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trashyswitch · 4 years

Text

3 Times Afton Was an Idiot, and 1 Time Afton Admitted it

Throughout the years of working together, Henry has always decided that Will was the idiot between the two. William accidentally proves this 4 separate times throughout their business partnership, and actually admits it on the 4th time!

Yay! 1st FNAF fanfic in a month! Feels good to be writing William and Henry again. I missed these two.

Henry was trying to work on the inner workings of Foxy. He had just finished putting some wires through the head and spread them onto its shoulders. With the cords in place, Henry started taping them down to the endoskeleton.

He was so busy working on Foxy, that he barely noticed the presence of William walking up behind him with a Freddy Fazbear plush and a Bonnie plush.

Henry started connecting the cords together, when he felt two things hopping on his back. Henry lifted an eyebrow, but ignored it to try and plug the cords into the arm cords.

“Hey Freddy!” Bonnie (William with a high voice) said, shaking back and forth.

“Yes Bonnie?” Freddy (William with a low voice) replied.

“I’m very curious about those weird guys in that bright office. Who are they?” Bonnie asked.

Freddy bounced himself up to the top of Henry’s shoulder. “You don’t know? They created us! They created me, and you!” Freddy told the bonnie plush.

“Really?! I didn’t know that!” Bonnie reacted.

Henry blinked and stared into the abyss in slight annoyance. “William, what are you doing?” He asked.

Ignoring Henry’s question, William turned Freddy’s body around to Bonnie as if he had just heard the stupidest thing ever. “You...didn’t know...that Henry Emily and William Afton are our creators?” Freddy reacted.

William made Bonnie jump onto Henry’s other shoulder. “Well yeah, I knew that.” Bonnie replied. “But who are those people in the offices, making noises and ruining our speakers?” Bonnie asked.

Freddy looked at Bonnie with flat anger. William started shaking Freddy front and back in anger. “THOSE ARE HENRY EMILY AND WILLIAM AFTON, YOU NUMB NUT!” Freddy (William) shouted.

Henry waved the plushes off his shoulders. “Stop that! I’m trying to work!” Henry told him.

William only continued. “...He doesn’t like us…” Bonnie (high-pitched William) told Freddy.

“Why not?” Freddy Fazbear (deep-voiced William) asked.

“I don’t know. He sounds cranky.” Bonnie reacted.

William moved Freddy closer and closer to Henry’s face. Finally, Freddy shook back and forth a little. “Yeah, you’re right. He DOES look cranky!” Freddy replied.

“Alright, that’s enough. Showtime’s over, dumbass.” Henry ordered, taking the plushies from William and walking away from him.

Even without the plushies, William was still doing the voices. “NOOO! WILLIAM! HELP US! THE EVIL HENRY IS TAKING US AWAY!” Bonnie shouted.

“Let us go, fiend! You may have made us, but you know better than to kidnap your own creations!” Freddy yelled at Henry.

Henry turned around and yeeted both the plushes at William. William just laughed as both plushes bounced off his chest. “Ohohokahahay, ohokahay! I’m done! I’m done!” William laughed.

“You’re so annoying.” Henry told him.

William snorted a little and turned his voice into Bonnie’s again. “Wow! What an asshole!” William (Bonnie) declared.

William quickly ducked as an empty metal trash can was thrown at him next!

...Followed by a backpack.

[A Couple Weeks Later]

Henry and William were getting all the TV’s set up to display all the camera footage. They just finished getting the equipment in, and they were now connecting everything.

Well...More like Henry was. William had to be temporarily banned from touching the techy stuff because he kept messing up the cord placements.

At least he was being careful when bring the equipment into the place.

“One small question: Why is the security guard’s office way in the back?” William asked.

“Because we wanted the security guard completely separated from the kids activities.” Henry replied.

“Why couldn’t we put the office upstairs?” William asked.

Henry slowly turned to look at him. “...How many times have you been here, exactly?” Henry asked.

“The same amount of times as you.” William replied.

Henry plugged a cord into the machine without even looking, and stared at William in pure disbelief. “I’m surprised you’re not aware of this… but we have NO upstairs!” Henry told him.

“We don’t?” William clarified.

Henry pushed the front of William’s hat bill down. “Where would the upstairs be? Huh? There’s no hidden stairs.” Henry told him.

William fixed his hat. “But...I thought the vents might lead somewhere.” William offered, proving just how little common sense he’s developed over the years.

Henry wheezed and looked away. “Ihif you think the vents are gonna lead you somewhere, then you can go find out for yourself.” Henry joked.

William blinked a couple times, before smiling and grabbing a nearby step ladder.

Henry continued to plug in the cords on his own. He plugged a few of the cords into the 2nd TV to get it turned on, and then started to plug all the cameras into the two Beta recorders and plug that into the two TV’s. Soon, the video footage started showing up!

Henry slowly removed his hands from the technology in accomplishment. “Hey Will! Check it out, I got the cameras set up!” Henry declared.

Suddenly, Henry heard a metal clang that could’ve come from far away. Henry dropped his arms to his sides and widened his eyes.

He did not...Did he?!

Henry looked over to the left and right, trying to determine which vent he could’ve gone into. To find this out, Henry looked for the location of the step ladder. After a bit of walking around, Henry quickly found the step ladder set up under the left vent.

Wow...He really went and did it…

Henry folded up the step ladder and carried it with him while he walked the vents’ pathway. Halfway down the vent direction, Henry set up the step ladder. “Hey Will! You in here?” Henry asked before knocking on the vent.

“HEY HENRY! IMAGINE IF I DIED IN HERE! HOW LONG WOULD MY BODY GO UNFOUND?” William asked out of nowhere.

Henry widened his eyes. “I-...What?” Henry asked, knowing it was a joke, but still slightly worried.

Suddenly, a clanging sound was heard. Henry started running further down the hall, following the vent’s direction and looked around for an exit to the vent. But a couple seconds later, Henry watched as a vent door opened, and William came falling out of the vent with a loud shriek. William hit the floor with a loud splat, and Henry widened his eyes in surprise and horror. Holy CRAP!

Henry sprinted up to him. “Are you okay?!” Henry asked, staring at his best friend’s body.

William’s body was completely covered in vent dust, and the dust was STILL raining down from the vent screen he opened. William blinked in surprise. “Ow.” He muttered.

Henry couldn’t help himself: the man bursted out laughing at William’s stupidity! “Whyhyhy did you ACTUALLY climb in the vents?!” Henry asked.

William blinked and looked away, slightly flustered. “...Because I wanted to know if there was a secret door.” William replied.

Henry just laughed further and mentally thanked himself for getting the cameras plugged in and recording when he did.

[A few weeks later:]

Henry was cracking open a couple beers, and handed one of them to William. “A toast: to the success of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria!” Henry declared.

“Cheers!” William and Henry both declared, clinging the noses of their beers together before taking a gulp out of their bottles.

Elizabeth huffed at her regular cup. “I want a glass bottle!” Elizabeth begged.

“Can I have one too?” Michael asked.

William just about choked on his beer. “Hohold up, what? No! This is big boy juice.” William told him.

“But I’m a big boy.” Michael argued.

“I can’t have it because I’m a girl?” Elizabeth asked.

Henry looked at William with a ‘look what you’ve done’ look on his face. “Big girls can have the juice too. But very big girls, who make good choices.” Henry told them both.

“I’m a big girl. I can make good choices.” Elizabeth argued.

Henry narrowed his eyes. Can she tho? Can she really?

Suddenly, William stood up and walked to the kitchen. “Tell you what: I can make it up to you.” William decided, before grabbing his empty beer collection off the high shelf. William pulled out a pair of smaller, high life beer bottles out of the collection and rinsed the bottles out good. Then, William grabbed some apple juice from the fridge, and dumped some apple juice into both the bottles. “There! Now you can enjoy having bottles too.” William told the kids, handing them the fake beers.

