#[ and nat has no qualms about killing ]

[wintersmoldr]

one of the more frustrating things about marvel is this assumption that assassin = spy and it's not??? really the same??? they have different skill sets and you want them for different reasons. bucky and nat are the best examples of assassins and spies, respectively. the purposes and reputations of both nat and bucky are complimentary (which is why they’re a good team) but ultimately completely different.

nat was meant to be a spy during a period of time when outright assassinations were less useful than intel. murder attracts notice. and as information becomes more valuable and more distributed, killing one person (or even a few people) doesn’t stop an idea or a methodology from continuing to develop. the best solution is to get the intel for yourself and use it before someone else can use it against you–or, failing that, blackmail them to hell and back. that’s where your spies come in–blending in and being subtle about getting the intel that informs the decision makers what kind of paths are available to them. yes, they should have a set of physical skills to sneak around and defend themselves, but they’re not assassins. muder is generally a last resort and more of a signal of failure than success.

bucky was meant to be an assassin, a highly precision-based weapon. and i think he worked best in pre-computer and pre-internet ages tbh, because like i said, murder attracts attention and doesn’t really stop anything nowadays. his value was in being able to complete his assignments with ease and against great odds, but in also imparting his martial arts training. the idea of an assassin training spies is good in the fact that now the spies have the ability to take sb out quickly before they come to harm if their cover is completely blown–but planning to use it as a first option or as an end goal of a mission would be a mistake. murder would be a spy’s last, most desperate resort. meanwhile, murder is an assassin’s bread and butter. for assassins, sneaking and intel gathering are supporting the main mission of killing someone. they don't also hang around afterwards, and generally the overall mission is much shorter--maybe a few days, if it's really complicated. spies could be undercover for years or more, depending on the mission.

[ofbrokendreams]

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Part Three

Part three of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.

Part One

Part Two

Hit up AO3 for the full fic.

TW: cursing, discussions of sex, discussions of abuse, discussions of mental health, discussions of drug use, discussion of suicide, depiction panic attack, pregnancy (let me know if I missed anything)

TEDDY BEARS AND MATRIMONY

Syd’s looking for a new place the next day. Bigger, nicer, two bedrooms, better neighborhood maybe. Close to The Bear but a train ride into work isn’t a problem. 

Carmy let’s her do her thing. Just along for the ride at this point. Watching Syd handle this like she does their kitchen is incredible. 

She handles this new change in their life and he handles their restaurant. He feels more focused than he ever has. He thought he’d been at the top of his game in New York, with a psychopath (sociopath?) in his ear, but he was wrong. Standing in his own place, plating his own food and Syd’s, working with people who want to be here, who want to create and serve, its different. It’s better and it pushes Carmy to be better. To live up to the way people gravitate to him, listen to him, follow his lead.

They move into their new place (two bedroom, five minute walk from her dad’s) on a Monday. With a bunch of staff helping pack and move and follow the U-Haul. And he’d feel bad about it but they’re a family, and he has some qualms about “we’re a family” workplaces. But as Tina directs the chefs on where stuff goes “Follow Sydney’s labels, puta. It’s so easy.”, Carmy thinks it might be okay. They might just be a family. 

And nine months is such a long time.

But it goes by in the blink of an eye. 

And he’s never been a huge picture guy but he can’t help it now. Taking pictures of Sydney almost every day. Some of them together. Some of himself, which is…which kills him..but-

He tries not to think about it, not to freak out, not to lose it. But his father fucked off. Her mother is dead. She never got to know her and Sydney’s got pictures and some videos and stories and that’s all. And it’s not enough but it’s all he can do. 

So he takes pictures of Syd and himself and of himself usually at The Bear and videos of her too. And sometimes he just talks to his phone, voice memos in his notes app about all the shit in his head that he thinks might be important. That he’d like to know about his dad but doesn’t. Stupid shit like his favorite movie and why and if he has a favorite color and how he met his mom from his perspective. 

And he takes pictures of Nat and Richie. Of Uncle Marcus and Aunt Tina and when Sydney’s friends visit he takes pictures of them too. Of the small dinner parties they host sometimes on Monday nights. Of the walk from home to grandpa’s place. Of their family and their life. 

He wants to make sure if anything…if anything…their little Teddy Bear has something. Knows their mom and their dad.

It’s such a stupid nickname. Syd says it once, “They’re gonna be just a little teddy bear, Bear, just like you. Fucking softy,” she giggles and Carmy rolls his eyes almost out of his head but it sticks. It fucking sticks. 

They decide not to find out the gender and everyone wants something to call the kid and it’s Teddy, sometimes Teddy Bear. And Marcus asks over and over if they’re going to name them Teddy…really? 

Its cold, snowing when Syd rolls over one morning, belly getting bigger, Carmy does quick math in his head, badly, and it should be week nineteen he thinks. “We should get married.” Carmy says the second their eyes lock.

Sydney scoffs and rolls back over. 

They close four weeks out on a Saturday. 

Update their Instagram and put up a sign on the door. ‘Chefs are getting married, reopen tomorrow.’

They don’t mean for it to become a thing, but it does. They’re going to the courthouse then back to The Bear for a party with everyone. And it’s…it’s just family but then it’s Chef Terry and Luca’s coming in from Copenhagen cause he’s…important to Carmen and he’s…a friend (“Oh my god, yes, he’s your friend you are such a loser” Syd laughs at him when he asks if it’d be weird to invite him) and Sydney’s got friends, like real friends quite a few actually, and family, real family. And their building is to small for this but its okay because its still not to much.

He fights with Nat about Donna. He’s in a better place, he’s doing well, he can handle it, he wants her at the party. And Nat, of all people, is against her coming. She’s admit that Donna doesn’t come, and its Sugar and she gives Donna all the grace in the world but she won’t…she’s unwilling to let Donna ruin this day for Carmen and Sydney. So Carmy takes his big sister’s advice and doesn’t tell Donna until after they’re married on a brief and difficult phone call.

Bear: 9:38 am; you were right

Sugar: 9:40 am; I’m sorry Bear

Sugar: 9:41 am; I love you Bear

Bear: 9:42 am; I love you Sugar

Nat and Sydney spend a couple Mondays scouring thrift shops for wedding dresses before finding it. Its not a wedding dress, strictly speaking, but its white and it fits and its a little weird and lacy and pretty and when Sugar asks if Sydney feels like a princess, like a queen she nods and Sugar grins.

“The fuck is that?” Carmy asks one night when Sydney’s embroidering an SB into the corner of a new red scarf. The white thread stark against the silk wine color. Syd’s nose scrunches. “It’s my fucking initials, the fuck?” “That’s S-A, Syd.” She looks at him like he’s really stupid. And Carmy swallows. “Oh. Oh okay.”

More importantly, he didn’t think she’d want to like…Syd’s a modern woman and-and he’d assumed, like an ass. 

He’d never thought she’d want his fucking cursed name. To be a Berzatto…like him. To share that with him. It’s so shocking that he’s still thinking about it hours later. 

And that night when he wraps his arms around her waist, hand spread over her round belly he smiles into the skin of her neck. “Thank you Syd.” “Partners yeah?” “Yeah partners.” “Besides its a good name. I like it. And Sydney Berzatto sounds right. Sounds good.” “It’s-it sounds perfect.”

It’s just Sugar and Mr. Adamu at the courthouse. Sitting in the gallery. Sugar’s trying not to cry and Mr. Adamu’s not hiding his tears. 

The Judge is nice and the whole thing is quick. They vow to each other: Carmen Anthony Berzatto taking Sydney Aisha Adamu as husband and wife. 

Carmy’s never smiled this hard in his life. And Syd will make more fun of him for that then if he was a crying mess. And they kiss and they’re married. 

In front of God and country and family they’re tied, for forever, for as long as she’ll have him.

She keeps her ring on its chain around her neck, at her heart, it’s easier for work. Carmy does the same with the golden band she gives him. (And a few months after she gives birth they’ll be side by side at that stupid tattoo parlor getting the date etched into the skin around their ring fingers.)

Carmen waits for the anxiety to kick in. But when it starts he tamps it down quickly. Terri’s voice in his ear, “You deserve happiness Carmen. So does Sydney and if you make her happy then why deny that for yourself?”

The party starts in the afternoon when they arrive back from the courthouse. There’s cheering and hugs and pats on the back. Cicero- Uncle Jimmy claps him so hard on the back that Carmy almost doubles over.

It’s all hugs from Marcus and Tina and Ebraheim and Sweeps and Angel and Manny. And the freshman and they probably shouldn’t call them that but they sometimes rotate out and there’s always someone new so- 

Cousin’s got Eva, even though its Tiff’s day cause she somehow still likes Carmy, and she’s coloring with Mikey at a table and Carmy sits with them for a little while letting people come to him so he doesn’t get overwhelmed. 

They eat the excellent food their staff prepared for them. And Syd calls Richie a fucking idiot when he says he forgot to get Syd a bottle of sparkling grape juice. So she toasts with seltzer and shoots Richie a stink eye. 

Syd’s friends and family throw her a baby shower a few weeks before her due date. And it’s maybe the first time they’ve both been away from the restaurant on a Saturday. Even if it’s just for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon.

It’s teddy bear themed because of course it is. 

Tina threatens to turn off her phone if he doesn’t stop texting her to ask how everything is going. 

And then their home is filled with furniture boxes and baby clothes so small he can’t believe it, even though he’s held Mikey and changed his clothes before. And toys and books. And they spend a Monday painting the room butter yellow and it’s so happy and cheerful he wants to throw up. One wall is covered in photographs on the walls hanging from the ceiling on down to the floor, all the evidence of their life he’s taken waiting for his kid. And Sydney cries when he shows her the mural he’s been working on on the opposite wall of all the fruit he can think of. She curses him out for fucking with her hormones and they make love until the sun comes up.

[albatris]

so on the occasion nat does murders it's mostly for food or self-defence or in order to protect friends, sometimes all three simultaneously, n as a general rule he does NOT enjoy dragging it out and being all dramatic and monologue-y and Leaning Into The Fun Of It like quinn does. his opinion is that quinn makes everything Super Fucking Weird

and I have also stated that I'm not sure in what circumstances nat would lay the hypnosis on other vampires even though it would technically be possible for him to do

however I have determined Endgame Final Form Super OP Nat concocts a plan that involves both of these things to a ridiculous degree and that plan is "ethel and ethel's little posse of horrible little parasites finally get what's coming to them"

you don't get to see the plan in realtime but he does describe the plan beforehand in loving detail then reference its success in the epilogue. n it is the one instance where nat has Maybe A Little Too Much Fun With Murders and makes several very evil decisions for no reason other than he thinks it'll be funny. AND I think the only time nat heavily abuses his hypnotic abilities to manipulate and control other vampires (also because he thinks it'll be funny)

he explains the plan to quinn and quinn is thrilled and delighted but also immediately like "hey I adore this but this is a super weird look for you, this is extremely out of character lmao" and nat is like "yeah I know, elaborate evil plans aren't really my forte and I had no idea how to go about this so I just thought 'what would quinn do in my position' and went from there haha"

and quinn is just like. "oh I see. well, good going idiot. now the universe is fucking out of balance and I have to do something elaborately ridiculously nice and wholesome like you would so reality doesn't implode and kill us all"

[uhthor]

Liv,,, the Loki finale,,, a tragedy. I want to hear all of your rants about it and also fuck d*sney

hello sweetie it’s been almost 48 hours and i’m still in shock and disbelief that the finale was that messy but i’ll try my best!

first of all, kang was the highlight of the episode. yes, his chat was long and complicated but jonathan majors was very very good and i cannot wait to see more of him in the mcu!

second, loki himself was incredible as always, sylvie was incredible, mobius was incredible & hunter b-15 was incredible. i have qualms about how messy it all was in the end with ravonna and wtf she been off doing (why were the minute men in ohio finding her on earth? there was no real conclusion to that, no real ending to her storyline and hunter b-15’s self realisation and rebellion which annoyed me to no end) and the ending was a dumpster fire cluster fuck. all three of the shows have been so ambitious with their plotting in the first 3/4 of the series and then the finales are just trying to wrap up so many things that nothing gets the justice it deserves and they need to Stop That Right Now because they just fall FLAT and disappoint

but the k!ss...... literally ruined the whole thing for me. loki as a character went through so much growth in a six episode series and i couldn’t be prouder of the way he changed and learned to believe in himself and that he was worthy of happiness. it’s truly some of the best work we’ve seen with loki in the entire mcu in my opinion.

miss minutes offered him a place in the timeline where he kills thanos and rules asgard and the loki in episode one would have jumped at that opportunity quicker than anything. episode six loki shed a few tears and remembered that he was worth more than that. that the cause was worth more than that, that people other than himself were worth saving and rescuing from the tva.

is that not the most incredible growth for loki? is that not the best growth we have seen alongside his growth in ragnarok? his main reasoning for not killing kang was to be able to help others and for sylvie to be okay. the fact the writers turned all of the growth he had made due to meeting sylvie on its head and had them kiss will always be disgusting to me.

they set the series up so well for loki to discover self love and worth through meeting sylvie, especially in that he said he just wanted sylvie to be okay in episode six — to me it will always still stand that loki learned to love himself and believe in his own worth through discovering he cared about sylvie in a non romantic way and that it changed him as a person. seeing a storyline of loki learning to love himself after a decade in the mcu of being made to be so inferior to everyone else by the people around him would have been the biggest love letter to loki and to loki’s fans, and tom.

it’s just so unfair and sad that they went down the route that they did. loki and sylvie had such a good relationship, something i saw parallel loki and thor’s relationship in the last ten years, and after loki was taken from the timeline and never allowed to see thor ever again, something good and stable and healthy loki could have had in his life from then onward.

but noooooo they had to make it romantic. they had to make things weird and they had to throw away a relationship they’d built so nicely with loki and mobius, too. people keep claiming that it wasn’t a romantic kiss and that sylvie was doing it to manipulate him and hit him where it hurts but as i re-emphasise again... there are literally thousands of other ways she could have done that. she could have hugged him. she could have just straight up pushed him. she could’ve pulled a hans of the southern isles and cupped his face and THEN pushed him. there literally had to be no romance involved. it was a choice made directly by marvel to engage in a selfcest relationship. there’s no ambiguity about it.

it also irritated me that people were saying it was typical for loki to fall for himself. we’re seeing a loki in this series like we’ve never seen before. he is so afraid of being alone and very clearly hates himself so much that to me, i don’t think he’d ever fall for himself. yes, he’s narcissistic, but he’s acknowledged that it’s only covering his absolute fear of being alone. i don’t think in any given circumstance would loki fall for himself because he loves himself. loki doesn’t love himself, which is one of the tragedies that this series focused on and created a beautiful journey with.

by meeting sylvie and learning that he cares about her and that she cares about him and believes that she deserved her own happy ending made him realise that he also deserves that, too. that’s the greatest love story that marvel should have written in this series after all the shit loki has been through. having him loving sylvie because she replicates his own self love and wanting her to be okay and have a happy ending is the way it should’ve gone. they are the same person, variations of the same person. her name is literally sylvie laufeydottir. they’re practically siblings. musical composer for the show natalie holt has said and i quote that loki looks at sylvie like he looks at his mother. ?!!!??!!!!!!??!??!? they’re family and it’s so so fucking weird for them to be romantic. it just ruined all of the work and excellence they provided in the first five and a half episodes and it pissed me off so bad. marvel have the uncontrollable need to pair every m/f that speak to each other for more than five minutes (st*ggy), even if they have no chemistry (bruc*nat, st*ron), EVEN IF THEY ARE RELATED OR THE SAME PERSON but won’t touch same sex relationships with a barge pole. funny, that

i just wanted the finale to solidify all of this — loki finally learning to love himself and discover that he has self worth and cares for others after his journey through the mcu being one of pure pain and suffering. i just wanted it to make sense and set up something with a tiny bit of coherence but i left the series more confused than i have ever been and just angry and betrayed really.

obviously i will watch season two and can only hope that things are fixed (wtf is going on with ravonna, hunter b-15, where is kid loki and allokigator, was the k!ss truly romantic, will they denounce all the selfcest etc. etc.) and don’t even get me started on the ending with mobius... not a jet ski in sight just fucking suffering. like twelve of my mutuals predicted he’d have his memories wiped yet it wasn’t any less painful when i saw it happen. justice for wowki, the actual only good and coherent and healthy relationship to come out of this series </3

also can someone PLEASE tell me if they saw casey anywhere cause eugene cordero was credited but i never saw my boy ONCE! he deserved BETTER!!!!

ok think i’m done tldr: fuck the finale i am gay and confused

[homeformyheart]

worth it - mason x f!detective (twc)

author’s note: i was inspired by the book 2 moments as well as the book 3 demo (no spoilers though) and of course, my love of pride & prejudice – for context, this detective has not done anything physical with M. i hope you enjoy!

copyright: all characters, except the oc detective, are owned by mishka jenkins @seraphinitegames. series/pairing: the wayhaven chronicles – mason x nb!detective (brooklyn kingston) rating/warnings: 13+; swearing word count: 1.9k summary: mason finally figures things out after a particularly insightful movie night at the warehouse.

worth it

mason twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his other hand shoved deep in his pocket, fingers wrapped around his lighter. he didn’t even have the urge to smoke anymore, which was odd, because he still felt everything around him a little too much. he didn’t understand why it was so easy to quit but chalked it up to wanting to treat the detective with respect as a member of the team.

it didn’t occur to him until after brooks had walked out of the bakery that there might be more to it. that maybe it wasn’t just about respect or trying to get into her pants. he wasn’t sure what else there could be – it’s not like they had done anything physically that would be enough to replace his coping mechanism.

now when he felt the urge to smoke, he saw her face instead. heard her voice telling him that the smoke would eventually kill her. pictured that gentle, hopeful look on her face accentuated by a soft smile. saw her sitting behind her desk, head tilted and resting on her hand while pointing to the “no smoking” sign in her office with the other.

and it helped. the uncomfortable and often borderline painful sensations on his body and in his mind receded when he let himself think of her.

maybe when the world was too loud and too bright, she was what he needed.

he had to give her credit. brooklyn was a damn professional. in the weeks since that conversation in the bakery, there wasn’t a moment where she didn’t seem like her normal self around the team. she bantered with felix, discussed research and theories with nat, and planned out investigative tactics with ava. they continued to work on the kidnapping case as a team, with her taking the lead and only occasionally butting heads with ava. with him, she rolled her eyes at his remarks and remained indifferent when he sat near her at their bi-weekly meetings.

even though everything seemed normal on the outside, mason could sense something had changed for them both. brooklyn had withdrawn into herself, avoiding holding his gaze beyond a passing glance, and ignoring his suggestive remarks when they were alone. it created an unfamiliar ache in his chest, to the point where he wasn’t enjoying flirting with her as much. it was a odd sense of discomfort to feel, seeing as how he was no stranger to uncomfortable sensations.

at least ava and nat had the decency to play along as though nothing was amiss, even though every once in a while, nat would throw a worried glance their way. felix, however, had no such qualms about pointing out the obvious awkwardness between them.

