#so youre not affording as much takeaway food or chocolate or anything i guess

[true-bluesargent]

what the fuck is the freshman fifteen... i am sure that doesnt happen at uk unis. is it because of beer or something do americans drink lots of kegs ?!??! where are you guys gaining the weight i ate way fewer snacks and sweet treats at least at the beginning of first year because i had to buy them myself 😭

[wordsablaze]

chapter four: addicted enough

Pastel Protection Phenomena Phil’s a pastel in a shady orphanage, Dan’s a punk with a shady lifestyle. They find each other like opposite ends of a magnet and slowly but surely fall into a mutual shadiness they call love. *PREQUEL* to the oneshot ’Protective Punk’, enjoy!

A/N:  A/N: Happy pride month! Also, I’m doing commissions! <3

"What's the green stuff?" Phil asks after he's finished his chips.

Dan had started eating his fish first, only after Phil had eaten half his chips and his stomach had quietened, so he now has only chips left but he also has a little tub of what looks like green mashed potatoes.

"They're mushy peas, do you want to try some?" Dan offers, dipping a chip in the paste and handing it to Phil with a warm smile on his face.

Phil shrugs, definitely wanting to try it but having had his food stolen enough times before to know that it doesn't feel nice. "I don't… I don't want to steal your food."

But Dan only smiles. "It's not really stealing if I let you, is it? And anyway, I can never eat all of it."

That blows Phil's mind. He can't imagine that there are people who can afford to throw away food just because they don't want to eat it when there are others, like him, who don't always have even half a meal to eat every day. And then he sees the glint in Dan's eyes that tells him Dan is lying – he's good at reading people and their lies by now – and it occurs to him that Dan had just been making an excuse so Phil doesn't feel as bad for eating his food.

"Thanks for lying," Phil whispers as he takes the chip, then bites into it and gasps at the strangely nice taste that floods his taste buds. It's much sweeter than he'd thought but there's an edge to it, something interesting that he knows he'll now always associate with Dan.

Dan chuckles. "I guess you like it, huh?"

Phil wants to say he loves it but he'd rather not emotionally force Dan to give up his food so he just shrugs a little. "It's alright. Fish are cuter though."

"No way! Peas are much cuter!" Dan argues, going with the sort of random statement instead of being weirded out, something that Phil really appreciates.

"They're squashed so badly they don't even look like peas anymore!"

He takes a moment but then Dan laughs and replies: "You're eating processed fish covered in bread or whatever, it's not like you can say anything."

Giggling, Phil throws his hands up in surrender. "Touché!"

A sort of nostalgic look settles in Dan's eyes and he smiles fondly. "You have such an addictive little giggle."

For a full ten seconds, Phil panics because nobody has ever told him that and he's not sure what he's meant to do about that. Somehow, he finds enough confidence to say: "I do not giggle!"

Dan raises an eyebrow into a lopsided arch. "Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure you just giggled…"

"You're definitely hearing things," Phil says, a smile playing on his lips as he stares into Dan's eyes.

Dan might say something in response but Phil stops paying attention, instead staring at the woodland that is Dan's eyes, the bright brown and the darker, richer, flecks of chocolate that seem to sparkle as he watches. It's mesmerising and Phil wonders why he's never appreciated brown so much before because Dan's eyes have quickly become his favourite colour to ever exist.

"You alright? Phil?" Dan asks, his voice gentle but piercing, cutting into Phil's musings.

"Who?"

Dan chuckles, shaking his head. "Are you not called Phil?"

"No, I'm called-"

Before he can finish making his sarcastic reply, Dan fumbles and drops his plastic takeaway container, making them both jump, then promptly laugh at each other. Phil's stomach flips because he hasn't laughed with anyone for a long time and it feels nice to just let go of his worries for a little while. It feels nice to let himself be happy, to forget about the people who just want to see him in misery, and just relax, alone but not alone enough to feel lonely.

"Phil? You alright?" Dan asks, making Phil realise that he'd gotten lost in his thoughts again. He can't help it, it's like a second nature to him, but he wishes he could control it so other people didn't get mad at him. Not that Dan was mad at him, but just in case he gets mad when it happens again...

"Yeah, thanks," he answers eventually, bringing himself back to the present.

"Hey, did you clean up while I was gone?" Dan asks, finally noticing the different piles of leaves.

Phil smiles. "A little. I didn't want you to make you eat in the middle of a mess."

The confusion in Dan's eyes morphs into appreciation and he grins at Phil, the corners of his eyes crinkling into crossroads and dimples appearing on his cheeks. He just stares at Phil for a long while before finally blinking to clear his watering eyes, then clearing his throat. "Sorry, you're just so damn cute."

