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totesnothere04 · 1 year ago

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Deviant With a Big Defect: Pt.5

The Bad Batch x Sister!Reader, Obi-Wan x Reader

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fanart, screenshots, or gifs.

Warnings: None IMO.

Part 4

Not Ready

"You have everything right?" Tech asked as you approached the hangar.

"Yes, Tech I have everything. Both my blasters, both of my knives, my tools, my datapad, and extra blacks." You said slightly annoyed.

"I just want to make sure. We don't know how long you'll be gone this time." Tech said. You look behind him at Wrecker who was trying his hardest to hold in his tears. The moment you stepped into the hangar you turned to Wrecker, and opened your arms for a hug.

"Come here, big guy." You say and he picks you up in a hug.

"Why don't we just take you back to the bunk, and say that you went?" Wrecker asks and you shake your head.

"I don't want to be court marshaled for deserting." You tell him and he sniffles and then puts you down. You turn to Hunter and he pulls you into a hug as well.

"Be careful out there, and for the love of the maker... Don't engage another Sith." Hunter says and you chuckle.

"No promises." You say and he deadpans as he looks at you. "I don't regret my actions, because two Generals are alive thanks to me." You turn to Crosshair who casts a quick glance around the hangar to see if anyone's looking. When he's satisfied that no one is looking he gives you a quick hug.

"I'll see you when you get back... Whether you're conscious or not." Crosshair says and you smile lightly at him.

"I'll see you when I get back Crossie." You say then smirk at him and he sends you a small glare. You stare at him for a second then finally work up the courage to look at Tech. The moment your eyes meet you both allow tears to streak down your cheeks. You both grip onto eachother and hold on tight. You bury your head in the nape of his neck, and he does the same to you.

"Please don't come back close to death again. Be safe, be careful." Tech whispers and you nod.

"I'll try Tech. But if it's between my life and my Generals you know the option I'll pick." You whisper and he nods.

"I know, but... You mean a lot to all of us, and I can't stand losing you." Tech said and released you from the hug.

"I know, but we know the risks as soldiers. I promise I'll try my hardest though." You say and turn to the ship. "Make sure you and the boys pass your exams, and I'll be back before you know it."

"I will." Tech said as he retreated to Hunters' side. You boarded the ship and turned to look out of the hatch as it started to close. The boys waved and you waved back. When the hatch closed you made your way deeper into the ship and found your escort.

"C-captain." You heard the familiar stutter and you smiled.

"James? I thought you were a pilot. How did you end up as my escort?" You asked him and he removed his helmet.

"I v-volunteered." He said happily. "P-plus whe-n I h-heard about y-your in-jury I've b-been w-worried."

"I'm okay. I promise." You say and he nods.

"You're a l-legend in th-the 212th n-now." James said and you smiled widely at him.

"You're stuttering less than you used to. I think a new name did wonders for you, James." You said and he nodded. "But I'm just like every other clone. I'm nothing special." You said and he rolled his eyes.

"Th-at's a lie C-captain." He said and you chuckled.

"Why is that?" You asked.

"B-because y-you're a girl and y-you l-lived." James said and you shook your head.

"That doesn't make me special." You told him and the ship jolted forward a bit. You hadn't even felt the ship jump into hyperspace so dropping out of it was sudden. "So where are we?"

"Christophsis." James informs you and you smirk.

"No stutter that time." You said and he chuckled. The ship shook a bit as it landed and you made your way off the ship with James following behind. At the bottom of the ramp, General Kenobi and Commander Cody were waiting.

"Captain, it's good to see you again." Kenobi said and you bowed your head.

"It's good to be back." You said and Cody cleared his throat.

"I know you'd rather be back home helping your Unit pass their final exams." Cody said. "Which is why the General has granted you permission to go back a week before their exams."

"So that you can be present and ship out with them the moment they're able." Kenobi finished and you smiled.

"Thank you, sirs." You said and Kenobi waved it off.

"No need for thanks. It's basically me repaying you for saving my life." Kenobi said then he shifted his attention to James.

"You're free to go James." Kenobi says and James salutes him.

"Yes, sir." James says then leaves.

"We have much to catch you up on (Y/n). The Separatists seem set on taking Christophsis and we need to stop it." Kenobi said and you started thinking.

"Well it is a major mining hub and a good portion of the republic materials come from here. It would make sense why it would be such a big target to the Seppies." You say and they nod.

"Yes. Which is why it is so important to protect it from the Separatists." Kenobi said. The three of you reached the command center and went up to the holotable. You put your left palm flat infront of the droid plug-in and it opens. Your sconce emerges and you plug into the table and start searching through their notes.

"You already have a plan?" You ask as you find the plans and Cody nods.

"Yes. We're just waiting on General Skywalker to be available to make it out here. In order to ensure the Separatists are defeated and stay away we need to show military and tactical prowess. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker along with both the 212th and the 501st should do just that." Cody said and you nod.

"Yes, Captain Rex does seem to keep Anakin in line... Somewhat." Kenobi said and you cleared your throat to keep from laughing.

"Seems there's context to that, but I won't pry." You say quietly and Kenobi chuckles.

"You have no idea." He says.

"So when can we expect General Skywalker and the 501st?" You asked.

"Well at the moment they're locked in combat. It isn't clear when they'll be available next." Cody says. "For now we pick and choose our battles, and wait with bated breath."

3 Days Later

You stood in the middle of the sparring ring with your wooden weapon. Cody and two others were circling you waiting for the right opportunity to strike. They all have wooden sparring poles as well and you wait. You had yet to be beaten in a sparring match by any of the guys in the 212th. So naturally, this match pulled the attention of every off-duty trooper and General Kenobi. You twirled the pole around you and stopped in your fighting stance.

Cody took this as the green light to engage and struck first followed by the other two. You deflected all of their blows and dodged to the side as Cody swung at you again. As you spun around one of the clones you lightly smacked his back with your pole. He threw his hands up to signal he was out. The next clone was almost as easy since you tripped him and then tapped his side just as quickly. You turned your entire focus back on Cody. The two of you circled the ring and studied eachother. He spun and feigned left then went right but you had deduced he would do this. You blocked his hit then retaliated with one of your own. The exchange between the two of you continued until you got the upper hand and tripped him then tapped his chest. He groaned and then got up with a helping hand from you.

"I was sure I'd be able to show you what the 212th is really made of." Cody said and you chuckled.

"You are all talented in one way or another, but I had a lot of one on one training." You say and he sighs.

"I just think someone needs to be able to beat you. At least one of my boys." Cody says.

"Well, I'll give it a go." Kenobi says and everyone sits watching. Kenobi picks up the wooden staff and weighs it between his hands. He twirls it and stops in his fighting stance and you reciprocate the action. You attack first and he blocks your attack and smacks your staff away. You both circle eachother like hunters stalking their prey. He tries to trip you but you bat away his staff and try to spin a tap to his neck. He ducks beneath the staff and tries to land a hit to your back during the follow-through of your swing. You anticipate this and block it then turn to look at him. This process continues for what feels like an eternity when your back finally hits the floor. You feel the tip of his staff tap your chest and you exhale.

"It would seem that I was taught a lesson by the General of the 212th." You say and get back up with Kenobi's assistance. All the men in the 212th congratulate Kenobi and make their leave.

"I would love to spar with you again. That was rather fun." Kenobi says and you chuckle.

"I enjoy sparring. It's one of the things my brothers and I do quite often. We get competitive and keep count though." You say and he leans against a wall.

"What are your scores against all of them?" He asks and you put away the wooden staffs.

"For Wrecker, it's 75 to 1 in my favor. I was distracted during the one he got. For Crosshair, it's 45 to 31 in my favor. For Hunter, it's 40 to 36 in my favor. For Tech, it's 38 to 38 tied between us." You say and Kenobi let's off a small smile.

"You and your brothers seem very talented when it comes to fighting." He says.

"Thank you General. We've trained a lot." You say and he chuckles.

"When it's just the two of us you can call me Obi-Wan." He says and you nod.

"If you don't mind me asking... What was it like growing up in the Jedi Temple, General?" You ask and he rolls his eyes at you.

"Obi-Wan for one. Two, it was peaceful and rewarding. When I was assigned to my Master he taught me that balance was necessary for the Force. He was an amazing man." Obi-Wan said and you set your flesh hand on his shoulder. You could almost feel his sadness as he spoke of his Master.

"I'm sorry you lost him." You said and he exhaled.

"The Force will take even the best of us when it's ready to. It doesn't care about their affiliation or what position they hold." He says as he wipes his hands off on a rag.

"Then why were you so upset over the possibility of me dying to Dooku?" You asked and he seemed taken aback and slightly confused.

"I'm not sure." He said then threw the rag in a bin. "It was almost like losing my Master all over again, except different... If that makes sense."

"In a way it does, but it would make more sense if it had been General Skywalker. We had only met a couple of days prior. Sir, I'm a clone. We're made to be easily replaced." You tell him and he shakes his head.

"No. You're all different in the Force, and it tells me there's something special about you. That you're important in some way." Obi-Wan says as he finally looks you in the eyes. Your breath nearly gets stolen as you gaze into his bright blue hues. Blue eyes were a rare defect you had only seen on some of the other clones. Neither of you realized you were slowly moving closer to eachother until Obi-Wans com started to beep. He cleared his throat and shook out of whatever trance the two of you were in.

"Obi-Wan." He said.

"Obi-Wan we wanted to let you know that Kyra and Jut will be arriving on Christophsis shortly." The male voice said.

"I didn't know tattoo artists did field work, Master Windu." Obi-Wan said with a hint of amusement.

"They do when we've commissioned them for the clone army." General 'Windu' says.

"I'm sure some of the men will be happy to hear this." Obi-Wan says then the line goes silent.

"The Jedi Order commissioned tattoo artists for the clone army?" You asked him.

"Apparently. These specific tattoo artists are the ones that do any piece a Jedi might want. Come on I'll introduce you to them." Obi-Wan says and you fall into step next to him. "Certain Jedi like to mark themselves with their tribal tattoos, even though they're no longer affiliated with their tribe or clan. Other Jedi get markings showing their rank or devotion to the order." Obi-Wan tells you and you smile happily.

"This is fascinating. I would've suspected that the Jedi wouldn't be allowed tattoos." You said.

"We aren't clergy." Obi-Wan says with a chuckle.

"Do you have a tattoo?" You ask him and he seems to freeze. When he realizes you noticed he smirks at you.

"I do, and maybe one day you'll get to see it, my dear." He says with a wink and you nearly choke on air.

"D-did you just flirt with me?" You ask him astonished.

"Yes." He says and you stare at his back dumbfounded. You catch up to him as he reaches a transport that just landed. The hatch opens and two girls walk down the ramp carrying bags. "Kyra, Jut!" Obi-Wan says happily and they smile at him.

"Kenobi." The Nautolan woman greets Obi-Wan. "Where are we setting up shop?" She asks.

"The only sterile environment here is the medical bay." He says and the two girls nod.

"That'll do." The purple Twi'lek says. You and Obi-Wan lead the girls to the medical bay and you watch them pull out their tools. "What's your name hun?"

"Oh. I'm (Y/n), temporary Captain of the 212th." You say and she nods.

"I'm Jut. You lookin' to get a tattoo?" She asks and you nod. "Then you're my first customer. Tell me what you want."

"But I was just sparring. I'm all sweaty." You say and she nods again.

"Then I'll design it while you get cleaned up." She sits down pulling out a datapad and a stylus.

"Well, I want it to go down my spine. At the top, I want '99', a skull under that, goggles below that, a grenade under that, and a crosshair under that. I also want the omega symbol on the back of my neck." You say then look up at her. She and Kyra were smirking at eachother.

"You're our first client here. We'll both be working on you." Kyra says then she and Jut set to designing your tattoo.

"I'll be back." You say and rush off to freshen up. Obi-Wan went on to do his own thing after you left. When you got back they were finishing up with their equipment. They took notice of you at the door and patted the medical bed.

"Lay down face down so we can get started. Remove any clothing blocking the area." Jut says and you do as requested. "What do you think about this?" She asks then shows you their sketch.

"I like it." You say and smile at it. The outside edges look like an odd tree, while the symbols you asked for were lined directly up the middle.

"This might hurt, but from your scar you might be accustomed to pain." Jut says and you lay down. Both women set to work on each side of you, and the slight sting of the needle wasn't as painful as you thought it would be. The three of you struck up idle chat and the atmosphere was almost carefree. It was odd for a military med bay to feel this way. Sooner than you expected they were done.

"You'll want to apply this cream when you can. It will keep it hydrated while allowing it to breath so it can heal." Kyra instructs and you nod.

"Thank you! Have they asked you to go to Kamino yet?" You asked and they nodded.

"That's our next stop." Jut says and you nod again.

"Alright. Well, I will leave you two to get to your next clients." You say as you put your top back on and then your armor. You make your way to the command center and find Cody talking to Obi-Wan. "General, Commander." You greet them and they both smile at you.

"Heard you got a tattoo (Y/n). Hope I get to see it sometime." Cody says and you shake your head.

"It's on my back. Only way you get to see it is if I end up in the infirmary again." You tell him and he chuckles.

"The boys back home are going to be jealous." Cody says.

"Not for long. Kyra and Jut are going to Kamino next." You tell him.

2,959 Words

#obi wan x reader #sw tbb #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch #star wars fanfiction

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jedimasterbailey · 9 months ago

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Hello wifey, I got these for the unpopular opinion ask: 💖💕🏳️‍🌈

Hi baby! 🥰💙💚 I shall happily answer these asks for you!

Link to original ask game below if y’all wanna play along and if you reblog I’ll be snooping 👀

💖- what is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

So I’m just gonna say this about all of Star Wars in general specifically the newer stuff that’s been coming out lately as well as the future projects they’ve announced to us (minus the Tales of the Empire I’m genuinely excited for that because BARRISS 💙) but in my OPINION they’re focusing on all the wrong characters and spending too much time and money into mediocre storylines when there’s so much more they can be doing. Like the Ahsoka wasn’t really about Ahsoka herself and where they decided to take that show was very strange and weak. Andor head was boring as hell to me and there wasn’t much pay off in there for any of the characters. Bad Batch is only good when the episode isn’t about the Bad Batch themselves but about another character people actually like (I.e Ventress, Rex, etc.). Mando went off the rails in its third season because in my opinion Mando and Grogu’s story ended beautifully with that badass Luke Skywalker finale.

Now before everyone get all butthurt and all up in their feelings, remember that 1.) this is my own unpopular opinion I’m allowed to have and 2.) yes I’m aware I can pick and choose what to watch and not to watch and that if I don’t like a show I won’t watch it. What I’m saying is that the stories and characters I want to see more of don’t get produced which is why I’m so pumped for Tales of the Empire because we finally get a Barriss Offee story which has been left on read for the last decade and why I enjoyed Tales of the Jedi so much because we got more Dooku content and more good Ahsoka content.

💕- What is an unpopular ship that you like?

Kenduli/Obinara (Luminara Unduli x Obi-Wan Kenobi) all day everyday and I will stan them until the day I die (sorry Satine fans no offense). Anyone who has read The Approaching Storm and paid attention to their interactions in Clone Wars could see these two have chemistry and are an absolute delight together. To me their relationship would have all the class of a pairing like Morticia and Gomez Addams from the Addams family with the sexiness of a James Bond and a Bond girl. Honestly what’s not to like? And no this is not an open invitation to bash them because this is MY unpopular opinion remember 😉 Read any of my fanfic and you’ll warm up to them I assure you!

🏳️‍🌈- which character who is commonly headcanoned as queer doesn’t seem queer to you?

Obi-Wan Kenobi. And yea I’m aware that the recent Padawan book implied he may be bisexual but I’m sorry Obi-Wan has always come off to me as a total ladies man in both the shows/movies and in books. Like the women go nuts for him (I.e. Ventress, Satine, etc) and there are always women speaking to him when he’s just walking about in the Temple (I.e Luminara, Aayla) like who wouldn’t be into the mister “Hello There” man and I’m saying this as a GAY woman who feels she has a pretty good gaydar and I’m not getting anything from Obi-Wan sorry not sorry. He may be bisexual but at the end of the day, I feel he prefers the ladies.

Link to original asks!

#devondeal 💙💚#unpopular opinion ask game #obi wan kenobi #barriss offee #luminara unduli #ahsoka tano #star wars #kenduli is life ☺️#kenduli

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rjdavies · 7 months ago

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Future Foretold?

Storytelling, fables and myths all very valid approaches of our ancestors trying to keep us safe, warning us to keep on the straight and narrow or the boogeyman will get you.

Science fiction is no different, over the years there have been many stories warning us of AI taking over and wiping out humanity or dominating humanity.

Stories we watched on the big screen since we were young with stories like HAL from “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) by Arthur C. Clarke, the Replicants from Bladerunner series (1982, 2017) which is an adaption from “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Philip K. Dick, Skynet from the Terminator series (1984, 1991, 2003, 2009, 2004, 2021) the screenplay written by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd and William Wisher Jr., the Machines in the Matrix series (1999, 2003, 2021) the screenplays written by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, I, Robot (2004) written by Issac Asimov and Jeff Vintar, and recently M3GAN (2023) written by Akela Cooper and James Wan. All these movies warn us of the dangers of AI getting the upper hand.

Is AI something we have to worry about? Lose sleep over?

I think that AI is only as good as the programmers programming it. Which does leave a few concerns, such as data bias, data privacy, accountability, job displacement, what happens when they become self-aware?

Data bias, working with any software you will know, it is only as good as the programming that went into it. AI systems are only as good as the programming or the data they are trained on. That’s why EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) is so imperative when it comes to research and development. Having a diverse research team elevates the chances of weeding out those inert bias results.

Data Privacy, I think we can just toss this one out the window. There are cameras everywhere, most likely on the device that you are using to read this. If there is a camera attached, then someone can remotely access that camera and invade your privacy. Also, when using an AI Chat bot, or an app on your phone or other devices, your data is being collected. What is it being used for? The claim is for a better user experience. It’s all debatable.

Accountability, who should be held accountable when and if an autonomous vehicle makes a mistake? If a robot makes a mistake? Minor mistakes we can pass along as AI learning, but what if someone dies? The company running it? The manufacturer who created it? The programmer you wrote the code? The programmer who modified the code? These are all valid concerns.

Job displacement, with the new technologies that are being manufactured there will be some job losses in industries but on the other side of the coin there will be job creation; someone will have to run these machines and maintain them. The idea is to replace dangerous dirty jobs with robots, making these workplaces safer, cleaner and more efficient. At least that is the goal.

AI is learning every day, what happens when it evolves and becomes self-aware? Would it become sentient? Will it become them verses us for survival?

AI developers are currently working closely with robotic companies and that’s where we should see progress. Is it something to fear or embrace? We also have Issac Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics” going for us.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

But we also have to keep in mind these three laws were written by a science fiction writer for his Robotic series where the robots didn’t always behave as they should.

I think we have already let the genie out of the bottle from here on out, we all need to be accountable for where AI and robotics take us. We need to be the watch dogs and ask questions, hold companies accountable.

Cheers!

R. J. Davies

A Riveting Jacked-In Dreamy Mind-Bender

RJ Davies - Science Fiction Author, Maddox Files, Novels

#r. j. davies #rhonda davies #rhonda joan davies #r. j. davies author #science fiction author #mystery author #author of maddox files #rhonda davies author #canadian author

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dreadhaus-literature · 5 years ago

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{Collection} A Haunted Haus : Day Two & Three

That is a mask...right?

Day Three, Start.

The past 48 hours haven’t exactly been “business as usual” for the Stone Spider Family.

Atamu hadn’t figured life would be all sunshine and roses every day since the Merger almost three years ago, but the Patriarch hadn’t ever anticipated anything quite like this. His displeasure in the recent, strange goings-on under his roof was clear on his dark, weathered face as he sat with his massive arms folded across his broad barrel of a chest. His long dreads were secured back in a thick braid that reached his waist, an impressive feat for a man over eight feet tall--it was a task he’d asked His little to perform, something Monica was quite skilled at by this point and had done so without hesitation. Atamu wanted his hair out of his face so he wouldn’t have to think about it or push at the long, thick twists of soft hair as the day’s events continued on around him. And while he normally reveled in the time Monica spent playing in his dreads, enjoying the way her small fingers felt beneath the lovingly secured strands, today it had been more for business than pleasure. There were events going on at the Haus that required the old Chieftain’s full attention and he didn’t want to miss a single detail.

Helen’s office was currently holding several select, key members of the immediate Family--the Reaver herself was behind her desk, with Thomas standing in front of it. Atamu was seated in a high-backed chair facing the desk, with Monica safely in his lap--she wasn’t allowed down, much less out of the Patriarch’s sight.

Not after what had happened yesterday.

And while normally Monica might chafe under strict restraints on being told what to do...after what happened she wasn’t too keen on being out of Atamu’s embrace at all, much less where he couldn’t see her.

Luvon Dreadful was the newest addition to the room, the Alpha standing beside his Father and lifemate. The werewolf had his arms folded much like his Father, his large, heavily muscled body blocking Monica from the door and providing a second wall of protection for the young vampire. If Atamu hadn’t been overprotective enough to keep Monica at his side, Luvon would have done it. The overprotective Alpha did not play around when it came to Monica’s safety and well-being and anyone who looked at him now would only notice his tightly locked square jaw and the way his orange eyes glowed almost ferally. There was a dormant volcano of rage smoldering dangerously close to Luvon’s surface. All he needed was a target to unleash it on--but that was part of the problem. No one was quite sure what happened yesterday, and that was the cause of the current meeting.

“Would you like some tea, sweetheart?” Thomas straightened up from leaning against Helen’s desk, his gentlemanly smile aimed at Monica. “I would be happy to make you some, or perhaps a snack?”

“You need to be here for the recording, Thomas, you cannot be off making her tea. That’s why we have staff,” Helen’s sharp tone was back in full force, sounding like a whip of censure, though Thomas was used to her by now and didn’t react as if scolded. His smile didn’t even falter.

“I’d happily do it if she’d like me to.”

Helen didn’t doubt that for a split second.

“That’s okay, Thom.” Monica offered the Detective a small but genuine smile, showing she meant the gratitude.

“How about a blanket?”

Monica shook her head, leaning a little closer to Atamu, who reacted immediately by tightening his arm around her. “Poppy’s really warm!”

“Oh, of course he is,” Thomas’s smile deepened, before he tried again. “Perhaps a stuffed animal?”

“Thomas for god’s sake would you stop fussing over her? She’s fine.” Helen gave the man a look of heavy disapproval, and this time he had to sense to clear his throat and fold his hands against his trim middle, his earth-toned vest-coat a perfect compliment to the paleness of his skin and hair.

“Right, of course, so sorry.” His apology sounded even more sincere in his British accent. “I’m afraid I’m a little...out of sorts.”

“Why?” Luvon bit out gruffly. “Nothing happened to you.”

Monica looked up at Luvon in surprise at the line that might have been misinterpreted as hostility, but Thomas either was so used to Helen’s way of speaking he didn’t rise to the challenge...or he was simply too non-confrontational and understood Luvon was reacting as a lifemate should. Thomas simply answered honestly, as he was one of the more emotional members of the Family and was unafraid to show it.. His chin lifted, with the truth lightening his blue eyes and his accented tenor.

“Something could have happened to Monica. I’m as upset as you are about that.”

Luvon didn’t speak, unsurprisingly, but his defensive posture relaxed. It was an acceptable answer by the Alpha’s standards.

Monica reached up for Luvon’s hand and he met her halfway, lacing his fingers through hers with a grip like iron. In a movement that brought both of her men together, she turned her smile back to Thomas, one that he readily returned, pleased that she seemed to understand how deeply he cared for her. Feeling emboldened by her smile, Thomas moved to press a kiss to her forehead, and a little of the tension seeped out of the office.

“Are we all ready to review the recording?” Helen glanced first at Monica, then Atamu, then lastly at Luvon as Thomas returned to leaning against her desk.

It wasn’t an easy question to answer; Monica didn’t necessarily want to relive yesterday’s experience, Atamu didn’t want to put her through it again, and Luvon was still grappling with a lifemate’s raging need to protect his mate and being unable to do so. But all three knew there would be no moving forward without reviewing what happened, and when Luvon squeezed her hand reassuringly and Atamu’s lips found her temple, Monica felt strong enough to nod from her safe place between them.

“Yes! Let’s do it,” Monica nodded, and was rewarded by one of Helen’s rare, proud smiles. Monica seemed to be the only one to ever receive them, though that wouldn’t surprise a single member of the Haus to learn.

“Rollback the recording, JARVIS.”

Day Two, Recording Start

It was a fair assumption on Wade Wilson’s part (for once in his insane life) that Usopp had never been to a Halloween store, before. And that was why it was his duty, as Usopp’s newest bestest friend in the whole wide world, to take the sniper captain shopping for more costumes than there are days in a calendar year!

It was also a fair assumption that Wade Wilson often lost the rights to his Family credit card for doing things like buying 500+ Halloween costumes.

“Is this...how we’re supposed to celebrate?” Usopp asked, watching Staff member after Staff member bring in armfuls of shopping bags. The Staff had tried to arrange the bags in some semblance of order but Wade had quickly upended the entire system, because as soon as a servant set a bag down he was rifling through it like a kid on his birthday, flinging costumes over his shoulder with wild abandon. “All these costumes?”

“One for every day of the year!” Wade cheered incorrectly, arms lifted over his head.

Usopp was left staring and wondering how Wade had managed to pull a long blond wig on over his masked face in the split second it took him to straighten up.

The recreation room of the Haus (one of many, actually) was quickly covered in fabrics and masks, novelty weapons and other assortment of accessories for the many, many costumes that lay strewn about. It was no coincidence that the majority of the costumes were couples’ costumes, or “Bestie Suits” as Wade kept referring to them to Usopp in the store. There was no denying the Merc with the ever-running Mouth was thrilled to have a friendship with Usopp and true to his clingy nature, wanted to do everything with his new friend. In his twisted, often incorrect mind, somehow he was going to figure out a way to do a couple’s costume with Monica, Usopp, Peter Parker, Dick Grayson, Nathan Summers, Logan Howlett, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Banner (just to piss Hulk off) and Oliver Queen (to piss off Clint Barton because the hawk-eyed assassin ate his leftovers). He didn’t know how he was going to do this, just that he was, and like everything in Wade’s life, somehow this would work out.

Or it wouldn’t.

He didn’t know.

“Soooo...” Usopp watched with his hands on his waist as Wade upended another bag onto the floor. “How do we decide what to dress up as?”

