#she sneaks into the big cats exhibits

[reddragon-cowboy]

@humanitysong asked: xxx but how about a hc those two share in their relationship?

Send me XXX and I will share a nsfw headcanon about my muse. Notes: Biting. Pining. Height difference. Pred x Prey dynamic. They got a primal/breeding kink :'> It's a bit vague under read more but still. This somehow got turned into a quick little oneshot/drabble. . . More here

Now, Spike wouldn't accept just any ole bounty available that Big Shot provides on their television segment. For one, his crew knew by firsthand experience how fickle he can be, exhibiting an indifferent attitude when a bounty doesn't suit his interests enough to get involved in the chase. In his mind, it's not worth it to put in the effort for someone that lacks value. Typical small fry. But other than that, he loves the chase of running after a high-paid bounty, ever prepared with his handgun pulled out its holster and lowered as he draws close to his target on quick, silent feet you could barely hear approaching. There’s a specific thrill in the chase of hunting down anyone seen as prey.

And in his eyes, Niah was a rare beauty to behold, a priceless gem scavenged from the caves of old earth, someone worthy of the chase who could fulfill his utmost desires carnal in design. And, well, he also liked to play games. . . games like cat and mouse. He'd play as the cowboy while she's the bounty. Or he'd take on the role of the predator in the wild while she's the prey who dashes through the thicket he must catch in the bushes, which actually falls in line to their opposing natures: wolf & rabbit. It's one of his favorite games to play. . . in fact. . . Niah was his ( only) favorite person to play it with since she plays her part so well.

For starters, he'd give her a head start, allowing her to slip of out his grasp, maybe even let her disappear out of sight to let her think she can get away, set the belief in her mind that she can run away. And she might act innocent and naive during these games they play, but Niah was certainly no fool and knows her place. She well knows she couldn't escape the smell of a bloodhound, knows how capture was inevitable as his nose trails after her, following her sweet fragrance that lingers in the wind like a beast who prowls within the underbrush, lurking beneath the surface of day in search of its next meal.

In one way or another, Spike would eventually have her cornered or pinned down beneath him, trapped between his jaws as teeth sink into her skin, nipping at her soft flesh with fervor and intense want. It'd feel humid as his hot breath wash over her cheeks with a fierce warmth, sultry whimpers sneaking in-between her curvaceous lips as he plants bite marks upon her neck with a low growl. Wet tongue buried deep in her mouth till air escapes her lungs, his heavy weight pressing down against her, and she'd squirm beneath his strength that keeps her still where he wants her. And. . . oh ? Where does she think she's going ? Don't tell me she's trying to escape again ? Well, that's kind of silly to think a little prey like her can slip through his claws so easily.

This is something she wanted, after all, to be owned by him as she lets him do what he pleases, let his primal instincts take over as he devours and breeds her.

#usfw #suggestive tw #/this was supposed to be a simple answer for an ask but it transformed into something else outta nowhere >\\\\> #spike spiegel x reader #spike spiegel x oc #cowboy bebop fanfic #cowboy bebop fanfiction #cowboy bebop #spike spiegel #anime x black!reader #x black reader #anime x black reader #anime x black #black reader #spike spiegel x black reader #humanitysong #concrete roses: drabble #suggestive #don't tempt the beast with promise of domestic life <> concrete rose

[nkn0va]

Hey, chef anon here. I was rereading the househusband ask and got an idea from Kokonoe purring. What are some other catlike behaviors Kokonoe exhibits? Maybe going "pspspsps" gets her attention. Maybe she enjoys petting or getting her hair brushed or maybe even that thing people do where they just slap their cats.

God damn it, chef, I have other asks I need to do and then you drop this shit in my inbox now I have to do it.

Kokonoe A. Mercury

-As much as Kokonoe vehemently denies it (and she'd probably kill anyone if they ever find out), she has her fair share of catlike tendencies despite being only half-beastkin

-For one, the ever encompassing pspspsps is a good way to get Kokonoe's attention. Her cat ears stand up and her head immediately snaps over to the source, only to see you quietly laughing to yourself. She grumbles in annoyance and goes back to her work. Give it another 20 minutes and it'll work again. Much like the Kaka Clan also hailing from Jubei, she has quite the short attention span despite her genius intellect.

-Brushing her hair is one the easiest ways to get her to relax, especially when you're trying to get her to sleep for a damn change. Whether with an actual brush or just running your fingers through her hair it makes it harder for her to think before she eventually stops and gives in.

-Bonus points if you start scratching behind her ears too. She instantly goes red in the face as she starts involuntarily purring. If you dare do that in public you're getting your hand slapped away immediately and a scolding remark from her. She still has an image to maintain.

-Only makes it all the more satisfying when you're in private with her again and she puts her head under your hand like an animal does when they want attention and demands you scratch her ears.

-Silvervine has very little effect on Kokonoe anymore, having it basically in her body at all times. Other forms of catnip though is a different story. Swap out her silvervine candy for another kind as a prank and watch chaos unfold.

-She won't get full on hallucinations since she's only half-beastkin but she'll basically be drugged out. Hyperactivity only surpassed by the likes of Taokaka herself and unable to focus on any work she's doing. If there is a tall thing standing on a table or desk, that shit is getting knocked over with no thoughts, even if it was extremely important, a dramatically increased appetite, and if you happen to be in the vicinity, she will give in to her animalistic urges and pounce on you. She won't actually hurt you but you're not getting up for a pretty long while as she nuzzles her head against your chest furiously and purrs like an engine.

-When the catnip wears off and she wakes up Kokonoe realizes what happens and you're getting the verbal beatdown of your life. She'll probably threaten to scratch your eyes out or something and it would be scary if you weren't her husband, you know she wouldn't do that. You just seem to disarm her in a way no one else does, it simultaneously gives the professor that warm, lovey feeling and frustrates her to no end.

-It's not to as big of an extent as normal cats, but Kokonoe also hates cucumbers. Of course you're not so cruel as to sneak one into her food, but when she's not looking you'll sneak one on a table behind her so she'll jump back when she turns around and catches the unpleasant scent. She does have a more sensitive sense of smell than a normal person.

-If you're around she'll shoot a sharp insult your way. If not, she'll mutter angrily under her breath as moves to throw it away.

-Of course there's everyone's favorite, the laser pointer. You at least have the decency to not pull it out in the lab and risk her destroying important work stuff but at home there is no mercy. Pull it out when she's not looking and those urges will surface. She'll run around trying to stomp on the dot, if it goes to the wall she'll scratch at it like mad, so if you're a fan of the couches or the TV, don't put the dot there.

-It'll take her a while to notice what's going on, at least until your laughter gives it away. She'll hear it and snap out of it, angrily cussing you out as she storms off to your shared bedroom.

-She acts mad in the moment, and probably is, at least until it's time for bed and you get in with her as she's sulking. She threatens to scratch you if you get close to her until you spoon her small body and start running your fingers through her hair and she reluctantly and begrudgingly relaxes into it.

-If there's one thing you've learned about Kokonoe in your relationship together, even before you married, it's that she's the queen of mixed signals. Appropriate, given her heritage. No matter how mad she acts, for whatever reason she just can't find it in herself to stay mad at you.

#blazblue #blazblue x reader #headcanon #relationship headcanons #kokonoe mercury #x reader #anon ask #answered

[elliesgaymachete]

Blake, for the character meme?

First impression - I think this is the other one of the gays?

Impression now - She’s been through so much and the way she’s actively working to not let down her team and her friends again is so brave of her and I love her so much 🥺 (FYI—still not caught up on the show so this impression is as of mid volume 8)

Favorite moment - ok I’ve written and deleted like 5 different things but the one I keep going back to is the bees fight with Adam and “we protect each other”

Idea for a story - I’ve got cinderella au bouncing around inside my brain with Blake as the princess of menagerie and Ruby + Yang sneak into the festival sooo yeah

Unpopular opinion - tbh I don’t think she ever had a crush on Sun most of her interactions with him were her indulging his crush but she never actually expressed interest in him aside from that. I think she always really liked him as a friend and maybe thought it was sweet he had a crush/enjoyed the attention, but that’s about it

Favorite relationship - do I even have to say it. Do i? Yang of course 🥺 but also all of team rwby

Favorite headcanon - big spoon blake ftw. I also love any headcanons where she exhibits cat like behaviors like the canon laser pointers can get her attention (IE she likes basking in sunny spots, knocks things over when she wants to be petty, etc.)

#thank you!!! #i feel like once I started getting into fic I loved blake even more lmao

[redwoodwv-hq]

Name: Mayra Rojas Age: 38 Town Occupation: Hairdresser / Cook / Gardner Previous Occupation: Exotic Dancer / Hairstylist / Singer Redwood Resident Length: ≈ 2 years Faceclaim: Nathalie Kelley

Bullet Points:

She lives in a little cottage built by both Isaac and Sol, surrounded by wildflowers and sunflowers.

Knows both English and Spanish fluently, also knows a bit of French and Quechua due to her father.

Everything she was before her traumatic experience has been pushed inside a huge mental box besides one thing: her love of piano.

Considers herself a spiritualist and is all about holistic remedies.

Has a black cat named Salem.

Biography: (tw: eating disorder, sa mention)

Big expectations were placed on Mayra Rojas from the moment she was born. With one of the most successful and respected Pediatric Neurosurgeons in Philadelphia as a father and a mother who ran the number one marketing company of the region, Mayra was expected to evolve beyond their own capabilities. As a child, she surely exhibited the traits. By the time she was four years old, Mayra knew how to play both Claire de Lune and Für Elise on piano without sheet music. When year ten hit, the girl had won countless awards and medals for her musical talents and written papers. The parents spent thousands on tutors and teachers to push their daughter beyond her own limits. With the pressures thrown from all directions, Mayra felt as if she had no control over her life. She was twelve when her eating disorder started.

Hiding food, sneaking it from the kitchen or from lunch at school into her room, Mayra would stash it away to binge when her parents would fall asleep. Her weight rose quickly. Noticing, her parents put her on a strict diet and had her enter sports along with her honors academics. Mayra joined the softball team along with volleyball but hated every second. The girl had no life, and because of this, the students would tease her for her loner tendencies. Mayra wasn’t popular; she wasn’t a cheerleader. She definitely was no one’s favorite whenever the teachers would rave about her glorious grades. Mayra wanted nothing more than to shrink.

College was a different experience. Mayra was accepted and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for STEM cell research at the demand of her parents. They believed their daughter had what it took to discover the success of gene therapies and splicing. In a different environment, Mayra began to lose the weight she had gained from high school. Her mental health was getting better, and she was excelling in all her classes. The teachers all recognized how talented she was; one specifically took notice. From the lack of attention and appreciation in her younger years, Mayra was blinded to the red flag waving heavily in her face. The abundance of compliments, the random gifts, and words of encouragement all made her feel on top of the world. However, in her junior year of college, Mayra’s life was ended figuratively speaking. An act so heinous was forced upon her.

Mayra dropped out of school and disappeared. Neither her friends nor her parents knew where the girl had gone. Private investigators were hired with no success. Finally, on the fifth anniversary of what had happened, Mayra showed up in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a changed woman. Mayra went to the community college for cosmetology and became a hairdresser. The intelligent, know-it-all girl was gone, and a promiscuous woman strutted all over town. She later became an exotic dancer, collecting mountains of cash from mediocre rich white men. Mayra also became a local star in the music world by singing at functions, playing piano and acoustic guitar. During one of her shows, a patron suddenly rose from their seat and began attacking others. This was her first experience with an infected.

Due to her parents’ money, Mayra fled to one of their many cabins. Located in West Virginia, right at the Pennsylvania line is where she held up as long as she could with her black cat, Salem. Surviving in an apocalyptic world wasn't exactly high on her list - but she made due, putting her faith in the Universe that everything was going to be okay, and so would she. Eventually, her resources ran out, and Mayra had to move in fear of the savages returning (after their first appearance). Walking aimlessly, Mayra came across another survivor. Once she realized he wasn’t part of the savages, the two traveled together - later coming across Redwood.

#redwood.characters

[mayrarcjas]

MAYRA ROJAS (she/her)

the free spirit.

Age; 37 Originally From; Philadelphia, PA Town lived in when virus was released; Philadelphia, PA Town Job; Hairdresser, Cook & Gardner Previous job; Exotic Dancer, hairstylist, singer

musings. // interactions. // playlist. // pinterest.

hcs:

She lives in a little cottage built by Isaac and Sol, surrounded by wildflowers and sunflowers.

Knows both English and Spanish fluently; also knows a bit of French and Quechua due to her father. Additionally, she knows American Sign Language.

Everything she was before her traumatic experience has been pushed inside a huge mental box beside one thing: her love of the piano. However, she is still hesitant to play it, as the piano was used as a punishment when she was younger.

Considers herself a spiritualist and is all about holistic remedies. Also believes in free love, especially now.

Has a black cat named Salem.

tl;dr: Mayra grew up with strict parents who wanted her to become the most significant thing in STEM cell research. She lived a sheltered childhood, surrounded by books, with everything being monitored. She enjoyed her freedom and learning when she went to MIT for college. Unfortunately, she was assaulted by a teacher. Mayra dropped out of school (at age 19) and moved to Canada, where she found a Quechua tribe. She lived with them for five years, learning to live off the land and battle the demons within herself. When Mayra felt ready, she returned to Philadelphia and attended beauty school. During school, Mayra became an exotic dancer at a gentleman's club called Lux. When the outbreak happened, she relocated to a cabin her parents owned in Maryland. After about a year, she left there with her cat - Salem - due to depleted resources. She ran into someone who saved her from a small group of Savages, and they later found Redwood at their beginning.

Big expectations were placed on Mayra Rojas from the moment she was born. With one of the most successful and respected Pediatric Neurosurgeons in Philadelphia as a father and a mother who ran the number one marketing company of the region, Mayra was expected to evolve beyond their own capabilities. As a child, she surely exhibited the traits. By the time she was four years old, Mayra knew how to play both Claire de Lune and Für Elise on piano without sheet music. When year ten hit, the girl had won countless awards and medals for her musical talents and written papers. The parents spent thousands on tutors and teachers to push their daughter beyond her own limits. With the pressures thrown from all directions, Mayra felt as if she had no control over her life. She was twelve when her eating disorder started.

Hiding food, sneaking it from the kitchen or from lunch at school into her room, Mayra would stash it away to binge when her parents would fall asleep. Her weight rose quickly. Noticing, her parents put her on a strict diet and had her enter sports along with her honors academics. Mayra joined the softball team along with volleyball but hated every second. The girl had no life, and because of this, the students would tease her for her loner tendencies. Mayra wasn’t popular; she wasn’t a cheerleader. She definitely was no one’s favorite whenever the teachers would rave about her glorious grades. Mayra wanted nothing more than to shrink.

College was a different experience. Mayra was accepted and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for STEM cell research at the demand of her parents. They believed their daughter had what it took to discover the success of gene therapies and splicing. In a different environment, Mayra began to lose the weight she had gained from high school. Her mental health was getting better, and she was excelling in all her classes. The teachers all recognized how talented she was; one specifically took notice. From the lack of attention and appreciation in her younger years, Mayra was blinded to the red flag waving heavily in her face. The abundance of compliments, the random gifts, and words of encouragement all made her feel on top of the world. However, in her junior year of college, Mayra’s life was ended figuratively speaking. An act so heinous was forced upon her.

Mayra dropped out of school and disappeared. Neither her friends nor her parents knew where the girl had gone. Private investigators were hired with no success. Finally, on the fifth anniversary of what had happened, Mayra showed up in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a changed woman. Mayra went to the community college for cosmetology and became a hairdresser. The intelligent, know-it-all girl was gone, and a promiscuous woman strutted all over town. She later became an exotic dancer, collecting mountains of cash from mediocre rich white men. Mayra also became a local star in the music world by singing at functions, playing piano and acoustic guitar. During one of her shows, a patron suddenly rose from their seat and began attacking others. This was her first experience with an infected.

Due to her parents’ money, Mayra fled to one of their many cabins. Located in West Virginia, right at the Pennsylvania line is where she held up as long as she could with her black cat, Salem. Surviving in an apocalyptic world wasn't exactly high on her list - but she made due, putting her faith in the Universe that everything was going to be okay, and so would she. Eventually, her resources ran out, and Mayra had to move in fear of the savages returning (after their first appearance). Walking aimlessly, Mayra came across another survivor. Once she realized he wasn’t part of the savages, the two traveled together - later coming across Redwood. 

#tfh.intro #edited: november 18th

[dreemurr-fever]

New headcanon because a BTAS comic made me sad watching Oswald control poor defenseless birds

Oswald 🤝 Selina

(beating up animal abusers)

You can't tell me these two wouldn't beat up the first person they see abusing an animal then proceeding to steal said animal from them

#the penguin #selina kyle #oswald cobblepot #oswald owns his own zoo and you csnt tell me otherwise #selina visits alot #she sneaks into the big cats exhibits #she totally steals plushies from the gift shop #oswald would ban her if she werent helpful #catwoman

[early2000smovieimagines]

Meeting and Dating Napoleon Bonaparte

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- Having worked at the Museum of Natural History for over two years, very little was capable of surprising you at this point. You’d come to expect the unexpected and you were almost always prepared for anything.

- Apparently though, there was still a few things that managed to catch you off guard: like your dear friend; and ex coworker, explaining that Ahkmenrah’s evil brother was trying to take over the world …or the fact that you’d wind up finding Napoleon Bonaparte of all people; or wax figures, …sort of attractive. 

- Yeah... that was an interesting discovery....

- So, as the story goes, Larry informed you that the museum exhibits were in trouble and that he’d be traveling to Washington in hopes of saving them from whatever danger they’d found themselves in. With very little convincing, you’d agreed to accompany him and you soon found yourself facing off with Kahmunrah and his various minions.

- Which led you to this exact moment: standing cornered in a random room as Napoleon and his guards pointed weapons at you and; mainly, Larry. 

- You watched silently as Larry and the man went back and forth, arguing about height and whatever other unimportant thing came up before you’d made yourself a little more known by complimenting the French mans plan. 

- Whether you were being serious or merely taking the piss is unimportant, all that matters is that you’d made it seem as though you found the man to be impressive and that you’d directed his attention towards you …and boy did he like what he saw. 

- He immediately walked over, putting on a smile and thanking you as he began to noticeably behave in a far more flirty way. 

- Although it wasn’t entirely successful; particularly after he slid across the floor to question Larry about your relationship, it did manage to catch you off guard and get you just a tad bit flustered. 

- But, just as soon as it began, it was over in a flash. The man forced Larry to come with him, interrupting you as you began to say that you were coming with them, telling you that their fight was not with you; which you would probably have considered to be quite noble in just about any other circumstance. 

- Your story momentarily ends here but that isn’t the last time you encounter the Frenchmen. It’s only a few months later that the Museum of Natural History gets a few new guests....

- The first time Napoleon awakens again, he almost immediately encounters Larry; which neither of them are very happy about. What he is happy about is the realization that if Larry is here, there’s a very likely chance that you are as well. 

- So; with forced nonchalance, the man asks about you. 

“And your friend ...is she here?” He says slowly, looking around as though he expects you to show up at any moment. 

“Yeah. Yeah, she’s here. She works here so …you know,” Larry pauses. “She’s probably in her office …working. Downstairs …her office.”

- They stand in an awkward silence for a moment before they both excuse themselves and Napoleon goes off in search of you.

-  He runs into you just as you’re coming up for a break, greeting you with a charming smile and a “Bonjour Mademoiselle”. And, for the first time since you first met, he properly introduces himself, kissing your hand and making it increasingly obvious that his interest in your love life was not merely a “French thing”. 

- And though you should probably be doing whatever you can to get away from the wax figure with a questionable moral compass, you find yourself unable to. Instead, you stand and speak with him, making conversation until you really need to get back to work.

- But that isn’t the last time you speak with him …he makes sure of that. It seems as though you’re the only thing that really interests him in the museum and soon enough, you’re growing quite used to; and fond of, his growing presence in your life. 

- It doesn’t take long for Napoleon to try and ask you out. I mean he conquered most of Europe; wooing a woman is childs play compared to that, right? 

- Partially. While you do like him and admit that his French flirtation is tempting, you also know that you have to be reasonable and being reasonable does not include dating a museum exhibit who is only capable of coming alive at night with the help of a magical tablet. 

- So the two of you play a game of cat and mouse where he flirts and you enjoy it but do your best to pull away when things start to get too heavy and you can feel the damning words approaching the tip of his tongue.

- You never let him get to the point of actually asking you out. You excuse yourself, you distract him, you change the subject, you do whatever you can to keep your head on straight.

- And it works, it works for a pretty good amount of time, but there's only so long that you can avoid the inevitable; especially when its obvious that you both like each other.

- So finally, the wax figure manages to get the words out, very romantically and suavely asking if you would be his, and though your mind is telling you that it really isn't a good idea, you cant help but say yes.

- He smiles and plants a kiss on the hand of yours that he was holding, telling you that he’ll meet you at your office the next night and the two of you say goodbye.

- Your first date is a stroll around the museum, talking and enjoying your newfound attempt at a relationship.

- You share your first kiss a week or so later after you have a few good dates and decide that you want to continue on with this out of the ordinary relationship.

- You’re sitting outside on the steps of the museum, looking out at the view of the city under the stars when he leans in and presses his lips to yours. You share a soft kiss before you pull away with a smile and scoot in closer to each other.

- After that, the two of you get to experience all the nitty gritty of relationships with each other.

- Napoleon isn't shy about his interest in and affection for you so pda isn’t a rare occurrence in your relationship. He adores you and he thinks that people should know that. 

- His arm around your waist; depending on your height it’s probably the easiest place for him to reach. 

- Keeping close to each other. He’ll oftentimes hold your hand or your elbow and stay right by your side, looking at you lovingly and listening to you intently. 

- Knuckle kisses. 

- Slow, romantic kisses. 

- Him occasionally just laying one on you; particularly when he’s frustrated or overcome with another sort of powerful emotion. They’re always abrupt and passionate and wind up taking your breath away. 

- He uses a lot of pet names on you; oftentimes ones that make you sound small or cute: things like my little darling, my little mouse, etc. He’ll also use a plethora of French terms of endearment on you since he doesn’t speak a whole lot of English. 

- He secretly likes when you use pet names on him but he probably won’t admit it to you; he’ll just have a little smile on his face and a warm reaction to them whenever you happen to use them. 

- Don’t even bring up the idea of him being the little spoon because he will never take kindly to it. He’ll always be the big spoon or have you resting your head on him regardless of how little sense it may make snuggle-wise. 

- The two of you are only capable of seeing each other at night and only when you can get away from work or when you’re able to get night shifts so he likes being able to have a keepsake of you. More likely than not it’s a photo or note that you wrote him which he keeps in his pocket or hat. 

- Bringing in little treats for him. He’s stuck inside a museum and his own waxy body most of the time, he’s bound to miss things from the outside world so it’s always nice when you surprise him with something no matter how small.

- Having him by your side whenever you can. He likes lazying around and just being in your presence while you work so you better get used to him. 

- He’s always the first one to greet you when he awakens or as you arrive at the museum for your shift. He likes having that honor.

- Telling him about the outside world. He’s missed a lot so you’ll definitely need to fill him in on some current events. He’d also be rather interested in hearing about his impact on the world and how people view him; just try not to mention the complex thing too much. 

- Learning about each others lives. He’s obviously going to have a lot more interesting stories but he never minds listening to yours; even if they’re really boring in comparison.

- Letting him brag about his military prowess. He’ll probably try to act all humble and modest in the beginning but will then start eagerly talking about it like you were begging him to do so.

- Hyping him up and making him all smiley with your compliments. He’s pretty approval driven so your praise and validation does wonders to his self esteem.

- His soldiers standing guard or interrupting you if something important is happening.

- His soldiers have also probably helped him execute grand gestures that he’s thought up for you.

- Trying to sneak him out of the museum and into your home every now and again. 

- If you’re able to sneak him away for a night then he’d probably enjoy going to a quiet café or restaurant; somewhere the two of you can relax and enjoy some nice food away from the typical chaos of the museum. 

- He’d definitely be the type of guy to order for you at restaurants; if you were able to go to restaurants. It’s really up to you if you want to spend your hard earned money and take the time to try to figure out a way to get him out for the night. 

- Getting him to play little games with you. You have to do something to pass the time, right? And he’s secretly a bit of a pushover for you so it’s never very difficult.

- Using his telescope to look out the windows of the museum.

- Picnics in areas of the museum or right outside on the steps.

- Marching/strutting around the Museum. Something tells me that he’d walk around with his chin held high and his chest puffed out; as though he were still emperor.

- Romantic language; though he probably speaks in French when he wants to be all lovey dovey with you. 

- Him looking you up and down. He’s fairly obvious about it but it’s up to you to know if you’d be able to pick up on what he’s doing.

- Get used to winking and borderline salacious facial expressions and gestures because they’re fairly common with him.

- Love letters. 

- He’s old fashioned; partially because he’s just old, so chivalry and social etiquette is a big part of who he is; though it might only surface when he’s around you. He’s always on his best behavior whenever he can be and acts endearingly gentlemanly.

- Gossiping with each other. 

- You having any Napoleon “merch”; for lack of a better word, would make him completely smug and he’d have no other choice but to tease you for it. 

- Dealing with his overdramatic reactions and behavior. 

- Making sure he doesn't get into trouble; or at least trying to whenever you can. Sometimes it’s just inevitable so you’ll have to do your best to provide damage control. 

- Letting him handle his fights. It’s best to just sit back and let him deal with things sometimes; he likes thinking that he doesn’t need any help even when he really does. 

- Ivan probably makes sure that you have only the best intentions for Little Nippy and once he likes you, he’ll feel the need to defend and protect you as well. 

- Larry thinks you’re sort of crazy for wanting to be with a wax figure; particularly one who literally had a complex created in his image, but you just pay him no mind. 

- Napoleon isn’t an incredibly jealous person, mainly because he’s not afraid to be direct and ask questions. If he thinks something is going on between you and another person, he’s going to interrogate them to see what their intentions are. 

- But on that note: he does get jealous when you fawn over someone else; someone like a movie star, or show fascination in another exhibit; although it’s less jealousy and more him feeling insecure and wondering what they have that he doesn't. 

- He isn’t particularly protective but he also has guards he can order to watch over you whenever he perceives there to be some form of danger. That being said: he’s immediately rushing to your side the minute he hears you let out any pained/frightened noise or hears that something might have happened to you. 

- Given how sensitive he is, there’s bound to be a few arguments in your relationship. They’re never very serious but they still occur. 

- He’s easily placated with an apology or an explanation but if you’re not in the mood to give one, it still wont take him very long to forgive you and begrudgingly admit that he may have overreacted. 

- Napoleon tells you that he loves you quite a bit but he leaves it for when you’re alone or tries to say it quiet enough for the people around you not to hear. He wants people to know that you’re together, he doesn’t want them thinking he’s weak. 

