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starkeristheendgame · 4 years

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Complicated Boyfriends and Cute Waiters

Just a little something for @starkerchemistry for all the love she threw at Complicated Boyfriends and Kidnapping. Also, pls reminds Chems of how amazing her work is bc the lil shit disagrees >:( Also for @starkerintheparker because I keep converting her to WinterSpider >;D WinterIronSpider.

Tony takes one look at his waiter and sighs heavily.

Not because there’s anything wrong; no. In fact, the plush lips and the shaped jaw and the mop of curls desperately styled into something resembling purposeful mess is actually quite pleasing. The large, honey eyes that widen in recognition don’t hurt either.

No. It’s because Tony knows Bucky is going to take one look at this twinky little slip in his smart shirt and his tie and he’s going to want.

And Tony so had been looking forwards to a quiet evening. A little wine, some $80 salmon and perhaps even getting dicked down into the next fortnight by his boyfriend. The standard casual night in.

“Mr. Iron Stark” the boy whelped, and immediately flushed scarlet at his mishap. Tony could only smile quietly into his book, endeared if a little mollified.

“I think ‘Tony’ would suffice” he responded demurely, sliding the bookmark into place and setting his book aside. The boy was now stood bolt upright, and had obviously steeled himself into giving the Best Service Ever, though he looked a little like he might crumble if Tony so much as looked at him for too long.

“Oh, god. Right. Yes. Mr - I mean, Tony. Of course. I’m sorry, I’ve only just started this job and I’m not used to...” The boy trailed off, clearly trying to think of a way to say ‘people like you’ without it coming across as a little insulting. Tony flashed him an easy, warm smile.

“Breathe, kid. I’m just like anyone else in person, I promise. How about you start me off with a nice, fruity red bottle and two double Presidential 25′s, if that’s okay? Take your time; Lord knows my boyfriend certainly is” he teased, head tipping as he disarmed the boy with another dazzling smile.

His waiter could only gape, before he shut his mouth with a painful sounding clack and spun on his heel, fleeing to the nether-regions of the employee zone. Tony gave an amused sound as he checked his phone. It wasn’t like Bucky to run late; that was Tony’s thing.

And then, like Beetlejuice and undoubtedly because Tony had been thinking of him, Bucky came sauntering into the restaurant like some sort of underwear model. His suit was a deep, silken black with a slightly lighter floral pattern in the fabric, the jacket hanging artfully off his shoulders as he swept the room for his lover.

His hair was styled neatly, and Tony still loved the more modernised cut that he’d opted for; longer on one side, layered and fluffy with bangs that fell over one eye constantly. His stubble was a neat shadow on his jaw, and his eyes focused on Tony with such intensity as he approached that Tony lifted a brow.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to out-do me” Tony greeted as he leaned back in his seat, enough that Bucky could duck down and suck his lower lip into his mouth for a brief but promising kiss.

“Actually, I’m just trying to do you” Bucky shot back shamelessly as he slid into his seat, one leg immediately finding Tony’s under the table to press against. Tony gave an indignant sound, because it was both a truth and a lie, but let it go as movement caught the corner of his eye. Much as he wanted to watch the boy approach, he turned back to Bucky.

Storm-grey eyes slid away, following the path his own had left, and oh, yes. There it was. The subtle up-down of Bucky’s lashes as he sized up the boy, the curl of a smirk at the corners of his mouth. Bucky’s gaze drifted back to Tony in an undeniable stake of predator-prey. Tony could only tip his head in response, smirking slowly.

“H-here. I’m so sorry it took a while” the boy fretted, balancing a tray neatly on one hand as he set a tumbler of whiskey opposite each man, complete with artful glass freezer cubes and an empty, polished wine glass besides that, setting the bottle of red - freshly corked - in the centre of the table. He had to lean over a little to do so, and you would have had to be blind to miss the way that Bucky leaned back to sweep over his body.

“What did I say, darling? Treat me like any other rich shmuck in this place. And don’t mind him, he only bites if you ask nicely” Tony hummed, gesturing to his boyfriend, who eyed him both like he wanted to throttle him and kiss him senseless. In Tony’s experience they often came one with the other regardless.

“I - Sorry?” It came out as a question, but the boy was flushed from hairline to shirt collar and fumbled with his notepad, hands a little shaky as he produced a pen from his breast pocket. “Um, are you ready to order? Or would you like me to give you another minute?” He asked, and it was impossible to miss the way his gaze flit between them, eyes raking their bodies like they were two cuts of steak he was trying to decide between.

“Oh, I think Bucky knows what he wants, alright” Tony purred in obvious, gleeful amusement. Bucky smiled at him in a flash of canine, but didn’t miss a beat as he tipped his head back, eyeing the waiter with a charming smile.

“I’ll settle for the stripped, gold-crust steak served rare, and your name, since this moron was clearly too impolite to ask”. And ooohhhh, wasn’t that a low blow to gain favour? Tony pressed the toes of his Louboutin’s into Bucky’s own none too gently.

“Peter” the waiter blurted, eyes flitting between them as he scribbled down Bucky’s order in impressive short-hand, gaze drifting to Tony, who only smiled serenely at his boyfriend.

“You’re so predictable. Always going for the tender, high-class meat. Always liking it raw” Tony purred, and they both knew he wasn’t talking about the steak. Bucky only gave an elegant shrug in response; at a loss to deny it. Peter was looking between them again, vaguely like he might know they were talking about sex, but unable to address it.

“What can I say? I like something solid to sink my teeth into. I like a little juice to lick at and taste. And you of all people know I prefer it raw” Bucky replied steadily, gaze not leaving Tony’s.

“I’ll have the salmon, please, Peter.” Tony hummed, gaze leaving Bucky to look sweetly up at the boy, who nodded and turned, striding away like he was desperate to run away. Tony let his gaze drop back to Bucky. “Less wolf, more fox. He’s a skittish young thing. Haven’t I taught you anything about hunting?” He sighed in mock admonishment and Bucky reached across the table to cup his jaw, smirking.

“Doll, I was fucking people in back-alleys long before you were born. You taught me nothing, old man”. And, well. Rude. “You’re right, though. We might spook him off at this rate. Last time I saw someone that red it was Clint, and he was choking on a mint”. Bucky leaned back, picking up his whiskey and taking an indulgent sip.

They made comfortable small-talk over the time it took for their meals to arrive, Tony lamenting the boredom he’d faced at the quarterly performance review and Bucky noting the progress he and Steve were making with their veteran programs. Tony was proud of his man, really. He’d come so far since Steve had shown up at the Tower with him, both sopping wet and bloodied.

Peter came back no longer than ten minutes later, a plate upon each hand. He delivered Tony’s first, bending down to slide the plate onto the table, and Tony couldn’t resist leaning over, flashing a sweet smile at the boy up close, where he could see flacks of green in his eyes. “Thank you, darling” he murmured, and Peter’s cheeks went red yet again, like Tony simply speaking to him was an activation button for a blush.

Bucky, the brat, had to go one extra. Instead of giving Peter room when the boy bent down he crowded in close, practically licking the shell of the boy’s ear as he whispered a sultry "Thanks, Doll”. Peter’s gaze jerked to Tony, alarmed, but Tony only half-rolled his eyes and picked up a delicate mouthful of smoked salmon.

“You’re a pest” he noted, once Peter had stammered his way into retreating once more. “I had a quiet evening planned” he added, as though it mattered. It didn’t. This practically was his quiet evening, he just now had two desserts instead of one. By the way Bucky eyed him, he knew that, too.

“Shut up and eat your fish” Bucky drawled, popping a cut of dripping steak with tiny flecks of gold powder into his mouth. Obnoxious prat.

But Tony did as told, polishing off the salmon and whiskey both, and filling their wine glasses with a generous serving. It was sweet and rich, just his taste, and he wondered if another waiter hadn’t advised Peter on which choice to bring. “So. The choice is yours” he announced after a pause, when Bucky had finished his own meal and was sniffing daintily at the wine.

“You wanna play sheepdog, or am I?” Bucky asks in answer, lips curving into a wicked smirk that has Tony grinning in response, leg twisting around Bucky’s in a hidden touch. Tony shifted his wine glass in response, allowing a few measly drops to fall onto the edge of his jacket. Good thing he wore grey and hated this suit anyway, because that red wasn’t gonna come out.

Bucky only rolled his eyes, because they’d played this game before, and pushed to his feet. “Woof woof, bitch” Bucky murmured, low into Tony’s ear as he passed, and Tony resisted the urge to drag him back by his hair, to put him on his knees right then. Largely because of he had one more PR disaster this month Pepper got his custom Audi, and he only had four days to go.

It took another short collection of minutes for Peter to come practically skipping over; during which Tony had splashed a few more drops for good measure. “Oh, Peter. D’you think you could help a clumsy old man out? Buck’s gone on a phonecall and I tipped my wine” Tony pouted, putting on his best helpless, sweet aura. Peter’s eyes zeroed in on the red splashed at his hips, tongue peeking out like the solution was to lick it clean.

“Of course! I can - I’ll see if there’s any stuff behind the bar? I can be right back” Peter breathed, but Tony shook his head, pushing to stand. Peter’s eyes are wide now, like a startled deer. They’re stood close enough for Tony to note he has almost a full head on the boy. For a man who’s boyfriend towered over him, it made him rather smug.

“Oh, no need for all of that. Just come to the men’s with me to help me dab the wet patches, hm? At least I won’t reek like a wine cellar on the way home”. He added a charming smile for good measure, turning on his heel. He didn’t need to look to know Peter would follow obediently. Refusing Tony Stark wasn’t good for business, after-all.

Bucky is perfectly concealed when he swings the door open, shrugging out of his jacket and listening to the clack of another polished shoe on the tiles as Peter steps in after him, practically vibrating with nervous energy. Tony carelessly draped his jacket over the edge of the sink and begun to run the tap, because what was a story without details?

Peter hovered closer, clearly unsure of why it would take two men to wash a jacket. “I - What do you need me to do, Mr. Stark?” The boy asks not a moment later, and Tony can’t bite back a grin. Peter has wandered around to his right, which means when Bucky makes his dramatic entrance, it’s gonna be behind the kid.

“Oh, nothing you don’t want to, darling. But if you do want to, then just stand there and let me make you feel good, hm?” He asked, head tilting as he turned off the tap and took a step closer. The hitch of Peter’s breath is audible.

He doesn’t step away, though. Interesting.

“Y-You’re here with your boyfriend” Peter whimpered, even as Tony’s hands came up to his shoulders and chest, petting gently. He trembled under the touch, but didn’t back away, sucking his lower lip into his mouth. Over Peter’s shoulder Tony can see Bucky swing around the edge of a stall door, prowling quietly closer, but he doesn’t dare look up, doesn’t dare alert Peter of the predator at his heels.

“I wouldn’t worry about hurting my feelings, Doll” Bucky purred, low and raspy in Peter’s ear as he pressed up against Peter’s back, until the boy was a pretty little sandwich filler. Peter actually yelped, driving forwards into Tony’s chest, and Tony let his hands fall to slim hips, holding him steady.

“Now, Bucky” he chided, voice softening. “What do we do before we play?” He asked, arching a brow as Peter panted between them. Bucky cast him a pouty but gentle look.

“We ask for consent” he hummed, metal hand reaching up to gently brush aside a curl when Peter whipped around to face him, lips parted.

“Good boy” Tony murmured, gaze dropping back to Peter. They take a step away from him in unison, giving the poor thing some room to breathe. “So. That means you can tell us to stop, and we’ll walk out, pay our bill, and we won’t approach you this way again. Or...You can say yes, and we’ll be gentle, but we’ll make you feel good” he continued.

Peter shifted between them, looking cautious but also like he was two breaths away from sinking to his knees. His voice is small, rough when he finally speaks. “If...What will you do? To make me feel good?” He whispered, and Tony and Bucky wore matching, slow smirks.

“Well. I’m more of a practical person” Tony drawled, eyes roaming Peter’s face for confirmation. He found it in a weak nod, the boy’s pupils blowing as he advanced closer and reached out, him and Bucky closing Peter between them once again. Peter was small between them, lips bitten and eyes wild as Bucky reached down, sliding metal fingers along the curve of his ass and between his thighs, rubbing there like you’d finger a girl, his other hand winding around to press flat over Peter’s stomach.

A wrecked, torn sound slips from Peter’s throat, practically collapsing against Bucky as Tony’s hand dripped down, palming over the half-hard bulge there none too teasingly, the other hand cupping his jaw and tipping his head.

“We’ve maybe got five minutes or less” Tony breathed, licking into the corner of Peter’s plush, pink mouth as Bucky pressed up against him, dropping to mouth at his neck. “I can think of a few things to do”.

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 4 years

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And the Sunshine Shinin’

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark Rating: Explicit (E) Warnings: stripper!Tony, smut Notes: I used @modest-demon‘s artwork as inspiration for this one. If you want the full effect, take a peak at it here before you read through this :D Summary:

Tony Stark is a notorious stripper going by the name Iron Man. The further he gets into his career, the more behind the scenes he becomes until he's only working private jobs. Peter Parker hires Iron Man for MJ's bachelorette party and sexy stripper Tony Stark dances his little heart out. Little does Peter know that Tony Stark is Morgan Barnes-Rogers's Uncle Tony. Things get interesting when he walks with her into Peter's kindergarten class the morning after their strip club experience.

You can read it on AO3 here

Tony never thought he’d make stripping a career. In fact, he’d never stepped foot into a strip club until the first day of what would become a pretty damn good job for a long time. He’d been struggling since graduating from MIT – the prospect of joining good ole’ daddy dearest in his suits and executive bull shit made Tony’s stomach curl every single time he thought about it. Not only did he have a pretty subpar relationship with his father, he also wasn’t known for being able to sit still for long periods of time – and the executive side of Stark Industries did not include regular recess – he checked. Jumping from department to department wasn’t helping anyone. Tony regularly complained about how bored and restricted he felt, and his father was always going on about the lack of effort coming from his son. The prospect of turning 18 brought a lot of things with it, one of them being a complete sense of freedom.

When Steve, one of his buddies he’d met in college and then again through the Stark Industries internship program, mentioned what he did on the side for “fun” money, Tony was instantly intrigued. There weren’t a lot of people privy to the information, but he’d been taking formal dance lessons since his mom mistakenly put him in a ballet class at the ripe again of 6. The glaringly obvious opportunity in front of Tony’s face came with added benefit of pissing his father off if the man ever decided to track him down or find out what he did with his time. Who would have thought that a teenage act of rebellion could be something that was just so – right? That first night walking into the club, Tony felt more nervous than he ever did during a test at MIT or a presentation at his father’s company. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was the thing missing and he knew it right away. He’d been pretty sure of it putting his routine together earlier that afternoon – his feelings in that instant sealed the deal.

The guys are the door were thorough in their inquisition about his age and a couple different forms of ID had him in the door – the look shared between the man and Steve probably working in his favor, too. In all honesty, he probably only had one shot to make an impression at a place like the one they were in – the club obviously more upscale than some of the others out there. He followed Steve closely, the narrow hallway like something Tony never experienced before. It funneled down into what he quickly found to be a dressing room with men and women alike in various degrees of undress. It was an instant sensory overload – and he wondered how people ever got used to it. Though, thinking about it, he’d need to get over it pretty quickly. There were bound to be a pretty decent collection of humans on the other side of the door. Sucking in a breath, Tony squared his shoulders up and walked over to the empty space next to Steve.

“I didn’t work out a costume. You think there’d be something I could put on for tonight?” Tony asked Steve under his breath, his friend chuckling – a long finger pointing to a big closet in the corner. “You take it, you wash it. Just make sure you can move in it and get it off,” Steve replied steadily, his own pilot costume laid out on the bench in front of them. Tony nodded and made a straight beeline to the closet – there was a wide selection of the customary clichés, all things Tony figured he’d never be able to pull off. Digging into the stuff a little bit more, he found a black vest that was thick leather halfway until what he assumed would be mid-chest and the rest was solid strips of that same leather, like the billowing plastic pieces at the end of bike handles. He smirked and pulled the vest against his chest – the piece of music he’d dance to finally clicking into his head. The black leather chaps he found at the beginning of his search would go perfectly with the piece of main inspiration for the personality he planned to portray.

Getting the pants on, he felt confused by the suspenders attached to them, but went with it – they looked good down off of his shoulders and would create movement throughout his routine rather nicely. He slipped back into the shoes he decided to wear and took a look in the full-length mirror on the wall – his eyes bulging for a second at the sexy stranger he saw looking back at him. The outfit enhanced all the things Tony was looking to put on display and it gave him more of a darker vibe – something he wanted to make sure he projected, too. The air of mystery seemed to be half the fun of something like this – if he could keep people on their toes, how could they not come back for more? Running both hands through his hair, Tony ruffled the locks giving himself the fresh out of bed look. Hopefully his choices would have the desired effect and capture the audience’s attention. Though he’d never used a pole or danced in front of a crowd in a way meant to be titillating, Tony knew what it was like to desire attention and found many ways to acquire it over the years.

What more was taking your clothes off for someone other than the explicit and sometimes forceful demand for attention?

The steady thrum of nervousness stuck around and kept Tony in front of the mirror, the younger man watching himself move through the motions he’d been practicing – his natural ability to understand the beat of music would help him, but he wanted to be prepared. The last thing he wanted was to go out there and make a total ass of himself. He raptly watched the suspenders down by his hips fly through the air out of a turn and smiled – his outfit choice really was exactly what he was looking for.

He took a break from worrying to watch a bit of Steve’s dance from the side of the stage – the guy couldn’t really dance, but the firmness of his body and the boyish charm he used seemed to have the same effect. Watching an older lady put a five-dollar bill in the small waistband hiding under the plain black pants he started the routine in was one of the best experiences Tony could remember having and immediately eased all the lingering feelings of self-doubt. If dopey ass Steve Rogers could win over the old bitties – Tony would be way more than okay.

He watched with fascination as Steve came back into the locker room covered in sweat and fisting several bills in his hands – a black trash bag slung over his shoulder. Tony yearned to feel the tangibility of cash he got to shake his ass for and gladly gave up his music request to the sound guy a few minutes before stepping on stage himself. There was just enough time to give Rogers some shit before going out and doing the same damn thing.

“I thought that old lady was going to go for the whole package, Stevie – you got lucky,” Tony smirked, the shit talk falling seamlessly from his lips. Steve colored and smacked him on the bare shoulder, “It’s your turn next, Tony. They’re going to love you,” he felt the other man’s eyes trail over him for a second and then the glance was gone – the idea of it enough to add to the little bit of confidence he’d managed to acquire throughout the night waiting to perform.

Tony ran through the routine he’d put together in his mind a couple more times on his way up to the stage – he practiced a couple shimmies and then straightened himself up. With all of his costume in place, Tony waited impatiently for his time on the stage. Before stepping up, a guy with a microphone in his hand stopped him – his hand flat on the naked flesh of Tony’s stomach. He looked up surprised, the idea of being touched so candidly still something that was settling into the depths of his mind.

To make this work, he’d quickly need to get over it and as the fingers lingered for an extra second, Tony took a deep breath and pushed the gross feeling that threatened to overtake him away. “What’s your name, kid?” The guy asked now that he’d successfully gotten Tony’s attention. “Tony,” he said back to him quickly. The man smirked and shook his head. “What’s your stage name?” Tony felt a flush of embarrassment run through him, but quickly got his shit together – the perfect name coming to the forefront of his mind almost instantly.