Phil can't help thinking that the slight blush on Dan's cheeks suits him perfectly, contrasting with the black outfit he's sporting making him a lot less scary, a lot less like a thief. He doesn't comment on it though, because he can't be sure how Dan will react and he'd rather not gain himself any more bruises before the ones from yesterday heal properly. Layers of bruises make pretending a lot harder.

"What can I do?" Dan asks brightly, the two of them now having finished their meal.

"I... what?" Phil frowns, his eyebrows reaching for each other in the middle of his forehead.

Dan just smiles again. "What can I do to help? I can't let you sleep here... at least, not again. You deserve so much better."

"I don't," Phil says without missing a beat, but Dan doesn't seem to hear so he carries on talking: "Um, I guess you can help me to get rid of the leaves and stuff, we can throw them around the edge of the garden 'cause nobody else really comes out here."

"Nobody?" Dan echoes, but his mind is clearly elsewhere.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like this place is particularly interesting..."

"Phil!" Dan exclaims, making him jump, "You're here, how can it not be the most interesting place in the whole universe?"

Phil opens his mouth to explain the state of the garden but then realises Dan hadn't asked about the garden and blushes so hard he feels like he has a fever. He can't reply to that so he just smiles, biting his lip and trying not to look at Dan because, otherwise, he'll forget how to function again.

"I will literally fight anyone who disagrees with me!" Dan adds and, oddly enough, Phil totally believes him.

"Please don't," Phil manages. He's not sure why he says it, he can't decide if he doesn't want Dan to get hurt or if he just doesn't want to lose the only person he can maybe call a friend. It's selfish of him, he thinks, to hope for someone's safety not for them but for himself, and he suddenly hates himself again, wondering if Dan would still come back if he knew what Phil was thinking.

"I would." Dan's voice is quiet, soft, and somehow the scariest thing Phil has heard all day.

"Wha- What?"

Dan clears his throat, fiddling with his hands, "I don't know what you're thinking but I'd still come back, no matter what it was."

He'd said it out loud. Phil curses himself but pushes it aside for now because he can't decide if he'd just imagined Dan suggesting he'd come back no matter what. Instead of voicing this, however, he opens his mouth and closes it again, biting his tongue to avoid accidentally admitting anything else.

"Unless you were thinking of drinking my blood or something. I don't know what my blood type is but it's probably not your type of drink."

He looks ridiculously proud of himself for that pun and Phil bursts out laughing without meaning to, clapping a hand over his mouth as he does. Dan joins in and the two of them fall into hysteria, both lost in each other's eyes and laughter. They don't stop laughing for what feels like hours, until Phil's stomach hurts and Dan can barely breathe, his eyes watering. At some point, they'd stopped laughing at the pun and started laughing at their laughs, but neither of them mentions it as they recover, catching their breath.

"Don't worry, I'm not a vampire," Phil assures Dan, still smiling so hard his face hurts.

Dan places a hand over his heart and gasps dramatically. "Really? I would never have known, what with your sharp teeth and ivory skin..."

"Ivory? Alright, drama queen." Phil rolls his eyes, then panics at Dan's dumbfounded expression. "Sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or anything!"

The expression on Dan's face doesn't change for a whole thirty seconds, after which he full on beams. "You are just... full of surprises..."

"Do you like surprises?" Phil asks slowly, unsure of what Dan means and if he means it in a good way or not. He can't help worrying; surprises can be good or bad and, ironically, the way they're taken is always a surprise in itself.

There's a moment of silence in which Dan gives Phil an odd look and ponders the question but then he nods. "I think I like your surprises..."

"You think?" Phil repeats quietly.

Dan nods. "Yeah. I mean, I don't know anything for sure. Like, am I even really alive? Does humanity actually exist? I don't know. But I'm as sure as I can be that the surprises you have are great."

Phil blinks. He doesn't think he's ever met anyone who's made casual existentialism so simple and easy. Then again, he's never made anyone who's made anything simple and easy so maybe it's just him that's behind on the trends in existentialism and the like. Either way, Dan fascinates him and he really hopes he doesn't have to lose him too.

"What do you want for lunch?" Dan asks, apparently randomly. Seeing Phil's extreme confusion, he reiterates: "Tomorrow. What do you want for lunch tomorrow?"

"I don't..." Phil shakes his head, understanding the question but not really following Dan's train of thought.

Chuckling a little, Dan shakes his head. "It's not that hard to get, is it? What do you want to eat at this time, tomorrow? Pizza? 'Fish 'n' chips' loses its charm if you have it two days in a row."

"You want to have lunch again tomorrow?" Phil asks, still slightly behind, having expected many things but not this. Definitely not this.

His eyes brightening, Dan nods. "Of course. I'm addicted to your giggle."

As if on cue, Phil giggles. He then claps a hand over his mouth again but his eyes are smiling when he looks to Dan with a look of gratitude. As soon as he's stopped giggling, he lets his hand fall and beams. "Pizza can be your payment then."