“Thank you Dad!” Michael said happily.

“Yay! Thanks Daddy!” Elizabeth declared happily.

“You’re welcome!” William replied.

Henry widened his eyes. “I...that’s smart..,but also so stupid! Will, your wife is going to be FURIOUS!” Henry yelled.

William scoffed and waved it off. “It’ll be fine when she tastes it.” William replied. “Besides: she knows I’m not stupid.” William told him.

Henry lifted an eyebrow. “Does she now?” Henry muttered to him.

“Yeah.” William replied.

“I’d beg to differ.” Henry mentioned.

“And why is that?” William asked.

“Because you’re actually a lot more stupid then you let on.” Henry argued.

William looked at Henry. “Rude.” He reacted.

“Not rude when it’s true.” Henry added.

Michael and Elizabeth were giggling while they watched.

“I’m surprised you never learned to keep your opinions to yourself.” William reacted.

“This isn’t an opinion. This is fact.” Henry shot back.

“Fact or opinion, you should be keeping it to yourself.” William told him.

Suddenly, the entire conversation came to a halt when William’s wife walked into the back door. William turned to Henry with a smirk. “Let’s let the woman in the house determine this.” William said proudly.

...William wound up getting himself into big trouble. He was yelled at later for ‘encouraging their children to be child alcoholics’, and wasn’t trusted alone with the kids for a week or so after that.

[A Couple Weeks Later:]

William was trying to fix a knot in the curtain rope while standing on a step ladder.

...Yyyyup! This wasn’t gonna go well.

It took the man another 10 minutes to get himself stuck to the curtain rope upside down. Exactly how did William end up getting himself stuck this way? Not even William knows.

“Henry? A little help?” William asked.

Henry was under the stage, setting up more chairs and tables for the bigger party population that was gonna come in a couple days. “ONE SECOND…” Henry yelled back.

William waited for Henry to come crawling out of there. And thankfully, he did! Henry crawled out from under the stage with a few more chairs and placed them down. “Okay. What’s going on Wi-” Henry wheezed and bursted out laughing at the hilarious sight in front of him:

William was hanging upside down by his foot in front of the curtain. “Uuuuh...Oh boy…” He muttered, feeling slightly awkward about the predicament.

“HOHOHOW DIHID YOU MANAGE THIS?!” Henry asked, just falling into even more laughter.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I even WANNA know. All I know is I want down.” William told him.

Henry nodded. “Okay, okay.” He said, rolling up his sleeves and working on getting him down.

“Hey William, I’m gonna need to remove your shoe to get you out.” Henry let him know.

“Okay.” William replied.

Henry removed William’s shoe and...as much as Henry wanted to help William out, Henry thought he’d be able to take advantage of the situation. So, Henry tightened the curtain’s hold on William, and started tickling his foot. William squealed! “WAIT! Hehehenry! Stahahap!” William giggled.

Henry paused and lifted his hand away for a second. “Why should I?” Henry asked, before resuming his tickling.

“HAhahaha! Nohohoho dohohohon’t! Lehehet mehehe gohohoho!” William giggled, wiggling around as he tried to kick him. But Henry grabbed his other free foot, removed the sock right away, and started tickling that one as well! “HEHEY! EEEEHEhehehehehe! Quihihihihihit thahahahat!” William ordered helplessly.

Henry chuckled deeply. “Not until you admit you’re the dumbass in this friendship.” Henry told him.

William looked up at Henry and blinked...That’s it? “Ihihi’m a duhuhumbahass. Yohohohou knohohow thihihihis ahahalreheady!” William told him through his laughter.

Henry guffawed! “Wow! That was quick!” Henry reacted. “But because that was too quick, I’m not gonna stop quite yet.” Henry decided.

“Whahahahat?! Whyhyhyhyhy?! Whahahat’s soho fuhuhun ahahabohout tihihicklihihing mehehehe?!” William asked him.

Henry stopped tickling the man and knelt down to William’s head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that you snort when tickled hard enough? Maybe it’s the fact that your face goes all red anytime you’re receiving physical love? Maybe it’s even the fact that you’re super ticklish and that makes it fun!” Henry told him.

William looked away a little and blushed. Even just getting compliments could turn him into a tomato. “Rude.” William accused.

Henry lifted an eyebrow and smiled. “Cutie.” Henry retorted.

William immediately felt his blush increase. Not wanting this to happen, William pointed at Henry. “Rude.” William shot back.

“Cutie.” Henry just shot back.

William was taken back. He was really gonna start this, huh? Well, 2 can play that game! “Rude!” William told him again, poking his forehead.

Henry smirked and booped his nose. “Cutie.” He replied confidently.

Oh god no...Not the snoot boops too! How dare! “RuUuUuUude!” William whined.

“Cuuuutieeee.” Henry sing-songed.

William decided to finally get him back. “Not. cute.” William argued, poking his sides.

“Hehehey! Don’t be starting to turn this around on me!” Henry reacted, grabbing William’s arms.

William chuckled a little out of playfulness. “Ahand why shouldn’t I?” William asked.

“Because you’re a lot more ticklish than I am. That’s why.” Henry argued back. “And I’m not the one stuck upside down at the moment.” Henry added.

“And I’m not the one tickling the person upside down instead of getting them down.” William argued back.

“I’m not tickling you now, am I?” Henry clarified.

“No, but you’re being rude.” William argued back.

“How rude?” Henry asked.

William leaned in a little and whispered in his face. “All the rude.” He whispered.

“That’s it!” Henry finally let go of William and skittered his fingers on his ribs and sides.

“WahahAHAHAHAHA! HEHEHENRYHYHYHY! NOTTHERIBS! NOT THE RIHIHIHIBS!” William shouted through his laughter. His arms were right against his chest, pushing against Henry’s tickling fingers. They weren’t stopping him from tickling at all. If anything, they were encouraging Henry to tickle him more!

Henry moved his hands to his belly, and started squishing and squeezing. William threw his head back and just CACKLED! Henry was giggling and laughing alongside him. “Man! Your Mom must’ve had a BLAST tickling you!” Henry reacted. “Do your kids know how ticklish you are?” Henry asked him.

“YEHEHEHES! THEHEHEY TIHIHICKLE MEHEHE AHAHALL THEHEHEHE TIHIHIHIHIME!” William replied.

“Well I can see why! Your reactions are priceless!” Henry told him.

“IHIHIHI WAHAHANT DOHOHOHOWN PLEHEHEHEASE!” William asked politely, despite his ticklish conundrum.

Henry nodded his head. “Alright. I’ll let you down, Will.” Henry replied, standing back up.

William took a moment to get some air back into his lungs, and waited patiently for Henry to get him down. As he was undoing the curtain, however, Henry snuck a few tickles under his toes.

And would you believe it?! William snorted! Like, actually snorted!

Henry gasped and threw a fist into the air. “YES! I got a snort!” Henry shouted proudly.

William whined and covered his flustered face as he giggled immediately after. “Ehehehehevihihihil…” William muttered out loud.

Henry looked down at William and narrowed his eyes. “What did you just call me?!” Henry asked, crossing his arms.

William uncovered his eyes and looked up at Henry. “Ehehe...ehevil?” William replied awkwardly.

...It ended up taking a lot longer for William to get down.

#william afton is an idiot #ticklefic #ler!henry #lee!william #william afton gets stuck a lot #1 parent goes to: w afton!#platonic gay relationship

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swiftwind3 · 5 years

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Everything We Lost

ao3 link here

Ahem endgame who

So, Infinity War destroyed my crops, murdered my family and spat in my face. So, I tried relieving myself with this sadkdfkshs. I don’t read the comics so,,,beware you hardcore ultras.

