#seeing her holding down PB like that had me like 'god I wish that were me'

[r0semultiverse]

MOMMY SORRY MOMMY SORRY MOMMY-😳

my soul is all yours 😳👉👈

#this design for her #gggggodss marceline as a proper antagonist.... #perhaps step upon me just maybe??? #suck my soul out??? #demolish me entirely??? #WAIT WHATS GONNA happen to baby Finn??? 👀 is he gonna become a vampire too & become a vampire vampire slayer or something? #I would LOVe a vampire Finn design- show me him! #I thought hunson abadeer was gonna be the ruler but no its the lion guy! wish the crown changed his appearance though im ngl #that was the one part that was a bit dissapointing #seeing her holding down PB like that had me like 'god I wish that were me' #seems like lion man adopted her instead of Simon in this universe & that he stole the crown? would love to see someone speculate on the AUs #mine #op #adventure time spoilers #adventure time #adventure time fionna and cake #fionna and cake #marceline #marceline abadeer #marceline the vampire queen

[fruitcoops]

Would love to see a wired autocomplete interview with coops! 🥰

Anon, did you read my mind? These two have such chaotic energy when they’re given an outlet and it was a true pleasure to write it. Dorcas is exhausted. Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

“Wait, I want to pull the tab,” Remus said, tugging on the edge of the cardboard lightly as Sirius tried to hold it out of his reach without falling off his chair.

“I get to read it out loud for you and then we switch!” Sirius protested, smacking him gently on the head with it. The resulting bonk noise made them both break down laughing.

“You guys know we’re rolling, right?” Dorcas asked as she gathered a stack of cards in her lap, looking highly amused.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She turned to the camera with a bright smile. “Welcome back to Lion Pride, hockey fans! I’m Dorcas Meadowes and I’m here today with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to answer some of the internet’s most pressing questions. How are you two feeling?”

“Terrified,” Sirius said.

“The internet is like the Twilight Zone,” Remus agreed. “Who goes first?”

“Sirius, you’ve got a card already. Take it away.”

He cleared his throat and grabbed the edge of the first pull tab, ripping it off slowly. “That is so satisfying, woah. How tall is Remus Lupin?”

“I am five foot eleven and a half.”

“That half inch comes from your sneakers and you know it.”

“It does not!”

Sirius just smiled and removed the next paper slip. “What language does Remus Lupin speak?”

“I speak English and a little bit of French. Tried to learn Spanish in high school, but failed miserably.”

“I love the wording on this one,” Sirius said as he turned the board toward the camera. “Remus Lupin Green Bay Packers.”

“Dammit, now everyone knows my full name,” Remus sighed. “Uh, the Packers are cool.”

“I think people were wondering if you ever played on the team,” Dorcas said.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like a football player to you?”

“Next question!” Sirius ripped the tab off and took a good section of the paper above with it. There was a beat of stunned silence. “I am…so sorry.”

Behind the camera, Marlene burst out laughing, along with most of the camera crew. “It’s fine, keep reading.”

“Okay, um…” Sirius squinted at the partially torn-off question. “Remus Lupin name meaning.”

Remus groaned. “I hate this question. Yes, it does mean Wolf Wolf. Yes, my dad’s name also means Wolf Wolf. Yes, my mother’s maiden name is Howell. I’m aware of the endless puns.”

“Don’t you mean a-were?” Sirius asked as a slow grin spread across his face. Remus grabbed the card and bonked him over the head with it.

“Remus, your turn.” Dorcas handed him a poster board and took the blank one.

“I’m going to be careful with this one, unlike somebody,” he teased, kissing Sirius on the cheek. “Is Sirius Black…related to Pascal Dumais?”

“In all the ways that matter, yes.”

Remus grinned when he read the next one. “Is Sirius Black missing a tooth?”

“No!” Sirius gave the camera an offended look. “I have all my teeth, thank you very much.”

“Is Sirius Black mean?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Reporters don’t like you very much.”

“The feeling is mutual. I love the fans though, most of them are so sweet.”

“Oh, I like this one. Is Sirius Black married?” Remus rested his chin on the top of the card and batted his eyelashes, making Sirius laugh.

“Almost! Ask me again in July.” Remus set the card on the floor and Dorcas passed Sirius a new one. “Does Remus Lupin wear glasses?”

“Nope.”

“Does Remus Lupin—I have never said your name so many times in one sitting, my god—does Remus Lupin have siblings?”

“Yup.”

“Does Remus Lupin—”

“Can you elaborate?” Dorcas asked with a laugh. “How many siblings? Names? Ages?”

Remus turned to the camera. “I have one brother named Julian and he’s ten years old. He likes piggyback rides, ice cream, and hockey.”

“Much better. Take it away, Cap.”

“Does Remus Lupin have allergies?”

Remus frowned in confusion. “Why do people want to know that? Uh, yeah, I’m allergic to some pollens. Spring is hell.”

“How many of these do we have?” Sirius asked as he tossed the board over his shoulder and crossed his legs.

“Quite a few! Loops, you’re up.”

“Where is Sirius Black from?”

“Canada.”

“Where does Sirius Black live?”

“The Lions ice rink. I set up a tent in the middle of the goal posts every night so that I’m never late to practice.”

“Sirius Black gay.”

Sirius paused. “I think we’re missing a couple words in there.”

“That’s literally all it says,” Remus laughed, moving it to show him. “Sirius Black gay. I don’t know, honey, Sirius Black gay?”

“Sirius Black very gay,” he confirmed. “Sirius Black thinks people need to have better grammar.”

“Is Sirius Black’s hair naturally curly?”

“No, I use a curling iron every morning to do each individual curl,” he said. “It takes me seven hours and thirteen minutes, and I use a full can of hairspray.”

Remus scooted over so Dorcas could hand him a new card. “He keeps a stopwatch and tries to beat his personal record every time.”

Sirius pulled the first tab away and immediately started laughing too hard to speak.

“What does it say? You can’t just leave me hanging!” Sirius turned the board around and Remus leaned down to read it. “Is Remus Lupin hockey? Yes. I am the entire sport of hockey condensed into one being. I’m coming for basketball next. Thanks for asking!”

It took a few seconds for Sirius to get his breath back. “What is Remus Lupin—”

“I thought we just answered that.”

“—what is Remus Lupin zodiac sign?”

Remus paused. “Is that the thing Pots was talking about the other day? With the quiz?”

“That was love languages.”

“Your zodiac sign depends on your birthday,” Marlene called. “When were you born?”

“March 10th.”

“You’re a Pisces.”

“I’m a Pisces!” he said brightly to the camera. “No idea what that means, but it sounds cool.”

“It means you’re two fish.” She laughed as Remus sucked his cheeks in for a fish face. “Very nice.”

“Thank you.”

Sirius was especially careful as he pulled the paper slip off the next question. “What is Remus Lupin first job?”

“The grammar of these questions is killing me. Um, I worked in the university bookstore during college.”

“On the list of ‘things that don’t surprise anyone’,” Dorcas joked.

“Did Remus Lupin go to college?”

Remus gave the camera a look. “First of all, I have a medical degree. Second of all, did people completely forget about the whole ‘about to be drafted right out of college’ thing? It was a grand total of four years ago! Google it!”

“That’s what they did,” Sirius pointed out, gesturing to the board.

“True.”

“Last one for this card: how old is Remus Lupin?”

Remus thought for a moment. “Y’know, I kind of lost track after the first few centuries. My turn…what is Sirius Black real name?”

Sirius glanced at the camera. “It’s Sirius Black? Is this a trick question?”

“There are people out there who think that’s a fake name,” Dorcas said.

“Um, okay. Yeah, my real name is Sirius Black, my brother is Regulus, my dad is Orion, and I have cousins named Andromeda and Bellatrix.”

“What’s your uncle’s name again?” Remus asked.

“Which one? Cygnus? Phineas Nigellus? Arcturus?” At Dorcas’ surprised look, he laughed. “Oh, I could go all day long with this. That’s the tea on old French families with weird-ass naming traditions.”

“This next one is similar: Sirius Black middle name?”

“Orion.”

“Fun fact: the first time I saw your full name, Moody had written it and I thought it said ‘onion’.” Remus laughed as Sirius’ jaw fell open. “Those three seconds were a highlight of my life. Alright, what’s next…what color are Sirius Black’s eyes?”

“Blue.”

Remus shook his head. “They’re gray, almost silver.”

“Basically blue.”

“There’s nothing basic about you, babe.” Remus slid the board onto the floor and passed Sirius a new one. “Hit me with your best shot.”

“Is Remus Lupin Canadian?”

“I wish.”

“Is Remus Lupin left-handed?”

“No, but a lot of people seem to think that I am.”

“Is—” Sirius cut off with a snort. “Is Remus Lupin scrappy?”

“Are you fucking with me?” Remus asked, leaning over. “Is that actually what it says?”

“Yep.”

“Scrappy? Really?” He shook his head, lost for words. “I mean, I guess. Nobody’s ever called me scrappy before.”

“I don’t like this last one. How much is Remus Lupin worth?” Sirius wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple. “You’re priceless.”

“I’m worth at least half a PB & J, but only if you use the good peanut butter. If you use the shitty Skippy stuff, hand over the whole sandwich. My turn! Does Sirius Black have piercings?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Does Sirius Black have an Instagram?”

“I do. Sblack12, if you want to see pictures of my friends’ kids and this cutie.”

“Is Sirius Black Australian?”

“Fuck off. I’m French Canadian, how the hell did anyone think I was Australian?”

“Sirius Black birthday.”

“I have one.”

“What is it?” Marlene asked. “I’ll tell you your zodiac sign.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “November 3rd.”

“Scorpio bitch.”

“Hey!”

“On the bright side, Scorpios and Pisces are super compatible.”

“What a relief, I was really banking on our astrology compatibility,” Remus said drily.

Dorcas handed Sirius a fresh board. “First up: can Remus Lupin sing?”

“Eh.”

“The correct answer is yes. What is Remus Lupin like in real life?”

“I’m horrible. I kick every puppy I see and carry one of those sticky hands from arcades to steal candy from children.” A smile twitched at the edges of his mouth and Sirius’ cheeks turned pink from suppressing his laughter. “Like Spiderman, but evil.”

“What happened to Remus Lupin after college?”

“What didn’t happen to Remus Lupin after college?” he laughed, leaning back in his seat. “These past couple years have been bonkers fucking yonkers. I became a PT, got a secret boyfriend, and now I’m engaged and an NHL player. There were, like, three seasons of character development squished into eighteen months.”

“Alright, last one. Why Remus Lupin kissed Sirius Black?”

“Because he’s hot and nice. Also, because he’s my fiancé.”

“Is that the criteria for kisses?” Sirius asked. “I just have to be hot and nice?”

“Pretty much. You’ve got both boxes permanently checked.”

“Final card,” Dorcas warned as she handed it to him. “Make it count.”

Remus cleared his throat. “How does Sirius Black work out?”

“I rollerskate and hula hoop for six hours a day simultaneously.”

“How old is Sirius Black?”

“Ageless.”

“How did Sirius Black meet Remus Lupin?”

“Fun story, actually. You know the movie Ocean’s Eleven?”

“Are Sirius Black and James Potter—”

“Dating.”

“—still friends.”

“Damn, I thought I had that one.” He did a double take. “Still friends? What happened? I saw him an hour ago, tops.”

“You might have to google it,” Remus suggested as he slid the board across the floor. “That’s it!”

“Way to go, guys,” Dorcas laughed. “I know literally nothing new about you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sirius said as the two high-fived. “We were completely honest the whole time.”

She faced the camera with a poorly-hidden smile. “Thanks for joining us today, Lions, and remember to like and subscribe for more content!”

[argylemnwrites]

Some Definition

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Cassie Vanderfield)

Book: Open Heart (post book 2)

Word Count: ~2000

Rating: PG

Summary: Cassie is done being the “cool girl.”

Author’s Note: Well, I know a ton of the fandom is looking forward to OH3 coming out later this week, but I’m just... not. I hated the majority of OH2, and I just don’t have faith in PB to write OH3 in ways that I don’t find wildly frustrating. So, I’ve decided not to read it. I think I’ll be a lot happier not having to rationalize why Bryce and my MC haven’t defined their relationship, why my MC is consistently asked to care about Ramsey’s personal problems, and why Bryce’s residency is only four years when in should be five (or seven, if he takes research years, hahaha).

So, from here on out, I’m just going to be writing fic that is canon-compliant through the end of OH2. I had assumed that Bryce and Cassie would be in a committed relationship at this point, and I really don’t have interest in their dynamic if they aren’t committed to each other after two years (and a near death experience, smh at you, PB). So, everything I write that is set after the end of OH2 will just ignore whatever nonsense PB gives us, and this little fic serves as my personal break point.

Written partially out of frustration with the direction PB took this series, but also for Day 16 of the @choicesfebchallenge - Confession.

Cassie sat on the edge of Bryce’s bed, twisting her fingers around in her lap. She was supposed to be getting undressed. At least that’s what Bryce had hinted she should do when they got back to his place while he grabbed them both glasses of water. But she couldn’t. Her conversation with Elijah from Ines’ housewarming party earlier was stuck in her mind.

“Needless to say, my parents were pretty thrilled when I said I was looking at U of Chicago and Northwestern for fellowship. What about you, considering heading back to the Midwest?”

“Oh! Umm, I don’t know,” Cassie said, her eyes jumping to Bryce over by the keg before she could stop herself.

Elijah followed her gaze and let out a little sigh. “Well, you’ll have to make some choices pretty soon.”

His words haunted her for the rest of the party, worming their way into her thoughts over and over again. He was totally right. Not just career choices, but personal choices. Because after two years, she and Bryce still weren’t anything defined or official.

She’d tried to be cool about it. She’d tried to just enjoy what they had. But she was going to be applying for fellowship very soon. And she knew that if she made decisions about where in the country she was applying because of a guy who she couldn’t even legitimately call her boyfriend, that would make her so foolish.

The door swung open, revealing the man in question, taking a swig of water from one glass and carrying another. He did a little double take when he saw her just sitting there, placing both glasses on his dresser once he finished his drink.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, crouching down in front of her.

“Bryce, what are we doing?”

“What do you mean?”

Cassie closed her eyes. “I need to know...” she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, before opening her eyes and continuing, “I need to know what we are.”

Bryce frowned, coming to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. “Cassie, you’re so important to me,” he said, grabbing her hand, tracing his thumb over her knuckles. “You mean so much to me.” He leaned over, tracing his thumb across her cheek, leaning in and briefly pressing his lips to hers before pulling back. “I care about you so much.”

It would be so easy to give in, to let it stand at that. But the fact was that those words, as heartwarming and flattering as they were, didn’t really answer her question. So instead of getting swept away, she scooted further down the bed, shaking her head as she pulled her hand from his.

“I know you do, Bryce. But that wasn’t what I asked.”

“Where is this coming from? I thought we had a good time tonight?”

“We did.”

He stared at her, obviously trying to read her, trying to figure out what he was missing. “I don’t get it, Cassie. What’s wrong?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stay steady and calm. She didn’t want to come across as some pathetic, needy girl whose happiness was dependent on some guy. But she also was coming to the realization that if Bryce didn’t want an actual relationship, it was probably time to end whatever they had. Spend her last year at Edenbrook just focusing on her career, getting some papers published, going to conferences, that sort of thing.

“I guess I just need to make some decisions, with my fellowship application coming up soon.”

Bryce nodded, “Yeah, I get that. But trust me, you’ll have your pick. Every diagnostics program in the country is going to want you.”

She smiled at that, but she knew it was a hollow one. Sure, she had her fears about the whole process, but fellowship match was so much less stressful than residency match, at least in diagnostics. Her worries were so much more personal. “And what if it’s a program in Georgia or Texas or Washington where I end up?”

“If you want ‘em, you’ll match there. I’m sure of it, Cass. You are brilliant, and your CV is a perfect one for diagnostics. All the other applicants are going to hate you.”

Cassie had to close her eyes, not wanting him to see the tears starting to pool there. He looked so eager and hopeful and joyous and pretty, sitting there, a giant grin on his face. He was so supportive, but it was clear that her being close to him wasn’t a priority for him at all. And after two years, after everything they’d been through, it stung. Badly.

“I think I’m going to get going,” she choked out, pushing herself off the bed, not chancing opening her eyes until she was facing away from him. Tears were already starting to track down her cheeks, and she needed to get out of there before she had a total meltdown.

“Cassie!” he called out. She heard rustling behind her and felt his fingers grasp her wrist, but she kept going, knowing he wouldn’t actually physically stop her. Sure enough, those same fingers peeled away the next instant as she didn’t slow down. She swiped her hand under her eyes as she bolted through the living room towards the front door of his apartment. How she was going to explain this later she had no idea, but she needed to get out of there, get a grip, and start to move on with her life.

Suddenly, Bryce appeared in front of her, his hands gently resting on her shoulders. “Cassie, what’s wrong? We can fix it; I promise.”

His eyes were so wide and earnest, he looked so determined and sure, but all it did was break her heart more. She just shook her head, even more tears flowing. “I don’t think-” her voice cracked, so she took a breath before she continued, “Please just let me go home, Bryce.”

Bryce stared at her for a tense second. “Is that what you really want?”

She shook her head as she swiped away more tears with the back of her hand. “It’s what I need, Bryce.”

He dropped his hands from her shoulders and ran one through his hair as he stepped back. He looked so lost and confused. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Obviously, I upset you. I’m not sure how, but clearly I did. So, I’m sorry.”

Cassie shook her head. “You don’t need to be sorry. You’ve never led me on or anything. I guess I just hoped that maybe… But, it’s fine. You did nothing wrong. You aren’t obligated to care where I end up for fellowship or anything.”

“Cassie, of course I care where you end up!”

“Right. As a friend. But you don’t care if I end up near you.”

“I shouldn’t be-” he took a breath and started again, “What matters is your career, Cassie. That’s what you should consider. Not me. I’m not a factor here.”

“I know,” she shook her head, wiping her eyes yet again, wishing she could stop crying, wishing she’d been able to hold it together a little better. “I just wish you wanted to be.” She gave him a little watery smile and shrug before heading to the door. There was nothing left to say.

“Cassie, wait!” Bryce cried out, brushing past her and standing in front of the door. “I promise, I’ll let you go,” he said, holding his hands up in front of his chest. “But you need to know it’s not that I don’t want to be a factor. I’m just not gonna be so selfish that I ask you to make me a factor.”

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out if what he was telling her mattered at all or not. “Bryce, I… Even if that’s true, I can’t keep doing this. Just rolling along, being a cool girl, pretending like I don’t need to label anything.”

Bryce was quiet for a second, so Cassie moved to step past him, but he shook his head, stopping her in her tracks. “Why didn’t you say anything?” His voice was quiet, subdued. He didn’t sound like himself. 

“Bryce, I confessed that this meant something to me over a year ago. I wasn’t going to drag you into a relationship you clearly didn’t want.”

“Didn’t want? Cassie, I didn’t want to burden you.”

“What are you-”

“I’m a mess, Cassie. You know that. I just figured you would have the good sense to not want to get involved with my drama beyond some fun.”

“How are you a mess?”

“Well, my parents-”

“-You aren’t them. You distanced yourself from them.”

“And my sister-”

“-Is a teenager you took in and did your best to help raise and support and love. Your relationship with Keiki is wonderful, not a downside at all.”

Bryce smiled briefly, glancing down at his feet, but kept going. “I’m a workaholic.”

“I don’t think there is a way to be a resident and not be a workaholic, Bryce.”

 “I couldn’t even make pasta, for god’s sake!”

Cassie couldn’t help but chuckle at that, a few more tears spilling out even if she had largely stopped crying by this point. “Alright, I’ll give you that one. But you learned, Bryce. You learned and grew, and that’s enough.”

He shook his head, his eyes still locked on the ground. “Last time I was someone’s boyfriend, I was pretty bad at it. And I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this, but I don’t do well when I’m not excelling at something. I don’t like being mediocre at things.”

Cassie stepped forward, linking her pinkie around Bryce’s. He glanced at their hands before making eye contact. “I don’t need perfect, Bryce. I just need… more. For you to at least try. And for the record, I think you were probably better at being a boyfriend than you give yourself credit for.”

He shook his head. “Nah, you know me. I’m not exactly shy about my strengths. It was bad, Cassie.”

She shrugged. “Well, then work on it. Get better. You learned how to cook. You figured out how to provide stability for your sister. And although you might try to deny it, I am pretty sure you weren’t born a surgeon. You learned how to do those things. This doesn’t have to be any different.”

He stood there, but he didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity. Cassie felt her cheeks growing warm as embarrassment settled in. He was probably just being polite, and she had to go and corner him, make things awkward. “Of course, if you don’t want to, I understand. I just-”

Her words died as Bryce turned his hand and fully interlocked their fingers, tugging her close and kissing her. After a few seconds, he pulled back, sliding his free hand to her cheek. “Only an idiot wouldn’t want to be your boyfriend, Cassie.”

A strange little chuckle bubbled out of her at that. “So, are you saying…”

“That I want to be your boyfriend? Yeah, I want that. Do you still want that? I’m not exactly off to an auspicious start here, what with making you cry and then after that making you console me and give me a pep talk and-”

It was her turn to cut him off, kissing him soundly, placing her hand behind his neck and holding him close. After what could have been seconds or minutes or hours, she pulled back, her eyes flickering up to his face, please to see a wide grin and pure joy in his eyes.

“Do you still want to go home? Because I would love to show off my relatively new-found breakfast making skills for my girlfriend in the morning.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm as she was able to genuinely smile for the first time since her conversation with Elijah. “I’d like that,” she said, looping her arms around his waist and relishing the feeling of him pulling her into a hug. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Good,” said Bryce. “Me too.”

Permatag: @choicesficwriterscreations @walkerswhiskeygirl  @octobereighth @kimmiedoo5  @mom2000aggie

Open Heart: @mskaneko @omgjasminesimone @debramcg1106

Bryce x MC: @weaving-in-words  @anotherbeingsworld  @chaotichuman0090 @fortunatelywaywardsandwich   @dreaming-of-movies  @choicesarehard  @srta-give-me-my-jax-rl  @sunnyxdazed​

#choicesfebruarychallenge2021 #choicesfebchallengeday16 #bryce lahela #bryce x mc #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction

[step-on-me-natasha]

Blade; chapter 4

summary: Parker "Blade" Wiles, a high ranking SHIELD agent with an aptitude for sharp objects, goes missing. When Blade is found again with a darker and colder demeanor, SHIELD, with the help of The Avengers, are tasked with finding out what happened to their colleague and friend.

OC is ace and uses they/them pronouns

pairing: Natasha Romanoff x OC! reader (Blade)

warnings: injections, blood, if anything else, let me know 

RECAP:

She leaves the room as your eyes start to water. Oh my god. There is no way I'm getting out of this. As you sit there, waiting for what’s going to come next, Nats face pops into your head. And the fact that there is a chance that you’ll never see her again, talk to her, touch her again, makes the tears threatening to fall, fall.

As promised, about 15 minutes later, three lab coats walk into the room you’re in, checking your vitals and making sure all the serum was in your bloodstream. They start rolling you out of the room, assumingly heading towards the super secret lab. I wish I had my journal. My therapist would have a field day with all this new trauma.

You would've said a snarky comment by now, but you were in no mood for that right now. On the bright side, if there was one, it’s not any of your teammates in this situation. Especially Nat. God, you would go crazy if it was Nat instead of you. You’re zoned out as they roll you into the main lab. You snap out of it when the doors slam shut and lock. “Ahhh, there it is! Our test subject!” Dr. Nichols exclaims!

“It isn’t our test subject doctor.” Madam starts, “It's our new weapon.” Dr. Nichols hums, and makes her way over to you.

“You were very hard to get a hold of, you know.” She starts. “We tried taking you out multiple times, but you were always with that red head. What was her name again? Natalie?”  

“Natasha”  

“That's right, Natasha. We originally thought that it would be her that we would use, but kidnapping an Avenger, especially one as well known as her, seemed more difficult than imagined.”  

“I'm sorry, you were gonna kidnap the Black Widow?”  

“We were”  

“Thats almost as dumb as trying to re-use the Winter Soldier’s code words”  

“You see, but we aren’t doing either of those sweetheart.” Madam interrupts. “We’re using you, and a pill shaped device embedded in your brain. Not code words, not the Black Widow. You. You’re a nobody! Barely an Avenger! The only reason we’re using you is because you were an easy target who happened to be able to handle a knife like no one else.”

The remaining lab coats inject you with something and you pass out, as Dr. Nichols begins the procedure.

*At the Avengers compound

Ever since you had disappeared, the team have been doing their best to find you, while walking on eggshells around Natasha. While the team has been trying their best to comfort Natasha, she has only been thinking about you. She locked herself in her room, lucky that Sam has started sliding food under the door.

It started off as a joke really. He managed to squish an entire PB&J under the door and then graduated to a whole pizza this week. While it may not show, she does appreciate that people care, so she started sliding notes back under the door with the empty plate/takeout pizza box.

“Thank you for the food” Something simple. She would've said something longer but had no energy to do so. She sat on her bed and let her mind wander. Her eyes traveled along the room and eventually landed on your journal.

“That’s an obnoxious journal” She chuckles to herself. only you would’ve picked it out. she picks said journal up and pages through it. She knows it’s an invasion of privacy but she’s already written in it, so she doesn’t think twice about grabbing a pen.

Blade, it’s nat, again. I know you’ll be mad at me for writing in this but I can't find it in me to care. You’ve been gone for a couple days now. The team has been looking for you, they care. More than you think they do. You mean something to us, you matter. Sam has managed to squish a PB&J under the door, I took a picture of it. When you get back I’ll show it to you, it’s pretty funny. Luckily he wrapped it in cling wrap so peanut butter and jelly didn’t get everywhere. I haven’t really left my room. I don’t need to see the team's look of pity when they see me. I can't look at them right now. they left you. I wanted, no, needed. I needed to get back. If you were still there, if you were just lost or your comm was just down, you would be here right now. But no, they fucking left. They left you! And I couldn’t do anything about it! God, what kind of teammate. No. friend. What kind of friend am I? What kind of friend leaves the friend they care about behind! God. I thought that I was doing good. I was going straight. But once things get better, once I make fiends, have people I care about, I just go and fuck it up. This isn’t your fault Blade. This is my fault. if I just stayed with you, this wouldn’t have happened. you need to get back. I need to make it up to you. I need to do something. And hopefully you’ll take me back. Hopefully you’ll see me as if this never happened because I don't know what I would do without you.

Love, Natasha

She closes the journal as she hears a knock on her door. “Who is it?” She calls out.

“Clint, I have left over garlic bread, do you want some?” He asks.

She slowly stands up and makes her way over to the door and opens it with tears in her eyes. Clint just stands there, not knowing what to do because no one has seen the famous black widow cry.

“That was their favorite” She whimpers. He's never seen her so small. He walks in the room, puts the garlic bread on the desk and holds her. He held her until she stopped crying.

