are so rich they just have money spilling out of their ass!” I roared, “If you’re so worried about that then why don’t you just go ahead and buy me another bed, you know? Then again, you haven’t done anything for me in the first place!” I stopped there when I saw Nat burst open the door into the hallway.

“Well, you, (Y/N)-!”

Natasha cut him off, “You better back the fuck off, Stark, before I make you.”

Tony growled, “I can talk to my girlfriend.”

“Not when you treat her like shit.” She retorted, “Besides, I have best friend rights, so back. Off.”

So, he left and Nat immediately enveloped me in a hug. I tried to keep from sobbing, but it didn’t work. “I screwed up, Nat.”

“No, (Y/N). Tony screwed up, doing that to you.”

“But I- I shared a bed with Bucky and he’s my boyfriend and that’s not right-” I stammered, trying to keep my composure.

“(Y/N)-”

“Nat.” A voice from down the hall said. It was Bucky. “Don’t.”

Nat sighed, “Goddamn, Bucky, impeccable timing as always.”

“If we’re gonna do this, we gotta do this the right way.” Bucky started, pulling me from Nat to give me a hug when he approached. “(Y/N), we gotta tell you something that’s very important to us and you’re not gonna like it, but please hear us out. That’s all Nat is asking and that’s all I’m asking of you.”

I nodded shakily and sat down against the wall, where they soon joined me. Natasha started, “We don’t think Tony is right for you.”

Bucky interrupted, “You knew that already, but what we’re trying to say is that we want to show you how we see him; how he really is. I know you really like him and that can blind your judgment. Trust me, I know.” We shared a knowing gaze.

I nodded, nervous, “Okay, I’ll listen.”

Natasha sighed, “You know those quotes I’ve been piling on you? Well, imagine if Bucky said them to you.” She nodded at him.

He sighed, “I don’t mean any of these things, okay, (Y/N)?”

I nodded and Natasha groaned, “Just get on with it.”

He rolled his eyes and started off the list of horrible things that Tony had said. Every single one made me tear up more, so I stopped him, “I-I see now. I’m sorry you guys…”

“It’s fine, (Y/N).” Bucky said as we started a cheesy group hug, “Love is blind and makes us do stupid things.”

Despite their comforting, I was still afraid of Tony and what he could do to me now that he was angry. It didn’t help that he was a genius and rich. He had many outlets, so the possibilities were endless.

***********************************

“You didn’t love her, asshole because you don’t destroy the things you love!”

“Don’t make a girl fall for you if you have no intention of catching her!”

“However do you keep yourself from choking on that constant flow of bullshit coming out of your mouth? You’re amazing!”

“Feed your own ego, I’m busy.”

“If I treated you the way you treated her, you would hate me.”

“How about fixing yourself instead of breaking others? Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

“Why hurt a girl who never hurt you?”

“There are two sides to every story, but you’re a douche in both of them.”

“Your loss, jerk.”

“Congratulations, now I hate you.”

My friends repeated many of these phrases to Tony over the next few days, though I begged them to stop. He may have deserved it, but it wasn’t their right to carry out the punishment. Unfortunately for them, he was persistent, ignoring their taunts and trying to speak to me repeatedly. Bucky and Tony often got into yelling matches over how he treated me and should move on. Bucky was a good friend; one of the best.

In fact, the night of the show, he brought me roses beforehand. To be more specific, he left them there for me to find with a sweet note.

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I hate sappy poems

And so do you

So I’ll cut the crap

And just be serious

You’re an amazing person

Albeit pretty mischievous

You’re the kindest girl I know

Despite what you’d like to think

You just go with the flow

Without even a blink

I admire you as friend

Possibly even more

I hope we won’t end

As you and Tony did before

Just let me stay here

With you forever

No need to fear,

That’s all I ask of you.

    I blushed at the sight of the note. Bucky? Really? How long…?

    “I see he finally grew some balls.” Nat, whom I had forgotten was there, commented, reading the poem over my shoulder. “Took him 8 years.” She scoffed, walking across the dressing room to peek out the door.

    “E-Eight years?” I asked. Wow, I was oblivious. Even more so than I had thought.

    Natasha snorted, “Yup. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to pull something tonight on stage, though he probably won’t do it without some visual confirmation.”

    “Are you implying something?” I asked carefully, wondering if she was thinking with the dirty side of her mind.

    “Ew, no.” She gagged, “I mean like a look. You two basically speak through body language and signals, so you’ll be fine.”

    “What about-?”

    Nat sighed, “(Y/N), Tony doesn’t matter anymore. You can move on without feeling guilty. He screwed up, not you, (Y/N). And now Bucky can make a move without feeling guilty, too.”

    “He felt guilty?” If I had known, I would’ve stopped things with Tony earlier, to be honest.

    Natasha nodded, “All the time. When you weren’t with Tony, you fawned over him and Bucky was worried you two wouldn’t stay best friends if he told you the truth. He was always so paranoid, even though I told him you wouldn’t reject him. In fact, the only thing he ever asked me was to never tell you how he felt.”

    “You should’ve!” I protested.

    She shrugged, “How do you refuse the one request you’ve ever gotten from a person? Seems kind of rude.”

    I was silent.

