#some avengers compound support staff

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #46: FRANCHISE

July, 1989

Great Lakes Avengers Assemble?!

I have been waiting for this.

I've read this issue before, in a collected edition of Dan Slott's Great Lakes Avengers miniseries. But now I have all the context leading up to this and I'll get to see what else this wacky group did in their early appearances.

And, hell. Out of everything in the Byrne run so far, this is his first shake up that's not deeply annoying!

Byrne is the one who pulls the trigger on the idea of a third Avengers team teased when Vision was trying to expand the Avengers. But not quite as he enVisioned it.

Hah.

Last times on West Coast Avengers: Between issues, Tigra, Hank Pym, and the Wasp joined the West Coast Avengers. Then Vision got kidnapped by every government in the world and disassembled into a pile of parts. Hank Pym puts everyone's favorite synthezoid back together but he's all white now and he doesn't have emotions and only has Avengers case files for memories.

The American government also forced the West Coast Avengers to take on US Agent or else reprisals. Hawkeye quit in a huff after US Agent tosses him after Hawkeye tried to punch him.

We learned in the big Avengers meeting over in Avengers that Hawkeye has a new group so let's get into it.

Geez, Mr Immortal, you're a bit manic there.

A bank robbery is happening at the Milwaukee Farmers and Merchants Trust. And we know this is Milwaukee because one of the robbers very considerately wears a Milwaukee jacket.

A dude we'll later learn is called Mr Immortal drops down from the ceiling, quips a bit, dodges some gunfire, hits a couple dudes, and then... doesn't dodge some other gunfire.

That looks like it hurts.

The robbers gather around the dead, deceased hero to make sure he's really dead.

And he's gotta be, right? Half of his chest is bulleted to hell.

And then things go to hell. For the robbers.

Flatman swipes the hostages with his stretchy definitely not a spoof of Mr Fantastic body. Big Bertha OH YEAHs through the wall. Dinah Soar flies through a Doorman shaped portal in another wall.

The Great Lakes Avengers are usually treated comically. They're a ridiculous team, operating in a ridiculous area, with ridiculous powers and the big joke about them in the Dan Slott series was how they were constantly overshadowed by the official Avengers and how none of the other heroes wanted to interact with them.

Except Squirrel Girl, who they hired by sorta lying that they were the real Avengers.

Ridiculous group with ridiculous powers they may be but in this action sequence, they're coordinated. They had a good plan to distract the robbers so the hostages could be pulled out of harms way. And then their ridiculous powers took down the gunmen no problem.

Yeah, these guys aren't going to be fighting Doctor Doom without hefty authorial fiat (but isn't that the way all comics work anyway?) but they're not bumbling amateurs.

And I appreciate that.

Last robber standing backs away in shock horror... right into the arms of Mr Immortal.

Who is not, in fact, dead. Or at least, he didn't stay dead.

Immortal, y'know?

Robber: "They're poppin' outta th' woodwork! Who are these geeks? Milwaukee don't have no super heroes!" Mr Immortal: "Guess again! Y'all are gonna be seein' a lot of us from now on! Y'all are gonna be seein' us in your nightmares!" Robber: "Wha...? No!! You're dead!!!" Mr Immortal: "Wrong-o, creep! I'm just as right as rain! But you aren't gonna be! By the time I get done with you... You'll prob'ly never be anything like right. Not never again!!"

Mr Immortal apparently goes a bit berserk after resurrecting.

He punches the robber down and then starts stomping him.

Flatman has to pull him off the guy. And Mr Immortal won't settle down until Dinah Soar talks to him in an empty text bubble.

Dinah Soar is the only one who CAN get him to calm down.

Flatman guesses its some kind of hypersonic. In the later Dan Slott series, its revealed that its actually True Love what does it. Yes, for serious. It was sweet, actually.

Last member of the team comes into the bank and tells the rest that there's a bunch of police and reporters who want to know what the devil is going on.

Mr Immortal goes out to address the crowd and press. When reporter Peggy Allen asks him who this group of do-gooders is, he dubs the team...

THE GREAT LAKES AVENGERS!

Hawkeye hears the news report in the random motel he's staying in after rage-quitting the Avengers.

His first instinct is to call the team and let them know about randos infringing the brand but then decides 'fuck 'em' because he's still mad about the government meddling in the team.

There's a knok knok knoking on Clint's door and making his bad mood worse, its Mockingbird.

He is very sarcastic about his day being ruined but she says she's here to save their marriage.

News to him. He thought they were dead set on getting a divorce.

But time off-panel and with a different writer has cooled Mockingbird's head. And since they're both going through some trying times now, maybe they should rethink things.

Hawkeye: "You mean now that I've been kicked off the team I founded I'm all of a sudden a pitiful soul so you've gone all maternal and decided to come back to the roost and take care of me! Well, thanks but no thanks, Bobbi!" Mockingbird: "You're not being fair, Clint. Although I guess that's nothing new, is it?" Hawkeye: "And just what is that supposed to mean?" Mockingbird: "It means you have all the sensitivity of a brick. I got mixed up with the Phantom Rider because he drugged me, used me, and when you found out, did you react like a husband whose wife has been assaulted? NO!! You went off on some stupid macho kick! And I was hurt enough to pay you back with your own coin. When I needed you -- maybe more than I ever have before -- you were too busy stroking your wounded male ego to notice. Something that could have bound us even closer together drove us apart. Well... that damage is done. Now I'm here to see if it can be undone. Because, heaven help me, in spite of everything, I still love you!"

I can't believe Byrne of all people is cutting through the bullshit and having Mockingbird say 'hey all that stuff we were yelling about wasn't the crux of the issue and you were being a major asshole, Clint.'

He's re-litigating a lot of Englehart's stuff. Redoing the Tigra plot. Revising Englehart's origin for Vision. Shoving people that had quit back onto the team.

I didn't expect him to use this power for good.

Because the Hawkeye/Mockingbird falling out was bad. Maybe in character for the two stubborn jerks. But it needed another look and here we are, taking another look.

Mockingbird doesn't even entertain the notion that its really a philosophical disagreement about cowboy manslaughter.

I'll have to see where it goes. Because it could go poorly in its own unique way.

Back over at the West Coast Avengers Compound, US Agent has made a good impression on one person and only one person.

The new cook, Mrs. Heyges, who is pleased to see someone that actually enjoys a big breakfast.

Most of the West Coast Avengers only have a slice of toast and some orange juice.

US Agent: "A man has to keep his strength up, Mrs. Heyges. And, of course, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Besides... You're almost as good a cook as my mother!" Mrs. Heyges: "Well, gracias, sir! I know that must be quite a compliment."

Based on her comments that she doesn't get to really cook for the others, US Agent muses that he should introduce a proper meal schedule.

Then, Tigra happens.

Looking for a proper meal of her own.

A.k.a. chasing a mouse.

She's seemingly gone full feral, although she doesn't have that same alien cat look she did last time.

Either Byrne thought better of it or it comes and goes for some damn reason.

She chases a mouse in, hisses and growls when US Agent grabs her, and sullenly creeps away when he slaps her for trying to bite him.

The cat instincts have taken over.

(I don't love that we're doing this again but it is better than her trying to hump everyone? I mean. Slightly better. The main reason I'm annoyed is that we're just doing this plot again. In a vacuum it wouldn't be so bad.)

(Also also, last time she jumped through a window to chase a bird. I can only assume she's destroyed the local bird population. Folks, Tigras are inside Avengers. Keep them inside for their own health and for the good of the ecosystem.)

Mrs. Heyges says that Tigra has been hunting the mice that get into the pantry. And she's new here and didn't really want to tell an Avenger what to do so she just sorta figured. Hunting mice was part of Tigra's job??

US Agent declares this very gross and decides something has to be done!

I mean. Something does need to be done. It speaks ill of everyone that nobody has noticed Tigra's issues until now. And the only dude that sorta knew she was going through something was Hawkeye and he stormed off in a huff.

I guess Wanda is going through some stuff. And Wonder Man is being kind of a creep about Wanda's stuff. And Vision is very neutral on everything these days. But fucks sake, Wasp or Hank Pym. You two are the adults here!

Over in the A-plot, Mockingbird has convinced Hawkeye to go to Milwaukee to check out the group calling themselves Avengers. Because it beats him sitting around feeling sorry for himself for rage-quitting the West Coast Avengers.

Although, he's rewritten history so that he was unjustly fired.

But since he had the impulse to go check out the Great Lakes Avengers, why not ride that impulse into something productive?

So over in Milwaukee, the Great Lakes Avengers check out mysterious lights over the Germania Building.

Mr Immortal sends Dinah Soar to check out the roof of the building and has Doorman make a portal (with his BODY) so Flatman can get inside the building and look for a way to let everyone else in.

Flatman thinks to himself how weird it is that when he goes through Doorman, he feels like he's briefly in another place entirely. Like, not even on Earth anymore.

Apparently, a subtle nod to Doorman's powers working through the Darkforce Dimension.

Up on the roof, Dinah Soar gets ambushed and captured by some manner of bola arrow.

At the mercy of this mystery assailant, Dinah Soar takes out a little whistle and sadly tweets on it.

Mr Immortal and Big Bertha hear the sad tooting and realize Dinah Soar is in trouble!

So Big Bertha gets Mr Immortal to hang onto her back and high jumps to the roof to get him there in a hurry.

To the mystery assailant's bafflement.

Mr Immortal: "You get clear now while I take care of this clown." Mystery Assailant who is definitely not Hawkeye: "'Clown?' Takes spunk to wear a suit like that and call somebody else a clown, pal!"

Glass houses, mystery assailant.

Big Bertha falls back to ground level, laughing all the way.

I am not sure why she does this. In other stuff, she's usually one of the more serious members of the Great Lakes Avengers.

Anyway, some more Great Lakes Avengers thoughts. Presumably Big Bertha could have pulled herself up onto the roof. She's got super strength. But mystery assailant has already captured Dinah Soar so Mr Immortal is going in alone to feel the guy out.

He doesn't die when he's killed. He's the best for gauging threat level.

He's also a clown, whether or not you think his costume is sillier than anyone else's. Lets say Hawkeye, for the sake of an example.

He acrobats around mystery assailant and proclaims "Okay, wiseguy... I don't know what your game is... but you're way out of your league... now that the Avengers are here!"

Leading mystery assailant to reveal himself to be... AN IMPOSTER DRESSED LIKE HAWKEYE??

Hawkeye: "'Dressed as Hawkeye...??' I am Hawkeye, an' I'm here to find out what you so-called 'Avengers' think you're up to! In case you don't know it, buster, the Avengers' name isn't up for grabs by any ol' Tom, Dick, an' Harriet!"

So Mr Immortal kicks him in the face for impersonating an Avenger. That's rude, y'know. Probably not a felony BUT MAYBE IT SHOULD BE.

Mr Immortal: "You think you can defeat the Avengers by pretending to be Hawkeye? The real Hawkeye would have blocked my attack easily!"

Mockingbird shows up and repays the favor by kicking Mr Immortal in the face for kicking Hawkeye in the face.

She explains that Hawkeye sucks ass at close quarters combat. I don't think that's entirely true but I like to think Mockingbird isn't above being a little petty.

Mr Immortal is alarmed that there's a woman impersonating Mockingbird now!

It turns out that Mr Immortal is almost current with superhero gossip.

He knows that Mockingbird and Hawkeye have split up, he knows that Mockingbird quit the Avengers. He doesn't know that Hawkeye recently also quit the Avengers.

So you can see where the confusion comes from.

You might not see why Mr Immortal decides his next move is to backflip off the roof.

Maybe he wanted to see how the "imposters" would react to it.

Well, not personally. He'd have to rely on someone else telling him how they reacted to it. He's temporarily dead from hitting the ground really hard.

But Flatman saw the whole thing and realized that Mockingbird sounds sincerely distraught that a dude just died.

Hawkeye: "Flatman?? I don't believe it! You got a partner called 'Ribbon?'"

Its funny that DC comics is apparently fictional within Marvel because the Avengers have also met the Justice League.

Silly comics.

Mockingbird berates Hawkeye's joke for being inappropriate. A man just died!

Flatman awkwardly explains that Mr Immortal doesn't really die.

So at Mockingbird's request, they all convene at Great Lakes Avengers' HQ... er... Big Bertha's place.

It's a fancy place.

Hawkeye asks how she can afford such nice digs but it turns out that when Big Bertha isn't superheroing, she's supermodel Ashely Crawford, darling of many Vogue covers. One of the highest paid models in the biz.

So Hawkeye asks what a successful model is doing "playing super hero."

And again, at this point the West Coast Avengers are silly. They're comical. They're not a joke.

Big Bertha: "I don't think of it as... playing, Hawkeye. None of us do. We're all just as serious about this as you are."

Yeah, Hawkeye!

Mockingbird asks how the group got together... and why "Great Lakes Avengers"?

We don't get the whole story now but it's implied that Mr Immortal go them together and stated that the name was his idea. He wanted to maintain the coastal theme but there's no north coast so...

But the real question that Mockingbird is getting at is who do the Great Lakes Avengers think they are, using the Avengers brand without permission? The Avengers are pretty fussy about who gets called Avenger! Says the lady who is not currently an Avenger!

I don't think she actually cares. But she assumes Hawkeye cares and she's here to get his mind on anything but fuming about US Agent or her.

Annnnnd Hawkeye has changed his mind!

Hawkeye: "I'm startin' to think maybe this Midwest team isn't such a bad idea. Your powers are kinda funky, and your code names stink... But with the proper management... my management... This could be a heckuva team!"

Ah, dammit, Hawkeye! You ragequit one team so you're going to force your way onto this one, huh?

I don't know how it will be handled immediately in this book but after the fact, in the later Dan Slott series, the Great Lakes Avengers view the whole thing pretty cheerfully.

The big league came down to coach their team. It gives them credibility and helps them be better at superheroing, which they're all pretty serious about.

I'll have to see how it unfolds as it goes though.

Current team lead Mr Immortal is still regrowing his brains and hasn't expressed an opinion on Hawkeye's pending takeover.

It is so funny though! Hawkeye gets forced out of the West Coast Avengers slash quits so his rebound is to just take over someone else's team!

He does the same thing when he accidentally screws himself out of a spot on Busiek's Avengers! Tracks down the Thunderbolts and goes 'my team now.'

It may be his real superpower.

Anyway, the other B-plot.

Wanda seems to be doing better after the whole husband robot thing and dropping a cliff on Wonder Man. Maybe. Hard to say. She's had a good swim, at least.

And then Roberto Carlos of the Avengers Compound Support Staff brings Wanda a letter from the Absolon College of Robotics.

Remember Absolon College had that big list of mutants to do Something With and Wanda is the one they settled on?

The letter claims that their research into artificial intelligence may be able to restore Vision back to his good ol' self.

Is... is it public knowledge that Vision was taken apart by the government and had his brain FUBAR'd??

Because if not, that's a red flag!

The other red flag is that the letter is from Jeremiah Random, which sounds like a made-up name!

This is going to end badly! And I'm not just saying that because the next time box says THIS ANCIENT EVIL!

Follow @essential-avengers because woo! Great Lakes Avengers! Love those guys! Like, comment, reblog maybe?

[imaginedreamwrite]

Ooooooo for Thurs-tea Thursday what if you over hear some of the support staff gossiping about Steve and/or Bucky in the avengers compound. They’re saying that one of them made a pass at them and they flat out refused and said they had their eye on someone. Nat catches you listening and sees you’re upset as you’ve grown really close to them. Wanda keeps you busy whilst she gets to the bottom of it like the amazing BFF she is. Maybe soulmate or abo??

“I tried sleeping with him but he’s like the 100 year old virgin.” She rolled her eyes and scoffed, as she past by the daycare room.

“He wouldn’t sleep with you?” Her friend had questioned with disbelief. “You?”

“Ugh. They only have eyes for each other and whoever their soulmate is. Its disgusting actually, it’s like…imprinted on their skin.” The one who had openly tried to sleep with Steve had sneered and crossed her arms over her chest. “Like having their names just imprinted-“

You looked at your own arm, the two dates stained your flesh from the moment you were born, were now filled with colour. Steve and Bucky were close, you’d met your soulmates.

“She’s probably an ugly whore.”

Her friend snorted with a laugh and a smirk was cast over her shoulder toward you. “Could be worse. You could be paid to take care of brats.”

The two women snickered and walked away from the daycare room, your eyes narrowing in their direction as you picked up and a wooden block and turned it over in your hand.

“Of all the things in here, a wooden block seems like the least deadly weapon.” Wanda walked into the room with Nat following, the last two avengers coming to pick up their baby boy who was playing quietly in the corner.

“How was he?” Nat asked, studying you like she already knew everything going on in your head.

“Good, as usual.” You hummed and looked at your soulmate mark with building anxiousness. “Little rough sometimes, like his momma’s.”

“Tough,” Wanda crooned and bent down to pick up her baby, “that’s our boy.”

“Are you…he said you were having another?” You questioned, looking between the two women.

“Yes, we’re having another. Wanda’s got an appointment to get our fertilized egg implanted.” Natasha had crossed her arms over her chest, her eyebrows furrowing. “I forgot something. Wanda, baby, would you tell Y/N all about our new baby? I’ll be back.”

“Don’t make us late for dinner.” Wanda called over her shoulder, flicking her hand to close the door behind Nat. “So…let me tell about the two super soldiers who tripped over their feet when they saw you this morning. Literally.”

“They did not!” You squeaked, breath catching in your throat.

“Oh yes they did! And I’m going to tell you about it.”

[medicalsupplier]

Challenges of Nigerian Health Sector

Materials and Human Resources

First off, the placement of health institutions frequently takes the requirements of the community into insufficient consideration due to the politicization of the allocation and location of human and material resources like medical equipment & instruments. The WHO template ratio of one doctor to 500 patients is still not being met by Nigeria's health sector, which results in overworked medical staff. In some situations, patients must wait in line for hours while seated, and if there is a bad case among them, the patient may not survive. This is terrible! Additionally, medical staff members lack the same level of motivation as those in nations with a higher level of civility.

Corruption in Politics and the Administration

In a nation where widespread corruption has torn away the social fabric, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating policies in the health sector is difficult. Clearly, the term "corruption" is misleading. It substitutes mediocrity for the meritocracy. Corruption in the healthcare industry has gotten so bad that a teaching hospital was audited for the accreditation of its facilities and human resources, and the Chief Medical Director hired temporary specialists, such as cardiologists, image scientists, pediatricians, and psychiatrists, etc., just to meet the visitors' set percentage. However, after the accreditation, the hospital is back where it started: with a shortage of human resources. The diverting of patients to privately owned hospitals by a public hospital doctor or pharmacist is another illustration of corruption and ethical obscenity.

Health Policy Development

The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Health, should be established as the first stage in the process of recognising the issues with the Nigerian health sector. First, most policies created are one-way traffic, meaning that the Abuja initiative dominates them, although a successful policy requires input from all parties and the people it would benefit. Even worse, once the policies are created, they are not well coordinated or tied to any specific economic goals.

weak infrastructure and facilities

Weak, out-of-date, and flawed logistical support result from the health sector's institutions receiving grossly inadequate funds. This is a result of poor maintenance of the facilities, medical devices, and vehicles, a lack of pharmaceuticals, improper drug compounding, bad drug management, the expiration of drugs and vaccinations, and other factors necessary for patient care.

Health Sector Underfunding

Gross deficit is a social cankerworm that's also destroying the foundation of Nigeria's medical institutions. The Nigerian health system falls short of the World Health Organization Standard of 15% of the total budget as a result of the small budgetary commitment to the health sector. It follows that the fund is not properly budgeted for and promptly released to the healthcare organizations—or, for that matter, life-saving organizations. The health sector has been gravely underfunded for many years.

