#*sighs* 'merica

[smaeemo]

Every now and then I have to repress the urge to go full american and buy tickets to Monster Jam.

WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETERRRRRR

[s1eepy-0]

i love how no one cares that theyres a school shooter warning<3

[andre-and-cal]

“My name is Andre Kriegman.”

“And I am Cal Gabriel.”

“And we are the Army of Two! HUUH!!”

Wish I could hang this up on my wall:/

N e ways here’s the Army of Two if they enlisted in the army,, I think they’d start off by going in GUNS BLAZING RAHHHH MERICA FUCK YEAH 🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💥💥

I acc know nothing abt the military so maybe in the future I’ll write something related to army vet au Andre and Cal HEEELP idk sigh

[lucky-bishova-42]

Magical Accidents

(oneshot that takes place anytime after Chapter 46 in Malen'kiy Yastreb)

“So,” Natasha sighs heavily while pinching the bridge of her nose, “how exactly did this happen again?”

America slowly looks up from the floor and her eyes dart quickly over to Stephen's before she answers, "Well, Kate was doing homework and I was practicing spells, and I may have accidently got distracted by how cute she looks while she concentrates, then thought about how cute she must've looked when she was younger and... poof."

"Do you remember what spell you were practicing?" Stephen asks.

America shrugs with a forlorn look on her face before looking back at Natasha, "I am so so so so sorry Ms. Romanoff. I promise we will find a way to fix this!"

Natasha sighs heavily yet again, "It is okay, Chavez. I know it was just an accident."

"Trust me Natasha," Stephen assures, "we will find a cure or counter-spell for this. Maybe Wanda could help?"

"I will have her call once she gets back from her mission," Natasha agrees, "Although, I will also be needing her help; especially with Kate."

"I completely understand," Stephen nods.

"Speaking of," Natasha starts looking around, "where is my daughter?"

"Christine went to go get her some better fitting clothes," America supplies, "they should be back any minute!"

A moment later, Christine walks into the main lobby of the Sanctum, holding the hand of a small toddler.

"Look Katie," Christine smiles to the toddler while pointing to Natasha, "look who's here!"

Kate lets out an excited squeal and immediately toddles forward, "Mama!!"

Natasha likes to pride herself on being in complete control of her emotions. But seeing Kate this little, and oh so adorable, made all of her previous training fly out the window.

After some initial shock that finds her paralyzed for a few moments, Natasha immediately meets Kate halfway; and after some grabby hands from Kate, does not hesitate in picking her up into her arms.

"Hi Mama!"

Natasha is slightly taken aback at the fact that 'toddler' Kate recognizes her.

"Hi baby!" She can't help but smile to her now very little daughter, "how are you doing, malyshka?"

"I otay," Kate nods confidently, "Was a little scared when you was not here, but 'Merica and Dr. Christine told me dat you and Mommy were at work."

"That must've been really scary," Natasha frowns, "I am sorry I wasn't here sooner, malen'kiy yastreb."

"Is otay, Mama," Kate smiles, and leans to give Natasha a sweet peck on the cheek, "but we go home now?"

"Yes, yes of course, baby," Natasha nods.

"Here," America sheepishly hands Natasha Kate's backpack, "I don't know how long she will be like this, but when she is back to being herself she is gonna need her homework."

"Thanks kid," Natasha slings the bag over a shoulder and then nudges America with her shoulder with a small smile, "Don't be too hard on yourself, accidents happen."

America returns the smile.

"Okay," Natasha goes to head out, but pauses, "wait how am I gonna get her home? I don't have a car seat."

"I can take care of that," Stephen announces, suddenly creating a portal to their apartment. Natasha steps through with Kate on her hip. "I can portal your car back to its spot in the Compound later."

"Don't you dare scratch my Corvette, Strange!" Natasha calls as the portal whizzes closed.

Natasha shuts her eyes and lets out a heavy sigh. When she opens them, she finds two cute wide blue eyes staring back at her.

Before she or Kate can say anything, her phone starts to ring. Looking down, Wanda's ID photo pops up.

Kate points to the phone, "Mommy!!"

How the hell am I going to explain this?

—————————————————————————

'How old is she?' A bewildered Wanda asks Natasha over the phone.

"She told me she is 3," Natasha tells Wanda, as she watches Kate play with some of Morgan's blocks that Tony let them borrow, "she acts like a 3-year-old, well, an incredibly well behaved 3-year-old. And she doesn't really seem to remember anyone else, but she does know who you and I are."

'Hmm, that is strange— wait!' Wanda gasps, 'That dream I had! The one where everyone forgot Peter! Remember when I woke up I told you I would look into ways with Stephen to make sure we would never forget each other?'

"Yeah..."

'Well, I guess my spell worked,' Wanda chuckles.

"Thank heavens for that, I guess," Natasha chuckles lightly. After a moment of watching Kate cheer as Lucky knocks down her tower, Natasha smiles, "she really is the cutest thing, Wands."

'I believe it. I can't wait to see her,' Wanda replies, 'I should be home in about an hour or so. I can pick up a pizza?'

"That sounds amazing, moya lyubov," Natasha smiles.

'Have some fun with our girl, detka. I will be there in a bit,' Wanda says, 'Love you.'

"Love you too," Natasha returns, and hangs up the phone.

After watching Kate for a few more minutes, she goes and joins her on the floor.

"Whatcha doin' baby?"

"Playin' blocks with doggy!" Kate smiles, "Mama play blocks too?"

"Of course, malen'kiy yastreb," Natasha smiles softly, and grabs a block, placing it exactly where Kate instructs her. Once the tower is built and Kate summons Lucky to knock it over again, the following giggles are music to Natasha's ears; and she cannot help chuckling along.

After a while of playing blocks, it is clear to Natasha that Kate is getting tired. Kate slowly shifts closer to Natasha until she is practically laying on her lap, and she lets out a big yawn.

"That was one mighty yawn, malen'kiy yastreb," Natasha says, picking Kate up and pulling her into her lap fully, "Are you getting sleepy?"

"No Mama," Kate lies around another yawn, "I no sleepy."

"Are you sure?" Natasha playfully asks as she stands up with Kate in her arms.

"Mm-hm," Kate nods as she rests her head on Natasha's chest, her eyes getting heavy.

Natasha chuckles softly.

Before she can reply, the door to the apartment opens. As soon as Kate sees who walks in, she immediately starts to squirm to have Natasha let her down.

Natasha sets her down, and Kate takes off in a toddler-paced sprint, "Mommy!!"

Natasha notices that the look that overcomes her partner's face is probably not unlike the face she had when she first saw Kate like this.

Once Kate reaches Wanda, she wastes no time in wrapping her arms around Wanda's legs, "Mommy!! You’re home!!"

Wanda takes a little too much time to respond, so Kate starts hopping up and down.

“Up Mommy! Up!!” Kate reaches her hands up with grabby hands.

This breaks Wanda out of her reverie, and she blindly hands the pizza over to Natasha’s awaiting hands. She bends down and picks up the excited baby hawk.

“Hi Katie-bug,” Wanda kisses Kate’s cheek as she sets her on her hip.

“Hi Mommy,” Kate snuggles into Wanda’s arms, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, milaya,” Wanda hugs Kate tighter, “Did you and Mama have fun today?”

“Yeah,” Kate smiles, “We play blocks!”

"That sounds awesome, bug!" Wanda says, "We could play more after dinner if you want?"

"Yay!" Kate cheers, wiggling once again to be set down to which Wanda complies immediately. Kate giggles and chases after an unsuspecting Lucky.

Natasha shakes her head watching the scene, then leans over to give Wanda a much needed hug and kiss.

"How have things been going?" Wanda asks as they move into the kitchen to get plates for dinner.

"I don't want to jinx anything, but pretty well actually," Natasha admits, "the only thing worrying me is that we have literally no toddler supplies."

"Well, lucky for you," Wanda smirks, "Your really smart girlfriend might have already thought of that and may have stopped at the store on the way home to get some things to get us through the night."

Natasha smiles and kisses Wanda on the cheek, "You are the best, moya lyubov. Where are the bags?"

"They are still in the car," Wanda smiles, "I figured we could grab it after dinner because there may or may not be a few T-O-Y-S in them and I had a feeling Kate would get too distracted to eat."

Natasha kisses Wanda again, "What would I do without you?"

—————————————————————————

After dinner, in which Kate made the biggest mess both Natasha and Wanda had ever seen, she was given a quick bath and changed into some footie pajamas.

"Can we play now, Mama?" Kate asks.

"Sure baby," Natasha agrees, unable to deny the toddler anything, "we can play for a little while before we have to go to bed. What would you like to play?"

"Hide-n-seek!" Kate excitedly suggests.

"Sounds fun, bug!" Wanda smiles, "Why don't you and Mama hide, and I will 'seek' first, okay?"

"Yay!! Otay! Come on, Mama!" Kate tugs on Natasha's hand.

Natasha just chuckles and follows the toddler. Once they get into Kate’s bedroom, and hear Wanda start counting, Natasha asks, “So what is the plan, malyshka?”

“Over ‘dere!” Kate points to her bed, “We hide underneath!”

“Sounds like a plan, malen’kiy yastreb,” Natasha nods before getting herself and Kate under the bed.

A few moments later, they hear Wanda stop counting and announce her turn to begin looking.

Soon, she enters Kate’s bedroom.

“Hmm, I wonder where my Katie-bug and my detka are?” Wanda hums aloud, “I wonder if they are in the hamper?”

Kate starts to softly giggle.

“Shh, baby,” Natasha tries and fails to not smile at Kate’s adorable giggles, “we have to stay quiet so Mommy doesn’t find us.”

Kate makes a heroic effort to stop her giggles, and tries to quiet down.

“Wait a minute,” Wanda playfully thinks aloud, “I think I hear something.”

“Oh no, Katie,” Natasha chuckles, “Mommy is gonna find us!”

“Sounds like its coming from,” Wanda leans down and looks under the bed, “under the bed!”

Kate shrieks and laughs, letting Wanda pull her out and start to tickle her.

After a few rounds, taking turns on who is ‘seeking,’ Kate announces she wants both of her parents to be the ‘seekers.’

And because neither of them can find theirselves able to, they don’t deny the toddler.

“Okay malen’kiy yastreb,” Natasha says, “You’ve got 30 seconds starting… now!”

And with that, Kate runs off to find her new hiding place.

“She has so much energy,” Wanda chuckles as she sits down in the couch.

“I honestly don’t know where it’s from,” Natasha flops down next to her, “she was about to fall asleep on me right as you walked in.”

“Maybe the pizza gave her extra energy,” Wanda replies flippantly.

“At least she is keeping us in shape,” Natasha chuckles before standing back up, “Ready or not, Katie, here we come!”

“I will start in our room, why don’t you look in hers?” Wanda suggests.

“Sounds good,” Natasha smiles and heads for Kate’s bedroom.

Once she is in Kate’s room she starts looking in all of the spots Kate has hidden before. After a few minutes of searching, she comes up empty. Shrugging, she heads down the hall to her own bedroom.

As she goes to walk in, she runs into Wanda walking out, “Oh I was just about to come help you look.”

“I was just about to come help you look,” Wanda says back, “She isn’t in here. I am guessing she wasn’t in her room?”

“Nope,” Natasha replies, starting to feel slightly uneasy, “where else would she have gone? Yelena’s room is locked and the other bathroom was empty when I passed it.”

“I honestly don’t know,” Wanda says, also starting to feel her nerves kick in, “let’s re-check the rooms before we start to panic.”

Once they both come back empty handed from their second search of the rooms, they are both quiet for a moment before they start searching every inch of the apartment.

Their anxiety and panic increasing by the minute.

“Kate?” Natasha calls, “Where are you, baby?”

“Bug, you won,” Wanda calls, “you can stop hiding now.”

Their search continues for a few more minutes until they remember that F.R.I.D.A.Y. could probably help.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” Natasha says, “Can you do a scan for Kate?”

“Right away, Agent Romanoff,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. immediately responds.

A few tense moments pass before the A.I. speaks back up, “It would appear that Kate is in the ventilation system above her bedroom.”

Natasha and Wanda both let out relieved sighs.

“Thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Wanda says as they both head to Kate’s bedroom.

“Remind me to kill Clint later for showing her the vents,” Natasha grumbles to Wanda.

It takes little work to get where Kate is actually hiding. When they do reach her Kate cheers and insists she won the game.

Wanda and Natasha can’t help but agree and laugh.

—————————————————————————

After the near heart attack Kate had given her parents, Wanda suggested they all watch some TV to wind down before bed. They were currently all snuggling on the couch watching some Bluey at Kate's request.

As another episode comes on, Kate turns to Natasha, "Mama?"

"Yes, baby?" Natasha looks down at Kate.

Kate just holds her hands up to Natasha.

Natasha smiles softly and gently brings Kate into her arms. Kate immediately melts into Natasha's embrace and rests her head onto her chest, closing her eyes. She is asleep within minutes.

Natasha snuggles with Kate all the time. But being able to hold her like this, so close, this version of her; Natasha feels her heart swell.

She feels Wanda's warm hand caress her cheek, wiping away a tear she didn't know escaped her eye.

In a few days, they might have a cure or counterspell for this, but for now, she is going to enjoy the small glimpse into Kate's childhood that she has.

After meeting Wanda's equally emotional gaze, Natasha leans down to press a loving kiss to the top of Kate's head.

[iocity]

ASL ‘Merica AU where Sabo feels guilty about involving his brothers in his conflicts with his biological parents. They are real bona fide assholes, and Sabo does not in any way want to reconnect with them, but they are PERSISTENT. With every yelled word bouncing off the walls of the brothers shared home, Sabo’s guilt grows. He stopped believing when they said they would change years ago, but he can’t seem to shake them off.

Sabo who doesn’t tell his brothers how he feels because they have their own problems, their own struggles that seem so much bigger than old parent problems. He is supposed to be strong. He is sure that in a house of people with “real” issues, his won’t matter.

Sabo who can’t help but get angry when he has to deal with his biological family, but not regular angry. It sticks for the whole day, onto the next, and that same feeling of guilt creeps up the back of his neck. He hates how his brothers seem to walk on eggshells around him when he is in his moods, but he can’t stand to pretend to be in a sunny mood he is not in (his brothers can tell anyway). He snaps because his parents are the knife in his side, and he is in pain.

Sabo who hates crying, because crying means his parents have won the nonexistent but constantly present battle between them. Crying means that they have made him weak again, made him helpless, made him remember what he used to be. Guilt is met with shame, and shame accompanied by sorrow and anger. His own reflection an overwhelming cacophony of everything he hates. His mother’s lips, his father’s eyes; his own genetics betray him. He feels his parents in him, and he braces himself as fear overtakes him; his hands grip the wall as he silences his breaths.

Sabo who holds his breath to exact his control, to break their hold over him. His breath can’t shake if he doesn’t let it out; his eyes can’t cry if his heart is trying to escape his chest. If he is in control he can be cold, calculated; he can give his parents what they deserve. What they gave to him. To him, it’s logic, it’s reason, and it’s strength.

Sabo who can’t help the jolt that runs through him when he feels arms around him, his chest heaving with warm air, the ache within him worsening. He has been pulled out of his control and into the warmth and unpredictability of his brothers’ arms. All at once he is melting, and it shows in the way his chest heaves into a sigh, then a sob, in the way that water flows down his cheeks until he is sure there is a puddle under him, and in the way that he reaches blindly for them through his tears. They are already there.

Sabo whose apologies fall on deaf ears, because they don’t give a damn about his parents (something they now make sure to tell him often), they give a damn about him.

Luffy who can’t help but cry too, because Sabo is not only his older brother, but his heart. Not by blood but by choice which, for him, means so much more. It’s only natural to cry when your heart hurts. He clings to Sabo, hoping to solidify his presence, because he is there. He isn’t a thought or a feeling, he isn’t fleeting. He is permanent. Heart to heart, warm and present. He doesn’t understand; he never cared much about things like his biological family. Despite that, he is shifting to his feet, making Sabo’s favorite snack consuming mind because his words often fail him but his hands rarely do. Food brings people together, right? He hopes Sabo is hungry, so they can eat together.

Ace whose clenched jaw, deep frown, and furrowed brows speak for him. ‘Why didn’t you tell us? Why did you do this alone?’ But he’ll nag later, because first and foremost he is the oldest brother. So for now Ace will hold his little brother while he cries and control the anger bubbling up within him, not only at Sabo’s parents, but at the world. He is unmoving even when Sabo has stilled from his crying, silent when Luffy wriggles out of their grip to grab snacks for them. As still and permanent as rock, letting Sabo lean on him until he finds the strength to walk on his own.

Sabo whose guilt and shame crashes against the corners of his mind, frustration rising because he is full of feelings he doesn’t recognize and therefore can’t control.

Sabo who is spiraling until a warm gas station honeybun is being shoved under his nose by forceful hands, ratty sandals being tucked aside as Luffy sits criss-cross in front of him with a plate of his own, Ace’s plate balancing on Luffy’s straw hat. A hand is on his neck as he rocks back and forth slowly, looking nervous.

“I don’t think it was supposed to be microwaved with the wrapper on y’all.”

“You’re shitting me.”

Sabo who hears Ace cursing about the house being rented and microplastics, and Luffy arguing back despite knowing he is in the wrong.

Sabo who laughs. In disbelief, in amusement, in insanity. He can’t tell anymore, but he feels the waves stilling in his mind, replaced with the sound of his brothers’ quarreling and his own laughter. Because they don’t give a damn about what he perceives to be weakness; he doesn’t need to feel ashamed.

Sabo who knows his life isn’t fixed and who knows he will have to talk to his brothers eventually, but who also loves his brothers and warm gas station honey buns. Sabo who feels at home in this familiar warmth.

“Man, I love you guys.”

Masterlist!

Tags c|:D : @porschethemermaid

[sigma-69-420]

Sigma Trump x Sleepy Biden

tw crackfic, omegaverse, m!preg, fluff,

if u bully us we'll kill ourselves, this is just for shits and gigs instead of doing work

431 words

The debate between Sigma Trump and Sleepy Biden was very intense and nerve racking for all the audience. Everyone held their breath as if an atomic bomb had gone off. Sparks flew as they passionately fought with their words.

"No Sigma Trump, you can't keep the Mexicans out!"" But S-s-sle-sleepy Biden, I'm doing it for yo-.. for the country! -Merica number 1🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅"

Suddenly, as if a bullet had grazed pass his ear, a sleepy spell hit Sleepy Biden and he stumbled. His vision went blurry and the audience gasped in horror. Just as he was about to hit the floor, orange strong and veiny hands caught him. It was Sigma Trump!!!!!

The audience shuddered in fear for Sleepy Biden, as the big alpha man handled him.

"Shnookums! What's wrong what happened!!!!!" cried Sigma Trump as tears flowed from his eyes, moisturising his dry skin and washing off his fake tan, but he didn't care, anything for his one true love.

