#I got a basically new original x box a while ago and finally found a power cord for it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

keanureevesisbae · 4 years

Text

Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Chapter 1

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 2.4k

A/N: The beginnings of a new fic! It’s kind of a build up, so there isn’t a lot of Henry Cavill inthis chapter, but the next one is from his pov and more than 4.5k. I hope you like this new story 🤗

Masterlist // Next chapter

For fuck’s sake, I can still smell the fluids from those anal glands I have been popping all day. Even when you wear gloves every single time, that penetrating smell will just stay with you.

After a long day at the clinic, I can finally call it a day. Of course, I’m on call tonight, but other than that, I can relax now. Working as a vet has always been a dream of mine and now, at the ripe age of twenty nine, I have managed to become doctor Olivia Tran, one of the loved veterinarians here.

‘See you tomorrow, Belle,’ I yell to my best friend and other veterinarian at this clinic.

‘You on call tonight?’ Belle asks.

‘I am.’

‘If you need to go, I can’t watch Vanessa tonight,’ she tells me, while she is checking the ears of a pug, who seems to have severe breathing problems from the looks of it. ‘I have a date.’

‘No worries,’ I say to her with a smile. ‘I probably don’t need to go anyways. Hasn’t happened in the past months, so I highly doubt that something will change tonight. Please let me know how your date went tomorrow.’

Belle, the gorgeous brunette with legs for days and blue eyes as big as Rapunzel, flashes me a bright smile. ‘Of course, dear. Give Vanessa a big kiss for me, will you?’

‘Will do.’ I walk out of the clinic, give a sweet Jack Russell a scratch behind his ear and check my watch. I have twenty minutes before I have to pick up Vanessa, but it’s a fifteen minute walk if I hurry and if I just stroll around, it’s twenty minutes. Can I manage to buy myself some cookies or should I wait after I picked her up?

I think I would have a very happy six year old if I waited with the cookies after I picked her up from school.

I bury my hands in the pockets of my coat. Yesterday it was official: the summer has passed and autumn is here. I always love it when I see the green leaves slowly turning orange or brown and cover the pavement with a blanket of crunchy leaves. It’s Vanessa’s favorite season as well, but that’s mostly because it’s her birthday on November 12th.

I never planned on becoming a mother at twenty three. I never really gave it a big thought, the idea of having kids. In the far far far future I might’ve become one, but I always thought I had more cool aunt potential.

The day I found out I was pregnant, I was scared, but since I was in a pretty serious relationship with Wesley for almost three years, the man I thought I’d end up marrying, I figured we would make this work. We would marry, have this kid and live happily ever after, maybe even have a few more.

But Wesley broke up with me when I told him about the pregnancy and that I was going to keep the baby. I went to my parents for comfort, thinking that they and my two brothers would be supportive of this. We got through the time that I was partying all night, getting tattoos and smoked some weed out of my window. I mean, we would be able to handle this right?

But my parents kicked me out when I told them I was pregnant and I was going to keep the baby. ‘But what about your degree?’ I can still hear my mother say those words, but what was maybe the worst thing, was seeing my brothers turning their backs to me. Their literal backs towards me. ‘You worked so hard and you just got a job as a vet,’ my mom began to yell.

To be fair, I was their only hope. My brothers dropped out of high school and are now sort of working in construction, but they can hardly finish a job ever. My mother never worked a day in her life and my father was a lawyer. I told them that I could work something out, with a bit of help of them, but my mother just pushed me out of their house and told me to never bother them again, if I was going to have a kid out of wedlock.

So I had to do it by myself. I had to find a place for me and the baby to stay, but thankfully Belle was already working at the vet and decided that I needed a bit of help. I could stay with her, even after the baby was born. Belle went with me to the ultrasounds and when I went into labor, she was right there with me.

Belle is Vanessa’s one and only aunt and my best friend. When you get pregnant and not only your boyfriend leaves, your family disappears out of your life, you also notice how many people despise you. My friends from college all of the sudden seemed to have fallen off the earth and never checked in with me.

Now I have a happy six year old, a nice home for the two of us and a baby sitter Belle, who is becoming less and less available, since she has discovered the world of Tinder, because she wants a boyfriend.

I hear the bell ring when I step onto the schoolyard. It doesn’t take long before I see my daughter running towards me. Her baby blue coat is hanging open, her backpack in her hand and a rolled paper in the other. She insisted on wearing her boots to school today, but leave it to her to cover them in mud.

Entirely.

I catch her when she jumps in my arms. ‘I missed you, my lovely lady,’ I say to her.

Vanessa peppers my face with kisses, something she always does when I pick her up from school. I brush the hairs out of her face, including the sweet bangs that she insisted on having. Originally she wanted the same haircut as me from when I was the same age as her, but since I have severe traumas of the bowl cut, I had to spare her that and opt for some sweet thin bangs.

‘Mommy,’ she says, ‘I missed you a lot.’

‘Well, you want to go to the store, so we can buy some cookies?’ I ask her. ‘And maybe tonight we can order a pizza.’

‘Yes, yes, yes!’ She gives me a tight hug.

Sometimes I doubt my parenting skills, especially when I look around the schoolyard. I watch those mothers who are housewives, with very handsome husbands and kids that always look formidable and put together and probably only eat fatty snacks on their birthdays. Sometimes I wished I had that: a husband, a man that Vanessa could look up to.

I figured that when my ex Wesley couldn’t provide that, my brothers and father would step in and treat my daughter like they treated me: a princess.

Now I have to do that myself.

It can be tiring, being both the mother and the father for Vanessa, but if I could turn back time, I’d do it all over again.

With Vanessa’s tiny hand in mine, we walk towards the store, to buy some cookies that I desperately craved the entire day I was at work.

Vanessa looks a lot like me. She’s basically my clone. People often stop us, simply to tell us that Vanessa is like a miniature version of me. I always like compliments about my daughter. I mean, she is my world.

When we arrive at home, I help her change into something more comfy. ‘Mommy, can we please have a pajama night?’ Vanessa asks, while I help her out of her dress.

‘It’s four in the afternoon,’ I say, knowing exactly what she wants. ‘You want to wait two hours before you wear your pajamas?’

Vanessa shakes her head. ‘No, I want to wear my pjs now.’ Her bright smile nearly lights up the room. I watch her nose scrunch up as the corners of her mouth curl up, the only trait that she inherited from her biological father. ‘Are you going to wear yours too?’

I don’t have anywhere to go and besides, after all popping all those anal glands today, I desperately want to get out of these clothes. ‘Yes, sweetie, I’m going to wear mine too, but first I’m going to take a shower.’

‘No bath, mommy? Because I like baths.’ Her dark brown eyes start to gleam with enthusiasm. ‘Please, mommy, please.’ She pouts, knowing damn well I can’t say no to that.

≫≫≪≪

The second Vanessa is in bed, I have some time for myself. I love every second we get to spend together, but it’s nice to have a breather every now and then. I stare at my arms, to see how Vanessa has colored in my tattoos. She’s obsessed with them and when she’s in school, she sometimes tries to draw them on her own arms by memory, sometimes even drawing on others when they want to. A few weeks ago, her teacher asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. ‘Well, I want to be two things,’ Vanessa told her. ‘Like my mommy I want to be a vet, because I love animals, but I also want to draw tattoos on people.’

I sit up straight, looking at the drawing she made me today in school. She always makes drawings for me, but they are always the same. She draws a house, with me in it and herself. And outside she draws a dog and a man, with suitcases and moving boxes next to them. ‘Because,’ she explains every single time, ‘one day you meet a nice man who has a dog and he can become my new daddy. A daddy that does want me.’

Belle didn’t agree on me telling Vanessa her real dad didn’t want her, but I figured she needed to know the truth. Her biological father is a low life that disappeared into thin air and didn’t want to be involved in her life.

Vanessa understood, to the extent that was possible, but she really wants a dad, preferably one with a dog. Though she keeps pushing me, I can’t start dating again. Vanessa is the most important person in the world and men simply don’t fit into this—in my head—perfect picture. Vanessa is my life and men are big fat losers, so I don’t need them. I don’t want them, because the chance of them getting tired of maybe me, maybe Vanessa and leaving, is something I can’t risk.

Vanessa already lost her real father, what if a man that becomes really important to her, leaves too?

At around eleven I drag myself to bed, placing my work phone beside me. I hate being on call, but like I told Belle, I didn’t have a call in months, so I think I’m good.

I’m dreaming about Keanu Reeves (the only man on earth that I’d break my no man ban for) and how he takes me out on a lovely date, has Vanessa on his lap and helps her to cut her food, when the phone starts to ring.

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ I mutter, before I click on my nightlight. It’s three in the fucking morning. I don’t want this. ‘Animal Clinic Westside, doctor Olivia Tran, how may I help you?’ I say when I pick up the phone.

‘Hello, I’m terribly sorry for calling at this hour, but my dog is vomiting and I see some blood in it.’ Oh, poor man, he sounds so panicked. ‘He collapsed and is breathing really heavily and I don’t know what to do.’

I sit up straight in bed and rub my eyes, as I try to be as alert as I can on this early morning. ‘Sir, it’s okay. Did your dog eat anything out of the ordinary today?’

‘Not that I know of.’

‘You think it’s possible for you to come to the clinic? I’d like to see the dog.’

‘Of course, of course.’ The man on the other side of the line has such a lovely and deep voice. He could become a voice actor or a narrator like Morgan Freeman. If liquid gold had a voice, it would sound like this.

‘I hope it’s not too much to ask, but could you take some of the vomit with you? Especially the part with some blood. I’d like to check it.’

‘I’ll bring it with me, of course.’

‘What kind of breed is your dog, sir?’ I ask, while writing it all down on a piece of paper.

‘An American Akita. His name is Kal.’

I don’t think he ever went to our clinic, I think to myself.

‘I’ll be at the clinic in about forty minutes, mister…’ I say, hoping that this man will say his name.

‘Cavill,’ he quickly says. ‘And I can be at the clinic in about an hour.’

That name does sound kind of familiar though, but I could’ve sworn that this man isn’t in our database. Maybe I went to college with him or to high school?

After we hang up the phone, I quickly get out of bed. I opt for a pair of tight fitted black leggings and an oversized sweater (after I put on a bra, because who knows mister Cavill is handsome and my nipples don’t want to keep that a secret) and I slip on some white sneakers. I put my hair into a bun. I freeze when I’m moisturizing my face.

I kind of forgot I had a daughter. I don’t like the idea of bringing Vanessa with me, especially since it’s three in the morning and she’s asleep, but then I realize that tomorrow it’s Saturday. Plenty of time for her to catch up on her sleep and plenty of time for me to feel less guilty about dragging her out of her dreams.

‘Sweetie,’ I whisper, when I gently wake her up. ‘Mommy has to go to the clinic, but you can’t stay at aunt Belle tonight, so you’re going with me to work.’

Vanessa was a groggy mess when I nudged her awake, but when she realizes she can go with me to work, her eyes light up. ‘Really?’

‘Yes, someone has a sick doggy, that needs to be taken care of.’

She gets up out of her bed and I help her with her socks, though she is perfectly capable of doing so herself. ‘You’re gonna save a doggy?’ Vanessa asks.

‘I’m going to try.’

I hand her a thick vest and while she puts it on, she says: ‘You’re a hero, mommy.’

With a smile on my face, I softly pinch her cheek. ‘I guess I am.’

Taglist: @thelastsock // @flhorah // @sausagefest1996 // @laufeysodinson // @xxxkatxo // @memoriesat30 // @henrythickcavill // @crimsonrae // @henryobsessed // @madbaddic7ed // @summersong69

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #mister cavill your dog is kinda fat #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x Olivia Tran

288 notes · View notes

awesomerextyphoon · 3 years

Text

A Warrior’s Heart | Phase 1: Welcome - 2

Girls’ Night

Summary: Ife begins her first ‘mission’ with the help of her friends.

Warnings: Swearing, Excessive Partying, Some Angst

Rating: Explicit/18+

Word Count: 4,145

Main Pairing: Stucky x Black!OFC (Ifekerenma ‘Ife’)

Characters: Ifekerenma, Wanda, Natasha, and Ife’s friends

A/N: I’m sorry that it’s been a while since my last chapter. Please practice self-care, everyone! Also, thanks to everyone who has given me feedback. Dividers were created by the wonderful @firefly-graphics! Check them out!

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

<<Previous

(late May 2015)

“Ah, that hits the spot!” Ife moaned as she submerged into her heated circular indoor pool.

So far the team has treated her well enough given how her first 24 hours went. No one had any major negative emotional echoes coming off of them and they even talked to her, especially Steve and Sam.

Her first mission was mostly a success.

The team was able to stop and apprehend the Macedonian weapons smuggler, Branko Stojanoski, before he made it to Paris with HYDRA/Chitauri stockpiles.

One would think that would be enough, but it left Ife with more questions. Why did some of the weapons look like Magitech? Why did one of the female combatants feel like more than human, like Natasha?

She needed to inform Eliza.

After Ife finished her R&R, she made her way to the Common Room only to find Wanda practicing her powers while flying. Well, trying to anyway.

Ife had always felt that Wanda’s methods were lacking which made sense. Both Wanda and Pietro got their powers ten months ago when Strucker and HYDRA experimented on them. They’ve never really had the chance to practice, surrounded either by vicious idiots or well-meaning comrades who were seriously out of their depth.

Perhaps she would be the best place to start.

Wanda was trying to levitate herself while taking apart the steel cube again with no luck. She couldn’t get herself in the ‘right mindset’ which was just aw well since she was always surrounded by chaos.

Their parents tried to shield both her and Pietro from the chaos outside their sanctuary of the apartment building. She even had friends in Angelika and Emil. They would pretend that they were exploring an enchanted forest and other fairy tale adventures. Pietro would join in when coaxed by Angelika (Wanda knew he liked her).

They were in their own little paradise...until the bombs came.

Wanda just got back from playing with Angelika and the music box that she got for her tenth birthday. Her mother was preparing Pietro’s favorite dinner when they heard the blaring of alarms and evacuation orders. Her father hurried them to the door, but their mother forgot to turn off the oven. He went back for her when the mortar shell hit their home.

Both of their parents died instantly. She and Pietro huddled together under the table for dear life when the second bomb landed four meters in front of them. They were in that position for two days wondering if the rescue efforts would sign their death warrants, all while glowering at the words engraved on the missile.

STARK INDUSTRIES

When the rescuers finally got them out, they found out that they were the only ones to survive the bomb raids. One of the rescuers handed Wanda Angelika’s music box thinking it was hers.

They attended their first Anti-US Imperialism protest three weeks later.

––––––––––

Years passed and Wanda would sporadically spare a thought for her parents, Emil and Angelika. She kept wondering what they would do if they were in her place. Somedays the only she could remember Angelika was when she played the music box.

One day, a man simply known as List approached them after yet another protest of a craven leader. List said that he could give them the power to end all the revolutions and strife in Sokovia.

Frustrated with the lack of progress, she and Pietro agreed to the experiments along with 212 other volunteers. Once again, they were the only ones to survive.

List and Strucker subjected them to painful and demeaning ‘tests of strength’ not two days after they received their powers.

Both their hatred for HYDRA and their yearning to be free grew in the coming months. She almost gave up, until one day in early March when the Avengers finally found the base.

This was their chance.

–––––––

It wasn’t hard to plant a seed of chaos into Tony Stark. He already had one foot in the proverbial hero’s grave already. To be honest, she was surprised at how quickly the Avengers turned on each other. Witnessing their inner anguish was just desserts.

The problem was that it worked too well.

Sure, it was fair game to go after Tony, but Bruce? In retrospect, setting the Hulk loose on Istanbul was a low blow.

And Seoul….where to begin.

As soon as she caught a glimpse of the mass extinction Ultron desired, she knew they fucked up big time.

She and Pietro only wanted the Avengers and the US to fall, not wipe out all life on Earth! They knew that they had to swallow their pride and hate if Earth wasn’t going to have an unexpected turn of events (i.e. everything going the way of the Dodo).

Thankfully, the total death count was three (especially since reports put the worst-case scenario at least 15,000).

Although sometimes Wanda wondered if her drive for revenge was worth it.

“Hi, Wanda! How’s it going?”

Wanda snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to find Ife with a warm smile.

She didn’t know what to think of Ife at first. Okay, besides the fact that she consumed enough food to feed a village in under two hours, she was kind. More importantly, she feared neither her nor her brother. She started cooking for the team and staff (turned out she’s what Sam calls a ‘supreme chef’), and would answer questions they had about non-humans. It’s just that something seemed amiss about her and the way she answered the questions like she’s hiding something.

Wanda returned the smile, “Not much.” Just trying to get a simple task done.

Ife pressed her lips together in contemplation, “I was wondering if you would like some help training. I’ve seen you practice by yourself and,” she hesitated for few seconds, ”well I figured you would like some help, or at least the company.”

“I would like that.”

“Great! Give me ten minutes.” And with that, Ife flew out of the room.

“Okay, this is a magic gauge. Homo Magi and other Non-Humans use it to see where a person is power-wise.” Ife explained as Wanda approached the peculiar object.

The gauge was made of glass (at least Wanda hoped it was glass), double-gourd in shape with floral engravings.

It glowed Venetian Red with the intensity increasing the closer Wanda got. The glow’s color quickly turned Burnt Maroon then Red Ink once she touched it. Soon she felt a pull from the gauge as if it was reaching into her mind. Her anxiety flared up and Ife pulled her out of the way as the gauge exploded.

“Well, um...do you want to take a break and continue tomorrow? I’m so sorry about that, Wanda.”

“It’s alright. I’ll see you around dinner.”

“Okay.”

“So, um how to put this...we might have a problem,” Ife stated as her friend group met virtually to discuss what to do for Girl’s Night.

“What is it, Ife?” Ashtoreth asked.

“Did they find out about your room? Or about the time when-”

“Okay, Djamila,” Itzel interjected, “Please continue.”

Ife shot Itzel a grateful grin, “Thanks ltzel. So you know how Eliza Maza tasked me with aiding the Avengers?”

“Yeah, so they can help us in the future? Figured someone from BNA would ask ya. Didn’t think it would be so soon.” Azeneth noted.

“Makes sense, they’ve been trying to get in with them for years now-” Mayumi started.

“Back to the direct topic at hand, is it possible that a few of you could help Wanda Maximoff?”

“The new Homo Magi that has the Magic Council up in arms?” Marama guessed as Ife grabbed the footage from earlier.

“Yeah. Take a look at this. I think we might have a problem on our hands.”

Ife watched as her friends’ expressions shifted from mild amusement to sad and worried. Except for Djamila and Gulmira, they had a good chuckle.

“I think Wanda has an affinity towards chaos magic, specifically reality-warping and possibly Hex Bolts. She might have more, I couldn’t tell. She’s more powerful than the Magic Council originally guessed. Although, that’s not the problem here.”

“She’s mentally and emotionally unstable,” Nermin stated.

“Right to the point, I see,” Marjani commented while examining her fingernails.

“Exactly. I fear that she may become a danger to herself and the planet.”

“And all of BNA’s hard work goes up in flames. So, what do you want to do, Ife?”

Ife bit her thumbnail in contemplation, “We have to train her. I can show her some of the basics, but the rest of us will have to train Wanda before she hurts herself. She’s barely making it on her own and let’s face it, no one else here knows fuck all about magic .”

“Hot in looks but clueless when it comes to magic and Non-Human affairs.”

“I wouldn’t say completely clueless, Azeneth.” Ife corrected, “I showed them ‘The Basic Bitch’s Guide’ and I’ve answered any basic question regarding Non-Humans. They’re not up to speed on BNA, but at least they know about dragons, yokai, and the Fae.”

“Ok. So, it’s safe to say that you’ll be keeping a tight lid on the UA, right?”

Ife sighed and offered Marama a small frown, “Yes. And it would be best that you do as well. Please?”

“No problem, Ife.” Ashtoreth assured her while the rest of the group nodded,” Now that we’ve settled the Wanda Matter, What are we going to do in celebration of Xiomara’s grand opening?”

Several days passed and Wanda was making great progress in her magical studies with Ife (after Ife promised to make it up to her). She was getting the hang of levitation and flight as well as basic Magical Energy Manipulation in the form of force fields, telekinesis, illusions, and some basic spells.

It was nice to not have to rely on her anger nearly as much. Though she couldn’t access Ife’s mind. Not that she meant to, it was an accident.

Maybe in time, Ife will let her.

“Hey, Wanda. I was wondering,” Ife bit her thumbnail as she’s want to do, “Do you want to come to Girl’s Night with me this Saturday? One of my friends, Xiomara, just founded and opened her own design studio! The rest of us wanted to celebrate. I figured it would a great chance to introduce you to my friend group and have some time away from the Compound.”

Wanda lowered her head in thought. It would be nice to meet Ife’s friends and connect with individuals who don’t fear her. Getting off the Compound would be a great bonus.

“Sure. On one condition: Natasha has to come as well.”

“Okay.”

After asking (slight begging) Natasha to join them for Girls’ Night, the trio agreed to meet outside of Ife’s quarters around 6:30 PM.

Natasha gently grabbed one of Wanda’s hands, “Relax, It’ll be fine.”

“I know. It’s just-”

At that moment, Ife stepped out into the hallway looking well, strikingly different. She was wearing a gold and sapphire mid-thigh length African wax print dress done in detailed petal designs. Most of her long Midnight Purple hair was in a single braid with a high, single wrap around the back of the head and a single row of gold bands down the middle of her scalp that she divided into three parts with a comb.

It was nice and a little weird seeing her outside of her uniform and tactical gear. She looked gorgeous!

“You came!” Ife beamed as she gave Wanda and Natasha a hug, “You look lovely,” she added noting their attire. Natasha was sporting a Faux Leather Mini Skirt with a Wine colored deep v-neck top. Wanda was dressed in a Spartan Crimson Deep V Bodice Satin Short A-Line dress.

“You look ravishing! You should be out of your normal gear more often!” Natasha praised as Ife frowned ever so slightly.

“Well, aren’t you going to let us in?” Wanda asked sensing Ife’s discomfort.

“Of course! Come in.” And with that, Ife welcomed the two heroines into her ‘apartment’.

“You do realize that we’re having our Girls’ Night in your room from now on, right?” Natasha insisted as she and Wanda entered Ife’s living quarters.

“I figured,” Ife muttered as she turned to look at her teammates, “I know I sound like an asshole for asking this, but could you not tell the others yet?”

“Well, you agreed to let us frequent the room for our own Girls’ Night, so yes.” Wanda decided as the trio came to stop in front of a 20ft (6.1m) spherical door with an Art Nouveau design.

“Okay. Let me put in the codes and we’ll be on our way.”

“Make sure to get all the characters this time, Ife. You don’t’ want them to wait for 30 minutes like last time.” A pretty deep, easy-going masculine voice chimed in.

“What-” Wanda started.

“Oh, that’s BEBOP, my AI. He’s like FRIDAY or JARVIS, but cooler.”

“A lot cooler,” the voice said before materializing in front of the women,” Let’s try this again. Technically, my name is BEBOP, but you can call me Spike.” The holographic man was tall (6’4” / 1.93m), lean and athletic in build, had a fluffy mop of dark green hair, light brown eyes, and wore a navy blue leisure suit with the sleeves rolled up.

“So you created Spike?”

“I made BEBOP, but he named himself Spike,” Ife explained as she tried her darnedest to enter the codes before Spike embarrassed her.

“She also has six patents for-”

“Got it! After you, ladies.” Ife announced as the door glowed Pale Gold and opened in a spiral motion.

The door opened to a coffee shop that wouldn’t be out of place in the ‘hipster corner’ of an urban neighborhood.

“Hello. What can I do for you three?” The barista greeted as they raised their head out of the book they were reading and smiled at the trio.

Ife glanced at the chalkboard menu, “I would like a medium Lemongrass Twilight Tea please.”

The barista’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly, “Seems strange for the season.”

“I know, but one should enjoy the simple things in life while they last.”

The barista seemed to like Ife’s reply because Wanda heard the ding of an elevator to her left.

