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bees--in-my--bones · 3 years

Text

Mission: New Asgard

Character: Loki x reader (completely gender neutral. There are zero indications of the readers gender, no pronouns at all. Note that this is written from the perspective of a woman, though, so if something is too biased, please let me know!)

Summary: You are assigned to help integrate the Asgardians to Midgardian society, but your mission ends a whole lot different than you expect.

Warnings: None!

Word Count: 5,493

A/N: My second fic! The title is supposed to be a play on the Mission: Impossible movies, but I've never actually seen one, so sorry if it's wrong lol. Now that I officially have more than one fic, I'm gonna make a masterlist, so that will be coming soon. I hope you like the story!

You rapped your knuckles on the office door that had been left slightly ajar. “Director Mackenzie? You asked to see me?”

“Come on in, Y/N. Elena was just leaving.”

You opened the door and nodded at Agent Rodriguez as she made her way out. She gave you a curt nod in return.

Alphonso Mackenzie, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., leaned back into the chair behind his desk and gestured for you to have a seat. “And for the last time, Y/N, you are one of my most trusted operatives. Call me Mack, please.”

You sat down. “Sorry, Mack.”

He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a file folder stuffed to the brim with documents, which he dropped onto the desk between you, the loud thwap resounding in the small office.

“I have a mission for you, Agent. A few days ago, the planet Asgard was completely destroyed.”

“Asgard?” you interjected. “Like where Thor is from?”

He nodded. “You’ll find all of that and more in these files. Thor and his brother Loki have set up a colony in a small town in Norway. We need you to supervise the integration of the Asgardian people onto Earth. This is the first known mass migration of aliens that our planet has ever seen, and we need to be keeping a close eye on this, or it could go sideways real fast.”

You pulled the files closer and began to flip through a few pages. “I thought Loki was a bad guy. What was it? 80 people in 2 days? Plus the invasion of New York. Why are we letting him back here?”

Mack sighed and rubbed his temple. “I can’t personally vouch for the man, but Thor claims he was being mind controlled. According to Thor, Loki eventually broke free of the control and killed the guy who was behind the whole thing. Some alien named Thanos? Tony Stark himself seems okay with this New Asgard business, and you know how paranoid he gets. So for now, we observe, not attack.”

“Gotcha,” you said. “When do I leave?”

“As soon as you can get your stuff together and get out of here. Say the word and we'll start prepping a Quinjet.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” you said, standing up and grabbing the files. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get an idea of my timeline.”

“Thank you Agent L/N, and good luck.”

------

You gripped the steering wheel tightly, barely making a rather sharp turn. When you finished this assignment, you were going to have to have a talk with whoever designed these roads. Despite the unsafe driving conditions, though, you sighed in contentment. You were back in the field, this is where you belonged.

You pulled a van loaded to the brim with various tech items mixed in with your personal possessions down a bumpy road, coming to a stop before a small, rustic-looking, seaside town, where two men and a woman stood for you. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. You turned the key and shut off the van, trying to get a read on each of the people standing before you.

The buff blond man was clearly Thor. You recognized him from the news and the files you had read. Next to him was a tall woman with dark hair who had wan air of confidence about her. You had never seen her, nor did S.H.I.E.L.D. have any data on her. The third man was lanky, but clearly still fit, with dark hair that fell just past his shoulders. He was clad in green and had a demeanor that made you shiver. This was Loki, scourge of New York and would-be king of Midgard. But Thor and Tony Stark had vouched for him, and that would have to be enough for Y/N L/N, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

You exited the van and heard Thor call to you. “Welcome, newcomer! Our scouts observed your vehicle approaching our home!”

You walked briskly towards the group. Game time. Put on the 'no time for your shit' face and get to business. Coming to a stop in front of them, you began to speak. “My name is Y/N L/N and I am here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division of the American government. We have been granted permission from the government of Norway to oversee this colony's development. This is an unprecedented situation on Earth, and as such, we have written new protocols. I am the agent assigned to this case, and I will be supervising the construction of New Asgard and its integration into Midgardian society.”

Thor furrowed his brow. “I was under the impression that S.H.I.E.L.D. was controlled by Hydra.”

You nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. The previous incarnation of S.H.I.E.L.D. was corrupt, but we are a hardy breed, so to speak. A much smaller branch has survived, and deals with various situations across the world, aliens being one of them.”

Thor nodded. “Then we welcome your presence here with open arms.”

Loki scoffed. “You are too trusting, brother. This so-called agent could be anyone. What cause do we have to believe this story?”

You turned to him. “Loki, God of Mischief, Chaos, and Lies, correct? You of all people should know, am I lying?”

He stared at you, long and hard, before shaking his head. “No, I suppose you aren’t,” he admitted.

“There’s that then,” you said. “Now, I will need to ask the three of you some questions regarding yourselves, if you don’t mind.”

-----

The strange woman was first. You had been given a small shack to conduct your interviews out of, the woman stared at you from across the table, looking for all the world like she had somewhere better to be.

“Name?”

“Brunnhilde.”

“No family name?”

“I am a Valkyrie. I have no blood other than my sisters.”

“Right,” you said, “You lived on Asgard then?”

Her face took on a sour look. “A long time ago. I’ve spent the last few centuries on a different planet, Sakaar.”

You scribbled the information into your notepad. “What do you do then? If you were gone so long, why are you back with the Asgardians?”

Her chest puffed with pride. “I am to be the new King of Asgard. On the Summer Solstice we will hold a coronation. It will give the people enough time to accept the transfer of power from Odin’s bloodline to me, and for me to learn how to lead.”

You nodded and took note of it. “Congratulations,Your Majesty-to-be. I believe that’s all I need for now, but I expect we will see a lot of each other over the months.”

-----

Thor. The large man sat across from you, seemingly happy to be there.

“Thor Odinson, correct?” you asked him.

“Yes.”

“And I hear you're passing on the title of King to Brunnhilde?”

A dark look came over his face. “I have learned recently that my family has done many wrongs by Asgard. As long as I breathe, I will fight for Asgard and her people, but I do not believe it is my place to rule. Brunnhilde loves the people and has a talent for leadership. She will be a much better King than I.”

“A very noble decision, Thor. Thank you very much, and please send your brother in on your way out.”

-----

“Name?”

“I believe you know who I am.”

You sighed. “It's a formality, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Friggason.”

“What?”

“I prefer Loki Friggason.”

You nodded, and made the necessary changes to his file. “Noted. Anything else I should know about?”

“Just a warning,” he said, leaning forward, his voice dangerously low. “I am the God of Lies. The truth is a luxury I will afford no one, especially your little government. The God of Chaos is an enemy you do not want to have.”

You raised an eyebrow, and wrote a single word in your file, exaggerating each syllable as you wrote it out. “Dra. Ma. Tic.”

Truth be told, you were a little scared, given this guy’s reputation, but you would be damned before you let your exterior crack.

Loki scowled. He seemed to do that a lot. “You mortals think you are so funny, do you not?”

You shrugged. “I’m delightful.” You slipped your papers into your file folder and stood up. “See you around, Friggason.”

You left, leaving Loki slightly aghast that you had managed to get the last word in.

-----

You walked calmly out of the hut, then quickened your pace as you made your way back to your van. Loki, as much as it pained you to say, had been intimidating, and your heart was beating a mile a minute.

You opened the door and climbed inside, shoving your paperwork into a filing cabinet, which you promptly locked. You turned to your computers, fiddling with the buttons, atttempting to establish your connection back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters.

"It's quite rude to walk out on a prince, you know."

You jumped and whipped around to see Loki standing outside your van.

"What the hell!"

"I said-"

"I know what you said, Your Highness," you interrupted. "But you scared the shit out of me. “

"Many apologies," he said as he hoisted himself up to sit on the edge of the van, his insincerity clear. "And I grant you permission to refer to me as Loki."

"How generous," you muttered, before going back to your instruction manual. Technology had never been your forte. You chose being a field agent over a scientist for a reason.

The both of you sat in silence for a while, you working slowly through the instructions that Fitz, a S.H.I.E.L.D agent much more qualified in machinery than you, had given you.

You glanced up at Loki, half expecting to see him sleeping against the van's frame, only to find his gaze resting on you.

"Can I help you?" you asked.

He just laughed a bit, like staring at you had been the most normal thing in the world. "I am watching you, Midgardian, lest you sabotage the society my brother is trying to build."

"I never took you for the loyal type," you said, putting away your things. "I'm gonna have to ask you to get outta here though."

“Why?”

You gestured to the twilight outside. “It’s late. I’ve had a long day. I’m going to bed.”

Loki strained his head slightly, attempting to peek into the van. “Where do you plan on sleeping?”

Not breaking eye contact, you grabbed a cord on the wall and yanked, and the rusty old pull-down bed flopped out with a loud groan. The rickety old thing was probably going to give you back problems by the time you were done here, but such was life. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s money was usually spent on more pressing things than upgrading amenities for field agents.

Loki’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “You are not sleeping in that. We’ve built a larger house for Thor, Brunnhilde, and I. You’ll stay in one of the guest rooms there.”

You shrugged. “It’s not too bad out here.”

“Mortals,” he said under his breath, almost indecipherably, before speaking again, at a normal volume this time. “I insist. Whether I like it or not, you are a guest of Asgard, and you will be treated as such. Besides, that bed looks seconds away from collapsing.”

You nodded, trying not to betray your confusion at the combination of his kindness and rudeness. “Thank you, just give me a second to lock up.” You grabbed the pieces you had been fiddling with, then paused, your hand hovering over the satellite dish. “Actually, if you’re just gonna sit there, you may as well make yourself useful. You can teleport right?”

Suspicion crossed his face. “Yes?”

You held out the device. “Hop up to the top of the van, there should be a little cord. It’ll fit into this port here,” you said gesturing. “Plug it in for me, please?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You ask a god to do your bidding?”

You scoffed. “You’re not a god, you're an alien. And I just asked for a favor. You’re free to say no, but I’m exhausted, and as much as I would like to put off climbing on the roof off until tomorrow, I need to send a check in to headquarters ASAP.”

He begrudgingly reached out and took the dish and you watched as his form rippled green and faded away. You heard shuffling on the roof for a moment, then silence, before the Asgardian reappeared in front of you.

“If that’s all, Midgardian?” he said.

“Thank you, Highness,” you said, ignoring his tone. “And thank you for offering the room.” The monitor beeped a confirmation that your signal had connected and you punched in a code to let S.H.I.E.L.D. know you had made it to New Asgard. You grabbed the bag you had packed and hopped out of the van, waiting for Loki to follow suit before closing the doors and locking the vehicle.

You offered him your arm. “Shall we?”

He brushed past you, rolling his eyes at your mock-politeness.

“Alright then,” you muttered, “This is gonna be fun, isn’t it?” Taking one last look at the van behind you, you moved to catch up with the Asgardian walking briskly away from you.

-----

Loki had not been talkative on the way to the house, and after being curtly shown to your room, he quickly left. You had settled into a decently sized room complete with a desk and a small bathroom attached. Undoubtedly, the house was a far cry from an Asgardian palace, but it was much larger than needed for three, even four, people. Surprisingly, you got a sound night’s sleep.

You woke to rambunctious laughter, and, wiping bleariness from your eyes, got out of bed. You stood in front of a small mirror on the wall and attempted to make yourself look slightly less like you had just woken up. Moving to your bag, you put on clothes that were much more professional than the old sweatshirt you were currently wearing.

Finally satisfied, you stepped out of your room and followed the sounds of conversation into the kitchen, where you found Brunnhilde and Thor joking at the counter while Loki sat at a dining room table, reading a book.

Seeing you, Thor broke into a smile. “Y/N! Loki had told us you would be staying here!”

You returned the smile. “Thank you for letting me stay here, Thor. I really appreciate this.”

The large man set a plate heaping with food on the table and gestured for you to sit. You did, glancing at Loki as you took the seat across from him, but he made no move to acknowledge that you were there. Brunnhidle began to speak. “We will be building fishing boats today down at the docks today. Will you be joining us, Y/N? We could use an extra set of hands.”

You nodded. “I don’t mind helping out. I have a few things to take care of first, though, so I’ll meet you all down there.”

Thor clapped. “Excellent! We’ll make an Asgardian out of you yet!”

You laughed softly and finished your meal as Thor and Brunnhilde began to tell you the plans for the day.

------

After breakfast, you ran up to your room to grab your laptop and then met the rest of the group on the stairs of the house. “I’ll see you guys in a little while,” you said, waving while walking in the opposite direction.

Thor and Brunnhidle branched off from you, but Loki, still silent, walked beside you towards your van.

You looked at him quizzically, but he seemed to have no intention of indicating why he was with you, and not with Thor and Brunnhilde.

Finally, as you approached your van, you caved and asked. “Why are you with me instead of your brother?”

“I’ve consulted with Thor. I will be supervising you for the remainder of your stay here.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “I’m supposed to be supervising you guys!”

“You are a stranger,” he replied, “and there’s something about you that I don’t trust. I have harmed Asgard many times over, and I don’t intend to let you get away with hurting these people any more.” There was an edge to his voice, that you had to admit, scared you.

After a long moment, you sighed. “Fine. I could use an assistant, I guess.” Which was apparently the right thing to say, because it made him clearly flustered.

“I am no one’s assistant, I am a prince of Asgard,” he argued as you turned away from him, partially to unlock your van and partially to hide your laughter.

You hopped up into the vehicle and grabbed a folder and tossed it to Loki, who was still sputtering about his status behind you. “Scan those in, would you?” you said gesturing at a machine in the back corner of the van.

He huffed but snatched the folder from your hand and went to fiddle with the machine.

You glanced over. “Do you know how to use that?”

“Yes,” he snapped. “This is primitive technology compared to what I have seen in my travels.”

You shrugged. “Okay.” You turned to your computer and queued up a call to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. “I’m gonna need you to be quiet for a second,” you said, right before Mack’s face popped onto the screen.

“Y/N! How’s Norway treating you?” he said with a smile.

“Colder than I thought, but not too bad. They’ve given me an actual bed to sleep in. You really need to update the beds in these vans,” you joked.

“I’ll let the budget committee know,” he replied. “I trust Thor and Loki are being cooperative, then?”

“More or less,” you said before stepping to the side, putting Loki in full view of your webcam.

Mack’s eyes widened. The change was subtle, but you could tell he was surprised. “That’s Loki.”

“Yup.”

“In your van.”

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“His Highness has deemed me untrustworthy, and decided I need a chaperone.”

“Right,” said Mack, suspicion in his voice. “Well you know the drill. Weekly check-ins, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any problems,” he said, looking at Loki.

“Gotcha, Mack. Talk to you next week,” you said, turning off the call. You turned to Loki, who had yet to even turn the scanner on. “You don’t know how to work that, do you?”

He glared at you and did not reply.

“Come here, Your Highness, I’ll show you. It really isn’t that hard.”

“You know the honorific loses its value when you say it so sarcastically,” he said, while watching your motions intensely, memorizing the steps to work the machine.

“Sorry, Highness.”

-----

The two of you walked down to the beach shortly after, meeting Brunnhilde and Thor at the docks. You were allotted supplies and miraculously, you and Loki ended up caulking the same boat.

Great.

The silence was deafening at first, until you decided to break it.

“You know I never would have assumed that someone of such status would be out here doing the dirty work,” you said, sarcasm dripping from your voice.

He grimaced. “I owe Asgard a debt. I intend to repay it, however I can offer service.”

“A very noble stance from Loki, God of Mischief.”

He grinned and looked up, meeting your eyes. “I find that one can be noble while still being quite mischievous.”

You felt your face heat up, and ducked your head, looking down at your work. He had smiled at you, for the first time, and what he had said had sounded almost like flirting. Why had that made your stomach turn in such a strange way?

“Oh my,” he laughed. “Seems that the Midgardian is finally speechless.”

“Just trying to hold my tongue around my betters, Highness,” you said, rolling your eyes. “Now let’s get to work before Brunnhilde has our heads.”

-----

Finally, late that afternoon, the work was done, and the New Asgard armada of fishing boats was ready for a celebratory launch. You and Loki stood in the crowd, watching Brunnhilde give a speech in front of the flagship, which really wasn’t much larger than the rest of the fleet. Loki leaned over and whispered to you, “You know, back in the day, the Norse would give a human sacrifice to the sea god to ensure safe passage.”

You wrinkled your nose, put off by the suggestion. “I think I prefer the more English tradition,” you replied, watching as Brunnhilde smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of the ship.

Loki sighed. “Such a waste of perfectly good champagne.”

“I’m sure there's plenty more alcohol around here somewhere,” you said as you walked over to your boat, preparing for her maiden voyage. You hopped in and offered Loki your hand to help him in. He hesitated, but he took it.

“What should we name her?” you asked.

“What?”

“You know,” you shrugged, “We have to give our ship a name.”

Loki seemed to ponder it a moment before deciding. “How about The Midgardian?”

You put your hand on your chest in mock flattery. “Aww, you named her after me, didn’t you?”

He laughed. “It’s a fitting name. She’s lackluster and hardly even worthy of being called a boat.” His words were biting, and maybe you were imagining things, but you could have sworn you heard the playfulness in his voice.

You laughed and tossed him an oar. “For you, Highness.”

“Many thanks, Midgardian.”

The two of you followed the rest of New Asgard, rowing out to sea. Suddenly, you noticed a small sprig of water in the bottom of the boat. “Loki,” you said, the fear dawning on you, “I think the boat is leaking.”

He turned to see the small leak coming through the floorboards. “Okay,” he said, suddenly serious, “Don’t panic. Let’s turn around.”

You switched the side you were paddling on, beginning to move the boat in a circle. Before you could completely orient yourselves, the floorboards cracked, and a large chunk of wood detached from the boat. You yelped as the water came flooding in.

Loki swore. “Can you swim?” he asked you, speaking quickly.

You nodded. All S.H.I.E.L.D. agents knew how to swim.

“Then jump!” he said, and you did, without a second thought. Your boat was sinking fast, and there was no way you were going to make it back to shore dry.

You hit the water, and a second later, heard Loki behind you.

“Swim towards Thor’s boat, he can get us-”

You missed the rest of his sentence as you were pulled away from him.

You fought the current that had taken hold of you, but your panic was making things worse. In the confusion, you lost control, and dipped under water. The ocean filled your mouth. Breaking the surface again, you choked out most of the water, trying to stay calm and find a way out, but every second you were being pulled further out to sea. Falling under once again, you were prepared to accept your fate when a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around you and pulled you into calmer waters.

You gasped for air as Loki held you against himself, allowing you time to recover.

“Wha- How did-” you began, once you could speak.

“Don’t talk, just breathe,” he said. “I am a god, I can overpower currents much easier than your mortal bodies can.”

“Thank you, Loki,” you said.

“You are welcome, Y/N.”

A larger boat pulled up next to you, Thor leaning over the side. “Brother, Agent Y/N! Take my hand!”

Loki helped you onto the deck of the boat before climbing over the side himself.

You flopped onto the deck, panting. “Rest in peace, SS Midgardian.”

-----

Later that night, you and Loki sat together watching the fire crackle. Thor had brought you a hot drink, and after plenty of fussing ensuring that you were okay, had left to do something leader-ish with Brunnhilde.

Suddenly, a loud scuffling at the door broke the silence and a series of thudding footsteps made their way toward you. Upon seeing your company, Loki sighed, exasperated. You turned and saw a large figure that appeared to be made out of rock alongside a smaller, insect-looking creature.

The large one began to speak, his gentle tone in contrast with his threatening form. “Hello. Um, I’m Korg and this is my friend Meik. We came to apologize for the whole boat thing. Thor put us in charge of wood collection, so it’s our bad, really. Sorry.”

“Oh, um, that’s alright,” you said, still processing the fact that there were two very large, very strange-looking, aliens in the living room. “You couldn’t have known the wood was rotting, and no one’s dead, so we’re good.”

“Alright, cool,” said Korg. “No harm, no foul, yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

“Right then,” he said, scooping up Miek. “We’ve gotta get going. Thor put us on clean up duty for the next week.”

“Thank you, Korg!” you called, but he was already out the door.

Loki let out another sigh. “Idiots.”

You turned back to him. “I had no idea there were other aliens here! How many species came with you?”

“Just Korg and Meik. And unfortunately, they are around a lot.”

You settled into your armchair. “I’m gonna have to document this.” But even as you said it, you could feel yourself drifting off.

-----

The next day you woke in your own bed, slightly embarrassed at the implication that Loki had carried you there, but he never brought it up, so neither did you.

The next few weeks were filled with collecting information and helping with the construction of New Asgard to fill the rest of your time. Always, of course, accompanied by Loki. In a strange way, you were becoming friends. The two of you never exchanged a single kind word, but your actions said otherwise. Before long, it seemed less like Loki was breathing down your neck and more like he was genuinely relaxing around you.

“Hey, Mack,” you said, beginning your weekly call-in, Loki now sitting beside you instead of hiding in the background.

“Hey there, Y/N. How’s it going, Loki?”

“Quite well, thank you, Director Mackenzie.”

You stared at him in shock. You had never heard Loki use honorifics for a Midgardian.

The rest of the call was uneventful, and as soon as you hung up, you whirled toward Loki.

“You were polite!” you said, your tone accusatory.

Loki sniffed. “I do have manners, you know.”

“You called him Director Mackenzie.”

“And?”

“And I can count the number of times you’ve used my real name on one hand. It’s always ‘Midgardian’ this ‘Midgardian’ that. You know Mack’s a Midgardian too, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “And you call me ‘Highness’ in that terrible mocking tone of yours. The disrespect is mutual.”

You sighed. “Fine, we’ll call a truce. I’ll call you Loki, you call me Y/N, deal?” You stuck out your hand, waiting for his response.

He seemed to be considering his options, before he settled on his choice. ��Deal.” He grasped your hand firmly within his and shook it.

“Glad we’re on the same page, Loki,” you said, leaning back into your chair.

“What now, Y/N?” he asked.

You shrugged. “I dunno. Brunnhilde and Thor don’t have anything going on, and I’m done with what I need to do.” You started clicking around on your computer. “Wanna watch a movie?”

“I’ve heard of movies, but never seen one.”

“You’ve never seen a movie?” you asked. “I guess that makes sense. It’s basically just a recorded play. You’ll love it.” You pulled up a movie. One of the lesser known perks of working for S.H.I.E.L.D.: free Netflix. “This is one of my favorites,” you said as the opening credits rolled.

“I suppose you aren’t giving me a choice then?” he asked.

“Nope,” you replied. “Now be quiet and watch.”

-----

Later that night, you were in the kitchen with Thor, cleaning up after dinner. The two of you worked in comfortable silence until suddenly-

“Are you and my brother involved romantically?”

The plate you were washing fell into the soapy water with a splash.

“What?”

“I have never seen him willingly be around a person as he is you,” Thor explained. “And he has changed. He is happier than he was before Midgard.”

You shook your head. “He doesn’t- I thought he was just ‘supervising’ in case I tried to kill you all.”

“Hardly. The man just has no clue how to adjust to a more… domestic lifestyle. He wants to be around you, he just does not know how to express that.”

“Huh,” was all you managed to say, not looking up from the dishes.

Thor let out a small chuckle. “One day you two will figure it out,” he said so quietly you weren’t even sure he said it.