“Well~” Wade’s strangely pitched voice was all aflutter with excitement. “Tomorrow is one of the costume parties being held this month and I’m pretty sure there’s no contest because we’re all supposed to love one another and just have fun, but if I insult enough people’s costumes by saying ours is better then we can get one started and win!”

Usopp didn’t think that sounded right but was quickly learning arguing with Wade was a dangerous game--because you either got sucked into an argument that lasted six hours because Wade liked to talk, or he’d kiss you to shut you up. Usopp was still deciding which of those was the lesser of two evils.

“So we just need to dress up as something really fuckin’ kick-ass so we can win!”

Usopp’s brow pulled together in the center. “...Win the contest that isn’t happening?”

“Oh it’s happening, good buddy.” Wade straightened up, holding up an incredibly stereotypical pirate captain costume, complete with a hat emblazened with a cheap skull and bones across the front. “Would Luffy be mad at me if you were captain for a day?”

“At you?” Usopp asked, confusion clear on his tanned face. He was still learning everything circled back to Wade eventually...even if it shouldn’t.

“Yeah! I mean, he can be mad at you but I’m a sensitive boy. I have all these emotions. Feelings. Mostly in my junk but that’s where they come from.”

Usopp’s face was blank and Wade didn’t even miss a beat.

“See because my thought is, if you’re the pirate captain, then I can be the parrot...sitting on your shoulder for the whole night. And I can just say really raunchy things and no one can be mad at us because I’m just a bird, the fuck do I know?”

That cracked Usopp’s resolve, imagining Wade in a giant bird suit. He was tempted to say yes just for that.

“Oooo!” Wade’s squeal indicated his wandering eye had caught something else and he tossed the first costume to the side, picking up two costumes to hold up side by side, peering around them to grin at Usopp. “How about Peanut Butter and Jelly!”

Given the years he’s now lived at the Haus, Usopp recognized the food items and the oversized jar costumes Wade was holding up were definitely...something. The hands were connected, sewn together actually, so whoever was wearing the costume would have to hold hands the entire night.

“That’s...uh, if you want!” Usopp was too kind to shoot Wade down, which was partially why they’d been gone the entire afternoon and also why they’d run up a bill with more zeros than Usopp wanted to remember. It more resembled a bounty than a price to be paid.

Wade dropped the costumes before making a heart with his hands and sending it in Usopp’s direction. “This is why you’re one of my besties. You just get it, Usopp.”

“Get what?”

“Everything.” Wade stated, dramatic and somewhat breathlessly. “You get everything.”

If Usopp thought shopping with Wade was an ordeal, that turned out to be only half-truth--now that they were home, they had the monumental task of sorting through the haul to find what they wanted to wear.

“Gorilla and his really big banana?”

A pause before Usopp ventured, “that sounds kinda...lewd.”

“Oh! So Franky would do it.”

Usopp didn’t know if Wade wanted Franky to be the gorilla or the banana and he wasn’t going to ask.

“Okay so we’re not getting anywhere and since you won’t let me take your pants off--”

“You never told me why you needed to take my pants off?!”

“I need a reason to take your pants off?” Wade asked, blinking beneath his lifted mask. Usopp could easily read the confusion in the scarred half of Wade’s face he could clearly see.

“I’m starting to see why Nami hits Brook so much.”

“I thought Nami was going to hit me once but it turned out Sanji kicked me in my face before she could, which was just as good.” Wade quipped, but his attention was on one of his many pouches on his belt that he was rifling through.

“Why did Sanji kick you?”

“I think it’s because I was saying something about Monica sitting on my face--”

“HAHA WOW, YES, MHM, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN YOUR SUIT?!”

Wade paused in his search, slowly looking up at Usopp’s panicked expression. His visible grin was nothing short of wicked.

“Does Monica sit on your face, Usopp? I bet that nose is her favorite part--”

Shutting Wade Wilson up was a monumentally difficult feat to accomplish, something Usopp had learned recently, but had been told that food helps. Wade’ll still talk with his mouth full, but it might help distract him from his train of though--so Usopp started carrying around an extra stash of candy in his own pouches and pockets, aside from the stash Monica kept on him. Acting quickly, face red with the ideas Wade was putting in his head, Usopp plucked up a piece of candy and expertly tossed it into the Merc’s running mouth.

“S-So what are y-you looking for?” Usopp took control of the conversation in the split second Wade closed his mouth around the candy, nearly exhaling with relief when Wade’s multi-tracked mind switched lanes.

“My phone, I wanna text Monica.”

Trying to ignore the way his heart skipped at the mention of her name, especially so soon after the recent topic of conversation, Usopp cleared his throat.

“Why?”

“Oh, well she’s the smartest person I know--I mean Tony Stark likes to say he is, and he’s not the only one who says it either, but even he doesn’t argue when I say it’s Monica, so I think that’s the consensus.” Wade switched pouches for the fourth time. “Fucking thing’s gotta be here somewhere...anyway I wanna text Monica and have her come help us pick a costume!”

Usopp couldn’t argue with that, Monica was the smartest person he knew, too--well, she was a lot of things. Smartest, funniest, prettiest...even now, he was smiling wide enough to show teeth at the thought of Monica coming by, even if there wasn’t a reason for it. For as long as he’s known her (and he was very proud of the years!) he’s been head over heels in love with her and to feel it only grow as time passed wasn’t something he’d been prepared for. So much of his young life had been about action and adventure, a lot of the emotional journeys he’d taken had somewhat been overshadowed--but Monica brought them to the surface. He’s loved and lost--not always necessarily people, either--and that taught him that holding onto love so you don’t lose it is very, very important. Usopp was considered a lot of things by a lot of people, but the only opinion that really mattered to him was Monica’s. Yes, his captain and crew, but it was different when Monica talked to him, about him, told him things that no one else ever had before. Love becomes as necessary to one as air when they’ve had it for a while and now Usopp couldn’t imagine loving anyone more. It was a sentiment echoed by his entire crew and she became the central, uniting force behind the Straw Hats. Nothing and no one else would ever be more beloved or important to them.

Wade could definitely relate to his new bestie’s feelings; Monica was the love of his life and had been since the first moment he saw her. He’d fallen and fallen hard, not even bothering to get back up. He didn’t want to. She was smart, beautiful, funny as hell, sexy enough to make his suit uncomfortable 24-fucking-7, witty enough to put anyone to shame--she was a knock-out in every sense of the word. The Merc knew he wasn’t anything to look at and he knew Monica liked pretty things, pretty people; he didn’t know how he’d managed to slip under her radar but now that he was here, he wasn’t going to leave. Much like the fact that he couldn’t die, Wade couldn’t live with Monica. Plain and simple, end of story. That fierce love and his tendency to hyper-fixate made for one needy combination that Monica had to deal with--the fact that he was in near constant contact with her was one result but she was always so sweet to respond to his many, many text messages, to send him pictures when he asks for them, and to even pick up when he calls needing to hear her voice. Wade wasn’t dumb or oblivious enough to think he deserved her, he knew he didn’t but had decided, fuck the universe. He’d been dealt a real shit sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for years and years, so now that he had something good, someone who loved him and took care of him, why shouldn’t he get to have her?

Monica was never really ready for the love every member of the Haus had for her, but that didn’t stop her from being bombarded with it at any given hour of the day. The matching, exuberant expressions on Wade and Usopp’s faces should have scared her--just how much time had they been spending together?--but she could hardly find one single thing to focus on amidst the insanity she’d walked into. From what she could tell, Wade and Usopp had bought an entire costume outlet and then thrown every single costume onto the floor and were now standing in the aftermath, waiting for her.

“Monica~ Sweet angel girl. You came for us!”

Monica laughed at Wade’s loving coo, missing the way Usopp’s smile widened at the sound. “You make it sound like you got kidnapped. What is all this?”

“Costumes! Usopp and I went shopping.”

“Yeah you definitely went shopping,” Monica’s eyes lingered on a giant grape costume whose grapes were at least the size of human heads. “Are these for the whole Haus?”

“Noooo, the whole Haus can suck it.” Wade slung one heavily muscled arm around Usopp’s shoulders. “These are just for Usopp and me. But don’t worry!” Wade held out his other arm, giving his eyebrows an enticing wiggle in the hopes Monica would move beneath the hollow of his shoulder. “I bought you and me a whole room to go through later~”

“...A whole...room?” Monica couldn’t resist the offer for affection, slowly side-stepping costumes as best she could to move into Wade’s embrace.

“Yep! They’re mostly lingerie, mostly for you but I did buy myself a few things I thought you might like to see me in. My juicily scarred ass looks pretty good in lace, I’ve been told...by myself.”

Monica immediately turned to Usopp, avoiding that topic of conversation. “S-So, you and Wade are going to dress-up together?”

Usopp’s smile was boyish and loving as he nodded down at her. “We need your help, though! We don’t know which ones to wear for the party tomorrow.”

Wade was nuzzling into Monica’s hair, sniffing with keening little noises. “And since you’re so smart...and pretty...and smell like fucking heaven...”

Usopp gave Wade a look when Wade didn’t even bother finishing his sentence, far too wrapped up in being affectionate with Monica, who was grateful for her inability to blush at this particular moment.

“...We thought you’d be perfect to help.” Usopp finished for Wade, his smile returning full-force when Monica met his gaze.

“I’d love to help!” Monica nodded, smiling just because Usopp was. He looked so happy!

And so, the hunt for the perfect bestie costume began, re-energized by Monica’s presence. The trio sifted through the insane costume pile side by side by side; neither man moved too far away from her, wanting to be near and enjoy her presence. Wade’s openly affectionate ways were rubbing off on Usopp, who, on more than one occasion, was brave enough to give Monica’s hand a squeeze or even lean down to kiss her cheek or forehead, when he was so overcome with happiness at her participating that he couldn’t help himself! It felt good, doing this with her; it was good for both of them, Wade now so relaxed his mask was entirely off his face and Usopp feeling confident enough to express himself to the woman he loved.

The banter between the three was natural and flowed as if they’d always been, just like this.

“AAAA?!” Usopp reeled back with a surprised peal of laughter. “Wade! Take off that mask! ...That is a mask, right?”

Monica was nearly doubled over at the giant baby mask Wade had on, because it looked so ridiculous on his normal, man-sized body.

Wade did not help matters by beginning to talk and gesture with the mask still over his head, so his scratchy voice was coming from the baby’s pudgy face and gap-toothed cartoon smile. “I know it’s hard to tell when I have a mask on, okay, because my face looks like a melted candle in the shape of what I think Freddy Kruger’s balls probably look like--”

Usopp’s laughter was so loud it cut off Wade’s sentence and Monica all but threw herself on the Merc, because she couldn’t take his words coming out of that stupid looking mask!

Wade caught Monica effortlessly, strong arms like steel bands around her back as he took full advantage of the hug, and as soon as she pushed the mask off his face he was nuzzling against her soft skin, cooing and murmuring like one might imagine a baby would actually do.

“Mommy’s skin is so soft~”

“W-Wade you’re being silly,” Monica’s giggling turned shy, but she held onto him all the same. His words had come out like a self-deprecating joke but she knew the Merc and she knew his self-esteem was likely the worst in the Haus. So when Usopp laughed, and Monica took the mask off, it helped Wade feel a little better--because Usopp was paying him attention, and Monica wanted to see his face.

Time flies when you’re with the ones you love. Monica could hardly believe that an hour and a half had gone by and they hadn’t even made a dent in the pile of costumes the two had brought home. It left her a little concerned about how much time it would take to go through the room Wade had set up for the two of them...not to mention the tummy flip at the thought of what all would likely take place in said room supposedly filled with costumed lingerie for two. Smiling to herself, Monica picked up and then immediately tossed aside a naval sailor suit that Wade probably wanted to try and stuff Cora into. It was safer not to ask what his plans were for half of these things--

A prickle of unease had Monica’s attention snapping up, and her green eyes fell on...well she didn’t know if it was Wade or Usopp since the mask on the face made it impossible to tell. Her face broke into a smile, the unease chalked up to that feeling one gets when they’re being watched and it dissipated as quickly as it came. She hadn’t heard them approach, so it made sense she’d be a little startled. The mask itself didn’t exactly help; it was modeled after an old timey ventriloquist dummy, with the finely painted wooden features, including the slits down the side of the mouth where the dummy would “talk”. It’s eyes were brilliantly blue and inhumanly realistic looking, like doll’s eyes, and apparently came with a costume to match because the wearer was decked out in a full suit and tie. She must have been really involved in her searching to not notice Wade or Usopp pulling on a suit, but she had to commend the boys. A dummy and a ventriloquist was a pretty damn creepy costume combination--especially with the way this one looked. As she continued to stare at the mask, the mouth slowly opened but given it was a mask, couldn’t smile. They were just standing there with the mask mouth unsettlingly wide, as if frozen in a silent scream.

The prickle of unease returned.

Monica knew Wade and Usopp would never scare her on purpose, but she couldn’t make sense of what was happening, why they were just standing there. Were they expecting a different reaction? Maybe just wanting something more than her smile? ...It still wouldn’t make sense, Wade was never this quiet and to be honest now that she thought about it a bit more, Usopp would probably have to be coaxed into something this creepy, and she definitely would have heard Wade trying.

It was then that she saw Usopp pass by her peripheral, his spine bent as he traced a lengthy costume to it’s source.

That only left Wade--

“If I get my head stuck in a bag again I’m gonna be really pissed off.”

Wade was directly behind her, apparently head first in a bag.

So who...was in front of her...?

The mask’s eyes continued to bore into hers, it’s mouth open as if silently challenging her to scream, to say something, do something, but every instinct Monica had was fighting against that urge. She felt fear wrap around her silent heart like ice, and fight or flight was kicking in and fast--

And that was when it moved.

Slowly, the head inclined to one side, the arms of the suit coming up, up, then twisting, as if the elbow joints were being wrenched to the side. There were no hands coming out of the sleeves but there was definite sound like bone breaking as the arms twisted--which caught Usopp’s attention first, and he let out a bellow of surprise, all but leaping the distance between himself and Monica to push her behind him.

Some might consider Usopp a coward, but he never, ever hesitated when it came to Monica.

“What, is my ass hanging out agai--WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?!” Wade’s surprised bellow was accusatory, angry that someone was scaring his babygirl and bestie. His bulky body came into Monica’s line of sight but she caught the back of his suit, keeping him from fully approaching the mask--it had fallen still again, it’s face still staring straight at the group but it’s arms were still horribly twisted.

“W-Wade, don’t,” Monica managed, her instincts screaming at her not to let him get any closer. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know what they were looking at, dealing with, but she wasn’t going to let Wade get hurt--whether he would come back from it or not.

“Look, Dummy McDumbass, you better hope like hell you’re not anyone I know because you’re going to get spanked with the sharp end of my katana for scaring my wife and bestie like this,” Wade shot out, only held in place by Monica’s hand clutching the back of his suit. He was standing directly in front of her and she was grateful for that, but she couldn’t resist leaning around him just to keep an eye on their silent “companion”.

It just stared back at her with that same screaming expression.

Usopp kept Monica in his hold, just a little bit behind him, but when the mask didn’t speak, when one of their Family members didn’t yank the mask off with a laugh, he felt the first shivers of true fear race down his spine.

This wasn’t someone they knew and loved. This was something else.

Wade just got angrier, slipping his gun from his thigh holster. He didn’t like the way he could feel Monica’s fingers trembling. He didn’t like that at all.

“All right, even better. You’re a literal dumbass who broke into this Haus to die. Congrats.” Wade cocked his gun, sights perfectly positioned right at the forehead of the silent, staring mask. “Gonna say, I don’t know, fucking anything before I shut you up forever?”

The mask still didn’t speak, but it did move.

Slowly, just like with it’s arms...the head began to spin around. The trio watched as the doll’s head slowly, creaking as if made of wooden bone, turned toward the right and then kept turning. As the neck started to break, the eyes remained locked to the trio, and it wasn’t until it snapped that the mask and suit fell to the floor in an empty, crumpled heap.

There was no one there.

Monica turned away from the reality of what they’d just seen, burying her face against Usopp’s chest and was relieved when his arms closed around her, his own face buried in her hair.

“I-It’s okay, it’s okay,” Usopp comforted, his voice quiet but trying to be strong for Monica. “I’m here, W-Wade’s here, we’re okay.”

Angry and with nothing to do about it, Wade unloaded an entire clip down into the mask that had somehow fallen face up, those blue eyes staring at the trio until Wade shot them out.

But a full clip shot into the floor couldn’t erase the truth--there had never been anyone there, at all.

Day Two, Recording End.

The silence of the office was deafening.

Monica was resting her head against Atamu’s chest, absolutely dwarfed by the Patriarch and grateful for it; he was surrounding her, physically and emotionally, his strongly beating heart an anchor for her relieving the fear she’d felt in that room. A full day had passed since the incident but she still didn’t know how to feel about it except scared, but Atamu was doing his best to keep her from feeling that way. His large hand was rubbing her back, his other arm draped across her body and his bicep alone was wider than her middle; she felt safe here, knew that he wouldn’t ever let anything happen to her and she basked in that feeling, letting it wash over her to drown out the prickling uneasiness and fear. Luvon was still standing guard over her, his orange eyes hard enough to break glass, but that oppressive anger was a comfort to Monica, too. She knew her Big Brother would never let anything happen to her, either, and she knew that was why he was in here. As an Alpha and a Soldier, Luvon took a heavy hand in the security of the Haus. He trained the wolves that stalked and protected the grounds and he was one of the direct reports that any of the Staff came to with any security issues. He actively reviewed security footage from the Haus and all it’s properties, especially any that concerned Monica, and that was why he was front and center, now. He wanted to know what was being done to ensure this never happened to Monica again.

“You were so very brave, sweetheart,” Thomas finally broke the silence, his tone reflective of the sunshine title he’d carried for a long time--warm. He was offering Monica a soft, proud smile. “It wanted your fear, your screams, and you didn’t give in to it.”

Helen didn’t say anything, that wasn’t her way, but the gaze she affixed to Monica let the younger woman know she felt exactly the same way.

“Thank you,” Monica offered quietly, before laughing a little. “I-I was scared, though.”

“Anyone would be,” Atamu met her attempt to deflect the praise in stride. “But you were very brave, little one.”

As Monica turned to nuzzle closer to Atamu, Helen looked up at Luvon. “Have any of your security teams found anything? How about the wolves?”

Luvon slowly shook his head. “So far, nothing.”

It was not the answer anyone wanted to hear.

“And it isn’t a poltergeist or demonic entity?” Thomas had already asked this and truthfully, he’d know if it was. But he was nothing if not the ever hopeful optimist.

“No. I’ve been reading the Haus for the past three days and have not detected anything demonic or spiritual at all. It isn’t a ghost and it isn’t a demon.” Helen’s sharply accented voice was matter-of-fact. “What Monica and the others encountered was a smokescreen. Something else projected that at them, for the purpose of inciting terror, but that wasn’t truly it.”

There was quite a gaping hole left on the table of options when one removes a ghost or demonic entity and it was felt by all in the room.

Thomas’s blond brows knotted in thought. “What else could possibly be doing this?”

“I’m afraid it might be too early to tell.” Helen’s long fingers folded in her lap. “Some hauntings, possessions, disturbances, can take days, weeks, or even months before the source is identified. Vigilance is still our strongest defense.”

“And in the meantime?” Atamu asked, fingers massaging lightly against the roots of Monica’s hair.

“In the meantime I will continue to consult with the others knowledgeable in such matters here in the Haus, monitor incidents as they happen--we had other minor disturbances yesterday but Monica’s far out-weighed any others--and Luvon will keep me informed on anything the security teams find.”

Luvon nodded, once.

“And what about the Halloween celebrations?” Thomas turned to face Helen more fully from his perch at the edge of her desk. “The costume party tonight, should we cancel it?”

That was a fair question. Helen glanced at Monica, wondering if she even felt like celebrating--not to mention, an entire Haus with people in costume was like a breeding ground for whatever this thing was, to pull another stunt like it had with the dummy mask. But...wasn’t that letting it win? It may not be a demon, but it clearly enjoyed fear and manipulation through terror.

If the Family bows out, gives in to fear, whatever this thing is could win.

Before Helen could voice any of this, the office door swung wide open and something far more disturbing than any dummy mask came sauntering in.

“Look, Pops, I dressed up as you for the party tonight!”

It was Cavon Dreadful, dressed head to toe like his Patriarchal Father. He had on a dreaded wig full of ringing dread charms, one of Atamu’s outfits, but the true genius of Cavon’s costume? The tribal patterned apron that Atamu was known to wear; it was quite obviously too big even for the Alpha, the bottom of the apron nearly touching Cavon’s boots, but the Wolf looked absurdly pleased with himself, a wide grin on his face as he spun around in the doorway. The apron had it’s pockets full of spatulas and tongs, even one of Atamu’s cleavers and the utensils all clanked together noisily as the Alpha spun around.

Everyone was left staring, but Monica was the first to truly react, erupting in a fit of adorable little giggles that widened Cavon’s grin. Atamu was next to crack, his thunderous laughter something of a notorious sound throughout the Haus, now.

Luvon shook his head but couldn’t help his grin--but if anyone asked, it was solely because Monica found it so funny. “You look fucking ridiculous.”

“Fuck you, Fam, I make this look good,” Cavon leaned back, doing a shoulder shimmy.

Thomas had his hands over his face, shoulders shaking in silent laughter, and Helen had her eyes closed, just shaking her head.

“Unbelievable. To answer your question, Thomas, yes I believe we should cancel tonight’s event but solely because Cavon’s costume is so terrible.”

“Y’all a bunch’a haters. Gramps loved my costume.”

Luvon snorted. “Well of course he did.”

Cavon gestured. “And babygirl obviously loves it!”

“Of course she does, too, idiot. Gramps and babygirl both love Dad.” Luvon shot back.

“HATERS.” Cavon pointed at everyone except Monica before looking smug. “I’mma win the contest tonight.”

“Contest?” Helen arched a brow. “I was unaware there was a costume contest.”

“Yeah, Wilson sent out a mass text ‘bout there bein’ some sorta contest.”

Helen took a sip from her wine glass in lieu of replying, but Cavon picked up what she didn’t say.

“You still got his number blocked?”

“There’s a chain of communication that can reach me if Mr. Wilson truly needs my assistance for something.”

Monica found herself laughing. “Does he really text you?”

“Sweet girl, that man will talk to an empty room. He was sending me so many text messages, that i was not responding to by the way, that it was either block him or send him to a different dimension where he cannot harass anyone anymore.”

“I once got stuck listening to him for three hours uninterrupted because I was too polite to tell him I had work to do.” Thomas chimed in, staring far-off into the distance as if reliving the nightmare.

Cavon threw his head back, laughing. “Yeah, that fuckin’ sounds right comin’ from you.”

“Yeah, they’re in here, c’mon!”

Heads turned toward the voice from the hallway, and Helen was beginning to think she might need to move her office to another dimension to get any real work accomplished.

“Y’all, guess who dressed up as the Von Triplets for the costume party tonight!”

It was Jax and Lucca, side by side, both clearly dressed in Cavon and Luvon’s clothes. Jax was decked out in Cavon’s biker gear and Lucca was wearing Luvon’s camo, with Jax having shaved his blond hair into Cavon’s trademarked mowhawked ponytail and Lucca wearing bright orange contacts. The younger pups were surprisingly spitting images of their Alpha Big Brothers...but hilariously different at the same time; Jax had Cavon’s grin and Lucca had Luvon’s deadpanned, almost bored expression.

And it definitely incited a fresh round of laughter, leaving Cavon staring slack-jawed and Luvon actually looking impressed.

“Wait, wait,” Atamu managed, holding up one large hand. “Who one of you is Savon, then?”

Jax turned as if just noticing their third was missing, and he was scowling out of the room.

“C’mon man, you gotta come in too or it don’t work an’ we won’t win the costume contest tonight!”

Three seconds later and in came Tod, dressed up just like Savon--right down to the fake horns and tail and the long, styled black wig. The Omega looked a little more sheepish than his younger brothers and it became very obvious, very fast, that he’d been roped into this idea.

Fresh rounds of laughter shake the very room, and it was as if yesterday’s events hadn’t even happened. The fear and unease were gone, replaced by Family love and laughter, as the Haus was known to be bursting with.

Atamu turned his head down, catching Monica’s attention with a proud smile. “What do you think, little one, do you think Wade and Usopp will be making use of the Peanut Butter and Jelly costumes? Because if not, Poppy wants to wear it with you.”

Monica didn’t even care if they didn’t win the costume contest; all that mattered to her was that she was going to spend the whole night dressed up with her Daddy!

Day Three, End.

#{collection} : spooktober 2019 #{theme} : for monica #{ i went with a james wan approach }#{ SCARY VERY BAD THINGS and then yay happy things ♥ }

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lucisfavoritedemon · 3 years ago

Text

Something Domestic

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Summary: You never thought your life to be grand, but you never saw as absolutely terrible either. You were always happy with the things you had, but the one thing that you always wanted was to find love. Little do you know love is just two steps away, and across the hall.

Square Filled: Neighbor AU @marvelfluffbingo

Warnings: super cute fluff, anxious Bucky, shy reader, slight smut, implied smut, slight angst 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 3573

A/N: This originally was going to be a platonic Sebastian Stan x reader fic, but I got inspired to do something else. I was somewhat inspired by a TikTok POV called Two Lost Souls by hlovesmarvelpov which is where I got the idea to write what life was like for Bucky in Romania. I want to give credit to @nix-akimbo whose art I used in the collage for this story. Pics are linked here, here, and here. Other images we're found off of Pinterest, but the collage is mine made on Canva. Everything in italics is 3rd person POV of Bucky’s thoughts. This is not beta read, so all mistakes are mine.

Enjoy!

I never knew where life would lead me. I knew I wasn’t going to find something to do to make me rich. All I really wanted was to find a good job that paid me enough to get by. Living in Romania was an absolute dream. It was so beautiful, and it was always so interesting. Everyday felt like a new adventure. At the market you never knew who was gonna show up, or what was going to happen.

One day while at the market, just shopping for some fresh produce to restock my apartment with for the week, I saw an interesting looking man. I had never seen him before, and he definitely didn’t look like he was from around here. Something about him drew me in, but I was too shy to approach him to say hello.

I was definitely at that age where I was ready to look for mister right, and finally settle down. I seemed to have met every guy in this city, and none of them were to my liking. They all seemed very bold, manly, and had egos bigger than some of the buildings. That wasn’t really something I was looking for, and to be fair it was probably just part of their personalities, no judgement there.