"I-I-I-I..." Sleepy Biden mumbled before his vision went black and he succumbed to his sleepy nature, for he was just an omega.

Sigma Trump yelled in horror "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BABY🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺" The audience took a swift inhale of breath in unison and you could hear a pin drop. Sigma Trump just realised he had admitted to his omega, Sleepy Biden's pregnancy!

"I can't avoid it any longer.... I'm the sire to Sleepy Biden's pups. I must attend to my omega!" and he rushed off to help Sleepy Biden as the paramedics whisked him away into the night. Who had called the ambulance??????

*

Kamala watched from the audience, teary eyed as she realised her dad's would be ok, and breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly she leapt from her seat in realisation that she left her pookie Oprah waiting!

*

Sleepy Biden awoke from his slumber suddenly to see his pookie alpha Sigma Trump staring intently over him. He immediately felt safe for he knew his own true love was watching over him.

He murmured "Daddy T, I can't believe your here! What happened... what about the debate!"

"The debate means nothing compared to my love for you. Don't worry kitten, the baby is fine, fear not kitten whiskers" Trump whispered as he stroked his hair softly, like a summer breeze.

"oh thank goodness! I can't wait to finally meet our pup, I'm so lucky to have you by my side. I love you❤️❤️❤️"

"I love you too pookie, now and forever. Now come on, lets go play some golf" and they drove off into the sunset in their private golf cart.

[mad4turtles]

Hi 🙂 Loved your work over on Ao3, so I thought I'd shoot my shot at a rottmnt fic request!I had an idea for a prompt that has a premise like

• Takes place in the future timeline.

• I hc that CJ probably had at least ONE super rebellious moment in his younger years. I mean he's a child raised by both Cassandra Jones and the Hamatos 😂

• Casey Jr is still young enough that he's not allowed on missions

I can imagine CJ really pushing to start going on missions after witnessing the aftermath of one gone very bad. He just wants to be more useful & be able to protect his family like they always protect him and aid the Resistance. Casey and Leo probably get into it on the topic of Casey going on missions cause Leo is both his sensei AND one of his primary parental figures. CJ wants, Leo definitely does not want.

CJ sneaks out anyway to prove a point & scares the crap out of the fam. CJ runs into some trouble, maybe gets only mildly hurt, but scared & definitely learned an important lesson. Leo and the squad pull up ready to annihilate x5 cause their kid is the thing that's in danger. Some much needed, healthy heart to heart between Leo and CJ after everyone is safe and any wounds are treated. Cause their bond has me in a chokehold 🥹

Thank you for offering up request! Super awesome if this prompt is do-able for you!

... anon. my friend, my good pal. Do you know what you have done to me?

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AN EXCUSE TO LION KING THE HELL OUT OF THESE TURTLES AND YOU HAVE GRANTED MY WISH. I salute you!

This is a two-parter because I got 9 pages in and really didn't want to rush this. I was having far too much fun!

Enjoy Part 1 XD

(EDIT: PART 2 IS HERE)

---

brave when i have to be

“Absolutely not.”

And really, Casey should have expected it. Even so, his jaw drops. “What?! Why?!”

Master Hamato Leonardo, leader of the only Resistance faction in the remains of Merica, and Casey's godfather, plants his hands on his hips and sighs. “We've been over this a thousand times, CJ—”

“But sensei,” Casey interrupts, stepping forward and clutching Uncle Tello's chainsaw hockey stick tight to his chest, “I can help! I'm not as strong as you, but I can still hold my own! I can scout, carry supplies back to base, or—or anything besides sitting around down here doing nothing while everyone else—!”

“I sincerely hope you're not just 'sitting around down here doing nothing' when there is plenty of training you could be doing and studying you can be catching up on,” Uncle Leo—no, Sensei right now—shoots back with an arched brow, frowning. At Casey's silent squirming, he leans forward with narrowed eyes that the boy avoids. "Don't think I haven't noticed. I got word from your dear Uncle Tello that your most recent test scores were, ah, disappointing.”

“Snitch,” Casey whines, scowling at the floor. 

Sensei leans back with another sigh, massaging his wrinkled brow with his prosthetic hand. Casey tries not to stare and fails. 

“Look, bud,” Sensei says, “Your heart is in the right place. You want to help, prove yourself and all that jazz, and you've come a long way. I mean that. But you're still young. Hell, even I wasn't going out fighting bad guys when I was your age; I was hot-wiring cars with Don for joyrides, vandalizing corporate office buildings—shitty teenage boy stuff that we thought was cool. Right now, that's all I want from you; to be safe down here, doing shitty teenage boy stuff while you still can. And keeping up with your training and studies, too, that's kinda important.”

Casey rolls his eyes. “Kinda hard to do that stuck down here, but whatever...” he mutters.

 Sensei's eye twitches. “Okay, I know I just said you should be a shitty teen, but that attitude right now is no bueno, niñito.”

“I'm not a little boy anymore, Sensei!” Casey cries. “I can take care of myself! I can fight, just like you! This is what you trained me for, isn't it?! To fight the Krang and save our world! I can help, why won't you let me—?!”

“Because you're not ready, dammit!” Sensei snaps, and Casey almost jumps. The slider lets out another breath, muttering what sounds like a prayer for patience. “You're not ready, Case. The Krang are stronger than all of us—I can barely stand to send your uncles and aunt up there, you think I wanna drag you along and watch you get—”

“I'm not weak, Sensei!”

“I'm not saying that, don't put words into my mouth—”

“Well, you're sure implying it!”

“Again, you can knock off that attitude—jeez, I sound like my Dad—”

“I'm not a baby, Sensei!” Casey stomps his foot. Yes, it's childish, but damn it, his Sensei won't listen. “You can't shelter me from everything!”

“You're really gonna make me say it. You're really gonna make me pull that card, aren't you.”

Casey bristles, his chest hot. “Don't—“

“Your mother left me with a responsibility to look after you, kid,” Sensei cuts in like a knife, prodding a metal finger in Casey's chest where his mother's mask is tucked against his shirt. “I promised her that I'd watch over you if the worst ever happened. And guess what, it did. And if you think for a second that I'm gonna break that promise over your stupid-ass death wish—!”

Eyes stinging and hot, Casey slaps the metal hand away and screams, “To hell what you think, you're not my father!”

Silence. 

Casey hears a leaky pipe dripping, his own thundering heartbeat. He looks up. His Sensei's face is slack with shock—and a hint of hurt—as he stares at Casey. For what feels like forever, they just stare at each other.

Casey wants to take it back—he needs to take it back because none of that was even remotely true or fair. It was mean, and Casey Jones Jr is a lot of things but he's not mean. That's not how he was raised, in part by the very turtle standing before him. He has to take it back.

But while Casey isn't mean, he is every inch his mother in her stubbornness, so he locks his jaw.

Sensei's expression goes blank. The slider takes a step back, drawing a deep breath that's barely steady, shoulders squared and shit. Casey should've taken it back. 

“... You're right,” Sensei says, his voice hard and cold. “You're right. I'm not your father. But I am your teacher and your superior officer, and as long as you're living under my layer of earth and metal, you'll obey my rules. You can start by reporting to the mess hall to cover Dan on dish duty, then you can take yourself straight to your quarters for the rest of the evening. Tee-ell-dee-arr, this discussion is over, and your ass is grounded.”

Casey chokes. “W-What?!”

"Uh-huh. For a month."

"What?!"

“You heard me. Think of this as your punishment for your insubordination and disrespect.”

“Kutabare.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You can't just—!”

“Keep it up and see what happens, I am being so serious right now.”

Casey meets his Sensei glare for glare. Ultimately, stubbornness aside, Casey relents first, scowling at the floor. “... Yessir,” he bites out.

Sensei nods curtly. “Good. Dismissed.” 

Casey turns on his heel and storms out of Sensei's room, hissing under his breath the whole way to the mess hall. 

(He doesn't hear his Sensei's hitched sigh or see the trembling hand that covers his face as he sits heavily on the bed.)

~0o0~

It's a stupid, stupid idea. 

But his Sensei always told him to trust his gut and follow his heart—it's his greatest strength—and Casey's heart is screaming at him to help. 

This isn't for him—not entirely. It's for everyone who comes home beaten and bloody, hope crumbling with every defeat. It's for the ones who never come back—for his Mom and Uncle Raph, who loved him, all of them, enough to stay behind and die with a war cry and a smile. It's for his Sensei, still recovering from losing his arm.

I'm doing this for them, he thinks as he slips his mask on, putting all his training to use as he sticks to the shadows, creeping along the edge of the crowd of foragers before slipping into an empty crate. His heart pounds in his ribcage, ears ringing as he feels the crate start to move, mechanical wheels squeaking as the squad move out through the tunnels. 

I'm not weak. I'm not defenceless. I can do this. I can help.

~0o0~

Casey doesn't go to the surface often. Uncle Tello used to bring him up to try and find the stars when the pollution wasn't as dense, lifting him and pointing out the constellations they could see from their hiding spot. Master Michelangelo brought him once to fly him over the ruins of New York, and show him what had once been a bustling city full of people; Casey still can't wrap his head around that many people existing in one space without a care.

But that was years ago.

Casey can still find his way back to base. He has the evacuation routes memorized down to the last detail, and Master Michelangelo had left mystic markings to lead lost ones back home, near invisible unless you knew what to look for—

“Or if you're family,” he'd said with a grin and wink. “Then you won't just see it. You'll feel it. The pull of home.”

Now, as Casey wanders the wasteland of what used to be Lower Manhattan, he wishes he could feel that pull. Leaving the foraging troop to scout ahead for danger was not one of his better ideas. Especially when they didn't know you had tagged along, and they move on without you. 

If I don't die out here, I'm dead when I get back, Casey thinks as he crouches behind the wreckage of a vehicle buried in the ruins, trying not to panic and mostly failing.

Sensei had lost his arm in their most recent mission. He'd barely made it back alive, Commander O'Neil dragging him on her back, ragged, burnt and losing blood fast. They were among the seven survivors from the raid that had left with seventeen. 

It was close. They'd had a replacement ready in time, but it was. Too. Close. 

Casey had already lost his mom. He can barely remember her voice now. He can't lose Uncle Leo. He can't lose anyone else because he can't protect them. He can't. He won't. 

Still, he thinks as he curls up into a ball to fight the chill sweeping across the landscape, you probably should've listened.

“What do we have here?”

Casey's heart skips. 

Shit.

Instinct saves him as he rolls out of the way right as the robotic claws of a Krang suit obliterate his shelter. 

The dust clears, revealing the glowing, delighted eyes of the creature piloting the mech suit looming over him. Jagged teeth flash in the red glare of the mech's singular eye as the Krang grins down at the boy trembling at its feet.

Casey gapes behind his mask. He'd gone out looking for trouble, and it finds him in the form of—

“Krang Subprime!”

Subprime cackles. “That's right! I see that my reputation precedes me. About damn time, too!”

Casey's heard enough stories and reports to know how dangerous Subprime is. Responsible for leading the charge that had wiped out Asia and melted the icecaps, he's Krang Prime's right hand for a reason. 

He'd gotten the drop on the raid team in the last mission. He'd taken Uncle Leo's arm. And now he's found Casey. Alone. 

Casey can't beat him. He'll die out here, and no one will know until it's too late.

You should've listened.

But Subprime has a weakness. A glaring one that most Krang don't seem to have. All Casey needs to do is exploit it, buy himself some time. He won't win, but he'll live. And get this asshole back for nearly killing his Uncle. Maybe. Hopefully.

Spirits, please let this work.

“Not really,” he says, surprised when his voice doesn't shake like the rest of him. “Everyone thinks you're freaking annoying, nothing compared to Prime. My Uncle says your all bark, no balls.”

Subprime's eyes pop open wide, mouth gaping like a fish. Casey considers laughing.

(His one weakness: his ego is fragile as hell.)

“You—You little shit!” he squawks, stomping closer and leaning down until he's face to wrinkled, pink face with Casey, eyes blazing. Casey holds his position, gripping his weapon tight in one hand, holding his breath against the stink of Krang flesh and dripping saliva. 

“I should vaporize your sorry butt right freaking here, you disrespectful waste of flesh! Sure, Prime may be our leader, but I'm the tactical mastermind, y'hear me! I'm the reason we've come this far in taking over this planet! I'm the brains in the outfit—!”

“Literally though,” Casey grins, shifting ever so slightly on his back. Rocks and metal dig into his back, and he does his best to ignore it. He has never been this close to a living Krang, and he's scared shitless, but he can't falter. He can still get away. He can still live. “I mean, You are a giant brain thing in a mech suit, so...”

“Shut up! You talk more than that dumb blue turtle with the fancy sword.” Then Subprime grins, slow and vicious. “Speaking of which, how is he? Last I saw, he was bleedin' out pretty bad after I bit his arm off. Never heard him scream like that. It was music to my ears.” He licks his lips. “His blood tasted delightful.”

Casey wants to be sick. He wants to kill this disgusting son of a bitch more than he's ever wanted anything in his life. 

Keep your cool, Case, Sensei's voice echoes in his ears. Anger is a dangerous ally when it's not focused. Sharpen it. Give it form. 

Casey breathes in. 

“Aw, got nothin' to say, pipsqueak?” Subprime chuckles, slamming a metal hand beside Casey's head, caging him in. “Now, you've got two options. You can spend the rest of your worthless life in our labour camp, or go ahead and make your last request. If nothing else, it'll be entertaining. I do enjoy the way you humans beg for mercy.”

Casey breathes out. 

“In that case, I have one request if you would kindly grant it,” he says softly. 

Subprime chortles and leans in, jagged teeth dripping. “I'm all ears.” 

“Could you scream in agony like a little girl bleeding from the face?”

Subprime blinks. “Could I what—?”

Casey thrusts his roaring chainsaw into Subprime's left eye. 

Subprime screeches and rears back, metal hand cradling his bleeding face. “YOU—YOU SON OF A—!”

Casey is already running, leaping over and ducking under debris and wreckages from a time long gone. 

For my Sensei, you dusty bitch!

He can hear Subprime giving chase, moving faster than anything Casey can hope to outpace. But he has size on his side, and he squeezes through tight gaps between collapsed buildings and pipework, crawling through a gaping fissure in the ground leading to the sewer system. Far too big and down an eye, Subprime struggles to catch up, bellowing and hissing after Casey as he brute forces his way through the rubble and vines, claws just catching the frayed hem of Casey's cape.

“Shit—!” Casey stumbles, careening into a wall slick with Krang slime and—a familiar smell that Casey doesn't want to think about too much as he bolts down through the tunnel, feet and heart pounding. He'd thought—hoped—blinding the bastard would've slowed him down. 

“Wretched brat! I'll tear you limb from limb, you insignificant—!”

“Can't catch me, bitch!” Casey screams back, scrambling up a rusty ladder that leads back to the surface. Adrenaline pumps through him like electricity, and he all but punches the sewer grate, barely feeling the pain in his busted knuckles, crawling out into the open. 

He remembers this street; it leads to the Hudson Cross—from there, he can find Uncle Mikey's runes. He can get home—

“Gotcha!”

Cold, solid metal slams Casey into the asphalt, pinning him face down. His hockey stick flies from his grip, skidding out of reach. The breath leaves him in a painful rush, he can't even cry out as one claw pierces his shoulder. Warmth pools under his shirt and drips onto the concrete, sticky and wet.

No.

“Heh... hehe,” Subprime's wheezing laughter over Casey's head feels like a blade against his neck, honed, ready and aching to swing. “Thought you could get away, did ya?”

No, please. 

He can't help it. Casey sniffles, tears leaking through his eyelids as he squeezes them shut.

I was so close.

“Awww, what's this? Tears? Gimme a Krangin' break!” Subprime presses harder. Casey chokes on a sob as his bones creak in protest. “What's next, you gonna call mommy and daddy to come save you from the big, mean old Krang-y? Ha! Should'a thought of that before ya blinded me, you freakin' pest!”

Help. Somebody, please, Sensei—

“Forget the labour camp.” Subprime tightens his grip and lifts Casey's limp, bleeding body off the ground. “I'm gonna enjoy smashing you to a bloody pulp instead!”

Help me, please! Da—

“Put. Him. Down.”

Casey's eyes snap open.

Subprime's grin falls. “Huh—?”

A flash of green, and a blade slices Subprime's arm from his shoulder. 

Casey's falling for half a heartbeat before two strong arms pluck him from the air. His stomach swoops as he scrambles for purchase on—he squints—Uncle Tello's shoulders as they zip across the street on the propellers of Tello's battle shell. “Oh my god!” he cries.

“Not quite,” Uncle Tello quips as he skids across the broken street and sticks the landing. His purple visor flickers to life across his eyes, analysing Casey's from head to toe. He doesn't put him down. “Are you alright?”

Casey's knuckles are broken on his right hand. His shoulder and nose are still oozing blood, and his body feels like one giant bruise from that chokeslam into the ground. He can hear Sensei and Commander O'Neil holding an enraged Subprime back behind them, and his heart feels ready to leave his body with how hard it's beating. Other than that—

“I-I'm okay,” he stammers. He sniffs, swiping his unbroken hand under his nose. “I'm—I'm okay.”

Uncle Tello doesn't look convinced. “Can you stand?” he asks anyway. Casey nods, and Uncle Tello sets him down carefully. He keeps one strong arm draped around Casey's shoulders, bringing the other up to speak into his vambrace, his tone clipped and urgent. “Nardo, April, I've got him. A little banged up, but nothing serious. I've also got a pack of Krang Hounds incoming from the south, ETA two minutes. Sister is with them and seems to be in a good mood. Much as I want to carve the innards out of Subpar here, we gotta book it.”

Casey gulps. Subprime is one thing, but he never wants to meet the Sister. 

He looks over his shoulder—and chokes when he sees Master Leonardo standing on top of Subprime's fallen mech, sword poised over his bloody eye. He can't see the slider's face, but his voice carries across the empty street, cold and dark and nothing at all like the man he knows—

“Don't. Touch. My boy.”

And then he carves Subprime's eyeball out of the socket, tossing it across the street. 

Subprime wails in agony, thrashing on the ground and narrowly missing Commander O'Neil as she slides neatly under his flailing leg, nabbing Casey's weapon as she sprints over to them, Master Leonardo not far behind. 

“Get going!” she shouts. 

Casey doesn't need telling twice and runs like a bat out of hell, not daring to look back. Uncle Tello, who can run (or fly) rings around Casey any day, sticks close to his side. Commander O'Neil draws up on his right, leaving his Master at the rear, boxing Casey in.

“How're we gonna get back to base before they get here?!” he cries. He can hear the barking and howling already, getting louder, closer.

His aunt grins. “Same way we got here so fast!”

Ahead, golden light explodes like a star against the twilight, leaving a mystic ring of blessed orange in its wake. 

Master Michelangelo hovers above it, winking. “All aboard the Mikey Express, leaving now!”