-----

More time passed, you and Loki still spending your days together. Before you knew it, the Summer Solstice was here, and you spent the morning preparing.

Rushing around your van, alone for once, you scrambled to get your work done quickly before Brunnhidle’s coronation began.

Finishing up you glanced at your monitor when you saw a message pop up.

Alphonso Mackenzie: I forgot to mention it in our call this week, but you’re coming up on the six month mark, and there seems to be no complications with Asgard’s transition, so we’ll be pulling you back to HQ. We’ll sort out the details in next week’s meeting.

You felt a sinking feeling in your chest, which was quickly replaced by determination as you began to type your response.

-----

You hurried to Loki’s side, panting slightly, making it to the coronation just in time for Brunnhidle to make her entrance.

“You’re late,” he whispered.

“Shh,” you said. “They’re starting.”

-----

After every great coronation comes an even greater feast, and the Asgardians spent the rest of the day revealing and celebrating their new leader.

Surprisingly, you had seen very little of Loki. That wouldn’t last long though, because as the sun dipped below the horizon, your closest friend in New Asgard appeared from the crowd and said nothing as he led you to a private space away from the partygoers.

“I’ve hardly seen you all night,” he said, as soon as the two of you had a moment of relative silence.

“I know,” you laughed softly. “It’s been strange to not be around you.”

Your smile fell and you looked up at him. “Look, Loki, I have some news, and I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it.”

His expression turned serious and he led you to a small bench, where the both of you sat. He stayed silent, waiting for you to speak.

“I got a message from Mack today. They want me back in America.”

Loki’s entire demeanor changed. “What? You can’t go back. There’s still so much I- so much supervising to be done here.”

“That’s where the part I’m unsure of comes in,” you said. “I talked to Mack, and the specifics still need to be discussed, but if we can get agreement from all parties, he wants to create a new position at S.H.I.E.L.D. I’d be the first permanent Asgardian-Midgardian liaison that S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever had.”

His face broke into a grin and he clasped your hands into his. “That’s wonderful! Why would I have any problems with that?”

“You haven’t always been my biggest fan,” you said, nudging his arm gently.

He was silent for a moment, looking for the words. “Maybe not at first,” he began slowly, looking you directly in your eyes, “but now, I’d argue that you are closer to me than anyone else.”

You suddenly became all too aware of his hands resting on yours, and the closeness of his face to yours. “Loki…”

“I hate to admit it, but after a long talk with Thor, I’ve realized that I’ve grown quite fond of you, Y/N.”

“I guess I’ve grown fond of you too, Your Highness,” you said, smiling softly.

“Oh, Midgardian,” he said, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice as his face drew nearer.

You didn’t remember which of you closed the gap, only that it was the most magical kiss you had ever had.

A/N: Thanks for reading! :)

#loki x reader #loki x you #loki x female reader #loki x male reader #loki x gender neutral reader #loki imagine #loki friggason x reader #loki laufeyson imagine #loki friggason x you #loki friggason imagine #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x you #x reader

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just-dreaming-marvel · 4 years

Text

Out Of Time ~ 124

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 7,320ish (I know... yikes)

Summary: Y/N tries to help Simmons and Daisy save Fitz, Mack, May, Director Mace, and Coulson. (Sorry, I hope it’s not too confusing as you read it. It’s a lot...)

“Okay… So… Let me get this straight…” Y/N’s mind was trying to comprehend everything that Simmons and Daisy had just told her. “Dr. Radcliffe created a Life Model Decoy—“

“LMD for short,” Simmons added.

“Right. He created an LMD of his computerized assistant… just saying that takes me back to Ultron.” A shiver went down her spine. “Anyway, and she went crazy, building more LMD’s to replace the team. She put those she replaced in what is called the Framework, some sort of computerized alternate universe where consciousnesses can live… Am I getting this right so far?”

“Yes,” Daisy nodded.

“And Aida, the crazy LMD, has replaced May, Coulson, Mack, the new Director, and Fitz. And to stop them, you blew up the base and now need to go into the Framework yourselves and pull the team out. Correct?”

“Basically.”

Y/N sighed, running a hand down her face. She was still dressed up for her date, standing in front of Simmons and Daisy who were both injured, with Yo-Yo standing beside them.

“Okay, where do you need me then?” Y/N asked.

“If we’re in there too long, our bodies will… give out,” Daisy said.

“Well, that’s the hypothesis,” Simmons clarified.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Y/N exclaimed. “You guys want to go in there knowing your bodies might give out?!”

“We have to get our team back,” Daisy stated.

“I know but just… I’m going in.”

“No. You need to stay about here and—“

“And what? Watch over your bodies with Yo-Yo? No thanks. You’ll have a better shot with me in there.”

“Yes, but we need you out here,” Simmons said. “The Government won’t be far behind looking for us and you can help stall them.”

“You realize I’m a fugitive of the law, right?”

“Do you realize we found you with Tony?” Daisy retorted. “Isn’t he suppose to arrest you on site?”

Y/N clenched her jaw with a huff. “Fine. I’ll stay in the Zephyr. When do you need to go?”

“Now,” Simmons answered.

Y/N watched as Daisy and Simmons set up everything and connected themselves to the needed equipment.

“Meet at the rendezvous right away,” Daisy told Simmons and they both laid down. “That’s where I programmed the backdoor to get out.”

Y/N stood in between the two beds. “Listen, you two,” she said, trying to hide her worry. “Living in there too long may kill you, but dying in there will definitely kill you, so… just be careful.”

“Remember, Y/N and Yo-Yo,” Simmons started, “even if our vitals are going haywire, do not—“

“Do not pull you out or wake you up,” Yo-Yo finished. “We know. It will cook your brains like huevos rotos.”

“Cause permanent damage to the cerebral cortex, test.”

“Just promise me you’ll get our guys back, okay?”

“I promise.”

Y/N watched with bated breath as they hooked themselves up and seemingly feel asleep. Feeling around in both their minds, Y/N could tell they were in the Framework though. Now it was only a matter of time.

~~~

“They missed you,” Yo-You said.

Y/N had changed and the two of them had been sitting in silence, watching their two friends, for who knows how long.

“I’ve missed them, too,” she replied. “I… I really didn’t want to leave.”

“They knew that. And they felt terrible for what had happened when you woke. They had many arguments with Director Mace about it.”

“I didn’t like that guy.”

“He grew on me,” Yo-Yo shrugged. She leaned back in her chair. “Where have you been?”

“I can’t say,” Y/N shook her head.

“Understandable. They never stopped searching, you know?”

“I figured.”

“They actually caught sight of you once. In South Africa, I think.”

“They wouldn’t be the only ones. I was stupid for staying too long in one spot.” Y/N silently watched her unconscious friends for a moment. “I was going to say that I can’t imagine what’s going on in there, but I kinda can. Falling asleep, walking up in a new world. It’s how I got here.”

“Except they’re walking up to a demon world.”

“Truth,” Y/N chuckled. “Very true… Do we have any idea where the others might be kept at?”

“No.”

Y/N let herself comb over Yo-Yo’s thoughts briefly. “You and Mack, huh? That’s…”

“Interesting?”

“I was going to say exciting. The height difference must be a real challenge though.”

Yo-Yo laughed. “I don’t let it stop me.”

“Never thought you did.”

“And you and Stark?”

“It’s complicated. Especially now.”

“I can imagine.”

“Honestly, Yo-Yo, I don’t know if you can."

~~~

“Agent Rodriguez!” A woman came jogging up to Yo-Yo and Y/N, who were still watching over their friends. “Agent—“ She came to a halt. “Agent Rogers? I thought—well, you should be—“

“On the run. I know,” Y/N responded. “You are?”

“Agent Piper, ma’am.”

“And what seems to be the problem, Agent Piper?”

“We’re running out of power. Keeping them plugged in is draining the Zephyr faster than we thought.”

“Are we cloaked?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Y/N took a deep breath, thinking over the options. “It’s going to be risky but I need you to uncloak the Zephyr.”

“What?” Yo-Yo questioned. “You can’t be serious? They’ll see us.”

“Just trust me and do it, Agent Piper.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Agent Piper responded, heading back to the controls.

“And please stop with the ma’am, it’s annoying.”

“Are you sure about this?” Yo-Yo asked her.

“No. But if anyone tries to take this bird down, I’ll take them down first.”

~~~

“Zephyr’s got 24 hours till it runs out of power,” Agent Davis, a man, informed.

“We can’t wait anymore,” Agent Piper chimed in. “We need to touch down and refuel.”

“Let’s not have this conversation again,” Yo-Yo said.

“Okay, we don’t know who we can trust at SHIELD and, the government, Talbot’s been trying to reach us. Maybe it’s time we talk to him.”

“Not an option,” Y/N said. “You’ve seen what they’re saying in the news. We’re lucky they haven’t shot us out of the sky. Not to mention that I’m on board and that if they turn off the Framework—“

“That thing’s draining all our power,” Agent Davis stated.

“Might be time we figure out a way to wake up Daisy and Simmons,” Piper suggested.

“Again, not an option,” Y/N argued.

“We must find something else to turn off,” Yo-Yo said.

“We already shut off all non-essential functions,” Davis stated. “Including the heat and the cloaking.”

“Why haven’t they shot us from the sky yet?” Piper wondered. “We haven’t been cloaked for almost a day.”

“Because I’m cloaking us,” Y/N stated.

“What?” / “How?” / “You can do that?”

“I’ve never released the amount of power I’m releasing for this long of a time, so I really don’t know how much longer I can hold it for.” Y/N turned to Daisy and Simmons, nibbling at her thumb nail. “They’re taking too long though… I think I need to go in after them.”

“No!” Yo-Yo exclaimed. “If you’re what’s keeping us safe, then we need you conscious.”

“It’s still only a matter of time before we have to land and I can’t hold it anymore. I can get in there and pull them out.”

“You don’t even know where the duplicate of you is.”

“What makes this world different, Yo-Yo? Why is it different than ours?”

“Simmons said something about taking a regret away.”

“So everyone has one regret taken away?” Yo-Yo nodded. “Then I have a pretty good guess where I’ll be.”

“You have no way of knowing if your powers will work.”

“If it’s basically a replica of our world, then I’m pretty sure they will. Besides, I’m not an inhuman, my powers are from sources much more powerful than some stupid computerized world. Now hook me up, we’re running out of time.”

~~~

Y/N gasped as she woke, immediately taking in her surroundings. She was in a casket, in the ground, inside of the Framework. She wasn’t surprised at all to find herself there, there was only two things she ever regretted. This regret Y/N had was one she always kept to herself, for reasons as to not hurt the ones she loved. She took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing,” she whispered to herself.

She put her hands on the top of the casket and focused. The purple energy quickly glowed from her hands, blasting forward to free her from the ground. She crawled out of the hole, analyzing her surroundings. Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. Looking down, she realized she was in an old, warn out, military uniform. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the headstone. Turning to look at it she wasn’t shocked to see what it said:

Y/N Rogers

July 4th, 1918 to November 1945

A Hero Of World War 2

A Champion For Women

“Okay,” she whispered to herself as she stood up, brushing herself off, “If I were SHIELD, where would I be?”

Raking through her mind, it didn’t take long for her to come to a conclusion.

“The base.”

~~~

When Daisy woke up in the Framework, she was shocked to find out that here she was working for HYDRA, her powers weren’t active, she’s was still Skye, and that she was dating Grant Ward. HYDRA had taken over the world, SHIELD had fallen. Trying to find Simmons without the rest of HYDRA, she’s followed by Ward.

Simmons woke up in a mass grave of SHIELD agents, her Framework double having died in the fall of SHIELD. She eventually came across Coulson on her way to find Daisy. Here, Coulson’s a teacher teaching a HYDRA-approved curriculum that warns against the dangers of inhumans. Simmons tried to convince Coulson that he’s inside a virtual simulation, only to fail and have him call HYDRA on her.

When Daisy and Simmons finally met up, they tried to exit the Framework using a safeguard they created. They realized they were in over their heads in here and they needed back up. Unfortunately, Aida, the Director of HYDRA, blocked their way out. Ward then revealed himself to be a mole in HYDRA for the Resistance, out to protect Daisy since she’s inhuman.

On the run from a HYDRA attack, Simmons explains what happened with Coulson. This caused Daisy to go visit him, where he remembered her name. Ward took Simmons and Coulson to the Resistance, though he wasn’t so sure to believe the story Daisy and Simmons were telling. The Resistance is the remnants of SHIELD, led by inhuman Director Mace.

Daisy went back to HYDRA to find Radcliffe, hoping he could help them escape. But May, now a top HYDRA agent, gave her a new mission on the orders of Fitz, lead HYDRA scientist, and Aida, though she goes by Ophelia or Madame Hydra in the Framework. Daisy sent the information to Simmons on Radcliffe’s whereabouts before going with May to arrest Mack and his daughter Hope. May forced Mack to trick Daisy into confessing her true allegiance. Daisy gets placed in a cell and tortured. Mack, after him and his daughter are freed, joins the Resistance, having felt bad about what he did to Daisy.

Ward, Simmons, and Coulson find Radcliffe living in seclusion with Agnes Kitsworth, the woman he based Aida off of. Radcliffe explains that him and Agnes cannot leave the Framework since both of their real bodies have died. Fitz and Madame Hydra arrive. Radcliffe attempted to appeal to Fitz, though Fitz seemed to already know of the “other world” and believed that Radcliffe had enslaved Aida there. Fitz killed Agnes and takes Radcliffe as a prisoner, all while Ward, Simmons, and Coulson watch.

Ward, Mace, and Coulson then infiltrate a HYDRA “Enlightenment Camp” to free an undercover agent, Antione Triplett. They are tracked there by May, who uses a super serum to fight Mace. Coulson attempts to save one of his former students who he sees being held in the camp. Mace followed him into the building to help free all the other kids. HYDRA brings the building down with a missile. Entering the rubble to ensure Mace is dead, she finds him stopping debris from crushing a student, with Coulson and Tripp helping other children escape. May is horrified to find children being victimized by HYDRA. With the others having escaped to safety, Mace is crushed beneath the debris, dying in both worlds.

Through the vents of their holding cells, Daisy learns from Radcliffe about a backdoor he installed to escape that Aida is unable to disable. Turning on HYDRA, May sneaks a terrigen crystal into Daisy’s cell so she can gain her abilities within the Framework. The two women work together to escape HYDRA, with Daisy using her abilities to break Ophelia’s back.

Ophelia insists that Fitz, her lover, complete the work on their secret project, Looking Glass, after which her Framework body will no longer matter. Fitz then, with his very much alive father, becomes the head of HYDRA.

~~~

Y/N knew that it wouldn’t be smart to just appear in the base, so she showed up at a known SHIELD meeting spot. Appearing, she saw May and Daisy get out of an old car.

“I saw the building collapse on him,” May stated, getting out of the car. “I have the body-cam footage to prove it.”

“A building collapsed on who?” Y/N asked, worried.

Daisy spun around. “Y/N?” She questioned.

“You were taking too long.” The two women rushed into a hug.

“We tried to get back out to get your help, but Aida—“

“Stopped you. I got it.”

The three women pressed themselves up against a storage container.

“That’s not possible,” May whispered, staring at Y/N. “You’re Y/N Rogers. You died in World War 2, in the plane crash.”

“That, let me guess, my brother survived,” she responded.

They heard a security drone whirring near them and they pressed themselves up further against the storage container. May glanced around the corner to see the drone fly away.

“This is our window,” May stated.

The three then walked around the corner, Daisy leading the way. They were all on high alert, two of them now being considered terrorists. Daisy knocked on the red door of the building. A man quickly appeared, gun out.

“Get out of here,” he ordered.

“Hey! Hey,” Daisy exclaimed, hands up in surrender. “We are friends of the Resistance.”

“I know who you are. There’s chatter all over the police hand.” The man kept switching who his gun was pointed out.

“We weren’t followed. We were careful.” Then tires screeching were heard.

“Not careful enough,” May said.

Daisy and her quickly pulled out their guns. They took cover behind a trash can as those in the speeding car began shooting at them.

“Milkman, I have contact!” The man shouted into a walkie-talkie before getting shot down.

May and Daisy were firing back as Y/N pulled the man into the building.

“Come on!” She shouted. May followed.

“Incoming!” Daisy yelled, seeing a bomb thrown their way. She stood up and quaked it back into the car. She was shutting the door to the building as the car exploded.

“I’m going to be honest,” Y/N began, “I have not missed getting shot at.” Y/N began pushing large things in front of the door.

“He’s still breathing,” May said checking on the man. “But we’re gonna need to find another way to get out of here.”

“How long before HYDRA busts down the door?” Daisy asked.

“Not long. They’ll be following SOP for a hostile inhuman. Six teams to sweep the area. And if the hostile’s taken cover they’ll call in an air strike and sort through the rubble later.”

“Like what they did with the Patriot?”

“What I did. That air strike was on my order.”

“You didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t change what I did.”

“I’m sorry, who’s the Patriot?” Y/N asked.

“Director Mace,” Daisy answered.

“So, he’s…” Daisy nodded. “Oh, gosh.”

“May, you can’t blame yourself for their lies. Once you learned the truth, you fought back. That is what we need.”

“Daisy’s right. If more people see what you saw, they’ll probably start fighting back too.”

The three of you froze, hearing the HYDRA agents break down a door down the building. The three women hid, waiting for the agents to come to them. When they did, May jumped down on one from the ceiling, Daisy took one from the side, and Y/N appeared behind another, quickly knocking him out. The three HYDRA agents were quickly finished off.

“Three down,” Daisy whispered.

“Stop right there,” a HYDRA agent ordered, aiming at Daisy.

May and Daisy held their hands up, while Y/N’s hands slowly started glowing purple. Before any of them could do something, Mack showed up from the side, knocking the guy out with his guy.

“Mack?” Y/N and Daisy questioned. The three headed towards him only to freeze when he aimed his gun at May.

“Mack,” Daisy called.

“I’m here to help you,” Mack stated, “not the woman who held my daughter hostage.”

“May is the only reason I’m alive. She helped me escape. HYDRA messed with her head, but she’s fight back now.”

“How do you know she’s not lying?”

Coulson and a SHIELD agent ran in. Assessing the situation, Coulson stopped between May and Mack. Y/N was relieved to see her long time friend.

“Not a good time to be holding guns on our allies,” Coulson said.

“Alpha One, report in,” a HYDRA agent requested from outside. “What’s the situation down there?”

“We have to go, now.” Coulson slowly walked towards Mack. “Mack, I get it. These wounds don’t heal overnight. But for reasons I can’t fully explain, I trust this woman. And so should you.” Mack put the gun down.

“This place was originally build during the prohibition,” the SHIELD agent explained. “We have a secret tunnel out of here.”

“Lead the way,” Y/N said.

Mack grabbed the SHIELD agent from before and they all jogged towards the secret tunnel. Coulson moved so he was beside Y/N.

“Y/N? Right?” He questioned.

“You remember?” She asked.

“Little things. But you’re also known here. Not necessarily in a good light, but you are.”

“I’ve missed you, Phil.”

“Weirdly, I’ve missed you, too.”

“Y/N?” Daisy called. “Do you think you could just portal us there? It would be faster and safer.”

“And miss all this fun?” Y/N smirked. “You kidding?”

~~~

“Welcome to SHIELD,” Coulson said as the group walked into the base.

“So the secret base is the base,” Daisy said. “Probably should’ve guessed that.”

“I did,” Y/N said. “I just didn’t want to scare everyone.”

“Been looking for this place for years,” May said, looking around.

“I got to go find my little girl,” Mack stated, leaving.

“Thanks for your help,” Coulson said.

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” Ward said, coming towards them. “We’ve been combing the streets looking for you.” Y/N clenched her fists and they slowly began to glow purple.

“I can take care of myself,” Daisy responded.

“And you are?” Ward looked at you before noticing your hands. “And what are you doing?” He went to grab his gun but Daisy quickly stepped between the two of you.

“Woah, woah, woah.” She had her hands out. “Stop. Y/N,” she turned to her friend. “This is not the same Ward that shot you.”

“I shot you?” Ward repeated.

“Yeah,” Y/N responded. “I almost died.”

“That wasn’t me.”

“Y/N…” Daisy called. “Calm down.” Y/N looked at her friend and nodding, powering down. “Now, you want to explain the purple hands?”

“It’s complicated,” Y/N answered.

“How about we go take a look at that body-cam footage,” Coulson suggested. “Could really hep the cause.” May and Coulson left, leaving Ward, Daisy, and Y/N.

“Y/N and I are gonna go talk to Simmons,” Daisy said.

“She and, uh, Agent Triplett are on a recon mission,” Ward said, stopping them.

“Tripp?” Y/N repeated.

“Mm-hmm.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks,” Daisy smiled.

“What’d you need to talk to her about?”

“It’s not exactly—“

“She told me about the other world.”

“Ah.” Daisy nodded. “Right.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“Yeah. And I need you to trust me. I know a way for us to get back home.”

“By ‘us’, you don’t mean me.” Y/N stepped back, feeling the tension. “I guess I was holding out hope that Simmons was wrong and that you’d still be… the girl I knew… I’m glad you’re safe, Daisy.” Ward walked away.

“Well that was…. Weird,” Y/N said. “Do you want to tell me—“

“Not really.”

“Okay.”

~~~

Y/N and Daisy walked in as Coulson, Ward, and May had just finished the body cam footage of Mace’s death.

“Getting this footage out isn’t enough to make up for what I did in HYDRA,” May spoke up. “But it’s a start.”

“Changing people’s hearts and minds is great,” Daisy said. “But I know a way to destroy HYDRA for good. Remember the place Simmons and I were trying to find? Radcliffe told me where to go, how to find it.”

“The way out of this?” Coulson asked.

“Yes. If we can get there, all of our problems go away. We just— we need all the help we can get.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” May stated. “THere’s no magic bullet against HYDRA.”

“Yeah,” Ward agreed. “This footage is a close as it comes. I mean, people will finally wake up.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Daisy said. “None of this will matter in the long run. It’s— it’s… Coulson, this is the only chance to actually wake people up.”

“Maybe the only way to solve our problem,” Coulson replied, “is to solve their problem.”

“What does that mean?”

“Getting to Radcliffe’s coordinates right now is next to impossible. We need a way to divide HYDRA’s forces.”

“To save ourselves, we need to save the world,” Y/N said. “Well, I’m in. But I guess none of us really have a choice, do we?”

~~~

Using both Y/N’s and Daisy’s powers, a small SHIELD team broke into HYDRA’s broadcasting center. All their people hand their hands held up. Bakshi was sitting at his news anchor desk. Coulson, May, Y/N, and Daisy walked up to it.

“Heard you were looking for some enemies of the state,” Coulson commented.

Y/N and Daisy looked at each other with small grins. Coulson would always be Coulson, even if he didn’t remember everything. With a nod from Coulson, Y/N controlled all the people to stay in their seats. Ward tied Bakshi to his chair.

“Stay quiet and we won’t have a problem,” Ward warned Bakshi.

“May and Coulson are getting everything set,” Daisy told Ward and Y/N.

“We’re good to go out here. No one’s putting up a fight.”

“That’s because I told them not to,” Y/N explained. Ward looked at her, confused. “I have a variety of abilities. Just don’t plan on crossing me.”

“Yes, but we will,” Bakshi said. “If you think you can force me, Sunil Bakshi, to go on air and slander HYDRA, then you’re delusional. I am the most trusted voice in journalism—“ Daisy quaked him back so that he hit the wall behind him. “Just, uh, put it in the teleprompter, then.” Bakshi was scared.

“We don’t need you to say a damn thing,” Daisy said. “The facts will speak for themselves.”