“so… brooklyn, you haven’t hung out with us in a while outside of these meetings,” felix said with a grin that mason was starting to really hate. he let out a low growl, which felix pointedly ignored. “and i know mason would loooove your company. he just broods in the dark when you’re not here.”

brooklyn had to suppress the chuckle that wanted to emerge at the image of mason hiding in a corner of the room and arched one of her eyebrows at felix instead. “i don’t see how his brooding has anything to do with me.”

“because the man is clearly –”

“felix!” nat’s exasperated tone cut him off before he could finish his sentence, but the knowing look in his eyes and sympathetic smile made brooklyn’s heart thud a little louder than usual.

“um, i guess it has been a while since we’ve done something not work-related. why don’t we watch a movie or something?” she suggested, trying to divert everyone’s attention away from whatever it was that felix was about to say.

“yes! you pick the movie and i’ll get the popcorn and we’ll watch it right here!” felix’s eyes shined with excitement and brooklyn couldn’t help but chuckle.

and that’s how mason found himself watching pride and prejudice in the warehouse living room later that week.

brooklyn wiped a stray tear from her eye as mason leaned toward her. “seriously? this makes you cry?” he was genuinely sort of surprised. brooklyn could be just as, if not more, stoic than rebecca and he found her difficult to read sometimes, especially if she refused to make eye contact with him and if her body didn’t react to his advances.

“he’s got too much pride, she has too much prejudice. he says he’s not good with words, so he shows her how much he loves her by overcoming the issues his pride caused and when she finally sees all that he does and understands his true nature, of course she falls in love with him. it just works, okay!” brooklyn sniffled, putting a hand on her heart. “it’s one of my favorite movies.”

“mine too! i mean, it is now anyway,” felix said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “are you going to stay tonight, brooks?”

brooklyn covered her mouth to stifle her yawn. “i shouldn’t. i have to be up early tomorrow and i didn’t bring my car since it was so nice out.”

nat frowned. “it’s dark, one of us should—”

“i’ll walk you home,” mason interrupted, standing from where he had been sitting on the armrest of the couch during the entire movie.

brooklyn hesitated. it had been easy to forget what happened at the bakery and pretend as though nothing was wrong when she avoided being alone with mason. but she also didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that she was avoiding him, even though she knew the team had probably figured it out and were just being nice about it.

she looked up at the expectant looks from the others and realized she had fallen silent. “oh, um, alright, i’ll see you all tomorrow,” she said quickly, picking up her purse and following mason out.

“i really wish those two would work things out,” felix said softly once the door had closed.

“i’m sure they will. brooklyn’s just going to have to be a little patient with him while he figures things out,” nat said, picking up the first edition pride and prejudice book she decided to read while everyone else watched the movie.

the walk back to brooklyn’s apartment was quiet but to her surprise, not wholly unpleasant. for the first time in a while, her chest wasn’t constricting from actively trying to suppress her feelings and reactions around mason. for some reason, they were able to walk side-by-side, his warm presence washing over her and easing whatever tension she had been holding that day and letting her body relax.

by the time they made it back to her apartment, her arms swayed casually at her sides and she smiled contentedly to herself. she hoped they could end the night on a high note and moved to unlock her door.

“hey, brooklyn.”

she tensed before looking up at mason, one hand holding her keys near the doorknob. he was leaning against the wall, hands tucked deep into his pockets.

“yes?”

he looked at her with something brooklyn hadn’t ever seen before swirling in his grey eyes. his mouth opened and then closed as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say before frowning and looking away.

she tilted her head sideways. “isn’t this where you make some suggestive comment to try to get into my pants?”

mason’s head snapped back to look at her so fast she almost missed it. “think that's all i’m good for, huh, sweetheart? did it ever occur to you that i might not be in the mood?”

“okay…” she squinted at him in confusion. “wait, why are you upset?”

“i don’t know!” mason threw his hands up in the air before rubbing his face. “i don’t like this feeling right now.”

she raised an eyebrow at him. “what feeling, exactly?” she prodded gently.

his shoulders sagged and if brooklyn didn’t know better, she’d say he almost looked… dejected.

“like i’ve lost my chance with you before we’ve even seen how we could be together,” he said quietly, sending a sideways glance in her direction. “and for the record, i think we’d be fucking phenomenal.”

brooklyn’s heart was beating so fast she thought it would leap out of her chest. she swallowed thickly and willed her body to calm down so she could avoid being disappointed by mason yet again. “i’m not a game for someone to just have fun with for a time and throw away when they start getting bored. i want someone to think i’m worth waiting for,” she said, afraid to say it any louder than a whisper even though she knew mason would hear her anyway.

“oh sweetheart, i wouldn’t be here right now if i didn’t think you’d be worth it,” mason said, his eyes full of sincerity and a gentle smile that caught her off guard. she was so used to his flirty remarks being accompanied by a smirk that the absence of it was almost dizzying.

brooklyn frowned in confusion. her brain was used to making sense of things logically and she had barely had a full conversation with mason since that moment in the bakery when she felt something more between them, something deeper, swirling underneath the tension. it was dangerous to let herself hope, but maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.

“i know what you want and as soon as you get it, you’ll be done with me. well, i’m not interested in playing your game, mason, so feel free to find someone else,” she said, the quiver in her voice contradicting the gravity of her words as she opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside.

mason’s hand shot out to keep the door open and brooklyn looked up at him, eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“i could never be done with you,” he said softly. there was no hint of snark or teasing in his voice.

he stepped into the doorway, casting a shadow over her small frame even in the dark of the apartment.

“what do you want, mason?” she asked, something akin to hope starting to bloom in her chest.

mason gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, pausing briefly at the corner of her lips. “you,” he answered with such confidence and honesty that brooklyn knew she believed him wholeheartedly.

he slowly lowered his forehead to hers. “just you. we don’t have to do anything physical. i just can’t help but want to be near you all the time. that damn movie’s in my head now.”

she looked up at him shyly through her eyelashes and smiled, walked backwards into the apartment so he could close the door behind him. even in the dark, mason could see the vibrant blush on her cheeks that was slowly becoming his favorite feature of hers.

“that’s all i wanted to know. does this mean i should expect an impromptu confession in the rain?” she teased, moving to turn on the light and make herself comfortable on the couch.

to her surprise yet again, mason chuckled. “you should know me well enough by now, sweetheart, to know that i’m not really into that,” he said. his eyes softened as he took a seat next to her. “but for you, maybe i’ll make an exception.”

her face beamed in a way he didn’t know was possible and he knew he wanted to figure out what it would take for her to look at him like that always.

* * * * * permatag: @kelseaaa; @kat-tia801; @anotherbeingsworld; @crackerdumortain; @pearlsandsteel; @gloynporslen; @sosolenoo; @alyssalauren;  @wayhavenots; @gingerbreton; @takemyopenheart; @writer-ish; @fhauvilles;

[diaryofabeautyfiend]

Small Time Witch (19)

Settled inside of Tongass National forest Sector Juneau responds to the most treacherous of missions in the Pacific. They are hosting members of SHIELD and the Avengers and offering support for any civilian casualties. The servicemen at Sector Juneau do not venture too far into Tongass as those are tribal lands. This was the perfect place to hide a smallish Hydra encampment. There were dormitories already in the building. The Haida people inhabit these lands and know it well. They noticed some movement weeks ago. Tribal stakeholders already tried to intervene when they spotted children on the grounds and men with large weapons. When they were told this place was property of the US government they called in support from other known entities. They saw no other adults and feared the worst. Now the Avengers were on their way though they were not exactly who the Haida had in mind.

The first plane to land on the airstrip was the X-jet. On board were Logan, Wade, Ororo, Jean Scott and Kurt. They were greeted by Colonel Sterling Davis. He was a hard man who successfully carried out thousands of deep water rescue missions. Now he teaches at Sector Juneau. Ororo introduced herself and they were escorted to a conference room to wait for the other two teams. Next to land was the Quinjet. Col. Davis sent a few men out to bring them in to the same room. Logan was on the edge of his seat ready to pounce on whomever was holding you. When he didn’t see you his heart sank. Ororo greeted Steve and introduced him to the rest of the team. Tensions were high. Leave it to Wade Wilson to make matters worse.

“Holy. Oh my goodness. It’s Captain America! You are outstanding.” He inhaled deeply as he circled Steve, “Smell that? It’s freedom.”

“Wade! Sit down.” Logan barked. “Where is Y/N? We received a distress call from her friend a few hours ago.”

Steve straightened his spine making himself look more menacing than he actually was. “She was taken on another aircraft by Tony Stark. We weren’t meant to be here.”

“He’s the boyfriend, Logan.” Jean offered.

“The boyfriend?” He walked over to Steve with his claws peeking through the skin of his knuckles. “So you’re the one who got her into this mess.”

Steve’s hands curled into fists. Bucky was at his side poised to fight. Hitting Clint wasn’t enough. He was ready to get into it.

“As much as we would love to see this fight, and trust me we do, we have a more pressing matter to take care of. You’re here. We’re here. She’s not.” Wade stepped between them praying that Steve would hit him. It would heal but for a few precious hours his face would be dented where Cap slugged him. The men retreated to their neutral corners still seething.

Sam went to find the Colonel to ask if any other planes landed or if they spotted anything on radar. Everyone in the conference room was quiet. Everyone was worried. They were entering this operation with very little intel. Jean tried to reach out to any of the children who may share her same powers. She touched the fringes of one of the children and recognized him as Franklin Richards. “Franklin! They have Franklin Richards. They’re children. Oh my...” She brought her hand to her mouth looking horrified.

“I’ll call Susan and Reed!” Ororo was up and out of the room.

“Susan and Reed run a small team out of the Baxter building in Manhattan. Their son Franklin has been missing for a week. This whole camp is housing children. All mutants.” Jean explained.

Wanda started to panic. If this place was anything like the place Hydra kept her and Pietro these children were terrified. They were likely experimented on and tortured until their powered peaked. “What are his abilities?” She asked her voice breaking.

“He’s a lot like you, Wanda. He was born with his abilities and is extremely powerful. More powerful than any of us.” Jean held her hands to show her. She saw him as a young man battling demons and monsters. He made them weep in pain.

“That’s it. Those are the powers they mean for Y/N to take.” Steve was at her side.

“Wanda, what happens if she does?” He stood up and looked at Jean searching her face for an answer. They both looked away. The door to the room swung open. Ororo came back in with Strange and two very frantic people he assumed to be Franklin’s mother and father.

“She won’t be able to absorb his powers. If she tries it will kill them both.” Strange heard the whole exchange as he walked in. He was of no comfort to anyone. Steve thought he must have the worst bedside manner.

Everyone introduced themselves and the team discussed the safest way to get into the building without any children getting hurt. Kurt could carry three small children at a time and get them to safety. The rest would have to fight. This was a balls to the wall dangerous fight that some of them may not make it out of safely. None of them cared least of all Steve.

“Cap! A plane landed thirty minutes ago on the east side of the complex. It has to be them. There are vehicles waiting outside.” Ahead of them lightning crackled announcing Thor and Loki. Steve didn’t even care at this point. He just wanted you safe and whomever it was who saved you was not important. The plane was empty. A member of the tribe boarded one of the vehicles carrying Col. Davis to show them to the site. Steve shook their hands and asked them to wait with transport on the other side of the building.

Jean reached out once more finding you inside of the building. You were already with Franklin. She asked if you were ok which you responded with yes. She asked who you were with and was Franklin safe. You didn’t know the doctor’s name and Franklin looked to be physically safe yet unconscious. He had puncture marks on his skin. He was fading which would open him up for you to take his powers. Allowing his mind to roam free would be dangerous. He is a child who can alter reality. No telling what dreams he could manifest.

You counted five guards outside of Franklins room. Fury and Tony stood outside. Nat and Rhodey stayed at the main corridor. Nat knew Steve would come for you. Knew Clint would not stand in his way. She wouldn’t have either. They saw the guards moving children. Some walked on their own some were on gurneys. They hoped the rest of the team showed up soon. Rhodey wasn’t sure how he was going to get all these kids out. He knew Tony better than this. He wouldn’t let these kids just stay behind. Would he? Some of them looked to be no older than five. No way Tony would let this go now that he’s seeing it. A clap of thunder never sounded as good as the one they just heard.

You held Franklin’s hand pretending to do something so you could hear Jean. You showed her what you saw of the building and where there may be trouble. None of these men would have any qualms about hurting a child. You thought about how you could take out all of the guards and the doctor but you feared for Franklin. You wouldn’t leave him. You pet his hand and hoped he knew you were a friend.

Once you got the message that everyone was ready you threw the doctor against the wall knocking him out and slammed the door closed. You barricaded it with whatever furniture you could and froze the door shut. Your whole body crackled ready to take out whomever got through the door. Something heavy was slamming against it now. The wood started to splinter. There was another heavy thud this time against the wall. You took out the entire power grid leaving the room pitch black. You saw Kurt’s eyes shining from the upper corner of the ceiling above Franklin’s bed. You disconnected his heart monitor and IV. “Take him to safety!”

“I’ve come for you too, love.”

“Get him out of here. Get as many kids as you can!” He nodded and disappeared delivering Franklin to his mother’s waiting arms.

Ororo followed your lead freezing the doors to the entrance to the dorms. Scott crumpled a wall and they started handing the kids off to Sam and Wanda. Once you knew the medical wing was clear you blew the door open. You grabbed the doctor by his collar and dragged him into the room where he conducted experiments. You saw your friends fighting and dodging bullets. Wade saw you and fought his way over to you. Without having to say a word he knew what you were doing. He shielded you so you could get away with the now conscious doctor. You pushed him into a chair that was so small he barely fit. You pulled a sword from Wade’s belt and speared him through the shoulder effectively pinning him down. He screamed and blood sprayed all over your face. Wade wouldn’t stop you. None of them would. They all knew a doctor like this no named freak. This insignificant shit stain who no longer had the right to be called human. When the last shell hit the floor and all the children were safe only the doctor’s screams echoed through the halls.

Loki had a very small girl wrapped in a blanket on his lap. She was barely breathing and her heart was beating in a terrible rhythm. Her eyes focused on him. He held her close whispering words of comfort in her ear. He handed her off to a nurse who promised to take care of her. He had never seen anything like this before. He vowed by all the nine that he would find the people who did this and they would pay dearly. Steve, looking just as shocked, found him sitting on the ground. “Where is she?!” That’s when they heard it. A quick scan of the crowd showed you weren’t there. When they found you you had a blade in your hand peeling off his skin layer by layer. Slowly. Methodically. You were covered in blood. It was greased into your hair and stained your skin.

For a moment Loki stood with Wade not willing to stop you. You were a woman possessed. The doctor screamed and cried under your weight. You felt Loki’s hands on your shoulders. You fought against him. He turned your head to look at him and that’s when he saw your eyes were completely white and you looked feral. With a strength he didn’t know you had you broke away from him and propelled him across the room.

Steve and Tony ran into the room. Steve was horrified. Tony launched himself toward you trying to break you away from your work. “I hate to say I told you so, Cap but...” before he could finish you held your hand in the air towards him and started crumpling his suit around him. He finally let go and initiated the protocol to take it off.

Loki bear hugged you from behind and Wade grabbed your feet. You fought so hard that Wade almost lost you a few times. After checking on Tony Steve was at your side. Your eyes went back to normal and you started to cry. Loki and Wade set you down. You crumbled into a heap on the floor. Loki kissed your head whispering to you, telling you it was over.

“No!” you screamed, “he deserves to die!”

“Y/N, no!” Steve grabbed your hand, “We don’t make that call!”

“Yeah well I can’t say I agree with you, Cap. When you’ve been tortured within an inch of your life you can decide who makes that call. He’s one of a hundred doctors and scientists who want to touch our no no spots.” Wade’s eyes were not focused on anything in particular. He was deep in a memory of when he was in a place just like this.

“They’re babies, Steve.” you sobbed.

“I know and he’ll pay. Justice will...”

“Who is going to check him? You are so naive! This isn’t the work of Hydra! Our own government did this. Project 66 is turning our children into weapons. Tell him, Tony.”

“Tony what is she talking about?” Steve was beyond anger. Tony looked away from him with tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t know that part. I didn’t know. Ok? I thought this was a rescue mission.”

“Bullshit!” You freed a hand from Loki and pushed towards Tony sending him back to the ground. Loki held you down tighter. He placed his hand on your forehead and saw the memories of your own torture. You were just a girl. You were terrified. It was two days before Logan found you. You cried out at the memory. He loosened his grip on you.

Steve and Tony continued to argue when you broke loose. You summoned every bit of energy you could and raised your hands. Steve stood in between you and the doctor. “Move, Steve. I have to end this.”

“Don’t do this, baby. You take a life you can’t come back from that. It’ll haunt you. Please. We don’t come back from that. I can’t let you do this.”

“What are you going to do, Steve? Arrest me? Go ahead! Just let me finish.”

This place echoed with the screams of innocent souls crying for their mothers and fathers. The level of cruelty this man brought down upon them should not go unpunished. A jail cell was too good for him. The government will dismiss this as a rogue agent. They’ll sit before Congress and ask to be forgiven but they’ll never know the atrocities seen here. This is justice.