“Impeccable timing, little brother!” Uncle Tello crows. Casey wants to cry. 

They all leap through the mystic portal right as the first Hound rounds the corner of a building. Michelangelo zips through last and shuts it with a swipe of his hands, plunging them into darkness and silence save for their panting.

They're back in the tunnels. They're home.

Casey drops his head with a shuddering breath, leaning back into Michelangelo's steadying hands on his shoulders. It stings, but it's grounding. He can breathe. It's over.

Then he lifts his head to look at the back of his Sensei's shell, sees his clenched fists and thinks it is far from over.

“Leonardo,” Uncle Tello approaches the slider, one hand reaching out. “It's fine. It's fine, we are all fine, so I need you to do me a solid and breathe—”

Sensei slowly turns his head to face Uncle Tello, and even Commander O'Neil takes a step back at the frigid rage swirling in his eyes. Michelangelo inhales sharply through his nose, gently pulling Casey closer. Uncle Tello doesn't flinch, meeting his twin's glare evenly. Eventually, he backs off with raised hands. 

Then Sensei turns to Casey, and Casey wilts under his stare. He's pissed.

Somehow, Casey finds his voice. “...um... Sensei, I—”

“You. Deliberately disobeyed me,” Master Leonardo says lowly, and oh god, he's not pissed. He is livid. 

Casey shrinks back against Michelangelo's chest, his grip the one thing keeping his knees from folding under him. “Sensei, I'm—I'm sorry—”

“Medbay. Now.” 

Master Leonardo marches past them, brisk and tense, a silent threat that they should follow if they want to live. 

Uncle Tello and Commander O'Neil share a look that Casey can't translate. Then Uncle Tello sighs, his expression crumpling for the first time as he buries his face in his hands. This close, Casey can see how much they're shaking. 

Casey's gut twists viciously with guilt. 

Commander—no—Aunt April pats Uncle Tello's shoulder firmly with one hand, the other pulling back his frayed purple hood. “It's alright, Don," she says. "Casey's here. Leo's here. We're all here." 

Uncle Tello's breath shudders out of him. His head still in his hands, his snout twists as he nods.

Aunt April smiles ruefully, patting the soft shell's arm again. "Go. Take care of yourself, Dee. We'll handle things here.”

Uncle Tello responds with another nod, making Casey's innards twist even more as he watches him go. 

Then Aunt April sighs, looking at Uncle Mikey and cocking her head after Master Leonardo. The mystic warrior nods back and ushers Casey forward, not letting him go.

“Don't worry, little man,” he says softly, pressing his beak into Casey's mangled hair. Like he's trying to convince himself that Casey's here at all. “We'll patch you up first, then we can rest. It's... it's been a long day.”

Tell me about it, Casey almost says. Instead—“'M really sorry, Uncle Mike...”

His Uncle sighs into his hair before pressing a kiss to his crown. “I know you are, little man. But I'm not really the guy you should be apologizing to.”

Casey gulps.

I think I might've had better chances with Subprime.

---

Part 2 coming soon!

(Feel free to send more requests <;3)

[8thwonderz-ofthewrld]

sigh. merica is fucked but at least we have MF DOOM

[heonie-ween]

my hometown is so white that I didn’t meet another japanese person until my second year of college

[americancowgirl19]

Babysitter

Summary: Peter gets stuck with babysitting.

Warnings: fluff

Characters: Peter Parker, Annie - Little Cousin, Aunt May, Happy, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers

Word Count: 1,318

A/n: This was an anonymous ask -  Hey i was wondering i would like to request peter parker having a 6 years old baby cousin (may and ben's daughter) and she knows about him being spiderman. She meets the avengers. - I’m gonna make Peter a little older. He’s about 19 and is in college but still lives with Aunt May. He’s just rarely home between school, friends and the Avengers. I also named the cousin Annie because I looked up Peter’s family tree and Uncle Ben’s mother was Ann so I went with it... I hope I did good, I hope you enjoy it!

Masterlist

“Aunt May,” Peter whines, following her into the kitchen. “I have the be with the Avengers in an hour, I can’t stay here and babysit,”

“Peter, you told me you would babysit today. I have to work and the regular babysitter is out of town until next week,” May tells him.

“Aunt May,” Peter groans. She sighs turning to him.

“Why don’t you just take her with you?” She suggests. Peter raises an eyebrow at her.

“Take her with me?” 

“Yeah, she loves Spiderman. It’ll be perfect,” Aunt May smiles slipping on her jacket.

“I can’t just take her with me,” Peter argues.

“Why not?” Aunt May asks, slipping her shoes on.

“It’s work, Aunt May. It’s serious stuff, dangerous superhero stuff... No place for a 6 year-old,” Peter shakes his head, crossing his arms.

“Oh, that’s funny because I texted Happy and asked him if it would be ok for you to take her and he says it’s fine,” Aunt May grins. “In fact, Tony’s pretty excited to see her”

“You talked to Mr. Stark?” Peter’s jaw drops. “Aunt May, when I go to the Avengers I’m Spiderman, I’m Mr. Starks righthand man. I can’t do what I have to do and watch Annie,” 

“Peter, you’re just going over there to try on new suits,” May tells him. “Maybe sit through a meeting, I don’t know,” She shrugs. “But it’s not like you’re taking her on a mission. Now, I know you want to seem cool and all that in front of the big boys,” Aunt May says causing Peter to whine and rub his face. “But you’re taking her. Now, I have to run, do not lose her,” She says pointing at him.

“That was one time and I found her,” Peter shouts after her.

“Say hi to Happy for me,” Aunt May shouts back.

“Ew, no,” Peter cringes. Aunt May blows him a kiss and walks out the door. Peter groans leaning against the wall, banging his head back.

Normally, he loves spending time with Annie. She’s his favorite person. He’s taken her swinging through the city every time she asks because he simply cannot say no to her face. 

However, taking her to the Avengers facility is something else. Ever since Mr. Stark brought him in to help out a couple of years ago he’s been trying to prove that he’s a worthy Avenger. He wants the others to take him seriously. 

Bringing his little cousin with him and running after her whenever she gets into things that she’s not supposed to will only restart the teasing period. Not that he ever got out of the teasing period but he didn’t want to give them new material to work with.

“I can stay here, Petey,” Annie whispers, peaking out from around the corner. Peter’s eyes snap open and he looks at her. His heart breaks at the pout on her lips. “I’m a big girl, I can look after myself,” Peter sighs.

Peter smiles, walking over to her. She looks down at her feet, fidgeting with her hands. Peter kneels in front of her and brushes some hair off her shoulder.

“Have you gotten taller since I last saw you?” Peter asks. She glances up at him.

“You saw me yesterday,” She reminds him.

“And I swear you grew an entire foot taller,” Peter shakes his head in amazement. “If you don’t slow down you’re gonna be taller than me tomorrow,” He says, poking her stomach. She smiles but tries to hold it back. “You are 100% a big girl,” He agrees with her. “Just because you can look after yourself doesn’t mean you have to,” He tells her. “Now, if you want you can stay here by yourself and be bored or you can come with me and meet some Avengers,”

“Can I meet Capin Merica?” She asks, slyly looking at him.

“I’m sure I can arrange a meeting... Maybe over some lunch?” Annie slowly begins to nod, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, I didn’t mean to,” Peter pouts causing Annie to grin even more.

“It’s ok, you can make it up to me with some ice cream,” Annie assures him. Peter grins, laughing a bit.

“Oh, is that right?” He asks, and she nods sticking her chin up. Peter smirk scooping her up in his arms and spinning her around. She giggles as he tosses her in the air and catches her. “Well, I’m sure Mr. Stark has some ice cream we can snag,” He promises.

“Why don’t you go get ready? We’ll leave in a couple minutes,”

“Ok!” Annie shouts racing to her room. By the time she was ready, Happy was there to pick them up. Peter had gone to sit up front with him when Annie slipped in first. “Thank you for opening the door, Petey,” Annie grins, clicking her seatbelt in. Peter’s mouth drops as he looks at Happy who just shrug.

“She’ll be alright,” Happy promises. Peter groans, closing the door and climbing into the back. Happy closes the divider preventing him from seeing up front. Peter pouts but grins a bit when he hears Annie giggling.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the facility. Peter jumped out of the car to race after a speeding Annie. He grabs her hand before she can get through the door.

“Don’t run away, Annie,” Peter scolds. “I’m supposed to be watching you,”

“I wanna meet Capin Merica!” Annie shouts.

“And your wish is my command,” Tony says, walking up to him with Steve Rogers beside him. Annie’s eyes widen and her mouth drops. Peter watches her expression and grins.

“You look just like my action figure,” She whispers. “But you’re bigger,” She admits. Steve smiles, kneeling in front of her. 

“Introduce yourself,” Peter whispers, nudging her.

“Hi! I’m Annie Parker,” She basically shouts. Her hand shoots out for him to take.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Annie, I’m Steve,” He says shaking her hand.

“Cap here is gonna show you around,” Tony say clapping Steve on the back when he stands back up. Annie slowly gasps. “I’m gonna steal your cousin for a little bit,”

“Ok,” Annie shrugs leaving Peter for Steve.

“No loyalty,” Peter shakes his head watching Annie willingly walk off with Steve.

“Tell me about it, who chooses Captain America when you have Ironman?” Tony scoffs. “It’s gotta be the blond hair,”

“I think you’re perfect, Mr. Stark,” Peter tells him.

“I thought we were past the whole you kissing my ass stage?” Tony asks. Peter struggles to figure out what to say next. “Never mind, I’ve got you a new suit,”

Peter wanders off with him hoping that Steve doesn’t loose Annie or else he’ll never hear the end of it from Aunt May. He stayed with Tony for a couple of hours before they hunted Steve and Annie down.

They found them in the common room with some of the other Avengers. At the moment Annie was with Natasha. Natasha was whispering secrets to Annie, most likely ways to get into trouble but get away with it. Annie was soaking every work up with a mischievous grin.

Bruce sat next to her, grinning and shaking his head. Annie was sitting in his lap but was also completely ignoring him in favor of Natasha. Steve seemed to be finishing up a bowl of ice cream on the opposite couch. When Peter looked back at Annie he noticed leftover ice cream smears on her cheek.

“Hi, Petey!” Annie shouts waving at him.

“Hi, Annie,” He waves back.

“Do we have to leave?” She pouts. 

“No, we can stay a little longer,” He promises her. Her face lights up and she instantly goes back to whispering with Natasha.

“She’ll be our little spy in no time,” Tony comments.

“Aunt May’s gonna have a heart attack,” Peter mutters.

[givemeweasley]

First Things First pt. 2

Fred Weasley x Reader

Word Count:8.8k

Warnings: hella fluff, and ooey gooey romance, and then some angst (I couldn’t resist)

A/N: here's part two! Hope you enjoy!

First Things First pt. 1, First Things First pt. 3

-----

You remembered the first time you told your friends back in the States about him.

After about a million rounds of hugs the lot of you had settled down around your bedroom. You and Louisa were sitting on your bed, Danny sitting reverse in your desk chair, Thomas claimed the bean bag chair as soon as he walked in the room, and classic Iris who had opted to sit on the floor and lean against the wall. The familiarity of it all felt wonderful. Yet, almost new. You hadn’t seen them in a year, things had changed.

Once everyone was settled, the questions shot out at the pace of rockets. You could barely hear who they were coming from.

“What’s Quidditch?”

“How’s England?”

“What’s Hogwarts like?”

“Are there really prisoners running loose?”

“Did you see a dementor?”

“Did you almost die?”

“What are their houses?”

“Can you understand anything they say?”

“Are the boys cute?”

At that everyone shut up, glaring at Thomas.

He lifted his hands in defense and shrugged. “What?! Don’t act like we weren’t all thinking it!”

Like that instantly reminded them all of something, they shared a look before they all glanced at Iris.

She raised a brow. “I’m not surprised you bunch of cowards. I thought you were Wampus’?” She rolled her eyes before looking directly at you and smirking. “So who’s Fred Weasley?”

Your jaw dropped. You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room as all your friends stared back at you. Clearing your throat you answered, “He’s a friend of mine.”

Danny chuckled. “A friend? Is that what you ‘em in England?”

You crossed your arms, but Louisa nudged your sides. “Come on, Y/N! Tell us everything!!”

Whatever reserve you had had about saying anything, much less admitting it to yourself, dissolved with Louisa’s urging. You pulled your sleeves down until they curled around your palms. “Well, you already know his name.”

Louisa squealed, clutching your arm excitedly. She immediately got hushed by everyone else in the room.

“Um.” You furrowed your brows looking between all our friends. “I don’t really know what to say, honestly.”

“How about you start with how you two met, kid?” Danny smiled softly crossing his arms over the top of the chair. You huffed a laugh.

“Yeah. I suppose that’s a good place to start. Well, we met on the train to Hogwarts. It’s called the Hogwarts Express-”

“They get a train?!” Thomas shouted from the beanbag. A quick glance told you your other friends shared your sentiments. You had forgotten the stresses of using a portkey to get to school. A shiver went down your spine before you continued.

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice too. They come by with a food cart around noon that has all sorts of treats-”

“Fred?” Iris raised a brow.

“Right. Well I found an empty car and sat down. He and his brother, George, and their friend, Lee, found me and wondered if they could join me since the other train cars were full.” Louisa awed from beside you. “Well at first I was so stuck in my head that I didn’t say anything so they almost left, but then I remembered I had working vocal chords and responded. That’s when they realized I was American.” You found yourself fondly rolling your eyes at the memory. “They then proceeded to pelt me with questions for the next several hours. Hm. Almost reminds me of some other people I know.” Giving a very pointed look at the four friends around you. But instead of guilty looks, they were all smiling, besides Iris who looked vaguely amused.

“What then?” Danny urged.

“Well, then I got sorted into the same house he was in. And no, Louisa,  it was not love at first sight.” You said, noticing her hopeless romantic look. “He’s an identical twin, remember? I could barely tell him apart from his twin.”

“What houses do they have?” Iris interrupted. That was just the sort of thing she would interrupt for.

“Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.” Iris raised another brow, hinting that you should continue. “Gryffindor is the brave, Ravenclaw the wise, Hufflepuff the kind, and Slytherin the ambitious. That’s the best I can sum it up.”

“Hm.” She nodded. “Continue.”

“Right. Well. I got sorted into Gryffindor, which was his house. Then he and George called me over to sit with them and I did. Honestly, it was kind of history from there. They call me ‘Merica.” A small smile crept up on your face almost without your knowledge. “But there were lots of things we did. We had detention together.” You glanced up at Danny seeing his head thrown back in laughter. “We ate breakfast together every morning, had classes everyday, went to Hogsmeade-”

“Hogsmeade?” Louisa spoke up again.

“Oh- uh- it’s a little wizarding town outside of Hogwarts. We get to go there a couple times a semester.” Louisa nodded. “Anyway, there were lots of little things I think that we did together. Although a lot of the time we did them with George, Lee, and Angelina.”

“When did you know?” Thomas said grabbing the bean bag and dropping it a few feet closer to the bed before plopping down in it again.

“Know what?”

“You know, like, know.” Thomas winked dramatically.

“Oh-oh. Um.” You leaned back against your headboard. Was there a specific moment? “Well, I think I first started to-” You cleared your throat, “like him when I first got your letters at Hogwarts. It was probably a month or two into school and I was opening them before our Hogsmeade trip. I was- sad. I read Danny’s letter first and it reminded me how much I missed you guys. Fred sat down across from me and instead of saying any bullshit like it’s okay or I’m sure they miss you just as much or you have new friends now, he said well then, it’s a good thing we’re going to Hogsmeade today so we can buy them a couple of souvenirs to send back. I don’t know.” You looked down at your comforter and traced the pattern in the cloth. “It was just exactly what I needed to hear.”

“You can tell Fred I loved those Dungbombs.” Danny smirked.

“Tell him yourself. You have paper and quills.” You smirked back. “But-” Turning back to face Thomas, “I think I knew when I had to leave for the end of the year. Something about not being around him all the time made me realize holy shit I want to be around this buffoon all the time!”

With that you looked over to Louisa who was dabbing at imaginary tears, Thomas had his hand clenched over his heart, Danny was just shaking his head with a smile, and Iris was actually smiling.

Iris looked over to Danny. “Kids in love.”

You grabbed a pillow from behind her and chucked it at her. “Am not!”

“Sure. Sure. Whatever you say, kid.” Iris laughed as she caught the pillow and tucked it under her arm.

“Last question.” Louisa placed her head on your shoulder. “What does he look like?”

Hm. Good question. Your mind took you miles away and weeks ago as you waved goodbye to him on the Hogwarts Express platform. “Bright red hair that brushes his broad shoulders. He’s really tall too. Soft brown eyes. Muscular arms and a really warm smile.”

The room had quieted once again. You hadn’t realized you were staring off into space blushing until Danny spoke up breaking the silence looking at Iris.

“She’s in love.”

You flopped back onto the pillows and threw your arm over your eyes.

“Guys!”

But their laughter and teases had already overtaken your voice as the rest of them piled onto the bed on top of you.

You couldn’t help but smile underneath the weight of them and the thought that they were probably right.

-----

You remembered the first time you stayed at the Burrow.

Your mom had driven you to the Burrow early in the morning and parked around a hundred feet away from the front gate. You both walked to the front door, your suitcases in your hands, your football (and one extra for Lee) under your mothers arms. You set your suitcases down and knocked on the door.

If it had been quiet before that, all hell broke loose at the sound of your knock. You heard vague sounds of griping and fighting, before the door was wrenched open by who you assumed was Mrs. Weasley. Your first thought was she looks like the kindest woman I’ve ever met. It made you wonder what Fred and George and even Ron whined so much about.

“Oh! You must be Y/N and you must be Mrs. Y/L/N! Come in, come in!” She waved you both into what was the most out of order, magnificent, mismatched house you’d ever been in. And you couldn’t wait to stay. Mrs. Weasley hurried you both over to the chairs at the table before flicking her wand. You and your mom sat down before two cups of hot tea came flying (not spilling a drip) and landed on the table before you.

It was right at that moment that two boys came crashing down the stairs. Your head twisted to see Fred and George laying on top of each other in a weird pretzel at the base of the staircase. They both scrambled to get up and make their way over to you.

“Boys, be gentlemen and take Y/N’s stuff up to Ginny's room.” The boys looked at each other and then back to their mom.

“But mum-”

“Ginnys!” She raised her voice the slightest bit and gave them a smile you recognized seeing on your own mother several times before. The one that garnered zero arguments. Hearing them sighing, you placed your tea back down on the table and stood.

“I’ll go help them, if that’s alright?” Your hands were clasped tightly together. You didn't want to offend Mrs. Weasley your first night here. You could hear the twins grabbing your suitcases from behind you.

“Of course, dear. It’ll give me a minute to talk with your mum.” She gave you a kind smile which alleviated some of your nerves as you pulled the footballs from your mothers grasp and followed Fred and George upstairs.