Also disappointment about how no one's torn The Winter Soldier theme from CATWS apart FNAF style is ruining my life as well. Heavy dialogue (i think) and lots of hyphens lmaoo. Enjoy. and don’t plagiarize of course

Summary: Bucky wakes up in the Soul Stone.

Insp: Nothing Lasts by Taska Black ft. Pauline Herr

Back to the other end, when we fell down

We could not believe we would lose it all

Now the dreams are gone, and faith has drowned

Everything we lost and we never found

Uh, Steve…?

Bucky had been expecting one of two things: either the scorching flames of punishment and retribution or the gentle white of warmth and peace, maybe even forgiveness. Definitely not orange. Definitely not a reflective, watery floor under a similarly hued sky that radiated a gnawing hunger and desolation. At least, that was the aura this realm gave off to him.

The sky was full of arriving ashes. They swirl and plummet, becoming people. So many people. So much noise.

The crowd swells around him, people flickering in and out of sight like glitching ghosts. Some cry while hugging themselves. Others stare at their limbs; Bucky having done the same once he stood up. Their cries and shouts drill into his head, and for a weird minute, he thought he was in Hell.

"Cassie, where—Cassie!"

"Darcy! Jane!"

"Bill? Bill, what's happened—where are you?"

"Harley?"

"Excuse me—"

Before he can start his own calls, he whirls to face an elderly woman.

Like him, she seems dazed, eyes wide and watery.

"I'm looking for my husband, I—"

He chokes on a scream. She dissolves into ash, his own being following suit.

There's no description for being pushed out of existence, but that's how he would word it.

Time freezes, and it was like he didn't have to breathe, he couldn't. He couldn't see, or hear, or feel and it felt bad. But how could he be sure of that if he couldn't feel at all? Yet, in a split second, it was seemingly…over. He stands, palpable as ever. He almost heaves over the poor woman, holding her slash leaning on her.

"My God," she wheezes. "What was that?"

"I'm…not sure. But, sorry about that," he shakes his head. "What, uh—does your husband look like?”

Stuttering, she catches her breath. Her eyes flick past him and widen. "Ava!"

A younger woman bursts through the crowd, spinning almost comically. "Yes? Bill?"

The elder woman raises her arm and the girl freezes, recognition steadying her face. "Van Dyne..."

The woman looks her over frantically. "Are you okay? Are you alright? Are you in any pain?"

"No, not exactly. What's happening?"

"I'm not...sure."

"Janet," an elderly man shoves through, held by a young woman. “Janet!”

"Mom?"

"Hank! Jellybean," she cries. Before bolting, she places a hand over Bucky's. "Found them. Thank you."

He tries his best to smile. "No problem."

Ducking his head, he tries to move away, eyeing the sky, the people.

Ashes clump and disassemble, and he remains silent, calling no one. He only stares as he pushes through the groups of people, tripping to a stop before he ran over a poor man as he plummeted just in front of him. Muttering a few 'excuse mes', the world seems to shift. Again, his being, along with everyone else, crumbles into ash. His lungs disappear, and he chokes in momentary oblivion.

Yelping makes him spin.

A girl falls to her knees next to him, her voice hoarse. “What—what—no—what’s—Brother?"

Bucky’s stomach vanishes. “Princess.”

Large, wet eyes snap up to him, revealing the stricken face of Shuri Udaku.

“Bucky?”

Her orange blouse almost camouflages with the light, torn in a few spots. Her trembling hand rises, and he meets it, helping her up.

They hold each other as they crumble into nothingness. When they reform, she sobs.

“What is happening? What is going on?”

“I don’t know,” he rubs her back gently. “Are you okay?”

“No, I—I’m sorry—this is all—insane,” she hiccups. “First, those things got in while I was working on Vision and I got hit, so I pretended to stay down—”

“Wait, they got to Vision?”

Her head shakes. “He—he escaped. I shut down the extraction. I couldn’t get it out in time. My guards couldn’t take the—the thing that got to us and I had to leave it in. I tried fighting back, but I got hit. I heard the window shatter—and then, when I tried hiding, everyone started turning into this and—”

She jumps at him again with a cry.

Silence rings in their minds, the whisper of air hissing in their ears as they resurface. Falling back down into actuality, they gasp for air.

“We really need to get out of here,” they chorus.

With a wet chuckle, she holds his left hand. “Are you okay? I’m sorry—there’s…a lot going on.”

“Yeah, I’m having trouble processing all this, too,” he glances around. “And I’m…okay. For the most part. Got blown back by Thanos, but I lived.”

She nods with a hum, turning his hand. “Working okay?”

He smiles, squeezing her hand lightly. “Perfect. Even…wherever the Hell this is.”

As the ashes rise around them, he tries to hold them both together, failing spectacularly. But as they came back together, he accidentally made them stumble back into someone.

"Man, watch where you're going..."

He wheezes, red goggles and a flight vest intruding his vision. "Wilson?"

“Falcon,” Shuri’s grip is tight.

Dark eyes brighten. "Princess. Barnes," Sam pants. "Just my luck. Guess this is Hell. Well, maybe not since she’s here, but."

Bucky smirks. "Too bad. Was really looking forward to take a dip in a lake of sulfur.”

"Hilarious—"

The air hisses into a deafening silence as they fell apart again. They tried latching to each other, ice overriding their senses as they dissipated in one another's grasp.

The cluster of people phases and glitches. With a crack, their forms break into ashes and reassemble hauntingly.

"Man, what the hell is going on?" Sam stumbles into him. Shuri helps steadying him as he hugs himself for a moment, rubbing his arms roughly. "What the hell is this place?"

"Beats me," he grits.

“It’s not Earth, I think.” Shuri trembles. “I don’t have any of my scanners on me—”

She gasps, whirling. They crane their necks just as the air hissed and hacked above again. Ashes rose, voices becoming distant. Snapping back into arrangement, two women in red appeared before them.

A Dora Milaje holds the hand of another collapsed, young woman, shouting into the air.

"Ayo," Bucky and Shuri chorus.

The warrior turns, startled.

"White Wolf, Falcon—Princess!"

The young woman on the ground peers dejectedly over her shoulder, conceding to Ayo's pulling.

They speed to each other, staring warily at the sky.

"Well, I'm not quite sure if it is safe to say that I'm glad to see you here," Ayo addresses, dried tear tracks on her face. She cups Shuri’s face, bringing her in for an embrace.

"Well," Sam glances around. "It's not exactly Hell, so I think we're safe. You haven’t found Banner or anybody else?"

“Yeah, maybe he could tell us where this is.” Bucky nods. “Or what is this.”

"We are far from that," the young woman's voice is thick. "Hell, that is. And Banner’s…not here."

"Maximoff," Sam says gently. "You know what it does?"

"I know some of what it can do. This is the Soul Stone. I'm closer to the Mind Stone, but I know that this," she lightly spins her hand, churning ashes. "Is just the start of its work."

"In any case, I don't want to be here when it finishes its warm-up, " Ayo snorts. She turns and lets out another call, listening, hoping.

"What else can it do?" Sam leans forward.

"Nothing,” she shrugs. “At least, I think that’s it. The Soul Stone grants its user control over all souls in the Universe. We’re inside the pocket dimension inside it. Like a storage facility.”

"Got it," he says. "Anything on Vision?"

She flinches. "He’s…his consciousness is in the Mind Stone. He won't be anywhere in here."

"So, this is the Soul Stone. It eats souls basically," Bucky provides. "And it’s not going to use us to amplify its power or anything, right?"

"That’s the Power Stone," she shrugs again, weakly. “And…it might. Using our souls to amplify the other Stones’ powers doesn’t sound too absurd.”

He sighs through his nose. She’s lost a lot. All of them have, and he lets his heart ache momentarily.