- Your relationship might not be the most conventional nor is it one that’s easy to keep up for years to come, but you know that you care about each other more than anyone can know and that's enough for you. 

#napoleon bonaparte imagine #napoleon bonaparte imagines #napoleon bonaparte headcanons #napoleon bonaparte headcanon #night at the museum headcanon #night at the museum imagines #night at the museum imagine #night at the museum headcanons #battle at the smithsonian imagines #battle at the smithsonian imagine #battle at the smithsonian headcanons #battle at the smithsonian headcanon

[holdmecloser-gandydancer]

"did you get in a fight with a bear? just say yes" with magnus and merle..? (it fills me w joy every time i see u on my dash)

um you're so sweet, tysm !!

also, zookeeper Magnus is almost entirely inspired by this comic (thank you lazylittledragon for my life, i think about this whole au at least once a day)

Working in a zoo was never quite what Magnus imagined he’d be doing with his life. Don’t get him wrong, out of the dozens of jobs he’s ever had, it’s the best. Sure as shit beats the old bouncer job he had. But he really can’t believe that he gets paid to just hang out with cool animals. And his friends like it because they like getting free tickets to come see some neat animals.

Technically speaking, he can’t get his friends in for free. However, he can get his family in for free so sometimes he does lie to his coworkers who neither care enough to fact check just how many uncles, siblings, cousins, nieces, or nephews he has nor do they care enough about upholding the rules of the job. Not the ones about making the zoo any money, that is. So about once a month he gets manages to procure free tickets for whoever wants to come roam around the zoo.

“If it isn’t my favorite uncle!” Magnus exclaims when he sees Merle trudge through the front door of the visitor center. He walks over to give a quick hug, ignoring the snort from Johann.

“Man, you know I don’t give a shit if you’re sneaking friend in, right? Like, I’m not a manager,” Johann says, grabbing a bright orange paper wristband from a large stack on the desk. He sits up a bit and holds his hand out for Merle’s wrist. Merle obliges easily.

“Johann, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Merle is my most treasured uncle.”

“Uh-huh,” Johann says flatly, a barely subdued smirk bubbling on his face.

Suddenly, the door opens again and Magnus is all but tackled by a messy mop of red hair.

“Hi Uncle Magnus!” Mookie shouts as Magnus scoops the kid up in a tight hug. He sets Mookie down as Mavis walks in, a bemused smile on her face. Mavis rolls her eyes as Magnus holds a fist out to her but she bumps it with her own nonetheless.

“So your uncle’s kids call you their uncle?” Johann asks as he gives wristbands to Mavis and Mookie.

“Eh, we’re from Hogsbottom, the family tree roots get real gnarled out there,” Merle says with a grin.

Johann wrinkles his nose. “There’s not a- you know what, I still don’t give a shit, have fun.”

Magnus gives the small group a wave as they go to enter the zoo.

--

“Hey, Magnus, can we get you in the visitor center for a minute?” Johann’s voice crackles over the walkie-talkie as Magnus is in the process of filling up enrichment materials for some of the big cats.

“Yeah, man, what’s up?” he answers after taking some time to wash the raw meat residue from his hands.

“Oh, I’m certain Killian would prefer I let her tell you herself,” Johann says with a laugh.

That can’t be good, Magnus thinks to himself. It’s not often that the head security officer summons a keeper. He has a sinking suspicion that this has something to do with Merle.

--

“So, mister Highchurch –“

“Please, call me Merle,” he says, sitting in a small plastic chair in the visitor center, looking remarkably like a child waiting outside the principal’s office.

Killian .rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Okay, then Merle, would you care to explain to Magnus why you’re in here?”

“Y’know, I’m still trying to figure that out myself! A guy decides to get some shit off his chest at the bear exhibit and suddenly that’s a crime!” Merle says defensively.

Magnus furrows his brow. “Merle? D-Did you fight a bear?”

“I think fighting is probably not the right term –“

“Just say yes,” Killian says, voice thick with exasperation.

Merle rolls his eyes and sighs. “I guess if a guy being fed up with a bear just laying around is fighting a bear, then yeah, I fought a damn bear.”

“Hey, uh, Killian, we don’t have to make this a whole thing, do we?” Magnus asks, darting a glance over to Mavis and Mookie who are excitedly talking Johann’s ear off about the really cool jellyfish they saw in the deep-sea exhibit.

Killian follows his gaze and frowns. “I guess just this once we don’t. But listen, Merle? Fight another animal here and I’m slapping you with a personal lifetime ban from the zoo.”

“Scout’s honor!” Merle says earnestly. “Besides, I really don’t wanna get banned from another attraction in this town?”

“Another?” Killian asks incredulously.

Magnus looks grimly at her. “The botanical gardens have posters with his face on them in their office.”

Killian opens her mouth to ask more questions but decides that sometimes ignorance is bliss. Instead, she just wordlessly leaves the visitor center.

“-is actually bioluminescent, too. Kinda hard to tell when we’ve got the lights on, but sometimes we do fun night events and that’s when you can see that big dude really shine.” Johann explains to Mavis and Mookie who are listening in slack-jawed awe.

“Wow, Johann, I thought you hated kids?” Magnus says as he and Merle walk over.

Johann shrugs easily. “Eh, these two are cool.”

“High praise coming from you!” Magnus turns to look at Mavis and Mookie. “So, next time you come here, you can just use Johann as your fake uncle.”

“I will not go that far. Besides, I don’t want my name attached to bear brawler over here,” Johann nods towards Merle, who just laughs it off.

#see i really hope this is cute i just have zoos on the brain #reese writes #taz #taz balance #tazb #the adventure zone balance #the adventure zone #magnus burnsides #merle highchurch #taz johann #taz au #i am most certainly nerfing myself by posting this at almost 1 am but i want validation nowwwwww

[mysterykidscasefiles]

Mystery Kids and the Case of the Whispering Rock

Summary: Norman, Neil, Coraline, Wybie, Raz and Lili arrive at Grunkle Stan’s Summer Camp with the hope of having a summer of fun, or in the case of the two Psychonauts, with the intent of investigating a psychic disturbance. When they meet two twins that seem to be experts on the secrets of Gravity Falls, they find themselves reluctantly teaming up. But how much can they actually trust each other? There are secrets in this town, but more surprising are the secrets being kept from each other.

Table of Contents

Act 2

Chapter 24: The Right Tools

Thud!

“Oops.”

Tiny particles invade Wybie’s throat. He started coughing and found he couldn’t stop.

“I think you went overboard on the glitter…” Wybie managed to choke out.

“Nonsense! There’s no-” Mabel began to cough. “Such thing... as too much…” But she couldn’t finish her sentence, and instead, she doubled over with wheezing, hacking breaths.

“You were saying?” Wybie asked. It was becoming easier to breathe as the glitter began to settle on the floor of the attic bedroom around them. “Also… why did we need glitter again?”

“Neil, tell him,” Mabel said with a nod to the red-headed kid beside her.

"Glitter enhances everything," Neil informed him matter-of-factly. "It's called aesthetic."

"And more of a good thing is always a good thing!" Mabel added cheerily.

Wybie raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure that's true." However, he didn't say anything more than that. Wybie had known the girl for only a few days, and he had already learned that arguing sense into her was pointless.

Wybie looked down at the square device on the ground which used to be black, but was now pink, had a collection of cupcake stickers, a cat made out of puff paint with big eyes, and rhinestones clustered in any additional left over space. With Mabel’s newest addition, the whole device was also now covered in glitter. As mismatched and horrible as the whole thing looked, he had to admit the cat was painted really well. After the mummy project, Wybie had no doubt that the girl was talented artistically, even if she did have… unusual tastes.

When Neil and Mabel said that they wanted to help Wybie fix the EMF meter, he expected that they would just help him find supplies. He didn’t expect… this kind of help.

“What’s wrong with how it looked before?” Wybie asked.

Mabel shook her head, as if he had just asked the silliest question she had ever heard. “If you were a ghost, what would you be drawn towards? A boring black square box? Or this work of art?”

“Definitely this,” Neil agreed. “It's a lot more fun and everyone likes cupcakes!”

“But the problem wasn’t about getting the ghost’s attention,” Wybie explained. “The problem was getting the device to work properly.”

After they got home from getting lost in the woods and finding the mysterious cabin, Wybie had started working on building the EMF meter while the rest of the kids finished the fake mummy for the shack. It wasn’t a very complicated device, and by the next day, Wybie had the device built. EMF readers detect electromagnetic fields that are given off by electronics, especially old electronics that don’t have their wires properly shielded. EMF fluctuations are also said to indicate ghostly activity. The idea was, even if they couldn’t see Luis themselves, the EMF meter should be able to pick up his ghostly energy… provided they were far enough away from any electronics that could set off the EMF meter. Wybye was still a little skeptical of the science, but he didn’t have a better idea.

Coraline and Norman had been eager to get back to the Cardinal’s old mansion to see if they could find Luis again as soon as possible. They wouldn’t be able to communicate with him if they couldn’t see or hear him, but at least the EMF reader would indicate if he was still around or not. Once they knew if Luis was still around, they could work on other ways of communicating with him.

When they arrived back at the old mansion, Wybie turned on the EMF meter and it immediately calibrated to the surrounding area. The device had an indicator needle that could swing between green, yellow and red; green indicating low electromagnetic energy, yellow indicating medium, and red indicating high levels.

At first, the device was reading green, but as they stepped further into the house, the needle swung to yellow, and the device started letting out a slow beeping noise. Excited, Wybie tried to find the source of the electromagnetic field disturbance by moving the EMF meter around. Coraline eagerly called Luis’s name, but she got no response.

As Wybie swung the device to his left, he noticed that the device started beeping louder as the needle detected more activity. He moved to the left and the beeping increased, the needle moving to red. Slowly, he seemed to be narrowing in on the location of the disturbance. He stopped in front of Norman, and Norman moved out of his way- only for the beeping to decrease again as the needle moved back down to yellow. Wybie adjusted his position, and he was able to pick up the trail again… only to find himself standing in front of Norman for a second time.

Norman’s eyes widened in surprise and the color seemed to drain from his already pale face.

“Wh-what does that mean?” Norman asked nervously as he eyed the EMF meter. “Why is it focusing on me?”

“I’m not sure,” Wybie said as he fiddled with some of the buttons on the meter. “Do you have your phone on you? You should give it to someone else. Maybe that’s what’s setting off the device.”

Norman did so, handing over his phone to Neil.

Norman stepped away from the EMF meter, but again, it focused in on Norman, beeping incessently.

Norman shifted uncomfortably as everyone stared in confusion at the device.

“Wait, I think I’ve seen this movie,” Raz exclaimed with a fake gasp. “Norman’s been dead the entire time!”.

A few lighthearted chuckles from the group eased the atmosphere, and Norman let out an awkward laugh himself.

“It’s probably because Norman was possessed by Luis,” Dipper suggested. Some of his ghostly energy must still be on him, which is messing with the EMF meter.

“Can you do something about that Wybie?” Coraline asked. “We aren’t going to be able to find Luis if the EMF reader keeps lighting up everytime Norman gets close, and I really don’t want to have to wait to find out how long ghost energy can last on a person.”

“I can probably make the device less sensitive,” Wybie said. “That should make it harder to detect Norman and more likely that it will detect a bigger electromagnetic disturbance, like a ghost… theoretically. That's assuming this is even a valid method of finding a ghost.”

“I can leave,” Norman suggested hesitantly. “Maybe that would make it easier for the EMF meter to work if I wasn’t here?”

Dipper shook his head. “No, you should stay. We want to make sure the instrument is actually reading a ghostly entity, not just left over energy. We can actually use you to make sure the calibration is correct.”

“The new calibration might take a while, but I think it will be ready by tomorrow,” Wybie said.

Coraline frowned impatiently, but nodded. “I guess we have no choice but to wait until then.”

“Oh! I can help you, Wybie!” Mabel said eagerly

“Me too!” Neil chimed in.

“Sure,” Wybie said with a shrug.

After all, how could more help be a bad thing?

Past Wybie had been so naive.

Well, Mabel and Neil hadn’t messed with the inside of the device, and as long as it was still functional, that was the most important part.

”You fixed the inside and we fixed the outside! We make a great team!” Mabel said, patting him on the back.

“The outside wasn’t broken-”

“Agree to disagree,” Mabel said flippantly.

“But I haven’t completely fixed it yet,” Wybie said. “I still need to screw this back panel on, but the screws I had to use for the back panel are a lot smaller.” It was a common occurrence when Wybie built things out of spare parts. No big deal. He just needed to use different tools. “I need to use something else. Neil, can you hand me that smaller screwdriver by your leg?”

“Sure!” Neil said and offered the screw driver to Wybie, who thanked him.

“I guess it’s time to find out if it works,” Wybie said as he finished tightening the last screw. “Coraline wanted to try the mansion again today as soon as this was done.”

“Didn’t Mr. Pines want us to work in the shack all day? Won’t he be mad if we all just left?” Neil asked.

“Raz and Lili left a few times yesterday and I think they were gone this morning and I don’t think Mr. Pines noticed. He was too busy with all the tourists,” Wybie said.

“Oh yeah… Why do you think Raz and Lili keep leaving without telling anyone?” Neil asked.

Mabel’s smile widened. "I bet Coraline’s right and they're sneaking away to make out!"

"But whenever they leave they are always really serious and determined. That’s not how people look on TV when they’re about to go kiss someone, or my brother with his boyfriend,” Neil said.

“Also if they are just sneaking off to kiss, why would they be gone for hours?” Wybie added.

“Because they are going on romantic dates, obviously!” Mabel insisted.

“Two to three times a day?” Wybie countered.

Mabel shrugged. “They’re in love!”

“Maybe.” Wybie said, but he suspected there was more to it. Perhaps they were trying to get out of doing work around the shack? Or maybe they had found something more interesting to do in Gravity Falls?

“Do you think your Grunkle would be okay if we left the shack early today to go to the mansion?” Neil asked.

“It depends,” Mabel said thoughtfully. “Grunkle Stan cares if it eats into the profits. With all the new customers we’ve been getting because of the mummy exhibit, he’s probably too happy to care. It’s also past the mid-day rush anyway. We probably won’t get another big batch of tourists until tomorrow.”

Wybie was glad he had been lucky enough to avoid the crowd of tourists that had come to the shop to see the grand reveal of the mummy. The reason Wybie had time to finish the EMF meter was because Coraline, Dipper and Norman were handling the gift shop so they weren’t needed downstairs.

Wybie looked over his EMF meter and turned it on. It hummed, but didn’t start beeping right away, which was a good sign unless the twins bedroom was hunted. In which case it should be beeping very incessantly…

Wybie sighed and turned off the device.

“What’s wrong?” Mabel asked.

“Machines I understand. I could tell you a hundred facts about the different spiders and slugs living in the Pacific Northwest. When I don’t know something, I can research it until I figure it out. But this… ghost stuff. I don’t understand it at all

Mabel cocked her head to the side. “And that’s… bad?”

“Yes!” Wybie said, throwing his hands into the air. “We spoke to a ghost, we found a cabin in the woods powered by magic! I’ve seen all this crazy stuff in the past two days and I don’t know how to make sense of it! How am I supposed to learn or study about something that just breaks the laws of physics? I know ghosts are real. I saw Louis with my own eyes and I’ve known monsters are real ever since… Well, that thing that Coraline doesn’t want to talk about. I can see it, and believe in it to a certain extent, but how am I supposed to understand it? What units of measurement do I even use for ectoplasmic energy or the amount of magic powering the cabin? How am I supposed to understand it, let alone build a device to detect it?” He held up the EMF reader in frustration.

To Wybie’s surprise, Mabel giggled. “You sound like my brother.”

“I do?”

“Dipper will go on and on and say that he loves mysteries, but that’s not true. It’s not the mystery he likes, it’s solving them. The truth is my brother hates mysteries. He can’t stand the uncertainty… he hates not knowing, it eats at him. What he really enjoys is putting the pieces together. You’re similar, you like taking things apart and then putting them back together, but better than before. But with this ghost and magic stuff you’re stuck.” She held up his discarded screwdriver. “Your usual tools aren’t going to help you understand.”

“So what I’m I supposed to do?”

Mabel shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know how that stuff works either. What do you usually do when you’re stuck and what you’re trying to do isn’t working?”

Wybie frowned. It wasn’t uncommon for him to get stuck with an engineering problem, but what did he do when he was completely out of his depth?

“You get better tools.” Neil said eagerly and Wybie looked up. “Just like you had me get a different screwdriver for the different sized screws.”

Wybie nodded slowly. “I improvise. But how am I supposed to get better tools to understand magic and ghost stuff?”

Mabel shrugged again. “I guess that’s just another mystery?”

Wybie groaned. “I hate when there are too many mysteries and not enough solutions.”

Mabel grinned. “Welcome to Gravity Falls.”

I'm finally back with the beginning of Act 2! I hope you liked it!

I've also been busy going back and editing this story. I haven't made any major changes so there is no need to reread the story since everything is mostly the same!

Table of Contents <Previous

#Mystery Kids #mystery kids case files #psychonauts #coraline #gravity falls #whispering rock fic

[ladykissingfish]

At The Zoo with the Akatsuki

*This was an anonymous request in my inbox. Whoever you are, thanks! This was fun to write 😊

Hidan

This guy goes ape for the monkey exhibits. Lemurs, baboons, marmosets ... but his favorite of all are the gorillas. He’s blown away by how intelligent the animals are, and how closely they act like humans. Hidan likes to stand by the glass in these exhibits and make a variety of gestures to see which ones they’ll copy. His favorites are sticking up his middle finger and scratching his behind, which he’ll laugh himself silly over when the gorillas mimic his motions. Besides the primates, he’s also fond of the giraffes enclosure. Once the group went to a zoo where they allowed people to physically interact with these majestic beauties, and Hidan wouldn’t let them leave this one exhibit for nearly two hours, because he couldn’t get enough of petting their long necks. He’s the type to ignore the Do Not Feed The Animal signs for most attractions, and in fact tries to start fights by throwing peanuts and other treats through the bars or over the glass.

Sasori

He mainly thinks that zoos are boring, and doesn’t really get why the others seem so enthused to go. The one thing he does enjoy are reptile houses; he’ll move slowly through the dark rooms and gaze at the different snakes, lizards, colorful frogs, and whatever else is being showcased. Is more of a people watcher than an animal watcher, and finds the reactions of those looking at different species more entertaining than the animals themselves. Will spend the most time walking around with Deidara; he finds the blonde’s childlike enthusiasm to be refreshing, and it’s one of the few rare times that the two can be together without arguing about art.

Deidara

Deidara has an odd, odd grudge against hippos. He’s told the others ad nauseam about a memory he has of when he was a little boy, and his father taking him to a local zoo. According to Deidara, his father wasn’t watching him, Deidara slipped down an embankment and landed in a hippopotamus hole, and the beasts charged at him, teeth bared. He was rescued by the zookeeper, so he says, and he remembers getting “a lot of free shit” because of the incident. But the others doubt that any of this happened, and try (unsuccessfully) to convince him that this was just a vivid dream. But Deidara doesn’t buy it: he’ll stand at the top of a hippo exhibit and hurl insults down below, until the others can drag him away. Aside from this one weird tic, Deidara actually really enjoys the zoo, and spending time with the others in such a calm, relaxing environment. He especially likes the bird houses, and could spend hours whistling at or cooing to the beautifully colored, winged creatures.

Kakuzu

This guy tries to pretend that going to the zoo is a waste of time, too expensive, etc etc ... but in reality he loves this particular outing like no other. He’s never told anybody this, but when he was a very young boy, he lived with his parents on a farm. Exhibits of “common” animals such as sheep, goats, pigs and bulls or bisons puts him in mind of the happier, simpler times of his life. He may be the oldest but he moves faster than anyone in the group; the others think this is because he’s in a hurry to get the trip over with, but really it’s because he’s enthused (and impatient) to see each and every exhibit that there is. Still, Kakuzu is ALWAYS going to be Kakuzu ... he’ll snap at the others if they ask him for money for souvenirs, and he’ll have to be physically dragged from the snack shops once he sees (and starts yelling about) how high the food prices are. “$13.99 for a cheeseburger?! It better be the entire f*ck*ng cow on that plate!”

Kisame

Going to the zoo is always a duality of emotion for Kisame. On the one hand he’s part animal himself, so it bothers him to see other animals locked up and on display like prisoners. But on the other hand, he has the alpha-like mentality that being part human elevates him beyond the level of the others, therefore it’s ok for him to go and look at the “lesser beings”. Although he has fish DNA, by contrast, his favorite things to look at are the big cats. Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars ... Kisame admires these beauties to no end. “Jokes” so much about climbing the barricades and riding one of these kitties that the others start to take him seriously and someone keeps one hand on his arm while near these exhibits. Walking along in the sun is nice for awhile but after several hours of this he begins to get tired and dehydrated; there’s been several times when he’s been caught taking “a quick dip” in open-water exhibits such as the penguin tank.

Itachi

Lions? Tigers? No, it’s Bears for this boy. These furry mammals provide him with hours of watching delight. He’s especially fond of polar bears, and could spend forever watching them walk around on glaciers and go for swims underwater. One time he and Kisame were sent on a mission to a foreign country. They were supposed to return within 2 weeks, but they didn’t make it back for almost a month. Kisame covered and said it was because they ran into extensive traffic difficulties ... but the reality was the place they were sent to had a zoo with an interactive koala exhibit, and Itachi went every single day to have the little cubs crawl all over him ... even going so far as to put the owners of the zoo under a gengetsu in order to maximize his time limit.

Zetsu

Depends on what kind of mood he’s in, as to whether he’ll join the others at the zoo. If he goes, he is always mistaken for being a wildlife plant mascot, because of his unique foliage. His hobby is trying to sneak into as many exhibits as he can, posing as a plant, before the others (or the animals themselves) notice that he’s there. He doesn’t quite have a favorite animal but finds himself attracted to the gracefulness of flamingoes. He can’t stay with the others too long, however, as all that natural sunlight gives him a “brightness overload”, as he calls it. An ideal zoo day for him would be one where it’s partly cloudy and/or lightly drizzling; but the others prefer to go in the full sunlight.

Konan

Absolutely loves going to the zoo with the others. She’s the one who will read the zoo map and try and put them on a schedule to ensure that they see everything there is to see. Also the only one who will think to bring a bag filled with water and small snacks for the others (which Kakuzu appreciates more than anyone because he hates them wasting precious money on the in-zoo snack stands). Is fond of all the animals but her favorites are elephants. She often tells the others how highly intelligent and sensitive these creatures are, how they look after and care for their mates and their families. Tobi tells her that she reminds him of an elephant, which the others will smack him for because what woman wants to be called an elephant? But Konan will smile and hug him, because she understands what he means. One time as a group they surprised her, and found an elephant sanctuary where one was allowed to play with elephants. Konan spent a full day there laughing and getting sat on/cuddled by playful baby elephants. At the end of the day everyone received a muddy hug and kiss from her, which they tried to act grossed out by but were really happy about. Also should be noted that when at regular zoos, the heeled sandals that Konan wears often quickly tire her out, so more often than not she’ll be offered a ride on Kisame’s shoulders, or (if Sasori is walking around in it) on top of Hiruko.

Pein

Doesn’t particularly like the zoo, because he isn’t the fondest of animals, caged or not. Will only go with the others if Konan insists on it, as she feels Nagato needs to experience some pleasant imagery once in a while (through the Pein body). He’s the type to pick up every single pamphlet or brochure outside of each exhibit, study the information carefully, then quiz the others later on different fact about what they saw. Since he’s not a fan of animals he really doesn’t have a favorite, but he most enjoys watching wolves. He can always identify which one is the alpha male, and he observes the way it leads its pack around for future inspiration for his own group.

Tobi

When they go to the zoo as a group, somebody has to be assigned to this guy, to keep an eye on him. He gets so enthusiastic with the different animals and sights that he often throws caution (and common sense) to the wind, which allows for dangerous situations to happen. Once, he managed to break the gate on the tiger enclosure because he said it looked like they weren’t warm enough where they were, and would probably like to be outside with the people. Chaos and a wide panic ensued, and the rest of the group had had to get him out of there before they were all arrested. Tobi claims he likes all animals the same, that “they’re all Tobi’s friends!”, but his favorite-favorite are penguins. He loves the way they waddle, and will walk around the whole day after they visit this attraction trying to imitate that walk, until Deidara yells at him to “walk like a grown man, Tobi, hm!” He also really likes the snacks that they offer at the zoo and will likely run through his weekly budget as he buys tons of popcorn, candies, and ice cream to munch on as he walks around. Always cries when it’s time to go; usually takes 2-3 other members to drag him out by the arms.

#the akatsuki #the zoo #konan #pein #tobi #deidara #sasori #itachi #kisame #hidan #kakuzu #zetsu

[howlingday]

About Jaune ships...

I have opinions. You may not agree, but they are mine. They may change in time, but not now.

LANCASTER ( RUBY X JAUNE )

The old tried and true. I mean, what's not to like? Cute girl falls for first guy she meets at Beacon? Classic romance trope, and after reading how much Ruby loves romance stories (I consider certain parts in the manga canon), it makes sense. In fact, after Arkos sank (A moment of silence, please . . . Thank you), many moved to Lancaster, which isn't bad. Happens all the time in fandoms. Sad thing, though, is far I think she'll last. If we're talking Volume 5 or earlier, then maybe. However, I feel if Ruby were to have an endgame in romance, it would be RoseGarden (I have opinions on that as well, but today isn't the day to discuss that), mostly because Oscar bumped Jaune's role from male lead to male side. Not to mention that while Jaune is becoming a beast in his own right, Ruby is a different creature altogether and evolving her character more rapidly and chaotically than anyone else (Must be all that screentime).

TLDR: I want it to be canon, but I might just be hoping.

WHITE KNIGHT ( WEISS X JAUNE)

Doofus in tin foil meets princess who hates daddy (Am I in the romance section of the library? You know, the corner for adults only?) No, but I do like this ship. I'm always a sucker for the fantasy genre, and using a zero to hero male makes it relatable. I also kind of ship it because the same reason I ship NaruSaku in the Naruto fandom: he likes her and he's willing to go the distance. But enough about that; instead let's talk about canon. Will they hook up? It's a soft maybe for me, for two reasons. 1. Rosegarden is most likely to be endgame, and after Ruby and Pyrrha, I'd say Weiss is Jaune's next to be his love interest. 2. Weiss has warmed up to Jaune. Sure, not lover or crush level (Yet), but she's definitely changed her opinion on him. In Volume 1, Jaune was bugging her, like all the time, which I could see as him getting mixed signals on (Exhibit A: Tall, blonde, and scraggly). When Volume 5 came around, everyone jumped onboard because he saved her life (Don't lie, because I'll admit that I did it, too). Not the best reason, but still reason enough, I'd say. Then in Volume 7, she hangs out with him and Oscar to the movies (It was either that or awkward Bumbleby all night. I feel ya, sister). Nothing romantic happens, but it does show how much their relationship has developed. If Weiss is Jaune's endgame, then they have set the pieces up perfectly to do so.

