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redgillan · 4 years

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Under Pastel Skies - 3

Sugar daddy!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Modern!AU Bucky doesn’t need anyone, especially not a sugar baby. He isn’t that desperate… but she smiles so sweetly and she’s endearingly awkward, and he’s so lonely. She’s an artist, a painter, the type of person who always puts others before herself. Throwing caution to the wind Bucky offers her a place to live, a place where she can finally paint whatever her heart desires. He doesn’t need much in return; a friend, a muse.

Word Count: 2,587

Warnings: none

A/N: I wanted to give Reader a family and this is the easiest way to do it. Btw Peggy’s husband isn’t Steve, I have other plans for him ;) Enjoy!

Wannabe sugar daddies don’t interact, idc if you have money, eat it and leave me be.

The rest of the week went by, and you kept hoping Bucky would come back. You hadn’t seen him since he’d left 300 dollars under his napkin after visiting you at work. You had tucked the bills into your bra, knowing they would be safe there, and walked home at the end of your shift.

Now it was Thursday afternoon and you were craving a day off.

Natasha’s apartment was spacious and the oversized glass window bathed the living room in natural sunlight. The apartment was a gift from Sam. Obviously.

You dropped your purse on the sofa –your bed- and laid out the bills on the coffee table. It was made of marble and brass, another gift from Sam.

You didn’t know what to do with the money, so you took it wherever you went, to keep it safe. You wanted to return it to Bucky. It was too much and you weren’t used to random acts of kindness.

You sunk into the cushion and blew out a sigh as you stared at the money. The persistent vibration of your phone against your thigh pulled you out of your thoughts. Half expecting it to be Natasha, you answered without looking at the caller ID.

The operator told you that Scott Lang was calling from Saint Quentin State Prison, and asked if you would accept the charges. You agreed. You always agreed.

“Splotchy, I need your help.”

Closing your eyes, you let your head fall back against the cushion. “I told you to stop calling me that, Scott.”

It was a silly nickname.

As a child, your mother dubbed you splotchy because of the colourful doodles you painted on the living room walls, and your siblings, who were roughly a few years older than you, had loved using that nickname. Especially since they knew you disliked it.

Their support and endless enthusiasm played a big part in your artistic journey, nurturing that spark into a flame. What started out as a childlike fascination with colours and shapes became your whole life. No one was surprised when you decided to pursue a degree in fine arts.

After the death of her husband, Peggy Carter adopted five children; a little boy from San Francisco, a little girl from Wakanda, twins from Sokovia and a little girl whose birth parents were still in high school. You were the last one, the only one she adopted as a baby.

“Is it offensive to call an artist splotchy?”

“It’s irrelevant. I haven’t painted in months,” you replied. “And we’re not kids anymore, you can use my name.”

“I’ve been calling you Splotchy for so long, I forgot your actual name.”

“You’re so funny,” you deadpanned. “What do you need, Scott?”

Scott’s tone changed suddenly, his voice grew agitated. “I need you to call Maggie. She isn’t picking up when I call her.”

“Scott,” you sighed.

“I haven’t talked to Cassie since her birthday,” he cut you off, pleading. “Please, I just want to talk to my little girl.”

Maggie was Scott’s ex-wife. Six months after his incarceration, she had filed for divorce. Natasha thought it was a real dick move but you didn’t blame Maggie. She was alone, her husband was in jail –for basically being a dumbass although the official charge was embezzlement and destruction of property- and she had a kid to raise.

Maggie wasn’t a saint but she was a good mother, and Cassie was a smart and healthy kid. Now you knew what to do with Bucky’s money.

“I’ll call her,” you said. “Listen, I’m going to put 50 bucks on your book. Buy yourself a bar of soap, I can smell you from here.” Scott interrupted you with a monotone ‘har har’. You chuckled. “I’ll buy Cassie a Christmas gift on your behalf, all right? I think she wanted a bike.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” he chanted over the phone, his voice muffled as if he was holding the receiver too close to his mouth. “Are you sure you can afford it? I know it isn’t easy for you. Between living in New York and paying for mom’s nursing home, you don’t have to-”

“It’s fine,” you said, cutting off the conversation. “I’m not alone, Okoye helps.”

“And Wanda?”

“She sends postcards from time to time.”

The line went quiet for a moment. “I want to get out of here so bad,” Scott groaned. “Everything’s gone to shit since I went to jail.”

“Everything’s gone to shit since Pietro died, Scott.” You both remained silent, remembering your late brother. Just thinking about him made your eyes start to prickle with tears, so you cleared your throat and ended the call. “I’ll talk to Maggie. You’ll be out soon, just... stay out of trouble. Love you.”

You left your phone on the table and kicked off your shoes before you lay down on the sofa for a well-deserved nap. In your dreams your brothers weren’t either dead or in prison, your mother hadn’t been diagnosed with Alzheimer, and you weren’t a burden to your friend.

If you were lucky enough, you wouldn’t even dream at all.

The next day, Bucky arrived at the hotel at six thirty and you playfully glared at him from across the lounge. He wasn’t stupid, he knew why you were glaring at him. At least he had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Just so you know, you bought yourself about 30 breakfasts,” you told him, referring to the far-too-generous tip he had left the other day.

“A man’s gotta eat,” he replied with a boyish cockiness that made him look stupidly attractive. You were too flustered to find a good comeback.

You brought him his cup of coffee and let him enjoy his breakfast while you attended to your other clients. It was an unusually busy day, the room was packed with families who were getting ready to explore Manhattan. You didn’t have time to chat with Bucky and he didn’t stay long. You saw him flinch a couple of times; the muscles in his shoulders pulled tight and his eyes darting left and right.

He left another ridiculously generous tip, along with a handwritten note. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day x.

Bucky came back the following week, and even though it was a quiet morning, you made sure to find him a table in a secluded spot. He didn’t notice when you slipped the 300 dollars into the pocket of his coat. You could be pretty sneaky, too.

“Mmmh,” he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, “I looked at your Instagram.”

“Oh,” you glanced at your shoes, embarrassed. “Wait, you’re on Instagram? I have a hard time imagining you scrolling through your feed.”

He laughed a little. “I’ll admit I’m not as tech savvy as you youngsters, but I’m not a fossil. I use it to look at the pictures my sister post of my niblings.”

“Cute,” you grinned.

“Anyway,” he said, pushing a hand through his hair. “I love your work. It’s very unique; a cross between Impressionism and Post-impressionism. It’s realistic, and yet there’s something different...” his face scrunched up as he tried to look for the right word. “There’s something in your paintings, something that isn’t here in real life but perhaps should be. It’s hard to explain. It’s a feeling, a color, a pattern; it’s indiscernible but it’s there.” He looked up at you, his cheeks red with embarrassment. “I’m not making much sense, am I?”

You blinked, suddenly stunned that someone had such strong opinions about your work. There was nothing but sincerity in his ocean-blue eyes, and for a moment, you were at a loss for words.

“I, um-” you cleared your throat, “Thank you, I didn’t know that. I look up to Monet, obviously. His work is phenomenal, and I also have a soft spot for Van Gogh.” You ran a hand across your face. “Sorry, I’m a little emotional. The people who compliment my art are usually my siblings, and Nat.”

“And now me,” he said with a warm smile. “And soon a lot more people.”

Flustered, you bit your bottom lip. “That would be nice.”

Bucky nodded. He gathered his silverware and set them on his plate, trying to buy time. You watched him hesitate before he turned to you. “I noticed that your last post was from almost a year ago.”

“Yeah,” you said with a casual shrug. “I don’t really paint anymore. I’m too tired when I get home and supplies are expensive.”

“Of course,” he pursed his lips in thought. “Are you free this afternoon? I was wondering if we could meet for coffee.”

You tried not to show your surprise but his words made the sleeping butterflies in your stomach crack an eye open, their interest piqued.

Was he asking you out? He’d come to your workplace every week since your brief ‘date’. He always gave you more-than-generous tips, and he listened to you with a combination of close attention and warmth that made you weak at the knees.

He’d made it clear he wasn’t looking for anyone but maybe he had changed his mind. Agh, down girl! He just wanted a friend.

You looked into his beautiful eyes, seeing a myriad of expressions cross his face before he smiled at you.

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, angel.”

It was an honest lie, just hearing him call you angel felt like a punch to the stomach. The butterflies were dancing around, reborn, and chanting the word ‘date’.

“If you don’t like coffee, we can have tea, or ice cream,” he said, “anything as long as you can sit down with me.”

You snorted. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated, smiling. “This is my number. Pick a place and I’ll meet you there.”

After breakfast, you closed the restaurant and started cleaning the Lounge. You brought everything back to the kitchen, stacked the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on. Then you put away the unopened miniature jams, butter and whatnot, and gathered the remaining patisseries and fresh fruits in a basket that you would later bring to the reception.

You worked mechanically. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting job you’d ever had.

You couldn’t stop thinking about Bucky. It was easy to let your mind wander into the cosy and dangerous territory of this being a real date.

You decided to go to the Australian coffee shop near Natasha’s apartment. It was popular but not as crowded as Starbucks, which suited you fine.

After your shift, you removed your uniform and changed into the spare set of clothes you kept in your locker for emergencies. Emergencies being an impromptu date or a night out with Nat. You dug around in your purse for your lipstick; the nice one, the Carter Red as your mother called it.

You dabbed the lipstick on your lips, staining them. You only wore it on special occasions, and you weren’t sure Bucky deserved your full red pout.

You walked to the café with a little pep in your step and a confident smile on your face. The freezing temperature didn’t matter, you were too giddy to care. It was a date, it had to be, why else would he ask you to meet for coffee?

You smiled when you saw him through the coffee shop window. He was chatting with the waiter as the latter set two mugs on the table.

“Hi again!” You shrugged out of your jacket and took a seat.

“I hope you like hot chocolate. Carl, here, says it’s their best seller,” Bucky said, smiling kindly at the waiter.

“Enjoy, and if you need anything else don’t hesitate to call me.”

You carefully wrapped your cold hands around your mug while you watched Carl walk away. A moment of silence rose between you. Bucky watched you with an unreadable expression, making you fidget in your seat.

“I’m glad you came,” he finally said.

“Me too. I’m a little surprised you asked.”

He looked down at his mug and smiled; it didn’t reach his eyes. “I have something to ask you.” He paused. “The night we met, you said you agreed to see me because being in a... financial relationship felt like the only solution to your problems.”

Your smile faltered but he didn’t seem to notice. Oh. The butterflies in your stomach fell so suddenly that it felt like carrying a ball of lead. They went back into hibernation.

“If I had been a decent person and, I don’t know, bought you a drink, talked to you,” he paused, meeting your eyes. “Would you have been interested in this type of relationship? With me, I mean.”

You swallowed hard. “You want to be my sugar daddy.”

It wasn’t a question but a statement. You were slowly realizing that you had been wrong about his intentions. This wasn’t a date, it was a business afternoon tea.

He winced. “Do we really have to call it that? I was thinking mentorship. I can provide financial help, and in exchange you could be my friend.”

“I can be your friend for free,” you said, your throat tightening.

He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. “This way we’ll both get something out of it.”

You looked down at your hands, still wrapped around the mug, and pursed your lips in thought. You felt a sharp tingling sensation in your nose, a sign that you were about to cry. You closed your eyes and clenched your jaw, fighting against the flood that was coming.

You pushed all the emotion down and forced a smile to your face. “Do you mind if I use the restroom? I just took the subway, I’d like to wash my hands.”

Bucky watched you, momentarily stunned by your request. “Of course, take your time,” he quickly recovered.

“Thanks,” you croaked, pushing your chair back.

You picked up your bag and walked to the restroom, your legs feeling like cotton wool. You didn’t need to use the restroom, you had walked to the café, but you needed a moment alone to collect yourself.

A woman came out of the restroom, holding the door open for you. You picked up the pace and thanked her before closing the door behind you. You looked pretty sickly under the artificial light of the restroom. Your eyes were glassy with tears and your red lips were taunting you.

“Got your hopes up, uh?” You watched your lips move. A little humourless chuckle escaped you and you shook your head at your own idiocy.

You aggressively wiped the lipstick off your mouth with the back of your hand and sighed deeply as you looked at your reflection in the mirror. Now you felt like an idiot.

It wasn’t Bucky’s fault. He had been nothing but nice and kind, and perhaps you had mistaken his kindness for flirting. A naïve mistake. You had always been a little clueless when it came to men.

You ran your index fingers under your eyes to get rid of the makeup that had gathered there. It wasn’t the end of the world, you barely knew him anyway. It didn’t hurt any less, though.

Maybe it was time for you to do something out of character, to experience life no matter how crazy it seemed. You were dreading this conversation with Bucky, but you couldn’t hide in the restroom forever. With another sigh, you pushed yourself away from the sink and walked out of the restroom.

Part 4

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagines #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes fanfiction #marvel imagine #bucky barns imagine #redgillan #redgillanwrites

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zi-i-think · 3 years

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Request Prompt List

*Disclaimer* Some of these prompts are from Pinterest, some inspired by social media and tv/movies, and most of them are created by me. I have no problem with other creators using my list.

You can find my prompt list with the hashtag #zi prompt list

How to request:

In my asks

Tell me the universe and character (characters not included in this list are fine, but I do reserve the right to refuse to write for a character for any reason).

AU (optional)

Prompt (max of 3)

Any information about the reader (Gender, Hogwarts House, appearance, etc.) I will write the reader as y/n unless otherwise specified.

If you want any specific plot or event, just let me know. Whatever isn’t specified will be left to me and my creative freedom.

Characters

Harry Potter Series

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

Luna Lovegood

Ginny Weasley

Bill Weasley

Fleur Delacour

Remus Lupin

Serius Black

James Potter

Lily Evens

Regulus Black

Merlin BBC

Sir Leon

Morgana

Arthur

Genevieve

Merlin

Sir Gwaine

Sir Elyan

Marvel

Bucky Barnes/ Winter Soldier

Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel

Thor

Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow

Sam Wilson/ Falcon/ Captain America

Scott Lang/ Ant-Man

Steve Rogers/ Captain America

Valkyrie

Vision

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch

Xu Shang-Chi

Xu Xialing

Ajak

Druig

Makkari

Sersi

Thena

Eros/ Starfox

Lord of the Rings

Legolas

Aragorn

Tauriel

Avatar: TLA + LoK

Zuko

Mai

Ty Lee

Azula

Aang

Sokka

Katara

Toph

Suki

Korra

Asami

Mako

Bolin

Lin Beifong

Kya

Dynasty

Fallon Carrington

Length/type

Headcannon: word length varies

Drabble: 100-500ish words

Short fic: 500-2000

(If you want me to write something longer, please know that they take me more time)

AU’s (optional)

High School

College

Roommates

Vampire

Fantasy

Modern

Futuristic

Certain time periods (ex. 1940’s)

Gen Z Prompts ✵

1. “This is going to sound controversial, but I think that went well.”

2. “You have no idea how to make toast?”

3. “I haven’t showered in four days.”

4. “Tell them how you screwed up.”

5. “Try not to gasp.”

6. “Well, this just scrambles my eggs.”

7. “Look I’m not the brightest tool in the… toolbox.”

8. “Please be quiet, I can’t even hear myself losing the will to live.”

9. “Chile, anyways.”

10. “Why does he have to be so fucking hot!!! And respectful!!!”

11. “That sounds neat, my guy.”

12. “So sad. Alexa play Despacito.”

13. “Well, there goes the fucking plan.” “Wait there was a plan?!”

14. “I want you to park that big mack truck right in this little garage!!!”

15. Teaching them how to do the WAP dance.

16. “Why can’t I throw it back?!”

17. “That wasn’t very g-money of you.”

18. “Yeet!”

19. Playing Among Us.

20. “It the ___ for me.”

21. “You are such a [zodiac sign].”

22. “Sorry, I only simp for Corpse.” “You’ve never even seen his face.” “I’ve seen his hands!”

23. “Will you be my emotional support himbo?”

24. “Might I request thy hand in-” “Marriage?” “No, I was wondering if you want to go to McDonald’s with me.” “Even better.”

25. “I’m here for you bro.” “Really bro?” “Really bro.”

26. *giggles* “Rawr.” *more giggles*

27. “Please pardon my french, but what the diggidy dang was that.”

28. “When will you learn! That your actions have consequences!”

29. “Calling all the Monsters by China Anne Maclaine is a bop and you can’t convince me otherwise.”

30. “Eat the rich!” “[name], I am rich.” “I make no exceptions!”

31. “You’re being very calm right now.” “Oh, that’s just because I haven’t processed what happened. Give me a minute.”

32. “I love you bitch. I ain’t never gonna stop loving you. Bitch.”

33 “I am in love with you and I’m telling you straight up. I want you to be my boyfriend/girlfriend. Do you accept or deny!?... BItch get out the way.”

Fluff ❁

1. “Boyfriend and girlfriend right now?” “No.” “Boyfriend and girlfriend eventually?... You didn’t say no.” “I’ll play the long game.”

2. “I crave physical touch. Please cuddle me.”

3. Kisses on the nose.

4. *sneeze* “That is the cutest sneeze I’ve ever heard.”

5. “How long have you been flirting with me?” “Only since we’ve met.”

6. Playing with their hair.

7. Dancing in the kitchen.

8. “Did you just boop my nose?” “Yes… boop”

9. Y/n going off into a rant and character just stares in admiration.

10. Waking up in the morning.

11. Cuddles after a stressful day.

12. Teaching character or Y/n how to ____.

13. Character or Y/n having a long day and is given a massage.

14. “Sorry I’m late, have you been waiting long?” “Darling for you, I’d wait for centuries.”

15. “Care to give me a back scratch.”

16. “I’ll always be here to annoy the hell out of you.”

17. “I think I love you.”

18. Passing notes in class/in a meeting.

19. “It’s always been you.”

20. “Shush and go back to sleep.”

21. “Your bedhead is really cute.”

22. “I will murder you.” “Of fun?”

23. “You are my new pillow.”

Angst ☁

1. “I said I’d die for you”

2. “I never loved you.”

3. “I trusted you!”

4. Y/n or character sacrificing themself for the cause.

5. “If one of us doesn’t make it-” “Don’t say that.”

6. “I am not weak.” “Yes, you are. And you know what else? You’re stupid too.”

7. “I’ll see you again. One day.”

8. “Is that all we’ll ever be? Friends?”

9. “It’s midnight, where the hell were you?!”

10. “Where did all those bruises come from?”

11. “You could’ve died, you know?”

12. “You want to know the truth? I’m not okay.”

13. “I’m your friend of course I care!”

14. “Let me clean your wounds.”

15. “Can you please come and get me?”

16. “I can’t love you anymore.”

17. “Stop telling me you’re okay!”

18. “Because no matter how much I tried, I can’t stop loving you!”

19. Character or Y/n being reminded of the other, despite them being dead for years now.

Spicy (18+ characters) ♛

1. Hands

2. “You know you’re awfully red for someone who supposedly isn’t attracted to me”

3. Character or y/n training and taking off their shirt.

4. Soft sex

5. Bondage

6. Drunk sex

TBU

#zi’s prompt list #fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #zuko x reader #harry potter x reader #carol danvers x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #steve rogers x reader #marvel x reader #avatar x reader #korra x reader #sir leon x reader #bbc merlin #legolas x reader #fallon carrington x reader #sam wilson x reader #bucky barnes x reader

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buckys-little-hoe · 4 years

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Petrichor | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Summary: You and James Buchanan Barnes are enemies. Both of your mobs deal with weapons and the world just isn’t wide enough for both of you. While dealing with each other, something else is going on in the background. Will your entire business be destroyed or can you save it?