*At the MYST headquarters

The procedure took longer than expected. After around 45 extra minutes, they finally finished. you were placed into a cell and didn’t wake up for about 3 days. When you woke up you were greeted by what seemed to be a nurse. she was looking at some chart so she didn’t see you sit up. Looks like HYDRA, wait no, sorry, MYST couldn’t afford some fucking blankets because it’s practically Antarctica in here.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Your head snapped towards the nurse. “You really are a tough cookie to crack. took over an hour to get that thing in your head. And after that, they had to inject you with a concentration of the serum because nothing stuck in your blood. How odd.”  

“Pardon me?”  

“Did you not listen to a word I said?”  

“No no, I heard you, but what’s this about the serum?”  

“Super soldier serum is concentrated as it is. It enhances you, you become more you.” Madam interrupts as she walks in the room. “Your blood fought off the original serum, so Dr. Nichols took the most powerful properties of it and injected you. Which, luckily took. you are one of the most powerful super soldiers known to man now.”  

“Pardon?” You ask.

“Did you think we were messing around?”  

“Kind of, yeah”  

“We’re not. This isn’t some game to us, to me.” She states. “We aren’t fucking around this time. HYDRA paved the way, we’re just walking down the path and doing a better job than they ever will.” And with that, she starts walking out of the room.

“Nurse?” The nurse freezes, visibly afraid of what will come next.

“Yes Madam?”  

“Make sure they’re ready for the chair tomorrow.”

Super soldier? I thought we were past this. Didn’t we learn our lesson about 5 years ago? Never in a million years would you have thought that you would ever be in this situation. Hell! You thought that when you were recruited to be an avenger it was all some sick joke! A sick cruel joke that will embarrass you publicly! Imagine the headline “Blade Wiles, recruited to the Avengers only to be set up as a prank”

God. Life is cruel. Once it starts getting good, it takes a sharp turn for the worse. You get a job that you love, and then you get recruited to the Avengers. THE AVENGERS! The fucking Avengers. What a goddamn fever dream. And then you meet this really pretty girl, who somehow wants to be your friend and possibly more?? And then your mom dies. And then you get captured by HYDRA. What the fuck universe?

God damnit. My therapist probably doesn’t have any advice on what to do if you get captured by the worst supremacist organization in the world.

A/N: chapter 4! Sorry this took so long, school just started so I’ve been pretty busy with that, there is no timeline for chapter 5 yet, once I have an idea I will let you know. As always, don’t be afraid to comment, I like hearing what you guys think!

#black widow x reader #Black Widow #black widow imagine #black widow fluff #black widow x ace!reader #natasha romanoff #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff fluff #Natasha romanoff imagine #marvel x reader #marvel x ace!reader

[somersetmummy]

(A/N): This fic takes place immediately following book 1 chapter 11 (after being rescued by Sam from Sofia's closet). 

- I promise the Robin lust that is part three is coming soon! -

Series/Pairing: The Nanny Affair (M!Sam Dalton x MC Katie Hide)

Original characters - all property of PB: Katie Hide (MC), Sam Dalton, Mason & Mickey Dalton, Jenny Blake, Robin Flores (part 3 only)

New characters: (present in part 3) Serena-Rose Warren, Tessa Finch, Lucinda Hansen

Rating/Content warning: PG13, a little bit of lust & desire but nothing graphic

Word Count: 1199

Summary: Katie prepares for a night out with the girls but is distracted by a certain roommate...

- Scroll to the bottom for bonus text message between Katie & Jenny -

Find Part One here. 

Part Two -

When Friday evening swiftly arrives, Katie tried to distract herself from the excitement building within by throwing herself into her love of cooking and creating an overly elaborate meal for the boy's dinner. While they don't particularly need a full roast dinner with all the trimmings, she's in far too good a mood to care. As is usually the norm when she cooks dinner, the boys sit at the counter half watching - half playing, keen to be around her as much as possible.

There's a certain calm which they feel when they're with her, safe and warm. They'd spent so much time bounced between family, babysitters and tutors over the last few years they relished the opportunity to be around someone so steady and secure, plus she just effortlessly understood them and knew how to put their needs first.

"Suck it Mason!"

Mickey's cheer startles her from her culinary daze as he slams down the last of the cards in his hand with vigour, winning the nail-biting game of snap the boys are playing.

"Mickey, language...please."

Katie glares at him to show that she's serious but can't completely stifle the grin underneath, threatening to give away the fact that she's humoured by the intensity of their game.

Of the twins, Mickey has always been the most energetic and animated, he rarely holds anything back and doesn't take any prisoners. Mason on the other hand is a much more sensitive soul, wise beyond his seven years and far more observant about the world around him. They're a real split of Sam's personality and a constant reminder of all the things she loves about him.

Before Mickey can apologise, the elevator dings sparking confusion in the kitchen. Katie pulls her phone out of her jeans back pocket to check the time. 5 o'clock on the dot. Equally puzzled and completely in sync with one another, the boys hold a ceasefire in their game as they all turn to look to the hallway waiting to catch a glimpse of the intruder.

Her heart flips as Sam saunters into the room, eyes sparkling and a wide smile already on his face as he takes in the scene before him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd made it home this early, but something had changed recently, something which made him long to be at home, long to play with his boys, long to live a little. And then he locked eyes on that something. Katie.

"Well if it isn't my three-favourite people."

The sincerity in his voice paired with the adoring look he gives is enough to make Katie's knees go weak. The boys are clearly oblivious to the fact that his fiancé should probably be above her on his list of favourite people but in that moment she's happy to take the compliment, nonetheless.

"What are you doing home so early?"

Sam makes his way over to the kitchen, ruffling the boy’s hair before slipping casually onto the bar stool next to Mickey. The boys in return beam at him, revelling in the novelty of having two grown-ups to shower them with attention.

"You didn't think I'd forget your big night out, did you? I wanted to make sure you had plenty of time to get yourself ready without having to chase these two clowns around."

He winks at her before turning back to the boys. Mason throws Sam a look of mock offence at being labelled a clown, Mickey on the other hand smiles proudly, totally owning it.

After putting the boys to bed, Sam settles himself in the living area, pacing around unable to stay still. Nervous energy tingles through his veins as he waits impatiently for Katie to emerge, already letting his mind run away with the less than innocent images of her in his head of how she'll look when she appears.

Nothing could've prepared him for what he was about to see as she emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon, transformed.

With the wind knocked out of him, his eyes trail over her capturing every detail to recall later. He admires her delicate curves wrapped in a form fitting deep blue sequinned mini dress, so dark it almost looks black until it catches the light and a blue hue shimmers, just like when the moon hits the sea on a clear night. He immediately wishes he could trail his hands along the flimsy spaghetti straps falling gently over her shoulders, crossing over her back revealing the barely-there rear of the dress.

As she confidently flicks her golden blonde hair it smoothly drips over her shoulders like honey, long soft curls bouncing just below her breasts. Her sweeping fringe ever so slightly obscuring her intoxicating blue eyes which sparkle back at him full of conviction.

The whole look gives her an air of unfaltering confidence which he's never seen on her before. This may be the most turned on he's ever been from just looking at her, so much so that his hands seek refuge in his pockets, untrusted not to grab her at the first opportunity.

"Wow, you look incredible!" He throws her a mischievous smile and continues, "If I'd known you'd look this good I wouldn't have been so eager for you to have the night off!"

Noticing the fire in his eyes, she feels conflicted as she allows herself to imagine what might happen if she were to stay at home tonight. The air crackles between them as they hold each other's gaze a little longer than they should.

"Thank you, I'd forgotten how much I like dressing up and looking good!"

The fire in his eyes extinguishes and leaves behind warm sincerity, a small smile crosses his lips as he finally builds the courage to move closer.

"You always look good. I'm particularly fond of your jeans and t-shirt look, but yes, this look..."

Unable to finish, the fire returns to his eyes as they're drawn down to her legs which seem to go on for days, the delicate sequinned dress barely falling past her upper thighs. The intensity of his gaze thrills her.

Taking as much strength as it would to pull two magnets apart, she finally steps away to grab her purse. Ever the gentleman, Sam picks up her jacket holding it out for her. Unable to resist, he takes the opportunity to lean into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. She smells like a breath of fresh summer air, flowers and sweetness dancing in the breeze.

Her spine tingles as his lips graze her neck and his fingers gently fondling soft tendrils of her hair to move them out of the way. His whispered words make the hairs on her skin stand to attention.

"God, I wish you were mine tonight, you don't know what you're doing to me."

The indignant ring of the penthouse intercom breaks the spell they find themselves in and she begrudgingly steps away exhaling shakily.

"That'll be my cab."

He watches her sashay over to the elevator, the sway of her hips captivating him once again. Slowly she turns to face him, winking wickedly as the doors are almost closed.

"Don't wait up."

TAG list: @shewillreadyou @txemrn @silma-words @thefrenchiemama @secretaryunpaid @sfb123

- BONUS-

Messages between Katie and Jenny while Katie prepares dinner for the boys.

#sam dalton #sam x mc #sam dalton x mc #tna #the nanny affair #choices

[afewmarvelousthoughts]

Falling Ch. 4

Master List: @afewmarvelousthoughtsadmin

Pairing: Bucky X Reader [and a few more to come]

Summary: For a moment you had something good, something wonderful. But moments pass. Now, left with nothing but the ashes of a life and a love you fought so hard for, you find yourself in a free fall. Who will you be once you hit the bottom? [Sequel to Only For A Moment but can be read independently.]

Warnings: Loss, grief, violence, death, blood, just all the things

A/N: Well... Ya know I’m at a loss for what to say about this one. It’s a lot and goddamn if I don’t love me some angry Steve Rogers. 

Also, thank y’all so much for the really great feedback on the last chapter! I absolutely love hearing from readers.

OH! If you read my Stay series there is a sad little easter egg in here. Let me know if you catch it. 

TAGS ARE OPEN

“I still can’t believe it,” Bucky pushed a stray piece of hair from his face. “She even agreed to take my name.” 

Steve couldn’t help but smile. 

“Sam can’t believe that one either.” 

Bucky chuckled, “Glad he and I can agree on something.” 

“I’m so happy for you, brother.” He settled a hand on Bucky’s good shoulder, feeling like his chest was going to burst. 

Never in a million years could he have imagined James Barnes actually settling down. He certainly never thought they’d ever be watching a peaceful sunset over the water discussing how happy Bucky was to be settling down. But their lives had been nothing if not a long line of surprises; at least this one was pleasant. 

Bucky let out a heavy sigh, a cloud of worry suddenly darkening his features. 

“Stevie…” The old nickname shot a pang of worry through Steve’s gut. Bucky didn’t take his eyes off the water as he continued. “If something were to happen-” 

“Buck, nothing is-”

Bucky let out a low bitter laugh, “Careful there, pal. Getting dangerously close to a lie.” 

“I’m not exactly the most popular guy in the world,” he tilted his head to meet Steve’s worried expression. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m about to disappear.” Bucky shoved Steve’s shoulder with his own, “I’m not you. I have no intention to go lookin’ for trouble.” 

Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Jerk.”

“But,” Bucky continued, ignoring Steve’s soft jab, “trouble seems to like me so… Just…” He took a ragged breath, eyes once more on the horizon. 

“Just what, Buck?” When Bucky looked back Steve almost lost his breath. The emotion on his friend’s face like a knife in his heart. Fear, worry, shame, and something else all swirl around him. 

“Just promise me you’ll look out for her.”

That afternoon with Bucky by the lake plays over and over in Steve’s head throughout the flight back to the states. 

Look out for her, was all Bucky had asked. 

Take care of her, Okoye ordered. 

He wanted to do both. 

So why did he keep failing?

Why had he placed his own burdens on you the same night you’d lost your own battle with grief? Why could he keep up appearances for everyone else but not you? Why was he sitting here across the jet while Thor did what he should have been doing? 

He would do better. He had to. 

When the jet lands at the compound his resolve wavers just a bit. They were all supposed to come home together. He’d promised Wanda that… 

“I’m good, Thor,” your voice pulls him back. 

Thor stands, making his way out of the jet, Rocket at his heels. You don’t move though, bolted to your seat, eyes on your clasped hands as if in prayer. 

Natasha steps away from the captain’s chair, glancing at you then him, an unspoken question on her face. Steve nods in response and she too leaves. 

Steeling himself for rejection, he stands, slowly walking over to you and extending his hand. 

You look up at him with painfully red eyes, the circles beneath them making the effect all the more harrowing. He thought of what Okoye said M’Baku had called you. Demon. 

Surprisingly, you accept his hand. 

“Here,” he reaches for the backpack slung over one of your shoulders, “let me.”

“No,” you release his hand, immediately gripping the strap of the bag with white-knuckled force. He tries not to look put off by the action and suspects that he failed, if your follow up was any indication. “You can get my duffle though.” 

A half-smile tugs at his mouth, “Alright.” 

Shouldering his bag and yours he heads out into the later afternoon sun. It had been almost full night when they left Wakanda and such transitions always shook him. He credited that with the reason he didn’t immediately notice that you remained frozen at the foot of the ramp. 

“Y/N?” He asked gently, heading back toward you. With a chill he remembered how you’d stood in the woods that night, unmoving. 

“Are you sure I should be here?” You ask, voice barely above a whisper. 

His brows knit in confusion, “Of course. Why wouldn’t-”

“Isn’t this technically Stark’s place? I doubt he’d want… Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” They’d cleared it with Pepper, and in his opinion, that was all that mattered. “If anyone has an issue with it they can take it up with me.” 

You nod in acceptance and follow him inside. 

-

The room Steve showed you to had the cold but comfortable feel of an upscale hotel. Not a speck of dust or item out of place. 

“If you need anything just find me or ask Friday,” Steve said running a hand through his hair. “Kitchen should have a few things according to Rhodey. And-”

“I’m good, Steve.” You didn’t want him to feel obligated to linger. 

“Ok, but if-”

“I said I’m good,” your tone was filled with far more bite than you intended. You cringe at the hurt that quickly flashes in his eyes. 

“Alright,” he nods. “Get some rest.”

“You too.” 

As soon as the door closes behind Steve you can hear Bucky’s voice in your head. 

Look out for him. He’d asked that of you not long after you made your marriage official. 

God, you’d hated that entire conversation. Hated that even in the safety of Wakanda he was afraid of something happening to him, something he couldn’t control. Now you hated even more that he’d been right.

He’d trusted that you would take care of the only family he had left. 

And you were failing him. 

Your right hand begins to tremble, thrumming with power, fingers flexing, reaching for the ghost of his heartbeat. 

Anger flares in your chest. Curling your hand into a tight fist you slam it into the door, again and again, until the metal finally groans. 

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, your forehead pressed against the door, breath catching. “I’m so sorry, Bucky.” 

Suddenly you sway on your feet, a wave of pure exhaustion rolling over you. Cradling your bloody fist to your chest you shuffle to the bed, unable and unwilling to face another moment of consciousness. 

When you wake, it’s full dark. Your hand throbs with pain but it’s better than the memory of loss it carried before. You locate a fully stocked medkit in the bathroom - perks of crashing at a superhero base you guess - and bandage your hand. After that, you’re unsure what to do with yourself.

Aimlessly you pace the room, growing somehow more numb and frantic with each circuit. From time to time your packed bag catches your attention; you know you should probably unpack but… The thought of getting the bag, opening it, going through the contents, finding where to put each one. It felt like an insurmountable task. 

Finally, the grumbling in your stomach breaks through, forcing you from the room.

There wasn’t a ton in the kitchen, which made sense considering no one had been living here full time, but mercifully there was bread, peanut butter, and jelly in the fridge which was enough. 

You pour all your focus into the familiar task of making PB&J. Taking far too much care to get the peanut butter right to the edge of each piece, making a little well for the jelly, not pressing too hard when you cut. So, when someone presses on your awareness you jump in alarm, body hovering about a foot in the air. 

“Shit! Sorry,” Natasha holds her hands up trying to be unthreatening. It’s then that you realize the cabinet doors are shuddering. You swallow a breath, feet back on the ground, the cabinets silent once more. 

“You’re good. I was just… distracted.”

“I see that,” she looks from the two sandwiches to you. “Never seen someone pay that much attention to a peanut butter sandwich.” 

You shrug, “Want one?” 

“No. That’s yours. I can-” You float one of the sandwiches over to her. She smiles. “Fine.” 

She grabs the sandwich and leans against the counter across from you.  

For about half a sandwich you eat in silence. It’s not uncomfortable but the unspoken crackles. 

“I lost someone once…” Your eyes shoot to hers. A sheen of unshed tears makes her eyes glitter in the dim kitchen. “She was like you.”

“How?” 

“Gifted.” You snort at the word. 

“She didn’t view it as a gift either. Charlie,” she pauses, taking a shaky breath, “could read emotions, catch glimpses of memory, even read thoughts if she set her mind to it. Empathetic with telepathic tendencies was what her S.H.I.E.L.D. file called it.” A soft smile fills Natasha’s face, “She just called herself a freak.” She sets her plate down, half a sandwich still on it. 

“We… It wasn’t what you could call traditional. We never settled down, couldn’t. But, we made it work in our own way. She… I loved her. I’ve never… Anyway, she-” Natasha’s voice breaks. 

You don’t breathe, don’t move. All your effort is focused on listening and keeping control of yourself even as you feel your power threatening to break free. 

Finally, you ask, “How long?”

“She’s been gone almost ten years.” That hits you right in the chest. “I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but…” She trails off. 

A vision of your future flashes in your mind. Years spread out before you. Empty and aimless without the warmth of his smile or the ring of his laughter.  

There’s a scream bubbling up in your chest. Without warning Natasha reaches across the small space separating you, grabbing your hand with ferocious strength. 

“I just wanted you to know you’re not alone.” 

Her touch shakes you. The warmth of her palm, her fingers shifting between your own. 

Neither of you let go. 

It just happens. One moment you’re about to drown in the understanding that there was no coming back from this, no healing, no return, and the next-

Your lips crash into hers. 

They’re warm and soft. Something real and solid and alive. Her mouth opens against yours, your other hand reaching to cup the back of her head. You want to forget, ashes and heartache and loss - burry those feeling in the heat of her. 

“Stop,” she breathes heavily against your kiss. 

That one word sends reality crashing back into you. With a sharp breath, you release her, stumbling back into the opposite counter, hand covering your mouth to keep in your shock. 

Around you, things begin to hum, a low deep frequency rather than a shaking, as you feel your perception dive beneath the surface. The plate next to you lets out a creaking sound as it begins to crumble. 

Too much. 

“It’s ok, Y/N,” Natasha grips your shoulders. 

“I’m so sorry,” you croak from beneath your hand. 

“It’s ok,” she smiles, rubbing your upper arms comfortingly. Slowly you regain some kind of control. 

“No,” you shake your head. “That was-  Fuck!” You pull away from her, pacing several steps away, gripping your head trying not to lose it. 

“I should never have… God, Nat, I’m so-”

“Stop,” she says in a tone that broaches no argument. You turn to look at her, arms crossed leaned against the counter like nothing happened. 

“Didn’t I just say you weren’t alone? I get it. I do. I’m not hurt or offended. We’re good.” She walks over to you, forcing you to release your grip, lowering your arms. 

“We’re good. Ok?” 

You nod in response, not trusting yourself to speak. 

“Let’s finish these sandwiches.” 

-

Steve spent the last week and a half on a razor edge. 

He managed to retain his composure the few times he found himself among the others. Thankfully, save for a handful of meals and some attempts to scan for Thanos however they could, everyone kept to themselves. 

Despite the commitment he made on the jet, he couldn’t bring himself to spend more than a few minutes in your presence. The one time he did, he spent most of the night blowing through punching bags. 

He’d been so fucking concerned for you. So worried your grief would be too much. You’d be lost, and he’d have failed Bucky in a way he could never forgive himself for. Clearly, after what he’d seen in the kitchen, his concern had been for nothing. You were moving on nicely. 

With one more ferocious right hook, the punching bag lost the fight. 

Huffing with exhaustion and exertion he collapses onto the padded floor of the training gym, resting his forearms on his knees. 

“We don’t have an endless supply of those ya know?” His head shoots up to see Rhodes leaning in the doorway. 

Steve pushes his sweat-damp hair from his eyes, “Seem to be the only one using ‘em so we shouldn’t run out too soon.” Rhodes nods in acquiescence, hovering in the door.

“What’s up, Rhodes?”

Rhodes sighs, “Pepper wants to go back into the city. Start figuring out what to do now.” The more time that passed the more likely it was that Tony, like the others, wasn’t coming back. 

Steve nods, “When?”

“Tomorrow.” 

It would mean two fewer people to serve as a buffer between you and him - he wasn’t even particularly thrilled to be around Natasha right now - but it was also two less to keep up appearances for. 

“You’ll let us know if we can help?”

“Of course. And if-” Rhodes is cut off as the building shudders. 

“Friday?” Rhodes asks.

“Captain Danvers has returned and appears to have a craft of some kind with her.”

He still didn’t know what to make of the mysterious woman who’d clearly been close with Fury but they weren’t in a position to be picky - they needed all the help they could get. 

Steve and Rhodes rush out, the others right behind them. 

No one speaks as Carol lands the ship and steps away. 

The ramp lowers and, Tony, supported by a tall blue woman, staggers out. 

Without a thought for the past, Steve rushes to help.

“I couldn’t stop him,” Tony says, voice rough. 

“Neither could I,” the words feel bitter on Steve’s tongue. 

“I lost the kid,” the sorrow in Tony’s eyes is like salt in every wound Steve carries. The kid. The one from Queens… 

“Tony,” the words stick, “we lost-” He doesn’t know what to say. There are too many names. Thankfully Pepper runs up, gathering Tony in her arms. 

Steve turns away from the moment just in time to see the bitter, pained, look on your face. Despite his anger, he feels his heart ache for you. 

True to form, Tony wanted to immediately know what happened in his absence. Seeing the images of all those they knew and loved - everyone he failed to save - lined up as Natasha gave the rundown made him feel like he was being crushed. 

“As far as we can tell, he did exactly what he said he would. Wiped out half of all living creatures…” Natasha says, her voice surprisingly only shaking a bit. 

Steve glances toward Carol, her eyes shining with unshed tears. 

“And what’s with him?” Tony asks, gesturing toward Thor’s slumped form in the atrium. 

“He thinks he failed,” Rocket says in a matter-of-fact tone. “Which he did. But seems like there’s a lot of that goin’ around.” 

Tony gapes at the raccoon, “You know, until this second I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.”

“Maybe I am,” Rocket says, sounding tired. 

“We’ve been scanning, trying to find him,” Steve says. He can feel Tony veering off course. It was a defense mechanism, his wit. While Steve couldn’t blame him now wasn’t the time. “You fought him Tony-”

“Who told you that?” All eyes shoot to Tony in confusion. “He wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the store. There was no fight-”

“Ok,” Steve tries to say gently. “But did he give any clues, coordinates, any-” Tony cuts him off with a raspberry noise. 

“Tony,” Steve is too damn tired to hide his exasperation, “we need you to focus.”

“And I needed you!” Tony swipes at the bowl of oatmeal and the glass of water sending them tumbling as he stands on shaky legs. “Past tense. We lost because you chose to leave. We lost because of-” He takes one teetering step toward Steve before his body stops, rigid. Steve looks at you, your focus squarely on Tony. 

“Enough,” you say in a low voice. Tony turns his head, noticing you for the first time. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Tony looks around for an answer. “Has she been here-” Steve can see when you release Tony, the action sending his frail body swaying. 

“This isn’t on Steve,” you say, dismissing Tony’s question. “You don’t get to come for him like-”

Tony laughs, “Oh! Oh, I remember you now. Barnes’ little-”

“Tony,” Steve says in a warning tone. Tony, ignores him. 

“Fangirl. The murderous Sinead O’Connor look suits you by the way.” Tony eyes you, waiting for a response that doesn’t come. 

“Why are you here?” It’s impossible to miss the venom in Tony’s voice. “From what I saw, your deranged-” The table begins to shake followed by a low creaking groan. 

“Ooo, spooky. This isn’t Wakanda sweetheart. We don’t harbor murderers.” You visibly flinch. Steve’s blood boils.

“Tony! What the hell?” He closes the distance in a beat, beginning to pull Tony away, but serum or not he could never be faster than Tony’s sharp tongue. 

“Isn’t that what you are? Reaper.” Tony nearly snarls the moniker Hydra granted you. The floor begins to shake. You look away like you’d been slapped. “Yeah that’s right I read-”

When you turn back you don’t say a word, just spit in Tony’s face before storming out, the tremors going with you.

“Classy new friends, Rogers,” Tony says, wiping his face with his sleeve as Steve grabs his shoulders. 

“I think you’re the one who needs a lesson in class,” Natasha says. 

“Do I? You know what,” Tony rips the arc reactor from his chest, “here.” He presses it against Steve's hand. “Why don’t the two of you take this and your new best friend and go find Thanos. See if you can do better with-” Tony doesn’t finish before collapsing. 

-

You didn’t know where to go. 

Part of you wanted to run. Leave them and all of this behind and never look back. All promises made to the dead be damned. 

But you just couldn’t quite bring yourself to do it.

Instead, you find yourself on the roof, staring out into the trees. Futility you try to calm your power pulsing in your body like a caged beast, restless and screaming for release. 

Unsure of what else to do, you let it sink into the concrete under your hands, pulling at the tiny particles until a chunk of the low wall surrounding the roof comes free. It hovers before you as you focus all your power into it, feel each tiny atom humming even in this inanimate chunk of rocks and cement. 

This time, you force your eyes open, even though your brain stutters with the effort of maintaining this level of perception - visual and whatever you could call this. The concrete begins to crumble, you feel your power plucking away at the pieces, pulling them apart bit by imperceptible. 

Deep in the recesses of your mind, you feel the hunger. It’s as though whatever the stones left behind was seeking sustenance in this strange destruction. 

Your right hand begins to tremble, the memory of losing your hold on Bucky rising fast to the surface. As your palm flattens - muscles remembering their position at that moment, desperate to return to it - you force your hand into a fist. Immediately, the floating chunk of the wall crumbles to dust. 

Dumbfounded, you stare at the heap sitting on the edge of the wall as bits are caught by the wind. Fear rises in the back of your throat, tasting metallic on your tongue. 

Thankfully, Natasha arrives before the panic fully grips you, providing a welcome distraction. 

Wordlessly she stands beside you, eyes on the peaceful scene. All you can think is that she’s standing so close to danger and doesn’t seem to notice.

“Tony passed out.”

“I didn’t-”

“No! No. No one thinks you did. I just meant… If you wanted to come back in.” You grip the wall, knuckles white, unsure of what you want. 

She sighs, “He’s really not-”

“Don’t try to defend Tony Stark to me. Not after-” You don’t have it in you to even think about Bucky.  

“Right…” The silence rises like a wall between you. 

Rather than speak, Natasha lays a light hand on your shoulder. You sigh and nod.

Rhodes steps out of the small medical room off the lab when you and Natasha make it back inside. 

“He’s probably gonna be out for the rest of the night,” he says on a sigh.

“Good,” you throw a raised eyebrow at Carol. “You guys take care of him and I’ll bring him a Xorrian Elixir when I get back.” She turns on her heel as you exchange a questioning glance with the others. 

“Where’re you going?” Steve asks, striding after. 

“To kill Thanos,” she replies without missing a beat. 