TLDR: High likelihood to be canon and I'm a sucker for Knight/Princess ships.

KNIGHTSHADE ( BLAKE X JAUNE)

This is the part where I say definitely not. Not in a million years, but I'll explain why I like the ship, though. As for why it won't work, the answer is Bumbleby. They haven't kissed yet, but you know they're going to eventually (Because if they don't, the fans will attack like a swarm of hornets). But here's the question you might be asking now: why do I ship this? Well, it's part of the allure of "opposites attract" ('Cause I'm dressed like a cat!). Blake is an intelligent, outspoken, and agile ninja with a criminal history of terrorism who spends her free time reading novels. Jaune is a B at best on his tests, soft-hearted, and ground-based knight who's worst crime is fraud (Still a crime, but peanuts compared to literal terrorism) and spends his free time hanging out with his team. Day and night. But they also tried that with Sun for a season and a half and it didn't last (BECAUSE BEES).

TLDR: Not even a snowball's chance in the summer sun, but so much story potential if you do (Which I do)!

DRAGONSLAYER ( YANG X JAUNE )

This, I would say, is the opposite of Knightshade, where Jaune is the day and Blake is night, here Yang is the Sun and Jaune is the Moon (Like their crests! Remember those? Y'know, when they were relevant?) Will it work? Even less so than Knightshade. However, it does open up some interesting paths considering how... provocative Yang can be, and Jaune, compared to the other guys, is the nerdiest, geekiest dude at Beacon. It's like the cheerleader/nerd romance, except the cheerleader is the captain of every sports team... and rides a motorcycle. The Volume 8 preview introduced us to Yang and Jaune riding motorcycles and we went nuts over it. Yang was back in her element, roaring down the street, riding on walls, popping off tricks with Oscar riding- Back to what I was saying, people were asking, "How did he know how to ride a motorcycle?" and the elementary answer is "He didn't." He almost fell off his bike from a small box in the road. True, anyone would, but look at how he reacts: he stiffens, he refocuses on the road. This kid literally started riding at breakfast, and I DARE you to prove me wrong. But hey, great fic material right there, though, eh?

TLDR: Never gonna happen, but I don't care. All I care about is writing that they love each other. And they also fu-!

ARKOS ( PYRRHA X JAUNE )

I'm sorry, I need a moment. . . . Alright. Do it for her. This ship... was perfect. Probably the best ship out them all. I legit almost cry every time I think about Volume 3. Pyrrha was everyone's favorite. Her background, her interactions, her choreography, everything! But, of course, like everything in our lives, she was too good to be true. But let's honor her memory by talking about her ship, Arkos. Pyrrha was the champion of the world, the Brothers' and Oums' gift to Remnant. She could do no wrong and she HATED it. Her plight was with how she was seen. Everybody knew her! Everybody, except Jaune. And he only figured out she was "a big deal" was because Weiss had to spell it out for him! As time went on, they became the best of friends, two peas in a pod, the perfect odd couple! They worked together and trusted each other, they cared for and supported each other, they lo- No. No, I can't say it. It's been years, and it still hurts. So, I'll explain something else: the reason why Jaune SHOULD NOT be shipped right now. That reason is Pyrrha. Jaune was helpless to save her. He's suffering from survivor's guilt and he's still grieving. In Volume 4, he would sneak away and train until late at night to scroll recording of her. In Volume 5, he confronted Cinder and got Weiss almost killed because he let his grief for Pyrrha take control of him and let his emotions run wild. In Volume 6, he finds the Pyrrha statue and he... I don't know how to say this, but he let's go. He accepts that Pyrrha is gone and he's starting the healing process. He's finally ready to move forward.

TLDR: T.T I never felt that it was wise to wish too much~

MARTIAL ARCS ( REN X JAUNE)

I'll be honest, I don't really ship it. Yeah, it's cute, and it falls perfectly into the "if I had to pick a guy" part of me, but to be honest, I don't ship it. 10% because Renora and 90% it just doesn't click with me. They both just seem too soft, too quiet, too introverted. Best friends? Yes, definitely! But lovers? Eeeeeh, not really.

TLDR: I will only ship as neccessary.

NORA'S ARC ( NORA X JAUNE )

I've only just got in this deep with the fandom only recently, so I don't know if a lot of you know me. Heck, I'm probably just some RWBY fan you happen to spot as you move through your dash. However, old or new, I want to be made absolutely positively clear on this. Of all the ships here, this has got to be my-

O T FUDGIN' P

Wow! Never thought I'd feel so strongly about a crack ship like this. And yes, as sad it is to say, this is a crack ship. Renora was planned from day one, so it can't be helped. At least it didn't blast me in the face all of the sudden (OH NO, NOT THE BEES! AAAAARGH! THEY'RE IN MY EYES!). But why this ship? Well, for one thing, it's that whole opposites attract thing with Nora as the bubbly, outspoken, airhead powerhouse and Jaune as the soft spoken, introverted, nerd tactician. But wait, there's more to this trope, because it can go deeper: Order VS Chaos! Who makes all the messes? Who cleans up those messes? Who follows all the rules? Who makes their own doors? It's just. So. Damn! GOOD! One sad thing about this ship though is that it's not only not canon because of Renora, it's anti-canon because Renora. Every fan fic of Nora's Arc requires an explanation for Ren and Nora to not be together-together, like you have to write a formal apology to the FNDM for liking something that's different from what is canon or commonly accepted. If that's the case, then I'll be the anarchist here!

TLDR: I LOVE IT! What's that? Not canon? Who gives a damn?! I just explained why Jaune won't be shipped anyways! Now, if you'll excuse, I have some fan fics to find.

ARCFALL ( CINDER X JAUNE )

Oh, here it goes! Now, if we're talking ships that'll never happen, this is where we find better reasons than "it's not canon" and "character development". No, this... This is a declaration of war. Allow me to explain. Cinder Fall is evil. Like, down to her core. She wants power and she'll cut through anyone to get to it. Including Pyrrha. This woman sank Arkos by means other than "X and Y kissed, so..." She killed X, leaving Y alone. And her interactions with Jaune tell me she wouldn't even be worth a hate-bang. But, as Momma always, there's a thin line between love and hate. This is where the appeal comes in. Cinder is evil with no past, which leaves the previous chapter's of her life story blank to be filled in. Jaune is good with a troublesome, albeit easy past, but untapped potential for more. It's another opposites attract, but different from INTRO VS EXTRO and CHAOS VS ORDER; this is GOOD VS EVIL. Who will win this battle of wills; will our hero purify the tainted heart, or will he slip deeper into darkness, never to return to the light?

TLDR: Should be a NOTP, and yet the allure pulls me in.

What do y'all think? Do you agree? Let me know!

#rwby #jaune arc #my thoughts #jaune arc ships #ruby rose #ruby rose x jaune arc #weiss schnee #weiss schnee x jaune arc #whiteknight #white knight #knightshade #dragonslayer #bumbleby #blake belladonna #blake belladonna x jaune arc #yang xiao long #yang xiao long x jaune arc #yang xiao long x blake belladonna #pyrrha nikos #arkos #Pyrrha nikos x jaune arc #nora valkryie #nora's arc #nora valkyrie x lie ren #renora #nora valkyrie x jaune arc #arcfall #cinder fall #cinder fall x jaune arc

[knifewieldingenby]

Wrapped in Red

The horny lingerie fic I promised discord like a week ago, I’m sorry for my sins!

warnings: Jaskier in lingerie, horny, Christmas parties or maybe unintentional exhibition?

Read on AO3

Jaskier nervously fiddled with the garter running down his thighs, connecting to black fishnet stockings with glittering rhinestones. The white lace panties barely contained his soft member, and he shivered to think what would become of them when he and Geralt - hopefully - got intimate later. For now, he pulled on the short red skater skirt that fanned out around his thighs. After that he put on the matching red crop top. The sleeves rested along his biceps with tufts of white faux fur that wrapped around his chest and back. He completed the look with red flats, a santa hat, and a bright red shade of lipstick that Geralt was particularly fond of. He looked himself over in the floor length mirror and wow - if Geralt didn’t appreciate this he would throw the whole boyfriend out. His strong thighs and abdomen alone were a fucking gift. 

He took a deep breath before exiting their bedroom. The sound of Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas album became louder as he approached the living room, where their closest friends and some choice family members were peppered throughout in small groups, laughing and drinking some of Geralt’s homemade eggnog. The bartender had really outdone himself tonight, and, feeling himself start to lose nerve, he moved to pour himself a glass of candy cane moonshine. He popped a straw in it (must save the lipstick), sucked down half a cup, filled it up again, intentionally ignored the cookie tray (store bought, as his attempts to make them at home had led to dozens of ruined cookies and several burns), and went to find Geralt.

Jaskier groaned as he spotted Geralt standing by the cat tree - wrapped in Roach-approved tinsel - talking to his father. Vesemir was not exactly the person he wanted to witness Geralt’s reaction, but life rarely worked out how we wanted it to, right? He steeled his nerves, smiled brightly, and crossed the room. He could spot the very second Geralt looked up and registered him. His eyes widened for just a moment before his mask went up and he nodded nonchalantly at Jaskier. 

“Enjoying the party, darling?” Jaskier asked, taking his place right next to Geralt. The man’s lips twitched into something akin to a smile.

“So far so good,” he grunted, his voice tight in a way Jaskier was coming to recognize all too well. 

“Hello Vesemir! Enjoying Geralt’s eggnog, I see.”

“I was,” Vesemir looked at him with amusement. “I suspect I should probably enjoy it somewhere else. Lambert seems to need assistance.”

Sure enough, Lambert had somehow gotten a sprig of mistletoe stuck to his back and was walking in circles trying to reach for it. Aiden was no help at all; he stood back sipping his mulled cider and cackling under his breath, shouting out “a little to the left - no, up higher” when he damn well knew Lambert couldn’t get it off on his own. Vesemir left them alone to “help” Lambert. Jaskier snorted and turned his attention back to Geralt, who was staring him down.

“Did you have to wear...that, for the party?” Geralt said under his breath. He would deny it later, but it sounded far too close to a whine.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?” Jaskier took a step and spun around so that the skirt fanned out wide and just barely revealed the lace undergarments. He caught Yennefer’s eye as he came to a stop and she winked at him knowingly. He smirked back and brought his eyes to Geralt again. He was happy to find that his boyfriend was blushing and clutching his drink a little too hard. 

“No, it’s...fine.” Geralt coughed and took a gulp of his drink. 

“Oh, is that it?” Jasker moved closer to press their sides together, facing toward the rest of the room. He ignored Roach clawing on the sliding glass door behind them. Everything felt warmer, partly because of the alcohol, partly because Geralt was side-eying him with barely concealed desire. He felt a hand along the small of his back. 

“It’s, fuck Jaskier, you’re going to kill me.” That hand was making its way down, sliding over the velvety fabric of the skirt and resting against his ass. He pushed into Geralt’s hand and hummed softly. 

“That’s the reaction I was hoping for,” he grinned. Geralt quirked an eyebrow before he turned to face the room again. And then that gloriously big hand was slipping underneath the skirt to grab a handful of Jaskier’s ass. He groaned to himself, his barely-contained cock stirring dangerously. He was trying to figure out a way to sneak Geralt away from the party so they could play all on their own when Lambert’s voice boomed over the music.

“Oi!” The mistletoe on his back was forgotten. “I can see what you’re doing in the fucking glass, you sluts!”

Blushing, Jaskier extracted himself from Geralt as the room erupted with laughter. Geralt looked far too satisfied with himself for such a private man. 

“Suppose we should...mingle?” Jaskier said. Geralt nodded. 

“So long as I get to unwrap my present later.” Geralt’s eyes raked over Jaskier’s body. 

Jaskier laughed. “Of course, darling, this is all for you.” He kissed Geralt softly and pressed their bodies together, letting Geralt feel his erection. “And so is that.”

“Tease.”

“You love it,” Jaskier winked as he moved away, eyes searching for Triss in the crowded little room.

“I do.”

#geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #my writing #nsft

[freigeistundanderes]

Bucky Barnes Valentine exchange Story

Hey, now we can finally say, which author was out secret Santa. I got @fandomsandxfiles-writes​ and she wanted to have a 40`s Bucky - enemies to lovers story. So I hope I somehow hit the challenged and you like it :) I say sorry in advance, since this is my second English written story ever.  Have fun while reading it!  Pairings: 40´s Bucky x Reader 

Word count: 26.368

World War II dominated daily life. Many young men already went there to fight at the front lines, and the other few were still at home, waiting for the order to go. School isn't what it was before. Many boys didn't even finish school and went directly to the base training as soldiers. And soon, the classrooms were empty and only filled with girls. You can imagine how sad the Prom looked like, a room just filled with old teachers and girls with slow music in the background and nobody to dance with. Steve went with you to the Prom just because he failed every medical and physical exam to join the Army.

Bucky was still around, somehow, but he spent most of his time with the base training, and when he wasn't training with the Army, he did for himself. He wanted to be a good soldier, and he tried to protect his country. Basically, a good character trait if it wasn't so stupid at the same time. When he got better in his training, they will send him away sooner and sooner. You didn't care as much, but Steve did. Even tho they both have been friends for a long, long time, they were boys at the end of the day. That means, when one got better in material things, the other got minor complexes. And to help Steve get his wish granted, you started to fill out the Army's application form for him. It was the 4th time you two tried, and of course, he didn't get accepted. The thing was, even when the application form was perfect, it was still Steve. Little, lanky, wimpy Steve, and nobody would take him. You promised to help him, but to be honest? There wasn't a big chance that he would be accepted in the Army, and honestly, you didn't want him to go there. He would be dead in seconds since he could not hold a rifle long enough to actually shoot someone.

Today Steve tried to get into the Army again. You filled out the application and waited outside of the building. You got yourself a bench near the entrance, so when Steve walked outside, he could see you. While you waited for Steve to return with a rejection, you pulled out a letter yourself. You got him a week ago. You tell yourself you didn't have time to open it, but the truth is, you were too scared to open it. One of these official letters from the Army was with the lovely white envelope and the American flag. Your Family name in big black letters on the front and an official stamp over the upper right corner. You carried this thing with you for a week, and it looked like that—bends, wrinkles, and folds all over it. Actually, you know what was in that thing. You know exactly what the letters on the paper inside the envelope. It would probably start like My sincere condolences to tell you… It would sound like he was a good fighter, a good soldier in the middle part. He saved many lives throughout his days in service… and the end would be finished with an excellent old: I am sorry about your loss. Usually, you got a letter from her Father, every week, when he was away in War. For one week, however, you got nothing. Instead of an informal letter from her father, you got this official thing from the Army. You didn't have to be a genius to put together the facts. Your father was dead, fallen in service to protect this country against Nazi's. That was what this letter was about. So no, she didn't have to open the letter to know what was inside of it. Your father died, and now she was alone in this world. She didn't have a mother anymore or siblings.

"An official letter from the Army? Why you got that?" Steve was back and looked over your head down to the letter you held in your hands. "My father," you fold the letter and put it in your pocket again before you looked at Steve. He understands your glace and shook his head and showed you the rejection paper. "You know, when they catch you, you will be in trouble?" "I know, but I think they just don't care" he also put the paperback in his pocket and looked around for a few seconds to took a deep breath. "So what are you planning to do?" you asked him, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "For today? I will meet you later with Bucky. He invited me for another double date" "He will never give up, right?" "Probably not, no. He don’t want me to feel excluded" "Excluded from what? Girls?" "Joie de vivre, I guess" "Does he noticed that he doesn't make it better with the double dates?" "I don't think so" Steve smiled and shook his head. "He isn't the smartest" "I know," you smiled too and stood up from the bench. You looked around a while. Trying to figure out what you want to do next when you saw a poster. It said it would be some kind of new-age science exhibition. "What are you gonna do? For the rest of the day?" "I am going there" you nodded your head in the direction of the poster. "Sounds….. interesting" Steve wasn't thrilled about it. He wasn't too much into technology. "Will you tell me one day what was in that letter?" he started another attempt to talk about the thing you had in your pocket. "It's from the Army, and it's about my Father. I didn't open it now" you shrugged your shoulders and took a step back. "Anyway. See you soon, pal" "Yes. See you soon!"

So you were about to go home, and if you liked it or not, you had to read that letter and see what will happen next. Without your Father, you didn't have an income and you didn't decide what you wanted to do just now. Your Father wanted you to start a Study at a University and creating a great career as a professor somewhere and that the War would be over just then. Was it what you wanted? You weren't certain. Sure, being a Professor at some university would guarantee you significant money and a peaceful future. But to be honest, that wasn't you. Yes, you liked reading but being locked up in an office for the rest of your days wasn't quite your style. And finding a well-paid job as a woman was hard and nearly impossible. Maybe you should try to join the Army too? Just because your Father seemed to be so happy in the Army and you somehow had the feeling that it would be exactly right for you. But on the other hand, you couldn't leave Steve behind. He would never be accepted in the Army. It was bad enough for him that Bucky was taken, but if you apply for it and git accepted too, that would mentally destroy him. He felt useless most of his life, even tho he wasn't. Anyway…. You should start thinking about your future in more detail, now your Father died.

When you arrived home, you noticed that the front door of your house was open. You never leave that door open, so someone must have entered your house. Slowly you pushed the door further open, so you could sneak into the front door hallway. You couldn't hear any noises and the lights were out too. If intruders had entered your house, you would have seen chaos along the way or at least some lights on, but nothing. Slowly, light-footed like a cat, you go further into your house. It was a small house, with just one level, so it was pretty lucid. You nearly reached the end of the front door hallway when you heard a few heavy steps behind you and a deep voice talking to you. "You would be dead by now. If I was a burglar," the voice was Smokey, dark, and had that sarcastic tone in it. Very similar to your father's one, and as you turned around, you saw the big man. He was a little bit heavier build, owned to his age, and probably too many steaks with beer. "Uncle Chester," you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms over your chest. Visits like this were usual for him. He liked being the mysterious part of the family, or something like that. "What do you want here" "Express my condolences to you. Because of your father" "He was your brother" "You can be sure, I know that. But…. Our relationship wasn't the best in the end. I wanted to check in if you are okay?" "Do I look like a whiny, crying little girl to you?" "No. That's why I am worried about you. Shouldn't you…. Cry?" "He was a Captain. He knows how he would die, and I knew it too. We have War, many people will die" "You are soooo mature, little girl" "Don't call me that" "So…. What are you planning to do next? Without your fathers' money, you need a job! Something in mind?" "no. Not yet" "good! I have a job for you!" he stepped towards you and pulled out a letter from the inside, pocked his official army jackets, and handed it to you. "What kind of job? Nurse? Rubble woman?" "Don't be silly" he pulled his eyebrows together and step aside, and looked at the pictures on the walls. "President Roosevelt himself started a military unit called SSR – Strategic Scientific Reverse. The aim of that is to create a super-soldier army to win the War without losses anymore. That force contains the best minds in the free world-" "I can read," you interrupted his monologue for a second to fly over most of the lines in the letter.

What you couldn't see was that your Uncle slightly smiled. You were precisely like your Father and always a big mouth but down to earth somehow. But – not to mention – you were like your Uncle too. Ever a good slogan on your lips with a sarcastic undertone. When Uncle Chester was more often at home during your early childhood, you had great fun together. He and your Father were a dream team when it came down to raising you since your mother died at birth. That was the primary reason why your summarized the best and worst characteristics of your Father and your Uncle in one person BUT the beautiful physic you had from your mother. She was pretty like an angel, with that soft and lovely scented hair, the open and heartwarming smile, and these beautiful, engaging eyes.

When you were finished with reading, you needed to repeat a few sentences again. It sounded highly impossible and stupid for you, but on the other hand, you wanted to see the outcome. "Why you need me? I am not one of the best minds. I am average" "You are average, when it comes to science, yes. But you are instinctive, a good natural fighter, and have a great sense of strategy. At least, those were the words your Father used to describe you to be the last time I saw him. He was so proud of you, that you are not a whiny little woman, like everybody else. You are strong, and I need Strong soldiers. So…. What you say? Are you in?" – "Yes!" you didn't think about it. It was a clear answer to you. It was not because of what your Father told your Uncle; it was about that little inner voice, telling you, you should go. Like uncle Chester said, you had good instincts, and you used them right now. "You do not want to rethink? Final answer?" "I do not rethink usually. I got my choices right the first time" he knit his eyebrows again and laughed a little bit. "You say that now. Sooner or later, there will be a moment when you have to rethink" – "When do we start?" "Hold your horses! I will contact you, but tonight I want you to meet your head scientists" "Why?" "Because we are looking for a suitable man for the Army, and you know this part of Brooklyn the best" "And how do I find this scientist?" "German looking, small guy, with glasses, head, and a beard. You will find him. Look at it, like it would be your first mission" he grinned at you and was about to leave the house.

In the evening, you were dressed up and ready to go. You dressed a bit more fancy but not too much. It was a plain, dark blue dress in knee-length. Paired with simple black shoes and a small black bag for your porte-monnaie. Nothing spectacular but chic.

It took you around 10 minutes to run into Steve and the annoying attachment when you arrived there. Steve looked bored as hell, too, so he looked around and find you immediately. He waved in your direction, and behind him, the personified idiot – James Buchanan Barnes, friends call him Bucky, but you stayed with James. "Hey, Steve" "Hey!" he smiled at you and stepped aside to introduce the other people. "Cassy and Odette, and you already know Bucky" "Hallo, James" "It's Bucky. Please" "You said, your friends call you Bucky. I am not your friend, so it is appropriate to call you by your Birthname: James" "You are refreshingly nice as usual, Claw" "Don't call me that" – "Make me" he grinned cocky looked her directly in the eyes. His glace got replied with pure and clean aversion with a sour, sarcastic undertone. Claw was the Nickname you got from Steve and Bucky, based on your caustic and harsh kind, sometimes "You really want that?" "Don't get me wrong, little Princess. I believe you when you say you can defend yourself, but I think you need a little more for me than just a good positioned punch" "Bucky!" Steve wanted to prevent his best friend from protentional long term effects of that claim. "James – oh James – you should never underestimate a well-positioned punch" now, she grinned back and looked down for a second to make him understand what she meant. It took him a few seconds until he pulled his eyebrows together and took a step back. "You wouldn't!!" "Wanna bet?" "HEY!" Steve went between the two brawlers. "Never mind. We should go" "Woah, wait-" now it was Bucky who intervene and looked confused at Steve. "You invited her?" "No. We run just into each other" "Well, I would say, 3 Girls, is one girl too much, Buddy" "I guess it will be okay for the rest of the evening. You take these two Ladies, and I take her" "But – Steve-" "We are good with that!" one of the two girls finished the conversation, and then the situation was completed. Steve didn't want this in the first place because he knew the girls Bucky brought are just interested in him. Why not, by the way? He was tall, good looking, and charming - the perfect match for most of the girls. And he had this slightly sinister boy aura around him, even when he was a good guy through and through. At least that was what Steve claims every time you two talked.

The expo was enjoyable, overall, but actually, nothing of that really seeks your attention. Many people around here and you were about to find the German one. The funny thing is, though, that most Germans looked like Americans, so it was nearly impossible to find the right man. When you looked around, a recruitment center catches your eye, and you thought about what your Uncle told you. This German Scientist was about to find new Soldiers for the project. So for him being in that center would make the most sense. "Hey Steve," you put a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. "I have to go. Get something done" "already?" "You seem to be in delightful company, here" "Funny. Really funny" "Okay, bye, my friend" you see him off before you went to the recruitment center.

When you entered the center, it was full of people. It was different from the other centers you went to before with Steve. In this one, you had a nice, colorful and colossal propaganda part right before the testing area, and it was filled with people. A little bit lost, you looked around and tried to find a man, fitting on the description your Uncle gave you. So many people with a beard and glasses, which one would be the German? You looked around for a few more minutes when a smaller man approached you. "Good evening, Miss. Did you get lost?" he had to be in the age between 40 and 60, had a grayish beard and small round glasses. The way he speaks English suggested to you that this isn't his mother tongue. "No, actually I am looking for someone" "So? Maybe I can help? Who do you looking for?" "An educated man – a scientist! A little bit older with a beard and glasses and German heritage" he smiled slightly and nodded slowly. "That would be me. My name is Dr. Abraham Erskine" he reached out his hand to you, and you did the same. "You must be the niece of Colonel Philips?" "Indeed, yes. He sends me here to find you" "And he told me you would come. Let's go over there and have a little talk?" "I would like that, yes" the Doc led you away from the people into a calmer area of the center.

We entered the testing area for protentional soldiers. The Doctor looked behind one of the curtains to check if someone in there. After that, he thrust aside the whole thing to open it for you to enter.

“So you are Colonel Philips, niece? If I got that right?” “Indeed. His brother was my father” “Was?” “He died a week ago in Service” “I am sorry,” he apologized and looked a bit sad and uncomfortable to step into that huge blunder. “Thanks, but we are not here to talk about my dead father, right?” “Surely. Forgive me; I am a little bit old fashioned. Would you mind having a little talk with me first? I like to know the people I will work with” “Fine,” you shrugged your shoulders and looked for a sitting possibility. You decided to take a lounger and pointed at the chair in front of it, so the Doctor could sit too. “Ask whatever you want” “Whatever I want?” “If I do not want to answer, I will not answer. Feel free to ask anything” You wanted to get it over with. You simply didn’t saw the point of meeting the head scientist of the project since your uncle invites you because of your military talent, not your scientific knowledge. Last but not least, your uncle thought that a little change of air would be good for you. He knew you loved your father, and you are too tough to admit it. There will be a moment when you start to crumble, and the pain will rush over you, and he wanted to have you nearby when it happens. Nobody should be alone while mourning. “Why you entered the SSR?” “My uncle asked. I said yes. Here I am” “No other specific reason?” “No, why? Do I need one? This reason is as good as any other reason people have to serve in War. I think the reason doesn’t matter” “Why? Why does the reason doesn’t matter?” “There is never a good reason to start a war and sacrifice many young lives’. You should protect what you believe in, but it doesn’t have to be in a fight; that should be the last option. That is my opinion, but what do I know? I am just a little girl” he smiled slightly and shook his head softly. “Besides the fact who your uncle is, I can see you are not just a little girl” “How would you know?” “I can see it, your eyes” “My eyes…? I am not into that pathetic stuff” he laughed a bit and nodded. “I can tell you are feisty” “Only on Mondays,” “Today is Monday” “See,” he smiled again. “I like you. I like you a lot. You are refreshingly different, and I like young Ladies who can fight for their ideals” “How do you know I can fight?” “Your uncle told me a few things about you. You a good fighter and have good natural instincts” “Maybe” “Don’t be too modest –“ he stopped short to make a little break before he started talking again. “We already have someone similar to you. She is a Brittan Agent and feisty as well. I guess you two will get along just fine. Her Name is Agent Peggy Carter” “It will be a pleasure to meet her” “I can’t wait to see you two working together, but-“ he harrumphed a little bit and put on a serious face again. “I am here to look for new cadets; unfortunately, most of the young boys are already away. You can suggest someone?” “I don’t know many boys around here” “But you know some!?” “Depending on what are you looking for? The brainless muscle monkeys are already recruited” “’Brainless muscle monkeys’… actually, I am not looking for one of these! Your uncle does, but I want someone with a specific characteristic” “Specific Characteristics-“you were interrupted by a nurse who wanted to talk to the Doctor. She entered the room and reached him a file. You didn’t say everything in the file, but you recognized the photo in it. It was Steve’s. He wanted to try again to enter the Army, and it looks like he got caught with his multiple tries. “I am sorry, I have to do something-“he closed the file and stood up. “He has character” “This one?” he opened the file to read the Name again. “Steven Grant Rogers?” “I don’t know what you are looking for, but he has it. Give him a chance to prove it to you, and he will not disappoint you” the Doc looked at you with a stare glace until he nodded slowly. “would you vouch for him?” “Vouch for him?” “Would you trust him with that enough to confide him your life?” “Yes,” you answered strongly, and there was no doubt in your voice. “So, when a strong and independent girl like you would trust him, I should give him that try to prove me,” then he left the little room. Seemed like that you and Steve would enter the same Unit. One reason more to be expectantly about the next few weeks and the little change.