Issues with Insecurity

As a result of the aforementioned, there is an unstable political system, a lack of security for people and their property, and unrest among the Youths and Avengers who think that the distribution of national resources to the Niger Delta geopolitical region is unfair. Therefore, the implementation of health policy in such hostile environments is a mirage/ruse and is handicapped because no doctors, pharmacists, nurses, image scientists, laboratory technologists, or Chief Medical Directors would want to lose their life unnecessarily or prematurely. Hostage-taking of citizens with high demands for ransom before release, kidnapping, and bumping are ongoing daily or weekly occurrences.

 Lack of Health Workers’ Motivation

Like their counterparts in other developed nations, Nigerian health professionals still do not receive enough pay. Poor motivation has easy-to-understand consequences. To name a few absurdities brought on by low motivation, these repercussions include frustration, subpar service performance, psychological warfare at work, industrial strikes, and brain drain.

[lokistoriesblog]

Sweatpants & Staring

Summary: Loki wearing grey sweatpants around the Avengers compound definitely catches your eye, what happens when Loki notices you staring? (Loki survived Endgame)

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters.

Pairing: Loki x Female Reader

Length: 2.1K

Warnings: sexual themes

A/N: Fall weather means the return of the glorious grey sweatpants, so of course I had to write a fic with Loki wearing them. Selfishly this is totally a gift to myself because I mean 🥵

Being Bruce’s assistant in his lab comes with a long list of benefits: great pay, free lodging at the Avengers compound and rubbing shoulders with some of the most elite superheros. While at the compound you became accustomed to your new roommates, for lack of a better term. Steve often shirtless boxing in the training room, Nat in her black cat suit and Thor being, well, Thor: chiselled, flowing golden hair and classic himbo energy. You were always quite confident in your appearance and how you presented yourself but being surrounded by super soldiers and gods alike was mildly intimidating. Not to mention distracting, oh how your mind would often race in their presence.

The compound was often filled with the Avengers, a few support staff like yourself, SHIELD members and then there was Loki, the God Mischief himself. Thor insisted he be made a member of the team following the events of the battle against Thanos, Loki having shown immense bravery and trustworthiness while saving the people of earth and beyond.

After Asgard had fallen, Loki split his time between New Asgard where he helped his people settle in their new home and the Avengers compound where he completed the occasional mission to appease his brother. Despite now living solely on Midgard, Loki always adorned his standard Asgardian leathers or if the event called for it his classic black suit. That was until his most recent visit to the compound and it did not go unnoticed by the team that Loki seemed to be becoming more accustomed to his new home and it's more relaxed fashions.

You were sitting at the kitchen table with Wanda and Thor as Natasha was busy making breakfast for the team. You agreed she would cook and you would clean, a bargain to allow you to enjoy your first cup of coffee in peace. Your head down sipping on your coffee like a prayer for it to bring you back to life and awake after a long night in the lab. Thor was muttering off to Wanda about their latest mission but you were ignoring them and savouring the warmth the coffee was providing.

You peered over the lip of your mug to find Loki had joined the group in the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee near Nat. His back to you so all you could see of him was his raven hair falling over his shoulders slightly disheveled from a night of sleep and the muscles on his back showcased in the white t-shirt he was wearing. You still haven't gotten used to seeing Loki in such normal clothes but it did bring a smile to your lips.

You enjoyed working alongside the Avengers and also enjoyed being mildly distracted by their physical appearances but you felt differently about Loki. There was something about him that always drew your attention, however you didn't dare share those thoughts with anyone on the team or even the Trickster himself. You could only imagine the razzing you would have to endure.

You quickly shifted your attention back to the glorious cup of coffee in your hands, ignoring Loki's looming presence. Loki offered a morning greeting to Nat before settling himself to lean against the island facing the three of you at the table.

As you were sipping your coffee, you heard Thor bellow, “Morning Brother!”

You looked up on instinct without thinking twice about it, when you were struck by Loki’s odd appearance. Here was the Trickster in a tight fitting white v-neck t-shirt and grey sweatpants, you smirked at the sight, so unusual for him.

Your eyes fluttered up again just over your mug to rest on Loki. Seeing him in such mundane clothing was such a juxtaposition for you. You knew you should look away so as to not alert anyone to your little crush on the God but you were like a moth with a flame, unable to break your gaze.

As your eyes raked down his torso, they drifted across his hips which the band of his sweatpants clung to. You dared to look lower, you had only imagined how endowed the God might be in your dreams but the sweatpants did not leave any room for such imagination. His large bulge was clearly defined in the pants causing you to gulp loudly. You quickly teared your eyes from his body as you felt heat rush to your core.

But trying to keep your eyes on your mug and not on what was on display before you was the hardest thing you've ever done. This could be considered cruel and unusual punishment. What had you done to be teased this way? It was almost as if someone knew your innermost desires and was hell bent on taunting you. All the previous fantasies you had conjured of the Trickster flitted through your mind.

Your eyes betrayed your willpower and you returned your searing gaze back to the God of Mischief, who now had his arms crossed over his chest, his arms bulging slightly out of his shirt. You dared to look at his face quickly to see if he noticed your staring, luckily he was in conversation with Thor and not looking in your direction at all. Not surprising, you were often quiet and didn't interact with him all that much, really only because you always felt you were making a fool of yourself whenever you were in his company. Your attraction to him often had you stumbling over your words and heat running through your body.

Your eyes once again fell on the outline of his bulge in his pants, so openly on display in those Midgardian grey sweatpants. It had been a while since you had been out with anyone, being at the Avengers compound did not leave much time for socializing. You hadn't really registered how long it had been until presented with your current view. You could feel the wetness gathering between your thighs just at the thought of what lay under his pants.

The thought of your hand palming him over them, feeling him harden at your touch. Tugging the waistband of his pants to expose his hard length to you. The thought of how he would feel in your hand or even inside you. You had to shift in your seat to adjust and press your thighs together to offer pressure on the growing desire that now pulsated at your core.

Your gaze still longingly held on Loki’s bulge, your mind wandering so far to imagine the taste of him on your tongue, you couldn't help but bite your lip to hold back the smirk on your face, still holding your coffee mug close to your face as in an attempt to justify any potential staring. Your thighs still firmly pressed together as your desire grew.

You felt Thor and Wanda shift beside you, but in an almost trance-like state you didn't pay it any mind until it seemed they were talking in your direction.

“Y/N!” Nat called loudly to you trying to get your attention. You snapped your head up to find the entire group looking at you. “I said breakfast is ready.” She nodded to the food now placed around the table.

How out of it had you been to not notice all the food on the table? A rush of embarrassment flooded your body as you gave them a brief smile and began to load your plate with the breakfast. Except now you felt as though you were the one being watched. You made quick work on your breakfast and looked around to the others but in your peripheral vision you could see Loki still leaning at his place against the kitchen island, arms still crossed across his chest, his head was dipped slightly but his eyes, his eyes were looking directly ahead at you.

You could almost feel the weight of his gaze on your body, you had to look up from your plate at some point and when you did your eyes flitted up through your lashes in his direction. You locked eyes with him for a moment, the beginning of a smirk tugging at his lips. You broke eye contact but in a foolish move, one you couldn't help but commit, you allowed your eyes to fall on the bulge in the sweatpants once more. You heard a low scoff come from him and immediately dropped your stare and focused on the group around the table. His gaze remained, searing into you causing another wave of arousal to pool between your legs.

“Alright Y/N, our deal still stands, you're on clean up!” Nat said as her and Wanda stood from the table and headed toward the training room. Luckily Thor still sat at the table, you couldn't imagine being alone with Loki in this room after being caught lusting over him.

Your luck would not last as it seems there was an almost silent conversation between the Asgardian brothers, Thor retreating from the table muttering something about needing to find Tony.

Your jaw was clenched trying to regain the strength needed to get up from your current seat, hoping your legs were not turned to jello so you could quickly clean up and leave this room. Your heart was beating at such a pace you could feel it against your skin. Loki remained, his eyes never leaving you. You felt as though you could crumble under his presence.

“Did no one ever teach you, it was impolite to stare?” Loki purred in your direction. So there was no hiding it now then. Jeez, why couldn't you have left it alone and only looked once, not got lost in a trance thinking of all the ways you wanted him to take you.

“I could say the same to you.” you shot back at him meeting his cerulean blue eyes. Without breaking eye contact with you, Loki pushed off the island and meandered to stand right in front of you at the table.

You thought the position of him leaning his hips against the island was enough to fill you with arousal but the sight of him now was even more overwhelming. Loki was tall so it happens that when he stands in front of you sitting at the table, the bulge you had been gawking at now rests directly within your eyesight a mere inches away from your face. You could almost have sworn he was jutting his hips out further to accentuate the area.

Once again his presence was too much, you lowered your eyes as he came to stop directly in front of you. But in lowering your eyes, you once again rake them over the sight laid in front of you, the outline so clear, it puts any Midgardian male to shame. On instinct you bring your thumb to your mouth and clamp down on your nail, in an attempt to hide the smirk on your face as your mind again wanders off to the land of imagination.

Before you can compose yourself enough to look away, Loki's hand lands on your chin and slowly breaks your focus pulling your sightline back to his face, which is displaying the most lust filled grin, “Eyes up here darling” he voice husk and deep.

Before you can do or say anything your ears perk up to the sounds now blaring through the compound, “An attack has been made upon the city of Chicago, all team members are required to assemble immediately. Avengers to the Quinjet.”

Loki stares at you for one more moment before letting go of your chin "Saved by the bell, love" he chirps. He sauntering off toward the Quinjet hangar.

You remain sitting, stunned at what has transpired, the heat still pooled in your core. You stay seated at the table until you hear the jet take off, only then do you finally push out from the table, shaking your head to gain an ounce of clarity. As you move around the kitchen cleaning up the remnants of breakfast, your mind once again races back to the image of Loki’s bulge, the weight of his gaze upon you and thought of what would have happened if he was not pulled away on a mission.

Want to turn this into a drinking game? Take a shot every time I say gaze or core lol - so brutal, sorry I suck!

Also this is really just a prelude to the complete SMUT follow-up "Caught" coming very shortly 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

[user21340]

my only exception

(i don’t own this gif or any of the characters in this fic)

summary: you and nat are separated when in the Red Room. you both are reunited. after holding onto a couple things to give her for a couple years you both realize love is well and alive.

warnings: violence, abuse, swearing, lil angst, fluff

pairing: natasha romanoff x fem!reader

word count: nearly 1.8k

a/n: omg i don’t know what to say! thank you for all the support on the stuff i’ve released so far. it’s super crazy seeing some of my favorite writers following me. thank you so so much for 30 followers! much love 💕💕

(italics in dialogue mean the person is speaking russian)

sorry for any mistakes i wrote this at 3am and have to get up for school at 6 😪 no bueno

It was a cold and stormy night as the power in the Red Room continuously flickered on and off even with the help of a high powered generator.

You and Natalia had been waiting for an event like this to occur so you could break out. Even though both herself and you lived only a small bit of life outside in the real world before you were taken in and trained to become a weapon, both of your humanly morals knew right from wrong. The Red Room’s treatment definitely being a wrong.

Madame B and the other monstrous staff at this facility put all you girls to bed roughly an hour ago. Nat and yourself undid your cuffs connecting your wrist to the metal bedframe so you could pack the few things you both owned before you made your escape. Both of you had talked this plan over through and through so you both were on the same page as soon as you saw that flicker of a power outage surge though the site.

At the moment you both were eighteen years old meaning both of you had proven yourselves worthy enough to hone a spot at this academy and had graduated a couple months prior.

GAME PLAN

Some information you had gathered which the staff weren’t aware of was every time the power flickered off, it disarmed and unlocked the exit door/s for nearly five seconds. The weather has been dry but cold lately not making this discovery too useful. The plan was to sneak over to uncuff yourselves in the middle of the night when these brief power outages were occurring, pack your items, and as you were about to escape bang on the wall of the large room where the girls kept at the academy would sleep to create enough of a distraction before you were out and free for good. Easy right? How wrong you’d be.

When it was time for the distraction, Nat stood by the door waiting for the next surge of lightning of whatever broke the electricities stability as you walked to the far side of the sleeping quarters where you were sure you’d have enough time to bang on the walls and sprint out of that door.

You heard a crash of thunder so you knew your escape chance would be soon. As you were about to start banging on the walls you see a door knob parallel to Nat but far away none the less start turning.

BAM

Lightning strikes, what seems to be right outside of the building. You sprint for the door only to have your arm caught by one of Madame B’s henchmen.

Just like that the power flickers.

five.

Without much thought you break away from the man’s grasp lunge at Natalia who happened to be at the door.

four.

“We’ll meet again Natalia.” you speak softly

three.

You shove her out of the door with all of your might.

two.

You use all of your remaining strength that you can muster up to slam the heavy metal door closed.

one.

Click

The door locks once again.

“You stupid little bitch. Get over here NOW!” the man practically growls.

You slowly and steadily walk over to the man as he gruesomely pummels and kicks you.

Sure the beatings, mind torture and manipulation hurt, but you’ve never experienced any kind of pain on the same caliber to what being separated from Natalia feels like.

Madame B is more than disappointed, enraged and annoyed with one of her ‘star students’. You receive daily beatings and long, tiresome training hours for helping Natalia escape. Although everyone is ‘replaceable’ in the minds of the staff as well as Madame B, they just lost Natalia so they couldn’t afford to lose you as well.

Months later the beatings finally slow down to a couple a week which you are able to endure. Madame’s mission now is to make a monster out of you by pushing you to and past your limits when training.

One night you finally drift off to sleep. You hate sleeping. It’s a constant replay of your last night with Nat. Only hoping that she made it to civilization safe and sound and is living a normal teens life. However, tonight’s dream is different. In this dream you see yourself shoving your packed-escape bag between your mattress and bedframe as you are bleeding out on the ground from the beatings. You wake up in a cold sweat and manage to kneel on the ground and slowly lift up your mattress only to find that same, small bag filled with the few, but important belongings of yours and Nat’s. You open up the bag forgetting all about what you both had packed. The most important items you see is a picture of Natalia as a toddler with alongside her mother and father, a small metal ring which you had made for her after stealing a small teaspoon at dinner, banging it against the concrete floor with a rock to flatten it out as you’d continuously bend it back and fourth so only the thinnest part is of the spoon is left which you bend into a ring before surprising Nat with it after you know she had a pretty rough day training, and lastly Nat’s papers containing important info about her such as her full name, birthplace, parents names, and birthdate.

November 22, 1984

November 22, 1984

November 22, 1984

November 22, 1984

You make sure you have this date burned into your head, latching onto any important information about her you can learn.

You hang onto those three items keeping them hidden.

Two and a half years later...

It’s late at night when you hear gunshots and fights breaking out throughout the facility. You quickly get up out of bed (once again undoing your cuffs) and grab those three items from under your mattress. You place them in your pocket getting ready to make a break for the outside world. As you reach for the door you turn back taking one last look at the place you’ve been living for pretty much the entirety of your life, only before a man in a funny red, white, and blue costume enters your view.

You bring your hands up ready for a fight.

“Look kid, I’m not here to fight you. We are breaking you out.” the man ensures

“Who even are you?” you sternly question

“Steve Rogers. But the public calls me Captain America.” his gaze settles on your figure, “Mind telling me who you are?” he pushes

“Names y/n, but look I’ve got places to be ma-“ you are cut off when Captain America’s jaw drops.

“No, we both know you don’t. But, you ARE coming with me.” you know there isn’t much room for protest but that won’t stop you from trying. You lunge at him and push him to the ground as you wave a small goodbye and sprint towards the door only for your body to fall on the ground limp. Realizing you’ve been stunned by something temporarily.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” you shriek, he only chuckles.

“God, Nat was right about you.” she shakes he head with a small grin on his face.

“N-nat?” you whisper as you vision fades black.

You regain consciousness and look around only to find yourself in a weird windowy, loud vehicle type thing. You see a group of people standing around you but you see one particular familiar face hovering directly over yours lightly combing through your hair with one one hand and gently outlining your jawline with the other.

“NAT!” you screech, your brain is feeling too many emotions to comprehend at the moment.

Once she sees and hears you are awake she pulls you into a bone crushing hug.

“Y/n/n I’m so sorry I left you and you had to stay in that hellhole for so long alone I don’t know how I would’ve help up it if that-“ you cut her off

“Natalia, all that matters is I’m here with you right now.” you reason.

After getting off of what you learned is a ‘plane’ you and Nat spend hours together clinging onto one another as if, as soon as you separate you will be absent in her life for another couple years, vice versa.

Months pass by. Even though you and Nat have yet to label yourselves as a couple your hearts belong to one another after being attached to the hip to one another for pretty much every activity or mission you both do. In this time you were also recruited as an Avenger due to your skillful hand to hand combat and your masterful types of fighting you have nearly perfected from your time in the room.

The date just happens to be November 22. You are pretty sure no one in the compound is aware of Natalia’s birthday, hell, you aren’t even sure if she’s aware.

Today is the day you decide to return the missing items from her bag that you recover after she left.

You wake up next to her and wake her up with a long, graceful, soft kiss on her lips to which she responds shortly after by kissing you back as you feel as tiny smirk against your own lips.

“Hey, what was that for?” she asks playfully

“Ohhh nothing. Just maybe it’s for my favorite girl’s special day today.” Nat blushes.

“H-how’d you know?”

“Oh honey, I know e v e r y t h i n g.” you reply

Before she can respond you pull her to sit up on your shared bed and hand her an envelope containing her papers as well as he one and only photo of herself and her family.

As soon as she sees both items she sobs into your chest. (more because of the picture, you really only included her papers so she too would know all the most crucial parts of her life pre-red room era.

“Uh, uh, uh’” you tut,”One more thing.” you reach for her hand slowly and tell her to shut her eyes. You slowly slide the makeshift ring on her finger.

“Open.” you instruct

To which she gasps at the sight and just like the day you both were reunited you hugged and kissed for hours on end.

“Nat, will you be my girlfriend?” you ask with a sheepish smile.

“Of course y/n/n, I thought you’d never ask.” she takes a breath,“I know love is for children, but you are my only exception.”

“Ditto.” Natalia chuckles, “That is what the Americans say, right?” you backtrack with flushed cheeks.

She holds you tighter and presses a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Sure.” she breathes out.

[subwaysurf45]

Winter Makes Ice (Ep.6)

Summary:  you’re captured after a brawl at the Avengers building, Bucky and others must save you before Hydra makes a new Winter Soldier out of you, Bucky has given up that title.

Words: 3k.

Episode: six

Warnings: angst, crying

Masterlist! Winter Makes Ice Episode: Five

Time: 10:11pm

Date: October 4th, 2024

Bucky finally left your medical room after everyone cleared out. His heart rate was way too fast for his liking and he knew he needed a second, this issue wouldn’t be fixed overnight and he knew what was coming. As he walked to your shared room everyone looked at him, there was no real reason but they watched anyway. The feeling burned into his back, the hair on the back of his neck stood at attention until he turned the corner. 

The moment he walked in and shut the door, Bucky threw himself back against it for support. His eyes squeezed so tight it burned and his chest moved rapidly with his breathes. Knees bent and he was curled up on the floor, though no one was in the room to see him he still covered his face as he cried, he was still getting used to being able to show himself crying. Little pleads to no one came out as whimpers as Bucky struggled to catch his breath, he was rocking back and forth but not really getting anywhere. 

“Please…let her be okay…” he cried to the ceiling. 

All Bucky could see was the way your face fell and your body became rigid at the sound of a command, you were such a carefree spirit that seeing you fight back against your own mind when following rules hurt Bucky. He’d never seen anything like this when he was at Hydra, he was used to the brainwashing and the large machines but Hydra got so good they could fit years of tourture into a little syringe. Bucky was either kept in a cell or put under ice, he couldn’t image what it was like to be suspended by your neck for hours on end; medical staff said the bruising indicate a total of over twenty four hours suspended. 