"Oh, what, now you're a drug dealer?" Dan asks, scoffing, but there's a spark of amusement in his eyes.

"Only for you, Dan." Phil winks. Or rather, he tries to wink. He ends up just blinking, making both Dan and himself laugh.

Thankfully, Dan seems to understand that he's embarrassed and emits what sounds like an audibly lopsided cooing sound, putting both hands over his heart and leaning forwards. "Damn, Phil, I feel special."

Without thinking about anything and acting purely on instinct, Phil replies, "You are."

He's not lying when he says so. To him, Dan is special. There aren't many other people who have held a conversation with him and nobody, nobody, has ever actively tried to do something for him instead of just pitying him and leaving. Nobody had ever complimented him or his garden and nobody had felt anger or sadness on his behalf before. He can't think of one person who had found shelter in his company and there's never been anyone who's sat in the middle of a mess just to spend time with him, only to then offer to help him clean the mess. Dan's different to everyone else and that makes him special, special to Phil.

"What the heck, Phil," Dan mutters, "you can't just say stuff like that, I have a reputation to maintain."

Phil just cocks his head, confused.

Dan chuckles. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. I guess it's my fault that I find you so cute... No wait, it is your fault. How dare you be so adorable?"

Now Phil laughs, laughs at Dan's apparent inner conflict and at the way Dan's scowling and blushing at the same time. It occurs to him that Dan had compared him to a drug - or at least, his giggle - but, really, it's Phil who's utterly addicted to Dan and everything about him.

Dan's very presence is intoxicating and Phil can't get enough. A part of him hates the idea of liking Dan so much so quickly, because, in his experience, people don't tend to stick around and, if Dan leaves, it'll hurt so much more than anything else has ever hurt. But another part of him loves being able to love, loves being able to be loved, and he doesn't want to let go of that just yet, if ever. He's more than a little addicted to Dan and he doesn't want to get over it.

"Sorry," he says in the end, literally unable to express anything else.

The grin on Dan's face suggests that it's alright and that Phil's belated, half-hearted apology says more than Phil thinks it does. The two of them then catch themselves staring at each other, lost in one another's eyes, and awkwardly cough, not having realised they'd stopped focusing on the rest of the world.

"You should, um, go," Phil says.

"What?" Dan asks, looking almost hurt.

Immediately, Phil shakes his head, slightly worried, "No, no, I just mean that I don't want you to waste your day- uh, your afternoon with me."

Halfway between a frown and a smile, Dan shakes his head. "Nope. You're a cute little drug, remember? Why would I want to do anything other than stay with you for as long as possible?"

Phil smiles to himself. Not wanting to just let himself blush and lose the ability to string words together again, he forces himself to smirk. "Then I hope you're ready for some manual labour."

"Right, yes, the leaves! Shall we?" Dan stands up without waiting for an answer, holding his hand out for Phil to take. It's honestly one of the best sights Phil has seen in a while, and he's seen some of the most beautiful flowers known to man so that's saying something.

"Shall we, what? Dance?"

It's not even a second later when Dan doubles over laughing, then exhales heavily, clumsily catching his breath, and shrugs. "Since when does dancing consist of throwing leaves around?"

Phil chuckles, taking Dan's hand and pulling himself up. Once he's on his feet and has let go of Dan's hand because the skin contact makes him dizzy with a warmth he can't name, he grins. "Props are a thing, right?"

"Right." Dan agrees, nodding pretty seriously. Which lasts about five seconds before he dissolves into giggles again like someone who's just inhaled a dose of laughing gas, something that anyone else would probably have to do before they could tolerate Phil for so long.

Either way, Phil is addicted enough to Dan to agree in some way or another, because that's an accurate summary of what everything is to him at the moment: just right.

like/reblog but don’t repost, thanks! 

[morgana-greenleaf]

Tower of Tomorrow - Chapter 2

Tower of Tomorrow Masterlist

One year after TWS, Sam and Steve finally track Bucky down and bring him back to Avengers Tower.

Of course, there's still lots of HYDRA bases to be taken down, and Bucky finds himself actually enjoying the Avengers' company, and making friends.

Fury cleared Bucky to access the rest of the tower late the next morning, and the moment he stepped out of the lift he was accosted by Tony, holding a tablet that was projecting a hologram.

“So, I was thinking, since you’re stuck in the tower for a while, you’d need your own floor. There’s an empty one sandwiched in between Steve and Clint that should be fine. And it’s already got the basics – bedroom, bathroom, living room, plus a kitchen and laundry, although JARVIS can order you takeaway if you like, or you can use communal kitchen, that’s what most of us do, but it’s there if you like. And there’s a chute you can put your laundry and it’ll be back clean and dry within twenty-four hours, although you can do it yourself if you like. But that’s not what I’m here about, I need to know if you’d like anything special put in. Bruce wanted it extra-reinforced to survive the Hulk, and Natasha wanted it super-duper secure for all her secret spy stuff. And Clint has his set up so JARVIS can still send him warnings and whatnot if he hasn’t got his aids in. And for a dog.”