Warnings: mentions of death, death, blood, alcohol, mobs, rivalry, smut, cursing, mentions of drugs (maybe usage in future), human trafficking, angst

A/N: Here it is! The first chapter of my series! I hope you like it!

—

The ballroom floor glitters brilliantly under the glowing light of the chandelier. The dancing figures of men and women dressed in elegant, expensive clothing cloud your vision as you lean against the wall utterly alone. A sad sigh tumbles past your lips. All of your friends seem to have a dancing partner but you don’t. A lot of men fancy you, they had asked you to dance but everytime you declined. Tonight you should focus on your business, not on some strange guy. Suddenly you feel a gentle tap on your shoulder. With furrowed brows you turn to see who had suddenly required your attention and lock eyes with none other than James Buchanan Barnes. The people in your industry call him Lucifer and the name really suits him. Not only because his nightclub is named Hell, or because he has a cute dog named Cerberus. No, the main reason is his face. His whole appearance is tempting. Bucky Barnes could probably talk you into doing something really stupid. Striking cheekbones, a well-groomed three-day stubble, plump lips and piercing blue-grey eyes. Don’t get even started over his abs. He is literally an adonis. That guy is so charming, it takes a lot of self-control. If you would be weak you would probably throw yourself at him.

But even Lucifer himself has to admit that you look like a whole meal tonight. Your tight ball gown compliments your body. The slit in the front shows your leg and your cleavage leaves little to imagine. No wonder they call you Lilith. You look so hot, you could be straight outta hell. “Good evening, Doll. Care to share a little dance with me?”, Bucky asks in a low voice. Annoyed you roll your eyes at him. “I should’ve stayed home.”, you simply reply without even answering his question. You hate him with a lot of passion. How many times did he already steal your clients? Can’t even count them. Both of you deal with weapons but hide in your clubs. Bucky is the boss of his nightclub Hell, you are the boss of Petrichor, which is a Burlesque club. Your gang and his gang rule over New York, just not together. When you first moved to New York, Hell had already existed. It has been passed over for generations. Mobs are a big secret but not here. Everybody knows about it, still nobody dares to speak openly about it. You started to make connections, meeting important people and thus you started your business. Everyone warned you of Hell, Lucifer and his best friend Steve, who is also his partner. You already knew you would be big one day, you even had Nick Fury on your side, an important CIA boss. So you decided to go and ask Bucky if he wanted to make a deal. You didn’t even get to him, someone called Natasha Romanoff stopped you from entering. When you told her about your plans, she just laughed in your face and someone called Sam Wilson carried you far away from the club. It made you furious, still, you never thought it again. Instead you just built your own club. You partnered with Tony Stark, a billionaire and an old friend of your dead father.

Years passed and you’re still competitive. Bucky Barnes just gets your blood to boil. Sometimes you have the big urge just to punch him right in the face, which you did once. It really brought you satisfaction. “You’d rather go home than dance with me, sweetheart?” His dark tone makes you shiver slightly but you play it off, because you are the coolest girl you know. No, that’s a lie. Natasha is the coolest woman you know. “Who wouldn’t, Buckaroo?”, you respond with a little smirk. He chuckles lightly and grabs you by your waist. “If I were you, I would let go off her.”, someone says behind you. You already know who it is by his strong accent, which by the way is really hot. “I’m sure Y/N can speak for herself.”, Bucky answers and glares at the blonde. “I can only repeat what he said, darling.”, you reply and put your hand on his. You give him a warning look. “Well, if you say so, doll.”, he mumbles and takes his hand away, visibly annoyed of your rejection. You don’t exactly know what’s wrong with him. Some days he calls you a brat and would like to kill. On other days he just wants to make you scream of pleasure. On these days you actually scream, just not of pleasure. Bucky makes his way across the room to Steve Rogers, probably to make nasty remarks about you.

“Everything alright, prințesă?”, Pietro checks up on you. You just nod, impressed with his accent as always. The good thing about Pietro Maximoff is that there is a female version of him. That is his twin sister Wanda Maximoff, one of your dancers. And let’s be honest, you’re a bisexual queen. Pietro is one of your barkeepers and also one of your security workers. You just want your girls to be save, even though they could probably handle some drunk guys by themself. Everyone that works in Petrichor is automatically a member of your mob. At the end of the day, the club is just a cover. “Yeah, I’m good, thanks Pietro.” You smile gently and squeeze his hand. He nods understandingly and points to the bar. “Well, I’m going back to my position. If you need anything, just let me know, okay?”, he speaks and you assure him that you’ll be just fine. After you convince him, he makes his way back to his colleagues. Scott Lang and Wade Wilson, two idiots but you still love them. That doesn’t mean they’re good at their jobs, they really needed a job and you couldn’t say no. Especially since Scott is Hope Van Dynes boyfriend. She’s also a dancer of yours, one of your best. She takes care of the inventory because she is really good with numbers. Wade Wilson is your ex lover and unfortunately also your best friend. How does that even work? You saw his schlong and he saw your cookie and the sex was great! Somehow you both don’t care though. Suddenly your Stark Phone beeps. You take it out of your bra and unlock it.

Thank god Peter developed a program so you all could communicate openly about the packages without having to fear that someone could spy on your texts. Peter Parker came to you so he could make money to pay his aunts bills. You couldn’t decline that, so you came up with a new job, that way he doesn’t have to face the dangerous stuff. He basically just has to hack someones phone sometimes and stuff like that. Tony could’ve done that without any problems, but Peter needed the job. You took Peter under your wing and also his girlfriend Michelle. She lives in an apartment with him so she noticed his weird action pretty quickly. To be fair, you made him do dumb things, like hacking phones that Tony prepared. You just didn’t want him to feel useless! After she found it out, you got her a job as a burlesque dancer at your club. Now nobody has to worry about paying bills. The one person who never even worried about bills is Carol Danvers. She is the most carefree person you know, and you definitely have the most fun with her.

You met her on your first night in New York. New York is pretty big and you didn’t know anyone. How could you probably pass your first night in the city that never sleeps? Right, you go drinking. You just happened to choose a karaoke bar. When they asked for your name at the entrance and wrote it down, you didn’t think anything about it. But after a hour passed and you only had two drinks, they called your name on the stage. If you didn’t sing, you had to pay the next round for the whole bar. Shit, you just moved New York, of course you were broke and there were a lot of people present. But you also didn’t have enough alcohol in your blood. Carol offered to sing a duet if that would make you feel better. She was the first nice person that you met in New York. You accepted her offer and both of you sang your lungs out to bohemian rhapsody. It was good night. A couple of days later you met on the street again, this time you offered her a job at your new club, that you were going to build. You trusted her and she was the first member of your mob. Without her you wouldn’t be even here today.

After some time spent together, you already moved in together. You created a little family. Carol introduced you to Wade who also moved in with you - he still does live with you. You phone buzzes again. Now you’re really annoyed. Can’t even enjoy your drink - wait. Where’s your cocktail? Doesn’t matter now.

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not-close-to-straight · 4 years

Text

Summer Nights (Three)

Ohhhh Drama Drama Drama mama-- Steve gets back together, Nat and Bucky break up, and then the dance! If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll definitely notice what I changed, but it’s still fun!

MASTERLIST HERE

************ Peter Quill and Steve Rogers became everyone’s favorite couple immediately.

Not only were they both big and blonde and all sorts of beautiful, but Peter was adorably earnest in absolutely everything and Steve was so nice that even the lunch ladies loved him. Scott Lang put up posters that very same day nominating Peter and Steve as Homecoming Kings and the yearbook photographer came by at least once a week to snap pictures of them eating lunch, holding hands down the hall, or just laughing together because both Peter and Steve had perfect smiles.

Peter loved the attention of course, and always had a mega watt grin turned towards the lens, and while Steve was a little more reserved, he had to admit it was nice to be with someone so uncomplicated, someone who didn’t mind showing him off.

Peter was a little bit goofy but he had a heart of gold and was charming in a cheesy sort of way. He pulled out Steve’s chair and held open doors and even though Steve was in advanced classes and had loads of books, Peter had loads of muscles so he carried all their books in one hand and kept his other arm right around Steve’s waist to walk him to class.

Steve liked wearing Peter’s jacket so everyone knew he was Peter’s fella, he liked the way Peter waved at him during games. He liked how Peter was always so excited to see him in the morning and how the big quarterback never wanted to hang up when they talked at night and most of all, Steve liked that Peter was always the same person whether they were in public or private, with the other jocks or sitting with Steve’s friends at lunch.

Peter was uncomplicated, sweet and honest and sure, maybe a little dumb but Steve sort of loved it. So when Peter stopped him one day and stammered through a frankly adorable, “You sure look pretty today-- I mean handsome today-- I mean wow, those pants on your butt-- I mean--” Steve just laughed and tipped his chin up for a kiss, and laughed again when Peter cheered in excitement before leaning in to give him a very gentle kiss.

It was a good kiss, if not a little clumsy. A good kiss, but there wasn’t a riot of butterflies in his stomach and Steve wasn’t weak kneed like he’d been when Tony used to--

Nope. Not thinking about that.

No. Steve put his arms around Peter’s neck and kissed him again, muffling the quarterbacks surprised noise with his mouth and pressing their bodies together. No he was not going to think about Tony when Peter was good and kind and sweet and everything Steve should be looking for in a boyfriend.

“Wow.” Peter’s eyes were blown wide when they finally parted, his smile stretching towards ridiculous. “What was that for?”

“I just like you is all.” Steve whispered, and Peter gave a quiet “Yay!” and squeezed at Steve’s hand.

Steve smiled over Peter’s goofiness, just like he smiled over all the good natured teasing from Thor and Carol, and the overly nosy but most likely well meaning questions from Pepper. Natasha only ever rolled her eyes over anything remotely relationship related, but Steve ignored her and ignored the lack of butterflies, determined not to let how much he still missed Tony ruin what was definitely a good thing with Peter.

Besides, Natasha didn’t do a whole lot of eye rolling these days anyway. She was far too busy hanging off Bucky’s arm and that was definitely not something anyone was allowed to tease her for.

Today Natasha lounged in the front seat of Bucky’s junker with her feet up on the dashboard as she watched her boyfriend-- nope, not saying that-- as she watched Bucky go back and forth between his tool box and the hood of the car. She fought a smile hearing the gorgeous brunette curse as he banged his head at least twice, and when Bucky yelped in pain over pinching his finger, Natasha finally sighed and wriggled her way out of the seat to see what was the matter.

“Everything alright?” Natasha planted both hands on the car and leaned over the hood as if she had any idea what she was looking at. “My god, this looks terrible under here, I’m practically embarrassed to be seen next to it.”

“If you weren’t so fuckin’ hot, I’d be mad about that.” Bucky huffed, sticking his finger in his mouth to clean the blood from it. “Ain’t right for a girl to insult a guy’s car.”

“This is barely a car, Buck.” Natasha countered and when Bucky growled in frustration, she wiped a smudge of grease from his cheek and smiled. “But I like the way those jeans sit on your ass.”

“Well I guess that counts for something.” Bucky pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed down at the various pieces of engine. “Tony’s sposed to be helpin’ me with this shit, you know. This was gonna be our project, but I dunno where he even is most days and I’m never gonna get this done without help. You any good with a wrench, Tash?”

“What, like a real wrench?” Tasha glanced at one of the greasy tools and shook her head, going up on her toes to kiss Bucky instead, pushing her curves into his hard frame until Bucky cursed for an entirely different reason and spanned her waist with his big hands, yanking her close. “No. Not good at all. No idea what to do with one of them.”

“Well, are you any good with uh--” Bucky dragged one of her hands down to the front of his pants and when Natasha palmed over him, he moaned, low and messy. “Ah fuck, babydoll, you’re good with that, huh?”

“Well it’s not a wrench.” Natasha laughed under her breath when Bucky slammed the hood of the car and then lifted her right up onto it, pushing between her knees to crush their mouths together. “But I suppose I know my way around this sort of tool pretty damn well.”

Their version of flirting was far far from Steve and Peter’s nearly chaste teasing, but it made them so obviously happy that not even Clint and Sam had anything snarky to say about the unorthodox couple. Thor fully approved, Pepper and Carol were just relieved Natasha wasn’t quite as bitchy any more, and Valkyrie was too busy gaping over Natasha to give Bucky hell about being whipped.

Steve and Peter were happy, Bucky and Natasha were their own brand of happy, and the only person who would admit to being totally miserable was Tony.

Tony who walked through school every day and saw posters promoting Steve and Peter as Homecoming Kings and Couple of the Year.

Tony who had walked up to Bucky’s place wanting to distract himself with a couple hours of work on the car and had been treated to the misfortune of hearing Bucky and Tasha together in the back seat.

Carol and Pepper only gossiped when they saw him, and Thor had nothing but frosty glares for the way Tony had treated Steve at the bonfire. Sam whistled and hollered for Tony anytime he saw him, but Clint and Valkyrie were too busy clowning on each other and causing general mayhem to pay any attention to Tony’s moping.

And he was certainly moping. Tony been heartbroken when he’d called Steve and been told he had a wrong number. He’d been embarrassed to have Steve show up at school of all places acting as if nothing was wrong and then that embarrassment and heartbreak had turned to anger when Steve apparently moved right on to Peter.

But then the anger faded into a sort of determination that Tony didn’t completely understand, but knew he had to act on.

“He doesn’t miss me at all.” Tony muttered, pacing back and forth outside the gym. “Acts like I broke his heart? He broke my heart and then ran off to date that moron--” he kicked at a rock and then cursed when it about busted his toe. “I mean sure, I said some stupid things, maybe some mean things but I--I--”

Tony ran his hands through his hair and groaned out loud. “I didn’t know what to do! I was all messed up and shocked and he was just so pretty right there and I acted like a dumbass and--”

“Tony.” Gym teacher, athletic director and half past ancient Coach Stan Lee took the cigarette from Tony’s mouth and put it out with a sigh. “I came out here to smoke in peace, not to share my cigarettes with some punk and listen to him complain. What’r’ya doing out here?”

“I uh--” Tony shoved his hands into his jacket and sighed. “Coach I uh-- I want to join a team. Want to you know-- want to be a jock?”

“A jock.” Coach Lee was one of the most patient teachers in the school, had been coaching teenagers almost forty years now, had seen and heard all the bullshit kids came along with, but Tony Stark wanting to be a jock about shocked him speechless. “What?”

“I need to change.” Tony kept looking at the ground, kicking at the dirt. “And this should be a good start, right? Being a jock? Seems bout as different from me as I can get.”

“Son, what sort of problem are you trying to solve by becoming an athlete?”

“....a stupid one.” Tony muttered. “One I shouldn’t care about but I can’t seem to shake it.”

“Ah.” Coach Lee raised his eyebrows. “So it’s love, then.”

“Summer fling, don't mean a--” Tony pursed his lips and sighed again. “Yeah. It’s love.”

“Alright.” Stan clapped his hands together. “I can get on board with that. First things first though, you gotta change.”

“Well that’s why I’m here.” Tony deadpanned. “To change. Apparently this rebellious punk look isn’t working for me so I’m going to get a jacket, get a letter, change.”

“Yeah, no I mean you have to change.” The Coach motioned to Tony’s leather jacket, to the skinny jeans and high top converse. “I send you running in that get up and you’ll die of heat exhaustion or chafing and honestly son, I don’t know which of those is worse.”

“Oh man, I have to run?” Tony whined and the Coach only chuckled and waved him inside the gym. “Go on, go get in uniform and meet me by the mats.”

“Oh man, I gotta wear a uniform?” Tony started to complain, but then he caught sight of one of those Homecoming King posters with Steve and Peter’s names scrawled all over it, and his eyes narrowed. “Alright. If Steve needs a jock, I’ll be a jock. A uniform it is.”

********

The uniform was terrible, but Tony wore it anyway, and when Coach put him up against M’Baku as a wrestling partner Tony swallowed the instinct to scream, and worked at learning the positions and moves.

“Alright, wrestling isn’t your thing.” Coach Lee acknowledged when Tony barely made it out of a pin alive. “What about baseball?”

“What, like hitting people when they try to steal your base?”

“Nope, there is no hitting people in baseball. We’re gonna slide right past that suggestion and into track.” Coach raised his eyebrows. “How about track? No contact, limited interaction, you can just get out there and run all your angst out.”

“Run all my angst out.” Tony blew his hair off his forehead and put his hands on his hips. “That sounds okay. But isn’t the track right by the football practice field?”

“Sure is.” Coach said mildly. “Is that alright?”

Tony thought about how Steve sat and watched Peter at practice every single day and made an instant decision. “Yep. Yep, that’s alright. Track it is.

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

“Look Sam, I don’t want to hang out with you anymore than you want to hang out with me.” Pepper tucked her hands into the pockets of her fur coat and shivered. “But since Tasha and Bucky are still hooking up, we have to deal with it.”

“Well I mean--” Sam stopped halfway to a sip of his hot chocolate. “Damn, Pep. I wanted to hang out with you. You don’t want to hang out with me?”

“Oh.” Pepper’s eyes widened as if she’d never even considered the possibility. “No?”

“Pep, you are ice cold.” Valkyrie chuckled. “Why are you so cranky?”

“Don’t mind her, she’s just put out cos all Tasha does these days is put on lipstick, hang out with Bucky and then reapply lipstick.” Carol hip checked Clint out of the way so she could get the next hot chocolate from the coffee stand. “Pep you can’t be too grown for high school boys and then be mad if your friends still want to, that’s not fair.”

“Whatever.” Pepper turned her nose up and sniffed. “Did you uys hear the Winter Formal is being hosted by Justin Hammer? There’s a boy I’d let boss me around. He’s on TV, drives a fancy car and he hosts one of the biggest talent shows in the country. I don’t know how he got convinced to come host a dance at Andover High, but I plan on taking full advantage of it.”

“What, you in to older men Pepper? Justin Hammer is like thirty.” Clint pulled a face. “That’s so old, I bet nothing on him even works right anymore.”

“I’m willing to overlook a lot of mistakes so long as there’s a lot of zeros in his bank account.” Pepper said blandly. “And it’s not like the choices around Andover are that great. Who am I supposed to go to the dance with? Oh and speaking of choices, Thor, how is beauty school going?”

Thor ran his hands over his newly bright pink hair and shrugged. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Thor's scary style choices aside, I’m going to the dance with Clint.” Carol hooked an arm around Clint’s neck and rumpled up his hair. “Guaranteed to be a grope free evening because I beat him in arm wrestling and that was a turn on for exactly no one.”

“And I’m going with Thor.” Valkyrie said matter of factly. “Again, guaranteed to be a grope free evening. No one with hot pink hair would risk a knuckle sandwich by tryna feel me up.”

“I’d risk it.” Clint said immediately. “I’d definitely risk it.” and Sam agreed, “Should I dye my hair pink now or later?”

