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wiypt-writes · 4 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

Ch31: We Fight

Summary: As Bucky comes round he reveals some shocking news to Steve, Katie and Sam which leaves the Captain with no alternative but to take the fight to Siberia in an attempt to prevent the mysterious Doctor from unleashing more Winter Soldiers. But that isn’t the only bombshell he drops and Katie is left grappling internally as she comes to terms with the news.

The 4 rogue operatives enlist the help of some familiar faces, but encounter their old friends who are charged with their own mission- to apprehend Steve’s team. The Avengers are pitted into a Civil War, and the gulf between Steve and Tony grows even wider.

Warnings: Bad language, Smut! (NSFW, Under 18s) Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Wonderful edits again from @angrybirdcr

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

Chapter 30

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“It’s strange,” Katie looked over to where Steve was stood next to her, his arms folded. “It’s like he just flipped a switch turning him right back into the Winter Soldier.”

“HYDRA perfected mind control.” Steve sighed as he looked at Bucky who was restrained, his metal arm locked in a vice in the middle of the warehouse.

“Question is, who the hell is he gonna be when he wakes up?” Sam asked, hands in his pockets.

At that point Bucky groaned and all three of them turned their heads to look at him.

“Looks like we’re about to find out” Katie muttered, as the two men instantly closed ranks on either side of her, automatically adopting more defensive stances.

"Steve?” Bucky questioned in a hoarse voice, wincing a little as he tried to straighten up from the stiff sitting position he’d been slumped in. Everything hurt.

“Which Bucky am I talking to?” Steve asked suspiciously and Bucky glanced at him, blinking slowly.

“Your mom’s name is Sarah.” He said slowly. Then he realised that anyone could know that so he searched for a fact he knew would be more personal, and then laughed a little at the memory “You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.” Then Bucky’s eyes turned to Katie and he smiled softly at his friend’s wife. “You had lilies as your wedding flowers. Lilies were Steve’s ma’s favourite. You looked beautiful by the way.” “How do you…” she frowned, before her mouth dropped open and her and Steve exchanged astounded glances.

“You were there?” Steve looked at him.

Bucky smiled again. “Couldn’t miss your punk ass getting married.”

Steve raised a brow, and his face relaxed, “You can’t read about all that in a museum.” He said lightly.

“Just like that, we’re supposed to be cool?” Sam asked, sceptically.

“What did I do?” Bucky interrupted picking up on Sam’s anger easily.

“Enough.” Katie answered flatly.

Bucky sighed, breathing out in horror and disbelief, “Oh, God, I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put inside me is still there. All he had to do is say the god damn words.” He muttered miserably.

“Who was he?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know.” Bucky admitted shrugging as best he could.

“People are dead.” Steve continued in a no nonsense tone. “The bombing. The set up. The doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. You need to do better than ‘I don’t know’.”

Bucky’s frown deepened, clearly trying to remember.

“He wanted to know about Siberia.” He recalled after a short pause. “Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where.”

“Why would he need to know that?” Katie asked, frowning, and Bucky paused.

“Because I’m not the only Winter Soldier.” He answered darkly.

“There’s more of you,” Katie blurted out and Bucky nodded glumly. “How many?”

“Five.” He confessed.

Katie looked at Steve who sighed, before looking at Sam and nodding. Sam moved to undo the clamp from Bucky’s metal arm where the pieces of the vice fell to the floor with a clang. The soldier nodded his thanks, shifting his body to a more comfortable position resting both arms on his knees. Katie stepped forward and handed him a bottle of water, before squeezing his shoulder. He smiled and twisted off the top, taking a large gulp as Steve continued.

“How? How did they make more?”

Bucky looked at Steve sadly before he turned to Katie. “Your dad.” He said gently, before he continued “He managed to back engineer the serum or at least a version of it.”

“So that’s why they were killed.” Katie whispered, looking at Steve. “HYDRA couldn’t steal it from under his nose, it would have been too obvious so they set up the crash and-”

She trailed off as a movement in her peripheral caught her attention. She turned slowly to Bucky who had shifted a little, almost drawing in on himself and she watched him until, after a moment or so, he raised his head to meet her gaze, his eyes full of tears and remorse.

Katie felt herself grow cold as realisation flooded her stomach. “It was you, wasn’t it?” She stated rather than asked, swallowing thickly.

“I’m sorry.” Bucky sniffed gently, eyes cast to the floor.

Steve let out a soft groan as Katie scrunched her eyes shut taking a deep breath, turning away from Bucky. Steve stepped toward her but she shook her head, stopping him as she took a step away, swallowing, trying to remain logical.

It wasn’t Bucky, it was the Winter Soldier. It wasn’t Bucky, it was the Winter Soldier…

“So you got the serum.” Steve spoke softly, his hands dropping to his belt as he turned from Katie to his friend “Then what?”

“Four men and a woman from were taken for transformation. They formed the most elite death squad in the world.” Bucky answered quietly. This was amongst the last things he ever wanted to talk about but he knew he had to. "More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum.”

“They all turned out like you?” Sam asked curiously with a hint of sarcasm.

“Worse.” Bucky answered flatly.

“The doctor.” Steve asked next, as Katie turned around, her teary eyes focussing back on Bucky, her expression unreadable. “He could control them?”

Bucky glanced at Katie, then Steve before lowering his head, saying softly. “Enough.”

“He said he wanted to see an empire fall.” Katie cleared her throat as she repeated what the doctor had said.

“With these guys he can do it.” Bucky warned softly “They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, they can infiltrate,assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night and you’d never see them coming.”

Katie pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up as Sam walked closer to her and Steve, speaking lowly.

“This would’ve been a lot easier a week ago.” He sighed.

“If we call Tony-” Steve began in the same hushed tone.

“He won’t believe us.” Katie cut in. “He’s blinded by all this at the moment, and even if he did-“

"Who knows if the Accords will let him.” Sam finished with a straight look.

“We’re on our own.” Steve pointed out the obvious.

Sam nodded then paused before saying slowly. “Maybe not.” Katie looked at him in a mix of surprise and expectancy, and he shrugged. “I know a guy.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Remember that dude that broke our perimeter a few weeks back?” Sam looked at her.

“Ant Man?” she frowned.

Sam nodded. “Worth a shot.”

“We also all know a girl.” Steve suggested. He didn’t need to explain he was talking about Wanda.

“But how we gonna do this?” Sam frowned “We can’t just fly back and go on a recruitment drive?”

“No, but,” Katie spoke as a sudden thought hit her, smiling at the two men who turned to face her. She looked at Steve and locked eyes with him. “There is someone that can.”

*****

After retrieving their gear from Sharon, with many thanks, they headed to a motel for the night. It was old, non-descript, but decent enough for a night’s rest, and more important was far enough away from the CIA base, and within reasonable distance of the airport which was their rendezvous point for tomorrow. If she was honest, Katie was just pleased to be getting away Bucky. She understood, and could reason with herself that Bucky wasn’t in control when he was the Winter Soldier but knowing that he’d killed her parents was a hard thing to simply push out of her mind. And more so because she should have suspected the moment she’d found out they were killed. Who else would HYDRA have sent to do it?

As soon as her and Steve got to their room, she’d withdrawn and retreated to the bathroom. Steve had respected her request that he leave her alone. She’d gently kissed his cheek, her way of assuring him that he wasn’t the issue and then shut the door behind her. She took her time, gathering her emotions, wiping her eyes before she leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She glanced at the mirror, taking in how tired she looked. Her fingers gently traced the scar to the corner of her mouth, and the other one which trailed her left temple and the tears sprung into her eyes. She knew as well as anyone what being stripped of your dignity, being tortured by HYDRA was like.

Fuck, Bucky deserved her sympathy, not her hate.

But Tony….he didn’t even know her parents had been murdered. If he found out about this, then here was no way on Earth he would be as understanding as she was. No way.

What a mess.

Wiping her face with a towel, she took a deep breath and then headed back into the main room. Steve, who was sat on the bed, looked up at her and flashed her a soft smile.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Not really.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Talk about the fact your best friend killed my parents?”

Steve sighed and looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“No I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you.” She sighed, stepping into the space between his legs where he was perched on the edge of the bed. Steve looked up as his hands slid up the outside of her thighs and gently stopped on her hips. “Not like you did it is it?”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not sorry about it.” He shrugged, squeezing her hips. “Sorry it happened, sorry that you found out like this, sorry about this whole damned situation.”

“Did you suspect?” She asked softly. “That he might have done it?”

Steve took a deep breath. Unlike Katie, he wasn’t surprised that Bucky had been the one to execute her parents. He’d pieced it together a while ago. Bucky was HYDRA’s number One asset, it made sense that they would send him in for such an important assassination. Still, the fact Katie had managed to remain civil and friendly to Bucky was a temperament to how strong she was. Faced with the same knowledge, Steve wasn’t sure he’d have the ability to do the same.

“Yeah, I did.” He answered honestly. “Since the time we learned it was HYDRA who killed your parents.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“Would it have made a difference?” He blinked and she took a deep breath.

“Suppose not.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He hung his head. “I really am. I never thought in a million years we’d be here like this.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a mess isn’t it?”

“One way of putting it.” Steve let out a soft chuckle and gently moved his hands so they were round her back, pulling her closer to him. Her hands strayed to his hair as she ran her fingers through it. He smelt like the water of the river that had dried into his blonde spikes and clothes. Before she could tell him to go shower, they heard a noise from the room next door which Bucky and Sam were sharing. As they listened, it became apparent the two men were in the middle of some kind of heated argument.

“They’ll be best friends by morning.” Steve arched his eyebrow.

“You think?”

“No.” He shook his head and Katie laughed again, her hands continuing to brush through his hair.

“Why did you get all pissy before because I was impressed with how Bucky got that bike?” She asked, her hand stopping, before it moved gently down the back of his neck.

Steve dropped his head forward, where it rest just below the line of her breasts as he let out a noise that was half way between a groan and a laugh. “I did not get pissy.”

“Yes, you did” She pulled gently on his hair, tipping his head back so he was looking up at her. In a flash Steve used his arms that were round her waist, and she let out a small shriek as he quickly whipped her round so she was let on the bed underneath him.

“Alright, so maybe just a little. You forget I know what he’s like. And you’re mine.” Steve looked at her as she reached up to brush his hair back slightly. He was still covered in dirt from the day’s activities and once more she got a whiff of dirty river water.

“You need to take a shower.”

“Oh, that’s me?” Steve teased, giving a sniff, and she scoffed, hitting him on his chest.

“Yes, you stink.”

Steve chuckled and gave her a quick kiss before he moved and stood up, heading into the bathroom. Katie watched him go, his broad shoulders rippling through the back of his shirt, and the more she watched, the more she was reminded of him emerging from a lift shaft, grubbily, and wrestling with a helicopter with his bare arms.

It was totally inappropriate, all things considered. But right there and then, she didn’t give a shit. Whilst she was here, in this room, with him, she could lose herself, pretend that nothing else bar them existed.

Steve had barely reached over to turn on the shower before he heard Katie enter the room behind him. He spun to face her, and no sooner had he done so, her hand was behind his neck and she pulled his face down to her, pressing her lips to his. Steve grinned into the kiss as his wife went to work on removing his dirty clothes, as he did the same for her, kneeling down to pull her jeans and underwear all the way down her legs. His eyes scanned her naked body, taking in the various bruises she’d sustained, a particularly nasty on along her right ribcage. He gently kissed her skin, taking care not to place too much pressure where she was hurt, all the time her hands tangling in his hair before he rose to his feet, gently taking her face in his hands and kissed her as he manoeuvred her into the shower.

Neither of them paid the least bit of attention to actually getting cleaned up, instead they kissed and held each other under the spray of the water, tongues dancing together, hands sliding along slippery skin, squeezing and kneading where they saw fit. Eventually the teasing touches weren’t enough and Katie’s hands dropped down in between them to stroke him. Steve let out a choked hiss at her touch, he was more than ready, solid as a rock. Spinning her round so her back was to the wall, one hand lifted her leg and hooked it over his arm and he pushed inside of her, making her groan loudly.

“Oh God, Sweetheart…” Steve breathed out shakily against her lips, hand grasping on the steamy shower wall as he began pumping in and out. He felt her sliding a little, her foot struggling for grip on the slippy bath tub so he lifted her easily onto his hips so that she could wrap her other leg around him and her arms around his neck. She kissed, bit, sucked at any of the skin on his shoulder she could get to, lips skirting over the various bruises that she knew would be faded in a day or so, while he buried his face in her neck, his mouth gently sucking on that spot that drove her mad, as he continued to rut upwards, slowing his trusts and concentrating on driving deeper, harder. At the change of pace, Katie let out a groan and dropped her head back against the tiles.

"Stevie.” She moaned and he slid a hand around into her hair to keep her eyes locked on his.

He wanted to see her, needed to see her.

“You feel so good.” He muttered, groaning as she pushed downwards with her hips, taking him as deep as he could go. “I love you so fucking much.”

"I love you too.” She whimpered, her green eyes shone as he looked straight into them, the pair of them continuing to pant and moan and Steve shuddered as he felt her tighten around him, a sign she was close.

“You’re mine.” He demanded hoarsely into her ear, his thrusts speeding up again. “Say it, please, say it.”

Katie knew where his dumb little insecurity was coming from, and it wasn’t simply about Bucky’s bike trick. He was worried, worried that this whole situation was going to tear them apart because they both understood that a big enough quake could shake even the strongest foundations. But she wasn’t going to let that happen. They’d made vows, promised to love each other for the rest of their lives, and she wasn’t about to let this come between them. She couldn’t.

“TIl the end of the line.” She managed to stutter, her eyes boring deep into his ocean blues which were blown with desire as his hips began to falter their rhythm. “I’ll always be yours, Stevie.”

“Oh, Doll.” His voice was choked as he whispered into her ear and with that she was gone and Steve began to lose his battle against his self-control, shuddering hard as his abs tightened. Her heat gripped him as she groaned loudly, her orgasm leaving her utterly wrecked. He came with a cry of her name, and his thrusts slowed before he stopped, and buried his face into the crook of her neck, his body supporting her against the wall. After a moment he gently moved his head to offer her a kiss, this one soft, as she smiled at him, that satiated, satisfied smile only he ever got to see.

“We’ll be okay.” She whispered again, feeling the need to reassure him.

He kissed her again before setting her gently on her feet. She leaned into his hold as his arms gently wrapped around her. “I know.” He sighed softly, kissing her head. “I know.”

***** Dressing the next day in the same dirty clothes they had discarded the night before grossed Katie out, but to her surprise, Steve not so much. He informed her that he’d often worn the same clothes for days on end when in operations during the war, and she took the opportunity to tease him a great deal, asking him how on earth they managed as many stealth missions as they did when HYDRA could have smelt them coming a mile off.

It was good natured banter, Steve was happy to entertain it, but the moment they all climbed into the stolen, no, borrowed, car to head to the airport parking garage where it was agreed that they’d meet up with the rest of the team, the mood grew sombre once more as the realisation of what they were about to do descended on them.

Steve parked the car a few spaces down from the non-descript van that their man had described and as they climbed out two familiar faces exited the van.

“Hey Nova.” Clint beamed and Katie threw herself at him, Steve smiling at the reunion between the friends. Clint chuckled, lifting her up slightly into his arms before he set her down and she stepped back to look at him.

“Man it’s good to see you!” She smiled. “It’s been far too long! How are the kids, and Laura?”

“Ah, they’re great!” he beamed “Cooper’s starting sixth grade this time round, Lila is giving me back chat at every opportunity and Nathaniel’s walking now.”

Katie smiled releasing him from her hold and as he walked over to greet Steve. She then turned to Wanda wrapping her up in a warm hug.

“You alright?” She pulled back slightly to look the younger woman in the eye. “We’d never have left you if we’d known it would turn out like this, I’m so sorry.”

Wanda merely shrugged as Katie wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“You know I wouldn’t have called if I had any other choice.” Steve looked at Clint as he shook his hand.

“Hey man, you’re doing me a favour. Besides,” Clint answered lightly shrugging, before he turned serious as he added nodding over his shoulder slightly, “I owe a debt.” Steve nodded gratefully, looking over at Wanda, Katie’s arm still round her, “Thanks for having my back.”

“It was time to get off my ass.” Wanda answered casually, sharing a meaningful look with Clint.

“How about our new recruit?” Katie nodded towards the van.

“He’s rarin’ to go.” Clint answered moving back over to the van to grab the door handle. “I had to put a little coffee in him, but,” he slid open the van’s side door hard, startling the occupant who was led across the middle seat causing him to give a sudden start, blinking. “He should be good.” Clint finished.

The brown-haired man groaned as he rolled out of his seat stepping down from the van while complaining to Clint. “What timezone is this?”

“Come on.” Clint answered, urging the man to get up, “Come on.” He repeated pushing him towards Steve. Scott stumbled a little before his mouth fell open and he blinked at the super-soldier a few times to make sure that what he was seeing was real. Katie grinned as she stood to the side, watching as he continued to stare at Steve in amazement.

Finally Scott closed his gaping mouth, then opened it up only enough to breathe out. “Captain America.”

“Mr. Lang.” Steve professionally offered his hand to the other man, which he took without hesitation.

“It’s an honour.” Scott answered, as he shook Steve’s hand enthusiastically which continued for quite some time. “I’m shaking your hand too long.”

Steve smiled a little in amusement as Scott finally let go of his hand, but continued staring at Steve in awe, “Wow. This is awesome.”

He turned back to Clint, pointing at Steve. “Captain America,” his words trailed off and his jaw dropped yet again when he caught sight of Katie and Wanda. Katie raised her eyebrows slightly as he looked her up and down

“Hey! Mrs America, again!” He grinned lamely and she smiled at him before catching Clint’s eye as he smirked at her, mouthing Mrs America…whilst saluting. She flipped him off as the Archer laughed.

“I know you too,” Scott pointed to Wanda, “You’re great.” He added making her smile.

Lang turned back around to Steve and reached out and grabbed both his shoulders and felt the muscles there

“Jeez.” He muttered before letting go. Even Steve couldn’t stop the small smile forming on his face as he glanced back at Sam and Bucky who were both watching the exchange stony faced. “Look, I wanted to say. I know you know a lot of super people, so, thanks for thinking of me.” Scott looked to Steve’s side and spotted Sam. His face faltered a little, clearly remembering the last time they encountered one another. “Hey, man.” Scott greeted pointing at him.

“What’s up tic-tac?” Sam replied flatly nodding to him in greeting.

“Good to see you, uh…” Scott answered hesitantly then looked a bit sheepish as he went on, looking from me to Sam “Look. You guys…what happened last time was-”

“It was a great audition, but it’ll never happen again.” Sam cut him off with a chuckle and a shrug.

“Did they tell you what we’re up against?” Steve asked Scott steering the conversation back towards the matter at hand.

“Something about some psycho assassins.” Scott answered unsurely having obviously gotten the abridged version from Clint.

“That’s one way of putting it.” Katie mumbled to Wanda getting a smile out of the younger girl before looking at Scott.

“We’re outside the law on this one.” Steve warned. “So, if you come with us, you’re a wanted man.”

“Yeah, well,” Scott muttered with a light shrug, “what else is new?”

“We should get moving.” Bucky suddenly chimed in from his spot where he had remained silent on the other side of the bug keeping himself separated from everyone else.

“I got a chopper lined up.” Clint informed them standing from where he had been seated just inside the van.

Steve nodded, and opened his mouth to say something but suddenly, an alarm began to blare, and an intercom began to speak in rapid German.

"They’re evacuating the airport.” Bucky informed as the rest of them glanced around uneasily.

“Tony.” Katie sighed when Steve caught her eye.

“Tony… Tony Stark?” Scott repeated in shock.

Steve didn’t answer as he looked round issuing a simple instruction. “Suit up.” Once they were all ready, Katie back in her cat-suit as Clint hadn’t been able to override the system to get her Nova suit, she turned to Steve and looked at him.

“There is one plus to Tony being here. He’ll have brought a Quinjet. That can get us to Siberia faster than any chopper.”

"She’s right,” Clint chimed in with a nod as he flexed his bow, “But Stark’s not stupid he knows that’ll be the first place we’ll go.”

“He’ll be waiting for us.” Sam concluded “And we don’t know who he’s brought with him”

“No, but I can make a fairly educated guess.” Clint crossed his arms.

Steve had been listening to their points intently and nodded a plan formulating in his head. “Alright. Listen up, here’s how we play this…” He explained and gave everyone their positions and they all nodded, except Katie, who shook her head when he told her to stick with Bucky and Sam.

“I’m going to talk to Tony.”

Steve frowned and looked at her. “I think he’s past reasoning with, Sweetheart, and besides, I don’t want you ending up in a position where you have to…” Steve trailed off before sighing unable to bring himself to finish the sentence, adding feebly instead. “He’s your brother.”

“Exactly.” Katie said softly, fully understanding what Steve was saying. If this ended in a fight, he didn’t want her feeling like she had to choose between them. Which was why she had to try to talk Tony round, “If I can’t get through to him, no one will. Let me try, please. ”

Steve looked at her. Whilst he knew that there was no point trying to talk to Tony, he knew that from her point of view she had to try. So with that in mind he nodded. “Alright.”

Once everyone was in position, Steve and Katie strode slowly towards the airport landing area, hidden in the shadows for now, until they spotted the helicopter that Clint had mentioned sitting out in the open just waiting for them. They both broke out into a run, leaving the cover of the airport, Steve keeping pace with Katie, but they were stopped short immediately as a small gadget hit the chopper’s wings, sending up an electric current short-circuiting the entire helicopter.

Just as they had predicted.

They both stopped as Tony flew down towards them, Rhodey by his side before they landed between them and the now useless helicopter.

"Wow.” Tony said sarcastically. “It’s so weird how you run into people at the airport.” His helmet slid back, revealing a black eye which he’d probably received from Bucky at the CIA base, turning to his best friend as he asked lightly. “Isn’t it weird?”

“Definitely weird.” Rhodey replied.

“Hear us out, Tony.” Katie stepped forward.“That doctor, the psychiatrist, he’s behind all of this.”

Steve tensed slightly as someone else landed gently to his side. He turned to see a very familiar black covered figure.

“Captain.” King T'Challa greeted politely. “Mrs Rogers”

“Your highness.” Steve returned in kind nodding. Katie did the same.

“Anyway.” Tony cut in, and Steve turned his attention back to him. “Ross gave me thirty six hours to bring you in. That was twenty four hours ago. Can you help your brother out?”

“Fuck Ross!” Katie shook her head, “Tony, you’re after the wrong guy.”

Tony’s expression hardened. “Your judgment is askew.” He accused quietly looking at her, he then turned to Steve. “Your war buddy killed innocent people yesterday-”

“And there are five more super soldiers just like him.” Steve tried to get Tony to understand.

“That’s a far bigger threat that we’re trying to stop.” Katie pressed

“We can’t let the doctor find them first, Tony.” Steve finished with a sigh “We can’t.”

“Steve, Nova…”

Steve and Katie both stiffened as they heard a familiar woman’s voice. Steve knew he should have expected that Natasha would be here as well, but still, hearing her made his gut twist a little. They both turned to face her, Katie’s eyes narrowing slightly.

“You know, what’s about to happen.” Nat warned with her eyes trained steadily on Steve, then she levelled a look at Katie. “Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?”

Katie turned back to Tony, shaking her head. “You’re not going to listen to us at all, are you?”

“I’ll do you a deal, come in and then I’ll listen” He offered

“It will be too late by then!” Katie’s voice growing urgent “This isn’t about the damned accords or Ross or anything else now. If he gets to those other soldiers first then…”

“Look, I’m tired of listening to your supposition.” Tony’s eyes were cold “So stand down and get out of the way.”

Katie felt her jaw drop slightly before she composed herself, and stared back at him. He was past all reasoning with, Steve had been right.

“No.” She shook her head slightly.

“I mean it Katie, get out of-”

“You forget, I’m a Stark as well.” She interrupted with a hiss. “And I can be equally as obnoxious, pig headed and stubborn as you so no. I won’t move.”

“All right, I’ve run out of patience.” Tony snapped. “Underoos!”

Steve frowned at the seemingly random call, before blinking in shock as something whipped through the air and caught his shield, pulling it out of his grip. At the same time as the shield was pulled up, something came down to bind his wrists together, and then Katie’s. They both glanced down in surprise at the sticky, web-like material before they looked at each other and then both lifted their heads back up to see the figure that had stolen Steve’s shield landing crouched on a nearby truck. He was dressed in a red and blue suit, and Katie recognised him as the enhanced being that had been taking the world by storm recently on the internet.

“Nice job, kid.” Tony called approvingly as Steve and Katie continued to somewhat gawk as the kid and Tony exchanged banter before he looked at Steve and gave him a shy salute

“Cap. Captain.” Steve nodded at him, the amusement of the situation rising on his face despite the circumstances. “Big fan, I’m Spider-Man.”

“Yeah,” Tony interrupted again, looking frustrated, “we’ll talk about it later. Just…good job.” He finished with a sigh.

“You’ve been busy.” Steve commented not bothering to hide his amusement.

“And you’ve been a complete idiot.” Tony snapped the anger in his voice evident “Dragging in Clint. “

“We didn’t drag in anyone-“ Katie started

'Rescuing Wanda’ from a place she doesn’t even want to leave. A safe place. I’m trying to keep-” “Did you even ask her if she wanted to be there before you locked her up?” Katie cut him off.

Tony glared at his sister, taking a deep breath to calm down. “I’m trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.”

All traces of humour from the situation evaporated as Steve answered steadily, unable to bite back the dig that had been bubbling away at him for ages. “You did that when you signed.”

Tony’s eyes turned cold, "Alright, we’re done.” He said quietly before raising his voice sharply once again. "You’re gonna turn Barnes over and you’re gonna come with us. Now! Because it’s us!“ He tossed his hands wildly indicating to his team. "Or a squad of J-SOC, guys with no compunction about being impolite.”

Katie said nothing, instead she moved so that she was stood slightly in front of Steve and levelled her brother with a look. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“Well then, I guess you’ve made your choice.” Tony shot back, somewhat childishly.