~~~

Y/N waited by herself for Coulson to finishing filming his speech. She longed to know the truth about what happened to Steve, Bucky, and Tony in this Framework. She was just too afraid. With a sigh, she looked to the side and saw a HYDR computer. Y/N contemplated for a moment before finally giving in and searching.

Steven Grant Rogers

Born: July 4th, 1918

Died: December 6th, 2007

First super soldier created. Helped defeat HYDRA. After his sister, Y/N, crashed a plane in 1945, Rogers married Peggy Carter and helped found SHIELD.

James Buchanan Barnes

Born: March 10th, 1917

First HYDRA super soldier ever created. Alias is The Winter Soldier. Still in regular use. Currently under cryo.

Anthony Edward Stark

Born: May 29th, 1970

Died: dated unknown, during the fall of SHIELD

Former CEO of Stark Industries. Son of Howard and Maria Stark. Died trying to stop the fall of SHIELD.

After reading everything, Y/N quickly turned off the screen. She wanted it get out of this hell whole faster now. This was not the place she longed to be. She met up with Ward, May, and Daisy, right before Coulson entered the room.

“Well,” he began with a breath, “that’s that.”

“Let’s get out of here,” May stated.

Coulson noticed that Ward’s gun was on the table and he knew that Ward was planning on staying. “The Patriot would’ve been proud of what we did today.”

Ward and Coulson nodded to each other before Coulson walked out of the room, with Y/N following. May and Daisy were close behind. Ward began the broadcast, playing it on every screen.

~~~

Daisy stood by Y/N’s side as they watched the news from the base. Everyone in the room had their eyes on the screen. Madame Hydra had sent crews to take back control of the broadcast center. Y/N huffed as she watched people getting beat up by HYDRA agents.

“She’s not subtle, that Madama Hydra,” Daisy commented.

“Yeah, just look at her uniform,” an agent said from beside them. “It’s so crazy hot.” They both gave the guy a look. “I-I mean, if you’re into the whole ‘bad girl’ vibe. Not—not me. I’m just… making an observation.”

Just then, Tripp and Simmons walked into the room.

“Tripp,” both Daisy and Y/N gasped.

“It’s so good to see you!” Daisy laughed, pulling the man in for a hug.

“Hey… person I don’t know,” he said, hugging her back.

“Right.” Daisy immediately let go. “Yeah, sorry. I-I heard about your mission. Awesome job.”

“Thanks.” Tripp looked at Y/N, studying her. “I… do I know you.”

“You might have seen pictures,” Y/N responded, thinking back to the conversation she had with the real Tripp. That seemed like so long ago. “Y/N Rogers.” She held her hand out to shake his. “I worked with your Grandfather, Gabe. He was a—“

“Howling Commando.” He shook her hand. “I’m sorry, but shouldn’t you be dead?”

“Long story.” Y/N pulled her hand away.

“Tripp,” Simmons got his attention. “Do you mind if Daisy, Y/N, and I have a quick word?”

“Sure,” he agreed. He looked at Daisy. “You can finishing hugging me later.” He chuckled before walking away.

Simmons grabbed grabbed an arm from each of the other women, pulling them to the side.

“Aida’s building a body for herself in the real world,” Simmons stated quietly. “A human body.”

“She wants free will,” Daisy said.

“Which would allow her to unplug the Framework… killing us all.”

“Okay,” Daisy sighed. “We can still stop her. Radcliffe gave me the coordinates to the Framework’s back door.”

“Will it work?”

“According to him, all we have to do is pass through the exit point, and then our minds will disconnect from the Framework.”

“So we just need to get everyone there.”

“Which own’t be easy,” Y/N said, “with May and Mack having no idea what’s really happening.”

“Well, and Fitz had HYDRA guards around him at all times.” Y/N and Daisy shared a look. “What?”

“Simmons, we can’t reduce Fitz right now,” Daisy said. “There’s no time.”

“We can’t just leave him behind. He’s part of our team.”

“And the current head of HYDRA,” Y/N reminded them.

“The Fitz in this world wants all of us dead,” Daisy added.

“Guys—“

“I know that it’s not his fault, but that is the reality that we are living in. If we don’t get Coulson, May, and Mack out of here, Aida will kill all of them.”

“I can try to get Fitz, if the time is right,” Y/N offered. “But I can’t promise anything.” She shook her head slightly. “What I can promise is that we will find a way to get Fitz out once everyone’s safe. Okay?”

“Okay,” Simmons agreed quietly.

Daisy left quickly, realizing Mack was leaving. Y/N stayed by Simmons.

“When did you even get here?” Simmons asked.

“When May and Daisy were escaping HYDRA,” Y/N answered. “The Zephyr is almost dead. You guys were taking too long, draining the power. I had to jump in to see if I could help.”

“Thank you.”

~~~

Y/N found herself mindlessly watching Mack interact with Hope. She didn't even notice that she had been staring too long until Mack met her gaze. She looked away, trying to compose herself.

“Hey,” he greeted, walking up to her.

“Hey,” she replied. “Sorry about staring. I just… you two are a good pair.”

“Yeah.” He smiled softly, looking at Hope. “Have any kids of your own?”

“I… I should have… He… there was a big fight and I lost him before he was even born.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—“

“It’s no problem. Really.” She waved him off. “I’m… it’s still a little fresh.”

“Did you, uh, pick out a name?”

“Anthony James, or AJ for short.”

“That’s nice.”

“It is.” She nodded. She looked at Hope, thinking about how Mack will after to leave her soon. Even though she’s not real. “Just.. Mack, don’t wast any second. Every moment is precious.”

~~~

Y/N met up with Daisy and Tripp in the Director’s office. They were leaning over a map.

“Okay, so, Radcliffe’s coordinates should put it right about here,” Daisy stated, drawing a circle on the map. “DO you think you can fly us there?”

“No problem,” Tripp agreed.

“Great.”

“But what’s with this team of yours? A HYDRA agent, a school teacher, and a dad? Looks pretty bad news hears to me.”

“Trust us, I think they’re up to the task,” Y/N replied.

“Does this have anything to do with that other world Simmons was talking about?”

“She told you?” Daisy questioned.

“What can I say? I’m easy to confide in.”

“Okay. Yeah, you, May, Mack, and Coulson were all apart of our team in the other world.”

“So that’s why you were so happy to see me.” He smirked. “You and I,” he pointed between Daisy and himself, “we must’ve, uh, you know—

“Dated?”

“Sure. We’ll go with that.”

“Uh, no. Sorry.”

“Right. Me and Simmons, we probably—“

“Nope.”

“Agent May?” Daisy shook her head. “Y/N?”

“Sorry, Tripp,” Y/N smiled.

“Damn. And this is really a place you two want to go back to?”

“Easy, playboy. Right now, we have to round up Simmons and the rest of the team.”

“Doubt she’s back yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought you two knew. Simmons left base an hour ago.”

“Where was she going?” Daisy asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s go ask Coulson and May,” Y/N suggested. “Maybe she told them.”

The two women rushed down to find May and Coulson walking the hallway.

“Do you know where Simmons went?” Daisy asked them.

“No, sorry,” Coulson responded.

“She went to find Alistair Fitz,” May replied, like it was no problem.

“What?” Daisy questioned. “Why didn’t you come and tell us?”

“Because I don’t answer to you. Not here or any other fantasy word you three might have cooked up.”

“You told her?” Y/N asked Coulson.

“It came up in conversation,” he shrugged.

“How does the existence of an alternate reality come up in a casual conversation?”

“I’d like to think it’s because we were bonding, though I don’t really want to speak for her.”

“You’re really not helping,” Daisy said.

“Don’t worry. Melinda here said she’d keep an open mind.” May sighed.

“We can’t leave without Simmons.”

“She knows how to stay off-radar,” May stated. “I’m sure everything’s fine.”

~~~

The small team packed up the quinjet. And now the only person they were waiting for was Simmons.

“Hey,” Daisy went up to Tripp in the pilot’s seat. “We all good?”

“Ready when you are,” he replied.

“Yeah. We just can’t leave without her.”

Y/N was waiting at the end of the ramp. She was the first to notice Simmons.

“Jemma!” She exclaimed rushing towards her friend. “You okay?”

“I was trying to save Fitz,” she answered, clearly shaken up.

Daisy noticed blood on Simmons jacket. “Please tell me that’s not his blood,” Daisy pled.

“No. It’s… It’s from his father. I—I killed him.”

“That’s—that’s okay. Fitz’s dad is just an avatar. You didn’t kill anyone. You just made some ones and zeroes disappear.”

“But Fitz won’t come with us now. We’ve lost him.”