“Enjoy your evening ladies.” The barista said as Ife dropped $100 into the tip jar.

The elevator was a lot bigger on the inside with its interior having a modern Victorian design.

“What’s wrong?” Ife asked as the elevator’s doors closed behind her.

“Nothing.” Natasha replied as she did a quick scan to see if any ‘funny business’ was about to go down.

“Relax and enjoy the ride,” Ife assured as the elevator started to speed up its descent after a few minutes.

The elevator’s interior got larger and larger until a voice announced that the elevator would be entering ‘Pod Mode’. Automated controls and windows started forming at the front and sides of the now morphed elevator interior.

“You might want to strap in,” Ife advised as three seats formed from the now pod floor.

The pod paused in its descent and accelerated forward on what seemed to be high-speed rail tracks.

Wanda looked out the windows in awe as she started to see a floating light, then a floating landmass, then buildings Wanda only saw in fantasy/sci-fi novels and concept art.

“Welcome to Nephetz, ladies,” Ife announced sensing Wanda’s wonder and Natasha’s subtle amusement.

Hopefully, they’ll like her friends.

Twenty minutes after Ife made her soft announcement, the trio arrived at the number one club in Nephetz, Zenaida.

Ife walked up to the bouncer, a troll in sleek obsidian armor, and showed them her invite.

“Welcome to Zenaida, ladies.” the bouncer greeted them as Ife led her fellow Avengers past the threshold.

Wanda gasped at what was before her.

The club’s interior was massive, to say the least. The first thing to hit her was the giant floating orb over the center of the dance floor. It had stage lights shooting out pinks and light blues orbiting around it like satellites and what looked to be five women dancing on a stage about 33’ (10.1m) above the orb. A DJ stage was set in the far left of the dance floor with sparkling mist flowing beneath it. Around the dance floor was a body of water containing spectacular coral reefs and grottos with what seemed to be mermaids, tritons, nymphs, and Aquatic Atlanteans dancing in it. Above the main dance floor were 25 floating islands with magically sustained clouds underneath them. All around the club were glowing orbs much smaller than the one above the dance floor.

All in all, it was probably the coolest place Wanda’s ever seen.

“Ife! Finally, you’re here!” a tall, dark-haired woman in a black PU Jumpsuit with a maroon oak crop jacket walked up and pulled Ife into a short hug.

“Salam, Nermin! I see you’ve made it early.” Ife remarked as Nat softly elbowed her upper arm.

“Right! Nermin, these are my teammates, Natasha Romanova and Wanda Maximoff. Natasha, Wanda, this is Nermin Ozana Negrescu. She was the one who helped me in Novi Grad.”

Nermin held out her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both! Ife has told us much about you.”

“Good things I hope.” Nat prodded as she shook Nermin’s hand.

“The best,” Ife assured.

“Well, we have one of the VIP Islands for Xio’s bash. Let’s go!” Nermin announced as a self-driving group hoverboard descended in front of them.

“All aboard!”

The floating island had about 40 people lounging around different tables and booths with the largest one having 17 people around it.

“Ife!” The island’s occupants cheered when the hoverboard dropped off the group.

“Late again, I see,” a woman in a Cardin Green asymmetrical maxi dress with a plunging V-neckline, padded shoulders, and long sleeves.

“I know, I know. Husna, I already got it from Nermin at the entrance. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Ife. We know.” Husna reassured Ife as they made their way to the big table.

“Everyone,” Ife announced making the table’s occupants turn their heads, “Sorry I’m late,” everyone groaned, “I know. But, I would like you all to meet two of my new teammates, Natasha Romanova and Wanda Maximoff.”

Everyone on the island crowded around the duo effectively pushing Ife to the sidelines.

Wanda felt it was a bit surreal meeting Ife’s friends. All of them looked happy to see her, not the mixed looks of fear, hatred, and disgust that most people (outside the team) would give her.

{{Ife sure has a lot of friends.}} Wanda thought almost bitterly.

Ife’s friends, or ‘crew’ as she calls them, were an eccentric group of demigoddess, Fae, Homo Magi, Homo Superius, Demons, Jinn, Orcs, and Succubae.

Their names were: Caterina IsmeneMetaxas, Itzel Erna Alondra Losnedahl (Arnesdottir), Batari Moon, Thiri Rajvir Sharma, Marama Zehra Arslan-Avci, Ashtoreth Marceline Sabah-Faucher, Nermin Ozana Negrescu, Djamila Ijebusomma Ngozika Amantea, Azeneth Esperanza Zoraida Ramirez, Gulmira Eriayomi Hendrix, Mayumi Filippovna Lebedeva, Marjani Subira Xun, Husna Meadhra Al-Hashim, Astridr Kara Signe Losnedahl (Bjørnsdottir), Xiomara Ekundayo Jimenez, Aghavni Jamshidi, and Lakshmi Hamasaki.

((Here are the face claims for Ife’s friends))

When she got past the ethereal glitz and glamour, Wanda realized that these women were quite funny and nerdy, like Ife.

Maybe her heart had room for a few more friends.

“I can see why you’re worried.” Azeneth stated as she and Ife were watching Wanda being the center of attention, “I can feel her anxiety from the threshold.”

“I know. Do you think you can help her?”

“We talked about her before you arrived. Djamila, Nermin, Nazaret, and I will train her if she’ll have us.”

“I’m sure she’ll have you. Thanks, Azeneth.”

“No problem. Although, there has been talk amongst the Magic Council about her. Strange is doing his best, but there are others who want to bring Wanda in.”

Ife frowned remembering the Magic Council’s need for control. This wouldn’t be the first time her crew has ruffled a few of their feathers.

“So, did BNA find anything about the Magitech info I sent them?” Ife asked in reference to the Branko assignment.

“Nothing yet, I’m afraid. It seems that HYDRA’s not dead just yet.”

Ife pressed her lips together in annoyance,” Thanks anyway.”

Azeneth noted Ife’s choice of words,” It looks like it’s time for the toasts.”

“To Xiomara! May all your dreams be fulfilled and the well of your creativity never runs dry!” Caterina proclaimed to the crowd.

“Here, Here!” the crowd cheered as everyone down another shot of Zenaida’s House Fireballs (Nat and Wanda had a lighter version).

“To Xio Labs!” Djamila shouted as the crowd downed another round of Fireballs and Xiomara got up to speak.

“Thank you, everyone! It has been a rough couple of years, but it was worth it. And with your support, it will be glorious!” Xiomara exclaimed to thunderous applause and the raising of glasses.

“Alright, time to dance!” Lakshmi trumpeted as she, Djamila, and Marjani coaxed everyone to the dance floor.

“Don’t worry, I’ll follow,” Ife reassured Wanda and Natasha when they noticed her hanging back on the VIP Island.

Ife flew down to the dance floor once everyone else got off their VIP Island. She found Lakshmi up to her usual shenanigans (flirting with a female Undine). Wanda was dancing with Batari, Aghavni, Djamila, and Gulmira while finally easing her nerves (that’s a win in her book).

A couple of guys tried to flirt with Wanda, but Batari and Gulmira shooed them away.

Ife spied Natasha checking out Renata Labriola, a drider, in her human form.

Ife’s plan seemed to be working perfectly.

“So, are you ready to let loose?”

Ife groaned as she awoke on a super comfy couch. She didn’t remember what happened after that question was asked. It was probably Djamila getting back at her for Spring Break.

“Figures she would do that,” Ife muttered to herself as the Woman of the Hour waltzed into the room with Natasha and Wanda in tow.

“Nice to see that you’re awake,” Djamila stated in a sing-song manner that made Ife want to throw a pillow at her.

In good fun of course.

“Neat.” Ife deadpanned followed by a mirthless chuckle when Djamila pointed to the time.

“You looked and felt pretty tense during the toasting so I gave you a gentle push to loosen you up a bit. It worked and you were the center of the dance floor for about an hour, flew up and danced on the platform above the orb, made-”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Ife interrupted too embarrassed to know what happened next.

“Fine,” Djamila raised her hands up in submission, “After your escapades, you and your teammates were wiped and I had the three of you crash at my place for a few hours.”

“Thanks, Djamila.”

“Just so you know, now we’re even.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ife grumbled as she got her things.

“Okay, let’s head back.”

The trio passed the way back in relative silence, but a peaceful one instead of the stereotypical hangover groans and slight shame.

“How did you find last night?” Ife asked as they stepped into her quarters.

“It was great,” Wanda stated, happy that she found people who weren’t afraid of her. Perhaps she could ask Ife if they could help her with her powers.

Ife could hear the emotional echoes of excitement from Wanda and smiled knowing that she succeeded in her plans so far.

“That good. One more thing,” Ife paused, not knowing how to phrase the next bit of information,” the portal uses a time manipulation spell (and some other stuff) and well, the 15 hours we spent in Nephetz was about three hours on the Compound. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Right, good night, Ife.” Nat said as Ife led them to the door.

“Hey, Nat can I ask you something?” Ife queried when Wanda passed the threshold.

“Shoot.”

Ife pressed her lips together in contemplation, “Does the rest of the team know you’re 80 years old?”

*-Elsewhere-*

“How is our Danica faring?” A woman in black asked.

“She’s doing well, better than we expected.” A voice replied from the shadows.

“Good. Has Kaecillius and his team dealt with the Magic Council yet?”

“Not yet, Mistress. Though Jon Canmore has gotten his own show on CNN and Maximus has procured enough Terrigen Crystals for our plans.”

“I see. Have our allies in the Inter-Realm Parliament be informed of our progress.”

“Yes, Mistress. One last thing, Our sources believe that the French Ambassador is on to our plans.”

The woman sighed, “Have Yelena handle him. We can’t leave anything to chance now.”

“Of course, Mistress.” The voice uttered and left.

They’ve put so much into this and they can’t fail. Not when they’re so close.

Next>>

Taglist: @giorno-plays-piano @lookiamtrying @jtargaryen18 @sapphirescrolls @jobean12-blog @sweeterthanthis @gotnofucks @mculibrary @saiyanprincessswanie @golden-ariess @navegandoaciegas @stargazingfangirl18 @opheliadawnwalker3 @tilltheendwilliwrite @imanuglywombat @bucky-the-thigh-slayer @navybrat817 @anyatheladyclown @buckysbunny @nacho-bucky @donutloverxo @stephanieromanoff @threeminutesoflife @angrybirdcr @angrythingstarlight @chixkencxrry @hurricanerin @marvelfansworld

57 notes · View notes

atombombbibunny · 4 years

Text

The Shop

Pairing: Thomas Jefferson x Reader

Word Count: 5215

Warnings: Some cussin’

Summary: Y/N’s uncle had offered her, her first job knowing she was saving up in advance for college. It just so happened that The Thomas Jefferson is working there and will be training her.

A/N: Omfg, this is my first time writing in third person, its probably shit. It took so much strength not to write in first person. Anyways, this is a story I wrote forever ago with a different fandom (Harry Styles.) I thought this would work, does this work? I hope this worked.....I had no idea how to end this..........................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the first day of Y/N’s first job and she could only hear the pounding of her heart in her ears as she entered the small grocery store. Living in a small town proved to have some perks like everyone knowing everyone, and the fact that her uncle owned the store itself. He knew she was attempting to save some money for school as she would be graduating in two years.

She had no reason to be freaking out, her uncle like her and she liked him.

Everything would be fine.

Oh god, what if she started a fire? The whole town would know it was her.

As a hand fell down on her shoulder she practically leapt out of her own skin.

“There’s my favorite niece!” She spun a full 180 degrees to be eye to eye with her uncle, she shook her head before shooting him a look. “I’m your only niece uncle Jack.” He flashed her a goofy smile before patting her shoulder. “Come, I’ll show you around.” Before the two of them could move an inch, the door rang out as someone entered, her uncles face went straight as he stared down the entering being. “Little late there Thomas.” Y/N glanced behind her at the person getting scolded by her usually easy-going uncle.

To her surprise it was Thomas Jefferson, the so-called god of her high school. The man looked exhausted. “Sorry, mom needed me.” He muttered, his eyes on his shoes. Jack raised an eyebrow. “She okay?” He questioned as his face was now filled with genuine concern. “She’s fine, I guess.” He finally raised his head, his eyes flashed at Y/N before looking directly at her uncle. After a nod from Jack he rushed past the two of them barely grazing her shoulder but still enough to earn a mumbled. “Sorry.” From him.

“That was Thomas.” Y/N rolled her eyes as she tilted her head to the side, she glanced to the door Thomas was now closing and locking behind him. “Really, I would have never guessed.” She felt like he forgot she was hear and didn’t just hear their whole conversation. “His moms been sick.” She quickly lifted her head and dropped her shoulders; her heart sank in her chest. Now she felt like shit. “He uh, goes to my school. Hes a senior.” Jack smiled lightly while leaning against the cashier counter. “So good you know each other, he’ll be training you.” His smile spread to a full grin.

Y/N didn’t actually know Thomas, she knew of him. But the two had never held an actual conversation. He was basically (as cliché as it sound) the school heart breaker, and an apparently amazing kisser. (Said information passed onto her from her friend Katie who had one to many wine coolers and got a taste.)

Thomas soon exited the room now in a bright blue polo with the stores name stitched into it, he made his way back towards Y/N’s uncle who looked rather short next to him. Y/N’s eyes couldn’t help but wander over the boy’s body, his arms looked practically stuffed into the shirt’s tight sleeves, his curls bounced with every small movement. It was only when Thomas’ arm moved forward did she realize her uncle was introducing the two of them.

A tight grip: was met with Y/N’s small hand as they shook hands for a second. “Hi.” She murmured as the burning sensation on her neck grew. After Thomas moved to behind the counter Jack smirked. “Well, I have to run, I’m sure you’ll do great today.” The last of his sentence was a mere whisper of encouragement to Y/N.

Just as Y/N began to turn to Thomas to say something a shirt was thrown at her head and covered her face. “Get changed.” He ordered while stifling a chuckle. Y/N tore the suffocating shirt from her head and stormed to the door she had originally seen Thomas enter.

Once she exited the back room and was now in the rather itchy blue polo, Y/N noticed that Thomas was now nowhere to be found. She soon found him stocking shelves, a rather pain in the ass smile resting on his face. “Get lost?” He teased, his eyes never leaving the inventory he was placing on the shelves.

“No.” Y/N grumbled, her glare unnoticed or unfazing towards Jefferson. She pushed on as she watched his every movement. “So, what are we doing, stocking shelves?”

“No.” Thomas began as he placed his last can on the top shelf, Y/N raised a curious eyebrow as there were plenty of boxes still placed on the floor. “You’re stocking the shelves.” He said leaning against the shelving behind him. “You’re really going to just sit there and watch me?” She asked before slumping down on her knees and pulling open the closest box. “Yep.” A smug smirk broke across his face as she let out a light groan. Y/N rolled her eyes while facing the shelf, she was regretting taking this offer already. “Like this?” She asked coldly while setting down can after can of peas down.

Thomas just nodded and continued to watch.

They were stuck in and awkward silence, the speakers only playing quiet music around the storm, and fading in and out of static from the rain now pouring outside.

“We go to the same school don’t we.” Thomas finally said, causing a slight jump from Y/N, he chuckled softly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya.” Y/N attempted to hide the heat creeping up her cheeks and continued to work, refusing to look back at the lazy body behind her.

“Yeah, we do.” She answered quietly. The ambiance of the store felt like a library, and Y/N felt like she needed to be just as quiet. “I knew it, I’ve seen you around.” Y/N smiled gently at the acknowledgement.

Another moment of silence broke between the two.

“You- You hang out with that John kid, right?” Y/N shrugged. “Little bit, why?” Thomas cleared his throat before moving positions, he crossed his arms and leaned back once more. “Are you two like, datin? Cause I don’t need anyone coming in here to distract you” Y/N could hear his embarrassment.

“Uh.” She began, goosebumps growing on her arms. “No, I mean we’ve been on a few dates, but no, we aren’t dating.” She quickly cleared her throat as she moved to unbox the rest of the cans. “He’s… not really my type.” She fought internally at shooting a look at him but stayed focused on her work.

After their awkward one-off conversation, the two stayed pretty quiet. Thomas made his way to the front counter to help the few people in the store, some there to shop, some to congratulate Y/N on her first day.

After a few hours of almost pure silence the doorbell rang out as one of Thomas’ friends entered the store. Though Thomas greeted him like usual he practically b-lined over to Y/N who was stood in almost pure fear.

“Hey, you just started today right?” He asked flashing a bright smile almost causing Y/N legs to give in at the sight. She could barely remember his name; she would always see him and the rest of Thomas’ group smoking at the front of school before classes started.

“Uhm, yeah.” Y/N said her voice coming out like a squeak, another smile broke across his face, his teeth were almost blinding. “I’m Alex, I’ve seen you around school before.” All Y/N could functionally do was nod. “Right, I’m Y/N” she mustered enough to get her voice clear to him. He let out a light chuckled, Yeah, I know.” Cursing herself internally she shook her head. “Right, duh.” She giggled.

Just as Alex opened his mouth to speak once more Thomas’ voice rung out from behind them. “Alex.” His voice was low and close to sounding angry. “Can I help you with something?” Alex glanced back at Thomas’ stature and shrugged. “I’m just… looking.” He said winking towards Y/N who gave a small smile.

Thomas looked between the two. “Well, Y/N can you go make sure the milk isn’t spoiled.” Y/N wanted to protest, she knew there wouldn’t be anything wrong, but didn’t want to piss off the wrong person on her first day.

Alex gave a quick confused look at Thomas whose eyes were now hardening. “Y-yeah, of course.” Y/N began, she took a few steps forward before glancing back at the two boys. “See you later Alex.”

Once done the mundane task the store was completely empty. She walked to the front to see Thomas leaning against the counter reading. “Are you going to teach me the register?” She questioned; her boredom was almost consuming her.

Thomas shrugged, his eyes never leaving his book. “Not much to know, scan here.” He said pointing to the glass with the scanning mechanism in it. “We take cash or credit, if its cash press this.” He moved his hand to a blue button on the register. “If its credit, push this. Don’t forget their change or receipt.” Y/N stood patiently, only to realize he was done talking.

“Oh, okay.”

Though it was getting late the store didn’t close till 9:30, it was one of the only places that stayed open past 8:30 in their small town.

“What are you reading?” Y/N questioned, unmoving still, Thomas lifted his book to reveal the title The Glass Castle. “Oh, I’ve read that before.” Thomas hummed in response, his eyes scanning each word. “Do you like it?” He nodded, Y/N felt an annoyance grow in her as he was unresponsive and shooed off the one person that was talking to her.

She sighed, resigning to leaning on the shelf closest to her.

Luckily, the door rang out, her head snapped towards it to see John entering wearing his normal happy smile. “Y/N, hey!” She quickly made her way over to him, grateful for the new company. Thomas was still reading, basically ignoring any other goings on.

She grabbed at Johns arm and began to lead him down an aisle. “How’s the job?” He asked, shrugging Y/N glanced back at Thomas who was now eyeing the two of them, a shiver ran down her spine. “Its okay, just been really quiet.” Johns eyes followed Y/N’s to Thomas who looked back down at his book again. “Am I going to get you in trouble? I can go.” Y/N’s grip tightened on Johns arm. “No, please don’t. Plus, Thomas is harmless.”

“Okay, well I was wondering if you wanted to go-.” “Y/N” A deep voice came from behind them once more, and once more causing Y/N to jump, her arm pulling away from John’s. She spun on her heel, trying not to glare at him.

“Its gettin’ late, we should start cleanin’ up.” Thomas looked down at her like a child getting talked to by a parent. She nodded then looked at John who looked like he was damn close to shitting himself. “I’ll, uh text you.” She said watching as John scurried out of the store, as did Thomas.

“I thought you said you two weren’t goin’ out?” Y/N finally glared at him, who was still watching the long since closed door. “Eavesdropper.” She accused as he looked back at her. “No distractions.” He warned and turned to go back to the front.

Y/N flipped him off once his back was turned and stormed over to the small closet in the back, she assumed held cleaning supplies, she was correct. “No distractions.” She mocked in her worst Virginian accent.

Its not fair, she thought. He gets to just sit up there with his stupid hair and muscles. He’s the distraction.

She began to sweep a little to aggressively at the floor.

“Easy there cowgirl.” Thomas uttered, she spun. “How are you so quiet?” She asked in a harsh tone. “How are you so easily scared?” He mocked.

Y/N rolled her eyes as she continued to sweep at nothing. “You know we’re closed right?” Y/N’s eyes shot around the store till it fell on the clock now showing 9:35. He could have told her sooner. A slight blush grew on her cheeks as she placed the broom away.

Once changed into their street wear, they met outside, she watched as he locked up the shop, he turned to face her. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked, Y/N nodded before turning to go down the street. “Night.” She shouted over her shoulder. “Night!” Thomas yelled back.

-------------------------------------------------

Y/N jogged into the store, closing her umbrella, the floor gave way from under her and she quickly grasped onto the door handle before hitting the ground. She stood once more and slammed the door shut, fed up with the rain.

She peeled off her soaked jacket before turning to see a smiling Thomas. “Quiet the entrance there.” He said biting back laughter as Y/N bowed. “You’re five minutes late though” He warned raising an eyebrow. “Sorry, the wind pulled my umbrella back and I got soaked.” She pushed back her hoodie to show a head full of dripping hair.

Thomas released his laughter. “D’you need a towel?” She nodded and one was tossed quickly in her direction.

After she went back to change and scrub some rain out of her hair, she made her way back to the front not one customer in sight. “Any customers yet?” She questioned. “Gunna be a slow night.” Thomas said whilst shaking his head. Y/N let out a long groan. Dead nights were the worst.

She had now been working there for a month, she knew of everything she needed to do and was already bored of it. On slow days she’d clean while Thomas read.

Once the store was basically spotless and everything was faced, she made her way back to the front to see Thomas squinting at a turned around cereal box. She crossed her arms as she leaned against the same shelf. “What, no book tonight?” She asked as he stayed still, he reached under the counter and pulled up a ruined rain-soaked book. “Fell out on my way here. Rain ruins everythin’ I love.” He muttered. “So, you’re reading… a box?” She asked as she looked at it, there was nothing of actual interest on it other than the history of said cereal and nutritional facts. “Nothin else to do.” A sly smile broke across her face as she lifted one finger and slowly pushed the box off the edge, sending it slamming to the floor. “Oh, you are the worst kind of person.” Thomas groaned, he turned to face the empty wall crossing his arms like a child throwing a fit.

“Y/N I’m bored, tell me something.” He whined, still facing the wall, Y/N sighed at his grumpy demeanor. “What do you want to know Thomas?” She asked leaning against the shelf once more.

“Just tell me about you, did you go on a date with that John guy?” Y/N let out a laugh, she knew he wasn’t just asking due to boredom. “No, I didn’t. He’s not my type, remember?” She blushed lightly at the thought of him being genuinely curious about her love life.

“Alex asked me out though.” Thomas’ back straightened and tensed before he turned back around. “Oh.” He mumbled. “What?” Y/N asked as she crossed her arms in curiosity, an eyebrow raised up as she watched him closely. “Nothing.” He said, his eyes on the counter as he picked at the chipping paint. “Bullshit, what?” She demanded; Thomas scrunched his face. “Well, are you going to go out with him?” She quickly shrugged as she looked out the front door, the rain still pouring. “I don’t think so, he always ends up going back to Eliza, or Maria… or John.” She laughed lightly at the now realization on how such a player Alexander truly was.

Thomas broke out into a smile. “I knew you were a smart one.” Y/N picked up the box from the floor. “Gee thanks.” She shot back sarcastically.

They talked for the rest of the shift.

Not one customer.

But Y/N got to learn all about Thomas.

--------------------------------------

Alex leaned in to press a quick kiss to Y/N, something she still wasn’t used to. “I’ll see you after work.” He mumbled against her lips. “Of course.” She said pulling back and hopping out of his car.

As she walked into the store, she saw no body presence at the front. “Thomas?” She called out into the empty store. She walked towards the back room pulling her work shirt out of her bag, she opened the door to see a shirtless Thomas there. “Holy shit! I’m so sorry!” She announced before slamming the door shut behind her.