“Hey!” Natasha calls after her. “We normally work as a team around here we could-”

“We know up there is more your territory but this is our fight too,” Steve says. The slight exasperation in Carol’s expression makes you smile just a little. You hadn’t spent much time with her but you found yourself liking her nonetheless. 

“Do you even know where he is?” Rhodes asks. 

“I know some people who might,” Carol says. 

“Don’t bother,” Nebula, says. You’re pretty sure it was the first you’d heard the woman speak. “I can tell you where Thanos is.”

Nebula’s story about her father sends chills down your spine. You’d always thought parents couldn’t get much worse than your own but you were clearly way off the mark. But when Rocket pulls up the scan from their ship any remnants of cold flee your veins. 

“Hey, hey, hey. We’d be going in short-handed ya know?” Bruce cautions. 

“Look he’s still got the stones so-” Rhodes backs him. 

Carol meets your eyes, “So let’s go get him.” You nod. “Use the stones to bring everyone back.”

“Just like that?” Banner questions in disbelief. 

“Yeah,” you and Steve say in tandem. You meet his eyes. 

“Just like that,” Steve finishes. 

You’d no sooner made peace with the concept of literally going to space than you were boarding the ship thanks to Carol’s quick fuel trip and Rocket’s adept repairs. 

It seemed unreal that you were looking out at Earth. From here, just outside the atmosphere, it looked peaceful and unassuming. When the ship turned, facing space rather than the broken planet you’d just left, you felt like you could stare into that beautiful endless sea forever. 

“Okay,” Rocket begins, ending your awe. “Who here hasn’t been to space?” You, Natasha, Steve, and Rhodes, look awkwardly at one another before raising your hands. Carol catches your eye, a smirk on her face. You werene’t sure if you should laugh or be terrified. 

“Why?” Rhodes asked, his tone suspicious. Carol laughs. 

“You better not throw up on my ship,” Rocket said dismissively. 

Nebula’s countdown was hardly visible over the sound of your heart. But the moment the jump began you calmed. 

Your mind felt silent, your power, unable to keep up with the movement surrounding you, just gave up. It felt incredible, like a tense muscle relaxing. And the colors. 

Space opened up around you, an indescribeably beautiful swirl of color and light. 

It was over too soon. But on the plus side, no one threw up. 

As Carol goes down for recon you all move about the ship, nervous energy thrumming through the air. 

The planet beneath you didn’t look so different from your own. You wonder about the people there, wonder if they realized what kind of monster was hiding among them.

“There’s no one but him,” Carol’s voice relays on the comms. A whole planet. And not one other being… Anger curls in your chest. 

After Carol gives a full rundow of his location Steve relays your plan of attack. 

You’d approach in teams. You and Carol would go in first since your abilities would give you an advantage. Thor, Rhodes, and Banner would follow - the two suited men assisting in restraining Thanos whole Thor removed the gauntlet. The others would follow.

“We can’t hesitate. If he has even the slightest window he’s going to use it,” Steve says. 

“Let’s do this,” Thor responds, weilding his axe. 

On the planet’s surface you feel suddenly off kilter. That insidious hunger rising in the back of your mind, reaching for the stones and their power. It ached at the base of your skull. 

“Ready?” Carol asks. It pulls your focus away from the strange feeling and replacing it with fear as you remember the last time you faced Thanos. None of you were enough. How could this be- 

The fingers on your right hand tingle, the ghost of a heartbeat beneath your palm. 

Fuck fear. 

“Absolutely,” you say without an ounce of doubt pushing against the ground with your power, sending your body into the air.  

Carol blasts a hole through the roof of Thanos’ hut and shoots inside. You follow her down. 

The moment she has him in a headlock you push your power into him, keeping his body immobile focusing on his left arm. Rhodes and Banner join moments later, adding their strength to restrain this creature. 

Curiously, you realize that you don’t feel the pull of the stones. 

Thor arrives as planned, severing the gauntlet from Thanos’ body, hand and all. 

You release your hold on him, your power lifting the gauntlet, devoid of stones into the air. 

“No,” you breathe, an indescribable dread beginning to fill your chest. 

“Where are they?” Steve demands. Thanos only groans.

“Answer him!” Carol barks tightening her grip on his throat. 

“The universe required correction,” Thanos wheezes. “After that, the stones served no purpose…” His gaze falls to you, “Beyond temptation.” You shiver, stepping back, letting the empty gauntlet fall to the floor. 

Bruce rushes Thanos but you can hardly hear them. The room seems smaller, hotter. Your ears begin to ring, your power throbbing through your body.  

“Where are the stones?” Natasha asks in a trembling voice.

“They’re gone,” he huffs, “reduced to atoms.” 

The shock of his statement tears through all of you, a near tangible wave. 

It only holds you for a breath. 

Atoms. 

Silently you allow your power to sink into the ground beneath you. Just like on earth you can go deeper, deeper until you can feel the fabric of everything. 

You could fix this. You would fix this. 

-

Steve glances at your retreating form. He can’t blame you for leaving, no matter how much he wants to.  

The small hut is immensely oppressive suddenly. Just breathing gets harder with each second. He hadn’t had a panic attack since 1943, he didn’t think he was still capable. But right now he felt that familiar rapid pace of his heart, the tightness in his chest… It blurs the voices around him, everything growing staticky until- 

With a roar Thor severs Thanos’ head from his body in one clean swing. 

He begins to feel the panic recede to make room for the shock. Still he doesn’t move.  

“What now?” Natasha croaks. 

Steve can’t even attempt a response. Rocket begins to rummage somewhere behind him.  

“I know what I’m doing,” Steve turns to see him dragging a small crate. “Taking everything that’s worth anything.” He pries open the crate pulling out something that looks like a wine bottle. The metal top comes off with a tug and he drinks deep. “Including all his booze.”

“Toss me-” Thor is cut off by an ear-splitting crack of thunder.

“Y/N,” Steve says in barely a whisper, cold seeping into his bones. 

Carol beats him outside but he’s on her heels. The ground trembles before they spot you. 

“What the...” Carol breathes. Guilt and fear begin to stir in his gut. 

On the top of the mountain behind Thanos’ hut, you’re barely visible through a growing funnel of dust and cloud, but he knows it’s you. 

“Want a lift?” Carol asks, extending her hand. He nods. In seconds they’re on the mountain top just outside the wall of dust. Another loud boom shatters the otherwise quiet air.  

Visions of that night in Wakanda whir through his mind as he stares. He remembers your pain, your screams, he remembers the blood… and the blood that streamed from your eyes and nose when he and Okoye found you at your house… and- 

“Look out for her.” Bucky’s voice in his head once more. 

The risk didn’t matter. He had to get to you. If you tore him apart in the process so be it but he would not let another person he cared about die. 

He’d taken no more than a step in your direction when Carol’s hand tightened on his upper arm. He tries to pull free but she holds him fast. 

“Look,” Carol says with a note of almost reverence in her voice. 

“I see her! And I wo-” The words die on his tongue. 

In the air between your hands, he can just barely make out six points of light beginning to pulse like stars through the haze. Blue. Green. Yellow. 

“Dear god…” He doesn’t know what else to say. 

The others had arrived at some point, though Steve couldn’t say when. 

“Can… Is she that powerful?” Carol asks, seemingly unable to look away. 

“I don’t know,” Steve answers honestly. 

Natasha steps up beside him, “Steve should we-” Your scream cuts her off. 

This scream isn’t like the one in Wakanda. It’s not the unyielding cry of mourning. Rather this scream is one of barely restrained agony, a soldier shot on the battlefield who refuses to fall, quick but heavy. His breath leaves him in a woosh as he watches your knees hit the ground. 

Your bloody face contorts with pain. Yet your hands remain outstretched, the points of light between them beginning to form ghostly shapes. 

“They’ll destroy her,” Thor says.

Once more Steve pulls at Carol’s grip on him. 

He panics, “We can’t just let her-”

“No,” you say in a voice that is not quite your own. The awful, powerful, resonance of it shakes him to his marrow. “I can do this.”

“It’s her choice,” Rocket says. Steve looks to each person, eyes begging, but they all nod in agreement. 

Filaments of light rise from where the stones are forming like smoke. He notices as some caress your skin, leaving glowing paths in their wake. More and more touch your flesh, searing your outstretched fingertips in zigzagging lines. 

Your back arches, your hands tremble, you cry out once more as the stones flash vibrant and whole for one moment - so fast he could have imagined it - before they vanish. 

The small tremors that had been pulsing through the ground cease, the dust falls, the clouds dissipate. Suddenly the world seems darker and far too still. 

Then there was you, in the middle of a patch of barren ground, sitting back on your heels, body swaying. He’d swear your expression was serene. Something in him knows - even before you release a wet rasping cough, blood flowing from between your lips - that you’re lost. 

Everyone remains frozen, unsure of what to do. Until you collapse, breaking the spell. 

They all rush forward, pushing past him. 

He should help. 

Yet all he can do is watch, paralyzed by the realization that he isn’t sad or heartbroken over your loss. The only thing he feels toward you, as he watches Carol lift your prone form to search for a pulse she won't find, is jealousy.  

-

One moment there was only darkness. A foreign yet curiously familiar weightlessness. Peace.  

The next you felt like you’d swallowed a forest fire. 

Heat bloomed in your chest and abdomen. You could feel the flames crawling up the tiny veins of your eyes and nose, tingling in your skull. 

Gasping, you claw at your throat. Trying to understand what the fuck was happening. 

“You’re ok,” a woman’s voice said in soft tones. “You’re ok. It’ll pass.” It was Carol, one hand supported your back while the other pulled your hand away before you could break skin. 

“Xorrian Elixir, hurts like a bastard but works every time,” she offers you a weak smile. 

“What?” You croak. 

“Nothing,” she shakes her head. “That was one hell of an effort.” 

An effort. 

Not a success. 

You go numb. 

Whatever Carol had given you may have healed your body, pulled you back from the brink, even pushed your power back into its box. But everything you had left, you’d poured into that last act, that final attempt to bring the stones back and reverse this nightmare, no matter the cost. 

And you’d failed. 

There was nothing left. 

Natasha lays a hand on your shoulder, “We’re here.” It takes you a moment to realize what she means. Honestly, you didn’t even remember getting on the ship… 

You follow her out in a fog and stand a few paces away from the others numbly staring into the night sky when suddenly you find yourself tumbling through the air. 

In your present state, you don’t know how to react consciously, but your power catches you before your face meets the ground, acting like a cushion. A memory of Bucky tingles in your mind before it’s interrupted by a voice.

“Get up!” A rough voice, dripping with rage, bellows. 

It doesn’t register as Steve. Only when you roll over, leaning up on your forearms do you realize. His face looms over you, twisted with a dangerous cocktail of emotions. 

“Get up!” His hands grip your jacket, the fabric beginning to tear as he lifts you to your feet. Breaking his grip, you stumble back, unsure what to make of the situation. 

“What the-” You don’t get to finish. 

Steve’s fist cracks against your jaw sending you reeling for a split second. It wasn’t a full-force hit, you sparred with him enough to know that. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. 

Your power pulses over your skin just once, tingling like static. A flicker of emotion rises in your chest, pushing back on the hopeless void just a bit.

“If you’re gonna hit me, Rogers,” you spit blood from where your cheek and teeth met, “don’t insult me by holding back.” 

Roaring, he charges you. 

Everything after that was a blur. 

As it used to do years ago your power fled in the throws of a fight, that part of your mind shuttering itself lest you lose control. You preferred that. True, he was stronger than you, so your power would have helped, but you were quick, smaller, and Bucky had taught you well.  

You pay no mind to the shouts from the others to stop. Blow after blow you just keep going. Neither of you concerned about the consequences. 

Because this felt… good. There was no denying that. The taste of blood and sweat and adrenaline on your tongue. 

“What did you think you were doing?!” He managed to get you in a lock, pinning your arms against your back with your face in the dirt. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” You ask managing to work yourself free. 

“On that fucking mountain. What the hell-” You cut him off with a solid punch to the gut. 

“He said he reduced them to atoms.” It made sense enough to you. 

“And?!” He recovers but you pivot away from his next blow. “Since when can you-”

“Do you not remember Wakanda? Big fucking crater in the ground?"

You continue to dodge one another’s volleys. 

He shakes his head, “You could have died!” Steve somersaults, landing a kick to your shoulder that you weren’t sure didn’t dislocate it. You hiss in pain. 

“So what if I did?” Grimacing you force the join back, nearly screaming. He seems to notice and for the first time, you see his resolve melt, a glimmer of concern showing. 

“One life-” you pant.

“Your life, Y/N!” 

“My life for trillions.” You get his feet from under him, pinning his arms to the ground with your knees. “Same math you did in 1945.” 

He throws you off and you land in a kneeling position. White-hot rage colors his expression. 

“Oh,” you laugh bitterly, “I forgot, Steve Rogers, is the only one who gets to make the sacrifice play right?!” 

Time blurs. It may have been thirty seconds or maybe an hour before you have Steve on the ground once more, his throat between your thighs. You fight with screaming muscles to keep him down. 

“What was I supposed to tell him?” He wheezes.

The question throws your equilibrium, causing you to lose your hold. He sucks in a raspy breath, grips your thighs, lifting you up off the ground and tossing you over his head. 

You expect your power to cushion you but it doesn’t. Your hands burn as they catch your fall, the ground tearing at the skin. 

Anticipating his next move you roll to the side, barely avoiding the body blow he was about to land. He rolls in the opposite direction from you. 

“Guess it doesn’t matter,” he says as he stands, venom in his voice. 

“What?”

 It doesn’t matter because you’re a failure twice over, a voice in your head whispers. But you want him to say it, want someone to recognize it, to hold you accountable for your weakness. 

“You’re clearly moving on just fine,” he spits. You freeze mid-lunge, gaping at him. 

His voice drops low, “Call me old fashioned, but I figured you’d mourn your husband a little longer before having midnight trists in the kitchen.”

The power that had evaded you comes back in a tidal wave. It crackles beneath your skull, humming in your veins. For a breath, it’s overwhelming, the world, and its multitude of layers rising in your awareness. Then it settles just enough for you to gain control and slam it into Steve.

He sucks in a breath as your power constricts him. 

“How dare you,” you say, so low you don’t know if he can hear. You squeeze, feeling tiny blood vessels burst under his skin. 

“Do it,” he huffs, eyes locked on yours. “Do. It.” His anger slips from him with each forced breath replaced by desperation. 

You release him and he stumbles back. 

“We’re not finished, Y/N!” He screams at you as you turn away. Even without your eyes on him, you feel his rapid approach. 

With a thought you lift him from the ground in mid-stride, taking his body several feet into the air before slamming him back down with ground-shaking force. 

“Yes, we are,” you say without looking back.

TAGS

@bluegirlusa1  @l0kisbitch  @tazzi-baby   @woodyandbuzz20-01  @mooniightbucky   @saundrasays  @breezy1415  @alyssaj23  @mywinterwolf  @wonderlandmind4    @anamcg317  @buckaroo-barnes  @jazztherebel  @peachthatdrinkslemonade  @regulusirius   @auskitty  @babyimp1967  @katecolleen  @handplucked  @darkdragonphoenix  @issanitydead  @thestorydetective  @buckysstar    @greyeyedsmile14​  @watchoutforfrostbite​  @for-the-love-of-the-fandom​   @siriuslycloudy2​   @jdoenson​  @gamorazenn​  @wildmoonflower​  @cutie1365​  @demonlover87​  @winterboobearsworld​  @this-kitten-is-smitten​  @amorluzymelodia​  @nutellakirb​  @nighttwingg​ @coffeebeforewater​ @shesalatesh​ @maniacproffesor​

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #natasha x reader #post infinity war

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Field of Poppies Part 17

Summary: After being apart for six years, childhood friends Tommy and Amelia reunite under odd circumstances. Tommy is an outspoken young man and Amelia is pregnant and out on the streets. The bond of family can be unbreakable but it is tested often. Especially when Europe descends into war.

Part 17: Amelia turns to faith for help, Danny Owens gets his nickname in the trenches

            Max found Polly in the betting shop one morning. “Auntie Pol, mummy’s gotten sick again.”

            “It’s okay, love. It’s natural.” Polly assured the little boy. “Come sit with me, I’m sure she’ll be down in a moment.”

            “’Cause of the baby?” He asked, climbing up onto Polly’s lap as she worked in her office.

            “Yes, darling. But she’ll be alright.”

            They had told Max about the baby a little while after they got Tommy’s letter back. Though it was bittersweet, Tommy remarked that he was happy and hoped that he would be home soon. Though he didn’t give false hope about being there in time for the birth. At that point in Amelia’s pregnancy, everyone had given up hope on that happening. Especially as more news about the war hit the homefront. And more men were starting to come back.

            It was horrifying. Men burned, deformed, missing limbs. Their stories started to circulate around Birmingham, the things they’d seen. The things they’d done, what others had done. The horrors they’d witnessed. Knowing the Shelby boys were in the middle of all of that, made Amelia sick to her stomach. She began to go to church with Polly every week. But it never seemed to be enough, so she started to go multiple times a week, sometimes every morning. Even when there was no service, she would go and sit in the empty church and pray.

            She was never particularly religious. Her parents seemed indifferent to the church, as they were more focused on succeeding in life. They never saw prayer or submission to God as a way to move up in the world.

            Amelia felt almost guilty that she was trying to use religion. Trying to comfort herself with prayers to a God she never really believed in. But at that point, she felt so helpless that she needed to do something.

            The priest of the church began to recognize her as she went to church more often. He offered to sit with her for company.

            At first, Amelia just agreed to let him sit with her. Then, she began to tell him about her fears and her doubts.

            Telling a man of the cloth about her lack of faith was a bit funny to her. But Father Carr didn’t seem to mind.   

            “Sometimes I think that it’s all just a cruel joke,” Amelia admitted one day. Max was with Martha and the betting shop was quiet, so she took the free time to visit the church. “To take Tommy away from me while I’m pregnant.”

            “Some things are hard to explain. We ask why God would allow for war to happen. We ask why he allows hardship in our lives. It is beyond our knowledge. Sometimes, religion doesn’t have all the answers like some people think.”

            Amelia looked up at the stained-glass windows that allowed some of the dim light to come in. The particles of light mixed with the hazy smoke from the candles lit at the altar. “I just want him to come home to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~ 

            Danny Owens was the first in the Small Heath group to get seriously injured. While out of the tunnels, in one of the trenches, he was hit by a piece of an artillery shell.

            “For fuck’s sake, if you’re gonna get injured, don’t get hit in the neck,” Arthur said as he held a shirt to Danny’s wound right at the base of his neck.

            “It just grazed me,” Danny replied, trying his best to stay calm and breathe.

            “It’ll be okay.” John kept him propped up so he wouldn’t bleed to death.

            They all learned early on that no one liked tunnelers. They were seen as a danger if they were nearby. So, no one liked to see them in the trenches. That meant they had to take care of themselves and each other.

            “Hold ‘im still,” Jeremiah commanded as he examined the wound, dowsing it in alcohol.

            Danny let out a scream through his gritted teeth as he fought John and Arthur’s hold.

            “No more getting hit with whizz-bangs, Danny,” Tommy commanded, holding Danny’s feet down so he didn’t kick anyone.

            “Yeah, or else we’ll start calling ya that.” John grinned.

