#one of my friends thought i shouldn’t kick the beehive

[magic-owl]

I don’t believe in gatekeeping at all but if you flat out admit to me that you’ve consumed little to ZERO of the canon media and have gotten all of your information based off of reading fluffy fic with woobified characters, I will not be taking ANY of your fandom opinions or meta seriously

#i will clarify: you’re more than allowed to have fun! write all the fic you want and play in the sandbox! #but do NOT ever act like you know what you’re talking about lol #‘canon is Wrong and i’ve only read fanfic so that makes me an expert on these characters uwu’ #STOP IT NO #one of my friends thought i shouldn’t kick the beehive #but i’m ready #owl blabs

[honey-harper-official]

Evander Wade Hate AU - Chapter 10

MasterList for Evander Wade Hate AU

Word Count: 5901

This is an au where Evander Wade is secretly a villain because I hate him and this is fanfiction so I can do what I want. Also I’m fixing my problems with canon.

This is a long chapter and the longest one I’ve ever written so please reblog and comment it took me so long to write this.

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Nova met Adrian at an entrance for the subway tunnels on the southside of Gatlon. After Danna's she had quickly gone home and changed out of her uniform and into some casual clothes so she didn't attract any attention.

"Hey," Adrian said. "You ready?"

Nova took a deep breath. Everything was going to change after this but she knew it had to be done. She didn't get a choice whether she was ready or not.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Here. Press the button if you need me or call for help," Adrian said, placing a little buzzer into her hand. He must have drawn them.

"Thanks. Now go keep quiet. I'll be back shortly." 

Nova slipped into the tunnels, heart pounding.

"Honey! Leroy!" It's just me. I need to grab something," Nova said as she crept in.

"Okay. When you're done can you bring me the stun gun that's in your things. I need it to run a test," Leroy called back.

"Sure," she said as she went to one of the subway cars where all her things were shoved. In the bottom, under some weapons and her gear for Nightmare, was the Vitality Charm. She grabbed it and put it on, hiding the chain beneath the collar of her shirt and the zipped of her jacket.

She then noticed that the bag that the helmet was in was right next to the box of her things and one of Honey's old mirrors was also close by, on the opposite side of the car.

Just as a precaution, Nova moved the mirror closer. It was full body and Narcissa could easily slip through it if it was needed and they eventually had to return the helmet though Nova couldn't guarantee if Honey and Leroy wouldn't move it's position.

Nova then grabbed the stun gun and made her way to Leroy with it.

He smiled at her.

"Nightmare! It's good to see you!" He said, giving her a lopsided grin.

She squeezed the stun gun in her fist though she didn't set it off.

"Leroy.... a while ago.... before I became a spy.... you asked if I wanted to start myself a new life and while I don't want to be a Renegade, I don't think I want to be an Anarchist anymore either," she admitted, trying to stay confident and now fall apart from fear.

Before he could say anything, Honey came up behind Nova.

"You what!" She shrieked. "You can leave! We're too close!"

"Please," Nova pleaded. "I can't handle it. I'm just a teenager! I shouldn't have to do this!"

"Did you forget what happened to your parents! Did you forget what the Renegades did!" 

"I didn't but I also know what you did! Please there's only the two of you and there's no getting Ace out just give it up! At least let me have a chance to actually live instead of being hidden away in the tunnels!"

"You don't get to leave," Honey said, glaring.

Nova's stomach churned and she looked for Leroy for help but in the midst of all the arguing he had left from the other door.

Nova gulped but she wasn't going to call Adrian in just yet. She had to be sure of what Honey and Leroy were going to do and she didn't want to drag him into it. She didn't want to make things worse.

"Honey," Nova begged but it was too late.

Nova felt a pinch on her arm and then suddenly more and more as wasps and bees of all types filled up her one sleeve. It burned and ached and caused searing pain, like flames on spots of her skin.

She bit back the pain and forced herself not to cry or make a single noise. She could still talk her way out of this and keep Adrian out of the way. The Vitality Charm was certainly helping from it being overbearing too.

"I can make it stop if you stay," Honey promised, her voice a false sweet.

"No," Nova insisted. "No I'm not going to stay here anymore."

"Then so be it," Honey said, face turning back to sour and the bees stinging more rapidly on her arm before she felt them begin to crawl on other parts of her body.

Honey was going to make it slow and painful for her.

She was about to call for Adrian when Leroy showed up behind Honey, a beehive of hers in one hand, and a test tube of some chemical mixture in the other.

"Let her go Queen Bee," Leroy said, glaring.

"LEROY!" Honey wailed. "YOU TOO!"

"She's a child and should have never been dragged into this in the first place. Let her go. It's over," he persisted. "Let her go or I'll pour acid down every single hive you have."

Honey looked between Nova and then Leroy with her hives. She growled but caved in.

"Fine!" She said before storming off. "I guess we're down to just one free Anarchist now!"

Leroy set down the hive and then turned to Nova, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you know what you're doing but I'll burn all your stuff for you," he told her.

"I do. I have a plan," Nova said, wiping her eyes and calming down so Adrian wouldn't notice. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now leave before she had the chance to change her mind," Leroy said.

Nova nodded and took off, dashing to the other end of the tunnel and scrambling out to where Adrian was waiting, ignoring her throbbing arm. It would be fine shortly once the Vitality Charm had done its job.

It was dark and if there was any sign of hurt on her he didn't notice.

"Good. I was starting to get worried," he told her, smiling.

"Yeah I'm fine. Leroy got me out," Nova said. It wasn't the truth but not a total lie either. She didn't want him worried about something that would be healed quickly.

Frankly Nova had gone through worse before.

"Why don't we go back to my place so you can grab your arm band and we can watch a movie," he offered.

"That sounds nice," Nova agreed.

She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She was free from the Anarchists. She was free from being Nightmare. She was free and they weren't going to drag her back in ever again. They couldn't. Not without getting themselves arrested too at least.

Nova was safe to be on her own and be with Adrian and her friends and her heart was racing at the thought of it.

They went to Adrian's place and Nova noted that his dads weren't home as she kicked off her shoes and put them away.

The two of them went to his room where Adrian found a movie he liked and popped it into the movie player while she put the wristband back on, sitting on the couch.

Adrian sat beside her, throwing an arm over her shoulder and resting his head on her shoulder. Unfortunately it was right on one of the still aching bee stings and Nova yelped in pain before realizing what she had done.

He raised his brow at her and then pushed up her sleeve carefully. He took her wrist gently in his palm and turned it over, horrified by all the welts.

"Nova what happened?" Adrian asked.

"Honey," Nova said.

"I told you to call for me if you needed help," he said, devastated and clearly hurt.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"Lets go to the bathroom," he sighed. "I can patch this up."

"It's not a big deal. Really I can handle it," she told him. She had been stung by Honey before as a form of training and while she remembered it vividly, she also remembered how she healed it rather quickly on her own. Her leg had ached for a week straight from some of the venom but she was perfectly fine.

"My star," Adrian said gently, his words soft and quiet as he took her chin gently in his thumb and pointer-finger, angling her face up at his. "You are allowed to ask for help."

"Okay," Nova finally agreed. 

Adrian nodded and left as Nova got up and walked out of the little art studio to the bathroom. Nova sat on the edge of the tub while he took out a first aid kit and put on the gloves. He took off her jacket cautiously and then pushed up the short sleeve of her button up. The stings were mainly on her forearm but went up to her shoulder too.

It didn't feel as bad as earlier, probably from the Vitality Charm, but it still ached. Honey must have known that she had the charm and she also must have sent out her most venomous insects too. Several of the bees and wasps she controlled had strong enough venom that after a fair amount of strings, it could kill you.

That and Honey was always trying to get their stingers into some chemical concoction that Leroy made to make them even more dangerous than they already could be. There was a good chance that some of the bees had their stingers dipped into something to make them more deadly and Nova could tell as it was still an intense amount of pain for all the Vitality Charm could do.

Kneeling beside her, Adrian opened up one of the alcohol wipes and gently applied it to her arm, running it from her shoulder to her wrist with a small amount of pressure.

At first it felt like nothing but then came intense, searing pain. Nova wailed in agony, the stings feeling like they were more on fire then before and she felt like it was almost bubbling beneath her skin. 

Honey had definitely dipped the stingers into something and it was now reacting with the alcohol from the wipe.

"Nova!" Adrian exclaimed, pulling away, face contorted with worry.

Nova gripped the porcelain and did her best not to shed any tears but couldn't help but cry. She leaned against Adrian's chest and sobbed in pain as her skin boiled and burned. It was like small explosions were happening beneath her skin and it was one of the worst things she had ever felt for a while. She could see little spots of amber on her skin and there was an odd smell from whatever chemical reaction had occurred.

Nova also felt a little woozy and even tired which was something that never happened to her. It must have been worse then she thought.

Adrian cradled her against him, still holding Nova's burning arm in his palm like it was a fragile object that would shatter if he let it touch anything else.

"Baby I'm so sorry," Adrian said, almost crying himself. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Don't be sorry. The stingers must have been put in something," Nova sniffled. "I don't know what but lets wait and let the Vitality Charm set in more before we try to do anything."

Adrian rubbed her back soothingly and rested his head on top of hers. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Do you think you can draw something that will draw out the pain?" Nova hissed, seething in pain.

"I can try," he told her. 

Adrian took her other wrist and began drawing plants on her with his marker. They were small little doodles of plants Nova recognized immediately as she had gotten into botany and plants as one of her hobbies temporarily.

Three different, but distinct, doodles went on her wrist. One was aloe, the next was chamomile, and the third was plantain, the weed not the fruit. After a few moments the pain subdued but not by enough for her to take her mind off it for very long.

"How's that?" Adrian asked her, watching as the welts stopped swelling as much.

"It helps but is there anything else you can do?"

"I can try drawing ice or some sort of ointment but I don't want to make another reaction happen and hurt you worse."

Nova racked her brain for what could have been mixed with rubbing alcohol to cause such a reaction. Leroy had quizzed her on it so she should have known but she was in too much pain before to have really realized or thought about what it could have been.

She realized that the stingers must have been dipped with bleach. It was something she knew for a fact that Honey had herself as she would use it to clean up massive stains around whatever hole they had to live in.

Mixed with rubbing alcohol, it resulted in chloroform and chloroacetone. Chloroacetone was basically tear gas and looked yellow or amber when exposed to light, which there was plenty of through the blinds of Nova's apartment, and the chloroform would explain why she felt tired.

While water wouldn't be much help with chloroform, it only helped it pool and become more concentrated in spots, it could help get rid of the chloroacetone and Nova would rather the pain go away and end up sleeping then anything else. She'd much rather be asleep and vulnerable then be in any of the pain she was in now.

"We can wash it off and use ice. It'll take away the pain but I might end up being really tired though I think by then the Vitality Charm will keep that from happening."

The Vitality Charm was the only reason why she didn't have chemical burns and it wasn't way worse than it felt and looked. If they gave it some time and took their own action they could clear it up quickly.

"Okay. We'll do that then," Adrian said before helping her up. 

Nova put her arm beneath the faucet, starting at the place that was worst with the most stings, and turned on the water, putting a small amount of soap on her arm to help make sure it was clean. She checked to be sure there wasn't anything in the soap that would make it worse. 

Then Adrian drew something on his wrist with the marker and when he touched the water, it turned into ice.

Nova made a small sound of pain as at first the water and soap stung. Adrian just pressed a small piece of ice to the top of her shoulder, his forehead resting against hers as he tried to keep her calm and relaxed.

"I know," he whispered. "I know."

After a few moments the pain subdued greatly and the coolness from the ice helped.

They must have washed a lot of it out because by the time Adrian gently pat her arm dry, most of the welts were almost gone and very faint on her. The pain was a dull throb in her body and she could move her arm and hand around without withering in pain though the muscle in her arm was still tense from venom.