“No, we haven’t,” Y/N said, shaking her head. She rested her hands on her friends shoulders. “We will figure something out. But first, we have to get back to the real world before Aida makes us disappear. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Y/N and Daisy guided Simmons into the quinjet and Tripp took off.

~~~

The quinjet landed on the roof of a steel mill. Everyone armed up and headed out, leaving Tripp with the quinjet. May led the way into the mill.

“Just up ahead,” she stated.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Y/N said, cautiously surveying the area.

“Nothing about this disgusting world feels right,” Simmons stated. “It’s hell. A digital hell.”

“Radcliffe said the back door was in a public fountain, not some creepy steel mill.”

“If only the exit beacon I brought to this world worked, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Yeah, well, if we’re gonna get out of here,” Y/N said, “this is our last chance.”

“Found the location,” Coulson called to them.

They quickly followed him. He led them to a pool of molten steel.

“This can’t be it,” Daisy said.

“Uh, the coordinates lead right there,” May replied.

“Into a pool of molten steel?” Coulson wondered. “You think Radcliffe gave us bad info?”

“Radcliffe’s a prisoner at HYDRA,” Daisy said. “He’s got no reason to lie.”

“Maybe someone else found it and took it,” May suggested, getting annoyed.

“The back door is part of the Framework’s digital infrastructure. It can’t be moved.”

“But it could be concealed,” Y/N spoke up. “What if Madame HYDRA discovered the back door and built this place as a way to prevent people from passing through?”

“Wait a minute,” Mack interrupted, confused. “What is this back door everyone keeps talking about? I thought we were here to take out Madame Hydra.”

“Let me guess,” May started, “no one told you about the other world.”

“The other world? What?”

“So what does this mean for us?” Coulson asked, ignoring Mack and May.

“It means Aida’s won,” Simmons stated.

“You seriously believe that there’s some magical back door that will transport us to another world?” May wondered.

“It’s not magic, May. It’s science.”

“Then where’s your proof?”

“We just have to trust Radcliffe,” Daisy said. “He said when a person passes through the back door—“

“That they wake up on the other side. This is what you really believe?” May asked Coulson.

“Admittedly, it doesn’t sound great when you say it like that,” Coulson admitted.

“You lied to me,” Mack said to Daisy.

“Mack—“

“No, don’t try to talk your way out of this. You’re a damn liar. My daughter looks up to you, and for what? SO you can bring me out here on some wild goose chase?”

“Daisy was only trying to help,” Simmons excused.

“How?” By taking me away from my kid? What the hell is wrong with you guys?” Mack pointed at Y/N. “And you? You’re willing to let me feel the pain you felt. That’s… that’s cruel.”

“Mack, you don’t understand,” Y/N began. “It’s different. So, diff—“

“No it isn’t.”

“Hey, guys, maybe we should start thinking about a plan b,” Coulson tried to cool everyone down.

“Glad you’ve finally come to your senses,” May said. “We need to get out of here.”

“Actually, I was thinking we might try to find another way through the back door. I still believe Daisy’s right.”

“Wake up!” Mack exclaimed. “There is no back door, just like she’s not Moses about to take you to the promised land."

“That’s it,” Y/N whispered. “Daisy, quake it.”

“What?” Daisy questioned. “What do you—“

“Quake the damn thing, Daisy!”

Daisy held out her hand and quaked the pool of molten steel. It revealing the backdoor beneath it.

“HYDRA!” May shouted, as bullets came at the group. “Take cover!”

The small team took cover. HYDRA started shooting more and Y/N caused them all to drop to the ground, unconscious. Daisy went back up to the platform and quaked the steel again, uncovering the backdoor.

“It’s real,” Coulson said.

“It could be a trap,” May suggested.

“The time for doubting’s over. We’re going back to our world.”

Coulson got up from where he was hiding, heading to the platform across from Y/N, Daisy, and Mack. Unknown to the team, HYDRA agents were below them. Shots were fired, hitting Coulson.

“Coulson!” Y/N screamed, quickly appearing at his side. She had watched him die once, she couldn’t bear to do it again. “We have to get you up.”

May and Mack began firing at the lower agents as Y/N helped hoist Coulson up.

“This feels oddly familiar,” Coulson grunted, blood covering up his chest.

“Sadly, it is,” Y/N replied.

“You were there… I think I remember that…”

“We need to get you patched up,” May said, coming from behind.

“No, it’s too late for that. Help me to the edge. It’s the only way.”

“Daisy!” Y/N shouted. “The door!”

“On it!” She replied, quaking the door open again. May and Y/N helped Coulson to the edge.

“Hey, come with me,” Coulson told May.

“How can you be sure it will work?” She asked.

“I can’t. Guess it’s gonna be a leap-of-faith type of thing.”

“It’s not that simple for me.”

“Yes, it is… Just follow my lead.”

Coulson pushed himself away from Y/N and May, falling back into the door. He disappeared, causing a wave to ripple out through the Framework, showing that it wasn’t real.

“They were right,” Mack whispered. “It’s not real.”

“Go May,” Y/N urged. “He’ll be right there when you wake. And we won’t be far behind… Go.”

Giving Y/N one last look, May took that piece of faith and jumped. Y/N sighed in relief. Two down, just 5 more of them to get through.

“Simmons, you’re up!” Daisy shouted.

As Simmons headed towards the platform, a gun cocked behind her. She looked back to see Fitz pointing a gun at her. Radcliffe was handcuffed behind him.

“Hello, Jemma Simmons,” he greeted. “Seems you finally found me.”

“Fitz—“ She tried to rush towards him.

“You don’t get to say my name! Not after everything you’ve done.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Simmons shook her head. “Aida, she took you from me, and I cam to rescue you.”

“So you kill my father? Right after he tells me that he loves me, you murder him in cold blood as I listen.”

“I am so sorry,” Simmons cried. “I was an accident.”

“Nothing that you’ve done has been an accident! You want to destroy this world! To destroy me! You want to destroy the woman that I love!”

“That woman is lying to you! None of this is real! She’s not real! Aida’s just a robot yo and Radcliffe created.”

Outside the small room Fitz-Simmons was in, Y/N was wondering what was happening. So she slowly walked over, ready to attack.

“Her name is Ophelia,” Fitz defended.

“It’s name is Aida,” Simmons responded. “Artificially Intelligent Digital Assistant. And stop making excuses for it!”

“She’s right, Fitz,” Y/N cut in, bringing the attention to her. “Radcliffe, Simmons, and Daisy have all told you the truth.”

“Y/N?” Radcliffe quietly wondered. “Wow, they really called in the big guns.”

“Please… Fitz,” Simmons pled. “You have to wake up.”

“Get on your knees,” Fitz ordered Simmons.

“No.” Fitz shot Simmons in the foot causing her to fall to the ground.

“You don’t get to touch her!” Y/N screamed freezing Fitz in place. “You don’t.”

“Let me go,” he growled.

“Fitz, listen to me,” Simmons begged. “I love you.”

“And you mean nothing to me.”

Suddenly there was a gun shot. Y/N turned to see that Radcliffe was out of handcuffs now and had shot the agent with them. He pointed his gun at Fitz and took Fitz’ gun away. Radcliffe looked at Y/N and she let her hold on him go. Radcliffe hit Fitz on the side of the face, pushing him towards the door and the platform.

“This was never my intention,” Radcliffe stated. Y/N quickly went to Simmons, helping her up. “The Darkhold corrupted my mind. Please, don’t blame yourself.”

“Go,” Simmons nodded at Daisy. Daisy quaked open the back door.

“It was all my fault.” Radcliffe pushed Fitz through the back door. Simmons caught Radcliffe before he fell in too. “Bringing Fitz here was the only way I could truly save him. I know I can’t make everything that happened in the Framework right, but at least— at least this way, Fitz gets to be his old self again.”

“Simmons,” Y/N called. “Go.”

Simmons nodded, limping forward and throwing herself through the doorway. That left Mack, Daisy, and Y/N.

“Now it’s your turn,” Daisy told Mack. “You said it yourself, this world is not real. And in the real world, you’re in danger right now.”

“What about Hope? Is she in danger?” He asked.

“No,” Y/N answered, appearing beside Daisy. “Things are different there.”

“Different? How?”

“Hope… she isn’t alive in our world. I’m so, so sorry. I… I don’t exactly know what happened. It’s not something you talk about.”

“No, no. That— on, the doesn’t make any sense. She’s alive here. Why would it be different there?”

“Aida,” Daisy answered. “She made changers in this world to keep us from fighting back. So fixed your biggest regret.”

“Then I’m staying.”

“Mack—“

“I don’t want to live in a world without Hope.”

“But it’s not real,” Y/N argued. “You saw it with your own eyes it’s a computer program. All of it. Even hope.”

“She laughs at my jokes. We watch movies together. And when she’s sad… when she’s sad, I hold her. So, she’s real to me.” Mack looked back in the eyes. “If you had the chance to be with AJ, would you stay?”

“I know the truth, Mack… And I know that AJ is safe where he is. Loved and protected. Here…. Here’s not that. Here’s not real.”

“I have to stay.”

“I understand,” Daisy replied. “And I know how hard this is, but you have people who really care about you,” she began crying, “who love you very much.”

“Tell them I’m sorry.”

“Mack, please… I don’t want to lose you.”

“Good luck. Both of you.”

With a deep inhale, the two women looked at each other, both shedding tears. They turned away from Mack. Not wanting to force him into anything. Daisy grabbed Y/N’s hand, quaking the door open as they jumped together.

next chapter >

I know I said that Agents of Shield would end with this chapter, but that ended up not being the case. We will see our Agents of Shield team for the last time in chapter 125 and Infinity War will start in chapter 126.

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

#agents of shield #agents of shield x reader #aos x reader #Phil Coulson x Reader #the avengers x reader #avengers x reader #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel x reader #Avengers #avengers imagine #tony stark x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader

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lizamango · 3 years

Text

Finding You (Bucky Barnes x Reader) 2/?

A/N: Hi everyone! I’ve decided to call this fic Finding You, just to inform you for future chapters! Getting my second vaccine tomorrow!! 😁🤩

Summary: You’ve been one of SHIELD’s top spies for years but what happens when the organisation you’ve put your trust in crumbles and Captain America gives you a mission to help him find his best friend? The last thing you expected to happen was to fall in love with your assignment and become best friends with a witch.

Taglist ~ just comment if you wanna be added

@buckylokisimp, @white-wolf-buckaroo, @austynparksandpizza, @markandlexies

Word Count: 2345 (this is so fucking satisfying omg)

Masterlist

Chapter 1

Warnings: Just curse words, rewrites are hard but it’s kinda like shifting but through fanfiction??

Chapter Summary: Steve Rogers doesn’t trust you very much

Chapter 2: BUT YOU KNOW BETTER

On our way back, the STRIKE team is on celebration mode while Rogers is quiet. It won’t be a surprise if he goes to see Fury about the side mission I was assigned without his knowing. As we land on the Triskelion landing pad I watch as Captain Rogers leaves without a goodbye and heads to, undoubtedly, Fury’s office.

I tune into Fury’s communicator.

“Heads up, Fury. Angry Cap on your way. He found out about my mission.”

“Batroc?” he asks.

“He got away,” I answer regrettably.

“I’ll have international agents on high alert. You’ve done your part. Just leave the drive with me after Rogers.”

“Yes sir.”

I put all the weapons into the cache and go to clean up, changing out of my stealth suit and into a SHIELD hoodie and sweats that I keep in the locker for after missions. I wait by Fury’s office doors and he finally emerges from the elevator without an angry Cap.

“Gave him a little tour of Project Insight,” he says as he unlocks his office.

I walk in behind him. “That’s brave of you.”

“He didn’t like it.” He takes a seat and so did I.

“I’m sure he didn’t.” I fish out the hard drive and put it on the table. “One super secret hard drive for Nicholas J Fury,” I announce like a waitress.

“Good job.”

“He didn’t think so.”

“I want you to keep an eye on him. Just make sure he doesn’t do anything, alright?”

“What could he possibly do?” I raise my brows.

“He isn’t on board. I need you to get him there.”

“Don’t you already have an agent assigned to him?”

“Agent 13 is for when he’s off duty. You will be there for when he’s on.”

I scoff. “Have you met the guy? That’s all the time.”

“That’s an order, Agent.”

I nod. “Fine. Have you heard anything else on HYDRA?”

“The last reliable intel we have is three years old now, Y/N. It’s hard to track them down.”

“I don’t understand why you had to take me out. I was getting close to something. Someone. I don’t know.”

“Finding the world’s greatest soldier just took precedent. You weren’t getting anywhere for a whole year. Whatever it was, they packed it up tight.”

“Because it was something big,” I defend. “I still think you made the wrong choice. Captain America doesn’t need two babysitters.”

“Well, you try being asleep and waking up 70 years after to a whole new world and see how you feel. You’re dismissed. Get some rest. Make nice with the old man.”

I get up and leave his office. Make nice…. How do I do that when he doesn’t trust me anymore?

I get a ride home from Fitz who congratulated me on completing the mission.

“So what was he like?”

“He doesn’t like me very much,” I chuckle.

“Why not? What did you do?” he asks in an accusing tone.

“Me?!”

“He’s the perfect man, what could he have done?”

I roll my eyes but don’t answer. We arrive at my apartment and I thank Fitz for the ride back.

Unlocking my door I go straight to the bathroom for a bath. I run the water to the perfect temperature and add a bath bomb that turns the water a glittery lilac scented with lavender. I also light a candle that crackles like a fireplace that emits a subtle smokey French vanilla. A girl’s gotta treat herself. After a good long soak I get out and decide to rest up not wanting to do anything for the rest of the day.

I wake from my nap to the ringing of my phone. Reaching over to my bedside table I read the screen which has nothing but the number 1212. Well, that can’t be good.

“This is L/N,” I say.

“I need you to find the star. Keep your guard up.”

Shit, I think as I jump out of bed and get dressed in something inconspicuous. Black trousers, leather combat boots, a Kevlar vest under a back hoodie, two pistols on my belt and a knife tucked in each boot. I pick up a grey Von Dutch trucker hat on my way out.

Walking is the safest option so I navigate toward Steve Rogers’ DC apartment that he was relocated to after the New York Invasion as he decided to become a full time SHIELD agent.

I arrive outside his apartment and see Sharon on her way out.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“Mission. Waiting for the Captain,” I say. I look at her scrubs. “How you liking the infectious disease ward?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes and laughs. “Well it’s just a uniform. I guess it’s better than people shooting armour piercing bullets at me.”

“I’ll see you ‘round, Kate,” I wave, using her alias.

I track Steve’s whereabouts on my phone and see that he’s at a counselling centre for veterans. Fair enough, it’s good to admit you need help.

What do you want me to do here, Fury? I wonder to myself. I decide to do a perimeter check for any bugs, wire taps or double agents.

I reach an alleyway and after peering into it I hear the scraping of a manhole against the ground. I reach for my gun and keep it to the side as I slowly approach it.

I hear a grunt and raise the gun.

“Agent,” I immediately recognize the voice as Fury’s. “Stand down.”

“Shit, Fury.” I holster the gun and help him out of the manhole. “What happened, who did this?”

“Not safe,” he says in pain.

“W-where do we go? Rogers isn’t inside.” I inspect his wounds. “Looks like you have multiple fractures on your left arm and abdominal bruising-“

“Car ambush,” he utters as he approaches the fire escape. “Stay out here, keep a look out.” He pushes a phone into my hand, I don’t recognize it as his day to day. “Anything happens, secure line 0405. I have to… get to Rogers. Do not engage unless enemies fire first.”

“Fury-“

“That’s an order.”

I put the phone into my back pocket and stay behind as he climbs up and through the Captain’s Window.

The sky is starting to darken so I make my way through the perimeter again. Sharon returns and shortly after that, Rogers arrives, weary but alert. Just as a soldier would.

I hear some 40s music coming from the walls of the Captain’s apartment. I suppose he heard it too and got suspicious because he exits his apartment building to climb up the very same fire escape that Fury did.

My eyes follow him up and survey the roof of the building for any suspicious activity.

Suddenly three shots are fired right into one of the apartment building’s walls.

“Fuck!” I whisper, looking for the source.

“Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs,” I hear one of my comms come through. It’s Sharon’s voice.

“Do we have a 20 on the shooter?” a dispatcher responds.

Before I know it, Captain Rogers is jumping out of his window and into the building the shots came from.

“Captain Rogers is in pursuit,” Agent Carter says.

I follow the Captain as he runs through a building following the shooter while he runs on the roof. They don’t fight but Rogers manages to throw the shield at him and does what some would say impossible as he catches it and throws it back just as hard. I stop where I am and just observe which is what Fury wanted me here for. The shooter jumps from the building and it looks like he catches himself using his… metal… arm. I look up and see Rogers standing at the edge of the rooftop, looking back down the shooter is out of sight.

“Transporting Foxtrot to BridgePoint Hospital Capitol Hill,” the dispatcher says from my comms. After sweeping the place one more time for any sign of the shooter and coming up empty I decide to take a cab to the hospital.

I put out an arm but it’s not a cab that stops in front of me.

“Get in, L/N.”

“Hill?” I get into the passenger’s seat and she starts to drive. “You’re supposed to be –“

“Fury called.”

“He was shot.”

“I know. Ballistics will tell us more at the hospital.”

“He’s gonna be okay,” I say but it’s more for my comfort than hers.

We arrive at the hospital and Maria takes a phone call while I find his room number, viewing the operation through the glass. Rogers is already there.

“Is he gonna make it?” I ask the Captain.

“I don’t know.”

“Tell me about the shooter.”

“He’s fast. Strong. Had a metal arm.”

“Ballistics?” I ask, knowing he can hear Hill’s conversation outside.

“Three slugs, no rifling. Completely untraceable,” he answers and looks at me.

Hill enters.

“Soviet-made,” I add as I put the picture together in my head.

“How did you know?”

I don’t get to answer her as the surgeons and nurses say that Fury’s in V-tach and rush to solve the problem.

“Fuck’s sake, Fury,” I whisper. “Don’t do this.” My hands start to shake as they lose his pulse and can’t bring him back. I notice that I’m mumbling something repeatedly but I can’t realise what.

I feel Rogers leave as the team gives up.

“Time of death, 1:03am,” the doctor calls.

I watch them wheel him out as Hill goes too. Taking a deep breath, I walk outside into the hallway.

“How did you know they were soviet-made?” Rogers asks, following me.

“Do you trust me?” I ask him, turning to face him.

“No. How did you know?”

“Why are you asking me when you don’t trust me?”

“Why are you dodging the question?”

“Cap!” Rumlow calls. “They want you back at SHIELD.”

“Give me a minute.”

“They want you now.”

“Okay,” he replies irritated.

“You’re not gonna ask me what Nick was doing in my apartment?” he asks.

“I know what he was doing there. Do you?” I raise a brow and turn on my heel, walking away.

I see Maria in the viewing room with Fury’s… body.

“I need to take him,” she says. “Don’t get yourself into trouble, alright?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not a child, Maria.”

“Do you want a ride anywhere?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“What, you’re just gonna hang around here until Rogers comes back?”

Yes that’s exactly what I was going to do. “No.”

She chuckles and walks away. I wait for all the SHIELD and STRIKE agents to clear out of the floor to go back into the waiting area. I go to the vending machine to pick up a snack and notice something that shouldn’t be there… the drive I gave Fury with SHIELD intel hidden behind three packets of bubble gum. Frowning I buy out the stack until the drive also falls to the dispenser. I take a seat, waiting for Rogers.

I don’t realise when I fell asleep until someone shakes me gently.

“I heard.”

I look up and it’s Sharon. “Hey.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t you have an assignment debriefing to give?” I reply.

She shrugs. “That can wait. I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Did you wanna know what Fury was doing at Rogers’ apartment too?” I ask, suspicious.

“Do you know?”

I nod.

“Then that’s all I need to know.”

“Fury trusts – trusted him,” I correct myself. “That means we have to.”

A beeping comes from her wrist communicator and she sighs. “I have to go. I’ll keep you in the loop about what happens at the Triskelion.”

I frown. “Why would I need to be kept in the loop?”

“Because I know you’re gonna be on the run, soon. With him. To find that shooter. Pierce won’t like that you’re after him outside of mission directives…”

“I know. You be careful, Sharon.”

She smiles stiffly and I know it’s because she’s worried about me. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were being careless and rash.”

“But you know better.”

She chuckles softly and turns to leave. I get up walk around to stretch my legs. Where the fuck is Rogers?

An hour passes and I’m back where I started but I see the man of the hour stop in front of the vending machine. I pop a strip of gum in my mouth and walk up behind him, blowing a bubble.

His face sharpens and he sighs then pulls me by the arm and takes us into a room.

“Where is it?”

“Safe.”

“Do better.”

“Fury trusted me. I’m on your side if he trusts you.”

“He doesn’t trust anyone. That’s the problem. That’s why he’s dead,” he says harshly.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

Rogers sighs and pulls away. “What’s on it?”

“I don’t know.”

“I bet you knew Fury hired the Pirates didn’t you?” he accuses.

No, no I didn’t. Stunned, I blink at the news. “Made sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.”

“How did you know it was Soviet-made?” he repeats his earlier question, losing patience.

“I know who killed Fury,” I say. “The metal arm… I knew as soon as I saw it. 2009, Natasha had a mission in Odessa. Someone shot out her tires and killed the engineer she was protecting by shooting right through her. Soviet slug, no rifling. Metal arm. The intelligence community call him The Winter Soldier. I’ve heard him as the Asset. That’s who killed Fury.”

“How do we find him?”

“He’s been credited with two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years, Rogers. You don’t go after him. I’ve tried.”

He looks up at that, as if surprised. But he doesn’t know half the shit I’ve been through while working for SHIELD.

“So he’s a shadow.”

“Was.” I pull the drive out of my pocket and hold it up to him.

“Let’s find the Asset, then.”

💖

Thank you for reading! I’ll update once I’ve finished Chapter 4 but I am busy this weekend!

Chapter 3

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #steve rogers #slowburn #enemies to lovers #steve rogers x platonic!reader #captain america #bucky barnes fic #steve rogers fic #reader insert #rewrite #series rewrite #marvel #mcu

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author-luna · 3 years

Text

Villain!Sokeefe/Ruewen family AU

Hi there everyone! A little while ago, a friend and I were talking about Sokeefe and what might happen in book 9, and then I had this idea for an AU where Sokeefe as well as the Ruewen family (Gardy, Edaline, Sophie and alive!Jolie) have been villains all along.

The idea couldn’t leave my mind so here I am.

Word count: 2.9k

Trigger/ Content warnings: mentions of nightmares

Please don’t hesitate to message me / tell me in the comments in case I should add any warnings!

My idea for it was that during Keefe’s time with the Neverseen, they were able to get him on their side

They make him work as a double agent, while thinking he is loyal to them

His joining is fueled by the fact that he feels like the Black Swan isn’t doing anything to help them nor are the utilizing them how they should

He knows that they could defeat the Neverseen in the bat of an eye, if only the Black Swan helped them reach their full potential by not sheltering them

But Keefe has his own agenda, which involves shattering both the Black Swan and the Neverseen

In his opinion, both organizations are hopeless and the best way to actually achieve what they want is a different approach

His plan is to get both the Neverseen and the Black Swan to destroy each other as well as the council, leaving the elvin world exposed

Then, in mits of all chaos, a new organization should take the position of power and work to redefine the elvin values and society

He has thought quite far ahead, but a lot of stuff is still up for debate and he doesn’t really mind because he knows he’ll come up with something in time

After he comes back, he finds it harder to play pretend than he originally thought it would

He can’t bring himself to think about the betrayal everyone would feel after they find out

Even worse, how Sophie would take it all in

After all they’ve been through and how she still trusted him, he can’t take any risks

One day though, when he and Sophie are both hanging out together and the topic of the Neverseen comes up, he can’t take it anymore

It slips out of him before he can even think about it

and suddenly it’s quite, too quiet and yet so unnervingly loud because the blood is rushing in his ears and the air is swirling and Sophie is just shocked

he scrambles to explain what he meant, cover up or anything

but then Sophie just starts shaking and oh god he really messed up didn’t he-

he is convinced that she hates him now but then the shaking turns into faint giggles and the giggling turns into soft laughter which then erupts into a laughing fit and he just wants to call Elwin so he can check on her

after a little while Sophie calms down and sits down, her hands in her lap and her eyes looking at him expectantly

at first our boy is just confused but the she tells him to sit down and explain

when he looks at her like she went insane she tells him that she knows him, he would never do that if he didn’t find value in it

so, he sits down and tells her all about it

from the very start, how he spend his stay to how they recruited him and about why he joined and his own plans

Keefe talks for a while, and when it all come to end, he is surprised by how much better he feels, almost like a weight has been lifted off him and he could finally breathe

Sophie stays quiet for a while, her eyes looking into the distance

Keefe stars fidgeting and pulling loose gras out of the ground because the silence is heavy and he thinks that she definitely hates him now

when Sophie finally looks at him, she is smiling, s m i l i n g and he thinks she finally went crazy

she seems to have read what he thought on his face because now shes pouting and she hit his arm in a playful manner, which leads Keefe to throw a handful of grass on her and suddenly they’re rolling around, chasing each other and laughing like normal people

when they finally stop to catch their breath and they find themselves under Calla’s tree which is ironic, Keefe thinks

the silence now isn’t heavy, it’s comfortable like they've came to a silent agreement

when Sophie speaks up, Keefe can’t help but feel nervous

he is expecting a lecture, a list of things he already knows, maybe even a screaming match because that’s what he deserves

instead, Sophie just whispers a single phrase

‘I trust you’

and it’s enough to bring tears to his eyes because she still trusts him, she isn’t going anywhere and she is still his friend

and then they talk for hours

it’s about everything and nothing in particular

they exchange stories and jokes, laughter echoes through the air followed by a light hearted silence and for the first time in ages Keefe feels like everything might turn out good and he dares to hold on that bit of hope he usually tries to suffocate

Sophie herself feels the same

she thought about yelling at him or scolding him, but deep down she knows that it doesn’t matter

and when she said she trust him, she meant it with each fiber of her body

a little voice in her head tells her that she’s laughing with the enemy and that she’s foolish for trusting him, that she’s a traitor herself for doing it but she snaps back saying that maybe she wants to be a traitor and that she doesn’t care, and the voice shuts up

for the next few days, the voice keeps whispering that she is the enemy as well because she’s trusting Leefe, but whenever she says that maybe she wants to be the enemy, the voice shuts up and that makes her think

Keefe made good points, his plan could use some improvement but the point still stands

her thoughts are constantly running and circling back to the same question ‘Where do I stand? What can I do?’

and at night, the overthinking gets to her

her dreams are haunted by what if’s, but one dream stand out to her

that night, she dreamt of her friends, her family, Keefe and herself in a future where there is no Neverseen

in her dreams, her friends and her were at the beach in San Diego, Linh is playing with the water and everyone is just having fun

when she turns around, she sees Grady and Edaline laughing with her human parents and she hears her human dad’s barking laugh echo as he retells a story from her childhood

she feels a hand on her shoulder and when she looks up, Keefe is standing besides her, looking fondly at the scene

he notices her staring at him and he looks down to her,a soft smile on his face as he whispers ‘We did it Foster’

she jerks up from sleep and she could swear that she can still hear the laughter, smell the water and feel the lingering touch of Keefe’s hand on her shoulder

that night she realizes that this is the future she wants, one where she doesn’t need to hide her human self

she lays awake for hours, and the next morning she finally makes a decision

in the night, when she lays awake, she mentally reaches out to Keefe, and when he opens his mind to hers, he is confused

but with an unbelievable determination she tells him that she is joining him

there is a lot of arguing from his side, but Sophie expected as much

she tells him that if he doesn’t want her to work with him she’ll join the Neverseen on her own so he gives up for now and tells her he will make arrangements for her to meet the others

after the meeting, they take Sophie in as part of them

obviously they don’t trust her from the start and she has to work very hard to earn their trust

they give a lot of assignments that involve morally questionable things that Sophie at first refuses to do but gives in

wherever she goes to these type of missions, she mentally seeks out the comfort of Keefe’s mind, who gladly will distract her, comfort her and talk to her until she feels better

it isn’t a pleasant thing for her to lie to her friends so openly, and she often struggles with hiding it, but Keefe is always right there to help her

they keep talking at night, just basking in the security of each other’s mental presence

because sometimes, things don’t seem that bad when you have a friend by your side

Sophie’s telepathy gets even stronger with the help of Gethen, who teaches her how to hide things securely from Fitz and Mr.Forkle

‘Gethen is okay I suppose’ Sophie begrudgingly admits one night during their nightly hangouts, after Keefe asked her about their training session

he teases her and laughs at her when she threatens to mentally slam a pillow at his head, but secretly she find that his laugh is quite adorable

after the Nightfall fiasco, Vespera and Gisela finally start trusting Sophie more because she kept up the facade so well

they call a meeting with her to ‘formally introduce her’ and during the meeting, she’s a bit nervous

of course, she has been kinda member all this time, but now being officially part of them was making her giddy with nerves

they do the protocol of introducing her to everyone, making her swear herself in, talk about her position yada yada, but the only thing she can focus on is Keefe's hand that intertwined itself with hers under the table and three familiar hooded people in the back

at some point during the meeting he had grabbed her hand to stop her from tugging on her eyelashes and to keep her grounded and steady, and to be fair, the soft circles his thumb kept tracing over her knuckles and the menatlly reassuring things he said to her were soothing and kept her from freaking out

but as much as she wanted to focus on the meeting, her attention kept going up to the three hooded figures in the back

she couldn’t help but feel like she had seen them before, their posture and presence so familiar

she was so distracted she barely noticed how everyone left the room, leaving only Gisela, Vespera, the hooded figures, Keefe and her in the room

when Keefe squeezed her hand, her attention snapped back to the room and she noticed that the figures came closer

Gisela suddenly asked her and Keefe to keep calm since they would now let them into the identities of three of their members

once the hooded figures let down the hoods, Sophie might have yelped in surprise and Keefe might have pulled her closer,just to put his arm around her and there is a tiny chance that Sophie buried herself deeper into his comforting side hug

in front her stood her parents, her elvin parents and with them their daughter she saw them mourn

it didn’t make sense to her how Edaline smiled at her and how Grady sheepishly scratched his neck and especially not how Jolie, the Jolie form the pictures and Prentice mind, shyley waved at her

Gisela and Vespra left them alone and told them to explain and sort it out

the moment they left, Keefe and Sophie started bombarding them with questions

finally, Grady and Edaline explained that Jolie had joined the Neverseen a while before she joined the Black Swan and how she recruited them

her death and all the mourning was just an act to keep everyone from questioning them when they try to get information or when they try to spy on the council

Jolie told her about how she was able to make herself a new identity under the name Trix

upon asking how she could be Trix if his ability was being a Guster and Jolie being a Conjurer jolie answered that she kept gusts of wind stored in the void that she could use and redirect to her liking

they tell them about their positions and how they actually always assisted them in some way, and Sophie feels abit betrayed for not knowing earlier

her and Jolie talk for a bit, getting to know each other and Sophie decides that Jolie is quite amazing

Edaline notes that they should go before someone notices their absence and Sophie takes her home crystal, leaping her and Keefe back to Havenfield

for a second they stand in the living room, hands intertwined and faces close

and before they could speak, they hear someone clear their throat and Sophie lets go of Keefe’s hand in embarrassment

Keefe is a bit upset, he already missed the way Sophie’s hand had fit into his own and the comforting feeling of rubbing his thumb against her knuckles

with a glare, Grady sends him home

after Gardy leaves him alone, he smirks to himself and makes it his mission to hold Sophie’s hand often

now time skip to Unlocked

at first, Keefe didn’t plan on telling Sophe where he’s going because he still was convinced that he is a danger for her

but 2 nights away from the lost cities and he suddenly found Sophie towering over him, hand on her hips and a glare so deadly he probably would have been 6 feet under

sheepishly, he asked her what she was doing here and she just punched his arm

cue an hour of lecturing about how they were in this together and he shouldn't have left without telling her

that’s when it dawned on him

why was she here, and if she was here with him, who was in the lost cities

she sat down besides him, setting down a backpack and saying that she was also a runaway

for the next month or so, they wandered around the world

with her teleporting, their birthfounds and Keefe’s new abilities, they had no problem at all with traveling and staying undercover

in the lost cities, Grady and Edaline helped keep the suspicions at bay

they covered for them and made sure no one found them

cue another showdown between the Neverseen and the Black Swan

this time, it’s a full force one and everyone instinctively knows that this battle is the last

all the intelligent species hold their breath as the war rages, gnomes and elves fighting on each side with all they’ve got

there are losses of course, but the biggest one is when Sophie and Keefe suddenly appear in the middle of everything

their friends stop and look at them with bewilderment, and it soons turns into shock when Keefe takes out a microphone like thing and tells everyone to freeze

as the battle stops, Sophie whistles a tune and Silveny descents from the sky

she lands in front of them and gently, Keefe helps her up and sits behind her

their friends would love to follow them with their eyes, but their gaze is fixed into the distance, and so, they don’t notice how Silveny flies them up to the middle and how Sophie starts expanding her mental grip on everyone

when she finally has everyone listening to her, she takes turns with Keefe to tell them about the future, how both the Neverseen and the Black Swan can’t guarantee a good life for them and the council even less

they end their little speech with them asking their friends to trust them, and Keefe sends everyone but Fitz,Biana,Linh,Tam,Dex,Marella,Wylie,Stina,Bronte Grady and Edaline to sleep

they land and talk with their friends, telling them everything that has happened, from them joining the Neverseen to their time in the human world

and as they stand there, all the stories told and feeling laid bare, they hold each others hands

they know that there is a high possibility of their friends not forgiving them or even not wanting them back

they also know that they might have to leave the elvin world behind forever

that's why they hold each other, because they know that as long as they have each other, the world can throw anything at them and they will get around it

because when Sophie lovingly whispered ‘As long as we have each other, we’re invincible’ after Keefe woke up from a nightmare, it was a promise

and as Keefe whispered a ‘It’s us against the world’ back, it was a mutual understanding,a promise and a reassurance that tells the world ‘We belong with each other, each a heart and a soul that is stronger together’

so when Biana breaks out into a sprint to hug them and everyone joins, hugs exchanged, laughter echoed and stories told, they don’t let go

the future might be uncertain, but it’s a bit better if you have friends with you to stand against the uncertainty

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gay-otlc · 4 years

Text

Hey everyone! I’m still on my mini-hiatus, but I’ve decided to return and post a Sophiana oneshot I wrote for Sophiana week. It’s for day five, superheroes.

Title: Starlight and Superheroes

Word count: 3506

Summary: Flicker- or as she's more commonly known, Biana Vacker- is one of Eternalia City's best superheroes. And, being Jewish, she's one of the only heroes available on Christmas. So, when a new villain named Moonlark, member of the rebel group the Black Swan, is found illegally trying to bottle an unmapped star, Biana is the one who has to stop her. But when she arrives, some questions arise. Is the Black Swan really evil? Is Eternalia really good? And, the most pressing: Is she falling for a villain?

Read on ao3.

"Who am I going to be fighting this time?" Biana sighed, slumping over against the wall. After fighting White Fire and Change Embracer, two of Eternalia City's most feared supervillains, she was exhausted. Unfortunately, superheros apparently had off for Christmas, and since she and Fitz were the only Jewish members of their team, they were stuck working extra. While most villains also took Christmas off, some took advantage of the shortage of superheros, and evidently there was yet another person Biana had to protect civilians from.

At this point, she kind of wanted to just grab a menorah and hit them in the face with it.

Fitz was still busy fighting the villains Wraith and Blur, so it was up to Biana to stop this new person.

Would it really be the worst thing to let them win? At least then she would be able to take a nap. A nap... in her soft, warm, inviting bed... That's enough, Biana. Focus.

"Her name is Moonlark," Bronte answered, glaring at her like it would be really nice if she would stop asking questions. Hey, it's not like I want to be here either. "She's relatively new, so we don't know much about her, but we do know that she's working with the Black Swan instead of the Neverseen. Her powers are Telepathy, Teleportation, and Inflicting. There might be more we don't know about."

"She has three powers?"

"Or more. Moonlark is attempting to locate and bottle Elementine, which, as you know, is a very dangerous substance. We don't yet know what she's planning to do with it, but it can't be good. Stop her before we can find out."

She nodded and rubbed exhaustion from her eyes. "Once I do that, can I go home and eat my Chinese food?"

"Beat her and then we'll see, Flicker."

"Fine." Without another word, she vanished and walked out the door. Halfway through the hallway, she realized she'd forgotten to ask where she was going to go. Biana groaned and ran back, becoming visible again. "Where am I going again?"

