#/ will format when home ehe

[em1i2a3]

Hole in the Earth

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Mutant!Fem!Reader

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI, Angst, Smut, Panic Attacks, Mentions of Grief, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Loss and Death, Age Gap (not mentioned but there are assumptions of an age gap if you squint a bit, there’s no full acknowledgment ), Mentions of Blood/Bleeding. The warnings for smut specifically; p in v sex (unprotected, wrap it before you tap it though!), fingering, oral (fem receiving), Praise kink if you squint, light choking (nothing too serious though), Bucky talks you through it (wink wink nudge nudge)

Author's Note: I wanted to do an actual series for this original character, but I didn’t feel like committing to something so big with my job, so I thought I’d stick to a one-shot format for this one. I know some things may not be totally accurate (this is my first time actually putting something out there that is based off of the MCU, I changed things up a bit, but not extremely, at least I hope lol.) Hopefully y’all enjoy though :) .

Word Count: 13,347 (Talk about slow burn eh? Seeing this word count made my jaw drop when I checked it at the end. What an extravaganza lol)

Some people filled silence with noise—small talk, jokes, distractions, awkward anecdotes, laughter even.

But you and Bucky?

You never needed words.

Your partnership had formed without much thought, an unspoken decision, a quiet inevitability. No one ever sat down and said, "You two should work together," but after everything—after the turmoil from the snap, all the loss, all the grief, and the way neither of you truly fit into what remained of the team anymore—it just happened naturally.

You had both come back to a world that had existed without you for five years. It was like a blur to you. It felt like nothing had happened until you saw the people you loved had aged significantly since the last time you had seen them, or you had lost them by that point.

To deviate from you Bucky had spent decades as a ghost, lost in time, fighting to take back something that had been stripped from him, and the five-year disappearance from the world felt like an eternity. You had heard him mention in passing that it was as if he was in a room with nothing but white around him, and he was all alone. Not only that but when he returned it took him a long time to adjust to the new normal.

Steve was gone.

Natasha was gone.

Tony was gone.

And you?

You were still here, stuck in a limbo between mourning and moving forward, existing in a place that didn’t feel like home anymore. Sam tried to make things easier, tried to be a stand-in for Tony, but it was no use, you told him to stop early on in his attempts, and he respected the request.

Bucky somehow understood your loss better than most of the team, even though he had returned to the same ruins you did. He didn’t bother you with the questions everyone else had when you came back to the compound, he gave you a nod of acknowledgement and tiptoed around you like you were a bomb that was going to explode at any moment, which was something that you ended up preferring.

So when the missions started up again, when the world needed something resembling the Avengers to step forward, it was an unspoken agreement—you and him, always paired together. You knew you wouldn’t be able to handle anyone else other than him.

It worked though.

The both of you kept things mission-focused and ignored whatever was happening outside of that. He never brought up your past, and you never brought up his, and even when there was downtime during the mission you stayed quiet, waiting in silence until you needed to step in.

But now?

Now the most recent mission had gone to hell, and you were stuck alone with him in a safe house, forced into a kind of closeness you had never prepared for.

The mission was supposed to be simple.

A HYDRA facility hidden beneath an abandoned city block, data that needed to be extracted, an easy exfiltration plan. When Sam had explained it you felt like you were having Deja Vu because of how many missions had been like this.

The plan had been clear—

Infiltrate.

Extract the data.

Get out.

You never made it past step two.

The power core in the lower level ruptured, sending a shockwave through the entire structure.

The explosion came too fast, too strong, it wasn’t something you prepared for at all.

You had barely made it to cover before the heat ripped through the walls, short-circuiting everything electronic based in the area—including the Neural Stabilizer locked around your throat.

You had felt it immediately.

The pulse of static in your bones, the electricity surging through your limbs with nowhere to go, the sensation of drowning in yourself. You laid on the cold metal, breathing in through the pain that echoed through your entire body, attempting to calm your nervous system down before things got out of your control.

"You alright?" Bucky called from the level above you.

You had forced yourself to swallow the panic as you raised your head to look up to where he was, only seeing his shadow at that point.

"I’m fine." You replied.

A lie.

Because you could feel the stabilizer glitching, flickering between control and chaos, the red warning light at your throat blinking erratically. It didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky though, even though you wished it had.

“Are you sure?” He asked, watching you struggle to push yourself up from the metal, seeing a pulse of faint blue static running across the floor. You closed your eyes tightly.

”Yes. I’m positive. Just cover me so I can get to you, then we can get the hell out of here.”

You had to push forward.

Because you had no choice.

Because if you didn’t keep moving, neither of you were getting out alive. But if you had a choice you would’ve stayed right where you were.

By the time you had escaped the facility, hot-wired a car, and driven two hours through the backroads to the nearest safe house—your entire body was on fire with unstable currents flowing through your blood. You were in such agony holding everything in that you had almost collapsed onto the ground when you exited the car.

Bucky had watched you run towards the cabin, observed the way you almost broke the doorknob and locked him out all within seconds. By the time he had entered the cabin you were out of his sight, and barricaded inside the washroom.

When you slammed the door closed you immediately turned on the dim light of the enclosed space, stripping off your tactical gear with shaking hands, leaving you in just a pair of shorts and a white tank top. You threw your utility belt onto the counter beside the sink, trying your best to catch your breath, feeling a burning sensation building inside your chest, clawing at the bones. You braced yourself against the porcelain sink, bringing your eyes up to your reflection, looking at the red glow of the Neural Stabilizer flashing on your neck, each pulse more erratic than the last.

Tony had promised it would always work.

Now it was failing as you stood there.

You reached up to touch the fried titanium of the neck plate, feeling the warmth radiating off it, as the light above you glowed brighter for a brief moment before returning to its normal state. That was the only warning sign you needed to kick yourself into high gear. You opened up your gear pouch, fumbling through the various tools you had, until you found what you needed. The tiny utility screwdriver, the one Tony had told you to keep on you at all times. You thanked your past self that they actually listened to him for once.

“It’s just for backup, kid, but if you ever need it, don’t panic. You got this.” You could hear his voice in your head, you could picture the moment he gave it to you and you reluctantly threw it into the gear pouch, making sure he witnessed you do it.

You pushed the memory out of your head and forced yourself to focus, returning your gaze back to your reflection, stretching your neck out so there was enough lighting. Your eyes trailed over the grooves of the metal, finding the space where the first latch would be. You shifted again, turning your head to the side before bringing the screwdriver to the first screw that secured the panel—

———

"Hold still, Sparkplug," Tony muttered, adjusting the metal band around your neck so that it was fitting snugly against your skin, "You fidget more than Peter, and that’s saying something."

You sighed, tilting your chin up, watching him work in the reflection of the mirror.

"Feels like a shock collar." You commented, digging your nails into the palm of your hand.

"Yeah, well, better than the alternative." He replied, looking at you out of the corner of his eye, before returning his gaze to the stabilizer. "Unless you like turning every elevator ride into a death trap." He added.

You scowled.

"It’s not that bad."

"Tell that to the toasters and light bulbs you murdered last week. You know I think I stepped on some of the broken glass you forgot to sweep up." You felt your lips tilt slightly at the joking tone he took.

"That was an accident."

"Yeah, and I’m accidentally a millionaire genius." He tightened the clasp on the metal, sliding his stool back to examine his work. "Alright. Try not to electrocute me when you test it out."

You hesitated, looking at the stabilizer in the mirror, seeing the signature blue glow that Tony had in his chest piece now reflecting off of your very own Stark Industries creation.

"You’re sure this will work?"

Tony’s smirk faded slightly, his expression softening at the worry that laced your voice. You had come a long way since he had taken you under his wing, but he knew you still struggled with keeping the power under wraps, it was evident by the way everything would short circuit even when you were feeling happy, it trapped you. When he designed the stabilizer all he wanted was for you to feel normal, and this was the one thing that he was confident in providing.

"Yeah, kid." His hand rested lightly on your shoulder. "I’m sure.”

“And what if it malfunctions?” You questioned, your hand now tracing the ridges of the titanium.

”I’ll be there to fix it…I promise Y/N. I wouldn’t let it get to that point anyways. Routine maintenance will prevent that I’m sure.”

Back then, you had believed him.

Because Tony always kept his promises.

———

Your hands trembled as you worked on the stabilizer, the screwdriver slipping between your fingers while you twisted it into the second latch. The sharp edge of the tool had sliced against the sensitive skin on your neck three times at this point, and the droplets of blood began to stain your hands. The faint pain began to curl into itself, causing the lights to brighten once again, only this time it remained that way. The tips of your fingers began to veil themselves in the mesh-like glow that slowly stretched along your skin, another bad sign that you needed to get yourself under control.

Your breath came in shallow, panicked gasps, watching the red light blinking faster and faster with each mistake you made, almost as if it was in sync with your pulse.

You couldn’t do this, and there was no doubt that by the end of this, you would have a hazardous explosion waiting to happen. You wouldn’t be surprised if you’d take out the whole town.

You were going to—

"Breathe, kid." Tony’s voice warned.

You couldn’t help but remember the video he had left in your inbox, dated the day before his death. You hadn’t looked at it for three weeks, you weren’t ready to see him at that point, you were grieving, but the day that you decided to click on it to listen, and to watch…You knew it was going to be seared into your memory.

———

Tony sat at his workbench, rubbing a hand over his face, scratching at the stubble on his chin almost in frustration. His hair was a little longer, a little messier, and the exhaustion on his face was worse than you’d ever seen it.

"Alright, kid. If you’re watching this, then congratulations. You survived. You came back. And I…Well…I didn’t, unless you are watching this for fun, which is absolutely weird, but whatever.”

A pause, he sighs, licking his dry lips, trying to search for what he was going to say.

"Not that I’d know, obviously, because I made this before all the very bad, end-of-the-world war type stuff went down, but I’d like to think I got to go out in a blaze of glory."

His lips tugged up, but there was no humor behind it.

"Which, by the way, is something I told you not to do a thousand times, so let’s not make this a trend, okay?"

You had let out a choked laugh, tears already stinging at your eyes. He took another pause, shaking his head.

"Five years." He exhaled hard, tapping his fingers against the desk. "You’ve been gone for five whole years, and I gotta tell you, kid, it’s sucked. Like, really sucked. We have this whole ‘Save the World’ initiative going on, and I keep looking around thinking, ‘Where the hell is my electric gremlin when I need her?’ But no. You were gone. Taken just like that."

He snapped his fingers, inhaling deeply through his nose, trying to control his voice.

"And that?" His tone dropped lower, something raw scraping at the edges. "That was a real bitch."

You pressed a hand against your mouth, trying not to break down, trying to keep yourself as composed as you could.

"You left, and everything was just… quieter. Too quiet. No more blowing out the lab’s power grid on purpose because you got pissed at me. No more stealing my coffee and blaming it on Rhodey. No more dumb science debates about whether or not your powers count as a renewable energy source. Just… nothing."

His fingers curled into a fist, hitting his knuckles lightly against the workbench.

"I miss you, kid. And I know I didn’t say it enough when I had the chance, so I’m saying it now."

A sharp inhale. There was a cut in the footage. Now his position had changed, and he was standing.

"You’re back though. And I need you to listen, alright?"

You sat up nodding, even though he couldn’t see you.

"This thing?" He said, tapping a Neural Stabilizer on his own throat.

"Yeah, I made one for myself. No, I don’t need it. But you’re a visual learner—or maybe you just don’t trust me unless I put myself in your shoes. Either way, I made one so I could show you how easy this is to fix."

He sighed.

"Anyways, let’s be real. If this thing is flickering red, that means something bad happened. Maybe you got hit by an EMP. Maybe you took too many hits in a fight, and someone broke it. Maybe the universe just hates us both equally, who knows. But if it’s failing, that means you’re going to short-circuit because your body won’t know what to do with all the excess energy. And when you short-circuit, so does everything else around you. That means streetlights, security systems, Wi-Fi—" he gestures around him with his hands "—you know, everything people actually need to function."

You sniffled, pressing your fingers against your lips.

"So. Let’s fix it before you blackout an entire city block, huh?"

His eyes softened, something warm but worn behind them.

"You got this, kid. You always have."

A pause.

"Alright. First step—pop the latch. Gently put the screwdriver into the large metal coil, it should be bright orange if the stabilizer is malfunctioning due to the overheating. Twist it counterclockwise. And whatever you do, do not—"

——-

You pressed too hard.

The screwdriver slipped, and another sharp sting burned across your neck, the blood now dripping down your neck and soaking into the tank top you wore.

"Shit." You muttered, your fingers flying to your throat, wiping off the blood as much as you could, your pulse hammering throughout your entire body, as the crimson liquid smeared across your skin.

Before you could even process the impending pain, the Neural Stabilizer’s light turned off completely.

Without missing a beat a violent pulse of static erupted outward, a crackling, jagged burst of energy tearing free from your body.

The lightbulbs overhead shattered, raining sparks and broken glass onto the tiles, lightly cutting up some of your exposed flesh. The mirror fractured down the middle, sharp cracks splintering outward, but not fully falling off the surface.

The entire safe house went dark, the fridge cut out, the security system fried, the cell towers blinked offline. In the kitchen, Bucky sat at the rickety dining table, thinking about whether or not it would be a good idea to try to come in and help. Even after the power surge, he was still on the fence about going and intruding on what was happening in there, not out of fear, but out of what he might have to do to get everything under control.

Inside the bathroom, the only light left was coming from you, and now the soapy smell that had once filled the room had been taken over by the crisp smell of ozone, as if a rain storm just occurred.

Your reflection in the mirror flickered, illuminated by the uneven, stuttering glow of electricity crawling over your skin. Tiny spiderweb cracks of raw current slithered up your arms, twisting beneath the surface, licking along your fingertips, wrapping around your body, almost like it was a reunion. The stabilizer narrowed the current down significantly when it was on, without it there was no regulation.

The charge had nowhere to go. It buzzed, and coiled, desperate for an escape, trying to find something to attach to. Your body felt too full, like a live wire wound too tight, ready to snap apart, and now the pain was truly starting to settle in, deep inside your bones, causing your blood to curl.

"No, no, no—"

You repeated, slamming your hand against the countertop. A sharp crack of static arced outward, splitting the porcelain, hairline fractures splintering in front of you.

Your breath hitched in your throat, as every muscle in your body seized.Your heart pounded painfully against your chest, erratic, frantic—

Then the doorknob rattled.

"Hey."

It was Bucky.

"You okay?"

The words barely registered with you, it sounded muffled, drowned beneath the buzzing that rang through your ears. You could feel your pulse spike violently, as panic slammed through your ribs like a live wire.

You couldn’t answer the simple question.

Couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t stop the charge from rising once again.

The electricity under your skin wouldn’t settle, wouldn’t stop expanding, the raw static skittered along your body, flaring out in thin veins of uncontrolled current.

"I—" you croaked, holding onto your chest, trying to stabilize your voice from shaking.

The door creaked open.

And before you could even react, the barricade was removed from between the both of you.

Bucky stood in the dim blue glow, still dressed in the majority of his tactical gear, minus the weapons. The glass crunched under his boots as he stepped into the washroom, his sharp and guarded expression softening when his eyes locked onto the scene in front of him.

His gaze flickered over the shattered bulbs, and the fractured mirror, and when he breathed in the smell of static tickled his nose, almost like someone had taken chlorine and mixed it with metal.

Then his eyes landed on you. Your trembling hands, your shaking shoulders, the way your body twitched with the electric currents still pulsing beneath your skin, his eyes watched the glowing cracks spread along your arms. He could see in the lighting that your neck was bleeding, and that your stabilizer was practically fried. At this point, he concluded that he in fact didn’t know where to start.

”Y/N…” His voice was dripping with concern, trying to piece together what he could do.

You tried to speak, tried to tell him to go away but all that came out was a gut-wrenching sob, the panic and fear sinking its claws deeper into your ribs.

"Hey, you need to breathe," Bucky instructed his voice low, calm, and even. But you couldn’t. Couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t pull yourself back from the static buzzing inside your skull, it was mind-numbing. The only thing that snapped you out of your haze was the crunching of glass beneath Bucky’s boots, as he stepped towards you.

"Don't—" You snapped, desperate to keep him away. "I can’t— I can’t shut it off…Just stay…Stay back Bucky." Your hands trembled, as your arms locked up, the muscles tightening, like a cord was wrapping around them. The crunching noise stopped, but the buzzing in your ears didn’t, as you leaned your body on the sink, moaning through the stinging pain that ran up your spine.

”Listen I can’t just leave you in here like this, what can I do to help?” You could feel your knees go numb while you were trying to contain whatever was building up to release next. You braced yourself against the counter, cushioning the drop to the ground as much as possible. Your bare knees felt the impact of the glass as the sharp edges dug into the thin flesh, a grunt escaping your throat, while you were attempting to shift slightly to the side before putting all your weight on the front portion of the counter.

”Just go away.” Was all you could muster to say through your short sobs of pain, “Please just go.” You begged, tears now streaming down your cheeks, as you put your forehead onto the edge of the porcelain sink, letting the cold temperature even out the heat that was radiating off your skin.

Bucky didn’t move, didn’t heed your request to leave, instead he crouched down, and sat on the glass-covered floor, with his arms resting on his knees. He watched you closely, noting how your body would tremble every couple of seconds, or how the static that covered every exposed area of your skin buzzed lightly at any sign of movement.