Her heart pounded violently in her chest. It wasn’t fair that her boyfriend’s friends, (well sort of friend she had now learned.) were so good looking. Not that she didn’t think Alexanders body wasn’t hot, just, damn Thomas.

Thomas exited the back room a smiled glued to his face. “Smooth.” He said as he passed her to get to the front counter. “Oh, shut up.” She warned hitting him on the arm. “It was an accident.” Thomas chuckled. “Don’t worry darlin’ I won’t tell your boyfriend.” Y/N let out a sarcastic laugh before entering the back room. “Get to work, you ass.”

----------------------------------------

Y/N walked in practically pushing past Thomas. “You’re late.” He mumbled, she ignored him. “I said you’re late.” Thomas said standing straight. “Y/N!” Thomas shouted, stopping her in her tracks. “What, I’m here now so just leave it!” She marched into the back room and changed before making her way to the back of the store.

Y/N kept pulling her phone out, sighing when it came up blank, no new messages, no phone calls, nothing.

Alexander and she had gotten into a fight and it felt like their relationship was near its end, something that was bringing her to her breaking point at the thought. The shift had flown past her before she even knew.

“No phones on the floor.” Thomas’ warning voice came from over her shoulder, she knew he was ticked off with her. She quickly wiped the tears threatening to spill over and turned to him. “Sorry.” She mumbled.

“Oh, um, no I’m sorry. Are you okay?” He questioned, his eyes watching her small trembling body. She shrugged before falling into his chest, a sob broke through her. It was 9 and Thomas knew no one else would be coming at this time. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shirt. “Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked resting his head against her head which shook and buried deeper into him.

He just squeezed her before sitting the two of them down.

Once it was 9:30 Y/N had calmed down a bit, her body was tired and aching but she sat and explained that she feared Alex was cheating on her, they were barely seeing each other and every time she brought up her fears to him he would kiss her or fight with her on it. This last time they were basically screaming at one another, she knew she was late for work, so she pushed herself past him he had attempted to grab her, but she shook his grip and stormed to the shop.

Thomas Hugged her into his arms. “ ‘M sorry I shouted at ya when you came in, I didn’t know.” Y/N shrugged content in his embrace. “You didn’t know. But, thank you for listening.” Thomas gave her a gentle smile, just as the butterflies rose in her chest, she felt her phone ring against her hip.

Thomas quickly let go and she jumped from his arms.

“Hello?”

It was Alex.

Y/N changed and left on her phone, leaving Thomas behind to close the store.

----------------------------------------------

Thomas was late, his mom wasn’t doing well. But she told him to go to work.

They didn’t talk all shift.

His eyes held a sadness as he watched Y/N work.

Everyone knew about his mom and knew better to leave him alone.

Y/N didn’t know what to say to him.

----------------------------------------------

“Thomas?” Y/N asked as the two restocked a shelf. “Yeah?”

“Do you think Alex and I are a mistake?”

Thomas tensed and stared straight for a moment.

“Don’t bring me into this.” He muttered putting his last can of soup on the shelf and began to walk away.

“Bring you into what?” Y/N asked bitterly.

“Don’t bring me into your relationship bullshit.” He grumbled.

“I’m not, I’m just asking.” Y/N said, shooting him a glare.

Thomas shook his head and turned back to face her; her heart leapt into her throat at his hardened look. “No, you’re not. ‘just askin’ me;” He raised his hands for the quotations. “You want me to comfort you like last time, then just fuckin’ walk away from me again.”

She had never heard Thomas swear like this before, it gave her a cold chill.

“I didn’t just walk away, you let go of me.”

“Sorry for making sure you were okay.” He scoffed.

Y/N kicked her empty box down the aisle towards him.

“I didn’t ask you to Thomas!” She shouted back, her blood coming to a boil.

“Well I did, and you just left.”

“Why did you even do it!?”

“Because I care about you!”

“Then why are you so upset now!?”

“Because he doesn’t fucking deserve you!” He shouted, he huffed out his next couple of breaths like he had just run a marathon. He rolled his eyes at Y/N’s frozen stature, as he turned to storm off Y/N finally shook off her fear of his anger and march towards him.

“Thomas don’t just walk away.” She demanded, before she could graze his shoulder, he was spun to face her, his hands on her waist as he pulled her against his lips, taking her breath with him.

Her heart skipped a beat from the feeling of his soft lips against hers, something felt like it had exploded in her heart, lungs and brain. Before she could process a thought, before she could truly kiss him back. He pulled away. “Yes, is the answer to your question.” His voice was low and rumbled against her body.

He released her and walked back to the front

She stood there

She stood there till they closed.

----------------------------------------------

After the kiss Thomas had their shifts changed, she worked with her uncle most of the time.

Graduation season had come and past, Y/N was now a senior and knew she would never be seeing or running into Thomas at school again.

Alexander and her eventually broke things off, it wasn’t more than a few days till he was with someone else. Thomas was attending college in town, still caring for his mother full time.

He was barely working anymore.

One night in autumn it was pouring rain. Y/N had to close alone, the air hung with something, it was almost like Y/N could feel something bad was going to happen. Her uncle had left his shift muttering something about Thomas’ mom.

Since it was so quiet Y/N was just sat at the front counter running the register, her mind drifted to the memories of Thomas always up there, reading, or helping customers, or just simply talking to her.

After a customer had come in and brought their items to the front Y/N regained focus and began ringing in the items. Once they had finished paying Y/N was just about to hand them their receipt when Thomas came crashing through the door.

He collapsed onto his knees, his hair wet falling onto his face. The customer shot her a look of worry before she ran towards him. “Thomas are you okay?” He shook his head as Y/N began to lift him from his spot on the floor. As she led them to the back room, she heard the ring of the door. She sat Thomas on a chair before running out to lock the door behind the customer.

She quickly made her way back; Thomas had not moved an inch since she set him there. She began to look for a towel, as she turned to check a certain shelf, she felt his arms wrap around her waist. “My mom died.” He sobbed out, shattering her heart and confirming her worst fear. “She’s gone, Y/N.” Y/N watched for a second as the tears slid down his already wet face. She dropped down to the ground before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Thomas. God, I’m so, so sorry.” She held him tightly as he buried his face in her shoulder. “I couldn’t look at her, I couldn’t see her like that. I just ran, I came here, you’re the only person I could face.” He cried out as he gripped her harder. “Its okay.” She whispered against his wet hair. “I’m not ready for this. I’ll never be ready for this.”

She held him there till he calmed down as best he could. She took him back to the hospital.

She held his hand at the funeral.

-------------------------------------------------

Y/N had graduated, she was ready to leave her small town, she had gotten into her dream college and was just months away from getting out of there, she hadn’t worked much due to her studies for exams and applying for all types of colleges.

As she began to pass the shop something in her told her to go in, plus she was a bit peckish.

The door rang out as she entered, her eyes instantly snapped to the front counter, but she was left with disappointment as it was empty.

She absentmindedly made her way through the aisle trying to find something she was in the mood for. Once her eyes landed on a pack of mac and cheese, she picked it up. She glanced up to see Thomas walk behind the counter. The sight of him caused her to fumble with the box and it went crashing to the floor.

Thomas’ eyes flashed up to see Y/N blush and go to pick up the box. Once picked up Y/N looked back to the counter to see it empty once more. She shook her head wondering if she had imagined him. “What are you doing here?” She jumped, once more sending the box tumbling to the ground.

Thomas chuckled behind her, she spun back around and smiled. “Very funny” She glared.

“Its been a while, huh?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I graduated, so I haven’t really been working .”

Thomas broke out into a bright smile. “Well congratulations. When do ya work next?”

She shrugged attempting to hid any creeping feeling of red on her face. “Its staggered for the next few months, then I’m off to college.” Thomas’ eyes dimmed. “Oh, well I’m glad you got in, I’m assuming its not in town?” She almost felt guilty as she shook her head no.

“Then I guess I’m going to have to get our schedules fixed so we can work together again.” Y/N couldn’t stop the smile the broke across her face. “I’d like that.”

-------------------------------------------------------

They laughed.

They goofed around.

They shared food nearing its expiration dates.

They bumped hands and blushed.

And they just had quiet days.

------------------------------------------------

It was her last day. She had her bags packed for the airport and had told her family she’d meet them there.

She had said goodbye to everyone.

Everyone but him.

As she pulled up to the shop and entered, she couldn’t help as a knot grew in her throat.

Once the bell rang out Thomas had jumped up from behind the counter, his eyes landed on her and saw the hurt resting in them, his soon matching hers.

“Well…let the goodbye begin I guess.” He began as he walked towards her, he reached past her and locked the door, placing a sign on it stating he’d be back in an hour.

“Go to the back, I’ll be there in a second.” He practically ordered as he made his way down some aisles. Y/N watched him as she moved to wards the back door, she closed it behind her and sat in an empty seat. Her eyes wandered over the stuffy old room. A towel hung on the edge of a shelf, stiff from not being touched in a while. The copy of Thomas’ Glass Castle book sat opened to dry. But it was never picked up again.

The door soon open and Thomas came in with an arm full of chips and soda, a smile broke through Y/N’s face as she watched him struggle to put the items down. “I’m not lettin’ you leave till you absolutely have to.” She let out a light laugh as she opened a bag of chips. “Okay, but I do have a flight to catch.” Thomas smirked. “They won’t leave without ya.” Y/N rolled her eyes as she popped in a few chips. “Sure.” She said mouth half full.

They sat in a silence for a minute, almost causing Y/N to sink back into her heartbreak of today.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Thomas suddenly said, his eyes gazing into hers. She fiddled with the tab of her pop before setting it down. “Are you gunna visit?” He asked hopefully, her heart rose as she watched him. “Of course.”

Another wave of silence engulfed the both of them, this time it left the feeling of words unsaid, their eyes never leaving each other. “Y/N.” Thomas began gently. “Can I try something?” He moved forward, she nodded and watched his every movement. His hand slid against her now burning cheek, he leaned closer, his lips hovering over hers for a moment before pressing into her.

Y/N could feel that same feeling she had the last time she kissed, but this time it left her wanting more and this time she could kiss him back, his lips molded against her as she gripped at his shoulder.

He moved back and looked away from her. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Y/N wasted no time to grab at the blue collar of his work shirt and pull him back into their kiss. She slowly stood from her chair and moved to straddle him, their lips almost never breaking from one another.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” He mumbled against her mouth and his hands rested on her hips. “I’ve been wanting to do this for so long and now you’re leaving.” Y/N could care less about her flight, about her college, about anything. “You have me now.” She sighed out against him.

Thomas groaned lightly, his fingers gripping into her hips harder, his lips smashed into her, his tongue nudging against her which she quickly let into wrestle with hers. His lips then left to trail down her neck, his teeth grazed against her skin sending a shiver down her spine. Thomas moaned at her body movement into her skin.

She could feel him growing against her thigh. “Thomas.” She whispered in a breathy voice. “I have to go soon.” As much as she wanted to stay in this world of it just being him and her, she had to face reality. “God no.” He growled.

142 notes · View notes

ourimpavidheroine · 3 years

Text

Okay, @peoniequeen, here are your stories.

How many people do you know moved across the world for love?

Well, you all know about this one. I met my late wife online in late 1998 on an X-Files message board, we emailed and then called, etc. until she came to the U.S. from Finland in September of 1999 to live with me for a year. After the year was up we relocated to Finland, in part because she could not legally immigrate to the U.S. during that time as a same-sex partner (Finland was a huge fucking pain in the ass about it but eventually they let me immigrate there based on our relationship status) and in part because we thought Finland would be a better place to raise kids due to healthcare, schools, etc. When I arrived in Finland it was the first time I had even been to Europe, never mind the country I was going to live in and the airline accidently left my two dogs in Amsterdam instead of putting them on the plane to Helsinki and I spent my first moments in my new home sobbing about my dogs until the very nice airline lady called for my late wife over the loudspeaker and let her come back and take me in hand (much the way Mako takes Wu in hand, if you must know). (Don’t worry, the airline put us up in a hotel next to the airport and the dogs came on the next flight and came to us there in a taxi the airline made arrangements for. They were completely fine and in fact weren’t sure what the fuss was about.) It was kind of a big culture shock. The end.

Or worked as a college radio DJ?

I did! I had a show on Tuesday mornings from 4-6 am that nobody listened to but about 10 loyal people. (Kind of like my blog here, come to think about it.) I played a lot of old blues and jazz stuff that I’d grown up listening to. My Dad worked part time as a DJ at a local radio station so I knew how to work all the equipment and such thanks to him. (I also had a two hour slot on Wednesday nights there in high school where I played stuff teenagers wanted to listen to and not the never ending country western that the station owner and manager wanted played 24x7.) Yes, this was in the late 80′s-early 90′s when I was at university so it was all vinyl. I still have a collection of albums that have the gold stamp on them saying they are not for sale, that they are for radio station play only! (Some of them the aforementioned station manager gave me since they were not country and he was basically going to toss them into the trash and some of them were albums that I might have gotten through less altruistic means.)

Or was a makeup assistant to Drag Queens?

I took a stage makeup course while I was majoring in theater at University and did so well with it that the guy who gave the class asked me to come and assist him at the San Francisco opera while they were essentially painting all of the singers brown in a classic racist move that was pretty well accepted in the 90′s but, thankfully, would be extremely frowned upon now. As I was doing it I struck up a friendship with one of the chorus tenors; it turned out he was a drag queen who sometimes did performances when he wasn’t doing opera. He was a Madonna impersonator (not a very good one, sorry to say) and he wanted me to help him design his makeup for it. So I went to the club he performed at a few times to get a better feel for how drag queens worked and then hung around backstage and ended up doing some designs for some of the other queens. The pay was basically me getting to see their performances for free and getting fed afterwards at whatever was open at 4 am but God it was fun. Also, now I am the most Judgy McJudgerson of ever when it comes to drag makeup on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The end.

Or wrote a letter to their Archbishop when they were twelve and got a personal answer in return?

I was very put out by the fact that boys could be altar boys but girls got shit (I was Catholic, in case you haven’t guessed) and I was talking about it to my Grandma one time and she told me I should write a letter to the Archbishop and ask him why. Now see, my maternal Grandmother was married to a labor union president (my grandfather was still the president when he died of a heart attack when I was 8) and she was a good old fashioned liberal rabble rouser. Like, she got arrested with nuns protesting nuclear power plants in her muumuus and Birkenstocks, okay? She wrote letters to EVERYONE. So I sat down and very carefully wrote the letter and my Grandma made a few calls and got me the address and we sent the letter. I don’t think my Grandma actually thought I’d get a letter back (it was more of a teaching moment, if that makes sense) but he did send me a letter back! He was very kind, although his answer was the usual Catholic BS. I still have the letter but it is packed away in storage so I very sadly will not be producing it at this juncture in time.

Or drove from Los Angeles to Philadelphia in a 20 year old Volvo?

My friend from university was going to Grad School at Temple University and her parents didn’t want her to drive the entire way by herself. So I drove with her in an orange 1971 Volvo sedan. (In fact, I drove about 90% of the trip because she didn’t like driving.) The air conditioning fan died as we were driving through the Mojave Desert on the way to Vegas and I realized that if I floored it the cool air would actually move itself and so I floored it all the way through the desert and we are lucky that fucking ancient hulk of Swedish steel did not die and leave us stranded to be baked to death. We stopped in Vegas (which was not as impressive in 1992 as it is today, trust me) and found a guy who could actually fix the fan and spent the night in one of the casino hotels before continuing on. We did stop in Chicago to stay with her grandparents for two weeks (where so many elderly Jews kept responding to my last name with confusion as they assumed I was Jewish that I eventually started to do genealogy and found out that I am, indeed, Jewish on my father’s side) and also we saw the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer film in Des Moines and went to a cowboy bar in Cheyenne (I learned how to line dance and my friend got completely trashed and I had to practically carry her back to the hotel) and many other adventures until we finally arrived in Philly and her parents flew me back to California. It was a great road trip and short of the reeeaaaally sketchy and filthy motel room in Salt Lake City that had both a half-empty Chinese takeout box and a soiled condom under the bed we had a grand time.

Or was part of a thruple?

I have been part of two thruples. Well. Sort of. One thruple and one wanna be thruple. The first one, with my first husband and my girlfriend was a huge mistake from the get-go. (Oh god, she was so hot and the sex was so fucking good but she was really an awful person and my ex kept trying to control the entire thing and basically forced her into living with us instead of being just my girlfriend with benefits and the entire thing blew up and while it wasn’t the reason why I divorced him it didn’t help either.) The second one was with my late wife and our mutual boyfriend and it worked very well but he had a little boy from a former relationship and his son got very ill and died and he didn’t handle it at all and he disappeared out of our lives. It’s been 20 years, give or take, since I’ve talked to him. He asked us to no longer contact him and I’ve always respected that. And before you ask, he knows where I live and my email address is the same as it was all those years ago. If he wanted to find me it would be very easy for him to do so. He clearly doesn’t and I respect that. I wish him love and peace, wherever he is. I miss him still.

Or beat up the drunk lady in the hallway to get back a little girl’s keys?

Ah, I’ll tell this one tomorrow.

#impavid storytime #long post #do you guys really find these interesting?#I'm not fishing for compliments #I honestly never think of myself as being that exciting

12 notes · View notes

scarlettwitcher · 4 years

Text

She’s Everything

Request: by Anon: Can I request a Steve Rogers x Reader based off the song She’s Everything by Brad Paisley? Please and thanks!

Summary: Steve thinks about Y/n

Characters: Steve, Y/n, mentions of avengers

Word Count: 2,645

Warnings: fluff everywhere, that’s it, this is just teeth rotting sweetness, italics are flashbacks

Author’s Note: So I’m gonna be gone for another week! Sorry. I’m going to Dallas to see my dad. I haven’t seen him in over 3 months. I will try to have some fics prepared to just post but if not, I hope you enjoy this one! I don’t really have a lot of marvel tags so if you do love it, please reblog it so it can reach more peeps! Requests and tags are open! Love to my girl @queenxxxsupreme for being my beta. As always, thanks for reading and feedback is welcome/needed. ALSO PSA: I will be changing my url in the next few weeks. I’ll be messaging a few people that tag me regularly about this but just so everyone knows and doesn’t freak out when they don’t see my original name. Don’t worry it’ll be similar to my old one.

“Is there something on my face Rogers?”

“No, no. You’re good.”

“Then why are you staring at me?” Steve opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. He blushed and coughed, trying to cover up his speechlessness. You started giggling as you reached over pinching his cheek. “Awe, baby, why are you blushing?”

Steve smacked your hand away as you started laughing again and couldn’t help laughing with you. He knew he wouldn’t be able to say it yet but he just couldn’t understand how he found someone like you. Someone who could love him so effortlessly. He knew he had his faults and that the lives you both led were very dangerous. Part of him knows that’s why he appreciates you even more. Everything about you always had him in awe.

Your fashion sense was all over the place, but to Steve, you looked great in everything. One day you appeared at his door with yellow running shoes and he looked at you bewildered but accepted it. He always loved your ripped jeans because he had access to your skin, his hand always buried inside one of the holes, holding your thigh. You had boxes full of sunglasses and on every mission, you’d be wearing a different pair. Steve didn’t sweat too much since he knew you loved buying them from the gasoline station near the tower. Now and again, you’d stump him with your “I have nothing to wear!”. He’d always turn to look at the giant closet full of your clothes but he never dared say anything, not again anyways. He learned his lesson the first time when you threw a shoe at him. But his favorite was when you wore his clothes. Nothing could get him as turned on as seeing you in his clothes.

Steve thought about how much you loved chocolate, sneaking in chocolate bars into his room every night, or hot chocolate, or waking him up at three in the morning, asking him to bring you some chocolate you left in the kitchen. He thought about how much you loved going to the movie theatre even though Tony had his own movie Theatre. He scolded the both of you for wasting money when he had everything. You simply laughed and said the popcorn was better. On rough days, especially after missions, being at the theatre was one of your comfort spots and he knew this. He knew you loved being in the dark and pushing all of your worries onto the characters on the screen.

Steve smiled to himself when he thought about how much you loved staring at the stars and telling him about the constellations. It amazed him how much you knew about space. He loved windy nights when the breeze would blow your hair around, your sweet scent. The nights that had a touch of your lingering scent were always the best. He’d hold you extra tight those nights. On his rough nights, you were always there. You’d pull him onto your chest, rest his head there, letting him listen to the soft sound of your heartbeat. He always knew he could talk to you, let everything go. You’d listen intently, give him reassurance when he needed it. You’d always drag your fingers through his hair, cry with him when he needed it, and never let go, not ever.

You had always been very protective of Steve. You knew of all the pain he went through. Hell, you were with him most of the time when they happened. It’s not to say the super soldier didn’t get on your nerves either. You had only had a few fights but they were always intense. You’d both end up screaming at each other. You always had a hard time containing yourself, so mid argument, you’d leave. You’d go to the gym and pound into a sand bag until you broke it or your knuckles were broken and bleeding. Steve would always find you sitting in the corner. He’d sit down next to you and you’d talk it out. And things would be okay. It’s always how it ended. You’d be okay. You were always really affectionate with him. You’d never leave bed without kissing him somewhere on his face, never leave the room without hugging him, especially never leave the quinjet on a mission without kissing him deeply. He relished in your touches, a slave for more, a slave for your affection.

Steve couldn’t believe he found someone like you. You were what he always wanted. It took him a while to move on from Peggy. Once he met you and you hit it off, he decided it was time. He closed that chapter of his life and moved on with you. Everyone says he’s obsessed but he just knows he’s in love. Tony always kicks him out of the room when he starts to talk about you. Steve doesn’t realize it but sometimes he just talks about you for hours and hours and hours. Even you tell him he’s ridiculous. He just laughs it off and continues. He just can’t believe he has you.

Every Saturday, you’d push him to go out. He wasn’t always keen to be in public but he sucked it up and went with you, knowing if he didn’t, you’d just go out by yourself and he wanted to be around you. Somehow, you always found something different, something new to do in the city. He loved watching you light up at the poetry cafe you found, watching people read their beautiful poems, or the way your eyes would widen when you find a beautiful greenhouse on someone’s roof. You smelled like roses for days after you left there. Even though neither you nor Steve were religious, you went to church on Sundays, to accompany your parents. It was so foreign to Steve. His life was full of danger. Enemies, missions, death experiences, that was a normal Sunday for him. But church, family dinner, fancy dressing, he was way out of his element but the few hours of normal he got with you and your family was everything he ever wanted. Sometimes you couldn’t make it and it always bummed him out. He loved Sundays with your family. They had basically adopted him. When your mom passed away a year ago, she had given you her cross. You weren’t all that comfortable wearing the cross but you knew what it meant to her. So you had Tony melt it and turn it into a locket with her picture and Steve’s inside. You never took it off after that.

Steve hated Mondays but you didn’t care. Except you turned into Oscar the grouch, yelling your good amount of fuck and bitch in the morning. Steve thought it was hilarious, watching you flip him off because he said you looked like a ray of sunshine. By the end of the day, you were back to your old self. Steve helped train new agents and you always had the bath prepared for him when he returned. Bubbles littering the surface and candles on every open surface. Sometimes, you’d even join him, sitting in the tub waiting for him. These were some of his favorite moments. Steve thought back to a few months before when he had arrived to your shared room but you were nowhere to be found. After bathing and changing, he walked around the tower looking for you until he finally found you in what was the rec room. The lights were dimmed, candles everywhere, as well as rose petals. One of Steve’s favorite songs was playing softly in the background and you were standing in the middle, dolled up in a nice dress and makeup.

“What’s this? It looks really beautiful, doll.”

“This,” You twirled your fingers around, signaling to the room. “Is just me saying I love you. Dance with me.” Steve rushed over, embracing you in his arms before you both started rocking to the music. You started talking about your days, succumbing to each other, laughing and enjoying yourselves. You had poured wine and handed him a glass as you drank together. You pulled him towards the couch and you kept talking, sitting there for hours, just like you always did. After your first glass, you were a giggling mess. You were a huge lightweight and Steve always made fun of you for it. You playfully acted hurt when he called you out on it and he immediately tried to make up for it, littering your skin with kisses and promises of forever.

