#not pictured: steve wondering why nobody came to his party

[idy-ll-ique]

a manny and a pedi

pairing: steve rogers x f!reader

genre: fluff, mild angst

warnings: lil bit of violence

requested: by @maximeevansblog

Its almost mine birthday so, a one with Steve, it is the readers birtday and steve is taking the reader to the hair and nail salon, and that night he has a suprise party for the reader and he is nervous that she wont like his gift but she loves his gift

word count: ~1.3k

summary: it was supposed to be "y/n y/l/n, will you marry me?" it was supposed to be romantic. why, then, did it become "that's my fiancée, you fucking asshole!" "your... your what?"

author's note: hiya peeps! okay firstly, happy birthday @maximeevansblog ! hope you have a wonderful birthday! also, im sorry if i changed your prompt a tiny bit, i hope you still like it. enjoy!

masterlist

---

"Hey lover boy, what—"

"Oh Jesus Christ, Barnes!" Steve exclaimed, startled. Bucky laughed and clapped him on the back once. "What are you doing here, are you spying?" he teased his best friend, peeking past him to look into the room outside which he found Steve standing. Y/N was inside the room, talking to a guy while holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Y/N?! Your own girlfriend, Rogers?" Bucky admonished harshly in a whisper, pulling Steve away from the door. "It's not— I trust her completely, honest! It's the guy she's talking to, Manny. I swear to God he's trying to steal her from me—"

"Nobody is stealing me, Rogers, Manny's just a friend! No ulterior motives, he has already promised like a thousand times," Steve heard behind him and whirled around to see Y/N standing there with a smirk, an eyebrow raised. "You taking snooping lessons from Barnes now?" he muttered, "I know babe, I just—"

"Just nothing, Stevie, be happy! It's my birthday!" she laughed and gave him a tight hug, burrowing into his arms. To be honest, Y/N knew about Manny's intentions and Steve was right to worry; he flirted with her all the time, even when she insisted she was dating the ex-Captain America. But she knew better than to worry Steve.

He soothingly rubbed her back, swatting Bucky's hand away when he tried to run his fingers through her hair. "Stop it, that's my girlfriend," he pouted and both Bucky and Y/N burst out laughing. "She's like a sister; jeez, Rogers, tone it down a little bit," Bucky sighed and waved at the couple, walking away.

Steve and Y/N decided to go back to their room. They had been in a relationship for around 4 years now, and they weren't planning on stopping, ever. The only time Y/N would become Steve's ex-girlfriend was when she became his wife. Which he hoped she'd become soon, since he had a special birthday planned for her.

First, he was going to take her to a hair salon, then a manicure and pedicure, and finally, a picnic under the stars. There, he was finally going to pop the question: Y/N, will you marry me? After his retirement, that was all he wanted. A stable life; a wife, kids, maybe some pets. He was even ready to be a trophy husband, as Y/N was still in the Avengers Initiative.

"Steve? Steve!" He snapped out of his thoughts and gave Y/N a sheepish smile. "Sorry, pumpkin, lost in thoughts. So, uh, the flowers look nice," he stammered, looking everywhere but at the flowers which Y/N was putting in a vase. "Oh hush Rogers, you don't have to pretend to like them for me, I get it. I was just like that with you, you know?"

It was true, in the beginning of their relationship Y/N was what Steve was now. Jealous, overprotective, obsessed… somewhere along the line the roles were reversed. "I know, honey, I'm sorry… they're a birthday gift, I should be happy for you." He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"It's fine. So, I've received everyone's gift but yours, where is it?" she grinned coyly, reaching up to cup his cheek. Steve smirked against her skin and spun her around, bringing them back chest to chest. "In my pants," he whispered seductively. A few seconds passed and both of them burst out laughing.

"I swear to God, Stevie, if that's your only gift I'm gonna be really disappointed." Steve pouted and leaned forward to give her a sweet kiss. "First of all, ouch," he began, "And second, no that's not the only gift. I have a really fun day planned for us, you up for it?" Y/N's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly, jumping into his arms. "Aw, Steve, I love you so much!"

"I love you too, princess. Now for the first gift—"

"Ste— oh…"

---

"I. Look. Freaking. Amazing!"

Steve smiled softly as Y/N admired herself in the mirror. They had just returned from the mani-pedi session, and Y/N was feeling the most refreshed she had in years. She had also gotten a fantastic new hairstyle, complete with a different hair colour. Y/N was feeling like a new person, all thanks to Steve. She turned to him with a huge smile.

"Words cannot express how much I love you," she began, giving him a tight hug, "But numbers can. 1 million out of 10!" Steve laughed at her excitement, gently playing with her hair as he held her close. "But the best part awaits: the picnic! We still have a few hours to go, maybe I can go some for training?"

"Sure, and I'm going to take some pictures and post them to all my social media sites! Oh my God, this is fantastic—" Steve laughed at Y/N's squeals and left the room, feeling giddier and happier than he was in the morning. You see, Steve was kind of nervous the whole day. First, it was because of Manny, second, he was worried she wouldn't like his gifts and third, will she say yes?

Two out of the three concerns were gone. It was the pesky last one that ran through his mind the whole time he was in the gym. After an hour, Steve decided to go back to their room to relax for a while under the Air Conditioner; he didn't want to be a smelly, sweaty mess on the most important night of his life.

As he was walking towards their room, though, Steve happened to bump into Y/N. And… Manny. Manny took one step forward, Y/N took a step back. One step forward, one step back as Y/N held her hands out in front of her, protecting herself. Without even bothering to know the full story, Steve rushed over and punched Manny straight on the nose.

He fell back with a groan as Y/N gasped, covering her mouth. "That's my fiancée, you fucking asshole! Have some respect for other people's relationships, she said no, no means no!" he yelled, so loud that a few others came over to check on them. Bucky, Sam, Peter, Tony, Wanda, Vision, Bruce and Natasha, all stood a few feet away, watching with wide eyes.

Y/N's head snapped towards Steve when he called her his fiancée. "Your… your what?" she whispered, and Steve finally realized what he had blurted out. Shit. "I… I was going to ask you tonight at the picnic— it was supposed to be romantic, damn it Manny, you ruined—" His speech was cut short as Y/N immediately took him in her arms, kissing him deeply.

"Yes, Steve, I will marry you," she mumbled with a small, teary smile that Steve mimicked as he brought her in for another kiss. They only stopped when they heard the massive applause coming from the others. "Congratulations, you guys, this is brilliant news! Who's the best man?" Sam hollered.

Steve hugged Y/N closer, wiping his tears off with a chuckle. "Well, I was thinking—"

"I'll be honored," Sam grinned, scowling when Bucky smacked him across the head. "He was going to ask me," Bucky sneered and Steve rolled his eyes. "If you keep bickering like that, I'll ask Bruce," he snarked and Bruce laughed as both Bucky and Sam quieted instantly. "Where's the fucking ring, Rogers, there's no proposal without a ring!"

"The ring is in the bedroom, I was training and that's no place for a precious jewel," Steve answered and Y/N smiled into his arms, burrowing her face further into his chest.

"Yes, the hair salon was great. The mani and pedi— not that Manny, Steve— was also great. But this, by far, was the best birthday present I got today," she whispered to him. "What about the sex? Am I becoming an old man now—" Y/N pushed Steve with a disgusted look on her face as everyone else gagged and groaned. "Rogers, it was a sweet moment!"

"Sorry, sorry, couldn't help myself, it just came— there it is again!"

"Blergh, fuck you, man!"

"I deserved it."

---

a/n: thanks for reading, leave a like if you liked it!

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers oneshot #steve rogers headcanon #captain america #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x female reader #chris evans characters #disney #mcu #marvel #avengers #fanfic #writing #writeblr

[rogerslovesstark]

Regret Can Only Come so Late

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Dolores x Bucky Barnes, Bruce Banner x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

WARNING: angst

Author’s Note: Lol, i found out my boyfriend of two and a half years was cheating on me with his coworker, so this came pretty fucking easily. 

He stared at your wedding photos, he looked so handsome in his tuxedo, you in a white silk wedding gown, both of you grinning from ear to ear. How much can change in nine years? Over nine years, you and Bucky had two kids, a boy, and a girl. Only two months after your son, George, was born did you find out that you were also 3 weeks pregnant with your daughter, Winnifred. George was born in January and Winnie was born in November. Raising two kids at such a close age was difficult, especially with both of you working basically on the same schedule. Both of you had come to an agreement that you would leave your job to raise the kids. And it worked for so long until Bucky had gotten bored of the same routine over and over again. Waking up every morning to run with Steve, get ready for work, help fight bad guys with the Avengers, leave by 5:30pm, be home by 6pm, shower, eat dinner at the dining room table, watch TV with you and the kids, put the kids to sleep at 8:30pm, spend an hour with you, get ready for bed and be in bed by 10, all to repeat the same thing every day. There was no excitement in his life, not until he met Dolores.

He called her Dot for short, she was a young 23-year-old who knew how to party hard and fuck even harder. It started as a casual thing, nothing serious, just messing around after work, telling you that he had gone out with the team for a few drinks after a long day at work. You believed it, you would have never thought that Bucky would cheat on you, not when you had a family. There were no signs that it was coming, you and Bucky had sex almost every night. He held you while you both slept, talked to you like he still loved you. When he handed you the divorce papers, saying he couldn’t do it anymore, you basically lost your mind, thankfully the kids were at Uncle Tony’s for a day with their favorite friend, Morgan. “What the fuck is this shit Bucky, what do you mean you can't do this anymore? Was it something I did?” You begged him to tell you, Bucky just stared out the window, wondering if you would just stop talking. “Y/n, would you just shut up, you’re so overbearing and boring, I need some spice in my life, not the same thing over and over every single day.” Your heart broke even more at his response, had he really fallen out of love with you? The divorce happened quickly, Bucky said you could keep the house but you insisted that you wanted nothing from him, the only connection that you two would have was through your children. You both had agreed to joint custody, you had the kids 5 days a week and Bucky got them on weekends. George and Winnie were able to adapt to the change rather quickly, they were obviously upset that you and Bucky weren’t together anymore but after a while, they had gotten over it. They were both eight when their parents split up. After a month of being divorced, the tabloids broke the news that Bucky Barnes had a new woman on his arm, with a huge engagement ring on her finger. You cried so hard that night, George and Winnie held you while you just broke down in front of your children. She was the cause of your divorce, Dolores. Only after two weeks of being engaged had they tied the knot, Winnie as a flower girl and George as the ring bearer. You received the invite but declined, just seeing a picture of the two of them made you feel nauseous. After the last court case, you didn’t see Bucky, only some dry text messages between both parties in regards to the kids. Three years after the divorce you decided that too was time for you to start dating again, you meet a nice man named Bruce Banner, one of Bucky’s team members. You both studied in similar fields so your conversations were nowhere near boring. After a few dates, Bruce decided to ask you to be his girlfriend and you were overjoyed. Still cautious about him since the trust issues you had developed from the divorce with Bucky. After almost two years of being with Bruce, he had asked you to marry him, you said yes of course, but news rang out into the media that the Hulk had a new woman in his life. Bruce kept it a secret from the team, determined to make sure that you were the right one for him. Once he was sure, he had let the team know what was going on. Bucky was shocked, the news left him breathless, you had moved on, genuinely moved on, and with Bruce none the less. The kids loved Bruce, raved about him whenever they could while they were with their father. They only met Bruce after the two of you got engaged but they fell in love with him instantly. That didn’t sit right with Bucky, the kids didn’t get along with Dot at all, Winnie said that Dot was strange, she would only speak to them when Bucky was around. The invitation to the wedding came a few months after you had announced your engagement. Bucky sat in the bathroom in silence, his hand covering his mouth with tears running down his face. He didn’t understand why he was feeling this way. He left you because the relationship became stagnant, nobody was benefitting from it, he harbored no romantic feelings towards you because he was falling in love with Dot. If he had no feelings towards you, why was he crying in the bathroom over a wedding invitation? The wedding crept up on you so quickly you hadn’t even realized that four months had passed. You were about to walk down the aisle to your future husband, the love for your life, you could be more excited. Bucky heard the doors open and he held his breath, scared to look, the past four months had been filled with self-reflection, Bucky knew what he was feeling, he was feeling resentment towards Bruce for trying to take his spot as the dad in his family. Bucky turned to watch you walk down the aisle, his eyes flooded with tears immediately, there you were, still as beautiful as the day he met you. A heavy feeling filled his chest and he couldn’t explain what he was feeling, all he knew was that you looked so beautiful, the lace dress was completely different from the silk dress you had worn at your first wedding. You looked so stunning that Bucky forgot how to breathe. He watched as you walked and he couldn’t help but imagine himself at the end of the aisle, waiting to take your hand and make you his forever. But he had that chance and he blew it. The heavy ring and Dot’s hand in his left hand made it feel like a 100lbs weight was in his hand. Bucky excused himself to the bathroom, leaving the wedding altogether. Dot and he were having problems, neither of them could deny it. She wanted more materialistic things, and Bucky couldn’t provide that, he also couldn’t go on vacation as often as Dot would have liked. She had begun to pull away from him, obvious signs that she was cheating on him, Bucky followed her one night after work and he caught her kissing another man outside of his building. Bucky filed for divorce the next day. A couple of months after the divorce with Dot, Bucky began cleaning out the apartment in the tower, that's where he stayed now, seeing that he had sold the home the two of you owned and the apartment was already under Dot’s name. He came across a box full of photos. Almost all of them were of you, Bucky had completely forgotten that they had even existed. You were so beautiful, it hurt to look at these pictures because Bucky could see how in love with him you were, but you didn’t look at him like that anymore. You looked at Bruce like that though. Bucky understood what he was feeling, intense jealousy, of you and Bruce, of Bruce, being able to hold you the way Bucky used too, to kiss you and make love to you the way Bucky used too. Bucky came to regret ever leaving you, both his children had found out that he had cheated on their mother and wanted nothing to do with him. None of you did. Bucky lost his whole family because he had been a fool who became bored with his family. If only he wasn’t a fucking idiot.

#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x Female Reader #bucky barnes angst #cheating!bucky barnes #Winter Soldier #WINTER SOLDIER ANGST #why is that in caps? #fuck my ex

[sdottkrames]

Welcome Home My Boy (Welcome Home My Son)

✍🏼By: me, @sdottkrames

🎁For: @skeeter-110 for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

⭐️Rating: general audiences

💜Relationships: Tony Stark & Peter Parker, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, May Parker (au where she’s not Peter’s aunt)

Summary: Tony Stark’s life is missing something. Peter Parker is an orphan who wants a family. And Pepper Potts comes up with an idea that brings them together

Read on AO3: Here

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes. And I will see them when I leave here. You Stark?”

Tony’s mind flashed first to Pepper. Then Obadiah, Rhodey, Happy. But the memories exploded with the car crash that had killed his parents and faded along with the life in the eyes of Edwin Jarvis. He had no family. He’d kept it that way, distancing himself with booze and sunglasses and a falsely confident persona, all to protect himself from being hurt even more when he inevitably lost them, too.

“No.”

 Ho Yinsen had changed Tony’s life in more ways than one, but perhaps the greatest change had been through that admittance he’d been forced to give. 

Ever since that whispered “no,” there had been something stirring in Tony’s chest. He’d squashed it down vehemently when a black Tetris puzzle crawled across his chest and neck like some evil game. When he’d been freed of that, he’d found a little family in his best friend and his (now) girlfriend who hadn’t let themselves be pushed too far away by his fears and insecurities. 

Then his family had unexpectedly and, at first, unwelcomingly, grown. But soon the five other superheroes had forced their way into his heart and home. He rearranged the tower to house the new avengers, and found himself participating in weekly team training exercises and helping Steve Rogers of all people cook for team dinners. Game nights and movie nights and pool parties became part of the norm and Tony found himself slowly working through the anxiety and fear that carrying a nuke through a wormhole and falling almost to his death left in its wake.

 His life had never been more full of family. But something was still missing.

Then he’d had the dream.

***

Pepper was pregnant. 

She came to him with tears in her eyes, excitement and joy warring with worry and fear on her face, and showed him the positive test. 

“Tony,” she whispered, and he found himself speechless. The joy he felt spread all the way through his chest and stilled his tongue so he answered the only way he knew how: he swept his beautiful wife into his arms, shoulders shaking a little with a joyful sob that broke through.

“You are?” He finally choked out, and saw the fear and worry leave the battlefield of her eyes and she nodded.

“We- we gotta get a room together! A crib and, and paint. What color? Grey? You like grey? That’s neutral right? Then it doesn’t matter what they are- boy or girl or even if they decide to say eff off to gender norms.”

Pepper cut him off with an ecstatic kiss, and Tony felt that stirring for something different, something more, settle and dissipate. 

He’d finally found what was missing.

*** 

Tony woke up in tears, mourning something he wanted with every fiber of his heart, but that he feared he would never be good enough for.

He mentioned it to Pepper, and she was the one that came up with the idea.

“Tony, I want you to listen to me, and get this into your head. We’ve both talked about how we aren’t ready for kids, but I need you to know that it isn’t because I don’t think you’ll be a wonderful dad. When we decide to have kids, you will be the best dad those kids could ask for. I believe that with all my heart.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath and letting himself hear her words and believe them.

“What if you volunteered at an orphanage or something?” she said. “Get around kids, fulfil that desire until we both feel ready for a family of our own?”

“That’s not a half bad idea.”

Pepper had left him to his thoughts then. Once he got that look on his face, she knew that he wouldn’t let it go.

Sure enough, Tony found an orphanage in severe disrepair and desperate need of some support. After a few meetings with his teammates to make sure they were okay with little kids coming to the tower for a bit (Natasha and Bruce had thought it sweet, Steve had smiled and got a look in his eye like he was already imagining hanging out with the little ones, and Clint and Rhodey had all agreed enthusiastically) and filing all the paperwork with the best lawyers he could find, he’d gone to the orphanage to offer his help.

May, the sweet but slightly frazzled orphanage caretaker, had burst into tears right there.

“I- I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless,” she said, chuckling through grateful sobs.

“No thanks needed. I’ll take the kiddos off your hands for a couple months while my guys fix this place up. You just tell them exactly how you want it and what you need. We’ll take care of everything.”

Three weeks, several panic attacks, and more trips to Toys “R” Us and Ikea than he wanted to admit to, Tony had one of the lower floors of the tower completely arranged to house seven small children and was preparing to welcome them into his home.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Tony,” Pepper whispered, hearing his breath hitch as the car he’d sent to pick up the kids pulled in.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Just fine. Let’s go meet our new roommates.”

***

Peter Parker could not believe his luck. 

When his parents had died in a horrible car crash a year ago and he’d ended up in the orphanage, he’d been labeled as having bad luck. Every little trip they went on, something happened. He’d accidentally let the class snake out at school (May had told him about Harry Potter, and how he'd let a snake out, too, which made Peter feel better). And there was the time that he’d gotten left behind during an outing at Central park, and the time a bird had pooped on his ice cream while he was eating it outside with his best friend Ned, and the time that-

Well, you get the picture.

Joselyn called it “Parker Luck,” but she wasn’t trying to be mean. She just talked even more than Peter did, and tended to say exactly what she thought. She was one of Peter’s best friends at the orphanage, and besides, she wasn’t wrong. Peter did tend to have some not so great things happen to him.

But not today.

Today was the greatest day of his life, because today was the day that all the kids were moving into the Stark Tower. 

Three weeks ago, Tony Stark himself had come to the orphanage. Peter remembered May crying and he hadn’t known why. He’d drawn her a picture to make her happy, but she explained that they were good tears, and had told him and all the kids that they would be leaving for a few months to live at Stark Towers. 

Peter had nearly peed his pants in excitement, and he was quivering with it again as the car pulled up and he could see both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts through the glass door. 

One by one, each kid got out of the car while a small swarm of workers gathered their things to take up for them.

“Hello, everyone,” Pepper greeted them with a smile, and Peter felt his cheeks heat up. Tony was his hero, but he also knew how smart and wonderful Pepper Potts was. 

“Welcome,” Tony said, grinning.

As soon as the man spoke, Peter couldn’t help the way his eyes went wide and his mouth popped open with a gasp. He was everything the boy had imagined, standing confidently in a sharp black suit with those signature sunglasses on his face.

The two adults began to explain the rules of the tower as they took the children on a small tour. They introduced the security guards, explained who to ask for help if they got lost or hurt, where they were allowed to go and what areas were off limits, and how they would be getting to school. Peter didn’t pay too much attention though. He was too excited, taking in the sight of the tower, his hero, and thinking about how cool it was that this would be his home for a little while. He was certain nobody was luckier.

“Mr. Stark?” one of the other boy’s- Mikey- asked when they passed one of the labs they were being shown on their little tour.

“Yes?”

“Where’s your Iron Man suit?”

Tony chuckled. “It’s in my private lab, away from anybody’s hands that aren’t mine. Don’t want anything breaking them.”

“Not the Mark 50,” Peter asked softly before he could stop himself.

“Huh?” Tony’s piercing gaze was turned to him. 

Squirming under the sudden attention, he tugged on his shirt. “W-well, the nanite suit, sir. Unless a person broke the actual nanite robot, the suit could just be reformed.”

“You know about nanites?”

Chocolate curls flying, the boy nodded enthusiastically. He couldn’t help himself once someone got him talking about the things he loved. “Yeah! I did a report on them a month ago. I read all your papers on them, and I even started trying to make my own so that I could-” Blushing furiously under his hero’s appraisal, Peter cut himself off and ducked his head. “Sorry.”

But Tony Stark didn’t look angry. “I’m gonna give you a piece of advice, kid: never apologize for being the smartest in the room.” He winked. “You really read my work on nanotechnology?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m impressed.”

And Peter was grateful that his legs didn’t give out right then. He could hardly believe the compliment. He was dazed for the rest of the tour, soaking the praise in with a huge grin.

Eventually, they arrived at their floor. It was a large one, and after the Battle of New York, it had stood mostly empty. There was a spacious living area and a small kitchen, and then a hallway with three bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms.

“Now, you’re going to have to share,” Tony explained. “We don’t have seven rooms on this floor, but each room has a bed and desk for you.”

“You three girls will share a room while the boys will split up in twos,” Pepper added. She gestured to one of the rooms. “This one’s yours, girls. It’s a little bigger and we’ve put three beds in it. Boys, you can decide which of the other rooms you want and who you want to share it with.”

Joselyn, along with the other two girls Kaylie and Hazel, dragged their suitcases and chatted excitedly as they entered their room.  If it had been possible, Peter would have roomed with Joselyn...or Ned. But those two not being an option, he looked to the boys.

He was the oldest out of all of them. There was the four year old Greyson and the six year old twins Mikey and David. It was fairly obvious that the twins would stick together, so Peter took Grey’s hand.

“Can I be your roommate, buddy?” The little boy nodded enthusiastically. “It looks like the twins took the middle room, so we get this one!”

The boy genius led his new roommate through the door and for the second time that day felt his jaw drop. 

The room was huge, and the beds looked like they were clouds, piled high with pillows Peter was almost certain were the most comfortable things on the planet. Grey seemed equally as overwhelmed, walking over to inspect the bed.

“Can you help me put my clothes away?” he asked, turning to the older boy.

“Sure.”

And slowly they got settled into this new chapter of their lives.

*** 

Tony was about ready to throw something at the wall, which meant that he needed to get out and move around, distract himself from the problem before he actually did break something. It wouldn’t be the first time, but he didn’t want a repeat of the great Potts meltdown of ‘09. 