“For fucks sake Tony!” She exclaimed as she looked skywards with a groan. “This isn’t about choices, it’s about stopping a bunch of soldiers far more dangerous than anyone can comprehend…”

“We found it.” Sam’s voice rang in their ears as Katie continued to hold eye contact with Tony, watching him intently as she waited for the right moment. “The quinjet’s in hanger five, north runway.”

Quickly Katie and Steve both held their bound hands high above their heads, catching Tony by surprise, as an arrow came flying from out of nowhere and cut through Steve’s bonds, then Katie’s, in single swoop without a problem.

And then it was game on. Lang managed to get Steve his shield back and the two groups began to tussle slightly- one team’s intention focussed solely on getting to the jet and the other’s focussed solely on stopping them.

And they were so close to getting there too. There had been no casualties, neither side fighting to hurt the other, but as Katie and Steve regrouped with Wanda, Scott, Clint, Sam and Bucky, and sprinted across the tarmac, they were all forced to come to a quick stop as a laser fired on the floor right before them.

“Captain Rogers.” Vision called as he began to float down in front of them. “I know you believe what you’re doing is right.”

Steve tensed as his group stood in a loose line on either side of him, staring at Vision. The android was joined by Tony and Natasha, and then Rhodey and T'Challa, and finally Spider-Man as they all stood still on the other side of the jagged line Vision’s beam had created.

“But, for the collective good,” Vision finished as he landed, “you must surrender now.”

“What do we do Cap?” Sam was the one to ask breaking the silence, only it wasn’t Steve that answered, it was Katie.

“We fight.” She answered simply, swallowing, her eyes fixed on her brother.

Steve glanced down at her, he really didn’t want to do this, but he knew there was no choice. They had to get to those soldiers. His hand briefly entwined round hers and she looked at him, giving him a short nod, before he let go and the pair of them started to walk forward, the rest of their team following as they picked up the pace and broke into a run.

Tony and Steve were the first to collide, Tony brining down his metal encased fist onto Steve’s shield which he brought up just in time to deflect the hit. Natasha and Ant-Man went at it for the second time, whilst King T'Challa had eyes for no one else but Bucky pouncing on him immediately and tackling him down to the ground.

Katie felt something hit her back and turned, just in time for her to be launched off the floor and sent flying across the tarmac as Spiderman had caught her in his webbing, dragging her out of the fray.

“Man.” She mumbled, getting up “I hate spiders”

“Heads up!” Clint shouted and Katie ducked as he fired an arrow up at Spiderman, who dodged it easily once more. “This kid is startin’ to piss me off.” Clint muttered, aiming another arrow. This one cut right through the webbing Spider Man had been using to propel himself around and he fell to the floor, a loud crash as he collided with one of the upturned cars.

Clint jogged off towards where he had fallen, and behind Katie something exploded sending her flying into the air, fast and then she began to fall, hard. She braced herself for the impact, as the ground rose to meet her, this was going to hurt. Suddenly a metal arm curved round her waist and Bucky turned them both in mid-air, before crashing into a pile of crates. He took the brunt of the impact, Katie landing on him, back to his chest. She moved to stand up and spotted that T’Challa was leaping through the air but Sam swooped in using both feet to kick him back before flying back up into the sky.

“You alright?” Bucky asked as he got up.

“Yeah, I had a soft landing.” She smiled. “Thanks Buck.”

He gave her a quick nod before he dodged off to his left again, and it was then that Katie saw in the space he had left to her left a flash of red-hair making a sprint to the hangar.

“Damned it Nat.” Katie mumbled as she set off at after her.

Steve found a slight reprieve in the fight and ended up pressed against the side of a set of the airport steps, looking at Bucky who was a few feet away from him.

“We got to go.” Bucky spoke earnestly “That guy’s probably in Siberia by now.”

“We’ve gotta draw out the fliers.” Steve replied, looking up before he glanced back at Bucky “I’ll take Vision, you get to the jet.”

“No, you get to the jet, I’ll take Vision.” Sam countered over the coms “The rest aren’t getting out of here.”

"As much as I hate to admit it,” Clint chimed in, “if we’re gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.”

“Clint’s right, this isn’t the real fight, Steve.” Katie shot urgently, sounding a little out of breath. Instinctively, Steve glanced around for his wife, but couldn’t see her. With a bit of luck she’d found somewhere to hide. He hated this, hated that she was fighting her brother. Hell, he hated that he was fighting her brother, or any of the other Avengers for that matter. But they HAD to get to Siberia. Nothing else mattered but stopping those soldiers being unleashed.

“Alright, Sam, what’s the plan?” Steve asking, looking up.

“We need a diversion. Something big.“

"I got something kind of big,” Scott joined in suddenly. “But I can’t hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don’t come back for me.”

“He’s tearing himself in half?” Bucky frowned as he looked at Steve who shrugged.

“You’re sure about this, Scott?” Steve asked.

“I do it all the time. I mean once, in a lab. And I passed out.” Scott confirmed doing absolutely nothing to ease the Captain’s worries.

And then suddenly Steve felt something huge behind him and he spun round, stopping momentarily, his mouth dropping open. Scott had appeared out of nowhere, only now he was at least a hundred feet tall and he grabbed Rhodes in mid-air as the War Machine flew by after Sam.

“I guess that’s the signal.” Steve looked at Bucky.

“Way to go, tic-tac!” Sam chuckled while Scott laughed.

Across the field, Katie reached the hangar and stepped inside, looking around. It was silent.

“I know you’re here Nat. I saw you come in.” With that Nat stepped out from the shadows at the side of the jet and Katie sighed. “Just listen to me. Please.”

“I never thought Steve would let you all fight us like this.” The red head looked at her. “Not for him.”

“It’s not like that. Tony is wrong.”

“I’ve seen first-hand what the Winter Soldier can do.” And with that Nat aimed a blow at Katie. She dodged it and grabbed Natasha’s arm, using it to flip her over her head. Nat landed on her feet behind Katie, who spun round in time to see her discharge a stinger at her which she narrowly managed to avoid.

The two friends then began to fight. They grappled, dodged, punched, kicked and then by some fluke of fortune, Katie managed to get behind Natasha, wrapping her in a headlock, forearm over her throat.

“I taught you well, too well it seems.” Natasha chuckled and Katie tightened her hold a little.

“Just listen!” She pleaded “The Winter Soldier is every bit as dangerous as you say…”

“Then why are you defending him!?” Natasha yelled, twisting from underneath Katie and pinning her arm up behind her back before kicking her hard, sending her flying forward and to the floor.

“I’m not, I’m defending Bucky, but that isn’t what this is about!” Katie shook her head, as she lay on the floor. “It’s about stopping them!”

“Stopping who- what do you mean them?” Natasha asked, momentarily faltering.

“There are more.” Katie looked at her, earnestly “More Winter Soldiers. At least five.”

“I don’t believe you.” Nat shook her head, eyes wide.

“Oh come on Nat, look at what it’s caused, why would I lie?” Katie groaned. “Bucky was framed by the Doctor that the UN let in to question him. He needed Bucky to tell him where he could find the others. And now he knows where they are, he has the power to control them. We have to stop him.”

Suddenly there was a loud crash, something had hit the metal tower outside the hangar. Nat turned towards it which was all the distraction Katie needed. She jumped up, and aimed a kick at Natasha’s right knee causing her to stumble forward. At that point Steve and Bucky burst into the hangar, and could do nothing but watch as Natasha spun round, right leg raised but Katie was ready. She grabbed Nat’s foot stopping her, so Natasha then pushed off with her left, swinging it at Katie’s head. But Katie had seen that move thousands of times and was ready. She ducked down and used the foot she had hold of to flip Nat back over. As Nat landed on her feet, Katie leapt into the air and used every inch of momentum she could muster to aim a hard double kick into Nat’s chest which sent her crashing into side of the jet. Katie landed on her back, slightly winded.

“Impressive.” Bucky had a smirk on his face as they crossed towards the women and Steve glared at him, causing Bucky to frown. “What?” “Nothing.” Steve replied, gruffly, not wanting to voice the fact that his mind had, once again, taken him back to being a jealous little punk at the most inopportune moments it could ever have chosen. He strode forward, offering his wife a hand as he pulled her up.

“You ok?” He asked, his hand falling to the side of her neck tenderly. Katie nodded, before she spotted Natasha in the corner of her eye scrambling to her feet, arm raised, stinger aimed.

“Damned it Nat!” Katie yelled, looking at her, pleading with her eyes. “Just trust us on this one, please!”

“You’re not gonna stop are you?”

“You know I can’t Nat.” Steve shook his head..

“I’m gonna regret this.”

She fired a stinger, but not at any of them. Instead it sailed over Katie’s shoulder causing them to spin round and see T’Challa stumbling over.

“Go.” Nat instructed, not looking at them.

Steve glanced around at Bucky, then to Katie and opened his mouth to tell Katie to stay where she was but she cut him off before he could even start. With a shake of her head she looked at him. “I’m not staying here.”

“She’s right.” Nat shot another stinger. “If she does she’s going to jail, you need to go now.”

Steve didn’t argue again, they were going to need all the help they could get, but he wasn’t completely happy about Katie facing off against another five Super Soldiers without her suit. But he’d worry about that when they got there, hopefully he could convince her to stay on the jet.

Without so much as a glance back, they ran up the ramp onto the jet and soon they were airborne and after a tense chase involving Rhodey, Vision and Sam, they were clear, and cruising their way to Siberia.

******

Tony had made a mistake. He knew that as soon as FRIDAY had patched through the update from the Berlin police. Barnes had been telling the truth. Which meant that his sister and brother-in-law were now about to face off with five super assassins. And the thought terrified him, not so much for the two super soldier, but for Kiddo, especially she had no suit.

He had to try and make this right.

Once the helicopter was landed, he climbed out, the rough sea wind whipping his suit jacket up slightly as Ross walked out to meet him.

“So?” Tony looked at him, shifting to try and make himself a little more comfortable, the sling on his arm was already pissing him off. “Did you get the files? Let’s re-route the satellites, and start face scanning for this Zemo guy.”

“You seriously think I’m gonna listen to you after that fiasco in Leipzig?” Ross shook his head as he looked at Tony. “You’re luck you’re not in one of these cells.” He added, making Tony raise his eyebrow. He stayed quiet and followed Ross into the depth of the prison. Ross stopped outside a door which was flanked by two guards, before he turned to face him. “Now, let me make one thing clear, Stark. You’re only here because I need you to find out where Rogers has gone. And I don’t give a shit that your sister is with him.” Tony took a deep breath and held Ross’ gaze as the man continued. “But I know that you will, so it’s in your interest to find out and tell us.”

“And then what?”

“Well I got a cell waiting for them too.” Ross shrugged. “Although we might be able to come to some arrangement if they sign the Accords.”

Tony bit back the snort that was threatening to erupt from his throat, as he knew there was more chance of hell freezing over. But, instead, he took a deep breath and nodded.

“I want to know where they are too. I couldn’t give a shit about Rogers or Barnes, but Kiddo….” He trailed off and shrugged.

Ross eyed him suspiciously, before he nodded to the guards who moved to key in the code at the side of the room. “Oh, and just so you don’t get any funny ideas, I’ll be watching and listening.”

Tony saluted him, causing Ross to give a roll of his eyes before he turned and left. Tony watched him go before he nodded to the guard and entered the room, letting out sigh as he looked at each of the cells that lined the round walls. As he glanced up at the cameras, taking in their location, a slow clapping echoed across the room.

“The futurist ladies and gentlemen.” Clint called loudly and Tony turned towards the archer. Clint didn’t even look at him as he continued sarcastically, “The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what’s best for you, whether you like it or not.”

“Give me a break, Barton.” Tony stood in front of Clint’s cell, staring at him “I had no idea they’d put you in here.”

Clint’s spat on the floor "Yeah, well, you knew they’d put us somewhere, Tony.”

“Yeah, but, not some super max floating ocean pokey.” Tony shook his head. “You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for…” He trailed off.

“Criminals?” Clint bit out as he stood and faced Tony. “Criminals, Tony. I think that’s the word you’re looking for. Right? It ain’t used to mean me, or Sam, or Wanda. Yet here we are.”

“'Cause you broke the law.”

Clint snorted turning away from the bars, “Yeah.”

“I didn’t make you.” Tony pressed, even as Clint turned to walk around his small cell while muttering “Blah, blah, blah.”

“You read it,” Tony went on speaking. “You broke it.”

“Blah blah blah.” Clint continued to mutter as he turned his back on Tony

“Alright, you’re a grown up.” Tony bit back. “You’ve got a wife and kids. I don’t understand. Why didn’t you think about them before you chose the wrong side?”

Clint’s shoulders tensed in anger and he stood up but Tony had already left continuing down the cells, “You better watch your back with this guy.” He slammed his hands on the plexiglass covering the front of his cell as he shouted angrily “There’s a chance is he’s going to break it.”

Tony’s jaw ticked as he shot a glare back but he carried on walking past Scott Lang’s cell.

“Hank Pym always said you never can trust a Stark.”

“Who are you?” Tony shrugged as he continued.

“Come on, man.” Scott sighed

“How’s Rhodes?” Sam asked when Tony stopped in front of his cell, not turning around from where he was facing towards the back.

“We’re flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow.” Tony replied. “So, fingers crossed. What do you need? They feed you yet?”

Sam turned to him revealing his black eye. “You’re the good cop now?” He asked, smirking sarcastically

“I’m just a guy who needs to know where Steve went.”

“Yeah well you’re gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

“I figured as much.” Tony mumbled as he lifted his wrist in front of his sling and pressed a button on his watch. Sam arched an eyebrow questioningly.

“Oh, I just knocked the 'A’ out of their 'AV’.” He looked at Sam. “We got about thirty seconds before they realise it’s not their equipment.”

Sam glanced up at the camera before Tony spoke again, pressing another button on his watch flashing him her an image of the dead psychiatrist lying in a bathtub,

“Just look…because that is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate Barnes. Clearly I made a mistake. I was wrong.”

“That’s a first.” Sam muttered

“Look, Cap is definitely off the reservation and he’s about to face off against fuck knows what with my sister by his side. They’re gonna need all the help they can get.” Tony sighed “I messed up alright, I can fix this if you just-”

“Okay.” Sam sighed, “I’ll tell you, but you have to go alone, and as a friend.”

"Easy.” Tony shrugged and Sam quickly gave him the location.

With a nod, Tony headed to the room of the door, banged on it, and it swung open and he strode purposefully back towards his chopper.

“Stark, did they give you anything on Rogers?” Ross followed him.

“Nope, told me to go to hell.” Tony climbed casually into his helicopter as he added, “I’m going back to the compound instead. But, you can call me anytime. I’ll put you on hold, I like to watch the light blink.”

As soon as the prison was out of sight, Tony removed the brace off his arm and loosened his tie and then, with a short moment to contemplate what was about to happen, he took a deep breath and pressed a button on the helicopter controls, laying back as the seat collapsed beneath him while the Iron Man suit unfolded itself and attached onto him.

Chapter 32 Part 1

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #steve rogers x ofc #Katie Stark #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fic #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers smut #the avengers #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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imaginesbymk · 3 years

Text

PINK + WHITE.

— chapter ten ; stained glass window.

summary: teresa’s permanent resignation from the peaky blinders leads her to a whole new chapter of working in an art museum. but little did she know her best life would be butchered some time later when her former lover tommy shelby gives her no choice but to return to the peaky blinders after they make new enemies, with the leader, of all people, being the man teresa fell in love with one night after a wedding reception back in post world war; luca changretta.

pairing: luca changretta x OC x tommy shelby

tags in this chapter: swearing + smoking

[ chapter index ]

A/N: I am sooooo sorry for the long hiatus! </3

This story is getting more views on Wattpad than here on Tumblr. I still love the show and Luca's my favourite villain, but as much as I want to discontinue this story, I want to get it out of the way because I have drafted a timeline of this story, including Teresa's and Luca's closure on their relationship. So I'm stuck in the middle on what to do???

BTW, I've come up with a headcanon for Luca's full name as Luca LaPaglia Changretta! His middle name is never revealed in the show, I just did this for the fic.

RIP Helen McCrory. You were one of my favourite stars of the show. Fly high <3. The Peaky fandom will miss you so much.

///

TERESA wasn't as religious as the next person, but she kept her respect as her heels echoed down the aisle, immediately spotting the tall man kneeling on one of the pues. His hands were folded in prayer, and he murmured what the Welsh could make out to be Italian tongue.

"Do you want to be alone?" she asks.

Luca pauses, his eyes still shut and hands still in folds. "No. I want you here."

Teresa slides over and sits next to her lover, staring at the giant crucifix behind the front podium. "How often do you pray, amore?"

Luca pauses his prayer again. "Almost every day. God and I keep in touch, y'know."

"What does he say to you?"

"He tells me to tell you to quit interrupting until I'm done talking to Him." Teresa chuckles, prompting her to let him finish. As it took another good minute for Luca to conclude his prayer, Teresa gazed at the stained glass windows on each side, casting a good light from the clouds that allowed a bit of sun for England, some of it casted its light onto Luca, like an angel on an opera stage.

Luca makes a sign of the cross, sitting back on the pue and grunting a bit from kneeling for a while. "How was lunch with Mamma?"

Teresa nodded. "It was lovely."

"Just lovely?"

"Mhm." She holds his hand. "She says your middle name is LaPaglia."

Luca hums, kissing her hand that curled with his. "C'mon, I wanna take you out with me for wine."

"Hmm... Luca LaPaglia Changretta," She said out loud, admiring the beauty of his full name slipping from her lips. "And I had wine with your mother."

"I meant wine shopping. I'm doing most of the taste tests, it's my cousin's birthday soon."

"Then shouldn't he be the one shopping for wine?" she asks.

The Italian pulls the heavy door, escorting Teresa out of the church and into the chauffeur. "He counts on me, I'm better at choosing wine and gin these days."

"ARTHUR, quit pacing. You'll burn your legs out."

"Where the fuck is she?" Arthur grunts. "Eh? Tom, you're really in it for this one. The fuckin' Welsh is not gonna live up to a fuckin' promise."

"You stop that, she's on her way," Tommy takes a sip of his drink.

A split-second passes as the maid knocks on the heavy office door. "Mr. Shelby?" the feminine voice calls softly. "Miss Griffith is here to see you."

Tommy gives a smug look to Arthur and Polly. "Yes. Send her in," he says. They waited for the woman to walk in, kind of wishing for Tommy to immediately scold her once she stepped foot into his office, but Tommy wasn't up to waste that much energy.

Arthur was the one to step in and do so, otherwise. "What? Did you stroll around Manchester or something?"

"Sorry," Teresa frowns, her face reading she wasn't holding any joy from her day so far. "I was with Luca."

"We're all ears," Polly walked around Tommy's desk. "What's happened? Did he fuck you until you forgot how to tell time?"

"I'm assuming Finn told you?" she asks.

"That's Finn for you, Teresa," Arthur points out.

Teresa rolls her eyes. No point of getting back at him this time. Rat or not, he would never hold back a word from the family. She remembered seeing him appear at the gallery, and he wasn't going to keep a secret from Tommy.

"I invited him for a meeting at a bar...then he took me to the theatre..." Teresa trails off.

Tommy opens his cigarette pack. "Go on."

"That's all, Mr. Shelby."

"You slept with Luca Changretta, just say it."

Teresa folded her arms. "Actually, yes. But earlier events prove what I'm about to propose; I'm in."

The members of the Peaky Blinders all raised a brow, mostly Tommy's.

"You slept with Luca Changretta, I didn't expect you to actually follow up with that, I don't recall telling you to do so, either."

"I wanted to discuss his plans on taking the Penarth gallery. It's not for his dirty hands to touch."

"You wish to join because your heart was too broken to hold back?" Polly says. "Is that where we're getting at, Teresa?" The Welsh woman stared at her. This was probably the first time they had seen each other after all those years that followed from her resignation. Since the last time they spoke, Polly didn't have anything held against her, and here she is, quite disappointed that Teresa shared her heart with a man like Luca. She did quite enjoy her company and her contribution to the Peaky Blinders, even when she chose to depart from Tommy and their relationship, then came Grace Burgess. Polly just didn't want to deal with another afterwards unless it was Lizzie.

"You're doing this just to get even? Luca could care less about your feelings now."

"Teresa," Tommy sighs, nodding at his old friend. "Come back here tomorrow."

Teresa nodded and made her exit out the foot of her door.

"And come on time, please." Teresa wished she could slam the door on him, but Arthur shut it as soon as Teresa's foot took a centimeter away. She presses her ear against the wood to hear them muffling.

"Tom?" She hears Arthur speak. "We can't trust her."

Tommy clears his throat, setting down a scrap of an article he read on his desk. "She'll go back to Penarth, but we can't let her stay there. I know what's going to happen."

"What do you know?"

"Italian men will show up to the gallery."

"It's certain Teresa Griffith keeps a firearm in her drawers," Polly says.

"No," Tommy shook his head. "Not enough to take down at least five men. Luca keeps count of who he orders - who he sends. We're more careful of that, we know of that."

"We're not morons, Tommy. Now we hear from Finn that Luca and Teresa were together?"

"Teresa should give us what we need to know from Luca Changretta. She knows too much about him."

"And Luca knows too much about us," Polly slowly walks over to Tommy. "If Teresa forms an alliance, what will she do? She's already slept with him, but I doubt she got anything out of it. She's not here for the sake of helping. She wants in because she's a woman with a broken heart."

Teresa detaches herself from the door, having heard enough. One of the maids returns, noticing the guest hadn't left yet and was suspiciously eavesdropping their boss. Teresa was pulled back by the shoulder like a child, escorting her out of the foyer.

SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER, Teresa woke from the blinding sun. The silky bed sheets that covered hers and Luca's nude bodies were unmade - ruffled around. If you left the curtains open, you're more alerted. Luca never intended on waking Teresa up that way. In fact, he wasn't even lying next to her in the bed.

Luca's white dress shirt casted more brightness but his trousers were half done. He stared outside, holding his China cup of tea in one hand before looking back down at the papers sprawled across his desk.

Teresa sat up to clip on her brassiere, her accent thinned to greet in basic Italian. "Buongiorno."

He didn't respond.

She slides out of bed and approaches the desk. "Do you need me to leave soon? Though, you don't look like you're in a rush for an important meeting."

Still nothing.

"What, Luca?" This wasn't new for Luca to strangely switch up his mood. He wasn't an easy man, it's hard to impress him or to even study his emotions at times. Teresa had the feeling that Luca didn't enjoy what they had done. "Was this a mistake?"

"This was unprofessional." Luca sets his cup and coaster on his desk. "If you think something will come from this, then think again. I never should have taken you to the theatre. You were trying to let my guard down, were you?"

"No," Teresa shook her head. "I wasn't surprised that this was going to happen."

"Such a mind you carry in that blonde head of yours."

"Seeing you again felt good, Luca. I seized the opportunity to share another moment with you. I was thinking you were going to plan on coming back to Penarth indefinitely."

"Miss Griffith, did it ever occur to you that I wasn't supposed to stay here?" Luca frowns. "I'm no citizen here. America is where my heart belongs, if not America; Sicily."

"You fled to America. That was your last ditch effort to get away from the police," Teresa murmured. She folds her arms. "I understand why you had to do it."

"Then why do you hold it against me?" he asks, exhausted.

"Because I never heard from you ever since."

"I was fairly active in New York, you know?"

"I didn't know."

Luca stared at her. "That's your own problem, Miss Griffith."

"Christ, Luca. Enough with the formalities!" Teresa snaps. "I'm standing at your desk, half nude. We fucked in that bed right there!"

"Which was something we shouldn't have done," Luca began rubbing his temples. "I didn't come back here for you, all right? Porca miseria-" he cuts himself off to heave in a deep sigh. "I have to ask. All this time... you're still hung up on me?"

"Yes," Teresa says, her face paling. "Because I missed you, you bloody bastard. I couldn't reach out to you or your mother, not even the American press, to see how you were doing, or if you were kissing another woman's lips."

Luca slid his hand over to pick up the dress and shawl he placed on the side of the desk. "You need to leave now."

There was no point of convincing him anymore. All was said. Teresa knew not to vex a mafioso unarmed. If she had her handgun with her, she would have tried to pull something in a spite of anger. Would that do her a favour? Probably not. The rest of whoever's left of the Changretta family would go after her without question.

There was Tommy, though, and he's still waiting for her response back in Small Heath.

Grabbing her clothes, Teresa marches back to the bed, gets dressed and leaves the hotel room without saying a word to her former lover. Not even a curse.

#pink+white #luca changretta x oc #luca changretta fanfic #luca changretta #luca changretta fanfiction #tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby fanfic #tommy shelby #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders x oc #peaky blinders

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rainy-day-gracie · 4 years

Text

Falling

hey hey hey !!

this was a Spencer Reid request for Reader to have some kind of past trauma so she pushes Spencer away despite having feelings for him. On a bombing case, she opens up to him.

9/11 disussion, if you are ever in New York city I highly recommend visiting the 9/11 museum. Has lots of artifacts and letters sent from the terrorists, very moving. I visited last summer and was almost in tears.

Fluff and angst, the usual

MASTERLIST

“Can you catch it?” I laughed as I threw kernels of popcorn at Reid, him failing at catching them in his mouth.

“That was definitely your fault, it wasn’t even close,” Reid complained jokingly. I just shrugged, popping a kernel into my mouth and ignoring the way my heart beat when he smiled.

Nope, my heart is not open for business, I told myself.

As we were lost in our chuckles, the team and I almost didn’t notice Hotch run from his office to Rossi’s and then down the stairs.

“Wheels up in 10. We’ll brief on the jet.”

I looked to Reid with furrowed eyebrows. “That’s not good.”

His eyes followed Hotch, who was already headed to the elevators. “No, it is not.”

“A bomb just went off in the Forest Brush Elementary school in South Carolina an hour ago. Right now, body count is 24, the number of injuries rising.” Hotch gave us the news with heavy eyes, and the plane was silent.