Gently, she unclasped the charm and handed it off to Adrian.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine. I'll just pick up some ibuprofen on the way home or something like that."

"Stay put," he told her, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head as he took the charm and went upstairs.

A few moments later he reentered the room with a cup of water and two pills, which Nova assumed were pain killers, in his palm, the charm gone. He must have tucked it away somewhere.

"Here," Adrian said, giving her the medicine and the cup of water.

She took the pills but it didn't kick in instantly.

Instead she went out and settled herself on the couch, her boyfriend placing a blanket over her and snuggling against her.

They laid there for what felt like an hour, resting in a comfortable silence.

"Tell me if I accidentally hurt you alright," Adrian mumbled before he kissed her.

She sunk into it, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling her body to his. An arm slid to the back of her legs and he picked her up.

Nova could feel him moving to the bed and her heart pounded as he pulled back the covers. Her mind was racing with the possibilities about what was going to happen next.

But of course Adrian was extremely respectful of her boundaries and based on how they had only been together for a few months, she figured that nothing too serious was going to happen.

Gently, he laid her down on the bed, pausing for a minute to look at her and smile. Everything about his expression was soft and loving and his deep brown eyes made it hard for her to not feel herself blushing under his gaze.

Sweet rot she loved his eyes.

Adrian moved on top of her, a leg at each side and his fingers pushing back some hair out of her face. He pressed a kiss to each cheek, lips lingering for a moment before he did the same to each side of her neck and to her collarbone, fingering with the top few buttons of her shirt to do so. 

The warmth of his body and hands was overwhelming and sending fireworks off through her body. Nova knew her heart was pounding and he could probably hear it.

Adrian paused, pressing his head to hers, their noses touching.

Carefully, she reached up and cupped his face, brushing his cheeks with the pads of her thumbs.

"Please never get hurt again my star," Adrian begged, voice breaking. "I was so worried. You should have asked for my help. That's what I was there for." 

"Sinta I'm alright. I can handle myself. I knew I would be okay," she reassured, keeping her voice calm and soothing. 

"I don't want you to be hurt by them again. They've already had a lifetime of harm thanks to them. You don't need anymore," Adrian said. "Just let me protect you."

"I don't need protection," Nova insisted.

"Do you not need protection or have you gone so long in your life without any that you think you don't?" He asked.

She glared at him. Nova appreciated his want and desire to keep her safe but she didn't need it. The last time she trusted someone to keep her safe it only got her hurt. She had trusted the Renegades to keep her safe and they let her down. She had trusted her parents to keep her safe and it got them killed. She had trusted the Anarchists to keep her safe and it resulted in her being crushed under rubble as she hid from a battle in the Cathedral only for her to then be stuck in their cycle of abuse.

Nova would admit, always having to be on guard was exhausting. She had been like that her whole life but every time she didn't look, something slipped through. Pain always seemed to look for blind spots.

But maybe he did have a point. Maybe an outer source to tell her when something was wrong was alright and would be beneficial. She wouldn't have to be so worried all the time. But there was still a voice in the back of her mind screaming that letting anyone in was a bad idea. That being vulnerable to anyone was a bad idea.

Maybe it was because everyone she had ever trusted had failed her. Maybe it was because there was still part of her that couldn't trust a Renegade.

Nova felt guilty about it. Adrian wasn't to blame if the Anarchists had screwed her over so much that all she saw when she spotted a Renegade was a potential threat. And the fact that she still had issues with the Renegades didn't help either.

Adrian didn't deserve to have to be pushed away for the mistakes of other people. Mistakes he was trying his best to help fix.

"If I let you protect me then how do I know that it won't backfire on me and you hurt me?" Nova asked, her voice cracking as tears started to well up.

"Because I care about you. No matter what happens I always will. It's okay to be scared but it's also okay to let yourself take a break and have someone else keep you safe when you need it. If you give me that chance I'll prove it to you."

"I am scared Adrian," she admitted. "I trust you but I need you to accept that there's part of me that doesn't want to let you in because every time I trusted someone to keep me safe they failed and I just got hurt worse. I don't want that to happen again and I know it's going to be a very long time before that part of me ever goes away."

"Then I'll wait for you. I hope that will help prove to you that I'm not going to let you fall."

Nova smiled and shook her head.

"Adrian you already have proven that," she told him. "And I've let you in far more than any other person in my life because of that. I just can't go much more right now."

Nova thought of all he had done for her in less then a year of them knowing one another. She was the first person she ever let her guard down to and the first person she ever told about her family's deaths. He found out she was Nightmare and decided to stay. He knew it was going to take time for her to heal and still chose to stay. He realized that due to her trauma and isolation she was easily overwhelmed when he was affectionate and didn't mind and instead gave her space and tried to help her get better even though he had no obligation to.

And he never held anything against her.

Adrian already had proven to her that he was someone who was actually safe for her. She just couldn't help that her automatic response to people trying to help her was that they were going to get her hurt.

"That's okay too," Adrian said. "I didn't mean to push you or make you feel uncomfortable if you weren't ready for me to know any of this yet."

"No it's alright," Nova reassured. "This is probably something you need to know for our relationship to continue and to be healthy. You were just trying to do your best to protect me."

It was the truth. Nova knew he was only trying to keep her safe. She knew he didn't want to harm her even though parts of her were screaming otherwise.

At the same time she wanted to tear down her walls for him. She wished she could feel safe to let him in. She wanted to recover so she could give that to him.

Adrian had already given her so much and was doing so much for her and asked for nothing in return. He had only known her for a few months and dated her for a bit less time and yet he still stayed with her and did his best to help her when he had no reason to stay but every reason to leave. He could have told everyone she was Nightmare and walked away from her. 

But he didn't.

And Nova just wanted to be able to let him protect her and fully put her guard down because she knew that he had no intentions of hurting her. There was no reason for him to put so much time and effort and work into helping her just so he could turn around and stab her in the back.

"I know you already said that I've proven to you that I'm not going to hurt you but if I have to prove it over and over again then I will," Adrian said. "I want you because of who you are and no other reason and great skies I want you so much."

Nova was not used to anyone having her best interest in her mind. She was unused to the feeling of being wanted simply because of who she was that it was unnerving. 

But it was also exhilarating and warmed her heart.

There was not a false motive behind it. There was no false motive that he could even have. He didn't want her around so he could use her for his own interest. He didn't want her around because he felt bad. Adrian wanted her because he cared.

"I want you too," Nova said, voice cracking, head resting against his chest.

It was something hard for her to admit as still, even now, even now that she had Adrian, she couldn't help but feel guilty about wanting him. It felt like a betrayal even though Nova knew she wasn't betraying anyone and was only making herself happy. She certainly wasn't betraying her family either as she would continue to seek justice for them.

But that didn't mean she couldn't have Adrian at the same time. 

Nova could have both. She was allowed to have both.

It was something she didn't realize before but was grateful she realized now.

"I'm sorry for fighting with you," Nova apologized.

She hated being upset with him and him being upset with her. The two of them hardly had any serious arguments and this had been the worse one by far and she hated it. Nova loathed the feeling of arguing with Adrian.

"Don't be. I know you have fears because of what you've been through and I shouldn't have tried to shove my way past that," Adrian told her, holding her tightly.

"You just wanted to keep me safe and are trying to look out for me and I don't blame you for it. I'm trying to let you in and I know that you're not going to hurt me or let me get hurt but-"

"You just can't help it?"

Nova nodded. "Yeah."

"You're going to get there. We're going to get there," Adrian promised.

She smiled softly and kissed him, one hand in his hair and the other holding onto his arm. He kissed her back but then suddenly pulled away, looking like he had just realized something.

"What's wrong?" Nova asked.

"My star I-" He began, but he cut himself off, looking like he was going to regret what he was going to say. "I don't want to push you."

Nova had a feeling that he wasn't referring to them kissing. She thought that instead he was going to tell her something like that he loved her but didn't want to rush her so he chose not to say so. They hadn't even been together for a whole year yet so she understood why he thought it could be too soon.

Nova did love him though. She loved every part of him with every part of her. But she didn't know if that's what he was going to tell her so she didn't say a word about it. She didn't want to embarrass him or herself and if he wasn't going to say that then she didn't want him to feel pressured into saying it back.

"It's okay Adrian," Nova reassured. "I get you're just trying to be cautious and careful but I'm not going to fall apart when you touch me."

"I know," Adrian whispered close to her ear. "But you're too important to me to ever take that chance."

Nova felt warmth spread through her face from that statement.

It was a good feeling too.

She was valuable to him. He wanted her and didn't want to risk losing her. 

It was another thing she had never had before. With the Anarchists she was valuable as long as she had a purpose for them. She was just as valuable as she was disposable.

But she was valuable to Adrian purely because he saw her and for no other reason decided that she did have value to him and was important to him. She was extremely important to him if he didn't want to ever lose her. 

Adrian wasn't going to toss her aside once he had what he wanted. He couldn't do that if she was what he wanted. And even more he was actively trying to keep her because of that.

"Why don't we go do something else?" She suggested.

"We should probably eat," Adrian said. "I can bring down some snacks and we can play Uno."

"What's Uno?" Nova asked. She had heard of the game but never played it and didn't know the rules at all.

"Okay well now we have to play Uno since you've never experienced the best card game ever."

Adrian got off the bed and disappeared for a few moments before he came back to her with a large bag of Goldfish and a deck of cards. He set them on the bed and sat across from her before dealing out the cards.

He explained the rules to her and it seemed like a fairly simple game. It wasn't hard to understand or follow and she didn't need to do an open hand round to figure out what she should do. Adrian also told her that he usually played with certain house rules like stacking.

Nova was down to her last two cards and Adrian had four left. She just had a yellow five and a wild card. However the card on top was a blue two and while she wanted to save her wildcard to play last to guarantee she won, she didn't have another choice unless she wanted to draw and risk losing to Adrian.

Nova was not going to lose to Adrian.

She placed it down. 

"I'm changing it to yellow and also Uno," Nova declared.

In return, Adrian played a yellow skip card, grinning before he then put down a green skip card and then lastly, a green five.

He looked proud of himself until Nova placed her last card, sticking her tongue out.

"I win."

Adrian stared at her dumb-founded. 

"I hate this so much. What are the odds?"

"You're just upset that you lost," Nova laughed as she collected the cards. "Sore loser."

"Cocky winner," he fired back.

Nova winked at him. "You know it." 

Adrian hooted with laughter, taking the cards from her to reshuffle the cards.

The moment was ruined when Adrian's armband buzzed.

"My dads are on their way home," He told her.

"I better head home," Nova said, moving off of the bed and going to stand up. "It's getting late and you should probably sleep."

"I'll walk you to the door," Adrian told her, getting up beside her and giving her back her wristband. 

She took it from him and then grabbed a hoodie from his dresser. He watched but didn't say a word and instead smiled. Nova found her shoes upstairs and he kissed her goodbye before she left, stopping at a local store to get painkillers before going to her apartment.

Cleo and Estelle caught her on the way back to her apartment as she exited the elevator.

"Oh good you're back. We were getting worried," Estelle said. "Who was the lovely young man who stopped by with flowers for you?" 

"That's my boyfriend Adrian. He brought it as a housewarming gift."

"Ah yes we saw when we dropped off our housewarming gift for you. We hope you like it," Cleo told her.

"I'm sure it's lovely," Nova said as she unlocked her apartment door. "Thank you."

They waved goodbye as she went in, closing the door gently behind her and locking it before dropping her things on the table.

She went to put the painkillers away in the cabinet in the bathroom and noticed that things like towels and rags and cleaning supplies were all there. 

It was a lot and it surprised her but Nova looked around the apartment more. In the kitchen there were potholders as well as some pots and pans and dishes and silverware and even the fridge and cabinets were stocked with food.

In the bedroom not much was changed other than the fact that there was a bead with sheets and a floral comforter and pillows.