Part of him, selfishly, wanted you to keep thinking that it was still only one day since you were kidnapped, he didn’t want you to remember what had happened to you. It was selfish and, to him, unethical to wish someone to forget a new main point in their life but he wanted you to be somewhat okay. But since you were disoriented now he knew that meant it would all come back slowly, most likely over nightmares and triggers. Simply from the way he saw your face fill with sadness when he’d wake you up in the middle of the night to tell you he had a nightmare, Bucky knew he’d be destroyed if he ever saw you deal with a nightmare, getting triggered and nightmares were the one thing Bucky never wished on his worst enemy, they were unbearable. 

He needed to make the room feel safe, you’d probably stay in here for a while and slowly get used to the rest of the compound. Bucky changed the sheets and got you comfy clothes ready on the bed, it was one of his old sweaters and some loose shorts. He got the bathroom tidy because he’d get you in the shower whenever you’d wake up and come to the room, your hair care bottles were full and didn’t need to be tipped upside down. 

Near the end of his cleaning session he found a polaroid on your side of the dresser, it was one Wanda took on movie night. You had just labeled yourself a couple and told the rest of the team so the both of you had begun to show a little more PDA, Bucky remembered he was still hesitant but you’d warmed up to the idea. You’d kiss him on the cheek as you walked past him in the kitchen and pull him in for a hug whenever, you were a sucker for PDA and it always made you so flustered when Bucky would kiss the top of your head. You’d lose control and just cover your face to try and hide the smile, you’d feel the blush even if you couldn’t see it. Bucky would always try and see your face, he’d pull at your hands and coo softly to see his ‘pretty girl’ which would make you a goner. So when Wanda held her polaroid camera in front of you two Bucky knew he wanted to do something special, as she counted down Bucky got ready for his little surprise. As she hit one Bucky turned his head and kissed you cheek, holding his lips there to make sure it got in the photo. 

When the photo developed you swooned over it, your face was completely shocked, the camera caught your mouth hung wide open and your eyes wide. Bucky just smiled with a little pride as he watched you run your finger over the picture in love, when you tucked it in your phone case for now Bucky kissed the top of your head and turned back to the movie. 

Bucky placed the picture back on the dresser before getting the door because there was a knock that kicked him out of the memory. He opened it to see Steve with you in a wheelchair, you looked stressed until you saw Bucky. 

“See, he's right there, don’t worry.” Steve said before wheeling you in and handing you over to Bucky, “she’s really jumpy and thinks everything is fake, anything is going to freak her out.” Steve whispered in the exchange, Bucky looked at you with a nod, you didn’t hear them. After a hug, Steve left, the door to your room closed so softly no noise came out. 

“Hey, pretty girl,” Bucky waked around so he could kneel in front of you, “what’s going on?” you still looked like a deer in headlights.

“I don't- I’m still- I can’t really-” your hand came to touch your neck, a something to soothe yourself. 

“Sh-sh-sh, it’s okay, don’t freak out,” Bucky hushed before wheeling you into the bathroom, “we’re gonna give you a shower and then cuddle for a bit- or do you want food first?” Bucky leaned over to make eye contact with you, he fished for a granola bar in his back pocket and pulled it out. 

“I could eat,” you nodded and looked forward again, “I-I haven’t eaten in...ten days…” you muttered and rubbed your hand up and down your forearm. 

“You know what day it is?” Bucky asked and got a hum in response, he came around and sat on the toilet to match your level. “You need help eating?” Bucky asked so softly, his voice went up a few octaves. 

“I-y-yeah, I think I do…'msorry…” Your eyes became a little glossy. 

“Don’t worry,” Bucky hushed and quickly opened the snack, “I’m gonna be here for you all the time, and I want to be, okay?” He held out the bar for you to bite, you barely got any but it was still enough to make you feel sick. 

“All I’ve had is fluid food, I can’t stomach this,” you rested a bruised hand on your stomach. Bucky nodded and tried to get you to eat a little more, it worked until you were dry heaving over the toilet that Bucky was sitting on. As Bucky took off your hospital robe as you told him the bits you remembered from your captivity, parts had come back when you were sedated but there were still major gaps in your story. 

The water was running and both of you waited for it to warm up, “wanna join?” You asked as Bucky stood in his normal clothes, grey sweatpants and a navy blue shirt. 

“You sure?” He asked cautiously, “I’m gonna wash your hair and all that, but I can do that from outside the shower if you want some space.” Bucky eased, but when you nodded he got undressed as well. 

You stepped in first and almost collapsed at how calming it felt, the water pellets massaging your sore back and legs. Bucky let you hold his shoulders as you just swayed back and forth to let the water hit everywhere on your backside, he would kiss the back of your hand from time to time to let you know he was here because your eyes were closed. You tilted your head all the way back so the water hit your face, eyes squinted for a second before getting used to it. 

Bucky just took in that you were home, he’d spent all his time going from place to place in order to find you, he didn’t give himself time to breathe in between each trip. Bucky knew he would’ve felt guilty if he gave one day to rest during the mission to find you, he would have blamed everything on himself. Even though he still does blame it on himself Bucky knows he never gave up during those times which meant he could’ve found you sooner; that was a hard pill to swallow. 

The shower floor was beginning to turn dark red, the mud and blood were swirling together which made a very stark contrast between it and the while tile floor. It was a shower with a door but the panel was frosted, it made it seem like this was the only thing happening in the world right then. Time seemed to stop when he was in here with you, you’d taken showers together before but not for the same reason, Bucky never thought he’d have to deal with this. There wasn’t a light in the shower itself so the only light came through the frost panel, it was darker than normal and it seemed you both liked it. It was more intimate, Bucky didn’t even realize he was edging closer to you. His hand found its way to your hips and that did startle you, you squeezed his shoulders and kept your head tilted back to the showerhead. 

“I love you,” Bucky whispered, his fingers linking as he wrapped his arms all the way around you. He was met with your eyes as you looked down, now the water was hitting the back of your head. “Thank you for not dying, I-I don’t know what I would do without you.” He reached up to cup your cheek. 

Your lip quivered as you studied the man before you, he seemed freaked out that you were crying. “Do you remember the night I got taken?” your voice was thick with tears, “you yelled you loved me and I said-” you gasped as you tried to take a breath in, Bucky quickly eased you to a normal breathing rate, “I said I’d tell you I love you after all this would be done, I said we’d be okay…” you looked off to the tiled wall to try and hide your tears, “I never said I love you, I never got the chance, and I’m so sorry-!” You lunged forward with a yell-like sob, your arms wrapping around his neck as you cried hard into him. Little sounds were coming from you as you tried to talk but the lack of air and control you had over yourself didn’t let you form a syllable. Your back ridged outward as your dirty nails clawed at his back, trying to get closer even though you were already as close as possible. “I remembered it when I woke up, I needed to find you to tell you, I needed-I need-”

“It’s okay,” Bucky whispered through your slightly wet and clumpy hair, his hand cupping the back of your head which made your hair more tangled. “I always know you love me, It’s okay.” His other hand rubbed hard against your back, almost trying to push everything out of you, it wasn’t aggressive but rather soothing. “And you're right, we are going to be okay, doll.” His lips ghosted against the shell of your ear. 

You pulled your chest away, your eyes looking between his, “I’m not okay,” you cried, “how can I be? I’m missing part of my nose!” you screamed, your voice cracked as the bruise shifted on your neck. 

“It will grow back, it will be okay,” he looked down to your nose, it wasn’t sliced at the bridge but rather the bulb, it was all cartilage and if it didn’t grow back then it would be an easy job to fix. 

He stood there with you as you cried on his shoulder, he was silently thanking Tony for the great facility because anywhere else would have left them with cold water at that this point. Though your knees were shaking and buckling he held your body weight and kept you up so you, every so often he’d whisper something in your ear but for the most part he let you cry it all out. You’d do this to him so many times, you had told him once when Bucky was crying over a very scary mission that ‘you shouldn’t stop someone from crying when they’re upset like you wouldn’t stop someone from laughing when they're happy’. You needed to let go of those emotions at that time and Bucky learned to be okay with that. 

Soon enough he was scrubbing deep into your hair as he talked about all the things he could think of to keep your mind off the elephant in the room, he’d focus on your hair but then quickly look at your face to make sure you were okay. Sometimes he’d catch you looking and quickly plant a kiss on your forehead. His fingers tangled in your hair and the suds fell down the side of your face, none got in your eyes because they had fluttered shut from the relaxation. 

The water shut off and Bucky helped you dry off, he was gentle with the towel as he rubbed all around your body, when he dried himself he’d go hard and really uncoordinated but with you he treated you like glass. You were swaddled in your comfy clothes and Bucky stood beside you as you put on some moisturizer, he’d look between your reflection and you to make sure nothing was going wrong, a hand hovered over your back just to be safe. 

“You wanna try eating?” He asked softly before kissing your temple.

You just nodded, your head stayed tilted down as you followed him out of the bathroom. Bucky didn’t think people would be in the kitchen and they weren’t. As Bucky made you a sandwich Nat had walked in just to say hi and to tell you she was so happy you came back, Nat placed a little kiss on the crown of your head; that was unheard of from her. 

Sam made an appearance, his eyes were misty and his nose was a little red. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help, Fury needed help with another mission but it ended up falling through and- I’m just really sorry I couldn’t be there for you, honestly.” Sam rubbed your back as you nodded. 

“It’s okay, I forgive you, I was never really mad.” You shrugged and Sam gave one last farewell before heading into his room for the night. 

As you ate your food, Bruce came into the kitchen. Bucky just wanted you to have some space but was shocked when Banner called for him. “Barnes,” Bruce’s voice startled you a bit. 

Bucky followed Bruce around the hall so you were out of earshot. “I know a way to get this serum out of her,” was what he started with. Bucky just looked at him like he was crazy, “we tested her blood and it seemed her body is rejecting a bit, it hasn’t really connected like the super soldier serum has with you and Steve, these are completely different compounds in her case.” Bruce leaned over to make sure she wasn’t listening, “my lab is making an antidote that will be given to her once in pill form, she’ll be down for a day but the antidote will fight off this serum,” Banner smiled. 

“What are the risks?” Bucky whispered even though you weren’t listening. 

“A really intense cold, and maybe...y’know...it might not work, that’s a thing.” Bruce shrugged, “but it will work, I’m very confident.” Bruce looked off to the side, “oh!” something had popped into his mind, “I can also get her nose filled, while she was sedated we looked and because her body is fighting against the serum we found the decaying has slowed.” 

Bucky took a deep breath before nodding, “run it by her tomorrow, she needs some time.” the two of them shook hands and went their separate ways, Bucky made his way back to the kitchen counter to see a sandwich with three bites taken out of it. “How are we doing over here?” Bucky's hand felt along your back as he sat down. 

“I can’t finish it, I’m sorry,” You said softly, you pushed the plate towards him. 

“That’s alright, let’s go to bed, yeah?” Bucky eased you up and walked you to the bedroom again. 

It took a while to get you rested but once your breath steadied Bucky shifted and put your head on his bare chest, he just wanted to watch you for a bit. As much as he wanted to give you space he couldn’t imagine leaving your side for a second, he knew it might bug you but he didn’t care. You were his girl and needed to help you when you were down, he was going to pull your weight when you couldn’t because he couldn’t count how many times you’d done it for him. 

A tear rolled down his cheek and he rubbed his back, “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, “I should have done better, I shouldn’t have run out when you told me to, I should have stayed and fought all of them when they attacked, I-I,” he pulled his breath back to make sure he wasn’t waking you up, “I’m the reason this happened, and I’ll do better,” he kissed the top of your head, his eyes squeezed so tight some tears managed to get out, “I promise.”

Winter Makes Ice tag list: @small-death-and-codeine​ @commonintrest​ @buckyys-doll​  @lil-baby-nor @wafflesncream​

let me know if you want a tag!!!

A/N: AHHHH THANK YOU FOR 100 FOLLOWERS!

I’ve never hit a milestone on here before but I want to know what you want to see for some type of 100 follower oneshot, I’m down for anything. If you want to send a prompt or idea just put it here or send it as an ask or direct message me, anything works. 

Thank you for being here, thank you for reading. There will probably be two or three more episodes so look out for that!

-Rambo <3

[falcqns]

what's it like living at the compound in your dr ?

its pretty great! we have really no rules, other than clean up after ourselves, and being respectful to our teammates. we have a movie theatre, a private pool, a gym, a small basketball court, and lots of other things. we also each have our own private bathrooms, and our own offices. the bathrooms are attached to our rooms, but the offices are on a different section of the floor.

as for decorating, we're given free reign over what we want to do with our personal spaces. when you move into the compound, you're given a basic room with grey and white furniture like a bed, two nightstands, two lamps (one small and one big standing one), a desk, and a dresser as well as a closet. we're allowed to switch out the furniture (i donated the ones i didnt keep, but i know others gave it back to tony, nat kept hers in storage and then gave it to yelena after taking down the red room), we can reupholster it (thats what steve did, no idea where he learned to do it), etc. we can paint the walls, change the light fixtures, add new flooring (the rooms come with just cement flooring with underfloor heating), even change our doors. Tony honestly doesn't care, and will support you no matter what, because he wants the compound to feel like home, and less like a compound.

another cool thing is that he doesn't care if we 'destroy' the walls, if that makes sense. an example of this is Nat. she likes to paint her walls with acrylic paint and sharpies. it keeps her mind occupied, and its therapeutic for her. Tony lets her go ham on the wall essentially, and then when a wall is full, he paints over it with white, and then lets her paint again.

in the kitchen, there are shelves beside the microwave ovens and each of us have one shelf where we can keep our own kitchenware (cups, mugs, etc) and then we have normal white kitchen ware that we're allowed to use as well. we each have a bin in the one side of the fridge thats labeled with our names that we can put food we don't want others eating in. the rest of the food in the fridge is free reign unless its take out and has someones name on it. we have a cupboard full of different types of coffee, and we have like 4 different coffee makers because we all like our coffee different.

we have a separate cabinet and small fridge thats specifically for our medicine as we all are in therapy (obviously) and we have a variety of allergies and health conditions (Pepper has an epipen in there as she's allergic to strawberries, i have one for bee's, we have amoxacillin for each of us because we get frequent infections from fights, etc) and theres general over the counter medication as well. any medication that would only be given by a doctor (morphine and those types of meds) are in Dr Cho's office and can only be accessed by her and Bruce for obvious reasons.

we have our own private laundry room, and there are laundry and garbage chutes in each bedroom and bathroom. the laundry chutes go the the laundry room, and each chute deposits the laundry in a corresponding basket with our names, and we each have a shelf for our laundry products. our suits are handed over to he housekeeping staff and they clean those as the material is special and expensive. the garbage goes to the dumpster area that is now enclosed bc people kept trying to break in to steal the avengers garbage lol.

we each have our own garage for our car, and it's controlled by a personal passcode.

the pool that we have is an outside one, but it is heated, and Tony's currently trying to figure out a way for us to use it during the winter (he wants to build a retractable glass pool dome) as some of us (me) prefer water training to sparring.

on the first floor where the labs and patient rooms for the med bays are (the rest of the med bay is in the basement) we have therapy rooms. these are for our therapists to meet with us privately as their all hired by Tony, and we also have a gross motor room, and a 'soft' room that has sensory toys, and comfort items that we're allowed to use during therapy, or whenever we need them. if we need a specific room for something (Nat and I have a studio we share) those are built below med bay. Bucky has his own soft room as he is Autistic, and his shutdowns get bad after a bad mission or a nightmare, so that's up on our 'main' floor with our bedrooms. there's also an indoor playground for children, as Morgan visits a lot, and Clint's kids are over a lot.

theres a library on the floor above the living quarters, and movie room there too. the top floor is filled with meeting rooms, and theres a 'media room' where we do group interviews and video announcements from. Pepper has her office up here as well.

theres a lot more features that i can talk about, so if you have any questions about it, send me an ask and i'll answer it!

[mossybank]

Dating Wanda Maximoff Headcanons

Wanda Maximoff x GN!Reader

headcanons

REQUESTS OPEN

Romance with Wanda would be a slow burn, her being too nervous to express her feelings and you the same

You'd start off as friends but Wanda would mostly watch you from afar, a distant but warm smile on her face, learning about you before making too many moves

The two of you would already be isseprable before dating, always teaming up together on missions and spending all of your time in the compound in eachothers company

If you want to know how the two of you got together, blame Scott (or, rather, thank him) because he was definitely the last straw to get you two to confess

He assumed you and Wanda were already a couple, you practically acted like one, and made a comment on how cute the two of you were and how he loved having another superhero couple around admist gushing about Hope

Once you start dating, you're 1000x more affectionate

Already attached at the hip, everyone kind of expected it

The two of you are constantly holding hands, Wanda loves to lean her head on your shoulder

As for dates, I feel like you and Wanda try a bit of everything but your favourites are movies and rollerskating

There's a local rink that has an 80s night every Saturday and you and Wanda always go, the staff know you by name, and put together some of the best outfits for it

You also got custom matching rollerskates <3

And for movie dates, they're pretty evenly spread between dates in movie theatres and dates watching movies in your rooms

I usually like to go with petnames like 'honey' and 'sweetie' for Wanda, but she'd definitely give you some Sokovian petnames too, I specifically really like 'Draga' which from my research seems to translate into honey/sweetheart

Wanda favours watching movies at home, snuggled up in bed together with her head resting on you and you playing with her hair (and vice versa)

9 times out of 10, the two of you fall asleep midway through the movie entangled in eachothers limbs

Speaking of Sokovian, you start asking her to teach it to you and it makes her heart absolutely melt, living in the US and Pietro no longer being around means she isn't able to speak her native language often (if at all) so you learning it just for her is so intensely intimate

She'd sing to you in Sokovian a lot, especially if you have trouble sleeping, stroking your hair as she lullabies you to sleep

I absolutely love domestic activities with Wanda, I want to do nothing more than cook and bake with her (which I've actually wrote a fic on here)

Constant 'I love you's and words of affirmation

You definitely have a somewhat secret language where you can communicate with each other purely through looks

The avengers are super supportive of you guys but they also love to tease you a lot, Wanda getting all blushy and smiling coyly— she always looks to the floor with a smile and if you're already holding hands she gives it a soft squeeze

For the most part it's very pure relationship (but if yall wanna know about the unpure, i can do that 😈😈) and the two of you bounce off of each other wonderfully <3

To be added to a taglist, please send an ask or dm specifying the fandoms/characters you'd like to be tagged in the fics for!

Tags — @tatesimper @amourtentiaa

[ellsbclls]

" wow... you look... you look amazing. " for peter please? i love love love ur writing btw!

NOTE: This... ended up so embarrassingly long... i don't even know what the word count is, but i can bet it's a good 20%-30% longer than the average blurb.

WARNINGS: cursing, quirky🤪 mentions of drug use, implied making out (but can be perceived as sex, dear god please don’t perceive it as sex though), and some good ol’ fashion stark!ready x peter parker banter

They say, "never meet your heroes." Well, Peter wished he had adhered to that warning before he ended up here — a lanky, overdressed thumb towering high above the roof of the Avenger's Compound.

A semi-annual assembly of New York City's finest heroes that had little to do with their civic duties, and much to do with their inhibitions, and just how much alcohol it would take to release them — but there was one glaring problem.

Peter didn't drink.

He never saw the allure, especially when it came at such a high risk. He'd convinced himself that he refrained for the sake of Aunt May, the only remaining part of his family who put her life on the line to ensure his safety and overall well-being — the Spider-Man reveal already took some getting used to, he didn't need to add drunken night expenditures to her overnight fretting. Yet, when Flash's 'End of the Year' party had been raided by the police, a small part of him found joy in knowing he needn't fear the police or their breathalyzer test, even if he was deemed Pussy Parker for the remainder of that summer.

Even if he wanted to instill some liquid courage into himself, he hadn't the basic courage to let himself be vulnerable like that, in front of all the adults that made up the Avengers. Mr.Stark had already commented on his only suit, and how small he looked as it swamped his form, and the entire altercation made him wish the roof would just open up and swallow him whole.