There was something about this stranger though that was different. Yes, he was very handsome and buff, but he looked very shy and reserved. Not something I was used to, and that probably contributed to why I was so attracted.

He seemingly glanced my way, and I turned to look away. I knew I must have been staring and I felt awkward about that. So, I quickly finished up my shopping and ran home. I really hoped though that I didn’t make him think that I found him creepy. Damn my shyness, and anxiety.

It had been a few days since I saw the stranger at the market. I was walking down the street to my office when I happened to pass him by. He seemed to pause his gaze for a quick second before looking away. I walked past him at a decent pace, hoping he would make the first move to say hi, but alas, he did not.

The week went by, and it came time for me to head back to the market to restock my produce for the week. I ended my shopping spree and turned to head home when I ran right into someone's very muscular chest. I almost fell back when the person grabbed my arm, catching me.

“Are you okay, miss?” The person asked, speaking Romanian.

“I am fine thank you.” I looked at the person, and it was the stranger I saw last week.

“You’re welcome. Sorry I knocked you over.”

“Please, don’t apologize. I was the one who bumped into you.”

“At least allow me to help you carry your groceries home.”

I nodded and handed him a bag. He gestured for me to start walking, and I led him to my apartment complex. “My place is a bit messy, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come over to see it.” I said, going to unlock the door.

“Don’t apologize, I won’t go in if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I feel bad having you follow me all this way, and not even offer you a snack or something.”

“You’re too sweet. I’m okay, doll. I’ll stay out here. It also wasn’t too out of the way for me.”

“Are you sure?” I reached my hand out to take the bag he was holding.

“I’m sure,” he handed me the bag and turned to walk away, “and if you need me, I live just across the hall.” He walked over, unlocking his door, and opening it.

I almost fell back in shock. How did I not know this man lived across the hall from me? I surely would have seen him walking out. He turned and smiled at me before walking into his apartment. I tried not to look shocked, but all this time I had no idea he was living just 5 steps away.

I close my door quickly and go to put my produce away. I tried to keep the stranger off my mind, but that seemed like an impossible task. Then, I thought of the perfect idea, I would invite him over for dinner. I wanted to get to know him, I needed to. Put all these wandering thoughts to rest.

I made us a lovely dinner of chicken and potatoes. I set everything up to look somewhat nice, and go to knock on his door. When I went to open my door to walk out, he was standing there ready to knock on my door.

He had a bouquet of different assorted flowers. I give him a small, shy smile as he hands them to me. I, of course, take them and find a vase to put them in. As I put them in the water, I look over at him, and he looks kind of sad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you expecting someone? I didn’t mean to come off straight forward. I just-”

“I wasn’t technically. I was going to ask you if you wanted to join me for dinner?”

“Really?” He perked up, and I nodded my head, “I was going to ask you the same thing. A home cooked meal sounds better than one you can get at any restaurant.” He chuckled.

We sat down, and talked for hours. He avoided some of the questions I asked him, but I wasn’t going to push him for answers if he didn’t want to answer them yet. We laughed, joked, and just enjoyed each other’s company.

“I realised that I never asked for your name, doll.” He spoke up.

“My name is Y/n. I never asked yours either.”

“I guess we both figured it would come up eventually. My real name is James, but you can call me Bucky.”

I smiled as I thought of what a lovely name that was. I didn’t ask why he preferred Bucky over James. Something in me wanted to make him love it, adore it. I wanted him to treasure his given name as I was right now.

The night came to an end much to our dismay. I didn’t want to say goodnight though. I wanted him to stay, which wasn’t like me at all. I usually said yes to one date, and that was that. I don’t know what was different about Bucky, but he brought out a new side of me. He intrigued me, and I had to know more about him.

“Until next time, doll. Promise you won’t bump into another guy before then?” He chuckled.

I giggle, “I promise. You’ll be the only guy I bump into now. At least that’s my hope.”

He kissed my cheek before walking to his door, and I could have sworn I was flying. If that was the way it felt when he kissed my cheek, what would it feel like if he kissed my lips.

~*~

Over the course of three months every Sunday Bucky and I had dinner together. We started with switching off, but slowly Bucky had been taking over our Sunday night dinners. Tonight when I went over I realised that I was slowly moving into his apartment.

“You okay doll?” He asked, looking at my far off look.

“Yeah. I just realised it looks like I’m starting to take over your apartment.”

“That was one thing I was going to ask you about tonight.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll pick up my stuff and take back to my place i didn’t-”

“Not that. I was going to ask if you wanted to move in together. It doesn’t have to be in my apartment, and I know we’ve only been together for a few months, but-”

“You want to move in together?”

Bucky just nods slowly, and I rush to hug him. I no longer had to wonder what it would feel like to be wrapped up in his arms. I no longer had to feel that lonely feeling I felt after our Sunday night dinners. I tried to keep my mind from racing with all the things I had wondered about.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Bucky chuckles, squeezing me back.

After dinner, we walked over to my apartment to get some extra blankets and pillows. I hoped I hadn’t rushed him into this by slowly looking like I was trying to move myself in on my own. I hadn’t even realised that our hangouts had left with me leaving my belongings all over the place.

“My place is your place now.” He spoke up, placing the blankets he was carrying on the bed.

“I didn’t rush you into this did I?”

“No. I know it seems quick, but I just get this feeling when I’m around that makes me not want to take things as slow as we probably should.”

“I was worried I was rushing you into things. I didn’t even realise that I was leaving things over at your house.”

“No. I have been planning on asking you for a few weeks now.”

I smile as we curl into bed together for the very first time. He was warm, and I felt safe laying in his arms. Laying there for the first time in a long time, I fell asleep almost immediately.

~*~

It has been 6 months since Bucky and I started seeing each other, and it has been the best 6 months of life. Even the last 3 months have been amazing. I have enjoyed every minute I have spent with Bucky. He is sweet and kind, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better. He had my heart in his hands, and I didn’t want it back.

The only thing that was strange is he didn’t talk about his life at all. He wanted to hear all about my life, but he wouldn’t speak about his life prior to coming to Romania. I knew he originally came from America because we both switched from speaking Romanian to English when we are alone.

“Is everything okay, doll?” Bucky asked, tearing me from my thoughts.

“I was just thinking.”

“About what? You know you can tell me anything right?”

“Tell you, yes. Ask, no.” I kind of snapped as I stood up to put my plate in the sink.

“Is everything okay?” I could hear the panic in his voice, and I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I knew I had to say something, or it would eat me alive.

“I just don’t get why you want to hear all about me, but avoid questions about your life. I get it if you don’t want to talk about it now. I just don’t like it when you dodge it altogether.”

“Okay I understand that, and I’m sorry.”

Bucky really was sorry. He didn’t want to scare her away with the horrors of his past. He wanted her to know more about him. He wanted her to know that he is way older than what she may think he is. That he fought side by side with Captain America during WWII.

He couldn’t get the words out though. He would lie awake at night trying to figure out how to tell her. Even on the nights when he found it hard to sleep, and he couldn’t lay there anymore, he wanted to wake her and just spill all the stories.

He found warmth and comfort in her, but he didn’t want to haunt her with his past. He couldn’t taint such an angel like her, no matter how bad he wanted her to know. To hear her voice break just a little as she expressed how she felt broke him.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I just want you to know that it hurts me a little whenever you don’t give an explanation.”

“I want to tell you all about my life, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’m sorry.” His eyes went down, and my heart broke for him.

“James, look at me please?”

Bucky loved when she called him James. It was like she was trying to teach him to love his given name, and it was working. It rolled off her tongue so sweetly, and it came out so easily. He couldn’t help but obey when she asked him in that sweet tone of hers.

“The fact that you want to is enough for me right now. I’m not upset,” I smile sweetly at him, and walk over, placing my hand on his, “I don’t want to push. When you are ready, my love, I will be here waiting to listen contently.”

Bucky’s heart sighed in relief. He was worried that he had mucked everything up. He cared too much about her to let himself ruin things. If she wasn’t content with his response he would have told her everything. If it meant keeping her happy, he would give her the world.

~*~

My conversation with Bucky seemed to have gone well. He slowly started to open up little by little. He was a bit vague, but at least he was trying. The first time he actually opened up a little was the first night I had noticed he was having a nightmare.

He was tossing and turning in his sleep, and I began to worry. I had heard never to wake someone up from a nightmare, so I sat there till he shot up. He was covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. He went to lay back down not realising I was already awake until I turned on the light. He looked over with sad, apologetic eyes. I just laid my hand on the small of his back letting him know everything was okay.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn't, I was already awake.”

I caressed his cheek, rubbing my thumb against his cheek. He slowly leaned in, and I followed until our lips came together. Sparks flew between us, and I felt butterflies. His lips were soft and gentle. The gentle kiss though soon turned into more.

Bucky was gentle and slow. Making sure he wasn’t pushing my comfort level, and made sure he wasn’t hurting me. It felt amazing, and was the best night ever. I hoped that with Bucky and I becoming so intimate he would see that no matter what, I wasn’t going to go anywhere.

Bucky wasn’t sure how Y/n would feel if he initiated the kiss, but she put just as much passion into it as he did. He pushed into it more, and she returned it. Before he knew it he was on top of her naked body. He made sure he didn’t push her to do something she didn’t want to, but he could tell in her eyes she had been waiting a long time for this moment.

He made sure to be as gentle with her as he possibly could, but the urge to be inside her was too much for him to bear anymore. The room was filled with their moans as their bodies were connected so intimately.

Bucky felt that everything was going to be okay between them after that night. He held her as tight as possible after that, and was able to sleep through the rest of the night. Maybe he was worried about nothing. He felt like he could do anything now as long as he had her by her side.

~*~

“James, will you run out and get some fruit for me?” I hollered from the kitchen.

Bucky came into the room as he finished getting dressed, “anything specific you want?”

“No, just something I can turn into jam. The stand has been doing really well, and I’m running low on fruit.”

Bucky smiled as he walked over to me kissing my cheek, “anything for you, doll.”

Bucky left shortly after that, and I started to package the batch I had already made. Once I finished jarring what I had, I went to the walk-in pantry we had and started to shelve them. I thought I heard the door open so I called out to Bucky, but I got no answer.

“Everything alright out there my love?” I walked out of the pantry to be met by a man dressed in an all blue outfit. He was carrying a shield on his back that was red, white, and blue with a white star in the center.

He was looking through our kitchen, and I began to panic. I had no idea who this man was, or why he was in our apartment. I couldn’t find words to say when he noticed me.

“Where is Bucky?”

“Why do you want to know?” I asked, speaking in Romanian.

The man just turned around and looked at the top of the fridge. He pulled down a book, and that’s when I felt a hand on the small of my back. I jumped slightly at first then I realised it was Bucky behind me.

The stranger turned around, and saw Bucky. He started asking weird questions like if Bucky knew him, or why he pulled him from a river? All of it was so confusing and worrying to me. Before I knew it we were being attacked by the police.

Bucky took off and I tried to follow him, but the stranger told me to stay put. Once the fight took the streets, I tried to follow on foot. By the time I got where I thought they would come out of, they were being surrounded. Bucky was being shoved to the ground and handcuffed.

“James!” I yelled, rushing to him, and fighting the blockade of police.

They shoved me back, but I fought back harder. It was no use though as they loaded Bucky into a huge truck. I felt like my world had just come crashing down on me. Everything that happened this last year all came flooding back to me. I knew I had to get Bucky out of there. He was an innocent man, and I knew as long as we had each other, there would be nothing we couldn’t conquer.

~*~

Y/N tried to move on as best she could, but her heart felt empty. The day they took Bucky away in handcuffs was the day her heart left her. She closed her stand in the market, and went back to her dead end job. She moved out of their shared apartment because the thought, or even smell of him was too painful.

Y/n thought that the love of her life was gone forever. She even thought about moving away permanently, but loved the city too much to do that. The once bright and bubbly girl went back to her old reclusive self before she met him. No one had ever put the light back into her. Her smile was gone, and she hardly ever laughed anymore.

She was returning home from work one night, and decided to take the long way home. She wandered towards her old apartment complex as she often did. Ignoring the weird looks she got from the people she passed by, she kept her eyes to the ground. That was her mistake as she was lost in thought when she bumped into a muscular chest, almost falling to the ground.

A firm gentle hand grabbed her arm kept her from falling, and she fought back tears as she remembered her very first full encounter with Bucky. “I’m sorry, I should have been paying attention.” Her voice broke as she fought back the pain, not wanting to look the stranger in the eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I almost knocked you over.”

“Please don’t apologize. I was-”

“The one who bumped into me?”

Y/n heard the man chuckle and almost felt like she could hear Bucky behind the chuckle. She gained enough courage to look up at the stranger who she bumped into, and the person she saw was not who she was expecting.

“You okay doll? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She didn’t even hesitate to jump into his arms. It was the reunion she waited almost two years for. He picked her up and held her tightly as if he let her go, she would disappear. Y/n nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck taking in his scent.

“I’m sorry I left you. I-”

“It’s not your fault James. You’re back, and that’s all that matters.”

Bucky pulled away slightly from the hug to look her in the eyes. He pulled her in for a soft, gentle kiss. For the first time since that terrible day, Y/n smiled into the kiss. Now that they were back in each other’s arms, she finally felt like her heart was put back together.

She didn’t care what happened, she was just happy to have him back in her arms. She was happy he was safe and sound with her again. The light in her eyes had returned, and Bucky felt like he was falling in love with her all over again. The world could throw whatever it wanted at him now. He had his girl back, and he felt like he could overcome anything as long as he kept her by his side for the rest of his life.

#marvelfluffbingo2021 #bucky x reader #Bucky Barnes #neighbors au #something domestic

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mostlymovieswithmax · 3 years ago

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Movies I watched in September

I skipped a month again. But not to worry. This is a wrap-up of all the movies I watched in the month of September (2021). I think I maintained a steady ratio throughout but perhaps there’s not as much on the list this time because I wanted to get on with other things, be that work-wise or just trying to get out to the beach as much as possible and make the most of the last dregs of summertime. I went swimming in the sea a lot! But I also got to catch the new James Wan movie, Malignant (twice!) as well as the new James Bond, No Time To Die. Not to mention a couple of classics! My hope again with this list is to introduce people to new movies that they may otherwise not have seen or perhaps have never have heard of. These short reviews are my own subjective opinions on each individual movie. I’m thinking maybe a more informal approach to movie criticism can help include others who are just passing through. So here is every film I watched from the 1st to the 30th of September.

Fanny and Alexander (1982) - 8/10

Coming from Ingmar Bergman, I was surprised to see just how warm this was. I’m a big fan of the Swedish director and while this isn’t my favourite from him (perhaps due to it needing a second watch, or the fact I watched it in three chunks because it’s about three hours long and I overestimated how much time I had in the day) it’s still an interesting departure from what I’ve come to expect from him. Fanny and Alexander is a dreamy Christmassy movie that presents an overarching theme of love, spending a large portion of its runtime just hanging out with this big family on Christmas and showing how close they are. I would love to watch this again at some point in December and see how my opinion shifts but for now, while it could meandre in places, I can’t deny how unique a movie it is.

Another Round (2021) - 10/10

I had seen Thomas Vinterberg’s latest film before this point but this was the first time I got to see it in a cinema. Luckily for me my local independent cinema was showing it one night and while they had a few technical hiccups with setting everything up, the movie itself was still fantastic. Following a handful of school teachers who experiment with whether they can maintain a certain level of blood alcohol throughout the day, Another Round demonstrates a sense of unease and sadness throughout an otherwise comedic tone. These emotions are balanced perfectly, boosting an already intriguing concept that examines our relationship with alcohol from every angle.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) - 4/10

Straight after Another Round, I made my way to the chain cinema to meet up with friends to see the new Marvel movie. At this point, having had my second dose of the Covid vaccine that morning, I was starting to feel the effects and I was not doing well. But I watched the movie anyway, all the while wanting to be in bed. Shang-Chi was massively underwhelming and I’d go as far as to say it was even incompetent. Truth be told, I like the Marvel Cinematic Universe but from the get-go I already wasn’t hyped for this movie and I was expecting it to be about mediocre but what I got was something a lot worse. I won’t rehash what I’ve already said on this film so if you want to hear me rant about it a bit then I would recommend checking out episode 47 of my podcast, The Sunday Movie Marathon.

Your Name. (2016) - 6/10

Ultimately this was a fun little romance movie but I can’t say I understand why people adore it, nor do I understand why it needed to be animated. For what it’s worth, I found it cute and entertaining but nothing much jumped out to me.

Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang (2021) - 7/10

I’m always stumped on what to say about stand-up shows. It was good! I enjoyed Phil Wang talking about different things in a funny way and it got some laughs out of me. Admittedly I’m writing this a couple of weeks after watching it but it’s certainly a decent way to spend an hour if you’re looking for something light and fun.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) - 6/10

I remember seeing this in the cinema with two of my friends and the theatre wasn’t exactly packed but those that were there were either children or parents. But I like The Lego Batman Movie! Clearly this was made by fans of the character as it’s packed with a lot of details and references from old comic runs but as someone who has never read the comics or seen those older movies, it still managed to be entertaining and while I won’t say it’s quite as good as The Lego Movie, the animation is still top notch and the voice actors are certainly giving it their all, especially Will Arnett as the titular character. It’s just a bit of fun!

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - 10/10

A friend of mine told me to go to the screening of Terminator 2 at my local because they themselves weren’t able to attend. The first Terminator movie is a real gem and one of the most 80’s-type movies I’ve ever seen. I was excited to watch T2, remembering next to nothing about what I watched of it when I was a child. So it was just me in this screening, with one person in a row in front of me, and one other person behind me. If I had it my way, I would have been the only person there because this is honestly one of the best movies I’ve ever seen and it was very hard not to yell out every time something incredible happened, especially when it’s so action-packed and basically goes all out at every opportunity to deliver some of the most jaw-dropping effects or choreography. Truly there is never a dull moment and I was grinning like a lunatic the entire time. This film rocks!

Mirror (1975) - 7/10

Andrei Tarkovsky is one of my favourite directors and the new Criterion release of his film, Mirror, had been on my shelf for a while. My friend and fellow podcast co-host, Chris, was also interested in watching this movie so we decided we’d give it a watch and review it on the podcast. But this is such a weirdly structured film that the entire way through, neither of us knew what on earth was happening. What we got from the experience is reflected in the episode we made and I would love to watch this again at some point, hopefully with more context and a better understanding of what I’m in for. But in the meantime, you can hear the discussion on episode 46 of the podcast.

The Night House (2021) - 6/10

The Night House is David Bruckner’s follow-up to his previous movie, The Ritual and while I’ll say I prefer The Ritual, this is still a decent watch, just don’t go in expecting horror. More of my thoughts can be found in episode 46 of the podcast.

The Ritual (2017) - 7/10

After watching The Night House, I decided to go back to the director’s previous film, The Ritual and I got a lot more out of it this time around. Themes of guilt and grief permeate the movie and the result is this weird and unnerving film about a group of guys who go hiking in Sweden after the death of one of their friends and encounter dark forces beyond their comprehension. It can be drawn out at times and probably could have been boosted with a better script but there are so many interesting and strange ideas presented that culminate in a haunting third act that it’s worth watching just to see what on earth they’re being hunted by.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - 10/10

Straight after recording an episode about our favourite movies on the podcast, I returned to one of my all-time favourites. Holy Grail is such a fantastically funny movie with so many memorable lines and moments that it’s become a staple in the comedy genre. Setting it in Arthurian England is a surefire way to make sure it stands the test of time, making use of the budget in a way that heightens the comedy, for example: not being able to get horses and so resorting to having a man banging two coconut halves together as they skip through the grassy terrain. It’s the writing that really takes centre stage here; the guys from Monty Python were/are geniuses. A couple more points were made on my podcast so please do listen to that to hear more: Episode 46 of The Sunday Movie Marathon

Malignant (2021) - 7/10

The new James Wan movie was bonkers! I saw this one twice in quick succession without hesitation. To find out why I love it so much, listen to episode 47 of the podcast.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - 8/10

We got a marathon of the first three Nightmare on Elm Street movies on the podcast so we watched them in quick succession within a day. This first movie is a true masterpiece of its time. For more insight, listen to episode 47 of the podcast.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) - 2/10

Quite an embarrassing departure from the genius and fun of the original. Elm Street 2 is not only technically unfulfilling but a wholly unentertaining movie to boot. More thoughts in episode 47 of the podcast.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) - 3/10

While only a few hairs better than its predecessor, Elm Street 3 is still a mere shadow of the original. All in all, these second and third instalments in the franchise have put me off watching any of the others. More thoughts in episode 47 of the podcast.

Her (2013) - 10/10

Her is at once a beautiful love story between a man and an AI, and a scarily accurate look at how technology is expanding and moving forward. It uses warm colours and smooth camera work to create something that feels homely and safe, juxtaposing the often cold and dark feeling of science-fiction films to tell an intrinsically human story. What would it be like to go through this and what are the hurdles that need to be overcome? Her is a masterpiece of filmmaking and it left me emotionally exhausted in all the right ways.

Alien (1979) - 10/10

First time I’ve seen Alien in the cinema (as I was too busy not being born yet to see it on an initial release) and it was amazing! This is cosmic horror at its best. With all the eerie sound design, slow and deliberate camera movement, and outstanding effects, there’s no wonder as to why this is considered one of the greats and seeing it on the big screen was enthralling.

Aliens (1986) - 8/10

I had never seen Aliens before so the opportunity to see it for the first time in a cinema was one I could not pass up, especially since I was able to see it straight after the first. This is more of an action movie than the first one and as that, it was really something to see. While I don’t think it quite measures up to the original, James Cameron does bring a style to it that makes it something completely different while still feeling in line with its predecessor. A problem I’ve found as time goes on is that I don’t find myself thinking much about Aliens whatsoever and that’s probably down to its characters who generally I found quite weak. I’m already not big on standard action flicks and this is a clear cut above those but it does still fall victim to the trappings. That being said, I would in no way call this bad or even mediocre because it was a lot fun and being able to see it in the cinema is an experience I’m very grateful for.

Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) - 6/10

Gunpowder Milkshake is trying very hard to be John Wick and although it never really manages it, there is still fun to be had with its action (because really that’s all this movie has to offer). There’s a very creative scene in which Karen Gillan has to fight some goons in a hospital with a gun taped to one hand and a scalpel taped to the other, with the caveat being that her arms don’t work. Despite that and a good enough performance from Gillan, the rest is very goofy, with a villain about as intriguing as an advert for life insurance and a story that to say the least, leaves much to be desired.

I Lost My Body (2019) - 10/10

Another one for the podcast, I Lost My Body is a glorious cerebral animated piece that hits every nerve in my body. Listen to episode 48 for more.

Alice In Wonderland (1951) - 10/10

Perhaps the best early Disney movie in my humble opinion. Alice In Wonderland is complete insanity, doing things simply for the sake of it in a beguiling dreamlike take on Lewis Carroll’s classic book. Listen to episode 48 of The Sunday Movie Marathon for more.

WALL-E (2008) - 9/10

WALL-E is one of Pixar’s best. It is a cautionary tale of where the world is headed wrapped in a sweet story about going to the ends of the solar system in order to help those you love. I do however have one big problem with this movie and you can find out more in episode 48 of the podcast.

Killing Them Softly (2012) - 6/10

A lot about America’s economy at the time, Killing Them Softly goes about showing the lengths people will go to for money and yes it is generally solid with a fantastic speech by Brad Pitt to cap it off, but it cannot avoid meandering scenes of listless dialogue that neither engage me nor make me care about the characters it presents.

The Dirties (2013) - 6/10

Funny! The Dirties is a mockumentary about two guys making a movie about bullies in their school. While often it was generally chugging along and making me laugh, it tended to err on the side of plain as regards its presentation. A lot of scenes happen for the sake of it and in a movie that’s around an hour and twenty, it’s amazing I still managed to dip out in the latter half. More thoughts in episode 49 of the podcast.

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2009) - 3/10

Ah, I really hated this. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. Just listen to episode 49 of the podcast to hear what I had to say.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - 10/10

This is my favourite movie! I got to talk about it on my podcast! Listen to episode 49 of The Sunday Movie Marathon to hear what I have to say!

No Time To Die (2021) - 8/10

Best Bond movie? Perhaps. I’ve not seen every Bond movie but of the ones I have seen (which does include all of Daniel Craig’s run), this is as good as it gets. Despite a near three hour runtime, No Time To Die felt as though it wasted very little. I’ve always complained that I could never follow the plot to these movies because often I simply didn’t care about it; for me it’s more about the action and seeing Daniel Craig be James Bond. No Time To Die does not escape some of the general tropes that often don’t leave me thinking I’ve watched something masterful but what I will say in its favour is that it’s fucking fun! Don’t expect to love it if you already dislike these movies because generally it stays in the same vein as the others before it, but for Bond fans it’s something totally enjoyable. Captivating cinematography, biting fight choreography and action set-pieces, a core struggle for James who actually goes through relatable hardships his time round, coping with being part of a family and trying to keep them safe.

I was happy to see a bit more attention paid to female characters this go round; in a franchise that often glamorizes Bond’s sexual promiscuity and ability to woo any woman he likes, it was much more refreshing to see that he often did need help from a lot of badass, well written female characters.

No Time To Die has been waiting to be released for a long time now and now it’s actually out, I’m pleased it’s not hot garbage. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The final swan song for Craig’s fifteen-year tenure as one of cinema’s most recognisable heroes outdoes all that came before it. Bravo.

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introvertguide · 4 years ago

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Star Wars (1977); AFI #13

In honor of May 4th and the original movie that started it all, the group reviewed Star Wars (1977). Nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning 6 with one extra special achievement award for Sound, this is perhaps the most highly decorated science fiction movie of all time. The special effects and the music were especially moving making the Star Wars experience something amazing to behold. I was lucky enough to see one of the re-releases in the theatre back in the mid 80s. In fact, I might well have seen the film 100 times over my life. The music might be the most well known soundtrack globally. With inflation, this is the 4th highest grossing film of all time. It is truly a fantastic work and I would like to now spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Let me start with the usual:

SPOILER WARNING!!! I DON'T THINK THERE ARE MANY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM, BUT FOR THOSE FEW THAT DON'T KNOW, I AM GOING TO RUIN THE PLOT!!! STOP NOW AND GO WATCH IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!!