“Location is definitely intentional, the unsub probably had a rocky childhood,” I said, not totally sure of what I was saying. Reid noticed my unfocused eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

Glass windows and foundation shattering.

“Where was the bomb planted in the school?” Morgan asked Hotch.

“The unsub didn’t plant it. He kept the bomb in his car and drove it into the school cafeteria before detonating it with a remote. They still haven’t identified the bomber yet.” Hotch said without looking up from his flies. I fought to listen to what they were saying, instead of getting lost in the memories.

Screams of terror and overwhelming smell of smoke.

“YLN?” A hand nudged my arm gently, and I flinched at the movement. My eyes met Reid’s, and he gave me a questioning look.

“I’m fine… I just wanna find out who did this.” Reid didn’t buy it, but he didn’t press.

“Alright, everyone needs to dive into their assignments as soon as we touch ground. Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, Rossi go to the elementary school and help with search and rescue. If there’s any witnesses at all, get them medical help and then do an interview. Reid, YLN and I will go to the police station to meet with families, examine blueprints of the school, and contact the press.” Hotch looked to me, and I shot him a grateful look. The press I can handle. __

After an hour at the police station, I was already exhausted. “The press want a statement from the principal, apparently he ran into the school continuously to save as many kids as he could.”

Reid raised his eyebrows. “Wow, that is really brave. Has the team interviewed him yet?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s still being checked out by medics. I just don’t understand how the press can’t just let the witnesses alone, let them deal with their trauma without a camera shoved in their face.” My words came out bitterly, and Reid noticed.

“Hey, what’s going on with you? Is everything okay?” For some reason his words only made me angry.

“No, everything is not okay. 24 kids and teachers are dead.” I glared up at him before storming away.

He caught my arm before I could get far. “YFN... did something happen to you?”

My anger melted away as quickly as it had come, and I pulled on his tie. “Come on,” I said simply, leading us into an empty room. My breath started to come more quickly, and I shut the door fast behind us.

Reid looked at me with kind eyes, and my heart did jumping jacks. “What happened to you? You’ve been different on this case, I’ve never seen you like this.”

I closed my eyes, leaning back against the closed door. “United Airlines, Flight 175.”

His expression changed immediately. “You... were in New York?”

“On September 11th, 2001, I was a 20 year old intern, working in the North Tower of the Global Trade center. I lost a part of myself that day, and that was the day that made me want to join the FBI. To fight people that prey on the innocent.” I gulped, tears biting the edges of my eyes and memories flooding my vision. “When the tower collapsed, I could feel the rubble pressing down on my chest. I should’ve died, but I was coming back from getting coffee so I wasn’t high up when the plane hit.”

Reid tried to pull me into a hug, but I pushed him away. His eyes turned from sympathetic to sad. “I’m sorry, I just-”

“No, it’s not you, I promise. I just don’t...” If I hugged him, my heart wouldn’t be able to keep from falling. Like the towers on that fateful day. “I was engaged to my high school sweetheart... he was going to surprise me with breakfast since I was in a rush that morning, and he was waiting for me when...”

Tears streamed down my face, and when Reid pulled me into a hug, I didn’t resist him this time. “Is that why you push me away?” He whispered into my hair.

“Yes.”

Both of our phones buzzed, snapping us out of our daze.

Hotch had sent a text to the team group chat. Need press conference, as many cameras as possible.

I looked at Reid, having a newfound gratitude for him. “Thanks... for being worried about me.”

He gave a small smile. “I’ll always worry about you. That’s just the way it is.” __

“Earlier today, 29 year old Charlie Calloway drove a black Jeep Cherokee into Forest Brush Elementary, killing 24 people and injuring many more.” I kept my chin high, looking into each and every camera surrounding me. “The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit is currently working the case around the clock, not resting until we have completed our investigation. With the help of the Charleston Field Office, we have set up a tip line for anyone with information regarding the explosion.” Keep talking, give enough time for the tip line to buzz. “We are here to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”

I rambled for another 10 minutes before Reid from across the room gave me a thumbs up. “Thank you for your time. No questions will be answered for now.”

The team was circling a phone held by Rossi when I reentered the police station. “The unsub called. He had a partner.” Reid murmured in my ear. “The press conference drew him out.”

Rossi glanced briefly at me before turning his attention back to the phone. “What is your goal?” Rossi asked, and there was a brief pause before he spoke again. “Revenge is the oldest motive in the book-” Rossi was cut off, and his gaze landed on me again. “He wants to talk to YFN.”

My heart seemed to beat slowly, too slow. “Um, uh, yeah. Yeah, I’ll talk to him.”

Rossi handed me the phone, quickly talking me through what to do. “Don’t call him a coward, it would set him off on a rampage. Play into his fantasy, act afraid.”

“I am afraid.”

“So show him that. He sees women as lesser, that’s why he got so enraged when he saw you on TV. If we can get him to underestimate you, he’ll slip up and give something away.” Rossi gave me the phone, and Spencer’s warm fingers slipped into my free hand.

“Who am I speaking to?” I asked, trying not to hyperventilate.

Police sirens and my eyes stinging with dust.

“What gave you the right to lie to those reporters?”

“What do you mean?” My voice shook slightly, and I didn’t try to hide it.

“‘We are here to ensure that nothing like this happens again,’“ he said in a mocking tone. His voice was slightly out of breath, like he was moving, and the sound of cars said he was on a city street.

“Just doing my job, sir,” I said, squeezing Reid’s hand.

“Oh yeah? Well so am I.” His voice was on the phone, but it was also close. I looked across the field office at a young man giving me a sick smile. He had on a thick trench coat, and in an instant, he unclenched a fist I didn’t even see.

The blast seemed to happen in slow motion. The entire team got blown across the office, along with every single law enforcement officer on the first floor.

My vision went black, and I woke up on a stretcher outside what was left of the building. My head pounded worse than anything I had ever experienced, but I lifted it enough to see the scene with blurry vision. Endless ambulances and police cars, a massive sea of onlookers barely being held back by officers, and my whole team scattered around by different paramedics.

Except Reid.

“Reid?” I called out, getting to my feet and stumbling around the pavement. A mass of curly brown hair collapsed on the ground caught my eye from inside the building, flames and rubble surrounding him. “Reid!”

Paramedics tried holding me back from the scene, but somehow I was able to slip out of their grip while running towards the caved in building.

Dust fell in my eyes and the ceiling creaked, letting me know in my hazy state of mind that the building was about to collapse on top of us. I got to Spencer, who was groaning and crawling as best he could.

“Hey, hey, Reid, c’mon, time to go,” I hooked my arms around his stomach, lifting him to his knees and unsteadily to his feet.

“YFN...” he mumbled, his brown eyes becoming focused on my face. Spencer snapped out of his daze. “Time to go.”

We ran out as soon as the ceiling caved in, and the burst of adrenaline wore off instantly. Spencer and I collapsed on the pavement, our chests heaving.

“YFN... you saved my life.” Spencer looked over at me as paramedics raced toward us.

“Of course,” I said breathlessly. “I love you.”

“What?” His face was lost in a swarm of paramedics, and I smiled to myself.

Late that night, we were all silent on the jet ride back. It was concluded that the bombings were over, and everyone wanted to go home anyway.

I was half asleep in my seat when Spencer sat lazily next to me, neither of us saying anything.

Spencer was the one who spoke first.

“You are the bravest person I’ve ever met. For you go through what you’ve gone through and still run into collapsing building to save a friend...”

He trailed off for a moment, probably considering the word ‘friend’. Are we really just friends at this point, after everything we’ve gone through? “I know that you push me away because of what happened to your fiance’, but you can’t keep yourself away from happiness out of fear something might happen to me.” He laced his fingers through mine gently. “I love you, and I’ll wait for when you’re ready. I just want you to be happy.”

A soft smile came to my lips, and I looked over at him next to me. “I love you too, Spencer. But you already know that.”

Spencer chuckled, and I drifted off to sleep on his shoulder. The sound of glass shattering and the smell of smoke left my brain for the first time since that fateful day in New York.

Spencer lightly pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I fell asleep with a small smile still on my lips.

TAG LIST: @squirrellover1967 @yomama-umbridge @tiktokslut @ sknnymnne @pinkdiamond1016 @vixengustin88

#spencer reid #dr spencer reid #dr reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid angst #spencer reid smut #spencer reid imagine #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid fic #criminal minds fic

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pixie-mage · 4 years

Note

4,5, O (both + and -) and V -

From this NatM Writing Prompt: [ x ]

(Sorry it took so long, but I had a lot of fun writing this one! It gets a bit emotional in the middle, but I promise there's fluff there too!)

Characters: Jedediah x Octavius Adjectives: Overprotective, Overworked, Vulnerable

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jedediah really should have noticed it sooner. They had returned from the Smithsonian and been on display for almost a month by now, and the new Night Program was in full swing...so perhaps there were more than a few reasons it had slipped under his radar. But still, he should have noticed it sooner.

It was approaching midnight now. There had been no guests in the museum for a few hours or so, just Larry and the exhibits, and most of them were taking the time off to enjoy the night like they normally did. Emphasis on ‘most’.

Jedediah leaned sideways against the wall of the Roman diorama, his arms folded across his chest and one boot tucked across the ankle of the other. He watched with a subtle frown as Octavius discussed something quietly with Marcus, his second in command, at the edge of the courtyard that marked the center of the display. Octavius’ brow was furrowed, his hands moving with his words, whatever he was saying clearly of some level of importance. Or at the very least, Octavius seemed to think so. But Jedediah could see the dark shadows under the general’s eyes, the tension in his armor-clad shoulders, the odd little eye movements that flickered off to the side at odd intervals...as if he felt like he was being watched, or was waiting for something to jump him.

Octavius looked stressed and worn out, and it was a wonder Jedediah hadn’t caught on sooner. Come to think of it, since they had returned from Washington DC, Jed couldn’t remember more than a few brief, fleeting moments that Octavius wasn’t hard at work doing...something. Anything. Running drills with the Roman army, rehearsing dialogue for the Night Program, discussing some kind of political or military issue with Marcus (or Cyrus...Jed shuddered; that slimy kiss-ass of a senator could take a damn hike in his opinion). And on the rare occasions that Octavius took time aside to spend with Jedediah for fun, he was constantly on edge. He consistently offered alternate choices for their museum adventures that (Jedediah now realized) were less ‘dangerous’ or ‘risky’. He casually (slyly) veered Jedediah away from ideas that involved something less-than-wise. He was being–

...well, protective, almost, Jedediah landed on. Or maybe paranoid.

All in all, it was obvious that something was up with the Roman general...and perhaps it was high time Jedediah did something about it.

Jed pushed away from the wall and moseyed over to the town square, tossing his arm around Octavius’ shoulders with a grin.

“Howdy Marcus!” he greeted the other soldier, who smiled politely at him. “I’m gonna steal Octavius from ya for a while. Hope ya don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Marcus inclined his head. Octavius let out a disgruntled noise of protest.

“Jedediah, please, I have to–”

“Nope,” Jed cut off his protests and steered him about, marching off towards the Roman border with Octavius held tight against his side. “No can do, amigo. We’re goin’ for a drive.”

“Jedediah–”

“Ockie, hush up. You look like you could use a break, so I’m makin’ sure you get one.”

“But Rome–”

“Can last one night without you there,” Jed said. “Your soldiers have been workin’ their tails off for more ‘n two weeks straight. Hell, Billy’s been all mopey over on our side of the wall because he ain’t seen his Roman friends in days. Let ‘em have a night off.”

As if to cement this fact, Octavius caught sight of a familiar pair of archers chattering excitedly near the diorama’s edge, clearly on their way out of the city - much like Jedediah and himself. Octavius sighed, finally giving in to Jedediah’s impulsive adventure.

“Very well,” he said. “I suppose you may have a point.”

“Dang right I do,” Jed grinned, shaking Octavius slightly with the arm still slung around the man’s shoulders. “Get yer Roman ass down that climbin’ rope and I’ll fetch the car.”

Jed left Octavius behind to grab up the rope hanging over the edge of Rome’s border, gripping it in both gloved hands and leaping out of the diorama with expert ease. He didn’t have to look behind him to know Octavius would be following after him.

Tonight’s drive was about the same as every other time in the past few weeks that they had taken the car out for a spin. Jedediah drove a little too fast and a little too recklessly, Octavius tried to enjoy himself while murmuring quiet cautions to be more careful, and once or twice Octavius gripped the door handle with such intensity at Jedediah’s more reckless turns that his knuckles were white from the strain.

It was almost the same as when they would drive around before the Smithsonian...but only almost.

Now that he was looking for it, Jedediah was kicking himself for not noticing the difference sooner. Before, Octavius was normally just about as invested in the thrill of their adventures as Jedediah...but much of his enthusiasm was missing right now. Without a second thought, Jed took a sharp right and headed for a familiar exhibit, ignoring the tense expression that flitted across Octavius’ face at his sudden change of direction. He steered the car swiftly into the dimly lit room and parked off to the side, and the moment the car came to a stop he kicked open the door and ducked out of the miniature vehicle.

The room was quiet and empty. Ahkmenrah was almost never in his own exhibit after hours, making this one of the only places in the museum that was relatively still at this time of night. Though Jedediah himself had never asked the pharaoh about it in person, he had a sneaking suspicion that the young ruler wasn’t too fond of his tomb and sarcophagus. Jed imagined being trapped in one place for decades could do that to a person.

The sound of the passenger door opening and closing came from behind him but Jedediah didn’t turn around. Instead, he took a few strides away from the car to lean against one of the massive stone pillars that decorated the exhibit, only turning to look at Octavius once he had his back pressed against the cool stone. He folded his arms over his chest and eyed the other miniature from beneath the brim of his hat.

“What’s goin’ on with you Octavius?”

Octavius, who had been in the process of following Jedediah away from the car, paused mid-step. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then his brow furrowed as he said:

“In...what regard?”

“You look exhausted, Ockie,” Jed said softly, a pained sympathy lacing his words. “You’re workin’ yourself to pieces and you’re jumpin’ at shadows. Now I know you keep sayin’ you’re just busy because we’re still settlin’ into the new Night Program and whatnot, but I’m not so sure I believe you.”

A brief, startled look passed over Octavius’ face like a fleeting shadow, there and gone again in less than a breath.

“I admit, I may be keeping myself a little too busy as of late,” he conceded. He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, his fingers tense. “But - Jedediah, I assure you, I am perfectly fine.”

“Mind tryin’ that again?” Jed quirked an eyebrow at Octavius, who swallowed thickly and looked away.

Jedediah shook his head with a sigh and pushed away from the pillar behind him. His footsteps echoed quietly in the cavernous room until he came to a stop right in front of his - now oddly tense - partner. He tried to catch Octavius’ eye.

“Look, I’m not tryin’ to call you a liar, but you’ve got shadows under your eyes and you’re about as jittery as a cornered cat. Somethin’s up, and I just wanna help.” When Octavius didn’t reply, Jedediah ducked into Octavius’ line of vision to finally meet his gaze. He gave the other miniature a lazy, lopsided smile. “There ya are. C’mon, talk to me sweetheart.”

Despite himself, Octavius smiled wearily and chuckled, shaking his head ever-so-slightly at Jedediah’s antics. Then his smile faded again and he let out a long breath, his eyes becoming closed off just as they had been before. He ran his fingers through his hair once or twice, having left his helmet in the car.

“Yes, alright, so I may be under some stress at the moment...but I’ll be fine. I swear it. I don’t wish to bother you with my trivial worries.”

“Hey now, that’s now how this works,” Jed protested immediately. He planted his hands on his hips. “We’re partners. We trust each other. Right?”

“Completely,” Octavius breathed. “I do trust you, my love. Always.”

“Then I don’t care how trivial you might think it is. If it’s worryin’ you then I wanna hear about it. Comprende?”

A brief moment of silence settled between them. Octavius looked as though he wanted to say something, but the words never left him. As he stood there, conflicted, unsure what to say, his expression slowly melted from the closed off facade he had been wearing for days into something softer…something fragile. A strained and emotional sort of exhaustion settled in his posture, his shoulders sagging, and Jedediah could see the very moment that something behind his eyes began to break. When Octavius finally spoke, it was on a quiet and wavering breath.

“...the hourglass.”

Understanding began to dawn in the back of Jedediah’s mind and his chest tightened. He had a feeling he knew exactly where this was going.

“After we attempted to escape the shipping container, you were trapped in the hands of a monster who held no qualms about harming anyone who stood in his way,” Octavius went on, speaking softly. Remembering. “And though it does not often bother me, our smaller stature was...a disadvantage. You could do nothing to fight against him, and on my own I could have done nothing to prevent your harm. I watched him lock you in that hourglass with no way of stopping it.”

“Wait, hold on – you were there?” Jedediah asked, eyes bugging out in surprise. He gripped Octavius’ shoulders in both hands. “You didn’t mention that before. I told ya to run! I told you to get away from there!”

“And leave you behind?” Octavius shot back. He pressed his palm to Jedediah’s chest as if to push him away...but he didn’t. “I had to be sure you were alright! I had to know where you were so that I could save you.” His eyes were shining as he searched Jedediah’s face for something that couldn’t be named. “That monster gave you all of an hour to live. It was at once the longest and the most quickly-passing hour of my entire life. Had I not been able to get to you in time–”

Octavius couldn’t finish the sentence. His breath caught, shuddering, and he clenched his eyes shut as if to block out the thought.

Jedediah felt as though the wind had been knocked from him. He had almost never seen Octavius so distraught. Octavius was a strong and proud man, a Roman general, and he rarely showed signs of true fear. It didn’t feel right to see him looking so terrified of something that could have been, that never was.

“Ockie, look at me,” Jedediah murmured. He waited until Octavius opened his eyes before cupping his face in one hand. He ran his thumb over Octavius’ cheek gently, a lopsided smile slipping onto his face. “I’m right here. Nothin’ happened to me. You got that? That crazy Egyptian couldn’t’ve done anythin’ to me even if he tried.”

A watery chuckle bubbled up past Octavius’ lips. The hand he still had pressed to Jedediah’s chest clenched slightly, his fingers fisting against the blue fabric of the cowboy’s shirt.

“No, I imagine he couldn’t have,” Octavius agreed shakily.

“That’s what’s been eatin’ at ya since we got back?” Jedediah asked, worry creasing his brow.

“For many reasons.” Octavius let his eyes close again and he leaned into the comforting hand at his cheek. “It seems silly, perhaps, to be so affected by it...but I keep having nightmares in which I am...I am unable to save you.” He shivered. “Often I am either too late, or I cannot break the glass, or Kahmunrah grows impatient and–” He shivered again, a pained look crossing his face, and he pressed his lips together tightly.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Jed murmured, pressing their foreheads together, the brim of his hat tilting upwards because of it. “I’m fine. You saved me. Everything turned out alright, remember? Look–” He brought his other hand to grip Octavius’ fist where he was still clutching Jedediah’s shirt. “–feel that? My heart’s still beatin’ as strong as ever. Might be ‘cause of a magic tablet, but it’s there.”

Octavius nodded. He opened his eyes to meet Jedediah’s blue ones, so very close to his. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. Too many emotions were swirling in the depths of his eyes, tears glistening there that had yet to fall. He swallowed, licked his lips. He breathed. Jedediah pulled on a soft, crooked smile.

“Are you with me, Ockie?”

Not quite sure what else to do, Octavius moved in Jedediah’s hold until he was clinging to him tightly, holding him close, his face buried in the crook of the cowboy’s neck. His nose brushed against the blue and red of Jedediah’s shirt and neckerchief, taking in the familiar scent of sand and hard work and the hot sun and something so distinctly Jed that he could not put a name to it even if he tried. He closed his eyes and choked back a sob and clutched at the man in his arms as if he might never see him again. Tears slowly soaked into the shoulder of Jedediah’s shirt, but he didn’t seem to care as he hugged his partner back with every ounce of love he could give and let Octavius revel in the sheer solid proof that he was alive.

Eons seemed to pass before they finally parted (though not completely, as Octavius still had a hand on Jedediah’s waist and Jed was still lightly gripping Octavius’ arm, neither of them quite ready to let go). Octavius sucked in a deep, shaking breath, and when he smiled - almost embarrassed - Jedediah couldn’t help but notice that the shadows beneath his eyes seemed less prominent and some of the visible weight on his shoulders had lifted.

“Feelin’ better sweetheart?” Jedediah asked with a gentle smile. Octavius let out a huffed laugh and nodded.

“Much,” he said. “Perhaps I should have tried to speak about my troubles sooner.”

“Oh ya think so, huh?” Jed teased lightly, a sparkle in his eyes. He tugged at the brim of his hat, straightening it. “I reckon next time you’ve got a bunch o’ ‘What-If’s’ and ‘If-Only’s’ bouncing around in that head o’ yours, you won’t keep it to yourself. Right?”

“Of course,” Octavius smiled sheepishly. “I apologize for not speaking up before now. Nightmares didn’t seem like an important enough subject to bother you with.”

“I don’t care if your complaint of the day is that you’ve got a cramp in your left foot! If it’s botherin’ you, I’ll listen.”

Octavius giggled quietly and brought up a hand to hide his grin.

“Whatever did I do to earn such a caring lover?” he queried, and Jed winked.

“Punched him in the face a few times, I reckon.”

Laughter rang out quietly from the secluded corner of the Egyptian exhibit, unheard by anyone but the twin Anubis statues standing guard. The air was calm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Do you think General Octavius will allow us another night off this week?”

“Fabian, if you’re trying to be subtle, it isn’t working.”

“It was a simple question, that’s all!”

“Oh yes, of course it was. The implied ‘to see Billy’ after ‘another night off’ definitely didn’t exist.”

“MARIUS!”

A pair of archers were making their way back into Rome at the end of a night that had been much more relaxing than any they had spent lately. After a few weeks of enduring Octavius’ much more vigorous training regiments it was a welcome relief to be given even one night of freedom...and they weren’t the only ones hoping that their next night off would come sooner rather than later.

“You are much too easy to rile up, my friend,” the archer named Marius chortled, elbowing Fabian. “But to answer your question, it depends on that cowboy Jedediah. You saw him escorting the general out of Rome earlier, did you not?”

“Of course I did,” Fabian grumbled, still flushed from Marius’ earlier teasing. “General Octavius didn’t seem very willing to leave.”

“Ah, but he still left,” Marius pointed out. “Hopefully Jedediah will be able to pull our dear general out of the sour state he has been in lately. With any luck, he’ll be–”

It was at this point that the pair reached the square, and Marius didn’t need to say anything more because Octavius and Jedediah were both in sight. Octavius was smiling brightly, looking more like his usual self than he had in weeks, and he was saying something to the cowboy beside him that neither archer could hear. Whatever it was, Jedediah’s grin turned into a gobsmacked expression in an instant and within the next moment he was bright red and fuming, blustering and spluttering indignantly beside a now-slyly-smirking Octavius.

“OCKIE, YOU CAN’T JUST – THAT’S NOT – WE’RE IN PUBLIC!”

“...I get the feeling you’ll be able to see Billy fairly soon, actually,” Marius muttered with raised eyebrows. Fabian only nodded, as Jedediah stammered something about:

“Crazy flirty Romans…”

Octavius bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, his eyes sparkling with mirth while he watched Jedediah teeter on the edge of an explosion. One might think he had already blown up with how loudly he was ranting on...but Octavius knew from experience that the things that actually put Jedediah over the edge left him unable to even form words, so absolutely dumbfounded and reeling that all he could manage was spluttering angry noises, enraged shouts, and pinwheeling limbs that made it look as though he was fighting with the air itself. While it was a guilty pleasure of his to push his beloved to that point, Octavius supposed that it wouldn’t be a very nice ‘thank you’ to do so right after Jedediah had so worriedly and dotingly helped him through some of his recent fears.

With a soft sigh, Octavius caught Jedediah by the arm and pulled him closer, pressing a soft kiss to the raving cowboy’s cheek.

“Forgive me cara, I’ve never been very good at holding my tongue around you,” he chuckled. “I was only teasing. I apologize.”

Jedediah stilled, as red as a tomato, but his temper slowly fizzled out. He grumbled quietly and hunched his shoulders with his arms folded tightly over his chest.

“...yeah, yeah, keep yer apology,” he rolled his eyes. “Just - quit sayin’ stuff like that in public. It’s not for other people to hear.”

“I shall endeavour to do better.”

Octavius was still grinning softly when Jedediah turned to look at him, the flush of his face lessening and his expression turning affectionate and a little concerned.

“...are you alright?” Jed asked him in an undertone, aware of the people of Rome lingering around the square. “For now anyway?”

Octavius’ grin softened into a tired smile.

“For the most part, yes,” he nodded. His fingers tightened against Jedediah’s arm. “...I doubt the nightmares themselves will vanish overnight - after all, the thought of losing you isn’t one so easily swept aside...” Jedediah winced sympathetically. “...but it doesn’t feel nearly so real of a concept anymore.”

Jedediah was quiet for a few seconds, searching Octavius’ expression for what he could only assume were signs of falsehood. (Octavius knew it was not for a lack of trust either.)

“D’you want me to stay?” Jedediah asked quietly.

“Stay–?”

“Stay durin’ the daylight hours,” Jed specified. “You can try and get some decent sleep and I’ll fight off your nightmares. And if Larry says anything about it, I’ll handle it. You’ve been through enough.”

A warmth, a fondness, swelled in Octavius’ chest, and he found himself gazing adoringly at the man before him. He had asked himself this question almost a million times by now, but...how did he ever get so lucky?

“I love you,” he whispered, before he could stop himself. Jedediah cleared his throat, his cheeks pink.

“Well...w-well that’s nice an’ all, but...er...is that a yes or a no?”

“Yes,” Octavius amended quickly. “Yes, please. I - I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Alrighty then.” Jed nodded and tugged the brim of his hat down to hide his face, looking thoroughly flustered. He took a few steps in the direction of Octavius’ home, paused, and turned back long enough to add: “...I love you too, ‘Tavius.” Then he was marching off through the crowds of Roman citizens, his fists in his pockets and his hat pulled low. Octavius only smiled.