            The men chuckled, even getting a bit of a smile from Danny. “Alright.”  

~~~~~~~~~~ 

            It became clear after the first trimester, that this pregnancy would not be as easy as Max’s had been. Amelia began to have spells of dizziness and nausea that could last for days. Polly said it was because of stress, so she tried her best to keep the woman calm and at ease. But there was nothing she could do about the boys still being over in France.

            Everyone was frightened, even Amelia although she wouldn’t admit it. She felt afraid that she was failing her second child before they were even born.

            Max was starting to pick up on the anxiety around his mother and became very clingy to her. He would wail and cry if she was even in the next room. She couldn’t leave him for more than half an hour before he would panic. He began to sleep in her bed, terrified she would disappear in the middle of the night.

            “He doesn’t want you to go anywhere.” Polly surmised one afternoon when Amelia could finally get the young boy to go down for a nap. “He remembers Tommy leaving so he doesn’t want you to leave either.”

            Amelia felt so helpless. She couldn’t even comfort her own child because the world was in such chaos.

            Polly had to stop her from reading the news or listening to the radio. She wrote to Tommy telling him to keep his letters to his wife light. She said Amelia couldn’t handle any bad news.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

            On Max’s sixth birthday, Amelia tried her best to keep everything together. She threw together a party. Polly closed the shop for the day and all their friends and family gathered. Well, the friends and family that were still there and not serving overseas.

            Amelia bought toys for Max, some she signed ‘daddy’, just so her son felt like Tommy was near. He had already sent a letter wishing his son a happy birthday and wishing he could be there to celebrate. Max seemed sad his father couldn’t come to attend the party, but it wasn’t any different to any ordinary day. It had been over a year since the Shelby boys had left. Next March would mark two years.

            On the morning of the party, Amelia found Max looking at a picture of Tommy in his uniform.

            “You alright, love?” She asked softly. “Are you excited for your birthday?”

            “Yeah.” He replied quietly, his mind off wandering.

            “What are you doing with daddy’s picture?” She wondered.

            “Dunno. Just looking.” He shrugged, not looking away. “Don’t wanna forget what he looks like.”

            Amelia couldn’t shake that feeling of heartache the rest of the day. Even during the festivities and among familiar faces. She felt utterly alone.

            After Max had opened all his gifts, everyone was sitting in the parlor enjoying each other’s company. Amelia felt distant, standing near the couch, half-listening to the conversations around her.

            Then, she picked up on a conversation Charlie was having with one of the Strong men who had come to celebrate with them.

            “Yeah, right on Farringdon. Those fuckers.” Charlie muttered. “Twenty-two people dead. Only a matter of time they set their sights on Birmingham.”

            “For fuck’s sake.” The other man shook his head. “Thought this was a war among countries, not a war on the innocents. They wanna bomb each other, go ahead, but they can’t be fucking bombing regular people like us.”

            Without having much access to the news under Polly’s advice, Amelia hadn’t heard of the bombings or attempted bombings on British soil. Suddenly, shock and panic overtook her entire body. It felt like her heart stopped completely and her vision went black.

            Luckily, Charlie was able to catch the pregnant woman before she hit her head on the coffee table. The party ceased the fun and immediately rushed to Amelia’s aid. Polly shoved to the front and checked on her.

            “Call a doctor!” She shouted when she saw Amelia’s pale face.

            Max began to cry for his mum as Ada comforted her nephew best she could.

            Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997 @tarafaithe @evelynshelby

Tag list: @shelbyblinded

Masterpost

PB Masterlist

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby fanfiction #tommy shelbyxoc #tommy shelbyxofc #fanfiction #ofc #ocs #oc #polly gray #ada shelby #charlie strong #arthur shelby #john shelby #jeremiah jesus #danny owens #pre canon #pre season 1 #ww1 #cillian murphy #cillian murphy character #cillian murphy fanfiction #cillian murphy thomas shelby #peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders ofc

[clansayeed]

Hey Jack! I wanted to know what your thoughts are on Rheya. Was she really a villain to you? Were her motives justifiable? Was she a good villain? Did you think she deserved to have a redemption arc in chapter 16? What could have been written to make her have a better character story? Any thoughts at all about Rheya!

FOREWARNING: Anon... I accidentally wrote you a 2500 word essay. I shit you not this thing is 2,528 words long. So... I don’t know whether to say you’re welcome or I’m sorry. Just letting you know in advance.

ADD-ON POST-POSTING: I’m fully aware this is an app game. A three book series written with sexying vampires in mind. Where the medium is limited both size and content-wise, where you can’t go into much detail because they can only have so many panels in a chapter, etc. Still thinking what I think though. And if you get paid to create content professionally the least you can do for your own paycheck is go back and double-check your work.

Actually this ask came at a good time since I have to work on some character motivations for her for my series... and I always break down the in-canon versions before working on my own. So anon, let’s talk... are you a mind reader?

Kidding! mostly

So. Rheya.

I actually just finished my first replay of book 2 and at the moment I’ve only ever played book 3 the once. I played it as it was releasing so there were some memory gaps in some places and needed-refreshers in others. But on a whole I have similar thoughts about Rheya as I do Xenocrates, and you can find those thoughts here.

Overall she was a solid setup, good design and potential, and PB pretty much wasted her execution.

I wanna start with a genuine question to the fandom since I’ve never actually been able to ask this... but y’all like... totally saw the Bloodkeeper being related to her coming, right? Like I was so convinced of it that when it was revealed in some big dramatic point at the end I was like “yeah... they told us this...?” and it turns out they fuckin didn’t??? Like I could not understand the people who were like super into her sprite like yes she looks good but here I was thinking she was our ancestor from the get-go so I was... confused to say the least.

Not gonna lie when they started pushing in snippets of Rheya’s past trauma in book 2 (things like her yelling “you know what they did to me/took from me” which is paraphrased but you know what I mean) I really hoped they weren’t gonna do what they did. So of course they did it.

But I wish they’d like... just given her the kid. Just give her Iola and leave the weird suddenly random husband out of it. At this point we know Gaius has an unhealthy idolatry for her, we know Xenocrates adored her in his own way in his youth... but we know fuckall about Demetrius up to and including his existence until literally book 3. Sloppy, IMO. They took something not being mentioned and used it to put in a plot device when the omission should have been strategical.

TBH I thought the whole “you know what they did to me” was gonna get hella dark RE: Rheya and King Kaelisus’ obsession with her. That’s as far as I’ll go there.

But you have a Priestess, a known Priestess, who was definitely faithful enough not to stray even when she thought she was walking to her own death. It’s pretty easy to assume (as I did ngl) that she would be completely devoted to Phampira, including romantically/sexually. It would have been a good setup to explain why she never gave Gaius the goods if anything.

And there’s nothing wrong with having said Priestess have her own family while still being devoted. I just wish PB would have used some fucking forethought and hinted at that earlier on than they did. Because they didn’t hint. They dropped this random fisherman-something husband on us and told us she cared enough about his opinion to make him part of her advisory board but not... to like... mention him in any of her conversations in any of the flashbacks... including those in which he would have been alive.

On that note the whole timeline there is really messy, they obviously threw him and Iola in later on after some things were established/couldn’t be taken back. I’ve studied this shit extensively and it’s really muddled exactly how long Rheya ruled, when shit went down with her family, how much time had passed when Xenocrates staked her, etc.

I would have loved for Iola’s father not to have been there. Give me a strong woman, a strong single mother, who would burn the world for the loss of her daughter. Doesn’t matter who did the deed, Iola was hers and the Sons/Order took that from her and the world would have to pay the price.

If I had been given that I would end all of my complaints right here. I would, genuinely. Because then her descent into madness, her paranoia, her megalomania would all have been explained. And they still technically are but -- maybe it’s just me -- there’s something about her having to factor in Demetrius that just... takes me out of it. IDK.

I didn’t mind the guy... though him being a talking tree of doom was a little much for me... though by that point I had accepted the plot was off the goddamn rails and just kept nodding and going with it. But his presence made the story okay when his absence could have made the story impactful and powerful and emotional. That’s just my thoughts. Which you asked for. You did this.

No takesies-backsies.

Was she a villain? Hells to the yes.

It’s a classic case of obtaining ultimate power and abusing it; of crossing the line between justice and vengeance. Not that she wasn’t justified in her freak-out over the death of her family. But everything after up to and including her fatal feeding schedule was totally unnecessary. For a villain, yes necessary. 

For a vampire goddess who could have easily used Gaius’ influence over the vampires of the modern world to form a cult following around herself with an open dialogue about her big ass appetite and probably would have ended up with swaths of willing adorers ready to lend their blood to her cause thus eliminating the need for secrecy and subsequent feeling of betrayal...

You tell me.

I feel like she was definitely more than a little hyped up though. Not even going into my whole-ass issue with the entire Unchained plot and thus the first like 4-5 chapters of book 3, she was hyped up in myth and kind of a let down in person. She could FLY. Walk in the SUN. Heal the DYING. She’s vampire JESUS.

*ADDED IN LATER: She took out THE ENTIRE ORDER OF THE DAWN, WHO HAVE RAVAGED THE VAMPIRE POPULATION FOR LITERALLY 3000 YEARS since they were around in her time after all IN LIKE A THREE-MOVE COMBO BREAK. ALL THIS SHIT THEY HYPED WITH THE ORDER and their entire ERADICATION isn’t even an ON-SCREEN THING. Unless you pay.

Dude if they had kept Xenocrates and the Order and used the two of them against each other; the Order’s long-standing influence on the modern world versus the new world Rheya wanted to create with the human populations not knowing the history behind their hatred, where like the first half of the book is Rheya and MC and gang taking out the Order and Xenocrates only to find out in the middle point that she’s been doing it for selfish reasons and they were on the wrong team the whole time and THEN Rheya becomes the big bad... I would have enjoyed the shit out of that.

Anyway. “She’s vampire JESUS...” and her big evil plan is to... suck face on national television? IDK. It didn’t play the mood right for me. I can see from a writer’s perspective how they kind of played out all of their options and went with a quick and easy solution... but it didn’t work for me. That’s a no from me dawg.

Do I think she deserved a redemption arc? I don’t think anybody deserved a god damn redemption arc, unless they are done with extreme care and attention to detail before/during/after said arc they go horribly, and overall tend to be the plot device pick of lazy writers.

And I take nothing back. No like I think I might have gone into how much I fucking hated Gaius’ “reDEmPtiON aRc” before or at least I have somewhere and to someone. Probably Sofia... no most definitely Sofia. But anyway. They spend TWO GOD DAMN BOOKS hyping Gaius as this ultimately irredeemable bad guy. 

OMG I was literally playing the book 2 finale and got a quote hold on... HERE. Adrian literally says about Gaius in 2.16 “It’s like there’s no humanity left.” And that’s just one actual example of the tons of times they make him out to be devoted to Rheya of his own volition, the ultimate example of the line between believing in something and being blinded to everything by it, etc. Like a huge chunk of Kamilah’s and Adrian’s arcs RE: Gaius are about how he was definitely a monster, he turns the people around him into monsters, and while they have worked their asses off to be good and right their wrongs he has not, will not, and would not ever do such a thing.

Then suddenly he’s brainwashed, tried to turn Rheya down and was made into a loony toon because of it, and everything he made MC’s loved ones do that they blamed themselves for but needed to blame him for is suddenly Rheya’s fault and now we should blame her for.

Mmmmmkay sweetie. I’m good, thanks.

But really -- that was the last straw for me when it came to both Gaius and Rheya. There’s a difference between giving the villain something they see as a just cause (ex. Rheya avenging her family) and giving the villain a cop-out that absolves them of guilt (ex. Gaius and... everything about him). Like yes I know MC didn’t have to forgive him, I know Kamilah didn’t really forgive him, but it’s pretty fuckin obvious from how it was put out into the world story that the writers were trying to lean you towards blaming Rheya and letting Gaius off the hook.

I mean... making him save Lula for real when Rheya saved her for fake earlier on in the book, using Lula as a stand-in metaphor for her own child daughter that she finds out she was the cause of her death for, etc? That symbolism is so transparent I could put it in the asset database.

And I’ll only briefly touch on this since I could write a whole other essay on the matter RE: PB and their fucking constant repetition of this, but “let’s give both bad guys similar moral quandaries but suddenly reveal it was a consent issue and the woman is wholly to blame and now gets the man’s crimes piled on with her own” is super common in fiction and hella. fucking. sexist.

But that isn’t to say all of this is necessarily bad.

When done right, everything I’ve complained about above can be a part of a really good story. What “done right” means is different for everyone, everyone has a different example and different thoughts on it. These are mine. I think the better term would be done well. It was not done WELL.

But given things like PB’s weird obsession with redeeming the attractive (apparently) bad guy, PB’s history with narrowing a woman down to one trait or part of her (ex. Rheya’s power corruption centered around her role as a wife and mother and not... a super all powerful vampire goddess...), their obvious lack of attention to detail and overall lack of vision when it comes to the big picture* and more, I personally don’t think they knew what the fuck they wanted by book 3 and were already well into transitioning into whatever adultery-obsessed lingerie shenanery they’re fixated on now; so much so that it’s almost a disservice to the writing done in earlier book 1 and a decent chunk of book 2 when calling it a whole series.

*I keep bringing this up only because it means I can back up stuff like this with real examples of theirs: these guys did not write the plot of this series as a cohesive story. I get that, as a writer writing a big series myself I get the fuck out of that. But you have to solidify some things early on in the development process in order to avoid writing yourself into a hole or, like with this, having to result in trope-y plot devices that work in theory but on paper don’t give the story the full-circle fulfillment it deserves. 

Their timelines are out of whack, they contradict themselves in quite a few places, constantly wishy-washy their own lore, and definitely didn’t go back and double check if they’d said something already... and that’s not including where they focused on the details of one unimportant thing and left another more important thing to just be “and this is the way it is moving on.”

I literally have no way/idea how to summarize any of this bullshittery going on in this ask. Did I like Rheya? The character personality, design, and overall idea as this big ass badass power/hungry goddess demanding fealty was pretty cool. Did I like Rheya when they narrowed her story down to her grief over her family (which, again, is valid, but just seemed really disjointed and rushed when compared to everything else they had given about her/shown of her by the beginning of book 3)? Not... as much.

I think they wanted her to seem like she could be redeemed. I mean FFS in the “big battle” she literally just stands there and lets you do the thing. 3000 years imprisoned and however many centuries before that spent taking the power that she was denied all because some bad dudes in masks killed the mortal husband and daughter you would have eventually lost to old age anyway...? And she just stands there??? 

Even knowing she was really behind Iola’s death they could have stuck with the “madness consumed” plotline and had her be like well... what’s done is done back to taking over now thank you.

But sometimes a bad guy just has to be a bad guy. Rourke from ES, mister capitalism -- can’t remember them trying to redeem him. If they had I don’t think I would have liked it so much. Who else... UGH. Thomas in NB. Crazy zombie man wants all monsters dead because one killed his family (can we stop using dead families for grief porn please and thanks...) another example of a useless villain. Hence why I removed him from my NB rewrite don’t even get me going...

What’s his face in TCATF! Luther! You join up with him and he still tries to kill you in the end! Now that was fucking classic. Hex, who suddenly is forgiven for the literal enslavement of a race of people and the thoughtless murder of a civilization that didn’t agree with her.. and all because she was ‘like a mother’ to the kid genius? Not so much.

I could go on and on and go search out tons of examples but in the end the one thing you can say PB does well is that they stay consistent in their ideas of redemption, of who deserves it and who isn’t, and just how far they’re willing to stretch the fucking story to forgive a character if 1. the sprite is hot or 2. the sprite had a little sprite family somewhere in there.

legit just talk to me about bb/nb

#; ask jack #diving in depth: bloodbound #rheya apostolous #re: bloodbound #bloodbound #consent tw #;; like just a brief sentence about it but wanted to tag accordingly #;; also fair warning this is LONG AS FUCK ANON #;; and in many places real damn preachy #;; so I'm sorry in advance and in no way expect my thoughts and opinions to be the only ones #;; and know much of my thoughts are colored by my experiences and others have their own valid thoughts and opinions #;; which should be a given but I just wanted to put it in writing just in case #;; you know how it be #Anonymous

[missnxthingg]

Hi again!! If you’re still accepting requests can I have one with Peter? Maybe unrequited love in the start then Peter starts to date MJ. The reader decides to move on but Peter suddenly realized who he really loves? Thank you!!!

Summary: Peter and (Y/N) have been best friends since forever, but things changed when he started to go out with MJ.

A/N: So, I had a little chat with my fren anon and we discussed what to do with this one and I really loved the concept. Something similar to this happened to both of us, but it ended up much better than my story. 

Words: 7.7K

Pairing: Peter Parker x Best Friend!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, angst(and a little mention of sex).

masterlist | main blog | gif source | quarantine playlist | song title

CAMOUFLAGE

Peter was the best friend anyone could ever dream of having. You remember him being by your side since you two met in middle school when you were 12 and you had just moved from New Jersey to New York. He didn’t have many friends and you didn’t either, due to the fact that you were new in the city and didn’t know much people. He was just the nicest boy in the world and a very smart one, the kind of guy the teachers loved but wasn’t very appreciated by his colleagues.

You were different. You instantly knew you wanted to be friends with him when you saw him coming to school with a Star Wars t-shirt and a shy smiled on his face. And your friendship was the prettiest, it was like both of you were inseparable since day one. He introduced you to May and you introduced him to your parents. They didn’t mind having you hanging out all the time and that was what made you two inseparable.

“Hey, (Y/N). I was wondering if you wanted to get ice cream with me and my aunt after school.” He asked shyly during the break and that made you smile.

“Sure Pete, it will be fun!” 

You were 12, but you were sure of one thing. You were Peter’s first best friend and he was your first crush. God, that boy was cute as hell and you were overwhelmed by him and his friendship. You harboured small feelings for him through long years and it followed you to High School when you followed each other to Midtown High. Of course, in the beginning, you were sure it was just a small thing because you didn’t know many people, but High School came to prove you wrong. 

There you got to meet a lot of new people, starting with Ned, an addition to your little gang. And then, a lot of people were appearing, like Michelle Jones, Liz Allen, Flash Thompson, Betty Brant and many others that were always hanging out with them. It was a whole new thing and they were experiencing new things together.

“Pete, I have to tell you something.” You came excited to him during a party and he seemed excited too. “I just had my first kiss.”

“Me too!” He said and for a second, you weren’t excited anymore with the fact that Peter kissed someone else. You were sure your feelings went away when you got to High School, but clearly, it wasn’t. “Who was it?”

“Harry Osbourn. And yours?”

“Liz Allen! Isn’t that amazing? She’s hot and everything.”

“Yeah, it is.” You faked a smiled and he hugged you.

“But don’t worry, you’re still my favourite.”

Things between you and him didn’t change much you two, except for the fact that now you were into dating people, much more mature. Also, a little thing happened through the sophomore year. After getting bit by the spider, Peter got hot, like extremely hot and it wasn’t helping with your feelings. Neither was your proximity since you were the only one Peter trusted to tell you everything, even his new little secret. The years started to pass and you grew even closer as if it was somehow possible, but you weren’t complaining about it. Peter started to be more affective with you and you did too.

“Hey, beautiful.” He kissed the top of your head and sat next to you at your usual table in the cafeteria.

“Hey, Pete. What did you bring for lunch?”

“Strawberries, salty pretzels and mini carrots. You?”

“PB and J sandwichs. Wanna switch?” He nodded and gave you his lunch.

“Cute.” Betty sat down with Ned to have lunch with them and made the two friends blush.

“Kinda gross.” MJ said joining them.

“So, movie night, this Friday, my place.” Ned said, making MJ and Betty moan.

“God, can we do something else?” Betty asked.

“Movie nights are just an excuse for you nerds to either watch Star Wars or Harry Potter. We never watch anything else.” MJ said and Betty agreed.

“That’s not true, we watched Back to The Future last month.” Ned defended.

“I don’t want to spend my Friday night stuck in some apartment.”

“Well, we can go mini-golfing.” Peter suggested and everyone agreed.

“I’m not sure I can make it Friday. It’s my aunt’s birthday and we’re going to Long Island for the party. But don’t worry about me.”

“Uhm, that’s a bummer.” MJ said and everyone nodded.

“But hey, we’re still having our study date after school, right? Maybe you can sleepover and have a movie night, just the two of us.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” You smiled at him and he nodded.

“God, just marry already.” Betty teased and everyone laughed.

“Very funny.” You rolled your eyes and finished your quick food.

“Come on, let me walk you to class.” He stood up and you followed him.

“Those two are so gonna end up together.” Ned said turning back to his food.

And that’s what you thought too, at least for a while. Peter was all caring and sweet with you, always finding a way to make you smile. Also, the small “dates” were a booster to their relationship. It made her fall in love with him even more.

“Popcorn and sweets.” Peter sat next to her on the couch, where she just finished organizing their school stuff after a long afternoon of studies. “Did you choose a movie?”

“Yes. And we’re watching Devil Wears Prada because I’m in the mood for this movie.”

“Okay, whatever you choose boss.” He cuddled next to her over a blanket and passed the popcorn bowl to her lap. You started the movie and leaned on Peter’s shoulder to get comfortable.

“I’m so glad we kept doing this over the years. It makes me really happy.”

“Me too.” He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to cuddle. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She smiled and her whole body shivered at the words.

That was just it. Peter was your everything and you tried to make him happy just as much as he makes you happy. You loved him with every inch of you and you were comfortable that way. Loving and being loved back was the best feeling in the world, except for maybe, your love towards Peter was a little different from the one he was giving you. He thought of you as a friend and every time you remembered it, your heart ached. But at that moment, it didn’t matter, you were comfortable as hell in his arms, watching one of your favourite movies and eating delicious snacks.

When Friday came, you very reluctantly followed your parents to Long Island for your aunts birthday, not without one last goodbye to your friends and a long hug from Peter. You wanted more than anything to go mini-golfing with your friends, but you still had a mother and you need to obey her.

“That’s a bummer.” Peter fixed your hair, pulling a stray behind your ear. “Wish you could come along.”

“It’s okay, Long Island will be fun! I love the suburbs and their barbecues, lazy people…”

“(Y/N), I’m your best friend, you don’t have to pretend you like the suburbs.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be pretty bad.” You laughed along with him and gave him a tight hug. “Call me later?”

“Aren’t you gonna be busy coming back to the city?” He asked and she shrugged.

“At least text me.” He nodded and gave her a forehead kiss before leaving. “Have fun.”

“You too, babe.”

And Long Island was a bore. Even though you loved your family, they didn’t know how to throw a party and you spent most of the night drinking soda with your cousins playing shared, but wanting more than ever to be with your friends. You were bored, resting your body in an armchair and your mind just went to Peter a lot, like something was happening with him and you couldn’t settle without thinking about the boy.

Your parents decided to leave earlier because it was a long way back to the city and you were the only family that came using the train, which would be having the last one in less than fifteen minutes. You sat alone on the train, letting your parents sit together in another booth, and got busy with your phone and seeing some Instagram stories of your friends having fun together. You locked your phone and rested your head against the window, too tired and frustrated to do anything. Until someone texted you.

Pete: “Hey. Can you call me when you get home?”

(Y/N): “Sure, I’m almost getting home, hold on.”

And boy, if you could have avoided that conversation, you would. See, you didn’t know you were walking towards a conversation you didn’t know you didn’t want to have, but the first thing you did when your parents went to their room was sit in your fire escape and call Peter.

“Hey, sorry I took too long. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s perfect! You won’t ever believe what happened today.” Peter sounded excited and even though you were happy he was happy, you started to feel a little bad because you weren’t there to see it. “Okay, you ready?”

“Just spill the beans, Pete.” You laughed before he said anything.

“I kissed MJ today.” Your laughter died instantly and your heart sank, your whole world crashed around you and you were pretty sure you felt a tear fall down. “And she agreed to go on a date with me. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were into MJ. You never told me.” Her voice was weak and low, definitely not excited about what had just happened.

“I thought it was obvious. Anyway, I need some help to plan the perfect date and no one is better than you.”

“Okay. Uhm, I’m tired. Do you think we can talk about it later?” You tried not to make him notice you weren’t as excited as he was, or even that you were crying. But Peter knew you too good.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t sound so good.”

“I’m feeling a little sick, just a cold. Don’t worry about it.”

“Of course I worry, you’re my best friend. And you were the one who literally stuck by my side the last time I was ill. Do you want me to swing to your place? Spider-Man can be there in a second.” He tried to say it with a cheerful voice and it actually made you smile a little because at least he worries about you.

“No, I’ll survive. But thank you for worrying.”

“I’ll swing by your apartment tomorrow, okay baby?”

“Okay. Oh and Pete… I’m happy for you, sorry if I didn’t sound so excited, my head is hurting a lot.” It took her a lot of guts to say it.

“Thank you. Take an aspirin and rest, okay? I love you, sleep well.”

“I love you too. Good night, Pete.”

“Good night, beautiful. Call me if you need anything, at any time.”

“I will, promise.”

That night you stood up, crying your heart out and mourning about what happened. You didn’t shut your eyes for the whole night and everything around her reminded her of Peter, including the pajama she was using for sleep for the last two nights, one of Peter’s science shirts. It was the most heartbreaking night of her life and she couldn’t believe that he actually chose someone else because deep down she always thought they would end up together.

When the morning came, Peter stopped by really early, finding you with a horrible appearance due to the fact that you didn’t sleep all night and really looked like you were sick. But Peter was always concerned about you, you were his best friend and he wanted to see you okay. So he made you breakfast and slipped inside your room after your mom letting him in, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Hey.” You whispered softly to see him next to you.

“Hey, sorry for being so early. I spent the whole night awake worrying about you.”

“That’s sweet.” You sat in your bed and he leaned in to give you a forehead kiss. “I didn’t sleep too. Feeling pretty awful.”

“I brought you breakfast. I had May making you waffles and I did some hot cocoa when I got here.”

“Thank you, you’re the best.” You gave him some space to lie down with you, which he did, pulling you into a hug. “Hey, you got a date.”

“Yeah, I do. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about MJ earlier, but I’m really happy that I got to finally kiss her.”

“I’m happy for you.” Maybe if you kept saying it over and over, you would start believing it. 

“But I’m here to take care of you, so no talking about my dating life, even though I’m dying to ramble on about it.” He said with a big smile which made you chuckle softly.

“You can ramble on about it.” 

“I’m just so happy. I never thought a girl would like me that way. And last night was amazing, we had a lot of fun together and when we went to get some more soda, I asked if I could kiss her and she took the first step. Like, I haven’t kissed many girls but she was definitely the best one yet. And when she agreed to go out with me, it was the best feeling in the world.”

“I’m glad you got your date with the girl you like.” You smiled weakly and he smiled back. “I wish I could have the same as you guys have.”

“Hey, I’m sure you’ll find someone that will like you just as much as I like Michelle.” Ouch, that hurt.

“Uhm, I’m really tired.” You said finishing the breakfast and Peter lied in your bed.

“C’mere, I’ll help you sleep.” He pulled you to lie down with him and settled you into a comforting hug.

“Thank you for being here.”

“I’ve always been here and I’ll always be. Don’t you ever think that just because I started dating I will stoping teasing you. You’re still my first friend, my best friend.”

“I know you always will. I love you.”

“I love you too, now rest, we both need it.”