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Amid a galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a massive space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Imperial Senator Princess Leia of Alderaan (Carrie Fisher), secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics (this entire effort was originally a throwaway concept but was completely fleshed out in Rogue One almost 40 years later) , but her starship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Darth Vader (acted by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones). The movie is just starting and the odds against the rebels are shown by the scale of the two ships. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of an astromech droid called R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), who flees in an escape pod to the desert planet Tatooine accompanied by protocol droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).

The droids are captured by Jawa traders (little shiny eyed beings who are now meme legends), who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, part of a holographic recording of Leia starts playing a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi where she requests his help ("Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!"). Later, after Luke finds R2-D2 missing, he is attacked by scavenging Sand People while searching for him, but is rescued by elderly hermit "Old Ben" Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness), an acquaintance of Luke's, who reveals that "Obi-Wan" is his true name. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his days as one of the Jedi Knights, the former peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic who drew mystical abilities from a metaphysical energy field known as "the Force", but were ultimately hunted to near-extinction by the Empire. Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars (another throwaway concept that was eventually fleshed out) until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan presents Luke with his father's old lightsaber, the signature weapon of Jedi Knights. The connection between Darth Vader and Luke's father is explored in depth during the next eight films.

R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father, a fellow veteran, for analysis. Although Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force, he is left with no choice after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers have killed his aunt and uncle and destroyed their farm in their search for the droids (cue the Academy and Grammy Award winning theme music composed by John Williams). Traveling to a cantina in Mos Eisley to search for transport, Luke and Obi-Wan hire Han Solo (Harrison Ford), a smuggler with a price on his head due to his debt to local mobster Jabba the Hutt. Pursued by stormtroopers, Obi-Wan, Luke, R2-D2 and C-3PO flee Tatooine with Han and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) on their ship the Millennium Falcon. As they reach the planet's orbit, two Star Destroyers try to intercept them, but Han is able to jump to hyperspace by reaching lightspeed.

Before the Falcon can reach Alderaan, Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) interrogates Leia about the location of the Rebels's secret base, with the threat of destroying her home planet, and, when she answers that the base is on Dantooine, he orders Alderaan destroyed simply as a show of force. As the group arrives in the asteroid field that now stands in place of Alderaan, Han spots an Imperial TIE fighter and is taunted into chasing it and shooting it down, allowing the Falcon to be captured by the space station's tractor beam. Inside the Death Star, Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam, and Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia after discovering that she is scheduled to be executed. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices his life in an epic lightsaber duel with Vader, allowing the rest of the group to escape the Death Star with Leia. Using a tracking device, the Empire tracks the Falcon to the hidden Rebel base.

Leia's schematics reveal a hidden weakness in the Death Star's thermal exhaust port, which could allow the Rebels to trigger a chain reaction in its main reactor with a precise torpedo strike. While Han abandons the Rebels after collecting his reward for rescuing Leia, Luke joins their starfighter squadron in a desperate attack against the approaching Death Star. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffer heavy losses as Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters against them, but Han unexpectedly returns to aid them in the Falcon, narrowly managing to save Luke before Vader can shoot him down. Guided by the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke turns off his targeting computer and uses the Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, destroying the Death Star moments before it fires on the Rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony at the base, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism.

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I want to explain the connection between this movie and the Joseph Campbell version of the hero's journey that so many people have pointed out. This journey starts out with a call to adventure that is refused and then forced (Luke is given an opportunity to leave, he declines, the death of his family pushes him forward, he leaves with his team). Campbell then predicts an initiation that involves meeting a woman and gaining weapons, a meeting with an incredible power, and an achievement of the hero's power (goes to star destroyer, meets Vader and loses Obi-Wan, gains power over force). The story ends with a refusal, a magic flight, a rescue from without, and a hero's return (Luke goes to attack the Death Star, Han refuses and then eventually saves him, and the day is saved so the heroes are rewarded). It is a story that is called the Monomyth and has been recognized in Greek myths that are thousands of years old. It is a good story that has been proven to work and it makes for one of the most enjoyable movies of all time.

There was some negative opinions of the film because it is such a simple old story that became extremely popular and film goers would no longer be interested in intelligent thinking movies. It is kind of the truth because blockbuster summer films are full of explosions. The highest grossing films since then have tended to be highly explosive action films. Films like Star Wars, Jaws, and Indiana Jones are a lot of fun, but they are not super deep. They are easy to understand at surface level, but they can also be interpreted to mean much more significant things. The choice of the viewer about whether the story has deep inner meaning or is just the Odyssey in space is personal and likely colors opinions about how good it is. Some people think it is stupid fun while others have actually formed religions around the idea of the force.

One thing is for certain, the formula worked amazingly well for a large group of people and this made movie producers want to copy it. This is what is generally called a watershed moment because the look of movies changed significantly. There were so many more space operas and they all had that worn post-apocalyptic look to them. Star Wars and Mad Max combined to give a different look of what futuristic was. There was advanced tech in some cases, but there was a scorched Earth that had run out of resources and people suffered. Think about how many movies and television shows there are that have come out since the 80s and combine industrial tech for space and distressed almost Western appearances for the planets. The movie changed the way many people see the future.

One thing that is inarguably great was the score. I am not going to try and describe it with words, I am just going to put links to the different themes here so you can hear for yourself:

Star Wars Main Theme (Full) - YouTube

Star Wars- The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) - YouTube

Princess Leia's Theme - YouTube

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (1977) Soundtrack 11 Cantina Band - YouTube

This is somewhat strange for the AFI so I went back and checked, but I believe that this is the only film with a ranked villain (Darth Vader), hero (Han Solo), and theme song (Main Theme). Even if it is somewhat simplistic from some perspectives, the story and the songs and the sounds and the characters speak to those who watch it. Seeing the movie is an incredible experience and I envy those who get to see it for the first time.

I am a big fan of the original Star Wars trilogy and I could completely nerd out going over all of the little things throughout the movie, but this is not a deep dive but instead an overall review. So does it belong on the AFI top 100? Maybe more than any other movie. It is an epic tale that changed the way movies were made across multiple genres. We could probably look at all science fiction films and put them as before or after this one. It is an important piece of American film and (no matter what anyone thinks of the other Star Wars films or George Lucas) it is a masterpiece. Would I recommend it? I cannot say yes enough. It is part of my culture as a California movie nerd and understanding this film is understanding some of the basic knowledge I grew up with. All sticks are swung around like light sabers. If I say "Princess Leia hair," everyone around here knows exactly what I mean. If something is impossible but still needs to be done, we tell people to use the force. I have lived in the Bay Area for 20 years and I can still reference a location by how close it is to Skywalker Ranch were George Lucas worked on movies. Please check out this film and you will know why I am such a fan of movies.

#star wars #a new hope #use the force #john williams #film score #introvert #introverts #movie review #award winning films #special effects

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padawanlost · 5 years ago

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Anakin Skywalker + Sleep Deprivation

Following this conversation about the effects sleep deprivation had on Anakin, I decided to put together a list of quotes about Anakin and his sleep patterns. Please, feel free to add more if want :)

“Waiting? For me?” Anakin frowned. Worries and lack of sleep had his head full of fog; he couldn’t make this make sense. He patted his robes vacantly. “But—my beacon hasn’t gone off. If the Council wanted me, why didn’t they—” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

How many days ago had that been? He couldn’t remember. Not many. When you don’t sleep, days smear together into a haze of fatigue so deep it becomes a physical pain. The Force could keep him upright, keep him moving, keep him thinking, but it could not give him rest. Not that he wanted rest. Rest might bring sleep. What sleep might bring, he could not bear to know. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

“I—no. No, I’m all right.” Anakin sank gratefully into a dangerously comfortable chair. “I’m just—a little tired, that’s all.” “Not sleeping well?” “No.” Anakin offered an exhausted chuckle. “I haven’t been sleeping well for a few years, now.” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

“You look tired,” Obi-Wan said to Anakin in the adjoining room. The Padawan, still standing, opened his eyes and came out of his meditative trance. He took a moment to register the words, and then gave a little shrug, not disagreeing. “I don’t sleep well anymore.” That was hardly news to Obi-Wan. [R.A. Salvatore. Attack of the Clones]

She looked over at Anakin, who was sleeping somewhat restlessly. She could see him now, not as a Jedi Padawan and her protector, but just as a young man. [R.A. Salvatore. Attack of the Clones]

A brief cloud passed over his face as he thought of his mother on Tatooine, and considered the disturbing dreams that had been finding their way into his sleep of late. He pushed the thoughts away quickly and glanced around, glad that no one seemed to have noticed. [R.A. Salvatore. Attack of the Clones]

“No!” came a cry from the adjoining bedroom, where Anakin was sleeping. “No! Mom! No, don’t!” Padmé slipped out of bed and ran to the door, not even bothering to grab a robe, not even caring or noticing that she was wearing a revealing silken shift. At the door, she paused and listened. Hearing cries from within, followed by more jumbled yelling, she realized that there was no immediate danger, that this was another of Anakin’s nightmares, like the one that had gripped him on the shuttle ride to Naboo. She opened the door and looked in on him. He was thrashing about on the bed, yelling “Mom!” repeatedly. Unsure, Padmé started in. But then Anakin calmed and rolled back over, the dream, the vision, apparently past. Then Padmé did become aware of her revealing dress. She moved back through the door, shutting it gently, then waited for a long while. When she heard no further screaming or tossing, she went back to her bed. [R.A. Salvatore. Attack of the Clones]

No matter how much he craved sleep, it was elusive. Anakin lay awake long after others around him were breathing quietly, huddled under thin blankets, some pressed close to one another for warmth. [Jude Watson. Path to Truth]

Midnight approached. Anakin Skywalker, unable to sleep, had slipped out of his bed and gone down into the backyard to complete a final check of the racer, of its controls, its wiring, its relays, its power source—everything he could think of. [Terry Brooks. The Phantom Menace]

Anakin in particular could not get the Jedi Luminara’s presentation out of his head. It kept him preoccupied as he prepared for sleep and awake well into the morning hours.[Alan Dean Foster. The Approaching Storm]

The incessant rasp of his breathing interfered with his ability to rest, let alone sleep. And sleep, in the rare moments it came to him, was a nightmarish jumble of twisted, recurrent memories that unfolded to excruciating sounds. [James Luceno. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader]

Most of Vader’s Anakin memories grew fainter by the day, but not Anakin’s memories of what had happened here. They were as fresh as this morning’s sunrise, glimpsed from the rooftop chamber in which Vader rested. True sleep continued to lie just out of reach, an object pursued in vain in an unsettling dream. He no longer had visions, either. That ability, that double-edged ability, seemingly had been burned out of him on Mustafar. [James Luceno. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader]

#anakin skywalker #darth vader #sw quotes #sw meta #meta: anakin #mine

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queenofspades20 · 4 years ago

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Scream - 2

Here is chapter 2 of Avengers AU of Scream for @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho spooky challenge. Planning on breaking up the rest of the story into 2 chapters.

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Y/N Weathers; Avengers x Reader

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: suspense, inappropriate jokes, mentions of gore

Natasha was sitting at her desk in her room, working on an essay for her English Literature class the next day. She was putting the finishing touches, when she heard a rustling from the tree outside her window. Natasha made her way over to the window and was looking out.

“Boo!” Clint, Natasha’s boyfriend, popped up.

Natasha jumped back and let out a small scream. “Jesus, Clint. What the hell?” She smacked his arm as he climbed through the window.

A knock sounded from her bedroom door. “Natasha? Is everything ok? I heard a scream”

Natasha raced to the door before her dad, Phil, could come in. She opened the door a little to put her face in the doorway. “Yeah. Sorry. I have Deep Blue Sea on and I’m at the part where the shark jumps out and eats Samuel L. Jackson. Gets me every time.”

Phil just laughed. “The actor that looks like the dean of your college?”

“Yeah. Not that we can ever say that to Fury. I don’t think he’s a fan of getting compared like that.”

“Fair enough. Well, I also wanted to say bye before tomorrow. My flight is pretty early. Don’t forget I’ll be staying at…”

“The Hilton by the airport. I got it, Dad.”

“There’s money for food by the phone downstairs.”

“Are you going to visit that violinist while you’re there?” Natasha asked her father. He had met the woman on a business trip last month. Natasha knew that before her mother died, her parents were going through a rough patch, so Natasha wanted to see her dad happy again.

Phil blushed. “Maybe. She and I have just been chatting. I don’t know if it’ll go anywhere.”

“That’s fine, Dad. It doesn’t have to. I’m just happy to see you put yourself out there. I guess I’ll say goodnight and have a safe flight.” Natasha moved out of her room to hug Phil. He hugged her back.

“I’ll see you on Monday. Night, Nat.”

Natasha moved back into her room and closed the door. A stuffed bear popped up from the other side of the bed. “That was close,” Clint said in a silly voice.

“What are you doing here, Clint?”

Clint got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He chuckled. “I was watching Exorcist and it made me think of you, so I decided to come over.”

“A horror movie made you think of me?” Natasha crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“When we started out, we were rated R on our way to NC-17. But these days, we seem to have a PG rating.”

Natasha thought for a moment. “With what happened to my mom last year, I’m sorry I haven’t been up for more.”

Clint started shaking his head while Natasha was talking. “I know you’ve been dealing with that. I’m not bringing it up to pressure you into anything. I just, I kind of miss where we used to be.”

Natasha sighed. “I miss where we used to be too. I just need time.”

“I get it. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Now, you need to get out of here in case my dad hears you. I don’t need him kicking your butt.”

Clint climbed out of the window but leaned his face in. He puckered his lips. Natasha smiled and rolled her eyes. She moved close to him and they shared a soft kiss.

“Hey, Clint. Would you settle for a PG-13 relationship?”

“What’s a PG…” Clint started. Natasha lifted up her sleep shirt to flash him. Clint stared at her for a moment. Natasha lowered her shirt and laughed. “You’re dangerous, Nat.”

“Love you,” Natasha responded.

“I love you, too.”

After Clint left, Natasha finished her essay, shut off her laptop, and went to bed.

When Natasha approached the campus the next morning, there were dozens of police cars with their lights flashing all over the parking lot. There were reporters everywhere. “The brutal murder of Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers…” “The worst crime since the murder of Maria Coulson almost one year ago…” Natasha could hear random sentences from the reporters.

Wanda Maximoff ran up to Natasha. “Hey, did you see the post on Shieldbook last night?”

Natasha looked her best friend. “No. I had the essay for Lit to finish and just went to bed. I didn’t look at any social media last night.”

“Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers were murdered last night. Sharon’s body was hanging from a tree. The killer took a picture and posted it to Shieldbook.”

Natasha ran her hand along her face. “Oh my God. Sharon sits next to me in Lit.”

“Well, not any more. Anyways, not only was the picture posted on Shieldbook, her aunt Peggy is the one that found the bodies.”

“That poor woman.”

The girls made their way towards the front entrance to the school.

“Natasha! Natasha!” yelled a voice from about 20 feet away. Y/F/N Weathers ran up towards Natasha.

“Oh no.” Natasha hated the reporter. Y/F/N Weathers covered her mother’s murder a year ago. Weathers argued that the person charged, Bruce Banner, was innocent. She tried to argue that Natasha was a liar and was crazy. Natasha was certain that the person she saw leaving that night was Bruce. She was even able to identify the jacket, which had her mother’s blood all over it.

“Natasha, what are your thoughts on the murders that happened last night?” Y/N asked, hold a microphone towards Natasha.

“No comment.”

“Do you think they’re related to your mother’s murder?”

It took everything Natasha had in her to not punch Y/N. Wanda jumped in, “What the hell is your problem, bitch?”

Natasha grabbed her friend’s arm and led her away. “Not the time, Wan. She’s not worth it.”

“She deserve a major punch for the shit she’s put you through. You saw Bruce Banner leaving that night. And she keeps trying to drag you through the mud.”

“I know! I know! I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve it. I just don’t want more attention on me than what’s going to already be on me. Let’s just get to class.”

The girls made their way to their class. Natasha couldn’t stop staring at the seat next to her that was usually filled with Sharon. They weren’t the closest of friends, but they would often pass notes in class. As Natasha was lost in thought, an officer came into the room and passed a note to the professor.

“Natasha?” Natasha looked up at her professor. “It would appear it’s your turn.”

Natasha grabbed her bag and walked to the dean’s office.

“Who’s next?” Dean Fury asked.

“Um, Natasha Romanoff,” Deputy James Barnes said, looking at the list.

“Isn’t she the daughter of…” one of the deputies started to ask, when Natasha walked in.

“Have a seat, Ms. Romanoff-Coulson,” Dean Fury said, gesturing to the seat.

“Thanks. Hi Bucky.”

“Hi Nat. It’s Deputy Barnes today though.”

Natasha looked down at her hands. “Sorry.”

Dean Fury decided to take the lead on the questioning. “So Ms. Romanoff-Coulson, how well did you know Sharon or Steve?”

Natasha thought about it for a moment. “Sharon and I had a few classes together. I knew Steve through a few other classes. We didn’t really hang out outside of school; we just ran in different circles and were involved in different activities, so we just weren’t close.”

Bucky jotted down her answer. “Natasha, were you aware of anyone have a problem with either of them?”

“No. They were two of the nicest people. I can’t figure out why anyone would go after them.”

“Okay. Thanks. That’s all the questions I have for you,” Bucky said as he checked off something on his paper.

Natasha left the office. By that time, classes were over for the morning. She went to the courtyard by the student union, where Wanda, Clint, Wanda’s boyfriend, Thor, and Thor’s brother, Loki, were all sitting. They were discussing the murders and everything else that was going on.

“I wonder who did it,” Wanda said as she took a bite of her sandwich. “I saw that picture on Shieldbook. She was gutted. I can’t imagine how wrecked seeing that made her aunt.”

Loki leaned over Thor’s shoulder, “didn’t she turn you down for a date, Thor?”

Wanda looked at her boyfriend. “You told me you turned her down for me.”

Thor looked at his brother and then turned back to Wanda. “He’s lying, love. You know how he likes to stir up trouble.”

“How could anyone do that?” Natasha wondered aloud. Clint put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“I heard they found her liver in the mailbox.” Loki said with a sneer.

“Just liver alone,” Thor said with a laugh. “Get it? LIVER alone?”

Natasha jumped to her feet and stormed off. Clint looked at the brothers. “Nice going guys.”

Loki looked at him with faux innocence. “What?”

Later that afternoon, Natasha was home and clearing up before Wanda got there. She held her phone between her shoulder and ear. “You sure you don’t mind staying over?”

“Of course not,” Wanda said. “It’ll be a fun sleepover weekend. I’m going to stop by the liquor store for provisions. Anything specific you want?”

“Nah. I’m good with anything. Just try to get here before dark. These murders have everyone spooked.”

After they hung up, Natasha decided to take a short nap in her room before Wanda got there. About two hours later, she awoke with a start. She looked at her phone and saw how much time had passed. She sent a text to Wanda to see where she was. As she was walking towards downstairs, her phone went off.

Natasha answered without looking at the screen. “Wanda, when are you going to get here?”

“Hello, Natasha,” a voice said. Natasha was unable to tell if it was male or female.

“I’m sorry. I’m waiting on a friend. Who is this?”

“You tell me.”

“Well I have no idea.”

“Scary night, isn’t it? With the murders and all, it’s like something out of a scary movie, huh?”

“Loki, you’re giving yourself away. Are you calling from work? Wanda is on her way to pick some stuff up.”

“Do you like scary movies, Natasha?”

“I like that thing you’re doing with your voice, Loki. It’s sexy.”

“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

“Oh come on, you know I don’t watch that shit.”

“What’s the matter? Too scary for you?” The voice had a playful tone to it.

“No. It’s just, what’s the point? The killer is stalking some big-breasted girl who can’t act, chasing her up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It’s insulting.”

“Are you. . . alone in the house?”

“Loki, that’s so unoriginal. I’m so disappointed in you.”

“Well, maybe that’s because I’m not Loki.”

Natasha started to look around. “So, who are you?”

“The question isn’t ‘who am I’ but rather ‘where am I’?”

“So, where are you?”

“Your front porch.”

Natasha felt her heart drop. She walked to the door. “My porch huh? Well, I call your bluff.” Natasha opened the door and walked out onto the porch. She looked around but didn’t see anyone. “So, where are you?”

“Right here.”

Natasha still couldn’t see anyone. After looking for a few moments, she held the phone back up to her ear. “Can you see me right now?”

“Uh huh.”

“Oh really? So, what am I doing right now?” Natasha stuck her finger up her nose and started to turn around. “What am I doing? Hello?” she yelled into the phone.

There was no answer from the mysterious caller.

“That’s what I thought. Tell Wanda to hurry up. Okay? Bye now.”

As Natasha went to hang up, the voice called out, “if you hang up on me, you’ll die just like your mother! Do you want to die, Natasha? Your mother sure didn’t,” the voice taunted.

“Fuck you, you asshole.” Natasha ran back into the house and locked the door, including sliding the chain into place. As she backed away from the door, the hall closet flew open and a figure dressed in a black cloak with a white face jumped out, a knife in its raised hand. The figure slammed her body against the door. As Natasha fell to the ground, she swept the attacker’s feet out from under them and they fell to the ground. She kicked them in the face and got up.

Natasha tried to open the door, but in her haste, she forgot to undo the chain. She yanked the door open but was stopped short by the chain. The attacker got up and lunged at her again. Natasha barely managed to get away and she ran up the stairs to her bedroom. The attacker was close behind her. She ran into her bedroom and slammed the door closed. She locked the door and then opened her closet door, so that if her door opened, it would block the other door from opening all the way. As she backed away, the attacker threw their body against the door. The lock gave way but the other door prevented her door from opening all the way. The attacker pushed their arm through the small opening, waving the knife around.

Natasha was glad that her dad insisted on keeping a landline for the house and she picked up the receiver to call 911. As the call was going through, the attacker disappeared from the door. All of a sudden, BAM. Clint jumped at the open window and started to climb in. Natasha ran to her boyfriend and helped him get through the window. “Oh thank God.”

“Nat, what’s going on? The door was locked and I heard screaming.”

“There’s a killer in the house. He’s in the house.”

“He’s gone, Nat. It’s okay,” Clint soothed.

As Natasha hugged Clint, a thud resounded through the room. Natasha looked down to see a cellphone on the floor. Natasha backed away from Clint.

“Nat, what’s wrong?”

Natasha opened her doors and ran down the staircase, Clint running behind her. “Nat, wait!”

Natasha opened the door and came face with the mask of her attacker. She let out a scream.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x y/n #dinoscarystories2020 #avengers x reader #Bucky Barnes #loki #thor #wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff #clint barton #clintasha

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the-wayward-robot · 5 years ago

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Sleep forever, Here With You

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Summary: Will Steve lose the love of this life when the Avengers run into a Djinn?

Warnings: Talk of Suicide, Angst, Language

A/N: this idea came from a talk between @time-travel-bouqet and I about if we would or wouldn't stay in the Djinn's dream. This is based on a Djinn from Supernatural but I clearly took liberties to make it work for the story. Thank you for being the beta on this jov @time-travel-bouqet

Feedback and comments are very welcomed!

As Steve slowly approaches the beautiful family home with a brightly painted front he is stunned by how real it all feels. He can feel the heat of the sun on his skin, can hear the tiny chirping of birds in the distance, can smell the magnolias planted in the flower beds at the front of the house in the gentle breeze. But none of this was real, in reality both you and him laid in Tony’s cold lab. It had taken Tony longer than they had hoped to find “African Dream Root”. None of them had ever heard of it, much less knew what a Djinn was. But once Bruce figured out what they were dealing with Tony was able to track some down, buying it from some woman named Bela. Steve had to find you quickly, with his super soldier metabolism he was gonna burn through this fast, but he couldn’t risk letting anyone else try to find you. You were the love of his life, not that he ever told you that.

Everything about this place screamed you, he loved it, he hopes when he pulls her out of this illusion he would have the guts to tell her how he felt If she would give him the chance he would rebuild this house brick by brick for her.

Steve is almost at the door when he hears the unmistakable sound of your laugh mixed with a smaller yet louder one coming from the backyard. Before Steve even realizes what he’s doing he’s running straight towards the sound. Steve stops, frozen in place by the sight before him when he rounds the corner to the backyard.

There you were, hair in a messy bun lit up by the sun, not a drop of makeup on, in a cable knit jacket over a plain white shirt and jeans. You are the absolute vision of perfection in his eyes, but that isn’t what froze him. There in your arms, you were holding and tickling a little boy who looked about 6 years old… blonde, skinny with glasses in front of a pair of familiar blue eyes… the absolute spitting image of a young pre-serum Steve.

Steve’s mind was running 1000 miles a second with questions “Was that his son?! Were you and him together in your perfect world?? Does that mean you feel the same??”

Steve was pulled out of his thoughts and had them all confirmed by a yell let out in between laughs of “DADDY!!! HHHHELP! MOMMY IS TICKLING ME!!”

Still holding your son you start walking over towards him.

“I thought you already left to pick up Bucky and Sam for our mandatory Sunday family dinner?” He can hear the joy and laughter in your voice as you say it but Steve’s eyes were still glued to your son… his son.

Steve's eyes finally snap up to meet yours when he feels the soft touch of your palm on his cheek.

“Baby? Are you okay?” Steve’s heart melts at your words and touch. You called him baby, it was filled with such love, he never wants to hear you call him anything else for the rest of his life.

“I… I need.” Steve tries to speak but he’s so overwhelmed by everything. Your perfect fantasy life is with him. A family with him. It’s everything he has always wanted with you as well but has been to scared to say anything … how was he gonna be able to convince you this was fake? How was he gonna convince you to end your own life and come back with him? Steve then feels a smaller hand on his face wiping away tears. Steve didn’t even realize he was crying

“Daddy, why are you crying? Mommy, why is daddy crying?”

Steve pulls his son from your arms and holds him against his chest, kissing the top of his head, allowing himself this one moment, this one memory with his little boy before forcing himself to set him down. Bending down to his level Steve cups his face before saying “Buddy can you go inside and play for a minute? I need to talk to your mommy about something important.”

The little boy stares wide-eyed at Steve, not moving. about to protest until he hears you from beside him.

“Caleb James Rogers! C’mon, get that little butt of yours inside, you heard your father!” You say in a light tone with a smile, but Steve can see the worry in your eyes. Caleb pouts as he looks up into Steve’s eyes, his own now watery.

“Okay daddy, please don’t cry, whatever it is mommy and I will fix it. Like you always say we are a family. We fix it together.”

Steve can feel his heart shattering as he watches his son run back into the house.

“Caleb James Rogers… bet Bucky brags about that” Steve thinks out loud.