“I am honest, I am death” Steve came up to you and sat next to a dirty box. His equipment was just hanging down from his weak little body. He was in training for about half of a month, and you were sure there was not only one single small part, which didn’t hurt. After he got recruited into the SSR – like you – he immediately started his training to get a better physical change. But besides sore muscles, there wasn’t much of a difference. For your part, you trained with that Agent the Doctor mentioned. Peggy was good in shape and had a piece of excellent knowledge about self-defense and fighting styles. It was a great addition to your own style of fighting. You two trained a lot for the past few weeks and got quick on an equal level of physical strength. Since you were a new recruit – like Steve – you got simple tasks. Peggy trained the other Soldiers while you and your uncle were studying strategic files and everything possible about an organization called Hydra. You also got inaugurated in what the SSR was doing exactly. The Doctor was creating a Serum, and it was going down o deciding which new soldier should get it first. Your task was also to document every soldier’s progress to make it easier to choose. But honestly? You had a few talks with the Doctor itself, and he was pretty impressed with Steve, so you voted for him, and indeed, he was the one. But still, he had to get in a little bit better shape to have a greater chance of surviving the experiment.

Steve was breathing heavily, his head wholly laid back into his neck, as he sat down on the Box. He was initially coming up to you to get some encouraging words from you. And when he didn’t get these, a sarcastic commentary would do it too. He was happy to have a familiar and friendly face around when he joined the Army. He was really great full for you, not at least, because you were closer with Agent Carter and Steve had a thing for her. She was impressive! Intense and intimidating, and she was so confident. She didn’t need to be saved, and that what he appreciated the most on her. She was simply able to take of herself.

After he didn’t get any words from you, he opened one eye and looked up at you. You were standing here, head down and staring down at a letter you hold in your hands. You had a thing with staring down at letters. “Hey! What’s up?” “I god a letter from James” “Bucky? You got a letter from Bucky? Why?” “I don’t know” “An official one or a personal one?” “Personal” she turned the front side of the letter towards Steve, so he could see the bad handwriting. It was a personal letter, addressed at Claw. “he still calls you Claw?” “Guess so…. Why is he writing me a letter?” She looked more confused than ever since he knew her. “I don’t know! What did you do?” “Nothing…. I guess” Steve stood up from the Box and also started to look down on the closed envelope. “You don’t want to open it?” “Should I?” “Otherwise you will never find out what is in there-“ “ROGERS!” from far away, his drill sergeant was calling for him. Exhausted, he gave a loud groan and started running towards the other members of his Unit.

You just stood there and looked down on the envelope for a few moments, when you shook your head, turned around the letter and opened it. It was childish, not to open it and as you knows James, it will be a stupid prank or something like that. You should get over it and return to your tasks after that. Against your expectations, it wasn’t silly pranks or an inappropriate picture of something. It was an actual letter, handwritten in the worst handwriting you ever saw. The first line said: Hallo Claw, and after that, there were many other lines, and even the backside of the paper was written. On the piece, itself were little dirt stains. After a fast-flying over the lines without actually reading them, you turned around the form and saw the last line: See you soon, Bucky. This was more than just strange. It was entirely out of imagination! You sat down on the Box and started to read the letter, from beginning to end, every single word of it, slowly.

It took you a while to read through the whole letter. The handwriting was awful, and you had to guess every fifth word, and you tried to analyze it. To find the mistake in the word choices to uncover this letter as a prank, still. That James paid someone to wrote you a note to evoke the false belief in you, that he might not just hate you. You had plenty of reasons to be suspicious about it. You didn’t realize how long you sat there reading when a heavy breathing Steve returned to the spot where he left you. “I see you opened it ---- what did ---- he ---- wrote?” he pressed out the words between his intense breathing, trying not to collapse in front of you because of exhaustion. “Basically, he said, that he liked our conversation and that he hoped we had that earlier. We had more in common than I would know now, and that he didn’t know how much he would miss female intellectual interaction. And that he started to get more sarcastic and sharp-tongued because of me – Honestly? I didn’t see the meaning behind the letter” you wanted to hand it over to Steve, who just blocked that try. “He wrote the Letter to YOU. It’s yours now” “He probably didn’t write it anyway. One of his Unit buddy’s wrote it for him to confuse me. I strongly believe that!” “You think so? I know that handwriting; it’s Bucky’s!” “Then he tries to tease me from the front line? Great! Not even during the War, I am safe from him” you rolled your eyes, fold the letter back and put it into the envelope, and stood up. “We have things to do, Steve! Tomorrow is your big day” “I know. That why the Sergeant didn’t let me run the extra mile” “He seems to be nice” “Nice? Ever meet him?” “A couple of times” “I am giving up! I just want to take a shower!”

The next couple of weeks didn’t feel like a success in military history. It was more like monkey business. After Steve’s transformation, you thought he would be trained to be a severe soldier. Still, instead, he was turned into a breathing action figure. He had to do press tours, movies and sing stupid jingles. And from looking at the disappointment on Steve’s face, you know he felt the same. You decided to stay with Steve and distance yourself from the duties of the SSR for a while. You didn’t want to let him alone with all these mindless people, such as today. He was told to say some encouraging words to the soldiers at the front. They put up a stage for him, where he could stand on and talk. And they forced him to wear that bad, bright-colored stupid suit. And then he was standing there. Reading the pre-written words to the soldiers, which didn’t even want to listen. He was a super soldier and supposed to fight for his country, but instead, he was a trained monkey in a circus.

Not what he imaged and not what the soldiers wanted to see or hear. It was a disaster; it couldn’t get any worse. And if this wasn’t enough, Steve listened to the news that Hydra had captured the 107th, therefore also Bucky. He tried to convince your uncle to start a rescuing mission, but there was no chance he would allow that. Hydra had a reputation for capturing soldiers and using them for experiments. So if these guys aren’t dead yet, they might be soon. But would that stop Steve? It was about saving Bucky, and he would do it, without any doubt, and he wouldn’t think twice about it. So he and Peggy tried to convince Stark to help them. So it was up to you to take your uncle busy until these trees are gone on the mission.

“Where is Rogers?!!!” Your uncle slam opens the door into your room with a shattering noise. He wasn’t happy – actually, he was pretty angry. He knew something like that would happen, but he hoped that these three idiots would be more intelligent than trying to attack a Hydra base on their own. You got a little frightened and crumbled the paper in your hand a little bit. “I know that you know the answer, and I want you to tell me. NOW!” he entered your room and build himself up in front of your sitting person. You were resting on your bet and had all the letters from James in front of you. You somehow felt rereading them, since there was a possibility these were the last written word of him. In case of his death, you wanted to send them to his sister. “Strolling?” “Strolling? Are you taking me for a fool? I know he is not strolling! What are those?” he flies over the lines of a few letters and couldn’t see an author of these.

After all, you are still his niece, and after your father died, he is somehow – your chaperone now. “Nothing” you wanted to put them together to stuff them somewhere out of sight when he was faster and grabbed one of these. He read through the lines and raised one eyebrow. “Sergeant Barnes wrote you these? That fledgling? Never knew you would be interested in that kind of man” “It’s not like that” “it is not? These letters are pathetic and greasy love letters” “They are not” you shook your head and stood up from your bed. “These are just letters from a man who was bored at the front” “Bored at the front?” your uncle laughed at this. “You are not bored at the front because you are pretty busy not to die. He wasn’t bored, he took the little glimpse of free time he had to write you. That’s not nothing” “You interpreted it false. James Buchanan Barnes is a prankster, a childish little boy, and a womanizer. He would never write this with a serious background” you shrugged your shoulders. “He just wants me because I don’t want him. I actually couldn’t stand him” “Mhm,” he nodded and knit his eyebrows. “So why are you keeping these then? Quite a lot of letters and effort for a man who is just joking around” “You don’t know him” “Well if he is friends with Rogers, he can’t be too bad of a man” “He is an idiot” “All man are idiots! That’s in our genetic code” “Ahhhh that would explain a lot” “Stop that!” He pointed with his index finger at you with that stern look on his face. “Back to the essential! I know that you know where Rogers is. Tell me! Now!” “I don’t know” you shrugged your shoulders, and your uncle looked even angrier at you. He wanted to say something when he heard something from the outside, so you two decided to go outside.

As you went outside the door, you could see how a bigger group of soldiers is coming towards you. All ahead was Steve, and on his left side, you could recognize Bucky. Guess you didn’t need to send the letters to his sister after all.

“You know this idiot?” your uncle standing next to you when you were looking at Steve, bringing home the soldiers from the Hydra base. You were so proud of your little friend from Brooklyn. “Idiots. I know them both” “Both?” “The on his left side? That’s Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. The reason why he started this whole thing” “Barnes, huh? I assume he is his friend?” “Best Friend” you corrected your uncle and smiled slightly. Of course, Steve would do something stupid as running into a Hydra base just to save Bucky and man he didn’t know. It is Steve! He is doing these things, and that’s why he is Captain America.

When they entered the camp, Steve was about to talk to Peggy, and it was lovely. You noticed the little growing thing between them, and it was beautiful. Peggy wasn’t like all the girls Bucky had in mind for Steve. She was just right for him because they meet on the same level. She never looked down on him because of his small physical size. She respected his character and values in every shape he was in. And that’s why she deserved Steve. She liked him as a little boy, and she can have him as the soldier he is now. You were good with it, and they both liked each other. They just didn’t confess just now. While Steve talked to Peggy and a short cheers on Captain America, Bucky was stepping out of the line and walking towards you. What will happen now? What will he say or what will he do? Somehow, you had a strange feeling in your stomach. It felt like itching and tugging, as someone with a stomach bug would feel, shortly before they vomit. “Hey” he put on that crooked smile you already knew, Nothing surprising. Somehow, the little girl in you imaged his first words to be more pontifically or…. something like that. Good to know that some things will never change. “As I can see, you are not dead. Now I have to write an apology letter to your sister. We already informed her of your passing” “You are looking good too, Claw” “I was serious” “I know. Did you get my letters?” “Well…. Yeah…. What was the deeper purpose of these?” “Deeper purpose?” “Yes! Why would you write me letters? We didn’t like each other” “Sure about that?” “Well I assumed based on our shared past, James” “James? We are still at James?” “Isn’t that your name?” “Uhm…. Yea, it is” he looked down for a second before he raised his glace again and seemed a bit subdued. You knit your eyebrows in confusion. Did you say something wrong? What you said was the definite truth! You didn’t get the meaning of the letters, besides the fact that they were actually lovely and you two – indeed – didn’t like each other enough to receive these letters. Then you started to look down on his ripped and dirty clothes until you saw a big bloodstain near his stomach. “You-“ you reached out your hand for the stain, to feel if it still was wet. Surprisingly, the loose looking clothes are pretty narrow, so you could feel his muscles under it. “a doctor. You need a doctor! Medical…. Treatment!” “Some of the guys are worse than me” “Now” “Hey, Claw. I am fine. Don’t worry. Wait…. You wouldn’t worry anyway, right?” “That – That’s not fair! You should go and see a doctor” “I will” he stepped back and run past you. Why was he angry this time?

When the doctor was about to finish his treatment with Bucky when you slowly stepped into the room. He was sitting on a lounger without his top but about to put it back on. You could get a view of his upper body and how perfectly smooth it looked. Not a single scratch, not a scar, or anything else. The doc put his stuff together and left the room directly. Seemed like James was the last patient on his list for the day, and then there was silence. Big and uncomfortable silence. He was mad at you, but for what? For you being confused about friendly letters, which he had no reason for? It's not like that you two ever had a long and pleasant conversation before, so he had no right to be that angry with you! "I am confused" you took the word and looked strong at him. He listened to you, shook his head, and pulled on his shirt in one quick and smooth movement. "Why do I got these letters from you? We weren't that close before, so I have every right to be confused, and you never explained it! In none of these letters!" "You read them? All of them?" "Well…. Of course, I did!" "And you still call me James?" "Okay!" you raised your hands and blow entirely off. "Why is it so important to you how I call you? WHY?!" "it just is" "Okay, fine, I call you Bucky. Happy now?" "A bit" "Tell me why!" "Just means I am closer" "closer? Closer to what?" "Don't mind, Claw," he winks at you, and indeed his mood got better, and he isn't mad anymore? Jesus, this MAN is driving her CRAZY!

"Don't call me Claw" he smirked and stood up from the lounger, then he came close to you, very close. He stood directly in front of you, so close, you could feel his body heat on your own body. He lowered his head down to your ear and whispered something in it: "you will always be Claw. See you tonight" "Tonight?" "There is a pub down the street. Come for a drink" "You invite me for a drink?" "I do" "Is it poisoned?" you asked him, what make him laugh. "Not yet" "But later?" "You have to try" "What an enormous stupid idea to go for a drink which is protentional poisoned! You think I am stupid?" "No. Actually, I think you are quite intelligent. I can't force you to come for the drink, but I would love to see you. Please come" more than just confused, you got left behind buy Bucky. What was that? Honestly, what was that? What the hell was that?! James Buchanan Barnes, you ---- Jerk!

"If you want to hear my opinion. A boy will always be a boy. If he was like that before the War, he would not change much" Peggy turned a few times sideways before the mirror and smooth her red dress down. She put it on because she will go to the Pub where Steve and the other from the 107th are. She wanted to see Steve and want to have a little talk with him. You, on the other hand, didn't put anything fancy. Actually, you had your nightwear already. You didn't plan to go to the pub, even though Bucky would be happy about it. This situation was too confusing for you, and you decided to get more distance to the problem. You wanted to look at it more detailed and with a clear view. Bucky behaved strangely, and everything started with these letters, so you asked Peggy about it. You told her the whole History with Past and present, and she said that he probably is just playing around. Nobody goes from enemies to lovers in that short period, without spending time. It was only not possible. The first letter was friendly, but there weren't any signs that he would send her one. Letting the situation cooldown would be the best for her and that precisely what you will do. Let the case cool down! "You look good, Agent. He will love it" "who?" "You know who I meant" "Possible," you smiled, and Peggy smiled too until she went out of the door.

Meanwhile….

"You look nervous. Why are you nervous?" "I am not" Bucky grabbed his drink and took a sip, but when he heard the door opening, he immediately put down his glass, leaned back, and looked at the door. "Of course you are not nervous" Steve smiled and sat next to his friend at the bar. "It's not nervousness, Steve" "Then tell me what else it is?" he poked his friend, who didn't answer. He just shook his head with a decent smile and grabbed his glass again. He knows this kind of behavior from Bucky. It's about a girl, he is waiting for a certain girl to come in, and the clue was, Steve already knows which Girl Bucky had in mind. What stumbles him was the reason why he chooses her. Before the War, when they were in school together, he never showed special interest in her. It was quite the opposite; he was absolutely not interested in her. He avoided the contact and chat with her after that little accident with the dress. And she? Well, he made her feelings about Bucky more than clear: she hated him from the bottom of her soul. So maybe it was just a typical boy who wants what they can't have in a situation. That would at least the most logical answer to that whole surreal scenario. "Did she read them? The letters I send her?" "She did. Although she was skeptical. Until the 6th or 8th letter, she thought, a friend would write them for you, and you just send them to her to make fun of her" "did she really thought that? That it was a bad joke?" "Well, Bucky-" Steve laughed a bit and shook his head. "You can't deny that these letters came out of the blue! Before that, you never had a good talk without me preventing you two from killing each other. So getting these nice written letters was indeed a surprise, and she had a good reason to be suspicious" "Looking from that perspective…. What did I though? That was a stupid idea" Bucky pinch together his face until he took his drink and finished it in one sip. "Buck… what did you expect from her?" he thought about it for a second when he shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing" "But Bucky-" "Hey Steve, let's not talk about it anymore, okay? It was something stupid, and we put the veil of forgetting over it, okay? It never happened" "But it did happen, Bucky, and now you confused her. So what is the overall plan?" "There is no plan, man. It was just-" he hesitates a second and looked down into his empty glass. Yeah, what was it, Bucky? Was it just boredom why you wrote the letters? Was it desperation? Homesickness? Desire? And unsolved puzzle? The Only woman who doesn't thirst over him? The only one he couldn't conquer? Was it even a little spark of love? He didn't know; it was just a right and good feeling writing these letters to her. He was at the front; things are different there. A fallen friend from his Unit wrote letters to a girl he didn't even like, just because he wanted to. These were nice letters too. He didn't care if she read them or burn them; he just wanted to write someone, something nice. In addition to that, it has to be mentioned that this guy joined the army because he didn't have family left. So writing that girl was the only option he had, and he liked it. Bucky hadn't the same situation. He could write to his sister or Steve. It was not like he had nobody to write to, but writing to her just felt right. "Just nothing serious" he shrugged his shoulders and put on a solid smile. "Sure…" at that moment, it got silent in the room, and everyone's head was turning towards the door. So did Bucky and Steve looked in the same direction. It was Peggy in a stunning red dress, which fit her body perfectly. She was coming directly up to Steve and Bucky, but she just saw Steve. "Captain," "Agent Carter," "Stark has complied some equipment for you. You should come and try it" she looked over to Bucky for a second, who smiled nicely at her, but she just stared him down with that steel brown eyes. He got a little bit scared, but he liked the woman who can keep up with him. In the background, she heard how Steve's man are starting to sing again. "I see your top squad is preparing for duty?" – "You don't like music?" Bucky asked her question, but her eyes and attention were just on Steve, and he was invisible to her. "I do, actually. I might even – when this is all over – go dancing" – "Then what are we waiting for?" he tried another approach at the beautiful Britain agent, but she still ignores him completely. "For the right partner," she smiled slightly. "Tomorrow, 800 captains" then she turned away from the boys and walked out of the pub. "Yes, ma'am! I will be there" "I am invisible" Bucky shrugged his shoulders and looked at Steve with a satisfied smile, that his friend got the beautiful lady this time. "I-I am turning into you! This is a horrible dream" "Don't take it so hard-" Steve pad his shoulder and smiled too. "Maybe she's got a friend! Oh right, Claw is her friend!" "Haha – what?" "You heard it, Claw and Agent Carter are good friends since they met a couple of months ago. They trained together and work well as a team" "You mean that your hard-boiled, sexy, badass British nearly girlfriend is friends with Claw?" "Yeah," Steve nodded his head, not aware of what that meant for the boys. That was a disaster, like – ENORMOUS disaster! "Steve! Agent Carter and Claw are friends? Like… friends?" "Yes? Did something hit your head?" "This is bad! You can't have your best friend and your girl be best friends! They will form an alliance and have all the power to destroy us?" "us? Why us? You have problems with Claw, not me. And I survived this constellation the past few months pretty good, so I am not worried – oh wait! You are worried about your ass" "I am" Bucky nodded his head a few times fast. "Because your pretty but deadly Agent for sure has some tricks upon her sleeve and Claw? Oh, we both know she is full of surprises. I am dead. Officially" "You overdramatize it, Bucky. They are cool" "Yeah, with you, mister perfect blond hair" "Okay, you know what-"Steve raised his hand and ordered a few more drinks. "Let's have a good night! Cheers, my friend!"

While Steve and Peggy were with Stark to test out some new weapons for Steve, you took the chance to use the training room for yourself. It was an excellent opportunity for you to think about everything that happened the past two days. You spend your night rereading the letters to find a hint to solve this situation, but there wasn't. These were just lovely written letters from Bucky to you. Nothing more about it. Just words. Just nice words!

You punched the punching bag a few times pretty hard so that the chain with which it was attached to the ceiling rattles a few times loudly. So when it was just a nice word, written down on a dirty piece of paper, make your thought circle and skip all the time. It was a thug and war game in your head between, admitting that there could be a deeper meaning behind it and just brushing it off and don't think about it anymore. As much you want the one, the other was alarming. And there was this little voice in the back of your brain, saying that you initially hated Bucky. But why is something in you wanted to deny that you hate Bucky and want it to be something? Well, he was indeed a handsome man, and for sure, he could be nice. She has letters to prove that there was something good about him, but why did she initially hate him? It was clearly not just because he vomited on her dress one evening. No, she wasn't superficial like that.

While you lambasted the dummy in the training room, you didn't recognize how someone was entering It. He lends against one of the exercise equipment's, with arms crossed, that little smirk on his lips and looking at you. You noticed him in the corner of your eye and stopped your training. You were sweaty, and you were out of breath, but you liked it like that. A hard training session helped you to clear your mind. "Steve told me, you have a tough punch, but I had no clue" "Because you underestimated me all the time" "Ohhh did I? What a horrible mistake of mine" "Right" you nodded your head and went over to the place where you had your stuff, a little town, a water bottle and a jacked for leaving. You took the city and wiped the sweat away from your face. "You weren't in the pub Yesterday…. I've waited for you" "I-I had…. Stuff to do. Some documents to check and things to think about" "Mhm" he slowly nodded his head and repel from the what he lend on and walked towards you. "Were you successful? With the documents?" "Uhm-"your thoughts went clear for the blink of a second. Did you ever mention how unbelievably clear and beautiful his eyes were? This kind of blue was so light, like a nice clear blue sky. "No," your voice returned, and you shook your head. "There was nothing helpful in these documents" you knitted your eyebrows and took a step back. He was coming unusually near again. What was wrong with him? "Bucky…. What you want from me?" "What I want? From you?" "Yes. I have no problems with admitting that I am confused by your behavior" "You are confused by me?" she smiled a little bit brighter and honest. "That's-"you rolled your eyes. "That's not what I meant! You just behaving oddly! Tell me what's up, now!" "You don't like that?" "Liking what?!" "Liking it when I come near to you? Writing these letters to you? When I devour you with my eyes?" he wanted to get all seductive but no chance. That sounded too stupid for her taste. "Bucky, you know we are not in one of these movies from the theater? Devouring me with your eyes is not the kind of phrase which makes me melt for you" you blink at him and turn away from him. "Indeed… I think a woman who fell for that have very little self-respect" "Claw, come 'one! You can't tell me you didn't like this kind of cheesy! Everybody likes that!" "Ohhh, now I get it" she turned back to him and smiled herself. "I am just a target on your list, and you get frustrated because I am not thirsting over you! Like most of the girls back home? So predictable. And I thought there would be more behind it. Guess it is just the game of an unmatured little schoolboy" you waved it off and wanted to grab your thinks to leave. You were almost out of the door when Bucky asked to hold you back. "Want to hear a funny story?" you give a huge sigh and roll your eyes, but you turned around one more time and crossed the arms in front of your chest. "Sure" maybe he will give up after this story. You didn't want to be the center of a stupid game. If you wanted to have the attention of a man, you wanted it to be real. And when it comes down to Bucky and you, there was just real aversion. "Yesterday – when I waited for you in the pub – I talked with Steve. He told me you were confused about the letters. Maybe I shouldn't have written them in the first place since they came out of the blue" he knit his eyebrows for a short second, and for a moment, he looked lost, but then he regained his confidence and smirked at you again. "I never hated you, Claw. Never" "If that is true… why all these arguments, the comments, and that eye-rolling? That's doesn't make sense!" he wanted to come a little bit closer and smiled slightly. "You don't know about boys, right?" – you wanted to answer when you heard the door and a view voices. "Anyway," he cleared his throat and did a few steps back and folded the arms behind his back.

You glanced up and saw some guys from his Unit standing there, ready to use the training room. Then you looked back at Bucky, who tried to avoid any eye contact with you. That was the reason why you couldn't stand Bucky. He might be a good guy, but he changed his behavior, depending on who was around. Before these guys were here, he tried to be friendly and even tried flirting but now? He put so much space between you two as possible. "James," you said his name softly but with a disappointing undertone. You weren't disappointed that his flirting was just for his fun. You were disappointed because Steve felt so proud about Bucky being his friend. He would be so devastated when he finds out how Bucky behave. "Sergeant," you elongated your shoulders and nodded the head slightly to leave the room. At least you got your answer now, how to value these letters. You shouldn't value them at all, there is the product of a man who is just playing around, and you didn't have time for that. At the end of the day, it was War, and missions had to be planned.

The next few days, you brought as much space between yourself and Bucky as possible. You couldn't stand inconsistency, and Bucky was full of that. Anyway, it wasn't your problem anymore, since you discredited him for your greater good. He would take too much attention from you and your work, and right now, you needed all of your attention. The first mission of the Howling commando will be today. Tony, Peggy, your uncle, and yourself took days for the planning and researching. Since it would be a Hydra Base you are attacking, accurate planning was a necessity. That included calculating all the skills of the Commando itself. Peggy and your Uncle took the central part, planning the attack itself, with time management and others. Your domain was analyzing the abilities of Soldiers, that included Bucky, much to your chagrin. But luckily for you, most of Bucky's skills were written down in his military file, and you doubt that he learned new things. So it was an easy thing to calculate their skills into the plan. Even though many great minds worked on this plan, it was a weak one. You didn't know enough about the Hydra facilities, so you guys planned with some sort of puffer zone for mistakes. That's not the best Precondition for doing such a dangerous mission, but it will go well with a super Soldier like Steve. At least you hoped it for Steve. Lucky for you guys, there was a Hydra base basically around the corner from your Headquarters. So if something would go wrong, there are definitely safe options for retreat or reinforcement.