Tears left streaks in the blood that was smeared on your face. “Loki, get him out of here.” You pushed them both out. Steve fought hard but Loki was stronger.

“She’ll never be the same, Loki. This will ruin her.” Loki let him go into Bucky’s care. Bucky didn’t run in to stop you either. None of them did.

Wade stayed with you knowing you’d need someone when you were done. You pushed Tony out of the building through the already crumpling wall. With all of your strength you sent a bolt through the doctor that liquified his innards. You collapsed into Wade’s arms. He carried you out to Kurt who transported you to the X-jet. Wade hopped in a vehicle with Logan and they sped away.

🌩🌩🌩🌩🌩🌩🌩🌨🌨🌨🌩🌩🌩🌩

When you woke up you were in a hospital bed. Professor Xavier and Logan were at your side. “Am I in trouble?” Your voice was low and husky.

“No. Considering what we’ve uncovered the FBI was more than willing to let you go with a warning. There are two very worried gentleman outside of your door. Logan was insistent that they wait outside.” You smiled up at Logan who was holding your hand. Xavier left the room to give you some privacy.

“For someone who is not my father you sure act like it sometimes. Is Wade ok?” He stroked your hair and rolled his eyes.

“Wilson is fine. I stopped him from giving you a teardrop prison tattoo under your eye. How are you?”

“A little upset with myself. I don’t know what came over me.”

“We’ve all been there, kid. We’re here for you. You’ll come out ok. It takes time.”

“I killed someone, Logan.”

“Yeah, you did. The day you can live with that is the day we’ve lost you to the dark side. One day it will get easier. It won’t hurt to breath. Until then, you stick around with us and we’ll get you through it.”

There was a knock on the door. Steve entered slowly, “Can I come in?”

“I’ll come back later.” Logan squeezed your hand and ducked out of the door.

In the hours before you woke up Steve sat alone at a table in the cafeteria at the school. Tony went back to the tower. He had a lot to think about. Fury was headed back to DC.

Steve rested his head in his hands and sobbed. He cried because of what you did. Cried because he lied to you and hurt you. Cried because he couldn’t save you. Cried because he couldn’t save some of the children who were held there. They lost four of them. The tiniest ones who couldn’t handle what the doctor had done to them. Cried because the remaining children are traumatized and our own government let it happen. The Professor was working on finding all of their parents. Some of them were in hiding. Perhaps they had secret powers of their own. Some of them downright didn’t want their children back. They would remain in the care of Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Maybe they would find a family there. Maybe they would feel abandoned. More than anything he cried because you were forever changed in his eyes. He didn’t know if he could ever again trust you. You lied to him about a lot of things. He lied to you too.

Later when he got to your room Loki was pacing in front of the door. He shared a glance with Steve letting him know he should go in. Loki knew he was the victor here but the cost was too great to be smug now.

Steve sat on the edge of the bed. You curled your hand around his. “Was my first instinct right? Should I have trusted you?”

He searched your face for any answer. You weren’t giving anything away.

You stared at him holding his hand letting his fear wash over you. “I can’t answer that for you. I can’t say that I’ve atoned for my sins. I haven’t. I stand by what I did. Doesn’t change how I feel about you. It has changed how you feel about me though.”

“We lied to each other. Big lies. Can you really forgive me for going behind your back? Can I get passed this? Will we ever really trust each other again? What does this mean for you? You can’t work with us again.”

“I’ll stay in Westchester until I figure it out. I can work with Logan and Wade.”

“That makes me trust you a whole lot more.”

“Hey! I’m not proud of what I’ve done here. And I’m not on some murderous mission.”

“Everyone here has done something they aren’t proud of.”

“Not you. You are the best of us all. You’re a good man, Steve. You shouldn’t have to live with something that goes against everything you stand for. You deserve to be happy with a sweet girl who bakes and wears sundresses and wants a whole mess of kids. That’s not me. I love you so much I feel like my heart could burst. Asking you to compromise your beliefs would be cruel. I want nothing for you other than for you to be happy.”

“I’ll never love anyone like I love you.” His voice cracked. The last thing he wanted was to let you go. He wished he could turn back the clock to before you fell in love. He wished he could spare you from each other.

“Yes, you will. It only feels that way right now because it’s ending. When you find her...the one. You’ll know.” He scooted next to you on the bed and pulled you to his chest. You clutched each other for a long time. He kissed you and it was passionate and deep. A kiss you reserve for a moment like this. He wanted to imprint this moment on his heart forever. This was the first time he kissed anyone like this and the last time he ever would again. This was the last time you’d see him for a while.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

You went home with Loki after you were given the all clear. You talked a lot about Alaska. He assured you that he didn’t care about what you’d done. He only wished it didn’t torment you so. “What happened doesn’t change you, Pet. A small child nearly died in my arms. If you hadn’t done it I would have myself. Let me get my hands on the putrid waste of skin who hurt you. It will be far worse.”

In the days that followed you had little contact with the Avengers. Wanda texted a few times so did Nat. You checked on Steve via Bucky. You sometimes had Bucky to the house. You had trash tv marathons and he supplied the trash food. He told you he thought about his victims every single day. Being with people he loved helped bring him back. He wanted to do the same for you.

You wouldn’t go back to work for Tony. Loki assured you that you would be fine. Set financially for the long haul. And, if you needed more, he’d get it for you. Nothing to worry about.

You spent your days doing spell work. He taught you things you never imagined. You expanded the garden and added a few trees. You read a lot and made him watch ridiculous movies. You were currently binging Game of Thrones. No surprise to you Danerys was his favorite.

You had nightmares every night. He would hold you tight and help you ride them out. Sometimes sleep would elude you entirely. When you were too afraid to close your eyes he would take baths with you. He cast a spell to keep the water toasty. You’d stay in until your skin was wrinkled. Other times he would make love to you until you couldn’t fight sleep any longer.

When your birthday came around he convinced you to have a few friends over. It was very low key affair. A dinner really. He watched you looking at yourself in the mirror applying your makeup. You frowned at the lines forming next to your eyes. “Lok, do I look old?”

“Not at all, Darling. You are perfect as you are.” He answered rather quickly. He meant what he said but knew enough now not to hesitate with his answers.

“I wish I could stop time. Just stop aging all together. It will be centuries before you’ll look old. I’ll be a wrinkled old bag and you’ll be young and hot still.”

“I have something that can fix that. Come with me.” You follow him into the kitchen where he pulled out two of the herb drawers. In one hand was the cutting from the Yggdrasil and in the other sap from the manzanilla de muerte. “This one, when fused with a piece of me, will grant you immortality. You won’t age a day as long as you wear it. The catch is you die I die and vice versa. This one will make me mortal if I drink it. The choice is yours.”

“You’d give up your immortality for me?”

“If that’s what you wish.” Though he hoped you really didn’t.

“What about when we have children? Can they be immortal too if they choose?”

“If they choose I suppose they can be.” You asked if you could sleep on it. This was a huge decision. You had to give it some thought. Forever was, after all, a very long time.

You heard the telltale thrum and crackle of the bifrost in the back. “Thor and Jane are here. Can you let them in?!” You called. You heard Thor’s voice echoing off the walls. His laugh made you smile.

Loki peeked his head around the corner to see you standing in a beautiful navy blue dress. It was long and flowing with blousy sleeves and a low back. You checked yourself in the mirror a few more times. To him you were absolutely perfect. The way the candlelight illuminated your skin took his breath away. He couldn’t fathom you being anything less than stunning even if you let time ravage you. Your bracelet slipped down your arm when you hung your earrings. On your other wrist was a delicate silver watch with a brilliant blue face. He had only seen it in your jewelry box. You never wore it. Tonight was a special occasion and it did go so well with your ensemble. With a final pop of your rose petal colored lips you declared yourself ready.

He took your arm and lead you to the back garden. Everyone was passing dishes talking and laughing. Darcy was telling the story about how Dr. Selvig ran around Stone Henge in his underwear. You had heard it a hundred times and belly laughed the same way you did the first time she told it. The night ended late enough for everyone to have fun but early enough to get everyone home safely.

Loki sent you to get ready for bed promising he would have the kitchen spotless. You heard him cursing and dropping things. Domesticity would be hard for him. It was hilarious to see him bumble through something as simple as loading a dishwasher.

As you were wiping off the remnants of your makeup a text came in from Steve.

SR: Happy birthday. Hope it was a good day. Love, Steve

Y/N: Thank you. It was a good day. Hope you’re doing well.

He didn’t respond. You smiled at the watch on your wrist. The face the same color as his eyes. When you put it on you hoped he would think of you. You set it back in the jewelry box when Loki was walking into the room. “That’s a nice watch. Have you had it long?”

“A little over a year I guess. It was a birthday gift.” He didn’t ask who had given it to you. He already knew and he would not let such things ruin his mood. It was your birthday and you needed to be properly celebrated.

He moved behind you and unzipped your dress making sure his knuckles grazed your skin the whole way down. He trailed kisses from shoulder blade to shoulder blade pushing your dress off and letting it cascade down your body into a beautiful pool on the floor. Underneath you were trussed up and corseted and layered with enough spandex to choke a man.

“Norns, Darling. How do get into all of this nonsense?” He stared at you bewildered. You smiled back at him slowly unhooking and untying. He helped unlace the front of your corset with all the wonder of a child on Christmas morning. Your breasts were pushed up making them more round and pillowy on top. He thought of resting his head there. You wouldn’t stop him. He had undone quite a few corsets in his time but none excited him like this one.

Once you were free he ran his hands over your torso kneading out the sore spots where the wires pressed into your flesh. It was your softness that beguiled him so. He savored the weight of your breasts in his hands and the elegant curve of your hips. He loved how your skin always smelled of spices and alters and flowers from your garden.

He held your hands and lead you to the bed. “Relax, gorgeous girl. Let me take care of you.” He pushed your legs back and positioned himself at your entrance. Long graceful fingers swept through your folds. He lapped at your slit drinking in all of your wetness. You twined your fingers into his hair running your nails over his scalp. The more you scratched and pulled the harder he fucked you with his fingers. You rocked your hips fucking him back. You felt the wave building in your belly ready to break. You reached your peak and shattered around him.

“Lok, please fuck me.” You were breathless writhing in his grip. He did not stop licking you.

“One more, Pet and then I’ll give you what you want.”

“Oh please. I need to feel you.” He ignored your request and continued to suck your pearl between his lips. He held you down on the bed and brought you to your next orgasm. Your whole body stiffened and threatened to clamp shut around him. He kept his fingers working as he moved on top of you. He spread your legs wider with his knees. Your eyes were screwed shut the pleasure was overwhelming.

“Look at me, my queen. You’re so needy for your king’s cock aren’t you? Tell me.” You could barely speak. He ran the dripping head of his dick around your cunt and let it just enter at the very tip. Your hips moved to take more but he pulled away. “Tell me, pet.”

“I need your cock, my king. Please. Please fuck me.”

His face split into the most dazzling smile and he sheathed himself in you. His lashes fluttered when you clamped down around him. You wrapped your arms and legs around his body like the vines claiming the windows. You held each other’s eyes. His pace became more urgent. He untangled you so he could lean back and drive deeper into you. You were ready again. You pulled him back down to kiss him. “I love you, Loki.” You whispered. Your words were his undoing. He slammed his hips into you pushing you over the edge with him.

He kissed you again and settled next to you. Your thighs were sticky with the two of you. You couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“Happy birthday, my queen. I love you endlessly.”

“Enough to spend eternity with me? That is of neither of us is too reckless.” He laughed knowing eternity may not be quite as long for the two of you fools.

[medeafive]

Blood and Stone - 28

Masterpost

“You really can’t make this guy happy,” Tony complains, painting over scratches in his armor. “We kill almost three dozen vampires and all he remarks on is that Rumlow got away.”

“Nat’s friend killed half of them,” Bruce remarks quietly. “And Rumlow, that’s really going to be an issue.”

Natasha totally forgot about Steve until she sees him sitting on the bed, looking around nervously as Bruce takes a blood probe. He looks exactly the same, though, almost unnaturally buff and blonde. Reminds her of the prototypic worker from the old Soviet propaganda. She leans in the door, watching and waiting until they notice her on their own.

“Come on, what’s he going to do?” Tony asks, putting the shoulder plate down. “Run to Schmidt crying for help?”

Steve is the first to notice her, looking even more nervous. “Oh. Hi?”

“Hi,” she replies, raising her dented biteguard. “Just wanted to ask whether you can fix this thing or I have to throw it away.”

Bruce startles and spins, blushing. “Oh. Natasha. Didn’t see you there.”

She doesn’t want to deal with that right now so she drops the biteguard in front of Tony who picks it up, frowning, pulling on it until it’s creaking miserably. “Wow. That thing’s totally done for. Really, you were this close to getting bitten.”

Must have been the dark-haired woman from the hunting party. Well, she’s dead now so what does it matter. “Wasn’t, though.”

Tony snorts. “Smartass. I guess your vampire friend can’t complain if you turn into a vampire as well.”

“Well, I wouldn’t like that,” she returns. "What's he doing in here? I thought he's fine now."

Apparently, Steve’s not fine enough to have a conversation. “Not that simple,” Bruce replies, corking up a vial. “We’re not sure he’s really stable. Especially under extreme conditions like, you know, fighting vampires.”

“I think I’m good,” Steve tries, pressing a bandaid on the tiny wound. “Really. I’m feeling-”

“Let’s just put him through the paces already,” Tony interrupts. “See whether he can handle it.”

Bruce rolls his eyes, putting the vial in the shaking machine that has some fancy scientific name. “I’m not sure I can help him if he goes into cardiac arrest or something. I want to understand how his body works first.”

“Hey,” Natasha addresses Steve. “You wanna fight? Go a few rounds?”

Steve blushes. Bruce groans. “Nat. Please.”

“I promise not to kill him,” Natasha states. “Come on. Are you just gonna sit there?”

Steve looks around helplessly. “Uh. I mean, I- if you say- if it’s okay- well, I should get changed first.”

“Yeah, do that,” Natasha advises, watches his broad back as he gets up and walks to the door. “Not going to go easy on you.”

“You’re really fucking high on vampire blood, aren’t you,” Tony remarks, sawing her biteguard apart.

“So what,” she returns. “So is he.”

Bruce shakes his head, taking the glasses off. “You’re even cockier than usual, Natasha.”

Tony grins. “Yeah, looks like the virus has psychological effects after all, right? Like I said.”

“Like you said?” Natasha repeats. “What did you say?”

Bruce sighs, cleaning his glasses. “I don’t think you want to hear that.”

Well, that doesn’t really curb her interest. “Come the fuck on.”

“Bruce took another blood probe from your friend,” Tony tells her gleefully. “His virus count is as high as ever. Seems like it only went down during your accidental baby making.”

“What the fuck,” Natasha remarks.

“It does raise some questions,” Bruce admits. “About why it went down.”

“Basically, it’s either that he wanted to fuck you so bad it pushed the vampire side back,” Tony states. “Or, alternatively, the vampire side saw the chance to seduce you and retreated voluntarily so he could do that. And now you have the baby so there’s no need for that anymore.”

Bruce was right, she didn’t want to hear that. “Are you saying he wants to fuck me because he’s a vampire?”

“No one’s arguing he wouldn’t be attracted to you if he were human,” Bruce specifies. “But we know he can smell women who are ovulating and it seems he responds to that. The question is whether it’s the vampire viruses that respond to that or some residual humanness.”

“Bobbi thinks the vampire thing wants to reproduce in any way possible,” Tony adds. “Including sexually.”

So that’s what she meant, what James is or is not aware of. The thought scares her. “But he- wouldn’t he be more interested in the baby then? If the baby was the whole point?”

“No idea,” Bruce replies, turning off the shaking machine. “But sexual reproduction probably wasn’t very high on Zola’s mind when he made the virus cocktail, so it might just be a side effect from the urge to bite people. I mean, vampires hardly care what becomes of the fledglings they make. More like martens in a blood frenzy.”

Her head is spinning. “I guess you’ll see soon,” Tony suggests ominously.

Fortunately, the door opens just then and Steve’s head peeks in from way too high. He’s really huge. “I’d be ready. If you still-”

“Of course,” she snaps, shouldering past him. “Training room. Now.”

He moves relatively quietly, for his size, she hardly hears him following her. She wonders whether that has something to do with his strength, wonders how strong he even is. “Weren’t you- pregnant?” he asks.

“Yes,” she returns, not bothering to turn around.

“And now?” he asks quite stupidly.

“Now I’m not,” she states coldly, knocking the door to the training room open. It’s empty. Good.

Steve clears his throat, stopping outside. “Right. Sorry I asked.”

She shrugs, starting to wrap her wrists, not caring whether he thinks she aborted or miscarried or whatever. Doesn’t make a difference. It’s not her baby, she doesn’t have a baby. “Are you gonna stay standing there?”

Steve blushes. He’s very light-skinned, much like her, so it really shows. “I don’t- I don’t want to hit you.”

Right. He may have amnesia but he’s still old-fashioned. “Well, I’m going to hit you. You either stop me or you don’t.”

He gulps. “Where’s Bucky?”

Oh my God, he probably has qualms about being alone with her. It takes her a moment to understand who he's talking about. “Sleeping. Why, are you two best friends now?"

"Well, he- he helps me settle in, kind of," Steve admits, proceeding into the room slowly. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

She jumps at him, not caring that he's not even on the mat yet, he ducks out from under her fist reflexively, she hits him again and he catches her arm but does it too gently, she rips it back with the vampire strength and kicks him in the torso so hard he tumbles back, hands raised. She goes after him, punch after punch, and he retreats bit by bit, blocking quickly without hitting back, she grabs his arm and yanks it out so she can swing up on his shoulders, kicking against the wall full force so he tumbles down, and makes sure she lands not only safely but also with her legs around his neck.

He's extraordinarily red in the face though she's not even choking him that hard and he raises his hand to tap out but lowers it instead of touching her thigh. She snorts, her knee pressed against his chin so he couldn't bite her but probably also couldn't talk, and releases him before he suffocates out of politeness. He scrambles to a safe distance quickly. "Wow, you're- you're strong."