“I-I don’t need anything. You don’t have to-” Bucky began.

“Damn right I don’t have to. But I’m gonna. I need a new project to work on, and redesigning your floor might keep me amused for a few hours.”

Bucky hesitated. Did he really deserve his own floor? “Yeah, okay. But you don’t have to do anything special.”

“You must have something you like doing. Something to amuse you all day instead of moping around the tower like Steve’s been doing,” Tony protested, poking the hologram. “Look, there’s a huge empty spot here. We’ve gotta put something there.”

“A library? Maybe?” Bucky had always loved reading, although his family hadn’t been able to afford many. He must’ve reread The Hobbit dozens of times.

Tony smacked a hand into his forehead. “I’m so stupid! I didn’t build a library level! JARVIS, cancel my plans. We’ve got a library to design. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Because the reading you do is usually on an ebook?” JARVIS suggested.

“That-that’s not the point, JARVIS,” Tony huffed, fingers already flying across the screen.

“If it’s too much trouble, I can just use an ebook thing?” Bucky offered, but Tony dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“No, this is fun. Plus, physical books are better. Just stay out of your level until dinner while I get the builders in.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Ummm.” Tony looked stumped. “I dunno. Explore. Go online shopping. Just don’t kill anyone.”

“Online shopping?” What the hell was that?

“Just ask JARVIS to order anything you like in. Clothes, shoes, books, knives, whatever you like.”

“I don’t have any money.” And speaking of which, was he supposed to pay rent? Because he’d rather just squat in abandoned buildings.

Tony looked shocked. “You’re on my money now. And I have a lot, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Okay, thanks.” Bucky turned away, but Tony caught his wrist.

“One more thing, JARVIS, scan him.”

A blue light ran up and down his body, and then JARVIS announced, “All done, sir.”

“What was that?” Bucky demanded.

“Most of the tower uses fingerprint ID or retinal scans. JARVIS is giving you access,” Tony explained, shoving past and into the lift.

Bucky wandered over to the kitchen benchtop, and glanced around to make sure there was no one else there. It was clear. He looked up at the ceiling.

“Building? JARVIS?” he asked, sceptical.

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?” JARVIS responded.

“Can I eat this? The food here? Or do I need to buy my own?” he asked.

“All the food for here is in the communal area, and therefore, in theory, for anyone. However, I might advise against eating prepared food that someone might have saved for later, or Ms Romanov’s chocolates.” JARVIS informed him.

“Thanks.” He opened the fridge, and found a large tub of yoghurt. That would do. Even a year on from HYDRA, he still preferred to eat softer foods, closer to the consistency of the gloop they’d fed him. He filled a bowl, and then added in some berries from the fruit tray. He settled on the lounge nearby, and switched on the television.

It showed a report on the HYDRA base he’d destroyed just yesterday. “-believed to be the work of a vigilante group comprising of at least a dozen members,” some politician was saying at a press conference. “While their efforts are appreciated, we must reiterate that it is not their responsibility, but rather the job of the Army and Special Forces. We ask them to stand down. Anyone with information on the location of HYDRA bases should call the hotline 1300 655 506, where it will be dealt with by the appropriate authorities.”

The number flashed on the screen, and then changed back to the studio. “And just in, the notorious Winter Soldier has been detained in relation to the events last year in DC, as well as two dozen assassinations and several more suspected assassinations. Thought for many years to be just a ghost story-”

The screen switched off. Clint chucked the remote onto the ottoman and dropped down beside Bucky. “Don’t look at that. It won’t help.”

“Who told them?” Bucky growled.

“None of us. Things get leaked. It happens. Trust me. My home address got leaked, and I could barely get out the door the next day there was so many people. But Tony’ll get his press people onto it. They’ll sort it out.”

“That’s what Steve said about the lawyers. Sounds like Tony doesn’t do much, he just pays people to sort everything out for him.”

Clint snorted. “Guess that’s an advantage of being so rich no one can actually put a value on you. But seriously, they’ll sort it out. You might have to give a few statements, do some interviews, talk about what happened, which sucks, but then you’ll be fine.”

“I can deal with that,” Bucky said, “What I can’t deal with is sitting here all day with nothing to do.”

“Want to come to the range with me?” Clint offered.

“Am I allowed?” Fury had said he could go anywhere in the tower, but surely thing wouldn’t allow him to shoot things.

“Course you are. And anyway, the guns only have blanks on the range. Although I use real arrows.”

“And I can use a bow. How do you know I won’t shoot you with one?”

“I don’t,” Clint grinned, and lead the way to the range.