The tired, perplexed look on Steve face flashes across his mind and he blinks it away.

“Don’t give it any ideas, Barnes.” Sam mumbles.

Bucky hears it, along with the manic whispers of some guy walking behind him.

“It’s okay, Sebastian. You just got a little bit too drunk. God, I just hope I don’t get mugged…”

He wishes he could live with that level of ignorance, for a little while longer anyway. His desire got swept away as a blobby…elf…person landed tripped beside him and immediately stumbled to its feet, resuming its foreign yelling.

"Well, one thing's for sure. This ain't no afterlife." Sam stares after it. "Pretty sure all languages would be mutually intelligible under Father God's roof."

“So, we know what’s happening,” Shuri hugs herself. “But the only why I can think of is…the worst.”

Wanda rubs her eyes. “Yeah. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

All of them flinch when a wave of ash crashes above them, assembling into human shapes.

“O Great Bast,” Ayo almost doubles over. “We’ve lost.”

"Okay, okay, but let’s keep it together,” Sam goes to help her. “If Thanos did this with the gauntlet, then I’m assuming the only way to reverse it is doing the same thing. But…I don’t how he did this.”

“He snapped his fingers,” Wanda glared at her watery reflection. “I saw him do it. Thor landed his ax in his chest, but the bastard was still alive and—"

They freeze at the sound of roaring and trumpets filling the air and Bucky frowns at the massive cloud above.

"Wanda,” Bucky utters. “When you said all souls—”

Shuri follows his gaze. “Oh, Bast.”

“No,” Sam breathes. “Is that—are those—"

Bucky snatches Shuri, practically tearing Sam’s arm off. “Move, move, move!”

Animals fall from the ashes.

People scream and scatter.

With red light at her fingers, Wanda dissuades the lions, wolves, bears, hippos, and cassowaries that run too close. Elephants were the most obvious, and the roars from lions and tigers were loud enough to tell anyone where not to run.

She and Ayo run at a crowd, the water rippling from the stampede of horses and wildebeests people parted to let through.

“Make a force field,” Ayo yelled. “Sayefa! Sayefa!”

“I’m tired, you know,” a wall of red still rises, her face wincing. “I might hurt them…”

“They might hurt us,” Sam pants behind them, rolling his shoulder before clutching his knees. “Almost tore my arm off…”

“Sorry,” Bucky sets Shuri down.

"It's raining cats and dogs," his voice breaks with a bitter wheeze, gaping at the cascade of hooves around them. "Man, this place is something else."

As more people and animals appear, Bucky feels the air.

It’s not becoming...crowded. There definitely are a lot of people here, but there's also a lot of space. Too much.

A series of distant trills rise into the air, echoing.

"Sayefa! Ha hoo! Sayefa! Ha hoo!"

Shuri gasps, whirling as Ayo lets out a sharp sigh. "Oh, thank Bast.”

“Wakandaaa!"

"Sayefa! Ha hoo! Sayefa! Ha hoo!"

Bucky stumbles back as the atmosphere snaps again. His ashes fly in a brief, stormy sea.

The neighing and groaning of the animals was distant, as if he were underwater. And then, the roaring of humans was loud enough to startle him back into clarity.

Wanda and Sam flank him firmly. Wanda's hand grips his arm, face pale, perturbed.

Ayo wanders out of the shield as they see T'Challa emerging from a crowd, his warriors, along with some Jabari, following closely.

With a holler from T’Challa, a group of them charged, blanket shields flickering. Together, using nothing but their bodies and voices, they herd the poor beasts into small groups.

A few mares, foals, and stallions break away, only to be met with more men and Dora Milaje. Even the hollering of some civilians rises into the air as they seemed to join them. Expertly, they dodge both species’ bucking and rearing, their shouts scattering as they corralled them.

Crowds of people cheer and clap from a distance, relief warming Bucky’s chest.

The King commands, “Yibambe!”

“Yibambe,” they all echo.

“Yibambe!”

Shuri bolts in his direction and Bucky barely makes out the King’s soft, “Oh, no.”

"My King," Ayo calls, tailing the Princess.

T'Challa takes them for a brief embrace, and Bucky hears the clicks of isiXhosa.

"You fought well, Dora. You fought well for me and your country. We must now regroup. Find out what we can do. Be strong. Bast’s presence and power reside in me still. However, it feels...different. She is closer, but She is farther."

"Do not lose Her, Your Highness," Ayo pleads. Her arms cross over her chest, head bowed.

"Your Highness," Sam holds out his hand.

"I am not quite sure if I am glad to see some familiar faces in this place," T'Challa takes their hands in a strong shake. "But I suppose it tells us what we all feared," he looks around, face saddening at the sight of his warriors. "We have lost. And we are in a place beyond our current understanding."

"I am Groot," an odd, tree stump-like head appears behind him. It blinks at them with large, dark eyes.

Bucky was sure he'd seen it all after spinning a bipedal raccoon like Julie Andrews on the mountains to shoot a barrage of aliens. Said raccoon trying to buy his gun and his arm afterward. But now, he was completely sure he was done. Apparently, the talking tree from Pocahontas was real, too.

"And here is something else beyond my understanding," T'Challa sighs. "I don't know what it's saying."

"I am Groot," it seems to complain.

“Yep,” nods Sam. “Not an afterlife.”

“Wow, Brother,” Shuri smiles wetly. “You were meeting aliens without me? That’s unfair. Hello, Groot?”

"I am Groot," The tree nods at her and proceeds to poke T'Challa's suit. "I am Groot."

"Uh, it is vibranium,” the siblings chorus. “It is a very strong metal."

The tree points at Bucky. "I am Groot?"

"That is vibranium as well," the king's lip twitches.

"I am Groot," it taps his suit, gesturing and shrugging. "I am Groot. I am Groot." It looks at Bucky again, pointing at its own arm. "I am Groot?"

Bucky's head shakes. "I'm sorry?"

"I am Groot?"

"I'm sorry—your name is...Groot?"

The tree face deadpans at him. And he has to stomp on the embarrassment as everyone else also throws him blank looks.

The tree roars, "I am Groot!"

Sam pushes his shoulder. "Man, stop pissing off the tree alien!"

"Don't touch me—look, I don't know what it's saying, I just wanted to make sure—"

"I am Groot," Groot sighs exasperatedly. "I am Groot." It points at his arm and Sam's wings. "I am Groot. I am Groot."

"I'm—I'm Bucky." Confusion trickles through him.

The stump head shakes. "I am Groot. I am Groot. I—am—Groot."

"He's warning you about your arm and your wings," Wanda blinks with a small frown. She steps away, breathing shakily. "He says Rocket will try to buy and steal them."

"I am Groot,” it—he, apparently—gasps. “I am Groot—I am Groot!"

"I am, but this landscape is—it's amorphous. They could be at the very ends of it for all we know. I can't even sense how far it reaches."

The tree sags. "I am Groot..."

"Who the hell's Rocket?" asks Sam.

"The raccoon," it clicks in Bucky's head. "We helped each other out a while ago. And," he takes a breath. "He already tried."

Groot shakes his head again. He seemed to be smiling with what Bucky thinks is fondness. "I am Groot."

Sam gives him a glare he'd gotten used to. "Think I missed you fighting aliens with a rodent."

He shrugs. "Fine. Don't believe me."

"I am Groot," Groot chastises.

"Not a rodent, " Wanda's lips twitch. "Got it."

The air shakes violently and they cling to each other.

"I am Groot," he shrieks. "I am Groot!"

"I wouldn't want to die a second death either," she grits. "But—"

Around them, the shape of people flickers briefly, ash crashing in waves. They break and fall apart. And when they come back, on the watery surface, a small pagoda appears in the middle of them all, a rectangular, shimmering, translucent wall encasing it.

"What now?" Sam growls.