Bullies, you'd call them.

There they were, New York's finest Defender's, huddled around the Mastrangelo like it couldn't put their entire life savings to shame, hosting a rousing game of beer pong upon its marble exterior. Your father was lucky your mother was still in Milan, tying up loose ends on a new line of bullshit you didn't concern yourself with. You just counted the days until she returned home, and you could soak up every ounce of her nurturing presence.

God, did you miss her.

It’s not like your father wasn’t just as nurturing, competitively so, to a point were you almost felt smothered — but you were too alike. In spaces where you both held too stubborn, your mother was there to mediate, and with ceaseless barrages of dry humor came her firm, unwavering severity, proving her love with candid remarks instead of jesting quips.

“Oh, free intern!” He dragged you from your nostalgic supercut with your endearing nickname, coaxing a fierce glare from your hues. “Run down to that place on 7th street and get some beer? And not that Miller Coor’s Bud bullshit, the upper echelon on Sigma Delta Nu delicacies.”

Jesus Christ.

You had caught glimpses of his argument with Steve, complaining about how stupid it would be to pour anything top shelf into a red solo cup — blasphemous really — but you didn’t expect him to do anything more than concede.

"Father of the year, everybody." You clapped just above your head, prompting the remaining company to join you. "I think you're forgetting that I'm not twenty-one."

"First and foremost, I know I am," Tony counters your triumphant grin with a sarcastic one. "Which is how I know that your fake ID says 21."

"Stark, it's fine. I can grab the beer," You thanked God and her impeccable timing once Steve interrupted, settling himself between the two of you with outstretched palms. "I could use the fresh air anyway."

You mimicked Steve's stance, cocking your brows toward your father. "See? Problem solved. Now leave me alone."

Losing interest in the company exponentially, you started to retreat, but groaned once your father's voice pierced the air again. "Nuh-uh-uh, Rogers. Why? So you can go to the nearest GNC and snort a container of protein powder? I don't think so."

You retreat to the furthest recesses of your mind as Tony and Steve bicker back and forth about honesty and friendly competition. Steve wouldn't know how to bump a rail if the U.S Army assembled a thorough, interactive training course on it, and his age quadrupled the life expectancy of most snow-packed socialites. Yet, on the other hand, you were shocked that your father even knew what a GNC was — ultimately, you were riled from your thoughts by an irksome realization.

"Are you fucking- Why can't old man Jenkins do it?" you gestured wildly toward the enhanced super soldier in question, blind to the obvious offense scrawled across his features. You seldom took your opulent lineage for granted, but when situations such as these presented themself, a selfish corner of your mind wondered what it would be like to have a run-of-the mill, cheesy-pun equipped, golf short wearing father. "You'd rather risk your daughter's own safety, and the sanctity of her criminal record, for a stupid game of beer pong?"

Natasha's incredulous laughter chimed between your incessant back and forth, spurred by the uncanny resemblance you and your father shared between every aspect imaginable — your dry wit just so happened to be in the spotlight.

"Yes," He didn't bother to meet your glare, already familiar with its scorching beam against the side of his face "Yes I would."

Hues practically rolled into the back of your skull, exaggerating your every move to a thespian level to make it clear, to even the boniest of heads, that you didn't take pleasure in this task. You were so excited to finally unwind at this event — slam down the sugary mocktail your Uncle Thor always "forgot" to order virgin, dangle your feet over the shallow end of the pool, maybe even shoot a few low jests at Bucky if there wasn't a carnal gleam in his eyes.

Your thrilling plans were now put on hold just to support your father's mid-life crisis.

"I know, I know." He tried to repeat the name of the wine stop n’ shop, only for you to wave him off. He wasn’t wrong — you had been abusing your fake ID in that very stop n’ shop for years, though you’ve recently come to the conclusion that the cashier was far more interested in your chest than your credentials. "If I get arrested, I'm bring you down with me. I'll tell Business Insider that FRIDAY's just one, big elaborate ruse for the underground Fake ID business you have on the side. They'll eat it up like-"

"Love you, honey! I'll venmo you!" He butt in, sending you off with a wave of his fingers.

You flipped him off, shouting an earnest 'I love you' in return. There was no denying that you loved each other, some would even argue that he loved you more than he loved himself — you just chose to show it in your own, eccentric way.

Mere seconds into your newfound task, you stopped dead in your tracks. You could make out that bed of chestnut locks anywhere.

"Parker?" Swiftly surveying his frumpy attire, you struggled to stifle the upward tilt of your lips. Even as he stood uncomfortably before you, visibly seconds away from crawling out of his own skin, he still managed to be the sweet, endearing Peter you knew and loved. "God, I didn't even realize that was you."

You didn't have the heart to tell him that you caught one fleeting glimpse of him at the very beginning of the festivities and thought he was a part of the catering company, nor did you feel a need to disclose the snide remark you whispered into your father's ear about the miserable staff. There was no sense in kicking a dead horse while it was already down.

His gaze weighed heavy against your frame, though, bolstered by an overwhelming intensity that forced you to wonder if he could read your mind. Though, if you could tap into his thoughts, you'd be shocked to find a reflection of your own — bewilderment, adoration, the tell-tale signs of a burgeoning crush, and the myriad of excuses that disputed them.

He could only manage to stumble over his words, complimenting you with sentiments that could never amount to the emotions welling in his chest. "Wow... you look... you look amazing."

And you couldn't argue, not with the way you were pampered hours prior. Mercier had smothered your hair in this honey-infused serum that made your curls bounce to life with each step, and the custom Jacquemus silhouette you were sporting hugged every ample curve enticingly so. You felt like a million bucks, and you probably cost that much give or take, so why deny it?

Peter, on the other hand — Well, he was very lucky that he was so cute, and his jawline could probably cut Vision's infinity stone straight out of his skull. It almost made up for the tragic shape of his suit, and just how tragically out of place it was at this event.

"You look, um-" Softness tugged at the corner of your eyes as they crinkled dotingly. "You look very cute."

"That was a very convincing half-truth." He chuckled, a subtle pink hue blooming over the valleys of his cheeks."

"Oh, so a part of you knows you're cute." You teased, enjoying the way the pink hue grew deeper.

"Oh! Oh, no... No, I mean, kind of? On the scale of confident perspectives, I think-uh-cute... Cute is on the lower end? And you know what? My Aunt May-"

"Peter, you wanna get out of here?" You interrupted him, hoping to save him from all the words he had yet to stumble over. "And then immediately come back?"

"Yeah," He vigorously nodded his head, despite being equally as confused. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

"Come," You offered your hand, a small gesture the two of you have woven into your complicated relationship. 

You'd tend to straddle a very thin line between friendship and something more, reaping all the warm, tentative affections of newfound lovers without explicitly considering yourselves so. The both of you, for as brilliant as your merits show, continued to convince yourselves that the hand holding, the comfortable silences, the mornings plastered against each other's sides, were simply happenstance. Despite the increasing willingness of each encounter, you'd only ever chalk it up to chance. So when you offered your hand out to him, he took it in stride — because the two of you would indulge in every ounce of attention you could get your hands on, at least until one of you inevitably came to your senses and found someone worth your time.

Your fingers were firmly intertwined as you led him to the roof’s exit, tugging him down the staircase and through the vacant halls of the top floor just in time to catch the elevator. You found no reason to keep his hand hostage once you were inside, so you begrudgingly retracted yours. You swore you could hear a pitiful huff come from his side of the elevator, but you chalked it up to wishful thinking. 

Now it was just you and Peter, left to your own devices, and roughly ninety-two floors away from your destination. Just enough time to do what you were aching to do.

“Peter,” You murmured, and his gaze flickered to your own without a moment of hesitation, drenched in a hopeful haze you failed to decipher.

“Y/N?” He echoed, tilting his body toward your own.

“You look...” You paused, unsure of which word accurately portrayed your thoughts. ”insane.”

“I know.” He whined. You tried to stifle the giggle that bubbled at his hopeless demeanor, brows furrowed together as he squeezed his eyes shut, shoulders slumped impossible low.

“It’s a good thing you have such a charitable friend.” And you made light work of his suit jacket, the air suddenly rapt with a thick air of electricity as you worked the offending article off his shoulders, haphazardly tossing it on the ground. Protests formed on the tip of his tongue, but he opted to swallow them in return for your help, going slack when you ran your fingers through his meticulously gelled hair.

Though he embodied the vision of a suave, debonair socialite alarmingly well, with his carefully quaffed locks, nothing suited him as well as the pillowy, fawn tendrils that made up his soft curls. You needed them back, needed a reminder of your sweet, darling boy, and patience was never your strong suit. 

You wondered if he was in need of the same reminder, seeing as he’d let you manhandle him without so much as a hum of discontent.

All done. Only a few revisions, and he was a completely different boy. Clad in a crisp, white shirt, sans its horrifying grey counterpart, you rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and unbuttoned the top three discs. The fabric was taut against his impressive set of muscles, leaving little to the imagination with each sweeping roll of his arms. You’d pat yourself on the back, but you were too busy drooling all over your work.

“Is- Is this good?” He broke the silence with a tentative query, peering back at you through his lashes.

"Yeah,” You voice came out strangled at best, distracted by the flurry of butterflies ravaging your stomach. There was something about this moment — maybe it was the glint of tenderness ridding his gaze, or your tight proximity, or maybe it was fate, finally persuading you to topple over that dangerous line — but regardless, you decided it was now or never. “but there's still something missing," 

“My jacket?” He breathlessly queried. His eyes frantically searched your face, like he couldn’t settle on just one feature to admire.

“No, no...” You breathed back, cautiously inching closer, until there was only a sliver of space separating your chests. "You need to loosen up, Parker."

“And what- What do you suggest I do?” His gaze flickered down to your lips shamelessly, and returned just as quickly. 

“Do you trust me?” 

“I’ve trusted you this far.”

“Good,” You sighed, your breath fanning over his lips before you greedily chased its warmth, kissing him with such feather-light pressure, it almost felt like a dream — a thrilling, delicate dream. You had to tear yourself from his lips before you delved even deeper, hoping to find a mirror image of your relief, your satisfaction, in his own features. However, before your eyes even fluttered open, his palms swept under the curve of your jaw, and coaxed your mouth back to his, instantly qualming any of your fears as you both melted into the exchange. He tasted of spearmint, and cherries, and something so intoxicatingly him that you could barely restrain yourself.

You wanted him, God, did you want him, and for the first time, someone wanted you just as much, without an ounce of greed to it — He wanted you for you.

The remaining seconds of the elevator ride were filled with fervent kisses, and wandering hands, your fingers playing with the curls at the nape of his neck while his bunched the silky fabric of your dress. It was all smitten, indulgent brushes of your lips until the elevator dinged, and the doors opened up to reveal the fashionably late, dynamic duo —Sam Wilson and James Buchanan Barnes.

Their expressions were nothing short of priceless, one complexion green while the other ran pale at the sight of your interwoven limbs. You tried to open your mouth before they could comment, but you were far too late, buried in a booming wall of—

"This is a public space! You are defiling a public space!"

"I can't do this— I'm gonna take the stairs."

Their voices weaved into a messy, irritated harmony of disbelief, managing to still complement each other despite their varying levels of urgency.

An idea, a selfish, evil idea, popped into your head, and you enacted it before you could even unravel yourself from Peter’s hold.

"You just reminded me, I was about to text you! My dad needs a couple cases of Yuengling.” You gestured for Peter to press on the “Open Door” button, and by the time he started clicking the prompt, you’d already fetched your wallet, fishing your card out for Sam. “They probably have some at the corner store, but he’ll throw up if he finds out he was drinking alcohol from the corner store, so you’re gonna have to walk down to that market on Seventh.” You could feel Peter’s perplexed gaze gnaw at your shoulder, but you persisted in your impish pursuits, shoving the AmEx into his hand. 

“Chop chop, lover boys!” You hastily snapped your fingers in his direction, and yelled just loud enough to make sure Bucky accompanied him, parsing their punishment out evenly. 

Served them right, encroaching on such a perfect moment. 

Bucky’s groan echoed through the stairwell, followed by a childish stomp of combat boots, and you were pleased enough to shoo Peter’s hand away, pressing the “Close Door” button.

Sometimes it was nice being Tony Stark’s daughter — less backtalk from the sovereign throne of comebackdom.

“I thought you said we were getting out of here.” His brows were pinched together, the most adorable little frown forming between them.

“Oh, we most certainly are,” You replied, pressing the button for your floor. You could tell that the pieces weren’t clicking all the way, and you proceeded to spell it out for him, dropping a chaste kiss to the spot just below his ear. “We’re gonna go to my room. And then we’re gonna go right back to the party when we’re done.”

“When we’re done?” He mused, voice wavering beneath the soft caress of your lips, scattering even more tentative kisses down the column of his neck.

“When we’re done.” You parroted back, meeting his downward gaze through your lashes.”I think you still have some loosening up to do.”

[munsonsduchess]

Hello there, lovely duchess <3

I'd love to see what you come up with for prompt #8!

Take care! :)

-bee

summary: You and Bucky are FWB and you've been together for a while now but that's all about to change warnings: kissing, fluff, swearing, gambling (don't do it kids), mentions of smut a/n: yeah so this took an age and that's because my motivation went on vacation and i had to wrangle it back through customs

Prompts from this list

»»————-　♔　————-««

You’d met the Avengers when Tony had finally had enough of your constant nagging and had agreed to let you meet the team he always spoke so much about - not to mention you wanted to see the people he couldn’t stop complaining about in the flesh - so he’d finally relented and introduced you to everyone as only Tony knew how. With a party.

You’d been so excited to meet everyone you hadn’t even minded when the dark brooding man at the bar had spilled your drink on your dress, he was too handsome for you to be mad and with the gleaming metal arm on his left side there was only one person he could be,

“It’s perfectly alright Sergeant Barnes, it’s just a drink” you’d given him your best smile and offered to buy him a drink instead but he’d refused and you hadn’t seen him the rest of the night. Much to your dismay, he’d been someone you’d been looking forward to meeting the most.

In Bucky’s mind anyway he wasn’t planning on getting too close to you, figuring that if you were Tony’s friend there was a high chance you were just another upper east side park avenue princess. A socialite who only cared about wealth and who she could be photographed next to in newspapers and he didn’t have time for that anymore. He was a different man now.

Then you were around more often, spending time at the compound with Natasha, getting lunch with Wanda, offering to bank roll the team since you had “more money than I know what to do with” and it didn’t seem fair for Tony to have to do everything when he had a family to support as well.

Slowly but surely you wormed your way into the team’s hearts and it got to the point where everyone was asking Bucky what his issue was with you, why did he not like you? Had he even spoken to you?

Bucky had brushed off every question, he’d just ignored the needling and the nagging until finally he couldn’t. He’d blown up at Peter who’s eyes had gone wide as the teenager stuttered out an apology. Bucky hated himself for it, even more so when everyone was walking on eggshells around him afterwards, even Steve and Sam who knew him best.

He’d gone out to clear his head and off all the gin joints in all the world you had to be in the one he chose. With your warm smile and offering to buy his drinks, telling the bar staff to put everything on your tab despite Bucky’s protests that he could buy his own drinks. You just rolled your eyes at him and moved to sit next to him instead.

It ended up with just the two of you in the bar that night, your cheeks rosy from the alcohol and your eyes glassy with tears of joy as you listened to his stories and laughed at his jokes. Maybe you weren’t as bad as Bucky originally thought but he still wasn’t planning on getting closer than he needed to, until you’d put your hand on his thigh when you settled the tab and offered to split a cab.

You’d both ended up tangled in your bedsheets, laughing and joking, gasping and moaning well into the night. It had been a while for both of you and this release was definitely needed, plus you’d ended up teaching Bucky a few things when the initial groping like horny teenagers had worn off.

You’d also introduced him to the term ‘friends with benefits’ which is where you found yourself currently. Of course you both went on dates separately but you found yourself cancelling plans more and more to spend time with Bucky instead. To be curled up on the couch watching a terrible movie which was usually forgotten about halfway through for other more entertaining activities that could be partaken in on a couch.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Maybe it was silly of you to think you could resist having feelings for someone like Bucky, someone so kind, caring, funny and someone you felt so comfortable around but that’s exactly what happened. You’d woken up one morning with the smell of him cooking in your apartment kitchen with the radio playing something you didn’t really care about. You’d curled up in the blankets on the bed and revelled in the domesticity of the whole situation and it had struck you. You really cared for this man and not just as a random hook up.

The only problem was, did Bucky feel the same? Everyone else seemed to think so, when you’d spoken to Steve and Sam and Natasha and Wanda and even Scott they’d all seemed to think you and Bucky were already a couple. So you’d enacted a plan, was it your smartest plan? Probably not. Were you going to do it anyway? Damn straight.

You’d created a new tinder profile and specifically matched with the most boring man you could find. The poor bastard had no idea what he was in for or why you’d decided to go out with him but you needed him to be the human equivalent of the colour beige for the plan to work.

Bringing the man around the compound to meet the team, telling Bucky you couldn’t spend time with each other sexually anymore since you and … Dave were serious now and it wasn’t right to cheat on your boyfriend.

Bucky to his credit had wished you well and was happy you’d found someone, outwardly anyway. He’d known the ‘relationship’ the two of you had couldn’t last, that of course you’d move on and find someone worthy of your time and attention. Did it hurt? Like a bitch but he was going to be the bigger man.

Or at least he had wanted to be. The more you brought Dave around the more Bucky wondered what the hell you were doing with a man like that, he couldn’t make you laugh the way Bucky could, where your nose would crinkle in the middle and you’d gasp for breath. He didn’t know how you liked your coffee in the morning, iced usually and loaded with sugar. He sure as shit didn’t know how you liked to be touched.

It had come to an ugly head one evening when you and Dave had gone for dinner, in a restaurant you and Bucky would hang out in all the time. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, that and the asgardian mead that Thor had left on his last visit. Bucky had taken a shot for some dutch courage and driven his bike straight to the restaurant pushing past the staff who tried to stop him,

“Y/N” he yelled, causing you to look at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression.

“Bucky, what are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something happen to Steve or Sam?”

“Forget them and forget this guy too, you’re coming with me” he reached down to where you were sitting and wrapped his metal hand around your upper arm, “come on”

“Bucky no, I’m on a date I can’t just leave!” you protested, “David, I'm so sorry about this”

David opened his mouth to say something but a glare from Bucky told him that wasn’t a wise move. Instead he seemed to shrink back into his seat under the weight of Bucky’s icy glare,

“Come on doll” Bucky said again, hoisting you up from your seat by his grip on your upper arm, “we’re leaving”

“James Barnes! I am not your property, let go of my arm right now! If you have something you want to talk about we can talk about it later, I am with David and you have no right to barge in here like this!”

“The hell I don’t”

“Leave James, we’ll talk about this later”

Bucky was about to rebuke you again but was interrupted by a man in a fancy suit clearing his throat, apparently you and Bucky had caused enough of a commotion that several guests had complained and now both of you were being asked to leave. Which suited Bucky just fine. He grabbed you and pulled you from the booth ignoring your cries and protests and simply pulled you along with him until you both were stood at his bike,

“Come on”

“No! You do not get to manhandle me like you own me and then act like nothing is wrong, if you had something you wanted to talk to me about we could have done it like grown ups”

“Oh yeah? Like Dave? Is that what you do with him? Talk like grown ups?”

“What David and I do is none of your business Barnes”

“It is my business cause you’re my business, you’re my girl not his!”

You blinked at Bucky a few times before you huffed out a laugh, that was definitely confusing. Why were you laughing?

“Oh my god! You couldn’t have said something earlier? You had to make a scene? How am I supposed to come back here now?” you were still laughing, “not to mention I owe Steve $50 because he bet you couldn’t last the month”

“Wha? You and Steve had a bet goin’ about me lastin’?” Bucky was beginning to get agitated now, what the hell were you and Steve betting on?