“You know he does,baby” you say with a laugh. You wrap one of your arms around his waist, stretching up to give him a small kiss on his chin as your other hand wipes at the tears falling down his face.

“What’s going on baby? What’s wrong?”

Steve just stares into your eyes for a long minute before you pull his face down to yours in a soft short kiss. As you go to pull away Steve pulls you back to him, your body pressed against his as he slowly deepens the kiss, losing himself in it. This is everything he has ever wanted. To feel you close, to kiss you, to taste your lips, but just as quickly as it started he pulls himself away from you and blurts out.

“This isn’t real!”

Steve watches your face go from bliss to a look of pure confusion.

“Baby, what are you talking about?”

“Baby- none of this is real. You and I were on a mission. Before I knew what was happening this thing, a Djinn, put you under a spell or whatever this is. It traps you in your mind, in what your dream life would be as your body slowly rots. The only way out is for you to end it… I’m sorry ba-... but the only way is for you to kill yourself.”

“WHAT THE FUCK STEVE!?? What are you talking about!?!? What kinda sick joke is this? That’s not funny baby!” You say as you push him away from you.

“STOP! I need you to listen to me, please! I know this is hard baby but please, I need you to come back to me-us we need you… this isn’t real… as much as I-you may wish it was it’s not.”

“No, Steve! No. We’re married! We have Caleb!! We don’t… we aren’t avengers anymore, we haven’t been for years! we are happy! Why are you doing this? This isn’t funny, this isn’t like you.”

Steve shatters more and more with the weight and pain that grows with each word that comes from your mouth, your eyes glistening with unshed tears as you scan his face for any hint of lie, a crack, anything. Steve can feel as if something is starting to pull him back, he needs to convince you quickly, before he gets pulled out.

“Doll, think back. Do you remember the mission you and I did in Kansas? The abandoned warehouse? We went to check it out, we got separated and you were attacked by a thing called a Djinn. It trapped you in your mind sweetheart”

“NO!! This is real!! Our son is real!” You raise your left hand showing him the simple yet beautiful wedding ring. “THIS IS REAL STEVE!” Tears are running down both your faces now.

“When was our first kiss!? When did I first tell you I loved you?! Can you remember our wedding?! Can you remember Caleb's birth?!?”

“OF COURSE I CAN STEVE!!! I… we were... Caleb was..” You stand there staring at Steve, eyes wide with shock. You couldn’t remember any of it.

“You can’t can you?! Because this...” Steve says, raising his voice. The desperation to make you realize, to get his girl to come back, to have this life with you for real, was making him lose his normally calm demeanor. “is all fake!!! We never had a first date, kiss or I love yous! We never got married, we never had a son!!! We have never been anything more than teammates!!”

Each word grew louder and louder as he spoke. He can see your chest twitch as his words rip through you, can visibly see your heartbreak. He realizes now how sharp and harsh his words have been, he sounds as if he doesn’t want this.

You take a few steps back on wobbly legs, Steve’s hands reach out to grab you, but you swat them away and it kills him.

“You don’t understand, baby, we haven’t had those things but I wan…” Steve is cut off when he feels little hands on his knees. Steve looks down to see your son… his son attempting to push him away from you with zero success.

“Stop hurting mommy!!!” He yells.

Before Steve has a chance to react you are scooping up your son and running you both inside, slamming and locking the door just as Steve reaches it.

He stares at you through the glass panels on your back door.

“Doll, please, I’m sorry, I know asking you to take your own life is heavy, but it’s the only way… this life…. it’s-it’s too perfect. You know better than anyone, nothing is ever perfect. You were always the one telling me that life is a pile of good and bad. There is no perfect… please we- I need you, I need you back.”

Steve pauses letting his wet eyes look into yours that were also filled with tears, worry and sadness as you clutch your son to your chest.

“I swear when you wake up from this… we’ll make this life together for real. I lov..”

Steve suddenly wakes with a start, sitting up on the small hospital bed Tony had set up for him in his lab. His eyes rush to you in a panic seeing you are still sleeping peacefully in the bed beside him.

“Tony, send me back now!”

“I can’t... we only had enough for one go, You knew this! But still, Cap had to go and play white knight!”

Steve is up and in Tony’s face in a flash, Tony doesn’t even flinch before continuing.

“I told you that you would burn through it faster than the rest of us! I get that little witch over there said only you had a chance of changing her mind, we all know about you guys being “secretly not so secretly” in love with each other but she’s also our family!! This loss it’s not just yours! If you fucked this up!” Tony pauses for a moment, closing his eyes to collect himself.

“Bela didn’t have anymore, there’s no way she’ll be able to get more in time”

You stand there, almost as if in a trance, holding your son to your chest as you stare at the now empty space where Steve had just been. He had disappeared mid-sentence, in a blink.

Snapping back to your reality you feel a hand on your back. You turn to see Steve, Bucky and Sam’s concerned faces watching you.

“Sweetheart, you okay?” Steve asks gently as he cups your tear-stained face in his hands.

Bucky is by your side in flash trying to pull Caleb from your arms and into his, but your son clings to you.

“C’mon Buddy, how about Uncle Sam, you and I go play for a bit? Let mommy and daddy talk for-”

“But I gotta protect mommy! daddy was making her cry”

The men around you share looks of confusion before you move your son from you into Bucky's arms, giving your son the best fake smile you could..

“Sweetie go with your uncles. I’m okay, I just need to talk to your Dad for a minute.”

Bucky looks at you with concern before Sam, Caleb and he walk out to the living room, leaving you and a confused Steve behind in the kitchen.

“Doll wh-”

“Baby… when did we start dating?”

“What? Why? Doll what does that ha-”

“When did we get married? When was Caleb born?! Aren’t these things I should know and remember Steve?! Why don’t I have even the faintest clue about any of this?!”

“Stop” Steve almost growls at you, but you’re too wrapped up in your rant and confusion to register it.

“When did we even buy a house?!? The last thing I remember clearly was that mission in Kansas! Well… most of it I don’t remember us finishing that mission. It’s from that to this, I’m just … then it’s just here with you and Caleb an-and you telling me this is fake and I gotta… to wake up and I jus...”

You are cut off by Steve’s hands firmly grabbing onto your shoulders “Stop digging and just enjoy what you were given doll”

Your mouth hangs open in shock as the words he just said register “What do you mean what I was given?”

“Sweetheart, please, just stop digging. Let it be. This is everything you ever dreamed of...” you swear you could see his eyes glow blue for a moment “You'll have everything you ever wanted. You’ll have Steve, the house, the life of your dreams. Your family; these avengers, will all have a peaceful, happy, full lives. You have Caleb and soon another little you running around.” He says as he lays a hand on your stomach

“But I’ll die… this isn’t real.” You say weakly.

“But it feels real doesn’t it?” Steve says as he gently strokes your face, making your heart beat faster as he steps even closer.

“You’ll have a full and long life here, next to your Steve. You’ll be the only avenger to have such a beautiful, painless death.”

“But what about the team? They are my family and I can’t just leave them.”

“What about them sweetheart? Do you really wanna go back to that world of fighting, pain and loneliness? Do you wanna go back and watch Steve fall in love and marry someone else? Maybe it’ll be that gorgeous Sharon Carter who always has her eye on him. But not you, never you doll, you’re just his teammate and nothing more. Here you’ll always be Mrs.Rogers, you’ll have Caleb and in eight months sweet little Emma. Does it really matter if it is or isn’t real? The joy, the love that you feel is real. It all feels real doesn’t it?” Steve says as his lips gently touch yours before he deepens the kiss, wrapping his arms behind your thighs as he lifts you up onto the counter, positioning himself between your legs, not once breaking the kiss as both his and your hands start to wander, a small moan rips out of Steve and you are absolutely entranced.

“I love you, sweetheart please just stop, stay here with me.” Steve whispers out in between kisses, jolting you back to reality. You push him away and hop down from the counter before you make it two steps away his hands are on your hips pulling your back to his chest, it’s firm, warm, comforting… it feels like home. But this isn’t home, is it?

“Where are you going Doll? We were kinda in the middle of something there” Steve says with a laugh.

“I know baby, I just gotta pee.” You say, pulling away from him with your best fake laugh as you turn to give him one last kiss.

Heading toward your bedroom, you rush pass Bucky, Sam, and Caleb in the living room not once looking at them. When you get to your bedroom you go to your walk-in closet pulling your gun’s lockbox with you into the bathroom.

Sitting there on your bathroom floor, holding your gun, you wonder which is truly worse; being selfish and having this life and peaceful death or being selfless and going back to your family, the avengers and a life of fighting, pain, loss, and loneliness… a life with Steve as nothing more than a friend. You can hear your son, your sweet baby boy, and Steve banging on the door and begging you to open the door.

It was time to decide, be selfless or selfish

#steve rogers fanfiction #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #steve rogers fanfic #steve rogers one shot #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #tw:suicide #tw: suicide #trigger warning suicide #j's masterlist

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pendragonfics · 6 years ago

Text

Sparks Fly

Paring: Carol Danvers/Reader

Tags: gender-neutral pronouns, gender neutral reader, mutual pining, requited love, idiots in love, awesome Carol Danvers, electricity, electrocution, Terrigen Crystals, fluff, girls kissing, alternate universe - canon divergence, infinity war and endgame? who's she?

Summary: Avenger-in-Training ___________, is a mirror. Ever since they burst out of the Terrigen Crystal with newfound abilities, they were picked up by S.H.I.E.L.D., and sent to be trained by the Avengers. But that's the thing - it's hard to concentrate on training when there's a good book, or, better yet, Captain Marvel herself...

Word Count: 2,524

Current Date: 2019-05-02

You tried to stay away from her, and yet…there was a magnetism that drew you closer. That was all anyone had to say when they talked of Carol Danvers, the first Avenger. If it wasn’t everything about her that made you want to fall to your knees at her presence, there was her abilities, her eyes that could glare into oblivion or sparkle like nebulas…

You shake your head at the thought of her. There wasn’t a chance that she’d be interested in you, let alone like…that. And there wasn’t a chance that she had a clue who you were. Well, apart from the fact that she knew your name, and said hello once in passing in the halls of Stark’s upper New York base…

But that was a fluke, you reminded yourself. She was Captain Marvel. Literally more powerful than the Hulk himself. The tabloids were going off the hook with theories since she’d returned to Earth for good; the story of the poor Carol Danvers, abducted by aliens had been replaced with a mixed review of cynical old men afraid of a powerful woman whose blood ran with energy, and swathes of fans who looked up to her like she was a sun goddess.

Maybe you were just one of those people. You were one of those people. Not in love. Yeah, you weren’t.

You tried to keep to that narrative, but then Tuesday happened.

You were in the workout room, laying on the bench-press with a book. You were supposed to be training; Steve had given you strict orders to not be idle, and yet…the pages of adventure within the cover of The Martian called to you with a stronger song. The Compound was in one of its quiet days; Wanda had taken the week to travel to her hometown to visit her family’s graves, Scott was taking time for family, Thor had found himself a hobby in glassmaking, Bruce and Tony had absconded to Wakanda for a special scientific seminar in the capital, and while Steve and the remaining Avengers took the time to go out for the team-appropriate missions, you were housebound.

It wasn’t too bad, in theory, but it was starting to get to you.

You were almost up to a good part of the book when it was taken from your hands. Furious, you looked up to see James Rhodes striding away with your book, and behind him, Steve.

“I didn’t know you could bench five hundred,” he commented, gesturing to the weights piled onto the side.

Sitting up, you glance at the barbell. It must have been left on from when Thor was somewhat showing off for Dr. Cho yesterday; there was no other people you knew who could even dream to lift that around. But you looked back to Steve, taking in how his jaw was set, elbows jutting out akimbo from resting upon his hips; testing you.

Knowing you’d fail.

“You really do underestimate me,” you reply. Laying down again, you reach for the bar, fingers grasping the metal like a cat latching onto a scratching post. You take a deep breath, knowing most certainly of what will happen - you’ll be crushed. You don’t even mind if it’s because you’d rather do this than admit you’ve been skiving the weights training. “Watch this.”

“___________ -,” Sam interjects, concerned.

But you don’t pay mind. You push upward with all you can, unlatching the bar, and shakily, you lower it. Your abilities are tapping in, mimicking the strength of those closest to you. But even then, it’s hard. Steve stands near, and so does Sam and Clint, but you can only tap into one person at a time. One person to copy.

“What is this, a pissing contest?” Carol speaks up, pushing between Clint and Steve. Her eyes are full of fury and her hair starts to spark with static at the rising of her voice. “I get it, Rogers, you’re angry that ___________ didn’t do what you ordered, but five hundred?” She’s incredulous. “You’re going to kill them!”

Steve doesn’t reply, at least, before you feel a jump under your skin. It’s like pins and needles, except it hurts less, and is so much more number. It’s a different feeling than anything you’ve ever gotten from your abilities, and in the moment, you grasp it, holding it under your skin like a pool toy thrust underwater.

And then you’re lifting the weight, once, twice, three - and you continue to do so until you finish a set. At ten, you place it back in the resting place, and sit up to face Steve.

“It’s okay, I’ve got this covered,” you look to Carol with a little smile. Even as the mimic wears off, you feel a little of the burn, and it fills you with a wave of pride course your veins. Turning to Steve, you say, “I get it, you’re sad, but so am I. And obviously I can’t press five hundred by myself, but…” you grin, feeling the pride rising, heating your ears. “A mirror reflects what it sees, and what I see, is a leader who needs to get off my case.”

You walk off, and as you pass James, you grab your book. Just as you’re at the exit, you turn back to the group, and, with your hand posed as if there’s an invisible microphone in your grasp, you drop it, and walk out.

---

After that, there seems to be no end to your evasion of Carol; simply because wherever you turned, there she was. Making coffee? She’d be sitting on the kitchen bench, talking with Dr. Banner over scrambled eggs. Chilling out and reading in the common area? She’d be watching reruns of the original series of Full House. Taking out the trash? She’d be covered in grease and tinkering with her motorbike. And every single time that you saw her, you became more and more maddened by the feelings you had for her.

It got to the point where something would flare up inside of you at the mere thought of her, which, was unheard of for you. You were a mirror, a mimic. You’d been able to copy anyone with special abilities ever since you’d been subjected to a potent dose of a Terrigen crystal, no exception to the rule. Except…now. You usually needed to have a subject in front of you to copy, but more and more, your body was lighting up with static electricity that zapped at you.

At first, you dismissed the static as just seasonal. It happened to everybody. But when you kept getting little electric shocks, even on things that weren’t conductive, it made you question what you knew. So, you did what you did best in times of confusion: you found an expert.

Dr. Cho had a lab for herself to potter around in - which was code for ‘not in the vicinity of Tony Stark’s tinkering’ - when she was around the Compound. It was well-lit, nicely organised, and rarely visited by those who weren’t in need of something. Which is why it shocked you - pun intended - to see Tony Stark in the lab. Well, it shouldn’t have. He owned the whole place, and it literally paid to be a friend of his.

“Mirror-Mirror, fancy seeing you here,” he greeted you with a signature smile. “What brings you to my favourite medic’s wing?”

“Mr. Stark,” Dr. Cho shook her head, “This is the only medic’s wing in the building.”

You chuckled at Helen’s response, but answered the Iron Man. “Well, Shell-Head, I happen to need a doctor.” You gave him a wan smile, approaching he and Dr. Cho slowly, “and while Dr. Banner can practice a few different kinds of medicine, I so-happen to prefer this practitioner.”

Helen beamed. “You’re too kind, ___________.”

At that, you went to walk toward them. But it seemed that with every step that you took toward the two out of three parents of Ultron (and ultimately, Vision), your body lit up with the electricity. It felt like the static you’d use to get as a kid by touching too-hot car doors or the play-ground slippery-dip, but much, much worse. With every step it worsened, until it got too much, and leaning onto a bench, your fingers zapped at the tabletop, and raised the hair on your arms.

“If it’s not too much,” you whimpered, “I need a diagnosis, please.”

Strangely enough, Stark left without another word, leaving you alone with a very perplexed doctor before you. She approached tentatively and touched one of your limbs with a plastic rod. The both of you watched as it conducted a little electric zap. Humming in approval, she looked to you.

“This looks like something I’m not quite sure of…” she frowned, and touching your hand with her bare hand, received no shock at all. “That’s curious…” she whispered.

“Everything about me at the moment is curious,” you whined, placing your head flush against the bench. A zap echoed as your forehead touched the metal, and you winced. “Ow.”

---

Until the medical professionals work out why you’re a walking phone charger, you’re benched from Avengers activities. Which, even if you weren’t actively doing before, kind of bums you out now. Being stuck in your room is nobody’s picnic, and even after you finish watching all the available episodes of The Good Place on the streaming service, you’re still full of energy.

Damn the sparkles. Damn your abilities. Damn everything.

Simmering with activity, you push your laptop away, and begin to pace the room. But even then, you stop, because looking down, you realise that you’ve started to scorch the floating floors around your room with distinct foot-shaped sears. Deciding against running a hand across your face for fear of accidently frying it, you look to the window, and see the fire escape. It was a remanent of the past, when Howard Stark had this facility kitted out to be something of a base than as a living area for people who were the Earth’s first and last line of defence.

Since there’s no-one around to say no, you go to the window, and clambering out, climb onto the roof. Once up there, you’re met with silence. It’s not a bad kind of silence, like when you’re alone with your thoughts and trapped in a crystal catacomb by a terrorist. It’s…good. It’s a clear night, but on the horizon, behind the still-fading sun, there’s a storm brewing. You can tell by the clouds. Thor is still away in Italy, so it can’t be him. You settle into a comfortable position and watch as it creeps over the hills.

But it doesn’t. It’s the most curious kind of sunset, and in almost a doomsday fashion, the bright spot comes nearer. If you weren’t an Avenger-in-Training, you’d be considerably more afraid. But since you regularly interacted with weird things and once met the Wolverine (who was horrified at your abilities, by the way), you kept your cool. Which was good. Because as the bright spot neared, you started to see a face, and you recognised the meteor-esque flying object to be none other than Carol Danvers.

She landed ceremoniously beside you, sitting with her knees raised, hands resting upon them. Her suit looked so good, and even better with her in it. Just thinking that made your feel a flush of embarrassment, and as she looked to you, you ducked your head into your chest.

“Any news?” she says, giving you a smile that made your heart flutter.

You blink, mind blanker than a fresh ream of printing paper. “…”

Carol leans back onto the roof, gazing at the sky that coated the world around you with a growing smattering of stars. “About the zapping thing you’ve got.” She says. You must look visibly mortified, and she adds, “I talked to a couple of people. It doesn’t look fun.”

You look at your hands. Bringing your fingers near to one another, you watch as little shocks traverse between them. “To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s so bad.”

Carol nods. “I didn’t like my thing when I first got it,” she says, bringing two fists to her chest, and with a pumping motion, shoots two photon beams from her body. “…but it depends on how you look at it.”

Your brain is almost like static, but you manage to process her words. “it’s just…when I got hit with the crystal, I thought I knew what I was. I’m a mimic, and yet, I’m like a walking Vegas light show for some reason.”

Carol laughs, and says, “Have you been to Nevada?”

“Not for a while.”

“Well, when you’re not grounded to this base, and I’m not on a mission, let’s go.” She tells you. “It’s been a while since I was last there.”

You feel your pulse quicken under your skin, and as you swallow, you feel your skin prickle with static. “You want to go? With me?” you ask, dumbfounded.

Carol nods. “Yeah. Well, because Maria has her own Captain Trouble to take care of these days, and while I’m sure Stark would love to take a trip down to the desert, I’d rather go with you.”

The sun has started to properly set now. The sky has begun to pick up colours through the clouds in the sky, and the stars that glisten on the other side of the horizon sparkle like diamonds or shards of glass. It’s like a Bob Ross painting, and you’re in it, and so is Carol.

“Why me?” you wonder, voice small.

She beams, like the shooting star that she is, and leans close. She and you are the only ones outside, and other than who’s in the base, the only ones for miles. She doesn’t need to lean close to you, but she does.

“Because,” she says, slowly, tantalisingly, “I’m kind of into you.”

“Holy shit,” you whisper. It’s not the ideal answer, but Carol’s face lights up at it. “That’s…I like you too,” you tell her, so quiet, that it could almost be carried away with the wind. But she heard it. Slowly, you felt a magnetism again, and this time, stronger than ever. Your hands touched hers, and leaning closer, you felt yourself drawing toward her, closer, closer -

“___________,” Carol breathes, your name heavenly in her mouth, “You’re glowing.”

Opening your eyes, you see that you are. Like a Christmas tree strung with so many battery-powered globes. You watch as it dims, but instead of it fading away, the light that had encompassed you, all the sparks that flew and the fireworks that boomed in your belly, they passed through your hands, seeping into Carol’s skin.

You retract your hand from hers, and as you replace it to lean once again on the roof, you miss the feeling that came before.

“I’m not static anymore,” you gasp.

Carol shivers, unbidden. From her shoulders, sparks fly. “I think I’m your cure, then.”

“Hell yeah you are,” you grin, closing the distance between your mouth and hers once again.

#carol danvers #captain marvel #carol danvers x reader #carol danvers/reader #captain marvel x reader #captain marvel/reader #marvel fanfic #marvel x reader #Avengers #avengers x reader #chaotic--lovely #pendragonfics #Female reader #f/f #gender neutral reader

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avengerscompound · 5 years ago

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Recovery

Recovery: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers

Word Count: 2375

Warnings: Angst, some foreplay and mentions of sex, grief, ptsd

Synopsis: Five months since the death of Daisy, Bucky has pulled away from Steve unable to come to terms with his feelings of responsibility for her death. Steve and Wanda pull together to bring him around for the holidays.

A/N: Follow up to Finding Home.

Recovery

They’d settled in Canada. Canada didn’t sign the Sokovia accords. They also had places remote enough that they could be alone, but they were still connected to the world enough that if something were to happen … well, they’d be there ready to defend the world like they’d always done in the past.

Wanda had come with them. They’d told her it was fine, they could handle it. She didn’t like the idea of them being alone and not having any way to deal with the kid’s abilities. Also, she hated being on the run alone. She’d spent her life with someone constantly by her side. Now he was gone, she was lost and she needed the consistency of other people she knew and trusted. Steve had always understood her, so she stayed by his side.

Steve was slowly moving on from his grief at the loss of Daisy. He was used to being the strong one. It was what he did. Having the kids helped. They needed him. Having Bucky helped more. He kept telling himself this was what she wanted. Since the day they’d met she just wanted to get Bucky back to him, and now she had. So he was going to appreciate her sacrifice.

Bucky was struggling more. It was strange. He couldn’t shake the feeling that her death was just one more person’s blood on his hands. Yet now she’d freed him from the soldier, he found himself being happy more and more. Happy like he was back when Steve was just a little guy and he hadn’t been sent off to war. Anytime that happened his grief swallowed him even deeper. The thought of his happiness being solely due to the fact the woman he loved died felt impossible to live with.

As the seasons changed and Christmas approached Steve became single-minded about making it a good one. This was his family now. He wanted to start making happy memories for them. He needed it. For himself. For all of them.

He started by taking everyone shopping. He knew it was risky, but they all bundled up and driven the two hours it took to get to any sort of shops. They had limited funds but were able to buy decorations and gifts. Sarah fussed constantly. She wasn’t used to being around so many minds and she hadn’t worked out how to block them out.

They bought supplies to help get them through the winter too. Making sure they had all the things needed for a proper Christmas dinner.

When they got home Steve went and cut down a small pine tree. First checking to make sure nothing had made their home in it. He set it up in the living room and he and Wanda decorated it together.

Jamie and Sarah became obsessed with the tree. Sarah, much like her brother had physically developed very fast. At five months old she was crawling around and pulling herself up on things. She babbled constantly. Steve erected a small fence around it to keep them away from the gifts, but the two toddlers would stand and stare and reach their hands in trying to grab the colorful baubles and brightly wrapped presents.

Wanda gave them a pack of colorful magnets depicting various farm animals to distract them. The two would toddle around the house finding things that would stick on. Yes to the fridge. No to the wall. Yes to a lamp. No to the couch. No to one daddy. Yes to the other.

The discovery that magnets stuck to only one person in the house became the most interesting game of all. Anytime Bucky sat down a little body or two would toddle over and start sticking them to him. He’d sit and let them create their scenes and when they were done he’d flex the plates on his arm and they’d all go flying causing Jamie and Sarah to squeal with delight and go gather them back up again.

“That looks like fun,” Steve said, finding the three playing together on the couch. He sat down and put his arm around Bucky.

Bucky’s face fell. He’d allowed himself time to be happy again.

“Daddy’s sad,” Jamie said, climbing into Bucky’s lap. He touched his hands on his head.

Steve picked Jamie up. “We don’t change people’s feelings, remember?” He said.

Jamie grumbled and wriggled out of Steve’s arms. Climbing back into Bucky’s lap and resting his head against Bucky’s chest. Steve leaned over and ran his hand through the little boy’s hair.

“She would want you to be happy, Buck,” Steve said. “She’d want these moments for you.”

“She’d want to be alive,” Bucky said, looking away from Steve.

“She knew the risk. Everyone told her. She wanted you to be happy. She wanted us to be happy. It’s not your fault she made that choice.” Steve said. Sarah had started tugging at his leg and he lifted her up and held her on his knee.

“Yeah, but if I just …”

“No buts, Buck. It’s what she wanted. She died for it. You could at least allow it to happen when it does. You don’t always have to be happy, but let yourself be happy when you are.”

Sarah was tugging impatiently at Steve’s shirt.

“Sawa wans a boddle.” Jamie said, interrupting the conversation.

Steve looked down at his daughter. “Is that what you want, little miss?”

“Ba ba ba ba.” She babbled.

Steve got up, brushing his hand through Bucky’s hair as he did. “I love you, pal. I know I don’t say it much. At least not in those words. But I do. I want to make this work, but I need you to want it too.”

Bucky let his head fall back over the end of the couch. The door opened and Wanda stepped through accompanied by an icy blast of air. “It’s started snowing.” She said, stamping her feet and shrugging off her coat.

Bucky turned to looked at her and Jamie stood in his lap and clambered up to his shoulder. “Daddy’s sad.” He said, making a pick me up gesture to Wanda. “Fix him.”

She came over and lifted him. “You know not to fix him with here.” She said tapping Jamie on the forehead. “You should fix him with here.” She tapped his chest above his heart.

“You fix him,” Jamie said.

Wanda laughed and sat down next to Bucky. He lifted Jamie from Wanda’s arms and the little boy snuggled down into his chest again, his hand patting over his heart.