Sighing, he stood up and stretched, letting a loud yawn out as he did before wandering out of the lab. 

It had been nearly a week with the little kiddos staying at the tower, and Tony had enjoyed having them so far. He even invited them up for dinner and a movie the other day. Most of them had been totally starstruck and it had made him smile. He figured they might provide a decent distraction, so he wandered down to the “baby floor,” as he called it. 

He was delighted when the first face he saw was Peter Parker’s.

The boy was shy, but also unfailingly kind. Tony had seen him take the hand of the smallest boy when the two twin boys ran into their room, making the little one feel welcome and loved; had watched as the kid listened to his friend Joselyn, who tended to ramble, with a patient and kind smile, never seeming annoyed by how verbose she was; and had smiled as the kid let one of the other girls hold his hand during a part in Snow White that scared her.

He was exactly the sort of distraction that Tony needed.

“Hey, Pete. How’re you doing?” he greeted, smiling a little as the boy’s cheeks turned pink and his lips lifted in a small, excited grin when he was called by name.

“G-good, Mr. Stark. How are you?”

“I’m doing good. A little frustrated with a project I’m working on, so I figured I’d take a break and come see you kiddos. How was school? Learn anything good?”

Peter’s eyes lit up as they had the first day the older genius had met the kid and they bonded over nanotechnology. Tony smiled as the chatter about 2nd grade science (they were learning about cells) and math (how was an 8 year old already doing functions?!) swept his frustration right out the door with its soothing familiarity. He didn’t have to figure anything out or meet any deadline. All the kid wanted was someone to listen.

So Tony did, oohing and mmhmming in all the right places, until the kid asked: “So what project were you working on before? Maybe I can help so you’re not so frustrated? can I?”

He’d known how sweet Peter was, but Tony was still taken aback by the kindness. “Well, if you want to-“

“Sure!” The little eager beaver said quickly. “What’s the project?”

Hesitating only for a second, Tony explained how Clint’s explosive arrows weren’t working properly, detonating too soon because of an unstable chemical inside them.

With a few graphs and a little breaking down of some more technical terms, Peter understood the problem.

“Let me think a little bit, okay?”

“Sure, buddy,” Tony chuckled. “However long you need.”

And he let the kid think while he checked some emails and wandered into the kitchen to grab him and his mini genius a granola bar.

He stopped for a moment before joining Peter at the table, his steps halted by the adorable crease in the boy’s brow and the way his tongue poked through his teeth as he drew some diagram.

When Tony finally pulled himself together to sit down against and offer Peter the snack, the kid announced: “I got it!”

Surprised, Tony raised an eyebrow and motioned for Peter to continue.

“What if you use your nanites? You could engineer them in a way that they wouldn’t jostle or affect the catalyst. Clint could control when they fell away, which would cause the explosion to happen.”

He pushed the little picture he’d drawn to illustrate, compete with a stick figure Clint Barton in purple (Hawkeye’s theme color), and Tony let his jaw go slack.

“Kid, honestly, I’m impressed. That’s genius. How in the world did you think of that?”

Peter flushed under the praise, and explained the process to Tony, the latter encouraging him whenever he seemed self conscious about his rambling. 

“You, my friend, are one of the smartest kids I know. Would you like to help me build these arrows?”

Peter’s eyes widened to the size of a dinner plate. “What?”

Tony chucked. “They’re your idea, kiddo. It’s only right that you should help me make them. I’ll handle all the explosive parts, but I think you should help engineer the nanites.”

“I would love to!” The boy choked out.

“Great. After school tomorrow, come to my lab. Jarvis will know where to take you.”

“Okay!”

Tony stayed a little while longer, enjoying talking science with Peter, before being called to other projects. He was grateful for the distraction though, because he couldn’t wait to see the look on the kid’s face when he saw the lab.

And, boy, Peter did not disappoint.

When Jarvis opened the door, Peter’s jaw dropped and he practically flew to one of the Ironman suits. Talking a mile a minute, he inspected every inch of the lab. 

“Oh my gosh, what’s this?! Wait, no way, is that- it is! Mr. Stark this is amazing! And woah look at that!”

Tony just chuckled at the kid’s enthusiasm, and pulled his attention to the reason for their working together after a few more minutes’ exploration. 

The two spent hours in the lab together. Tony hadn't ever thought he would enjoy sharing his lab with anybody, let alone an 8-year-old child, but Peter was different. He found himself wanting Peter to come help him more often.

This is only temporary. A cynical voice inside him said.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be. Maybe I can give him a real internship and a real job? Said the more hopeful part of his brain.

A seven year old with a job. Yeah, that’s a great idea.

Tony shook his head to clear off the thoughts. He would enjoy the lab time he did get with this kid that had somehow wormed into his iron heart. He’d just have to baby proof the lab first.

***

Peter fought back the tears, trying hard not to let Flash’s taunting get to him. He kept walking, ignoring his classmate’s teasing behind his back as he nearly ran out the front door.

“Hi, Mr. Happy,” he greeted, trying to keep the sniffling out of his voice. The man Mr. Stark had assigned to drive him to and from school didn’t like little kids. (At least, Peter thought he didn’t. He wasn’t mean, but he seemed to grunt and growl more than use really words.)

“Hey,” Happy grunted, as was his usual greeting, and Peter didn’t notice the concern in the man’s eyes when he didn’t answer right away as he blinked back tears. 

The drive to the tower was quiet except for the occasional snuffle from Peter, who was trying to his sadness. He hated when Flash was mean, especially about his parents. He missed his parents and his Aunt and Uncle. It was right of Flash to bring them up, but there wasn’t much Peter could do about it.

When he came into the tower, he was surprised to see Mr. Stark there, waiting for him in the living room. Usually the man had him come straight to the lab, but they hadn’t been scheduled to work together that day.

“Hey, kid,” Tony greeted.

“H-hi. Are we having a Lab day today?” Peter tried to keep the hope out of his voice. Tinkering around the lab with his hero was exactly what he needed to cheer him up. 

“I was thinking we might spend some time in the lab, yeah. If you’re up for it?”

“Yeah, i'd love a lab day, sir!” Peter said, smiling his first genuine smile since Flash had said the word “orphan” at lunch.

“Yeah? Let’s go, young padawan.” 

Peter gave a small smile at the Star Wars reference. Mr. Stark wouldn’t have known that reference if Peter hadn’t rambled about the franchise one of their last Lab days, which then led to the man insisting they watch the movies together so Peter could “make sure he understood what was happening.” He was pleased Tony seemed to have enjoyed the endeavor! The pleasant feeling followed him as they went to the lab and began working on the housing unit for the nanites in Clint’s arrows.

Tony, however, kept a watchful eye on his little friend.

Happy had texted saying that something was off with the kid, and while Tony had no experience with children prior to the last few weeks, he did have experience with being a genius and an orphan. He figured tinkering would be a good distraction, and he’d wager he was correct after seeing the look of relief and excitement on Peter’s face when he was invited to the lab.

It wasn’t until they had the housing unit almost complete that Tony decided to actually broach the subject.

Though working with his hands seemed to have stemmed the tears Happy reported seeing in the car, the boy was definitely off. He sniffled more than once, and didn’t seem as talkative or enthusiastic as he normally did. There wasn’t a single excited ramble about his friends Ned or Jocelyn, or whatever the last thing they learned in science was.

“So, Peter. How was your day. You haven’t said much.”

Tony didn’t miss the tears that misted the boys eyes slightly 

“It was fine,” he said, turning back to his project with a barely concealed sniffle.

Tony felt slightly awkward and unsure. He’d never had a conversation like this with a little kid before. Heck, he was barely getting to the point of speaking openly to his girlfriend and best friend about some things. But if he wanted to someday have kids, he figured he’d need to start getting used to stuff like this. With a deep breath, he took the plunge.

“Buddy, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay. But, uh, if you do want to talk about whatever is bothering you, you can. I mean, I’m all ears or whatever. I can blast or make fun of or drown in ice cream nearly any problem you have.”

Peter hesitantly turned towards him. “I-it’s really nothing. I’m f-fine.”

“I’m real sure, kid,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, is everything okay?” The hesitation in the boy’s eyes warred with the desire to tell what had happened. “C’mon. Out with it! The sooner I know who or what I need to blast, make fun of, or drown in ice cream, the better we’ll both feel.”

“W-well It’s this kid n-named Flash.” Peter began twisting his shirt into knots as he finally gave in. “He was just making fun of me for not having parents and he just b-bothered me more today, I guess.”

Tony’s heart squeezed in sympathy. He had plenty experience of his own being an orphan and dealing with bullies.

“Since I can’t blast a kid with my repulsars, although he maybe deserves it for being such a jerk,” he finally answered, “and I don’t feel right making fun of him, either, I’m going to settle with drowning it in ice cream. I know a great place just up the street, whaddya say?”

There was a small smile, which Tony saw as an absolute win, and then a shy nod, and Tony whisked the boy away for ice cream.

“Ya know, kid, none of what this Flash kid says is true,” he said as he licked his mint chip cone. “You’re not unlovable, or unworthy of parents. You didn’t do anything wrong the day they died. You couldn’t have been a better son. Trust me. All those things are utter nonsense.”

Peter stared at him dumbfounded. “H-how did you know?” He whispered.

“I’m an orphan too, ya know. I lost my parents many years ago, but I definitely know a little of what you’re feeling and dealing with.”

“Really?”

“I promise.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Anytime, kid. Anytime,” Tony said. “Now, are you drowning enough in ice cream? Do you need more chocolate sauce? You look like you need more chocolate sauce.”

Peter giggled, and Tony couldn’t help the slow smile that stole across his face as he went to go get more chocolate sauce, determined to keep that little boy smiling as long as possible.

***

“Um, can you find it in an aquarium?”

The science genius duo was enjoying their usual time in the lab and Tony had begun a session of “I’m thinking of an animal.” His animal was a hippo, which he’d felt fairly confident about until this last question.

“I don’t know, kiddo, I’ve never been to an aquarium!”

Dropping his jaw and his screwdriver, Peter spluttered out an incredulous, “what?”

“I’ve never been to an aquarium.” Tony shrugged.

“Oh, man. You don’t know what your missing, Mr. Stark! There’s fish and turtles and sometimes even hippos and alligators. My favorite are the turtles.” Peter's Big brown eyes widened and Tony grinned in anticipation of the child-like excitement that was sure to follow in whatever story the kid was going to tell next. “One time, there was this huge sea turtle and it came and swam next to the glass right where I was sitting for literally five minutes. My mom took tons of pictures. It was so cool!”

Tony chuckled. “That sounds really cool, bud.”

“It was! Did you know that some turtles only lay eggs every four years?”

They continued working and sharing weird animal facts and Tony was again startled by the desire to make this little kid smile. 

“Jarvis, buddy, can you look up the nearest aquarium?” He asked when Peter had left to go to bed.

“That would be the New York Aquarium.”

“Does it have turtles?”

“It does.”

“Hippos?”

“No, sir. But the Philadelphia Aquarium does.”

“Get two tickets to the New York one for this Saturday. And clear my schedule for that day.”

“With pleasure, sir.”

A few days later, Tony was nearly bouncing with excitement as he waited for Jarvis to bring Peter up to the penthouse for them to go to the aquarium.

“Mr. Stark, is everything okay?” The boy asked as he exited the elevator.

“Yeah, kiddo. Everything’s just fine. We’re going on a little field trip, though.”

“We are?” Peter’s eyes lit up. “Where to?”

“That’s a surprise!” Peter’s grin widened to match Tony’s. “My schedule’s all clear. You good to go?”

With a floppy-haired nod, they were off. 

The little boy had no clue where they were going, and Tony indulged 20 questions, but by the time they arrived, Peter was no closer to figuring it out.

“Wait...an aquarium?” He gasped when he got out and took in the building.

“They don’t have hippos or alligators, but they just got a couple turtles. I figured after hearing about how wonderful aquariums are, I should try and go to one, and I thought you could show me around.”

Peter didn’t hesitate one moment, unabashedly grabbing Tony’s hand and pulling him into the aquarium. They presented their tickets and the younger genius continued to drag the older genius around from exhibit to exhibit with huge smiles on both their faces. Like Peter, Tony’s favorite part were the turtles. The way they gravefully swam through the water and their kind faces made him feel peaceful and warm and fuzzy. And Peter’s little hand in his while he spouted off lots of facts about turtles made him feel even more so.

But the kids were leaving within the next couple weeks, and those pesky thoughts were back, marring the joy a little. Tony dutifully beat them back, aided by the peaceful feeling of being with Peter and the kid’s head modded off onto his shoulder on the way back to the tower.

***

Peter had nightmares more than he wanted to admit. 

They woke him up shaking with his heart beating so fast and hard he could hear it in his ears. The worst part about them, though, was how they would linger, seared into his eyelids. Scary images of his parents and aunt and uncle as their plane went down in flames replayed themselves over and over. 

Sniffling back tears, Peter decided to quietly sneak out of the room. He didn’t want to wake his little roommate.

“Hello, Peter,” Jarvis greeted, making him jump even though he knew the AI well. (Tony had even started helping Peter code his own when the boy showed interest.)

“H-Hey, Jarvis.”

“It is quite late for you to be up. Or early, depending how you look at it. Are you well?”

“Just can’t sleep. I’m heading for a snack, that’s all.”

“I think I have something that might help, if you’ll follow me, sir.”

The AI lit up a pathway and Peter shrugged before following it. He thought Jarvis would lead him to the kitchen, but instead he found himself staring at a door that definitely wasn’t for a kitchen. He’d never been to this part of the tower.

“Uh, where am I?”

“You’re outside Mr. Stark’s bedroom.”

His stomach flipped like a monkey after a banana, and Peter stumbled backwards. 

“Jarvis,” he hissed. “I can’t wake Iron Man up! Why’d you take me here. I thought you were bringing me to the kitchen for a snack!”

“I did not say that I was, only that I had something I thought would help.”

“No, I’m not going in there. I’ll find the kitchen myself,” he said, backing away as quickly as he could. 

But it was too late. 

A light flicked on and before Peter could turn around, the door opened to reveal a sweatpants-clad Tony Stark.

“Peter? What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark.” Peter’s voice was shaking and tear were burning his eyes. He’d gotten closer to the man the last month and a half they’d been together, but this was beyond embarrassing. He couldn’t ask Iron man to help him with his nightmares. “I couldn’t sleep and thought Jarvis was leading me to a kitchen for a snack.”

“No worries kid. C’mon. I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Y-You really don’t have to do that, Mr. Stark. I’m okay, I swear.”

Tony rolled his eyes, ruffling Peter’s curls and throwing an arm around the kid’s shoulders to lead him down the hallway. “It’s not a problem, buddy. I don’t mind cooking.”

So Peter was lead to the kitchen, and he was surprised how much better he was feeling not being alone. This was the second time Mr. Stark had saved him from being alone like this, and it felt really nice. He would miss it when he went back to living at the orphanage in a few weeks when the renovations were done. Sometimes, he would imagine what it would be like if Mr. Stark was his real dad, or adopted him, but he knew that would never happen. He usually tried to stop those daydreams fast.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. That looks really good,” Peter said, breaking out of his thoughts to take the toast with butter and jelly that he was offered.

It was quiet as Peter ate, Tony sitting next to him in companionable silence. Once the plate was empty, the bolder genius spoke up. “Again, kiddo, you do not need to explain, but if you want to talk about what’s got you up at nearly 2 in the morning, I’m all ears.”

Peter felt tears well up in his eyes. He had done so well not crying in front of his hero and he didn’t want to start now. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists to keep the tears from falling, but he was grateful to talk to someone.

“Um, I keep having dreams about- about my parents. The, uh, the day they went on the plane that crashed? And they just make me sad.” He shrugged. “S-Sometimes it’s hard to go back to sleep after I have one.”

“I have dreams like that, too,” Tony whispered.

Just like when the man had practically read his mind, saying exactly what Peter had needed to hear when Flash made fun of him the last week, a shock went up Peter’s spine. “Really?”

Tony sighed. “Yeah, I do. I lost my parents, too. Car accident. I also have dreams about being stuck in Afghanistan, in that cave, or in the wormhole. They’regetting better, though.”

“That must be really scary, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, patting the man’s arms.

“Heh. I��m supposed to be the one comforting you, kiddo.”

“Well, we all need comfort sometimes.”

“Thank you, buddy. How are you feeling?”

Peter looked up shyly. “Better. Thanks for the food.”

“No problem. Wanna watch something? That usually helps me fall back asleep.”

“Okay!”

They chose Iron Giant, and Peter felt so comfortable as Tony threw a blanket over him and pulled him under his arm. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed.

Tony watched as the little boy fell asleep, his heart melting and wrapping around his finger even more. After a few minutes to make sure the tyke would stay asleep if moved, he slipped his arms around the little body and carried him up to bed.

As he closed the door and saw Peter’s chocolate curls poking over the blanket, his tears prickled with tears at the realization he would lose this in a couple days.

Shut up he vehemently told that pesky little voice, and went back to bed, but didn’t get much sleep.

*** 

There were tears in everyone’s eyes, but Tony was going to blame it on May, who greeted him with tears of gratitude. All the kids gave her hugs before running off to explore the new building, chatting excitedly as they ran to the new beds and play area.

“Mr. Stark-“

“Tony, please, May.”

She smiled. “Tony. Seriously, though, I cannot thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to us. How much this means to me.”

See, this is why he was blaming May for the misty eyes. “Not a problem. The pleasure was all mine. It’s a special group of kiddos you got there.”

“They really are. And thanks to your help, the orphanage got some media attention, and now I’ve got people interested in the twins and a couple of the girls! I hope they all find good homes.”

“That’s amazing, May!” Tony said, and he meant it. Every single one of the kids had found a way into his heart, but none more than Peter. And the thought of that little boy going to another home caused another round of tears to come, though he quickly blinked them away.

“Mr. Stark!” As if called by Tony’s thoughts, Peter came bounding up, throwing a hug around the man’s waist. “This is amazing. Not as amazing as the tower, obviously, but this is a close second. Thank you so much!”

Tony hugged the boy back and assured him that he was happy to help, all the while trying to pretend his heart wasn’t breaking.

***

“Tony, this is ridiculous,” Pepper said, marching into his lab after the fourth day in a row of him being there. 

“What is, dear?” He asked, deflecting as usual.

Pepper raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her crisp blue suit. Even under her scrutinous glare, Tony had to admit she was gorgeous.

“You know what, dear. Peter’s gone and you’re back to moping in the lab.”

Acid curled his stomach, and he had to look away. “Well, what do you want me to do. Yeah, I miss the kid, and I’m trying to work through it. Just...just give me few more days.”

“You won’t survive another few days, Tony. You’re not invincible, you know.” She came over and ran a comforting hand through his hair, and his eyes closed of their own accord, trying to hide the tears. “Tony, what if...what if we adopt Peter?”

His eyes shot open. “What?”

“What if we adopt Peter?” She repeated. “You clearly love him, and I’ve watched him with you. He loves you, too. And I...I don’t know him as well as you do, but he’s so sweet and it’s impossible not to love him.”

“You’re serious?”

Pepper smiled. “100%. Tony, you’re ready. We’re ready. Let’s start a family.”

And just like in his dream, Tony couldn’t say or anything except pick his girlfriend up and spin her around.

“Thank you,” he said, tears in his eyes again. “I love you.”

***

Peter loved the new orphanage. He really did. The beds were as comfortable as the tower’s, and there were lots of cool toys and a new playground.

But Mr. Stark wasn’t there.

Peter tried to deny how much he missed him. How much he missed his own dad and how Mr. Stark helped fill that void a little with lab days and movie nights. He’d even helped Peter when Flash was mean and he’d had a nightmare.

And he missed him.

It also didn’t help that Jocelyn and Greyson got adopted, and the twins might be as well. People had been buzzing at the orphanage ever since the renovations. The media had run a few stories on how the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist had taken in the group of orphans and funded the renovations of the building. People had been coming ever since, but none of them really connected with Peter.

He hated to admit it, but he compared all of them to Mr. Stark, and none of the fit. Besides, they all wanted the younger kids.

“Peter!” May called, interrupting his moping. “Come here, sweetie.”

“Coming, May!” 

He jumped off the swing set, running towards the orphanage, but screeched to a halt as he saw a familiar face. Two familiar faces.

“M-Mr. S-Stark? Mrs. Potts?” He stammered out. “W-what’re you doing here?”

“Hey, kiddo,” Tony greeted. He looked nervous- a hand running over his carefully defined goatee, feet shifting back and forth, fingers clasped with Pepper’s.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, buddy, everything’s fine. We, uh, we were wondering if,” he hesitated and Pepper squeezed his hand. “We would like to adopt you, Peter. If that’s something you’d be interested in?”

Shocked, Peter couldn’t say anything, which was a rare thing for him. Or so his parents used to say.

“Really?” He finally choked out.

“Yeah, sweetie,” pepper said, smiling kindly. Peter was surprised. He’d gotten close with Tony, but not as much with her.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Tony grinned at him. “Well, say yes, buddy! We got a room all ready for you and a team of the best lawyers to make it official if you want.”

“Yes!” Peter said, throwing himself into their arms. “Yes, I want to!”

Again, everybody was crying (happy tears) and once all the paperwork was filled out, Tony took Peter’s hand.

“Let’s go home,” he said, his heart at peace finally, the nagging sensation of something missing finally filled by the little boy who was now his little boy.

“Home,” Peter repeated, smiling. His new favorite word.

#mine #the friendly neighborhood exchange #I hope you enjoy this friend!

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck Part 15/? - Body Snatchers Part 16/? - Out of the Frying Pan Part 17/? - A Miracle Part 18/? - A Matter of Circumstance

A chapter for anybody who’s been wondering just what Lake’s deal is.

-

It was dark by now.  Peggy headed out on the deck, and got a blast of icy-cold air in the face. They were moving west, back towards American waters, and it made Peggy wonder if the Canadians even knew they were up here.  In the darkness and wind there was nobody else on deck except the essential staff. All she had to do was find somewhere sheltered.

The wind was from the west, so Peggy went around behind the ship’s superstructure.  One of the lifeboats was in need of repairs and had been lashed to the deck there, keel-up, so men could work on it.  Between it and the superstructure was a nice little triangle that was out of the wind and away from prying eyes.  With the ship and the sea drown out the noise, Peggy leaned against the wall and bawled.

Steve was alive!  He was alive and awake and solid and real.  All this time Peggy had been mourning his loss, trying to get over this beautiful brave fool of a man she’d once hoped to build a life with, he’d been up there in the ice waiting to be found!  The moment she’d seen his eyes open, all the work she’d put into moving on had been utterly wasted because there he was.  She was overjoyed at the same time as… what was she going to do?

Peggy loved Daniel.  He understood her.  Their relationship was based on working together in peacetime on a very different set of problems… that was something she would have had to build from the ground up with Steve and three years ago she’d been ready to do it, even looking forward to it, but now?  Steve didn’t even know the time had passed.  He might think they could still make their date at the Stork Club. Somebody was probably telling him about it right now.  What would he think?  Would he wonder why Peggy hadn’t told him herself?

Was she going to have to break his heart?  Was she going to have to break Daniel’s? What about her own?  And was she really so bloody selfish that at a time when Steve’s return was going to mean so much to so many people, people like Daniel and Lieutenant Harbottle who’d never felt they got to properly thank him, she was thinking about this?

The answer to that last question was yes.  Yes, she absolutely was, damn her.