He would be okay.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[A/N - Hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry again that it took so long to finish it! This time, I wrote them as having an established relationship, mostly because the discord server I'm on voted for that one over (A) mutual pining and (B) Octavius confessing his feelings. Seeing as I don't often write them this way, it was nice to change things up! Plus I feel like it makes Octavius racing against the clock to save Jedediah that much more meaningful. I ALSO GOT TO WRITE SOFT!JEDEDIAH TOO! I've never gotten the chance to write that side of him, so thank you for the inspiration!]

#Night at the Museum #NatM #NatM FanFic #Jedtavius #Jedediah #Octavius #Jedediah x Octavius #Post NatM 2 #Post-Hourglass #NatM Hourglass #Jedediah in the Hourglass #Writing #Pixiemage Writes #Pixie Writes #NatM Writing Prompt #Writing Prompt

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the-shadow-of-atlantis · 3 years

Text

Mystery Solved?

Scott gets curious about Andromeda

Tagging: @melyaliz @lizartgurl @dilpickledd @speedypan @coffee-randomness

Read Earlier Parts Here

A/N Mentions of child neglect

Scott had to admit maybe he had taken things a little too far. But then again it had been a bit of an accident. He knew something was up with Andromeda however what he had discovered was not what he expected.

He knew her stories didn’t always line up like she was hiding something but he wasn't sure what. With his training he had thought the worse, she was somehow a spy sent to gather intel on them. Hey if he could be trained to be an X-men what would be the odds of her being a spy. Especially since she was so reluctant to talk about her parents, till he found out the truth.

The first hint of truth came when he accidentally spotted her at the mall during winter break. Jean had gone to visit her family but Scott still wanted to get her a present for when she was to return. It took him a while to realize who she was when she passed by him. She looked so… normal. Andromeda's face was free of makeup, her coat was simple yet it seemed old but her pants were loose instead of tight. He didn’t like it, it somehow just didn’t seem like her.

He didn’t mean to follow them that day but he couldn’t help but be a bit intrigued. Usually when he spotted her outside of school she was still in her usual style. Those dramatic lace shirts, the makeup that was always perfectly done, the ripped jeans or shorts. So he didn’t understand the sudden change. Then he noticed the other things, how she seemed to trail behind her family, how she kept her head down as if trying to hide herself. Then he noticed her parents how they seemed to ignore her yet would constantly put her little brother in their line of sight. Scott frowned as he saw them leave and something seemed off.

When they came back to school Scott noticed she was in a bit of a mood. Her usual teasing playful self was gone.

“Hey, how was your break?” Scott asked as he sat down next to her.

“Good.” She muttered as she doodled on her paper a little too aggressively.

“What did you do?” He asked.

“Nothing really.”

“Did you-“

“Class is starting.” She snapped, opening her book.

“Right.” He mumbled, glancing at her worriedly.

It took awhile for her to warm up to him again, for a second he feared she realized he was spying on them that day. Instead she blamed her mood on the weather claiming it always made her feel down when it was cold. He could tell she was telling the truth but he couldn’t help but feel like maybe there was something more to it.

The second hint came when they had to work on a project together. Scott couldn't help but notice how she frowned when the teacher gave the announcement. The project was going to be a big portion of their grade.

"We could work on it at your place." Scott said as they started discussing what to do.

"Could we maybe meet up at the library instead?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

“Yeah sure.” Scott nodded. “Just let me know what time.”

When she finally got back to him on a time to meet up he was shocked to see she also had a small list on how to look.

“Just um just look presentable, not that you don't already, it's just…” She trailed off and sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.”

So he waited for her in front of the library just like she asked, smoothing down his favorite red polo making sure his clothes didn't have any wrinkles. He looked up and slowly realized that Andromeda was walking up to him with what he assumed was her mother and her little brother. She looked what would be deemed as normal, a simple soft blue shirt and loose jeans.

“Scott?” The woman said.

“Hello.” Scott said holding his hand out, she stared at him suspiciously.

“You are Andromeda's lab partner.”

“Yes.”

“And you are going to be working on a project together.”

“Yeah that’s the plan. The project is due at the end of the week and we want to get it done as soon as possible.” Scott said, smiling politely.

Her mother simply nodded and turned to the siblings. “One hour.”

Andromeda nodded and walked up to Scott, her brother staying close to her side. Once inside Andromeda seemed to relax.

"So you're Scott." Her little brother said.

"Yup, and I'm guessing your Adonis." Scott replied.

"I am." Adonis nodded and stared at him curiously. "What's with the shades?"

"Donnie." Andromeda scolded.

"No it's okay." Scott smiled. "I just have a really sensitive eye condition. I need the shades to help me see."

"Huh alright." Adonis said.

It wasn't till then that Scott realized Andromeda was the only person who never questioned him about his shades. Same like how he never really commented on the tattoo she had on her back. Like there was somehow a strange understanding about them.

"What's your favorite sport?" Adonis asked, breaking Scott's train of thought.

Scott didn't mind answering the random questions Adonis kept asking. He couldn't help but be reminded of his own little brother, wondering if he was still around would he have become friends with Adonis. Andromeda had settled on making their poster board trying to make it look as presentable as possible. Occasionally she would chime into the conversation adding her own questions when she would find something about him intriguing.

"Wait hold up, you live at that huge mansion that's by the woods?" Adonis asked.

"Yeah that's the one." Scott said.

"Huh I always wondered what that place was." Adonis wondered out loud.

“Maybe one day you two can come over.” Scott said.

"Yeah maybe." Adonis mumbled, Scott couldn't help but notice he shared the same look Andromeda would give him whenever he mentioned anything about meeting after school.

"How's it looking?" Andromeda asked, distracting him with the drawing she was working on for the poster board.

All the clues finally got into place the day they went on a field trip for their chemistry class.

When the teacher announced the upcoming trip Andromeda frowned just how she did the day the project had been announced. She was the only one who seemed to be interested and constantly held her hand up to ask questions though her questions were mainly about the time frame of the trip.

Still she was there a little out of breath but she had managed to catch the bus before it left. They hardly spoke as she fixed herself up, Scott noticing little things about how hastily her outfit seemed to have been thrown on. During the tour of the Science Museum they were visiting Andromeda took her notes but he couldn’t help but notice how she would check her watch every so often.

“Looking for your name?” Scott asked, they were currently taking a break in the small gift shop.

Andromeda smiled and let out a small scoff as she browsed through the beaker shaped keychains that had names etched into them.

“The day I find a keychain with my name on it will be the day pigs fly. No, my brother and I have a running joke, we either try to find our nicknames or we find the most ridiculous name that’s not ours. Oh look here’s yours.” She held up a small keychain and laughed. “It even matches your glasses.”

"I'm guessing by that you mean it's red." Scott said.

"Oh yeah." Andromeda paused. "Can you only see red through your shades?"

"Pretty much." Scott said watching as Andromeda turned her attention back to the names.

"That's gotta suck." Andromeda mumbled her eyebrow suddenly raising. "So they have Donatello but no Don or Donnie but they have Dawn with a-w."

“They have Donna.” Scott said as he scanned the names.

“Ohh yes, nice one.” Andromeda approved as she grabbed the key chain and flipped it over.

As a frown crossed her face Scott knew she probably wasn't going to buy it. He couldn’t help but notice her fingers moving like the way they did when she had to count. She slowly put it back.

“Are you not going to get it?” He asked carefully.

“Um not right now, maybe when we leave.” Andromeda said, making her way out of the shop.

During lunch Andromeda had hung back a bit making Scott pause to look at her.

“Why don't you go ahead? I wanna get a good look at the menu.” She said smiling though it didn’t really meet her eyes.

“Yeah sure.” Scott said, waking forward.

He glanced back every so often finding her off to the side counting her money. When it was Scott’s turn to order he looked back and saw that Andromeda was now standing in line.

“Could I actually place an order for someone else?” Scott asked after he finished ordering his food.

“Sure kid.” The woman as she finished typing his order.

“It’s for the girl in the black lace shirt.” Scott said placing her order and giving the cashier the money.

“You got it.” The lady said, barely glancing up.

Scott got his food and walked off to a table pulling out his sheet and double checking his answers.

“You didn't have to do that.” Andromeda said standing beside him holding a tray with the food he had ordered her.

“Do what?” He asked, trying to act innocent. Andromeda sighed as she sat down next to him.

“Why do you have to be such a golden boy?” Andromeda suddenly asked taking Scott off guard.

“I’m sorry what?”

“It's just… your just so…” Andromeda huffed. “I just don't get you Scott Summers. You act like this goody two shoes yet you have this weird air of mystery around you. You're polite yet I could count the amount of friends you have on one hand. And I just don't know what to think about you.”

“Funny.” Scott said, a little taken aback by the backhanded compliment. “I could say the same thing about you.”

"I… what?" Andromeda asked, looking at Scott confused.

“You have a kind heart Andromeda yet you have a tendency of hiding behind this tough girl act. And I see that you try to make friends but you tend to guard yourself before you can get hurt.” Scott said.

Andromeda looked down at her food taken off guard by his comment. She seemed to be thinking of something deeply and finally she sighed and looked up at him.

“My parents have always been a bit strict. But ever since I turned a certain age they sorta went overboard.” Andromeda frowned as she glanced down. “It was hard enough being the new girl in school, it was even harder when no one really wanted to put in the effort of being my friend… there’s a reason I’ve been so hesitant with you. You’re such a golden boy I feel like you wouldn’t want to do what it takes to be my friend.”

“I’m not that much of a golden boy.” Scott frowned and Andromeda raised an eyebrow. “You should at least give me a chance.”

“Alright Summers, you got a deal.” Andromeda said, holding her hand out for him to shake.

Scott smiled and shook it hoping that maybe now he’d really be able to get to know her.

#scott summers x oc #cyclops x oc #xmen oc

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as-clear-as-crystal · 4 years

Text

If I Couldn’t Find You (Prompt Fill)

Good morning! @theoceanismyinkwell This is to fulfill the prompt you gave me a couple months ago from the whump prompts list: "“I’m not hurt.” “You are actively bleeding.” “Oh, so I am.”

I was so happy to get a prompt; and I'm sorry it took so long to write. But! I had so much fun writing this story. It was longer than I first planned it, but I'm kind of a more is more type of person when it comes to fic. 😅

Anyway, thanks for the prompt, and I hope you enjoy! To read on AO3, click this link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24898108

Or, click to read more...

If I Couldn’t Find You

Tony was in a great mood. He’d spent the previous evening with Pepper, and his morning with Rhodey over brunch. The two friends were just stepping out of Rhodey’s favorite cafe in Manhattan when Tony got a call. He frowned when he saw the picture that flashed on his phone, swiping his screen immediately and putting it to his ear.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, “Who’s that?”

Tony glanced at Rhodey, “It’s Peter’s friend... Leeds, you and Pete are supposed to be at a museum; please tell me you haven’t gotten yourselves in trouble.”

“Oh. Uh. Sorry, Mr. Stark, sir, but I think Peter might be… We were outside waiting to be let into the museum this morning, and he heard something bad going down a couple blocks away. Said it sounded like a robbery? He hated just standing there listening, so he snuck off to check it out, but he’s still not back, and that was two hours ago, sir, and I’m really worried. I’ve got a bad feeling; he’s got his phone turned off. I don’t know what to do, I’m so sorry, sir...”

Tony felt like he’d been doused with ice water. Rhodey edged closer to him, eyes narrowing in concern. Tony’s mind was racing with possibilities, but he had a procedure for situations like this.

First, track the kid.

“Friday, track Peter’s suit and phone. Pull up the location when you have it.” Tony said without preamble, praying that the phone and suit and his kid were all in the same actual location. “Leeds, you did the right thing by calling me.”

“Can you… tell him to call me when you find him? Please.” Ned sounded distressed.

“Yep, that’ll be on my list of things to tell him. Catch you later, kid.” Tony hung up as Friday pinged the locations for the suit and phone.

Locations, plural. The suit being in an alley a couple blocks from the museum where Peter’s class was meant to be that day, and the phone being forty miles north of that, in some abandoned packing-house, and Tony felt like he might vomit. Instead, he tapped his chest.

“Honey Bear, I need your help,” Tony’s pleading eyes turned to Rhodey’s, just before his suit formed around him, closing him off.

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

Tony was preparing his descent on the packing house when Rhodey called him.

“I’ve got his backpack, and his suit’s here, Tones,” Rhodey reported. “But, it sounds like Pete got himself in trouble. I spoke to a couple shop owners, they said the cops were here earlier responding to an anonymous call.”

“That was Peter,” Tony informed him, “Friday told me he’d made a call, before his phone was turned off.”

“Well, the shop owner said he was being held at gunpoint - and a teenager came in to say the cops were on their way; tried to talk the gunmen into leaving. They did, but they made the kid go with them.”

“Why the hell wasn’t he in his suit?” Tony would be pulling his hair out if he could. Why did his kid insist on doing stupid shit like this? Tony was going to ground him until he was forty. Fifty. He was going to implant a tracker in his -

“The suit notifies you when he wears it. Maybe he didn’t want you to know he’d ditched his class field trip,” Rhodey suggested.

“Well, surprise. I now know. Million dollar suit and he leaves it in his backpack. I swear to God, Rhodes, I’m gonna...” Tony took a deep breath, “Can you just… I’m gonna have Happy pick you up, and meet me at this location? What else did you find out?”

“No problem; I got your back on this,” Rhodey told him. “All I know is the cops are on the lookout for an unmarked white sedan. Surveillance cameras were unable to make out the license plate, and as you can imagine thousands of cars match that description…”

“I think I found it,” Tony told him as he approached a building. A dirty white car was sloppily parked near the side entrance.

“Don’t kill anyone,” Rhodey ordered.

“No promises.”

Tony eschewed all subtlety in favor of blasting his way inside. Friday’s sensors indicated four adult males, and zero teenage idiots, inside. But the kid’s phone was there, and those men were his only lead. They started shooting first, but of course the bullets ricocheted off his suit. He registered a lot of yelling, but that didn’t matter. He blasted two of them before grabbing the nearest asshole by the collar.

“Listen, Dipshit, you have ten seconds to tell me what you did with the kid you kidnapped this morning.”

“Whoa - what kid? - Shit! Hey!” Tony lifted the man up so his feet could barely tap the floor.

“Wanna try that again, Jackass? Because if he’s disappeared, then so do you -”

“No, wait, we didn’t do anything, that kid was crazy!” The man tried fruitlessly to loosen Tony’s grip.

“The hell are you talking about? Where is he?” Tony demanded. He didn’t appreciate man’s use of the word was. “Two seconds, and I’m gonna rip off an arm.”

“You’re insane! Put me down!”

“One,” Tony snarled.

“He jumped out of the car!” The man was practically crying at that point; probably recognizing how close Tony actually was to making very good on his threats. “We were going over a bridge and he- he just jumped out! We- we- you gotta believe me, we didn’t even touch him!”

Tony took a second to breathe. Peter was Spiderman. Peter could feasibly jump out of a moving vehicle and onto a bridge and still be ok. His kid could do that. In fact, maybe it was his best option to escape these assholes. Peter would be fine. Except, if he was fine, then where was he? Why hadn’t he called anyone? He had to know by now that at least Ned would be freaking out. Peter wasn’t the kind of kid to just make his loved ones worry like that. Uncertainty was gripping Tony’s lungs like a vice.

One thing Tony did know for sure was he didn’t feel any sympathy for the man crying in his vice grip. Peter wouldn’t have been jumping out of cars at all if he hadn’t been forced into one at gunpoint.

He pulled the man’s face close to his mask. “Where?”

“Wh-where?”

“Where were you. When the kid. Jumped out. Of the goddamn car?!”

Sobbing, the man finally gave Tony an actual location, and he wasted no time incapacitating the crook, asking Friday to contact local law enforcement as he grabbed Peter’s phone from one of their pockets. Then, he was shooting like a rocket towards the kid’s last known location.

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

Tony called Rhodey in-flight.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Tones, the kid’s strong.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know he is. Just, get here soon as you can. Please.”

Tony slowed down when he approached the offending bridge. It was short, spanning over a lazy, shallow portion of a river. There was a decent amount of traffic, but it wasn’t too bad. He had Friday scanning the area as he dipped under the bridge.

Nothing. There was nothing.

Considering it had been probably approaching two hours since Peter had escaped the moving car, Tony shouldn’t have expected the kid to still be there. But, then where the hell was he? Tony flew along the bank. There was a golf course on one side and a strip mall on the other. Had Peter fallen in the river? Hit his head and drowned?

No, no, no, no. Come on Parker, I need a clue, here.

He had another minute of freaking-out searching, before a new call was being pushed through. Given Tony’s calls were all filtered by Friday, he accepted it with a guarded hopefulness.

“This is Stark.”

“H-hey, Mr. Stark! Uh, so a crazy thing happened, today. Um, please don’t freak out - ”

Tony sucked in a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. He’d been sick over the possibility of never hearing that voice again.

Thank God. Thank God.

“Pete?! Where the hell are you? Are you hurt? Friday, track this call - take me there now. And, please get Rhodes and Happy the new coordinates... Kid? Hey, I need you to answer me, Pete. Are you hurt?”

“Oh. Ok, this is not, uh, not freaking out.”

“Parker, are you hurt?”

“NO! I’m fine, Mr. Stark, I swear, it’s - OH, God, did Ned already tell you what happened?” Peter groaned miserably. “He did, didn't he?”

Tony loved this kid so much, and he was going to kill him.

“Tell me what? That you ditched school to interrupt a robbery, without the suit that I so lovingly crafted for you - to keep you safe - and that you were abducted at gunpoint and taken out of the damn city?”

“Oh, yeah, well that’s a lot more detail than I expected Ned to know about…”

“Rhodey, Happy and I have been searching for you since Ned called me an hour ago, which was apparently two hours after he’d last seen you. I just threatened to rip the arms off of someone, because I couldn’t find you, Peter! What the hell would I do if I couldn’t find you?”

“God, Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry…” Peter sounded like he might be very close to tears, and Tony shut his mouth, clenched his fists, counted to ten… He saw Friday guiding his suit to the call’s location. It looked like some old payphone at a service station on the other side of the golf course.

“I really would’ve called sooner, Mr. Stark,” Peter was saying, “but they had my phone, and everyone I approached acted like I was gonna attack them or something, they yelled at me and some of them threatened to call the police, and I didn’t know if they’d believe me if I told them I’d just been abducted, so I hid and looked for some spare change in the golf course, and then I found this really old fashioned pay phone...”

“Ok, listen Pete, it’s ok, just breathe.” Tony was going to wrap this kid in bubble wrap. He was going to put a tracker in his watch, and in his shoes, and...

“So, can you please maybe send Happy to come get me, sir, because I don’t even have my wallet so I can’t get on the bus, and May will actually murder me if she finds out that I ditched my field trip…”

“I’m gonna get you, kid. Come on, you know I’m gonna help you. I thought we were past this… I’m almost there. So, just stay where you are…”

He heard Peter sniff on the other end. “Wait, are you in the suit?”

“Am I in the suit?” Tony rolled his eyes. “Are you serious, right now, Parker? You were kidnapped. You better damn well believe I’m in the suit.”

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

Tony descended on the service station, to see his kid - finally, thank God - in the flesh, and felt his throat tighten. He was dismayed, but not particularly surprised, to see just how much Peter had undersold his injuries. He was soaking wet, missing a shoe, and he had a bruise on his chin and across the bridge of his nose. Dried blood crusted under his nose, and a trail of blood still dripped from a cut on his forearm.

But, he was there. He was alive.

Thank God.

Tony disengaged the suit as Peter ran into him. The kid wrapped his arms around him, and Tony just stood there senseless for a few breaths before he returned the embrace.

This kid was gonna be the death of him.

“Pete, what the hell?” He reproached softly. “You look like a damned drowned puppy.”

Peter started to pull back, but Tony held him by the shoulders at arms’ length.

“Mr. Stark, I really am sorry - “

“Hey, no - we can talk about that bit later, Pete, but you said you weren’t hurt…”

“I’m not,” he said, “I’m not hurt, I’m fine…”

“You are actively bleeding right now,” Tony remarked dryly, touching Peter’s sleeve right above the injury.

Peter looked down as if seeing the wound for the first time.

“Oh, so I am,” Peter said quietly. He looked back at Tony. “I must’ve scratched it when I jumped out of the car. I don’t even really feel it.”

Tony gently touched Peter’s nose, the bridge of which was a hazy blue, and swollen. “Do you feel that?”

Peter frowned. “It does not feel great.”

“May be broken... we’ll get it checked,” Tony said. “Did those assholes hit you, or did this happen when you leapt to freedom?”

“No, they didn’t hit me, they just tied my hands when I was in the car, and then… I didn’t know what to do, because I couldn’t break the rope while they were watching, right? Or they’d know I was too strong to be a normal... guy. So, I pulled the car door open and jumped out, but it was kinda hard to land with my hands still tied…”

“That was really dangerous, Pete, even for Spiderman…”

“They would’ve killed me, I think,” Peter looked at him, eyes haunted, and Tony felt a chill run down his spine. “I was really scared; I didn’t know what they wanted with me - to be a hostage or what - but they took their masks off in the car, so I didn’t think they were gonna let me go…”

Tony sometimes hated his mind, and the thousand possibilities that he could see all at once - the ways in which this whole scenario could’ve gone so wrong. The ways he could’ve lost this kid...

But, right then, Tony’s hands were still holding onto Peter. He was safe, and Tony promised himself he would do whatever he needed to do to make sure this scenario never happened again.

Tony cleared his throat. “You’re shivering. Come on, there’s a diner across the road. We can wait for Hap & Rhodey there.”

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

Tony gave a huge tip to the wide-eyed waitress who greeted them at the diner.

“He’s had a rough day,” Tony whispered to her after he’d sent Peter into the bathroom to at least wash his hands before eating. “We’re just gonna wait here until his dads come pick him up. You don’t happen to have any towels, do you? I’ll pay for them.”

The waitress, bless her, nodded and disappeared into the back. She returned with three fluffy hand towels and a stack of dish towels, just as Peter was exiting the men’s room. She then led them to a booth towards the back; a seat which afforded a good view out the window, so Tony would be able to see his friends when they arrived.

Thankfully, the place was nearly empty, and the patrons that were there didn’t seem to be paying them any attention. Tony ordered four large meals; not knowing when Peter’s last meal was, or if Rhodey or Happy would want anything when they arrived.

As soon as the waitress was gone, Tony picked up the fluffiest towel in the pile and tossed it to Peter.

“Dry your hair, Parker, you’re gonna catch cold.”

Peter caught the towel and eyed Tony warily before obediently rubbing his hair with it.

“Listen, Mr. Stark, I really am sorry…”

“Kid,” Tony sighed, feeling extremely tired, “every time you apologize, a fairy loses its wings.”

“I - I know, I get it, I keep apologizing,” Peter peeked at him from under the towel, and Tony’s heart clenched again with the thought of what could have happened. “But, I want you to know, I wasn’t just… trying to be reckless, or - or trying to ignore your rules. I just… Can’t let bad things happen to people if I’m there to stop it.”

“And what about you?” Tony raised an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest. “Who stops the bad things from happening to Peter?”

Peter frowned, “I was fine.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna work on your definition of ‘fine.’”

“The man was begging for his life.” Peter whispered harshly, flinging the towel down against the seat, not wanting anyone nearby to hear, but clearly needing Tony to understand. Clearly thinking Tony didn’t understand. “I couldn’t just stand there with my class and go on into the museum and listen to him getting murdered. I couldn’t… I - I had to do something!”

“Then wear the suit, Pete,” Tony ground out slowly through clenched teeth, pitching his voice to match the kid’s, even quieter, knowing Peter could hear, leaning forward to add emphasis. “The suit I made for you, so you could go save people when bad things happen to them, and so I would know to go save you when bad things happen to you!”

“I couldn’t wear the suit when I was supposed to be in class!”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because then you’d know I was… out.”

“Yes. Yes! Then I would know! Yes, that’s the whole entire goddamn point!” Tony hit the table - not loud enough to get them kicked out of the diner, but loud enough to drive home the point.

Peter stared at Tony like he’d just grown two heads. He blinked several times, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

“Peter?” Tony reached over and poked at the kid’s arm. “Did I break you?”

“Ok, wait, so would you have been ok with all this if I’d just worn the suit this morning?”

Would he have been ok with all this?

Something Rhodey had said before they’d left on this whole wild goose chase came back to him…

”Maybe he didn’t want you to know he’d ditched his field trip.”

Tony leaned back in his seat; trying to put himself into the mind of a 16-year-old. When Tony was 16, he was a little shit. He was already enrolled at MIT, going to parties and getting into trouble he had no business being part of, and the whole time… He had wondered if his Dad was ever going to give a damn what his son was up to.

He’d wondered if he’d ever get into enough trouble for his father to finally notice him. He’d wondered if he’d ever get into so much trouble that his dad just disowned him.

But, Peter wasn’t getting into trouble to get attention. Peter was cursed with the ability to know when something terrible was about to happen, and unlike most grown-ass adults, the kid actually gave a damn about someone other than himself. So, this morning, he’d been stuck in a catch-22.

Option One: Ignore the genuine terror of a man a block away, when he could’ve potentially helped.

Option Two: Go help the man, but get in trouble for ditching school.

“God, Pete, I’m sorry,” Tony sighed. He grabbed one of the clean towels and dipped it in his glass of water, sliding out of his booth and crossing the table.

“Scootch over, Web-head,” he said softly.

Peter obliged, and Tony sat next to him. He examined the cut that was still sluggishly bleeding, and carefully dabbed at the blood.

“I don’t want you patrolling when you should be at school,” Tony said, finally.

Peter opened his mouth, but Tony held up a hand before the kid could start to argue.