”Please leave.” You choked out again, barely above a whisper. Bucky sighed, his jaw clenching at the rawness in your voice. The last-ditch effort to push him away before anything worse happened, before you hurt him.

”I’m not going anywhere Y/N…It would go against my better judgment.” He replied, clenching and unclenching his vibranium hand, contemplating. He knew what he needed to do, but had no clue how he would execute the plan without you possibly lashing out at him.

He glanced back up at you, watching as your grip tightened on the edge of the sink, another strangled whimper escaping into the room. You were already so far gone at this point that there was no way you were going to come back without additional help, at least that’s what Bucky was starting to conclude from what was transpiring in front of him.

Another burst of static snapped out from you, slashing against the mirror, fully breaking the reflective pieces, hearing the shattering as it fell into the sink, splintering, leaving small superficial wounds on the tips of your fingers, lines of red blooming across your knuckles. You didn’t even register the pain.

Bucky barely flinched, because at this point he wasn’t going to wait anymore, and now that you were distracted he took the opportunity. Quickly he brought himself forward and wrapped his vibranium arm around your waist, pulling you against him with more force than he intended. Your back collided against his chest, and immediately you could feel your body locking up in his grip as his other arm wrapped around your waist to try to stabilize you so you weren’t thrashing on the glass-covered ground. You could feel your lungs seize up.

”Let me go!” You twisted violently in his hold, as you dug your nails into his right arm, trying to loosen the restraint he formed around your body. You slammed your back into his chest, attempting to wind him, but it was no use, Bucky was a solid unmoving force at this point, and he remained locked around you. Another fresh stream of tears ran down your cheeks. He could feel your body heating up against his as he adjusted, trying to get you to stop thrashing.

”Bucky, please…” Your voice cracked, a sob tearing from your throat, feeling another burst of static snapping around you, at whatever was near, it was lashing out until it found Bucky’s arm, as the blue static slipped into the limb causing the vibranium to light up. A crackling wave of electricity ran up each plate, filling the thin gaps between each one. This realization only made you thrash against him even harder.

”Y/N I’m fine! Stop it, you’re not hurting me.” He insisted, tightening his arms around you once again as you began to shake against him. “Look,” He murmured. Through the haze of your panic, you forced yourself to focus, your gaze trailing down to the arm that was clenched around you. The shock and static wasn’t building, or lashing outward, it was being absorbed. Bucky could almost feel your body relax at the sight, even though you were still wheezing and breathing too fast.

”It’s not hurting me.” He repeated again, but all you could hear was the buzzing inside your skull, it was deafening. Your vision blurred as you made small attempts to push him away, even though it was of no use, he didn’t budge. He was steady, controlled, and unfazed, as his ears tuned into the way you were breathing, the panicked wheezing.

“Y/N, you have to breathe…Can you feel me breathing?” He asked, trying to hide the urgency behind his voice, adjusting again so now he was able to see the side of your face, and the way your pupils were blown out. His damp hair tickled the side of your face, as he leaned forward trying to make sure you were practically cocooned in him, almost mimicking an emergency blanket in a way. You could feel yourself trembling in his arms, as his right hand came up to intertwine with yours, guiding your palm to rest flat against your chest, right over your heart.

“Y/N, focus on me…If you can hear me, focus on my breathing.” He instructed, holding you closer to him so your back was directly pressed into his chest. You could feel his body rise and fall against you, even, measured…A slow inhale, a gentle exhale.

”Match me.” He whispered, his warm breath sticking to the exposed skin of your shoulder. You attempted to breathe in as deeply as he did, feeling a burning sensation creep up along the sides of your ribs. The exhale came out fast and uneven from you, but Bucky didn’t rush the process, as he took in another breath, his chest expanding against your back. You attempted to take in another breath, but this time it came a little easier, even though it still felt like every bone in your body had its own personal vice grip around it. Black dots began to pebble into your sight, feeling a numbness washing over you.

“Good…Now let it out.” Was the last thing you heard before your vision went dark.

------

The first thing you heard when you regained consciousness was music.

Soft and slow, floating through the air in a smooth jazz melody, rich with nostalgia. The mellow voice of the crooner was claiming he would never smile again, as the lyrics gently carried over the hum of the muted trumpets, the backup singers harmonized the man's sorrow while the serenade continued. It felt like a lullaby that was meant for another time.

Then everything else began to settle in; the bed beneath you, the rough comforter scratching against the backs of your legs. The blanket on top of you pulled up to your neck, enveloping you in its warmth. A dull ache lingered in every area of your body, your hands were sore, your face felt swollen from the crying that you had done, and it felt like if you attempted to move you would throw up. But at least your breathing was finally stable. No longer ragged or filled with panic. It was a relief in a way.

The music continued as your ears caught the sound of a soft tapping in rhythm with the song. A gentle exhale released into the room. Bucky. Slowly, you forced your heavy eyelids open, as the stucco ceiling came into your sight, the dimmed emergency lights providing a soft hue to the space. You tilted your head up so your chin was settled on your chest, noticing that you were still wearing the white tank top that was now stained with your blood. The way you were able to move your neck with such ease also made you realize that you didn’t have your stabilizer on, which brought on another concern, as you laid your eyes on the sight before you.

Bucky sat at the kitchen table, illuminated by his cell phone, which was leaning against one of the salt shakers, the light casting shadows along his jaw and cheeks. His hair looked damp and curled in on itself like he was fresh out of the shower, and you had noticed he wasn’t in his regular combat gear. Instead, he had on a black, form-fitting long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of matching cargo pants. He was so lost in what he was doing that his gaze was practically glued to the table, and you could tell he was fiddling with something that you couldn’t particularly see. You tried to lean up onto your elbows to try and catch a glimpse of what he was doing, only to have your knees scream out in pain when you accidentally bent them. A hiss escaped your throat, automatically breaking Bucky’s concentration on what he was working on, as his head snapped in your direction, putting down whatever he was working on to pay attention to you.

“Take it easy. You still have glass in your knees.” He informed, hesitating to tell you that he hadn’t pulled out the shards when you were passed out. You groaned at the sentence, your body dropping back against the pillow, as you reached up to massage your head, trying to mend an impending migraine.

“I feel like I’ve been through a few rounds with a freight train.” You said, closing your eyes tightly at the sound of the rawness of your voice.

“Well…That’s kind of what happens when you go nuclear on yourself.” He muttered, leaning back in his seat, his gaze locking on you as you dragged your hands down your face. He nervously tapped his fingers on the table, biting the inside of his lip, “You scared me y’know.” The words fell from his mouth before he could even stop himself, the admission causing you to let out a ragged sigh.

“It wasn’t my intention to do that.” He shook his head.

“Intentions don’t mean much when you’re screaming for me to go away and you’ve caused every light bulb in the place to explode.” You could hear the control he had on his voice, the way he took his breaths so that his words didn’t waver. He was bothered by what you had done, there was no doubting that, but you had never heard him speak like this before.

“Are you honestly going to pick a fight with me right now? Could this not wait until the glass gets taken out of my knees?” You snapped, as your body began to slowly heat up. He scoffed at your suggestion, shaking his head in disbelief.

“No. It can’t wait, because the second I come to help you’re going to avoid the conversation.” You rolled your eyes.

“Jesus Christ Bucky. I get it.”

“Do you?” He questioned. You clenched your jaw as you pushed yourself up so you were able to look at him, to hash this out before it killed your partnership. Your knees seared at the quick movement while you settled on the bed, but you shoved the pain aside, keeping the tensity in your eyes.

“I don’t know what the fuck you want me to say. Do you want me to say sorry I didn’t tell you about the stabilizer breaking as I was attempting to not fucking explode around you?!” You shot back, squeezing your hand into a fist, trying to hold in the static that began to line your skin again.

“I want you to say you trust me. Because right now it doesn’t feel like it, and if we’re going to continue working together, I need that reassurance.” You looked up from your hands, catching his hardened gaze, seeing the betrayal in his eyes.

“You know I trust you.” You stated, watching as he shook his head, and stood up from his seat.

“Do I? Because you don’t act like it. Do you remember what just happened an hour and a half ago? You had plenty of opportunity to tell me what the hell was going on and you refused. I had to come in and see you in absolute shambles, do you understand how that felt?” Your eyes followed him as he paced.

“I didn’t want you to see me like that, you made a choi-.”

“I chose to take care of you!” He snapped, his voice raising in volume, the reaction making you flinch, not because you were scared, but because he had never yelled at you like that. “That’s what any teammate would do. But you make it impossible unless it’s forced on you, which is what I had to resort to. Do you think that made me feel good?” He asked, looking over at you, his eyes shimmering in the light. The guilt hit you harder than any punch you had taken, truly realizing how much pain you had put him in. You could see the way his hands twitched at his sides, remembering the way he was holding you and restraining your movements, reliving the moment over and over again as you fought against him.

“I-I was afraid I was going to hurt you Bucky, that’s why I was fighting you. I didn’t want to hurt you, or even worse kill you…” The words were heavy when they left your lips, “You may think you’re invincible, but you could’ve died…And then what? I lose another person I care about?” You could immediately see his eyes soften at your words and the way that your voice was shaking and cracking as you attempted to keep it steady. He held your gaze, keeping his spot at the side of the table, but now he was holding the edge of it, leaning on it for support. You could see the frustration in his eyes draining away with every moment that passed as he connected the dots.

“So that’s what this is about?” He asked softly, the sharpness from earlier being replaced with something gentler, caring. He ran his hand through his hair,“...You do know I’m 106 years old and have gone through way worse than a little bit of electricity right?” You were surprised by the sudden change in his tone, detecting the trail of humour that laced his words.

“And that this new arm…” He lifted his vibranium hand into your line of sight, flexing his fingers, letting the dim light catch against the matte black material “Doesn’t allow you to hurt me correct? The material just absorbs it. You saw it when I showed you in the washroom, you even stopped fighting me when you saw it. It doesn’t have a voltage limit or anything so…I don’t think it would’ve been possible for you to kill me. Does that help cure your worries?” He asked, letting the question hang in the air, leaning against the table again. You let out a slow breath and nodded, but you didn’t reply, you just let the intensity of the argument die down. The jazz music faded in again now, filling the silence for a few beats until you absentmindedly replied to him.

“You’re 106?” His lips pressed into a firm line, thrown off by the abrupt shift in conversation.

“That’s all you got from that speech I just gave you? Really?” You shrugged.

“I mean…You carry yourself pretty well, you don’t look a day over 100.” You said, tilting your head to the side to feign consideration “Mmm, actually maybe I would even go as far as saying you could pass for 90.” He shook his head at you, but you could see he was fighting a smile from appearing on his lips, as he reached up to rub the stubble on his face.

“Absolutely ridiculous.” He wasn’t annoyed, nor frustrated, it sounded like he was relieved, because neither of you wanted to admit it, but you didn’t like where the conversation was going, the both of you didn’t want to fight over something like that, you were supposed to be partners. The weight of the argument was settled, and you both were thankful for that. You let some time pass, just to allow each other to come down from the adrenaline until you cleared your throat.

“I’m sorry by the way.” You said quietly, earning a soft sigh from him, he opened his mouth to interrupt, but you held up your hand to stop him, “I didn’t mean to shut you out. You had every right to be angry with me, and I shouldn’t have fought you, I should’ve just allowed you to help me.” Bucky nodded, his blue eyes locking onto yours again.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to yell at you, I lost my temper…And I didn’t mean to scare you. I wasn’t mad, I was just-.” He paused for a moment, inhaling deeply “I just didn’t like seeing you like that.” Your fingers tightened around the blanket at his admission, but you nodded as well to acknowledge you heard him. You let the moment breathe, still feeling the lingering guilt of how angry he had been just a few minutes prior, but what sat in your chest was how bothered he was by your pain because it wasn’t about the outburst itself, it was about what it meant. The way he snapped was his way of trying to convey that your well-being was important to him, and even the thought of that made something in you seize up. So much for keeping the partnership strictly mission-based I guess, you thought as you shifted on the mattress, only to be reminded of the searing pain coming from your legs.

“Now that we’re done arguing…Do you mind taking the glass out of my knees now?” You asked, cringing at the sharp burning sensation that radiated throughout your kneecaps with each slight movement you made to try and get yourself in a better position to attempt to ease the pain, to no avail.

“Oh Jesus, yeah of course. Sorry.” He replied sheepishly as if he had forgotten about what he had said at the beginning of the argument. Bucky worked with a quiet urgency, collecting the first aid kit, and a basin to put the shards of glass in, stopping for a moment at the table to pause the music on his phone before picking up your stabilizer from where he had been sitting. When he had turned back to you he could see the look of surprise on your face, as your eyes trailed over it, seeing the familiar blue glow that indicated it was fixed.

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to attempt to work on it while you were passed out,” He explained, looking down at the curved titanium while he made his way over to the bed, “Don’t really know if I actually fixed the thing, but it’s not glowing red or anything so I’m assuming I made a bit of progress.” He shrugged, as he sat down in front of you, settling the first aid kit down before handing the stabilizer over to you, feeling your fingers brush against his gently, watching you take it from him with a small smile on your face. You looked at it closely, your fingertips buzzing in anticipation, the cool weight of the titanium almost bringing you a wave of relief. You felt around for the familiar latch at the back of the stabilizer, clicking it open with a gentle hiss, your eyes glancing up to meet Bucky’s blue irises.

“It’s looking promising.” You joked, seeing his lips turn up slightly, before tilting your head back to expose your neck, brushing your hair aside. Carefully you aligned the stabilizer against your throat, settling it into place as the soft hum of the hydraulics pulled the device together, allowing it to lock around your neck. You rested your hands against the edges of it, waiting for a moment, allowing it to calibrate. Bucky watched you, trying to see if there was any sign that he had messed up somehow, thinking about the wires he cut and shifted when he began his attempt on fixing the thing, hoping to god it wasn’t something important. A beat of silence passed over the both of you quickly, being quenched with a soft exhale.

“Seems like you actually did it.” You informed, turning your head from side to side to ensure everything was properly secured.

“You sound surprised,” Bucky replied, feigning offence.

“Hmm. Tony made this thing idiot-proof, so I’m a bit taken aback by your…Skills.” His eyebrows raised at you, shaking his head as he flipped open the first aid kit.

“It’s not like I have an arm that’s state-of-the-art technology or something like that.” He shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word he spoke while he collected a few alcohol pads, tweezers, and gauze from the inside of the container. “Now…Ready to play Operation?” He asked jokingly.

“Just what I need, Bucky Barnes playing surgeon.” You replied, adjusting your position so that your knees were bent between the both of you, pulling the blanket off carefully just in case any of the glass had accidentally caught on any of the fibres. When the damage came into your line of sight you could practically feel your stomach twist and turn into knots. The blood was dry and streaked in the crevices of your knees. Tiny shards of glass embedded themselves like fractured stars in the thin flesh that lined the bone, glinting under the soft light. Some pieces were deep, surrounded by angry red welts where your body had begun trying to reject them. Others sat more superficially, barely hanging on but all of it looked raw, swollen, and painful. You could feel yourself get lightheaded just by looking at it.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” You announced, throwing yourself down onto the mattress, the back of your head hitting the pillow, “I can’t look at it.”

“You’re telling me out of all the things you’ve seen, this is the thing that does you in?” He commented, “Now that’s disappointing.” You groaned, putting your arm over your face.

“It’s different when it’s my blood.” He let out a small laugh, the bed shifting under his weight as he adjusted, positioning his vibranium hand between the bend of your left knee to keep it still, the coolness causing you to tense up.

“Alright, I’ll go slow. Ready?” You nodded, keeping your face covered, attempting to hide the blush that began to rise on your cheeks, feeling him pull out one of the smaller pieces of glass, starting easy. He dropped it into the steel bowl, dabbing the blood off your skin with gauze, as he continued his feat, getting close enough that his breath fanned over the wound. You shut your eyes tightly, another sharp jolt of pain shooting up your leg, your other hand digging into the comforter beneath you.

“God damn it Bucky.” You hissed, your knee jerking involuntarily, his grip keeping you steady.

“Almost got it, just hold still.” His voice was soft, focused on grabbing onto the tip of the glass that he had been pulling out seconds before, the slow meticulous movements bringing you to the brink of screaming

“Okay. I need you to talk or something. Distract me before I start destroying the place please.”

“What do you want to talk about?” Bucky asked with hesitation, another piece of glass clanging against the steel bowl.

“Tell me something you liked…Before everything. Something you miss maybe.” He hummed, going for another shard of glass.

“Music…And dancing too I guess.” You took your arm away from your face, pushing yourself up onto your elbows, looking at him with your eyebrows raised.

“You? Dancing?” For a brief moment, he glanced up at you with a smirk plastered on his lips.

“What? You don’t believe me?” You shrugged.

“I just can’t picture Bucky Barnes on the dance floor, were you like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever?” His brow furrowed for a moment, confused at what you were referring to.

“Saturday Night what?” You let out a breathy laugh.

“You’ve never seen that movie?” He gave you a flat look, returning his eyes to your knees, taking out another piece of glass and wiping the droplets of blood that slid down your skin.

“I’ve been frozen in ice, brainwashed, and playing assassin for half a century. You think I’ve had time to watch movies?” You leaned back a little, resting your weight on your elbows.