"There's…someone there," Bucky narrows his eyes.

Wanda leans forward. "A little—girl?"

"I am Groot? I am Groot! I am Groot!"

"’It’s Gamora’?" She stutters. "Who’s Gamora?"

Ash falls, and then, people were in front of the structure, yelling the name inside. A man's yell rises above the rest.

"Gamora—Gamora, it's me! It's Quill! Sweetheart, please..."

"Quill, you will not get to her," a woman with large eyes and antennae pulls on his arm. "There's too much pain—I can't do anything about it!"

"Mantis, come on, please—"

The little girl only stays with her back turned to them.

And then, Groot was yelling and running. "I am Groot! I am Groooot!"

"Groot," a larger man turns.

At least, Bucky thinks it’s a man.

Biped, broad, skin color wasn’t human though. Different culture, maybe?

Regardless, that man spins, looking in all directions. Red eyes land on the running flora-alien and his hand rises, pointing in their direction.

"Groooot!"

Wanda starts at a fast pace. T'Challa shouts an order to his soldiers and keeps pace with her as Shuri, Bucky and Sam follow.

"The large man," Wanda sniffs. "Is Drax. The woman is Mantis. And the man is Quill."

"And the other dude in red?" Sam cranes his neck.

"He didn't say."

"What dude?" Bucky frowns.

"He's," Sam stutters. "I just saw—man, this place is messing with my tech, too! There was another guy. Right there…Princess, do you think you check these out? I know you don’t have tools or whatever, but maybe you can figure out the wiring maybe?”

“Uh, sure,” Shuri squints as his goggles, pouting slightly. “How come you got to keep your tech…”

"Sorry,” his lip twitches. “I don’t know. But I guess we got more allies?"

Bucky shrugs again.

"Let us hope so," T'Challa says.

Groot sprints ahead of them. "I am Groot! I am Groot!"

Quill spins, sprinting with Drax and Mantis. "Groot? Oh, my God!"

"Groooot!"

Bucky relaxes his fist as Groot collides with them in a large embrace. Their questions drown each other's, and it occurs to him that this was a family.

"My God, what happened—"

"—I am Groot—"

"—Are you okay—"

"—Where is Thor—"

"—What about Rocket—"

"I am Groot! I am Groot!" Groot sobs, clinging to the man Wanda called Quill.

"Man," he breathes. "What the hell is happening?"

"That's the million-dollar question," Bucky says.

Quill looks up and narrows his eyes. He glances between him and the rest as they approach, a faint recognition lighting up his face.

"Quill, right?" Sam tries, sticking out his hand. The man eyes it for a moment before eyeing his goggles. "Name's Falcon. I also go by Sam."

The man in the red coat peers over his group and the woman Bucky noted was Mantis smiles, nodding.

With another quick once-over, he takes Sam's hand. “Yeah, I'm Quill. Let me guess. You guys are the Avengers, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Sam pulls him up.

"Don't sell yourself short," Bucky shakes his hand next. "Everybody who fought today might as well be an Avenger, too. Name's Bucky."

Quill once again blinks rapidly, frowning at his prosthetic. "Thanks. And sorry about lookin' at you like that. That's—that's just gnarly to look at. Oh, wait is gnarly an insult now? I don’t know. I meant to say your arm's cool and stuff—God, sorry, Buck. But, nah. See, my group here, we got our own thing. That's Drax, and Mantis, and I guess you've already met Groot."

"We," Drax gestures. "Are the freaking Guardians of the Galaxy."

"We kick names and take ass," Mantis puts a proud arm around Groot.

Bucky elbows Sam when he snorts, stepping away with a blank face as the man's eyes narrow dangerously.

Quill winces as he finishes taking Wanda's hand and takes T'Challa's. "Jesus, she's working on that. But, quick question. Did Thor, Groot, and Rocket ever make it to you guys?"

"Yes, they did." T'Challa nods. "And they made quite the entrance, too. They all fought valiantly alongside us. I am T'Challa, King of Wakanda."

"Whoa—King?" He stiffens. "Do I—do we gotta bow or something?"

"I am Groot—"

"—We don't do that," they chorus.

"Of course Thor fought valiantly," Drax sighs, crossing his arms and looking forlornly to the sky. "To underestimate that sculpture of a man is an act of utmost sacrilege."

Bucky glances at Sam, the other man's brows knitting together and studying the air.

"Technically, he's a god but—you know what, okay. Aight. That's fine."

"Rocket tried to buy my arsenal," Bucky mutters, glancing down.

"Yeah," Quill's lips twitch again. "He does that—"

"I am Groot! I am Groot!"

"Yeah, but I don’t really know what that is. Say it again; vibra—what? Vibrium?”

"I am Groot," Groot shrugs. "I am Groot. I am Groot."

Quill stares at T'Challa. "Huh, that’s cool. He says your suits made out of it but—" He glances between Bucky's arm and T'Challa. "They look so different. Rocket’d kill to get his hands on this stuff. ‘course, he’d usually just steal them when you’re not looking—oh, wait. Avengers. Hey, Spider-Man! Spider-Man, come back! We found your Avenger buddies!"

"Spider..." Bucky stiffens.

"Wait, Avenger bud—he's not..." The words die in Sam's mouth as the lanky figure makes its way out of the crowd, the white patches widening.

"Hey, look who's here." Quill points. "You know these guys? And did you find him?"

"Uh, no, nah, I—I didn't see him anywhere," the voice broke, clearly shaken. "And Quill, I couldn't find a way in. I even tried digging—"

"'ey 'ey 'ey, relax. Calm down," Quill grabs his shoulder, glancing at the pagoda. "We'll get to her, too, eventually. We just gotta…we just gotta cool it. Steady, alright? We'll get her. But, uh, here. Here's Falcon—Sam, and Bucky and King T'Challa, his little sister Shuri and Wanda. Did I get that right?"

They all nod and he elbows Spider-Man. "Better at names than you are. By the way, don't you have a cool, superhero name, too, Wanda?"

"Scarlet Witch," she choruses with Spider-Man.

The Spider manages a weak chuckle. "Hey...Mr. Barnes. Mr. Wilson."

"Eh, just Sam's fine, man."

"Yeah, just Bucky's fine." Bucky holds out his hand.

The guy takes it, grip light.

It sort of freaks him out, and he didn't know why. Until his mask retreated downwards, and Bucky remembers.

The tear-stricken face of a young boy meets his eyes.

"Just Peter's fine for me, I guess."

With a shared glance, Bucky and Sam's gazes soften.

"Oh, so I share my name with the Footloose hater?" Quill shoulders him again gently.

Peter forces another smile, wiping away tears. "I thought your name was Star Lord? Or...Quill?"

"My real name, or earthen name, or whatever, is Peter. Peter Quill. You can just...you can just call me Quill. That way, no one gets confused."

"Yeah," Peter nods, sniffling. "Good idea."

"So, you got roped into this, too, huh?" Sam crosses his arms. "Was it Stark again?"

Peter's eyes water even more, and he shivers. "I—"

He falls into ashes and the rest follow suit.

"Damn it," Peter grits, clinging to Quill. "Damn it, I hate this place."

The girl under the pagoda answers him. "I hate it, too," her voice is small and sad. It cracks, but booms over the billions and billions of people they were trapped with. “But we can only leave if someone outside sets us free. Try as much as you want to use whatever magic you have, try to dig as much as you want, but you’re not getting anywhere. Thanos was granted control over our souls, and he trapped us here to fulfill his plans. Half of all life in this universe has been removed and placed where we are now. We’re trapped. And there is no escape. This Stone does not have cracks. And it will not release a single soul, no matter how far you wander, or whatever wall you try to reach. You're better off where you stand.”

"Oh, Gamora," Quill says forlornly. "What did he do to you..."