Rolling his eyes, Bronte answered "Siren Rock."

Good. That wasn't too far from here. She nodded again and stayed visible as she walked, wanting to conserve energy for the fight. Biana didn't know much about Moonlark or how difficult she would be, but considering the new villain had at least three powers, it couldn't be easy. Once she approached Siren Rock, she vanished so the villain wouldn't see her coming, trying to make her footsteps as silent as possible.

Even when she was close enough that she could have touched Moonlark if she wanted, Moonlark didn't seem to notice. The villain had her face pressed into the stellarscope, and remained oblivious to everything around her. Biana's gaze followed where the stellarscope was pointing. She didn't recognize the star it seemed to lead to, but that didn't matter- Bronte said she was trying to bottle Elementine, and she had no need to doubt him. Since bottling light from Elementine was extremely dangerous, as well as quite illegal, she didn't really need to know anything else either.

Moonlark hadn't worn anything to hide her face, Biana noticed with a bit of confusion. Maybe she hadn't expected for anyone to find her, which seemed rather arrogant. Still, Moonlark was kind of pretty, Biana supposed. Pretty enough that Biana's disaster lesbian ass kept staring. She had long, golden blonde hair and wore red, which was definitely her color. And her rosebud lips were pulled into a slight smile, one that Biana couldn't quite look away from.

Holy shit, she must have been really tired if she was busy thinking about a villain's lips.

Snapping out of her daze, she reached out and yanked the stellarscope away from Moonlark. Moonlark yelped in surprise and pulled the stellarscope back towards her, muttering something like What the hell, there's no one even standing there?

Biana knew Moonlark couldn't see, but she smiled. Perks of being invisible. She tugged on the stellarscope again, striking the villain's face with her elbow as she did so. Moonlark let go instantly to clutch at her cheek, which had a red mark on it.

"Hey, give that back!" she yelled, wildly kicking out to where she must have thought Biana stood. She missed the first few tries, but eventually, she managed to kick into Biana's side.

Biana grunted, flickering into sight from the surprise. "I don't think I will." She took a shuddering breath and stuffed the stellarscope into her pocket.

Moonlark's eyes widened for a moment, taking in Biana's appearance. A blush rose to her cheeks. A second later, though, her expression returned to a scowl and it was like nothing ever happened. "I was kind of doing something with that, if you hadn't noticed."

"As a matter of fact," Biana said, reaching out to grab Moonlark's arm. She held onto it for balance as she swung a roundhouse kick to the side of Moonlark's head. Moonlark blocked it with her other arm. "I had noticed, and that's why I was trying to stop you."

"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Moonlark insisted, her voice rising to a yelp on the last word as Biana gave up on kicking her head and kicked her shin instead.

With the leg that had just kicked out, Biana stepped past Moonlark so their hips were now pressed together. As she straightened her leg and pushed on Sophie's shoulder, sending her spiraling down, she said "You were bottling Elementine, a star that's both dangerous and illegal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that does kind of sound like you might have been doing something wrong."

"Ow," Moonlark groaned as she hit the ground. "Okay, I know it doesn't look great, but maybe you could give me the chance to explain?"

Biana knelt down, her knee on top of Moonlark's chest and her hands pinning Moonlark's shoulders to the ground. She tugged at the Black Swan symbol on Moonlark's outfit. Yeah, red is definitely her color, her mind said, the thought unbidden. She pushed the thought away, cheeks heating up. "You're working with the Black Swan, a rebel group that's been working against Eternalia City for years. So, no."

Moonlark reached into her pocket and brought out an imparter. Before Biana could grab it, the villain yelled "Swan song!"

"What is it, Sophie?" a voice replied instantly.

Sophie. That was her name. A rather normal name, humanizing the villain. Making her less of a villain, and more of... a girl.

What the fuck, Flicker? Please get some sleep and stop being attracted to the villains you're fighting.

"Dex," Sophie grunted. "Some damn idiot-"

"I have a name," Biana said.

"Fine. What is your name?"

Though she planned to reply with Flicker, "Biana," came out instead.

"Alright. Some damn idiot named Biana-" Biana grabbed the imparter back from Sophie and hung up. It was possible that Dex knew where Sophie was anyway, but since she'd never mentioned a location or anything other than Biana's name and the fact that she was some damn idiot, the risk was relatively low.

"Now that that's settled-"

Sophie, apparently, had plans other than conversation. She squeezed her eyes shut and a sort of pinkish light came out of Sophie's forehead. Biana had just a second to think What the fuck? before pain encompassed her. Unable to do anything else, she screamed, wishing for it to stop. Needing to stop. It hurt, it hurt so fucking much, why wouldn't it just stop? Distantly, she became aware of her losing her hold on pinning Sophie, and felt herself get pinned on the cold grass instead, but the only thing she could really focus on was the pain. It hurt, it hurt so badly... please, make it stop.

And then, somehow, miraculously, it did stop. A vague sense of coherency returned to Biana's mind, making her realize Huh, so that's what getting inflicted on feels like. It wasn't pleasant. She then noticed that the stellarscope was no longer in her possession, and Moonlark was standing back upright, twisting knobs to bottle Elementine once again.

Shit.

She vanished before lunging at Sophie, tackling her to the ground. Biana still just really wanted to go home, and she wasn't going to waste time with elegant fighting skills. Her momentum and the element of surprise was enough to get Moonlark beneath her once again. She lightly pressed her elbow to Sophie's throat, and leaned in close. Close enough to make her cheeks heat up. Dammit, Flicker, get yourself together. "What were you bottling Elementine for?" she demanded.

"Biana," Sophie groaned. "How about you stop pinning me, and I won't inflict on you, and we can have a civilized conversation like fucking normal people."

She considered it briefly. The knowledge that she would have to move so that Sophie's warm breath wasn't close enough to tickle her cheeks factored in her decision far more than she would have liked, but eventually, she nodded. "I keep the stellarscope, though."

"Fair enough. Can you get off now?"

Biana nodded and stood, walking a few steps away from Sophie. How far was inflicting range? She had no idea, so she would just have to trust that Sophie would hold her end of the deal and not inflict. Though trusting a villain was kind of a terrible idea, she wasn't too worried. "What were you bottling Elementine for?" she repeated.

"I was trying to get Quintessence."

"That's not helpful. What do you need Quintessence for?"

"Frissyn."

"What the hell is Frissyn?"

"Answer one of my questions first."

Biana rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Maybe what the fuck you're doing here, and why you attacked me."

After rolling her eyes again, Biana answered "I'm Flicker, one of Eternalia's superheroes. I was sent to stop you from bottling the again, dangerous and illegal Quintessence. And because you're a member of the Black Swan, which is, again, one of the city's enemies."

"Working on Christmas?"

"I'm Jewish."

Sophie nodded. "Neat. Um... happy Hanukkah?"

"Ended a few days ago, but thanks." Biana cleared her throat, tearing her gaze away from Sophie's gold-flecked brown eyes. Really pretty eyes. She's still a villain. "So, back to my question. What's Frissyn?"

"It's some sort of alchemy substance... I have no idea how to make it, but the point is, it extinguishes Everblaze."

"And why do you need Frissyn?"

Moonlark shook her head. "My turn. Why do you want to be a superhero? For Eternalia City?"

The question gave Biana some pause. No one had ever asked her that before, not even when she applied for the job. With her mom and brother as superheros, and her father used to be one before her parents divorced, no one even questioned it at all. They just assumed she wanted the job and gave it to her. After a long silence, she answered "Because it was expected of me, I guess. I'm told it's what I've been working for my entire life."

"You're told?"

"Nope, it's my turn." Despite herself, a smile came to Biana's face. She forced it down, but it returned when she saw Sophie smiling as well. "Why do you need Frissyn?"

"The Neverseen, particularly White Fire, keep setting our hideouts on fire. It's rather annoying, and we'd like them to stop. Alright, what do you mean you're told it's what you've been working for your entire life?"

Biana sighed and lay backwards on the grass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sophie lie down next to her. The stars above them looked really nice, and if things were different, she could almost imagine this was a date.

Okay, fine. It didn't really seem possible to deny anymore. Biana wasn't just tired. She was incredibly, incredibly stupid, and now she was falling for a fucking supervillain.

Deal with that later, Flicker. For now, just work on stopping her from...

From extinguishing a fire burning her home.

Well, when I say it like that...

Just shut the fuck up, inner voices. You can handle this crisis once we're done talking to Sophie... so we have all the facts.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Biana finally said, pushing the internal monologue aside. "Growing up, I was told that I had to be a superhero, and that it was all I should want. All I would want. After all, I'm a Vacker. And who wouldn't want to be a superhero? I... I do want to be a superhero. And, you know, do the right thing. Save people. Fight the bad guys. As ridiculous as it sounds, this is what I want."

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, it's my turn. Why do you want to be a villain? For the Black Swan?"

"I didn't want to be a villain, specifically. It wasn't like I woke up one day and went Ah yes, I would like to be evil. The Black Swan isn't really even evil. The Neverseen is, for sure, which is why I turned down the offer when they tried to recruit me. But, I mean... the oath to join the Black Swan is 'I will do everything in my power to help my world.' Which doesn't sound particularly evil to me. And that's why I joined, you know? Because I wanted to help my world. I also wanted to do the right thing."

"Is it the right thing, though?"

"We're really bad at this taking turns thing, aren't we?" Sophie pointed out, and Biana let out a breathless laugh.

"Yeah. We are. Sorry, go ahead."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Biana groaned, tangling her fingers in her hair and pressing her knuckles into her eyes. Say yes, everything in her seemed to scream. Yes. Yes. This is what you want. This is what you want, what you should want, and what you've always wanted. Yes, this is what you want.

...isn't it?

"I don't know," she blurted, tears springing to her eyes. The words surprised even her. "I don't know," she repeated. "I don't know, I don't know if this is what I want anymore. It's what I've wanted for as long as I can remember, since I was old enough to really want anything at all, and I've always been so sure that Eternalia was right and the Black Swan and Neverseen were wrong, so of course being a superhero was the right thing to do, but now I don't know anymore, I don't know. Because I was always told that the Black Swan was bad and they wanted to hurt people and they were all evil, but you don't seem evil at all, you're actually really great but that's a whole other crisis, and if I was wrong about whether the Black Swan was good, then how the hell do I know Eternalia is good? I want to do the right thing, I do, but know I don't know what the right thing is anymore, and I think I might have been doing the wrong thing for years, and I just-"

"Hey," Sophie said, her voice laced with concern. "It's okay. You're not a bad person, and it's not like Eternalia is evil or anything. It just has flaws, and that's what the Black Swan is trying to fix. It's okay, I promise."

Biana sniffed and wiped her eyes. She could feel Sophie's fingers laced in her. It wasn't clear when that happened, but she liked it. A lot. "Okay," she said, her voice shaky. She cleared her throat. "What kind of flaws are the Black Swan trying to fix?"

"Well... the way they treat anyone Talentless is one thing, you know? Like they're worthless or whatever? I mean, my friend's dad is Talentless, and his brother Lex, and both of them are really good at alchemy and, well, pulling pranks on everyone. And they made Pyrokinesis illegal, which makes sense for people like White Fire, but it really isn't fair to my friend Marella. Oh, and the idea that twins and triplets are weaker or something? Because my friends Tam and Linh are twins, and both of them are insanely powerful. And then the triplets are, again, great at pranks and alchemy. And, of course, the Matchmaking system is stupid and based entirely on abilities, and it's unfair to people who aren't matched with each other. And, well... the system doesn't like queer people. Like me. I'm omnisexual."

Biana's breath caught, but Sophie didn't seem to notice.

"So yeah, you might not really have to deal with this sort of stuff, but it's really unfair, and I want to fix it. And maybe the Black Swan's way of doing that is slightly illegal, but... I still think it's the right thing to do."

"Do you really think I'm straight?" Biana asked quietly.

"What? Um... yeah?"

"Sophie, I've been a lesbian disaster this entire time. Did you really not notice?"

Sophie smiled sheepishly. "I'm told I'm kind of oblivious."

"Yeah, I noticed," Biana laughed. She rolled over so she was staring at Sophie instead of at the sky. Their noses were nearly touching. "Do you want to finish bottling the Quintessence?" she asked. "So you can put out the Everblaze?"

A look of confusion came over Sophie, but she nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great. You're really...?"

Biana couldn't escape the nagging feeling that she would regret this later. "I guess I am. You've convinced me that the Black Swan is good. And that Eternalia isn't perfect. I mean... I knew it was kind of homophobic, but I just kind of kept quiet about me being lesbian and hoped for the best. But... yeah. I'm done doing that. I'm done pretending. Yeah, I'm helping you."

Before Biana could even register what was happening, Sophie's rosebud lips pressed against her cheek. Despite the frigid air, Biana's cheeks flamed. "What was that?"

Sophie blushed. "I don't know. Just... I'm happy for you. And I'm really glad you don't hate me anymore."

"Yeah, me too. Sorry about trying to beat you up earlier, by the way."

"Right. Same."

Biana smiled. "Now that that's out of the way... ready to bottle some completely illegal stars?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Sophie grinned. "Would you mind helping? It's easier with two people..."

"Yeah," said Biana, remembering when she used to bottle stars for her Universe class. It seemed like a long time ago, but she distinctly remembered that if two people used the stellarscope together- with one person holding it and the other twisting the knobs- they would have to stand quite close together. Pressed against one another. Pressed against Sophie. She blushed, and her voice sounded slightly strained when she said "Sure."

Sophie's grin widened. "Thanks. I'll look for the star if you hold it?"

"Sounds good," said Biana, handing Sophie the stellarscope. Sophie held it up to her eyes while Biana stepped closer being her and wrapped her arms around to get a good grip. She was slightly shorter than Sophie, the perfect height for resting her chin on Sophie's shoulder. They were so close... for however long it took Sophie to find and bottle the star, all Biana could think of was utter gay panic. Finally, Sophie stepped away. Her absence brought Biana the ability to function and a strange sense of disappointment.

Sophie held up the bottle of starlight. "Um... I got it."

"Great." Biana looked at Sophie, unsure what to say. They stood staring at each other for a while. "I guess I'll let you get that to whoever's making the Frissyn, then."

"Yeah... I guess I should do that. Do you... do you want to come?"

Sadly, Biana shook her head. "No, I have to get eat dinner. Mom and Fitz are probably waiting on me, and it's going to be Chinese food."

"Because you're Jewish?"

"Obviously." Awkwardly, Biana shifted her weight to the other leg, and then back. "Um... if I wanted to join the Black Swan, how would I go about doing that?"

"I'm not really sure. We've never had a superhero join before. I guess I'll ask Forkle and then call you?"

"That sounds good. So... I guess this would be goodbye?"

"Probably." Sophie gave Biana a small smile. "I'll see you soon, Flicker."

Biana smiled back. "See you soon, Moonlark." She vanished and turned, beginning to walk away. After a few steps, she froze. Before really even thinking, she turned visible again and ran to Sophie, cupping her face and pressing a kiss to her lips. It might have been a stupid decision, but then Sophie kissed back, and oh holy shit, she was kissing Sophie, she was kissing Moonlark, but most of all, she was kissing Sophie.

Finally, when air became a necessity, they pulled apart. Biana immediately wanted to start kissing Sophie again, but she managed to retrain herself. Sophie's gold-flecked brown eyes were wide, pupils dilated. Her cheeks heating up, Biana smiled again and waved, blowing a kiss before leaving once again.

#sophiana #sophiana week 2021 #jewish vackers #cursing tw #violence tw #hope you enjoyed lkjsdklfjsdl #shai types things #shai's writing

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a-lonely-tatertot · 4 years

Text

The Nightmares Haven’t Left

Pairing: Titz (tam/fitz)

Word Count: 1589

Warnings: panic attacks, anxiety, mentions of burns, scars, injuries, and blood

A/N: Day 3 of Titz week ( @titzweek ) this is late ik, hurt and comfort there’s comfort i promise, this was read over once and i did this in like three hours so uh good luck

The nightmares were back. For a moment, one peaceful moment when he had closed his eyes, finally laying down at 4 am, it was quiet. No flashes. No pain. No cold terror freezing his body. The shadows of the room stayed in their places, the shadows in his mind didn’t move.

Relief flooded through him a moment too soon. The peace was shattered by his thoughts. It started with Linh. Why couldn’t he protect her? How she had burn scars traveling, weaving down her arm, because of him. He couldn’t stop them when they took her. She wore them proudly now, next to Biana, and she doesn’t flinch when Marella lights her fires. But Tam does. He always will. And he’ll never get her screams out of his head.

The thoughts and images travel from there. To what he did to Keefe, to how powerful he felt. As he watched the shadows under his command, it was his doing, with or without the cuffs. How before Sophie talked to him he was becoming more like them. He had darkness in him, so much of it, and the things he had done were still apart of him.

Distantly he felt Fitz curl closer to him out of instinct. Tam wanted to scream, to yell, to put Fitz as far away from him as he could. /I’m a monster! How can you sleep next to me? Knowing you’re defenseless?/ Tam thought. The shadows crawled closer. He didn’t stop them.

Fitz knew what he was capable of, he had /felt/ it. The Shadowflux was inside of him, inside of his heart. “That wasn’t you,” Fitz had said as he grabbed Tam’s hand and put it to his chest. “This wasn’t you, this was never your fault. You fought back, you did everything in your power to help.”

/It could’ve been,/ Tam almost said. He didn’t, Fitz shouldn’t have to deal with that part of him.

Fitz made a soft sigh against his side and Tam couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t trust himself. Everyone who cared about him got hurt because of it and Fitz was no exception.

As he wiggled his way out of Fitz’s grip he was reminded of the scar on his chest, only a couple of inches from his heart. It was near the end of a battle, the Neverseen were retreating, they were closer to a victory than they had been in months. Tam was watching them go, throwing shadow after shadow making sure they couldn’t get back, but he didn’t notice the gleam of a knife through the air until it was too late. He couldn’t move so he threw a shadow to counter it. But Fitz only saw the knife. And Tam didn’t see Fitz. He had jumped in the way of both the knife and the shadow and caught both in the chest, Tam only saw his knees give out beneath him and heard the other’s shouting.

By the time Elwin had gotten to the field Tam thought it was too late. Fitz’s chest had stopped moving and so did Tam. They got him to the Healing Center and the only reason Tam could move was because of Keefe and Linh.

“I killed him,” Tam whispered.

“We don’t know that, he can’t be dead,” Linh said firmly.

“Fitz is strong,” Keefe tried but his voice cracked at the end.

Elwin worked tirelessly for hours on end, but in the end, it all came down to hoping Fitz was strong enough. Tam never left his perch on one of the other cots, and Sophie and Keefe traded days to make sure that he took care of himself too. And the moment Fitz woke up Tam didn’t go up to him. He had hurt him. Fitz wouldn’t have wanted to see him.

And yet, his name was the first thing out of his mouth. “/Tam/,” Fitz said even though Keefe was the one next to him. “Is-is he okay? Did I save him?”

A small smile formed on Keefe’s face, “Yeah, you saved him, buddy.”

Tam didn’t say anything until he was back to sleep, he hid in the corner staring in disbelief at Fitz. When he was finally back asleep, Tam whispered, “Why did you save me, you could’ve died.”

“Cause I love you, you idiot,” Fitz whispered back. And Tam never understood how.

Pulling out of the memory he found himself downstairs in the bakery. The front was floor-to-ceiling glass, and there were booths and tables scattered around the floor space. The kitchen was big with hundreds of ingredients that Tam didn’t understand. He knew some, from the nights that Fitz had grabbed some off of the counters and guided his hands. Fitz would probably want him to make something. Often it ended up with a mess everywhere and Fitz laughing at the amount of flour he had over him.

But the thing he liked most about the bakery was if Tam was downstairs and he was upstairs, no one could touch him. No knives could be thrown, no one could get in without him knowing. He could actually protect Fitz from here. It had been months since the last attempt on their lives, even after the war was over people still were out to hurt them. But Fitz wasn’t going to take another knife for him, Tam wasn’t going to let another person get hurt for him.

Tam started pulling down the ingredients he remembered, if he staged it like this he could say he was up baking. He remembered where the recipes were, Fitz didn’t need them but he kept them around for the rest of the group. He pulled out a random one that seemed simple, it was a human recipe for a dessert called “brownies”. Sophie had shown him how to bake it once, and before they put it in the oven she gleefully added almost an entire bag of chocolate chips, “For flavor,” she laughed.

He followed the steps which seemed simple enough. It consumed his focus easily, calming his mind from the anxiety. Read the instruction, do the instruction. Easy. The longer he baked though, the more his eyes started to droop. The more he had to read an instruction over and over again. At one point he almost dropped the bowl he was carrying.

He should’ve gone back to bed. But he couldn’t make himself. When he slept his mind filled with terror and memories. It reminded him of past guilt and shadows consumed him. He was afraid of the dark. The dark of the room, the dark of his mind. What was the step again? He swore under his breath. The words seemed to blur.

Right, he was supposed to grab a glass pan to put the batter in.

Easy enough, it should’ve been but he had to fight his eyes to stay open.

He had to fight his feet to take a step. One step. Two. Three. Open the cabinet. /This doesn’t normally take as much effort/, he thought distantly but pushed it aside. Grab the smaller pan. Or was it the bigger one?

/Doesn’t matter/, he grabbed one. The world went black for a second and he fought to open his eyes again. One step. Tw- the world went black again. Glass shattered the floor. /Oh/, he thought, he felt glass splinter his feet. He wasn’t wearing shoes or socks.

“Tam?” Fitz called from somewhere. “Tam? Babe are you okay?”

Finally, he was able to force his eyes open, there was red on the floor. That probably wasn’t a good sign. “Yeah I’m okay go back to sleep,” he said wincing about how easily he lied.

Fitz poked his head out from behind the wall that covered the staircase, eyebrows already furrowed in concern. “It’s five in the morning,” he said factually.

“You should be asleep, I was just finishing,” not entirely a lie.

“There’s glass on the floor.”

“I dropped a pan.”

“Your feet are bleeding,” he said coming behind the counter.

“I’m fine really, you’ve got a meeting tomorrow you should really get some-” Tam started. He hated this, he hated being a mess in front of Fitz.

“I swear if you say /I/ need sleep I’m gonna throw out you’re brownies before you get to bake them,” Fitz said half-joking half-serious.

Tam rolled his eyes, “Oh no my creations I’m terrified.”

A small smile tugged at his mouth. Grabbing the broom he cleared a path to Tam and cupped his face. “I’m worried about you,” he said the amount of emotion in his eyes caught Tam off guard.

“You shouldn’t have to be,” Tam whispered leaning his forehead to Fitz’s.

“But I am because I care about you. Let me help you,” he pleaded softly, “let me take care of you. Please.”

Tam was too tired to say no, so he sagged into Fitz’s shoulder the weight of his tiredness crashing down at once. Fitz placed a kiss in his hair and Tam smiled into his shoulder. “Sap,” he muttered.

“I love you too, dork,” Fitz laughed. He pushed Tam away and hummed gently at Tam’s sleepy grumbles. But it was only so he could sweep up his legs and hold him bridal style.

“I can walk you know.”

“Shush, I’m taking care of you no objections.” Tam hummed once more and leaned his head into his chest to listen to his heartbeat. Eventually, the world went black.

And for the first time in many nights, Tam didn’t dream.

#titz week 2020 #titz #tam song #fitz vacker #kotlc #blood tw #injuries tw #anxiety tw #burns tw #scars tw #kotlc fic #tater writes

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skinny-steve-was-worthy · 4 years

Text

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. s2e2: “Heavy is the Head”

*motorcycle approaches* it’s gonna be MAY

“That’s an order agent may” “yes sir” she did NOT look happy about that but honestly thank you. I’m sick of people in movies/tv never actually following orders

At first I was frustrated that Coulson was keeping so much from Skye and not being honest with her, but thinking about going through the collapse of SHIELD and being betrayed by someone you worked so closely with, it would be so hard to trust people again.

So do we trust Talbot now?? I always feel like I want to, but can’t quite

Dang Fury’s toolbox really is something! (Also seems like Coulson’s getting the hang of the holograms 😆)

Don’t want to nitpick but that waitress got completely absorbed in what seemed like minutes. How did that woman (you know, Ron Swanson’s girlfriend) last so long with only her arm affected?

Sue me but I’m really liking hunter 🤷🏻‍♀️

I was thinking that maybe Fitz is just having some trouble translating his thoughts into word, and that he could get stuff done with his hands, but it doesn’t seem that way. Based on what the other people have been saying I guess he’s been like this for a couple months. Dang this really sucks huh

So, I’m guessing “Mr Whitehall” is the hydra guy from the very beginning-they had a very meaningful shot of his glasses last episode. Sure, why not? More people who don’t age!

*Raina appears* yes yes yes! Ruth Negga is one of the best actors on this show

When is Skye going to start seeing those symbols? Makes sense right?

Awwww he said suit up #cap

I don’t know Mack super well yet but I feel like he and Fitz understand each other well. He at least doesn’t treat him with kid gloves like the other do, which I’m sure Fitz hates.

Oh my gosh hunter!! 😠 stick with the plan dude! I can’t believe he shot May and Tripp!

Is he a loose cannon? Oh yeah. Am I happy to see more of him? Oh yeah!

The music they play with those symbols is so creepy, but I am relieved someone else knows about what’s going on, and that he’s staying in control. And who better than May? This makes me feel so much better.

Also I’m just realizing we never saw who was writing the original symbols - the ones that Akela Amadour was supposed to take a picture of in Eye Spy. That was the first we saw of it. Was it Garrett? Then why did he need a picture of it?

“Bring me my daughter” 😧 ohhhhh crap

I hope Simmons didn’t actually “abandon” him 😕 I bet she’s off trying to find a cure or something to help him

I’m still annoyed by the time jump. I’m going to stick with it. Obviously I liked the characters before, and I think I’ll grow to like them again as well as the new additions. But it’s pissing me off that they’re so different and I can’t relate to them.

May is definitely my favorite right now!

#sara watches aos #agents of shield #s1e2 #agents of shield spoilers

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smallblueandloud · 4 years

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 for the writing ask- I AM SO SORRY I COULDNT STOP!!! xoxo

aaaah these questions look SO GOOD thank you so much <3 <3 for this ask meme, which will be open all weekend!

1. tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

i pulled open all of my WIP google docs for this and my laptop started whirring ominously, lmao. this is going to be a Little Long but i love talking about my wips so who cares!! (under the cut because EXCERPTS)

guys and dolls but gay - very, very casual rewrite of guys and dolls if sky masterson was a woman. i’m loving how chill i’m being about this one because it’s so much fun to not have to worry how i’m going to write lyrics in a not-weird way and just focus on the story. this one’s first because it’s theoretically closest to being finished.

sky, laughing: “oh? people. all the people you turn down every day. well, i imagine there’s someone out there that’ll catch your eye.”

sarah, stiffening: “...yes, there will be.”

sky: “and what might this person be like?”

sarah: “he will not be a gambler, for one.”

sky does not miss the pointed pronoun. “i’m not interested in what he won’t be, i’m interested in what he will be.” she sits down on the desk, in a pointedly masculine pose, and sets her fedora next to her - at her most Hot Queer, basically. “how will you know when he gets to you?”

my fic for the aos rarepair fic exchange - i can’t give any plot or ship details, for obvious reasons, but it’s 1.3k and i’m having fun with it!

steven roadtrip of destiny - canon divergent fic set at the end of steven universe future where steven goes on a roadtrip instead of... canon. it deals with some heavy emotions and it’s also a character study so it’s tentatively shelved until i get around to rewatching suf. but i am projecting on steven like crazy and it’s really, really cathartic. it’s taught me a lot about myself too lmao.

He’s never been anonymous before. He kind of likes it. It means he can fold his arms on the table and put his head down without Pearl worrying about his posture, or someone asking him if something’s okay.

In the last few months, he’s grown to hate people asking him how he’s doing, or if he’s okay. He always ends up lying, because he doesn’t want to worry them, and he ends up feeling worse.

Probably because it’s more of him supporting other people without supporting himself.

He should have told someone how he was feeling. He should have reached out. Sadie could’ve helped him. Lars would’ve listened. Connie would have hugged him and then found him the appropriate mental health professional.

(God, Steven wants a hug. Also the appropriate mental health professional? Whoever that would be.)

untitled aos fic - i don’t want to give a lot of details because :eye emoji: and also i don’t know much about what the plot of this is going to be anyway, lmao. but here’s an excerpt:

daisy “that actor who doesn’t shut up about data harvesting” johnson (@daisyquake) tweeted: two weeks :eyes emoji:

Elena Rodriguez | Seven Cents S2 Streaming On Netflix Now! (@yoyorodriguez) retweeted and added: the problem with being friends with daisy is that you SHOULD have some insight into what her tweets mean but you still have no idea

Fitz (@justfitz) retweeted and added: Try being married to her

untitled star wars twins fic - because i am a total and massive nerd. i’m just kind of stuffing everything i have feels about from the post-anh era into this and planning on figuring it out later? i’m really loving talking about the culture of alderaan (and the culture of the survivors) and also i just love writing luke and leia’s relationship... so much......

(no excerpt for that one because i’ve basically posted all of it in various posts lmao)

aos ds9 au - i’ve posted a LOT about this already and i want to keep the plot a surprise but fsk is in this and married and half the cast is aliens, what else do you need in life.

“Good morning,” says Jemma, coming into the room with her hair wet and her uniform crooked. “Hello, darling.”

“Hi,” says Daisy, turning her face up for a kiss. Jemma obliges absently as she walks past, looking around the room.

“Has anyone seen my hair clip?”

“No,” say Fitz and Daisy in unison.

and of course, last but never least in my heart, chapter 3 of the magnum opus - writing this is on hold until my brain decides to stop hitting me over the head at every possible moment, but there’s like... 2k written so far? it’s. it’s going.

“Yeah, yeah,” says Coulson, and makes quick work of the right gauntlet. It’s only halfway through the left one that his fingers slow and he says, quietly, “Simmons designed these, didn’t she?”

She lets out a quick breath. “Yeah.”

He stays quiet for a few more seconds, finishing up the last of the straps, making sure they’re tight enough. Finally, he says, “She should be helping you with these.”

Daisy pulls her arms back and swallows down some words, or maybe a couple of feelings, or maybe a sob. “Yeah, well.”

2. tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

the last sentence of the magnum opus!!!!!!!!!!

no, lmao, i’m gonna try to be serious. i really, really want to write some librarians fic in the near future? also MORE OF THE SENSE8 AU. i’m DYING to write some stuff about that. especially sam’s cluster, for some reason? Let’s Make Him Suffer (Comedically)! one day i’m gonna finish that list of what cluster/situation each song is about and then it’ll be over for all of us!

3. what is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

i spent about eight months imagining a scene where riza hawkeye was really injured and mustang was holding her in his arms (basically the promised day scene but with more privacy) so does that count?

hmm, just for some other possibilities: glinda telling dorothy about elphaba, laura somehow seeing or speaking to natasha during catws, a good omens au of the good place (specifically the ”i don’t even like you!” / “you doooooooo” scene), kencyrath au of star wars (ESPECIALLY THIS ONE, except setting up the first scene alone would take 7k, but i want to talk about leia and luke and their MESSED UP TRUST ISSUES in this au).

oh, also, something about star trek tng where jean-luc and beverly and jack were in love and then jack died and picard left. more specifically a scene set during the pilot episode where jean-luc very cordially offers beverly the option to transfer off the enterprise, that he wouldn’t dream of holding it against her, and beverly very cordially telling jean-luc to go fuck himself. i want to write 30k of that broken triad. i want it so bad. i dream of that fic. maybe one day when i find myself with a completely empty month or two, i’ll binge all of tng and Write Some Stuff.

4. share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

since you and i have tww in common, i’m gonna do a tww fic! otherwise i’d have to reread literally every fic i’ve ever written, lmao.

(this is long but i put this post under the cut so i have RIGHTS. also consider this a sneak peek for the j/d fic in the sense8 au?)

“It’s okay,” says Helen. She sits for a moment in silence, seeming thoughtful. “The Congressman and I are in the same cluster,” she says eventually. “I’d- I supposed that’s easier on the Secret Service?”

“Yes,” says Donna. ��The-”

She stops herself from saying anything further. President Bartlet and the First Lady aren’t exactly quiet about who’s in their cluster, especially with senior staff, but that doesn’t mean she should go talking about it in an unsecured room in LA, of all places.

To cover for her blunder, she gives up something else: “The same with Josh. They got really lucky with him, actually. It’s just him and me, so they won’t have to worry about anyone threatening the Chief of Staff through the barista in the local Starbucks.”

Helen looks up from the Ohio numbers she’d drifted back to, a slow smile creeping up on her face. “Josh is in your cluster?”

“Uh-” says Donna, feeling like national security wasn’t worth whatever she’s just blundered into. Oops. “Josh- Josh is my cluster, ma’am.”

She catches her mistake the second it’s out of her mouth, but Helen doesn’t call her on it, more focused on other revelations. “No wonder you two look at each other the way you do!” she says, sounding delighted. Donna shuts her eyes, praying for this to go away. It’s not that she’s ashamed of Josh - it’s just so, so complicated, and other people never think about how difficult it was. Still is.

i’m just... i really liked the idea of donna fumbling and having to reveal this to cover up for what else she was going to say? i don’t know why i’m so charmed by this. i think it’s because it would be impossible in the show - you can’t show what someone was going to say on television, not without a lot of setup and very careful scripting. it’s just a really fun situation to write about and i’m really proud of this conversation in general.

also helen santos was a dream to write and i love her a lot. i kind of want to write one of the fics in the series about her and her cluster solely because like... look at her. she’s a delight in literally every scene. i love her.

5. what character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

daisy johnson!!! i love writing daisy johnson!!!! she is the most adhd character i’ve ever written and i literally just have to transcribe my own inner monologue and it works perfectly!!!!!

Swing shift: 1600 hours to 2400 hours. Daisy always ends up getting back to her quarters at like 0030 hours, when Jemma is asleep and Fitz is reading some kind of technical journal. Then she has to eat replicated pizza, alone, and freshly replicated pizza is actually pretty hot but it feels cold at that time of night, like, spiritually.

6. what character do you have the most fun writing?

...whoops i literally just answered that lmao. uh. i also really love writing sky masterson in the guys and dolls fic? she’s just weaponized hot queerness in a suit and i love her for it. she is intentionally trying to seduce this repressed lesbian and it’s really funny and also really hot of her and it’s so much fun to write.

also, i wrote chidi for the tgp fic and it was possibly the most fun i’ve ever had with a pov, although that was also because i was purposefully trying to mimic the tone of the show. i still think that line about michael and a grenade is, like, the funniest i have ever been in my life. but chidi’s panic was surprisingly easy to write? all of tgp’s characters have such STRONG voices, it makes writing fic ridiculously easy as long as you don’t get stuck on a plot for six months.

7. what do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? would others agree?

oof, this one is ALWAYS tricky. uh? uhh?? i’m going to ruin everything by saying this but i basically alternate between the same two sentence structures and i am really frustrated about it. i also alternate between the same two styles of endings and i always use the same beginning (set scene, main character pov, thoughts-as-exposition, back to scene).

BUT ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE i like to talk about emotions and relationships and character development!! i have my “queer subtext goggles” superglued to my face, lmao. i like to think about how characters must have felt about things in canon and how it must’ve influenced them. i like making people deal with the consequences of their actions, especially how it’s influenced they themself. i also just really, really like writing people who love each other, whether it’s romantic or platonic or anything in between. i just want them to be happy! i just want them to stick together! doesn’t matter what fandom, i stand by it.

#loudwithlaughter #sb and l rambles #sb and l answers #sb and l is writing #thank you for sending this in!!!!!#now for literally All The Tags lmao #aos ds9 au #verse: fitzskimmons thingy #fic: you're a candle in the window #verse: and it's golden #mcu ideas #tgp ideas #st ideas #fic: help me hold on to you #fic: on that bumpy road to love #jesus CHRIST that was a lot of tags #okay okay i'm pressing post now #this was such a delight thank you SO much for sending it!#the steven roadtrip of self discovery fic

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shireness-says · 5 years

Text

Another Page

Summary: Belle doesn’t go looking for love, but that doesn’t stop love from finding her. A 5B Divergence ‘verse snippet. Rated G. ~3.7K. Also on AO3.