“Fair point, but it’s a classic Bucky. The disco music, the bell bottoms, the gyrating.” You reminisced, watching as his lips pressed tightly together.

“Pretty sure I was not gyrating on the dancefloor.” He commented back, another piece of glass joining the pile as he moved to your other knee, his hand leaving your skin briefly before mirroring the same position with the other leg.

“So what kind of dancing did you do then?” A smirk appeared on his lips, his eyes crinkling, showing off what little wrinkles he had.

“Ballroom, Swing if I was feeling fancy.” You grinned.

“Very nice.” You could see his cheeks dusting red slightly, as he dropped another piece of glass into the bowl, wiping your knee.

“What can I say…I had the moves.”

“Had?” He glanced up at you, his teeth showing slightly now, a genuine smile appearing on his face, something you had not seen before from him.

“Careful, it sounds like you want to find out.” The way his voice dropped made a satisfying shiver shoot up your spine, but you kept your expression neutral, lifting an eyebrow at him.

“Oh yeah? You offering to take me out dancing Bucky?” He shrugged, shifting in his spot to get a bit more comfortable, latching onto another piece of glass.

“Maybe.” Glancing up to see your reaction, noticing that you were blushing as well. You shook your head at him.

“Please, if we ever went out dancing you’d throw me around like a ragdoll and I’d end up concussed.” He laughed deeply, returning his eyes to your knees.

“Nah...You’d be good, I can tell.” You squinted at him.

”Oh yeah? And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?” Bucky smirked, his hand shifting to adjust your leg, the tweezers grabbing on to another glass shard.

”You move well. Quick on your feet, and you can keep up with me.” You scoffed at his comment, your body tensing as the pain from your knee was slowly building up again.

”You make it sound like fighting and dancing are the same thing.” He hummed, distracted from the conversation for a brief moment. You glanced at him, noticing that he was holding his breath as he pulled the large shard of glass out, bringing the cracked and bloodied piece up to your sight, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Well, they’re not all that different. Both are about timing. About knowing your partner.” Bucky replied, his voice low and smooth. Another clang echoed throughout the room while he grabbed a fresh gauze pad to press down onto the weeping wound. You swallowed, shifting against the mattress, trying to ignore the warmth that crept up your back.

”So what, you’re saying we’d make a good dancing pair?” You could feel the way his fingers flexed at the question, his cold vibranium thumb running over the bottom of your knee. He didn’t look up right away, still applying pressure on the wound that continued to slowly bleed.

”I think we already do.” He murmured, lifting his gaze to meet yours. You could see the way his eyes scanned over yours, the way that his jaw clenched just for a split second. An unwavering heat crept up the back of your neck, flushing your chest and the surrounding area of skin red.

“Yeah? What makes you so sure?” His eyes never left yours as he adjusted his grip again, letting his fingers freely brush against your skin, as if he didn’t realize what he was doing.

”I know how you move, and you never have problems following instructions when you’re given them.” Your fingers twitched against the sheets, the words sinking into you. He wasn’t wrong, not one bit, but it was the way he said it, and the way his breath hit your skin, the sensations were crowding you at that point that it was starting to become increasingly difficult to keep yourself cool.

”Sounds a bit cocky if you’d ask me.” He dropped the tweezers into the bowl, throwing the saturated gauze on top of it, as he wet his bottom lip with his tongue.

”Not cocky, just observant, that's all.” His voice was low, sultry, you didn’t know if he meant for it to come out so soft, but it still made you feel motion sickness. Before you could even stop to think about what you were going to do, you reached down, your fingers holding the back of his bicep, gripping onto the cool vibranium through the sleeve of his shirt as you pulled yourself up.

The second you entered his space, his eyes were locked onto yours, wide and searching, like he was surprised you decided to pull that little move. You could feel the warmth radiating off of him now, and you were hyper-aware of how his chest rose and fell now that you were closer to him, the shallowness of his breaths coming to your attention almost immediately.

“What are you doing?” He asked, looking over at your hand sliding up, gliding over the curve of his shoulder. His hand remained behind your knee, as the other one gripped the mattress beside him, unsure if he should reach out to bring you closer. You tilted your head forward, your lips dangerously close to his, as the both of you exchanged breaths.

”Getting comfortable.” You whispered, watching his jaw tense at your words, his fingers twitching against your skin. He tilted his head back slightly, letting out a sigh.

”You don’t want this, Y/N.” Your brows furrowed at the hesitancy in his voice, but before you could protest he continued, “It’s been a long time…Since I’ve…” He paused, looking back at you, “I just don’t want to disappoint you.” You could hear the vulnerability in his voice mixing with embarrassment, as he avoided your eyes still. Slowly, you slid your hands down the front of his shirt, feeling his chest tense up beneath your touch as your fingers gripped the fabric gently.

“You won’t disappoint me Bucky,” His hands flexed at your words like he was battling with himself as he returned his eyes to yours, allowing the both of you to really look at each other. You had never noticed the way his eyes glistened in the light or the way his pupils ate away at the blueness of his irises.

You shifted onto your knees, being mindful of the ache, but ignoring it in favour of attempting to bring yourself closer to him, as you slid your fingers upward, tracing the outline of his collarbone. Carefully, you moved, sliding yourself into his lap, feeling his body stiffen beneath you, his hands coming up to hold your waist out of instinct. Your fingers curled around the chain of his dog tags, feeling the cool metal in your hands, as you leaned in, letting your lips ghost over the rough stubble along his jaw.

”It’s been a long time for me too.” You admitted softly, your breath warm against his skin, his fingers gripping you just a little tighter, feeling your lips press a gentle kiss on his neck. His breath left him slowly, his vibranium hand coming up to cup the side of your face.

”Yeah?” His voice filled with uncertainty, as you pulled back to look down at him, nodding, threading your fingers into his damp hair.

”I also don’t know what I’m doing half the time either,” You replied, tilting yourself forward, bringing your lips close to his, “But I know I want this…And I know I want you.” You admitted, closing the space between the both of you, your lips meeting his. Bucky let out a sound that was a cross between a sharp inhale and a groan, as his arm slid around your waist wrapping around you so your body was flush against his chest. His thumb traced along your cheek as he leaned up, trying to basically crawl into you.

The kiss was tentative at first, slow and meticulous, like he was memorizing the feeling of your lips against his, the way you pulled on his hair, and the small moans that escaped into the air as he kept you pressed against his chest. A soft hum vibrated from your throat when his lips parted just enough to deepen the kiss, your tongue meeting his in a battle for dominance.

Bucky was the first one to break the kiss, overwhelmed by all the sensations that were hitting him at the same time. He rested his forehead against yours, catching his breath, as his arm tightened around you, trying to steady himself. You opened your eyes, your hands coming up to hold his face, pulling back to look at him, seeing the softness in his stare, like he was in a daze.

”You sure it’s been a while since you’ve done this?” He let out a laugh, shaking his head.

”Yeah, I’m positive.” He replied, his eyes scanning over your swollen lips, “It’s muscle memory I guess.” You smirked at him, your thumbs dragging over the stubble on his face.

“I think you just know what you’re doing.” You whispered, your compliment causing him to blush.

”You flatter me…” Before you could respond, Bucky shifted, his arm tightening around your waist as he moved forward. In one fluid motion, he eased you down onto the mattress, his body following closely behind, blanketing you in his warmth, anticipation thrumming beneath your skin, your legs wrapping around his hips. He braced his weight against his vibranium hand, as his eyes traced over every detail of your face. Your fingers curled over the neckline of his shirt, pulling him closer to you so that he could capture your lips with his again, his body pressing against yours in a way that sent a pool of heat into your lower stomach. He savoured every moment, feeling the way your legs tightened around him, pulling him even closer to you, the heat of your body surrounding him like a shield of sorts. It was intoxicating to the point where it made his head spin. You arched into him instinctively, dragging your hands down to the hem of his shirt, slipping them beneath the covering so that your fingers could dance across the muscles of his stomach, feeling them twitch against your touch. He let out a stuttered breath as he broke the kiss, leaning back so that he could pull his shirt off for you, throwing it to the side in one smooth motion.

The dim lighting of the room casted shadows over the hard planes of his chest, accentuating every defined ridge of muscle he had. Your eyes drifted to where flesh met metal, to the seam where his vibranium arm connected to his shoulder. The skin around it was littered with thick scarred tissue, jagged and slightly raised. You couldn’t imagine how many procedures he had been put through to get him to this point, but all you could think about was the pain he must’ve gone through. You continued to look him over, his dog tags catching your eyes for a moment, your hand reaching up to grab it gently.

”You’re staring,” He commented, his hand wrapping around your wrist, feeling your pulse bounding against his fingertips.

”It’s the first time I’m seeing you like this…Give me a little grace.” You joked, running your thumb over his name on the dog tag. He allowed you to take your time with him, knowing that he would probably do something similar when the roles became reversed.

“I didn’t take you for the sentimental type.” He murmured, his voice quieter than before, reserved for such an intimate moment.

”I’m just trying to memorize all of it.” You replied, letting your hand fan out over his chest, the steady rhythm of his heart pulsing against your palm. His lips parted for a moment, almost in disbelief that you liked what you were seeing, as he brought your hand up to his mouth, gently kissing the back of it, keeping his eyes on yours. His vibranium fingers raced absentminded circles along the skin of your exposed hip, his thumb brushing along the hem of your tank top, hesitating to make his next move. You sat up slightly, giving him the go-ahead to pull the shirt off of you, feeling the cool metal graze against the sensitive flesh of your ribs, as you raised your arms above your head allowing him to remove the top with ease, watching him throw it off the side of the bed. His gaze dropped to your body, roaming over every expanse of skin he could see, as you laid back down on the mattress, putting yourself under the spotlight this time.

Just like Bucky, you had your own set of war wounds, only they were caused by your own hands. The marks on your skin were not ordinary bruises, Bucky had never seen anything like them before, and the level of concern behind his eyes made you speak up.

“They’re Lichtenberg figures…People get them when they’re struck by lightning, and well…You can connect the dots as to why I have them of course.” They branched across your torso in breathtaking patterns, thin fractals of darkened reds stretching from the center of your chest and curling down your ribs, sprawling out like frozen lightning, captured in the canvas of your body. Some of the marks ran deeper, more defined, where the energy had burned through your skin with more force. Others faded into the natural warmth of your body, barely there but still visible under the dim light of the room. His eyes roamed over them, committing the patterns to memory, as he reached out with his right hand, hesitating for a moment.

“Do they hurt?” You looked up at him, shaking your head.

“No. There’s so much scarred tissue at this point that the area is pretty much numb.” You explained, feeling his calloused fingers trailing over the patterns on your torso while his vibranium hand remained on your hip, holding you still. He hummed, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss against your collarbone.

“They’re beautiful.” He whispered, his breath hitting the shell of your ear, your heart immediately swelling at his words, feeling his lips pecking along your shoulder, as his hand continued to trace along the etched fractals, moving up towards your breasts. He pulled back for a moment, breathing against the little wet marks he had left on your skin, cooling them down before returning to his exploration, kissing over the swell of your breast, his lips parting against the sensitive flesh, sucking just enough to leave faint red marks behind. You tensed beneath his touch, arching your back towards him, his fingers digging into your hip, pushing you back down against the mattress, his lips turning up into a smile against your skin.

“Stay still.” His voice vibrated against you, feeling his fingers trailing down the side of your rib cage, his lips gently making their descent down your sternum, his teeth grazing down the pathway, sending a shiver up your spine, your fingers finding their way to his hair, carding them through the damp strands.

“You’re making this hard Bucky.” He glanced up at you, his blue eyes darkened with lust.

“That’s the whole point.” He replied, continuing to trail down your stomach, his stubble scraping down your skin, before kissing right above your navel, “I want to take my time with you.” He whispered, bringing his right hand down to hold onto your thigh against him, the rough callouses causing goosebumps to rise beneath his touch. You tugged on his hair, feeling him move even lower so his lips were right just above the waistband of your shorts, his head tilting up to look at you. You held his gaze, your chest rising and falling with each uneven breath you took. A smirk played on his lips, and without breaking eye contact, he pressed a slow, deliberate kiss just above the fabric, his stubble scraping against your skin in a way that sent a delicious ache spreading through you.

“Can I take these off?” He asked gently, his fingers playing lightly with the waistband, teasing you when his thumb dipped below it for a fraction of a second before returning to its spot.

“Yes…Please.” Your voice sounded so desperate, choked up with tension, feeling him hook his fingers around the fabric before slowly pulling them down your hips, then down your thighs, only moving away from you to remove the shorts from your body completely, letting it join the increasing pile of clothes that began to form on the floor. His jaw clenched at the sight of you in front of him, your body laid out beneath his, completely bare except for your underwear. His hands moved slowly, as he grasped the back of your thighs, his thumbs pressing gently into your skin. You reached for him, your fingers tracing up his forearms, craving for him to return to where he had been just moments ago, the anticipation winding tight in your stomach. He leaned back down towards you, bringing your legs up over his broad shoulders, pulling you closer to him as he settled between your thighs, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the inside of your knee, the warmth of his breath sending a shudder through you. His grip on your thighs was firm but careful, as his mouth moved up towards your underwear, his stubble scraping lightly against your skin, leaving a whisper of friction that only added to the tension that coiled deep in the core of your stomach. Your fingers tangled into his hair again, pulling gently, wordlessly begging him to continue. You could feel him smile against the skin of your inner thighs, enjoying how desperate you were becoming.

“Bucky.” You whispered, your voice breaking with such need that it almost burned through your body. He looked up at you, his darkened eyes gazing into your soul, reading you like you were an open book. His lips parted slightly as his right hand left the top of your thigh, skimming his fingers over the damped fabric of your underwear.

“So impatient.” He murmured, trying to keep his voice from wavering, attempting to keep the dominance in his tone, even though it was becoming harder and harder with every shaky breath you took. His lips brushed over the fabric, breathing out against your arousal as your thighs tightened on his neck, a soft moan escaping your throat.

“Bucky, please…” You begged, your fingers pulling on his hair, the teasing pushing you over the edge. A smirk ghosted across his lips at your pleas, and then with an agonizing slowness he hooked his fingers into the fabric of your underwear, dragging it gently to the side, baring you to him completely. His eyes flicked up to yours, his pupils blown out enough to where you were almost unable to see the ring of blue that surrounded it, and in that moment, you could see that he was as desperate as you were. Then finally, he pressed his mouth against you.

The first touch was barely there, a soft kiss placed deliberately beside where you needed him the most, to tease you, before his lips parted and his tongue dragged up your slit, not wanting to hinder himself any longer. Your head fell back against the pillow, a choked gasp escaping your lips at the sensation and warmth of his mouth wrapping around your clit, humming at the way your thighs flexed against his face, rubbing against his stubble. His tongue continued to circle against the bundle of nerves, his eyes burning into your skin, watching as you arched your back, grinding yourself on his mouth, wordlessly begging that you wanted more. His right hand slid up to your core, coating his fingers in your arousal before slipping two of them in with ease, looking at the way your mouth dropped open as he curled them inside you, finding a pace that matched the way his tongue worked against your clit.

Your fingers continued to tangle deeper into his hair, but before you could pull, his vibranium hand wrapped around one of your wrists, pulling it away gently, feeling him pin your arm down against the mattress beside you, sliding his fingers down to intertwine with yours. The contrast of the heat that was pooling in your stomach and the cold of his hand sent a shiver through you, heightening every moment, every touch, and every movement he made against you, unraveling you piece by piece.

Your heartbeat pounded in your ears, the pressure in your lower stomach growing unbearable, his increasing pace pushing you closer and closer to the edge. He could feel the way you clenched around his fingers, and how you trembled beneath him, rocking against his mouth.

”Bucky-“ His name left your lips in a strangled breath, your gaze returning to his, realizing that he had been watching you this entire time, enamoured by your body and the way it reacted to him. His grip on your hand tightened, grounding you to the moment, your legs clenching around his head again just as his tongue flattened against you and his fingers curled a little more inside you, picking up the pace. For a split second he took his mouth off you.

“Let go for me sweetheart.” He instructed, his voice laced with such need and devotion that you could feel your entire body tense up, feeling his mouth returning to your clit once again, his tongue working against you with such purpose that all the air in your lungs ceased to exist. Your thighs twitched against the sides of his head, his lips wrapping around your clit with a slow and deliberate pull, which caused the tension in your stomach to snap.

A sharp moan tore through you, as he pressed his face against you even more, allowing himself to feel the way you shuddered beneath him. The air crackled faintly, as static danced along your skin, noticing the way Bucky’s arm plates flickered a light blue for a brief moment. His grip on your hand tightened, and his movements didn’t falter, allowing himself to slow down just enough to guide you through the aftershocks of your orgasm, until your body finally relaxed against the mattress, utterly spent.

Gently he pulled away from your soaked core, pressing a wet kiss to the inside of your thigh, before removing his glistening fingers from you and sitting up slightly. His lips were slick with your arousal, and the expression on his face was something between pride and awe, as he crawled back on top of you, caging your body in his warmth.

“You were incredible.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your lips, the sweet reminance of you being tasted on his tongue, “You did so good.” He added, bringing his fingers to your mouth, watching as you sucked the rest of your arousal off of them, your tongue carefully flicking against them.