There was a note from them on her bed.

"We realized you might be short on a few necessities so we'd thought we'd drop them off as a housewarming gift. Hope you don't mind. - Cleo and Estelle," it read.

Nova smiled. They were very sweet women and she wished she was around more so she could get to know them. Once the whole mess was sorted out then maybe she'd have that chance. It would be nice to know more people outside her team.

Nova folded back the note and put it in the drawer of the bedside table only to find a box of condoms. She blushed and shoved them deep back in the drawer along with the note before slamming it shut. 

Those definitely weren't there before and she definitely had zero intentions of needing them any time soon.

Nova heard a rustling sound and whirled her head only to see Narcissa come out of the mirror above the dresser, jumping onto the floor.

"Hey," she said casually, her braid a little tousled from the small exit space. 

"Hi," Nova said, doing her best to not be awkward or weird. It had been a long time since they had actually spoken to each other and had a conversation that wasn't forced.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Narcissa asked.

"Yeah umm I did," Nova said. "I just don't want things to be weird between us or for us to be on bad terms with one another and-"

"No no no. I totally get it," Narcissa said.

"I- I don't mean to be rude but can we do this tomorrow afternoon. I'll be here around 2 and I know you came so you could talk to me and I asked but I just completely cut things off with the Anarchists and it's a lot."

"Oh no that's totally fine. It's late and I should probably get to bed anyways," Narcissa said, insisting that it wasn't an issue. It was a relief to Nova as she didn't want to make things between them any worse then they probably already were.

But Narcissa, at the very least, had always been an understanding person, no matter who she was talking with. She was always the type to listen.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Nova said, offering her a soft smile.

"Yeah I'll see you too," she said before going back into the mirror.

She sighed and then went and got clean clothes before taking a shower, washing her face, and brushing her teeth. She threw her dirty clothes in the washer and ran it right away to make sure she got any chemical residue off of it and put on fresh, soft, comfortable clothes.

Nova sat down on the couch and let herself relax. For someone who never slept she was exhausted.

But she was finally free from the Anarchists and she now had her own space.

Things were going the way she wanted and maybe things weren't going to be so bad anymore.

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[empyreanwritings]

Sinful (4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader x Natasha Romanoff

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: mild angst, feelings of loneliness, anxiety, mentions of masturbation (lmao i’m sorry, those warnings together are a mess). 18+ only

Summary: It’s not considered homewrecking if you want both of them, right? Maybe not, but it sure is naughty.

A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter, but I needed there to be some sort of build up towards the conversation these three are going to have once BuckyNat comes back from their mission! Thank you for all the support on this story cause it’s what keeps me motivated to keep writing it! P.S this is isn’t a smutty chapter but this story is still only 18+. You should not be reading it if you are a minor.

Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated (: x

Sleep was something you didn't get a lot of often, but it was frustrating when it didn't come to you at all. No matter how long you kept your eyes closed, you never slipped into a peaceful slumber. There was nothing but black and the sound of your frustrated breathing. Wanda once told you to try slowing your own heart rate down through breathing exercises, but it all felt like a sham. Nothing you tried seemed to work tonight.

It was almost pathetic when you thought about the reason for your restlessness - you missed having Nat and Bucky. Which was stupid because you had only been with them for a few nights; it's not as if you had months or years to get used to having them around. You were being clingy, and you didn't have a valid reason for being so.

You kicked your blankets off you as you shifted off the bed. There was no use in lying there and stewing in your own sad thoughts.

You glanced at the clock and saw it was still only three in the morning. Everyone else in the compound was still asleep, so you didn't have anyone to rope into a late-night adventure. You could have woken up Sam, but you weren't in the mood to listen to another lecture about why being a third in a couple never ends well. You were well aware of all the risks. It had been something you thought about the minute the two of them left for the mission - leaving you behind.

Ugh, I sound pathetic, you thought to yourself.

There was a small 24-hour diner just a few miles south from the compound. It was just off an unpaved road, and most people passed it because it looked more like a fancy mobile home rather than a diner. You figured that would be a good spot to spend the rest of your night in.

Misery pancakes were always the best kind of food.

A playlist that had to have been made back in 2012 played over a crackling speaker in the corner of the diner. You were hit with a wave of cold air the moment you opened the door, but you welcomed the feeling. You hadn't thought about getting fully dressed, so you only wore a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie with a few questionable stains by the collar, but you hadn't anticipated how hot it was outside. You were sweaty before you even made it to the parking lot, so the air really had been refreshing.

You were the only one in the diner besides the staff and an old man who sat in the farthest booth. He was hunched over a plate of eggs and ate them as if he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

By the ragged looks of him, that assumption wasn't far off.

You took one of the stools at the bar and kept your head low until the waitress walked over to get your order. "Misery pancakes" almost slipped off your tongue, but you caught yourself just in time to tell her you wanted pancakes and a coffee. She gave you a look that you couldn't quite read before putting your order in. You wondered if a lot of people came in the middle of the night to eat their feelings. It seemed like a good place to do that.

The waitress - you finally looked at her nametag to see her name was Pearl - placed a mug in front of you and poured some coffee into it. You didn't need cream or sugar for it tonight. No, tonight was as black coffee kind of night.

Or was it technically morning? Time really didn't make much sense when you didn't sleep.

"Penny for your thoughts, hon?" Pearl asked as she set the plate of pancakes in front of you.

You shrugged. "It's kind of a mess. I don't think you'd understand; mainly 'cause I don't understand myself."

"Try me."

You snorted. Pearl was the type of woman who looked like she belonged in a diner - and you didn't mean that in a bad way. She was round in the face, and she wore pink cat-eye glasses low on her nose. She kept her gray hair piled on top of her head, almost like a beehive, and she had dangly earrings that were shaped like dairy cows. Her look made it seem like she stepped right out of the sixties, which might have been how long she's worked here.

You made a mental note to ask her about that later.

"There's this couple that I've sort of had a thing for since I met them," you chewed on your lower lip, unsure of how she would react to this information, "Both of them. Not one or the other, I wanted both."

She smirked, but she didn't say anything. She just waved at you to continue your story.

"We spent a night together. An amazing night, if you were curious, but then I thought that was it. I thought they got their fix of me, and it was time to move on! Then they said they wanted me to be theirs, which I wasn't really sure what all that entailed, but I agreed 'cause I really didn't want to let them go."

You stuffed a piece of pancaked in your mouth to keep yourself from going into too much detail about the nights you spent together. Pearl did not need to know about what a wet, needy mess those two turned you into. She'd probably think you were nymphomaniac. While you enjoyed sex, you'd like to think you weren't completely bonkers over it, even with Nat and Bucky.

"They left for a-" You paused. Was it a good idea to give away that you were an Avenger, if she didn't already know? "-small trip. They come back tonight, and they asked me not to change my mind about our arrangement until they came back to talk about it. I'm not even sure what there is to talk about, though."

"Well, what's the problem then? It seems like you have this figured out."

You sighed. "My best friend thinks I'm setting myself up to get hurt. They were a couple first and, well, they can walk away at any time and leave me behind without any real repercussions, you know?"

Sam's words stuck in your head even when you tried to kick them out. There was some truth to what he told you. If things didn't work out, they'd still be the couple, and you'd be left to work on your loneliness without their help. You didn't care much about what people would say; you just hated the idea that you could potentially get left behind. You sucked at dealing with that kind of loneliness.

You were frustrated to all hell because there was always a risk in relationships. In the beginning, you never know if the person you're with is going to be with you forever. Everyone is raised on this notion that love is worth taking risks for if you believe someone is your soulmate, so why was it such a big deal now? Because there were two love interests involved rather than one? How did that make any sense?

You took another sip of your coffee. Your head was beginning to pound with all your thinking.

"Sugar, it seems like you're overthinking," Pearl pointed out. "If these two want to be with you then you shouldn't worry about what anyone else says."

"But-"

"But nothing. Listen, you need to have a talk with them to figure out where you stand - figure out your boundaries. You don't need to think about what your best friend thinks or stress over what could happen. You know why?"

You smiled. "Why?"

"Cause anything could happen! A meteor could strike this diner with all of us in it right now. Someone could die in their sleep somewhere on the other side of the world. Aliens could try and take over New York City again. None of us stress over these kinds of things because there's no use. If they do, it's just a silly excuse to be miserable, and let me tell you, there's a lot we can all be miserable for. Doesn't mean we have to be."

You sat back in your seat, surprised that you hadn't thought about any of that before. She gave you a quick pat on the arm, topped off your coffee, and stepped away to check on the man in the corner. There was a glint in her eye that told you she knew she was right. About everything.

You slipped your phone out and stared at the blank message screen for a moment. It was still early. The odds of either of them being up were slim, but you needed to talk to them, even if it was only for a few seconds.

You: How's the mission?

Bucky: Boring. Nothing's happened yet, and I'm pretty sure this lead was a dud.

Nat: What are you doing up?

You: Couldn't sleep. Went to a diner for late night pancakes.

You snapped a pic of your half-eaten pancakes and sent it to them. You were never the type of person to take pictures of your food and post it everywhere, but this seemed appropriate. There was a slight chance they didn't believe you actually snuck out of the compound for pancakes.

Bucky: Want to talk about what's keeping you up?

You: Not really…not until you guys come back. It'd be silly to talk about it now.

Nat: Do you want to be distracted instead?

You: Yes.

Nat: Yes, what?

The heat was already starting to pool in your belly. You clenched your thighs together out of habit. How they managed to get you soaked through a text message was just a testament to how phenomenal they were.

You: Yes, ma'am.

Nat: Good girl. Now, I want you to go into the bathroom and get yourself off thinking about us. Make sure you stay quiet…don't want to disturb the other diner patrons.

Bucky: And yes, we want pictures of your panties on the floor as proof.

Marvel Tags: @killcomet @stuckysheart @steampowerednightvaler @scarlettglowss 

Tags: @coohlwhip @marvelfansince08love @ithoughtiwasflying 

#bucky barnes #natasha romanoff #buckynat #winterwidow #bucky x reader x nat #bucky barnes x reader x natasha romanoff #buckynat x reader #winterwidow x reader #bucky barnes x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #natasha romanoff fanfiction #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff oneshot

[medeafive]

Blood and Stone - 12

Masterpost

"I'm not sure that's actionable," Pepper remarks. "We don't want to burn our source, after all."

"It's useless anyway if we don't know where they'll move," Fury states coldly. "So nothing changes. You'll keep observing Barrandov and once they pack up and leave, we'll start patrolling the entire city until we find them again. The other ones are located, yes?"

"Yes," Sharon confirms. "We'll pull back now in order not to make them suspicious, only check in once in a while that they're still there."

"Bílá Hora's under control," Natasha mutters. "That's what he said."

"Time's running out," Fury reminds them. "So, how is the ice block?"

"I don't know," Tony replies. "How are you?"

"Fuck off," Natasha hisses.

"I was talking to Fury," Tony replies graciously. "It turns out you can actually be a nice person, you just don't like us."

"Stop acting like fucking children," Fury interrupts. "Banner?"

Bruce rubs the dark circles under his eyes. "I don't know. I looked at the vampire blood and it's got some properties that… The frozen man might have not gotten frost damage, my colleagues might be right about that, but if we're going to thaw him, we'll need to reconstruct a lot of tissue. And maybe injecting him with vampire blood could do that. I might be colossally wrong, though."

"You'd turn him into a vampire," Fury states.

"Injecting vampire blood does not turn you into a vampire," Bruce replies. "That has been extensively studied, in Russia, ask Natasha. Only the poison bite. I looked at the poison and the blood and… it's not very scientific but think of a beehive. The vampire cells in the blood are workers, they can't reproduce, so they just do their job until they fall apart. The poison, though, has the bee queens. They keep churning out workers and new queen cells, and that never ends. So, if we inject him with vampire blood, the workers will repair his body and then die, leaving him a functioning and human body. I hope. Again, I'm at the very start of understanding this massively complex system, it might totally backfire."