As soon as you hit the second floor, Fred grabbed your arm and pulled you into a room. They both dropped your suitcases and threw their arms around you. The footballs fell onto the floor as you wrapped your arms around the both of them.

“Missed you, ‘Merica.” George mumbled.

“Things have been boring around here.” Fred smiled pulling back. You tried your best to conceal the blush that threatened to make itself more known than it already was.

After they both let go, it gave you a chance to see their room. You knew it was their room the minute you saw the mess. Papers of what you assumed were plans for joke shop products were scattered everywhere but mostly concentrated on the desk. Their beds were littered with a few of those test products that you had been on the receiving end of a few times. Your eyes lifted back to the boys.

“I’ve missed you guys too.” You bent down to grab your suitcases, but Freds hands snatched them out of your grip. “But your mom is going to hate me unless you take me to Ginny’s room.”

“No she’s not.” George rolled his eyes but squeezed past you and into the hall. You followed him, leaving the footballs in their room. “We’ve told her too much about you and how you’ve tried to get us to stop doing pranks-”

“That’s not true-”

“She doesn’t need to know that.” Fred whispered in your ear from behind you, causing you to nearly jump out of your skin. His head appeared next to your shoulder as he followed close behind and winked.

“Stop that!” You swatted at him, but he had already moved laughing as you missed.

“And here we are.” George led you into Ginny’s room and Fred followed before placing your suitcases on the floor.

“Where’s Ginny?” You asked, turning to the twins.

“Down at the lake with Ron. We were gonna go join them but then Fred here remembered you were coming today, so we decided to wait.”

“How sweet.”

“Well get dressed so we can go join them!” Fred called as he and his brother left the room, shutting the door behind them.

As soon as you heard the click you plopped down on the nearest bed. Your heart felt as if it was about to beat itself right out of your chest. You could practically hear it. For a moment you wondered if Fred could.

And then you realized you were being paranoid. You shook your head trying to get your mind off the way Fred’s arms felt around you. Strong. Comforting. Warm.

Those could’ve been George’s arms.

With that, you stood up and quickly got changed into your swimsuit and grabbed a towel. Holding it over your body, a little self conscious, you poked your head out the door. Seeing Fred leaning against the wall in nothing but swim trunks almost made you fall flat on your face, but luckily you caught yourself on the door frame.

You cleared your throat as you walked out and closed Ginny’s door behind you. Fred looked up. You couldn't have been lying to yourself as you saw a faint flush light up his cheeks as his hand lifted to rub the back of his neck. The tension only seemed to build as neither of you spoke.

Finally you managed to choke out, “so where’s George?”

A light seemed to go off behind Fred’s eyes as he straightened and shook his head. “Oh- um- George. Right. He- uh- he already left to go to the- uh the lake. Said he got tired of waiting.”

You nodded. “So are you ready?” You asked taking a step closer to Fred. He choked and stumbled backward grabbing onto the wall.

“Yeah- uh yeah!” Abruptly, he turned around and made his way down the stairs. You stood there for a second thinking about what just happened before shrugging and following him down.

“Oh there you are sweetie!” Your mom smiled standing by the door. “I was waiting for you to come down so I could say bye.”

You strolled to the door and hugged your mom tightly. “Love you, mom.” She kissed you on the head.

“Love you, too. Have fun and treat Mrs. Weasley with just as much respect as you would your father and I.”

“Yes ma’am.” Giving her one last hug, she walked out the door and to her car. You watched her at the door as she drove away.

“I’m really excited to have you here Y/N! Your mum is a kind woman.” Mrs. Weasley said from behind you.

You turned and smiled at her, nodding. “She really is.”

“Anyway!” Fred interrupted, grabbing your hand. “We’ve got a lake to go swim in! Bye mum!” Fred pulled you out the door and past the gate before you even had time to wave.

“Be careful!” Mrs.Weasley called out at the door.

Once you two were far enough from the house, you figured Fred would let go. But, he didn’t. You allowed your heart to expand just a little. He slowed his pace to a casual walk instead of the frantic run he’d started with.

The problem was he wouldn’t look at you. Actually, he seemed quite interested in anything that wasn’t you.

You stopped, half expecting his hand to leave yours as he continued walking. Instead, he jerked to a stop too once he realized your hand was tugging on his. You tried not to think about the fact that he was still holding your hand rather than continuing to walk on without it.

However, he still didn’t look at you. He only tilted his head in your direction, still facing forward.

“Are you mad at me?” You whispered laying it on thick, hoping it would do the charm. It did.

Fred’s eyes snapped to yours worriedly. “Mad? Bloody hell no. Why would you think that?” He asked, taking a step closer to you.

“Well you weren’t looking at me or talking to me, so…”

Fred ran his free hand through his hair and closed his eyes sighing. “I haven’t looked at you, because you’re killing me here.”

You took a step closer.

“How so?” You tilted your head innocently as you gazed up at his still closed eyes. At feeling your body heat, Fred’s eyes snapped open. He took a step back. This felt like a dance you only vaguely knew the steps to.

He visibly took a deep breath before shaking his head. “Forget it, let’s go before they start having all the fun without us.”

You let him pull you this time. A small hope blossoming in your heart and a secret smile forming on your lips.

-----

You remembered the first time you almost admitted how you felt.

Turns out Fred’s surprise was an invite to the Quidditch World Cup. Something he insisted was the very height of all world sports. You didn’t tell him you still thought Quadpot was better. You were appreciative either way.

The day leading up to the match was quite eventful. From the portkey that instantly took you back to America and Ilvermorny, to watching as Fred and George gambled away their entire savings on the game you were sure the game couldn’t possibly be as entertaining as everything around it. Especially not when Fred and George painted their faces in Irish colors.

“So you enjoying yourself?” George asked from beside you in the stands. Fred was on your other side not paying you a bit of attention as he took in every aspect of the general splendor.

Your eyes shifted to look at George who still had his eyes on the pitch.

“Yeah, I guess. Honestly, I’m just happy to be here with everyone.”

“How were The States? I don’t think I’ve gotten the chance to ask, with that one-” he nodded at Fred, “hogging all your attention.”

That sent a blush straight to your cheeks. It almost made you sick how often that was beginning to happen.

“I-”

“Don’t even try to deny it, Y/N. We all see it.” He nudged your shoulder with his. “Mum supports it wholeheartedly if that’s what you’re worried about.” Your jaw dropped at that. You quickly glanced to see if Fred was paying any attention, but his focus was still on the ads flashing before him.

“George- I-” You sat back and huffed. “How’d you know?”

He scoffed. “As if everyone couldn’t tell. You two are constantly making googly eyes at each other.” George leaned in close. “Fred wouldn’t shut up about you the first night after we met you. Kept raving like a madman about how pretty you were and how he wanted to hear about football and a million other American things.”

You had to keep from looking behind you at the boy who was the focal point of your conversation.

“What you are lot talking about?” Speaking of the devil, his head appeared over your shoulder.

You frantically looked at George hoping he would come up with some sort of-

“We were talking about how her trip back to The States was.” George replied leaning back in his seat. “Now focus, the game’s about to start.” You nodded way too energetically, and you almost thought Fred was going to say something about it. But he seemed to hold his tongue after meeting George’s eyes and turned back to the game.

“The Irish are gonna win. I’m sure of it.” He mumbled.

“You better be. You bet all your savings on it.” You whispered back a slight smirk on your face. Fred shook his head and opened his mouth to respond.

“Well if it isn’t another dirty mudblood in the stands.” A low voice hissed in your ear. Your head whipped around only to see Draco Malfoy sitting behind you, an evil little smirk on his beady face. You felt both the boys tense beside you as they both prepared to presumably respond. You immediately turned around and grabbed both of their arms firmly.

“We’re just gonna pretend he’s not here.” You whispered quietly enough you knew the twins would hear, but hopefully not loud enough Draco-

“I almost forgot-”

You muttered under your breath.

“How beautiful and kind hearted you are.” The shriek of indignation was a clear sign of it’s effectiveness. You smiled broadly as Fred and George both turned to you as Draco continued to mumble niceties.

“The hell did you do?” George laughed.

You shrugged. “Wandless magic. I call it the Sweetheart Charm.”

Both boys' jaws dropped. “You know wandless magic?!” Fred leaned in.

“Not strong magic, but it’s kind of an elective at Ilvermorny. A useful one apparently.” You giggled still half listening to Draco talk about how much he admired Harry Potter.

Fred huffed. “You could’ve told me that before I borrowed George’s wand to scourgify Snape’s classroom last year.”

You turned and nudged his shoulder with your own. “A good magician never reveals her tricks.”

With that, the game kicked off. Quite literally. The players took flight and from your mid-pitch seat you were able to see everything well enough. The excitement in the stadium was tangible. Both sides were rowdy and exuberant and became even more so as the game went on. Especially when the Veela and Leprechauns began to fight on the pitch.

Quadpot would never.

Finally, Victor Krum caught the Snitch meaning the game was over. And the Irish had won the World Cup. Fred and George jumped up throwing their hands in the air before Fred hauled you up with him and pulled you into his arms.

“We won!!” He shouted, smiling broadly. “We won!! That means we won our bet!!” Now that was something you could cheer for.

You screamed, throwing your arms around his neck as he picked you up. With your face pressed into his neck, you breathed in. He smelled like face paint, sweat, and a tiny hint of firework ash. You dug your face deeper never wanting to forget it.

Eventually he set you down, but his arms were still wrapped tightly around you. For a moment, just a moment, you contemplated leaning up barely a fraction of an inch to join your lips to his. You could feel his breath on your skin. Your tongue darted out to wet your lips as you began to rise to your toes.

“Fred! George! You won!” Ron shouted from below you. You two jumped apart as if you’d been shocked. You heard Fred clear his throat while you stood next to him trying to remember how to breathe.

“Yeah, Ron. We did!” He smiled but it looked more like a grimace. You should’ve known he was being weird when he didn’t immediately find something to tease Ron about.

After that, Mr. Weasley led you out of the stands and back down to your tent. For a while, you all stay out and celebrate. Shouting and screaming and laughing and just having fun. But there came a point where even you got tired and had to retreat into your tent. You practically collapsed on your bed after changing into sleep shorts and a random No-Maj band t-shirt. Sleep was instantaneous.

“Wake up! Girls get up!” You awoke to someone shaking your shoulders. Blinking rapidly, you focused on Mr. Weasley standing above you with a panicked look. “Get up!” He moved on from you seeing you were awake, to wake up Hermione or Ginny. You didn’t know. But the fear in his eyes made you roll out of bed and grab your wand.

Hermione and Ginny were both waking up looking just as frightened, shivering in their nightdresses as Mr. Weasley ushered you all out of the tent. All you managed to piece together in your terrified state was Mr. Weasley saying the woods and stay there. You barely registered as Fred grabbed onto Ginny and George grabbed onto you, as they whisked you into the forest.

Your bare feet tripped over souvenirs and sticks. You tried to ignore how it stung and how the bitter English cold bit through your thin t-shirt and shorts.

I am way out of my depth.

Fear trickled into every inch of your body as George kept tugging you into the forest. But you tripped. George lost his grip and in seconds you lost sight of him.

“Get up!” Someone yelled as they grabbed your arm and yanked you into a standing position. It took a second to see it was George who had come back for you. Relief flooded your system. Finally you both broke through the trees, but you had lost Fred and Ginny in the process.

George didn’t let up, he kept pulling you in whatever direction was away from the campsite. Your feet were definitely going to be cut up. You tried not to think about it even as tears poured down your cheeks.

After what felt equally like hours and no time at all, you both came to a halt. George pulled you into a sitting position behind a tree, you settled between his legs and his arms around you. Your heart was pounding. Your muscles were aching. You had never felt more ill equipped than you did at that moment. Even with being a witch.

“George, I’m scared.” You whispered so quiet you could barely hear it. It felt odd that the forest was so quiet. You could barely hear the screams and shouts coming from the campsite, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing you weren’t sure.

“Y/N,” You knew that voice. “It’s Fred.” His hand came up to tuck your hair behind your ear. His head resting on your shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Trust me.”

You leaned your head against his and closed your eyes. “Okay.” You tucked your knees into your chest and just waited. You could feel Fred’s chest heaving from behind you. It countered your own labored breathing. That one solitary fact provided the smallest bit of comfort. That he was breathing in while you breathed out. That he breathed out while you breathed in. It felt safe. You couldn’t describe it any other way.

Briefly, you thought back to what George said in the box earlier that day. You turned your head ever so slightly towards Fred. You licked your lips as if giving yourself just a second more before gaining the courage.

If the fear of death wasn’t motivation enough, you didn’t know what would be.

“Fred?” You breathily whispered.

“Yeah?” He whispered back.

“I have to tell you something.”

He let out a small laugh but it sounded so devoid of any humor. “Then tell me, love.”

“For awhile now, I’ve been-”

Green light flashed like lightning above you. You scrambled to your feet, Fred following, to see what it was that lit up the entire forest in an eerie green glow.

A snake coming through a skull.

The Dark Mark.

You stumbled back into Fred who caught your arm before you fell.

“Let’s go.” He mumbled before fiercely tugging you in the opposite direction of the mark in the sky. Fear rattled through your bones then.

Even as Fred tugged you through the forest, your eyes were on that Dark Mark in the sky. You didn’t know if you wished your parents had never brought you here or if you were glad they did.

-----

You remembered your first kiss.

The Triwizard tournament held more excitement for you than for most. It wasn’t because you could enter under the name of Ilvermorny (although you did consider it but you were a year too young). Nor was it because the prospect of spectating the tournament held a special excitement. It was because for the first time in your Hogwarts life, you were not the only foreigner.

French and Russian wizards and witches were now at Hogwarts which meant, for the first time, no one cared that you were the only American in a British Wizarding school. Your friends still called you ‘Merica, but that had never bothered you to begin with.

Everyone was instead focusing on the fact that Quidditch World Cup player Viktor Krum was in attendance at their school.

You, however, were using the time everyone was focused on stalking him to find some peace and quiet. The start of classes had been even more stressful than last year. You had gotten your OWLs back and had gotten ten total. Considering your aspirations to be a healer, you had no choice.

You had stopped studying in the library as Viktor had decided, for whatever reason, to make it his personal haunt. Meaning that there were always a gaggle of girls following close behind, trying and also failing at being quiet. Also meaning that you had to find a new study hole.

Instead of picking the obvious choice, the Gryffindor Common Room which always seemed to be bursting at the seams with signs and people chanting Harry’s name, you went with something a little more hidden.

The kitchens.

The house elves were friendly and welcomed you everytime you came in carrying your books and papers. They’d been kind enough to help you set up a little armchair in the corner of the room with a small side table next to it to lay your work on. It had been a life saver. It gave you an escape from everything and an opportunity to make new friends. Although the thought of slaves enjoying slavery sent a chill up your spine, but if you knew anything about Hermiones attempts at SPEW, it was better to leave the subject alone.

You’d been spending more and more time alone since returning to Hogwarts from the Burrow. Especially after Defense of the Dark Arts with Moody. The thought of that specific class made you want to hurl. Your boggart had been nearly unbearable.

The sight of your mother dead on the floor of the classroom had been nightmare material for the past month. You didn’t tell anyone, not even Fred you were having them. You just pulled back figuring that once everything stopped feeling so fresh and raw, you could talk about it.

“More coffee ma’am?” One of the house elves you’d come to know as Jippy held out a cup of pitch black liquid.

You reached forward taking the cup from his hands, breathing in the welcoming aroma.

“Thanks, Jips.” A broad smile overtook his big eyed face before he nodded and went back to work.

You continued to work through your Potions homework with the utmost concentration. The NEWTs class was indeed harder, and took up most of your studying time.

“There you are.” A voice called from across the room. Your eyes lifted, seeing none other than George Weasley strolling towards you with his hands in his pockets. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Who’s we?” You asked sitting up from your slouched position in the chair as George grabbed a nearby stool to sit on next to you.

“Who do you think?”

“Well is he wearing an Invisible Cloak?” You replied just as sarcastically.

George let out a small laugh. “No, we split up to cover more ground. He went to check the upper levels. If only we still had the Marauders Map.” He shook his head wistfully.

“What if I didn’t want to be found?” You lifted the corner of your mouth in an attempt at a smile, but he saw right through it. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and gazed sharply at you.

“Then I’d have to ask you why.”

You looked away unable to hold his stare. “George. I don’t wanna talk about it.” You hesitated. “I’m not ready to yet.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw George nod sadly. But he understood, you could tell. “Alright, Y/N.” He stood and pushed the stool back to its original position. “But you’ll find us whenever you’re ready to talk?”

You met his eyes and smiled softly. “Of course.” With that he nodded and began to make his way to the back of the portrait. “Wait!” You stretched your arm out as if you could reach him.

“Yeah?” He asked, glancing back at you.

“Don’t tell Fred about-” You waved your hands around you. “I wanna still be alone here.”

George nodded. “No problem.” And with that he stepped through the portrait and was gone.

You slumped on the chair, lifting the hot coffee to your mouth. All you could do was think. Think about nothing and somehow everything as the coffee stung its way down your throat.

It was past midnight a few nights later when you snuck out of the Gryffindor tower. The hood of your cloak was pulled over your head after you checked that the coast was clear. Quietly you made your way down to the Trophy Room on the third floor. It was the only place you could think that would have what you needed. The halls were dark and the only sound was your light footsteps on the stone. The light from the candles flickered as if they were minutes from going out. But you reached the room in enough time.

You closed the door quietly behind you once you reached the room and began to look around. The trophy room was almost always empty. Plenty of dark nooks and crannies within the cases and trophies themselves. The trophies themselves seem to stare at you from behind the glass of their cases, following you through the room, knowing what you were seeking. You slowly made your way around the room listening for any creaks or sharp noises.

“Lumos.” You whispered walking steadily through the room. The light from your wand caused shadows to stretch up to the ceiling. They leaned over you and stared down causing a sliver of fear to creep it’s way into your heart.

Finally, closer to the back of the room than you would’ve liked, you heard it. One of the bottom drawers in what looked like a dresser filled with cleaning supplies was rattling. You lifted your wand higher and whispered.

“Alohomora!”

The drawer snapped open as the boggart flew at you, almost causing you to drop your wand. You stumbled back into a trophy case before catching yourself. But that moment was all the boggart needed to shift before your eyes.

Your mother was clutching her bleeding throat, blood pouring down the front of her dress. Her eyes were desperate, until they focused on you. They shifted to burning rage as she stumbled forward choking out a few words as she stumbled towards you.

“You...disappoint...me. You’re no…daughter...of mine.” She choked out as you fell backwards onto your hands.

“Rid-R-Riddikulus!” You pointed your wand at your mother. But the boggart shifted into your father. Clutching his abdomen as blood poured out onto the ground.

“You did this.” He spat at you.