The next weeks were rough, watching Peter and MJ together wasn’t at all pleasant to you. Peter would now sit next to her instead of sitting next to you like he normally does. Also, he has been much more affectioned with her in public and it only got worst when they went out on their first date when Peter made sure she was now his girlfriend. You tried to be supportive, as much as it hurt you to do so, because he didn’t deserve this negativity over his new relationship, especially coming from his best friend.

“I have a girlfriend. It’s still hard to believe it.” Peter said during chem class and since you were lab partners, you couldn’t avoid him, like you were trying to do in real life. “I mean, I’m Peter Parker. I’m a nerdy boy and someone actually likes it.”

“Pete, I don’t know why you’re surprised, you’re amazing.” You reassured him and he smiled softly.

“I don’t know, I think everyone gets surprised right? Doesn’t matter, I have an awesome girlfriend.” He smiled at her, sitting with Betty some tables ahead and she smiled back. “We need to find someone for you, so we can double date.”

“Peter, I’m fine. I don’t want a boyfriend right now, I just want to focus on my studies and get into Harvard by the end of the year.”

“But I want both of us going through this experience together. We always do everything together.”

“That’s not how things work, Pete.”

But he didn’t drop it and it would eventually pop into your conversations. At least he was still talking to you and acting the same around you, making it less hard to cooperate with your feelings. But when they started to get more serious, he started to change around you. Of course, he would always talk to you, but suddenly MJ came first. You understood it, after all, she’s his girlfriend and should be the person he trusts the most, but you missed your old friendship.

You haven’t had a movie night alone in ages and when the gang organized a movie night, you were the only one ending up alone since now you were the only single one in the gang. Also, Peter stopped swinging by your apartment to hang out or just to tell you he’s safe. He didn’t hug or kiss your cheek as often now, even when you were alone. But it was okay, you kept repeating to yourself it was okay, but it was getting even harder to believe. At least he would still talk to you.

“I’m worried about you feeling lonely.” He suddenly spoke during one of your rare moments alone, studying in the library. “I mean, everyone in the gang has a significant other and you’re still alone. I worry about that.”

“First, ouch. You don’t need to throw it in my face every time.” You said with a laughing tone, which made him laugh. “Second, I’m fine, really. I just… miss you a little. We haven’t hung out in ages.”

“What do you mean? We hang out all the time.”

“Yeah, but not alone like we used to do.” You fixed your hair to cover the red appearing in your ears.

“I’m really sorry, it’s just… I’ve been busy with… my internship. Also, trying to conceal that with my MJ time it’s been really hard.”

“It’s okay.”

“But I’ll make it up to you, soon. I promise.”

But he never did and eventually, you started to get angry about it, maybe a little bit cheated. You wanted to move on more than anything. It took a while but you did, leaving Peter and MJ alone to start having some fun around and maybe date some guys. And what better way to start it with Flash’s birthday party.

“I’m sorry (Y/N), but I think Ned and I are not coming to the party.” Betty said one day at the table when you asked if they would come to the party.

“Betty’s mom is taking us to Cape May this weekend.” Ned completed her sentence.

“Yeah, MJ and I can’t either. It’s our four-month anniversary, so I’m taking her out.” Peter said and you nodded, a little bummed that you were going alone to the party.

“Well, I’m going anyway.” You shrugged and Peter gave you a confused look, which you ignored and started to gather your things. “I’m gonna get going guys, see you later!”

You started our walk to your locker and Peter caught your pace after a couple of seconds. “Hey, are you sure about going to that party alone?”

“Yeah, why not? There’s plenty of people I know and I’ll have a good time.”

“I don’t know, (Y/N). I’m kinda worried, there’s gonna be alcohol and Flash lives in the suburbs, far away from your house.”

“I’ll probably crash with some of my cheerleader friends, don’t worry.”

“Of course I worry. I don’t know if you remember, but I’m still your best friend?”

“Are you? Really? Because I feel that for the last months you’re not really caring about me.”

“What do you mean?” He frowned and you took a deep breath.

“What I mean is that I’m being left out, at least I’m feeling like it, especially from you.” You let a small tear fall down from your face, but you quickly wiped it away. Peter was speechless and didn’t know what to say.

“(Y/N)...” 

“It’s okay Peter, I get that you’re too busy for me. Go save the world, I don’t care.” You started to walk away but he held you by the wrist.

“Please, can we talk?” He parted his lips and locked his eyes with yours.

“There’s nothing to talk about Peter. I already said it was okay and if you don’t mind letting me go, it’s hurting my wrist and I have to get to cheer practice.” He let go of your wrist and you turned around to walk away. He didn’t run after you this time.

You ended up really going to the party and it was amazing. You got to meet new people and dance all night long with your new cheerleading friends. Not actually worrying about anything was good and you even hooked up with a guy that night and it was really good. For the first time in forever, you didn’t think about Peter for even a second. Maybe this was finally you moving on. Peter, on the other hand, didn’t stop thinking about you for even a second that day, too worried about any bad thing happening to you or if your discussion meant that you weren’t friends anymore. Even MJ noticed something was off but didn’t comment because if he didn’t tell her, he clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

You were positive you were going to crash with your friend after the party, so time wasn’t an issue. It was already late and you were still doing shots with the girls in the kitchen. Your phone long-forgotten started to vibrate, a text from Peter.

Peter: “Hey, are you home already?”

You: “No. Why?”

Peter: “Can I take you home?”

You: “What about your date?”

Peter: “Already took her home. Please, let me come pick you up. I’m worried, something is not good.”

You: “I’m perfectly fine, Peter. I’m crashing at Stacie’s.”

Peter: “Please, I’m so worried about you.”

You: “Fine. I’ll be waiting inside the house.”

After that moment, the party practically ended for you and you weren’t as excited anymore. You sat down and waited for Peter to arrive and pick you up. The party was having its end and Peter stepped into the room looking beautiful as ever. Your drunk ass couldn’t take your eyes off him wearing nice clothes, maybe even new ones. He rushed to you sitting on the couch and sat next to you.

“Hey.” He said and you blinked slowly. “Come on, let me take you home. You look super drunk.”

“I’m fine.” You moaned and got up with a little help from him. He pulled you out of the party and you could see May’s car parked there. He didn’t swing there, but he took so little time to get there. “You were already driving here before I even told you it was okay, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” He admitted and you leaned against the car. “Look, I was worried okay? Even if you don’t believe me, I still care about you.”

“Well, that’s something I don’t believe anymore.” You involved yourself with your own arms to prevent 

“You’re shaking. Here.” He removed his denim jacket from his body and threw it around your back.

“Thank you.” You stopped debating and finally let him take care of you.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” He opened the door for you and you sat in the passenger seat right next to him. He started the car and drove in silence back to the city.

“Why did come all the way over here? Weren’t you supposed to be on a date?”

“I ended it earlier, saying I wasn’t feeling so good.”

“You’re an idiot.” You mumbled and he frowned. “You ditched your girlfriend to come after me, someone who didn’t want you to be here.”

“But I wanted to be here for you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my best friend, okay? You might not be mine anymore, but I am yours.”

“What the fuck? Now you’re making it feel like it’s my fault.”

“And it isn’t?”

“No! You might not notice this Peter, but our relationship changed after the day you started dating MJ. And I really try to be there and support you, but you completely shut me off your life. We never hang out anymore and we don’t talk about stuff anymore.”

“You don’t understand it, you have never had a boyfriend.”

“Well, I would never stop being friends with you if I got one.” He pulled the brakes and stopped the car.

“So we’re not friends anymore?” He asked now looking into your eyes, with his now full of tears.

“I guess we’re not.” Those were the hardest words you had ever said to him. He nodded and started to drive again in silence.

It took a while until you got back to the city and the silence made you fall asleep leaning against the window, with tears drying on your cheeks as you silently cried. You woke up feeling carried by strong arms, you slightly opened your eyes and saw Peter carrying you bridal style through your building, but the alcohol in your system couldn’t get you to stay awake, even though you noticed everything around you. He lied you in bed and removed your shoes before covering you up. He sat next to you and started to caress your face.

“I guess this is goodbye.” His voice cracked and you felt his hand shaking against your cheek. “It hurts to let you go, but I guess we don’t fit each other now. Just so you know, I will always be here for you, even if you don’t want to. We made a spit pact years ago that we would always be best friends and care for each other. Well, I’m willing to not break this pact, even though you don’t wanna talk to me. I love you, I hope this is just a phase.”

But it wasn’t just a phase. After that day you stopped hanging out with the gang. You didn’t know which excuse Peter gave them, but it worked and none of them even came to talk to you. So you just started hanging with the cheerleaders and started to make some new friends. Peter and MJ were closer than ever, anyone could notice it even from far away. But then again, all your mourning over their relationship was now over since you didn’t have contact with them anymore. Also, you met an amazing guy and you were hanging out a little and maybe it was going somewhere, but you didn’t know if you were going anywhere from that point, even though he was being really sweet to you all the time.

Peter did notice you were dating and quietly observed you having a good time with your guy from the corner. He wasn’t the jealous type and it never happened with MJ, but Peter didn’t know why he got so angry when he saw you with him, all smiley and comfy next to him. But he was obviously really discreet and got it all unnoticed by everyone him. Although, some people like May noticed that he was a little weird, but let it slip.

Eventually, things started to get a little hard on everyone since it was the end of senior year and everyone was freaking out about college and all that stuff. You were exhausted and working your ass off to get through your finals. One day you even fell asleep in your school clothes, over your notebooks with the window opened, letting cold October wind come inside your room. You only woke up when you felt warm hands on your back.

"Peter? What are you doing here? It's two in the morning."

"I saw the window opened and the lights on. We need to talk."

"Oh, so we're talking now."

"You were the one who said we weren't friends anymore."

"You said it too." You were raising your voice, but you stopped it because you realized it was two in the morning and Peter was wearing his Spider suit and if your parents woke up, they would freak out.

"I've been miserable, thinking what have I done to let you so upset to the point you didn't even wanna talk to me. But I never got an answer."

"Was it really that hard? You completely shut me off, you didn't hang out with me anymore, we didn't talk about anything and suddenly you even stopped saying hi to me with a hug." You let one tear fall down and you quickly wiped it off.

"You started to shut yourself and God, you were acting so weird around me, I was getting pissed. But I guess MJ was right and I've noticed it a long time now."

"What did she say?"

"That you were in love with me. And that I was oblivious. Of course, I didn't know that but she opened my eyes."

"Well, I wasn't and I'm not. So why don't you go back to your girlfriend and just leave me alone."

"MJ and I broke up tonight." You both fell into silence and you lowered your head. "She was going on about some things and I realized she was right all the time. She told me once that you liked me and that I was oblivious. And tonight she told me that I was also liked you, but didn't want to admit it."

"Well, she was wrong because I'm with Marvin now." You started and he sighed, looking outside the window.

"She was right. Maybe she wasn't right about your side, but she was right about mine. Since you started to go out with that guy, I got jealous, like crazy jealous. I can't shut you out of my mind even if I tried to and that's when I realized I like you more than just a friend."

"You broke my heart, Peter. Into a million little pieces and it's been so hard to put it back together. I can't be your rebound girl after spending months suffering alone and quietly because of you and MJ." You pointed to him and started to spill some more tears. "And I'm really happy with Marvin, like really happy."

"But does he makes you happier than I do? Do you love him more than you love me?" He asked and you stood there in silence.

"No." You simply respond and sit back in your bed. Peter kneeled in front of you and glued your forehead, slightly touching the tip of your noses.

"I know I fucked up, I shouldn't have cut you off and I was so oblivious and dumb that I need someone to harshly throw it in my face." He held your hands over your lap and licked his lips before continuing. "You never left my mind, for even one second. You're my best friend and I've said that a million times, but this one I really mean it. I love you, so much. And I miss you like hell."

"I love you too." She started to sob and he cleaned her face. "But I don't know about us, I feel like this is a mistake."

"Please, make this mistake. If I lose you tonight, I don't think I can ever come over from this." You moved away and sat far away from him, hugging your legs.

"You know the day you told me about MJ? I told you I was sick, but the truth was that I spent the whole night awake, mourning, crying. You? Well, you stood by my side taking care of me and I thought that things might not change at all. But they did and I felt so lonely without you, I can't even explain it."

"We only discover how important things are to you once you lose them. I learned that the hard way.”

“Well, that’s a bummer.” You shot, angrily.

“Do you wanna know what happened tonight? I was patrolling and MJ called me, saying she was waiting at the rooftop of her building. I went to meet her and she was… strangely quiet. We sat down and talked. She was upset because I was clearly jealous about you and… what’s his face.”

“Marvin.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes and settled on the edge of the bed, far away from you. You smiled with the corner of your mouth, he was jealous. “But she said she knew and she knew it before me, that I should come and get you because we are wasting our times pretending there’s nothing between us.”

“Yeah, we are.” You nodded and glanced down to your lap.

“She broke up with me to get me back to reality and to be honest, I’m so glad she did. She’s awesome, but I don’t love her, not that way. Being apart from you was... “ He took a deep breath before bursting into tears. “The worst experience in my entire life and I don’t ever wanna feel that again. I miss you so much. I love you so much." He crawled to you and stood really close, looking right into your eyes. You reached his face to caress his cheek and sobbed, lost in your own tears.

"I love you too." You pulled him into a hug and you too just stood there hugging quietly. You stained his suit with tears and held tightly on its fabric. “So much.”

“Please, be mine.” He kissed the top of your head after a long time without doing it and pulled you closer to sit on his lap. He buried his face on your hair and held onto you even more tightly.

��I can’t Peter. I need to think about this and I can’t simply be with you if I’m still with Marvin, I’m not a cheater. And I don’t know if my heart can survive coming back to you again.”

“I promise you, I’ll never break your heart, ever again. And I’m so sorry that I did, I was an idiot.”

“Still, we need to wait, at least let me think about it.”

“Can I at least sleep here? I promise I’ll be out early so your parents won’t find out.” He asked with pleading in his eyes. “Just like old times.”

“I don’t know, it feels wrong.” You fidget your fingers together and your hands started to sweat.

“I promise I won’t do anything. I’m just tired and I really miss you.” He held your hand and squeezed it gently. “If I go home, I won’t be able to sleep because I’ll be up all night thinking about you. Being here and knowing you’re okay right next to me might help.”

“Okay. Let me get some more blankets.” You got up and he removed his suit. You tossed him one of his shirts and he thanked with a nod. He lied in one side of your bed and you covered him. You lied next to him and turned your back to him to sleep, not even saying good night to him.

You fell into silence and both pretended they were asleep, but the truth was that neither of them could sleep like that, after having that kind of conversation, knowing the other was centimetres away from you and not even touching after a long time apart. Peter promised he wouldn’t do anything to disturb you, respecting your privacy, but he was dying to roll over to you and cuddle. You didn’t make the same promise and even though you were mad and that you thought it was wrong, you failed to fight the urge to roll over to him. You threw your arms around him and kissed his temple before adjusting yourself to him.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t be away from you for much longer.” You mumbled against his back and he rolled to face you, making you let go of him.

“Oh, thank God.” He pulled you closer and you buried your face on the crook of his neck. 

“Good night, Pete.” She said his nickname for the first time that night, which made him smile widely and for the first time throw his new nickname for you.

“Good night, baby girl.” 

You fell asleep in his arms but woke up alone in bed. It wasn’t hot like it was the previous night with having him sleeping next to you, which kind of sucked. You sat down in bed and looked around your room, a complete mess. Peter kept his promise to leave early and left a note next to you find when you wake up.

“Good morning, lovey. I didn't want to wake you up because you look so peaceful and beautiful, baby girl. Had the best night sleep in months, thank you for everything. See you in school and please don’t avoid me. Love, Pete. “

You smiled at the note, rubbing your eyes to come back to reality. You were tired, you slept late, but it was one of the best nights you had in months, just like Peter said. You were really happy but also really worried about what was gonna happen to your life now. You needed a little time to think but you couldn't avoid school. The text you got when you woke up wasn't helping your judgment at all.

Marvin: "Morning princess. Hope you slept well. I dreamed about you last night and it was amazing. Can't wait to see you today. X"

"Oh, shit." You cursed under breath and threw your body back in bed. "What am I gonna do?"

Get out of bed was hard today, you weren’t ready to face the world right now. To cheer you up a little bit, you took a quick shower and put on a dress that made you feel and look cute, but you were too lazy to get up and do something for yourself to eat. Maybe you could buy something at school or whatever. The school was normal, except that it wasn’t. The first person you ran across was Ned and Betty, sitting together in a bench, eating cookies. They waved at you and gave you a sympathetic smile, you did the same. They probably already knew about everything because it’s been months since Betty last smiled at you. She was feeling a little cheated that you stopped talking to all of them since she was your best girl friend. You kept walking through the halls to get to your locker and found Marvin waiting for you in your locker, holding his books in hand. You smiled shyly at him and approached your locker. He threw his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to give you a kiss.

“Hey, princess.” He mumbled against your lips. “How was your night?” He asked the one thing you wish he didn’t ask.

“It was okay. I had one of the best night of sleep in months actually. Kind of nice, because I was feeling tired.”

“I bet you dreamed about me.” He kissed her temple and she almost choked, but easily dropped the attention from her.

“Actually, it was a dreamless night.” Liar. You dreamt about Peter the whole night if you were being honest. But it wasn’t anything special, just you two talking in bed and eating sweets in your pajamas. Although it was so sweet.

“Oh, okay.” He got out of his way so you could get your things from your locker. “I gotta go meet the guys but I’ll see you later? We can grab something to eat.”

“Sure. I’ll see you after class.” He pecked her lips and walked away, not before blinking with one eye at her.  You groaned and breathed deeply. “I’m so fucked.”

“Talking alone again?” A girls voice asked from behind you and it was the last person you wanted to see.

“You know me, MJ. I’m always talking alone.” She chuckled and fixed her hair.

“I guess Peter talked to you last night.” She started and you nod, feeling guilty as hell. “I know you’re feeling guilty, but it’s okay. I won’t hate you because you end up with him. You’re meant to be and I respect that.”

“I’m so sorry MJ, I didn’t want you guys to break up. It got me surprised.”

“(Y/N), I was the one who broke up with him. Peter liked me, but he loves you. Deep down I always knew that I wasn’t supposed to be with him, but he always said that was bullshit. Yesterday, your boyfriend said some dirty thing near us and Peter got so angry and red. I knew I had to end things before he lost you forever to that guy.” She pointed Marvin walking down the hall with her head.

“I’m really happy with Marvin.”

“No, you’re not.” She smiled supportively. “Don’t keep denying your feelings because you feel bad. Stop wasting your time and just go get him.”

“MJ, I’m really sorry…” You started and she rested her hand on your shoulder and nodded.

“It’s okay, really.”

“I hope we can still be friends because I know how much it sucks to exit your group of friends.”

“I think I can do that.” She opened her arms and you hugged her. “No hard feelings.”

“No hard feelings.” You repeated and she simply left.

You needed to do what she told because, deep down, you knew it was the right thing to do. There were still a plenty of minutes left until you need to get to class, so you decided to hit the cafeteria and buy something to eat. It was practically empty, so you sat alone with a sandwich, your book and earphones at your usual table in the cafeteria, waiting for class without being bothered by anyone else. You were deeply buried in your own world until you feel someone rest their hand on your arm.

“Peter.” You mumbled and he shrugged.

“Hey.” He smiled softly. “Can I sit with you?”

“Sure.” You closed your book and he sat next to you, pulling the paper bag from his backpack.

“I bought some cookies and brownies from your favourite bakery, the one close to my apartment.”

“Thank you.” You smiled at him and got one cookie from the paper bag. “Uhm, I love these sonbitches.” 

“I know, that’s why I bought it for you.” You fell into silence while you were eating, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“MJ talked to me today.” You started and he frowned. “She gave me her blessing.”

“So, you’re telling me you’re giving us a try?”

“I have to think about it. And I need to talk to Marvin before anything.” He nodded and glanced down to his lap. Your hands searched for his and you squeezed them gently, giving him some kind of comfort. “I don’t know what I’ll choose, but I just hope we could still be friends, no matter what happens.”

“If that’s the only way I get to be next to you, I’ll do anything.” You closed your eyes and felt him kiss your forehead like he always used to do. “I love you.” He got up from the table, leaving the paper bag behind.

“Pete.” You called him and he turned around before leaving the cafeteria. “Can we meet later? Delmar’s?”

“I’ll see you later.” He nodded before he left the room.

It was hard to concentrate during class and it was even harder to pretend nothing was wrong with Marvin. He still insisted to have his hands around your shoulder during the break. Peter had his jaw clenched and red years in anger, not taking his eyes off you, not being noticed by Ned and Betty, too busy in their own world. There was no sign of MJ around, maybe she was in the library avoiding Peter, it was all pretty recent. You shot an “I’m sorry” look at him and he nodded in understatement.

“I got to go to the bathroom.” You excuse yourself and left out of nowhere. Marvin noticed you weren’t okay and followed you.

“(Y/N), what’s wrong?” He said once he got to you. 

“Marvin, we need to talk.”

You two sat down and had a long talk about everything, beginning when you first met Peter until the part where you fell in love with him and he chose MJ, ending up at last night’s events. It took so long that you had to hide and ditch class to tell the whole story. Marvin was really gentle with you and he said some words that got you to decide what you were going to do.

“That was the craziest love story I’ve ever heard before.” He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “But also, I’ve always noticed how you loved Petter. And it’s okay, really. Not going to say I’m pleased that this is happening because I really like you. But you love that guy and you should go get him.”

So after class you asked Peter to meet you in Delmar’s earlier because you couldn’t wait much longer to talk to him. You walked to Delmar’s, taking your time to think about what you were going to say and millions of thoughts ran through your head, but they vanished once you met Peter right in front of Delmar’s when you arrived at the same time.

You were speechless and paralyzed, facing Peter who was doing the same, just standing there and looking at you. He smiled to see you and his whole body felt like it was burning to be next to you. Your lips parted and you sighed, starting to tremble. Until you got the guts and ran for his arms, meeting him halfway and glueing your lips once you touched. Peter held you by the waist and you pulled him down with a hand on the back of his head. It was the most desperate kiss in the world like it was something they needed to survive. Both smiled into the kiss and Peter started to twirl her around during it.

“I love you so much.” You said it before he did, one thing that had never heard before. Peter smiled like a fool and rubbed her cheeks with the tip of his thumb.

“I love you too.” He leaned down to give her another peck and stared at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. “Come on, let me get you somewhere nice.”

“What? I thought we were going to Delmar’s.”

“I want to get my favourite girl to a nicer place for our first date.” You grinned and he let an arm around your shoulder to start walking together through the streets of New York City. “Please don’t ever leave me again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

…………………

ADD YOURSELF TO THE TAGLIST!

bold means i can’t tag you (send me a message to solve it!)

Taglist: @missmulti , @zabdisamor , @cmon-peter-tingle , @lifeisabitchandsoareyou , @tinyplanet-explorers , @spideyyypeter , @princezzariel , @pastyoverlord265 , @dumandbass, @lilgaga98 , @chatnoirfangirl1624, @heartofholland, @big-galaxy-chaos, @tomshufflepuff, @deathofthethrones , @unicornslothfish, @coonflix , @itsjustahuman, @legendsofwholock , @emistrash, @starlightfound, @sandran04 , @paaaam97, @pure-ghost, @unconditional-love-and-support, @janieavalos, @jacobsppsleeve, @cosmicholland, @seutarose, @thewayilookatbacon, @spiderbibby

#peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker fanfic #peter parker fluff #peter parker imagine fluff #peter parker fanfic fluff #peter parker angst #peter parker imagine angst #peter parker fanfic angst #peter parker x you #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x reader #mcu #spiderman #spider man #spider-man #tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfic

[sun-choices]

It Lives Series: A Guide For Those Who Are Bad At Horror

*ORIGINALLY POSTED ON REDDIT, I AM REPOSTING HERE*

I’m famously bad at horror. I’ve played every single Choices book and been into the app since early when it came out in 2017, but the one series I’d never dared to play was the It Lives series. I’ve been dying to play the series but the scariest thing I’ve watched is Caroline and I get nightmares from that. I’ve also got real bad anxiety, so it was a no-go for me. However, I finally sucked it up and went through both, and god damn, they do live up to their rep. There’s been posts before asking how bad it is, but I would’ve liked something with more guidance to keep the anxiety more at bay. If anyone out there has been holding off on playing, or wants to replay as safely as you can, I hope this helps you all out.This guide will contain some spoilers for those who haven't played it yet, but I’ll try to keep them at the minimum, just some of the scariest stuff. I will also talk about keeping your friends alive diamond free in ILB, a highly debated topic, so keep reading for that too.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Use the wiki guide for both books. This is the safest way to make the safest choices, have slight but not full on spoilers, and keep your friends alive without spending diamonds willy-nilly.

Do NOT play at night, and play with your sound off. Listen to cheery music even, if you want. I found the best time to play was taking on 2 chapters in the morning, and preferably when I had something to do for the day to take my mind off it later (school, work, etc)

Do not fret when you lose nerve. You might even fail nerve checks, but that doesn’t mean its the end for you all. Follow the wiki and think about how you want to play ILB, and everything should go fine in the end.

You don’t need diamonds to keep everyone alive in both books. However, a few calculated diamond choices can help make things less scary. I’ll go more in depth for each game, but as a general guide, weapons pop up over and over a lot in both games. If you want to spend, that’s a good choice.

Play differently than you usually do if you can. I usually play as a girl in non genderlocked books, so I played as a guy here with names very different from what I’d usually choose. Its a small thing, but can help separate things in your mind.

If you ever get really scared or you want to purposely do a darker play through and something disturbs you, remember we’ve basically all played the book, and these writers at PB were really just going all out on these books.

If you want to have a chance at winning diamond free in ILB or make it easier on yourself, everyone must survive in ILITW, and you must sacrifice Noah.

IT LIVES IN THE WOODS

IMO, I found this book scarier, while the other felt more like a mystery book. This is in part due to the scary artwork. There’s a pretty bad jumpscare early in the first chapter, of a purple zombified Dan, so beware of that and perhaps keep your hand splayed over the top. Monsters will also pop up throughout the book but they’re not so bad once you’ve seem them once or twice. The mud monsters can be scary as well for some. Redfield might look a bit creepy too at times but its manageable, look away from the sprite and cover it up if its too much for you. There’s a noticeable in Chapter 9 where the walls are filled with spiders so be ready to look away if that type of thing creeps you out. The next scariest thing I’d say is at the second to last chapter when the friends play Are You Scared in the cave and reading about your friend’s deaths and seeing their bodies splayed over the screen.

Scary story spoilers if you want them: Dan will be missing and then in a coma at first, but he will be found and turn out to be okay later on. Cody will show up impaled and dead on the tree outside your house at one point. Jane is Redfield. To complete the sealing ritual, someone else must become the monster (Noah or MC).

It is easier to keep everyone alive in this book, so don’t worry too much. Try to enjoy their friendships and any LIs you romance, because one of the best parts of these books is how well written everyone is and how intricate the story is.

You can make it through the story pretty easily w/o diamonds. However, as I said before, weapons are very useful to have and they reoccur the most often, helping tone down rougher scenes. Pets are nice refreshers, so if you want to buy one, thats cool too. The lore is what I feel least necessary, and you can google them up on the wiki anyways, but whatever you choose is fine!

IT LIVES BENEATH

This book is less scary, but harder to keep everyone alive. You cannot make one wrong choice without diamonds, and even then, everyone will be alive but Parker will abandon the group and go live elsewhere. This is okay if you don’t mind, but a few calculated diamond choices can help avoid this. Save up diamonds from ILITW to do so. Play with the wiki to get every choice right. You need a group nerve score of somewhere around 289 for nobody to die, so even if you fail minor nerve checks, even those sewer checks, get it up to there by then and you should be okay.