"The guy also must have frozen really really quick," Tony adds. "So there would be no real cause of death. He's just frozen in time."

"Do we even know if it's a guy?" Pepper asks critically. "You can't really make that out, in the ice."

Tony snorts. "Well, if it's a woman, she's certainly very tall and has very broad shoulders, cupcake."

"But we have no idea who he is," Clint remarks.

"None," Fury confirms. "They fished him out off the coast of Norway. He was inside some sort of plane but the cold salt water has corroded that so badly they haven't figured it out yet."

"But you'd need a lot of vampire blood, right?" Sam asks. "For his whole body."

"Oh yeah." Bruce rubs his eyes again. "A lot."

"I don't think Natasha's friend will give us that," Tony comments. "Depending on how much she has him under her thumb."

Yeah, they're not even on good terms. "Not an option. I could get a little, probably, but not a lot ."

"What if we smoke out a hunting party?" Sam suggests. "The one near Central Station. Three vampires. I mean, the Castle won't be surprised that we're hunting them."

"We couldn't hit them with silver, though," Sharon objects. "Contaminates the blood."

"That's gonna be tough," Clint remarks. "Without our weapons."

"We can still break their bones," Natasha argues. "Snap their necks. Cut their heads off with anything that's not silver. Even if we can't fully kill them, we can incapacitate them enough that we can get their blood, and then we can drive a wooden stick through their hearts."

"You're vicious," Tony remarks. "Seriously, you want to bring live vampires into the lab?"

"I'm not comfortable with that," Bruce announces. "Also, the UV traps will burn them to a crisp, even if you drag them in here."

"Turn them off for a short while," Sam suggests. "We're not going to be overrun because of that. And collecting the blood outside the lab is just not possible, we don't have the equipment for that."

"True," Bruce admits. "Maybe we could… cordon a part off for that."

"So," Fury states. "A raid."

"We are a lot of people," Clint admits. "Only three vampires, even if they're trained. It's doable."

"We were going to do it sooner or later anyway," Pepper reminds them.

"Barton, Carter, you know all the exits, draw up a plan," Fury orders. "Everyone else, keep staking out Barrandov, even if it's pointless, keep up the appearances. Banner and Stark stay in the lab, of course."

"My… friend might stop by tonight," Natasha offers. "Not sure, though."

"Might?" Tony repeats. "I better fucking hope he does. I really need the X-ray. Yeah, yeah, it won't kill him, we checked."

"Well, then we're all good," Fury remarks. "Now, get the fuck to sleep, you all look like zombies."

  She sleeps late into the afternoon. Sharon is in the gym, boxing against a sandbag. She almost turns right around but has already been noticed. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey," Natasha replies unenthusiastically.

"I'm not that good in unarmed hand-to-hand," Sharon admits, punching the sandbag again. "So I thought I'd train a little. Did you sleep well?"

"No," Natasha confesses. "Bunch of nightmares."

"Mhm." Sharon lowers her fists, breathing, sweat forming on her forehead. "I get those, too. I think every hunter does."

"Maybe," Natasha sort of agrees. "Uh, we could try sparring, if you want."

"Oh, sure." Sharon unwraps her hands. "You should get warmed up, though."

Natasha sighs, grabbing a jumping rope. "Right. Give me a minute."

"Mhm, sure." Sharon rolls her head slightly. "You didn't seem very happy this morning, if I may say so. Something with your friend?"

Natasha snorts, over the whipping sound. Yeah, how can she explain that. "I might have pissed him off again."

Sharon shrugs. "Happens, right? What was it about?"

She finds she doesn't want Sharon to view his involvement in their endeavor with suspicion. "I don't know. Just the- mixing of an interpersonal relationship and work, I guess. That always kills it."

"Quite the opposite, I'd say," Sharon disagrees. "He wouldn't be here if not for you, after all. You should be proud of that."

She's running out of breath, so she just bites her lip and says nothing, skipping over the rope. Sharon starts stretching, quietly. Someone's in the kitchen, frying something noisefully. Natasha stops, finding she kind of wants to talk. If it works for Pepper and Sharon and everyone else, really, why not for her? "I just- I don't know if- No, I guess that's too much."

"No, no, tell me," Sharon encourages. "Anything. Won't tell anyone else, promise."

Natasha sighs and goes to stuff the rope away, avoiding eye contact. "Maybe it's dumb but- what if he just wants sex?"

It's out, as cringy as it is. "Oh," Sharon remarks, pushing up and sweeping a fashionable escaped strand of hair back. "Oh. No, that's not dumb. Not at all. He's a vampire, after all."

Natasha snorts absent-mindedly. Right. "Maybe not all vampire."

"This job takes a lot," Sharon goes on. "Physically and mentally and- just, how it changes you. But there's gotta be limits. And sleeping with a vampire is one of those, I'd say."

Oh. Now she feels- every time she tries to do the same things as everyone else, the normal things, she ends up feeling bad about herself, like she's different, almost in human. "Forget about it."

"No, no, that's a totally real concern," Sharon interrupts. "You shouldn't feel that, just because he's helping us, that you have to do everything to keep him hooked. No one can ask that of you. Draw a line. And for him, just… just keep him at arm's length, as much as possible, without totally driving him away, of course."

Turns out Sharon is way more cynical than she looks. "No, really, forget about it. Come on, get in the ring."

Natasha holds the ropes up for her. "I'm glad you're talking to me, though," Sharon remarks, climbing through. "So, what are we doing?"

Natasha shrugs, feeling more comfortable. "Dunno. You have some training, right? Not a total beginner?" Sharon nods. "Okay, then let's just go. Hit me."

Sharon breathes deeply, taking a fighting stance. She strikes out with a hit and a kick, but Natasha grabs her leg, pulls it up and throws her down. Sharon hits the ground hard. Natasha doesn't waste time, moving to side control, pinning her opponent to the ground from the side of her torso, applying weight to her chest, slamming her chin up so that she can't bite- oh, tapping out. Shit. She gets up quickly. "Oh, sorry. You okay?"

"Yeah," Sharon rasps out, rubbing her jaw. "Wow, you really don't pull your punches."

"Habit," Natasha admits, pulling her up. "Vampire's way stronger, way faster, can't take any chances."

"No, you're right," Sharon agrees. "Did you do that a lot?"

Natasha shrugs. "In the beginning, when we didn't yet know what would work… we just broke them down, physically, incapacitate them, then cut off their head, burn them, all that. Wasn't very refined. Didn't have good tools either."

"Sounds brutal," Sharon remarks.

"Certainly," Natasha confirms. "Wanna go on?"

"Oh yeah," Sharon says. "Don't wanna get eaten by vampires after all."

  "Uh, hey," Natasha remarks. "Can I ask you something weird?"

"Great start," Sam comments, licking his finger. "Why, what is it?"

"Do you think I should pray?" Natasha asks, picking around her salad. "Even if I don't believe? Or is that blasphemous?"

Sam chuckles. "I don't know. Do you feel like praying?"

"I definitely feel like I should do something," she replies. "Something that's not… running around and killing things, you know? Something pure ."

"Try cooking," Sam suggests. "No, really. Praying is kind of like talking to Allah, and if you don't believe in that, it's probably weird. Or meditation. Everyone's different."

Natasha snorts. "Thanks, I already spend enough time sitting around and thinking, I don't need more of that."

"So you need a hobby?" Sam asks. "To keep busy?"

"I guess I wanna- something that feels better," Natasha explains. "Something that makes me feel better, about myself and all."

"I get it, it's grinding," Sam allows. "Yeah, you can try praying, if you want, no harm in that. But maybe you already know something that lifts your mood and you just forgot?"

"Maybe," Natasha admits. "I'll think about it. Uh, sun's going down, I guess I should leave you to it."

Sam snorts, grabbing his plate. "Wow. Are you the sharia police now?"

"No, no, I just don't wanna- I don't wanna keep you from it, really," Natasha repeats. "Think I'll go upstairs again, take a nap."

"Good idea," Sam remarks. "Sleeping is definitely keeping me sane."

  She doesn't actually sleep, just lies awake staring at the ceiling, mulling over the intractable uneasy feeling, so the knock doesn't startle her. "Yes."

"Your friend doesn't wanna submit to more tests," Tony's voice says. "You need to get down here and make him."

Anger bubbles up in her chest. "I'm not forcing him to do anything."

Tony sighs with exhaustion. "Just come on down. He says he wants to talk to you."

Well, she doesn't want to talk to him, after slamming the door last time, which was totally dumb and overreacting and pointless. Urgh. Hasn't she sufficiently proven she is horrible at this, this whole human shtick? She thought at least this… "Fine. Be down in a few minutes."

She doesn't bother getting dressed, just a t-shirt and sweatpants, combing her hair to one side, and then she shuffles down to the lab. Autopilot. Bruce is talking about some scan he wants to do, trying to calm and reassure a James who's clearly not even listening. Tony is looking as annoyed as he sounded, slouching on a chair arms crossed. "Oh, good that you're here," Bruce exclaims. "We actually found a way we can do the MRI, despite the metal in his arm, and in his teeth, I should add, so you just need to tell-"

"We need to talk," James interrupts.

Great. Phrase she loves to hear. "Fine. Let's talk ."

"Not that door," Tony interjects, tapping one foot. "That way's the ice block."

There's another door, fortunately, though it does have a glass pane. Will have to do. James has a quizzical look as he closes the door behind him. "What does he mean by ice block?"

"Long story," Natasha replies, crossing her arms. Another room with unholy amounts of lab equipment, for God knows what. "So. If it's about the fact that I was shitty to you last time, last night-"

"It's not about that," James interrupts.

"Oh." Somehow, that's worse. "What is it, then?"

"I'm going to leave town," he states. "And so should you. And everyone else, probably."

"What?" Oh, she was so right, he's just going to disappoint her. "Are you crazy?"

"There's another black cloak," James states. "In Prague. Arrived last night. I managed to avoid him so far but it's clear Schmidt sent him either after you or after me, in any case we need to-"

"Are you panicking?" Natasha asks.

"Am I- of course I'm panicking!" James groans. "The game's up and we need to see to it that you get out of it alive, that nobody's hurt because of my dumb-"

"Maybe it's not up," Natasha suggests. "Maybe he was just told to check in with you, see how it's going, that you're still doing as you're told. Then we'd just need to convince him everything is alright and boom, problem solved."

"You don't know him," James points out. "He's not going to leave without you, dead or alive. God, I thought he was in America anyways, that means we have to calculate with even more black cloaks-"

"James," she interrupts again. "I'm not going anywhere. Dead or alive."

"I can't stand the thought of you-" He sighs. "Run. Please. Just run. If you care for me, just a little bit, run."

"That's a real low blow," she remarks.

He rolls his almost white eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you, doll, and this guy is going to drag you straight to hell and I just can't let that happen. Look, I would have liked to- be with you, really, but the only place you'll be safe is far from all this. Far from me. I can't protect you."

She breathes out. It's not like the prospect of another black cloak leaves her unfazed. "I think- I think we should talk to the others."

"It's not about them," he says. "It's about you. He's after you. Schmidt's after you. They don't understand, or they don't want to believe… but I know you need to run. It'll be hard but you're shrewd, you'll keep them off your tracks. I wish I could help you, I really do, but you'll only be safe far from me."

"No, you don't understand," Natasha returns. "We're a team."

  "This is bad," Clint remarks. "Really fucking bad."

"Are you sure it's-" Sharon tries.

"Yes," James snaps. "I'm sure. Absolutely fucking sure."

"Well, there's only one real solution," Sam remarks. "And I don't say this lightly, but we have to kill him. Simple as that."

"Nowhere near fucking easy, though," Tony replies. "Unless he's, like, the weakest black cloak in existence."