~~~~~

A/N: I’m back! Remember when I threatened to pair Belle up with someone plucked from literature? This is that fic. I just really want her to get a happy ending, okay?

Super thanks to @snidgetsafan for helping me come up with this and plot it, and then beta-ing last minute. Seriously, she’s the best.

Tagging the interested parties/those I’ve been whining to: @thejollyroger-writer, @spartanguard, @phiralovesloki, @profdanglaisstuff, @optomisticgirl, @ohmightydevviepuu, @thisonesatellite, @let-it-raines, @scientificapricot, @aerica13, @welllpthisishappening, @kmomof4, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @teamhook, @winterbaby89, @katie-dub. I’ve probably missed folks, but I don’t even remember my own tag list anymore.

Enjoy - and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

The unfortunate truth is that it was probably always going to come to this - Rumple waging war on Storybrooke. Today, Belle and her unborn son are just an excuse.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel guilty that other people have been dragged into it.

She barely even knows the man who has been asked to guard her inside the library as David and Robin hold down the proverbial fort outside and Killian, Emma, and Regina face Rumple elsewhere. Well, at least she barely knows him personally; his literary reputation, small as it is, has preceded him.

Colonel James Fitzwilliam, commonly called Fitz. Young, courteous, and handsome (or so she’d say if she were looking, and didn’t have a million other concerns on her mind). She knows he arrived with the rest of the inhabitants of the Land of Untold Stories almost 2 months ago now, doing his best to keep all his compatriots organized and calm amongst the chaos of their arrival (Rumple’s doing, of course, and Belle should have seen it earlier as the distraction tactic it had been). All he’d offered as his reason for stranding himself in the Land of Untold Stories was a desire to escape all the expectations his family had placed upon him; Belle supposes she can understand that. Whatever the case, he seems… honorable. Level-headed. Capable of endearing himself even to Emma and David, enough for them to recruit him into their fledgling sheriff’s department and assign him to watch over Belle as her ex-husband does his best to tear the world apart outside to try and seize her back into his grasp and control.

“I really am sorry,” Belle says softly, and not for the first time.

“I can’t imagine why,” Fitz says mildly as he peers out the front windows. Things are blessedly quiet here for now, but that will undoubtedly change at any moment.

“This is all my fault.”

Fitz turns back to face Belle. “Perhaps I’m mistaken - I was under the impression that the Dark One was responsible for this current… tension, shall we say.” It’s kind of him not to say attack, even if that’s a more accurate word; she could do without that particular reminder. “Are you actually the rampaging maniac I’ve been warned about? Because if so - I must say, madam, that your rampaging needs work.”

He says it lightly, as a joke, but Belle has trouble finding the humor in it. “The maniac wouldn’t be, as you say, rampaging if it weren’t for me. He’s doing this because he thinks he can steal me back.”

“That may be so,” Fitz shrugs, “but from everything I’ve heard, he would have found another reason to strike. The only difference would have been your compromised safety, and I can’t believe that you believe you deserve that. Let alone your child.”

“But maybe if I hadn’t been so willfully blind - if I hadn’t been so quick to trust that he’d changed — ”

“There’s no use fixating on such things,” he tells her firmly. “Maybe things would have been different; maybe they wouldn’t have. But you wouldn’t have your child if things didn’t happen the way they did, and I have to believe that your son or daughter will be a bright spot to come from all of this.”

“Son.” Fitz’s brow wrinkles in confusion at Belle’s declaration, and she abruptly remembers that he’s still so new to the Land Without Magic that he doesn’t know yet of all its new technological capabilities. “There are machines now that can tell before the baby is even born. It’s a boy.”

“That’s wonderful,” he smiles. “This realm will never cease to amaze me, I’m sure of it.”

“It is wonderful.” Inside her belly, the baby moves and kicks, as if he knows they’re discussing him.

Fitz gentles his tone for a moment. “You deserve that, Ms. French. Every bit of happiness that little boy will bring to your life. I know this is all a mess, but he came from it too, and no one blames you for a moment. You shouldn’t blame yourself either.”

Belle blinks back tears at his kindness, choosing to focus on the easiest bit of it. “You know, after all this, I think you should call me Belle.”

“Belle, then,” he smiles. “Well, Belle, I think this will all be over soon, and you’ll have so many good things ahead of you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

———

All things considered, it’s a very good day.

Sure, bits of her body she didn’t know were capable of pain are sore, and no one has ever claimed that hospital beds are comfortable, but Belle has a son now. And he’s perfect.

Her greatest fear in all of this has been the prospect of having to do it all alone, but if the last hours are any indication, that’s not something she has to worry about. The people of Storybrooke had seemed determined to collect her and her son into the fold, starting with Emma and Ruby holding her hands throughout and a parade of friends (who just might be family now) coming to check on Belle and meet little Gideon.

(It’s a little fanciful, she knows, to name the baby after one of her favorite books, but Belle has room for a little fanciful in her life. Besides, she’s determined that her son be all the “handsome hero” that she needs.)

Of all the people she expected to drop by, however, James Fitzwilliam isn’t one of them. He looks very out of place in the hospital - this tall, solid man, who shuffles his feet as if he’s not sure how to act in this setting.

“I’m sorry to intrude,” he hazards, but Belle waves him off with a cautious smile.

“You’re not intruding at all,” she assures him. “There’s been several visitors today. It’s rather nice, actually.”

“I’m glad you think so,” he smiles back, before thrusting a bouquet towards her. “These are for you.”

Belle thumbs at the soft yellow petals, delicately. “Daisies,” she murmurs.

“Sheriff Swan’s son seemed determined that roses would be a bad idea. These looked… cheerful.”

“They are, thank you.” Bless Henry for his advice; roses are still tainted for her, at least for the moment.

“I take it this is the little one?” Fitz asks, nodding towards the cradle at the side of her bed. Her son lies inside, happily asleep, lips making little sucking motions in slumber.

“Yeah, that’s him. Gideon.” Belle can hear the soft awe in her own voice, but finds no reason to temper it.

Fitz bends over the cradle for a closer look. “He’s a handsome lad,” he decrees with a wide smile. “I see a lot of you in his features. You must be very proud.”

“I am. Thank you.” Truthfully, she sees a lot more of Rumple in her son, but they’re comforting words to hear all the same. Gideon will grow to look like his own person in time, anyways.

“I know you must be tired,” Fitz says, “but I wanted to drop by, just for a brief moment, to congratulate you. Especially after our little adventure holed up in the library,” he winks. “You’ll let me know if you need anything?”

Belle nods, and Fitz nods back, almost like a nervous tic.

“Good. Well then, I’ll be…” he jerks his head towards the door.

“Thank you for stopping by,” Belle offers. This has been a bit of an odd visit, but cheering, somehow.

“Of course.” Fitz is nearly out the door before he turns back around to say one last thing. “I’m happy for you, Belle. No one deserves this more than you do.”

And then he’s gone.

(The flowers don’t last forever, of course, but Belle takes care to press one between the pages of a book to preserve it just a little bit longer.)

———

Belle has never been much for "going out", whether by circumstance, inclination, or lack of invitation. It seems like she's been rushing, rushing, rushing, ever since she first stepped out of the asylum beneath Storybrooke Hospital and into the town proper. There's been monsters and demons and death and criss-crossing the realms and a baby, of all things, but little to no going out. Belle could probably count the instances on one hand.

But there's high reason to celebrate this time. Emma is finally getting married, after all, and Ruby has arranged a bachelorette party. Belle is a little wary about any Ruby-planned event, but at the same time, she's excited. It'll be nice to have a little break, to experience the concept of a "girl's night" for herself.

It's less clear how she ends up asking Fitz to babysit. Truthfully, it would have made more sense to leave Gideon with Killian and Charlie, or David and the rest of the Charming brood, or even with Granny. Gideon is so very fond of the colonel-turned-deputy sheriff, however, which is probably why Belle finds herself asking the favor without any prior thought.

(She's rather fond of him herself, she must admit. In the past few years, their acquaintance has strengthened into a strong friendship, built upon morning breakfasts at Granny's and his easy willingness to assist at the library whenever she needs and quiet movie nights in her apartment below the clock tower when she just needs some low-key adult company. Fitz is always there, with his easy going smile and his gentle sense of humor, happy to help and never asking more of her than she can give.)

(More and more lately, she's found a new kind of excitement and nerves brewing whenever Fitz is around, but Belle is doing her best to ignore those feelings.)

"I'm sure you must be busy on a Saturday night, and I know it's a lot to ask - it's perfectly fine if you say no -" she'd rambled, but Fitz had cut her off with a gentle hand on her arm and a warm smile.

"It's really not a problem," he'd assured her. "I'd be happy to watch the boy."

Sure enough, Gideon had squealed with glee and rushed across the room with all the boundless energy a boy just shy of two years old can possess as Fitz had appeared in the doorway. His giggles had filled the room and warmed Belle's heart as Fitz had swept her son up into the air and upside down.

"Go have fun," he'd said. "We'll be fine here."

And she does have fun. There's dancing, and drinking - so much drinking - and plenty of laughter. Belle just might like this going out business; she's certainly not opposed to a repeat sometime, if they can arrange it with all of their wild schedules. There'd been passing concerns throughout the night about how Gideon is doing, but she trusts Fitz with her son. She's sure they're having a lovely time, and Gideon is long since sound asleep.

She expects a quiet home after climbing the stairs to the little flat above the library - which is more treacherous than usual with her balance compromised by the combination of a variety of brightly colored drinks with ridiculous names and high heels - and she's not surprised to find it. What's more surprising is to see both Fitz and Gideon curled up on the couch with the tv playing softly in the background, her son plastered to the older man's side.

It's such a simple, domestic little thing, to see how comfortable Gideon is with Fitz; it shouldn't affect her the way it does. Gideon is a trusting child, anyways, by some miracle of fate, immediately everyone's best friend. What really melts her heart is to see the protective arm Fitz has slung around his waist and the soft smile he wears, even in sleep. He's happy to be here, just existing with her son in the heart of their domain. It's jarring in the best way, near revolutionary.

She loves him, she realizes in that moment - loves the way he's always there in his unobtrusive matter, that he fits into the little family unit that she and Gideon comprise. The problem is that a friend can do those things too, and even if Belle knows her own feelings, she can't speak for his, and her heart is still too fragile to try.

She tries to pry Gideon out of Fitz's arms as gently as she can to properly put him to bed, but Fitz wakes up anyways as his arm falls away.

"Sorry, darling, we got a little caught up in a movie," he whispers with a sheepish smile. Belle tries to ignore the way her pulse picks up at the little endearment, though she can’t help but sway - a combination of her drunkenness and a sudden surge of emotion. Fitz’s hand quickly flies out to brace and steady her, pulling himself to a sitting position as he does so. "Do you need any help?"

"That's alright, I've got him." By some miracle, her whisper doesn't shake as it trickles out. "Thanks for doing this."

"It was my pleasure, truly," he assures her, prying himself off the couch.

They stand for a quiet moment, just staring at each other. Can he feel this same tension, these same feelings? She's not nearly bold enough to ask; maybe he can just see it in her eyes.