“I’m Iron Man,” Tony said with confidence, his eyes wide with excitement.

The announcer made up some bull shit about Tony’s backstory while he got himself set up on the middle of the stage – the lights still low. He gave the opening music a couple seconds to play before he stepped forward and started to roll his hips – the sweet beats of Ginuwine the soundtrack to a life changing experience.

Needless to say, Tony truly found himself on the stage that night – his black trash bag full of money a true motivator. The subtle fuck you he said to all the people who didn’t give a shit about him a fabulous consolation prize.

----

The brilliance of that night was almost twenty years ago. Just like Tony figured, the costume idea and stage name went off like a rocket – his career bloomed so quickly that he didn’t have a chance to think about his father’s disappointment or the untimely death of his mother only a couple weeks after that first dance. The more time he spent on the stage, the more people seemed to like him. With his structured dance background and ability to be shameless, Tony easily understood just how right the business was for him. After that initial time up on the stage, Tony got his feet under him and started to dance more and more throughout the night. Instead of going once an hour, he went twice – and when someone was missing for the night, or not getting as much in the way of tips like the rest of them, Tony filled in there, too. It was easy to see that his mysterious persona and crazy moves on the pole were crowd favorites. Who would have thought being able to move his hips and look good almost naked would make a name for him?

Things stayed that way for a while, too. Tony left his engineering background behind and focused completely on dancing. And since he had such a following, the club he danced in let him use the poles and dance floor space whenever he wanted. The routines and moves changed, but Tony kept with his signature style. The main addition that stuck with the rest of his get up was a felt cowboy hat. He used it often to keep the brim low over his eyes – the inability to see his stare always seemed to do the trick. When he’d slide down onto his knees and pull the hat off of his head, the crowd went crazy. For most of his performances, Tony kept that air of mystery about him and only let the crowd get a glimpse of anything other than his swaying hips and tight ass once or twice per dance. On top of that, he spent a good amount of time on the pole throughout his dances – the only thing a spectator could really see was the way he spun, or the tightness of his legs when he’d slide down with no hands and only the muscles in his thighs to stop him.

About ten years into his career, Tony got offered an opportunity to move to a new club with a few of the guys he’d been dancing with for a while. Between him and Steve – Fury’s did really well, and though they made the club more money than it ever made before, their cuts of the take were not going up in the same way. It never bothered Tony much, he took in enough on his own to make at least a thousand dollars any of the nights he danced. Yet, he couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to take a place from the ground floor up. He owed Nick Fury a whole lot for initially taking a chance on young Tony Stark – however, he owed himself a lot more and the move to Marvel’s Finest was the easiest decision Tony could remember making since stepping on the stage for the first time. Aside from dancing, Tony and Steve spent a good bit of time recruiting other dancers and after a couple years of making the club a success – Tony started to take his turn behind the microphone as an MC.

For about thirteen years, Tony appreciated the stripping life for all that it was. The parties, the ability to make a whole month’s worth of money in one night, even the drugs every now and again. It was easy to let the years pass by in a haze of dance routines and pot-induced binges. He liked the notoriety of being Iron Man and for a long while, that was enough. Things started to change when Steve met Bucky and all of the people around him were suddenly starting to settle down. His friend still danced of course – one couldn’t give up primetime floor spots on Friday and Saturday nights, but he was also starting to move his work life away from the club. Though he’d never admit it, Tony felt a little jealous anytime he saw the two of them together and felt like an old fuck when he was around some of the younger dancers that were getting the easy attention of the crowd like he used to. People came specifically to see Tony these days – he wasn’t pulling the wild and spontaneous crowds the way the younger guys were. And all of the sudden, dancing wasn’t enough.

Of course, he’d been a college graduate since the prime age of 15 – he had a mechanical engineering degree under his belt, one from MIT of all places. If he wanted, he could walk back into Stark Industries, which was still being run by his stingy, asshole of a father, and get his job back. The idea of it popped into his head a few times but then he always remembered how miserable he’d been there, how boring the humdrum of day to day shit was in a stuffy situation like cooperate America. The entire reason he’d escaped to dancing in the first place was to get away from that situation – no, that wouldn’t work. No, instead of heading back into the fire of being a businessperson, Tony wanted something with creative freedom, something that would allow him to do what he wanted when he wanted.

The perfect opportunity fell into his hands when he spent a random afternoon with Bucky, the man a perfect mixture of old fashioned and hippy. His creative spirit always had Steve out at art shows or taking in theater – in all the time Tony knew the guy, he never thought to picture Steve Rogers in an opera house. He seemed smitten, though, so Tony went out of his way to get to know the guy – to create a relationship with him that could withstand Steve keeping Bucky in his life. The first few times were a little weird, kind of awkward – Tony wasn’t the easiest to get along with and Bucky’s personality threw the man for a loop. The more time Tony spent with him though, the more Tony understood why he was perfect for Steve and the more he realized just how cool the guy actually was.

They were out hiking at one of the remote locations the group found earlier that summer, enjoying the bright sunshine and absence of other humans. Tony watched with curious eyes as Bucky pulled a camera from his bag and started to take pictures of everything around him. He’d seen the man’s disposables before, but this thing was nice – a fully functional film camera with a wide digital display. He looked over the man’s shoulder while he showed him a couple of the functions. “Do you want to try it?” Bucky asked, his hand already in the process of handing the thing over to Tony before he could even respond. He nodded anyway and eagerly accepted the camera, the tech part of his brain already trying to categorize all the different parts and pieces. He didn’t take a picture for a while and simply studied the tech in his hands. Knowing how it worked always helped Tony make the most of those functions. Fiddling with it, he happened to glance up and see Bucky staring out into the distance. Without much thought, Tony brought the camera up and glanced down the viewfinder – he fiddled with the focus slightly and pressed his finger against the button, the snap of the shudder oddly satisfying.

A couple of weeks later, Tony was practicing a new routine in the gym and dance space he converted the garage of the house into. The garage door was wide open, so he shouldn’t have been surprised when he finally noticed the presence of another human. He’d been balls deep in step counts and music timing to even notice Steve – his friend was leaned against the open wall watching him when Tony came to. “What the fuck, Rogers?” Tony asked, the man grabbing the towel he’d thrown against the chair he kept around to toss himself into when he needed a break and wiping his brow. The taller man smiled and pointed at the open door. “If you didn’t want someone to come in, you shouldn’t keep the door wide open. Besides, I needed to show you this,” Steve unfolded his arms and revealed the brown envelope he’d been holding in his hand. “Bucky was showing me the prints from your hike a few weeks ago and when he showed me this one, I had to catch my breath.” Finally, he let the envelope out of his hand, Tony’s sweaty fingers fumbling with it. He pulled the photo of Bucky he sneakily snapped out and glanced at it – he looked lost in thought, a soft smile on his lips pulling the whole thing together.

“This is the best picture I’ve ever seen, Tony,” Steve said after a couple minutes of silence. Tony blinked back from his observation and tilted his head. “Thanks, Cap. Now tell me why you needed to interrupt rehearsal to tell me that,” Tony snapped back, his eyes still focused on the really good picture in his grasp. He knew exactly what the other man was alluding to. The idea of crafting his own camera and getting really good behind it had passed through his mind multiple times since he realized how cool the science behind photography really was. Maybe a push in that direction would be enough to motivate him – to convince him of the worth of the knowledge in his head. He got his wish – Stevie boy never missing the opportunity to impart wisdom upon him.

“You’ve been looking for something to do. I think you found it. The dance company Bucky’s niece dances at is looking for an in-house photographer. Do your smart kid thing, practice a little, and see if maybe you like seeing dance from a different perspective. It might keep you busy,” Steve motioned for the picture back as he spoke, his hands a little reverent as he put it back into the envelope for safe keeping. “Think about it,” he spoke again, Steve’s free hand patting Tony’s shoulder lightly. Watching him wipe his hand off against his jeans was the right amount of satisfaction – the man’s words fresh in Tony’s ears when he turned back to the open floor and started going through the motions of the routine again.

The start of that new adventure was slow going. Tony decided that if he was going to get into the business, he wanted to have a piece of technology that he knew would do the work he wanted it to do. He got the same model as Bucky’s and made a bunch of custom adjustments to it – both in its programming and the structure. The camera body’s ability to have several different lenses attached to it brought even more ideas for adjustments to be made. By the time he felt satisfied he’d spent more time screwing around with the camera than actually using the damn thing. Tony spent an annoying amount of time snapping away during rehearsals and whatever photos he could get of Steve working or him and Bucky interacting together. Tony knew the easiest way to get good at something was to practice, so he did. Little by little, he felt himself find a level of comfort behind the camera – to the point where he wanted to be there more often times than not.

The job with the dance academy opened a ton of doorways for Tony and after a couple years, he felt good enough about the steadiness of work that he could deem the business he put together successful. T. Stark Photography – the business cards he passed out were sleek and mysterious, just how Tony liked it. It felt good to be known by others in a way that didn’t include him taking off his clothes and dancing to rocky-stripper beats. The more he got into the photography world, including modifying cameras and mastering all of the Adobe Photo products, the further he allowed himself to stray from the stripping world. He started to do more MC work and when he did dance, it was for private parties and small groups at Marvel’s Finest. With all of the changes, Tony could finally say he felt pretty good about his life and himself. There was enough money coming in to keep him in the nice house he’d built from the ground up and freedom to do what he wanted, when he wanted.

Which is why Tony found himself taking a stripping job for the first time in a while – the guy on the phone sounding very enthusiastic and eager, the combination of which was very hard for Tony to turn down. He made the appointment and scheduled his remaining photo gigs for the month around the private dance at Marvel’s Finest for a Michelle Jones’s bachelorette party. The thing that really made him smile was the fact that the person on the other side of the phone was looking for Iron Man specifically – not just the dancer Tony Stark. He’d been much more open about who he was the more time he spent behind the microphone instead of on the stage. Only some of the older people who saw Tony dance in his younger years still knew him as Iron Man. Well, he’d also done a magazine spread in Play Girl once – but that was years ago, too.

The night of the party ended up on a Thursday, which worked out perfectly for Tony. Steve and Bucky tied the knot about a year after Tony’s photography journey started. It was the very first wedding Tony shot and still his very favorite. There are still several of the prints from it littered around his in-home studio. A year after that, they adopted a baby girl named Morgan – and Tony immediately fell in love with her. They gave him the privilege of being Uncle Tony and ever since she was big enough, he took care of her on Friday’s. The girl was now 5 years old and one of the coolest people he’d ever known. He got to take her to school for the first time, too – so Tony found himself excited most of the day Thursday. For the first time in a while, he was ready to dance and have fun with people that were obvious fans of his “work”. Then, he’d start the weekend off with one of his favorite humans on the planet. The chocolate chips for their traditional Friday night pancakes were on his counter, waiting eagerly to be consumed.

A few minutes before he was set to perform, Tony found himself with his phone in his hand, the song selections for the night still in limbo. He could do any of his performances to most of the songs he had in mind – he’d been dancing long enough to piece together when a hip roll would look good where. Yet, he himself found going back towards some of his old stuff, Kid Rock’s Cowboy popping up way too often to be ignored. The song entitled lots of work on the bar and lots of time with only his vest and the small black pair of briefs on – but he figured that’d be perfect for a bunch of women (and a couple of guys) eager to have a little time with Iron Man. With that settled, Tony went back into the locker room to grab his purple felt hat – tonight he was rocking dark tear-away jeans that fit all of his contours in all of the right ways. His black vest was reminiscent of the one he wore that first night and thick black boots finished the look, the laces tied just enough to give him support and the ability to move.

A spark of excitement went through him when he settled into the open space of the dance floor, the music starting to loud applause of the people at the end of the stage. He tipped the hat over his eyes and started to move, his hips swinging, his steps long filled with a couple of spins and full body rolls – his eyes intent on the pole right around the time the song got close to the first chorus.

Buy an old drop-top find a spot to pimp And I'mma Kid Rock it up and down ya' block With a bottle of scotch and watch lots a crotch Buy a yacht with a flag sayin' "Chillin' the Most"

His back hit the pole at the end of the beat, and he climbed his way up it – the man glad that he still had his jeans on for this move. Tony let his hands drop and he spun down to the space right before the floor, the clench of his thighs stopping him. He used the strength in his back to flip him over and back onto his feet – the last couple of beats hitting with the sway of his lips before the dance really started.

Cowboy, baby! With the top let back and the sunshine shinin' Cowboy, baby!

Tony pushed himself to his knees and felt himself sliding towards the crowd, one hand bringing the hat from his head and the other slipping down by his boot, his abs and crotch on display with the thrust of his hips when the friction inevitably slowed him down. There were bills thrown on the dance floor around him, but Tony didn’t pay any attention – his eyes suddenly drawn to a younger man with bright eyes that were peeled on him, his hair long and a little curly, a few of the locks at the side of his neck curling against the skin there.

He flawlessly brought himself back to his feet and used the next few hard hits of the bass to get himself into a position to tear his pants off – the black briefs he chose having the desired effect he predicted, the applause for once actually driving him on. Tony made is his way across the stage to all the different groups of women, his back to them, wiggling his ass, or his chest and abs on display for the hands that were grabbier than he usually allowed. The man was standing in the cluster of people gathered around the bride – so he saved them for last. His closeout moves were some of his best and by the end of the song, he was freely shaking his ass in their direction – the smallest amount of hope that those doe eyes were still so transfixed upon him making the moves a little extra.

The end of the song came before anyone was ready for it and Tony was quickly gathering the vest that was within reach to get off the stage. Whoever was prepping the stage for the next dance would get the remainder of his stuff and collect whatever tips that came from the dance not currently tucked into the waistband of his underpants. Tony felt a faint smile on his lips from the amount of fun that’d been and finally understood what balance actually was. Shaking his head, he went through the process of getting dressed – which included pulling bills from his underwear and trying to get the little bit of glitter he put on his body earlier off. His skin was still slick from sweating for 5 minutes straight, so a shower was the only way to really clean himself up and that would have to wait until later. Now that his job was done and his money was collected, Tony snuck out of the back door of the club – the call of his pillow louder than any thought of staying out and enjoying a night with a partying crowd.

Morning came fast and not for the first time, Tony felt grateful for the little bit of responsibility he learned over the years. There were so many nights when sleep would claim him not long before he needed to be up for something or another. It only took slowing down a bit to realize how nice it was to actually get a good night’s sleep. He got himself up and through the few things he needed to do in the morning, the excitement of seeing his little punk picking the pace of the activities up a little bit.

With little effort, Tony got himself into his car and headed towards Steve and Bucky’s place. It seemed like they liked Tony Friday’s just as much as Morgan did – they greeted him very cheerfully and told him of their plans to simply enjoy the evening at home together. Everyone got a hug before Tony was buckling the little girl into the booster he kept in his backseat for this very occasion. She’d been babbling about something or another since he got there, and he felt content to let her talk while he got her to school on time. Before he left, Bucky insisted on him going in and meeting the teacher – he wanted to make sure the guy knew who it was picking Morgan up later.

It was pretty funny how things worked out. Tony couldn’t help the laugh that left his lips when he recognized those doe eyes from the club the night before – the pink blush the exact same, too. The sputtering was cute – he couldn’t deny that. Morgan looked at him curiously for a second before she was distracted by another kid running by her. The girl gave his leg a hug and ran off – leaving the two adults to their own devices.

Not wanting to make the moment awkward, Tony stuck out a hand between them. “I’m Tony. Or Uncle Tony, if you listen to Morgan. Nice to meet you,” Tony spoke confidently, his words trying to say all the things he couldn’t in the current situation – ‘don’t freak out’, ‘I’m just an average guy’,’ you’re so fucking cute’ – all of those things. The man thankfully extended his own hand and grabbed Tony’s, the touch of their palms like an electric shock.

----

Peter couldn’t explain the amount of excitement he was still feeling after MJ’s bachelorette party. When she asked him to plan it, he knew Marvel’s Finest was the best place to take them. Even if MJ decided to take it as a joke, Peter felt obligated to make sure all of the people he invited to join them would enjoy the show, nonetheless. If he decided to book Iron Man for his own pleasure, no one really needed to know that. He could still remember the way that Play Girl opened up to the Iron Man spread – the pages so well used. By the time Peter was old enough to actually enjoy anything like a strip club, the notorious Iron Man wasn’t dancing nearly as much, usually only for private type events.

When the opportunity presented itself, Peter decided to take advantage of it. And boy was it the best abuse of friend power he’d ever experienced. The whole look immediately made Peter hot, his skin on fire. The music selection was perfect for the performance the man decided to put on, and oh – those black briefs. It shouldn’t be legal for people to look that good. The physical manifestation of his attraction was within his grin and if he thought too hard about it – he might have thought the man was looking right back at him.

It shocked the absolute hell out of him when the very star of his fantasy later that evening walked through the doors of his classroom – Morgan Barnes-Rogers in tow. His jaw fell from its tucked position, the muscles surrounding it the only thing keeping it from hitting the ground. In this setting, he could see the man’s salt and pepper hair, his brows arched in recognition. Peter collected himself in time to smile at Morgan before she ran past him and into the writhing mass of kids collected on the play mat.

He was a little surprised when the man stuck a hand out between them an introduced himself. Peter took another second to collect himself before reaching out and grabbing onto it, their palms flashing warm on contact. His fingers gripped the others, the touch probably going on for just a little bit too long. “I’m Peter. Peter Parker. I can’t um – it’s nice to meet you, too,” his words felt a little choked, like he couldn’t quite get them out – but the man’s returning smile gave him courage.

“Bucky said to come in and introduce myself, so here I am. I’ll be picking Morgan up later today, too.” Tony kept the smile on his lips and Peter felt his stomach clench at the sight – the other man’s hand was in his hair and the stretch of his t-shirt revealed the slightest hint of that torso that’d been on display less than twelve hours earlier. His cheeks felt so hot and he forced himself to grin – the idiocy of it probably radiating from his expression. “Sounds good, I’ll be sure to look for you, then. Nice performance by the way,” Peter got the words out quickly, the mortifying feeling of wanting to die fleeting once they were off his tongue. The other’s eyes flashed with something akin to amusement and he saw the man’s grin broaden – the crinkle of his eyes so fucking charming. “Thanks, Peter Parker. See you later,” Tony replied, the man giving him a wink before casually strolling out of the classroom.

The rest of the day, Peter tried his hardest to focus on the young children looking to him to teach them things – he truly did. Luckily, they were slowly working their way through the vowels and were focusing on the letter ‘e’ today – so there were many worksheets that required lots of coloring and minimal teaching on Peter’s part. He kept a close eye on Morgan and wondered just what the back story there was. They weren’t too far into the school year yet, but he knew both her parents from the parent-teacher meet and greet earlier in the year. Until this point, he’d never seen the illustrious Uncle Tony, though the girl did talk about him often. What were the chances that Peter’s walking wet dream was also a tender-hearted man attached to one of the most spirited children he’d ever encountered? Life was weird in the way it threw people into other’s paths. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Peter managed to make it to lunch without thinking about it again.