“This wasn’t patrolling, though, Pete. This was… you over-hearing an emergency situation.” Tony applied pressure to the cleansed wound. Happy had a first aid kit in the car, so they could bandage it up once he arrived. “In the event of an emergency like the one that happened today, I’d much prefer you to wear the suit. I can’t promise you won’t ever get detention if you ditch school, although the fact that they didn’t notice you were missing makes me doubt their abilities to keep you safe… I’m just thankful you have a friend like Ned.”

“Oh, shit, Ned!” Peter looked up at Tony, then clapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry.”

“Another fairy, kid,” Tony laughed. “You can call Ned in a minute. Let me finish my heartfelt speech, please.”

Peter nodded, lips turning up in a slight smile. Tony ruffled Peter’s hair before continuing.

“I can’t honestly promise that I won’t ever get mad, or not lecture you… But, I promise to listen to your side of the story, and no matter what, I’m not gonna ditch you. Even if you have a month of detention. You’ll just have to visit me after you’ve served your time. And, I’m not gonna take the suit. I’m gonna help you. I think we’ve established today that I physically cannot handle losing you. Similar to how you cannot seem to physically handle not helping people out.”

Peter was quiet for a moment, seeming to process what Tony had just said. Then, his eyes grew misty, and he lunged at Tony, wrapping his arms clear around his mentor, so the man couldn’t move. The kid rested the side of his face against Tony’s chest.

“I really love you, Mr. Stark,” the kid whispered, and Tony’s brain short-circuited - fireworks exploding in his mind. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish, just looking down at the kid’s head, before Peter sat up again, blushing.

The waitress came with their food, and Peter stabbed his stack of pancakes with a fork, shoveling them in his mouth with an appetite that only teenagers seem to have. In the meantime, Tony texted the kid’s aunt to tell her Peter was with him, and Ned to tell him Peter was ok. By the time Rhodey and Happy pulled into the parking lot, the kid had eaten all of his meal, and half of Tony’s.

“Look, who’s here,” Tony said quietly, as Rhodey and Happy entered the diner.

Peter put his fork down, frowning at Happy’s scowl. “Am I gonna get another lecture, now?”

“Probably,” Tony said lightly, “But that just means they love you.”

#irondad #whump prompt #fanfic #kidnapping #peter parker #tony stark

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a-weeb-named-emi · 4 years

Text

Chapter One: “Never Forget”

I’ve never really been able to deal with crowds. Ever since I was little, I’ve always tried to avoid the spotlight, and I almost left my future in the palm of that fear. My parents both worked quite a bit, but my father ended up leaving us for another woman at the ripe old age of 4. My 7th birthday was spent at the hospital, my mother hadn’t been taking the divorce well as expected. “Pro Hero Redirect splits with wife, Pro Hero Nova” had been all over the news for a few months. I never knew how much my mother was hurting, she always hid the pain until that day. I came home from school as usual, my small fingers gripping my backpack over my shoulder. My memory of finding her splayed out in the bathroom is quite clear. Her head was over the toilet, empty bottles of alcohol and pills lining her shaking body. It felt like a scene out of a movie; my chest rose and fell slowly trying to take in what was happening. She was pale, sickly looking. Had she looked this sick when I left? I couldn’t think straight. She kept gurgling out a few words before sliding her cellphone over to me.

“I’m sorry (Y/N), call for help.”

Shaky fingers dialed the number, and an equally shaky voice explained the situation to the operator. Within minutes men came barging into the house to help, one ushering me along with them. Camera clicks and yelling sent the neighborhood into an uproar. I was used to the paparazzi following us around since the news broke of my parents splitting; seeing the flashing photos in a frenzy as the paramedics wheeled my mother into the ambulance left quite the impact. I was already in distress, my child mind not fully registering the severity of my mothers condition. It gets fuzzy during the ride to the hospital, but I can distinctly remember the paramedics whispering about “a hero’s downfall”. Everything gets extremely clear the moment we exit the ambulance, more flashes and shouts about my mother start filling my senses. I felt like we were being attacked. Energy rushed through my small form, making my hands hot it felt like hot coals were pressed in my palms. Up until then, I hadn’t experienced having a quirk before... A terrible moment to get it now.

My eyes screwed shut, and I could feel my heart rate climbing. Small whimpers came from my lips as the burning sensation got worse; then all at once, all the flashing stopped. I opened my eyes finally, noticing the green glow coming from around my body. Just as I let out shaky breath the nurses took me inside and tried to calm me down. News of my mothers condition fell on deaf ears, none of it registering in my 6 year old mind. I didn’t know what any of it meant. Coma? Overdose? I didn’t understand. I did however, understand that she wouldn’t be coming home with me anytime soon. A few days of sleeping at the hospital left me feeling alone. My mother looked beautiful as she was sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed, the dull beep of monitors lulling the room into a calm. The third day I was there just so happened to be my birthday, and the day my life changed... Because I had to live with the man that didn’t want me in the first place, my father.

I was shipped to his new home in Musutafu. He sent a car to pick me up from the hospital, my guess is due to the high volume of press. I remember sitting dead silent in the backseat, watching the buildings grow bigger and bigger the farther into the city we went. I had never seen so many windows on a building before. The driver had tried his best to keep me comfortable by playing some soft music, but my ears were still ringing from the yelling of the paparazzi and couldn’t really hear it. We drove for a short while longer before pulling into a neighborhood one can only describe as “the rich side of town”. My old home was in a nice place as well, but it wasn’t anything like this place. Houses that looked like museums lined either side of the road, beautifully colored flowers and shrubbery decorating the entrances at every home. I thought back to my mother, sleeping in her hospital bed...my chest felt tight. We finally pulled into a driveway after what felt like forever. The front of the house looked immaculate, white pillars decorating the front. It was beautiful, but the man standing in the driveway with his arm looped around a woman I only knew as “homewrecker” was not.

“Please follow me miss, your father is waiting.” The driver finally spoke, exiting the car and running around to my side.

The door opened and light spilled in, illuminating the dress I was wearing. A gift from my mother for my birthday, and the only thing I had brought with me. I scooted myself out of the car, gravel crunching under my feet as I followed the driver towards my father. The man bowed and retreated to the car as he presented me.

“Miss (Y/N) has arrived safely Master.” He reported.

I watched as the woman draped over my father untangled herself from him and bent down to my level. Up close, she was a true beauty. Eyes as black as the night sky without stars, skin a beautiful shade of caramel. Her hair was short and a dark brown, but she had a small streak of blonde in the front. I stared at the woman as she smiled at me. Her eyes scanned over my form as mine did hers.

“Hi there sweetie, my name is Maya.” She held out her hand for me to shake, but I only had negative connotations about this woman; I just stared at it.

“Darling, be a good girl and shake Maya’s hand. Didn’t your mother teach you respect?” My fathers voice came off gruff. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a confused look, locking eyes with him.

“Momma taught me to give respect when it’s been earned.” I replied softly.

He didn’t like that too much, Maya seemed hurt by it as well. She retreated to my fathers side as the two of them led me inside the massive place I would call home now. The soft click-clack of Maya’s heals against the marbled floor filled my ears.

“This way to your new room, it’s been stocked with clothing and school supplies. Your uniform is hanging in the closet. I expect you to get settled in by tonight.” He grunted slightly as I stared at him with emotionless eyes. “Dinner is at 8, I’ll have a servant come to collect you when the time comes.”

“Am I aloud to explore?” I asked, running my fingers along the bed.

“Do as you wish, but don’t go into my study. it’s the door with my name on it.” I nodded in response, hopping on to the bed. He began closing the door behind him, but stopped briefly.

“I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but you are my daughter and I expect nothing but greatness from you. I hope you learn to move on from your mother and follow in my footsteps.” His words stung my ears.

“I’ll never forget momma, she’s my hero.” My voice came out a little more angry than I meant, but he didn’t seem to care. He didn’t respond, instead closing the door behind him as he left.

“I’ll never forget her, not ever.”

—————————

/// AN: I have no clue how long to make these. I don’t wanna make them drag on but I also know that a lot of people get into it and hate for it to end too soon. Ahhh what should I do? Any thoughts?

@crackhead1-800

As requested lol

#bnha bakugo katsuki #bnha bakugou #bnha x reader #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #angst #flashback

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jcmorrigan · 5 years

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Valentine’s Day F/O Letter

For the event hosted by @nougatships and @megane-shipping! I decided to write a letter to Giovanni Potage from EE because I am love him SO MUCH right now. Anyway, it got kinda long, so most of it will be under a cut.

***

Hi Gio,

This is the first time I’ve ever really written anything of length to you. To any of the ones I love this way, really. Beginnings are hard. There’s so much I want to say, and I’m not sure where to even start. So let’s get the basics out of the way: how are you doing? Successful heists lately? Epic tales of villainy I simply must know about?

I’ve been fine. Life’s boring, as usual. I would say I don’t even know how you put up with it, but I’ve seen your couch-potato side, so that’s not really a big mystery. I like that. I like that you’re equally up for breaking the mold with some adventure and just…kicking it. (Wow. That’s some old slang. When’s the last time anyone said “kicking it”? Me. Just now.)

So as for the reason I’m writing this letter…I think it’s best if I just begin in chronological order. So you and I both know you’re not the only one in my heart, and I’m glad you respect this. There’s a time, a place, and an AU for you, and it doesn’t make you any less special. But I’m always stunned when I look back at how we met. The others, it took time to realize I loved them, and how much they meant to me. But you? You broke through that fuckin’ museum wall, and I KNEW you were my type. If you want the receipts, I have the Discord chat of when I was talking to my friend while watching you and screaming about how much I wanted to cuddle you. (LISTEN. I KNOW THAT WAS FORWARD. I’M SORRY FOR BEING A CREEP. SOMETIMES I’M A STALKER.) …Actually, the exact words were when my friend, knowing you were my type, said “If he were any further up your alley, he’d be at your house” and I said “He could come to my house anytime” and I’m sorry your girlfriend is such a creep.

I haven’t felt that instant…fall that many times in my life. The last time I can remember it, it was for someone real. As in who originates in my world. I think you’ve figured out that sometimes, I compare you to him. That chase went on such a runaround…with men, my whole life after him, I’ve thought of them as goals to achieve. I got the attention of the hot one! Yay! Finally! Now he can love me and all of my little quirks, even though I’m super boring! And I’m not saying that’s incredibly wrong. I’ve made some good relationships that way, actually. (All fictional, of course.)

But you…what struck me is how much I wanted to be with you for your sake. Not mine. Not to bandy about getting you to notice me, or playing the tsundere game, or worrying I’m not good enough. Sure, I like a slowburn and a good confession, but I really just wanted to be close to you because you made me smile. You had a good sense of humor, you have that unbreakable lighthearted confidence I adore…you’re a little bit of an idiot, but in the absolute best way possible (and you have emotional smarts where I don’t). And on that note! You’re one of the nicest guys I know! Even if you are the bad guy.

Which was kind of the two-hit combo that slayed me. I have a villain problem. You know this. I know this. I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Some days, I want to be a villain, myself, and have the freedom to do what I want, take revenge on those I feel wronged me, take whatever my heart desires, just not have to live by the RULES anymore. But some days, I become acutely aware of my conscience. Could I ever be a real villain? Could I actually steal? Could I KILL? I think about the people I’d hurt, and I don’t wanna do that. I now know that depending on the situation, I can laugh with the sinners and cry with the saints. (Little Billy Joel for ya.) But with you, I know I don’t really have to…pick. You let me be me, and you let me have that freedom of just…doing bad things that are against the rules. And it feels AWESOME. But then, we never really take it too far, and we still have our friendships, our standards, our moral codes, our etiquette. Basically, you’ll let me be the good guy, too, and you’re just a sweetie pie. Some days, I need to toe the line more; some days, I need to shed blood. But you let me suspend in between, getting the best of both worlds.

And all this is why I think…maybe you’re my favorite out of all of them. It makes me feel guilty to love you best when I’ve given my heart to two others, and who knows where it will stop? But it’s you I find myself thinking of most often. You who I’d have fun with. You who’d make me smile. You who I’d want to make smile.

Also, I realized lately. I don’t get jealous over you, not like I thought I would. I like seeing you depicted with other partners, the Blasters or other selfshippers/OCs. I love when I meet someone else who had the good enough taste to fall for you! If you want to invite Crusher or Spike or anyone else you like to be part of this…I know you have enough love for all of us. We can all be happy together. Just say the word!

Knowing you would support me emotionally no matter what is touching. I’ve relied on you for a lot. I’ve done scary grown-up government stuff while listening to your theme. I invited you to the crew that would go on that flight with me because I hate airplanes so much, and I knew you would give me amazing distraction-cuddles (though I suspect you, also, fear the airplane, and if I’m right about that, I admire you so much for not letting it show). There are times I…really hate myself, or feel worthless. Especially because I have so much trouble validating myself. But I know you’d just put a hand on my shoulder and tell me it’s going to be all right before inviting me to slip on some ski masks and pretty supervillain clothes so we can go hijack sugar cookies from the bakery. (Pink for you. You always have dibs on the pink ones! I haven’t forgotten! And blue for me <3)

The adventures we’ve been on in my imagination…the walks around Twilight Town (YEAH YEAH I KNOW WRONG WORK OF FICTION), snuggling up in your knitted blankets (which are SO SOFT), making my villainess dress together, the first kiss on the rooftop, dancing like idiots, THE HEISTS…it all makes me really happy. You remind me that I don’t necessarily have to “grow up” to be a grown-up. And, I mean, I knew that, but you make sure I REALLY know that. (Speaking of which, don’t you love how if you add the two of us parents’-basement-dwellers together, you probably end up with one [1] functioning adult?)

I also really have to thank you for being accepting of my asexuality. I’m always scared it will push others away. They say men only want one thing, right? And I am unfortunately attracted to men. Yaaaaay me. But there are big exceptions to the rule, and you’ve always been the one to say “Fuck gender roles!” I feel like when I’m with you, I never have to worry that you’ll be wanting something I can’t give you.

In return, I will accept you no matter your body, your identity. I’ve run into a couple different takes on you, but they’re all you.

I guess that brings me to the hard part of this. This is going public, so I don’t know how specific I want to get. But there was a very powerful force that suggested I couldn’t see you through my own eyes. That no one could do so. It almost tore us apart. I thought it was my moral obligation to let you go. I thought loving you would mean taking a stand on the wrong side and hurting my friends. I thought that what would happen is that every time I thought of you, I would be reminded of ugly truths and harsh realities.

But after two days, I missed you so much. It was a good wake-up call to know this relationship wasn’t completely baggage-free, and it reminded me that I have many characters in my life who I want to give my attention, but it also proved to me that if I tried to let you go…I would have to physically push you away instead, and in the end, I couldn’t do it. I think back all the time to how good of a brother-dad-mentor-figure you were to Molly, and how you got worried about Fred’s astigmatism, and how I was sure you’d get along with so many of the characters who already made up my world, and how this spoke to your heart. Oh, and also, I needed your dumb ass to say loitering in front of a truck was a valid crime. (Please don’t ever loiter in front of a truck. I’m begging you.) I need you to show me how easily you shift from Grandma Mode to Knife Mode with your knitting needle, to be proud of the way you season your soup attacks, to keep making your own capes, to insist on the benefits of wielding a bat with a fucking knife taped to it, to jet your friends to safety when they’re afraid of such things as fire and traitor bears.

Whatever comes of all that, I hope there can still be a space for us. You and me. And I’m confident it will happen, now. It already is happening. Because I know that you’d just want me to be happy, no matter where you fell on the issue that began it. And you love and respect my friends, too. I know you see us as our own little group of villains and co-minions and talk about us like we’re an evil team that has to take care of each other, and that’s…honestly so cute. Too bad I’m terrible at putting your words to work. Maybe one day. When I learn how to find the approval I seek without fighting it out of people. But I think that was the moment it went from a crush to actually loving you. When I saw how you would do that with Molly. With everyone. Make sure they knew how valid they were. I…feel bad that I haven’t been able to live up to this lately. Like I’ve failed you. But I can always try again, right? That’s what you’d want me to do! And I do improve on things every day. One day, the minion will surpass her villain (but still stay around with you because that’s what we do)! I hope I can support you in the same way – that when you have things that trouble your mind, that I can help you feel better and get you toward a solution to the problem.

I know I’m safe with you, and I want to keep you safe, too. I know how much you’d put on the line to defend me, and I just want to protect you from all of the bad in your world – from snooty Vice Principals who call their armies to beat you up (I’m still SO SORRY you went through that!), from the law chasing you away from all that’s familiar, from all the insults and mockery that could ever come your way. I want to stand before you like a shield. To gather the troops of the other characters I know and form a protection squad around you. To make you smile. (Even if you are really, really cute when you cry. Look, I’m not gonna beat around the bush – I do love getting to comfort you. It SUCKS that you have to go through the hard times, but I like…being there. I hope that doesn’t make a sadist of me. Yeah, yeah, I know, that’s an overreaction.)

By the way, I’m kinda sorry for not ordering the lobster bisque at the pub in the airport. I was gonna because of you! But I chickened out! And that salmon I got instead was REALLY good, okay? But it’s a double whammy because I had JUST found out the soup place in the mall closed and I need to make up for this. There will be soup!

(As of the most recent draft, I had a horrid stomachache last Sunday, and chicken soup was all I could eat for most of the day. I thought of you. Though yours would’ve been better than Campbell’s and we both know it.)

Fun fact: you are dating a silly, sappy lady. I keep thinking back to this letter – I drafted it once, then went back and added things, and here I am saying I ALMOST mailed this without talking up your looks. Which is probably a good thing because it means I’m primarily with you for your personality, but everyone deserves to feel like they look nice, so here goes: I love your silly, sly smirk. I love your cute little fangies. I love your untamed pink hair. I love when I can see just how deep-pink your eyes are. I love how much of a beanpole you are, and how much taller you are than me (even if it does mean you can’t carry me bridal-style for more than thirty seconds). I love how innocent you can look, and how you can look the absolute OPPOSITE of innocent when you want to. I love the way your face lights up when you’re happy about something, or when you’re being cocky. I love the way you wear your emotions on your sleeve, and I can always see how you feel just by looking (I’m bad at body language and reading between lines, after all). Do not ever doubt that is one handsome man looking back at you from the other side of the mirror! Because I could just watch your smile for so long, unbroken, you don’t even know.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for letting me be me. Thank you for the fact that we’re our silly selves and we can be grown-ups without growing up in the gray space between good and evil. I can’t wait to see you more – in your own story, where I’m not; in the story just for us, in our own little timeline; in the TBTCverse Twilight Town where we are hounded by complex crossover lore; in the beautiful art everyone draws of you; in any other universe that may bring us together.

And someday, the time might come that we have to part ways romantically. I’m not looking forward to that. I’m really not. I hope it doesn’t happen. But someday, we might not have the chemistry anymore, or you might find someone better, or I might have to put more focus in what I guess is the “real world.” If that day comes, I hope we can still be friends and mean something to each other. Zucchinis/QPPs, preferably. But if we have to be more distant…just so that I can think of you, and you can think of me, and we’ll both treasure those memories.

I love you, Giovanni. Or should I say “Boss”?

Sincerely, with all my heart,

Rachel “Composer” Scribere/Inlustris

(P.S. I wasn’t sure which universe’s last name I should put, seeing as I obviously am not going to write my last name in THIS world, so there, have both the ones you know me as.)

(P.P.S. “If there’s a place that I could be, then I’d be another memory. Can I be the only hope for you? Because you’re the only hope for me.” ~MCR, “The Only Hope for Me Is You,” Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys)

#selfship #i'm at soup!#valentine's day f/o event

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xtrashmammalstefx · 5 years

Text

My Joy Was Complete (Joe Mazzello x Reader x Gwilym Lee)

WARNINGS: Smut, mild cursing, and a dash of feels

You know when you meet someone so far beyond your expectations that you don’t even stop and think that they would ever look your way? That’s sort of what it felt like when I met Gwilym. I swear if ever there was a man too good to be human it was him. Not only because he was impossibly beautiful but because on the inside where it counts he was absolutely stunning. Sweet, kind, and just everything I’ve always been told to look for in a man.

Problem was that while he was extraordinary in every sense of the word I was not. I was plain from head to toe with [Y/ H/ C] and [Y/E/C]. My skin was [Y/S/C] and held a lot of excesses (or so I believed) in the hip, butt, and breasticles area. I hardly ever wore revealing clothes thanks to mother nature marking up my skin with cellulite and whatnot. When not working as a production assistant, I am at home either reading, eating, scrolling through Tumblr, or watching an endless amount of TV and movies. In other words, I’m what most people would describe as boring.

So I didn’t think Gwil would ever waste his time on someone like me. And yet he did…

I met him on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody where I helped with whatever needed my assistance. I tried to stay out of the actors’ way since they were busy and their roles were anything but small. I was already a fan of Rami, Joe, and Ben (having watched Night at the Museum, Jurassic Park, and X-Men Apocalypse over a million times as well as The Social Network and Mr. Robot). I hadn’t really heard of Gwil though and had planned on googling him later on (purely out of curiosity and not fangirl related reasons). I was helping set up the amps for the Live Aid scene when I heard the most gentle voice.

“Hello there,” I looked over and found Gwilym in full costume smiling at me.

“Oh, uh, don’t mind me. I’m just helping set things up here for you and the, um, others,” I said nervously.

“Relax love none of us bite,” he said.

“Hard,” Ben said walking by on his way to the drums.

“He’s really taking his role to heart isn’t he?” I laughed.

“I’d say so yeah but then again we all are,” Gwil said chuckling with me and my god was his laugh so sweet it wasn’t fair. I actually mentally shouted: I GIVE UP! THIS MAN IS PERFECT! “I’m Gwilym Lee by the way.”

“Y/N,” I said.

“So is this your first movie Y/N?” he asked.

“Mmm no,” I said. “I worked on The Social Network, and uh…”

“Thought I knew you from somewhere,” Joe said passing by to collect his bass. “Nice to see you again Jelly Bean!”

“You too Beer Belly,” I said quickly patting his belly which was actually a little flatter since we last met. He let out an almost Pillsbury DoughBoy type of giggle. “Still ticklish I see.”

“Shuddup,” he muttered.

“Jelly Bean?” Gwil questioned.

“We worked long hours even on that set. Sometimes I would get severe hunger pains so I always kept a bag of jelly beans on hand to replenish myself. Joe kept stealing them of course which is why he gave me the nickname Jelly Bean,” I explained. “And I really need to learn to shut up. Um, I’ll just…”

“No no, it’s fine. I like hearing you talk,” he said. “You have such a lovely voice… and that sounded far more creepy than I thought it would. I am so sorry.”

“No harm no foul,” I said.

He continued to talk to me while I worked and then when filming commenced I watched in awe from the side stage as he and the others gave the most iconic concert a new life. Of course, now that Joe remembered who I was he insisted on having me around at all times which was fine by everyone else, especially Gwil.

After filming wrapped up and we all went our separate ways we swore we’d always be in each other's lives and promised to always keep in contact. Which we did. About a month or so after filming wrapped my apartment was flooded and I wound up moving in with Joe who was in dire need of a friend himself (his father had just passed after a long battle with cancer). That first night I unpacked my stuff in the guestroom and spent the rest of the day and the night holding Joe as he wept.

“It’s okay Joey,” I cooed him. “Just let it out, honey.”

Joe didn’t really talk to anyone for a while and because I was concerned for him neither did I. One night as I passed his room to get a drink of water from the kitchen, I heard him moan and whimper. I peeked my head in and saw him writhing as a nightmare held him captive in his own head. I sighed and walked over to his bed. “Joe,” I shook him. “Joe, wake up it’s only a dream. JOE!”

His eyes flew open and he gasped. He sat up trying to catch his breath. Suddenly his whole body began to shake. “Joey,” I muttered enveloping him in my arms.

He cried into my shoulder. Sobbing until there was nothing left. I held him there for a while until I felt his head start to shift and his lips touch the skin of my neck. “What are you..?”

He didn’t answer just peppered me in kisses in a trail leading up to my lips. I would’ve stopped him… I should have stopped him but… the moment his lips touched mine everything seemed to go away. And I melted into him.

After a while, we were lying on his bed, our clothes everywhere but on our bodies. He kissed my breasts flicking my nipple with his tongue. I moaned feeling as though I could live in that moment forever. A few more intimate kisses later his tip ghosted my entrance.

“I’ve been waiting for you my whole life,” Joe muttered. I didn’t know what to say that. All I knew was that my body ached for him at that moment.

“Me too,” I said brushing his cheek with my hand.

He sighed. “I love you.”

“I-” I started feeling him push his tip in. “I love you too.”

He pushed the rest of his length in stretching me and making me gasp. He cursed under his breath and started to thrust. The feeling of him moving inside me was indescribable. My nails practically dug themselves into his back as he moved and after a while, they began to explore him. My left hand found its way to his ass and gave it a nice firm squeeze making him groan.

I don’t know how long we lasted only that it felt like a lifetime. Eventually, the tension building up in my lower belly became too much. My back arched, my toes curled, and I felt myself tighten around his length. A loud moan escaped my mouth as I came all over his length. I held onto him still, body trembling, as he continued to thrust into me. His movements were now sloppy and suddenly he was twitching inside me. He moaned and cursed as he filled me with his seed. He then collapsed on me, body quivering. He kissed my swollen lips once more before pulling himself out and taking the empty space beside me.

I woke up the next morning sore but in bliss. A part of me wanted to stay in that bed forever but then…

Zzz zzz…

My phone buzzed from where I’d left it on the nightstand (I was going to do some late night creeping on Tumblr while I drank my water last night) and the screen flashed revealing a text… from Gwil.

“How are things, love?”

Shit.

I groaned and quickly texted back. “Just woke up. Give me a few to get my brian working.”

“Your brian?”

“FUCK I MEANT BRAIN! STUPID AUTOCORRECT!”

“Lol.”

I sighed and put my phone back on the nightstand. Just then I felt the bed shift and an arm draped itself over me.

“Morning baby,” Joe muttered.

“Morning,” I muttered. He pecked me on the lips.

“I’d say we have a little morning sex but I am completely raw down there so…”

“And I’m completely sore down there so…” We laughed at our misery.

Joe sighed. “That was one of the best nights of my life.”