“Christ.” Was all he could manage to say, as he slowly pulled his fingers from your mouth, letting them drag down your swollen lower lip, watching the saliva glisten over the reddened skin where you had been biting. The hard outline of him pressed against your thigh as he shifted above you, bringing his mouth to yours again, wanting to savour every kiss you gave him. His dog tags grazed the middle of your chest, cooling your overheated skin which now had a faint film of sweat forming on it, as you let out a soft moan when he rolled his hips against your aching heat, pressing hard so you could feel him. Bucky pulled away from the kiss, almost with a disappointed look on his face, a moment of realization shining in his eyes.

”Shit…Y/N I don’t have condoms.” He whispered, putting his forehead onto your collarbone, breathing heavily, trying to steady himself. You smirked at his despair, as you laced your fingers into his hair and tugged it so he could look at you.

”I have an implant, Bucky.” You informed, watching the relief wash over his face, a long sigh escaping his lips.

”Thank god.” Was all he could say before sitting back onto his knees, moving quickly to rid you of your underwear and himself of his cargo pants and boxers. You couldn’t help but giggle at his eagerness as he shifted his weight to take everything off all at once, and also just enough to knock the first aid kit and the metal bowl of glass right off the bed.

The sharp clang causes the both of you to freeze, as Bucky’s eyes flicker over to the mess before returning to you, waiting for your reaction, watching your hand come up to cover your mouth to stop a laugh from escaping it.

“Real smooth.” You teased, hearing him let out a breathless chuckle.

”Not my best moment.” He admitted with a crooked grin, rubbing the back of his neck, bringing his hand over to touch your thigh. You reached up to wrap your hand around his forearm, before pulling him towards you.

”I find it kind of endearing that you’re all nervous and flustered.” He let out a quiet laugh, as he settled between your legs once again.

“You make it hard to keep my composure.” Your fingers skimmed up his arm, feeling his bicep twitching beneath your touch, while he adjusted himself against you, bringing his vibranium hand up to your throat to hold it gently, tilting your head up to meet his eyes before his mouth captured yours again in a hunger filled kiss, feeling your hips raising to meet his, in a silent plea. A low groan escaped him as his length grinded against your wet heat, attempting to hold himself back for just a few moments before he got lost in you. He pulls away from your lips again, leaning back so he can line himself up with you. Your eyes trail down to his cock, seeing that it’s already glistening with precum, the tip a light red, practically begging to be seated inside you. He’s way above average, and the way he pumps himself in his hand almost makes you come right then and there. He could see the lust in your eyes, the way your mouth opened just a little at the sight in front of you.

“You sure you can take me sweetheart? You’re already shaking.” He pointed out, a teasing smile coming up on his wet lips.

“I need you Bucky…Please…” The words fell from you in a whimper, as his vibranium hand slid from your throat to cup the side of your face.

“Okay, okay, I won’t tease you anymore…Relax for me.” He whispered, as he aligned himself with your entrance, coating himself in your arousal. You could feel yourself clench around nothing in anticipation for him, feeling as he gently pushed into you, the delicious stretch was just enough to make you gasp, and tighten around him, your eyes closing to take all the sensations in at once. Bucky leaned onto you, his lips brushing against yours.

”Look at me,” He ordered softly, “I want to see those pretty eyes while I’m inside you.” You moaned at his comment, bringing your half-lidded, pleasure hazed gaze up to meet his, as your jaw went slack, feeling him pushing deeper, inch by inch.

“That’s it,” He praised, “You’re taking me in so well, and you’re so fucking tight…All for me.” He was breathless, continuing to move slowly, his pelvis finally meeting yours when he bottomed out. He gave you a gentle kiss, like he was rewarding you for listening to him, a soft moan escaping your throat. Your walls fluttered around him as he drew back a bit before thrusting forward, hitting a spot inside you that made your vision blur.

”Oh my god Bucky…” You whimpered, his hand coming up to hold just above your stabilizer, a smile coming up on his lips as he repeated the same motion, pulling the same reaction from you.

“There you go,” He coaxed, “That’s the spot, isn’t it?” You could only nod, your nails digging into his shoulders, dragging them down his back.

”Say it, sweetheart…Tell me how good it feels.” He whispers, his breath hitting your lips as he continues to move, pulling out just a little more, bringing his hips to yours again just a little harder, eliciting another gasp from throat.

”You feel s-so good.” Your words caught on the sheer pleasure of the way he filled you, your fingers digging into the muscles of his back.

”That’s my girl…You were made for this weren’t you?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear, savouring the way you writhed beneath him, reacting to his movements and words. He pressed another kiss to your lips, pulling his hand from your neck, and sliding it down between the both of you to press just above your pubic bone. The added pressure made every movement of his hips feel like explosions throughout your body.

“You feel that hmm? How deep I am inside of you?” Your walls clenched around him, as your eyes closed again, another strangled moan escaping into the room, your nails dragging across his skin again.

”Bucky, o-oh my god.” Was all you could manage to say, your legs locking around his waist, your abdomen tensing beneath his touch. He began to pick up the pace, the both of you exchanging breaths and gasps into each other's mouths, as he nipped at your bottom lip gently.

”You’re so fucking perfect.” He praised, feeling your fingers curl into his hair, trying to ground yourself against the overwhelming heat of his body grinding into yours. His lips traveled along your jawline, pressing open-mouthed kisses along the column of your throat, sucking the sensitive skin, putting a mark on a spot that would be visible to everyone, snapping his hips against yours, earning another cry from your lips.

“I love fucking hearing you.” He whispered, devouring every reaction you gave him, your walls clenching around him, throwing off his rhythm for a moment as he brought his face back up to yours. “You’re so fucking close, aren’t you?” He asked, watching you nod frantically, unable to focus on the task at forming words. He removed the pressure he was placing above your pubic bone, only to bring his fingers to your swollen clit, pressing against it. Your body arched against his, as he began to draw tight, slow circles around the bundle of nerves.

”Come for me Y/N…Let me feel it.” His voice cracked, his breath ragged. Before your brain could even register his words the pleasure ripped through you, as your body shook beneath his, your nails now digging into his flesh, causing him to gasp at the sharp sting. Your vision was blurred, and you could’ve sworn you felt a few tears fall out of the corners of your eyes as you clenched down harder on his cock, another static pulse igniting from you, wrapping around Bucky’s arm and fading out quickly. He kissed you again, consuming you completely, bringing his hand back up to your neck just to hold it, feeling your pulse beneath his fingertips, picking up the speed of his thrusts, the pace becoming rougher and more desperate. You grabbed onto his vibranium hand, gasping for air.

”I’m gonna fill you up so much that I’m gonna be dripping out of you for days.” He growled, tightening his grip on your hand, as the burning tension in him finally snapped, the hand on your neck tightening for a brief moment, his body stiffening above you. He let out a long groan against your lips as he spilled into you, bucking his hips towards yours to push the warmth of him deeper inside, fulfilling his promise. The weight of him sank against you as his head dropped to the crook of your neck, kissing any portion of skin that he could reach.

A minute passed, maybe more, as the both of you laid there, catching your breath, while he softened inside you. He kept his hand at your neck, his thumb idly tracing over your pulse, while his vibranium fingers remained intertwined with yours, not wanting to pull away just yet. You tilted your head back against the pillow, as you let out a breathless laugh, breaking the silence that had settled between you. Bucky lifted his head slightly, eyebrows raised, his lips twitching at the corners.

”What’s funny?” He asked, as you turned your head to look at him, amusement dancing within your tired eyes.

”That tone you were using was so fucking hot.” You could see he was amused by your admission.

”Really?” He asked, his smirk growing wider and wider.

”Yeah…I mean I knew you could be confident, but that? Holy shit Bucky.” He laughed at the way you were rambling.

”I didn’t know you liked being talked through it like that, I was just kind of filling the silence.” He responded, watching as your eyebrows raised.

”THAT was filling the silence?!” He shrugged.

”Just got creative. It was really easy too, cause you looked so pretty under me.” He complimented, pressing a kiss against your lips, you hummed.

”Well consider me very appreciative of your sudden creativity.” You murmured.

”I guess I’ll have to add it to my sex repertoire for next time.” You raised your eyebrows at him.

”You want there to be a next time?” He laughed at your shock, as his hand tightened around yours.

”Oh Y/N, if you give me a few minutes to recover that next time will come really quickly.” He commented, earning a loud laugh from you.

[chilope]

Ask meme for people in their 30s

What was the first piece of furniture you bought?

What proportion of your meals do you cook?

Foaming hand soap or normal hand soap?

Favorite chore?

Least favorite chore?

Most precious thing one of your pets has destroyed?

Any groceries you've been getting into lately?

What cleaning product do you swear by?

What's your emotional support craft?

Youtube, cable TV, or streaming?

What's something you saved up for and then regretted buying?

How many cups can you see from where you're sitting?

Which filter are you most likely to go "eh, it's probably fine" when you find out you need to change it?

How often do you take baths?

Do you go down each aisle when you grocery shop, or only the ones you know you need stuff from?

Where do you go when you need to get out of the house but it's raining?

What's a movie you saw recently that you liked?

Pro or anti tchotchkes?

What's your go-to tape?

What's in your freezer right now?

Last concert you attended?

Favorite grocery store?

Paper bags, plastic bags, or reusable bags?

Do you get your government mandated 8 hours every night?

Favorite old person activity?

Would you rather sit on the porch drinking sweet tea or sit by the lake drinking beers?

Do you prefer Boardgame Night, Build-Your-Own-Pizza Night, or Movie Night with your friends?

Be honest, do you like all of the pictures of their babies that your friends send you?

Go-to holiday card format?

How many pairs of scissors do you own?

Do you still own your first car?

How do you take your morning coffee/tea?

What's something you collect?

What's your commute like?

Aisle at the grocery store you never bother walking down?

Do you keep a daily journal or agenda?

Do you still listen to the same music you listened to in high school?

What's the last filter you changed?

What little treat do you always get when you run errands?

Grocery list or no grocery list?

What's the oldest thing you own?

What's an unjustifiably expensive appliance that you really want?

Favorite book you've read recently?

Honest feelings on Settlers of Catan?

What's something you wish you had more time for?

What kind of stuff do you keep on the door of your refrigerator?

Lamps or overhead lighting?

If you could build your home from scratch, what outrageous feature would you want to build into it?

Do you bring a bag with you everywhere you go?

Pro or anti throw pillows?

How many blankets do you keep in your living room?

Did your relationship with your parents get better when you stopped living with them?

What's worse, the DMV or the Social Security Office?

Do you decorate your house for holidays? Which ones?

Favorite high-effort meal that you make?

Favorite low-effort meal that you make?

Do you tend to bring an appetizer, entree, dessert, or drinks to a potluck?

What kind of bag do you use for your bag full of bags?

If you died and your ghost was stuck in the outfit you're wearing right now for the rest of time, would you be happy with it?

Do you have an opinion on your local weather reporter?

Do you have a favorite brunch spot?

Where are you on the minimalism-maximalism kinsey scale?

Opinion on Bath and Body Works?

Last time you visited a farmer's market?

Anything you're procrastinating on right now?

Do you get your taxes in as soon as possible, at the last minute, or late?

Do you keep any stuffed animals on your bed?

Are your garbage bags scented or unscented?

What are you looking forward to next week?

[brittle-doughie]

[Alright, to briefly explain Taurus Cookie in your house-]

“H-huhhh?! Hey, looook everyooone! I’m floaaatiiing!”

“Taurus Cookie!”

“We did it! She made it!”

“I’m…I’m reaaally going baaack…”

“Thank youuu. I learned so muuuch form aaall of youuu. Like how to nnnever give uuup, and how to maaange my own feeelings…”

“If ooonly…..”

She tried to reach out for you, but she was pulled up too quickly to reach….

“Youuu could cooome with me….”

“You don’t need me, Taurus Cookie. Your fellow constellations do! I’ll be fine!”

“I leaaarned how much we meaaan to all of youuu. Like hooow you meaaan so much to meee, Y/N Cookieeee…..”

“This doesn’t have to be the end! Maybe we’ll meet again someday!”

“They’re right! Until then, we wish you safe travels! You’ve helped protect my faith, thank you! Elderberry Cookie, say something!”

He didn’t know what to say as he turned to you. You gave him a knowing smile and a nudge to his shoulder.

“Elderberry Cookieeee!”

“Goodbye! I’m certain you’ll shine as brightly and beautifully as you always have. You helped me believe in miracles! I’ve found something that I wish to do again.”

“I had sooo much funnn! I’m going to tell eeeveryone how greaaat it is down heeere!”

“And Y/N Cookieee, I’ll come baaack to hiii somedaaay!”

“Looking forward to it! See ya around, Taurus Cookie!”

———————————————————————

You looked up at the sky at your house window to gaze at the stars, some of them forming up as shapes you recognized.

“Hope you’re doing good, Taurus Cookie. Wherever you are…”

You took a bite out of a honey cake you made as you continued to look up, until you could make out the Taurus constellation in the stars.

“There you are. I recognize that formation of stars anywhere with what Elderberry had taught me.”

You kept looking until you noticed that the stars making up Taurus was shining brighter then the ones around it. Did she know you were looking at her? Heh, now that was a thought.

Come to think of it, they were not only shining brighter, but…growing larger?

No…getting closer!

Your eyes widen as you came to this conclusion too late when a geyser of light shined down at your home, you had to shield your eyes.

“Y/N Cookieeeeee!”

An all too familiar voice calls out to you as you were suddenly brought down to the ground by something dive bombing at you from the window.

You groan as you lift your head up to see Taurus Cookie on top of you, nestled into your chest as she munched on the honey cake you had.

“Taurus Cookie! A little soon for your visit, don’t you think?”

“I’m sooorry. I just cooouldn’t wait to seeee you agaaain, I wanted to cooome down alreeeady!”

“You don’t exactly look sorry. You weren’t kicked out again, were you?”

“Noooo, I wanteeed to come down hereeee!”

“What about your duties?”

“They told meeee I can stayyyy here with yooou as looong as I’m not laaazy againnnn.”

“So you’ll be popping in and out occasionally to do your duties, but you’ll mostly be here.”

“Thaaat’s rightttt!”

“Hmm….eh, I could live with that. Could you get off of me, though?”

“Noooo, you’re soooo comfy and waaarm…”

“Taurus Cookie!”

[beyuwol]

maybe back then, yuwol would answer with something else, he’d share the same sentiment that luciel is thinking now—it’s too cold, he feels like he’s forever stuck in a shrinking glass case where winter seems endless. now though. his way of thinking has changed slightly. while the shiver he feels in this weather amidst the changing seasons isn’t ideal, it isn’t… horrible.

“not really,” he decides to say as he’s letting out a breath. the snow crumples easily under his feet, but it’s impossible to get rid of everything. not under these circumstances, he thinks. “it isn’t too bad though. it’s… pretty,” he replies, looking at the imprints of his foot as he moves to the side. it’ll disappear eventually, a temporary mark.

luciel directs another question in yuwol’s direction, another reminder of his incredibly tight schedule, made worse by his parents’ demands to continue the activities he already has. if not, increase them. “it’s tiring,” he admits aloud. even after getting himself signed, the load that sits on his shoulders hadn’t lessened. still, he thinks he can do it. probably.

“keeping busy does mean even less time… alone with my own thoughts,” he says, his eyes flickering towards luciel. “was i interrupting… your alone time? should i have looked the other way?”

it took a long time for luciel to figure out that he has some sort of odd sensitivity to voices, he blinks when he hears someone speaking to him, turning around with a slight surprise on his face. with other kinds of sounds, like footsteps, traffic noise, or a phone ringing—he’s usually unaffected by them. besides, he didn’t expect for anyone familiar to call out to him at this time, maybe that’s another factor to consider.

“not quite. it’s too… cold, for me,” he answers, in a rather visibly tired tone. still, he lets out a small smile, for appearances, a habit he cannot let go of. “you don’t like it either?” he returns the question.

each time luciel crosses paths with yuwol, he notices how the boy has started to open up, bit by bit; akin to a doll gaining sentience on its own. drowned in endless practice, and yet temporarily free from the shadows of a controlling family, perhaps. he doesn’t knows anything, but he can make his silent guesses in his mind.

“being busy here, is it nice?” another question thrown at him. “it can get so busy that you can’t be distracted by other things.” after spending the entire day inside the building, the times when he gets to collect his thoughts is when he’s returning after practice. the voices in his head makes attempts to erode his mind away, and he tries to sleep it off whenever it happens ( which doesn’t always work ).

[ghettogirly]

how do you think armando would react if He is too much in love with the reader, but she is younger than him (I mean Armando is obviously twenty-eight but the reader is still in his 20s) I would appreciate it very much, I love you 💗🌷✨

I don't know how many times I've ordered, but here I am again 🛐🙃♥️

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎 𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍:

𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐏!

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: ���𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎 𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐒 𝐗 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑!𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

-> synopsis: how would armando be when loving a girl who’s 10 years younger than him? armando is 32 and the reader is 22.

-> theme: age gap, comedy, suggestive.

-> format: headcanon/drabble.

-> warnings: mention of age gap relationships, mature language.

-> authors note: i’m going to be putting updates out slower since I’m not that well guys. nevertheless i hope you enjoyed! I love your requests!! 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝! 🌸

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[🌸] 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆:

-> older!armando would literally first meet you when he picked his son, Alejandro, up from class.

-> it would be the first time meeting you as you’re a new teacher in the school.