“Earth to Steve.” Steve came to with you snapping your fingers in front of him. He looked at you confused for a second before dragging his hand down his face.

“Sorry doll. Did I space out again?” You smirked and nodded your head before flicking his knee.

“Third time this week babe.” Steve blushed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry doll. I don’t mean to.”

“What are you thinking about so much?” You curled into his chest as you both laid in your bed. You listened to his heartbeat raise just a bit and you smiled.

“You.”

“No wonder my ears don’t stop ringing.” Steve laughed and shook his head. He kissed your forehead softly and pulled you even closer to him. It wasn’t long before you said your good nights, your soft even breathing letting him know you had fallen asleep. He sighed softly and slowly laid you down on your side of the bed before standing up and walking out to his balcony, looking out at the view. He looked over at your sleeping form and smiled to himself as he saw you took all of the covers and bundled yourself up. He was going to freeze that night for sure. He grabbed his wallet from the dresser, flipping it open and looking at the picture of you that he had in it. He had been the one to take the picture. You were at a festival that you had dragged the team on. You were so excited, you had even bought a beautiful sundress that flowed beautifully around you. You had found a dancing spot and you were letting go, dancing around like no one else was there. Steve pulled out his phone and took the picture, having it developed later on. It was one of his favorite moments with you.

Steve knew you were it for him. He was completely head over heels in love with you. He couldn’t stop himself thinking of you as his wife, the mother of his children, the woman he was to, somehow, grow old with. He couldn’t imagine his life without you in it. Once upon a time he was still hung over Peggy but he realized that maybe that love prepared him for the intensity of yours. He was thankful for it. Steve remembers exactly how he met you, actually he prayed for it. Steve wasn’t religious and he wasn’t one to pray but he was being called into a meeting with the team to evaluate some old missions, file some paperwork, all textbook, but he was going to be stuck in the room all day. While riding the elevator to the meeting room, Steve looked up for a few seconds murmuring, “I don’t know if you’re listening but please, make this meeting bearable.” The moment the prayer left his lips, the elevator stopped on a floor and you stepped in. You nodded your acknowledgement to the soldier but Steve couldn’t stop staring at you. You were so beautiful and he just couldn’t help but gawk. “You going to the meeting too?”

Steve snapped himself out of his creepiness and nodded before sighing quietly. “Yeah. I take it you are too.”

“Yeah, Stark said it was mandatory with the training. Fingers crossed nobody dies.” Steve chuckled but before he could respond, Natasha and Clint joined on the elevator and you got to chatting away with the other Avengers, being rather familiar with them. Immediately, Steve took a liking to you and after the meeting, cornered Natasha several times, trying to get information about you.

Steve smiled fondly at the memory as he stared at the night sky, watching the clouds slowly pass by. He replayed most of his favorite memories of the both of you in his head. He wondered if this was how the rest of his life with you was going to be. He imagined you and him in your small house in the woods. You’re both sitting on your rocking chairs on the porch, watching the lake next to your home. You’d be making fun of Steve for putting his pants on backwards that morning and he’d make fun of you for burning the eggs. That was what Steve wanted, to grow old with you.

Steve watched as you moved in your sleep and felt the love blossoming in his chest. He didn’t know how it was possible but he just kept loving you more and more everyday. He knew it, you knew it, everyone knew it. They could see it in the way he looked at you, the way he lunged himself in front of you to protect you on missions. The way he made you breakfast and took you to your favorite restaurants. The way he took an obscene amount of pictures of you and talked about you every chance he got. He was a fool in love.

Steve knew why he was losing himself in thought a lot more than usual. He was reminiscing before he made his decision. He was ready. He wanted it to be nice, something amazingly beautiful and he knew he’d do it soon but he had to do it now. He moved back to the bed and crawled in next to you. He pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly. His cold skin against your warm one made you groan quietly in your sleep. He kissed your head and slowly kissed down your face, peppering you with kisses. When he got to your neck, you hummed quietly, slowly waking up. He kissed down your chest and you were now conscious. You ran your fingers through his hair and smiled in your sleep. “You better have a good reason for waking me Rogers.” You said playfully.

“You think I want you to kick my ass?” You giggled and finally opened your eyes, being met with bright, blue ones. He looked at your face with pure adoration before kissing you softly. He fidgeted nervously before pulling back. You furrowed your brows but decided to not ask, letting him take a moment. It took everything in him to get the words he wanted but he looked at you seriously and took a deep breath. “Y/n, I have never met anyone so stubborn, so determined, so loving and kind, I’ve never met anyone like you and I’m glad I never will because you are one of a kind. You make me such a better person, someone I didn’t think I could be any more. You give me hope for tomorrow and for the future. You’re such a pain in the ass but I wouldn’t have you any other way. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, ” Steve moved to reach into his small bedside dresser, opening his sock drawer and pulling out a velvet box. You watched with wide, teary eyes, your breath hitching when you saw the box. He slowly opened it, showing you the beautiful ring inside. “This past week I’ve been so lost in my mind, I’ve just been thinking about you and us. Thinking about how we fell in love. I know you are what I want. I want to grow old with you and have kids. You are it. So, doll, will you marry me?”

Forever Tags: @iwantthedean @authoressskr @sorenmarie87 @reigningqueenofwords @goldenolaf25 @giftofdreams @winchesterprincessbride @chelsea072498 @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian @itakeawfultoawholenewlevel @fictionalabyss @gabby913 @angelkurenai @sea040561 @sleepylunarwolf @smoothdogsgirl @carryonmyswansong @feelmyroarrrr @evyiione @sofreddie @sis-tafics @nitelotus @trexrambling @dancingalone21 @manawhaat @mermaidxatxheart @winchest09 @ellen-reincarnated1967 @mrswhozeewhatsis @just-another-busy-fangirl @lovebodymindstuff @backseat-of-deans-67chevy @chook007 @akshi8278 @evansrogerskitten @bringmesomepie56 @brooklymw @persephonehemingway @blacktithe7 @donnaintx

Marvel Tags: @captain-rogers-beard @imamotherfuckingstar-lord @stretchkingblog97

149 notes · View notes

incarnateirony · 4 years

Text

*Pulls a post out of another post like a magic trick*

So anyway I wrote a longassed general meta while boxing up the LGBT discussion until the end, because frankly, there are elements worth focusing on beyond that -- but at the end I did leave a note and, frankly, as I don’t know who all will read that far after the meta, it feels worth putting into the general air.

I thank 15.07 for the display of performative absurdity. It’s not the first episode to rip open and expose fandom’s dirty underbelly and intersectional marginalization forces wearing an LGBT Activism Suit -- 14.03 also did so loudly by Bobo (eg read: “The Problem with Dreamhunter” [A post that points out what people will accept for canonization when there isn't a rival ship or excessive projection of antis specific to a ship which is *SPOILER ALERT* nowhere near what everyone pretends is needed when they want to argue just to argue and some intersectional WLW vs MLM issues]) -- but it was the first to approach it directly with Dean, much less so textually.

The ridiculous redefinition of words, of “what *I* think canon means” whipped completely out of fandom generated buzz and no dictionary on the face of the planet -- the demands, and the active erasure of existing LGBT text because it wasn’t *visible enough* -- really does show a seedy side of fandom that wears a nice Representation Warrior dress sometimes, but betrays a series of issues:

Most points boil down to “I won’t acknowledge any text unless it is loud enough to argue down any idiot I ever meet”, putting the focus not on representative resonance and value of quality of text, but on personal vindication for raw argumentation. A world where trolls and their personal agendas have actually taken *greater importance* to people than the representative text, and is an absolutely abysmal motivation or bottom line for any discussion and yes, if you recoiled and feel ashamed or called out about that, rather than patching over your pride and doubling down, maybe skim the reblog tags bisexual people have left on my several dozen posts about the damages of them being actively deleted is doing.

If you care about representation, you’ll think about that. Even if it’s not the loudly visible version of representation you *want*, it is what it is, and well--it is. Pretty simply. There is no perfect fantasy world where everybody understands and wants the thing you do. And I’m not just talking about LGBT rep. I’m talking about the people you pretend to need to argue gay canon with still being absolutely flummoxed by canon itself, like them saying “family don’t end with blood” and “found family” are “fanon concepts”. The same people that pretend there’s a fair canon reading that Sam and Dean never cared about Castiel in any capacity or wilder, the people who pretend it’s a fanon idea that he ever did. People that are confused where demons go when they die. People that rebuke literally many-times textualized non-gay things just to suit their personal agenda. And shockingly, they have a personal agenda about the gay content too.

I’m talking about Rowling having straight characters married with kids and then not actually owning their canonicity beyond the fourth wall. I’m talking about straight pairings like mulder and scully that got no romo’ed around even after they kissed and got pregnant and the whole nine, because bawww that’s not what the show is about so *allow me to build elaborate theories that make no sense and pretend they have standing in canon equal to the straightforward read*.

Cuz that’s where we’re at right now. Our fandom is just particularly bonky, and has been allowed to go so far off the edge of the map and away from center GA-resonant discussion that the bog standard antis have literally come up with body-mutilating necrophilia as an answer to avoid the gay, and somehow... *shruuuuug?* people act like these people not only are of equal worth but like... deserve... any consideration long term? Or that it these people have any bearing on GA discussion which I literally have two years of stat based blogging to disbar even if TVG calling it like they see it is a nice GA flagpost? But we’ll whip up a GA that exists in no known modern metric and throw up what we think the GA thinks, instead of reading major news publications and *reading* what the GA thinks.

Which is when we lean into the next point on MOTIVATION.

So ask at what point arguing with tinhats beat out your actual interest in representation and LGBT rights and media issues. Ask at what point you surrendered your focus on feeling resonant with a character that has been textually acknowledged, and traded that for implying you suddenly can’t relate to the character until he performs [X] exact function, exactly how you want, and when you want. Hell, I have even gotten an anon that literally said they would have acknowledged it if SPN had given them what they want when they wanted-- so basically, too late, not enough.

That’s not how text works. Whether the text came ten years ago or now, the text is the text. Your personal fulfillment aside, text is text. And I highly urge people to stop demanding tokenism above demographic-targeted representative types (eg bisexual, raised in the 80s in a patriarchal/power/grit based society and its own associated dogmas, fairly masculine identity, and so on) or demanding characters perform as if they were from another demographic (be it age or gender) because that’s your demographic.

Once you start removing elements of the represented demographics (LGBT, male, age, origin, etc) and wanting it to perform by way of *your* demographic’s behaviors or base line needs/wants, that’s when we’ve left representation. That’s when we’re demanding tokenization. And when you’re demanding tokenization to win internet fights with people who don’t even believe what they say, you have long left the representation wheelhouse. That’s what we call troll wars.

Do not let LGBT media representation be kidnapped into troll wars. Do not let content be degraded or removed just to engage in troll wars. And if you want to engage in troll wars, and you value the arguments more than the discussion *of* representation intersectional issues, and methods, and all around it -- then just... stop. Stop saying you want representation. Don’t.

As always, you’re free to want more visible text, but unsatisfactory text is still text, and what is unsatisfactory to you may be perfectly welcome representation to the target demographic.

The fact that if we scoured this whole digital fandom we may pull like 2 active people that match Dean’s demographic, with most in hiding and needing to be lured from the shadows *coughBencough* -- usually avoiding the fandom *BECAUSE* they get buried, and avalanched when they say, “no he’s good representation for me.” So the fact that be they LGBT but women, or male but not LGBT, or LGBT male but two generations separated from Dean -- the fact that this is the communal voice box discussing this while essentially ironically talking over an LGBT creator?

That’s bad.

And yeah, y’all are doing it.

Bobo is a middle aged LGBT male, who has written sociopolitical commentary about how to get queer media representation platform via moderate incrementalization *long before he ever came on SPN*, and yet nobody cares about his voice or his take. They’re mad he doesn’t give them enough material to *argue* with, without considering, perhaps, he doesn’t want to be argued for from the angles fandom insists on vying after. Instead, these voices that are not part of the central target demographic that people say they want representation for? They yell queerbait -- because... well -- because most of you want to win arguments that like 95% of the time, the people you’re wasting your breath and kilobits on don’t even believe what they’re saying. But the argument -- that’s what matters. Not the LGBT male creator. Not his sociopolitical voice. Not the LGBT text in the show. The argument.

And that?

That there’s a problem.

While about 20 people decided to hashtag #spnqueerbaits after last episode of all episodes, I sat, fingers splayed over my face, trying to keep myself from staring in mortification and secondhand embarrassment at the screen with my only consolation that many of them by their style and dialogue on their profiles seemed very young, and probably haven’t thought of any of the above, much less being predisposed to “getting it” for another 5 or 10 years. But like. Y i k e s.

Thankfully this being the final season it’s unlikely to do the significant damage that was done on a similar path 6 years ago, and I can only hope it tapers off.

#supernatural adjacent #lgbtqia #representation #vs #disability #queer creators #and #corporate #or #queerbait

44 notes · View notes

feliannefluff · 5 years

Text

Last Song, A FeliAnne fic

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem and characters belong to the original creator

Summary: Becoming separated from the Kingdom's army after a battle during the war, Annette finds herself in dire situation, thinking about the one she loves most. In her final moments, the pure-hearted girl does what she does best. (Felix x Annette)

After doing literally 6 runs of this game and all routes, I've finally gotten around to writing a fic for my 2nd OTP of the game (the first being Dimileth). Hope ya'll enjoy

This is bad. So bad...I can't believe I really screwed this up.

Annette anxiously thought as she stumbled her way through the dark, unfamiliar woods of the Empire's territory. With each strained step forward, the redhead kicked herself as she lamented the biggest mistake she had ever made since joining the war with her companions.

The surroundings grew cold and damp as rain began falling through the tree tops, causing the ground to become muddy and slippery. Eventually, Annette found she could go no further. Her body was beyond exhaustion and hurt intensely. The female's body collapsed against a nearby tree. Annette slowly slid down into a sitting position and watched as the large drops of rain poured down.

If I hadn't forgotten part of the Professor's plan and followed my unit to the east instead of west, I wouldn't have gotten separated. I really am...such a klutz...

Tears sprung to Annette's eyes as she balled her hand into a fist and shoved it into the dirt. As she did, the beautiful sparkling ring on her finger became coated in mud.

"Oh no...!" She shouted, immediately realizing what she had just done. Annette used her other hand to dig around in her pocket in search of a handkerchief. Pulling out the piece of cloth, the clumsy girl began tentatively rubbing it against the ring's surface.

With only a few seconds, the ring was as good as new, thankfully. Annette breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh, thank the Goddess. Leave it to me to immediately mess up the ring he just gave me...Annette let out a half laugh as she forced a smile, Really, I can't believe myself sometimes.

Annette ran her fingers along the ring's pretty gem that reflected her face in it as she looked at it. Her somewhat pained grin transformed into a happy one as she thought of the man who had given the ring only a month ago. While the two of them had been dating since their reunion at Garreg Mach, the actual proposal had come as a complete shock. Though the happiness she received from it certainly out-wayed the surprise.

Annette shut her eyes and let the memory of that day she received the jewelry play back in her mind.

"Marry me."

Annette dropped the watering can she'd been holding, sending a bunch of water spilling everywhere. In sync with this, the girl's mouth also fell agape while the rest of her face went blank.

"Eh? W-What?" The somewhat air-headed girl found her sight falling down at the box being presented to her by her boyfriend, Felix Hugo Fraldarius. Unable to find the right words to respond with in the moment, Annette simply mumbled nervously, "F-Felix, I d..."

"What, you don't want to? Tch." As usual, Felix's voice was stern and somewhat cold. The heir to the Fraldarius house let out an annoyed sigh before turning away, trying to hide his red face, "Forget I said anything then. See you." Was all the man said as he began to take his leave.

Annette felt her surprise turn into instant panic when she saw him walk away. Without even thinking it through, she quickly grabbed hold of Felix's arm, followed by giving the limb a hard yank. The force pulled Felix back towards Annette, and before the two realized, the couple was on the floor with Felix on top. Both of the Blue Lion member's faces turned redder than Edelgard's armor.

"W-What the hell was that for?!" Felix shouted, feeling far more embarrassed now than a few moments ago.

"Because you were about to leave! I had to stop you!"

"Y-Yeah, I was, because you obviously didn't like the ring, woman!"

Annette shook her head dramatically, "T-That wasn't the reason, Felix! I was just shocked. I mean, who just pulls out a proposal in the middle of tending the greenhouse?"

The tsundere warrior clenched his teeth like that of an angry wolf as his cheeks blushed even brighter, "I knew I shouldn't have listened to that dumbass..."

By 'dumbass', Annette could only surmise that her boyfriend was referring to their house's famous playboy Sylvain Jose Gautier.

The couple removed themselves from the floor and turned away, both of them too flustered to know what to say to the other next. However, the silence only lasted a few minutes before Felix gathered up what little was left of his courage to voice his thoughts,

"Look, I get it, all right. I realize better than anyone that I'm not the best choice for a husband. Hell, even I don't think that role suits a warrior like me." Felix groaned while running fingers through his strewn about bangs, "I mean, before I met you, Annette, I never planned on marrying anyone, even for the sake of continuing my family's line. When I first started at the academy, I only wanted to grow stronger. I had no interest at all of taking a partner or doing the cliche things any son of a noble family has to do. But now, things are...different."

Annette parted her lips to say something but her boyfriend placed his fingertip to her mouth to stop her.

Felix's beautiful red orbs trembled as he let out every honest feeling he had, "We've been going out since basically the Blue Lion's reunion. I just thought, that, given the recent events during this goddess forsaken war...and since I'm the one who will have to carry on my family's house since my idiot of a father's gone...a-and since I..c-care about...you, I figured if I had to take a wife, then..."

Annette felt her heartbeat speed up as she observed the precious sight that was a nervous, stuttering Felix. This moment was just as endearing the last time he'd gone into this state, which was ironically the day he confessed to liking her, which had also taken place in the very same greenhouse they stood in now.

Also just like before, Felix ended up becoming so overloaded with his feelings that he suddenly cut himself out and shouted, "Damn it, just forget it, okay! I don't have a frickin' clue what I'm even saying anymore!"

As the dark-haired man made yet another attempt to flee, Annette responded once more with reaching out to him. However, instead of grabbing his arm, she pulled Felix into the tightest hug her tiny body could manage.

"I'll marry you."

"Huh?" Felix looked down at Annette who was peering up at him like an adorable kitten. The only words the embarrassed man could respond with, were, "...You will?"

"W-Well, I do love you too, so o-of course I will!" Annette lowered her face so that her orange bangs fell over her eyes, "I'm sorry, I never meant to make it seem like I rejected you. I was just so...shocked. I guess I've just been having too much fun lately, with us spending all our free days together that I never imagined anything would change." The sweet-hearted girl closed any remaining distance between the two of them. She then rested her chin onto Felix's shoulder lovingly, "Except, I do have one condition. Is that okay?"

Felix, still at a loss, simply returned the hug and whispered back, "What is it...?"

"The next free day we get, you have to help me with writing my newest song."

Felix's gaze fell into his love's as she flashed him one of her famous angelic smiles. Without even realizing he was doing it, the tsundere responded with his rare kind smirk that he only ever showed her when they were alone, "O-okay, sure. What song will it be this time? More swamp besties, or maybe a sequel to the library piece?"

Annette's smile deepened as her boyfriend continued to excitedly press for details about the song. Though he didn't know it yet, Annette had the most perfect idea for this song than any of her past works. And she knew once it was finished, Felix would be happier than he ever had been listening to the other songs.

Ahh...that's right. We never got to...finish it...

A thick stream of red flowed down Annette's chin as she came back into contact with realty. Slowly, she raised her left hand to admire the ring again. However, this time, the sight of the lovely jewelry was blurred and hard to make out.

Hot tears fell as Annette tried to calm her breathing, feeling a disturbing feeling rise from within her.

"It'll be okay. I may be too weak to use any of my white magic to heal, and I've also run out of all my concoctions the Professor had given me before the battle, but..."

The sight of Felix's handsome features flashed through Annette's mind in time with a bit of lightning that struck near where she rested. The loud sound of thunder crackling was drowned out in Annette's mind by her love's voice repeating things he'd said to her over their time together,

"You have nice footwork."

"I can't forget. It's permanently etched into my memory."

"If you blow up the library, where will we put the books?"

"You shouldn't dance up there, you could fall."

"What, you're not going to sing anymore?"

"It's like I'm your captive. I hear you sing whenever I'm asleep, or on the battlefield..."

"Sing for me, please Annette?"

The light in Annette's eyes soon became as gray as the sky overhead as she listened to her memories carefully. With each second, she could feel her consciousness begin to fade. So an idea came to mind.

Using the last bit of energy remaining within her, Annette pulled out her magic grimoire and cast a spell she had recently learned in secret back in the Garreg Mach library. Though it was her first time really using the spell, she was sure it would work. After mumbling an incantation, a clear orb of light appeared in midair. Annette stared into the orb, watching her reflection in the orb's clear surface.

He never...got to hear the finished version...and knowing Felix, I'm sure he'll be super angry if he doesn't get to listen to it just once.

Despite the fact that Annette's body had lost all feeling and ability to move now, she pushed herself with everything she had to flash one goofy grin at the orb. Her blood-stained lips then parted as she began to sing.

"Hey, you hear something?"

Two Imperial soldiers walked along the woods, set on the task to find any remaining enemies still sneaking around.

"No, do you?" The second Imp asked his comrade who seemed to be looking off in a specific direction.

"Call me crazy, but I swear I hear a girl singing. It's coming from over here..."

The two followed the sound until, just as the first soldier had stated- a girl came into sight before them. Her voice was hoarse and weak. The singing had gotten much quieter too in the short time it had taken the Imps to discover her. The men approached the tree, both drawing their swords as they did so. The singing immediately stopped as the dying woman looked up at them with eyes as dead as a fish's.

"Tch, this bitch is totally finished. Just look at that disgusting face over hers."

"She's probably a stray from that damned Kingdom army. Just finish her and we can go back home."

The first soldier leered down at her as he raised his sword. Weapon ready to strike its final blow, the man asked the girl, "Any last words, you brat?"

She watched both men for a minute, her expression still and unshaken. For a moment, the soldiers wondered if she'd already bit the dust. However, without warning, a weak smile found itself across the girl's face. A shaking arm covered in bruises and crimson reached out to one of the men.

The Imps just exchanged looks and shook their heads in disgust. His patience completely gone by this point, the soldier brought down his sword. As he did, the girl's voice could just barely be heard as the steel of the weapon slashed through her flesh.

"Well...did you like the song...Felix...?"

The sound of her body falling into the mud was drowned out as the rain pounded down harder than it had. The only thing that could be heard after was the sound of two cackling males.

"Felix, slow down! If you keep charging through enemy territory like this, we'll get sniped before we can ever find her!"

"Shut the hell up, Sylvain! Finding her is more important than anything else right now!"

The two distressed childhood friends rode through the last place their fellow comrades had seen Annette before she'd gotten separated from the army.

"J-Just calm down, man! It's bad enough you cursed his Highness and Teach out before stealing one of the army's horses and..."

"I SAID TO SHUT UP!"

Sylvain had basically lived his entire life being screamed at by Felix. Their entire relationship really was just 99% of the grouchy male shouting at the playboy. However, the way Felix had shrieked at him just now was unlike any of the other times. Felix's voice was beyond cracking, almost as if he were choking back the urge to cry from the fear he was currently experiencing.

From the moment Byleth had informed their class of Annette's missing whereabouts, Felix had become an entirely different person. Honestly, his disposition was reminiscent of Dimitri's wild behavior from a month prior.

Deciding to remain quiet, the son of the Gautier house continued riding behind Felix. It didn't take long before they finally reached the place they had set out for. Though what they discovered there, was far from anything the two had hoped for.

"Oh shit..." Sylvain choked out as he and Felix dismounted their horses.