"He's not," James states coldly.

Clint groans. "If we don't kill him, he'll abduct Nat," Sam points out. "Or he'll tell Schmidt what's really going on, and then we have all black cloaks crushing down on us. When is your deadline again?"

"About 25 days," Natasha says. "And we're nowhere near ready."

"If we'll ever be," Tony mutters.

"Maybe we could convince him it's all right without Natasha?" Sharon suggests. "If she stays in here? He couldn't break in, right?"

"I can break in," James states coldly. "So Pierce can also break in."

"Seems we're back at killing him," Fury remarks. "Are you up for that?"

"Me?" James asks incredulously. "I'm- I don't know. He's strong. Maybe. It's a toss-up."

"And you don't want to risk that," Tony accuses.

"I don't give a fuck about dying," James returns coldly. "But if he kills me, Natalia's time is up. That's why she needs to run, right fucking now."

"I'm not going anywhere," Natasha repeats. "We always calculated we had to kill some amount of black cloaks at the end of this. This is only one. We'll kill him, as quietly as possible, without James' help, so that no one gets suspicious. And then we proceed as planned."

"We could upgrade the tower security," Bruce remarks. "We made you a mask and goggles and a hood, so you'd be safe from it. And then we could stay in until we're ready."

"This may be a bad idea," Pepper suggests. "But why don't you just talk to him, find out what his orders are?"

"Talk to him?" James repeats surprised. "What the hell would I tell him why this is taking so long?"

"Same thing you told the Castle," Natasha replies. "I'm stubborn as hell. That's pretty evident."

"Is Schmidt going to get suspicious?" Sam asks. "If his guy doesn't return in the next three weeks?"

James breathes out. "I don't know. Maybe not. Probably not. It's likely he'll just stay on until the deadline and then drag her to Schmidt, whether she wants to or not. Communication with Schmidt is difficult. I guess I could… ask Pierce."

"Different question," Sharon throws in. "Who's going out tonight? Are we still doing that?"

Clint groans. "Sam and I were supposed to. But I'm not very keen on dying, unlike certain other people."

"But we haven't seen the black cloak yet," Sharon argues. "And he probably knows that. So if we start holing up in here now, it's suspicious because we don't officially know yet."

"I don't think he'll randomly attack you," James says. "Not his style. But I could follow you, if you want, and distract him if he makes a move."

Clint clearly doesn't like putting his life in James' vampire hands. "Good enough for me," Sam states.

"I could… teach you some stuff," James suggests hesitantly. "What works against vampires. If you are really going to kill Pierce."

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Tony questions.

James snorts. "Let's be honest, you just would have used it to kill me."

Silence. "Maybe," Fury acknowledges. "What changed?"

"I don't give a fuck anymore," James states coldly. "I want Natalia to get out of this alive. That's all I care about at this point."

"No one's dying on my watch," Fury returns. "Especially not Romanoff."

"What tricks, though?" Pepper asks, leaning on the table. "I'm curious."

"There's a few," James replies, nostrils flaring lightly. Yeah, he smells the blood. "Electricity, for instance."

"I thought electricity doesn't work," Tony points out.

"It doesn't kill a vampire," James acknowledges. "But it knocks out our senses, at a certain intensity. It's very painful and disorienting."

Tony grins widely. "Oh, I'd love to try that."

"Wilson, Barton," Fury interjects. "Are you ready to go out?"

Clint shrugs, Sam nods. "Guess we have to," Clint says. "I'd appreciate the backup, though."

"If you come back before sunrise and stay the day, I promise I'll stop Tony from electrocuting you," Natasha suggests to James.

"Oh yeah," Sam agrees. "There's a lot to talk about."

#blood and stone #buckynat #vampire au #natasha romanoff #black widow #bucky barnes #winter soldier #my writing #fanfic

[fistsoflightning]

guilty or innocent // zaya & tehra’ir

tagged by: @windupnamazu​!!!! carmela thank you very much for the pirate squad tag now featuring tehra’ir who could have been a literal pirate were it not for the calamity

tagging: open tag my friends!!! go wild!

warning; this post got long because of these two fools tossing banter!

With a promise of a zonureskin treasure map and Syhrwyda’s best cooking, you’ve managed to lure Zaya and Tehra’ir to stay in one place! Now’s the best chance to ask some questions for the Crystarium’s new magazine, The Crystal Echo!

Asked someone to marry you?

Awkward silence. What an odd question to start on, their expressions say.

“I… I believe… Dewah is guilty of this in his drunkest hour? I do not believe I could be considered to even be ‘dating’ Thancred… yet.”

“A’dewah with who? An’ seconded on the datin’ bit.”

“Who else, Tehra’ir.”

Both of them slowly turn to a table three sets behind them, where Thancred, Ryne, G’raha, and Y’shtola are having lunch at Syhrwyda’s behest; more of a sampling session, if one would ask. G’raha in particular stuffs a large amount of cake into his mouth as he meets Ryne’s widening eyes, the rolanberry delicately placed on a separate plate near Ryne where the rolanberries stack into a small mountain.

“But, Lun—well, I suppose Raha’s got two fambles to share, and a whole library of devotion.”

“What do you mean, two hands? Is that something Alisaie said?”

They never really answer about themselves, but any news about the newly revealed Exarch is better than none at all.

Kissed one of your friends?

“Why must these be so vague…” Zaya holds their head in their hands as they stare holes into the ground. “I… have not kissed Thancred, if he were to count— but, uhm.”

Zaya flushes red, but Tehra’ir is shameless as always. “Guilty! Whiddled I’d try my fams at surprisin’ tactics, and Zaya was the poor cove I set my glazes on first!”

 “And I proceeded to push you into a wall of wine bottles that you made me pay for…”

Tehra’ir laughs heartily, and Zaya merely mumble-sighs at the memory of a wine-drenched, overly enthusiastic Tehra’ir being happy about retaining the element of surprise.

Danced on a table in a bar / tavern?

“Momodi would have my legs if I ever tried to dance on her bar, but I have danced for work in Limsa’s Drowning Wench before.”

“Ye don’t want t’ see me dance. Bein’ a rogue doesn’t cover dance floor etiquette, no matter how much it looks like I’m dancin’ when I fight.”

Ever told a lie?

“I wish I could say absolutely not, but I have. Three counts.” Zaya seems reluctant to elaborate on what they are.

“My career is built on lies. Shockin’ that Zaya still tried to be friends with me.”

“You do not lie to your friends, and hardly to your enemies. The only lie I’ve heard you spin was when you ate Y’shtola’s last tangerine tart before she could grab it and then saying it was Alphinaud.”

Tehra’ir squawks in fear as Y’shtola, three tables back, gives the duo an innocent glance. 

Had feelings for someone you can’t have?

Zaya raises an eyebrow in confusion as Tehra’ir taps his head a few times.

“ ‘Can’t have?’ As in forbidden, or as in restraint, or...” Zaya’s hands trail off, clearly caught up in the confusion of loving someone you shouldn’t.

“Maybe a flight o’ fancy fer some o’ the nicer Garlean citizens... Nothin’ else comes to mind.”

Ever kissed someone of the same sex?

“My sisters, and on the cheek, but that is not what you are asking, yes? A girl back home, who wished to see if it was different than her boyfriend.”

“Innocent until we get home.”

Zaya whistles, a taunting expression crossing their face. “Ah, so that is what the letter from two suns ago was for.”

“Ye heard nothin’ o’ the sort.” Tehra’ir gives a steely yet joking glare as Zaya dons what could only be described as a shite-eating grin.

“Payback.”

Kissed a picture?

“Hells no! Have ye seen how dusty an’ dirty paintin’s an’ pictures get?” Tehra’ir’s face scrunches up in twisted disgust at the thought of kissing a painting. “I’ve seen how dirty Lumelle’s daddles get after a paintin’ session, and I am not about t’ put my gob to that!”

“That seems like something one of Ul’dah’s lords would do, to be honest.”

Slept until 5pm?

Zaya’s eyes shoot wide open as if to contemplate some poor decisions as Tehra’ir laughs it off.

“Actually, all eight o’ us Warriors just did so yesterday. Millin’ primals in Eden to runnin’ ‘round the Copied Factory takes it out o’ ye, right?”

“I was planning on doing the same thing tomorrow, truth be told… still recovering from the whole Light ordeal.”

Worked at a fast food chain / restaurant?

 “Ye should really only trust Syhrwyda with cookin’...”

“We… may have set off the fire alarm in the Pendants when we attempted to make buuz a few suns ago…”

Both Warriors look almost ashamed at their ineptitude with cooking. Perhaps you should back off...

Stolen something?

“Secret plans fer a Garlean gun, the Silver Ravens, Jacke’s heart, money from some rich arsehole who stepped on the singers in the Beehive. It’d be easier to name somethin’ I haven’t stolen.”

Zaya gives Tehra’ir a blank stare as he continues to ramble off various items that he’s stolen, mostly from Garlean soldiers or noblemen.

“Stole once to keep Elwin alive, but… did Tehra’ir really say Jacke’s heart as if he hasn’t lost his to Jacke?”

Been fired from a job?

“Can one be fired from a chore? Otherwise, I work for Ul’dah’s guilds on a contract, so no.”

“Got fired from bartendin’ in a neutral tavern after they found me stabbers under the crates... although it wasn’t meant to last either way.”

Done something you regret?

“Holding back on my feelings, for one. Not aggressively ragging on Thancred during our first time in Il Mheg and Rak’tika comes to mind.” Zaya taps their chin lightly as Tehra’ir continues to think. “Performing a Tornado Kick on that poor robot in the Copied Factory gave me this giant bruise, so that too.”

“Remember the drinkin’ contest we had after millin’ Nidhogg?”

“Of all the stupid things you’ve done, you regret that the most? What about the backflip off of Kugane Tower that landed you tail-first on the lamppost?”

“...I thought we’d agreed never to mention that stunt ever again. Valdis dared me to do it!”

“Does not erase the fact that you agreed, jumped the full way up the Tower’s side, and leaped off without sabotons.”

Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose?

Zaya reaches for their nose at that, eyes sharpening in confusion. “That happens to people? Would that not burn?”

“Happens a lot, actually. Made a few coves do so t’ cloy their belongin’s once. Was a little disgustin’, but it worked.” Tehra’ir shrugs. 

Caught a snowflake on your tongue?

“When the four o’ us got to Coerthas the first time, all four o’ us did the silly thing of openin’ our mouths to get snowflakes...”

“None of us had seen that much snow before; Syhrwyda and I grew up in places where it never snowed, while A’dewah and Tehra’ir had never had the chance to. Alphinaud reprimanded us for being so foolish despite being a teenager then.”

Sat on a roof top?

 “We clambered up the crystal roof over the aetheryte plaza ‘fore we came here, actually! Zaya wanted to take a picture fer Ryne of the Crystal Tower with this tomestone we found.”

“Ryne really loved the colors when I showed her. I believe she’s even taking art lessons with Elwin and Lumelle now so she can paint the scenery of Norvrandt as a pasttime.”

Kissed someone you shouldn’t have?

“I’ve kissed a few poor saps before, but none o’ the ruffmans or someone taken... I hope. Comes with the line o’ work; seducin’ is on the table fer a lot o’ information.”

“Would it surprise you to say I have never kissed someone...? I was more interested in roaming than seeking out love like Mama had.”

Sang in the shower?

“Zaya might be the only one that has a singin’ voice, an’ they don’t quite use whids, so is it still singin’?”

“I hum in the bath, most days. Never have I truly sung before, but for choral purposes, I would likely make good accompaniment.”

Been pushed into a body of water with all your clothes on?

“Recently, and by Urianger, of all people. He and Y’shtola wanted to test if the Fuath in Dohn Mheg would still dare to bother them before Alisaie held her swimming lesson with Ryne there, and decided I was the best candidate to get soaked.”