“Change of plans.” Valkyrie said immediately. “I’ll be going with Carol while Clint and Sam dye their hair pink and play hide the pickle.”

Loud shouts of “Hey!” and “Oh!” and “What in the--” were quickly followed by appraising glances and vaguely agreeable shrugs, and Sam decided, “So what Pep, so you’re gonna go with Thor? Or with Tony, cos them’s the only two left.”

“An evening with me would be grope free.” Thor promised, holding up both hands. “Not because my hair is pink, but because I respect you enough not to try and get under your skirts.” Pepper raised her eyebrows and Thor amended, “Unless you gave me the go-ahead, of course.”

“Where the hell is Tony, anyway?” Valkyrie wanted to know. “Normally he’s at the ice cream shop or messin’ around working on Bucky’s car but I haven’t seen him in days.”

“We haven’t seen him in…” Carol thought about it for a minute. “Thor, when was the last time you saw Tony?”

“Haven’t really seen him since the bonfire.” Thor snagged Pepper’s compact from her purse and opened it, fussing at his hair. “He’s probably avoiding us since we spend time with Steve, but why isn’t he hanging out with you guys?”

“Cos all we do is give him hell about Steve.” Clint answered promptly. “I feel like I’d avoid us too, we’re sorta the worst.”

“Oh the worst.” Sam agreed, “Undoubtedly.”

“Well, the dance should be interesting then.” Pepper said mildly. “If we’re all paired up and Steve is going with Peter, do you think Tony will go stag?”

“He’ll come with someone, you’ll see.” Sam shook his head. “Tony Stark always has a date to the dance, he’d rather not show up than show up alone.”

On the track field on the other side of the school, the same thought was swirling around Tony’s head as he did lap after lap around the field. Almost two months he’d been on the track team now and even though the uniform was stupid and the practice was terrible, Tony suited up every day and went running and just like Coach Lee had promised, he had all but an out his angst over Steve was feeling better ever day.”

Not that he didn’t still miss Steve, damn it did Tony miss Steve. He hated every time he saw Steve and Peter holding hands in the hall and it was embarrassing, but every time Tony saw them kiss he always ducked down another hallway and every time he saw one of those stupid posters promoting them as Couple of the Year, he drew devil horns and stink lines over Peter’s name.

So alright, maybe Tony hadn’t ran all the angst out. Maybe he still dreamt about their summer and woke up reaching for Steve, maybe he’d let himself imagine taking Steve to the dance and wow-ing the pretty blond with all his dance moves and stealing a kiss under the stars. Maybe he’d written out a couple dozen apology letters and then thrown them all away, maybe Tony still wasn’t over Steve and maybe none of the running in the world would change--

Tony’s steady pace slowed and faltered when the football team started trickling onto the field. Usually he was done and gone by the time Peter and his goons showed up for practice. He must have ran too long today because usually he wasn’t here when

Oh damn.

Oh no no no.

“Are you going to break your record today?” Steve was stopped at the bottom bleacher, wiping a smudge from Peter’s helmet before handing it back. “How many yards have you thrown this season for practice?”

Tony missed whatever Peter answered, his attention held fast by the way Steve’s eyes lit up in excitement, the way he smiled like it was the most impressed he’d ever been. Damn he missed that look and damn he missed that smile. Missed the way Steve’s eyes shone with admiration and the way his hands had always been so eager to hold Tony’s and the way he--

Tony shook himself from the thoughts when he realized he’d stopped running altogether and had come to a stop right in front of Peter and Steve.

“...Tony?” Steve was leaning back into Peter’s arms, tipping his cheek back for a kiss, but he paused when he saw Tony. “What um-- what are you doing out here?”

Tony took off running again. He didn’t know what to say and he didn’t know what he wanted to say, so he just took off running, picking up speed until he was practically sprinting down the track towards the hurdles as if he could outrun just how much it sucked to see Peter kissing Steve.

“Huh.” Steve watched Tony run for a minute, and Peter asked, “What’s up, babe?”

“Oh nothing.” Steve tried to sound casual but knew he didn’t quite manage it when Peter frowned a little. “No, it’s nothing. I just didn’t know Tony joined the track team. Or ran long distance. Or did hurdles. Or exercised… like at all. He was never one to-- OH NO!”

Steve cried out when Tony took on a too high hurdle and face planted on the track, splatting hard before rolling a few feet and finally skidding to a stop, groaning loud enough to be heard clear in the bleachers.

“Oh no, I have to help him, I got to help him, give me a second--” Steve jumped the barrier of the bleachers and landed on the field, running towards Tony to check on him. “Tony? Tony are you okay?”

“M’fine.” Tony popped to his feet and dusted the gravel from his sweats, sniffing as he checked his nose for blood. “Go away. M’fine.” Hurt leeched into his words, hurt and embarrassment and Tony hated that just being close to Steve like this made his hands shaky. “Back off, Steve. Go back to your himbo.”

“Um--” Steve spread his hands helplessly. “My what? Go back to my what?”

“I said what I said.” Tony swallowed hard and paced a few steps down the track. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to check on you.” Steve was even worse than Tony at hiding his feelings, and the look in his eyes was damn near heartbreaking. “I just-- are you sure you’re alright?”

Tony didn’t mean to snarl, but it came out anyway, “What do you care?”

“Well I-- I--” Steve folded his arms and chewed at his bottom lip anxiously. “Tony, I--”

Hope, flaring barely there and flickering as Tony asked, “You what, Steve?”

“I miss you, you know.” Steve said in a near whisper and Tony really thought his knees would give out.

“You... you miss me?”

“I miss the version of you I knew.” Steve amended in that same soft tone. “I miss you a lot. Like every day.”

“...I miss you too.” There, the most honest thing Tony said since the night at the bonfire. “Holy shit Steve, I miss you so much.”

“Yeah?” The beautiful blond’s eyes widened. “You do? Cos I miss you like crazy. I know I’m with Peter right now but Tony, I would--”

“Go to the dance with me!” Tony blurted and Steve’s mouth fell open. “Please? Please go to the dance with me. I know you’re with Peter and I’m sure he’s a way better boyfriend than I ever was and I’m sorry for everything but damn it sweetheart, it's killing me to be away from you.”

Tony wet his lips nervously and slowed down, forcing himself to breathe. “Can we try again? Will you give me another chance?”

“Oh.” Steve jolted forward like he was going in for a kiss, but stopped himself at the last minute, a nervous smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Tony, I’d never want to go to that dance with anyone else. I mean, you need to let me break it off with Peter before I can say yes officially, cos that’s the right thing to do.”

The smile got a little brighter as Steve reached for Tony’s hand. “But you’re the only one I’d want to go to the Winter Formal with. I don’t care if the entire school thinks me and Peter are a perfect couple. I only ever want you.”

“Okay.” Tony’s throat closed up over what was definitely not tears, he was definitely not going to cry, he was not going to cry-- “Okay um-- that’s um--” he cleared his throat. “That’s great. Cool beans. Really. Nice. That’s-- that’s nice.”

“Tony.” Steve whispered. “Just tell me what you’re really feeling. Please? You don’t have to be cool or whatever, just be you.”

“I’m feeling like I’m going to do anything I can to make this up to you.” Tony pressed at Steve’s palm, linked their fingers and pulled Steve closer. “I was a real jerk to you and I’m sorry and one day I promise we can talk about all of it but for right now could we um-- could we--”

“I have to break up with Peter before you can kiss me.” Steve’s cheeks stained red and Tony bit back a curse as he leaned away again. Steve was right of course, break ups had to happen first but Tony was all of three seconds from combusting.

“Right.” he nodded quickly but held fast at Steve’s hand when he went to go back to Peter. “I should let go of your hand so you can go break up, huh?”

“Right.” Steve repeated. “Soooo let go?”

“I swear I’m trying, sweetheart.” Tony laughed sheepishly. “Dunno why my fingers aren’t listening.”

“Oh.” Steve blushed again and it was about the prettiest thing Tony had ever seen. “I do like when you call me sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart.” Tony stepped right back into Steve’s space and pressed their foreheads together, bumping noses teasingly. “Go break up with Goofy Gooberson over there so I can kiss you, alright?”

“Alright.” Steve said shyly. “I can’t wait.”

“Oh my god.” Tony breathed out shakily. “Yeah, I can’t wait either.”

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

“I don’t want to go in there.” Natasha balked at the door to the ice cream shop and Bucky sent her a strange look. “Don’t look at me like that, Barnes. Take me to the movies or something instead.”

“I don’t want to go to the movies.” Bucky argued. “I wanna get some ice cream and see my friends. All we ever do is hang out alone, let’s hang out with the gang tonight.”

“It’s freezing outside, you don’t need ice cream.” Natasha crossed her arms stubbornly. “And we hang out by ourselves because the gang throws things at us if we do what we do in private, in public. Besides, I don’t want to--”

“Is that Steve and Tony?” Bucky pushed open the door of the shop to get a better look and then whooped out loud. “It is! Tony! You get your boy back?”

All the way across the diner, Tony looked up with a grin and a wave while Steve ducked his head and blushed, and Natasha hissed, “Look they’re on a date, they don’t want to be disturbed! Let’s just go!”

“Well we’re on a date too, right? Let’s just make it double.” Bucky grabbed Natasha’s hand and silenced her next protest with a quick kiss. “Come on baby doll, don’t be so difficult, I haven’t seen Tony in ages, come on.”

Natasha grumbled under her breath but let Bucky tow her across the diner and up to where Steve and Tony were sitting, sharing a milkshake and fries. “Hey kids.” she said with a falsely bright smile. “How’s tricks?”

“Tony.” Bucky clapped a hand down on Tony’s shoulder. “Bud, where the hell have ya been? What have you been doing?”

“So many important things.” Tony dipped a fry in the milkshake and fed it to Steve, his smile just this edge of absolutely stupid when Steve ate it right from his fingers. “This has been the best two days of my life. How’s it goin’ with you, Buck? Tasha?”

“Well we were going to--” Natasha was rudely interrupted when first Sam and then Clint barreled past her to drag some chairs up to the table, and then Thor simply walked through the crowd holding two chairs up above everyone else so Pepper would have some place to sit as she hurried along behind him. Carol climbed between the bars of the little balcony and shoved Valkyrie out of the way to get the last chair, and Valkyrie just huffed and flopped right onto Carol’s lap as revenge.

“--go to a movie.” Natasha finished. “But sure, hanging out with the entire gang is just as fun as a quiet movie, hm?”

“Sure it is.” Bucky ignored Natasha’s obvious irritation and spread a few menus around the table. “So what are we eating? Who’s got money?”

“Don’t look at me.” Pepper scolded when four different heads swiveled her way. “My parents are rich, not me! I don’t know where all my money goes! I bought hot chocolate the other day and paid for pizza last night-- someone else needs to pay!”

“You got money, baby doll?” Bucky asked and Natasha’s jaw dropped as she cried, “I’m not buying for the whole table!”

“Oh my god, chill out, I gave you money earlier to get lunch, don’t you have the rest of it?” Bucky scoffed and turned back to Tony. “So hey, we should start working on the car? I’m thinking she needs a name, like Lightning or Sonic or--”

Natasha tuned out the rest of the conversation as Tony and Bucky jumped into car babble and the rest of the group threw around stupid names for the vehicle. Steve looked entranced by the entire conversation, or at least entranced by Tony and for some reason that irritated the hell out of Natasha.

She dug her compact from her purse and scowled when she saw all the hickeys at her neck, dabbing at them furiously with her cover up until Bucky finally noticed what she was doing and reached out a hand to stop her. “Baby baby baby, what are you doing? You’re spreading powder all over the table, what’s wrong.”

“I’ve got so many hickeys, I’m starting to look like a leper.” Natasha complained and Bucky did one of those lazy shrugs and drawled, “Well damn sugar, you ride the Bronco and you’re gonna get bruised. Just the nature of the game.”

“The nature of the--” Natasha snapped her compact closed and curled her lip. “That is disgusting, you sound like an animal.”

“Oooh, talk dirty to me.” Bucky teased, but his pale eyes flashed in annoyance. “What’s with you tonight? I thought we were supposed to be having a good time and you’re just being a bitch. Is it PMS, you on the rag? Come off it, Tasha. That Ice Queen act gets real cold, real fast.”

“Ice Queen.” For reasons she wasn’t really ready to explore, the words cut Natasha right to her soul, bringing tears to her eyes. “Aright then, here’s something icy for you, you son of a bitch.”

She reached out and snatched Thor’s soda before he managed to get a drink and threw it right in Bucky’s face, then ripped Bucky’s jacket from around her shoulders and threw it at him too. “How’s that, Bronco?”

“Tasha!” Bucky howled when the ice hit his face and slid down his neck, the soda soaking his shirt and most likely staining into his jacket. “What the fuck--” Tasha turned on her heel and strode away, flipping him off over her shoulder and Bucky stared after her in shock. “What the fuck? Get back here! Where are you going!”

“Damn, Buck.” Tony opened his mouth when Steve swirled a fry through their milkshake, then licked Steve’s finger teasingly to get the last bit of ice cream away and smiled when Steve immediately turned bright red. “What the hell was that? What’s going on with you and Tasha?”

“Fuck if I know.” Bucky scowled and wiped at his shirt. “Gotta get to the bathroom and clean this shit off. “Oh and by the way. Carol? What in the fuck is going on with your hair?”

“What?” Carol ran her hand over her nearly shaven head, a tuft of blond hair still flopping long into her eyes. “I sorta like it. Thor says it looks great. Very in fashion right now.”

“Maybe on like... certain types of dogs...” Clint said slowly, and Sam patted Thor sympathetically, “Beauty school is just kicking your butt isn’t it?”

The still pink haired giant scowled, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“If it’s any consolation Thor, I think you look nice with pink hair.” Steve spoke up. “I think it suits you, makes your eyes look extra blue.”

Thor preened a little and Steve looked up in surprise when Tony kicked at his foot. “What?”

“Nothing, I just forgot how sweet you are.” Tony had a curious look in his eyes that Steve couldn’t quite read. “It's um-- it’s nice. Most of my friends are jerks, but you are just genuinely sweet.”

“You’re sweet too.” Steve leaned over the table and left a soft kiss on Tony’s cheek before going back to talking about pink hair and unfortunate styling, and Tony rubbed at his cheek a few times, frowning a little.

He really had forgotten how sweet Steve was. Sweet and a little naive and the sort of person that Tony wouldn’t ever look twice at on a normal day and yet somehow Steve was everything he wanted and it made no sense at all.

How was Steve going to fit into his life? What happened if Steve found out about the rest of Tony’s reputation, how he’d hooked up with all those people and flunked a few classes and how he skipped more often than not and smoked where he wasn’t supposed to. Would Steve run away?

Or would Tony have to leave everything about himself behind to fit into Steve’s world? No more leather jackets? No more smoking? Would he have to be an athlete forever and get good grades and have tea with parents on Sunday and--

“Honey?” Steve tapped at Tony’s hand. “Are you okay? You look like you’re panicking all the sudden.”

“I’m-- I’m fine.” Tony gulped and sternly reminded himself Steve is worth changing for. “I’m fine babe. Let’s talk about what we’re wearing to the dance.”

Steve lit up in excitement, and that was enough to make Tony put those other more distressing thoughts to rest as the conversation took a turn towards dresses and coordinating suits.

Outside the diner, Natasha finished her cigarette and tossed it aside, folding her arms against the night chill as she set off walking alone. She hadn’t expected Bucky to come after her, hell she probably would have laughed in his face if he had but all the same….

...all the same it would have been nice to think he cared she was upset.

Natasha didn’t even know what she upset about. It could have been her period, it might have been failing that test yesterday. Hell, it could be that Bucky had pulled her close and told she was beautiful and that he was damn lucky to know her. That sounded an awful lot like feelings and Natasha didn’t want to say she’d panicked but yeah, she’d panicked and now---

A car horn startled her, and Natasha took a step back from the road as a sleek black convertible slowed to a stop beside her, the window rolling down and a voice calling, “Natasha Romanov. I thought Tony Stark and that moron Bronco were trading you back and forth, how come you’re out walking alone on a Friday night?”

“Bruce Wayne.” Natasha said coolly, leaning down to look into the passenger side window. “What are you doing on our side of the bay? The rich girls at the Academy had enough of your bullshit so you gotta slum it in Andover?”

“Sure doesn’t feel like slumming when you’re the sorta beauty I get to find.” Bruce was all dark hair and darker eyes, expensive cologne and trust fund clothing, a smirk on his face that spoke of sheer arrogance and enough money in his wallet to get whatever he wanted. Usually he only came around to stir up trouble but tonight he looked more interested in company. “You up for a ride, babe?”

Natasha wasn’t up for a ride, but her options for the night were either hanging out with Bruce Wayne or sitting at home hating herself for crying over Bucky and honestly, Bruce was the lesser of those two evils.

So when Bruce opened the door of that fancy car and motioned for her, Natasha glanced back at the diner one more time and then slid right inside, leaning over and planting a kiss on Bruce’s cheek.

“See there, that’s better than wandering around in the cold, don’t you think?” Bruce’s hand was warm and heavy on her leg. “What say we go get lost for a while, you want to see a movie or something?”

“I’d love to see a movie.” Natasha settled back into the leather seats and closed her eyes. “I’d also like a new dress for the Winter Formal.”

“Gonna be like that, huh?” Bruce chuckled and rubbed at her thigh. “That’s alright. I’ll buy you a real pretty dress, baby doll. Let’s go.”

**********

It took less than twenty four hours for word to spread that Natasha and Bucky had broken up, and by the end of the next day, everyone knew that Natasha was bringing Bruce Wayne to the Winter Formal.

Bucky was so mad he was practically snarling, pacing in the garage and kicking at the cars fender until Tony finally peeled himself away from Steve and pushed Bucky away from the car. “Damn Buck. The car didn’t do nothing to you, calm the hell down.”

“Calm the hell down?” Bucky growled. “My girl is out there messin’ around with Bruce fuckin’ Wayne? That posh brat will use her and leave her when he goes back to the rich dames at the Academy and then what? Then I’m sposed to get back together with that asshole’s sloppy seconds--”

Steve gasped quietly over the vulgarity and Bucky held up a hand apologetically. “Sorry Steve, s’just-- it ain’t right!”

“You love Tasha, Bucky?” Tony asked, and then ducked when a bucket went flying towards the garage wall, Bucky bellowing, “THE HELL I DO! I don’t love that girl! I’ll show her! She’s gonna step out on me with Bruce fuckin’ Wayne, fuckin’ rich kid I can’t fuckin’ stand him---”

Bucky stormed into the house still swearing up a storm and Tony leaned up and kissed Steve’s horrified expression away. “Don't worry about him, sweetheart. He’s just cranky but he’ll be over it by the dance.”

“You think so?” Steve shivered when Tony came back for another kiss and jumped a little when Tony’s hands crept down over his rear. “Tony! What are you doing!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna grope you here in Bucky’s garage.” Tony winked. “And yeah, Bucky will be fine, you’ll see. This dance is gonna be real fun and super romantic and um--” the third kiss was even longer than the second, Tony slipping his tongue over the seam of Steve’s lips and letting his fingers dig into the big blond’s waist. “--maybe we can... you know...?”

“Oh.” Steve sucked in a quick breath, his heart pounding as Tony slid kisses down his throat and to his shoulder. “T-Tony. Wow.”