"Yep." She gets up, tugging her ponytail straight. "Temporary, though."

He hesitates, visibly willing the redness from his face. "Is that- is that the vampire blood?"

"Helped me recover," she replies. "I mean, helped you not to die, too."

He frowns, staring at the ground. "I don't remember."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she returns. "Get up, we're not done."

He obeys quite automatically. "Yes, Ma'am. For me, it seems permanent. I mean, at least so far, I don't know-"

She strikes him so he'll stop talking and his reflexes are fast but she’s relentless and ruthless, hitting his chest and his shoulder, he barely ducks out under her sweeping kick, she grabs his arm to throw him but this time, he doesn’t let her, holding it steadfast so she ends up pulling herself towards him, his big hand lands on her shoulder so she doesn’t crash into him and then- then he just holds her there, hand on her shoulder, hers wrapped around his forearm, his smell overwhelming her heightened senses but in an unbelievably pleasant way- she could knee him in the groin but she’s transfixed, breathing him in, his mouth is hanging slightly open and his lips are a lush pink, and- she has to think hard about the last time she was attracted to a man, a human man, must have been- the thought breaks off when Steve blushes and drops his arms, both of them, staring down, clearing his throat, all of it, she still feels the muscles gliding through under her fingertips, not stone-like but stringy, not flat but bulging, not dead but alive. “You’re strong,” she says, voicing her only thought.

Steve blushes even more, looking at some spot on the floor to her right. “Wasn’t- wasn’t always.”

“You remember that?” she questions.

He bites his lip, genuinely pensive but her hormones are all over the place. “Somehow. Yeah. Something.”

If she was listening to him objectively, she’d say he sounds like a complete idiot, but she’s not listening objectively, she’s not really listening at all, she’s just breathing him in and hoping he’ll never ever step away. She’s never smelled anything this intense, this good . “Yeah?”

He frowns. “I don’t really know- I just know I used to feel differently. Frailer. Now I feel like everything around me is frail.”

She’s been on the other side of that feeling before, knows how James’ clawed fingers trailed carefully down her spine thinking how easily he could snap it, rip her apart. She was wrong earlier, Steve isn’t really human, doesn’t even smell human- or maybe he’s more human than anyone else will ever be. “I’m frail?”

He blushes again, though it seems like a different kind of embarrassment now. “Didn’t mean to- yes. I mean, you’re strong. Very strong. But- yes.”

She is, indeed. She remembers when she was stretched so thin she’d have burst under the smallest additional pressure, the smallest additional stress, just days ago. She’s really just a thin-skinned blood bag and she’s increasingly aware of it now that- now that she can smell her own blood.

The admission shocks her for a moment and somehow Steve steps away just then, the smell moving but not disappearing at all. She can smell her own blood and she’s not even bleeding. Like a vampire. An old vampire. It probably takes years until they can smell the blood through intact skin and she just- what is she even? What is Steve? They’re both removed from- humanity somehow, human-adjacent at best, but Steve at least smells nice and pleasant and decidedly non-evil and she- she wonders what she smells like. Steve clears his throat. “Sorry.”

The hair on the back of her neck stands and she can’t rationally tell why. “Do you- feel that?”

“Yes,” he replies, much to her surprise, and before she can ask him what he feels, the door swings open and James is standing there, just behind the doorstep, as if he actually couldn’t cross it. “Are you okay?”

Her head is spinning. “I think we’re okay,” Steve replies hesitantly. “Or-”

“Seems so,” James replies. “Don’t worry about it. I think they’re making dinner now.”

It’s dark outside but it gets dark early, in December. “Are they?” Steve repeats awkwardly. “Do you think I could- would it be weird if-”

It would be super amusing, James coaching someone in, of all things, socializing , but her head is elsewhere. “Sure,” James replies. “Just go. Sharon’s down there.”

Of course. Steve seems instantly delighted. “Oh, okay. I’ll go then.”

He really moves in a strange way, and very quietly, too. James slips inside before Steve walks out, door falling shut loudly. “You okay?"

Steve's strong smell still lingers. She presses her palms to her cheeks, finding them hot. "Yeah. Just- my hormones are all over the place."

James chuckles, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Yeah, no, I know. I smell it. Hear your heartbeat, too."

Her palms are sweaty. Well, this is awkward. "How the fuck does he smell so fucking good?"

"No idea," James replies. "No one else seems to have noticed. Thought it was- but it's not like it makes me want to drink his blood."

"Just breathe it in," Natasha finishes, dropping her hands. "Oh man."

"Hate to break it to you but he's head over heels for Sharon," James teases her. "Sorry."

She snorts. They probably couldn't have talked like this earlier on, she remembers how he got jealous over Clint, but their relationship feels different now. And how couldn't it, after everything? "Can't imagine she likes that."

"Nope, she's mad he can't remember her grandma," James agrees. "Which is not really his fault but… well, looks like he has a type."

She steps up to him, thinking about how he slept in the armchair and only took the bed after she got up. "Give me your hand?"

He sighs, uncrossing his arms. "Natalia-"

"I know, I know," she hurries to say. "Just- I need to know."

"It's not gonna work," he says quietly. "Even if I want it to."

She takes his hand anyway, careful around the gray claws, and it's cool and smooth and hard as marble, and it stays that way even when she squeezes it. She never even could have had sex with him like this, it just wouldn't have worked. "Does it work with Steve?"

James looks down at the gray horn claw against her pale skin. "Yes."

"With Sharon?" she asks, twisting her hand into his palm. “Pepper?”

He snorts, cold caress. “How the fuck am I supposed to know? Trust me, they don’t even like me being around.”

That sounds like his self-consciousness talking. “Tony and Bruce were speculating you might smell… lady smells.”

“Your period,” he returns. “Yeah, sure.”

It’s not even uncomfortable, holding his cold hand. “Not that. More like- fertility.”

He sighs. “Probably. I mean, that’s just hormones, isn’t it? You definitely smell differently throughout the month.”

She didn’t expect him to say yes. “Do I? Still?”

“I meant generally,” he replies. “Not sure about now. But everyone smells differently over time, with where they’ve been and how long they slept and what they ate. I couldn’t identify which part of that is your menstrual cycle. Unless you’re bleeding.”

“But maybe you’re attracted to the smell,” she suggests. “The- the fertile smell.”

“Sure, why not,” he returns. “I mean, how often did I tell you you smell good? I just can’t tell why you smell good.”

So not aware. “But I don’t smell good right now,” she prompts.

“No, but you’re still full of vampire blood, aren’t you?” he asks back. “That’s a strong smell.”

She sighs, letting go of his cold hand. “I really don’t know what to make of all this.”

“I can’t identify most smells,” James replies. “Mostly, it’s just… that’s a human smell. Everything beyond that is almost impossible to say with certainty.”

“And you hate garlic,” she jokes.

He grimaces, fangs peeking through. “I actually don’t like that one. Too intense.”

This is starting to get comical, though something in her brain connects at that moment. “I think Steve- it’s not the same but he smells a little like the baby. But it doesn’t- it doesn’t smell good.”

“Mhm.” He stares at the wall, frowning. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe we should drive there sometime,” she suggests intensely. “Don’t you want to see- her?”

He closes his eyes. “Nat, I- I shouldn’t. I can’t know anything Schmidt might get out of me later. Shouldn’t see it, shouldn’t know where it is, shouldn’t know its smell.”

Horror mixes with desire. It’s hard to untangle the two. “But you want to.”

“Yeah,” he admits, which fills her with dread. “I don’t know, I’m glad you’re back and healthy and- I think it just won’t be real until I see it.”

Even worse that his emotions and desires are so pure and she literally tried to smother the fucking thing, and now she’s pretending she’s a doting mother who just wants to- Stop. “Guess you’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t even have come here still smelling like-”

“You smell like Steve,” he interrupts her. “Don’t know what it is about him but it’s sticky.”

She smiles, molding against him. “But it’s not enough for…?”

He shakes his head, pecking her lips with his stone cold ones. “Sorry.”

She doesn’t even really feel like it, to be honest. Maybe she’s subconsciously still thinking about what happened last time. Maybe it’s some other hormonal bullshit. She’s officially a mess and by now, she’s fairly okay with it. “Never gonna be the same again, is it.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about-” James starts but then the door is ripped open. It’s Sam and for a moment, just a moment, she sees something flash through his eyes, until she’s stepped back and Sam has willed it away. “Dinner,” he says. “And then we should discuss the patrol for the night.”

“Yeah, we should,” James agrees, keeping his hands on her arms. “Probably will be a calm one but you never know.”

“Exactly,” Sam agrees, somehow quite tense. “Just- just come down.”

She sees it again before the door falls shut, feels James’ fingers tightening around her upper arms, knows he saw it, too. And she feels it, like a gut punch, the exact emotion she saw on Sam’s face as he looked at James’ claws around her arm, at her body touching his, at their physical closeness.

Disgust.

[spidercakes]

How about Mob Boss!Tony sees pretty boy Peter being harrassed and decides to protect him? Maybe with soft dom Tony and praise kink?

Oh, I love this shit! Nothing gets me like some mob boss stuff. Trope-y as hell but I’m here for it every damn time. The praise kink and soft dom stuff is way more subtle, but its a little bit there!

Warnings for some references to abuse, age difference, and feminization of Peter (which at this point like... duh lmao).

*

It isn’t that Tony has a conscience, really. He doesn’t, never really has outside of his own self interest and the interest of the few people close to him but he doesn’t suffer abusers lightly. Fucking scum of the earth, they are, and Tony has no problem killing them off if given the opportunity. As it is this one is lucky he’s in public or he would have pulled the trigger a long time ago. Bastard has the balls to look pissed off about being interrupted too, and the poor kid behind him is clinging to his suit jacket for dear life.

“I suggest you fuck right off,” Tony tells him, tone leaving no room for debate but this asshole just doesn’t seem to know when to leave well enough alone.

“Oh fuck off, if you were going to pull the trigger you would have,” the guy says and Tony shakes his head.

Fucking moron. “Yeah, not true,” he says and lowers the gun. “I was just avoiding this because I don’t like cops,” he says and he shoots the asshole in the leg. Behind him the kid jumps, letting out a small whimper as, presumably anyway, his boyfriend lets out a loud shriek. “Yeah, not so tough now are you, asshole? Now get the fuck out of my sight before I shoot you in the head,” Tony tells him. Fucker makes a pitiful attempt to crawl off but Tony’s got no time for that so he turns around to check out the kid.

Poor thing looks terrified and Tony sighs. “Hey, its okay,” he murmurs softly, reaching out and the kid presses himself back into the wall of the ally they’re in. Tony doesn’t have much time so he’s got to solve this problem fast. “Relax,” he tells the kid, “I’m not going to hurt you. Only hurt him because he didn’t much leave a choice, wouldn’t have left until I did.”

The kid is still wide eyed and terrified but he’s calmed a small fraction so that’s improvement. Not enough, but something nonetheless. “Wh- why’d you help me?” he asks and oh, perfect opening.

Its not that he likes revealing personal information about himself, but as far as personal details this is his worst kept secret. Anyone who’s spent more than ten minutes with him knows how much he hates his father. “My father was an abusive piece of shit. I’ve got no patience for that and no qualms with giving people like that a taste of their own medicine,” he says, shrugging. He knows the kid believes him, probably because its hard to fake the kind of venom that coats his words and the kind of pain that always makes it to his features no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

The kid unflattens himself from the wall so there’s that. One step down, one to go. “Will he be okay?” Peter asks, looking around the dumpster for his boyfriend. Tony will give him this, he has made it quite a distance.

“Probably,” he lies. Wound like that he’s going to need to be looked at soon, but if he dies its going to be slow. Fucker earned it, treating what looks to be a soft, perfect kid like this one up. Though he supposes he’s not much of a kid, young for sure, but in his twenties if Tony were to guess. He’s got a baby face though, looks a bit younger than Tony suspects he is.

“What’s your name, kid?” he asks, nickname slipping out.

“Peter, and I’m twenty three. Why does everyone always assume I’m a kid?” he mumbles more to himself than Tony.

“Tony,” he says and he reaches out, carefully tilting Peter’s head to the side and sighing. “He did a number on you, hmm. Why don’t you come home with me, let me clean you up?” he asks.

He fully expects the kid to say no but he nods slowly. “Okay,” he murmurs, hands wringing together and Tony sighs.

“You too afraid to go home?” he asks and Peter nods slowly.

Well, that solves that. “Okay. Come on, you can go home when you feel safe,” he says. Its kind of a lie kind of not. Tony doesn’t want to have to keep the kid, he’s not much for kidnapping people who aren’t pieces of shit or people who aren’t blocking his business, but the kid has seen too much to let go and he knows Nat and Pepper will fight him on letting him roam free. He might be able to talk them into it though, and the kid must be some fucking scared to take going home with a stranger who just shot his boyfriend over home. Makes Tony hate the fucker crawling down the alley more but he suspects Peter wouldn’t be impressed if Tony shot him in the head anyway.

*

Peter is sitting with a cup of hot tea in his hand and he knows that Tony is dangerous, no one shoots someone with that little hesitation who isn’t dangerous. But he’s gentle as he wipes the blood away from Peter’s split lip, fingers brushing lightly against his cheek as he examines Peter’s face. Its not too bad this time, he’s dealt with worse but he still feels sore and battered. Tony carefully presses a cotton ball to his lip and he winces, hissing lightly and Tony lets out a soft sigh. “Shh, you’re doing so well. I’m almost done,” he murmurs, fingers moving softly across his cheek again and Peter relaxes some, sitting still as Tony continues to clean him up.

When Tony finally sits back Peter feels exhausted. The adrenaline rush has fallen and he just wants to sleep even if his brain is ringing alarm bells. So this guy is a probably psychopath, at least he only seems to have a thing for shooting abusers so Peter isn’t really in any danger.

Well, okay, that’s not really how anything at all works but Tony has been nice to him this whole time so shooting Quent aside he’s actually an improvement over his previous home life. Peter thinks that’s sad, that some random guy who shot someone is better than Quent. And Peter doesn’t even like guns, never really had but especially not since his uncle got killed in a robbery gone wrong. What the hell has his life turned into?

“You want to go to bed?” Tony asks, guessing at his thoughts and Peter considers it for a long moment before he nods. On one hand this is bound to go horribly, Tony shot someone earlier. On the other hand Tony hasn’t shown any signs of shooting him so maybe he’ll be able to at least get a good night’s sleep before its back to his regularly scheduled nightmare.

“Hey, shh. Its okay Peter, I’m not going to hurt you. Come on,” he says, offering his hand. Peter debates on not taking it but he does maybe out of curiosity or maybe something else. He’s never really been good at making not shitty life choices, his friends can attest to that. Tony carefully pulls him up, allowing Peter to move at his own pace as he leads him down the hall. When they get to the room Peter supposes he’ll be sleeping in he’s surprised at the size of the bed. He shouldn’t be, the whole house is massive, but it still throws him off. “Go on, its okay,” Tony tells him, giving him a gentle nudge forward. “No one is going to bother you in here.”

Peter takes a few steps in, grip on his tea a little tighter before he turns around to face Tony. “Thank you,” he says softly.

Tony shakes his head, “its nothing. Get some sleep,” Tony tells him.

*

When Peter wakes up the next day he feels more refreshed than he has in a long, long time. Probably the fact that the bed is so comfortable. He debates on staying there longer because he’s not stupid, he walked right out of one lions den straight into another and he doesn’t know what Tony’s deal is but he watched him shoot someone. He doesn’t think he’s allowed to just go. Not, he thinks, that he wants to right now because if Quent managed to make it to the hospital he’s some pissed and Peter doesn’t want to deal with that.

But he should at least deal with something so he carefully pulls himself out of bed and pads his way to the door. He pauses there for a moment before he takes a deep breath and exits the room. Nothing seems particularly amiss minus the smell of food and Peter’s stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon. He hopes he’s actually allowed to eat because whatever that is smells good.

He follows his nose to the kitchen and finds Tony there with a spatula in his hand and its such a weird contrast to his suit. Its a nice suit too, the kind that only people with a lot of money can afford. “Hungry?” Tony asks, brown eyes alight as he looks over at Peter. The tension in his body leaves and he pads closer to see what Tony’s cooking. “Hope you’re not a vegetarian,” Tony says, looking down at the food. “Or a vegan,” he adds, eyeing the eggs.

Peter laughs a little, “nah, I’ll eat pretty much whatever. You don’t seem like the kind of guy who knows how to cook,” he says and Tony makes an offended noise, pressing his hand to his chest in mock offense.

“I will have you know- actually you’re pretty much right. I’m Italian, so food is pretty important to my family, but fuck it took me like ten years to figure out how to boil water without blowing something up. My grandfather told me I was a disgrace to my culture at least twice a week until a friend of mine pointed out that cooking is just edible chemistry and I’m good at that,” he says. “Seemed a lot less daunting after that and I do fine now.”

Yeah, so Peter can smell. “Hmm. I never really had a hard time with it,” he says. Cooking came easy, baking came easier not that he had much of a choice. May had to work plenty and if he didn’t know how to cook that either left him to figure it out or starve.

Tony smiles a little, “bragger,” he says, eyes crinkling at the edges and Peter knows he shouldn’t think he’s as attractive as he is but he’s only human and he’s got eyes. Tony is gorgeous, if clearly hiding a dark side. Kind of like all those colorful frogs in rainforests, they’re really pretty to look at but poisonous. Which is exactly Peter’s type and he really should examine why he has the worst taste known to man in men. Women? He has better luck there even if they tend to have insane fathers to low-key try to kill him like that one time with Liz. To be fair she wasn’t impressed about that either, hasn’t spoken to her father in years. But he doesn’t seem to have the best luck in finding people he thinks are attractive and also aren’t some kind of fucked up or related to someone who is some kind of fucked up.

“Just saying, some of us don’t somehow manage to blow up water,” Peter says, teasing a little and he kind of hopes he doesn’t get shot about it. Quent doesn’t really take any kind of teasing well but damn well expects to be able to say whatever the hell he wants to Peter.

Tony doesn’t react like that at all though, he laughs and shakes his head. “Someone isn’t as creative in the kitchen as me. I take it your feeling better, then?” he asks and Peter nods.