Sitting down, Peter immediately felt relief when he saw MJ in her usual spot across the table. “Iron Man is Morgan Barnes-Rogers’s Uncle. He’s just as handsome in person, and he’s coming back later on to pick her up. I might have alluded to making sure I kept a lookout for him, I’ll probably see him again. What the hell, MJ?” Peter blabbed all of this at once, his hands successfully pulling apart the brown paper bag his sandwich was currently in. Her soft hands grabbed his, his fingers coming easily off with the slightest of pressure.

“That’s the stripper from last night, right? The one who made me go home and download a Kid Rock song?” MJ questioned, her fingers loosening to have her hands back to pick at the food in her own lunch. “That very one. Is it cliché to want to spend time with the man who I paid to take off his clothes for us? Or am I overthinking this?” Peter’s question seemed valid, but the laugh MJ couldn’t keep in made his face color. “Pete, you’re an idiot. If you hit it off with the guy, does it really matter?”

Peter thought about that question for the last couple of hours of the school day – his mind never moving away from the fact that no, it didn’t matter. He himself had lots of hidden parts to himself – people would never believe the guy that taught their children graduated with a degree in biochemical engineering before thinking about elementary education. Every person was composed of parts and pieces. Though, some parts were a little bit nicer than others. Biting the edge of his thumb, Peter toiled with the idea until there was no time left and he was ushering all the kids to the drop off/pick up point. Like he said, Tony was there waiting, his eyes lighting up when the little girl came into view. He watched Morgan launch herself into his arms and knew in that instant that he was going to let whatever happened – happen.

Tony approached him a minute or so later, Morgan tucked carefully in his arms. “Thanks for taking care of her. She said you guys did ‘e’ for elephant today,” Tony started, a soft smile on his face. The little girl kept herself tucked against the older man, so Peter didn’t mind talking back and forth. “We did. We also learned that elephants are gray. I’m not sure if you knew that, or not.” Peter bit into his lip and felt blush overtake his cheeks.

“How do you feel about coffee?” Peter asked next, the words tumbling from his lips in a fashion that spoke of reckless abandon – like if he didn’t get them out that instant, he never would. The other’s brown eyes caught his and they exchanged a look – the same connection rushing through him like when their palms touched earlier. He watched Tony nod and reach into his pocket. “I like it. Shoot me a text sometime, let’s go for a cup.” His smile was wide and genuine – the card he took from him still warm from the man’s touch.

The card felt heavy in his pocket, the burn of it like a constant reminder of something Peter couldn’t quite name yet. He forced himself to keep it there until he got the classroom put back together and himself home – there were social standards that needed to be kept, after all. They didn’t do too much moving around in class, so the clean-up wasn’t too complicated. There just wasn’t anything to keep his mind away from the thought of what Tony Stark accepting his invitation for coffee actually meant. Whatever it was, Peter planned to make the most of the encounter – simply because he felt determined to understand the man, not just the nude skin he could still remember very, very, very vividly. He quickly shook his head and got his things together – the faster he got home, the faster he’d be able to give into his impulses. There was only so much self-control a guy can have. It didn’t hurt, either, that he only lived a few minutes from the school. Nope, it didn’t hurt one bit.

The first thing he usually did when he got home was change out of his work clothes – the stuffy shirts were nice and all, but there was nothing better than a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. This time, however, he pulled the card from his pocket and took a good look at it. Though he didn’t expect to see the man advertising his stripping career on business cards, Peter was surprised to find that Tony Stark owned a photography business. After a quick check on Instagram, he found out that said photography business was very successful. He spent a bit of time looking at all the different shots, his idea of the man already changing.

There was so much detail in every single picture the man posted – each photo contained so much soul. One of the most recent posts was of the little girl in his class – clicking on it, he noticed the crown on her head and a big five on the cake. She was smiling and looking directly at the camera, a small bit of frosting in the corner of her mouth. It made him feel a little funny, how much of her personality Tony managed to capture in one snapshot of time. More determined than ever, he typed the number on the card into his phone and sent off a couple of messages.

Peter Parker [7:01PM]: Hey, this is Peter Parker. Peter Parker [7:02PM]: Your snazzy business card told me you’re a photographer, so I stalked your insta – you’re really talented, Tony.

Satisfied, Peter put the phone down and went about changing – finally content a few minutes later when he settled onto the couch with his phone in his hand and Stranger Things on the tv. Soon, there was Thai food on the way – the true beginnings of a great night. And it got a little better when he felt his phone buzz a little while later. Looking at the messages, he felt himself smile.

Tony Stark [8:05PM]: Hi, Peter Parker. Tony Stark [8:06PM]: Such praise, many thanks. I enjoy being behind the camera very much. Tony Stark [8:07PM]: Is teaching your one true love, or do you have something else up your sleeve?

Sucking in a breath, he felt something shift inside him. Of course, that would be the first question this mysterious man fired off – the one thing Peter kept close to himself. For whatever reason, he couldn’t get his foot in the door with any of the tech businesses after graduation – so his retreat was very quick, and he changed gears to satisfy the need to have a job and take care of himself. Elementary education fell into his lap when MJ suggested it during one of their many get togethers. He flew through the master’s program and came out on the other side a certified teacher. It didn’t fuel his fire or get him excited – but it paid the bills and kept a roof over his head. All things that were essential after losing the last piece of his family halfway through his freshman year of college. The fact that Tony hit the nail on the head with the first question made his heart race.

Peter Parker [8:10PM]: You can tell. Your stuff really is amazing. Peter Parker [8:11PM]: I actually have a degree in Biochemical Engineering. At one point in time, I wanted to work on tech. Peter Parker [8:13PM]: What are you two up to this evening?

Tony Stark [8:20PM]: Biochemical Engineering, huh? We’ll have to nerd out during this coffee date we’re having. I graduated from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tony Stark [8:22PM]: We made chocolate chip pancakes and now I’m hoping she slips into a food coma so I can get some editing done. What about you? What does Mr. Parker do on a Friday night?

Peter Parker [8:35PM]: It sounds like you have an interesting past, Tony. What was MIT like? Peter Parker [8:36PM]: Chocolate chip pancakes? Color me jealous. Mr. Parker watches Stranger Things and eats too much Thai food. Interesting stuff, I know. Peter Parker [8:38PM]: Will you have Morgan tomorrow? Or can I interest you in brunch with your coffee?

Tony Stark [8:55PM]: I do – it’s very colorful. Maybe I’ll tell you about it someday. It was full of too many classes every semester and lots of burns from the welding torch. I graduated really young and very fast – so I didn’t do much MIT living. Tony Stark [8:56PM]: There are many interesting things about that. Such as: what did you order? And – what season are you watching? Tony Stark [8:59PM]: Little Squirt returns to her parents bright and early. They get to deal with her grumpiness after the sugar crash. I’d love to do brunch.

Things continued in that easy manner between the two of them well into the night. He got a video of Morgan saying goodnight with the low pitch of Tony’s voice in the background instructing her on what to say. Then when she went to bed, they got into a more in-depth conversation about some of the cool theories the Duffy Brothers used to write the show and a few of the cooler projects Tony worked on throughout college. Peter didn’t even think to broach the topic of stripping and thoroughly enjoyed the entire exchange. When he looked up at saw that it was well past 1AM, Peter shook his head and pulled himself off the couch. He’d gotten through most of the second season and couldn’t remember much of it at all. That was a satisfying feeling – being so wrapped up in another person like that. They exchanged another couple of texts before Peter got himself into bed and snuggled under the covers.

Peter Parker [1:21AM]: I’m going to sack out. It was nice talking to you, Tony. Have a good rest of the night!

Tony Stark [1:30PM]: The pleasure was mine, Peter Parker. Sleep well.

It didn’t take long for sleep to pull Peter under and when it did, he felt a little floaty right before losing consciousness. His last conscious thought was how nice it was to really smile for the first time in a long time.

----

There weren’t a lot of things more intimidating than going out with a human that spent years making a living from how attractive they were. Peter understood that it didn’t define who Tony was – but that didn’t change the fact that the older man had a confidence that Peter couldn’t even think about touching. A little bit of the morning was spent dwelling over how out of his league Tony was and the rest of it, Peter spent in his closet trying to decide what to wear. There was an immediate relief felt in getting out the door.

He assumed most of his nerves were coming from the fact that he’d thoroughly enjoyed their conversation last night and he could easily see himself getting in way too deep way too fast. The survival mechanism of trying to talk himself out of things was a little absurd – but he managed to overcome it and dress relatively well. He glanced down at the blue baseball shirt and dark jean combination he inevitably ended up in. The idea to feel comfortable settled in when he saw the shirt and no matter what else he found that he knew he looked good in – Peter went back to the same shirt every time.

The café he told Tony to meet him at was within walking distance, so he took the opportunity to work off a little of the excess nerves on the walk over. In all of his twenty-five years, Peter never imagined he’d be so hyped up for a date. He’d never felt this way before – like he couldn’t control himself, like things were out of his hands and he was running totally on instinct. Peter felt a little more like himself by the time he got to the café, a smile on his lips at the thought that though he was nervous, he’d get to spend some time with the person he was quickly becoming very interested in. His eyes scanned all around the shop until they settled on the recognizable disarray of hair – Tony’s bedhead one of the things that caught Peter’s eye right away both on the stage and in the classroom. Quickening his pace, Peter made it to the table in a couple of strides, the smile on his face growing a little wider. “Howdy, Cowboy,” Peter said, the tone of his voice laced with sarcasm and joking – he hoped the words were welcoming and just on the right side of teasing.

Tony’s smile just about blew him backwards, the words’ effect a lot better than he could have hoped for. There was the slightest bit of blush on the older man’s cheeks – the color not nearly as beet red as what Peter knew took over his own face. Sitting down across from him, Peter relaxed into the chair and put all his focus on the man before him.. “Hey, Teach. You look bright and bubbly this morning,” Tony remarked, his body turning more towards Peter, too – their eyes locking for a minute. There was heat and curiosity in the shared gaze. There were a lot of things between them – that much was obvious. Most people didn’t engage in several hours’ worth of conversation if they were repulsed by the other person. Peter knew there was attraction, especially on his part. There were too many times of getting himself off to the photos of Tony and more recently, the vision of the other man up on the stage doing what he was obviously so good at. The probing nature of the other’s glance spoke of lust, but Peter wasn’t quite sure and hoped to find out throughout the rest of the conversation.

“Just wait until I have my coffee,” he said jokingly, his hands fiddling with the wrapped-up package of silverware on the table. “Did you and Morgan have a good time together last night? I have to admit, your chocolate chip pancakes served as motivation for brunch today. Rosetta’s has the best overstuffed pancakes,” Peter didn’t try to filter himself – their conversation last night consisted of anything and everything. It didn’t make any sense to not continue that trend now that they were together in person. He watched Tony’s face break into an even bigger smile and tried in vain to remember the sound of the older man’s chuckle. Oh, how he wished to hear that sound all the time.

“Time with Morgan is always the best. We watched The Princess and The Frog, and the rest was history. I think I told you about everything else last night. I honestly can’t remember the last time I spent that much time texting someone else. Steve still has to call every time he wants to say anything – I’ve gotten used to his old guy tendencies,” Tony remarked, his hands thumbing with the menu on the table – though he didn’t open it.

Things stayed pretty light and easy between them, they ordered the promised coffee with an omelet for Tony and bananas fosters pancakes for Peter. They chatted a bit more about Tony’s first robot creation Dum-E and Peter’s foray into teaching. Tony was easy to talk to and Peter absolutely acknowledged that him being easy on the eyes contributed to how much he felt himself paying attention to the man across from him.

He wouldn’t change that for a second, though – all the things he was learning about Tony made him want to keep on listening. Of course, there were parts of him that just wanted to jump across the table and forcefully take Tony’s lips in a kiss, but those urges were a little easier to control. What he couldn’t seem to get a grip on was the brightness of his smile and the blush that would not stop traveling further and further down his chest.

Somewhere in there many topics, Tony’s stripping finally came up. “How did you end up becoming Uncle Tony, anyway? It’s obvious that Morgan adores you – you must have known her most of her life,” Peter said absentmindedly, his mind putting together all of the pieces he currently held in his hand. “I’ve known Steve and Bucky the entire time they’ve been together. I was one of the first people they told when they found out they got cleared to adopt Morgan. Steve was my college roommate. He got an internship at my father’s company, Stark Industries – though he lasted about as long as I did there. He got me my first stripping gig. It made total sense to make me Uncle Tony when the little one came. They need at least one bad influence that isn’t a direct parent,” Tony replied softly, a laugh stuck in the tangle of his words. The thing that got Peter the most wasn’t the casual way he talked about his stripping, but the starry-eyed look he got in his eye talking about Morgan and her family. They were obviously special people to the older man across from him. Peter shook his head and focused on the things he’d just been told. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I never knew I needed to thank Mr. Rogers for the special gift that Iron Man brought to the world.”

The purely genuine laugh that surrounded Peter in response made his heart clench, the feelings he’d been trying to hold back all evening finally overwhelming him. Peter joined in and felt the oxygen quickly leave his lungs in the flurry of it all. “So you were the one that booked that dance. When I left, I spent a lot of time wondering who in the crowd could have known me – you’re all a little young to have been around during the busy time of my career. The peak of Iron Man’s,” Tony mumbled with a shake of his head.

“I am and I will gladly own up to being the person interested in seeing you dance. I’ve wanted to ever since I saw your spread in Play Girl – but I was never old enough. MJ gave me the reins of her bachelorette party and well, you know the rest.” Peter thought he’d feel embarrassed admitting something so honest like that – but he felt a sense of power overcome him. Maybe now wasn’t too bad of a time to start going after the things he wanted. If all the things the older man taught him in their brief exchanges, it was that being confident and going after things was the only way to get shit done.

Tony didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes, the older man busying himself with finishing off the espresso in his cup and resettling into the back of the chair. His mouth felt a little dry watching Tony stretch the time out, the man obvious in his actions. When their eyes eventually caught – Peter felt a hitch in his breath. The slight heat he’d noticed earlier was now scorching, overtaking Tony’s pupil without leaving much of the beautiful, chocolate brown iris behind. “I think that’s one of the most flattering compliments I’ve ever gotten. I don’t think I’ve ever had a fan that hadn’t seen me dance before. I know for a fact that it wasn’t the dance you were looking for, though, was it? The real strip club experience is a little different than the private shindig you got. There are usually dancers out on the floor willing and eager to give lap dances. I used to be one of those guys, but seniority and all that,” Tony shrugged, and slung his arm carelessly over the back of his chair. “If you’re interested, I could be talked into a private show that’s just for you.” Tony looked up at him then, the connection Peter felt there earlier suddenly scorching hot – a total contrast to the softness of their conversation the night before.

It would be silly, he figured, not to take the man up on the generous offer, so he nodded eagerly. “I am very interested. I can’t promise to keep my hands to myself, though – I’m a kinesthetic learner, hands-on is the only way I know,” Peter’s voice sounded a little scratchy in his own ears and he noticed the words licking across the older man’s skin were affecting him. “Sounds good. One condition, though – we go to my place,” Tony’s voice was low and deep, too – the rumble of it doing things to the tightness of his pants. Gulping in air, Peter nodded – he figured he’d probably agree to just about anything in that moment. They continued to stare at each other, intensifying the heat of moment until the server came to deposit the check on the table – the magic broken for the time being. Peter grabbed the bill before Tony could get his hands on it, a little triumphant gasp slipping from his lips. “You can get the next one,” Peter said, his hand brushing against Tony’s shoulder as he walked past him to pay at the register.

The warmth of Tony’s hand in his own was not nearly as surprising as the way it made him feel – why did the guy have to be so fitting, their palms were staticky, the heat of the combined touched scorching, the burn of it just barely on the right side of tantalizing. Despite the brief interruption of getting into the car, Tony’s grip was sound the entire way to the older man’s house. Instead of teasing like he figured, Tony kept his fingers laced tightly with Peter’s, the gentle sweeping of the thumb on the back of Peter’s hand in tune with the Zeppelin on the radio. The ride was surprisingly peaceful – a huge contrast to the roaring heat of the moment back in the café, but just as nice, just as characteristic to the man he was finding himself enjoying getting to know. In all the ways he assumed he was going to get to know him, too.

They weren’t in the car for very long, the housing division they turned into was a little upscale, yet understated, too. There weren’t a lot of houses jammed into the lot like some of the new subdivisions, so Peter figured the house wasn’t amongst the brand spanking new ones that were constantly being slapped together. The house they pulled up to was one story with a lot of yard surrounding it. There were a couple of trees in the lawn and a really cool screened in porch attached to the front of the house. Other than the one pulling into the driveway, there weren’t any other cars. The house looked immaculately kept and a little bit different than all of the others surrounding it. “I love your porch,” Peter mumbled, his brain mostly still preoccupied checking out all of the things about the place. “Thanks, I built it myself. Other than the guys that came and laid the foundation – most of the house was done by me, now that I’m thinking about it,” Tony replied, his eyes lighting up with pride and excitement.

There were so many things to learn about the man, Peter was quickly finding out. He couldn’t’ decide what he was most excited about, but the hand on his arm and the long finger pointing toward the door reminded him that one of the things he was going to learn very soon was how Tony Stark looked giving a lap dance.

The hand on his arm didn’t stop pulling him until they were in the house and down the hall, in the obvious comfort of the older man’s bedroom. Tony directed Peter to sit on the edge of the bed and he went willingly, his hands sliding under his thighs to quiet the already eager fingers. There wasn’t anything happening yet, and he could already imagine his greedy fingers roaming all over that smooth skin. He’d been unable to get it out of his head since the initial glance of paleness and muscles rippling under the surface. They exchanged a look and Peter couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips at the shit eating grin on Tony’s face. Wide eyes watched the older man place a black version of the purple felt hat he wore in the club and start up some music – the round globes of his ass in the painted-on jeans already starting to move to the beat. He’d never see MGMT’s Electric Feel the same ever again.

Tony started to play with the buttons on his shirt, his shoulders and hips moving with the beat. Each time the drumbeat would hit, he’d snap his hips forward – the move hooking Peter’s attention, keeping it on the fluidity of those hips. The distraction of Tony’s hips made the bareness of his chest in the next moment a surprise – a soft gasp left Peter’s lips before he could reign it in. The small noise brought a smile to Tony’s face, the man’s eyes watching him despite the rest of his body moving fluidly. He stopped listening to the music and let his entire focus stay on every single one of Tony’s movements.

By then, the man was close enough to touch if Peter were to reach out – the body rolls he was doing absolutely fucking sinful. He about shouted for mercy when Tony settled onto his lap – his ass grinding down onto the bulge Peter was having a hard time hiding – the friction light. That friction didn’t last long and Tony was stepping back, his hands moving to undo the button and zipper on his pants – the jeans tumbled down his legs shamelessly a second later. The briefs Tony was wearing weren’t much different than the ones he’d been moving around on-stage in. Where the others were black, these were maroon and highlighted Tony’s cock perfectly.

The microscopic attention to detail Peter paid to Tony’s dance at MJ’s party told him that this bulge was sizably different than what he’d seen before. Peter’s eyes were drawn to it, the press of Tony’s cock against the fabric now obvious the closer the man got to him. Strong hands were grabbing at his arms, Tony placing them on his own hips – he was thrusting his hips within inches of Peter’s face. Peter’s fingers squeezed the bare skin tightly, his arms wanting nothing more than to pull him in, pull him to his mouth or at least close enough to press his nose to the bulge there and take a long, deep breath. Tony didn’t stick around long enough for him to do any of those things, though – the nimble limbs were turning and suddenly Peter had a close-up view of the perfect bubble of Tony’s ass. The briefs barely covered the edges of the man’s cheeks and every swing of his hips made the muscle clench and sway ever so slightly. Without much thought, Peter let his hands grab at the globes, the warmth of the skin there another catalyst to the tight press of his cock pressed against the zipper of his jeans.