It was about 3 hours in the mission. You and Peggy were sitting the underground base at the big round table, with all the Plans for Today's mission. You had a walkie-talkie with you in case the guys needed help or further instructions. While Peggy was a little bit stressed and nervous, you were definitely calmer. You knew that Steve would be hard to kill since his wounds will heal faster and his overall senses are better. "How can you be so calm?!" Peggy grabbed the walkie-talkie aggressively and starred it down. Then she stood up and walked around like a chirpy cat. "It's Steve! He is your friend!" she tried to convince you into being worried too. "Steve is a super Soldier; he will manage to return" "And the others?" "They are with Steve" you smirked slightly and got in a more comfortable sitting position. You put your feet up on the seating surface of another chair, leaned back in your seat, and put your hand behind your head. "So much can go wrong! We should have planned it better! More details, and we should have trained more for it" she shook her head and turn over the mobile radio in her hands. "A-And the other one? Sergeant Barnes? I saw you talking a lot a while ago" "You really want to talk about it, right now?" she stopped walking for a second seemed to rethink her choice of Smalltalk. "Yes, why not" she shrugged her shoulders and set down a few seats away, and throw the Walkie-Talkie on the table. "This is what women do, right? Talking and doing nothing" after that, you have to laugh. Yes, that's what women are supposed to do at this age. "Agent Carter, we both know that women like us are supposed to do more than that," and Peggy had to smirk too. "The guys are fine, probably. Maybe already on their way back home. So do not worry too much about Steve" "I- I am not-!" she wanted to disagree, but you just raised your hand and shook your head. "I might not be a delicate woman, but I am no stupid. I can see, and I can interpret. Just an idiot would miss the chemistry between you and Steve" "Chemistry? That sounds like a pathetic movie" she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Even strong women are allowed to have a crush on a very handsome, nice, gentleman soldier with flawless blond hair and a demigod build body," you winked at her. You might be able to see a little glint of red around her nose. "I can relate, don't worry. Who wouldn't be interested in a 1,83 cm tall man build of pure muscles, right?" "I am not that superficial!" "I know!" you nod your head shortly and smiled warmly. "You like Steve because of Steve. Because of his values, principles, and character. Not because of his physical experience. I just want to say, it is okay to have a crush on him. Even though we are strong women, we are allowed to have feelings for someone else" "Is that so? What about you? You and Sergeant Barnes? Hm? You tell me I am allowed to fall in love with someone else but look at you! All cool and cold about the Soldier" "Me and Barnes? James Buchanan Barnes? The Womanizer from Brooklyn? No thanks," you shook your head and thought about Bucky for a second and shook your head again. "No! Never possible" "Sure" "I mean, he is too ---- too Bucky" "too Bucky?" "Yeah, you know, too smooth, charming with that crooked but somehow alluring smile and – you know – the optical appealing physic" "So…. You think he looks good?" "No, that's not what I meant" "That's what you said" "I just…. Analyzed it on a neutral basis!" "If you feel better about yourself if you say it like that," Peggy shrugged her shoulders and turned her back on you. What you said was nonsense. Looking for all those little things about a person, it not just analyzing them. It's giving them this special kind of attention, where you try to find as many little things as possible. "Steve told me about you and Bucky and your rough relationship" "What?! Why did he-" "For research purposes," Peggy interrupted you and turned around to look at you with a little smirk on her lips. "That there is a special kind of tension between you two is obvious. I needed to know if it is helpful or hindering for future missions. If there are problems in the Team, I should know, and he mentioned the thing between you two. I always thought that men are the underexposed gender, but in this case, it's you who is not getting it" "Getting it? Getting what?" "Sergeant Barnes" "Bucky? There is not much about him to get. He is a man; he likes boobs, hips, and most importantly, a lack of brain" "Sure about that?" "You are already the second person who is asking me that. Yes, I am sure! I do not change my mind on things; I am usually getting things right the first time, and James Buchanan Barnes? He is egocentric, idiotic, self-assertive, and the general opinion that a woman will immediately fall in love with his pretty face. So, what is there that I do not get about him?" "You actually have no clue, don't you?" you give a huge groan of annoyance and stood up from your chair. "Call me when they returned from the mission and how it went. I am sure Colonel Philips has something to do for me which is more sense full than…. Waiting," you turned your back to Peggy and wanted to walk out of the room when she mentioned something towards you, which throw out of the line a bit. "he likes you; that's why he behaved like this. I can't say if it's love but measured by the amount of time he has a crush on you, I would suggest it's something like love. Well, you can never be sure with men, but I am pretty sure he likes you" – "That's-" you turned around for a second and shook your head. "He is a little schoolboy who likes to play pranks and joking around. He was never serious about anything or anyone besides the friendship with Steve. It's just…. Bucky" "One of the many things I learned from my brother is that boys show affection by being extraordinarily annoying and mean towards girls. They think it would make them cooler and gives them the Bad Boy Charm. Obviously, it didn't work in that case, but I am sure sergeant Barnes has a little thing for you" Instead of answering her, you just left the room. The guys will be fine and probably back soon. Originally you wanted to ask your uncle for something to do, but now, you just wanted to have a strong and big drink. So you headed to your room, make a quick change of clothes, and left the basis for the pub nearby.

You sat there. A few hours – at least you thought it would be a few hours – but in reality, it must have been an hour or so. Not more than one and a half. Time was rushing in your current state of awareness because your brain was working. Your thoughts were rolling over each other because you tried to find the mistake in that scenario. You and Bucky? You have never been friends before, and now he had a crush on you? Apparently, to Peggy, he had a desire for a long time, but that wouldn't make sense. He was always with other girls, was flitting around, never seemed too happy about your presence. He just had a few nice words for you when you two meet, and mostly they were meant ironically. And then – out of the blue – there were these letters, and now you are completely confused. The people around you, telling you he has feelings for you but does he? Or is he just a good actor? You would assume the second, but Steve would have told you otherwise. So what is it with Bucky? He behaved strangely when he was around you and even more strange when others were around too. He was inconsistent, but why? This man was acting without any kind of logical concept behind it, and it drives you crazy, and then you came back to your old tuck and war game in your head. You wanted it to be accurate, but you know it couldn't be possible. Stuck between reality and a pipe dream (when you can call it like that). But instead of asking why he was acting like that, you should ask a better question: how did you felt about that? All of that? You couldn't stand Bucky because of his lucid character but was that all? Was that the whole reason why you didn't like him all these years?

"Hey, pretty Lady," someone put a drink next to you on the counter. It was a familiar voice you could recognize easily by now. "How you know I was here?" "I didn't. We successfully finished the mission, so we wanted to go for a drink. It just happened to be this pub with you in it" "James-" "Oh no. I thought we would be over the James thing" "I never liked you, and I showed you that I didn't like you. I even told you that I don't! So why –"you moved your head sideways to looked in his face. "So why do you like me? Why the only girl who showed that she is not interested?" he moved his head forth and back and had a slight smile on his lips. "I- I could say because you were the only one not interested, but that would be just half of the story?" "Then, what's the whole story?" "Well… It was somehow a love at the first sight situation, with the difference that you didn't like me" "You vomited on my dress" "Yeah – haha – not my best first impression, right?" "No. Actually not" "The point is-" he wanted to get a little nearer towards you when the front door of the pub was slammed open. You could hear loudly bawling man, and when Bucky leaned back and raised his hand for a greeting wave, you know it was the rest of the Howling Commando. And you immediately had that hunch that Bucky would go on distance now, and your conversation would be over. "Alright. You should go" "No, why? I am here talking to you" "Ohhh, you want to stay with me? All informal?" "Claw-" "James," he shudders his head and grins a little bit. "It wasn't your authority I had concerns about. Your uncle is the Colonel and Boss of this group. I didn't want to fall in disgrace" "A pretty lame excuse, don't you think?" "It isn't an excuse" "Sound like one" "Why-" he knit his eyebrows and shake his head slowly. "Why are you so distrustful of me? What I did to you?" "You ---! Do not act like I am the odd one here" "Odd one? What you mean?" "You have a crush on me?" you decided to jump into the cold water and just asked the question, which burned on your tongue. Also, Bucky seemed to be overwhelmed by that and looked at you like a deer in headlights. You were a little impatient, so after you didn't get an answer, you just rolled your eyes and stood up from your seat. "Boys will be boys…" you whispered, annoyed and thrust past Bucky and head for the Exit of the pub, with fast steps. Behind your back, you could hear how Bucky pushed back his chair too and head after you. "Claw, wait!" he wanted to grab your forearm, but you were faster and went out of the door. If you believe he would give up – haha – good joke. You took a deep breath from the cold evening air when you felt pressure around your wrist. As fast as you've always been, you withdraw your hand from Bucky's, turned around, and wanted to punch him in the face. But you underestimated him and his reflexes. He already saw that coming and dodge his head to the side and grinned. "You know most girls just start whimpering if they didn't get an answer" "I am not like most girls" you were incredibly angry at yourself for wasting so much time with him. You were angry about him for being him! So you went for the next attack and wanted to use a horizontal elbow strike, which was also blocked by him. This time, he holds your elbow tight with his hands he blocked it with. "Yes, that's right. You are not. You are like a feral cat. Always grumpy and always willing to fight" "Right!" you rushed to remove your arm from his hold, took a half step back, and went for a lead head kick, but you got it a little bit lower, so you would just hit his rips. He wasn't prepared for that, so you hit him with full power. He groaned in pain and hold his side; he could already feel how a big hematoma will grow there. This time, he really did make her angry. He heard from Steve that she was a good fighter, but he never knew how good she actually was. She was fast, strong, and had total control over the positioning of her kicks and punches. A real powerhouse of a woman. Of course, he went for the feisty one! "Ouch – that was a good one, Claw" he pulled in air sharply and put again a smile one. "But if you would have waited for 10 seconds more, you would have to get your answer" "I don't need one anymore" you loosed up your attack and defense fight position and pulled straightened your clothes, and wanted to leave when Bucky grabbed your arm, again and again, you punched him. This time, you got his nose. "Jesus – Claw!" he pulled his head back and hold his nose, but you didn't saw blood coming out from it, so it was fine. Maybe it will get a little swollen but not more. "Stop punching me!" "Stop touching me!" "No!" "Okay, then do not complain about punches!" "Why do you have to punch me?!" "I don't know – reflexes?" "Get it under control!" "Stop touching me!" "No!" "Why?!" "Because I don't want to!" "Okay then-" "Even if you use me as a punching sack," "Don't complain then!" "Just stop it for a second" "Why?" "Because I want to tell you that I indeed have a crush on you!" "Why?" "What you mean with why? It's just like this!" "Why?" "Claw!" you looked at him perplexed. When you heard it, and it was clear that he had a crush on you, you were more confused than before. That never happened before. Never ever did a boy admit something on you – except when they said they didn't like you. That was something new, and now it was Bucky too. The only one you could never imagine in that situation. "Claw?" he ripped you out of your thoughts and wanted to take a step nearer to you. Of course, he was careful and afraid that you would punch him again. "Permission to come near?" he asked jokingly, and you nodded slowly. "tell me why" "Why? Claw, I do not have an answer for that" he shrugged his shoulders. "It just is what it is. One day, I started to look at you closer, notice little things you did, and then it just happened" "You stalked me?!" "No! NO! That's not what – Jesus! You are so intelligent and yet so stupid" he seemed to get angry too, or more frustrated. "I send you these letters in the hope you would change your mind about me. There is something private and intimate, so you could know me on a different level. With people around us, it was hard for me to get to know you" "Okay, but-"you knit your eyebrows in confusion. "Why all the flirts with numerous girls? In front of me? Didn't make sense" "Well-" he smirked. "I thought I could make you jealous, but it clearly didn't work" "No, it didn't! The opposite happened; I liked you less" "Wow – ouch – yes, it was a stupid idea but-" "No! You are just joking around!" you made a few steps away from him to leave, but he heads after you again, and he grabbed your wrist again and pulled you towards him, this time. At that moment, you wanted to make a noise of protest, but it was too late. He pressed his lips on yours but not in an aggressive way. It was somehow a gentle and shy kiss, more like a softly putting his lips on yours despite the situation. You were surprised by the act itself but also by the good feeling it gave you. A few seconds, you tried to melt into that new, arousing feeling until your brain started to work again and pulled you faced back and slapped Bucky hardly in the face. "Claw-"but before he could finish the sentence, you grabbed his face and kissed him again. You wanted to make sure this feeling was not just a one-time glimpse, and it wasn't. After a few seconds, you ended the kiss and were shocked about the result, and when the last minute panic was growing in you, you slapped him again. "Sorry," you directly apologized what didn't make the situation better. You kicked him, punched him, and slapped him multiple times. Seemed like he would be over you right now. "I hope it's not getting a habit to hurt me, whenever I am near to you….?" "You plan to do this more often?" "I –" he wanted to say something and just shook his head. You were incredible and so naturally honest. "I want to kiss you again – now – please do not punch me" "I try" "Promise!" "I try, but I can't promise!" "Claw!" "Wait-"you took one step back again. "I still don't get it. You behaved like a jerk all these years because you liked me?" "Yes" "That's so stupid!" "I am a boy, Claw. We do stupid things" "But that even too stupid for you," he groaned, annoyed and shook his head, when he stemmed his arms in his hips. "Just shut up for a second and let me kiss you. Okay?" "But-" she wanted to disagree, but he went to her with a few quick steps to kiss her again. It was still soft but more confident and intense. And there was it again, that little, intense and new feeling which started to grow in your stomach. It tingled a little but was warm – so hot – and it grows fast until that warmth was everywhere in your body. He stated a little sweet, with a bitter undertone, from his drink. His lips were so soft, but his hands on your cheeks felt a little bit sore but not disturbing at all. He smelled a little bit like smoke, sweat, and dirt from the mission he came from. When he ended the kiss, he slightly smirked. "You didn't punch me. We are making progress, darling" "Don't call me that" bumped him against his chest, so he had to make a half step back with a bright smile. You rolled your eyes and turned away from him. "Fuck you!" – "Would you?" "You know, I used to dream about ending your life" you had that little devilish smile on your face, which just get countered by his self-proud smile. "Now you want to spend it with me? I would call that progress" "Na, I still think about ending it if you continue doing what you are doing" "And what am I doing?" "You are driving me crazy. Stop that" "No chance," he shook his head and put his arm around your shoulders. "What are you doing?" – "touching you?" "Stop that" "No way!" "Barnes!" "I love it when you are yelling my Name" "You ---- IDIOT!" "Your idiot. We want to be specific here" "I kill you, I promise!" "Don't make promises you can't keep" "Who said I can't keep it?" "Because you do not hate me" "Grrrrr – you are still an idiot!" "Loooooove is in the aaaaaaair," he stats to sing when it was finally enough for you. You freed yourself from him and ran a few steps forward, but he came after you. Guess you didn't get rid of him any time soon.

The next mission for the howling Commando was in progress. Together with the soldiers, Peggy, Uncle Chester, and you were developing a better plan. They told you that there was some trouble with equipment and gave you information about how this facility was built. Based on the new information's you were designing a new plan of attack. This progress took a while, and it took much time. So you personally had just a little time left and spend this free hour with sleep and rest. Since Bucky didn't have all these tasks, he was finished with his things early on days. Actually, he just had the usual training schedule on his daily routine. Maybe a weapon test, when Stark was finished with something new, but that's it.

"Great! Put it down on a report, so we can give it for further investigations" your uncle closed the meeting for the day and left the notes on the big round table. Today it was your turn to put the stuff you talked about into a pretty file. It would be the last thing on your to-do list for the day. After everybody left the room, you heard how the door opened again. You looked over the big table on the opposite of the room. You saw Bucky standing there, having a quick view over the notes on the table. "paperwork?" utilizing his voice, you could tell that he hoped you would say no, but he knew it was a lost hope. "Yes," you groaned in exhaustion and looked again over all the papers. It was a hard week for you, and you didn't have a lot of sleep. So many things that need to be done, and this was the last drip for you. Since the War began and you were in active service, something like weekend got a foreign word. "Maybe I can help you?" "Just when your fingers can tip on a writing machine as fast as you can shoot" "Uhm…. No" "Then you can't help me" "Buuuut-" he smiled and walked around the table towards you. "I can do other things?" he went behind you and stroke your hair to the side to start kissing your neck softly. "James-"you giggled a bit. "We can't – not here!" "did I mentioned that I love it when you call me James with that flutter voice of yours?" "Sergeant Barnes!" you wanted to talk sense in him, but there was no chance that he would end his activity back there. "I love it even more when you call me Sergeant Barnes," he whispered into your ear with a hot breath, so your whole neck was covered in goosebumps. After a few moments, he started to caress your neck with the tip of his fingers. As he would crawl you. "You are really tensed" then he started to massage your neck, which elicited you a few relaxing groans. It felt so good when he's strong, and big hands knead your hurting muscles in your neck, and you closed your eyes for a few seconds to really lean into his movements. It's been a while since you two had time for each other. After that – more than just awkward – evening, you hadn't had many moments to talk about what happened. You two just agreed – in silence – that you would just roll with it and see where it ends. You are still suspect about him a little bit. On a scale from 1 – 10, you trusted him with a good 6 or 7. So there was a long way to something like a liaison. Bucky was incredibly talented when I came down to being seductive and charming. Nothing you didn't know before, but you had to be careful. After you just let go of most of your thoughts, falling for him completely was a sweet forbidden fruit. He couldn't control any of his desires, drives, or carvings, so you had to be twice a careful. The art was to not get addicted to him and taste too much of that sweet, sweet flavor and have just enough taste on the tip of your tongue to make life delicious as candy. If you tasted too much, you would get into an ecstasy, to less, and you two would get bored. It was a balancing act, or a play with fire because Bucky was like a forest fire. "Hey Claw," his voice brought you back to reality, and you tried to turn your head towards him. "hm?" "Do you want to go out with me tonight? Dancing? Having a drink? Maybe a little moonlight walk?" "A date? You want to go on a date with me?" "I want to take you out, not date. Dating is for people who are not a couple – we are" "Are we?" you asked back. For you, it wasn't a real couple feeling what you two had and did. It was more like a workplace romance, but it didn't felt like something serious, strong, and made for more. "You – You didn't think we are, something?" "Bucky-" you turned around to him and leaned against the table. "What do we know about each other? Most of the time I have known you, I didn't like you" "Thanks for the friendly reminder" "I just want to point out that you can't jump from enemies to lover just by the blink of a moment" he seemed to thought about it and nodded his head. "Good. We have a date tonight. Put on something nice, and I will pick you up. Sound good?" "Indeed" "Great! But-" he put a hand on your cheek and gave you a little kiss on your cheekbones. "I will not give up the kisses, even if it is indecently" he winked at you and wanted to leave the room. At the moment he left, you wanted him back. He smelled so incredible good, and his body warmth was so intense when he was near to you. "Sergeant Barnes!" and as you would pull him back on the string, he turned around to you in one fluid movement, beat the heels together, and stretched his head forward as he would expect any commands from you. "Yes, Ma'am?" To be honest? You liked him in his soldier mode. So serious and receptive to your orders, even though you didn't have a higher military rank than he did. "Please remind your Unit to submit their mission reports in time. I do not want to run after that" "Yes, Ma'am," he winked at you before he left the room. After you were sure he left, you took a deep breath. You needed to get your work done, and after that, you could think about the date tonight. If you manage to be able to go there. You have to admit, you never went on a date before. You never were interested in this kind of activity, AND nobody ever asked you.

It took you forever to put everything on paper and file it away. It was a long evening in the office and your eyes already hurt from the desk lamp's bad lighting. It was somehow a filthy yellowish light, and it started to flicker after a few hours. You realized how late it was when you heard the door behind you. You looked tiredly over your shoulder and saw Bucky in his dress uniform. "You forgot it?" "No. I just had too much work to do" "You need help?" "No, I finished it, like 1 minute ago" you leaned back in your seat and closed your eyes. "So you don't want to go out anymore?" "To be honest? I would prefer to just stay here and have a casual evening" "Okay," he nodded and grabbed a chair from nearby to sit next to her. Before he sat down, he unbuttons his uniform jacket and hangs it over the backrest of his chair. He also got rid of his tie and opened the first two buttons of his shirt, pulled it out of the trouser, and took off his head to loosen his hair too. He looked like a wild night out, with too many drinks and wild affairs. Perfect fit to your optical illusion right now. You were tired, your uniform slipped here and there a little bit, and you already took off your shoes and tie. "Already better! So – I am sure somebody has a bottle of scotch in their desk drawers" "Yes-"you pointed at the biggest desk at the top of the room. "My uncle has some, in the lowest one" "Your uncle? Sure nobody else?" "Just go and grab the damn scotch!" "Yes, Ma'am!" he stood up and walked fast over there. Didn't took him long to get the bottle and came back. "Glasses?" he looked around to look for Something they can use as glass. "Damn it" you overreached the bottle and opened it, and took a sip out of it. You weren't in a pub, fancy ballroom, dinner with parents, or in the company! You could drink right out of the bottle, at least this one time. "Okay," he took the bottle back and took a sip. "You are not ladylike, aren't you?" "Definitely not!" "That's good. I am not a fan of the Gentleman stuff either" "You would look terrible in cylinder and wreck" "You think so?" "Pretty sure, yes" "Thank God I do not have to wear one. The military uniform is already killing me. Do you know how much time it took me to get into all of these layers? An unreasonable daman!" he took another sip. "Be happy you do not have to wear these tight skirts – Jesus, what would I give for a pair of comfortable shoes and pants!" you took the bottle back and also took a big sip. "I mean-" he raised an eyebrow, put on a mischievous smile, and tilted his head a bit. "You could just take all off" "No!" you took another sip. "I am not one for your easy girls, where you just smile, and the clothes fall off" "That's what you think of me? A sex-driven guy?" "I didn't say that! I just said that it took you more effort to take off my clothes" "I didn't doubt that" he took back the bottle and took a big big sip out of it. "What you planned for the evening? Besides dancing and walking?" "Talking. Mostly talking. I already talked with Steve, and there are so many things we do not know about each other. So maybe tonight is a good start?" "Sure. Ask whatever you want to know" "How did you meet Steve?" "Oh good – I guess it was somewhere in the primary school. His father and my father were friends from active Service. So we meet somehow one day. We linked over a book and got into a chat, and – yeah – now we are here. How did you meet, by the way? That Is way more interesting?!" "he got into a fight. Couldn't finish it. So I did. Our bonding moment" "Guys," you rolled your eyes, smiled, and reached out for the bottle to take another sip. "And your father is fine with you being here? And serving for your country? I bet he must be proud that his little wildcat is doing Something in the military as he did?" "Uhm…. He… I hope he is proud, but I don't know" "You don't know? Didn't have that strong bound?" "Oh no, we have – had – we were really close" "Had?" "He died a few months ago inactive Service. Before Steve and I joined the SSR, I got a letter that he passed away. But it's not a big deal, I knew he would die in this way and so did he" "You dad died, that's a big deal" "It was predictable, so it didn't hit as hart" "But --- how can you not be sad?" "Like I said, it was predictable. It's not like that I didn't love my father, but I knew he would die inactive Service, so it was kind of prepared for that" you shrugged your shoulders took another sip out of the bottle. "Is that why you like to follow logic ways?" "Hm?" "I noticed, you are fine with things as long they are logical. As soon as it's not logical, you are confused" "maybe. Maybe not. I never thought about it. Logic is simple and relatable in contrast to people" "That can't be true! You have to have a person you can rely on! What about…. Your uncle!" "Hm… he was there when my mother died when I was younger, but he left someday, without a word" "Then you father!" "The US Army was always more important than me. He would prioritize them over me all the time" you shrugged your shoulders and took another sip from the bottle – a big one this time. "Who else is on your life, then?" "Steve was with you most of the time. I am not resentful because of that. Friendships between the same Sex are always stronger, so it was fine" "You do not have siblings?" "No" "Aunts? Uncles?" "No" "Grandparents?" "Dead. Listen, Bucky-" you shrugged your head. "I am fine. I've been good on my own, so I just will continue doing that; worked out good" "But-" he knit his eyebrows. "You are not alone" "Yes, I know I have my uncle with me all the time, now. And Steve, Peggy – You! But what will happen after the war ends? Everyone will go their own ways then" "You think?" "Colonel Philips will stay in the Army, Peggy and Steve will start something together – at least I hope so and I-" "We could be together too, you know?" "You think that will work? Honestly?" "You don't?" "James-" "Here we go" "Please listen. You are not as bad as I thought, you are a really nice guy. A little bit chaotic but through and through loveable, charismatic, aesthetic, good looking, and you can be a gentleman. Many women lie at your feet, and I believe you would find a good looking one to be your future wife one day. So why me? I do not have a wife's potential. So why me? I really do not get it, not at all!" he listened, nodded his head, and took a sip of the scotch. "You think you are not loveable?" "That's not what I asked. Why me? I was never nice to you. Never" "Good question! Great question! I-I don't know-" "Bucky-" "let me finish! I do not know the correct answer. But….. in the 10th grade – it was a pretty hot summer day, so the school ended earlier – as soon as you left the school, you sat down on this old bench in front of the school. You wore a summer dress in decent light blue with a darker color gradient. Your hair was up in a messy bun, and a few strands hang out. So you sat there, with a black book in your hands with golden letters on it, and we're just reading. It seemed like you were completely sunken into these pages until Steve walked over to you and talked to you. You looked up and had the most beautiful smile on your ever I ever saw. Bright and full of joy! And immediately, I felt warm and happy. This was the only time I ever saw it on you, and somehow-" he interrupted his sentence and smiled warmly and in total nostalgia. "Somehow, I wanted to be the reason for that smile. Claw --- do you believe in love at first sight? I know it sounded pathetic, but at that moment – in that little moment – I started to had a crush on you. So I talked to Steve, and he wanted to introduce me to you, at that summer ball, when I vomited on your dress. Good first impression, right? After that, I noticed you couldn't stand me, but I didn't want to give up because no matter how many times a girl smiled at me, I never had that feeling again, and that's why I cannot let you go! Not without a serious try! Can you --- can you understand that Claw? Even though you do not believe in that?" you listened to every word that he said, and even if you do not understand the reasoning, you somehow understand his emotional situation. "That why you wrote the letters?" "mhm, yes! At the front – when people try to kill you, you find yourself in the position to write a bucket list, and you know what? Giving It a try with you was the first thing that came to my mind. So I started to write you these letters. Worst case scenario? I got to shoot, and it was just a stupid idea" he did a shoulder shrug and grabbed the bottle to take a sip – the last one. "When I think about it now, it was just a stupid idea. Instead of accepting these sad feelings and admitting them," he stood up from his seat and grabbed his jacket, swung it over one shoulder, and grabbed his heat. "I start to get tipsy. Didn't drink that much in a while; I guess I will go to bed now," he explained. "Normally, I would try to sneak a good night kiss or would try to seduce you – well… I guess not tonight. You didn't seem to have decided yet if you want to give it a try yourself. I might be a jerk compared to you, but I am not that stupid" he pinched together his eyes because the dizziness started to grow. "So it's up to you now. Tell me if you like me enough to try or don't" he shrugged his shoulders and head towards the exit. "Oh and –" he turned around for another time. "Have a good night, Agent Claw" "That's not –"you smiled and shook your head. "Good night, Sergeant Barnes – Bucky" you nodded and saw him go. Good question, by the way: do you want to give it a try or not? Maybe it's not the right time to think about that, right now. You were tipsy, tired and it was late in the night. You should go to sleep yourself and rethink your choices for a second in the morning.