“Your bed is really comfortable.” The softest thing Peter has ever slept in, that’s for sure and after an absolutely insane night it was nice to have somewhere to crash.

He gets a small smile from Tony before he’s shooed to the island in the kitchen with a plate of food. Peter all but actively vacuums it off his plate, unaware of just how hungry he was until he started to eat. “Wow, little young even for you,” someone new says and Peter frowns, mouth full of food.

“Oh shut up, Nat. He’s twenty three,” Tony mumbles, rolling his eyes at the stunning redhead who has just entered the kitchen.

She looks him up and down, “did you verify that on his I.D?”

“Oh my god, I don’t even look that young!” Peter says, annoyed. He doesn’t, he looks his own damn age people are just rude.

“You look like you’re twelve,” the redhead, Nat Peter supposes, says.

Peter glowers, “maybe you should get your eyes checked,” he mumbles and Tony lets out a loud snort, earning a glare from Nat.

“What the hell did you bring home and what did you do to him?” she asks.

Peter doesn’t expect the sudden mood change as Tony whips around to give Nat a vicious look. He lets out a small noise of surprise involuntarily and Nat frowns a little, confused and a little concerned but evidently not afraid. Peter thinks she should be with the way Tony is looking at her. “I didn’t do anything to him,” he snaps, “that’s the condition I found him in.”

Its obvious that Nat clues into something Peter misses and if he thought that story about his father being abusive was fake, which he didn’t, he extra didn’t now. Its pretty obvious Tony didn't appreciate the accidental comparison, if he’s generous about describing Tony’s reaction. “You can’t just bring home strays,” Nat tells him.

“Well I did and he’s fine. He’s pretty funny actually, and he’d probably be a lot prettier if his shit stick of an ex didn’t bruise his face,” he says, sparing Peter a soft glance and he needs to get his god damn head checked because he shouldn’t feel a small bit of pride at that. God, has living with Quent for so long really left him this starved for positive attention? Peter kind of hates him, for just a moment, before the spark of anger fades into general dismissal. He’s just too tired to give a shit about Quent anymore.

“Put him back where you found him,” Nat tells him.

Tony flips her off instead of responding.

*

Its not exactly like Tony really meant to keep Peter, its just that he never really went home and someone had to buy him clothes because he couldn’t walk around wearing dirty alley clothes forever, and obviously he needed new shoes, and Tony genuinely didn’t intend on keeping him around. He’d sort of expected to have some type of moral dilemma in which he had to figure out what the hell to do with him given that he can’t reasonably let him go and he wasn’t about to keep Peter against his will either but that’s not what happened.

Instead Peter takes to him nicely and Tony’s always been a real sucker for the curious ones. Pepper tells him he’s always wanted someone to worship him but that sure shit isn’t true, if it was they never would have been married for seven years but she claims they divorced because she’s not exactly the worshiping type. Neither is Peter but he doesn’t feel the need to fill her in on all the quirks of Peter’s personality that he doesn’t show to anyone else. He likes having what feels a bit like secret access to Peter’s life and its clear Peter gets a thrill out of it too.

Like first of all he’s so not as sweet and innocent as he looks and that’s probably his favorite thing about Peter, the way he seems to be able to hide so much behind a pretty face, a face that looks young. There are drawbacks though and Tony is trying his best to not be annoyed with Peter at the moment because he’s decided to sit in his lap in an outfit that should be illegal while he toys with Tony’s tie and he knows that Tony’s neck is sensitive.

He tries to shoo Peter off but Peter smacks his hand, giving him a dirty look and the little fucker. Tony presses his phone to his shoulder to muffle the noise and sighs. “Peter, be good,” he says. Its usually enough to get him to stop his shit, Tony figured out pretty early on that he’s got a thing for praise and Tony has always been fond of handing out compliments, assuming the person he’s handing them to has earned them.

No such luck this time though as Peter leans in, hands wrapped around his tie and Tony isn’t usually fond of mint green as a color but it looks pretty on Peter’s nails. “No, you’ve been in here all day,” he says, whines almost and Tony shouldn’t find that endearing either. Usually he finds that kind of thing irritating as hell, he doesn’t really do high maintenance but he can’t help but love Peter, has almost since he first saw him.

“I have things to do, you know that,” Tony tells him, free hand settling on his thigh.

Peter huffs, “yeah, me. I’m stuff, hang up,” he tells Tony, tugging at his tie a little. 

Oh, that’s more than a little tempting but Tony actually does have shit to do. He doesn’t exactly like dealing with Rogers, never has on account of he finds the guy to be a pompous self righteous asshole but they do have a problem with HYDRA attempting a quiet attempt to squeeze them both out. And if there’s anything they hate more than each other its fucking Nazis. They might actually land higher on Tony’s shit list than abusers so he’s not fucking fond of finding them all over Manhattan. 

Rogers seems to be finding them at alarming rates in Brooklyn too and he’s got less patience for Nazis than Tony, which is almost a little impressive. So they figured they might as well make a temporary agreement, get rid of the fuckers once and for all and Peter, for all his temptation, is not quite as pressing as this. But he also happens to know when Peter’s in a mood, little brat, he won’t just go away.

So he figures he’ll bargain. “Peter,” he says, hand sliding a little higher on his thigh. “If you’re good we’ll do whatever you want, just us,” he tells him.

Peter’s eyes light up as he leans in, “can we go a week in Italy?” he asks and its the largest thing he’s ever asked for. Usually he hesitates to ask for even the small things and fuck sakes, Tony can’t say no to that, Peter will never ask for anything ever again.

He squeezes Peter’s thigh, “sure. If you’re good,” he says and presses the phone back to his ear. Peter releases his tie and squirms a little on Tony’s lap, earning a look for it but Peter shrugs innocently like its a total accident that his ass is right over Tony’s dick. It isn’t and they both know it but Peter settles in, remaining still with Italy on the line. Nat and Pepper so won’t be impressed with him ditching them with HYDRA but Natasha has never minded killing anyone Nazi or not and Pepper is probably more competent with the business side of things than him anyway, he figures he’ll leave things in good hands and if Rogers whines he knows he’s all about family. Can’t possibly complain when Tony’s taking time for his without looking like an asshole about it.

[ohwriteiforgot]

do you have any headcanons for clint, nat and katie barton(or any other kid/oc kid of them)?

Hi, Anon, and thank you so much for this lovely ask! I’m afraid I don’t have any Katie headcanons because I’m not familiar with her story (yet). I do, however have Clintasha babies headcanons I’ve been perfecting along with my best friend since 2015.

We’ve pretty much figured out most things about how the children came to be, mixing comics versions and the MCU versions into one. It’s a bit messy but at this point we are not starting over. We are not. It’s an AU anyway, it doesn’t matter, okay?

(I think this is the place to inform you that this AU is as compliant to the MCU as possible, just because at the time we didn’t have access to any of the comics and Wikia can be a very confusing place.)

The eldest, Autumn, was named after her mother’s favourite season. She was also, coincidentally, born in early Autumn. 

She was born in Hawaii

Her existence is top secret

She doesn’t look particularly much like her parents with her dark hair and dark eyes (though she does look like her mother when she’s older, all sharp lines and deadly precision), which plays into the plot

Her sister, Morgan, is born two and a half years later.

In Canada

Which is fitting. She’s a sweetheart.

Her existence is also top secret

(She wasn’t named after anything specifically, they just liked the name)

(Also a reminder that Morgan Barton-Romanoff has existed for five years without my knowledge of Morgan Stark. Yes, I did get chills in the movie theatre)

She looks a lot like her dad, all blonde hair and witty humour. She also really likes dogs. And archery

Coulson is Autumn’s godfather 

Fury is Morgan’s (cue ‘Uncle Nick’ when she’s older and reckless just like her father)

The Barton-Romanoffs weren’t together the whole time, that’s the only thing I’ll say

teenage!Autumn is as skilled as her mother was at her age. And just as much mentally messed up. She’s in a terrible place.

The fic in #1 tells the story of their growth and of a family reconnecting with each other

teenage!Morgan has been sheltered her entire life and not in the way you think at all. Her entire life is a lie. Both of their lives, actually.

Au and Mo don’t know each other

gah, how do I not spoil this

The girls don’t know Clint and Natasha are their parents

Clint and Natasha haven’t seen their girls in... too long

Autumn is very angsty and has trust issues. She’s also kinda... not on the good side. She and Nat clash a lot.

Morgan is finally living her life and she immediately hits it off with Clint (though Natasha really intimidates her)

Both girls develop relationships similar to their parents’

A best friend and a person who brought one into SHIELD

Both of them are very passionate and will fight anyone who tries to bring them down.

Morgan refuses to kill people - she can knock them out with an ICER or her own force but she refuses to kill

Autumn has no such qualms

Later on, after they’ve all come to terms with their identities, things get more domestic and fluffy

After the girls get to know each other better they grow really close (and really protective of each other)

Kate’s reaction to finding out Clint and Natasha not only banged (complicated situation, she thought they were only pining after each other, don’t judge her), but also produced not one, but two babies, years ago, is a continuous chant of “What the fuck”

Kate is a combination of the awesome older cousin and the vodka aunt

Morgan really loves Kate

They have sleepovers often and Kate has a room in their house.

She approves of their love interests

There’s a Lucky in the picture too, and as much as Autumn pretends to be annoyed by the dog, she loves him.

Morgan and Lucky are inseparable. Yes, she does feed him pizza, occasionally. (As long as Nat isn’t watching)

I have this personal headcanon:

Since they were “homeschooled” but they’re still incredibly smart, and considering the trauma they’ve been through, Nat and Clint agree to enrol them in high-school.

Morgan is thrilled but Autumn is definitely not. Au is a senior and Mo is a sophomore.

They go to Midtown School of Science and Technology

Where they meet the Spidey gang. 

(Might be for a mission, might be to experience normal childhood, who knows 🤷‍♀️)

If I don’t stop here, I will go on forever, BUT, if anyone wants to know more, hit me up and I will most likely deliver 🤣💘

[honeyhan-123]

Say Thank You III

Series Summary: Nearly five years have passed since Steve Rogers saves your life without so much as a thank you. When he sees you again by chance, he makes sure that he’ll never let you go and maybe teach you some manners in the process.

Series Warning: This will be a dark!Steve fic with stalking, kidnapping and manipulating as well as non-con and dub-con situations. Please don’t read it if you don’t like that sort of thing. 

Chapter Warnings: Dark!Steve, fem masturbation, male masturbation, slight mention of paranoia. 

Word Count: 2.3k

I. New York II. Madrid

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

III. The Apartment

The days passed slowly for Steve, the only highlights being able to see your face everyday. Of course he couldn’t go to the cantina day after day without alerting Alejandro that they had found him, but Steve would watch. He would watch through a pair of binoculars, taking in your every feature as he waited for Alejandro to show up at the cantina, before sadly departing and trailing the mark. 

Even on the days he wasn’t on duty he would still follow you, perching on a different rooftop to Bucky or Nat, watching you constantly. He liked these days best, the ones where he could start out across the road from your apartment, relishing in how you rarely closed your blinds due to the hot summer nights. The days like this have him time to analyse you, to plan his lessons. 

This particular morning, Steve was very glad he had chosen to swing by your apartment a little earlier than usual. There you lay, on your bed, sweat glistening on your skin, one hand down in between your thighs. 

His cock ached at the beautiful visual you were giving him, lying completely naked with one hand teasing your nipples as the other worked you into a frenzy. 

Steve longed to know what you were thinking about as you worked yourself, he prayed that you were thinking about him but he knew deep down that you probably weren’t. He wanted to kill the person that was the object of your desires but he had no idea who it could be. You generally had very little contact with anyone outside of the cantina which Steve was grateful for, it meant less people who would miss you. 

He fumbled with his belt buckle, practically tearing his zipper down as he freed his cock, desperate for some release. He longed to be able to hear the moans that were tumbling out of your mouth but he hadn’t gotten around to installing cameras in your apartment yet, maybe that’s what he should do today. 

While his hand moving up and down on his cock felt good, he couldn’t wait for it to be yours in its place, pleasuring him with your deft fingers. His eyes were still locked on your twisting body but his mind’s eye was somewhere else, back home in New York, imagining you in his bed. The things he’ll do to you once he gets a hold of you. 

He could feel his own orgasm approaching just as he could clearly see yours was by the frantic swirl of your fingers and the arch in you back. ‘Come on baby, cum for me.’ He couldn’t hold back his whispered words of encouragement as he saw you start to come undone, your entire body quivering as the pleasure rushed through you. Steve followed soon after, ribbons of cum coating his hand with a murmured ‘soon’ as he cleaned himself up, eyes still on you. 

+

Your breathing was heavy as you came down from your high, your body occasionally twitching in the aftershock of your orgasm. You had no idea where that image of a blonde man leaning over you as you were on your hands and knees, filling you up, had come from but god, it was a nice little fantasy. 

After your breathing had returned to normal you got up out of bed, slipping your running gear on. This was your favourite way to wake up, the sun shining in through your blinds, a little morning action and then a ten kilometre run. It really was the best way to start your day, even in the sweltering summer heat. 

You made sure to close and lock your windows before leaving your apartment, music already blasting in your ears as you headed out the door. 

While you ran you reflected just how much you had changed since moving to Madrid. It had truly been the best decision for you at the time but you were kind of missing New York, the familiarity of it all. You knew that you probably shouldn’t dive straight back into living in New York, not after what had happened but you felt that you had grown enough to return, maybe just a short visit, a week or two to see how you went. 

You felt confident that you could handle it, that it was time. You couldn’t avoid New York for the rest of your life, you reasoned with yourself. Sure, you did still occasionally have the intense feeling of being constantly watched but this was the precise reason that you had to go back. You had to face your fears, remind yourself that the Chitauri were long gone, that they weren’t lurking behind every corner, watching your every move, despite what your mind wanted you to believe. 

As you rounded back to your apartment, your mind was made up. You would be going back home. 

+

Your shower had been long and relaxing, the hot water smoothing out your tight muscles from the morning run. It had been so nice that you nearly didn’t want to get out, simply stay there all day but you knew you had to work, you only had half an hour until you were meant to be opening the cantina for the day. 

Walking out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around your naked body, you relished in the slight breeze coming in through your open window, your apartment could get incredibly stifling in the summer. While Mariana had installed air conditioning, she hadn’t seen the need to in the loft above, as before you, it had mainly been for storage leading to most of your summer being spent as a sweaty mess. But that was okay, you loved the apartment and it had been so kind of Mariana letting you stay there for a fraction of the cost you would be paying anywhere else. 

It was only as you were pulling on a t-shirt, the cool breeze playing across your exposed stomach that you realised it. You had never opened your window after you got back to your apartment. 

Fear instantly coursed through your veins as you stood, frozen on the spot. Had someone else been in here? Snapping out of your trance, you raced around the apartment, looking for anything out of place, anything that could tell you if someone else had been inside. 

When you found that your passport was still hidden away in your underwear drawer, your envelope of spare cash was still tucked behind the plates in the kitchen cupboard and nothing else was out of place, you reasoned that you must have simply forgotten to close the window, it was clear that no one had been there, nothing was missing after all. 

The realisation calmed you and you blamed yourself for your carelessness of not locking your window and promised that you would be more careful next time. Although despite knowing it was your fault, you couldn’t help but shake the sense of uneasiness fluttering in your stomach as you made your way to your door, this time double checking that everything was locked before heading down the stairs for work. 

+

Steve watched you flutter around your apartment in a state of panic, keenly observing where you went and what you looked for on his phone. While he had found your passport in your underwear drawer during his morning visit, he hadn’t found the envelope of cash you kept, that was an interesting development. Although he had been pretty pressed for time, spending far too long inspecting the inside of your underwear drawer, imagining you in every scrappy piece of lace that apparently counted as panties these days. He had almost run out of time to set up the cameras, the real reason he had broken in to your apartment in the first place. 

As he flicked over to the group’s cameras, the ones that had been set up in the cantina, he cursed himself for leaving your window open. He really should have been more careful, yet at the same time he was glad. It gave him a chance to observe your reaction, to see how you would respond, to prepare. 

Walking into the kitchen of the small apartment he was sharing with Bucky and Nat, he found the pair pouring over a video recording of Alejandro taken the night before. He hadn’t seen it yet, too enraptured with you to even remember the reason he was here in Madrid in the first place. 

‘What’s new Buck?’ He asked, serving himself some coffee before joining the pair on the small dining room table.

‘We have a time and place for the drug transfer Alejandro’s receiving. It’s two days from now at twenty-one hundred, pretty remote location just down by El Retiro park, should be pretty easy to scope out.’ Steve nodded, his eyes on the map of Madrid but his mind focussing on the next seventy-two hours. If all went according to plan, you would be his by then. 

‘Sounds good, let’s get a plan together then. We don’t want any mistakes when dealing with these guys.’ 

+

You swallowed nervously. You knew you were being ridiculous, Mariana was like a mother to you and deep down you knew she would have no qualms with giving you some time off to go back to New York if it was what you really wanted but you were worried. You had never taken such a long period of time off from the cantina before and you knew she relied on you quite heavily as she sometimes struggled keeping things in order as she aged. 

You took a deep breath and raised your hand, knocking on the open door that lead into her small office out the back. ‘Mariana? I was wondering if I could maybe speak to you for a little?’ 

You heard her laugh as she looked up from the papers in her hands. ‘Of course querida. What is on that little mind of yours that has you so anxious?’ 

You stepped further into her office, taking a seat on the opposite side of her desk, chiding yourself for your nerves, you never did well with these types of conversations but you figured there was no point in beating around the bush.

‘Mariana I was just wondering if I could have some time off? I was thinking about maybe going back to New York, just to visit. I think it’s time you know?’ 

A knowing smile came over her face as she smiled. ‘I have been waiting for this for quite some time. You have no reason to be nervous querida, of course you can have time off. I’m glad you’ve decided to go back. Take however long you need.’

Mariana truly was like a mother to you by how well she knew you and what you needed. ‘Thank you so much. You always seem to know what I need before I do. I was thinking maybe two weeks? But I can cut it down if you want.’ 