Hot tears slid down her face and froze to her cheeks, and her sobs mixed with the arctic wind and flew away across the sea on it. For what seemed like half the night, she felt like she might never be able to stop.  Her head began to ache, her nose ran, her throat went sore… Steve was in there waiting for her to come back and she was going to look the ugliest she had in her life…

Then, at last, she ran out of tears.  For a moment she stayed perfectly still, just listening to the wind… and then she heard the sound of somebody singing.

Perhaps she’d imagined it.  Over the creak of the ship and the sound of her own shuddering breaths, how could Peggy have heard anything else?  But there it was again, and after a moment of straining her ears, she realized it was coming from underneath the upturned lifeboat.  She knelt down for a look.  It was very dark under the boat, but once her eyes adjusted, she made out the shape of a woman lying on the deck, curled around a life vest she had clutched to her middle and singing softly to herself.

“And if I’m flying solo, at least I’m flying free,” she sang, slow and shaky.  Peggy did not know the song, but she could tell it was off-key.  “To those who’d ground me, take a message back for me…”

“Kay?” Peggy asked.

Kay opened her eyes.  They were red-rimmed, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

“Are you all right?” Peggy wanted to know.

“I’m fine,” said Kay hoarsely.

“No, you aren’t,” said Peggy.

“If you already knew that, then why did you ask?” Kay rolled over to face away from her.

Peggy spent a moment wondering if she ought to say something more, then decided no.  She’d never gotten a straight answer from Kay yet, and this was not the time to try. She should go in and wash her face, and see if she could talk to Steve without bursting into tears all over again. Peggy stood up.

“Don’t go,” said Kay.

Peggy knelt down again.  “Why not?” she asked.

Kay was still lying with her back to Peggy, and did not move to change that.  “Life’s not fair,” she said.

“No.  No, it’s not,” Peggy agreed.  It never was.

“Have you ever noticed that nobody ever says that like it’s a bad thing?” Kay asked.  She sniffled, and Peggy saw an arm move to wipe her nose on her sleeve.  “It’s just the way it is.  We’re not supposed to try to change it.”

“Yes.  The people who say life’s not fair are the ones who have some advantage they want to press,” Peggy agreed.  “Whether it’s a parent to a child, a boss to an employee, or…” she could think of other examples, but they hit a little too close to home.  “Or Steve’s lady friend, talking to the woman who risked her life for him even though he doesn’t even know who she is?”

This time, Kay did roll over.  “Who do you think I am, Peggy?” she asked.

Peggy’s heart started beating a little faster. For all she’d just had a very personal breakdown, there was enough professional left in her to know that this might be her only chance to learn something very important.  She was not sure how she felt about Kay – they certainly weren’t friends, but after what had happened today, could they really be enemies anymore? – but she could use this emotional moment to get some kind of truth from her.  The question was whether she would hate herself for it later.

“Can we talk about this indoors?” Peggy asked.

Kay uncurled a little from the life vest she’d been crying into, but she did so in defeat, not because she wanted to open up.  “You want me somewhere you can record me.”

“No,” Peggy backtracked.  “I want you somewhere we can both wash our faces and have something hot to drink, because we’re cried out and it’s brass monkeys out here.”

“It’s okay.  I’d do the same thing,” said Kay.

She squirmed out from under the boat and Peggy helped her stand, and they both stumbled back inside and found a washroom.  On a navy ship all of these, except the one for the nurses, were supposed to be men only, but most of the sailors who came in and saw the two of them washing up just turned around and left again – and the ones who stayed politely decided to use the stalls.  Peggy and Kay were still red-eyed and miserable as they went to the mess hall, but Peggy at least felt a little more presentable.  She got them each a mug of tea, and they went to a little table in the corner, far from anyone else present at this hour.

By the time they got there, she had settled on how she was going to answer Kay’s question.  Peggy gave the other woman her tea, and then said, “I think you definitely came from the same place as Olga Barynova,” she said, “and I think you may have been telling the truth when you said they sent you here to find her.  But I also think you have your own agenda, which your superiors may not approve of.  What that has to do with Steve I’m not sure.”

Kay shook her head.  “Nobody sent me.  I came here on my own.  I…” she took a deep breath.  “I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, so I thought I’d let you figure it out on your own, but I don’t care anymore.  I’m a time traveler.  I’m from the future.  I’m here to fix it.”

That was not an answer Peggy had been prepared for, and her instinctive reaction was that it had to be nonsense.  Yet… hadn’t she seen stranger things?  She’d seen tiny Steve Rogers transformed into Captain America.  She’d seen the awesome technology of the Valkyrie, a plane the size of this aircraft carrier roaring into the sky as if it weighed nothing at all.  She’d seen the unbelievable power of the tesseract, the bizarre properties of the Zero Matter, and the corpse of a giant her superiors thought must have come from outer space.  Who was Peggy Carter to say that time travel was impossible?

“Tell me more,” she said.

“I was born in 1984,” said Kay, “and you’re right, the Red Room got me… but the Soviet Union collapsed when I was still a child, so they began using us as assassins and spies for hire instead.  The controls weren’t as tight as they used to be, and eventually I went rogue.  The organization the SSR evolved into sent a man to kill me, but he…”  She looked up at Peggy, and seemed to arrange her words carefully before she continued.  “I guess he thought I was worth more alive.  So I ended up working for them instead.  I was with the group who found Steve in the arctic in 2012.”

Peggy had been thinking that recruiting somebody like Dottie sounded far too dangerous to her, but that number brought her train of thought up short.  Twenty-twelve didn’t even sound like a real year.  It was the sort of far-flung future one saw in serials where people regularly rode rocket ships into space.  “And he was still alive?” she asked.

“Yeah,” said Kay.  “When I met him, when they thawed him out – they let it take a few days, so he recovered better than he did today – he was so lost.  Everybody he knew was dead and the whole world had changed, but somehow they expected him to just get back into it and be Captain America again. And he did, because he didn’t know what else to do.”

Peggy could just picture it… poor Steve, wandering in a world like something out of one of Howard’s fantasies, all flying cars and cities on the moon.  Not in itself a terrible future, but not one anyone wanted to see alone.

But apparently it was a terrible future, because Kay went on: “by that time, people like Zola meant that HYDRA had completely permeated the United States government.  You almost couldn’t get it out without tearing the whole thing down. Steve and I found out about it and exposed it, but it was a horrible mess.  People looked back on the last sixty years and realized there were so many wars that didn’t need to happen and people who didn’t need to die.”

When talking about the death of Zola, Peggy recalled, Kay had sounded like the murder had been very personal to her.  There was more than that, though: “were you in love with him?” Peggy asked.

“Love is for children,” said Kay.  “Captain Rogers was my friend.  We worked together for years.  He missed you.  He missed Barnes, he missed Stark.  Finding HYDRA was still active made him feel like he’d sacrificed himself in that plane wreck for nothing.  There are so many things he would not have stood for, but those won’t happen now.” She sat up a little straighter. “Because Zola is dead and Steve is alive, and the future is going to be better.”

Peggy didn’t know if she believed a word of that… but it was certainly a compelling idea, and she couldn’t deny the reality of the two facts Kay had just stated.  Zola was dead, and Steve was alive.  And if the other things she’d said were true, then the future was going to be… perhaps not necessarily better, but certainly very different.

He was my friend.  That was why she’d been crying, because he’d woken up and looked at her and said who are you?  If he’d done the same to Peggy, she didn’t know that she would have been able to just keep smiling as Kay had.

“What are you going to do next?” Peggy asked.

“I’ve got a list,” said Kay.  “There are some more like Zola who have to go, and the Red Room, but we’re not talking about people who keep their records for seventy years. I need information, and to get it I think I need Barynova.”

“Then why run off to follow me?” Peggy wanted to know. “Why not stay in New York where they’re working on that?”

Kay gave an uneasy shrug.  “I just felt like I should be here.”

Peggy supposed she ought not to argue with that. If not for Kay, Steve would be either on a dissecting table or burned alive in the boiler room, and Peggy would never even know she’d killed him.  The thought made her shudder.

“What’s your real name?” she asked.

“Natalia Alianova Romanova,” was the reply.  “If I had any friends they’d call me Natasha. Or just Nat.  But don’t call me that,” Kay added firmly.  “I don’t want that name getting into the history books later. I don’t want anyone ever knowing this wasn’t the way history was originally supposed to go.”

“Because you don’t want anyone trying to put it back,” Peggy said.

“That’s right.”  Kay heaved a shuddering sigh, as if she might start crying again, but she did not.  “Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Peggy replied, with complete honesty.  “But you did lead me to him, so… thank you for that.”  Even if Peggy had no idea what she was going to do about it.

“You’re welcome,” said Kay.  “You were the love of his life.”

“He was mine, too,” Peggy said, and wondered what Kay would think of the problem that presented her with.  Did she know something else about Peggy’s own future that Peggy did not?  Was she destined to be unhappy in marriage?  Or had she even thought about it at all?  Maybe Peggy was only here because Kay expected her to play her role in Steve’s future, and had never considered that Peggy might have developed other plans in the meantime.

#fanfic #captain america #agent carter #peggy carter #steve rogers #steggy #fix it fic

[pancakesfor2]

And They Were Roommates (6)

Summary: Unforeseen circumstances lead to you needing a roommate; when Bucky steps up, old feelings come back to light. The only problem is that he has a girlfriend.

Warnings: Cursing, cheating, drinking

Words: 1876

Written for @babylevines writing challenge! My prompt is bolded in this chapter!

Note: Please don’t hate me. 

Masterlist and Series Masterlist are in my bio! Tags are closed!

“Fuck, where is it?” you muttered to yourself as you clawed through the pile of clothes shoved in the back of your drawer. You were looking for your black dress, the one you’d bought while on a shopping trip with Nat a couple of months ago but still hadn’t worn because you just hadn’t had the opportunity. Now that you actually wanted to wear it, you couldn’t find it anywhere.

While you were tearing apart your room looking for your dress, Bucky was breaking up with his girlfriend. He’d been gone for around 45 minutes now, and you were trying not to think about him. You were worried that Dot was going to convince him of her innocence, or that she’d try and make you out to be the bad guy. If it came to that, you still had the pictures you took that day, but you were pretty sure that Bucky would believe you over her anyways. 

You’d given up on the dress being in your closet and you were about to throw in the towel and just wear something else, but then you remembered that you shoved a couple of bags under your bed a while ago and had never bothered to get them out and put the clothes away. 

That was how Bucky found you, half under your bed, using an unraveled clothes hanger to try and reach the bag that you just knew contained the dress you were looking for. “I would ask what you’re doing, but I’m a little afraid of what the answer might be,” he laughed. 

“Not funny,” you said, but the fact that you were still under your bed probably made it a little hard to take you too seriously. “Aha! Got it!!” you exclaimed, having pulled the bag close enough to where you could reach out and grab it. You slid out from under your bed, and turned to Bucky. “How’d it go?”

“Eh, she denied everything. Tried to convince me that you were jealous of her and made it up to get to me.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah I know that, and I told her just as much.”

“So are you two broken up now?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. I’m not staying with someone who cheated on me––yeah, I told her we were through.

You didn’t really know how to reply, especially since you didn’t want to appear too enthusiastic about his break up. He was cheated on for goodness sake. So instead you nodded and changed the subject, “What time do you think we’ll leave for Sam’s tonight?”

“Like seven?”

“Okay.” That gives you two hours to both study and get dressed for the party.  

“Cool, I’m gonna catch up on some homework in my room.” He pointed at his door with his thumb. 

“Yeah, me too. Just knock on my door if you’re ready to go and I’m not out yet.”

He nodded and left your doorway. You wiped some dust off the bag, and pulled out the dress, inspecting it for tears or stains. Luckily it was still perfect, you hadn’t even cut the tag off. Nat’ll be happy that you’re finally wearing it.

You put the dress away and study for a bit, finishing up a paper you’d started a couple of days ago. Your phone buzzed, distracting you from your homework. It was a text from Tony, so you decided to answer it, if it was anyone else you’d probably ignore them and keep studying but Tony was Tony. 

Tony: You do it?

You: Yeah, I’ll tell you at the party tonight

Tony: You’re coming?!?

You: Bucky wants to go, I’m going for support

Tony: Cool, see you then ;)

You tossed your phone down onto the bed, hoping it wouldn’t bounce off and onto the floor. Tony’s text had come at the perfect time, interrupting your studying so that you could get ready to leave. 

You already had the dress out, and it didn’t need to be ironed, so you put it on and then went into your bathroom to do your hair and makeup. It didn’t take you very long, since you’d perfected your ‘going out’ look a long time ago and now were able to get ready within fifteen minutes. 

You’d decided against wearing heels since you knew that you’d be the one driving you and Bucky back from the party. You were just tying your shoelaces, when you heard Bucky knocking on your door, “You ready?” he called from outside. 

“Yeah just give me one more second,” you replied, grabbing your bag and going to open your door. You pulled the door open and stopped dead in your tracks. Bucky was on his phone, his body leaned against the back of the couch, and he looked good. 

“Let’s get out of he–” He stopped mid-sentence, looking up from his phone and noticing you. He looked you up and down, and to be honest you were doing the same to him. Fuck. He was wearing this black leather jacket, and the only word you had to describe him was hot. 

It felt like you were staring at each other for hours, but really it was only a few seconds before you snapped yourselves out of your daze and made your way towards the front door. Neither of you choosing to acknowledge what had just happened. 

The car ride to Sam’s was spent in comfortable silence, letting the radio play whatever was popular at the moment. Bucky was driving, his eyes constantly on the road, while you sat in the passenger seat next to him, resisting the urge to turn and stare at him. Bucky was magnetic, his personality, his looks, everything just screamed look at me! I’m everything you need! 

When you arrived at the party you split up, Bucky made a beeline towards Sam and Steve while you went to the kitchen where you knew you’d find Tony. Hanging out in kitchens during parties was your “thing,” especially since that was where’d you’d first met during your freshman year. 

“Hey! Look at you!” exclaimed Tony as you entered the room, seeing him perched atop the island in the middle of the room. 

You laughed and did a little spin, the skirt of your dress flaring out ever so slightly. Holding the dress down with one hand, you used the other to push yourself up onto the counter next to your best friend. 

“How’d he take the news?” 

“Better than I would’ve, he broke up with her before a couple of hours ago.” You decided not to mention the crying, some things were just meant to stay between you and Bucky. 

“What about you?” he slung his arm around your shoulders, “How’re you doing?”

“I’m good, I think. I mean I wasn’t the one being cheated on you know?” You said, raising your palms. 

Tony nodded, then hopped off the counter, grabbing your hand and pulling you down with him, “That’s enough sad stuff for today, let go see what our guys are doing.” He lead you out into the living room and you followed, choosing not to acknowledge the fact that he referred to Bucky as yours. 

You found the guys in the living room, where Sam and Bucky seemed to be having a competition to see who could take more shots within a minute. Steve was judging, and his face lit up as soon as he saw Tony. He beckoned the two of you over, and pulled Tony into his arms, forgetting about the game and burying his face in the shorter man’s hair. 

Meanwhile, Sam and Bucky had finished up and were looking to Steve expectantly, “So… which one of us won?” asked Sam with a teasing smile on his face. 

“No fucking clue,” replied Steve, kissing the top of Tony’s head. 

You looked over at Bucky and noticed how his eyebrows knit together at the sight of Steve and Tony being all lovey dovey. It must’ve hurt to see his best friend so happy when he’d just broken up with his girlfriend of six months. The breakup also explained his excessive drinking. You’d seen him at parties before, but he’d never gotten as wasted as he did tonight. 

You’d been out for a couple of hours when you’d decided that it was getting late, so you said goodnight to all your friends and all but carried Bucky back to your car. You strapped him into the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt for him. 

As you pulled the strap across his chest, he took hold of your hand and pressed it to his heart, “Why is my heart beating so fast?” he wondered aloud. 

“I don’t know,” you laughed, releasing yourself from his grip. You climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, you had just pulled out of the parking space when Bucky spoke up again. 

“Am I unlovable?”

Oh shit. 

He continued, “Is that why she had to be with someone else? Was I not good enough?” 

“You’re more than good enough, Dot’s an idiot.” You hoped you sounded reassuring.  took one hand off of the wheel and clasped his, squeezing it reassuringly. 

“But what if nobody actually loves me? She said she loved me and she lied, so what if everyone else is lying too? What if everyone in my life is just pretending to like me and then one day they’ll get sick of me the same way she did?” 

I love you. You wanted to say, but you couldn’t. Instead you took one hand off of the wheel and clasped his, squeezing it and saying “You have so many people who love you Bucky. Real love, not like Dot.” 

He didn’t say anything else, only squeezing your hand back in response. 

Getting Bucky up to the apartment was a lot harder than getting him into the car, but you managed it, dragging him up the three flights of stairs. You left him on the sofa in the living room, you were going to change out of your dress and then you’d take him to his own room. But it seemed like Bucky had other plans, because when you tried to walk away he reached out and pulled you backwards, making you lose your balance and fall right into his lap. 

Your eyes met and time seemed to stop. You stared into his eyes, and noticed for the first time that they were more grey than blue. His gaze slipped, his eyes darting down to your mouth. His tongue slipped out to wet his lips, and his head got closer and closer to yours before finally he kissed you. 

You froze. He was drunk. He was just cheated on. This meant nothing. You genuinely didn’t know how to react. “Did you just kiss me?” you asked in a daze. 

“I don’t know,” he replied, not meeting your eyes. 

“I’m going to bed now.” You scrambled out of his lap, practically ran into your room, and slammed the door behind you. You could fix this. All you had to do was pretend that none of this ever happened. He probably wouldn’t remember any of it anyways. You just had to act like everything was normal tomorrow morning and you’d be home free. Easy. 

Updates are now every other week! Tags in the reblogs! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! 

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #college!bucky x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #college bucky barnes #atwr

[where-is-francis]

Boys Don’t Cry

Steve Harrington x Male Reader

Request:

Prompt: “I came by your house late at night for advice and you’re dancing in your bedroom to The Cure and, not gonna lie, it’s pretty amusing.”

A/N: And the slowest writer ever award goes to: me. But ok Boys Don’t Cry is one of my favorite songs to dance to in an over-dramatic fashion while I’m alone in my bedroom. And I figured like. Why not.

TW: underage drinking, Guys Bein’ Dudes™️, slight language, you dated Nancy but the sexuality is never specified.

Cliques were always dangerous. You never really fit in with any specific group. Fellow peers at Hawkins had just kind of dubbed you a wanderer. And for as much as the teachers liked you, you found yourself in detention quite a bit. Not because you actually started fights, but pissing off Steve Harrington was one of your favorite hobbies. And when Billy Hargrove moved to town, your focus simply shifted to tormenting him instead.

Steve would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the attention. For whatever reason, aggravating each other was the main basis of your friendship.

It was about third period and you’d come in to school late. The secretary noticed you weren’t at roll call for algebra or science, so she called your house. And before you could get to the phone your mother picked up and began screaming at you, whom she just assumed had already left, prompting you to get ready and leave.

The hallways were empty and it was fairly quiet, save for the noises of one of the gym classes going on. Your locker, unfortunately, was in the hall right beside the gym. Squeaks from sneakers and thuds from a dribbling basketball came from behind closed doors. Every time that damned ball hit your head throbbed more, still recovering from the party last night.

Tossing your Walkman inside, you began to grab out one of the books you’d need. English had been boring, but not as laggy as math and science. For a kid who was good with numbers you were surprisingly bad at the two subjects.

A sudden break in your thoughts came when a familiar face spotted yours and began to walk over. You could sense the uneasiness in the way he walked, normally he’d be trying to scare you. With everything in your hands, you nudged the door to your locker closed and waited for him to say something snarky as a greeting.

But he never did.

(E/c) orbs met dark brown ones. The light behind them was gone, now replaced with a sorrowful expression.

“You good?”

“Not really,” he sighed defensively.

“What’s got you—?”

Memories of the party from the night before came back in a blurred montage. Drinking, dancing, smoking, laughing, making out, repeat. You didn’t remember much, but at one point Nancy spilled her drink and went to the bathroom. What seemed like five hours later, Steve was pissed and ended up leaving.

“Oh, shit.” You visibly cringed.

“Look, I’m going to go talk to her.”

“It’s a wasted effort, man.” You reasoned. “Coming from somebody who’s been with her, just trust me.”

He always went to you for advice when it came to her. Nancy Wheeler was a very complex person, but you two dated for a while, and you kind of knew everything. A breakup came after about ten short months when you grew apart, but after a bit of a chat you two decided to stay friends.

The brunette shook his head slightly and glared. Reaching a hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, he muttered something about just getting it over with. You opened your mouth to speak just when the secretary stepped out, a less than pleased look on her face.

“(L/n), you better get to class before you end up with another detention. You too, Harrington.”

A small smirk crossed your features. “Aww, that’d be such a shame, huh?”

Steve quickly sauntered off, presumably to talk to Nancy, and you were left with the secretary. The look in her tired eyes that reached your own pleaded for you to just shut up and go to class.

“They aren’t paying me enough for this,” she groaned.

The smirk on your face morphed into a full shit-eating grin, then prompting you to make your way down the hall and into your English class. Just another average day would follow, nothing out of the ordinary.

Later that evening as you got home, you decided it would be best to unwind and listen to music. Nobody else was home, your parents both at work, so that meant you could do pretty much whatever you wanted. Reaching your beat up door, you began to tug your denim jacket off and toss it onto the chair in the corner.

Everything about the room was overdone; posters adorned the off-white walls, the pictures overlapping at times, and stickers thrown onto the closet door. Two large bookshelves were filled to the brim with your music collection, some sketchbooks, and whatever other junk you had that couldn’t be left on the floor.

Nancy always hated your room but that was to be expected. It didn’t bother you much, you’d rather be at her house anyways.

You shut the door and began to change into something a bit more comfortable, wondering what you’d do with yourself for the remainder of the night. Ordering a pizza sounded pretty good, considering nobody was home and you didn’t want to cook. Most nights alone you’d end up watching TV, playing video games, and then crash at about 2 AM. A vicious cycle, one you never grew tired of.

Without thinking, you reached over and grabbed your phone from the receiver and dialed Steve’s number. It seemed like a good idea at the time, the two of you could hang out for a bit without getting yelled at.

Last time he was over, your parents came home earlier than anticipated and found the two of you sat on the couch, drunk, reading through the phone book (for whatever reason), only to just lose your shit whenever you saw a name that sounded even mildly amusing.

The phone rang a few times before eventually being picked up.

A sigh could be heard. “What?”

“Hey, loverboy. I’m ordering pizza tonight. You wanna come over and hang out?”

“Are we going to get our asses ripped this time?” The brunette retorted.

A fake laugh came from you. “That was one time, so are you coming or not?”

There was a minute long pause between you two. No matter how much you annoyed each other, you were one of his weaknesses. And pizza was something that he couldn’t say no to.

“Fine, but—”

“Great! See you in a few.” You chirped and practically smashed your phone back onto the base.

Steve lived only a couple streets down from you. You met back at the beginning of elementary school, both of you riding the same bus. Neither you, nor him, could really remember when you started to consider the other a ‘friend’. But it mainly had something to do with him and Nancy being a couple.

Since she and you dated before and were still close friends, somehow you ended up becoming the marriage counselor along the way.

But hey, the more the merrier, right?

Your mind couldn’t help but drift sometimes. Steve was pretty cute in your eyes, even with his weird hair. Generally the same taste in music, shows, movies, and obviously the same taste in girls. And although he was stupid (sometimes), he was a good dude.

It wouldn’t take long for him to reach the house. In the meantime you decided it would be best to put in the order for the pizzas. A quick call to the nearest shop, and they’d deliver it as soon as it was done.