“Watched ye get seaweed in yer boots for ten minutes!”

“Do not make me push you into the lake below the Crystarium, Tehra’ir.”

Shaved your head?

“Never shaved all of it, but I did have an undercut for a short while after the banquet in Ul’dah. My hair could not have grown out in time to meet Lord Edmont, so Tataru helped cut it short.”

“Never... think I’ve always had it down to my glazes at least, if I think about it. Seems itchy.” Tehra’ir’s ears flick as if to protest against such a bold haircut.

Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry?

“Zaya’s not the datin’ sort —not yet, at least—an’ I tend to shy away from anythin’ that looks to last fer a while. Thankfully it saves me from makin’ the wrong choice that might make a cove cry.”

“I have made other couples cry, however, from sheer terror on Valentione’s Day when they inquire as to why I refrain from ‘finding that special someone’. Never wanted to seek them out, really. Kind of just... ended up attached to Thancred...” 

Shot a gun?

“That would be best left to Elwin, unless you want me to hurt someone. I have only ever trained in bows and throwing chakrams, not aiming down the side of a barrel.”

“Limsa’s known fer muskets and rifles, but they never really interested me. My fambles are better ‘round stabbers than a trigger.”

Still loved someone you shouldn’t?

“Shouldn’t have loved Jacke, really; he’s technically the boss man o’ the Rogue’s Guild, but the dimber dambers back home don’t mind too much as long as I don’t use me charm to coerce Jacke into givin’ them shite assignments.”

“I... perhaps? I could not place the feeling at the time, but seeing an old friend fighting at the Naadam the last time we went and later finding them attached at the hip to their long time rival brought something up in my chest.”

Tehra’ir snorts. “Ye couldn’t tell if ye were happy or scared that one time! Not surprisin’ that yer emotions are indiscernable to ye.”

Zaya gives a small glare to their good friend-rival, but continues to smile softly.

Have / had a tattoo? 

Zaya immediately backs away from Tehra’ir, who gets a large glint in his eyes. 

”Ye know, Zaya, ye’ve never shown anyone but me that tattoo yer covering the scar on yer right arm with...”

“There is a reason, Tehra’ir, and I told you it already!”

Tehra’ir sigh, backing off, but as Zaya lowers their arm back down to the table, he grabs it and shoves the orange and gold band up slightly to reveal a small yet intricate depiction of storms making a ring around Zaya’s arm. A small name in swirly letters is peeking from the bottom, but Tehra’ir holds his hand over it charmingly.

“There it is!”

Zaya sighs aggressively, but relents and keeps the tattoo in sight for a few more moments before putting the armband back in place.

“A... fan, of sorts, saw lightning sparking around me once, and offered me a design for a scar I had earned protecting someone. A gentle gesture to soothe the hurts of the Calamity, in all likeliness.”

Liked someone, but will never tell who?

Zaya makes a soft ‘oh’ of surprise, which is alarming since they haven’t spoke a single word. Tehra’ir huffs out small chuckles as he watches Zaya attempt to regain composure.

“Hanami has told me I looked like a fool when I was around Thancred for a good portion of our time here, save for perhaps when Ryne was involved…” Zaya looks to their feet sheepishly, toeing the lines in the wood platform. “Both Hanami and Lunya figured my feelings out that way, but I was never good at lying.”

“An’ accordin’ to several hours o’ interrogatin’ by Zaya’s mum, there’s no one else! It’s been that charmin’ doofus from the start!”

“TEHRA’IR PLEASE. MY REMAINING DIGNITY.”

Been too honest? Ruined a surprise?

“I often come off as rude when speaking to new people, especially since I do not respond verbally to anyone. I did have Thancred tell some odd recruiters that their robes were filthy, though. They ended up in jail for assault...”

“Never,” Tehra’ir gives a mysterious smile. “I have a penchant fer secrets and skulkin’, an’ I know when to tell the truth and when to stubble it.”

Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said?

“Innoce—”

“I’m pretty sure Thancred’s flirtin’ from Ul’dah counts, mate. An’ the flirtin’ he did last night after Y’shtola got ‘im tipsy.”

Zaya flushes a bright red before signing. “...Guilty, then. Tehra’ir, what about Jacke’s letter?”

“WHAT LETTER COULD YE BE TALKIN’ ‘BOUT, WHAT A RUMMY TALE YER SPINNIN’—” 

“I can read his handwriting on the paper on the table. ‘The moon shimmered off o’ the sea like diamonds in the darkmans, and it reminded me o’ yer hair—’”

Tehra’ir spins on his stool to slap a hand harshly over the well-penned letter. “STUBBLE IT ZAYA ‘FORE I DO IT FOR YE.”

Stalked someone?

“Only for work, although that sits better in Tehra’ir’s rogue circle.”

“Once stalked a man fer takin’ my bandana, as a wee kid. He regretted it.”

Thought about murder?

”In the job description, mate. Have to, when lendin’ one’s daddles to the safety of yer continent.”

“I think I speak for all of us when I say we do not think about it much outside of Warrior business, save for perhaps when sitting in on our third official meeting of the day.”

Tehra’ir groans loudly at that, head falling into his hands.

“Now I don’t want to go back jus’ to ignore those swivin’ meetings fer longer.”

How about mass murder?

“Fer toads, maybe. Never felt like stabbin’ more coves than I need to.”

Zaya chuckles at that, slowly pulling a stuffed toad out of their bag as Tehra’ir turns away. The toad finds its way next to Tehra’ir’s foot before Zaya signs again.

“Once, and of Garleans when they were invading the Steppe a long time ago. I seriously contemplated bringing Ochir to the skies above Doma Castle and letting him swoop down at their archers.”

Tehra’ir screeches, stomping on the stuffed toad when he sees it. The brown toad doll makes a small squeaking sound, as if it were a dog toy.

“Zaya, must you do this every time I mention the toad problem?!”

Cheated on someone?

“I feel like we’d answered this already by sayin’ we’d barely consider ourselves t’ be datin’ our interests. Cheatin’ isn’t among our list o’ priorities if we’re still stuck on lovin’.”

Zaya shrugs, and that’s that.

Gotten so angry that you cried?

Tehra’ir starts to shake his head before he notices Zaya’s clenching fist, eyes tipping into a concerned look rather than a teasing one.

“Alisaie an’ the snow kids?”

Zaya nods, before adding onto his graceful interjection. “Was put off duty at Ghimlyt for a sennight to make sure I would not do anything rash. My anger resulted in several nights spent hunting for Clan Centurio.”

Tehra’ir pushes no harder, and smiles softly before looking to you to continue.

Tried to stay away from someone for their own good?

“Well, with our line of work…”

Zaya starts to fiddle with a pendant necklace hanging next to their Crystal of Light, shimmering a light blue in the sun. 

“Comes with the territory, mate. Jacke certainly didn’t let that stop ‘im from stickin’ with me.”

“Before Ifrit, we all tried to keep away from being friendly in case one of us died in our primal conflicts. Not exactly what you meant, but it holds.”

Thoughts about suicide?

A stifling air comes about the table as both of them fall silent as the forest night.

“No thoughts fer it ourselves,” Tehra’ir starts, fiddling with a small fork next to his plate of seafood pasta. “But fer our mutual friend and spots where one might whiddle would be a good place t’ die in the darkmans.”

“That night was easily scarier than Titan was.”

They fall silent again until Tehra’ir picks up, a beaming smile back on his face.

“Moving on!”

Had a girlfriend / boyfriend?

“Is it jus’ me or are ye really interested in us havin’ a relationship?”

Zaya and Tehra’ir both squint curiously at you, but relent after a few moments.

“Like we said, not really. The whole love business is... complicated.”

Gotten totally drunk during a holiday?

“Not fair! Zaya’s impossible to get drunk!”

“If I can recall, Tehra’ir got his hands on a cartload of ale three days before Heavensturn, and proceeded to try and drink me under the table.”

“That was ‘fore I knew about Zaya’s swivin’ Echo benefits!”

“He threw up on Lyse’s new shoes in the middle of the large Heavensturn celebration in Rhalgr’s Reach and then fell into the waterfall below the Destroyer. What a mess he was then...”

As soon as Zaya finishes the last sign, Tehra’ir butts in with a different, wholly unrelated quip.

“At least I didn’t set the Pendants aglimmer this mornin’ tryin’ to bake cookies!”

Zaya gives a deadly glare at the already running rogue, giving a short wave and slamming back their hot cocoa before chasing their fellow Warrior of Darkness, pink petals and a blue flower forming around them as they lean into a full on sprint. Their Scion friends stare momentarily from their table as they watch the duo run off to who knows where, returning to their own table of desserts quickly.

Unless you can chase them, perhaps the interview would be best ended here.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #guilty or innocent meme #tehra'ir naphto #zaya qestir #i changed tehra'ir's glamour again... whoops! #im love these two stupids #trying to get better at rogue speak when its not just the rogues guild as the characters? #zaya and tehra'ir are fools that somehow perfectly understand each other despite their really difficult to parse ways of speaking #cyan's guilty\innocent comment on zaya's mooning over thancred made me change one... zaya's a big goof when it comes to feelings #long post #raha has two hands and enough feelings for as many wols as he can hold: the headcanon #i also think ryne would like rolanberries! or maybe that's just me making a word association... oh well #edit: i forgot to finish tehra'ir's sentence on the 'laughed until drink came up your nose' one... whoops #zaya cm #tales from the blue

[littleangel4996]

My Fate pt 4

The face you can't say no to

Summary:  You find Michael standing in front of the one house that everybody died in and what he asks you...Wells let's just say you were like fuck no

Warning: Breaking and Entering Murder House, language, you unlock a power of you're own, captured

Y/n's P.O.V

It's been 3 days living with Michael and we've have been pretty well. There were bad times where Michael would leave his clothes on the bathroom floor, fights about taking turns in the shower or watching TV, toothpaste in the sink, drinking from the juice/milk container etc etc etc. But we've learned how to talk it out and taking turns. I was just coming home from dropping off an application for teachers aid at an elementary school that's 30 minutes away from the house. The lady, named ms.Solomons said she would give me a call this week or next. I fished my phone out of my pocket skirt to check the time and see if anybody called till I saw Michael standing outside of an very old house.

“Michael?” I called out but he stood there like a statue. My eyes followed what was Michael gazing at. An old classic Victorian house that looked like it was built in the 1920’s.

“They call it murder house” I turn my attention to Michael as he turns his head towards me.

“My grandma told me a story about it. 36 deaths have occurred and been documented in the house from 1922 to 2011."

I never knew that. Well how could I know, I lived in New Orleans my whole life and this is the first time I'm living in LA.

“ Michael, maybe we should go inside”

“To murder house” he asked almost excited. Serious infact. I hope that was a joke. “No, I meant our house" I pointed.

"Okay maybe later tonight after dinner" he asked.

"No way" I scolded.

"Oh come on (y/n) please, I really-" I cut him off putting my hand up.

"No, no no no no no no no and end of discussion. I had enough madness for almost a week, so let's go!” I grab him by the hand as walked to our home. Plus that place is gated. Yes I know how to pick locks but I still don't want to take the chance of me and Michael getting in trouble or worse, killed.

-

Tonight it was homemade lasagna with Cesar salad and garlic bread. I called Michael down for dinner as he strides over to the kitchen.

“Oh great my favorite. You are an awesome chef” Michael complimented me, I know something smells fishy going on and I don't like it. I hope Michael doesn't bribe about the house again. I take my seat across from Michael as we dig in.

“Is this lasagna homemade” he asks with food stuffed in his mouth. Yep I knew he was going to do this, he's going to talk me into it.

“Yes Michael it is. I know what you're doing it's not going to work” I tell him as I take a bite as he takes a bite of the garlic bread.

“ You know there are ghosts living there” he eggs on and I rolled my eyes.