Bucky had a surprisingly good time at the range. He spent half an hour destroying the bullseyes of the four targets in his lane before Clint showed him how to on the fight simulator. The two of them spent hours fighting off wave after wave of holographic projections shooting holographic projectiles at them. As time progressed, and the simulator got harder, the walls started shooting jets of water at them, trying to knock them off their feet, or tipping piles of foam bricks on their heads (to simulate falling buildings), and then the wind machines turned on at full power. Bucky was just gland both he and Clint had had the presence of mind to fit as much ammo as was physically possible on their person.

Then the floor started shaking. Apparently Tony had found a way to simulate earthquakes. The man was a genius. And completely mad. Foam balls started rolling along the floor at them. A blue blip hit Clint in the head, and it took Bucky a few moments to realise that the simulator had ended. They stood there, in a room empty except for water and foam blocks and balls, with arrows and the blank bullets littered around. They were both drenched.

“Hey, you’re pretty good,” Clint said, clapping Bucky on the shoulder. “We should do this more often.”

“You’re not bad yourself, Hawkeye,” Bucky said. “JARVIS, what’s the time?”

“It is currently three forty-nine, Sergeant Barnes.”

“I’ve got to go and see the doctor for some assessments. Thanks for…this,” Bucky said, turning to leave.

“You’ll come to dinner though, right? 6 o’clockish, the kitchen. Everyone’ll be there. And we’ll probably have a movie night, after.” Clint began picking up his arrows.

“Sure,” said Bucky, and headed back out.

He managed to sneak into Steve’s floor and have a quick shower (once JARVIS informed him Steve was in the gym) while he dried his clothes in the drier.

It was one minute to four when Bucky stepped into the lift, and the clock flickered over to four o’clock as he stepped out of the lift into Bruce Banner’s lab. He swept his gaze over the lab, cataloguing everything in sight, every piece of equipment that might be used on him.

“Hi, Bucky,” Bruce said, setting his glasses down on desk.

“Hi,” he gritted out. This was a bad idea. The doctor would run tests on him. Experiment on him. Use him as a labrat. He tried to back away, but his back hit the wall, blocking his escape.

Bruce followed the movement. “Nothing that I’m going to do will hurt you, or alter your body in any way. I’m not a HYDRA doctor. I won’t do any of this without your permission, although I strongly advise you to do this.

“All we’re doing today is some scans, mainly focused on your brain and arm. For your brain, we would like to compare your current scans to the ones in the files from HYDRA, to see how the healing is going. The other thing we would like to look at is your arm, and how it is attached to your body. Tony will probably want to have a look at it at some point, if you’re willing.”

“The files said how it was attached,” Bucky mumbled.

“The files showed several versions, which I assume means different arms?” Bruce asked, and with a nod from Bucky, continued. “It also showed that a lot of your bones have been either replaced or reinforced with metal to support the weight. It’s anchored quite deep into your chest, I believe.”

“Why do you need to scan, then?” Bucky asked, dreading the answer.

“We don’t think that it’s particularly good for you, with the way it’s done. If it’s left the way it is, there might be permanent and serious damage to your spine and back.”

“I managed for seventy years.”

“Yes, and did a lot of damage.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll do the scans,” Bucky said. Better get it over and done with.

Bruce led him over to a gurney. “If you’d like to hop on here, I’ll put you in the machine. It’ll take at least an hour and a half to fully scan you, so feel free to sleep or something.”

Bucky took a deep breath, and climbed onto the gurney. He squeezed his eyes shut as Bruce wheeled him into the scanner and turned it on. It was cylindrical, just like his cryofreeze chamber. It made whirring noises, just like the cryofreeze chamber just before it froze him. He dug the fingernails of his right hand into his palm, and tried to focus on that instead. He couldn’t sleep like Bruce suggested, because who knew when he’d wake up? But he could survive an hour and a half in there, if it helped Fury clear him. He’d survived worse.

Ten minutes by his count into the scan, Bruce settled into a chair. “How about I put some music on?”

“Sure,” Bucky said. It came out barely audible, and weirdly high pitched.

There was a moment of silence, and then music began to play. “This is the Beatles,” Bruce said, “Rubber Soul.”

“Okay.” Bucky settled back and focused on the music.

The ninety minutes passed in a blur. The scanner switched off just as Help! finished, and Bruce pulled him out.

“Would you like to stay and see the scans?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, please.” This was a luxury never afforded to him by HYDRA doctors.

Bruce pulled the scans up on a holoscreen, and then pulled up the HYDRA scans next to it.

“This is the most recent scan, from July 2011. There’s minimal difference between that and the scan from 2004, so if we assume that nothing major happened between 2011 and 2014, we then compare it to your scan you just did.” Bruce pointed to an area on the brain. “This is your hippocampus, where memories are stored. If you look at the two scans, you can see it looks a lot better than it did in 2011. So we can assume that your brain has been healing very quickly. I’m guessing you’ve got a lot of your memories back?”