The little girl merely looks up at him, a darkness far too painful in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Quill. Nothing can really hurt you here."

Quill shakes his head. "I'm already hurting, sweetheart..."

The Guardians flank him, squeezing his hands, and his shoulders.

“What did she mean by this universe,” Bucky turns to Wanda.

“I’ve…never denied the possibility, but she might have been referring to the multiverse.” She pouts. “It’s more of a theory than anything concrete, I think.”

Shuri chimes in. “The multiverse? What does that have anything to do with here?”

“She just said this universe. I thought it was weird. Do you believe it?”

“I don’t exactly dispute it,” she gazes at the ground. “That’s not my area. But thinking that our universe is just one of an infinite number with infinite variations in between is sort of fun to think about every now and then. At least, to me. Maybe we can try asking her?”

“You can go,” Wanda shakes her head. “I’m still…I’m still trying to get my grip on things.”

Sam sighs again. "Spider—whoa. Peter. What can you tell us on Stark?"

Lead weighs in Bucky’s chest as the kid's eyes darken. It was a look no child should have on their face.

"Mr. Stark..." His head shakes. "I... We... I didn't mean to—"

"Peter," a female voice interjects. "I think Ned and MJ are here."

"Ned and...MJ? How—how do you know?"

"I picked up Ned's biometrics when he first found out you being a superhero. I picked up MJ's during the elevator incident."

"Oh. Where are they then?"

"South of here, behind Barnes."

They all turn.

"Ned?"

Ashes flying into the air before falling back down and another two teenagers stumbling past the crowd.

"Holy—MJ. MJ, look—there," a boy shakes the arm of the girl next to him. "I told you he'd be here—Pete!"

"Ned!" The boys crash into a hug, Peter wrapping his legs around the other boy.

"Hey, asshole, " the girl waves, sauntering. She starts conducting with her middle fingers and Sam snorts.

"Jesus," Wanda blinks. "So vulgar."

"What'd you do to her?" Bucky mutters.

"Nothing! She's—she's just like that—MJ!"

"She really is just like that, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir." The round-faced boy peers up at him, eyes wide, but not necessarily frightened. "You kinda get used to it."

"You really do," says MJ, coming up and clapping her hands slowly. "Way to go, champ. A for effort."

"For—what?" Peter tilts his head.

She nods her head. "You're Spider-Man, right?"

Ned freezes and Peter's eyes blow wide. "What—no—"

"—He's not—"

"—These aren't—these—"

"—That's not his—"

"—Yeah—no, these are—this is—these are just—"

"—his PJs!"

"My PJs."

MJ presses her lips together. "So…You brought your Spidey-PJs with you...for the trip?"

"Yep,” he hums.

"Come on, MJ. We're seniors."

"It's not weird. I—I'm allowed to have a thing for superheroes."

Sam coughs while Bucky bites his lip and MJ's eyebrows go up.

"Oh, okay."

"Nope," Peter shakes his head. "That’s not how it was supposed to come out..."

After a moment of odd glancing, she shrugs. "Alright then. Honestly, if anyone had half my mind, they'd just assume what you were up to by the third week of school."

"Nobody just assumes somebody's Spider-Man, MJ."

"You know what theorizing is, Ned, come on. It wasn't hard putting two and two together anyway."

"What do you mean?" says Peter.

"You weren't even trying to hide it, were you?"

"I was," he pouts. "Um...I think I was pretty subtle about it actually."

"Yeah, but you can't really call doing the most clichéd secret superhero shit in history subtle."

Peter splutters, blinking. "What—how was I being cliché?"

She counts her fingers. "Disappearing whenever there's aliens around, leaving your best friend at the party that's bound to boost your popularity, and blowing off your date, literally the prettiest girl in school, at homecoming prom because of something really important. Just those three pretty much fit the bill, but if you don't think so...go off, I guess."

Ned winces.

"Not to mention, you jumped out of the bus, probably thinking everybody was distracted and or apathetic enough to not notice you jumping out of a damn window," she shrugs. "It's pretty amateur stuff, Parker. I've seen better porn."

Peter sags as Ned coughs out a laugh.

"Damn, she has a point..."

"Also, you talked about stealing Captain America's shield during PE once. I was sitting," she pops her lips, rolling her eyes. "Right behind you."

“You were reading,” adds Ned.

“Said who,” she smirks.

Ned lets out a grunt while Peter winces.

"Now, that's just being reckless," Sam snorts quietly.

Bucky's mouth twists and Wanda twitches beside him, a weak smile on her face.

"What, you think you could do better or something?" Ned shakes his head, suddenly defensive.

"I could," she replies easily. "I can beat you at lying. That’s no contest."

Ned gives up. "That's fair."

“Well, sorry,” Peter rolled his eyes before flinching. "I—no. I really am sorry, you guys—I couldn't—we failed—"

"Whoa, hey, whoa whoa whoa. Relax. I'm chill." Ned shakes his head.

"Same,” she smiles. “And literally, we couldn't have done any better, Parker. If I'd put that thing on, I'd probably die instantly. That is, if Stark programmed it to your biometrics—ooh, hang on, can I try it?"

Peter steps back. "What—no."

"Buzzkill," she clicks, strolling up to Bucky.

"You're the Winter Soldier, right?" She holds out her hand. "Michelle Jones, or just MJ."

"Nice to meet you," he says automatically.

"You can still feel temperatures and fabrics with it, right?" She eyes his arm and Bucky smiles. He liked her forwardness.

"To a lesser extent than a regular arm, but yes. I can also still feel pain."

"Oof," she blinks. "That's still cool though. Does it bother you it can't produce body heat? Learned some stuff about trauma in my AP Psych class."

Holding it out, he shakes his head. "It used to? I didn't exactly have enough time to process the trauma. Nor did I let myself really. But she’s the one that can catch you up on the technological details," he nods at Shuri. “She knows better than me.”

“You made this,” MJ’s eyebrow quirks.

“Sure did,” Shuri smiles.

“Lit.”

She presses her fingertips against his and he smiles. He notes her eyes aren't exactly pitiful. They're more...annoyed.

"Nice. Oh, and thanks for your service, by the way. You, too, Falcon."

"You're welcome," they chorus.

“You’re quite relaxed for having technically died,” Sam smirks. “You done this before?”

“No,” she chuckles. “I think I’m just still in shock or something to be honest.”

Bucky nods. “Yeah, join the club.”

Ned trembles, tugging on her. "MJ, quit distracting the Avengers—I'm so sorry, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir, she has no self-control—MJ, you're going to get us killed."

"She's fine, man," Sam shrugs. "Not like we got any leads on what the hell we should be doing."

"You guys got anything?" Bucky smirks.

Ned stutters and MJ shrugs.

"Not the slightest fucking clue. We're just plebs. It's a hard-knock life for us," she sings. "It's a hard-knock life for us—"

"—'Steada treated," Ned joins.

"We get tricked," Peter’s voice is thick, but he joins with a wet chuckle.

"'Steada kisses,” the taller teen beams.

"We get kicked, it's a hard-knock life," the three of them finish.

"How did we get kicked, by the way? What exactly happened?" MJ peers up at Bucky. "Or is that—you know, classified?"

"Uh," he glances with a sigh. "Would you believe me if I said some purple alien overlord wanted to erase half the universe by getting six magic stones and succeeded?"

Her eyes glance away with a tentative hum and her lips press together.

It was an amusing thought when said aloud, and Bucky was afraid she’d straight up shut him down, but after a moment, she shrugged.

"Probably," her eyes flick to Peter. "You're more trustworthy than some people.”

"Hey," he complains.

"Alright, kids," Sam claps his hands with a large grin. He steps besides MJ and chokes on his own amused chuckle. "Let's not try and start fights here. I don't think the school nurse is gon' like the idea that Falcon couldn't keep some rowdy kids under control."