After scanning through some music, you finally settled on one: a mixtape of your favorite songs from The Cure. You popped it in with no hesitation and set your player to max volume. The intro to Siamese Twins rang out in your bedroom, the beat eventually making all of the furniture thud in perfect time. Glass window panes shook as well, you’d probably have the neighbors complaining in the morning.

Your feet guided you around the house aimlessly as you searched for something to drink, the sound of music becoming more muffled as you entered the kitchen. It reminded you of the party a few nights ago, but far less stuffy. And with better music.

“I chose an eternity of this; like fallen angels, the world disappeared,” you sang slightly to yourself as you rummaged through the cabinets.

Nothing.

Onto the fridge, stocked full of Coke and other stuff you didn’t much care for. Nobody

Meanwhile, down the street, Steve could hear loud music coming from your street. Which was odd, if there was a party he would’ve known about it. Upon further inspection he realized it was coming from your house. The sun was already starting to set behind said abode, nestling itself deeper and deeper into the rows of houses that occupied the area.

The Harrington boy stepped a bit closer and took in the view; your house covered in orange and red tinted leaves, the living room and kitchen lights shining through their respective windows. Your silhouette moved about inside, gracefully, to the beat. Almost like a shadow with perfectly fluid movements.

His focus shifted to the porch lights, then the door, the doorbell, and back again. He only assumed your parents weren’t home but he wasn’t sure, although with as loud as the music was, ringing the doorbell or knocking wouldn’t have done any good anyways. It took him a bit to move, then walking around to the darkened backyard where he counted the windows.

The first one was your parents’ room (he learned the hard way), the second belonged to the bathroom, and finally, the third was the entrance to your bedroom. He glanced down, careful not to step on the flowers, then maneuvered his way around to find a spot where he could see through the gap blinds. What he got was something out of a renaissance painting.

You with your mom’s pearl necklace and matching earrings draped carelessly, your shirt all the way unbuttoned, and a wine glass in your hand. To top it all off, your hair was a mess, but complemented the askew lipstick that painted your lips. Your hips swayed back and forth in a graceful yet drunken manner. Inside, Boys Don’t Cry came on the stereo.

Each step you took was calculated to sync with the beat, the only thing that could’ve made it more amusing was if you would’ve been wearing heels.

“What is that moron doing?”

“I would say I’m sorry

If I thought that it would change your mind

But I know that this time I have said too much,

Been too unkind,”

You sang along, a slurred version not being heard by the other male as he watched from the window. Brown eyes were fixated on your form as you leapt up onto the bed, forcing a bit of a stumble from yourself. After almost toppling over, you continued on.

“I tried to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies

I tried to laugh about it, hiding the tears in my eyes cause—”

“Boys… don’t cry.” Steve finished.

In the midst of the dancing spree you turned and locked eyes with said boy. The room was swaying about and took a minute to stop, your vision focusing on him. Each step you took closer to the window made your knees feel weaker, but somehow you managed to pull the screen up to let the other boy in.

The room was almost like a time capsule; nothing really moved or touched since the last time he’d been there, the only difference being the clothes that had been strewn across the floor. Sudden weight on the bed caused it to dip behind him. When he turned, your body was draped gracefully across the dark (color) sheets. Almost something out of an erotic painting, the clash of textures and colors alike.

Originally, the plan had been to come to wallow in self pity and ask for advice about Nancy. Now all he could think about was you, tipsy, singing along to music so loud it would rival an actual concert.

“You—you want a sip?” You shouted over the lyrics, somewhat slurred.

Steve thought about it for a minute, taking glances at your extended hand every so often. A slight sigh escaped him, then taking the glass and downing whatever was left. He started coughing and gagging as a result of the cheap liquor hitting, but didn’t care too much to do anything besides wipe his mouth off.

Everything in that moment was fuzzy, and loud, and warm. Time was stopped for you two. Nothing really mattered except the exact moment you were living in. Not some dumb party, not some spoiled suburban girl, and most certainly not being sober.

Steve’s hands fell to his hips. The newfound anxiety on his face made you wonder, but still too afraid to ask.

“Is there more to drink?”

“Yeah, in the kitchen… come on.”

Everything that happened afterwards became a blur of colors and muffled noises. Almost like going under anesthesia in the hospital, you couldn’t really remember what went on until something triggered it. And from then on you’d spend your time wondering if it was real or not, trying so hard to distinguish a vivid dream from a drugged reality.

One thing happened to stand out. The single thing you could remember.

Not so many hours later, bottles of liquor had been spread across the floor and the lights turned off. The music that once blared and annoyed the neighbors was turned down now, a much softer volume. Melodic hums came from your lips as Steve ranted about Nancy. The party, it was all because of the stupid party.

“— and, I mean, I apologized. Me. Steve fucking Harrington.”

After what seemed like four rounds too many, his speech was slurred.

Steve buried his face in his hands.“I don’t know what I did wrong…”

“You didn’t do any-anything wrong, man. Nancy just... has a stick up her ass, nothing new.” You assured him with a soft shove to the shoulder.

Your eyes met for a brief moment, his hands sliding down the sides of his face. A pitiful laugh found its way from his throat, soon after turning into something far more maniacal. Something about the situation was funny to you as well.

But not what you had said about Nancy, no. What made you laugh was the look on this idiot’s face, perfectly illuminated by the neighbor’s porch lights. How he slid down deeper onto your floor, ribs aching from giggling too hard. Though he was drunk, the smile plastered on his face was genuine.

Two separate roars were only extinguished after a few minutes, but at the time it felt like hours. You attempted to regain your composure but it was hard when his face was right next to yours. Once perfect brown hair was now askew, the result of the perfect night in. Eyes in the color to match brimmed with tears from laughing, something he felt like he hadn’t done in a while. Nearly perfect skin and perfect lips almost begging for some action; it was too amazing.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you wanted to make out with me…”

It took a minute for his words to sink in. Even in the dark he could see the red flush rise to your cheeks. You swallowed a bit, hand rising to comb through (h/c) locks anxiously. Harsh shadows covered your (s/c) face but even then Steve could still tell you were biting your lip.

It seemed he had his answer.

“Oh,”

“Yeah, oh,” you mirrored.

Everything happened what felt like hours later, but at the same time, all at once. Your bodies had been forced together, the taste of long forgotten cheap wine playing on your tongues. His hands reached up to tangle gently in your hair, all while yours gripped desperately at the lapels of his denim jacket.

The kiss was soft and messy, but whether it was the alcohol’s fault or the fact he was nervous was anybody’s guess. For whatever reason, Steve expected it to feel different but it didn’t. The kiss was just that; a kiss. Not a kiss with a boy, just a kiss.

Clumsily, he straddled your lap to get a better angle. It still felt the same. The time had come to an end, your lungs begging for air, forcing the two of you to pull back. His shoulders heaved, the room only being filled now with the slight sound of you both panting.

(E/c) hues opened to take in the view. Steve Harrington straddling your lap, breathless, disheveled, only being lit by the light that came through the window. The grip you had on his jacket slowly loosened, only to be stopped by his hand on yours. Red lipstick that once adorned your lips was now shared. The Cure that played in the background had finally come to a complete stop. But the gaze Steve had on your lips didn’t, especially when he began to lean in again.

“Don’t tell Nancy,”

#stranger things #steve harrington #x male reader #steve harrington x male reader #stranger things x male reader #steve harrington x reader #stranger things x reader #jaws writes

[fic-for-fic-sake]

As Long As You’re Mine

A/N: This is the follow up to “I’m Not That Girl”. This second part now follows the song “As Long As You’re Mine” also from Wicked. Hope you enjoy...

Pairing: Steve x reader

Warnings: Smut, angst, fluff

Six months ago Steve Rogers left you for his ex, and you were handling it. How well you were handling it was debatable but you were moving on and making progress. Which is why when Bucky said there was a new mission you jumped at the opportunity. You had been out of the game way too long, it was time to get to work again. 

Ever since the time tech had been used, people had a way of getting their hands on it, or something similar, and using it for nefarious purposes. Most of which involved giving Hydra a leg up years in advance. Telling them information they shouldn’t know about events that hadn’t happened yet. 

This time, some Hydra newbie, probably trying to prove his worth, used the time tech to go back to 1954 Miami. Some top Hydra execs were meeting and your intel told you that he intended on meeting them there. Your team was unsure of what information he would pass on but Fury said any information out of time is too dangerous, especially in the wrong hands.

You wanted in. This mission would be perfect for you, it would allow you to get back into the swing of things and be relatively undetected. Since he went back alone and it wasn’t your time, people wouldn’t know to be on the lookout for you. Plus security was way more lax in the 50′s so you didn’t have as much to worry about on that front. 

After some internet searches, Bucky’s personal input, and same day Amazon delivery you were ready to go. You marched up to the platform, cream colored heels clacking on the flooring. You felt ridiculous. You wore a white dress with red roses on it, the kind that cinched in at the waist and flared out at the leg. The halter tie of the dress sat uncomfortably at the base of your neck, but your bouncy decade appropriate curls hid it well. The tulle underskirt you had on made a swooshing noise every time you dared move an inch and it drove you crazy. Your white short gloves felt too snug on your hands and you placed one of your many guns in your small silk clutch. The pearl earrings felt too big and your red lipstick made you feel like an overdone Marilyn Monroe. 

Bucky noticed your scowl. “Don’t give me that look, I thought you wanted to go on this mission.” Bucky chided, trying to stifle his grin. 

“Yeah I did, until it involved me dressing up like Mrs. Maisel” You protested, holding your wrist out for Bucky to secure the time bracelet on. 

“Listen doll, you’ve gotta blend in okay? Can’t exactly have you turnin’ up in your normal gear.” He side eyed, referring to your catsuit. Okay, he had a point, that didn’t mean you were enjoying it anymore. Despite yourself, you chuckled. “What’s so funny?” He asked. 

“I mean the fifties is pretty close to your time. I might hear a lot of people talk like you.” You said, thinking about how you liked the way Bucky spoke, still used darlin’ and doll and all that stuff. It reminded you of someone else who used to sweet talk you like that. No, don’t even go there. Steve’s gone and you’re moving on, this mission is what matters. 

“You remember the mission?” He questioned, going over to where Bruce was flipping switches on the control panel. 

“Yeah, go to the beach party, find our guy, take him out. No witnesses, no unnecessary bloodshed.” You repeated, fastening your gloves and getting ready for the mission. Miami, 1954, summer and sun. This should be a piece of cake, home in no time. 

After squinting the sunlight out of your eyes, you tried to catch your bearings by looking around you. Before you could see anything, you smelt them, cubanos. Your mouth watered as you remembered how good they tasted the first time you had one. Would they taste different in 1954? You wondered, but reminded yourself you didn’t have time for such luxuries, you had a party to get to. Just when you thought you would have a hard time finding the place you saw a throng of people heading out to the beach. You literally had to pinch yourself, it felt like you were watching an old movie. 

Guys in short board shorts and girls in high waisted bathing suits and apparently swimming caps, were headed to the beach without a care in the world. They had bottles of Coca-cola in their hands, and the women had straws so they wouldn’t ruin their lipstick. You almost laughed at the thought. If only they knew about the war on plastic straws in your society, you wondered what they would do. Somehow you didn’t think they would care. 

As you followed the people down the beach you noticed more peculiar things. Instead of sunscreen people were actually putting on tanning oil, nobody seemed to care about sun damage. Doris Day and Nat King Cole played in the distance and you wondered vaguely if this was how Marty McFly felt. 

Women in dresses like yours walked by and eyed you in appreciation. Kids ran around flying kites and asking for ice cream. It crossed your mind that those kids were old enough to be your parents now...weird. You reached in your clutch and pulled out the picture of your target. Granted, he probably went through his own Queer Eye 1950s edition makeover as well, so it may be a little harder than originally thought to find him, and to do so before he finds Hydra. You knew they had a meeting at 3:00 and it was 2:26 right now, you had time. 

You kept walking through the beach and your heart stopped. You saw a rope snake its way through the beach and even into the water, what the hell? You got closer and read the sign attached, “Colored swimming”. Damnit, 1950s in Miami meant segregation. Assholes. You really wanted to storm up to all the white people and talk about racial equality and Obama but it wasn’t any use. You knew that somewhere in the country right now, Doctor King was rearing up to do the same thing and it made you smile. Until it didn’t. The terrible thing about time travel is that you have to keep everything as it was. Kind of like snooping in your parents' room when you’re a kid. Even the slightest thing out of place and it was trouble. So that meant, even the bad things, had to stay the same. 

Feeling a little dejected and thinking you had some time, you decided to head back to the cubano cart and try one, you’re only in 1954 once right? You were walking back, head down, as you bumped into someone, literally. 

“Sorry doll, didn’t mean to hit ya.” Came a voice that made your blood run cold. A voice you hadn’t heard in six months. But that wasn’t possible, he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

“Steve?” You questioned, wide eyed and hopeful despite yourself. You took in the man before you. Even though he looked a little older, it was still him. Standing tall in front of you in khaki colored slacks and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, fuck what that did to you. You felt your mouth go dry despite yourself as you saw his tousled blond locks, no doubt loving the Miami sun. He had a pair of aviators slung into the collar of his shirt, pulling it down slightly. His crystal blue eyes stared at you in a mixture of awe and confusion. 

“Y/N?” He questioned. The second his name left your lips the spell was broken. You wrenched your arm away from his hand and took a noticeably large step back from him. “What are you doing here?” 

“None of your business Rogers.” You replied coldly, as you stormed off in the opposite direction. 2:29, you needed to find your target, you did NOT need this. You could feel tears rushing to your eyes and you tried your best to dab them away with your stupid gloves. You pulled your fingers from your eyes to see the white material smeared with black makeup. 

“Y/N, wait!” You heard Steve call behind you and you knew you couldn’t escape him, couldn’t outrun Captain Fucking America, your ex. He grabbed your arm and forced you to turn around, to look at him. You felt your glassy eyes become devoid of emotion and hardened your stance. 

“What!” You practically shouted at him. Daring him to say something, anything, to break the silence. 

“Doll, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He questioned, coming over to you and pressing both hands on your bare shoulders. He rubbed his hands up and down your arms in a soothing gesture like he used to do when you would get upset about something, his touch ignited something inside of you. Your body responded to him despite yourself. Remembering what he did to you, you shrugged his hands off of you.  

“You don’t get to ask any questions Rogers, you lost that privilege when you left me.” You seethed, turning on your heels and making a beeline for the bathroom, pushing the door open and staring at your reflection in the mirror. You tried to take quick, calming breaths, knowing you only had moments before Steve came rushing through the door. Sure as sunshine Steve came through no less than three minutes later. He dutifully checked under all the stalls before he turned to face you again. 

“You know what I mean, I mean what are you doing in 1954?” He questioned, face paling slightly. Looking like he’d seen a ghost and you guess for him, he did. He probably didn’t expect to see you today either, for obvious reasons. 

“I’m looking for someone.” You stated petulantly, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning against the sink counter. 

“Who could you possibly be looking for?” Steve wondered, walking closer to you. 

“Some rogue Hydra agent came back to today to give important information to the higher ups and Fury wanted me to stop it.” You relented, letting out a sigh. “What are you doing here?” You questioned, nodding in his direction. “Shouldn’t you be in DC or something?” 

Steve shuffled from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. He brought his hand up to scratch the back of his neck like he did when he was nervous. You hated that you knew that about him. “Uh, I’m uh sort of on vacation...with, Peggy.” He responded, wincing at the last word like he dropped a bomb. Which he may well have. 

You scoffed, chuckled as you turned away from him to face your reflection in the mirror. Would rather look at the mess you’d become than him, anywhere but him. “Why am I not surprised? You enjoying your cookie cutter white picket fence life Steve?” You questioned, not wanting to meet his eyes in the mirror but doing so despite yourself. He looked sad and downcast. As if he had the right. 

“It’s not like that.” He defended, coming closer to you still. 

“Cut the shit Steve.” You snapped, turning on your heel to face him. “You know the worst thing about what you did huh?” You questioned, not giving him time to answer before you kept going. “No matter how much I drank or how much I cursed you and your fucking pathetic life, I never got any goddamn closure. Never got a why. Guess I wasn’t good enough to warrant an explanation.” You snarked, moving around him to leave. 

“Stop it.” Steve commanded, grabbing your arm and pulling your chest flush against his, it made your heart beat like a hummingbird was trapped in your chest. “It wasn’t like that. Do you know how much I thought about it? How many nights I sat in bed and…” Steve cut himself off, running his fingers through his hair. 

“And what Steve? Say it.” You challenged, leaning your body up against his. Feeling how his every muscle responded to you, like waking up for the first time. 

“And thought about you okay? God did I think about you, it was torture.” He admitted. 

“Torture?” You questioned, walking him back until he hit the counter top, “You wanna know what was torture?” You asked, as you unbuckled his pants and began to palm his hardening length, “the knowledge that you left me for a fucking fantasy, that’s what’s torture. That I never meant anything to you.” You accentuated the word ‘anything’ by giving his cock a generous squeeze which had him groaning into the open air. 

“You know- you know that’s not true.” He struggled to say as his hips began to buck to your ministrations. You loved that after eight years for him, you could still make him come undone like this. 

“Show me.” You breathed into his ear, a challenge. One he happily accepted. He pulled on your neck and pressed his lips firmly against yours. They were needy and hot and demanding and you gave. 

Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight. I need help believing you’re with me tonight.

His tongue demanded entrance into your mouth and you opened up for him, swallowing his moans as you continued to stroke him. Your teeth sank into his glorious bottom lip and he sighed as his hips thrust into your hand again. His hands moved all over your body. Splaying against your back, teasing the top of your breasts, and finally working their way under your dress until he found his target. His lips sought the column of your throat as one swift finger entered you, making you moan, which you promptly tried to stifle. 

“Uh uh sweetheart, don’t you dare. I haven’t heard those precious sounds of yours in far too long.” He chastised lightly as he worked his finger inside of you, eliciting another groan from your mouth. You found your hips rocking against his palm and you suddenly pressed your hand against his arm, making him withdraw his finger. You slowly backed away from him, taking in his appearance. His lips were kiss bruised and his beautiful blue eyes were lust blown. 

“I’m gonna do something I bet Peggy never does.” You teased as you got down on your knees in front of him. He looked at you with desire in his eyes that went straight to your core. You grasped his length once again and teased it, dragging the tip over your red and waiting lips. “Does she do this for you Stevie?” you questioned, looking at him through thick lashes. He simply shook his head no in response and a triumphant smile spread over your face. Slowly, you dragged your tongue along the underside of his shaft. 

“Fuck.” He seethed, hands going to the back of your head and gripping your hair. You took as much of him as you could into your wet and wanting mouth. Humming around his length in appreciation. He bucked his hips into you, making your eyes water but you didn’t care. You were reveling in the fact that Steve Rogers hadn’t had a blowjob in eight years and you were giving it to him. 

The bathroom became a symphony of sounds. His moans and grunts and silent curses and your gagging and choking, trying to take as much of him as you could. You pulled him out of your mouth with a pop and rubbed the back of your hand across your mouth, smearing your saliva and his precum over your face and hand. He pulled you up and planted a scathing kiss to your lips, not caring that he tasted himself on your tongue. 

He moved you so that you were facing your reflection once more and Steve was behind you, lining himself up against your now dripping cunt. 

And just for this moment, as long as you’re mine. I’ve lost all resistance and crossed some borderline. 

He slowly sank into you inch by inch, filling you out as you hadn’t been in six months. You let out a groan of appreciation and he let you adjust to him, his hands fisting the skirt material at your hips, waiting for you to move. You wiggled a little bit and he took the hint. He pulled out so only the tip was left inside before he slammed himself back into you so hard you saw stars. He continued at an unrelenting pace, hips snapping into your ass as he fucked you. You looked at the wanton reflection in the mirror and almost came on the spot. 

Your hair, once nice and poised, was now a ruined mess. Your eyes looked utterly blissed out and half closed, your lipstick was a wreck and smeared all over your cheek. You looked back at Steve and he looked utterly blissed out. His mouth was slackjaw and pink from your lipstick and his hair was mused. 

“Like what you see sweetheart?” Steve questioned before he slammed back into you. Your hand came up to the mirror in an effort to brace yourself as you let out a garbled moan as a response. Steve pulled out of you and you whimpered at the loss of contact before he turned you around and sat you on the counter. 

“Need to see you babygirl.” He said, voice husky as he maneuvered himself between your thighs and sunk two fingers inside your weeping core. 

“Fuck Steve.” You cursed, gripping his shoulders as he finger fucked you. His deft fingers massaged your walls as his hungry lips sought out yours in a frantic kiss. You kissed him back with a fury, grabbing fist fulls of blond hair as your hips rocked against his fingers. You could feel your high approaching. “Baby, I’m close.” You whimpered into his mouth. You felt him smile against you as he brought his thumb to rub your clit. 

“You gonna be a good girl and cum for me huh? Cum all over my fingers baby.” He encouraged and his words sent you over the edge. You could feel your walls contract around his stilling fingers as he allowed you to ride out your high. Your hands went slack in his hair but only for a moment until he guided his member back to your core and sank himself in. 

“Goddamn baby you still feel so good around me.” He marveled as he fucked you. You could feel every vein in his cock against your walls as he stretched and filled you out. You could feel your toes start to curl in carnal bliss. He undid the knot at the base of your neck and the front of your dress fell down, exposing your breasts to him. He growled as he bent down and sucked a hard nipple into his mouth, nibbling on the stiff peak. Your hands scrambled across his back, looking for purchase. You hadn’t been fucked this good since he left and you didn’t think you would be ever again, making the feeling that much more intense. 

Every moment, as long as you’re mine. I’ll wake up my body and make up for lost time. 

He pulled your nipple from his mouth and worked on sucking on your sensitive spot between your neck and collar bone. You reached a hand down to massage his balls as he fucked you and his answering groan sent a wonderful vibrating sensation across your skin. “Stevie, I think I’m gonna…” You couldn’t make a complete sentence you were so blissed out. You could feel the coil in your belly tighten for the second time in this beach bathroom in 1954. You knew you wouldn’t last much longer and Steve knew it too. 

Say there’s no future for us as a pair. And though I may know, I don’t care. 

He brought his hand down to massage your clit, getting you there faster. “Come with me baby, you know you want to.” He urged you on. Seeing him so fucked out and the way he looked at you like you still hung the moon for him was your undoing. You let out a garbled cry as you came gloriously around his cock. He thrusted a few more times before you felt him spill inside of you. 

Just for this moment, as long as you’re mine. Come be how you want to, and see how bright we shine.

The two of you stayed like that for a while. He was growing soft inside of you as the two of you rested your foreheads against each other and tried to catch your breath. He slowly pulled out of you and cleaned you up, before pressing a somber lingering kiss to your lips. 

And if it turns out, it’s over too fast. I’ll make every last moment last.

You kissed him back, the tone sadder than when you started. He helped you off the counter and fixed you up. You were about to leave but he wrapped two strong arms around you, letting you rest your head against his chest and he rested his chin on your head, swaying you both in his arms to an invisible melody. 

Borrow the moonlight until it is through. And know I’ll be here holding you.

Steve gently raised your chin with his finger and pressed one final kiss to your lips. You knew in your bones, that this was a kiss goodbye. So you let yourself enjoy it, not wanting to spoil the last moment you two would be in each others lives. 

As long as you’re mine.

#steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #steve rogers fanfic #captain america fanfic #song fic #mcu fanfic #tbh this hurt to write and to proofread #sorry yall

[loove-persevering]

The Other Holland (Steve Harrington Imagine)

Description: Barb had a sister, that sister is you. What happens when the answers don’t add up? What happens when you find yourself smitten over Steve Harrington in the process? Will you find out why Barb was alone that night and why Nancy left her? 

A/N: This is the start to a new series that Im so excited about! I haven’t seen a fic with Barb’s sister before! I think adding in a relationship with Steve (Seeing as him and Nancy were basically the reason Barb was alone) Would be a pretty big twist for the reader and how she could potentially find out! Let me know what you think! Should I continue? 

 Barb was your big sister, you were almost total opposites but she kept you grounded that was for sure. Ever since she went missing you could just picture her walking through that door like she usually did, you would both sit down and have dinner with your parents and talk about your day just like old times. But now that seemed like such a distant memory, because Barb had been missing a while and without her home didn’t feel like home anymore. 

  you remember the day you found out she was missing it was just like any other day, she had told you her and Nancy were going to the ceremony for Will Byers to show support. The only thing was you knew for a fact she wasn’t there, you were and you didn’t see her that entire night. Hawkins was a pretty small town and while the turnout was big it wouldn’t have been hard for you to find her in the crowd. 

 ‘’Hey Nancy?’’ You ask interrupting her conversation with Steve, Tommy, and Carol. 

‘‘Y/N hey,’‘ You say noticing the awkward tone in her voice. 

‘‘I was wondering if you’ve seen Barb? I didn’t see her this morning and I haven’t seen her all day.’‘ You explain nervously feeling all of them looking at you. 

‘‘Uh,’‘ She hesitates looking around at the rest of them, ‘‘I think she’s at the library, she had some studying to do she said.’‘ She explains to you. You nod your head giving her a small smile before quickly making your way to the library in search of your sister. 

 You never found her that day, and when you went home your mom and dad were both in full panic mode, first Will Byers and now Barb? ‘’Mom I’m sure she’s okay, It’s Barb!’’ You try and assure her. If you knew one thing it was that your sister wasn’t much of a fighter but she knew how to take care of herself, she was easily the smartest person in the room at all times and it showed and if she was in danger she’d know how to get out of it. 

 It’s been a while since she disappeared and Steve and Nancy were coming over for dinner tonight, something they had been doing since she went missing. You really didn’t understand why but you didn’t question it since you liked Nancy, Steve too. You had always had a crush on Steve but you were a year younger than them and he was head over heels for Nancy that was one thing Barb had been telling you about before she went missing. She was saying how different Nancy had been acting since her and Steve began dating and how she was scared once Nancy got in with Steve and all his friends that she would forget about her. You assured her Nancy wouldn’t do that, her and Barb had been best friends for so long that their friendship would last till they were old and wrinkly. That was only a few weeks before she disappeared.  

 You hear the door bell ring and you get up excited to see someone other than your parents for a change. Just like Barb you were ahead in your studies and doing really well in school but with her missing you had taken some time off and the school allowed you to fulfill your studies at home. You swing open the door seeing Steve and Nancy standing there and Nancy rushes in giving you a hug, Steve gives you a one handed hug that was pretty awkward but you appreciated the gesture. ‘’Hey!’’ You say to them both. 

Your mom walks in then ushering them into the dining room already having set up for dinner, they just bought KFC. We use to have a lot more home cooked meals but when Barb went missing it seemed like any food we made in this house stopped as nobody had the effort to cook anything. ‘’I love KFC,’’ Steve says taking a bite of his chicken leg and you hold back a laugh and you see him glance in your direction giving you a small smile. 

You made some small talk for a while about school and it seemed odd not having Barb around because while Nancy’s life was in full swing you couldn’t help but wonder what Barb would be doing right now if she was here. ‘’I noticed a for sale sign out front?’’ Nancy says in more of a questioning tone, ‘’I hope that’s the neighbors.’’ 

 You felt yourself shrink back into your seat as your mom looked to your dad then back to Steve and Nancy, ‘’We hired a man named Murray Bauman, he was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun Times. He does some freelance now and agreed to take Barb’s case.’’ She says excitedly. You had your doubts about the man, one half hoped more than anything he’d find your sister and bring her home. But on the other hand you were scared your parents were going to put out all this money and get nothing only to be left with our hearts more torn then they already were. 

‘‘That’s great!’‘ Steve says looking over the card your father had tucked away in his pocket. ‘‘That’s really great, right Nanc?’‘ Steve asks showing the card to her. 

‘‘What exactly does that mean?’‘ Nancy asks. 

‘‘It means he’s gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hopper-’‘ Your father lets out your mom touching his arm letting him know he was saying too much. 

‘‘Dad,’‘ You say looking at him with pleading eyes and he mutters a sorry under his breath. 

‘‘It means were going to find our Barb,’‘ Your mom says and you can feel the raw emotion in her voice the mix of sadness but hope. 

‘‘Is that why your selling the house?’‘ Nancy asks. She looks over to you and you nod your head yes. 

‘‘Yep,’‘ You say and for the first time in a while Steve looks over at you sympathetically. 

‘‘Don’t you worry about us sweetie, we’re fine. More than fine!’‘ She lies. Truth was none of you were fine you were walking around on egg shells around each other. You hadn’t been in Barb’s room since the last time you talked to her in there, you couldn’t bare to look at it not knowing if you’d ever be able to just walk in her room and talk with her again. While barb and you were different you had a special connection with one another, you didn’t look like sisters but you had the exact same personality one that was older beyond your years. You knew things your parents didn’t want to tell you, you knew how mad they were that the Hawkins police couldn’t find her. 

You watch Nancy shift uncomfortably in her seat and then look to Steve who was watching her closely. She excuses herself and your left in awkward silence, ‘’It’s finger lickin’ good,’’ He says and you look at him a hint of a smile on your face. After a few minutes of more awkward silence you walk back to the bathroom wanting to make sure Nancy was okay and you can hear crying from the other side of the door. You wait outside for a few minutes and she finally comes out her eyes still filled with tears she quickly wipes them when she notices you. 

‘‘I get it,’‘ You say trying to sound strong. It was one thing to be the sister of the girl who’d gone missing, people were always asking if you were okay and how your parents were doing. You hadn’t thought about how you weren’t the only person that lost someone, Nancy had lost her best friend. ‘‘You’re her best friend.’‘ You tell her giving her a smile. 

‘‘She’s mine,’’ She says smiling at you through her tears. ‘‘I’m so sorry Y/N I-’‘ She begins to say but is cut off when Steve walks in the hallway. 

‘‘Everything okay?’‘ He asks looking to Nancy then you. 

‘‘Yeah,’‘ You say nodding at him. You look back and forth between him and Nancy not really sure what to say. 

‘‘You should come hangout with us sometimes Y/N,’‘ Nancy says. Steve gives her a look, ‘‘Get your mind off everything, I can’t imagine being here all the time..’‘ She says and you nod looking around the house noticing more pictures of Barb. 

‘‘Yeah,’‘ Steve agrees giving you a nod, ‘‘We can go to a movie or get some ice cream or whatever you wanna do!’‘ Steve suggest. 

‘‘I’d really like that,’‘ You tell them truthfully, it would be nice to get out and do something normal. ‘’You guys are leaving soon?’’ You ask them and they both look to each other and nod. 

‘‘Yeah it’s getting late,’‘ Nancy says. 

‘‘Alrighty!’‘ You say and offer to walk them to the door. You walk them out and your parents wish them a goodbye, before they leave Nancy pulls you aside. 

‘‘You should come to Tina’s party with us, on Halloween!’‘ She suggest. 

‘‘I don’t know...I’ve never really been to a party.’‘ You say rubbing your hands over your arm feeling the cold air. ‘‘Who would drive?’‘ You ask. 

‘‘I would!’‘ Steve interrupts. ‘‘Don’t worry I’m a safe driver,’‘ He says smiling admirably. 

‘‘I’ll come,’‘ You say to them and they both smile and wish you a goodnight. You liked Nancy a lot, she was sweet and pretty and funny and in a way kind of like another sister to you. Since you were so close in age Barb and her didn’t really mind when you’d tag along with them, you knew Nancy had a younger brother and usually got really annoyed with him. 

 There was one thing you were itching to ask her though, if her and Barb were together that night then how did Barb go missing? Where was Nancy? How did nobody see anything? You constantly asked yourself these questions and maybe one day you’d finally get an answer, you could only hope that would be the day your sister came home. 

 PART 2 COMING SOON (Please leave feedback so I know people want more:)) 

Part 2

#steve x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington angst #joe keery #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #Barb #barbra holland #justice for barb #stranger things show #netflix #imagine #billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader

[blancheludis]

Tagging: @tokky231

Fandom: Marvel, Avengers Characters: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, James Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Bruce Barton, Steve Rogers Chapters: 30/?, Words: 166.584

Summary: Tony meets his soulmate under the worst possible circumstances. It is not just a kidnapping gone wrong. It turns out Steve and his gang picked him on purpose and they want some personal revenge. If only he had managed to say the words written on his soulmate’s arm before they threw him back out into the streets.

—

They have a table in the back of the restaurant where fewer people can watch them. With everything that is happening at Stark Industries, the press is hounding Tony more than ever. If he had not thought that a public setting would help Steve and him relax, he would not have ventured out of the tower at all. Being in an open space where someone could be listening in does wonders to one’s countenance, and while Tony does not think they are going to start an outright argument during dinner, it is better to be prepared.

Also, Rhodey would not have stopped hovering had they stayed in the penthouse. He might have even found an excuse to call Pepper up, and then they would not have had an opportunity to talk at all.

Tony knows the owner of the restaurant. They should be safe here. The rest is up to them. That does not make him any less nervous.

The first moment of confusion happened right in front of the restaurant when they both tried to let the other go through the door first. That just worsened the awkward tension between them.

Now they are seated, neither of them ordered any alcohol to go with dinner, and are waiting for their food while working through a conversation.

Steve is talking about some exhibition at the MoMA, which Tony finds interesting right up to the point where he realizes that, at some point during this entire mess of Tony’s life falling apart, Steve took the time to go to a museum. It might have been before they snatched Tony off the street, of course. He is not petty enough to ask, but it does leave a bitter taste in his mouth while he listens.

On unspoken agreement, they have decided to leave all discussion about their future for later, at least until after the main course. Tony is already not very hungry, but the food here deserves some consideration at least.

“Why didn’t you become an artist?” Tony asks when Steve begins to trail off, obviously fishing for something else to say. Up until now, Tony has not made it easy on him. Keeping a conversation alive when one party mostly just listens passively is always hard.

And Tony wants to make to most of this evening. He has Bruce and Thor’s story in his head, who first got to know each other before they made any kind of decision. Playing the long game might be a bit too much for him, but that does not mean he needs to brush Steve off either.

“I tried,” Steve says, a hint of red creeping up his neck that Tony sees even in the dim restaurant lights. “Turns out nobody wants to give an artist without a degree any work that’s enough to pay the bills. And I didn’t have the money for college.”

He looks as if he expects Tony to laugh at him. Money has never been a problem for Tony. People have described him as over-indulgent and wasteful. He has too many fast cars. Every house of his that he has spent longer than a week in has a state-of-the-art lab. He always looks meticulous when stepping out the door. And he used to throw the wildest parties, no expenses spared.

The thing is, Tony needs money to fund his projects, and life is so much easier when he does not have to count bills. He likes to think that he could do without all those zeroes in his bank account. But he never had to try, so he can hardly offer his perspective on Steve’s situation.

“So you enlisted to get the Army help with tuition?” Tony asks, careful to keep his tone neutral.

He does not think less of Steve because he did not grow up with money – he has real reasons for the distrust between them - but he realizes that any reaction of his could be seen as unfavourable.

Steve hums in response and picks at his pasta. “Didn’t work out too well.”

“Why?”

It looks like Steve would prefer to change the topic, but this is important. At some point, he decided to stop being an artist and found a mob instead. If they want to go anywhere from here, Tony needs to know whether Steve has just been waiting for an opportunity to abandon the boring day-life as an artist – or anything else really that does not involve crime. In his opinion, people do not just go from painting pictures to chasing criminals instead.

“I started college,” Steve says but trails off, staring at his plate until he drags his eyes up. His lips twist into something too bitter to be a smile. “Bucky did not do well after we came home from our last tour.”

The way Tony sees it, Barnes is not doing so well now either, but he wisely does not say that out loud. He does not need to start another argument right now.

“So you gave up your chance to study art for him,” Tony says, nods his understanding. If needed, he would do a lot more than that for Rhodey. If Rhodey had not been so adamant that Stark Industries is Tony’s, Tony might have never followed Obadiah’s call back.

“Yes,” Steve answers simply and waits. He must see the thoughts racing in Tony’s face.

And Tony, fork hovering in the air over his plate, looks at Steve. “Just like you betrayed your alleged morals when you let him and Barton beat me up in the hopes of him getting some peace of mind back.”

This time, Steve hesitates for a moment, his expression utterly defeated, but he does not deny it. “Yes.”

Tony exhales slowly. He is not sure he is allowed to be upset when Steve is being honest with him. “Did he at least feel better?” Tony asks with some urgency, unsure why it is important. That does not make his ribs heal faster or softens his memories. “Before he knew I wasn’t the one he wanted?”

They both know the answer. It is written all over Steve’s face, just like Tony could read it in the crooked letters of Barnes’ postcard.

“No.”

It does not feel like a relief but a knot loosens in Tony’s chest. He will not ask about Barton since he is sure the answer will not be in his favour.

“Great,” he sighs, resolutely tucking his fork back into his food. “Glad we could clear that up.”

Across from him, Steve does not move but keeps watching him with that careful expression, almost waiting for judgement.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Steve says, sounding dejected in a way that just spikes Tony’s irritation.

“That’s not where I was going with that,” he says, more harshly than intended.

Apologies will not get them anywhere. They are already beyond words, and Steve’s face says it all. Looking back, the sheer panic and fear that Tony felt through the bond in the warehouse told their own story too. This is not just about being sorry and making up for their mistakes anymore. Somehow, they have gotten invested in each other. The mere thought is scary.

“I still am,” Steve says and, this time, Tony just accepts it with a nod of his head.

They both have a cluster of one-sided information about each other, painting them as villains. It will not be easy to pick out the good parts in between all of that. To see the person beneath all of that.

For a few minutes, they eat in silence, while Tony is second-guessing his reason for being here. He sneaks in glances at Steve and pretends not to notice when Steve does the same. Going out with someone has not felt this awkward in years. Usually, he knows very well what he wants and what the other person wants from him. With Steve, he is at a complete loss. It is not even a battle between head and heart anymore. His feelings are all over the place and he cannot begin to make sense of them.

“Your USB drive,” Steve speaks up when the silence becomes too much. “There were a lot of great ideas on there. A lot of things that weren’t weapons either. Why didn’t you pursue them?”

“Because my board of directors said no.” Tony laughs, still bitter about the fact that Obadiah held his entire life in hands with no intention of giving him any leeway. “My name might be on the side of the building but I can’t just make all the decisions on my own.”

His problems from before appear insignificant compared to the mess of dealing with his godfather. How often has he heard the word no and countless of reasons why his ideas were not feasible? He knew he could have done it and made them all richer in the process as well as doing something good for the world. If only he had not listened to Obadiah.

“You shut down the weapon manufacturing,” Steve remarks, appearing genuinely curious about why he could do that but not market one of the many projects he has already planned out.

Tony takes a bite of his food and chews it slowly, giving himself some time to answer. “And that’s a giant clusterfuck we’re not even close yet to figuring out,” he finally says. He managed to anger just about every investor and contractor they have, which makes rising up out of their own ashes unsurprisingly difficult. “Not without firing people, which I absolutely refuse to do. They’re not at fault that Obie abused the company as his personal piggy bank.”

Right now, his board is just interested in saving their own hides. Now that Obadiah is gone, Tony will have to watch them closely anyway. Everybody who knew what was happening or even aided with the dealing will have to go. Without Pepper, Stark Industries would already be nothing more than a rotten wreck, completely unsalvageable.

“But why go into weapon design in the first place?” Steve asks, still without accusation, although Tony feels like there should be some. All of this could have been avoided if Tony was not such a pushover. “You studied robotic engineering, right?”

How careless his MIT time had been, how happy. At least until Howard died and Tony went completely off the rails.

“Amongst other things, yes,” he answers, keeping his tone even. “My Dad never approved. After he died, I wasn’t going to touch the company at all. Obie got me back into the fold.” He shrugs as if the mere mention of his godfather has him not wanting to curl up and hide from the world – and to check his hands for the blood he washed off but will never be able to unsee. “At that point, it was easier to just do what he thought best. I didn’t want to lose anybody else.”

More than that, he did not care. Stark Industries still was mostly his father’s company then. Obadiah first asked for a few designs, then for some appearances where the press could see them. He did not just come out and ask Tony to come back but pulled him slowly back in until Tony was so entangled with the company again that there was nothing else to do but make it official.

In one way or another, Tony has always allowed himself to be a pawn of other people. He is done with that. Done with letting anyone else decide where he is going and what he is doing.

Silence engulfs them as they finish their meals. Sooner than Tony would like, his plate is empty. With exaggerated care, he puts down his cutlery and takes a sip of water. Only when he is done does he look up at Steve.

Compared to the past weeks, the bond has calmed down. It is vibrating with worry, but nothing so loud that he cannot concentrate on his own thoughts. Making sense of those thoughts is a completely different problem, however. Every time their eyes meet, it gets worse.

“What’s going on, Tony?” Steve asks, his expression tighter than it has been all evening.

And Tony gulps around the sudden tightness in his throat. He wants to look away but he owes it to Steve to not hide from this. “I’m not sure this is going to work.”

He watches Steve’s eyes narrow in confusion before they are blown wide. “What?” he asks, voice raspy. “Us?” Then he shrugs, bashful more than dejected. “I didn’t think it was an option.”

That is not the complete truth. Tony knows that even without the bond flashing warnings at him. Steve wants more. As it appears, he has at least learned to recognize reality for what it is, though.

“It’s not. Not like this. But you –” Tony interrupts himself, searching for the right words. He did not ask Steve here just to put him down but to find out what is best for them. “You’re not a completely bad guy. And I thought the intensity of the soul bond would lessen, but –” He trails off, certain that Steve is as aware as he is of the constant burning of their arms and twisting of their emotions.

“It doesn’t. I thought that was just me,” Steve says, nodding as he glances down at his arm. Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “There is medication for that.”

The words wash over Tony like a bucket of ice water has been upended over his head. It appears like Steve has been one step ahead of him all this time, already looking for ways out. He is sure that should not make him feel as irritated as it does.

“I’m not going to take drugs because my tattoo is tingling.” Tony snaps. The medication has side effects, which is partly wanted because rejecting one’s soulmate is not the natural course of things. He cannot afford to take anything that slows down his thinking.

A much smaller part of Tony is also aware that, all of a sudden, Steve is so willing to give up. It would make things easier on the both of them if they did not fight each other, but all this time Steve refused to leave and now he wants to take the easy way out?

“It’s more than that, though. At least to me,” Steve says, putting his hand over where Tony’s words sit on his arm. “Perhaps it needs more time.”

Of course, it is more than tingling. It is an invasion of their thoughts and emotions. It is a pull towards another person they do not really know, who might not good for them.

“Perhaps,” Tony echoes tonelessly. Bruce told him the sensation would fade. They can deal with this for a few months, surely.

His tone must have been off enough for Steve to perk up, watching him with new interest. Almost as if he knows that Tony is not as glad for that simple solution to get rid of Steve as he pretends to be.

“But?” he asks, waiting patiently for Tony to get his footing.

Tony should just shrug it off and tell Steve there are no buts. That might be better for everybody involved. He does not like giving up, though. At some point over the past weeks, he has gone from being afraid of Steve to seeing him as an ally to clinging to him when he was emotionally vulnerable. Things are not as simple anymore as saying that Steve wronged him and now they are doomed forever.

“You helped me with Obie,” Tony says slowly, measuring each of the words. “You saved my life.”

He stops speaking abruptly when he notices that Steve’s face has closed off completely.

“So you asked me to dinner because you think you owe me?” Steve asks, sounding offended. He is leaning slightly away from Tony as if he needs to distance himself from the very idea.

Within a span of seconds, everything has gone wrong again. Tony should have kept his mouth shut and agreed that the pills would solve their problem just fine. Instead, they are facing off again, and he has somehow offended Steve by trying to say his opinion of him has changed.

“No,” Tony replies dryly, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone. “Ask anyone, I’m the selfish type.”

Steve winces but it is too late. “You’re not –” he tries to say, but Tony shakes his head.

He does not even know anymore what they are doing here. Are they trying to work something out how they can stay in each other’s lives? Or are they looking for the best way out?

“Stop that,” he says, colder than he intended. “You don’t know me. I don’t know you. That’s the thing. All we know is the negative things.”

The weapons and the kidnapping and the stubbornness. Neither of them will come out of this smelling like roses.

“I know –”

“Let me make my point,” Tony snaps, cutting Steve off again. “You’re not responsible for Barnes and Barton beating me up. Yes, they might not have done it if you hadn’t given your okay, but it’s equally likely that they would have. Just later. Also, then I might have never found out about Stane selling my weapons.” He takes a shuddering breath, trying to sort through his thoughts. “I’m not saying I’m okay with what happened. You’re still a mob boss, and I’m not going to let you drag me into that, but maybe we should –”

“No,” Steve says suddenly and Tony falls silent immediately, caught off guard by the vehemence in Steve’s voice. “I can’t give up the Avengers.”

Tony’s expression tightens, even while he exhales with some relief. This is it then. His solution served to him on a silver platter.

He is not afraid of the Avengers anymore, although he would not want to be left alone with Barton. They are efficient and they may have done some good in the world. He has just learned that good intentions do not weigh out bad results. For years, Tony has built weapons, and while he knew they were used to hurt and kill people, he was convinced he was doing it for the good of his country, his people. Instead, they had just taken lives on all sides. Good or bad do not matter in that equation.

He does not see much of a difference where the Avengers are concerned. They have made themselves into weapons and they have hurt innocents just like Tony did. Perhaps just as unwittingly but it happened. If they are not going to change anything, if Steve is not even willing to take a step back and think about what happened, they are done.

“That makes it really easy then,” Tony says, slipping into a formal tone. Years of practice allow him to hide his feelings, although he is certain the burning through the soul bond betray that he is upset. “Thank you for meeting me. I wish you a good life.”

He is already in the process of getting up when Steve reaches out to him. His hand falls short of actually touching Tony, but it makes him stay where he is anyway. He is not going to ignore the plea written all over Steve’s face. Not while he is yearning for another kind of resolution of this himself.

“Tony.” Steve’s lips form Tony’s name with more care than he is used to, like it is something precious. “You can’t make me choose.”

The Avengers as they are now is not something Tony can allow into his life. Not while he is still caught in this mess.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Tony says, although he just wanted Steve to consider changing things. “I know you think you’re fighting the good fight, that it doesn’t matter that you’re hurting people as long as they’re the bad guys, whatever that means. But it’s not okay. You’re no better than them.”

He takes no satisfaction when Steve flinches, looking at him with wide eyes.

“That’s not true.”

That denial just there is why they will have a problem with each other. Tony might not be responsible for what Obadiah did, but he feels like it. He feels responsible for every misplaced bullet, every wound, every death. Steve, on the other hand, is too practised at pushing all blame away and marching forward no matter what happens.