The next day was a calm one. This short before a new mission, it was usually hushed on the foothold. The soldiers prepared themselves for the next big thing, and the strategic department hadn't any work left. The plans were made and given to the soldiers, so it was up to them to do as they told. Peggy was fuzzy as usual and studied the method for tomorrow's mission over and over again, in case there was a leak, but there wasn't. So your uncle and yourself were pretty relaxed and were just sitting around.

So you got yourself a quiet place in the conference room, where you gabbed a swivel chair and rotate a little bit while you stare at the ceiling. You wanted to make another full turn when someone stopped your chair. You didn't even notice someone came in. "Hey Claw" "Steve! Stressed out because of tomorrow?" "Not really. Can I have a seat?" "Sure," he placed himself in front of you on another chair. "I guess we have to talk," he started and looked you drop dead serious in the eyes. "Do we?" "About Bucky? I guess we have to. Honestly, I never thought I needed to give a girl a Bucky Speech, but I guess there is a first time for everything" "A Bucky Speech? Seriously, Steve?" "Don't worry, he got the Claw Speech already" "There is a Speech about me? What did you tell him?" he gave you that glace, that he would not tell you this and you didn't care too much. "When I imagined this moment, I always thought I would actually write down all the points I am about to talk about. Thinks like: he is a good man, chaotic but honest, he will care for you and be a good husband and so on and on…. But I guess I do not have to tell you that. You either already know that or don't care, so I can save it for later-" he started to knead his hands as he would be nervous or tensed, Something like that. "Actually, I have to take a different approach. We – we both – know each other for many years, so I can claim that I know you! I know the character you made up to keep the world and their problems away from you. I know the character you turn on when you meet someone you don't like AND – most importantly – I know your real self. And I know that you never let anybody near you, especially not people you weren't so sure about. All the more, it surprised me that you and Bucky started to getting a – a thing. But Claw… Bucky is not like you, you know? He has his edges and mistakes, but he is – open. He is open, honest, truthful, brave, strong, and… delicate. He would never show or tell you, but he very sensitive sometimes, and you? You keep delicate and sensitive as far away as possible. You do that because you are afraid of getting hurt, and you do it successfully. It took me a few years to figure that out, and I think Bucky didn't realize it by now. I am afraid he will find out too late when he got already been hurt by you. Listen, we – you and I – will stay friends – good friends, I hope. But… if you do not take Bucky seriously, tell him now and not, when he already fall for you. Because somehow-" he laughed a little bit. "Somehow, he really is in love with you. I guess the saying that opposite attracted was never as true as right now. You get what I want to say?" you listened to every single word, and he had some points. You thought about it yourself a few times by now. And from a simple logical viewpoint, it was more consistent to turn Bucky down. But somehow, you couldn't. You had him, and you knew that, and now you didn't want to let him go. He was yours now. "I understand your concerns" you nodded slowly and smiled. "But I do not share your concerns" Steve knit his eyebrows and looked confused at you. You just shrugged the shoulders slowly and smiled. "D-Does that mean that you--?" "Well…" "Really, Claw? Bucky? You and Bucky?" "There is no Me and Bucky yet. But maybe? I don't know" "For real? I would never ever bet on that" "It's strange for me too. Such a new and unusual feeling, but Bucky isn't as bad as I used to think about him" "So that means you – you are actually trying?" "I try… trying…? Is that correct? I don't know, Steve! The first time I do Something completely illogical in my life, I didn't feel too bad. Guess it's right, but I don't know. I somehow cannot go fully in, if you understand what I am saying. I overthink a lot right now. So I hope Bucky has a little patience left for me to wait a few more days until I have decided finally" you shook your head and smiled. You liked that picture with you and Bucky more and more in your head, even if it was a strange one. Guess strange was your new thing – your new preference. "okay then… actually…. I don't know what to say anymore!" he stood up, a little bit perplexed still and wanted to leave the room. "Good luck for tomorrow. The mission," you said before he left.

The next day was pretty busy on the base. Since it was the second mission, everything was more detailed and had more context. He changed from the last mission where noted, and a detailed site plan was rolled on the big round table. Every member of the howling commando, which was involved in the current mission, had a Walkie-Talkie to stay in contact with the base. For time management reasons, every member got their own person of strategic support. Of course, it happened that you got Bucky this time since he was the Sniper of the group and needed to have everything on hand. Everything went after the plan they developed until Bucky talked via funk with you. "Hey Claw" "Hm?" "We got a problem" "Problem? Which kind of Problem?" "A big one" "What happened?" "There is a bomb. And it is definitely activated. Some of the scientists turned this thing on when we entered the building" Your uncle heard it and came up to you and grabbed the radio. "Sergeant Barnes, here Colonel Philips. Does the bomb have a time display?" a few moments, nothing happened when Bucky reported back. "It does. It was hidden" "What does the time say?" "two minutes and less" "Is there any opportunity that you guys could just run?" "Negative, Sir. This facility is like a labyrinth. We needed minutes to enter the central point" your uncle shook his head and put the radio down. "This is not good," he whispered before he turned around and screamed into the room. "Is there a bomb specialist here? Anywhere near?" but he didn't get an answer. "Remind me to put a bomb specialist on the shopping list" he turned towards you and retook the radio. "Sergeant Barnes. We do not have technical support here. I would recommend running as fast as you guys can and looking for a safe spot to survive the explosion somehow," and he waited for an answer. "But Sir, we could try to defuse the bomb" "Negative! We do not have a specialist here, and you guys do not know it either" "But the explosion could kill many innocent soldiers, which are captivated here as experiments!" your uncle pinched his eyes together and shook his head. This was a sorrowful and bitter moment because there was no help for these soldiers. He needed to make sure his own people get out there safely. "I repeat! Get your asses out there!" "But Colonel-"this was when you had enough and grabbed the radio yourself. "James Buchanan Barnes! Do what you were told and get yourself and your teammates a safe spot to survive the explosion somehow!" then it was silent for just a few moments, but it felt like hours. "I am sorry. I will try to defuse the bomb!" "Bucky no-" and then the signal got lost, and the Walkie-Talkie went down. "Bucky?" you pressed the button to reconnect your radio with his, but no chance there was a connection build. "James?" you tried again, but there was just a monotony rush instead of his voice. "Sergeant Barnes! James! Bucky!" but there was no connection build. "Someone else?!" your uncle called into the room, but all the others shook their head. Even Peggy had lost her connection to Steve. "all Radios are down, Sir!" "Great. Really great! Get me a technical link to our Team somehow! Wha-What about Stark? He is waiting for our Team to bring them home with a plane! Can we get him on the Phone somehow?" "We are trying!" someone in the base was running around to try out different telephone links and radio frequencies. Then you felt a hand on your shoulder, and when you looked up, it was your uncle. He didn't say anything; he just looked in your eyes, as he wanted to say, that there are not dead and you would have enough time to shoot Bucky your own. Then he went off to try to find a connection to Stark.

It took about 10 minutes to reach out to Stark, who told them that they are safe on board his plane. All of them, the Howling commando and the saved soldiers. Apparently, Bucky just ripped out every cable possible at once, and that somehow worked. Well, seemed to be his Lucky day, at least for now. You had slightly different planes with the hero of the day. And congratulating him wasn't part of that.

You went outside as soon as you heard how a plane was landing. When you stepped outside, you already saw the group of man, walking away from the aircraft towards you and the base behind you. In the middle were Steve and Bucky, while Steve tapped Buck's shoulder as a sign of congratulation. He smiled and laughed, looked around, and everybody was more than happy to be home safely instead of you. You were standing there, in the middle of the base entrance with crossed arms and starring the guys down, which they didn't notice yet. So you started walking towards them until they see your presence. Bucky was the first one, smiled brightly over his whole face, and raised a hand for a welcoming wave towards you. You didn't reply to that and just walked up to him. "Hey Claw!" when he was nearer, he ran the last few meters and stopped in front of you. "I-I am sorry, the radio just went down, and we couldn't keep contact anymore" as proof, he holds up the wholly destroyed Walkie-Talkie. "Mhm," you nodded slightly and didn't even look at the Walkie-Talkie; instead, you gave him a death stare, which kind of scared him. And before he could react, you already gave him a horizontal elbow strike on his cheekbone, making him stagger a few steps back. He releases a painful groan and holds his cheekbone.

Immediately a severe headache started to grow, but you didn't care much. "Sergeant Barnes," you growled, smoothed your clothing, turned around, and walked away. This time, he deserved it! He put himself in a dangerous situation, made it look like his chaotic ass got blown up in the air, and now he pretended to like, nothing happened? Praise the Lord, she was angry. Not just angry, she was about to raise the hell and let it collapse above his head. He was done with living; he just didn't know it by now. Maybe he should ask Cap for his bulletproof shield because he will need it next time he meets her.

Of course, your uncle got the news of what happened and had to disciplinary you. He had a 'no fighting in the team' police, and he was strict. You hit Bucky in front of everybody in the Unit. In consideration of his higher military rank, it was a violation of his authority. Which couldn't be tolerated within the military and especially not in the Unit of your uncle. Since he understands that Sergeant Barnes somehow deserved it, you just had to protocol the incident in your own file by yourself. Writing down things like this was horrible. You had to be honest; it needed to be factual and detailed. That forced you to rethink your actions and made sure that it would never happen again. Under different circumstances, you would get a disciplinary procedure and get kicked out of the military; dishonorable discharge would be called. Your uncle sends you to the secretary's rooms, to get your report done and he wanted it in the evening. So you sat there, with a pen in your hand and paper in front of you on the desk and just starred it down. You know it was stupid what you did, but he deserved it so much! This idiot! This stupid, stupid idiot! A knocking on the door ripped you out of your thoughts. You looked up and saw Bucky standing there. His cheek was swollen and already turned a little bit blue. He looked like a lost puppy or even better – he looked like a puppy who knows he did Something wrong and tried to apologize with big eyes and a cute face. "Claw…?" his voice was flat, and he had that questioning tone in it. "May I-" he couldn't even finish the sentence, as fast as you grabbed the stapler and throw it at him. At least he was fast enough to dodge, but the stapler crashed into the hallway wall and broke into pieces. He looked at the shattered thing and turned his head just in time to see that you already throw the hole puncher at him. "You Idiot!" you shouted at him, stood up from your seat, and grabbed all possible things to throw after him. He managed to dodge every time and didn't get hit. "You are an incompetent and complete idiot! I hate you – God knows I HATE you!" you grabbed a cup standing on the desk and tried to go for the head, but you missed somehow. "I wish you would have blown up!" next thing was a notebook, and you were incredible unerring when it came down to hit him. Lucky him, he was fast. "I really was thinking about letting you in my little world, where it is just me and myself, working together but YOU-!" you even got the writing machine to throw at him. "manage to make me angry all the time! Every time I thought, you changed for the better, you came around the corner with the next stupid action, and it's done!" now you went for the desk lamp. "And then you are coming up to me, with that puppy eyes, and think everything is good again? Nooooo NOT this time!" you throw the lamp at him. After that, have you run out of items. You breathed heavily, and the anger was written all over your face. Bucky somehow covered his head with his arms and looked down at all the broken things to his feet. This was a whole new stage of angry for you. "I am honestly this short away from shooting you right here right now! How does it even crossed your mind that you could defuse a bomb build by Hydra with technology we do not fully understand?! HOW? Tell me how?! You could have died, Bucky!" "St-Steve was there too. Why do you not try to murder him?" "Because he is super-soldier, but you are not! You are as normal as I am, and our life is faster over than his!" you needed to take a few deep breaths when you saw the gears turning in his mind. And then, a bright and warm smile came on across his face. "You---- want me? Seriously? For real?" "Wanting you? I want that you start to delate those stupid ideas in your mind!" "But you want me? Want me as yours?" "What are you? A cup you can borrow?" "Claw!" he rushed over to you and smiled at you like a little schoolboy. Even when you tried to kill him in the past minutes, he is still all yours - like a puppy. He looped his arms around your waist and presses his forehead against your temple. You were still a little grumpy and didn't want to look in his face, so you turned your head slightly away from his, towards the door of the room. All these broken things, when your uncle sees that, he would be as angry as you were when you did that. "But please try to kill me not as often, yes?" "You don't decide that!" you growled. Then you heard immediate steps in the hallway, and shortly after, you saw Steve with his shield standing there and looking down at the stuff on the ground. "What the hell-"you fast grabbed Bucky's short handgun and shoot a few times at Steve. Of course, he raised his shield as protection, so he didn't get hurt. Peggy told you she did this one time with him, so you were sure he managed to shield himself from the bullets. Bucky had let go of you and retracted his head when you gave him back his gun. "You are an idiot too!" you growled at Steve when you decided to leave the room and the two boys behind. Boys will be boys and will do stupid things all the time.

"You are so bad at this-" she laughed because he tickled her while she wanted to move one of her chess figures. "Checkmate, my friend" "Mhm," he just murmur a little bit and continued the work he was doing. It was a nice and quiet morning after another mission. When he arrived after two whole days back at the base, the first thing he did was hijacking you and detaining you in his room. Since he was a Sergeant, he had his own four-wall, which came in handy right now. So after 2 days and a tough mission, he wanted to relax with you and maybe do Something more fun, and you had no complaints about it. The result was, you two sleep way too long in the morning, but obviously, nobody seemed to care. Looked like nobody needed one of you at the moment. And instead of just lying lazily in the bed, you suggest playing a round of chess. Bucky had a total lack of talent; besides, he was busy caress your back a little bit. So he wasn't able to fully concentrate on the game, and he didn't even try. He wanted the game to be over, so your full concentration would be on him again. "You smell different when you are awake, you know that?" "What?" you knitted your eyebrows and rolled over on your back to look in his face. He was still a little bit drowsy with wild and fuzzy hair but with that satisfied glow all over his face. "I had no idea; you were into that," he smirked blissfully. "I would love to do that again," and a little mica of hope came up in his eyes. "James!" "Well… maybe not you are right. My back and neck are full of scratches. It would be hard to explain that" he smirked and layer his head next to yours, and but his body over yours. He was tired, and it was no surprise. He came back from a hard mission, and then you kept him awake all night. You felt how his body got heavier and heavier; he was again about to fall asleep. "Bucky, "you put your hand on the backside of his head and started to caress his hair and head, and immediately, you heard a pleasing little purr from him. "Yesterday, Stark finished your new uniform. Remember that? You should go and try it on to see if it fits," but he didn't give you a reaction. He probably just played dead. "Don't pretend like you're asleep. Should I find a way to wake you up- " "No!" promptly, he raised his head and body from yours and sit up. He pinched his eyes for a second and rub over his face a few times before he crawled towards the end of the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He put his elbows on his knees and let his head hanging. "Please don't get me wrong. I would love to have another round with you, honestly. But-" he looked over his shoulder and saw you laying in the white sheets on the bed. You rolled over to lie on your side. Your body well-formed, elegant with nice curves, smooth and soft skin, your head propped on your hand, and your hair falling down in great curls, which had a little shine from the morning sun. You grabbed a little piece of fabric to cover your au naturel body a little bit. Enough to make him resist his inner drives but not enough to stop tempting him. He got a little taste last night. How it was to be desired by you and how sensuous you are. It was incredible and stand in such a contrast to how you behave during the day. Honestly, he didn't think you could be that passionate and how you cloud his senses. And then you smile, that delicate but devilish little smile, almost cocky as you would know you could get him back in bed anytime. You just needed to slip the sheet from your body. "Stop that, please. I beg you" he shook his head and looked away. He never expected to be on this side of the story, being the one who got captured and turned into jelly when the significant other had that specific look on their face. Normally it was always him to seduce the woman, but this time around, he got seduced. "But Sergeant…" this tone in your voice gave him chills and prickles in the stomach. He heard how you moved on the bed, and a second later, you entangle your arms around his neck and shoulders, your bare upper body pressed against his naked back. "But it's not appropriate for a Sergeant to beg," you whispered into his ear, with your lips slightly graze his ears and your hot breath hunting down his neck and jawline, so he got goosebumps. Oh, sweet, sweet temptation. "Maybe I can offer myself to you in the evening?" "You are not a barter object" you gave him a little kiss on the cheek and let him go. "Do not forget to visit Stark!" you let yourself fall – back first – down in the bed again. Because of that, the chess game fell down on the floor. Guess you had to clean it up before you leave his room. After finally managed to get up and being dressed properly, you had to go back to work. Since it's the first day after a mission, you had plenty of time to go back to the headquarters office to do the paperwork. Luckily for you, Steve was fast with his mission reports, so you could at least start with Something, but the other Soldiers will take their time with writing down everything. Because of that, the training room was free today, so it was your chance to get a little exercise without the guys and maybe a meeting with Peggy and your uncle to analyze the newest target facility for the next mission. But actually, she just wanted to stay in bed for the whole day. She felt relaxed and light as it has not been for a long time. Was a great – wonderful – feeling, but after all, there is a war going on, and there is no time for relaxing. "What's your plan for the day?" you looked over to Bucky, who was already half-dressed and just needed to put on a shirt. "Work" the daylight was falling through the window directly on his body. Looked like liquid silk because his skin color was very light and unscathed. "Work?" "Paperwork" "Should I come and save you from the bad paperwork?" "I know you would love to, but this paperwork is essential for your next mission" "Claw," he moaned, annoyed. "I am not even 12 hours back, and you are already talking about the next one?" "Destroying the facilities is the top priority! We need to get it done as fast as possible" "I know, but-" "Bucky. As sooner we are done with this, as sooner the war might be over" "Uhm by the way…. Do you have any plans when it's all done? After the War?" "No. Not really" you knit your eyebrows. "I guess I will start studying Something? Maybe anything like that. What about you?" he shrugged his shoulders and put on a shirt. "You know, the usual: Job, House, Wife, and children. Nothing spectacular, just Something I can call my own" "That… actually sounds nice" "Oh and a dog" "Hmpf… I would like a cat" "We can have both" he winked at you and left the room before you could think about his words more. "WE?!" but before you could have a real protest, he was already out of the door.

You were already a few months into it, destroying Hydra and the liaison you had with Bucky, and it was perfect. Sadly the Hydra mission proceeded sluggishly since their head scientist, Dr. Armin Zola, was still free. When they destroyed one facility, he was building a new one somewhere else on the planet. So your uncle came up with a new priority: capturing Zola. Easier said as done since the SSR never knew where he actually was. You also lost track of Red Skull, so it was a big mess on that side. But the good thing was that every time you find and shut down a Hydra base, you learned new things about their technology, and Stark went straight to the technology heaven. Every time the Howling Commando brought back new weapons to analyze and create new ones, Stark was heavily busy.

Speaking of the Howling Commando – they went to their next mission in Germany this time. This one was long and took over a week but 'luckily' for you, Bucky did not go with them. The reason for that was, he got hurt, so Steve decided to let him at the base, so he could cure completely. So he was staying at the bottom, much to your delight, and even better was the fact that it was up to you to make sure he cured well. Your uncle gave you that task, not knowing what you two would actually do, since the whole Bucky and Claw thing were still a secret and nobody noticed by now. It is hard to believe, looking at the fact that you two were heavily marked by each other all over your bodies and went missing at the same time. Seemed like that everybody was entirely concentrated on the overall mission, so nobody had attention left to notice what was going on with you two.

"Ouch, Claw!" "You are such a baby, Bucky" you rolled your eyes and let off from his shoulder and massages his lower back, which relaxed him immediately. The wound, because of which he was left here, was a woof through his shoulder. He got it while he had a hand to hand fight with one of the guards on the last mission. Earlier this morning, he complained about back pain and had the idea that you could give him a massage, and of course, he would return the favor, so you agreed. "I need to cure! You should be gentle with me" "Ladies and Gentleman, the Sergeant" "You know, what you are doing, is called: disrespecting a higher-ranked person, right?" "You know what it called, what you are doing is? Taking advantage of a higher position of power," and as an answer, he just growled. "Baby…" you whispered again and stopped the massage. Your hands were tired, and besides the fact, you had an appointment. "What? Why you stopped?" "My deepest apologies, but-"you reached out for his bed desk and grabbed his pocket watch. "I have plans" "Plans? What plans?" "I will meet Stark in his laboratory" "Why?" "Because he has a new weapon for me. My old gun didn't work anymore, and he offered me to build a new one with new technology" "You know he is flirting with you, right? Since Peggy and Steve devouring each other with their eyes, he had caught an eye on you" "I know," you didn't sound concerned or even surprised. More like you didn't care too much. "You know?" "Wasn't hard to recognize. I really have to go-"you stood up from the bad and grabbed your clothing and put your stuff on under the vigilant eyes of Bucky. "I think I can convince you to stay…" "I am sure you can" you smirked and button your blouse. "The fun doesn't have to end, you know. We could stay in bed the whole day if you want to" "Bucky…. There is still much to do. War is not over yet" "God, I wish it would be over soon" "When we capture Zola and Red Skull, it will be over, for sure. Then we can stay in bed all day long" "I hope this day will come soon. You know what I was thinking about?" propped up his upper body and slide to the side of the bed to sit on the edge. He reached out to our hands, grabbed them gently, and pulled you closer to him. "No?" you put your hands down on his should and starts to play with his hair. "After the War is finished, I take you out for dancing. We will have a real date and another and another and another, But – here is the clue – after every date, I take you home" "That's the clue? This is good education, Bucky!" "No, no, you miss the point. I take you home, and I am going home with you. I mean, I am taking you to our home" "Our home?" you knit your eyebrows a little, be skeptical about his idea. "Wouldn't you like that? A small house in the city? O-Or a flat! Maybe a flat would be enough for a start, we still need room to grow. You can have your cat!" "Bucky-" "I know, I know, it's much to think about! I am telling you this is because my sister got her second child and will move out of our parents' flat. She and her husband will move into a house so the flat would be available. It's a big one, with plenty enough space for a second person" you wanted to say Something and opened your mouth, but no word came out. It was safe to say that you were a little overwhelmed with that suggestion. "You do not have to answer now. She will sublet the flat until I come back home. When the times come, you can come with me if you want to" "Bucky--- don't you think this is going way too fast?" "No – well – I mean, it's an option. Just a possibility you can keep in mind if you want to. When my sister and her family are gone, it will be quiet in the flat. I assume you will have the same at your home since your father is gone" "You are right, but-" "Hey," he smiled softly. "You do not have to decide now. Just think about it, okay?" you smiled back and slowly nodded. "Now you should go. Stark is for sure already waiting for you" "Right! See you later" you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then you left the room.

You went down to Starks laboratory to look for your new weapon. It was a big basement, just for him, since his inventions had the unpleasant habit of exploding from time to time. So your uncle gave him the basement, which was initially build to be an atomic bunker. You opened the big, heavy metal door and wanted to call after Stark when he popped up in front of you out of the blue. "I expected you hours ago!" he raised one eyebrow and looked suspicious at you. "I had…. Something to do" "Something, hun? Guess you didn't get much sleep, based on the circles under your eyes, Darling" "What do you hint at?" "You know what I mean – anyway! Your weapon, this way, my love" he points at a table at the end of the room where you should go over.

"So what can it do?" you saw a little weapon, ideal for having in it with you in a purse or at the belt. The thing was with women and Weapons that they have to be smaller, as usual, to sneak them with you all the time. "Basically working like a normal handgun but with significantly more shots, and I built it lighter than normal. It is basically a normal gun, but I took out the extra weight. Is that what you wanted?" you took the weapon and turned it over and over a few times to see it from all perspectives. Indeed it was incredibly light and handy. "exactly what I wanted" "I am glad I could make you happy. So…. How is Sergeant Barnes?" "Why?" "I don't know-" he shrugged his shoulder and had that all-knowing- look on his face paired with a smirk. "Howard, I have a loaded weapon in my hand. Do you think this is the right moment for unappropriated questions?" you gave him a strong glace with no room for false interpretations. He opened his mouth to say Something, when the light went down and the earsplitting sound of siren halls through the building. "What in God's name-"Stark covered his ears with his hands, but you know the sound of that siren – the signal for everybody in the building that enemies managed to enter the base. "Guess I have to try her out now!" you grabbed the second magazine and put it in your belt. "Hey, Stark! You can use a gun?" "Sure I can!" "Good. Grab one, we have to fight" you unlock your gun and head for the exit of the bunker. A quick look left and right to make sure the enemies are not on the hallway, and then you went straight for the way in the upper floors. Your steps were as quiet as possible, but luckily the heavy sound of the siren was covering most of your own noises you made.

On the other hand, it was also covering possible noises of the others. If this attack was a coincidence, it was a pretty good one for the others. All the Soldiers were out for missions, and the base was just protected by a few ones. Bad for them that you were one of these soldiers. Since you joined the SSR, your uncle and Peggy teach you how to use many handguns and how your combat fight style got better. Long story short: you are as good as any other soldier in this base!

Together with Stark, you reached the elevator and the stairs for the upper floors. Just in time, because the siren shut down and the light went on again. Favorably for you, no attacker was in sight. "Stark," you whispered his name and looked up the stairs. "Yes?" "You take the elevator; I do the stairs. If you see traitors – shoot!" "But-" "Shoot! Go" you shoo him in the direction of the elevator and yourself took the stairs.

Slowly and with the greatest caution you had, you went up the stairs. All your senses tensioned like a bow, ready to shoot. Step by step, you got higher and higher, but you heard nothing; even when the elevator reached the next floor before you, you couldn't hear Stark shooting or saying Something. Maybe the traitors think the basis would be completely empty or Something like that. Stark was already waiting for you when you went on the next floor and looking in the opposite direction. "I can't see anybody!" "Me neither. And I can't hear anything" "Maybe they went for the main office? At least that would be the room I would be looking for if I would break into a military basis. That the place with the most information!" he suggested, and it made absolute sense. "Okay. I am going for the office, and you go and check if anybody is going for your laboratory" "What? We just came from there" "I know, but this would be the second spot I would check out—the Armory. If Hydra is behind that attack, they probably want their technology back" "Well…. Yeah, that makes sense. Be careful!" "Same to you, Stark. See you later" he just nodded his head and took the stairs down again. Since the base was low on Soldiers and battle-tested others, you had to cover the most critical spots. Even when it meant that you have to split up into one-man teams. That was not a good idea at all, because now you didn't have anybody left to cover your back. Anyway – you somehow had a mission to fulfill.