“Sorry,” Bucky said.

“There’s no need to be.” Wanda fiddled with her fingers. “James, you know I knew Daisy too. She and Steve were the first people to trust me on the Avengers.”

“Yeah. But she didn’t…”

Wanda cut him off. “I know her loss is worse for you. I’m not trying to take it away from you.” She said. She started moving her fingers the glowing red light of her powers flickering across them. Jamie shifted in Bucky’s lap to watch. “One reason she trusted me was, she knew we shared a similar journey. I was a child when I chose to go to Hydra. So full of hate. I had my brother. Pietro. We were tortured together to make us special. They harnessed our anger and our fear and made it this.” The light in her hand grew bigger and she snuffed it out. Jamie grabbed her hand and started pulling on it to try and get the light back. She ruffled his hair. “She didn’t go to Hydra willingly, but her life was much the same. Only she didn’t have a brother. She had you. You kept her alive and sane. You made it so she never totally gave herself to Hydra.”

“I know all that,” Bucky grumbled. “Does this story have a point?”

“When Pietro and I saw the path our hate was taking us on, we joined the Avengers to undo it. Pietro sacrificed himself to save Clint and a child. I still don’t understand why that happened. He was shot. Yet he moved faster than bullets. How does that happen?” She shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “That’s not the point. The point is; is that it did happen. I had always had Pietro. Here.” She touched her chest above her heart. “And here.” She touched her forehead. “Much like you and Daisy. When I lost him I felt it. It was like my heart was torn out. I still feel it to this day.”

“How do you live with that?” Bucky asked.

“Because I have to. It’s not always easy, but what choice do I have? I can’t let my misery consume me. And neither can you. You’re a parent, and you have someone alive right here who loves you so much he has been carrying it with him for a century. Are you really going to let your grief take you away from him again? When the loss you mourn is for someone who gave you to him.”

Steve stepped back into the lounge feeding Sarah. She was reclined back in his arms and beginning to drift off to sleep. “Did you have a good walk, Wanda?” He asked.

“I did, thank you. Did you want me to take, Sarah?”

Steve shook his head. “I’ve got her. I was thinking we should make eggnog tonight, maybe teach Jamie how to make s'mores.”

“I have never made s’mores either. I would love to learn.” Wanda said, smiling.

“What do ya think, Buck? Then maybe Jamie can leave cookies and milk out for Santa.” Steve said.

Bucky smiled. “Yeah, that sounds great, pal.” He looked down at Jamie and ruffled his hair. “You should have a nap, little guy.”

“Not tired,” Jamie grumbled rubbing his eyes.

“Yes, you are. Come on.” Bucky stood up and started heading to the bedroom.

“No.” Jamie pushed. Bucky wavered for a moment and Wanda jumped to her feet.

“Hey, no using your abilities on your dad. Undo it.” She said.

“No!” Jamie cried.

“Undo it, right now,” Wanda said, narrowing her eyes.

Bucky suddenly shook his head and turned to Wanda. “Damn. He’s a little scary sometimes.”

Wanda laughed but it was a nervous, uncomfortable laugh. “He’ll be okay. We can do this.”

“Thank you, Wanda. And for before.” Bucky said.

“Anytime, James.”

That night they spent together. This weird mismatched family. They toasted marshmallows on the open fire and turned them into s’mores. Bucky made the eggnog, and Wanda made a dinner that was as close to a traditional Sokovian Christmas meal as she could. Roast duck and spiced, potato dumplings, beef rolls on sauerkraut, bread, herb and ham balls in roast onion white sauce.

After dinner, they stayed up talking and singing songs together. Bucky let himself actually feel true contentment for the first time since he signed up to join the army in 1942. Right at this moment, he was safe and Steve was too. He was himself. He was a parent. All the things he had dreamed of but never thought would ever come to fruition had happened. He’d just been too deep in grief to appreciate it.

Steve and Bucky got the kids to sleep and said their goodnights to Wanda. Steve started removing his clothes, getting ready for bed. Bucky came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Steve. He kissed him under the ear, grazing his teeth over his throat.

Steve hummed and leaned back into Bucky. Their mouths met, Bucky dominated Steve. He’d been keeping himself from Steve for too long and he wanted Steve to know how much he wanted him and needed him. His hands slid down into the waistband of Steve’s pants. He stroked up and down the line of his Adonis’ belt and down to his inner thigh.

Steve pulled away, breaking their kiss. “Buck. Are you sure? We haven’t…”

Bucky let Steve go and they turned to face each other. He cupped Steve’s jaw and stroked his thumb along it. “I’m sorry, Stevie. I’m sorry I’ve left you alone to just care for us. That you haven’t had a chance to grieve because you’ve just had to be the strong one. I’m going to be here now. I want us to be …” He trailed off, not knowing how to end.

“Us?” Steve asked.

Bucky nodded and Steve pulled him into a kiss, pressing his body tightly against Bucky’s. They started to shed each other’s clothes as they moved towards the bed. When they reached the mattress they just fell together, hands stroking, clawing and gripping at each other. Their mouths battled. The feelings that Bucky had been suppressing out of guilt and that Steve had been holding back to give him time all coming out at once. Lust and love and passion. Their complete need for each other.

That night they made love three times. Not concerned with the early start they had, or the fact that Sarah was likely to wake them at 2 AM. They just were unable to keep their hands off each other once they started. Eventually, they fell asleep completely wrapped around each other. They slept soundly until dawn. The first time that had happened for either of them since 1945.

They were awoken at sunrise by Jamie jumping on the bed and tapping them. “Daddies. Santa’s been. You gotta wake up.”

Bucky and Steve opened their eyes and looked around blearily. “Did Sarah actually sleep through the night?” Bucky asked.

“It’s a Christmas miracle.” Steve laughed, rolling out of bed. He grabbed his pajama pants from the ground and pulled them on. “Okay, Jamie. Let’s go get your sister and see what Santa brought you.” He said picking Jamie up off the bed. He grabbed Bucky’s boxers from the floor and tossed them at him.

“Love you, Buck.”

“Love you too, Stevie.” Bucky laughed.

“Me too?” Jamie said pouting.

Bucky sat up and pulled his boxers on. “Of course I do, champ. Love you to bits.”

Steve kissed his son on the head and headed to the kid’s bedroom. “Daddy’s happy now,” Jamie said, looking up at Steve.

“He’s getting there, buddy. He’s getting there.”

#steve rogers #bucky barnes #captain america #the winter soldier #bucky barnes x steve rogers #stucky #captain america fanfic #the winter soldier fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #angst #smut #ish?#finding home #recovery

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stcky-rogers · 5 years ago

Text

just friends | nine

summary: bucky barnes, now a successful record executive, confessed his unrequited feelings for his best friend. ten years later, he returns home for the holidays when his plans to go to paris fall through. stuck in brooklyn with his crazy family and an egotistical pop star, bucky tries to get himself out of the friendzone. movie au, just friends

pairings: bucky barnes x reader

warnings: language, mentions of death, angst-from tfios, fluff.

eight

you let out a sigh as you slumped into the uncomfortable chair. you eyes low as you stare up at the dull lights on the ceiling. you stretched your legs out in front of you as you waited for the doctor to return with more information.

“miss stark,” the doctor called as she approached you and your head snapped in the direction of the recognizable voice. “peggy,” you breathed as she sat in the chair next to you. peggy began telling you everything you needed to know about bucky’s injuries. “bucky has multiple lacerations on his lower mandible and a mild concussion.” you nodded, toying with the stray thread on your sweater.

peggy chuckled before placing her hand over yours, “he’s going to be fine, there’s nothing for you to worry about.” she encouraged. peggy told you to follow her as she leads you to bucky’s room. when peggy opened the door, bucky was on his feet. you entered the room behind peggy and stopped in your tracks, bucky was shirtless.

damn, he looks good.

bucky grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. you gave a small smile and bucky returned it, momentarily forgetting about the retainer steve was making him wear. you frowned slightly, “what’s with the retainer?” bucky snapped his mouth shut, “steve says i have to wear it until the stitches come out.” you shook your head and smiled, “it’s your yearbook picture all over again.” bucky rolled his eyes at you.

once bucky signed the discharge papers, you left the hospital. you drove bucky home due to his concussion and made your way home. the walk was a very short and cold one, you made your way inside, shrugging off your winter accessories and found your parents sitting in the kitchen making dinner.

your dad smiled, “hey, honey. i didn’t know when you’d be home,” you returned his smile and sat down on the stool across from your father. “bucky injured himself playing hockey with the kids earlier today,” you said, accepting a cup of hot chocolate pepper placed in front of you.

your dad shook his head, “that kid was always injuring himself skating,” you shrugged, “i just hope he gets better.” you said, taking your cup and moving up the stairs. your cellphone began ringing in your pocket and you gave a slight frown, it was just after nine o’clock. you looked at the unfamiliar number and answered your phone anyway, a soft ‘hello’ escaping your lips.

“doll,” the voice called, “hey,” you opened the door to your bedroom and smiled at hearing bucky’s voice. “hey, how are you feeling?” you asked, plopping down on your bed. bucky scoffed, “like a million bucks,” he chuckled and you rolled your eyes.

“hey, i was thinking, maybe we could, um, see a movie or something tonight,” you sip your drink as bucky continued, “there’s a showing for the fault in our stars at ten-thirty.” you perked up at the mention of the movie, nearly choking on your hot chocolate. “sounds good to me, i’ll pick you up.” you grinned and bucky chuckled, “great, doll. i’ll see you soon,” bucky said before hanging up the phone.

bucky raced to his room and found pietro giving natasha a massage, grimacing bucky yanked his brother off of her and watched as he landed on the floor with a thud. natasha quickly scrambled into a sitting position, grabbing a blanket to cover herself. “where the hell have you been?” she glared at bucky and he frowned, “i was getting you food.” he held out the tupperware bowl as she pulled it from his hands.

“are you wearing braces?” pietro squinted, trying to get a better look at his brother’s teeth. bucky glared, “no, it’s a retainer,” he said before yanking pietro out of the room.

“take natasha to the tavern and just have her perform or something, i’ve got another date.” pietro perked up, a mischievous grin on his face.

setting down your drink, you began pulling off your clothes. wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel, you made your way into your bathroom for a shower and when you stepped out, it was almost ten. you dressed in a comfortable sweater and leggings, pulling your hair into a bun, you raced down the stairs.

you knocked softly on peter’s door and within seconds, the door swung open revealing peter with his gaming headset on. “hey, i’m going to see a movie with bucky,” you informed and peter instantly cut you off, “how is he, by the way?” you gave him a brief rundown on bucky’s state and he nodded, “you mind bringing me back some of mrs. barnes’ infamous cookies?” peter asked, a hopeful gleam in his eyes and you chuckled before nodding.

you were pulling on your boots and your other winter accessories before your phone rang in your hand. you answered the call as you left your home.

the drive over to bucky’s was short and within minutes were getting out of the car and knocking on the door. the door swung open and revealed wanda, the two of you squealed and wrapped each other in a tight hug. “wan, i’ve missed you!” you cried into her hair and she giggled. “i’ve missed you, too.” her accent thick as she spoke into your ear. pulling away from each other, she quickly pulled you inside and nearly pushed you into bucky.

bucky’s arms reached out and wrapped you into a warm hug and you almost melted. you could stay wrapped in his warm embrace until the day you die, but your fantasy was short lived as someone behind you cleared their throat. you had forgotten about your other friend. “thor,” bucky spoke, shock lacing his voice as he stared up at the blond haired man in front of him.

you looked up at bucky only to find his piercing blue eyes staring back down at you, “i hope it’s not a problem that thor’s tagging along,” you bit your lip and bucky almost kicked himself for feeling upset with you. “no, of course not.” he grinned, but inwardly he was screaming. wanda grinned as she looked at you and her brother, completely ignoring the man standing behind her.

she wrapped you and bucky into a tight hug, “be safe and have fun,” you chuckled as bucky grumbled something about wanda being just like their mother. “hey, why don’t you join us?” thor spoke up, a look in his eye bucky couldn’t quite detect.

“no, wanda has homework she needs to get done.” bucky stated and wanda rolled her eyes. “you don’t need to speak for me, james,” wanda huffed and grabbed her coat. “let’s go,” she said, dragging you out to the car.

the four of you were completely silent as you drove to the movie theater. bucky had purchased yours and wanda’s tickets, leaving thor to buy his own. smirking as he placed his arm around your shoulders, bucky drug you off to the concession stand. you purchased your popcorn and drinks before making your way inside the theater.

bucky rested his head on fist as he watched the movie as augustus confessed his feelings to hazel. he didn’t see why people were making such a big deal out of it. rolling his eyes, he continued watching the movie as it played on the screen in front of him. nearly falling asleep, bucky’s eyes snapped open when you reached for his hand, tears rolling down your face. turning his attention back to the screen he saw hazel lying in bed and he frowned.

“augustus waters died eight days later in the icu, when the cancer, which was made of him, stopped his heart, which was also made of him.” bucky gave your hand a small squeeze as you stared at the screen in front of you. even with tears rolling down your cheeks, bucky thought you were the most beautiful sight in the world. bucky leaned over to get a look at thor only to see him crying as well. he looked over at wanda and she was on the verge of sobbing.

after the movie was over, you drove everyone back to bucky’s. you turned to face the siblings in the backseat, smiling, you said, “so, what are we doing next?” thor looked over at you, “sadly, i have to head back for a shift at the hospital.” bucky chimed in, “oh, that’s too bad. doll, come inside for a cup of cocoa and brownies.” you immediately nodded at the offer.

you said your goodbyes to thor and watched him get into his car and drive off. the three of you made your way inside the house and watched old home videos to go with your desserts.

bucky dropped his head as one of the most embarrassing moments of his life popped up on the screen. you two had been singing along to the song and you planted a kiss on bucky’s cheek before his verse came, leaving him so flustered he stammered throughout the whole verse. you giggled softly at how sweet bucky used to be and you’d be lying if said you didn’t miss it.

that night you went home with a huge smile on your face. you placed the cookies bucky had given you on peter’s desk before heading up to your room. you changed out of your clothes, climbed into bed and before you knew it, you were out like a light.

when you woke the next morning, you received a text from bucky asking you to accompany him for some christmas shopping. you agreed and told him you’d be by to pick him up in an hour. you went downstairs to enjoy a nice meal with your family, only to see thor sitting at the table.

“what are you doing here?” you frowned, taking a seat next to peter. “i ran into your dad earlier this morning and he invited me over for breakfast,” your dad gave you a cheeky smile as you looked at him. pepper set a plate in front of you as peter leaned over to whisper something in your ear, “two guys at breakfast in two days, you go girl,” you lightly jabbed him in the ribs with your elbow and he grunted.

breakfast was completely awkward, your dad was trying to set you up with thor and he was failing miserably. “you hear that, sweetie, thor’s free for your grandparents’ anniversary party.” you forced a smile, “that’s, awesome.” you finished your food and placed your dishes in the sink and turned to see thor standing behind you. “i have to get going, i’m needed at the hospital.” thor planted a kiss on your cheek and headed out the door. you went upstairs and prepared for your day with bucky.

“oh my god, no, bucky, you cannot give that to your mother.” you shook your head as bucky held up a john wick poster. he frowned, “why not, the woman loves keanu reeves.” you snorted and took the poster out of his hands and put it back where it belonged.

“no, you don’t give something like that to the woman who gave birth to you.” you sighed, looping your arm through his. the two of you had been shopping for hours and you found gifts for everyone, except for pepper, bucky’s mom, and bucky. you were currently searching for a gift to give mrs. barnes and you had happened to come up with the perfect one.

“a family portrait,” bucky gave you a confused look, “think about it, you’ve been in la for the last ten years, a picture of her three children in front of the fireplace would be such a beautiful christmas gift.” you shrugged, “and if that doesn’t work by her a charm bracelet,”

when you two had finished shopping, you were starving. bucky took you one of your favorite diners in brooklyn, an older couple had ran the diner and absolutely loved tony stark’s and winnifred barnes’ children. walking in, you shrugged off your coat as you approached the booth. bucky looked around, nostalgia hitting him in the face. there were so many things and places he’d forgotten about brooklyn.

“well, if it isn’t my two favorite troublemakers,” bucky grinned up at the old man. “in the flesh,” stan chuckled. “it’s good to have you back, son.” he clasped his hand on bucky’s shoulder and bucky’s smile faltered.

“oh, uh, i’m not back. i’m just visiting for the holidays.” stan snorted, “sure, kid.” he muttered before he took your orders. dinner went by smoothly, there were accidents, rude comments, or any storming out. you two had a really good time. in fact, you two were laughing, talking, and telling jokes until it was time for the diner to close. bucky helped you into your coat and put his on as well. you two hugged stan and his wife and said your goodbyes as you left.

you turned around to see bucky holding something above your head. “mistletoe,” you whispered, a smile spreading across your lips. bucky grinned, “rules are you have to kiss me.” you snorted as you stepped closer, leaning in to close the gap between you, your breath mixing with his. your lips brushed over one another’s, right before you captured his with your own.

the kiss was soft, sweet, and innocent as you moved your lips together. bucky wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against his body. your hands cupped bucky’s cheeks as he deepened the kiss, tongue twisting and exploring your mouth. you pulled away slowly, sucking in a breath of air as you stared back at the man in front of you. your lips tingled when the cold air met them, bucky took his bottom lip between his teeth and leaned in for another breathtaking kiss, but someone called your name. you turned to find the voice and you really wished you hadn’t.

it was like a punch in the gut when you whispered his name, “bruce.”

ten

taglist:

@starkxpotts / @captain-avengerss / @metermarker / @propertyofpoeandbucky/ @inlovewith3 / @thisismyfriend-tree / @amor67figment-love / @sourieeseb / @xi-i-i-whatsyouremergency / @renalilo/ @skin-like / @comicaluke / @breezy1415 /

#stcky-rogers fics #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes au #the winter soldier x reader #the winter soldier au #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan au #just friends series #just friends au

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aidanchaser · 5 years ago

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Everyone Lives AU

Table of Contents beta’d by @ageofzero, @magic713m, @ccboomer, @somebodyswatson, and Aubs

Chapter Twelve Silver and Opals

As soon as the door to the cell closed behind her, Tonks slumped against the cold stone wall. She breathed out a silent prayer of gratitude that at least she did not have to deal with dementors on this trip to Azkaban. As horrifying as it was that the dementors had left and were loose around England, she was not sure she could have survived this visit otherwise.

“Alright?” Proudfoot asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tonks gave him a wan smile. “Alright. Except that the guy doesn’t know anything. Don’t know why Scrimgeour’s insisting we keep him.”

Tonks pushed herself off against the wall and followed Proudfoot down the stairs of Azkaban’s western tower. Her interrogation with Stan Shunpike had gone exactly as she’d expected. Stan had pleaded innocence, said he didn’t know anything, he’d been exaggerating, he’d been trying to impress people.

“I suppose even people who pretend to have associations with Death Eaters ought to be taken seriously. Prevents people from….” Proudfoot rubbed the side of his head and winced. Tonks didn’t think he noticed it anymore, but it had become a tick of his whenever he thought too hard about something, a remnant of his duel with Pyrites last spring. “Sorry. I guess I just mean we’ve got to take any threat seriously.”

“I don’t blame Scrimgeour and Robards for having him brought in,” Tonks said, and tightened the scarf around her neck as they reached the large doors leading out of Azkaban, “but I think he’s learned his lesson, don’t you? He’s not going to give us anything useful.”

The doors out of Azkaban stood nearly as tall as the castle wall itself. They were each a meter thick, crafted out of ironwood and reinforced with bands of steel that were then reinforced with enchantments that left the metal glowing an eerie silver. On either side of the doors were two security trolls who towered twelve-feet high, nearly as high as the door, and beneath them stood two burly wizards, arms folded over their chest. As Tonks and Proudfoot approached, one whipped out a Secrecy Sensor and the other a Probity Probe. Without further prompting, Tonks and Proudfoot raised their arms over their heads and waited until they were cleared. They’d done this a hundred times. It was standard practice before going into the office these days — so Tonks went in as little as possible.

When the guards seemed satisfied that Tonks and Proudfoot were exactly who they said they were, they ordered the trolls to open the doors.

Each troll grabbed the enormous handles attached to a wheel and chain and pulled. With a loud clanking and a low-pitched creaking, the doors to Azkaban opened, just enough for Tonks and Proudfoot to squeeze out, and then they slammed closed behind them.

The North Sea crashed around them, drenching Tonks’s hair and clothes. She pulled her cloak tighter and shivered, and reminded herself to be grateful that it was not her job to stand out here as a guard.

The two wizards who did have the unfortunate duty of protecting the gates outside of Azkaban handed them their wands, for no wands were allowed inside Azkaban. Finally, she and Proudfoot were able to Apparate back to the Ministry. It was not quiet, at least not as quiet as the late night hours usually were. A pair of witches waited at the golden gates for Security to let them in. Another wizard stood by someone in bright green healer’s robes, having a whispered discussion. Several Hit Wizards lined the Floo Network entrances, prepared to detain and interrogate anyone who appeared suspicious. They were not far from the new, gaping hole in the Atrium, while the Ministry figured out how they would replace the Fountain of Magical Brethren that had been destroyed in Voldemort and Dumbledore’s duel.

Exhaustion kept the two of them quiet as they headed through security and up to the Auror offices. Anne Scrimgeour was there, ready with their assignments for tomorrow. Just seeing the scroll in Anne’s hand made Tonks’ exhaustion level increase twofold. She hadn’t even finished her day, and already tomorrow’s task was looming in front of her.

She slumped into her chair and carefully flattened the scroll out over her desk. Part of her hoped it might be hunting down Fenrir Greyback, though she knew that Marcy had been put on that trail weeks ago. Instead, she discovered she was scheduled to be at Hogwarts for the weekend.

The Ministry had, of course, insisted on extra security for Hogwarts. They wanted round-the-clock Auror patrols of the corridors and grounds in addition to all the extra protections Dumbledore and the Ministry had already placed on the school. Dumbledore had, in turn, submitted a list of Aurors he deemed appropriate to patrol Hogwarts — meaning, Aurors who were also in the Order.

Shacklebolt was still working with the Muggle Prime Minister, and the Longbottoms were in charge of the recently added Dark Wizard Detection and Detainment Task Force, so it was mostly her, the Prewetts, and Moody. Moody was still technically retired, but he at least helped guard Hogwarts when he was needed. Tonks did not think there was any favour Dumbledore could ask of Moody that Moody would not give, and that was a hard level of respect to earn from Moody.

Padfoot leaned on her desk and craned his neck to get a look at her assignment. “Hogwarts? I got Knockturn Alley rounds this weekend with Savage. How did you even get on the Hogwarts list? You’re still the youngest of the Aurors — Diggory doesn’t count, and don’t tell me he does. He’s got three years of training to get through, just like we all did.”

Tonks tucked the new orders into her coat pocket. “You were still out for your injury when Dumbledore made his list. I’m sure that’s all it is. Did you write your report yet or are you just harassing me to procrastinate?”

When their reports were finally done, and they’d approved each other’s account of their interrogation of Stan Shunpike, they finally left the Ministry of Magic. Proudfoot, while not his usual cheery self, was his usual chatty self. He talked about his sister’s plans for a holiday in Florida in an effort to escape what was likely to be a harsh winter, the strange smell that had started to creep into his flat that he hadn’t had time to investigate fully, and a half-dozen other things on their wait in the lift and their walk out of the Ministry.

The night sky over London was dark, not a single star visible. Tonks was only able to find the moon, a vague, silvery light behind the cloud cover, because it was nearly full. Tomorrow night it would reach the peak of its cycle, and someone she loved very deeply would endure a lot of pain.

“I know a great twenty-four hour place,” Proudfoot said, pulling Tonks out of her staring contest with the hidden moon.

“What?”

“I thought you just said you were hungry.”

Perhaps she had murmured an agreement accidentally. And, as she thought about it, she actually was hungry.

Tonks checked her pocketwatch and groaned. “I can’t. I’ve got to be at Hogwarts first thing in the morning.”

“Hogwarts patrol is easy enough. Dumbledore’s got all the security in place, hasn’t he? You’ll wander around, get yourself an excellent meal, and be done with the day.”

Tonks did not think a Hogwarts patrol would be as simple as all that, but she agreed with him that it would be easier than today had been.

“Fine, but I need to let my mum know I’m alright. Hopefully she’ll believe me.” With a muttered incantation, Tonks summoned her Patronus and sent it off to deliver her hasty apology and promises she was alright.

It wasn’t until she saw Proudfoot staring at her, dumbfounded and scratching the side of his head, that she realized he was only familiar with her quick rabbit, not the lumbering silver wolf. An apology leapt to the tip of her tongue, but she held it back, unsure what she was to apologize for. Not telling him she’d fallen in love?

Proudfoot was the one to apologize. “Sorry. I thought — I dunno what I thought.” He continued running his hand through his thick brown curls and let out a long, slow breath. “A wolf, huh?” His patronus was a Kneazle, a far cry from the one she’d just revealed.

“Yeah — a wolf.”

“Used to be…?”

“A rabbit.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” He frowned, eyes still on the space where her wolf had vanished. “It’s the old legend, isn’t it? Patronus changing to match someone you love?”

“I didn’t ask the wolf, but — well, I ‘spect so.”

“And I haven’t heard about them because…?”

“Because it’s complicated.”

“Well, my food offer still stands. Tell me all about him. Or her.”

Tonks, who knew how hard it could be to extend friendship to someone you wished would love you, appreciated his offer more than she could put into words.

Proudfoot led Tonks towards a caff around the bend of the Thames. It was a few miles to walk, but the cold, fresh air felt good after so many hours in Azkaban. It also made it easier to talk.

“Start with their name,” Proudfoot prodded.

Tonks thought that was the last place she wanted to start. It would be easier if Proudfoot didn’t know who she was talking about and didn’t make a number of assumptions based on Lupin’s previous run-ins with the Ministry.

“He’s a friend of my cousin. So I knew him growing up. Always thought he was sweet, y’know? And funny. I mean, I really looked up to my cousin — Mum always thought he was a bad influence, but you know my Mum.”

“In concept,” Proudfoot laughed. “Just promise me the cousin you’re talking about is Sirius Black and not Regulus Black? Or Draco Malfoy?”

Tonks had never been more grateful for Proudfoot’s sense of humor. It was why the two of them got on so well. “Of course I’m talking about Sirius.”

“And the friend isn’t James Potter, is it? Because I think I can point out some quick problems with that relationship.”