“Michael, end of discussion now eat”.

“Fine..prude” he huffed. Did this shit head just call me no fun? So I threw a crouton at him as he looked at me dead in the eye having Selene hissing at the both of us and we went back to eating. He started it.

-

After we finished cleaning the kitchen he still kept pegging on about that goddamn murder house next door. I've made it clear to him if he talks to me about murder house one more time I'm making him sleep outside of the backyard.

Michael knows I won't do it but still he keeps it up I'll turn him into a mouse if I have to. Hey Selene is a cat and Michael would be the mouse...Tom and Jerry. I laughed at just the thought of that a little. Picking up the brush as I sat in front of the mirror brushing the knots out of my (h/l) (h/c) hair after blow drying it. Selene hops on top of my vanity table, purring against me as I give her kisses on top of her snowy white head.

KNOCK KNOCK

Probably Michael going to bother me about murder house. I slammed my brush down, marching my way to the door and opening my door harshly.

I expect to see Michael in his pajamas but instead he is dressed in all black hoodie, jeans and boots. Is he planning on going to that house alone? He can't be serious, can he?

“May I please come in” with seriousness in his voice. I nodded my head as he walks into the room where he takes a seat on my bed along with him.

All was heard were silence until I spoke first.

“ Michael, why do you want to go to that house so bad? Is it about what your grandma told you about the history of that house?” Michael kept his gaze on the wooden floor, hands on his lap.

“Michael, please.” I place my hand on top of his as he looks up at me. I need to understand why you feel like you need to fulfil that duty”.

He says “ I believe my grandma is in that house.” I made this quizzical look at Michael.

“ But Michael you don't even know if your grandma died, she could be in Hawaii drinking pina coladas not giving a damn about you”.

“You don't understand, (y/n)” he pinched the bridge of his nose already irritated. 'well join the club Mikey'.

“ On what? please enlighten me because I am dying to hear this!” I snapped.

“I SAW HER ALRIGHT” he shouted. I’m not so sure if I heard this one right but did he just said that he “saw her” like in the flesh saw her. “ Michael are you sure you saw what you saw?”

“You’re a witch right” he retorted.

“ Michael just because I’m a fucking witch that doesn't mean i've spoken nor seen ghosts” I retorted back. But I get what he's saying, I would want to know if anyone I known are either dead or alive.

“Plus this was my grandma's bedroom, the fireplace was always her favorite part of her room,” he said. Goddamnit, I can’t believe I'm going to do this.

I got up from my bed walking to my dresser taking out socks, pants and a long sleeve.

“ Michael get out I need to change please.” Michael turned around with a smile plastered on his face and eyes litting up.

“So that means-”

“GET OUT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!”

-------

The time was 10:45 pm and so far the neighborhood is clear. God, Michael better appreciate this because I just might get killed.

We stopped in front of the house. Just by looking at it gives me the creeps, it's even more creepier during night time. I look around my surroundings to make sure it's clear. I wouldn't like it if my neighbors found out that i'm a witch, even though Ms.Goode addressed to the world about witches.   

“Okay Michael, I need you to take my hand”

He turns around with a questioning look as I annoyingly sighed.

“In order for me to get into that goddamn fucking murder house I need to teleport us inside”. He finally got the memo, holding on to me as I concentrate on where I want to land.

As I take a hair pin out of my hair, fiddling with the lock. I could use my magic to unlock the door but it's only one lock so it shouldn't be a problem plus anything simple doesn't always needs to be solved by magic.

"Can you just unlock it with your magic. You know, it'll go a little bit faster" .

"Patience is a virtue" Michael is anxious I know, hell I'm scared out of my pants but I felt so bad for Michael and wanted to do this for him.

'just a little more and-'

WHAM

I jumped, covering my mouth from screaming when Michael kicked the door open.

Giving him my death glare he did a kind gesture as he bowed saying " After you m'lady" and I walked trying to stay angry at him but I couldn't. The house was so dark and dusty I felt like I was going to sneeze. Plus it felt really cold, cold as death. Why did I agree to come here oh why didn't I put my foot down and said that beautiful word "No"?

Oh I know why because Michael guilt tripped me that's why. Michael tapped me on the arm and saw he had a flashlight in his hand passing it to me as I thanked him, turning on the light.

The inside of the house looked more beautiful than the outside of the house, damn I think would have picked this one instead if it weren't for the bad vibes I'm getting, the very spooky kind.  

"Hey, let's go there" Michael's ready to storm to the right room but not before I caught him by the hoodie, dragging his goofy ass over here.

"Look, I already feel the dark presence of this spooky pretty house. So we must stick together, capiche?!" I whispered harshly and Michael nods his head looking almost hurt.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want anything bad happening to you Mikey, I've known you for 3 days and I don't want you out of my sight." I finished. Michael gives me a sheepish smile as we moved on to what I believe is the living room. Every piece of furniture and sofa had been covered, except for that record player and laid a bottle of whiskey, pills, and a bright red lipstick. That's odd. Michael strides over examining the things on the coffee table.

" This was my grandma's favorite lipstick" he picks up the make-up product handing it to me.

I take it then something weird started happening like I was pulled to a different timeline.

There was an old caucasian woman who had short beehive blonde hair wearing a blue flowy dress dancing as the music was playing in the background, applying red to her lips and swallowing the pills with whiskey. Oh my God. Wait, oh no that's...that's Michael's grandmother.

Third person's P.O.V

Michael's friend stood there like she saw a ghost, shaking. He said her name to get her attention then put both of his hands on his shoulder and shook her lightly to make her snap out of it. Finally she came back to earth.

"(Y/n) are you ok, what happened?" He asked, worried that something triggered her.

"Michael this was my first time seeing the past. Oh my God Mikey I'm sorry" she choked a sob.

"You're grandmother, I believe she killed herself"  

"What?" He gasped. But before they can continue their conversation, someone attacks them from behind covering their mouths with a handkerchief as the two breathed in the smell of chloroform. They finally lose consciousness as their unknown kidnappers drag them up the stairs to the Masters bedroom for now and when morning comes the complicated couple will interrogate the trespassers for breaking into their home.

A/n: uh-oh. Finally here's part 4.

I have 2 questions for you guys

Should I re-edit My fate pt 123?

2. How do I make a master list?

@barbie-solecism

@sodanova

@wvntersldr

@kylolangdon

@theghostoflangdon

@miskwaadesiwag

@whysosadmcfly

@creativedogs

@kaccatus

@goddess-of-inferno

@captainskyline

@gracethegeek9902

@castiel-saved-me-from-myself

@amortentiaxo

@langdonsdemon

@poisedphantom

@avesatanormalpeoplescareme

If you like to be tagged please let me know and if you change your user name and I only have your old one please let me know as well.

#michael langdon fluff #michael langdon x reader #ahs coven #ahs apocalypse #ahs8 #ahs murder house #witch!reader #witches #witchcraft #love #drama #mystery #horror #my fate fanfic #fanfiction #fallenangel4996 #myfate pt4 #fallenangel4996 masterlist

[nalufever]

A Solidly Constructed Kiss

Many, many thanks to @fic-writer-appreciation for organizing the summer gift fic exchange. My fic is for @tuxiedjabberwock ~ I hope you enjoy! 

Summary: High School AU ~ Erza strong-arms Lucy and Natsu into working the Kissing Booth to raise funds for a school trip. Lucy's never been kissed and Natsu acts like he's never entertained even the idea of kissing another person. Things naturally come to a head when Lucy and Natsu are given the task to build the actual booth. Will they fight over construction or build themselves some kind of relationship? Read and find out ;P Rated:  teen. (2770 words)

Erza smiled sweetly and held onto Lucy's hand with an iron grip. "The student council already agreed you would be one of the female additions to our fundraising activity."

"Why me? I have too many other obligations." Lucy shook her head and failed to remove herself from Erza's hold. "I'm practicing for the debate team that night!"

"You can practice before or after. Just show up at the kissing booth."

"I wouldn't be good at it, I haven't had my first real kiss!" Lucy looked down and away, unwilling to meet the student council's president's eyes. "…you were talking about debating, weren't you?"

"Excellent! We can add novice kisser to the posters to drum up interest." Erza grinned and released Lucy's hand. "I wonder if Natsu is any better equipped to man the kissing booth?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Of course not. You've never had a boyfriend, never dated, not ever had one chance to kiss." Erza ticked off each point on her fingers and continued mortifying her friend. "You're pretty but your dad's reputation scares off all interest in you, doesn't it?"

"…"

"Well, it's only a two-hour shift and after that, you and your tested lips will be free to go." Erza rummaged in her book bag, withdrew a ledger and scribbled notes. "Remember, it's for a good cause."

Some of her smarts making a comeback, Lucy looked perplexed at the student council president. "We're raising money for our class trip, not for charity."

"You must be magic at the debates." Erza nodded with a wide smile on her face. "Thanks for proving my point; our class trip is the greatest of causes. Three days and two nights of semi-supervised fun in the big city!"

"Fine." Lucy rubbed her forehead. "I never had a choice anyway, did I?"

"Excellent! I also put you down for construction. I'll send Natsu over to you with the schematics of the booth and you two can get building it straight away." Erza nodded, pivoted and strode with confidence, away from Lucy's mumbled complaints.

><><><><

Natsu found Lucy hunched over a book in the library. He tapped her shoulder twice and failing to get a response, he cleared his throat. "You ready?"

"How'd Erza rope you into this?" Lucy sighed, bookmarking her place. "She could have gotten any of the woodworking students to make the structure. Laki loves that sort of thing! Why would she need us to do this?"

"I volunteered!" Natsu grinned affably. "And all the woodworking students are already busy with fixing the old booths and working on projects. Laki is super busy - so I told Erza we could do it together."

Distracted by her own special thoughts of 'doing it together,' Lucy stared blankly at Natsu.

"Eyes up here!" Natsu waved the work instructions. "We can pick up what we need from Shop class and get most of it done tonight."

"Wha? Okay." Lucy shook her head and blinked rapidly. "This is going to be more fun than working the booth."

"Oh, I don't know. You haven't seen how handy-challenged I am. And at least during the festival we get to people watch." Natsu admitted his less than stellar workman abilities with a giant smile. "It's only two hours and like Erza says, it's for a worthy cause."

"Not you too! The whole point of the booth is to raise money for the class trip, not charity." Lucy shuffled her homework papers, took her book and stuffed both of them into her satchel.

"Having fun is a pretty good cause," Natsu spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "But would it make you feel better if we donated any extra over our goal to an actual charity? I bet more people would shell out the big bucks if they knew they were supporting both."

"I don't want to get Erza upset."

”Heh! Only someone suicidal would, but it must be important to you, so we should at least try. I'll mention the idea to Gray and he can bring it up at the next student council meeting." Natsu led the way out of the library and towards the Wood Shop classroom. After a few minutes of Lucy struggling to carry her heavy satchel, he tugged her sleeve to make her stop. "Do you need all that stuff? Can't you dump it in your locker?"

"Um, no." Lucy bit her lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I finished my homework, but I need to study every night. If I don't get straight As my father …" She trailed off, breaking eye contact with Natsu. "Anyways, he wouldn't be happy."

"Give it to me then." Natsu didn't wait for Lucy to answer, taking the school bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "I'm good at carrying things at least." He started walking again, cheerfully whistling.

Bemused, Lucy scurried to follow. Even if Natsu had never been romantically linked with anyone in school, it seemed he was capable of gentlemanly behaviour. "Tell me why you agreed to help make the booth when by your own admission you're not that good with construction." Lucy flinched. Way to sound like a controlling harpy. "I mean, I'm curious about that."

"Easy answer! Cana told me I'd learn a thing or two if I did."

"I'm not that experienced with hammer, saw and wood either." Lucy scratched her head. "But I'm excellent at reading and following directions. Maybe this won't be so hard."