“Mmm.” Tony sighed into Steve’s skin and smiled when Steve broke out into goosebumps. “S’gonna be a good time together, I promise. We’re gonna--”

“DON’T DO THAT IN HERE!” Bucky sounded positively scandalized as he winged a greasy rag at the pair and Tony burst into laughter. “You are not gonna get down in my garage! Get out! What the hell!”

“Come on, babe.” Tony grabbed Steve’s hand and ran away still laughing. “He’ll be fine by the dance, I promise.”

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

Bucky was not in fact fine by the dance, and when he swaggered through the doors of Andover High with his shirt unbuttoned to his navel and his arm around one Loki “Cha Cha” Laufeyson, everyone in the gym stopped and stared.

And Natasha who was snuggled into Bruce’s side wearing a rather low cut dress of her own didn’t know if she wanted to scream over the sight or burst into tears, so instead she just glared daggers at Loki as they leaned in and whispered something into Bucky’s ear.

“Oh, who’s that with Bucky?” Steve pinned a pink rose to his shirt, smiling when he saw how perfectly it matched Tony’s tie. “They’re pretty, look at their hair. And oh wow, that dress.”

“Eh, Bucky’s probably just trying to make Natasha jealous by bringing someone fancy.” Tony leaned down and wiped a spot from his shoes, then straightened up and dotted a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “I’m sure they aren’t half as pretty as you, though.”

“You didn’t even look at them.” Steve pointed out, straightening the lapels of Tony’s jacket. “So how do you know?”

“Cos you’re the most gorgeous person in any room, ever.” Tony said confidently. “We’re gonna tear it up tonight, sweetheart. Then I’m gonna take you for a drive and kiss you beneath the stars, alright?”

“Tony.” Bucky came over then, cutting his eyes over at Natasha and letting his hand drop lower than was strictly necessary over his date’s lean frame. “What’s up, bud? You remember Loki, right?”

“Oh.” Tony’s eyes bugged out, any bit of color leaving his face as he dropped Steve’s hand. “That is um-- yep, I uh-- Lo--Loki. Uh. Hey.

Loki narrowed brilliantly green eyes in Steve’s direction and then parted glittered lips to practically purr, “Anthony. How nice to see you again. And wearing so many clothes this time! I hardly recognized you.”

Tony made a horrified sort of noise and Loki’s mouth tipped up into a near vicious smile as they looked Steve over. “You must be Steven, Bucky’s told me so much about you. My name is Loki, but they call me Cha Cha.”

“Why--” Steve wet his lips anxiously, watching out of the corner of his eye as Tony seemed to grow more and more agitated. “Why do they call you Cha Cha.”

“Cos I’m the best dancer this side of the bay.” Loki twitched the skirt of their dress out until it flared high around their shapely legs, baring a shocking amount of skin and a hint of lace far enough up their thigh to make Bucky whistle. “Or hasn’t Anthony told you?”

“Anthony?” Steve repeated. “You call him--Tony, they call you Anthony?”

“It’s um-- it’s an old nickname.” Tony muttered and grabbed at Steve’s hand to lead him away. “C’mon babe, let’s get out of here. We can dance on this side of the gym, way the hell away from Loki and Buck, come on.”

“Wait wait wait, Bucky brought Cha Cha?” Carol and Valkyrie joined them before Tony could make an escape, both girls with arms full of snacks and effectively blocking their route. “That seems bold, right? Are you okay Tony?”

“Why-why-why--” Tony loosened the collar on his shirt and swore. “Fuck it’s hot in here. Um, why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Um.” Valkyrie made a gesture towards Loki. “Because they showed up wearing the same dress they wore when you and the Bronco--”

“Enough.” Thor clapped a huge hand over Valkyrie’s mouth, effectively shutting her up. “Don’t worry Steven. Loki might be the best dancer on this side of the bay, but they have the worst reputation and it is well earned, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I know what you mean.” Steve shot an uncomfortable look at Tony. “Tony, what does that mean?”

“We should get some punch.” Tony said quickly. “Who’s thirsty?”

“We talking about Cha Cha?” Clint came up holding a thermos that was certainly not full of punch. “Tony, isn’t that the same dress they were wearing when you and Bronco--glmph!”

“Enough, Clint.” Thor covered Clint’s mouth with his other hand and sent a pained smile towards Sam as he wandered over with Pepper. “Let’s not talk about Cha Cha, hm?”

“Who wants to talk about Cha Cha?” Pepper snorted, craning her neck every which way to try and catch a glimpse of televisions favorite host, Justin Hammer. “Even if they are wearing that stupid, slutty dress. Poor Tasha, I bet Bruce spent a bunch of money on her dress and then Bucky brings Loki along looking like they did the night Bucky and Tony--”

“I don’t have enough hands to shut you up too!” Thor cried and when Pepper wrinkled her pretty nose in confusion, Thor tilted his head towards Steve. “Shut up, Pepper!”

“Oh. Oh Steve.” Pepper audibly gulped when she saw how upset Steve was and how increasingly nervous Tony looked. “Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Cha Cha is-- I mean Loki is-- well they are--oh! Oh my god, there’s Justin!”

Just that fast Pepper was gone in a whirl of perfume, balancing on her high heels and holding up the length of her gown as she hurried to meet the celebrity, and Carol snorted, “All she’s talked about all damn day was how grown up she wants to look so Justin will want to put her on the talent show. She can’t sing worth a damn but maybe the padded bra is enough to get her on TV.”

Everyone except for Tony and Steve laughed. Tony was busy stealing looks at Bucky and Loki over his shoulder, and Steve was just staring at Tony in confusion and maybe even a little bit of fear.

Loki was gorgeous, all long limbs and porcelain skin, knowing smiles and flashing eyes and there was something about their voice that spoke of private moments and long nights and the sort of kisses Steve had no idea how to give.

If they were who Tony usually spent his time with, what the hell did Tony see in Steve? How long would it be before he got tired of being with a goody two shoes and went back?

“Can I talk to you?” Steve finally asked and when Tony didn’t turn around, Steve tugged at his sleeve impatiently. “Tony! Can I talk to you?”

“Yeah sweetheart.” Tony’s head snapped around and he attempted a smile up at Steve. “What is it? What’s on your mind?”

“Come here.” Steve laced their fingers together and pulled Tony towards a quieter part of the gym, ducking behind the row of bleachers that had been pulled out for extra seating. “Tony, did you and Cha Cha-- Tony!”

He raised his voice when he noticed Tony still wasn’t looking at him. “Tony! Stop staring at them for two seconds and listen to me!”

“I’m sorry.” Tony said quickly, forcing his attention off the distracting brunette and on to Steve. “What’s wrong Steve, what’s going on? You aren’t having a good time?”

“How could I be having a good time?” Steve asked blankly. “You’ve spent the last few minutes staring after Loki and they keep smiling at you like they know something I never will. Did you and Loki go out?”

“Oh god, no we didn’t go out.” Tony shook his head adamantly. “No it wasn’t like that, we definitely did not date or anything like that. What um-- what we did? Not dating.”

“Well then what’s going on?” Steve pressed. “And what’s the story with the dress? Why did Thor keep trying to shut everyone up?”

“Hey.” Tony squeezed at Steve’s hand. “Hey it’s-- it’s nothing. It’s nothing, Steve. It was just one time with Loki. Okay, I mean it was a few times with Loki, but we never went out, we just sorta-- we just sort hung out, you know?”

“That’s the same thing.” Steve protested and Tony insisted, “It’s really not. You and I are going together, we’re dating. But what happened with Loki is-- I mean it was--” he stole a quick look around the bleachers to where Bucky was spinning Loki across the floor, the damnable skirt flying up around Loki’s hips. “It was uh--just don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Oh.” Realization and something else awful flickered across Steve’s face, his heart sinking as he suddenly knew. “I see.”

“What?” Tony stepped closer and lowered his voice. “No no, you’re looking at me all crazy, Steve. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“No?” Steve pulled away from Tony and put his hands in his pocket, hunching his shoulders. “I’m thinking that how you acted at the bonfire makes a lot more sense now that I know Loki is the type of person you usually date.”

“Wait.” Tony blinked. “What?”

“Obviously you and Loki did all the things together that you and I don’t.” Steve said helplessly. “You said that I had a ten o clock curfew and you had a whole other life after that and no one else was even surprised. It’s because of this, isn’t it?”

He motioned to the dance floor. “You and Loki together, and I know about you and Natasha.” he nodded when Tony’s eyes widened. “I know about Natasha. Do you and Bucky--” Steve sounded like he could barely get the words out. “You did something together with Loki, did you do that sort of thing with Tasha? Were you planning on sharing me with Bucky too?”

“It’s not like that!” Tony snapped, and Steve snapped right back, “Stop lying, Tony! Obviously there’s this whole other side to you that I have no clue about!”

“It’s not lying just because I haven’t told you everything!” Tony nearly shouted. “Do you really want to know about all the people I’ve slept with? Why does it even matter! It’s just sex! Sex and there was alcohol and things got crazy but none of it mattered the next day!”

“That’s awful.” Steve’s face went very white. “It’s awful if you think se--if you think you can do that with someone and it wouldn’t matter.” and then sounding as if he wanted to cry, “If we would have done it this summer, it wouldn’t have mattered? I’d be someone you avoided at dances and that all your friends laughed about? Everyone knows what happened with you and Loki, would that be me? Would I be the person gossiped about and laughed at because I was stupid enough to-- to do that with you?”

“If you and I would have--” Tony clenched his jaw and prayed for patience. “It would have mattered Steve. It still does. It will be different with you, not just sex. I promise. You mean so much to me. It could never just be sex. Not with you, not between us.”

“I don’t believe you.” Steve whispered, and Tony felt the words like a physical slap. “Because every time I learn more about you, you get further and further away from who I thought you were. I could handle you wearing leather jackets and I didn’t know you smoked but I sort of like the way cloves taste. I can handle that but I can’t handle--”

He motioned towards the dance floor. “You fooled around with Natasha and never called her back, left her alone cos you were hanging out with me. Carol told me all about it. And then with Loki, or Cha Cha or whoever the hell they are, it was you and Bucky? What’s the story with the dress? Do I even want to know?”

“...no.” Tony admitted and Steve’s face crumpled. “But I’m not like that anymore, Steve. That was just stupid stuff, but I promise, I promise being with you made me not want that anymore.”

“...I don’t believe you.” Steve said again, and it hurt just as bad as the first time. “Because it hasn’t been all that long, has it? Nobody changes from doing that sort of thing to being fine with just a few kisses. You can’t go from this person, to being who you were at the beach and then back to this person again all that fast. Somewhere along the line you are lying about who you are.”

“Steve--”

“This was a mistake.” A tear slipped down Steve’s cheek, blotting onto his new shirt. “I don't want to be someone everyone gossips about because I went with Tony Stark. I don’t want to be laughed about over ice cream or avoided at dances or pitied because I thought I knew you and everyone else knew who you really were.”

“Steve.”

“Who are you, Tony? I don’t know this version of you.” Another tear and Steve didn’t wipe it away. “And I don’t really like it.”

“Well what if this is the only version of me?” Tony thought he could be sick watching the heartbreak in Steve’s beautiful eyes. “What if this is just me? Yeah, I went with Loki and yeah me and Tasha had some fun. No, I never called them and sure, it was just sex, it didn’t matter at all, didn’t matter one bit but that doesn’t mean what you and I have doesn’t matter. So what if I wear leather jackets now, it doesn’t change who I am underneath, does it? I’m still me, Steve. I’m still Tony and I still love you. You’re telling me you can’t look past all that to see who we were this summer?”

Steve stayed quiet and Tony nearly pleaded, “I’m not real proud of how I acted before, but it was all before, alright? Underneath all this and all the rumours or whatever-- Steve, I’m still me. The clothes and school and how I acted at the bonfire, I was an asshole and I’m sorry. But that doesn’t matter in the long run, I’m still me. Can’t you see that?”

“I feel like you tricked me into loving you.” Steve swallowed back what might have been a sob and shook his head. “Because I never would have loved this Tony Stark at all.”

Steve turned and fled from the gym and Tony made it two steps into chasing him before slim fingers closed around his arm and Loki pulled him back. “Leaving so soon, Tony?” they asked with a wicked smile. “Why so serious? Come and dance with me.”

“Lo, you look amazing tonight.” Tony sort of hated that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the length of leg showing beneath the split in Loki’s skirt. “But I gotta go after Steve. I have to. He’s all freaked out about--”

“--about who you are?” Loki interrupted smoothly. “If he can’t handle you then maybe you should spend time with people who can.”

“...I’m willing to change, though.” Tony stared at the gym doors. “I could change for him.”

“Maybe he should change for you.” They pointed out, and Tony frowned. “If he wants to keep you, I mean. But it sure doesn’t seem like he wants to keep you, if he can’t handle being in the same room as someone who’s seen you naked.”

Loki winked to ease the sting of the words. They didn’t mean anything awful by it, not really. Loki didn’t go to the school and ignored all sorts of social conventions and had the unnerving habit of speaking their mind constantly, but they were rarely mean and they weren’t trying to be mean right now, so Tony softened a little under their smile.

“So what, you pretended to be a good boy to get into his pants and it didn’t work? It’s time to stop pretending and just dance with me.”

“...I should go after him.” Tony said quietly. “I should--”

I never would have loved this Tony Stark.

“Actually, you know what?” Tony was just hurt enough, just brittle enough to take Loki’s hand. “We should dance. Wanna show these kids how we can burn up a dance floor?”

“Always.” Loki twirled their skirts and Tony snatched them up against their body, moving them in a slow grind to the music pounding over the speakers. “Mmmm, see I like this Tony Stark just fine. No reason to change at all.”

“Yeah.” Tony skated his hands down Loki’s back and tried to smile when the gorgeous brunette only sashayed closer. “No reason to change. This is fine.”

“This is not fine.” Bucky disagreed, watching in distaste as Loki and Tony danced. “M’not just sayin’ it cos Loki came as my date, hell I don’t care if Tony dances with them, fuckin’ free game. But this is not fine. Tony belongs with Steve, not with Cha Cha. And Pepper’s off there trying to get up with Justin Hammer and--”

Screeching laughter suddenly erupted across the gym, and they all turned in time to see Pepper nearly falling over her heels as she stumbled back towards them, her hands over her mouth to try and quiet her laughter.

“Oh my god!” she gasped as she finally made it to the group. “Oh my god you are never going to believe-- I can’t even-- okay seriously, you guys--”

“Pep?” Clint held the pretty redhead steady as she collapsed into giggles again. “What’s up?”

“He’s shorter than me!” Pepper practically screamed. “Justin Hammer is shorter than me! He had to look up at me and then tried to tell me--” she finally kicked off her heels and settled barefoot on the floor. “Oh my god, he looked up at me and said ‘well from down here, your talent sure is obvious’ and I--”

This time when she laughed the entire group joined in. “I can’t-- he said-- oh my god--from down here! What in the hell?”

“Hey you know what we should do?” Valkyrie took the thermos from Clint and sloshed the contents around. “To get back at Hammer for being fucking creepy and weirdly short, we should all moon the camera when it goes around the gym, get our butts broadcast on national television.”

“Oh, I’d have to be very drunk for that.” Pepper decided and Sam whooped, “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

Across the gym, Bruce hugged Natasha a little closer to his side and commented, “Your friends are a little wild.”

“Yep.” Natasha watched them all laughing, and swallowed back a jolt of misery when she saw Bucky grin down at Pepper. “Yeah, they sort of are.”

“If you want--”

“Let’s get out of here.” Natasha interrupted and pushed Bruce towards the door. “Let’s just.. let’s just go. I don’t want to be here.”

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

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER!

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

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @lookuplaughing @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @water-colouredmemories @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @desitonystark @1fuckingshitup69 @agentlokii @here-for-your-bullshit @livewire28 @flowers-and-honey @bluedreamdino @blackreaders-assemble @pidgist @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @lronfrost @aisu-hawk @gabtheflowercat

#ncts fics #stony #steve rogers #tony stark #winterwidow #bucky barnes #natasha romanov #grease au #highschool au

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whatcouldgowrong-ohthat · 4 years

Text

His Shooting Star - Chapter One

Bucky X Reader!

So when you’re stuck on a boat for way too long, stories slip in your head. Pirate stories and night skies and all that business make themselves very much prominent in your head and you’re left with...well, this. :) I hope you guys like it!

Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Summary: Captain Bucky Barnes loves being a pirate. He’s good at what he does. He feels as if he’s found his purpose. And yet...still there’s something missing. Until you. You in your wonder and shine, appearing as if out of nowhere. Will Bucky and his crew be able to help you find your way back home? Or will the captain decide he can’t let his newest treasure go?

The stars seemed to glow brighter tonight. The ocean’s waters reflected their beautiful glow, shimmering in a way that seemed never ending. It was breathtaking, a sight he could never bring himself to get used to. More often than not, he believed the ocean to be a mirror in moments like this. There were no waves, no movement. It was as perfect as glass.

A sight no one truly appreciated it seemed.

Bucky looked up from the water, his gaze landing on the mess of a crew that he had come to love dearly, considering them family. They had finished another raid rather successfully and tonight was cause for celebration.

“Will you be joining us, Captain?”

He turned his head, charming smirk curving his lips when he was greeted by his coxswain, Natasha Romanov. “I think the crew does better when they don’t feel like I’m watching every move they make.”

Natasha laughed, looking down at the others. It was true. They played music, danced, told stories — everything lonely men could possibly do at sea with only four available women on board. And they were much more exuberant when Bucky watched from afar.

“I have to say, our little Peter definitely isn’t so bashful around MJ when you’re way over here.”

Bucky laughed, looking at their newest recruit who was attempting to dance with the ship’s surgeon. MJ was…intense. The fact that Peter was even trying was enough to gain Bucky’s respect. Well, at least a little bit of it. “If she doesn’t chew him up and spit him out, he just might have a chance.”

“I think they’re cute together,” Natasha teased, nudging him.

“Shouldn’t you be judging potential couples with Clint? You know, your husband? I didn’t marry the two of you so you’d spend less time apart.” Bucky grinned as Natasha laughed, shaking her head.

“I wish I could, but you’ve forced him to stay up in that crow’s nest, navigating all night long.”

Bucky raised a brow, looking up. Sure enough, Clint was watching from his spot in the crow’s nest. He was curled up, propped like one would expect a bird almost. “Go take your hawk some rum, huh?” he asked, passing Natasha his personal flask. It was engraved with a ruby star that shimmered even in the low light and Natasha was surprised he was letting someone else hold it.

Bucky was rather protective of his alcohol.

“Thank you, Captain,” Natasha said, kissing his cheek. She jumped to the ropes and made her way to the crow’s nest, her mind focused on the sole idea of cuddling her husband and getting drunk before the night’s end.

“You actually let someone take your flask?”

Bucky groaned at the sound of his quartering master’s voice. Sam Wilson, a good man, was irritating at moments like this. Couldn’t Bucky just enjoy the night? “Well, it’s Nat. It’s not like I was stupid enough to leave it with you.”

He looked at Sam, grinning when he saw the man clutching his chest as if he had been wounded. “I’m not nearly as scary with alcohol as our resident black widow. She’ll devour your men if you let her drink enough.”