“I do not have a crush on James Potter! Stop — did you want to hear about him or not?”

“You didn’t give me his name, Tonks! I’m just making sure the reason you’re keeping him secret isn’t because he’s already married to a very powerful and terrifying witch who has it in for the Ministry.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. It was sudden, uncontrolled, and brief. She couldn’t remember if she’d laughed in the last month. She couldn’t remember if she’d laughed at all since Voldemort’s return was finally public. Since she’d had a real conversation with Remus. But it was funny to hear how the Ministry felt about Lily Potter.

“I’m not in love with Potter. Promise.”

“Alright, alright, carry on.”

Proudfoot led her through a garden along the bank of the Thames. On any other day, Tonks might have worried he was trying to make this walk romantic, but she found it so much easier to breathe, now that he knew she wasn’t interested in him. She wished she had tried to talk to him about it all sooner, but they’d danced around the line between friendly and flirty for so long, she hadn’t known how to bring it up. Perhaps an accidental discovery like this was the only way for them to move forward.

“So I always sort of liked him,” she said, “but it was just a silly crush, you know? I dated at school and everything, but, well, I dunno, after I finished at Hogwarts I saw him at a party and I just — it all hit me all over again. My heart got all jittery, and I didn’t want to leave, even when my mum and dad left. I just wanted to keep talking to him. But then there was Auror training, and I was so busy and exhausted all the time —”

“I remember Moody ran you hard.”

“Yes! It was miserable, but worth it… Anyway, this past year, we’ve spent a lot of time together and — I dunno, I thought he finally saw me as an adult, not as his friend’s kid cousin. I thought that maybe he liked me too.” Tonks felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes and she instead latched onto her anger at herself for being so upset. She shouldn’t be reacting this way. Unrequited love hurt, but it was nothing worth crying to a co-worker about.

“I’m sorry.” And Proudfoot sounded like he meant it. There was no relief in his voice that Tonks wasn’t actually taken. There was no hope that because her love was unrequited she might turn her feelings to him. He was just sympathetic.

“When I tried to talk to him about it, he said there was nothing to talk about. It hurt, but I knew I could be alright with it. Even if he did have feelings for me and just wanted to be stubborn and deny it, fine. If he wanted to date someone else, fine. If he was content with his own company, fine. I could make my peace with that. But he….” She sighed and ran a hand through her thin, mousy brown hair, wishing that she could turn it back to her favourite vibrant pink. “It’s just a lot more complicated.”

Proudfoot considered this. He kept his eyes on the road ahead, following the occasional Muggle automobile that passed them along the embankment. His hands were in his pockets, presumably one on his wand, and Tonks hastily shoved her wand hand into her pocket. She’d been using her hands to assist her talking, but she knew Moody would have criticized her for taking her hand off her wand for even a moment.

“What reasons has he given you for not wanting a relationship?” Proudfoot finally asked.

“He says I don’t deserve him because he’s old and… and sick. He thinks I ought to fall in love with some young attractive Auror instead of him — his words, not mine.”

Proudfoot’s face flushed and a grin spread across it. “So he knows me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. But yes, he’s seen you before. He knows we’ve worked together. And it just makes me angry that he thinks he can tell me who I should fall in love with!”

Proudfoot nodded. “Yeah, I see that. Has he admitted that he shares your feelings? It almost sounds like he’s making excuses to avoid hurting your feelings — and failing spectacularly, I might add.”

“I thought that for a bit, but then I talked it over with Sirius, who knows him best. Sirius said he does have feelings for me, that Sirius is sure of it. Sirius seems to think the problem is that Remus doesn’t want to deal with his own feelings and insecurities, so he’s running from them.”

“Oh. This is about Remus Lupin. I see.”

The tone of Proudfoot’s voice turned from as comforting as her mother’s homegrown herbal teas to as cold and icy as a dementor’s chill. Tonks felt her hurt and anger stunned into temporary submission as her brain tried to work out which part of Remus Lupin it was that made Proudfoot so angry. Was it that he finally had a name and a face for Tonks’ love? Was it the werewolf thing?

Tonks did as she did best: tried to brush it off with a joke. “What? Would you be less upset if I’d said it was Emmeline Vance?”

Proudfoot did not see the humor. “I just think what he is matters. You can’t have a serious relationship with someone like that.”

So it was the werewolf. “Glad to have your opinion on it,” she said coolly.

“I just mean that you ought to think about it practically. He certainly is. You can’t live with someone with that kind of condition — it’s dangerous! You know he never registered himself? And imagine what might happen to your children —”

“Merlin’s merchant, Proudfoot, where do you get off talking about me having kids?”

“I’m just looking at it in the long-term. That’s all.”

“And I was so glad to have a friend to talk to about it.” Tonks rolled her eyes, embarrassed by the gratitude she’d felt just moments ago. “You’re unbelievable. Sirius is in love with the man and he’s a better comfort about all of this than you are.”

Without checking for Muggles and without waiting for another poor, insensitive explanation from Proudfoot, Tonks Disapparated, leaving the man she had — until just a moment ago — considered her best friend standing alone on the roadside in London. She Apparated into her mother’s garden, with no care for the mint plant she trod over, and stomped into the house.

Despite the late hour, Andromeda Tonks was still up with a book in her lap, and looked relieved to see Tonks. Her relief turned into concern when she actually took in Tonks’ expression.

“What’s happened?”

“Nothing. It’s fine, Mum,” she grunted, and stomped up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door closed.

“Nymphadora!” her mother shrieked, with the same strength and indignation she’d used throughout Tonks’ teenage years.

As another set of footsteps stomped up the stairs behind Tonks, the house seemed to groan with weariness. It had endured hundreds of similar arguments as Tonks had passed through puberty and into adulthood; it was likely to endure a hundred more.

Tonks was barely out of her coat when her mother threw the door open.

“Nymphadora!”

“What, Mum?” She was so tired of every adult treating her like a child, and she wished she knew how to stop herself from responding as if she still were a child.

“You know better than to come barging into this house at ungodly hours making that kind of noise —”

“Because you haven’t just woken half of the neighborhood yourself —”

“Don’t interrupt me! I’ve been up half the night, worried sick about you, and you brush me off like I’m little more than a house-elf —”

“I’m sorry, Mum. I’m tired. It was a long day.” Tonks hung her coat in her wardrobe, simply because her mother was still standing in her doorway and she knew she’d get another scolding if she left it on the floor.

There was a heavier set of footsteps in the hallway, joined by a loud yawn, and her father came stumbling down the hall, dressed in his nightclothes. He joined her mother in the doorway. “Dromeda, Dora, must we do this now?”

“She’s the unreasonable one!” Tonks said, raising her voice more than she meant to, an old habit of an oft-repeated phrase growing up. “Shouting like it’s the end of the world at Merlin knows what hour of the night!”

“I’m the unreasonable one? I’m just asking for the bare minimum — the absolute least you can do is say hello when you come home. Some basic decency is all I ask for in this house.”

“I’ve said I’m sorry, Mum. What else do you want? I’ll remember to send my Patronus earlier next time.”

“You have no idea what it’s like, waiting up with worry while you’re only child is off fighting who-knows-what and who-knows-who and —”

“Yeah, and I ‘spect I never will. I was at Azkaban half the day, and I’ve got to be at Hogwarts in the morning, and I’d like to get just an hour of good sleep in, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Ah,” Ted Tonks said, and stifled another yawn. “There it is. Did you have another run-in with Lupin?”

“No! Dad — just go back to bed.” Her cheeks flushed, and had she been thirteen instead of twenty three, her hair would have burned bright red with embarrassment.

“Are you really still interested in him, Nymphadora?” asked Andromeda. “It’s been nearly six months since you’ve even spoken to him.”

Tonks rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mum, I’m aware. You say it like I can help it.”

“Oh, please. You are not the protagonist of some Russian novel who can stand around waiting for him to reform bad habits and realize he’s been in love with you all this time. You cannot mope about —”

“I’m not moping!”

“Then change your hair. Fix your nose. As much as I love seeing my face on my daughter for once, I miss seeing your father’s. You’ve let this man take a wonderful gift from you, and it’s growing ridiculous.”

“Dromeda,” Ted said, and put his arm around his wife, “don’t pretend you were any less romantic about love when you were her age. I recall several impassioned speeches about what you thought of your family’s philosophy, and how you didn’t care what it cost you, you would have me no matter what.”

Andromeda’s face grew red. “That was different! We had each other — and we had a plan —”

“It’s not the same, but it’s not that different,” Ted said. “Come on, let’s get to bed before any of us say something we’ll regret in the morning. Will you be home tomorrow night, Dora?”

Tonks, still furious with her mother shook her head. “No. I’m at Hogwarts this weekend. I expect I’ll be home on Monday.”

Andromeda’s face was shrewd. “Why not come home tomorrow night? London’s no closer to Hogwarts than we are.”

“Let it go, Dromeda,” Ted said. “She’s an adult, and if she wants to keep throwing herself at this, that’s her choice.”

Andromeda did not look like she was going to let it go. “This conversation isn’t over, Nymphadora.”

Tonks rolled her eyes. “Brilliant. Can’t wait until we pick it up again.” She considered never coming home again, but the last thing she needed was her mother pounding on the Potters’ or Weasleys’ doors, demanding to know where she was and how to get to the Order’s headquarters in London. As her bedroom door closed, and she was finally alone, she reminded herself that her parents were simply looking out for her. Her mother cared, as difficult as that could be to see. Tonks tried, as she tried every night in the middle of this war, to count the things she was grateful for, and having two living parents who loved her was at the top of the list.

—————————— ✶✶✶ ——————————

At the bottom of Tonks’ list of things to be grateful for was the weather. Though she’d been glad to have the dementors out of Azkaban just yesterday, she was already wishing them back. Hogwarts was bitterly cold, and it wasn’t even November.

Tonks doubled her scarf around her face to shield herself from the biting cold atop the Astronomy Tower. She leaned over the edge of the parapets and watched the students file out, all successfully passing Filch’s Secrecy Sensor. She thought about how many times she’d tricked Filch during her time as a student, and wondered if his Secrecy Sensor was as reliable as he’d insisted.

Tonks watched until she saw a group of four wrapped in Gryffindor scarves — one with short, messy dark hair, another with long untidy red hair, someone with dusty blonde hair, and someone with long, thick, curly hair — set out from the castle to brave the icy cold wind that blew down the path to Hogsmeade. Tonks was, as her Auror assignment said, guarding Hogwarts in Dumbledore’s absence. But more than that, she was guarding Harry.

And she’d expected him to head out into Hogsmeade, which is why she was up here on the Astronomy Tower, watching to make sure he’d gone, though she’d been hoping he wouldn’t bother to brave the weather. With a disappointed sigh and a curse on courageous Gryffindors, Tonks cast a simple Disillusionment Charm on herself and mounted her Comet Two Sixty. She wasn’t used to having to resort to spells for Disguise, but she’d gained a lot of practice these last few months.

Her gift hadn’t vanished right away. It had been slow, like exhaustion creeping in as the day grew longer. At first, she’d thought it simply was exhaustion. Changing her appearance became like stretching an over-extended muscle. It hurt, and she could do it, but not for long. Then the things she did without a second thought seemed to take all of her concentration. Her hair, her eyes, her nose, her jaw — the things about her that mirrored her mother that she had spent her whole life disguising, first out of spite and then out of habit — all relaxed into their natural shape. Until one morning, she found she was unable to shrink her nose or soften her cheekbones. She could not grow her nails into claws or turn her hair from brown to pink.

She’d thought it was the war that had worn her out, but when she had seen Remus after his transformation last July, she had known exactly why she was so tired, so exhausted. The war was something she had trained for, and she’d been trained well for it by Mad-Eye Moody. Falling in love with someone who repeatedly tormented himself — not just on the full moon but on each night of his life — had never been something she’d prepared for.

Tonks landed her broom just outside the Three Broomsticks and tucked it away in a shed behind Rosmerta’s pub. She’d retrieve it later.

For now, Tonks walked the streets of Hogsmeade. She was familiar with its layout, having visited enough times as a student. It wasn’t particularly crowded, with how terrible the weather was. Still, she found it strange to watch the clusters of students hurry from shop to shop. It wasn’t too long ago that she had been one of them, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago. The only students she could possibly know were the seventh years, who had only been bitty firsties when she’d been in her final year. She didn’t think she’d recognize any names.

The students she did know — Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the Weasleys — were nowhere to be seen. Tonks tried to think of where Harry might go. She knew he’d been to the Hog’s Head before, but from what she understood it had been a special occasion. She wondered if he was continuing Dumbledore’s Army now that Umbridge had been deposed, if he’d decided it was still necessary with Snape in charge of Defense.

Tonks wandered the path down to the Hog’s Head, but it didn’t seem like any students were particularly interested in braving the long walk to the edge of town, away from the warm, inviting shops. When Tonks did open the door to the Hog’s Head, she was greeted by the smell of animal dung and an unwelcoming grunt from the barkeep. The place itself was empty.

“Wotcher, Aberforth,” she said as she approached the counter.

Aberforth half-growled. “Don’t have time for your funny business, Nymphadora.”

Tonks wished she felt anything like funny business. With the loss of Proudfoot, Aberforth was the last person left in her life she could joke around with. “I’ve outgrown all that,” she said with a shrug. “Just checkin’ to make sure you aren’t serving Firewhiskey to firsties.”

“Not unless they’re as wrinkled as shrivelfigs. Or if you’ve got another student that can make their face look as weathered as mine.”

“Just me, far’s I know. Any interesting shrivelfigs come through?”

“In this weather?” Aberforth stroked his beard. “‘Dung came in here, tried to sell me something. I gave him a firm reminder he was banned. Are you going to buy something or did you just come to annoy me?”

A drink sounded tempting. “Sorry, but I’m working. Maybe tonight.”

“Butterbeer for the road, then?”

Tonks could not resist something warm in this terrible weather. As grumpy as he was, Aberforth was an excellent salesman. Or maybe he was just trying to unload his dusty collection of butterbeers on unsuspecting Aurors. Tonks’ lips curled back in disgust as he handed her the glass bottle coated in a quarter inch of muck, as if he’d unearthed it from the floor.

“Cheers,” she said, and tucked the glass bottle into her coat. At least it was warm.

She left Aberforth, cheered by the interaction. She’d once made the mistake of impersonating Dumbledore in her third year in order to get herself a drink at the Hog’s Head. It had gone terribly, but how was she to know that the barkeep was the Headmaster’s estranged brother? Aberforth had promised not to tell the school what she’d done as long as she promised not to let everyone know who he was. It had been a fine arrangement, one Tonks had leaned on and abused to get the occasional free drink in her later years.

As Tonks headed back to the shops in the center of Hogsmeade, she wished she’d spent time practicing warming charms instead of Disillusionment Charms. The wind was picking up, and she was pretty sure there was a storm coming.

She caught sight of Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione exiting Zonko’s and hurrying across the street towards the Three Broomsticks. They didn’t seem to notice her, which she was grateful for, though disappointed they’d chosen the Three Broomsticks. She couldn’t very well go in and have Harry recognize her, but she did very much want to get warm.

She ducked into Gladrags. Though most of the window was plastered with Death Eater wanted posters, there was a space in the corner where she had a good view of the Three Broomsticks. Tonks settled into the corner and when the shop owner asked her to buy something or leave, she simply flashed her Auror badge. He ignored her after that.

Harry and his friends stayed in the Three Broomsticks just long enough to enjoy a nice, warm butterbeer before heading back into the cold. She waited until they’d passed by Gladrags before heading out into the cold herself. The butterbeer in her pocket wasn’t especially warm anymore, and she pulled her coat closer to stave off the bite of the windchill.

She squinted up at the castle, and wondered if she ought to take her broom back. The wind was picking up, and she didn’t have any desire for her Comet to get caught in a gale and have the both of them into the Whomping Willow. She also had no desire to walk into the wind. In the end, Tonks chose the lesser of two evils. She pulled her collar tight and trudged up the path towards the castle. She had barely crested the first hill and taken in the vision of the Black Lake, with white caps on its traditionally mirror-smooth waters, when a blood-curdling scream cut through the air.

Tonks bolted into a run. The glass bottle in her coat pocket swung like a pendulum as she hurried towards the sound, wand out, eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of distress. The scream continued, even as she ran, and as she mounted the ridge where she had last seen Harry, she saw a young girl, hovering six feet in the air just at the end of the bridge that crossed the Black Lake, screaming with all her might as the wind whipped around her. Tonks had barely taken two more steps when the girl collapsed to the ground in a heap. Five students clustered around her. Tonks saw the one she thought was Harry run towards Hagrid’s hut. That was good; Tonks was still far enough away that Harry might reach Hagrid first.

Tonks searched for more strength to put into her sprint, but it felt like no matter how hard she tried, she could not run fast enough. Then, as her feet left the well-worn path and hit the hard, stone bridge, she tripped and sprawled onto the ground. She heard the glass in her coat pocket shatter, and the left side of her chest grew wet and warm. She did not even stop to consider the sensation; she only cursed her clumsiness and picked herself back up.

When she finally reached the end of the bridge, she skidded to the young girl’s side, this time intentionally slamming her knees into the bridge. Hagrid and Harry were just steps away.

“Get back,” Hagrid shouted at the students as Tonks ran her wand over the girl on the ground.

The girl was still screaming and writhing in pain. Tonks hated these kinds of curses, the ones you could neither see nor defend yourself against. She was not very good at treating them, either. Snape was better. And Hagrid was faster.

“Get her to Madam Pomfrey,” she said, though Hagrid had knelt down to scoop her up as soon as Tonks pulled her wand away. “And get Snape!” she added as he ran off with the still-screaming girl in his arms.

“Is anyone else hurt?” Tonks looked at the five students — Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and a girl she’d never met.

They all shook their heads.

“Did someone attack her? What happened?”

The girl Tonks did not know pointed at some brown wrappings on the ground. “It — it was when that package tore,” she sobbed.

The wrappings were nearly soaked through, and as the wind whipped the loose edges around, Tonks saw something glittering underneath.

Ron knelt down and reached for the package.

“Don’t —” A jinx shot from the end of Tonks’ wand and knocked Ron backwards. She hadn’t meant to use the Knockback Jinx, but she’d been so determined to keep Ron away from whatever was in that package, she’d reacted without thinking.

Harry knelt next and, before she could even open her mouth, said, “I’m not going to touch it!” Instead he reached for the wrapping, and pulled it back to reveal a stunning opal necklace, glittering with iridescent greens and blues and whites.

“I’ve seen that before,” Hermione gasped. “Or one just like it. It was on display in Borgin and Burkes this summer. The label said it was cursed. Katie must’ve touched it.”

“Where’d your friend get this necklace?” Tonks looked at the group of students. They all looked at the girl.

“That’s why we were arguing.” The girl started to shake, and Hermione put an arm around her. “She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for someone at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it…. Oh! Oh no — she must have been Imperiused and I didn’t realize!”

“She didn’t say who’d given it to her, Leanne?” Hermione asked.

“No —” Leanne hiccuped on another sob. “She wouldn’t tell me. I said she — I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to the school, but she wouldn’t listen, and then I tried to grab it from her and —” Leanne let out another heaving sob and buried her face into her hands.

Tonks appreciated how calm Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Harry were as Hermione patted Leanne’s shoulder, and how carefully Harry and Neville examined the necklace. They had what it took to be Aurors, or maybe they’d just been through enough to make them that way.

Tonks took off her wet cloak and tossed it to Ron. The warm butterbeer had quickly grown cold, and Tonks thought she’d be better off with no cloak than a cold one. “Wrap it in this. Do not touch it — do you understand?”

Ron nodded solemnly and used her cloak to scoop up the necklace. “Why is it sticky?”

“Hippogriff piss,” Tonks said, and didn’t feel any urge to even smile at her own humor. “I need you to run on ahead and get that to Snape. It’ll help him treat Katie.”

Ron, though he looked pale, did not ask questions. He did as Tonks said and hurried on ahead.

“Come on,” Tonks said to the rest of them. “Let’s get out of this wind and get somewhere warm.”

Hermione kept her arm around Leanne’s shoulder as they walked up to the castle. Harry fell into step beside Tonks.

“Do you think Katie will be alright?” Harry asked as they trudged into the wind.

“I don’t know,” Tonks answered honestly. “You lot were in the Three Broomsticks just now, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me everyone who was in the Three Broomsticks.”

Harry frowned. “I dunno — Ron, Neville, Hermione, and me. A Slytherin from our class. A couple of warlocks… Katie and Leanne…. I dunno who else. It was kind of full with the weather so bad.”

“I thought Mad-Eye would’ve taught you better.”

“What do you mean?”

Had Tonks been her usual self, she would have scrunched up her face into her wizened mentor’s shape. As it was, she simply mimicked his voice. “Constant vigilance!”

Harry looked appropriately reprimanded. “I didn’t think about it in Hogsmeade. It’s so close to Hogwarts, I thought it was — I don’t know, safe?”

“Doesn’t matter where you are. How many times have you been attacked in places you’ve felt safe?”

Harry didn’t answer, and Tonks didn’t need him to. She could tell from his face it was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.

“I think it was Draco Malfoy,” he said suddenly.

Tonks raised an eyebrow at him. “You sound certain.”

“He saw the necklace in Borgin and Burkes this summer,” Harry said. “Remember I told you we tailed him?”

“You didn’t tell me he purchased something. You told me he bullied Borgin into repairing something for him.”

“Right but — he could’ve purchased it. Or he could’ve gone back and purchased it.”

“Did you see Malfoy in the Three Broomsticks?”

“No, but there were a lot of people there.”

“And you think a lot of people would not have noticed a young man in a Hogwarts uniform slip into the girls’ bathroom?”

Harry considered this. “Leanne didn’t say Katie got it in the bathroom, just on her way back from the bathroom.”

“Alright, that’s a fair point, but I’ve got one more question.”

“Okay.”

“Katie — she looked like she’s a sixth or seventh year?”

“Seventh.”

“She a good duelist?”

“Yeah. She was in the D.A. She’s on the Quidditch team, too, ever since she was in second year. Good reflexes.”

“You think if Malfoy so much as approached her in the girls’ bathroom or anywhere in the Three Broomsticks with his wand out she wouldn’t Stun him or even shout?”

Harry didn’t answer, as they climbed the steps into Hogwarts. Filch growled at them and waved his Secrecy Sensor, but McGonagall came running down the stairs and waved him away.

“Let them in, Filch,” she said. “My office, all of you.”

Tonks could not help but feel like a student again as she trooped into McGonagall’s office. Ron was already there, with Tonks’ wet and sticky coat draped over the back of a chair. The necklace was nowhere to be seen.

“Well!” McGonagall said, and shut her office door firmly behind her. “Hagrid says you are the ones who saw what happened. Mr Weasley, I hope you’ve caught your breath enough to tell us what’s happened.”

“Leanne’s the one who saw it all,” Ron said. He still sounded short of breath, and Tonks was proud of him for putting in so much effort.

Leanne, between sobs and hiccups, was able to tell McGonagall what she had told Tonks: Katie had entered the bathroom at the Three Broomsticks and come out with a strange parcel and acting very odd, and they’d argue over delivering the strange package, until they’d torn the package in their argument. At this point, Leanne became inconsolable, and neither McGonagall’s stern demands nor Hermione’s gentle coaxing could convince her to finish her story.

“Go up to the hospital wing, then, Leanne,” said McGonagall in a kinder voice than Tonks had ever heard from her, “and have Madam Pomfrey give you something for shock.”

Leanne rubbed her eyes and obediently left the office.

“What happened when Katie touched the necklace?” McGonagall asked. She was looking to Tonks for answers, but Tonks did not have any. She looked at Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Neville.

It was Harry who hurried to answer. “She rose up in the air,” he said, “and then began to scream, and collapsed. Professor, can I see Professor Dumbledore please?”

McGonagall frowned, clearly uninterested in this change in topic. “The headmaster is away until Monday, Potter.”

“Away?”

“Yes, Potter, away. But I assure you, we are in quite capable hands regardless. Now, is there anything else you have to say about today’s incident? I believe I am most needed in the hospital wing.”

“That’s about it, Professor,” said Tonks. “I’ll see these four back to their common room.”

“Thank you,” McGonagall hurried out of the office without another word. Tonks could see Harry burning with frustration, but she ignored it, instead looking at the Quidditch Cup sitting on a shelf in McGonagall’s office. She felt bitter at seeing it here, especially after so many years of Charlie Weasley crushing her team in Quidditch.

“Who do you reckon Katie was supposed to give the necklace to?” Ron asked as he handed Tonks her cloak.

Tonks shook her head. “I doubt we’ll know unless Katie can tell us.”

“Whoever it was has had a narrow escape,” said Hermione. “No one could have opened that package without touching the necklace.”

Tonks led the four Gryffindors out of McGonagall’s office and towards the stairs to Gryffindor tower.

“It could’ve been meant for loads of people,” said Harry. “Dumbledore — the Death Eaters would love to get rid of him. Or Slughorn — Dumbledore reckons Voldemort really wanted him and they can’t be pleased that he’s sided with Dumbledore. Or —”

“Or you,” Neville whispered.

Tonks raised an eyebrow, prepared to comfort Harry, but Harry only shrugged.

“Couldn’t have been, or Katie would’ve just turned around in the lane and given it to me, wouldn’t she? I was behind her all the way out of the Three Broomsticks. It would have made much more sense to deliver the parcel outside Hogwarts, what with Filch searching everyone who goes in and out. I wonder why Malfoy told her to take it into the castle?”

Tonks sighed. “Harry, the Malfoys have been searched as thoroughly as anyone has ever been searched. And I find it far more likely that a woman cursed Katie with the Imperius Curse and had her deliver the parcel.”

“He could’ve asked Pansy Parkinson,” Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Pansy couldn’t curse a toad to sing.”

“Whoever it was,” Ron said as they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, “wasn’t very slick, were they? The necklace didn’t even make it into the castle. Not what you’d call foolproof.”

“You’re right,” Hermione agreed. “It wasn’t very well thought out at all.”

Tonks examined each of the brave Gryffindors and considered her own Auror training. They all had the temperament for it, if nothing else. And they were asking all the right questions, the ones she’d been asking herself since she’d seen what had happened.

“What was it about the plan that went so wrong?” she asked them, curious to hear what they’d noticed.

“Even if Leanne hadn’t thought it strange, Filch would’ve caught the necklace with his Secrecy Sensor when they walked in,” said Neville.

“And no one’s really traveling alone these days,” said Hermione. “Someone like Leanne being suspicious was practically guaranteed.”