“Tell me, Steve,” Tony says, leaning forward. He wants to get this over with. “You have a Stark gun, right? Yet, no gun is registered in your name. Where did you get it? Did you steal it? Did you buy it on the black market, meaning you aided the very shady business you hated me for?” He shakes his head, openly showing his disappointment. “Your morality doesn’t add up. You’re not even in the grey area anymore, you’re just changing what’s right and what’s wrong based on what you currently need.”

His arm is burning, and Tony is not even sure anymore whether that comes from Steve or whether his own anger is taking over. It was ridiculous to think that they could just sit down and talk things through. That they could come to some kind of solution in one evening, talking about art and ignoring the bigger issues looming over them.

Steve is staring down at the table, biting his lip so hard that Tony expects to see blood any second now. When it becomes obvious that he is not going to say anything, Tony clears his throat and waits until Steve looks up.

“I don’t think you’re a bad guy, Steve,” he says, making his voice as gentle as he dares without making it seem like he is taking back what he said before. "But I’m not going to be your friend, much less anything more while you’re running a mob.”

A noise breaks out of Steve that is half laughter and half frustrated groan. He looks more alive than he did during the entirety of dinner, although in a non-flattering way.

“So what,” Steve asks, the words as clear as they are ugly, “you want me to abandon my friends on the off chance that you’ll stick around?”

That is the crux, Tony can admit that. He knows he will not start anything with Steve while he goes around doing his shady business. At the same time, he is not sure he can guarantee more even if Steve agreed to change. Everything is messed up and tangled inside his head. More than anything, they need to get to know each other, but that is not going to happen while Steve is someone Tony does not want to know.

“You don’t have to stop being friends,” Tony argues, knowing how uncompromising he sounds. “I would obviously prefer if the Avengers got some official, legal work, but you’re my soulmate, not any of them.”

He sees they are getting nowhere, not while they are both upset and lost.

“I don’t –” Steve tries to say, but Tony cuts him off.

“Go home, Steve,” he says, softening his expression and tone. “I don’t expect you to make a decision right here, but those are my terms. If you want me in your life, in whatever capacity we’d manage with time, you can’t have the Avengers in tow.”

Looking at Steve, he does not see any admission there, anything but the chaos of grief and howling sense of injustice echoed by the bond.

“I know what my answer will be,” Steve says, voice as tight as his face, withdrawing further from Tony with every breath.

Tony smiles. He can see that this throws Steve, but he simply nods. “Well, at least you’re dedicated.”

That is not a consolation. He knows the Avengers are important to Steve. He knows what he is asking.

He gets to his feet and reaches for a jacket, letting his eyes roam over Steve again. This might be the last opportunity he has.

“Tony –” Steve tries but trails off, sounding helpless even while he is unwilling to concede his point.

“Good night, Steve,” Tony says, wondering whether the tightness in his chest comes from the bond or whether that rejection is real. “You have my number if something important comes up.”

He is not even sure what he means with that. Is he going to wait for Steve to change his mind? Does he offer his assistance if Steve is ever in danger?

His thoughts are going too fast, fighting against the panicked current of emotions filtering through the bond, to make sense of it. With a last look at Steve, taking in his dejection and the way his shoulders slump, Tony leaves. Head held high and steps measured, he walks out of the restaurant, pushing some bills into a clueless waiter’s hands. All the way to the door, he can feel Steve’s eyes in his back, like a weight settling on him.

It is impossible to say whether he has just made the right decision. Cutting Steve out of his life is certainly not a bad thing, considering their history. He left him a backdoor, though. More than that, really.

It is perhaps unfair to ask Steve to give up the team he built without making concessions that things will work out with Tony if he does. Especially after said team saved his life. That is the best he can do, however. He sees the mistakes he made and he is striving to do better. Is it not his right to ask Steve to do the same?

#stony #slow burn #fanfiction #marvel #mob boss #soulmates #au #emotional angst #hurt/comfort #steve rogers #tony stark #romance #in a way #my writing #ao3 #leave the gun on the table

[the--sad--hatter]

Name Calling (39)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU, DEADPOOL & X-MEN

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

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION -  

Vernichtung - Destruction, Annhialation.

It was what you were named and what you were supposed to be but the only thing you wanted to destroy was Bucky Barnes.

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 enjoying it quite so much.

But when your past catches up to you in the form of the mad scientist who made you, Bucky might be one of the only things that can save you from yourself. You can’t run from what you are but with his help, you can fight back.

Current Word Count -  112,357

MASTERLIST  or   Read on Ao3

Moodboard by @talesofakindredspirit

Chapter Thirty Nine - A Reintroduction To Fatherhood

“What’s the emergency?” Tony asked, walking into the common room with Pepper by his side.

“This is yours.” Natasha said, thrusting the screaming child into his arms and he was forced to grab a hold of her.

“Tony!” Pepper screeched.

“Uh.” Tony was looking down at the child who had stopped screaming and was sniffling softy as she threw her arms around his neck.

There was no doubt in his mind who she was but as to how she’d gotten that way...

“Kit Kat?” He said softly and she looked up at him, her eyes wide and confused.

“Kit... What??” Pepper asked, perplexed.

“Hey sweetheart, what happened?” Tony asked the child, ignoring everyone else in favour of his significantly smaller daughter.

“Is this a latent ability?” Pepper asked.

“Nope. Ask Thor.” Clint said.

Tony’s head snapped up and he glared at Thor.

“You did this? Why? How? Is she ok?” He demanded.

Thor shifted guiltily and held up the cat Tony only now noticed he was holding.

“Brother, the jig as the mortals would say, is up.” Thor said, his usually loud and rumbling voice low and soft.

The cat made a huffing noise and Tony turned, shifting his kid away from the Norse God now standing in the middle of the common room. As soon as Loki appeared the toddler in his arms started wriggling and making a strange noise.

“Is she growling?” Clint asked in amusement.

She was in fact growling, her little arms waving madly about as she tried to wriggle free and presumably attack Loki since he was the one she was growling at.

“Pepper, take Kit Kat out of here.” Tony instructed.

“She is in no danger from Loki, presumably that is why he reverted her to a child's form.” Thor tried to assure.

Loki nonchalantly ignored the several many guns aimed at him.

“She intended to tell her father I was here, tattling like a child. I simply stopped her in a justified way.” He said as if it were the obvious thing.

Pepper tried to prise her out of Tony’s arms but the child was stronger than she looked and managed to get free, scampering across the room towards the trickster.

“What’s going o...?” Steve walked in, took on look at Loki, the stand off and the small blur shooting towards the villain and scooped the attacking child up in his arms. Steve had an easier time keeping her still than Tony had.

“She’s stronger than an average kid, what’s going on?” He asked, keeping his eye on Loki.

“Change her back. Now Brother.” Thor urged.

“Change who back?” Bucky asked, coming into the room behind Steve with his gun drawn.

“BUCKY!” The child shrieked.

Bucky frowned at the kid.

“Shoot.” She demanded, pointing at Loki.

The colour drained from Bucky’s face as he looked at her.

“Is this... Is she... Is?” He stammered.

“Thor snuck his brother into the compound in cat form, your girlfriend found out and Loki de-aged her.” Clint summed up.

“Which is why he’s not dead, we don’t want her stuck like this.” Tony snapped.

“Shoot.” The child implored again, her eyes beseeching Bucky.

Bucky stared at her as if in a trance. His face was expressionless and he turned on his heel and walked out of the room without a word.

“I can’t return her to her adult self.” Loki said smugly.

“What?” Several voices asked simultaneously.

“Well I could, provided you don’t shoot me but it will take time.” He said with a shrug.

“Pepper, go. Kit Kat, sweetheart go with Pepper ok? Daddy will take care of the bad man.” Tony cooed gently at the little girl who was glaring at Loki over Steve’s shoulder.

“Come on sweetie, you hungry?” Pepper asked, holding out her arms hopefully.

The girl leapt away from Steve, landing lithely in Peppers hold. Pepper hurried out of the room with her and Tony turned back to Loki.

“I have questions and I’m not above getting Banner downstairs to ask them.”

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

Now that you were away from Loki you were a lot calmer but you couldn’t understand why Bucky had ran away from you. You heard Pepper ask Friday to run some scans of you as she set you down on a chair in her office.

“Alright sweetheart, I don’t know how long you’ll be like this so I’m going to order some things we might need. Do you want some paper? Want to draw a picture?” She asked you.

You nodded sadly and started scribbling lines on the paper while she clicked things on the computer, occasionally asking you to choose between things. The first time it happened you just shrugged and she just got both options so you kept doing that.

About forty minutes later Tony came back in and you looked up at him, dropping the pen and holding your arms out. He picked you up and held you tightly.

“What’s going on? What did you find out?” Pepper asked him.

“I’m going to talk to Pepper alright, stay here for a second.” He told you, ruffling you hair when he put you down.

He walked over to Pepper and kept watching you as you scribbled on the paper again.

“She kind of has her memories but she can’t process them. So she knows who we are and how she feels about us but that’s about it.”

“What about her incredibly dangerous alter ego?” She whispered.

“She’s had it since she was a child, her control over it is intense. I think it’s the same as adult her, as long as she’s happy Vernichtung is locked up.”

“She’s a toddler, how are we supposed to keep her happy?” Pepper wondered out loud.

“Give her cookies and have a tea party? And keep Loki away from her.”Tony suggested.

“What are we doing about Loki?”

A sour look crossed Tony’s face.

“He swears he wasn’t in control during his failed invasion and we need him to turn her back so for now? Keeping a very very close eye on him. And I’m updating Friday’s privacy protocols, I can’t believe Thor just snuck a cat in here.”

There was a tugging at Tony’s sleeve and he looked down at you.

“Cookie?” You asked with an adorably hopeful look.

“At least we know she still has good hearing.” He chuckled.

“It’s dinner time, no cookies.” Pepper said sternly and your lip wobbled.

“One won’t hurt, it’s alright sweetheart, if you want a cookie you can have a cookie.” Tony assured you, picking you up and carrying you into the kitchen.

“Tony you can’t spoil her!” Pepper called after him.

“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you.” He called back.

Your giggling drifted back into her office and since nobody could see her, Pepper allowed herself to smile softly.

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

One cookie turned into two, then three.

“You have an enhanced metabolism.” Tony reasoned out loud as he handed you a fourth.

“Thank you.” You said sweetly.

“Kit Kat, you know who I am right?” He asked.

“Dad.” You said, smiling brightly at him.

“And you know everybody else? Like the lady with the red hair?”

“Natassa.” You said as if it were obvious.

“Ok, what’s the last thing you remember before you were littler?”

You frowned, your little forehead crinkling up.

“Bad Kitty.” You said.

“What about this morning? Do you remember what happened?”

“Uhh bad Ross.” You said with an evil little smirk he recognised and Natasha’s.

He’d never noticed it on your adult face until he thought about it and realised you’d taken on Natasha as a role model.

Sam walked into the kitchen slowly, his eyes on you.

“Sammy!” You cried happily, crawling across the counter top towards him.

“So it’s true. I though Cap was pulling my leg.” Sam said shakily.

“Nope, my kid is an actual kid.” Tony said.

You made it to the edge of the counter and Tony and Sam both shot forward to grab you as you wiggled like you were going to pounce off it. Sam grabbed you first and held you at arms length as he gazed down at you.

“I was in a strip club with her a few hours ago.” Sam whispered, horrified.

“You were what?” Tony said, half impressed, half annoyed.

“She was an adult! It was Deadpool’s idea!” He defended himself.

“WADE!” You said excitedly.

“No!” Tony said.

“No!” Sam said at the same time.

You pouted.

“So what do we do with her?” Sam asked.

“What do you mean what do we do? She’s still my daughter, just a little more pocket sized. I’ll look after her like I always have, only difference is it’s a little easier now. And instead of Strip Clubs maybe just watch a Disney movie with her.” Tony said, taking you back from Sam.

“Man you are taking this way too calmly.”Sam noted.

“Children can pick up on your emotions and my girl is smarter than most. I have to stay calm.” Tony explained but Sam squinted at him suspiciously.

“You’re happy about this.” He stated.

“No.”

“It’s alright Stark. You can give her the world but you were never able to give her a normal childhood and that always bothered you. It’s not a bad thing.”

“Don’t do your therapist thing on me in front of the baby.” Tony admonished.

“Don’t hide behind her. You need to be honest with yourself here.” Sam pushed.

“No. Bad Sam.” You scolded him with a serious look on your little face.

“That’s absolutely right, Bad Sam.”Tony sniggered, loving your protective attitude of him.

“Traitor.” Sam said to you and you responded by sticking your tongue out at him.

“Man, she’s even sassy as a toddler. I’m not sure we can cope with this.” Sam bemoaned.

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

“You have to eat something other than cookies. If I don’t give you dinner Pepper will kill me.” Tony pleaded.

There was a clattering noise from the kitchen and Steve poked his head in to see Tony frowning at the sandwich on the floor while you were looking the picture of innocence.

“oops” You said.

“Everything alright?” Steve asked.

“Cookie?” You asked Steve.

“Sure, you can have a cookie. If you eat your dinner.” He negotiated.

You scowled crossly at him.

He crossed his arms and stared you down.

“Cap, she’s a child not an enemy soldier.” Tony said, snapping his fingers between you to make you blink.

Neither you or Steve wavered. Tony sighed heavily and shoved the sandwich in the bin.

“Soup?” He offered.

No response. He glanced back at you to see you and Steve hadn’t moved.

“Alright, no soup. Mac and Cheese?” He suggested.

He noticed your eyes staring to water with the lack of blinking. You clenched you jaw and made a strangled huffing noise.

“I think that a yes on Mac and Cheese.” Steve said victoriously.

“Congrats Captain Babysitter, you won a staring contest with a toddler. As your reward, you can feed her.” Tony said, backing away.

“Tony...” Steve warned.

“Bye bye sweetie, daddy will come back after you eat.”Tony said, escaping quickly.

Steve sighed and turned back to you.

“Babydoll, do you know why Wade Wilson is texting me?” He asked faux casually as he started pouring pasta into a pot.

“Sam gave him your number. They getting married.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Where’s Bucky?” You asked softly.

“Bucky is away on a very very important mission.” He lied.

You looked terrified and Steve realized that while adult you could rationalize that Bucky was able to look after himself, child you couldn’t and was now worried.

“Not a dangerous one! He’s gone to collect an important file from a very nice agent, that’s all. He’s gone to.... Australia. To get a file.” Steve said quickly.

“Liar.” You huffed.

He couldn’t even lie convincingly to a child.

“If you eat your dinner and go to bed I’m sure Bucky will come and see you in the morning.” Steve promised.

You looked up him hopefully and seemed to consider it for a moment before you nodded once, decisively.

Steve sighed in relief and hoped he could convince Bucky to talk to you.

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

“No.”

“Bucky...”

“She’s a toddler Steve. The woman I love has been turned into a child by a Norse God who has been masquerading as a cat. It’s just too weird, I can’t be around her until she’s herself again.”

“She misses you Buck. She wouldn’t eat until I promised you’d talk to her tomorrow.”

“Just drop it Steve.”

“You’re being an idiot and you’re really hurting her feelings.” Steve said exasperatedly.

“She’s a toddler!” Bucky repeated.

“Yes, but it’s still her in there.”

“I’ll think about it.” Bucky huffed, hoping to just get Steve to shut up.

There was a battle cry from the hallway and a small commotion.

“Kit Kat it’s just a bath! Come back here. Pepper help!” They heard Tony yell.

Steve had a hard time keeping a straight face and coughed loudly into his fist.

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

After you flooded the bathroom and Tony accidentally covered the room in foamy bubbles (to your delight) you were wrangled into an oversized Iron Man T-Shirt that was doubling as a nightie until the stuff Pepper had ordered for you arrived.

“I don’t wanna go to sleep.” You whispered as Tony tucked you in.

“Why not? Aren’t you tired?”

“I see the nasty me sometimes when I sleep.” You admitted.

“Kit Kat, she can’t hurt anybody. You know why? Because you’re strong and you keep us all safe. You’re a hero.”

“Like you?”

“Better.”

“But you’re the bestest super hero!”

Tony preened.

“Want me to tell you about the time Pepper was the biggest hero?”

You nodded enthusiastically and Tony stretched out next to you to get comfy while he told you a child friendly version of what happened with The Mandarin and Extremis. Not even halfway into the story you drifted off, curled into a little ball at his side.

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

To absolutely nobody’s surprise Tony was a bit of a worrier. This was made evident when he came running into the lab with you at the crack of dawn.

“Banner, she’s sick!” He said worriedly.

“What happened?” Bruce asked calmly.

“She sneezed in her sleep.”

“She sneezed.”

“Yes. What if whatever Loki did is making her ill or it messed with her immune system?”

You blinked sleepily at Bruce and your head drooped down as you fell asleep again.

“Tony she’s fine. Friday is monitoring her vitals, you’d know if anything was wrong.”

“But she sneezed!”

“People sneeze Tony, it’s not a sign of impending doom. If she gets a temperature I’ll check. Put her back in her bed, she’s physically only about 2 or 3, she needs rest.”

“But what if...”

“Bed. Now.”

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

“She’s not coming today.” Storm said to Logan as he made his way to the front door to wait for you.

“Why?”

“Stark just called and cancelled. Seems they had some issues and she’s currently a toddler.”

Logan blinked.

“I’m gonna kill him.” He growled and stomped away.

“How did they turn her into a kid?” Rouge wondered.

“I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to know.” Storm admitted.

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

Everybody liked to accuse Tony of spoiling you but when all the stuff Pepper had ordered arrived it was very clear he wasn’t the only one. You were currently tearing through the seven boxes of clothes.

“How long do you think she’s going to be like this?” Wanda asked with wry amusement.

“I just wanted to be prepared. Whatever she doesn’t use we can donate.” Pepper defended herself.

You were pulling shoes out of a box and handing them to Vision who had actually turned out to be great with you. You kicked your feet out and wiggled your toes at him until he knelt down and put the new light up sneakers on you.

“See, she’s fine. Just smaller.” They heard Tony insist.

Tony walked into the room gesturing at you. Logan stomped in and looked at you, his expression grumpy. You growled at him and he huffed in amusement.

“So now that’s sorted, you can leave now.” Tony said snippely.

“You haven’t explained a damn thing Stark. So Loki did this, what are you doing to fix it?” Logan snapped back.

Wanda edged over to you and distracted you by floating things in the air while the two men argued.

“Loki said he can change her back. In time.” Tony said vaguely.

“You had better be turning her back.” Logan snarled.

“Of course we are, not that it’s any of your business. “

“I left it alone because I thought she’d be better off but she is my business. You're supposed to be looking after her, she’s supposed to be safe.”

“She’s a toddler not an idiot, keep it down.” Tony hissed.

Wanda and Vision were looking shocked and pretending not to look shocked and you were looking down at your shoes, intrigued by the lights. Tony breathed a sigh of relief.  

“You can’t just waltz in and claim her like a piece of lost luggage.” Tony raged.

“The hell I can’t if you’re treating her like a dress up doll.” Logan snarled back.

“She’s MY child, she doesn’t want to be anybody else’s. She doesn’t want to look for her father, she doesn’t want to know him. She chose me because she knows I love her. I will find a way to turn her back and until then I’ll look after her. You wanna waltz over there and tell her you’re her dad? All you’ll do is confuse and hurt her and I’ll be the one who picks up the pieces because that’s what fathers do.” Tony whispered angrily.

“If you were such a great dad there wouldn’t be so many pieces to pick up all the damn time.” Logan said with a shrug.

“Dad?” You said angrily.

“Yes sweetheart?” Tony said, turning to you.

“Why are you arguing with him?” You asked.

“Your teacher and I were disagreeing about something insignificant. It’s ok.” Tony informed you.

“I don’t like him, he makes my nose itch.” You said matter of factly and Tony didn’t bother hiding his smug look.

“Well then, he should probably leave.” Tony said victoriously.

“This aint over tin can.” Logan snarled and stormed away.

“Can I have a cookie now?” You asked with a grin.

“You can have all the cookies you want Kit Kat.”

“One, she can have one... oh why do I bother?” Pepper said to herself apparently as Tony scooped you up and carried you away.

“Kit Kat?!!?”

Natasha looked up at the sound of Tony’s worried voice and smirked. She silently walked into the kitchen and watched you pull out the drawers so you could use them to climb onto the worktop and rummage through the cupboards.

“Sam’s Oreo stash is in the next cupboard over.” She whispered.

You looked over your shoulder at her and shuffled across the worktop, finding the cookies exactly where she said they would be.

“Want one?” You offered her.

“Friday, inform Stark she’s with me and I’ll give her back in a little while.”

“Of course.” Friday said with obvious amusement.

“Come on little Kotoynok.” Natasha said, picking you and the cookies up and carrying you away.

She took you up to the roof where you could eat Sam’s cookies in peace.

“Are you in there?” She asked you curiously.

You cocked your head at her in confusion and paused with a cookie halfway to your mouth and she chuckled.

“Yes, that’s definitely you.” You said and swiped the cookie off you.

“Rude.” You huffed.

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

“Stark, you can stop fretting. Here’s your baby back.” Natasha said with a smirk as you ran into the lab ahead of her and launched yourself at Dum-E.

“Dum-E, careful! She’s the same size as you now so no prodding her or I’ll turn you into a garbage disposal.” Tony warned.

You made an affronted noise and stood protectively in front of the robot.

“I’m joking, I wouldn’t.” Tony swore, making a throat slashing motion at Dum-E as soon as your back was turned.

“Hey Stark, can I borrow your kid? I wanna go to Toys-R-Us.” Clint asked as he sauntered in.

“No, we can’t take her out of the compound. It’s too dangerous.” Tony insisted.

“Nobody outside of The Avengers knows she’s been shrunk, she’s probably the safest she’s ever been.” Clint pointed out.

“He’s got a point and it will be good for her.” Bruce added from somewhere in the back of the lab.

“I wanna go!” You insisted.

Tony thought it over.

“Fine but we’re taking..”

“Stop, it’ll be blatantly obvious if you come with.” Clint interrupted him.

“Fine. Take my child away. But you’re taking Capsicle and the other birdbrain.” Tony snapped huffily.  

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

Steve, Sam and Clint were having more fun than you were and that was saying something as you were running about joyfully, grabbing Lego sets and Barbie dolls excitedly. They were not trying to calm you down in the slightest, pushing different toys at you and throwing them into the basket everytime your eyes lit up.

“What if, and hear me out, we didn’t let Loki turn her back?” Sam suggested as you ran around the Avengers toys, zooming a falcon figurine around.

“Sam!” Steve squawked indignantly.

“It’s just an idea. She’s having so much fun like this. Would it really be the worst thing in the world if she got a second chance at a childhood?” Sam asked.

“You know Tony’s thinking it as well.” Clint pointed out.

“Can I have this?” You asked in a small voice, something tucked into your arms.

“Sure.” Clint said.

“Of course you can.” Sam said brightly.

“Guys, we don’t know what it is. What is it?” Steve asked you and you shyly showed him.

It was a modernised version of the old bears they had made in the 40’s.

“She wants a Bucky Bear. We can’t leave her this way.” Steve said to them.

“Come on sweetheart, let’s get you that bear.” Clint said, swinging you onto his shoulders and hurrying you away from Sam and Steve.

“Don’t Sam. She’s a grown-up, we can’t just leave her this way. She has a whole life to get back to.” Steve said.

“I know man, I know.” Sam said wearily.

“But?”

“She never got to be a kid. Seeing her like this, I feel bad for her and I can’t help wondering if she’d be happier if we left it.” Sam told him.