“Yeah! I mean honestly Buck did you think I really liked David? He’s the most boring human being alive! I mean yeah he’s nice enough but oh my god of course I wasn’t serious about him!”

“Then why were ya out with him?”

“To see what you would do!” you said exasperatedly. Bucky raised his eyebrow, what the hell did you mean by that? “Oh my god how can you be this dense, it’s you I want to be with Barnes, not David. You! So I picked David to see if you would just let me be or if you felt the same way!”

“Wha? You couldn’t have just asked me?” Bucky shoots back, “you had to make this whole convoluted plan?”

“Right because if I’d asked you you’d have said you wanted whatever was best for me and if I wanted to see other people that would be fine and you’d never tell me what you really wanted. At least now I know” you said batting your eyelashes at him “you like me, you called me yours”

Bucky groaned and ran a hand down his face. He’d been an actual idiot. He’d told himself he was fine with you seeing other people, that this was just how the modern world was like. He couldn’t expect to hold onto someone like you forever. Now he’d gotten you kicked out of your favourite restaurant and had put his hands on you in a way he swore he never would. That being said, none of that would have happened if you’d been honest with him, no matter what you thought he’d say to you. Now here you were batting your eyelashes at him like nothing had happened,

“Don’t you dare give me those sex eyes right now! This is a serious situation, here!”

“Oh shut up and kiss me Barnes”

That he could do. Repercussions from his actions be damned. You were his. All his.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Taglist: @metalbuckaroo @doasyoudesireandlive @spicynudlesoup @calisamcro

[youngbugandtonystank]

You missed the point people were trying to make about tony not supporting the other avengers... peter, who is also an avenger has advanced tech and financial support from tony and he left the rest of the avengers with nothing. Its selfish and stupid because sam, wanda and bucky deserved better from stark. He ruined their lives and even dead he's being an asshole to them dykwim

You and I definitely saw different movies lmaooooo also can’t believe I had to go to the urban dictionary to know what ‘dykwim’ means.

So first, all of you are mad because Tony is throwing advanced technology at Peter to protect him. For years, I’ve been reading the same old crap ‘OMG, I want this Spider-Man as far away as possible from Tony because he’s giving him money and tech!’ and now, conveniently, it’s ‘OMG, look at Peter, he got to enjoy Tony’s tech/money and my fav character needs to have some of that same money I criticized before just because!’

And you need to watch the movies for real, stop reading summaries online, and following whatever DarkLordSpidey1 from Twitter says. He basically worked for these people:  

Redwing (upgraded by Tony Stark and previously named Stark Drone). He also got another upgraded one after those 5 years; ‘Well, you know, those poor techs can't keep up with a billion returning IP addresses and your sick-ass Stark-level tech’. He also made an advanced and technological version of the EXO-7 Falcon for Sam with a freaking weapons system.

The super high-tech Quinjet the rogue Avengers were navigating in while being war criminals belongs to Tony as well. 

The Hulkbuster was specifically made to help Bruce Banner.

The Black Widow's bite was upgraded and given to Natasha by Tony too. Tony also made Black Widow's batons, as well as the stingers.

 Upgraded Cap’s shield and involved magnetics to keep it on his wrist and back. Let’s not forget he upgraded this shield three times for him. He also protected Steve with three different uniforms and added features that made it better for him, each more durable than his previous ones, being capable of withstanding repulsor blasts and more.

He designed a new bow for Clint, added an infrared and sonic-sighting device onto it. The next version that Tony made for him after that one had the capability to transform into a bo staff which could be used for melee combat. He also received an upgrade in 2023. Basically upgraded all of hawkeye's bow and quiver weapons.

Made two uniforms for Wanda to protect her in battle, gave her a home, and supported her for 2 years until she decided to become a war criminal. She freaking calls The Avengers Facility: HOME ‘The Avengers compound. It was the first home Vision and I ever shared’. Same as Steve, he refers to the compound as home in IW. Tony gave them all of that.

While all of them were gone, Tony was working on a prototype for Cap's new shield and continued to work for them. He even kept their stuff safe for them. And for all the crap you give Peter, take into consideration that Thor's magic belt along with the team's equipment was about to be stolen in HOCO, some of you better be thanking that kid lmaoooooo

Who do you think supported the Avengers financially for years? Nick Fury? HAHAHA! Fury is up in space having a vacation while Wanda was holding a few John Does hostage. He gave them a home for years, imagine unemployed adults capable of fighting aliens and terrorists being supported by just one person. And the place where they lived was not a tiny room with some old ass furniture. It’s a whole Ikea luxury compound; a hundred acres with a lap pool and a screening room with the most advanced tech and accommodations possible. 

Also weren’t yall calling the compound where they comfortably lived for years a ‘prison’ when Civil War came out and you were talking about how ‘oppressed’ Wanda felt over there? I still remember yall saying the Rogues didn’t need Tony’s help after CW and they were better off with T’Challa because he's richer and lives in a kingdom? Even T’Challa dropped their asses and let them live in crappy hotels for 2 years. And now you want Tony to throw money at them? THE TRANSPARENCY LMAO

Just admit you didn’t watch the movies and move on.

And this? What the hell is this?

He ruined their lives and even dead he's being an asshole to them

Tony barely knew Sam and I think I already explained why is ridiculous to blame Tony for that bomb. Also, I would argue that Wanda herself ruined her own life with her decisions, which is 100% canon. If you want to argue more, here are some posts (I don’t feel like explaining myself all over again):

x, x, x, x, x.

How exactly Tony ruined Bucky’s life? By having him kill his own parents? Is that it? LMAOOOOOOOO Tony had nothing to do with Bucky’s life, they were never friends. They barely knew each other. 

yall really want Tony Stark to be everyone’s sugar daddy.

[sarcastically-defensive17]

Yo! Wassup? I read far away today and boy is it awesome like you totally slay as sis .. btw when is part 2 coming ? Not tryna rush you or anything.. Take your time

Far too long - P. Parker (Part 2)

Read Part 1 here

ITS HERE AND I’M SUPER NERVOUS. I FEEL LIKE I RUSHED THE ENDING BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE A FLURRY OF PENT UP WORDS AND EMOTIONS. I HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT AND IF ITS BAD THEN LMK AND ILL APOLOGISE SINCERELY BECAUSE I’M SCARED OF THIS HAHAHA

(gif is not mine)

TW: Mentions of blood, grief, injury, abandonment, fear, angst, childbirth. If any of these themes may trigger you then, please, do not read for your own good. Your wellbeing is far more important.

My inbox is always open.

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

It would be a lie to say that Peter hadn’t been in horrible situations before. However, with the development of his powers came the growth of thicker skin and stronger shoulders to bear the weight of his choices and others.

He fought, day after day, to withstand everything life threw at him. Heartache, mistakes, the one time he frosted the tips of his hair when he was 12 - Y/N knew that he would be alright.

He had to be alright. He had to be alive. She needed him. They needed him.

Y/N had watched him grow as a man, and watched him overcome everything. Then he was finally hers. She had everything she had ever wanted in him, and she was going to bring new life into the world with him by her side, until the missions came between them.

Now, she had been away from him for over 2 months and he was missing in action. Every news station was reporting that he was gone, but she refused to accept it. She knew Peter. She knew the strength he had. She knew that no matter what, he wanted to be a part of his baby’s life.

The minute she saw the broadcast her shaking fingers dialed Tony’s number and he was there to take her to the compound as soon as he could be.

Another three months passed.

Three agonizing months.

She gave birth in the medical bay of the compound, May by her side, welcoming her daughter into the world with a broken heart

Rosie May Parker was welcomed into the world, but the one person who was meant to be there wasn’t. She had her fathers eyes, his ferocious brown curls - but she didn’t have her father.

Y/N didnt have much knowledge of science outside of her computer mechanics degree, nor did she have any means to be a powerful superhero like the avengers, but she had fierce determination. Tony had ordered her to stay at the compound until they found peter - he was also determined that his faux-son would be okay.

Y/N harbored no intentions of leaving, more so, now that Rosie had joined her. May was there as well, watching Y/N fall in love with the small child over and over again, every day, helping where she could.

It was when they neared the day that her daughter would turn two months old, that it all happened.

Y/N had taken up residency in the lab. She was a computer science major at university, and she was able to pick up the workings of the technology Tony and Bruce utilized to keep track of mission data and surveillance measures for MIA operatives. She had spent nearly every day that she had been there inspecting every program, every website, keeping track on news outlets.

The world said that Peter was dead, but she refused to give up. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. Spider-Man wouldn’t submit.

If her eyes weren’t glued to a screen, they were on her daughter, both keeping her connection to peter alive. She monitored his Karen program for any inconsistencies, any sign that the program was online.

Karen had been offline for so long. The minute the building went down on Peter, the only thing letting Y/N and Tony know that he was alive was gone with it.

Rosie would sleep soundly in a bassinet set up next to her chair. There was a strain in Y/N’s head that hadn’t waned for weeks. Each day her head felt heavier, the harsh blue lights from the computers creating a constant reminder of her naive determination.

She was beginning to consider the possibility that he was gone, but something always made her thoughts shift in the other direction whenever the idea graced her cortex.

Her days had been filled with bouts of despondency, but the small babe that she cradled against her chest throughout the day brought light back into her life.

But still, nothing

Not until that day.

Rosie was sleeping in her crib I’m their room, recently fed, changed and cuddled - Friday monitoring the baby in all of the ways that the baby monitor she had with her couldn’t. The clock had just hit 2:38am and her eyes were heavy. She considered submitting to the crushing weight of her exhaustion, until Tony burst into the laboratory with Bruce and Natasha in tow, the woman suited up and heading towards the hallway leading to the quinjet hangar.

“Tony?” Y/N blinked, eyes darting to the baby monitor to determine if the commotion was linked to her daughter. Rosie hadn’t moved, her small chest rising and falling with each breath. “What’s wrong?”

Bruce had rushed over to the computer she was sat at, rebooting various programs that Y/N could barely recognize in her bleary state.

A vein in Tony’s forehead protruded - a clear sign that his stress levels were at a high. Bruce had been attempting to monitor his blood pressure as of late, knowing that his anxiety had been peaking with the disappearance of two of his team members.

Y/N had felt a overwhelming sense of duty to the man who had taken her in. She wanted to calm him, help ease his worries as he had done for her. He was as much family to her as he was to Peter.

His brown eyes were frantic, but there was something else hidden in the warm irises that seemed constantly framed by bloodshot sclera. Hope.

“Take off in 30, Nat.” Bruce spoke through an earpiece, connecting directly to the quinjet she assumed the Russian was boarding.

Y/N focused her gaze entirely on Tony, rising to her feet carefully and stepping towards him slowly, as one would a spooked animal.

The minute she was within arms reach, his hands were grasping her shoulders. There was no pressure under his hands, but there was comfort. “A few minutes ago, a transmission came through.” Y/N felt her eyes widen, mind racing with possibilities. The smile she received from the older man told her everything she needed to know before the words left his lips. “Pete came though. He’s with Barton, they’re safe. Romanoff’s on her way to pick them up.”

Y/N was in disbelief, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, “The building,” she breathed. “It came down on them-“

“The kid will explain when he gets here.” His hands moved to her cheeks. “He’s coming home, Y/N. For the most part, he’s alright. I got his vitals from the Karen program and he is stable, may need some work when he gets home, but he is okay, physically.”

Tears slipped from her eyes, running down Tony’s fingers but he paid it no mind. The smile that split his face was enough of a pardon.

It was another two hours until the familiar sound of the quinjet hangar opening graced her ears.

Bruce had ordered her to get some rest while they waited, but she opted to spend the time watching her daughter. Rosie had woken for a feed, but her big brown eyes stared up at her mother with a knowing look. Y/N could do little to push down the excitement of Peter’s return, but the overwhelming fear quickly resurfaced.

They left on horrible terms. They were no longer a couple, nor did she have the chance to take back the horrible things she said about his faithfulness to their family dynamic. But there was a lingering part of her mind that pushed her to think he would want nothing to do with them.

She left her room, placing a kiss to Rosie’s forehead and asking Friday to keep a watch of the baby, clipping the monitor to her waistband and rushing for the laboratory.

She arrived in time to see the compound medical staff trailing alongside a stretcher, Barton sprawled on it with a smirk on his face and an IV cannula in his arm.

Moments later she saw him.

He looked as much a mess as he felt, he knew so. Soot and dirt coating his skin and his suit, his leg aggravated and aching from an incorrectly set break. He hadn’t expected to see her face, but when he did, it felt as if a building was falling down on him once again.

She caught his eyes darting down to her stomach then back to her face. She smiled at him softly with a nod, hoping he could grasp her meaning across the meters between them.

She hadn’t the chance to say a word to him, nor he to her. Bruce led him to the medbay, offering support where he could for the pain in Peter’s leg, and Tony went to Y/N, cradling her as the pent up grief escaped through her eyes. She wanted to follow after him, so badly.

Tony held her against his chest, sharing the grief that had been building over the months. They were beginning to think they had lost Peter, but to see him alive and standing in front of them - it was overwhelming for both.

“I, uhm,” Tony cleared his throat, his voice wet from tears. “I’m gonna go help Bruce out. I’ll send for you when he’s all fixed up. I promise.”

With a nod of her head, Y/N let him go.

Minutes after, Friday alerted her that Rosie was awake and she took her leave to sit with her baby.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she cradled the babe to herself. She had decided that even if Peter didn’t want to see her, she would at least hand Rosie over to Tony to introduce father and daughter. Despite her previous words, she just knew that Peter would be entirely smitten with the small human, just as much as she was.

As such, it came as a surprise when Friday chimed through her P.A. System requesting her presence at the medbay.

Her feet shuffled to stop at the door for the room they were in before she knew it, and Tony had opened the door to allow her entrance. He and Bruce took their leave, allowing the former lovers to have the space to themselves.

Peter felt the air drain from his lungs and he looked at her. He had sat up on the bed, leg bandaged and healing at an accelerated rate now that it had been set correctly. He was bruised and battered but he still smiled wider than he had in so long when he saw her and the small bundle she cradled.

She was the first to speak, “You’re alive.” Her voice was choked. The past months had been hard on him, but he couldn’t imagine the pain she felt thinking he was dead. Especially when they left things so horribly.

“The building... it wasn’t meant to go down like that,” he sighed, his smile shrinking. “I took most of the brunt because I can handle more than Clint. But we managed to get out and get our target... eventually.”

His eyes were darting to the bundle in her arms, but he didn’t dare to say anything about he baby. At this point, he didn’t even know his baby’s name.

Y/N noticed his gaze, and the unspoken question that his eyes held. Without warning, she took a seat next to him on the bed, unwrapping Rosie and placing her in Peter’s arms. She silently adjusted his hands to ease his fear and discomfort in holding an infant, and she could see the emotion forming in his chocolate orbs.

“Her name is Rosie.” Y/N whispered, eyes stuck on her daughter. “Rosie May Parker.”

“You named her after ‘Love, Rosie’,” he smiled, feeling a tear slip down his cheek. He had a daughter, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“It’s my favourite book. Two best friends who fell apart, only to come together and repeat it until they could finally be together.” Her fingers fiddled in her lap, picking at her cuticles. Her body was alight with nerves, her toes electric within her boots. “And I had to name her after May. She’s the only mother I have.”

“Rosie,” he tried the name on his tongue, noticing the way the baby scrunched her nose in her sleep. Her mother did the same thing.

Y/N sighed deeply, breathing out through her nose as she held back tears. “Peter, I’m so -“

“You have nothing to apologise for, Y/N.” He ran his finger over Rosie’s cheek. So soft, scared to stir her from her sleep. “Everything that happened, happened because of me.”

“Peter-“

“My list of discretions are unending. What kind of fiancé was I?” He let a soft chuckle fall from his lips, a humorless one, soaked from the sob he refused to let rip from his chest. “What kind of father was I? Who did I think I was, to keep you waiting on me, day after day. Every important event, I missed.”

“I never meant to say those things to you, Pete. To accuse you of not loving me, not wanting to be a father... it was uncalled for. But,” she sniffed, turning her head upwards to gaze at the ceiling. “I felt so alone. And then, you left, and I was alone.”

After what felt like eternity, his eyes met her face. Her skin was blotchy from tears, eyes bloodshot and red-rimmed. She was the most beautiful thing he had seen, apart from the angel in his arms. He felt almost complete, with the two girls by his side. His heart hurt a little less.

“I know. I’m probably the biggest jackass on the face of the planet, and I know that I can most likely do nothing to change that. It’s far too late for me to even begin to say the things I have wanted to say, but I can’t stand the thought of another day without telling you what’s been on my mind since the minute I left.” His body shuddered with a heavy breath, his lips kissing the small fist that rose towards his mouth as Rosie stretched in her sleep. “I have loved you for as long as I can remember. Every second I was away, I wanted nothing more than to run home and apologize for every disgusting thing I had said to you, to put my hands on your belly and promise our baby that I would never leave either of you.

“Then the building went down. I helped Clint get out, but I was stuck there for a few days. Some of our operatives were working as hard as they could to find a way to clear the debris so I could go, but it took a while. The entire time, I had convinced myself that I would never be able to see you again. It was like, like, I knew, that I couldn’t breathe until I saw you again.”

Her hand moved slowly, resting against his cheek to thumb away a tear that trailed his smooth skin.

“I didn’t know how many months had passed while I was gone, but when I got out from under the building, I realized that you were all alone to have our baby.” The sob finally broke through his chest. “I left you all alone. The small little baby that would see the world for the first time without their father.” He rubbed the side of his face onto his shoulder to not drop tears onto Rosie. “I’m a horrible father. I was so horrible to you.”

His breaths were staggered, and Y/N took the baby from his arms holding her against her own chest as she pressed her body to his side. Her free hand turned his face toward her own, but he kept his eyes squeezed shut, tears flowing rhythmically.

“I love you so much, Y/N, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise you,” he caught the way her hand tightened on his arm as he spoke. She was terrified of losing him again. “I would do anything, anything at all, to have you forgive me, but if you can’t then I understand. Just don’t make me leave your life, please.”

She felt her breath hitch, “I said horrible things to you. I told you to never come back, but I can’t stand another day without you. I need you here, with us. We need you Peter, like I told you all those months ago.” She felt his lips kiss the palm of her hand, the same one she used to brush away his tears. “I love you so much, and I don’t want you to leave. Ever.”

He pressed his forehead against hers, his lips pouting from the strength it took to resist pressing his mouth on hers. He didn’t know if she would welcome the contact. He had done her wrong.

“I’m not leaving you anymore, baby. I’m not leaving either of you, ever again.”

Y/N knew that Peter would be alright. His resilience was unmatched, his love ferocious. Y/N had began to think she would never see him again, but the image of him perched in front of her, eyes locked on the child that looked so much like him was one that she would never forget.

The tears falling were no longer out of fear, or sadness, or anger. Her tears fell out of love and happiness. She had the final piece of her family back, and she would do everything she could to see the two people in front of her smile.

“I’ve been far away, for far too long, baby. I’m never leaving you again. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you and Rosie. I’ll make you Mrs. Parker and buy a house in the suburbs and do everything boring house husbands do,” Y/N snickered, forehead still against his. Peter was rambling, but she knew she would never force him to give up what he loves, so long as he came home to his two girls at the end of the day. “I will love you, both, until the day I die and beyond that.”

She leaned her head forward slowly, allowing him to reject her intentions, but when he didn’t, she poured her emotions from the last half year into the kiss. The love, the fear, the anger, the uncertainty.

When they broke apart, one thing was on her lips, “I love you, Peter Parker.”