Felix's face that had been full of panic and anger a moment ago was now overtaken with a mix of horror and sorrow as he took in the disturbing sight by a tree in the forest's center.

"Ah..." Felix stumbled through a mix of dirt and blood on the ground over to a figure lying motionless on the ground. With each inch closer the usually stoic man got to the scene, his heart clenched painfully. Eventually, Felix made it over so he could get a clear view of the sight. For a moment, he just stood still. Looking down at the body, he noticed a bloody ring shimmering up at him.

Sylvain swallowed hard while he waited Felix to voice their worst fears. However, when Felix stood motionless for a solid two minutes, the redhead became concerned and tried to call out to his best friend. As Felix's name left Sylvain's mouth, another bolt of lightning flashed- lighting up every part of the dark scenery around them. Time itself seemed to come to a stop for only a second. In the lit up area, Sylvain felt his breath leave him when his eyes caught sight of Annette laying there at Felix's feet, her face lifeless as could be. As the lightning finished striking, Felix fell to his knees. As he did, the tie holding his long hair back snapped. Black locks flew around and then coated over Felix's face. His mind shutting down, Felix's body began moving on its arms took hold of Annette's breathless body. Holding her close, Felix ran fingers along his fiance's ice cold cheeks. He pushed some straying hairs out of her still opened eyes as his hallow ones stared down at her.

"...Sorry...for being late..." Felix's voice was disturbingly calm as he spoke. His head fell against Annette's own, "I've been late the last several times during our cleaning duties lately too...you'll have to scold me later, won't you..." Though his eyes held no emotion in them anymore, beads of water formed in their corners, "...Annette..."

Sylvain turned away from the scene, partially to give his best friend some privacy but also because his own heart could barely take this scene.

"Why the hell did this have to happen to her of all people...Damn the Empire..." Slyvain shut his eyes painfully as he lamented everything about this situation. Of all the horrors their class had witnessed in this awful war, this was by far the worst. After some time, the rain finally let up. Noticing the change, Sylvain decided the next course of action they should take. He slowly made his way over to Felix who was still holding Annette in silence.

Placing a hand onto Felix's shoulder, Sylvain spoke, "Hey, Felix...I think we should start heading ba-" But the red haired male was cut off mid-sentence when the corner of his eye caught something odd shining from the ground nearby. Walking over to it, he picked up what appeared to be a sphere of some sort.

"What the hell is this...? An enemy's weapon they dropped, or...?" In an attempt to discover what the item was, Slyvain began messing around with the orb in hand. After pressing a finger to a certain spot, the orb suddenly glowed more brightly. A moment later, Annette's smiling face could be seen mirrored in the sphere's center.

"F-Felix, look!"

Hesitant to listen to anything at this point, said male reluctantly looked back. His red eyes widened greatly when he spotted the face of his love reflecting from the sphere in his friend's hand.

"What..."

Before the two men could say anything else, Annette's voice echoed from the object and her face began moving as if she were still alive before them,

"Hi, Felix. If you're watching this, than, uh...I may...already be gone. I'm casting a special spell so I can make sure I show you something special, just in case...you don't...make it here in ti-"

The sphere showed Annette hacking up blood before she continued. Both Felix and Sylvain watched in agony as the recording continued.

"S-Sorry about that! You know me, Felix, I'm such a klutz. I kinda...got into some trouble after getting separated from the others, so please don't mind my, ...appearance, okay? Hee hee."

Felix's vision blurred intensely as he kept watching the last moments of Annette from the sphere.

Anyway, I didn't ever get to show you the finished song. You know, the one we came up with together. I made some changes to it without telling you, and I wanted you to hear it. I think you'll really like this one. Be sure to let me know what you think, okay? Remember Felix, I won't forgive you if you don't tell me how you feel about it afterwards! Oh, and..." Annette paused before bringing up her hands in an apology gesture, "I never made a dance to go along with this one. Sorry about that...I know how much you loved my footwork after all. But to make up for the lack of dance, I-I put in extra love! Oh, geez, that actually sounded way less cheesy in my head...Uh, anyways...here it goes. I hope you enjoy it, Felix!"

Annette's face brightened as her took in a deep breath. A second later, her beautiful singing sounded out.

The song was unlike anything Felix had ever heard from her. It was as cutesy and happy as any of her others, but the her voice went to a different level when it sung this number. The lyrics spoke of her feelings for him and the future she was excited to share with Felix once the war was finally over. Though the song only lasted a moment before the recording finally cut out, the music touched to his very core. Unable to hold himself back any longer, Felix dropped to the ground again and took hold of Annette's body. As the lyrics of her song ran through his mind, the sound of his pained sobs drowned out everything else. Meanwhile, Sylvain walked back over to the horses and turned his eyes towards the sky. How cruel and how ironic the sky looked overhead. It had been pouring since the moment the battle against the Empire started but now it was free of clouds and showing the first sight of the sun peering down at them.

...That sky...it's a lot like Annette herself. Bright and free of any dark at all. I wonder if she's watching us from up there with the Goddess...

Sylvain buried his head against the neck of his horse as he too let his emotions overcome him.

Meanwhile, Felix still clung to Annette. As he did, his low voice could be heard singing back the song Annette had performed in the magic sphere.

As the song repeated over and over, the ring on Felix's finger clenched against Annette's.

By a strange turn of fate, two very different people met at the Officer's Academy five years ago. The two were polar opposites in near every way but despite this, the two found joy in each other's company. Though their future together had been ripped away, the Blue Lions would never forget the love that had been shared between their powerful warrior and pure angel.

Author's Comments: Let me just say one thing...I apologize for the abrupt end of this. I do think I wanna write one more chapter to this but my brain just gave out at the end here and I couldn't think of any more so I'm very sorry *bows*

I also apologize for not actually writing out Annette's song. I so very wanted to but Annette has such a unique song style and I can't write songs for crap any ways. Though if any one is willing to come up with one, I'll be more than happy to include and credit you in the next chapter.

I bet you guys are wondering just how TF I'm gonna write another chapter after this major angst, so I'll give you a hint: Byleth's powers. That's all I'm gonna say.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading. Please, please, PLEASE leave a review if you enjoyed and what you hope to see in the next chapter. Feedback is very appreciated

#felix hugo fraldarius #annette dominic #fire emblem three houses #fanfic #felix x annette #felianne #felix #annette #angst #fe3h #fe #fire emblem #sylvain gautier

58 notes · View notes

kodzukuroken · 4 years

Text

Seasons change, but people... Do too I guess.|Chapter. 3, Change

Genre: Angst, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers

Summary: You and Tsukishima had been friends for years but upon the arrival of a very special invitation, your relationship takes a sudden change. Will your long-harbored crush for your best friend finally come into the light? Or will your relationship be altered for good?

Aka, Reader is an artist who is in love with Tsukki, there's angst, there are laughs, there are three established captain relationships! What could a person want?

Pairings: Tsukishima Kei x Reader (Kuroo Tetsuro x Kenma Kozume, Bokuto Koutarou x Akaashi Keiji, Daichi Sawamura x Sugawara Koshi)

Warnings: Drinking, Swearing, Smut

Read on Ao3 | This will update before Tumblr

This is the 4th chapter (including the prologue). I really love writing this story, there are currently 6 chapters out on AO3, so if you’d like to read past this chapter that’s where you can do it! Enjoy!

It took you about a year to fully get back to some kind of normal after everything that had happened. It was slow at first, after that night at Kenma and Kuroo’s they’d given you a ride back to your place but within minutes of being there, you couldn’t stand the sight of it anymore. You’d never realised it before, but Kei was all over that place. His old volleyball sweaters in your closet, photos of the two of you on the fridge and a small plush dinosaur that he’d won you at a carnival in college. Your apartment suddenly felt too big, too empty and after putting all of the things that reminded you of him into boxes, you found yourself not stopping until everything was boxed up. You’d called Kuroo the next day and he’d helped you move everything out, and into your art studio. He seemed concerned at first, the idea of you living in the same place that you worked but the gallery owner and boss didn’t seem to mind as long as you kept it to yourself.

“Otherwise I’ll have all of you starving artists living up there in some kind of commune” he’d said in an annoyed tone that reminded you of Kei.

For the first few months, you were basically a hermit. You spent your time painting and working in the gallery and basically nothing else. If you did have to go out, for groceries or something else you did that as late as possible. You didn’t want to run any risk of accidentally running into Kei again like that night in the summer, or worse run into him and his new girlfriend and she fawned all over him. Luckily, the universe had seemingly given up pushing the two of you together and you managed to get time to heal. Around Christmas time was when inspiration first really struck you again. After everything that had happened and Kei’s discouraging words about your art, you’d found it exceedingly difficult to come up with anything original. You kept up with your commission work and a few other landscape paintings that you knew would sell in the gallery but you could never really seemed to paint anything that meant anything to you. This was until one day in the winter when a friend of yours from the gallery had come to raid your studio for supplies and had found the torn-up canvas with the destroyed painting of you and Kei on it. She’d asked if she could have it, to repair and paint over, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to let it go. You couldn’t understand why at first, you’d managed to put everything else that reminded you of him away why not this too? But as the cogs in your brain began to turn, you realised what you had to do with it.

From then, you found yourself diving into probably the largest project of your life. Several large scale paintings, all some of your best work and all that your boss had deemed “exhibition worthy”. You couldn’t believe it when he’d first said it, you’d always had your work displayed in the gallery, something your boss had been nice enough to do for all the up and coming artists who worked there. However, nobody who worked there had ever even been offered the prospect of an exhibition, those went to more well-known artists the ones who were all the rage on social media or whose work had made it into the best magazines. You didn’t hesitate to agree of course, and before you knew it, almost a year after all the awfulness with Kei you finally felt like you were on a road to a new normal.

“It’s called Change,” you told Kuroo and Kenma one night at dinner. “You guys will be there right? It starts in two weeks.” Kenma nodded furiously, but Kuroo was off somewhere else. It wasn’t until Kenma nudged his husband in the ribs that he even realised you’d been talking to him.

“Huh?” he looked at Kenma who gestured to you.

“(y/n) is asking you to attend the biggest event of her career babe, be present” you giggled lightly.

“Oh sorry (y/n) I guess I was just distracted. We’ll be there, of course, we will, when is it?”

“Two weeks” you repeated “Tetsurõ, are you okay? You’ve been off all night” he laughed, about to undoubtedly come up with some kind of excuse but Kenma nudged his side again, a little harder this time.

“Ow!”

“Just tell her” Kenma shot back.

“Tell me what?” Kuroo was silent for a minute and then decided his husband was right.

“Okay, but promise you won’t be mad?” you rolled your eyes and he continued “I saw Tsukki yesterday.”

“Oh” the sound left your mouth before you could stop it, you hadn’t heard that name in a while.

“I promise (y/n), it’s the first time since everything happened with you guys. I was so mad for what he did to you, but then…”

“Then?” you questioned you hated that you were so intrigued by any of this.

“Well, Bokuto suggested we meet up, just some of the guys from training camp days. I didn’t even think about it at the time but when Bo said it would be at Tsukki’s place I-”

“You were at his place?” god why were you asking? You could already feel the pit forming in your stomach. Kuroo nodded and looked at you with guilty eyes.

“I met her (y/n)” now you were lost for words. Suddenly it felt as though everything you’d done this past year had been for nothing, you still weren’t over it.

“She’s not you,” Kuroo chimed back in “he’s not the same with her as he ever was with you, I can see it. He doesn’t look at her like he did with you, he doesn’t joke with her.” Kuroo paused for a minute and looked around as if he was about to tell some kind of shocking secret.

“(y/n) she’s nice to him, like actually nice. She doesn’t challenge him like you did… he’s bored.”

You shut your eyes tightly trying to push down the bubbling hope in your stomach.

“No,” you said squeezing tighter so that you could see patterns behind your eyelids.

“It’s true!” Kuroo began again but you shook your head.

“Tetsurõ please, don’t do this, I can’t. Not again.”

“Okay, okay,” he said “I’ll drop it” you opened your eyes to see a solemn look on both his and Kenmas faces. Kuroo extended his hand and placed it on yours.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, eyes doe-esque and wide.

“No, of course not. He was your friend too. I just, I can’t do that again. I was in so much pain after that night.” The two nodded and with that, the subject was dropped. Kuroo went on to ask more questions about your exhibit, evidently trying to distract you from what had just happened. But it was too late, the door that you’d taken so long to force closed in your mind was open again and you were thinking about him.

Two weeks later when your exhibition began you could not have felt more loved. Kuroo and Kenma came the first night, with a huge bouquet of wildflowers and a bottle of champagne. You’d showed them around and felt giddy at the genuine look of pride on their faces. A few nights later Bokuto and Akaashi stopped by, Bokuto was confused by most of your paintings but no less enthusiastic because of it. He even said that he wanted to buy one particular painting because it “looked like the back of Akaashi’s head”. But you told him that you didn’t plan on parting with them any time soon. Your exhibition got more reception than just your friends though, some of the attendees were really big deals in the art world, you’d even ended being interviewed by a local news station. Overall, the exhibition had gone off without a hitch, attendance was consistent and there were no huge disasters. That was until the last night of your show.

There was only about an hour left until the gallery closed, most people had come and gone for the day. The only people who were left besides yourself were your boss and a few of your coworkers. They’d brought out a bottle of champagne and a few glasses and were toasting in your honour.

“To (y/n)!” your boss said brightly and blush rose in your cheeks as they all cheered. You were half-way through thanking them all for their help when you’d noticed you were no longer alone. You caught a glance of his figure out of the corner your eye first and it wasn’t until you’d turned that your drink caught in your throat and you realized who it was. Standing there, in the middle of the gallery staring up at your paintings was Kei. The pit from two weeks ago began to reappear in your stomach and you began to feel your heart pounding in your ears. It wasn’t until your co-worker saw who you were looking at that you managed to snap out of it.

“Who’s the tall glass of water in the jacket?” he’d asked, sipping his drink. You hadn’t noticed at first, but Kei was wearing a stylish dark blue jacket with a colour coordinated turtleneck underneath, his glasses were new too. Your stomach churned as you scanned his new look, it wasn’t that he looked bad, god no, quite the opposite. It was that he looked incredible, the clothes fit him perfectly but you’d known that they weren’t ones he’d chosen for himself. All things considered, Kei had always had a pretty good sense of style for someone who didn’t care about fashion, but he’d never tried at it, it was just what he wore. This had thought put into it, this was her handy work.

“Uh, he’s an old friend” you finally replied after what felt like minutes. You held out your glass and he took it from you smiling and turned back to the group.

Your legs were weak as you walked and it wasn’t because of the heeled boots you were wearing. However, their clack on the hardwood floor had alerted Kei of your presence and now he was staring right at you.

“Hey,” you said, surprised at how natural your voice managed to sound given the circumstances. He looked back up at your work,

“Hi.” you were both quiet before he spoke again “I saw a flyer for the show, and before I knew it” he trailed off, the pit in your stomach began to bubble with hope again. You both stood in silence for a while staring at your feet and he at your painting before you couldn’t stand it any more.

“There’s an order yano” you gestured around the room “to all of this.” He met your eyes for the first time that night, god you’d missed his eyes. “Want me to show you?” and in his very Kei way, he answered with silence.

You led him to the painting closest to the door, it was one of the smaller ones in the collection, but still above your average size of painting. It was an abstract painting of a pair of broken glasses, painted perfectly from memory of one of your first times hanging out with Kei. You stood there for a moment, letting him stare and the work, he cocked his head to the side and a little and then looked at you expectantly. You led him to the next one.

The second painting was the view out of a window, looking out onto your old college campus in the fall. The painting was filled with oranges and reds, you liked this one a lot, it almost looked like flames. It was the view from Kei’s dorm room window, the same one you’d sat at years ago.

You led him around a few more paintings, all different scenes from your lives together. One depicted the carnival you’d attended together in your first year of college, another the sunset you’d watched together on the day you’d both graduated. They were all painted from memory, every one of them had sat like postcards in your brain, you’d had to get them out.

Finally, you led him to the end of the room, where the final two paintings stood side by side. The penultimate painting was the one he’d been staring at when you’d noticed his presence. It was a self-portrait. Your abstract figure sat, hunched over on an ornate spiral staircase. Your face was hidden, but the dress was the exact same colour as the one you wore on the night you’d kissed Kei.

The final painting was by far the largest in the set, it was one that had become so familiar to you that it had seemed the show was incomplete without it. There, towering above the two of you, was the painting you’d shown Kei on the night you’d fought. The red paint was still there, splattered over the pair of your faces, but the once shredded canvas had been repaired. You’d spent hours in your studio sewing the canvas back together, and the thick black thread that you’d used to do so stuck out against the bright paint.

You were both silent for a while longer, and when you were sure that he’d had enough to process you spoke again.

“I know this kind of stuff isn’t usually your thing.”

“No, but I think I got it.” There was something so familiar about the way he’d said it, that honesty mixed with smug that you hadn’t heard in so long. You’d really missed it.

“Kei I-” you began, but you were cut off by your boss's hand on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry to interrupt (y/n) but we should really close up.” Fuck.

“I guess I should go,” he said, but you couldn’t reply. You wanted so badly to protest but you just couldn’t get the words out. He turned to you once more before leaving.

“Goodbye (y/n)” and with that, he disappeared out into the night.

When Kei got back to his apartment late that night his head was reeling. He couldn’t believe what he’d done. He’d been standing in the grocery store what felt like forever ago now and had seen the flyer for your show in the window. Without even thinking, he’d dropped his groceries and had walked the few short blocks over to your gallery. He wasn’t shocked to see you there, he’d kind of expected it really but what he didn’t expect was how fucking good you’d look. The last time he’d seen you you’d looked so... broken. Your hair had been a mess and you’d looked completely exhausted, he had still found you endlessly attractive but it was more the kind in which all he wanted to do was take care of you but he’d done the exact opposite of that. But tonight you looked so good that he could barely keep himself breathing. The way your tight black clothes had hugged you so perfectly and the small lift that your shoes had given you just enough height to bring you to eye level with him, you were literally breathtaking. And the way you’d spoken with such ease when you’d seen him as if nothing he had done had ever affected you, as if you were completely over everything he’d done to you just over a year ago.

Your work had been incredible too, it was all so beautiful he could see your thought process in every single brush stroke on the canvas. It made his heart swell in a way art never had. He was even more impressed in the way you’d managed to remember so many aspects of your relationship. The exact shade of black metal of his glasses from all those years ago and that small crack in the window of his dorm room from college. You’d remembered it all so well and it was right there on the canvas. He’d felt as though he was being transported back to all the best moments of his life, all the moments with you. And when you finally led him over to the final painting in your exhibit, his heart had shattered all over again. It was the painting you’d shown him that night, even with all the red paint and damage he could have recognised it anywhere. He thought back to the first time he’d seen it, it was so beautiful, so full of colour and true emotion but he couldn’t enjoy it. He’d felt guilty, guilty for the way he’d treated you that night at the wedding, guilty for finding someone else when he’d been trying all the time to tell you how he really felt. But rather than apologize rather than try to fix things he’d ran, your words that night had hurt him so badly but it wasn’t because they were inaccurate. You’d been right, he’d known that even then, he was running from you, from something he’d wanted for so long but fear had set in and got the better of him. Fear of hurting you, the fear of things not working and ruining seven years of friendship. So instead he decided to do exactly what he’d feared doing in the first place. God, he was a fucking idiot.

It wasn’t until the light in the hallway flipped on that Kei noticed how long he’d been standing in the darkness of his apartment.

“Tsukki?” he looked towards the source. It was his girlfriend standing there, arms crossed and a little blurry-eyed, he’d obviously woken her.

“Where did you go? You’ve been out for hours” she asked, she was in her pyjamas. They were matching, pink and silky. You had never worn matching pyjamas, you’d usually just worn whatever old Karasuno sweatshirt you’d stolen from him and shorts. His chest tightened at the memory.

“ Kei? ” she asked again, a little more annoyed this time.

“Somethingcameupatwork” he muttered quickly and tried to push past her into the bedroom but she put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Work? You’ve used that excuse three times this week Tsukki!” he didn’t answer her, just stood there staring into her eyes. Your eyes were so bright compared to hers, she always seemed to look annoyed even when she was completely content, Kei missed your eyes.

“You’re seriously not going to tell me where you’ve been?” she asked but he just shrugged. He knew he should be better to her, she was a very nice girl but after seeing you tonight it didn’t feel worth it to pretend anymore.

“Fine.” she spat. “I’m done Tsukki, done.” He didn’t try to protest, he just leant against the wall in the hallway until she had changed out of her pyjamas back into whatever clothes she’d arrived in. Then once she’d gathered her things, he watched her walk out the door without another word. He knew what he’d done was shitty, but he couldn’t really care about that right now. He would apologise tomorrow.

He sat down on the couch and pulled out his phone, he was half-praying that you might have texted him, but then again who knew if you even still had his number in your phone? He pulled up Instagram and typed in your username, he wasn’t much for social media so he hadn’t really checked your profile since the two of you stopped talking. There was only one post he recognised to be something he hadn’t seen, he guessed you might have secluded yourself from social media in order to produce the kind of work he’d seen tonight. There was no way you’d had any distractions. He clicked on the new post, it was a video of you being interviewed by a local news channel and it was captioned “Hey look! I was the news!” with a bunch of those stupid emoticons you loved. He turned up the sound on his phone and listened to you speak.

“Someone once asked me what I did, I was so young at the time, but even then I’d known what to say.” you paused for a minute and he noticed your eyes wander down to your feet just like they had since you were young. “I’d told them I was an artist, that I liked to make things. And that’s what I do, any time that my soul is at odds with reality I take that and make something from it. And that's what this project is, it’s the process of grieving… and moving on.” Kei swore he could have seen the smallest amount of tears raise in your eyes, but the camera wasn’t close enough to see. He listened to the video a few more times, you were talking about him. He was the one who has asked you that all those years ago in the kitchen of that party. He couldn’t believe you still thought about that day when the two of you had first met. Of course, he did too from time to time, but he’d never thought that that conversation had ever had any kind of effect on you. He was so glad that he was wrong.

2 notes · View notes

your-modern-shakespeare · 4 years

Text

Just Like You (24)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23

Summary: You are an experiment, the first of its kind. One day you escape and are living a normal life when you run into a perfect stranger or was he?

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 5365

A/N: Well...it’s my birthday today so I decided to post a birthday chapter. I originally wanted to post this on March 10th but realized right as I was about to post, the first half of the chapter had already been posted so...I’m dumb. But it’s up for today even thought being quarantined has sucked the life out of me and will do the same for me today. I hope someone enjoys this but I don’t know. Enjoy.

Warnings: angst, non-cannon info (?), kissing, some fluff, google translate, flashback, POV switching, a little bit of a cliff hanger

Tags: @thisisthelilith, @thesalsafic, @fangirl1802, @lust-for-pan, @iamwarrenspeace, @the-red-world-of-jess-chibi, @ssweet-empowerment

BUCKY’S POV

1 Month Later

I walked into the hospital room and sat down on the bed next to her, like I did every day since we got here. She was still asleep, no surprise there.

So I pulled out the next letter, an identical match to the other ones I had written to her every day since we got here, and sat on the bed beside her. I looked over at the ever growing stack of them, sitting beside her bed, all 207 of them, and opened the newest one. I grabbed her hand, moved real close to her, and began the next letter.

Dear Y/N,

It’s been 6 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days since everything was normal. But it’s also been, officially, 1 year since we left Bucharest. Happy 116th Birthday.

Steve wanted to come in and throw some kind of party for my 100th birthday but it feels wrong to celebrate today without you. I thought we would both make it to this day and even though you’re physically here, it’s not the same. I wanted to take you out to dinner and I wanted to bake you cupcakes and everything else I had planned for us last year. I want to do these things because you’re here and you deserve it, I don’t want to do anything without you.