“No. No, Dad- I-” It shifted again into Danny.

“You abandoned me. Abandoned our school. Our friends. Our life. Don’t ever come back.” He lifted his hand which held a wand with a frightening look on his face as he shifted into Iris.

“I never liked you. You were always weak, too weak to be a Wampus. Too weak to even be called a witch, you mudblood.” She spat at you.

And then her face shifted into one much taller with flame red hair. The gentle brown eyes you’d come to love looked at you with utter loathing. You shook your head desperately wanting it to stop.

“You think I would ever love you? As if you’d ever be worthy of my time much less my affection. It’s hilarious to think I would ever want a vile creature like you.” You crawled backwards, scrambling to get away. Bumping into trophies and trophy cases as the boggart gained on you. Every shadow that had once seemed lifeless, seemed to peel off the walls before you, multiplying your fear tenfold.

This wasn’t real, you tried to remind yourself.

It’s not real. He’s not real.

“Not real, am I?” Tears spilled down your cheeks obscuring your view of Fred. But you could see the disdain on his face clear enough. “I’m flesh and blood, Y/N.” He took another step closer, you felt the sound of that footstep in your chest. “You have no future.” Another step closer.

“You will die alone.”

Another step.

“No one to love you.”

“Riddi-Riddi-Riddiku-”

“No one to mourn you.”

Another step.

“Bury your body.”

“No.” You whimpered, shaking your head frantically.

“You are nothing.”

“R-Riddikulus!” You shouted again with tears in your eyes. “Please!”

But Fred kept gaining on you, until his hand wrapped around the front of your cloak and hauled you close to his face. His brows were furrowed deeply, the lines around his mouth almost made it look like he was snarling. His eyes looked at you like he couldn’t even stand to touch you or even look at you. “I hate you.”

“Riddikulus!” A voice shouted from behind you. You fell to the floor as the boggart shifted into a firework before disappearing altogether. Sobs wracked your body as you laid crumpled in a heap. You heard footsteps gaining on you but couldn’t even bear to see who it was. Despite knowing the answer.

“Y/N?” A hand gently laid on your back. The flinch that followed couldn’t be helped. “I’m sorry- I’m sorry.” He immediately whispered, lifting his hand. You heard a soft sigh before you felt hands softly grasping your chin.

Fred was kneeling in front of you with the gentlest expression you’d seen on him to date. And yet, you saw the deep pain in his eyes. One hand swept your hair back then moved to wipe the tears still falling from your eyes with his thumb.

“C’mere.” He opened his arms. He made no move to force you into his arms. For a moment, you hesitated. His words- the boggarts words- were still reverberating around your skull. But you needed him. Fred. Not- not- the Fred of your nightmares. So you crawled into his arms, still shaking.

His arms came around you immediately, rocking you both back and forth on the floor. He shushed you softly while running his fingers through your hair. Fred pressed a kiss into your hair before tucking your head under his cheek. But he remained silent. As did you.

Slowly but surely your breathing slowed. You leaned further into Fred’s embrace as if that was possible, relaxing your muscles a fraction.

He seemed to take that as a sign that you were ready. “Y/N, what happened?” His voice was soft in your ear. You lifted your hand and placed it on his chest. You felt the steady thrum of his heart, and it gave you just enough peace to answer.

“I’ve-” Your voice broke off, hoarse from trying to scream a spell that wasn’t working. “I’ve been having nightmares.” Your fingers curled into his shirt. “Ever since Defense Against the Dark Arts. I saw my mom.” At that it seemed like everything came spilling out.

“I’m so scared, Fred. That Dark Mark-” Fred’s grip tightened. “My grandfather died in the First War against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I didn’t know him, but my grandmother talks about it sometimes. It’s why we moved to America.”

“I didn’t know.” He whispered in your hair.

“How could you? I never told you.” You sucked in another breath. “I’ve been having nightmares about death. My parents dying, my friends dying, you dying. I can’t get it out of my head, and it just keeps playing on repeat like some horror film that only shows one scene. Maybe it’s the stress of NEWT classes, maybe it’s because I’m weak, I don’t know.”

Fred gripped your chin in his hand, turning you to meet his eyes. The softness was still there but it was buried underneath determination. “Y/N, listen to me very closely. No one is dying. We’re all here. We’re all safe. Okay?”

You nodded.

You desperately wanted to look away as you asked the next question, but Fred’s grip was firm. “How much did you see?”

His thumb brushed over your cheek. “I walked in the room when he said ‘not flesh and blood, am I?’ but it took me a minute to figure out how to get over to you.” There was real pain in his eyes as he spoke to you this time. “Y/N, I would never never say those things to you. They are simply not true.” Fred released your chin to tuck you under his own as he brushed back your hair. You wondered if it was more for you or him. “When you die, a long time from now, it will be surrounded by those whom you love and who love you in return. You will be missed for as long as the sky is blue and your children's children’s children will get to say they are a part of your family.” He pressed a delicate kiss to the crown of your head. “You are important. You are magnificent. Breathtakingly beautiful. And I-” He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t know how to live without you anymore.” The warmth that bloomed in your chest dissolved every shadow in your soul that carried those fears. They were pressed and suffocated by the light that Fred was.

You leaned back to look him in the eyes. Your faces inches apart. Your hand reached up to brush his hair from his face and tuck it behind his ear. Instead of pulling it back, you slid it behind his neck. It wasn’t you pulling him or him pulling you, it was a tacit movement from both ends. And your lips met.

It felt like falling. The sky before you in shades orange to pink to yellow to blue. Like a sunrise on a beach. Morning dew in a quiet wood. Cold rain after a drought. All the best things the Earth had to offer were experienced in one moment. One person.

Your fingers tightened in the hair at the nape of his neck while one of his arms lifted to cradle your shoulders trying to pull you closer. As if somehow the two of you could become one and never separate.

His lips were soft and warm. Everything you knew him to be. They moved over yours gently, like he was afraid to break you.

Just as naturally as you two eclipsed, you pulled back. Your hand still wound in his hair, his still tightly clutching your shoulder and waist. The world could’ve been falling apart around you and neither of you would’ve noticed.

You began winding a piece of his hair around your finger. “How’d you know where I was?” It came out breathier than you anticipated.

“I left my sweater in the common room and saw the portrait shut behind you. I had a feeling I’d need my wand so I ran back up to my dorm to grab it before coming back. I knew Harry still had the Marauders map so I snuck up to his dorm to grab it before coming to get you.” He twisted a bit as his arm left your shoulders. He pulled out the map from his pocket and opened it, showing the two of your footsteps in the Trophy Room. You stared at the spot you two were intertwined on the map way too long to be considered normal, before looking back up at Fred.

“Thank you.” You pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Always, ‘Merica.” He whispered back, clutching you to his chest. “Always.”

-----

You remembered the first time you fought with him.

It had been several months since that night in the Trophy Room. But whatever you’d been hoping for when you left that room was not quite what happened when you actually did.

Everything went back to relatively normal. Forgetting the unspoken tension between you and Fred whenever you were next to each other or even remotely close. It took only a glance now for your heart to start pounding out of your chest as you were reminded of the feeling of his lips on yours.

You turned your head back to Professor Sprout who was going over the many uses of Moly.

“It’s most common uses are as a counteragent against a range of enchantments…” She went on as you scribbled the notes down. This was probably a plant you used in multiple antidotes if you wanted to work at St. Mungos.

You desperately tried to focus, but it was difficult when you could feel his eyes on you every five seconds. You quietly slammed your quill down before looking at him.

“What?!” You whisper-shouted.

Fred’s already wide smile broadened. “Nothing.” Then he turned to look back at Professor Sprout.

He was doing shit like this all the time. It was driving you up the wall. You couldn’t decide if it was because you were upset at the fact that nothing had happened between you, if he really was just being annoying, or maybe because he hadn’t asked you to be his date to the stupid Yule Ball. You supposed you should at least be glad your life had gone back to semi-normal. You’d stop shutting yourself in the kitchens (although you still made time to visit Jips). George, Lee, and Angelina practically cheered the next time you joined them in the library to study. Fred smiled secretly from his chair, that day, as you tried to avoid eye contact.

Shaking your head, you got back to taking notes. This was an important class that you needed to do well in if you wanted to get the job you dreamed of. Rolling your shoulders, you studied the Moly in front of you.

You tapped it with your quill before continuing to write.

“Taking enough notes, ‘Merica?” Fred whispered right into the shell of your ear. The shiver it sent through your body caused your quill to jerk across your page right through your notes. Your jaw dropped. Your notes were...legible at least.

You snapped your head to him. “Fred! What the hell!” You punched his arm.

He had the decency to look guilty. “Sorry, love. Didn’t think you’d react that way.” He scratched the back of his neck. A nervous tick of his, you’d come to realize. You hated how it stretched the muscle on his arm making it much more noticeable. Your eyes flicked back up to his. He was smirking, the prick. He knew what he was doing.

You huffed before turning back to Professor Sprout. “It’s fine.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

You’d been walking back to the common room with Fred and George after dinner with Adrian Pucey grabbed your arm. You jerked to a stop as you turned to face him.

“Oi mate!” Fred shouted and stepped forward with a heated look in his eyes. “Bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Let her go.” George seconded.

Adrian wasn’t looking at either of them though. He rolled his eyes before focusing back on you. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Can it not wait? I kinda need to study for-”

“It can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Did you not hear him? He said let her go.” Fred growled, stepping forward between you two. You laid a hand on his arm pushing him away gently.

“It’s fine. I’ll meet you two in the common room okay?” You smiled and he seemed to deflate as he furrowed his eyebrows. Nonetheless, he and George walked away (not without Fred huffing the entire way to the staircase).

You turned back to Adrian. “So?”

“Wanna go to the Yule Ball with me?”

Huh?

You glanced around for a moment, half expecting Draco or Pansy to jump out with a sign that says ‘Surprise! You thought a Slytherin would ask you??’ But no one jumped out. In fact the hall was pretty quiet.

“Y/N?” Adrian shuffled.

“Oh, um.” You paused. “I can’t. I’m going with-” with who? Fred? The guy who hadn’t asked you yet despite kissing you in the Trophy room months ago? “You.”

The words were out of your mouth before you could take them back. You looked up at Adrian expecting to see his face break out into a cruel laugh, but it didn’t. He just smiled.

“Cool, I guess I’ll uh come get you from Gryffindor Tower at like 7:45?”

You nodded mindlessly, still not believing you’d said yes. “Uh- yeah that works.” You lifted your hand, stumbling backwards towards the staircase Fred and George had disappeared up. “Alright- bye.” You spun on your heel and practically catapulted yourself up the steps.

You said yes. To Adrian Pucey. Because Fred hadn’t asked you yet. Despite the ball being only a few weeks away.

What did I do? You shook your head and almost turned back to tell Adrian you made a mistake, despite being at Gryffindor Tower. But bumping into a solid frame prevented you from walking in either direction.

Two strong hands grabbed you by your forearms steadying you. You didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“What did Pucey want?” Fred spat his name out like it was poison. You tried hard not to look guilty as you looked up into his eyes.

“He wanted to talk about the Yule ball.”

Freds grip tightened on your arms. “What about it?”

You sucked in a deep breath. “He asked me to go with him.”

“You said no.”

“No.”

Fred jerked back as if you’d stung him with nettle. “No you said yes, or no you said no.”

You pulled yourself out of Fred's grip, taking a step back. “I told him I would go with him, Fred.”

Fred had the nerve to look affronted. Anger swept over his features. For a brief moment, you were reminded of the face of the boggart. Yet even in Fred’s obvious anger, it could never compare to the deep loathing set in the face of his mimic.

“Why.”

You scoffed, crossing your arms. “Are you serious?”

“Obviously.”

“Because no one else has asked me, Fred.” You said his name with the same venom he addressed Adrian with. “The Yule balls only a few weeks away and I don’t want to go alone.”

Fred’s eyes softened as he stepped closer to you. “I would’ve-”

You pushed his shoulders as hard as you could, causing him to stumble back a few feet. “Then why didn’t you?! I was waiting! There was no reason to say no to Adrian, who has only ever been nice to me, when there was no guarantee that the guy I wanted to go with would even ask me if he hadn’t already.” Tears unwillingly built up in your eyes.

“Will you go to the Yule ball with me?” Fred asked, reaching out for you. You couldn’t believe your ears. The question you’d been waiting for for weeks and here he was asking you only minutes after you’d been asked by someone else.

You let out a loud humorless laugh, gripping your stomach as you doubled over. Nothing was actually funny, you were just in such a state of shock that it bubbled out of you in the form of laughter.

“We kiss. Never bring it up. Never do it again. Never say so much as the word kiss around each other.” Every word you took the smallest step towards him until you were standing a foot away. Yet somehow it still felt like miles. “And suddenly when someone else shows interest, you want to too.”

Whatever you said seemed to anger Fred even more than hearing you’d said yes to Adrian. His eyes narrowed into slits as he glared down at you. “You could’ve brought up that kiss just as easily as I could’ve, Y/N! Hell, you could’ve asked someone to the Yule ball instead of waiting for him to ask you!”

A part of you hated how right he was, but the other part just wanted to win the fight. “Well one guy decided I was worth the risk of rejection, while the other was apparently waiting for me to build up the courage to ask even though I’d practically handed my heart to him on a silver platter.” You pushed past him to whisper the password to the Fat Lady.

The portrait swung open, the Fat Lady doing her best to not meet either of your eyes. Your hand still gripping the frame you turned back to Fred. Tears slipping down your cheeks in waves now.

“You know, for a Gryffindor you sure are a coward.”

The portrait fell shut quietly behind you.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Soldier Boy (Part 2)

Summary: The reader spends the day with Dean getting to know him some more when she catches him in a lie and discovers one of his most dark secrets...

Masterlist

Pairing: Superhero!Dean x reader

Word Count: 2,600ish

Warnings: language, mentions of death, angst

A/N: Enjoy!

____

“So how old are you, Solider Boy?” you asked the next day as you walked around the park. 

“Thirty,” he said with a smirk.

“Solider Boy’s been around since the second world war. So. How old are you really?” you asked.

“I was eighteen when I was injected. I’ve aged very slowly. I do age, but it’s slow. They...I shouldn’t talk about this stuff,” he said, kicking at the ground with his boot. “Ah, fuck it, it’s in the news anyways.”

“The compound V?” you asked and he nodded.

“First successful try right here. I was still going through puberty so it took,” he said. “I guess. The science is very complicated they said. They just said you want to serve your country and I signed up.”

“What year were you born?”

“January 24th, 1926,” he said. You paused and he chuckled. “I know some women aren’t into older men.”

“I must seem like a child to you,” you said, walking again and crossing your arms.

“You’re twenty nine. I’m thirty. What’s such a big deal about that?” he smiled.

“You’re sweet,” you said. You dropped your hands by your sides, Dean taking one of them in his. “Old man ain’t wasting his time.”

“Keep it up, kiddo,” he laughed. You laced your fingers together with his hand and smiled as you looked at him. A flannel and t shirt. Jeans and boots. A baseball cap on his head. He looked so ordinary and yet he was the first superhero in existence. “I’m sure you’re wondering if I ever had a family.”

“A bit. It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” you said. 

“No, I want to. I don’t talk to anyone anymore. Aside from the people at Vought to try and get in The Seven but that’s like beating a dead horse at this point,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently I’m too similar in the market sector as Homelander. Go ‘merica and color scheme and that shit. I didn’t ask to be the leader or anything. I just...want to get off the kiddie squad, go do real shit out there, help people, not the stupid stuff I do now.”

“Maybe that’s why you don’t fit on The Seven. You want to help people, you don’t care about the photo op,” you said.

“I’m gonna keep trying,” he said. “But to answer your other question you didn’t ask, no, I never had a family. I had parents and a brother but they’ve all passed away. All my friends are gone. It never seemed right to love a girl and have a family and watch them all grow old and...honestly I didn’t want to watch my children grow older than me and die. I can’t imagine anything worse than outliving them.”

“You’re a good man, Dean.”

“I had the occasional acquaintance, don’t get me wrong. But it was always casual, no titles, nothing formal.”

“Is this casual?” you asked. He shook his head and you bumped his shoulder. “What’s different this time?”

“A chemical made me this way. Maybe a chemical can unmake me this way. We are so advanced now compared to back then. Maybe I can age normally with some other combination. Maybe I’m stuck like this forever. I just know that the numb pit inside of me woke the fuck up when I met you and it has been quiet for a very, very long time.”

“My mom’s quiet a bit older than my dad. Age gaps don’t scare me,” you said. He chuckled and you held onto his arm. “You don’t sparkle like the twilight guy though right?”

“Oh my God, no,” he laughed. “No sparkles here. I do make sparks when bullets bounce off of me though.”

“Well now you’re just bragging,” you said. You rested your head on his arm, thinking back to a movie you used to watch as a kid, Solider Boy the lead in the thing. “Dean.”

“Hm?”

“Why did you just lie about not having a family?” you asked, pulling away from him. You knew you could have let it go, should have let it go for the sake of the mission but damn you were pissed off at him for lying to you. You crossed your arms and he frowned, going over to a nearby bench. You sat down next to him, Solider Boy rubbing his hands together. “You were in this movie my brother loved so I watched it all the time. He was a huge fan and he would never shut up about you. I never paid much attention but I remember. You had a wife and kids once.”

“You’re gonna leave after I tell you this part,” he said, a sad smile on his face.

“I’m gonna leave if you don’t tell me the truth right now. You will never see my face again. You promised you would not lie to me. Out with it Dean.”

“I wasn’t always a good person. It’s very...difficult to stay good when there’s so much bad around you. When there’s no consequences.”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

“My son and daughter died hating me, thinking I was a monster. They died because of me. That was the breaking point for me. I walked away after that, I started over. I’d turned into this thing I didn’t recognize. I became Soldier Boy. Dean Winchester...he died back in that war. Not until the nineties did I realize what had happened to me. So I left. Went away from the world. Brought Dean back to life and Soldier Boy came back but different. Good this time. Greed, corruption. It’s not happening this time. Then you said...you made that comment about me being naive, that I’d turn eventually into an asshole supe like the rest of them. I’m terrified of that happening to me again. Maybe that’s why I like you, cause you’ll remind me not to be a monster again.”

“Why do you call yourself a monster?” you asked quietly.

“The first time I killed someone, I was mortified. The last time I did it, I laughed. It made me happy. I hurt him before I did it even. I stopped caring about people. My wife wanted a divorce. I thought she was hot, she fit my image. I told her I didn’t want one so she took some pills and told me she’d rather die than live with the devil. My kids were young adults, late twenties. I snapped at them when they blamed me for their mother’s death. My son hit me so I pushed him and he hit his head. My daughter ran out, afraid of me and was hit by a car. They died because I didn’t want to lose my image. I wasn’t even that upset at first. I thought a widow superhero, that’ll boost my numbers.”

“If that didn’t…” you said, Dean running his hands over his thighs. “What made you change?”