-> so when he came to pick up his son, it’s safe to say you was utterly shocked at the resemblance and at the way they both acted.

-> Armando displayed the same cheekiness Alejandro did, smiling at you as his son was going on about his day.

-> “Parece que realmente disfruta de tus clases.”

-> “he’s a lot like you.”

-> “they say that, gotta come see from the source though, eh?”

-> oh.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[🌸] 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:

-> you found out that Armando is divorced ,

honestly you was kind of happy.

-> it may be inappropriate to admire your own student’s father but what can you do if he’s the most attractive man you’ve saw in your life.

-> he noticed your staring but didn’t mind, he thought you was the most beautiful woman to exist too.

-> so he took his chances and asked you out.

-> to which you accepted.

𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐁𝐘 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐀.

-> he took you to an 90s themed restaurant where old school rnb was playing, wanting you to hear the music that was around when he was younger.

-> getting to know each other, you found out that he was a business owner. Having multiple offices around Miami helping those to build their perfect house.

-> “all those beautiful houses you see in Miami, i’ve built most of them.”

-> “i never would’ve imagined that’s the work you do.”

-> seeing him laugh and smile literally made your heart warm. “what can i say? i like getting my hands a bit dirty.”

-> you nearly choked on your drink. Armando was definitely enjoying seeing you flustered, making these tiny comments from even the moment he met you.

-> ordering food, you both ate and enjoyed each others presence.

-> “¿Te importa que sea mayor que tú?”

-> your eyes widened at the question. Putting your utensils down, you looked up at him to which he waiting for your answer.

-> “You would be the oldest man i’ve ever spoken to romantically but i don’t object to the idea of it.”

-> He smiled at that. “Good.”

-> after the date, he drove you back home as it was a little bit after 9pm. You thanked him and then kissed his cheek as a thank you.

-> wanting more, he lightly turned your face to his and gave you a peck on your lips. Making you blush at his bold advance.

-> “Hopefully i’ll see you again soon.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[🌸] 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄:

-> it’s been a couple months into yours and Armando’s relationship.

-> Honestly one of the healthiest relationships you’ve been in.

-> he always picks you up from work, not wanting you to walk back anymore, especially after a long day.

-> you always stay over at his on the weekend, relaxing with him and Alejandro by watching some movies or even going out to the park.

-> The age gap between you and Armando can be visible at some points, especially when it comes to social media.

“Nena, ¿sabes qué es tiktok?”

-> You nearly laughed at him even mentioning it. “What do you know about tiktok?”

“My employees told me to download it but i just don’t get the app.”

“Stick to facebook babe.”

-> even with things like his email, you noticed that he was using @yahoo.com

“Who uses yahoo email?!”

“Me.”

-> nevertheless, you wouldn’t trade the relationship for anything else, inheriting both a family and a man who loves you for you. Bombarding you with compliments everyday.

-> “You look absolutely stunning today babe.”

“New hair?”

“Looks great on you.”

-> Life was great, even with a man who’s 10 years older than you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[🌸] 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 

“Parece que realmente disfruta de tus clases.”: he seems to really enjoy your classes.

“ ¿Te importa si soy mayor que tú?”: Do you mind if i’m older than you?

“Nena, ¿sabes qué es tiktok?”: Baby, what is tiktok?

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[🌸] 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @dyttomori @tyneshaaa @shurisgf @milliumizoomi @sarcasticbitchsblog @armandosbabymama @thedarkworldofhananerea @amplifiedmoan @deadpool15 @wizewhispers @5tarlan7

[bakugosatoru]

MHA Boys Christmas Imagines.

Requests Open! Warnings: None Genre: Romantic Fluff Fic Type: Headcannons Fandom: My Hero Academia Authors note: Happy holiday season everyone! Sorry I've been a little missing in action but I have been spending holidays back home with my family but you know I couldn't stay away from our boys. I celebrate Christmas so that's what these imagines will be but if anyone wants other holiday ones just let me know! Have a wonderful holidays everyone. (P.S. This was written on my phone so please excuse any weird formatting)

Izuku

- You wake up to Izuku having cooked a gorgeous pancake breakfast for you. - "Good morning honey, Merry Christmas!" - If you were the type to wear matching hoodies or sweaters Izuku would be MORE than happy to indulge you. Matching Christmas sweaters or pajamas, you name it. -You'd have a mostly slow morning, cuddle on the couch and enjoy one another's company until about mid-day when you'd head to Inko's (Izukus mums) home for a late Christmas lunch/dinner -He's happy to spend any other day with your family or just the two of you, but Izuku insists on spending Christmas day with his mum. - She creates a gorgeous roast dinner for the 3 of you, it's incredible and you all happily sit around the table chatting and eating, Izuku holding your hand under the table the minute you finish eating. - Izuku is a very good gift giver. He usually gets you two or three lovely expensive gifts. He's the type to know exactly what you want even if you didn't. He's the kind to remember something you mentioned months before and get it for you for a suprise. - Inko is the type for hand made gifts, she knitted you and Izuku a matching set of gloves because she's worried about you both getting cold. - You spend the evening at Inko's home, happily dozing off on the couch watching an All Might Christmas special in Izukus arms. - "You make my life so much better my love, can't wait to spend the next year by your side"

Katsuki

- As much of he won't admit it, he loves having a big Christmas with both your family's together. - You usually travel up to stay with Mitsuki and Masaru a few days before Christmas. Katsuki puts in under the guise of 'helping the old geezers get the house presentable' but you know that deep down he loves spending time with his Mum and Dad. - You spend time with Katsuki, cooking and decorating, and as much as he feigns complaints, he happily joins you for any holiday activity you want to do. - "Eh? Gingerbread houses? .... Fine nerd but don't take all the icing you hear?" -When Christmas day finally comes, the house comes alive with laughter and chatter of your families, but Katsuki doesn't leave your side. -He is either holding your hand or standing behind you with his hands rested on your waist or wrapped around you - He also always keeps an eye on you to make sure you don't get overwhelmed by all the people, and if you do he'll take you into a quiet room to recharge for a little bit. -"You alright baby? Need a minute? Nah it's fine, the extras can wait, here come sit down." - When it comes to gifts, Katsuki goes absolutely over the top for you. Get ready for 8 to 9 boxes, all for you. - When the house finally quiets down, you and Katsuki help tidy up and head back to the bedroom your staying in. - "Hey, I know I'm not always the easiest to deal with sometimes.... but I love you, I love having Christmas with you, and I wanna spend all of next year with you too. I love you nerd"

Shoto

- Shoto really isn't a massive fan of big family gatherings... for obvious reasons. - His dream Christmas is just with you and maybe some friends. - You really want to make this Christmas special for him so you decorate the house while he's on patrol a few days before. - On Christmas morning you make lovely french toast for him and hot cocoa. - "This looks amazing angel. Thank you" - He helps you set the table and do some cooking for the friends Christmas lunch your having. -Izuku, Katsuki, Eijiro and Denki rock up around mid-day with gifts and side-dishes. - You have a lovely Christmas lunch with all your friends and it seems Shoto was able to get into the Christmas spirit a little. - After your friends leave that evening, Shoto drags you onto the couch and turns on a sappy Christmas movie before grabbing a few small presents. - "I'm not the best with holiday stuff... but I hope you like these" - You adore them, they are heartfelt jewellery pieces and other lovely small gifts. - You fall asleep curled up in Shotos arms, his fingers carding through your hair. - "I've never been a massive fan of the holidays... but with you, I'm starting to get why people love it. I love you and I want to spend every day of my life with you."

[strawberryloft]

Just bought myself a kids colouring book for fun and I feel like Oz would fuck heavy with colouring. he doesnt think hes talented enough to paint or write or make something out of clay but pass him a fucking cerulean crayon and hes going to town!!! he probably even does the darker outline around the edges to make it Fancy

I think Oz likes coloring because it's something he could have fully participated in as a kid. It wasn't a sport that hurt his leg and other kids liked it enough. I imagine there were art circles at school and Oz finally got to feel like he was a part of something. When he got older though he was teased, then a little more, because coloring became for girls. Oz being the guy he was gave it up, it was just a sign of the times.

When reader brings home adult coloring books for date night Oz can't help but pick one up and thumb through it. The pictures are more intricate than the last time he held a coloring book. Pictures of realistic animals and scenery. It would probably take hours to do. There was a dirty book Oz had to look at, inside were nasty words and pin up girls that made him chuckle. As the reader set a box of fancy-looking markers on the table Oz could feel the twitch in his fingers. He missed it. When reader smiled telling him he found his book format eh pile Oz looked down at the fault coloring book.

"This is your idea of a date night sweetheart?" Oz asked raising an eyebrow.

Reader nodded pouring two glasses of wine, "It's different. I'm hoping this will make me a little better at staying in the lines."

Oz smiles sitting on the couch next to them, "It might make you worse."

"What are you an art critic?" Reader rolled their eyes.

Oz turned his head planting a kiss on reader's warm neck, "I was a long time ago."

Oz is excited to hold a marker again and show off his skills, he hopes he isn't too rusty he wants to impress reader.

[stardustloki]

Being Useful

When Wrecker is injured, the entire Batch agree that he needs time to rest and heal. This is why, when Shep asks the Batch for help with a task that will be sure to make his injuries worse, Omega is baffled when her brothers agree immediately.

The Batch know that they're safe on Pabu. However, they haven't quite understood that their safety doesn't rely on them always making themselves useful.

Tags: Gen, Omega and Wrecker POVs, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Found Family, Past Trauma (Kamino was NOT a good place), Non-Graphic Description of Minor Injuries

Read on Ao3 here.

Or under the cut...

“That should do it,” Echo said at last, securing the long bandage he’d wrapped around Wrecker’s torso. “It’ll heal up fine, but-” he fixed him with a stern look- “only if you rest and give the bacta time to do its job.”

Omega watched as Wrecker visibly deflated.

“You mean I’ve got to sit around doing nothing!”

“If you don’t put any strain on your muscles for the next rotation, the bacta will do its job and the tears in your trapezius will heal.” Echo folded his arms. “If you don’t rest them, if you go around lifting heavy things, they won’t heal, and you’ll be bored for much longer.”

Wrecker stared up at the ceiling, letting out a frustrated sigh. “ Fine. ”

“Lyana was going to teach me how to make sushi today,” Omega spoke up. “You could come with me, if you want. It should be interesting, and we’ll be eating a lot.”

As she waited, hoping her brother would say yes, she caught the grateful look Hunter was sending her out of the corner of her eye. Getting any of her brothers to take it slow after an injury in the field had always been a difficult task, and Wrecker, with his boundless energy and need to move, had always been the worst of them. If he said yes to this, at least she knew he wouldn’t put any strain on his back for the next hour or so.

Her brother looked thoughtful for a second, before smiling at her. “Yeah, okay. I guess that could be fun.”

“Awesome!” she replied, feeling the excitement swell within her, jumping up slightly on the balls of her feet.

She waited, hoping she seemed far more patient on the outside than she felt on the inside, as Hunter helped Wrecker get his shirt back on and Echo packed away the medical supplies. Crosshair was sitting on the bench near the door, chewing a toothpick and tinkering with the settings for his prosthetic hand.

Without warning, Hunter seemed to freeze, glancing at the wall of their home, moving his head slowly towards the door, as if tracking someone. A few seconds later, there was a knock. Omega shrugged and went to open it.

Shep was outside, grinning widely at her through the doorway. She couldn’t help but grin back at the man she was slowly coming to consider her uncle.

“Omega! How are you?” he asked.

“Great, thanks. Looking forward to hanging out with Lyana! What about you?”

“Eh, I’m alright. But there’s been a couple problems I’m hoping your brothers will be able to help out with. Can I come in?”

“Sure!”

She stepped aside to let him in, but as she turned back towards her brothers she found herself frowning, brain stuttering in alarm. 

Hunter, Crosshair and Echo were all standing in between Shep and Wrecker. With the way they’d staggered themselves, the pattern appearing almost natural, perhaps to an outsider like Shep it wouldn’t look as if they’d placed themselves in a defensive formation, clearly attempting to shield Wrecker, but to Omega it couldn’t have been more obvious.

What wasn’t obvious, however, was why they were doing it. This was Shep. One of the nicest people they’d ever met. There was absolutely no need to protect Wrecker from him.

“Good morning, how are you boys today?” Shep’s voice was as welcoming as ever, but Hunter was far more guarded when he spoke.

“We’re all fine, thank you.” Omega frowned at Hunter’s words, she wouldn’t class Wrecker as ‘fine’. “How can we help?”

“There’s a house down near the coast, it got damaged real bad in the storm last night. I was hoping you’d help rebuild it. Wrecker would be a real help bringing up some of the building materials from one of the ships in the dock.”

“Sounds good,” Hunter replied. “Just tell us where the house is and we’ll be there.”

Wait, what?

She waited for Echo to speak up, to repeat what he’d told Wrecker just a few minutes before. Neither Echo nor Crosshair opened their mouths to speak. Instead, they watched Shep with neutral expressions, clearly waiting for him to carry on the conversation.

“Awesome, I’ll send you the address on my comm and-”

“Wait, stop,” Omega interrupted, because if everyone was gonna act like they’d lost their minds, at least she could be the voice of reason. “Wrecker can’t help you, he’s-”

“He’s fine, sir,” Hunter cut across her.

She could literally feel herself gaping at him, but he didn’t spare her a glance, keeping his steady gaze firmly on Shep, who surely must be realising this was weird, right? Hunter had just called him ‘sir’, for kriff’s sake. Hunter had never called him ‘sir’.

Thankfully for her sanity, Shep did seem to find this weird, because he was frowning at Hunter, his head tilted slightly.

“If Wrecker’s injured in some way…” he began.

“It’s nothing,” Wrecker said.

“Nothing serious,” Hunter added, the ‘s’ on serious a little too stuttered for Omega to believe that he hadn’t been about to call Shep ‘sir’ again before cutting himself off.

She stared at him incredulously. Not serious? Okay, it wasn’t serious like a blaster wound was serious, or like a chip in your brain was serious. But, even though he’d tried to hide it, she’d known that Wrecker had been in agony before Echo had applied the bacta, and he’d only stop the injury from healing, or even make it worse, if he started lifting things now.

Besides, Shep considered a small cut serious. She knew because of how he’d fussed over Lyana the last time they’d cooked together and Lyana had nicked herself when her knife had slipped. He’d also been way too concerned when Omega had fallen down the stairs during a game of tag with her friend - she’d only had a couple of bumps and grazes after all, they were basically routine on missions! There was absolutely no way he’d consider letting Wrecker hurt himself more by helping - so why weren’t the others telling him?

“If you’re sure,” he replied, an edge of uncertainty in his voice.

“No, he’s-” 

Hunter made a clearly frantic but barely noticeable gesture in battlesign, with one of the hands he was keeping firmly by his side, telling her that she needed to stop, now. She cut herself off, scowling at him.

If Hunter was using battlesign that meant this was important, that his orders needed to be followed. She knew it also meant he must have an explanation for this, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be frustrated, even as she obeyed. It wasn’t her fault his orders made no sense. 

“Omega’s upset because she invited Wrecker to make sushi with her and Lyana,” Echo said, eyes flickering down towards the floor as he struggled with the lie.

Shep fixed her with a kind smile. Omega did her best to look like it didn’t irritate the hell out of her at that moment. “I’m sure he’ll be able to help next time. So,” he addressed the others, “I’ll see you boys in half an hour or so. If anything changes, or you’re not able to help for any reason, just let me know.”

After he’d left, Omega let her brothers feel the full force of her glare.

“What the hell was that?”

She was surprised to hear Crosshair speaking those words, considering they were exactly what she’d been about to ask the four of them.

“I could ask you the same,” she snapped, folding her arms. “Have you forgotten that there are small tears in Wrecker’s back muscles. Do you want him to get hurt worse.”

Crosshair took a step towards her. Omega only narrowed her eyes further.

“Have you forgotten that they allow us to live here, that they protect us from the Empire even after it invaded their home, because we’re useful to them?” He replied. Omega felt her mouth drop open for the second time that day. “Have you thought about what happens when we stop being useful to them?”

“They invited us to live here because they like us, because they care about us!” Omega protested.

Crosshair scoffed, and, as she glanced at the others, hoping that they’d back her up on this, she could see they looked a mix of wary and uncomfortable.

“I’m sure they do, at least a bit,” Hunter told her, voice gentle, as if he was telling her something difficult to hear. Omega supposed it was difficult, if only because they were being so ridiculous. “But they’ll probably like us a whole lot less if we don’t help them.”

“He wouldn’t want Wrecker to be in pain.”

“I’m fine, Omega,” Wrecker said, walking over to wrap her in a hug, which she gracelessly accepted. “I’ve had to deal with worse, way worse. I’ll be back here recovering before you know it.”

“He probably wouldn’t want Wrecker to be in pain,” Echo agreed, “But-”

“There isn’t any ‘but’ to this!” Omega snapped. “He cares about us, he cares about Wrecker. That isn’t going to change because Wrecker can’t help out one time.”

“Sorry, kid,” Wrecker told her, gently ruffling her hair. “You aren’t going to win this one.”

She sighed, allowing her head to rest against his chest. “Fine,” she groaned. “Guess I’ll go make sushi with Lyana myself then.”

The frustration and anger remained within her throughout her walk along the sunny streets of Pabu. It hadn’t abated by the time she reached Lyana’s, not when she was aware that Wrecker should have been there beside her, not walking in the other direction, about to start doing an activity that was only going to hurt him and make his injuries worse.