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Wilson. We can both take down Ned instantly," MJ provides. "Peter would probably just knock me out or something—"

"MJ, no."

"MJ, yeah, sure, why not? By the way, is your suit different or something? I've seen videos of you—yeah, it's definitely different."

"Yeah, it is," Bucky says. "The one you had in Leipzig was—I don't know, softer?"

Sam hums, nodding. "This one's shinier."

"Yeah, uh, Mr. Stark. He...he made it for me." His voice quiets. The white patches shrink and removes his mask again, revealing the tears falling down his face.

“Oops, hit a nerve.” MJ nods while Peter bows his head, Ned putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We, um...God. God, why...why didn't I listen to him?"

His shoulders shake and Bucky taps Sam's arm, averting his gaze.

He nods, giving yet another sigh. "Look, Peter—"

"Peter!" The horror-stricken shriek makes them whirl around. "Peter Parker!"

"Oh, shit," MJ bolts behind Bucky. “Ned,” she hisses. “Hide!”

“What, why—"

Bucky almost falls with the breath of the stone this time, feeling his being split apart and drift back together. He picks up MJ before she crumples to her knees, letting her lean on Shuri.

A woman in a cream apron bursts out of the crowd.

"May..." Peter's tears fall without restraint as he stumbles forward. "May!"

"Oh, my God! Pete!" May's arms wrap tightly around the boy. Peter could only let his sobs go as he shook and shook, sobbing and blubbering May's name.

"I was so scared, May...I was so scared."

May presses kisses to his head, muttering reassurances before hugging him to her chest.

"Ugh, I'm going to kill that Stark," she snarls, rubbing Peter's hair.

"No—no, May, please, it's okay..."

"I would strongly advise against that, Miss Parker."

Bucky tenses again as a man walked up behind them, the red cloak on his shoulders hovering behind him.

"I understand your concern, but our fates rest with that Stark now."

“What—who are you?” May glares.

"Dr. Strange..." Peter sniffles. "What—what was it that you saw?"

"I tried to see as many paths to victory as fast as I could," the sorcerer answers as he grabs a woman's hand behind him, pulling her gently to his side. "I saw one."

"Stephen, did we—did we just die?" The woman frowns up at him, a hand around his waist.

"Not yet really, Christine. Not quite that lucky either."

"What was the one?" Sam pipes up.

Stephen takes him in, tilting his head. "Oh, more Avengers made it in here. Oh, boy. You're Sam Wilson, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And you must be Bucky Barnes. You must desperately miss the forties, no doubt."

Bucky sighs. "You have no idea."

Stephen smiles. "Your Highness, King T'Challa Udaku."

"Doctor," T'Challa nods.

"Sorry opening the borders brought you into the heat of things. I suppose power attracts chaos."

"That is very true—"

"Straaange!" Drax roars as he speeds back to them. He descends on the man, swinging. "Why—did you—give Thanos—the Stooone?"

The cloak on Stephen's shoulders rises. It wraps around Drax's fist when he jumps, pulling him away.

"You again? The Blanket of Death! I'll tear you at the seams—"

"—Drax, no! We're not fighting anyone here—"

Quill slams into his front, having Mantis jump on him from behind.

"Sleep! Sleep!"

"I will not sleep here, Mantis," Drax spits. "Both the man and his blankie are in serious need of retribution!"

"First of all, why did your buddy Star-Lord start attacking Thanos right when we were almost had it? And second of all, what if I told you that the reason I gave Thanos the Stone was so that we could win? More specifically, so Stark could win? So he could get us out of here?"

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't shoot me with your magic," Quill holds his hands up, wincing. "But how the hell is that even going to work?" he pants, pushing Drax back as he attempted to stomp forward. "Stark's still on Titan. And he's with Nebula! Who knows what she'll do to him?"

"She'll probably kill him," Mantis cries as she swayed with Drax.

"I am Groot—I am—Groot!"

MJ moves a little way apart where May is prodding Peter. “You know all these people?”

“Sort of,” he croaks sheepishly. “I don’t know Quill or all the alien guys that well yet. I met them in one of Thanos’s ships while heading to Titan with Dr. Stranger and Mr. Stark and—"

“Wait wait wait. Stark took you to an alien planet?” May shrieks. “Without telling me—no, that’s crossing too many lines, Peter—”

“Aunt May—May, please—”

“—insane—Peter Parker, I’m supposed to be protecting you—”

“I know, but—”

“—looking out for you—under my watch—”

“I know and I’m sorry!”

His sudden volume increase calls even the attention of nearby crowding civilians.

He gasps and bows his head, voice cracking. "God, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. He told me to go home but I didn't listen—and then I blamed it on him and I tried to take it back and—and—he warned me, May,” his hands hold hers tightly. “And he said that he didn't want my death on his conscience and now it is and you can't be mad at him, you can’t,” his voice breaks, tears streaming down. “He was trying to protect me, too. All the way to the end!"

May holds him close again, glaring flatly. "Okay—okay…fine," she sighed. "I won't—I won’t sue him or anything, alright? But he’s still getting a piece of my mind.”

Peter lets out a wet chuckle, hugging her tightly. "That's...that's better, I guess. But wait—" he wipes his face. "Will Nebula really kill him?"

“No, she won’t,” Stephen looks at him and May gently. “What I saw was the best outcome: all of us back, with minimal sacrifice. And Nebula won’t kill him because number one: she has no reason to. They’re fighting on the same side. Against Thanos. Two: they’ve both lost to him and now that they’re stranded together, they’re going to use each other to find a way of Titan and back home. And three: Nebula has no reason to lay off a human and waste energy when she knows a human body will just off itself after food and water deprivation.”

"You better elaborate on that, sorcerer. Director Fury's going to want to hear all about that."

A woman in a dark uniform appears behind them, hair in a neat bun.

"Agent Hill," Sam greets, voice dry. "Not glad to see you here."

"Likewise, Falcon." She smirks bitterly. "You must be Bucky Barnes."

Bucky smiles, holding out his hand. "You're with SHIELD, right?"

"That's right," she grabs his hand. "I'm Agent Maria Hill, second-in-command to Director Nick Fury. More detailed introductions can wait until we're out of here. First and foremost, on my agenda right now's gathering intel."

"Well, we can give you all the intel we have," T'Challa bows his head.

"Your Highness," she nods.

"—fucker, son of a bitch, what the hell happened this fucking time—"

"Good Lord..." Maria jumps a foot in the air as she bumps into none other than SHIELD Director Nick Fury.

Snorts come from the kids, meanwhile Bucky dampens his own chuckle as Agent Hill helps him stand.

"Hill—you're here? What the hell's going on—"

Fury takes in the faces of the Avengers, the sorcerer, and the Guardians. Rubbing his face, he sighs, settling down on the rippling floor.

"What?" Maria's smirk widens. "Thought Hell'd be nicer?"

"No, Agent Hill," Fury huffs with no venom, resigned. "This is much worse."

Wherever the Hell Bucky was, something in him loosens, his shoulders relaxing.

The shock was fading, people were getting their grips on things.

While everyone wasn’t here, they were still in one piece. For the most part. As long as it stayed that way, he could let himself relax. Just a little bit.

18 notes · View notes

mostleemorethansmut · 7 years

Text

When Jason’s away Ch1: "Of course I'm not Jealous"(Stephew)

"Hey guys, and welcome to GTLive," shouted MatPat as the stream began. "Where today, I'm missing a co-host." Matt looked to his left expectantly. "This is the part where Steph normally says something, but today, we don't have a cameraman."