“I found a drawing my daughter had made me when she was small,” he said. He took out his wallet and unfolded a laminated sheet of paper holding it out to you. It was done in crayon, a few stick figures with one of them wearing a superhero outfit and the word “daddy” written above it. “She loved me once. I ripped it away from her. I found that cleaning out the house and I realized what I’d done. I’m worse than any bad guy there ever was for doing that to them. I stopped caring. When you stop caring is when you lose those bits of your soul. They break off until there’s nothing left. I am a monster, Y/N. Nothing I ever do can make up for it and save whatever shattered pieces are in there. But I owe it to my kids to be good and stay good.”

You handed the sheet back and he tucked it away, his wallet going in his pocket as he stared out at the trees across the path. 

“I understand if you would no longer like to see or speak to me again. Or if you want to slap me in the face. That’s also acceptable,” he said.

“What year was all of this?” you asked.

“They died in ‘92. Then I ran away to Kansas, worked as a farmhand for a while,” he said. He rubbed his palm and stared down at his lap. “Just...be careful at night and try to stop walking down alleys for me, okay?”

“Why are you saying that?”

“I’m never going to see you again after you get up from this bench.”

You stood up and he let out a sigh. You took a step to your left and sat down closer to him, turning your head as Dean looked so horribly confused at you. You couldn’t walk away. It wasn’t an option. But while you knew you couldn’t walk because of the mission Butcher had you on, you didn’t want to. There was so much self-hate inside of Dean he hid well and part of you ached that he considered himself sub-human.

“Y/N, what are you doing?”

“Dean. What happened to your family was horrible but they were accidents. Your daughter, your son. Your wife, did she even let it sink in for you before she did that? If I was married to someone and they suddenly asked for a divorce my gut reaction would probably be no too. I’m not saying you didn’t play a part but those were her actions that trickled down and affected the rest of you. Letting yourself become corrupted means you’re human. We all make fucking mistakes. Yours are a little big, I admit that. But you try to make up for it. All you can do after the fact is try and you’re doing that. There’s a soul in there Dean. If there wasn’t this wouldn’t be eating you alive. Cut yourself a break. I gotta process everything you said but I’m not walking away. Promise you will never lie to me again and I can promise you that I won’t judge you, no matter what you’ve done.”

“I’ve been around 95 years and I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said. “That’s a good thing. I will never lie to you again. I swear. I’m sorry. I was...frightened of telling you who I was deep down. I like you. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s the first bit of happiness I’ve felt in a long time and I don’t want it to go away just yet.”

“It’s okay that you were scared. Maybe on our third date we can have a less intense conversation. We can talk about how you’re older than sliced bread,” you teased. 

“You youngin’s don’t know how good you got it,” he chuckled. You took his hand into your lap and he smiled. “Not a monster to you?”

“No. Just be a good guy and I’ll be happy,” you said. You leaned over and kissed his cheek, Dean looking you up and down.

“I wish I knew you when I was a dumb kid that let them shove that stuff in me. I never would have said yes if I had a girl back home.”

“Well, from now on, maybe just ask if you think I’d be proud of what you were doing. If the anwer’s no, maybe don’t do it,” you said.

“I’m gonna keep that one,” he said. “Also did you subtly drop that I’m getting another date despite all of that?”

“You told me the truth, even though it was hard. That’s why I like you too,” you said. “Plus you’re really old so you must have like, sex down to perfection by this point.”

“Gonna blow your fucking mind,” he teased. “Eventually. I know things are different nowadays but…you’re special. You’re not a hookup.”

“When you’re ready, you let me know and we’ll go from there, okay?” He nodded and you gave him a hug, Dean hesitant at first but he quickly relaxed into it. “You alright?”

“Been a long time since I had a hug is all.”

“You need one, just come to me,” you said. You sat back and he smiled. “So. Let’s go do something fun. You look like you could use it.”

“Night,” murmured Dean as he kissed you at your doorstep that evening.

“Night,” you said, not moving away from him just yet. His ears perked up and he forced himself away. “Trouble?”

“Yeah. Nothing major. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

“Bye Dean,” you said, watching him take off running far faster than any human man could. You smiled as you locked up, a loud thud coming from your kitchen. You unlocked the door and looked around. “Hello?”

“For such a nice house you have an incredibly small kitchen,” said Butcher as he walked out with the bottle of your nicest bourbon.

“Oh come on, that was a housewarming present,” you said.

“I swipe you some more,” he said, taking a long swig. “How’s it going?”

“Good. We got close today but Butcher you seriously can not come back here again. Dean was this close to coming inside tonight.”

“Dean. I thought he was Solider Boy.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You want to wind up like his last broad did? You give him the puppy dog eyes and then we make a move,” he said.

“I’m starting to think we might get further with sugar over spice. Billy he wants to make up for his past. If he gets into The Seven he could be a serious asset.”

“Are you going soft on me?” he asked, an edge in his voice. 

“Let me work him the way I know best. Trust me,” you said.

“Don’t forget what this is for. You call when you’re ready,” he said. “Don’t take too long.”

He left out the back and you sighed, running your hands over your face. Sure, Dean had done some bad things in the past but who hadn’t? He wasn’t playing you, he had no reason to. The part of you that wanted revenge was still there but he didn’t cause your brother to die, not really. He was simply a prime target at the moment.

You swallowed and went to the kitchen, taking the bottle of alcohol to the family room. You sat on the couch and took a swig, letting it burn your throat.

You didn’t want him to get hurt. You liked him. A lot. Maybe you could convince him to go away, be someplace safer. Your head turned when you got a text, the alert saying it was from Dean and him asking you if you wanted to get out of the city and go hiking tomorrow.

Maybe that’d be a good time to tell him the truth. He was bound to find out eventually and if he got mad, at least you’d be the only one in danger. Billy’s voice was at the back of your head but you ignored it. He’d been angry for too long, couldn’t see the good in people anymore. Dean wasn’t what you thought he was at first. He was good deep down.

You’d tell Solider Boy the truth tomorrow and hoped you lived to see the next day.

______

A/N: Read the Final Part here!

[brelione]

Barry as A Father

Request by @popeheywards​

If it were anyone else he wouldve just ignored the situation and pretended it didnt exist

But because it was you he was willing to change his life and stay around

“I swear to god-what the fuck-no,no-nope!Out!Away from the area!Smoke in the air-Im not gonna be responsible for that kid growing eight arms!”He shouted, holding his blunt far back.

“What are you doing?You cant drink that!”He took the mug of coffee away from you. “I read that you cant have caffeine when pregnant-I wont allow this on my porch.”He shook his head.

He was pretty bummed about the no sex rule but then you reminded him that you could still give him blow jobs

Him holding your hair when you’re vomiting

He’s got a bag ready for the hospital

Clothes, phone chargers, snacks, tissues

My mans is ready

But then the time comes that your water breaks and all hell breaks loose

It doesnt help that Rafe is over

“OH MY GOD ITS LEAKING-RAFE GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!” “OH MY GOD!”He was freaking out.You were just standing there, staring at him.

He grabbed the bag and got you into the car, forgetting the way to the hospital

“LEFT OR RIGHT?”He shouted. “LEFT!”You shouted back, tugging at your hair.

“MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!”he shouted, pulling you along. “Sir-sir-sir!I understand-theres no need to shout.”The woman at the front desk sighed, having you put into a wheelchair. “IF WE DONT HURRY UP HE’S GONNA FALL OUT!”He shouted, following into the delivery room.

They ask if he wants to cut the umbilical cord and its a no from him

With his shaky ass hands????

He’s just glad its over

His hand is all bruised from you squeezing it so hard

Forehead kisses once they’ve taken the baby to get cleaned off

His heart stops when you’re holding the baby, his eyes widening

This was real life

He’s sitting in the chair next to the bed, about to cry

He’s staring at the baby, trying to figure out what part of face looked like his

He had Barry’s nose for sure

He’s absolutely terrified to hold the baby because he’s positive he’s gonna drop it

But then hes holding the baby and its insane.He kisses his forehead, watching it blink.He never thought he’d get this far in life that he’d have a baby and a wonderful girlfriend.

You have to stay in the hospital for a week because it took so long to pick a name for the boy

And Rafe makes an appearance at the hospital because he’s grown close to you during your pregnancy

Thats how he had been paying Barry for the past nine months.Baby clothes, diapers, formula, pacifiers, bottles, a crib and toys.

He pretty much moves into your house so that he can spend as much time with Gio as possible

Giovanni Jonathan Well wasnt exactly what you thought you’d be naming your first child but thats just how things happened

Barry was really good at changing diapers in the middle of the night

It was annoying but he knew how exhausted you were from giving birth

He only went to the trailer for work and would only be gone for a little bit

He had a shit ton of money from his work, now having people call him on a work phone to plan when they’d be coming over so that it didnt interfere with the baby’s schedule.

The two of you trying to teach G.J colors but always getting distracted by other things

Barry started crying when he learned how to walk

He spent a long time in the bedroom with G.J one morning, trying to teach him

“Can you saw mama?”Barry asked, eyes widening when G.J repeated the word, some drool sliding down his chin as he said it

He ran out into the kitchen with G.J at his hip

“Say it again, G.”Barry grinned when his son repeated the word, seeing the big smile on your face.

Sitting in the living room and watching Disney+ with G.J

“Captain Merica!”G.J giggled, pointing to the tv.

Somehow Rafe ended up bonding with the baby, becoming ‘uncle Rafe’ really quick

He’d stay with G.J when you and Barry went grocery shopping or out to get coffee

He was that one dad that took photos at every possible moments

If G.J was eating he had to take a picture

If G.J was playing with legos he had to take a picture

Once G.J can finally be in school you and Barry are both sad but also kind of relieved that you can finally get a break

He can aslo fuck you without risking waking up G.J

And you can be as loud as you want

Picking up G.J from school and helping him with his homework

Its usually just a coloring page but sometimes he’ll have to circle a word or two

Barry makes sure to help G.J in every way that he can, making sure that he feels loved because Barry had ✨daddy issues✨

You and Barry forming your own system where you go grocery shopping on wednesdays, he picks up G.J on mondays, wednesdays and fridays and only does his work at night

Never letting G.J find out what Barry does

Family Beach days

“Giovanni Jonathan Well- you will get sunburned if you dont put on sunscreen.”Barry warned, handing him the bottle.

G.J’s hair was long and dark like Barry’s and whenever he crossed his arms or scratched his nose he looked exactly like Barry

You and G.J making fun of Barry’s reading glasses

When G.J was twelve you became pregnant again, sighing as you stared at the test.

“BARRY!”You shouted from the bathroom. “YEAH?”He shouted back, putting down his book and waiting for you to answer. “IM PREGNANT!”You shouted back, flushing the toilet.He sighed, smacking himself in the face with his palm. “AGAIN?”He asked.

@outerbongs​  @copper-boom​  @httpstarkey​ @teenwaywardasgardian @drewswannabegirl​  @simonsbluee   @jiaraendgame  @khiaraaa-in-spacee​  @on-socks-off​  @abbiesthings​ @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless @i-love-scott-mccall​

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch59: We Only Part To Meet Again

Intro: The team hold a memorial for Natasha.

Warnings: “Language!” Angst

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: I’m STILL salty that Nat didn’t get a proper send off in Endgame so I hope I’ve done her justice in this one. We’re so near the end now… *cries*

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 58

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Steve and Katie decided not to tell anyone about their news until both Natasha’s remembrance ceremony and Tony’s funerals were done. For no reason other than they didn’t want any of the attention being placed on them to detract from what the days were about- their friends and family taking time to remember together.  In all fairness, it wasn’t too long time to have to wait.  The only problem however, was that whilst it might have been easy to fool the kids, it was a little less easy to fool Bucky and Sam, especially when the morning of Nat’s memorial, Katie pushed Bucky and Sam out of the way as she ran from the kitchen and emptied her stomach into the downstairs toilet.

“She okay?” Bucky asked looking at Steve as he grabbed a bottle of water for her from the fridge.

“Just nerves, about the memorial.” Steve brushed off Bucky’s concern, and before he could be asked any further questions, he headed out into the hallway just as Katie was emerging from the bathroom. Wordlessly he handed her the bottle and gently cupped her cheek in his hand, and she smiled softly leaning into his touch.

“You were puking the last time we were on a jet together you know.” Sam quipped as they walked back into the kitchen  “Maybe that says something about your flying.” Katie shot back at him, sitting down at the table.

“Nah ah, you’d eaten that dodgy chicken remember?”

Katie nodded and then Bucky gave a scoff.

“You know, you’re almost convincing.” He pointed at her. “You on the other hand,” his point moved to Steve who had reached to open the fridge, pausing as he was caught in his friend’s stare, “still can’t lie for shit. It’s written all over your face.” Katie and Steve exchanged a glance before they looked back to the two men who were both leaning against the counter, mugs of coffee in their hands.

“What’s he lying about?” Sam frowned, looking at Bucky. Bucky simply gave him an exasperated glance.

“Let’s just say it’s more likely to be dodgy sausage than chicken.”

“Buck!” Steve frowned as Katie glared at his best friend. Sam’s face rearranged itself into a look of comprehension and he turned to look at Katie.

“Really?” His eyes flickered from her to Steve. Before they could deny it, Jamie walked into the kitchen with Lucky, the pair of them having been in the garden with Emmy.

“When do we go see Auntie Nat-Nat’s tree?”

“Soon” Steve turned to his son noticing instantly his son’s shoes were filthy. “Do not move a single step more, pal.”

Jamie stood and saluted at his father, the way Tony had taught him to do whenever he was given an order and Katie snorted a laugh. With a roll of his eyes Steve bent down and undid the laces on his sneakers. Jamie kicked them off and ran over to his momma.

“Can I wear my Captain ‘Merica top Auntie Nat-Nat got me?” He asked.

“You can wear what you want today, baby.” Katie kissed his head. At that she looked around. “Absolutely no black.”

“Kinda ironic really seeing as she spent half her life being called Black Widow.” Sam mused.

“Exactly.” Katie nodded. “Today there is no black widow, only Natasha Romanoff.”

At that point Emmy stepped inside holding a ceramic pot which now contained a tulip plant she had dug up from her patch near the shed. “Will this be okay, you know, to plant under her tree?” “I think it’s perfect.” Katie smiled, standing up with Jamie in her arms. “And so would she. She liked tulips. Right young man,” she blew a raspberry on her son’s cheek and he grinned, “shower time.” “Want me to do it?” Steve asked.

“No, I’ll take him. You can deal with these two idiots.” She nodded towards Sam and Bucky. She glanced back at Steve and gave him a soft smile. “Emmy, you need to get ready too, honey.”

Steve watched as his family left the kitchen before he turned to look at Bucky. “You are a pain in my ass, you know that?” “Tell me I’m wrong.” Bucky raised an eyebrow as Steve ran his hands over his face. He looked at his friend and then couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.

“Yeah, she’s, we’re pregnant.”

“Fucking hell, punk!” Bucky moved to give the man a hug “That’s great news.”

“Thanks Buck.” Steve grinned, pulling back.

“Yeah nice one, Cap.” Sam beamed, shaking his hand.

“Thanks, but we’re keeping it on the low for the time being. We don’t wanna tell anyone till after Tony’s funeral, it just doesn’t feel right you know.”

Both men made affirmative nods and hand gestures, before Sam looked at Steve.

“How far along?”

Steve hesitated. “Well, we don’t know. It’s kinda complicated.”

“Complicated?” Bucky frowned “What’s complicated about it?”

“We lost one in the snap.” Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “We didn’t even think about it being a possibility, ya know, that it would come back, and we didn’t know Katie was pregnant back then until after. We’ve got a dating scan tomorrow so we’ll know for sure then.”

“So that time when we were on the low, and she thought she was sick…” Sam frowned, “she he was actually pregnant?”

Steve nodded.

“Not bad chicken?”

Steve shook his head.              

“Dude you knocked up your Mrs whilst we were running from the Feds?”  Sam’s eyes widened and Steve let out a sigh.

“It wasn’t exactly planned, Sam.” He rolled his eyes.

**** Steve watched his wife for a moment as she sat on the seat opposite him on the private Stark Jet, scribbling on a piece of paper. She was scribing notes for Tony’s Eulogy and her brow was furrowed as she jotted her ideas down, stopping every so often to wipe a stray tear away from her eyes. He leaned over to tuck her hair behind her ear whilst asking if she needed anything and she shook her head, tapping the pen lightly against her teeth. He dropped his hand to her neck, gently squeezed in a sign of affection and stood up to go and check if Bucky need rescuing from Jamie’s incessant chattering.

“You know it doesn’t seem right, any of this.” Katie spoke quietly, as she looked out of the window. Steve watched her for a second before he sat back down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the small table between them. She turned back to him and sighed. “The world is mourning for Tony, yet the same people who are leaving candles and wreathes and flowers outside the tower don’t seem to give a shit about Natasha. She’s not been mentioned once in the media since the President’s address.” “Sadly, I’m not surprised.” Steve sighed “After we took down SHIELD and all her past secrets were thrown into the spotlight and, well, you know her history. It wasn’t well received. People made assumptions about her, questioned her loyalties, wrongly yes, but they did.” “It’s not fair.” Katie sniffed.

“You’re right, it’s not. It’s unfair and it’s cruel.” Steve nodded, gently reaching out for Katie’s hand. “She gave her life because she believed so firmly that we could succeed and she’s being given no recognition at all. But that’s what today is about. Those of us that did know her, and did care about her, getting the chance to say goodbye properly.”

Katie smiled sadly, her fingers tangling in Steve’s as their hands lay entwined on the table

“And I think she would prefer it this way.” He continued “She was a very private person, unless she was around her friends, her family after all.”

“Yeah.” Katie said, smiling gently. “Maybe you’re right.”

There was a loud yell from the other side of the jet and they both looked over to see Bucky giving Jamie a hi-five as Sam and Emmy leant back in their chairs, throwing their Uno cards onto the table in defeat.  Bucky looked up and caught Steve’s eye, flashing him a small wink.

It wasn’t long before they were landing. Katie felt ridiculously queasy as the jet began to descend and no sooner was she on the concrete of the runway than she threw up to the side of the steps. Emmy gave her a suspicious look, but didn’t say anything as she made her way, her hand around Jamie’s, as they followed Sam and Bucky to the waiting cars, Steve patiently hanging back for his wife to compose herself before they set off on the 30 minute or so drive to Clint’s farm.

There were hugs, hand-shakes and a few tears as the group greeted each other. Banner and Wanda had already arrived before the Rogers-Barnes-Wilson clan did, and it wasn’t long until Fury and Hill walked into the large farmhouse. An hour or so later, Okoye and T’Challa landed shortly followed by Rocket, Nebula and Thor. And finally Lang, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Morgan.  As Katie looked round as her niece shot over to hug her ‘Uncle Spangles’, she suddenly felt a warmth in her chest that where was still so much love in and amongst the grief.