As quickly as the view was there, Tony was pulling away. The song was over, and the music changed to something Peter didn’t recognize. There wasn’t much blood anywhere near his brain, anyway. He did register demanding fingers pulling at the bottom of his shirt, his hands flew up and made the drag of it off his body a little easier for the man. When there was nothing left to block the sweet press of skin on skin, Peter pushed himself off the bed and captured Tony’s lips in a kiss. His hands settled low on the man’s hips, his greedy fingers moving to the firm groove of Tony’s ass cheeks – the fabric of the briefs much softer than he figured it would be. Tony’s hands were demanding on his face, the man tilted his head until the kiss was perfect – Peter felt himself get lost in the sensation of smooth firmness under his hands and warm wet pressed against his lips. The press of Tony’s erection against his own brought him back to the surface, his need for oxygen suddenly forcing him to break the kiss.

“You are the sexiest person I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m glad that was my first ever lap dance. Nothing will ever compare. I think you should fuck me. Does that sound okay?” Peter found himself feeling bold – the charge of arousal in the room something that was easy to be brought under by, something that he willingly let take ahold of him.

----

‘Does that sound okay?’ That simple phrase shouldn’t have sounded so good to Tony, but he couldn’t deny how fast the rush of heat traveled over him. His back broke out into a sweat, his skin suddenly tender from the sensitivity of arousal. “Better than,” Tony finally managed to get out, his hands moving down the length of Peter’s chest – his pecks defined, yet slim, the nipples there insanely responsive to the touch. He spent a little bit of time getting acquainted with the side of Peter’s neck and the sweeping sensation of goose flesh breaking out over the other man’s skin. It felt like it was moving across his own skin, though when he checked – there was only sweat and smoothness.

His cock gave a reminding pulse and he forced himself to get back on task. Greedy fingers played with the button and zipper of Peter’s pants, the short, impatient thrusts against his hand too good to just give into the want they were both feeling. He could feel Peter’s impatience – the feeling tangible in both the way he pulled him in for a messy kiss and the subtle pulse of the cock he’d been palming. His own impatience gave way, his fingers deftly getting the button done and the zipper down – Tony’s hand shamelessly slipping under the waistband of Peter’s underwear and gripping the man’s hardness without warning.

“Shit,” Peter gasped, the word hot against Tony’s lips. His lungs were grateful for the break in the kiss and for a couple moments, Tony let himself trace and touch all Peter had to offer. The younger man was long, the length probably an inch longer than Tony himself. The girth was a little on the thin side – but the head made up for it. It was thick and dribbled precum beautifully – his fingers swirling in it every couple of strokes. “You need to get my pants off, please. I want you to touch me – fucking everywhere,” Peter gasped, the man so suddenly mobile – it scared the shit out of Tony.

He pulled his hand free of the other’s pants and watched with fascination as he stepped out of them – both boxer briefs and jeans were kicked aside in one movement. Tony took a second to enjoy the look of Peter completely naked. He was on the slim side everywhere on his body, though there was great muscle definition there, too. There was so much youth still clinging to the man, yet there were so many reminders that the person in front of him was all man – all man and about to be all his.

Tony followed suit and joined the other man in nudity. He let Peter looked his fill in the time it took to close the space between them (which, admittedly wasn’t very long.) Their lips met in a fierce kiss before Tony was pushing Peter onto the mattress. Brown eyes watched the younger man scoot up the sheets until his head was in the nest of pillows at the head of the bed. His legs were slung open wide and a hand was already around his length – those long, pale fingers wrapped around Peter’s hard-on lightly. Licking his lips, Tony mimicked that action, his hand following the pace the young man set. He stood at the end of the bed and let Peter watch him, his moans and sighs in conjunction with the speed up and slowdown of Tony’s hand over his cock. The sweat on his back was starting to bead and trail down the dimple of his spine – his forehead joining the club, the collection of it there making his hair wet and sticky to his forehead. When temptation became too much, Tony got onto the bed and slapped Peter’s hand away – his mouth replacing the fingers without a second thought.

He hollowed his cheeks and started a pretty ruthless pace right from the get-go – he wanted to see what Peter Parker looked like on the edge – and then he wanted to take him there with his fingers and cock all over again. One of his hands ran up the middle of Peter’s stomach, his fingers playing over the slight ripple of abs with every aborted thrust the other man tried not to make. The other hand moved under the heaviness of Peter’s length and tangled in the light dusting of hair just behind his ball sac. Deep throating him, Tony wasn’t surprised when fingers were tangled in his hair, the pressure of them on the pleasurable side of pain. Tony eased up and let the cum spill down his throat – the high pitched “Tony!” coming from the other sending another jolt of uncontrollable heat to the tip of his cock.

There wasn’t much protest when Tony finally settled the entirety of his weight against Peter’s chest – his cock settling against the man’s stomach. And though he’d just found release, Tony could feel Peter’s cock throb when he brushed against it. Peter’s thighs settled around his hips, keeping him in one spot for the time being. Tony leaned forward and pressed his lips against Peter’s – his tongue diving in without much preamble, the man eager to share the taste of release fresh on his tongue. The moan he heard was sinful, the echo of it forever engrained in the front of Tony’s memory.

There were things one just couldn’t unhear.

Peter sucked desperately on his tongue and tightened his leg against Tony’s hips – the man quickly regaining his interest in the proceedings. His thrust up against Tony was signal enough – the desperation in Tony’s body finally starting to win out. “Want you on my lap,” he mumbled, his lips pressing first against Peter’s, then against the soft skin of his chin, and finally against his neck – the length of flesh quickly one of Tony’s favorites.

It took a second or two to rearrange and grab the needed supplies, the men both laughing with the ecstasy of the moment as they moved about. With Peter across his hips, he could feel the man’s hard cock against him – his lubed-up fingers were eager to press against what he figured would be a tightly furled muscle just waiting to be relaxed. Tony didn’t waste any time teasing and pressed the tip of one of his fingers lightly against Peter’s rim. The body above him relaxed, more of his finger slipping in with every breath Peter took to calm himself down. The angle was perfect to find Peter’s prostate early on and he very quickly had a lapful of eager and moaning Peter Parker. The second finger he pressed inside did so easily, Peter’s body so on edge and welcoming of whatever Tony had to give. The scissoring motion of his finger had the man clutching at his neck, the fingers in his hair pulling at the length. “Come on. You’re just being a gratuitous shit now, Tony,” Peter murmured, his eyes so glazed over Tony wondered how much of what was coming out of his mouth he would actually remember.

There wasn’t any reason not to follow Peter’s order, though. And to be honest, he was being a little gratuitous in his pleasure. He’d been thrusting up against Peter’s left butt check while his fingers worked him open – and when he was able to focus enough, Tony let his fingers of the other hand run over the hard cock pressing against their stomachs. Slipping his fingers out, Tony rolled the condom on and poured a generous amount of lube into his hand – grasping himself just long enough to spread it around his length.

If he fucked around too much with himself, there’d be no going back. It seemed like Peter was just as eager, his big brown eyes were watching every one of Tony’s moves – his hands gripping his shoulders tightly. It didn’t take but a small little nudge and he was sliding into the tightest heat he’d ever felt. Peter’s coordinated move down onto him made his entry quick and clean – the press of his pelvis against pert ass cheeks almost as delicious as the tightness around him.

Tony kept a tight grip on Peter’s hips, the other man already starting to rise and fall on his pulsing length. He could feel Peter’s thighs flex against his own, the reminder of pure strength a straight shot to the core. A chorus of moans and loud slaps of skin were the only noises in the room for a long time – Tony letting Peter control the pace until he felt the other tightening around him. He’d increase the grip on Peter’s hips and pull him hard into his lap – Tony’s thrusts short and teasing but not enough to get there, not yet. Tony couldn’t get enough of the needy huffs Peter would pant against his lips, or the ridiculous drool of precum that seemed to leak more and more each time he brought the other so very close to the edge. The smear of it against his stomach too good to give up just yet. “You’re fucking driving me nuts, Tony. If you touch me, I’ll come apart,” Peter whispered against the skin of Tony’s chin after a particularly hard thrust against his prostate.

Moving quickly, Tony grabbed the back of Peter’s thighs and flipped their position. Tony pressed Peter into the mattress and let the last little bit of control he was clinging to snap. He lost track of everything other than hot velvet and sticky slick against his stomach. In the end, Peter dug his fingernails down the length of Tony’s back and let out a loud ‘fuck’ – his cum splashing hot and wet between their bellies. Tony turned his head and bit down into the side of Peter’s neck, his own orgasm rushing through him with a force that was so close to being way too much. He let his hips thrust through the entirety of it, Tony only stopping when the sensitivity was too much.

They maneuvered a little so Tony could pull out and dispose of the condom, the man returning to collect Peter in his arms in no time. He pressed a kiss to Peter’s neck and held him close. Soon, they’d need to roll out of bed and wipe off the sticky goodness of their coupling, but for now – both men seemed pretty content. Peter’s fingers ran along the length of Tony’s forearm, the touch bringing gooseflesh to the surface of his skin. “How do you feel about pizza?” Tony murmured after a while, his stomach grumbling, remind him of how much energy it took to strip and fuck the shit out of someone. He felt the rumble of Peter’s chest as the man chuckled, his soft lips pressing against whatever parts of Tony’s skin he could reach. “I could kill a pizza right now.”

It wasn’t conventional – how quickly they fell into bed, or how easily they seemed to fit together, but there wasn’t much about Tony that could be said to be conventional, anyway. They spent the rest of the day eating pizza out of the box, Peter sometimes getting away with stealing the pepperonis from Tony’s slices and sometimes getting caught in the act – and ending up with the pepperonis anyway. It was easy, being with Peter, and at that point in his life, Tony was looking for easy. Snuggling into the comfort of the couch, Tony let Peter lean into the circle of his arms. The older man pressed a kiss to shower wet hair and pulled him close.

“Steve and Buck are having a BBQ tomorrow. Want to come?” Tony asked softly, his nose sliding across Pete’s soft skin. “Yeah, I do.” Peter replied instantly, his body relaxing further into the warmth of Tony’s chest.

“Good – Morgan’s expecting you, anyway.”

#starker #peter parker/tony stark #tony stark/peter parker #ironspider #fan fics #marvel fanfiction #ao3 fan fiction #bobbie writes #modest-demon

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glenngaylord · 4 years

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OUTFEST 2020 FILM REVIEW: BOYS SHORTS 3 1/2 Stars (Average Score)

For many years, most LGBTQ+ festivals reserved their best short films for the Boys and Girls Shorts programs. Usually deemed the sexiest, funniest, or most cinematic of the bunch, they typically play to sold out audiences. Fortunately, shorts submissions have diversified and have showcased such incredible talent that festivals like Outfest offer a whole host of solid programs to enjoy.

Still, there’s nothing like packing into the Directors Guild of America’s main theatre on a Saturday morning to collectively enjoy some carefully vetted films. Unfortunately, this year, it’s just me and my admittedly cute-as-hell doggy sitting in my living room. No gaggles of gays to ogle. No over-the-top hugs, air kisses, or overhearing the constant refrain of, “What are you working on?” My sliding A/C unit makes a valiant but futile effort to cool us down as this endless Los Angeles heatwave threatens to kill our buzz. Outfest may feel a little less communal this year, but the quality of the filmmaking remains high. I also applaud the programmers and filmmakers for helping to redefine and expand what has made this particular program so meaningful and enjoyable time and time again. Here are my quick tales on the Boys Shorts program:

QUERY (Dir: Sophie Kargman - USA- 7 mins) 3 Stars

Two straight identifying lifelong best friends, Jay and Alex, played by Justice Smith and Graham Graham Patrick Martin respectively, spend a day challenging heteronormative concepts until Jay makes the suggestion that they kiss. What starts out as a bromantic, mumblecore trifle turns fascinating in its final moments, helped tremendously by some beautifully wordless acting by our two leads. I can’t say I loved the tired idea that one of the guys justifies the kissing by saying he’s wasted, but it’s handled in a fairly dignified way missing from so many gross-out comedies from the past. Shot and framed with a nice sense of classical style, the film, a mere 7 minutes, doesn’t outstay its welcome and leaves you with a provocative final line. Extra points for Armie Hammer’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jog-on role.

S.A.M (Dir: Eyre and Ely - United Kingdom - 16 mins) 4 Stars

Two outcast Manchester teens (Sam Retford and George Webster) meet on a swing set and discover they’re both named Sam. One appears to have a learning disability and the other smokes and seems to have an angry, rebellious streak. Over the course of several weeks at the playground , their friendship deepens, slyly revealing their attraction to each other. Both actors do a wonderful job dispelling common misconceptions of their challenges as they drink, swear brazenly at others, and develop a real bond. Its handling of sexuality couldn’t be more lovely and instructive. You wish more people would react to coming out the way we’re shown here. Although shot entirely at the swing set, this film covers a lot of ground as we witness the beginnings of a ride-or-die friendship. I hope the directing team of Eyre and Ely develop this into a feature. I could watch Sam and Sam all day.

KIND OF (Dir: Noel Schamus - USA - 9 mins) 3 Stars

With friends imminently arriving for brunch, a trans masculine couple hash out their differences over their recently established open relationship. Garcia (Tales Of The City) arrives home after a night out with a cis man to find Avi Roque preparing the meal. Noel Schamus and co-writer Arno Mokros mine the tension between the two expertly, allowing us to see the genial but uncomfortable hugs and the passive-aggressive dialogue. Things take an astonishing turn when they get brutally honest with each other, revealing a frank discussion many people have not had the opportunity to hear before. The filmmaking itself may feel functional at best, but its honesty manages to stun.

SEE YOU SOON (Dir: Tyler Rabinowitz - USA - 16 mins) 4 1/2 Stars

This gorgeously directed and acted film by Tyler Rabinowitz has a simple premise, aligned most closely with Boys Shorts of years past. Vincent (James Cusati-Moyer) and Anthony (Jonny Beauchamp) live in Los Angeles and Manhattan respectively, yet have met online, FaceTiming in anticipation of Vincent’s upcoming weekend trip east. Both actors have that glow and eagerness between them which gets awkwardly dispelled when they first meet in person. Still, they slowly gravitate towards each other as they traverse the city. Anyone who has ever been in a long distance relationship will recognize the hesitation, the fumbling, and the painful moment when they realize they’re rushing into things. With beautiful cinematography by Oren Soffer and a gentle, believable chemistry between the two leads, I felt immersed in their struggle to figure out their path. We may have seen this before with the seminal feature, Weekend, but it doesn’t take away from how well done it is here. Also, Cusati-Moyer is a star in the making with his expressive face and ability to break your heart.

LAST SUMMER WITH UNCLE IRA (Dir: Gary Jaffe, Katie Ennis - USA - 13 mins) 3 Stars

As Daniel (Igby Rigney, a potentially closeted teen, packs his bags for summer camp, his beloved gay uncle Ira (Wayne Wilcox), faces his pending death from AIDS complications. Daniel’s mother (Tony winner Stephanie J. Block) relieves her son of his duties so that he can go outside and have what will likely be one final chat with Ira. Set in the early 90s, the bulk of the short comprises of their conversation, with Ira trying to gently coax Daniel to come out, but the young man resists. While heartfelt and well-performed by all three, the production suffers from a somewhat maudlin tone and style. It harkens back to such films as An Early Frost, yet adds something fresh with the dynamic between the two leads. Although I can’t say I was wowed by it, the final moments did make me cry with its lovely expression of intimacy. Any film which can awaken my cold dead heart is worth something!

WHO CAN PREDICT WHAT WILL MOVE YOU? (Dir: Livia Huang - USA - 9 mins) 2 1/2 Stars

On the surface, this very aptly titled short appears to be about nothing as we watch two young Asian American gay men share a final night together on a basketball court and then in an apartment. With limited dialogue and scenes consisting of dribbling a ball, hugging, and staring into each others’ eyes as their hands intertwine, the film leans more toward the experimental side of things. Despite a nearly non-existent story, what Huang and her actors excel at is creating and sustaining a mood, a feeling. It’s simple and yet somehow conveys a sense of intimacy. I won’t remember having seen it tomorrow, but it sure did make me want to lie on the floor with someone.

THE CYPHER (Dir: Leia Solomon - USA - 15 mins) 4 1/2 Stars

Khalil (Nigel Cox), a closeted young Philadelphia man, may just win an upcoming rap battle, but when word gets out he has a boyfriend (Juan Gil), his plans may go up in smoke. Think 8 Mile meets Moonlight in this colorful, vibrant, story of a guy who learns what summoning courage and using it to hone his creative talents really means. With nonstop energy and a wonderful supporting turn by Kerrice Brooks as his sister Kiki, who unintentionally outs him, The Cypher hits all the right notes. Although still laden with homophobia, out artists such as Lil Nas X and Frank Ocean have made inroads in hip hop and rap culture. In this spirit, this sexy, thrilling short brings power, strength and fearlessness to queer black voices staking their claim to a previously forbidding genre. Nigel Cox, a relative newcomer, deserves attention for his loud and proud performance.

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kayteewritessteve · 5 years

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Secrets and Sins - 3/13

Description: You flee from an abusive situation and find yourself on the other side of the country, creating new friends and possibly finding new love. But will you be able to escape your past? To truly move on with your life? Or will everything come crashing down around you in the blink of an eye?

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 4,180 ish.

Pairing: Mobster!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Violence. Drinking. Curse words. Brief mentions of abusive behaviour, and moments of abuse—nothing to in depth but could be upsetting to some. Plus possible other triggering thoughts and feelings described.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader, so I do proudly own all the errors.

FYI. I actually adore Sharon, SO MUCH. And hummed and hawed about just making an OC for this role, but it fits the story way better in a later chapter to use Sharon. So I apologize to the Sharon stans!!! Anywho, enjoy!!

Steve’s POV.

He found himself sitting on a white leather couch in the middle of a VIP section, in yet another loud ass club. His arms crossed over his chest and a few random girls trying to get, and keep, his attention. But he wasn’t having it. Not tonight. He wasn’t in the mood for annoying, scantily clad bimbos. They were dime a dozen in his world. And just as he’d drop one, 5 more would step up to take her place. To him woman were good for one thing, and one thing only. And once he had gotten that from them, he was done with them. He had yet to meet a woman that was worth his time, or effort. He was starting to believe such a woman probably didn’t exist. He knew he needed to marry, produce an heir so the mob could stay in his bloodline. So his position could stay secure. But he could barely stand keeping women around till morning, let alone for life.

The loud music was giving him a headache now. He fucking hated clubs, but being that this one was Tony’s newest endeavour, he figured he’d check it out, at least once. It was the least he could do after—well, after everything that Tony had done for him.