Whatever Omega might think about Echo’s lying skills, hers weren’t much better, and Lyana could tell something was up almost as soon as she’d arrived. Well, Omega wanted to know the truth, and she didn’t much feel about hiding what had upset her anyway, so once they were both sitting in the comfortable wooden bench on Lyana’s patio, sipping on the smoothies her friend had prepared, she asked Lyana if her dad had ever stopped liking her because she hadn’t helped him.

Lyana was horrified. “No! Why would you even ask that, Omega?”

She shrugged, but felt her heart lighten at the answer. “Has he ever stopped liking someone else?”

“No! Omega-”

“Wrecker’s injured, he’s hurt his back really badly,” she explained, relieved that she’d been correct. “But my brothers think that if they don’t help your dad, then he’s gonna stop being kind to us or something.”

Lyana gaped at her. “But he’d never do that! He loves you guys, we both do!” She thought for a moment, eyes flickering from side to side. “I’ll comm him, let him know what’s going on. He’ll know what to do.”

For the first time in the last twenty minutes, Omega felt like the world was slowly starting to make sense again. And, as Lyana’s call connected to her dad, she let herself smile at that.

Wrecker walked down to the house near the coast, flanked by his brothers on both sides. He felt sad for Omega, for how upset she’d got on his behalf, but really, he’d be okay. Sure, this was going to be difficult, and it was going to hurt, but he pushed through pain on missions all the time. Besides, he knew with absolute certainty that it was going to be nothing compared to the tests the scientists and trainers had put him through back on Kamino. Sooner or later, his injuries would heal and he’d be fine again. It didn’t really matter that making sushi with Omega had sounded nice.

As they approached, Shep waved to them, and they waved back, before making their way down the steps towards him.

“Where do you want us?” Hunter asked.

Shep explained their tasks, one by one, until he got to Wrecker. He passed him the fishing rod he was carrying. “I’d like you to sit on the jetty and catch us some fish for lunch.”

Wrecker could tell by his brother’s reactions that he wasn’t the only one confused by that. “I thought you wanted me to carry building supplies?”

He shook his head. “Change of plans. I got some other guys who’re doing that.”

And, okay, maybe that made sense. But wouldn’t Wrecker’s strength be more useful helping with the rebuilding work instead of sitting around catching fish? He opened his mouth to ask why and was rewarded with a sharp elbow in his left side. Right, Crosshair had a point there, it would be stupid to get himself hurt worse when he was being given a way out.

About half an hour later, Wrecker sat by the sea, holding his fishing rod steady. As the minutes passed, he could feel the pain in his back lessen as his feeling of relaxation grew.

He looked across as Shep moved the bucket of fish backwards, before taking its place beside him.

“Looks like you’ve been doing good work,” he commented.

“I guess.”

“We’re repairing Nixret’s house,” Shep continued, as they both stared across the ocean. “Nix is old, he can’t see, he can barely walk anymore, he relies on the kindness of his neighbours to help him out everyday. But he’s one of the most interesting people I know. Do you think I don’t care about him because he can’t get around by himself?”

“No,” Wrecker replied, brow crinkling. It was obvious that Shep cared, he wouldn’t be organising all this if he didn’t. Then his brow creased further. “Omega told you what we talked about, didn’t she?”

Shep nodded, and Wrecker found himself tensing in a way that sent shocks of pain across his shoulder blades.

“She did, and I’m glad she did. And you should be glad you’ve got such a good sister.” Out of the corner of his eye, Wrecker could see that Shep was smiling at him, eyes full of concern. “You are a part of this community now Wrecker. And that won’t change if you can’t lift heavy objects. I like you because you’re you, not because of what you can do for me. And I’ve been told to tell you Lyana likes you because she thinks you’re her funniest uncle.”

“Oh,” Wrecker said, staring down at the water. He didn’t know what to say. It would probably have been easier to come up with something to say if he’d even known what to think.

“I don’t know what you boys have been through exactly,” Shep continued. “But I know whatever it was, it can’t have been easy. Even so, I’d appreciate it if you told me in the future when helping me out would hurt you.”

Wrecker nodded, still feeling blank.

“Alright then. Shall we get these fish back to the others?”

This right here was easily much firmer ground. “Sounds good,” he replied, managing a smile.

As they walked together, back towards the house his brothers were working on, Wrecker found himself thinking about what Omega had said earlier, and what Shep had said just then. It didn’t feel true, not exactly, and he knew that he’d have to discuss it with Hunter and the others later. But even if it didn’t feel true, that didn’t mean that it wasn’t true.

Maybe, they could be safe here, even when they weren’t useful?

[smellss]

Poked- Sam kerr x singer!reader social media au!

part two of nudged series

summary: things are starting to seem suspicious between these two superstars… or is it just luck being in the same place at once?

sorry i’m a bit evil in this mwah ha ha - idk if i like this formatting so please let me know if you like it 🫶 oh also unedited you know the drill

liked by masiepeters, teddysphotos, user455 and 427,899

y/noffical: a special surprise for my fellow aussie babies, so glad to have to you here pumpkin🧡 @masiepeters

masiepeters: aussie aussie aussie oi oi oi

user445: my fav bestie girls

randomuser: is this y/n’s new gf??

user445: no queen her longtime bestie

teddysphotos: take good care of her while i’m gone

y/noffical: i’ll water her twice a day

y/nbabygirl: i wonder if they have any special plans while masie is here???

masiepeters: 💚💛👀

comment liked by matildas

mummyy/n: oh masie is giving us THE goods

liked by user675, y/nsbabygirl, samshinpad and 56,809

y/nultimategossiper: Both Masie Peters and Y/n posted stories and were seen supporting the Matilda’s at their game last night against Ireland.

samshinpad: wow wow wow

y/nsbabygirl: things are getting serious!!!

user675: aw that’s so nice the girls are supporting one another

y/nsmummy: oh yeah supporting 😏

liked by user567, sammystrawberry and 5,450

captainkerrupdates: Katrina Gorry’s DELETED instagram story feature Sam Kerr, Haley Russo and suspected Y/n L/n and Masie Peters last night clubbing in Perth 📸👀

viewallcomments

sammystrawberry: oh now this is some concrete business

user567: y’all are delusional that could literally be any blondes on the team macca or kennedy?

y/nbaby: ALERT 🚨 NOT A DRILL MOTHERS ARE TOGETHER

mummyy/n: wow all the girls met @masiepeters this must be serious..!

liked by samsleftboot, y/nbaby and 102,001

y/nultimategossiper: Y/n and Sam Kerr’s respective posts last night. It seems some sort of romance is going on between the two of them however, it’s unsure how long Y/n will continue to be in AUS due to her ongoing tour. I hope she has a break for a bit and gets to hang with Sam more.

samsleftboot: the matching emojis they are so gay i love it.

y/nbaby: god i’m so happy for her she’s been looking so happy in all her photos since she got home ❤️

comment liked by samanthakerr20 and masiepeters

y/nbaby: OMG SAM LIKED MY COMMENT guess i’m famous now 🥲

liked by samanthakerr20, alannahkennedy, taylorswift and 890,780

y/noffical: Perth night 3 🔥 What an amazing last show to wrap up the Australasian Tour for my staff, family and friends thanks. To the fans this one was for you and someone special… Well be back touring soon but I have some things I have to take care of down under!

y/nbaby: SOMEONE SPECIAL AND SAM AND ALANNAH LIKED WHAT IS GOING ON

y/nmummy: I THREW MY PHONE WHEN I SAW THE POST

y/nangel: hyperventilating

taylorswift: so proud of you my sweet girl 🧡

tayschaibiccy: their relationship> everything else

y/noffical: thank you my angel 🫶

alannahkennedy: amazing last show!

samanthakerr20: eh it was alright

y/noffical: reckon you could do better sammy

samanthakerr20: with my eyes closed blondie

y/nbaby: i’m dead.

florencepugh: congrats y/n 🎉

y/nmummy: uh no? not a fan of this

y/nangel: this post is so hectic i need a breather

[magixfairyix]

Zenothian (fanmade planet) Letters

~ Tried to make it interesting and not just replicas of English, but the only language I know is English so I did what I good given my basic bitch status

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

~ Zenothe (I have more lore of it on my page) is Darcy's planet in my lore and my fanfictions, and in my Winx club rewrite is is the root language of a lot of spells, especially old ones (mainly witch magic, as Zenothe is mainly witches) and is even used in fairy spells sometimes as a word or two

~ It is a powerful language for spells, as it also has roots on the Dominian (Domino) runic alphabet that is old as hell, which is more simpler and less complex, only having the basic vowel runes (AA, EE, II, OO, UU, and the non-vowel runes)

~ It is traditionally written in the runic format in spells and rituals, though is more popular written in the English/Magixian letter format (such as in my rewrite the times it it used)

~ The runes/traditional letters are pronounced like the Magixian letters below them, though there is a clear difference between how well the words flow if you were raised on learning it or not (those on Zenothe normally learn both this and the English/Magixian language)

~ Those who are from Zenothe's words clearly audibly flow better when speaking Zenothian because the vowel sounds are especially specific and sound choppy if one is not used to it

~ For example, someone who is new to Zenothian would pronounce the AO vowel sound as eh-oh with two syllables, though someone who has known Zenothian for a long time would pronounce the latter more prominently (O, oh) with slight differences depending on weather or not it's AO, IO, etc, and more so as one sound and syllable

~ New at Zenothian: Focuses on the letters as two separate sounds (AO, eh-oh)

~ Well-versed in Zenothian: Focuses on the letters merged into one sounds and syllable (AO, oh with a quick and slight ah sounds at the beginning. Sounds more like 'ow')

~ The 'root' symbol of the A-vowel sounds is a V-shape, for the E-vowel sound it is two small horizontal lines, for the I-vowel sound it is a vertical line, O-sound a circle, and U-sound an upper-facing arch

~ The 'roots' of the consonants is a vertical line and some sort of curve(s) and/or line(s) around said line

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Pronunciation:

~ The pronunciation of the consonants is the same as the English/Magixian language

~ A-vowel sounds: AA (eh), AE (eh-ee), AI (eh-eye), AO (eh-oh), AU (eh-ewe)

~ E-vowel sounds: EE (ee), EA (ee-eh), EI (ee-eye), EO (ee-oh), EU (ee-ewe)

~ I-vowel sounds: II (eye), IA (eye-eh), IE (eye-ee), IO (eye-oh), IU (eye-ewe)

~ O-vowel sounds: OO (oh), OA (oh-eh), OE (oh-ee), OI (oh-eye), OU (oh-ewe)

~ U-vowel sounds: UU (ewe), UA (ewe-eh), UE (ewe-ee), UI (ewe-eye), UO (ewe-oh)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Example:

~ The Zenothian word for home (taking inspiration from the Latin word, 'longe,' for 'far') is louui

~ This would be pronounced, for someone new to Zenothian, low-ewe-oo-i): L, OU, UI

~ But for someone who knows the language well and is used to it, the word louui would sound more so like loh-oo-eye, the OU sound being merged into one syllable and merging with the first bit of the UI sound

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

~ When I dug up all of this from my notebook I found a little statement in brackets of me asking myself 'what am I doing?' and I think that sums this up pretty well

[brb-on-a-quest]

It's December 31, I should make reading goals but I'll be honest the only reason I read as much as I did is bc 48 hour train ride in the last week of December. I am running off sleep deprivation and too much caffeine but I don't wanna forget soooo it will be slapdash

@ramblings-of-lola if you were curious (did I miss yours going up? I'm so sorry it's been chaotic)

Death note vol 4 3/5- honestly struggling since L got offed. Like I still like it but the main dynamic I was interested in got burst and everything has been off from there. However, still overall enjoying the series and interested to see how stuff go down

The language of thorns - 5/5 grims fairy tale  perfect fun times. Upon reflection I think my particular favorites were kujo, gingerbread witch, and ulla.

Illuminae- this was more of a book that belongs in an art museum than in my house. Got it for dirt cheap at a library book sale at some booktubers recommendations (idr if it was positive or not, I think it was just different and I was excited for that). And it was very different (it's told through case reports, DMs, some diary entries, so not typical story format, however everything is still informal so it's not constant space jargon) and really refreshing wouldn't reread again, do want to try similar format. I apparently don't typically read a lot of sci-fi (still working through the Amish one) so good to have something diff.

Lockwood and Co the screaming staircase 2.5/5. I didn't want to give things this rating but as much as I loved all the worldbuilding the characters being so dumb really annoyed the hell out of me, even giving allowances due to age - if they have been professionally working with ghosts extermination I feel like a lot of things should've been avoided. Debating whether I continue reading the series or not bc on the one hand I want more ghostly worldbuilding stuffs on the other hand I don't care to read more with those protagonists.

Rebecca of sunnybrook farm (reread) 2.5/5. I wanted Anne of green gables vibes but didn't bring my copy with me so I chose this on kindle cuz free and this was AOGG you have in ur fridge when ur mom says you have AOGG at home. In some ways it literally was the same vibes which is what I wanted but overall characters were less compelling and seemingly had no life outside of Rebecca which I found distressingly annoying. Also everytime I read this I find the relationship arc between Adam Ladd and Rebecca to be extremely...eh(?/bad) bc I couldn't tell if author wants ppl to ship them together romantically or not. Either way def a product of its time, not my personal choice anymore AOGG supremacy.

[inspectorheath]

@detective-fez

(Previous) Fez was up late yet again like clockwork. He’d been at the computer for an hour or more, which didn’t faze him, that’s what he preferred when he had time to herself, and his chunky monitor back home made him used to the harsh blue light that stung his eye welcomely. It was ghost-quiet, with only his fingers tapping each key snappily once in a blue moon to break the silence. He scanned through folders of countless watchdogs, searching but coming up blank in a few places. They laid back in the creaky chair of the file room, bringing his digits up to scratch his head. Then, once he heard the door open and the light switch hitch he tilted his head back to find Heath. He grinned widely and gave a delighted wave to her. “Oh, hello Mrs. Patty!” He greeted, using his heel to spin his seat around. “How’s it going? I didn’t expect you to be here so late.” He slouched. He was bizarrely unaffected by staying awake.

“Eh, I’m up when I’m up. Not even sure I have a twenty-four hour sleep cycle at this point.” Patty looked over Fez’ shoulder while she chatted.

Then she paused to examine why that nickname felt off. Maybe it was because she liked her title. Maybe it was because most of the honorific-first name people she heard of were school teachers.

Now that she thought about it, Fez’ name had that format. Although detective certainly had a different air to it than the default titles.

After a bit she said, “You can stick to Inspector, Inspector Heath, Heath, Patty, or Pat. But Mrs. Patty just..,” She rolled her wrist as she picked out the right words to explain it,

“Well, doesn’t sound much like me, y’know? Kinda sorta like Patricia. Like some girly-girl elementary teacher pushing retirement who may end up pushing daisies first if she doesn’t sit her ass down soon.”

[garygoldenbignaturals]

hiiiii chix you should infodump about your vtm oc(s) ^_^ : what are all their fave colors, fave foods before they got embraced, and what other clans do they dislike the most?

HI ANGEL trust me i would all the time if i knew how to properly translate whatever the fuck is going thru my mind to a coherent, readable text format. but anyways:

jaden: her favorite color is deep purple, an aubergine kind of shade. but i think she's particular to the colors i usually make her wear such as various shades of blue ranging from a light, powdery blue to deep royal blues, then maroons, along with slightly lighter shades of purple. her fave foods would be whatever fancy rich people eat in their lunch breaks. gravlax. pasta with sea urchin roe sauce. crayfish souffle. idk. as for clans, not to give a stereotypical ventrue answer but she doesn't like brujahs, thinks of them as unruly and a nuisance despite often acting like a stereotype of one herself, being easily angered and violent. she's also rebellious but the reason for that is because she wants to be the power telling people what to do. she doesn't care about bringing down the establishment and all that crap. she wants to be the boot, how is she gonna do that if there's no more establishment?

iggy: browns, oranges, purples, and/or anything you could see in a beautiful sunset, those are her favorites. as a kindred she's an early riser so she gets stoked seeing a wonderful end to the day just as she's about to prowl the night. signifies a lot of things, mainly that she's made it another night in her unlife which is always a good thing. as for food i think she loves pastries, both sweet and savory but leans a biiit more to the sweet side. she loves fruit pies. too bad she doesn't eat food anymore, because she used to make a mean blueberry ginger pie. it's the best thing ever, or so she says. she has many regrets, but not penning that recipe down, for a woman so committed to knowledge and the preservation of it? tantamount to the burning of alexandria. she dislikes other tremeres, particularly the pyramid tremeres who are way too into the power structure-- which are all of them, i guess. well to be fair they have been trying to hunt her down for the last, what? 70 years?

ditya: bottle green. it's such a nice and calming shade, a color that reminds him of his childhood. it's the color of the leaves of his favorite tree to climb as a little rascal. the color of the bottles his uncles drink from when he's listening to them tell life stories as they play cards. the color of his old man's vespa. he's not precious about his childhood memories especially now that it's a really long time ago, but that color is nice to reminisce about. his favorite food would be this one mister's chicken noodles whose stall used to pass by his home. maybe it was the most delicious thing ever, or maybe it was because it was a bargain for the portion you get. again, it was a long time ago. i don't think there's a specific clan he dislikes, though being a ravnos he's bound to have scuffles with the gangrel. but he'd never show disdain upfront. the guy might look like a classless loser but he's a master in javanese social cues. which means he's a fucking weirdo with too much decorum.