“I’m sure Clint will keep an eye on her.”

Silence fell between the two as they stared out at the water. Not too far, the stars began to fall, striking across the sky at rapid rates. Moments like these were rare — beautiful and unique. No one else appreciated the sight on this ship.

Maybe Sam was good for something after all?

No, Bucky would never admit that.

However, Bucky was pulled from his thoughts when he saw Sam straighten, eyeing something in the water. He followed his gaze, brow furrowing when he saw the water’s ripples.

“Did you see that?”

“No, what is it?”

“I think someone’s in the water.”

Bucky searched, trying to see what Sam saw through the night sky. Damn man had eyes almost as good as Clint. “Get one of the row boats ready.” The order slipped out with ease, catching the attention of the rest of his crew. The music and stories came to a pause as they shared looks, curious what was going on. “You and Scott go check it out.”

Scott grinned as he rose to his feet, glad Bucky was trusting him again. After the incident with bringing ants on board, he’d been working to gain his captain’s trust. Now was the perfect opportunity! “You got it, Cap!”

Bucky rolled his eyes and Sam knew it was taking every ounce of control for Bucky to not make some ridiculously snide comment. “We’ll be back shortly, Captain. It’s probably just some fish, right?”

The waters had calmed all too quickly for Sam’s liking. If it were actual fish, they would have made their presence known a few more times. Instead, the waters were eerily still again. From their position, it was hard to tell where the horizon even ended. The waters blended almost perfectly with the sky. “Captain Barnes really loves the sky like this, doesn’t he?” Scott asked, breaking the silence as Sam continued searching ahead.

“Don’t get personal about the captain, Lang. It’s just weird.”

Scott felt his ears burn and ducked his head. “So-Sorry, I didn’t —“

“Shut up. Stop the boat.”

Scott quickly brought the small row boat to a stop as Sam leaned forward. He searched the waters, frowning. They were so dark. It was practically impossible to see anything. Keeping his voice low, Scott couldn’t help his curiosity. He had to ask, “Do you really think something’s out here?”

“Not sure.” Sam huffed as he leaned back. Did he imagine it? There was no way, he was sure he saw —

“Oh my god!” Scott’s high pitched shriek made Sam jump. He spun around as he saw the pale hand gripping the oar. Scott was trying to shake the thing off, rising to his feet to get a better angle. “Sam! Sam, it’s a siren!” He tugged and pulled, twisted the oar in his best attempts, but failing miserably. “Sam, help!”

Sam reached closer to the hand, grabbing the oar and tugging. The hand seemed to loosen its grip and he gave another tug. When he did, he noticed the small glow emanating from the creature’s skin. Sirens…sirens didn’t glow. He peered into the water, noticing a pair of legs rather than a tail. He stopped pulling, kneeling against the edge to try and get a better look. Scott tugged again. “Scott, stop,” Sam shouted as the thing finally let go.

“But it—“ Scott gestured to the thing, eyes wide. Had Sam lost his mind?

“I said stop! It isn’t a siren.”

Immediately Scott’s actions came to a halt as Sam reached into the water. He grabbed the person’s arm and pulled, the water splashing against the boat. He reached and wrapped an arm around her middle, hoisting her up. A silvery glow traveled over the feminine figure as Sam pulled her into the boat. She was drenched, nothing but a thin navy fabric wrapped around her body. He’d never seen a woman dressed so indecently. At least, not out in the open like this.

Sam pressed a hand to her cheek. She was ice cold. What was a girl doing out in the water like this? How did she even get out here? Sam looked around, hoping to see some sign of a boat, but there was nothing. She had just…appeared. Out of nowhere. Leaning his head down, he frowned when he couldn’t hear her breathing. He felt for a pulse and still, nothing.

“We need to get her to Shuri. She’ll know what to do.”

“Why is she glowing?” Scott watched, worry evident as he began to row back to the ship. Sam shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around the woman to provide some level of decency.

“I don’t know. I was hoping Shuri might.”

—————

Scott jumped on deck, turning around and grabbing the woman in Sam’s arms so that Sam could finish his climb up. By the time the two men had made it back to the ship, she had stopped glowing. Gone was the thing that made her so odd. Now, she looked like any normal maiden. Would the others even believe them if they tried to explain?

“You found something?” Bucky asked, coming down the steps as Sam looked up.

“Not something,” he corrected.

“Someone.”

Bucky looked up when Scott spoke, his gaze quickly shifting to the surprise in his arms. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. She was…ethereal, unlike any woman he’d ever seen before.

“How did she —“

“We aren’t sure,” Sam answered, already knowing Bucky would be curious as to how she was all the way out here. “But I can’t get a pulse on her.”

“Come on then, let’s get her to Shuri,” Bucky ordered, already leading them below deck.

It took a couple of hours for Shuri to actually do a full work up on the strange woman. It seemed that she was just as curious about the woman as they were. “Fascinating,” Shuri seemed to murmur repeatedly.

Fascinating — definitely a word that Bucky would use to describe the woman currently laying on the table. She was still unconscious, though she had dried off a while ago. Her clothes were not a fashion they were used to. It was a long dress, looking similar to a nightgown of sorts. Something that one would expect to see a princess wearing, perhaps? Maybe that was what she was. Royalty? If so, then perhaps she could be ransomed.

“Luckily, your boys are just oblivious to finding a pulse. She had one. It was weak, but now that I’ve brought her temperature back up. It’s stronger now, but her body needs a chance to rest.”

“Any idea who she could be?”

Shuri looked up at Bucky, shaking her head. “Not at all.” She walked to her desk, picking up the necklace their guest had been wearing upon her arrival. It was in the shape of a star, made of blue glass, and shimmered without any light. “At first I thought this would help, but it doesn’t seem to have any connection to any of the neighboring kingdoms. Hope might know. Or even Peter. He was studying before he joined us after all.”

Bucky nodded, thinking Peter would probably the better bet between the two. Either way, it never hurt to ask either of them. “Sounds like a plan.”

“But I found something with it that I thought was interesting.”

“The necklace?”

Shuri nodded, walking over to the lantern. She lifted it to the light, allowing it to catch the soft glow. It seemed to pierce through the unidentifiable jewel, bouncing onto the walls. Bucky’s eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw what was hidden inside. Along the walls were constellations, the night sky seemingly being held in one small pendant. How was such magic possible?

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Neither have I.”

Bucky watched as she pulled the necklace away. The sky vanished from the walls and Bucky already longed for it to return. He took the necklace from the doctor, the fragile pendant seeming rather small in his larger hand. “Could she have magic?”

“If so, why wouldn’t she have saved herself?”

Bucky nodded, knowing she was right. It was why he liked bouncing ideas off of her. Even if he came up with the most ridiculous idea, Shuri was willing to hear it and help him realize what worked and what didn’t. That particular detail made her a vital asset to his crew and, most importantly, his sanity.

“Let me know when she wakes, yes?”

Shuri nodded, knowing better than to argue with the captain. However, she did think this was more trivial. If she woke, they could simply drop her off at the nearest port. Bucky’s curiosity meant they might be keeping the guest around a little longer than necessary. “There’s one more thing,” she warned, earning a curious gaze from the captain. Walking to the woman’s side, Shuri crouched down and gestured for Bucky to do the same. He wasn’t sure it was necessary, but knew better than to question her. When he was at her level, Shuri brushed back the woman’s hair and gently turned her head. Tucked just behind her ear were little markings that seemed to glow out of her skin.

It looked like the same stars he had been staring at earlier that evening.

“If she does have magic, this is the only sign of it.”

Shuri’s voice broke through that little thought. Bucky frowned as he leaned closer. He felt entranced, his thumb brushing along the small markings. They weren’t bumps. It wasn’t scarring or a tattoo. In fact, it seemed to be part of her.

“We need to ask Parker about the nearby kingdoms and if they have any connections to those recent studies involving the stars.”

“Of course, Captain. Do you think she’s a member of a royal family?”

Bucky shrugged, scratching the back of his neck as he rose to his feet. His gloved hand left the rough feel of leather almost ghosting against his skin. “It’s the only thing that makes sense at the time. When she wakes, we’ll be able to get more answers.”

“Until then?”

“Just make sure she doesn’t die on us.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of using her for ransom, Barnes.”

Bucky eyed the clothes, the pendant, that mark, and knew that it was rather low of him to be thinking of a way to make a profit out of the situation. Still — he was a pirate. Wasn’t that part of who he was?

“I have a crew to pay, Shuri. I’m not going to starve them for one woman.”

Shuri heard him. She really did. And she wanted to believe that Bucky wasn’t going to let this woman be a distraction from his pirating ways. However, it wasn’t often that Bucky’s baby blues shimmered so brightly or with an emotion she couldn’t quite peg. Yet, here he was with that little twinkle, with that small, curious smile, and some sort of way about him that she couldn’t read. Odd…Was Captain Barnes letting emotions slip into his calculating mind?

“Whatever you say, Captain. I’ll let you know tomorrow if there is any sort of progression.”

“Thanks, Shuri. Make sure to get some rest.” He squeezed her shoulder, knowing Shuri would keep herself up all night if she wasn’t reminded to look out for her own wellbeing. She was too fascinated by the littlest things, by the smallest ideas. “And that’s an order.”

Shuri rolled her eyes, shooing him off. “Don’t think you can order me around so easily, Barnes. I still have an older brother than can take you.”

Bucky laughed, opening the door as he called back, “Perhaps, but he’s off taking care of his own kingdom, you know.”

She grinned from ear to ear, the look similar to the cat that ate the canary. “The kingdom we’ll be docking at before too long.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, closing the door. “Goodnight, Shuri!”

Very faintly, he heard her call back, “Sleep well, Barnes!”

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pinkykitten · 5 years

Text

Come Back to You

Marvel

Stephen Strange x wizard! female reader

Warning: death, suicidal thoughts, depression, just a lot of angst but dont worry it gets fluffy, violence, curse words

Specifics: angst, romance, fluff, action, one-shot, race neutral reader, gif, !SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME!

People: stephen strange, steve rogers, tony stark, natasha romanoff, scott lang, thanos

Words: 2,147

Requested: By @abigator554 Hey could u do a dr strange x reader where she watched him fade away on titan and thought she would never see him again. she is also a “wizard” and fights in the last battle fighting as if she has nothing left loose. When all of them start to come back she sees him and runs over to him. She starts to break down ending with some really sappy stuff from Stephen and then they take down Thanos together

Authors Note: so this guys is a sad one indeed god i feel like this whole week has been sad. this story deals and talks about a lot and to me a lot of what u would go thru if someone u loved passed away without a why. if you havent watched endgame then maybe this isnt the fic for u, if u dont care about spoilers then go on ahead. thanks for the request and i always love writing about those who dont get written a lot. also this gif 😍 i mean cmon!

Its been 5 years. 5 years since your life turned upside down and was changed for the worse, but it just felt like yesterday.

You stood there, awaiting for what came next, holding tightly Stephen’s hand. “Stephen...”

Suddenly, without control, your colleges, your friends started disappearing on planet Titan. It all happened so fast. You tried to stop it, but it was out of your hands. “No, no, no,” you were shocked, tears streaming down your face as you saw the ones you loved die, just poof away.

You then remembered your husband. Turning your head to Stephen your world fell apart. He fell, leaning against a rock. “Oh god no,” you sobbed not wanting him to leave you. You needed him, he was your life. “Baby, no don’t leave me,” you pleaded, kneeling before him, clutching his once strong hands now going weak.

“I’m sorry y/n, I’m sorry,” he only whispered, feeling life soon leaving his body. “I’m sorry, I...we all tried. There was nothing more we could do.” He tried gripping your hand, granting you one last kiss on your knuckles. You could feel the splash of tears drop onto your skin feeling worse knowing he was crying, knowing he didn’t want to leave you. “I love you...”

He was gone.

The wind took his ashes away, leaving you with only a little piece of himself. Your lips trembled, you were shaking out of anger and sadness. You picked up a pile of his ashes in your hand and dropped them again to the ground. You looked up to the sky and screamed. Screamed on the top of your lungs. For once being and Avenger didn’t matter for you were powerless.

Sitting up in your bed full of sweat you look beside you. Hoping Stephen is there and it was all a nightmare. As you look you realize it was all a reality. He was truly gone. Again, everyday, you would sob. Either sob the whole night or sob till you fell asleep. You wrapped yourself up in one of his shirts, smelling it and just wishing for his presence, he was with you. “I miss you my love.” You would hug yourself with his shirt on.

You were alone in the house. You felt broken and just not wanting to live anymore. Sometimes, what was left of the gang, would come visit you but most days you wanted to stay in bed and hope and pray that you would die.

A knock on the door startled you. You still laid there not wanting any confrontation.

“Y/n, I know you’re in there,” Steve called out to you.

You groaned as you got up. You were wearing pajamas from who knows when. You hadn’t taken a shower, you were a mess. The house was a disaster and you were feeling very weak at the moment.

You opened the door lightly, “what do you want?” Usually, your cheery self or the you from five years ago would of said something sarcastic or something silly to Steve but that you had disappeared, along with the love of your life.

Steve looked worried, seeing as you had bags under your eyes and you looked almost lifeless, well you felt it. “Please, can I come in?”

You bit your lip in thought, thinking.

“Please, y/n, can we just talk?”

You nodded, opening the door wide for him. He looked around the house that was so lively with music playing and you and Stephen dancing together, cooking, you would invite the Avengers for dinners all the time but now the house was dark, curtains closing the sunshine. It was better that way, outside people experienced the same things. Loss of loved ones. Half of the population was wiped out from that snap so outside was dark and gloomy, like everyone's souls. Garbage, clothes, his clothes were every where, lying around the house, bills and letters were all stacked into one corner.

“Please, sit,” you said as you pointed to the kitchen table. It was all covered in junk. You quickly moved everything aside with force, not caring about a glass vase shattering. You just did not care about anything.

“Thank you,” Steve sat politely.

“Would you like some, um,” you went to the kitchen and saw you had no groceries, “water?”

“I’m good thanks.”

You walked back and sat in front of Steve, not knowing what to talk about but you knew what you didn’t want to talk about. Steve and Natasha and some of the group were dead set on bringing those who were snapped back. You just never wanted to talk about it. You didn’t want to bring your hopes up and then when it failed be down all over again. Even seeing their faces brought back your husband in your mind, old times.

“How are you feeling?”

You chuckled, “the same...”

“Listen y/n, I know you miss him-”

“No don’t you start with that,” you shook your head.

“-but you can’t keep living like this.” Steve wrapped your hands into his, engulfing them. He then realized you were wearing Stephen’s shirt. “He wouldn’t have wanted this for you.” You brought your hands back as if Steve stung your hands. You hated talking about him.

“Oh what the he*l do you know, Steve? I can and I will keep living like this. You know I kinda have the right to. Everybody, everybody is wanting me to take care of myself, to just live on, well what if I don’t want to! I never wanted to proceed in living without Step- without him...”

Steve felt pain for you, but he didn’t want nothing bad happening to you either. “Y/n, this has got to stop.”

“I can’t even say his name. I can’t leave the house without thinking about him. I don’t want to breathe, eat, sleep, do anything without him. I won’t. You all expect me, oh its been 5 years, well to me it feels like it was yesterday, you guys expect me to be happy again, to find a hobby, do something amazing with my life, I can’t! For god’s sake that was my husband. He wasn’t just a man that I wanted to pass and we’re done, he was like my other half! I could depend on him and he could depend on me and I failed him.” You slouched in your chair sobbing. Steve wrapped his arms around you, “no don’t think that way. This wasn’t your fault.”

“I wish it would of been me instead of him. Steve, I have a baby room and baby clothes, things. We were gonna try. I was so happy, finally having our little family like I always dreamed of and now, its not a dream, its a nightmare. A nightmare that I am supposedly supposed to keep living. Steve, I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want this life! I just want it all to end!”

Steve soothed you as he embraced you harder and for as long as you needed him. You cried onto his shoulder, needing that comfort.

He stayed for the rest of the day there. Just having another person’s presence surprisingly aided you, but sadly he had to leave. You said your goodbyes as he left but he paused, “y/n if you ever need me for anything or just need someone there, someone to talk to, please, don’t ever hesitate to call me. Please.” He almost sounded as if he was begging. You, again, hugged him, “thank you Steve.”

A couple of days later you got the call.

You brought all your items together. Notebooks your husband told you about that were very important. They were about the stones, especially the one he gave up. It was all nostalgic. You remember Stephen he was your teacher. He taught you everything about magic and alternate dimensions. Grinning as you saw a picture you threw of him and you along with his old things, “don’t worry baby, we might get somewhere.” You got yourself ready and ran as fast as you could to the Avengers facility.

The call was from Steve, he said they might have found a way to bring back all those people.

You were so quick, so fast. Could this be real? Could this be possible? Could you really end up seeing your husband again?

You ran, everything disheveled as you entered. Slamming the door open, “tell me!”

They explained to you everything calling the plan the “Time Heist”. Scott Lang said he had experienced the Quantum Realm so he had knowledge about it. He told you that it may help them go back in time and retrieving all the Infinity Stones from major historical events. It all made sense. The lost pieces you were trying to stick into the puzzle piece were found.

“So you’re telling me this time voodoo whatever might actually work?” Scott placed his hands on your shoulders chuckling, excited, “that is what I’m saying y/n. We may be able to bring back all of them.”

Feeling light headed you sat down. Your mind was racing. Its been so many years. All this time you imagined there was never a possibility of seeing Stephen again and now you were told it might actually happen.

“Y/n are you okay?” Tony asked concerned.

Tears started to drip down your cheeks and you bit your fist, “we need to do this...”

Fighting alongside the Avengers trio leaving behind the feelings of lost from your friend Natasha you head straight for Thanos.

Using your powers you lift him up and smash him against stones.

“Guys were losing!” You shouted as you suddenly saw the army of Thanos storming toward you four. You held your breath as you were ready to defend humanity, ready to fight till your last breath. Until you heard a voice on Steve’s ear piece. You turned around, shocked, “could it be...”

All of a sudden Sling Ring portals start opening and one by one people that have been affected by the Snap appear.

“Oh my god, Steve!” You start laughing. Your hand atop your mouth so surprised. “It worked! It worked!” As you saw those you thought you had lost forever you remember that special someone. “Wait then that means...”

As the next portal opens up out comes you husband, Stephen.

You feel as if you are floating as you see him. Feeling his and your presence only in this terrifying war, in this world. Not caring about the battle that is about to begin you and Stephen make eye contact. You see a tear fall from his face as you pick up your cloak and sprint to him. You trip over your cape a couple of times but that does not stop you. As you get closer Stephen runs to you as well and the two of you embrace, you almost tripping him from the force. Stephen clutches onto your head as you rest your face into his chest, sobbing. “I thought I would never see you again. I missed you so much.”

“I know my love, I know,” he kissed your forehead as he rocked you back and forth. “I’m sorry for all the pain that I’ve caused you.”

You held onto him tighter, afraid of letting go. “It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you are here with me.” You felt a tear press against your cheek and you realized it was not yours it was Stephen. You backed away and looked directly at his face. Opening his tear filled eyes, the portals light gleaming against his orbs, he sniffles as he smiles, “...my love...”