When Steve’s father was gunned down over what they assumed was a business deal gone wrong—but as no one had ever came forward to claim the murder, all they could do was assume, though they did have their suspicions as to who was behind it—he was too young to take over the reigns. So Tony stepped in to oversee everything in his place, along with his mother, as was decided. And together they kept the mob’s higher ups placated and prevented any successful hostile takeovers. Not that a few power hungry idiots didn’t attempt to overthrow Tony or Sarah, to take over the king’s position in what they thought was a moment of weakness, however none of those attempts were even close to successful. Tony had the backing of the majority, being that he had been Steve’s fathers right hand man for years. And because the mob was a dog eat dog world, there were always contingency plans in place, should a king be murdered. It had been agreed on when Steve was born that should anything happen before he was of age, Tony would step in, in the interim.

But when Steve was in his late teens, his mom was murdered in cold blood, taken out by the request of the NJ mob boss. Attempting to assert his dominance. His attempt however failed. Miserably.

The murder snapped something deep in Steve. Something dark. Instead of mourning her and cherishing her memories, his mind went directly to getting revenge on those accountable. Tracking them down with the help of Tony, one by one, and making them all suffer. Making them pay. Leaving the actual person who pulled the trigger and the NJ mob boss to the very last. He wanted them to know he was coming. To strike fear into them as they heard of the others involved slowly being taken out. The ones who were higher on the food chain then the hitman, and just as hard to track down as the boss. He wanted them to feel the same fear his mother did in her final moments.

His plan worked. By the time he reached the hitman on his kill list, he was a blubbering idiot. Begging for Steve to end him, pleading with him to do it fast. He granted him his wish. Two bullets to the head. Just like his mom. He could have made him suffer more, tortured him to the brink then brought him back, only to do it all over again. Like he had with the others. But he knew the man was hired for the job. Paid upon completion. He wasn’t the one that deserved Steve’s full anger. Hell, Steve had placed many hits throughout the years. More than he could count. But he remembered every one, vividly.

No hit was ever placed without serious thought, and solid evidence. He may have given the command to take someones life, but each hit still weighed on his conscious, on his soul. Like little black marks or splattered ink on a page. He would always carry them around with him. Wherever he went.

But as for when he finally tracked down the NJ mob boss, the very last person on his list. Well, that was a different story. He didn’t get mercy. He didn’t get a quick death. No, Steve made him suffer the worst out of any of them. But that’s a dark story for another day.

Which brings us back to why Steve was currently in this loud ass club. Why he felt he owed it to Tony to be present tonight—

He felt a hand on his forearm and turned his head to see Sharon staring back at him. Attempting to coo something in his ear. He grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from his arm, forcefully. He was not in the mood for her tonight. She took a special kind of mindset to handle her bullshit and right now he was not in that place. He was not interested. Once he released her arm she jerked it away and into her chest, cradling it as if it were broken. She was always so fucking dramatic.

Sharon was a crown chaser, through and through. She had flung herself at Steve the second he was in full power. And assumed she’d win him over due to their close family connections. But boy was she wrong.

Now that’s not to say that he had never taken her up on her offers a few times, because he had, she was very beautiful after all. When she kept her mouth shut. But the odd tryst here and there was all it ever was or ever would be, he wasn’t stupid enough to let it go any further then that. Though she had an ungodly annoying habit of just popping up wherever he was. In her mind they were pretty much engaged, however, that was definitely not the case. And never, ever would be.

He glared at her in warning before standing up and walking towards the banister overlooking the club. Deciding to people watch for a bit. He knew he just had to stay for a little longer, keep up appearances, then he could leave this loud ass club and retreat back to his office to handle more important matters. But then something bright red entering the club caught his eye, he knew hair like that could only belong to one woman. Nat.

They hadn’t talked in years. Not since his mom’s funeral. They had grown up together, been inseparable. Her, Bucky, Sam and himself. But when Steve went off the deep end after his mom's death, they distanced themselves from each other. Mainly for her safety, as he was out for blood and their would be consequences for that. He couldn’t allow Nat to be one of the casualties in his war. She hadn’t taken that well, saying she could take care of herself, but he knew the truth. She was no match for the people he was going up against, the people he was pissing off. But she was to damn stubborn and bullheaded to understand that. So he made the choice for her, threatening her life if she ever so much as spoke to him again. She knew him well enough to believe him and heeded his warning. His threat. Though, unbeknownst to her, he always kept tabs on her, made sure that she was good, that she was safe.

He watched as she entered with 4 friends, looking them over slowly, 3 of them he knew from Thor’s pub, clearly a girls night out. But the 4th, she was new.

“Hey Boss, how’s the people watching?”

He turned his attention from the group of woman and came face to face with Bucky. His life long best friend, more so like a brother, and his second in command. The only person Steve truly trusted. Without a shadow of a doubt. Well, Bucky and Sam, but the latter couldn’t join them out tonight as he was performing a very important job for Steve.

“Nat’s here,” he jerked his jaw towards where she was, “looks like a girls night,” he smirked.

Bucky peered over the banister, narrowing his eyes. “Who’s she with?”

“Looks like the waitresses from the pub,” he turned to look towards them again, “though, I don’t recognize that 4th one.” He furrowed his brows. He knew everyone in this city. It was his city after all. And surely he would have noticed a woman that looked like her before.

“I swear I know her from somewhere,” Bucky piped up after a few minutes, “She looks oddly familiar. Do you want me to find out who she is?”

He shook his head “No, I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, if you want me to find out all you have to do is ask,” Bucky said with a smirk before he turned and walked away.

Steve didn’t acknowledge his offer, he just continued to people watch. When he looked to Nat’s table he saw she was sitting alone, which caused him to chuckle to himself. Classic Nat. Always refusing to have fun.

Then he began to wonder where the mystery woman had run off to. He searched through the crowd and his eyes landed on her, in her dark green dress, dancing her heart out with the other ladies. Every now and then some guy would try to dance with her but she would push them away or step away from them. And every time it would happen a snort would escape him, he was enjoying watching every new guys failed attempt. Amateurs. He scoffed internally. Clearly she was not interested in any male attention tonight. At least, not yet, anyways.

After a while he saw her heading to the bar, he watched as she slowly began looking around. He knew her eyes would eventually land on him, but he was not a bashful man. He would very openly stare at whatever or whoever he wanted. Whenever he wanted. This was his city, after all. When her eyes finally landed on him she paused completely. He could see her checking him out and that caused an involuntary smirk to form on his lips. But then she abruptly turned to face the bar again. Oh, shy are we?

That was it for him. He had to know who she was and he always got what he wanted. He made his way down the stairs and through the crowd, which wasn’t hard as people normally gave him a wide berth. It was like parting the red sea where ever he went. Just as he was reaching the bar he saw her turn and head back towards her table.

He closed the distance and was just about to tap her on the shoulder when some fuckhead, drunk of his ass, was pushed by a buddy into her. Steve quickly reacted and reached out to grab her, preventing her from hitting the ground. He glared menacingly at the guys responsible and watched as their eyes widened upon seeing him. Then he stood her back up, making eye contact with one of his guys standing near a side wall and jutting his chin out to the drunk fucks. Receiving a nod in response he turned his attention back to her, just as she spun around to face him.

She just stood there, staring up at him before shaking her head and speaking. Though he couldn’t hear the words, he knew it was most likely a ‘thank you’. She looked flustered either by what had just happened or by his presence. Maybe she knew who he was. Would be hard for her to not know who he was, given his position here. And that they were very much currently on his turf.

He leaned forward and whispered, “You’re very welcome,” in her ear. Noticing the slight shiver that ran down her. He stood back up straight, staring at her once again.

Something about her drew him in, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. His eyes travelled her face, taking in every detail. He could tell, even from far away, that she was beautiful but being up close, right in front of her, she was breathtaking. His eyes landed on her lips and for the first time, in a very long time, he felt heat rise in his face, all the way to his ears. Mob bosses don’t blush. He snapped his eyes back up to hers, curious if she could see the tint on his cheeks. He was sure she couldn’t. Not in the dim lighting of the club.

She opened her mouth as if to speak before closing it again and instead nodded at him. Then she began to move around him, he turned as she did, curiously keeping a close eye on her. Waiting to see what she’d do next. Once she was on the other side of him, she took a few steps back then waved. Making him laugh at how awkward she seemed. It was fucking adorable, to say the least.

She then turned and damn near bolted towards the bar, obviously needing to replace her lost drinks. He glanced up at the VIP section, seeing Bucky standing at the banister with a shit eating grin on his face. Clearly getting a kick out of all of this. Steve shook his head then decided to make his way over to her, yet again. Like he was going to actually let her get away that easily.

He saw her standing off to the side of the bar, and walked up directly behind her. Raising his left hand to signal the bartender, who turned, saw him and quickly made his way towards them. Just as the bartender reached them, he noticed her slowly starting to turn around, causing a smirk to form on his lips as she finally fully faced him. Realizing he was now behind her. The look on her face led him to believe she was not expecting him to be standing there, seeing her visibly gulp confirmed that thought.

She looked like she was about to pass out, so he stepped up beside her, causing her to turn towards the bar again and put his hand on her lower back, just in case she did actually faint. He had already stopped her from hitting the floor once tonight, what was a second time?

With one more quick glance down at her he was sure she would manage to stay upright for now so he leaned in towards the bartender, “My usual, and the two drinks this woman just ordered,” The bartender nodded his response then quickly turned around to start making the drinks.

He stood back up and looked down, seeing her eyes closed and feeling her release a deep breath as she opened them again. Clearly he was in fact flustering her. And he liked that.

Most woman oozed fake confidence with him. They played this act that they were tough, confident. That their shit didn’t stink. Their words always seemed so scripted, their reactions derived entirely off his own. They were blunt and to the point. And most of the time they wouldn’t show any hint of being flustered, as they knew exactly what he would give them—or more accurately, what they would get from him. It was just sex. And they all knew it. They weren’t foolish enough to think he’d date them, let alone marry them. Though a few had tried to build those things with him, over the years, but he wasn’t interested. Marriage was a business deal to him, and as of now he had yet to meet a deserving partner. Or one that brought something to the table. Money, turf, businesses, whatever. Like he said, it was solely a business deal to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

Once the drinks were in front of them he swore he could see the wheels in her head turning. She looked up at him and the confusion was written all over her face, but only for a moment, then he watched as her cheeks tinted pink. Glad they were near the bar, where the lighting was a little better, or he may have missed it entirely. And the sight of it made his heart flutter, just for a moment. That was a feeling he wasn’t used to anymore, as he hadn’t felt that in a long, long time.

“So, what do I owe you?” She piped up and he could hear the shakiness in her voice.

“Owe me?” He asked, utterly taken aback by her question. Which was a first for him.

“Yes,” she nodded, “for the drinks.” She said slowly as you pointed to them.

To say that surprised him was an understatement, he’d bought the drinks for her, he didn’t order them expecting her to pay him back. That’s not how these things worked. Woman never questioned that with him. This girl was different and something in him wanted to know just how different. “A date,” he responded.

But then her reaction was, again, not one he was used to. She actually laughed and shook her head. Was she turning him down? No one had even turned him down. But then she froze and her eyes widened in shock while her mouth hung open slightly, “Oh, you’re serious?”

Obviously she thought he was joking, this girl was far too innocent for her own good. Something about that made him happy. It was like seeing a unicorn in real life.

In the world he lived in, innocence was not a thing. One couldn’t hold on to those sorts of traits here. At least not for long. They’d quickly get beaten out of you. Every person he had ever come into contact with always had an iron shell, but they had to, their safety depended on it. But this woman, she was clearly untouched by the cruelty of his world. That thought made the weird flutter in his chest happen again. He leaned in, right next to her ear and whispered, “I don’t normally joke about those sorts of things,” before standing back up.

“Ah, well, I um, I.” she stumbled out. He was really starting to enjoy how easily he could tongue tie her. Just how much of an effect he had on her—feeling her movement out if his touch broke him out of his thoughts. She was distancing herself from him and he didn’t like it.

“Ah, what I mean is, thank you for the offer but I’ll have to respectfully decline. I can pay you for the drinks though …if you’d like.” She offered.

He raised his hand and shook his head. Like he was going to allow her to pay him back. Once again, not how this worked. And ‘respectfully decline’? Clearly she didn’t actually know who he was.

“In that case, thank you for these,” she lifted up her two drinks, as if presenting them to him, “Enjoy your night!” She quickly said before turning to leave. But he wasn’t done with her yet, the thought of her walking away again, upset him for some odd reason so he reached out and gently grabbed her forearm. Preventing her from leaving and attempting to turn her back around. She did so, willingly. Maybe she didn’t want this interaction to end just yet, either.

Not only did he not want it to end, but he was also still curious about her. About her story. He leaned in again so she could hear him over the music. “One question,” he saw her nod for him to continue in the corner of his eye, “Why have I never seen you before?”

She pulled back and he removed his hand off her forearm. ”Oh, so you know every person in this city, huh?” She responded with one eyebrow raised. Yup, she has no clue who I am. But the slight sass in her tone made him inwardly laugh. She just continued to peak his interests with every passing second. He felt the smirk form on his face, this time entirely on it‘s own. He nodded, “You could say that.”

“Well, clearly not.” She sassed, “Or you’d know who I was.”

“What’s your name, doll?” He blurted out before he could stop himself. Shit. What is this girl doing to him? He had to know who she was. The curiosity was too much for him. He could swear he saw about 5 different emotions pass through her eyes before she finally said, “Find me again one day and I’ll tell you,” then she spun around and walked away. Rather quickly, might he add.

He watched her move away from him and something in him didn’t enjoy that sight. Not one fucking bit. But he let her go this time, he knew he’d be able to track her down again. And if the ladies she was with tonight were any indication of where she worked, then he knew exactly where he’d find her.

He turned back to see Bucky still standing up there watching him, this time shaking his head. Steve raised a hand, signalling for Bucky to come down and join him. Knowing he would have something to say about what just happened, but there was something they both needed to handle.

He turned back to look in the direction she had gone then finished his drink and put the empty glass on the bar. Turning just as his friend approached him, motioning for Bucky to follow him out a side door.

“Did the Rogers charm fail you this time?” Bucky joked with a cocky grin once they exited the loud club. He chose to ignore that question and continued down the alleyway. “Because that was painful to watch.” Bucky then added with a chuckle.

Steve paused then turned to his friend, “She was different,” he said thoughtfully.

Bucky furrowed his brows in confusion “What do you mean ‘different’?”

“I can’t explain it. She was just, different” he shrugged.

“Well you got her number, yeah?” Bucky asked.

Steve shook his head.

“Okay, but you at least know her name now, right..”

Steve scrunched up his nose but didn’t answer and just abruptly started to walk again. Not missing Bucky’s jaw damn near hitting the ground before he quickly ran to catch up to Steve and shook his head, “You have lost the Rogers charm, Boss.”

“In my defence, I asked her for her name—”

“And yet you still don’t know it?” he cut him off then laughed, “Oh man, that’s rich.”

“Shut up, James,” he growled.

“Okay, okay. Damn, no need for the first name. But I’m disappointed in you, Rogers.” he shook his head again.

“Please. Not once have I ever been turned down before,” he paused again to turn to his friend with a wicked grin, “What’s your rejection count at these days, jerk?”

Bucky’s right arm flew up to clutch at his chest as if he had been fatally wounded, “That cuts deep, punk.”

Steve just rolled his eyes. “You’re so fucking dramatic.” they both laughed.

Bucky and Sam were the only people who could get away with talking to him like this. They were the only people who ever got to see this side of Steve. The only ones he could just relax around and joke about life with. No one else could see him like that, not without risking them thinking he was their friend, instead of their boss. But Bucky and Sam respected that there was a time and a place for it, they knew when they could poke and when to step back. And they’d never poke in front of others. Only when it was just them, alone. Respect is huge in their world. And disrespect could get you killed.

“Well, since we have established you’ve lost your touch with the ladies, where are we heading?”

“First off, fuck you,” He growled, “Secondly, we have a couple punks to deal with,” he answered as they rounded the corner to find a few of Steve’s henchmen holding on to two guys, both looking just about ready to shit their damn pants. That made Steve smirk, “We have to teach these guys some manners.” He finished coldly. His entire demeanour instantly shifting back into Boss Mode. He took off his suit jacket and handed it to one of his men, before rolling up his sleeves to his elbows and undoing the top 2 buttons of his shirt.

Bucky leaned in to whisper, “Wait, are these the same dudes from earlier?”

Steve nodded, “The ones that knocked her over, yes.”

Bucky just stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and whispering again, more to himself, “Oh man, you got it bad.”

He shot his right hand man a glare in response before he turned his attention to the two fuckheads. He clapped his hands together once with a menacing grin on his face, “Alright guys, here’s what’s gunna happen…”

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

@hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @tessvillegas @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts

#au fanfiction #fanfiction #long post #long read #marvel au #marvel fanfiction #mobster au #mobster!steve #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #Secrets and Sins #chapter 3 #no super powers here #unless you count a deadly smirk as a super power?

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thesportssoundoff · 4 years

Text

“The Doughy Boys headline a better than you’d figure card” UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs JDS Preview

Joey

January 20th

UFC 246 was a bit of a throw together endeavor, an attempt to get Conor McGregor on the card to start the year and using his name while he was still available and interested in fighting. In many ways, THIS was the original start of the year and it shows as this card, even with a mountain of injuries and fighters yanked, is pretty damn solid. At the top of the billing you have a solid HW fight between Curtis Blaydes and Junior Dos Santos with a damn fine co-main event pitting two massive LWs who have found consistent homes at WW with RDA vs Chiesa. The rest of the card has been picked apart due to injuries (and the Edgar yank) but there's still plenty of good with Arnold Allen vs Nik Lentz and an all action fight between Angela Hill and Hannah Cifers being trademark fights on the bill. We've even got yet another flyweight fight as Jordan Espinosa welcomes Alex Perez back down 10 lbs. The prelims are what they are but there's some intriguing prospects to keep an eye on here and the return of Sara McMann. It's not perfect but it'll do, I suppose!

2020 Stat-O-Matic:

Debuting Fighters (1-1): Tony Gravely, Nate Lewhwher, Herbert Burns, Jamahal Hill Main Event Exemption:

Short Notice Fighters (): Dequan Townsend, Angela Hill Main Event Exemption:

Second Fight (1-0): Dequan Townsend Main Event Exemption: Vs Debutantes:

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (2-0): Sara McMann, Justine Kish, Brett Johns Main Event Exemption (1-0):

Undefeated Fighters (1-1): Jamahal Hill Main Event Exemption:

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (1-1): Main Event Exemption:

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (): Nik Lentz, Alex Perez Main Event Exemption ():

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- If the rumors are true about Stipe Miocic maybe looking towards retiring due to eye injuries, does that intrigue you more as it pertains to this main event? If Stipe retires then it's fair to wonder if Cormier has any reason to stick around. Cormier is a two time LHW champ and a former HW champ and so realistically could he just convince himself that no Stipe = no reason to fight? If so then it may be worth wondering if this is a pseudo tournament fight where the winner of this fight faces the winner of Rozenstruik vs Ngannou. Does that make this fight more appealing to anybody?

2- Outside of Cain, JDS has normally done really well against wrestlers (look at Stipe's takedown numbers) and outside of Ngannou, Blaydes has normally done real well against strikers. Both guys have been wobbled in fights they eventually won (JDS vs Lewis/Tai Tuavasa, Blaydes vs Hunt) and I think it's fair to suggest that this is a pretty well put together matchup with a bit of a high lean for boredom if it becomes a Blaydes type fight.

3- On a realer note, does JDS vs Werdum still have an appeal to anybody? Feels like win or lose, that would be a logical next step for JDS?