Tag List: @starshonerose @snookiebrookie @mantlereid @theanswertoeverythingisl0v3 @another-lonely-heart

@uwucorpse @timeless-crow @eridanuswave @prettysbliss @amydancypants @allycat449-blog

[dirtyhelen]

with you, a girl could get bolder (i just wanna be a little bit closer) - part two

PART TWO: i’m in your head now, from every second now Series Masterlist Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Rating: Mature Featuring: Angst; Fluff; No Additional Warnings Words: 7894 Summary: So, you had sex with a co-worker under the influence of a super-powered aphrodisiac. What do you do now? A/N: First of all, BIG thank you to everyone who liked/replied/reblogged Part 1!! Honestly overwhelmed by how lovely you all are 🤗 Second of all, there is no smut in this part so if you wanna skip this one and catch up on Part 3 (which does have smut) I totally get it and you will receive no judgment from me!! Sorry for the wait on this one, Part 3 won’t take this long I promise! ________________________________________________________________

You sleep for a long time, deep and dreamless, and wake to the hot midday sun streaming in through your open curtains. You’d been so out of it the night before you hadn’t even bothered to shut them. For a moment or two it feels like a normal day, albeit a lazy one. Like sleeping in on Sunday and waking up easy and refreshed. You reach for your phone to check the time when recollection kicks in, reminding you exactly why you’re in bed at noon on a Friday, stripping away any feelings of peace or rest. You want to stay in bed, bury yourself under the covers until you die. Or at least until someone from the compound reaches out to you, but there’s too much nervous energy thrumming under your skin, making you restless and jittery and you finally give in and leave the warm cocoon of your blankets. You spend the day at home, stress-cleaning your entire apartment and stress-eating your entire fridge, vacillating between panic and calm. One minute you’re stuffing your face with week-old stir-fry and checking your phone with every mouthful; the next you’re elbow-deep in dishwater, resigned to your fate – whatever it may be. In worried moments, you can’t imagine how you can possibly go back to the compound after everything that’s happened. How can you discuss schedules and mission reports when everyone you work with knows you got railed by an Avenger on one of the jets they use to fly around saving the world? How can you face Bucky again? Even if he doesn’t blame you for what happened, he’s bound to have some negative feelings about the whole thing. About sleeping with you. It’s not like you’d been friends before. Not like he’s been harbouring secret romantic feelings like you have. If Bucky’s harbouring any secret feelings about you, they’re probably feelings of annoyance and dislike. What if every time he looks at you now he’s reminded of how you begged, needy and naked and pathetic, for him to fuck you? What if he’s disgusted by you? Somehow that’s the worst thought of all. That the first person – the only person – to have seen your body laid bare, to have touched you in the most intimate ways possible might be repulsed, not by what happened, but because it happened with you. It’s a thought you try not to dwell on for long, but you come back to it over and over throughout the day. Each time, shame and self-loathing and heartache flood your body until you force yourself to think about something else. To eat something else, clean something else. You remind yourself there’s no point worrying about things that might never happen. You’ll only have to endure the reactions from Bucky and the team if you actually go back to work, which might not be an option anymore. No one’s reached out to you all day – no calls, no emails, no texts – and the radio silence has you fearing the worst. That no one has reached out because they’re busy working on your termination paperwork. As the hours slip by, those moments of calm get fewer and further between. By the time you’ve eaten all there is to eat, cleaned all there is to clean, and paced what feels like a hundred miles across the length of your apartment it’s nearly midnight and the only messages you’ve gotten all day are promotional emails and a meme from one of your friends back home. You wish you could talk to her, tell her about everything and get another perspective, but the ironclad NDA you signed on your first day of work rules out telling pretty much anyone other than the Avengers and their support staff – none of whom you want to talk about this with. If nothing else, at least your nervous energy has burned off, leaving you drained and eager to sleep for another twelve – or twelve thousand – hours. But despite your exhaustion, sleep doesn’t come any easier than the night before. You toss and turn for hours it seems, and when you do sleep, it’s light and fitful. You wake early on Saturday morning, feeling no more relaxed than when you first shut your eyes. +++ After another morning alone in your apartment with no news, you think you’re going to go insane soon. You’ve drafted a dozen emails to Maria Hill, to the head of R&D, even one to Steve, but can’t bring yourself to hit send on any of them. Trying to find the line between professional concern and desperate pleading proves to be very difficult. You’ve just started yet another message to Maria – since she coordinates all Avengers operations (including the one that landed you in this situation) – when your phone rings. It’s such a surprise after the silence of the last two days that you’re frozen for a moment before you scramble for your phone, almost dropping it in a mug of lukewarm tea in your haste. A glance at the screen reveals it’s Maria herself on the line, as if summoned by all your unfinished emails. Knowing her background and capabilities, you wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow has seen them… Brushing away that uncomfortable thought, you take a breath and answer the call, trying your best for a confident and casual, “Hello?” Characteristically brusque, Maria wastes no time getting straight to the point. “Can you come to the compound this afternoon? The research half of R&D has an update for you and I figured we should talk, too.” “Uh—” you start, wondering how to give a firm fuck no while still being agreeable and cooperative. Luckily, Maria picks up on the reason for your hesitance. “Right, that would probably be uncomfortable for you. We’ll come to you. Three o’clock?” she offers. “Three is good?” It’s not like you have anything else going on. “Great. I’m supposed to call Secretary Ross at three and I do not want to. See you then.” And with that, the line goes dead. Maria has very little patience for pleasantries, you’ve learned. +++ At three o’clock sharp there’s a knock at your door. You open it up to find Maria waiting outside with a middle-aged woman carrying a black medical bag. You vaguely remember seeing her face among the half dozen or so you saw during the debrief after the jet. Maria says hello and makes the necessary introductions. “This is Dr. Sakina Singh,” she says, face expressionless. “She’s from R&D. You might remember her from –” “The extremely intrusive round of questions I asked you two days ago,” Dr. Singh interjects with a grimace, looking about as uncomfortable as you feel. This probably isn’t what she imagined she’d be doing when she accepted the offer to work with the Avengers. You laugh politely if a little awkwardly. “I remember. Nice to meet you, officially?” She smiles and you shake hands. “Can we come in?” Maria asks, reminding you they’re still standing in your open doorway while cold February air blows into your apartment. “Right! Sorry!” You bring them through to your kitchen, gesturing for them to sit at the table and making the obligatory offers of tea and coffee. Maria and Dr. Singh take one side of the table and it makes you feel a bit like you’re about to have the worst job interview of your life. The fact that Maria was actually at your last job interview doesn’t help. You start to fidget with your hands, relieved the table hides the worst of your nerves. Dr. Singh starts off the proceedings. “I mostly just wanted to check in and see if you’ve experienced any other symptoms, anything out of the ordinary, and to give you a bit of an update on what we’ve found out about the chemical you and Sergeant Barnes ingested,” she says, looking more at-ease now the small-talk portion of the conversation is over and she can focus on the science of it all. “I feel normal,” you reply quietly. “No symptoms since Thursday night.” She nods. “That’s good, and consistent with what Sergeant Barnes reported.” Even the mention of Bucky’s name is enough to have your face flooding with heat. Your hands clench, fingernails pressing crescents into your palms. She carries on, explaining what she and her team were able to determine about the chemical. It’s nothing ground-breaking or unexpected, not after having experienced its effects first-hand. A super-powered aphrodisiac with no discernable purpose beyond making people horny. Just the sort of thing you’d expect to uncover in some mad scientist’s underground lab. Why try curing cancer when you can make people fuck instead? “It provokes extreme sexual arousal while simultaneously decreasing inhibitions,” Dr. Singh explains. “It appears to be neutralized by the chemicals released during orgasm. More than that we don’t know. And since the only uncontaminated sample of the chemical was destroyed, it may be all we will know. But the good news is we don’t see there being any lingering physical impacts, though I would like to take another blood sample from you to be sure it’s completely out of your system.” You consent to the blood sample and she heads back to the compound after it’s done, leaving you and Maria alone at your kitchen table. She’s been nearly motionless this entire time, watching you and Dr. Singh converse, but offering nothing in the way of commentary or even acknowledgment. If you didn’t know better you’d think she wasn’t paying attention at all.  But you do know better, and you have no doubt she could repeat word-for-word everything that was said since you opened the door half an hour ago. Regardless, the stony-faced reticence is unsettling and gives you no clue as to how your conversation with her is going to go. And it’s this conversation you’re really worried about. After a moment of silence that feels endless, Maria lets out a big, heaving sigh, her shoulders dropping as she relaxes into her seat. “Well, that was awkward.” Oh. That’s how your conversation is going to go. It’s so not what you expected her to say and yet so completely like her that a shocked giggle forces its way out of your mouth. She grins at you across the table, but you feel your own smile fade. “God, Maria, I’m so sor—” “If you’re about to apologize, so help me God,” she says, with a look on her face that dares you to argue with her. “I apologize, sincerely, on behalf of myself and the entire Avengers organization. This shouldn’t have happened. We have a dangerous chemicals procedure for a reason, for fuck’s sake,” she adds, with a stormy expression that has you pitying the poor techs who loaded the jet. “I mean, it’s no one’s fault, really. I’m sure that case wasn’t purposely unlatched.” You don’t want anyone to get in trouble for this. You feel guilty enough already about Bucky. “Probably not,” Maria concedes. “But regardless, we’re not treating this as business as usual. This isn’t SHIELD. It won’t be swept under the rug and dismissed without investigation.” You’ve read a handful of the documents Natasha leaked during the fall of SHIELD. You can only imagine how many lab accidents were concealed; how many weren’t accidents at all. It’s a dark line of thinking with no end in sight so you change the subject, asking a question that’s been on your mind for a while. “I wanted to ask – who knows about what happened? I know you can’t hide it, obviously, but –” you shrug, wondering exactly how many people you’re going to have to avoid eye contact with in the halls, or around town even. Maria nods. “The Security Council has access to all our files and we have to report this as a safety incident, but no names or identifying details are recorded. And we didn’t say two staff members had intercourse on a quinjet,” she adds wryly. “Just that there was a chemical spill and two individuals were affected. The only people who know the details of what happened and to who are me, the Avengers, and Dr. Singh and her staff. And they’ve all been made very clear on what will happen if they breach confidentiality. Believe me, they won’t tell anyone.” You believe her. “Speaking of the Avengers… What’s the mood there? Am I totally fired?” Maria snorts. “Fired? Because of a costly mistake for which the organization takes full responsibility, resulting in you ingesting an unknown chemical compound? No. You’re not fired.” Okay, when she lays it out like that it makes your fears seem ridiculous. Still… “Seriously, Maria. Should I just quit? Or be reassigned? Somewhere I will never have to look at any of the Avengers ever again, maybe?” you ask, with a cringe. “Are you concerned it will be awkward for you, or them?” “Well, both. But obviously, their feelings would come first in this situation. They’re the Avengers. I'm a secretary.” Maria rolls her eyes at that comment but chooses not to address it. “Well I can’t do anything about your feelings, but I can assure you that you won’t be treated any differently because of this.” You gape at her. “Seriously?” How could they not treat you differently? Maria levels you with a look. “Do you really think this is the strangest thing that has ever happened on that team?” she says, with the distinct air of a woman who has seen and heard too much. You’re not convinced. “Stranger than two of them banging on a quinjet under the influence of a crazy sex drug?” You’re pretty sure if this were the Strange and Unusual Olympics, that would earn you at least a silver medal. Maria doesn’t seem to agree. She straightens her back and takes a breath. “Giant octopus monster in the Thames. That time a wizard transformed Steve into his pre-serum body for a week. Wanda, daily.” She looks at you, eyebrows raised. You have to admit she has a point. “But –” “Last month I walked in on Steve and Sam having sex in a conference room. A couple years ago Barton got wasted during a game of truth or dare and told everyone how much he enjoys getting slapped around by women in leather. There are multiple sex tapes of Tony on the internet.” She pauses, making sure she has your full attention. “Dealing with weird shit and knowing way too much about the people you work with? Pretty much the two things that bind the Avengers together. Welcome to the team.” Once again, she manages to make things seem so simple. You want to believe her. You almost do believe her. There’s just one thing… “What about Bucky? Maybe everyone else can brush it off, but this happened with him. He can’t possibly want to work with me anymore.” “Fair enough,” Maria says. “But I actually spoke to Barnes this morning. He made it very clear he did not want this to impact your employment in any way.” She shrugs. “Like I said. If it’s not a problem for you, it’s not a problem for them. They’re professionals. Well, mostly.” You nod. This conversation has been enlightening – in a few ways – and Maria’s given you a lot to think about. Also a lot to very purposely not think about (Clint! And presumably Laura!). Maria leans back in her seat, considering you for a long moment as you try to process what she’s told you and come up with some sort of response. The silence stretches on until finally, she speaks. “I’ve had a lot of weird, bad sex in my life.” You stare at her, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Luckily, she doesn’t wait for a response. “I know what happened to you wasn’t just a shitty hookup and you have every right to feel however feel about it.” She says, for the first time looking less than perfectly at ease. She takes her time with her next words. “But I guess what I’m trying to say is it doesn’t have to count. Sex doesn’t change who you are. It doesn’t have to mean anything unless you want it to.” You nod dumbly, not sure what to say. You feel the sudden intense need to be alone for a while so you can sit with all the new thoughts running through your mind. Maria nods back, face settled again into cool composure. “Okay, no more feelings talk. The point is: you’re welcome to come back to work anytime. FRIDAY’s taking on as much as she can, but an AI is only capable of so much. Even that one. Think about it.” +++ You do think about it. You spend the rest of the day thinking about it. You go for a long walk in the crisp winter air, thinking about it. You journal, thinking about it. You Google “I slept with a co-worker, what now?” in various combinations and read several unhelpful articles, thinking about it. After hours of introspection, what you come up with is this: you love your job. You love your life. You’ve always been cautious, careful to a fault. Never a risk-taker. Until a few months ago, you lived in the same town you were born in. Happy enough, but not exactly satisfied. Until you applied for this job. Until you packed up your life, left behind everything you’d ever known to start over someplace new. And you’ve never regretted it. You finally felt like you had a place where you belonged. Over the time you’ve worked with the team, they’ve become friends, not just-workers and you love getting to know the real people behind the glossy media personas the rest of the world is familiar with. You love the sense of pride you feel, knowing the work you do matters, contributes – even in its own small way – to something as unfathomably huge and worthwhile as world peace. You don’t want to give that up. You can’t. The sex thing? Yeah, that sucks. You may not have dreamt of rose petals and scented candles, but you were pretty determined there’d be love and commitment involved. A partner, not just a person. But Maria is right. Sex doesn’t change who you are. Virginity is a goddamn social construct and this doesn’t have to matter unless you want it to. You had sex for the first time with someone you have feelings for, someone you respect. And maybe the circumstances (weird sex drug, floor of airplane) were less than perfect, but you can’t deny the sex itself felt good (amazing). Better than a random guy that couldn’t locate the clitoris with a GPS and flashing neon lights. You feel like you’ve been given permission to let this go. To let it be something that happened, but not something that defines you. Just one moment out of millions. You know it’s not that simple. That one illuminating conversation isn’t enough to silence the part of you that still feels ashamed, embarrassed, and heartbroken, but it's a start. A new perspective and one that has you feeling a hell of a lot better than you did just a few hours ago. There’s just one roadblock in this journey of self-enlightenment to being a mature, grown-ass woman who is handling this like a fucking champ – Bucky. But if what Maria said is true, and you have no reason to think she’d lie to you, then maybe that’s not such a roadblock after all? If everyone, even Bucky, can go on as usual (whatever that is with the Avengers), then you’re basically in the same place you were before all this: hiding your unrequited feelings for a man that doesn’t think about you at all. Just with the added aspect of remembering what his body felt like on top of you, inside you. How his tongue felt in your mouth, and on your… Anyway! You’ve decided. You’re going back to work and it’s going to be totally fine. You’re all going to be adults about this. Having drug-fueled sex on a plane is basically the Avengers equivalent of getting too drunk at the office Christmas party anyway, and many an administrative assistant before you has done that and come out the other side. You call Maria and inform her you’ll be back at the compound on Monday, and you can’t help but think there’s a little note of pride in her crisp acknowledgment.  +++ Sunday passes in a blur of nervous anticipation. By the end of the day, you’re nearly crawling out of your skin, desperate to get the embarrassing part over so you can move on with your life and dreading it at the same time. When you wake up Monday morning there’s a significant part of you that wants to call the whole thing off and stay in your apartment for the rest of your life. You remind yourself you did nothing wrong, that you have every right to your job and your life, but apprehension only grows as you get ready for work and begin the drive to the compound. As the heavy metal gates slide shut behind your car you’re suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling you’ve made a terrible mistake. But after a brief almost-breakdown in the parking garage, you manage to pull yourself together and get out of the car. You make your way to your office in the Avengers’ private wing without running into anyone other than security and custodial staff. It is eight in the morning after all, and it’s not like the Avengers usually congregate outside your office like a welcoming committee, so you’re not sure why you felt like you’d be seeing them all at once. They might not even all be in the building – you’ll have to get Maria to update you on any new missions that have been assigned while you were off. You pass an hour or two catching up on emails and reaching out to a few different contacts around the compound, but no one on the team. The first person you see who knows why you really were off is Sam, making a smoothie in the kitchen when you come in for your morning tea. You steel yourself for the ensuing awkwardness, but it doesn’t come. Sam doesn’t behave any differently than he normally would, acknowledging you with a friendly smile tossed over his shoulder as he prepares ingredients. “Morning,” he greets, handing you a mug from the cupboard over his head as you fill up the electric kettle. “Thanks.” Sam nods, immediately launching into a story about his weekend that has you almost in tears from laughing so hard. “I don’t know why you’re laughing,” he scolds playfully. “I was stuck in that tree for like ten minutes while Tony took pictures, even though it's his fault I ended up there since he designed the damn wings. Anyway, how was your weekend?” he asks with an expression of exaggerated innocence. If it was anyone else it might feel rude or intrusive or even mean. But Sam, all easy charm and genuine warmth, has a way of making people take themselves less seriously, and you find you’re smiling despite yourself as his smirk splits into a cheeky grin. You manage to hold eye contact for a couple of seconds before you’re both laughing uncontrollably, the utter absurdity of the situation suddenly hitting you as actually kind of funny instead of completely tragic. “Yeah, it was alright. Just hung around the house, really,” you tease, catching your breath, and the conversation seamlessly turns to what you’ve both been watching on Netflix. You’re still smiling when you sit back down at your desk. You know there are bound to be awkward moments ahead, but the relief of knowing things can be normal, that the awkwardness will pass, has a tension leaving your body you’d been holding onto for days. Over the next couple days as you go about your normal tasks and routines you run into members of the team in ones and twos. Some are more uncomfortable than others – you and Bruce share a particularly stilted exchange until Tony barges into the room – but after the initial acknowledgment, almost everyone carries on like it never happened. Almost everyone, because by the middle of the week there’s still one person you haven’t seen or heard from. Bucky. You aren’t sure if you’re relieved or disappointed. Sure, you’re not exactly eager for that first – almost certainly uneasy – interaction. But at the same time, all you want is to move on and put this behind you and you don’t think you can do that until you’ve seen him. Until you’ve assured yourself he really is okay, and okay working together. The longer you go without seeing him, the more you begin to wonder if he’s really as fine with you being back as Maria said he was. If he truly wasn’t bothered, wouldn’t you have run into him before now? It’s not like Bucky was a social butterfly before, especially not with you, but you work with him in the building where he lives – it’s rare to go this long without at least seeing him in passing, outside of times he’s on a mission. And he isn’t on a mission – you checked. The sense of acceptance you’ve built around what happened on the jet is fragile, and relies almost entirely on knowing Bucky is alright, that he doesn’t blame you, or hate you, or feel disgusted by you. If none of that is true, you can’t move on. At least, not while continuing to work with the team. It wouldn’t be right. Each day, that acceptance weakens as it becomes clear Bucky is intentionally avoiding you. He must be. The agonizing waiting game finally ends on Thursday in a conference room. You’re tidying up after a meeting, gathering pens and water glasses, when Bucky turns the corner into the room, eyes glued to the tablet he holds in front of his face. At least, until he notices the room isn’t empty and his eyes snap to you. You’ve been imagining this moment for days now – seeing Bucky again for the first time. You’ve crafted and perfected so many scenarios of how it might play out – maybe you’ll be cool and aloof, brush it off like it’s no big deal, like you haven’t thought about it at all. Or maybe you’ll crack a joke like Sam would, and Bucky will laugh and tease you back and the tension will be broken and everything will be fine. In the moment, when it actually happens, all you can do is stare. Bucky looks – not well, really, and it squeezes something in your chest to see him this way. You’ve been around him before when he’s having a downswing and it’s not as bad as that, but there are dark circles under his eyes that speak to sleepless nights, and a stiffness in the way he holds himself, as though every muscle is tensed. It makes you want to hold him. To wrap him in your arms until that tension bleeds out of his body. But that’s the last thing Bucky would want, considering you’re likely the source of the tension. Your eyes find his and he holds your gaze for a moment – just a moment. You’re not sure what he sees in your expression, but he clearly doesn’t like it because his brows furrow as he turns on his heel and leaves the room. And just like that, you’re back on the quinjet, naked and trembling on the cold floor as Bucky bolts from the room without looking back. The rejection is clear, unmistakable. You’re fully clothed but you may as well be stark naked for how vulnerable you feel in that moment. You can’t help the tears that gather in your eyes and spill over as you stand there staring at the open door like an idiot. You roughly swipe a hand over your face to brush them away and make a hasty retreat to your office. The day passes in a fog as you try not to break down at your desk. The dam breaks the minute you step through your apartment door as the tears you’ve been holding back for hours come flooding out. You fall to your knees and you know you’re overreacting. You tell yourself it’s probably a misunderstanding. Bucky realized he’d forgotten something. Or maybe he was just surprised to see you, wasn’t ready to talk to you yet and had to leave, but not because he hates you. Your mind clings to the idea, latches onto it like a lifeline, even as your body continues to drown – sadness like physical pain in your chest, throat sore from deep, heaving sobs. You calm down eventually, mind winning out over body at last, but the crying has you feeling a little hollowed out. You fill the space with food and mindless media consumption, telling yourself you’ll feel better after a night of sleep. +++ You do feel better in the morning, thank God. You’ve successfully convinced yourself what happened yesterday had to be a misunderstanding. Maria wouldn’t lie to you about what Bucky said, and honestly, it’s self-centred to think just the sight of you is enough to scare the Winter Soldier out of a room! You head into the office feeling a little uneasy still, but mostly okay. That feeling lasts until lunchtime. You’re taking your lunch break in the common room, eating a sandwich and watching an episode of House Hunters with Natasha. She’s in the middle of a sentence, noting the lack of defensible positions and the overabundance of wood panelling in the mid-century bungalow on-screen when Steve and Bucky enter the room. They’ve clearly just come from the gym, likely looking for a post-workout snack. They amble into the room, playfully shoving at each other as they head for the kitchen. You can hear Alpine trotting in behind them, meowing for the treats she knows she’ll get if Bucky’s in the kitchen. Bucky’s hair is tied up in a messy, damp bun and his t-shirt clings to his torso with sweat, toned muscles on display. Steve’s there too. You see the moment Bucky realizes you’re there partly because you can’t look away from him – the shadows under his eyes are still dark, but his face is flushed and lively from the workout – and also because his step very noticeably falters and the teasing expression is wiped from his face, the colour quickly draining from his cheeks. If yesterday could be brushed off as a misunderstanding, this confirms you were right to fear the worst. Bucky was avoiding you, doesn’t want to be around you. He mumbles something back to Steve you aren’t able to discern and turns back the way he came. Instantly you feel your face heat with shame. Now Bucky can’t stand to even be in a room with you and other people? Exactly how uncomfortable do you make him? Does he think you’ll leap up from the couch and throw yourself at him? You catch Steve and Nat sharing a look out of the corner of your eye, but you have no idea what it means. You feel thoroughly wrong-footed, as though everyone in the room knows something you don’t. Something you probably don’t want to know. They make an effort to gloss over Bucky’s hasty exit, Natasha more successfully than Steve, but you just want to get back to the privacy of your office as quickly as possible so you can ruminate in peace. Or, if not in peace, at least in solitude. Choking down the rest of your lunch in record time, you make your escape – by a different route than Bucky, lest you accidentally cross paths again and he’s forced to jump out a window to escape you. TGIF, you think. +++ That weekend is rough. You journal, you pace, and you think and cry and eat and Google. Finally, you end up spilling your guts to an EAP counsellor (under the guise of a drunken hook-up between co-workers) and you come to the conclusion: fuck James Buchanan Barnes. Yeah, he’s smart and kind and strong and beautiful and maybe you’re a little in love with him, but he is just a man and you have cried over him enough. You didn’t ask for this! You didn’t mean for it to happen! And it’s not like you forced him to have sex with you. It’s not like he was cowering in the corner while you were throwing yourself at him. If anything, you were equally taken advantage of by each other – by that stupid fucking chemical and whatever mad scientist created it! He was the one who said he didn’t want your employment affected by what happened! As though running screaming from the room whenever he sees you doesn’t affect your employment. The least he could do is try to be a little more subtle in his distaste. Whether he finds you unattractive or not he should be able to treat you like a human being – not some sort of leper. And if he can’t do that, he can say it to your face! You don’t deserve this, no matter how Bucky feels about what happened. Which is exactly what you’re going to tell him when you see him on Monday. And you will see him. Bucky Barnes might be an internationally feared former assassin who evaded detection for over seventy years, but you manage his calendar. He’s got a meeting in the morning with PR and you’ll be waiting outside to catch him as soon as they’re done. On God, by noon on Monday, this will be resolved once and for all. +++ Ten a.m. sharp you’re standing outside the PR office suite, reminding yourself why your anger is justified and trying to hold onto the feeling itself. You’re more than a little afraid that the minute you see Bucky you’re going to forget all about confronting him and just start crying. But you didn’t spend hours curating a fuck you, girl power playlist and practicing speeches in the mirror to admit defeat so quickly. You’re standing directly opposite the glass doors, no opportunity for hiding – or for Bucky to hide from you – so you see each other the minute he approaches the door. There’s a flash of surprise on his face, quickly turned to grim resignation as he opens the door. He obviously knows you’re there to see him and he stops outside in front of you. “Hi,” he says, avoiding your eyes and staring at his feet instead. “Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute?” He nods, gesturing down the hall and you follow him a few feet to a small seating area, out of view of any offices. He stands back and finally makes eye contact, looking a little like he’s staring down a firing squad instead of an unarmed civilian in a fuzzy pink cardigan. You take a deep breath, gathering your thoughts and remembering the plan. You ask him the big question. “Do you want me to quit?” Bucky shakes his head almost frantically. “No, I – no,” he says. You stare at him, wait for him to continue speaking but he just stands there, hands in his pockets looking miserable. ‘No.’ That’s all he can say? No? No! Something inside you snaps, your carefully prepared speech dissolving in your mouth like sugar as words start to pour out of you. “Really? Because Maria told me you didn’t want me to be reassigned so I thought we were good. But then you avoided me for days and the two times we did see each other you looked like you were going to be sick and practically ran out of the room, which makes me think you’re definitely not okay with me being here.” “I—” “And like, okay, that’s fine, but I wish you would have just said that? Because I get it, I do. This is super weird and obviously, you didn't want to sleep with me and I know I'm not like, a supermodel or even a JC Penny catalogue model, so yeah, you wish it could have been literally anyone else but you don't have to run away from me like I have some sort of flesh-eating disease, okay?” “That’s—” “Because that really sucks, Bucky. And not just because I’ve had a crush on you forever or because it was my first time but because I actually really just like and respect you as a person and I know you didn’t like me even before all this so maybe you don’t believe me, but I didn’t mean for this to happen. I promise. I would never try to take advantage of you – of anyone – like that and –” “What?” he interjects sharply. It cracks through the air like a whip, finally snapping you out of whatever insanity possessed you to say all that. To say all that. Oh, fuck. “What do you mean crush? Wait, first time?” Bucky’s eyes are wide and he’s staring intently at your face. Your own face burns and your hands shake as you try to come up with something – anything – to say. Thirty seconds ago you couldn’t shut up! The silence stretches unbearably long as Bucky stands there looking at you, waiting for you to answer him. It looks like he’s about to speak again when an alert sounds from both of your phones. “Oh, thank God,” you breathe. It’s the unmistakable tone that signals a drop-what-you’re-doing-and-Avengers-fucking-assemble emergency. You’ve never heard a sweeter sound in your life. Bucky holds your gaze for another moment before he swears and jogs off down the hallway, tossing you a conflicted look over his shoulder as he goes. +++ The emergency turns out to be a false alarm; some new system Tony was working on triggered it accidentally, so you got away from Bucky and nobody died. All in all, a pretty successful day. Except for the part where you confessed your feelings to the man you’ve been crushing on for months and told him he was the first person you’ve ever had sex with. During what was supposed to be a mature, adult conversation where you asserted yourself calmly and professionally instead of projectile word-vomiting like the girl from The Exorcist swallowed a dictionary and spat it back up. If there was ever a chance you and Bucky could move past what happened on the quinjet and co-exist in mutual agreement to never mention it again, it’s gone now. There’s no dramatic breakdown this time, no floods of tears or self-loathing or panic. The last week and a half has been an exhausting roller coaster of emotions and honestly, you just can’t anymore. It is what it is. It happened and there’s no going back. You can’t summon up the energy to freak out. Tomorrow you’ll go to Maria’s office and request a transfer. Maybe the UN has an opening for a secretary in Antarctica. But tonight you will wear flannel pyjamas, eat greasy pizza, and watch the Great British Bake Off, where everything is lovely and nothing hurts. Just as you’ve finished turning your couch into a cozy oasis, laying out your softest blankets and fluffiest pillows, there’s a knock at your door. Right on time. You grab your wallet and open the door, a polite smile on your face for your usual delivery man. But that’s not who’s standing on your porch. It’s Bucky. Pizza box balanced in one hand, the other fussing with his hair. “Hey,” he says, voice soft and almost hesitant. You step back, silently letting him inside and shutting the door behind him. “I didn’t realize you delivered for Ronzoni’s now,” you say, cringing immediately after. Bucky looks at the box in his hand like he forgot he was holding it. “Oh, uh, yeah, I got here the same time as the delivery guy.” “I see that.” He hands you the box and you lay it on the floor behind you. “Thanks,” you tell him awkwardly, eyes fixed on the floor in front of you. “Look, Bucky, I’m really sor—” “I do like you,” he blurts and your eyes flash to his, wide in shock. “What?” Bucky shifts on his feet, stands a little straighter and nods, more to himself than to you it seems. Like he’s steeling himself to face something difficult. “I do like you. I’ve always liked you. Just took me a while to figure it out. It’s been a minute. Haven’t had a crush in about seventy years; I’m rusty,” he says with a sheepish smile, ducking his head and looking at you through his lashes. His smile fades. “And you’re always so nervous around me. I thought maybe you were scared of me. Or hated me, maybe, for everything I did when –” “Oh, Bucky, no,” you can’t help but interrupt, can’t let him finish that sentence. You haven’t really processed anything else he’s said, but you can’t bear the idea of him thinking you blamed him for being abused and controlled for decades. “Yeah, I was a fucking idiot,” he says with a humourless laugh. “I know you’d never – but I didn’t then.” His face softens as he looks at you. “And even though it was ‘cause you were scared of me, I still thought you were so cute when you’d start running at the mouth. Stumbling over your words and getting all embarrassed,” he says, with a fond little smile. You groan, hiding your face behind your hands, thinking of all the times you’ve looking like an idiot in front of him. Bucky chuckles warmly and tugs your hands down but doesn’t let them go, holding them in a loose grip. You can’t believe this is happening. He likes you. He likes you and has liked you for months. He likes you and he’s holding your hands and staring at you with an affection you couldn’t have captured in your wildest fantasies. Bucky’s smile turns a little wistful. “I was so jealous of everyone else. How easy you were with them. I wanted you to be like that with me, all happy and cheeky and –” he cuts himself off. “Then that fucking drug. If there was any doubt about how I felt about you that definitely made it clear. That was something else, doll.” His grip on your hands tightens before he lets them go. “You’re so – that shit you said about not being a model or whatever? I couldn’t care less. You’re perfect,” he says, voice intense. He shakes his head a little, like he’d gotten off track. “And then it hit me. This goddamn revelation for me was probably the worst moment of your life, and I fucking liked it. I felt like a creep, like a fucking monster. And that’s why I avoided you. I thought I was doing you a favour, staying away. It wasn’t ‘cause I hate you or I blame you or anything. Pretty much the opposite.” You laugh softly in disbelief, shaking your head at how wrong you were. How wrong you both were, all this time. “I thought maybe it reminded you of Hydra,” you tell him. “You know, losing control, being forced to do something you didn’t want to – not that I think what we did is the same as being forced to kill people, obviously. I just mean, the principle of it –” Bucky kindly cuts you off. “I know what you mean. But trust me,” he says. “That’s not how I feel. At all. I mean, yeah, that’s not really how I wanted things to go. I hate that that was your first time. I hate that it was my first time I can clearly remember. But I’m glad it was you. What Hydra did to me and what happened to us, what we did together – doesn’t even compare. I don’t regret it.” And finally, with those words, spoken with such undeniable sincerity, you feel the last piece of the puzzle fit into place. Even with everything he’s already said it still felt too good to be true. Like it could be a confession and a rejection at the same time. An acknowledgement that if you’d figured it out sooner you could have been together, but you got the pieces so mixed up that there’s no sorting them out. Better to throw them away and pick a new puzzle. “I don’t regret it either,” you tell him. “I wish it had happened differently, but I’m really, really happy it was you, Bucky.” He looks at you, soft and sweet and a little sad and you can’t help but throw yourself at him, finally giving in to an urge you’ve felt a hundred times, wrapping your arms around his neck. He hugs you back, holding you just as tightly as you hold him. You feel warm and bright and happy, bubbling over with joy that spills out of you with a giggle as you pull back just enough to look him in the face with a dopey grin. “So… you like me?” He laughs, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “Yeah, doll, you been listening?” “I can’t believe you’ve had a crush on me for months. You never speak to me!” Bucky snorts. “Hey, we don’t all let our anxiety spill out our mouths like you.” You glare at him but he does have a point. “That’s fair,” you acknowledge, stepping out of the warm circle of his arms to give him a long look, crossing your arms. “So for months I thought you didn’t like me, and you thought I didn’t like you. And the whole time we were super into each other?” Bucky shoves his hands in his pockets, rocks on his heels, nodding. “Yep.” “Sounds like we’re pretty dumb, huh?” “Sounds like we’re perfect for each other,” he says, leaning in close with a grin. You get a sudden glimpse of the charmer Bucky must have been back in the day and it takes everything you have not to kiss him. “You wanna stay for a while?” you ask. You don’t want him to go yet, but you don’t want to keep standing up in front of your door either. “I’m watching Great British Bake Off. And you did pay for the pizza so it’s technically yours.” “You askin’ me on a date?” You think he means it to come out as flirty and confident, but he says it with a shy, boyish expression that’s somehow so much more attractive. You nod, smiling. “Yeah, I guess so. I wish I wasn’t wearing pyjamas, but…” “Hey, pizza and GBBO? I wish I was wearing pyjamas,” he counters, picking up the pizza and letting you lead the way to the living room where he sets the box down on the coffee table. You sit with Bucky on your couch, sharing a blanket and stuffing your faces as you talk about your favourite Bake Off contestants and it feels right. Feels like the start of something really, really good. And to think, you have an evil, horny scientist to thank for all your current happiness. Welcome to the Avengers. A/N: If you have made it to the end - thank you for reading! This is definitely the piece I struggled with most and I am very open to feedback! This part is so long and so sexless lol so I’m very interested to see how it reads re: pacing, interest, cohesiveness, etc. Feel free to like/comment/reblog and let me know! My ask box is also open to anons if you have feedback but you’re feeling shy! I definitely wanna hone the skill of series-writing as I have a loooooot of longer ideas. Part 3, which will be shorter (I think!) and definitely sexier, will be out in a few days 😚 