“Yeah. I think I remember pretty much everything, expect for what a normal human forgets. But I remember my family, and growing up and moving out, going off to fight. And fighting in the war, and getting captured. I remember all the experimentation and torture…from Azzano and from later.”

“Do you remember when everything was? The order of memories? Or are they just…there?” Bruce asked.

“I think most of the order of the memories I’ve worked out is from books than my memories. But every day, they make more sense,” Bucky said.

“That’s a good sign, Bucky. I’ll let Fury know, send him these and explain them. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. What choice do I have?”

Bruce looked guilty. “I wish it were otherwise.”

For some reason, Bucky believed him.

He left the lab feeling considerably better than when he’d entered, and took the lift up to the kitchen, where Clint, Natasha, Tony, Steve and Sam were loading platters of food.

“Help yourself,” Clint said, shoving a plate at him. Bucky grabbed it reflexively, then followed Clint over to the benchtop.

Clint filled his plate with pizza, which Bucky ignored in favour of the spaghetti bolognaise.

“Who makes this?” he asked, sitting down between Clint and Sam.

“Whoever feels like cooking, and then we just order takeaway for the rest,” Clint said around a mouthful of pizza.

“The spag bol’s mine, by the way,” Sam said.

“It’s very good,” Bucky said honestly.

“Oi! Terminator!” Tony yelled.

“What is it,” he said. One conversation with Tony had proved exhausting.  He wasn’t sure he could cope with another.

“So, it’s movie night tonight. Have you seen Star Wars?”

“No, I’ve been a little busy.”

Tony gasped dramatically. “Okay, we’re watching A New Hope tonight.”

“A New Hope? We have to watch The Phantom Menace first,” Sam said.

“A New Hope came out first,” Tony said, “Therefore you watch it first.”

“The Phantom Menace is first chronologically. It makes sense to watch them in the order they happen,” Sam argued.

“All in favour of original trilogy before prequels?” Tony asked. He raised his hand, followed by Clint, and after a moment’s hesitation, Natasha. “Sorry Sam, you’re outvoted.”

“You didn’t ask Bruce,” Sam said, petulantly.

“JARVIS, please ask Bruce his opinion on the order to watch the Star Wars films,” Tony said.

“Don’t you think you’re taking this a bit seriously?” Bucky asked.

Tony looked scandalised. “No! This is an important part of your cultural education.”

“Excuse me sir, Dr Banner believes A New Hope should be watched first,” JARVIS interrupted.

“Argument settled. A New Hope it is,” Tony announced smugly.

Sam huffed, and looked away.

After they’d all finished eating, and worked together to wash up and clean the kitchen (which Tony managed to get out of by setting up the movie and making popcorn), they sat on the lounge (except for Clint, who sat on a purple beanbag, with a massive labradoodle lying on top off him, trying to steal his popcorn) and watched A New Hope. And when that ended, Tony put on The Empire Strikes Back straight away and no one argued, so they watched that, and then they decided they may as well finish the trilogy, so they watched Return of the Jedi as well.

By the time Bucky trudged out of the lift and into his new home, it was past midnight, so he didn’t get the chance to explore, instead just lay down on his bed without even undressing, and fell asleep.

All things considered, it was a good day. No one had tried to electrocute him, the doctor actually seemed okay, and the Avengers hadn’t treated him weirdly, and actually seemed to accept him, although he wasn’t convinced that would last. It was probably because he hadn’t spent that long with them yet.

Still, maybe tomorrow would be a good day too.

[fardell24b]

Quinn’s Day - Part 2

“So, why couldn’t she get her job back at Governor’s Park?” Sandi asked as the former Fashion Club members left Kelly’s Boutique.

 “That is a personal matter, Sandi!” Quinn said.

 “If you, like say so!” Sandi said dismissively.

 Quinn shook her head as she entered the next store.

  “Quinn?”

 Quinn turned around as she and her friends came out of a store. “Hi, Jeffy.”

 “Hi, Quinn, I see you’re here shopping,” Jeffy Brown-Mercer said.

 “Not only that,” Quinn said.

 “She’s looking for a job!” Stacy said.

 “Sta-cy, do you like, have to advertise that fact to everyone in the Mall?” Sandi asked.

 “I can do that if I want to, Sandi,” Stacy said.

 ‘It’s good that Stacy is continuing to grow more confident,’ Quinn thought.

 “Oh, so what sort of job are you looking for?” Jeffy asked.

 “Either retail, or a place in a restaurant somewhere,” Quinn replied.

 “So, where are Joey and that other guy? His name like, escapes me at the moment,” Sandi commented.