You touch his cheeks lightly and bring your forehead against his, “we are one again Stephen.” You two share a kiss that was so passionate and full of love. All those days and nights crying alone were days of the past. You now looked forward to your future. A future with your husband.

(not mine! do not own!)

You had a grip onto his clothing and you two giggled after the kiss just enjoying each others company. “I love you Mr. Strange.”

“And I love you more Mrs. Strange.”

You two held hands as you all prepared for battle. As husband and wife, the power couple you and Stephen kicked some a*s as you fought for not your life but your husband’s. Vowing that you would never let anything ever happen again to him.

A life was lost that day. Everyone mourned the loss of Tony and previously Natasha. It was tough, they were everyone's friend. You thanked everyone for the sacrifices they made, without them you wouldn’t be able to have your husband beside you.

But just as a life was lost another life was born. You sat upon Stephen’s lap as you uttered only a few words that would completely change your lives, “guess what Stephen...I’m pregnant.”

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the--sad--hatter · 5 years

Text

Name Calling (17)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - BUCKY X READER (female reader, no physical descriptions)

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION - In which the ongoing and bloody war of words between you and Bucky turns in your favor when a disgruntled one night stand of his lets slip a secret when you run into her in the elevator… Now you have all the ammunition you need to destroy your enemy but you don’t plan on killing him quickly. Oh no, Bucky Barnes was going to suffer and you were going to enjoy every second. You just didn’t count on how much you would enjoy it.

MASTERLIST

Chapter Seventeen - Puzzle Pieces

There was a steady drumbeat that woke you, you tried to open your eyes to tell whoever it was to knock it off but it was too bright and you quickly squeezed your eyes closed, hissing in annoyance at the stupid sun. The drumbeat carried on and you belatedly realised it was inside your head, sending a fresh wave of throbbing pain through your skull every few seconds.

You moaned lowly and shifted slowly, trying to manoeuvre you head under the pillow but you were trapped. You gradually became aware of an arm slung over your waist, trapping you in place and your eyes shot open in alarm. Wincing at the brightness you waited for your eyes to adjust. When they did you looked around, this wasn’t your bed, this wasn’t your room. Where the hell were you?

You twisted your head around to look behind you at the person who was holding you tightly and blinked in surprise. Darcy was spooning you, her eyes screwed tightly shut and soft rhythmic snores falling from her open mouth. You grimaced and tried to sit up, accidentally knocking Wanda’s head off your lap. Wait, Wanda was in the bed?

You nervously peered around, thankfully there was nobody else on the bed but Natasha was curled up on an armchair in the corner of the room, fast asleep. It took you a few minutes but you managed to piece together the scene. This was Wanda’s room, Natasha and Darcy were still wearing their party dresses from last night, Wanda was wearing red pyjamas and you were wearing…. A tuxedo?

You crawled off the bed, stopping in fright when you accidental kicked Wanda in the face but she only rolled over and carried on sleeping and you breathed a sigh of relief and continued to make your escape. As soon as you were standing upright you seriously considered just getting back into the bed. You felt weak, like you hadn’t had food or water in days and yet as soon as the thought of food crossed your mind your stomach started turning and nausea had you running/stumbling for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later and after sticking your head under the tap you tiptoed out of Wanda’s bedroom, leaning on the walls for support as you very very slowly made your way towards the kitchen. You needed to find someone who knew what had happened because you had absolutely no idea whatsoever. The last clear memory you had was of kissing Bucky.

You stopped in the hall and nearly toppled over. Bucky. Kissing. You and Bucky had kissed. Resisting the urge to slap some sense into yourself you tried to remember what had happened after that. You had flashes of Blonde hair and muscles and the taste of something sweet and honeyed. Oh God. God of Thunder to be precise. You must have gotten to try Thor’s mead.

You were hungover. You had gotten blackout drunk.

You desperately resumed your quest for the kitchen, needing more than ever to find somebody who could tell you what had happened. Your alcohol soaked brain finally remembered the way and after only one wrong turn and a detour past the gym you made it into the kitchen. Sam was sat at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee.

“Sam! Oh thank god, you have to help me.” You whisper shouted and threw yourself dramitically into his arms.

“Whoa, what’s wrong?”

“I’m hungover.” You lamented, a little teary eyed.

The heartless bastard snorted in amusement.

“It’s not funny, I think somethings really wrong with me. Maybe my Super Soldier Serum reacts badly with alcohol, I think I’m dying.” You sniffled.

“Oh baby, you’re not dying. It just feels like you are. The first hangover is always the worst.” He assured you, trying and failing to hide the smirk on his face.

“But I can’t remember anything about what happened, it’s all blank. My head feels like somebody is scooping my brain out with a blunt knife and my stomach feels all wrong. I can’t stop shaking.” You told him, holding out your trembling hand to illustrate.

“Trust me, that’s normal. I don’t feel so hot myself. Of course I’m a little more used to it and I didn’t get one taste of Thor’s mead and drink the entire flask.” He snorted.

“I did what?”

“Don’t worry, Thor thought it was hilarious.”

“Least of my worries Sam, least of my worries. What else did I do?” You asked with trepidation.

“I’m not sure, check your twitter account. Most of the highlights are on that.” He said with a shrug.

“My… My what?”

“You don’t remember that either? Darcy and that Parker kid convinced you to sign up for social media.” Sam explained, patting your pockets and pulling out your phone.

He unlocked it and after a few clicks turned the screen round to show you. Sure enough you were logged into ‘Twitter’ as…

“Baby-Stark-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do?” You questioned.

“That was Parkers idea. Don’t ask, you don’t want to know the answer.”

You scrolled down the posts with a growing sense of shame. There were pictures and videos galore. You pressed play on one of the videos to see yourself being dancing to Mr Roboto with Iron Man. That video was especially popular. There was a picture of you mid arm wrestling match with Steve, thankfully there wasn’t a video of that, you’d be fucked if you’d revealed to the world you could hold your own with Captain America in strength.

“The Falcon is my favourite Avenger for anyone who was wondering, he’s the best looking and coolest!” You read out loud.

“They do say drunk people are honest.” Sam shrugged and tried to look innocent.

“Sam this is so bad, my dad is probably going to kill me.” You whined.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Sam said, taking your phone and clicking on Tony’s twitter profile.

Tony had retweeted a photo of you Dj’ing with an Iron Man helmet on your head with the caption ‘She parties like a Stark! So proud!’.

“None of this explains why I’m wearing a tuxedo or why I woke up in bed with Wanda and Darcy.” You pointed out, stealing Sam’s coffee.

“Can’t help you there but I have so many questions.” Sam said.

You didn’t answer, as soon as you’d tasted the coffee you moaned loudly and drained it like a vampire tasting blood for the first time. Maybe Clint was on to something when he drank it straight from the pot. Sam rolled his eyes and got up to make more.

“Where is everyone else?” You questioned, really wondering if he knew where Bucky was.

“Still sleeping probably. Steve and Buckinator are gone.” He said casually.

“Gone? What do you mean gone? Gone where, gone why?” You yelped.

“They left in the middle of the night. Steve said something about supporting Bucky.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t exactly sober myself.”

“Did Bucky say anything?” You pressed.

“No, last time I saw Bucky you two were screaming at each other in the corridor.” He told you.

Oh no. This was bad. This was very very very bad. What had you done?

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

After sneaking back into Wanda’s room to leave bottles of water and painkillers on the bedside unit for them and lamenting that aspirin couldn’t do a damn thing for you, you decided you needed to retrace your steps from last night to try and figure out what had happened. Bucky’s phone was switched off, as was Steve’s and you were growing more frightened by the second.

Still clad in the ill fitting tux you made the arduous trek downstairs to the floor where the party had been held, hoping to trigger some memories. There were cleaners milling about, bagging up all the evidence and you smiled politely at them as you made your way through the large room.

Nothing in your memories was shaking loose as you teetered around the room shakily and you sighed heavily, ready to give up and try something else when you spotted somebody on the bouncy castle. There was a dark haired man lying on it with his back to you. You crept over and leaned in curiously.

“Hello?” You called.

He sat up rapidly and groaned, holding his head in his hands. He glanced over his shoulder at you and did a double take.

“Oh hey! It’s you!” He exclaimed.

“Scott? What are you doing?” You enquired.

“I was at your party, I’m Scott Lang. You know, Ant Man?”

“Scott we’ve met like twice before.” You reminded him, holding out your hand to help him climb off the bouncy castle.

“Yeah but I wasn’t sure if you remembered me, you were really busy.” He said, accepting your hand and clambering down to stand beside you.

“Trust me, you make an impression.” You laughed.

“Sorry.”

“No, a good one.” You assured him.

“You look as bad as I feel, only with more shame and regret.” He noted.

You sighed heavily and sat down on the edge of the castle and he perched next to you with a patient and open expression.

“I think I fucked up, badly.” You admitted.

“Wanna talk about it? I know a lot about shame and regret.” He offered.

“I don’t know if I can explain it. Ok, there’s somebody here, on the team. We don’t get along and I kind of betrayed them a teeny bit but last night we made progress, really good progress. Great progress actually. But I think I got drunk and messed it up and now he’s gone and I don’t know if I can fix it because I don’t know what I did.” You rambled.

Scott looked a little overwhelmed.

“Wow. Ok, that is a lot more information that I was expecting.”

“Yeah.”

“Well if we can figure out what you did, you think you can try and fix things? That doesn’t sound too complicated. I bet we can do this, you just need to try and remember what happened.”

“I’ve been trying. That’s why I’m down here.” You explained.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” He asked.

“Um, Thor I think? Sam said I drank all the Asgardian mead.” You admitted ruefully.

Scott blinked at you in awe.

“Well that’s a start. Hey lets ask around, the more you can piece together about what happened the better your chances of remembering.” He suggested.

“We? You wanna help?” You asked.

“Sure, it’ll be fun. Probably.” He smiled goofily.

“Besides, every great detective needs a sidekick. Sherlock and Watson, Inspector Gadget and penny… That’s all the examples I have. Come on.” He said, walking off with a spring in his step.

You sighed and shrugged. You didn’t have any better ideas so you got up and followed him.

“Wait, which one of us is the sidekick in this scenario?” You asked.

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

“Well that doesn’t look good...” You remarked.

There was a fist sized hole in the corridor wall. You placed your fist into it but it was clearly made by someone with much bigger hands. Sam had said you and Bucky were arguing in the corridor last night and whatever you had said to him, it looked like it was bad enough he’d punched the wall.

“Hey, there’s another one over here.” Scott called to you from further down the corridor.

You went over to him and saw what he was pointing at. There was a large crack in the plaster, much much bigger than a fist. In fact, it was similar in size to you. You looked behind you and saw that the hole was parallel to the stairs. A fuzzy memory began to play in your head and you pulled your shirt up. Sure enough there were fading bruises along your side.

“Uh, I think I may have tried to use Caps shield as a sledge to go down the stairs.” You admitted with a blush.

“Cool!” Scott exclaimed and then looked at the hole in the wall again.

“Or maybe not so cool.” He decided.

“Very not cool.” You agreed with a wince as you remembered hurtling down the steps and into the wall.

“But hey, at least you remembered something. This is working! Let’s keep going!”

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

The next piece of the puzzle to be solved was in the lab where Banner was working. As soon as he saw you he backed away.

“Are you sober?” The doctor asked you nervously.

“Yes? Why?” You asked.

“Because last night you asked me if you could fight the Hulk and film it. You said Vernichtung Vs The Incredible Hulk would be the greatest death match in history.” Bruce explained.

“I mean, it kind of would.” Scott said while the colour drained from your face.

“I am so sorry Bruce! I would never do that, I swear.” You protested.

“It’s ok, I think you were joking. Besides, I’m pretty sure Darcy put the idea in your head.” He said placatingly.

You were still horrified as you remembered asking Thor if he wanted to referee the fight. You hurriedly apologised to Bruce and fled the lab, your face burning. Scott waved bye to Banner cheerily and ran after you.

“Where to next?” He asked.

“Far away from Bruce.” You said as your feet led you back to the kitchen.

Sam had left and now Clint was perched on the counter drinking coffee. You snatched to pot from his hands and started chugging it.

“Whoa, rude.” Clint snapped.

“Did I do anything last night you wanna tell me about? Steal your bow and pretend I was Merida or something equally stupid?” You groaned.

“No, nothing like that. Well you did ask if I kept animals on the farm and cried for ten minutes when I said I had chickens and phoned my wife to ask her to let you say hi to them.” Clint told you with a snort.

Now that he mentioned it you did sort of remember Laura Barton inviting you to come and see the chickens for yourself and meet the children.

“Oh yeah. Wanda and I are coming to your farm for the weekend.” You admitted.

“I know, the kids are excited.”

“Well, that’s not so bad.” Scott remarked.

“Yeah, at least I didn’t bodily injure myself or challenge him to a fight.” You agreed.

“I don’t want to know, yet I kind of do.” Clint said and Scott hurriedly filled him in while you smooshed your head into your arms on the counter.

“WANDA!” You shrieked, startling both the men.

You wish you had thought of this sooner, you could have saved yourself some time. You rushed away at a faster pace than your body could handle and had to stop in the hall to lean against the wall and rest.

“Wanda I want my memories back.” You yelled, storming into her room.

She was sat on the edge of the bed and you noticed Darcy and Natasha were gone as the witch looked up at you in fear and alarm.

“Your memories? You can’t!” She protested.

“What? Why? I need to figure out what happened last night. Can’t you just… you know?” You asked, imitating the hand gestures she used.

“Last night? Oh, uh I can’t do that. It doesn’t work like that I am afraid.” She informed you, colour returning to her face.

“Ugh. Can you at least remember anything that happened? Any arguments I may have gotten into or something I might have to apologise for?” You asked hopefully.

“I remember very little after karaoke I’m afraid Sestra.” She told you apologetically.

“After what now?”

“You mean you don’t have any recollection of singing?” She said with an evil smirk.

“Oh no. Just tell me.” You whined, throwing yourself onto the bed face down.

“You gave a very emotional performance of Bad Romance.” She sniggered.

“Please just kill me.” You begged.

“If it makes you feel any better, Darcy sang ‘I Touch Myself’ to The captain.”

“You know what, that does make me feel better.”

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

You tracked down Scott who was still in the kitchen, his head in the fridge.

“Wanda can’t help, though she did give me the rundown of my short lived pop career.” You informed him with a sigh.

“Don’t look so down, we’re making great progress.” He told you through a mouthful of cold take out.

“No, we’re finding out all the embarrassing things I did. I’m no closer to finding out what I did to Bucky.” You said mournfully.

“So that’s what this is about? You and The Winter Soldier? You know what, I can kind of see it.” Scott said, squinting at you.

“See what?”

“You and Barnes. You’d make a good couple.”

“What? That’s not what… I didn’t… No.” You spluttered.

Scott grinned at you and you knew you’d given yourself away.

“If you tell anyone I will hunt you down and introduce you to my bloodthirsty alter ego.” You vowed and he went pale.

“No, I wouldn’t. I was just saying, I’m on your side.” He hurriedly assured you.

“I know. Thanks Scott, I appreciate you trying to help but I don’t think this is working.”

You dragged yourself to the couch, accepting that you had messed things up with Bucky again and you didn’t know how.

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

It wasn’t until you got back to your own room that everything fell into place. In hindsight, you really should have gone there first. Especially since you were still wandering around in Tony’s Tuxedo. Yeah, Darcy had finally relented and informed you that she had dared you to steal one of Tony’s suits and wear it back down to the party. She hadn’t specified she had meant the Iron Suits and you had raided your dads closet for the expensive Italian tux.

You had pulled it off and taken a shower, padding over to your bed in a funk you tried once again to call Bucky and yet again it went straight to voicemail. You didn’t bother leaving a message, you wouldn’t know what to say. You sighed heavily and threw yourself onto the mattress, landing on something hard and pointy. You grumbled and pulled it out from under your stomach. It was a book, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. You frowned and flipped the front cover open. There was a note on the inside.

My dear Vernichtung,

I was sorry to hear about your mothers untimely demise, such a tragedy. Still, I am heartened to hear you are able to celebrate and decided to send you this gift. I believe you will find this book to your liking.

I will see you very soon.

Your Creator.

Your chest tightened and everything snapped back into place, all your memories of last night. Finding the book in a pile of gifts and running out of the party. Bucky had followed you into the corridor, worried about you. Through shaky breaths you had tried to explain, showing the book to him. He had been incandescent with rage, putting his fist through the wall. Your own fury had ignited and you had screamed until your throat was raw, wanting to know how he got the book into the compound, wanting to kill him.

You knew you should feel afraid right now but you were too relieved. You hadn’t fucked things up with Bucky. He had tracked down the caterer who had slipped the book into your pile of gifts. A young woman who had been paid an obscene amount of money to sneak the book into the compound, she had thought it was harmless since it was only a book and she needed the money to pay her college fee’s. She had told Bucky everything, about how a man had approached her during one of her breaks at the Catering Company in LA. Bucky had dragged Steve out of the party after begging you to try and put it out of your mind and go back to the celebrations and promised he would call you when he tracked down the mysterious man who had given the girl the book.

Docherty was doing all he could to torment you and proving he could get to you anywhere. Bucky was doing everything he could to help you feel safer, leaving your party and flying to LA for you. You really hadn’t fucked this up at all Docherty be damned, you were happy.

You threw your head back onto the pillow and laughed, jumping up when your phone rang. The screen was completley blank, no caller registered at all. With apprehensiveness you picked up.

“Hello?”

“Miss Stark, this Is Nicholas J Fury. I need your assistance with something. In precisely ten minutes the security systems in the compound will be down for exactly sixty seconds. If you agree to help us you will need to use that time to get out of the compound unnoticed.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because there is a very rich and powerful man who has managed to create a deadly virus he plans to unleash on an unsuspecting population in a war torn country. We can’t call The Avengers, they are too public and this man is to powerful. We need somebody unknown, somebody highly skilled. I am asking you to climb out of your ivory tower to save lives, a lot of lives.”

“And I can’t tell anybody why?” You demanded suspiciously.

“Plausible deniability. The man in possession of this virus has contacts within the UN. This mission is not sanctioned by the accords and neither are you. Millions of lives are at stake and you have eight minutes and sixteen seconds left. Are you in or do I need to find myself another hero, one who cares more about doing the right thing than getting their daddy’s permission?”

Your mind whirled as you tried to decide what to do. What was the right answer here? Did you betray Tony again and sneak away again or did you hang up the phone and let somebody else take care of this? Millions of innocent lives VS Tony’s trust, what were you supposed to do? Did you even trust Fury? Would Tony forgive you if you did it? Would somebody else stand as high a chance as you of doing this?

You took a deep breath and gave your answer.

“I’ll do it.”

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

I can’t believe that I have just hit over 50k words with this chapter. Thank you to each and every person who is reading, I’m so freaking grateful!

@nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first@chook007@thejourneyneverendsx@thelostallycat@inquisitor-selvala@the-corruptor @iovher@kendrawr-kitkat@phoenix-whiskey-tears @the–real-wombat@buckitybarnes@fairislesheets@angieptt @meganjonezzzz

@dugan365 @fluffeh-kitty@memanda17@krystallynx@theonelittleone

@piscesbarnes @free-as-fishes@tarastudiesalot@captainamericasbeard

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i-eat-bread-and-cry-on-the-floor · 4 years

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I’m sorry- WHAT??????