4- A bit ago, posted a link to a sites top fighters of all time and RDA was on it quite high up. While it came off like I have an issue with RDA, I really was more surprised that he's THAT highly acclaimed. I've always assumed RDA was a bit of an overlooked commodity by fight fans but I guess I read the read at least one side of the room wrong. There's no doubt RDA has one of MMA's best resumes and what's really cool about it is that RDA is still fighting at a really high level now into his 3rd decade and with little sign that he's about to hit a wall from a fighter standpoint. He's sort of transitioned into a high level MMA kingmaker (beat him you've beaten a significant name) and if you beat him, it probably means you're going places in your division. As such this is a pretty damn important fight for Michael Chiesa who is 2-0 at WW and looks massive for the weight class. If Chiesa beats RDA then no matter how you feel about his limitations on the feet, you're looking at three wins in a row over name competition. It's a damn good fight for both guys.

5- Is Hannah Cifers the most unassuming main card fighter in UFC history?

6- Did we ever get a solution on Arnold Allen's legal issues that made him getting a visa impossible for a bit? I'm guessing we did because he fought in Vegas last time but it feels like this is going to continue to linger over his head otherwise.

7- Is Alex Perez fighting for a #1 contender fight when he takes on veteran Jordan Espinosa? Perez has one loss in the UFC and it's to Benavidez in Joseph's first finish in over four years. Perez rebounded to get a win and it's worth remembering that he's probably the most talented fighter outside of the Formiga/Benavidez/Figueredo trilogy at the top of the division. He may not be too far off with a win.

8- Herbert Burns is the younger wilder unrefined version of his brother Gilbert but that's led to some pretty exciting performances outside of the UFC. On the Contender's Series, he didn't look great prior to turning the tables around and subbing a guy off his back to earn his contract. I don't know if he has Gilbert's upside but his fights figure to be plenty exciting in the UFC. He faces fellow debutante Nate Landwehr who has been dominating M-1 out in Russia.

9- Montel Jackson is a tough fighter to wrap your head around at this point. He's very much a raw but talented underdeveloped talent who is essentially getting on the job training in the UFC. He doesn't always have a plan of attack to make good on his many physical tools and he's one of the many prospects in the UFC currently who is very clearly in need of MMA slowing down for him in order for him to utilize his length, reach, wrestling and striking chops. He draws Felipe Corrales who is a solid dependable fighter out of Brazil and while I'd say "Montel should win this one", it's hard to say that definitively given how raw Jackson is. He's got tools to really make noise.

10- Brett Johns being back is a good thing for 135 lbs. He's coming off two rough losses and took a year off I suppose to recharge and refocus. Really interesting to see how he looks against quality regional vet Tony Graveley who gets in via the Contenders Series.

11- Bevon Lewis has been such a bust in the UFC but I'm not giving up hope just yet! He draws DeQuan Townsend on the prelims in a fight he pretty much HAS to win.

12- It wasn't all that long ago that Sara McMann was still considered a potential title challenger to be. McMann has always had all of the tools (including a really good striking base) but has lacked that added quality to get people over the hump with losses to the likes of Meisha Tate and Ketlein Veira where she pretty much snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. She's been out of the scene starting a family but returns to the mix with a fight against Lina Lansberg who she should in theory have a significant edge over in just about every department.

#MMA #UFC

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drkoestersmithrpg · 4 years

Text

Meeting The Man Of Your Dreams And Then Meeting His Beautiful Wife

The silky lingerie was out. Peter had paid Tony for what Tony had ordered online, but after trying it on he had put it back into the box and declared it a no-go.

Tony put up an argument – suggested that the look was less important than the feel – and then made his point by digging out a black silk nightshirt and matching pair of lounge pants. It made Peter sit up and take notice – literally he sat up in bed when Tony immerged from the closet. He pushed back the covers and motioned for Tony to come to bed.

Tony shook his head, and made a similar motion, which was why Peter, clad only in his t-shirt and tidy whities, joined him in the middle of the bedroom where (after some argument, from both of them, with FRIDAY about the music) they began to dance.

Peter moaned quietly, laying his head on Tony’s chest, as they swayed back and forth to the music. Tony’s hand was there, warm and solid on his lower back, sometimes ghosting over the curve of his ass.

“Do you know why I never gave up, asking for this, even when I probably should have?” he confessed. “Because of where your hand is now. Whenever I thought about giving up, I remembered how it felt to have your hand there. And it felt so good.”

“Oh, because of this?” Tony murmured, caressing, smiling when Peter moaned. “And not because of this?” he moved his hand lower, helping himself to a handful.

“Ok, maybe both.”

“So what you’re saying is, if I were to lay you down on your stomach, and spend some time kissing you here,” Tony said gently, running fingers over the small of Peter’s back (and smiling at his reaction) “You wouldn’t object?”

“Oh Tony, you could lay me down on my stomach all night and I would never object…”

Struck by a sudden moment of boldness Peter took the man by the hand and, giving (what he hoped was) his best bedroom eyes, he led Tony to the bed and, whispering a prayer, lay down on his stomach. And Tony, true to his word, kissed, licked and nuzzled his way across the small of Peter’s back until the boy was whimpering, keening, and begging for more.

“Oh Tony, please…..please.”

“What is it angel?”

“I need you.”

“I’m right here, angel.”

“Make love to me, Tony.”

“Oh, I plan to, angel.”

The night ended in oral, as it usually did.

* * * * *

Laying beside a sleeping Tony, Peter stared into the darkness.

If anyone had asked (not that anyone did) Peter Parker would NEVER have said “I’m fucking Tony Stark.” At least, not out loud.

Because when they did that together Tony was always in charge. He always pushed Peter down to the bed (in a move that always made Peter’s knees weak, in a move that always fueled Peter’s fantasies when Tony was away. (In a move that, dammit, made Peter want Tony to fuck him so bad but that never happened.)

Once he had been pushed down (and sometimes HELD down) to the bed, Tony did everything.

Sometimes Tony prepared himself and Peter never even saw it, he was too busy being kissed breathless by a demanding mouth and a pillaging tongue. Sometimes Peter could only lay still beneath the onslaught only to FINALLY come up for breath only to find Tony was already forcing him inside…..

…but sometimes Tony fingered himself for ages, making Peter watch as the older man moaned and twitched and bit his lip at the pleasure of his own fingers. (Always his own fingers. Peter had never been allowed to finger him since that first night.)

Sometimes Tony slicked up Peter’s cock with his hand in an instant and then, like a magic trick, forced it inside (sometimes he forced it inside without even slicking up his Peter’s cock – damn that man liked it dry.) Sometimes he slicked Peter up with an expert hand and then teased his cock for what seemed like hours, even though he knew that it meant that when the penetration began Peter would come in an instant.

But whose fault was that? Tony was always holding his face, kissing him hard and talking him through it –

-no wait –

…that was not the problem.

The problem was Tony kept demanding that he come. Demanding that he come, and come now.

“Give it to me angel, that’s mine, that’s all mine, you’re mine Peter Parker.”

But even with that, Peter was still coming too quickly, he knew that. He felt like if Tony would let him take control, even a little bit, he could perform better. He had read on A03 that holding the very base of his cock would make him last longer but Tony never allowed it - when he tried Tony would only grab his wrist and force it back down over his head.

He never complained. When Tony moved suddenly or violently it took his breath away.

He loved it when Tony held him down.

He needed Tony to hold him down and use him.

It’s just…..he wanted Tony to hold him down and fuck him.

But Peter knew he shouldn’t complain – if anything Tony should be the one complaining. They had been lovers for months now, but every time Tony rode him he still came like it was his first time. No matter how many times they had done it (it seemed to Peter) it was always the same.

He felt like it would be different if he were (physically) on top, if he could control the motion or the speed, but he didn’t know how to breech the subject.

Peter fantasized, sometimes, about being on top of Tony, about making love to him gently and slowly, tenderly, moving on top of the man - the same way the man moved on top of him when it was only oral.

His fantasies got elaborate sometimes, when Tony was away on business or the Avenger teams got separated on different assignments.

But when Tony was nearby Peter’s fantasies were short and sweet and always the same.

He fantasized about wrapping his legs around Tony while Tony was fucking him.

Tony’s cock was long (oh god he knew that, he knew every inch of Tony from the waist down. He was getting significantly better at going down on Tony. Someday, he knew, he was going to be able to fit Tony all the way down his throat. On that day he was going to celebrate. On that day he was going to ask for something special.) Tony would be the longest man he had ever had inside him, but he wasn’t at all worried about that. As he had told Tony (more than once!) sex never hurt – he wasn’t capable of being hurt by anything smaller than a collapsing building or a helicopter blade.

He often wondered if Tony was the problem, if Tony thought his dick was too long, if that was why they mostly only did oral. Tony loved oral. Peter loved it too….loved the way they would tangle up in each other’s arms and sleep for a while after they had both come…..sometimes without even showering (although he loved the way they would shower together afterwards, Tony always ate his ass in the shower, it was like a tradition now, like prayer before a meal.)

But after Tony rode him it was always the same – he slept while Tony showered alone and then went to go tinker in the lab. When he woke he would shower, alone, and then go straight back to bed.

He loved it when Tony rode him – but it always left him feeling a little confused.

And not a little bit lonely.

But ….. Peter thought. (Peter always had a lot of buts in this thoughts.) Tony was older and set in his ways.

Tony always pushed Peter down onto his back. He always took control and rode Peter at his own pace. That was called Topping From the Bottom (or Bottoming From The Top, depending where you were on A03.) And if that was what Tony wanted, well, who was Peter to complain?

“I’m the boy who desperately wants his older, insanely hot lover to fuck him, that’s who I am,” Peter whispered into the darkness.

It was getting ridiculous. He had done everything but sit down and write out a note that said “Tony please fuck me in the ass until we both come and you come inside my ass and do it with your all of your cock" and the more he thought about it, the better that idea sounded.

And there was something else, something that was really confusing him. Information that he had received very recently – information that wasn’t quite fitting into his head.

Information provided by one Pepper Potts.

* * * * *

Was he ready for Family Dinner Night? Oh lordy no. Did Tony spring it on him without warning? Oh god yes. When Tony had told him to ‘come to the penthouse, take the elevator’ Peter had thrown his laptop into his bag on a whim. The elevator ride to Tony’s place was interminably long – he could get work done on the way.

Which is why he had his laptop to point to when he found himself face-to-face with Tony Stark’s wife.

“But it’s Family Dinner Night,” Pepper had said, as if that explained everything.

“And dinner…usually…involves food delivered in the kitchen, and I can just do my homework while you guys talk business.”

“Nonsense, it’s Family Dinner Night. Tony takes us out.”

“Oh…then I guess I could just…do my study notes in the car…”

And so it went, Peter using his tiny laptop as a shield and feeling terribly like a child in the presence of two adults who chatted business as if everything were perfectly normal. Meeting Maria Hill at the restaurant didn’t make it any less weird (and Tony made him leave his laptop in the limo! That left him unarmored!) Sitting side-by-side with Tony, feeling the man’s hand on his knee or around his shoulders, at least made Peter feel grounded. Weird, but grounded.

But that’s where they were – they were the four that went to Family Dinner Night, which always ended with drinks at the penthouse. And by the third dinner, well, Peter had finally felt like a man who had gotten his sea-legs under him. By the third dinner, Peter found himself chatting up Pepper by himself.

And that’s where he found himself getting specific information that he found very confusing.

“Oh, Tony did like to put his dick in things,” Pepper was confiding in him, after her third glass of wine. Peter was matching her glass for glass – alcohol never really took with him but it was making his conversation very interesting. “I had it easy in so many ways. There were never any other women. Women didn’t interest him after we were married – barely interested him before, to be honest.”

“But the men didn’t make you jealous?” Peter ventured, looking out of the corner of his eye, constantly, for Tony. But Tony was in a heated discussion with Maria about X computers, so he was safe.

“It’s hard to be jealous of yet another doe-eyed boy with no IQand no names – Tony did like the young and stupid ones – problem is he didn’t, what’s the word? He didn’t vet them well.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that you need to make your intentions clear from the beginning or they just come back for more - more than once they’d come back for more – I mean, you know, Tony is hung like a horse and, well, he got a few clingy ones. You’d be surprised how many times I’d have to hear how good he was in bed and how he could last for hours and now no one would ever top them like that ever again and blah blah blah. And I’m like ‘yes Mr. Underwear model everyone says that. Byebye.’

Tony had appeared just then, before Peter had gotten to ask if Pepper meant literal underwear models, or if that was just a nickname. Before Peter got to ask a lot of questions.

Before Peter got to ask the big question.

Before Peter got to ask the question “Tony is a top? Tony likes to put his dick in things?”

“Then why doesn’t Tony want to put his dick in me?”

[that may be the end of the chapter? I think?]

#Desires #Enthusiasm

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lightandwinged · 5 years

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Endgame happened!

Spoiler free: easily the best superhero movie I’ve ever seen, mindblowing in the best possible way, I cried like a little baby so much, and while it wasn’t perfect, I still think that it hit all the right beats and hit them correctly in a way that should genuinely make the DCU sit down and think about how it will never be this good.

(spoilers beneath the cut!)

WHEW LADS

I spoiled myself for this movie, so I knew basically everything that was coming and every beat the movie would hit, and I did that because I like to know how many tissues I’m going to need by the end of the night (the answer was that I haven’t needed that many since Return of the King, holy shit). I’d also seen a lot of the early criticism, and while I agree with some of it (I’ll get to it), the rest was eh to me.

The only thing I did NOT like was Thor’s arc, which it seemed like straddled the line between funny and sad a little too much. Like, it was genuinely sad because you could tell that this was his manifestation of PTSD: letting himself go completely, hiding away from the world, drinking beer and playing video games all day. I felt like it was less that it was played for laughs and more that people just thought it was funny because it was just too sad to accept. And Thor in-universe wanted people to think it was funny because accepting that it wasn’t hurt too much. At the same time, I don’t know how they could’ve done the arc better with the time they had. The movie was already bursting at the seams at 3 hours long, and there was so much happening. I REALLY HOPE that the way the film hinted at Thor joining up with the Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t just a red herring, because I will absolutely buy a thousand tickets to see that on opening night. And if he is in Guardians 3 (side note: I wonder if that’s why GotG3 suddenly spiked as people’s most anticipated upcoming MCU film?), I feel like that will allow him a little more room to react to Things.

Tony’s entire arc was perfect, beyond perfect. It blew me away, and I genuinely feel like RDJ should be nominated for an Oscar for it, if nothing else than for the sheer scope of the performance. It was absolutely heartbreaking, but it was also done so well--Tony’s entire story has been this kind of fear of death in one way or another, so in the end, having him accept his own death to save the universe was fantastic. And I knew he was going to die, even without reading spoilers (RDJ’s contract is up, after all), but it still hit me so hard when he did.

Steve’s arc felt really good, too, though I know a lot of people have had problems with it. It felt earned, and it felt deserved, and I was perfectly fine with hand waving all the possible issues his ending caused because he looked like Fred Rogers at the end. His entire story has always been a reverse of Tony’s: he’s never feared death and has always had a willingness to die, but he wanted something that his conscience never allowed him to have (that being a normal, peaceful life). Him finally allowing himself that peace felt right.

(and he 100% cleared it with Bucky beforehand, every single aspect of it, from “but wouldn’t going back to have that dance with Peggy break time?” to “but you’re being tortured while I’m dancing???” and I guarantee Bucky was like “bitch, if you don’t do this, I am going to dust you”)

Looking at the Nat thing, that felt inevitable, and it was the first thing that made me cry. It also felt like a huge culmination of her arc. Her entire story through these movies has been to try and wipe away the red in her ledger, and I doubt that anything she ever did would’ve been enough in her mind. Like looking through the writing of the story, she did feel like the best option for the soul stone, and her death hit me WAY harder than Gamora’s, because on Gamora’s part, you understood that Thanos’ love for her wasn’t the kind of love that would’ve fought to be the one to sacrifice himself for her. Clint loves Natasha, as much as she loves him, and to see him lose her so soon after losing his family (well. Film-wise, at least) was wrenching. And Jeremy Renner was AMAZING in this. He looked so haunted. Good job, dude.

I still really like Thanos as a villain, because he remains one of the few movie villains who’s actually read the Evil Overlord Checklist, so victory against him isn’t because he fucked up somewhere along the way (he knows that turning into a snake never helps) but because it was a contest of wills, and the heroes’ will was stronger than his. That makes their victory feel properly earned, and not narratively forced.

Odds and ends:

Steve wielding Mjolnir made our entire audience scream and clap so very loud, and I’m glad one of the view good bits in AoU paid off in a major way.

Thor getting lightning powers will always be very sexy to me.

That final battle was legit the best I’ve ever seen, including Helm’s Deep and Pelennor. The sight of everyone coming out of the magic yellow portals looked exactly like a comic book spread, and I really hope Stan Lee got to see a cut of it before he died.

I appreciated the moment of Carol being escorted through the battlefield by the (admittedly, depressingly small) entire cast of women who’ve played a major role in these movies and were still alive (including the Wasp, who was my favorite because she spent the entire battle like “???? what the fuck is even happening? I guess I’m here now?”).

All of the five years post snap scenes were haunting, in that “life after people” kind of way. I LOVED Scott wandering through the neighborhood that’s all overgrown and a mess, with no idea what’s happened or what any of it means.

I also loved that all the time shenanigans basically set up “here is how we’re dealing with there being 72 different versions of these characters in the comic books, also here is why Loki, Scarlet Witch, and Vision are able to have their own series, even though 2/3 of that sentence is dead.”

Really, I’m just a slut for time travel shenanigans.

And Thor and Captain Marvel. Brie Larson looks SO good with short hair. Help.

I just also loved that even though they planned their time travel adventures down to the second, they still managed to fuck it up royally because, at the end of the day, these guys are just a bunch of a-holes.

Anyway. I am emotionally compromised. This movie felt like a real finale, and it was a good finale. It gave me the same vibes that Return of the King gave me back in 2003, where it wasn’t 100% perfect (me, to this day: BETTER TRANSITIONS BETWEEN YOUR SEVEN ENDINGS, PETER JACKSON), but it still hit all the beats I wanted it to hit and served as a nice ribbon to tie up the series. A solid A of a film, five stars, I need to see it again but this time with more hydration so I don’t have a crying headache afterwards.

#avengers: endgame #avengers: endgame spoilers #my thoughts on this movie: let me show you them #my eyes hurt that was a lot of crying

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ryanmeft · 5 years

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Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Part 1

The culmination of the superhero ride that started with Iron Man back in 2008 is almost here. Avengers: Endgame tickets are selling out fast even though the movie is nearly three weeks away, and speculation as to how this stage of Marvel’s box office juggernaut will all end is at a fever pitch. What better time to rank the movies that have brought us here? Now, no one with even a tiny bit of objectivity sincerely believes Marvel had a ten year plan and executed it precisely according to a grand vision. Looking back through these movies makes it clearer than ever that, more often than not, they made it up as they went along. In fact, considering all the retcons, changed minds, dropped plot threads and unexpected surprises, it’s amazing the continuity holds together at all. It mostly does...but the bottom part of this list contains the few movies even Marvel’s PR team probably wishes they could have a mulligan on, as well as some good-but-not-quite-lighting-the-world-on-fire fare. Let’s get to it. Warning: this article contains spoilers for nearly every movie in the MCU.