Bruce and Tony have been working really hard to figure this out and everyone else has been looking for new HYDRA information everytime they go out on a mission. They said that they had an idea, they’ve been working on it for a while though so I don’t know if it’ll work. They came to your room a couple of days ago to explain this idea and I want to say that I understood everything they said but I would be lying…

I wanted to wait until I understood everything to write it down but maybe when you’re reading these it’ll make sense to you. They couldn’t stop talking about trying to control the serum, that they thought that there was a harmless way to move the serum from all over your body to just a part of your body. The serum would be concentrated enough for you to control but they couldn’t tell me what the after effects would be to do something like this. Would you be in pain as the serum moved? Would you feel the serum once it was concentrated? What would move it and what would make it stay once it was moved?

Unfortunately I didn’t get those answers and probably because I am being hard on them. I hate to admit it but the things I’ve learned about what HYDRA did to you, about all the things you’ve endured, it’s made it hard for me to accept these experiments. I don’t want you to go through any more pain, I don’t want you to have to deal with this. God if there was a way I could take away your pain, I would in a heartbeat. But it doesn't work that way.

So instead I’m just waiting for some kind of miracle to happen and maybe next year we’ll get to celebrate our birthdays together.

Love,

STEVE’S POV

The three of us stood outside of the hospital room, looking in through the glass window, watching as bucky sat there reading another letter to a sleeping Y/N. The last six months have been nothing but a huge search for answers. If we weren’t in Wakanda sleeping or resting from a mission, we were on a mission. It kept us busy but it also didn’t yield many results which was the most frustrating part of it all. That and the fact that we still had you in a coma.

I had wanted so badly to have you awake for Bucky’s birthday...and yours too I guess. Which is why I was hoping to anyone listening that Tony was right in this experiment.

“Tony, how sure are you about this?”

“I’m at like...98%?”

“Well I need you to be at 198%. We didn’t tell Bucky we were doing this so it has to work.”

“Look...I know that everyone wants answers to whatever is happening but I don’t know them, I act like I have them but I don’t. What I do know 100%, is that Y/N will know something that we don’t know. She knows a lot more about everything, HYDRA or otherwise. My goal isn’t to fix her right now, I just need to plug the hole so that I can wake her up. We have to stabilize her and I think that pushing as much of the serum as possible away from her brain and her arm would give her the control that she needs to wake up and give us some of the answers we’re looking for.”

“And what about these robots?”

“Well, when we x-rayed Bucky we noticed a strange reaction happening in the shoulder joint near his arm. Because his arm was amputated and healed before putting the arm on, there’s no real connection between the flesh of his shoulder and the vibranium of the arm, that we can see anyway. And yet the serum is still drawn to the vibranium, it’s why we think the arm was used as an additional way of controlling him. We think that when Bucky is activated the combination of the serum and mind control is what makes him obedient to whoever controls him and the metal would essentially behave in the same manner because not only is it attached to him but it can mimic the same reaction as the serum.” Bruce said.

“Mimic?”

“There’s some kind of connection between the two that we don’t understand. We did tests on the serum and the vibranium and the results were always the exact same. Ther serum was made with basic chemistry, there’s not much in there that we couldn’t find in labs today but vibranium...there’s a reason it’s locked up here in Wakanda. They know how powerful it is, they know the strength behind their technology that uses it. HYDRA found out what it could do and they connected the two together and somehow it works. So we wanted to use the same methods against them, to save her.” Tony said

“The vibranium microbots that we injected into her IV a couple of days ago, will essentially connect with the serum and will slowly push the serum down to her legs. This will give us the time that we need to wake her up and figure out how to fix this for good.” Bruce finished.

“I really hope so.” I said.

BUCKY’S POV

I was sitting in the chair, feet propped up on the side of her bed, holding her hand and watching some TV show that I couldn't understand. I was going in and out of consciousness pretty frequently, but it wasn’t sticking and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because every time I opened my eyes I was waiting for some kind of birthday miracle. I just wanted to see her eyes again maybe even her smile, but I could settle for one.

I must have finally given up because the next time I woke up the sun was starting to set and Steve was now sitting in the room.

“How’s it going?” He asked.

“The same as it has been for the last 200 days.”

“Well I know that you didn’t want to do anything for your birthday but I thought it would be nice to do a little something to hopefully bring up your spirits.” He pulled out a box and opened the lid, pulling out one of two cupcakes. He reached out to hand me one of them and I couldn’t help but think about the moment that we met two years ago.

Bucharest, Romania

March 10, 2015

BUCKY’S POV

Keep your eyes on the ground, hat pulled down low, don’t look suspicious. Be aware but don’t look paranoid. Don’t give anyone a reason to believe that you don’t belong there.

I kept these thoughts as a constant reminder, kept them right at the forefront of my mind. I escaped. I escaped and I’m okay.

I just had to keep moving, I had to find somewhere safe to live, somewhere where no one could find me. Was Bucharest far enough away from them? Could they find me here or do I need to keep moving?

I’m so tired of running. I’m tired. And hungry.

Just keep moving.

Just keep moving...right into someone.

I ran right into someone, the only downside to keeping your head down was that sometimes you couldn’t see who was right in front of you, especially if they’re not looking either. She had been holding something in her hands, a cupcake, I think, and it was now smothered between the two of us.

“Imi pare foarte rau.” (I’m really sorry.) She says first.

“Este bine.” (It’s good.) I didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel bad about ruining her pastry. I looked up at her to apologize as well, but couldn’t get the words out when I saw her face. She was beautiful, simple as that, easily someone that I would have dated back when I was normal. And yet at the same time she was somehow familiar which was strange and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t want to perceive her as a threat but I could have taken her down if needed. I really didn’t want to though...

“Apartamentul meu e chiar acolo, dacă doriți să curețe.” (My apartment is right there if you want to clean up.) The gesture was nice and under different circumstances I wouldn’t hesitate to take her up on her offer, not only because I was covered in frosting, but because I felt like I wanted to spend more time with her.

When I looked at her, I saw flashes of my past. They weren’t of her, obviously given my age and the fact that she couldn’t be over 25, but she reminded me of that time. How easy it was back then to be attracted to someone, to want to pursue a relationship, to be normal...

“Da te rog.” (Yes please) She shyly smiled back at me and let me follow her back to her apartment. I watched her as we walked and the strange thing I noticed was that she walked exactly the same as I did, eyes to the ground, head down low, trying to make herself as small and as unnoticeable as possible.

I followed her into this building that wasn’t the nicest place in the city but was much nicer than anything I had been staying in since I left them. We walked up flight after flight of stairs, still paying close attention to her and finding it strange that she wasn’t winded at all by the distance we had gone up. Maybe she was used to it? Maybe I’m overthinking everything?

I pushed the thought aside and she unlocked her door letting me into the apartment first. The place was much nicer than the building, she didn't have much but what she did have went together. There were no pictures of anything and no real decorations, just a simple layout, like she hadn’t been there long. I’m overthinking again.

“Do you speak English?” She asked amongst my inspection of her apartment. Her english sounded okay, but the Russian accent was heavy and more alarming than I would have liked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“That’s great. The bathroom is just down the hall, on the right.” She pointed to the hallway to the left of the door where I was standing,

“Thank you.” I quickly disappeared into the restroom, removed my backpack and grabbed a clean shirt to put on. I tried my best to rinse out the dirty shirt and dry it before putting it back in my bag, but it was just going to have to be a little wet. I was about to head out when I looked in the mirror one last time. I took in a deep breath and just reminded myself to remain calm. There was no way that she was HYDRA, they didn’t know where I was. There was no way for them to know.

Eventually I calmed down enough to step outside the restroom and right as I opened the door I saw her coming out of her room, in a new shirt and a bottle of water in her hands, but she seemed a little more nervous now...which made me nervous.

“So, I’m really sorry about the cupcake. The baker down the street had given it to me as a birthday gift.” She said, once again apologizing. She also seemed a lot more shy, having not looked me in the eye since we got into her apartment.

“It’s your birthday?” I asked, surprised.

“Yep.”

“Mine too.” When I said that she finally looked up at me.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So birthday boy, do you have a name?” She smiled at me but immediately tried to hide it. I just looked at her and I hesitated because I was paranoid and because I wasn’t sure if I wanted her to know my name, but then again HYDRA never called me by my name let alone my nickname.

“Bucky.”

“Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you.” I tried to come off a little less tense but I think she could definitely tell that I was.

“Nice to meet you too. Can I get you anything? Water, food?”

“A water would be nice.” I was starving but I really didn’t want to impose, especially if she was an innocent bystander like I was trying to convince myself she was.

She made her way over to the kitchen and I absentmindedly followed her, just watching her move again. She was so graceful, there was just this sort of ease about the way she moved, almost mesmerizing. She looked back at me briefly to hand me the bottle of water and then grabbed a plum from a bowl on the counter.

She took a big bite of the fruit, trying her hardest not to look at me as she thought real hard about something, wrinkles forming on her forehead from the effort. I watched her lips move, the act itself being more mesmerizing than her movements; It was such a strange action from me. Keep my eyes on the ground, head down low, easy steps to follow and yet I couldn’t help but look at her.

I had to distract myself so I opened the bottle of water and nearly chugged the whole thing.

“Can I ask you something?” She said, cutting the thick tension in the room as if she had a knife in her hands.

“Sure.”

“Have we met before? I know it’s a weird question and I don’t want to freak you out, but sometimes I have problems with my memory and I just feel like I have seen you before.”

“I don’t think we have but I’m kind of in the same boat as you. My memory is not in the best shape.”

“Then can I ask something else?”

“Okay.” Now she was making me very nervous. She hesitated before asking her next question, obviously just as nervous to ask.

“Do you know what HYDRA is?” I automatically took a few steps back, wanting to get as far away as I could.

“Who are you?” I asked, every single nerve on high alert and telling me to get away as fast as possible.

“So you do?” She seemed...scared. We couldn’t tear our eyes away from each other, watching each other intently.

“Yes.”

“Can I explain myself?”

“If you try anything, you'll be dead before you know it.”

“I’m a soldier, the very first. I was born on March 10, 1901. My father was in charge of the HYDRA Siberian Facility and he willingly gave me over to be experimented on. I don’t remember much after that, the only thing that keeps running through my head, the only thing that I have never forgotten was putting a bullet in his head. It was August 17, 1963.” She looked upset and I couldn’t help but relax a little at her words. She was like me, she was running from them. And for the first time in a long time I began to trust again.

“You’re a soldier?”

“Yes.”

“I am too. James Buchanan Barnes. I was born March 10, 1917. I fought in World War II with my best friend. I fell off a train and lost my arm. HYDRA found me and made me an arm of metal and then they made me their soldier.”

“I guess we really are in the same boat.” She relaxed too. The tension that had spiked as soon as she mentioned them was gone again and the thing that remained was that feeling from before, the attraction.

“It would appear that way.”

“So why are you in Bucharest?”

“About a year ago I had been on a mission. They sent me after the Avengers and I tried to kill my friend. I don’t want to hurt anyone and I don’t want HYDRA to find me. Anywhere I have gone just didn’t feel right and I was too nervous. Romania is what I thought of, something easy, familiar almost. I just got here but I want to start over really.”

“You can stay here if you want. I know it’s not ideal but I have a pull out couch and you wouldn’t have to pay for anything, at least until you get on your feet. And I’m sure we could help each other.”

“You want to be around someone like me?”

“We’re in the same boat remember?” She smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back, relief washing over both of us in waves. We would be okay.

God...her smile. It had had a way of lighting up a room.

I just stared at the cupcake...thinking about her smile.

Steve had left the room to find a lighter for the candle and I just held the pastry in my hand.

A vanilla cupcake with white frosting and blue sprinkles.

Her favorite.

I laughed, how it was her favorite, I didn’t know. It was the only flavor she had ever tried.

I don’t know what I was expecting the cupcake to do, but I stared and stared at it hoping it would...do nothing I guess. It’s a cupcake. It wasn’t meant to do anything.

It made her smile though, so that was something.

But not now. There was no smile now. Just a cupcake.

I leaned over, elbows propped up on the side of her bed, my left hand holding up my head and the right holding the cupcake. I stared at the little cake decoration, declaring that it was my 100th birthday. Yippee for me.

“You better not drop that on me.” I heard, whispered to me. It took me a second to realize what just happened.

Now...some people would call me crazy for assuming first that it was the cupcake that had said that. Then again lets remember that the only other person who had been in the room had just been in a coma for 6 months and would be unstable and possibly kill us all if awoken from said coma. Also I probably could have allowed myself to leave the hospital every now and then so I wouldn’t go insane but that was a whole other issue.

But no...it was definitely her who had said it. I don’t know how but she was awake.

I genuinely smiled for the first time since we put her in a coma, placed the cupcake on the table beside the bed and grabbed her hand in mine.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

STEVE’S POV

I was really hoping that Tony’s plan worked. I told Bucky that I was leaving the room to get a lighter but I was kind of hoping that Y/N would be awake by now.

Tony said that these robots were in the right place and from what he could tell, she would be safe enough to wake up. So that’s what we did.

We waned her off the coma medication and with the serum burning off most medications quickly, we thought she would be awake already. It took a little longer than we thought though.

That was this morning, while Bucky was sleeping, and I had bought two cupcakes in the hope that she would be awake already but I guess we just had to give her more time.

To make Bucky less suspicious of me, I walked back into the room within a reasonable amount of time and looked over at him. He was on the bed with Y/N, arms wrapped around her, his head resting on her chest and she was awake. She was so calm, just running her fingers through his hair.

“Y/N?” I asked.

“Hey Steve.”

“You’re awake.”

“Yeah. I’m not really sure about what happened, but he’s not really in the mood to tell me anything. He seems kind of angry.” She pointed at Bucky who had his eyes closed and had a scowl on his face.

“Come on Bucky...you should be happy right now.” He sat up and glared at me.

“I should be happy? I was happy and then realized that there was no natural way for her to be awake right now. All three of you perfectly explained that in order to wake her up we had to do some robot thing and something about moving the serum around. I know for a fact that I didn’t approve of that so then she should be asleep right? Not unless all of you lied to me and did it anyway. So I should be happy? I’ll be happy when you tell me that you didn’t do anything stupid, like expirementing on the one person I told you not to!”

“Bucky—”

“No! I had one request in all of this. I said no experiments! No guessing, no trials and errors! Nothing but answers!”

“We didn’t have the answers! It’s been six months and we couldn’t keep doing this. There’s only so much failure we can handle before it’s time to try something else. I let Tony do this because you needed her to be awake and frankly, so did we.”

“Okay...I’m thoroughly confused now.” We both looked at Y/N, who was just taking in everything we said.

So we stopped the argument for the meantime and took some time to catch her up on the last six months. She read all of his letters and Bucky seemed to calm down some, which was good. And while we explained everything it gave Tony and Bruce enough time to come to the room and explain the more scientific things, everything about the robots and the serum.

She seemed to be following okay but I could see that she seemed a little overwhelmed by everything.

“Why don’t we give the two of you a moment?” I said when the room was quiet. I ushered Tony and Bruce out of the room and we waited to see what Y/N wanted to do next. Everything was up to her at this point.

BUCKY’S POV

I was now sitting in the chair beside her bed and staring at the wall because I didn’t want Y/N to think I was mad at her.

“Bucky…”

“Yeah?”

“Look at me.” I took a deep breath and tried to soften my gaze before looking at her.

Even after being in a coma for six months, she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world. Seeing her smile, even though it wasn’t a full one, made me soften up; I felt my shoulders relax and my face unscrunched from its glare.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hey doll.”

“There he is.”

“I really missed you.” I felt my eyes start to tear up.

“Come here.” I climbed back on the bed, sitting right beside her as close as possible, and she grabbed my hands, holding them in hers. I just sat there, looking at her hands, feeling her touch again, but not really having anything to say and yet having so much I should say. “Why are you so upset?”

“I just...I didn’t want them to do anything that could hurt you. And they went ahead and just did this experiment anyway, knowing that I had already said no and was not okay with trying this on you without more research to back it up. God knows, you’ve been experimented on enough and they couldn’t tell me if this was going to work or what the side effects were going to be and I didn’t want you to be in any pain.” I was like a fountain, just spewing everything I was feeling. I needed her to know everything. I needed her to know how badly I had messed up.

“But I’m not in any pain.”

“But you were...and everything was so bad and I didn’t know how to help you.”

“Bucky…”

“I hurt you. I had to hurt you to stop you. I had to break your arm so the whole building wouldn’t collapse on us. And then they had to put you under and you were gone...you were gone for six months!” I was sobbing by this point. I had pushed everything so far down that I didn’t realize just how hard I was beating myself up over everything that had happened. “They kept talking about the serum and how they didn’t know how it worked, they didn’t know anything other than what HYDRA had written down about the formula. And they said that they thought the best thing would be to activate you. To just straight up activate you and hope that the serum would burn away like it did the first time and yet they couldn’t even confirm that that would happen. So what, then you just do a quick little mission and all is fine? No! They don’t understand what we went through, they don’t understand what those words do to us or what we have to go through afterwards. I couldn’t put you through that, not after everything you’ve been through! All I ever wanted was for everything to be okay. I wanted you to be awake and I wanted us to move here so that everything could be like it was in Bucharest. I wanted you to be happy.” She just stared at me, knowing that I wasn’t done lifting the weight from my shoulders. “There was so much I couldn’t do. I couldn’t save you, I couldn’t stop Antonoff, I couldn’t find the answers to wake you up and I obviously couldn’t keep them from injecting some weird robots into you. I couldn’t do anything to help you.”

“First of all...all of that is untrue.” She reached out and started to wipe my tears away. “You have helped me more than anyone ever could. You helped bring back all of my memories, you protected me when we left Bucharest, you fought for me when I was activated, but most of all you love me like no one ever has before. There are things that are just out of our control. Antonoff was never going to back down and even though we all knew he outnumbered us you still fought him. With the serum...there’s a lot to still understand and there are reasons that HYDRA never shared or even wrote down the things that were most important to them. And the robots, well I’m not exactly sure about those yet but it sounds like Tony, Bruce and Steve had the right idea. They were thinking of you, thinking about how they were going to get me back to you. So yes we’ve been through a lot, probably more than any one person should ever deserve to go through, but I’m not upset with you or with Steve or Bruce or Tony. What matters to me is that I’m here with you and I’m okay. We can still have that life that we always dreamed of and we’ll figure out a way to permanently fix this serum problem of mine. We just need to take each day a step at a time and we’ll get through this just like we always do.”

“There’s just—”

“Nope.”

“But I—”

“No.”

“Y/N—”

She pulled me to her and kissed me the way I should have kissed her when I saw that she was awake.

“This is all I want right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

“I just—you were gone for so long. And I didn’t know what would be the best thing or the worst thing to do. I didn't want to hurt you and I didn’t want to make it worse. I just got so...scared.”

“You don’t have to shoulder this alone anymore. And you definitely don’t need to be scared, when are you going to learn that I’m always going to come back to you?”

“Maybe you should remind me.”

“You just want me to kiss you again.”

“Can you blame me?”

This time I kissed her, moving on the bed to lay down beside her so that I could feel as much of her as I could.

I pushed everything out of my head and just allowed myself to feel normal again, to love the woman that I loved more than anything in the world. It had been six months since I had kissed her, since I had held her, since I had done anything with her resembling the life we once had. It was this moment where the haze had cleared and for the first time in half a year that everything was okay.

Y/N’S POV

We kissed like two people starved. It was a mixture of, for me, not wanting him to feel bad about everything that had happened to me, for him, not having any real connection to me in six months, and genuine need to be close to one another.

We heard the door open and were cut off when Tony, who had his eyes covered, interrupted us.

“Person coming in! I don’t want to see any body parts that are normally hidden!”

“Tony.” Steve said, slapping his arm and making him look at him who wasn’t hiding his eyes.

“We just wanted to make sure everything was okay now.” Bruce said.

“Yeah everything’s good.” Bucky said to me with a smile on his lips.

“Good, we’re very happy that you’re awake Y/N.” Steve said, smiling at me.

“I am too. But I actually would be a lot happier if I could get some coffee.”

“You and your coffee.” Bucky mocked.

“You’re the one who got me hooked on it.”

“I know.”

“Do you mind?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

He climbed off the bed and put his shoes back on. I grabbed his hand before he was able to get too far and pulled him back to me one more time, giving him a quick kiss.

“Happy Birthday Bucky.”

“Happy Birthday Y/N.”

He gave me one more kiss before leaving me with the other three guys in the room.

“So I just have a couple of questions to ask before Bucky gets back.”

“Yeah?” Tony asked.

“What are the side effects of using these robot things? Or I guess having the serum so concentrated?”

“We actually don’t know, we weren’t able to test this outside of the lab.” Bruce confirmed my worry.

“I was just asking because...I can’t feel my legs.”

They just looked at me with horror in their eyes and fear that maybe they hadn’t been right in doing this experiment so soon.

And yet the most feared question, the one that was most likely in all of our minds:

What was I going to tell Bucky?

Let me know what you think here

PART TWENTY-FIVE

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes series #bucky #bucky x reader #bucky fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky series #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #marvel series #just like you

6 notes · View notes

alicepink-me · 4 years

Text

The New Guardian

Story Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an adult in the real world, guarding the Miracle Box in Master Fu's place. She's in love with Chat Noir, but refuses to tell him her feelings. New holders appear to fight the duo and shake up their lives. Marinette makes a tough decision about her future as Ladybug.

Chapter 8: A Fresh Start

Marinette and Mint appeared at the base of a snowy mountain in Tibet. The temple stood at the top. It looked a little shinier and more developed than the images Master Fu had showed her, but it still kept the original ancient designs and shapes. The entire thing was huge.

"Now, you can meet me at the top." Mint said, releasing Marinette's hand before wiping her own on her leg.

"Wait, can't you just teleport us up there like you did when you brought us here?" Marinette panicked. "If you can zap me from Paris to Tibet, I think we can make it up a measly mountain."

"Of course I can." Mint rolled her eyes. "But we left Paris almost immediately and you made me take a pitstop, so . . . no one is actually expecting you and this is partial payback."

"What?!" Marinette dropped her suitcase.

"Geez, you're so loud." Mint retorted. "I'm going to teleport inside and tell the council that you're here. By the time you make it to the top, they'll be ready for you." She grinned.

Marinette shivered. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly dressed for this snow."

"Stop whining. Think of this as part of your training." Mint backed away. "We go through far worse sometimes, so a measly mountain, as you put it, shouldn't be much of a problem for you." She smiled and waved before poofing away.

Marinette sighed and picked up her suitcase. She stared up at the temple, immediately dreading the walk. Mint was a real pain, and she assumed this training would be too.

. . .

"What does this mean, Plagg?" Adrien sat on the edge of his bed, sighing. "I don't understand . . . "

"I don't know, she seemed really emotional after the whole being forced to admit her love to you incident today." Plagg retorted. "I don't know if rational thinking is a possibility for her right now."

"But Ladybug sent me a map twenty minutes ago and . . . I have no idea why." Adrien looked down at his phone. "It's strange."

Plagg flew to the cheese drawer. "Well why haven't you followed it? Isn't she the love of your life?"

"Ladybug wouldn't do something that ominous unless something's wrong, but it's hard to say."

"Like I said, there's a zero chance for rational thinking." Plagg rummaged through the cheese.

"If she wanted to meet, she could easily call or send a text." Adrien stood and walked to the window. "But this is different. I have a feeling that this map is a message itself." He sighed and turned around. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

Chat Noir jumped on the open window and pulled out his baton. He opened the map. Upon close inspection, it led to the Eiffel Tower, but there was an x on one spot. Oddly suspicious and very creepy. He might be walking straight into another trap, but what else could he do?

Chat Noir jumped out and propelled himself across the city. He flung himself on the tower and stopped, looking around. Definitely no Ladybug, but according to the map, she wants him to find something. Chat opened the map again and scaled the side of the tower, climbing higher. He moved left and jumped to a beam. He searched the area and found a white letter across from him. Chat used his staff to push himself to that beam. He reached under and grabbed the letter off of the metal. He flipped it over. It had Chat Noir written in cursive on the front.

"This is it." He sighed, peeling it open. He leaned back.