“Me too,” I said. “I’m pretty sure you just put all of my ex’s to shame.”

He laughed. “You know what? I’m making you breakfast in bed!”

My eyes grew wide with terror. Rule number one when living with Joe Mazzello: Don’t trust him with the fucking stove!

“JOE NO!” I said running after him quickly shrugging on my shirt and shorts from the night before.

Things were different after that. Joe and I went out on dates, had even more sex in various places around the house, and were just happy to be with one another. Still, there was a nagging feeling deep inside me that wondered if I had done the right thing. After all, I still had feelings for someone else.

Gwil and I continued to chat and admittedly it changed quite a bit when Joe and I announced our relationship to the world. Never has my phone blown up with so many ‘What the fuck?’ texts before. Most of the texts from our friends said the same thing. ‘I thought maybe you and Gwil might get together.’ Which didn’t help the nagging feeling feel any better.

Premiere weekend finally arrived a little over a year later and that’s when things got complicated. Gwil and Ben flew in for the big night and had planned to stay for a few days so we could all hang out as a group for old times sake.

Gwil and I were completely awkward around each other but we did our best to conceal it. After the premiere, we all gathered at the hotel Ben and Gwil were staying at for drinks.

I remember Gwil sat as far away from me as possible the whole time we were there and hardly spoke to me. It hurt but I understood. Again the nagging feeling pounded in my head.

I thought a lot about him throughout his stay, and he continued to pull further and further away from me. It hurt me.

So on the morning of his second to last day in the states, I texted him.

“We need to talk.”

“Ben’s out sightseeing all day with Joe if you wanna come by.” He texted back.

No sooner had Joe gone for his date with Ben that I left our apartment and started for the hotel. At his room, I only had to knock twice before he answered. “I get why you’ve been avoiding me,” I said.

“Um come in,” he stepped aside.

I did and collapsed on the sofa. “I am such a massive bitch. I can’t believe I would actually treat you so horribly.”

“Love, don’t do that to yourself,” he said sitting beside me. “If anyone’s at fault here it’s me.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I should have made my move before it was too late,” he said. “I should have made my move but I didn’t… because honestly, I was scared.”

“YOU were scared? I’m the one that was suddenly getting attention from this inhumanly handsome guy who could do so much better than me,” I said.

“I can’t,” he muttered looking away.

The nagging feeling came back stronger and it was telling me I needed to be closer. So I slid over until I was snuggled up against him. “What are we gonna do?” I whispered.

“I dunno,” he said.

I sighed and breathed in the scent of his cologne. It was every bit as perfect as he was. Before I could even think of stopping myself I was peppering his neck with kisses.

“Love… don’t… I⸺.” But I continued to kiss and suck just below where his beard started. He let out a deep moan. It made me want more. So I placed my hand on his cheek and brought his mouth down to mine.

His hand rested on my hip as he kissed me with a passion I never knew before. I ran my fingers through his hair deepening it until he let out a subtle growl. “You drive me mad, woman.”

He then picked me up and carried me to the bedroom of the suite. We wasted no time in getting rid of our clothes. I noticed differences in his body compared to Joe’s soft form; right down to his length which like the rest of him was thick and long… definitely had two inches or so on Joe. After eyeing him a while I looked up and found he’d been doing the same. He then got on top of me, line himself up, and smiled that damn smile that would weaken even the sanest of people.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said before pushing in.

From then on there was no stopping us. Gwil thrust and kissed me every chance he had. Being the ever generous lad he at one point sat up so I could ride him and just take charge for a moment. As I did he moaned and held me tight kissing my breasts.

“Mmm Gwil,” I moaned. “Gwil I’m⸺ HNNG!”

“Hold on love,” he said before lying us back down. He thrust even harder then hitting me right on my sweet spot.

“FUCK!” I blurted. “I-I think I’m gonna⸺!”

I screamed, my toes curled, and I clung to Gwil as if my life depended on it. I tightened around him, covering him in juices. His thrusts slowed down then and grew sloppy. Then with a groan and a curse he twitched inside me.

Breathless he pulled himself out once there was nothing left but stayed on top of me. “I love you Y/N… so much.”

“I love you too,” I said, feeling the tears come.

After a good cry of frustration, we wound up having another round before I made my way back home with my head hung in shame.

Joe wasn’t home yet so I took a shower and started on dinner. Gwil texted me while I was cooking just as Joe entered the front door.

“I miss you already.” He texted.

“BABE YOU HOME?!” Joe shouted.

“In the kitchen!” I shouted back while texting back a quick ‘Me too’ to Gwil.

“Who are you talking to?” Joe asked as he approached for a kiss.

“Gwil just texted me to remind me that I promised to bring a bowl of my famous guac tomorrow.” I lied.

“Ooh you mean the Seximole?” he said growing very excited. It was named that by moi because everyone who tried it wound up having a loud foodgasm.

“As if there’s any other,” I said.

“Mmm I wanna come just thinking about it,” Joe moaned.

“Ugh!” I gasped. “Are you using me for my guac Joseph?”

“Maybe,” he smirked. “It is basically sex for the mouth.”

“Amazing my lover would rather fuck my guac than me,” I scoffed at him.

“Can you blame me?” he laughed. He then leaned in and kissed my neck. “Don’t worry, I still love you more.”

“Love you too,” I said. “Now go shower. You smell like ass and day-old cologne.”

He did and I got back to dinner and Gwil.

Gwil left a couple days later and we agreed that with time we could figure us out. I hated it and I could see he did too but it was the only plan we had so far.

A couple months later during Oscar weekend, I woke up feeling pretty shit. I threw up my entire dinner and scared the shit out of Joe. I brushed off as being pre-Oscar jitters.

“Babe the jitters don’t make you throw up,” he said worried out of his mind but I assured him with some Pepto I would be fine.

Gwil and Ben had flown in for the big show and Gwil was quick to notice my sickly complexion. “You feeling alright love?” he asked once we were in the shared limo.

“Yeah just, um, having a bad case of the jitters,” I said feeling Joe’s eyes on me silently calling bullshit.

The show wound up going amazingly. We didn’t win the big one but we won plenty and Rami got the recognition he so rightfully earned. I’m pretty sure even Freddie would’ve been proud of how the night went.

Again Gwil and Ben stayed a few days to hang. My sickness never really went away though. Even Lucy was worried now but for a whole different reason…

“Y/N when did you last have your monthly?” she asked once she and I were alone.

“Why?” She looked at me with her ‘really’ face. “Oh…”

She collected her purse and took me by the hand. “We’re going out for a bit don’t wait up,” she told the guys.

We went to the nearest drug store where I got a pregnancy test. Obviously taking it at home was a no go so Lucy and I locked ourselves in the store bathroom. She turned around while I did my thing and did her best to comfort me as we waited.

Sure enough, when I picked up the test a few minutes later staring back at me was a pink plus sign. “Oh, God…” I broke down crying.

“Y/N what’s wrong? Isn’t this a good thing?” she asked. I nodded. “Then why are you crying like it’s the worst thing in the world?”

I then told her everything the best I could. Gwilym, the hotel, and everything. “I don’t know what to do Lucy. It could be either of theirs.”

She sighed.

“Well you should at least tell Joe first,” she said. “Then figure it out from there.”

I shoved my test in my pocket. Wiped away my tears and stood up. Back home I made a beeline for our bedroom needing to be away from everyone for a bit while I figured things out.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. “Babe?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Can I come in?” Joe asked.

I sighed. “It’s your room too babe.”

He opened the door and walked over to the bed laying down beside me. “You gonna tell me what’s up or are you gonna keep me in suspense? ‘Cause, to be honest, I’m going slightly mad over here.”

“Letting the mystery percolate does sound tempting,” I teased.

“Babe,” he groaned.

“Fine fine,” I laughed. “How do you feel about kids?”

“I love them and I can’t wait to have them. Why?”

I took a deep breath and took his hand placing it on my stomach. “Because there’s a little Mazzello in here and I don’t want to do this alone.”

“What?!” Joe jumped up. “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! BABE!”

He tackled me and smothered me in kisses.

“Joe you’re crushing your child,” I laughed.

“Oops sorry!” he said jumping out of the bed. “Come on we gotta tell everybody!”

“Wait everyone’s still here?”

“Duh! You scared the shit out of them you dork!” he said taking off towards the living room. I barely set a toe into the room when he shouted. “GUYS I’M GONNA BE A DADDY!”

Everyone cheered and congratulated us except for Gwil who looked at me with an arched eyebrow. I gave a subtle nod that screamed: Yeah it might be yours.

“I’m getting a coke,” I said. “Anyone want anything?”

Ben requested a beer, Lucy being the best girlfriend ever requested water (so as to not tempt the mama to be), and Rami and Joe said they were fine. I was in the kitchen for only a second before Gwil entered.

“So there’s a baby,” he said. I nodded. “And it might be mine?”

I nodded again. “We won’t know for certain until the birth… I guess.”

“So that’s the plan then? Just wait?”

“What else can I do? I can’t very well do the tests without Joe finding out and lord knows he is going to be at every appointment until the big day.”

“But it could be the start of our family I can’t just do nothing,” he said.

“I know,” I muttered.

Rami walked in then immediately killing the conversation.

In truth, I honestly had no idea what I would do. I stuck with Joe who was more than excited about being a dad. He even asked me to marry him during my eighth month of pregnancy. I said yes but I still had days when I missed Gwil. Finally, after nine long months, my water broke.

Joe and I were in the hospital for hours. The others were busy with other projects so they couldn’t be there. It was probably for the best though. Eventually, the time came for me to push. I heaved and heaved. Suddenly my cries were replaced with that of my baby. “It’s a boy!” The doctor declared.

He placed the baby on top of me so that I could greet him with a hug and a kiss on his little head. I did just that and immediately felt exhaustion take over. “Y/N? Y/N!”

I heard Joe shout before everything went black.

I woke up sometime later but nobody realized it right away. “How long has she been..?”

Gwil asked unable to finish. What in the hell is he doing here? I wondered.

“Just a few hours and two days,” Joe sighed. “She was out before the other baby came.”

“Other baby?”

“Fraternal twins,” Joe said. “Another boy. We were, uh, going to surprise everybody.”

Gwil sat down beside me and I felt him slip his hand in mine.

“I don’t blame you,” Joe said. “For loving her, and… for doing what you did.”

“W-What do you mean?” Gwil asked.

“Ben forgot his wallet that day during your visit for the premier. I heard her voice coming from your room. Didn’t think anything of it until the voice turned into… other noises.”

“Mate I am so sorry,” Gwil cut him off. “I swear neither of us meant to hurt you. Hell, she loves you too much to ever… but…” Gwil sighed.

“But you love her,” Joe finished. “I get it.”

I then heard footsteps go across the room and a shuffling noise.

“Here,” Joe took more steps. “I thought it was only right that you met him.”

“Why?” Gwil asked.

“Because he’s yours,” Joe said. “I asked around while she’s been out and it’s rare but it happens.”

Gwil’s hand left mine and there was more shuffling. He sighed. “He looks like I did in my baby pictures.”

“He’s beautiful,” Joe said.

I then heard as Gwil placed a small kiss on the baby’s head. “So what now?”

“Well, we’d already agreed that Rami would be Joey’s godfather. I figured it would be only appropriate if you be his,” Joe said. “She named him Brian by the way. Brian Gwilym Mazzello.”

“Mate… you are being too kind,” Gwil said.

“Nonsense,” Joe said. “It was the least I could do. Besides I know deep down it’s what she would want.”

“It is,” I muttered.

Joe darted to me, tears streaming down his face. “Hey,” he whispered kissing me. “Oh thank God I thought I lost you.”

I sighed. “That’ll never happen and you know it.”

I then looked over at Gwil holding our baby. “Hey.”

“Hello love,” he said bringing the baby to me. “I believe you have yet to meet him.”

I took the baby into my arms. “Hi Bri,” I whispered. “Where’s Joey?”

“Oh uh,” Joe went and got the other baby. He placed him beside his brother on my lap.

And for the first time in months, everything felt right.

“I love you both so much,” I whispered before looking up. “I love all of you.”

And I always would.

For at that moment my joy was complete.

#joe mazzello #gwilym lee #reader #imagine #oneshot #BoRhap #bohemian rhapsody

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lightsburnbrite · 5 years

Text

Such a Thrill: Part 13

Looking down, Leon didn’t need to hear it to know the tone the text was sent in.

Late. As always.

He shook his head to himself as he quickly typed a reply.

2 minutes. Chill.

As he approached, Leon saw Marius before Marius saw him.

“Where are you coming from?” Marius looked up as he kicked out a chair from the table he was sitting at. “I thought you lived back in that direction.”

Leon shrugged as he sat down and picked up a menu. “Yeah, we moved a couple of months ago.”

“We?” Marius scoffed.

“Yeah.” He put the menu down and folded his hands in front of him before sitting up straighter. “You’ve never given me an answer about why you hate Karina so much.”

Marius gave a sight shake of his head. “I don’t hate her, I just think she’s terrible. She will do whatever she needs to do to get what she wants, she lies and is deceptive in everything she does. Watch, as soon as she gets whatever it is she wants from you, she’ll drop you and move on to her next victim.”

Their conversation paused when a bottle of water was brought over. Leon raised an eyebrow and stopped himself from laughing.

“What?” Marius continued. “She had this rich old guy wrapped around her little finger but left him as soon as she figured you were better. Our parents thought he was her boss but I know she was whoring herself out for his money.”

Leon allowed himself to laugh now. “Do you actually believe what you’re saying? I know the story behind her relationship with Strohman. I even met the guy before he died and you are so off base.” Propping his elbow on the table, Leon leaned in. “I’ve spent the last year with her. Either you’re wrong or she’s the most brilliant sociopath to have ever walked the Earth.”

Marius snorted at that.

“I’m serious!” Leon laughed at the thought of Karina being some Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type. “She can’t hide anything, it’s so obvious if something is bothering her if you know what to look for. Maybe she’s just that way to you because you’re a dick to her.”

He shook his head adamantly. “I’m not. At least, not when she hasn’t deserved it.”

“The whole time that I have been around the two of you, you’re trying to tell her what she can and can’t do, there was the incident with Mathea-”

“Ok!” Marius protested. “Maybe I’ve been a jerk. I still don’t get why it has to be my sister.”

Leon threw up his hands. “I don’t know. I didn’t wake up one morning and think ‘damn, how can I piss Marius off today?’ She just makes me happy.”

There was a long pause as if Marius finally accepted what Leon was saying. “So you live together, you’ve got a dog…are you getting married or what?”

“Elsa is Karina’s, if we break up the dog goes with her.” He shrugged after that. “Neither of us are thinking about getting married either, right now we’re good.”

Marius grimaced as if he was already regretting what he was about to ask. “So why didn’t she come with you today?”

Looking up, it took a moment for it to register that Marius had no idea what had gone on. “It takes a lot for her to actually leave the house.”

After Marius looked at Leon like he had two heads, he continued. “There was a guy who was stalking her. He broke into her apartment when we were in Amsterdam and waited for Karina in her bed. I was with her so I don’t know if that stopped him from doing anything more…she never went back to her apartment after that. We stayed in mine for a few days before we found a new place. She’s been seeing a therapist and he has her on some kind of anxiety medication but she hasn’t been the same since it happened.”

“Oh,” Marius took a few more minutes to process what had been said and then seemed to experience some sort of sympathy for his sister. “I had no idea.”

Leon gave a slight nod. “I’m trying to convince her to see someone else but I haven’t had much luck with that yet.”

“Do you, um…” Marius cleared his throat. “I don’t know if our parents could help at all.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Leon tilted his head. “I’m not really sure what she needs right now, to be honest.”

When Leon got home, he found Karina sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the television. He leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her cheek before sitting down next to her. “I picked up some sushi for dinner, you hungry?”

Karina sighed as she shook her head. “Not really.”

“What’d you get up to today?” Draping her arm around her shoulders, Leon pulled her in close. To his relief, Karina nestled in against him.

Twisting her body so that she was now facing him, Karina brought her arm across his chest and rested her hand on Leon’s shoulder. “I’ve been working on a script for the museum guides. Giving some background on the artist and the period in which it was made, if it’s part of a set and answers to some possible questions, stuff like that. Anyway, I turned the first draft in so then I’ll make revisions and go from there.”

“Yeah?” Leon leaned over and kissed her temple. “Did you go in today?”

She braced herself for Leon’s thinly veiled disappointment when she shook her head no.

“Ok.” Leon rubbed her shoulder before he stood up. “Does Elsa need to go on a walk?”

Upon hearing the word, Elsa sprang up from her bed and sat eagerly at Leon’s feet.

Leon laughed and gave her a pat on the head. “Ok, miss. Just hang on. Maus, you wanna come too?”

“Maybe next time.” Karina kept her eyes forward as she responded.

“Ok…um,” Leon inadvertently sighed. “We’ll be back.”

Once Leon made it a few steps outside, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the the team psychologist. He set up a meeting for fifteen minutes from then, took Elsa on a quick walk around the block and then they both got in the car.

When Leon walked in, the psychologist stood and smiled, offering his hand to shake. “Good to see you Leon and…?”

“This is Elsa,” Leon shook his hand and sat down. “Sorry Martin , I used the excuse of taking her for a walk to duck out of the apartment.”

Martin quickly smiled. “Not a problem, she’s a beautiful dog. Now, what can I help you with today?”

With a quick nod, Leon inhaled softly and began. “I was hoping you could give me some advice about my girlfriend. A man was stalking her and broke into the apartment and she’s been having panic attacks since. She’s seeing a therapist and she’s on medication but I almost feel like the meds are making her worse. She won’t leave the apartment, she hardly eats, I don’t think she really sleeps. I want her to see a different doctor to get a second opinion, is there someone you could recommend?”

“Does she leave the apartment for her therapy sessions?” Martin started to flip through some business cards that he pulled out of a desk drawer. “Do you know what medication or medications she’s taking?”

Leon nodded again and started looking through his pockets before reading off a slip of paper. “Uh, fluoxetine and alprazolam. But, um, I think she’s only seen the therapist twice.”

“Ok.” Martin scribbled a few notes down before looking back up at Leon. “I’m concerned that she, what did you say your girlfriend’s name was again?”

“Karina.”

“Right, it concerns me that Karina’s doctor seems to be treating her with medication only. Usually, with anxiety disorders, we like to take a cohesive approach of cognitive behavioral therapy supplemented with medications as needed. I have a few colleagues that will make house calls until the agoraphobia subsides.”

Leon cleared his throat. “Agoraphobia?”

“Simply put, a fear of public places usually triggered by a traumatic event.” Martin handed the business cards to Leon. “From what you’ve described, Karina is having a normal reaction but is not being treated in the most beneficial way. Once her therapy gets on track, she should make a full recovery.”

“Ok, um,” Leon stood and nodded. “Thanks, Martin.”

Martin smiled as he shook Leon’s hand. “Anytime. Please let me know hoe everything works out.”

Leon fixed himself a plate to eat when they returned home and sat back down on the sofa but eventually stood again when Karina was indifferent to his presence.

“I guess I’ll go to bed now.” Leon spoke out loud as he walked towards the bedroom but didn’t anticipate Karina joining him.

After stripping down to his underwear and brushing his teeth, Leon laid on the bed with his phone resting on his chest. He contemplated masturbating but still held out hope that Karina might join him. Finally, he got up and walked back to the living room.

“Mausi,” He stood behind the sofa rested his hands on Karina’s shoulders, eventually giving her a little bit of a massage. “Come to bed. Please?”

Karina nodded as she turned the tv off and stood. Once she made it to the bedroom, she undressed and sat on the bed, taking Leon by the hand and drawing him closer.

She swung her legs up on the bed, parting them slightly, and waited for Leon to take over. Karina closed her eyes as Leon started by kissing her neck and then her breasts. He pinched her left nipple as he sucked on her right and eventually pushed two fingers inside of her.

She started to recite the script she was working on in her mind before she realized that Leon was no longer attending to her.

“Why’d you stop?” Karina frowned but didn’t bother to open her eyes.

Leon moved to the foot of the bed and sat on the edge. “Because you obviously don’t want to have sex right now.”

“So?” She sat up, almost irritated that she couldn’t just get this over with. “Why does that matter? You want to so just hurry up.”

Leon sighed as he stood and walked to his side of the bed, throwing the duvet back so he could lay down. “This might surprise you, but I don’t want to have sex if you’re not into it too.”

“You’d rather jerk off then?” Karina let out a little snort as she stood to put her clothes back on.

He covered his face and let out a frustrated groan. “I’d rather you want me. I’d rather you want to leave the fucking house again.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Karina snapped back at him. “Am I just supposed to pretend like nothing happened?”

Leon stood now as well. “No, but I wish you’d stop pretending that loading yourself up with Xanax is actually helping instead of just turning you into some fucking zombie that doesn’t care about anything anymore.”

For a moment, Leon thought he was going to make her cry.

Karina’s gaze shifted to the floor and her shoulders hunched as she covered her face before letting her hands fall back to her sides. “I don’t know what else to do. What if I’m just broken?”

“You’re not broken.” Leon walked back over so that he was standing in front of Karina. He rested his hand against the back of her neck, grazing his thumb across her cheekbone. “I want you to get a second opinion, see a different doctor.”

She laughed wearily. “How am i supposed to do that if I can’t even make myself go outside?”

“I know of someone who will come here.” He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “Let’s give that a try at least.”

***

Dr. Anje Kattan sat in the arm chair positioned to the left of the television while Karina and Leon sat on the sofa.

“Can Leon stay?” Karina gripped his arm as if letting go meant Leon would somehow float out of the room.

Dr. Kattan smile and nodded. “If it would make you more comfortable, yes. Now, let’s get started, shall we?”

#such a thrill #leon goretzka

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eamesandbellamyaremyheaven · 5 years

Text

Bloodreina - The New Avenger Chapter Five (The 100/Marvel)

Prologue || Chapter One || Chapter Two || Capter Three || Chapter Four

Summary: The 100 AU in the Marvel Universe What if Octavia and Bellamy joined the Avengers after escaping HYDRA’s Ark Project? Set after the Battle of New York.

Pairings: All platonic for now: Steve x Octavia, Avengers x Octavia, Bellamy x Octavia, Bellamy x Raven, Octavia x Raven, Boodreina x Winter Soldier, more to come soon…

Word Count: 2699

Warnings: Bad writing maybe? (sorry about that)

A/N: I know I haven’t updated in a while - sorry about that. Hopefully I will find the inspiration to continue update regularly. Please, if you enjoy it, like and comment!

Chapter Five- “you’d be right by my side”

Only the most delicate missions required both Bloodreina and Winter Soldier to work together, something Octavia wasn’t very fond of. The soldier had no concern of anyone else well being, he was a machine devoid of emotions, and Octavia couldn’t trust someone who had no heart.

The Hamburg mission was barely a success, although well executed and the targets acquired and terminated quickly without loose ends, Octavia still managed to get shot in the crossfire. Now they were heading to a safe house, an abandoned loft in a deteriorated building. The soldier walked in first, rifle in hand, inspecting the place, with Octavia following suit, hand still clutching the bullet hound in her chest, right above her heart. As soon as he cleared the floor, Octavia allowed her drained body to fall onto the stained couch, one of the few pieces of furniture inside the apartment.

She observed as he desperately tried to regain communications with the Operations Control, to no avail. Frustrated, he took the earpiece and threw it away across the room. He sat himself near of the windows, scanning the street for any suspicious behavior from the people walking by. And although his eyes were locked at the people roaming outside, his mind was elsewhere. That morning before the mission he seemed collected, calm, as he always was. What had changed?

“Soldier, report on the mission” Octavia commanded, as she stood up. She walked towards the open kitchen, where she found a first aid box in the far-side of the top cabinets, only reaching it at the tip of her toes. She looked back at the soldier, he had ignored her command as if she wasn’t even there.

“Soldier, report” she tried again, her voice more austere this time. She sat back in the couch, taking off her jacket, exposing the bleeding wound. The bullet went through her chest and exited from the back in a straight line, which meant that the wound would heal faster if she manage to stop the hemorrhage, or she would die. So, she needed to stop the bleeding as soon as possible and make a bandage. She grabbed the first-aid kit that sat on top of the center-table and dropped the disinfectant liquid on the open wound, gasping at the burning sensation it inflicted.

And yet again, the soldier had decided to ignore her. If he becomes unresponsive, use violence to force him to comply. That were her orders, the only way HYDRA knew how to deal with the Winter Soldier.

“Soldat, what happened?” Octavia yelled, her voice cracking as a new string of blood ran through the gauze and down her top

“I don’t know!” he yelled back at her, and both froze in place

She was now speechless, her mouth slightly open as she stood still in her seat. That was not the Winter Soldier, as he stood facing her, evident shock in his features, as he was only now realizing her condition. He shook his head sightly, walking towards her without saying a word, kneeling in front of her, taking the gauze from her hands and pressing it gently against her chest.

“What’s your name?” Octavia asked, taking in his features for the first time. His sharp jaw line was covered in a thin layer of beard, his thick lips pursed in a frown and his steel blue eyes focused on the task in hands “Your real name, the one you had before joining HYDRA”

“I- I don’t remember” he simply told her

“Well, that sucks. You know? You must’ve had a name, a place of your own, family, friends... You just can’t remember them”

“Do you?” the Soldier looked up, a small smirk crossing his lips, defying her for an answer

“My name is Octavia. They don’t know I know about my past, or else they would erase my memory. They haven’t done that in a while, which makes it easier to remember stuff from before.”

“Before?”

“Before they made me kill people. Before Bloodreina”

The bleeding had slowed, so he sat the bandage on top of the wound and pressed it in order for it to stick to the skin, which made Octavia gasp.

“How bad is it?” she asked, her voice hoarse as her body was drained of all its strength “Am I gonna die?”

“I can’t stop the bleeding” he admitted “We need to get you back to base soon, before you bleed out”

“No, I won’t go back” Octavia said, as she tried to raise herself from the couch

“That’s not up for discussion.” the Soldier retorted, pushing her back to her seat. He got up, grabbing the riffle he left by the window and sat by her side, setting the riffle down against the couch.