“She wouldn’t be happier. She’d lose everything she has fought for. We can’t do that to her. I get why it’s tempting though, I do.” Steve admitted.

Seeing you so carefree and innocent just highlighted the fact that you had never really had this and Steve really did understand why Sam was even considering it but he knew that you wouldn’t thank them for doing it.

“Let’s just help her enjoy it while it lasts.” Steve suggested.

“Well in that case we’re going to Burger King.” Sam said.

“McDonalds.” Steve argued.

“Nuh uh man. Burger King.”

In the end the choice was left up to you and they ended up in a small retro diner in Brooklyn.

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

Bucky turned the corner at the front of the compound and turned straight back around but it was too late.

“Bucky!” You threw yourself off of Clint’s shoulders much to the terror of the three men with you.

You landed easily on the ground and immediately shot away, leaving them gaping after you.

Bucky ground his teeth together as you pelted towards him but forced himself not to move as you wrapped yourself around his leg.

“Hi.” You whispered, blinking up at him.

“Hi.” He said back.

You stared at each other for a few seconds and he knew you could sense his unease when your bottome lip started wobbling. He sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair and crouched down so he was on your level.

“Why do you hate me?” You asked tearily.

“I don’t. I really don’t, I promise. This is just strange for me, can you understand that?” He asked.

“No.” You said honestly and he bit his lip to stop the snort of surprised laughter.

“Doll, yesterday you were in your 20’s and today you’re a kid. It’s weird for me to see you this way.” He admitted.

“So you don’t love me no more?”

“I’ll always love you and when you’re you again I’ll be right here waiting for you.” He swore.

“Ok.” You sniffed.

“Ok, now go back to Steve before he freaks out.” Bucky told you.

You nodded but it was subdued and you still looked sad. Bucky sighed heavily and pushed his issues aside to press a kiss to the top of your head.

“Go on, I’ll see you later.”

You looked a bit happier as you ran off and Bucky went back to his mental preparations for killing a Norse God.

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

That night, after another disastrous bath you slipped out of Tony’s grasp and bolted back to the common room with your Bucky Bear clutched tightly in your arms. Most of the team was gathered there watching a horror movie that Wanda paused as soon as you burst in.

“She wanted to say goodnight.” Tony said, out of breath as he ran in after you.

You climbed onto the sofa and snuggled straight into Vision who you’d taken to more as a child. He looked perplexed before Wanda made a hugging motion with her arms and gave him a pointed look and he copied her.

“Goodnight Miss Stark.” He said politely.

“Night Vision.” You said back, holding out Bucky Bear.

Vision got the gist without Wanda’s help this time and hugged the bear.

“Goodnight Bucky Bear.” He said, equally as polite to the bear as he was to you.

Wanda was next and she smoothed your hair affectionately as she hugged you, making sure to include Bucky bear in her embrace.

“Goodnight Sestra. Goodnight Bucky Bear.”

“Goodnight Wanda.”

Natasha’s arms were wide and waiting as you burrowed into her embrace.

“Night Tasha.” You said.

“Good night Kotoynok, goodnight Bucky Bear.”

“I am not hugging that thing.” Sam protested and everyone shot a glare at him.

“If I have to be nice to it so do you.” Tony told him.

Sam rolled his eyes and gave the bear a fistbump which thankfully was good enough for you as you gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“Night Sammy.”

Clint grabbed the bear and crushed it to his chest enthusiastically and was rewarded with a delighted giggle from you.

“Night kiddo.” He said, smacking a noisy kiss to your head.

“Little one.” Thor said softly, looking at you hopefully.

“Where the cat?” You huffed.

“Not here.” He assured you and your frown smoothed out and you climbed onto Thor’s lap.

Thor hugged you gratefully and made sure he hugged your bear as well.

“Alright Kit Kat, you can see everyone else tomorrow. Time for bed.” Tony instructed.

“Night!” You called, waving as you skipped away.

Tony walked you back to your room and tucked you under the covers and kissing your forehead, rolling his eyes when you held out the Bucky Bear. He obliged you and with a scowl he quickly pecked it on the head as well. You grinned evilly.

“I knew you liked Bucky.” You cackled.

“You little...” He bit his tongue.

You giggled to yourself as you snuggled down and yawned.

“Dad?” You asked sleepily.

“What is is sweetheart?”

“Do you want me to change back?” You asked.

“I want you to be yourself. I want what’s best for you.” He admitted.

“That’s why I’m glad you’re my dad and not Logan.” You told him.

He froze.

“You heard us?”

His only answer was a soft snore.

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

The moonlight cast a silvery illumination across the room as you slept soundly, unaware of the God Of Mischief watching you.

“I hope you found this experience enlightening, I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it in your next appointment.” He said with his signature grin as you glowed a soft green.

When you had blackmailed Thor into accompanying you somewhere it had been too easy to impersonate this Doctor Leonard Samson. It had been easy mischief, born of curiosity. You’d never know and you didn’t have to.

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

Bucky was woken up by a frantic knocking on his door and when he opened it you all but tumbled through it. You. Adult you.

“You’re back.” He said breathily, clutching your arms to make sure you were real.

“I’m back.” You confirmed.

He pulled you into his arms and rested his forehead against yours in the early morning light and calmly stood there with you, drinking in your presence, relived to have you back and feeling like the world was as it should be again.

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

I AM ONE MONTH OLD! It has been exactly four weeks since this fic began so HAPPY BIRTHDAY US!

I can't begin to thank everybody has read, liked, reblogged, commented or given Kudo's. For somebody who struggles every day to find reasons to be happy this fic and the responses to it has been the best thing to ever happen to me. To know that people actually like this has given me such a massive burst of confidence and makes my days easier to get through, I'm a lot happier than I was a month ago because I feel like I have a purpose now.

I hope you like this chapter and the one's to follow.

@nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first @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 @dropthepizza346 @jaynnanadrews @likes-to-smell-books @drdorkus @life-wanderer @metalarmlover @animegirlgeeky @jsmith509

#hattersmarvelverse #bucky x reader #bucky x oc #avengers x reader

[ottorocket808]

Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street

I wonder how they coaxed her back to Mikes house it was probably easier than I think because they’re also kids and it’s raining and cold because I’m pretty sure it’s November in Indiana. I’m just gonna say that the lunge clap isn’t the best way to tell if somebody is deaf I’m pretty sure they’re gonna flinch regardless because you lunged at them. 🤣🤣🤣 Modesty don’t exist where she’s from y’all cut her some slack. Wait is that blood? Wait it’s probably from her nose. I don’t even know where the nearest ‘nuthouse’ is why does Lucas? How did Dustin and Lucas both forget that they snuck out the house and therefore telling any adults right now would be a bad idea?

Yo Joyce is talkin about spending $2000-$3000 on missing posters and he’s in a different dimension and this is in 1983 that might as well be $20,000-$30,000 now I know my mom would know my voice anywhere they gotta stop doubting Joyce no matter what interference came down the line.

Hop and these pills are gettin on my nerves you are not House sir sidenote Hops reaction to Jonathan volunteering to go to his dads house felt like dick measuring why wouldn’t he want him to go looking for Will if seeing the cops would mean he runs again which means even longer until he comes home.

Don’t start shit with your little brother when he knows your boyfriend was in your room last night without your parents knowledge or consent Nancy. Sidenote it’ll never not be suspicious to hear your kids say ‘nothing’ together when you ask them a question.

I think Wills been missing for 2 or 3 days at this point where is he getting water? I’m pretty sure this kid is well on his way to dehydration on top of breathing in the toxic atmosphere of The Upside Down Will is a strong little dude.

I think I’ve spotted Els first Eggo that might be why she likes them so much Mike gave her her first one I mean Eggos are good but plain with no syrup no butter and lukewarm and she still likes them more than anything else. El’s hesitation towards telling any adults makes perfect sense after what happened to Benny.

Calling a lady crazy who’s kid just went missing feels a little insensitive I mean what did she do in regular my kid isn’t missing life that would make him say that?

Steve’s hair looks so much better but he’s kind of a dick because he invited Nancy to the ‘party’ not her and Barbara which isn’t really a problem is that he did it in front of her but if you pay attention to his ‘friends’ they aren’t any better in all honesty this is just a double date. Nancy’s little brother hangs out with Jonathan’s little brother all the time you’d think she’d stand up for him just because of that I mean she looks legit guilty listening to the others make fun of him I mean how many times has Jonathan been at her house to pick up Will?

Mike said damn goin to school I have girl who doesn’t think I’m weird at home.

I’m pretty sure this is what older siblings are for sharing music and teaching you the ropes to life and giving advice.

Jonathan also said damn goin to school

Lonnie still hasn’t made an appearance and his youngest son has been seen in 2-3 days he ain’t even called Joyce back and he knows that he’s missing and that there’s been full on search party and he’s been AWOL this whole time.

Where the hell did they find a Pinto? Joyce is kind of a boss she got a phone and a pack of camels for free and two weeks pay in advance.

Am I trippin or did the news call the power company a completely different name? If they did who are The Bad Men supposed to be pretending to be? I wonder why Hop didn’t notice the goop on the wood.

I need to know how them getting 3rd in the science fair was political what was their project? How does she know? It’s almost like she was about to start hyperventilating did she see him in her sleep because as much as the Demogorgon scared her I can’t imagine her looking for him on purpose. Was the baby not strapped into her car seat because Mikes mom got into the house way too fast.

I feel like Hop should be concerned that one of his officers was gullible enough to believe that anybody could survive that drop into cement I mean water.

Man these govt people suck Justice for Benny.

Lonnie doesn’t have a single picture of his kids in that house if he did his girlfriend would know who Jonathan is.

Shout out to Dustin for picking up on keywords like ‘Danger’ and El is racking up favorite character points with the double door slam topped off with the locked door El is in the lead as my favorite 2nd is a three way tie between Joyce Mike and Dustin.

Lonnie won’t be getting father of the year anytime soon but his car is sick 1972 Oldsmobile 442 I ain’t mad at it at all. I don’t know why people in small towns swear that people in the city are more ‘real’ you have bullshitters everywhere Lonnie should know he was fake In Hawkins and the only thing that changed was his address and the car he drives.

Barb wasn’t invited to the ‘party’ (double date) and Nancy knows this Steve said do you wanna come to my house not you guys y’all or any other variation. Nancy begging her to go and using Wills vigil as her suggested excuse says a hell of a lot about her character she knows that it’s only supposed to be the four of them because again this is a double date her making Barb be the 5th wheel so she would feel better sucks.

Mike choking on his milk cause he sees El coming down the stairs followed by Dustin’s ‘spasm is still funny but Nancy using Wills Vigil to sneak to see her boyfriend still rubs me the wrong way.

And that torn piece of El’s gown makes its appearance good eye Mr. Clarke.

The boys use so many words she doesn’t know I wonder how lost in conversation she was in the beginning. Dustin looked so grossed out by the spit swear part and I don’t blame him. El looked super suspicious of what Mike was saying about friends telling each other things that parents don’t know.

Parking 3 blocks away is a little excessive. Barb really should’ve just dropped her off and went home. Nancy should know her best friend well enough to know that parties aren’t her thing. Nancy likes to play stupid but she’s not she should’ve just gone by herself there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with the guy that you like but dragging your friend along is unnecessary.

Ew Hop wears tighty whiteys wait who is that lady? So I have the subtitles on and they say her name is Sandra still don’t know who she is but at least we got a name.

El’s powers are crazy strong no wonder they want her back so badly she touches the D&D board closes her eyes for a second and knows which piece is Wills. Dustin is in the drama club? I wonder if he is a lighting and sound guy. You can tell that shit just got real to these kids.

Quick question how close do the Byers live to Steve? I mean for Jonathan to hear Carol scream it’s gotta be pretty close maybe Will had to run way farther than I originally thought. Everything about Barb screams ‘I don’t wanna be here’ shorty still has her coat on she looks extra uncomfortable you can tell this isn’t her thing Barb is a better friend than Nancy deserves. She cut her hand trying to shotgun a beer to make Nancy happy and when she goes inside looking for bandages Nancy doesn’t help she stays outside and plays with her not boyfriend and his ‘friends’ There’s a strong ass lesson about peer pressure wrapped around these five. Jonathan has gotta know that this is creepy I mean he’s hiding behind a bush damn near frantically taking pictures of the popular kids having fun how’d he switch so fast from looking for his brother to this weird shit?

This is the 2nd phone Will burnt up tryna call home man they are $30 a piece man we need a better communication attempt. Ask and ye shall receive sidenote I really do like this song I wanna learn to play the intro where is the dog I know the Demogorgon didn’t eat him but he just disappears. I feel bad for Joyce she’s always alone when the weird shit happens because the Demogorgon coming out the wall like that was some scary shit and nobody but us saw it. That’s how you know she ain’t worried about somebody running off with her whip Joyce has the doors unlocked the windows rolled down with the keys in the visor.

I don’t understand why she begged Barb to go to this thing if she was gonna have sex with Steve anyway and then talking about go home how Nancy she’s supposed to be spending the night at your house to help cover the truth about what’s going on. And Barb being half stubborn half a good friend goes down to the pool to wait for her friend to finish losing her virginity so they can go Barb should’ve gone home and ignored Nancy the next day at school. How did Jonathan not hear The Demogorgon growling or Barb scream and he was what 30 ft from the pool?

#JusticeforBenny #JusticeforBarb #stranger things #Stranger Things #StrangerThings1 #Stranger Things Season One #The Weirdo on Maple Street

[darlingnisi]

Celebration 2019 VIP Day 2

(Though it doesn’t really matter for the price point today as we were all together on this shorter day). Opening Session

JD Steele led us in a sing along of Forever in My Life

Prince’s memoir announcement

Opening screening : Vienna June 7, 2014 with 3rdeyegirl

Guitar

Plectrumelectrum

Crimson and Clover

She’s Always in My Hair

Purple Rain

Play That Funky Music 

Screwdriver

What’s My Name/Sacrifice of Victor/Papa

JD Steele : Asked P what 7 from the [Symbol] album was about. He said it represents 7 record companies that enslave us all “and now we’re down to 2″

Jeff Katz

Moderated by Gilbert Davidson

Did the album covers for Parade, Sign O the Times, Scandalous Sex Suite

Resident photographer for Under the Cherry Moon

Shot first couple of days on set of Under the Cherry Moon. The cover was captured within 5 minutes of the beginning of the photoshoot.

They’d never shoot with a purpose, it was usually shot for the moment and it was applied it later.

The look Prince wanted to achieve for the film was met with resistance by the film company. Jeff had taken a Polaroid. P held up said Polaroid and said “this is what I want my movie to look like”

One year later he was dressed like this.

Paisley Park wasn’t done yet this was shot at a warehouse on Flying Cloud in Eden Prairie. 

The background was from Chanhassen Dinner theatre, the set of “Guys and Dolls”. 

He used a 16 second exposure for this and asked Prince to stay still for as long...P walked away after 8 that’s why he’s transparent.

Didn’t talk much, mostly used non-verbal communication.

Question : How much did his music influence images? Answer : Pics never synced with music, again they were matched to the music after.

After SOTT era, he came back and Prince looked like this. This was shot at Paisley.

P:  “I’m gonna go home and come back in a few hours.” Jeff took a nap at the studio.

And P returned looking like this :

These last two pictures were part of a 36 hour photoshoot.

P : Have you ever seen Barbarella? Jeff : Yes P : That’s what I want this to look like

Processed film to make it look like a cartoon

Looking into the possibility of doing a book “We want him represented in the best ways possible” (Wasn’t a promising option at the time by how they were talking about it despite the loud cheers of encouragement from the crowd)

There was an alternate version of this image of P sitting up looking straight into the camera. It was in black and white. There was an audible gasp from the crowd. (Edited to add said photo)

Jeff : Done in Stockholm in a tiny studio. “Let the intensity come from the person and their eyes”

Prince : “Shoot some details”

Gilbert was prince’s trainer, joked that he’d look like this after one day of working out.

His last shoot with P.

P wanted cityscapes, but didn’t want want to be in the city so Steve found some backdrops to use instead.

Gilbert : Why are you so silent about your work? “I like photo sessions. I like shooting...not so much editing...when the session is done, I move on.

Gilbert : What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

Jeff : You have to have an image with stopping power...see something differently than how someone else is seeing it.”

Note : There were several unseen images included as part of this presentation that are not on this site. A book would be wonderful to have! 

Graffiti Bridge

Moderated by Steve Parke Ingrid Chavez - Star of GB, May 1992 album on Paisley Park Records TC Ellis - Grew up with P, True Confessions Paisley Park Record Craig Rice - Played in a band with Andre Cymone back in the day, Assistant Director Purple Rain, Co-producer Graffiti Bridge, Managed Mazarati, President of Paisley Park Enterprises, Produced/Directed Paisley Music Videos

Craig

Prince and Craig talked about doing another movie. Wanted to call it “May U Live to See the Dawn” intending it to be a new age musical

Sets built at Paisley

Wanted to bring the original Time back

Intended to be a spiritual journey party/introspective music

“7 corners” west bank...with 7 clubs on each corner

Clubs different flavors and music

TC

TC knew Prince singe age 11

Always bugging Prince about rap and P wasn’t into it

True Confessions was done before Graffiti Bridge

His character in the movie is true to life

Ingrid

Ran into P at a club. Rode out to Paisley. Began friendship.

That winter recorded tracks, collabed with Prince. She’d read her poetry while he played different instruments to go with it on the fly.

Later in a band called Skyfish. She got the tape to Prince. P filled her apartment up with white flowers. Called and played her Heaven Must Be Near. She did a music video for it. Craig shot it and Prince edited it.

Craig 

Prince sent Craig to go meet Ingrid “I want you to meet this women” Craig “Oh yeah okay...🙄”. Was impressed by Ingrid “She’s an artist...a real artist Prince you have to respect her as one.”

Were looking to cast the role of the angel, Craig said Ingrid was it. 

Craig and TC were the only ones to hear Ingrid Justify My Love as a demo before Madonna covered it.

Craig GB was to be connected to Purple Rain, but was not to be grounded in reality.

Steve : Started painting for prospective art directors. Didn't know GB was on the way. Levi shared a version of it it with Prince. Steve was told that it was on Prince’s desk, “and he looks at it every day”. P asked for changes (Put Jill Jones’s face on Cindy Crawford’s body, etc.) he used sandpaper to make the changes.

They built seven corners in the Paisley Park soundstage. There were roads, buildings, streetlamps.. Prince: “Oh my god can we keep it?”

TC

All of the old school cats we grew up with were in this. “I could feel the tension but it was all love”

“Had the feeling of the whole neighborhood together making Graffiti Bridge”

Terry and Jimmy held more weight now with their success, Ingrid was a bit of an outsider as even the extras were from the old neighborhood.

Ingrid hung out by herself a lot or with the members of The Time

P wanted everyone one set even if they weren’t filming.

Q&A Q :Why was the name of the movie changed to Graffiti Bridge? A : There was a bridge in Chanhassen called “Graffiti Bridge”, “May U Live to See the Dawn” was too long and didn’t sound like a film title. 7 Corners was too native to the Twin Cities

Also Prince wrote the script, they brought in a script writer to help him with it later...and he re-wrote it...then proceeded to ignore it.

Q : How was the movie received? A: It made money, but people really just wanted “Purple Rain 2″. They did a screening of the movie in Harlem and it didn’t go well. That was hard on Prince. 

Not about the music, it’s the community and bringing everyone together. 

Ingrid never watched the movie until Mothers’ Day 2018. Felt it wasn’t as bad she remembered.  

Q : Why didn’t you use the real Graffiti Bridge? A : Prince wanted to shoot the movie in winter...in Minnesota. Enough issues when they did Purple Rain during the cold Minnesota months.

Other side note : After the screenings, Prince’s confidence about GB started wavering. He didn’t promote it much.

Q : Why was Question of U cut from the movie? A : Running time. It would be in a special edition, but it didn’t make enough money for WB to support one.

Q : What does “May u live to see the dawn” mean? A : “Sometimes he would just say things and you’re just like ‘okay’”. (Nobody knew)

Q : Can you touch on the Still Would Stand All Time scene? A : It was shot at the club, not Paisley. Their Favorite Parts :  Ingrid : Love Machine scene because it was out of character for her TC Ellis : The rap...and then he rapped about the Paisley associated Minneapolis Black Music scene up until about the GB time (which was amazing by the way I hope he transcribes it and posts it somewhere! It had song and album titles and everything!)

And that was it for today for the sessions at Paisley! Big Screen was also tonight which unfortunately was the same show as last year, but still a good show nonetheless. Last year was slight shock/jam...this year for me was wayment...oh...okay whatever still Prince...and for some reason was way more emotional for me this year? Probably a personal thing though.) Day 3 tomorrow!

#PrinceCelebration2019 #forgive typos its been a long day you get the gist #thanks for yesterdays corrections guys bleary eyed then too!

[elysiumwaits]

Hey! For the two words prompt, can I request some ‘moonlight dancing’, please? I’ve had a craving for some slow dancing fic for a while now and I’d love to see what you do with it. As for the pairing, some Sterek, Stucky, Merthur or even some Thor/Bruce, if any of those inspire you. Thank you. 😊

Well, the good news is that I’ve got 1800 words of sappy wedding reception Stucky for you. The bad news is that I completely dropped the ball on the “moonlight” part of the “moonlight dancing” prompt. So if you could just picture a giant moon as the backdrop for this fic, I’d appreciate it.

My timeline for this fic puts this in the February of 2019, because timelines are hard in the MCU anyway. So this would put this fic before Doris Day passed away in May. Also, I believe the MCU puts Bucky Barnes somewhere around the age of 95? So I played with that a bit.

Here, you’ll need these, make yourself a playlist and set them up for the duration of the fic:

Doris Day version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7j8wa9sWOE

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6TmogXhOZ8

Kate Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh8hW0irwpo

I refuse to link to Michael Buble because I can't stand listening to him sing thanks to many years of having to listen to one album of his on repeat at a book and toy store I worked at (and then, for two months out of the year, his Christmas album).

Nothing to tag for, no spoilers here.

I Linger On, Dear on AO3

The garden was lit by strings of fairy lights that zig-zagged overhead, and every-so-often by the big burning lanterns along the walkway that burned primarily to provide warmth to the party-goers. The moonlight did a lot for them as well, big and full above, not drowned out by the light pollution of the city. The party itself was dying down, guests having gone inside to the mansion to warm up and start saying their goodbyes, or perhaps be enticed into one more drink by their charming host and hostess. 

Most of the people they knew as friends but not family would dissipate, unable to be swayed by even Tony Stark’s extensive liquor collection and insistence that they have “one more, just one more, I’m paying for all the safe transportation home, after all.” If Tony didn’t manage to convince them, Pepper just might try to ply them with the wine she can’t actually have at six and a half months pregnant. 

Their family, though, won’t leave - there are rooms throughout the mansion, plenty of them, but most of them won’t be even approached until close to dawn, and it’s only a quarter until midnight now. The big celebration is over, but the smaller, more important one is just beginning, and will no doubt carry on through the night with drunken, half-sleepy conversations with people who recognize that these truly blissful moments are few and far between. 

The band has packed up and gone home. Their set ended at eleven, even though Clint had to be lured away from the drummer’s kit by Natasha promising him some complicated, fancy-sounding drink that was probably just going to be vodka, V8, and Sprite. Even after he’d gotten out of the band’s hair enough that they could pack up and be tipped generously by Tony, the drummer had loudly wondered where he’d put his drumsticks, none the wiser to Clint (accidentally) taking a souvenir. 