They had an hour or so at the house, Jamie and Nathaniel instantly hitting it off and retreating to Nate’s room, emerging thirty minutes later each with a picture for their Auntie Nat. Katie had crouched down next to her son as he had showed her the picture of the woman with the shock of red hair holding a bar of chocolate because “she always gave me chocolate, Momma.”

“Yeah, yeah she did.” Katie smiled, kissing his cheek.

In the mid-afternoon sun, Clint and Laura, with their three kids, led the way down a worn path which led to a small pond not far from the line of trees that surrounded the farm. Clint explained that Natasha liked it here, she often came to visit and stay if there was a little too much going on in her life to cope with and this was her place which was why the tree was planted here. The tree was roughly six feet high at the moment but was already sporting the deep red leaves they had picked it for, and they all knew that over time it would grow and expand. There was a small wooden bench underneath it, with a brass plaque which sported Natasha’s Black Widow symbol, and they had also ordered a small head stone, but that would not be available for a while.

“It’s beautiful Clint.” Katie nodded, her hand falling to the place just underneath her throat and above her chest. “It really is.” “So,” Clint rubbed his neck, clearing his throat. “I thought, those of us that wanted to could just say a few words and,” he looked around and gave a watery smile as he took in the crowd of people, “you know, seeing you all here reminds me of how Nat came into my life. No friends, no family, no connections, and absolutely no desire to change any of that.” “You got that right.” Fury muttered, drawing a few smiles and soft laughs, including a chuckle from Clint.

“Yet here she is, being celebrated and remembered by all of you, all of us, the people whose lives she’s touched and impacted and I guess, well, she did change it after all.”

Steve gave the archer a smile as he turned to look at the tree, his head bowing slightly “Nat, your last name might have been Romanoff but you’ve been part of the Barton family for as long as we can remember. I watched you break free from the horrors of your youth and learn that life didn’t have to always be painful and cruel. You worked tirelessly to build yourself up and always strived to be a better person. I hope you know that,” he paused and looked upwards, taking a deep shaky breath, “you were worthy of being loved. And we did, we loved you so much, still do. Me, Laura, Coops, Lila and Nate.  If it wasn’t for you my family wouldn’t be here, but whilst my heart may have pieced itself back together thanks to them coming home, there’s still a huge hole there where you used to be. And I know that Nate only met you briefly, but he’s gonna know…he’s gonna know all about the woman he’s named after, the bravest woman I have ever known.” He reached out and wiped at his face before his hand gently touched the bark of the tree trunk. “Goodbye, Nat.” At that point Laura stepped forward, her own tears trickling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms round her husband, their kids all following before Nathanial turned and placed the piece of paper he was holding on the bench, Clint helping him tack it to the back part with a small pin before the stepped back into the crowd.

Almost everyone spoke. Fury and Hill went next, explaining how they had been there from the beginning and watched her as she had transformed from this lethal, master assassin into an Avenger, a leader. And whilst he may not have been so warm to her in the beginning, Fury had come to look at her as a protégée, the person who after Hill and Coulson he trusted the most. And Hill, who had become a friend, one of the first people to join Natasha’s slowly expanding group of confidents in the beginning. Natasha had exceeded any expectations they had of her as a colleague and had been a fiercely loyal friend until the end.

Okoye, Nebula, Rocket, who had only known Nat really for a short time, all respected the woman who was broken and shattered but never gave up wanting to make the world a better place and continually strived to find a way to fix what Thanos had done. They had all forged a friendship with Natasha as they picked up the pieces of a shattered world and strived to keep people safe through the chaos that ensured post snap.

T’Challa, who had seen the fierce loyalty and drive that Natasha possessed first hand, gave a moving short speech, commending her for her courage. “Even if that did mean she knocked me out with a hell of a sting.” He quipped, drawing chuckles from the group. “Her tenacity on the battle field in Wakanda, her strive to protect not only her friends, but billions of strangers, at all costs. An honourable trait.”

Lang, who again hadn’t known her wrong but had found an ally instantly willing to work on his ludicrous Time Heist idea, without whom, “I doubt anyone would have taken me seriously, including Steve” nodded around, and Steve gave him a small smile and a shrug because it was true.  

Bucky, who had tried to kill Natasha on more than one occasion, but could empathise with what she had been through more than most, simply placed his metal hand on the bark of the tree and said something in Russian, which he later explained to Steve and Katie had been a simple thank you and goodbye, not being able to think of anything else to say.

Rhodey who had know Nat as long as Katie had, spoke about how he had watched as she stepped up post the snap, helping Steve lead what was left of their group as they tried to help who was left and “bring peace to a world that was in turmoil”.

Pepper who had also known her as long as Katie had, thanks to her infiltration of Stark Industries spoke about how she’d become a good friend over the years, sharing a “mutual annoyance at Tony’s ridiculous antics” and with Katie and later Wanda the women had joined forces in an otherwise male and testosterone swamped Avengers Tower or Compound.

Wanda and Sam, who had both spent years on the run alongside her. She had helped train them both, fought alongside them both, and saved both their lives more times than they cared to remember. They respected her, and counted her amongst their closest friends.

Thor, he trusted her, infinitely, watching her hold her own against opponents both bigger and stronger on many an occasion. She had never once judged him for the sins of his brother, and with a large clap of lightning he had declared her the “most noble and worthy warrior, one of the greatest I have ever seen”

Bruce, who had trusted her more than he had ever trusted anyone was up next, and he took a moment to gather his own thoughts, before he spoke simply and succinctly, but no less emotionally. “There’s a reason that lullaby never worked for anyone else, Nat, and whilst we never got the chance to explore the feelings we had for one another, I loved you. More than as a friend, and want you to know that my time away for those two years I was stuck as the hulk was not your fault, despite what you thought.”

And then, it was Steve’s turn. The soldier cleared his throat, his hand firmly grasped around Katie’s as they both stepped forward, their kids at their side. His chest was horribly tight as he took a deep breath and began to speak. “Clint’s right Nat, you were a pain in the ass. Specifically my ass for years. Constantly laughing at me for being old fashioned, trying to fix me up on dates until you realised that the person I wanted to be with just happened to be one of your best friends, which then opened up a whole other world of opportunity for your sarcasm and wind ups. You were one of the bravest, kindest people I have ever fought alongside, and we both knew that when we made you godmother to Jamie you’d guide him in the best way you could, even if you did take him for the day and fill him with enough e-numbers to make him bounce of the walls when you returned him.”

He sniffed slightly and Katie lay her head against his shoulder, fighting her own tears. “People often pointed to me as the leader of the Avengers, but I wasn’t. Not really. You were the one that held us all together on more than one occasion, especially when me and Tony were ready to rip each other’s heads off. Your ability to see the best in people is something I can only hope to emulate, and we’re going to miss you. We all are. More than you will ever know.” At that point, his voice cracked and Katie could see he was close to breaking, just as Clint had done.

“Emmy, Jamie why don’t you put your picture and your plant on the bench?” She encouraged gently, “Clint, can you?”

Clint nodded and stepped forward with them both as she took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Steve, pulling him in close.

“I drawed this for you.” She heard Jamie say as Clint helped him tack his photo next to Nathaniel’s before he promised Emmy he would plant the tulips in the ground once her headstone was there.

A silence fell before Katie stepped back and looked up at Steve who gave her a nod to assure her he was okay. Then, realising it was her turn she turned to the tree and looked at the shock of red leaves, smiling softly.

“There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said.” Katie smiled gently “You were an amazing person, inside and out. I’ll never forget how you helped me pick an outfit for my first date with Steve and calmed me down despite the nerves that were flooding my entire system.”

“You never told me that.” Steve frowned, causing the crowd around them to laugh.

“Oh it’s true.” Katie nodded with a smile before she turned back to the tree. “All the ribbings and joking you would do, trying to get the ‘inside details’ as you called them on Captain America, but that’s what friends do right? And we were friends, best friends. I knew I wanted to be your friend the first time I met you when you were undercover in Stark Industries and your floored Happy after Tony insisted you ‘go a few rounds’”

“Thanks, Kiddo.” Happy grumbled, drawing more chuckles.

“You helped us so much when Jamie was a baby, taking him when you could see things were getting too much for me as a new mum, telling me that it was normal to feel a little overwhelmed when I simply thought I was doing a bad job. We couldn’t have done it without you and there’s no better friend I could have had by my side through everything we’ve been through together and done over the past thirteen years.”

Katie looked up at the sky, her tears falling now. “You know, on the jet on the way over me and Steve talked about how cruel it was that you’re not getting the recognition for your part in bringing everyone back that you deserve, but then I see everyone here and,” she choked a little on her words and felt Steve’s arm slide around her waist, “you know, it might not be a public mourning but this, this is the evidence that you were loved, and the people that mattered care and will always care and be thankful that you gave your life so that everyone who’s here could live theirs.  You were so loved Nat, you always will be, and I can only hope you knew and felt that.”

With that her tears began to fall thickly and she turned to Steve, his arms wrapping around her, his large, strong but ever so gently hands held her close to him, one on the base of her back, the other on her head.

There was a soft breeze which ruffled the leaves of the trees in the otherwise completely calm clearing they were in and no one spoke for a moment, until Clint stated that there were drinks and food waiting at the house. With a last glance over her shoulder at Nat’s tree, Katie allowed Steve to guide her down the path, every so often pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

With drinks and full plates, the guests spilled out into grounds of the Barton farm as animated chat began on and around the porch. Katie stuck to apple juice topped up with lemonade in a wine glass, and when Steve had subtly arched an eyebrow in question at the fact she was drinking she’d flicked him off and shook her head gently causing him to snigger a little.

“So,” Pepper sidled up to her, looking at her, “when are you due?”

“What?” Katie asked, a little too quickly.“I don’t know what you’re-.”

“I know that’s not wine.” Pepper gently cut her off. “And I know that you lost a baby in the snap. Maybe I’m putting two and two together here, but…”

Katie sighed and looked at her sister-in-law. “We only found out the other day. We didn’t wanna say anything, not until the memorials and funerals are over. It doesn’t feel right, to be happy about it all. Even though I can’t help it.” “Are you kidding me?” Pepper smiled “Katie, its great news. Something positive to look forward to.”

“Literally” Katie mumbled causing Pepper to grin.

“I knew it!” Emmy’s voice spluttered and Katie groaned and turned to face her. “The baby, it came back?”

“Shhhh” Katie hurriedly quieted her. “We haven’t told anyone yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t know how far along we are or,” Katie pinched the bridge of her nose. “just not yet Emmy okay? And this isn’t how we wanted you to find out. We were gonna tell you tomorrow after the scan.”

Emmy cocked her head to one side and shrugged, draining the glass of ice tea she was holding before she smiled and wrapped her arms round her mother, the sixteen year old now being almost as tall as she was. “I think it’s great.” Katie smiled and lay her head against her daughters, squeezing her back. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

***** Katie was exhausted after the day’s events and so, once the kids were settled she left the men drinking in the kitchen and headed for a bath.  Steve and Bucky had been drinking the Asgardian stuff all afternoon thanks to Thor bringing a load with him to Clint’s and both the soldiers had been feeling the effects before they headed home, and still were thanks to the stash Steve had in the cabinet and beer fridge.

“You know,” Sam leaned back in his chair, “when you find out how far gone Katie is tomorrow, we’re gonna be able to figure out a point of conception.” “Yeah that’s generally how it works.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Well you better not have made that baby on my plane.”

“We never had sex on the jet.” Steve sighed.

“No, just dirty old warehouses in the middle of a mission.” Sam shot back.

“Did you have to bring that up?” Steve said exasperatedly.

“Oh now this I gotta hear.” Bucky grinned and turned to look at Sam.

“They left their coms on.” Sam mumbled “Trust me you don’t gotta…”

Bucky gave a loud bark of a laugh as Steve groaned.

“We just got caught up and…” He suddenly stopped, deciding he didn’t have to explain himself. Why the fuck should he? “You know what, I don’t care, have you seen her? I’d bang her every second of the day if I could, she’s fucking gorgeous.”

“Aww thanks baby, but five times in one night was quite enough thanks.” Katie said and all three men whipped round to face her as she quirked an eyebrow smirking, leaning in the doorway dressed as usual in a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. “It was one hell of a wedding night.”

“Five times?” Sam looked at Steve who flushed bright red, but couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.

“And that’s how many times we did it.” She continued as she walked to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water, turning to wink at Steve “Not how many times he made me see stars.”

Sam gave a loud laugh as Bucky grinned, a dirty snigger escaping from his mouth.

“I think I liked it better when you hated each other.” Steve said, glaring at them.

“Aww they picking on you baby?” Katie slid her arms round his neck from behind. He nodded, his hands rubbing over her forearms as they locked at the front of his chest.

“Big time.” He pouted.

“Come to bed and I’ll make it better.” She whispered into his ear and he turned as she straightened up and headed back out of the room. “Night boys.”

There was a pause as Steve looked at Bucky who was chuckling to himself, clearly having overheard.

“I’m gonna,” Steve watched Katie leave, and with that he drained his beer, stood up and headed after her.

Bucky eyed the bottle of alcohol in his hand before he turned to Sam. “Wanna go for a walk, find a bar? I’m in the mood for exploring my old neighbourhood a little.”

“Damned straight.” Sam nodded, standing up “The night is young Frosty. Unlike you.”

“Fuck off.” Bucky shot back, grabbing his jacket and smiling as he felt the leather in his flesh hand.

“Buck, you got a sec?” Katie asked, just before they were about to leave for the airfield.

Bucky paused and looked at Steve who simply gave him a smile. “She’s got something for you.” he said, ushering the kids down the hall with easy commands and large hands.

Bucky made his way into the living room and his mouth turned into a smile as Katie held out his leather jacket, the one he had wrapped her in when he pulled her from the Hydra base in La Ronde what felt like a life time ago.

“I believe this is yours.”

“You kept it?” he said gently.

“Of course I did. I just never had chance to give it you back until now.”

He took it from her, gently running his hand over the collar.

“I also never got chance to thank you for that day, what you did.”

“Anyone would have done the same.” Bucky shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck in an action that reminded her very much of Steve.

“You sure?” Katie gave him a soft smile. “You headed deep into a base full of people who had once hurt you because someone was screaming for help. Someone, and you had no idea it was me. And even if you did, you didn’t know me. Not really.”

“No, but I knew what those bastards were capable of.” Bucky eyed her gently. “I wouldn’t ever leave anyone to suffer at their hands. I just wish I’d gotten there sooner.”

“Did Steve tell you what they did?” She asked gently.

“He doesn’t need to.” Bucky looked down.“Like I said, I know what they’re, what they were capable of.” “You’re a good man James Barnes.” She gave him a soft smile and then stepped forward to give him a hug. “You saved my life. And for that I’ll always be grateful, and so will Steve.”

Bucky smiled slightly as she slipped on the jacket and headed after Sam as they gently left the house, the door closing behind them.

*****

Upstairs, Steve’s hands were already all over his wife, gentle, strong, loving as he softly caressed her stomach, the place his baby was growing. He nuzzled into her neck as she preened at his touch, arching her back. She moved slightly so he could pull the shirt over her head before he gently took her face in his hands, thumbs skating over her cheekbones.

“I hope it’s a girl,” he whispered gently, dropping a kiss to her lips, “and she looks just like her momma.”

“Charmer.” She grinned as he kissed her again, the kiss growing urgent, Steve flicking his tongue over his wife’s lips before he moved to gently trail his mouth down her neck to the spot in between her collar bone, giving it a gentle nip and a suck. It was a well-practiced dance between the pair of them. After ten years of being with one another they both knew the spots to hit, the places to touch, the parts to tease that would undo the other. It was a familiarity, but one that would never get old. Steve would never tire of the way her finger tips trailed down his back, nails gently biting his skin as she made those delectable noises by his ear. Katie would never tire of the way Steve would softly trail every curve of her body, his hands and strong arms cradling her as he lavished affection on her that drove into her very soul, his mouth gently nipping at her neck, his gentle praises that made her keen with affection.

“I love you baby girl, you’re so good to me, so good.” The soft sheets of the bed rustled around them as Steve gently rocked into his wife, causing her to sigh and lay her head back, gazing up at him with a love and lust so deep it almost hurt him to see. He had never been worthy of this love, and never would be. But all he could do was love her back, the way he did, with every single breath he had.

His movements were slow, his hand gently moved to hook her leg around him, finding a deeper seat as he rocked forwards and back again and again, driving deep against her spot as her hands hooked around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her, deeply, softly as she moaned into his mouth.

“Come on baby,” he said gently, his lips moving to her neck, “atta girl, come on.”

Her back arched and her nails dug into the skin of his biceps as she leaned forward slightly, burying her head into the crook of his shoulder to muffle her cries as she came, tightening around him. He upped his pace, ever so slightly, chasing his own release and he came, his lips pressed to hers, a deep, satisfied moan bubbling from his throat into her mouth as his hips stuttered and he rest his forehead against hers, gathering his breath.  He suddenly realised he was led on top of her, his baby in her stomach and he went to move but she caught him softly, her hands straying to his shoulders as she smiled at him, her hands gently moving to rake up through his hair as she pressed a soft kiss to his mouth before she nipped his lip and he practically growled at her.

“Keep doing that,” he muttered “and I’ll be hard again in about five seconds flat.” “I’m counting on it.” She smirked, kissing him again.

*****

“I’m sorry, say that again?” Katie looked at Dr Kellet. The woman smiled and glanced back at her.

“Ten weeks.” She nodded “Give or take. Which makes your due date, roughly the 1st June”

Katie glanced at Steve who was frowning and she knew instantly what was bothering him. He was concerned about the fact she had been pregnant in the fight, and was worried that the snap would have done some lasting damage. Katie wasn’t as concerned, for some inexplicable reason she knew everything was okay and had instead diverted his attention to researching second pregnancies… which he had done with gusto.

The kids were in bed, Bucky and Sam were, actually, Katie had no idea where they were, not that it mattered, they were grown men. They were led on the couch, Katie down one side of the L shape, Steve on the other with his head in his wife’s lap as he glanced at the screen on his phone.

“It says here that you should feel them move sooner than the first time because you know what they feel like…” Steve said, grinning up at her. “Wonder if that means I’ll feel them sooner too?” Katie shrugged, smiling as she ran her hand through Steve’s hair. “No idea.”

“And you’ll carry it lower.” He continued. “Which according to this is a good thing as you’ll breathe easier and eat much more comfortably than you did last time. Although you might be doing the whole constant needing to pee thing sooner, but on the plus side labour is faster.” “Oh joy.” Katie sighed, her nails scratching his scalp slightly.