    “5 minutes to places, you guys! Let’s do this!” I heard someone call. I looked to Natasha, who slipped out of the backstage area quietly, as she wasn’t supposed to be back there for so long.

    I took a deep breath, looking at myself in the mirror. I could do this. I could do the show and I could face Bucky, as well as Tony. I knew exactly what I would say, with my eyes, to Bucky during the show and I knew that he was my other half.

    He was my best friend, one of the few people who knew about my past and understood me. He related to me and took care of me for 8 years. He was sweet and kind, daring and brash at times, too. In that moment before stepping onto the stage, I realized that Bucky Barnes was the one.

    The first time I spotted him during the show, I locked eyes with him, hoping he would get it. He gave no reaction and started his verse of the song. Unfortunately, I think he was confused and, frankly, so was I.

    Finally, the time came for All I Ask of You and I crossed my fingers that he would be able to decipher what I was trying to say.

    “No more talk of darkness. Forget these wide-eyed fears. I’m here. Nothing can harm you. My words will warm and calm you.” Bucky never broke eye contact while holding my arm gently in front of the hundreds of parents, students, staff, and others in the auditorium. “Let me be your freedom. Let daylight dry your tears. I’m here, with you, beside you to guard you and to guide you.”

    I stepped back a little, keeping eye contact, basically staring into his soul. “Say you love me every waking moment. Turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you need me with you now and always. Promise me that all you say is true. That’s all I ask of you.” How ironic that we were singing this song, considering Bucky repeated that phrase frequently, or at least something similar to it.

    “Let me be your shelter. Let me be your light. You’re safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you.” As he nodded slightly, I could tell he was speaking of my father and Tony. Were those fears really that far behind me?

    “All I want is freedom, a world with no more night. And you, always beside me, to hold me and to hide me.” I followed the blocking, turning to look at him after walking away. This time though, instead of glancing down at my feet, I stared right at him. I hoped he got the message.

    “Then say,” He belted out the words, surprising me a little with how loudly he sang. Bucky had never really sung that loudly in practice, much less in front of a crowd. “You’ll share with me one love, one lifetime. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you, here beside you. Anywhere you go let me go, too. Christine, that’s all I ask of you.”

    “Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say the word and I will follow you. Share each day with me, each night, each morning. Say you love me-” I hoped he wouldn’t glance away like he usually did at the next line.

    “You know I do.” Bucky stared right at me, showing just a glimpse of a smile.

    “Anywhere you go let me go, too! Love me, that’s all I ask of you.” We held the last note and I smiled brightly at remembering the next part.

    Bucky swept me around so that he held me in his arms, though his back was to the audience. He leaned in as if to kiss me and, instead of a staged kiss, actually pressed his lips to mine. I swear that sparks flew.

    The crowd burst into applause, but only because it was the end of the song. With their view of the kiss, it looked fake to them. Only the cast backstage could see that it was a real kiss. From my peripheral vision, I noticed many of them gawking, while some seemed nonchalant about the whole thing as if they had expected it. Only one person had a different reaction and only one looked pissed as hell.

    Tony Stark was not happy.

    To be honest, though, I couldn’t care less. Bucky would take care of me and I him, as best I could. I deserved better than Tony, I realized. He was a dirty, lying, cheat who didn’t give a damn about who he hurt. That would be his downfall, in the end.

    The rest of the show was smooth, though afterward was not quite so nice. Tony had been glaring at Bucky and I, who had basically been silently holding hands backstage and onstage the entire time, for the entire show. When the show was over, the entire cast could finally speak, as we were told to be quiet backstage before.

    I sighed after curtain call and Bucky echoed my relief. I turned to him, “Eight years? Really?”

    He shrugged, blushing. “Since I met you.”

    “You are too cute when you’re flustered.” I teased.

    He rolled his eyes, “You’re the only one who can get me flustered, you know.”

    “I know.” I smirked devilishly, “I revel in it.”

    “Nice vernacular there.”

    “Why thank you.”

    There was a moment of silence before he spoke, “So, what now?”

    I shrugged, “I dunno. Wherever you wanna go with this, I’ll go, too.”

    “Christine,” We sang together, smiling. “That’s all I ask of you.”

    We laughed before another voice said, “How cute.” Mockingly.

    I turned with a new fury at the voice, “Oh, fuck off, Tony, I’m done with your shit.”

    He looked a little startled at my words. “My shit? Talk about ‘platonic bed-sharing.’”

    Bucky stepped in, “You try living with one income between two growing teens with insatiable appetites. See how many beds you can afford then.”

    Tony rolled his eyes, “Look, whatever. I didn’t come here to argue.”

    “Then why did you come, Tony?” I asked, crossing my arms.

    “To give you a warning.” He threatened, “I’m not gonna give you another chance, (Y/N). You go with him, you give up on me.”

    I scoffed, “Wow, how could I never see how full of yourself you are? I honestly couldn’t care less. I don’t need you and I sure as hell don’t want you anymore.”

    He grew furious, “You-!”

    Bucky stepped in front of me. “You heard her, Stark. Move on.”

    So, he left.

    Bucky turned to me, “I’m really glad he’s gone.”

    I sighed with relief, “Me too.” I smiled. “Home?”

    “Home.”

       “Think we should replace the roses with the ones you gave me?”

    “I think that’s a great idea.”

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