"Chat Noir,

After today's events and a lot of thinking, I have decided to take a break. My mind feels like it might explode, but this is for the best. I did not want you to know any of my secrets, let alone my feelings, so this is in fact necessary. If need be, I will find you a new partner for the time being, but because of my recent decision, no one else will be sent to Paris from the temple. Mint has promised me that, so you should be safe. But if another villain shows up for some odd reason, do not expect me to come. I have found a new way to fix our problems and it involves the Miracle Box. Maybe a new angle on this situation is for the best. Fighting a lost cause won't do us any good either. I will stay in the shadows until I decide to return to Paris. I don't know how long I will be gone and I don't know what will happen, but do not worry about me. I will return at some point, but distance is good for now. It's best we don't see each other or communicate, so don't try to find me. I am not lost.

-Ladybug"

Chat sniffled, folding the letter back up and sliding it in the envelope. He sat down on the beam and sighed. "Claws off." He mumbled.

"What are you thinking?" Plagg asked.

"Well . . . I was hoping she'd be here, even though it was doubtful. I really wanted to kiss her and I had hope for us." Adrien answered. "But she doesn't want to see me."

"She didn't say that." Plagg argued.

"She basically spelled it out for me, Plagg!" He yelled. "Ladybug wants to get as far away from me as possible and she's quitting as one of Paris's heroes. She hates the idea of loving me so much that she'd rather give up everything in order to get away." Adrien's breathing shook. "Ladybug joined the enemy. Her entire belief system has changed today and now . . . we aren't partners anymore."

"She said she's coming back." Plagg reasoned. "Ladybug just needs time to think."

"Time to think doesn't require leaving the country or abandoning your life." Adrien wiped his nose. "We could never have been lovers, we aren't friends anymore, and she's ended our partnership." Adrien leaned against the metal. "We're over." He stated. "There is no more Ladybug and Chat Noir."

. . .

Marinette aggressively threw her suitcase inside the front door. The front of the temple building looked like a hotel from up here. After the dreadful staircase that Marinette dragged herself up was a flat area and then a small set of steps that led to the glass doors. "Oh, I am so gonna kill you!" Marinette threatened, marching towards Mint. "I can't believe y-"

"Calm down." Mint leaned against the countertop of the front lobby. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Marinette bent over, trying to catch her breath. "Why you-"

"If you can't handle it here, you can walk all the way back to Paris." Mint smiled. "I won't teleport you back and if you thought this mountain was hard . . . you've got a long road ahead of you."

Marinette straightened, rolling her eyes.. "Well where do we start then?" She huffed.

"Master Mantis!" Mint turned around. "I brought you the Ladybug." Marinette glared at her.

The old man behind the counter turned around with a smile. "Oh good. I was just finding your papers." He walked around and took Marinette's hand, shaking it excessively. "It is so nice to finally meet you. The Ladybug, guardian, and superhero doing it all. It is so fascinating."

"Uh . . . you too." Marinette awkwardly laughed. "I think this place is way more interesting."

"I'm sure you'll fit in just fine here, but first . . . " Mantis moved behind the counter and pulled out a four inch stack of papers. "You'll need to fill out all of your paperwork." He smiled and handed it to her, Marinette's eyes widening. "All are due tomorrow morning at the start of your first class."

"Uh . . . thank you." Marinette scanned the papers.

Mantis dug in his pocket before pulling out a red key. "Oh and don't forget your room key. Room 672." He set it on the stack. Marinette nodded and the man left.

Mint picked up Marinette's suitcase. "Don't forget your bags." She smiled, throwing it at her.

Marinette fell back, her papers falling. "I am about to-" Mint was gone.

. . .

1 hr and 43 minutes Later:

Marinette scanned the hallway. "668." She panted. "I must be close. I have to be."

Marinette stumbled down the hall, limping to her door. She developed quite a few blisters today. While she wandered through these buildings for almost two hours, Marinette realized that this place was almost like a college. It was too violent and creepy to be one, but it seemed a little educational.

Marinette reached her door, releasing a breath of relief. She fumbled with her key and finally unlocked it, pushing the door open. The wood creaked. Marinette hauled everything inside. There was one bed already made and an empty one on the right. She dragged her suitcase to the empty one and threw everything on top with a thump.

"Hello."

Marinette jumped, hearing a voice behind her. She turned around to see a girl smiling. "I guess you're my roommate?" The girl stood at Marientte's height with light brown, shoulder length, straight hair. She had dark eyes and wore sweatpants with a long sleeved black shirt.

"Yep." The girl answered, moving to the side and shifting her weight. Her mood changed. "But I'm not too happy about it, so I don't wanna hear your sob stories when you return from each class or when you finally drop out of this place."

Marinette was taken back. "Why would I drop out?"

"Because you cheated your entire life with a miraculous. You never actually worked for that power and now you have to start." The girl circled Marinette like prey. "Once you get a taste of real training and discipline, you're guaranteed to quit. You'll run home and never return."

"I won't quit. I never have and I won't now." Marinette crossed her arms, her nerves easing as she breathed. "And it's best you don't listen to any rumors about me. I will prove each and every one to be wrong."

The girl stopped. "We'll see." She huffed. "I don't believe they're just rumors."

Marinette gave a friendly smile and held out her hand. "I'm Marinette by the way."

The girl looked at it and crossed her arms. "April." She replied, ignoring her invite. "And I should be going." April turned around and opened the door. A giant brown box stood in front of her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You have mail." She stepped around it and sauntered away.

Marinette walked over and dragged the box inside, closing the door. She began to rip open the top. Marinette knew exactly what this was. She rummaged through the packaging peanuts. Mint had to be touching her hand for the teleportation to work, so Marinette could only carry one bag at a time. Mint would've had to go back for the rest. Marinette found the gold tip and pulled the phonograph out. She brushed off any dust and looked around. The Miracle box was hidden inside and no one else knew the code to open it, but she still needed to hide it.

Marinette set the phonograph on her bed and scanned the room. Her bed was raised with a dresser underneath it. There was a desk at the end of her bed and a closet. April's side was identical to hers, but decorated. The closet would be the best bet for a hiding spot although she didn't bring a ton of clothes to cover it up. Marinette hardly packed anything, but maybe she could convince Mint to zap her to a store.

For now, she needed to unpack, fill out a ginormous stack of papers, and deal with a roommate that already hates her. Maybe she'd write in her diary. For some reason, Marinette brought it even though it's been a year since she last wrote anything. Maybe a new beginning means new entries, but from here on out, it's a fresh start for her.

#miraculous ladybug #MIRACULOUS: TALES OF LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR #Adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #emotions #conflict #romance #feelings #fanfiction #ladybug #chatnoir #ladynoir #alice pink #alicepink-me #the new guardian #miraculous

4 notes · View notes

currently-in-fanfiction-hell · 4 years

Text

Days at the Hunter Base, CHAPTER 4: Finding Shelter (Originally from my Quotev account)

"Please, Alia! Can we keep it?" X was basically on his knees and begging at this point, holding the little Beagle puppy he'd found in a box on the street with his hands.

"Correction, X, can you keep it?" Zero rubbed his hands against his face, clearly tired of dealing with this, "Besides, I'm allergic to dogs, remember?"

"You just put up that front after what happened with the Golden Retriever! And besides, we're Reploids, we can't have allergies!" X snapped.

"For the seventh time, X, we can't adopt it, no matter how cute it is." Alia said, trying to keep her calm.

"But- I promise to take good care of it! And it needs a home, what kind of person-or Reploid, do you have to be to abandon a puppy and leave it in a box?!" He shivered, looking back at the moment when he found the Beagle in an alley, all cold and wet, staring at him with its big, wide eyes.

"Riiiiight, you said it yourself, X, remember the last time you tried to keep a pet?" Zero said, half-grumbling and half-smiling, remembering the Golden Retriever X had picked up that day, while everyone still couldn't remember how X had convinced them to let him keep the puppy, but what came afterwards was a complete disaster, who would've thought that a cute, little puppy could be so...destructive?

It started off fine, the puppy was very obedient, barely caused a ruckus...then after two weeks...

The entire Hunter Base turned into a destructive whirlpool, the puppy started toppling things over, chewing on everything there was in the base, and scratching Reploids every chance it got (It had a strange attraction to Zero's helmet in particular.)

Even then, X insisted on keeping it.

Even with X's (and everyone else's) efforts to take care and tame the little troublemaker, things just got worse, furniture was constantly being destroyed and replaced, janitors were forced to work overtime, and in some cases, some unfortunate Reploids were sent to the infirmary.

Eventually, Commander Signas had enough of all the madness, and sternly told X to take the beast to an adoption center, told, no was not an option.

Hesitantly, X brought the puppy to the adoption center the very next day, Zero could vividly remember X trying to hold back tears, while X knew that it was the right thing to do, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

While Zero was relieved that the little beast was gone (that meant his helmet was safe) He still tried his best to comfort X.

"It's not like it'll be abandoned a second time, X." Zero said, trying to show as much sympathy as possible, "I'm sure that they'll take good care of the puppy until they find someone who's willing to adopt it, maybe they'll even be able to tame it." He half-joked, while he was just saying this to cheer X up, he sincerely hoped that they'd be able to tame it, so that when it eventually got adopted, the new owners wouldn't have that much of a...problem compared to them.

"You're right." X smiled, wiping a tear from his eye before it could come out, "I just hope that it's new owners will be able to take care of it better than the entire HQ could." He laughed a little, Zero was glad that he managed to lift up X's spirits.

_______________________________________________

"Well, that was over a year ago!" X argued.

"X, we can't risk it," Alia tried to reason with him, "Besides, there's a chance that the cycle might repeat itself." She said.

"Alia makes a good point." Zero said, "I don't want to see you get all emotional again if Signas asks you to take it to the adoption center." He smirked.

X sighed, "Alright, I suppose you two are right..." He looked at the little Beagle, "It's just... The thought of this puppy being abandoned by its owners is really saddening, and I don't want it to go through it again."

"Think of it this way, X," Alia said, "If you take it to the adoption center sooner, the faster it'll find a better owner!" She smiled.

"And the sooner you send it to the adoption center, the less attached you'll be to it, meaning that it'll be less painful to say goodbye." Part of him wanted to add, "And plus, it'd make the lives of everyone here at HQ a whole lot easier." But he decided that it was enough coming from him.

_______________________________________________

Sometime later, X and Zero headed for the adoption center, upon arriving at the door X looked at the puppy, cuddling in his arms, he petted it on the head and quietly said, "I hope you'll get to live in a good home."

_______________________________________________

Shortly afterwards, they stepped out of the adoption center, thankfully, this time X had no tears to hold back.

"You know, Zero..."

"Hm? What is it, X?"

"When we can finally get rid of Mavericks once and for all, don't you think it'd be a good idea to get a pet? I've always wanted one."

"...No thanks, the Golden Retriever was more than enough."

They both laughed as they continued walking back to Hunter Base.

_______________________________________________

(Author's Notes): I gotta admit, I didn't exactly like this chapter, I mean, I wanted to write a fic about X adopting a wild dog, but coming from a person who never had any pets (unless you count the two turtles and two goldfish), this was hard to write.

This chapter may not be my favorite, but I was desperate to get an X chapter out, heheh.

P.S: The retriever was based off of my cousin's dog, That thing is a little tornado of it's own! The barking, the torn bedsheets and sofas, the scratches on my knee... Ironically, she's a Beagle! Made me wonder if I should've reversed the dogs' roles...

And the joke about the dog's attraction to Zero's helmet was based off of.... well, his helmet, more specifically, when you look at it from the back, they look a little like cat ears to me, so that was a "cats and dogs" thing, if you will.

#mmx #megaman x #mega man x #megaman #mega man #rockman x #rockman #fanfic #fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

shadowron · 5 years

Text

Latin American Tragedy, a.k.a., A Brief History of Shadowrun Location Books

This is the riff I started on at the beginning of the previous post.

The Seattle Sourcebook (post upcoming) started things off with more information about the home city of Shadowrun, then expanded outward with the Native American Nations Vols. 1 & 2 (posts also upcoming) and the Neo-Anarchist’s Guide to North America (yeah you bet I’m going to post about them all eventually). The London Sourcebook rounded things out before 2nd Edition was released in 1992.

Gargoyles be up on the flat, ay mate?

The overseas popularity of Shadowrun was imprinted in the Germany Sourcebook (discussed here), along with the elven nations of Tir Tairngire and Tir nA nOg. Denver – the eponymous Treaty city – got its own boxed set. The rest kept coming:

Paradise Lost – nomically an adventure, it discussed Hawai’I, similar to the NAN books.

Bug City – detailing Chicago and its slight insect problem

Aztlan – covering the former country and Mexico and current Aztechnology subsidiary

California Free State – current Imperial Japan subsidiary

Cyberpirates – as noted, this was part sourcebook

Target: UCAS – updated some previously discussed locales, as well as fleshing out some new ones

The Third Edition of Shadowrun is the last one that I own books for, because by the end of it, the publishers had realized they had more or less done all that they could with the world and did a soft reboot for Fourth Edition, much like White Wolf did with their World of Darkness line.

Because that’s what players love: publishers seeing a thriving fanbase and deciding to squash it for the fuck of it.

The 3rd Edition books did what they could to fill in the gaps of what hadn’t been covered before, which, admittedly, were some pretty large gaps.

Target: Smuggler Havens – New Orleans and Vladivostok

New Seattle – which, while conforming to the format of location sourcebooks produced up until this point, and updating things from two editions ago, does not hold a cybercandle anywhere near the original Seattle Sourcebook.

Target: Wastelands – cold places, hot places, toxic places, basically anyplace a tardigrade might find hospitable.

Shadows of Europe

Target: Awakened Lands – Australia! Finally!

Shadows of North America – because books go out of print, you know…

Shadows of Asia – given the overwhelming presence of Japanese culture in the cyberpunk genre in general, in hindsight it’s fairly shocking that they went this long without detailing the motherland.

This was also the last location sourcebook published (2005) before everything went tits up in System Failure and the 4th Edition came around, at which point this particular Shadowrun blogger picked up the rulebook, noted its glossy content and massive rule changes, and sympathized with those people who shunned the third edition of D&D.

Though you’re still wrong: D&D 3.x is the best version of the game *ducks*

So, having published three books about North America and two about the city of Seattle in particular, what regions were missed?

Um.

Two fragging continents??

Here’s a hint: they fit together pretty well.

Fully demonstrating its Northern hemisphere bias, South America and Africa are shamefully neglected in coverage. Bits and pieces are scattered across the books – Target: Wasteland discusses the Sahara, Gobi, and Atacama Deserts, and Shadows of Asia covers the Middle East as far southwest as the Arabian Peninsula, but the rest… untouched.

Circling back to a point made in an earlier post, part of the reason for this might stem from basic player interest: they are writing for Western audiences in a genre obsessed with the East, so that frags over the bottom hemisphere.

Which finally brings us to The Tragedy of Shadows of Latin America.

It both does and doesn’t exist. It was originally planned for a 3rd edition release near the end of its run – it was in the catalog, had a SKU number, and even had cover art. But it was never published – lost due to development problems and the juggling of companies and publishing rights that characterized Shadowrun after FASA punted it.

Which did not make Danny Trejo with a cyberhand happy...

It does exist in that, years later, the writers of the various sections banded together and decided to release their material to the public anyway, and in true Shadowrun decker style, some fan pieced it all together in a PDF that can be found online.

I’m assuming -- hoping -- that this was remedied in future editions of the game, though being Old School, I don’t care enough to find out.

#shadowrun #danny trejo

8 notes · View notes

karinrumi · 5 years

Text

She’s his mechanic [KawaSumi, OneShot, AU]

AN: Because First Villian x Another Villian ship could have an interesting dynamic is my official excuse for writing this OneShot. [But the truth is @benteja mentioned KawaSumi could have a similar dynamic to EdWin on discord and at this point, nobody could stop me from writing it.] Enjoy puns and hidden Naruto references!

Both Kawaki and Sumire are older when the events of the OneShot are happening since it’s an AU. And the interaction between Sumire and Kawaki can be little OCC because as of now they didn’t interact with each other in canon.

Happy Mother’s Day for all moms around the globe and Happy Birthday for all people born in May.

Anyway, I hope it’ll be an enjoyable read.

MY MASTERLIST

Your clumsy author - Karinrumi ;)

Title: She’s His Mechanic. [KawaSumi, KawakixSumire, OneShot, AU]

Rating: M.

Wordcount: 3, 842.

Sumire cleaned the lab working under her senior colleague, Akita. She respected this woman a lot and always listened to her instructions. After all, it was thanks to Mr Katasuke that she had a chance of figuring out how to synergize with Nue.

Working with the machines and new inventions was far more enjoyable for Sumire as of lately. At first, she thought about joining the Ninja Science Department only because of Nue and when she doubted her decision Boruto's words were the final push she needed to do so.

However, when she wanted to be a ninja didn't her decision was influenced by Boruto too? But a lot of days passed without Sumire even seeing him, not to mention she found new people that were the source of her inspiration, so her enjoyment right now originated from something else than Boruto's words, right?

It was quite a while when Sumire really enjoyed something for real. Brainstorming with the team about new inventions that can basically change the entire fate of a fight, helping civilians with new tech, even simple tasks like cleaning was more enjoyable than Sumire thought it would be before.

"Sumire, could you please move this package over there?" Akita asked pointing out her finger towards the table with a label 'Prototype-Mecha-Hands'.

"Prototypes of mechanical hands? I thought we already finished making them, Akita." Sumire said in her confusion but still walked over to pick up the box and put it on the assigned table.

"Well, kind of. Finished mecha-hands are just for specific people. The main reason for it is that our finished ones use the basic chakra system." Akita's explanation was reasonable. It's not surprising the package content went under the label of the prototype products in this case.

"Eh? Wouldn't that mean our mecha-hands are mainly suitable just for the ninja? What about the citizens which chakra is hard to identify?" Well, technically the science department Sumire worked for, focused on ninja tools, but improving technology for Konoha citizens was equally important. If you took into consideration how many times Konoha was attacked in the past... Creation of mechanical hands and legs for people with hard to identify chakra could pay off in the future.

"Our tools are created specifically for the ninja, but sir Katasuke wanted to improve our mecha-hands anyway. Our intended goal is to make our product available without the need for using or depending on the other person chakra." And that's how Akita Inuzuka started to talk about the details of their new experiments with prototype products.

Immersed in their discussion like always they forgot about cleaning and after snapping out of it finished to clean everything losing half of their life span. On the lucky side of things, Seventh Hokage was late to his earlier announced visit.

Taking into consideration that Sumire planned to attack the village hurting innocent people in the process and Mr Katasuke's actions under genjutsu influence, Hokage regular visits to supervise them weren't surprising.

"Now when I think about it is there a reason why we suddenly work again on mecha-hands prototypes? We were focusing on our other project just yesterday." Sumire decided to ask Akita while waiting for Naruto Uzumaki arrival.

“You’re pretty sharp. The project we were working was postponed this morning." Akita sigh meant it was a really stressful situation for their staff.

"Why?!" From what Sumire gathered project that started just yesterday came to a halt this morning. It was unusual because when Mr Katasuke discarded projects staff was informed one week before it could happen.

"We received a special request from Lord Seventh," Akita whispered to her.

If the project was scrapped because Hokage had a special request, it's no wonder Mr Katasuke accepted it. Both her and Mr Katasuke should be happy to receive the second chance that Naruto Uzumaki was willing to give them.

"Oh... Isn't it rare occurrence?" Sumire curiosity about what Naruto Uzumaki requested just grew more when Akita asked her to make tea for the guest that was supposed to arrive one hour ago.

"Yeah, it's rare. Would you like to lead the project requested by Hokage? You've worked with us long enough, so I don't think Katasuke would be against you taking the lead." Akita tried to start the topic in the most casual, possible way.

"Could I really work on it?" Sumire question hid excitement and enjoyment that she now felt.

"Yes. Why won't you talk with Lord Seventh personally? It seems he already came." What?! Hearing Akita's words Sumire looked in the direction of the front door and saw Naruto Uzumaki smiling and waving in her direction.

"It would be great if you want to work on my request Sumire, ya know?" Naruto spoke and Sumire at that moment wanted to disappear from embarrassment she couldn't sense Hokage presence at all.

"Really, Lord Seventh? Can I?" Sumire couldn't believe her luck. It was the truth she enjoyed tinkering with machines, so working on mecha-hands was the big opportunity to work on the project she's passionate about.

"You can, ya know! I can include it to your rehabilitation record. I'll explain to you everything in detail personally." Lord Seventh ruffled her hair gently. Sumire was grateful that Naruto Uzumaki didn't treat her coldly.

"Thank you!" Sumire bowed and followed Lord Seventh to the main lab room. After all, she needs to know why Hokage requested them to work on prototypes of mecha-hands.

Naruto Uzumaki sat on one of the chairs in the main lab room and gestured for Sumire to sit next to Mr Katasuke that was surprised seeing her here.

"I took under my protection the boy named Kawaki. Some of you know it already, but he lost his arm protecting my daughter, Himawari. For now, he's using my own personal mecha-hand as a temporary solution, but it has its limits." Sumire had a hunch The Lord Seventh explanation was mainly for her and not Mr Katasuke that looked rather bored hearing this story.

Sumire was glad Himawari was safe and nodded prompting for Lord Seventh to finish explaining his request. She could tell that he had fun in being overdramatic with his explanations, now she knew where Boruto got from his storytelling skills.

"For various reasons, I want to appoint Sumire as Kawaki’s personal mechanic. I honestly believe that this boy should interact more with children around his age without trying to insult them." Naruto Uzumaki sighed.

"So not only will I be checking how Kawaki adjust to the Lord Seventh mecha-hand, but try to create a more suitable replacement for Kawaki needs?" Sumire asked. Lord Seventh gave her the report with all the information she needed. After a while of bragging how he's more popular with children in comparison to Sarada's father, Lord Seventh shadow clone disappeared from the lab.

"He could just hand us the report and save all those theatrics for later. Anyway, I appoint you as the leader for our mecha-body-parts project, Sumire. Don't disappoint me." Mr Katasuke was really serious right now so Sumire couldn't mess up things up. It was her chance to work on something she really is passionate about.

And she planned to use this chance in the best way possible.

A week passed after Sumire started to work on Lord Seventh request. She was preparing every needed thing for the first meeting with Kawaki that was supposed to come today.

In the precise moment, she wanted to question her subordinate competence a handsome, tall boy with the appearance of a delinquent entered the room without knocking.

"Yo, I came for the check-up and to meet my mechanic." From his seemingly uncaring mannerism in his body language, Sumire had a hunch it was the person Lord Seventh described in his report.

"Oh, you've arrived earlier than I anticipated. I'm your appointed mechanic, Sumire Kakei." Sumire introduced herself with the best smile she could manage. Some even could say she was sparkling during this introduction. The first impressions are important after all. It doesn’t matter if they just an act or not.

"Ain't you fucking sunshine and rainbow," Kawaki glared in her direction not hiding his suspicions towards her. Sumire seeing his reaction could sense he just like she had a difficult life. Now she could understand why Lord Seventh told her being Kawaki's mechanic can be included as part of her rehabilitation.

"Ain't you an example of a real gentleman?" Sumire raised her eyebrow accepting the challenge of showing him she wasn't either sunshine or a rainbow. If he ever develops balls to really get to learn anything about her at all.

"You scientists are always up to something shadier than my appearance," he growled. It seems despite his short temper and rude attitude Kawaki had really high intelligence and decided to accept her challenge. Sumire couldn't help but respect him for that. It's the first time when a person could see through her acting.

"I can assure you that not all scientist are shady. Some of them really want to help people using just the ethical methods. I don't know what happened between you and scientists in the past, but I intend to gain your trust and in exchange, I want for you to trust me too," she boldly proclaimed. If acting doesn't work then being honest will.

"...fine," he sighed probably thinking she was too bold and refusing her meant disrespecting Lord Seventh care for him.

After the check-up and listening to all Kawaki problems with the hand he got from Lord Seventh, Sumire noted everything down for further research purposes and subtly told him he can leave. After that, she scolded her co-worker for failing his task but giving him a second chance to fix the mess he made.