 “Oh, they’re here somewhere. But it’s best that I ran into Quinn alone, you know how competitive we can get,” Jeffy said.

 “Certainly,” Quinn said. She then remembered at least one incident of the ‘Three J’s’ competitiveness...

Brittany’s house – First Party in Lawndale

The Three J’s were fighting. She thought it was cute, but she didn’t want them to hurt themselves too much. “Stop it, Stop it!” She noticed some people taking notice. “They’re fighting over me...”

  “I’m sure you would find a job,” Jeffy said, changing the subject back to Quinn’s job hunt.

 “Thanks,” Quinn said.

 “Especially with our help,” Stacy said.

 “Yea-ah.”

 “You will do great,” Jeffy said.

 Quinn smiled. She and Jeffy talked for another minute.

  After another 20 minutes, Quinn and her friends sat at one of the food courts. “Let’s see, fifteen stores, including twelve clothing stores,” Quinn said as she leafed through the application forms.

 “One of them JJ Jeeters,” Sandi murmured.

 “Sandi, remember what I said earlier,” Quinn said.

 “Yeah, beggers cannot be choosers, but the clothes there are very garish,” Sandi said.

 “I know, Sandi,” Quinn said.

 “Let’s talk about something else,” Sandi suggested.

 ‘What is she up to?’ Quinn thought. “Sure, what about?”

 “Our plans for this summer, other than your getting a job,” Sandi said.

 “Sure, Sandi,” Quinn said.

 Sandi then began to outline her plan for the summer.

  “What do you think?” Sandi asked.

 “What else could we do?” Stacy asked.

 “I don’t know,” Tiffany said.

 “Um, Sandi, It’s a cute idea and all, but we need to do more than shopping, dating and going to the beach,” Quinn said.

 “Gee, Quinn, what would you do?” Sandi asked.

 “Possibly volunteer somewhere and help those in need,” Quinn suggested.

 “That’s commendable,” Sandi said.

 Quinn smiled. “Jodie volunteered at the soup kitchen last summer. We could ask her.”

 “Soup Kitchen?” Sandi asked in alarm.

 “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

 “Lots,” Sandi said.

 “There is nothing wrong with it,” Quinn said.

 “She’s right,” Stacy said.

 Sandi glared at Stacy. Stacy winced but didn’t let out an ‘eep!’

 “Sandi, it is helping those in need!” Quinn said.

 “But, the homeless who go there, they have such bad raggy clothes...” Sandi said with a shudder.

 “That’s because they can’t afford new clothes, Sandi!” Quinn said.

 Sandi then appeared to think. “I guess so,” she finally said.

 “So, you are going to volunteer with us?” Quinn asked.

 “I have to think about it,” Sandi said.

 “I will,” Stacy said.

 “Me, toooo.”

 “So, what else for helping those in need?” Stacy asked.

 “Lifeguards at the pool,” Sandi said.

 ‘Possibly,’ Quinn thought.

 “I’m not sure if I could do that,” Stacy said.

 “You can achieve anything if you try, Stacy,” Quinn said.

 “Thanks, Quinn,” Stacy said.

 “Lifeguards? Too ha-ard!” Tiffany said.

 ‘Maybe for her,’ Quinn thought.

 “Gee, Tiffany, what do you suggest?” Sandi asked.

 Tiffany looked vacant for a small part of a minute. “Personal Shoppers.”

 “Um, that’s not really volunteering,” Stacy said.

 “It’s not?” Tiffany asked.

 “No, it’s not,” Quinn said. “So, soup kitchen and lifeguards, anything else?”

 They continued their discussion and arguments for another ten minutes.

  After the discussion they continued the search for a job for Quinn. “How many stores are left?” Stacy asked as they left the food court.

 “About ten, including another five clothing stores, and three takeaways, including the Starbucks,” Quinn said.

 “That’s good. But Starbucks?”

 “I’ll at least give it a shot,” Quinn said with a slight giggle.

 “Gee, Quinn, that pun was bad,” Sandi said.

 “I don’t think so,” Quinn said.

 “So, we’re heading to the Starbucks first?” Stacy asked.

 Quinn shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

  Quinn and the others entered the Starbucks. “Hi! Are there job vacancies here?” Quinn asked.

 The barista, whom looked familiar to Quinn, handed her an application form.

“Thanks.”

 “So, Quinn, you want to work here?” the barista asked.

 “Yes. How do you know my name?”

 “Near impossible to go to Lawndale High and not know it,” the barista said with a laugh.

 Quinn laughed. “Of course, but what’s yours?”

 “Samara. I also just finished my junior year.”

 “Oh. You were in my classes.”

 “Yes.”

 “So you are applying everywhere in Lawndale?” Samara asked.

 “Not everywhere. Just those places that I’m interested in.”

 “From the looks of that pile it may as well be everywhere.”