The camera rotated up and down, as if were nodding. "Okay then," concluded Matt, "Stephanie just probably gave you all motion sickness. Anyway," he chuckled a bit, "anyway, Jason had scheduled up a second honeymoon with us awhile ago. Chris was supposed to take over for us, but he got sick yesterday." He listened to Stephanie off screen. "Yes, Chris is also taking a honeymoon. I mean, that's what you do for your honeymoon, call in and say you're sick."

"So, yesterday we put out a post on the community tab, asking what we should do for Mario Maker Wednesday, and you guys voted for speed run race challenge. Even though you knew, you knew, that Stephanie isn't good at platformers, and she will still be competing against me today, but you still chose that category."

Stephanie landed on the couch next to him. "Hey, so you might notice that the gameplay's already up. That's because I don't want to be going back and forth during the game. So, you won't see your tweets on the screen. Let me know if there's audio echo and..."

The stream went along with relatively no problems. Stephanie won one race because it was a straight-forward running level and she got a slight head start. Beyond that they gave up on a Penga level, and Matt dominated the other two levels. On the fourth level there was an argument that struck up.

"I'd give this level a 9/10," Matt declared.

"What, no," Stephanie argued. "2 out of 10."

"What do you mean 2?"

"What do I mean 2? I mean I haven't successfully made it off of this first screen yet."

"Steph-Stephanie, just because you're bad at platformers is no reason to is to dislike this level."

"I think that it's a perfectly good reason to dislike this level."

"No it is- What are you doing?" Matt watched Stephanie jump up a series of Bullet Bills.

"What, isn't this what you're doing?"

"Of course not, you're supposed to jump to the left when you begin."

Stephanie continued to hop up the bullets as she made her way up. "Oh, oh, this is the farthest I've ever gotten!" Stephanie's Mario finally popped up to the top and landed by a door. She opened the door and was greeted to the top of the flagpole.

"WHAT?" screamed MatPat. "What? No... No... What?" Matthew had just finished fighting his way through fifty wigglers, two Bowser Jr.s, and a nail-biting percision platforming lava castle section. "2 out of ten," he re-rated as Mario walked down some steps to victory.

"Ten out of ten," rated Stephanie. "Ten out of ten and that's final."

"No, it's cheap. You can skip all of the content if you're just able to bounce around for awhile."

"That's the best part. If you're willing to put in the hard effort, you can beat the level relatively quickly. Let's take this to twitter."

Twitter had a simple answer. "Steph's right. Steph's right. Stephanie's right. See..."

"I still disagree," Matt shook his head and scrolled through the levels.

"Uh, at fan underscore Aiko says 'You two give the best ratings. Have you ever thought of reviewing things from the chat?' That's not a bad idea, uh, Aiko."

"It actually isn't. Um, from the chat, uh, oh! Harley Quinn says rate FNAF."

The next few minute was just reviewing games from the chat. Then everyday items. Then tea. Then, finally... "Stephanie, can you rate MatPat's kisses?"

"Oo-oo-ooh," Stephanie teased, before falling into a hidden block trapped pit of lava. "Um, I'd give his kisses a, well, 9 out of 10."

"Nine out of ten?" complained Matt. "Am I only a sub-par lover to you?"

Stephanie laughed. "No, I like to leave some room at the top in case someone comes along who moves along to the top. That way I don't have to break the scale for a person who isn't my husband."

"Steph, are you planning on kissing other guys, or girls, that I'm not knowing about? Are you randomly going around and kissing people to search for a top place?

"No! Of course not," Stephanie countered. "Personally, I think your kisses are at the top of my rating scale. I just don't want to break my scale because I meet someone who's a better kisser. This Bowser is hard."

"Well, uh, Steph," Matthew was racking his brain on what to fight back with. He glanced at the chat. "Um, Chloe something in the chat said that she's a ten out of ten kisser. Maybe I'll go learn how to kiss better from her."

"If you feel it necessary," Stephanie responded.

"You'd be fine with that?"

"Of course not."

"Then why don't you sound like it."

"Matt, I'm much less worried about you becoming a better kisser and much more about you committing adultery."

"Stephanie, I have a woman throwing herself at me in the chat and you're not even the least bit jealous."

"Of course I'm not jealous," she responded. The female theorist stood up and tilted the camera up a bit, so all that was shown was their heads.

"I have women who are willing to teach me how to kiss, and you're not jealous."

"Not in the least," she agreed. "One, because there have been a lot of comments in the chat offering me the same lessons. And two, I can do this."

Unexpectedly, she leaped on top of her husband and dragged him below the camera and flat on the couch. She landed, with them both stretched out on the couch, and began sucking powerfully on his neck.

This was a strange stream to attend, and the sound was edited out of archive-land. The GTLifers were forced to watch two idling modern Marios staring looking at the people at home every once and awhile as if to tell them, "even though you think you want to know what's going on down there, you don't." There was a popping sound and a throaty groan from Matthew.

Then, smiling, Stephanie popped back up and re-adjusted the camera. Then, she tried to continue the level. Matt slowly dragged himself onto the screen again, blushing like a tomato. He pulled up on his shirt, hopelessly trying to hide his new-forming hickey.

"So," Steph grinned. "Do you understand why I don't care about people trying to give themselves to you?"

Matt tried to move his Mario around, but quickly died. After his wife asked her question, he stuttered for a couple times and looked at her. He turned away, attempting to hide his blush. "I... uh... I," he glanced back at the computer. "Someone in the chat suggests that I say that I don't understand and that you should explain it again, but-" He let out a loud sigh. "Woof! Is it hot in here or just me?"

Stephanie grinned and nuzzled her head against him. Usually she wasn't this dominant, but she felt it necessary to protect her man when time the time came.

Matt sneaked up behind his wife. "Hey honey," he surprised, kissing along her neck. "Let's take the rest of the night off."

Stephanie, who would normally be very into her husband's antics, nudged Matt's head away. "So, I'm thinking about a theory on Super Mario Galaxy. Could the planets that Mario's jumping on have an atmosphere?[Okay, wtf. I wrote this a day before the exact same theory came out] I mean, you'd have to examine the size of the planet and then-"

"Stephanie."

"-although we might have to figure out problems with other things like gravity between planets. We don't have to figure out if we're gonna be positive or negative towards Mario yet, but I think it'll be worth-"

"Steph, today is June fifteenth and you're working on the one for June fourteenth. Stephanie, we're almost a year ahead in our work. How about you take a break."

"Well, how about I draft-"

Matthew interrupted her with a kiss. He sighed as he felt her warm lips on his. They separated. "Or," he suggested, "we can go upstairs and do something else together."

"Like what?" Stephanie asked, closing her laptop.

"Well," Matthew flirted, kissing along her neck. He knew he'd already won. "Maybe I could try to learn how to be a ten out of ten kisser." He pulled her into a deep kiss. "How was that."

"Nine out of ten," she held firm. "But there's something that you do win at." Stephanie grabbed his hand and led him to the couch so they could lie together.

"I got ten out of ten in something?"

"Yes," she admitted, landing atop him. "You are a ten out of ten lover."

Matthew paused, taking this in. "Am I gonna have to prove that title? Is that why you're on top of me?"

"No, not as in-" she sighed, blushing. "I meant you're a ten out of ten lover. Just by making me feel in love. The way you talk, kiss, treat me, and the way you make me feel so happy. I love you."

Matthew gave her a hug and another kiss. "I love you too, and for what it's worth, I think you're a nine out of ten lover." He grinned at her angry look. "What," he mocked. "I wanna leave room at the top."

[Thank you for reading, and thank you AikoFanFan for letting me recreate this fanfic. It was a beautiful hidden gem of Stephew hidden within the boughs of NatePat that has unfortunately consumed our fandom.(I don't hate NatePat, but there is just too much) I hope you enjoyed. I like comments more than votes, so please let me know how I did]

#matpat #stephanie patrick #Matthew Patrick #stephew #stephpat #fluff

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