To win without diamonds: Choose EVERY right choice, so use the wiki or replay chapters. You MUST either dance or sit with Tom (you cannot lose your finger at the nerve check or you will need diamonds to make up and keep anyone from dying). Do note, I believe Parker will abandon the group regardless if you don’t buy at least one diamond choice, but he can still stay alive and nobody will die. Alternatively, you can keep him in the group for free but someone would have to die for him.

With Minimal Diamonds: Buy Parker’s stun baton. This boosts his nerve significantly throughout the book and I believe it’ll help get him to 55/100, the amount you need for him to stay in the group. I also bought the scene where you hide with him in a closet, and his end nerve was in the 80’s, so I think you’ll be okay with just the stun baton.

Disturbing scenes and spoilers: this book doesn’t have as many jump scares like the other. The first chapter has a gruesome bloody murder scene where you find MC’s parents dead and a bloody symbol on the floor, and MC remembers this in a flashback throughout the first half of the book. Maybe some of the animals are unsettling at first but they pop up so often its not too bad. The ghost monster from the lake is unsettling too but I’d put her at the same level as Benji’s statue in the closet you find in QB. Finally, I’d say towards the end when you go from the sewer into the water and find Josephine’s skeleton with the marlinspikes in her, that’s also unsettling. If you don’t like seeing ghost sprites, you will see Josephine’s and her angry expression is creepy as well, but again, try to avoid looking or cover up the sprite and you should be alright. Finally, in the last chapter, Richard will try to murder MC by putting them in a coffin. If your nerve is high enough and you use the wiki guide for the right answers, you will survive just fine.

Optional Diamond Purchases: if you have the extra diamonds, I highly recommend buying the bracelet as it serves like a little warning before something bad/scary will happen, and gives MC a major nerve boost later on. Again, weapons are great (I wish I had bought Imogen’s Bolas to keep her nerve higher but oh well), and weapons appear REALLY often in this book so its a worthy purchase. Next I’d say some of the rune items are helpful, such as the skeleton key and Danni’s seeing stone, and ofc the bracelet, but if you had to choose, I’d say weapons before most of the runes. Pets really only pop up once after the initial purchase, but they’re sweet if you want them. As for scenes with the group/one LI, those are nice too, they give MAJOR nerve boosts and since you kinda have to be selective of how you play diamondless, if you really wanna romance someone specific its a good way to get more interaction without risking someone else through the free options, and brings the group score way up regardless.

I hope this guide is useful to some of you, and if I’ve forgotten anything or you have questions, feel free to add on. This is a horror based series and I totally respect and understand anyone who wishes to play it as such and doesn’t mind characters dying, however the plot is so damn good, the friend groups are A+, and I figured I would’ve liked a guide like this when I played. Good luck everyone!

#playchoices #choices: stories you play #it lives anthology #it lives series #ilitw #ilb #pixelberry #parker #danni #imogen #tom #ava #noah #andy kang #lily #stacey #lucas #redfield #josephine vance

[nat-roman0ff]

all i want for christmas is us

all i want for christmas is us

an entry for @saintlymendes​ secret santa

for: nicole (@tell-me-when-ur-ready​)

-

words: 2,092 warnings: some swearing, angst, and cavity inducing fluff (it is christmas after all)

-

 Shawn looks down again at his phone, scrolling through the photos. Happy. Warm. Holiday season. Ice skating at his favorite park, kissing under the mistletoe, and posing in the matching pajamas his mum had bought for the entire family. A smile creeps up on his face and then disappears just when he starts to feel its warmth. 

 Last Christmas. 

 Last Christmas the photos were taken. Last Christmas they were happy. Last Christmas she had said yes to marrying him. 

 Now the photos just served as painful reminders of his current reality. Sitting alone in his half empty condo. He couldn’t bare to replace the things she took, just in case she decided to come back.

Odds and ends mostly; an end table she purchased at an antique store and lugged eight blocks back home on a hot August weekend, an ottoman where the two would sit on the floor across from each other and play cards all night over a bottle of her favorite red wine, an entirely empty wall that used to make up her vinyl collection. The half empty condo matched his half empty heart.

 Shawn locks and drops his phone to his chest with a thud, opting for the sting of its weight on his sternum over the stinging of his broken heartstrings. He still hadn’t cleaned up the red wine stain from the carpet when she spilled it last Christmas. Getting rid of that was the last bit of her still around and, well, he needed to still hold onto something. 

 Karen’s rung three times at this point. She knew it was going to be a hard day for him, insisted he spend the night Christmas Eve but Shawn declined and instead drank himself stupid until three in the morning and passed out on the living room floor next to her red wine stain.

 He thought about calling her, wishing her a Happy Christmas, or anything just to hear her voice. It hadn’t been a messy breakup, at least at first. She said it was too much too soon and the constant pressure from the outside world was starting to seep through their happy little bubble. 

 Time. It was always time that she needed. But after she returned the ring, the weeks faded into months and when he saw that first picture come up on his timeline he knew that their time had run out. 

 It was innocent enough; someone he knew through mutual friends but could never remember his name. Smiling, with her lips pressed against his cheek. 

 She was with someone else. 

 He blacked out that night, somewhere in the middle of a world tour in a foreign city and woke up the next morning by Brian dumping a glass of water on his head. He cried for a day and a half straight and then again when he had to tell his mum. 

 Time.

 Everyone said it was all he’d need to get over her; the love of his life. He’d known it from a very young age, before the fame, before they’d ever exchanged a wayward glance at each other. He knew she was going to be the one for him, for the rest of his life. 

 Until she wasn’t.

 Write about it. Was his first thought. Write until your fingers bleed and there’s nothing left in your head. Write out every memory, every feeling, every ounce of pain that courses through your God forsaken veins and then you’ll be rid of her. But Shawn couldn’t write. He couldn’t put down a single fucking word in the six months since she left. He just couldn’t describe it; there was no way to put into words how he was feeling, nothing that did it justice, nothing that captured the pathetic sadness that lingered in his bones about her.

 -

 It’s half past two when Karen finally got ahold of him. He’d lost track looking at photos, letting his memories replay on the walls of his condo over and over again. He watches the two of them dance in the kitchen at midnight and make love on the living room floor in the morning, wrapped up in each other’s arms. If he was miserable at home on Christmas, he was going to be even worse at his parent’s house. 

 Everything was the same as it was last year when Shawn finally walks through the front door of his parent’s home, right down to the smells. Except she’s not there. There’s a small box in the spot where the ring box sat last year on the tree and Shawn tries to blink away the onset of tears that threaten to come through. He wonders which cousin is getting engaged this year.

 Asshole stole my idea.

 “Everything alright, darling?” Karen asks in only that mum way. She knows it’s not. It hasn’t been for a while. 

 Shawn nods his head, “yeah, fine. Just...you know. I knew today would be hard.” 

 Karen smiles, “I know, honey. But they day’s not over yet,” she says with a wink.

 Something in Shawn’s heart flutters.

 “C’mon,” she starts, “let’s go open presents.” 

 -

 An hour and two bags full of wrapping paper later the Mendes’ family is nearly finished unwrapping gifts. Shawn’s eyes glance over to the box sitting snugly on the tree branch. No one has reached for it yet, and as things are winding down he can’t help but stare at it, wanting to know the contents. It’s slightly larger than a ring box, but not enough to put anything substantial in it. 

 “There’s one more for you,” Manny points to the tree. 

 Shawn looks at the box and back to his father and he nods. Standing, he goes to the tree and opens the box with shaky hands. There’s a folded up piece of paper inside and he immediately recognizes her handwriting and that stupid gold pen he always hated. It smeared the edges of her letters, he never thought it would end up being something he missed. Shawn can feel the heat of his family watching him as he reads;

 Shawn,

 It’s been too long since we last spoke and I suppose I owe you a lot. See, time is a funny thing. It feels the most fleeting when you have none of it left and the most crippling when you’re looking down the barrel of forever. I needed time on my own, I needed time with other people. I needed to know that what we had was what my forever was meant to look like and to do that I needed to find out a little more about myself. So, as it turns out I actually DO like cucumbers, riding motorcycles, and being alone. But I still hate tomatoes, unicorns (don’t ask) and being away from you. I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused you. I know there’s never going to be a way I can take that away or make it up to you, but I want you to know just how sorry I am.

 Meet me tonight at 6 where we had our first date (yes, the first-first one, not the second-first one, you’ll know what I’m talking about).

 Love, Nicole

 His ears are ringing when he looks up - eyes immediately checking the clock on the wall behind him: 5:55. 

 “Fuck - I gotta go!” 

 Shawn runs to grab his shoes and jacket. It’s faster if he runs, he thinks. It’s not far and his car is packed in with his relatives in the driveway and it would take ten minutes just for everyone to move out of the way. He sets off as the snow starts to pick up, slipping and sliding against the sidewalk pavement, breath coming out in foggy puffs. 

 He runs to the park by the high school. It’s not far, and he thinks he can make it in time. His cheeks are frozen, and snowflakes keep getting stuck in his lashes but Shawn just runs to her. When he rounds the corner to cross he sees her there, sitting on that same old dingy swing set that has somehow (despite looked rotted for at least the last twenty years) has never broken. She’s bundled up in her winter coat, looking down at her boots absentmindedly drawing pictures in the snow with the tip of her shoe. 

 The park had been their halfway point when they were kids; perfectly in the middle of each house when they didn’t want to worry about being around parents. It had been here that they had their first date in sixth grade; a picnic of PB&J’s that ended in an unforecasted rainstorm. She didn’t mind, and they splashed and danced in the puddles and went home a dirty sopping mess and he was sure that was the exact moment he fell in love with her. Even though he wasn’t sure what that meant yet. As all things do when you’re twelve, the relationship ended just as quick as it started and it wasn’t until six years later that things actually became serious.

 But that’s another story for another day.

 He’s not sure what to say when he approaches her. His chest is frozen from heaving in the frigid air and she just looks up from the swing and stares. He’s not sure it was possible for her to get more beautiful, but she somehow managed to. Her cheeks were pinked like his, her hair sprinkled with tiny snowflakes. 

 “I know how much we both love grand romantic gestures,” she laughs.

 Fuck, he never thought he’d hear that laugh again and it literally warms his chest to. 

 “Nicole I -” 

 “Shawn I’m sorry,” she starts, “I have no way to ever make up what I did to you. I just...I got really fucking scared. You’re the only person I’ve ever been with and that terrified me. I didn’t know what it was like to be young and single or do something by myself. So I had to be alone -” 

 “What about that guy? The one you posted a picture with?” Shawn says.

 Nicole slaps her forehead with her palm, “Shawn, Joe is my friend.” 

 He sucks in a breath of air, “oh.” 

 “There was never anyone else,” she pats the empty swing next to her, “there’s never going to be anyone else.”

 Shawn sits beside her, it feels good to be this close again; to see all the little things about her up close that made her, her. All the little things he failed to appreciate before she had gone. 

 “So what does this mean now?” He asks. 

 Nicole reaches for his frozen hand and holds it in her gloved one, “I hope it means you still have that ring -” 

 Before she can finish Shawn pulls the chain of her swing towards him to bring her closer, and kisses her. Her lips are cold and chapped but so are his and there’s a brilliant warmth of familiarity that his bones recognize and he melts into her, wrapping an arm around her middle and holding on like his life depends on it. 

 (It does)

 “So how did you even pull this off? Shawn asks when he pulls away. 

 Nicole smiles, “Karen helped me.” 

 He snorts, “I knew it.”

 The park is so silent Shawn swears he can hear the snowflakes hit the ground, trapped in their own personal snow globe. They sit quiet for a moment, and Shawn is still trying to process what just happened. He can feel her still lingering on his lips; the same sickly sweet lip gloss she always wore. 

 “Do you want to go home?” He asks, looking at her through snow flake lined lashes. 

 Nicole nods, “I’d really love that.” 

 Shawn threads his fingers through hers and they walk hand in hand back to the Mendes household. He feels the gold circular piece of metal against his chest. He’s worn it there for so long he’s forgotten he has it. 

 He stops them in the middle of the sidewalk and bends down onto one knee onto the snow, reaching under his shirt and jacket to snap the engagement ring off the chain he wore around his neck. 

 “Will you marry me...again?” 

 Nicole nods frantically, “yes! Now get up before your jeans get wet.”

 Shawn stands and pulls her into a kiss, threading his fingers through her hair until the both of them are out of breath. 

 “Hey Shawn,” she starts, lips still ghosting against his, “Merry Christmas.” 

 He smiles so hard it hurts his cheeks, “Merry Christmas, my love.”

#saintlymendessecretsanta #shawn mendes #Shawn Mendes Imagine #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fluff

[doctor243]

The End of the World

Ok here’s the IronWidow I promised you lol

Chapter 3: Comfort

Summary: “This is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a……” or How I feel Endgame should have been written.

AO3

Pairing: Tony Stark x Natasha Romanoff

“Any news?” Natasha took a bite out of a PB&J sandwich. Her hair had grown longer in the past three years, and she now had it in a ponytail.

The older man sighed and shook his head. “There haven’t been any signs of his appearance since the last massacre.” Nat nodded, steeling herself.

“The Chinese Secret Societies?” She asked.

“No, the Italian Mafia,” he looked at her sympathetically. “Nat, if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be. You know that,” he said gently. “He’s got the same S.H.I.E.L.D. training as you.”

“I know,” she smiled at him sadly. “But I still have to try.”

The colonel nodded solemnly and reached to end the call.

“Rhodey,” she called out. He paused and looked at her. “Thanks for doing this.”

He just smiled at her and hung up, his image fading into pixels on the hologram projector. She let a small sob escape her lips as she fell back into her chair and brought her hands to her face. The Red Room had taught her how to eradicate any outer indication of emotion, but that never meant that she had none. It was a simple choice of hers whether to display the emotions or to hold them inside. But the Red Room had only prepared her for infiltration and interrogation and assassination and intimidation. Never would she have dreamt of being ready for death on such a large scale caused by beings from other planets, or superpowers that had only been true in fantasy.

“Still can’t find the little birdy?”

Nat’s head whipped around to find Tony leaning against the door frame of the hologram room. She shook her head, not trusting her voice.

“Oh Natalie,” he sighed, walking over to her while she snorted humourlessly at the name he used. “Come here.” He opened his arms to her.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she threw herself into his arms and wept, tears falling shamelessly and arms tight around his middle. The past three years had seen many of their hugs, and many of their tears. They had become each other’s confidant, helping each other to heal, even when the world seemed to have done so swimmingly.

“I need to find him, Tony,” Natasha whispered.

“I know, Nat,” he soothed, his warm hand rubbing circles on her back.

“He was there when I had nobody,” she continued. “He gave me a chance to have a new life, and without him, I never would have been a part of this team.” Her grip tightened on him. “This family.”

“We’ll find him,” Tony promised.

“I need to be there for him,” she cried again, heart aching as she thought about how he must have felt when he lost his wife, his children, and his entire world. And yet, a tiny part of her wondered if she actually wanted to find him. What could she do if they found the archer? She had nothing to offer him that could dampen his pain.

“We’ll be there for him,” Tony whispered once more, and Nat finally smiled as something clicked in her mind.

We. Us. Family.

Tony roared, the sound ripping through the entire cabin and breaking the blessed silence of the night. The door to Natasha’s room was flung open and the redhead shot out towards the source of the sound. She ignored the way her heart clenched at the pure sorrow that she heard in his voice. Yet when she ripped his door open, ready to rain down all the wrath and fire that heaven and hell could offer, his voice had reduced to a low wail, and her heart only dropped further. His hands were covering his face, but through the gaps of his fingers, she could see his frantic eyes darting around, as streams of tears leaked down his knuckles.

“Tony,” she whispered, inching forward cautiously.

He didn’t appear to register her voice, but his voice had died down to a soft whimper and an occasional sob. She continued to gently close the distance between them, hands held in plain sight as though she were approaching a wounded wolf. The nearer she got, the more she noticed his shaking body and hiccupped breath.

“Daddy?”

Immediately, Tony snapped out his stupor and looked to the door, where the silhouette of his beloved daughter stood. Natasha turned around as well, unsure whether she should usher the girl out the room or allow her to comfort her father.

“Hey baby,” the mechanic choked out with obvious effort. “What’s going on?”

“I heard yelling,” Morgan mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “’s everything ok?”

“Of course, Morguna,” her father smiled shakily as he trembled out of the bed and opened his arms invitingly. “Daddy just had a nightmare.”

Natasha sighed with a fond smile and ushered the sleepy girl forward. “Give your father a hug and go back to sleep.”

Morgan drowsily wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck and mumbled something incoherent. Nat noted his rattling hands calm a little as he took in a deep whiff of Morgan’s scent and his touch confirmed the reality of the situation. When they finally parted, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before stumbling blindly towards her bedroom. The master assassin followed her out as she gave Tony a look of concern.

“I’ll be back,” she assured him. “I’m just gonna put her to bed.”

Morgan had fallen asleep the minute her head touched the pillow, and Natasha couldn’t have been more grateful that she could hurry back to Tony’s side. She found him in the same spot she’d left him – at the foot of the bed, knees propped up and eyes staring into blank space.

She gingerly took her place next to him and placed her hand over his and waited.

“I was on Titan again,” he whispered after a very long few minutes. “And Peter was disintegrating in my arms. Again.”

Natasha gripped his hand even tighter.

“I couldn’t even preserve his ashes, Natasha,” he grunted. “Not a single one of his atoms.”

Still, Natasha said nothing. What could she say? Any word uttered would be a poor comfort to a broken heart. So instead, she stood up and pulled him into bed. He followed wordlessly, and she pulled up the quilt, before wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Hold on tight,” she breathed. “I won’t disappear.”

He didn’t reply, but his arms grew secure. When she woke up in the morning, he was still holding her.

“…and then I swear, she just caves!”

“Holy crap, Tones I hope you got that on video,” Rhodey laughed, his arms crossed in amusement.

“I wish I did,” Tony mused regretfully.

“What’re you talking about?”

The genius turned around to find Natasha walking into the hologram room.

“Oh nothing,” he teased. “Just how Morgan flashed her puppy eyes at you and you caved to her request for ice cream.”

Natasha rolled her eyes and stood next to him. “Your daughter is too cute for her own good, Stark.”

“She gets it from her dad,” he smiled before looking at the rest of the participants in the room. “Alright, now that the boss is here, we can begin.” Natasha swatted his arm while Steve laughed and Okeye smirked before beginning her update.

“Daddy! Can we have cheeseburgers?” Morgan bounced over to her father cheerily with a grin.

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” he smiled as he picked her up. “We have to ask Aunt Nat. She might want something else.”

“I love cheeseburgers!” she hummed.

“Me too,” he laughed. “So you need to ask her really nicely okay?”

“Okay!” she agreed. “Aunty Nat!” she called when they got into the house.

“Hello, my little munchkin,” Natasha smiled fondly. “What’s going on?”

“Can we have cheeseburgers?” she asked with a grin.

Natasha looked over at Tony’s knowing smile and decided to play. “Hmm I don’t know, sweetie,” she placed a finger on her lips. “I kinda wanted pasta today.”

“Do the eyes, Morguna,” Tony whispered excitedly. “Do the-” Nat’s hand shot out and slapped over his mouth. She didn’t need the little one to know how much power she held with those compelling eyes. Tony’s eyes narrowed while Morgan looked around, confused. Suddenly her hand felt a wet slick and Natasha yanked away with a yelp, a shiver shooting straight up from the base of her spine to her head.

“Oh my god, did you lick me?” she cried out incredulously.

“Did you not expect me to?” he sniffed. Morgan just chortled gleefully while clinging to her father.

Natasha just walked to the sink in disgust. “Ugh, fine, we can have cheeseburgers.” Morgan cheered in victory while Tony watched her, a smug smile on his face. When the father-daughter duo left to procure their dinner, Natasha wondered why she couldn’t stop thinking of his tongue on her hand.

“Can’t sleep?”

Morgan shook her head as she rubbed her eyes. Natasha just smiled and walked over to pick her up. The adults had been in the living room reading when the little angel had trudged down the stairs, looking frustrated.

“What’s wrong, love?” her father got up as well.

“inon’tknow”

Natasha laughed as she rocked the little girl in her arms. This little bundle of joy that brought her so much peace after so much devastation. “I have a great idea,” she thought out loud.

“Uh-oh,” Tony teased.

“Let’s build a blanket fort!” She suggested, locking eyes with Tony. His eyes widened a little before they filled with warm familiarity.

“And hot chocolate,” he finished with a smile.

“Exactly,” she answered, green eyes sparkling. Morgan giggled in agreement. She liked hot chocolate.

Twenty minutes later found the trio huddled underneath the cover of blankets, the only light coming from the lantern in the fort, and a mug of steaming drink in each of their hands. Tony and Nat, of course, had their additional secret ingredient, while they decided to give Morgan a little less sugar in hers. Nevertheless, she loved it.

“Did I ever tell you the time I met Uncle Steve?” Tony asked his daughter, who shook her head, a moustache of whipped cream decorating her upper lip. Natasha smiled by the side, reaching over to wipe it off. “Well I hated him.”

Morgan gasped in surprise. “Really?”

“Yep,” he confirmed, before continuing the story and putting a lighter spin to it – he didn’t need a traumatised five-year-old on his hands. By the time he was finished, their mugs were empty, and the child was asleep. He gently stroked her hair and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Alright,” he groaned, climbing out of the tent and picking Morgan up. Natasha slid out as well, picking up the empty mugs and placing a kiss of her own on the girl’s head. She’d grown attached to the sight of Tony’s paternal affections and they must have rubbed off on her. “I’m gonna put the little miss here to bed. You go and get us some refills.” The redhead perked up with a nod, a hint of a smile forming at her lips as she bounded to the kitchen.

When he returned, she was already waiting for him, curled up under another (another??) blanket with renewed cups. She watched him climb in and join her with a chuckle. This blanket fort was smaller than the one they’d built in the tower, years back, but it was just as comfortable, and possibly even more cosy.

“She’s such an angel,” Natasha sighed contently.

“Yes, she is,” Tony hummed, taking a sip from his mug. His cheeks were starting to get a little pink, but to be fair they’d gone a little strong on the Irish Cream. To be further fairer, Natasha’s cheeks were kind of rosy too.

“You know, I found her grabbing cookies out of the jar and she said they were for you.”

Tony looked up in astonishment. “I never got any cookies,” he gasped, flabbergasted. “How could you let her lie to you like that?”

“Well,” the super-spy answered, finishing her mug. “She has her mother’s smile.”

“She does,” the Mechanic agreed softly, before turning to look at her. “But she has your kindness.”

“Me?” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “There’s so many things wrong with that statement.”

“Why?” Tony challenged, a spark in his eyes. “Because you’re not birth mother?”

“Well that,” Natasha huffed, suddenly exasperated. She didn’t want to have to spell it out for him, even if he was teasing her. “And I mean, ‘kindness’ is not exactly the word most would associate with the Black Widow.”

“That’s true,” he replied with a chuckle. “But I would associate it with ‘Natasha Romanoff’.”

She looked at him with a quirked eyebrow (there was that dangerous, dangerous eyebrow) and frowned. “Stop kidding,” she warned. She was getting a little upset by how irritating he was being. There was no need to dive into her can of worms.

“You are probably the kindest person I know,” Tony insisted, placing a hand on her wrist. “So kind that you don’t even know it.” She scoffed, but he insisted on continuing. “Who waited until the last possible second to close the wormhole just so that I had a chance of returning to this world?”

“Anyone would-”

“Who was the only one who could calm the hulk down?”

“That’s cuz-”

“Who immediately started relief work when she got back to New York? Who moved five states away to be by a lake just so I wouldn’t be lonely? Who organises meetings across the galaxy so that we’re still connected? Who helps me through my nightmares without a single complaint? Who spent the last three years looking for her best friend? Who still hasn’t given up?”

She finally shut up and broke eye contact, her fiery green eyes burning into the pillows they were lying on.

“Who took care of my daughter when I was stuck in space?” He whispered with a hint of pride, brushing his thumb against her cheek. She looked up at him, a small hint of defiance in her eyes, still unwilling to accept his praise. Was she hearing gratefulness? There was a warmth in his voice that made her suddenly nervous, and she bit her bottom lip. Nervousness was unfamiliar to the Black Widow. She’d sooner swallow the head of the source than allow herself to be seen as flustered. …not really a viable option here.

“Morgan is as much your daughter as she is mine,” Tony said finally. “You’ve raised her alongside me. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Her eyes started to sting as tears threatened to spill. Judging by Tony’s glistening eyes, so were his.

“Thank you.”

Natasha closed her eyes and breathed. “You don’t have to-” She froze when she felt his lips on her forehead. His lips, slightly chapped, lingered for a little, before he pulled back. The spot burned as her cheeks did, and her heart threatened to break through her ribcage. She stopped breathing. Why was this happening? Displays of affection were no stranger to her, and she was thoroughly trained in physical manipulation, so there was no reason for her to have such a strong reaction to a damned kiss on the forehead.

The only problem was that this wasn’t a physical action, it was one of the soul. She could feel his sincerity and emotions in that kiss, and the silent message: “you are part of my family…if you’d like.” Tony seemed to sense her shock and pulled back.

“Um…Nat?” He asked cautiously. “Are you-”

It was her turn to interrupt him. She reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in as their lips crashed together. She heard him breathe in sharply in surprise, but when she persisted, he melted into her embrace and reciprocated, fingers gently reaching into her hair and tangling themselves into her hair. She groaned as her lips moved against his, the pool of nerves in her belly raging like a bag of beaten snakes, as if she were a teenager again. She barely registered the feeling of spilt hot chocolate on her thighs when she hooked a thigh around Tony’s hips and straddled his waist. His hands roamed the curve of her back while her hands desperately explored every inch of his torso, all the while, the sounds of breathy moans and shifting sheets filled the air.

“Tony,” she gasped when she finally pulled away. She was an absolute sight, her lips swollen, her chest heaving and her cheeks red for a reason other than the alcohol. “Tony,” she repeated.

“Nat,” he answered her, hair messy and panting just as hard, and she soaked in the view, her heart thundering in her ears while her hazy green eyes roamed over his panting chest, the glow of the housing unit from under his shirt, and his piercing eyes, before resting on that infuriating smirk that was still on his lips. Natasha bit her cheek – she had to kiss it away.

Previous Chapter: Here

Next Chapter: Here

MasterList: Here

Tags: @littlemsstark3000​ @katebishopofearth​ @black-ironwidow​ @ironwidow​ @ironwidoww​ @natashastarkotp​ @ironwidow10​ @natashastark3000​ @latinatasharomanoff​ @616tonesnat​ @natashastarkov​ @shipsomarvel​ @natasharomanoffhasmyheart​ @natashalieromanovs​

Let me know if you wanna be tagged so I can alert you about future chapters^^

#ironwidow #iron man #black widow #tony stark #natasha romanoff #mcu #marvel #infinity war #endgame #avengers #tony stark has a heart #natasha romanov #morgan stewart #irondad #au #tonynat #tony stark x natasha romanoff #otp #they deserve better #this is how the world ends

[nocturnegyser]

Feral Angel

Warren x reader (Racc)

this is my real first time writing anything like this at all so its going to be really crappy and flawed... so please be mean

TW: Mentions death

(y/n) has always been kinda feral growing up, having her fathers raccoon mutation giving her raccoon ears and tail and ability to hear and smell things like a raccoon and even the signature raccoon black mask you see every raccoon born with, her mother being human no one knows where her reality manipulation comes from, perhaps she accidentally grew another mutation?

After an accident with some boys she got in a fight with causing her to discover her reality manipulation power, her brother hesitantly sent her to Xaviers School for the Gifted, with a heavy heart and bag packed, (y/n) bid her brother adieu.

Her first step in, (y/n) is immediately greeted by Hank McCoy

“Hello, you must be (y/n) (y/l/n), I’m Hank McCoy, I am a teacher here and will be giving you your orientation tomorrow but for today I hope you have a relatively easy time settling in-“

(y/n) is immediately mesmerized by his fluffy blue furry face, in the middle of him explaining everything she immediately just pets his face and immediately Hank grabs (y/n)’s hands

“Please don’t do that.. ever again..”

“Oh ok sorry ._.”

“Well anyways for now I will hand you over to another one of our members here, Ororo, she will be showing you your way to your room”

Hank then passed (y/n) along to Ororo to show her to her room.

“This your first time living away from home?” asked Ororo trying to be friendly with (y/n)

“Oh! Uh, yea.. kinda.. I would travel with my brother a lot when I was younger so I lived in a van for a little bit but that was fun”

“You ever live apart from your brother?”