On your way to the main office, you didn't saw any traitors or similar. Slowly you got the feeling that this was just a practice round, and nobody knew about it. The alarm had to be activated manually by one of your colleagues in the monitoring room to warn everybody. Why on earth you had the feeling that your uncle was sitting in front of the camera to see how the base would be protected without the soldiers in it? Like, he wanted to make sure it's safe here when the howling commando wasn't around. It would make sense, in your mind, because that was a pretty strange coincidence that you got attacked while nobody was here. Just people from inside this building knew about the mission and when they got executed. Either way, there was no room for mistakes. You didn't want to look like an idiot in front of your uncle when it was training. And you didn't want to die when it was a real attack.

Soon you reached the main office and went to it, to check if somebody was there. As you went in, you saw that a person – entirely in black – was looking through the papers on the table. The documents laying out there were mission reports about former and future missions you had in mind, and this traitor over there was looking at them. Shit happens; this was a real attack. "Hands up!" you targeted your gun on the person, and it turned around fast, and the face was not covered. It was a younger man, stocky build, with two guns at his belt. He looked a little surprised but didn't seem too worried about you, as soon as he realized that you were just a woman. "Same to you-" behind yourself, you heard another male voice and the clicking sound of a gun, which got unlocked. See, that's the problem when you do stuff like this alone without someone covering your back. "Come 'on, pretty Lady. Drop the gun!" you had no choice but to raise your hands with the gun in your hand. The man in front of you started smiling in a dirty way. "She is indeed pretty" "Shut up," you growled at them. There was no way you could shoot the one without the other shooting at you. You needed a miracle, and you already know how to get one. Bucky was in the building, and he couldn't be that far away, so you needed to gain a little bit of time for him – or anybody else – to get here. "What are you looking for? Need a little help?" "Thanks, but we do not need a secretary" "I am not a secretary, Asshole" you press your jaws onto each other. Maybe you should have deleted that 'asshole,' but he deserved it. "She is a feisty one," the man behind you laughed. "Maybe we can keep her for further things" "She is pretty, but not so pretty. When I am done here, you can shoot her" the man In front of you was going through the papers with the peace in the world. You wanted to say something snappy, as you heard gunshots behind you, and you looked over your shoulder. The man who was pointing the gun at you went down, and Bucky came around the corner. Out of instinct, you targeted your gun at the man in front of you, but it was a little bit too late. The man in front of you pulled out his guns and was shooting at you, and Bucky and you two shoot back. You got him directly, and he got down too, but there was something extraordinary. You had this huge pain in your abdomen, and you felt how it got wetter and wetter around your belly. Unbelievable, that fucking idiot got you. A quick look down and you saw that your originally white blouse was dyed red. "Claw!" somehow, Bucky appeared in front of you. Your awareness was clearly affected. There was just so much pain in your body. It hurt so much like you would burn from the inside, and with every beat of your heart, the pain got worse and worse. It was like, you couldn't even see or hear anymore because your brain was so busy with the pain in your abdomen. You couldn't feel your legs anymore, as they would be numb or something like that, and your eyelids got heavier and heavier. It was so exhausting to stand, be awake or breathe – just ---- so exhausting. You could feel how your body just collapsed and was about to fell down. You could hear someone screaming, calling your name over and over again, but it was like, as he would speak with cotton in his mouth. Or as you hat cotton in your ears. You couldn't understand words anymore, neither did you hear anything. It went slowly down, as your body would just shut down, and you started to freeze. It was so cold around here and so dark and silent, but the good thing was, the pain began to fade away. It got better and better, as more unconscious it got and your heart didn't pump as much anymore. Just a little bit, as it would go on a pilot flame. Funny feeling to feel how the body slowly relaxed and got lighter. A….. really…. Funny….. feeling.

Meanwhile…

The noises in the hospital were torturing his mind like someone would strike him with a baseball bat over and over again. Why was it so loud here? All the people talking, children crying, nurses running, and doctors rattle with medicine bottles. All the movements in the corner of his eyes, making him aggressive and nervous. Every time a door was opened, he looked up, just to see it wasn't a nurse or doctor with an operation smock. Besides all the noises, he still could hear the gunshots in his head, as they would remind him that he failed this time. No, no, it wasn't too late for her! He brought her here, carrying her all the way down the street in this hospital. He put pressure on the wound all the time and making a tourniquet, and she was still breathing when she got here. The doctors immediately took care of her and brought her into the surgery room. He did everything right, everything he learned to do if someone got shot in a sensitive area and she was strong! So strong! She would fight for her life, right? She would. He gave her plenty of reasons to fight, so she will get better. She will! She had to! His legs seesaw up and down nervously, he tugged his hair, was rubbing his face, looking around all the time, breathing heavily, and looked like a mess. The sweat ran down his face and back; he must have looked like a homeless from the street. His shirt all dirty and covered with blood, as so his hands, and there was a little bit on his neck too. Carrying her to the hospital wasn't the best idea for his wounded shoulder, so he had great pain in that, but he was ignoring it. He told Stark to inform the Colonel and Peggy that he would be here at the hospital. So he waited. Waited, waited, and waited for hours. The next time when he heard a door and raised his head, he saw the Colonel, Peggy, and Steve (?) coming through the door. As soon as the little group spotted him, she stood up and salute, like the soldier he was, because of the Colonel. "Sir" "You look horrible; what happened, Sergeant?" "T-traitors entered the building and tried to steal important information. There was an exchange of fire and Claw – I mean Agent ---- she got to shoot" "Great, and why didn't you cover her? Hm?" "Colonel!" Peggy intervened before he could go after Bucky, who just stood still and listened to his harsh tone. "Oh, to hell with you! Where do I find someone you can give me information's about my niece!" he was rushing by Bucky and towards a little group of nurses. "Bucky" Steve took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "I-I shot one of them and didn't saw the other…." His voice was shaky, and he blinked a few times to keep away the tears. "I-I …. ""Bucky," Steve grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer into a brotherly hug. He knows how he must felt. When he lost his mother – Sarah – he felt devastated and lost. Everything went dark, and his inward was filled with grieve and darkness. It seems like there was no way out and that this kind of suffering would never end. Like an endless horrible nightmare. "I tried to…. I was so fast" "I know. I know" Steve shook his head. "Don't do this to yourself, Buck. She is not dead, not yet, right?" "No" Bucky freed himself from the hug and ran stressed through his hair. "When – When I got her here, she was breathing, and they said she still has a heartbeat. I told them I would wait here, but they didn't come out of the surgery room since then. If she were dead, they would have told me, right? Right?!" "Yes," Peggy nodded her head calmly. She didn't know if that was true, but Bucky was on the edge of a mental breakdown. Steve looked over the shoulder and looked thankful to Peggy. "We will stay here and wait. We wait until we got news about her condition" he padded his shoulder and offered Bucky to sit down again. Peggy and Steve sat next to him, one at each side. He was so nervous and tensed – Steve never saw him like this. "I-I-"Bucky started to say something and shook his head. He needed to talk about something; he couldn't stand the silence with all the noises around him hammer down on his head all the time. So he needed to distract his brain from going crazy. "We had a talk in the morning before she went down to Starks Bunker for her weapon ---- Rebecca will move from our parent's flat, so I ask her if she would like to move in instead. You should have seen her, looked at me shocked like a deer in headlights" he smiled tiredly. "Did I ask too soon?" he turned his head towards Peggy. "Well… depending on how far you are in your accord?" "I-I don't know, actually. I never knew what was going on inside her head. She was always very devious with her thoughts and behaviors. Did you know-" he smiled when he was thinking back. "That when I first kissed her, she slapped me in the face? Two times! And, bruised my nose and rips" "That's sound like Claw" Steve needed to smile too, he could image that lively, how she did that. She was fiery and sultry when she wanted it, even if she tried her best to be cold and distanced. When you knew her better and longer, you could see how her real- self come through. She was like a fire; you could easily get burned if you get her on the wrong foot, but – if you did it right – was full of warmth and beauty. "God, I really felt for her. Even when he tried to kill me multiple times" "Did she?" Peggy asked, and both guys needed to laugh a little bit. "She did. She throws every possible office equipment after me – hehe – she is really something special. Very special… rare! I got a rare gem," and fast, his glance went from happily reminiscing to an unfortunate reality. "No – don't even think about it," Steve could see, which ugly thought came across his mind and wanted to hinder him from overthinking about it. Bucky wanted to say something when the Colonel came back and stood in front of the tree. Altogether, they stood up and looked, waiting for news. He took a deep breath and started explaining. "She will get better soon. Nothing permanent or serious, just an enormous loss of blood, which will be recovered in a few days. She was Lucky" he took another deep breath and looked straight at Bucky and wanted to say something, but closed his mouth and thought about it again. "All tree if you look horrible, especially you, Barnes! Nevertheless, someone needs to stay here overnight if the intruders' allies will come back to finish it. I will go back to the base and check what they were trying to steal, and the Sergeant will stay here with my niece" then he just turned around and was about to leave the hospital and leave behind surprised people. "Well…" after a few moments, Peggy broke the silence and turned towards Bucky. "You should go then, and we both will see if we can help the Colonel. Steve? Let's got" "Alright," he nodded and looked smiling at Bucky. "See, everything turned out fine. She will be okay soon, so go to see her," and then, Steve and Peggy left the hospital too.

When you awoke, you were in the hospital. You could quickly tell, by the scent of antiseptics, the sad white and sterile walls, and not least of the noises the room makes. The monotonic beep of the mechanicals next to her and the Nurses calling for doctors and medicaments on the floor. You could not remember much, your memories were pretty blurry, but you knew that someone shoots at you and got you. You needed to blink a few times because the room was pretty light. You felt pressure and soft stroking movements at your hand and underarm, so you tried to move your head a little bit to see who it was. As soon as you saw the short brown hair, you knew it was Bucky.

"Hey," your voice was thin, flat, and scratchy, and as soon as Bucky heard it, he raised his head. Man – this guy looks tired and pale like a poltergeist. "I don't have a mirror ---- but ---- I think I look better than you" "Well-" he smiled exhausted, "I aged 10 years since I am in this hospital" "You did?" you tried to smile too, but you were tired yourself. "I am a shadow of myself – the doc's said that you will be good in a few days. You just lost a lot of blood, but no organ was badly harmed" "Blessing in disguise, I guess?" "Yes, something like that" Bucky took a deep, deep breath, and it looked as if the weight of the world would fall off his shoulders. Then – slowly – their last conversation came across her mind. Nearly dying made a lot of things easier and faster to decide. "Hey Buck," you squeezed his hand back. "Hm?" "After the War… help me to sell the house of my father, I guess I will not need it anymore" he knit his eyebrows and needed a few moments, until he realized what she was saying, a big bright smile on his lips. "I will," he needed. He would clasp her under different circumstances, but maybe this is not the right moment for doing so.

Your wound healed perfectly, and you were soon able to work a little bit out. Certainly, Bucky begs you not to overdo it, but you know where your limits were. You could do the paperwork and file on the capturing Plan for Zola. You got new information's regarding him and his whereabouts. Still, it was Tricky to get him there because he would be in the Austrian Alps. As far as you know, there was just one transportation device, which would pass through the alps and that was a train. If you don't know, jumping on a train at full speed was indeed a tricky thing but the best way you could do it. The time slot was tiny, so just a few people could do that and were actually able to do that. Sadly, Bucky and Steve were pretty at the top of this list because they have both extraordinary physical skills. To be honest? You didn't want Bucky to go there, you had a bad feeling about it, and you could always trust your feeling.

This mission was different because it was more dangerous than usual. You had a long and detailed meeting with the guys about it and how they should do it. It was really a matter of small details because if they miss just one thing, that could mean they will die. And after the meeting, nobody was in a good mood. Everybody was somehow severe and lost in their thoughts. The fact that nobody felt right about this one was a massive elephant in the room. Seriously, everybody thought it was a stupid idea. Even your uncle asked the guys if they want to let that opportunity pass. It was a mission, but no mission was it worth do die – at least when it comes down to your opinion. There would be another chance to capture Zola, so it was legitimate to let this one pass. But you know what? This Unit was filled with stupid apes! Of course, they wanted to do it. Just this one time – this ONE TIME – you wished Bucky would be less brave and just stay in the base, but of course, he couldn't let Steve go alone. Well, you wanted Steve to stay too! These were your Boys, your little family; you couldn't lose them! Accordingly to that, you and Bucky were pretty speechless during the night. You wanted to say something like you always do. Poke him, annoy him, tease him, or something else, but you didn't feel in the mood for it. Same for him. Usually, he would say something funny to raise your spirits, but even now, he couldn't say something, so you two just laid there in silence and stared into the darkroom.

It must have been a couple hours, but you finally find your voice, to say at least something. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?" your voice was soft, a little bit shaky, and he could he hear a few cracks in it. "Promised," but you could say that based on his voice, he couldn't. He just said it to calm you, but it didn't work.

"Sergeant Barnes, fall of the train! Bucky is… is gone!"

A few years later…

Over a year later, after the war was won, you found Peggy standing in front of Steve's grave. You didn't saw her for a few years, but you heard she works in a police station – or something like that. You, for yourself, didn't do much. You still worked in the Army with your uncle, but you went here every once in a while. To visit Bucky and Steve and today, Peggy, keep your company.

"Hey" – "H-Hey" Peggy whipped the tears away and shook her head a few times. She was standing in front of the grave of Steve Rogers, alias Captain America. It was a massive light stone with golden letters. Many people left flowers behind, stuffed animals, cards, and different things. They still do this when the anniversary of Steve's death was coming near. They knew the war was won because of what he and the Howling commando did, so they wanted to tribute the fallen Hero. Next to Steve's grave was Bucky's. The stone was a little bit smaller but as beautiful as Steve's was. You and Peggy agreed that these two idiots needed to be buried next to each other, even though you had no corpse to bury. "H-How are you?" she asked you, but you just shook your head. It's been a while since the war, but you still weren't right. "Devastated. Still but I am working on it. You?" "Working on it," she answered and took a deep breath. And then you two were just standing there and staring at these stones in silence. Bucky and Steve shared a special bond, and you can tell it was a strong one. And now? You and Peggy shared a similar bind, created by the pain of the same loss. "I hate my work" Peggy started to say something. "Full of man how didn't take me seriously, and I have to operate in the shadows. I don't mind the shadows, but I don't think I am doing something meaningful! I own Steve to try to protect the world he saved with his life! Or, don't I?" she asked you. Well, you couldn't answer that, not for her or for yourself. But the way she said it sounds like a plan. Like she already had something in mind to do something against that. "What you mean?" "I-I-" she stopped and took another deep breath before she explained her vision to you. She wanted to create an organization to protect the whole world. An institution filled with skilled people from anywhere possible, who come together to save humankind from any kind of danger. She said that Stark liked that idea and was already in, but she needed more people to make it work. Howard would take care of the equipment, but she required Agents and Spy. And she would prefer people she already worked with from war, so she meant you. "and how is that called? This Group? The Fanatic's?" you joked about, but Peggy just shook her head. She didn't have a name either, but it needed to be something catchy. "But would you join and help me?" "Yes," you didn't think long about it. What else should you do? And you liked Peggy and enjoyed working with her. "But we need a good name" "You don't say" she rolled with her eyes and seemed to think about it. "Maybe something like –"Peggy wanted to say something but broke up with her sentence. Apparently, she hadn't a good idea. She wanted something to remember Steve and honor him, but she didn't found a good acronym. You thought about it too, for a while until something catches your eye. Over Steve's name in the gravestone, there was a little symbol. To simplify it, it was his Shield he chooses as his weapon. Funny enough that he wanted to have a tool of protection as his weapon. It was his symbol, his signature to have this Shield with him, and that when it comes to your mind. "S.H.I.E.L.D – Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics" "A long name," she commented. "But it's fitting" "Well…. Yeah. Shield" "With a memorial wall in the main base" "Memorial wall?" "For all the fallen soldiers. To honor them," you said, and Peggy nodded as she looked down on the two Stones next to each other. "Agent Barnes and Agent Rogers will be the first names on it. Because I know they would have joined Shield" "They would," you nodded and smiled, while you softly remember Bucky's and Steve's smile.

[delusionland]

STEPHCASS FOR THE MEME <3

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

How did they first meet?

here is my personal hc. tim told cass about a girl. he didn’t tell her anything about the girl, just that she was woefully unprepared to be a crimefighter... but also she was kinda cute, in a totally naive way (90s tim was kind of an asshole, never forget). cass couldn’t quite understand what he was saying while he showed her the batfile on her---the picture of the spoiler, etc. but she got his general tone and body language. cass then sought steph out. for nights. nights looking for the spoiler. when she found her---she tackled her, immediately engaged her in a fight. she went so, so easy on her. she just wanted to see what a cute girl was. and steph... was definitely a cute girl. at the time, cass couldn’t talk, couldn’t communicate with her. but she left her a gift. a nice knife that she had throw at her head---deliberately missing it, that was... especially ornate, and seemed shiny and valuable, and most of all purple to match her costume. pretty purple girls like pretty purple things, right?

What was their first impression of each other?

steph probably did not think well of cass, at first. after that first outing---the batfamily got involved. cass was to help steph with her fighting. steph was to help cass with her speech. without the mask on---steph could see how much cass enjoyed her company. it was hard not to realize she had a sense of humor about everything. the laughter she had exhibited on a still-baby-at-the-time spoiler screaming her head off about what she thought was some kind of demon-ninja batgirl was... genuine, and not malicious in the slightest. she seemed to want to be friends, and every time steph frowned at her, or was a sore loser, cass simply smiled and laughed harder, finding everything steph did perfectly amusing. as they got to know each other---cass got better at talking, and steph got better at fighting, and they kind of, met somewhere on the outer edges of the middle for a while. there was always something standing between them--though. a resentment, not between them, but a misunderstanding. that cass belonged to bruce and the bat. and steph belonged to tim.

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

i feel like conner kent at the very least shipped it. alfred really thought there was a spark between them, and during their brief frenemy stage---alfred made sure steph knew cass genuinely cared for her. bruce did NOT want them to get together at all, though. neither did tim, for obvious reasons.

Who felt romantic feelings first?

cass. it was love the first time steph managed to punch herin the face. did she win? no. but she GOT her. and through that tenacity, cass realized that her friend was so much more than a silly, pretty girl. she was a fighter. she was a champion. and more than anything, she was brave, and determined, and they had practiced a thousand times for just this moment. and afterwards, steph was just so proud of her overall failure instead of being herr typical loser.... cass couldnt help but know steph was always going to be the love of her life.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

they both did! didn’t want to ruin the friendship!

If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

cass would get a curious look, steph wouldn’t believe you!

What would their lives be like if they had never met?

they would be a lot worse, a lot lonelier. steph never would’ve become batgirl, that’s for sure, and cass would’ve learned to speak---but in a way entirely removed from her own personality and love of herself & life.

GENERAL

Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

it was a mutual thing in ocean city, maryland. they were in a photo booth, sitting in eachother’s laps, leg over leg, they did a silly face, and then another silly face, and then their faces were so close---and then SMOOCH CITY, and they WOULD NOT LEAVE THE BOOTH lol.

Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?

they considered ocean city their first date. but they’re not really the ‘dating’ types. they both LOVE to fight. they both LOVE to crime fight. they both LOVE spending time together doing NOTHING. if anything, the first time cass had to go to a gala with her was the first time they realized---ugh, do we REALLY have to be WAYNES? do we really have to have REAL LIVES? why can’t we stay in our cuddle - asskicking bubble forever?

What was their first kiss like?

it was the most natural possible thing, and it was something they had both almost had so many times before that it was like drowning in sensation after you had subsisted off of gerbil-cage drips of water for years. they couldn’t stop! they were consumed with want, and they only stopped when they started to get a little TOO frisky and somebody moved the curtain of the booth because they wanted to get their own picture taken and they were like ‘fuck! okay lets get french fries!’ lol

Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?

steph is cass’s first gf, and vice versa.

What’s their height difference? Age difference?

cass is 5′7″ JUST tall enough to be taller than her gf >: )

What’s their relationship with each other’s families?

cass will kill the puzzler or whatever the fuck his name is. he sucks. steph’s mom loves her tho :’ ) and well. the less said about bruce and steph the better, but like. your whole blog is proof of how much the rest of the batfam loves steph!

Who takes the lead in social situations?

they both are the ‘HAHA! THE ECONOMY!’ gif tbh.

Who gets jealous easier?

cass. steph is special cargo, the first girl / person she ever loved romantically, the first friend she ever had. however, cass has made it very publically known she wants threesomes with other hotties of multiple genders.

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear?

CASS CASS CASS.

LOVE

Who said “I love you” first?

steph, and she agonized over it, only for cass to say it so easily in a way cass didn’t think it would ever be easy for her to say. like steph is some magical fairy tale princess that lifts the curse on cass to never be able to express love the way love is supposed to be expressed. steph just makes things easy. she makes everything easy.

What are their primary love languages?

TOUCH. GAMES. QUALITY TIME. GIFTS.

Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?

they both do they’re TERRIBLE.

How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?

batgirl and the black bat are forced on seperate patrols bc they do this so much and they HATE it and SNEAK OUT and kiss ANYWAY!

Who initiates kisses?

cass!

Who’s the big and little spoon?

cass is big spoon!

What are their favorite things to do together?

they really like watching wrestling and kung fu movies together i think. steph also likes girly movies, but cass gets bored after a while and just starts wrestling with her over the popcorn and then wrestling leads to hankypanky. most of all they love fighting and dancing AND PLAYING PRANKS on the bat boys.

Who’s better at comforting the other?

cass is.

Who’s more protective?

CASS IS.

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

physical affection.

What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?

jenny - studio killers

What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

they both call each other batgirl affectionately, cass also learns new words to say girlfriend and sweetie all the time and uses those.

Who remembers the little things?

STEPH.

DOMESTIC LIFE

If they get married, who proposes?

they COMPETE to see who will do it first. they use the batcave to make sure the other isnt going to look for rings. and when they find the other one shopping for rings. its fucking GO-TIME BITCH. you’re not going to propose to me, i’m going to propose to you! when they pop out the boxes at the exact same time, cass steals the ring from steph’s hands and holds it up over her head and throws hers at steph’s head like ‘YOU HAVE TO MARRY ME FIRST. NO TAKEBACKSIES.’

What’s the wedding like? Who attends?

it’s a big wedding. cass loves, loves people. it’s a whos-who, especially since cass is gonna be batman and she has all the justice league contacts now. cass turns a bit into a bridezila, but like, as a joke, mostly, and she calms down when steph is like ‘i thought we could be more intimate...’ lol

How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like?

they adopt some bratty street kids that are tangentially related to joker / black mask / puzzler / lady shiva as a fuck you. they love their kids so much.

Do they have any pets?

so many cats. a million cats.

Who’s the stricter parent?

cass.

Who worries the most?

steph.

Who kills the bugs in the house?

cass.

How do they celebrate holidays?

they go to concerts!!!! big loud concerts where they can mosh!!!

Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

cass! no school! just cuddles!

Who’s the better cook?

steph. cass doesn’t know how to, and also refuses to, fry an egg.

Who likes to dance?

cass most of all!

#ooc: hc #ooc: replies #chaoticblondes

[maribatlife]

Lost Boys Pt 1

Apparently I never posted this over here. Whoops! Enjoy some Adrien and Damian Found Family

Summary:

Like Father Like Son: Damian starts Adopting at a Young age Nature vs Nurture: Bat Fam Edition "I’m fully aware of your adopting habits, this one is suitable and I will call him brother and he shall be my brother." - Damian al Ghul Wayne (probably)

Inspired by Lost Boys by Ruth B

AO3

Damian had heard about his father's unfortunate habit of adopting unsuitable heirs, however he never understood it. Why choose someone so obviously unworthy to continue on his legacy. It would change when he met his father. Batman would finally have a worthy heir and the others could be dismissed.

Currently he was in Paris, waiting for his mother to finish a mission. While she was busy, he was scouting out escape routes. No matter what anyone might say, he was in no way exploring the city. He was Damian Al Ghul and he was an accomplished assassin; he did not explore. There was an added difficulty with Paris' Akuma problem, he was more than up to the challenge. The heroes of Paris' were currently dealing with an akumatized baby on the other side of the city.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a black steak drop into a nearby alleyway. He crept closer, not making a sound in the empty street. In the alley stood Chat Noir, then in a flash of green light the cat hero disappeared and in his place was the model you couldn't escape in Paris and a floating blob.

"Cheese, I need cheese." The blob whined.

Agreste fished some cheese out of his pocket. "Eat quickly Plagg. I need to get back before anyone notices I'm gone."

"Kid, don't rush me. You have to appreciate the cheese. Plus, you might want to worry about the kid that just discovered your identity."

"Wha~, oh Ladybug is going to kill me," he said finally spotting Damian.

"Probably," Plagg added helpfully. "Tikki's chosen are usually goody-goodies."

"Tt, like I care about your identity Agreste." The blob, now identified as "Plagg", flew into his face. Upon closer inspection it looked like a cat.

"Listen closely kid, I'm thousands of years old. You become a threat to my kitten, you'll find out what happened to the dinosaurs firsthand. Got it?"

"I am the heir of the Demon's Head. Is that supposed to scare me?"

"Wait, why are you alone in Paris? Where are your parents?" Adrien interrupted.

In the background Plagg muttered, "So that old man is still alive. Need to talk to Sugar cube about that."

"Mother is… finishing some business and then we are leaving Paris."

"But you're left alone a lot? With a parent that only cares about how you perform in public?" At Damian's hesitant nod, Adrien smiled. "Same," he paused as if weighing the potential consequences of the next words. "Want to do normal kid stuff with me? Honestly, my dad probably won't notice and you're already out sooooooo…."

Damian quickly analyzed the benefits. His father was well known and had a prolific public life. If he could blend in with "normal kid stuff", while it might be tedious now, it would benefit him in the long run. "That is acceptable, Mother will call with a rendezvous point when she is ready."

"Okay first rule of being normal kids, use less words. Talking with proper grammar all the time is 'not cool'." The last bit was punctuated by air quotes. "Also, what's your name?"

Ah, a test. He had this. "Damian."

" 'kay Dami," catching Damian's glare he hurriedly continued. "Nicknames are important in friendships. They show trust and affection. We're going to meet my friend Nino to hang." As they walked down the street Adrien conveyed other bits of wisdom like "There's a whole group of food that you eat with your hands, using a fork and knife with those is considered weird," and "some people give hugs to show how much they care about you."

Damian half wished he could write these tips down. After all, everyone in the league had lived in the world and it was second nature to them.

"Yo my dude, what's up?" A boy with a red cap jogged up to them.

"Not much." Adrien gave the other boy a first bump. "This is Damian," be shot Nino a significant look. "His mom's like my dad."

"Hey little dude, welcome to Normal Kid land." He held his fist out towards Damian.

Damian quickly realized it was not an attack, but a greeting ritual and he bumped his fist against Nino's with only the slightest hesitation.

"Alright my dudes, let's go pick up the girls and get this chill sesh going."