21. Iron Man 2

The red-headed stepchild of the MCU. After the surprise success of the original Iron Man, Marvel Studios apparently forgot that the strength of that film was allowing Jon Favreau and the writing team to put heart before brand synergy, and decided to make a movie that was half marketing for their planned Avengers crossover. Dropping Black Widow in here felt completely jarring, and it didn’t help that her role just added to the jumble of plot threads that didn’t seem to add up to anything; at the time, many saw it as proof that Marvel was putting a little too much faith in their ability to pull off this whole crossover thing. That’s only part of the sordid story, though, because the movie is also a mess in nearly every other way. Rather than the tight plotting of the original, this one sees Tony, Rhodey, Pepper and the rest speeding from random situation to random situation---a car race, an unhinged party, a spy caper---with only the barest of plot threads holding it all together. The movie’s only saving graces are the villains played by Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Each of them deliciously devours every scene they are in, providing the film’s lone moments of enjoyment, but they’re also squandered on what feels like an extremely low stakes plan. Iron Man so well proved that superhero movies can have a soul that it even managed to make some critical best-of lists for 2008. The sequel made us wonder if that might have been a tad premature.

20. The Incredible Hulk

There are some genuinely creative moments in this action-oriented “apology” for the in-reality-pretty-good Ang Lee Hulk movie. The opening sequence showing how Hulk’s blood travels, a chase through a Brazilian favela, tossing Bruce out of a helicopter to incite his other half, and the almost-love scene aborted by the alter ego were signs of how clever the movie could have been if it were not focused on cramming in as much smashing as possible. Nick Nolte’s complex antagonist is replaced with William Hurt chewing a little too much scenery, the new super-villain played by Tim Roth is a dull waste of the actor’s talent, the finale is listless, and the entire movie is just one long excuse to show Hulk ‘roiding out as much as possible. The camera work of skilled action veteran Peter Menzies Jr. and some excellent CG on the title character make it more fun to look at than many of the tights flicks of the time, which is something. As a general rule, things that are made to chase fleeting audience sentiments don’t stand the test of time, and there’s been a quiet reversal since 2008 in which Lee’s more original and creative vision for the character has come to be re-evaluated, while this one has been almost forgotten and relegated to endless TNT re-runs. Maybe with Mark Ruffalo having one more movie on his contract, he’ll get a crack at doing it right post-Endgame.

19. Thor: The Dark World At the time, this movie served as iron-clad proof that the only reason the Thor character worked at all was Loki. The god of mischief is at his delicious then-best here, conniving from a prison cell, partnering with his brother out of genuine concern, and eventually managing to actually take the throne. Sure, that latter development was quickly undone in the next film, but what a parting shot. He’s the only aspect of the movie that fully works, and if you pop it in today you sit patiently waiting for his scenes and snoring through the second, Loki-free half of the movie. Thor himself is lifeless when Loki’s not on screen. The Warriors Three are still nowhere near the right balance of humor and bravery. Natalie Portman remains wasted on a supposedly genius scientist who can nevertheless be stunned into immediate silence by Thor’s golden locks, while Sif is still 100% unnecessary in every way. Perhaps worst of all, the underrated Christopher Eccleston is miscast as a villain who always seems to be doing bad Shakespeare. We all tried hard to forgive it at the time (and director Alan Taylor claims it was made “a different movie” in the editing room, not at all implausible) but thankfully we’ve since admitted this is mostly a misfire.

18. Ant-Man

If you were to judge Ant-Man entirely by the size-changing shenanigans, it would be one of the best Marvel movies. Peyton Reed, building off a script by departing director Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish (and tidied up by Rudd and Adam McKay) gets a ton of mileage out of the novelty of being the size of an insect, from outrunning a flood in a bathtub to that rather brilliant final confrontation in a child’s playroom, using toys as ammo. Further, Paul “I Am Immortal” Rudd is pitch-perfect in the title role, while Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly bring a lot to the picture. It’s in the details where Ant-Man falls a bit short (pun intended). To start, we have a single major Hispanic character in the MCU, played by the frankly more-legendary-than-you-think Michael Pena, and he’s reduced to a fast-talking stereotype. Judy Greer and Bobby Cannavale are also worlds better than their roles, which are, respectively, a cliche shrewish ex-wife and a cliche over-suspicious cop. What really drags things down, though, is the lackluster villain, who may be the most inert black hole in the MCU’s rogues gallery. He is neither good enough to engage us, nor bad enough to hate. He could have been played by a grip, for all the personality he’s allowed. The core of the film is delightful. The hill around it is crumbly.

17. Captain Marvel

Marvel’s first female-led flick is understandably a phenomenon, pulling down the sixth-largest opening weekend of all time and serving as inspiration to young girls and target to the kind of people who don’t want women in their clubhouse. So what about the movie that’s causing all this hullabaloo? It’s pretty decent. The movie can be summed up very succinctly as “safe”. It takes few chances and is more like one small step than one giant leap for womankind. Had it been released during the early superhero boom, it would still be fondly remembered as a major link in the genre’s evolution. As it is, it borrows from the buddy-cop subgenre to create what is essentially an adventure/sci-fi movie between Carol Danvers and Nick Fury. It stands out more as a callback to the kind of action pics made in the 90’s (when it is set) than the heavily marketed shared universe of the MCU, and includes standout performances from Annette Bening, Jude Law and Ben Mendelsohn. It meets expectations; it does not exceed them, and if you are a fan of the distinctive style practiced by directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, you won’t find it here. It’s only a month old, and it may be too soon to definitely say how it will be seen as time goes on. Right now, it feels more like a solid first step for the character than a fully realized final destination.

16. Thor

The original Thor has some completely solid, indisputable charms. Chris Hemsworth does physical comedy much more skillfully than he is ever given credit for, it is the debut of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the third act is a rare-at-the-time case of inventiveness in an MCU finale, and it’s always great to see Stellan Skarsgard in literally anything. I would watch two hours of Stellan Skarsgard eating lunch, with a clone of Stellan Skarsgard. His drinking scene with Thor is a seriously underrated bit of awesome. It helps make up for the fact that the movie has no idea what to do with most of the supporting cast, including in part Loki, who at this stage seems to flail around between personalities, having crazy forced on him in time for the final duel despite it not even being hinted at earlier. It’s as if director Kenneth Branagh just let him do his own thing, and Hiddleston’s not 100% sure what that should be yet. The mirror scene is objectively amazing, but he won’t really come into his own until Avengers. The Warriors Three are utterly wasted; Branaugh and the writers just never nail the right combo of comedy and camaraderie needed to pull them off. Sif is superfluous. Natalie Portman is one of the finest actors of our generation, here reduced to goggling over Thor’s pecs. It’s not bad, especially compared to some of the dreck that gets pumped out of the blockbuster machine. It’s just rather inert.

That’s it for part 1. I’m going to be doing some Marvel/Superhero/General Nerd content leading up to Endgame’s release. Check back next Friday for part 2 of this list, and pop by Monday for part 1 of my predictions on the fate of each character in Endgame. Part 2: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/184208179827/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-2 Part 3: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/184372777282/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-3

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canaryatlaw · 5 years

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okay, it’s way late and I need to get to sleep. fortunately I at least don’t have any evening plans tomorrow so I can at least sleep in a bit (probably till like 1 like I’ve been doing) and still get a solid amount of work done. today was pretty decent. I knew by how tired I was last night I was never going to be able to convince myself to get up for church so I just didn’t try. I woke up to the alarm at 11 so I didn’t sleep in too much and could get brunch still, Jess had just messaged me asking about it so I got ready and met her at the usual place. I actually changed my order a bit because my acid reflux has been really bad lately and my usual order can set it off sometimes, so I opted for just the normal french toast which was still very good. So we had a nice brunch and then returned to our respective apartments. I was supposed to meet a boy for ice cream at 3, so I just kinda laid on my bed and was lazy for a bit until I started to do my makeup and get ready. I headed out with what should’ve been plenty of time to get there, which was somewhat more than normal because the bus I was taking goes down the main street of my neighborhood which is currently blocked off for the midsommarfest event they host every year (my neighborhood has very Nordic roots) so I planned on walking down to where that ended and catching the bus there, but when I got to the corner the bus was right there, it’d apparently been rerouting to the road closer to me to then turn down the main road, so I just got on there, which would’ve made me get there pretty early, but when we went to turn onto the usual road there was some issue and we were stopped for a bit and the driver was like out of the bus trying to look at something underneath it, but then we pulled onto the road and after a few blocks we stopped and the bus driver apparently announced that we needed to get off and get on another bus coming because there was something weird going on with the front of the bus related to strange vibrations or something like that?? I say apparently because I had my earbuds in and was thoroughly enamored with my phone while the announcement was happening and I didn’t even realize it was taking place until people started getting off the bus lol, yay for millennial stereotypes. so we waited for another bus that came after not too long, and took that bus to the ice cream place. It was in Wrigleyville, aka the neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field where the Cubs play, it’s like 90% bars lol but there’s some other stuff too. The guy was already there so we got our ice cream, which was slightly disappointing because they were out of my favorite flavor from them (they’re like a small chain with super unique and original flavors, my favorite is cream puff but they were out) so I went with “sweet cream biscuits with peach jam” which is a bit of a mouthful lol and it was good but not as good as the other one, but oh well, it was free ice cream so that’s always good. The boy was thoroughly bleh, he was wearing a polo shirt and I was wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket....lol. But we finished and then walked around the neighborhood for a bit until I was like “I should probably be getting home” after a total of a little less than an hour, so we said goodbye there and I got on the bus back north and went home. Not long after getting home I got a text from him that was like “it was nice meeting you but I didn’t really feel like we had a strong connection” and I was like “lol yeah same but nice to meet you too” so at least I don’t have to worry about potentially ghosting him. From there I went on my laptop for a bit and watched more Anthony Bourdain before talking to Jess and deciding to get dinner at a Thai place close to her since all the restaurants we’d normally hit up with blocked off for the festival. so I walked over there and we went to the restaurant, I was crazy about my main dish but the meal was still nice I suppose. so we did that and then I went home and turned on the Tony awards. I was a bit late tuning in but I have it recorded so I’ll go back and watch the beginning, it looks like I didn’t really miss anything I actually care about other than Ali Stroker winning which I’ll have to go back and watch because I need to see that happen, as the first person in a wheelchair to perform on Broadway and is now the first person in a wheelchair to win a Tony, that’s pretty damn historic and I’m very happy for her (though apparently she had to wait backstage because they didn’t make the venue accessible for her to actually get onstage, which is.....bad). But yeah, it was good from there, I actually tuned in right as the performance from The Prom was being introduced so it was truly perfect timing, and they totally killed it. I fully expected them to keep the kiss in but it was still great to see. I’m sad for them that they didn’t end up taking home any Tonys, especially for Caitlin because I do think she deserved that leading actress in a musical Tony, but it’s like that sometimes and I don’t begrudge Hadestown for any of its wins because by all accounts so far it’s an awesome musical and deserves to be acknowledged as such. I was kinda pleased Burn This didn’t take anything home lol which sounds mean but like, it just wasn’t a good show and didn’t really deserve the nominations in the first place, my guess is they mostly resulted from there only being so many revivals to nominate for that category, and they felt semi-obligated to nominate Adam Driver since he’s a hollywood actor and all that (bleh). The only other show I’ve seen that was nominated was King Kong lol, which did lose the 3 technical Tonys it was nominated for, but they then did a video with two of the announcers with the puppet talking about the show and announcing they’ll be getting a special Tony award for their achievements in mounting such a crazy production, which feels kinda like a “good effort” award being that they weren’t good enough to actually win any of the normal Tonys lol but I was ultimately happy for them because while the artistic portions of the show were total crap, the technical elements were stunning and groundbreaking and they should be recognized for that, even if it doesn’t fit into an existing category. I’d been wondering for months if they’d manage to bring the puppet to the Tonys, but I think the way they did it was good. And yeah, that’s about all my thoughts on it, not bad overall. Once it was over I watched a little bit of the news and then some more Anthony Bourdain before getting in the shower and starting to get ready for bed, and now I am here and it is late late late so I will end this here. Goodnight babes. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.

#daily journal #June 2019 #Jess tag #Tony Awards 2019

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jake-and-amy-are-married · 6 years

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We have to start somewhere part 2/?

A/N note

Tony and the rest kind of know that this is a TV show, but other than that, everything else practically remains the same in this AU.CACW still happened, and the Avengers broke up. The relationship between Tony and Bucky is nonexistent, which is why everyone was so surprised he won the next date.

Full disclaimer, I have never watched The Bachelor and any reference to the show is hand-wavy at best

I also remember the anon who asked for the simple stony date, and it's coming up soon! Not in this story though.

You can read part 1 here

We have to start somewhere part 2/?

Pre-date jitters

Tony

Tony had always known that the eyes were the most vulnerable aspect of his face, and ever since he had realized that the world was filled with men who would love to bury him alive and chew out his essence like the vultures they were, he had always made it a point to cover his eyes most of the time whenever he was in public or even just around people he didn’t know or trust . He would always cover his eyes with sunglasses or even the redness that came with drinking too much and sleeping too little. Iron man’s suit also had that insecure paranoia designed into his helmet, his eyes carefully hidden behind Iron man’s permanent scowl (or that’s what it looked like, apparently, according to the artist who had previously resided in the compound along with the others)

Trust issues, Pepper had called it. Paranoia, Rhodes had muttered. Precaution, his heart had whispered stoically. But even then, he had known that he put this knowledge to use. He knew that this particular vulnerability went both ways. He knew that the eyes held truth.

Bucky’s eyes seemed to be even more deceptively expressive than his own. He had always known that, of course, even before this whole shit-show that was his current life (he was literally in a reality TV show to find himself a boyfriend. Sometimes he really wonders why he even keeps Pepper and Happy around, seeing that these were the kind of ‘great ideas’ they seemed to come up with).

Tony knew that he owed the other super soldier an apology for what happened in Siberia. Though he knew that it was not completely his fault, unlike most other things that had happened in his life, he also knew that he had been just one more of the many thousands who blamed the face in front of the crime, instead of doing the logical, smart thing of finding out the real reason behind such brutality. He was supposed to be smart Damn it!! Tony knew the kind of damage that a person’s mind would suffer when they were blamed for something they had no accountability over.

He had called Nat up and asked her what she knew about The Winter solider, and she had been weirdly forthcoming with the horrifying information. He had watched every one of the God-forsaken videos that he could find after Siberia, and had promptly run to the nearest bathroom and expelled the entirety of his dinner and measly breakfast. But his stupid eidetic memory made sure that the images were stuck in his brain.

One more apology to make, more guilt to be carried, Tony just brushed it off his soul and walked on. His anger towards Steve hadn’t gotten any less, however. If he had just told him the truth, if he had just trusted Tony to do the right thing, he would have helped, he would have gotten Bucky back to the tower and that would have been one less thing to worry about…

But he was getting ahead of himself. He stretched and yawned, his joints popping in a stark (ha!) reminder that he was not getting any younger. He opened up his Stark pad and started to look at the various date options the show provided, making up his mind to make his first date with Bucky the best night he had ever had.

He had a clipped conversation with FRIDAY about what were some of the things Bucky seemed to enjoy, and FRIDAY WASvery much like her big brother in many aspects, but maybe she was even more overprotective of Tony than JARVIS had ever been. Her voice was firm and overly polite, indicating that she was not pleased with his selection of a date. But she answered him nonetheless, ‘Sargent Barnes has not publically revealed his likes and dislikes but based on frequency of performing the same tasks and indulging in the same proclivities, an assumption can be made that he enjoys sparring with Mr.Rogers,ballet practice with Ms.Romanoff, Italian cuisine and watching French movies,Sir.’

Huh.italian food,fancy movies and dancing.Guess planning a date won’t be that diffuicult after all.Mused Tony.

#the bachelor au #tony stark #bucky barnes #winteriron #ironwinter #mcu #avengers #marvel #marvel comics #Catch bucky freaking the f out in the next chapter #can these even be considered chapters #seeing as it is each of them are lesser than 1k words #I'm sure I'll hit 1k soon enough #but anyways #@lilyrambles #comment #rebl #like #DO NOT repost

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diinofayce · 6 years

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Like A Whisper In The Night - 7

Layne sat next to Bucky in a black armored car in the parking lot of First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. She looked out the window at the black painted building a let out a shaky breath, smiling softly when she felt Bucky’s metal fingers trace along the knuckles of her hand in comfort. The bricks were covered in silver painted stars, the names of performers who graced the iconic stage written in big black letters in the stars. One large golden star stood out from the rest, PRINCE written in the middle and purple flowers taped to the wall, a candle sat undisturbed on the ground below it.

It had taken Layne two days to call in all her favours and make a solid mission plan before they could come out. Clint, Natasha, and Steve were working security and bartending at The Myth fifteen minutes out of town. Wanda, Vision, and Loki were at The Pourhouse eight blocks down. Sam, Tony, and Bucky were with Layne at First Avenue. Marcus, the owner of First Avenue and Seventh Street Entrance, called for a big price when Layne called him up. They had a night with no band and a Dorothy reunion would sell out the venue. It didn’t matter that she said that her employer, Tony Stark, was the VIP; Marcus was a man who always got what he wanted. This forced Layne to bite the bullet and call up the best friend and bandmate that she abandoned without a word. Layne did a lot of apologizing, a lot of crying, and then spent a whole three extra hours catching up with her guitarist like they had been speaking every day since Layne left. The band agreed to get back together for the show and First Avenue indeed sold out, causing Marcus to close Seventh Street so that he could have enough staff on First Avenue.

And that’s what puts us in this dingy parking lot that was already housing a large beat-up red pickup truck that had the tailgate open and amps ready to be brought in. “Those idiots are going to get their shit stolen like last year,” Layne grumbled unlocking her door and stepping unceremoniously into the freezing Minnesota wind. Despite it being almost March the city was still frigid, icy, and blanketed in a thick layer of snow.

“At least it’s cleaner than New York,” Layne heard Sam say from his and Tony’s car behind her. “About as dreary, though,” Bucky replied. “Who the fuck uses the word ‘dreary’ in real life?” Sam shot back.

Their bantering was lost on Layne as she stood staring at the open doorway to the back of the club. A woman in her mid-forties came stomping outside. Bucky and Sam silenced instantly and Tony lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at her. She was all tits and ass in a tiny black tank top with a Harley Davidson leather coat, ripped up black skinny jeans and high heeled motorcycle boots. Her red hair rivaled Natasha’s and was swept back into a red bandanna. Her persona oozed power and control and dared everyone in her path to fuck with her, no seriously, please fuck with her.

“Now, I know that trash bag, Layne Hardin, did not just step out of some foreign piece of shit that costs more than my house.” The bark that came from the woman was unabashedly northern Minnesota.

“Well, I know only one gutter hoe that drives some rusted piece of shit Chevy and leaves fifteen hundred dollars worth of equipment out in the open to get stolen. Must be fucking Susanna Sweet.” Layne called back, hands on her hips, hair falling down over one shoulder.

Susanna took her aviator sunglasses off and stared Layne down sternly before her face broke into a large smile, a jovial laugh ripping out of her. “Girl, get your skinny white ass over here.” Layne ran at Susanna and jumped into her arms.