But no such luck. "I'll let you get to bed then," he says to break the silence. "I'll see you tomorrow? A late breakfast, perhaps?"

"Tomorrow," she agrees. "Goodnight, Fitz."

"Goodnight, Belle."

Even if he doesn't live here, the apartment feels emptier without him in it.

———

Fitz comes by every morning to help Belle with the outdoor book drop, rain or shine, 8:30 AM, unless he’s ill or caught up with some kind of inescapable deputy business. He’d started after Gideon was born, when it seemed like half the town had taken a turn helping her out at the library when she was exhausted with her newborn and still couldn’t lift any weight. Nearly four years later now, it’s their routine, and if pressed, Belle will admit that she treasures these minutes they share each morning, retrieving books, checking them back in, and sorting them back out at the circulation desk. If he has time, Fitz often even stays to help shelve them.

(There’s something especially touching about the way he so carefully handles each volume every step of the way, especially knowing that he’s not much of a reader.)

Belle needs his help more when the weather is accommodating, but she loves watching him on sunny days like this, where the early sun shines in his hair like burnished gold. He’d cut his hair a couple of years back, and as fitting as the short ponytail at the nape of his neck had seemed, he’s impossibly handsome with his hair cropped short at the sides and just long enough to bounce and swoop at the top.

(She’s got it bad, truly, and none of the bravery required to act on it.)

Maybe the sun on his hair hypnotized her. Or she finally just burst with feelings in a display of foolishness. Whatever the case, even as Belle feels like she’s watching a car crash in slow motion, she can’t stop her mouth from blurting out words like some terrible word vomit.

“Ruby thinks I should start dating,” she declares suddenly. Like that was even remotely a thing she planned on saying.

(It is the truth, at least; Ruby does think she should start dating. The fact that Ruby thinks she should start dating Fitz is the real crux of the issue at hand.)

Maybe anyone else would miss the way that Fitz stutters for a moment, his entire body freezing up before he continues unloading books. Then again, Belle isn’t most people, and she’s almost painfully aware of his every breath and movement after nearly five years spent dancing around one another. It gives her a bit of hope, that maybe she isn’t quite so alone in this pining. “And what do you want, Belle?”

She shrugs casually before reaching in beside him, their arms brushing along the way. “I’m not really sure, truthfully. Gideon and I have always been fine by ourselves.”

“But?”

“It would be nice, wouldn’t it? To have someone to care for me like that,” she replies wistfully. “It’s easy to feel a little lonely, when everyone else around here seems to have found their true love, their person.” Are you my person? Would you ever want to be?

“You’re not alone, you know.” Fitz’s voice is almost too casual, like he’s trying to conceal something else.

“I know.” She lines the books up neatly on the cart as an excuse not to meet Fitz’s eyes, spines facing upwards. “I’ve never really done it before, though. Dating. Or even really proper courting like we might have done in the other realms. There was nothing really ordinary about what happened between Rumplestiltskin and I. There was a little in between when Rumple was banished beyond the borders, and I tried to move on, but… Will was never properly much for dating. A quick drink and kissing behind the bar? Yes. Courtship? No. Maybe it’s foolish, but I’d like to at least try. Be taken to dinner and pampered a little. I think I deserve that.”

“You do,” Fitz tells her gently, prying her hands away from where they’ve been nervously alphabetizing. “And it’s not foolish.”

“I don’t know that anything will come of it,” she says, blushing in the face of his compliments. “I’m a bookish single mother with enough baggage for a world tour. That may be too much for many men.”

“But you do want this? Dating? That’s a step you’re ready to take?”

Belle inhales, gathering her courage in a great breath before nodding. “I do.”

Fitz visibly swallows, as if he’s got his own nerves. Still, he squeezes her hands where they’re still clasped in his. “Then I’d like to be the first to take you to dinner. If you like.”

Belle can feel a smile start to spread across her face, her eyes crinkling as her mouth catches up. “You’d want that? Truly? Not just to be kind?”

“Truly,” he nods. “And very much. I’ve been terribly smitten with you for a long time, Belle, but I never wanted to overstep my bounds. I didn’t want to be some pushy bastard so soon after everything he did.”

He doesn’t need speaking. It’s terribly considerate of Fitz, and maybe even necessary. After all, it brought them here.

“Would it be horribly forward of me to kiss you?” Belle murmurs, stepping further into his space as happy, anticipatory butterflies take flight in her stomach.

“Maybe,” he smiles back. “But I say we make our own rules.”

“Then I’d very much like to kiss you.”

(And reader - she does.)

———

“Darling, could you spare a minute?” Fitz calls from the bedroom. “This tie is giving me trouble.”

It’s such a simple domestic request, but it still sends little flutters of happiness through Belle’s veins. Even after three years together, and four years before that as friends, Fitz is still ever inch the gentleman in every way. Loving him is warm, and gentle, and comforting. Loving him is home, in a way she hadn’t realized was possible.

Home these days, at least in the physical sense, is no longer the little apartment above the library, but a cheery yellow bungalow on a quiet street lined with lush trees. It’s a good place for Gideon to grow up, with a peaceful backyard and kids just next door right around his age, but it’s a perfect space for the three of them to grow, too - her, Gideon and Fitz. There’s space for a small study lined with bookshelves, and a spacious bedroom for a young boy to make his own, and a bright kitchen for family meals - not to mention, a master bedroom far enough removed from young ears at the top of the house in a converted attic space.

Climbing those stairs now, she finds Fitz fiddling with his necktie in the full length mirror they keep along one wall. It doesn’t look like he’s struggling that much with the garment, but it is lovely to see the way he practically lights up when she walks to him.

“Now I know you’ve had to deal with much more complicated neckties than this,” she scolds lightly, reaching for the silk ends. “You just wanted to see me.”

“Guilty as charged,” he admits with a smile. “But can you blame a man for wanting to see his wife, especially when she looks so beautiful?”

(That’s a welcome change, too - a ring and a white dress and so many other promises that she’s confident, finally, will be honored as a personal gospel.)

“Kiss-up.” Still, she blushes.

“Just honest.” He leans in to softly kiss her forehead, perfectly in reach with Belle lifted up on high heels.

“Nervous?” she asks, pulling the last loop of fabric through and down.

Fitz shrugs. “Not particularly. It’s just a formality, really. Why, do you think I should be?”

“Not at all,” she smiles back, tweaking his lapels for good measure.

And he shouldn’t be. Because this really is a formality; just a piece of paper. Fitz has been Gideon’s dad for years, happily, and both her boys had been ecstatic when she suggested they make it official. Today is just the day that a judge makes it official, with a small party with their friends to follow.

“I love you,” Belle murmurs. It’s still wonderful even to say the words - a warmth and a peace that suffuses her entire soul.

“And I love you,” Fitz echoes back, leaning down for a brief kiss. It’s not anything particularly involved, but that’s nice in it’s own way - comforting, a promise that there will always be time for more and later and anything they want.

It has to be short, too, because Belle can already hear feet pounding up the stairs. “Are you ready yet?” Gideon demands. His soft brown hair has somehow been tamed into submission, and she’d wrestled him into a nice shirt just before Fitz had called her upstairs.

“We’ll be down in just a moment, bud,” Fitz tells their son. “Go ahead and wait by the door, we’re right behind you.”

As the footsteps rush back down the stairs, he offers her a chivalrous arm. “Shall we, darling?”

“We shall.”

The rest of their life is waiting, after all.

#ouat ff #belle french #anti-rumbelle #Belle/OC #Belle/Colonel Fitzwilliam #Belle/Literally Anyone Else 2k20 #Friends to Lovers #Slow Burn #5B divergence verse #If I Could See Your Face Once More #Another Page #my writing #look I just want her to be happy #and that means really weird shipping sometimes

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skelley-sighs · 4 years

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Set in book 8, I'm a sucker for sokeefe.

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*Ding**Ding**Ding* Sophie’s imparter rings, jolting her-and a very sleepy Keefe-from their slumber. Groggily she reaches for it, sending her friend-...her subconscious disagrees- tumbling to the floor off the bed. Right, they were at Candleshade, looking through anything of Gisela’s to try and find her plans. As she answers Dex’s call Keefe groans and flops on his back, blinking to clear the haze of sleep she can see in his ice-blue eyes. Wait what, why am I looking at his eyes???? As soon as the thought floats across her mind a little part of her says ‘Cause he looks great and I have a crush on him. Caught in her internal beetle with herself, she doesn't notice Dex talking at a billion miles per hour.

“They said something about an emergency I don’t know but you need to be at Havenfield stat! Do you know where Keefe is? We need him too-”

“Yeah, no I have him with me, we are at Candleshade looking for anything that might help us with Gisela.” Sophie cuts in, stopping the flow of words from her friends-he is just a friend she keeps telling Grady- mouth, “We’ll be there in a sec.”

She turns off the imparter and nudges Keefe with her toe, “Wake up, we need to go to Havenfield, something important.”

“Ughh. Okay. I’m up.” He grumbles as he sits up and musses his hair, “The window here will be fine for teleporting right?”

At Sophie’s nod they entwine their arms and step on the window sill, Keefe like a gentleman helping her shorter figure up. As soon as they are in the portal-y-space-area she asks, “What was your dream about?”

He was supposed to fall asleep, with Sophie monitoring his dreams for any memory that might’ve been hidden, but the ripplepuffs combined with many sleepless nights had caused her to doze off. And if she was being honest, it was the best sleep she’d had in a while, all curled up with his head in her lap, lying in that massive bed.

“Nothing much...” Keefe’s voice trails off as he steps up next to her as she focuses on Havenfield, “I was just dreaming about you, and me, and we did stuff.”

“Oh, like what?” If her voice is shriller he pays no heed, he is probably just talking about some adventure they had. But as she turns around and looks him in the eyes he leans down and-stops. Just above her ear he whispers, “Do you trust me?”

“With my life.” And then he kisses her.

And oh god, his lips are soft, his hands cupping her face and he is being sweet and gentle and she kisses him back even as the grounds of her house and Calla’s tree fade into place.

She is so engrossed in him that she barely hears the “HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!!!” and then the shriek from Grady and the laughs from Fitz and Linh(who are totally not together but they are so together). She only notices all that when Sandor lifts up Keefe by his collar and speaks in his gruff tones, “You hurt her, and Grady won't be the only thing you have to worry about.”

…*crickets*

“No need to worry.” comes out of his mouth, in a perfect Alden impersonation with his accent and inflections.

Everyone smiles and laughs-even Grady, though he won’t admit how happy he is that its Keefe and not one of those younger friends of Jensi who follow her everywhere at Foxfire- and they eat ripplepuffs and prattles and mallowmelt, and Keefe steals a few more kisses. Everything is peaceful, in her little content bubble. Well it would be if Lin and Biana and Marella would stop asking her how it was(her blush is shades of red humans can't even think of)

#keeper of the lost cities #sophie and keefe #keefe sencen #sophie foster #fitz vacker #linh song #fitz&linh #sandor #grady ruewen #edaline ruewen #my fic

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dlwritings · 5 years

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Agent of Hydra | Peter Parker

masterlist found here

pairing - Peter x Hydra!reader word count - 2,283 warnings - I guess there’s a Season 1 Agent of SHIELD spoiler A/N - this is for @blissfulparker‘s 5K Writing Challenge! | prompt: “I wish it wasn’t you but it is, and I’m so sorry.” | I’m pretty proud of this but for some reason I feel like it won’t be very popular lol

summary - (Y/N) isn’t proud of her background and the reputation her last name gives her. When her first mission comes and it involves her best friend, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Is she on the side of her dad, or the side of heroes?

As Shakespeare once wrote, “Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

If that statement was true, then the reverse must also be true. Some people are born evil, some achieve evil, and some have evil thrust upon them.

I was a combination of the first and last.

My dad was John Garrett. Known under many aliases, including Deathlok and the Clairvoyant, he was a powerful member of Hydra. I was raised hearing his two twisted mottos:

First, You can’t ever get attached to anyone or anything. You have to fight that weakness inside you.

And second, Don’t trust anyone, ever. Especially me.

For most of my life, I just went along with it. My dad was evil, so I felt like I was born evil. The evil was thrust upon me. I wasn’t given a choice between one side or the other. Growing up, I didn’t know any better anyway. I agreed with the things my dad told me because it was the only thing I heard. Hydra was superior. SHIELD were the wrong ones. I had no reason to ever question him. For my whole life, I proudly hailed Hydra.

When I entered high school, things changed. I changed. I was more exposed to other opinions and so many good people who believed in good. Believed in SHIELD. Believed in heroes. At Midtown High, I became friends with Peter, Ned, and MJ. It made everything in my life so confusing. I started to question the exact principles I was raised on. My friends stood for everything my dad was against. Everything I was raised to be against. Especially Peter. Peter was all about the Avengers. He spoke so earnestly about what they stood for that, soon enough, I started to believe in them too.

And then, I did the really stupid thing, and I fell in love with Peter. Peter who my dad would despise. Peter who worshiped SHIELD and stood for everything good. Peter who I knew was Spider-Man.

Peter, Peter, Peter.

Just like that, the first of my father’s mottos was ignored.

You can’t ever get attached to anyone or anything.

I loved my friends more than anything. I couldn’t imagine my teenage years without them. I was attached. If anything happened to them, I had no idea what I would do. That’s why I hated every mission that pinned Hydra against the Avengers. It put Peter in immediate danger, but I couldn’t say anything to anybody about it. I couldn’t warn Peter of Hydra’s plans, because it would make Peter see who I really was. That was an identity I was trying so hard to hide from him. But I couldn’t ask my dad to ease up on the heroes, because that would show my weakness. The weakness I was supposed to fight.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

When I turned 16, my dad decided it was time for me to suit up and join the team. His team. Hydra. My worst nightmare was coming true. Deep down, I always knew the day would come, but I had delusionally told myself that it wouldn’t. I had to pretend I had been waiting for the day, when in reality I had been dreading it.

I had heard the stories of recruits from days’ past. I knew Grant Ward. I knew about his life and all of the events that lead up to his initiation. I knew the aftermath of his recruitment, how he dropped Fitz and Simmons -two respected agents of SHIELD- in the bottom of the ocean. I knew. I knew about it all. And I knew my dad expected me to turn out the same. He expected me to kill the things I was attached to. To get rid of my weaknesses.

But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it, because I wasn’t Ward. I wasn’t evil. I couldn’t look my dog in the eyes and kill it. That was it. That was the initiation. Kill the thing I loved. So, when my dad left me in the middle of the woods with Sparky -the dog I grew up with- and a gun, I shot a bullet into the air and let my dog run free. What my dad didn’t know didn’t hurt.

Still, this meant I was Hydra now. I was a part of it all. A part of all the evil. The worst thing was not having any friends to confide in. The night of my initiation, I had to cry myself to sleep with the guilt of being evil weighing on my chest. Alone.

The next day, I was in my first Hydra mission meeting. I sat around the table with people I knew by name from hearing endless praise from my dad. My dad sat at the head, giving a rundown of the mission. With our intel at SHIELD, I knew all of the insider details. This also meant I knew that the Avengers were on a mission to destroy all of Hydra’s bases. In order to beat them to the punch, Hydra’s mission was to find, corner, and destroy each of the Avengers. They were stronger together, so taking them down one by one rather than as a unit was their strategy.

“(Y/N),” Dad said, getting my attention. I had been zoning out, staring at my hands and twirling my pen between my fingers. “Your target is-” He paused and flicked through some of his papers. “-Spider-Man.” I took in a sharp breath that made everyone turn to look at me. Dad raised his eyebrows. “Is that a problem?” he asked.

“I just,” I stuttered through my words, “I’m doing it alone?”

“Our sources say Spider-Man is a low threat,” he explained. “This should be a simple task for you to handle independently.” He looked at me sternly. “Is that a problem?” I clenched my jaw and shook my head no.

“No sir,” I said. “That won’t be a problem.” My father gave me a short nod and handed me his packet on Spider-Man. I flicked through it, feeling numb and tuning out the rest of the meeting. Hydra knew Peter was Spider-Man because SHIELD knew, and SHIELD knew because the Avengers knew. I stared at all the information on Peter. Where he lived. Where he went to school. His family. His usual evening routine.

It all made me sick.

How was I supposed to do this? Capture -and kill?- my best friend, or become my father’s enemy. Sure, my dad was evil, but he was still my dad. He would still love me even if I didn’t want to be Hydra, right? Still, I couldn’t help but consider the worst case scenario. Would he kill me if I went against his beliefs and stood firm in my own? I knew better than to underestimate him.

The next night, I suited up and crept out of the Hydra facility. At that time of night -10:00- Peter would be swinging around Queens on patrol. I had a loose version of a plan, and every part of it involved betraying my best friend.

I hid in the shadows of one of the alleys I knew Peter frequently passed. When I found out he was Spider-Man, he took me on his patrol route just for fun. I loved swinging the New York skies with him. At the exact time I expected him, Peter swung down from the sky and landed in the alley. His eyes scanned the darkness, unable to find me in my stealth suit. So, the minute he walked by, I knocked him unconscious before he could see me.

Every member of Hydra had their own designated area to complete their mission that night. That way, each member’s task of kidnapping, torturing, and killing (if necessary) could be done independently and without the watchful eyes of other members of Hydra. Because Hydra also lived by my dad’s second motto: don’t trust anyone. To Hydra, that included each other.

When I got to my location, I stripped Peter of his suit and tied him to a chair. I cringed the entire time, realizing that it all looked far more sexual than I intended it to. But I knew what Peter’s suit could do, and leaving him in it would give me a definite disadvantage.

I stayed behind Peter, not wanting him to see my face as soon as he came to. When he did, he lifted his head slowly and turned his head to the side, then tugged on his restraints. Even his super strength wouldn’t be able to get him out of his bondage. I had made sure of it. “Show yourself!” Peter shouted. I felt my lower lip quiver as his movements to escape became rougher. I knew what my next step was. I just hated it. This was my least favorite part of the mission I had planned.

I slowly stepped in front of Peter, hoping I looked more confident than I felt. “(Y/N)?” Peter asked. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes full of confusion. “What’s going on? What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. My voice cracked horribly. “I’m so sorry.”

“(Y/N) please,” Peter begged. “Tell me what you’re doing.” I cleared my throat. I didn’t know how to tell him. How do you tell your best friend that you’re part of an organization created by Nazis?

“Peter, I’m Hydra.”

Okay. There were probably better ways to say that.

Peter laughed. He actually laughed, tossing his head back and screwing his eyes shut. When he finally caught his breath, he looked at me again. As soon as he saw I wasn’t returning his smile, his face dropped. “What do you mean?” he asked. “You’re joking, right? You can’t actually be Hydra.”

Peter finally studied my outfit more. When he noticed the Hydra patch on my shoulder, he took in a sharp breath. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No. This isn’t real. I’m dreaming. You’re not Hydra.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again. Tears were coming to my eyes now. “It’s my dad. I don’t, I don’t want to be. You have to know that.”

“So why the hell are you doing this?” he asked. His voice cracked as tears came to his eyes as well.

“You don’t know what it’s like,” I said. “I can’t. If I defied him, I don’t know what he’d do.”

“Okay, so why am I here?” he asked, tugging at his restraints again.

“We’ve all been assigned a target,” I said. Tears were streaming down my face, but I couldn’t look away from Peter. I knew I had to look him in the eyes while I said this. I owed him that much. Peter’s eyes grew wide, and his lips parted.

“M-Me?” he stuttered.

“I wish it wasn’t you,” I said, “but it is, and I’m so sorry.”

“So what are you going to do?” he asked. He wasn’t hurt anymore. He was mad. “Kill me? Torture me?”

“I’m just supposed to hold you here,” I said. “I have to get information out of you about, about your plan to take down the Hydra bases.”

“And if I don’t tell you?” he said. I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

“Please don’t make me say it,” I said.

“Do it,” Peter almost shouted. “Fucking kill me! Because I’m not telling you anything!”

“You think I want to do this?” I yelled, throwing my arms in the air. “I’m telling you, you don’t understand what it’s like being a part of this!”

“Then explain it to me!”

“If I don’t do this, I think my dad will kill me!”

Silence rang throughout the room. Peter’s original look of anger softened and was replaced by pity. I almost preferred the anger. If there was one emotion I hated, it was pity. That was probably my dad’s influence on me. “Jesus Christ, (Y/N),” he said. “Why haven’t you ever told me?”

“Because SHIELD is everything to you,” I said. “They’re everything good, and I’m like a glorified Nazi!”

“Yeah but not by choice,” Peter said. “You’re good in your heart. I know that.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I said, my voice dropping.

“I do,” he said. “You’re going to untie me, and I’m going to take you to the compound. They’ll keep you safe.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” I whispered, hanging your head.

“I promise you, it is,” he said. “This is your chance to turn it all around. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I met my eyes with his and saw the sincerity in them. Another tear fell from my eyes as I walked up to him and undid his restraints. With no hesitation, Peter wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. I cried softly into his shoulder, and Peter let me with no complaint. Finally, we pulled away from each other, and Peter tugged his suit back on. For the first time in my life, I felt good. I wasn’t Ward. And I wasn’t my dad. I was me. And I believed in heroes.

Peter and I headed towards the doors of the building we were in. I felt invincible. Peter filled me with hope.

As soon as I opened the door to head outside, I came face to face with my father. I jumped and put my arm in front of Peter protectively. Dad sighed and shook his head, disappointment written all over his face.

“I knew I saw a weakness in you.”

Don’t trust anyone, ever. Especially me.

#katswc #peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #peter parker angst #spiderman #spiderman imagine #spider-man #spider-man imagine #marvel #avengers #agents of shield #agents of shield season 1 #agents of shield imagine

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ellsey · 5 years

Text

Agents of Shield Rewatch 2x15 One Door Closes

Ohhh nooooooo it’s Mack on the day Hydra came out of the shadows

Look I don’t want to say Bobbi is the queen of dramatic entrances, but Bobbi is seriously the queen of dramatic entrances

Noooooo Phil don’t let Mack touch Lola he’s being a secretive poop right now

Oh Bobbi you’re also being a secretive poop

Haaaaaaahahaha this is the only time Jemma has ever called Fitz “Leo” and like it sounds really alien and weird and this hurts so much

Although I do think that Jemma and Fitz are both kind of trying to do their best to help Daisy, they’re just both approaching it from very different points of view

I like that Coulson is trying to be upfront with Mack. It’s what I expect from Phil.

Melinda May is not here for this “real Shield” ish

Also Bobbi and Mack keep claiming they didn’t want it to be like etc but honestly I don’t believe that. And I’m not really convinced they believe that either.

The look on Fitz’s face when he realizes he’s been betrayed by yet ANOTHER person he thought was a friend BREAKS MY HEART

I know that Daisy is going through some stuff but like honestly this cabin life looks heavenly

Until the internet goes down no thanks

I also love love the idea of Fitz and Daisy watching scary movies together (which Jemma hides her face in a pillow but won’t admit she’s scared)

Gordon manages to be helpful and weirdly condescending at the same time. It’s...something.

That was a really nice bit of spying that Jemma did there

GROWTH

No no no no poor Fitz is almost visibly shaking as Mack walks towards him

This whole flashback shows that the “real” Shield crew really were misguided from the start

Am I supposed to give Mack points for saving Fitz? I mean it’s kind of his fault Fitz was there to get hurt in the first place.