‘Of course not. Two weeks will be fine. I may be old darling but I’m not completely incompetent plus I’ll have Georgio and Fabiola if I need any help. I’m so glad you’re finally getting the closure you need.’ 

You left her office a little while later, a smile on your face as you climbed the stairs up to your apartment, heading straight to your computer to book a round trip ticket to New York, leaving in a week. It was time. 

+

Blood was seeping out through a wound in his side, the dark liquid barely visible against his stealth suit as he made his way in through the open window, into your bedroom. He knew Bucky and Nat would be suspicious by his absence but honestly he couldn’t find it in himself to care. The past forty-eight hours he had to focus so heavily on the mission that he barely had time to see you, the only occasional reprise of watching you through his phone to satisfy his needs. 

But now it was done. The mission was finally complete. Now he could start his own personal mission of making you his. 

He watched entranced as you slept, so seemingly at ease, your breaths deep and heavy and he smiled to himself, glad you were getting a restful night of sleep. It would probably be the last one you’d be getting for a while. One of the good things about being a super soldier was it meant he had a heightened stamina and required less sleep than the average person, two things he definitely planned on using in the upcoming nights. 

Taking a step back from your bed, he searched around the rest of your apartment, looking for your computer. Yesterday he had received a notification that you had booked a flight back to New York in a weeks time and he had been glad, you were ready to face your fears and he would be right there beside you to help you through it all. 

Of course he would cancel both flights you had booked, there was no way he would be letting you fly economy, not when you would be flying with him and you wouldn’t be needing the return flight you had booked for two weeks after. 

He quickly logged onto your computer, using the password decryption stick Tony had given him back when they were still on speaking terms. Finding the email from the airline was simple enough and cancelling it now meant you at least got some money returned into your bank account, not that you would be needing it when you lived with him. 

Returning back to your bedroom he hovered over your body, pressing a chaste kiss to your temple, longing for the day he would be able to crawl into bed with you and hold you in his arms. 

‘Soon Sweetheart. Real soon.’ He promised himself as with one last glance back to where you lay, sleeping peacefully, he heaved himself back out the window and into the night.

+

Tags will be added in a reblog

IV. The Trip

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist 

[give-me-back-my-rhodey]

Guarding You - AUgust Day 31

This is using both the College au and Bodyguard au Title: Guarding You - Chapter1: En Garde Collaborators: @fightingforcreativity​, purple_ducky00 Link: Read on AO3  Ship: WinterIronHusband Rating: Explicit Tags: AU Bodyguard, AU College/University, College Student Tony Stark, College Student Rhodey, Bodyguard Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Angst, Happy Ending, Dorks in love, Falling In Love, Fade to black sex, slices of life, Mention of alcohol, creep tries to creep on Tony, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Pining, Minor Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau/Nick Fury, mentioned dog, betrayal, Violence, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Injury Recovery, Clint Barton Trolls People Warning: alcohol use, canon typical violence (later chapters) fade to black sex Summary: As Tony Stark always managed to get rid of the bodyguards Howard sends, the older Stark decided to try a different agency, one he knew had specialized bodyguards.

The man he ends up hiring seems competent enough.

James "Bucky" Barnes gets a job which leads him back to college. He might or might not gets into trouble with his neighbors Tony Stark and Rhodey Rhodes.

And those troubles might lead to something neither of the three could have anticipated.

++++++++

Chapter 1 

“So Howard Stark is paying for your college?” Sam asked. "And you're going to MIT? How is that a bad thing?" 

"I'm hired to babysit his manchild son," Bucky grumbled. "I have to be his 'friend' so that he doesn't try to get me fired." 

“And you think that will work out? C’mon Barnes, we all know you’re not the friendliest sunshine out there,” In moments like this, Bucky wondered why he was friends with Sam Wilson and Clint Barton.

“Stop it. Bucky is one of the best men there is! I’m sure if one person can deal with the Stark brat, it’s Bucky.” 

That was the reason, because his idiotic best friend Steve Rogers was friend with those as well, and maybe because they all worked for the same company.

“Aw, Cap, you and your man crush are always so cute.” Here was Natalia. Why Natalia constantly broke into the boys locker room of their bodyguard agency, was a mystery. 

The chorus of  “Hey Nat.” wasn’t even a surprised one so often this occured. The one person who didn’t greet Natalia was Rumlow. “Great. Romanov, when will you learn that this is the man’s changing room.”

Natalia tapped herself thoughtfully on her chin before replying, “Hm, let me think… Ok, never. When will you, Rumlow, learn that in an agency like ours gender separation doesn’t exist?”

Rumlow grinded his teeth and left the room, clearly hating that Natalia got one up on him.

Shaking his head Clint claps Natalia playfully on the shoulder, “Not everyone here knows the agency’s philosophies by heart as you do, Nat. Ease up.”

In the next moment the blonde found himself on his back on the floor, Natalia pinning him beneath her. “Well, those who are here as long as Rumlow should. And you need to work on your reflexes.”

Her grin was audible and Bucky couldn’t help and join in the teasing and bantering developing after. He was aware that Natalia had manipulated the situation so that the attention had been drawn away from him. Bucky prefered it that way.

~~~

Rhodey knew that Tony loved him dearly. Heck, how everyone else couldn’t see it was beyond the young college student. It was evident in every single thing Tony did or didn’t do around Rhodey.

Everytime the younger man made sure not to wake Rhodey when he came from a lab binge. Tony attempted to make Rhodey breakfast over and over to make him breakfast, mostly resulting in Rhodey trying to salvage it and Tony pouting. Rhodey was one of the only people Tony was vulnerable around. Rhodey could go on for ages and would still find things to list that showed how much Tony loved his ‘honeybear’.

Out of that love alone, Rhodey endured the one thing he hated most about Tony.

“I can’t believe him!” The genius was currently pacing their small sitting area, exclaiming his disbelief and displeasure about Howard Stark. The one thing Rhodey hated about Tony was Howard Stark and the man’s behavior towards Tony. It left the smaller man raw and hurt, left him for the wolves to dig their teeths in and more often than not it was only Rhodey who picked up the pieces. Every goddamn time hurt and sliced into the black man’s soul.

“Another of those idiots? LIke hell I let myself be confined to the dorm! Wasn’t that idiot Lang not bad enough? Sure that guy had some smart ideas, shouldn’t be a bodyguard that guy, better off in science, don’t you think, Rhodey?- Anyway, I can’t!”

Rhodey had had enough of the ramble born of anger. The next time Tony was close enough, Rhodey took the smaller man’s wrist gently into his hand. “Tones.”

The nickname was spoken barely louder than a whisper. Gently stopping the genius in his tracks, making brown eyes focus solely on Rhodey. It made Rhodey feel humbled and honored. Made him believe he can do everything, achieve everything in the world, because Tony looked at him like he could. ‘Gosh, will I ever get used to this?’ 

Deep down James hoped he wouldn’t ever. Because getting used to being Tony’s sole focus, to feeling like he could do everything, would make James not better than all those who had used Tony and then discarded him. After Bain and Stone, James had sworn that there wouldn’t be anyone like them in Tony’s life again, as long as he was around at least. 

Yes, Rhodey understood why Howard Stark had decided to send out bodyguards after the whole thing with Bain, it didn’t mean Rhodey liked the situation any better than Tony did.

“Ok Tones, here’s what we gonna do.”

For dramatics, Rhodey waited a heartbeat and another before continuing, “We look into the guy he hires next, because we both know he will, and then we devise a strategy against the new one,” And then, just because he could he added with a wink, “Especially if that one wants to kick me out of my own dorm as well.”

The resulting chuckle from Tony was well worth the exaggerated way he had presented the ‘strategy’. Still holding Tony’s wrist let him experience first hand how fast Tony relaxes after that. The rest of their night Rhodey and Tony chilled, a physics book here, a blueprint there, chips bowl in the middle of their mess.

The next few weeks nothing happened and somehow Rhodey started to think that maybe, just maybe Howard Stark had seen reason.

But if Howard Stark and Tony Stark had one thing in common, how Rhodey had to experience painfully,  it was their bullheadedness.

~~~

Tony got to his first class of the morning and saw a new student sitting in the middle of the classroom. He took his normal seat by the wall and kept an eye on the new guy. It wasn’t the first time Howard sent someone his age to babysit him. The new guy never looked at him once and participated in the class just like everyone else. He shook his head and thought nothing of it.

He started to get suspicious, though, when the same guy was sitting in the back of his next class! No one has the same schedule unless it’s rigged, right? The guy must have felt the weight of his stare because he looked up at him and raised a questioning eyebrow. Ahh, so he was a good actor. Ok. Tony shook his head. He would figure him out somehow.

When Tony got back to his dorm, he flopped down on the couch beside Rhodey. “I think Howard hired another bodyguard.”

“What makes you think that?” Rhodey asked, focusing on his tablet. 

“Well, there’s this new guy in ALL of my classes, Rhodey. Every. Single. Fucking. One. How do you explain that, huh?”

“I’m in the same classes as Carol,” Rhodey reminded him. “It’s not that uncommon, you know?”

Tony fumed. “I swear. If I see him somewhere else that he’s not supposed to be, I’m going to drag him to Howard myself…”

“Ok, sure. You do that, Tones.” Rhodey finally looked up from his tablet. “Want to grab some Thai food?”

Tony quickly agreed and grabbed his coat. The first one out the door, he stopped short when he saw his new neighbor. “You. fucking piece of pushover shit!” He yelled, and the guy stepped back. “I’m sorry. Have I done something to offend you?” He asked challengingly.

Rhodey stepped between them. “This the guy, Tony?” Tony nodded. “I’m sorry. Tony’s being a little paranoid. His father sends bodyguards to watch him, and he doesn’t take kindly to that.” Rhodey explained. Tony gasped. Rhodey, you traitor!

“Yea, well he should stop attacking every single person he suspects. I’d rather not have to worry about being killed every time I get home.” The man crossed his unfairly muscled arms. 

“Do you know Howard Stark?” Tony blurted out. He wanted to smack himself.

The guy raised an eyebrow. “Yea? Hasn’t everyone?”

Yea. Stupid question. “Whatever. Sorry for accosting you. But if I find out that Howard hired you!” Tony lifted a warning finger. Rhodey groaned and pulled Tony away, yelling. “Sorry!”

“He’s good. He’s good.” Tony fumed. “Too bad he can’t hide any texts or payment records from me.”

“Tony.” Rhodey seemed to have this conversation with him every time Tony found the new bodyguard. “Maybe it’s a good thing that there’s someone else here looking out for you. What do you think Howard would do if you just went with it?”

“He can’t send someone to watch me, then pat himself on the back for good parenting. I won’t let him. Everyone he hires is just as messed up as he is, so I won’t have any qualms about getting them fired.” Tony is angry. 

Rhodey sighed like he always did. “I get you. We’ll keep an eye on this guy, ok? But no more attacking him. We don’t need another complaint from a neighbor. They might actually kick us out this time.” “Kick out a Stark? From MIT?” Tony laughed humorlessly. 

“Let’s just wait it out. They always tend to reveal themselves at some point. Hey, maybe this guy’s a good one.” 

“If you’re not with me, then you’re against me!” Tony intoned, somberly. 

Rhodey shot back. “Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.” 

“You will try…” Tony replied, and they both laughed. “Ahh, good old Anakin.”

“One of the better Star Wars movies.”

“More like the best.” Tony announces with finality. “Want to head back? I want to meet my new neighbor. We can stop past the Cheesecake Factory and bring him a slice of cheesecake.”

Rhodey shook his head. He could see the wheels turning in Tony’s head. 

+++++++

Bucky just got out of the shower when there was a knock on his door. “If this is one more frat boy asking me to come party…” He growled. “ONE MINUTE!” He yelled as he slipped on a pair of pants. Four or five different frat guys had come up asking him to join their frat because he looked the part. Funnily enough, he could fit into the “Chad” frat, the “hipster” frat, the ROTC frat, and another one that he couldn't remember. Bucky threw open the door. “Can I help… oh it’s you again. Did you come to kill me?” He asked sarcastically. 

“Meep.” Was all the Stark kid could say. He holds up a container. 

The black man behind him, James Rhodes, if he remembered right from his briefing, spoke up. “If Tony wasn’t flustered by your rippling pectorals or whatever he’d say, I’m sure he would be telling you that he’s sorry for attacking you. He bought you a piece of cheesecake as an apology. Would you like to join us for dessert?”

What the hell. Why not. Bucky figured he would at least be able to scope out Stark’s room if needed. “Umm… sure. Let me just get a shirt on first.”

“I mean, you don’t have to.” Of course, that’s when Stark decided to speak. 

Bucky shook his head. “I think you’d like that too much. Hold on a quick second.” Going back to his room, he pulled on a T-shirt. Following the others to their room, he was amazed at the sight. They had three bots just rolling around the living room. “Holy shit. This is amazing!” 

‘Yeah, I’m a nerd. Sue me.’

“Isn’t it?” Tony commented. “So, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Tony Stark, and this is my Honeybear, my Platypus, James Rhodes, but his name is Rhodey. These bots are DUM-E, U, and BUTTERFINGERS. They’re pretty much natural disasters…” 

Rhodey cut in with a “Like their dad.”

“...but I love them all the same. Thank you, Rhodey. I’m glad they imprinted on me, not you. No one wants boring robots who follow the rules.” Tony patted Rhodey’s cheek. “Also, J, say hi.”

Hello Sir. A voice from the ceiling made Bucky look up.

“That’s JARVIS. My AI. He’s not fully complete, but he’ll be done by the time I graduate.” 

Bucky was speechless. “Wow… this… Amazing, Tony. Anyways, nice to meet you both. I’m James Barnes, but my friends all call me Bucky. So, you can call me that if you want. “Ok,” Rhodey agreed as Tony snorted. “Bucky? Why? Do they hate you? Are you like a bucking bronco? Where’s the correlation here?”

“My middle name is Buchanan. My best friend named me Bucky when we were kids. It stuck, I guess.” 

“No offense to your friend, but that’s a stupid-ass name, and I won’t stand for it. I will call you ‘James’ on serious occasions. Any other time, we shall see.”

“Tones, don’t you think it’s a little rude to make fun of a guy’s name that you’re trying to make amends with?” Rhodey wondered.

Tony batted at him. “I think it’s rude that he decided to let his friend name him Bucky. Like Bucky? Bucky, Bucky, Bucky wants a little fucky,” He singsonged. “Sorry, just can’t take him seriously.”

Bucky burst out laughing. “Well, I have never seen such contempt for my name before. Sure, whatever, call me what you want as long as it’s not your fairy godmother or something like that.”

“Note to self: never call Buckyboo ‘your fairy godmother or something like that,’” Tony murmured. “What about Jamie, Jamifer, Mr. Hotpants? I like Jamie. I have a Rhodey and a Jamie.” He sung softly, as if to himself. 

Bucky could feel his defenses falling as he knew that Tony Stark is just his type. “Only if I can call you ‘Snark’ sometimes.” 

“You got it.” Tony reached out his hand to shake, while Rhodey sat back in horror. “Now there’s two of them.” He groaned.

+++++++ Bucky left not long after they finished their cheesecake. Rhodey turned to Tony. “Still think he’s a bodyguard?”

“He’s too hot for Howard to hire. Howard knows I’d try to sleep with him off the bat. Isn’t that what he’s here to stop?” Tony grinned. “No matter what, we’ll find out in a little bit. Jamie gave me his phone number so JARVIS is hacking it. He can tell us if he’s been in contact with Howard at all.”

Pardon my interruption, Sir, but I have all his text threads. Do you want his bank information as well?

“Thanks J. No, just check to see if he has received any payments from Howard or SI.” 

He has not. 

“See? All that for nothing.” Rhodey spread his hands.

Tony smiled. He liked Jamie.

++++++

Bucky knew Tony was suspicious. From what Howard had told him, Tony would try to hack into whatever he could to make sure Bucky is not a hired guard. So, he opened two bank accounts. He has two phone numbers, making sure his friends know to never mention his current job in the texts to his new number. He felt like he was living in Witness Protection.

Apparently finding Bucky squeaky clean, Tony opened up to him quickly. He has heard of the infamous Stark parties where things got out of hand quickly, and he has even gone to a few, but it seems to Bucky that Tony is only throwing those parties because he thought that is what was expected of him. Tony spent most of his weekends in his private labs or in his dorm room.  Bucky couldn’t fault him for that. College parties were the worst.

Read more here

[whispered-into-the-void]

Okay, so apparently Brie Larson said at some point in the past that Captain Marvel could lift Thor's hammer and some people got pissy, but like, according to the MCU version I don't see any reason she shouldn't? like, going off of what we've seen of MCU Mjolnir Captain Marvel should absolutely be able to wield it, and here's why

Firstly, the inscription. Obviously, put on just to ensure that, when Thor was "worthy" again, he'd be able to lift it, and not until then. This also put it in a position that Thor was the only person on Midgard who should be able to lift it, preventing any mortal from using that power. Now obviously, we know from Captain America that this isn't necessarily true, but I hold that more to Odin's arrogance than Steve truly being the only Midgardian worthy, but we'll get back to that in a second, because first we have to analyse what worthy means here.

Based on Thor's progression, we can see exactly the lesson Odin was trying to teach him, because it's one that not only Thor learns over the movie, but Odin learnt himself in the past; that someone worthy to be King of Asgard, or wield Thor's power, has to not be the aggressor. again, we see this both in the movie and in Odin's history; Thor is cast out due to his attack on Jotunheim, and Odin enslaved his own daughter in an attempt to put his history as a warmonger behind him. However, both based on the comics and the MCU, we know that it's not simply not acting as an aggressor; it seems to me that worthiness in this case is not only knowing the value of a life, but knowing when taking one is absolutely necessary. Thor shows no qualms with killing when he has to, and granted that none of the other Avengers particularly seem to either, but with Thor and Captain America you see the truth of the matter; while someone like Tony or Nat is willing to kill to accomplish their objective, come Endgame they see it as a last resort that they are absolutely willing to take.