AND that's about it!!!!!!!!!! i now have more than 3 vtm ocs but i think i'll just write for these 3 for now ehe..

[mythos321]

Chapter 7: the two fools

Tsunami and Clay had begun walking out of the seafood restaurant, both preparing to head home, when Tsunami, who very clearly had something on her mind, spoke up

“I gotta ask, how were you able to keep yourself so composed? I mean, this lady ruined your life! I would’ve expected some over the top reaction even thinking about what happened.”

“…kind of an odd thing to say don’t ya think? everyone has their own reactions to stuff…Though, if you really wanna know, I’ve never really been the type to cry?” Clay admitted

“Woah! Really? Same here actually! At most I got a little teary eyed from pain once, but other than that, never been a crier myself. Guess you and I are too tough eh?”, Tsunami gloated, as Clay gave her an amused look, “Oh, and sorry for the awkward question.”

“It’s fine.”

“Alright cool!…So, this plan of ours to take down Whirlpool…” Tsunami began to speak, as Clay put one talon to his face

“You’re being a little loud, we’re in public y’know.” Clay told her

“Crap, right! We’ll discuss it tomorrow then! Right?”

“Right!” Clay answered, as the two began to go their separate ways, as Clay suddenly felt an extremely warm presence near him, and wondered where it came from, looking behind himself with no one quite standing out, except for one Skywing, who appeared to be about his age, maybe a year older, with red and orange scales that stood out like a gator in a group of crocodiles, or a rose in a field of white tulips, or…well, he ran out of metaphors, but he just knew she stood out.

“…I should probably keep away. I don’t exactly know why but…something just feels…off.” Clay thought to himself, before flying off towards Sophistication

**

When Clay awoke, he found himself in the same prison he had found himself in twice before, with the two scavengers standing guard, and the strange Nightwing known as The Stonemover staring towards him

“Welcome to my Velvet Room, mudwing! I thought of resuming our previous conversation tonight. And so, I have summoned you forth. Tell me then, what are your thoughts? are you becoming accustomed to this place?” The Dragon rumbled, as Clay felt slightly less shaken than before, but still felt hit by The Stonemovers presence

“I would say so, at least to an extent.” Clay answered

“Ah, this is good to hear. Your nerves are as strong as a mountain. The goal of your rehabilitation is to thwart the fated ruin. However, such a feat cannot be done by YOU alone.”, The Dragon rumbled matter of factly, as Clay took a mental note of the “done by YOU alone.” comment, “Today, you entered a partnership with someone who awoke to similar power, correct?”

“You mean Tsunami?” Clay asked

“Indeed…so it was a Seawing whom you befriended then…” The Stonemover spoke, before gesturing one of his talons, “Even so, this is good indeed. Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery, in that regard, you have done well.” The Stonemover slowly clapped his talons together, before oncemore focusing, “That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It cannot be of frivolity, but a ring of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you strength which you lack. In other words, they are bonds with those who had been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of these rings shall assist you as well.”

“Personas are the strength of heart,” said the calmer scavenger with the left eyepatch, “The stronger the bonds around you, the stronger your personas shall become.”

“There are COUNTLESS people in just that one school who have talents a weakling like you doesn’t! You better actually start using your brain and get them on your side!” Said the louder scavenger with the right eyepatch

“…Okay, I’d been meaning to ask…what are your names?” Clay asked, having started to feel really bad for identifying the small scavengers by the volume of their voice and what eye they are missing

“Hm, a stupid, but fair question. I am Justine, and my fellow jailer is Caroline.” Spoke the Scavenger with the left eyepatch, though it now left Clay with more questions, like what in the sun kind of names are Caroline and Justine

“Good to know! I really am thankful for your…help?” Clay said, admittedly not still sure of how much these two intended to help or harm him

“Indeed. You should be prepared to use even my myself, or you will fail before you can even properly begin.” The Stonemovers voice encapsulated across the cells and areas, as Clay steadied himself, and then had a simple nod towards The Stonemovers proposition, as the dragon who had made part of his body stone powerfully chuckled

“We have a deal then?”

It feels like Stonemover has high expectations of me…I can’t let them down

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity

With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

“What is that voice?” Clay thought to himself

“Well, you will understand it all in due time… Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation.” The Stonemover rumbled one final time, almost seeming to be answering Clays question

“Now, this conversations over! Get lost, inmate!” Caroline commanded, as Clays eyes suddenly began to close without his permission, and he fell back to sleep, now needing only to prepare for tomorrow

**

The next day came, and Clay was heading towards the school when he saw Tsunami walking towards it, and flew down to join her.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite blue pal.” Clay joked as he landed next to her

“Good to see ya, I was meaning to ask about something. that booklet thingy you used, it had a weird red eyeball cover, right?” Tsunami asked, as Clay reached into his bag, and showed the book

“Appears so, that or I’m colorblind.” Clay said, as Tsunami suddenly pulled out her own booklet that was identical to Clays

“I found this in my bag when I got to my place. I don’t remember putting it there at all! I almost thought we got bags mixed up.”

“That’s creepy…” Clay said

“For real. What even are these things? It’s like they just manifest out of thin air.” Tsunami responded

“I wonder what these even are, I remember when I first found mine. It kept coming back no matter how many times I tossed it…It’s dangerous to use something if you don’t what it is…but…” before Clay could finish his outward thought, Tsunami interrupted

“But with it, we’re able to freely navigate into that weird place. So ain’t it worth the risk?”

“…Yeah I guess. It’s all dependent on how we use it. But first, we gotta focus on getting evidence of Whirlpools abuse! I’m counting on you alright? Don’t go flaking on me!” Tsunami yelled out, as she rushed off with Clay deciding to now just keep a casual walk behind 2 seawings a bit younger than him

“I just don’t get it-First, our school has a dumb program thrust into it, then the QUEEN of all people takes over as Principal, and now they’re making us watch some stupid test show? Why are we wasting a valuable resource like animus magic anyway!”

“Ey, if we’re lucky, when the girl loses her soul she’ll just kill her family like the last animus.”

“That’s dark dude…Well, we get to see some stuff from Mr. Whirlpool at least! I heard he’s having one of his students do some tricks he taught them, and is working on having the princess make a new spell! I also heard one of the Sandwing princesses is gonna be here.”

“These two really like to ramble on…but, that COULD be useful to know at least. So theirs a seawing animus, but clearly something that isn’t considered a threat to them, maybe a child?…could it be Anemone? It has to be…I wonder why a sandwing princess will be here-” before Clay could finish his own thoughts, he was suddenly bumped into by a young seawing, who seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face as he osuhed through groups of people, including the two in front

“HEY! WATCH WHERE YOURE GOING. Ugh, that damn Pike.” Said one of the students in an angry tone, as the two began to walk further, this time in silence, and Clay continued to think more on what he eavesdropped on.

“Hm…maybe, if we can tell what’s happening to the princess, she’ll make Coral stop him! Since she has to be a big deal…Then again, it wouldn’t shock me if she’s also in on the abuse, especially of Anemone…either way, me and Tsunami will do everything we can to stop Whirlpool, no matter what…just gotta get through class first”

**

“Alright, listen up you little parasites,” Orca spoke with her usual tone, before continuing her announcement, “As you should all know, today is the rally for Whirlpools new discoveries on animus magic, head out to the front immediately, alright? Otherwise my mother might reconsider the “charity” of letting you all see what comes next.”

“Maybe I can find Tsunami while it goes on, see what information she’ll have as well…I hope anemone will be okay.” Clay thought to himself, before heading out the class, before then feeling that same old watchful presence

“…We should chat sometimes, whoever you are” Clay spoke out, before continuing on, with a slight rustling heard behind him, deciding to leave that for another time, and to go and find Tsunami and snoop around to hopefully take down Whirlpool

**

As Clay looked through the area, he found where everyone crowded, determining that must be where the festival was, and prioritized looking for Tsunami first, while paying secondary attention to Whirlpools little show

"Greetings everyone, I'm sure you are all looking forward to this little showing of The Sea Kingdoms very own Princess Anemone, and I guarantee you, she shall not disappoint you!" Whirlpool shouted to the crowd, putting a small swagger in his stride that simply made Clay roll his eyes when he saw it, with his voice still creeping him out in how it sounded

Eventually however he located his blue buddy and rushed over, nearly running into her on accident, but in the process bumping into another Dragon, a tall Seawing man who seemed to have a black pouch on his arm

"Sorry sir," Clay kindly told the Seawing, who simply shoved Clay back, and Tsunami almost got physical with the man without a word if not for Clay getting back up quick enough, "Don't even worry about it Tsunami, I bumped into him, besides, that was barely anything, like getting pushed by a small tadpole" Clay told her, making a slightly backhanded jab at the Seawing in the process

"Hmph, stupid Mudwing..." The Seawing said defeatedly as he went to another area, with him seeming to mumble about tadpoles as he walked off

"Well then, shall we get to maneuvering?" Clay asked Tsunami, as she stared at the area where Whirlpool was, as they paid attention back down again

"Hehe, apologies, it appears The Princess is taking her time! Allow me to go and retrieve my oh so prized pupil," Whirlpool stated, as he swam down towards where Anemone was, and within a minute seemed to momentarily pull her before putting back on his kindly facade as he went into the surface, "She was practicing her dives was all! Princesses am I right?" Whirlpool told the crowd, as many, especially Coral, seemed to burst to laughter

Clay however noticed in the more secluded parts of the crowd, where the richer and noble people were, he saw a Sandwing woman, with white gold scales as pale as sand, with a natural black diamond pattern along her spinal area.

"That must be The Sandwing Princess, are those diamonds natural? most likely, I doubt someone her age would care for piercings." Clay thought to himself, as he suddenly heard Tsunami growl under her breath, "What's up?"

"That bastard. Purposely pushing Anemone even harder...If he can do this publicly, who knows what kind of shit he inflicts on others privately." Tsunami whispered to Clay, as the two saw Whirlpool "accidentally" smack Anemone in the face with a baton

"Oh my me! Look at me acting like a squid brained fool! Someone get Anemone to the nurses office, in the meantime, allow me to continue with more important matters! Like may-haps what spells to have the young princess use one day!" Whirlpool stated, as Coral, completely engrossed in Whirlpools little show, snapped her fingers and a guard picked up Anemone, who was lightly bleeding from her snout from what Whirlpool did

"He'll pay soon enough..." Tsunami said, as she kicked the dirt, while Clay gripped the ground in silent fury

"That dragonets only 2 years old, and they're treating her like some object of entertainment and a tool...stay strong kid, we'll change your "teachers" heart soon enough" Clay thought to himself, as he and Tsunami defused away to go somewhere more private to plan things out

**

"Ugh! I can't stand this! That asshole's actin' like a king over here too...This shits all just a one man show him to stroke his little ego. Oh! And how he acted like he had even a semblance of worry for Anemone? UGH, JUST AN ABUSIVE EEL LICKER," Tsunami said with frustration, as she then however began to calm herself down with deep breaths, "...Well then. Now's our chance to go look for the students we saw were slaves yesterday. Let's look for the faces we saw in the castle, those students should be here today. We gotta find at least one person willing to spill about Whirlpools abuse! Ha, just you wait asshole!" Tsunami thought out loud, as Clay then tapped her shoulder

"Where are we gonna start searching?" Clay asked, as Tsunami gleamed with mischievous excitement.

"I'm glad you asked my good orange man! The first one that popped out was a guy in your very class! Almost seems like fate eh? Hopefully, you should be able to get him to talk to you, people have avoided me lately cause of what they think but...Oh, right, you're kinda in the same boat." Tsunami remembered, slightly embarrassed she forgot that detail

"Maybe group pressure will work?" Clay said, half jokingly

"THATS PERFECT!" Tsunami yelled with complete seriousness and excitement, as she grabbed Clay by the talons and rushed with him to his class as they set off!

[lindira]

A Primer on Dragon Tongue - A Tourist's Guide to Obsthea, Part 2

Dragons of the current age only know a fraction of the rich language the true dragons of old once spoke. Historians note that the Dragon Tongue had somatic components; movement of the ears, head, tail, etc. were necessary for grammatical demarcation of gender, possession, and pluralization. However, because of the Lessening, contemporary dragons don’t possess the ability to move the way they once did. Their humanoid ears don’t flick, they have no tails to swish. Even some of the nuance of the spoken language has been lost because the sounds are difficult to produce without a forked tongue. Today, dragons know only a handful of words from the Dragon Tongue of old, and largely speak the Mother’s Tongue that we humans speak within the Risen Union.

Historians have attempted to preserve some of the Dragon Tongue within “dictionaries” of sorts. However, these attempts have been met with a number of challenges. First, dragon culture in the Pre-Lessened Era was steeped in oral tradition. What is the saying? “All that is Told, a dragon remembers”? All of dragon history was passed down through the Telling of Tales, so there is no accurate record from Pre-Lesssened times of dragon language, much less history or culture. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that—until recently—dragons under the Oath of Service were usually not allowed to read or write.

Nevertheless! We do know some details of the Dragon Tongue, gathered from fieldwork over the centuries. Below is a small sample of the language that you may hear throughout your travels in Obsthea. Try some words when speaking to some of our dragon citizens!

Grammatical Guide

Basic Word Structure

Dragon Tongue has two types of words: Base Words and Compound Words

Base Words: Short words of one or two syllables that have meaning unto themselves

Ex: lan = “parent”; aba = “elder”

Compound Words: Words comprised of two or more base words to create a new meaning or meanings. The base word components are separated by apostrophes.

Ex: aba’lan = “grandparent”

Basic Sentence Structure

{Subject}+{Verb}

Questions are marked by the question marker sa at the end of the sentence.

Ex: Ke lo’enna im sa? = “Do you love me?”

Verb Conjugation

Dragon Tongue is a noun-based language with suffixes to conjugate into verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Conjugated as {Noun} + {Verb suffix}, separated by an apostrophe

“Doing” suffix: -enna

Ex: lo’enna = Love (verb; literally “doing the act of loving”)

Enna may also be used as a standalone verb for “do/does/did”

“Being” suffix: -amma

Ex: lo’amma = In love (literally “being in the state of love”)

Amma may also be used as a standalone verb for “is/was/were”

Modifier Conjugation

There is no functional distinction between adjectives and adverbs in Dragon Tongue, as the same suffix is used to modify either nouns or verbs.

Modifiers go before the noun or verb being modified.

Can also be in the format {Noun/Verb} + ne + {modifier} where ne = “of”

Conjugated as {Noun} + {Modifier suffix -za}, separated by an apostrophe

Ex: aba’za ric = “old house”

Pronunciation Notes and Known Somatic Conjugation

H’s are aspirated

Ex: fha and faa sound different and have different meanings

Vowels are pronounced as follows:

a = “ah”

e = “eh”

i = “ee”

o = “oh”

u = “oo”

Doubled vowels have an elongated sound

Ex: aa = “aah”, uu = “ooo”

Tail Movement: denotes gender

Left movement = male

Ex: *left swish* + lan = “father”

Right movement = female

Ex: *right swish* + lan = “mother”

No movement = gender neutral or non-binary

Left and right movement = genderfluid

The direction where the movement starts may denote the subject’s preference

Ear Movement: denotes possession

Ex: *ear flick* + obsu = “my home”

Can be combined with tail movement for gendered possessives

Ex: *left swish, ear flick* + obsu = “his home”

Foot Movement: denotes plural

Ex: *foot tap* + kha = “stones”

Can be combined with ear movement for plural possessives

Ex: *foot tap, ear flick” + kha = “our/their stones”

Some Known Base Words

aba = elder

aya = flight

bal = tree

bel = noise

chaa = storm

dra = dragon/Tale

e = and

faa = mind

fer = iron

fha = breath

fua = cloud

fuu = sky/air

gyn = person/people

huu = wind/air that moves

kal = kindling

kha = stone

khi = ice/frost (projectile)

koh = ice/frost

lak = spark

lan = parent

lo = love

maa = essence/spirit

ne = of

obsu = home

otan = voice

raa = passion

rha = fire/flame

rhi = fire (projectile)

rhu = fall

ric = shelter/house

saa = soul

san = ocean/sea

she = family/clan

shi = venom/poison (projectile)

shu = venom/poison

suu = water

tal = silver

tea = earth/land

tso = strength

twa = twist

vos = god/holiness

yan = pride

zhi = wing

Some Known Compound Words

aba’lan = grandparent

dra’gyn = the dragon people/dragonkind

chaa’bel = thunder

fha’huu = wind breathing

fha’khi = frost breathing

fha’rhi = fire breathing

fha’shi = venom breathing

huu’tso = gale

lo’raa = lust

obsu’tea = homeworld

otan’saa = ghost or echo

Bal’she = Forest Clan

Fuu’she = Sky Clan

Kha’she = Stone Clan

Rha’she = Fire Clan

Suu’she = Water Clan

twa’san = whirlpool

We hope you found this Primer on Dragon Tongue fun and educational! Have questions? Leave a comment, and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!