Octavia grunted in discomfort, frowning. She tried to move again, and he simply sat his metal arm in front of her torso, pushing her down effortlessly, again.

“You’re a real piece of work, aren’t ya?” he asked

“I liked you better when you didn’t talk at all” she retorted

“Yeah, I bet” he replied, pursing his mouth in a brief, yet irritating self-satisfying smirk, as he leaned back on his seat, crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

Octavia could feel her body starting to shut-down, as time passed by. This was her last chance to try to reason with her mentor, before she fainted “You know, we could just make a run for it”

“Yeah? And what would we do next?” he wakened out of his doze, but spoke without opening his eyes

“We’d hide for a while. In a place like this, maybe. And as soon as I got my strength back, we’d come for them”

“You wanna go against HYDRA? Alone?” he asked, skeptical “You’ll die”

“Then I’ll die - as a free woman, not a weapon” she looked at him, whose gaze was already on her “And I wouldn’t be alone, you’d be right by my side”

***

Present day

Octavia hated that feeling. If only she had known Bucky Barnes, Steve’s best-friend was the Winter Soldier, she would’ve tried to help him. But how could she know? She had seen the photo of Bucky in the museum and Steve had told her a whole lot of stories from their old times together, but there was barely no resemblance with the stoic and merciless HYDRA soldier that trained her. She had looked into his eyes and saw nothing but darkness and apathy. Except in Hamburg…

Octavia looked around. They were being transported in a SHIELD van, with their hand and feet cuffed in chains. Sam was sat right in front of her, with Natasha by his side. Two guards stood facing them and the door. She looked at Steve, who was sited by her side, and the look on his face, helpless and grieve-stricken, was breaking her heart.

“Did you knew?” He spoke in a whisper, staring nowhere straight-forward “Did you knew he was my Bucky?”

His Bucky. His family. His home. “No, of course not!” Octavia said quickly, her voice cracking in angst “I would never do that to you... ”

Steve turned to Octavia and smiled weakly “It was him. He looked right at me like he didn't even know me.”

“How's that even possible?” Sam said, as he too was listening to the conversation “It was like seventy years ago.”

“Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…”

“None of that's your fault, Steve.” Natasha spoke nonchalantly

“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.”

“We need to get a doctor here.” Sam said, bringing everyone’s attention to Natasha, who was bleeding from her shoulder “If we don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck.”

One of the guards pulled out an electric rod and Sam flinched away, but instead of hitting Sam the guard neutralized the other guard and knocked him out.

“Ah” the guard panted as he took of the helmet, revealing to be Maria Hill “That thing was squeezing my brain.” she looked at the group, her eyes landing on Sam “Who's this guy?”

***

Maria led them to a secret facility, which was basically an old abandoned dam. As they arrived, Maria brought them to a room were Nick Fury was. Alive. Natasha sat down on a chair close to him, a doctor stitched her up as Fury explained how he’d survived.

When the doctor finished treating Natasha, Octavia helped her move to a seat at a table, which had on top a tablet, a briefcase and a bullet-proof looking metal case, and stood behind her. Maria and Steve helped Fury sit down too, and as Sam walked to Steve’s side, Maria opened the briefcase, and a photo of Alexander Pierce flung across the table.

Fury reached for it “This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, ‘Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility.’ See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues.”

“We have to stop the launch.” Natasha spoke straight-forward

“I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore.” Fury said, as he opened the metal case, that contained three chips.

Maria turned the tablet around, showing a 3D model of the Helicarriers “Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.”

“We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own.” Nick added, and Maria continued

“One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.”

“We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get pass them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left…”

“We're not salvaging anything.” Steve cut Fury off “We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD.”

“SHIELD had nothing to do with it.” Fury tried to justify, but Steve wasn’t taking it

“You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.”

“Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed.” Fury pointed out

“And how many paid the price before you did?” Octavia asked, and the room fell silent. Fury gulped and sat straight on his chair. He was apparently bothered by her remark, but he hid it very well as he turned to Steve, and spoke honestly

“Look, I didn't know about Barnes.”

Steve seemed unfazed “Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.”

“He's right.” Octavia agreed “It’s time to end HYDRA, once and for all”

Fury looked at Natasha, then Maria. They nodded in agreement. He finally looked at Sam, who simply raised his hands and smiled sheepishly

“Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower.”

Fury leaned back in his seat, apparently annoyed “Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.”

***

Natasha needed a couple hours of rest for her arm to heal properly, so they waited. The plan was being set on motion. Maria and Sam were discussing a few details while Steve was seemingly impatient, and he excused himself, saying he was in need of fresh air. After a while, Octavia went after him, finding him outside the dam, lost in his thoughts, completely oblivious to her presence.

“You thinking about him?” Octavia called, as she walked towards Steve.

“Yeah” he answered slowly, looking down at her “All that time you spent with him... How was he?”

“Brutal” Octavia spoke, adverting her gaze from his “but if it wasn’t for his training, I wouldn’t have survived HYDRA. He made Bloodreina be, and I survived because of it.” then she smiled, as a particular memory came to mind “but there was this one time, in a mission gone wrong, that I saw something in him I haven’t seen before. There’s a small part of him that was still human, so I thought”

“What happened?”

“I almost escaped HYDRA, but he brought me back against my will” she replied dryly, remembering the hurt she felt when she woke in HYDRA’s infirmary, patched up but a prisoner, again.

Steve looked away from her, setting both of his hands on the railing in front of them “I’m sorry”

“Don’t be, it’s no one’s fault” Octavia said, as she her right hand on top of his left “How was he, back then?”

Steve smiled, as he spoke “Kind. Funny. He always had my back when I got into a fight.” Octavia arched her brow and Steve laughed “Which I did on a regular basis” Octavia cracked a laugh, and Steve nudged her gently before continuing “He was also a ladies’ man, and was always trying to find me a date... But most times I’d just end up as a third wheel”

Octavia laughed amused at Steve’s embarrassment. She and Natasha were having such difficulties trying to find him a date, and he was Captain America, so she imagined the hardships Bucky had to endure trying to find girls willing to go out with a very young, tiny Steve who was to shy and awkward to maintain a talk with a girl.

“He sounds like the best”

“He is”

“Steve...” Octavia started, hesitantly “That guy today, the Winter Soldier... He’s not your friend, not anymore”

“And he's gonna be there, you know?” Sam called out to them, making both of them jump in surprise and take a step away from each other, to which Sam grinned and Octavia frowned “Am I interrupting something?”

“Jesus Sam, you scared me!” Octavia scolded “Your point is?”

“Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop.” Sam clarified

“I don't know if I can do that.” Steve pointed out

“Maybe we can do both” both boys looked at Octavia, and she explained “Stop him first and then save him”

“Well, he might not give you a choice.” Sam added “He doesn't know you. None of you.”

“He will. Gear up Sam, it's time.” Steve turned and started to walk away from the group “Octavia” he called out “Come with me. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform.”

Tags: @glossiefandom, @dayanna-hatter

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readyourimgaines · 6 years

Text

Well Wishes: Chapter One

Good afternoon readers. I decided to try writing an actual NATM fanfiction that’s more than just odd little one shots- Snafu and I are planning on still taking one shot requests for NATM. By the way, the anon that ask Ahk fluff, Snafu’s on it.

But so, I got the idea for this fanfic because of the Releasing Ahk AU I did a while back. It’s along the same idea: Larry has a sibling that works at the museum with him. Let me know that you think. -Freddie

“He wants to be bond trader,” Larry let the door full shut behind him. Adley jumped and turned toward her brother.

“Call if you’re gonna come over,” she sighed. She wasn’t really mad or annoyed and her brother knew it. She just didn’t like being startled. Adley opened the cupboard and added more noodles to the pot on the stove. “Now who wants to be bond trader?”

“Nicky. Can you believe that?” Larry scoffed. “All because of that penguin suit wearing pain in the ass,” he huffed.

“Larry, Nicky’s nine. He doesn’t know for sure what it is,” Adley kissed her brother’s cheek as she passed him walking to the spice cupboard. “Remember when I was nine and I convinced that I was going to be a doctor, then you had to get me from school when I got sick during a sheep eye dissection in high school? And now I’m looking for a job. Give it some time.”

“I guess you’re r- Wait! What do you mean you’re looking for a job?” Larry asked, tripping over his tongue.

“I uh...I quit. Didn’t give a two weeks’ notice. I just sorta walked out…” Adley leaned against the counter facing Larry as she waited for the noodles to cook. That was when he noticed the bruise on her jawline. It looked like it was starting to fade; he hadn’t seen her in about three days, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“Alex hit you?” Larry asked, horrified.

“Yeah. He tried to talking to me at work and I walked out. I called my boss earlier and told him I’m done there.” Adley ran a hand through her hair. “I’m thinking about getting my hair cut. What do you think?”

“How short?” Larry asked. Whenever something in her life changed, Adley always got a different hair cut. For the time being, her hair reached the middle of her back and was it’s natural black. She’d cut her hair so was almost as short at his, another time she’d added dyed streaks and highlights; each time she’d let it grow out before changing it again. Different styled bangs, everything but fully dye it.

“Bottom of my shoulder blades. Nothing drastic this time,” Adley laughed.

“Do what you’re feelin’ Ads,” Larry advised. “You know, I know where you call in if you’re looking for a job. The Natural History Museum is looking for new workers. I’ve got an interview there tomorrow. I kept the number if you wanna give a call.”

Larry knew he had her. She loved history and had been considering going back to college for a teaching certificate to teach history classes to high schoolers.

“Excuse me,” Larry spoke.

“Hi,” the woman greeted.

“Hi. We’re Larry and Adley Daley. We’ve got a job interview with Cecil Fredricks,” Larry introduced himself and his sister.

“Right. He should still be in his office.”

“Great. Thank you.” Adley said. She started to go but stopped when the woman

started to speak again.

“I’m Rebecca Hutman. I’m a docent here,” she introduced herself. “Let me point you in the right direction.”

“Great,” Larry smiled.

“Larry, I know the way there, I’m gonna walk around a bit.” Adley waved and started walking. They’d been a few minutes early, so that gave her a little time. She made b-line for the Egyptology display. It had always been her favorite. There was something so interesting that she just loved looking at it whenever she was in the museum.

The giant jackals, the chests behind the sarcophagus, the glass little informational plaques. She knew more than what the plaques read, she’d done her own reading on Ancient Egypt and the Ahkmenrah Expedition.

Adley waited around corner from the guard office for her brother. When he caught up to her, they walked together to the door. “Hi. I’m Larry Daley.”

“Adley Daley,” she added with a small half raise of her hand.

“Are you Mr. Fredricks?” Larry asked.

“Mr. Fredricks was my father. I am Cecil. Good to meet you,” he shook Larry’s hand “Nice firm handshake. I like that. Tells a lot about a man.” He turned to Adley and shook her hand. “You don’t see many female night guards out there,” he noted. “Come on in. Let’s talk turkey here.” The siblings walked into the room and glanced at each other.

“The museum is losing money, hand over fist,” Cecil went on. “I guess kids today don’t care about wax figures or stuffed animals. So they’re downsizing, which is code for firing...myself and the other two night guards. They want to replace us with one new or two new guards. Couple of youngsters.”

“Sorry,” Adley said quickly, shuffling her feet.

“Well, are you gonna do?” Cecil shrugged. “I’d like you to meet my two colleagues here. Reginald? Gus?”

“Where is he? I’ll beat him with my fists!” An angry, short man yelled. Adley was taken aback by the man’s harsh demeanor.

“Gus, this is Larry and Adley Daley, the kids who want to be the new night guards.”

“Night guards?” Larry and Adley asked at the same time. Adley’s voice had more of annoyed edge to to while Larry’s a mixture of shock and confusion.

“No,” Larry went on, “the lady at the agency said this a museum position.”

“Most important position in the museum, Larry,” Cecil dismissed.

“The guy looks like a weirdie,” Gus said.

“Wonderful guard, terrible people skills,” Reginald noted.

“Now listen, lunch box. Don’t try anything funny,” Gus snapped. “I once went nine rounds with John L. Sullivan.”

“You never fought John L. Sullivan in your life,” Reginald shot down.

“Gentlemen, we have job candidates here,” Cecil reached the attention of his friends again. “They both have excellent resumes, winning attitudes…and I say let’s give them a shot. What do you say?”

“Hand on a sec. I think I might wanna have a little time just to think it over,” Larry said.

“I wasn’t told the interview was for a night guard…” Adley muttered. This museum was in New York and it was filled with priceless artifacts. She didn’t know what kind of trouble the job would bring. It was a chance to wonder a museum at night, it didn’t look like she’d have to wait long to start. If three old men could do it, she sure as hell could. “I’m in.”

“Do you want the job or not, snack shack?” Gus scowled at Larry. His sister taking it sealed his fate in his eyes.

“No, no, I want the job-”

“Larry, Adley, welcome to the night guards.” Cecil smiled. “You two meet me up on the second floor. I’ll slip into my orthopedics and give you a little tour. Arthritic knees. Not fun getting old, my friends. Go on,” he shooed the siblings.

The tour of the museum was a little slow paced for Aldey. The museum was one of her favorite places and she often found herself wishing that she could meet the people in the displays so that she could them questions that she knew the tour guides wouldn’t be able to answer.

“And, finally, this is the temple of the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah. And in that tomb right down there, the pharaoh himself.”

“Neat,” Larry mustered.

“And hanging on the wall behind him-”

“The Tablet of Ahkmenrah. Pure gold and it’s priceless. Lar,” Adley took hold of the sleeve over Larry’s upper arm as she started and Larry smiled at her excitement, “it’s rumored to have magic. During the search to find his actual tomb, the loc-”

“You’ve gotten yourself stuck with a historian, Larry,” Cecil cut her off and Adley dropped her hand from Larry’s sleeve.. “All right. Report here at 5:00 tomorrow. We’ll talk you through your duties.”

“5:00. We’ll be here,” Adley nodded.

“Moving on,” Cecil lead the way again. Adley looked over her shoulder as they left, having thought she saw a shimmer that wasn’t just the display lights on the tablet.

“Your keys. Your torch,” Cecil listed off, handing them each a flashlight but giving Larry the keys. “You’ll wanna strap those to your belt. It can get a little spook around here at night...so you might wanna put a few lights on.” Cecil paused. “All right. Flashlight, keys. What am I for-

“The instruction manual.” Reginald advised.

“You start with one, two, three…”

“Four?” Larry guessed.

“Are you cracking wise? I ought to punch you in the nose, hopscotch,” Gus berated. Adley was about to speak, but Reginald spoke before she could even open her mouth.

“Leave him alone, Gus. You got it covered, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Larry confirmed.

“And if he doesn’t, I’ve got for what he’s missing,” Adley spoke up.

“Do them in order, do them all, and do them quick. And the most important thing of all to remember: don’t let anything in or out.”

“What do you mean out?” Adley called as the three older men started walking toward the exit.

“Good luck, kids.”

Adley did her best to ignore her brother being an idiot with the PA. She was walking around the museum again. Nowhere in mind. They were clocked-in, but weren’t supposed to start going through the list of another ten minutes according to the wall on the clock.

Walking through the Hall of Miniatures, she looked around when she heard someone

yawn. It wasn’t a full on yawn, but it more like the sound someone makes when they’re stretching ad they first wake up in the morning.

“Larry?” she called. “Lar, whatever you’re trying to pull, knock it off!”

“Who is Larry?” asked a southern sounding voice. Adley’s eyes grew large as she turned around. “Who are you, Miss?”

“How are you talking?” she all but whispered. “I must be dreaming…”

“No...you ain’t doin’ that,” the little cowboy shook his head. She felt something poke the back of her neck.

“What the hell?” she pulled a toothpick like stick from her neck, a numbing feeling left in an almost unnoticeable diameter.

“Aw! Come now, that’s not how to treat a lady!” the little cowboy yelled across the room to the Mayans. Adley turned, but had the sense to hold her sleeved arm out in front of her as she walked closer to the tiny Mayans. She closed the case, but didn’t lock it as Larry had the keys.

Adley turned back around saw the little cowboy looked sad. “What’s wron- I’m not gonna close you guys up. You’re not shooting things at me,” she said. “I’ve gotta be crazy,” she shook her head and started turning away.

“You ain’t crazy,” he called. “Name’s Jedediah.”

“Adley,” she said slowly. “There’s a lot of noise out there…”

“You’re new here. Huh?”

“First night.”

“And you’re not gonna lock us up?” Jedediah looked unsure.

“Ads. Thank god,” Larry panted as he jogged into the room. “I couldn’t find-” Larry slipped and landed on his back...on the old west display.

“Shit,” Adley hissed. “Everyone okay?” she asked quickly. She helped Larry to straighten, everyone looking confused. The Americans, the Chinese. Everyone.

“You sure are different,” Jed shook his head.

“Prepare the Catapults!” came a deeper voice from behind them. They turned and looked down to see a large- in number- Roman army.

“Octavius, hold on. Ain’t reason to fight ‘em. She ain’t lockin’ our box if we don’t go ‘round attackin’ on ‘er.”

Octavius signaled for the men to stand down. “You’re not?” he and Larry asked together.

“I’m not,” she held her hands up. “I already made peace with the settlement, I’m not gonna go makin’ war with the Romans. If you want to, Larry, you deal with their fireballs.”

“We shan’t be locked up. We may be small, but hearts are large...metaphorically speaking.”

“Hey, uh...Octavius, right?”

“My Lady,” he bowed lowly.

“Right. So, Larry and I won’t lock you guys up if you can behave. That means no fireballs and spear throwing. Jedediah, no guns or rocks. Right?” The two miniatures looked at each other and they both nodded.

“The hunt is afoot,” someone said from the hall.

“Hunt? Larry-”

“I’m on it.” And Larry was gone.

“We have to go. Remember. Behave, and you stay free. Don’t kill each other please. I don’t want to punish anyone else on my first night as the new guard,” she pleaded before running out of the room.

“New guards, new rules!” Jedediah cheered. “Whooh!”

“Ads,” Larry called her over.

“Ads?” the man questioned.

“Short for Adley,” Larry dismissed.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Adley. I’ve only just met your brother. Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of these United States of America.”

“Excuse me, Mr. President. Could I ask you something?” Larry asked quickly, both siblings taking large steps to keep up with the man.

“Yes, but just one question,” Teddy said shortly.

“All right,” Larry agreed. “Okay, why? Is it just some, like, three-wishes kind of deal, or…?”

“Not at all. Self-reliance is the key to a vigorous life,” Teddy said. “A man must look inward to find his own answers. How can I be of help?” Teddy stopped and faced the siblings. The stopping was unexpected to Adley and she almost crashed into her brother.

“I don’t really know how to put this, and please don’t take it the wrong way...but isn’t everything in this museum supposed to be, you know...dead?” Larry asked carefully.

“Dead?” Teddy repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Follow me,” Teddy instructed, turning on his heel.

The siblings followed him and Adley looked widely around her, looking at everyone and waving back when different exhibits would have to her in greeting.

“Why are we going to the Egyptology-” Adley stopped herself. “The rumors weren’t rumors at all, were they, sir?”

#Night at the Museum #night at the museum fanfiction #Teddy Roosevelt #jed #octivius #larry daley #oc #read your own imagines #snafu and freddie's imagine shoppe #Ahkmenrah

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emma-nation · 6 years

Text

For You - Bloodbound AU (Chapter 2)

Summary: Takes place after Book 1. Before Gaius’ return the gang must face a dangerous new enemy, a powerful vampire hunter who is thirsty for their blood.

Pairings: KamilahxMC

Genre: Angst/Adventure/Romance

Rating: T - Warning for violence and language

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2)

Author’s Notes:

- English is my second language, please forgive me for any mistakes. - Hope you enjoy it, your reviews and likes are always appreciated.

- Please don’t hate me yet :P

- Updated 04/11/2020: Fixed some spelling mistakes

Flashback - 3 weeks earlier:

Amy turned on the television but nothing was enough to keep her distracted, to prevent her from thinking about Kamilah. All she wanted was to forget about her, erase her completely from her mind. It was impossible, she knew. Kamilah Sayeed was unforgettable. Somebody knocked at the door. She wasn't expecting any guests and Lily was spending the night at the Shadow Den. When she opened it, Kamilah was standing there. She wasn't wearing a business outfit as usual, she was wearing jeans and a tank top. "Damn it," Amy thought as soon as she laid her eyes on her. Even the most casual outfit made her look sexy as hell. "Amy..." Kamilah started to speak. "What are you doing here, Kamilah?" Amy interrupted. "I think I made very clear last night that we're over." "Please, can you at least hear what I have to say?" Amy looked deeply in her brown eyes. She had never seen that look before. Kamilah looked vulnerable, insecure, regretful. In the moment there were no walls, Kamilah's human side was completely exposed. She was just like any other woman begging for a chance to apologize. "Okay," Amy invited her in. She bit her lip nervously when Kamilah sat next to her on the couch, like if she already knew she wouldn't be able to resist her. "Oh, these are for you," Kamilah handed her a bouquet of white tulips. "Thank you," Amy replied. "They're wonderful." "There's a card too." Amy noticed she looked down at the floor, blushing a little bit. "I tried to write many things but none of them expressed accurately my feelings for you," she spoke. "I heard this song on the radio a few days ago, it made me think about us." Amy opened the card and read:

"Then I see you standing there Wanting more from me But all I can do is try I'm all I'll ever be But all I can do is try"

"I'm sorry I left you waiting last night," Kamilah apologized. "Truth is, I'm still getting used to this." "Kamilah, I..." Amy didn't know what to say. "There's one more thing," she pulled a little black box from her pocket. "W-what..." Amy opened it and inside there was a keychain, with a single key. "What is that, Kamilah?" "Come live with me. It's the only way we can spend more time together and... I'll try to work less, I promise." "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Amy asked. "Yes," Kamilah said, "I don't wanna lose you."

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

Present Days:

Amy

In front of the mirror, Amy admired herself and her stunningly beautiful dress. The dress Kamilah surprised her with, a couple of days earlier. Initially, she didn't want to attend Priya's fashion show, but after Amy insisted a lot she eventually agreed. It was not a good idea to leave her girlfriend alone with Priya, after all.

"Amy," Kamilah opened the bedroom's door. "Why are you taking so long?"

"I'm sorry, I..."

When she turned around, Kamilah's eyes widened in surprise.

"Amy..." she opened a broad smile. "Oh my God, you..."

"What?" Amy looked at herself in the mirror again. "Is there anything wrong? Is it my hair?"

"No," Kamilah wrapped her arms around Amy's waist from behind. "You're absolutely perfect."

"Well, then we are. Look at you! I mean, you look gorgeous in everything you wear but this dress, this make-up... wow!"

"We'll be the sexiest couple in that event."

"I'm sure of this," Amy grabbed her phone and snapped a picture of them.

"There will be a lot of journalists and photographers there, are you ready for this? It's the first time I go to an event accompanied. Your face will be all over the news tomorrow."

"Are you asking me if I'm ready for the world to know I'm Kamilah Sayeed's girlfriend? You can bet I am!"

Amy smiled and pressed her lips on Kamilah's. When she pulled away, Kamilah's expression had changed.

"Before we go, there's something I need to do," she showed Amy an amulet with her Clan's brand. "Would you let me brand you? It's temporary, to protect you from The Baron's thugs."

"Of course," Amy presented her forearm.

Kamilah warmed the amulet with a lighter and pressed against Amy's wrist. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt so much as when Adrian branded her.

"Are you okay?" Kamilah healed the burn with her blood.

"Yes..." Amy answered, tracing the insignia with her finger, "I wish that was permanent though."

"We can discuss this in another occasion. In the future."

Amy nodded.

Kamilah sat on the bed, still with a serious and worried expression.

"Amy... there's something else I need to tell you,” she sighed. “Remember the Council meeting last week?"

"Of course. Is it about the Vampire Hunter?"

"Not really... this whole Vampire Hunter story was a fraud. In exchange for her life, Priya gave him some confidential information. Information about Gaius."

"What does it mean?"

"He has returned, Amy. Gaius has returned."

"W-wait so he's here... in New York?"

"He was trapped in a Sarcophagus inside the Museum's library. When Adrian checked, after the meeting, he wasn't there anymore. But he's still in a desiccated state, it'll take a while before he regains his true form. "

"Kamilah, I'm so sorry. I... How are you feeling about this?"

"I'm okay. It's about you I'm worried about. I'll be the first person he'll come after, seeking for revenge."

"Why?"

"It's time for you to know a part of my story."

Kamilah told her everything that happened in the 1920's. The Reaper virus, the rebellion against Gaius and how she was the one that took him down. When she finished, Amy squeezed her hand gently.

"You defeated him once, you can do it again. Besides, you have me by your side now. We'll fight together."

"He's not like the Ferals or Vega... He..."

"We'll fight together."

Amy held her face and pulled her for a long and passionate kiss.

"You almost make me believe everything is going to be okay."

"It's a progress," Amy chuckled. "There's something I need to tell you too. I've been planning to say it for a while now, but I couldn't find the right moment."

"What is this?"

"Kamilah... I love you."

Amy detected a trace of tension in her eyes. Kamilah looked astonished, she opened her mouth, trying to find an appropriate answer.

"I-I... Amy..."

"That's okay, don't feel forced to say anything right now. There will be one moment that you'll just realize it, like it happened to me."

"And what was that moment?"

"The day we fought, when you showed up at my door. In that moment I saw you. Not the vampire or the CEO, only you. Without walls or defenses, I saw who you truly are and how much we have in common. When you looked me in the eyes that day, I knew how much I loved you."

"And you made me think you wasn't going to forgive me!"

"I needed to punish you somehow!” Amy smiled playfully. “You left me waiting for 4 hours in a restaurant."

Kamilah rolled her eyes and Amy kissed her cheek.

"We should go now," Kamilah checked her watch, "unless you want to stay home instead of..."

"Come on, it'll be fun! Adrian and Lily will be there too and..." Amy whispered in her ear. "We don't really need to pay attention to the show."