As a result, the dance floor is empty, but there’s a Bluetooth speaker built into the pavilion that Steve is taking full advantage of, albeit very quietly. His suit isn’t as neat as it was earlier, and the drink in his hand does absolutely nothing to get him anywhere even close to drunk, but he’s probably the happiest he’s ever been. He’s enjoying the peace and quiet of the garden, the distant sounds of revelry filtering through the open doors of the mansion, and the pavilion is heated so he’s not even cold. 

“I want you to know that I still think an outdoor reception in the middle of February is a little ridiculous,” a warm voice says from behind him.

Steve grins and waits without turning on the bench for Bucky to get closer. He expects for Bucky to sit down next to him, but instead he gets arms wrapped around him from behind, looping across his shoulders while Bucky’s chin rests gently on the top of his head. 

“That can’t be comfortable,” Steve says, grin widening. “Stealth big-spooning doesn’t count.”

“Well, if you would give me a shot at it one of these nights.” Bucky sounds amused though, and pulls away to come around the bench and stand in front of Steve.

He looks good, jacket lost and sleeves of his white button-up rolled halfway up his forearms. The tie he’d worn is undone and just hanging out of the collar of his shirt, while his hair falls halfway out of the neat ponytail he’d been wearing all day. He’s, in short, a bit of a rumpled mess, which is just how Steve likes him.

“What, you haven’t heard enough of this song?” Bucky teases when he finally hears the soft music playing through the speakers. “The Doris Day version, isn’t it? Turn it up.”

Steve obliges by reaching for his phone and turning the volume up a couple of notches, just in time to hear Doris Day sing about sweet dreams and leaving all worries behind you. They listen for the last little bit of the song before it fades away, and jazz trumpets begin. Bucky smiles then, as Ella Fitzgerald begins to sing about stars shining bright.

“Mr. Barnes,” Bucky says, and holds out his hand, “may I have this dance?”

“You may, Mr. Rogers,” Steve replies, taking his hand and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet, even as Bucky huffs out a laugh.

“I realize it’s your maiden name, but these days when I hear it I think of sweaters and the neighborhood.” Bucky falls into the lead role of the slow, swaying dance they do, metal hand placed on Steve’s waist while his other fingers curl around Steve’s. It’s a throwback to when Steve was smaller, when it made more sense for Steve to follow when Bucky was attempting to teach him to dance. Now they’re the same height, but here, Steve holds Bucky’s hand and rests his other on Bucky’s shoulder.

A faux-put-upon sigh escapes Steve. “I know, that’s why we went with Barnes. Trust me, I’ve been hearing it for years now, I don’t need it from you too.” He lets Bucky slowly move them around the empty dance floor as the soft music plays and Louis Armstrong comes in to sing with Ella. 

“I don’t think the band did a bad job with it,” Bucky says after a long moment of swaying and listening. “It’s just too bad Doris Day wasn’t available, or that we didn’t get married early enough for Kate Smith or Ella Fitzgerald.”

“Doris Day is ninety-seven, Bucky,” Steve chides. “She didn’t need Tony Stark bribing her to sing our wedding song.”

“I’m ninety-seven.” Bucky chooses that moment to guide Steve into a slow spin, letting go of Steve’s waist and lifting a hand to let Steve turn, before tugging him back even closer than before. “But you probably don’t want me trying to croon into a microphone, if how you react to my karaoke is any indication.”

“Little hard to dance with you if you perform your own wedding song, Buck.” 

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong fade away, leading into soft guitar, and Bucky wrinkles his nose. “Skip this one,” he says, pausing their dance.

Steve fishes the phone out from his suit pocket, rolls his eyes and bites a smile back as he does as he’s asked. “I think Michael Buble is nice.”

Kate Smith starts to sing, piano playing to accompany. It’s not the version they heard back in the day, instead the one from the 1950s show, but Bucky starts to move them across the dance floor once more. 

“He screwed up the tempo,” Bucky says. “It’s too fast. The one that came out in the 60s did too, I don’t remember what they were called.”

“The Mamas and the Papas.” Steve can’t fight the smile anymore. He’s just so ridiculously happy, and there’s a gold band glinting off the fairy lights around them on the ring finger of his left hand. “And then there’s that guy with Lily Allen. I liked that one too.”

He knows there’s a matching gold ring on a chain underneath Bucky’s white shirt. He hadn’t wanted to wear it on the Winter Soldier arm, still a sore subject more than anything, and he’d considered briefly wearing it on his right hand before finally settling on the chain he swears to Steve he’ll never take off except to shower or if he’s undercover. Steve has a chain as well - the ring isn’t terribly comfortable under the gloves of his suit, after all. 

“What have you got to smile about?” Bucky pesters, like he’s not grinning too. “You’re stuck with me for good now, punk. No refunds or exchanges. You don’t even have the receipt, so HYDRA definitely won’t take me back now.”

“I think technically I stole you, so I wouldn’t have a receipt anyway.” Steve flexes his hand in Bucky’s, squeezing tight, but is careful not to do the same with the hand on Bucky’s left shoulder. 

Bucky drags Steve even closer, until his hand isn’t on his waist but instead on Steve’s lower back. “You’re telling me I married a thief? I want a divorce.” At Steve’s laugh, he adds, gentler, “What are you smiling about, Stevie?”

“Sam’s best man speech,” Steve teases, even though they both know that’s not exactly what’s got him so happy. “He spent the whole time insulting you, and you still cried. You can’t fool me, Buck, I saw you wipe a tear away when you thought nobody was looking.”

“Only because he was my best man, and he spent the whole time insulting me.” Bucky’s grumbling, but he can’t hide the twinkle in his eye. “Seriously, ‘you stay on a man’s left for years and his elderly ex-boyfriend shows up to sweep him off his feet, so now you gotta move even farther to the left,’ and people laughed! Clint asked if I got a senior discount on my suit.”

Steve laughs. “You were the one that asked about a senior discount on the suit when we went to get them fitted!” 

The playlist loops around, and Doris Day starts again. 

Bucky leans forward, pressing his cheek to Steve’s. “What are you smiling about, Steve? What’s got you so happy?” he asks one more time, softly, like he doesn’t already know, while Doris Day softly sings that night breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you.’

“You said it yourself,” Steve murmurs, couldn’t stop grinning even if he wanted to. “I’m stuck with you for good now. No refunds or exchanges, don’t even have the receipt.” He pauses, loops his arm more firmly around Bucky’s neck. “‘Til the end of the line.”

“Sap,” Bucky says, and his voice is a little rough, just like it had been during Sam’s best man speech. “You’re gonna whip out that line every time you get the chance, huh? Just because you know it gets to me.”

“Well, it is actually a vow now. The ‘’til death do us part’ vow obviously didn’t apply to either of us, so I had to get creative.” They’ve stopped actually moving their feet, just standing and holding each other while swaying. “Now you know how much I mean it.”

“I always knew you meant it,” Bucky says. “Now stop trying to make me cry at my own wedding reception for the second time in one night.”

“Third.”

“One of those was at the altar, not the reception, it doesn’t count.” Bucky starts to pull away, but Steve holds fast. “I was supposed to come and bring you inside. They’re probably taking blackmail photos from the windows.”

“You called the official photos that we paid for blackmail too.” Steve tugs Bucky back into him, pressing himself close. “One more dance.”

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees, relaxes and starts to guide them around the floor once more. “One more. But in your dreams, whatever they be…”

Above them, the lights twinkle, and around them drifts the soft lyrics of their song, as they slowly sway together. Steve smiles, and listens to Bucky’s off-key singing, gentle in his ear.

“Dream a little dream of me.”

#stucky #fic prompt #fanfiction #writing #dream a little dream of me

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP. 2

Last time, on Symphogear!

An adorable little girl, stood up by her date for a reasonable explanation, jams it out with her favorite pop duo, caught unawares that they are also a monster-fighting syndicate experimenting with the power of sound (the power to make you dizzy) to activate an ancient historical relic. Shit goes south as the jams prove to be too powerful, guaranteeing tragedy amidst an otherwise baller concert. Hibiki is rescued by The Bigger Of The Lesbians before she self-destructs to make sure the entire threat is neutralized, leaving The Smaller Lesbian sad, yet still incredibly gay. Years pass as our protagonist goes to Music School, for Music, to bunk it up with her girlfriend as she tries to figure out what the hell happened. Her prayers are answered when she tries to rescue a little girl and is promptly cornered, activating the same outfit The Bigger Lesbian that saved her had on. Gungnir Dattos all around, The Smaller Lesbian loses her shit as everything goes downhill from there.

Now, where were we?

...right. The piss beacon.

And the person taking the piss.

Hibiki has nary a clue what to do. Symphogears don’t actually come with manuals, you see. They’re sort of a “close your eyes and wing it” kind of experience. In Tsubasa’s case, it’s quite literal.

“FUCK that was COOL AS SHIT, tight as FUCKING HELL”

Take pity on this face. This is the face of someone who’s last memories will be a confused lady wondering why she is suddenly part machine.

“imma save you widdle kid”

Something to note about this show is that all the fighters sing while fighting. Hibiki is no exception, even after being confused about what the hell she’s doing. It helps that her voice actress is a professional singer.

It helps that every voice actress here is some sort of professional singer.

This picture basically summarizes why Hibiki is cool despite being so goddamned dumb. She’s angry, and she’s gonna protect some kids even if she dies doing it. Kanade would be proud, if she wasn’t too busy being dead.

No shit!

Have you ever watched the original Sam Reimi’s Spiderman? Like, the very first one? You know all those awkward scenes about Spiderman learning how his powers work? Hibiki basically does that under crunch time. There’s a long segment about how she’s forced to figure things out while protecting a kid and Not Dying.

It’s going pretty great.

I can’t believe she’s secretly Steve Urkel.

“cannot FUCKING believe that girl my girlfriend saved managed to GET HER HANDS on her FUCKING CLOTHES that I WANTED to ENSHRINE IN A MEMORIAL to her how the FUCK did she do that cant BELIEVE i have to SAVE HER IDIOT ASS because she just CANT EVEN DO THAT-”

Tsubasa, preparing herself as a contender for the World’s Angriest Lesbian, barrels through the Noise in her motorcycle...

...which she smashes directly into the Noise. It does nothing.

Tsubasa has many a motorcycle to smash. It’s a testament to her dedication following her aesthetic.

She fueled the tank completely before smashing it in.

Tsubasa... is petty.

As Tsubasa t-poses to assert dominance (a woman ahead of her time, this first aired in 2012), she comes down ready to kick some ass and vent some frustrations. And frankly? She’s all out of ass.

“oh my god she’s even hotter up close i cant believe it”

“fucking knock-off outfit looks like it came out of a bootleg flea market”

You don’t need to know what happens next, because you already know what happens when someone shows up with a fucking sword ready to sing about their dead girlfriend and the conflicting feelings about seeing her armor pop up again on someone else.

Murder.

Lots... and lots... of murder.

“we’re so fucking useless why do we even exist”

After Tsubasa finishes what could only be described as a massacre, we’re treated to how people clean up the aftermath.

“hey, you know, make fun of me all you want, but at the end of the day, im the one holding the vacuum cleaner, and you’re literally turned to dust, so”

Even this little girl knows shit’s about the go down. Got the tea and everything.

This is one of the minor characters of the series. She works for the 2nd Division. Who is the 2nd Division? You’ll find out soon.

“i didnt die! fuck yeah. today’s a good day.”

“OH WAIT NO-”

Hibiki learns that her outfit unsets after a while, like bideo game. Who catches her mid-fall?

Her new best friend, of course. Don’t be fooled by this look. Tsubasa tragically suffers from resting angry face syndrome. It is, unfortunately, incurable.

“i hate how cute she is”

Hibiki reminds her that this is technically the second time Tsubasa has saved her, which in the large scheme of things, seems incredibly innocuous for someone who escaped a major tragedy many years ago. Unfortunately, time doesn’t move forward for Season 1 Tsubasa. Not for quite a while...

The funny part is it doesn’t even hit her initially. She never actually saw Hibiki personally during that moment, so she actually doesn’t even have a clue what she means.

Look at her. Look at this clown. How could you hate her. Look at that smile.

All the survivors are always forced to write NDAs about what they saw. This grows to comical levels at times, given the scale of what happens eventually. It might as well be the world’s biggest open secret by now.

“aight homies looks like i gotta go home, the wife’s gonna be lonely an-”

Oh.

“sorry holmes but you’re going to gay baby jail like the rest of us singers”

Hibiki’s face is riddled with guilt. The guilt of someone who just saved a little girl. How dare you, Hibiki. This is what you get for doing The Right Thing.

And so she’s taken to “jail.”

“sorry pal but you literally turned into a huge weapon and you have no idea how to use it so!”

And so, Hibiki was never seen again...

Alright, so she really isn’t going to jail. She is genuinely being taken into custody, though. To be honest, this kind of handcuff procedure is sort-of ridiculous for someone who literally just saved children, and you could probably bribe her to join them with a 10 piece chicken dinner, but hey, fuck it. 2nd Division has protocols, and that is to arrest people.

“i cant believe i was a fan of a narc all this time”

The school has a giant elevator that goes deep into the Earth. Also, look at that symbolism. Hibiki’s the only one looking at her own reflection. Deep.

Thanks, Tsubasa.

The interior decorator for this elevator is wild.

Tsubasa forbodes where they’re all going as some ominous, strange, and evil place where joy and happiness die. Where good feelings and innocence are destroyed, and hope is crushed and ripped at the seams.

As it turns out, Tsubasa is just an angsty piece of shit.

So here’s the situation:

The 2nd Branch, which are the people in charge of poking relics until they glow with the power of music to study and harness the power of as weapons to kill the Noise, live in a several mile deep high tech basement of an all girl’s boarding school dedicated to music. This is because, for the record, that the girls recruited to this school have the habit of being a little bit attuned to these relics. Hibiki, a newly christened Gear user, is now being recruited into this organized by Genjuro.

“i never got this kind of party when i was recruited”

“thats because nobody liked you, hans”

“im skipping my soaps for this”

“fucking hate my twin brother hans”

“she?????? gets a party??? SHE. gets a party. I DON’T GET A PARTY. SHE... GETS A PARTY? and i dont get a fucking party. i was literally BORN into this job. NOBODY gives me a damn party. this MORON who CLOWNS AROUND with her SUBPAR SONGS. gets a party. oh my god. oh my GOD. FUCK. FUCK!”

“if this is what its like to get arrested i gotta be gayer and do more crimes”

“I’m not actually surprised. I’m just pretending to be. I’m just really not good at pretending to be surprised.”

“fucking hate this family, im gonna eat all of hibikis cake and cry in my room”

Remember: This show first released in 2012. Ryoko? Trendsetter.

Ryoko’s screen is very dirty and foggy. Don’t ask why. Don’t even remember why I pointed this out. Just forget this point completely.

Hibiki understands that handcuffs just aren’t fashionable.

Genjuro casually explains that they’re the fictional japanese equivalent of the NSA, all while doing magic tricks. Truly a man of many talents.

Tsubasa is already plotting how to vent about all this in her diary, which she addresses as letters of Kanade every time she writes in it.

Genjuro and Ryoko introduces themselves as everyone else apologizes to her, except Tsubasa.

Ogawa also intro- yes, I’m recycling a picture- introduces himself. He’s pretty cool, too, and serves as Tsubasa’s ninja bodyguard, butler, and all around mentor. We never get a backstory on him, and likely never will. It’s best to keep it that way; it only adds to the mystery of who the hell this guy is.

“weird flex but okay”

Hibiki realizes she’s being recruited, after being told she’s being recruited. Given some brain cells remain in her head, she asks the obvious and wonders what the hell happened to her.

“ryoko, care to explain?”

“well, it’s simple. you’re the protagonist now.”

Ryoko, who has no sense of boundaries, subjects Hibiki to a medical inspection. As creepy as her tone is, its to inspect the state of Hibiki’s newly formed gear.

She’s finally freed from that long winded event and returns home to her wife.

“buddy you smell like shit. and french fries.”

“hibiki. you’re not dead, hibiki. come on, get up. i just cleaned this floor, hibiki. hibiki, please. this is genuinely unbecoming of you. hibiki, oh my god.”

“miku please i learned how to kick ass and im tired and please let me enjoy this nice floor”

Tsubasa does the thing real life Symphogear and all related products never actually bother to do.

“god she’s so gay for her but i know she’d never cheat on me so”

Hibiki ruminates on the day she’s had. This is where the really dumb angst comes in. You see, Hibiki can’t tell anyone about what happened, and Miku, now a civilian in her eyes, cannot know about her alter ego Symphogear antics. Hibiki feels bad about this.

“y u no trust me. y u no tell me troof. im wife.”

After a brief heart to heart Hibiki smiles and snuggles her girlfriend.

They’re gay.

“im gonna marry her knowing full well she’ll sleep through the ceremony. god.”

#symphogear #symphogear season 1

[doctorstark]

insecure

steve rogers x tony stark

summary: after the events of age of ultron, tony starts wondering what he could be holding steve back from

warnings: angst, vague mentions of abuse from howard, tony being insecure, shitty but fluffy ending

word count: 1.5k

authors note: i hate this ending so much and they're so ooc but whatever. @rougeaurum get your tissues ready. also it hurts a lot worse if you think about what happens after this in civil war :))

After Ultron, everything was off. The relationships between the old members were different. No one got along like they used to. Clint, Thor, and Bruce were gone, and it was like they had taken the shiny of the Avengers initiative with them. Tony admitted that it was nice to see Rhodey everyday, but he didn’t care for Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, or the Vision too much. They were all nice, amazing people who would help the world out greatly, but Tony didn’t like having new faces and personalities to get used to. He didn’t like change. This was why it was such a big surprise when he told the team they were getting a new headquarters.

At first, everyone was iffy. They could admit the Avengers tower was stuffy and held too many bad memories, but it was home. You weren’t supposed to throw away broken things, you fixed them. But nobody, not even Steve, argued with Tony after they saw the compound upstate. It was bigger than the tower and away from the city and its civilians. Despite the differences they all shared, it was easy to agree that having another Sokovia wasn’t an option.

It took weeks to move in all the items from the tower. Steve and Natasha unpacked every box they got, when they got it. They were equally strange in their ways, but it made them the first ones officially moved in. The other Avengers did it as they felt like it. Tony never felt like it, which was the most likely reason he still had boxes piled in his room. His equipment and bots were in the lab, and he could take clothes out as needed, so he didn’t see a problem with it. Steve, who frequently had to maneuver his way through his boyfriends towers of boxes, did.

Steve and Tony were the only ones not gone on missions. It was rare for the mission schedule to fall into place this way, but neither one of them complained. Tony figured it would be a nice time for them to get back where they were before Ultron. He knew Steve didn’t trust him as much as he used to. It was in the way he spoke, in the way he hugged, in the way he pressed kisses to his neck. The love was there, but without trust, Tony knew it would start to crumble away. With this thought in the back of his mind, he let Steve replace his plans of bonding for a long overdue unpacking of boxes. It wasn’t a trust exercise by any means, and it was bonding its own right, but it was the first time they hadn't argued over something in weeks.

After hours of unmerciful manual labour led by a super soldier, the last item from the last box Tony unpacked was held in his hands and he was standing in the living room. Truthfully, he ignored that box on purpose. It wasn’t a ‘save the best for last’ situation, because that box held horrible memories. Memories of broken toys and hands slapped away from the table and ugly words Tony would never dare repeat to his children. It was a box full of photos.

But for every photo of Howard, there was a photo of Maria teaching Tony to play the piano. Of Jarvis after driving Tony to the library for the third time that day. Of Peggy Carter with an her arm wrapped around her godson and a smile on her face.

Tony looked down at the picture before hanging it up on the mantel. It had all three of them in it, with a younger version of himself standing in front of them. He remembered that day very well. He was about to leave for MIT and Howard threw him the most extravagant party as a celebration. He was also about to sneak up to his room with a few other teenagers (who weren’t his real friends) and get his first kiss with a boy in a game of truth or dare. It had been a girl named Ashley that dared him to do it, and he was eternally grateful she had, or he would never have figured out his sexuality. His boyfriend, who Tony knew deserved so much more, also wouldn't have been wrapping his arms around him.

“Somethings on your mind,” Steve whispered. His plump lips pressed a small kiss to the back of Tony’s neck. “I can tell.”

Tony swallowed as hot, spearmint scented breath washed over his neck. “Somethings always on my mind.” Even before Steve turned him around, he knew that was the wrong answer. It didn’t matter if Tony deserved him or not, because Steve cared. For what reason, even the genius’ mind couldn't figure out.

Steve used his hand to cup his lovers jaw and used his thumb to push his chin up. Tony never wanted to look at him when he was upset, but the blond was determined to get an answer. He didn’t harden his gaze into a glare, that wasn’t the way to get answers out of Tony. Instead, they stayed soft and inviting, like Steve always tried to keep them for him. As of late, he hadn’t been doing too good of a job.

“Have you ever been with anyone else? Other than me and Peggy?” Tony asked, with nervousness practically dripping off his tongue and onto the hardwood floor. The words came out fast and precise as they usually did, but Steve knew that the problem was rooted deeper than in a simple question.

Steve shook his head, now stroking the side of Tony’s face with his thumb. His movements were light and in circles, and he thought it was nice to see the goosebumps form under his touch. “You know you’re the only one I’ve ever been with.”

Tony squeezes his eyes together for a few moments before moving out of Steve’s touch. “Not sexually, Rogers. Romantically. Because-” He stopped and took a deep breath. Steve, though slightly wounded by the way Tony had shied away from him, was relieved to know he was about to get the truth. “Because I don’t want you to think I’m top of the line. It gets better than me. Anyone is better than me. And I’m holding you back from getting other experiences.”

Steve’s teeth clenched down on his lower lip. He hesitated only so he could find the right words. They should’ve had this conversation months ago, when they first started drifting apart. Steve knew that he hadn’t been showing Tony the attention he needed. He hadn’t been showing him true attention at all, really. Small touches here and there were not exclamations of love. Tony should have moved past his guilt of creating Ultron, but Steve’s disappointment was tearing him a new one every day.

“You’re all I want,,” Steve assured him. They were the first words he could think of, but they weren’t the most meaningful ones. Before the brunet could open his mouth to argue, Steve continued. “It's been hard on all of us since Sokovia, but I can’t use that as an excuse. I know I haven’t been the best. I let my problems get in the way of what's really important to me. You’re important to me, shellhead. None of this- None of this matters if I don’t have you. You’re right, I don’t have experiences with other people. I don’t want them.”

Steve let Tony register his words, and when a small smile started forming on his lips, he spoke again. “But Tony?”

“What?” Tony couldn’t have been happier when he answered. It was great to hear those words of reassurance. Every cruel, nasty emotion he had been feeling was gone now. And when Steve smiled back at him and pressed their foreheads together, it felt like before. Everything was going to be okay again.

“You’re supposed to be endearing to your boyfriend, not call him by his last name. It’s like I’m in bootcamp again.”

Tony laughed then. He hadn’t thought twice about it when he did it, but he smirked anyway as he leant into Steve’s form. “I’m sorry, honeybunch.”

Steve grinned and a pale blush ghosted over his cheekbones. He took Tony in his arms again, kissing the crook of his neck, but only so the smaller man couldn’t see how flustered he was. “Better, but you’re pushing it.”

#stony #stevetony #steve rogers #tony stark #superhusbands #stony oneshot #stony imagine #stony fic #steve rogers x tony stark #tony stark x steve rogers #avengers #marvel #mcu #this is shit #i'm sorry i Tried #abigail cries over stony #abigailwrites