[ibelieveinturtles]

A Cat With Tentacles

Title: The Quantum Cat, Chapter 2 -

Collaborator(s): ibelieveinturtles

Square (letter, number, and prompt):

SWB: G5 - Goose the cat MPB: I5 - Chaos Samtember: 13. Cap!Sam

Pairing/Main Ship: N/A

Rating: T for swearing

Major tags: Sam Wilson, Goose the Cat, The Multiverse, The Quantum Tunnel, Not Endgame compliant, Everybody Lives (Eventually), Sam to the rescue

Warnings/Triggers: a little swearing here and there

Summary: Sam and Joaquin arrive at the Avengers Compound and find out what's going on.

Word Count: Ch 2, 1230

A/N: This is *mostly* unbeta'd but I hope to have it properly edited before I post it on AO3. I'll be posting all 7 chapters on Tumblr for as long as September 1st lasts around the world and on AO3 later. The reason it's going up on Sept 1st is because it is the only day that the Sam Wilson Bingo overlaps with Samtember :-)

Chapter 2 - A Cat With Tentacles

Sam was making small talk with one of the few Senators he actually liked when Joaquin alerted him that an incident was in progress at the Avengers Compound. He didn’t know what was happening, just that something was happening.

Sam excused himself from the ball, joining Joaquin outside where the two of them commandeered a helicopter belonging to some random socialite (in truth, she'd been quite eager to loan her transport to Captain America) and flown up to the Compound to find S.W.O.R.D. erecting one of their infamous tent cities at the front gate. It took them half an hour to find someone who knew what was going on.

“I don’t think I heard you right,” Sam said, staring at the tall, skinny man in the doorway of the nearest tent, “because I think I just heard you say that Fury’s cat ate the Avengers.”

“Er, that’s right. All of them,” Tall Skinny said. “The er, the cat. Probably not actually a cat though. There were tentacles?”

He didn’t sound very sure about it, Sam thought, but he had to make sure.

“Tentacles?”

There was no way in hell that the effort of keeping a straight face could possibly equal the feeling of dread Sam was experiencing right now.

“Yes.”

Sam stared a bit longer. Tall Skinny fidgeted under his glare, wringing his hands and pulling at his collar.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said eventually, “and who are you?”

“I’m Ian. Doctor Ian Boothby. I work with Drs. Foster and Lewis. Loki showed up about a week ago-”

“I thought Loki was dead?” Joaquin interjected.

“He claims to be a different Loki from an alternate reality,” Boothby said before returning to his explanation. “So, Loki showed up insisting he needed help with the multiverse and that Mr. Stark had a machine that could help. So after some, er, convincing... we came here to study the Quantum Tunnel and Mr. Stark thought it was a good reason to throw a party. And then Goose got into the hors d'oeuvres and, er- and got high. At least that’s what we think. It’s probably best if I just show you...” His voice trailed off as he turned into the dimness of the tent.

Sam followed, Joaquin close behind him, muttering under his breath about the cool setup. The tent was bigger than it looked from the outside, with an array of screens and computer consoles arranged around three of the four walls.

Dr. Boothby went straight to the large screen in the middle and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. The screen came to life, images of a party flickering across it.

“What am I looking at?” Sam asked.

“It starts in the top left corner,” Boothby said.

They watched intently until the footage faded into blackness and then the silence continued a little longer. Eventually, Sam found his voice.

“So. A cat with tentacles ate all the Avengers?”

“Not just the Avengers,” Boothby said, turning back. “It also ate at least a dozen support staff, several scientists, and a number of other Avengers-adjacent personages. We estimate between twenty and thirty people are missing. Everyone else was able to evacuate safely.”

“Ahuh. And how did you manage to escape? How come you’re still here?” Sam asked.