“No...” answered (y/n) a little nervously

“Well this place can be as homely as you make it to be” Ororo assures her

Finally coming up on (y/n)’s new room for the next 3 years or so Ororo opens the door to reveal her new room, her boxes she had sent a week earlier were sitting in the corner ready for her to unpack

“I know it can be intimidating here at first but you’ll soon come to adjust to life here.” Ororo reassured (y/n)... again

Ororo left (y/n) to unpack and settle in for her first night, she noticed she wasn’t sharing her room with anyone

Great, away from home and alone, this is already shaping to be a great new life...

Not even touching one of her packed boxes a baseball crashes through her window

“WHAT THE F*CK!!” (y/n) immediately exclaimed

She ran up to the window dodging the broken glass on the floor even though she was barefoot, looking for who threw the baseball

She immediately saw him, tall, broad, intimidating, and metal wings. He was the only one with a bat and the only one looking in her direction, he immediately ran inside, presumably heading to her room. 7 minutes later the tall metal winged angel shows up at her door

“Aww jeez.. sorry ‘bout that, here, I’ll take my ball back... and I’ll tell someone u need a new window..”

“DUDE WATCH WHERE THE HELL YOU’RE AIMING WITH THAT THING, YOU’RE LUCKY I WASN’T STANDING IN FRONT OF MY WINDOW OR ELSE ONE OF US WOULD NOT BE STANDING RIGHT NOW!!” (y/n) angrily yelled at the angel boy

“Dude! I said I was sorry! Just give me back my ball ok?”

“UGH, fine take your stupid ball and watch where you’re aiming next time, GOD!”

Angrily, (y/n) slammed her door in the angel boys face.

“Man who the hell- UGH!”

Not even a full hour here and my window is shattered and there’s glass all over my floor! This is ALREADY shapping up to be a GREAT TIME

Meanwhile on the other side of the door

“Ugh! I said sorry!” angel boy grumbled walking away

(y/n) sweeps up the broken glass on the floor and throws a blanket over her broken window

———

Having unpacked 3 of her 5 boxes, (y/n) decides to call it a night and decided to finish tomorrow considering her classes start on tuesday and it was saturday

“Whew! Well the glass is cleaned up, window is... handled.. for now, 60% of my stuff is unpacked-”

A loud growl emitted from (y/n)’s small raccoon stomach

“well... guess i should go eat something then.. what time is it?.. 9:30??!? Jeez where does all my time go??”

Realizing how tired she is, she slowly makes her way to the dorm kitchen and hears someone already in there

Who is in here at 9:37 at night?.... besides me

She turns the corner and see’s who exactly is in the kitchen at 9:37 at night, angel boy

He turns around the second (y/n) enters the kitchen and both lock eyes immediately and both go “Ugh.”Neither saying anything, (y/n) begins making herself a pb and j and chips

“....”

“....”

“You mind passing me a knife?” (y/n) hesitantly asked noticing he was standing in front of the silverware drawer

Both staring each other dead in the eyes, angel boy slowly moved from in front of the silverware drawer not passing her a knife. Ugh, still maintaining eye contacts and squinting both giving each other death stares (y/n) slowly grabs a knife from the drawer

“Thanks.. a lot”

“Don’t mention it”

Continuing making her sandwich neither still talking

“So... I told the repair guy you needed a new window and he said he’ll be able to put a new one in on Monday”

“That’s the earliest??”

“No, the earliest was tomorrow but you were being a dick”

“God, you know, for an angel you’re an asshole you know that”

“I’m not an angel”

“Explains the wings and attitude”

Both still at each other’s throats, (y/n) realized she was not making anything better so she decided to try and de-escalate the situation

“Well anyways... I’m (y/n) (y/l/n)” (y/n) said holding out her hand for a handshake

“Warren Worthington” shaking her hand

“So... can you talk to raccoons? or find cool shit in dumpsters?”

“No and dumpster diving isn’t my mutation, I can hear and smell things like a raccoon can and just recently discovered I also have reality manipulation.”

“Reality manipulating raccoon girl huh? that must be a combo everyone’s surprised to hear”

“I don’t tell everyone, unlike you, I can hide my mutation”

“Why do you want to hide your mutation, and how do you hide your eye mask?”

“To avoid problems with people, and i use concealer”

“What kind of problems?”

“The bad kind”

“Why don’t you just fight them?”

Jesus who is this guy, an investigator??

“For an angel boy you sure ask a lot of questions”

“Not an angel”

“You’re right.. for a pigeon you ask a lot of questions”

“And for a trash panda you have a lot of snide remarks”

Again at each other’s throats, both finish their food and go to bed

“Jesus what a first day away from home, I’ll have to ask that repair guy if he can still give me a new window tomorrow” (y/n) said to herself in the comfort of her own room... alone..

One day down... countless more to go...

———

After her orientation with Hank, (y/n) decided to take a stroll through the mansion to familiarize herself even more with the mansion more

(y/n) glossed through the library, sped through the classrooms, peeked in the chemistry lab, she had already been at the kitchen and her hallway, she didn’t feel the need to check out the other hallways. She did however want to checkout the attic since the basement was essentially off limits to students.

Finally making it to the attic, she took a liking to the relaxing atmosphere. I could get used to the atmosphere up here, she thought to herself

(y/n) staring the window, taking a moment to herself to think. The hatch on the floor then opening up “Oh.. I’m sorry I didn’t realize anyone would be up here..,” (y/n) looked over to see Warren

“Oh, no it’s fine, I’ll leave if you wanna be up here... alone” (y/n) offered, “No no I’ll just find some place else to-“

“Well it’s not like I own the attic”(y/n) joked trying to let Warren stay upstairs

“Uh.. yeah ok, I guess” Warren slowly making his way back up the ladder “I just come up here to read sometimes”

“What do you read?” (y/n) asked trying to spark some small talk

“Mostly Cult of Raven or Stephen King”

“Stephen Kings that guy who wrote that one story about that hotel right with those twins in the hallways saying ‘Come play with us,’ right?”

“The shining?”

“Is that what it’s called?”

“Yea”

“Then yes”

“You don’t read Stephen?” Warren asked engaging in the small talk

“I don’t read a whole lot in general” (y/n) admitted “Got any recommendations?”

Warren pulling out ‘Monkeys Paw’, handing it to (y/n)

“What’s this about” she asked curiosly

“Basically the term ‘you get what you wish for’ taken to the extreme”

“Ah, okay” (y/n) the. beginning to read along with Warren

———

Not even a full 3 minutes passed before Peter came running up to the attic hiding from someone

(y/n) and Warren both looking at him confused, “What the bell? Peter? What’re-“ Peter cutting him off

“Ok ok ok promise not to say anything to Jean?” Peter begged

“What?”(y/n) asked “Well let’s just say I accidentally ticked Jean off,” then hearing Jean yelling from under the attic

“WHERE ARE YOU PETER, I KNOW YOU BROKE MY VASE OF LILY’S!!” Peter scared then sneaking out the nook window onto the roof as a quick escape

Jean then making her way up to the attic, “Where is he,” her eyes practically red, both pointing at the window, Warren trying to open it realizing Peter jammed it unable to open it “Welp.. guess I should go get him off the roof... again” Warren then making his way down the latter to outside

Jean still standing there, her hand in her hip her other on her forehead, noticing (y/n) just awkwardly sitting there, “Sorry about that, the boys here can be a bit much...”

“huh?”

“Warren, he got here not long before you did, he’s still trying to adjust himself, it’s nice to see you two being nice to each other”

“Well it’s not like it’s that hard to get along with him, I realized that once I took a step back to not argue with him, his nice guy act could use a little work though” (y/n) sheepishly admitted

“You’d be surprised who all he does the ‘nice guy’ act for around here”

“Lemme guess, half the girls here, right?”

“Like I said, you’d be surprised”

Jean then left (y/n) to go find Peter and ultimately reprimand him

———

You’d be surprised? Who all? What’s that supposed to mean? (y/n) thought to herself in her room

Hearing a knocking at her door, (y/n) goes to answer it, she opens the door to see Jubilee

“Oh ok, so you’re (y/n) (y/l/n), right?”

“Uh.. yes, and you are?...”

“Jubilation Lee, but you can just call me Jubilee or just Jube’s”

“Right, and what exactly can I do for you?”

“Oh right, Peter asked me to ask you if you wanted to go to the movies with us later seeing as how you’re the newest addition to the crew”

“The crew?”

“Yea! I mean you’re new here and we figured you’d maybe want some friends”

The concept of friendship was not entirely new to (y/n) but it definitely wasn’t familiar

“Uh, well yea sure, I guess, I’m not exactly busy until Tuesday so..”

“Perfect! I’ll text you the details and add you to our group chat if you want”

“Uh, yeah sure ok” (y/n) shrugged and exchanged numbers

“Great! well we were thinking about seeing- *GASP* You have an electric guitar??!” Jubilee instantly distracted

“Yea, her name is bender, because it’s a fender so it’s a fender.. bender” (y/n) joked letting Jubilee come in

“Oh that is perfect, are you in a band?”

“No, I dreamt about it but it never happened hehe”

“I might know a few people who wouldn’t mind joining a rock, more on that later, but we were thinking about seeing that new horror flick that’s in theaters right now at around 6-ish”

it was 4:37

“It’s going to be me and my friends Jean, Scott, and Warren”

“Warren??”

“Yea, you meet him?”

Meeting Warren was a bit of an understatement at this point

“Yes, we met” (y/n) as exhausted as she sounded of him

“Great! Well I hope you two got along because we were thinking of seating arrangements and now that you’re on board, you’re gonna be next to Warren”

“Does it have to be next to warren?”

“What’s wrong? you don’t like him?”

“Well...” (y/n) paused to think that maybe actually getting to know Warren some more wouldn’t kill either of them

“Well?”

“Ok, yea, next to Warren it is” (y/n) said with a determined look

“Ok great, if I’m being honest, asking you to the movies was actually Warrens idea, he just wanted me to say it was Peter, not sure why”

Warren wanted her to ask me? Why not ask me himself?

“You’d be surprised who all he does the ‘nice guy’ act for around here”

Could that be what Jean meant?

“Well I’ll see you around 6 at the garage, see you then! Oh and nice meeting you”

“Yeah you too” closing her door puzzling what it all meant together

Eventually 6 was drawing close so (y/n) rushed getting ready and got to the garage super early and decided just to wait there for everyone

Warren then came walking through the door

“Oh, you’re here early”

“You too” she replied playfully trying to be friendly

“So...” (y/n) began “You watch the trailer for this movie yet?”

“No not yet, supposedly it’s good though from what I’ve heard so far”

“Nice, I didn’t watch a whole lot of horror growing up”

“Too scary for you?”

“No, my brother who raised me didn’t think of them as a proficient use of time, so we didn’t watch them a lot”

“Oh wow, I used to watch them all the time with my mom”

“Aww, I never knew either of my parents” (y/n) immediately regretted just blurting that out nonchalantly

“Oh...” Warren said a little shocked that she admitted something so personal

“Yea.. Well.. I’m sorry that probably sounded problematic but I swear it’s not what all it sounds like but...” (y/n) explained almost stammering

The rest of the group finally walking in

“I call shotgun!” Jean exclaimed as she rushed to the front seat

(y/n), Warren and Jubilee all sat in the back, (y/n) never have been in a car with friends she stayed quiet ‘cause she didn’t know what to talk about but was listening to the other’s conversations, she looked up at Warren who was sitting in the middle and (y/n) on his left, she noticed he was just looking dead ahead with stone cold eyes

Dang, he must not be all that interested in anything I guess...

Jean overheard what both were thinking and took more interest as to what Warren was thinking about, wonder what that could be?

The group finally arrived at the movies and all hop out and start making their way to front doors, this being the first time (y/n) was out in public not hiding her ears, tail or eyes, she was understandabley nervous and a little fidgety, she felt a million eyes on her and immediately wanted to run into the forested area behind the movie theater

It’s ok you know, people around here are not more accepting of mutants considering they live right next to a whole mansion full of them

Do you always talk to people in their own heads???

It’s better to think of just people taking amazement in your mutation then them just judging you

Yea well easy for you, you can hide your mutation, I mean... I can too but i didn’t wear my hat it didn’t go with my outfit

Jean giving (y/n) a motherly smile trying reassure everything’s fine

“Ahh fudge!!” Jubilee exclamed at the sight of the theater not showing the movie they wanted to see

“Mann! what’re we supposed to do now? This took a lot of convincing Charles!” Jubilee explained

The group went silent thinking about something to do

“I kinda wanna check out the music shop” (y/n) suggested

“I wanna go to forever 21,” said Jubilee

“Me and Scott’ll be at the party” Jean dragging Scott along and the rest of the group all going their own ways too

Waking in the music shop, (y/n) couldn’t figure one thing

So... why exactly did Warren decide to tag along with me?

“What exactly were you thinking on getting here?” Warren asked

“I was thinking about investing in some new strings, and maybe that new blink 182 album..”

“You play?”

“Yeah”

“You in a band?”

“No... I wanted to but no one wanted to start one with a reality manipulating raccoon girl I guess” (y/n) said jokingly

“Heh, any cool inspirations?”

“My dad for starters”

“He played?”

“Yea, I watched old videos of him on stage and he could shred” a little bashfulness rosiness in (y/n)’s cheeks

“I take it you want to carry on the legacy?”

“Something like that, I mostly picked it up ‘cause I thought it looked cool and I didn’t have to spend money buying a new guitar”

“You’re using your dads”

“Yea, he named it Bender”

“Like from Futurama?”

“Maybe, but the main reason being is because it’s a Fender, so it’s a Fender BENDER” she joked nudging Warren seeing if he got the joke

“Clever, think you’re going to start a band?”

“If I can find any players here”

“I know my way around a drum kit, if that helps”

“No way! Do you have a kit?”

“No, I’m sure the music program at the school has one though”

“Hopefully”

“What kinda music do you like?”

“Mostly punk and alternative, you?”

“Metallica and Queen”

“Oh nice, I don’t necessarily hate classic rock, but I definitely prefer punk”

“It definitely suits you”

“Haha and what’s that supposed to mean?” (y/n) poking fun at Warrens statement, almost flirting

“Uh- well I mean it’s just very chaotic and from the time I’ve known you, you give off that controlled chaos kinda vibe”

“Controlled chaos ay? Well your vibe... I definitely gotta say is very Controlled rage”

“Must be why we go together” Warren immediately regretting spurting that out

“You think we go together?”

“Well- I meant like- I guess- I-“ Warren now blushing

He’s so cute flustered, to think he blushes so easily

(y/n) immediately realizing something

Wait.. I’ve never seen him blush but neither has anyone else... ahh I’m sure that doesn’t mean anything... right?...

“Yea well.. I’m gonna go buy these strings then” (y/n) said blushing a little bit

Both got a text from the rest of the group saying they’re ready to go home now that it’s 8:35

“Well guess we should meet up with everyone..” Warren pointing out the obvious and dodging eye contact

“Yea...”(y/n) agreeing also dodging eye contact both blushing

———

Finally getting back to the mansion (y/n), Jean, and Jubilee all make their way back to their rooms

Scott noticing Warren watching (y/n) walk away “You two have fun at the music shop?”

“Yea, didn’t know she played guitar” Warren said a little cheerfully.

“Someones sounding a little less murdery than usual”

“Shut up...”

———

A/N: I’m sorry if this sucked but it’s my first fanfic...

#warren worthington iii x reader #raccoon reader #warren x raccoon #headcanon #warren worthington headcanon #raccoon x warren

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Chapter 15

Masterlist

Connor had driven me home after we finished the movie and now, I was laying in bed looking at my phone. I decided to send Gavin a text before heading to bed.

 How’s burning the midnight oil with Nines?

 lame, i wish i was with my cats

 Me too lol

 how was dinner

 Pretty good, we watched Into the Spider-Verse after. Connor had never seen it!

 i haven’t either

 You’re joking, right? Is this the Jameson and Ginger Ale thing again?

 i barely have time for new movies, let alone old ones

 We’re watching it ASAP

 lol ok pipsqueak

hey i have bad news

 Damn, you couldn’t secure a place for the Dead Mom Society to meet? Or is the bakery out of chocolate chip cookies?

 no i have to work through lunch on monday

 :(

What are you going to have for lunch then?

 idk a pb&j from the breakroom

 Would it ruin your “working through lunch” if I brought you lunch and we eat it in the breakroom?

 nines wont be too happy

 Tell him it’s revenge for lying and setting us up!

 ok ill work on him and let u know

 Awesome! Good luck saving the city tonight, Batman!

 ur the biggest nerd ive ever met

yet for some reason i like u

 Awwwwww you like me

 …hm

 Yeah, yeah I like you too

I gotta go to bed, talk to you later

 Sleep tight, pipsqueak

I smiled at the screen for a moment, even if that nickname was rude and had started as an insult, it was his thing for me now. I'm an adult woman. A nickname shouldn't make me feel this giddy, but here I am, grinning at a now black phone screen, thinking about how he only grins and never smiles and how handsome it is when half his face scrunches up to accommodate those grins. I wonder if he's grinning now, a small one at his desk, maybe into a cup of coffee to hide it while he returns to his case files. I hope he's grinning, feeling like a stupid teenager. I hope he likes me as much as I'm starting to like him. I fell asleep soon after, thinking of what I should bring him for lunch, trying to guess what would surprise him most without being too flashy, what I could do to make him grin for me again.

 I woke up the next morning around 10 am, and laid in bed for a moment questioning how necessary it was for me to get out of this nice warm cocoon of blankets, with the sunlight streaming in gently just out of my eyes, and sighed loudly when I remembered that it was indeed necessary that I get out of bed, as Tina would be here to pick me up at 11:30. I kicked the covers off, grabbing my phone off the charger and moving to sit on the edge of the bed to check it before truly getting up. The first notification was a text from Gavin, sent around 5 a.m. 

u can come on monday probs around 11 bring whatever im not picky

 Will do, Batman!

I turned on a throwback playlist while I got ready, a quick shower where I debated too long over shaving my legs before I actually did so, thinking about how Tina might have me try on a suit or dress for the wedding. I hadn't decided what I wanted to go for yet, hence the indecisiveness with the razor. Eventually I bit the bullet and just took the extra five minutes to shave just to the tops of my knees, not bothering with my thighs as I highly doubted I'd be wearing a mini dress to a formal event, though it might be fun to see how Gavin would react to more revealing clothes. I filed the thought away while I got out of the shower, toweling off and tying the towel around my hair and brushing my teeth. By the time I had thrown on a pair of well loved jeans and a plain tee, Tina was calling me, I answered and before I could even put the phone to my ear, I could hear music blaring in the background, and then Tina screamed "HERE BITCH!" and promptly hung up. I pocketed the phone, and hurried looking for my Birkenstocks, of course they weren't by the door, they were in front of the fridge, where I had stopped last night upon arriving home to grab some food before heading to bed. I slid the sandals on, stopping for a moment to grab two packets of the applesauce squeezies for a quick breakfast. 

By the time I got to the car, Tina was listening to a different song, but the volume was the same, I'm sure my poor neighbors who were trying to sleep in on a Sunday morning were not very pleased. I opened the door and slid in, Tina turned the volume down. What a shame, she had excellent taste in music, ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ by Arctic Monkeys isn't a song you just turn down! 

"Took you long enough!" She laughed, a smile stretching across her face. 

"Shut up I couldn't find my shoes!" I shouted, holding up my feet and wiggling my toes in the most comfortable pair of shoes ever made. She looked at my feet and raised her eyebrows, snorting.

"Jesus Christ I’m a lesbian and I still wouldn’t wear those ugly ass shoes, (Y/n)!” I gasped and smacked her arm. 

“You’re disrespecting your culture!” I shouted, as the car silently started and began to pull out into the street, heading towards the dress store. Tina just giggled and I huffed. 

“For that, I’m not giving you the applesauce I brought for you.” I tore open the packets, double fisting them and squeezing all their contents into my mouth. Tina howled with laughter 

“What are you, fucking two years old! I cannot believe you!” 

“You’re just jealous that you aren’t as stylish as me and now I’ve had a healthy breakfast which I assume you didn’t as you were at the station all night. I was going to be a good, kind, maid of honor and offer you sustenance but if you disrespect the birks, you disrespect me.” I joked, crossing my arms and looking out the windshield past her. 

“Oh my god my maid of honor is two years old!!” 

“Hey! That’s uncalled for, I’m not a toddler, if anything I’m like a seven year old, I make sense but just barely.” I joked. She laughed and nodded. 

“Still can’t buy booze.”

“That’s why there are other best people who are of age who can.” 

There was a natural pause in the conversation, the song changed and we both listened for a moment before Tina turned to me, a devilish grin on her face making me nervous. 

“What?”

“So, I noticed something strange at work last night.”

“Yeah, what did you notice?” I laughed.

“A certain someone kept texting on their phone and smiling AND Nines wasn’t giving them a hard time for being on their phone.” She smirked. “I thought the date went bad?”

“How do you even know it was me, future Detective Chen?”

“Well, I may have glanced over his shoulder at some point and saw your name.” I laughed.

“Tina! I was going to tell you. You didn’t have to spy on Gavin!” She laughed.

“It was the heat of the moment. I promise the next time I spy on him I won’t tell you.” I shoved her shoulder and we both laughed.

“Man, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” The automatic car pulled into the bridal shop and we both squealed, jumping out of the car and practically running inside.

"I win." Tina said smugly as she crossed the threshold of the store before me. 

"Hey who's the kid now!"

Time went by fast in the shop, the consultants immediately brought us back to a sitting area, offering us complimentary champagne that we happily took. Our consultant, a happy-go-lucky android named Lance, brought out a selection of pantsuits for Tina to try, and offered excellent counsel on all of Tina's concerns. She wanted something elegant and more masculine. She tried a couple things before deciding pinstripe made her feel like a mobster and that white was definitely not her color. Lance was always smiling and laughing with them, not minding at all when they laughed at one of the options or didn't like what he had brought for her. He was very efficient in bringing options, and after three 'no's' he brought out a selection of black jackets and pants, assisting her in a pair of slim fit high waisted slacks with a center vertical pleat to help her look taller, a simple white dress shirt with a short popped collar, and a sleek black satin jacket, with a black lining. The fabric shone nicely in the light, a little bit of a sparkle in the thread. She looked gorgeous, and I could tell she felt it too, the way her eyes shone a bit, and her cheeks flushed, though she would probably blame that on the champagne if I brought it up later.

“You should try on some bridesmaids’ dresses. I’ve got my suit and now I want to judge others!”  Tina plopped down on the couch next to me and took my champagne from me.

"You haven't even decided on the style you want! Are you matching both bridal parties? Doesn't Valerie have a say in it then!" I squawked, reaching for the champagne flute she'd stolen from me. 

"We actually have talked about it, and we decided that as long as everyone has blush pink or yellow in their outfit, whatever style they want is best. It eliminates the drama and keeps our wedding day happy." Tina said, tipping her head back and downing my champagne in one big gulp. I smacked her arm. 

"Ah, I'd be happy to help you find a dress Miss. (L/N)." Lance offered, moving to sit next to me and offered out his hand, images of dresses popping up on his hand. 

"What are you thinking Miss (L/N)? Would you prefer the blush tone or yellow?" Lance asked, looking at my face instead of his hand. 

"Ah, blush please." I requested. 

"Not a problem, it's a popular color so we have a lot of options. Now, what style cut do you like?" I looked at him like a fish out of water. 

"I'm not sure, what do you think would look best, Lance?" He smiled, before pulling up a couple of images on his hand and explaining the styles and what design choices would flatter my features. I nodded, and he guided me back to the dressing room. 

"I'm going to run and grab some of the options we discussed Miss. (L/N)." He told me, before shutting the door. He knocked when he returned about five minutes later, hanging six dresses on the wall for me. "When you're ready, join us in the showing room, and we can adjust the fit and see what the bride thinks." He told me. I shouted 'Thanks!' through the door before turning to decide which dress I wanted to try first. 

 “Wow.” I murmured looking at myself in the mirror. From the tag on the dress I learned it’s a ‘long chiffon dress with halter neckline.’ I didn’t really understand what any of those words meant, but this dress was…amazing. It made me feel like a goddamn princess. 

“What’s taking so long!” I heard Tina shout.

“Give me a minute, you drunk!” I walked out of the dressing room, towards where Tina was sitting.

“Holy shit.” I laughed and spun around.

“It’s pretty good, right?” She got up and walked towards me.

“You’re getting this one. No question. I’m not letting you leave without it!”

“Are you sure? I can try a light-yellow dress if you want.”

“No, this one is perfect.” She smashed her cheek on mine and we both looked at ourselves in the mirror. I was smiling so wide my face was starting to hurt. She quickly grabbed her phone and snapped a picture of us, and I laughed.

“Tina!”

“What! I want to remember this moment.” She kissed my cheek. “I can’t wait to come back here with you when Gavin proposes.” She teased, causing you to laugh. 

“We’ve gone on one date! How much champagne have you had?” She shook her head.

“Just three glasses, I’m drunk on happiness! Come on, change back and buy that dress!” I laughed and walked back to the changing room. I picked up my phone and saw Tina had sent me the picture already. Smiling, I sent the picture to my dad.

 Got my dress for the wedding!

 Beautiful kiddo!

#gavin reed x reader #gavin reed #detroit become human #tina chen #dbh #hank anderson #x reader

[greekowl87]

Can you write something about Mulder and Scully that includes some lyrics from Garth Brooks "She's Every Woman" or "To Make You Feel My Love" for Season 6 or 7? Or even use the lyrics to create a storyline? . Thanks so much. Love, *Lyrics Anon

A/N: So this is overdue, anon. I had to sit on it for a hot minute. I ended up picking Garth Brooks “She’s Every Woman” set to the tune of “Rain King.” I hope you enjoy.  I tried to include a bit of everything: fluff, angst, and some smut. And thanks for @gaycrouton for taking time to beta this. I really appreciate it :)

P.S. This is a tad long. Tagging @today-in-fic @suitablyaggrieved @baronessblixen @improlificinsarcasm

It wasn’t the first time that Mulder and Scully had shared a motel room or bed. There had been a few times over the years. It was usually because of podunk towns and cities having little or no accommodation. This was probably the first time they had to share a room because a cow had fallen into Mulder’s own room, almost crushing him to death.

From the corner of her room, well their room, Scully watched Mulder stare thoughtfully at his bags. “Oh for God’s sake, Mulder,” she rolled her eyes. “Just put your stuff in the dresser next to mine.”

“I didn’t want to intrude, Scully.” He looked over his shoulder and smirked slightly. “I can sleep on the floor.”

“You’ll do no such thing. The bed is big enough for both of us.”

Mulder smiled slightly. Things had been...okay between them lately. Diana was a topic not brought up. They had their office back. Their relationship, beyond work, was also something they decided not to go deeper into as well. Things were good and they had an unspoken agreement to leave it alone.

“I didn’t want to imply,” he said after a moment.

“There’s nothing to imply.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Mulder, I don’t need any more to add to this headache that I already have. Shelia controlling the weather? I don’t even know where to begin.”

“It’s not Shelia. It’s Holman.”

“It’s not Holman. No one is controlling the weather.”

Mulder bent over to open his bag and transfer his clothes to the dresser. She watched him wince slightly as the fabric brushed against his fresh stitches. Scully sighed and came next to him. 

“You need to recover, Mulder so that it doesn’t get infected.” She bent over to help him with his clothes. “You know, we don’t have to do this.”

“What? Talk?”

“No. We leave tomorrow. You don’t need to waste your energy. Why, what were you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

They shared an uneasy gaze before Scully turned abruptly and went to the bathroom. She grabbed her navy blue pajamas and shut the bathroom door behind her. Mulder sighed at another lost opportunity. He didn’t know what was worse...his love life or Holman Hart’s. He sat at the edge of the bed and flipped on the television as the shower turned on the other side of the bathroom door. Mulder cringed inwardly as a commercial for a local tractor store came on. It began with Garth Brook’s tune, “She’s Every Woman.”

“She’s sun and rain, she’s fire and ice. A little crazy, but it’s nice,” the commercial sang showing a man riding a John Deer tractor. Mulder snorted at the likely copyright infringement of Garth Brook’s song. “And when she gets mad, you best leave her alone ‘cause she'll rage just like a river. Then she’ll beg you to forgive her. She’s every woman that I’ve ever known.” The montage changed to the man kicking the side of the tractor in frustration. A male voice came on. “Broken down tractor? Did she use to be reliable like your wife? Well, don’t let get you down. Come on down to Larry’s Tact and Tractors and pick out a new girl that will last you a lifetime!”

Mulder muted the television and put his face in his hands. Unconsciously, his hand slid under the collar of his shirt to touch the puckered bullet scar from Scully’s gun years before. She shot him with precision accuracy and held him with her gifted hands. He liked to think of the scar as the equivalent as Scully’s unspoken love...or friendship...or whatever it was they had. Trust a copyright infringement Garth Brooks song to hit him right where it hurt the most, almost describing Scully down to smallest detail, except she wasn’t like every woman that he’s known. She was something else.

The shower stopped and he snapped to attention, unmuting the show. The bathroom door opened, he changed the channel to the local PBS station and a nature documentary about octopi filled the screen. Scully stopped and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Really, Mulder?”

“What?”

“Octopus porn. Again?”

“What? Scully!”

She smirked and sat on the right side of the bed. Mulder automatically went to the left side of the queen bed. “So,” Mulder paused, “cased closed?”

“Case closed. Another x-file.”

“Done and done.”

“Yep.” 

Scully leaned against the headboard, pursed her lips, and sighed. “Well, I’m going to bed, Mulder. Try not to keep the TV too loud?”

“Of course,” he said.

He watched her turn off her light and turn her back to him as he flicked useless through the television channels trying to find something to distract him. After a while, Scully’s breathing slowed and indicated she was asleep. At one point while he was still watching television, Scully turned in her sleep, facing him. He hitched his breath as her arm stretched out and she relaxed as her arm coiled around his waist.

Talk about awkward.

Scully sighed contently and relaxed. Mulder looked down, clearly unsure of what to do. He tried to disentangle her arm but she only held onto him tighter. Mulder turned off the television and carefully laid down beside her. Her arm clutched his waist tighter. 

Okay, maybe this wasn’t as bad as it could be.