Natsu agreed, "Ya, we can figure it out together."

Lucy got lost in a small personal fantasy - Natsu had such a nice smile. She pressed her lips into a straight line. Time to focus! No time to daydream.

Inside the Wood Shop classroom, they found a beehive of activity. Elfman, Lahar, Mest, and Vjeter worked on with various projects while Laki ran back and forth helping each of them in turn.

Carefully Lucy and Natsu made a pile of the framing lumber and plywood, checking and re-checking the instructions. The regular shop students worked, shouting at one another casually. An alarm sounded from Laki's wristwatch. As one, all the students stopped working. They turned off their equipment and cleaned their messes - exiting one after the other.

Surprised, Lucy jogged over to Laki who was evidently also leaving. "Hey! Is anyone staying who could help me and Natsu?"

"Ooh, shouldn't think so. We've got time during class for this, today was just a bit of extra time before my date with Max." Laki grinned, tugging Lucy closer to the door, further from Natsu. "You dating Natsu?"

Lucy sputtered, "W-what, what, what? Why would you even think that?"

"My bad." Laki did not look sorry. "All you have to do is lock the door behind you once you guys finish whatever you can. I'll have a few students work on the rest of it tomorrow."

"Erza seemed to want us to do all the work."

Laki shrugged. "If you want, but are you really prepared to stay for hours and hours?" Another softer alarm sounded. Laki smiled and silenced it. "I'm leaving. Work safe!"

Lucy turned around, the whole room was empty save for her and Natsu.

"C'mon Luce!" Natsu waved the instructions. "I need you! We gotta measure and cut the frame first."

"Coming!" The imp inside of Lucy's brain giggled. 'That's what she said.'

The shop room echoed without extra voices and the noise of saws.

Lucy giggled. She couldn't help it. Natsu had managed to tangle the measuring tape - again. Holding out her hand she requested its return. "I'm gonna have to demote you." Shaking her head, Lucy held the end hook securely against the end of the two by four that was their first planned cut - and then grabbed Natsu's hand and moved it into place. "You get to be the anchor." Lucy extended the tape measure and marked off four spots. "We'll check it twice and then cut."

"Won't that take longer?"

"Yes and no." Lucy explained, "If both marks are at the same point, I've got them in the right spot - but if they aren't, then we look to see where we made a mistake. It's all about checking and double checking before we do something we can't fix."

"Y'mean kinda like, 'least said, soonest mended'?" Natsu gave Lucy an earnest look. "Or if I'm punching Gray as hard as he deserves, but if Erza is about to show up, we pretend I wasn't kicking his ass?"

"More like the first example, but yeah." Lucy nodded. "Or like how a pound of 'cure' is worth the ounce of 'prevention.' If we don't make mistakes, we don't have to rip apart our work."

"Hmm." Natsu shrugged and held the end of the measure against the end of the board. "Then let's double-check our work."

"Okay!"

Lucy and Natsu measured all the cuts listed in the instructions twice and then began cutting. Never one to shrink away from new tasks, Lucy took command of the saw. Without complaint, Natsu held the other end still and encouraged Lucy. Alternating chores, they finished sawing quicker than anticipated.

"What's next?"

Lucy flexed her hands, they were a little sore. Picking up the blueprints, she scanned the information. "We can cut the plywood next."

"Ugh. Measuring and cutting is boring. What about starting to assemble?"

"We can't put together pieces that aren't ready."

Natsu looked at the much larger than expected pile of cut pieces. "But we're not gonna make any progress if we don't start assembling."

Blueprints still within her grasp, Lucy settled her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "You may have a point. This isn't a puzzle, so, sure, let's get the frame done and then do the rest of the cuts."

"Huh. Cana was wrong about you." Natsu confided, "She said you wouldn't be open to changing plans."

"…" Lucy nodded jerkily. A lot of the fun of this experience had gone out for her right there. Most of her schoolmates didn't really know her, so it was easy to shrug off the popular misconceptions. But - in this short work project, it had felt like she and Natsu had started to become friends.

"She says a lot of dumb stuff, things that only make sense way later, but I think this time she was wrong." Natsu continued speaking, all without noticing how stiff Lucy had become. "You're a good student, I knew that from the posted grades - but you're an even harder worker than I guessed. I bet I could learn a lot from you." Finally noticing Lucy's rigidness, Natsu put down his hammer and the nails he'd been holding ready. "What?"

"…" Lucy looked down and away. This was her standard response to every awkward situation. She flinched as Natsu tentatively touched her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

Lucy bit her lip and steeled herself. She could face him. Not everything he'd said had been hurtful. Matter of fact, after the first bits, Natsu had sounded like he admired her - which was weird. "More than what we both have time to deal with." Forcing a laugh, Lucy looked into Natsu's eyes. That was a mistake. They were concerned, not condemning. "At first I thought you were saying I was stuck-up."

Natsu frowned and shook his head.

His confusion egged Lucy into saying more. "I've heard that time and time again. People think that I think I'm too smart and won't follow anyone else's advice."

"D'uh! Of course, you're smart! We all can see the posted grades!" Natsu smiled - and it was his smile that convinced Lucy he wasn't being cruel.

"I'm sorry. I'm used to most people getting defensive. I don't know how to react when people are sharing honestly." Lucy picked up a hammer and then a nail. "Why don't we start putting this together like you suggested?"

"That's a good plan, even if it's mine." Natsu laughed and Lucy relaxed.

An hour later, very pleased with their accomplishments, Natsu and Lucy tidied their mess. They swept and dumped the sawdust into the dustbin, hung the hammers and saw back onto the peg-board, and put the nails away.

"This was … an experience." Lucy smiled at Natsu. "I’m glad we got to work with each other."

"I had fun," said Natsu, "and I think you did too."

"Fun isn't usually one of my goals," Lucy admitted, "I have to keep my grades up so my father doesn't freak. Fun doesn't rate high on his list of things to do."

"Pity." Natsu picked up Lucy's schoolbag. "I understand about keeping a parental figure quiet, but y'know we're only young once. Fun shouldn't be forgotten."

"I have some fun. I take dance lessons every Thursday."

”Oh, ya got me there." Natsu's tone did not agree with his words. His voice picked up some pep as he continued speaking. "Pfft. I'm talkin' stuff your dad doesn't approve of kind of fun! The fun that is spur of the moment - somethin' you can't believe you had the nerve to do right after ya do it!"

Hardly able to wrap her brain around calling her father, 'dad,' Lucy stood lost in thought. Natsu had made a lot of good points. Fun was a commodity she hadn't experienced enough. "Will you be mad if I take your advice?"

"Naw, I'd be proud. I bet people wouldn't believe me if I told them the Lucy Heartfilia had taken advice from me." Natsu smiled.

"Remember, you can't get mad." Lucy bit her lip and giggled softly. "I suppose I could apologize ahead of time. You sure?"

"You look like you need fun."

Taking all Natsu's words to heart, Lucy gathered her courage. Heart beating wildly, she moved in front of Natsu. "May I kiss you?"

"Are you joking?"

"Even though your words made me think I could steal a kiss - I respect you too much to do that." Lucy knew her cheeks were climbing way past pink and into tomato red territory, but she wanted to explain herself. "The fun I want is a mutual experience. If I take without your consent, then I'm not respecting your rights. I wouldn't want that for myself so I will not do that to you. I like you. I like you because you're nice to me."

"You're not joking." Natsu blushed. "You're not that good at jumping into fun, but you are so not joking."

"Nope." Lucy swallowed hard. She cursed herself for not thinking harder about how awkward it was going to be after Natsu refused her request because she was too weird. Dammit!

"Okay." Natsu dropped Lucy's books and held her gaze. "You can kiss me - and then… can I kiss you?"

Lucy blinked, knowing her mouth had dropped open. "Huh?"

"I like you too," Natsu spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You like me?"

"Yeah." Natsu smiled. "For a long time now, not just on account of today. You didn't treat me like a dummy while we worked on the booth. I know my reputation. Most people think I'm dumber than a box of bricks."

"You sure?" Lucy inched closer to Natsu.

"I'm sure." Natsu inched closer to Lucy. "Everyone in school thinks I'm stupid."

"You know that's not what I meant." Fire flashed in Lucy's eyes. "You like me? The girl everyone in school thinks is stuck-up? Too smart for her own good and so rich she can't understand anyone else?"

"Yeah. The thing is, I know you’re not like that. Not one bit.”

Lucy nodded, an anxious smile on her lips. They'd reached an agreement of sorts - mutual respect with a side of pining. She could do this - it was just a kiss, right? Well, she had permission and the time was ripe. Lucy leaned forward, angled her head slightly, closed her eyes and captured Natsu's lips against her own. Seconds later she pulled back, heart racing like she'd been running a marathon.

Natsu licked his lips, his fingers tracing where Lucy had touched him. This made the sudden experience more real. He slowly reached out; caressing Lucy's jawline, then cupped her chin as he kissed her. It lasted perhaps half a minute and felt like an eternity at the same time.

"Wow." Lucy was aware her response was inane, but Natsu still held her in his arms and the warmth of his body distracted her. "That…was…fun."

"You sound like you need more convincing." Natsu squeezed Lucy and then relaxed his hold. "May I kiss you again?"

"I'd like that." Lucy set her hands on Natsu's shoulders and locked eyes with him. "And then maybe I could kiss you again too?"

"Hells yes."

#ficwritersummerexchange #verasficexchange #tuxiedjabberwock #nalufever #nalu #fluff #A Solidly Constructed Kiss #fairy tail #fanfic #ftfanfic #high school AU

[scotchjolras]

10 random things about me

I was tagged by @caricature-of-a-witch Cheers! <3

1) I really don’t like wearing shoes. At all. If I had the option, I would always be barefoot.

2) I feel like the universe is trying to foreshadow that I’m going to die by electrocution and I’m kinda scared.

3) On the subject of fear: while I’m still scared of a lot of things, I was even worse as a child. Some of my childhood fears included men in hats, men with beards, anything with a face that shouldn’t have a face/anything with an unnatural face, loud or unexpected noises, a few of my cousins, other children in general, toys that vibrated (oi, keep it clean!) and unwanted attention. To name but a few. Basically I would just cry and cry and cry or run away and hide. Sometimes I can understand where my mother is coming from.

4) My current cross stitch WIPs/immediate to-do list include a racecar, a Newcastle United FC square, a tenth Doctor and another rainbow butterfly. I also plan on French knitting a pin cushion in the shape of a beehive for my granny’s Christmas.

5) As soon as my sister got her driving license, we used to sneak out a lot. I can’t tell you the number of times I went to the McDonald’s drivethrough in just my pyjamas at like 11pm. To this day, anytime I’m driving it night, I love to blast the cold air because it takes me back to those days.

6) In high school, I didn’t know how to eyeshadow or eyeliner but I did them anyway. It was not a good look. But it was my look so, whatever.

7) I need to read more. I love reading but I hardly ever do it anymore. Same goes for writing.

8) I would jump at the chance to move to Shetland. I found I really enjoyed my time there last year, brief as it was. Also, Ardrishaig. Honestly, I loved the remoteness of those places, which was a surprise to me. I may be more anti-social than I realised.

9) One time, when I was about 9 or 10, I was at my friend’s house and his cousin, who was only a toddler, was there. We were watching Pokemon and, when Team Rocket came on, I started reciting the motto (because I’m weird like that) and the little cousin kicked me in the face because he thought I was actually Jessie. Thank fuck he was only wearing socks at the time.

10) Another time, around the same age, I was doing a sponsored walk with the church to raise money for ChristianAid. But they had us walk across the Forth Road Bridge (and back) in gale force winds wearing suits covered in balloons! What the fuck, church people?! How was that a good idea?

I’m tagging: Honestly, anyone who wants to do it. Seriously, if you see this and think “hey, that looks fun; I want to do it too,” consider yourself tagged by scotchjolras.