I find it difficult to believe anyone would argue that the MCU Captain Marvel wouldn't fit this. with the Kree brainwashing, she was turned into a soldier, like Steve or Bucky; As a result, it's pretty apparent that she wouldn't be above killing if it absolutely had to be done. At the end of her own movie, we also have seen both what she fights for and her approach to killing; firstly, she fights not out of loyalty or revenge, but out of a sense of what's right, hence her decision to change sides and help the Skrull escape the Kree. Secondly, while it would be completely understandably for a brainwashed soldier to kill the person responsible, she instead chooses to spare Yon Rogg's life. Again, we see a character willing to take life, but only when forced to in order to save innocents.

It's this distinction that, I feel, puts Thor, Captain Marvel and Endgame!Captain America in the right moral area to wield Mjolnir, because I think ultimately it's the lesson we can see from Odin's enchantment on the hammer. If Odin just wanted to teach Thor a lesson on his past behaviour, he could have made the enchantment temporary, until Thor lifted it again, or removed it once he'd proved himself worthy. Instead, the enchantment on the future king of Asgard's weapon was permanent, to ensure that no matter what, the kingdom would no longer be based in violence. The enchantment would ensure that, if ever Thor lead a knowingly unjust war, or attempted to take a life when it wasn't justified, the hammer would remind him of the greatest lesson his father ever tried to teach him.

There are a few issues with this idea but most of them are explainable or lend credit to the idea that the enchantment is pretty flexible as these movies go on. The first point I want to talk about is in the Garden, when Thor kills Thanos. At this point, he isn't putting up a fight; the job is done, so what does he care? and yet, Thor kills him where he stands. hardly worthy based on the definition above, right? how come he's still worthy, as we see later?

This I chalk up to a case of timing. Obviously, he wasn't using Mjolnir at the time, so we wouldn't find out for a while whether this knocked him out of the boundaries for worthiness or not. But more importantly, it's the distinction; yes, killing an unarmed foe in vengeance when the threat has passed and lives have already been lost might not be worthy, but by the time Thor gets Mjolnir back, the circumstances have changed. Lives once lost can be saved, so if he were to kill Thanos at this point, I feel as though he'd be worthy.

The final point I can think of to justify this is, again, to point out the inconsistencies regarding MCU Mjolnir. The most obvious example that springs to mind is how, in AoU when Quicksilver grabs onto Mjolnir, it starts acting more like an actual projectile than we normally see from the weapon, whereas in Endgame Spider-Man can swing from it and it continues flying in the vaguely fantastical way were used to. Again, this shows either an inconsistency in Mjolnir in the MCU, or simply that the requirement of "worthy" is actually less strict than we've outlined here. Yes, Spider-Man is a great hero, but we already know that earth-616 spidey can't lift Mjolnir because of his unwillingness to take a life. I can see this not being an issue for MCU Parker, simply because we see him in that same scene activating "Instant Kill Mode," but even then, Captain Marvel definitely lies closer to Thor on the worthiness scale than Parker.

tl;dr: Captain Marvel absolutely can wield Mjolnir and if you doubt it you're just Afraid

[cinnamonrollstark]

Thoughts on Endgame

Sorry guys, again, in case you dont realise, THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

If you havent seen the movie, scroll on. If you dont scroll, and dont have your tags blacklisted, dont come at me my bros.

This post will be very chaotic, wont lie.

Who puts mayo on a hotdog?

How about ketchup?

The dust in the wind, man, gave me chills

Tony and Nebula friendship! Yes motherfuckers!

Tony so looked on the verge of tears holy shit

First qualm: captain marvel saved them awful fast. Nothing to show how she knew they were there, maybe it was in some scene of captain marvel or something but ??? Like that was quick

I LOST THE KID OHMYFUCKING GOD

Tony looked so thin holyshit

YES MY MAN IN A CAN TELL THAT MOTHERFUCKER OFF

YOU FUCKING WARNED THEM

"You said we'd do that together, and YOU WERENT THERE."

Yes Tony jesus let all that anger out

Handing his metaphorical heart to Steve got me choked up

"Went for the head" fuck yeah you did

FIVE YEARS WTF

Okay Ant Man bringing Joy, as always. So glad to see you, my little buggy friend

Also thank you to that rat?

TONYS A DAD

MORGAN IS PRECIOUS

Not that it's a competition, but she loves me 3000

And so do we bud, and we always will

TONY FIGURING OUT THE TIME LOOP

"Shit!"

Okay I'm glad yall made up but it couldve gone better idk

I get that it was played for laughs, but there was a little too much emphasis on Thor's weight

The taco though

I get it was showing how much his character had changed

However, it felt body shamy idk

But he was still funny as hell

And with everything he was such a mood

Thor crying fucked me up though

Same for hawkeye

Like man, Thor and Hawkeye, and a little bit of Steve cry a whole lot in this movie

FRIGGA

LOKI

LOKI AND FRIGGA

"IM TOTALLY FROM THE FUTURE"

"Are you crying?" "What? No, absolutely not." *thor cries.* "okay yes fine I'm crying.

"Hail Hydra" okay but why was that hot, Steve, how did you make that hot

"I could do this all day." "Agh, yeah, I know."

I'm going inside you

Also this is reflecting back but I dont think I'll ever get the image if hulk dabbing out of my head

Loki disappearing with the tesseract was a mood

HE HAD A HIPPY BEARD

TONY AND HOWARD

Still doesnt make Howard good in my eyes, but I'm glad Tony got some closure

STEVE AND PEGGY

TONY oh my God that awkward hug was everything

Act 2

NEBULA I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD

Clint and Nat being jokey in the jet

They have no idea

Red skull again!

"I want to kill myself!" "No me!"

"Let me go"

"No."

"Its okay."

The score jesus christ so many chills.

Clint waking up and sobbing with the soul stone okay fine just rip my heart out, then

Aaand Cap is crying

Hulk come on, stop acting so angry at Clint

He was there and you werent

He really tried

OH COME ON THANOS YOU PURPLE DICK FACE BASTARD WHY YOU GOTTA DO THAT

Making the infinity gauntlet holy shiiit

Tony's is so much sleeker than Thaddys

THE SNAP

THE PHONE CALL

CLINTS FACE

THE SHOT OF ANT MAN LOOKING UP AND SEEING THE SHIP BEFORE IT ALL GOES TO SHIT

Act 3

Oh wow I forgot for a hot minute that Rhodey doesnt walk the same

Awww Rocket you can get out of there I promise you little buddy!!

Where did that lead you... back to me

That whole sequence was just CINEMATICALLY brilliant

Also can we just talk about how Thor's hair styled itself with lightning?

Also if you dont still think thicc thor is hot you're a fake fan

But I get it if yourr not in it for the alcoholism

LIGHTNINNNG

OH MY FUCJING GOD

THE FUCKING HAMMER

HES WORTHY

"I KNEW IT"

Yes the fuck you did

And so did we

On your left!!!!

Oh my God the look on their faces was just amazing

WHEN ALL THE PORTALS OPENED UP

I LITERALLY STARTED TEARING UP

SPIIIIDEY

HES WORTH ANOTHER THOUGHT

PETER MOTHERFUCKING PARKER, JUST SWINGING ALONG

"You're never gonna believe- remember when we were in space? And we got all dusty?" "That yellow sparky thing he does a lot"

Irondad hug oh my FUCK

"Well this is nice."

GAUNTLET FOOTBALL

CAPTAIN MARVEL

SPIDEY IN INSTANT KILL MODE YESSS

PETER CLUTCHING YHE GAUNTLET WAS UNBEARABLY ADORABLE

"Hi Peter Parker."

"If I tell you it wont happen."

Tell him, Stephen, please, we cant lose him. But we will, and theres no way around that.

Strange holding up the '1' with his finger

After that I was a mess for the rest of the film

You sneaky amazing cinnimon roll, snatching up those stones

"I am Iron Man."

YES THE FUCK YOU ARE

DUSTY ASS THANOS

BYE BYE MOTHER FUCKER

I was sobbing at this point because I knew.

"Mr Stark? Mr. Stark, we won! You did it."

Oh lord I've never seen Peter cry like that and it ripped out my soul

"We'll be okay. You can rest now."

I was actually audibly weeping, and didnt give a shit.

Hawkeye family reunion!

Tony's goodbye message

I love you 3000 (pt. 2, the weepy remix)

The funeral.

The arc reactor at the lake

"Proof that Tony stark has a heart"

Peter baby I'm so sorry!

Harley!! Hey bud, it's been a while!

NED AND PETER REUNION I REPEAT

HANDSHAKE HANDSHAKE

DONT CRY NED YOU SWEET PRECIOUS BOY

We know where you're going, Steve. Dont be so dramatic (but we still love you)

Old! Steve!

Sir you do not age how I believe you would age but okay

Raisin Clint Eastwood hands Sam the sheild

Nothing against Sam, I just figured since he knew Bucky longer, it would go to him

But comic accurate, and it was still beautiful

The peggy dance and kiss

*EXCEPT TONY SHOULDNT HAVE DIED YOU HEARTLESS BASTARDS*

[imagine-loki]

Loki and the Witchling

TITLE: Loki and the Witchling 

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 32/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you’re a healer working with the Avengers when Loki comes to join the team

RATING: T (so far) 

NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 click here

   The kisses soon led to you and Loki both sitting on your couch. Well, Loki was sitting on your couch. You were sitting on Loki’s lap, straddling his legs, thoroughly enjoying kissing him with your fingers wound in his hair. He didn’t seem to mind, at all. His arms were wrapped firmly around you, his fingers kneading the muscles in your back.

    “Hey, stop making out and come downstairs. Fury wants to talk to you,” Clint’s voice came from the door to your suite that he had opened. You flicked your hand and slammed the door shut in his face with magic, not bothering to break away from kissing Loki. “Thor! They’re mean!” Clint’s voice came as a shot from outside of your suite’s door. He wasn’t brave enough to try to enter again.

    Thor was, though.

    Thor stomped into the room. You and Loki tried to ignore him. You were busy and he was intruding. Didn’t he see that you were busy? “Go away Thor,” you both growled at him between kisses, not bothering to look at him. He laughed.

    “I think not. Fury is here to speak with us,” Thor grabbed you around the waist and threw you over his shoulder in the same movement. You had to quickly let go of Loki’s hair so you didn’t hurt him. You shrieked and thumped Thor on the back.

    “Thor!” you yelled at him. He started to stride from the room.

    “Come along, Brother,” he told Loki, who jumped to his feet with daggers in hand.

    “Put my beloved down, Thor!” Loki growled. Thor just chuckled and kept walking. You laughed then, understanding Thor’s plan. Loki would follow if Thor had you.

    “Thor, get your hand off of my ass!” you yelled at Thor, though. You weren’t letting him get off that easily for interrupting you. You had to have a little fun about it. Though you hadn’t expected Loki to actually stab him for the slight. Thor just sighed heavily.

    “Brother, kindly stop stabbing me just because my darling little sister is teasing me for interrupting your fun,” Thor grumbled. He was obviously used to being stabbed by Loki all of the time. “Y/N, kindly heal this, since it is your fault for teasing my poor brother,”

    “Can’t until you put me down,” you reminded him. “I need to see the wound.” He sighed heavily and continued to the elevator with you held firmly over his shoulder. You huffed and grumbled, but you wouldn’t actually hurt him and he knew it. You also couldn’t teleport away from him while he held you. Which he also knew. He knew the limits of Loki’s powers, and therefore yours, better than anyone but Loki. So you were stuck, and Loki followed grumpily.

    “Thor, why are you bleeding?” Clint asked when Thor carried you into the living room.

    “Loki took offense that I made them come downstairs,” Thor replied pleasantly. He finally set you on your feet and you moved to his side to remove the dagger and heal the wound. The second that was done, you went to Loki and took his hand.

    “Lovebirds, get over here,” Fury growled from the middle of the living room. You both sighed and went to your usual couch. Once everyone was seated, Fury got started. “Y/N, I’ve gotten the world security council to rescind their decision to arrest you. It took a lot of work, so you two are going to do exactly what you’re told for once so it stays that way. Do you understand? They will throw your ass in The Raft to control him if we can’t convince them he’s reformed.” You nodded meekly. Neither of you would let that happen. Loki’s hand tightened on yours. He wouldn’t let you be taken by the council either.

    “What do we have to do?” you asked softly, portraying to obedient little girl act. Fury rolled his eye.

    “Don’t try to play the cute little innocent girl act. I’m not stupid. I know you’re not stupid enough to risk getting yourself arrested. Besides, that would be a stupid decision on the council’s part, because he’ll go destructively chaotic and probably destroy the world to get you back,” Loki shrugged and tried to look innocent. No one believed him. That’s exactly what he would do. He will kill any and every person in his way if the council decided to arrest you. Fury turned to Loki. “You’re on house arrest for 8 weeks for this stunt. You’re not to leave the tower under any circumstances,”

    “8 weeks?” you asked. That seemed an awfully long time for this little adventure of his.

    “8 weeks. Don’t make me extend it. Two weeks for the time he was gone, two weeks for him leaving you for those two weeks, two weeks for the world security council trying to arrest my healer, and two weeks for pissing me the hell off,” Fury growled. “You are on the opposite of house arrest. You’re going on every single mission possible. Let him fret over you for awhile.” Fury told you. Great. That was a stupid-ass decision. Did he really want Loki in that mood for 8 weeks? It seemed he did. “And don’t you dare try to take this thing off him again. It’s the only thing the council trusts to keep him under control,”

    “You do realize that’s useless for that purpose, right?” you asked Fury as he fastened the Stark tech back around Loki’s wrist. Loki didn’t protest the treatment.

    “Of course it is. The only thing that has any hope of keeping him in some semblance of control is that he likes you and seems to occasionally listen to what you say,” Fury replied. “But we let the council think what they want in order for them to leave us the hell alone.” Fury growled some more, but you tuned him out. You stroked the back of Loki’s hand with your thumb, trying to calm him. He raised your hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. Fury rolled his eye again.

    “Are either of you listening to me?”

    “No,” you both replied pleasantly and broke into laughter at Fury’s glare.

    “Fury, we get it. We’re in trouble. Loki needs to lie low so the council forgets about this. You also want him to suffer for leaving and putting the healer at risk. We get it,” you told him. He glared at you, but finally gave up lecturing.

    “She’s gotten incorrigible in his company,” Fury grumbled to Cap, who just shrugged.

    “They’re happy and he’s been a good team member under her influence. I’d rather have her have some snarkiness than just the timid shy ghost who first moved into the tower,”

    “Looks like you’re outvoted, Fury,” you told him with a grin. Your family would circle to protect you and he knew it. He rolled his eye again, but soon gave up. He visited for a little while and even had a beer with the group. The one beer turned to the group drinking over the ordeal being over. Asgardian mead was brought out. You glared right back at Cap when he tried to deny you a glass of it. “Cap, I’m Asgardian. I have as high of a metabolism as these two,” you indicated Thor and Loki. Thor handed you the glass of mead without any qualms. You’d had the stuff in Asgard and it was delicious. One glass wouldn’t have any affect on you.

    “You’re not of age!” Cap protested.

    “Cap, you’re being a prude,” you grumbled. “It’s one glass, and I’m Asgardian,” if the stuff hadn’t been so delicious, you might’ve given in, but it was and was rare here, so you were enjoying it while you could. You didn’t know when you’d be back to Asgard, though you had a feeling that now that Loki was back, you’d have to go soon.

    “You’re outvoted, Cap, just give up,” Nat added. He relented, but didn’t look happy about it. It was nice to spend the evening with your family, plus Fury, though you and Loki did sneak back off to return to your prior activity while the others were trying to get tipsy.

    *

    The next evening came the first of the missions you had to go on without Loki. You donned your battle armor. Loki walked you up to the floor where you had to board the jet for the mission. He was worried, though he was trying not to show it. “I’ll be fine, love. You’ve taught me well. Besides, I’m the healer. You know they’ll put me at the back of the battle where I’ll be perfectly safe,” you reminded him. Again.

    “I worry about you, darling,” he said softly. “I hate that I cannot go with you to be sure you are safe,”

    “I love you too,” you replied and stood up on your toes to kiss him. Thor grabbed your arm and hauled you toward the jet.

    “Come along, little sister. The sooner we head out, the sooner we will return.” You let Thor haul you to the jet and blew a kiss to Loki before you disappeared into the jet.

    *

    Loki was going to kill you.

    Or a bunch of other people.

    Especially the Enhanced you’d been fighting.

    You were supposed to be at the back of the battle, doing emergency healings. That plan had gone out the window the second the back of the battle exploded. It was only a quick use of teleporting which saved you from the explosion.

    Unfortunately, you were the target of the attacks. They wanted to take out the healer before dealing with your friends. That didn’t mean they weren’t attacking the others too. You were kneeling beside Cap healing him from a nasty stomach wound when you were surrounded by the Enhanced. One of them burst through your shields. You managed to teleport Cap away when the Enhanced grabbed your arm, stopping you from saving yourself with magic. You summoned a dagger to stab him, but he moved quickly, yanking your arm behind you, shoving some sort of power at you. You howled in pain as you felt bones snap. You twirled, throwing your dagger at him and summoning another to thrust into him. He dropped your arm, surprised at the dagger sticking out of his stomach and the other in his arm. You hated hurting people. You were a healer, but some things you couldn’t help in life or death situations.

    Unfortunately, his friend drew a gun. You teleported away, cradling your very broken arm to your chest, but you were too slow. The gun went off, the bullet going straight through your leg. You stumbled into Clint on the other side of your teleport. You weren’t sure how you’d ended up teleporting to him. You hadn’t picked a target, but somehow you’d ended up beside him.

    “Shit! Kid, are you ok?” he asked, catching you before you could stumble. Your leg was on fire, bleeding freely, and didn’t want to support your weight.

    “I’ve been shot. Why didn’t you say how badly it fucking hurts,” you snarled in pain as you knelt down, summoning a roll of bandage to wrap around your leg. You couldn’t heal yourself. “Shit. My arm’s broken too. I can’t-” Clint knelt down beside you and wrapped the bandage for you.

    “Guys, the healer’s down. We’ve got to get out of here,” Clint called over the comm.