Ok I want Pietro to come back during the test run. When Clint does the time travel test run, he better bring back Pietro instead of a fucking baseball glove.

And Bucky and Steve to interact more at the end.

I know Marvel won’t do this but what if (just consider) ok what if Steve goes to put back the stones and everything and brings Bucky with him and then uses the time stone to go back to Pre-Serum times and as Pre-Serum Steve, he has that dance with Bucky in 1940 instead of with Peggy?

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Also more Rhodey. Just more Rhodey.

Peter and Shuri interact!!! Peter comments on Shuri wearing Nikes to the final battle (even if it’s just like two lines, I want them to notice each otherrrr)

Dr. Strange needs more lines

A Black Widow Memorial!!!!!

Mention SOMETHING about Clint being deaf! Please!

Thor getting more support!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!

Peter P and Tony having a more meaningful father/son moment than a hug then a snap

Pepper and May raising Peter and Morgan as siblings

MORE NED LEEDS I DON’T CARE WHERE THE FUCK JUST MORE NEED LEEDS PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

After Tony snaps, Cap apologizing for Civil war and Tony giving him a weak smile to non-verbally say “I forgive you/it’s not your fault” and Cap feeling at peace with the fact that at the very end, everything was in good terms.

Bruce Banner is perfect and so is Scott Lang don’t change anything about my two bois❤️

#marvel #feel free to add #please add

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fanficwriter013 · 6 years

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The Tower - Chapter 23

The Tower: An Avengers Fanfic

Chapter 23

Chapters: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty / twenty-one / twenty-two / twenty-three / twenty-four / twenty-five / twenty-six / twenty-seven / twenty-eight

Word Count: 2015

Warnings: Depression, self-isolating behavior, extreme insomnia, cover story dating scenarios, angsty/dramatic conversation, smut (M/F, vaginal sex, slightly rough)

Synopsis: Things are rapidly disintegrating, but Elly manages to catch some alone time with Steve.

Author’s Note: Written with the light of my world, she keeps me from killing people. Kate @emilyevanston

Chapter 23 - Steve

The mission to the HAMMER facility had been a complete wash. No, Bucky. No, Wanda. Clint had been taken. They now had Alexa in custody but the fact that that seemed to be what she wanted put no one’s mind at ease. Everyone was paranoid about going back to the Tower because of it, so instead, we were taken to their SHIELD friend’s secret base.

The mood, in general, was one of defeat.

The fact others had rallied helped. Thor coming down from Asgard and Rhodey flying in was great. Scott Lang joined them too. All agreeing to stay until we had our missing numbers back.

For me though, I was not coping well. I was in a strange place with strange people. I felt like I couldn’t help. Everyone was in work mode and anytime I went near them I worried I was just in the way. I also had a deep mistrust of Coulson because Tony had let it slip that he’d once had a thing with Nat and Clint and it had only ended when he faked his own death. Everyone else seemed to forgive him for it, but my mind kept swinging back to how awful I felt right now that we had no idea where Wanda, Bucky, and Clint were, or even if they were alive, and how much it would hurt if they faked their death. I assumed there must be some reason that everyone else was okay forgiving him for it. When I looked at him I just saw a liar who thought it was okay to shatter the hearts of the people who loved him because of some ‘prime directive’.

So I avoided him.

I avoided most of them if I’m being honest. I withdrew to places in the building that were empty. If someone came into them, unless they were specifically looking for me, I just moved elsewhere.

I hurt. I kept thinking that all the words that had helped me in therapy had been a huge lie to further this plan to take down the Avengers. I couldn’t see why exactly that would be, but she wasn’t a therapist. She’d never wanted to help me. So maybe this whole thing was wrong. All the things I had struggled with and only now started coming to terms with reared up again. Building on my fear and isolation. I stopped eating. I barely slept. I just existed in a perpetual state of stress that was eating me alive.

It wasn’t until about four days into it when Sam came and found me that I started turning around.

“Here you are.” He said opening the door to the small office I’d hidden myself away in. “Why are you sitting in dark?”

I shrugged. “Just keeping out of the way.”

He came over to me and crouched on the floor in front of the chair I was sitting on. “When was the last time you slept?”

I shook my head. “Don’t know. It’s not … I can’t…”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight against him. I rested my head on his shoulder and just listened to the slow rhythmic beat of his heart. “Oh, princess. I’m so sorry. We’ve all been so caught up we forgot you had no experience with this kind of thing.”

“Not your fault,” I said quietly. “I just want them back.”

“I know. We all do.” He pressed his lips to the crown of my head. “We’re going to get them.”

“I want to help, but what can I do? I just thought it best if I stayed out of the way. I was gonna cook. But I don’t know this place.” I babbled.

“It’s okay. We shouldn’t have had our heads so far up our asses.” He said. “Look, Bruce just sent me down to find you. He wanted you to come look at something for him. But you need sleep. Go have some. Take Steve he hasn’t slept since he got here either. He might if he thought it would help you sleep too.”

I nodded my head and went looking for Steve. I found him in an operations room with Natasha, Coulson, and May. He looked exhausted. His normal straight posture gone, as he sagged on his feet. Dark circles under his eyes, and three days of facial hair grown in.

All five of them looked around when I came in. “Elly,” Natasha said. “I’ve hardly seen you since you got here. Are you okay?”

I nodded my head. “Really tired. Can’t sleep.” I said looking to Steve.

Natasha smirked at me and nodded. “Steve, why don’t you go with El. She might sleep better with you there.”

Steve looked startled. “I can’t. What if…”

“We’ll come get you if anything new comes up, Captain Rogers,” Melinda said as Phil clapped Steve on the shoulder.

“We’ll be fine. Just go grab a couple of hours.” Phil said.

I took Steve’s hand and he followed after me on autopilot. We went down to a dorm-like room and I pulled him onto the bottom bunk of one of the beds.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Steve said as he sat hunched at the end of the bed.

“I’m struggling too. Just come lie with me. You’re not a robot. You actually do need to sleep sometimes.” I said.

He kicked his shoes off and lay down, curling himself around me. I started to run my fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck in a soothing motion and he looked at me with those soft blue eyes. “I can’t believe this has happened again. He spent our childhood looking out for me and I can’t keep him safe at all.”

I ran my palms over his forehead and out into his hair. “Do you really think it was your fault?”

He broke eye contact with me. “I’m the one in charge.”

“Steve.”

“I know.” He sighed, burying his face into my neck. “What will I do without him?”

“Let’s not think about that for now,” I said softly.

“You didn’t try and tell me we’d get him back.” He murmured against my skin. “Everyone else keeps saying that.”

I shook my head. “I’ve never been through something like this before. I’m terrified I won’t see them again. If you want false words of placation you might need to go speak to someone else.”

Steve shivered against me and I ran my hands up and down his back. “No. I’m tired of people saying that to me. I’m just so used to losing everything. I’ve already lost everyone I loved once. It’s going to happen again. I thought he’d be there with me.”

I pressed my lips to the top of his head. “You don’t always have to be the strong one.”

He chuckled softly against my skin. “Doesn’t feel like it. When I was a kid I was really sickly, and I just fought so hard to never show it. I would fight everyone if I had to, to show I wasn’t weak. Now, I’m Captain America and if the exterior cracks for even a second everyone starts losing hope.”

“Well, I’m not everyone. I’m Elly and I love you, Steve Rogers. Even if you aren’t the strong one.” I said.

He broke down into tears against me. His large frame shaking with it. I held him and stroked his back and neck until he’d let all of that fear he’d been holding in out. “Were you and he together back before everything happened?” I asked. “Before you were, Cap?”

He nodded, wiping his eyes. “Sort of. Not officially. It was illicit. So he kept dating women too. I guess even back then polyamory suited Buck. So we kept it secret. Sometimes we even fought about it. That it was a mistake and we needed to stop. But we loved each other.” He paused for a moment and smiled. “Sometimes we would take dames out on a double date. Only they were lesbians. We would be their cover story. That was always his doin’. I always liked that. He always had such a big heart and need to protect people.”

It felt like my heart swelled up inside of me. “I wish I could have known you both back then.”

Steve leaned back and shook his head. “You wouldn’t have looked twice at me. Women rarely did.”

I laughed. “I don’t know. The Hulk told me he loved me the other day. I don’t go for the typical people.”

“He did what?” Steve asked his eyes going wide.

“Yep. I turn heads.” I joked.

“That’s a new one anyway. I’ve never heard about him doing something like that before.” Steve said with a shake of his head. “Well, maybe you would have looked. I guess we’ll never know.”

“I guess not.” I agreed. I ran my fingers through the scruff on his chin. “Try not to focus too much on what you’ve lost. Try and see the things you have as well.”

He smiled at me, it was tinged with sadness. He leaned in and we kissed. It was slow and tender, to begin with, but he quickly deepened it. His tongue came out to meet mine. I sucked on his plump bottom lip and the scratch of his scruff started to make my lips go numb.

One of his hands slid up under my shirt while the other pulled me against him. I could feel his cock straining at the fabric of his uniform.

“Steve?” I whispered, breaking our kiss.

“Please, I just need to feel you.” He murmured, his lips traveling along my jaw.

“Whatever you need,” I replied.

He rolled us over and we started to shed out clothes. It was frantic. Buttons were popped and sent flying and fabric was torn. We only managed to get Steve’s pants down enough that his cock was freed and he was inside me.

“Oh fuck, Steve.” I gasped, bringing my knees up and locking them around his waist. We were in such a confined space that there was barely any room to move, but he did. He fucked me hard. The bunk shook and banged against the wall. I ran my hands over as much of him as I could reach. We couldn’t stop kissing. Our tongues danced together. In the rare moments where our sheer breathlessness forced us to break apart, we would start kissing and sucking on each other’s throats.

We became slick with sweat, each thrust he made he pulled almost all the way out before slamming back in. He’d never just let go like this with me before. I was coming apart under him. Pleasure surged through me making me feel like I was going to split in two. I clung to him, dragging my nails down his back.

“Fuck… Steve… oh god… yes… fuck me…” I chanted as my orgasm approached. When it broke I arched up under him completely, crying out. Steve crashed his mouth into mine, smothering the sound. His hand went to my hip, as the other held a slat from the top bunk. His hips snapped forward suddenly and he came, biting down into my shoulder.

He collapsed down on top of me and wrapped me in his large arms, rolling onto his side. I snuggled into his chest and returned to stroking his hair.

“Thank you.” He said quietly.

I chuckled and kissed just under his jaw. “No need for that. I got something out of it too.”

“I didn’t mean that. I meant everything. Listening to me. Not just telling me things will be okay.” He said.

“Of course, Steve,” I replied. He brought his lips to mine and kissed me gently. “Now go to sleep. I’m going to stay awake until after you so you don’t try and sneak off.” I said when he pulled back.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry I’ll sleep.”

It wasn’t long until his breathing evened out and his body relaxed. Sleep came for me soon after.

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chicagoindiecritics · 4 years

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New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: MOVIE REVIEW: Mulan

(Image courtesy of Disney)

MULAN— 4 STARS

When one looks at the definitions for “trait” and “virtue” they will see similarities and differences. Traits are “distinguishing qualities,” mainly of someone’s personality. Virtues are specific qualities as well, only they ascend to a level of “effective power” and “moral excellence.” That very distinction is the genuine improvement of Disney’s Mulan as director Niki Caro brings the cultural ballad from a prior place of uneven song-and-dance lip service to a proper epic of empowering sweep where actions speak louder than words.

As with most catalog titles of the Disney Renaissance era enjoying new life on Disney+, the story is, by now (especially being put to film for the 11th time in a century, going back to 1927) familiar. Mulan is the oldest daughter of war veteran Hua Zhou (The Farewell’s Tza Ma). With an effervescent spirit of adventure and a skillful dexterity for combat, she grows to become a gamine teenager (the multi-talented Liu Yifei) more inclined for the daring over the domestic when it comes to being an ideal woman and desirable future spouse.

LESSON #1: BRING HONOR TO YOUR FAMILY— The cultural pillars are built early through the guidance of Tzi Ma’s patriarch. Proud as he may be of his daughter’s talents and longing for personal freedom, honor over dishonor is still paramount. Here, silence is a required part of a woman’s voice and decorum. They have places they must take and none of them include the hilt of a sword, the saddle of a horse, or the frontline of a battlefield. Meanwhile, for a man, there is no greater unified familial and national deed than answering the duty to fight and the honor to sacrifice.

Such a cause arrives away from their homestead as a ferocious Rouran warrior named Bori Khan (an emboldened Jason Scott Lee of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) carries a vendetta of revenge against the sitting Emperor of China (Jet Li, in a gem of a comeback role after conquering debilitating hyperthyroidism). Flanked by the powerful shape-shifting witch Xian Lang (Farewell My Concubine ingenue Gong Li), Bori Khan runs roughshod through every fortification and opposition with an invasion of the Kingdom. His approaching threat forces the stern Emperor to conscript an army built by a male member from every household in the land.

Despite being senior in age and nearly crippled as a younger soldier, the son-less Hua must answer that call, one that promises almost certain death. With utmost courage and love for her family, Mulan escapes in the middle of the night with her father’s heirloom sword and armor to pose as a man named Hua Jun to take his place. Under a disguise, she joins an Imperial Army unit trained by Commander Tung (ageless and whirling action star Donnie Yen).

LESSON #2: CONTROL YOUR ENERGY— “Control yourself” is the constant parental warning pleaded in Mulan’s direction. Culturally, yoking the energy of your chi is important. Socially, however, her chosen outlets of that chi are entirely misplaced as a woman. Mulan restricts her energy when the unbridled version of herself stands to be greater than her peers. With added significance on the side of the protagonists, Gong Li’s Xian Lang represents a fascinating dark foil for Mulan as a woman defying expectations and embracing her energy’s fullest potential. Knock the obvious comparisons to Kung Fu Panda or “The Force” of Star Wars all you want, the challenging dichotomy of their clash is a fantastic tipping point for the heroine and the film.

Before and after metal clangs and horses neigh, Hidden Figures cinematographer Mandy Walker absorbs every illustrious hue of the rugged Chinese and Kiwi shooting locations enhanced with light special effects from Sean Andrew Faden (Power Rangers). Her rolling, tilting, and craning lenses move effortlessly through the dynamic melee cooked up by stunt coordinators Ben Cooke (1917) and Scott Rogers (Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) and fight coordinators Heidi Moneymaker (The Hunt), Shane Yan (MCU’s upcoming Shang-Chi), and Nuo Sun (Deadpool 2).

LESSON #3: LIVE A VIRTUOUS LIFE— The difference between using that chi for good or for evil circles back to virtues over mere traits. Etched into blades and equally into souls, the cardinal virtues of “loyal,” ‘brave,” and “true” are instilled by every influential and mythical figure in Mulan’s life. Her belief in them never shatters. It’s merely earning and capturing the crucial opportunities to prove her enormous heart belongs where her energy takes her. That’s where true honor is found and the contagious inspiration sparks. Bravo to Yifei Liu for embodying and carrying this movie’s weight.

Lyrics may be gone, but the musical marrow is still present and poignant. Composer Harry Gregson-Williams borrows heavily from the classic motifs of the late great Jerry Goldsmith. The words of “Reflection” don’t need to be heard to still properly stir as its melody swells throughout the dramatic tone of the movie. If you need that choral boost, the end credits will provide that sensation. Lead actress Yifei Liu performs a lovely Mandarin version of “Reflection” to follow the soprano maven Christina Aguilera returning to her career’s launching pad with an update of her hit and a new original track, “Loyal Brave True,” which will surely garner instant Oscar consideration.

Unlike so many of these “re-imaginings” from Disney, nearly every aspect of this live-action rendition is an enhancement from its predecessor. Wisdom and prudence came from the writers room with Planet of the Apes trilogy hitmakers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver and an assist from newcomer Elizabeth Martin. The trio expanded the mythology, amped up the battles, doubled the villainy, and, most importantly, dropped the pandering distractions and show-pony antics. Weaknesses are traded for strengths left and right. Once again, for those that ask how they could “make a man” out of this movie without the musical numbers, the answer is simply with action instead of words. Nothing about Mulan needs any kind of male-centered ego polish.

With those improvements, the next term that deserves the virtue-versus-trait upgrade is the phrase “a woman’s touch.” Sure, Oscar winner Ang Lee would have been fitting and amazing, but Whale Rider and The Zookeeper’s Wife director Niki Caro was no token hire. She did not bring frilly cinematic ribbons and bows for the sake of any low-grade suitability for princesses and merchandising. The effeminate value Caro brought was rooted in fortitude and bravery matching the legendary title character.

It all goes back to encapsulating deeper virtues over surface-thin traits. Women are beyond capable of such independence and profundity, if not more so, than their male counterparts. The women, young and old, who stand to be inspired by Mulan are the true “girls worth fighting for.” No song is required. Noble commitment accomplishes far more.

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hellyeahheroes · 7 years

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Secret Empire #6 has like one good scene - where Natasha admits that the world is screwed because her generation was too petty and selfish. This works in regard to both the Marvel Universe and the real world where previous generations indeed have ruined things for others with their pettiness and selfishness and greed. Too bad she immediately follows it by saying she’ll make it right by making next generation more like her - I don’t see a reason here, at all. If you admit there is something wrong with you, you don’t make up for it by trying to make others like you!

Also, rest of the issue sucks. They keep jumping over who the traitor is like it’s a game of eenie meenie until it lands on Scott Lang. They have his daughter….What’s the point of having a traitor reveal and dance around it so much if you will just land on one of the obvious options?!

Also, Captain Nazi has brought Banner back to life and gives a long speech to inspire him to go and avenge his death and Banner tells him “Okay, those assholes betrayed me. But you’re a Nazi, go fuck yourself.” And you know what? This could be a great moment to see a someone who had all the reasons to turn against Avengers go and throw Rogers’ offer right in his face, spit at his vision of the Nazi world. BUT OF COURSE NOPE! Because Rogers wasn’t talking to Bruce but to Hulk and Hulk agrees. BECAUSE GOD FORBIDS IF ANYTHING COULD EVEN INCONVENIENCE FUHRER IN THE SLIGHTEST! What could be a symbol of people who have been screwed over by the system rejecting Nazi ideology because they recognize it as a horrible thing it is, instead becomes a thing right out of a Nazi texbook - “people deep inside agree with us, they’re just forcing themselves to be weak to not be called a bigot”. Congratulations! I hope having Hulk show up and fight Ben Grimm, such a novel concept we’ve never seen before was worth it!

Also, fight between Captain Hitler and Iron Man was clearly rewritten last minute to acknowledge Tony is a hologram.

Oh and this whole talk about how current heroes are weak and corrupt, too secretive and always consumed by infighting Rogers is trying to sell Banner? Narration AGREES with him. Only it says they can still change and remember how to be heroes. That they needed Hydra to kick their asses to awaken and become stronger.

First of all, no. Nobody fucking needed Nazis to conquer them and build death camps on their soil to become stronger or more morally pure. And judging from my country, that it happened to and worse, it doesn’t work. Suffering isn’t there to harden people or a nation, next time you will try talking such bullshit, think about people who lost someone to dictatorships and occupations like this! Also, about this “after Secret Empire heroes will be heroes again” thing, well….