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[noelle666]

Heinrix van Calox/Noelle von Valancius - Guisorn III (fanfic)

Had the idea to write something related to Heinrix's home planet for some time. We don't know where exactly Guisorn III is located, but, eh, let us think it is located somewhere in the Calixis Sector, which is pretty close to Koronus. I don't know what business may've led them to this place, but let's pretend they had some business. This might be pretty long reading/writing.

Time period and other circumstances: couple solar years after Rogue Trader game events, Heinrix is a Master of Whispers, him and Noelle are betrothed. Both my RTs, Noelle (Ecclesiarchy priestess) and Maarden (psyker pyromancer and telepath), exist together (they are refered as "brother and sister" even though by the blood they are very far away from each other).

"Lord Captain, we are receiving message from the planetary government. It is an invitation to a celebration of some local holiday", - mechanic fingers of Vox Master Vigdis were dancing on a panel, she entered a command and a voice started its flow from speakers.

"Dear Lady von Valancius! Government of Guisorn III would like to invite you to our yearly ball dedicated to the Day of Formation, the day our home was brought back to the light of The Emperor, the day of our second birth. We would be very happy to see you among our guests. You can have up to three members of a retinue with you. The event will take place in the Agathia Fortress in two days".

"The message was send automatically, the only added information was your name, Lord Captain. Shall I send a reply with confirmation? In that case, they will add you in a guest list".

Noelle started thinking deeply: on one hand she never liked any events which include large amount of people and visited them only if duty calls. On the other, it is impolite for a noble person to decline an invitation, especially if it was addressed directly to this person.

"Fortress, huh? Sire Agathia doesn't change his habits. Previously it was a "castle" althought looked like a mere barton. Even if he expanded the place, I am sure there are no tall rockcrete walls surrounding it".

Heinrix stepped closer to Lord Captain and noticed her face expression: a young woman was diving deeply in thoughts, her index finger was pressed to lips, she was standing motionlessly like a statue.

"Three members of a retinue? We can take Lady Cassia, she likes social events. As for the other one..."

"We?"

"We", - Heinrix looked straight into Noelle's eyes as if saying "This is my decision and I am fully sure of it". Then he continued, - "I think, your brother would fit. He had attended several meetings similar to what we will see, he has experience, so I am sure in him. Or mistress Heydari: her communicating skills, for sure, will help her make connections useful for her. And maybe for us too. The only thing which will be preferable for this event is a proper gown".

Noelle sighed. A proper gown? In that case she needs to think fast since she has no ball dress or more or less presentable clothes. Subjects in the Koronus already know their leader is a humble person in all matters of her life, but here is the new world and you need to look different. And if Heinrix says, the governer is an eccentric person, Lord Captain's simple Ecclesiarchy dress may drag unnintentional attention. Funny - you need to look bright and stunning to mix with the crowd which looks the same.

The next days Noelle has spend time dealing with small tasks and, more importantly, preparing for the ball. Jae was very eager to provide her help as a "fashion consultant" when she learnt that Lord Captain needs to find a proper dress, and so she grabbed her and Cassia "to do what ladies do best - shopping and having some fun". She herself declined an offer to join the retinue at the event since she needed to meet some "buisness partners". During "shopping session" Heydari wanted Lord Captain to buy almost half of the store: "Shereen, you look like a precious jewel on a velvet cusion in every dress! I am sure this is not the last ball you are going to attend, so why not buy several dresses? Everyone needs to see your inner princess! Especially someone in particular. Oh, and don't forget to call me again - I will make a miracle out of your hair". Jae chuckled, but the young woman already has put her eye on a pretty simple steel grey dress with an airy skirt made of several layers of translucent fabric, a top of it was decorated with beading and tiny pearls. Cassia decided to follow her companion's advice and chose long-sleeved straight deep purple samite dress the very fabric of which was embroided with thin pattern.

When "the X day" arrived, Noelle, fully prepared, was standing infront of a mirror in her quarters, checking if her appearance was proper enought for the evening. Familiar sound of steps distracted her, and then a familiar person appeared behind her, reflecting in the mirror. Van Calox was looking at his beloved for several seconds, then he stepped close to her.

"There is something missing".

He stood right behind Noelle; something sparkling appeared in his hands - psyker deftly fastened silver chain around her neck on which a little pendant was resting: small roung pearl inside of a round spiderweb "cage". Young woman smiled, she turned to Heinrix and lightly kissed him; the man in response hugged her tighter with no desire to separate his lips from hers. When he stopped, he looked into her eyes and said:

"Don't worry about me, my love. I know, you will anyway, but at least let me reassure you: I am fine".

"Your lips are now glossy", - Noelle smiled, - "Here, let me rectify the situation". She wiped out lip gloss from the man's lips with a wet tissue, and they headed towards the exit. She, indeed, was worried: even thought chances to meet Heinrix family were low when Lord Captain's ship has arrived and she had to do some business in the Calixis Sector, still this social event increases those chances sharply.

***

The "fortress" indeed looked more like a palace, just like Heinrix described. Guests were everywhere: in the main hall, in the garder, in the corridors, but it was still possible to find vacant spots for sitting such as fancy couches or wide windowsills covered with cushions. Live orchestra was playing beautiful music, and from time to time guests invited each other for a dance; the others were more interested in drinks and appetizers. Heinrix pointed at a wide plate filled with large deep red berries:

"Guisorn wild cherry, sweet and crunchy. One of the first plants cultivated on this planet. Try it, the harvest season has just arrived and it lasts only for a month".

Noelle ate two berries - sweet cool juice unlike anything she ever knew covered her mouth.

"Oh, it is tasty indeed!"

Heinrix lowered his voice.

"Back in the days, sisters asked me to gather them from trees in our family garden. I clibmed a tree and they were cathing berries with skirts. Then we were sitting on a grass and eating until our stomacks were very full".

"Dear guests!" - a loud voice distracted Heinrix and Noelle, it was the "star and master of the evening", planet governer Lord Maximillian Agathia, - "It is an honor and a delight to have you all here. In about an hour a culmination of the event will arrive, a grandioso firework show, so be sure to find the best spot! And now please, allow me to invite you all to a traditional Guisorn III menuett!"

Crowd of people vacated center of the room, those who were brave enough or sure in their skills went out and started preparations.

"Will my lady be so kind to accept my invitation?" - Heinrix bowed slightly and reached out his hand to Noelle, waiting.

"Heinrix, I... I can't dance, I've never done this before".

"This dance is pretty simple: mostly you need to walk next to a partner and touch hands from time to time, do it several times and then bow to each other in the end. Trust me and merely repeat after me".

Noelle sighed and then took her beloved's hand. She could've never thought she would attend all ball's activities, she hoped she would just enjoy the evening somewhere in a quite cornen, but here she was, wached by many eyes, dancing for the first time in her life with the best partner she could've ever wished for. With a corner of her eye she was watcing other couples for reinsurance, her movements might've been a little bit clumsy but the view of Heinrix was calming her heart and helping to focus. She was twirling and then holding Heinrix's hand, looking straight into his eyes; it felt like no one was around and the orchestra was playing only for them. At the end of a dance, when each man bowed to his woman, Heinrix gently took Noelle's hand in his for a kiss.

"Master van Calox! I've never thought you could dance! The way you moved and the bright gold color surrounding you and Lord Captain almost made my very soul sing with happiness!" - Cassia was clapping her hands, she looked like a child ready to jump out of excitement.

"Lady Cassia was torn between a desire to join you and her shyness. And I, unfortunately, not a master of dances, although I had to dance waltz couple of times in my life. So I promissed her to become her partner if there still will be a chance tonight", - Maarden sighed.

"Let's just say, some old habits and knowledge sometimes cannot be wipped out. And now, please forgive me for I intend to "steal" Lord Captain for several minutes", - psyker took his beloved by the arm, and they headed towards corridor.

"Dear guests a minute of attention!" - a loud voice once again filled the hall, - "Let's chance the rules! Ladies invite gentlemen for a waltz!"

"Master Maarden, you promissed..."

"I did, and I will not break my promise, Lady Cassia. But I have not practices for a very long time, so forgive me if I make any mistake".

"I am sure you will be fine", - Cassia took Maarden's hand, and they went out to the center of the hall.

***

"Are you tired?"

"No, not at all. Surprised, yes, and... happy. Neven thought I could ever enjoy something I am not very used to. Heinrix, you are still full of surprises".

"To be fair, I don't think there are mysteries left in me you don't know. There may be some non-obvious things I've never told you, but only because their matter is not that large. You know you can ask me anything and I will tell you everything, just like you did when we were spending evenings together after finishing our mission. When I became truly yours and yours only".

Noelle and Heinrix were sitting on a windowsill, the man was holding Lord Captain's hand in his, gently caressing it; he was gazing at young woman attentively.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. I..." - psyker chuckled. - "The more I look at you the more I feel something, as if I am falling for you again even though I already love you with all my heart".

"You know, it may sound silly, but when the were dancing and I was looking at you I felt the same way".

"When we are back, I think it will be the right moment to start preparations for the wedding. It will take some time and many decisions should be made, but now I know for sure - we will have to dance at least once. Only if you are not against it, I have no right to force my future wife to do something that may make her unhappy. But I think this evening opened some hidden side of you to me".

Noelle smiled.

"I... will think about it".

"Heinrix?"

A woman was standing in front of the couple, a few steps away from them. Her dark blue velvet dress with fluffy skirt, decorated with pattern embroided with golden threads, bracelets and dark hair decorated with gems, even the gaze showed that she was a person of noble origin. The gaze of her cold grey eyes... and her face... something familiar in them caught Noelle's attention.

"Anna". - Heinrix stood up from a windowsill and made two steps closer to the unknown woman.

"It seems I disturbed your privacy, forgive me, but... it is really you".

Noelle stood up too, she looked closely to Heinrix and the unknown woman and realised - the lady standing right in front of psyker is his sister, the resemblance right now was obvious when both were close to each other.

"Many years have passed".

"Forgive me yet again", - the woman looked at Noelle and faintly smiled, - "I will not take more of your time. I will only say I am happy to see you alive and well, really".

"You..." - Noelle stepped closer to Heinrix and quietly took his hand while looking at Anna, - "I think, you need to talk to each other. Please, don't leave so soon".

"I agree. Will you join me for a little walk, Anna?"

"Of course".

Heinrix turned to Noelle: he felt her hand was shaking, she was nervous yet tried very hard to calm down. He knew his beloved may turn into a "protective" mode if something may look like a danger and she needs some time to calm down. Psyker gently kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear: "Find Maarden and Cassia, I'll join you later right before the beginning of the firework show". Noelle nodded: no signs of fear and worry were caught by her eye in her beloved's eyes, face or even body language, so mentally she breathed a sigh of relief and went to the main hall. Heinrix and his sister headed towards the exit to the garden.

***

"You grew up".

Anna broke silence between her and her brother while they were walking between carefully trimmed bushes. Heinrix chuckled.

"I can say the same about you. But deep down inside of my memory you still remain as little loud hurricane. Tell me, how did you recognize me?"

"The second time you must turn anti-clokwise, young Master Heinrix, yet you are still cannot remember it".

"I remember... But turning anti-clockwise is completely inconvenient".

"Thankfully, Madame Rozanna doesn't see you. Otherwise she would've needed something more serious than twigs".

"Then I would have to run away from her again. Her twigs were too fragile anyway, I'd broken them easily," - Heinrix sighed, the picture from the past appeared before his eyes: dancing class, several boys and girls from noble families learning cultural traditions of their world. Every young knight pilot should've known how to present himself, how to act like a gentleman, how to speak. Heinrix was a difficult student: he had grasped many things on the fly, but if he found something went against his believes or comfort, he would've turned into an unbrekable wall and started argument even with adults.

The memory vanished as sudden as it appeared; Heinrix invited Anna with gesture to sit on a garden bench.

"To be frank, this little detail merely proved my doubts. I visit every event and like to watch guests, to see new faces. I noticed Lady von Valancius and her retinue: very humble young lady, shy I'd say. Can't say I paid much attention to you and other two people with her, although it's interesting to see differences between navigators. And then by chance I was standing not so far away from you two when you were telling her about wild cherries: it surprised me since we sell them mostly within our sector. And then... even though you lowered your voice my ears caught what you've said, about sisters gathering those berries with their skirts", - Anna's gaze was directed somewhere far away. - "I recalled out childhood, recalled those days, it hit me like a hammer. I asked myself: "Could it be that my brother I haven't seen in decades is still alive? That he by a very slim chance is here right now?" And when you invited this young lady to dance I was watching you both, I was clinging to this thin string of hope. And you proved me right. My brother, our noble knight who swore to protect me and Margaretha, who reappeared here, on his home planet, as sudden as when he vanished from our lives that day".

The woman looked at Heinrix: his facial expression was calm, yet it was difficult to not notice something in his eyes, a barely perceptible sorrow.

"Oh, I need to shut myself up. I can speak and speak for hours. Tell me, how are you? How is your life? If it is proper to ask such question."

"I'm afraid I would need more than this evening to tell you about my life in details, but what I can say now is: I've had several life changing events, aside from what happened that day when my powers awakened. I went through psyker training, then surved several years in the Imperial Guard, then was noticed by Lord Inquisitor. I was going with the flow of my life, accepted it as there was no other choice, did what was needed, what was right because I was told so, because I started to think the same way. And then I met someone who broke these walls and showed me the real "me" who was dug deep inside, chained by duty and by someone else's ruling hand. She made me look into the eyes of truth, she, out of all people I've met, brought happiness to my life. And love. I can't remember I've ever loved someone like her. Or, I think, I've never ever loved anyone before meeting her. And now I serve her and will serve till the end of the days".

"You still are the true defender, Heinrix, eager to give his life for those who have place in your heart", - Anna smiled, she toucher her brother's cheek attentively looking at his face: she remembered a boy with heavy augmentation which required removing one of his eyes - a necesarry sacrifice for those whose very mind and soul supposed to be bonded with the machine spirit. The eye was a peak of an iciberge concidering how much metal Heinrix had in his head. Psyker looked as if he's never had any surgeries and a slight difference in the color of his eyes could be a merely little unique detail, a highlight.

"The eye is real".

"You are a biomancer?"

Heinrix nodded.

"No one ever told me what exactly had happened to you. Only when I became older I found letters from the Inquisition in father's desk. Probably, parents and sister wanted to spare me of gruesome details and to make me think Heinrix had to leave because of some very important and secret reason. They all knew how much I loved you. I was telling Margie that since you left with no goodbyes you will come back, eventually. Oh how naive I was... When I found you have a gift of sorcery, I decided I need to dedicate my life for researching of psyker phenomenon. I was talking with different psykers, studying them. Funny enough, deep inside I had an insane thought that maybe I could've invent a "cure" for such "condition" only to bring you back home".

"Anna..." - Heinrix took Anna's hand in his. - "I am back. I cannot remain here, you know that, but for the time being I am here".

"I know. Still I can't believe it".

"I think I need to cheer you up", - Heinrix stood up from a bench, - "Come. After all, I need to introduce two women, importaint to me, to each other properly".

***

Several minutes were left before the skyes would be covered with shining ornaments of fireworks. Maarden and Cassia went to the central fountain: the crowd already surrounded it, but young navigator saw a spot she and psyker could occupy. Noelle stayed at a distance under a large tree; she was told to wait and she was waiting. Minutes were stretched to a size of eternity, or so it seemed to her.

"Noelle".

A familiar voice, so warm and dear, so close, made heart to pound a bit faster. The young woman turned her head and saw her beloved right next to her, he took her hand and gently kissed the inner side of the palm. Noelle smiled, she then noticed the woman next to Heinrix, the one she saw earlier today.

"You came".

"I can't break my promise. And I am not alone. Allow me introduce you: Noelle, this is Anna, my sister, the youngest one. Anna, this is Noelle, my Lord Captain and my future wife".

Two women bowed to each other.

"It is a great pleasure to meet my brother's darling. I hope he's not offending you", - the woman in dark blue dress smiled slyly.

"Oh, no! He is a true gentleman!" - Noelle's cheeks started to turn pink.

Anna laughted, Heinrix sighed and shaked his head.

"The last thing I was hoping to see is you "testing" my fiancee, dear sis".

"Oh, Heinrix, it was but a mere joke! Please, forgive me, Lady Noelle, I had no intension to insult you".

"No need to apologize", - Noelle shaked her head and smiled.

A sound of many voiced interrupted their conversation: guests starded loudly chanting countdown. Three, two, one... Several small sparks soared up to release all their brightness and cover night sky of the capital city with fancy ornaments and slogans, congratulations and prayers to the God-Emperor. Each flash of firework caused the crowd of guests to cheer and clap, laghter and happy shouting were coming from all sides of the garden. Lord Captain squeezed Heinrix's hand, she looked at his face illuminated by the light from above. Psyker noticed his beloved's attention and looked back at her, he smiled with corners of his mouth and squeezed Noelle's hand in response.

"Lady Anna", - Noelle looked at the woman standing on the left from Heinrix, - "I... I don't think tonight we may have time to speak a lot. My ship will remain at the orbit of Guisorn III for two weeks or so, depending on how fast the business will be finished. So, I though if you agree to be out guest? If you don't mind, of course, and can share some of your time".

The yound woman looked at Heinrix as if asking: "I hope you don't mind". Deep inside he himself wanted to do the same, so he nodded slightly: "You are doing the right thing, my love".

"Thank you for the invitation, Lady Noelle. It will be an honor".