“Ah, well. You see, I was in the bathroom,” Boothby explained, his face flushing a dull red. “By the time I got out, Goose was mostly done.”

“Mostly?” Sam said, wondering just how long- nope, on second thoughts, he wasn’t going to think about that.

“Well, we thought it had gone,” Boothby explained. “Darcy decided to go see who was left - she was halfway down the corridor when Goose just- appeared! Out of nowhere! The last thing I heard her say was ‘Hit the damn emergency button, you fucking moron!’”

Joaquin snickered but Sam ignored him.

“Darcy?”

“Dr. Lewis. Dr. Foster was at the party with Thor, Loki, Mr. Stark, Ms, Potts, Sergeant Barnes-”

“Wait- Bucky is here?” Sam was surprised. While Bucky and Tony had settled their differences, Bucky didn’t attend the parties very often.

“Was here,” Boothby corrected him. “He's gone. Everyone’s gone. They've either been eaten or evacuated. It’s just me and Agent Klein left.”

“Cameron Klein?” Sam felt his spirits rise a little. If Cam was here then maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

“Oh yes, that’s him.”

“Where is he?”

“Probably arguing with S.W.O.R.D. about jurisdiction. They think they have it because all the Avengers are gone but he says this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and he’s the senior agent on site therefore he’s in charge.”

“I suppose I should go help him then,” Sam said, turning to leave the tent again.

“If I may interrupt?” The familiar voice of Friday emanated from a nearby computer. “It’s just that I’m getting a message from the Boss and he’s not very happy.”

Boothby’s face brightened. “Mr. Stark’s not dead then?”

“The Boss is alive and well and very loud about it,” Friday said, “but I’m only getting audio and even that keeps dropping out. He keeps saying something about ‘winter is coming and damned if I’ll be here when it arrives.’”

Sam blinked. “He’s quoting Game of Thrones?”

“It looks that way.”

“I wonder,” Boothby said, and whirled away, trotting across the room to a computer terminal. “Did anyone else have a comm or other means of communication on them when Goose ate them, Friday?”

“No one was wearing comms but I presume most of the staff had phones on their persons,” Friday replied. “Are you suggesting I attempt to contact people on their cell phones?”

“It can’t hurt to try, can it?” Boothby replied, tapping away rapidly on the keyboard.

There was silence while Friday attempted to make contact with someone other than Tony Stark.

“I’ve detected cell phones for more than a dozen people, however I’m unable to connect to anyone except the Boss and I’m afraid I’m losing him,” she said after some time.

“Damn,” Sam said. “What do we do now, then?”

“Well,” Boothby said, “I suppose we should rescue them?”

"Right. And just how are we supposed to do that?" Sam asked.

"Well, we were modifying the quantum tunnel for multiversal travel so we'll use that," Boothby said, still tapping away at his keyboard. “Friday, can you isolate coordinates for the cellphones you were able to detect?”

“Displaying them on screen now,” Friday replied.

They all turned to look as a dozen or so sets of coordinates rolled down the huge screen in the center of the front wall.

“They don’t look like any coordinates I’ve ever seen before,” Joaquin said.

“That’s because they’re for other realities,” Boothby said, followed by a soft, “Oh dear.”

“Oh dear? What the hell does 'oh dear' mean?” Sam demanded.

“Some of these realities are quite a ways removed from ours, in both time and space,” Boothby said. “I’ll have to make some adjustments to the Tech Suit you’ll be wearing.”

“The what that who will be wearing?”

Boothby turned away from the computer to look Sam in the eye.

“Someone needs to rescue them,” he said, “and as I’m currently the only person here who can operate the Quantum Tunnel, it won’t be me. Besides, you’re Captain America. Who else would we send to rescue the Avengers?”

[that-little-zebunny]

Skin to Skin (First Date)

Pairing: Loki x Avenger!Reader

Warning: Angst, little Gorey-ish details, Fluff

WC: 2,151

Summary: You're new to the team and end up messing it up with the God of mischief on your first day in. Knowing his reputation you're up for a fun time in the compound.

Note: First of all thank you so much guys for the warm acceptance you gave on our 1st part T....T y'all made my heart so so happy. I hope you'll enjoy this part and I'd love to know how you think. Its a bit long so yay enjoy.

2nd day of our wonderful HBC's Week of Love for the lovely @the-th-horniest-book-club 🥰

You know what's the fun part of fighting the bad? It's that it doesn't choose a great time. It pops up as randomly as it can. So here you are on your second day trying to go around and meet people, when you got a message to suit up.

Small details are that you and your team are going to keep an eye on one of hydras abandoned bases because Friday had detected some activity there.

What you didn't know is the team you speak of is just you, the Falcon, Natasha and Loki. Yup, how fun will it be? You and the person that doesn't like you in one deadly work. You won't be surprised if somehow between the fighting you'll be stabbed by him. You shook your head to remove the thoughts running in it. You really should stop watching suspense shows. You sighed.

After almost three hours in the air you all finally made it in the location. You scratched your head when you saw that the area is surrounded by a lot of trees.

"Looks like we're up for a fun hide and seek game if there's really people here now." Nat said as she fixed all the weapons secured on her belt. Sam agreed. He activated three of his cute little drones to help out with securing the area for treats.

"We should go. All these small talks will not vanish our enemies." Loki said walking past the three of you. You pouted.

"I think that's mostly because of me. Sorry guys." You said as you finished fixing your knives on your belt and grabbing your metal staff. It's your main weapon because it keeps you from getting near anyone when it's not needed.

"No worries cookies, he's like that to everyone. He didn't really have a choice in being here. He's banished here to help." Sam said using the silly nickname they all choose to give you after you delivered tons of cookies to them.

You look at Loki's retreating back sadly.

You're able to get inside the rusty building without encountering anyone.

"This is a bit creepy. How did Friday detect anything here? There's no one in about 10 kilometers." Sam said as he checked the tech in his arm.

"Maybe it's a ghost?" You joked which earned you a strange look from them. "What? I watch movies." You rolled your eyes at them and continued going to another part of the building to check. It looks like you're in a laboratory slash surgery room. That gave you chills. You tried to not imagine how many bodies were cut and gutted in here.

"You have a very unique mind." Someone said which made you squeak. You turned around swinging your staff towards the voice but was halted by a sting hand. Loki held the end of your staff smirking at you.

"Crap…" you whispered. You didn't do anything again didn't you? "I-I'm sorry." You bit your lips as you relaxed, removing your staff from his hold.

"For someone that works with emotions you do suck at it." He said, smirking at you.

You scratched your nape as you stared up at his face, his very very beautiful face. Ugh!

"I know. Its been a challenge controlling my own. I was so used at controlling others." You said remembering your childhood. How you tried to mold your always bickering parents to play nice when you're around and to act as if they loved you. You know they hated it and they hated you but what can you say you were ten and scared. But they didn't care. All they know is you're an anomaly and that they rather not be around you. That's why as soon as your grandma offered they toosed you away like a hot potato.

You shook your head as your most dreaded memory came up. You frowned and turned to look at Loki again.

"Was that you!?" You asked. You're gritting your teeth as you feel the rage consume you. He just stared down at you smirking wickedly. You boinked away the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes. "We're even now." You said gripping your staff.

"Yes we are." He proudly said as he went around checking if he could find anything useful and you did the same.

It really was a lab and they've experimented on people trying to make a brain dead person have functions again. That made your stomach turn especially when you saw the reports of how the patients reacted to that. Some were like dummies and some became vicious. And so many more that you end up closing the files you're reading and you just grabbed them.all to bring them back with you.

"Find anything else?" You asked Loki but he didn't answer so you went to look what he's doing in the room he went in. You found him staring at a cradle.

"There's a body here." He said. That alerted you. Especially when you saw him touch the cradle to open it using his power.

"Nooo Loki don't!" You shouted as the cover of it opened up releasing some kind of gas. Knowing the few things you've read if your guess is correct this is gonna be bad.

You ran to him to grab his arm to pull him away but he didnt move so when you saw the sharp claw like hands coming out the gas you didn't think much and just went in between Loki and the thing.

You gasped in pain as you felt the slicing on your back.

"Good norns! Y/N! You dumb, dumb mortal!" He shouted as he caught you in his arms when your legs gave out. He looked behind you and flicked his hands green mist went to take away the life from the girl from the cradle. You heard its body make noise as it fell down.

Still in Loki's embrace you tried to breathe deep but it ended up just you gasping painfully. The cuts must have been deeper than you thought.

"L-Loki…" you pleaded with him as you felt your breathing start getting shallow and you feel like you're drowning. You must have blood on your lungs by now. You tried to swallow the sobs that tried to get out of your lips and you just stared up at his face. He really have a nice face. It's unfair.

You must have lost your mind because when he caught you staring you smiled up at him which in return got you another frown.

"Stop admiring me. I know I look better than the normal midgard male population. You really must be dumb, why did you jump infront of me. I'm a God I won't be hurt by a mere scratch." He said as he helped you to lay down on the floor as he called out to Nat and Sam on his coms. He turned you on your side to check your injury and you heard him take in a breath.

"Is it bad?" You asked thinking of the worse based on his face.

"Don't get your brain all rilled up, Cookies. It'll be alright." You giggled when you heard him call you on your new nickname.

"S-so I'm cookies to y-you now too." You coughed but still smiling.

"Oh you need to shuush." He said but you can hear the smile in his tone. So your stupidity got you on his goodside.

"How can I s-shuush. This might be my last time to talk. What i-if some parasite is now in me and I'll start walking and biting people." You caughed again as you felt something soothing on your back.

"You need to change what you watch Y/N. That's not healthy anymore." He said, shaking his head. Your back is starting to feel nice now and your head is like it's floating. You giggled again as you touched his face. Even in your groggy brain you felt his emotions. Scared, amused and adoration. Is that all for you? You smiled at him again as your eyes were about to close.

"You should date me Loki." You said. His eyes went wide as he steadied you to pick you up.

"That's the soothing magic talking." He said as he started to walk.

You're about to walk past the table where you put down the files you found when you remember how important they are.

"Wait! Wait! Lemme grab those." You pointed to the tall stocks of folders.

He walked near it and you grabbed them and hugged them on your chest like your life depends on it.

You feel proud of yourself getting them or being carried by Loki. You're not sure which anymore and before he even finds your team you fell asleep.

You woke up in what you guessed as the med bay. You tried to get up and looked around to find no one. You brushed your hair with your hand as you tried to stand but got dizzy. You tried to grip the bed frame for support but you're too slow so you just let yourself fall. You're about to kiss the floor when two strong hands caught you and relief and annoyance flooded your brain.

"You must enjoy being in my arms." He teased as he helped you back on the bed.

"You got nice arms." You joked as you went back on your bed. You took a deep breath and seriously asked him "how did the rest of the mission go?"

"Well, the Widow was able to find some scavengers that tried to loot the structure they came back there before we left and they must have been the ones who triggered Friday's system. The monstrous thing that attacked you is dead officially and we didn't find another of it but we did find a mass grave behind the building." He explained as he sat down on the side of your bed.

You thanked him and relaxed knowing there's no more of that thing around.

"Do you like steak or do you prefer the simple ones?" Loki suddenly asked. You looked at him confused.

"What for?" You asked.

"You have offered me to date you. Have you forgotten?" He said, smirking at you. You felt your cheeks heat up. Crap you did. Mid thinking about tobe a zombie parasite walker time. You looked at him waiting for him to say he's joking but nothing . He just raised one gorgeous eyebrow as he waited.

"You're serious?" You covered your face with one hand as you tried to let what he's saying sink in.

"Very serious, you've felt my darkest emotions I've seen your darkest memories don't you think we're past the getting to know part Sam keep on babbling about?" He said as he slowly touched your elbow with a finger and you felt his sincerity and adoration. Your brain feels like it's about to explode. This majestic person really wants to go out with you. Omg!!!

You slowly nodded and he smiled.

"So stake or not?" He asked again.

"I like steak." You answered back. He smiled and left. Leaving you with so many emotions that you never felt before as your own. Joy, giddiness and something you can't name.

A week after you're out of being stuck on a medical bed you and Loki went to that date. You still can't believe it's happening. He even did all the preparations and stuff. He brought you to a gorgeous restaurant with beautiful music and the tastiest stake you ever had. It was so much fun. He's very funny in his own way. You're both enjoying a walk before going back to the compound when you felt Loki grab your gloved hand. You look up at him.

"What's wrong?" You asked. He just smiled and kissed your hand.

"I'm just very glad I gave myself a chance to know you more and not let what happened to us on our first meeting get to me. You're a very fascinating and beautiful lady Y/N. Thank you for being with me today." He said. You smiled warmly at him as you took off your gloves. You stashed them in the pocket of your coat and brought your hands up to his face but didn't completely touch him.

"May I?" You asked and you saw his face softened. You told him that you will never touch him without his permission.

"Yes…" he answered as he held both your hands and brought them close to his face. He closed his eyes and sighed at the feel of your skin. Feeling that strange feelings again that you can't name you're not sure if it's yours or Loki's emotion. You stepped closer to him and tiptoed to reach his waiting lips. You can't wait to understand that strange feeling but for now you're gonna enjoy how good it feels.

Tag list

Skin to skin: @delightfulheartdream @victias @kaogasm @marvelgirl7 @alexakeyloveloki @newdaynewyearnewlife @multifandomlife22

Tom Hiddleston and Characters: @jewels2876 @jobean12-blog @CurlyRed2020

The ones with stikes, I cant tag you guys i dunno why T.T

[friendlyneighborhoodspider-man]

Love Locks

Summary: when the blip rocked the world, you were left behind alone. one of the few reminders you have left of peter parker, the love of your life, ends up bringing you back to him.

a/n: the mcu timeline confuses me so much that even after writing this I’m not sure if it’s accurate so bear with me please :)

~~~

PBP + YF/LI.

The lock was new when you had sharpied your initials onto it your freshman year of high school, but now it was beginning to rust, the bare remnants of the letters left remaining. You turned it over in your palm before letting it fall back against the chain link fence on the Brooklyn Bridge.

“See?” Peter had told you, a soft smile on his face that made your heart melt. “Now we will always be together, even when we are far apart. Forever.”

“I love you.” You had told him for the first time, and he responded by picking you up in his arms and twirling you around on the sidewalk.

“I love you too,” he said between the kisses he peppered on your cheeks, your nose, your eyes, your lips.

That was years ago, now, and all that was left of him was dust. 

Literally. Or so you assumed.

The blip had left your life in ruins. Not only did all of your friends disappear, but your parents died in a car accident the day of the blip after their cab driver disappeared out of thin air and the car ran into a street sign. 

And Peter. Peter, who had left on a space-ship right before the world fell apart before your eyes.

You were a junior at Columbia now majoring in Biochemical Engineering, working as an intern at Stark Industries. How ironic, you thought.

“Okay, don’t freak out.” Peter said. It was sophomore year, and he had tied a blindfold around your eyes as he rustled around his bedroom. A surprise he had promised, and a surprise he delivered as he directed you to take the blindfold off.

“Peter…” you gasped. “Oh my god!”

“Don’t freak out.” He said cautiously, pulling the mask back over his head to show his face.

“Freak out?!” You asked, laughing. “I’m psyched! You’re Spiderman!!!!”

“Shhhhh.” He held a finger to your lips. “May might hear you.”

“May doesn’t know?” You whispered back to him.

“No, not yet.” He ran a hand along the back of his neck and sighed. “I’m going to tell her, just…”

“Just not yet.” You finished. “It’s okay; you can tell her when you’re ready. Thank you, for sharing this with me.”

“That’s not all.” He grinned. “Want to go for a ride?”

You looked down at the bolt cutters in your hand. After sharing your story (or parts of it, at least) in a support group for Survivors of the Blip, the leader had suggested that you do this as a form of closure. You knew it was time, but a part of you still felt sickened by the idea of prying the lock from it’s spot. As you placed the jaws against the lock, the world seemed to freeze. Then--

“What the hell is going on?” A man that appeared out of nowhere said, holding a hotdog in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

“Sir, can I help you?” You turned to ask, relieved to be putting off your task once more.

“I swear-- it was just raining!” He put his umbrella down. “And the sidewalk-- I swear, I’m not crazy.”

“Uh--” you looked back and forth nervously, “I believe you.”

“I swear, every day this April just seems crazier and crazier.”

“Sir--” you raised an eyebrow. “It’s September.”

“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “It’s definitely April. My daughter just had her midterms last week.”

“Wait,” you asked, the wheels in your brain turning, “what year do you think it is?”

“2015.”

“It’s 2020-- oh my god!” You dropped the bolt cutters. “Peter!” You clamped a hand over your mouth as thoughts began racing through your head. As you looked around the bridge, you saw more people that weren’t there two minutes ago, and cars were honking all over New York as people appeared five years and eight months later where they were standing, sitting, and laying during the Blip.

“Hey.” Peter said, and you looked up at him from where you were lying in your bed as he traced circles with his thumb across your ribs. “I love you. You know that, right.”

“Of course I do.” You laced your fingers with his on his other hand and pressed it to your lips. “I love you today. I will love you tomorrow, and years from then. When I’m dead, I’ll love you then. Always.”

You paced outside the Avengers compound in upstate New York where news companies and other families were waiting to speak with someone as the large hovercraft landed in the grass. The doors opened, and solemn looking heroes-- no, soldiers-- filed out. Captain America and Bucky Barnes were leading them. 

Someone died. You thought. It wasn’t until you saw the familiar red-and-blue suit that you had come to mourn that you perked up. “Pe--” you began to yell before you realized you might blow his cover. So instead, you tried to doge your way through the crowd to make your way to the staff who were checking names to bring people back to their families. 

“I--” you said out of breath, “I’m here for Spiderman.”

“Really? What’s their first and last initials?”

“PP.” You rolled your eyes at the once mocking nickname people had called him. “Tell him Y/N is here.”

“Okay fine.” The large man in the suit said, and you recognized him just as he began to turn away.

“Wait-- Happy?”

“Didn’t recognize me?” He joked. “Hang on, I’ll let him know you’re here and see if he’s ready to see you.”

“Okay, thank you.” You nodded.

“I have to go.” Peter said as he glanced up at the sky where a large space-ship was hovering above. 

“Stay.” You stopped his hand as it reached for the window. “Please.”

“I can’t.” He laced his fingers through yours and pressed it to his lips. “I have to go. That’s what I’m supposed to do, remember?”

“Please don’t leave me.” You whispered. “What if you don’t come back?”

“I’ll always come back to you.” He said. “I promise.”

Happy waved at you to come over and you breathed a sigh of relief before the panic set in. He was almost five years younger than you now, you realized, and you weren’t nearly the same person you used to be. “He knows about the Blip and the time difference, but he’s still a little in shock.” He told you in the elevator on the way up to see him.

“He’s in here.” Happy gestured to the doorway. You couldn’t help but notice the red around his eyes and fallen mood. .

“Peter?” You said carefully as you walked in.

“Y/N I’m--” he paused when he saw you. He hadn’t aged a day. Like Happy, his eyes were rimmed in red and his face was blotchy from crying, and he seemed to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even though time had not touched him, it looked like he had just fought with death and lived to see another day. He had changed out of the spider-suit and into a t-shirt and sweatpants belonging to some hero or another. “You’re--”

“I know.” You looked at the ground. “I was-- you left, and then I was alone. Everyone left me. And now we’re here and--”

“Don’t freak out.” He said, walking over to you. You could see he still bore the injuries from whatever war he was dragged into. Oh, baby, you thought as you saw the cut on his face and the healing bruises on his arms. “It’s going to be okay. We will figure this out.”

“You came back.” Your arms were around him before you knew it. 

“Always.” He said, head buried in your hair as he held you with a strength you had forgotten he possessed. “I promised, remember?”

~~~

taglist: @perspectiveparker @tomsppsleeve @ariistotles

if i’m missing you in my taglist or you would like to be tagged in future fics please send me an ask or dm me! thank you all my loves and have a great night  :)