The three men just looked at each other with wide eyes full of concern and confusion. Tony stepped forward, straightening the suit jacket he was wearing over his vintage AC/DC shirt, which Layne had already threatened to steal.

“Um, yeah, hi. Excuse me? What’s happening here?” Tony asked pointing between the two ladies.

Layne giggled as Sue put her back down on the ground. “This, gentlemen, is Minnesota’s, no the entire fucking tri state area’s, best and most in-demand guitarist. Ms. Susanna Sweet. She’ll fuck you up,” Layne added, her face going very serious. “Suzu, this is Bucky, Sam, and Tony.”

“Girl, you flatter me. And still curse with such a wonderful eloquence and fluidity, only good thing to come out of you being a Navy brat. Now grab your shit and help unload the truck,” the biker babe laughed and grabbed a large Marshall stack amp.

“You’re a Navy brat?” Bucky asked, him and Sam looking at her with mild disgust. Layne sneered at the Army boys and stuck her tongue out.

“Does it make you like me less? Honestly, the Army ego coming out of the three of you could choke a horse. Can we least agree that at least I’m not Air Force and get some fucking help with heavy shit?” Layne scoffed. The boys looked at each other and shrugged in agreement before going over to the truck to help with the cabs and amps.

Layne grabbed her guitar case and a garment bag from the car and led the boys into the venue. Sue caught up to her and threaded her arm into Layne’s. Layne didn’t know if she was ready for this and she knew she had to keep herself toned down if she wanted to keep some semblance of professionalism after this was said and done, but this Minnesota air brought a lot back for her.

“So, Ms. Sweet, you were in the Army?” Sam asked sidling up to the two of them.

Sue smirked. “Mm, are you offering to buy me a drink and swap war stories?”

~*~

There was a half an hour before doors open and the stage was all set up and sound tested. Layne had introduced her boys to Cass and Taylor, her bassist and drummer. Cass was a tiny pixie of a thing, barely scraping over five feet and had a shock of short purple hair. She was decked out a red leather dress with black knee high, fur lined Demonia’s to give herself an extra six inches. Taylor was taller and stockier, she had well defined muscles from constant drumming as she worked as studio drummer now for a living and filled in with different bands as needed. She always dressed simple for shows since it got hot and she was behind a kit, she wore one of their old band tank tops and a pair a black biker shorts under a black kilt with white Converses, her thick blond hair was up in pig tails.

Everyone was milling around the main center bar when Layne approached, wearing an ostentatious tan faux fur coat that brushed around her knees, it was clasped shut so you could only see the torn fishnet stockings and blood red Doc Martins. Her makeup was her traditional over smoked eye and bright red lips and her hair was curled and coiffed with probably an entire can of hair spray.

“Well, that’s a look, rock star,” Sam said staring down his nose at her. Layne rolled her eyes and waved at Dave, the bartender.

“We keep Layne around for the tight ass and sex hair,” Sue joked handing out shots of whiskey as Dave passed them to her.

“No drinking on the job, Hardin,” Tony started and tried to take the shot from her only to have three Minnesota ladies block his hand.

“No, no, no. You do not get to stop this train wreck, this train wreck gets us paid. It’s a sold out show and besides, we bought you one too.” Cass waved a finger at Tony before presenting him with his shot. Layne winced at the multiple accounts of being called a train wreck, but let it go. Taylor raised her shot and was met with shots from the other girls. The boys shared That Look again before shrugging and raising their glasses up as well.

“SKOL!” Taylor called slamming her shot on the bar before tilting it back down her throat. The girls mimicked followed by three very confused boys.

“What job are you working that you can’t fucking drink at? Sounds like piss,” Taylor cussed tapping the bar for a refill. Dave obliged and the girl pounded that shot as well.

“I am…working in the genetics lab for Mr. Stark,” Layne supplied carefully. Layne wasn’t ready to tell her friends that she was an Avenger. She didn’t want to let these two lives leak together, they were oil and water and they needed to always be separate.

“Fucking told you she’d lie about it. Ah, well.” The blond drummer deflated. Layne looked at her girls sadly as Cass and Susanna both frowned at Layne.

Susanna shook her head placed her elbow’s on Layne’s shoulders and her chin on top of her head. “Doors open soon. Let’s get backstage and look at that notebook of yours. Plus you need to tell me which one of these three you’re sleeping with, because I know it’s one of them.”

Bucky choked on his water and Sam and Tony gave him a reproachful look. Sue, Taylor and Cass headed towards the back snickering to themselves.

Layne sighed and dropped her elbows on the bar top. Dave handed her a 1.75 of Jack, as per normal, and Layne smiled tersely. Pulling a silver Sharpie out of the top of her boot she scrawled her name across the front and stuck the Sharpie back in place.

“Gonna stay level up there, kid?” Tony asked suddenly clapping her on the shoulder.

Layne smirked and caught Bucky’s eyes. She wanted to make sure he heard her. “Oh, this isn’t for me. You’re in for quite a show boys. And Bucky, you better be damn good on that front line because you’re going to have a rough ride.” Layne moved to head to the backstage, catching the flush on Bucky’s cheeks and smirking, but Tony kept a hold of her shoulder. He pulled a wooden box about the size of his palm out of his inner suit pocket.

“Stark, I’m flattered. But it’s not me, it’s you,” Layne joked holding her hand up in a stop motion.

“Ha. Ha. You’re adorable. Here,” he opened the box and inside were two silver bangles about an inch thick. He pulled them out and clasped them around her wrists. “So, ideally, these are grounders. They should let you half project, again ideally. We haven’t had time to test them obviously. It should be able to let you still see auras, but you wont be leaving your body. Which also means you can’t actually project into someone else, so you’ll need to hit this button to deactivate them. But you’ll still hit the dirt. I don’t know what to do about that.” Tony looked at you anxiously as you admired the simple bands on your wrists, rotating your hands so they glinted in the overhead lights.

“Thank you, Tony. They’re perfect. They’ll work perfect on the stage, too.” Layne reached over and gave Tony a peck on the cheek. She nodded to the boys and took off after her girls.

~*~

There was nothing between Bucky and 800 people except for waist high metal fence that wasn’t even latched to the floor. It was those grates and two other security guards that were separating the screaming fans and the stage. Bucky’s eyes flashed around to all the exits and doors and bars anxiously. There were too many people and he had no clue who he was looking for in the sea of bobbing heads and crashing shoulders. There weren’t enough exits to not make a dangerous situation even worse in case of a stampede. His tongue flicked out over his lips and he was slightly reassured by Redwing hovering above everyone - not that he would ever admit that to Sam. His blue eyes cast up to the balcony where Tony sat on the long leather couch with a glass of amber liquid, a few girls in tiny dresses, and one of the house security guards (purely for appearances at this point).

The two guys on either side of him had warned Bucky of Layne’s shows. They told him of the two times the show got so crazy they had to call half of the Minneapolis police department because the party spilled into the streets after the show. They warned him about how she liked to jump into the crowd. They warned him that she could drink like a fish, puke off stage during a guitar solo, then come back and keep drinking. All the bartenders called her Puke’N’Rally with a fondness and they had two cases of Jack Daniels tucked up off stage for the girls and the crowd. They warned him that Layne would probably mess with him, she messed with all the stage security, but the new guys always got it rough.

Bucky tried to reassure the men that Layne wasn’t drinking because this was for a Stark work event, but they just gave each other a look that Bucky could tell meant they didn’t believe him.

“Lesser men than Tony Stark have tried to get that girl to quit drinking,” the large black man to his left, Darren, said. “I’ve carried that girl out into a cab more times than I can count.”

“Well, she’s fucking sad and just a kid,” said the guy to his right, Mike. The man was all long grizzled silver hair and beard and sounded permanently stoned. “Like, you can hear it in her music. No one taught her how to cope. I’ve been there, man.”

Bucky looked between the two men who knew her so much better than he did, then any of the Avengers did. He felt tense in his chest, was she just placated him back in the kitchen when she promised she would moderate herself? And Bucky understood that she wanted to hit the pause button on whatever they were doing, but even with the plane ride to Minnesota and in the car to the venue she had barely said two words to him. He knew what it was like to be trapped in your own head and he probably wasn’t the shining example of healthy coping, but anything was healthier than what she was doing. He found himself extremely worried that she didn’t care enough about how much she was hurting herself.

The opening band was another local three piece girl band called Kloud. They sounded fast and angry, Sam told Bucky through the ear piece that it was called punk and that they were pretty good. He wasn’t a fan, he definitely preferred the more blusey stuff. He peeked over his left shoulder and saw Layne standing off to the side stage with the rest of her band going over something in a notebook. The last of the stage hands finished setting Dorothy’s instruments and the lights lowered in the room. The crowd started going nuts, they surged forward and Bucky placed his foot against the bottom of his rail to keep it place.

Cass, Susanna, and Taylor strutted out onto the stage, fists in the air, and took up their instruments. Cass hits the first chord on her bass and the note shakes the entire building. She picks a beat, a steady dum-dum-dum, and Taylor follows in march behind on the bass drum. Its to that beat that Bucky’s ears pick up the stomp of Layne’s gait onto the stage, he sees Sam’s eyebrow raise on the second floor and takes a peek over his shoulder. Bucky’s heart stutters in his chest as he took in the sight of Layne’s lithe form being hugged by a black silk and lace negligee under her billowing fur coat. It ended maybe inches below her ass, the small straps barely holding up the swell of her breasts. A black velvet choker wrapped around her neck, a flat black stone nestled in the soft of her throat.

Her brown eyes cast around the crowd and into the balcony - finding both Sam and Tony, a small smirk gracing her face before she punched her fist into the air. “Minne-fucking-apolis!” She called and the crowd just roared triumphantly. She poured a few shots out of her bottle of Jack into little plastic cups and carried them to the front of the stage, standing behind the security guard to Bucky’s left.

“How is everyone feeling tonight?” The crowd roared back. “Oh no, that doesn’t sound good enough. Let Momma make it better my wild ones.” Layne carefully stepped on the guard’s shoulder and he held onto her ankle as she reached forward and handed out the shots. The fans who got them cheered and slammed them down. Bucky tried to hold down the acidic taste of jealousy that burned in his stomach as he watched Darren’s large hand wrap around her shin. It was done so casually that Bucky knew that wasn’t the first time those hands had been there. “That’s better! I want you bitches clapping!” Layne pushed gracefully off of Darren’s shoulder, her fingernails dragging slowly over his cheek and made her way back to the center of the stage, sliding her microphone in it’s stand.

“Oh, Set me on fire Oh, Kerosene eyes Oh, Lookin’ right through me Sellin’ my soul for one night”

She spread her arms out to the side, baring herself wide for everyone in that venue. Every time Layne opened her mouth it was like Bucky could hear further into her soul.

~*~

Layne missed this, being surrounded by her girls and the music and the screaming crowd. She would often sit back at Avengers Tower and wonder what her life would be if she had signed that record deal instead of agreeing to keep the world safe. If she hadn’t let her parents break her spirit, she really thought she could have been something.

Layne grabbed her bottle and ripped her microphone from the stand. Walking to the front of the stage she fell to her knees behind Bucky and carded her fingers through his hair. She felt him stiffen slightly and turn his head to look back at her with a warning glare. She winked and licked her lips at him.

“Oh, Doin’ me dirty Oh, Tellin’ me lies Oh, You are not worthy Tellin’ myself it’s the last time”

Layne flung one leg over Bucky’s shoulder, hooking him at the knee and pushed her other foot off the front of the stage so he’d lean forward. He held her leg close to his chest and gave her a furious look as she held her bottle out to pour the amber liquid into the mouths of the people on the other side of the barricades.

“Cause nothing good comes after midnight Ain’t no good love come from pain Nothing good comes after midnight When you play the Devil’s game Oh, after midnight.”

Layne pulled back from the fans and Bucky took that as his sign to help her back onto the stage. Layne leaned down, her hair creating a curtain between them and the rest of the venue, and brushed her lips across his cheek. Layne straightened and pumped her fist in beat with the drums and guitar. “Hands in the fucking air!” Layne clapped along to the beat, getting the whole venue into her motions.

“Susanna Sweet, everyone,” she called out, and the crowd cheered as Susanna stepped forward - her black Les Paul with lime green cobwebs shining in the stage lights. Layne stepped back and sat down on the drum stand, setting down her bottle of Jack and grabbing a bottle of water. Sweat was running in rivulets down her neck and into her cleavage already. She looked down at the bangles on her wrists and made sure they were turned on before taking a deep breath and feeling herself start to float.

It felt like there were chains binding her consciousness to her body, but she could see everyone’s auras like if she was separated. She could feel her head turn as she scanned the crowd, counting the yellow auras of enhanced individuals. There were more than she expected, at least forty that she could see on the main floor and about twenty up on the balconies. Layne settled back into herself, blinking slowly as her vision readjusted just in time for the guitar solo to end. She strutted back across the stage finishing the song and sending hand signals to Tony and Sam about her count.

The song ended and the crowd cheered. Layne gave a brilliant smile and motioned up at RedWing hovering above everyone. “Everyone smile for the cute drone. You can buy the DVD of this performance next month on our Facebook page.” Layne winked up at Sam as he sent RedWing down around the crowd taking facial scans of everyone that looked into it’s camera. All the intel was being sent direction to Agent Hill back at the compound.

The next song started and Layne switched back from undercover agent to performer. Halfway through the show she shed her coat entirely, she definitely noticed Bucky keeping a sharper eye on her when she got close to the other security or stretched over to the crowd. At one point she got tired of his side looks and poured half a bottle of Jack over his front, making the ladies in the audience hoot and holler as his black shirt stuck to his chiseled form. He growled at her angrily and snatched the bottle from her hand, lobbing it into the crowd who cheered and the other security guards looked at him with “I told you so” stares. Layne had simply cracked a new one from the box next to the drum stand. It was common for them to go through at least ten bottles a show.

During the solos Layne would take the opportunity to recount auras. She had noticed a definite five were missing, but at a whiskey peddling rock show that could be for any reason. It wasn’t until towards the end of the night that she noticed a yellow aura and a blue aura towards the back in the shadows pull another yellow aura towards them and fight them towards the front door. Layne sent a quick signal to Tony and Sam, who immediately went on the move. Layne moved to Susanna and whispered in her ear that she had to go do work. Susanna looked into Layne’s eyes for a moment before nodding and starting the opening to their traditional show ender.

The crowd started to dance and clap to the beat. “Whiskey in the air, Minnesota. You know how we end this shit!” Layne nodded at Bucky who looked back at her with steely blue eyes. She knew that either Tony or Sam informed him of the problem over the comlink, but he didn’t know how he was going to get Layne off stage to go after them. Layne gritted her teeth, having left that part out of debriefing Bucky because she knew he would argue her on it.

Cracking a new bottle of whiskey, she signaled for the security guard to Bucky’s left. Darren had been stage security at all of their shows, he knew what was about to happen. He held his hands palms up for her as she carefully stepped onto his shoulders, holding one of his hands gently as she stepped down onto the barrier. Bucky was about ready to rip her back towards the stage but she just signaled him with her chin to meet her on the other side of the main floor. He glared at her and licked his lips before darting out to the side stage.

“Oh, mama, don’t you leave me alone No tellin’ what I’ll do on my own Oh, mama, there’s a pit in my soul So deep I gotta fill it up now, fill it up now FILL IT UP NOW!”

Layne stepped carefully onto the shoulders of the man on the other side of the barrier, she poured a shot from her bottle into his mouth as she stepped to the man behind him.

“Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey fever You’re my evil, you’re my evil Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey fever You’re my evil, you’re my evil love”

Layne made her way across the room on the shoulders of the crowd, pouring shots down their throats as she went. The crowd crammed together on her path, she could see Bucky’s frustrated blue eyes at the end. His gloved fingers were twitched for the weapons he kept hidden on his person, ready to give chase with the rest of them.

“Whoah, mama, can’t you say that I’m wrong Bad habits been bustin’ my bones Hell, mama’s gonna swallow me whole God knows I gotta fill it up now, fill it up now FILL IT UP NOW!”

Layne made it to the end and hopped down into Bucky’s arms, smiling as his whiskey damp shirt smacked into her sweat drenched face. “Up,” she whispered to Bucky who rolled his eyes and lifted her up. “Thank you Minnesota. I love you so much! Make sure you all get a beer and put it on Tony Stark’s tab!” Bucky set her down and Layne left her microphone with Dave behind the bar. She grabbed Bucky’s hand and pulled him out to the door with the crowd chanting ‘Dorothy’ as they ran out into the cold Minneapolis air.

Bucky handed Layne her com and she placed it in her ear. “Whisper online,” she said, her eyes darting around the dark night looking for a sign of Stark or Wilson flying around.

“Hey, rock star! That was quite a show. We’ve got tail on a white laundromat delivery van. We watched two males shove a woman inside. They’re approaching Hennepin Street,” Wilson said and Layne turned in the direction of the corresponding street.

“This way,” Layne said breathlessly and took off at a run, Bucky close on her heels. “Get team Pourhouse out here. They’re on Hennepin, might catch them faster.”

“Layne, you have no weapons or armor. You should go back to the venue,” Bucky yelled, watching as her slip slid up to just underneath her butt. He flushed crimson and tried not to focus on where he was running.

“Maybe don’t stare at my ass, Barnes, and it wouldn’t be a problem,” Layne looked at him over her shoulder briefly with a wicked look in her eyes. She reached up to the choker on her neck and pressed the black gem, a ripple passed over her body as her black cat suit spread out down her arms, torso, and legs.

“Loki already hooked me up,” Layne laughed as she took a sharp turn into an alley and hopped onto the grating of a parking garage, pulling herself up to the third level and running to the side that faced Hennepin. Bucky came to pause next to her and looked down the road, ignoring the fact that she was panting heavily next to him clearly out of breath from sprinting.

“Hey, thanks for keeping your word on the whole drinking thing. Granted, you could have not poured it all out over me,” Bucky said softly, pulling his Glock out of it’s holster.

Layne looked at him sideways for a minute while pulling her long dark hair up in a ponytail. “Um, well, I told you I don’t drink on missions. I mean, that one shot excluded. Did you think I was lying to you?”

Bucky shook his head, his brown hair tied into a loose knot on the back of his neck. “No. I mean, I had heard you’ve tried to stop in the past and it not working out but, I mean, I…don’t…know” Bucky’s words died in his throat as he watched realization dawn on Layne’s face. She clicked her tongue and nodded, a smile of disbelief on her face.

“Here I was thinking you were going to be something different,” Layne said harshly, more to herself than to Bucky. The white van came into view, stopping at a red light below them. Without giving Bucky a heads up she pushed from the shadows of the parking ramp and landed on the roof of the van, rolling to lessen the impact and hopping off just as she felt the van lurch with a crash signaling Bucky’s landing on the hood.

Layne wrenched the back doors open and eight sobbing girls came into view. They were all wearing bar clothes, makeup smeared across their faces from their tears. Their hands and feet were bound and a cloth was tied in their mouths. She could hear the sounds of running footsteps behind her and the jets from Tony and Sam.

A man was in the back with the girls, his brown hair shaved short on the sides contrasting with long thick curls on the top, his brown eyes the same shade as Layne’s. He stood quickly and rushed at Layne, shoving her back into the ground. He smirked at her as she stared up at him with shock.

“Danny?” she whispered before her youngest brother vaulted off of her and took off into the alleys.

NEXT CHAPTER

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