Her relationship with Kawaki is rather hard to describe, but Sumire had a hope she'll gain his trust. Especially, since they're supposed to work together from now on. At least now she had a glimpse of what to do in future. And it was her own decision, the decision she made without depending on anyone.

Buying research materials wasn't something girls around her age did. Most of them visited Konoha shopping district to buy a cute accessory, ninja tools, or fashionable clothes.

It wasn't the only reason Sumire made a long-trip to Konoha. She wanted to see both Boruto and Sarada. Double-check if the decision she made to give up on her feelings for Boruto is the correct one. Spotting them a minute later and seeing their happy banter, Sumire was sure the decision she plans to make is the right one.

It was time to stop idolise Boruto and depend on him for everything she wants to do in her life.

"Ain't you that mechanic little girl?" Sumire could swear the voice she heard was familiar.

Turning around she noticed Kawaki holding a Lord Seventh card from the Shinobi Extreme Scrolls. He looked at her with bored expression ignoring girls that swarmed around him like a flies due to his so-called 'mature charm.'

"Who you're calling a little girl? I'm the only present mature girl here," she shrugged it off completely ignoring murderous stares of other girls.

"Such pettiness. If it ain't proving you're little girl, so your other traits do." Kawaki stood up and walked over to her in an attempt to perhaps run away from unnecessary attention.

"Just because I'll let that comment slide doesn't mean I'm a little girl," she clarified.

"Yeah, yeah. Where are you going?" From what Sumire knew from the rumours it was strange Kawaki was that calm while interacting with her. Maybe the main reason for it was that Hokage gave him an instruction to respect her? It didn't mean she personally gained Kawaki's respect and trust. At least not yet.

"To the tool shop. I need some things for my research and your next check-up." Sumire felt she could be honest in Kawaki's presence. Even when she was spending time with her friends from academy days, she was acting to some degree. But Kawaki wasn't her friend from the academy, so she didn't see why she should bother with all theatrics. That guy could see through her acting anyway.

"I'll go with you," Kawaki stated with confidence. Sumire suspected it was because he wanted to make sure she's telling the truth. The more time she spends with him, she's more convinced he holds some grudge against science, or to be precise experiments.

"Suit yourself." It was the only thing she could tell. Rest of the day was filled with complete silence between her and Kawaki.

Their second encounter was more casual, they even made a small conversation. Kawaki didn't trust or respect her, but she made progress.

Sumire was aware that getting to know Kawaki will require having a lot of patience and time. Because she had a hard past as well, she probably understood it more than anyone else. Perhaps. She wasn't a mind reader, so maybe Kawaki is right in calling her a little girl.

Sumire made the first step in stopping being dependent on Boruto. Instead of her usual two-braids, she changed her hairstyle into braided-bun. She still didn't want to cut her hair to respect the memory of her mother.

"Your bun looks nice", commented Akita while they were working together yesterday. Sumire liked that change herself. It was the first change she made to strive towards her goal of being more independent.

From now on she wanted to live her own life not being dependent or completely influenced by others. She'll grow to be a beautiful, independent, confident woman that can hold her own ground. Hey, maybe she could be a famous scientist in the future?! That would be nice.

"What do you think, Nue?" she asked her first friend and companion. Sumire decided to summon this still little monkey and was happily explaining everything that happened when he wasn't summoned. Nue just nodded approving decision Sumire made. Spending time with her long-time friend really helped her to feel refreshed.

Recently her days were filled with leading some projects, doing routine check-ups on Kawaki mecha-hand and going out to Konoha shopping district to have all needed materials. She saw and initiated the conversation with her old friends but had the best contact with Denki, Iwabe, Metal Lee, Wasabi and Namida. It's strange how time can change the structure of your relationships.

"Yo, little mechanic girl," Kawaki entered the lab and Sumire sighed. Because of him 'little mechanic girl' started to be a nickname used by her co-workers.

"I'm not the little mechanic girl. I'm growing up, you know?" Well, her words weren't taken seriously by Kawaki at all. At least he didn't show his usual short-temper. He once called Sarada an 'asshole' during one of his bad days.

"You're still far from being mature. Changing the way you tie your hair up ain't changing that." This sort of conversation started to be a welcoming ritual between them. Kawaki always called her a 'little mechanic girl', she denied it by saying she's mature just for him to refute by stating she's still immature.

Sumire started to work by doing the usual check-up. It will consume some time to make it, but she created the formula for mecha-hands designed for people with hard to identify chakra.

"Ain't you too much serious today?" Kawaki chose the wrong moment to talk.

"How do you manage to talk when I try to focus and be silent when I want to talk?" she decided to ask. It was rare for Kawaki to be in a talkative mood. Sumire was usually the one that was doing all the talking.

"Don't you remember? You challenged me subtly during our first meeting. Ain't it normal I'm testing if you're really trustworthy?" Kawaki looked at her like it was the first time he's genuinely interested in how she responds.

"I suppose it is. Trust after all is something you build up just with people you want to put faith in." Yes, it was the answer Sumire reached after thinking through her past actions. She regretted them, was grateful for a receiving second chance, but the feeling of guilt welling up inside her mind never left her side.

"That doesn't mean they're good people," he scowled. Considering this conversation triggered her bad memories, Sumire was assuming it could trigger some bad memories for Kawaki too.

"In that case perhaps we're more similar than we initially thought," Sumire concluded the subject. Rest of the check-up they spend in their usual silence.

Sumire knew that she was far from gaining Kawaki trust and respect. However, now she could understand him a little bit better as a person.

Her hard work to change paid off. Not only her hairstyle was fitting for her new image of a future scientist but her clothes too. Maybe she'll manage to really be acknowledged as mature by Kawaki. She honestly doubted it, but she could always hope.

"And mecha-hand suitable for that stubborn donkey that can't admit I'm mature is finished!" Sumire happily admired the polished result.

"Ain't this sort of comments proving you're still a little mechanic girl?" Kawaki raised his eyebrow. Sumire wasn't even surprised he entered the lab without knocking. She was more worried she couldn't even notice he was here until he spoke to her.

"Oh, you're here. Good, I need to make few final adjustments." Sumire ignoring his comment meant they were going into silence mode. There was a lot she had to work on today. For example, swapping Lord Seventh mecha-hand with mecha-hand created for Kawaki needs.

After the final adjustments, Sumire was satisfied it was over. Six-months of hard work and regular check-up meetings with Kawaki to create mecha-hands designed for civilians were worth it.

"How do you feel with using your new mecha-hand? It's adjusted to your body size, so it should make your movement easier. " Sumire needed to jot down Kawaki input just in case she needed to make more adjustments.

"It feels strange using another artificial hand, but I think I'll manage." Kawaki opinion was helpful, even if he was lost in thought looking at the ceiling of the lab.

"In that case, we can limit our check-ups to two meetings every month." Sumire decided and got his approval.

"I think you'll remain a little mechanic girl, but among all scientists, I know I respect you the most," Kawaki whispered, which didn't escape Sumire's attention that this time had on her real smile.

Sumire still couldn't describe her relationship with Kawaki, but his respect towards her meant a lot. During these past six months, she started to respect him too. Though, she wasn't sure where their mutual respect for each other will lead to.

Sumire mainly worked staying the entire day inside the lab, so taking a day off felt like a strange phenomenon for her. Just like they agreed on Kawaki regularly visited the lab for check-ups two times every month. That helped them to start to be on more friendly terms.

Sort of friends. Neither she or Kawaki openly called their relationship a friendship. Even after they managed to open up a little about the past family problems they had in common.

Having shitty fathers was the things that they both shared. It's no wonder Sumire felt the need to gain Kawaki's trust. She sensed some sort of solidarity with someone who went through a hard life in relatively peaceful times.

"I didn't see you in Konoha shopping district in a while little mechanic girl." Kawaki whistled some strange tune saying his greetings.

"It wouldn't hurt you to say sometimes my name. I always am open to small changes." Sumire stretched out trying to relax.

"Ain't you usually busy?" Kawaki had his usual bored expression.

"I have a day off today. Want to go with me admire the beautiful lake near the village?" Sumire question was answered by his grumbling that she interpreted as 'yes'.

The view just like she heard was really breathtaking. Clear azure lake, trees surrounding the landscape, chirping birds and presence of not many people made this place ideal for making her more relaxed.

"Sumire." That's why Kawaki sudden use of her name startled her. The moment he did it was the moment she was caught off guard.

"Yes?" It was her automatic response.

"You're still a little mechanic girl. Calling you by name or not ain't changing that." She thought he wanted to talk about something serious, but it turned out to be his attempt to mislead her!

"I'm more mature than you think!" She went into her memorised response.

They closed the distance between each other at the same time. Sumire spaced out for a moment but before she noticed she and Kawaki was sharing a passionate kiss. She didn't have any idea who kissed who first, but at this point, she just enjoyed the thrill of it.

Both of them were wrestling with each other for a while before landing into more intimate position. Taking short breaks to catch a breath between kissing didn't stop their fight for dominance over the other.

When Sumire thought the winner of her internal fight with Kawaki will be decided by moving a few steps further, she heard familiar footsteps.

"I can't believe Sasuke won popularity contest for the coolest looking dad of the year!" Lord Seventh shouted accidentally walking into them and seeing quite an intimate position the youngsters were in.

Sumire distanced herself from Kawaki that send an angry glare towards Lord Seventh.

"Did I interrupt something?" Naruto Uzumaki let out a nervous chuckle. He wanted to appear as cool guy in front of his adopted son.

"N-No, not at all! I-I was just checking if Kawaki's mecha-hand is working without any problems." Sumire lied in her panic.

"She's my mechanic, after all, ain't she?" Kawaki lied to Lord Seventh appearing to be calm, but Sumire could tell he was equally confused by the whole situation.

"Is that so? I suppose every person feels the spring of youth just like says Rock Lee, even if it's overwhelming sometimes, ya know?" Naruto concluded scratching the back of his head.

This certainly was awkward. After a short explanation from Lord Seventh that killed the mood Sumire was in, she decided to head back home saying some sort of excuse she already forgot.

Now she couldn't define the relationship she shared with Kawaki at all. Friends weren't kissing each other in the way they did. They weren't dating either. Love wasn't out of the question, but with the type of person, Kawaki is expecting any sort of confession when they were both confused about their feelings wasn't the best course of action.

It'll take a lot of patience to define the relationship she has with Kawaki, but Sumire was alright with that. Some people need more time than others to sort out their emotions. Kawaki acknowledged her as his mechanic in front of Lord Seventh.

For now, it's enough she's his mechanic.

#Sumire Kakei #Kawaki #KawaSumi #Akita #Katasuke #OneShot #AU #KawakixSumire #Naruto Uzumaki #Romance #Slow romance

24 notes · View notes

arthurmorganuniverse · 5 years

Text

Hymne a l'amour | 1

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x OC

Summary: As a writer, Crystal was always on the lookout for inspiration. When she came across a journal packed with heartbreak and adventure, she thought she’d found it. Only the journal’s once filled pages are now blank, except for the one writing itself in front of her eyes.

Word Count: 1160 (This first chapter here is kinda short, but I was excited to get started and I felt that was a good point to end the chapter. Cliff hanger! Sorta )

Notes: Welcome to my first fic for RDR2! I write for many other fandoms, but I am so deep into my Arthur feels lately that I decided it was time for me to try my hand at writing something for him. This will be sfw for a while, but I am definitely not afraid of smut so there is a good chance some will happen eventually. Forewarning for purists: I am going to be playing fast and loose with the actual journal entries. There will be bits here and there that are canon, but I plan on adding a few original entries as well, like things that I wish he’d written about. Also, you can expect a happy ending because I am not about that hardcore angst life. This is loosely based on the movie The Lake House.

There was something to be said about the smell of an antique store. Sure, some might find it offputting, but not her. It was the smell of history, of lives lived to their fullest. Her sister regularly argued that it was just the mold and mildew getting to her brain. Whatever it was, the smell has become a sort of comfort for her.

Crystal Anderson was currently browsing her favorite part of the massive store; the book corner. It was one of the largest spots in the store, with ten bookcases overflowing with every genre, as well as areas for things like photos and basically anything written or printed. She’s often spent hours in this one corner alone, browsing through journals and photos, writing stories in her mind for everyone she saw.

A few years ago Crystal had been fortunate to find a series of love letters between a couple of world war two nurses, tracked down the family and obtained the rest of the story, leading to a book that was doing very well. She’d even heard there were people circling her agent about a movie.

She was under no illusions that she’d be able to recreate that success, but here she was scrounging through the random piles yet again. She’d found a few interesting photos, some first edition books in good condition that she’d probably just add to her own collection, and a few journals the shop owner had given her to look over.

The journals looked especially promising. It wasn’t often that you were able to find actual journals with just about every page filled, and most shops didn’t take them. This particular shop did just for her because she’s been a regular customer for many years and they knew she’d want them.

There were two in particular that Crystal was excited about. One was owned by a girl growing up during the 1960′s and 70′s, and the little glimpses she had showed the girl was a wild one.

The second was even more exciting. Based on the wear and tear this thing was old - really old. She hadn’t caught any dates yet, but based on the drawings she was guessing this was straight up wild west era. The thing was bursting with entries and surprisingly good drawings, even maps. Crystal had a feeling this was the find she’d been looking for.

The man writing was so complex. One moment he was writing about a killing someone without blinking an eye, the next he was going on about how much he wanted to be a good man and doodling little animals. There was even a whole page dedicated to how much he loved his horse. She wasn’t sure if there was a real story in this yet, but she had that gut feeling that this was important.

That feeling stayed with her as she made her way home, placing her new acquisitions carefully on her desk. She knew she had a long night ahead of her, so she tried her best to put the cowboy ( the man was obviously an outlaw, what with the talk of killings, but cowboy was ever so much fun to say) out of mind and made herself a quick dinner.

Once she was sufficiently full and dressed in comfortable clothing it was time to work. Crystal grabbed a blank notebook to take notes on important facts she’d find; dates, names, places, etc. She sipped on a cup of tea while her laptop fired up, slowly getting herself into her writing headspace. Finally ready, she set her cup far away from the journals and slowly opened the man’s journal, the leather crackling with age.

It was gone.

Every single word.

All gone.

Crystal’s mind went blank in her confusion. There had to be a rational explanation, right? Maybe she picked up the wrong journal? The outside looked exactly the same as it had, but maybe there were two of them and she hadn’t known? Maybe invisible ink? Did they even have that kind of ink back then?

She picked up the girl’s journal and cracked it open. It was still the same. Every word was there, the band tickets and flowers still stuck between the pages.

She went back to the other one and it was still blank.

What. The. Fuck.

Crystal set the journal back on the desk, staring at the first page in conflicted wonder. She had no idea what happened. She was certain the writing was still there when she got home. She remembered flicking through on her way to the desk and giggling over a story he’d written about a fox stealing his hat and he’d been forced to chase it. Unless she was currently dreaming, there was no logical explanation for why this journal should be empty.

She caught a flicker of movement and refocused on the desk. As she watched in horror, a list and a map began to appear on the first two pages, the scrawl the same familiar cursive from before. Once it was finished, she turned the page to see it happening again, a massive drawing of a city filling both sides. When that too was done, her trembling hands turned the page once more, watching as an entry was being written right in front of her.

I bought this new journal, after that last one got destroyed in that fire all those months ago, whenever it was.

Haven’t written or drawn much in the past few months, but I was missing it more than I thought I would, and finally near a store, so here I am, I guess.

After all that business up North and the fire, we spent a few months in the wilderness, traveling down from the Northern Grizzlies,

Crystal watched those words appear with both bone-deep terror and maybe a little excitement. Terror, she reasoned, would be anyone’s first reaction. There was apparently a magic book in front of her like she was god damned Harry Potter and she was fresh out of Basilisk teeth to stab it with. However, she was still a bit excited because it was so crazy. Or maybe she was the one crazy, she wasn’t sure yet. Whatever was going on, if she’d bought a haunted book or lost her mind, this was exciting.

As long as nothing tried to possess her or kill her or something.

Crystal picked up her pen and clenched her jaw as she placed her shaky hand onto the page. Here goes nothing.

Please tell me this isn’t Tom Riddle...

At least three minutes passed with nothing, and she started to relax. Maybe she was dreaming and it was starting to mess up. Or maybe she was hallucinating. Regardless, nothing was happening so she figured at the very least her Voldemort theory was out.

Until she once again spied movement on the page.

Who the hell is Tom Riddle?

There we go! My first RDR2 work. As I said, it’s kinda short because I was excited, but future chapters will be a bit longer. I’m still waiting on my invite from ao3 to go through and then I’ll post it on there as well. Please feel free to let me know what you think and my ask box is open if you wanted to hit that up. Since this is my first, feedback is CRUCIAL! Even if it’s just, “Hey, this is cool.”

#arthur morgan #arthur morgan x oc #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan fanfic #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 fanfic

88 notes · View notes

primadonna-girl-yeah · 4 years

Text

The Top 5 Reasons We Love Retro Gaming

1. Games Were Simpler Back In The Day

Computer games have undeniably gotten progressively aggressive and amazing as of late. At the point when you take a gander at any semblance of The Last Of Us, it's difficult to exaggerate exactly how far computer games have come since individuals were playing Pong forty-odd years prior. Be that as it may, for every one of the advancements inside the medium, and for all the brand new thoughts and progressively expand control conspires, there's undeniable value in the amount all the more straight forward things were in the games we played as children.

Gaming today can be hard for individuals without the muscle memory that originates from long periods of committed gaming. Give your mum or father a PS4 controller and in the event that they're in any way similar to mine, they'll invest a large portion of the energy playing the game looking down, endeavoring futile to recollect where every one of the catches is. Utilize the left simple stick to walk, hold X to run, or tap X to run. L2 is point and R2 is shoot, yet R1 becomes shoot in case you're driving on the grounds that in a vehicle R2 is the quickening agent. R3 (that is the point at which you click in the correct simple stick) allows you to look behind you, and to open the menu you have to hold down the touch cushion. Furthermore, that is simply part of the control conspire for Grand Theft Auto 5, extraordinary compared to other selling games, time.

In any event, for prepared veterans, the expanding multifaceted nature of games can turn into a mood killer. Super Mario World is still as instinctive as it returns in 1990 on the grounds that the innately basic structure and get and play nature of the game made it ageless. You can give a child who's never played a Mario game the controller and inside seconds they'll have turned out how to play. This effortlessness is an alluring idea, which is a very likely a piece of the explanation that retro games like Shovel Knight and Axiom Verge are so mainstream today. The more straightforward a game is to play, the more comprehensive and quick the good times. Retro gaming possesses a great deal of that, and that is the explanation despite everything I'm playing Super Mario World twenty-six years after discharge.

2. Retro Games Have Better Music

As gaming generation esteems have expanded throughout the years, we've seen the medium change from numerous points of view. We made the bounce to 3D, we presently have voice acting, and expand cut-scenes recount to muddled stories that adversary those found in TV or on the big screen. Games today include completely organized scores or soundtracks highlighting mainstream music that are just as great as what we'd see in different mediums, yet it feels like we've lost something en route, as well.

I can in any case murmur the signature music to Treasure Island Dizzy on the Commodore 64. I was playing that game about thirty years prior and I haven't played it from that point forward (I've still never beaten it, damn it) however I can even now recollect the signature music that plays out of sight completely. I messed around a week ago and I couldn't let you know whether they had music by any means.

As a result of the straightforwardness of early games, and without voice acting to recount to a story, the music must be great. Other than a couple of terrible audio effects, the music of the game was the main aural incitement that the games gave. There are as yet incredible game soundtracks today, yet they appear to be rare when contrasted with the rounds of my childhood. Uber Man, Castlevania, the early Final Fantasy games, and notorious titles like Zelda, Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog - these all included exceptionally essential tunes that stick with us long after the last time we played them. Regardless I recollect how the music for Commodore 64 exemplary Prince Clumsy changes when you spare the princess toward the finish of the game like I was playing it yesterday. We can't generally say that regarding Shadow of Mordor, can we?

3. Games Used to Work Right Out of the Box

One thing that games from days of old irrefutably showed improvement over the rounds of today is that they, well, worked. You'd imagine that it ought to be an entirely principal part of any item discharged to the market, yet it's genuinely amazing what number of games in 2016 ship broken, requiring either days or long stretches of server changes to get the multiplayer working, or gigantic the very first moment patches to fix the entirety of the bugs that made it onto the circle. Today, on the off chance that you don't have an OK Internet association in your home, a few games are really unplayable, and numerous others seriously hampered.

Road Fighter V discharged recently, with Capcom promising that the single-player Arcade Mode, a staple of the arrangement, would be accessible to download in July. Consider the possibility that you don't have an Internet association. All things considered, at that point, you have a large portion of a game. That is not an issue we confronted when Street Fighter II discharged on the SNES in 1991. In those days, we had no Internet going about as a wellbeing net for engineers. Games needed to work directly out of the crate.

Returning and playing Global Gladiators today is as straightforward as popping the cartridge into your Genesis and turning on the power. It works now as it did at that point; precisely as it should, and with no object. This is a numerous extraordinary aspect concerning retro gaming; in the event that you have the game and the equipment, you're practically great to go. You don't have to download drivers, or updates, or fixes. You put in the game, and afterward you play. Much the same as you should.

4. Games Used to Be More of a Challenge

Today, anyone who stays up with the latest with the most recent patterns in gaming will probably know about Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and the notoriety these games have for rebuffing trouble. Gamers rushed to the Souls arrangement in large numbers, eager to play a title that tested them and would not hold their hands. There are no all-inclusive instructional exercise segments. There's little in the method for help. You can't delay it. What's more, every foe can make mincemeat out of you except if you gain proficiency with their assault examples and act in like manner. It's energizing for a game to furnish us with a daunting task this way, however, at that point, I'm mature enough to recall when each game was this way. What's more, more terrible.

Present-day games tend to illuminate things to the player, regularly to a practically offending degree. Popping a plate into a PS4 in 2016 methods hanging tight for the introduce, at that point the very first-moment fix, and afterward when you at long last get a controller in your grasp you go through the following two hours being strolled through the beginning periods of the game like a child on his first day of school. Everyone prefers a touch of help from time to time, yet there's undeniable value in simply being tossed in at the profound end and being advised to do or die.

5. Sentimentality

Sentimentality may appear to be a cop-out the answer; all things considered, thinking back on the past with rose-tinted displays is frequently what enthusiasts of anything retro is scrutinized with. It's anything but difficult to reject sentimentality as a method for advocating the conclusion that everything was simply much better in your day, yet truly wistfulness is a colossally amazing specialist and it shouldn't be overlooked.

Today, we watch refuse motion pictures and weep over the utilization of evident CGI, however, we'll joyfully endure Raiders of the Lost Ark and not try referencing that the liquefying Nazi toward the end resembles he's made out of plasticine. We tune in to the shocking popular music of our young people with an intelligent grin on our countenances while looking down on Justin Bieber's most recent video. What's more, we'll talk about Final Fantasy VII just as it was second happening to Christ, totally overlooking the entirety of the blemishes in the game that we'd hang an advanced game out to dry for. Sentimentality is a sufficient impact to cause us to accept that Sonic the Hedgehog was very great. Presently, that is not kidding.

The explanation a great deal of us like playing old games is essentially a result of the inclination we get playing them. I've played hundreds, if not a large number of games in my time as a gamer. What's more, I'm sufficiently keen to realize that in that time computer games have improved in pretty much every manner. In any case, that doesn't change the way that on the off chance that I load up Street Fighter II I recollect the times of playing it during the school summer occasions with every one of my companions. I recollect the day I finished Toejam and Earl with my sibling each time I hear the initial barely any bars of its ludicrously astounding signature music. Furthermore, I recall the overjoyed rushes we got when we initially got the fatalities chipping away at Mortal Kombat II.

Playing old games, similarly likewise with watching old films or tuning in to old collections, transports us to a period in the past that we like to recall. Regardless of whether its recollections of old companions, friends, and family, individuals we may see each day or might have put some distance between, each old game we load up is a window to the past and that is unique. The most recent Call of Duty is never going to rival that.

#retro gaming

1 note · View note