Adrien turned to Damian as they walked towards Rue Gotlieb. "Every time we can hang out, we rotate who decides the activity. This time it's Marinette's turn, right Nino?"

"Yup Dudette's deciding and word on the street is there's a UMS 3 tournament happening at an arcade nearby. So, it's either going to be that or the new fashion exhibit at the Louvre."

They arrived at the bakery just in time to see Nathalie's car pull away and hear a screech of "Oh my God." They entered the apartment upstairs only to see Alya kneeling before Marinette.

"Girl you have to calm down."

"Alya do you understand how big this is? I have to start designing now. Oh, what will I wear?" Not noticing the boys entering the room she rushed to her sketchbook. "Okay, it's black tie formal." She started flipping the pages. "Sun dress, day dress, semi-formal, too casual."

The boys moved over towards Alya. "Babe, what's going on?"

"Adrien's dad just invited Marinette to accompany Adrien to the donor and VIP party for the new exhibit at the Louvre."

"Oh yeah," Adrien sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I think Nathalie mentioned that to me."

"Sunshine," Alya said with her hands on her hips. "As my girl's bff I need advance notice of these things to avoid this." She gestured towards Marinette who was still frantically flipping through her sketchbook.

"Why do I have nothing black tie?" Marinette moaned.

During all of this Damian had made his way over to where Marinette was frantically going through her designs. "This one." He said with a commanding tone. "Make it longer and extend the embroidery on one side of the skirt.

Marinette screeched and clutched the sketchbook to her chest, while Damian looked on unimpressed.

"That was not necessary. You need to be more aware of your surroundings." Damian glanced at Adrien. "So, these are your… friends," the unfamiliar word heavy on his tongue. "What purpose do they serve?"

Adrien shot a panicked look towards Alya and Nino, when Marinette stepped in. "Friends don't need to serve a purpose. They support you when you're not feeling your best and you do the same for them. Friends are really just siblings that you choose for yourself.”

Damian was busy contemplating that thought when his phone beeped once, twice and then fell silent. Glancing at it he realized that Mother had finished her business and sent him the coordinates for their rendezvous point. He quickly left and it was only on the flight back to Namba Parat that he noticed the slip of paper in his pocket. Sneaking a glance he noticed a string of numbers and an email with a hastily scrawled note at the bottom that read “So we can keep in touch. -A.A.”

A few years had passed since that fateful day in Paris. Damian had been diligent in cultivating the relationship with Agreste. The biggest change came a few months after they met. It had been one of the few times Damian managed to get access to a web camera and slip away from his watchers for a few hours. He had quickly sent a video call request to Agreste. It had been the first time since they met in Paris and when the connection settled, he had used the title that only dwelled in the recesses of his mind. “Gēgē, I have been informed that I will be studying in London for the time being.” When he realized what he had called Agreste, he was quick to end the call. But his gēgē had not let him dwell on it and acknowledged the honor that came with the title.

Now, Damian stood in the shadows of the rooftop where Mother was confronting his father. As he surveyed the crowd before him, two fingers worried at that old worn piece of paper. The number it originally held was long faded from it's surface but forever imprinted in his mind. With a jolt he returned to the task he had been given. It would not do to miss Mother's signal and give Father a poor impression of his diligence, he thought. Father had only brought along his current Robin with him. That was fine. He could easily defeat him, and there was Mother's signal.

He strode forward with all the confidence he didn't feel. This was the easy part. All he had to do was defeat the charlatan in combat and claim his rightful place as his father's heir. Before he had time to prepare what he was going to say he was at Mother's side, her steadying hand on his shoulder. "Father," so far it was going well, "I thought you would be taller."

"Robin," his father's voice came out in a low growl. “Bring your brother to the Batmobile. I need a word with Talia."

Damian stalked past the impostor. Of course, Father would not have them fight there. There were too many potential witnesses. His face twisted into a grimace. Mother would never tolerate a beginner mistake like the one he just made. Father must be disappointed in him already.

He climbed into the black car Drake motioned to. He would correct his father's perception of him. He had to. Failure has never been an option for an al Ghul. Drake was talking to a Penny-One, who remotely enabled the vehicle's autopilot back to the "Cave".

The "Batmobile" parked just as two motorcycles roared into the cavern. One carried the familiar figure of Batman. The other, a bright red bike, carried another one of Damian's alleged brothers, according to the information Mother had given him. There was something about him, an important piece of information that Damian couldn't remember. Then Todd spotted him and hurled his helmet as hard as he could onto the cave floor with a sharp crack.

"Damnit Bruce! Another one?!" He roared as green started to tinge the blue of his eyes.

That was it. This was the one Grandfather permitted to use the Lazarus pool.

"Jason, Damian is my son."

"I thought we were all your sons you consarn sarding hypocrite."

"Jay-lad, I meant Damian is my biological son. With Talia."

Damian had used the momentary distraction of Todd losing his temper, -tt- amateur, to swipe Todd's phone. He raced into a sectioned off area of the cave. Not noticing his father's first ward descending into the cave. Dick quickly moved to calm Jason down. "Jay-bird, I get you're upset with Bruce, but we've got a bigger problem."

"And what would that be, dickhead?"

"Who's missing their phone? 'Cos the kid just ran into the changing room with one."

They all barreled after Damian, stopping just outside the door.

Inside Damian was listening to the ring of the phone, willing Adrien to pick up with every ounce of his body.

"Hello?"

"Gēgē, it's me."

"Dami, what's wrong?"

"I think I messed up." He paused, "Mother decided that I was ready to meet Father. To assume my rightful position as his heir." Adrien hummed and that was all the encouragement Damian needed. "I insulted him when I greeted him." He admitted. "Todd was angry about my existence and Drake is my competition. Grayson does not appear to be here. How can I possibly gain Father's approval now?"

"Dami, you're a good kid and no matter what happens you have me," he paused. "And I'm sure Mari would love for you to be her little brother. But why not try bonding with them over their interests. But if worst comes to worst, remember what Mari said friends are?"

"Yes, thank you, gēgē." Damian quickly deleted all traces of his phone call, before moving to rejoin his father and the rest. He opened the door only to see his father completely filling the frame.

"You have a brother?" He demanded.

"Due to your habits, father, I have a multitude."

"Who were you talking to?" He demanded again. “Your mother didn’t mention another child of ours.”

“That is none of your business.” Damian shot back, as his alleged brothers’ heads moved back and forth between the pair, looking like the strays they were. It appeared that Grayson had joined them while he was on the phone.

"Bruce, it’s been a long night for everyone.” Grayson started

“That is quite right Master Dick. This can all be discussed over breakfast tomorrow morning.” Pennyworth announced as he walked down the stairs to the cave. “Young Master Damian, if you would return Master Jason’s phone, I will show you to your room now.”

“That is acceptable, Pennyworth.” He handed the phone back to Jason and left the room after Pennyworth.

As soon as they were gone, “Jason, give the phone to Tim. Tim, trace who Damian just called, start looking for any connections to the League of Shadows.”

Fifteen minutes later Tim had to be the bearer of bad news. “Sorry Bruce, but according to the phone, no calls have been made on it all day. The only way we’ll find out who he was talking to anytime soon is if he tells us.”

“HA,” Jason barked out. “B, finally has a kid just as paranoid as him.”

“Damnit!” Bruce’s fist hit the table. “I need to know.”

“Bruce, why is it so important? It was his brother.” Dick questioned

“What if it was code? This could all be a part of Talia’s plot.”

“So, we keep an eye on the twerp. It’s not the end of the world.” Jason started to leave the cave.

The next morning, Damian descended for breakfast. Unfortunately, Father’s band of orphans had already assembled at the table. In addition to the group he had expected, a woman sat next to Father, laughing at something Grayson had said.

After he finished eating, the umbrage of questioning started.

“Who’s your brother?”

“It is not important to you; I am your only blood child.”

“Where does he live?”

“France,” Damian acquiesced. France was a large country, the odds of Father finding Gēgē were minimal.

“How is he connected to the League?”

Damian hesitated, if he did not answer this question, Father could ask Mother about Gēgē, which would endanger him. “He isn’t.” Damian used the resulting confusion to slip away.

He had been wandering the grounds for a few hours when Grayson found him.

After a while of walking in silence together, Grayson spoke. “So how’d you meet your brother?”

“Mother had a mission in France. She decided to test me on how well I could blend in. Gēgē found me while I was waiting for her to finish. He insisted on keeping in contact when I had to leave.”

“Any questions for me?”

“Who was the woman at breakfast?”

“Selina, she’s B’s fiancee. Why didn’t you want to tell B about your brother?”

“I’ve had to keep him secret for years from Mother and Grandfather. What does Father expect from me?”

“That’s complicated. Do you mean what does he expect right now, or what does he hope for from you?”

“Both.”

“B hasn’t said what he expects from you. I think he’s nervous about why your mom brought you here, now. But his hopes for you are the same as the rest of us. That you adapt to this change well and are happy here. Eventually, he’s hoping you trust him, but I think it’s a little soon for that.” They fell into silence again as Damian contemplated that answer. Eventually, Dick spoke again trying to steer the conversation into neutral territory. “What do you like to do?” Damian shot him a puzzled look. “In your spare time? What do you like to do?”

“I draw. When will Father set the trial by combat?”

“The what?”

“The trial by combat against Drake. For the position of Robin. It will be soon, correct?”

“Why would you fight Tim? That’s not how Robin works. When Tim is ready to become a solo hero, he will pass down the title.”

“I am Father’s rightful heir. It is my duty to fight by his side.”

“I’m pretty sure B doesn’t expect that.”

“-tt-,” Damian walked in silence back to the house with Grayson.

When they got inside, they separated. Damian headed back towards his room. Dick, however, walked like a man on a mission. “Alfred, do you know where Bruce is?”

“I believe Master Bruce went to the cave.”

“Thanks.” Taking the stairs two at a time, he rushed down to the cave. “Seriously, Bruce? You find out you have a son and instead of getting to know him, you’re down here doing the paranoid Bat routine?”

“Dick, this is important. Who knows what Talia is plotting? I can’t give him too much information.”

Tim looked at Dick and then at Bruce and quickly decided to make his exit.

“He has a name B. And maybe if you actually, I don’t know, talked to Damian, you could figure this out faster.” A bing came from the computer and Dick moved to investigate. “Really, a DNA check?” He picked up the file folder. “Well congrats Bruce, it’s a boy.” He threw the file into Bruce’s chest and stormed back up the stairs.

Just before Damian entered his room, that woman approached him. “Hey, Damian, right? I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier. I’m Selina Kyle.”

“Yes, Father’s latest paramour.”

She chuckled but before she could respond Drake stormed by. “What’s wrong Tim?”

“Dick and Bruce are at it again. I’m getting out of the blast zone.”

“Well, why don’t we all go out shopping? Damian, I’m sure you need to pick some stuff up.”

“-tt- That will do.”

As Dick stormed out of the cave, the group of three pulled out of the manor driveway.

“Dick, Chum, I’m just trying to be careful. He already knows everyone’s identity, and maybe he’s not a part of Talia’s plot but I can’t just accept that. Talia doesn’t do anything without a reason.”

“Fine, but you could at least talk to him.”

“I-“

“Talk to, not interrogate him. I bet I know more about his brother than you do.”

“How?”

“We played 20 questions. Damian met his brother while Talia was on a mission in France. His brother insisted on keeping in touch, and Damian believes that Talia and Ra’s didn’t know about this brother.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell me this?”

“Because he doesn’t know you.” Dick was exasperated. “You didn’t even introduce Selina to him.”

“I didn’t?”

“No, B you didn’t. I get that it’s important for you to make sure we’re safe but you have to remember that he’s 10. His life has just been completely uprooted. On another note…”

“Jason?”

“Jason, you really need to let him know you don’t hate him.”

“I could never!”

“I know that, and you know that, but does Jay know that?”

At the mall Damian had selected some civilian attire, thanks to a surprise shopping trip with his Gēgē and Mari he learnt how to shop for clothes. That woman was well suited to help him pick out clothes. Then Drake dragged them into a nearby technology store. “What are we here for?”

“Well, you’re going to need a phone, Babs and I’ll make sure it’s secure tonight,” Drake started. “Plus, a laptop, for school, game systems, so you know what the other kids are talking about- “

“Wait,” Damian interrupted. “Father is going to send me to school. With children?!” He was incredulous and aghast.

“Well, yeah,” Drake replied. “It’s the law.”

“I am so far beyond whatever those incompetents could possibly teach. I have a Doctorate!”

“Then B will say it’s for social skills. Point is you’re going to have to go and the laptop will let you Skype your brother.”

“Alright, but I will fight Father about school.”

“Been there, tried that, have the commemorative Mug.” Drake continued as he peered at specifications. “One of the first things you’ll learn about Bruce, is that us appearing to be well-adjusted people is very important to him. If it helps think of school as being undercover. You need to convince people that you’re a typical 10-year-old, not someone who has a PhD.” With that Drake selected a laptop and moved on to grab a Switch system and some Pokémon games.

As they left the store, she asked, “Need anything else, Kitten?”

Damian hesitated. Should he trust them with this? “If there is an art store…” he trailed off.

“Sure Kitten,” Kyle said. “What type? Drawing, painting, knitting? Whatcha like?”

“Primarily drawing and oil painting.”

“Well if you ever want to try knitting…”

“Selina stop trying to induct another person into your knitting cult. You already got Jay, isn’t that enough?”

“Nope,” they walked into the craft store. “Kitten, I’ll be in the yarn section, just grab what you want.”

“You don’t even like the yarn here!” Drake shouted after her.

Selina ignored him as she walked off. Damian looked at him questioningly as he grabbed sketch pads and canvases. “Why did you not go with her?”

“She’s going to be over there for a while. Plus, I’ve spent tons of time with Selina, I haven’t spent time with you.”

“Why would you want to? I am a threat to your position. Unless, this is to learn my weaknesses. I see you possess a superior sense of strategy than I had originally suspected Drake.”

“Wha-No, why? You’re my new brother, I want to know more about you.”

Damian headed off to find Kyle with Drake tailing after him. “You can admit to the ruse. I have found you out.”

“You’ve found nothing.”

“Being disingenuous is unbecoming. I have discovered your scheme.”

“Damian, I literally just want to get to know my younger brother but go off I guess.”

Damian’s confusion from that statement only grew as they found Selina with a cart full of yarn.

“We left you alone for 5 minutes.”

“I have zero impulse control. I don’t know how you keep forgetting this.” She replied plucking Damian’s choices from his hands and adding it to the cart.

They drove back, only to be greeted by a very confused Bruce as Selina carried bags filled with yarn into the house. “Come on Baby Bat, you need to know where the craft room is.”

“What happened?” Bruce asked Tim.

“We took Damian shopping; I think we bonded but apparently he thinks I have some scheme to defeat him in a fight. Don’t know what that’s about, but I need coffee.” Tim replied going into the kitchen.

That night was the start of regularly scheduled calls between Damian and Adrien. Damian took extreme precautions to keep the calls private. They where never the same night of the week or the same time of evening, and while he locked the door to his room, he never called from there. Despite bets to the opposite, Jason was the first to find Damian while he was on a call.

“Yo, Gremlin, whatcha up to?”

“None of your business, Todd.”

“Dami, is that one of your brothers?” Came an unfamiliar voice.

“-tt-, it is no one important.”

“Aw, Gremlin, I thought we were closer than that.” He captured Damian in a headlock and got a good look at the screen. “Oh, you’re that teen model…” He snapped trying to remember the name.

“Adrien.” Adrien supplied.

“Yeah, that’s it! You’re the Gremlin’s brother?”

“Todd, remove your hands before I remove them for you.”

“Touchy, touchy Baby Bat.” Damian snarled at him, while Jason pulled out his phone and took a selfie with the computer and Damian.

“Delete that Todd.”

“No can do, you know how the others are. I won and now I have proof.”

“TODD,” Damian screamed, as Jason ran back to the house.

After that, all the Wayne boys made consistent interruptions in Damian’s calls. Grayson was the most frequent. Drake was second and the most annoying, constantly pestering Adrien with questions, that varied from how often he sees his father to how many hours he worked modeling for his father’s brand.

“Hey Dami, why does your brother keep asking all those questions?” Adrien asked one day.

“It is Drake, I try not to delve into his potential thought process.”

“Well, Damian, that sounds like a you problem.” Drake shot back as he continued to type on his laptop.

“Anyways, Dami school got out early today.”

“Oh, what was the reason this time?”

“Mr. Pigeon again. Poor Mr. Ramier, all he wants is to feed the pigeons.”

“Wait, what?” Drake interrupted again.

“Drake, Gēgē is trying to tell me about his day and complain about Hawkmoth. Stop interrupting.”

“Who’s Hawkmoth?”

“Wait,” Adrien interrupted, “You don’t know about Hawkmoth? Paris’ supervillain? Attacks at least 4 times a week for the past 4 years? His Akumas are always defeated by Ladybug and Chat Noir? None of this rings a bell?”

“No,” Drake said slowly.

“Ugh,” Damian rolled his eyes. “Here research away to your heart’s content and let me talk to Gēgē!”

#maribat #damian adopts adrien #low sodium fanfic #Lost Boys #My writing

[mushroommushy]

Enter Bunnix

Pharaoh

“What’s this? Nora Cesaire and Alix Kubdel sprinting full tilt towards the local university with baseball bats?”

- The episode still starts with Alya doing the Ladyblog live stream with her following the team for the day

- Ladybug is screaming for help as she desperately hangs off the helicopter as Bunnix and Chat chase her

- Ladybug drops her history notes

- It’s not the actual textbook, but a purse filled with actual notes

- Thankfully none of them had her name on them or school

- Alya was still super excited, stating this was the same subjects she was studying

- And wondering if Ladybug was in the same grade or school as her

- Alix was a bit nervous about Alya’s curiosity, as it may lead to her getting in trouble

- Especially if Hawkmoth were to see it and get closer to Ladybug’s identity

- Marinette was of course panicking and Tikki suggests going to the museum with Alya and being able to potentially get her notes back

- They managed to meet up with Alix when they entered the Louvre, who had an idea on why they were there

- Alix was getting her dad to show them around the Egyptian exhibit when Jalil walked past, looking pretty upset

- Mari and Alya noticed that and was slightly concerned, especially when they heard a few other guys jeering at him

- Alim wasn’t very amused with this

Alim: All three of you boys! Knock it off and leave my son alone!

- They thankfully left Jalil alone, but he was already gone, having went to the Kubdels apartment

Alim: Alix, sweetie. Please go check on your brother.

- Alix had quickly left Alya and Mari with her dad to go make sure her brother was alright

- Alya was a little bit surprised to learn that Alix has a brother but Mari already knew

- Alim smiled, stating that both siblings were very close with each other

- She found him in his room, forcing himself not to cry

Alix: Hey, it’s alright. Those dicks don’t know what they are talking about.

Jalil, with his head on his knees: They threw rocks at me. Said I wasn’t a real historian.

Alix: Exactly what I said. Dicks. They’re just jealous that they don’t get the same privileges you do!

- The butterfly was already sent out to akumatize him though, much to Alix’s panic as it landed in his pendent

- Alix desperately clung to her brother in an attempt to calm him down but it wasn’t enough and he was akumatized into Pharaoh

- Pharaoh was less of an ancient figure this time but more of an akumatized Jalil

- He still vaguely cared about Alix since she was just trying to help

- He didn’t try to hurt her, just looking at her for a moment before hugging her and leaving to hunt down his bullies

- She quickly transformed into Bunnix, rushing after him as time bubbles were thrown all over the area

- She had to stop herself from calling out her brothers name

- Marinette was still panicking and trying to find anything that looked like Ladybug on the papyrus to distract Alya when both were tackled down as yellow bubbles flew over them

Marinette: wHAT THE-

Bunnix: Sorry both of you, but you guys need to get out of here! It isn’t safe.

Alya, fangirling immediately: Bunnix!! Can I get an interview!?

Marinette: IS NOW REALLY THE TIME TO BE DOING THIS??

- Alya is recording already on the Ladyblog

- Adrien sees the livestream and immediately runs off to the Louvre to fight

- He was worried about how Alix would take fighting her brother though as that’s not the best thing for your mental health

- Bunnix is very much ready to kick Hawkmoth’s ass for taking advantage of her brother

- Also about the fact he fucked up the gods powers

- Alim is barely dodging time bubbles and since that’s her father, Bunnix took first priority in getting him to safety

Bunnix: Don’t worry, me and the team will save your son.

Alim: How did you know he’s my son?

Bunnix, sweating: Just a guess by how worried you look.

- Alim does think she looks awfully familiar to him but before he can get a better look she rushes off

- She really wanted to hug him, since she was terrified

- She’s a super hero but she’s still a 15 year old whose about to be forced to fight her brother

- Pharaoh isn’t focused on reviving anyone, as he mostly is after the people who made fun of him

- Bunnix is really reluctant on saving them and lets Pharaoh drag them around a little bit

- Ladybug bonked her on the head for that but honestly didn’t blame her

- When Chat arrived, Pharaoh had the bullies trapped in time bubbles and was throwing them around

- But he checked on Bunnix first

Chat Noir: Hey, do you wanna sit this one out? We completely understand if you don’t wanna fight him, since he’s your brother.

Bunnix: No, no it’s fine. I can handle it. Hopefully.

- Pharaoh eventually got bored of throwing his bullies around and threw them out of the area

- That’s when he started focusing on the hero’s

- He threw Ladybug around the exhibit like a rag doll for a little bit

- He was mostly interested in attacking Bunnix, much to her dismay

Pharaoh: With your abilities, I would be the best historian on Earth! Hand over your miraculous!

- Bunnix had run off momentarily to trigger the security gates, but that didn’t do much with his super strength being able to break them open

- He trapped them inside the Egyptian section and Chat had to use up his cataclysm to break out the bars

- Chat ran off for a little bit to detransform

- Pharaoh was already outside, gathering an army of mummies to attack them with

- Ladybug ended up getting stuck in another time bubble

- Bunnix may or may not have recorded it since she found it pretty damn funny

- Plagg was commenting on how Pharaoh should be worshipping Chat since most Egyptians saw cats as royalty

- Chat got back to Bunnix using her umbrella to break the bubble

Bunnix: I swear that I got cheated out of a weapon.

Chat: I mean, it’s a shield and a sword?

Bunnix: Never thought a yo-yo would be that good of a weapon to be honest. But proves me wrong I guess.

- Alya had to do a double take thinking that Ladybug was literally an ancient goddess after she saw it on the papyrus

- She wasn’t with Pharaoh she was back inside with Alim, still live streaming

- Bunnix already knew that it was just a past ladybug user since Marinette is not that old

Bunnix: Wow, you are immature for your age. *Gets bonked*

- Cue Chat snorting and casually flirting with both of them at once

- This is when Pharaoh ended up hearing them and used his shock waves

- Bunnix ended up huddled on the ground for a moment, ears flat against her head

- Chat’s ears were also flicking in annoyance but he wasn’t as bothered as she was at the noise

- Hawkmoth was already shouting quite loudly in Pharaoh’s ear to deafen them with his sound waves

- Pharaoh wasn’t very amused with this and snapped at him to shut up

- Ladybug didn’t really wanna make Bunnix attack her brother head on so she got her and Chat to distract the mummies

- The mummies didn’t really care about Bunnix however, as Pharaoh wanted her miraculous the most

- The repeated soundwaves were slowing her down a lot, making her disoriented and clumsy with the loud noises and ringing in her ears

- To her it sounded like multiple bangs going off all at the same time

- Luckily she stores her miraculous in a pocket so it’s harder for him to reach

- Both of her team mates had noticed this and told her to get back inside with burrow

Ladybug: Bunnix, get out of there now! This is too much for you!

- Thankfully for them she listened and hopped back inside the Louvre near Alim and Alya

- She was clearly distressed about this particular Akuma which was taken note of by Alya

- She still didn’t see much wrong with learning the identities of hero’s

- Seeing an upset child has triggered Alim’s parental instincts however, and he was trying his best to cheer her up while Ladybug and Chat continued fighting Pharaoh

- Alya was still live streaming, sitting next to Bunnix

- She really wanted to ask questions but since Bunnix didn’t seem to be feeling that well she didn’t prod

- But she did ask Bunnix if she knew where the Akuma was, to which she stated it was most likely in the pendent around his neck

- That’s when Alim realized that he had sent Alix after Jalil right before he was akumatized and panicked immediately and left to go to his apartment

- Alya of course followed after him since Alix is her friend and she wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt

- Bunnix was cursing like a mad man because she couldn’t really be in two places at once and Alim didn’t want her to be left alone in case Pharaoh came back

- He was extremely worried when they got to the apartment and Alix wasn’t there

Alim, extremely worried: Alix?! Alix you can come out! It’s dad!

Alya, whose also trying to find her and recording: Alix? Are you here?

Bunnix, sweating: Maybe she’s a mummy?

- She wasn’t able to sneak away to detransform so she just has to make up some bullshit about why Alix might not be there

- Pharaoh still tossed Ladybug off the building

- Cue Alim and Bunnix swearing about Hawkmoth not getting the powers right

- Alim wasn’t expecting her to know that

Alim: Wait a minute- You know about this stuff?

Bunnix: …My power is time travel?

Alim: Fair.

- Ladybug jokingly being offended about being called an insect

- The bullies still have the nerve to insult an akuma and get thrown across Paris

- None of the hero’s really gave a shit because if your that dumb natural selection was coming for you anyways

Chat: Ok how can literally three piles of bandages shaped like humans pick up an entire car

- The screaming of the mummies sounded like they came from a horror movie and Bunnix hearing it even from that far was a big: Nope

- They almost got the pendent off of him but he used his sound waves again to blast them back

- Ladybug managed to dupe him by giving him the fake ladybug earrings and snatched his pendent

- Bunnix eventually had to leave the apartment to go detransform and went outside on the opposite side of the louvre, to pretend she was a mummy

- She ran to her brother as soon as possible, nearly crying from relief

- Alim soon joined them after coming outside

- They ended up taking it easy for the rest of the day, not leaving the apartment

- Alix’s ears were still ringing from all the soundwaves

- Jalil however, was a little suspicious

- He has mostly been in control when he was first akumatized as he was around Alix

- She had disappeared rather quickly not even chasing after him but Bunnix appearing very quickly

- He didn’t comment on it though, as he didn’t have enough proof to back it up

- On the other side of the city though, the bullies were cowering in terror as Nora stood over them, cracking her knuckles

- They came in the next day with broken noses and wrists

- But Jalil had caught the eye of a sculpture who went to his school, who had offered his condolences on being akumatized as he was one of the mummies, even giving him a small statue as a feel better gift

- Cue a mini crush starting up that will grow into a bigger one

- The Ladyblog had been commenting on Bunnix’s struggle with this Akuma

- But it was just left off with people assuming it was a hard Akuma since she was still pretty new and had less experience

#Enter Bunnix