    “Evacuate her to the jet. We’ll meet you there shortly.” Cap’s voice replied. Thor landed beside you an instant later. A moment later you were flying with him back to the jet.

    “Loki is going to kill me,” you grumbled through the pain, fighting back tears, whimpers, and shouts, and fighting the urge to try to move and find a position that didn’t hurt. Everything would hurt.

    “He is going to kill all of us,” Thor replied calmly, convincing you to sit on the table in the middle of the jet that was there for the purpose of medical treatments during flights.

    “Go help them,” you told him. “I can defend here.” He gave you a look and you sighed.

    “Hulk is smashing the rest of them. It will be done shortly,” Thor told you. He looked over the bandage Clint had tied and apparently deemed it adequate.

    The team returned soon. Nat made some kind of makeshift sling for your arm and Clint got the jet flying back to the tower as fast as possible. “We have drugs that work on Asgardians back at the tower. Someone forgot to restock the jet,” Nat glared at Tony. “Hold on a little longer,” Nat told you. You nodded.

    “I will,” you managed to get the words out through a hiss of pain. Thor held your unbroken hand. You knew he felt bad that you’d been injured. They all did.

    “How many people are going to die because Y/N was hurt?” Clint asked Thor. No one wanted to answer that question.

    It didn’t take long to get back. Loki was standing on the platform waiting for the team to return.

    He was going to kill you all when he found out you were hurt.

[storiesandgarbage]

Rescue You - Chapter 3

An Ask for Permission

Pairings: Featuring: Avenger!OC // OC x Steve Rogers, OC x Loki Laufeyson

Style: Multi-chapter fic // Chapter  3 / ?

Word Count: 2.4 k

Warnings (chapter specific): Some fluff, The Fast and Furious (movie 1) spoiler [if I didn’t include this there would be someone who was upset, I promise]

Summary: Chapter 3 of Rescue You. Loki definitely has feelings for Amelia, but can he really act on them? It seems as though there is a brick wall shaped Super Soldier standing in his way.

A/N: Hi my lovelies! Chapter 3 of Rescue You is finally here! I hope you guys like it. Please, as always hit me with asks, requests are open and so is my taglist! Thank you for reading and for your support x

Chapter 1  I  Chapter 2 I  Chapter 3  I  Rescue You Masterlist  I Main Masterlist

Amelia woke up that morning with one thought: why is it so cold?

October had taken over quickly, time passing without much regard for the people it affected. This particular October morning was especially chilled. Amelia put on leggings and a hoodie featuring Mjlonir and headed down for training, for once anxious to get her blood pumping. Maybe she would be able to warm up a bit.

“Ah, Lady Amelia, I see you have finally come to your senses,” Thor was smiling smugly, pointing to her hoodie, “the best weapon from none other than the strongest Avenger.” She smiled at him and winked, practically being able to hear Tony’s head begin to explode.

“Point Break, I think the hoodie was just a lapse in judgement,” Tony argued, “Maybe it’s laundry day.” Cap nodded next to him.

“Yeah, it would have to be laundry day for her to wear the hammer.” Steve’s smile was one full of mischief. “Otherwise she would have worn the shield.” Tony scoffed in response as he started another set of reps. Amelia just shook her head at the boys before joining Nat on the treadmills.

“Cardio.” Amelia scrunched her nose in disgust and Nat just laughed. The pair chatted while they ran and Amelia couldn’t help but let her eyes wander all around the gym. Whether they were her best friends or not, the team was certainly eye candy.

“If you start drooling I’m going to vomit” Nat said in a low tone, following the girl’s gaze to a certain Norse god who was skillfully throwing daggers at practice dummies.

“Shut up,” Mel giggled, “just because you only have eyes for Banner doesn’t mean that I can’t have a look around.” Natasha immediately got red in the face, her and Bruce’s relationship was still in its rocky beginnings, neither one wanting to get hurt but both wanting very desperately to be with one another. The girls continued their banter throughout their run.

By the time the workout for the day was complete Amelia’s legs were nothing but jello. She trudged to the elevator and fell in when the doors opened. Dragging herself to the shower she turned the water a bit more warm than necessary, the chill of the day already settling back in. She was finishing getting dressed when there was a knock on her door.

She opened it to two very excited super soldiers, they were holding snacks and blankets and the girl spotted a set of DVD’s in their hands, she caught sight of the words Fast and Furious on one of the covers. She smiled.

“Come on guys, those are action movies,” she faked her complaint, “can’t we watch something romantic?”

“There’s a love story included, they’re very well rounded films, I hear.” Bucky’s response was exactly what she anticipated.

“Fine,” she sighed dramatically, smiling the entire time, “but you have to carry me, Nat killed my legs.” She pouted and reached her arms out, and waited for Steve to scoop her into his arms, which he did with ease, he was a sucker and they all knew it, but at least Amelia didn’t have to use her fatigued legs. The group hurried down the hall to the elevator.

“Wait!” Amelia cried just before Buck stepped in, he paused and turned to her and Steve. “Let’s invite Loki!” Her voice was firm and the guys had no qualms so they turned and headed back down the hall. The prince had been listening to the entire exchange and was prepared when Bucky knocked lightly on his door.

“Loki,” the man asked, “Are you in there?”

The door opened and Loki stepped out into the hall. He was wearing sweatpants that hung just right on his hips. Amelia’s eyes lingered a second too long on his form before she cleared her throat. Loki on the other hand openly stared at the girl and Steve. He had he cradled in his arms and her hand reached up to grasp his neck, steadying herself against his body. Loki couldn’t help the fire he felt building in his chest. Gods he was incredibly jealous.

“Hey pal,” Amelia spoke to him, interrupting his inner rage, “we are gonna watch these really boring movies, they’re all action and no romance.” Bucky rolled his eyes at her, she ignored it. “You wanna join us? Only requirement is bringing a blanket because it’s freezing in this damn tower.” Amelia was smiling. Loki knew from the moment they arrived at the door that he would do anything she asked him to. He hadn’t realized it would be so incredibly mundane. He also hadn’t realized how much he craved the mundane after the last few years of his life. He nodded.

“Okay, but there better be good snacks and you have to make me some tea,” he turned back into his room and picked up the quilt that Amelia had made for him, draping it over his arm before returning and following the three to the den.

Steve placed Amelia gently on a couch and she patted the cushion next to her, motioning for Loki to sit next to her. Steve sat on her other side and Bucky fell in next to Steve. The group barely made it through the first movie without Amelia becoming completely too involved in the story. She cried when the young Jesse was shot, Steve chuckled at her and Loki conjured her a box of tissues. By the third movie they were all lounging, Amelia started to get tired and she laid down, resting her head in Steve’s lap and draping her legs over Loki’s own. Loki only panicked for a moment at her action before placing his hands on top of her shins and relaxing, enjoying the physical contact. He however couldn’t help but watch her interaction with Steve, the second she laid her head in his lap he began playing with her hair, massaging her scalp and running his fingers through the entire length of her chocolate colored locks. She sighed in contentment at the sensation and Loki’s heart felt like it would explode. Why did he have to fall for the girl he couldn’t have? Watching their interaction it was obvious to Loki that Steve and Amelia were more than friends. He wondered how Steven felt about her using him as the second part of her human pillow. However, when Steve noticed him observing their interaction he just shook his head.

“Mel’s a cuddle bug,” Steve said aloud and Bucky nodded almost immediately, “can’t get her to stay in her own space.” He laughed when she reached up and smacked him lazily in the chest. He grabbed her hand and held on to it, giving it a tight squeeze.

Loki felt somber then, seeing their bond and knowing there was nothing he could do about it. But he did wonder, if they were together, why had he never seen them kiss or embrace more romantically that this? He pondered this, the movie just background noise for him. He decided he would find out for sure, after all, it would probably be easier to step to the wayside if he knew that she was taken and not just assuming.

The third movie ended and Amelia groaned, “I’m hungry for real food,” she tossed a bag of candy onto the table away from her to emphasize her statement, “what is for dinner?”

“Let’s order Chinese,” Bucky suggested, getting the now fourth movie in the series ready to play.

“Loki, do you like Chinese?” Amelia sat up on her elbows looking up at him.

“I will admit that I have not yet found a Midguardian food that I don’t enjoy, I would be willing to try some Chinese.” Loki responded and Amelia nodded. She reached her hands out for Loki to take, he did, pulling her up from her horizontal position until she was practically sitting in his lap, Loki fought the blush which crept to his cheeks, thankful that no one seemed to be watching them. Amelia stood then, muttering about where the take out menu had been left last as she wandered from the room.

She quickly returned, menu help triumphantly in her hand. She handed the paper to Loki and leaned over the couch, reading over his shoulder. They were cheek to cheek, Loki could feel the woman’s breath on his shoulder but found that he could hardly breathe himself. Her scent was intoxicating him.

“What do you think you might like?” Amelia asked, her voice was low so as not to yell in his ear but the pitch sent pleasant vibrations throughout him. He almost shivered in delight but held it back.

“I like shrimp,” Loki said, looking to that section of the menu, “Do they have anything spicy?” Amelia pointed to a menu item and Loki read the description. He nodded, “yeah, I’ll try that he said.”

“Okay but I’m ordering extra egg rolls and crab Rangoon. You have to try them, they’re a staple in any Americanized Chinese meal.” She laughed and stood up straight then. Her phone was already in hand and she dialed the take out restaurant. Apparently already knowing the other two men’s orders by heart she placed the order and then hung up the phone.

“Should be about 20 minutes.” She declared as she took her spot back on the couch. “It is fucking cold in here.” She shivered visibly and wrapped herself up in the blanket she brought from her own room. Loki lifted his extra-large blanket and used some of it to cover her even more.

“Ah, much better,” she said and scooted closer to Loki on the couch, resting her head on his shoulder. He shot a sideways glance at Steve who seemed unbothered by the interaction though Bucky did raise an eyebrow at all of it for a brief moment before returning his attention to the movie.

The night passed on and soon Amelia was asleep on the couch, Steve went to pick her up and take her to her room when Loki offered instead, stating he was too going to retire. Steve nodded and Loki stood, scooping the girl and her massive cocoon of blankets and started up to their shared floor. Laying her down in her bed he covered her with her comforter and smoothed her hair out of her face.

He turned to leave when he was surprised by her grabbing his hand. She squeezed it gently and murmured.

“Thanks Lok,” smiling with her eyes still closed.

“You’re sneaky, little one,” Loki laughed, realized that she had been awake but still let Loki carry her to her bed. She laughed softly at him.

“I’m resourceful.” She yawned and cuddled down into the blankets.

“Good night dear,” Loki said as he pulled her bedroom door shut and went to his own.

He laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and letting his fingers trace the pattern on his quilt for hours before he decided to fix the issue that kept him awake. Throwing the covers back he left his room and headed for Steve’s praying he was awake.

He knocked on the door and Steve almost immediately opened it, inviting him in and sitting on the edge of his bed while Loki stood before him, fiddling with his fingers.

“Steven, I was hoping to ask you a rather personal question.” Loki’s voice was low, he was bracing himself for the coming blow.

“I mean, I’m a pretty open book,” Steve was being truthful but he still had his guard up, not able to anticipate what would come from Loki next.

“I wanted to ask you if you were involved with Amelia.” Loki looked down as he spoke the words, slightly afraid that if he offended this man that he would come out swinging. Instead, he earned a laugh.

“Oh um, no Loki I can’t say I am, but if I’m sensing the reason that you’re asking the question then I would suggest that you are not either.”

To describe Loki’s facial expression as bewildered would have been an understatement. He was absolutely baffled, who was Steve Rogers to tell him he couldn’t pursue someone who was not taken?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Steve said, reading Loki’s expression, “and this isn’t me trying to control you or tell you what to do. I have my reasons.”

“Would you care to elaborate then?” Loki’s voice was low and angry.

“Listen, I have always admired Mel, I think she’s truly the most gorgeous woman to walk this planet.”

“Most gorgeous woman in the nine realms.” Loki interjected and Steve paused for a moment before continuing.

“Yes, that too,” he said smiling, “but I would never pursue her.”

“And why not? I am struggling to understand.”

Steve sighed, “Amelia is 22 years old Loki, I have existed on this planet for 100 years. You have existed in this universe for over 1000 years. We are, for lack of a better way to put it, too old for her.” Loki pondered this. Steve was correct, Amelia could not begin to fathom the things the pair had seen and done before she was even a thought in the cosmos.

“I suppose I see your point Steven, but Amelia is wise beyond her years. Do you not see this in her as I do?”

“Of course I do, I realize that she’s the most amazing human to exist, I see it. It just feels like if someone like you or I were to be with her, we would be robbing her of the normalcy she deserves.”

Loki’s heart sunk in his chest. Yes, of course, Amelia could never have a normal existence with him. He would even consider trying to extend her lifespan if he could find a way. But was that what she deserved? No, probably not. Loki managed a nod at Steve who felt the same sadness in his heart.

“Sometimes, we have to do the right thing for the person we love, we cannot be selfish.” Steve said and placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Amelia is in our lives and the best we can do for her is to be good friends. I know, how hard it is to push those other thoughts to the side, but perhaps we can be there for one another. Support system of sorts I guess.”

Loki smiled, “Are you asking to be my friend Rogers?”

“I suppose I am,” Steve smiled and reached out a hand they shook on it and Loki left the room. Not necessarily feeling any better, but feeling at peace with the circumstances.

[terranoctis]

black widow

Spoilers below for Black Widow. 

First off: my friend saying loudly “Yes, kill him,” during that post-credits scene in the middle of the theater was a whole-ass mood. I couldn’t help but laugh. I don’t hate Hawkeye, but I can understand the dislike because of the distaste I had for the Natasha-Clint moments in Endgame leading up to her death. 

I want to say I did like the movie before I launch into my criticisms. I have some qualms about it, but in the scope of the entire movie, you can’t deny that it’s still enjoyable. My main qualm is how the film feels like a footnote after the fact, since we all know the fate of Natasha as a character in Endgame. It takes away the stupid reasoning that was written into Endgame about how Nat had no family to live for (which is why she should die, etc.), and in a way, makes the truth of it much more tragic. Natasha absolutely has a family to live for and she never got the chance to reconnect with them as deeply as she did with her companions in the Avengers. She died before she ever got to. I’m not saying Hawkeye should have died, but I never liked how the film made the argument for Nat in that moment. 

That being said, the Black Widow movie illustrates the kind of person Nat is and why she would have chosen to sacrifice herself. Even if it’s after the fact of her death, we can tell Nat’s the kind of person who would push her sister away falling thousands of feet in the air if it meant that the enemy would only target her. She’s the kind of humane killer who still tries to help someone who just tried to kill her because she empathizes with what they’ve been through like her. It’s the exact reason she would throw herself off the cliff so Clint can stay with his family--it’s because she wants to give those around her a better chance. The film, as I said, does a great job of elaborating that part of Natasha which we never got to see much of in the other MCU films. I was talking to my friend after the film about previous films Natasha’s been in and it’s partially true that we don’t get to see much of that warm, humane side of Natasha, but we’ve been able to understand the growth of it in this film. 

For example, I loved Winter Soldier, but I’m reminded of how even in that film she was considered a spy who put her mission before the lives around her (namely, the opening of that film, where she went to save the data on the ship instead of helping with the mission and saving lives). In this regard, the Natasha in the BW film feels inconsistent. On the other hand, one could also read it as a sign of Nat’s growth since she first became part of the Avengers and Steve Rogers’ friend. I think that’s a nice way to read it, and is elaborated with that kind of humanity we see she had since the beginning with the BW film. That humanity rings truest with Natasha’s regard for Yelena.

What the film did best for me was Nat’s relationship with Yelena. There is something powerful about a girl who understands the loss of will and captivity she’s being forced into and still be willing to wield a weapon to protect her younger, unaware sister from it all even at the young age she’s at. There’s animosity between them as adults and they’re allowed to have it because you understand why. There’s affection that rings true despite of all the suffering they’ve been through. It’s good writing between sisters and I loved to see that on the big screen. It’s not all gold fields between them even by the end of the film, but you get the sense they’re working it out and are fine... at least, until you understand that Nat probably never got to see her sister or her parents again before the events of Endgame. Which is the biggest slap at the end to me and one of the worst tragedies in all the history of the MCU. A beautiful tragedy, don’t get me wrong, but still hurts like hell to understand the depth of that tragedy.

There are some hit or miss moments in the humor for the family scenes, to the point I felt a little awkward (especially with the dad jokes), but I felt that Yelena’s scenes were on point for me. 

Is it a movie that should have come earlier? Yes. I do think though that as a standalone film, it’s somewhat middling to good, rather than good to amazing. I find that it’s a film that can be read much more because we know Nat’s fate in Endgame and in a way how her choices lead up to that. Do I feel like it’s a film that is just retconned in? Yes. MCU could have and should have done a better job at incorporating Nat’s background into the rest of the films because it seems utterly tragic that none of her best friends in the Avengers knew whatsoever about her family and their existence... but we know that since this film was not made yet, there was nothing for them to incorporate yet. 

Goes to show that the Black Widow film should have come years ago.

The Black Widow film feels less like Natasha’s story than it feels like Yelena’s story. In a way, it’s a good baton pass from Black Widow to Black Widow. The movie felt like an ensemble movie in a way that Civil War was despite it being a standalone Captain America movie, which is a shame to an extent for Natasha. It’s meant to be her movie, but it doesn’t always feel like it. Nonetheless, it works marvelously as a great introduction to Yelena. Florence Pugh stole the movie with her scenes and I’m excited to see her character in the future. Also, as a sidenote, I love that she’s got the younger sister dynamic down because she was also amazing as Amy March in Little Women. I know she’s going to be in Hawkeye, but I also hope they continue to do more with her beyond that. She is, in a sense, the Black Widow of this phase and I think she deserves more than what her sister got in the earlier phases. 

I’m just rambling now. Go watch it if you haven’t. I might have my qualms, but I did like the film. It also harkens back to the vanilla Phase 1 feeling of the MCU, with just good old action and does not include the more magic-space-quantum realms of later MCU films (Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, etc.). This, in its own way, can be rather refreshing after the vamped up heights of Infinity War and Endgame.