I wish we had more time with Hartley. She’s amazing.

Melinda May skulking around judging everyone is such a mood

This episode really goes up and down with Fitzsimmons. Jemma was so angry she called him “Leo” earlier, but now faced with another grand betrayal they are closer than they have been all season.

I think this is the moment they both realize that whatever is going on between them, the only person they can absolutely trust is the other. Jemma reaches out for Fitz’s hand because it’s the only one she knows will never betray her, and Fitz (once he gets over his surprise) covers her hand with his because he feels the same.

BETTER TOGETHER

Also is this the first time they’ve physically touched since everything that happened at the end of season 1?

Weaver almost sound like she is accusing them of not being there to help them like they weren’t DEALING WITH MAJOR TRAUMA OF THEIR OWN

Step back Weaver

Also, if we need another clue as to how monumental that hand hold was, Jemma very neatly asks Fitz (without words) for permission to look at Mack knowing what this must be like for Fitz

Fitz, angel that he is, gives it to her

Why does everyone keep acting like they blame Coulson for what Fury did to him (ie bringing him back to life)??

May is so amazing I can’t even

I’m of two minds about what Bobbi and Mack and gang did in the past. I don’t think that they were wrong about trying to protect every one, but I’m not sure that Fury would have had an issue with what they did either. They are taking all their trauma of what happened with Hydra out on Fury (and thus Coulson).

:That’s a really nice entrance” Hahahahah Phil Coulson is so turned on right now don’t play

That didn’t sound like an icer “real” Shield agent

Look, I’m sorry this guy got impaled by a piece of a tree, but honestly what did he think would happen? They should have listened to Bobbi about how to deal with Daisy.

Anyway Daisy made the best choice available to her at this point to go with Gordon

I loooooooooove that Hunter is all in with Coulson now

And I don’t think this is all revenge for what Bobbi did to Hunter. I think he genuinely liked Coulson and crew, and he thinks that the “real” Shield people are completely in the wrong.

Anyway whatever I love Lance Hunter with all my heart

A lot happened in this episode man. The “real” Shield storyline is still kind of meh for me. But we get a 9/10 for PRECIOUS FITZSIMMONS HAND HOLDS on the Fitzsimmons scale. Also a 15/10 in the Dramatic Bobbi Entrances scale and a 20/10 on the Melinda May is the One Person You Definitely Want On Your Side scale. I mean who even remembers that Mom and Dad were on a break at the end of last season?

The song for this episode is “Friends and Enemies” by Freedom Fry. GET IT TOGETHER SHIELD FAMILY.

youtube

#aosrewatch #aosrewatchs2 #earth vs space #team earth aos #bobbi morse #alphonso mackenzie #Phil Coulson #melinda may #philinda #fitzsimmons #leo fitz #jemma simmons #daisy johnson

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besidemethewholedamntime · 5 years

Text

here’s to the hearts that ache

Something I wrote that was inspired my 6.06 because 6.06 was amazing! I hope you enjoy it!

Summary:

'“I'm sorry." "For what?" "For saying that my pain comes from you.” He looks pained, like a small boy admitting wrong. “That-that’s not true -I didn’t mean it.” His eyes, so blue and plaintive. “My pain comes from losing you. It-it hurts when you’re not there.”'

They're getting good at this whole 'baring your souls' thing. Fitzsimmons decide it merits another conversation. This one significantly quieter. Canon to 6x06.

{Read on Ao3}

or read below!

In a way, Jemma’s grateful for the mind prison.

While certain aspects were certainly… unpleasant, things feel a lot different now. It’s like the air after a thunderstorm: clear and fresh and freeing. The lead balloons tied to her shoulders have been snipped away. She can stand up straight again.

But though she feels free, there was a lot thrown at her during those minutes she was a prisoner in her own mind, a lot thrown at both of them. It was good to get it out in the open, of course, but now it’s actually out there it needs to be addressed. Something which has recently been established that she’s never been very good at.

Luckily, Fitz goes for it first. Dear, sweet Fitz who just wants to make it alright.

It’s a morning, one of their first back with the team. Between trying to get home, the actual journey home and the tearful, heartfelt reunions, there hasn’t been much time for talking. A blessing or a curse; the coin is still in the air.

“Hey, Jemma?”

“Yes?” She’s towelling her hair; the water drops are tickling her bare feet. She never thought she’d miss the Lighthouse plumbing, but space bathrooms leave many things to be desired.

Fitz stands by the dresser. He was looking for a pair of socks a moment ago. He didn’t know where they were, where he left them over a year ago only he didn’t. She tries not to let it mess with her.

“I’m sorry.”

For a moment Jemma thinks he’s talking about the socks. Then she realises he looks too solemn for that. His hand twitches at his side. Ah, she knows what’s coming.

“For what?”

“For saying that my pain comes from you.” He looks pained, like a small boy admitting wrong. “That-that’s not true -I didn’t mean it.” His eyes, so blue and plaintive. “My pain comes from losing you. It-it hurts when you’re not there.”

The thing about the air being like after a thunderstorm is that there had to have been an actual thunderstorm before. And there was, a hell of a one. And it left her raw. And the thing about being raw is that things, from the small to the big, hurt more.

Tears begin to sting the corner of her eyes. Breathless, she sits down on the edge of the bed, feeling exposed in more than the literal sense.

“I didn’t mean it when I said that all my damage comes from you,” she decides to say, the truest thing she can say right now. “My damage comes from lots of things, like you saw,” she murmurs. “Maveth and all that, which wasn’t really your fault.”

“It’s okay, Jemma. You don’t have to say-”

“No.” She holds up a shaky hand. “I do. The thing is, Fitz, is that those things hurt – a lot – but they didn’t damage me as much as losing you did. I meant that part.” She gives him a rueful smile. “It really did mess me up.”

Fitz still stands by the dresser, the socks he’s found held limply in his hands. This brutal, quiet honesty is new to them; neither of them know quite what to do with it. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She waves away his apology. “It’s not like dying was your fault, a choice you made. I never said you meant to damage me.”

He gives her a small smile of his own. “Well at least that’s something.” Then he blows out a breath and sits down on the other side of the bed, throwing the socks down beside him. They bounce off and fall to the floor. Both of them just watch.

“This is hard,” he says, looking at her. Hunched shoulders, eyes with dark thumbprints pressed into the flesh beneath. The signs of a hard life. Not for the first time she thinks of a life far away from here, with green hills and a house and maybe a dog.

“Yeah, it is a bit, isn’t it? A lot easier said than done.”

The duvet cover is threadbare in places; Jemma picks at a loose thread with her fingers. This talking business, about these deepest darkest things from the unvisited corners of her mind, is against everything she was taught as a child. Though her father was talking about nightmares about scoliosis surgery and monsters that lived in the wardrobe – she doubts he ever imagined his advice being abused like this.

“I did notice, you know,” Fitz says suddenly, words bursting forth, like he’s said it before chickening out.

She feels her eyes narrow in response and consciously returns them to a neutral state. This is quiet honesty, now. The adult part. “Notice what?”

He gestures with his hands. “What you did. The whole ‘keeping it to yourself thing’. I did notice. I just thought that was how you dealt with it and I didn’t want to pry.” He looks down at his own side of the duvet, finding his own thread to pick at. His voice is a mumble. “And I kind of thought you’d tell me about the big stuff, you know, when it was really bad.”

God, that does bring a lump to her throat and she tries to swallow past it but she can’t.

“Oh, Fitz, I tried it’s just-” She presses a hand to her head. Deep breath, Jemma. Honesty. You can handle it. “It was just so much easier to put it away, to get on with it.” She reaches all the way over for his hand, clutching it tightly. “To sleep at night. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you or didn’t think you could handle me telling you, it was…” She closes her eyes for a moment, another deep breath. “Saying it made it real. I didn’t want it to be real.”

In the nicest of ways, it was never about him. This time, it was all about her.

“It’s okay, Jemma.” His smile is small but ever so sincere. He squeezes her hand back. “I get it. It’s not like I’m great at talking either, I suppose.”

“No, I don’t suppose either of us would win awards for it any time soon.”

He smiles. “I am sorry, though. I took a few cheap shots in there, about Maveth and-and about Will and, um, saying you abandoned me after my brain injury.” He looks down again. She wishes he would just look at her. “That wasn’t fair, I know why you did that and, well all of it actually, and-”

“It’s alright, I know.” And she does. They’ve talked about it before. For once, something they actually have. And he’s right: it was abandonment. Him being injured wasn’t something she could shove inside her little box and pretend it wasn’t there, because he wasn’t there. The guilt, the fear that she was making him worse, the belief that she was… so the story went on.

And he’s right: she has no doubts that he was dying on the inside when she left. It’s just that she was, too.

“For the record, I said some unfair things to you as well in there. That stuff about AIDA and The Doctor. I knew how guilty you felt about that, and I shouldn’t have used it against you.”

Jemma knows they were bickering, arguing like the used to when they threw anything and everything at each other. Only the stakes are different now; the weight behind the punches is heavier, the knockouts more final. She knew how horrible he felt, how he probably still feels, and to use that in a fight is something she’ll never do again.

He shuffles closer to her, bridging the gap between them, though it wasn’t that big to start with. “Guess we’re both a little messed up.”

“If we think of our alternate selves in there then I’d say we’re maybe a little bit more than a ‘little messed up’.”

“Oh, God,” he groans, head falling into his hands. “Where did that monster of yours come from anyway?”

It feels strange to laugh about it but she does anyway. “Oh, gosh, I don’t know. I feel like it started with scoliosis surgery and ended probably when I saw you on Kitson.” She nudges him on the knee. “What about you? The Doctor. Where’s he from?”

She almost regrets asking but Fitz doesn’t look wounded when he looks up. In fact, he looks surprised.

“My dad,” he says, with a duh in his voice. “Something that sick and twisted? Definitely has to come from my dad.”

“Right, sorry. I’ll remember.” Then she shivers. “Ugh, like I’ll always remember the two of them-”

“Aw, Jemma. Please. Don’t.” Fitz presses the heels of his hands in his eyes. “I don’t even want to think about that.”

“What the worst parts of ourselves getting it on? Who wouldn’t want to remember that?” At Fitz’s look she holds in her laugh. “Right. Sorry. Disturbing. Of course.”

It’s kind of sweet, really. Even in their worst moments they still can’t be kept from each other. If you squint, it’s the stuff romance novels are made of.

Fitz takes her hand again, softly. “Also, about the therapy thing-”

“Fitz, it’s okay. We said stuff to each other in there. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I mean, clearly, you definitely need therapy – that thing was something else and-”

“Fitz!”

“Right, yeah.” He strokes her hand softly with his thumb. “I shouldn’t have said it like that but yeah. You do need therapy, Jemma. But maybe I do, too.”

Her heart that was hammering so fast it was threatening to burst out of her chest has suddenly stalled for a moment. Has she heard him correctly? “What?” She asks, softly

His eyes are honest and wide, no fear within them. Good. She doesn’t like it when he’s afraid.

“Maybe we both need it. This has all been a lot to deal with, for both of us and I think that maybe this is something we need to do, to work out together but-”

“But on our own,” she finishes, gently.

“Yeah,” he nods., folding and unfolding her fingers “Separately. I think we need to.”

This is not something they can do together, she understands. This journey of healing they’re about to embark on must be a personal thing. It’s not their relationship that has problems. It’s not couple’s therapy they need. They need to do it because they want to do it for Leopold James Fitz and Jemma Anne Simmons. To be somebody healthier than who they are, before being somebody to each other.

“At the same time, in the same direction but on different roads…”

“Parallel,” she tells him with a soft smile.

“Yeah,” he says. “Parallel.”

Still holding hands, they flop backwards ono the bed, exhausted by this honesty. This is how they used to watch the stars all those years ago. All that Jemma sees when she looks up now is a grey ceiling, a couple of cracks at the edges. But it wasn’t always like this and, one day, when she looks up, she’ll be able to see the stars again.

“You’re my greatest strength,” she whispers into the quiet, “and my greatest weakness, and I love you so much. I’ll always keep wanting to save you.”

His response is not immediate, but when it comes it makes her want to cry.

“I’ll save you every time, or I’ll die trying to because you make me weak and strong all at the same time and because I love you. I think that you’re amazing.”

“Amazing?” She looks at him incredulously, propping herself up on one elbow. So much for their talk clearing the air. He is still as deluded as he was before.

But his eyes are clear and his voice is steady when he says, “Yeah, amazing.”

“Even with all those awful things you found inside my head?”

He chuckles. “It was a horror show, sure, but it’s you. It’s all you. And I love you just as much with them as I would without.”

Damn Fitz because his thoughts are always such a bloody mess except for when he’s being like this. He has quite the way with words, he does.

“I-I don’t know how you can still speak like that about me” she mumbles, feeling a tear finally escape. He brushes it away gently with his thumb.

“It’s just the truth, Jemma. And if you can still love me with everything that’s inside my head.” She giggles before he continues.

“We’re messy, kind of broken and yet we’re still together, still love each other.” They’re still holding hands; she hadn’t realised until just now, so natural is him being an extension of her. “A love like that, stronger than any curse. We’re-”

“Unstoppable together,” she finishes quietly.

“Yeah,” he smiles. In his eyes she sees what he sees: two people, who love each other more than anything, who have overcome the worst, have been the worst, and are still standing together at the end of it all. And she sees how beautiful that really is. “Exactly that.”

#aosficnet2 #fitzsimmons #aos #fitzsimmons fic #aos fic #fanfic by moi #exciting times!#this kept me up but oh i hope it was worth it!#i think it's alright!#enjoy!!

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babycoulson · 5 years

Text

Naiveté

Note at the end of the chapter this time.

“This could have been a traumatic experience for Dr. Hall. He may not be the same when you find him,” Phil warned the two of you over the comms. “(Y/N) will talk him down. We don't want your personality to set him on edge, Ward.”

“Great time for humor, sir,” he replied blandly. “My people skills are the least of our problems if Skye can't get us in.”

With one last tug, your raft was safely on the beach, tucked behind a rock.

“You still don’t have any faith in her,” you called Ward out. “How do you expect to be able to bond with her in a way that helps you to train her if you refuse to believe that she can do anything?”

“She’s gotta earn my trust, too,” he replied stiffly.

“That’s not what being a teacher is about. You know that, right?” you asked seriously. “In a teaching situation, you have to trust your student for them to trust you. If they break your trust, then that’s that, but you can’t start out without a little blind trust.”

“You suggest that I trust someone who could betray us at any moment?” He glared at you as you walked up the path to Quinn’s property.

You returned a glare with equal force. “No, I suggest that you trust your student.”

He said nothing, just sighed and shook his head as if he were dealing with an unreasonable toddler.

You kept your anger at his ineptitude down and instead promised yourself that you’d kick his butt sparring later. “When I was in middle school, I had a lot of trouble with math,” you stated.

“You’re not special.”

“Oh, you’re certainly not wrong. I hated math, just like every kid across the world is conditioned to. Something kind of miraculous happened in high school, though. I suddenly got really good at math, and I was pretty stoked honestly. The numbers and letters and Greek alphabet started making sense out of nowhere.”

“Lucky you.”

“Do you know why I got so good at math?”

“If it’s not crucial to our success here, I don’t think it really matters, does it?”

“It may not be crucial to the success of this mission, but it will be in any future missions where you have to put your trust in Skye.”

“You talk like there will be future missions.”

“Yes, because I trust her to do her part!” you exclaimed angrily. “Math started making sense because I wanted it to make sense. I couldn’t learn it until I wanted to, get it? You won’t be able to trust her until you want to.”

“I do want to trust her!”

“No, you don’t.”

“Oh, well, excuse me, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, but trust doesn’t come so easily to all of us.”

“Just like math.”

He didn’t have a response, but that may have partially been because you rounded a corner on the trail to see a bright yellow warning sign. In an English translation below the warning in Maltese, the sign read, “Do not cross / Lethal radiation.”

Eyeing the sign and the seemingly clear trail ahead of you, you picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it forward. With a buzzing noise straight out of a video game, the laser grid glowed bright yellow and ate the destroyed the dirt. You and Ward exchanged a concerned glance.

“Next patrol any minute now,” he said.

“Skye's offline,” May reported urgently. “Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals.”

“No,” you murmured.

Ward gave you an exasperated look with a hint of “I told you so” and said, “Abort is not an option, but if she's compromising--”

“She's still our only way in to get to Dr. Hall,” your father interrupted him over the comms.

“And we're their only way out,” Ward accepted.

The sounds of soldiers’ feet crunching on the sandy trail preceded the “Beach is all clear. Let's move up the ridge.”

You retreated quickly behind a large bush, pulling Ward with you.

“Do you understand the plan or do I have to explain it to you?” you whispered.

“What do you think?” he spat quietly.

“I don’t know! I guess I just feel the need to treat you like you treat me.”

“I don’t treat you like a little kid.”

“I never said you did.”

“But you said you’re treating me the way I treat--” he all but gasped as he realized his error-- “oh my g--”

“You could have pled the fifth, man, but you decided to self-incriminate instead.”

“Listen here, you little--”

“Change of plans. You stay in the bush, and I’ll take care of the problem, understood?”

“No, we are a team and we make decisions--”

You stepped out from your hiding place as the guards became even with your position off the trail. The first guard in line raised his gun quickly as he heard the leaves of the bushes rustling as you made your appearance. You forced his arms down and punched him across his face, knocking him to the ground. The second guard tried to hit you, but you turned around just in time to catch his arm and twist it in just the wrong way and use his immobility to strike him as well. You caught the third guard with a sharp elbow to the face and a strong push down the hill, which sent him tumbling.

The first guard stood up and attempted to hit you, but you grabbed his arm and flipped him over your shoulder. He didn’t get up after that.

“Dang, a little rusty, I guess,” you sniffed, picking up the first guard’s gun and disarming it in a second. “Hey, speaking of rusty, how long does it take you to disarm a gun, Dad?” you asked, touching the ear your comm was in.

“I will have to find out,” he responded.

Ward looked at the three men and said, his teeth gritted, “I have to admit that wasn’t bad.”

“Not bad?” you chuckled. “Not exactly the words I’d pick. It wasn’t good, either. I haven’t really fought in a while and it shows.”

He kept looking at the fallen men and scratched the back of his neck. “Rusty,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“Hey, clock's ticking, guys,” you reminded the team back at the Bus. “Where's Skye?”

“We still don’t know,” Fitz worried. “She may have abandoned ship.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Simmons agreed sullenly. “Quinn’s got a lot to offer.”

“Hey, so do we,” you argued. “I know you all think that she’s using us, but I can tell that she’s sincere about wanting to be with us.”

“You’re naive is what you are,” Ward growled.

“Maybe I am!” you yelled, frustrated with the baseless dislike that he’d had for you since you’d met. “I’m also significantly better at making friends than you are.”

“We’re in!” May exclaimed.

“She’s done it!” Jemma followed excitedly.

You crossed your arms and gave Ward a smug look. “Freaking told you,” you gloated.

“Fitz, you’re up,” May told the scientist.

“Oh, mother of all things,” he mumbled to himself. “Move, move, move!”

“We have a man down,” a voice came loudly from one of the soldiers' walkie talkies. “Hostiles on the east ridge!”

Your eyes widened and it was Ward’s turn to try to pull you into the bushes as gunfire came from more soldiers downhill. The bullets disintegrated when they hit the laser grid behind you.

“We need a reset here, Fitz!” you called.

“Fitz!” your father pushed.

“Fitz!” you repeated, pulling your gun from its holster as you looked for a target to shoot.

“Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!” Simmons stressed.

“Okay, go!” Fitz said.

The grid dropped and you dashed across the border, but Ward stood still, firing back at the enemy.

“Or maybe it does,” she resigned, impressed with her friend’s speed.

“System rebooting in two, one, now!”

Ward dove over the border just as Fitz said “now.”

“Cutting it close for no reason,” you teased him, helping him to his feet. “Love that.”

He paid you no mind, instead starting to jog down the path to Quinn’s estate. He seemed pretty set on not speaking to you, so you obliged him.

When the mansion came into view, you told Ward, “I'll look for Dr. Hall down in the lab.”

“I'll get Skye,” Ward said.

You split up at the swimming pool. Remembering the basics on where you had to go, you headed towards the mansion.

“Remind me where to go next?” you requested of your father.

“You’re heading in the right direction,” he assured you. “There’ll be a door coming up in about twenty feet.”

“It’s so nice having an audial Marauder’s Map,” you joked.

“I know just as well as you do that you’d get lost without me.”

“I will certainly not deny that,” you chuckled. “Found the door, now what?”

“Head down the stairs on the left until you get to a door that looks like it belongs in front of a lab.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to spot.” You hurried down the stairs until a door that looked like it very much belonged in front of a lab came into your view. “Found it,” you said.

You opened the door and entered quickly upon seeing Dr. Hall.

“Dr. Hall,” you called to him, quickly approaching him before introducing yourself, “Agent Coulson. We have an exit strategy.”

“SHIELD?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” you confirmed, walking back towards the door. “Let's get you out of here.”

“I'm sorry, Miss Coulson. I'm right where I'm supposed to be,” he said.

You froze, looking at him with your eyebrows raised. “I'll be honest, our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that.”

“I’m sure it didn’t,” he said, shaking his head and smiling.

You moved to stand in between Dr. Hall’s control table and what you assumed to be the gravitonium. It was huge, at least twelve feet across. The surface was silvery and undulating like it was in turbulent zero-gravity.

“Look, I don't know what Quinn is promising you, but--”

“An opportunity,” Hall interrupted you earnestly.

You looked at the gravitonium as it began to solidify under the electric currents of the ring spinning around it. “We can't let Quinn have control of this, sir, it's too dangerous.”

“We can't let anyone have control of this,” he agreed passionately. “That's why I'm here.” To bury it at the bottom of the ocean, with him.” He pressed more buttons on the control table and the spinning rings gathered more and more speed.

“(Y/N),” May grabbed your attention, “The leak came from--”

“Dr. Hall. Yeah, I'm kinda getting that,” you replied, staring at the gravitonium.

“All the petitions, embargoes in the world couldn't stop Ian,” Hall explained. “He grows more powerful every day. And then I get word he's found this.”

Another wave of electricity from the rings zapped the gravitonium and it visibly solidified, releasing a shockwave that nearly knocked you off your feet.

“I'm sorry, Miss Coulson. I had to make a choice.” He made one more adjustment on the control board and the insides of every cupboard in the lab spilled out.

You responded nervously, “Something tells me that wasn't the "off" button!”

One last shockwave jerked you violently to the left side of the room where you slammed into a metal filing cabinet.

So bad news.

My family is canceling Netflix at the end of April because of rising prices. Unfortunately, this means that I won't have access to Agents of SHIELD anymore. I'm going to try to get one more chapter out before the end of the month, but I'm starting a new semester of college, so I don't know if that'll be possible.

So yes. I'll be going on hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time.

Here's a face reveal to cheer you up?

#dad phil coulson #dad agent coulson #Agent Coulson #agents of shield #marvel's agents of SHIELD #agents of SHIELD season 1 #agents of shield x reader #(Y/N) coulson #Daisy Johnson #melinda may #leo fitz #fitz simmons #jemma simmons #grant ward

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