“And it says here you’re likely to start showing sooner.” A huge grin spread across his face. “I can’t wait!” He shifted slightly so that he was led on his stomach and his head crept under her T-shirt and his nose gently skimmed her lower belly. “Although last time when you started showing, it just looked like you’d eaten too many cheeseburgers…” Katie nipped his arm causing him to yelp out a laugh.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Steve asked, drawing Katie out of her memories. “Because well, the snap and…”

Dr Kellet smiled and nodded “Your baby is perfectly healthy and normal, everything is perfect.”

Steve nodded, the worry he had instantly felt ebbing from his system and Katie gently laced her fingers between his and glanced back at the screen.

“Ten weeks…” she sighed “How on Earth did I not notice I was that far gone?”

Steve gently kissed the back of her hand. “Honey it doesn’t matter, don’t think on it. Don’t think on any of it.”

“I’ll get you a few copies of the photo.” Dr Kellet nodded.

“Have you had many others in, like this I mean?” Katie asked as the Doctor wiped the cold gel off her stomach “I mean, that have had babies back or…” “You’re the sixth one I’ve seen since everyone came back.” she smiled “Who knew?”

“Could be problematic,” Katie mused “I mean like, what if they are already pregnant again, or like, I dunno, dead against having kids now or…” “Katie…” Steve chuckled “Shut up.”

****

Armed with the two scan photos they headed home and were greeted by an excited Jamie who dragged the pair of them into the living room where he had been building a rocket out of lego with Bucky’s help.

“Everything okay?” Sam looked up from where he as prodding at Katie’s tablet, reading the news.

“Yeah,” Katie smiled, and she looked at Steve who grinned at his friends.

“Roughtly Ten weeks.” He answered the unasked question and Sam frowned.

“Ten weeks…” He mumbled as he did the same maths they had done in the car, a huge shit eating grin crossing his face. “So it was that time on the mission!”

“It’s kinda funny really.” Katie smirked. “Both of them were made through some pretty wild loving up against a wall.” Steve let out a sigh and he shot his wife a filthy look as both Bucky and Sam roared with laughed.

“What was against a wall?” Jamie asked, looking up at her and Steve let out a low groan.

“We’ll give you a minute.” Bucky smiled, standing up as he headed into the kitchen, followed by Sam, both passing Emmy who was returning with a drink for her and Jamie.

“Come here.” Katie settled on the couch and pat the seat next to her. Jamie scrambled up and ran over, jumping up beside her. Steve sat on the other side of him, and Emmy perched on the corner cushion. Katie looked over at Steve who smiled and turned so he was facing his son slightly.

“We have some news, buddy. Some good news.” He gently ran his hand over Jamie’s head “Your mom’s gonna have another baby.” “You’re gonna be a big brother.” Katie smiled as he turned to look up at her, his eyes wide.

“A baby?”

“Yeah.” Katie nodded.

“Isn’t that cool?” Emmy grinned and Jamie nodded before he frowned slightly before he looked back at his dad.

“Where is it?”

“It’s in your momma’s tummy.” Steve answered.

Jamie looked at Katie for a moment, before his frown deepened. “How did it get in there?”

Steve hesitated for a moment, his neck and cheeks flushing as he desperately thought about how he could explain this in a way that was suitable for a three year old’s ears. “Well, I…” “It got there because we’re a family.” Katie cut in, smiling. “And me and your dad love each other very much, so it’s kinda something that happens.”

“Oh.” Jamie nodded, and Steve shot his wife a smile as Jamie grinned. “So when is it gonna be here?”

“Not till early next year.” Katie smiled.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“We dunno yet pal.” Steve smiled.

“I hope it’s a boy.” Jamie nodded decisively. Katie smiled at Steve before Jamie quipped up again “But I’m not sharing my room or my toys. I don’t like people touching my stuff.”

**** O/S: To The Stars And Back

Chapter 60

 **Original Posting**

[whump-town]

BAU Pool Fic

I wrote @davidrossi-ismydad bau pool fic... it’s 3,000 words bro I took it way too far

“Jack Attack!” Emily Prentiss finds herself with an armful of overly excited five-ear-old. “How are you doing baby?” She brushes a strand of his hair back from his face, rubbing in a spot of sunscreen on his temple. She loves all her nephews. They’re her maternal outlet and Jack just eats it up. Even if that does crush both her and Hotch. 

Jack smiles broadly, “I’m super!” He moves, twisting so she can see the floaties on his little arms. “Look!” Jack points on his floaties, “Daddy got me floats with Cap’n ‘merica!” Sure enough, a cartooned Captain America is sitting on his bicep. “Uncle Dave is gonna let us swim!” 

Emily is nodding along, used to his quick pace. She knew about the Captain America floaties last week when Dave first brought up opening the pool. Hotch went from timidly sipping the Scotch Dave gave him to panicked because Target hadn’t gotten in their superhero floaties yet. Of course, in the safety of Dave’s office, she’d chuckled at seeing his DadMode activate. Then she had Garcia show Hotch how to order the floaties online, where they were in-stock.

“I know,” she agrees, trying to match his enthusiasm. “Are you excited to swim?”

Jack nods, “Daddy said he would too!” 

A sigh comes from behind her and Emily turns to find Hotch. He’s got a beach bag over his right shoulder while his left-hand twists his sunglasses by the side. “Buddy, I said I might swim.” He loves his team, really does, but getting in that pool with both sets of ‘the boys’ might be a bit much. That and he has to do his best to keep water out of his ears unless he wants to nurse an ear infection all summer long. 

JJ and Garcia laughter cut through any further conversation, coming in through the side door. Their drinks already in hand, sent by Rossi to greet whoever he heard just pulled in. The two of them had been expecting Emily, she’d sent a text as a ‘heads up’ when she stopped for gas on the way here. It’s just a pleasant surprise to find Hotch and Jack too.

“So, that’s what you’ve been hiding under all those suits.” JJ cocks her head to the side, smirking at Hotch. She, of course, knows about her best friends rocking bods. Everyone has seen Morgan topless, so he’s no big surprise. The real treat in today’s plans was 100% figuring out what Hotch and Reid hid under way too many layers of clothes.

Garcia agrees too, sipping some white fruity white canned alcoholic drink. “You look hot, sir.”

Hotch looks down at himself. He’s wearing a dark green, thin button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He hadn’t buttoned the first three buttons, leaving a good bit of his chest visible. His trunks are dark blue and come up just above his knees. They were shorter than what he’d expected when he ordered them but pants are always a problem at his height. So he considered it an overall win they didn’t come up higher. 

Compared to his usual attire around them, he might as well be naked. Not to mention his pale skin which is startlingly bright in the light of Rossi’s parlor. Hot isn’t exactly what he’d seen in the mirror when he’d put it on. Just… clothes. 

“Thank you,” he responds, with a tense smile. He really needs to work on accepting compliments. “Nice… bathing suits.” 

That is the understatement of the year. 

JJ has on a one-piece that cuts up very high on her hips. She’d chosen the color maroon and damn if she wasn’t right about it being her color. It’s cheeky and risky and Garcia was absolutely here for it. Refusing to hear JJ’s excuse she couldn’t pull off bathing suits like this one anymore. She has a mom-bod.

Emily’s rebuttal had been that JJ was right. She does have a mom-bod because JJ is a total MILF.

With two hype-women, JJ had to get the bathing suit.

Garcia’s own is white with red and blue flowers. There’s a perfect triangle cut out between her breast, drawing tasteful attention to them. Her selection had come easy, ‘I don’t need your help on this one. It’s speaking to me’. She too looked killer but saves her boss any grief on his compliment falling short. 

Emily snorts at the comment but covers it up by addressing how her best friends had betrayed her. “Evidently, this year we were going one piece.” Emily gestures to her own body, to the bathing suit she’s hidden under a maxi dress. “I didn’t get the memo.”

Garcia caves first, “babe, we said we were sorry!”

Seeing this as his only ticket to get away from a conversation he has no idea how to be a part of, Hotch extends his hand to Jack. “Come on buddy.” 

Emily puts him down, patting his head as he takes Hotch’s hand and follows his father with a little skip. 

“See daddy,” he says brightly. “I told you, you looked han’some!”

Emily watches them leave, tucking her arms around her body. It’s protective and comforting. She smiles sadly at Jack’s comment, it turning bitterly into a frown

JJ cups Emily’s cheek, “we are sorry.” 

The worst part is, she’s not mad they got one-piece bathing suits. It’s about her own insecurities. JJ has smooth, perfect skin, and Garcia’s gunshot wound makes her look like a badass. The memory is… murky but she’s a fighter because of it. 

Emily’s scars are tainted. A reminder of just how awful their lives have been lately and when she takes her dress off it’s just going to be that much more in their face. She’s a walking horror film, a damn slasher movie.  

“It’s fine,” Emily promises. “I’m just…” she blows out a breath. “I’m in a mood, I guess.” 

Her arms are still crossed so JJ finds that a little hard to believe but before she can start to dive into a line of question and dredge up whatever is bothering her. 

“I didn’t know the party was in here,” Rossi states, stepping into the house. He sees the tension in Emily’s body, frowning when Emily places her hand over the one JJ has on her cheek. Squeezing the thin digits before moving them away. “Bella?” His relaxed smile falls, “is there something wrong?”

Pappa Rossi has come out and he’s a fierce mister to mess around with.

Emily shakes her head, picking up her bag and stifling all her concerns. “I’m fine,” she promises. She motions for the other girls to follow and she meets Rossi at the door. “You just worry too much, vecchio uomo.” 

Old man? She wounds him.

He’s dressed simply, no desire to swim in the pool with those little animals (whom he loves dearly but the point still stands). Dad jean and an opened button-down, he looks too good. He squints his eyes but his sunglasses hide his skepticism. “Mhmm.” He opens the door for them, “you’d better get out there. You’re missing out on a party.”

The party greets them before they can fully get out of the door. 

“Oh, Spence,” JJ covers her mouth, the only person merciful enough to hide her smile at the sight of him. “Honey, what did you do?”

Someone, definitely Derek, had pushed him into the pool. He looks like a drowned rat. An adorable drowned rat but a rat none-the-less and in his clothes too. He shakes his head, looking down at his wet clothes. “I got pushed in.”

“Uncle Derek,” Jack explains helpfully, padding up to them. He’s visibly wet, obviously an eyewitness given his pleased smile. 

“Yep,” Henry confirms from his best friend’s side. Smiling just as bright as Jack. “Untle Derek push’ted him in!” He jumps happily at the end, nodding his head to his mother. 

The uncle in question sneaks up behind the boys, grabbing them by their waists and hoisting them up. “Are you boys tattling on me?” One on each side, Morgan looks between them faking an angry frown. Both boys know exactly what he’s going to do and start squirming excitedly. Claiming simultaneous denial. 

Morgan’s face sobers for a split second, his attention on the adults. “Pretty boy had it coming,” he says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I brought him a bathing suit and he wouldn’t put it on.” He shrugs and his playful smirk sinks back into place as he announces, “and since someone tattled on me… I’m forced to get my revenge.”

“No! No!” Henry and Jack shout, gleefully screaming as Morgan turns around and heads for the pool. 

“Hold your breath boys!” Morgan jumps in and there’s a large splash as all three submerge. The boys pop up first like little apples, laughing uncontrollably. 

Reid is standing in front of them shivering, looking rather pathetic soaked to the bone. “I pulled him in with me,” Reid states, moving to get past them. 

Poor Reid had not been expecting it at all. He’d gone to the pool’s edge to talk to Henry and Jack. They were chatting away, Jack showing him the Captain America’s and Henry telling Reid that he was gonna learn how to swim without floats with Uncle Hotch too. So he and Jack could both be big boys.

That’s when Morgan had come up from behind, lifting Reid off his feet in a swoop and throwing him in. 

In his mind, it was payback. Morgan brought Reid a very bright red speedo, a gag gift of course. After that fun had ended, the fun being seeing how red he got having to hold the atrocious garment in his hand, Morgan had gifted him light purple swim trunks.

So that he could swim. Except, Reid refused. So Morgan took the matter into his own hands. Then he felt guilty.

Offering Reid a hand up had, of course, been a mistake because the second the genius’ hand met his Morgan felt a sharp pull. Then he found himself in the pool. 

Jack and Henry, who hadn’t recovered from how hard they’d laughed watching Reid get dunked in were wheezing by the time Morgan’s head popped back up.

It seems as if they really did miss a party.

“Prentiss,” Hotch greets, walking up alongside her with a drink. “It’s a strawberry daiquiri, Dave said it’s your favorite.”

She takes the drink with a smile, watching her friends mingle and laugh amongst themselves. While she stands off to the side, isolating herself. She takes a small sip from the top, smiling. God, if Hotch and Rossi weren’t just the sweetest men she knew. Which is a strange thought to have once she considers it. Hotch is the bad cop to her good cop and Rossi is the reason they have such strict fraternization rules. 

“Do you think I can just be Emily, today?” she asks hopefully. 

Hotch smiles, nodding. “If I can be Aaron,” he barters. They tap their glasses together, a silent agreement. He takes a sip of his beer, watching the others around them. He’d gotten word, from Dave, about Emily and the bathing suit thing. She could play the other’s stupid but no one can lie to David Rossi. Not even Hotch. “Not swimming?”

She sighs and she knows exactly what this is. “Aaron...” she sighs, shaking her head but she can’t think of what to say. She can’t say he doesn’t understand. Her wounds might be larger but he had more. Quantity to quality and God, that’s awful. 

He takes her hand lightly, his eyes intense and sad. 

And she’s terrified. 

He lets go and she thinks that it. He’s going to let it go because they’re messing with demons here and she’s learned her lesson with stirring them up. But he does something so much worse. 

He takes his shirt off. 

“Hotch-”

His hands are trembling despite this being some act of courage because it’s only been two years and he knows the scars look awful and-

“Uh-oh!” JJ yells from the other side of the pool. She’s very drunk and drunk JJ is very supportive… and has no filter. “DILF alert!” She sends them two thumbs up and Will waves, a stressed smile stretched across his face. 

Hearing the commotion, Garcia turns away from Morgan and their current conversation. “Holy shit…” Garcia mumbles, pushing her sunglasses down to get a better look. “Does the FBI do a wet t-shirt contest or something? We have to get you boys in it.”

Hotch tilts his head expectantly.

“Oh shut up,” she rolls her eyes and sits her daiquiri down. She takes back every nice thing she’s ever said or thought about him. Especially that internal monologue from before about him being one of just the sweetest man she knew. In fact, she doesn’t like men at all anymore. 

Pulling her dress up over her head, she shakes her head.

That’s right, the Aaron Hotchner, a certified DILF, and federal agent had turned her 100% gay… well, until she forgives him. 

She frowns at him, realizing how dumb they both look just staring at each other mostly naked. “Satisfied?” 

He raises an eyebrow, playfully shaking his head, “are you trying to get us both sent to a sexual harassment meeting, Agent Prentiss?”

“Morgan and Garcia could use the company.” She’s trying very hard to keep her eyes on his face which is also making it hard to be mad at him. The scars aren’t even that noticeable and, while his abs might not be as defined as Morgan’s they are still visible. And nice. 

Before this conversation or frankly, anything else about this day, can get any weirder, Rossi calls out that the burgers are done. 

First come first served.

Which really means Reid, Henry, and Jack eat first while the rest of them fend for themselves. 

The chaos, as always, really gets going after dinner. 

JJ, Emily, and Garcia were standing and discussing whether or not Emily should get a different bathing suit for the beach trip her mother’s planning when the boys come from nowhere. 

Will, Reid, and Morgan.

All three girls end up in the pool. Garcia slung over Morgan’s shoulder. JJ scooped up by Will. Emily dragged kicking and screaming by Reid. It’s declared war and Emily, seeing Hotch chuckling at the sight of them, decides it’s against all of the men. 

The other three aren’t that hard to get. 

Will is lured in the way any man is into a trap, by thinking with the wrong head. JJ takes him out at the knees and Emily is the final blow. Execution style. Will considers it to be a bitter defeat.

Morgan is stupid. Emily sends off to get more drinks and together Garcia and JJ rush him as he walks past the pool. He goes in mid-wave to Jack and Henry, who are playing in the shallow end. 

Emily just picks Reid up, doing the same as he’d done to her. Ego soaring and the alcohol she’d consumed clouding her judgment, Emily takes on her main target. Aaron Hotchner. 

He’s standing at the edge of the pool, with his shirt back on but completed unbuttoned, and telling Jack and Henry to come to get another layer of sunscreen on. His back is completed turned when Emily pushes into him. She’s expecting to hear his body hit the pool water and then her name to be grumbled out when he bobs back to the surface.

It’s like hitting concrete. The man goes nowhere. 

He turns to face her, frowning disappointingly. “Is that all you got Emily?” He shakes his head and turns back to the boys, “chop! Chop! The faster you get out the faster you get right back in.”

Emily attempts to conspire with the others but they’re cowards.

“Oh, no, princess. Not a chance in hell.” Morgan shakes his head, he already thinks she’s crazy for trying the first time.

JJ is too drunk to really tackle. 

Garcia thinks it would be cruel. Hotch has done nothing wrong.

Will is a coward.

Reid is scared of him.

Rossi is too old. 

“You’re all boring,” she pouts. So she tries again on her own.

The boys are back in the pool, Hotch asking when the last time they had some water or a juice box was. That alone almost stops her. Because it’s adorable. She decides she really doesn’t care and takes the approach of shouting his name and then tackling him.  

He catches her. She hits his body but he moves at the last second and wraps his arms around her waist. “Is this what you were trying to do?” Right over his shoulder she goes, plop- right in the pool.

The boys get a proper kick out of it. 

Emily, with a towel wrapped around her shoulders, sulking in a chair watches as Jack and Henry shout for Hotch. He pretends to be surprised as they run at him. They jump up and he catches them to his chest, making a dramatic show of pretending to be knocked back into the pool. 

When he comes to the surface he shakes his hair out of his face and she frowns, hating him for making that look hot. 

Ick... men.

The afternoon wraps itself up well. 

Rossi lures the boys out of the pool with sweets and movies. It’s a picture perfect moment. 

Jack and Henry are exhausted and the moment they settle in the living room, both sharing Uncle Dave’s lap in the lazy boy, they’re out like lights. There’s the smallest bit of chocolate smeared on their lips and Rossi dares Hotch or Will to take his boys away. They can stay the night.

And they do. 

Emily says goodbye to all three, pressing kisses to their temples.

“Did you have fun, Bella?”

She got free food. She got drunk. 

Her boss took his shirt off in front of everyone to make her feel comfortable in her own skin and then dunked her in the pool.

She laughed until she cried with JJ and Garcia.

She played a very dangerous game of chicken with Morgan and Reid...

“Yeah,” she admits. “I had a lot of fun.”

Rossi’s eyes crinkle, “mission accomplished then.”

[simonalkenmayer]

I bought this 'MERICA gummy candy because I thought it was funny but its actually really gross and made me feel sick, which sucks but thats also so accurate that I can't stop laughing now lmfao

We all bought the ‘MERICA candy my friend. Some of us just did it a while back during the Continental Congress....*sigh*