 Quinn giggled. “I guess so,” she said as she placed the application form on top of all the others.

 “Good luck, trying to choose when you get a lot of acceptances,” Samara said.

 “Good point,” Quinn said.

 “Quinn! Stop holding up the line!” Sandi said irritably.

 “Wait your turn, Sandi,” Quinn said. She turned back to Samara. “A hot chocolate, please.”

 “Coming right up,” Samara said.

 Sandi grumbled.

[nadiashealthykitchen]

Healthified Vegan Oreo Brownies – Using Go Cook, exclusively for Tesco

Healthified Vegan Oreo Brownies

A delicious, moist and rich chocolate brownie topped with chopped Oreos. Need I say more? Oh, apart from they’re also healthier than your average brownies. They’re high in fibre with a hidden ingredient and sweetened with whole dates! 

OK, I’ll put you out of your misery. The secret ingredient in these vegan Oreo brownies is CHICKPEAS! Actually this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since I’ve already used chickpeas, beans and lentils before in many of my sweet treats.Tesco challenged me to nominate someone in my household who does the least cooking to create something using their new Go Cook, exclusively for Tesco products. Since it’s just me and the hubby and I do all the cooking and baking, I’m sure you can guess who I nominated for this challenge. Today, the hubby is the star of the show! 

I was contemplating what to challenge him to make. A main meal perhaps? Something quick and easy that won’t put him off participating? One of the reasons he doesn’t cook is because he’s always swamped with work and constantly chasing deadlines. If I wasn’t there to cook for him I can guarantee he would be eating takeaways or ready meals everyday! But I know he’s not alone. So many people struggle to find time to cook, or they do have the time but see cooking as such a big, tiring and time consuming chore, but that’s not necessarily the case. 

The Go Cook, exclusively for Tesco brand of premium cookware were designed to make it easier for people to cook. The brand includes everything from high quality pots and pans, bakeware, utensils, knives and food prep essentials so you don’t have to shop around for everything you need to cook quick and healthy meals. 

I decided to go with a baked treat, since the hubby has never (and I mean never!) baked anything before. Can you believe it? Unlike me, he’s more of a savoury guy and doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I can see why it’s taken him this long to bake anything. However, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get him to lose his baking virginity! 

Unsurprisingly he chose to bake Oreo brownies. One of the sweet things he does really love is Oreos, so it was only natural he would suggest that, and everyone loves brownies. You can’t go wrong there! So for this challenge, I picked up Tesco Go Cook Square Spring Form Cake Tin, Soft Grip Santoku Knife, Oak Chopping Board and last but not least the Navy Apron, because every baker needs an apron, especially a first time baker 😀 

I’m pleased to say he really enjoyed the experience and absolutely loved the brownies! The Go Cook apron made him feel like a chef, and he thought the knife had a really soft grip making it more comfortable to chop with and the blade was super sharp allowing him to cut perfect brownie slices 😀

As a first time baker, he was worried about removing the brownies from the tin, but the Go Cook non-stick spring form tin we used made it so easy and straight forward! It really took out all the fuss and made the experience that much more enjoyable.

This challenge has made him want to bake again! Now he knows that baking is not as daunting as he thought and it was actually fun and relaxing. I might have ignited a passion for baking he didn’t know he had! Watch this space, I might have created competition for myself! 

We found the Go Cook, exclusively for Tesco products really practical, durable and very affordable. You can get hold of any of these products at any of the bigger Tesco stores or Tesco.com

Healthified Vegan Oreo Brownies

Makes – 16 brownies

Ingredients

2.5 cups (425g) cooked chickpeas 2 cup (275g) soft dates 2/3 cup (75g) cocoa powder 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp (95g) oat flour – plain oats blended into a fine flour in the food processor. Use gluten-free if allergic/intolerant 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup (120ml) coconut oil, melted 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (165ml) milk of choice Optional – 2 tbsp stevia 10 Oreos, roughly chopped. 

Method (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)

Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted)/ 350°F Add the dates to a food processor along with the chickpeas, coconut oil and milk and blend until you have a smooth mixture.  Transfer into a large bowl, then fold in the oat flour, cocoa and salt. Mix to combine. Give the mixture a taste to make sure you’re happy with the sweetness. If it’s not sweet enough, add 2 tbsp stevia or your granulated sweetener of choice.  Transfer into a lightly oiled Tesco Go Cook 21cm spring form cake tin.  Sprinkle the chopped Oreos evenly on top then press down into the batter using your hands.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool completely before slicing.  Enjoy! Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days

Thanks to Tesco for sponsoring this post. Commissioned posts is how I’m able to continue working on the blog and creating recipes and recipe videos for you. As always, all opinions are my own.

Healthified Vegan Oreo Brownies – Using Go Cook, exclusively for Tesco was originally published on UK Health Blog - Nadia's Healthy Kitchen