For some reason, I find it hard to believe.

Repuploading because tumblr apparently thinks that criticizing a pro-nazi book is somehow inappropriate. Go figure.

- Admin

#Secret Empire #Wasp #nadia pym #Spider-Man #Miles morales #Ironheart #Iron Man #Riri Williams #Viv Vision #Falcon #Jacquin Torres #Marvel #Wednesday Spoilers

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snakebitcat · 5 years

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All Good Things Must Come To An Endgame (Avengers: Endgame)

“A man of vision, you say? Yeah. A hell of a vision.”

-Woodrow Call, Lonesome Dove

Hi there. It’s been awhile.

Firstly, here’s the State of the Manchild: The 2016 election took a lot of wind out of my sails, and then finding out that the guy who encouraged me to start writing reviews was a sexual predator (and the resultant end of the review site I was writing for) didn’t help my morale any, either. Also, I had some personal setbacks that I’d rather not go into that sent me into a long spiral of depression, so that didn’t help either. But I’ve missed this, and I’ve been wanting to come back to it, and when I saw Avengers: Endgame I felt the same inspiration that I felt when I watched Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, so here we are. Time to kick off Grumpy Old Manchild 2.0, so without further ado, a review:

Avengers: Endgame was amazing, and that makes me fucking furious.

Why, you ask? Let me tell you about my friend John. I met him in 1987, back when I was just a grumpy young manchild. I was in a bookstore at my local mall, reading a sourcebook for the Marvel Super Heroes RPG, and some random stranger came up to me and started talking about the superhero game he was running at his college. We had a great time nerding the hell out over how much we loved superheroes and gaming, and because this was the era before anybody had cell phones and we were oblivious nerd boys, neither one of us thought that exchanging contact information would be a good idea. It was just a nice talk, and I’d figured that would be that.

Then that fall, when I went to go register for classes at the college I was attending at the time, we spotted each other in the halls, and I thought “Hey, it’s that guy; I should go say hi,” and we started hanging out and gaming together, and co-GM’d a superhero RPG from 1989 to 2006. I ran the first session the same night we went to go see the Michael Keaton Batman movie. And n 2008 we went to go see Iron Man together, and both lost our fucking minds when Nick Fury showed up at the end. And then we saw Incredible Hulk together, and when Tony Stark showed up at the end we lost of goddamned minds again.

And then in May of 2009, he died. He only got to see two of the twenty-two MCU movies, and nobody’s ever going to convince me that’s even remotely close to fair. But it seems somehow appropriate that when I’m thinking about him while I’m writing about a movie about superheroes and loss.

But I digress.

How was the movie, you ask? I absolutely loved it. Best installment in the MCU, bar none, because they accomplished something that no other American movie studio ever has: They perfectly reproduced the experience of being a comic book reader following multiple titles by multiple creative teams working on a single storyline while also moving their individual storylines forward, and they absolutely stuck the landing.

And from here, there be spoilers, so I’ll put the rest under a cut.

OK, then. Other reviewers have already covered the plot, and if you’re still reading then chances are good you’ve already seen it, so rather than hit on that, I’m going to start by discussing how the movie deals with the original six Avengers.

First, we have Hawkeye. Most of the Avengers have fit the standard superhero mold of unmarried people with no kids, but Clint Barton is a husband and father, and his commitment to that kept him out of Infinity War. So because we didn’t get to see him in that (and because, unlike Scott Lang, he didn’t get a solo movie), the Russo’s decision to start with a scene of him with his family was a good one. It sparks Clint’s descent into darkness as Ronin, and it really drives home what it would be like to be there during the Snap.

Bruce Banner finally reconciles the two warring halves of his personality, and we get the Smart Hulk that I never expected to see in the movies, but was delighted to. How many PhDs does Hulk have? Same as you now, buddy.

When the Avengers finally locate Thanos, Thor goes for the head (as Thanos told him he should have done) only to discover that the vengeance he was desperate to take upon the Mad Titan means nothing. While the fat jokes at his expense were unnecessary, even disappointing, it makes sense that he would sink into the depressed haze of alcohol, food, and resignation we find him stewing in five years later.

Captain America has taken over Sam’s job, and is helping the Snap survivors learn to live with their tragedy, because he’s still trying to figure out how to live with his own. He hasn’t quite managed to move on, but then again that’s been his defining trait ever since he woke up in the modern world at the end of his first movie.

Iron Man has become the sort of dad he always wished his own father had been. It was great to see how he has, over the eleven years and 22 movies that the MCU has given us, gone from being someone who put himself and his own desires above everything and everyone else to someone whose first priority is the well-being of his friends and family.

And then we have Black Widow. Survivor’s guilt has been her defining trait ever since we got her hints about “red in her ledger” in Avengers, and it’s become the entirety of her being when we see what she’s up to after the jump forward in time. She’s so dedicated to coordinating the missions the surviving Avengers and Guardians are carrying out to the exclusion of letting herself have a life that her friends and colleagues are starting to worry about her.

So we have two Avengers who have collapsed in on themselves (Clint and Thor), two who are, while functional, too consumed by their pasts to move forward (Steve and Natasha), and two who are living the sort of post-heroic lives that their pre-Snap selves could only dream of (Bruce and Tony). Thus their situations are perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

As good as the movie is, it’s not entirely without its weak points. When Tony and Steve first meet each other, Tony lashes out at Steve for not being there when Thanos attacked. But because the reason Steve wasn’t there was because Tony never managed to swallow his pride enough to call Steve, that’s all on you, Stank. There are two others, both of them dialogue choices. The first is them not having Steve say “I can do this all day” when he gets up after Thanos has broken his shield and beaten him down, because that would have taken us full circle to when Steve was fighting the bully in Captain America: the First Avenger. And speaking of taking things full circle, when Tony says “I am Iron Man” just before he Snaps, he should have said “I am Tony Stark.” It wasn’t Iron Man, Avenger who stops Thanos and saves the universe, but rather Tony Stark, friend and father who will do whatever it takes to ensure that his little girl and the other people he loves will be safe from Thanos’ evil.

And now for some of the highlights from the plot – the things that pleasantly surprised me, or just made me grin. We finally got to hear Steve say “Avengers assemble!” I was hoping for that in Avengers, and then in Age of Ultron they blueballed us by cutting away before he could finish saying it, and there was never a point in Infinity War when it would have been appropriate. So finally, after almost a full decade of waiting, having it at long last be paid off felt especially sweet. Tony and Steve finally putting their bad blood aside and becoming friends again was exactly the sort of sweet moment we needed. The scene with Bruce and the Ancient One was an absolute delight, because he was one of the only members of the team who could talk multiversal theory and timeline integrity with her at her level. Tony meeting his father helped him realize that for all of Howard’s many faults, his father did the best he was capable of, in a heartfelt callback to Star-Lord having the same realization about Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The moment when all of the Avengers and Guardians whom Thanos had Snapped portaled in along with all of the sorcerers, Ravagers, and all of Wakanda’s warriors was an absolutely beautiful “Fuck yeah” moment. Star-Lord got to see Gamora again, but when he tried to resume where they had left off their relationship, he got a knee to the pills for his trouble because this was the Gamora that hadn’t met him yet, rather than the one who had gotten the chance to see the real him yet. And Steve finally proved that we he worthy to wield Mjolnir, and Thor was even happier about it than anyone in the audience!

And with that I’ll move on to how each of the original team’s individual stories ended up.

Clint got to be back with the family that he had lost all hope of seeing again.

Bruce got to leave the violence and anger that had defined his life for years behind him, and retire with the recognition as a hero and a genius that he deserved.

Thor has left the weight of all the expectations – both his own, and of all the other Asgardians and Avengers – behind him, and can start to discover what sort of person he is and what sort he wants to be.

Steve has finally moved on, by moving back. He returns to the past, and becomes the husband that Peggy had mentioned in past movies but whom we never saw. As a fan of the character and someone who is hopelessly sentimental, seeing him finally get that dance she promised him had me weeping with joy.

Tony’s story started the MCU, and he has, appropriately enough, grown the most of any of the characters in it. He proved that he was capable of self-sacrifice in Avengers, and in Endgame he knows what he’s sacrificing himself for, and that it’s worth the cost he pays.

And Natasha … it hurt so much to see her sacrifice herself. But it also made perfect sense. Clint was too blinded by the loss of his family to realize that if they won, his family would be back. But Natasha knew that, and she wanted Clint to have the chance at a life with his wife and children that Thanos had taken away from him. And with that act of supreme love for her best and truest friend, the last of the red was finally gone from her ledger.

Their situations are no longer perfectly balanced, but obsession with balance was what drove Thanos to attempt to commit omnicide. We don’t need for all of the Avengers to be equally well off, as long as their storylines have reached their logical conclusions, and for good or ill, whether in joy or in mourning, they all have.

We will miss the ones we lost in Endgame, as I miss John. But we will continue on, and although I’m sure they would have preferred to have gotten to continue along with us, we can keep living our lives and do our best to make things a little better, a little kinder, and a little more just for those who will continue along after we are gone.

Speaking of which, please join me next Wednesday, when I’ll be reviewing a movie whose title was too weird for me to ignore: The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot.

#grumpy old manchild #reviews #avengers #avengers endgame #mcu #it felt good to write reviews again #i hope people read this

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avengeultrons · 7 years

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Title: Be Safe (Part 3 Lang Love Interest(Daughter of Scott! Reader x Peter Parker)

Summary: The Reader’s dad Scott drops a bombshell about a recruit for Team Stark during dinner

Word Count: 2133

Warning: Slight cursing, Teenage awkwardness, Angst?

A/N: I LOVE THIS SO MUCH UGH! This little ‘series’ is like… my favorite. I hope you enjoy!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 4

–

“Pizza’s here!” Your dad danced into your tiny kitchen with a pizza box for three; himself, Peter, and you. He raised an eyebrow at you when he noticed that Peter was suddenly gone, leaving nothing but a notebook of notes that he must’ve forgotten.

When you didn’t respond- you were hunched over your textbooks to study for a handful of tests you had on Monday- he opened the box and wafted the scent of delicious cheese and pepperoni into your face, “Did you hear me?” he laughed and dropped the box onto the counter behind you, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

You grabbed a slice for yourself and took a big bite; you’d started studying as soon as you made it home from school and couldn’t remember eating anything but a granola bar and a bunch of candy.

“How’s the studying going?” Scott sat down cautiously across from you, a fatherly look on his face like he was about to tell you some big news that he wasn’t sure how you’d take.

“It’s going. How’s saving the world going?” you smirked and closed your textbooks before pizza sauce dripped onto them. He drew in a shaky breath, an apprehensive smile on his face.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about,” he laughed lightly, chugging a decent amount of his beer down before speaking again, “You know what, how’s that Parker kid doing? Where’d he run off to?” you looked over at your father suspiciously; what did this have to do with saving the world?

“Peter’s fine. Great, I guess. He had to leave, said he had to help a friend with their school project,” you shrugged. You had become accustomed to this common excuse that he used and decided not to pry, even if you desperately wanted to, “What does this have to do with saving the world again?”

“Well…Okay, I’ll just say it. You can’t be pissed at me, or your little boyfriend you say isn’t your boyfriend,” he clasped his hands together to rest his chin on them, an eyebrow raised as if he was challenging you.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you concluded, crossing your arms defiantly over your chest. Even as you said it; your cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. Peter wasn’t your boyfriend.

Scott sighed and looked down at the table to inspect it, avoiding your gaze, “You know that I’m leaving tomorrow for Brussels, right? That’s why Cass is with your mom,” he started out slow, looking over at you cautiously, almost as if you would implode if he said something wrong, “I was just informed that the other side has a new recruit. A young one.”

“Okay?” your stomach began to twist into knots as he said those last three words, as if he wanted you to use context clues to figure it out. You were, and were suddenly in disbelief.

“Okay?” he leaned forward until his elbows were resting on the top of your textbooks and you could smell the New York pizza lingering on his breath, “It’s Spider-Man?” He said it as if a lightbulb was supposed to go off in your head.

You stared blankly at him, “Are you somehow suggesting that it’s Peter?” Scott sighed loudly as you said it while you looked down at the table as if it was the most interesting thing you’d ever seen. You weren’t even sure how you were feeling in that moment. Angry? Hurt? Sad and Betrayed? How could you feel when you had a secret, too?

“I’m not sure, obviously. Don’t be mad at him, though. Please,” he begged with a weak smile on his face. If only he knew how many times he had forgotten about plans or made up an excuse, all the times he showed up battered and bruised, this monumental final piece to the puzzle would make plenty of sense, “I’ve been suspecting something for a while, really.”

“I’m not mad,” you said simply, scooting your chair out to get up. It squeaked against the linoleum in protest as you did so. When you opened your mouth to say something, not much came out, “I just…” you gathered your things together while your father watched carefully.

“Where are you going? It’s late, Y/N. Do you want to… talk about it?” he scratched his head nervously, for he wasn’t too sure what to talk about and how exactly to tackle that. Saving people? Easy. Talking about a teenage boy with your teenage daughter? Not so easy.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it” you laughed lightly, though it sounded forced and fake, “I’m just going… to bed, is all. Good night, dad. Thanks for the pizza and everything,” you smiled a smile that was so fake it almost hurt to give it. With that, you kissed his cheek and tried to calmly walk down the hallway to your room.

Scott watched you go, scratching his head in confusion. Of course you weren’t going to bed, but he figured that you should work it out on your own. That was the fun in being a teenager, right? “I’ll be in to check on you in an hour, if you’re sneaking out or whatever!” he called after you. You waved a hand at him and rolled your eyes, even if he couldn’t see.

You grasped Peter’s forgotten notebook in your hands as you climbed out of your own window to walk across the fire escape; at least you had an excuse to head over. Your heart was already racing as you thought about what you were going to say; how do you ask someone if they’re a superhero, exactly?

A sigh of relief escaped your lips as you saw that the light in Peter’s bedroom was on, the window open which was letting the cold air in. Upbeat pop music was playing inside, floating out quite loudly; you could hear every word. With an eyebrow raised, you peeked your head in and found that no one was there. As to be expected.

With a sigh, you swung your legs over the ledge of the fire escape and leaned back, waiting. You weren’t really dressed to wait for ages; so you hoped that- whatever he was doing- Peter wouldn’t be much longer.

You were humming along to the music flooding out of his window when a loud thud onto the rusted metal of the fire escape caused you to jump and pull you back to reality. Spider-Man had arrived.

You took a deep breath and turned, looking over at him carefully; the hero’s back was still turned to you as he gasped for air, an arm leaning against the brick wall of the building for support, “Are you alright?” you asked quietly in an attempt to not scare him. It didn’t work.

He jumped and turned around in a fighting stance, shooting a web at your free hand. You were now stuck to the wall behind you, binded by a literal spider web.

It was a lot stronger than you had thought; you even pulled with all of your might in an attempt to escape, “So, you’re okay? You’re not injured? You left your notebook at my place, you know,” you spat, your tone coming out harsher than you had originally intended. You had planned exactly what you were going to say and how things were going to resolve. Well, that was until you got stuck to a brick wall by a web.

Spider-Man tensed up and the lenses of his eyes on the mask widened at you. Your breath came out in puffs of vapor while you waited for him to say something, anything, “I-I don’t know what your talking about. Whose notebook is that? Maybe they’re looking for it?”

“You can cut the act, Peter,” you sighed, a bored expression on your face as you did so. He pulled the mask off, his hair a mess and his face littered with tiny cuts, “What does Aunt May think of this?” You’d only met her a handful of times and every time she was too excited that you were over to ask any questions about the fact of Peter being a superhero.

“She doesn’t know and she can’t. She can’t know, okay?” he sat down next to you, his voice pleading.

“I won’t tell,” you rolled your eyes, biting your bottom lip nervously. You had no reason to tell, really. The thought hadn’t even crossed your mind; the only thing you were thinking was how damn cold it was.

“You’re not… you’re not mad?” he breathed a sigh of relief, swinging his legs over the edge to match you.

“I was. Pissed really, but that’s only because I found out from my dad,” you laughed lightly, watching his eyes widen, “I actually have to tell you something, too. You can’t tell anyone.”

He perked up at that, leaning in attentively. You took a deep breath and looked down at the rusted metal you were sitting on as you spoke, “My dad is…He’s kind of-Well, he’s Ant-Man,” you said quietly, not looking up at him. Even if you were extremely nervous of what Peter would think: you could feel a weight lifted off of your shoulders. You were free from the biggest secret of your life.

“Holy shit,” he gave a breathy laugh, which made you laugh too. He was laughing; Peter wasn’t mad.

“So, you can un-web me from the wall now,” you smiled at him, his cheeks darkening.

“Right, sorry,” Peter scooted closer to you and your hand was free from the wall as quickly as it was binded there, “Your hands are freezing,” he remarked, your hand still in his.

You gave a shrug, “He’s on the other side, so try not to kick his ass too bad,” you and Peter both laughed until your sides hurt, even if it wasn’t terribly funny. You looked over at him with a sheepish smile, your cheeks turning pink, “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”

He smiled reassuringly, “I always am,” Peter said, while you snorted, “Okay, okay. Maybe not always, but I will be. Promise.”

You gave a triumphant huff, shivering as another gust of bitter cold wind sent your teeth chattering. You leaned into him almost as an instinct, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Your stomach was filled with butterflies both from the somewhat intense night you had and the fact that you were so close to Peter you could practically hear his heart beating as quickly as yours.

He was suddenly leaning into you with his eyes shifting from your lips to your eyes, your heartbeat loud in your ears. All you were thinking about was how much you wanted to kiss him.

You were so close that your noses were almost touching as your hand caressed his cheek gently; the adrenaline coursing through your veins causing your face to burn with a warm blush.

As if the Gods felt the kiss about to happen; the sound of Peter’s door being thrown open filled your ears and May’s voice followed, “Peter, are you out on the fire escape again?” she called out.

Peter, who was holding his breath, exhaled loudly while a laugh escaped your lips, “Yeah! Y/N’s here too,” he replied, shaking his head slightly.

“Hi!” you called out cheerfully, a smile forming on your face.

“Hello, Y/N. You haven’t even packed yet? You have an early morning so I suggest getting to bed early, too,” Aunt may was obviously snooping around, and she wasn’t too happy that he hadn’t packed for an international trip yet.

“I’ll be right in, just saying good bye,” he sighed and clambered to his feet, offering you a hand.

You waited until the door of his bedroom shut and May had left before returning Peter’s notebook to him, “Sounds like you’d better get packing, P,” you said with a smile.

Peter nodded in agreement, running a hand through his hair until it looked like a perfect, curly mess atop his head, “I guess I’ll see you later, then,” he said with a smile.

“Y/N, are you out here?” your own dad’s voice filled your ears now as he yelled from your bedroom window, watching the interaction take place. A groan escaped your lips. Really?

You and Peter both laughed lightly, butterflies wildly fluttering around your stomach. You leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek quickly, Peter’s eyes widening and cheeks darkening to a deep red color, “Be safe, Peter.”

You turned to head back to your own apartment, leaving Peter with his hand hovering over his cheek as he watched you leave, a giddy and nervous smile. on your face that your father would definitely be asking about. The look on his face was already priceless.

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