Due to his body adjustment, she groaned unhappily in her sleep and nestled her head against his shoulder instead. Blame their amazing unspoken communication, even in their sleep. Okay, he definitely was not complaining. He stroked her hair with a free hand. He wished things came easily between them...especially trying to profess the thing between them.

Mulder sighed and kissed her brow. “Love you, Scully,” he murmured. She snorted in her sleep before nuzzling his shoulder. “Close enough,” he smiled.

**********

Scully could not believe the predicament she was in. Trapped in nowhere Kansas by some man that could apparently control the weather. Trying to convince Shelia that she wasn’t in love with her partner (that was hers) but Holman Hart, the literal weatherman. When she tried to conjure up her own love advice for the distressed romantic, she found herself thinking Mulder instead. 

Scully found herself thinking about her own advice as the lights sparked as Holman and Sheila kissed, ending the god-fearing storm. Mulder quietly came from behind, gently touched the small of her back, and smiled. “See,” he whispered. “I told you so.”

“A literal weatherman,” she said. She arched his eyebrow. “Literally.”

“Literally.”

Mulder laughed as the power came back on the “Over the Rainbow,” resumed. The DJ jumped on apologizing and called. “Sorry for the technical disruption, folks. To make up for it, here is something to hold your significant another closer. ‘She’s Every Woman,’ by country sensation Garth Brooks.”

The changing decks on the CD player could be heard as Mulder smiled. “We solved a case of true love, Scully. Know what’s funny? I heard this exact same song last night while you were getting ready for bed. It was on a tractor commercial.”

“A tractor commercial?”

“Yep.”

Those who attended Kroner High School joined together for the slow dance. To her utter surprise, Mulder held out his hand with the same goofy smile he had at the Cher concert. “Scully?”

“No.” She found herself laughing. “No, Mulder.”

“Come on. No one is here. Skinner can’t judge us. It’s one dance.”

As Garth Brooks crooned, “She’s so New York in L.A.”

“East coast and west coast,” he whispered into her ear as he folded her into his arms in a slow rhythm. 

Garth Brooks sang over him. “And every town along the way, she’s every place I’ve never been. She’s making love on rainy nights.”

“We could with Holman’s help.” 

She laughed despite herself. Every part of this was wrong but it felt so right so she just let herself go.

“She’s a stroll through Christmas lights and she’s everything I want to do again,” the song sang.

Scully felt her cheeks growing red as she pushed her face into Mulder’s shoulder and took a deep breath. All of this was wrong but it felt so right. The song blurred away as Mulder hugged her closer and bent his face into the crook of her neck, breathing deeply. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, knowing exactly what he meant. She pulled back slightly and caressed his temple. “We’re okay.”

The moment stilled. Have you ever head of time freezing? This was one of those moments where eternity pulled at you and just knew. Scully knew at that moment. At the same time, a quick flash went off. An older man smiled and took a picture from a Polaroid. “I don’t recognize you,” he proclaimed. He fanned the developing photo. “You graduated with us, right?”

“Right,” Mulder smiled easily. “Rob and Laura...Petrie...like the dish. We’re high school sweethearts.”

Scully smirked. Petrie, she mouthed. 

“We transferred in the last semester. I was from back East, Laura is from the West Coast.”

The man smiled and shrugged. “Enjoy. I’m doing couples’ photos for two bucks apiece. Consider this a freebie.” He passed the Polaroid to Mulder and went in search of news customers.

Scully took the photo. “Jesus Christ, Mulder.” She laughed. “I can’t look at it. Missy would rip me a new one.”

“Why?” He took the photo. He and Scully are so...in love. Hey, maybe the camera really captures the truth and is worth a thousand words. “I think it looks great.”

“Come on.”

“No, I really think it! We look…”

“Like a couple.”

“Well, we’re dancing at someone’s high school reunion.”

At that reminder, Scully tried to pull away but Mulder wouldn’t let her. “Scully, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

She was stunned as Mulder kissed her. Her entire world shattered, everything ceased to be but both of them. The Polaris disappeared into his jacket’s pocket as he began to sway with her to some obscure tune, their lips never unlocking. Finally, Scully felt the need to breathe. She pulled back as Mulder smiled indulgently. She felt...indescribable. “You do know how to kiss,” she whispered over the music.

“Who said that?” He smirked.

“Shelia.”

“Well to be fair, her experience wasn’t completely representative of what I can do.”

“Really?” She teased.

“I was only waiting for you,” he whispered. 

Her arms curled around his neck protectively, as if she was ready to fight anyone for her partner. He belonged to her. “Goddamn, Mulder,” she teased.

He smiled and kissed her again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Holman and Shelia smiling. “Told you you had to try it sometime,” Holman shouted.

Mulder grinned like a fool and turned his back so he could kiss her more. “What do you say,” he whispered between breaths, “we get out of here?”

“Our room.”

The smile he gave her sent shivers up her spine. “Our room,” he agreed.

As they disappeared from their fake high school reunion, the air suddenly felt changed--charged like right before a thunderstorm. She didn’t think the air would still feel like this after the flood was over. Mulder grinned like an idiot. “Maybe it’s Holman.”

“Shut up.”

Mulder instinctively went to the driver’s side of the car, his hand fumbled with the door handle. “Still wet from the storm,” he said lamely.

“Excuses only got you so far, Mulder.”

Mulder stood and stared at her. Something in Scully’s voice had changed as well. He only saw a Scully he had imagined. It wasn’t Agent Scully, FBI agent, and medical doctor. Nor was it Dana, the mysterious woman he had always wondered about. No. It was Scully. His Scully. The Scully he fantasized about

She was laughing. The sudden humidity from the previous downpour became palpable. Fucking Holman. “Let’s get out of here, Scully.”

Mulder switched on the radio, trying to find something to distract from the silence. Scully switched the radio off and played with the hem of her jacket. The tension was palpable. She took his hand and threaded their fingers together.

“You know, for years,” she began lazily, “I didn’t think you understood the meaning of personal space.”

“What do you mean?”

She caressed his thigh invitingly. “Are you kidding me? All those years, Mulder...the hand on my back, the caressing of my hair…���

“Caressing?”

“Well, what else would you call it?”

“Fair enough.” He bit his lip and clenched his muscles. “He had dreamed of moments like this. “But it’s…”

“Let it go.” As Mulder drove, Scully leaned over the armrest and kissed the crook his neck enticingly. “Come on, Mulder. Can’t you drive faster?”

“I don’t want to go fast with you.” What were these words coming out of his mouth? “Sorry.”

“Why? I’m not. What do you want, Mulder?”

She was becoming a distraction with her caresses and stroking. “You.”

“Hm. At a loss for words?”

“For once, yeah.”

His foot stepped on the gas pedal in an attempt to get back faster.

As they drove the short distance back to their motel room, Scully felt a storm of her own growing inside of her. It had been so long that anyone’s ever looked at her or touched her in that way that gave her stomach butterflies. And the fact it is Mulder--she knew the stories going around the secretaries’ gossip vine. She also hated feeling like this but because it was Mulder, her equal, it was somehow...different. It felt more right. Mulder was her’s. For once in her life, she was at a loss of a logical explanation, scientific or otherwise.

Mulder pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Cool View Motorpool Motel, she was already jerking at the door handle and he nearly kicked down the driver’s side door. It had been too long. As Scully tried to unlock the door, Mulder’s own appetite was unleashed.

 He was behind her. Nipping at her neck. Hands under her jacket and blouse. Her hands fumbled with the key, dropping it on the wooden floor. “Shit,” she mumbled.

Mulder could be distracting but dear God, his hands made is worse along with this new use of his mouth. As she bent over to retrieve the key, his hands grazed her ass. “Jesus,” he muttered.

“Mulder,” she scolded half-heartedly. She quickly scooped up the motel key, jammed it in the lock, and couldn’t quite unlock it. “Goddamn it.”

“That’s what she said,” he joked.

“Fuck off,” she groaned. 

His hands had a mind of their own, already palming her breasts. “Mulder, door…”

“Sorry. I forgot. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend here even though we’re married, high school sweethearts.” His hands were on his hips. “Open that door up.”

Between their combined weight, the motel door swung open. Mulder caught her with an arm around her waist and she laughed. Real laughter. Real happiness. She turned and grabbed the lapels of his coat. “Lock that door, Agent Mulder.”

He didn’t need to be told twice as he locked the door soundly. “So, Agent Scully, how do we do this?”

Scully licked her lips thoughtfully. Suddenly, every thought and fantasy filtered through her head. “You know, I had fantasies about this.”

Gauntlet is thrown down.

“So did I, Scully.”

“Tell me yours.”

“You start. Ladies, first.”

She breathed deeply. “Well,” she began, taking off her coat. “It always begins with the fact we have to share a bed. I imagine...something like this. Maybe a bit more x-file-ish.”

“X-file-ish?”

He removed his own jacket and put it with hers. “Sort of,” she replied. Scully turned her back to him and he went to her like a moth to a flame.

“Scully, don’t you feel these clothes are rather restricting?”

“Perhaps.”

She clumsily turned the radio alarm on to distract both of them from the growing tension. Mulder laughed as Garth Brooks came on, singing the song that had plagued his entire trip to Kansas. Garth Brooks sang, “She’s anything but typical. She’s so unpredictable.” 

Mulder grabbed her arm and gently unbuttoned her blouse. 

“Oh but even at her worse, she ain’t that bad,” the radio continued.

Mulder kissed her lips. “You’re perfect.”

Scully lifted her arms in an attempt to help him remove her blouse and bra. 

He caressed her as if in a dream.

Garth Brooks continued over the radio alarm clock: “She’s as real as real can be and she’s every fantasy. Lord, she's every lover that I've ever had and every lover that I’ve never had.” The song ended as Mulder kissed her again. 

“I’ve heard this song at least twice in the past 24 hours.” Mulder bit his lip trying to undo the hooks of her bra. “Goddamnit. I’m sorry. It’s been so long.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled.

 Her deft hands helped him with the unruly hooks. “You know I’ve dreamed of this, Scully? Underneath those suits, everything.”  He kissed her again, unconsciously pushing against her. “Sorry.”

She continued to smile and show him a side he never imagined. The bra dropped effortlessly and she lifted her arms behind her head momentarily. 

“Scully.”

“What?”

“You’re making it worse.”

She laughed like a siren. Mulder lost all will to keep himself restrained as he crushed her lips again. Her hands, like a ghost, undid the buttons of his dress shirt effortlessly and peeled it off. She tore the white undershirt from underneath it. They took a moment to relish it. “This is ironic,” he whispered to her.

“In what way, Agent Mulder?” He wanted to touch her; he wanted to do so much to her. He licked his lips and, with a shaking hand, gently palmed her perfect breast. She entwined her hand with his and brought it to her lips. She kissed her fingertips. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

“Still trying to play doctor?”

She laughed. “Do you want to try for once?”

His eyes lit up. “That is one of my fantasies. Get on that bed, Scully.”

Scully walked backward, taking his hands, to bring him with her. Mulder kissed her again. She lay back and Mulder sat on the edge of the bed. “Now what, Mulder?”

“Um,” he smiled, despite himself. “This part is, um...not as awkward.”

“Well, from one doctor to another,” she started, “I suggest appropriate lightning for your examination.” Feeling self-conscious, Scully hugged a pillow across her chest. “That overhead light may be too much. The nightstand perhaps?”

Mulder quickly followed her advice.

“Next, I suggest a thorough examination of the upper torso. If you were performing an autopsy, a complete catalog of outside observances then a y-incision.”

He pulled away from the pillow and began his examination. Perfection was the first thing that came to mind. The still-raw scar near her abdomen warranted his first attention. Stupid Ridder. He kissed it lovingly, his tongue swirling around it. “I should have been there.”

“You’re here now,” she whispered.

She caressed his hair as he focused his attention on her breast. He kissed her reverently and traced the outline, slopes, and every shadow. Scully’s breath hitched. The feathery touches and the growing storm inside here was nothing like she could have imagined. She crossed her legs in an effort to control her body. God, this was worse than when she was a teenager with her early experimentations.

“You’re perfection.”

“Mulder,” she whispered. “As your doctor, this slow foreplay is killing me.”

“Well, let’s remedy that. Hips up.”

“And the same for you.”

“Really?”

“Equals,” she teased.

Scully took notice of his own evidence of the situation, protruding loud and proud. Her hands clenched at her sides. She wanted to take control.  He took her hands as if sensing her frustration. “Scully, this is six years in the making, let’s just get this done.”

For once, Mulder: the voice of reason.

He undressed her until the lower undergarments remained. She flushed with embarrassment; it had been too long since she had done this. Fuck. He shucked his own pants and boxers and she breathed deeply. 

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing, Mulder. Well, not quite.”

His proof was understated. She bit her lip and clenched her thighs again. “You know I’m not done yet, right?”

“I know, Mulder.” Mulder stared at her before he bent down to kiss her again. But he switched it up. He kissed the cotton lining of desired areas. Again, it sent sparks up her spine. “Mulder, stop teasing me.”

Mulder’s thumbs hooked around the loops of her hips and gently peeled them off her. “The Holy Grail,” he murmured.

“Jesus, Mulder.”

“I haven’t even started, Scully.”

“I know but shut up.”

“That is the last thing I want to do.”

She felt chills. Another fantasy came to mind after watching him shuck sunflower seeds effortlessly for years. It happened in the blink of an eye. This was quickly becoming an x-file. His nose nudged away from the sensitive area. Then the flick of his tongue. Then the sucking. Then the teeth. 

Holy Motherfucking of God.

Is this what rapture was? Scully was pretty sure of it because maybe her heart started and stopped a few times. The sensations were slow, like a building tropical storm about to turn into a hurricane. It was slow and felt...weird...dream-like? It was like she had suddenly been granted her deepest desires.  She clenched the quilt and hissed, “Under, Mulder. Not on top.”

With effortless effort, they disappeared under the covers. Mulder left her hot center and crushed her against his own lips. She could taste herself on his lips. Scully wondered how often he had done this with previous women but the thought became fleeting as he broke away. How did he become such an expert?  “Only you,” he whispered, answering her thoughts.

Scully gently turned him over so that she straddled his waist. The sheets and thin quilt hugged her thighs. 

“This isn’t real.”

“Very much real.”

“Where does this leave us?”

For once, Scully didn’t have a reply. “To be determined?”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

She felt his own hardness against her. Dear God, this was another thing she had imagined and, for once, her imagination failed her. Mulder peeled away the last of her garments as she took off his boxers. One upon a time, she would have worried about this little problem but now, she welcomed the potential. But at the same time, she mourned it too. Scully thought about her diagnosis following her cancer and her inability to have children. While it made for a new form of safe sex for her and the partner of her choice, it did make her feel sad.

“I do like the feel of it, Scully.”

“I must not be very imaginative,” she whispered. 

She felt herself losing control and grind her hips against his.  “Imagination is a poor thing against the real thing,” he whispered.

“So,” Scully asked, “where do we go from here?”

“Only way but up.” He laughed at his own lame joke. “Or down.”

She took his hands and extended them over his head. “Don’t resist.”

“Wasn’t planning to, Scully.”

Mulder found himself becoming more aroused. Scully normally wasn’t so...assertive but with the relationship she had with Mulder, she felt like his equal. Fuck, she was his equal. Still holding their arms and hands above his head, she leaned forward to kiss him. Her soft lips tasted him. He jerked his hips upwards as she giggled in surprise.

“I love hearing that,” he whispered into her ear. “You don’t laugh enough.”

“It is so hard these days,” she replied.

“I know.”

She slid up and down his length. Mulder freed his hands, unable to keep himself from touching her any longer. His hands flexed against her ass. His breath shuttered. “Mulder,” she whispered.

She guided him into her. Her body, despite the foreplay, protested at this new intrusion inside of her. But it felt like the missing piece. She remembered the awkwardness of losing her virginity; this was completely different.

“Oh, Scully.” He whispered her name reverently. Mulder hoped it was just as good for her. “Scully, this moment, everything about it. Perfection.”

“Faster,” she urged on. Her wish was his command. He dug his feet into the mattress and arched his hips upwards. Her eyes rolled back into her head as he hit the right spot. “Right there...right there, Mulder.”

“Harder?”

“You’re perfect. Just like that.” Over and over. “Yep.” Her voice sounded deeper than she thought it would. “Just like that, Mulder.”

He slowed his efforts. “Six years, Scully.”

“Feels like longer.” 

“What do you want me to do?”

“Keep doing that...no, right there. Like you’ve been doing.”

“Am doing?”

“Shut up, Mulder.”

Scully squeezed her thighs and he groaned at the sensation. Suddenly, the need became overwhelming for both of them. Mulder flipped Scully, taking control, and they never lost contact. This was a whole new whirlwind of sensation for both of them. Mulder felt Scully wrap her legs around him. They were both so close

“Flip,” she whispered in his ear. “I want to stay on top.”

Mulder did not have to be told twice. She was flipped again and Mulder relaxed as she clenched her thighs again.”Faster, Mulder,” she urged on.

“Hold on.”

With renewed vigor, he exerted the last of his energy to give her the best experience possible. Despite the years of not being vocal about their needs, they weren’t very quiet now. Scully remembered Shelia telling her that Mulder had a special connection with her; she would like to see the other woman’s face now. With a mere clench of her tights or a squeeze of her hand, she could tell Mulder what she wanted. The best relationships were rooted in friendship. Scully bit his lower lips teasingly and he nipped at her nose. 

“Never been this good,” she whispered. She tried to catch her breath but Mulder found her lips and crushed them. “Jesus.”

“I’m so close, Scully.”

“Me too.”

Mulder got a devilish look in his eyes; his hazel eyes became almost black. “Together?”

Is that even possible, she thought?

With renewed vigor, she rode him and Mulder groaned loudly. “That’s...that’s not what I intended.”

She could feel him beneath her, curling beneath her. He wished they could do it together. “I’m sorry, Mulder,” she whispered. Her head fell downwards and Mulder brushed back her hair. “I just need a little help…”

“You’re perfect,” he murmured. “Show me how, Scully.” Their eyes met and she took his hand; she could already feel him withering inside her. “It’s okay, Scully. Show me. I want to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Show me, Scully.” Her hand shook slightly but his larger hand covered her breast gently. “You’re beautiful, Scully.”Scully felt her anxiety ease and took his hand. She licked her lips and tried to keep herself from squirming away as Mulder caressed her mons slightly. She arched her hips and he found her clit. “Tell me, Scully. How does that feel?”

“Um, different.” She clenched her thighs again and let out a guttural moan as she guided him on how to do it just right. “Right there, Mulder.” She groaned again. “Right there.”

His thumb massaged wonders behind her eyes. This was better than any fantasy of hers. All this was better than any fantasy. He went down, she went up, and after six years, they were perfectly attuned. Soon, she clenched her thighs and she was coming hard. She moaned loudly, her eyes rolling back into her head. “Does that feel good?”

“Amazing,” she whispered. 

He withdrew himself and she curled into his side. Mulder wrapped an arm around her snuggly. Scully smiled and whispered, “I can definitely get used to this.”

“You see more of this in the future?”

“I hope so,” she murmured.

He kissed her passionately. “I think that is a guarantee.”

#prompt #asked and answered #xfilex #xf fic #txf #txf fic #mulder #scully #msr #msr fic #rain king #smut #fluff #angsty a bit

[bobasheebaby]

Daydream- Be Careful What You Wish For chapter 7

Pairing: Drake x MC; Liam x MC

Word count: 1,986

Warnings: Evil Liam, manipulation, delusions, 🍋, cheating

Summary: Drake is admitted, Rebecca and Liam get closer.

Song inspiration: Daydream by Ruelle

A/N: A huge thank you to @sirbeepsalot for all of her help and advice and being an ever patient sounding board. (MoE thanks DoE as well.) Rebecca has spoken, she wants control and to do this her way. All blame is on Rebecca, MoE and I are 100% innocent and as shocked as you. I know I said Monday but I kinda want the screams. Enjoy.

Series warnings: Evil Liam, dark!fic, deceit, manipulation, dub con, possible NSFW content, possible character death. This is taking the Liam from TRH to the extreme, he is not the Liam we know and love. By clicking read more you acknowledge you are at least 18 years of age.

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, I’m simply borrowing from PB for a bit.

Bastien sighed as he finished signing the paperwork to have Drake committed, this isn’t how he wanted things to play out. He had hoped Drake would see how bad it was and admit himself. He knew Liam was correct that if Drake didn’t see the problem that he would fight any help given to him, but still Liam’s reluctance to commit Drake felt off. He placed the pen back on the counter, passing the paperwork to the doctor. This isn’t right something is off. “Can you do a full blood panel? And I mean everything, a full tox screen, potential poisons he may have become in contact with.”

“Sir?” The doctor asked clearly surprised.

“He’s a Duke, I want every possible test run. Leave no stone unturned.” There has to be something else going on.

The doctor nodded in understanding, not wanting to be accused of not taking the request seriously.

Bastien raked his hand over his tired face, the scene when he took Drake in replaying in his head.

Drake struggled against Bastien’s hold. “Let go of me! I’m not crazy! I’m not my mother.”

“This is for your own good.”

“Yea, my own good.” Drake growled. “The crazy duke ex commoner admitted to psych ward, the press will have a field day.”

The orderlies took Drake from Bastien, they kept a firm hold on them, obviously used to dealing with a patient who fought being restrained.

“I assure you Drake we will work to keep this away from the press.” You’ll be safe here while I dig around and figure out what’s going on.

He watched as they led Drake down the hall, his shouts that he didn’t need help carrying back to him.

Bastien shook his head. It’s for the best. He can hate me all he wants but he needs the help. And I need to make sure there isn’t something to this.

*

Her hand reached out, fingers wrapping around his forearm, halting his steps. She looked up at him with sad sapphire eyes. “Stay.”

Liam looked down at Rebecca, fighting to keep the surprised smile off his face. He had hoped he was getting closer to his goal, but he never dreamed he might be this close already. His heart skipped a beat as she looked up at him, her sapphire eyes pleading him.

“Please stay.” She lowered her gaze as she shook her head. “If I’m alone I know I’ll just go crazy.” Is that the only reason I don’t want him to leave? Her hand burned hot where it met his skin. It can’t be more, I just need company. That’s all it is, company.

Liam nodded in understanding. She just needs a friend, company. “Of course.”

She gave him a sad smile. Why does this feel so different? She felt all the feelings she thought were long buried rush back, hitting her like a ton of bricks. She pulled her hand back, instantly aching to touch him again. “I need a drink.” No reason to not imbibe anymore. She gave a pained laugh. “It’s not like I’m going to get pregnant anytime soon anyway.” She stood crossing to the bar cart. “Do you want anything?” The dream of a child with Drake had evaporated in an instant, taking the loving husband she knew with it. The man that stood in his place was a cruel imposter, twisting all her dreams and making her doubt her own feelings. He’s getting the help he needs, he’ll be back. But do you still want him, or do you want someone else?

You’ll be pregnant soon enough my queen. He sank onto the couch. “Scotch please.” Just listen to her, be there for her and when he’s gone it’ll be second nature for her to come to me. He pulled his buzzing phone from his pocket.

He’s been admitted on an indefinite hold, but Mr Lykel requested a full panel, leave nothing unchecked.

Liam smirked. Leave it to Bas to be thorough.

Liam: Run it.

Of course.

It’s not like anything will turn up. He looked up, tucking his phone back into his pocket as she returned, smiling as she handed him his glass. “Just Bastien telling me he’s been admitted. He’ll get better Rebecca I promise.”

She nodded as she took a sip from her own generous pour. Take the pain, the betrayal. Her heart twinged with pain as she remembered the fire in Drake’s eyes with each ugly accusation. He’s a completely different man. Is it all just the illness? The more he insisted she was unfaithful, the further he pushed her away. She felt guilty for even thinking it, but she knew he was no longer the man who had stolen her heart. She felt the familiar flutter in her chest as her gaze locked on Liam’s. No you can’t. You love Drake. Don’t let his illness break you. She took another long sip trying to push the feelings deep down, back to where she buried them before. Hasn’t it already? A tear streaked down her cheek. This isn’t how marriage was supposed to be. I know it’s hard, but he doesn’t even trust me anymore. Her heart caught in her throat as Liam’s hand gently cupped her cheek, thumb brushing away the single tear. His palm was warm, it felt as though an imprint would be burned on her cheek. She leaned into the touch, willing it to stay, take away all her pain and doubts.

“He’ll get better.” I promise you won’t miss him. Soon all will be as it should be.

She nodded, feeling a pang of loss as he dropped his hand from her cheek. Why am I questioning if I made the right choice? Her body reacted, craving the warmth and comfort of his touch once more, she surged forward claiming his mouth in a searing kiss. His warm, firm lips moved with hers. A spark shot through her sending her mind reeling. His lips are smoother, softer, not chapped. Don’t compare. She found herself feeling an intense connection she hadn't realized had been missing. Maybe I did make a mistake. She shoved the thought out of her head, allowing the dizzy feeling to take her over. She shifted closer, pushing him back, ignoring the sound of their forgotten glasses falling to the floor and shattering, splashing her leg with Scotch. She straddled his lap as she kissed him with more fury and passion than she thought possible. Her mind went completely fuzzy, she felt almost drunk, drunk on him and all the feelings she hadn’t felt since she gave up on him, on them. She shifted in his lap, pressing him harder into the couch, heat pooled in her center and she moaned into his mouth as she felt his body react to hers.

Though Liam had been stunned when her lips met his, he quickly kissed her back. I knew she still wanted me. I knew I would be able to remind her, and win her back. He allowed her kiss to consume him, losing himself in the feel of her lips on his. As she took charge he knew it was only a matter of time until she was once again his. At the sound of her moan, he knew he needed to go back to playing his part. Soon I’ll no longer have to play. As much as he wanted her, he needed to try to show some restraint. He brought his hands up to her shoulders, gently pushing her back. “We shouldn’t, what about Drake?” Soon he won’t be a barrier any longer and I can make you mine again.

He’s right you can’t do this. Drake already thinks I am, consider it a self fulfilling prophecy. She looked down at him with hooded eyes, her body thrumming with need and desire at an intensity she’d long forgotten. “You can’t tell me you don’t want to.” She rolled her hips, biting her lip at the feel of his bulge rubbing against her core. “I can feel how much you want me.” She ran her hands ran down his chest, pushing up his shirt exposing his stomach. “Touch me, take me.” She gently raked her nails over his toned abs. “Help me feel wanted.”

She remembers. Liam’s restraint snapped sending him surging forward, his hand moving to her neck pulling her down, kissing her breathless. His hands traced over the lines of her body, caressing every curve sending a shiver down her spine.

She grazed his bottom lip with her teeth as she pulled back. “Please, I need you.”

Whatever you want my queen. He slid her shirt up, quickly removing it from her body, discarding it to the side.

She smiled, her hands quickly working off his shirt, their lips meeting again in a desperate kiss. They moaned as they worked rid each other of their remaining clothes, fingers grazing newly bared skin.

Liam flipped her, pressing her into the couch. He smiled down at her, his eyes dark with desire as he peeled off her lace panties, the last barrier keeping him from drinking in her naked body. God she’s beautiful. Her golden hair sparkling in the sunlight streaming in, sapphire eyes dark, glittering with desire. Her pale skin flushed, her perfect breasts heaving. Soon my love, we’ll be together, a force to be feared. “Are you sure?” His body ached to feel hers, still he wanted to be sure, unwilling to jeopardize their perfect future.

He looked down at her with such love, Rebecca thought she might drown. Did Drake ever look at me like that?  “I’m sure, Liam please.” Take me, devour me. She arched her back and bit her lip. “Make me forget.” Everything. Him.

He growled, hitching her thigh over his hip. He wanted to take it slow, his lips trailing down kissing every part of her, tasting her once more but his need to fill her overriding him. Next time I can take it slow.

“Please.” She mewled pleading him. Fill me. Make me yours again. She bucked her hips up, the head of his cock slipping through her slick folds making her throw her head back with a moan.

Liam thrust forward, her walls stretching around his length as he filled her completely. “You feel so good.” Like you were made just for me my love.

Her need for him setting her on fire, she was sure she’d be completely consumed if he didn’t move soon. She rocked her hips, urging him to move. She felt whole, almost like a piece she’d lost had been reclaimed. How did I let him go? “Yes, Liam.” She moaned, her hands gripping his back, pulling him closer as he thrust forward, setting a hard pace, as his own need took over. His lust darkened eyes locked on hers, she felt like she was floating as his body reclaimed hers. Her body sang, reacting to his every touch. Every thrust felt like he was carving his name into her branding her, marking her as his. I’m yours. Her head spun with ethereal delight, she felt a sense of closeness she hadn’t realized she’d been lacking. “I—I’m close.” She flung her head back moaning, her nails raking down his back, digging into the flesh.

Liam thrust harder, gritting his teeth as he tried to hold back. His hand slipped between them, he rubbed her clit with his thumb. She came with a shout of his name, her body tensing and shaking as her walls clamped down on his length. His head dropped as he came with a groan. He collapsed, rolling them to their sides, he pulled her close as his heart sang with joy. Now just to remove the obstacle.

She closed her eyes, nuzzling her face into his sweaty chest, momentary regret washing over her. What did I do?

How did I choose the wrong man?

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

Masterlist can be found in my bio.

Taglist will be reblogged.

#drake x mc #liam x mc #drake walker #king liam #bastien lykel #evil liam #trh au #trr au #the royal heir #the royal romance #the royal heir au #the royal romance au #daydream: be careful what you wish for #be careful what you wish for #bcwywf #dark!fic #ns*w #lemon #drake x rebecca #liam x rebecca #long post #read more #its all rebecca #i swear im innocent