"Sounds better now."

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

??????

He looked at the mirror, running his hand through his new 21st Century haircut. How did they call it again? Faux Hawk, that’s right.

Then he checked his new fake ID. Liam. Would he ever get used to that name?

But everything was going according to his plans. He examined a piece of paper he took out of his pocket;

"Priya... The Baron and... Jax," he read. He knew the name of three of the six Council members. Three possible targets. Where he should aim first?

Jax would be his last target. Not only because he couldn't blow his cover yet, but because he felt some sympathy for his clan members. Most of them were like him, turned without their consent and forced to live forever as something they hated to be, as demons. He liked to think of them as potential allies.

Priya was the best option at the moment. Through some other vampires at the Shadow Den, he found out she'd be throwing a fashion show to show off her new line. He also had personal business to deal with her.

"Hey Liam," his new vampire friend interrupted him on his way out of the Shadow Den. "Where are you going?"

Still not used to his new identity, he took a while to respond.

"I have a date tonight," he said, with a fake smile on his face.

"You didn't mention having a girlfriend."

"Yeah, we're only... getting to know each other."

"Good luck, man!"

He waved goodbye and followed to an old warehouse he bought from Clan Matsuo. They had become useless now they didn't have to hide anymore. He made his offer, with the excuse he needed a new building for his company, Thanos Technologies.

"What do you develop?" The other vampires asked.

"Computer stuff," he lied.

In the secret basement, a team of seven vampire hunters from every part of the world, waited for him. They were working hard, crafting different types of weapons.

"Sir," a young red-headed woman greeted him. "Everything's ready for tonight. We're just waiting for your orders."

That was Zoe, his most loyal partner. She lost her family to vampires when she was only a child. She had grown under his protection and became one of the most skilled vampire hunters in the world. She was the only one to know his real name, his story.

"Good, Zoey," he spoke. "Sit down, I'm going to explain my plan."

Liam stood in front of a large screen, displaying a map of The Crimson Veil.

"Ladies and gentleman, my friend Priya Lacroix will be throwing a fashion show tonight. As we know, she'll have some guests."

"Bloodsuckers," one of the hunters added.

"Exactly. We're in an unknown territory, we have no idea how powerful the famous Council of New York can be, so we're going in three members only. Me, Zoe and Henrik."

Henrik was his second strongest partner. He was also responsible for designing new and powerful weapons.

"Henrik, what do we have for tonight?" Liam asked.

"Vervain grenades, sir. As soon as the gas is leaked, we announce the attack. The humans will run, but the bloodsuckers will get stunned. And then..."

He opened a box full of stakes. Liam's eyes glowed.

"Meanwhile, I'll be in the backstage taking care of Priya," he grinned.

As they prepared to leave, he gave them the last instructions.

"Pay attention to their brands. If Gaius' brand is spotted, do NOT kill the target. Capture and bring it to me."

"Yes, sir," the two human hunters agreed.

"And remember, no mercy. They showed no mercy on our loved ones. Vampires are demons that deserve nothing else but death."

"For our loved ones," Zoe shouted.

"For our loved ones," Henrik shouted back.

"For our loved ones," Liam thought, holding a necklace tight in his hand.

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

Kamilah

"Ready?" Kamilah muttered to Amy as they walked inside The Crimson Veil.

Only a few steps away, journalists and photographers were grouped, waiting for the guests. Adrian was being interviewed, answering questions about the new technologies Raines Corporation was creating, in an attempt to minimize the damages caused by pollution and climate changes. As soon as Kamilah passed by, with Amy by her side, they quickly focused on her.

"Ms. Sayeed, to what do you owe the crescent success of your company, Ahmanet Financial?"

"Ms. Sayeed, you've recently closed a partnership with wildlife protection organizations. Could you tell us more about it?"

"Ms. Sayeed, is Priya Lacroix a close friend of yours? What's your opinion on her new line?"

Lost with so many questions at the same time, she did the best to reply them with short but efficient answers. She hated interviews and speculations about her personal life and career. She knew it was a matter of time until they asked about Amy.

"It's the first time you're publicly seen in the company of someone, Ms. Sayeed. Anything you'd like to tell us?"

"Is she a friend, a date or something more?"

Kamilah didn't know what to answer. She looked at Amy, that noticing her tension, responded for her.

"Who knows?" She winked to the journalists, as she held Kamilah's hand and dragged her away from them.

"Thank you," Kamilah whispered in her ear.

Inside The Crimson Veil, Lily and Adrian were already waiting for them.

"Amy, tomorrow you're going to be the hottest gossip in your hometown," Lily joked.

"I know," Amy laughed.

"Not only in your hometown," Adrian added. "Everybody wants to know how you managed to make Kamilah fall in love."

Kamilah frowned at him, who patted her slightly on the shoulder.

"Kamilah, would you follow me to the bar?" He invited.

She glanced at Amy.

"Go, I'll stay here with Lily saving our seats."

"Are you sure..."

"Kamilah, no one is going to attack me here. I'm safe."

Kamilah followed Adrian to the bar. By the look in his eyes, she already knew what he wanted to discuss with her.

"Any news?" She anticipated.

"Not yet," Adrian told. "The hunter made sure to leave Jameson unconscious when he broke into the library."

"What about Priya? Could you discover anything from the bite mark?"

"Our hunter has some magic knowledge. As soon as his fangs came in contact with her blood, a spell blocked its special abilities. It took a few days to get out of her system and heal the wound, but she's fine now."

Kamilah was thoughtful for a moment, recapitulating the eras she lived through. Never in her long life she ever heard anything about a vampire hunter, who was a vampire himself.

"That's so weird. If he's such a talented servant why Gaius never introduced him to us?"

"I've been asking myself the same question."

Adrian ordered drinks for both of them.

"So, how are things going with Amy?"

Kamilah's mouth curled up a bit in a smile.

"She said it tonight."

"That she loves you?"

Kamilah nodded.

"And what did you say?"

"Nothing yet. It just... won't come out."

"It will, in the right moment."

"That's what she said," Kamilah smiled.

"I've never seen you so happy before," Adrian said. "I'm glad for you both."

They clicked their glasses, enjoying their drinks in silence while observing the guests. Kamilah couldn't help thinking about Gaius being free. He could be there right now and they wouldn't know. The thought of him possibly hurting Amy started to give her shivers.

"Kamilah!" Lily approached, interrupting her thoughts.

"Anything wrong, Lily?"

"It's Amy, she's not okay."

In less than a second, Kamilah rushed back to Amy's side. She looked pale and her skin was cold. Her pupils were dilated and paralyzed.

"I called her but she's unresponsive," Lily shouted.

"Amy!" Adrian shook her, in a attempt to bring her back to the reality.

"I-I can't breathe," Amy finally muttered.

"Let's go outside," Kamilah helped her to get up and walk. "Maybe you need some fresh air."

After finding a bench to seat, Amy rested her head on Kamilah's shoulder breathing in and out until she finally calmed down. Suddenly, tears started to run across her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Kamilah asked, wiping the tears with her thumb. "You scared me inside there."

"The first time I was here with Adrian I had a vision. Then it happened other times, at different places, random moments... but I couldn't remember them. They'd quickly fade away, like a dream. And now... I was there, Kamilah. I saw when he killed you!"

"Who?"

"Gaius. You were in a tent, dressed as an Egyptian Noble and your spymaster... Amethu! That was his name, right?"

Kamilah confirmed.

"He had captured Gaius but... oh my god... it was horrible," Amy started crying again.

"It happened a long time ago," Kamilah wrapped her arms around her. "Did you see anything else?"

"No, but I've had other visions before. They're somewhere in my mind I just can't remember right now."

They were in silence for a few minutes until Kamilah revealed:

"Amy, I did a lot of wrong in the past. I just want you to know that I'm no longer that person, I...

"Don't worry about it," Amy gave her a reassuring smile. "When I say that I love you, I really mean it. I love you for who you are, Kamilah. With all your flaws, your past, your fangs... If anything was different, then you wouldn't be you."

Kamilah felt her heart beating faster. She wanted to say it. She wanted to let Amy know she felt the same way about her. She was about to start speaking when terrified screams cut through the silent night. A group of people passed by them, desperately running away from something.

"What is that?" Amy questioned.

"I don't know, they're coming from Priya's studio."

They walked back to The Crimson Veil, in the middle of the crowd outside they spotted Adrian. He looked dazzled and confused.

"Adrian!" Kamilah shouted. "What's going on?"

Adrian cough, unable to speak.

"The hunters... they invaded... the studio."

"Did they do anything to you?"

"No... they leaked vervain gas... I'm getting better now, thanks."

"Should we..."

"No. It's too dangerous."

"Where's Lily?" Amy panicked. "I-I can't find her anywhere..."

"She was sitting right next to me," Adrian told. "But after the gas... I couldn't see anything."

"I'm going in there."

"Amy, no," Kamilah stopped her.

"I won't let them hurt Lily, Kamilah. I'm human, they won't do anything against me."

Kamilah watched as Amy disappeared inside the building. It was useless to try to change her mind. When it was about Lily she wouldn't think twice before putting herself in risk.

"How many hunters are in there?"

"I don't know exactly," Adrian answered. "Two or three, I guess."

When he looked, Kamilah was already entering the building.

The gas was still in the air. As it filled her lungs, it started to burn. She started feeling lightheaded. Looking at the floor, she saw ashes spread everywhere, indicating the hunters had accomplished part of their mission. Her emotions grew into a mix of anger and sadness.

Leaning against the walls, she searched for signs of Amy and Lily. She finally reached a door, a sign indicated it lead to the backstage. It was locked.

Before deciding if she should break it open, she heard from the opposite side of the studio:

"Stop! Let me go! I'm not a vampire!"

"Amy!" She thought.

Although the effects of the gas were still slowing her down, she tried to streak as fast as she could to Amy's location. She was near the bar, a male hunter held her by the neck, pinning her against the wall.

"What about this brand, huh? How do you explain?" He angered, pointing at her wrist.

"It's temporary!" Amy moaned. "Let me go."

With a stake in hands, he pointed it directly to her heart.

"Die, demon..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence, a dagger arced though his body. His hand slowly released Amy’s neck, as he fell dead on the floor.

"Amy," Kamilah hugged her tight. "Are you alright?"

Amy nodded.

"I told you it was dangerous."

Kamilah started coughing.

"But Lily... Kamilah, the gas! You need to get out of here."

Amy's phone started to ring inside her purse. It was a text from Adrian, telling her Lily was safe outside.

"It's Adrian, Lily is..." she smiled, when she turned her eyes back to Kamilah, her look changed. "Kamilah! Behind you!"

At this point, Kamilah had inhaled too much gas. Her movements were slow and unsteady. As soon as she turned around, an acute pain burst through her chest. An intense ache started spread through all her body. All she had time to see was a female hunter, smirking.

She started falling on her knees, when she felt Amy's arms around her, catching her fall.

"K-Kamilah..." Amy spoke, realizing how seriously injured her girlfriend was. "Oh my god... I-I..."

Her eyes were widened and scared, tears started to fill them.

"Don't cry, Amy..." Kamilah's hand slowly reached for hers.

"I'm going to get some help. Y-you're going to be okay..."

"No one... lives forever..."

The pain started to fade away. All she was feeling now was numbness and an intense cold.

"Don't say that, Kamilah!" Amy yelled. "Y-you've been through a lot. You didn't live 2063 years to die like this! Not now... when you found me."

Amy held her face, trying to keep her from falling unconscious.

"Remember? You said you were searching for me..."

Kamilah looked into her eyes. She wanted to assure Amy everything was going to be okay. But never in history, a vampire had survived a stake in the heart. Her vision started to get blurry. She was dying.

"Amy... I..." she attempted to say those three words again.

She couldn't. Before she could finish the sentence, her eyes closed and everything became darkness.

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

Liam

"Hello, Priya," Liam said, sitting on a comfortable, luxurious armchair.

Priya gasped and slowly turned around to face him.

"H-How did you get in here? W-Where are my bodyguards???"

"Sorry, I was starving."

"All of them?! Really?!"

He stood up, getting face to face with Priya.

"I assume you know why I'm here."

"No idea," Priya pointed a pearl-handled revolver at him.

"Are you going to shoot me?" Liam laughed. "I’d like to see you try."

She fired the revolver once. Twice. He was fast. Faster than any bullet. Faster than most of the vampires she knew. He vanished and in a blink of an eye he reappeared behind her.

"Why did you lie to me, Priya?" He whispered in her ear.

"I-I didn't."

"Gaius wasn't there. That fucking sarcophagus was empty!"

"B-But he was! Then... there's a traitor amongst us. Maybe Adam did it before..."

"That's enough!" Liam placed a dagger against her neck. "You're not getting away this time!"

"Wait," Priya begged. "I'm your only lead, dude. If you kill me you'll never find out where Gaius is."

"And how do you plan to find out, huh?"

"I'll investigate the other members of the Council. They must know better than I do. And when I have information..."

"You'll tell me?" He pressed the blade harder against her skin. "Why should I believe you?"

"You're gonna have to trust me."

Liam pondered for a moment. What other choice did he have? He spend centuries without having a single clue about Gaius.

"Adrian!" A distant cry echoed across the studio. "Please... Help!"

He recognized that voice from somewhere.

"Don't let her die!"

The desperation in that girl's voice pierced through his heart, bringing back painful memories. Memories that he tried to forget. His mind started playing Gaius sarcastic laugh all over again. His voice describing how he had killed her. He released Priya and clenched his fists in rage.

A sharp pain in his stomach made him open his eyes.

"What..." He yelled.

"This is for biting me, asshole."

While he was distracted, Priya grabbed a stake from his waist. She thrust it as hard as she could, making him gasp in pain.

"Your..."

"See you around, Hunter."

She smiled and closed the door, leaving him on the floor squirming in pain.

SPOILER:

She’ll be okay. I promise.

#playchoices #choices stories you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #bloodbound fanfiction #choices fanfiction

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i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend · 6 years

Text

Missed Connections ~ Steve Rogers x Reader College!AU (Part 3/7)

A/N: Hi my lovelies! Okay, first off thank you so much for all of the love especially on the last chapter of Missed Connections. I haven’t gotten a chance to respond to you yet, but I have read all the comments and I’m soo soo grateful. Also, I’m pretty sure I got everyone who asked to be tagged but if I missed you I’m super sorry. Just shoot me an ask or a message or comment that you want to be tagged and I’ll add you. I am still working on Primary Colors. The chapter is being a bit stubborn and this story just started writing itself so I figured i”d share. I really love this part so I hope you enjoy it as well.

Summary: Second semester is a bit disappointing to start off with. But maybe things will start looking up. (This is a crap summary. I apologize.)

Characters/Pairings; Eventual Steve x Reader, Bruce, Betty, Thor, Sam, Scott, Clint, Tony, Pepper, Nat, Wanda :D

Rating: T (language? maybe)

Warnings: A little bit of self doubt on the reader’s part

Word Count: 2303

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

“So we’ve officially covered everything that’s fair game on the exam,” Bruce said triumphantly.

You and Betty cheered.

“I vote, we take a thirty minute break. Let our brains revive themselves. And then do another round of review before we call it a night,” Betty suggested.

“I think that’s a fabulous idea,” you agreed.

“Sounds good to me.”

Bruce shut his textbook and pulled off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes.

“I’m going to grab some more food. Do you guys want anything?” Betty offered.

“I’m good.”

“No thanks.”

“Alright. Back in a few.”

Once she was out of earshot, you slid over next to Bruce.

“You guys seem to be hitting it off.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve just been studying?”

“The lingering glances. Her laughing at your lame science jokes.”

He held his hand to his heart as though he were wounded. “I thought you loved my lame science jokes.”

You laughed and nudged his shoulder.

“Love, sure. Actually find funny?” you grimaced and he rolled his eyes. “But seriously you should ask her to hang out after the exam..”

“And you should take your own advice.”

“I would if I ever saw him this semester. There’s been literally zero sign of him. I’ve seen his friends plenty of times, but… maybe he went abroad last minute.”

Bruce shook his head.

“No, he didn’t. He’s in my orgo 2 lecture.”

Surprisingly that didn’t buoy your spirits all that much. You were nervous he was avoiding you.

“Come on,” you urged. “At least one of us should get our love connection this semester.”

Before you could go too far down that rabbit hole Betty returned with a plate of chicken fingers and you could no longer ignore your hunger.

“Okay, I take it back. I want food. I’ll be back.”

You climbed out of the booth and grabbed your ID and phone before hurrying into line.

You wanted to give Betty and Bruce as much alone time as possible so you started looking for someone you could sit with for the time being. That was when you spotted Thor and Sam in a booth just inside the doors.

“Hey fellas, mind if I sit with you for a bit?”

“Y/n!” Thor boomed. In your few encounters you had figured out he was typically happy to see everyone. “Of course.”

He slid over so you could sit. You smiled at Sam and their other friend.

“Hi, I’m y/n.” You smiled.

“Scott. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

You arched an eyebrow at the word “finally” and Sam elbowed him in the ribs.

“I said finally. I meant it’s just nice to meet you. You seem like a really cool person. From your appearance.”

“Real smooth,” Sam snarked, rolling his eyes.

“So how’s the semester treating you guys?” You asked as you tried to hide your smile because obviously the guys talked about you.

Scott and Sam shrugged, but Thor groaned.

“It’s already kicking my ass. What about you?”

“Drowning. I had a chem exam Monday and I have a bio exam tomorrow. But hey, that’s what I signed up for.”

You leaned around the back of the booth so you could watch your friends. Betty was giggling at something Bruce had said and he was attempting to look cool.

“Trying to avoid someone?” Sam asked as he tried to see who you were looking at.

“No. My friend Bruce has a crush on this girl in our bio class who just so happens to be my lab partner. So I invited her to study with us and now we’re taking a break so I’m trying to stay scarce for as long as possible.”

“And here I thought you were just wanted to spend some time with us,” Thor teased.

“I mean that’s just a bonus,” you informed him as you smiled sweetly.

“I was hoping you’d say that. I’m having a party at my apartment tomorrow night. Do you want to come?”

The prospect was a bit daunting and you hesitated.

“You can bring your friends of course,” he said quickly. “The more the merrier.”

“Okay. Maybe. I’ll talk to my friends.”

He grinned broadly.

“Alright. Here, why don’t you give me your number and I’ll text you the details.”

You opened up a new text message and handed over your phone to Thor so he could text himself while you chatted with Scott and Sam. Conversation was easy, and you quickly lost track of time. You would have stayed talking to them until Late Night closed, but Bruce texted you rapid fire to get your attention.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you guys later.”

“See ya.”

“Good luck on your exam.”

“Come out tomorrow night and celebrate,” Sam suggested with a wink.

“I’ll try and swing by,” you promised. “Good night.”

You quickly rejoined your friends and returned to studying. Bruce and Betty called it around midnight but you continued studying until Late Night closed at two.

As you eyed the mountain of stuff you had to get back to your room, you silently cursed yourself from not bringing your backpack down earlier. You had made so many small runs up to your room for studying materials that you couldn’t really carry it all.

“Need a hand?”

Your eyes widened in surprise when you looked up and found Steve standing there with a hesitant expression. You were going to refuse but then your laptop slipped off the top of the stack and he snatched it before it could smash on the ground.

“That’d be great. Thanks,” you conceded, handing over your textbook.

Tucking the multitude of colored pens into the front pocket of your hoodie, you shoved the loose papers into the front of your notebook and hugged the stack of them to your chest.

“All set?”

You nodded and fell in step beside him.

“Bio exam tomorrow?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Do you have Fury?” he asked as you walked towards the elevators.

“Yeah. He’s super intimidating. I think it’s the eye patch.”

“It’s definitely the eye patch,” he agreed with a snort. “And the leather duster. Are Phil and Maria still TAing?”

You nodded as you stepped inside the elevator. “I have Phil for discussion. He’s the best.”

“Absolutely,” Steve agreed leaning against the opposite wall. “You should try to go to his office hours all the time if you can. He has the coolest gadgets.”

“I already do. I’m convinced he’s really a spy,” you confided with a giggle.

“I completely agree. One time he actually kicked open the door and tactical rolled into office hours.”

“No he didn’t,” you gasped.

“Cross my heart,” he grinned.

“Oh my god. That is too funny.”

The elevator doors slid open on your floor and you sighed. You wished you had more time. He walked you all the way to your door, waiting patiently while you fished out your keys. You silently pushed open your door and dumped your notebooks on your desk before turning back to Steve and taking your textbook and laptop back from him.

“Thanks for your help,” you smiled and bit your lip.

He grinned and scratched behind his ear.

“Any time. Good luck on your exam.”

“Thanks.”

You both hesitated, before he mumbled, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

You slipped into your room and locked the door leaning up against it for a moment, before swearing under your breath.

“Shit. I still didn’t introduce myself.”

“So what did you guys think?” you asked as the three of you walked out of the exam.

“I feel really good. I didn’t leave any blank so that’s a plus,” Betty reported as she tucked her pen into the front pocket of her backpack.

You looked to Bruce for his answer.

“About the same. There wasn’t anything off the wall.”

“Agreed. I’m just glad that and chem are over and I can actually enjoy the weekend.”

Betty nodded excitedly.

“Any fun plans?”

“I actually got invited to a party tonight. Do you guys wanna come?”

Bruce shuffled his feet slightly.

“We’re actually going to First Friday at the Science Museum.”

“They’re having a robot dance off before they open the floor for a massive party,” Betty elaborated.

You couldn’t help but grin at them. You did manage to refrain from squealing.

“It sounds like a blast. I hope you guys have fun.”

“I think we will,” Betty smiled before glancing at her watch. “Oh crap. I’m going to be late for work. I’ll see you guys later.”

“I’ll pick you up at 6:30,” Bruce told her.

“Looking forward to it.”

You waved until she was out the doors and then you gave in, squealing and flailing at Bruce.

“Yay! I’m so excited for you.”

“I’m so nervous. What if I screw it up?”

“You’re not going to screw it up. It’s going to be great. I’m so proud.”

He rolled his eyes and tugged on the straps of his backpack. “Come on, we have to meet the others for lunch.”

You practically skipped towards the dining hall tugging Bruce behind. He was outright laughing at your enthusiasm by the time you sat down with the others.

“I really wasn’t expecting this amount of giddiness just because I’m going to the Science Museum.”

“With the girl you’ve been crushing on,” you pointed out with a smirk.

“That’s neither here nor there,” he spoke noncommittally. “Besides. I asked my crush out. That means it’s your turn. You have to talk to him.”

“Well she already has. Late last night,” Pepper smirked as she sipped her coffee.

“What does that mean?” Tony asked, looking up from his notebook where he was scribbling down his latest idea.

You thought you had been quiet enough to avoid waking Pepper, but her knowing look told you that you were wrong.

“Well, y/n, was walked back to our room by a certain someone we all technically don’t know.”

“And you didn’t text us immediately?”

“I’ve been busy. I needed sleep. I had an exam,” you drew out the last word pointedly.

“And now you’re done so you can spill,” Wanda concluded with a grin.

Knowing they weren’t going to let it go and honestly still being giddy about it, you rapidly recounted the journey from the dining hall to your room. It wasn’t terribly exciting in retrospect but you still beamed at the memory. After the gushing wrapped up Clint shook his head at you.

“I can’t believe you didn’t give him your number.”

“Technically she didn’t even give him her name,” Nat smirked at you and you stuck your tongue out in reply.

“He didn’t give me his either!” you argued.

“That doesn’t make anything better.”

“At least we had a full conversation. That’s progress.”

“True. But I think it’s time to kick it up a notch. And Thor’s party is the perfect opportunity.”

“Sit still or I’m going to poke your eye out,” Nat warned as you fidgeted for the thousandth time as she put the finishing touches on your make up.

Despite your rapidly mounting nerves, the afternoon had been fun. All four of you were going out that night, so you spent the time getting ready together. Wanda had left for her anniversary dinner with Viz an hour earlier. And Tony had come to pick up Pepper for Rhodey’s award ceremony shortly thereafter leaving you with Nat.

“Are you sure you’re not going overboard? This feels like a lot of makeup. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t question my makeup skills because I love you.” She smirked as she took a step back to admire her work. “Perfect.”

She held up the mirror so you could look at your reflection and you were pleasantly surprised. What had felt like a lot of makeup was really just touches here and there to enhance your features.

“You’re a knockout. Now it’s time for the finishing touch.”

She walked over to your closet and pulled out the black knee high boots you had bought on a whim during fall semester.

“I’m not wearing the boots, Nat.”

“Yes, you are. They make the outfit. Besides, you sass walk when you were them.”

“What does that even mean?” you snorted.

“It means you sway your hips, and make your ponytail swing. It’s hot. People notice when you do it.”

“Really?” you asked and your voice was way more hopeful than you wanted it to be.

“You’re not nearly as invisible as you think you are, sweetheart,” she said softly stroking your cheek. “Now, put on the damn boots.”

You chuckled and took the boots and zipped them up over your skinny jeans. You glanced at your reflection in the full length mirror on the back of your door.

Nat looked over your shoulder.

“You look like you want to puke.”

She wasn’t wrong; your stomach was queasy.

“I’m so nervous,” you admitted moving to sit on your bed.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just a party.”

“It’s my first college party,” you reminded her. “And I’m going by myself.”

“Only for a little while. Clint and I will be there as soon as the meeting is over.”

“Are you sure I don’t need to be there?” you asked for the sixth.

“I’m positive. E-board only. We’re just finalizing numbers. The real work will start next week. Come on. Clint and I will get you on the shuttle.”

“I can do this,” you mumbled as you pulled on your peacoat and double checked your purse.

“Yes, you can.”

True to her word Nat and Clint, waited for the shuttle with you, making sure you got on. They also made you promise to text them when you got there and you resisted the urge to call them mom and dad.

A/N: So there you go. I’m super excited for what’s coming up. I have the ending planned out but there’s lots more fun and shenanigans to come. I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks so much for reading. Feedback is lovely! Mwah!

#Steve Rogers #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x reader #College!Au #Missed Connections #partidos

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