“Anyone could have opened the package,” said Ron. “Or like what happened — it opened accidentally and Katie got cursed.”

“The possibility for collateral damage was high, and the chance of success slim,” Tonks agreed. “So what does that tell us about the culprit?”

“Someone not very bright,” said Harry, “like Malfoy.”

Three pairs of eyes rolled in unison. Tonks sighed and shook her head.

“Not necessarily. What happened to Katie requires a certain level of skill. And brilliant people can make foolish mistakes. But it does tell us she’s definitely inexperienced. You four thought quickly today and reacted coolly in a stressful situation. That’s something to be proud of. Stay vigilant, alright?”

They each nodded and Hermione said, “Dilligrout.” The Fat Lady’s portrait swung open. Ron helped Hermione inside, then followed. Neville scrambled over the large step into the common room. Harry, though, hesitated.

Tonks thought he was going to give another argument for why Draco Malfoy had been the one to curse Katie, but instead he said, “How long are you staying at Hogwarts for?”

“As long as I can be useful. Mad-Eye should be here ‘round supper time. He might be a better help for Katie, but I’ll do what I can.”

“Are you… Are you going to see my parents at all tomorrow?”

Tonks wished she had control over her Metamorphmagus ability if only so she could hide the blush creeping up her neck. “I’m supposed to spend the night with your mother, actually. I hope she won’t worry too much if I’m late.”

“Oh — does that mean… does that mean he’s coming home tonight?”

“As far as I know, he’s planning to, yes.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

“I’m glad someone can keep Mum company, too.”

“I’m happy to do it. Your Mum’s cool. You’re lucky, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Go on, before your friends worry that you’re having a tryst with a mature, older woman.”

Harry pantomimed searching high and low, and even peered around the Fat Lady’s portrait. “Huh. I don’t see one around.”

Tonks stuck her tongue out at him and playfully shoved him into the short tunnel into the Gryffindor common room.

—————————— ✶✶✶ ——————————

That night, when Mad-Eye relieved Tonks of her duty, she trudged back down the path to Hogsmeade. The wind had died down, but it was still bitterly cold, and she didn’t have a cloak. She had her butterbeer soaked cloak draped over one arm, and the only thing really protecting her from the cold was the knit scarf around her neck.

Though Tonks would have loved to stop in the Three Broomsticks for a proper warm butterbeer, to make up for the broken, dirty one, but she was expected at the Potters’ Hogsmeade cottage, and she didn’t dare delay any more than she already had filling Moody in on the events at Hogwarts.

Remus Lupin had not come home for the full moon at the end of August, but he had returned for September, of his own accord. Lily had said he was reluctant and sullen about it, but regardless, he’d finally come home.

Unfortunately, all of that bitterness and irritation that Remus brought home with him carried over into the full moon. It wasn’t just that he’d surprised Lily by showing up on their fireplace hearth an hour before sunset, asking if it was alright to stay the night. It wasn’t just that Lily had needed to put together a half-dozen potions on little notice. Whatever it was that Remus carried with him into the full moon had nearly ripped both him and James to shreds, and Lily, with the help of the Potters’ house-elves, had barely managed to keep the two of them alive.

So this month, she’d asked Tonks to help.

When Tonks reached the cottage, she knocked, and was surprised when one of the Potter house-elves answered. Tonks hadn’t really been properly introduced to them, but she thought this one was called Picksie.

“Miss Tonks!” the house-elf squeaked. “A moment —” The small elf squeezed her large, purple eyes closed and snapped her fingers. There was a blue spark, and Tonks felt a shock run from her head to her toes. She jumped back, startled, and fumbled for her wand.

The elf, however, opened her eyes and smiled. “It is you! Come in, come in.” She stepped aside and motioned for Tonks to enter. “Picksie has been practicing, detecting Polyjuices and hidden curses! But you is you, so come in, come in!”

Tonks could not help but smile as she walked in. Picksie’s pride in her success was contagious. “Impressive. House-elves might make better guards than trolls if they practice as hard as you.”

Tonks was not certain whether house-elves could blush — the only one she’d had any real interaction with had been Kreacher — but she thought that Picksie was glowing with pride.

“Thank you, Miss Tonks! You is very kind. Mistress Potter is in the kitchen, finishing a potion.”

Tonks let Picksie show her the way. She’d never actually been to the Potters’ cottage. She knew James had purchased it to be closer to Lily during her brief stint as a Hogwarts professor, but she wasn’t sure why they’d held onto it all these years. It certainly came in handy on a night like tonight, when their house was occupied by a bloodthirsty werewolf, and the Order’s headquarters were little more than a way-station for overworked Aurors these days. The life that had returned to Grimmauld Place when the Order had needed a London base had all but vanished after the Ministry was no longer the primary battle ground. Even Regulus wasn’t around as much. Tonks had heard he was on a special mission for Dumbledore, separate from the Order’s task, but she couldn’t recall who had said it to her.

Tonks didn’t find this cottage much more homely than Grimmauld Place as she looked around. The fireplace was empty, and the furniture was covered. It was clear that the Potters didn’t spend much time here.

The kitchen Picksie led her to was smaller than Styncon Garden’s, which said a lot, considering that their kitchen there was not especially large, not compared with homes like Grimmauld Place or the Burrow. There was enough room for a woodstove and a hand-pump sink. It seemed that James hadn’t been looking for grandeur or comfort when he’d bought the house. He’d only been looking for somewhere close to Lily.

Lily stood over the wood fire, waving her wand over a cauldron. Picksie waited in the doorway until Lily had finished her spell and used her wand to siphon the potion into a bottle before announcing Tonks.

“Mistress Potter — Miss Tonks is arrived. Picksie is doing the checking of her myself. Miss Tonks is who Miss Tonks says.”

Lily smiled. “Thank you, Picksie. I don’t know what I’d do without your help. Tonks can help me with the last of the Blood-Replenishing Potions. Why don’t you check on Mellie and get some rest?”

Picksie bowed and disappeared with a pop.

“Is Mellie alright?” Tonks asked.

“She’s old, and more and more tired these days…. But we all are, so maybe it’s nothing.” Lily corked the bottle of thick red liquid and set it into a box. “One more should do the trick. I wish I could brew these in advance, but they only last about forty-two hours, and I never know how much I’ll need.”

“Depends on his mood, doesn’t it? How was he tonight?”

“Better with Sirius gone, I think.” Lily rubbed her eyes and leaned against the sink. “You haven’t heard from Sirius or Emmeline, have you?”

“I read his report about two weeks ago. It seemed like they had a lead.”

“I’m just worried that she threw herself back into the field too soon after her recovery… and for Sirius to take a mission that would take him so far from us for so long….”

Tonks worried, too. But she had a feeling Sirius had run to give Remus less excuses. The last thing he’d said to her in July had been, “Whatever I’ve been doing to help him hasn’t worked in all the years I’ve known him. Maybe I’ve mucked up too many times to make it right. I don’t know….”

Lily stared at the fire as it slowly burned itself out. The dim, flickering light danced in her green eyes, and it made it hard for Tonks to tell if she was near tears or not. “If Sirius isn’t back next month, he’ll miss Harry’s Quidditch game.”

“No one ever said any of this would be easy,” said Tonks.

“No, but I don’t understand why Remus has to make it harder on everyone.” Lily shook her head. “Sorry — I know that isn’t fair to say. I just….”

Tonks knew what she meant, though. They couldn’t blame Remus for going through something difficult, any more than Tonks could blame herself for not being able to use her Metamorphmagus ability. They each had their own boggarts to confront, and all of it happening in the middle of a war only made things more difficult on everyone.

So Tonks didn’t press Lily to explain. She simply began to help clean up the cauldron Lily had abandoned on the fire. She wasn’t the best at cleaning, and she fumbled each time Lily handed her a glass vial, but Tonks did her best to help Lily prepare another bottle of Blood-Replenishing Potion. Lily didn’t seem interested in talking while they worked, and that was okay. Tonks focused herself on the task at hand, making sure not to break anything or accidentally drop anything into the potion. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d passed Potions at N.E.W.T. level with her consistent clumsiness, other than through sheer determination to become an Auror.

When the potion was safely sealed and labeled, Tonks put it in the box with the others. There was one potion glowing light blue — a fresh batch of Burning Bitterroot Balm, she guessed — and the rest were red potions with dates and times scrawled on them, going back to noon yesterday.

Lily made them a quick cup of tea, using her wand to heat the water instantly. Tonks took a moment to be in awe of Lily, who seemed a master of the house-keeping charms that had eluded Tonks, Potions, which had always been a challenge, and dueling, which was the only thing Tonks had ever shown a talent for. Tonks had spent her life mastering one thing and working hard to be passable at others; Lily seemed to have it all under control. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d told Harry his mum was cool.

“Thanks again for helping me.” Lily led Tonks back into the sitting room and pulled a cover off of the sofa so that they could sit. “It’s nice not to sit up alone, praying everyone’s alright.”

Tonks carried the warm mugs, and was careful not to spill as she handed one to Lily. “I think you’re doing me a favour just as much. It’s nice to know that I can do a little something for him, even if it isn’t a lot, even if he won’t talk to me.”

Lily used her wand to light the fireplace, then curled herself up into the corner of the sofa, hands wrapped tightly around her mug. “I can’t understand it, really. But I’ve never been good at understanding Remus.”

“I thought you two were close.”

“Close, yes — we tell each other almost everything. We spent a lot of time together as prefects. I almost made him my chief bridesmaid,” she laughed, “but I don’t understand him. I was rather harsh with him last July.” Lily blew on her tea and took a sip. Her gaze was not on Tonks as she spoke; she seemed to be staring at something much farther away.

“I didn’t know about his condition until our seventh year. I’d always assumed he understood what I was going through because he had a Muggle mother. I’d never dreamed it was because he knew better than I did what it was to be persecuted by wizards. But I always fought to prove myself. I was loud, angry, and maybe not willing to hex someone who mocked me, but I’d certainly outshine them in class. Remus was always quiet, secretive, and avoided people as much as he could. If he hadn’t been roommates with Sirius and James, or at least with people like them, I don’t know that he would’ve ever made friends.”

“It’s a bit different, though, isn’t it?” said Tonks. She flinched as she took a sip of tea and found it still too hot. “I just mean — being Muggle-born. You had ten years at least of a normal life.”

“I suppose. Though I always knew I was a witch. I had… a friend who was a wizard, who knew all about Hogwarts. But he never — well, while we were children — he never did treat me differently because I was Muggle-born. I suppose Remus never knew anything like that, not until he met James and Sirius. But we’ve all been friends for twenty-five years now. And I know what he goes through isn’t easy, but I’m so tired of him tearing himself up over it. I don’t know how to make him understand that we love him, not despite what he is but including what he is.” Lily closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the sofa.

Tonks ran her thumb along the edge of her mug. She took a moment to let the steam warm her face before blowing on her tea and taking a sip. It didn’t hurt so badly as her first sip, but maybe she’d just burned the feeling out of her tongue. “Sirius says he’s just using the werewolf bit as an excuse so he doesn’t have to deal with his feelings.”

Lily hummed in agreement. “I’m sure that’s part of it. James described you as a catalyst, and I think that’s the best way to put it.”

“I don’t want to be anything — I just want to be me. And part of being me is loving him. But that part of me is making it harder to be myself, to be the person I know that I am.” Tonks bit down on her lip, realizing her words were heading dangerously close to thoughts she had been trying so desperately to avoid.

“Love changes us.” Lily’s smile was fond and distant. “You should’ve seen the way it changed James. I changed, too. James made me learn patience and humility, two things I’d never bothered with before. The love that makes you better is the one you want to keep around.”

Tonks was not sure she had changed for the better, at least not in these last six months. She liked spending time with Remus. She thought he made her more empathetic, more considerate, and more careful. Lately, though, she wasn’t happy with the ways she’d changed. She didn’t joke the way she used to, and she knew the loss of her Metamorphmagus abilities was an unfortunate effect. She supposed those losses weren’t because of her relationship with Remus, but because of how he had shut her out.

“What do you do when parts of him are good for you and other parts aren’t?”

Lily was quiet. Tonks wondered if she’d fallen asleep, and her question had gone unheard. She thought if she closed her eyes for even a moment, she might slip away too.

But then Lily said, “I think that’s why relationships are hard work.”

Tonks added emotional wisdom to the list of things Lily excelled at.

Tonks watched the fire as it slowly burnt out, intent on keeping a vigil all night, but at some point, Lily was shaking her shoulder gently. Tonks looked out of the window to find gray daylight creeping in. She stretched and groaned, stiff and sore from sitting on the sofa for so long. It was a familiar feeling after a life full of naps in odd places.

“Time to go already?”

“Just about.” Lily’s eyes were rimmed red and puffy. Her long red hair was a tangled mess. Tonks decided that she had no interest in looking at her own reflection.

They gathered up the potions and the house-elves. Tonks belatedly remembered her broom was still tucked away in Madam Rosmerta’s shed, but there would not be time to grab it. There was no telling what state Remus and James would be in. She just had to hope it would go unnoticed a bit longer.

Picksie, as a house-elf, had the ability to Apparate into Styncon Garden, and Tonks found it incredibly convenient, having made several uncomfortable Floo trips herself. She disliked traveling by Floo. She was always nervous that she would step into the wrong sitting room. Apparating was far more efficient.

Picksie’s ability also allowed her to Apparate around the grounds of Styncon Garden, which meant they did not have to waste time looking for James and Remus. Picksie was able to check the grounds quickly and return them to the kitchen for Tonks and Lily to treat immediately. With a pop, the house-elf was gone, and with another, she had returned to the kitchen with two very beat up and bloodied men.

As they had discussed beforehand, Lily prioritized the bite marks in James, and Tonks was to heal as many of Remus’s injuries as she could.

What caught her attention first were several punctures in his chest and abdomen that dripped blood. What worried her more than the blood was the way Remus gasped for air. Something, whatever it was that had gored him — Tonks couldn’t imagine what — had probably punctured a lung. Or if it hadn’t, any internal bleeding could be pressing on his lungs and even keeping his heart from beating properly. He may have had both a punctured lung and internal bleeding, judging by the pair of dark purple, heart-shaped bruises on Remus’s chest. Quickly, Tonks ran her wand over Remus’s abdomen, focused first on repairing the deepest of his wounds. Blue light pulsed at the tip of her wand, and she concentrated on that combination of Charms and Transfiguration that made up the root of healing magic. Her father’s voice filled her mind, reminding her of the basics of healing injuries. “The body wants to be fixed, and knows what to do; you’re just helping it along,” he had always said.

She did not have a lot of experience with internal wounds, and found it challenging to work on what she could not see, but she trusted in her own skill, and when his breathing was no longer strangled gasps, she dragged her wand over each of his external wounds, drawing blood away from cavities and knitting together open veins.

Once the immediate danger was settled, and she was certain Remus’s heart and lungs were working appropriately, she took an assessment of everything else. He seemed to have several misaligned joints, which Tonks thought odd injuries, but they were easy enough to set straight. There were also several superficial cuts and scrapes that she left alone, and three breaks in one of his legs that she set, but did not heal for fear of overtaxing his body. When she was confident she had done all that she could, she Levitated his body into the sitting room.

The last time Tonks had been to Styncon Garden, the sitting room had served as a make-shift hospital room for Remus and Sirius, and it looked as if it had not changed. Lily had thrown down towels and padding over both the floor and the furniture, then covered the entire room in white sheets.

Tonks gently set Remus down on the sofa and pressed the back of her hand to his cheek. He was cold and clammy. She hurried back into the kitchen, careful to step around Picksie and Lily, who were still at work on James — Tonks glimpsed a deep bite mark in his stomach as Picksie lifted a cloth so Lily could drip dittany over the wound — and dug a Blood-Replenishing Potion out from the box. She hurried back to Remus’s side and woke him just enough to get him to drink. Some of the potion spilled as she uncorked the bottle, staining the white sheets with bright red blooms, but Tonks had not expected to be perfect at this. She hadn’t been doing this for years the way Lily had.

Once Remus had finished the potion, with minimal loss down his chin, Tonks helped him lay back down. His eyes closed and he immediately slipped back into sleep. Not only was the transformation itself taxing, and running around at night exhausting, Tonks had needed to draw on his body’s own stores of energy for the healing. It was likely that he would be asleep for a while.

Tonks turned to help Lily, only to find Picksie lifting James with her own wandless magic and setting him down on a set of cushions not far from the sofa Remus rested on. Lily was two steps behind her, uncorking a Blood-Replenishing Potion. “Tonks, please get me another one,” she said, and Tonks rushed to follow instructions.

By the time Tonks returned with another potion, Lily had already gotten James to drink the first one without spilling a drop. Tonks made sure to uncork the second one before handing it to Lily. She thought she saw tear streaks on Lily’s face, which startled her, but she forgot as James coughed and spluttered.

“Hold him still, please —”

Tonks rushed forward and helped hold James’s shoulders still. She realized she was staring at the scarred half of his face and quickly focused on Lily instead.

“No,” he mumbled, half-awake. “I can’t do another —”

“James, please, you lost so much blood.”

It took a bit more coaxing, but Lily was able to convince James to finish the second bottle. Tonks helped him lay back down and pulled a blanket over him. Lily recorked the bottle and pushed herself back to her feet, but James grabbed her hand.

“Lily —”

She knelt back down and squeezed his hand.

“Lily, I can’t do another full moon. Not with him like this. Not without Sirius.”

“I know,” she said. She brushed some of his dark, messy hair out of his face and tears fell from her cheeks onto his. “We’ll talk to them both. We’ll make it work.”

Tonks looked away, embarrassed to be intruding on this private moment. She did not know what had happened during September’s full moon, but she knew that in July, Sirius had been the one to take the brunt of Remus’s anger, and James had largely been unscathed. She wondered if something had changed between them, or if James had simply become a surrogate for Remus’s anger.

Her eyes caught on something familiar on the mantelpiece. There, tucked among photographs of James and Lily, Remus and Sirius, and Harry, was a wand. Curiosity seized practicality and Tonks crossed the room to examine it more closely. She estimated it was just over ten inches, with a darkly polished handle, and a fine twist to the wood before it tapered off into the end of the wand.

“It’s Remus’s,” Lily said softly.

Tonks turned. Lily was still seated at James’s side, holding his hand, but James appeared to be asleep. Lily wiped her cheeks with the heel of her free hand.

“Remus left it here last May.”

“I thought he broke his wand dueling Bellatrix.”

“Yes, his first wand. He got a new one when Barty Crouch stole his wand a few years ago, the one you’re holding now. He used it for about a year, until Regulus took his old wand back when he killed Barty. It was that one he was using to duel Bellatrix. He never did care for the replacement wand, and hasn’t picked it up since his duel. Says he doesn’t need it when he’s talking to other werewolves.”

“Doesn’t he Apparate?”

“I suppose he doesn’t.”

Tonks set the wand back down carefully beside the jar of Floo powder. Lily extricated her hand from James’s with similar care.

“Watch them for me, will you?” Lily asked. “I’m going to help Picksie take care of the kitchen. I think James left half his blood in the floorboards.”

“Is it always this bad?” Tonks asked.

Lily shook her head. “I think it’s a lot harder, not just because Sirius is gone, and what that means to the both of them but — well, I think simply it is much harder for a deer to manage a wolf than for a dog to manage a wolf.”

Tonks suddenly understood all of Remus’s wounds. She imagined what it must have been like for James, who maintained his reasonable senses during the full moon, to have to corral a wolf in the body of a prey animal, to know he could defend himself but not in any way that might injure Remus too terribly until it was nearly sunrise, and help would be on the way. Tonks could see why he was so desperate to not let another full moon pass in this fashion.

She walked back to Remus’s side and settled herself into the small space between him and James, listening to their steady breathing. Though she knew Remus had passed a violent night, and those violent feelings were still trapped inside of him, he looked peaceful like this. Worn down in the corners of his eyes and in the grey in his hair, and gaunt just hours after a transformation, but peaceful. There was a thin scar that split his lower lip in two, and a striking set of stripes across his nose, but she did not think they made him any less attractive. She’d always been intrigued by her cousin’s best friend, this man who was quiet, respectful, and yet had somehow managed to capture the attention of someone as wild and loud as Sirius Black.

Remus’s breathing changed, and Tonks was pulled from her reverie. She pressed two fingers against Remus’s neck and checked his pulse. It was steady. She let out a sigh of relief, and, just to be sure, took her wand and ran it over his chest again. She saw no sign that anything had torn or open, felt no injury she had not repaired. Her own heartbeat slowed as she realized Remus was alright.

Then his eyes fluttered open and her heart rate picked up once more. They were green like Lily’s though not as striking, and they seemed strangely unfocused. They settled onto Tonks’s eyes and she wondered for a moment what colour they were. Were they her more usual warm brown? Had they settled into her mother’s grey eyes? Were they something else entirely? Something out of her control?

“Well this is a cruel trick,” Remus whispered, and smiled wryly.

Tonks’ mind whirred like a Snitch desperate to be free of a Seeker’s grasp, but she found no answer, no way to interpret the strange words and expression. Remus only made it worse as he reached up and pressed his hand to her cheek.

“I always knew I hated myself but I didn’t think I’d punish myself with a vision of you with his face.”

Before Tonks could protest that she was not a vision and that this was her face, just her unaffected face, Remus pulled her close and kissed her.

He tasted like blood. He smelled like morning dew. She had not expected to feel the raised scar on his lower lip, but she did. For a moment — the briefest of moments — she closed her eyes and allowed herself to believe this was real, and that she wasn’t going to pretend, for his sake, that he truly had been dreaming.

She pulled herself away and swallowed down the tears that swelled in her throat. “You should rest,” she said.

“You won’t be here when I wake up,” he protested.

“No,” she said. “I won’t.”

Despite her honesty, it seemed that the brief attempt at wakefulness was all he had, and he returned to his proper dreams. Tonks wondered if she would continue to feature in them. It was unfortunate she had never mastered Legilimency. There had been a special course for Aurors, but it required the steadiness of a one-track mind. Tonks may have been stubborn enough to succeed at difficult challenges, but focusing on one thing alone was too much for her.

Which is why her mind was still spinning down several different paths, spiraling out of control. Remus had kissed her. He had not thought she was Sirius. He had not thought she was someone else. He had known who she was, and had only noted she looked like a Black, that she looked like Sirius. He had known who she was and he had kissed her.

But he had thought it was a dream. Did it make a difference?

She wondered if that moment was the only one she would ever get.

She wondered if that moment made everything better or worse.

“Everything alright?” Lily asked. “Tonks?”

Tonks still had her wand on Remus’s chest. Though her mind was running at a hundred miles an hour, she had not moved an inch.

“Fine,” she said, though she could feel the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She shoved her wand into her pocket and rubbed her eyes until she did not feel like she was about to break. “He’s alright — I just had a little…. It was nothing.”

“Why don’t you get some rest? You’ve got to go back to Hogwarts soon, don’t you?”

“Twelve on, twelve off,” she sighed. She was supposed to be there by nine in the morning, but Mad-Eye had made her swear not to come back until noon. She’d overworked her shift to make sure Katie was cared for, and he’d made her promise to take her entire break. She checked her watch. It was nearly eight am now. She might have fallen asleep on her feet or curled up under the portrait of Sir Cadogan if she’d had to be at the castle by nine.

“I have a few hours,” she said.

“I made a room ready for you yesterday, just in case.”

“Thanks.”

Lily warned her to skip the fourth step on her way upstairs. Tonks thought remembering on her way up was simple enough. Remembering on her way back down would be harder.

Tonks collapsed into bed, not even positive it was the right bed. She could be in Harry’s bed for all she knew, but she didn’t care. Even her worries over Remus vanished when her head hit the pillow, and she knew nothing but sleep.

When her pocketwatch alarm did finally chirp at her, reminding her it was time to return to Hogwarts, the warm afternoon sun was spilling over the bed. It was warm, and she did not want to leave it for the brisk wind of Hogsmeade. Why did Hogwarts have to be so far north anyway?

But she had a job to do. Tonks pulled herself out of bed with a lot of grunting and groaning and stumbled downstairs. She skipped the fourth step largely by accident, after nearly tripping over the fifth, and returned to the sitting room.

Lily was there, but she had fallen asleep on the floor, not far from where James had been laying. She did not see James, but she noted that the door to James and Lily’s bedroom was open. She was glad James was awake and on his feet. She ought to be polite and say goodbyes, but she didn’t want to disturb any of them.

That, of course, all fell apart when she reached for the Floo Powder and dropped it to the floor. The ceramic bowl crashed into the stone hearth and Tonks swore under her breath. It was easy enough to repair, but the damage had been done. She heard movement behind her, the rustling of sheets. She prayed it was Lily. Her prayers went unheard.

“Tonks?” Remus said in a quiet, groggy voice. It was such a raw tone, and Tonks wished he would repeat her name that way over and over again. That prayer went unheard, too.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

As she scooped Floo into the newly fixed jar, she reminded herself not to turn around. She could not let him see her face. She could not let him realise his mistake.

“I just came to make sure you were alright,” she said. “Sirius and the Potters aren’t the only ones who get to worry about you.”

He was quiet as she replaced the jar of Floo Powder on the mantle. She told herself not to turn around. She told herself to throw the powder in and just go. He was alright, he was awake, and she did not need him to know that he had really kissed her. It would only hurt him.

“You shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t what? Shouldn’t be here?”

“You shouldn’t care.” It was such a vulnerable whisper, Tonks wondered if he still thought he was dreaming.

“But I do,” she said, with as much of her own vulnerability as she could muster.

“Well don’t,” he snapped.

Remus was the most reasonable and empathetic person Tonks had ever met, but in this one thing he was proving to be so unreasonably stubborn. She couldn’t understand how he could tell her to simply stop caring, when surely he, of all people, knew how little control you had over who you fell in love with.

She turned around, and it brought her no joy to see his tired, defeated face slacken into shock then twist into horror as he saw the proud Black family cheekbones and her strong jawline, so like Sirius’s. She knew the horror was not at how she looked but at the realisation of what he’d done.

“Fine,” she said. “If you don’t want to talk like adults, we won’t talk like adults. When you’ve decided that you’re ready to be friends again, and actually talk to me like another human being, let me know.” Tonks threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped through the green flames into the Potters’ cottage in Hogsmeade. She let the cold, brisk wind dry her tears as she continued her solitary walk back up to Hogwarts castle.

#harry potter and the half-blood prince #nymphadora tonks #remus lupin #harry potter everyone lives au #hp everyone lives #hbp

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